Wally at the Party
We arrived at Lance’s house at around 7 or so. There were already people there: Gym Leaders from all over. Shit, I even saw two hot chicks who I later found out are from Unova. Apparently, Lance is a big deal EVERYWHERE and EVERYONE wants to party with him. Anyhow, our group started to mingle. The party wasn’t all that wild yet, since the night was still young. People were nonchalantly talking while some songs from Nidoqueens of the Stone Age were playing from Arceus knows where; probably some sound system hidden somewhere for the party, I dunno.
I told Gardevoir, who I always kept out of her Pokéball, to go and mingle on her own, against her protests. She said she wanted to be with me, but I put up my hand and couldn’t help but laugh. “You don’t need me to be around in order for you to have a good time. Besides…” I put on a silly grin, “We both know I’d cramp your style.”
She chuckled and nodded, walking away to talk to the other Pokémon at the party, the ones that are always out of their Pokéballs like she was. Afterwards, I wandered around, trying to join other people in what they were doing. Unfortunately, they either were doing nothing of importance or told me to buzz off. After giving up on searching, I thought maybe Yellow’d like to hang out. She never tells me to go away, and I can tell she doesn’t because she genuinely cares, not out of pity for my sickness… ummm, did I say ‘I can tell’? I meant ‘I hope’.
Anyways, I started looking for her, but couldn’t find her for the longest time. Finally, I had almost decided to give up, when I saw Ethan standing around, talking to Blake. Great, two of my least favorite neighbors. I seriously thank Arceus every day for not making them live with me. But that isn’t what caught my attention. When Ethan walked away, I noticed Yellow creeping up behind him, giggling and looking like she was gonna do a silly prank or something. Oh no. I’ve seen creeping like that in animes before. I pushed the thought out of my mind. Like stuff that happens in animes would happen he-
And then I was proved wrong. Yellow quickly pecked Ethan on the cheek. My heart? Yeah, I think it was somewhere in my right foot when I saw that. My entire body started malfunctioning. My sight grew a little blurry, all of the different-colored lights in the room crudely mixed together to make some fucked up rainbow, like when tears build up in your eyes but are stubborn assholes and decide not to come out. My hearing faded. I could hardly hear the stereos playing ‘No Unowns’, and could barely hear what Yellow and Ethan had said afterwards.
Ethan just sort of stood there processing it all. And I sort of did too. After a minute of muttering to himself (and for some reason being answered by Lucas), he ran off after Yellow, who had already ade quite the distance between them.
I almost stumbled around the party like a drunkard. I couldn’t believe what I had seen. It replayed in my head over and over, every aspect of the scene was processed. I looked at the ceiling and tried pretending that there was mistletoe there, something to tell me that Yellow didn’t do that because of actually caring for that… that… Rattata’s ass. I didn’t find a trace of it, making my heart sink even deeper.
Okay, quick intermission here. You’re probably wondering why I’m taking this so hard, why I feel this way about Yellow. Well, if you haven’t guessed already, I have a crush on Yellow. A big one. It started small, her being the only friend I had that wasn’t out of pity of my illness, but… well… being the only female friend that genuinely cares about you, alongside being the cutest girl in the friggin’ world, is a good reason to ‘like-like’ someone… right? I like to think so. And this… well, this hit me pretty hard.
I found my way to the balcony, leaning against the railing, looking down on the scenery, trying to understand, make sense of, and get over what the fuck just happened. Gardevoir must have sensed my spazzing out from wherever she was because, within the first minute I was outside, she appeared behind me and gently put her hand on my shoulder, which only caused me to lower my head.
“Master, what’s wrong?”
“… Nothin’s wrong, Gardevoir. Why do you a-”
She lightly hit me on the back of the head. “Don’t start that denial BS. You should know more than anyone else that lying to me is never a good idea.”
“… Alright then, Miss I-Know-When-You’re-Lying. Since you’re so keen, you should already know why I’m upset then.”
“… The blond girl? Yellow? Committing acts of affection towards the boy in the yellow hat?”
“Yeah…” My head sunk at hearing my predicament worded so simply, making me feel as though I was being a whiney bitch over nothing… Shit. Maybe I was.
“No you aren’t.” She said matter-of-factly. I really hate it when she does that. “She was your only true human friend. And that boy with the gold hat took her away from you. Who wouldn’t be upset.”
“People with the balls to accept what’s happened and move on?”
She frowned. “That happened roughly 5 minutes ago, Master. I doubt anyone would be over it by now.”
“I guess.” I plopped down on the floor of the balcony and hung my legs over the edge of the balcony between the small pillars on the railing. She lowered herself and did the same. We just sat quietly for a bit, until Gardevoir broke the silence. “So… how are we going to do this?”
“Wh-what?”
She looked at me like I was an idiot. “You know, Master: revenge. How are we going to get back at the boy with the gold hat.”
I rested my forehead in my palm. “I don’t WANT any revenge. That won’t make things any better.”
“Oh, come now, Master. I know how awfully he treats you. How shall we do it? Break his arm?”
“No.”
“Liver failure?”
“NO.”
“Trip down the stairs?”
“N-… maybe.” I pondered it for a moment. Seeing Ethan in pain is always nice. And making it look like an accident, knowing I’m responsible, AND not getting blamed? Like fuck I’d refuse that. “How about this: If he ever does something ‘forward’ to Yellow, we trip him down the stairs. You know, as a service to Yellow.”
Gardevoir rolled her eyes. “A true knight in shining armor.”
“Damn right.”
After we agreed on our little ‘Ethan Protection Program’, we sat there quietly, not sure what to say. So we just sat there, admiring the view. From Lance’s balcony, we could see the entire Indigo Plateau and why it was given its name. The entire plateau was dark blue due to being bathed in the moonlight. The flat land rolled on for miles and not a single object or Pokémon blemished its beautiful, indigo bareness.
I sighed. “Beautiful… isn’t it? It… kinda reminds me of those flower fields back home in Verdanturf… Do you ever miss home, Gardevoir?”
She nodded glumly. “At times. I always loved the shade of green that the flower fields were. No matter what color the flowers were, the shade of green they were buried in made them 10 times more beautiful.”
I weakly smiled and nodded. “Yeah… I miss the air. How it was normal and never made my asthma act up. People there never knew how sick I was. No one ever called me Cancer Boy, no one made fun of me for having you as my first Pokémon and best friend because of… those rumors about Gardevoirs…”
We both began to blush at the thought of it. I quickly broke the silence however, since something was on my mind for quite a while. “Maybe… maybe we should leave. Our house, I mean. Forever. Go back to Verdanturf. Maybe even visit Indigo now and then. Just… get away from it all.”
“Master… you shouldn’t talk like that. I believe you’re thinking way too much about this. How about a battle to take your mind off of things? ”
“Maybe…” I got up and stretched. “Good thing I brought my Pokémon with me just in case. But… who do you think I can battle?”
