Crystal took a deep breath as she placed Nuria on the ground. The red-haired boy commanded his Totodile to stand at attention. He barked out a command so fast, that Crystal watched without moving as the Totodile hit Nuria with a stream of water. Nuria winced, and Crystal flinched. She had no clue how to battle. With a look of panic she turned to Red.
"Help," she said at the air, and the stranger raised his eyebrows almost expectedly.
Red rolled his eyes. "I know, I know. I'm working on it."
"You asked for the battle. Why are you randomly asking for help now?" Asked the stranger, not seeing the other interaction.
Crystal coughed. "Divine intervention. I'm asking for some of that, since you know it's only my second battle."
"Of course it is," said Red and the stranger at almost the same time.
"Look," said Red as he stepped onto the battlefield. "I can help you fight this butt, but I have one condition. I won't command for you. Since you're following in my footsteps, you have to learn step by step."
"Well what now?" Crystal asked.
The red-haired boy rolled his eyes and she remembered he could hear her portion of their conversation. "Well obviously we battle like normal people do. Totodile, Water Gun again!"
"Dodge it!" Crystal threw out, but neither trainer nor Pokémon had the experience to do that.
Nuria took the hit and Crystal winced a little as she watched without help. Red shook his head at the display and the stranger just laughed. Crystal looked to the battle legend, trying to ignore the words that the stranger was saying.
"Honestly," said the red-head, "why even bother? You're just as weak as those other kids."
Red stepped in front of the Totodile. "Ignore him. He's just trying to get into your head. Right now you don't have the reaction speed or psychological capability to deal with him though, so you need to put some distance between the both of you."
"Nuria, Smokescreen!" Crystal commanded in response.
Black fog spread itself around the area, covering everything visible. Unable to see anything, Crystal took a moment to breathe, as Red told her to. And then she looked at him for the next piece of insight. Crystal figured that she would be attacking the stranger's Pokémon, but she didn't know how to go about that. There was something to the approach that was just that difficult.
"If you use a fire move you'll give away your position," Red stated, confirming her thoughts. "Use the dark to your advantage. You can do physical damage to him several times before the smokescreen is gone. Just make sure Nuria gets out of the way."
She nodded. "Nuria, you know what to do. Tackle and run."
She closed her eyes and listened to the soft footsteps of both Pokémon. They were at different rhythms, but she could tell they were getting close to each other. It was when she heard the first hit that she opened them. The feral cries of the two baby Pokémon echoed through the smoke for a moment, and as she looked at the red-haired stranger, he bit his lip, the look of strategizing written all over his face. And then he smiled.
"Totodile! Water Gun! Spray everywhere," he said.
The smoke began to clear, bogged down by water. Crystal felt her pulse quicken. She was exposed now, which meant that if she was going to win this battle, she would have to act quick. Not that it was as bad as she thought. The stranger's Totodile looked really banged up, enough so that with another strong hit, it could be possible to topple him over and finish him.
"Nuria Ember! And just keep going! Don't let Totodile get close," Crystal shouted.
Red commented as Nuria began to pelt flames from her mouth, "Not the move I'd have made, but it could work. That Totodile could lean through the pain still, though."
"I need to train," she admitted.
The red-head scoffed. "Yeah, you do."
Red nodded in agreement. "We'll get there, don't worry. Just try your best with this fight."
Nuria began to pummel the Totodile with as many embers as she could. Crystal bit her nails while she watched the opponent's Pokémon try to muscle its way through the fire that so barely seemed to affect it. She felt the fear strangle her heart and watched as the Totodile took a millisecond of a step forward. She realized within that instant that the Totodile was going for a scratch.
"Nuria dodge it!" She cried out. "Then tackle."
The Totodile stepped in, prepared to scratch Nuria, but the fire-mouse jumped back, using the momentum of an ember to push her. The stranger cried out a command and the Totodile began to charge up a Water Gun. With clumsy strides Nuria tackled the Totodile as it began to launch its attack. The water-type hit the ground, and sprawled itself out in a way that obviously indicated that it was finished. The stranger returned his Pokémon.
"I won?" Crystal said in astonishment.
"You won," said the redhead with an annoyed look on his face as he looked off into the distance. "You shouldn't have won that battle. How much training have you done?"
She looked him dead in the eyes. "I haven't."
"Figures," he said as he rolled his. "I really shouldn't have expected anything less."
"What's that supposed to mean, thief? That's right, I haven't forgotten that you stole a Pokémon from my old boss's lab," Crystal said.
He shook his head. "I'm not a thief. And the name is Silver. I'd honestly prefer never to see you again, so just try to leave me alone, ok?"
"Hey! Wait! Not until you give back that Pokémon and apologize to those kids!" she shouted, as he took off.
He chuckled as he ran. "Never promised to do those things."
"What a butt!" Crystal screamed at the air as he vanished.
Behind her Red laughed. "That he is."
She turned around to look at the battle legend of old. He continued to smile for a moment more before looking at Nuria with a curious expression. He then looked at Crystal and nodded in the way the coach would nod at a quarterback. Crystal let him do his thing as she pulled out her map from her bag. Route 30 was long, almost as long as as Route 29, and did not get her to Violet City.
"What are you looking at?" Red asked.
Crystal shook her head. "It's a map of this route. It's very long."
"Don't tell me you're going to attempt the foolishness you did before? I would hate for you to pass out while you walk," said Red.
