Recommended Music: Gundam 00 Ending 1.
Pokemon Tales: Red Chapter 34: Flames That Melt the Ice.
Red and Peter walked in silence for a long time, the latter leading the former to some mysterious part of the base. Other Team Rocket members they passed on the way had to wage their curiosity about the new member against their fear of ever getting on Peter's nerves. One of his immediate underlings decided to gather his courage and approach the two of them but he still felt his legs tremble when they stopped in front of him after he blocked their path in order to satiate his curiosity.
"Isn't this the guy whom we fought against in Lavender Town? It was so quick... He was wearing different clothes... And we barely escaped the police after waking up..."
"Move." Peter responded unusually calmly.
"Wha-?" the henchman sounded more shocked than one would expect from someone who was used to working with this particular Admin "I... I know it's not my place to pry but I think we deserve some explanation."
He looked around at the other people in the corridor. Some of them were part of the same group that Red fought at Pokemon Tower but there were also others, even some that never met the teenager and were just interested after seeing someone accompanying Peter with a smile, even though it was a barely noticeable one. The thing that was common for all of them was that they turned their heads when Peter's underling looked at them hoping that someone would speak up, since none of them wanted to chance that the Admin would remember their faces and punish them for associating with someone as impertinent as the person in front of him.
"Ehh..." Peter let out a sigh since even without looking around he knew that this man was the only one he would have to deal with it, but he still didn't feel in the mood to deal out the pain like he would usually, his mind clouded by the same mystery the asker was trying to figure out.
He swung his arm, making the henchman close his eyes as the fist approached his face, but he stopped when his thoughts once again wandered towards figuring out why Red was accepted by Giovanni. This made him curious about something and he wanted to check it right away.
"You do it." he said while looking at the boy.
"Do what?" Red asked, making the Admin question if his order wasn't clear even with the visual help right in front of the teenager.
"I want you to punch him."
"Oh. Okay."
Even though Red's words made it sound like he would do as told, he didn't move an inch and just looked at Peter with a calm expression. The Admin, the person he was about to hit and all the other members were too confused to react in any way besides staring at the boy, as if they expected him to make some sudden movement.
"And...?" Peter asked.
"What?"
"Are you going to punch him or not?" the Admin was so stupefied that he couldn't even bring up his anger.
"Nah."
"What?"
"Don't wanna."
"Are y..."
"Maybe later."
"I will..."
"But probably not."
"You're..."
"Are we done here?"
Peter's instincts made him turn around and raise his other hand in preparation for an uppercut he would deliver to the teenager's face, when one of the other people in the corridor made the worst mistake they could. Even overtaken by mixed emotions, Peter could hear a slight chuckle coming from one of the female grunts.
"Are you crazy? He will..." her friend was trying to calm down the woman but when the Admin turned towards them she knew that it was already too late to do anything besides hoping that she wouldn't get punished just for being close to the one that laughed at him.
The laughing girl closed her eyes in fear and was prepared to cry out after hearing a strong slap but she realized that she didn't feel it. Red managed to get between them and recieve the blow in her stead.
"Are you satisfied?" the teenager said while looking at the Admin without showing too much care about being hit.
"For now." Peter responded, which at first surprised even him.
They started walking again and it didn't seem like anyone else would dare to approach them. The girl protected by Red couldn't do anything besides bowing slightly but she did it only after their backs were turned to her. Peter began to question if the way things turned out wouldn't lead to his authority being undermined but he was certain that if he went into a rage and kept on hitting Red without any sign of giving up from the other, it would only serve in building up the teenager in the eyes of others.
The two of them finally reached a room that looked like some kind of laboratory, with many people walking around and doing work with various machines. The Admin led Red to one of the devices. It looked like a giant barrel with multiple plastic eggs being held inside it. Peter used a console to make the machine move and finally a mechanical hand holding one of the eggs moved in their direction.
