Note: Sorry for the unintended hiatus, and sorry this chapter isn't longer. A lot has happened and have just been busy with life. For now, enjoy.

Follow Me

A Pokémon Heart Gold/Soul Silver Story

Chapter Thirty-Four

Heart Stamp

"Have a Merry Christmas!" Soul said with a smile, waving at the nurse behind the desk as she, Chocobo, and the two boys headed for the exit.

The nurse returned the gesture and beamed. "Nn, come back and visit me some time soon, Soul! I'll miss your cooking more than you can imagine!"

"You won't be the only one," Red said with a grin, waving over his shoulder. "See you in two days."

Silver cast his eyes gloomily at the ground and tightened the grip on the strap of his bag. He waited as Red gestured Soul and her Pokemon out the door first then exited behind her into the bright light of the morning, Red and his Pikachu close behind. The three Trainers walked in single file for a short distance without saying a word before Red finally stopped and cleared his throat.

"So, this is where we need to decide what happens next," he said, gripping the brim of his hat as if readying himself for battle. Red turned to Soul, who kept her back to him. "Soul...did you decide if you were going to come with me to Pallet Town?"

Soul gripped the strap of her bag for a long pause, heart drumming in her ears. She'd made her decision before going to sleep the night prior, but the thought of saying it out loud made her hesitate. Tensing, she turned to face the two boys, both eagerly awaiting her response. "I did." She closed her eyes and turned to Red. "Red...I'm sorry, but there's somewhere I have to take Silver that's really important, so I can't come with you. Not this time, at least."

Red's entire posture sunk just slightly, and he ruffled the brown hair on the back of his neck. "Nah, it's cool. It wasn't a big deal or anything. Just a small party."

She closed the gap between them and took his hand. "I really had a good time training here with you," she said sincerely, staring into his eyes. "We had a lot of fun, and I'd really like for that fun to continue, but..." She glanced at Silver, who'd turned away to conceal his relief at his victory, then she turned back to Red. "Where I need to go with Silver is very important, so important that I'd feel terrible if I didn't take him there myself." She looked up at him, eyes begging. "Do you understand?"

Red stared back into her brown eyes, wishing his own could persuade her to change her mind. Sighing, he nodded. "It's fine, really." He gave her hand a squeeze. "There's always next time, right?"

Soul smiled weakly. "Nn, sure. I'd like that."

The two held hands for longer than what would normally be considered appropriate between friends and then pulled away slowly. They exchanged the same sad smile and then broke eye contact.

"Right then," Red said with a nod, adjusting his cap. He turned to Silver. "Silvy, you be sure to tell ol' Giovanni I said hello."

Silver's shoulders jerked, and he turned with an expression of such bewilderment that Red couldn't help but let out a loud chuckle.

"Your face, it looks just like his," Red said, gesturing at his own. He smiled a little deviously and added, "And I don't much care if you take that as a compliment or not."

"You...You knew the whole time?" Silver asked, still in shock.

"Mm...Not the whole time," Red said, shaking his head. "When I first saw you, I thought you looked familiar, but it wasn't until I mulled it over that I finally remembered that a long time ago, one of the Rockets mentioned Giovanni had a red-headed kid. Once I put that and your similar looks together, I pretty much assumed you were the son they mentioned. Your reaction just now confirmed my suspicions, though." Red shoved his hands in his jacket pockets and grinned at Silver. "So, tell me, Silvy, when was the last time you saw your dear old dad?"

Silver cast his eyes at the ground. "Not since the day you defeated him. He left town and never came back."

Red's eyebrows furrowed. "He left you behind, just like that?"

Silver's knuckles clenched. "Yeah."

Red shook his head in dismay. "Look, man, I'm sorry...it...it wasn't persona—"

"I know it's not your fault," Silver said, shaking his head. He fixed Red with a stern glare. "I know what he was doing was wrong, so I don't need your sympathy."

The two stared at one another for a long moment, and then Red shut his eyes with a light chuckle. "Right then," he said, shoving his hands in his jacket pockets. He turned to Soul. "Pikachu and I will miss you around here, Soul. Pika especially; I think he's grown pretty fond of you." Pikachu chattered affirmatively from Red's shoulder, and he scratched the Pokémon behind the ears to comfort him.

