Note: Please forgive this update's lateness; writer's block + video game addiction bit me in the butt again...Incidentally, in case there's any confusion about a certain character's name, see a rare note at the bottom of the chapter. Also incidentally, Leaf's personality in this story is my own interpretation and is not based on any previous iterations, including the manga.

Follow Me

A Pokémon Heart Gold/Soul Silver Story

Chapter Eighteen

Leaf Tornado

"Good to see you again, Palmer; it's been a while," the girl said with a wild grin. "I think the last time I saw you, you were the Sinnoh Tower Tycoon."

"Yeah, it's been a few years," Palmer said from the hallway. He returned with a towel and handed it to her. "Nice to see you made it here all right, Leaf."

"Ah, thanks," Leaf said, taking the rag gratefully. Removing her hat and setting it on the bar table, she sat down on a stool and proceeded to dry her long brown hair. "Yeahhh, it was a bit stormy out there, but it was nothing for my Dragonite, Shinryu—she loves flying in stormy weather." There was a low hiss in her ear, and she turned to the green Pokémon on her shoulder, who was looking reproachfully at her. "All right, all right, you fussy thing," she said with a sigh, toweling the Pokémon's head. "You'd think a Grass Pokémon would be able to handle a bit of falling water..." She turned back to the group and started to continue. "But anyway, as I was say—"

She was startled by four pairs of eyes fixed intently upon her. Soul and Barry were on their knees, facing backward on the couch, eyes sparkling with awe. Silver couldn't hide the intrigue on his face, and even Palmer had a hungry look of deep interest. It took only a moment for her to realize it wasn't her they were staring at, but the little green Pokémon she had with her.

Leaf chuckled. "I see you've noticed my newest addition," she said with a sly smile, scooping him from her shoulder and standing him on top of the bar so they could all admire him properly.

Soul had never seen a Pokémon quite like him. He was sleek and snake-like, but, puzzlingly, had small, thin arms and legs. The tip of his tail has a fan of leaves, and his amber-brown eyes stared around at each of them, a bored, sneering glint inside them. Not wishing to be gawked at, the Pokémon clambered back onto Leaf's shoulders and hid behind her neck, only the tip of his pointed snout visible from within the curtain of hair.

Leaf laughed. "You'll have to forgive Excalibur's rudeness; he gets this kind of attention everywhere I go," she said, patting the Pokémon.

"Where'd you get him?" Barry said with baited breath, sounding very much like the second Leaf told him the location, he would dash out the door to go catch one himself.

Leaf leaned on the bar and rubbed her chin thoughtfully, looking at the ceiling. "His story begins in the fifth generation..." She paused, as if waiting for laughter at a joke she had apparently told, but when she received none she waved her hand dismissively. "My boyfriend got him for me when he was visiting a far-away region on some business," she explained. "I forget the name...started with an 'i,' I think..." She patted the Pokémon's head fondly. "I've grown quite attached to the little guy, but he doesn't like to walk places; he prefers riding on my shoulders, as you can see."

"So, Leaf, you think you're ready to be the new Johto Tower Tycoon?" Palmer asked, changing the subject. "I mean, we called you because Red recommended you, but..."

"Che', that stubborn cousin of mine," Leaf said bitterly, folding her arms and sighing. "He was your first choice, wasn't he?"

"Well..."

"Mm-hmm," she said with a sage nod. "Thought so. You'll be hard-pressed to get him to agree to stay in one place. He prefers to be a vagabond. Granted, I can't blame him, since I've been doing the same..." She sighed. "But Green's been nagging the hell out of me to stay in one place for years..."

There was a buzz on the intercom, and Palmer rose from the couch to answer it.

"So, Leaf, you and Red are cousins?" Soul asked, genuinely curious.

"Nn, yeah, we are. You know 'im?"

"Mostly of him, but I did meet him, once."

"Lemme guess," Leaf said with a grin, leaning her back against the bar, "he challenged you to a battle without a word, right?"

"Yeah," Soul said with a nod, surprised. "I was completely flattened."

