Chapter 3: Appeals for Love
"Who are you?" the darker brunette asked, scrutinizing the pale girl in front of her that had walked out with Gary and the professor. Professor Oak had definitely failed to mention anything about an almost look-alike tagalong, and Leaf hated surprises.
"You're Leaf, right? I'm Green," the girl in question replied, giggling. "Gary's told me so much about you!"
"He did?" Leaf gasped, her face flushing lightly. Why would that player bring up her, especially to some stranger she'd never even met?
"Sure I did, Leaf," he told her, winking. "You're still my girl, right?"
Leaf snorted and rolled her eyes. "Tch. As if, Oak." Still as flirty as usual, I notice, she added silently, eyeing the auburn-haired researcher warily.
Gary's face fell in mock disappointment. "Ouch, Leaf. Thanks for the easy let down." He walked over and wrapped his arm around her shoulder, only to be rejected and jerked away from.
"Don't even think about it, Gary," she huffed, sticking out her tongue at the player and throwing her hands on her hips in defiance.
Green giggled. Gary could flirt just as bad as she could, and she couldn't help but feel a bit envious of the girl who'd won his affections. "Hey, cutie," she said to Gary, winking. "You look like you could use some help."
Cutie? Leaf wondered, raising an eyebrow at the girl, her face flushing once more, this time for a different reason. Why I oughta…
"Chill, Leaf," Green chuckled, rolling her eyes. "I'm not gonna take your man away from you."
"My man?!" she screamed, her face turning the deepest shade of crimson possible. "That jerk isn't my man, Green. In fact, you can keep him; I don't even want him." She crossed her arms and tilted her head up matter-of-factly.
Green could tell she was lying. She was such a bad liar.
"Hurtful," Gary commented, holding a hand to his heart. "Crush me like a Caterpie, why don't you?"
Leaf rolled her eyes. "You know that didn't hurt. You're as heartless as a Sableye, Oak."
"Ouch, Leaf," Gary retorted dramatically. "That was cold."
Despite his whining, Leaf could easily see through his façade and refused to show an ounce of sympathy toward the jerk. He was just going to have to get over it, she justified, smirking at the thought as she glared over at Green, who seemed to be greatly enjoying the whole encounter.
"Well, Gare-bear, I think it's safe to say she doesn't want you," Green remarked, frowning poutily.
"Gare-bear?" Leaf hissed. "Since when is that his nickname?"
"Since now, silly," Green answered, strolling over to Gary and giving him a hug. Leaf was fuming. Gary looked just plain conflustered. "Just play along, cutie. You'll have her in no time," she whispered in his ear, winking. Gary nodded subtly in reply and quickly returned the embrace.
She had to admit she was enjoying prodding at Leaf's feelings. In fact, she found it quite hilarious. And getting to nuzzle so close to such a cutie was just another perk.
Professor Oak found it pretty funny too. "Young love," he noted, letting out a hearty laugh.
Luckily Leaf hadn't heard him, or it would've meant war. "Ugh! Get a room, you two!" she screamed, throwing her hands up in exasperation. Green really knew how to get on her last nerve. "Forget it! Come on, Professor!" Grabbing Professor Oak by the arm, she began to stomp away, leaving Green in hysterics and Gary barely concealing a laugh of his own.
"I think I had a little too much fun messing with Leaf like that," she said once the laughter subsided.
"Really? I don't think so. In fact, I don't think it was nearly enough," Gary replied, smirking. Prodding at Leaf was never too much fun for the obsidian-eyed boy, who enjoyed seeing her livid and ready to knock his teeth in.
"Well, Gare-bear, we have plenty of time to fix that," she told him, winking up at him.
"You're a devious little flirt, aren't you? I think I like that." Green felt her face flush slightly, and could've sworn he looked a bit embarrassed as well.
"We should probably catch up. Don't want the professor to leave us behind, right, Gare-bear?" she asked, holding her hand out for him to take. He looked down at the hand for a few seconds before finally accepting it. He almost seemed to be hesitating, like it was going to Bite him or something. Green quickly shook the thought away.
Of course that wasn't it. Her hand couldn't do something like that. But it still nagged at her in the corner of her mind.
Why would he hesitate like that?
"Anyways, what did the professor need to talk to you about?" she asked as they strolled away from the Pokémon Center, swinging their interlocked hands back and forth.
"Just some research stuff. Nothing too important," he lied, hoping she wouldn't catch it. But of course she did.
"Mhmm. You know, you're just as bad at lying as Leaf is," she remarked, glaring over at him. "Either that or I'm like the luckiest guesser in the entire Pokémon World!" He frowned, most apparently not agreeing with the former statement. "Why can't you tell me?" she whined, giving him her signature Growlithe look. Gary sighed, shaking his head in reluctance.
"He came to tell me about a prophecy," he finally explained, pursing his lips. "Green, he came to tell me about you."
Green was struck speechless. How could he do that when he had to ask her name earlier?
"Green, uh, how do I explain this?" he wondered aloud, running his fingers through his russet-colored hair. "You're not exactly where you think you are."
"Of course I am! I'm in Hoenn, aren't I?" she asked, glancing around in confusion, as if the land would suddenly morph into some strange entity, or a completely different planet, even.
"Well, yes and no. See, this is Hoenn, but not the Hoenn you know, per se," he answered, frowning slightly.
What could he be getting at? He was definitely skirting around an absolute answer, she noticed. And she wasn't sure she liked that very much. "What, am I in the future or something?" she asked sarcastically, rolling her eyes.
