Chương 34: Bonds III

Pallet Town was quaint. It's quaintness, actually reminded me of the close knit Sevii Islands. It was a tiny little place, with more greenery than buildings, that had a few structures littered throughout it. If I had to guess, the population was probably very low, easily having the least amount of people in it in all the places we visited so far, barring maybe Two and Four Island. I'd be hard pressed to call it a town, honestly. Pallet Settlement, sounded about right.

Hard to imagine the most famous person in all of Kanto (maybe even the world), chose to live here. Green dragged Jasmine and I through Pallet Town with a spring in her step, wide smile on her face as she waved at every single citizen we encountered. They all gasped in realization, stopping the girl more than once to catch up with her. Pallet was a place where everyone knew everyone. It was no surprise that Green could recall every single person's name with no effort.

She just happily greeted them all, infectious energy spreading all over. Eventually, after being halted dozens of times, we made it to a quaint house near the west of the town and Green cheerfully banged on it with an infuriating amount of audacity that I was familiar with.

"I'm coming! I'm coming! You better be telling me I won the lottery with that knocking!" A voice on the other side shouted. The door swung open and I blinked as a woman stepped into the frame, hands on her hips as she stared at us. She had a head of voluminous blue hair, that stopped at just a little below her shoulder, contrasting her daughter's ridiculously long hair. The wild head of hair, was framing a pretty face with green eyes and I watched those same eyes widen in surprise, before morphing into delight.

What the hell? Green's mom was seriously pretty. She was wearing a long white skirt, a long sleeved white blouse and a green apron over it. The woman's expression lit up and a wide grin, that Green definitely inherited from her, stretched across her face.

"Oh my Mew! Is that my little Leafy?!" the woman asked, lunging forward and grabbing Green into a crushing hug.

"Mom! It's me! I missed you so much!" Green squealed happily. She eagerly returned the hug with just as much force and the two proceeded to have a hug off.

"Wow! Is my little daughter growing stronger?! You're trying to break this woman's bones!" she joked. Green cackled.

"You're not old, mom! Stop speaking like you are!" Jasmine and I watched the two attempt to squeeze the life out of each other with an amused smile and smirk respectively.

"Green looks a lot like her mother," Jasmine whispered.

"I don't see it," I said blandly, being stubborn on purpose. Admitting Green looked like her mother after I just complimented the woman… yeah not happening. I wouldn't even give her a single victory.

"Mom! Mom! Look these are my best friends! Look at them! Aren't they awesome?!" Green gushed, pointing at us and getting the woman to look up. Her green eyes (hers weren't as deep as Greens, who's practically represented the forest) lit up and she immediately dragged Jasmine and I into a tight hug. Jasmine yelped in embarrassment, while I just let out a small noise of resigned acceptance.

"You two are her best friends?! My little Leafy knows such cuties! Look at the both of you!" she gushed. The woman released us and promptly dragged us into the house.

"Oh come in! Come in! I was just about to make dinner!" Okay so she was also a bulldozer like Green. Perfect. We entered the house and I let out an interested hum, at seeing the sleeping Whimsicott. Its eyes opened at that, before it squealed excitedly at being tackled by the ecstatic Green.

"That's Whimsy! She's one of my only pokemon! The other is that lazy boy Venusaur," Green's mother informed us.

"WHIMSY! Did ya miss me?!" Green asked in a singsong voice, spinning the grass type in joy. The Whimsicott was wide awake now, a grin on its face as it gleefully cried out. The two continued to chatter to each other, even as Green marched towards the kitchen on pure muscle memory.

"Oh where are my manners! I'm Maple Green, but please just call me Maple. Ms. Maple makes me sound old!" she chimed, leading us to the dining room.

"I'm Silver. Green's traveling companion," I greeted kindly. She paused at that, whirling towards me with a suspicious gleam in her eyes.

"So you're the Silver my little sprout won't stop talking about! Wow, she never mentioned that you were such a cute little boy!" she gushed, pinching my cheeks slightly. I smiled politely, ignoring Green's look of horror.

"I shouldn't be surprised but I still am. Does she really talk about me that much?" I asked curiously. Green shook her head rapidly, while Maple nodded eagerly.

"Oh of course! Everytime I call her it's "Silvy this, Silvy that"! She sings your praises every chance she gets! Leafy really does think highly of you!" I snorted, smile making its way to my face.

"Mom," Green groaned, pinching her nose and groaning.

"Can you be any more embarrassing?! I just got here! I'll leave! I really will!" Maple fake gasped.

"And she talks so rough now too! I hear that was your doing, Silver," she scolded with no heat, grip still on my cheek as she shook my head back and forth. I chuckled at her antics. Green's mother was quite eccentric and it was very easy to see why Green herself, was so carefree.

"Guilty as charged. I take full blame," I replied in amusement. Maple gasped again.

"And he has no shame! You sure know how to pick them, Leafy!" she bemoaned, holding her head with the back of her hand, in an exaggerated manner.

"Ugh! Anyways, this is my other best friend Jasmine! She's the gym leader of Olivine City!" Green introduced happily. Maple's gasp, sounded a lot more genuine this time.

"Olivine? In the Johto region?" she asked curiously. The mother of my companion turned to face Jasmine, practically unable to sit still. Jasmine nodded happily.

"Silver introduced the two of us. We talk almost everyday even when I have my gym duties!" The woman squealed happily, dragging Jasmine close with no regards of my friends embarrassment or boundaries.

"Such a talented young woman! I had no idea Green had such incredible friends! She used to always be so sad because her friends Ash and Gary would always fight with each other. I'm glad she's got so many new ones! She looks so happy!" The woman genuinely meant that and her eyes shone with the joy, only a parent could have for their child. She was clearly an affectionate woman because she yanked the two of us into another tight hug that I was already used to.

"She's annoying but I wouldn't trade her for anyone else," I said truthfully.

"We love her a lot. She's our social best friend who makes up for how antisocial Silver and I are!" Jasmine agreed readily. Green's eyes widened and she sniffed, before letting out a happy cry and tackling us to the ground. Maple laughed squeezing us all against her with a wide grin. Even as we collapsed to the floor, she just continued to fill the air with the nice sound.

"Come children! I'll make dinner! You have nowhere to sleep right? You can stay here for the time being!" I nodded.

"Where will we sleep?" I asked curiously.

"I've got an air mattress from when little Leafy used to have sleepovers with her friends!" I nodded, satisfied with that.

"Is anyone against fried rice?" Maple asked cheerfully.

"I can help!" Jasmine beamed.

"Oh no! You're a gym leader, missy! You all sit back and take a break for once. I'm happy to accommodate you all before you go on your journey again!"

"Oh but…" Jasmine trailed off.

"Nonsense! Sit back and let me cook," Maple said firmly.

"Don't bother arguing Jas," I chuckled.

"She's got Green's stubbornness. She won't take no for an answer. Just a bulldozer through and through."

"H-Hey!" Green and Maple protested at the same time. I snorted. Dinner with Maple had been fun. She was genuinely a cheerful woman through and through, eager to get to know about Jasmine and I, while wanting to know what we got up to on our journey. It was nice. Sometime during lunch, a Venusaur trudged into the room, consumed a plate of food prepared for it, and promptly fell asleep at Green's feet, nuzzling the girl with a happy sigh.

"So you two plan on joining the Indigo League this year?" Maple asked excitedly. Both Green and I nodded.

"I'll be cheering you both on! I'll make sure you can hear me in the crowd too!" Maple exclaimed. Green blinked.

"You're gonna attend?!" she asked in excitement. Maple nodded eagerly.

"Oh, that reminds me! I met your other two friends! Gold and Crystal, right?" Green nodded just as eagerly.

"Yeah! They're the other two members of our Color Gang!"

"Oh, Color Gang? Is my daughter in a gang now?!" Maple asked in distress. She held her cheeks and swooned like a tired maiden.

"And Silver is the leader!" Green said shamelessly, beaming cheerfully as she pinned all the blame on me. I blinked at that.

"No I'm not. I haven't contributed anything to the creation of the Color Gang. I barely consider myself a part of it." Jasmine giggled.

"The Color Gang is quite heroic! They helped Silph Co!" Maple's expression sobered at that.

"I heard about that. I'm glad you all came out of that okay," she said seriously. It was hard to miss the worry in the mother's gaze and I stared at her.

"Don't worry. I'll keep Green safe. You can count on me," I said honestly. Green turned a startled gaze towards me but Maple missed it, just smiling thankfully.

"Thank you for being my daughter's friend, Silver," she said earnestly. I simply nodded.

"Enough sappy stuff! Mom, did you realize that everyone in the Color Gang is named after a color?! And we also have the eye color of our names!" Green mentioned abruptly. Maple paused at that, before her eyes widened.

"Holy shit!" she gaped. Whimsicott immediately chirped up at that, disapproval loud in the grass types voice.

"S-Sorry Whimsy!" Maple laughed nervously, scratching her head. The woman turned a fascinated gaze towards me.

"Your name is Silver... and then there was Crystal and Gold... and all your eye colors really do match your names!" she gasped. I watched with an amused expression as she practically squished my cheeks with both palms to gaze into my eyes.

"Not to mention you have the most vivid shade of silver eyes I've ever seen! Wow! It matches little Leafy's in intensity!" The woman began pondering the abnormal situation.

"Now that I think about it... all of you have such powerful eyes!" Green leaned over.

"Mom is a scientist. She works for the Professor," she murmured. That... made sense. I wouldn't ever have labeled this lady a scientist without Green telling me, but she sure matched the eccentric levels of a mad one.

"Goldy and Leafy both have such deep colored eyes! And you and Crystal have some of the most unnatural eyes yet! Yellow as dark as amber, green like the forest, blue so pale and gray so eerie!" she rambled.

"She's scaring me," Jasmine whispered to us.

"You get used to it," Green nodded sagely.

"I've travelled with another version of it for a lot of months now," I drawled.

"Even Blue! His eyes are a different shade of blue than Crystal's but they're just as vivid! Oh and I know he technically doesn't count buuuut Ash is technically a color too and his eyes are just as deep a shade of brown!" she gushed excitedly. I stiffened at that. Right... Ash.

"You all have such exciting eyes! Look at me nerding out over them! It's so strange!" Maple laughed. I raked a hand through my hair.

"Ash and Gary are not a part of the Color Gang." Maple snorted rather unladylike.

