Warning: This story will have yaoi (BoyxBoy love). If that isn't your fancy or you just hate this couple Kindly either:

A. Hit the back Button

B. Be brave, read the story and try your best to ignore the yaoi-ness

C. Understand it's my story and that no matter what you say, I won't change my story to match your views

D. Have an awesome day and NOT flame/troll

E. Do all of the Above but A

Author's Note – Hey everyone! This is an updated chapter one of the story. Finally got around to it. I started this story back in 2012, still in high school. I'm now almost thirty years old. What a wild thing to think of. I hope you all enjoy the new chaptor.

Chapter 1– Released and Received

A brunet man was sitting on a bench in Pallet city's park. Pokémon trainers were filling the park, some battling and some just enjoying the park's peaceful ambience. The brunet sighed heavily, looking up towards the sky. His five O'clock shadow seemed to darken every minute. His eyes were glazed over and his facial expression was stuck in an unamused frown. He was trying to process what happened – but his heart screamed and ached. It didn't want to even start to process what had happened. The man, dejected and lost, looked around his surroundings and tried to figure out when he had gotten here.

He wasn't even sure why he had brought himself here. He had a home. He wasn't exactly sure how to get there – but he wasn't sure how'd he react also after being gone for so long. Would everything still be the same? How much dust had accumulated over the last five years since he had been gone? The man sighed, slouching forward and crossing his arms over his knees. The park was peaceful but all the trainers around the area were making him recall when he was a young Pokémon trainer himself – and he wasn't thrilled with the memories. The Pokémon trainers around him were beaming with good sportsmanship, cheering each other on in their battles and taking a loss with grace.

Whenever he was a trainer and lost a Pokémon battle, he'd berate his opponent with any insult he could conjure up out of his foul and bratty brain. The nastier the insult, the better it felt to spew it to his opponent. He was always being yelled at by his grandfather for his bratty mouth, but it never stopped him. it sometimes edged him on to come up with even worse insults than he had said. As he got older, insulting his opponents wasn't enough. He started to shoulder check them, push them around and physically overpower them making most avoid him – everyone but one.

His childhood arch-rival.

His rival always seemed to appear whenever he was in an incredibly foul mood and no matter how much shit the brunet would spew, his rival always seemed unfazed and down to battle. He would battle against his rival and no matter what Pokémon he sent out or strategy, it was always futile. His rival won every single time – and then would leave without even saying a word. It infuriated the man each time, adding fuel to the rage was brewing and bubbling deep in his soul.

After many losses over the years, the man did the worst thing a trainer could do – he physically beat one of his own Pokémon. The man had trained hard for two weeks straight. An important battle competition was coming up, and he wanted to aim for the top. He wanted to show off he was the best of the best and his Pokémon were the best. He tried new training methods and trained alongside his Pokémon. He was certain he'd win. He was certain it'd be a walk through the park for him.

The day of the competition came up – and the man's fiery spirit was doused by his rival's appearance. He was pushing his team hard, and in the final battle against his rival, his team was heavily unmatched. He collapsed to his knees after a devastating loss against his rival. Why couldn't he ever win?! His rival had come up to him and extended his hand to pull him up – and the brunet smacked it away.

"You'll never beat me."

The brunet had looked up at his rival – and was met with a pointed and intense gaze.

"You'll always lose to me. I will beat you and break you. Always." His raven-haired arch-rival had declared as he walked past green and off the field to claim his championship title. He seethed, practically foaming at the mouth – but had nothing to say. His anger was at a dangerous level. He walked home, his rage intensifying with each step. Once he was home, he had thrown his pokeballs onto his bed and stormed off to the bathroom to shower and calm down – but his rival's words pierced his thoughts endlessly.