"Close. More like an alternate dimension," he replied, looking directly at her to express the verity of the situation.
Green burst into laughter. "This is a joke, right?" She glanced up at him, meeting his dark gaze and waiting for a smile or a tip off to his deceit. Then she realized he was being serious. "No way. You've got to be kidding me!"
"Afraid not, love," he told her, smirking at his fake British accent.
Green facepalmed. Regardless of his relaxed attitude, the weight of what he'd just said was slowly starting to sink in. "Gee, now I know why you didn't wanna tell me," she muttered, genuinely seeming upset about it. "How am I supposed to get home?"
Gary raised an eyebrow. He hadn't thought about that. "I'm not exactly sure, but I'm pretty sure Gramps would know." Maybe, anyway, he thought, but decided against voicing aloud. She didn't need an unconvincing maybe at the moment; she needed an absolute assurance that she'd be able to go home once it was all over.
Green sighed. "I hope." She then realized how little she had left to go back to. Red and Blue probably don't even miss me. And I have no idea where Silver is. She closed her eyes, letting the thought sink in, and a tear slipped down her cheek. Red, Blue, where are you two?
"So, what was the prophecy about?" she asked, quickly changing the subject and wiping the stray tear away. "I figured that since I was in it, I might as well know."
"Well, it said something about a trio of colors, and apparently you're one of them," he remarked, cupping a hand to his chin and pressing his lips into a thin line, as if in deep thought over something. What, Green had no idea, though.
"Wait, Blue and Red are in it too?" she asked, surprise clear in her voice. "Then that means they're here too, right?" But how had they ended up here, in this alternate world like she had? Did the light swallow them up as well? No way, she countered, slapping herself mentally for thinking the two would come in after her. Red might, but I doubt Blue would give it a second thought.
Gary nodded, watching as Green shot him a disbelieving look. "It looks like it, Green. Now we just have to find them, and apparently you have something to do with saving the world. Bet that's gotta be an ego booster," he told her, smirking.
"Oh, you bet," she flirted back. "Little old me's gotta save this world and I just got here a few hours ago!"
That's right, Chosen Color. Save the world, before it is too late, a Voice suddenly rang through her head.
"Did you hear something, Gare-bear?" she asked, frowning.
Gary shook his head. "No, did you?"
Hm, it must be in my head, she thought, shaking her head.
Time is running out, Chosen Color, it reiterated. Time is running out.
Who are you? However, the Voice gave no reply, leaving her to feel even more confused and slightly less sane.
Voice?
What's wrong with me?
"Hey, Daisy, are Misty and Red still there?" Tracey asked, biting his lip anxiously. He always got jittery whenever he had to talk to the oldest of the Sensational Sisters.
"Nope. They just, like, left for Saffron City. Sorry, Trace," she told him, burnishing her nails with Lily's fuchsia nail file, since the pinkette had seemingly misplaced her own.
Tracey mumbled something unintelligible under his breath. "Well, do you think you could catch them?"
Daisy raised an eyebrow at the raven-haired boy. Was he being serious?
Tracey smiled nervously and scratched his head. "Heh, of course. Stupid question. Guess I'll try calling Saffron City's Pokémon Center then. Thanks," he muttered, giving her a half-smile.
"Good luck with that. It'll at least be like, a half day before they get there or whatever. Why, did you, like, need to talk to Misty or something?" she wondered, frowning slightly.
"Not exactly," Tracey replied, pursing his lips. "Red was looking for his Pokémon, and Professor Elm somehow got a hold of it…"
"Well, why didn't you like, say so? I'll call Misty's PokéGear and tell her to come back right away!"
Tracey sighed. She really could be such a blonde sometimes. Not that he was complaining, though. "Wouldn't it be easier to give me the number and let me call her instead?" Apparently the thought hadn't occurred to the blonde Gym Leader.
"Of course! Why didn't I, like, think of that?" She then realized she couldn't remember Misty's number and had to tell Tracey to hold on so she could find it. It has to like, be here somewhere, she thought, shuffling through the papers at the reception desk. She'd written it down for someone not too long ago.
"Aha! Got it!" she exclaimed, pulling the paper from the desk and showing it to Tracey. "Hopefully this'll help."
"Thanks, Daze. I really appreciate this," he told her, jotting the numbers down.
"You, like, owe me for this, you know," she pointed out, winking.
"Another dinner date then?" inquired Tracey, smirking. He knew where she was going with this.
Daisy rolled her eyes. "Call it whatever you want, but that was just, like, my way of saying thank you."
"I know, and now it's mine. I promise, as soon as the professor and Leaf come back I'll set it up. See you later, Daisy."
"You too, Trace," she told him, sighing dreamily as she hung the receiver back up.
"Now, to get ahold of Red and Misty," Tracey murmured, typing in the number Daisy had given him. Misty picked up within a few rings.
"Hey, Tracey? How'd you get this number?" she asked, her brow furrowing in confusion. Thanks to her somewhat thoughtful sisters, she got the latest PokéGear model for her birthday, allowing her to actually see Tracey as opposed to an audio-only conversation connoted with head sprites.
"Daisy gave it to me," he remarked, smiling somewhat bashfully.
Misty gave him a knowing look. "You're gonna owe her for that one. Bet she had to fish it out of one of the reception desk's drawers."
"I know, I know, and yeah, she did actually," he told her, laughing. "But that's not the point. I think we've found Pika."
