On the steps of Willis's porch, Green sat waiting. Her healing machine sat beside her, whirring away as it veiled a pokéball in golden light. Meanwhile, her Pokémon mingled on the dirt street before her. Machoke and Graveler chatted happily in their respective languages as they tossed a rock veiled in brown light back and forth. The rock never made contact with either of their hands, only hovering a few inches away from their palms before meandering back across the space between them. Primeape and Electabuzz dashed and darted across the dirt, playing some form of tag. Although, instead of tapping each other, they'd punch each other in the back of the head. Once one of them was punched, it was their turn to give chase until they landed a punch in return. Green had to remind them more than once to not use their powers as the game got more and more heated. Even still, they were always laughing. Green watched them, enjoying their smiles and laughter. Their happiness was like the soothing warmth of a bath washing over her.
The healing machine chimed and the ball inside lost its golden veil. Green snatched up the ball and got to her feet.
"Alright, gather up! Time to meet the newest member of our team!" Green announced.
Machoke and Graveler dropped their rock. Primeape and Electabuzz stopped their game. They all gathered up in a loose semi-circle around the base of the steps, all gazing curiously at the ball. Green held it out to them.
"Meet Tyrogue." She pressed the ball's button.
Tyrogue materialised on the lowest step, clear of any wounds. His large, yellow eyes scanned the group. With a huff, he crossed his arms and stood tall. Primeape burst out laughing.
"Prime-Primeape!" He approached Tyrogue, placed his finger-less hand on top of Tyrogue's pink, ridged head and patted him.
Tyrogue swatted at Primeape's hand.
"Rogue!" He cried with a scowl.
He tried to kick at Primeape but his legs weren't long enough to reach. Primeape howled with laughter.
"Primeape, enough," Green said.
Primeape shot her a bold look but when she met him with a hard, stern gaze he backed off. He removed his hand from Tyrogue's head but still snickered as he rejoined the group. Machoke gazed at Tyrogue with crossed arms, a small frown on his face. He glanced at Green, then back to Tyrogue. Tyrogue puffed out his chest and stared Machoke down. Machoke made no move to appear bigger and met his gaze.
"G-Graveler," Graveler said.
Graveler waddled out from the group and approached with a shy grin. He reached out a hand timidly. Tyrogue broke his stare with Machoke, only to huff and turn away from Graveler's hand. Immediately, Graveler retreated his hand and looked down at his feet.
"Guys…" Green began, taking a step down the stairs.
"Buzz!" Electabuzz interrupted.
He leapt onto the steps, nimbly landing beside Tyrogue to face the group.
"Buzz buzz! Electabuzz, buzz!" Electabuzz waved his hands as he frantically spoke.
He reached down and pulled Tyrogue to his side. Tyrogue's eyes widened but he made no move to resist.
"Buzz!" He proclaimed and slammed his fist into his chest, making his shaggy yellow fur spark.
Primeape stared with a baffled look, Graveler looked on in awe but it was Machoke who responded.
"Ma." He shrugged.
Machoke approached Tyrogue, crouched down to his level and looked him up and down. He glanced up at Electabuzz, who nodded.
"Buzz!" He proclaimed again.
Machoke nodded then prodded Tyrogue in the chest.
"Machoke?" He asked and pointed to Green.
"Rogue!" Tyrogue replied with a grin.
Machoke beamed, stood back up and gave an approving nod.
"Ma!"
Unsure of what exactly had just happened, Green stepped down beside Tyrogue.
"So… you guys are friends now?"
"Ma!"
"Rogue!"
"Grav?" Graveler held out his hand again to Tyrogue, struggling to keep eye contact.
Tyrogue's smile dropped as he considered the hand.
"He's part of the team as well, buddy." Green gave Tyrogue a small nudge forward.
"Rogue…" Tyrogue gripped Graveler's hand with narrowed eyes.
Graveler beamed.
"Grav!"
"How about you?" Green asked Primeape.
Primeape blew hot air from his snout and folded his arms. He turned away and side-eyed Tyrogue with little more than a glance. Tyrogue glared back.