"You'll never beat me"

He wasn't in the right mindset to care for his Pokémon when he had returned to his room. His fists were balled up tightly. On his bed lay his Eevee. She was lying comfortably on his bed. He went to his dresser and changed into a pair of comfortable cargo shorts and a blue tank top. He kept hearing his rival's words echoing through his head louder and louder each time. He stared down his Eevee, his rage about to boil over. It wasn't his fault. It was his Pokémon 's fault, and they knew it. He trained them for two long weeks, and they didn't take it seriously! When they were out on the field, they were barely even putting effort into it! It was as if they wanted to lose! He started to punch and hit the wall when his Eevee jumped off the bed and tried to calm him down by rubbing against his leg.

You can guess what happened next.

The following hours allowed the whole world to see what type of man he was. The news coverage made sure to spare no detail, no matter how gruesome It was. His fan girls had turned away from him, their signs made to cheer him on, turned to signs condemning him. His sister was ashamed, and his grandfather had disowned him, refusing to see him during his trial. He had destroyed any chance of becoming the number trainer.

He had traded in his dreams of being the best for the nightmare of being an inmate. He beat his loving partner Pokémon within an inch of her life and then tried to claim it was an accident – but everyone saw through it easily. He had ended up in prison with a lengthy sentence. He was going to rot there. Every day he was in, he was haunted by the words of his rival – and wanted to cry for himself. He truly would never get a chance at his dreams again.

But after five years, he was let go for good behavior. The man didn't remember being a part of his sentencing agreement. He was then told on his way out that everyone had moved on now. No one was up in arms anymore. The public had forgotten or moved on to 'better' things. When he was released, it didn't even make the news. Only he knew he was being released. He had been offered a phone to call someone to come get him, but he knew better. He wasn't going to open old wounds for a fast way home.

He traded his tacky orange jumpsuit for his street clothes he had come in and was returned his cellphone and wallet as well. Once he was on the outside of the prison, he looked at his cellphone one last time and tossed it in the nearby trash can. He had no one to call, so what was the point? Was there anyone who'd be excited to hear his voice? He doubted it.

He walked for two days straight to Pallet Town, and when he finally arrived, he was confused. The Pallet Town he knew was supposed to be here – but a thriving and bustling city was here instead. Apartment complexes, stores and tall buildings had seemingly blossomed out of thin air. The dirt pathways had been replaced with ugly cement roads and sidewalks. The beautiful and plush grass that had covered the town were now sickly small patches scattered around the town. A dark and gloomy smog covered the sky and industrial buildings loomed in the background, spilling even more smog into the air.

The clouds were dark and the sunlight that did manage to sneak past the desolate clouds showed how industrial and glum the city looked. The charming nature that had once ran rampart in his town was long gone. The man walked slowly through the city, taking in everything and trying to make sense of the 'new' Pallet city. He ended up in a back area of the city. It was ran down and absolutely desolate. He came across a few children and adults that had strange markings and scars all down their arms. What had happened to them? He wanted to ask but couldn't bring himself to either.

He was concerned. Perhaps the air quality was causing this to these people? He quietly left as he didn't want to disturb these people anymore. He ended up coming to a street that had a small café. He walked in and decided to take a break from wandering around the town. He hadn't had a good meal in the last two days, and this would give him a chance to get a feel of the townspeople. He sat down at a table and while waiting for a waitress, kept looking for more people with the markings – but he didn't see anymore. A waitress came over to him and plopped a menu down in front of him.

He glanced up – and his focus was all on his waitress now. His eyes bulged a bit and his stomach started to twist and turn, anxiety piercing him in his gut. The waitress that stood before him was the woman who had given birth to his arch-rival – but she looked significantly older than he remembered her to be. It was as if the passed five years had aged her at a faster rate than anyone else. Her hair was in a neat and stylish bun. Her eyes were deluded of any real color, seemingly black. Her skin had wrinkles he didn't remember seeing before. She sat down with him and smiled.

"It's been a while, G-"

"I-It has been," he said, motioning her to be quiet. People may have forgotten about what he did but his name would surely stir some unwanted attention towards him and for once in his life, he didn't want it. He wanted to figure out what had happened to this once peaceful and quaint town. "What happened to pallet town?" he asked. Her smile fell from her face and she sighed dejectedly.