"What? That's great! Where is he?" she asked. Apparently Red had overheard, as he rushed over to her side and nearly knocked the PokéGear out of her hands.
"They found Pika? Where at? C'mon, Misty, lemme see!" he exclaimed, trying to peek at the PokéGear over her shoulder, which she abruptly refused him the privilege of.
"Actually, he's in Johto with Professor Elm," Tracey explained, cupping a hand to his chin and grimacing thoughtfully.
"What? How'd he end up there?" she wondered aloud, shaking her head.
"Beats me," answered Tracey, shrugging his shoulders. "Professor Elm said someone gave Pika to him earlier today, and he figured it was a kid's from Kanto."
"Johto? What's that?" Red asked, a confused expression on his face.
Misty glared at him. "Are you being serious or are you just being a Slowpoke to get on my nerves?" She definitely wouldn't put the latter past the Ash-like Pikachu-losing Pokémon Trainer, even though she'd barely known the boy for longer than a couple of hours.
"What do you think, Misty? Would I ask such a stupid question if I actually knew the answer?" he retorted, earning a prompt whack! on the head with Misty's mallet.
Misty sighed and took a deep breath before continuing. "Sorry about that, Trace. Red really doesn't know half this stuff, for some stupid reason," she replied sardonically. She turned to Red and reluctantly gave an answer to his question.
"Johto is a region connected to Kanto by the Indigo Plateau. There's also Hoenn and Sinnoh, but they aren't connected like Kanto and Johto are."
"Whoa, so all those different regions gotta have different Pokémon, right?"
Misty gave him an incredulous look. "I was being sarcastic when I told Tracey you didn't know any of that, Red. Don't tell me you're being serious?" She really wasn't liking the sudden Q and A game he was playing with her, and was almost tempted to threaten him with her mallet to make him stop. But she couldn't help but feel a slight curiosity as to why he had no idea about all the different regions and Pokémon, even if his questions were annoying and increasingly tiring.
"So there are more than a hundred and fifty-one Pokémon, Misty?" he asked, dodging her question with one of his own.
Tracey raised an eyebrow, having overheard the young Trainer's question. "There are at least four hundred and ninety-three known now, according to the Sinnoh Dex," he told him, sighing. "You really don't know this, do you, Red?"
Red let out a huff of annoyance. "Of course I did! I was just… making sure you guys knew, is all."
Misty rolled her eyes, seeing straight through his "know-it-all" façade. "So, can the professor send Pika to us, or do we need to come get him?" she asked, quickly posing a change of subject, to Red's relief.
"Well, he would send Pika to you, but he doesn't exactly have the Poké Ball to transfer him in," Tracey answered, frowning and running his fingers through his dark hair. "So unless you meet him somewhere or go to Johto and pick him up there, I don't think there's much else he can do."
"Hm…" Aren't May and Drew competing in the Johto Grand Festival? "I guess we'll just take the next magnet train out of Saffron and get off at Goldenrod, and leave on a ferry to New Bark as soon as the Johto Grand Festival is over."
Grand Festival? What's that? Red wondered, but he didn't dare ask. All these questions were beginning to make him sound quite ignorant of the world around him, and his pride simply wouldn't allow people to think of him like that. Plus the thought of being clobbered by her mallet again just wasn't very appealing to him at the moment.
"Oh, Brock and Ash are heading there now. They called the lab to let Professor Oak know they'd be late coming home." What Tracey didn't know however, was that they'd also called to try telling the professor about Blue, but because he wasn't there, they didn't get the chance.
Ash is going to be there? And Brock? "Well, it would almost be a reunion, if Max were there," she pointed out. "Anyway, thanks for the info, Trace. See you later, and good luck paying my sister back." She chuckled lightly, and Tracey did the same.
"Heh, thanks. Will do. See ya, Misty," he answered, smirking shyly as he hung the phone up.
Click.
"Well, we've finally found Pika, Red," Misty told him, smiling softly.
"Yeah, guess we did," he answered, laughing.
"Just one question: how in Arceus's name did Pika go from being in Saffron City one minute, to winding up at Professor Elm's doorstep in Johto the next?!" she screamed, whacking him yet again with her mallet. "What kind of Trainer loses their Pokémon in another whole region like that?!"
"For the love of Mew would you quit hitting me with that thing?! How am I supposed to know, Misty? Up until like two seconds ago I didn't even know Johto existed!"
Misty had to admit, he had proven a point. "That's another thing I don't understand. Why don't you know about all the new Pokémon and the different regions?"
Red shrugged his shoulders. "Don't ask me, Misty. I'm not even really sure how I ended up hanging in a tree on Route 4 to begin with, especially when I was in Saffron City's Silph Co. building before that."
"Gosh, it's almost like you're from the past, like Sammy was. But you're obviously not, with Poké Balls like those," she muttered, glancing at his belt loop and the six Poké Balls occupying it, one presumably empty from where Pika normally went.
"Poké Balls like these were invented by the professor anyway, so they've been out at least ten, fifteen, maybe even twenty years. How do we know I'm not from the recent past?" he inquired, raising an eyebrow.
"Because you claim you know me, remember?" she retorted, giving him a blank look.
"Oh yeah," muttered Red, scratching his head. "Forgot about that. I don't really know, Misty. I wish I did though."
"Well, I'm not sure about this, but maybe we'll find some answers in Johto. There's gotta be a reason Pika ended up there like he did," she pointed out, glancing over at him.
