Lucas ducked, a wild Poochyena flying over his head. The dog-like Pokémon growled as it turned in the tight space, glowering directly at Lucas. Beside him, Espeon's tail flicked. She didn't seem at all threatened by this dog, who was a bit more focused on Lucas, rather then on her.

Red, currently standing off to the side, looked on with slight amusement. Espeon turned to Lucas. Command? Too weak to hurt, so I listen, and you learn how to fight

Yes, that was right. They had come out here where the wild Pokémon were so weak that Red had practically stated that there wasn't any possible way for them to hurt Lucas. And this, Red said, would be the perfect place for him to catch his own wild Pokémon.

Espeon abruptly whirled, a shield glowing around her as she used Reflect. Poochyena hit the shield, and bounced back with a yelp. It quickly shook off the slight stun, growling threateningly. Espeon didn't seem to notice, glowing yellow as she ran forward, claws raking across his side.

The Poochyena fled after the attack. Held back, too weak.

Lucas nodded awkwardly, looking down at the sheet in his hands. According to Red's book, there was only four 'attacking' moves that a Pokémon could remember at a time. It was how you used them that determined a winner or a looser.

What Espeon had just used was swift and reflect. Poochyena had used Growl and tackle. "Red, are you sure that I'll be able to catch my own Pokémon here?"

Red nodded, gesturing to the pokéballs in Lucas's hands. They were empty and waiting to be filled. "I don't think I can do it like this..." Lucas mumbled. Regret and a bit of self-loathing was beginning to well up in him.

He didn't want to waste Red's time, but this was scary. Scarier then he expected. Red had always stayed behind an invisible wall during the battles, and Lucas had half-expected for it to remain the same, even now. Being attacked directly had been a bad surprise, and one that dredged up bad memories.

Red abruptly plopped something onto his head. Lucas yelped in surprise, and his hands automatically flew up to it. Red, with a look of seriousness, crouched down next to him. The usual red and white cap that normally decorated his head and kept unruly black hair from going everywhere was gone.

"As long as you're wearing my hat, you can do anything."

"H-Huh?"

Red petted Espeon, and Lucas glanced to the cat-like Pokémon. She purred, images flickering in his mind of linking, person to person, feelings made clear. Oh. He dragged his eyes back to Red, patiently waiting.

"We came here so that way you could grow used to it. Even I failed the first few times I tried catching Pokémon. It's a skill you have to practice." Red stood up, hand on the pokéball that Lucas clutched. "Why don't we start with something a little calmer. Espeon?"

The hand signal to Espeon, made Lucas look. The Espeon had frozen, fur standing on end. She stood like that for a long, long moment, staring at something that only she could see. Then, slowly, the fur went back down. Lucas frowned along with Red. Even he could tell that wasn't normal-

Flying. Invisible. But smart. Leave alone, and flee.

The image of sleek red and blue figures intertwining around each other and darting through the grass flashed into both of their minds for a moment. Then, Espeon padded back to Red and Lucas. She was content that they were gone now. "Red, what were those Pokémon?"

"Legendries probably." Red signed the words back. "Like Mew, they can probably make themselves invisible. It's in the book, isn't it? The 'legendries' of each region, and a rough description of what they look like."

Red had zero artistic talent, but he could describe Pokémon quite well. "Ah, so Latias and Latios?"

Red nodded, and pointed towards the grass. "We should concentrate on what we came here for. Practice and training."

Lucas nodded, turning back to the grass. It rustled softly, and a small, green and red capped head popped out of the grass. Lucas froze, as Red took a step back. Then, Lucas touched the hat on his head, and took a step forward. The small Pokémon took a step back, the red horns glowing softly. Lucas froze in response.

"H-Hello. Ralts."

The Ralts shyly edged closer, one pale hand touching the Joy Pendant that Toon Link had given him. Lucas grinned, "You like that pendant, huh?"

Ralts happily mumbled, before curling white fingers(were those fingers?) around the Joy Pendant, and tugging. Lucas reached down, and unclipped it. "Do you want this?"

The horns glowed brightly, as the little Pokémon danced around Lucas's hand. 'Want, want, want, happy, happy, happy~'

"Oh, you're a psychic type like me, huh?"

Ralts head tilted towards him in curiosity. Lucas closed his eyes, letting a little ball of power form in his hands. Ralts chirruped in response, touching the ball. Lucas felt a very, very slight tug at his mind, and a slight tug at the ball of psychic power.

Red didn't twitch as Lucas and Ralts began to slowly pass the ball back and forth between them. Though, out of the corner of his eye, Lucas was pretty sure there was a smile on the trainer's face.

