#fireredleafgreen

It was a dark, rainy night. I couldn’t sleep, even though I was quite exhausted from walking within this vast forest. I didn’t know Kanto had anything like that.

I could barely stand up again, but I needed to get somewhere soon, as I was running out of supplies. Last time I could stand somewhere high, I saw nothing but trees surrounded by tall, impassable mountains.

I saw plenty of wild Pokémon along the way, but I could do nothing about it. I’m a technician, I make a living out of making things work for Pokémon trainers, but I know jack about Pokémon themselves.

I was supposed to reach a remote town near the west coast. The rain made the road slippery. I lost control, my car slid down a cliff. I’m glad I survived, but the car was totaled. And now I wander aimlessly, looking for any bit of civilization where I could get help.

I had again spent a whole hour lost in my thoughts, no longer caring about being soaked wet under this warm downpour, when I saw some lights flashing from within the forest, followed by the pained cry of some large beast.

Contrary to wisdom, I approached the place where the lights were coming from… and I saw her. She was the most beautiful girl I had seen in my entire life. Her long, beautiful brown hair fell gracefully over her figure, barely being messed up by the falling rain. Her waist seemed to be narrower than her thighs, and her legs were criminally long and shapely.

Not that I’m not used to young female Pokémon trainers flaunting their legs way too much — miniskirts and short shorts have been in fashion since forever. I stopped being impressed by them when I was, like, 10 years old? Yeah, that was when my childhood crush left my town to become a Pokémon trainer herself. I don’t think I’ve had any romantic interest on anyone ever since…

Until now? This girl was definitely something else, way above all others in beauty and grace. I was spying her from a safe distance, her divine appearance being in a spotlight on an otherwise pitch black forest. She froze in place for about a minute, much to my delight. But then, she ran to the light.

I followed her. Wow, she ran fast. I was quite tired, but I NEEDED to talk to her, to know her name… whether she was single…

… No, I don’t think someone like her would like me. I’m not an attractive guy.

But I needed help to get out of this place. Hopefully, she’s not lost too.

We reached the source of the light, which was starting to lose its brightness. And I could not believe what I saw.

A pokémon. But not one like I had ever seen before.

It was about three meter tall and five meters across. It had four thick, heavy legs, it was covered in thick gray fur, and its head was covered by fleshy, prehensile appendages. Two large antennae stood atop of its head. As I approached, I saw the root of a very long tail, whose end I couldn’t see.

The girl then threw a Pokéball to the beast, and it was gone. She then dropped to her knees, and panted heavily.

— Did you look at that thing? — she said — I don’t think I have seen such a Pokémon species before. I have always dreamed of catching a Pokémon that was unknown to science, but I never thought that this thing could be hiding so close to home.

I looked around. There was no one else, which means that she had already noticed my presence. I tried to approach her, but I was way too nervous.

She looked towards me, and smiled. — Hey, come here, I don’t bite! Who are you?

— My name is Shizuo. I work as a junior technician at Nibi Museum of Science. I used to be an apprentice at Cinnabar Lab shortly before the eruption that destroyed the island. And you?

— My name is ████. I’m a Pokémon trainer, as you could see. Man, I can’t wait to show Red this pokémon I just caught. So, what brought you to this forest?

My eyes opened up widely when she mentioned that name. Of course I should have had guessed up already, I just saw her discovering and catching a brand new pokémon, but this girl was not just yet another trainer.

— Excuse me before I answer your question… you mean Red, the legendary Pokémon trainer!? Do you know him?

She laughed me, making a quite smug pose.

— Oh, well, I guess I do, in fact, know him quite a bit… He’s my boyfriend, after all.

— …Your boyfriend…

… damn.

— … Excuse me?

— I mean, I just got exposed as someone who knows very little about Pokémon. Even the most ignorant person in Kanto has heard about Red and his legendary feats. But I didn’t know that he had a girlfriend at all. I’m sorry if I didn’t recognize you, I guess I’m that ignorant.

— Oh, hahahaha! Don’t be sorry, Shizuo. I’m used to, well, being completely unrecognizable. Let me explain things this way. Red is very aloof, he only wants to be the best Pokémon trainer of all, he doesn’t give a damn about being famous and all, yet he’s the single most famous and renowned trainer out there. Meanwhile, me. I just wanted to be famous, to be an inspiration for Pokémon trainers worldwide. Yet nobody knows about me. Ironic, huh?

I nodded, though not quite believing that someone like her could be anything but world famous.

— I proved my worth by defeating the Elite Four, and then Red, several times. Red and me, being at the top of the Kanto league, were destined to fall for each other. Or so I thought…

“ I need to tell you a secret. Please don’t tell anyone… he stood me up.

— W-What!?

— It was as thought he had completely forgot about me, about the girl who had defeated him several days before, who asked him out on a date next Saturday. It was the first time anyone saw him smile since forever. He accepted. Quite enthusiastically. But he didn’t show up. And I couldn’t see him in a while.

— Oh, my God! What an […].

— I thought so at first, but then… one day I was at Professor Oak’s laboratory, then he approached me. ” Excuse me, do I know you from somewhere? That hat, those clothes, they seem oddly familiar, but I have no idea where I saw them. ” He was being honest. I could feel it, I could no longer be mad at him.

“ I didn’t answer at first. Instead, I challenged him to a Pokémon battle. Which I won, again… Then HE asked me out. So I told him about who I was. “ ████? Uh... sorry, I know no one with that name. I don’t recognize your face either. I’m sure I could have remembered the face of a girl who defeated me before. That…I don’t think it had ever happened before.

“ I could no longer muster the courage to remind him that he stood up. Apparently, I’m THAT forgettable. Professor Oak himself said “ A girl defeating Red would be major news in the Pokémon league. I can’t believe what I just witnessed, and I’m sure that I wouldn’t forget it if it had happened before. ”

“ But they forgot again. It took a third time to eventually become at all special in Red’s eyes. If his brain forgot yet again about my existence, there was at the very least something in his heart that lingered. I could see it in his face of horror as he saw me again the last time, as he struggled to try and remember my name. I couldn’t get angry at him anymore. I just had to get used to it.

— That… that’s quite an unbelievable story. I mean, how could anyone just forget about you, about your face, about your name. I mean, you’re really pretty, and you’re a skilled, experienced Pokémon trainer. You should be world famous, just like Red, if not more.

— Oh, you’ll forget about me too. And that’s okay. In fact, you should just forget about me. I’m taken, you know.

I couldn’t help but blush a little, but then I shrugged it off. It’s not like I could stand a chance anyway, neither is like my heart was really available…

— Well, in that case, I should be going. But before that, let me answer your question, what I’m doing here. I’ve been lost for several days. Could you please give me directions towards the next town?

— Sure, no problem.