"Yeah, maybe this Professor Elm you mentioned will even know something…" He shrugged his shoulders and laughed. "Well, what are we waiting for, Misty? Let's get going! Saffron City, here we come!" He took off, leaving Misty standing there. Too bad he was going in the wrong direction.
Misty sighed. Typical Ashy thing to do, she thought. "Hey, Red, Saffron's this way!" she called to him. He froze in his tracks, pivoted and started in the other direction.
"Of course it is, Misty! I was just testing you, to see if you'd follow," he quipped, yet again trying to cover up his slight show of ignorance. Misty rolled her eyes.
"Mhmm, that's exactly what you were trying to do." She let out a laugh, realizing how much she missed Ash's somewhat dimwitted ways, and hoped that she might run into him at the festival.
Wherever you are, Ash, hopefully I'll find you. She started off in the direction of Saffron, easily maintaining Red's pace so they could continue to talk on their way.
"Hey, didn't Tracey say that that Ash kid was gonna be at Goldenrod too?" Red wondered, a broad grin spreading across his face.
Misty didn't understand why, but she suddenly felt her cheeks flushing at the boy's inquiry. "Yeah, why?" she told him, smiling sheepishly back.
"Just… wondering," answered Red, averting his eyes. "You know, you should really tell that kid how you feel, Misty. You probably aren't gonna get another chance like this."
Misty let out a sigh of disappointment. "Yeah, I—wait, what?! What do you mean by that?!" she shrieked, stopping her feet and grabbing Red by the collar.
"You know you like him Misty, so quit trying to ignore it," he told her bravely, but he didn't feel very brave right then. He actually felt like she was going to rip his head off at any given moment, and that sounded far worse than an attack from her merciful mallet.
"Why you little—" she hissed, but was quickly interrupted by her own thoughts.
You know he's right, Misty. That's why you're mad, her conscious told her.
Shut up, conscience! I don't need your help!
Misty, get ahold of yourself. Then she realized it was right. Her face softened, and she released her grip on his collar.
"You win, Red. I probably should tell him, and I might, but don't get any bright ideas and decide to tell him for me, you hear?" she asked, glaring over at him sharply. "If I even think you're up to something—"
"Which I won't be, Misty. Just don't worry about me. I won't say a word; I promise. But only unless you do. If you don't, now, that's a different story." Misty raised a threatening eyebrow at him.
"I dare you to even mention my name in any way related to romance or feelings or any of that gushy stuff. I'll kill you," she told him bluntly, narrowing her eyes at him menacingly. It was mostly an empty threat, but Red knew from experience that, while she wouldn't have the heart to kill him, she definitely wouldn't hesitate to give him a few wounds or even cause temporary paralysis, if it suited her mood.
Red held up his hands in surrender. "Fine, fine, but you better tell him, Misty. I'm being serious. You don't want to live life regretting not saying anything."
Misty almost looked kind of upset at his words, and he knew that was what she'd been thinking about the past few months, since she and Ash had parted ways. Because their hearts belonged in two different places, hers at the Gym and his on the road, it had become increasingly hard to see him (or to stop thinking about him). She got to travel with him a few days on the way to his first Frontier match, but even then, the time had flown by much too quickly. Now she was only driven by the thought that they'd see each other again, like they always did, and it fueled her fire enough to keep going, to not give up. Ash wouldn't have wanted her to quit like that.
So Red was right. The chance of seeing him like this was too rare and unpredictable to pass up. She had to admit it, but would she find the guts to tell her best friend the feelings she'd kept for what seemed like such a long time?
She offered no reply, and ended their somewhat abrupt conversation with a sigh as they continued on to Saffron.
Maybe I'll tell you this time, Ash. Maybe.
"I finally found them, Professor," Tracey told him, a relieved expression on his face. "They're taking the magnet train to Goldenrod to see the Grand Festival, and then they're coming straight to New Bark Town by ferry."
"Excellent, Tracey! I just knew I could count on you," Elm replied, ruffling Pika's fur. "I was starting to wonder actually. Say, does the professor have his new PokéGear with him?" he asked, remembering the Pokémon Professor's tendency to forget it at the lab.
"I think he took it this time, Professor Elm, if you'd like to give it a try," Tracey replied, "no promises he'll answer, though."
"I certainly will. Thanks again, Tracey."
"No problem, Professor. Good luck," he answered, waving goodbye.
"Thanks, I'll definitely need it."
Click.
"Well, Pika, Red knows where you are. Now I just need to get ahold of Samuel and let him know about everything." He typed in the professor's number, and Leaf picked up after about five or six rings.
"Oh, it's Professor Elm!" she exclaimed to someone outside the screen. "Long time no see, Professor!"
"Leaf! What a pleasant surprise! How are things?"
"Well, they could definitely be better," she grumbled, rolling her eyes.
"Eh? What's the matter?"
"Nothing." She sighed. "Gary's just being a jerk as usual. Did you need something, Professor?" she asked, quickly changing the subject.
"Oh, yes. Is Samuel around?"
"Yeah, hold on a sec." She held the screen down and told Professor Oak who was on the other line, then handed him the red-and-white PokéGear.
"You needed something, Elm?" the professor asked, glancing down at the screen.
"Professor! I've found Red!" he exclaimed, loud enough for everyone to overhear, including a certain scam artist brunette.
"Really? Where is he?!" she screamed, tackling Oak and clutching the device in her hands.
"Leaf?" Elm scratched his head. "You know Red?"
"Of course I don't!" he heard Leaf screaming in the background, undoubtedly rolling her eyes. "That's Green!"
