Hello, all you wonderful readers (if anyone is still even reading this)!

Wow, it's been so long! With school, exams, preparing for university, and such life stuff, I've been having difficulty finding time to write, but I'm so glad I can finally finish this chapter up and post it. Thanks for waiting so patiently!

Today's topic was a result of suggestions from Pikachu123 and aquaruby!

Disclaimer: I do not own Pokemon in any way, shape or size!

Smell Ya' Later!

Grade One

Gary (6), Leaf (6)

Leaf was Gary's bestest friend in the whole entire world. They'd known each other since forever. Gary couldn't even remember a time before they'd met. They did everything together, whether it was sharing secrets or playing or unleashing their mischievousness or… well, pretty much anything.

But even though they were best friends, they were also rivals. They competed in everything, trying to best the other. Sometimes Gary would come out on top, and sometimes Leaf would, but no matter who the winner was, it was never the end of it. If they lost, they made comebacks, and if they won, they waited for the other's retaliation. It was like a intense, never-ending tennis match.

And it just so happened that today, Leaf had beat Gary at a game of ring-around-the-roses (don't ask how; Gary's grandpa was very puzzled about it too, since ring-around-the-roses wasn't supposed to be competitive), and that had put Gary in a slightly more vengeful mood than usual, especially since he couldn't think of another challenge at the moment.

Leaf: 1, Gary: 0

"Whatcha wanna do?" Leaf said, hopping onto a large rock. The two of them were strolling through Professor Oak's ranch. After not having spotted any new additions to the many Pokemon there, they were rapidly descending into boredom.

"I don't know," Gary said, frowning, his brain trying to come up with a plot to bring her down. Maybe hide-and-seek? Nah, Leaf was a good hider.

"Think of something," said Leaf, oblivious to his current conniving mind.

"I am."

"Think harder."

"Why don't you think of something?"

Leaf held her head up smugly. "Because I'm the queen of ring-around-the-roses. And you're not."

Gary scowled. Her arrogance was wounding his normally well-groomed ego, and his thirst for payback had never been so great. He almost wanted to do something mean. It had just been so annoying when she had suddenly declared herself the winner and labelled him the loser. Especially since he hadn't had a good morning to begin with: they had run out of his favourite cereal, and Daisy's friend, who had stayed overnight, had called him a baby. Which he wasn't. He was six, for crying out loud!

"What's that?" Leaf asked suddenly, pointing to a rustling bush.

"A Pokemon?" Gary slowly stepped closer, but when he saw the Pokemon's tail poke out, he froze. He knew what it was. His grandpa had told him all about it, and warned him not to get too close, in case he made it nervous. And when that Pokemon got nervous…

"Look! I can see its tail!" Leaf exclaimed, pointing at it. "Looks furry!"

A cruel smirk wiggled onto Gary's lips. Leaf didn't know what this Pokemon could do, now, did she?

"I know what it is," Gary said, casually backing away so his friend didn't notice he was trying to avoid it. "It's a Stunky! I think you'll think it's very cute, 'cause it's so furry. Like a Zigzagoon."

"Aw, I wanna go see! But it might be dangerous…."

"Then go see it. Don't worry, Stunky don't hurt you." Perhaps they didn't bite or scratch often, but what they did instead was just as bad.

Leaf giggled and skipped closer to the bush. Gary quickly went to hide behind a tree where he could watch from a safe distance.

"Come here, Stunky! My name is Leaf, and I wanna be your friend!" she chirped, bending down to peek in the bush. The leaves rustled and the Pokemon's head poked out.

"There you are! I see you!" As Leaf reached out to pet it, it suddenly jumped out of the shrubbery, standing in a peculiar stance with its tail raised.

"You wanna play? Okay, I'm coming!" But the minute the Stunky felt the approaching girl was too close, it turned around.

And what happened next left the poor Leaf in a stunned stupor.

Gary had to hold back from laughing so he didn't inhale the horrendous stench the escaping Stunky had released upon his friend. He covered his nose and mouth, his laughter coming out in snorts.

Leaf stood there, blinking, trying to register what had just happened. And then the whiff struck her nostrils, and she pinched her nose, her eyes starting to water. "Ew!" she choked out.

Her head turned to where Gary was consumed by silent triumph, and her eyes dawned with understanding. "Gary Oak, you did it on purpose!" she screamed through tears of anger and humiliation.

"I'm gonna call Gramps!" Gary called back to her, his grin widening. "Don't move, or everything's gonna get stinky like you!"

"Gary Oak—!"

"Smell ya' later, Leafy!" With a mocking wave, he disappeared, leaving the furious girl standing by herself, surrounded by nothing but the stench of her foolishness.

Gary: 1, Leaf: 1

The next day…

Gary was still feeling quite victorious, even though a whole day had passed. Leaf hadn't been able to retaliate the entire time because she had to stay home until she smelled normal again. Sure, some of the stink had caught onto Gary too, since he'd been nearby, but a Stunky's stench only lingered for about twenty-four hours, and that priceless look on Leaf's face had been worth it.