"Don't try anything. Choose one." the man said to Red who wasn't completely sure what he meant until the egg opened, releasing a cloud of chilling smoke, and revealing six pokeballs being held inside.
"They're my Pokemon." he stated the obvious after grabbing one of them and holding it in such a way that it would allow him to peer inside and see that he was holding the one with Pidgeotto.
"Is this the one you want?"
"What? You haven't explained what's going on. What'll happen if I choose one?"
Peter let out a sigh before explaining "This mission we're going on could be extremely helpful in allowing us get back M2 and I frankly don't want you anywhere near it but if you must help me, I thought it would be a good idea to let you use one of your older Pokemon instead of the one provided to you by Team Rocket. Pick the one most suited for stealth and leave the rest."
"So that's what happening..." Red said before putting away the ball and searching for the right one "Got him."
Peter couldn't help being interested in the boy's choice "Who is it?"
"There's no need to tell you since we don't even know if I'll get to use him." the teenager replied, not realizing that even such a comment was enough to anger Peter.
The Admin didn't want to punish his helper since he still couldn't get a good read on him and any arguing could potentially increase the chances of Red either purposefully failing the mission or even attacking him from behind. He didn't know if Giovanni actually cared for him in any significant way so becoming a hostage could go two ways. He slapped his face after realizing that he was thinking about everything that could go wrong instead of focusing on what he needed to do.
. . .
"How are you holding up?" Lance, who was currently flying above the sea atop his Dragonite, looked at the Pokemon to make sure that it wasn't too tired.
The beast gave out a reassuring sound before trying to communicate something else by pointing forward. They were nearing their destination, Floe Island belonging to the Sevii Archipelago. Dragonite started descending slowly and soon landed safely on the beach, with the nearby fishermen looking at them in surprise. Lance caressed his Pokemon's head to thank it for bringing him so far, before putting it back in a pokeball so it could rest. During that short time, a bunch of people gathered around him, some even shouting towards the village in order to get others to come and see their guest.
Some of the elder people seemed confused about who he could be but most of the adults and children recognized him as a recent winner of the Pokemon League and one of the Elite Four. He was happy to give an autograph to anyone who requested one but he was beginning to worry since, despite their relatively close proximity, Kanto and the Sevii Islands differed in climate and he didn't bring any lighter clothes. He actually had a seemingly identical version of his suit that was made in such a way that it would allow his skin to breathe in the warmer months but after finally getting Agatha to agree and join their cause, he was too excited about going to meet up with the last member of his group to remember to switch his clothes.
"Could you give me a little space?" he asked while slightly raising his hands, showing people that he needed them to step back and give him a chance to catch his breath.
"What the hell do you think you're doing here?!" someone yelled.
Before Lance could see who it was, he was blinded by a fish being thrown at his face. He was so surprised that he panicked a little and almost fell over while trying to deal with the smell. He threw the fish towards some fisherman who looked like he was glad to receive it. After this was done, Lance could finally look at his assailant. It was an old woman, one whom he never met which added to mystery of why she would be angry at him.
"Have you mistaken me for someone?" he asked.
"No way! I would never forget the face of the fool who broke my granddaughters heart!"
"So that's what this is about..." he said while pondering how to quickly deal with this obstacle before he could do what he arrived there for "...You are mistaken. I never stopped loving Lorelei and in fact I'm here today to ask for her hand!"
The woman was left speechless but she didn't need to say anything since the people around them started cheering after hearing these news. Some maidens looked disappointed, probably being his fangirls while the young men seemed to be jealous that about him wanting to steal away the most beautiful girl living on their island.
"Is that the truth?" Lorelei's grandmother asked.
"Yes." he lied.
"Very well. I don't want to get in the way of her happiness. If you go into the town and head to the other side, you'll see a path that will lead you to a cave. Lorelei wasn't home when I woke up so that's probably where she is right now. But let me give you a warning... If you hurt her feelings again, I will know, and I will make you regret that you ever set foot on this island."