Gardevoir got up, thinking about how she could answer my question, her eyes brightened. “Why not Barry? He takes his Pokémon with him wherever, in case he ever gets the itch to battle. I’m sure he has nothing better planned for the evening.”
“Hmmm…” I scratched my chin, thinking about it, before smiling and nodding, “Barry it is. Let’s find him.”
So we looked around and searched for him. After a couple minutes, we found him cuddling with Dawn on the sofa, which kinda made me feel bad for interrupting. I was actually gonna turn around and ask someone else, when Barry asked, “What’s up, Wally? Didja need something?”
“Um, well…” I was still kinda feeling bad for interrupting, but he asked, so I had to answer. “I was just kinda bored and wanted to know if you wanted to battle, maybe? Well, I was GONNA ask, but then I saw you two cuddling and I didn’t want to interrupt, a-”
“You’re okay with a little intermission?” Barry looked over at Dawn, raising his eyebrows. Dawn giggled and nodded, to which Barry beamed. He looked back at me and gave me a thumbs up. “You’re on! What’re the terms?”
“Um, well I was thinking 3-on-3. Ya know, keep it basi-”
“No no no.” he shook his head at every ‘no’. “I mean, what are the terms of defeat. I’ll start us off. If I win, you move out of my room.”
My eyes brightened. Perhaps I could twist the terms for myself, just a little… Instead of moving out of his room, if I lose, I’ll move back to Verdanturf. Seems reasonable enough. Barry continued, “And if you win…”
“You kiss Lucas.”
“I kiss Lucas.” Barry nodded.
………
Then it processed through his mind. “WAIT, WHAT?”
“You kiss Lucas.” I said nonchalantly, trying to hide the smuggest feeling I’ve ever had. “On the mouth. For three seconds.”
“No way! I ought to fine you for such filthy thoughts! There’s no way I… I… ”Barry thought it over and probably decided it would be better to just accept the terms than chicken out. He snickered as his shocked face quickly turned to one of cockiness as he scoffed. “Whatever! Not like I’ll lose anyways! Fine! Terms accepted! Now, let’s get this show on the road. Before I forget how I’ll arrange my furniture when you’re gone.”
“You mean before Lucas’s mouth gets dry?” Okay. I won’t lie. I couldn’t hide my smug face that time. It was just too good. Barry said nothing and just glared daggers at me as we walked to the backyard, where a small fighting zone was set up.
We each walked to our respective sides of the fighting arena – me on the red half, Barry on the blue half – and reached for our first Pokéballs.
“Ummm...” I looked at him quizzically. “I think we need a referee before we can actually do anything.”
“Oh right. Eheh, forgot. Caught up in the moment and all that.” Barry scratched the back of his head. “Umm, could you…?”
“Yeah, yeah, I gotcha.” I sighed and walked off to find someone who wanted to ref for our battle. Most of the Gym Leaders were somewhat busy until finally, I found a tall, skinny, blond man in purple who said he’d do it… after staring blankly at me for 12 or so seconds…
I made my way back to the battling zone with him in tow, goading him to where the referee stands. Then I ran back over to where I was meant to be and THEN pulled out Magnezone’s (the first Pokémon I’ll use) Pokéball.
“The match between.. uh… this guy with the blond hair, and that kid with the green hair,” the man said in a melancholic, spaced out voice, and also childishly pointed at us when he respectively called our ‘names’, “will be a… uh… 3-on-3 match?” he got confirmation from Barry angrily nodding his head. “Oh, okay. A 3-on-3 match with no items being used. Ummm... start now, I guess. I’ll just sit over here.”
Simultaneously, we threw our Pokéballs out and out came a Magnezone and a Heracross. Yeah, a Heracross. Ffffffffuck. I knew this wouldn’t end well, but I had to try.
“Magnezone, use Supersonic!” I commanded, crossing my fingers with the hopes that Magnezone could outspeed him.
He did. By the time Barry called out his command, the Heracross was wobbling dizzily, courtesy of an onslaught of large, thin and circular waves launched directly at his face. Heracross tried to obey his orders (Close Combat, unsurprisingly), but ended up punching himself in the face.
I snickered, but grimaced, since I unfortunately knew Magnezone’s time spent in this fight was numbered. That Close Combat will end up happening eventually, and it’ll hurt like a bitch when it does. I might as well mess with the bug as much as possible beforehand.
“Magnzone, use Tri Attack!” I yelled, and was obeyed seconds after, a triangular beam shooting out of his center eye. The beam hit the stumbling Heracross in the chest, pushing him back several feet and into the ground. The Heracross got back up, now snapped out of confusion by the sudden impact, but was holding his stomach, which was a glowing red.
“Yes!” I murmured under my breath. “He’s burned.”
Unfortunately, the celebration was cut short. “Heracross! Let’s try Close Combat again!”
“Hera!” was uttered, before the bug’s place in the arena was last discernable, for right afterwards he darted in a blinding speed right up to Magnezone and rapidly and viciously punched Magnezone over and over, until it collapsed in submission.
“Z-zone…” was what it groaned before finally going out of commission.
“You did great; especially since I’m sure he thought you’d be out on the first turn.” I pet him on his antenna and called him back into his ball. I raised my head to find Barry’s pearly white grin visible from afar and sulked as I brought out my next Pokéball.
“This may be over sooner than expected.” he laughed.
“Maybe so.” I retorted coldly, “Especially since my Pokémon gave yours a permanent status condition AND did some damage, despite you having a move that could take him out in one hit. Yeah, I’d say this’ll be over pretty quick. C’mon out, Altaria!”
I opened my Pokéball and out came Altaria, elegantly gliding in a circle over the arena before gracefully landing in front of me, facing her enemy and eagerly waiting for a command. Barry shuddered at the appearance of the Flying type but stood tall and commanded his Heracross to use Megahorn, to which it complied. Altaria flew up in the skies before Heracross could do anything. She looked back at me and I smiled at her. “Aerial Ace.”
She flew down and in an unreal speed, hardening her soft wings as she flew down, and slammed hertwo wings against the insect’s face, sending it crashing to the ground. It couldn’t get up after that, and with the combined efforts of Altaria’s dead-on attack and his burn, I wasn’t honestly surprised. Barry cursed under his breath and called Heracross back, scowling the whole time. “Let’s show this fluffy ‘dragon’ who’s the boss, Rapidash.”
He called out his Rapidash, who was magnificently standing tall on his four legs, snorting flames from his nostrils. Of course, I ignored this menacing sight because I was too busy laughing at Barry. “’Who’s the boss?’ I’m sorry, but did we jump into 1985 while I wasn’t looking? Is there a Celebi somewhere messing with me?”
“Hmph!” Barry crossed his arms. “We’ll see how much you’ll be laughing when you’re sharing a room with Blake. Rapidash! Fire Blast ‘im!”
