Chapter Two: VS Clefable
"Bahahahahah...hahahahahaha! HAH! I got you, Silver!" Gold belted hysterically. "How does it feel to show the world who you really are?!"
Silver's arms shook as he handed the brown and white Beartic-shaped ice cream bars he'd purchased to the rest of his peers. He was ready and waiting to murder Gold after the embarrassing display in a convenience store on the outskirts of Celadon City.
"Hello sir. How are you?"
"I'm fine, thanks."
"Find everything okay today?"
"Tell me. Was someone with my face in here?"
"Um...Excuse me?"
"That wasn't me! That's Proteam Omega, you rube!"[4]
"Oh...well, uh, have a nice day…"
Worst of all the scene had been recorded on Gold's PokeGear for added measure, kindly offering to film 'what would be a fond memory.' He cringed as he (and his best friends) watched himself acting like a fool, the eruption of laughter from the shoppers behind him echoing in his mind. Then there was the silent stares and giggles. One little girl even made a comment 'Look, mommy, Proteam Omega came out of the TV,' and the concerned parent shooed them both away, uttering for her to 'Stay away from the creepy man.' His favorite TV show had made a mockery of him.
With disgust he threw the last frozen treat at Gold's face, whose fluorescent laughter had him clutching his stomach. Silver's blood was boiling.
"You're. Dead," he breathed.
"Pft. I'm impervious. No way I'd draw one of your orders."
"Where does all this delusional confidence come from?" inquired Ruby.
"It's a Gold thing," Crystal huffed.
"You guys are so lucky," Emerald pouted eagerly. "When do I get to be the king? I wanna, I wanna, I WANNA!" He was getting impatient.
Despite himself Red was chuckling at the whole ordeal; one couldn't deny it had been pretty funny. "Shall we keep going then? One, two.."
"...three, show us the king's orders!"
Crystal flipped her number over. She brightened in delight and showed off her friends the stick reading 'King.'
"I guess it's me! Goodie-Goodie! So which one of you will be at the hands of Crystal?"
No one dared to answer.
Humming she drew a slip from the box. As soon as her gaze met with its contents the color drained from her cheeks.
"Number eight has to take off their shirt," she paused. "Of course. Another low order intended for the girls. So who was it? Red? Green? Ruby? Gold couldn't have written all of them."
"Damn straight."
"Way to stick it to a man, our fearless leaders," Ruby whistled. "It wasn't me."
Red shook his head innocently. "Hey, slow down. I didn't write that."
"And I didn't write anything," Green responded coolly. "Wasn't worth the effort."
Sapphire crossed her arms. "Ah well, we're all pals here, rite? This contest freak saw me when I was clothed with leaves one time," she pointed at Ruby. "If he can see me, so can the rest o'yall. I dun't care."
It didn't take long for Ruby's dimples to darken into a soft shade of red. That was the moment when he'd undressed her and given her the new clothes he'd tailored in his sewing kit.[5] Granted they were only ten then, but still. It had certainly been the day where he saw her in a...different light. Now that they were sixteen how could she be totally cool with the idea of showing her chest? Her seniors were two to four years older than her. It slightly angered him at the thought. She was his.
He coughed. "Let's just get on with it."
"So who's number eight?" said Crystal.
Emerald proceeded to hop up and down. "YES! Woooooo! It's me! I win! I win! I win!"
Without hesitation he pulled off his t-shirt and started whipping it around in the air, prompting an hearty reaction from the girls. Emerald continued to hop in a circle.
"That's very like much like Emerald," Yellow said.
"Yup," added Sapphire.
Blue grinned. "Shall we keep going then?"
They took their places.
"One, two…"
"...three, show us the king's orders!"
Ruby's eyes shone at the 'King' stick cupped in his hands. Finally. Fate had given him the golden ticket. His glance swished over to Sapphire who gave him a faultless look. Now if only he could draw what he had written down for her.
Hesitantly he reached for the box. His heart palpitated with anticipation. Flipping the note over he breathed a heavy sigh of joy and relief. The Pokemon gods had his thanks.
"Number three has to wear a dress of the king's choosing for the rest of the game," he read, trying to sound as casual and indifferent as possible.
Instantly Sapphire sprung up. "Awright, this time I know it t'was you," she stabbed a finger in his direction. "No way am I puttin' one of yer stupid garments."
He sighed nonchalantly. "Can you prove it?"
"Why you-"
It took both Blue and Crystal to hold back Sapphire's vicious advances. She growled and kicked and screamed in defiance. She hated dressing up in front of Ruby. It felt as if he was trying to see right through her. Beauty wasn't everything. He once said that he loved her as she was. Wasn't that enough?
