It couldn't be true. Ethan had never lost, not once. Kris tapped the link sent to her by Damian. A stranger with long crimson hair stood on the champion's podium, high above his Elite Four. Swelling horns rose and fell like crashing tides while a sea of silent glares bore down on the stranger. He held his head high to the judgment of the crowd, eyes locked on the camera. In sharp pools of silver, Kris saw a message without words, loud and clear as if were being screamed in her face.

"See me, for here I am."

Disgust thickened a commentator's voice. "Look at him, he doesn't even care."

"O-Oh, well… I don't know about that," a second commentator said. He sounded unsure of himself.

What was there to be unsure about? Any idiot could see the pride in those eyes, in the stranger's whole body even. In his straight, stiff back. In his squared shoulders. In his puffed chest. In his jutted jaw and upturned nose. Was there arrogance there? Yes but, to say he didn't care… well, only anyone who hadn't accomplished anything worthwhile could be so blind. The Elite Four could see it. A tall ninja garbed with bushy eyebrows and dressed in purple robes glared at the new champion with simmering determination. A hulking, muscle-bound shirtless man with a long, wild ponytail looked upon his new champion with icy respect. A caped man with a head of wild, orange hair - who even Kris knew was Lance, the dragon master - sulked on the third-highest podium, seething in sour jealousy. They all saw him. As did Ethan. Grinning ear to ear, stood upon the second-highest podium, fire danced in Ethan's eyes as he basked in the presence of the new champion. No doubt he'd decided to make a rival out of the guy

The commentators had been prattling on about something or other when suddenly, a sentence caught Kris's ear.

"-a miracle he's been in the Elite Four for as long as he has. The son of that monster has no place besides greatness."

"He's certainly one of the more controversial elite trainers in recent memory. But as far as we know Silver has no connections to the crimes of Giovanni or Team Rocket."

"Exactly, as far as we know. We all know that-"

The words of the commentators faded into whisps. A numbing waving of realisation washed over Kris. Of course, it was him. Silver eyes. Long hair, crimson like blood. Who else could it have been? The boy who stole a rare pokémon from Professor Elm's lab all those years ago. The son of crime boss Giovanni. Ethan's biggest rival. Silver. Kris had never actually seen Silver before. She'd always imagined a snivelling little shit who relied on underhanded tricks. She'd imagined a loser, not the bold, determined man she saw upon the highest podium in all Kanto-Johto. The familiar defiance of his gaze… it… electrified the very air.

Kris put down her phone. She ran her hand over her face and let out a long, sigh. With her breath, tension spilled from her body, clearing her mind.

Damian.

Damian!

Kris closed the live stream, opened her phone app and punched in Damian's number. He picked up before the first ring.

"Did you see?! Did you see the texts I sent you?!"

"I did! I can't believe it, Ethan actually lost!"

"Barely! Oh, you should have seen it Kris. It all came down to one decision. One split-second decision. Argh! If only Ethan had hesitated, he would have- he could have-" Damian's voice cut out and a splitting squeal stabbed Kris's ear.

"Fuck!" Kris whipped the phone from her ear. A moment later she eased it back. The squeal was gone. "Damian?" She asked.

"I… uh, the phone slipped from my hand…"

"Did the screen crack?"

"Yeah."

Kris covered her mouth, smothering a snort of a laugh.

"I heard that. It's not funny."

"It's a little funny."

"No." A smile warmed Damian's tone. "It isn't."

"Should we-" Kris giggled. "Should we continue this in person then? For the sake of your phone."

"At your place?"

"Yeah. I could use some company right now."

"Okay, be there in a few minutes."

Before Kris had a chance to answer Damian hung up. Shaking her head, Kris giggled and shut off her phone. On her shoulder, Mimey giggled and shut off an invisible phone.

"Oh, right. Come on, Mimey. Let's get you home before Mom loses her mind." Kris freed her teal hair from the towel, letting its damp ropes spill past her shoulders

"Mime. Mime, mime. Mime mime mime." Mimey freed invisible hair from an invisible towel.