Ralts dropped the Joy Pendant, causing it to cry out, and dive after it. Lucas allowed the ball of energy vanish as he crouched down to help Ralts pick it back up. "You're going to loose it at this rate!"

Ralts frowned at him, and clutched the butterfly-shaped object to its chest. Red pointed off towards town, and signed one quick word. Lucas nodded, and turned to Ralts. "Would you like to come with me? I'm going on an adventure."

The Pokémon hesitated, looking back towards the safety of the grass. Lucas forced himself to wait. Had Red ever done this? Standing in one place and attempting to coax a Pokémon to come with him? Or had he simply battled them until they were exhausted and then used the pokéball whether the Pokémon wanted it or not?

Ralts made its decision by throwing its arms around Lucas. 'Travel, fun, see world. Be with you.'

Lucas swallowed the lump in his throat as he looked to Red. "I just caught my first Pokémon!"

Red gave him two thumbs up.

"Hm. Congratulations child, you've taken the first step to becoming a Pokémon Trainer." The low, rumbling voice made Lucas flinch involuntarily. Ralts tightened its arms around him, horns glowing in agitation.

That voice sounded like Dad. Not completely. Father had a slight drawl, and a different emphasis on the words, but it was still so very, very close. Lucas turned wide eyes towards the owner of the voice.

A tall, dark haired man stood on the path, arms crossed. Dark eyes evaluated Lucas, before turning their questioning gaze to Red, who met the gaze on squarely. Crimson and black eyes battled for a second, as Espeon and Pikachu drew close to Red. Lucas remained frozen next to Ralts.

"Hm. Two trainers huh? I thought I saw you pass by earlier. Hm. You must be pretty strong in Kanto, but you came to Hoenn to teach this boy?"

Red said and did nothing. Norman smiled thinly. "I see. So then, child, are you going to go to Rustboro and challenge the first gym? Or will you go to Verdanturf and enter the Normal Rank contest?"

"Uhhh- both?" Lucas tried hopefully.

That brought a bit of a smile to the man's sharp face. "That's acceptable as well. In fact, I wish my own son had chosen such a path, but… Well, he became quite happy to become a Pokémon Coordinator. Hm… Still, it's been a long time."

Norman stared out with unfocused eyes, before his eyes abruptly snapped back towards Lucas. "Now then, you should probably get that Pokémon in a pokéball, before anyone else attempts to catch him. The Center is just down the road, so take this time to train."

He stared at Red for a few moments, before shaking his head. "As for you- can I see you in the gym?"

Red nodded once, before turning to Lucas to sign, "Will you be okay by yourself? I'll leave Espeon with you, and you two can mock battle it. Or you can test your skills against the wild Pokémon."

"Uhh, I- What do you think Ralts?"

Ralts chittered happily, hands waving. 'Fun, fun, play!'

"He wants to keep playing…"

"Come by anytime before seven. I walk home every day, so I want to be back before 8." Norman turned away, heading for Petalburg City, where the fifth gym awaited. Red watched him go, before gently plucking off his hat from Lucas's head and bring it down sharply on his own head.

Lucas glanced up to the shadowed face, and glaring red eyes. Red was fixated on Norman's back. Anything Lucas might've wanted to say shriveled up and died in the uncomfortable pit of his stomach at such a frozen glare. Red didn't notice.

Ralts tugged on Lucas's shirt, calling out softly. 'Okay? Happy? Fun?'

Lucas forced himself to smile, to make his mind turn away from Red. "Yeah, let's play a bit! Do you want to try a mock battle? I don't know what moves you have though-"

Images of growling, of a psychic beam that confused other Pokémon, and of a Pokémon being unable to use their move, flashed in Lucas's mind. "Uhhh, so that was… growl, confusion… and forget? No, not forget-"

The little notebook Red had given him was pulled out and flipped through. "Ah! Disable!"

That caught Red's attention. "That's odd. Last I knew, Ralts couldn't learn such a move."

"But Ralts says he can do it-"

"Must be from one of it's parents." Red replied, crouching down next to Ralts. "If you use it right, you could probably even defeat me with it once Ralts has enough stamina." He had to write some of the words, and Lucas was reminded that their communication wasn't perfect yet.

"Espeon."

The single signed command brought Espeon proudly trotting towards the front. "Let's have a mock battle."

Lucas doubted he would be able to pose much of a challenge to Red, but he nodded nonetheless. "Okay!"

Espeon glowed with her reflective shield- "Ralts, used Disable!"

The Shield remained, but Espeon could no longer spam it. "Ralts, growl!"