Apparently it wasn't, because the confession of four years ago was never spoken of again. Such thoughts made her enraged.
"When I get my hands on you, I'll-!"
"I doubt you'll be able to do anything when you're wearing something so delicate," he reasoned. "Especially when you know it's going to cost a lot of money."
"E-Eh?"
"Wouldn't want to ruin something expensive that I'm paying for, would you?"
Sapphire gulped.
Ruby rummaged through his belongings and reached for his credit card. He bore a mischievous smirk.
"Blue, is there a dress store around here?
"Tee-hee. There's Salon Suzy in Celadon City."
Ruby slid his goggles over his eyes.
"Then I'll be right back."
"B-b-but...but..."
Ruby zipped outside, slamming the door behind him.
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"Wooooow! Sapphire, you look so pretty!"
"Doesn't she though?"
"You should dress like that more often! The boys would be all over you!"
Yellow, Crystal, and Blue were chatting excitedly. Indeed, Sapphire matched the look of a celebrity in Pokemon magazines. Forced to change she now donned a pink-and-white dress that fell just above her knees. Frilly ribbons decorated the fabric from top to bottom. Purple and yellow lace were tied around her arms and legs, contemplating the flashy style of the gown. A matching coral ribbon held back a clump of hair in a ponytail on the top of her head. Sapphire stumbled forward as the heart-shaped heels of her new shoes clicked against the floor. It was as if she was dumped into a sea of glitter and sequin. Her muscles were tightening by the second and she could feel her back curling up as a Skorupi did to its tail.[6]
Bashful, she folded her arms to cover her chest. Her face had darkened to the deepest crimson. Ruby had gone and bought the glitziest outfit in the whole damned boutique. She wanted to deck him.
Ruby's head flounced up and down in a satisfied fashion. "It looks perfect."
"I'll say," Gold piped, resulting in Crystal shooting him a vexed glare.
Ruby looked at Sapphire steadily. The girl before him was beautiful in every respect, fancy dress or not. There was no doubt in his mind on how much he adored her. He'd only wanted to spoil her and let her feel confident in being the woman she was. Why didn't she understand his feelings?
Unaware of said thoughts, Sapphire's glassy eyes flashed from his to her jeweled heels. "This...this is so embuhrassin'," she pouted. "Couldn't ya have asked me to do somethin' else?"
"But you look beautiful. Don't you think so?"
"Ya don't really mean that," she whimpered.
"Of course I do."
She found herself blushing madly at those words, the ones for so long she had so desperately wanted to hear from him. Yet still she found herself extremely irritated. How could he say that to her so casually after not giving her an answer?
"Very funny, considerin' you've been ignoring me all this time," Sapphire put her hands on her hips. "If this is part of a game er somethin,' I ain't playin.'"
"Ignoring you?"
"That's rite!" Sapphire stabbed a finger between Ruby's face and hers. She was practically screaming at this point. "Four years ago I mustered up all mah courage to be honest with ya about my feelings, and whaddya I get from ya? NOTHIN'! Not even a thank you! You haven't said one damn thing!"
She sniffed, trying to blink back tears. "I really care about ya Ruby! I love you!"
Without hesitation Ruby had taken her in his arms. Sapphire was sniveling at this point, a mixture of tears and snot covering her face.
"I'm sorry. I'm so sorry."
"I-i-i-if y-ya don't...don't...c-c-care a-a-bout me, then, then, I-I guess that's o...o...o-kay..."
He tightened their embrace. "Please don't cry. I...I just didn't think I was good enough for you…"
"YER SO DUMB, RUBY!"
"I'm sorry. Please forgive me. You know that I love you."
"Waaaaaaaaaaaahhh!"
Sapphire's wailing had completely been drowned out by a chorus of swooning. Crystal and Yellow were eating up the romantic sight. A wide grin had plastered on Blue's face as her gaze crept to the shoebox. Her little friend was doing its job well. No sooner had the thought crossed her mind her heart skipped in her chest. The box was jiggling. She quickly sped past the boys and snatched it up with her hands. Thankfully, no one seemed to have noticed.
Save for one. It was that moment that Green's eyes widened in shock. It had only been for a split second, but he could have sworn the shoe box was shaking, as if something was inside. He shot a dirty look to Green. Her back was turned to him. She must have snatched up the box when she'd noticed something was amiss. Now it was clear to him what was going in. He would be watching her like a Braviary. Whether or not he wanted to admit he was always watching her, but that was another story.