Rapidash snorted smaller flames out of its nose again and complied. It opened its mouth and with a chilling whinny, it shot an intense, star-shaped mass of fire. Of course, with Altaria’s borderline ridiculous speed, and Fire Blast’s terrible accuracy, she easily dodged it and proceeded to obey her own orders, Dragonbreath. Darted right next to Rapidash and shot out a blue and purple flame from her mouth, the fires themselves making their own roar as they devoured the stallion and the land around it.
Barry scoffed, “Even if it’s a Dragon type move, it still involves flames. You really think that’s a smart thing to do?”
I shrugged. “Just as smart as using a move with terrible accuracy on the first move, yeah.”
Barry frowned. “You little… I ought to fine you for that... Here’s a smart move. Rapidash use Flare Blitz!”
Rapidash – who seemed just as provoked as his master – stomped on the ground, fire surrounding his hooves. He reared his front legs back and stood on his hinds making a terrible shriek before sprinting to Altaria the minute his front legs touched the ground again, a blazing inferno surrounding his body. He sprinted faster and faster, until he was right beneath her, and jumped in the air at her, hitting Altaria dead on with a blazing slam.
Altaria fell to the ground, but still had the strength to stand. I was concerned for Altaria, but knew this match was over. “Altaria… Earthquake.”
“Taria!” she nodded and shook the entire arena, cracking the ground and almost vibrating the entire backyard. Rapidash was crashing back and forth, hitting the ground and things around him over and over and over, until he couldn’t stand anymore from the constant blows.
“Gaaaaah, crap! You did a good job, Rapidash.” he sighed and called him back into his ball. He smiled, though unlike his previous smirks, this one was of earnest. “I gotta say, Wal, you really are doing better than I thought. I forget sometimes that you’re been battling for 4 years.”
I shrugged. “Heh, same to you. For someone who’s a year behind, you sure got me on the edge of my seat. I almost regret having to make you do what you’re gonna have to do.”
“Heh!” Barry scoffed. “I should fine you for being so sure of yourself. I’ll fine you 1 Torterra butt-kicking! C’mon out!”
In seconds, emerging from a white light that sprung from his Pokéball, a Torterra was glaring at Altaria and I roaring at us as he entered. Altaria looked back at me frightened, but I walked up to her and pet her head, which, despite the circumstances, caused her to chirp contently.
“Don’t worry, girl,” I started scratching her head, which made her nuzzle against my chest. “I know you won’t make it against him, even with your advantage.”
I pulled out two Pokéballs, one of which I used to Altaria and holstered. The other I held up to my face and kissed for good luck (shut the hell up, it works, honestly). I opened the ball and out came a stretching Mawile, one I had caught recently when I returned to Hoenn. As I had expected, Barry began to laugh.
“A Maw- ?” he couldn’t even finish the Pokémon’s name, he was too busy guffawing at the scenario: a giant, earth-shattering tortoise against a little imp that wore a fluffy dress. And here he was talking to the boy that’s betting on the imp. “Oh wow. That… HA! That’s just too much. Boy, am I glad I didn’t chicken out. Alright, Torterra, Earthquake her and let’s call it a day.”
Torterra smirked, just as cocky as his master, and shook the ground akin to how Altaria did. Of course, before he could even stomp his front hooves, Mawile wasn’t even on the ground. She was already sitting on Torterra’s tree, dangling her legs, laughing mischievously at her quick work. Torterra was outraged, though shocked at first, and shook violently from side to, trying his damnedest to shake her off. Mawile just affectionately hugged the trunk of Torterra’s tree and giggled at the rise she had gotten out of Torterra.
Our battle had actually gathered a crowd. Many Gym Leaders (one of them a cute, pink-haired girl that I’ll mention later on) had gathered to see the battle and were cheering for their side of choice. Though, no matter what side each person was on, EVERYONE laughed (or went d’awwww) at Mawile’s toying with Torterra. Not only because Mawile was being an adorable little bastard, but because Torterra looked absolutely silly trying to shake a Mawile off of him like a flea infestation and failing to do so.
Finally, after 10 whole minutes of shaking and slamming against trees and rolling on the ground to get her off, Torterra simply collapsed, panting after expending all of his energy into getting her off. He probably wouldn’t have acted so bluntly, but the pure humiliation of it all had brought him into a rage, not caring about saving energy. Mawile playfully yawned and jumped off of the branch, landing on Torterra’s head. She looked over at me and tilted her head, letting out a “Maw?” in terms of asking for confirmation. I nodded, and she beamed at the allowance.
Flames appeared around her giant second set of jaws which was grinning maliciously as fire escaped its throat. Mawile jumped in the air and did a little, show-offy spin before falling back down to the giant tortoise, diving head-first, her second jaw at the head of the charge, wide open and ready to bite. Torterra tried to move out of the way, even just a little, but he was too exhausted. Mawile’s Fire Fang landed right on the top of his head, jaws clamped around the sides of his face. Mawile let go and did another jump into the air, landing in front of the beast, and finishing it all off with a little curtsy.
Torterra was finished, no questioning that. Fatigue and a super effective attack to the face made that quite obvious. It took Barry a good three minutes to call him back though. His face was stuck in shock; that his most trusted Pokémon, a giant beast that could make a maelstrom of leaves and fissures show up… defeated by a fluffy little imp was more than he could comprehend. I withdrew Mawile, who stuck her tongue out at Barry before being returned: he sure as hell wouldn’t be making fun of Mawiles ANYTIME soon.
The audience applauded; both Barry for the good show and me for being the victor. I felt… great! I forgot how awesome it feels to battle – and to win. Barry finally recalled his Pokéball and started nervously laughing to himself.
“Eheh, you didn’t actually MEAN for me to kiss Lucas, right? That was just a little X-mas joke… right?”
I dusted myself off and smirked at him, walking towards him slowly. “Oh, God no. I was quite serious when I said that. And I expect you to follow through now just as much as I did when we made that bet.”
“OH, COME ON!” Barry was putting his hands up defensively. “It’s not like I was ACTUALLY gonna make you leave my room. I didn’t mean it!”
“Then why make the bet at all?” I raised my eyebrow. “If you didn’t mean your terms and didn’t expect me to make mine, why even mention terms. I wasn’t even going to make any bets related to it. YOU did. So you have far less of a right to complain than I do.”
“I… I… Ugh…” Barry rested his face in his hands, out of embarrassment or frustration, I can’t quite tell you. “Can I at least change my terms?”
I sighed. He really wasn’t gonna give up, huh? “Fine. But YOU won’t be choosing the new terms. I at LEAST earn the right to decide the new one. Instead… you’ll run 25 laps around the house. In your boxers.”
“M-my boxers!? B-but…!”
“No more changes. Do that, or kiss your best friend. That’s my final offer.” I felt like Donphan Trump and DAMN, did it feel awesome.
Barry started to say something in his defense, but finally saw the lesser of two evils and stripped. After a minute, he was down to his boxers. “25 laps?”