A terrifying growl erupted from the tiny Pokémon. Espeon took an automatic step back, ears falling flat. She looked to Red, who nodded reassuringly. He wasn't giving any commands- the battle would be over in a minute if he did, but he was letting Espeon choose her way of fighting.

'Fun, fun!' Ralts happy chattering made Lucas smile. "Okay Ralts, let's try confusion!"

This little mock-battle raged for a few hours, Espeon moving too fast and Ralts too weak to actually make the battle even. Red watched the ongoing battle with laziness, until Ralts paused.

Ralts had been getting faster and faster, and now suddenly- Two Ralts?

Lucas's eyes widened.

Red grinned slightly at the sight. 'Ralts learned double team. As he gets faster and stronger, there'll be more and more copies. But I think that's enough training for now. Let's get to a Pokémon Center and get beds for the night.'

Lucas nodded, gathering Ralts into his arms.

Red padded into the darkened Pokémon Gym slowly. Lucas was still in the Pokémon center, with Ralts. Lucas had found a scrap piece of cloth, and was using it as a bandana to hold the odd pendant he had given Ralts, so that way it was never far from the Pokémon.

Red was a bit more concerned with Norman, and how fast his cover was being blown. If he and Lucas had to flee the island nation before the end of the week, Red would not be a happy person. And Red not happy meant there was a lot of destroyed landscape.

"Welcome."

Norman stood in the beginning of the gym, though Red could spot doors leading further back. "I suppose you're wondering why I called you here? It's because of one reason, and one reason only." Red's hand dropped to the pokéballs by his side, ready for a sneak attack.

A picture was held out, as Norman asked softly, "Have you seen these two? The boy's my son. He disappeared a few years back, after fighting Team Aqua and Team Magma with Sapphire, the girl. We haven't heard from them since."

Red took the photograph carefully, staring down at the picture. Red and blue eyes stared back at him, as the two laughing twelve-year-olds' leaned on each other, holding Pokémon. They were both wearing bright green clothing that matched.

Norman waited silently.

At last, Red shook his head. The two were not familiar to him. They had never climbed Mount Silver.

"I see. I had hoped… since you seemed pretty strong… Well, Sapphire is a wild child."

Norman turned away, looking up towards the ceiling. "Never mind."

Red stared at Norman's back, lonely and sad. "I just want to make sure that they're fine. That they're eating enough. That my son is happy. They don't have to come home, just the information would be enough."

Red looked away. He had no right to talk. He had abandoned his home, left his mother alone, didn't contact his rival/friend- he just stayed atop the mountain. Alone, and quiet, where neither Green nor his mom knew he was alive. Only Blue really knew anything about him, and she only visited once a month. Half the time they missed each other, so there was always a note about how he better not be dead.

"One day I hope they'll return home."

Red turned away, and walked out of the gym.

Norman remained staring at the far wall head bowed, and back slumped in defeat as he heard the door softly click behind the unknown trainer.

Toon Link, Nana, and Popo were all on a mission. The mission? Distract everyone (including Ness) from the fact that Red and Lucas were missing.

The operation plan: make chaos. Lots of chaos. Both of the Ice Climbers were still quietly furious over the wasted food, though Toon Link didn't quite understand the reasons behind it. They didn't tell him, but as they eyed Diddy Kong and several others who spilled their food, Toon Link couldn't help the shudder of fear.

Neither of them were happy, and they were ready to show it.

The food this day was from Kirby's world- sweets, snacks, and some healthy food practically overflowed from the tables. Even Kirby would have trouble finishing it all off. But that wasn't what they were aiming for- Nana and Popo both refused to harm the food in any way.

No, what they were going for was…

Toon Link upended the crate of Smash Items onto the floor. Pokémon, Mr. Saturns, and other creatures instantly began running amok in the cafeteria. A paper fan flew through the air, as did a plateful of spicy curry. Kirby, already in the action of eating, sucked the curry up along with the food.

In moments, the tablecloths were on fire.

In a few more moments, Nana and Popo had successfully covered the food. Sprinklers began to kick in, making R.O.B. start shrieking loudly down the hallway. Master Hand came whirling into view, fuming quite loudly.

"Who got into the crates of smash items?! Those are locked away for a reason!"

Crazy Hand laughed. "Chaos! Chaos! We're gonna have pure and complete chaos!"

Link appeared, hand up to shade his eyes. Peach and Zelda huddled together under Peach's umbrella. Mario and Luigi had their caps firmly pulled down around their ears, letting the water roll off.

There was the sound of feet stomping down the hallway, and Snake appeared with an umbrella. There was a blue Hedgehog attached to his back, like some kind of backpack. "Sonic-" Luigi began, before he was interrupted by a glaring hedgehog.

"Not. A. Word."

