Green awoke with a start. He sat up and grabbed for someone who wasn't there. His heart raced in his chest. He sighed and laid back into his bed, and turned the lamp on. He glanced to the clock across the room. 5 am. There was no point staying bed...
Green stood up and stretched, grabbing his clothes and walking from his studio apartment above his gym down to the main floor. He wasn't set to open for another two hours, but he got to work anyway. The whole place was swept and mopped to a pristine shine. His ace trainers arrived at 6:30, and he took his place at the back of the gym waiting for trainers to come by. Unfortunately the season of training was coming to an end and not a single trainer stopped by. Green groaned, letting his Blastoise out to stretch his legs.
"Hey bud." He said patting his head. "Sorry, but it's a slow day. If no one shows up tomorrow I think I'll close down for the season." Blastoise let out a puff of water vapor. "It'll be fine. We can go on vacation. Kalos is beautiful this time of year."
"Hey Green!" one of his trainers said "You got a challenger!" Green looked, and his heart almost stopped.
A young boy with messy black hair stood before him, a red jacket and a red hat. He grinned at Green, and he relaxed. It wasn't him. This was a child. He would be an adult by now.
"Welcome the Viridian City gym." Green said "What's your name kid?"
"I'm Jett." He said with a cocky smile. "And I'm here to challenge you to a battle and get my last badge."
Green laughed "You know you're about a week late."
Jett blushed "Sh-shut up! Slow and steady wins the race!" He said before calming down a bit. "Let's just get to the battle."
"Alright, but you know here in my gym we don't prefer any particular type. We focus on balance. So I hope your team is as balanced as mine." He said "Let's go! Pidgeot!"
The battle was intense. Jett was a tough cookie who seemed a little attack happy in his strategy, but his pokemon trusted him deeply and performed well. It was down to one pokemon each. His own Charizard and Green's Blastoise.
"Alright Kid, it's been a good fight but I've got you beat." Green said "You're Charizard is halfway to fainting and at a huge disadvantage. Cut your losses and try again tomorrow."
Jett looked down, then to his Charizard. "Soot." He had named it. "Soot, use..." He bit his lip, quickly running the numbers. "Fire Blast." He said softly. And Charizard shot fire, and landed a critical hit, sending Blastoise down.
The world around Green seemed to stop. It was just like last time. But this time...
"Good job!" Green said and laughed, returning Blastoise "You too bud... You earned a good rest." He said to the pokeball. "You've got the right stuff Jett, and you earned this." He tossed him the earth badge. "Any pokemon will now obey you, no matter the level. Good luck at the league. You'll go far. Oh, and take this TM!" He tossed a disk over as well "It's got Earthquake in there. Strong move for a ground type."
"Thanks!" Jett said before turning to his Charizard "We did it Soot!" He said showing him the badge "I'm really proud of you." Jett waved to Green and left to go heal his pokemon up before heading to Indigo plateau.
"That was quite the fight." A tired voice said. Green looked up and sighed
"Gramps what the hell are you doing here?" Green asked coming to greet him. Professor Oak had seen better days, the poor old man had to walk with a cane now "I've told you, let me come visit you. Or maybe call instead of marching your saggy ass out to see me. You're gonna die like that."
"My saggy ass." Oak said firmly "Is going to die no matter what. I'm not going to let it stop me from seeing my favorite grandson." Oak waved Green off, and sat down "Anywho- that boy. What was his name?"
"Jett." Green said sitting next to his grandfather.
"He reminds me of Red." Oak said with a wistful smile. "I do miss that boy."
"The grandson you always wanted." Green said and rolled his eyes.
"I wouldn't say that." Oak said and patted Green's leg. "Red is the type of person I wanted you to be. The person I wanted to be."
"You? I just assumed you liked Red because he reminded you of yourself." Green said softly.
"Nonsense. I was just like you." Oak said giving him a smile "Cocky, full of myself... Usually mean. I was a sour young man who could never quite get his true feelings across and now I'm a sour old man who's led his grandson to believe I hate him."
"What?"
"I don't hate you Green. When I look at you I see me. And it's frustrating because I've watched you make the same mistakes I made... I was hard on you hoping to help you avoid them. Your father was just the same before he went off to that damned war." Oak sighed heavily "But... That match. I saw something in you I hadn't seen before."
"What was that?"
"Love for your pokemon, and the want for others to succeed. Not just yourself. You've really grown in the last ten years Green. You've really come of age."
"Thanks... Sour old man." Green said before laughing.
"Hey, watch it brat!" Oak said before laughing himself.
They laughed together and for the first time in ten years, Green felt a weight being taken off his shoulders.
"Green." the voice whispered. "Green you have to help me." The voice was soft, like a whisper, but urgent. "I'm in trouble Green. You have to find me." Green reached out into the darkness. "I'm close. Legends are closer than you think... Mew... Mewtwo. Mew."
"Mew."
"Mew..." Green's eyes fluttered open. Umbreon had worked herself out of her pokeball, and layed on his chest, mewing...?
"What kind of noise is that?" He asked, petting her head.
"Mew!" She said, before hopping down. Green sat up, thinking back to his dream. You have to find me. I'm in trouble.
"Wonder what that was about...?" He asks aloud. "Who would I have to-" And it hit him.
"Red."