"It's because of you," she whispered as she curled her hands up to her chest. Tears welled in her eyes slightly. The man was taken aback by this. He was the cause? He had been in jail for the last five years. There was no way this happened because of him. He reached over and gently touched her shoulder. She took a breath.

"My son… he was in disbelief of what happened with you. When it was announced publicly, he fell into a serious and debilitating depression. He stopped battling all together. He surrendered all of his champion titles and ended up turning his Pokémon over to your grandfather… He just lost all his motivation and passion for being a Pokémon trainer…" she said, trying her best to not cry. "He ended up applying to work at a local company as a salesperson – and his fame only skyrocketed his career. He ended up climbing the corporate ladder and each promotion he took all his money and started to modernize pallet town and built it into the city it is today."

The man couldn't believe what he was hearing. His arch-rival gave up being a Pokémon trainer? That couldn't be true. He had always been such an avid and enthusiastic trainer.

"T-That can't be true…" his brain was trying to picture his arch-rival as a business man and it didn't suit him at all. His rival's mother wiped her tears away and touched his hand.

"Look around you. It couldn't be anymore clear I'm telling you the truth, G-"
"Don't say my name, please," the man said sternly. She nodded and gave him an apologetic look. He sighed deeply and laid his head on the table. The woman patted him lightly on the head and she continued to speak.

"I knew from the beginning he wasn't happy. He would always wear a smile – but I know my son better than anyone else. It wasn't genuine. It was a forced and unnatural smile. Whenever I asked him if he was okay, he would whine some and tell me I was being overbearing and not to worry. I'd just have to accept his answer, even if I knew it was a lie…" she choked out. The man felt bad. She was hurting terribly bad and it was because of him. he raised his head.

"I'm sorry." He apologized, looking her in her eyes. The woman smiled warmly at him, while she dug into her apron.

"You know, I was cleaning his room one day and found this old picture," she said as she handed the picture to the man. He felt his heart skip a beat. It was a picture of him as a little kid alongside his arch-rival fishing together. Their beginner Pokémon were running around in the background of the photo playing together. He felt his heart say one thing and his brain screamed another – and he unintentionally started to crumple the photo. The lady gasped as he shoved it into her pocket.

"He's hanging onto the past. It has came and gone. He needs to get over i-" was all he got out before he was interrupted by the lady.

"He won't allow himself to get over it!" the lady said with a long sigh, " He feels like everything that happened was his fault because of what he said to you that day…"

'You'll never beat me'

The words thrusted an unpleasant sensation into his heart. He couldn't stand to hear those words. The aggravated the rage he had thought gotten rid of – but an inkling of said rage was stirring in him. He looked over at the lady and sighed.

"It's all in the past.. there's no point in dwelling on it." He sighed, standing up from the table. He had wanted to eat but his appetite was long gone at this point. The lady stood up as well and smiled at him – but he could tell a sadness was lingering all over her. He couldn't leave her like this. He gently took her hand. "C-Could you show me around town? I don't know where anything is anymore," the lady nodded and walked over to her manager and told her she'd be leaving. The manager was clearly annoyed but let it slide.

The two left the café and walked in silence for a bit.

"You know, a few days before everything happened, I remember him telling me about an argument you guys had when you were younger," the lady said as she brought her hand to her chin, "It had to deal with you two and some promise you two made, I guess."

Green thought hard for a few seconds – and then the memory of the fight surfaced up into the forefront of his mind.

"You have no dad! Your mom is a harlot, sleeping with anyone who's willing to take an ugly skank to bed!" The brunet boy cursed out to the raven-haired boy. The raven-haired boy pulled his hat down, hiding his face and biting his lip. Feeling satisfied, the brunet boy laughed and pointed at the raven-haired boy.

"Hah, see I was right! You'll never meet your real dad because I bet she doe-"

"I know you're right. Can we not discuss it?" The raven-haired boy said softly. The brunet looked at him, feeling his smile fall and his hand return to his side. With his eyes wide, he was stunned at what he had said.

