Lucas blinked at the Pokémon lying face-down in the dirt, heart thundering in his chest. Ralts and Wingull, barely holding each other up, stared down at the Exploud. The trainer across from him took a step back, fear written on his face. "N-No way! I should've won that fight!"
Wingull's wings fluttered, as the Pokémon leaned tiredly against Ralts. Ralts leaned back, both of them exhausted beyond belief. Lucas crouched down next to them. Wingull hopped onto his shoulder, settling there in a poof of feathers. Lucas easily lifted Ralts- he weighed less then Boney did.
"Grr-"
The Exploud was recalled in a flash of red light, and the kid backed up a step, eyes focused on Lucas. "I'm gonna get you-"
"No, you're not. Nosepass!"
The Pokémon erupted from the ground, right underneath the kid. He yelled as he found himself falling backwards. Roxanne darted forward, catching him before he could get harmed, but a pair of glinting handcuffs securely locking around his wrists.
"You're under arrest, for Pokémon abuse and for disrupting the peace."
As Roxanne began to give the trainer the riot act, Lucas glanced around. Where was Red?
He turned, searching the room. It was empty except the other three kids that he had lined up with, ready to fight. Where was Red? Panic began to rise in his throat, before it was pushed down. Red wouldn't of just abandoned him. He probably saw something a bit more dangerous, and took off after it.
Red wouldn't abandon him.
Right?
Lucas clung to Ralts, barely noticing the beak that ruffled through his hair soothingly. He didn't want to be abandoned any more. Ever again. "Lucas. Are you okay?" A soothing hand fell on his shoulder. Concerned eyes peered into his, as a Nurse Joy crouched down onto his level.
He blinked, and swallowed the lump in his throat. "I-I'm fine. I'm just looking for my friend-"
"He left." Roxanne spoke bluntly. "Took off towards the door, and slipped out. The last I saw of him, he looked like he was battling two grunts."
Oh. Oh. He had been aband- Love, love, peace, happiness, you're okay, we're here, we won't ever leave you, or let you be left alone again.
Ralts beamed the soothing thoughts into his mind, while clinging to the boy. Lucas smiled thinly. His shaking body calmed a bit, letting Wingull find a more comfortable perch. "Thanks Ralts."
Ralts smiled, and Wingull cooed softly.
"Lucas, here, have this." A glittering badge was thrust out at him.
"Huh- but I thought that this was only available to those who-"
"Who I decide are worthy." Roxanne finished firmly. "I may not be like Wattson who'll give out his badge to just about anyone who asks with a happy laugh, but you demonstrated all the traits a true trainer needs to have. Courage, resilience, and a large heart." She thrust it out towards him. Lucas slowly picked it up, fingers curling around the shiny metal.
Roxanne looked to the Wingull, perched on Lucas's shoulder. "He could've fled, you know. But he decided to help you out, because you protected him. If you keep this up, then you'll gather a team of truly strong Pokémon."
Lucas nodded, looking back down at the ground. "I-I should go find my friend."
If Red wanted to be found. What if he didn't-
The ear-shattering boom shook the building. Lucas dropped to his knees, hands automatically clapping over his ears. Windows shattered, sending glass to the ground, barely missing the humans and Pokémon inside. Steam filled the room a moment later.
"What's going on?" Nurse Joy sounded panicked from where she had disappeared among the hot, warm air.
"Everyone get back, to the far wall! Go Steelix! Use Roar and clear away this steam!" Roxanne in contrast was calm and cool, her voice snapping out commands a mile a minute as they gathered the children away from the window. Lucas stumbled slightly, hearing glass crunch beneath sneakers.
Lucas scrambled for cover as the large steel plated Pokémon flashed onto the battleground. The Steelix roared, sending the steam billowing out from the sound waves.
"Good job Steelix. Where is everybody?"
Lucas glanced outside, and his breath stopped.
Lucas had thought he had seen Red angry before. When Tabuu had fought against the Smasher's, along with all of that pain and heartache, Red had been one of many to stand up against him. Lucas, hoping that if he faced Tabuu he would find Ness, had stood with Red. He could remember the steely look in the Trainer's eyes as he stood, juggling the three pokeballs between fingers. How everyone was determined to put away Tabuu, so that way they could look for those who were missing without interruption.
