When Past and Present Collide
A young man with spiky orange hair wearing a black T-shirt and brown pants sat in a comfy chair staring forlornly up at the ceiling of the break room of the Viridian Gym with a cup of water in his right hand. Another victory. Another boring victory. The Gym Leader sighed and lowered his head. Trainers these days were just so weak. No. They weren’t even worth calling Trainers. They were a bunch of snot nosed kids throwing out so-called “top tier” Pokémon and expecting to win a badge. Sorry but no. Those little punks couldn’t hold a candle to Blue. They weren’t worthy of the Earth Badge.
“Man, I could really use a decent battle for a change.” the Gym Leader mumbled to himself. He could count on one hand the number of Trainers that could actually give him a thrilling battle at his best. Only three. There was that Trainer from Unova who defeated him in the World Tournament hosted in Driftveil City a few years ago, the Trainer from Johto who was the first challenger to win the Earth Badge from Blue after his appointment as Gym Leader, and of course his longtime friend turned rival, Red. Red. The one Trainer Blue just couldn’t beat no matter how hard he tried. It infuriated him to no end but was also the reason he admired and respected Red so much.
“I wonder what he’s up to these days.” Blue mused. He chugged the rest of his drink, got up from his seat, and stretched. No use sitting around all day. The Pokémon League might not like it, hell, they might even get on his case about it, but Blue didn’t care. He was going to find Red and they were going to go on vacation somewhere!
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After asking around for a bit Blue determined that Red had once again retreated to his favorite training ground, the peak of Mt. Silver. Blue trudged through the snow wearing a black parka and green gloves for warmth as he made the climb up the mountain slope. There in the distance he saw a man the same age as him with brown hair sticking out from under a red hat with a white brim wearing a pair of jeans, a red jacket with white sleeves, and black gloves. He was sitting in the snow playing what looked like a game of tic-tac-toe with his Pikachu, a yellow mouse Pokémon with two brown stripes on its back, long black tipped ears, a lightning bolt shaped tail, and red cheeks. Since Red was facing away, it was Pikachu who noticed Blue approaching first. Seeing his Pokémon perk up, Red turned around to see what had caught its attention.
“Sup loser!” greeted Blue cheerfully. Red gave a silent wave without a change to his stoic expression or even getting up from his seat. “Don’t I even get a ‘Hello’ from you?” chastised Blue indignantly.
“…” Red waved his hand side to side.
“Ugh. Well I’m glad to see the isolation hasn’t dulled your vocabulary.” Blue groaned putting his hands on his hips. Or at least the limited vocabulary he had. Red was known as a man of few words who let his abilities as a Pokémon Trainer speak for him. “Anyway, you must be pretty tired of the cold up here. What would you say to a change of scenery? Someplace warmer perhaps?” he suggested slyly.
“… …”
“I figured you’d say that. Things at the Gym have slowed down a bit so I was going to head to Alola for a while. Gramps has a cousin who lives over there studying some of the regional variants or whatever. I’ve heard there isn’t a Pokémon League in Alola so it’ll be pretty boring if there aren’t any strong Trainers there. I was hoping you’d come along to keep me sharp.” invited Blue. There was no way he was going to openly admit he wanted Red to come along just for company. Red turned back to his tic-tac-toe game and, upon noticing he lost to Pikachu, held out a red and white sphere the size of a baseball. In a flash of red light his Pokémon was returned to its Pokéball. Red then stood up and faced Blue.
“…” he said with a nod.
“Fantastic!” his rival laughed. The two Trainers then returned home to Pallet Town to pack for their trip.
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Blue stood outside of Red’s house wearing a pair of green shorts, green tennis shoes, a black shirt, a pair of sunglasses, and a grey travel bag slung over his shoulder. He tapped his foot grumbling in frustration. They needed to go already! Their boat left from Vermillion City in a few hours. Finally all of Blue’s patience ran out.
“Red!” he shouted as he burst into the house. Red was sitting at his kitchen table wearing jeans, red tennis shoes, a white shirt with red sleeves and a red 96 written on it, and his trademarked hat. Red looked up at his rival with ramen noodles hanging from his mouth and gave him a silent wave. “Don’t you “Hi” me! We have to go!” yelled Blue impatiently.
“Go? But you boys just came home.” Red’s mom said disappointedly as she walked into the room. “Oh well. You’re both all grown up so I guess it can’t be helped.” she said with a sigh. Red slurped up the rest of his ramen, drank the broth from the bowl, then got up from the table.
“Finally! Now let’s get out of here.” demanded Blue. Red picked up a yellow travel bag and slung it over his shoulder before giving a quiet farewell to his mother.
“Have fun you two.” she said waving them off.
“Smell ya later!” Blue called back haughtily earning him a slap upside the head from Red. “Ow! Hey! What was that for?” he demanded.
“… … …” Red shook his head disapprovingly yet maintained his stoic expression.
“I say that to everyone! Your mom is no exception!” he said dismissively. Red shrugged silently conceding that much was true about his rival. Blue then got a wide cocky grin. “Alright Alola, here we come! You better be ready for us!”