The young men cheered after hearing that but Lance ignored them, bowing to the old woman before heading in the direction she pointed towards.
. . .
Lance reached the cave after a couple minutes and even before entering it, he began to feel better about forgetting to change his suit since he could feel the cold air coming from inside while being a couple meters away from the entrance. Once inside, he saw that the walls and the floor of the cave were covered in ice and snow so he made sure to step carefully in order not to crack his head open by slipping up and falling down. It was no wonder that Lorelei would like staying in such a place, considering the type of Pokemon she specialized in. After giving it some thought, he realized that it was probably the other way around and it was the environment she spent her youth in that made her prefer Ice type Pokemon. After all, in a way, it was the same for him.
He quickly understood that the cave was a lot bigger than he thought at first and he could very well be below sea level after taking several turns. His memory was good enough to remember from where came but he had no idea where he was heading. Calling out for Lorelei could instead attract the attention of wild Pokemon so he kept quiet while slowly exploring each path he could fit. Finally, he arrived at a spacious chamber mostly covered by water. At first, he was surprised that it wasn't frozen like the rest of the cave complex but his attention was soon grabbed by what he saw on the other side of the room.
Lorelei was standing on a flat rock which was sticking out slightly above the surface of the water. He immediately recognized her raid hair tied in a ponytail even from a distance. She had her signature glasses, a purple skirt and stockings but it seemed like even someone whose so closely related to ice had to prepare herself in order to visit this place since she switched her usual high heels for something that would make it easier to walk on ice while also covering the upper part of her body with a warm jacket. She wasn't alone. The next thing that caught Lance's attention was a Lapras, that he didn't recognize as part of her team, which was trying to impress her by doing various tricks. It seemed to work since the woman kept on laughing even when droplets of cold water would sometimes reach her face.
Seeing that, Lance felt awful about having to interrupt her, especially since he knew that she wouldn't be happy about seeing him. However, instead of worrying how he would convince her to hear him out, he needed a way to get across the lake. He reached towards the surface of the water to check if it would be okay for his Pokemon to swim in it, however it was hard measure it accurately so he decided to risk it, although keeping in mind that he should call it back as soon as he would see that it couldn't take the cold. He reached for one of the pokeballs and released a Pokemon without saying anything. His Kingdra seemed surprised at first, but after spinning around a couple times, diving underwater and coming back up, it seemed like it got used to the temperature. He jumped onto its back and made sure to place his legs in such a way that he wouldn't fall off nor get in the way of Kingdra's dorsal fin.
As they slowly approached the rock Lorelei was on, Lance came to realize that the room wasn't as big as he thought at first. He explained it to himself as the light reflecting of the icy walls making it hard to judge the distance. Their presence didn't go unnoticed for long. The ripples they made reached Lapras's body and the Pokemon immediately turned around to see who it was. Seeing that it was bothered by something, Lorelei managed to stop laughing and also looked towards the ones moving towards them. Seeing Lance must have been quite a shock since it took her a couple seconds to notice that Lapras lowered its head, showing that it was ready to protect her.
"No, no. Don't worry. He's..." she was searching for a right word but calming down the Pokemon was more important than searching her heart so she went with something that Lapras would understand "...a friend."
There wasn't too much space on the rock but Lorelei moved to make room for her guest since having a conversation while looking down at him would probably make her look bad if anyone saw them. Even though there was no one else in the cave, she would never be as petty as to take satisfaction in her elevation, especially since she prided herself on her maturity, even if it was hard to keep her emotions completely in check when Lance was involved.
"I'm listening." she stated, while crossing her arms, after he climbed onto the rock and the Pokemon moved away in order not to disturb them while playing around in the water.
"You know... If it was anyone else I would probably try to come up with something that would first make me look better in their eyes before saying something like this, but we have a history together and I have too much respect to lie to you. I didn't come here to beg you for forgiveness..."