That anger then was nothing to the pure fire in his eyes. Red eyes practically glowed with battle hunger, echoed by Charizard's licking flames. The fire Pokémon had never made Lucas think of 'Dragon' but it was curling in his mind now. A slight, gibbering fear of what had happened to him and his family. "Red-" Lucas whispered softly, but it was lost as Red pulled himself onto the Charizard's back.
"RED!"
The cry was lost among Charizard's thunderous wingflaps, as the fire-type Pokémon took to the sky. They both were aiming at one man, and one man only. The one aboard a giant… Dragon…
Lucas froze, and Ralts cried out in distress, as Lucas's mind began feeding him images. Giant trees, fire, fire everywhere. Can't escape, can't escape, run, run towards the river- Mom? Mom, where are you? Mom! Claus, where is mom? Can't stop, can't stop, gotta get to the river- the fire is coming closer.
Lucas curled up, unaware of Wingull's shrill calls, or Nurse Joy's voice as she attempted to talk to him. River, flowing, flowing. Help me I'm drowning, I can't breathe. Why can't I breathe? Help me, mom dad, Claus- help! I'm sorry I'm sorry I'm sorry I'm sorry I'm sorry I'm sorry I'm sorry I'm sorry I'm sorry I'm sorry I'm sorry I'm sorry I'm sorry I'm sorry I'm sorry I'm sorry I'm sorry I'm sorry I'm sorry I'm sorry I'm sorry I'm sorry I'm sorry I'm sorry I'm sorryI'm sorry I'm sorry I'm sorry I'm sorry I'm sorry I'm sorry I'm sorry I'm sorry I'm sorry I'm sorry I'm sorry I'm sorry I'm sorry I'm sorry I'm sorry I'm sorry I'm sorry I'm sorry I'm sorry I'm sorry I'm sorry I'm sorry I'm sorry I'm sorry I'm so sorry-
"Lucas, take a deep breath. That's right honey, in and out."
Lucas blinked, suddenly aware of a warm, soft light. A concerned face was hovering right next to him, and across the room was- "Red?"
The other looked up at the sound of his name. The hat overshadowed his face, but it was on slightly crookedly, awkwardly, like it was resting on something. Red nodded slowly at him, and Lucas could spot white cloth beneath the hat, winding around the eye. Before Lucas had a chance to panic again or even say something, Red signed, "Ah, you're finally here, are you?"
Here? Where else would he be- oh, yeah. He had been caught up in memories. "That was quite the flashback, hmm, wasn't it Lucas?" Nurse Joy said softly. "Now then, will you look me in the eyes?"
Lucas slowly turned to her. Just listen to her. Just listen- nothing would become better, but he should listen to her before panicking over Red. "Good, now I want you to take a deep breath in through your nose, and out through your mouth. Innnn, and out. Nice and slow, just like that. Breathe in, and now when you breathe out, I want you to start relaxing your arms."
He stared directly at her, following directions. Nurse Joy's voice was soft, but commanding, and he had no wish too disobey her. Not when her voice was soft, gentle, and kept him calm. Not when it kept his mind off of Red, who probably wouldn't enjoy being charged right now. And... her voice was working. That was surprising.
Now that Lucas was calmer, he could see Ralts sitting in the background. Wingull was right next to him, the two Pokémon nestled together. Ralts leaned its head against Wingull, who had his head tucked underneath his wing.
Though, now that he was actually calming down, Lucas realized that he couldn't see any of Red's Pokémon. Usually Pikachu was out- There were six pokéballs sitting on the counter. They were all shaking violently, like the pokemon inside were attempting to break the balls from the inside out. "Lucas?"
Lucas returned his attention back to Nurse Joy. "I know you're worried about your friend. Why don't we talk to him together?"
She held out a hand, to help him slip from the seat. Lucas's heart squeezed, and he hopped down from the seat without taking it. He walked over to Red, glancing at the pokéballs on the table.
Charizard, Venosaur, Blastoise, Pikachu, Espeon and Snorlax were making their pokéball vibrate from their silenced roars. Red placed a hand over the balls, forcing them to still and hiding their anger from Lucas. "Red, what happened to you?"
