This fic follows Red through his life, from midway through his journey to the modern day. This follows the Pokemon Yellow canon, though mixes it with elements of the anime proper, Pokemon Adventures, and Pokemon FireRed/LeafGreen.
All characters tagged play a somewhat major role. The rival will be referred to as Green.
Breaking News - Reports of events that are coming in while a newspaper is in the final stages of being published or while a radio or TV bulletin is on air
x-x-x
Red's eyes were still a little unfocused from the battle. That was his excuse, at least, for not paying attention while the company's president spoke. His ears were ringing, attacks playing over and over again in the front of his mind. He could have dodged left, maybe, when the leader of Team Rocket called for his nidoqueen to slam into the ground. Or, maybe a double team into a volt tackle- take him unawares as to where it was coming from, to avoid unnecessary damage. Maybe there was a way to stop the battle itself before it started, and to instead just force him out- but, somebody had to do something, and if the adults wouldn't step up then he would, and he needed to check on Vee, because she had gotten poisoned pretty badly during the scuffle, so he had to make sure that she was alright, that she would recover okay-
He realized after an extended silence that the elderly man was holding something out to him. The man's smile hadn't budged, and Red realized that reaching back and asking what he had missed- it would be an inconvenience- and an embarrassment. He should have been paying attention. What would his mother say? Flushed out of shame, Red reached forwards, taking the mystery object in his hand and turning it over. Pika leaned out to sniff it from his perch on Red's shoulder. When Red glanced at him for confirmation, Pika made a face.
Must not be a snack, then.
"This is our secret prototype for the Master Ball," the man said, waving a hand with an air of mystique. "You can't buy that anywhere! It should catch any pokémon without fail- but, you should be quiet about using it! Lots of people want to get their hands on it!"
The ball itself was bulky. It refused to shrink nicely in Red's hand, when he pressed the button- the two spheres on top of it made it hard to hold, and it fit the Silph Company branding, letters on letters on everything. "Does it work?" Red asked, glancing back up at the man.
"Of course it does, my boy!" the president chortled, reaching out and clapping Red on the shoulder. In response, Red froze, and Pika growled slightly. "We were just reaching our final tests! Why, a trainer like you using that will be great for our image after all of this Rocket mess! Make sure you use it when you really want to catch something rare- it won't be able to get away!"
Professor Oak might at least like to see it. Red stuck the ball in his bag and bowed to the man, his words still somewhat rehearsed, "Thank you for the gift."
The man's grin widened as he nodded, as he waved for his secretary to see Red out. "And thank you for saving us! Enjoy your journey- And remember! You can catch any pokémon with that Master Ball! The world of pokémon really is at your fingertips!"
The secretary rode down in the elevator with Red. Despite her presence, there was finally a nice quiet, allowing Red to sit with his thoughts once more. Pika rubbed his cheek up against Red's face, chirping out a little noise of concern. As they descended eleven floors, Red raised a hand, pointedly ignoring the tremor in his hands as he checked- behind Pika's ears, under his arms. If there was something wrong, he would find it- and then he would be able to stop worrying about it
He tuned back into his surroundings as the elevator doors slid open and they walked into the main lobby. The secretary clicked her tongue. "The press is already outside… I suppose our employees must have been able to make their way out and tell someone what happened here." Red looked up at her face- watched her lips pull into a tight line, before glancing out towards the door. There was a small mob of people out there- some holding microphones up to their mouths, others holding big cameras on their shoulders. Red's stomach churned, but he didn't know why. The lady continued, "They'll likely want to talk to you. Do you want me to come with?"
The people outside mostly milled about. They didn't seem very threatening, on their own. "You still have work to do," Red eventually decided, looking briefly back at the lady. "I don't want to make things harder for you."
She blinked, and then smiled, setting a hand on the shoulder that Pika did not occupy and offering him a very gentle squeeze. "You're a very polite young man. If you're sure that you don't need me, I'll go. Enjoy your youth, won't you? I don't want to see that taken away so soon."
While she stepped back into the elevator, Red turned back to the steadily growing crowd outside of the building. Why would they want to talk to him at all? He was just in the right place at the right time- it easily could have been anyone. Briefly, Green came to mind- Green, demanding a battle and wandering away in that way of his, easily laughing off the loss, easily waiting for him to work through Silph. He would do just fine in front of a camera, talking his heart out. Why didn't he try to make it to the top, to fight the boss of Team Rocket?
