👫 / hellaur!! for @dexheld
red and leaf were childhood friends — briefly. pallet town is small, after all, so it’s only natural for two children of the same age to know each other, plus also knowing blue. they got along well, with leaf becoming very fond of red, but of course the masked man kidnaps her and takes her away and there’s not really any way she has to keep in touch. after the many years down the line when they meet once more, leaf doesn’t remember red. it’s nothing personal, there are a lot of things she doesn’t remember, although there’s a faint nostalgia that tugs at her heart when she looks at him that she can’t place. it’s up to you if red remembers her or not, though i think it would be cute for him to remember!
of the two of them, it’s ultimately red that becomes kanto’s champion. whether it’s because her heart wasn’t truly in it or she simply wasn’t strong enough, it’s up for debate, but leaf will always insist it was simply the luck of the draw. she considers him her rival and is constantly at his door, asking for a rematch. she always loses, but it never seems to faze her. even after red hands the title over to blue, she’s still always looking to battle. she doesn’t see their rivalry as being about their titles and more about their bond, although she did use his being the champion as an excuse.
i imagine the two of them are very good friends and for leaf, red is probably closest confidant she has, even if they don’t see each other super often. there’s something about him that gives her the feeling of kinship, of a deep connection that’s hard to explain, and it makes it easier for her (when she’s ordinarily someone who tends to downplay and repress her own feelings) to be honest and talk about what’s going on in her life. he’s a comfortable person to talk to. safe. she wouldn’t consider him her best friend, but red is definitely the person she confides in most.
she tagged along for his and blue’s honeymoon to alola! it was mostly an excuse for her to visit alola, since she’d always wanted to visit and was interested in gathering information on the environment / pokemon there, along with helping professor oak and professor kukui since she worked closely with the former and was getting to know the latter. she ends up third wheeling them a LOT because she thinks it’s funny to bother them when they’re just trying to have a nice time, though she usually gets distracted or wrapped up in whatever hijinks and ends up leaving them alone for the rest of the outing.