Lucas reached one hand out to touch the eyepatch before pulling away at the last second. Red grimaced, holding up a bandaged hand. There was an icepack on it. "Your hand and your eye were injured?"
A simple nod. "What happened?" The calmness of before was beginning to wear off. Red rubbed the side of his face with his good hand. It took two hands to sign anything long, so he pointed to a piece of paper and pencil Nurse Joy had thoughtfully left out. Lucas obligingly handed it over.
'It's a long story. Do you mind if we first get somewhere where I can release my Pokémon and get them settled before I tell you the whole story? I was worried about you, so I didn't want too leave to miss you snapping out of it.'
Whatever warm, happy feeling Lucas might've felt at Red's insistence on staying him was overshadowed in deep concern. Red had gotten injured, and Lucas couldn't back him up like Red had always backed him up. "Uhm, oka-"
"Excuse, Mister Red is it? I'd prefer it if you didn't take Lucas anywhere quite yet. And you as well are still injured."
Red scrubbed at the back of his head. 'Sorry, but my Pokémon are strong, and I don't want to release them around too many unknown people. They know Lucas is alright…'
"I understand your hesitance, but… If you absolutely must go out, then please return here by the end of the day. I wish to speak with both of you."
Lucas nodded, and turned to the two Pokémon sitting in the corner. "Wingull? Ralts?"
The two of them took this as their cue to jump him. Lucas giggled softly as Ralts jumped into his arms, locking his arms around the boys neck. Wingull settled on top of his head, feathers puffed out.
They were both a little mad at him, and fussed over him as best as they could. Lucas smiled at them, in an attempt to reassure them he was fine. Red didn't smile as he scooped up his pokéballs, and began walking towards the door. Nurse Joy called out, "If you go further up north of the city, there's an beach that nobody really goes too anymore. Try there."
Red waved his good hand as he fast-walked right out of the Pokémon Center. Lucas had to jog slightly to keep up with him- it reminded him of times he traveled with Kumatora and Duster. Their long legs always outpaced his shorter ones. Boney, as well, could always outrun him, but had always lagged behind, his tail a constant beat against his leg…
Lucas shook his head, and almost reached out to grab Red's shirt, when he stopped. Silently he followed after the Pokémon Trainer. Everything was really falling apart, wasn't it? Red getting hurt, and that strange trainer earlier… Ralts touched him Concern, are you okay? Concern, concern
The pure emotion made him smile slightly- Lucas could see how and why a person could so completely love a Pokémon. Just like with Boney, they loved twice as much as just about any human.
Streets gave way to lawns, and lawns gave way to uncut, wild sea grass, which gave way to sand. Red scrambled up and over a few rocks, before dropping to the other side. Lucas followed him, struggling to keep ahold of Ralts.
Red lifted up his only good hand, offering help to Lucas. Lucas hesitated, before shaking his head and dropping down to the ground on his own. If he took Red's hand, he risked injuring Red even further. There was a shift on Red's face, before it was covered up by the frown. Red took a step back, and motioned for Lucas to step back as well. Lucas backed up to the wall, holding Ralts close, and feeling Wingull shift on his head.
Six brief bursts of light later, and six Pokémon stood in the sand. Lucas pressed into the wall as they roared, claws and fangs bared to the world. Red, caught in the center, reached out, a hand brushing against a back.
Charizard moved first. Red didn't have a chance to do much more then flail slightly as he was scooped up into short forearms, and a tongue flickered lightly against his skin. Red held still, accepting the scrutinizing gaze, and the questing nose for any injuries. Giant wings folded in around the trainer, nearly blocking him from Lucas's view.
Charizard moaned, low and soft, eyes closing as he rested his muzzle against Red's stomach. Red gently hugged Charizard, eyes closing back. The two remained like that for a long moment, the very first Pokémon Red had ever had leaning on his trainer.
Charizard didn't seem to want to put Red down, but Blastoise and Venosaur shouldered their way in anyways. Pikachu jumped through Charizrd's arms, nestling onto Red's chest. Dark eyes stared into crimson, as long ears slowly wilted. "Pika pi?"
