Finding Red

15

"I don't know whether to call you fearless, stupid, or just plain crazy right now," said Red.

"Remember what that Ethan guy said the last time we met? I have some protection aura that's apparently keeping me calm. So, am I ready to battle Falkner or not?" Crystal asked.

Red sighed. "You are, as much as I hate to admit it."

Crystal took a moment to admire the tower before she left. She watched as monks walked around, looking for trainers to educate. There were statues of Bellsprout that lined the massive, swaying column in the center of the tower. Looking at it filled Crystal with an odd sense of vertigo, and she decided that she wouldn't spend another moment in the tower if she could help it. Despite the fact that she felt oddly alright about the Gastly incident, it didn't replace the fact that she decided that being in the tower made her uncomfortable.

"You got out of there fast," Red commented, as she tasted the sweet freedom of the sun.

Crystal snorted. "I don't like that tower. That center beam gives me the heebie jeebies. I feel it's going to snap one day and take the entire tower with it."

"You're just afraid of heights," he said.

Crystal rolled her eyes. "Am not. Now come on, let's get out of this place. We can go straight to Ecruteak after this."

"So eager to get going," he said, "I think you're just in denial."

"You and I know it's true! It's creepy how that think just creaks. Don't tell me you didn't imagine it just cracking," she said.

He snorted. "Denial."

"Whatever," Crystal replied.

Easy and cold fall wind blew over the lake, leaving Crystal to feel refreshed. The sun warmed her skin and for once she was happy to just breathe in fresh air. The outside was calming in the way that a lover would describe a warm embrace after a long time apart; it felt as though she were being engulfed by the life around her, inviting and warm. The leaves around her were beginning to change, specks of fire in a tapestry of purple and green. And somehow the sparkling across the sun, sparking thousands of ripples of water alive, was just enough to put her mind at rest.

"Let's go," she said with a breath out, the peace of her mind oozing into her words.

"Cyn, cyn," chirped Nuria with delight, as she bounced into Crystal's arms.

The trainer smiled and pet her Pokémon with a smile as she began to walk. Crystal left a kiss on top of her Pokémon's head and let her fall into an easy and temporary rest in her arms. The life of the ever-unfamiliar Violet City hummed around her as she admired the day and looked around for her ultimate destination, the gym.

"We're going to go battle a specialist today," said Crystal to Nuria as they walked.

The creature lifted her head, and with a determined huff, said, "Cyndaquil!"

"That means, 'We're going to win'," said Red. "Or at least I'm pretty sure that's what it means."

Nuria barked at Red. "Cyn! Daq! Cyn!"

"Well I'm sorry I'm not perfect at understanding Cyndaquil speak. I'm just a lowly ol' soul here, after all," Red said to the Cyndaquil, throwing his hands up in the air.

"Stop harassing the poor guy," Crystal chided.

"Daqul! Cyn," Nuria snapped back.

"Hey!" Red protested. "You have it the wrong way around. I receive plenty of harassment from her so you don't need to chip in as well."