Ruby was grinning sheepishly. He helped Sapphire stand up, who was still bawling her eyes out. "Uh...sorry guys, do you think we could have a minute? We'll be right back…"
And with that Ruby swiftly led the two of them to back the of the room.
A single tear slipped from Crystal. "Aw...that was the sweetest thing I've ever seen…"
"I mean...it was kind of obvious," remarked Emerald.
Red crossed his arms, whispering to Blue and Green. "Really? Huh. I didn't notice."
They rolled their eyes, for once in complete agreement. Red was clueless.
"I'm really glad for Sapphire," said Yellow.
Gold scratched the inside of his ear. "Bah. Who cares. It's just you girls who get worked up about all this stupid mushy stuff."
"Nobody asked for your opinion," Crystal shot back. "You wouldn't know the first thing about romance anyway. It's not like you actually have it in you to do anything sweet like that to a girl. You'd flirt with anyone."
Now Gold was fuming. "Oh yeah? Well, you haven't exactly make it easy for me! When you're other guys you're all sunshine and roses, but when you and I are alone, all you do is yell at me! It's like you don't take me seriously!"
"Eh?"
Crystal blinked in shock, taking his words in. Was it even possible? Was Gold...jealous?
It took him a minute to process what he'd just said to the object of his affections. Once it clicked he spun around and slapped his arms on his legs, refusing to look her in the eye. In a rush of anger he'd nearly revealed his desire to be with her, and in his mind he was swearing his stupidity.
"N-Nothing!" he sputtered, the sound of his voice a mixture of fear and embarrassment. "Forget I said anything!"
Crystal could only play with the zipper on her jacket. She was stunned.
"Alrighty!" Blue said, holding up the shoe box. Safe to say she was pleased with how the events of the evening were unfolding. "There are two turns left before the game ends. Who's next?"
The group held up their sticks.
"One, two…"
"...three, show us the king's orders!"
Red held up his newly drawn king stick excitedly. He'd feared he wouldn't get his chance to play like everyone else. Now if he could only draw the order he wrote about getting to have a rematch with Blue who'd bested him the last time the two of them had a sparing match. That would make his day.
Smiling brightly he reached for the box and pulled out an order. Instantly his jaw dropped.
"Number eight has to kiss the king on the lips," he stuttered awkwardly.
"Woooooo-hoo!" Blue jumped up and clasped her hands together. "It's about time we got down to the silly stuff! Go Red!"
Green looked at her suspiciously. There was no doubt in his mind that this had been her plan all along. She had been playing her cards for this one moment. Not that he actually minded, of course. He was sick of Red acting like a clueless idiot around Yellow. Perhaps the situation would illicit a necessary reaction from her. Blue must have known that.
A clever girl indeed.
"Whew, our fearless leader strikes again," Gold whistled, nudging him with his shoulder. "So who's going to be the lucky girl?" "...so long as it's not Crystal, then you're dead," he wanted to add, but he'd already slipped up once today. She seemed to be tied down to her thoughts, however, for she would not look at him or utter one word.
"Wait, does this mean if a guy is number eight, Red would have to kiss him?" Emerald asked.
"Yup," Blue nodded, her sing-songy voice full of twisted content.
"So who's number eight?"
"I-I am," called a high-pitched squeak.
All pairs of eyes immediately turned to the girl from Viridian City, whose entire face matched the color of the setting sun: blood-red. At this realization Red's heart nearly stopped. He had to slap himself on the face to stop himself from grinning ear to ear.
No words could accurately describe the mixture of joy, excitement, nervousness, embarrassment, and fear that was erupting in Red's heart. Him? Kissing Yellow? The thought of such a fleeting, passionate moment with her only happened in his imagination, and he had never expected that it would actually become a reality. Safe to say he was exhilarated but at the same time he wanted to kill himself. He'd never kissed anyone. What the hell was he supposed to do? No doubt he was going to screw up and look like a complete moron to his beloved. How it was possible he felt so ethereal yet he wanted to disappear at the same time he didn't know.
"Ah, um, okay," he tried to maintain composure.
Yellow didn't even look up from her dress. "D-Do we have to?" she mumbled.
He knew it. Red slumped his shoulders in defeat, the words stinging more than probably intended.
Blue sprung up from her seat and pushed Yellow towards him. "As I said before, the King's orders are absolute," she huffed, slightly annoyed. Now that their chance had come she wouldn't deal with any more of Yellow's excuses. "Come on, people do it all the time. We're all friends here."
Yellow was too wrapped up in her wild thoughts to hear the mixture of snickering and whistling from the crowd.