"Oh, so you're Green?" Green nodded.
"Where's Red at?" This was the first news she'd heard about either of her friends, and she was eager to find out as much as she could.
"He's coming to Johto by magnet train with Misty."
Johto? she wondered. Where is that? She then noticed a tuft of yellow fur peeking out from the bottom edge of the screen.
"Is that Pika?" she asked, her eyes growing wide. Apparently he and Red had gotten separated along the way as well.
Elm nodded. "Red's on his way to get him."
"Pika!" she squealed. "It's really you!"
"Pikapi?" He looked up at the screen, recognizing the high-pitched shriek. "Pikapi! Pi pi pika pikachu!"
"Good to see you too, Pika! Hear you're waiting for Red?" Pika nodded.
"Pi pi pi. Pikapi pi pi pika pikachu!" Although she couldn't totally understand what Pika was saying, she was pretty sure he was explaining how he and Red got separated.
"He didn't put you in your Poké Ball before going in after me, did he?" she asked blankly, to which Pika shook his head in reply. "Guess that explains it. Looks like we're heading to Johto! We are, aren't we, Professor?"
Professor Oak nodded, apparently having recovered from his fall. "Any word from Blue?" Green asked, a glint of hope in her eyes. Elm shook his head.
"Nothing, so far." Green frowned. That wasn't what she'd expected to hear.
"Green, I'm sure we'll find him soon," Professor Oak told her, patting her on the back.
Where are you, Blue? "Thanks, but I'm not even sure he made it. He wasn't even with Red and me when I… ended up here," she told the professor, but he didn't seem too alarmed by the news.
"He made it, Green. I can at least tell you that."
"How're you so sure?" she asked, her voice breaking slightly. "How do you know Blue came after me? He isn't like Red… He wouldn't chase after a worthless scam artist like me." Everyone stared at her in bewilderment.
"You're a… scam artist?" Gary wondered, raising an eyebrow.
"What, you don't believe me? I'll have you know I scammed Red out of six thousand Pokédollars for some fake 'battle' items one time," she retorted, a hand on her hip.
"Really now? Prove it," Gary retorted, smirking at her playfully.
Leaf shook her head and rolled her eyes in exasperation. "This isn't the time, you guys." But her words had no effect.
Once Green was challenged to something, there was no stopping her.
"At least let me have the PokéGear." She took it from Green, who surprisingly let go and strolled closer and closer to Gary's side, until her stride matched his own. She nuzzled close to him before showing off her latest product.
"Fine. Wanna buy this then?" she inquired, pulling out a golden Poké Ball and balancing it lightly between two fingers.
"Is that the GS Ball?" Gary's brows furrowed. No, it wasn't marked with the signature GS, so it couldn't be. What was she playing at?
"Maybe it is, maybe it isn't," replied Green, shrugging her shoulders. "You gotta buy it to find out."
"No deal," he told her, shaking his head. "Nice try, Green. Guess you're not as good as you—"
"So you don't want this Poké Ball?" she asked, throwing a pouty look in Gary's direction. "Gare-bear!"
"Ye—I mean, no—I mean, how much is it?" Green smiled, succeeding in proving her point.
"Oh, I'll cut you a deal, cutie," she answered, winking. "Normally it'd go for about five thousand Pokédollars, but for you, I'll make it three."
"Well, you drive a hard bargain, but I think I'm gonna have to… decline."
"That'll be three thousand Pokédo—wait, did you just decline my offer?" She asked incredulously, gaping over at him in amazement. She couldn't believe he'd resisted her charm so easily! He'd shrugged it off like it was nothing more than an overcoat on a warm summer day; it was the most normal thing in the world for him to turn down a pretty girl.
Gary nodded, smirking triumphantly. Leaf grunted, finding ample amusement in the whole conversation she'd been overhearing.
"You're good, Green, but face it. I'm better. You scam by using your flirty attitude to persuade your customer. It doesn't work on me, because I know that, not to mention I'm a bit of a flirt myself," he explained, winking back.
Leaf snorted. Bit was an understatement, in her opinion.
"But seriously, where did you get that?" He gestured at the golden Poké Ball still resting between her fingers.
Green shrugged her shoulders. "Swiped it from some guy who kept trying to con people out of their money for a Magikarp."
"So you're a thief, too?" wondered Gary, raising an eyebrow.
Green's face flushed a fierce red. "No, well, yes, er, I used to be. I'm not anymore…" she trailed off, hanging her head so he couldn't see the shame evident on her face.
Gary smirked. She was so different to be with compared to Leaf. Normally, Leaf would've just gotten angry and stomped away, but with Green, he'd seen nearly every emotion in the book with just one conversation: anxiety, embarrassment, anger, sadness, and the usual happiness that came with her flirty attitude. She was definitely interesting, to say the least.
"Hello, you guys? Come on! We've got too long to go to be standing around like a bunch of Xatu," snapped Leaf, bringing Gary back from his own thoughts and dragging Green away from her embarrassment. Apparently she'd given the PokéGear back to Professor Oak, as he was having a somewhat intense conversation with Elm while ambling slowly toward Mauville City.
"Oh, yeah, right. We're heading to Slateport and taking a ferry from there, aren't we?" Green asked, thankful for the interruption.
Leaf nodded grudgingly, giving Green an eerie "go-to-heck" look she didn't quite understand. "We should get to Slateport before dark and we'll take the ferry overnight to New Bark Town. But only if we quit being a bunch of Slakoth and actually start walking," she pointed out, sticking her tongue out at Gary, who rolled his eyes and laughed.
