"Red! There are these super strong trainers who want to challenge you!"

"As a gym leader or as the champion?"

"As the gym leader. They said..."

"Said what?"

"They said they wanted to know how strong the person replacing Green was."

"...very well. Bring them in."

The doors to the Gym leader's room opened to reveal Silver and Gold. Red smiled.

"What're you guys doing here?"

The two trainers smiled as well at Red's bright face. But the trainers' smiles were halfhearted, because Red's smile did not reach his eyes.

"We just want to see how you're adjusting to being a Gym leader."

"Well then. Will it be a double battle?"

"Nope, Silver will be battling. I'm just here to introduce you to a new face."

"Uhh...sure. OK let's begin!"

The two boys began battling, and Gold gave a sigh when Red did not use his own pokémon, but rather, Green's. He remembered the time when Red was out doing some champion business and he had dropped by to say hello. The hologram appeared, saying that he wasn't around, but that if they liked, the challenger could battle. There was nothing wrong with that, but the thing was that, it was Green's hologram.

Gold's reminiscing went farther back, to the day when he had accompanied Silver and his father as they went to visit the gym he had left behind. Green had greeted them, as Silver had called beforehand. His face frowned slightly as he saw Giovanni, Silver's father and Team Rocket's ex-leader. Then he saw Silver's nervous expression and he returned to his usual emotion-void face. He stepped aside for them to enter the gym. As Gold tried to go in as well, he felt something grab the back of his collar and was dragged back. When he turned around he was met with a questioning Green, one eyebrow raised and all.

Gold told Green that he convinced Silver for a sort of father-son bonding time, and Green accepted it as an explanation. They went back inside where Giovanni was admiring Green's hologram. He had smirked and said it was his best friend. Green had said that Giovanni's book was fascinating, and that maybe he could redeem himself by sharing his knowledge on pokémon with the professors. After a while, as they were leaving, Silver had thanked Green, and Green had said it was nothing. Gold stood there, astounded. He didn't know that Green had such a caring, understanding side to him, and he made his mission to get to know Green like Red did.

Gold was brought out of his thoughts by a surprised and excited Red.

"Whoa Silver! What's that pokémon? I've never seen it before!"

Then Gold sighed again as Silver's explanation made Red's expression turn sour.

"I managed to evolve Green's Rhydon. This is its new form, Rhypherior."

"Oh...I see..."

The victory was Red's; even though he lost his will to battle after Silver's explanation and stopped giving orders, Green's pokémon were trained well enough to fight without them. Gold gave a sigh and released a young Budew from a pokeball.

"Let's go, little guy."

Gold walked to his senior who was still standing up but staring into space. Silver had recalled his pokémon and told them they did a wonderful job. When Gold asked Red if he was alright, he gave a small smile which again, did not reach his eyes.

"Yeah, I'm fine. Sorry about that."

Red led them further inside into a room where Green would rest after battles. They all sat down and Gold handed the small bud pokémon to Red. He took it and placed it on his lap where it cuddled up to him. Red began to pet it, laughing when it tickled him.

"Red, this a budew. It's a pokémon native to Sinnoh. I.. it Green. Like I said I would."

Then Red stopped laughing and Gold could see a pained look on his face.

"Why did you bring it here?"

"Because we think that it'd be better if you raised it."

"Who exactly is 'we'?"

"Me, Silv, Blue, Yellow, Serious gal, Prissy boy, Wild girl, Emerald, Gramps and Daisy."

"You talked about it with them?"

"Of course! I mean, you haven't been yourself lately, and we want the old, happy Red back. If having you help deal with Green's death is to give you a pokémon named after him, then so be it."

Then Red was silent for a while. He sighed, and turned to Gold.

"Fine."

Then the two Johto trainers smiled.

"We'll see you later, Red."

"Sure."

The two boys left, and Red was left alone. Gold hadn't give Red the pokeball for the small bud, so Red couldn't recall it and leave it there. He released all of his own pokémon, and also Green's to introduce the new member of Red's team. Pikachu and Eevee were extra welcoming, happy to have another friend.

"Guys, this is Green, a bud pokémon. Gold hatched it."

Then Green's pokémon looked sad, and Red had to laugh at Green's confused expression.

"Don't be like that, guys."

But he knew he'd been like that too. He'd told Green not leave his side, as it was dangerous. Then he lifted it onto his shoulders and climbed onto Charizard. Charizard spread its wings and flew off, going past Johto and Hoenn to Sinnoh.

Ever since Green had been buried the dex holders had frequently visited his grave. Each of them would talk about something typical of them, and stay there until someone called for them to come home, or to get their behinds moving. Occasionally they'd battle with the Sinnoh Elite four, usually not winning. When they talked, they wouldn't stop until they had nothing else to say. And when they had nothing else to say, they'd find something to say because the garden was quiet. Much too quiet for some of them.

But not Red.