Outside, off in the distance, the rainbow lights of the town square had faded, leaving behind a shroud of darkness. Teetering bodies trickled their way through Newbark's dirt roads. Their shadows rocked in streaks of golden lamplight. Whether grief or drink staggered their steps, Kris couldn't be sure. Both, most like. The town took battling stuff far too seriously. Kris made her way down her family home's garden path with Mimey miming each step on her shoulder. Before they'd made it even halfway, the front door flew open. Kris's mother raced to meet them with open arms. Mimey veiled himself in pink light and ran through the air with open arms.

"You found him!" Kris's mother snatched Mimey from the air and cradled him.

Mimey cradled an invisible Mimey in his arms and when Kris's mother waggled a finger at him, Mimey waggled a finger in turn.

"What have I told you about sneaking out? Bad pokémon."

"Mime mime? Mime."

"Don't you copy me. You pay attention. What if a Raticate or a Pikachu had caught you? Hm? What would you have done?"

"Mime. Mime. Mime mime mime? Mime? Mime mime?"

"He wouldn't sneak out if you kept him in his pokéball, you know," Kris said.

"But Mimey doesn't like his pokéball," Kris's mother said as if it were obvious. "He didn't cause you any trouble, did he? Oh, he did, didn't he? You must have been working. I'm awfully sorry, dear."

"You're fine, Mom. He wasn't any trouble. Besides, Ethan's loss would have distracted me anyway. It's got Damian all worked up."

"As it should!" Kris's father yelled from inside. "A fluke! That's what it was, nothing more! Ethan'll be champion again next year, you'll see!"

"Yes dear, a fluke!" Kris's mother called back. She grinned at Kris and whispered. "He's had a few."

"A fluke!" Kris's fathered yelled before petering off into a mush of mutters.

"Only a few?" Kris whispered.

Kris's mother grinned ear to ear and they shared a hushed giggle. Mimey the copied grins and giggles, wiping the grin off Kris's mother's face.

"Don't think I've forgotten about you, mister. It's off to bed for you. Where I can see you!"

"Mime mime, mime. Mime mime. Mime!" Mimey hopped onto her shoulder.

"What did I say about copying?" Kris's mother snatched for the pokémon but Mimey leapt over her hand.

He landed on top of her head, giggled and hovered off into the house, veiled in pink light.

"Don't you float away from me!" Kris's mother charged back inside the house, leaving the front door wide open.

Kris shut the door and made her way to the garden gate to wait for Damian. Night had chilled the air some. Its bite passed through her night clothes' thin fabric as easy as a needle and thread. On any other night, Kris would have hurried to escape inside, but the chill tempered a strange warmth in her core tonight.

Leaning against the fence, Kris scrolled her phone, scanning her social feed. Articles covering the night's battles dominated the home page. A picture of each match's combatants accompanied each article. Koga, garbed in purple robes, pointed into the arena. A mask hid his expression but the inferno in his eyes more than made up for it. Bruno, shirtless even during battle, sat crosslegged on the edge of the arena, watching as if a spectator rather than a competitor. Lance stood atop the railing separating the trainer podiums from the arena, a long cape billowing behind him as he laughed. Ethan clutched the rail with an iron grip, leaning as far over as one reasonably could, grinning ear to ear. Silver…

Kris blinked. Silver's picture had been taken in the street, from a low angle. The picture captured him mid-step, exiting a Pokémon Centre. Why this picture? Surely there were better ones. Kris closed her socials and image-searched Silver. Lots of art appeared but no photos. She searched specifically for photos and found only a handful before only art appeared again. Every single photo either didn't show his face or was blurred beyond recognition. All except the one used for the articles. This couldn't be right. Kris opened the Indigo Plateua's website and tapped on their tab of official elite trainers. Right at the top, labelled as champion, was Silver's name but, no photo. Only a blank square. Every other elite trainer, past and present had a mugshot next to their name.

Is he insecure? Was he ugly? I don't think he was ugly.

Kris went back to his only legible photo and opened it in a new tab. Silver stood shorter than he'd looked atop the champion's podium, high above everyone. Notably short for a guy. Shorter than her. He was skinny too, with slim shoulders, thin arms, and a narrow waist. From afar, his physic and long hair made him look half a girl but, he wasn't ugly. He had a heart-shaped face, soft features and a small nose. Maybe, his lack of masculinity made him insecure. Even so, no one was that insecure that they'd erase their face from the internet. She looked again at his face and studied him. If he's insecure why did he look so proud on the podium?

