Red and Missingno. looked into each other's eyes for a good minute, Missingno. with anticipation, Red with indecisiveness. And then, finally, Red betrayed a small smile.
"Well," he said as he dug into his backpack, "I suppose I do need a sixth Pokémon... a full team would help for sure in the Pokémon League, wouldn't it?" As he said this, he withdrew his hand from his backpack, and it was clutching a Poké Ball. At the sight of this, Missingno. exclaimed happily.
"Missing! Missingno.!" Missingno. cheered happily as it slowly moved forward, gently bumping the ball's button with the front of its face. Immediately, the ball opened up along the black band, and Missingno. was converted into a mass of red transparent energy, which was then sucked into the ball. Once all of Missingno. was inside, the ball snapped shut and immediately gave the telltale ping to indicate a successful capture.
"Nice!" grinned Orange as he patted Red on the back. "I knew you'd start warming up to Tanko's Pokémon!"
"I'm still in the process of doing that, I think," Red replied. "Still... At least I'm willing to make the effort, right?"
"It's a step in the right direction," Violet nodded approvingly. "Now, let's get on with this." With that, she pushed aside the giant palm leaves and stepped into the building.
The interior of Bincanar Gym looked as though it had been carved entirely out of reddish-brownish rock. A number of burning torches attached to the walls provided a sort of dim light to the room. As usual, there was a battlefield making up the vast majority of the room, and the boundaries were carved into the rock. At the opposite end, standing next to what appeared to be a healing machine built into a boulder, was a teenage girl with fiery orange hair, clad in a bright yellow tank top and blazing red shorts. She didn't look much older than Violet.
"Whoa," Orange said suddenly, blinking to try and adjust his eyes to the dim light. "Cousin Maggie?! Is that you?!"
"Hey- that voice!" exclaimed the person on the other end of the Gym. "Cousin Orange! I haven't seen you in years! You still living in Miliovern?"
"Nah, we moved to Talpel Town," replied Orange. "Electra's still the Miliovern Gym Leader, though. Red, Vi, this is my cousin Maggie McPixel."
As Orange and Maggie caught up, Red and Violet exchanged highly surprised looks.
"He has another cousin who's a Gym Leader?" Red whispered.
"I know!" Violet whispered back. "Didn't see that coming. At least she seems a bit nicer than Electra."
Red nodded in agreement.
"Yeah, sure, I'll be happy to battle you and your friends," grinned Maggie. "How about you first, Orange? I wanna see just what kind of trainer you turned out to be. Three Pokémon each."
"Works for me," Orange grinned back as he stepped into the challenger's box.
Maggie produced a Poké Ball and threw it. "I choose you! Ninetales!" she called out.
In a flash of light, a large yet graceful creature emerged from the ball. Its luxurious fur was a lovely cream color, and nine long tails flowed from its backside. "Niiiine," it said. Orange responded by taking out his Pokédex and pointing it at the Fire-type.
"Ninetales, the Fox Pokémon, and the evolved form of Vulpix," droned the device. "Extremely smart and vindictive. Pulling one of its tails will result in a 1,000-year curse."
"OK, let's do this!" Orange exclaimed as he threw a Poké Ball. ".4, go!"
The ball burst open, and Orange's .4 materialized, already zipping around in circles with great rapidity, gibbering excitedly. "Cool .4," nodded Maggie. "But let's get started! Ninetales! Fire Spin!"
"Niiiine!" howled Ninetales as it unleashed a swirling cyclone of flames from its mouth.
".4, use TM05!" Orange shouted.
Gibbering rapidly, .4 flew right at the fiery funnel before suddenly veering off to the right and going invisible. Ninetales ceased its attack and started to look around, somewhat confused.
"TM28 now!" commanded Orange.
"Eeeee hee hee hee hee!" whooped .4 as the air around Ninetales exploded three times in rapid succession, knocking the Fire-type to the ground as .4 reappeared behind it.
"Ninetales, it's behind you!" exclaimed Maggie. "Use Body Slam!"
".4, go for a Wing Attack!" yelled Orange.
As Ninetales sprang into the air, .4 sprouted a pair of purple, blocky wings and zipped up to meet its adversary. Easily avoiding Ninetales's attack, .4 rammed Ninetales with its wings. Once it finished the attack, it withdrew the wings back into its body.