A twinge of pain in his voice, "Look, she said she doesn't want to, so-"
She took a step forward.
"O-Okay. I mean, if we have to."
Red stood there astonished. His heart thumped wildly as she approached him. There was a glazed look in her eyes. His features burned.
"R-Red."
He was not mentally prepared for this. "Y-Yellow, I…"
"I-I'm sure you just want to get this over with, so go ahead! I don't mind!" she yelped. Unbeknownst to him she was blushing madly.
He inched a little closer, stammering. "A-Are you sure?"
"Yes! Go ahead and...kiss me!"
Red couldn't believe what he was hearing. He gulped. There was a moment of silence.
Both were too nervous to move.
"Just go ahead and do it already!" Blue called. She looked at her watch. A full minute had passed. "Time's a-wasting!"
Ears and face burning, Red gently placed a hand on Yellow shoulder. As he imagined, her skin felt soft to touch. By now his palms were all clammy and he prayed to Arceus she wouldn't notice. He'd never been this close to her before let alone any girl.
"Um, uh, okay. I-I'm going to do it now."
Red was so close to her that she could feel his breath. A wave of dizziness threatened to overtake her, but she took a deep breath and stood her ground. Her idol that was the center of every dream was going to kiss her; she couldn't believe it.
"O-Okay."
"Close your eyes."
"S-Sure."
Through the slits of her eyes, Yellow could see Red coming closer. She pressed them shut.
A loose strand of her beautiful golden hair had fallen over her mouth. Red brushed it away, and she trembled at his touch. For a moment while they were alone he took a good look at her. His hands, which rested upon her shoulders, felt her body shaking. It was clear that she was frightened out of her wits. But like many of the trials he'd seen her face in the past, brave little Yellow was pushing through. Her bravery made her all the more gorgeous and it touched his heart so.
It was then that he knew what he had to do. How he knew, he didn't. But he only followed his heart. All hesitation had disappeared.
Pulling her closer with one arm and cupping her chin in the other, startling her, he softly pressed his lips against hers. It was a sweet, impassioned kiss, powered by the love they had been holding back for so long. Simple, but enough to shake their hearts to the core. Red felt himself melting inside. No greater power could comprehend the feelings he kept for this girl, and with all his being he wished she could understand.
Cheeks red, Red pulled away from her to find a blank expression plastered on her face. He suddenly regretted doing such a thing. He noticed her sagging in his arms.
"Y-Y-Yellow, I'm s-so sorry, I...Yellow? Can you hear me? Yellow?!"
The girl had fainted.
Though he said nothing, Silver's expression had widened at the bold move his senior had made and the timing of the whole situation. How...lucky for Red Yellow had been the one to draw the eight stick. It made him wonder if his sister had planned the whole thing. He turned to face her and sure enough she had broken into a fit of hysterical laughter.
"H-Hey, Red...I think you broke Yellow," she snorted.
Crystal shouted, "Oh my gosh, Red, what did you do to her?!"
"B-b-b-b-b-but...I…"
For the first and last time Green offered him a playful smirk. Red cringed; it was almost haunting. That was definitely going in the record books.
"Woo-hoo! Go get her, senior!"
"Carried out by a true man!"
Hearing the shouting, and finally composed, Ruby and Sapphire walked over to rejoin their friends. Ruby looked at the frantic DexHolders in confusion.
"So? What did we miss?" he asked.
Red sighed, flustered. It was going to be a long night.
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"Y...el...ow…"
"Hm?"
"Yellow?!"
The young girl rubbed her eyes groggily. She felt her body wrapped in an assortment of blankets. It appeared she had been sleeping in bed for some time, but for how long she didn't know. With effort she heaved herself up and yawned, pushing the covers below her knees. She was perplexed to find herself still wearing her white sundress. Wasn't she wearing it in the amazing dream she'd just awoken from, the one where she'd kissed Red? Confused, she winked. This wasn't her bed in Viridian City. Once her vision cleared she looked up into the amber eyes of her knight. They were wet with concern. As soon as her eyes fully met his he turned away, a light blush spread across his cheeks.
Only then it registered that she was still at Blue's party. The dream had been real.
Yellow's face immediately blew up into a balloon. She pressed her fingers to her lips. Red had kissed her. She couldn't believe it. Yet even though it had been for show it was everything she'd imagined her first kiss to be. Their lips merely touched, nothing too forceful or full of spit. It was just simple and pure, like the man she loved. She gazed at him longingly, the warmth from her heart returning.
"U-Um. Hey," he murmured rather bashfully. "I just wanted to see if you were okay."
