He watched as the young man, closer in age to a boy than a man, came near and crouched beside him. He tried to move, but was unable to; pain and a crippling fear refused to let him. The young man reach out and tilted his head slightly up, forcing him to look the young man in the face. The young man gently, with his other hand, moved the hair out of his eyes and seemed to study his face for a moment. The young man wore a smile upon his face, one most likely born from pleasure than from compassion. The young man stroked his face absentmindedly with his thumb for a moment, seeming lost in thought, before letting his head drop to the ground once more.

The young man stood up, brushing the dirt and debris from his clothes, and turned his back to the boy lying upon the ground.

"You are weak…" The young man said and ushered his companion to his side.

"This world is not for the weak…"

The young man turn his head towards his companion.

"Charmander...use Flamethrower."

He screamed and bolted up in his bed, tears streaming down his face. His breathing was quick and sweat drenched his body. He wiped the tears from his face and turned to sit on the side of his bed; his sheets coming with him. The sheets were damp with sweat and clung to his bare chest. He tossed the sheets aside, put his face in his hands, and just sat there letting his feet dangle down from the top bunk.

It had been a long time since he had had that dream. He remembered a time when that was the only dream he had; tormenting him night after night. Over time he learned to suppress the dream, the years helping him cope with what had happened, but every so often it would rear it's ugly head like it did this night.

He sat on the edge of his bed a few moments long, listening to the rhythmic breathing of his roommate below him. He knew it was pointless to try and fall asleep again, better to start the day early than suffer anew. He quietly made his way down from the top bunk, trying his best not to wake his roommate, and slipped out of the room.

He found himself standing in a large room, its size and shape close to that of a large barn or gymnasium. The room was filled to the brim with various equipment, books, charts, diagrams...all dedicated to the research of Pokemon. This room was Professor Oak's Laboratory.

He quickly made his way across the room, the open space and his lack of clothing hardly conducive to keeping warm, and into the bathroom on the other side. Normally it would be considered impractical the put the only bathroom so far from one's sleeping quarters, but then again it wouldn't have been an issue if there had been plans to house people in the Laboratory. Due to a series of events, and a lack of space within the Professor's own home, Professor Oak converted his largest storage space into sleeping quarters. He will always be thankful for everything the Professor has done for him.

The bathroom was no better for heat than the laboratory so he quickly turned on the shower and let the room fill with steam. He stood at the sink, waiting for the water to reach the optimum temperature, and started at his reflection. He was told he was handsome, but he couldn't see it. Then again he was biased. His body was toned and slightly sunkissed from his work. His brown hair was short and naturally unkempt; the result of an abundance of unmanageable cowlicks. His eyes were cerulean blue and his angular face was peppered with stubble; he hated to shave. However the most distinguished, and most commented on, feature of his body were the scars left over from burns down the right side of his body. He traced the length of them with his left hand: starting from the edge of his jaw line, down his right arm and chest, down his waist, and ending around mid thigh. He was told he was lucky, had he not moved and covered himself the way he had he would have sustained considerably more damage.

He turned from the mirror, not wanting to think any more on it that he already had this night, and slipped into the waiting shower.

By the time Red had finished with his shower and gotten dressed, he had thrown on a plain black hoodie and some jeans, the sun had started to peak over the horizon. It was still too early for anyone to arrive and the thought of sitting alone in a quiet building had driven him outside. Professor Oak's Laboratory consisted of two structures: a large building that house his living quarters and the laboratory, and large conjoining windmill that powered the entire structure. It was built upon a hill that overlooked the town and in order to reach it you had to go around the backside due to the steepness of the side facing the town. It was this spot that he was heading to now.

When he had first arrived at Professor Oak's Laboratory he wanted nothing to do with anyone and just wanted to get away from it all. He had been too scared to go anywhere far from the building and eventually discovered this spot. It was the highest point in the area and offered the best view of the town below. So during that time, and since then, anytime he needed to escape or just wanted to sit in silence he would come out here, sit, and enjoy the view. The Professor eventually caught wind of this and as a surprise one day placed a beautifully carved bench there for him to sit on.

Red finished crossing the lawn and took a seat in the middle of the bench and looked out over Pallet Town. The town itself was a sight to behold. The town resided within a natural valley in the middle of the woods with a few trees interspersed throughout the area. Great care was taken by the residence to respect the land and build their homes with the land instead of against it. This resulted in each home having its own unique style. Residence even went as far as to paint each of their homes in a myriad of different colors. The view of it all was utterly breathtaking.

The sun had almost fully risen by the time he heard footsteps coming up behind him.