He supposed that he never asked…
Red's feet carried him out of the door while he was lost in thought, though he instinctively stopped outside, just in front of the crowd, likely out of fear of running into someone and breaking something. Cameras began to flash immediately, excited at the prospect of capturing someone new, of cataloging him and sending him off to the professor. Red winced, squinting into the light as tens of microphones were stuffed into his face. Everyone began to talk at once, and the words flowed in through one ear and out through another, a barrage of noise that couldn't be understood. He wasn't sure where to look, his eyes eventually floating from camera to camera as he tried to understand just what was being said.
"Silph Company saved by a boy on his journey…"
"…Tell me your name, son, spell it out for me…"
"…an unevolved Pikachu, before the Marsh…"
"…on his way to a gym battle when…"
"…lift your hat, please, so we can see…"
"...president intend on making a…"
"…Where is Team Rocket now?"
Red blinked.
Pika began to spark from his shoulder- insulted? He was easily scorned, Red would understand if the journalists had said something to insult him. Actually, it was easier to think about Pika being angry, for a second, if only to gather his thoughts in the tidal wave before him.
"I'm… sorry, can you please slow down?" Red asked, his face heating up from embarrassment. He could see himself in his reflection of one of the cameras, bug eyed and small- why was it so much taller than him?
One of the men cleared his throat and stepped forward. Instead of a camera, he held just a microphone, and he got down on a knee so that he was at eye level with Red. "My name is Snap, with the Street Corner Channel. Can I have your name?"
Another camera caught Red's reflection, to his side. The lens was a little closer, and he caught how big it made his eyes seem, how distorted his whole face was. "Um. My name is Red." Suddenly, he remembered who might be watching this, and he realized that he should try to make a good impression. He politely bowed to Snap, because he couldn't figure out which camera he should be bowing to. "I am a wandering Pokémon Trainer working on Professor Oak's PokéDex. It is very nice to meet you."
"Hi, Red," Snap said, his eyes almost looking soft. "Did you see what happened in the building just now?"
Red nodded.
A moment of silence passed. Red stared at the reporters, who stared back at him, before Snap cleared his throat once more. "Can you please tell us what happened inside?"
He said it in that voice that implied that was what he wanted in the first place, and Red sort of wondered why he didn't just say that. Nobody liked it when he said that, though, so he nodded instead. "Team Rocket was inside. They wanted to talk to the president about something. I battled them, and they left."
Another reporter stepped in. "You battled them all yourself?"
"…No, I battled them with my pokémon," Red said. Were they an idiot?
"You have a very cute Pikachu," Snap said. "What other pokémon do you have?"
His other pokémon. Red frowned, glancing down at his belt. "A venusaur, a charizard, a blastoise, an eevee, and a snorlax." Most of them were still hurt. He didn't have a chance to rest, after the end of the battle.
A third reporter was frowning at him. "Are they badly hurt?"
He didn't want to think about it very much. He stared at her for a second, but she didn't say anything else, so he looked away- at more cameras, some more flashing lights. He saw some police cars, in the background. Didn't the reporters want to talk to the police? They always talked to the police, in the shows that his mother liked to watch.
Would she be watching this now? It was around the time that she usually went to watch tv, after dinner- he didn't call her enough, wasn't she going to be worried about him?
"Why did you choose to battle Team Rocket instead of calling the authorities?" the second reporter asked. Red imagined his mother asking the same question, and he didn't have an answer, so he shook his head. They were… in the way, he guessed. He couldn't take on the gym challenge yet, so he had to get rid of them. The interviewer continued, "What was a child doing in the depths of Silph?"
"Did you see who was behind the invasion?" The third reporter cut in before he could answer. Red was thankful- he knew this one.
"I did."
"Do you know who it is?" she asked. Red thought for a moment, but… He never did say his name, did he? He shook his head, and she frowned. "Can you describe what he looks like?"
Red's head swam for a moment. "He… was a man. He wore a suit."
"Can you provide more detail?" she asked, and Red shook his head again. She looked frustrated- had he said something wrong? Red wondered if he should apologize, but she cut in again. "How did you know that this was where Team Rocket would strike?"
"I… came to Saffron so that I could keep going, with my League challenge," Red said. "But they were all over, they talked about taking over the building."
Snap smiled, when Red looked back at him again. "You must have five badges then, if you're coming to meet Sabrina. Are you planning to visit her, once you've rested?" When Red nodded, he cleared his throat. "You do plan on visiting Sabrina. How did you get ready to battle her?"
Before Red could answer, the third reporter elbowed her way back in. "Red, can you tell me where you think Team Rocket is going to attack next?"