Soul reached out and patted the monster as well. "Nn, I'll miss you, too," her eyes flashed at Red as she added, "both of you."

Red caught her glance just long enough to see her eyes dart away, and he rubbed the back of his neck to hide his embarrassment. "Well, Soul...take care of yourself."

"Nn. You too," she said.

As he turned to leave, Red hesitated, adding, "Silvy, if you see your old man, tell him I'd love to have a rematch someday."

Silver stared at him for a moment and then shrugged slightly. "Nn, whatever."

Red nodded a bit. "Oh, and Silver?"

"What?" he asked, a groan of annoyance in his voice.

Red's face darkened instantly. "You do anything that makes her cry, even so much as one single tear, I'm coming after you."

Silver blinked, surprised by the sudden threat and the intensity of Red's glower. "Wh...Wha...?"

With a final wink at Soul, who mustered a small, weak smile in response, Red turned and headed down Route 28 toward Viridian. He took long strides in silence, his hands in his pockets, eyes hidden by the brim of his hat on his ducked head. When he was sure he'd put enough distance between them to be out of eyesight, he stopped and stood quietly in the snowy grass, fresh white dollops drifting down to add to the collection. After staring at his feet for a while, a much quieter, humbler Red muttered, "...Why is it when it comes to her, I always lose? First in battle, and now..." He hesitated, and his Pikachu nuzzled his rosy cheek against his master's. Red turned to the Pokémon and patted his head with affection. "...Come on, Pikachu. Green and Leaf are waiting for us." Hands in his pockets once more, he walked alone down the snow-drenched path, his solitary footsteps crunching beneath his sneakers.

Soul and Silver stood side by side, watching Red's departure, and then, by coincidence, they turned simultaneously toward each other. Both whipped their heads in the opposite direction, feeding the awkward silence even more.

Chocobo looked between the two humans, confused and upset by their behavior. They used to be such good friends; what happened? The Pokémon knew his master had missed the red-headed human, and she'd been so sad after they'd left him. Why was she being so quiet now that she was with him again? Chocobo supposed it was just something humans did, and he would never understand. At the very least, he could show her his support.

Soul felt the hard talons of her accompanying Pokémon brush her hand, and she turned to Chocobo, who chirruped hopefully at her. She smiled a little and ruffled his head feathers, then she turned to Silver and took a deep breath. "...All right, Silver, we should get going."

Silver turned and nodded quietly. "Nn, right. To Tohjo Falls, then?"

Soul tucked her bangs behind her ears with a gloved hand and bit her lip. "Actually...since it's Christmas Eve, I was hoping...or rather, I was going to ask you...if we could go visit my mom first. Just for today, and then we can head out tomorrow..." She fidgeted. "Unless, of course, you don't want to, in which case we can just head to Tohjo now—"

"That's fine."

Soul turned to Silver, surprised. "Wh...What?"

"I said that's fine," Silver repeated. "We can even stay all day tomorrow and head out on the twenty-sixth, if you'd like."

Soul blinked a little, not used to Silver being so accommodating. "O...Oh, okay, if you don't mind..."

"Sure," Silver said with a shrug.

"I mean...I know looking for your dad is important, and I don't want you to think I'm trivializing it—"

"Soul," Silver said more firmly, hints of agitation in his voice. "I said it's fine. Stop making such a big deal about it."

"O...kay..." Soul said uncertainly, eyeing Silver as he dug in his jacket pocket. Silver being considerate was...strange.

"Come on; if we want to get to New Bark Town before noon, we'd better go now," Silver said, retrieving a Pokéball from his pocket and releasing his Crobat.

"O-Oh, right!" Soul said, flustering for Chuu's ball in her coat.

As they flew southwest toward New Bark Town, Soul found herself staring at the red-head before her, riding on his Crobat. Something was different about him. He'd been acting strangely ever since his arrival at Mt. Silver. He'd been awkward, quiet, and had even tried to be helpful. The harsh, cold image of Silver she'd had in her head for as long as she'd known him started to melt, making her heart flutter.

Selected quote from the next chapter:

"What...What the hell just happened?"