“25,” I nodded, “And I’ll be watching from the balcony, so don’t go thinking you can skimp out on me.”
“Fiiiine.” Barry groaned. He stood in the same spot until Gardevoir and I made our way up to the balcony to relish in our victory. We watched Barry run around a large house, almost naked, with dozens of people watching and it was as glorious as I thought it’d be. Garde and I just leaned on the balcony’s railing, joining in the cheering that would be bellowed by the spectators every time Barry passed by them. We just couldn’t stop laughing. After Barry’s 13th or so lap, I heard a light, girly voice murmur, “Oh, he’s got a Gardevoir. Greeeeat.”
I knew that tone. Damn, did I know that tone well. The tone that said, “He’s a sick fuck that sleeps with his Pokémon because he’s a desperate manchild.” I hated those stereotypes. I was sick of automatically being assumed of sleeping with my first Pokémon and best friend. Garde despised the assumptions as well. That’s why the second we turned around, the girl’s arms were already telepathically twisted. She was about my age, with light pink hair. She wore what looked like a getup someone’d be caught wearing at a Gym. Uhhh, not the one with Pokémon, the ones where you work out. She was bearfoot – odd, considering the high elevation and season made it pretty damned cold – and was a Lucario, which was her partner, or Pokémon she never put in their Pokéball. At the sight of the Lucario, who was just about to pounce on Gardevoir and I, we let go and just started snickering.
“Really?” I said between interrupting chuckles. “You’re gonna criticize me for having a Gardevoir, when you’re standing there next to a Lu-”
“Sh-shut up!” she stammered and followed with a jab to my arm, which only made me giggle at the sheer ridiculousness of the whole thing even more.
I cleared my throat and got serious. This girl was cute. VERY cute. And I’ll be damned if I end up getting an adorable girl pissed off at me. “I wasn’t saying that offensively. Just surprised you’re not only not feeling somewhat relatable, but you’re actually disgusted.”
“Relatable? Relatable to what exactly?” she asked defensively. She was still scowling. Of course I didn’t mind. That just made her even more adorable. She kinda reminded me of Yellow… But without the 2 big brothers that’d fuck me up for spending more than half an hour with her alone… like Halloween. Will I ever forget the scolding and threats I got after trick or treating? Probably not. But that ain’t my problem anymore! Ethan can have that all to himself.
“Well… you know how it goes.” I began, kind of scratching my head. I was a little uncomfortable talking about it, even though I hated it so much for so long. “Have a Pokémon that’s popular with… certain kinds of people… as your partner and people automatically think you’re one of ‘those’ people and call you a sicko.”
She sighed and walked up next to me, leaning against the balcony, making her back face the view. “Yeah… it probably doesn’t happen as much to me, since you’re a guy and all, but it’s happened. Usually spouted by some asshole that I beat on his way out of the Gym. That makes it mean a whole lot less, but it still hurts, ya know?”
I sighed and nodded. Meanwhile, Gardevoir and Lucario were conversing. They seemed to be getting along well. At the very least, they weren’t at each other’s throats like they would’ve been a minute ago. And that’s always nice.
I decided to break the ice. Silence is actually pretty nice when it’s with an old friend like Garde, but with someone you’ve just met… It’s kinda awkward. “So, what brings you to Lance’s party? Gym Leader? Elite Four?”
The cute girl burst out laughing when I said ‘Elite Four’ and - call me crazy - but I’m guessing that meant no. “No, no, no. ARCEUS no, not in the Elite Four. That’s a tiny bit out of my league. But I guess that’s what happens when I don’t introduce myself.” She took a step forward to stop leaning on the railing and spun around to face me. She smiled a bit and extended her arm. “Maylene. I’m the Gym Leader of Veilstone City over in Sinnoh.”
I reached to shake her hand, but she drew it back and raised her eyebrow. “NO twisting my arm this time?”
I scoffed. “Yeah, even though I TOTALLY have the physique to do it.”
“Hmph!” she crossed her arms and pouted. “May I ask what a smug bastard like you is doing here?”
I would’ve been upset with myself at making her mad, but I realize she was more embarrassed at being wrong than angry at my sarcasm. Friggin. Adorable. I just smirked. “I’m not as important as a Gym Leader, that’s for sure. Just a trainer that lives with Green and other trainers.”
“Green, huh? Wasn’t he the champion for a short time?” she looked at me somewhat confused. I forgot how far away Sinnoh is from Kanto. The fact she didn’t know who Green was startled me at first.
“Umm, yeah, for a time. But he, just like Red, the guy that replaced him, pretty much blazed through the whole league. He’s being nice and letting us stay with him. And unless you prefer ‘smug bastard’, you can call me Wally.”
“Nice to meetcha, Wally.” She extended her arm – for real, this time – and we finally shook hands. “Likewi- OW!” I shook my hand when our handshake was done. Damn, she had a grip. Not sure if she knew it or not, but it still kinda hurt. She just scoffed and rolled her eyes. “Oh, stop being such a wimp.”
“Who you calling a wimp!?”
She stuck her tongue out. “The skinny kid in the nerdy clothing, that’s who.”
I looked down at my buttoned-up, long sleeved shirt. “Oh, haha. YOU’RE gonna get on to ME for wearing odd clothing?” I couldn’t help but laugh. “You look like you’re ready to lift weights. At least I’m dressing formally.”
“Dorky and formal are not the same thing.” she sang.
“Feh! Whatever.” I leaned back against the railing. I didn’t like the back and forth bickering, so I decided to try and change the subject a little. “But I guess I can’t say I’m surprised at you wearing something like that. I heard it’s cold as hell up in Sinnoh around this time. This is probably nothing in comparison.”
“It’s a little nippy at times.” She shrugged and walked up next to me, looking out at the plateau. “Veilstone isn’t all that bad. It’s Snowpoint and Celestic at times that get pretty cold.”
So then we started talking about each other’s regions. I asked her about Sinnoh, she told me about all the leaders, the Elite 4, their Champion, all that stuff. I told her I was born and raised in Hoenn, told her about it and how its environment is insane. How you can go from desert to a volcano in an hour long walk. We kept talking until Maylene’s stomach started growling. She put her hand against it and frowned.
“Crap, I should get something to eat. I’ll be back in a minute.” she walked to the door inside and stopped. She turned around and looked at me. “What do you like to eat? I could getcha something from the buffet, too.”
I smiled at that. “Nah, I’ll come with. We can eat there, indoors.” I raised my eyebrow and grinned. “Unless you don’t want to be seen walking with a ‘dork’.”
Maylene rolled her eyes and smiled, making her way inside. Gardevoir, Lucario, and myself soon followed. As we walked to the buffet, I couldn’t help but internally celebrate as I summarized how the party was going so far in my head. At first, it sucked terribly. I figured out Yellow liked Ethan, and completely fell apart over it, even though I shouldn’t have. But, not only did I win a pretty damned fun battle against an esteemed Sinnoh trainer AND I also got to make Barry run around in public in his boxers, but I also met this really cute chick who actually gives a shit about me. Better than anything I could find in a box or an oversized sock, that’s for sure.