She fumbled with the wrinkles on her dress. "Yeah. I-I'm fine."
"That's good," he smiled with that oh too charming look that'd make any girl swoon. "I'm glad to hear it. Hehehe."
A moment of awkward tension passed. After what seemed like hours Red finally spoke.
"Look, I'm really sorry. I-I mean, for what happened. Even if it was just a game, that must have really bothered you, huh."
He shifted his weight to look at her, but the moment he did his head whipped in the opposite direction. He wished his hormones could disappear then and there. She probably would never speak to him again after doing such a thing. Her lack of dialogue continued to fuel his anxieties.
He chuckled nervously, "Hehe. I-It really was that bad, huh?"
"N-No," Yellow piped, but only loud enough so she could hear herself speak.
He took her silence as his cue to leave. "Well, if you're okay, then I guess I'll leave you alone…"
"Red, wait!" she lunged for his arm and gripped it tightly. "I don't want you to go!"
Her touch was making him dizzy. "Huh?"
Maybe she'd finally lost it, or maybe she just sick and tired of putting on a facade on her feelings. Either way, new courage to speak her mind was there. She took a deep breath.
"I'm saying...um. What you did. It wasn't bad at all."
He wasn't following. "I-It wasn't?"
"No. I-In fact, I, I sort of liked it."
Red's jaw dropped. He must have heard her wrong.
"And...and...I would really like it, if...if we could always stay together. I-I mean, I've always admired you, Red. Your courageous, and strong, and nice...who wouldn't like you? Haha. I certainly do. We all do. Gee, what I am saying? I must sound like an airhead," she scratched the back of her neck. "I-"
But she never got to finish her sentiment, for at that point Red had thrown her arms around her. She needn't say anymore. It was enough for him to understand. Enough to feel the happiest he'd ever feel in a lifetime. And she, in that moment, knew her many years of doubting could finally be put to rest.
"Yellow...we'll always be together. I'll never let you out of my sight again."
She gushed at his words, his voice smooth and sincere. "Really?"
"Really. I love you, Yellow."
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"Silver, I'm going to kill you!" Gold roared. "You put this order in, didn't you?"
"So what if I did? You totally deserved it, you asshole!"
"Say that again, moron!"
Red and Yellow entered the scene with perplexed expressions. Gold had stripped down to his underwear and was covered in an assortment of what appeared to be berry stains. Silver was rolling on the floor tittering. Enraged, Gold proceeded to pick a piece of smashed lum berry off his clothing and hurl it into Silver's face, causing Silver to then tackle him.
"What's going on?" Red said.
"You didn't miss much," Ruby replied. He was clearly amused. "Silver drew the king stick and commanded Gold to run out in his underwear in public. He just got back. It looks like he got thrashed."
"I'll say," Yellow let go of Red's hand. "Shouldn't we try to stop them?"
"Good luck," Blue had gotten up from her seat to get some punch from the food table. "Leave them be. The game is over anyway."
The rest of the guests were talking and chatting except for Crystal, who was sitting in the corner of the room. She'd curled up while hugging her arms around her legs. Yellow went over to join her.
"Hey."
"Hey," Crystal sighed outwardly. She didn't turn to face Yellow but continued to watch Gold and Silver, Gold specifically. It was clear to Yellow she was still upset about what had transpired earlier.
She offered Crystal a hand on her shoulder. "Are still you worried about what Gold said to you?"
"Why would I worry about that jerk anyway?" she huffed, turning further away from the blonde. "He's always joking around and flirting with other girls. He treats everybody the same."
She gave a slight smile, "Well, that's true. But I think he does that because he wants you to notice him. Guys are kind of funny that way."
She paused. "Like, all this time I thought Red didn't like me. His expressions were so hard to read, and I could never figure him out. He was so nice to everybody. But then I found out tonight that it wasn't the case. You just never know."
"So," Crystal jabbed her arm flirtatiously, "you and Red are finally an item, eh?"
Yellow, still caught up in the moment, found her dimples reddening. "Y-Yes."
"Hahahaha, that's good. It was about time things progressed for you two."
Yellow shifted nervously. "You mean...you knew about how he felt?"
"Of course. Everybody knew."
"Oh...I guess I'm that clueless, huh?"
There was a moment of silence. Afterwards, the two girls laughed.
"So yeah." Yellow wiped the corners of her eyes. "You just never know."
She joined her hands in Crystal's, surprising her. "Okay? You have to believe in yourself. Be honest with your feelings, and Gold will understand."
