Wow, that was fast, huh? But well...this one just wrote itself so easily. Hehehe...

Poke-ball 14: Return

He was back.

Red could barely comprehend it. Blue, best friend and vicious rival, who had seemed deplorably tamed last time he saw him, had returned. As in, really returned, as his Pokemon tore through the grunts' Pokemon without mercy. There it was, Blue's small but savage grin, his eyes shining with fire and ice at once. That was the Blue he knew.

Red sent out his Espeon, but didn't attack, despite alarmed cries and pleas from the grunts. Blue was having too much fun, and it was too much fun watching him. His Espeon rumbled and bristled, striding in front of Red. That's right, Espeon had never been around the real Blue. Even around the fake Blue, it had only been an Eevee. Now, with its psychic power, it could feel the barbaric excitement of both Blue and Red. It hissed when an Egg Bomb exploded nearby, before the lilac feline broke out its own feral smile.

"You wanna fight him?" asked Red, before chuckling. "Of course you do. You're my Espeon."

A volley of Egg Bombs flew toward him and Espeon. Red wanted to stroll through the explosive shells as they went off, cloaking him in smoke and heat. It would be so awesome, and very dumb. So he ordered a Reflect from Espeon, slowing and prematurely detonating the pearly-white projectiles. Only then, when the inevitable fumes and dust settled, did he see Blue's furious face glaring straight at him.

"What in Arceus's name are you doing here, Red?" he roared.

Red's toothy smile stretched. "Good to see you too, Blue. Welcome back."

"Welcome back?" asked Blue, puzzled, before ascending into angry again. "Seriously, what the hell are you doing with Team Rocket? In Erika's Gym? They're more of them in here than Rattata back home!"

"Yeah, ain't it great?" Red asked with an almost innocent expression, knowing it would make Blue even madder. "Don't you wish you were awesome enough to have your own Rockets to boss around?"

Blue fell for the taunt. "I don't want any Rockets! I don't want any of this! Whatever you're trying to do, just cut it out! It's stupid! Not to mention it's-"

"Dangerous?" asked Red. "Since when have you been afraid of danger? Don't tell me this isn't what you want, liar. I saw the way you fought. I saw the look on your face as you battled. The same look you have now." He barely refrained from laughing at Blue's shocked visage. "C'mon, this is the first time in a while since you've felt this good, hasn't it? Since you've allowed yourself to be you."

Espeon yowled impatiently, fur on end, fangs bared, pacing back and forth, eyes set on Blue.

"Let's fight," said Red. His grin was like a Gengar's. "A real fight. Like it used to be."

IIIIII

So the next update will either come really quickly, or won't happen for at least another month. That's because next month is NaNo, so I'll be entirely focused on that when it starts. I have a novel to finish...the first of at least three, from the looks of things XP. Good luck to anyone else doing NaNo as well! You might spot me on the forums some. My name is the same there as it is here :).