"…What."

"You're right. I'm not dumb, everyone knows it. I'd rather not discuss it though."

"…N-No way," the brunet thought as he felt his hand cover his mouth. The raven-haired boy fixed his hat and glared at the brunet.

"But at least I still have one parent who actually gives a damn about me. Your parents come maybe once a month IF that. You sit on your high horse thinking everything in your life is perfect – but that's far from it. Your parents hate each other and instead of trying to work it out, they got a divorce. Then, they pawned you and your sister off on your grandfather because they were too conceited to care for you two. I understand my mom isn't perfect, but you need a reality check – your life isn't as perfect as you think," The raven-haired boy shouted out, pointing at him at the same time.

The brunet boy has nothing to say and only looked over in disbelief. When the hell did he get the nerve to insult him? He was the all mighty G-

"Also, you're pathetic! We used to be best friends but when we both became trainers, you left me behind! We had planned to travel together, to see the world together – we promised each other to always be together. You left me out, as if I was a disease. I remember the night before. I called you up asking how excited you were but what did you do? You just sat there going 'uh huh' and 'yeah'. I thought you were nervous, and I didn't really know what to do but then, to arrive at the lab and you acting as if you're hot shot when you just received your first Pokémon ever?" He shouted out once more.

The brunet boy coiled his fists up and went to shout back but was interrupted by more shouts from the raven-haired boy.

"You broke our promise –But I'll break you,"

The man's brain ached. He held his head and stopped walking. He really had been a mouthy brat – and then a revelation befell him. The lady stopped and looked at him and asked if he was okay. He was anything but okay. His arch-rival really did break him in the end. He beat him at every opportunity and in the end was at the top of his career while the man had just gotten out of prison.

"Could you take me to my grandfather's lab?" the man asked as he rubbed his temples. The lady nodded and led the way. They traveled through a few crowded streets before reaching the lab. The building looked just like it had before he left for prison – just a bit aged and needing a paint job. The man stood in front of the door and knocked. His heart was beating insanely fast, and anxiety coursed through his veins. He had no right to be here. The door slowly opened and out came an elderly man. He took a few seconds looking the man over before scoffing and trying to slam the door on the man.

"I-It's me grandpa…"

"I know who exactly you are," the man scoffed out, swinging the door fully open in a huff, "What are you doing here, you absolute ingrate? Escape from pris-" was all he got out before he was graced with a smack from the lady.

"He's your grandson, Oak! How can you act like this? He paid for his crime with his prison stay! Can't you just be thankful here's here? Can't you hear him out?" the lady yelled out before bursting into tears. The elderly man rolled his eyes but walked back into his house and motioned for them to follow him.

Once in the living room they all sat down in an awkward silence – aside from the ladies few sniffles. The man cleared his throat.

"I know you don't want to see me. I understand. But I wanted to at least tell you that I am incredibly sorry for what I did. I mean everything," the man choked out, trying his best to keep his emotions in check. "I don't deserve forgiveness but I wanted to at least apologize to everyone I hurt due to my horrendous actions, grandpa.." the man trailed off as he looked at the ground uneasy. He couldn't bare to look at his grandfather's eyes.

The elderly man sighed but said nothing before leaving to go to the kitchen. He returned a few minutes later and placed a glass of tea in front of the man and lady before sitting down again. Silence filled the air again before a familiar Pokémon was heard running down the hall.

"Pika-chu!" Shouted a small, yellow creature. The little Pikachu seemed to be smiling and having fun as he was being chased by a Squirtle. The Pikachu stopped running, sniffed the air and looked directly at the man. The man froze up, wondering if the Pikachu could remember who he was.

"Pika…" The Pikachu said, as his ears lowered and he walked out the room sad. The man, standing up quickly walked after the Pikachu, and when he went to pick him up, the Pikachu cried out and shocked the man.

"Tsk!"

