I've been looking forward to the opportunity to write this chapter and yet I still wait until the last minute to do it! Hopefully this will have been worth the wait. (With my track record?)

Red wouldn't even look at Lane, let alone speak to her. Green wanted to talk to him, but she knew better. He smoldered in anger as the group ate their lunch. The tension was so thick you could cut it with a knife, and it all came from the lone male in the group. Lane wasn't oblivious to his anger, but she ignored it, which only made it worse.

Finally, Green couldn't handle it any longer. "Can I talk to you for a minute?" she asked, already dragging him by the arm away from their companion. Red barely got to his feet when she started whispering crossly at him. "Will you calm down, already? You're taking this way too personally."

"I can't believe you let her talk to you that way!" Red growled quietly. "If she weren't a girl…"

"I know she's a little… coarse," Green agreed, "But I have to do this."

Red cocked his head at her, "Why?"

Green looked away, a hint of color rising in her fair cheeks. "I ran out of money, okay…?" she huffed.

"But how?" he asked, "You've been battling Pokémon trainers, haven't you?"

"What's that got to do with anything?"

"You're supposed to bet money on the matches."

"Supposed to what now?" Red had to force himself not to grin at his friend. Green was really smart, especially for her age, but she could still do the dumbest things. Obviously, Red wasn't doing a good job of hiding his amusement, because Green was staring daggers at him. "Don't give me that look," Green snarled. She sighed to cool her own temper. "I've been living on berries and Pokémon Center cafeteria food since I left Viridian City."

"You don't have to put up with this," he said sincerely to her, "I'll help you out if you need it."

Green sighed. "Thanks," she said, and for a moment, Red hoped he'd gotten through to her, "But I made a promise. And I'm going to keep it. If you want to go, that's okay. But I'm staying." She walked back to the picnic sight, leaving Red to want to beat his head against one of the ample stone walls along the path. That seemed pointless though, so he rejoined the girls.

The tension had subsided, finally. As the three finished eating, Lane spoke up. Neither Red nor Green had noticed the silence until then. "So," the well-dressed girl said, "Did you two have a good talk? Work out your little problem?" It was stunning how fast Lane's tone could set Red off.

"You're trying to get under my skin, aren't you?" Red snapped.

"Why on earth would I try to do that?" Lane asked, though her smile was a pretty loud "yes".

"Can you two at least try to get along?" Green groaned.

"I thought that's what I was doing," Lane said as smugly as ever. Red got up wordlessly and walked away down the path.

Green sighed heavily. "You know, we are doing a favor for you. The least you could do is try to be nice."

"Oh, but don't you get the urge to mess with him whenever he gets to be such a stick in the mud?"

Green thought for a moment, watching Lane carefully. "Well, yeah," she said cautiously, "But only I'm allowed to do that."

"Aha!" Lane said knowingly as she got up to follow Red, "I didn't know you two were…"

"What?" Green asked defensively as she followed suit, "Didn't know we were what? Hey!"

Lane and Green moved quickly down the path. Now it was Green's turn to be teased by Lane and she was much more entertaining. Both of them stopped chattering when they heard a loud crack like lightening around the bend. They rushed around the corner. Red was standing there before a group of young trainers, including the one Green defeated before. Between the group were two Pokémon; a Pikachu and a very unconscious Pidgey.

Lane started to laugh again, "Another victory for me! You simpletons are no match for my Pokémon trainers!"

"I wasn't battling for you," Red said in his usual monotone. Obviously the battle put him in high spirits.

"I can take it from here," Green told her friend.

"Not a chance," he retorted quickly, "these guys are ours!"

As promised, he took on the two remaining trainers in the group. He won easily, and the group left the scene quickly. Afterword, Red let his team enjoy the beautiful day after their wins.

"You certainly are an impressive trainer, Red," Lane said honestly. It was the first time Lane spoke in a way that didn't infuriate him.

"I like to be good at what I do."

"Though you don't seem to have many Pokémon." There's the anger again. "You should probably try to catch some more."

"This isn't all I have," Red said through gritted teeth.

"Oh, you're just focusing on a few at a time," Lane realized in a patronizing tone. "Well, that's one way to approach Pokémon training."

Green looked desperately for a way to change the subject. She spied the yellow rodent next to Red's leg. "Ummm, is that a Pikachu?" she asked finally. Red nodded. "I thought they lived near power plants."