"Let's wrap this up!" Orange grinned. "Use Dragon Rage!"
"Ninetales!" exclaimed Maggie, but too late- the brilliant blue flames .4 had produced struck the Fire-type. The Dragon move did the trick- Ninetales fainted. "Return, Ninetales!" Maggie said as she held out the Poké Ball. Once Ninetales had been withdrawn, Maggie threw a second Poké Ball. "Let's go, Rapidash!"
In a flash of light, what could only be described as a horse on fire materialized. Its mane was composed entirely of flames. It neighed loudly as it stomped the battlefield. Red held out his Pokédex.
"Rapidash, the Fire Horse Pokémon, and the evolved form of Ponyta," droned the Pokédex. "Highly competitive. If Rapidash sees something moving faster than it, it will give chase in the hopes of racing it."
"We can take it!" Orange grinned. ".4, Agility!"
"Rapidash, you use Agility, too!" commanded Maggie.
.4 zipped around the battlefield, getting progressively faster as Rapidash galloped all around, also getting faster.
"Now use Dragon Rage!" called Orange.
"Rapidash, Fire Blast!" ordered Maggie.
As .4 unleashed a stream of blue flames, Rapidash launched from its mouth a large, star-shaped blast of fire. The two attacks connected, resulting in a violent explosion. Though Rapidash had managed to avoid most of the blast, .4 had been right in the middle of it.
".4!" Orange called out in concern. However, as the dust settled, it became clear that .4 had fainted.
"You trained that .4 really well," grinned Maggie as Orange withdrew the Caffeine Pokémon.
"First Pokémon I ever caught," Orange grinned back as he threw another Poké Ball. "Go, Nidoking!" he shouted as the large, purple Drill Pokémon materialized, roaring loudly.
"Let's do this," exclaimed Maggie. "Take Down, Rapidash!"
"Nidoking, Rolling Kick!" Orange ordered.
Rapidash charged right at Nidoking, whose immediate reaction was to execute a perfect roundhouse kick. It struck Rapidash in the side, and sent it tumbling down to the ground, where it lay groaning as it struggled to climb back to its feet.
"Come on, Rapidash!" exclaimed Maggie.
"Finish it, Nidoking!" said Orange. "Water Gun!"
Nidoking roared loudly as it unleashed a forceful stream of water from its mouth. Rapidash neighed loudly in protest, but quickly collapsed to the ground.
"Two down, one to go!" Orange exclaimed as Maggie withdrew Rapidash.
"Hah, yeah," grinned Maggie. "But this last one's my pride and joy!" she added as she produced a third Poké Ball and threw it. "Go, u!"
In a flash of light, a large, mainly rectangular creature materialized. It was a vertically-facing rectangle, not unlike a pPkMnp or an 'M. On the top left side of it, there was a smaller rectangle protruding. Its entire body was white, though with abundant orange markings and sparse black markings. It gave off an ominous, rumbling roar as it floated motionlessly in midair. At the sight of this thing, Orange took out his Pokédex and held it up.
"u, the Fiery Pokémon," droned the device. "Immensely proud of its power. If a u turns down a battle challenge, it is a sure sign of illness."
"Nidoking, Aurora Beam!" ordered Orange.
"u, Water Gun!" commanded Maggie.
As Nidoking unleashed a multicolored ray of light from its horn, a small mouth opened up on u's body, and a forceful jet of water was issued from within. Nidoking groaned as the attack connected. Its focus broken, the Aurora Beam fizzled out before u had taken much in the way of damage.
"u, now use your Ember attack!" called Maggie.
"Nidoking, Water Gun!" shouted Orange.
This time, it was Nidoking's attack that broke through, and u's attack that fizzled out- the embers that flew off of u's body were doused by the jet of water Nidoking fired off. u roared unpleasantly as the Water Gun hit.
"Horn Attack now!" yelled Maggie and Orange simultaneously.
Nidoking charged forward, head lowered, horn sticking straight out; u flew forward, a deadly-looking spike protruding from the front of its body. The two Pokémon collided in the middle of the battlefield, and they simultaneously collapsed to the ground as a result of the impact. Neither one moved.
