After Being Blue
Poke-ball 27: Manipulation

Blue turned away from the battle playing out in front of him. It was too cruel to watch, too cruel to partake in but Red had no choice but to partake in it for Pikachu.

For the rest of them, it would be their diversion. Sabrina had called this Agatha by her name, so she wasn't a phantom like before. And the others had come out as well, including Blaine who'd been one wild card in their assessment. Was anyone else coming, Blue wondered. Was there someone or something left in the mansion?

Still, he had to deal with what was in front of him first. Erika had no pokemon of her own at the moment, unless she'd had some in storage she'd been able to retrieve. Blaine, on the other hand, had an army of fire pokemon at his call. And Agatha, commandeering Red's Pikachu against Red, had all her ghosts except the fainted Gengar.

No doubt, if either Blue or Sabrina made a move, they'd react.

They had to move together, then. Sabrina against Blaine. Blue against Agatha. And hope there wasn't another enemy ready to change the balance.

Their eyes met. Then they moved. Mr Mime's barriers blocked Blaine and Erika from the battle. Blue sent out his Umbreon and it leapt at Agatha's feet, snarling. Pikachu continued to battle without orders; likely, controlled, it didn't need those orders. Agatha, too, didn't look surprised. 'So you'll challenge my ghosts, then? You won't find victory so easy this time.'

True, they'd battled once before: in her League Chamber, on his way to the Championship title. He'd defeated her then. So had Red. But that was without fighting morality, history and shells of pokemon and people along the way.

A Charmander appeared from the sand. Golbat appeared from its poke ball. Blue sent out his Pidgeot and the two fliers took to the skies, out of hearing range, beginning their own battle. Blue sent out Exeggutor, to be countered by a Dewgong clawing its way out of the shore. Blastoise found himself struck by a thunderbolt from Agatha's Weezing. Rapidash jumped out of the way of a surprise hydro pump from a Cloyster who'd appeared to join the rest of the apparitions. And Agatha watched it all and laughed. 'You've got one pokemon left.' And Agatha still had two.

Of course, with infinite demons to call upon, he could expect no less. Still, numbers weren't everything and neither were type advantages. He just had to trust the strength of his pokemon, and that those shadows weren't as powerful as the real deal.

Perhaps that was what his grandfather had meant, when he lost his Championship crown. Why Red had won and Blue had lost. And now…

Pikachu was in Charizard's grip. A seismic toss? Or… no, Charizard was depositing Pikachu into Red's arms and Red was holding on tight, despite the thunderbolts, saying something none of them could hear. Was that trust as well? Probably.

But it took more than trust and ideals, and Red had learnt that harsh lesson over his stint as Champion. It took more than a single goal, a narrow focus, a show of power aiming to take what he needed without realising the damage he left behind. It was easy to see in retrospect, but Red had missed it and in doing so Erika had lost her gym, her pokemon, and her friends.

But Agatha… Agatha, it seemed, had something more to show them. Otherwise she wouldn't have appeared from the shadows. Otherwise she would have left Erika to deal with them. Maybe she would have taken Red's Pikachu, but this set-up on Cinnabar Island?

And those things. His grandfather hadn't breathed a word about it all. But he'd worked for years on things that would benefit pokemon. Worked to pave the way for young idealistic trainers… like him and Red. Was that his redemption, then?

And Blaine, who'd let Sabrina pass him by for Erika and the phantoms of her past pokemon that had sprung from the sands… was not stopping them his redemption as well? Or was he simply waiting to turn the tide?

Rapidash's call bid him to look back to the battle. It was using its fire spin to thaw Exeggutor, and the Cloyster it had been battling was launching an ice beam at Golbat.

Blue blinked. That Cloyster didn't shimmer strangely like the other pokemon. He'd missed it initially because of the chaotic battlefield, but it was a real Cloyster. And Dewgong – that Dewgong was suddenly tangling with another of its kind. Real against phantom.

Two ice types joining the battle. And coming ashore was a Lapras, and on her back, Lorelei of the Elite Four.

Agatha tipped her head back and laughed. 'Another idyllic child. What more?'