"Right. Well then let's go, Leafy," he told her, winking at Green, taking Leaf's hand in his own, and practically dragging her toward his grandfather.
"Gary! Stop it!" Leaf screeched, attempting to jerk her hand away, but he refused to let go.
"Make me," he retorted, smirking over at her.
Green sighed, shaking her head in amusement and treading closely behind the two. They're just too cute together! she thought, rolling her eyes. If only Leaf would quit being such a sour Persian about it and just accept the fact that he's so into her.
"Well, thanks for the call, Elm. I really do appreciate it," Oak told him, glancing back at the three preteens who were no longer at a standstill. "See you soon."
"You too, Professor."
Click.
"Well, that was an interesting call. Wouldn't you say so, Pika?" Pika nodded, having heard most of Green's conversation with Gary, who sure looked a lot like Blue, as well as noticing Leaf's fake indifference toward the whole thing. Leaf wasn't near as emotional or as flirty as Green, but she clearly had a crush on Gary, despite how much she acted like she hated him. Plus, she bore a striking resemblance to the scam artist herself.
The conversation between the two professors was also somewhat interesting, despite being unable to understand most of it, since he still had no idea what this prophecy was and how on earth it had anything to do with Green, Red, or Blue. "Pikapi!" he exclaimed, excited to have found two of his Trainer friends.
"Pika, looks like you'll have your Trainer back in no time," Elm told him, ruffling his fur and standing to his feet.
"Pikapi! Pi pi pikachu!" he shouted happily, following the professor's lead.
Now all that's left is to find Blue!
"Whoa, this festival is huge," Blue noted, glancing around at the numerous buildings adorned in Poké Balloons, streamers, and various other decorations, as well as watching the tons of rainbow confetti riding the salty sea breeze. "It looks like it covers the entire city!"
"It does," Brock told him, glancing down at a pamphlet he'd received upon entering the metropolis. "The actual competitions are being held…" he trailed off, staring down at the pamphlet's map of Goldenrod City. "Here." He pointed at the building in front of them, a glass dome much resembling the Xanadu Nursery, only instead of being able to view what lay inside like they had been able to at the plant nursery, the glass was nearly opaque. A silver banner was draped above the glass double doors that read "Grand Festival!" in bold gold lettering, letting the travelers know they'd found the right place.
"So this is what you were talking about?" Blue asked, raising an eyebrow. "What do they do, battle or something?"
Ash facepalmed. Blue really was clueless when it came to contests in general.
"Well, kind of," Brock told him, putting a hand to his chin. "First they'll have an appeals round, where the contestants try to impress the judges with their Pokémon. Then the ones that are picked go on to the battle round, where they'll be given a time limit and a set amount of points. Whoever runs the opponent's points out first or has the most points left by the time the clock runs out moves on to the next match."
"Oh. So it's kind of like a fancier version of battling?" asked Blue, scratching his head in confusion.
"If you wanna look at it that way," Ash answered, shrugging his shoulders. He then noticed a certain gravity-defying brunette in his peripheral vision and tried to wave her over. "May! Over here!" he called, throwing his hands in the air to catch her attention.
She was too busy arguing with yet another familiar face, her grassheaded rival Drew Hayden, to notice.
"You're just jealous because I caught one and you didn't," the boy retorted, spinning a red-and-white Poké Ball on his finger as the trio made their way over to the quarreling couple.
"No way! I caught that Natu fair and square!" she screamed, crossing her arms and turning away without even so much as acknowledging her friends' appearance. Drew sighed in frustration.
"We both threw a Poké Ball at it, May. Mine was just the one to catch it," he pointed out, smirking. "But I'll tell you what. Whoever makes it farther in the Grand Festival today gets to keep it. Sound fair enough to you?"
May huffed. Of course he'd turn it into a competition. "But—"
"What? Scared you're gonna lose, June?" he teased, waving the Poké Ball in her direction.
May snorted. "Not at all, Grasshead. It's a deal," replied May through clenched teeth. That's when she noticed their little audience of three. "Ash! Brock!"
She ran over to them and demanded a group hug. "Wha—how'd you get here?" she asked, glancing over at the other brunet with them. "Gary Oak?" Blue shook his head. How many times would he be mistaken for that boy?
"Blue," he corrected, frowning. "And you are?"
"Oh, I'm May!" she told him, "and this grasshead beside me is Drew." She jabbed a thumb in his direction, earning a glare from her flirty rival.
"Fighting as usual, I see," Brock commented, chuckling at the two. "And you're still not dating?"
"What?! N-no!" exclaimed May, her face flushing a bright shade of crimson. Drew offered no reply, instead turning to May and rolling his eyes.
"Don't I wish, Brock?" he asked, winking. "Oh well, I'm off. Good luck as usual, since that's all you ever rely on anyway." He was referring to her many instances of using Metronome or Assist in the middle of a contest, both moves offering completely random and always unpredictable results. He considered this very brash and irresponsible, as it could just as easily give her a loss as it would a win.
"Drew!" But before she could offer a snappy retort, he pivoted on his heel and strolled away toward the double doors of the dome-shaped building. "Ugh! That stupid grasshead! I'm gonna beat him if it's the last thing I do!"
"So, May," Ash started awkwardly, trying to veer away from her impending death threats. "Shouldn't you be registering for the Festival? Appeals start pretty soon."