I told Gardevoir, who I always kept out of her Pokéball, to go and mingle on her own, against her protests. She said she wanted to be with me, but I put up my hand and couldn’t help but laugh. “You don’t need me to be around in order for you to have a good time. Besides…” I put on a silly grin, “We both know I’d cramp your style.”
She chuckled and nodded, walking away to talk to the other Pokémon at the party, the ones that are always out of their Pokéballs like she was. Afterwards, I wandered around, trying to join other people in what they were doing. Unfortunately, they either were doing nothing of importance or told me to buzz off. After giving up on searching, I thought maybe Yellow’d like to hang out. She never tells me to go away, and I can tell she doesn’t because she genuinely cares, not out of pity for my sickness… ummm, did I say ‘I can tell’? I meant ‘I hope’.
Anyways, I started looking for her, but couldn’t find her for the longest time. Finally, I had almost decided to give up, when I saw Ethan standing around, talking to Blake. Great, two of my least favorite neighbors. I seriously thank Arceus every day for not making them live with me. But that isn’t what caught my attention. When Ethan walked away, I noticed Yellow creeping up behind him, giggling and looking like she was gonna do a silly prank or something. Oh no. I’ve seen creeping like that in animes before. I pushed the thought out of my mind. Like stuff that happens in animes would happen he-
And then I was proved wrong. Yellow quickly pecked Ethan on the cheek. My heart? Yeah, I think it was somewhere in my right foot when I saw that. My entire body started malfunctioning. My sight grew a little blurry, all of the different-colored lights in the room crudely mixed together to make some fucked up rainbow, like when tears build up in your eyes but are stubborn assholes and decide not to come out. My hearing faded. I could hardly hear the stereos playing ‘No Unowns’, and could barely hear what Yellow and Ethan had said afterwards.
Ethan just sort of stood there processing it all. And I sort of did too. After a minute of muttering to himself (and for some reason being answered by Lucas), he ran off after Yellow, who had already ade quite the distance between them.
I almost stumbled around the party like a drunkard. I couldn’t believe what I had seen. It replayed in my head over and over, every aspect of the scene was processed. I looked at the ceiling and tried pretending that there was mistletoe there, something to tell me that Yellow didn’t do that because of actually caring for that… that… Rattata’s ass. I didn’t find a trace of it, making my heart sink even deeper.
Okay, quick intermission here. You’re probably wondering why I’m taking this so hard, why I feel this way about Yellow. Well, if you haven’t guessed already, I have a crush on Yellow. A big one. It started small, her being the only friend I had that wasn’t out of pity of my illness, but… well… being the only female friend that genuinely cares about you, alongside being the cutest girl in the friggin’ world, is a good reason to ‘like-like’ someone… right? I like to think so. And this… well, this hit me pretty hard.
I found my way to the balcony, leaning against the railing, looking down on the scenery, trying to understand, make sense of, and get over what the fuck just happened. Gardevoir must have sensed my spazzing out from wherever she was because, within the first minute I was outside, she appeared behind me and gently put her hand on my shoulder, which only caused me to lower my head.
“Master, what’s wrong?”
“… Nothin’s wrong, Gardevoir. Why do you a-”
She lightly hit me on the back of the head. “Don’t start that denial BS. You should know more than anyone else that lying to me is never a good idea.”
“… Alright then, Miss I-Know-When-You’re-Lying. Since you’re so keen, you should already know why I’m upset then.”
“… The blond girl? Yellow? Committing acts of affection towards the boy in the yellow hat?”
“Yeah…” My head sunk at hearing my predicament worded so simply, making me feel as though I was being a whiney bitch over nothing… Shit. Maybe I was.
“No you aren’t.” She said matter-of-factly. I really hate it when she does that. “She was your only true human friend. And that boy with the gold hat took her away from you. Who wouldn’t be upset.”
“People with the balls to accept what’s happened and move on?”
She frowned. “That happened roughly 5 minutes ago, Master. I doubt anyone would be over it by now.”
“I guess.” I plopped down on the floor of the balcony and hung my legs over the edge of the balcony between the small pillars on the railing. She lowered herself and did the same. We just sat quietly for a bit, until Gardevoir broke the silence. “So… how are we going to do this?”
“Wh-what?”
She looked at me like I was an idiot. “You know, Master: revenge. How are we going to get back at the boy with the gold hat.”
I rested my forehead in my palm. “I don’t WANT any revenge. That won’t make things any better.”
“Oh, come now, Master. I know how awfully he treats you. How shall we do it? Break his arm?”
“No.”
“Liver failure?”
“NO.”
“Trip down the stairs?”
“N-… maybe.” I pondered it for a moment. Seeing Ethan in pain is always nice. And making it look like an accident, knowing I’m responsible, AND not getting blamed? Like fuck I’d refuse that. “How about this: If he ever does something ‘forward’ to Yellow, we trip him down the stairs. You know, as a service to Yellow.”
Gardevoir rolled her eyes. “A true knight in shining armor.”
“Damn right.”
After we agreed on our little ‘Ethan Protection Program’, we sat there quietly, not sure what to say. So we just sat there, admiring the view. From Lance’s balcony, we could see the entire Indigo Plateau and why it was given its name. The entire plateau was dark blue due to being bathed in the moonlight. The flat land rolled on for miles and not a single object or Pokémon blemished its beautiful, indigo bareness.
I sighed. “Beautiful… isn’t it? It… kinda reminds me of those flower fields back home in Verdanturf… Do you ever miss home, Gardevoir?”
She nodded glumly. “At times. I always loved the shade of green that the flower fields were. No matter what color the flowers were, the shade of green they were buried in made them 10 times more beautiful.”
I weakly smiled and nodded. “Yeah… I miss the air. How it was normal and never made my asthma act up. People there never knew how sick I was. No one ever called me Cancer Boy, no one made fun of me for having you as my first Pokémon and best friend because of… those rumors about Gardevoirs…”
We both began to blush at the thought of it. I quickly broke the silence however, since something was on my mind for quite a while. “Maybe… maybe we should leave. Our house, I mean. Forever. Go back to Verdanturf. Maybe even visit Indigo now and then. Just… get away from it all.”
“Master… you shouldn’t talk like that. I believe you’re thinking way too much about this. How about a battle to take your mind off of things? ”
“Maybe…” I got up and stretched. “Good thing I brought my Pokémon with me just in case. But… who do you think I can battle?”
Gardevoir got up, thinking about how she could answer my question, her eyes brightened. “Why not Barry? He takes his Pokémon with him wherever, in case he ever gets the itch to battle. I’m sure he has nothing better planned for the evening.”