"A draw?" Maggie said disbelievingly. "Oh- wait- Orange, you still have one more, don't you? Yeah, so you win!"
"All right!" Orange exclaimed as he and Maggie withdrew Nidoking and u, respectively.
"Yeah, you really turned out to be a great trainer, Orange," grinned Maggie as she walked across the battlefield and handed Orange a badge which appeared to look like fire. "So, here's your Inferno Badge, and your TM38- that teaches Fire Blast! Oh, where are my manners, Orange, who are your friends?" she added, turning to look at Red and Violet.
"Maggie, this is Violet Scramble, my girlfriend, and this is my good friend Red Vershunn," replied Orange, introducing Violet and Red respectively.
"Ooh," grinned Maggie. "Girlfriend, huh? Way to go, Orange. And your other friend's cute, too," she added quietly. Red blushed slightly as he heard this. "So, which one of you's next?" she asked.
"I'll go next," Violet volunteered before Red could even open his mouth.
"All right, just let me heal up my Pokémon first," replied Maggie as she walked back across the battlefield.
"I gotta say, I like her," Violet remarked.
"Yeah, me- me too," Red added. At this, Violet and Orange turned to face Red, whose face was starting to match his name.
"Ooh, Red," grinned Violet. "Yeah, you like her, all right." Orange couldn't help but grin at this.
"Well... I... uh..." Red stammered.
"Red, relax," grinned Orange. "You know how sometimes someone will get mad at their best friend because their best friend falls for their sister or cousin? This is not one of those times. You're my friend, I'd trust you with her."
"Th-thanks, Orange," Red replied, grinning weakly. With that, Violet took her place in the challenger's box, as Maggie had already sent out her Ninetales.
"Go, Skelefly!" called Violet as she threw a Poké Ball, unleashing her Aerodactyl Skeleton Missingno. into the cavernous room. Skelefly flapped its wings, staying airborne as it seemed to glare down at Ninetales (it would be easier to tell whether it was glaring if it had more than just empty eye sockets).
"Oh, cool, you nickname your Pokémon," grinned Maggie. "Let's go, Ninetales! Fire Spin now!"
"Skelefly, Waterfall attack!" ordered Violet.
Skelefly screeched as its entire skeletal body became cloaked in water. It then dove down at Ninetales, its water-covered body cutting right through the swirling flames like extremely fiery butter before slamming into Ninetales. The Fox Pokémon was sent tumbling backwards, but it got back to its feet quickly enough.
"Quick Attack!" called Maggie.
"Use Bone Club!" commanded Violet.
Ninetales charged, running straight at Skelefly. As it jumped up, however, Skelefly clubbed it in the head with one of its skeletal wings, sending Ninetales crashing down to the ground.
"Finish it!" called Violet. "Egg Bomb!"
Skelefly screeched as it faced down and allowed three large eggs to tumble out of its mouth. Each egg exploded upon contact with Ninetales, and once the move had stopped, Ninetales made no effort to get up.
"Get back!" exclaimed Maggie as she held out Ninetales's Poké Ball. Once Ninetales was sucked back into the sphere, Maggie threw another ball. "Go! Rapidash!"
Maggie's Rapidash materialized in a flash of light, neighing loudly as it glared across the battlefield at Skelefly. It stomped at the ground and snorted at the Data Pokémon.
"Let's keep it going, Skelefly!" exclaimed Violet. "Waterfall attack!"
"Rapidash, Take Down!" called Maggie.
Skelefly and Rapidash charged at each other, the former cloaked in swirling water. They collided in the center of the battlefield, where each struggled against the other's attack. Finally, Skelefly's Waterfall won over, and Rapidash was thrust backwards. Skelefly screeched and flew a celebratory loop-de-loop as Rapidash got back to its feet.
"Fire Blast!" ordered Maggie.
"Skelefly, SmokeScreen!" Violet ordered.
But before Skelefly could get much of any smoke out of its mouth, the five-point plume of fire which had erupted from Rapidash's mouth already engulfed the Aerodactyl Skeleton Missingno. Skelefly screeched in discomfort and pain as it collapsed to the ground. In a manner of seconds, Skelefly had ceased all noise, and all movement, for that matter.