May raised an eyebrow at the raven-haired boy. "I've already signed in, Ash. I was just coming back from the Pokémon Center when I ran into Olive-brain here," she remarked, glaring in the direction Drew had disappeared in and sighing. "But I guess you're right. If I don't go now there won't be enough time to get ready for the first round."
"Well, good luck, May! We'll be rooting for you all the way!" Ash exclaimed, throwing his hands in the air.
"Yeah, you bet, Ash," she told him, giving a thumbs up before taking off in the direction Drew went. "See you guys later!"
Brock rolled his eyes. "Always on the run. We should probably go find seats before they're all gone," he commented, glancing at the entrance that was slowly being ambushed by fans and spectators from all corners of the Johto Region (as well as the few outside the area, namely Brock, Ash, and Blue).
"Sounds good to me. Ready to see your first Grand Festival, Blue?"
Blue shrugged his shoulders in reply. "I guess."
"Then what are we waiting for? Let's go!" Ash darted toward the doors, followed at a more leisurely pace by the breeder and his fellow fourteen-year-old Trainer.
"Ash is pretty eager to see her, isn't he?" Blue noted, nodding in the boy's direction.
"Yeah, but Ash is always eager to watch a Pokémon battle—"
"But clearly she likes the other boy," Blue pointed out, sorting out his own thoughts rather than paying attention to Brock's answer.
Brock sighed. "They're just friends, Blue. You don't gotta read into it so much," he told him, clapping the boy on the back. "He's too oblivious to have feelings for anyone. The closest he's come was when we traveled with someone else. Someone who's had her eye on him ever since."
"Misty, right?" Blue asked, smirking.
Brock raised an eyebrow. "Lucky guess?"
"She's the only other girl Ash talked about the entire ferry ride, Brock. I'd be blind, dumb, and deaf not to notice," he remarked, giving the breeder a blank look.
Brock smiled, realizing how right Blue was. "Well, you get used to it after a while." They'd finally reached the door, and upon walking inside, Blue observed how much smaller it looked from the outside. They were standing in a large glass corridor that encircled the inside of the building, dotted by colorful stalls of the newest Pokémon Merchandise owned by collectors and various other Trainer-types. Decorations littered the place, plastering the walls and floors with banners, streamers, Poké Dolls, posters, and ribbons. A magenta-colored desk was placed in the front for Coordinators to register, and Drew was standing there alongside Ash, who seemed to be wishing the grasshead good luck.
As soon as Drew was registered, he walked off, leaving Ash to wait on Brock and Blue. "Where've you guys been? We gotta hurry or there won't be any seats left!" he exclaimed, and started toward one of the many entrances into the stadium, Blue and Brock yet again left trailing behind.
When they'd finally made it through one of the large stadium doors, Blue immediately started observing the area. The stadium was packed with row after row of spectators and fans, each ecstatically rooting for his or her favorite contestant. It was also littered with snack wrappers and half-empty cups and bottles, along with the occasional wads of bubble gum. He looked down, noticing that multiple multi-colored stages were set up for the Coordinators to perform on.
Brock noted how it was set up similarly to the Sinnoh Grand Festival, but with four contestants at a time making appeals instead of three. Most apparently they'd already begun appeals, as he saw Harley on one of the stages tossing out his Cacturne and Banette.
"You guys! Over here!" Ash called, waving a hand in the air for the two to notice him. He'd found enough seats only three rows away from the guardrails, and was standing beside a certain brainiac seven-year-old.
"Max! How'd you get here?" Brock wondered, making his way over to the raven-haired boy.
"Brock!" the kid exclaimed, running over to give his breeder friend a hug. "Uh, let's just say I caught a ride."
Brock raised an eyebrow, and looked up to find Professor Birch standing beside Ash in a friendly manner. "Professor Birch? How did you wind up at the Johto Grand Festival?"
The Hoenn professor scratched his head and sighed, an odd half-smile plastered on his face as he answered, "I wanted to see May perform today, is all." Brock could easily tell that there was more to it, but decided not to press the subject any further. "You must be Blue. I'm Professor Birch from the Hoenn region." He offered his hand, which Blue gladly accepted, and continued talking as they took the seats Ash had saved for them.
"I'm not sure if you're familiar with Hoenn, but—"
"No worries. I'm not as dense as Red is when it comes to different regions," Blue interrupted, waving the professor's explanation away.
"But Blue, you didn't even know more than a hundred and fifty Pokémon existed before we had to ex—"
"I got it, Ash," he muttered through clenched teeth. Make me look stupid, why don't you? he added, grimacing slightly as he glanced down at the appeals taking place in front of him. He didn't really understand the mechanics behind a contest, but he was pretty confused by the fact that the Pokémon weren't exactly battling each other.
"Hey, Brock, why aren't they—?" He stopped himself as he watched the gravity-defying brunette he'd met earlier take the stage. She was sporting a pink top that rose just above the midriff and was embroidered with a golden heart design, along with a flowing lilac skirt with similar golden embroidery along the waist of skirt. Atop her head was a peach veil with a golden circlet holding it in place and an emerald embedded in the center. Blue caught himself staring at her, thinking about how cute she looked in her Grand Festival outfit.
"Beautifly, Glaceon, take the stage!" she exclaimed, breaking Blue from his trance as she tossed the two Poké Balls in the air simultaneously. Out came the two graceful Pokémon, awaiting their Trainer's much practiced commands. "Glaceon, Ice Shard in the air!"