“Hmmm…” I scratched my chin, thinking about it, before smiling and nodding, “Barry it is. Let’s find him.”
So we looked around and searched for him. After a couple minutes, we found him cuddling with Dawn on the sofa, which kinda made me feel bad for interrupting. I was actually gonna turn around and ask someone else, when Barry asked, “What’s up, Wally? Didja need something?”
“Um, well…” I was still kinda feeling bad for interrupting, but he asked, so I had to answer. “I was just kinda bored and wanted to know if you wanted to battle, maybe? Well, I was GONNA ask, but then I saw you two cuddling and I didn’t want to interrupt, a-”
“You’re okay with a little intermission?” Barry looked over at Dawn, raising his eyebrows. Dawn giggled and nodded, to which Barry beamed. He looked back at me and gave me a thumbs up. “You’re on! What’re the terms?”
“Um, well I was thinking 3-on-3. Ya know, keep it basi-”
“No no no.” he shook his head at every ‘no’. “I mean, what are the terms of defeat. I’ll start us off. If I win, you move out of my room.”
My eyes brightened. Perhaps I could twist the terms for myself, just a little… Instead of moving out of his room, if I lose, I’ll move back to Verdanturf. Seems reasonable enough. Barry continued, “And if you win…”
“You kiss Lucas.”
“I kiss Lucas.” Barry nodded.
………
Then it processed through his mind. “WAIT, WHAT?”
“You kiss Lucas.” I said nonchalantly, trying to hide the smuggest feeling I’ve ever had. “On the mouth. For three seconds.”
“No way! I ought to fine you for such filthy thoughts! There’s no way I… I… ”Barry thought it over and probably decided it would be better to just accept the terms than chicken out. He snickered as his shocked face quickly turned to one of cockiness as he scoffed. “Whatever! Not like I’ll lose anyways! Fine! Terms accepted! Now, let’s get this show on the road. Before I forget how I’ll arrange my furniture when you’re gone.”
“You mean before Lucas’s mouth gets dry?” Okay. I won’t lie. I couldn’t hide my smug face that time. It was just too good. Barry said nothing and just glared daggers at me as we walked to the backyard, where a small fighting zone was set up.
We each walked to our respective sides of the fighting arena – me on the red half, Barry on the blue half – and reached for our first Pokéballs.
“Ummm...” I looked at him quizzically. “I think we need a referee before we can actually do anything.”
“Oh right. Eheh, forgot. Caught up in the moment and all that.” Barry scratched the back of his head. “Umm, could you…?”
“Yeah, yeah, I gotcha.” I sighed and walked off to find someone who wanted to ref for our battle. Most of the Gym Leaders were somewhat busy until finally, I found a tall, skinny, blond man in purple who said he’d do it… after staring blankly at me for 12 or so seconds…
I made my way back to the battling zone with him in tow, goading him to where the referee stands. Then I ran back over to where I was meant to be and THEN pulled out Magnezone’s (the first Pokémon I’ll use) Pokéball.
“The match between.. uh… this guy with the blond hair, and that kid with the green hair,” the man said in a melancholic, spaced out voice, and also childishly pointed at us when he respectively called our ‘names’, “will be a… uh… 3-on-3 match?” he got confirmation from Barry angrily nodding his head. “Oh, okay. A 3-on-3 match with no items being used. Ummm... start now, I guess. I’ll just sit over here.”
Simultaneously, we threw our Pokéballs out and out came a Magnezone and a Heracross. Yeah, a Heracross. Ffffffffuck. I knew this wouldn’t end well, but I had to try.
“Magnezone, use Supersonic!” I commanded, crossing my fingers with the hopes that Magnezone could outspeed him.
He did. By the time Barry called out his command, the Heracross was wobbling dizzily, courtesy of an onslaught of large, thin and circular waves launched directly at his face. Heracross tried to obey his orders (Close Combat, unsurprisingly), but ended up punching himself in the face.
I snickered, but grimaced, since I unfortunately knew Magnezone’s time spent in this fight was numbered. That Close Combat will end up happening eventually, and it’ll hurt like a bitch when it does. I might as well mess with the bug as much as possible beforehand.
“Magnzone, use Tri Attack!” I yelled, and was obeyed seconds after, a triangular beam shooting out of his center eye. The beam hit the stumbling Heracross in the chest, pushing him back several feet and into the ground. The Heracross got back up, now snapped out of confusion by the sudden impact, but was holding his stomach, which was a glowing red.
“Yes!” I murmured under my breath. “He’s burned.”
Unfortunately, the celebration was cut short. “Heracross! Let’s try Close Combat again!”
“Hera!” was uttered, before the bug’s place in the arena was last discernable, for right afterwards he darted in a blinding speed right up to Magnezone and rapidly and viciously punched Magnezone over and over, until it collapsed in submission.
“Z-zone…” was what it groaned before finally going out of commission.
“You did great; especially since I’m sure he thought you’d be out on the first turn.” I pet him on his antenna and called him back into his ball. I raised my head to find Barry’s pearly white grin visible from afar and sulked as I brought out my next Pokéball.
“This may be over sooner than expected.” he laughed.
“Maybe so.” I retorted coldly, “Especially since my Pokémon gave yours a permanent status condition AND did some damage, despite you having a move that could take him out in one hit. Yeah, I’d say this’ll be over pretty quick. C’mon out, Altaria!”
I opened my Pokéball and out came Altaria, elegantly gliding in a circle over the arena before gracefully landing in front of me, facing her enemy and eagerly waiting for a command. Barry shuddered at the appearance of the Flying type but stood tall and commanded his Heracross to use Megahorn, to which it complied. Altaria flew up in the skies before Heracross could do anything. She looked back at me and I smiled at her. “Aerial Ace.”
She flew down and in an unreal speed, hardening her soft wings as she flew down, and slammed hertwo wings against the insect’s face, sending it crashing to the ground. It couldn’t get up after that, and with the combined efforts of Altaria’s dead-on attack and his burn, I wasn’t honestly surprised. Barry cursed under his breath and called Heracross back, scowling the whole time. “Let’s show this fluffy ‘dragon’ who’s the boss, Rapidash.”
He called out his Rapidash, who was magnificently standing tall on his four legs, snorting flames from his nostrils. Of course, I ignored this menacing sight because I was too busy laughing at Barry. “’Who’s the boss?’ I’m sorry, but did we jump into 1985 while I wasn’t looking? Is there a Celebi somewhere messing with me?”
“Hmph!” Barry crossed his arms. “We’ll see how much you’ll be laughing when you’re sharing a room with Blake. Rapidash! Fire Blast ‘im!”
Rapidash snorted smaller flames out of its nose again and complied. It opened its mouth and with a chilling whinny, it shot an intense, star-shaped mass of fire. Of course, with Altaria’s borderline ridiculous speed, and Fire Blast’s terrible accuracy, she easily dodged it and proceeded to obey her own orders, Dragonbreath. Darted right next to Rapidash and shot out a blue and purple flame from her mouth, the fires themselves making their own roar as they devoured the stallion and the land around it.
