The world slept as Red stared at the empty field, illuminated by the stadium lights. He had convinced Ray and Delia that he was okay after his trip to the PokeCenter. All of his champions slept, yet he imagined them on the field and went over as many of the strategies as he could.
Who was he kidding, he thought. All he could think about was how he acted during the battle.
He couldn't escape that during his first true battle in a stadium was a loss. He would have screamed at himself from the other side of the television screen. He even exploded at the audience while they were filming live. He felt even more embarrassed. He curled up in the front row seats, wishing that he could somehow disappear and take himself away from this nightmare. All he would need was his pokemon. He would train until he was over exhausted. He'd force himself to keep composure during each battle. Then he'd come out of the woodwork again and challenge Agatha again. And he'd win. He'd win in front of everyone and show them that he was more of a champion than any of the other trainers. He'd win again and again until he'd topple Lance. Then no one could embarrass him ever again. He'd show them all and-
"I knew I'd find you here."
Red turned around.
A boy wearing a worn-out vest and new blue sneakers stood by the audience exit way. His hands were in his pockets.
"You came here to gloat?"
"No," Blue said as he descended the stairs and sat in the row opposite Red.
"I came here to clear the air about some...things that had been happening to try to take you down, back when everyone thought you cheated."
Red gruffed and looked away, almost scanning the rest of the building. He felt like this was another trap, constantly looking around to see if anyone else was around.
"Hey, relax. I didn't bring anyone. It's just you and me."
Then Blue caught a glimpse of Red's defensive eyes. Red looked wild, his eyes wide and nostrils flaring. This was normal for him. All of those nights laying awake, in case someone tried to kill him in his sleep or steal his precious pokemon.
"You did this to me, y' know," Red growled. "You and Giovanni, that slick-haired son of a-"
"Hey," Blue retorted. "This wasn't my fault. This was all Giovanni."
"Then why did you play along? Why did you let them lift you up as the 'Chosen One' to take me down?"
For the first time facing Red, he had no answer.
He saw Red's paranoia and fear. This kid, no older than he was, had become the single greatest enemy of the pokemon world, and no one seemed to realize how bad this all sounded? What if they were all wrong?
To Blue, that was exactly what happened.
"Red, I'm sorry. You didn't deserve any of this. No one deserves this.
"I remember when we fought, and how you pushed your pokemon to the limits, even using methods that weren't used before. Sure, I hated your guts back then for being so good, but you weren't a cheater. If the League was trying to hunt down people for using unorthodox methods for winning matches aside from just turn-based, then take away my badges because I've done the same."
Red stared at his rival as he breathed slower.
"The only reason why I had chosen to help Giovanni was that I had still hated you for just being the best at everything, but seeing the toll it made on you after seeing you in Fuschia City once made me ill. I didn't want to do any of this. I didn't want to destroy your life. I realized then that it wasn't fun to ruin you when you had no way to defend yourself."
Blue leaned back in his chair, letting the guilt weigh him down this one time.
"Red, I don't know if you could forgive me for this, but I hope you can find it in your heart to at least accept my apology."
Red wondered how his life might have been if it hadn't been for him and Giovanni breathing down his neck. What he would have done and enjoyed instead of spending every waking hour training and fighting for himself in the Kanto wilderness, alone with his pokemon. Maybe he wouldn't have been as good as he could have been. Maybe he'd have given up on his dream if he lost one time too many. He thought about how far he came, how it had been easy to destroy whole parties of pokemon with just a few commands.
"I..."
Red began to talk, and Blue sat up.
"I accept your apology, but I can't forgive you just yet. You ruined my life. You turned everyone against me."
"Wrong. He didn't convince Blaine. Your parents didn't disown you. Delia and Ray are your friends for life. No way are you completely alone. I wish I had friends like yours, honestly. Giovanni has barely spoken to me, well save for today."
Red's head bowed and a big smile grew on his face. Blue was right.
"Now that I mentioned that, there's something you should know.
"Giovanni isn't done yet."
Red looked back up again.
"What?"
"Yeah," Blue said dreadfully. "He said that you exposed a problem with the Pokemon League and that he won't stop until you are completely destroyed. He means bankrupted and all of your pokemon fainted or worse. He wants you out of the League."
Red gulped.
"Does this mean I'll be hunted forever?"
Blue looked out over the battlefield.
"No. You won't have to be. I'll make sure of it. You didn't deserve this, and I personally think Giovanni has gone absolutely psychotic."
"What will you do?"
Blue turned to his new friend.
"I'll think of something."
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