"Phew," sighed Maggie as Violet recalled Skelefly. "I don't mind telling ya, I was a little worried there! Your Missingno. is powerful!" she exclaimed.
"Thanks," smiled Violet. "I can't take all the credit, of course, Skelefly was pretty strong already when I caught it. OK, Skulls, you're up!" she added as she threw another Poké Ball.
In a flash of light, the two-headed, floating form of Skulls materialized. "Weezing," it groaned.
"Rapidash! Fire Blast!" called Maggie.
"Skulls, use Smog!" ordered Violet.
"Weeeeeez," groaned Skulls as it unleashed thick clouds of poisonous fog from both mouths. At the same time, Rapidash let fly another Fire Blast, but this one reacted with the toxic gases Weezing was currently expelling, causing an explosion in Rapidash's direction, flooring the Fire Horse Pokémon once again. Though it was still conscious, now it struggled to get to its feet.
"Wrap it up with Sludge!" commanded Violet. Immediately, the Weezing blasted Rapidash with twin streams of sludge, expelled from their mouths. Rapidash neighed feebly in protest for only a moment before succumbing to unconsciousness.
"Rapidash, return! u, go!" called Maggie as she held out Rapidash's Poké Ball in one hand while throwing another ball with her other hand.
As Rapidash was sucked back into its ball, u reappeared in a flash of light, roaring loudly.
"Skulls, Thunderbolt!" ordered Violet.
"u, Thunder!" shouted Maggie.
Simultaneously, both Pokémon lit up with voltage as they fired off large, powerful bolts of lightning. The attacks connected in the center of the battlefield, promptly resulting in a massive explosion, which blew both combatants back.
"Come on, Skulls!" Violet encouraged her Weezing.
"u, use your Horn Drill!" Maggie exclaimed.
"Ooh, this could get nasty," Orange whispered to Red. "Horn Drill is a one-hit KO move. If it hits, Skulls is down!"
"Skulls, Sludge!" ordered Violet.
As the dust cleared, u could be seen flying menacingly towards Skulls, a long and deadly sharp spike protruding from its body- except this one was spinning. Fast. Skulls unleashed a stream of sludge from its larger head's mouth, but the spinning horn easily dispersed the sludge, cutting through it with ease. Before Violet could say anything, the attack made contact. Skulls dropped to the floor as the horn retracted back into u's body.
"Skulls!" Violet exclaimed in horror, but to no avail; the Weezing was making no attempt to move.
Maggie giggled as Violet withdrew Skulls. "See, Horn Drill's one of those moves where if it hits, the target's knocked out instantly," she explained. "For what it's worth, though, that's a pretty good Weezing."
"Well, if you thought Skulls was good," replied Violet, "then you're gonna just love… Migraine!" she shouted as the ball opened up, unleashing her Golduck.
"Aha, a Water-type. Now it gets interesting," Maggie remarked. "u, use Thunder now!"
"Migraine, dodge it!" Violet called.
"Duck! Golduck!" exclaimed Migraine as it did a sudden backflip, just barely evading the launched lightning bolt.
"Now use Water Gun!" ordered Violet.
"We'll use Water Gun, too!" responded Maggie.
Both combatants simultaneously let fly identical jets of water at each other. The attacks collided in the center of the battlefield, but Migraine's Water Gun slowly started to push u's back.
"Ha haa!" Violet laughed triumphantly. "We'd be evenly matched, except Migraine here is a Water-type. Attacks are always more powerful if the Pokémon using them is the same type as the attack, you know. Now, Migraine, Surf!"
"Duck! Gol!" grunted Golduck as it stopped its Water Gun, its eyes glowing blue. Then, a tidal wave seemed to rise up out of the rock, and crashed down over u, sending it tumbling to the ground. The Fire/Flying-type roared and shrieked its displeasure, and rose back into the air, albeit very unsteadily.
"We got it now!" Violet called encouragingly. "Confusion attack!"
"Come on, u, Thunder!" pleaded Maggie. However, her order was in vain; the blast of blue psychic energy Migraine had fired from the ruby in its forehead struck u, and the Fiery Pokémon collapsed to the ground. It made no effort to move.
