Silver. That's his name. Sounded vaguely familiar, but again, I couldn't place it.
The redhead was sitting a good distance away from the bonfire Charizard had started, scarfing down that leftover stew as if his life depended on it. No wonder, he was skinny enough, I could probably count his ribs just by looking at him.
Must've really been out here for a long time. Quickly, he was done, placing the wooden bowl in front of him, arms crossed. Glaring at me from across the cave. Acting as if he was full, but I could see his mouth water when he watched me pour his Weavile a serving.
Too proud to ask for a refill. Of course.
I got up with a groan, strolling over to the dark corner Weavile was occupying, placing the bowl in front of it. Bright, red eyes glared through me. It didn't pay attention to its meal. Just watched the boy.
Silver sat with his face pressed against his knees, shaky arms hugging his legs. A dark eye peeked out from between messy, red strands. Following me.
I grabbed the notebook from where I'd left it, close to the fire, writing a couple words down. [Do you have more pokemon than those two?] a curious gaze drifted towards the Feraligatr, being nursed by Venusaur in the back. It'd be fine, but still. There was no reason to let it get this far.
The boy had a lot to learn. I shook my head, eyes locking with his for only a second, before he averted his gaze and growled at me. "What if?"
[Wanna let them out?]
"No" he snapped, almost like he couldn't believe I was serious.
[Let them out] I sighed. [They're probably injured. I need to have a look at them]
His eyes narrowed. "They're fine" without another word, he jumped to his feet. Pointed a pokeball at the Feraligatr, making it disappear. Venusaur was just about to wipe the pokemon's forehead with a bundle of ice, wrapped in cloth. Now, she looked up in confusion, a disappointed glance directed towards the redhead.
He didn't notice. Was already on his way out. "Zara" his raspy voice filled with spite. The Weavile, curiously sniffing at the bowl of stew, perked up. It nodded, eyeing the food, but not hesitating to follow the boy.
I jumped up, rushing over. The second I grabbed Silver's wrist to hold him back, he jerked away violently. "What?" the redhead shot a glare over his shoulder.
I just shook my head. He couldn't go out like this. The boy was freezing cold, skin sickly pale, no meat on his bones. Team probably completely done for. The storms hadn't stopped either. It was dark. Strong pokemon everywhere. This kid was insane if he thought he could just leave.
"What do you want?" he asked again.
I let out a grunt, frantically pointing outside, then crossing my arms into a "no" gesture.
"Leave me alone" Silver just scoffed, shoved his hands in the pockets of his jacket, and stomped away.
I watched him leave, his already torn apart boots sinking into ankle-high snow.
Weavile followed, keeping its distance. The redhead didn't make it far, though.
After a couple steps, his knees buckled, and he folded over, collapsing to the ground. Of course. I rushed outside, grabbing his upper arms, pulling him up. "Get your hands off me" he pressed through bared teeth.
Didn't fight, though. Was too weak to.
So, I dragged him back into the cave, where Charizard immediately jumped up to help me. Together, we heaved him on the bed. Harder now that he was struggling and protesting. "Leave me alone. Don't touch me" Silver crossed his arms, glaring at me through red bangs.
I shook my head, watching Weavile at the cave entrance, eyeing him. Waiting if he was just gonna get up and try walking away again.
Surprisingly, he didn't. Just sat there, back against the wall, giving my Charizard the stink eye.
I strolled over to grab my notepad, returning to the redhead with a message. [Go take a hot shower. You smell like a homeless guy] a nod towards a curtain in the back let him know where the bathroom was.
He rolled his eyes. "Don't tell me what to do" a growl escaped quivering lips, but he did what I said anyway. Got up and strolled away.
Stubborn kid. After he emerged from the bathroom, face shaved clean, hair tied back, wearing an old hoody and some sweatpants I'd borrowed him, he was already on his way again. Same thing happened.
Only now he couldn't even make it out the cave entrance. Silver folded over on the threshold, and I let him lay there for a couple minutes. After a while, soft snoring came from his direction, and Charizard picked him up and plopped him into bed again.
He trashed around in his sleep. Tossed from side to side. Mumbled unintelligibly, eyes racing left to right behind closed eyelids.
At some point in the night, the noises stopped.
Early morning, I brewed up some new soup. Venusaur next to me, chopping berries with her vines, Charizard laying curled around the fire, adding a bit of heat should I need it. Lapras had huddled up at the cave entrance. Being glad that storm had calmed. She loved laying out there, she was an ice type after all, but even a pokemon as sturdy as her couldn't withstand those chilly winds.
Blastoise and Snorlax were spread out in the back, and Raichu simply sat at the edge of that huge, metal pot, suspended above our bonfire, and watched the soup boil.
I added some berries Venusaur had handed me, then tasted the concoction. Good. With a smile, I reached out to scratch Raichu's ear. He peeped, his soft eyes sparkling as soon as I nodded towards my bed.
Wouldn't hurt if he went to wake up Silver. Kid's gotta eat a little.
The mouse hopped off his spot and scurried over to where Silver was supposed to sleep. Though, once he hopped onto soft sheets, all he found was a mountain of pillows. Alarmed, Raichu bolted over to me, screaming.