Luigi changed tactics, "What caused the rainstorm?"

Kirby ran past, still spurting flames. "Oh."

Link frowned at the chaos, and turned to look for Toon Link, who had already stuffed the crate underneath the table, and hid. Nana and Popo leaned back on the tables, food safely secure. Popo took a bite out of a Megatomato, and Nana took a bite out of a piece of cake.

Olimar spoke up, "Nana, Popo, did you help out with this prank?"

The two kids looked at the space alien, as his dome shaped helmet let water cascade off of him. Several pikmin clung to him, shivering in fear at the small puddles of water forming. Blue Pikmin happily played in the puddles.

Olimar repeated the question again, hoisting the white pikmin in his arms a little higher. "Nana, Popo, did you help out with this prank?"

"Maaaaaybe~"

"While it's good to have fun, you shouldn't do things like this. Fortunately things seemed to be alright this time around, but these sorts of pranks can be dangerous."

Articuno went swooping past, freezing the rainfall as it went. Olimar didn't shiver in the sudden cold, but Sonic did finally jump down from where he had been clinging to Snake. Captain Falcon staggered in, icicles hanging from his helmet.

"What's going on?"

"Nana and Popo helped pull a prank." Olimar stated calmly.

Zelda held up a hand. "We don't know that for certain-"

"Trust me, as a father, I know this." The dry tone of voice brought back more then one stare. "See, look at them. The question is, who's the creator of the prank?"

Toon Link, having successfully dodged behind a table, grimaced.

The grimace froze when Zelda murmured, "Red and Lucas… Where are they?"

Megaman strolled into the room, and spotted Toon Link's frozen panic. "Is something-"

One hand shot up, covered the robots mouth, and pulled him down next to him. Toon Link hurriedly hushed him as he listened in to Zelda and Peach's conversation. "If Red and Lucas haven't been seen by dinner tonight, I'm reporting this to Master Hand."

Crap. That wasn't enough time for Red and Lucas to get far enough away that nobody would go after him! The two friends deserved some downtime. Toon Link frowned, as he stared down at the slowly pooling water.

Master Hand floated over. "Megaman, may I ask you a favor? Will you go into the computer circuits with R.O.B. and shut off the water?"

"Sure thing Master Hand! Hey, Toony, I'll catch ya later!"

Toon Link waved a hand in acknowledgement, still puzzling over a way to distract the adults. Hmm, if a crate full of smash items didn't work, then maybe a brawl? But brawl's were canceled until the end of the week… Maybe if he started messing with people's bedrooms? But he didn't want to be killed, and Olimar's admonition to be more careful rang in his mind. What could he possibly-

A Goldeen splashed its way past, and Toon Link to an idea. He got a wonderful, horrible, awful idea.

The Pokémon from the pokéballs that the Smashers used were, generally speaking, much weaker then the actual Pokémon themselves. But, if enough of them were gathered, and running amuck with no battle directions.. Well, that would be interesting, wouldn't it? Imagine, a tornado full of Magikarp bearing down on Smash Mansion.

A sharp grin appeared on Toon Link's face.

Just because he was usually a responsible kid, didn't mean he didn't like to stir things up.

"Hey, Olimar, are you really going to leave things like that?"

"Hmm?"

"Nana and Popo, they won't admit to who asked them to help out."

"No, they won't. They're both very good kids really. But just the fact that they won't admit it means that it's one of the children. So it was either Toon Link, Ness, or Lucas… or maybe even Red himself."

"Red isn't a kid. He's what- sixteen? Seventeen?"

"Hmm, you know, I'm not sure. He certainly is that tall, but at times he seems much younger. Either way, he is often at the Children's Table with Lucas and Ness, and the others seem to enjoy having him around."

"So you think Lucas and Red are planning a prank or something?"

"Some kind of surprise. Oh, I hope it'll be a good one! Maybe we should tell Peach and Zelda to calm down. We'll see it soon enough."

"You're surprisingly calm about this."

"I do have two children of my own Doug. They may seem wild and impetuous, but when they had been quiet for a bit, it was always the sign of something astounding coming along."

…

"On second thought, we probably should check up on them. We don't want either of them getting hurt after all. Or for too much chaos to reign…"

a/n: Thanks Guest! I'm glad that you're enjoying the story and are enjoying the little snippits back into Smash Manor. I'll be continuing them in other chapters. Snake and Sonic are frenemies but I won't be touching too much on their relationship in this particular story. As for the Ice Climbers, I think of them as from the Inuit tribes were food is practically sacred. So the touching of food is a big no-no. Anyways- on to more plot! Also, check back Saturday or Sunday for the next chapter ;)