"Pika! Pi- Pika!" The Pikachu shouted out angrily. The man back up, holding his hand that was shocked by the Pikachu. He looked down at his hand then back at the Pikachu. He should have known that wasn't a smart idea. He walked back to the living room and sat down in his chair. The elderly man looked over at him and frowned.

"Why would you try to do that? You should have known that after all this time Pikachu would be angry at you."

"I-I didn't think before I acted…" the man said before returning to his seat. The elderly man hummed while looking at his grandson.

"Why did you even come here? You know you have your own place," the elderly man grumbled out as he took a sip from his tea. The lady shot him a pointed glare and the he sighed "You can stay here though if you need…"

"It's not that. I was wondering if any of you two had any idea where he was now." The lady hung her head slightly and sighed. She didn't have any idea where her son stayed now. He had multiple apartments at different cities. The elderly man smirked a tad.

"You should probably go visit your house. You'll be surprised who lives there now." The man raised an eyebrow and looked over at the lady who only shrugged in return. They had no other leads and maybe if he went back to his house, something there could job his memory and maybe give him a hint to where his rival was. The man and lady stood up and started saying their goodbyes to head to his house when outside the man noticed two old signs – signs he had made as a kid with his rival.

"Look at that, it's still there…" The lady said as she brushed her hand over the sign. She chuckled lightly and with a coy smile looked over at the man.

"I remember when you two made these."

"Hey! Look at mine, " Red cried out happily as he put his paint brush down, showing the brunet boy his sign. The brunet boy looked at the sign, smiling in approval

"Yeah, it looks great… but not as great as mine Red!" The brunet boy shouted playfully at Red, holding his sign up. They both laughed and looked at each other with warm smiles.

"I can't wait till we get these in the ground. No one will mess with us because our signs will tell them all who owns Pallet town!" Red said, as he jumped up and down excitedly. The brunet boy smiled and threw his arm over Red.

"Yeah! We'll own this town – together and forever!"

The man traced his index finger over the faded green letters and said his own name out loud. The lady gasped but then smiled lightly.

"I'm going to assume you're feeling more comfortable with your name, Green," The lady said and she touched his shoulder lightly, making sure to get his attention. He looked over at her and shook his head 'yes'. The pair, led by the lady, made their way to Green's house. He didn't recognize the street his house was on anymore. When they got to his house, Green smiled in relief – it was nice to see his house was still in good condition. He walked up to the front door and saw a shadow pass by the window beat the door – and he rushed in, almost falling down before being caught by someone.

"…. Excuse you…" said a soft, manly voice. The man looked over at the voice and gasped. It was Red. He was a little bit taller but still shorter. His hair shined with health; his youthful face looked like age didn't visit him at all. His red, glistening eyes shined with shock and his mouth hung open.

They both stared at each other, unsure of what to do.

"You'll never beat me"

"You'll always lose to me. I will beat you and break you. Always."

"You broke our promise – but I'll break you."

Red frowned and looked disdainfully at Green. Green felt himself freeze up, only able to stare at Red. It had been five years since they had last talked, battled or even seen each other. Green got down on his knees and bowed before Red. Red's word raced through Green's head. He was feeling humiliated some but knew he had to do this. It was time to admit he was wrong, and Red was right.

Red, confused with action, walked up, bent down and lightly brushed Green's hair from his face.

"What are you doing here?" Red asked gently, still bent down, playing with Green's hair. Green quickly stood up, almost making Red fall over. He looked Red in the eyes and felt himself blush. He felt himself grind his teeth together until he finally calmed himself.

"You won. You did break me. I submit." Green said, while he noticed Red's facial expression change from a gentle, soft one to a cold and hard glare. He quickly stood up and stormed up his stairs.

"Well? Are you going to come up here or not?" Red shouted down annoyed. Green looked over at Red's mom, shrugging. Red's mom looked at the stairs then back at Green.