It took me a minute to figure out what was wrong, before it hit me. Silver left. Oh, that kid.
I motioned for Charizard to follow. We were gonna find him. No matter what.
Flying seemed to be our best option. We first skimmed over the area around the cave. Then further down the mountain. Nothing. Where did he go? Couldn't have gotten that far.
Except...
He went up the mountain. Was he insane? Yeah, probably.
Soon, Charizard was unable to fly any longer. Bad weather further up. Good thing I brought Lapras. We climbed the mountain, all three of us looking out for the redhead. Nothing.
We could only cover a bit of distance, but still. He couldn't have gone that far, not with his team being in the condition it was likely in. Then again, maybe we just overlooked him.
I shielded my eyes, ice shards stinging exposed skin. Charizard had trouble keeping up with Lapras, but he insisted on leading us, a flickering flame illuminating our path. Suddenly, he stopped dead in tracks.
Ears perked up, eyes focused on a dot of colour in the distance. Was that?
I stood up on my pokemon's back, squinting to get a good look. There he was. Across a ravine. Standing with his legs apart, fighting against the wind. Ahead of him, a purple splotch. Big, red eyes glowing dangerously.
A Gengar, no doubt. Facing the Gengar stood a beast. Ring on its belly, claws lashing out to strike.
Charizard was about to jump into action, but I stopped him with a single look. No. I wanted to see what would happen.
The beast - Ursaring, as far as I could tell - readied an attack, sneaking up on Gengar. It seemed calm. Just making its way forwards, slowly stomping through knee-high snow. Silver's eyes didn't leave it, though.
He knew. I couldn't make out if his chest was rising and sinking, but I bet he was holding his breath. Ursaring came closer. Gengar didn't move.
What was his plan? Did Silver really think he could take it on?
Then, out of nowhere, Ursaring leapt forwards. Silver raised his arm, and Gengar jumped, just being scratched by the bear's Feint Attack before escaping upwards, out of its grasp. Swiftly, the ghost type recovered and shot a white beam of light towards its opponent. Disable.
Now, Ursaring was completely defenceless. It had no moves that could hurt Gengar.
Another command from Silver as soon as his pokemon landed behind the wild opponent. Gengar turned, its eyes locked with the normal type's.
Hypnosis. Soon, Ursaring was enraptured by its foe's gaze. It only took a second for it to fall.
Face buried in powdered snow, Ursaring slept soundly. Gengar was able to finish it off with a white beam towards the bear's face. Dream Eater.
The ghost type let itself fall onto its butt. Petted its belly as if it had eaten too much. Quickly, Silver caught it back in its pokeball.
He was incredible. Knowledgeable, sure, but there was more to him.
Silver was... in sync with his partners. Courageous, focused, precise. The perfect mixture of talent and skill. Born to battle, trained to win.
What wasted potential.
Silver, after his victory, was ready to keep going. I quickly hopped on Charizard, just being able to make it over the ravine. We landed right in front of him, Silver glared through me with cold, emotionless eyes.
"Leave me alone" he was about to waltz past Charizard, but my pokemon grabbed him quickly. We wouldn't let him get away and die out there, no matter how much he protested.
We sat around a flickering bonfire. All of my pokemon remained curled up, warming each other. The sun was about to set when finally, I'd finished doing my chores and preparing dinner.
Silver was slumped down on my bed, arms crossed, eyes following me. I made my way over, offering him a bowl of soup.
He smacked it out of my hand with a growl, not daring to meet my eyes. I sighed, listening to porcelain hit the ground, watching thick liquid spread across cold cave flooring. Wasted food. We had too little ingredients to make anything halfway decent in the first place... my eyes narrowed at the redhead.
A notebook was pulled from my jacket. [Why did you run off?]
He only threw a dismissive glance at the paper, then looked away. "I need to leave"
His tone made me sigh. [Only once you're feeling better]
"I feel great" he yelled at me.
I shook my head. [Why did you come here in the first place?] A thought crossed my head. [Did you come here to challenge the champion? Or do you want him to train you?]
It happened every now and then. A young kid, just got their first pokemon, would make their way here to find the legendary "strongest trainer" and ask him to help them become stronger. They'd almost die in the process of finding him, and even if they find the man. He wasn't interested.
He moved into the mountains for a reason. To avoid people.
Then again, I had a feeling, with somebody as strong as Silver, he'd make an exception. The boy needed somebody to show him how it's done. Kid had potential.
"No. I don't need his help. I came here to train on my own" he barked.
I gave him a small smile. [Are you sure? What if he offered to train you?]
Silver scoffed. "As if that'd ever happen. I ain't strong enough" he said, matter-of-factly.
His words surprised me. He seemed like the cocky type. Like somebody who didn't know their limits. Like somebody I knew. No, this boy knew what he could do. He knew exactly how strong he was. Kid was ready to push himself, but knew that he had no chance against the champion. [Seems like you're wrong] I wrote, making Silver's eyes widen slightly. [Wanna find the champion? You're looking at him. I'll train you, Silver]