"Primeape," he muttered.
Before Green could scold him Electabuzz yelled.
"Buzz!" He wrapped his long arms around Tyrogue and hugged him close.
Tyrogue's tough demeanour broke as he laughed and hugged him back. They grinned at each other before jumping down from the porch and starting to mock fight with slow, practice strikes free of any energy. While Green watched their blossoming friendship with a smile, she couldn't help but feel a deep sad twang in her chest. An odd feeling, like a mix of yearning and regret. Then all of a sudden, that twang exploded and flooded her whole body. She slumped down onto the steps, feeling like she weighed 1000 tons.
"Abby…" she whispered. "God, what have I done. Why did I send her away?"
The empty cabin at the end of the street beckoned to her, only to mock. Its barren porch snickered and its empty doorway laughed. A fire sparked in Green's chest and she shot back to her feet.
"Alright! Everyone return!"
Green rapidly pressed all the buttons of pokéballs along her belt, except one. They flew from her belt, taking to the air in a small swarm. One by one, they fired their red beams into the group and returned their respective pokémon. They zipped back to Green's belt, leaving only Primeape. He looked around, baffled and confused.
"Ape?!" He asked Green.
"I need you to track Abby like you did before in Celadon!" Green yelled.
She hurried up the stairs and stuffed the healing machine back into her bag. Primeape slammed his chest and nodded.
"Prime!"
"Good, come one then! Let's go!" She swung her bag onto her shoulders.
Primeape inhaled deeply through his nose, turning around in four different directions and sniffing each. He threw himself down onto the ground and sniffed it before freezing. Slowly, he got up and clutched the back of his head.
"Prime… Ape."
It took a moment for Green to understand what was wrong, but once she did she was laughing.
"We can get her scent from the cabin, come on!"
They took off running down the street. Green barrelled up the cabin's porch steps with Primeape close behind. She pointed inside.
"Try-"
Primeape surged past her and ran straight into the bedroom. He flung open the door, buried his nose into the sheets and took several deep sniffs.
"Or do that, I guess…"
The thick, shaggy fur around Primeape's head stood up on end, puffing him out to twice his size. His ears twitched, then sprang up tall. In a flash, he shot back past Green and was charging down the street howling. Without a moment's hesitation, Green was after him.
"Wait! Primeape you're too fast!"
The weight of her bag pulled on Green's shoulders as if two invisible arms were grasping her and trying to slow her down. All the while, Primeape sped further and further ahead. No matter how hard Green ran she just couldn't keep up. Without a second's more thought, Green let her backpack fall from her shoulders. It crashed down behind her, spraying gravel into the back of her calves. Without its enormous weight, Green felt like she weighed nothing. Her legs kicked up into overdrive, pounding the ground so hard it sent jolts through her whole body, from the soles of her feet to the hinge of her jaw. Like the pistons of an engine her legs pumped, faster and faster until Primeape was no longer gaining any distance. Fire seemed to spew from her heart and lungs, searing and scorching her chest and throat. Green ignored it, her mind was far too preoccupied.
"What the hell was I thinking?" She thought.
Separating at a time like this, when they were being hunted, it was insane. No matter what they thought of each other right now, they needed each other. The hate Green had felt, it baffled her. How could she hate Abby? It seemed alien now. That bond they had formed, the things they had shared it all came flooding back to Green. The experiences they'd shared; Cerulean forest and its giant trees, training with Surge and Gyarados's evolution. Frantically, Green rubbed the tears from her eyes. Breathing was getting hard, the fire in her chest staggered each breath. Still, her mind raced. They'd shared more than experiences, Green knew. Together they'd created sensations and emotions Green could not and would not forget.