Barry scoffed, “Even if it’s a Dragon type move, it still involves flames. You really think that’s a smart thing to do?”
I shrugged. “Just as smart as using a move with terrible accuracy on the first move, yeah.”
Barry frowned. “You little… I ought to fine you for that... Here’s a smart move. Rapidash use Flare Blitz!”
Rapidash – who seemed just as provoked as his master – stomped on the ground, fire surrounding his hooves. He reared his front legs back and stood on his hinds making a terrible shriek before sprinting to Altaria the minute his front legs touched the ground again, a blazing inferno surrounding his body. He sprinted faster and faster, until he was right beneath her, and jumped in the air at her, hitting Altaria dead on with a blazing slam.
Altaria fell to the ground, but still had the strength to stand. I was concerned for Altaria, but knew this match was over. “Altaria… Earthquake.”
“Taria!” she nodded and shook the entire arena, cracking the ground and almost vibrating the entire backyard. Rapidash was crashing back and forth, hitting the ground and things around him over and over and over, until he couldn’t stand anymore from the constant blows.
“Gaaaaah, crap! You did a good job, Rapidash.” he sighed and called him back into his ball. He smiled, though unlike his previous smirks, this one was of earnest. “I gotta say, Wal, you really are doing better than I thought. I forget sometimes that you’re been battling for 4 years.”
I shrugged. “Heh, same to you. For someone who’s a year behind, you sure got me on the edge of my seat. I almost regret having to make you do what you’re gonna have to do.”
“Heh!” Barry scoffed. “I should fine you for being so sure of yourself. I’ll fine you 1 Torterra butt-kicking! C’mon out!”
In seconds, emerging from a white light that sprung from his Pokéball, a Torterra was glaring at Altaria and I roaring at us as he entered. Altaria looked back at me frightened, but I walked up to her and pet her head, which, despite the circumstances, caused her to chirp contently.
“Don’t worry, girl,” I started scratching her head, which made her nuzzle against my chest. “I know you won’t make it against him, even with your advantage.”
I pulled out two Pokéballs, one of which I used to Altaria and holstered. The other I held up to my face and kissed for good luck (shut the hell up, it works, honestly). I opened the ball and out came a stretching Mawile, one I had caught recently when I returned to Hoenn. As I had expected, Barry began to laugh.
“A Maw- ?” he couldn’t even finish the Pokémon’s name, he was too busy guffawing at the scenario: a giant, earth-shattering tortoise against a little imp that wore a fluffy dress. And here he was talking to the boy that’s betting on the imp. “Oh wow. That… HA! That’s just too much. Boy, am I glad I didn’t chicken out. Alright, Torterra, Earthquake her and let’s call it a day.”
Torterra smirked, just as cocky as his master, and shook the ground akin to how Altaria did. Of course, before he could even stomp his front hooves, Mawile wasn’t even on the ground. She was already sitting on Torterra’s tree, dangling her legs, laughing mischievously at her quick work. Torterra was outraged, though shocked at first, and shook violently from side to, trying his damnedest to shake her off. Mawile just affectionately hugged the trunk of Torterra’s tree and giggled at the rise she had gotten out of Torterra.
Our battle had actually gathered a crowd. Many Gym Leaders (one of them a cute, pink-haired girl that I’ll mention later on) had gathered to see the battle and were cheering for their side of choice. Though, no matter what side each person was on, EVERYONE laughed (or went d’awwww) at Mawile’s toying with Torterra. Not only because Mawile was being an adorable little bastard, but because Torterra looked absolutely silly trying to shake a Mawile off of him like a flea infestation and failing to do so.
Finally, after 10 whole minutes of shaking and slamming against trees and rolling on the ground to get her off, Torterra simply collapsed, panting after expending all of his energy into getting her off. He probably wouldn’t have acted so bluntly, but the pure humiliation of it all had brought him into a rage, not caring about saving energy. Mawile playfully yawned and jumped off of the branch, landing on Torterra’s head. She looked over at me and tilted her head, letting out a “Maw?” in terms of asking for confirmation. I nodded, and she beamed at the allowance.
Flames appeared around her giant second set of jaws which was grinning maliciously as fire escaped its throat. Mawile jumped in the air and did a little, show-offy spin before falling back down to the giant tortoise, diving head-first, her second jaw at the head of the charge, wide open and ready to bite. Torterra tried to move out of the way, even just a little, but he was too exhausted. Mawile’s Fire Fang landed right on the top of his head, jaws clamped around the sides of his face. Mawile let go and did another jump into the air, landing in front of the beast, and finishing it all off with a little curtsy.
Torterra was finished, no questioning that. Fatigue and a super effective attack to the face made that quite obvious. It took Barry a good three minutes to call him back though. His face was stuck in shock; that his most trusted Pokémon, a giant beast that could make a maelstrom of leaves and fissures show up… defeated by a fluffy little imp was more than he could comprehend. I withdrew Mawile, who stuck her tongue out at Barry before being returned: he sure as hell wouldn’t be making fun of Mawiles ANYTIME soon.
The audience applauded; both Barry for the good show and me for being the victor. I felt… great! I forgot how awesome it feels to battle – and to win. Barry finally recalled his Pokéball and started nervously laughing to himself.
“Eheh, you didn’t actually MEAN for me to kiss Lucas, right? That was just a little X-mas joke… right?”
I dusted myself off and smirked at him, walking towards him slowly. “Oh, God no. I was quite serious when I said that. And I expect you to follow through now just as much as I did when we made that bet.”
“OH, COME ON!” Barry was putting his hands up defensively. “It’s not like I was ACTUALLY gonna make you leave my room. I didn’t mean it!”
“Then why make the bet at all?” I raised my eyebrow. “If you didn’t mean your terms and didn’t expect me to make mine, why even mention terms. I wasn’t even going to make any bets related to it. YOU did. So you have far less of a right to complain than I do.”
“I… I… Ugh…” Barry rested his face in his hands, out of embarrassment or frustration, I can’t quite tell you. “Can I at least change my terms?”
I sighed. He really wasn’t gonna give up, huh? “Fine. But YOU won’t be choosing the new terms. I at LEAST earn the right to decide the new one. Instead… you’ll run 25 laps around the house. In your boxers.”
“M-my boxers!? B-but…!”
“No more changes. Do that, or kiss your best friend. That’s my final offer.” I felt like Donphan Trump and DAMN, did it feel awesome.
Barry started to say something in his defense, but finally saw the lesser of two evils and stripped. After a minute, he was down to his boxers. “25 laps?”
“25,” I nodded, “And I’ll be watching from the balcony, so don’t go thinking you can skimp out on me.”