"I thought I would find you out here Red." Said a man's voice behind him.

Red turned and looked over his shoulder. He saw a man walking towards him carrying two steaming mugs in his hand. He was of similar height to Red and had a slim body, one born from someone who choose mental work over physical. His medium blonde hair still sporting bedhead and his green eyes showed signs of another late night. He offered Red one of the steaming mugs, which he graciously accepted, and moved over to allow the man to sit.

The two sat in silence for a moment, Red taking liberal drinks from his mug; it contained his favorite vanilla coffee.

"Thank you August." Red said, turning to smile at his oldest friend. "I needed this."

"I figured," August replied returning the smile. August had always had a knack for knowing what he need, sometimes before he even knew himself. The two of them had essentially grown up together, both coming to live here with the Professor under unusual circumstances. Red had actually disliked August at first, then again he had disliked everyone back then.

Red had originally been sent to stay with Professor Oak after his traumatizing run in with the young man from his dream. After he had recovered from his injuries, he had been terrified to be around any sort of Pokemon. His parents were away a lot, they were both well known Archaeologists and were forced to travel a lot, and the people in charge of caring for him were at a loss as to what to do. Who wouldn't in a world where everything was so heavily entwined with Pokemon. His parents had tried their best, returning from their travels early and refusing to leave again till he was better, before sending him to stay with a colleague who specialized in the relationships between humans and Pokemon.

August had arrived about a month after he had and during those first few weeks Red had refused to speak to or cooperate with anyone. Day after day he would just sit up here on the hilltop, gazing down at the town below lost in thought. August had come to stay with Professor Oak after a fire, caused by a mysterious explosion, had destroyed his family home and his family along with it. No one knows quite how he was the only one to survive, just that he had been found unconscious a little ways from the burning building.

Everyone had expected August to be like Red, or worse, but he had acted the complete opposite. They were worried at first, someone so young to not outwardly grieve after what had happened, but after awhile they accepted he should grieve in his own way. They reassured him that if he needed someone they were there. He was a curious person and had a passion for learning. This was not surprising considering his family had been instrumental in establishing and funding the Pokemon Laboratory on Cinnabar Island.

August had tried several times in the beginning to interact with him and every time he ignored him or told him to leave him alone. However August was also the stubborn type and refused to take no as an answer. So August decided to do the complete opposite of what Red wanted and began to follow him everywhere. Where ever Red went, August would follow and no matter what he said or did August refused to let up. This went on for weeks and to everyone's surprise it was working. With each passing day August managed to break a little bit of Red's wall. It would be years before Red realized that what he needed more than anything else was for someone to not give up on him no matter what. Eventually Red has given in to August's efforts and the two of them became quick friends. Red even apologized for his actions those first few months and agreed to work with Professor Oak. It had taken some time, but with the help of both August and Professor Oak he managed to get over his fear of Pokemon.

A few years later Red received news that his parents had passed away; one of the sites they had been excavating had collapsed and trapped them inside. Sadly by the time a rescue team had managed to reach them it had been too late. Having nowhere to go, for they had been his only family, Professor Oak agreed to allow him to stay. He figured if he were to house one boy, what was one more.

"So I take you have made up your mind," August said, more matter of fact than a question. "When are you going to tell him?"

"What makes you think I have made up my mind?" Because August knew Red.

"You had a dream about him again didn't you?" August missed nothing when it came to Red. It wouldn't have surprised him if he had been faking being asleep when he had gotten up.

"I did," There was no point in trying to lie. "And…"

"And I know that he will always be there in the back of your mind until you decided to do something about it." Cutting Red off.

It was true that Red had made up his mind, he had made it up a long time ago. The issue was not the decision itself, but the consequences that occurred because of his decision.

"I plan on telling him after breakfast. I figure it would be best to do it sooner rather than later." Red turned to face August, "And I want you to come with me." The statement came out as more of a plea, but no matter how much he wanted August to join him, he knew he wouldn't. His sense of loyalty to the man who had open his house, his life, to him when he needed it most was too strong.

"You know I can't…" August said, anguish clear upon his face. "You know I would if I could, but both of us can't leave. It will be hard enough to replace you, let alone the both of us. Also who will be hear to make sure he is taken care of?"

"I know." Red didn't push the issue.

The two boys sat there in silence, a sullen mood had fallen over them.

"Well," August said, taking Red's empty mug from him and standing up. "I am going to go inside and start preparing breakfast." He started to walk away and turned back toward Red, "Try not to stay out here too long." He smiled at Red and began walking towards the building. "It would be a shame if someone missed their own Birthday celebration!"