"Victory!" exclaimed Violet as Migraine ran up and hugged its trainer. Though Maggie didn't look too pleased at losing, she still smiled as she walked across the battlefield, withdrawing u as she went.
"A well-fought battle," Maggie said to Violet as the latter was presented with an Inferno Badge and a TM38. "You've earned these. Hey, Red, it's your turn now," she added to Red, smiling at him briefly before she walked back across the battlefield. Red blushed in response to this (which in turn caused Orange and Violet to exchange smirks), but took his position in the challenger's box all the same. Finally, once Maggie had healed up her Pokémon, she wasted no time in throwing Ninetales's Poké Ball, releasing the nine-tailed fox onto the battlefield.
Red threw a Poké Ball. "Raticate!" he exclaimed. "Go!"
In a flash of light, Red's Raticate materialized. It bared its prominent fangs at Ninetales and hissed, "Rrrrrraticate!"
"Okay, Ninetales, let's go!" exclaimed Maggie. "Quick Attack!"
"Use your own Quick Attack, Raticate!" ordered Red.
Ninetales and Raticate darted forward, and collided with each other in the center of the battlefield. Each bounced off the other with relatively little damage.
"OK, now use Water Gun!" Red commanded.
"Fire Spin!" was Maggie's reply.
Raticate unleashed a stream of water from its mouth, but Ninetales was quicker- the swirling flames emitting from its mouth wasted no time in forming a great, fiery tornado which surrounded Raticate from every side.
"Not good," Orange remarked. "Raticate won't be able to do much of anything within the Fire Spin, it's like being caught in Wrap!"
"Raticate, come on! Do something!" Red pleaded, but all he could hear in response were Raticate's pained screams. Finally, once the flames subsided, Raticate could be seen again. Its fur was charred in several places, and it looked significantly worn out.
"Raticate, Hyper Fang now!" Red ordered.
"Use Fire Blast!" called Maggie.
Raticate lunged forward, teeth at the ready, but was met with a five-point plume of flames, fired from Ninetales's mouth. This second incendiary onslaught proved to be too much for the Rat Pokémon, who collapsed then and there.
Sighing, Red withdrew Raticate as Maggie squealed loudly, congratulating Ninetales on its victory.
"Hm," Violet remarked. "Bit of a bumpy start for Red, isn't it?"
"Oh, he can turn this around," Orange replied. "He's only down one Pokémon."
"OK, Charizard, you're up!" Red called as he threw the ball, unleashing the Fire/Flying Flame Pokémon. Charizard gave a triumphant roar as it landed on the ground, its wings spread wide.
"Ninetales, Quick Attack!" ordered Maggie.
"Charizard, Mega Punch!" commanded Red.
With a flap of its wings, Charizard took to the air. It flew low, zooming towards the rapidly oncoming Ninetales, fist at the ready. However, before it could execute the punching move, Ninetales accelerated unexpectedly and smashed into Charizard, causing it to crash to the ground. To Red's relief, however, Charizard got back up without any problems whatsoever.
"Let's go with a Flamethrower!" called Red.
"Ninetales, Confuse Ray!" said Maggie.
All nine of Ninetales's tails stuck straight out as its eyes flashed with red light. As Charizard prepared to fire off a Flamethrower, it suddenly gained a similar red glow in its eyes, and began to wobble around erratically.
"Oh, come on!" Red exclaimed. "Charizard! Use Flamethrower!"
Charizard shook its head as though to clear it… took a deep breath…
…and punched itself in the face. Red facepalmed as Charizard hurt itself in its confusion.
"Okay, Ninetales! Hyper Beam!" ordered Maggie.
"Oh, crap," muttered Red. "Charizard! Charizard!"
But it was no use. For all of Red's shouting, Charizard could not snap out of the confusion. Indeed, even if it did, it had only time to barely register the yellow blast of destructive energy headed right for its face before the Hyper Beam made contact. There was a tremendous explosion, dust flying in every direction. When the dust settled, to Red's relief, Charizard was still conscious, albeit stumbling around. Ninetales was laying on the ground, conscious, but breathing heavily.
"Charizard's lucky to still be standing," stated Violet. "Hyper Beam is the most powerful move a Pokémon can pull off without making itself faint in the process. Looks like Ninetales needs to recharge, though.