And since over twenty-four hours had swum by, both Leaf and Gary had finally gone back to smelling normal, although Leaf's pride had smarted greatly from the horrible experience. And Gary knew she would be quick to make a comeback any time soon.

The two were back on the ranch, Leaf insisting that they hang out away from the forest where a certain Pokemon dwelled. She was still sour, and her usual chatter had quieted considerably. Gary knew plots of revenge were probably swarming through her mind.

"How're ya smelling?" Gary said, snickering.

Leaf frowned and said nothing, hopping onto a fallen log that stuck over the edge of a ledge. It was about five feet off the ground, but she fearlessly balanced on it, her arms stretched out, moving away from the ledge and closer and closer to the end.

Gary watched, and he thought she was just playing around, until she turned around to face him and threw both arms in the air. "I win!"

"What?" Gary stared at her incredulously. "At what?"

"At balancing on this log," she said firmly. "If you did it, you'd fall. So I win!"

"No you don't." Gary folded his arms. "I wasn't playing."

"Because you can't."

"I can!"

"No, you can't."

"How do you know? I haven't even tried it!"

"Then try it," she challenged, gesturing to the log.

Gary considered it. Leaf was smaller, more agile than him. Her tiny shoes could easily keep their footing, and her lightness made sure the log didn't lean too much with her weight. Gary, on the other hand, had bigger feet, and a slightly bigger built than her. His shoes were a lot thicker than hers too, so…

"You can't do it," Leaf claimed when he didn't immediately accept.

"I can too!" Gary, forgetting all the factors that worked against him, climbed onto the log. He stretched his arms out beside him, trying to keep balance as he walked forward. He nearly fell a few times, but managed to walk halfway to where Leaf was.

Then, rather smug that he had succeeded in showing off his capability, he threw his arms up in victory. "Hah! I—"

He didn't get to finish. He had thrown his arms up to fast, too high, relaxed too soon. Before he knew it, he had lost balance and fallen on the soft grass below. His shoulder hit a bump in the dirt, making Gary certain it would bruise, and his ankle felt like it had been twisted. Not severely, but a little.

And Leaf? She looked down at him, saw the stunned look on his face, and laughed.

It stung. Gary couldn't help but feel hurt by her reaction. What if he had really gotten injured? Did she even care? He was her friend, and she, so engrossed in her thirst for victory, didn't even show any concern. She just laughed at his failure. They always celebrated their wins against each other, but a fall like that could have done some real damage!

It was a humiliating, stinging loss.

Leaf: 2, Gary: 1

Gary didn't move, lying motionless on the grass. He hated the fact that he could feel a bruise forming, and it hurt, and still, nobody was paying his pains any attention. Normally, Daisy or his grandpa would have reacted in some worried way, checking to see if he were okay.

But Leaf just laughed. She wasn't worried at all. He wanted her to worry. Wanted to make her worry.

And suddenly, he knew exactly how to do that.

Leaf came down from the log and bent over her fallen friend, grinning. "You fell, Gary! You couldn't do it!"

Gary stared at her blankly. Then, he asked, "Who are you?"

"Me? I'm the winner!" Leaf said brightly, laughing as she skipped a little away.

She turned, expecting Gary to get up, scowl, argue, something, but he didn't do any of those. Instead, he sat up, watching her in a confused, clueless way. Her smile faltered for a second, but she kept it plastered on her face. Why was Gary looking at her like that? Why wasn't he reacting?

"That means you lose, Gary!" she said, hoping to drive him into a tantrum.

"My name is… Gary?" Gary said with a puzzled look on his face. "But… who are you?"

"Gary, stop pretending!"

Gary was pleased to hear the slight annoyance in her voice, but he used all his strength to prevent his lips from curling into a smile.

"Pretending what? Who are you? Where am I?"

"You're at Professor Oak's ranch."

"Where?"

"Gary, stop it! Stop pretending! I'm gonna tell on you!"

"Tell who?"

"Your grandpa! I'm gonna tell him you're bugging me!"

Gary felt the urge to protest, but he knew the joke would be over if he did. So, instead, he shrugged nonchalantly. "Tell him if you want. I don't know who he is."

Just as he'd hoped, Leaf didn't run off to go tattle. She stood there, panicky and fearful. Her eyes grew wide as she appeared to realize something. "Gary! Gary, did you hit your head when you fell? Does it hurt?"

Gary thought for a moment. It didn't hurt that much, but something told him the answer he should give was yes. He looked at his friend seriously, pointing to his mess of spiky hair and nodding his head.

Leaf gasp loudly, covering her mouth with both her hands. "Daddy was watching a show like this," she whispered. "Someone hurt his head, and then he couldn't remember anything. He had am-nee-za."

This was actually a thing? Gary had had no idea. But it appeared to be working, so he didn't stop.