A young man with spiky orange hair wearing a black T-shirt and brown pants sat in a comfy chair staring forlornly up at the ceiling of the break room of the Viridian Gym with a cup of water in his right hand. Another victory. Another boring victory. The Gym Leader sighed and lowered his head. Trainers these days were just so weak. No. They weren’t even worth calling Trainers. They were a bunch of snot nosed kids throwing out so-called “top tier” Pokémon and expecting to win a badge. Sorry but no. Those little punks couldn’t hold a candle to Blue. They weren’t worthy of the Earth Badge.
“Man, I could really use a decent battle for a change.” the Gym Leader mumbled to himself. He could count on one hand the number of Trainers that could actually give him a thrilling battle at his best. Only three. There was that Trainer from Unova who defeated him in the World Tournament hosted in Driftveil City a few years ago, the Trainer from Johto who was the first challenger to win the Earth Badge from Blue after his appointment as Gym Leader, and of course his longtime friend turned rival, Red. Red. The one Trainer Blue just couldn’t beat no matter how hard he tried. It infuriated him to no end but was also the reason he admired and respected Red so much.
“I wonder what he’s up to these days.” Blue mused. He chugged the rest of his drink, got up from his seat, and stretched. No use sitting around all day. The Pokémon League might not like it, hell, they might even get on his case about it, but Blue didn’t care. He was going to find Red and they were going to go on vacation somewhere!
------------
After asking around for a bit Blue determined that Red had once again retreated to his favorite training ground, the peak of Mt. Silver. Blue trudged through the snow wearing a black parka and green gloves for warmth as he made the climb up the mountain slope. There in the distance he saw a man the same age as him with brown hair sticking out from under a red hat with a white brim wearing a pair of jeans, a red jacket with white sleeves, and black gloves. He was sitting in the snow playing what looked like a game of tic-tac-toe with his Pikachu, a yellow mouse Pokémon with two brown stripes on its back, long black tipped ears, a lightning bolt shaped tail, and red cheeks. Since Red was facing away, it was Pikachu who noticed Blue approaching first. Seeing his Pokémon perk up, Red turned around to see what had caught its attention.
“Sup loser!” greeted Blue cheerfully. Red gave a silent wave without a change to his stoic expression or even getting up from his seat. “Don’t I even get a ‘Hello’ from you?” chastised Blue indignantly.
“…” Red waved his hand side to side.
“Ugh. Well I’m glad to see the isolation hasn’t dulled your vocabulary.” Blue groaned putting his hands on his hips. Or at least the limited vocabulary he had. Red was known as a man of few words who let his abilities as a Pokémon Trainer speak for him. “Anyway, you must be pretty tired of the cold up here. What would you say to a change of scenery? Someplace warmer perhaps?” he suggested slyly.
“… …”
“I figured you’d say that. Things at the Gym have slowed down a bit so I was going to head to Alola for a while. Gramps has a cousin who lives over there studying some of the regional variants or whatever. I’ve heard there isn’t a Pokémon League in Alola so it’ll be pretty boring if there aren’t any strong Trainers there. I was hoping you’d come along to keep me sharp.” invited Blue. There was no way he was going to openly admit he wanted Red to come along just for company. Red turned back to his tic-tac-toe game and, upon noticing he lost to Pikachu, held out a red and white sphere the size of a baseball. In a flash of red light his Pokémon was returned to its Pokéball. Red then stood up and faced Blue.
“…” he said with a nod.
“Fantastic!” his rival laughed. The two Trainers then returned home to Pallet Town to pack for their trip.
--------------
Blue stood outside of Red’s house wearing a pair of green shorts, green tennis shoes, a black shirt, a pair of sunglasses, and a grey travel bag slung over his shoulder. He tapped his foot grumbling in frustration. They needed to go already! Their boat left from Vermillion City in a few hours. Finally all of Blue’s patience ran out.
“Red!” he shouted as he burst into the house. Red was sitting at his kitchen table wearing jeans, red tennis shoes, a white shirt with red sleeves and a red 96 written on it, and his trademarked hat. Red looked up at his rival with ramen noodles hanging from his mouth and gave him a silent wave. “Don’t you “Hi” me! We have to go!” yelled Blue impatiently.
“Go? But you boys just came home.” Red’s mom said disappointedly as she walked into the room. “Oh well. You’re both all grown up so I guess it can’t be helped.” she said with a sigh. Red slurped up the rest of his ramen, drank the broth from the bowl, then got up from the table.
“Finally! Now let’s get out of here.” demanded Blue. Red picked up a yellow travel bag and slung it over his shoulder before giving a quiet farewell to his mother.
“Have fun you two.” she said waving them off.
“Smell ya later!” Blue called back haughtily earning him a slap upside the head from Red. “Ow! Hey! What was that for?” he demanded.
“… … …” Red shook his head disapprovingly yet maintained his stoic expression.
“I say that to everyone! Your mom is no exception!” he said dismissively. Red shrugged silently conceding that much was true about his rival. Blue then got a wide cocky grin. “Alright Alola, here we come! You better be ready for us!”