Red pressed a closed lip kiss to Pikachu's forehead. Pikachu crawled up to his shoulder, lightly placing a paw on the eyepatch. Espeon jumped up to Charizard's back, leaning over the Pokémon's long neck to stare down at Red. The forked tail flickered, and brushed lightly against one cheek. Red lifted his bad hand, the rough bandages brushing against Espeon's cheek.
A vine of Venosaur's reached out, curling around Red's wrist. Red grinned, and tried to swing down from Charizards arms. The fire Pokémon growled, refusing to let go. Though after a moment of silent communication, he did deign on crouching down to let Venosaur and Red fondly put foreheads together.
Lucas swallowed a lump in his throat, burying his face against Ralts. This intimate, touching, scene didn't have room for him. Lucas was the outsider butting in. He missed Snorlax gathering everyone into its arms, missed Blastoise and Charizard's angry head-butt, each of them blaming the other. He looked up in time to see Red silently laugh, hat missing and one crimson eye soft in a way that had never been shown in Smash Mansion.
Lucas patiently waited, as the sun slowly began to set, for Red's Pokémon to calm down and finally let their trainer go. It was an hour before true night and darkness, before Red could finally peel himself away long enough to sit next to Lucas.
His Pokémon rearranged themselves around the two, Espeon and Pikachu smugly claiming lap and shoulder. "Red, what happened?" He could ask this question now that they were alone.
Red pulled out a piece of paper, and pencil. He hesitated for a long minute over what to write, before reluctantly writing, 'I found a guy I knew, and we battled. But he had snag balls, so I had to recall my Pokémon before he could capture them.'
"So this was from that battle?" Lucas edged a little closer, eyes going from hand to eyepatch. This happy-story was no longer happy nor peaceful.
Red nodded, clearly reluctant to even write more. When Lucas read the next words, he knew he wasn't being told everything. 'He's one of those types who doesn't let a battle end when the Pokémon can no longer fight. I just got caught up in it.'
The boy sighed. Lucas leaned a bit closer. If Red wasn't willing to tell him anything, then the least Lucas could do would be too use his psychic energy for something other then fighting. "I-I could probably heal you, you know."
Pikachu and Espeon instantly perked up. Ears twitched towards Lucas, glancing between the two boys sitting on the sand. Red's head tilted towards him, before he nodded. "Might as well try."
Lucas closed his eyes, laying his hands on top of the eye patch. "PK Refresh β."
The healing PSI flowed from his hands and into Red. It was always a new experience to feel muscles knitting together, and torn skin smoothing beneath finger tips. Espeon tensed, sensing the psychic energy in the air. Red blindly reached out to touch her, letting the PSI slowly work its way into his skin.
"There we go." Lucas didn't say just how deep he had felt the wound go- even a millimeter deeper, and Lucas doubted even his PSI would be able to do anything. It could only do so much- it couldn't heal Duster's limp, nor heal Kumatora's heart as she watched Lucas kill her parents with every needle he pulled. No, now wasn't the time to think about this. This was about Red.
Lucas settled down next to Red. "So, this guy you were chasing- you had to give up because of the Snag Balls, right? What are you going to do if he attacks again."
Red gingerly peeled off the eye-patch as he thought. Long fingers brushed across the closing wound. 'If worst comes to worst, then I'll destroy my pokéballs. He can't use the snag balls then, and I know he doesn't have Master Balls. My Pokémon won't allow themselves to be caught again. Probably not even by me.'
Lucas glanced up from the paper with wide eyes. Red gently scratched Pikachu behind the ears, smiling down at the Pokémon. Charizard grumbled, head resting against crossed legs. Red without his Pokémon? It just couldn't fit in his mind. Surely they would follow Red, no matter what... But- Lucas swallowed dryly.
The sun was beginning to set. "We-We should get back to the Pokémon Center. Nurse Joy wanted to speak to us." Lucas didn't know what else to say.
Red nodded, and stood up. The Pokémon were instantly on alert, as he held up pokéballs. Red held them out to them. One by one, the bigger Pokémon vanished inside, but Pikachu and Espeon both refused. Instead, they took up a guarding position around their trainer. "They really love you Red." Lucas said softly.
"So do yours."