"Come on, Charizard!" pleaded Red. "Snap out of it! Quickly!"
But it was no use. Charizard stumbled around, still confused… and tripped over Ninetales, toppling over on top of the Fox Pokémon. Neither Pokémon made any attempt to move.
"Looks like a draw," said Maggie as she and Red both withdrew their unconscious Fire-types. "But I got two left, and you're down to one. You sure you can pull this off?"
Red did not answer right away. He was thinking about what to use. Parasect, obviously, was out of the question… Dodrio or Snorlax might work, the latter especially due to its Surf… Then, Red remembered his newest Pokémon. He recalled how the Pokédex praised its "sheer attack power"… Yeah, he'd be relying heavily on beginner's luck, but it already liked him. He took the appropriate Poké Ball off his belt and looked at it for a moment as Maggie sent out her Rapidash. "It's a bit of a long shot," Red said at last. "But I gotta try it."
"Oh, Mew, don't tell me he's gonna use Parasect," muttered Orange. "'Long shot' is an understatement…"
"Missingno., I choose you!" Red called as he heaved the ball, unleashing the 10-foot tall Bird/Normal-type into the air.
"Miiiiiising Missingno.!" Missingno. cried out happily as it spun around once before stopping to face Rapidash.
"Okay, let's get this going," grinned Maggie. "Rapidash, Take Down!"
Hastily, Red flipped open his Pokédex and pulled up a list of Missingno.'s attacks. "Missingno.! Water Gun!" he ordered.
"MissingNOOOOOO.!" screeched Missingno. as it opened its mouth, unleashing a torrent of water from within. Rapidash galloped right through the water, but slowed down all the same, neighing in protest before stumbling out of the attack's path.
"All right!" grinned Red, his misgivings about Missingno. starting to fade away. "Now use your Earthquake attack, Missingno.!"
"Missingno., missing!" replied Missingno. as it slammed its body down on the stone floor. Hard. The impact shook the entire Gym, and Rapidash couldn't keep its balance.
"Whoa!" Orange exclaimed as the Earthquake subsided, observing that Rapidash was not trying to get up. "Floored in one hit! The Pokédex wasn't lying, was it?"
"Impressive," smiled Maggie as she withdrew Rapidash. "But does it have what it takes to handle… u!" she yelled, a third Poké Ball already flying from her hand. The ball split open, and u materialized once more, roaring loudly.
"This is gonna be good," Orange remarked.
"Missingno.! Water Gun!" ordered Red.
"Use your own Water Gun, u!" commanded Maggie.
Both Missingno. and u blasted forceful streams of water from their mouths at the same time. The streams met in midair, each cancelling the other one out. This went on for several moments, and once it became clear that neither side was giving in, Red called out again.
"Missingno., let's use Sky Attack!" he ordered.
"Missingnooooo.!" trilled Missingno. as it rose up and out of the way of u's Water Gun, a dazzling yellow glow slowly coming over its whole body. Then, it charged.
"u, get out of the way!" shouted Maggie.
u roared as it flew up suddenly to evade Missingno.'s Sky Attack To Red's relief, Missingno. was able to come to a stop before it hit the ground. It then proceeded to rise into the air and give chase to u. On Maggie's order, u let off an Ember, scattering small flames in its wake to harm Missingno. Red, however, ordered Missingno. to use Water Gun, which succeeded in dousing the flames before they could slow Missingno. down any. The aerial chase continued for some time. Violet and Orange found that the battle was getting more and more intense by the minute.
"Now, u! Wing Attack!" shouted Maggie.
"Missingno.! Sky Attack! Now!" ordered Red.
The combatants charged each other, u with a large pair of blocky orange wings protruding from its sides, Missingno. with a brilliant golden glow enveloping its body. As they collided, each one struggled to overpower the other, but neither of them seemed able to get the upper hand.
"Wow. u really has a lot of fighting spirit," remarked Orange. "I mean, look, it's holding its own against a Normal Form Missingno.'s Sky Attack. That's not easy to do."
"Let's end this!" Red called up to Missingno. "Use Seismic Toss!"
A white, black, purple, and orange tentacle-like appendage sprouted from Missingno.'s side and coiled around u, holding it in place. Missingno. then flew into the air, doing repeated loop-de-loops, building up speed and momentum every second.