All of a sudden Yellow's words resonated with her more than she expected. Maybe Gold really did care about her; after all, he'd said earlier she never took him seriously...didn't that mean he wanted her attention?
"You wouldn't know the first thing about romance anyway. It's not like you actually have it in you to do anything sweet like that to a girl. You'd flirt with anyone."
"Oh yeah? Well, you haven't exactly make it easy for me! When you're other guys you're all sunshine and roses, but when you and I are alone, all you do is yell at me! It's like you don't take me seriously!"
Now that she took a moment to think about it, with reluctance she realized that all she did was jump to conclusions whenever Gold said something. And it wasn't like she'd ever told him how she felt, so technically he had the right to fool around. They weren't dating. Maybe she was being too harsh. She'd instantly lose her temper and let him have it without ever asking why. He'd never really done anything to outright betray her...she was the one betraying his trust by barking at him and trying to control his actions.
By now there were sparkles in Crystal's eyes, and she gratefully shook Yellow's arms up and down. She'd helped her realized what was missing between them. Trust.
"Thank you so much, Yellow. I'm going to talk to him!"
"Good luck," she smiled sweetly. "I have a good feeling about him. I think he likes you."
Crystal blushed, "I hope so."
She didn't want to waste any more time. Within seconds she'd broken between Silver and Gold's fight and dragged him straight across the room. He continued to thrash in protest but her grip was like iron. Finally when they were in the kitchen area away from everybody else she loosened her hold on him. He sprang up.
"What the hell did you do that for? We weren't finished!"
She placed her hands on her hips. "Well, I'm not finished with you. I want answers."
"Answers to what? You're crazy!"
There it was again, his explosive temper. Whenever he got into one of his fits he'd always say nasty stuff to her. She took a deep breath, Yellow's words echoing inside her.
"I wanted to ask you a question," she looked him straight in the eye.
Gold knew Crystal only did this when something was seriously bothering her, and he had a feeling he knew why. It was making him nervous. He rested his arms behind his head and turned to the side of her gaze.
She felt herself blushing. "What did you mean by...what you said earlier?"
He was right. "You mean about Silver being an moron? Well, it's true," he grumbled, trying to change the subject. "That imp drives me crazy."
Crystal shifted uncomfortably. "No, that's not it. I meant what you said to me when Sapphire was crying."
"Oh, that. Yeah. Well, sometimes I say stuff in the moment that makes no sense. Don't take it personally."
"How can I not take it personally, when you look at me that way?
"Huh?"
Gold wasn't used to seeing this feminine side of Crystal. Her doe-eyed expression made her look even hotter, if that was even possible. He didn't deny that he loved it but that was beside the point. She was trying to get into his head and he wouldn't have it.
"I don't know what you're talking about. Forget it."
Now she was losing her patience. "Why do you always change the subject? You're acting like a jerk, leading people on like that!"
"I'm a jerk? Your the one who throws a hissy fit all the time for no good reason!"
"And I have every right to!" she cried. "How can I trust someone who flirts with every girl he sees?"
There she went again, saying stuff that led him to believe she didn't care about him. This pushed his buttons. "And what about you? You're one to talk. 'I'm Crys and I'm so sweet and nice to everybody around me, but when I'm alone with my best friend, I'm a jerk!'" waving his arms up and down he pretended to lip-sync her movements in a mocking fashion.
"A-HAH!" she pointed a finger at him. Out of respect to Yellow's advice she'd pretended she hadn't heard the latter. "I knew you'd said something!"
"Damn," he kicked the empty air, cursing under his breath. That was strike two on his list of daily slip-ups today. "Yeah, well, I guess I did. But's it true. You always call me out."
And it was. Thanks to Yellow she'd been able to see that. It was about time she'd get off her high horse and try to trust Gold. After all, she...
"I...I'm sorry," she said finally, joining her hands into his. "I never mean it. I trust you, okay?"
Gold raised an eyebrow. Not once had Crystal been the first to apologize. It was always him kissing her feet. Was this a trick of hers? And they were holding hands...at this rate she was winning him over.
It must have been his imagination, but he felt as if the temperature was rising in the room. "Y-Yeah. Well. You're forgiven," he broke the embrace and scratched his head sheepishly. "I guess sometimes I say stupid stuff, too. We're even."
She flashed one of her biggest, sweetest smiles. "Okay."
It was this particular expression that made him go weak in the knees, especially now since it had been reserved for his eyes only. His stomach was doing back flips. Immediately he thought of his senior and the straw hat girl moments prior. There was no way he would let Red outshine him. Screw it; he wanted her.
"Crys," he began.