Lucas looked down at the Ralts that smiled up at him, and felt the Wingull run a beak through his hair. "Yeah." It felt odd to admit it. "I think they do love me."
The two slowly walked back to the Pokémon Center, people swirling past them. Despite the attack on the city earlier, there was still plenty of laughter and people and Pokémon sharing experiences together. The Pokémon Center stood out from the dusty brown buildings, its cool blue paint job clean and inviting.
Nurse Joy (Lucas wasn't sure if it was the same one who had healed his and Red's Pokémon) stood in the center of the entrance room. "Ah, you two have returned." A second Nurse Joy stood behind a counter, a Chansey sitting next to it.
"Come this way please. I'd like to talk to each of you separately."
A blue-haired man stood, brushing back blue hair. Steven? What was Steven doing here?
"Nurse Joy, if you don't mind, I'd like to speak with the boy in the cap first." His eyes lingered on Lucas for a second. Lucas scuttled sideways, bumping into Red. Red squeezed his shoulder, taking a step towards Steven.
"Hold it." Everyone froze at the sheer ice frosting Nurse Joy's tones. "I never said that either of my patients are available for anything, now did I? Steven. I will decide when to send him over. Why don't you go back to your father and the police?"
"We may have to arrest him Nurse Joy." The words were spoken apologetically, but with eyes firmly on Red. Lucas squeezed Ralts tightly in his arms. If Red was arrested, then what he was supposed to do? He of all people knew that you could be arrested for the silliest, stupidest things.
Nurse Joy seemed to pick up on his incipient panic, for she turned on Steven. "Pokémon Centers are considered safe areas. Moreover, I believe there are a few other issues to take care of first. Red is it?"
Red nodded. "When we're done here, will you please proceeded to the jail? I believe there will be more then one person waiting for you."
Red looked up at the sky, as Pikachu on his shoulder looked between the humans. Pikachu's long ears twitched, before he looked at Steven. "Pika?"
"I'm not sure if this is the best-"
"This isn't a request. If needed, then I will escort Red over myself. But there are a few issues that I think ought to be taken care of first before you separate these two boys." Nurse Joy spoke firmly.
Steven hesitated for a moment longer. "Then may I ask one question?"
Nurse Joy's lips pursed. "If it is fast. Most of the day has already passed, and even I have limits to my patience." She smiled.
Steven turned to Red. "That man you were chasing. You two knew each other from where?"
Red wrote, 'Kanto Region. He was a member of Team Rocket.'
"Kanto… And Team Rocket. What was a Team Rocket member doing with Team Aqua and Magma? They might've been doing what was wrong, but they loved Pokémon unlike Team Rocket."
Steven stared at the piece of paper in his hands. "Orre region Snag Balls. Team Rocket from Kanto, and now two organizations that have traditionally been enemies working together. I will want to talk to you later."
Steven turned and walked out, but not before shooting a smile to Lucas. Lucas waved goodbye slightly, before looking up at Red. The other didn't seem worried, but still… Jail was a scary place. Well, kinda. The jail back at home had a broken lock so a police officer had to hold the door close. But Ness had run-ins with Police Officers and Jails, and according to him it was pretty scary.
"So then, would you two please come this way. I want to talk to Lucas first, so if you'll please wait out in the hallway? I want to give him at least a little therapy before you two decide to move on."
Therapy? What was that?
Red plopped down onto the floor to the side of the hallway, Pikachu climbing onto his lap. Espeon curled up next to him. Lucas followed the insistent tugging of Nurse Joy towards the room, and shortly found himself in a room that was warm and comfortable looking.
"Take a seat anywhere you please Lucas."
"O-Okay." There was a giant armchair, low and sprawling. Ralts curled up in his lap, and Wingull coo'ed softly from his head as he climbed up and settled. The two Pokémon didn't seem interested in much, both lending silent support to him.
"Lucas." Nurse Joy's tone softened. "I want to talk to you about what happened earlier in the gym."
"Do we have too?" Lucas didn't want to remember the burning panic and overwhelming uselessness that he had felt then. It was just like back at the Junkyard, when his mind went blank and the only thing he could do was flee as fast as his feet could take him.