The second reporter cut in again, his microphone coming close to Red's face. "Red, how did the situation get to be as bad as it is? Is there something within Silph that's important to Team Rocket?"
"I- I don't-"
A fourth one, another man. "What is the Silph President's next move?"
"Um…"
The questions didn't stop this time, when he hesitated. People around spoke up, and they kept speaking up, and he didn't know where to start. Once or twice, he opened his mouth, but it was hard to understand what was being said around him when everyone was talking at once. The need to answer was drowned out by the noise, and he knew that everyone was waiting, but he didn't know what to say, and his reflection in the camera had big bug eyes and was all red from trying to spit out a word that he couldn't find. He looked from face to face, searching for an answer, until finally,
There was another hand on his shoulder.
"Excuse me! I'm gonna need to take Sir Hero away for a second! You're all way too close, and his pikachu has rabies!"
Pika hissed and sparked to play the part, but it mostly resulted in more questions.
"Who are you?"
"Were you involved in the incident?"
"Aren't you Professor Oak's grandson?"
The hand on his shoulder firmly began walking him off in another direction. Out of the corner of his eye, he watched a figure's second hand raise, waving dismissively. "You'll get plenty of interviews once I'm the champ! 'Til then, smell ya!"
They walked for a year, until a pair of doors slid open. Then, they walked a little further. There were a handful of other people around him now- and a handful of eyes digging into his skin. He still wasn't sure where to look, or what to do with his body, so he kept his eyes on his feet. One of the weights removed itself from his shoulder, landing on a surface with a little whump somewhere in front of him. The hand squeezed slightly, a figure leaned into his ear. "Your PokéBalls, Red. Hand 'em over to the lady."
Suddenly, he was in the Pokémon Center. Green stood next to him with a pouty looking frown. Pika sat on the counter. The nurse watched him with a sad smile. Nobody around them really paid attention to him. Red felt his face heat up as he realized that he was making a scene over nothing, and he tugged his PokéBalls off of his belt, setting them in the little tray that the nurse provided. "I'm sorry," he murmured.
"You'll be alright," she said, pulling the tray back. Pika followed, hopping up onto her shoulder. "Why don't you go sit down? I'll let you know when they're ready."
Before Red could answer, Green tugged him away by the shoulder, yelling a little thank you while Red remained in confused silence. They got to a small reading area in the waiting room before Green forced him down into a seat and sprawled next to him without a care in the world. Red couldn't say anything before Green had stuffed something in his face- a wrapped chocolate bar.
"You haven't eaten anything since this morning," he chirped, wiggling the bar a little. Red's stomach rumbled, the traitor, and he reached up to take it. Green's shoulders loosened with the motion, and he went back to doing his talking things. "You don't need to thank me! I figured after all that hero business, you'd need a bite to eat. Hold your applause, Tajiri, I know, I'm the greatest."
Red blinked at him between bites of chocolate, but still waited until he was mostly finished to speak. "Why were you still here?"
At this, Green almost turned pink. He turned away, brushing brown hair up and away. "Well, after I beat Sabrina, I wanted to see how much Team Rocket set you back. You won't do me any good as a rival if you're five steps behind me because you're off saving a meowth from a tree or battling crime." He paused, and then, "Plus, I know you. You never did well in front of cameras. Me, I was built for it- but I remember when we were little and they taped the school play."
"You were an Oddish," Red said, remembering how he missed his single line, freezing up and stuttering out someone else's.
"You were also an Oddish. We were all Oddish. And you cried all the way to that burger place your mom took us to after because you thought you missed your line." If Red didn't know better, he would have thought Green's voice had turned softer. "It seemed like it was a lot. The way that they were talking to you back there. Are you sure you're okay?"
He could still feel eyes on him, and he still wondered if his mother was worried, and he still didn't know how to answer those questions- but, for a minute or two, it at least felt easier. He grabbed Green's bag and started to scavenge for more snacks. Green didn't put up a fight. As he dug, he spoke, "I'm fine. I just don't think I can be a chatty gossip like you."
A long moment passed, where it felt like they were both sitting and trying to process something that couldn't be held. Before either of them could comment on it, Green roared out a laugh, throwing his arm up and around Red's shoulder. "You'd better learn! I don't want you freezing up when you get interviewed about how awesome I am, once I'm the greatest trainer in the world!"
fuck people who say celebrating fictional characters' birthdays is cringe, happy birthday red!
this was going to be a single oneshot, but it got long and unfinished, so i'll post it in parts over the week. thank you for reading!