The strange warmth in Kris's core flared. Tingles raced up her spine. Her breath caught in her throat. Kris shook her head. No, she wasn't attracted to Silver. She wasn't. People's hearts are what make them attractive. Looks mean nothing when paired with a dark heart like Silver's. He stole pokémon and treated them like tools. Ethan had told her so and Ethan never lies, not even when he ought to. Silver wasn't attractive. He wasn't.

"Kris." Damian appeared in front of her out of nowhere.

"Huh?! Oh. Hey. When did you get here?"

"Just now. I said your name twice."

"Sorry. I was, uh, reading."

"You were reading?"

"Yeah."

"Really?"

"Yes. I read."

"I've never seen-"

"Come on." Kris grabbed his arm. "Let's get out of the cold. I wanna hear about this battle."

Damian made no protest as he allowed himself to be dragged inside and upstairs. Once in Kris's room, he sat on the end of her bed and took a deep breath.

"It was the closes battle I've ever seen. Every round was fought on a knife's edge. The pokémon matched each other perfectly, blow for blow, dodge for dodge. It was like watching two reflections fight each other."

Kris sat beside him and laughed. "Ethan must have been loving it."

"He was, the idiot! I reckon that's why he lost focus! Argh, the feint was so obvious he should have see it coming from a mile away!"

"What's a feint again?"

"A fake attack. The last round was Silver's Gengar versus Ethan's Sudowoodo. The whole match Gengar had been on the attack, throwing shadow claw after shadow claw, while Ethan matched him blow for blow with wood hammer attacks. Neither of them landed a single hit for the whole round but every attack was at full, one-hit knock-out power. He should have seen it. The moment one of those shadow claws came at him with anything less than full power, Ethan should have seen it! But he didn't damn him! If only he'd hesitated but, no. He matched the attack, Gengar pivoted around Sudowoodo's wood hammer and landed a point-blank shadow ball right into the side of Sudowoodo's head!" Damian exclaimed, clasped his head and slumped onto his back. "If only he'd hesitated…"

Kris lay on her side beside him. Only Ethan could get Damian so animated. "When has Ethan ever hesitated?"

"Never… he doesn't learn…"

"No, he doesn't but, would he be Ethan if he did?"

"No." Damian smiled.

"Exactly." Kris traced circles on Damian's chest with her finger. "And you wouldn't be you if you didn't get all fired up over it."

"Did I get fired up?"

"Yeah. It was cute."

Damian looked at her finger and then knitted his brow at her. "Are you flirting?"

"Yeah." Kris moved closer to him.

"Oh. You want to have sex?"

"Yes, Damian. I do."

"You said you didn't before."

"I changed my mind."

"Why?"

"I… just need to blow off some steam. Is that alright?"

"Yeah, it is." Damian gummed his lips. "Is it right to do right after Ethan lost his title? It's more like something to do to celebrate a win."

"Well, did Ethan look upset to you?"

"No, he was smiling."

"He was grinning. He lost. There's someone stronger than him now, someone to beat. I bet he'll be celebrating tonight." Kris traced a circle on Damian's stomach.

Movement shifted the front of Damian's sweatpants. He nodded. "Hm, true. Alright, should we do it in here?"

"Oh. No, not in here. Doesn't it feel, I don't know, kinda wrong to fuck in his room?"

"It's your room, not his."

"It'll always be his room. Let's do it on the couch."

"By that logic isn't that also his living room?"

"Do you want to fuck or not?"

"I do." Damian got off the bed and pulled his wallet from his pants. "I've got a condom in here. Want me to put it on?"

Kris stood and plucked the wallet from his hand. "Want me to put it on for you?"

"I know how to put a condom on."

"So do I." Kris giggled and guided Damian out of the room by the hand.

Downstairs, she guided him to a soft, L-shaped couch and sat him down in the bend with a gentle shove to the chest. At first, she planned to strip down in front of him all slow and sensual. But the moment she took hold of her shirt something churned inside her and she stripped down in a matter of moments. Damian followed suit, flinging off his shirt and kicking out of his sweatpants. Kris trembled as she straddled him. What's wrong with me? It's just sex. Raging fire burned in her core. The sight of Damain's long, thick bulge in his tight briefs flared it into an inferno. She slipped off his briefs, tore open the condom with her teeth and hurried to get it on.