"No. We don't." Lucas blinked, shyly looking up. It was… It was the first time in so very, very long that an adult had actually been interested in what he personally thought. Everyone told him he had to pull out the needles, that it was destiny, that he couldn't stop this-
It was nice, to have something he was in control over.
"We don't have to do anything you don't want to Lucas." Nurse Joy repeated softly. "You're in control here. I'm just here to listen and to help. I would like it if you did talk, but if you don't think you can talk about it quite yet, that's okay as well. I'm willing to wait until you feel comfortable to talk to me about this."
That was a nice concept. No rushing. No fighting. "So then Lucas, will you play a board game with me?"
She gestured to the board games stacked up to the side. Lucas looked down with a blush. "I- I don't know how to play any of those…"
"That's okay, I'll teach you."
Red leaned against the wall, listening to the sounds of a Pokémon Center at night. It was soft, gentle, full of people and Pokémon whispering to each other. Fingers brushed against the closed wound- he had never been healed by Lucas before. It was like having warm light poured into the wound, gentle and healing in more ways then one. It was a nice feeling... one that helped chase away the chills of the man he had faced. Espeon placed a paw on his leg. Worry, worry, concern.
Lucas could pick up a lot more then Red could, being psychic himself. But Espeon made her feelings on this entire matter clear. She was worried, and Red didn't know how to comfort her. So he scratched behind her ears, thankful that Lucas knew how to heal.
Red smiled slightly down at her, missing what exactly his Pikachu was doing.
The small yellow mouse had found a scrap of green cloth somewhere, The Pokémon tied it around his neck, cursing the fact he had no opposable thumbs to make it easy. Then, with a few liberal spits, he slicked his hair back into spikes.
"Pika."
Red turned around to see Pikachu making his very best Green impression. Everything- from the spiked hair, sour look, and arms akimbo spoke of Green Oak ready to challenge him to a fight. Red's shoulders shook as he silently laughed.
Espeon purred, as Pikachu kept up the look for a minute longer, doing a few extra poses.
Click!
The sound of a shutter snapping brought Pikachu's attention towards the sound, falling out of character for a moment. Red looked up to see a portly man with a camera. "Hello there! I am the Camera Man! I take pictures, because I like too! Keep going Pikachu, and I will continue taking pictures!"
"Piika!" Eyes shone at the camera man for somebody finally recognizing his innate talent. Pikachu then began to strut his stuff, posing and looking positively dashing.
Espeon found a rose, and together the two began to make the silliest pictures Red had ever seen. The smile remained plastered to his face as Pikachu held the rose in his mouth, bending Espeon backwards in a traditional 'lovey-dovey' scene. It was shortly followed by Espeon switching places, and now it was 'Green Oak' being romanced.
The camera clicked away like crazy.
Eventually, the two grew bored with play-acting, and moved on to the camera itself, pawing at the device. The Camera Man easily let them play with it as he took a seat on the bench next to Red. "It's pretty hard to break that camera of mine- besides, who knows what beautiful pictures they may take!"
The Camera Man peered down at Red. "Hmm, you seem familiar. I have seen your picture before. But it seems to me that it must've been a particularly shoddy picture, otherwise I would remember it. Hmm, oh yes! E-mail account! Or picture account! I must have it to send you my wonderful pictures of your Pokémon!"
Red stared blankly at him. There were far too many exclamation marks in the Camera Man's sentence. Was there a question among all that excitement?
"Oh, you don't have one? That's too bad. Here, I will help you create one right now!"
Red shortly found himself clutching what seemed to be some kind of specialized tablet specifically made for making picture accounts. "Just swipe your card, enter in a password, and everything will be a-okay!"
Red dutifully followed the instructions- if the man didn't recognize his face, then he was unlikely to recognize his name. "Ah, yes, yes, I see, I see. Red then? Very well then Red- I will send these pictures to you right away. Remember to share them with friends and family!"
The Camera Man stood, rescued his camera from the two playing Pokémon, and rushed away. About ten seconds later, Red watched as the computer dinged softly, screen lighting up as it stated that the pictures were uploaded.
The very first picture of Pikachu pretending to be Green stared out at him. Red chewed on his bottom lip, feeling a sudden spurt of nervousness. He brutally thrust it down- he had faced the Elite Four, and Team Rocket. What was he getting nervous over a few pictures for?