"That doesn't surprise me in the slightest. But they're good kids! I'm sure eventually you'll all warm up to each other! I know that's what little Leafy wants!" Jasmine and I both stared at the embarrassed Green, who ducked her head.

"T-They're my childhood friends! Of course I want that!" she exclaimed. I snorted and rolled my eyes.

"When they get over themselves, maybe. Just because you want it, I'll stop being so hostile initially." Crystal seemed hellbent on believing that Blue would eventually join himself. Gold and I truly didn't see it but Green cared about it more than we did, and Crystal had a soft spot for Green, so I'd only retaliate when he inevitably fucked up. Green stuck her tongue out and blew a raspberry at me, hiding the pleased flush on her face to 0 success. Maple giggled.

"Alright children! It's late. Get some rest!" she exclaimed, clapping her hands. We all nodded in agreement.

"Goodnight mom!" Green beamed, hugging the woman tightly.

"Goodnight," Jasmine and I said in unison. As we walked away, Green leaned close to me with an impish smile.

"I told you she'd love you!" she gushed. I chuckled.

"I guess I was wrong. I didn't realize your mom was just a bigger version of you." Green puffed her cheeks out.

"Bah, give yourself some credit!" Jasmine nodded.

"You're not all terrible, Silver. You were actually very polite! You didn't even cause a scene when Ms. Maple squeezed your cheeks!" I huffed because Maple seemed to almost immediately understand the proper way to touch me without triggering my warning signs, exactly like Green knew.

"Yeah yeah. Shut up and go to sleep already." Maple watched us go with a small smile on her face. Delia hummed a tune to herself and wished Mr. Mime goodnight. She left to enter her room, cheerfully preparing to sleep herself… Only for her to let out a startled shriek instead, at the sight of a figure sitting on a chair near her bed. She hastily flipped the switch to her lights, and was met with a disturbing shade of silver eyes boring into her.

They were utterly relaxed, half lidded in what could have only been boredom. Delia shuddered, feeling a strange emotion evoke out of her. There was a fear that she buried deep down a long time ago... and it was climbing up swiftly until she felt the irresistible urge to gag. There was something… familiar about those eyes. Familiar but very different... And it was not in a good way. Those eyes being different, did nothing to take away from the terror inducing intimidation, behind them.

"Hello Ms. Delia."

"H-He knows my name?" she thought. It was a boy. He was young, probably the same age as her Ashy. At seeing such an important detail, Delia would have normally relaxed but… But this boy's appearance was—"It's nice to meet you. I'm Silver," he greeted, smiling thinly. Despite the politeness in his voice, his eyes told a very different story. There was a cold glint, that gaze of his staring at her and debating whether he acknowledged her as worth his time or not.

It was almost like half of him didn't acknowledge her presence at all. The other half was staring her down like prey, gauging when the perfect time to sink his fangs into her was. It was almost a 1: 1 copy of... Of...

"You're…" she trailed off, eyes wide in horror. She took a single step back as it slowly dawned on her, who this boy was. That red hair, his pale face, those silver eyes…

"I'm not going to hurt you… so I'd appreciate if you don't scream. If you do scream, I'll have to stop being as nice," Silver said softly. He stared at her, some curiosity entering his gaze.

"Let's have a talk. I want to know what a nice woman like you was thinking, when she decided to spread her legs for someone like Giovanni." I watched Delia shudder. Her eyes turned into pinpricks, at the mention of the name Giovanni and it was right then and there, that I was confident I was right about everything.

"You're his son…" Delia mentioned, a glassy look in her eyes as memories surfaced.

"That means you're Ashy's…"

"Half brother, yeah. I met him. Good kid. Very naive. Very proud. I imagine he got that first part from you. Second part... yeah," I muttered, leaning back into my seat and watching as a Mr. Mime burst into the room, only to flinch horribly as it focused on me. This was her only pokemon. I had long scouted this place out. The little fella wasn't a fighter by the looks of it, but it sure did look poised to protect its trainer. Delia and the Mr.

Mime froze in horror, as Loki phased into existence, a calm, albeit warning, glint in his eyes. I absentmindedly ran a hand through his hair, gaze permanently trained on the woman who owned this house.

"Like I said, I don't want to hurt you. Doing that with Professor Oak in the same town, would be suicidal don't you think?" I questioned rhetorically.

"But I guess if you want to be difficult, I can always resort to leaking information about you. I don't want to because you really do seem like a nice lady… so let's just be civil, yeah?" Delia shuddered. Something in my voice completely cowed the woman and she meekly nodded. I raised a brow at the strange action but just shrugged. If she was being compliant, then all the better for me.

"As you guessed, I'm Giovanni's son and by the looks of it, he didn't only get busy with my mom. What's the story behind that?" I asked bluntly. Delia shook.

"Will you… tell anyone?" she asked quietly.

"I'm surprised you haven't. Surely you should know things that are vital to reveal," I drawled. She fidgeted in place.

"I... I'm afraid of him. Afraid of what he'll do to Ashy or me," she admitted quietly. I hummed at that.

"Not even the protection of Professor Oak is enough to unpack it? You must have a lot of trauma," I said thoughtfully. Delia watched me wave my hand.

"If you don't tell anyone he's my father, I won't tell anyone you're affiliated with Team Rocket. After tonight, we can both forget this conversation ever happened." She took a deep breath and nodded.

"I… was a part of Team Rocket," she said quietly. I raised a brow in confusion.

"Why?"

"A stroke of rebellion. Being forced to take care of the restaurant of my mother, instead of going on a pokemon journey, built a lot resentment in me that never really went away," Delia answered with furrowed brows.

"When I was 16, I got fed up and ran away… but I didn't really have any way to take care of myself. I was a 16 year old with no pokemon to my name and all I had was restaurant knowledge. I eventually found an opportunity and took it without much hesitation." Delia knocked her head dryly.

"Silly me didn't realize I signed up to cook for Team Rocket."

"Idiot," I thought dryly, listening to her tale.

"It took me a while to realize but I didn't leave immediately. I made good money... great money really and so, I just tucked my head down and saved up until I could make a stealthy exit. Everyone in Team Rocket had basic training, even a chef like me so I would have been able to disappear…" I snorted.

"But you're a hot lady so it's hard for you to stay low," I pointed out bluntly. She colored slightly at that and nodded meekly.

"Giovanni took notice of me one day when I was bringing him food. One thing led to another and I became his personal chef. That was when I was 18... A few months later, I found out I was pregnant." Wow. My dad was a real dog.

"He didn't want to raise it?" Delia frowned in confusion.

"I don't really know… I did know that he already had a child on the way and the mother of that child, threatened to have me tortured and my unborn baby killed, if I didn't get out of her sight." I grunted at that.

"My mom then."

"Yes… she was livid when she found out what happened. Considering she was already close to being due, I didn't want to test her patience and so I ran back to Pallet Town. Soon after, my mother passed away and I inherited the restaurant."

"Your mom passed away while you were pregnant? Then you had to inherit the restaurant?" I asked, brows furrowed. She nodded, muted. Clearly she didn't want to relive these memories that I was forcing her to go through again.

"Dad?" I pressed on.

"I don't know him... Apparently he became a trainer and never came back." she admitted. Ah, so he became a failure in life. The shame probably forced him away. I frowned at that before standing up. Delia flinched as I approached and Mr. Mime tried to step up, only to whittle away at my focused look. The woman shook but I merely put a hand on her shoulder and pat it once.

"I won't tell your son that we're brothers. You can keep that dark little past of yours hidden," I said coolly. I tilted my head and sighed.

"And... your life didn't sound easy. Being a single mother at 19, while manning a restaurant all on your own, must be tough. You did a good job raising Ash. Much better than both of my parents did raising me. Be proud of yourself." Delia stared at me with wide eyes and I awkwardly took a step back as tears randomly began forming. Huh...? I just thought that I should give her some positive reinforcement after basically forcing her to go through what was probably the darkest period of her life.

I wasn't very good at this positive stuff. I guess I was supposed to leave her alone and not say anything? She let out a heartbroken sob and pulled me into a crushing hug. I hissed in shock, gazing at the woman with wild and confused eyes. My hand was curled and raised, ready to punch the side of her head, before it registered that she was crying on my shoulders.

"It… it was so hard for me!" she sobbed, clutching me tightly. The mother continued to cry against me and I awkwardly released the punching motion to instead slowly pat her on the head, hopelessly lost.

"I love Ashy. I'll never replace him for anything but it was so tiring and I was so scared!"

"Goddamnit," I thought in exhaustion. I was about to be used as a vent doll, wasn't I?

"There were so many days where I didn't know what to do and it overwhelmed me because there was a woman out there who wanted me dead and could kill me in a heartbeat! I almost broke down so many times but I had to put on a brave front for my baby or else he would ask what's wrong!"

"T-This is the first time where I can just talk to someone about this! I've just felt so alone for so long because no one understands what I went through! It's been even worse now that I can't even focus on raising my little Ash as a distraction!" she wailed. I cringed back. Had no one really talked to Delia about her very serious issues? This wasn't just a woman who gave birth early in her life. Surely someone would have spoken to the single mother, who was too young to be a single mother and running a restaurant…

all while dealing with the death of her mother and the looming threat of a Team Rocket Executive wanting to very much kill her... only being held back, by the boss of Team Rocket, who happened to also be the father of your child.... Who am I kidding? This world was full of idiots. Of course mental health didn't matter I guess. Just deal with it off screen or never at all I guess. Just let it pile up until you die I guess. I sighed. Ash's mother was a nice lady, last I remember.

Always supporting and encouraging him… despite probably having severe abandonment issues, and some form of depression, and no goals or aspirations for herself because they were ripped away from her with no choice of her fighting back. Alright Silver, guess you had to do everything around here because of course you did. I didn't mean to sign up to be a therapist but well, I helped Janine out so I guess I had a small clue of what I was doing.

"Hey look at me, it's alright, Delia," I said calmly, patting her in a more normal manner now that I knew what I had to do.

"You've been strong all on your own for a long time and you've picked yourself up despite the terrible situation you were in. You were dealt with bad hand after bad hand but you managed to pick yourself up and did what you had to do to survive," I explained patiently. Delia sniffed weakly. She listened to me with her undivided attention and I resisted the urge to exhale because she was seriously too close and would see everything.