“Fiiiine.” Barry groaned. He stood in the same spot until Gardevoir and I made our way up to the balcony to relish in our victory. We watched Barry run around a large house, almost naked, with dozens of people watching and it was as glorious as I thought it’d be. Garde and I just leaned on the balcony’s railing, joining in the cheering that would be bellowed by the spectators every time Barry passed by them. We just couldn’t stop laughing. After Barry’s 13th or so lap, I heard a light, girly voice murmur, “Oh, he’s got a Gardevoir. Greeeeat.”
I knew that tone. Damn, did I know that tone well. The tone that said, “He’s a sick fuck that sleeps with his Pokémon because he’s a desperate manchild.” I hated those stereotypes. I was sick of automatically being assumed of sleeping with my first Pokémon and best friend. Garde despised the assumptions as well. That’s why the second we turned around, the girl’s arms were already telepathically twisted. She was about my age, with light pink hair. She wore what looked like a getup someone’d be caught wearing at a Gym. Uhhh, not the one with Pokémon, the ones where you work out. She was bearfoot – odd, considering the high elevation and season made it pretty damned cold – and was a Lucario, which was her partner, or Pokémon she never put in their Pokéball. At the sight of the Lucario, who was just about to pounce on Gardevoir and I, we let go and just started snickering.
“Really?” I said between interrupting chuckles. “You’re gonna criticize me for having a Gardevoir, when you’re standing there next to a Lu-”
“Sh-shut up!” she stammered and followed with a jab to my arm, which only made me giggle at the sheer ridiculousness of the whole thing even more.
I cleared my throat and got serious. This girl was cute. VERY cute. And I’ll be damned if I end up getting an adorable girl pissed off at me. “I wasn’t saying that offensively. Just surprised you’re not only not feeling somewhat relatable, but you’re actually disgusted.”
“Relatable? Relatable to what exactly?” she asked defensively. She was still scowling. Of course I didn’t mind. That just made her even more adorable. She kinda reminded me of Yellow… But without the 2 big brothers that’d fuck me up for spending more than half an hour with her alone… like Halloween. Will I ever forget the scolding and threats I got after trick or treating? Probably not. But that ain’t my problem anymore! Ethan can have that all to himself.
“Well… you know how it goes.” I began, kind of scratching my head. I was a little uncomfortable talking about it, even though I hated it so much for so long. “Have a Pokémon that’s popular with… certain kinds of people… as your partner and people automatically think you’re one of ‘those’ people and call you a sicko.”
She sighed and walked up next to me, leaning against the balcony, making her back face the view. “Yeah… it probably doesn’t happen as much to me, since you’re a guy and all, but it’s happened. Usually spouted by some asshole that I beat on his way out of the Gym. That makes it mean a whole lot less, but it still hurts, ya know?”
I sighed and nodded. Meanwhile, Gardevoir and Lucario were conversing. They seemed to be getting along well. At the very least, they weren’t at each other’s throats like they would’ve been a minute ago. And that’s always nice.
I decided to break the ice. Silence is actually pretty nice when it’s with an old friend like Garde, but with someone you’ve just met… It’s kinda awkward. “So, what brings you to Lance’s party? Gym Leader? Elite Four?”
The cute girl burst out laughing when I said ‘Elite Four’ and - call me crazy - but I’m guessing that meant no. “No, no, no. ARCEUS no, not in the Elite Four. That’s a tiny bit out of my league. But I guess that’s what happens when I don’t introduce myself.” She took a step forward to stop leaning on the railing and spun around to face me. She smiled a bit and extended her arm. “Maylene. I’m the Gym Leader of Veilstone City over in Sinnoh.”
I reached to shake her hand, but she drew it back and raised her eyebrow. “NO twisting my arm this time?”
I scoffed. “Yeah, even though I TOTALLY have the physique to do it.”
“Hmph!” she crossed her arms and pouted. “May I ask what a smug bastard like you is doing here?”
I would’ve been upset with myself at making her mad, but I realize she was more embarrassed at being wrong than angry at my sarcasm. Friggin. Adorable. I just smirked. “I’m not as important as a Gym Leader, that’s for sure. Just a trainer that lives with Green and other trainers.”
“Green, huh? Wasn’t he the champion for a short time?” she looked at me somewhat confused. I forgot how far away Sinnoh is from Kanto. The fact she didn’t know who Green was startled me at first.
“Umm, yeah, for a time. But he, just like Red, the guy that replaced him, pretty much blazed through the whole league. He’s being nice and letting us stay with him. And unless you prefer ‘smug bastard’, you can call me Wally.”
“Nice to meetcha, Wally.” She extended her arm – for real, this time – and we finally shook hands. “Likewi- OW!” I shook my hand when our handshake was done. Damn, she had a grip. Not sure if she knew it or not, but it still kinda hurt. She just scoffed and rolled her eyes. “Oh, stop being such a wimp.”
“Who you calling a wimp!?”
She stuck her tongue out. “The skinny kid in the nerdy clothing, that’s who.”
I looked down at my buttoned-up, long sleeved shirt. “Oh, haha. YOU’RE gonna get on to ME for wearing odd clothing?” I couldn’t help but laugh. “You look like you’re ready to lift weights. At least I’m dressing formally.”
“Dorky and formal are not the same thing.” she sang.
“Feh! Whatever.” I leaned back against the railing. I didn’t like the back and forth bickering, so I decided to try and change the subject a little. “But I guess I can’t say I’m surprised at you wearing something like that. I heard it’s cold as hell up in Sinnoh around this time. This is probably nothing in comparison.”
“It’s a little nippy at times.” She shrugged and walked up next to me, looking out at the plateau. “Veilstone isn’t all that bad. It’s Snowpoint and Celestic at times that get pretty cold.”
So then we started talking about each other’s regions. I asked her about Sinnoh, she told me about all the leaders, the Elite 4, their Champion, all that stuff. I told her I was born and raised in Hoenn, told her about it and how its environment is insane. How you can go from desert to a volcano in an hour long walk. We kept talking until Maylene’s stomach started growling. She put her hand against it and frowned.
“Crap, I should get something to eat. I’ll be back in a minute.” she walked to the door inside and stopped. She turned around and looked at me. “What do you like to eat? I could getcha something from the buffet, too.”
I smiled at that. “Nah, I’ll come with. We can eat there, indoors.” I raised my eyebrow and grinned. “Unless you don’t want to be seen walking with a ‘dork’.”
Maylene rolled her eyes and smiled, making her way inside. Gardevoir, Lucario, and myself soon followed. As we walked to the buffet, I couldn’t help but internally celebrate as I summarized how the party was going so far in my head. At first, it sucked terribly. I figured out Yellow liked Ethan, and completely fell apart over it, even though I shouldn’t have. But, not only did I win a pretty damned fun battle against an esteemed Sinnoh trainer AND I also got to make Barry run around in public in his boxers, but I also met this really cute chick who actually gives a shit about me. Better than anything I could find in a box or an oversized sock, that’s for sure.