Because they made him guilty, and he really, really wanted to talk to Green again. Being here with Lucas... it wasn't the same as being with Green. And, well, he had to talk to Green sometime, right?
His fingers hesitated over the touchscreen. Pikachu butted his leg, and Red smiled down at him. Espeon leaned on the other side, and together the two Pokémon watched as Red uploaded the picture to an e-mail, and typed in a single sentence.
Pikachu hit send before Red could double-think.
Red waited for a reply- if there would be any.
Green Oak was not happy.
Blue had reported that while there were footsteps up on Red's mountain cave, the trainer himself was no longer there. He hadn't been there for weeks, bordering on months. What was Red doing?
That was why he was loosing sleep- not that e-mails coming in at two in the morning from some nobody with no subject line at all helped matters. He was honestly trying to sleep-
Red-lined eyes stared at the username. They stared for a moment, and then a hand unconsciously scrubbed at them. The eyes, no longer sleep blurred looked back at the name as if expecting it to change from its three-letter to something a bit longer. Maybe tack on a Prof. before hand, and change that R to an O, and that E to a A, and that D to a K. Maybe then the world would start making sense-
Whatever, it was just an e-mail from that idiot on the mountain. Green stared up at the ceiling, sleep-deprived mind attempting to decide whether or not it was worth getting up and checking.
What in the name of Acreus, Dialga, Palkia and Mew is he doing e-mailing me at two in the morning?
Green groaned as he rolled out of bed, stumbling towards the computer. If he didn't reply to it now, he'd forget by the morning. It took one click to open the e-mail.
A very familiar Pikachu, with a very familiar, very stylish, haircut popped up in his e-mail. There was one sentence and one sentence only.
'Pikachu's gotten better at copying your style.'
Green snorted at the single line. "Chatty gossip as always Red." His mind and his mouth obviously weren't connecting all too well. "Fine, two can play at this game."
I wonder where Red is? The hazy thought lingered in his mind as Green typed down his reply and hit send. Who cares, I want too sleep. The other half of his mind was obviously winning as Green stumbled back to bed, yawning his head off.
"Urgh, can't believe that idiot, e-mailing me at three in the morning."
Green pulled the covers up to his chin, and shut his eyes. I wonder if I should've typed in such a nasty reply to Red at three… wait, Red?
Blue blood-shot eyes shot open, staring at the ceiling.
Slowly, Green Oak sat up in bed, turning back to the computer. This time, his fully awake mind actually processed the username flashing at him from the screen.
Prof. Oak fell out of bed as Green's undignified screech.
"What on earth is that boy getting up too now?" Prof. Oak grumbled, slowly sitting up. He could hear the sound of someone running around upstairs, followed by the sound of someone kissing the floor because a certain someone didn't know how to clean up their bedroom. Daisy did try to keep everything tidy, but even she could do so much against the oncoming teenager laziness.
A few more bangs, and Green rushed by, green hair uncombed and lying flat. "Gramps, you're awake. Where is Lance? I need to beat him into letting me borrow a Dragonite so that way I can get to Hoenn fast enough."
What was going on now? Probably more Champion and Gym Leader business. Prof. Oak covered a yawn with one hand. "Last I heard Lance was at the same place he always is- with the other Elite Four. What in the name of Mew is going on-"
"That idiot Red finally deigned on e-mailing me about how he's insulting my looks by making his Pikachu look like me. I'm gonna beat it into him not to make fun of me!"
Prof. Oak watched as his grandson rushed out of the building. "Boys. When will they ever be honest with each other?"
He crawled into bed, and shortly fell asleep. "Welcome to the world of Pokémon. Are you a boy or a girl?"
a/n: there seems to be some confusion about the end of last chapter for which I apologize. The newest character that fought Red is an OC. I'm kinda basing him on the Masked Man from the movie with Jirachi, but it's just an OC. With Giovanni having a son younger then Red, I didn't want it to be him, even if Giovanni was going for an outright killing of Red, he wouldn't go for torture. Sorry about that. Also Guest, here's your birthday chapter! I'm glad you're noticing all the little details I wrote in~ Have a happy birthday!