"You wanna know what's impressive about what you said? You mentioned that you were close to breaking down but you didn't because you didn't want your son to see it. You're a better mother than 80% of people out there just from that detail alone because you protected him enough that he doesn't have a single clue what you're dealing with." The woman looked at me with wide teary eyes.

"Really?" she asked quietly. I scratched my head.

"Yeah really. You have very clear abandonment issues but unlike your mom, you didn't confine your son to this town. You encouraged his dreams and supported him, even if it tears you apart to be home alone from the one thing you've latched onto in recent time." It wasn't lost to me, that a 12 year old was giving a grown woman a therapy talk that she had been avoiding for what, 19 years?

"Your son loves you. You've built a nice and stable home and now you finally have time to take a look at yourself and unpack all these problems you have. Despite what you might think, you're really not okay at all. You've got a slew of issues that you put on the backburner because you prioritized helping your son and stabilizing your restaurant. Try doing something you want to do now... and make sure you address your problems." She gazed at me with wide teary eyes.

They were the exact same shade as her sons, full of that naivety and hope. Ash was lucky. It wasn't lost to me, that his eyes could have been gray like Giovanni's... while his name was Ash, but he seemed to have barely missed the qualifications needed to be apart of the Color Gang. He really inherited practically everything from this woman with a heart of gold. I didn't have much good stuff to inherit from my parents, I think. Delia sniffed loudly.

"I don't know what to do," she admitted.

"Start slow. Find a new hobby to get into." She nodded slowly.

"Can… we exchange numbers? When I find a hobby, I'd like to discuss it with you," she said hopefully. I grunted. This wasn't how I expected this conversation to go. I just wanted answers. I didn't realize how much baggage this woman had because they never showed it at all, the few times I saw her on the anime. I guess that was also taken into account when translating to this world because she literally stored all her issues and buried them as deeply as possible until now.

"Alright. You mentioned wanting to go on a journey when you were younger, right? How about you start tracking your son? Watch his battles. Maybe analyze them for fun. The league is coming soon as well." She nodded at my words, a spark of interest entering them.

"I was planning on watching the league! Maybe I can learn more about them in the meantime. It sounds fun!" she exclaimed, wiping the tears from her eyes.

"You do that," I grunted, kindness wearing off at seeing her mood uplifted.

"Thank you Silver… despite your parents, you've become exceptional all on your own. That's even more impressive than anything you have to say about me, I think," she said kindly, squeezing me in appreciation. I paused at that and stared at the woman's kind smile.

"My intentions weren't good. I just needed answers and you ended up being pathetic and storing all your problems to the point where even I felt bad," I grunted. The woman laughed despite the harshness of my words and squeezed me once again.

"Really, thank you… I feel so light. Like a pressure in the back of my mind cleared up."

"Don't mention it. You probably can't become a trainer but have you considered just catching pokemon to raise?" I questioned, reaching into my bag and handing her some pokeballs. She gazed at them with wide eyes.

"Not all pokemon wanna battle. Some like being pampered and you're already a good chef. Consider getting a few or even getting paid to watch others. It's good money. Ask your son to help you catch a few pokemon. It's a good bonding experience and pokemon are the best companions to have when you're alone," I advised. She'd have to get a license to own more than one, but she lived in the same town as Professor Oak. I'm sure it would be very easy.

"It'll also give you two something to talk about, so that irrational fear of him abandoning you, can go away," I grunted. Delia flinched back.

"You could tell that I'm afraid Ashy would abandon me too?" she asked.

"You are the most open book of insecurities I've ever met. It's a wonder no one else spotted them. He won't abandon you by the way, you raised a good kid who loves his mom," I replied boredly. I disentangled from the woman and pinched my wet shirt with a look of dissatisfaction. I would have to replace it at the earliest inconvenience.

"Here's my number. If you're gonna call me, make it interesting or I'll hang up on you. I would very much prefer if you sent me text messages though," I muttered, writing it down and handing it to her. Delia nodded and accepted the paper.

"I only have a house phone... I can't send messages," she admitted. I stared at her.

"Buy a Pokegear then... House Phones are for old people. I'm not gonna associate with you if you don't get one." She looked slightly embarrassed at my words and just nodded.

"You know… Ash is still your brother despite everything. I think you two deserve to bond with each other. I don't mind if you reveal it," she said tentatively. A shrug was all she got from me.

"I don't care either way. I'm not interested in spilling and that's a talk you need to have with him. When you stop being afraid of Giovanni, you'll gain the courage to tell him we're brothers. At that point, it's up to him what he wants to do." I was neutral. I truly did not care anymore, what happened between Ash and I. Like I told Green, I wouldn't be hostile first anymore... but that didn't mean I'd suddenly become the paragon of benevolence. Dalia looked a little fearful at that but she nodded.

"You're right… I'll deal with it." I inclined my head.

"Alright. I'm going to sleep now. Remember, this conversation never happened." Dalia nodded happily.

"I've learned my fair share of secrets. You can trust me to keep this one!" Earnest idiot.

"Goodnight, Silver!"

"Night." Professor Oak's Lab (and his ranch), was the biggest part of Pallet and it wasn't even close. If you told me it took up more than 25% of the town, I'd believe you. Green happily pushed the door open to the regional professors lab. She marched in without any prompting, making the lab folk in there look up. At seeing that it was Green, they all shouted excitedly and immediately swarmed her. I ignored the hives forming on my skin to the best of my ability.

This place checked off all my bad vibes and I felt myself turning more aggressive the longer I stared at the scientists chatting with Green. With the knowledge that I had a bad experience with labs, I wonder how much that unknowingly affected me in Elm's lab. I even thought he had experimented on me after all. Damn, he never stood a chance did he? A hand grasped my own and I glanced to see it was Jasmine shooting me a reassuring smile. She squeezed down and placed herself in between the scientists and I.

It hardly worked because we were basically the same height... but the thought behind it, actually calmed me down slightly.

"It's okay. We're here. Nothing will happen but if something does... I'll protect you!" she reassured quietly. I gazed at her and nodded, allowing her to effectively shield me because it actually was working out. My desire to brutally assault every scientist here, dwindled away ever so slightly and I sighed as the hives slowly went away. My friends were just the most adorable.

"PROFESSOR!" Green shouted loudly, glancing back momentarily to make sure I was okay. At seeing Jasmine and I speaking in hushed tones, she grinned and continued marching forward.

"I know that voice! Is that young Green?" an aged and wise voice called out. Our group waited for the sound of footsteps to get closer, until an aged man stepped into our view.

"Hey Professor Oak!" Green waved ecstatically.

"Ah it truly is you! My you look different already!" Oak praised, smiling at his sponsee.

"Heh! I've gotten a lot stronger since starting my journey!" she puffed up. The professor smiled.

"Strength is not all that comes out of a journey. While you have certainly grown in power, you seem to have changed all together. You've matured by quite a noticeable amount!" Green bashfully rubbed the back of her head.

"Ah geez. I've just been finding my way!"

"That you have. I'm proud of you and I'd like to thank you for your efforts both as my sponsee and as a protector of Kanto," Oak said kindly. My companion blushed.

"You're embarrassing me, professor." He simply chuckled at that, turning towards Jasmine with a surprised expression.

"Well what are you doing here, young Gym Leader Jasmine?" the professor asked. Jasmine bowed deeply.

"It's nice to meet you Professor Oak! Um... I'm Green and Silver's best friend! We've been spending time together before I go back to Johto!" she explained. The professor actually looked shocked by that.

"Most incredible! I was not aware you were such close friends with Green! I hope you've had a great time in Kanto!" he exclaimed genuinely. Jasmine smiled shyly.

"I prefer Johto... but Kanto is very nice because it has these two!" The kind professor laughed.

"I'm very glad you have managed to find such close friends. I hope to see you with them in the future!" Finally, the old man turned towards me with an expectant smile.

"My, for how long I've been anticipating this, it's a wonder we're just now meeting, young Silver!" Oak exclaimed excitedly.

"Samuel Oak. You've been anticipating meeting me? The hell? Why?" I asked blandly, wanting to be anywhere but here for various reasons. Green gaped at me.

"Be a little more polite, Silvy! This is the Professor!"

"That was polite. I wanted to call him old man." Green spluttered.

"D-Don't say that out loud! That's not even where I wanted you to be more polite!" I rolled my eyes.

"You were asking for it." Oak was clearly used to more unruly attitudes, because he simply chuckled.

"Do not worry, young Green. No soul alive could get Gary to stop speaking the way he does and I can already tell at a glance that young Silver is the same," he stated. I cringed back immediately.

"Don't... compare me to that guy. That's even worse than the people who compare me to Gold," I requested. Oak chuckled again.

"I'm aware that you two have met. Clearly you left a good impression on one another because for the first time in what must be years, he asked me for something... and it involved you!"

"Huh?" I paused at that detail. Unauthorized reproduction: this story has been taken without approval. Report sightings. Why was that brat asking for information on me? Eh, I don't care. Actually...

"First time in years? You've let your grandson have these issues for years? He's like 12," I pointed out with a small frown. Green jolted at that and turned horrified eyes towards me. Jasmine just accepted it. Green normally would have accepted it too but this time, it was a lot more personal to her. Professor Oak gazed at me in some confusion.

"Pardon?" he repeated. I tilted my head.

"Your grandson. That boy packed full of so much insecurities, I was able to spot and exploit them an entire minute into our first meeting?" I questioned.

"Don't mention that you exploited it!" Green hissed in my ear. I pat her head. There was literally no reason behind it... which probably only served to make her more outraged. Was Oak really not aware of the rift he had caused between him and his grandson, for whatever reason that may have been? Surely the genius was aware—... I thought the same thing with Delia. I surely thought there was no way that a single mother owning the restaurant of her deceased mother, would have no one to talk to.

I'm sure the popular and pretty lady would have at least one person to talk to her issues about... but yet a 12 year old was the one helping her sort out her issues. Goddamn. This world really was full of idiots. A sigh escaped me, as I recalled that one scene in the video games. The one where right after getting slam dunked by his friend turned bitter rival, Blue was chastised thoughtlessly by his grandfather. That was probably not going to happen in this world but...

that didn't mean the circumstances of why Oak would berate him, changed. Geniuses saw the world differently. They perceived matters in a way that normal folk couldn't and Oak was one of the greatest geniuses, if not the greatest, that the world had ever seen. I guess it made sense that he sucked as a parental figure.