When Red was at the Sinnoh League garden, he'd sit next to the tree they'd planted, now almost as tall as Red. He'd sit there, reminiscing the old times. But he didn't say anything. Sometimes he'd chuckle at a particularly funny memory, but then he'd immediately become sad again. As he left he'd apologize for sitting on top of Green's grave, but he'd challenge the Elite four immediately after, using Green's pokémon. Yes, he carried 12 pokémon around with him. It was against the rules, but most of the professors were particularly lenient with Red on this one.

All the better for Red, because he absolutely refused to leave home, the Gym, or anywhere outside without all 12. Besides, pokémon had feelings too, and they definitely missed their trainer. So Red was with them at all times, willing to comfort them if any was sad. But only Golduck would know that Red was feeling ten times worse than any of Green's pokémon.

Sometimes, all of the dex holders, along with a few relatives would coincidentally meet at Green's grave. Then they'd go back home together. But not Red. Even if he'd met someone at the garden, the most he'd do would be to give a small smile to the person and remain there until the person felt uncomfortable and left. Occasionally, Blue and Red would be there together, and they both felt uneasy at the beeps that the pokedexes would give out when three came together. Red's was beeping. Blue's was beeping. And they could hear a faint beeping sound coming from under their feet. They'd immediately turn it off, and Blue would hastily say what she wanted to, then leave.

Yellow had seen Red at the garden one Tuesday afternoon. It was raining, and Yellow was on her way to help take care of the pokémon that lived in the garden. She'd seen him stand in front of the tree, placing one hand on the trunk. She'd seen him turn around and lean against it, sliding down. She'd seen him close his eyes and take in deep breaths, only to stand up again and go back home. She approached Green's grave and gave out a big sigh.

"Green, Red's not dealing. No one knows what to do anymore. We know he's raising the pokémon named after you well, it's evolved once already, we know he's not hiding from anything, but he's still like this. What do I do, Green?"

Then she inwardly smacked herself. Green wouldn't be able to answer her, so why was she asking him? She spent the next few visits planting various flowers around the tree and his gravestone, all the while talking to him about how Red was doing. Often, she'd ask him a question, not particularly expecting an answer. It was necessary to come whenever she could to water the flowers and the tree because Ruby had left his Castform at the garden, and it would protect the grave, tree and flowers whenever there was a storm. But because this prevented any rain from watering the plants naturally, Yellow would water them every day, and she wouldn't mind it at all.

Gold had seen her frequent visits to the garden, and was surprised at how honest Yellow was with the former Gym leader. He'd known what Green was to Yellow, but he never would've guessed that Yellow could tell Green everything, both when he was alive and dead. He'd seen her flowers blooming in the spring, then wilting slightly in the summer. On days that she was too busy to water them, he'd come and water them, also trying to talk to Green. He'd find it very awkward, as they were not that close. But then he'd find himself opening up, talking about everything.

It was very weird for him, telling personal things not only to someone who he wasn't close with, but also to someone who was dead. Then he'd smack himself for being so blunt. On some days Silver would come with him, taking Green's Rhypherior with him and letting it run around the garden. Of course on those days Gold wouldn't talk to Green, worried that Silver might laugh at him.

But he didn't know that Silver had opened up as well, talking to the dead trainer about his father, the problems they encountered and the moments that he'd enjoyed with him. He'd come together with Blue sometimes, and he often fell asleep while listening to her rambles about everything. But of course, she still continued talking as if Green could hear her. And when she was done, she'd poke Silver awake and they'd leave.

Occasionally, Ruby would come with Sapphire, talking to Green about the ribbons he'd won, and Sapphire about the badges she'd earned. This would ultimately start a violent discussion about which was better. Emerald would tag along to separate them when he wasn't busy.

Professor Oak, Daisy and Crystal would come together. Crystal would fill a bag with the pokémon she'd caught and show them to Green one by one, explaining everything about them; type, height, weight, evolution method, etc. Daisy would bring pictures of his past, and talk about them, like she would to make Green embarrassed when he was alive. Professor Oak talked about the new regions they'd managed to get in touch with, and the new pokémon found there.

But as time passed and they grew, they didn't visit Green's grave as often as they did before. Gold and Professor Oak came once a month (they'd begun a breeding project together), Silver came once every two weeks (spending time with his father), Ruby, Sapphire and Emerald came once a month (exploring other regions), Crystal every other week (catching pokémon and helping with the breeding project), and Daisy went along with Crystal. Yellow continued watering the plants everyday and even took to cleaning the gravestone. Blue came to talk until the sun set, and on her way back usually met with Cynthia for tea.

Red came every other day. He'd stand in front of the gravestone, closing his eyes and listening to the breeze that blew past, or climb the fully grown tree to eat its fruit. He'd let the pokemon out to play, Green now a beautiful Roserade (with Blue's help), would fill the garden with intoxicatingly sweet scents. And Red would laugh, because he knew his best friend would sneeze every five minutes.