"You go up there; I need to get back to work anyways. Please, try to work this out and don't fight too much. He's very fragile right now and… he just needs his old friend back," Red's mom said taking a deep breath to steel her emotions, "He probably won't say it, but he still considers you his best friend ever though you don't really like him. Please though, work this out – I just want everything to go back to normal," Red's mom said as she opened the front door. She said her final goodbyes to Green and left. Green waved goodbye to her and then walked up the stairs and entered the room Red was in.

He noticed that it was still his bedroom. His bed was made neatly with his favorite green covers covering the bed. His random posters from when he was a kid were still hung up on the wall and it seemed everything in his room was untouched. He saw Red sitting on his bed.

He went to talk but was smacked by Red and pushed up against the well.

"W-What are you doing Red?" Green asked, unsure of what happened to the soft and gentle Red from a few minutes ago. Red looked up, pissed off, and slammed Green up against the wall again.

"You're acting like what happened all those years ago was planned. Don't you dare make it out like I was hoping you'd almost kill your Eevee and get sent to Jail. I was going to do what you did to me. I was going leave you behind when I became incredibly famous for my Pokémon skills. I was going to make you feel the pain I felt when we were kids."

"Red, look, I'm truly sorry for the way I acted when I was a kid. I was a stupid punk who had no right to abandon you, but you must realize Red, you did break me and you did make me feel like you did all those years ago…" Green said as Red loosened his grip on his shirt. He had tears welled up in his eyes and curling a fist, lightly hit it off Green's chest.

"You don't understand what kind of pain I went through."

"Red, I do Und-"

"No, you don't! I - …"

"…?"

"I… I.." Red said mumbling out the last bit. Straining his ears, Green gently grabbed Red and hugged him. Red, who was blushing madly, hugged Green back crying as he finally said it loudly enough for Green to hear.

"I love you Green… I always have, ever since we were little kids. At first, I just admired you because you were so cool and so fun to be around. Then when we decided to do our journey together, I was happy because to me right then and there, I felt as if we'd be together forever – but you tossed me aside as if I was yesterday's garbage. Then you never wanted to talk to me and when I realized I loved you, it was too late. You had made it clear that you hated me – and I had no chance of ever claiming your heart like you claimed mine," Red cried out, sobbing into Green's chest.

Green, stunned and not sure what to say tightened his arms around Red, hugging him closer and started petting his head lightly, consoling him. Green listened to Red sob for almost an hour until, no longer able to cry anymore, Red fell asleep in Green's arms. Green gently placed Red down on his bed and pulled the covers up over Red making sure he was comfortable and warm. Green tried to walk away quietly but a squeaky floorboard said otherwise.

"Green…" a soft, gentle voice said. Green turned around to see Red still asleep, but he was mumbling out his name. With a slight blush, he walked back over to his bed and looked at Red's sleeping face. His face looked calm and relaxed. He sat down next to Red on his bed, lightly touching Red's face. He pulled his hand back quickly when he noticed how cold he felt.

Panicking, Green quickly looked around his room for an extra blanket or something he could use to warm Red up. Unable to find anything he considered suitable, he looked at Red and didn't know what to do.

"Hey, Green. I'm really cold! I didn't know it'd be this cold," Whined a small raven-haired boy. The brunet boy frowned at him and pulled him in close.

"Well, my grandpa told me that we should stay close for warmth so, you know. We don't want to end up getting sick and end up having to go home! We've been wanting to camp for a while and even if it's during the winter I think we can make it. We'll just have to keep each other warm!" The brunet boy shouted enthusiastically.

Red smiled at Green and clung to him close.

"Thanks Green. You're really smart and nice! I'm sure we'll have fun!" Red said happily. Green smiled back at Red and shook his head 'yes'.

Sighing, Green lifted the blanket and joined Red in his bed. Red was lightly snoring which made Green smile lightly. He turned and faced the ceiling, sighing deeply. Maybe he needed a nap too.

End of Chapter One

Author's Note – I hope you all enjoyed the new and updated chapter! I also renamed it haha! I think I like this name a lot better than the old one. I did keep some parts of the old one in and reworked some other parts. Thanks again for all the support over the years since starting this story back in 2012. – Love, Twisted List.