"Che', he's such a smug bastard," Leaf grumbled. "Just once I'd like to see someone kick his ass in battle. Years of winning has given him a god complex. I mean, I heard he's been haunting Mt. Silver for a few months now. Who in their right mind would willingly stay up there in the bitter cold? I bet he fancies himself a king on top of that mountain..."

"He seemed pretty nice after our battle..." Soul said with uncertainty. "Quiet, maybe, but he politely thanked me for the match..."

"Oh, he's nice enough to people if he doesn't know them well," Leaf said, waving her hand dismissively. "But when it comes to people he's known for years and sees as rivals, like Green and me, he's one arrogant son-of-a—"

"Pizza's on its way up," Palmer said as he joined them on the couch.

"Ahhh, good, I'm starving," Leaf moaned happily. "You wouldn't believe the food on that ship; plain awful..."

As Leaf went into a rant about horrible cruise liner food, Soul glanced at Silver, who seemed to be staring out the window, a fierce look in his eyes. "Silver?" she asked quietly, making sure none of the others could hear. "Is something wrong?"

Silver turned slowly toward her, and then in a low tone, he muttered, "You never told me you met Red."

The elevator chimed and the doors opened, and Soul turned merely out of distraction but was surprised so much that her gaze remained: standing in the elevator box, holding five pizza boxes stacked, was a very grumpy-looking and soggy Green, the Viridian City Gym Leader.

Leaf turned and smiled with vague surprise as she hopped off the stool to go greet him. "Oh hey! Green! You didn't tell me you would be coming here—"

"Oh, don't give me that bull crap," Green said irritably as he entered the room and set the thin boxes on the kitchen's island, his shoes squeaking damply on the tile floor. "You knew I was going to be there at the harbor to pick you up and you purposely left me behind."

"Well, yeah," Leaf admitted sheepishly, "I remember you texting me you were going to meet me there, but I can assure you I didn't leave you at the altar on purpose. There was a storm coming, and I wanted to get here before it got too bad, that's all."

Green's eyebrow twitched. "You jumped on your Dragonite and took off when you were five feet in front of me. When I called out to you, you turned and waved at me."

A mild grin twitched at the corners of her lips, and Leaf feigned ignorance by staring at the ceiling, apparently thinking. "Did I? Oh well, it's not like you couldn't just hop on your Pidgeot and follow me—"

"I told you last week my Pidgeot was hurt in a battle and has been recovering back home at grandpa's lab!" he growled. "I had to ride my Arcanine until the rain got so bad that I couldn't let him suffer any more and then I walked the rest of the way. You're always pulling these stupid games with me, and if I didn't know any better, I'd—"

"Now, now, dear, not in front of the children," Leaf said, putting a finger to his mouth to silence him, indicating the curious group of on-lookers behind her back. Turning on her heel, she stood beside him and smiled. "Right, for those that aren't in the know, this is Green, the Viridian City Gym Leader and my boyfriend."

"Che', you'll be lucky if you can still call me that after this one," Green grumbled sourly as he walked over and took a seat on a stool, grabbing the towel Leaf had used earlier. He turned to Palmer. "I showed up at the same time as your food did, so I took the liberty of carrying it since I was on my way up anyway," he explained. "Front desk said to tell you it's on your tab."

"Right, right," Palmer said with a nod. He glanced around at the group of teenagers. "Well, don't just sit there, guys, help yourselves!"

Barry cheered and leapt from his position, eager to claim himself some much-needed sustenance. As the group gathered around to enjoy their meal, Leaf and Green arguing (put in a much more playful manner now, Soul noticed), Soul recognized the all-too familiar iciness Silver directed at her. It was as if they were fresh rivals all over again. Why was it so important to Silver that she had failed to mention her meeting with Red? Why was he so angry? These burning questions and the uneasy pit in her stomach made it difficult for her to have much of an appetite.

He didn't speak to her for the rest of the evening.

Selected quote from the next chapter:
"She was going to tell him how she felt, and she was going to do it tonight."

Rare Note: For anyone that's vaguely confused as to why I called what the English audience knows as Blue in the games "Green" instead, it's because Green is what his name is supposed to be. It was changed to Blue for the games in English due to Green Version's non-existence at the time, but most people of his fandom agree that we should refer to him by his proper name, that being Green. Sorry if you have issues with this.