"Yes," Gary said sadly. "I have em-nee-sa. I can't remember anything."

"Gary," Leaf said, running up to him, in complete panic. "Don't you remember me? I'm Leaf, your best friend!"

The boy shook his head. "I don't even remember who I am."

"Then I'm gonna hafta make you remember!" Leaf said bravely, trying to stop herself from trembling.

She grabbed her friend's hand and began leading him somewhere. For a moment, Gary was hesitant, not sure where she was taking him, but she had only brought him to the water's edge. She pointed out to the Pokemon swimming in it.

"You see those Pokemon?" she asked. "You could always tell me what their names are. Do you remember them? Any of them?"

It was an easy question. Gary knew all of them off by heart. But he couldn't show her he remembered.

"No," he said.

"Not even one of them?" Leaf asked hopefully.

"Nope."

"I'll give you a hint. That one's Poliwag. And that one's its evolved form. It's Poli…" She turned to him, hoping he'd finish the name.

"Um…" Gary tapped his chin. "Is it… Poliwag too?"

"It's Poliwhirl," she said, horrified. "Poliwhirl. You know it, Gary, you know it!"

But Gary just stared at her blankly. She blinked as if trying to push back tears before starting to drag him somewhere again. They arrived at a field where Rapidash were galloping over the grass, their majestic manes of fire flying in the wind.

"You know those," Leaf said, pointing at them. "We always see them."

"I don't remember."

"You do!"

"No, I don't."

She was blinking again, and Gary, with a slight discomfort, noted how her eyes were starting to glisten behind her eyelids. But she wasn't letting any tears fall. Instead, her lip quivering, she dragged him into the forest. She seemed to look around for something, before finally pointing at a distant bush.

"There," she said, pointing to a Pokemon eating from it.

Gary held his breath. Stunky.

"Remember yesterday?" Leaf looked him in the face. "Remember? You tricked me, and I got smelly. Remember, you said 'smell ya later' instead of 'see ya later'. It was funny, remember? You thought it was very funny!"

Gary couldn't help but admire how daringly close she had come to the Stunky after her horrible experience with it last time. Suddenly, he was grateful for having a friend who would courageously do something like this, all just to make him remember.

"You remember, don't you?" Leaf whispered after he didn't respond right away.

He wondered for a moment if he should start pretending his memories were coming back, but instead, he looked at her sadly and shook his head. Again, he found her yanking him out of the forest by his hand. She stopped in the middle of a field, desperately looking around, trying to find something, anything, to make him remember. Admittedly, it was starting to make Gary feel guilty….

"Gary." She turned to him, looking him in the face. "Don't you remember anything? Anything at all?"

"No," he replied slowly, an unease slipping into his stomach.

"Anything?" She stepped forward, and gave him a hug. "Not even your grandpa, Professor Oak? Not even Daisy, your sister? Not even the friends you have at school?" She looked up, tears streaming down her face. "Not even me, Leaf, your best friend?"

Gary hadn't wanted this, not to go this far. He had wanted to make her worry, feel sorry for laughing at him, for making him feel like she didn't care for him. But here, it was obvious she cared for him, and he knew he was going too far now. He hadn't want her to upset her like this. He hadn't wanted her to cry.

All the weight from the feeling of guilt and shame and sorrow and loss began piling down on him, and he felt a lump climbing up his throat. He blinked, forcing back his own tears. Why was he about to cry? It wasn't like he'd actually forgotten anything. It wasn't like he'd actually forgotten about the most precious people in his life. He hadn't actually lost anything.

And yet, this was starting to be too much for him.

"Don't you…" Leaf said in a soft voice. "Don't you even remember who you are?"

It was too much. He needed to stop this. He needed to stop this now. Slowly, he hugged her back. "Yes, I do," he said quietly.

Her eyes widened, shining with tears and hope. He leaned close to whisper something in her ear.

"I'm the winner."

And then he pulled away and ran, laughing until tears came, yelling, "Smell ya' later, Leafy!"

Leaf didn't chase after him, or get angry, or call him, or anything. She just stood there, her face tear-stained and shocked.

And Gary ran. He didn't run because he thought Leaf was going to be furious, but because he needed to get away from all that guilt of making his friend cry. He wasn't laughing because he thought his trick had been funny, but because he was relieved. Relieved he could stop pretending, relieved he hadn't actually lost anything so important as his memories.

Forget his score against Leaf! He had his grandpa, his sister, his friends at school, everything. And, of course, Leaf too.

And all that, as far as he was convinced, was worth an infinite number of points.

Done! Whew, I managed to finish! And this was chapter sixty, so what was it I had said? I was going to do a total of a hundred chapters, plus a poem? That means about forty more prompts to go!

Again, guys, sorry for taking so long. I want to try writing more, but with university starting soon, I can't guarantee it. BUT! I do no plan on abandoning this midway! I will try to carry on until it is complete!

Bye bye for now! Have a great day, and smile all the way! :)