Don't Cry, Baby ~Echoes~

Maya wrapped her scarf more snugly around her neck. Outside the sun had been shining but the cave cut off all warmth. There was just enough light to see by, so using flash wasn’t necessary, but she allowed cyndaquil to wander a little ways ahead of them: the flames on his back acted as a torch. She could have sworn they passed icicles as they took the winding path to the summit. This was the perfect place for graveller, zubat and other such pokemon to thrive: rock and cold blooded pokemon suited the mountain just fine. There was something about Mt. Silver that scared her a little. She found herself walking as close to Blue as she could without having him see it as an invitation. They were friends and that was all. No amount of flirting in the world would change that.

Although, if she had to categorize men into types just like pokemon, he was probably closest to her ideal. Maya welcomed confidence; it was a refreshing change from people who shied away from everything. Not that she thought about such trivial matters more than fleetingly. After all, she had places to go and battles to win.

“Are you sure Red’s still up here?”

“Yeah. He always visits me whenever he comes down.” Blue hesitated. “Not that he’s left this angst zone for a while.”

Maya caught the uneasiness in his voice. “A while?”

“Well.” He bit his lip. “Over a month.”

“You’re joking.” Maya thought about Red just sitting around or battling challengers day in and day out in this frosty, dark hell. “There’s no way he could live here for that long.”

“He hardly has a snorlax’s appetite.”

“Blue.” She exhaled slowly. “He’s your friend. Can’t you just—”

He turned to her with a small smile on his lips. “Tell Red to move out of this place and go home to his mother? I’ve already tried doing that. And believe me, I paid for that faux pas. He refused to say anything for a long time afterwards. So we don’t talk about him leaving anymore.”

“Home to his mother?” Maya scoffed. “Well, I’m sure that disturbed him. He’s an adult now. You know that.”

“Where else could he live? He has no money.”

She stared at him. “Red can’t stay with you? If you’re too busy being a gym leader, he can move in with me, even though I’ve only met him a few times.”

“It’s not about that.”

“Wait. He’s the Champion. He should have plenty of poke dollars.”

“Why are you asking me all of this?” Blue shot her a pleading look. “I don’t know what goes on in that kid’s head any more than you do. If you wanna interrogate someone, try Red himself.”

“Why would he prefer speaking to me over you?”

“You‘re the one who wanted him to come down for a double battle,” Blue reminded her. “Me and Red…we’re not best friends or anything.”

“That’s news to me.” Maya adjusted her hat. “Let’s turn back then.”

“No!” He gestured to his backpack. “I brought some stuff for him. Who knows what he’s been surviving on. Last time I only brought berries cause I couldn’t get my sister to help me cook so I burnt everything…”

She patted his shoulder. “You’re such a softie, Blue.”

“That so?” He grinned. “I should mark this day down in my calendar: ‘Maya was nice to me. Is giratina warping reality? I‘ll report back with more info…’.”

“I retract my previous statement.”

Blue chuckled. “Don’t deny it. Our chemistry’s totally off the charts.”

“Thank Arceus!” Maya ignored his remark. “We‘re at the top.”

She hurried up the last stretch. Cyndaquil bounced into her arms, having been careful to withdraw his flames. She gave the two-toned pokemon a kiss on his velvety head. He chirped happily and nuzzled beneath her chin.

“Good job, boy.”

“You’re welcome.”

“You didn’t do anything.”

“Sure I did.” He blinked innocently. “I kept you safe. You were clinging to me all the way up here. Ring any bells?”

“Don’t make me sic cyndaquil on you.” If Maya blushed he didn’t comment on it. Lucky for her that that happened more rarely than a ho-oh sighting. She pointed at the summit’s entrance. “What are you waiting for? Go say your hellos and ask him if he wants to come down with us.”

“What? I’m not leaving you alone.”

“It’s snowing. I’d rather stay in here.” Maya leaned against a wall. “I’m a big girl.”

He looked unconvinced.

“A big girl,” she paused dramatically, “with a tyranitar.”

