Pokémon: The Original Shipping (RedxBlue)

Lv 5: Another Surprise

Of all the people in the Pokémon World, why did Red have to be the one to show up tonight, of all nights? And what did he mean when he said I was his "old friend"? We were rivals. That would never change. I couldn't even listen to him, as he went on and on about his many adventures traveling to different regions, encountering and capturing different Pokémon.

Since when is he this chatty?

Gramps and Daisy were fine eating that stuff up, but I wasn't. Suddenly, I had lost my appetite, and whatever food was left in my plate was getting colder than an Icy Wind. I knew I had to stop being so pouty about the whole thing, at least on the outside, but I couldn't help myself. There was just something about being around Red again that was so aggravating, so annoying, that just made me go crazy.

"It was a bit of an embarrassing defeat, I'll admit," Red continued talking, "but the kid did show a lot of potential. I'm just glad we were both able to climb back down Mt. Silver without getting lost or Frozen."

"Wow, Red, that's so impressive. Did you hear that Blue?" Daisy tossed a grain of rice from her plate at me. "Red seems to have been doing real well on his own, wouldn't you agree?"

She was only trying to push me to the edge, and it worked.

"Yeah, doesn't sound that great to me." I stupidly replied, sounding like a pathetic twerp myself.

"I'm sure you've got your own adventures to share Blue." Red said, trying to help me out, which only ticked me off even more. "I'm sure you've traveled a lot as well."

"Not really," I hated to admit, "but then again, it's real difficult to travel when you're running a Gym."

"Liar! Liar!" Daisy replied, giving me reason to throw bits of my own food at her.

"Knock it off you two." Gramps stepped in, shifting his attention back to Red. "Now, Red, I was wondering if you've made up your mind yet about what were discussing earlier."

"Sure have, Professor. I'd be happy to help anyway I can."

What were they talking about now? A gut feeling told me I should listen to what they were saying.

"That's great! Well then, Blue, I guess I have another little surprise for you." "Red will be accompanying you on your trip to New Cinnabar Island tomorrow."

"WAIT! WHAT?! WHY?"

He wasn't actually being serious, was he? No, he had to be joking. When had I agreed to this?

"Fantastic!" Daisy cheered at my despair. "Now you can look after my little bro, Red, and make sure he makes it there in one piece for me."

"Shut it Daisy!" I had had just about enough. "What do you mean Red's coming with me Gramps?"

"Red was planning on heading down to New Cinnabar Island too, so I asked him if he could help out at the new Pokémon Lab." Gramps explained, the mastermind behind this huge mistake. "I've already talked to Blaine about it too and everything."

"Sorry about telling you at the last minute," Red dared apologizing to me. "I was actually just planning on going there for a short vacation. It seemed like the perfect place to go, close to home, but still by a sandy, white beach and resort. Then Professor Oak mentioned the new lab when we were talking earlier, and I thought it would be neat to help out."

"Okay fine, but why do you have to travel with me?"

Something about the way I said that to him seemed to catch him off guard, as his face went from delight back to serious. It almost made me regret and apologize to him, though I was too mad to do something like that.

"Oh don't be so rude," Daisy butted in, as if she knew what this meant to me.

"It was my idea Blue," Gramps admitted, hoping to take some of the heat off of Red. "I thought it would be a good idea. You know, to have someone there to keep you company."

"Red, can't you just Fly there on your own or something?" I asked him, unable to look directly at him.

"Well yeah, I guess so. But I was also sort of hoping to give my Pokémon a break by leaving them here with Professor Oak. They deserve a good vacation too, and Charizard is actually still pretty tired after flying all the way here from—"

"Ugh! Whatever." I was done arguing and simply gave up trying.

Why am I over reacting like this, like it isreally that big of a deal? My fists were shaking with nervoustension. We may have been rivals, but I didn't actually hate him that much. Did I? So why was I getting all workedup about traveling alone with him?