Up ahead, Primeape turned off Route 15 down a small trail. Green pushed herself even harder to catch him. When she turned off down the trail she only saw the back of Primeape's round, furry body for a brief moment before he turned off again. But there was no path. He had run off into the tall grass. There was no time to question it, once Green arrived at where he'd turned she did the same. The ground became uneven and hazardous, full of small mounds and falls that threatened to catch her feet. By some miracle, she didn't trip all the way through the grass. Abruptly the grass ended and Green found herself bursting into a small clearing. Beneath a small tree, Abby and Dragonair were staring at a terribly out-of-breath Primeape as he stared them down with wild, frantic eyes. Green reached for his pokéball but found her hands refused to cooperate. In fact, her whole body seemed to have had enough. She fell to one knee, then down to both as she gasped for air.
"Abby!" She wheezed.
"Green?"
Dragonair uncoiled from around Abby and they both raised. Slowly, Abby approached her while Dragonair wearily greeted Primeape.
"What are you doing here?" Abby asked.
"I'm… you… fuck, hold on."
Green took a minute to catch her breath. She panted, supporting herself by pressing her palms into her thighs. The fire in her chest calmed and her screaming muscle gave way to a dull, tender pain. She swallowed before raising her eyes to meet Abby's. Abby's face was a mixture of distrust and bewilderment.
"I'm sorry," Green said.
She forced herself to stand.
"You are?" Abby sounded surprised.
"Yeah, I am. I shouldn't have yelled at you like that and I definitely shouldn't have sent you away. We need each other Abby, the rangers are still after us and we don't stand a chance against them alone if they attack again."
"Oh… you don't get it, do you?" Abby's voice became small and she seemed to shrink back.
"No, I do!" Green stepped forward. "Your battle with the ranger messed you up. I've seen how it's affected you since we left Celadon."
Abby glanced back at Dragonair. He was watching them, no longer concerned with Primeape. His eyes flickered purple and a stern look crossed his face. Abby sighed and grit her teeth. Her hands clenched, balling into tight fists.
"You don't get it."
"No, I-"
"No, you don't!" Abby yelled.
Green recoiled. A sorrowful pain struck through her chest.
"But, I'm going to explain … to explain what you- what I." Abby glanced back at Dragonair again.
His face remained stern but he gave her a nod. Abby nodded back. Her face hardened, flaring with resolve.
"What you did," she repeated.
That sorrowful pain began to settle in Green's chest, no longer but a fleeting flash of emotion. Its hooks sunk in as it remained.
"What did I do?"
"You…"
Abby looked down as if searching desperately for the words.
"When I found you after that fight, I felt such relief. I leaned on you. You were the only thing I could lean on. So when we lay together that night it just felt natural you know?" Abby's eyes began to tear. "I mean, I wanted it, you know? I asked for it, you said no and I still asked for it. But when I woke up, when I came back to this world with a clear head and I saw myself with you, like that and with all this confusion. I felt… violated."
The words seemed to fly at Green at 100mph. Her mind numbed as it processed them. Unreal horror, that made it feel like a fantasy swept over her. Then, all at once the reality of Abby's words set in.
"Oh my god… Oh my god! I… I… raped you?!" Green cried out.
She clasped her mouth as tears flooded her eyes. Abby stepped forward and reached out for her.
"No! It was my fault, you said no!"
"I should have known though! Fuck!" Green grasped the sides of her head. "You were vulnerable, it was my responsibility to know!"
Abby grasped Green's shoulders.
"Please, it was my fault, not yours! It was my-" Abby chocked.
Sobs overtook her yelling and brought her down to her knees. Green was taken with her as she too began to sob. Their arms wrapped around each other and drew the other in with a crushing grip. Long, messy, wailing sobs filled the air. On her back, Green felt something slide along it sideways. She lifted her head to see Dragonair coiled around the two of them. His large head, far larger than her own, rested gently on top of her head.
"Dragonair…" He soothed, his voice low and soft.
Green squeezed Abby.
"I promise, we'll get through this. We'll work this out together."
Abby squeezed her back.
"Okay." Was all she could seem to muster.
The crying lasted a long time. How long, Green didn't know. All she knew was it had to have been a while. Such a great mass of emotion could never be calmed by a short cry. She cried until Abby's hair was wet with tears and then more some. Never once did Dragonair uncoil and never once, did either Abby or Green let go.