51 A Challenge Of Ideals
A minute later, Red's mighty Pokemon stood proud in front of Hannah who eyed them with shining eyes.
"They're so cool," She said, restraining the urge to tackle Riolu in a hug.
Charmeleon shot Red a questioning gaze to which Red shrugged.
"A lot of things happened while you guys were out in the lab," Red said, "But now, We're going to get our first gym badge-"
Red couldn't begin to finish what he had planned to say when the other trainers turned to him, their eyes laced with pure greed and some with lust...
Not everyone managed to land a chance to get a Royal starter from the Kanto region, and of course It was rare to see a Charmeleon especially in Pewter city.
"Oi!" A trainer called out and Red turned to the trainer, his eyes locked onto the brown haired older boy's figure
The trainer that called out to Red was quite taller than him, maybe on par with the height of Brock himself and had menancing black eyes, a scar visible on his left cheek probably as a vivid memory of a distant dark tragedy, He had brown hair and wore a black shirt with a skull mark on it.
"Quite a haul if I do say so myself," The trainer said, his hands in his pockets as he closed in on Red, trainers separating and clearing a path to Red obviously scared of this boy, "I'm Richard,"
By now, he had reached Red and flashed a smile.
"And I like your Pokemon," Richard said, "Wanna trade?"
Red obviously knew what a trade was, There was a trading machine in every Pokemon center in case two trainers wanted to change ownerships of certain Pokemon. Both trainers would have to come to an agreement and at this moment in time, Red was not having an agreement with Richard at all.
"My Pokemon are my partners, They're my friends and we brave through thick and thin together, I would never trade them to someone I just met," Red said, his crimson eyes lighting up with a menancing glow, A testament to the rage that was bubbling through his veins.
Richard's reaction was far from expected though... Intense laughter escaped the lips of the older boy as he patted his stomach, sinking in to the depths of his own laughter.
"How funny," Richard said, "Pokemon... Our partners? Friends? Don't make me laugh- Oh, I already did. Pokemon are tools used for battling and earning more money, With trainer battles and gym battles, Trainers are able to sustain themselves with their winnings. Becoming a Pokemon trainer despite the risks is very rewarding,"
Red's eyes flashed with resolve, he was determined to change Richard's point of view on the matter.
"Stop lying to yourself," Red said causing Richard's eyes to widen, "Pokemon are people who we share our experiences with, They are the reason we are all trainers in the first place. If you don't have a proper bond with your Pokemon, Your strength wouldn't grow. Let's take Galarian champion Leon for example, At 18 years old, He's already a very powerful Pokemon trainer and has a great bond with all of his Pokemon... Another example is the last winner of the Lily Of The Valley Conference, Cynthia Shirona and she's just 19 years old! She and her Garchomp crushed the Competition and let's not mention the rising star of the Kalos region, Diantha who is currently being trained to become the Champion!"
Red's voice grew louder with each word he uttered, From what one could see, He literally mentioned his role models in one go.
"Each of these people I have mentioned have a strong and exceedingly powerful bond with their Pokemon," Red said, "They are truly legends in their own right and they prove... that Pokemon are not tools for money,"
Richard shrugged off everything Red said and turned to his Pokemon, especially Charmeleon with a greedy look in his eyes.
"How about this then? A battle with high-end stakes," Richard proposed, his hands never leaving his pockets, "Of course, If you withdraw, That just means that your talk about Leon and those other people were just folly, The stakes are easy... If you lose, We trade... Your Charmeleon for my Raticate!"
The suggestion sounded absurd to Red and every other trainer in the field right now, Who in their right mind would trade a Charmeleon for a Raticate?
"Impossible," Red said, "This Charmeleon was given to me by Professor Oak himself... I would never bet a high-stakes battle like that,"
"Ohh, Professor Oak gave you a starter... That means you're one of the people that graduated the Exam in Top 10," Richard said, "Well I don't care whether the Champion Lance gave you a fucking Legendary Pokemon, All I asked was for a high-stakes battle which we put our ideals on the line, A 2 vs 2 if you're feeling scared,"
Red clenched his fist, Withdrawal was an option... but could he really withdraw? In the face of these trainers... He would lose face and admitting that he got a starter from Professor Oak would cause him to lose face too... What would Blue do in a situation like this?
"Come on Red, Beat their asses!" Olivia shouted out, rupturing his line of thoughts as he stared at the green haired girl with beautiful features amidst the crowd... wearing regular clothes for once in her life, "We both know you're stronger than him!"
Red sighed and then locked eyes with Richard who was smirking victoriously.
"I accept," Red said.
-
Author's Note:
Yooo! Cliffhanger, Battle coming in the next chapter and just doing some decisions whether Richard should be a main rival, appearing at regular intervals opposing Red's beliefs... although the Reincarnated Red coming soon won't have such strong ideals about Pokemon being friends though but still, I dunno... Make the decision! Should he be a main rival or a side rival?