"You're rushing," Damian said.

"I know, sorry. I just really need this."

"Why? What could have gotten you so worked up?"

"I- uh, the editing. Something about the way it's shot, it really just turned me on, you know?"

Damian nodded. "Okay. Do you want to skip foreplay then?"

"If that's okay."

"It is."

Damian took hold of her hips. His palms and fingers embraced her curves, securing her in a firm grip. Slow and steady, he guided her onto his standing cock. The moment he entered her, she closed her eyes. A slim figure. Soft features. Long crimson hair. Silver eyes. Those damn silver eyes. As Damian filled her, Silver faded into mist before her mind's eye until the base of his groin met her pussy and the swirling mist blew away. Kris placed her palms on Damian's chest, put all her weight onto them and started bouncing her hips at a fast, insistent rhythm. Damian gasped and moan, and Kris moaned with him.

"Damian!" She opened her eyes to see his face and stared right into his hazel eyes behind the round rims of his glasses.

"Kris…" he sighed and shut his eyes, melting back into the cushions.

"No! Keep your eyes open, I need to see them!"

Damian opened his eyes in a half squint but, that was enough. Kris stared long and hard into them, blinking only when she had to. Hazel, not silver. She stared at his face. Long and angular, not heart-shaped and smooth. She stared at his hair. Short and brown, not long and crimson. She kissed his cracked lips. She felt his lean muscles. She fucked his long and thick cock. Until her whole world was Damian and nothing else. He kissed her back, flicking her teeth and sucking on her tongue. He felt her body, caressing the groove of her back and squeezing her ass. He fucked her, flailing his hips in time with hers. Would Silver fuck her like that? Would he know how to be rough while still being sensual? Kris screamed internally and banished the thought. She fucked Damian faster and harder. She groped his muscles. She nipped his lips. He moaned into her mouth and cracked his palm against her ass.

The world flipped upside down.

Kris back crashed into the couch cushions. Damian bore over her, eyes wide and wild behind fogging frames. He tossed his glasses aside, pinned her down by her shoulders and fucked her into the couch. All his weight fell upon her with every frantic thrust of his hips, burying her deeper and deeper into a pit of total euphoria. Could Silver do that? Kris cried out. With all her might, she fought to will away the thought. It remained and with it, brought new unwelcomed friends.

Would Silver be gentle? Would he be submissive? Would he be shy? Oh, please let it be so. He was such a little twink with his little twig arms and soft, girly face. And his height! Kris moaned and flung her arms around Damian's neck and locked her lips with his. She wanted to see Silver blush, to see him fluster as she flirted. She wanted to feel him tremble as he entered her. She wanted to hear his shy little moans. She wanted to ride him into the bed. She wanted to push her ass back against him. She wanted to peg him. She wanted to-

A force beyond reason erupted through her, surging up her spine and spilling through every limb to the very tips of her fingers and toes. It locked every muscle. Tightened every joint. Numbed her mind. And just as quick as it came, it vanished and opened a floodgate of pleasure. As she heard herself cry out, so did she hear Damian do the same. All his weight fell onto her. He buried his face into her collarbone as his cock twitched inside her. His cock's warmth swelled as cum filled the condom. They lay together panting, riding out their waves of pleasure. Damian's swell died first. He lifted his face and smiled above her.

"Good?" he asked.

"Uh huh~"

Kris shut her eyes. Lean muscle. Long angular features. Short, untidy brown hair. Hazel eyes. He was gone. Finally. As her orgasm faded, Kris embraced her friend and kissed him. He kissed her back and fell into her arms.

Kris couldn't remember falling asleep but the sun was spilling orange light through the open drapes and Damian was snoring on her chest so, she supposed she must have. Elm would be tittering to himself. He may be in the dark about some things but, by now he knew what it meant if Damian didn't return after a night visit to her place. Kris smiled and stroked Damian's back. If one day she ever felt like settling down, the professor's son would make a great match. She kissed the top of his head and fell back into the embrace of the couch's cushions. Light, gentle calm swaddled her like a thick blanket on a winter's night. The warmth in her core had died. Her mind had cleared. She decided to start that day by basking in her victory.

She closed her eyes. Silver stared back.