"My Ursaring needs a checkup. I'll gladly explain how you've messed up but my pokemon comes first," I informed him. Oak looked curious. It was the natural curiosity all scientists had. Fucking scientists. I wasn't curious enough to ever be one, not that I wanted to even if I did happen to have that same built in curiosity.

"Please do enlighten me then, young Silver! I'm always willing to learn something new! Why not tell me while I help your Ursaring?" Oak asked kindly. I nodded.

"Sounds good to me." As Oak walked away, Green glared at me.

"Why would you bring up Blue's family issues so blatantly, Silvy! Professor Oak barely even said anything warranting it! One day, someone will get tired of the things you say, Silvy!" she warned. I blinked slowly at her.

"And then what?" I asked curiously. Green opened her mouth and closed it.

"And then they'll uh... tell you how much they hate the way you talk to them?" I nodded along with her words.

"Will they have their pokemon try to kill me?" I mused.

"... Probably not," Green muttered in realization.

"Then I don't give a singular fuck.

"Oh boohoo, Silver I don't like the way you speak to me!"... Then don't speak to me. I have the most unfriendly aura a person will ever meet and they wanna get mad that I'm... unfriendly," I said dryly. Green hissed at me.

"You're impossible! What if they battle and beat you?!"

"If they're stronger than me, they'll battle me and then they'll have an enemy for life because when I do get stronger than them, I'll make their life a living hell. I'm a very patient person and my rise to the top is inevitable," I shrugged helplessly. That poor Ace trainer on Route 3 probably didn't even remember me (not that I remembered his name myself). But he was very quickly going to know me soon.

"I give up!" Green threw her hands up and stomped away.

"What an infuriating person you are," Jasmine giggled. I snorted.

"Someone always mentions that a person isn't going to like what I say. 70% of the trainers we encounter don't like what I say and I couldn't tell you a single one of their names," I retorted, walking easily after Green. The only ones worth remembering, were Blue and Sabrina. That's it.

"Impossible to deal with as well. What if you meet someone that matches your vitriol?" Jasmine asked in amusement. I smiled.

"That sounds like a good time."

"FREAK! STOP SMILING!" Green shouted a distance away. I twitched harshly.

"I fucking hate that girl," I muttered darkly. Jasmine laughed loudly. Oberon shuddered, in the throes of a panic attack, as his hair stood on end. I immediately placed a hand on his shoulder because no one wanted to deal with a panicking Ursaring. Considering how close I was, if he started panicking, I'd probably get ripped to shreds.

"Calm down, Oberon. I'm right here," I said in a hushed voice, watching his ears perk up. He gazed tentatively at me and nodded carefully, pulling me into a hug and effectively using me like I was the teddy bear. Considering he was a foot taller than me... yeah that added up.

"You want me to bring out Gaia?" I asked, voice muffled from being buried in his fur. Thankfully, I kept my team clean and healthy, so Oberon had to have been the best smelling Ursaring out there. Or maybe that was Whitney's. For some reason, she had an Ursaring too. Really didn't fit her style but I could definitely see her folding for a Teddiursa. According to Jasmine, she was a sucker for cuties. Oberon nodded, not that I could see it. Regardless, I knew exactly what his answer was going to be.

Gaia was a calming presence for a majority of the team. Most problems went through her whenever someone wanted to talk. She was truly my sweetest pokemon and everyone loved her. Her calming presence doubled since evolution... literally. Her aroma literally had tranquilizing effects. As she was released from her ball, everyone in the vicinity calmed down in an instant. I was a little wary releasing Gaia in front of Oak but eh, I would just have to rely on Lorelei to back me up if things went bad.

There was also no sign of proof pointing towards me being the one who nabbed her so I should at least be safe for the moment. Speaking of which, I watched the professor relax completely (he was already fairly relaxed) at the presence of my starter.

"My word! Such a healthy Meganium! This pigmentation is superb!" Oak said in wonder, eyes glinting as he gazed at Gaia. She preened at the attention, shooting Oak a kind smile and patting him on the head with her vine. The Professor just blinked, probably not used to being patted on the head. Regardless, he smiled at my Meganium and let out a chuckle. Next to him, there was a kind looking teenage girl by the name of Daisy Oak.

She was currently squeezing the life out of Green as they chattered about anything and everything. She was apparently a contest star, winning some here and there. Unlike her little brother, the girl was actually pretty nice. From what I understood, her ability to take care of pokemon, was her own genius Oak talent and so she was here to assist with Oberon. I simply shot her a terse nod, not interested in conversation beyond the professional scope.

"You mentioned that your Ursaring needs help but would you mind going into detail about the specifics?" Oak asked kindly, gazing at my Ursaring with furrowed brows. I nodded shortly.

"He's been experimented on by Team Rocket. I don't know the specifics but he has very enhanced aggression." I flipped open my pokedex and showed Oak footage of my Ursaring brutalizing the Simisear I faced in my battle against Blaine. Oak watched with furrowed brows. His kind visage had turned into a severe frown the moment I mentioned Team Rocket.

"Right, I'll see what I can do," Oak assured, stepping up warily to Oberon. Oberon stared warily at him, but Gaia touched him and he stilled.

"There there Oberon sir. I'm not going to hurt you!" Oak said kindly, holding his hands up in a gesture that meant he was harmless. My Ursaring nodded slowly, warily watching Oak as the man stepped up to him.

"In the meantime, why not tell me more about my errors?" Oak asked, seeming to notice I was also uncomfortable. I blinked at him.

"Do you really not realize that your grandson has an inferiority complex?" I asked curiously. Oak shook his head.

"Not that I'm aware of. Gary is proud and confident in himself," he stated.

"Jesus fuck, you really are unaware," I sighed disbelievingly.

"You certainly have Gary's potty mouth tendencies as well," Oak muttered, carefully inspecting Oberon. I rolled my eyes in response. Fine then. Green wanted her friend back and the best way to do that, was to have the most influential figure in his life realize why he was so insecure. I was only doing this for my companion.

"Professor Samuel Oak. Quite possibly the most famous person alive," I began calmly, gazing at him. Oak paused and returned my gaze.

"I don't know alot about you because I didn't care to research—" Green snorted and Jasmine let out a disbelieving laugh. Oak just looked pleasantly surprised.

"—But I know enough. The most revolutionary champion of this region, the most revolutionary professor of the world. Your name alone proceeds you, isn't that right Daisy Oak?" I asked curiously. Daisy jumped unexpectedly at that. Her brown eyes darted over to me in some confusion and I rolled my eyes.

"Don't act dumb," I scolded, waving a patronizing finger.

"Your Grandpa won't kill you, for admitting that carrying his name is a lot of pressure." Blue's older sister flinched and nodded hesitantly.

"It's... difficult. Before I decided I wanted to focus on contests, it was almost like the whole world was waiting to see what I was going to do. It's very daunting." Oak frowned.

"I'm aware of that. My name can be a... terrible weight to carry," he said with a somewhat faraway look.

"It's the worst for Blue," I informed him calmly. Green watched with an interested expression, as I turned towards Daisy once more.

"Were you the top of your class, here at Pallet?" I asked her randomly. Daisy blinked... and nodded at my question.

"It wasn't close was it? That genius brain of yours, made sure you stayed leaps and bounds ahead of the others, right?" I asked.

"I... yes, I was always quite ahead of my peers. Even without my interest in battling, it wasn't difficult to stay at the top," she informed me. The girl looked decidedly spooked that I called her out so easily. It made sense though. Pallet wasn't a place that teemed with talent whatsoever. Hardly anyone outside of the Oak name was relevant in this place... But alas...

"Imagine the amount of weight that must be on an Oak who isn't the best amongst their peers. For Blue, he probably expects to be the top of his class with no equals either... because Daisy did it. Because you did it... but that goal of his is impossible when Green exists," I pointed out easily.. Green froze at that, a somewhat guilty look (that went away at the scathing glare I shot her) on her face.

"I have no idea about how any of you grew up and I actually don't care to learn... but it's easy to tell that Blue thinks you favor others over him and my guess is that it's because he isn't the undeniable best of his year. Traveling has only made that realization worse because he got crushed by the rest of the people in our gang," I shrugged. Not only was he getting shown up by his childhood friend in Green... but also the "random nobodies" that made up the rest of the Color Gang.

"To Blue, he's realizing that at minimum, he's the 5th best trainer of this year and that's very far from #1."

"He's a massive ball of insecurity that thinks he has to prove his talents as an Oak, or else he's worthless... and I guarantee you've done nothing but make it worse for him," I said coolly. Oak faltered a bit at that. He looked properly taken aback by my analysis.

"Gary is a genius in his own right. While he falters against Green in the battling aspect, his intelligence is second to none. His potential even rivals mine! His battling instinct, can certainly surpass mine as well," he explained.

"Great. I'm sure he is smarter than me or Crys... I'm sure his battling potential surpasses you, but have you ever said any of that to his face?" I retorted. Silence was the only answer that greeted me. I sighed, eyes trained on Oberon.

"Some people aren't capable of seeing the good in themselves. Those type of people, need positive reinforcement when they start to spiral. Sure he's talented. I'm sure he knows he's talented but just being talented isn't enough for an Oak. It's about being the best with your family, right?" Once again, Oak's eyes went faraway. I kept my gaze focused on him, tilting my head curiously at that look. Ah. I think I understood. I jabbed a finger at him.

"You're a freak talent born into a world with no development, Samuel Oak. Blue is also a freak talent with a lot of ambition... but he's been born in the world that you cultivated. It's not as impressive in comparison to you, who basically paved the way but his ambition as Oak's prodigious grandson demands he at least tries to match you.

It's almost impossible to compare to you, despite the fact that he surpasses you in certain traits, but because you haven't told him that little detail, he thinks he's a failure because of it." Oak looked properly disturbed. Daisy looked slightly sick. I shook my head.

"I give it two more years max before the both of you never hear from him again beyond seeing him in the news. If he finds his own answers, he'll become a Champion all on his own and you'll be denied every single chance to meet him because he'll want nothing to do with you. Did he even visit Pallet?" At that, I watched the man age in real time.

"I had no idea the situation was so dire," he muttered, realizing how dangerously close he had been to losing his grandson. Hopeless. I guess you couldn't be a genius in all aspects. Most geniuses tended to suffer in the people department but Oak, was one of the few ones who had great relations with other humans. Guess that did not apply to his family. I snorted as Daisy sniffed sadly. Green was gazing at me with wide eyes and I shrugged.