Glaceon did as it was told, opening its mouth and releasing hundreds of tiny shards into the air until they completely covered the area of her entire stage. The shards were reflecting the light from the sun cascading in through the glass dome, sparkling like little diamonds as they were fired into the air.
"Beautifly, use Psychic to control the ice shards and spin them around!" commanded May, watching her Beautifly streak across the stage into the center of the shards. Beautifly's eyes began to glow a light blue as she focused her move, as did the outline of every shard of ice Glaceon had shot into the air earlier. Once every shard had been lined in blue, Beautifly started to twirl them in the air around it, causing the sunlight to bounce off the shards in a haphazard, yet well-thought out manner. It almost looked like a disco ball, swirling the light in circles the way it did. Until Beautifly started spinning the shards in a more random pattern, making it almost impossible for the spectators to keep track.
"Glaceon, use Shadow Ball to break the ice!" Immediately, Glaceon opened its mouth and began to form a black and purple ball of energy in front of it. Once it thought the ball was big enough, it released it into the air, straight at Beautifly and the surrounding ice shards, just as planned. The shadow ball found its targets, enveloping the area surrounding Beautifly in smoke and shattering the shards into millions of tiny pieces that rained down on Glaceon and May. The glittering crystals literally looked like sparkles from the audience, which Blue noted had been the intended result all along. But where was Beautifly?
"Beautifly, Morning Sun as you fly through the crystals back to me!" The butterfly Pokémon began to glow amidst the smoke, its outline perfectly visible to its Trainer as well as the crowd. It flew out of the dissipating smoke and almost looked like it was dancing through the sparkles as it somersaulted and twisted and turned back to its Trainer. It eventually landed on May's head as May and Glaceon took a bow for their completed performance.
The portion of the crowd that had been watching her roared with approval as she walked offstage, a smug look of satisfaction on her face at the thought of outdoing Drew, who had appealed at the same time as she had on the blue stage opposite hers.
"Wow," Blue breathed, entranced by what he'd just witnessed. "So that's an appeal?"
Ash nodded, clapping for his friend who had just exited the arena. "Yeah, pretty cool, huh?"
Blue shrugged his shoulders. He still didn't like that the Pokémon weren't battling each other. "I guess. It isn't a Pokémon battle, but it was still kind of… interesting," he noted as Ash stood to leave the stadium. "Wait, where are you going?"
"Oh, we always go see May after the first round to wait for the results together," he explained, gesturing for Blue and the others to come with him. Max jumped up and followed without hesitation, while Brock and the professor came at a more leisurely pace. Blue decided to catch up with Ash and Max, and couldn't help but feel a bit excited to go see the gravity-defying brunette.
"So, how many people usually go on?" Blue asked, walking to the right of Ash with Max on the other side.
"Thirty-two contestants move on to the battle portion," Max stated, glancing over at the brunet and raising a suspicious eyebrow. "You mean you've never been to a contest before?"
Blue shook his head. "Never really appealed to me, I guess."
Max rolled his eyes, unconvinced by the Trainer that seemed almost as old as Brock, if not a year or two younger. After a few more minutes of navigating the corridors, Ash stumbled upon the area May and the other contestants were located, eagerly awaiting results from the appeals round.
"May! That was awesome!" Ash exclaimed, rushing over to give his Coordinator friend a high five. Max waved at his older sister, who gaped at him in surprise.
"Max? What are you doing here?" she wondered as a certain familiar professor came into view alongside her breeding companion Brock. "Professor?"
"May! Good to see you!" he exclaimed, strolling over to meet her. "An excellent job out there, by the way." May could tell something was up, but she couldn't quite put a finger on it. Professor Birch never came to her contests, and Johto's Grand Festival shouldn't have been any different.
"Professor Birch! What are you doing here?" she asked coyly, watching his reaction.
"Well, Max wanted to come see you perform and your mother asked if I'd take him. I told her I'd wanted to come anyway and see how you were doing," he explained, smiling at her cautiously. She hadn't caught a lie in his voice, but she could tell there was an ulterior motive to his surprise appearance.
Before she could prod him any further, Ash exclaimed, "You guys! Look, the results!" May turned to face the big screen, scanning the contestants' faces for any sign of herself or one of her rivals. She immediately spotted Solidad at the top, whom she figured would breeze through appeals anyway. Next she spotted Drew, her grasshead rival who, while she'd never admit such a thing aloud, she knew was good enough to go all the way. She soon found Harley, another rival of hers from Hoenn, and finally found herself.
"I made it!" she screamed excitedly.
"Awesome, May! Good luck in the battle rounds! Who're you facing first?" Ash glanced up at the screen as it randomly mixed up the contestants and matched them with their opponents for the first battle round. May also watched it, paying careful attention to each of her rivals. So far, Drew was facing a blonde and Solidad was paired off with another chartreuse-haired Coordinator. But where was Harley?
That was when she found him. "Uh, May? Looks like you're facing Harley in the first round."
Great. Just great, she thought, a smile tugging at the corners of her lips. Top Coordinator, here I come!
A/N: So, who do you think is gonna win the Johto Grand Festival?;) Also, I'd like to know if I portrayed Contestshipping correctly!^.^ I've never seen many of the Advanced Gen, and while I love the pairing, I wasn't really sure how to go about writing them in... And yayyyyy, they're finally finding each other!:D I'm probably more excited than some of you are! Lol Anyways, drop a review if you please, and I promise, Chapter 4 is definitely gonna bring in a crucial part of the plot, as opposed to a lot of these fillers I've been doing. :D Thanks to all who have read and liked this story so far!^.^