A year after Green's death, Red was able to deal with it. He'd remembered that he had to smile for Green. When he smiled, it reached his eyes and the other dex holders weren't so worried anymore. Red stopped cringing when he heard his best friend's name, but whenever someone said something bad about him, ("He must have been stupid to slip on the mountain") then Red would become violent, usually ending in one of the dex holders pulling Red away from the person before he could do any real damage.

When everyone met for Green's death anniversary, it was quite awkward when they arrived, because of the beeps that came from the single pokedex underground in synch with the ones above ground. Red was able to go there and smile, saying hello to everyone. He'd place a blood red rose on Green's grave, along with the blue one Blue had and the gold and silver colored ones the Johto trainers would place. They'd leave after a few words, but Red always stayed behind. Yellow too, as she'd water the flowers. Red smiled as Yellow talked to him, and when she left he'd still be smiling.

All the pokémon in the garden learned not to mind the frequent visitors, most of them being able to sense the sadness from the humans. Sometimes they'd come up to them, nuzzling and playing. But they always knew to leave the humans alone when they became silent, either touching the gravestone or the tree. Everyone fell into the daily routines they had before the accident. Yellow healed injured pokémon. Blue was with her family. Silver was with his father. Gold bred pokémon. Crystal caught pokémon. Ruby took part in contests. Sapphire battled Gyms. Emerald challenged the frontier. Professor Oak collected data, and Daisy stayed at home.

But not Red. Red was both the champion and the Gym leader now, and he had his duties. But even if there was a challenger on the day he'd visit Green, Green came first. He'd go to Green's grave, now freely talking to his best friend even if he didn't know what to talk about. He'd talk about the challengers, sometimes about the dex holders. He'd talk about his pokémon and Green's as well, and he'd talk about Green. But when he wasn't talking, he'd be able to feel the silence that threatened to overcome them. But now Red didn't mind it anymore, because he knew that now, with the silence, Green could rest. In the silence Red could remember his own gift to Green.

It was a few pictures taken on the day of Green's birthday.

One was when Red had told him to make a wish. He'd jokingly wished for Red to finally stop talking and be quiet. Red had purposely talked more, louder for the whole day. Eventually, Green had smacked Red on the head, and Blue had taken the picture at that moment.

Green and Red were on the foreground, an annoyed Green with a vein popping out of his forehead hitting Red, who was pretending to be in pain.

Silver and Crystal chasing Gold because he'd touched Crystal's and Blue's butt.

Ruby and Sapphire were having their usual arguments about contests and battles, and an annoyed Emerald was in the middle.

Yellow was pulling Green back when Green was about to jump onto Red to hit him more.

The last was when Blue had set the camera on automatic, and she ran in front of the camera, dragging all of them together. When the camera clicked, and she'd printed it and shown everyone, all of them, including Silver and Green had to laugh.

Blue had her right hand on Red's ear and left hand on Green's ear, standing in the middle. Yellow was behind Blue, trying to convince her to let their ears go. Gold was next to Red, with a red hand mark on each cheek, obviously from Crystal and Silver, the former standing next to Gold and the latter standing next to Green, both with their arms crossed and obviously mad. Ruby, Sapphire and Emerald were in the front, the former two still fighting with the small boy in between, trying to pull them apart.

Red smiled as a breeze blew past, and he could faintly hear someone calling his name in the distance. As he looked towards where it came from, he could see Yellow waving to him, at the garden entrance with all the other dex holders behind her, some smiling and waving to him as well. He stood up and ran to them, taking one second to stop and look behind him once.

He fell down onto his butt when he saw Green standing next to his tree, smiling and raising one hand to wave to him. Red looked towards the entrance to tell the others to look as well. But when he looked back towards Green's tree again, Green wasn't there anymore, he stood up and ran back to the other dex holders.

"Red, there something wrong?"

"No, it's nothing."

Then as they left, Red lowered his cap a little bit, so that no one could see the impossibly big grin on his face.

'Well, Green, you have successfully managed to get me to shut up, and make me go totally mad in the process. Well done, best friend.'

He thought, and looked towards the tree again. He could see his best friend there again, sitting on his gravestone, smirking and waving to him. Red waved back, turned around, and left.

A few days later, when Gold visited the Viridian Gym, Red wasn't there, but at a Gym leader's meeting. As expected, when he entered the gym, a hologram appeared to greet him. But the hologram wasn't the lone Green as he'd expected it to be. Red's was there as well, with one arm around Green's shoulder. Gold had to laugh at this, and even as he battled Red's pokémon and lost, he continued to laugh.

At Red's request, all the dex holders and Green's family went to his grave together, and it wasn't so quiet anymore. All of them laughed while talking, eating the packed lunches that Daisy and Ruby had made, and leaving one spot in between Red and Blue empty. That spot was Green's. Most of them could only see how lonely that empty tuft of grass looked, but Red was smiling extra brightly that day.

Because only Red could see Green on that spot, laughing along with the others at a particularly funny joke Gold had told.

PLEASE REVIEW AND TELL ME THAT I DIDN'T MESS UP MY FIRST EVER FANFICTION!