"You're going to ask me what you should do and I'm going to call you an idiot," I said suddenly, watching Oak face me.

"He's your grandson. Just talk to him when you get the chance. Take some of that weight off his shoulder," I advised. God, I hadn't even been in Pallet that long. Why was I helping out these people?

"I see... thank you very much, Silver. I will try to speak to Gary when I have the chance. Hopefully, this old man isn't too late to mend a wound that he inflicted," Oak said truthfully, smiling at me. I grunted.

"Whatever. I just get nauseated when people can't see such obvious things. I've only spoken to that guy on 3 different occasions."

"Only three?! And you could still tell all of that?" Daisy asked in surprise.

"He was practically drowning in it." Jasmine giggled.

"Silver is good at helping people with issues!" she encouraged. I huffed.

"It seems like no one else gives a damn about it. I'm just pointing out the obvious." Oak smiled kindly at me.

"You have a good heart, young Silver. Truly, thank you for potentially repairing the relationship between my Grandson and I." Daisy nodded in agreement.

"I never realized myself... I feel like I failed as a big sister but after this, I'll do better!"

"Thank me after you do it... and thank me by finishing up Oberon's examination. We don't wanna be here any longer than we have to," I scowled. Oberon nodded in agreement, somewhat appeased by Daisy's gentle pats. The professor chuckled.

"Right. Daisy, if you would please." She nodded enthusiastically.

"Most curious..." Oak mused, gazing at Oberon with a frown. I glanced up fully at that, deep in a conversation with Jasmine and Green as I idly kept an eye on Oberon. Gaia's head was rested lazily on my legs, finding herself in a pleasant conversation with Daisy's Clefable.

"Silver, out of curiosity... may you tell me any theories you had, regarding what could have possibly happened to Oberon here?" Oak asked. I tilted my head and stared at him with a suspicious gaze.

"Something to make him stronger at the cost of his sanity. If I had to guess, based on the moves he had when I captured him, Oberon's parent was most likely a Primeape... which isn't that great considering how incompatible those two pokemon are." Oak blinked, properly taken aback by my knowledge. What? It was natural that I'd theorize what happened to a member of my team. They were my soldiers. I had to account for everything involving them.

"Please continue," Oak said in interest, gazing at me with bright eyes. I tilted my head and grunted, choosing to continue only because this was about my pokemon.

"An experiment to bring out the worst traits of both its parents, to turn him into a killing machine. Primeapes get significantly stronger, the angrier they get. If you take that trait and put it on an Ursaring..."

"You would have quite the monster at hand," Oak finished. I nodded grimly.

"Not to mention, when Primeapes get angry, they lose intelligence. I have no idea how that would translate to an Ursaring but Oberon loses all sense of reasoning when his adrenaline gets high enough." I continued without prompting.

"Not only that, Oberon has high resistance to sleep. Part of that is due to the experiment's... but I imagine if they tried to bring out the potential of a Primeape in him, it may have had Vital Spirit." Oak was staring at me like he struck gold, which made me shift uncomfortably.

"What an excellent analysis! Truly, I'm most impressed!" Daisy nodded in agreement.

"You've basically got it all in one! They attempted to bring out the defining qualities of a Primeape. Ursarings are powerful creatures but they're only so vicious, when their territory or younglings are threatened... they attempted to make Oberon here permanently violent," she explained quietly. I scowled balefully at that, eyes narrowed. I expected as much but now that I had confirmation, it just pissed me off all the more.

"Thankfully, the process seemed to only be halfway done in development. Less than ideal, but far more better than the final outcome," Oak frowned. I grunted in agreement.

"He's only like that in battle. I can work with that," I muttered. Oberon, who had been looking down shamefully, glanced up in surprise at that. It prompted me to gaze at him in confusion.

"You thought I was gonna give up on you? C'mon Oberon... this is nothing. You should have seen just how much effort I put into Freyja," I smiled, ruffling his fur. Gaia nodded sagely.

"Megan," she agreed. Oberon sniffed and nodded gratefully, placing a massive paw on my head as thanks. I was not surprised in the slightest, to see one of my Luxury Balls rustle, before Freyja unceremoniously released herself.

"Freyja, you're too big to be releasing yourself like this," I sighed, palming my face as she rounded on both Gaia and I with a glare. Gaia held her vines up in a gesture of surrender, before Freyja could start ranting to her about having respect. A horribly loud squeal, interrupted Freyja before she could really get into chastising me and Gaia.

"A Milotic?!" Daisy gasped in total awe.

"That's incredible! How?! What?! When? Oh my that's amazing!"

"My word! It's been too long since I've seen a Milotic in the flesh!" Oak mused, completely impressed. She squealed again, making Freyja cringe back. Daisy picked up on it instantly, stopping a healthy distance away from her. She gazed at my Milotic in awe.

"Silver... have you ever given your team massages?" Daisy asked randomly. I blinked at the abrupt question.

"No. I haven't."

"How about I teach you?" Daisy asked with bright eyes, gazing at Freyja with a glow on her face....

"No. I'm not interested," I denied bluntly, only to let out a strangled gasp as vines wrapped around me and tossed me towards the girl. I collapsed into her and we tumbled to the floor, causing me to hiss in disbelief.

"Don't touch me," I groused.

"Y-You're the one who crashed into me?" Daisy groaned.

"Gaia, I'm going to kill you. I don't care if you want me to learn the technique."

"G-Ganium!"

"Freyja, freeze her. Yes I'm serious. Neck down."

"GANIUM!" Oak laughed boisterously.

"Please do not battle in my lab. I only allow it if the pokemon are weak enough!"

"Thank you for agreeing to speak to me in lonesome," Oak said kindly. I nodded shortly.

"Well, besides your Zoroark hiding, but I understand the need for protection. I find it quite refreshing that someone is not treating me with unconditional trust," he chuckled. I raised a brow at that, not much surprised that he sensed Loki but still being impressed all the same.

"What did you want to talk about?" I asked the professor.

"Beyond the fact that I would like to extend an offer for you to eventually study under me—""Probably not happening," I denied effortlessly.

"—I'd like to understand what it is, that makes my Alakazam so wary of you," Oak finished. I paused. Once again, I wasn't quite surprised at that, but his forwardness did catch me off guard. Oak scratched the back of his head.

"You won't study under me? Such a shame! Your deduction skills are exceptional for your age and you possess a vast amount of knowledge," he complimented. A stare was all he got in return.

"Don't play dumb, professor. You saw how uncomfortable I was in there. Labs aren't for me," was all I said. The man said nothing at that, mulling over my response.

"You truly do have quite the mind, young Silver," he replied, frowning slightly.

"May I ask another question of you?" Oak said eventually. I grunted in affirmation.

"I recently met with young Ash. He came to me for assistance regarding his Annihilape," Oak began. I nodded.

"Now you may not know, but Primeapes do not typically evolve into Annihilape without a surplus of energy provided to them along with other conditions. Coincidentally, this surplus of energy, seems exclusive to the Paldea region. I am aware that he battled you when his Primeape evolved, so might I pick your mind and see what you may think the cause of such a thing was?" Hm.

"Annihilape evolves, after mastering the properties of Rage Fist. Mastering that move, gives them control over ghost type energy. Primeapes strength grows with its anger and Loki pissed him off bad. My best guess is that his anger transcended the energy in his body and forced evolution," I frowned in contemplation. Oak listened intently, a proud glint just at the sound of hearing a person's thoughts on something. He was truly a scientist to the core alright...

"A sound theory... though, you likely do not believe it fully," he pointed out.... But Samuel Oak was quite the genius. I figured he wouldn't fully buy that. He believed that I partially had something to do with it... which meant he was connecting the dots somewhat to Silph Co. Maybe he wouldn't have done such a thing before, but his Alakazam being wary of me tipped him off, that there was something strange going on with me.

"That's the best I can think of with what information I have now. I would need to do more research," I said vaguely. Oak nodded along with my words.

"Very well then! My offer remains on the table. If you ever wish to learn a little more, I will gladly teach you! I used to be a bit of a battler back in the day as well... and Pallet Town is more than my lab. The forests are vast! You could even meet my Dragonite!" I stared at him.

"I'll think about it. I don't fancy the idea of having a teacher while I'm still so young and without a proper identity. I don't want them to mold me in their image." The professor froze at that and gazed at me with a curious eye.

"Quite wise words, Silver. They have a level of self awareness of them, that I wouldn't think a first year trainer would be aware of."

"Don't compare me to anyone else." He chuckled.

"I will keep that in mind. Thank you once more, for helping me realize the errors in my way. People see that I am Professor Oak and grow fearful of correcting me... but I am just as human as they are," he said wistfully.

"Nobody's perfect. Especially not an old man. Consider this your payment for checking up on Oberon," I said stiffly.

"Principled and audacious. Truly a strange combination... but I accept that payment," Oak agreed.

"Good... now if you'll excuse me. I don't trust anyone with my team," I grunted, marching away to go find Daisy. She said she was going to give them a massage but I couldn't stand the thought of my team not being near me.

"Oh actually, one last question, Silver!" I paused warily and turned to face him.

"Might you write down my number?" Oak requested. I groaned loudly and snatched the Pokegear out of his hand. I punched my number in with a scowl before shoving it back into his hand.

"Are you done holding me up?" I sneered. Oak waved me off.

"I'm finished. Thank you for following the whims of an old man." I snorted.

"You and your granddaughter helped out Oberon. Being slightly more compliant is how I express my appreciation." The professor clapped once at that, a smile on his face.

"Indeed! Oh, and Silver... well done. I can tell you've raised your pokemon with quite a lot of love and care, that most people would not expect from you." I paused at that, then continued my pace. Hm... normally I'd call it a hunch but that entire conversation with Oak let me know that he was very intelligent. He probably realized that me owning Gaia wasn't a coincidence... but for some reason he didn't feel the need to act out on it. Perhaps it was because of how I treated them...

but it was more likely they were just trying to build up proof. Hm. I would need to tread carefully but right now, I had more things to worry about. I just needed to rely on Lorelei to help me out and then put my full attention on this matter when I finished my other matters. For now, I would just have to rely on the fact that there didn't seem to be proof against me. Funnily enough, being friends with Gold and Crystal probably helped (and put suspicion) on me too. Things were getting too complicated for my liking.