"I found him in the Viridian Forest," Red reported, "Not sure why he was there."

"What an adorable creature!" Lane cried and rushed to grab him. With a startled squeak, Pikachu darted behind Red's leg, ready to zap any threat.

"That's no way to approach a Pikachu," Green scolded Lane. Green bent down so she was about the same height as Pikachu. She reached out her hand slowly. "It's okay, Pikachu," she told him reassuringly. Slowly, Pikachu moved to Green's hand and sniffed it lightly. When she smiled at him, he crawled up Red's pant leg and onto his shoulder. This, in turn, shooed Pidgey off his perch. Once Pidgey settled on Red's other shoulder, it squawked angrily into Red's ear at Pikachu. He recalled the pair before a fight could ensue with his head in the line of fire. "I must admit," Green smiled, "I didn't think you'd raise Pokémon with such… personality."

"Yeah," Red agreed, "Tell me about it." With a smile, he patted his Charmeleon's head. "But I wouldn't trade either one of them for the world. Right, buddy?" Charmeleon snorted in agreement.

"Well this is all wonderful," Lane sighed unenthusiastically, "But maybe we should get going?"

"Great idea," Green said, pushing Red down the path before he could even take a breath to respond.

The rest of the way was twisty, but relatively flat. It was an easy hike to the mouth of Mt. Moon, and the Pokémon Center just a few feet from that. "Well, here we are," Green said motioning toward the door. "But how are you going to get home from here? Red and I have to move on."

"That's quite all right," Lane assured, "Daddy is sending the family chopper to pick me up."

"F-f-f-f-ch-ch-ch…!"

Red leaned over to Green and whispered to her, "I hate to tell you I told you so…"

"But before we part ways," Lane turned to Red with that sincerity that briefly reminds him that she's human. "The two of you are such great Pokémon Trainers. Do you think you could help me with my Pokémon?" Before even waiting for an answer, she released three small Pokémon. They were the same small mammal Pokémon, Eevee, covered in silky brown fur. The creatures stood on four short, but slender legs and had long, pointed ears. The three looked to be in excellent care, with perfect coats and bright, happy eyes. Each had a different article of pet clothing. One had a long bow in its hair, another wore a designer collar, and the last had silk booties.

"They're adorable!" Green cooed.

"Oh, I know," Lane assured, "And I know they're all healthy and strong. After all, I raised them…" Red rolled his eyes, but she didn't notice. "But they can't seem to win any battles. I just don't know what to do. I'm at my wit's end!"

"That's why you hired me," Green deduced. Lane nodded, almost apologetically.

Red bent down and removed the ribbon from the first Eevee's hair. "What do you think you're doing?" Lane gasped as Red handed her the ribbon.

"The ribbon's getting in your Eevee's eyes," Red said, already moving to the next, "I bet it misses a lot."

"Y-you're right," Lane breathed. "Oh, what are you doing now?" she asked as Red removed the last of the second Eevee's booties.

"It can't get any traction with these silly things on," he said, handing them to her.

"Don't tell me my last Eevee's accessory is the problem with her battling…"

Red removed the collar and handed it to Lane. "Too tight. Probably lost its breath in battle. If you're as good as you say, the four of you should be just fine now."

Lane sighed sadly. "It will cost precious style points, but it's a sacrifice we'll just have to make!" Once again, Red rolled his eyes. Suddenly, though, Lane's sparkling blue eyes locked his. "Thank you very much," she said softly, before leaning in and kissing him lightly on the cheek. Red lurched back in surprise as the giggling Lane turned and jogged toward the entrance of Mt. Moon. "I'm sure we'll be seeing each other soon." With that she disappeared into the cave.

Red was stunned stiff, still leaning back with a stunned expression. He heard Green scoff harshly at him. He turned to see a disappointed and angry glare directed at him, her arms crossed. "What?" he asked genuinely.

Green just shook her head and walked toward the Pokémon Center. "Unbelievable!"

"Really!" Red asked helplessly, "What?" The Pokémon Center door closed behind her and although it was an automatic door, Red could have sworn she had slammed it. "I don't suppose you know what just happened," he asked Charmeleon. The Pokémon just shrugged, happy not to be involved in the strange incident. Red shook his head in exasperation. "Girls," he groaned as he made his way to the Pokémon Center.

This did everything I wanted it to, and it turned out slightly better than I expected. Let me know what worked and what didn't here. I'd really like some legitimate constructive criticism (for once).