Crystal gave him a snarky look. "Oh yeah, sure, like I would actually choose to fall asleep when I'm walking."
Red looked back at her. "You're kidding me, right? This is coming from the girl who walked from her hometown to Cherrygrove City non-stop because she was afraid of the woods."
"Point taken," said Crystal as she took Nuria into her arms and began to walk.
The silence started as the two marched across more hills. Crystal felt the cool breeze rejuvenate her, cooling the sweat that had been perspired while she battled Silver. Her mind wandered to the mysterious trainer. She had encountered him in New Bark Town and he'd been so much friendlier. But now? Now she had no idea why he'd become hostile without cause. This was the second time he'd attacked out of nowhere. She stomped in frustration.
"What is it?" asked Red.
Crystal shook her head. "I'm really exhausted by all of these mysterious people. I mean, I don't get what that guy's deal is. First he's nice, then he's not."
"He's only encountered you a few times?" he said.
She nodded. "Yes, this is the third time I've met him."
"Well," said Red, "perhaps you're threatening him in some way. Or he's wary of you since you're a fellow trainer."
"Maybe, but I don't really know what his deal is, so hopefully I just don't see him again," said Crystal.
The battle legend shook his head. "I disagree. Someone needs to keep his trouble in check, and what other way to do that than a rival."
She rolled her eyes. "Oh yeah? And what about you Red? What was your rival like?"
"He was my childhood best friend," said Red, "but a real Ponyta's-butt. Oh, but could he battle. That was why I was so surprised when you told me he's a gym leader. I would've thought for sure that he'd take the position as champion now that I'm gone."
She shrugged. "He's still a butt on television. 'I'm Blue Oak, smell ya later.' Jeez is that annoying."
"Well, at least he's somehow making a name for himself," said Red with a head shake. "I think it would break my heart if he tried to leave the battle scene. Personally, I know I never would. But what about you Crystal?"
She looked off at a forest in the distance. "I'm supposed to go work for Clarks and Kent of Viridian, after I complete my journey. I'm perfectly happy with that too. Especially since I never wanted to be a trainer in the first place."
"Wait," said Red, "so what I'm understanding is that you're here on a Pokémon journey with a Pokémon you never intended to teach how to battle?"
Crystal shrugged. "Nuria was only supposed to protect me, before I met you. But now? It's different."
"You do realize that gyms are about learning how to defend yourself right? The original reason the league started was so that you would be certified in defense by going to a bunch of specialists who could teach you strategies to fight. But then they started training new specialists and those who were certified began the elite four..." Red said.
She shook her head. "It seems like a good thing with good intentions got twisted."
"Not necessarily," said Red. "I love our league today, but I also recognize it's important to remember where we came from, so that we understand that battling is not just about winning. It's about a connection, which is what the original gym leaders used to emphasize. Without the trainer and Pokémon working together there is nothing, which is why there's a lack of talent since so many have forgotten this fact."
"Is this—?" Crystal asked.
The battle legend looked off in the distance. "Yes, this is training. These were lessons I had to learn on my own as time passed. Just remember Crystal, that it is never about weak or strong, but about connection."
"This is also why you as a trainer must train. You must be adept with your Pokémon," Red finished.
She gave him a glance. "Is that why it's so hard for some people to quit after learning how to battle?"
"Absolutely," said Red, "if you have truly formed a connection, it is absolutely heart-wrenching to stop fostering it. The reality of the situation though, is that most never have to deal with this, and thus are safe whenever they stop."
"You must be hurting a lot," she said.
Red nodded. "I am. But that's not the point. You know what is, right?"
"I am," said Crystal with a sigh. "That shouldn't be it though."
He replied, "Sort of. Remember it's you and Nuria. Since the trainer has to be of adept mind, the Pokémon of requisite skill, and there must be a deep bond to win a battle. Which is why Silver was correct about one thing."
"Which is?" She asked.
Red sighed. "You should not have won that battle, but you did. Which makes me wonder how, especially since Nuria is new to you and not skilled in training."
"My, uh, mother was a coordinator. Actually she was quite famous in Sinnoh. And my father was a well recognized battler who liked to travel region to region. He met her on his travels," said Crystal.
He looked at her. "So battling runs in your blood then?"
"It does," said Crystal. "My father knew a lot of people when he was battling. He was the one who introduced me to Professor Elm, actually. I did behavioral studies of Pokémon for him while I was there, so it's not my first time around Pokémon or trainers, actually."
"That's surprising," said Red, gazing around. "Say, it's going to get dark soon. Let's look at the map."
Crystal pulled out the map and let Red look at it. They had been walking for hours, yet it felt as though the time had slipped through an hourglass. She figured that a large chunk of it had been taken by the battle with Silver. However, what she didn't expect was that Red would be such an interesting conversation partner. It seemed that there was a lot of the world that the battle legend needed to catch up on, as if he were a small child learning what the realities of everything were once again.
"We could take shelter in the nearby cave, if you think we can make it," Crystal said.
Red shook his head. "Absolutely not. Caves are the last place you want to take shelter, if you can help it. Wild Golbat and Arbok tend to run amok in those things. Not to mention the sky is above your head if you sleep in the woods. Plus, there's nothing quite like a campfire at night."
"Alright," Crystal said, taking in a deep breath. "We're going to try this."
"Don't worry," said Red with a laugh. "I've slept in the woods plenty of nights, all you have to do is follow my lead."