“You have one of those?”

“He‘s only a larvitar now, but he‘ll evolve. Close enough, right?”

“Fine. Try not to get abducted by Team Rocket or anything. I’ll be back soon.”

“Just you?”

“We’ll be back soon. Be careful, Maya.”

She couldn’t resist; he looked so adorable when he was concerned. Something about those wide green eyes and flushed cheeks was enchanting. Unable to resist, Maya stood on her tip toes and kissed him on the cheek. There, that was still something friends would do. Nothing romantic about it.

“I‘ll be waiting for you guys.”

“Did… did you just…?”

“Tell it to your diary.“ She smiled. “Go already.”

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Blue squinted against the driving snow. He could barely make anything out. Everything was white. He glanced from left to right, hoping to see a sign that Red was here, but there was nothing but shards of ice and gray sky. His fingers already felt as if they were freezing over. Of course the weather had to be this extreme on days he came to visit.

“Damn it,” he muttered through chattering teeth.

He carefully made his way along the summit, trying his best not to blink in case he missed signs of Red’s whereabouts. Usually, Red was closer to the entrance than this. Where was he? Had he changed his plans and moved to a cave in Sinnoh or something? The kid made no sense at the best of times but Blue thought that they understood each other regardless. They were friends.

Friends didn’t leave each other like that. Or maybe Red didn’t need him anymore.

Come to think of it, he never showed much sign that he enjoyed Blue’s visits. Red always accepted his offerings with a stoic expression. It had always been this way. Blue was the one who showed his emotions; Red never seemed to have any. But if you made Red angry, you’d know about it. His angry silence was certainly different than his usual one.

Blue cupped his hands to his mouth and shouted, “Where are you?”

The howling wind drowned out his voice. Defeated, Blue was about to make his way back to Maya--only she could make him feel better about this-- when he saw something move up ahead. He walked along the cliff wall, trying to keep hold of anything he could. That was a challenge, as it was so slippery, but he somehow he managed.

Red stood there, hands in his pockets, cap looking even more battered than last time. Blue wanted to beat the snot out of him but his friend looked rather frail so he set aside his violent urges. Blue took a deep breath and almost choked on the blast of cold air before he managed to speak.

“Hey, Red.”

“Hello.”

This was an encouraging sign. Sometimes he never got anything in reply.

Blue placed his hands on Red‘s shoulders. “Listen, before you say anything else, I wanna let you know that Maya is here with me. She’s worried about you and these antics of yours. So come down now, okay?”

Red didn’t even look at him. He gazed somewhere into the distance.

“Are you listening to me? I’m serious.”

Red’s eyes drifted to his face. They looked like a doll’s eyes: blank. Blue found himself wanting to shake some sense into the kid. That wouldn’t do any good. Besides, he didn’t want to hurt him. Red was already hurting badly. Maybe a stranger wouldn’t notice anything more than the black-haired boy’s physical suffering, but Blue could tell that the problem went much deeper.

“This isn‘t funny.” His grip tightened. “Tell me what’s wrong.”

“Let go of me.”

“No can do. I know you. You‘re going to run away the second I do that.”

“Mm.”

“Maya wants to have a double battle,” Blue heard himself saying. “You’ll be my partner, okay? Not that you have a choice. But we make a great team. You can‘t argue with that.”

“Battle?”

“Yeah. That’s the only thing you care about anymore.”

Red brushed Blue off him. “Not true.”

“No?” Blue faltered at this unexpected comment. “Well, unless you want to continue standing around freezing our asses off, I suggest we leave now.”

Red nodded at Blue’s backpack. “For me?”

“I made poffins ‘cause I know you like them, even if you won‘t admit it. I’m the king of those things. But none for you unless you come.”

“How can I resist?”

“Don’t be such a sarcastic bastard.“ Blue’s lips were numb as he spoke. “C’mon, Red. I’m not gonna ask you again.”

“Okay.”

Blue looked up at the sky and sent up a silent prayer of thanks to Arceus.