It said something, that protecting my criminal activities were currently second in priority. I sighed. Everything was such a mess.

"Are you alright, Alakazam?" Oak asked patiently, putting a hand on his psychic with a concerned frown. Alakazam said nothing, merely gazing at the spot young Silver had been at, with a contemplative expression.

"Why did you not confront that boy in a more direct manner? You are not a fool," Alakazam mused. The professor chuckled at the question.

"Young Gaia is fine in his hands. I truly do not think she'd be better in anyone else's. Besides, she looked at him with nothing but love. No one would deny their separation more strongly than she would."

"Regardless, he is likely a criminal." Oak smiled.

"And that therein lies the core issue, if I did plan on reporting him. Even you have said likely," Oak pointed out. Alakazam regarded the professor with glowing eyes.

"Ah, I see. There is zero proof pointing towards him being a thief. Even if it seems overwhelmingly obvious at a glance..."

"There is no way to prove it. No one would attest against him. The only two who would, firmly consider him their ally. They would lie in a heartbeat, if it meant defending his honor," Oak laughed. Alakazam shuffled slightly at that.

"Surely that cannot be enough to safeguard him."

"Indeed, that would at least draw suspicion... but you should also understand that Silver, has practically dissolved all signs of suspicion on his person," Oak explained. Oak held up 3 fingers.

"Young Silver has been apart of three major events so far revolving around Team Rocket and in all 3, he played the heaviest role... in stopping them."

"... And in all three of those events, he has gained the backing of key figures of Kanto."

"Correct, old friend. In the attack of the S. S Anne, Silver single-handedly saved thousands of lives by making a call to Champion Lance. Without his interference, the entire ship would have been wiped out with no chance of saving anyone. This has earned him the backing of Lance," Oak explained, bringing down a finger. He brought down another.

"During the attack of the Safari Zone, Silver and Green in a combined effort, prevented Koga's daughter, Janine, from being kidnapped and held hostage by Team Rocket. This has strongly earned him the backing of Koga, possibly more than any other figure in Kanto. Not only that, Janine will soon inherit Koga's gym and she favors them even more than he does." Finally, Oak brought down a final finger.

"Last but certainly not least, Silver, in quite possibly his most intelligent display yet, completely halted Team Rocket's efforts at Saffron City. His reasoning? Because if Saffron were to fall to a Team Rocket attack, the morale of Kanto as a whole would plummet to nothing. This has strongly earned him the favor of Sabrina... and Sabrina does not favor anyone," he explained patiently.

"I see. His efforts in Kanto, so strongly outweigh the crime of taking the Chikorita... that it is impossible for anyone to view him in the same light as the thief, regardless of how brazenly he traverses the region."

"Exactly. His actions do not make sense... and the icing on the cake is how much the supposed Chikorita adores him. It would be more egregious to pin the theft onto him, considering we have no proof," Oak smiled. Alakazam mulled that over.

"What a frightening creature he is." The professor laughed.

"Even if we are 99% sure he is the criminal, in the eyes of anyone else, even I would be questioned heavily for accusing him. Not that I wanted too."

"You favor him."

"He is an intelligent young man. He not only understood my subliminal messages, but responded with his own. That is quite rare for one his age." The Professor laughed.

"Besides, he helped me see how unfairly I had been treating Gary. It would be remiss of me to report him after such a thing... and Elite 4 Lorelei is his aunt. It's very likely that she knows as well and would fight tooth and nail to protect him."

"Hm. Very well. It would be unwise to "throw him under the bus". I understand."

"Indeed," Oak agreed in amusement.

"He is still a strange child beyond those details. I am surprised you did not press further about the strange energy he emits."

"I do not have nearly enough of his favor to delve beyond what he told me. His condition seems to stem from being in a lab. Bypassing the very tentative boundaries he set, would be terrible in the long term. He is a good child, I'd like him to trust me," Oak responded genuinely.

"Your heart still bleeds more than other humans, Teacher. You were always reluctant to see anything but the good in a person." Alakazam tapped a single spoon against his head.

"I understand where you come from and I have listened and acknowledged your logic... but not all is what it seems. Regardless of what this Silver has done... none of it compares to the mayhem he can cause. He is a sleeping calamity more than he is a human." Oak pursed his lips at that. That sounded as if it went beyond his crimes. That sounded like it went beyond Silver himself. A sleeping calamity...

"Well, in that case, let us not push him towards an awakening. He seems to show no desire for such things and he has a good heart. It would be unfair to eliminate a threat before it becomes a threat. It would justify that threat becoming a threat. Especially if that supposed threat, is simply a little boy."

"... That is a decision I can agree with." A calamity... one that likely caused Ash's Primeape to evolve and more urgently... one that likely influenced Gold's Typhlosion to take on a new form. It would seem he would have to speed up his meeting with Rowan. Information was urgently required. I pulled Jasmine into a hug that Green quickly joined in on.

"Do you have to go already?" Green asked despondently. Jasmine sighed sadly, nodding reluctantly.

"I've been gone long enough! I need to start preparing for the end of the League season... oh but then I'll gladly visit you two again! I plan on watching your league battles!" she beamed. Our Johto friend let out a gasp, as she was strong-armed into another hug by the crying Maple. With how she was crying, you'd think Jasmine was her best friend.

"You can sit next to me!" Maple cried out, squeezing the girl. Jasmine nodded enthusiastically.

"Oh! Normally I sit in the Gym Leaders booth but you can join me! It'll be so fun!" Maple grinned eagerly.

"I'll teach you how to cheer! You'll be so loud Silver will hear you in the waiting room!" The Gym Leader blinked, a mortified expression on her face now.

"I-I don't think I want to be that loud!" she stammered. Maple laughed tearfully, completely ignoring Jasmine's plea for help.

"Ah, I love you three! You're all such a blast!" she exclaimed, dragging Green and I into the hug next.

"You must visit after the league, okay?! No need to start your next journey immediately, just come stay with me! You're invited too of course Jasmine!" I chuckled in amusement. Maple sure was a bright spirit. For a scientist, she was alright.

"We'll visit. I want to try your pasta again," I said. Maple nodded ecstatically.

"It's a promise! You better not break it! I'll get mad!" she warned. Green nodded enthusiastically.

"We so will mom! After I win the whole thing, we'll throw a huge celebration." I snorted.

"Yeah right. Good luck beating me."

"I don't need luck! You're going down!"

"You'll need all of it."

"I'll be rooting for the both of you... until you go against each other. Then I'll have to root for my little Leafy," Maple mused, cupping her cheek thoughtfully. Jasmine nodded.

"Then I'll root for Silver!" she decided. Green gaped at Jasmine.

"W-What?! No fair! Lorelei is gonna root for him cause she's his aunt so you have to keep it balanced!"

"All of Pallet Town, every Gym Leader and every person in the crowd, will root for you," I said dryly, dragging Jasmine to my side.

"Jasmine is rooting for me. She was my friend first."

"No! Root for me Jasmine o-or I'll get really mad!" Green scowled. Jasmine gazed at us both with wide eyes.

"U-Um... well... I just think someone should be on Silver's side! You're very popular because you're pretty, Green!" Green blinked, before a pleasant flush marred her cheeks. She grinned bashfully, rubbed the back of her messy hair and started kicking her feet back and forth. How utterly shameless could she get?

"Aw shucks. Me? Pretty? I mean I know it but when I actually hear it..." she mumbled. Maple laughed loudly, before pausing. The mother turned a startled gaze towards me and blinked.

"Hold on. Did you just say Lorelei is Silvy's aunt?" she asked, eyes widening in shock. I nodded.

"Yeah, Elite 4 Lorelei." Her mouth opened.

"You're related to someone so famous! Wow! If I had known I would have cooked a 5 star meal!" Green's mother let out a yelp, as I chopped her sternly on the head. She held her head and gazed at me with a stunned look.

"He just chopped my mom," Green said numbly.

"That just means he likes her!" Jasmine encouraged.

"What you did was more than fine. Don't treat me any differently, Maple. I... enjoyed this," I said truthfully. It was nice being in a normal household. People may not have enjoyed the more normal aspects of their life, but for me? They were few and far between. I liked the peace of normalcy; That's why I enjoyed Jasmine's presence so much.

"Ugh, right in the heart," Green and Maple said simultaneously. They immediately dragged me into a hug and I huffed in amusement. They were surely one and the same.

"Ah, you guys are gonna make me cry! I'll try and visit as soon as possible! I really only have this much fun with you two!" Jasmine sniffed, wiping her eyes with a smile.

"Of course! You'll never have more fun with anyone not named Silver and Green!" Green cackled, puffing up proudly.

"Yeah I won't!" Jasmine cheered, moving next to the Alakazam that Oak offered her. Unlike many many other Psychics, this Alakazam held my gaze the entire time. It would have been awkward if I were anyone else but thankfully, I was me.

"We'll see you next time, Jas," I waved with a small smile.

"Bye Jas!" Green and Maple cheered.

"Oh! Before I forget!" I watched curiously, as Jasmine walked up to me and placed a Super Rod in my hand.

"I said I'd give it back when you earned more badges and here you are with 7. You've become so strong, Silver and I'm really proud of you. Considering I've seen you at your weakest as a trainer, I can tell you're going to become an even scarier trainer than me in no time," Gym Leader Jasmine said, eyes glowing with pride. I stood there, stunned at her words. Jasmine waved happily, practically glowing, before an actual glow surrounded her and she vanished. Green sighed wistfully as soon as she vanished.

"I miss Jasmine." Maple nodded sagely.

"So what will you two do now?" Maple asked, reduced to tears once more. She was clearly very terrible at saying goodbyes but that just made her more endearing.

"We're gonna travel through Route 1 and maybe go find two minor gyms to practice against!" Green exclaimed, hugging her mother soothingly. Green's mother nodded with a curious expression.

"Why not challenge Viridian?" Oak asked in some confusion.

"We wanna wait for Gold and Crystal. The 4 of us will battle it together but they're still at Cinnabar. In the meantime, we'll find something to do by battling the weaker gyms," I replied smoothly. Oak chuckled at that.

"They did stay here for quite a while. In fact, they left not long before you two arrived here. The dubbed Color Gang surely are an interesting bunch! Safe journeys ahead you two!"

"Thanks Professor! Good luck with Blue! I'm sure you'll fix your issues!" she cheered. The professor smiled.