He couldn't help noticing her fingers twitch after she realized that he wasn't there for the only reason that would make her interested in hearing him out but he decided to continue talking, hoping that he would be able to grab her attention again.
"Try to contact you through Brock instead of coming to meet you face to face right away was a wrong move on my part. You know that I don't like to ever regret anything so I came here as fast as I could. I had to deal with Agatha on the way but besides that I took no detours."
"You still haven't explained what you want from me? I... I let my emotions get the better of me when Brock called so even if he said anything meaningful, I wasn't exactly in the right state of mind to remember anything."
"That's understandable." Lance nodded "To put it in simple terms, I'm hoping that you will join the rest of us... Not only the other members of Elite Four but also Gym Leaders and a bunch of other allies, in our efforts of defeating Team Rocket and freeing Kanto from them once and for all."
"You still like talking like a main character. What's worse is that you seem to expect that this is enough to convince me."
"I..."
"Quiet. I don't need to know the details of what you're planning in order to know that your next move was probably to try to appeal to my sense of duty. "Can't you see, Lorelei? That's why the Elite Four was created. If we don't do it, who will?" Something like that? You would say that despite knowing that I didn't become a member in order to be some kind of hero. I don't care for Kanto. As long as this island is safe, the rest of the world can go to hell. There was something else I cared for once but... you know the story."
"We both know that you don't actually mean that. You're saying all this to get some kind of reaction out of me. What is it that you want? You want me to promise that, once our mission is accomplished, we'll leave the Elite Four and get back together?"
"Would you do that?" she asked, surprised that he would even mention something like that.
"Of course not!" he shouted while taking a step forward "My position on this matter won't change! I love you as much as you love me but I already explained to you that till I deal with everything else going on in my life, I can't focus completely on our relationship!"
"It wouldn't have to be completely..." she said quietly.
"What did you say?"
"It wouldn't have to be completely!" she repeated while pushing him away.
"You don't deserve anything less than my complete attention! If you're prepared to spend the rest of your life with me, then I'll gladly do it!"
"What? We never talked about a whole life! It was just..."
"One year! No. That might not be enough. Give me two years! That should be enough!"
"You're insane! You sound like you're talking about marriage!"
"I may truly be insane since I seem to have completely forgotten the reason I came here in the first place. Don't you understand? I need this time since when you're beside me I can't focus on anything but you!"
"Stop saying all this embarrassing stuff!" she yelled while pushing him again, this time a little too hard.
He felt that one of his feet left the rock so he had a fraction of a second to call his Pokemon. Whistling was the fastest way. He couldn't stop himself from falling into the water but Kingdra managed to quickly reach him although it was hard to get him back on the rock so Lapras, who saw Lorelei's distress, decided to lend a helping hand by diving underwater and appearing underneath Lance in order to get him to air. After dragging him onto the rock, Lorelei checked his breathing which made her understand that she needed to help by repeatedly pushing down on his chest. He spat out the water he swallowed and slowly got to a sitting position. What he just went through must have somehow calmed him down since he looked at the woman kneeling next to him with a less passionate gaze than he did right before falling into the lake.
"So? Do you agree?"
"T-to what?" she asked while holding hands near her chest, since her heart was beating very hard because of the rollercoaster of emotions she just went on.
"To helping us fight against Team Rocket."
"Oh. That." she was surprised to find herself so relieved but after everything that Lance said, she felt like she owed him something, especially since her own words about not caring about Kanto were just mean things that she said in order to get rid of him "I agree. I would prefer to stay on this island but when you'll actually need me for something, call me and I will arrive to help."
"That's good. That's a nice thing to hear." Lance responded while laying down on the rock with his arms stretched as far as the space allowed him "What about the other thing?"
"What other thing?" she asked even though she suspected what he was about to say.
"Will you marry me?"
"2 years."
"What?"
