Finding Red

15

She woke up shivering, with the warm presence of Nuria by her side. It was a sudden moment of awakening, where her eyes shot open to find that she was laying in the ever creaking Sprout Tower, with a monk hovering over her. Crystal screamed, terrified, wondering where Red was and where her bag was. She began to pant as the monk eased her to the ground once again.

"Your Pokémon hasn't left your side for the last few days. You are lucky to have such a careful companion," said the monk.

Crystal sat up and looked around in fear. "Where's my bag?"

"Don't worry, it's still in this room. The boy who came to your assistance last night insisted quite strongly that it should be," the monk replied. "We were quite worried about you. You inhaled quite a bit of Gastly poison. Any more, and I'm worried you might not have lived."

She looked around. "I had no clue there were Gastly here at night. How do the monks stay alive?"

The monk smiled at her and pulled something white out of his pocket. "I believe this is what you're looking for. It's a cleanse tag that wards away evil spirits. You can thank the boy for it the next time you see him. He gave away several of them to us."

"Absolutely," Crystal croaked. "Thank you for watching over me, sir."

The monk prepared to leave. "That is Elder Li to you, my young one. And, if you should ever need anything don't be afraid to reach out. I sense great strength and purpose in you. Something important awaits you in this life, of what, I'm not sure, but if I can be of assistance I will do my best."

"Thank you," she said, and he left.

Crystal looked around, standing up, and stretching out. Her body felt as if Pound had been used upon it repeatedly. She picked up Nuria, who nuzzled her out of relief, and took a moment to let out a deep breath. And then, she looked in her backpack for the photograph of Red. She didn't know where and he was and it began to worry her.

"Red," she whispered, terror seeping into the room.

He seemed to step out of nowhere. "Don't worry, I'm here. You think you'd be able to get rid of me that easily?"

"Oh thank goodness," Crystal said, a feeling of ease settling upon her. "Were you hurt at all while I was asleep?"

Red shook his head. "Not physically. Surprisingly, that Ethan guy was really smart about your things. He wouldn't let you be moved unless someone was also moving your bag. It was almost as if he knew."

"I think he knows a lot more than he lets on," Crystal responded. "Actually, there's a lot that we don't know."

The battle legend sighed. "Crystal, why in the world are you thinking about that now?"

"What do you mean?" She asked, stopping in the middle of putting on her backpack.

Red shook his head. "Honestly, I would take you into a big hug if I could. I've been watching you sleep for 3 days Crystal, wondering if you were going to wake up. I've reassured Nuria every day and watched the monks come in and out of this room. And yet, when you wake up you're not worried about anything other than me."

"I—well, we're partners, you know? We have to be like family to one another, because how else are we going to free you Red? What if I died and you were trapped in the photograph forever?" Crystal asked.

"I...don't know," said Red.

Crystal nodded. "Maybe that Silver guy was right. We need to get stronger so that I can protect you. We have to keep pushing."

"So, uh, what do you want to do now?" Red asked.

She laughed. "Isn't it obvious? I'm going to battle Falkner. If I beat him, then I can go and challenge stronger leaders, right? And before you say something, who would I be if I let a Gastly stop me? I was only asleep for 3 days, you know?"