"Thank you, young Green. I do hope I can resolve them as well." For some reason, Delia was here too. We had seen her more after the night I encountered her and whenever we visited, whether it was her restaurant or her home, we got free food from her. Idiot she may be, Ash's mother was a very fantastic cook. Easily one of the best I've ever tasted from. Jasmine actually picked up tips from her (that we were going to be stealing once she mastered) and the two bonded a bit after that.

That's why we visited her so often. Green had been very suspicious as to why the woman was so warm to me in particular... Like right now. I literally told the moron that we didn't have to know each other but here she was squeezing me.

"You two stay safe okay? Please visit when you can!" Delia exclaimed with a small grin. I rolled my eyes at her but didn't push her off because of the tiny tremors. Clearly her abandonment issues were flaring right now but I for the life of me, couldn't imagine how she attached herself to me so quickly.

"Whatever. I'll consider it." My words seemed to satisfy her and she smiled, releasing me from the impossible hold.

"I wish you luck on your efforts with Oberon, young Silver." Oak held out a hand and I glanced at it, before shaking it in some respect.

"Do yourself a favor and repair your fractured family. This way, Green can stop looking at me with those pathetically big eyes of her, whenever Blue comes around," I said blandly.

"H-Hey!" Green cried out in protest. Maple laughed loudly at her distress.

"If I manage to accomplish such a thing... it'll be fully thanks to you!" Oak bowed in thanks and I shuffled awkwardly in place.

"I don't want your thanks. C'mon Leaf," I said gruffly, dragging my companion away from the small group. Maple waved cheerfully at us.

"Remember what I said! You wouldn't want this old lady to cry profusely right?!" she shouted.

"I might after all those embarrassing pictures you showed them of me!" Green howled right back.

"My daughter is such a rough spirit now! Where did I go wrong?!" Maple swooned, holding her forehead in mock distress. I laughed in amusement.

"I'll make sure she visits you. In return, you'll show me more embarrassing baby pictures," I compromised. Maple recovered instantly.

"It's a deal! I'll show you a picture of her wearing the cutest little Venusaur shirt! She must have worn it for one week straight and never even thought of taking it off! I had to do it while she was sleeping and she cried the entire time until it was clean!" Green burned red in mortification.

"M-MOM! STOP!" she squealed, attempting to fling herself at her mother to shut her up. I just continued laughing and wrapped an arm around her waist, dragging the feral girl away.

"Tell me all about it," I requested.

"I'll call you! It's a long story!"

"WHEN DID YOU TWO EXCHANGE NUMBERS?!" Green and I barely trekked through the forests of Route 1, before misfortune swung our way. It was so sudden, so swift that I was properly caught with my pants down. I thought by just avoiding Viridian City, it would be good enough, but we were barely past Pallet Town right now. It had only been an hour since we left the residents... The two of us froze completely, as a figure stepped out into the clearing we were in.

We were planning on completely skipping through Viridian but that still required walking past it unless we wanted to go back down to Cinnabar, which would then take us to Fuchsia and whatever minor badges were in the vicinity. Considering the level of ambush, I'm not sure going anywhere would have resulted in a different result, unless we flew or teleported out. I felt my blood freeze completely, as a woman with an expressionless face regarded the two of us.

She was dressed in a sharp white suit, with blood red eyes that was matched by her shoulder length red hair. Green's mouth flapped uselessly, as she gazed at the pretty woman and then looked at me. Judging by how often she looked at our faces, the gears were running in her smart head and she was coming to certain conclusions quickly... That being, me and this lady looked the same. Much like me and my grandma.

"What are you doing here?" I hissed violently, shooting a panicked look towards Green. I immediately shoved her behind me and glared at Ariana with all the venom I could muster.

"Orders. I'm bringing you in," Ariana said blandly. She didn't look very happy to be here but her eyes never left me.

"Were you stalking me?" I sneered.

"Yes, I was. Regardless of if you traveled through Route 1 or back to Cinnabar... so long as you didn't come directly to Viridian, I was to retrieve you," she admitted bluntly. My mother scoffed and shook her head.

"You've played enough games. Say goodbye to your little friend, Silver."

"And if we say no?!" Green snarled, jolting forward and forcing me to hold her back.

"No isn't an option, little girl. Don't think we don't know who you are. If not for the fact you were traveling with him, and he was going out of his way to protect your identity, your head would already be on a stake," Ariana replied coldly. Blood entered my eyes at that.

"You keep your fucking eyes and hands away from Green or I'll rip you to shreds. They'll have to find the pieces of your body!" I snarled loudly, taking a step forward. Ariana's eyes widened at that, surprise flitting across her features. She gazed at me warily, red orbs flashing with an unknown emotion. Green tugged the back of my shirt in concern. Whereas before I was holding her back, now she was holding me back. My mother eventually recovered, though her expression was more pinched.

"We'll discuss that temper when we go home. Your games end here, Silver. Come peacefully or I'm going to get forceful," she warned, beckoning to the Gardevoir right next to her. I stared at her with wild eyes. Green and I had grown much stronger under Jasmine. If I used my brain, we could win. The difference in strength between me at Saffron and me currently, was stark. My team was growing in spades, accumulating more and more experience. If given a little more time...

I'm sure the two of us could have crushed any Executive 2 on 1 but for now, we would use our teamwork to outmaneuver my mother. I took a deep breath and took a step forward—"Despite everything I learned, I still held out hope. I still believed that you wouldn't do such terrible things to Silver. I still maintained the belief that all of this was against your will..." —Only to abruptly freeze, bewilderment coursing through my body.

Ariana's expression cracked immediately, a truly heinous glare making its way to her face. In an instant, her eyes darted towards the direction of the voice and I watched in real time as my mother's hackles raised.

"... Why? What caused you to do this…? What possessed you to do this to your own son?" Lorelei stared at her older sister and my mother, sorrow in her gaze as she stepped into the clearing. Jynx shuffled to her left, a blank expression on her face as she gazed at Ariana like glass that needed to be shattered. Ariana stared back, a wild expression on her face that matched the one I currently had.

"You… Lorelei! What are you doing here?!" she snarled.

"Aunt...?" I muttered in disbelief.

"How could you do this? Just tell me why, Ariana," Lorelei whispered sadly. Bonus! This takes place during Saffron during the wait for Team Rocket!

"What's the occasion?" Gold asked, leaning back into his seat. He idly popped a gum and slung his arms behind his head, kicking back the chair with a tired yawn. He let out a strangled yell as I kicked the leg of his seat, sending him tumbling to the floor. He hissed, smoldering golden eyes turning towards me, before he lunged. Crystal let out a sigh as we quickly got into a brawl. Janine held her head with an embarrassed expression.

"Silver, don't you remember why we called this?" Crystal interjected calmly. I gazed up, Gold's head firmly locked between my arms.

"Oh. Right," I grunted, releasing my counterpart. Gold huffed.

"Dickhead," he muttered under his breath, kicking the back of my foot with no hesitation. I whirled around, prepared to lunge and kill him, before Janine dragged me away from him.

"Can you two tell us why we're meeting here?!" Janine said, pushing me right next to Crystal.

"And why isn't Green here?" Gold asked, pulling his seat up and moving to repeat the same maneuver as earlier... only this time his eyes were locked warily onto me the entire time.

"Right!" Crystal clapped her hands. She took one look at me, realized she was taking the lead and shook her head in exasperation.

"Even though we're still waiting for Team Rocket to attack... that doesn't mean the world around us has frozen!" she began, pulling a calendar out and slapping a hand against it. Gold nodded, interest in his eyes.

"Right right," he mused. Janine looked on with a tilted head. She was sitting properly in her seat unlike Gold, gazing intently at Crystal and I. Crystal smiled and pointed at a particular date.

"June 1st is Green's birthday! We decided that since we're actually all near each other, we should celebrate it!" she explained. A spark of excitement entered Gold's eyes.

"No way, Green's birthday is coming up?!" My female counterpart nodded enthusiastically.

"Considering my birthday already passed and we'll be split up again when Gold's birthday comes up, I figured we could throw a fun little party for her!" Gold laughed.

"Sweet! Let's do it!" he agreed easily.

"I'm in as well," Janine smiled. She pointed a finger at me with a frown.

"Why is he standing up there? He hasn't said a thing," she accused.

"It's unsettling, how obsessed you are with me. You could have just shut up you know," I said blandly. Gold leapt out of his seat to hold back the lunging Janine. He likely would have let her go but considering my close proximity to Crystal, I wasn't above using her as a hostage to stop the attack and he was well aware of that. Crystal smiled obliviously.

"Silver was the one who told me that Green's birthday was coming up! This was his idea!" Janine froze at that.

"Oh... it was his idea? Oh... well," she mumbled, taking a seat. I grunted.

"You could have taken the credit for that. I didn't care regardless." Crystal waved her hands.

"Of course not! I'd feel terrible taking credit for your hard work!" Gold let out a mocking cooing noise.

"Awwww. Does big bad Silver actually have a beating heart in there? I guess he really does have a soft spot for Green!" he cackled, molten eyes flashing in amusement. Janine shot up immediately, holding me back from lunging at the nuisance.

"You won't survive much longer today," I warned patiently. Crystal held her head.

"That's the fourth fight prevented in the span of three minutes. Can we please be normal while discussing this. Kill each other after Green's birthday." We all paused at that, gazing at the voice of reason in unison.

"Fine," we all agreed, going back to our places. Janine exhaled.

"You mentioned your birthday already passing, Crystal?" she asked. Crystal nodded.

"I'm already 13! My birthday is April 30th!" she explained. Gold paused. A flash of horror made its way to his face.

"No way am I the youngest here, right? I had no idea Green was older than me!" he shouted, pushing himself up at the injustice. My male counterpart whirled to face me.

"Silv, when's your birthday?" he asked as seriously as possible. I stared at him.

"None of your fucking business," I denied harshly, scoffing as I turned away. Gold gaped.

"No way man! Just tell me! Am I seriously the youngest in the Color Gang?!" he asked in disbelief. Crystal blinked curiously.

"It's not that bad, Gold. We're all 12 and 13! We're just months apart!"

"More like everyone's 13 and I'm 12!" I huffed and ignored them. It was no secret that Green was by far and away, the most spoiled member of the Color Gang... and we had also been waiting for a grim showdown with Team Rocket. Tensions had been a little bit higher with their lack of appearance, so I thought to just kill two birds with one stone by throwing a party on Green's birthday. I figured Crystal would be the best at organizing something like this.