"I'll give you those two years. When you're done with everything, you can ask me again... Do it properly then." she said while pretending to adjust her glasses, although she was actually trying to hide how Red her face has become, even if in this cold cave the difference wasn't too noticeable.
"Wait a moment. The answer will be "yes", right? I know I wasn't the best boyfriend but if it's going to be a long con where aft..."
He was shut up by her lips. It wasn't a long kiss but after she moved away, he became equally as embarrassed as she was after realizing everything he did in in this short span of time. There were now two adult people trying to hide their blushing faces while on a small rock in a lake inside a frozen cave, with two very confused Pokemon watching them.
Sooo... Sorry, not sorry. This chapter wasn't planned. After writing that first scene, I thought to myself that I could add something that would show what other characters have been doing since the story was focused on Team Rocket for the last couple chapters. When Lance appeared for the first time in Chapter 22, I already hinted at the fact that there was something between him and Lorelei but I didn't really have any big plans for the two of them aside from the fact that I knew they were a couple that broke up for some reason. I allowed my imagination to lead me and this chapter is the result.
I'm often worried about writing stuff like this. I don't want to stray from the main story for too long since that's what most likely people expected when they see a new chapter pop up but I also don't want to rush anything. This chapter, and the one about Persian, both try to tell an emotional story but the conflict in them is resolved very quickly solely because if I were to give them proper time, they would grow into separate arcs with several chapters. I have nothing against that but I just don't have that much time and the main story is the one I want to focus on continuuing. I have no one to blame besides myself but I just wish I would get better at this. I just hope that getting this type of story is better than Lance just going up to Lorelei and being like "Yo, we gotta go" and she's like "Nuh-uh" and he's like "Uh-huh".
I don't know how the next chapter will go after what I did her. Maybe it will be half Red/Peter and half Green/Alex but there's actually another character that I wanted to remind you of although I hope that don't make the entire chapter about them once again.
Also, last time I didn't have time to mention Sword and Shield. I don't have a blog or a Reddit account so I think this is as good a place as any to give some thoughts about it. This time they're even a little bit related to the fanfic. I don't know how long I'll be writing this and without playing the games I don't know what kind of story I would write in the Galar region but not taking into account its role in the games, I don't think that Dynamax is good. Kaiju movies exist and there's techniques to make the battles in them interesting but I don't know how they would work in a fanfic setting. I write my battles with details that are supposed to make it easier to understand how dynamic they are and picture in your mind each of the crazy tactics Red uses but there's not enough place in a Gym for a Dynamaxed Pokemon to move around and all I can imagine is that gif of the two Pikachu slapping each other, but like 50 times bigger. Maybe something will dawn on me once I see how they present it in the anime.
Another thing about Sword and Shield are waifus and husbandos. While I'm satisfied with Sonia's and Nessa's designs, we still lack good looking guys. Leon is handsome but he dresses like a dork. I would prefer it if they just stuck to either the king theme or the sports theme and not mash them together into what looks like some kind of jester costume. Hop is just a smaller, less handsome Leon without anything interesting about him. Lastly we have Milo, whose this weird mix of buff and cute that I was never attracted to. The player character has that default face but at least his initial clothes look cool.
Oh. And Pokemon. Yes, yes. Somehow I forgot that this game wasn't a dating sim. Ummm... I like Corviknight and Zacian. I... I don't see why everyone's crazy about Wooloo.
Red. Team: Nidorino, ?.
Stasis: ?, ?, ?, ?, Pidgeotto.
Badges: 4
Green. Team: Jynx.
Stasis: Venusaur, Nidorina, Jigglypuff, Hitmonlee, Vulpix, Horsea.
Badges: 3
Blue. Team: Weepinbell(Bell), Blastoise(Tori), Zubat(?), Graveler(?).
Badges: 3
Alex. Team: Ditto, Vaporeon, Jolteon, ?.
Angie. Team: Dragonair, Sandslash.
Peter. Team: Dodrio, Haunter, ?.