Crystal felt her cheeks flushing. He'd only call her by her name when he was being dead serious. What surprised her even more was that she watched him get down on one knee.
Softly, he took her palm in both of his hands and kissed it. "I want you to know that I take us very seriously. Us, as in you and I. Do you?"
Crystal's entire face had darkened to the deepest shade of crimson. The gesture was the most romantic thing she'd ever seen him do, and he was doing it for her exclusively.
"Y-Yes. Of course I do."
"Good," he smiled a devilish grin. "Because I want you to be my girlfriend."
"Okay!"
A few minutes later Gold marched over to the group (Crystal following behind) with his nose practically in the air. Silver glared at him. In his hands was the empty king's game shoe box. Instead of glaring back, however, Gold patted him on the shoulder.
"Alright, here's the deal. I'm in a really good mood right now, so I'm deciding to forgive you. I'll even take the blame for it even though it was clearly your fault. No need to thank me. I'm a saint, I know."
Silver blankly stared at him. It was almost chilling the power Crys had over him. He rolled his eyes, tipping the box over and shaking it firmly.
"Right. Well I for one want to see all the stupid things you wrote in here, since I'm sure your such a kind person," he spat sarcastically.
At the same time Blue was humming merrily and skipping towards her group of friends after pouring herself a tall glass of well-deserved punch. The evening had gone exactly how she'd planned it. Hilarity ensued and all her her friends got to break the ice too. Everybody won. So what if her methods were a tad cut-throat. They just needed a little...push. And not once did anyone suspect her mischievous charade, not even that calculating Green Oak who was always spoiling her fun. She was on cloud-nine. Now it was time to stash away the magical box that made her evening fantastic. She scanned the room. Where did she put it again?
Seconds later she shrieked in horror as she witnessed her little brother tipping over the box, pouring out its contents.
"Silver, wait-!"
But it was too late. With a harsh thrust of Silver's hands a little pink blob came tumbling out along with a stack of king notes. Silver, Crys, and Gold, wide-eyed, scanned the little creature. It was none other then Clefy, Blue's Wigglytuff. It had used a Minimize attack to shrink itself down to fit into the box. Dizzy with confusion it teetered back and forth before plopping on the ground with a thump.
Red, Yellow, Green, Ruby, Sapphire, and Emerald heard the commotion and rushed over. Blue relunctantly followed them. She was busted.
"W-What's going on?" inquired Crystal. "Why is there a Pokemon in the box?"
"Is it wild?" Red said excitedly. "Then we can battle it, and-"
Green buried his face in his hands. He took a step forward, scooped up the pink bundle and paced towards Blue. Calmly he placed Clefy in her trembling hands.
"Let me explain this," he retorted. He spun around to face his friends. "This is Green's Clefable. She must have told it beforehand to use Minimize so it could fit inside the box. Being a user of a plethora of psychic attacks, Clefable could easily carry out her trainers orders. They were communicating telepathically, kind of like Golduck and I have in the past. She could tell it what slip of paper to give what trainer when they'd been asked to draw an order in the box. So in other words," he shifted his weight to face Blue, "she could control the game the entire time."
"What did I tell you?" he continued, almost in a half smirk." I told you any game run by that pesky woman would be trouble.
A sea of horrified to angry expressions shot Blue. All pairs of eyes were on her. She took a step back, chucking nervously. "Hehehe. Oh, come on guys. You know me. I just was having a little fun-"
"Blue, how could you do this to us?" Crystal shouted. She was pissed.
"Ya!" Sapphire cleched a fist and pumped it in the air. "Yer were goin' way too far!"
Yellow was practically in tears. "Y-you m-mean...this was all set up? Everything?"
"Blue, you ought to be ashamed of yourself!" Red held Yellow protectively.
Ruby and Emerald exchanged indifferent glances. "Well, it worked out for me, so I'm not complaining," Ruby remarked.
"Yeah," said Emerald. "I don't care."
"Well I do," Gold snapped. "All this time you could have made it so Silver drew my order to get in a clown suit."
"What the hell, Gold?"
"B-But wait. They were all your orders," Blue replied. "All I did was make it so everyone drew what they wanted. Everybody wins, right?"
Before the crowd could do anything Green had walked in front of her, creating a wall between herself and the other trainers. Blue cocked her head in confusion. Green was never the first one to volunteer to take her side. Safe to say she was pleased.
Immediately he regretted his decision, but pressed on. "Look. I don't agree that what she did was a good idea. It was stupid. This girl does idiotic stuff all the time. But I'll admit this. Her pesky meddling actually helped you with your...problems," he trailed off, not knowing the proper word their 'touchy-feely' issues. "You've all been acting like morons lately, especially you, Red."