"u!" shouted Maggie.
"Now!" Red exclaimed.
"Miiiissiiiingnoooooo.!" bellowed Missingno. as it dove down towards the ground at breakneck speeds. Then, at the last minute, it pulled out of the dive, but uncoiled its appendage and withdrew it back into its body at the same time. u, still being propelled by the attack's momentum, was slammed into the ground. This resulted in a lot of dust being kicked up by the impact. As Missingno. slowly descended in front of Red, the dust started to settle…
…and there lay u, not moving at all.
"Yes! We did it, Missingno.!" Red exclaimed. Before he knew what he was doing, he had run over to the Data Pokémon and hugged it. Once he came to the realization, however, he didn't feel particularly inclined to stop. It was the first time he had ever had physical contact with a Tanko-native Pokémon.
"All right, Red!" exclaimed Orange as he and Violet walked over to him. "What a comeback!"
"I'd have to agree with that," smiled Maggie as she approached them, her hand held out to Red- she was holding an Inferno Badge and a TM38, both of which Red gladly accepted. "You and Missingno. make a great team," she said to Red. "And the battle itself was intense. I was pretty sure I was gonna win, but you pulled off a great comeback."
"Heh… thanks," smiled Red, blushing slightly. The sight made Maggie giggle.
"So, where are you guys headed next?" she asked. "The nearest Gym is the one in Ivadirin City, but I hear that's been closed for some time."
"We'll go and check it out anyway, I think," Violet decided. "Might be open by now, for all we know."
"Yeah, but first, we're gonna head on over to Bincanar Labs," Orange added. "We're probably just gonna hang around the island until they're open tomorrow."
"Bincanar Labs?" repeated Maggie, a look of curiosity on her face. "What are you guys heading there for?"
The trio exchanged looks- they never actually told anyone the truth about Red before, other than Professor Redwood, of course.
"I got an idea," Orange stated. "Why don't we all go to the Pokémon Center for lunch and we'll tell you the story there?"
"Works for me," smiled Maggie. "Three battles in a row works up an appetite, wouldn't you say?"
"Whoa," Maggie said, mouth agape, all thought of the fried nine speared on the end of her fork long forgotten. "So let me get this straight- the Kanto region exists, Red's from there, and you guys are trying to help him find out how he managed to get here in the first place?"
"That pretty much covers it, yeah," nodded Orange.
"Wow," Maggie murmured as she looked at Red, who was looking down at his own plate of fried nines. "Wow, that's… that's actually pretty cool."
"Really?" said Red as he picked his head up.
"Yep!" smiled Maggie. "I mean, think about it- you've come this far in a region you've never even heard of before. When you got here, all you had was a Charmander, and now you got seven of Tanko's Gym badges and six powerful Pokémon. I don't think a lot of people could take that kind of drastic change as well as you had."
"Yeah, well," Red murmured modestly, "I mean, it's not like I got through it on my own. I don't know what I would've done if I hadn't been traveling with Orange and Violet."
"And believe me, Red, we got a lot to thank you for, too," Violet stated. "You're the reason me and Orange were traveling together in the first place, and if that hadn't happened, we might never have started going out."
"We owe you big time for that," agreed Orange. "Not to mention it's always been nice just having you around. You're a good friend."
"Thanks, guys," smiled Red.
After this, the trio plus Maggie continued to eat, until Maggie broke the silence with a question. "So, what are you guys gonna do for the rest of the day?"
"I dunno," shrugged Orange. "But I think Red has an idea of what he'd like to do," he added with a sly grin, prompting Red to blush again.
Red tried to act as though he hadn't heard, but now that Maggie's curious gaze was fixed on his face, he decided that that idea wasn't gonna fly. "Well," he said quietly, "Maggie, I was… I was kinda wondering if maybe you'd like to… y'know… catch a movie with me or something today?"
The two seconds that went by before Maggie answered were the longest hours of Red's life. At last, she smiled and replied, "Sure, that sounds great!" Red's nervous look turned to a relieved, happy expression in response to this, while Orange and Violet exchanged grins. The two of them watched as Red and Maggie proceeded to talk to each other, telling each other more about themselves, occasionally munching on a fried nine in the process.