Much like Green was the most spoiled, Crystal was easily the most (besides me when I chose to be) mature member of our group. She was scarily competent. It made her quite reliable.

"Where is Green anyways?" Crystal asked me curiously.

"It's 7 am. Green is dead to the world," I said bluntly. My female counterpart opened her mouth, then closed it.

"I understand. Gold is the same way. I had to wrestle him just to come here," she said sagely. I snorted in amusement at that. Green was being avoided by Silver. She didn't like that very much. He had demanded they train separately today and well, even though she agreed that they shouldn't always train together, that didn't mean avoid seeing her for the entire day! Worst of all, Janine claimed she wanted to go scour the routes around Saffron, while Gold and Crystal opted to train together. Bummer.

So Green was going at it alone today... on her birthday. Bummer. Well this was probably what she got for not mentioning that her birthday was coming up. Well, she would just totally let Silvy hear it, for not remembering that one time, right before they fell asleep, when she told him when her birthday was. Honestly... yeah that was on her for not mentioning it in a setting where he was coherent. She hadn't even been coherent herself. Green was a bit of a late night rambler.

So, Green took her error on the chin and spent some rare alone time with her team. She didn't bother training them today because she trained everyday so they just relaxed in the shades of the nice trees on the outskirt of Saffron. She didn't even realize she fell asleep, until her Pokegear buzzing woke her up. Green blinked blearily, yawning as she sat up from her perch against Saury, while Vee and Larvee rested on her lap... with Togee sleeping in her hair.

Her Pokegear nearly flashbanged her, making her let out a startled shout. She dropped it, only for an annoyed Vee to capture it in a psychic sheen... seconds before it could crash into him.

"T-Thanks Vee!" she laughed nervously, avoiding his judging stare by focusing on her Pokegear. It was a message... Green easily navigated to it and opened it up in clear surprise. Silvy: D: I want to test something. Come to our normal training ground. Her eyes narrowed at that. You: Hey... don't think you can just avoid me all day and then suddenly start making demands of me Silver! I put up with a lot of your stuff but even I know you're pushing it. Silvy: D: Are you gonna show up?

A rare scowl formed on Green's face. Inconsiderate ass! Who did he think he was?! She wasn't just a free use tool! Not only did he ignore her all day, now when he's done being a prick, he just calls her over on a whim?! You: No I'm not! You're a real piece of work, Silver. I don't wanna see you for the rest of the day... no week! Silvy: |: The hell are you so mad for? You: Why am I mad?! Are you really asking that?! Silvy: |: Stop being such a baby because I asked for a single day of alone time.

We spend basically everyday together. Get over here. Green twitched at his completely callous words. A dark glare made its way to her face and she huffed.

"I'm going to kick his ass and then I'm never talking to him again," she decided, returning all her team. Green could put up with many of Silver's antics but that was because deep down he was a big softy. Right now though? He was being anything but! She was going to give him a firm piece of her—"SURPRISE!" —m-mind? Green jumped in surprise, scowl melting away in an instant. She gazed at the training field that they had practically staked their claim on, with wide eyes.

There was party decorations littered all over and a huge sign (with impossibly neat letters that meant Silver wrote it) that said "Happy Birthday Leaf" (Another clear sign Silver wrote it).

"W-Wha...?" Green stuttered, gazing at the tables strewn about full of food. The most eye-catching thing, was the giant, Espeon themed, cake. It stood taller than any cake Green had ever celebrated with (unless it was Blue's birthday) and her mouth flapped uselessly at it.

"Happy birthday Green!" Crystal squealed, pulling the stunned girl into a tight hug. Green dumbly hugged her back, purely on instinct, as she continued to inspect the scenery.

"Happy... birthday?" she said in a daze. Crystal nodded enthusiastically.

"Yeah! Silver told us your birthday was June 1st... He wasn't lying right?" she asked warily. Green shook her head slowly.

"No that's right... today is my birthday." He remembered? Seriously? He really remembered her tired little ramblings?

"Where is he anyways?" Gold asked, dropping a drink in her hand and pulling her into a hug next. Janine shrugged, next in line to greet Green.

"He said he'd be right back... but I think it's just an excuse for him to not participate." Gold snorted.

"After the amount of work him and Gaia went through to put this stuff up? Not a chance in hell—""Must you drag me, you foul creature?"

"Me dragging you, is faster than you walking, stupid frail psychic. You're basically crippled." Crystal blinked. Then, she went pale and a horrified expression replaced it.

"He didn't..." she trailed off.

"I did not agree to come with you."

"Would you stop bitching for one second? Lord knows you don't have any friends... so try and enjoy your first shot at socialization."

"... He did," Janine finished, holding her head with a tired moan. Green watched with wide eyes, as Silver dragged Sabrina into the clearing with no hesitation. The two were scowling at one another and Sabrina struggled feebly in his grip. Alas, her physical strength clearly left much to be desired and the redhead just stared, utterly unimpressed by her attempts.

"Would you unhand me? We've already arrived. You should be grateful that for some reason, Alakazam agreed with your demands," Sabrina demanded. Silver unceremoniously released her and the psychic flailed in surprise, before he tugged the back of her shirt and yanked her back up. It saved her from a unrefined fall to the ground but it was still incredibly demeaning to be lifted up in such a way... Judging by the glare on her face, Sabrina clearly recognized that.

"That's why. What good are you even?" he asked blandly.

"Wretched abomination," Sabrina huffed, stepping away slowly from the redhead while adjusting her purple spaghetti strap shirt.

"Infant freak. Be glad your white pants didn't get dirty. I should have actually let you fall." The two glared at each once more, before Crystal politely stepped in between them.

"Sabrina! I didn't know you were... coming," she said lamely. The gym leader gazed at Crystal and let loose a quiet breath.

"Neither did I. Unfortunately, this abomination refuses to take no for an answer and my own pokemon insisted I go. How is it that you even know where I live?" she asked.

"I'm a big fan of you. A superfan even," Silver said blandly.

"Are you planning on assassinating me?" Sabrina muttered, looking slightly disturbed.

"If you ever leave Saffron. That way, no one will ever find you."

"AHEM!" Crystal coughed loudly. The two finally stopped looking at each other and Sabrina took a deep breath before turning towards the stunned Green.

"Leaf Green. I've been made aware that today is your... birthday. Had it been anyone else, I would not have allowed... Silver to drag me here, but you have left a positive impression on me. As such, I'd like to wish you best wishes. In the coming years, you will be a force known throughout the world. That, I assure you," Sabrina said earnestly. Green's lips wobbled at that and she strong-armed the surprised Sabrina into a tight hug.

"Thank you Sabrina! I'm glad you showed up even if Silvy forced you!" she cried out. Sabrina opened her mouth and then shut it, a small smile forming on her face.

"I will concede that for once, he was right to do such a thing. I am... glad that I showed up." Silver snorted, before it turned into a cough of surprise, as Green tackled him to the floor. Fat tears dropped onto him and he let out a groan of disgust.

"I can't believe you remembered my birthday!" she cried. He made one of those noncommittal noises that he always tended to make, when he was thinking of what to say.

"Considering you told me when we were both half asleep, I'm just as surprised. Maybe next time you should tell me in a more normal setting," he said truthfully. Green sniffed and squeezed him thankfully.

"I was mad at you for ignoring me, b-but you were doing all this for me... you're the best friend ever!" She saw the way his gaze softened for half a second, before the wall forcefully built itself back up to shield his vulnerable side. Her best friend snorted.

"If I'm the best friend ever, you need to find better friends," he said simply.

"No way! I'm not trading you for anyone else!" Green laughed a watery laugh and dragged him up.

"C'mon! Let's celebrate!" she cheered, snatching Charcadet off the floor and spinning with the little guy.

"Party! We even brought some games to play!" Gold shouted eagerly. Janine shook her head in amusement, sitting in a corner with her team and drinking her cup.

"I noticed back when he finally told me the truth... but Silver truly does have a good heart wrapped up in insufferable thorns. To think he voluntarily did all this work. He didn't even complain once," she murmured. Nidoqueen scoffed, while Salazzle crooned.

"By the way Green, when is Silver's birthday?" Gold asked curiously. Green missed the warning glare Silver shot her and blinked at the question.

"December 24th!" she answered cheerfully. Lorelei told her that actually. Silver completely refused to disclose his birthday....

"Really?!" Crystal shouted in surprise. Janine dropped the drink she was holding at that.

"H-He's the youngest?!" she gaped.

"HE'S THE BABY OF THE GROUP?!" Gold's eyes bugged, before the 2nd youngest of the group burst into a hellish amount of laughter.

"Oh that's rich! I thought Silver was the oldest! Turns out he's the youngest! Can you believe it, Crys?! Silv probably still wears diapers!" The moment Gold began laughing, Green realized the mistake she made. She nervously backed away from the stone faced Silver and began laughing slowly. Crystal was already safely by Janine's side, the both of them staring at Silver like he were a timebomb waiting to blow. Gold's laughter turned into a choking noise, as two gloved hands wrapped around his throat.

"It's Green's birthday, so you have to accept her beating as well. That probably means you're going to die today," Silver said serenely.

"It was worth it!" Gold hissed.

"U-Um... please kill Goldy tomorrow? I don't wanna remember his death every single birthday," Green requested. She squeaked as his eyes turned to her.

"O-Or just kill him. As long as I don't get hurt, it's not all that bad!"

"Coward!" Gold's strangled voice came out. Crystal mercifully stepped in. She had become quite adept at calming Silver down.

"Birthdays are for celebration, not mourning! Spare him for just a little longer."

"Thanks so much guys," Gold rasped to them. Silver stared at them, before reluctantly removing his hands from Gold's neck. The boy sighed in relief and pulled himself up.

"I get to live another day!"

"Fortune favors fools," Silver grunted. Gold shook his head as if it was something only he understood.

"One day you'll understand... baby brother." Silver lunged.

"I can't save you twice. You'll just have to die," Green said sagely, moving over to eat food.

"I hope the lack of air makes him smarter," Crystal sighed in defeat.

"I hope they kill each other," Janine said seriously. Nidoqueen nodded in agreement. Sabrina hoped Trainer Gold destroyed the abomination... but she wouldn't say that aloud.