"What the heck?!"
"Your supposed to set the example for everyone else. How do you expect to become a gym leader if you've been skipping out on training sessions lately to-"
By that point Red had shoved his hands over his rival's mouth, hoping to dismiss the fact that he'd been secretly spying on Yellow. Green shot him a dirty look. "Yeah. Anyway, we get the point. Green is right; let's just let it go. Blue was only joking around. Right?"
"Yeah," she grinned. "It's not a party with a little excitement."
The group smiled and nodded.
And so the eventful party between the DexHolders had concluded. After everything that was said and done Blue was incredibly satisfied. One by one the trainers helped with the clean-up and said their goodbyes. She was incredibly grateful fate had given them another night of fun. Saving the world was great and all, but every so often they needed to crash.
Green was the last to leave. Blue held out a hand to him. He growled at her.
"No thank you," he said irritably.
"Well well well, Greenie. It seems I'm the one should be the one thanking you. You saved me from a little predicament earlier. How gentlemanly."
"I was just stating fact."
She crossed her hands behind her back and leaned forward. "Of course you were."
"Don't get the wrong idea," he shoved his hands in his pockets. "I can't speak for the others, but I'm just as sick as you are of those two acting like cloud-headed saps."
"Awwwww. It sounds like you're jealous," she winked at him. "Your rival's attention is drifting away from you."
Green would never admit it, but Blue's words rang true.
"Please. My mind is focused elsewhere."
Blue gave him a yearning stare. Yes, his mind was always focused elsewhere. On battling, training, and being the best. Never on girls. Never on her.
But she was never one to back down from such things without a fight.
"You should be happy for them. I am. If you had someone like that, you would feel differently," she said thoughtfully. "Don't you think so?"
There it was again. This girl would bomb a question while looking at him with the biggest, glassiest eyes. Other girls pointlessly flung themselves at him twenty-four seven and he didn't spare them a second thought. Blue was the only one who could illicit such...meaningless emotions inside him. Why? It bugged him to no end. Yet there she was, petite, with eyes matching her long, flowing brunette hair, staring at him wistfully. His heart was skipping out of his chest. A bead of sweat dribbled from his forehead. He took a step back.
"Hmph. Maybe. Who knows," he tried countering back.
"Would you like to find out?"
Before he could say anything more Blue stood on her heels and pecked him on the cheek. It happened quicker than the blink of an eye.
She leaned closer to whisper in his ear. "This," she said seductively, sending a shiver down his back, "is a little thank you from earlier."
All he could do was stand there, frozen. The blood was rushing to his ears and all of a sudden he felt extremely tongue-tied. It was if the meter on a thermometer had risen up from cold to hot and broken the scale. He had no comeback, no words to say to her. Only the racing thoughts in his mind and the thumping in his chest.
He'd finally been bested by Blue.
Author's Notes:
[1] "The Kings Game" is a popular card game played at parties in Japan, oftentimes used with alcohol. Each player takes turn drawing cards, and the players must participate in the instructions corresponding to the drawn card. Younger children (as seen in anime) will make up their own set of rules when playing the game as Red did here. After all, these trainers are minors!
[2] A reference to volume 2, chapter 15 of the manga, where Blue is seen selling phony Pokemon items to residents of Celadon City.
[3] A reference to volume 14, chapters 167-179, where the main antagonist of the G/S/C story arc, "The Masked Man," terrorizes the citizens of Kanto and Johto at the annual Pokemon League Tournament.
[4] A reference to the in-manga TV show "Proteam Omega," a mecha/sci-fi anime created by the Goldenrod City Radio director after being inspired by Red's team of Pokemon. Silver often comes over to watch it in Gold's house. It is extremely popular and widely known in all six regions, also being Diamond's favorite show.
[5] A reference to volume 15, chapter 182, where Ruby assists Sapphire in defeating a wild Mightyena. As thanks he tailors her a new outfit, the one you see in the original Ruby/Sapphire games for Game Boy Advance.
[6] A reference to the pink contest dress Sapphire wears in the Omega Ruby/Alpha Sapphire games for Nintendo 3DS.
Thank you so much for reading! I love these characters to death and always wanted to do something with them! Hope I did them justice. If it wasn't obvious my favorite pairing is RedxYellow...of course I love GreenxBlue, GoldxCrystal, and RubyxSapphire too.
Review and shoot me your thoughts.
Thanks to Kurt for inspiring me to write, create, and learn.
~Moonlight