Blue Reluctantly Accepts

The crowd eagerly anticipated the fight as Blue and Red stepped outside, with everyone following after them. Professor Oak looked both concerned and amused, and you recall hearing that it was he who gave Red his very first Pokémon long ago - so perhaps he was even a little excited to see this battle. Even Bell had left her Pokéball to watch.

"We don’t have to do this, man. Really." Blue was trying to avoid the fight, but Red wasn't fazed. His eyes were sharp now as he mentally prepared himself. And once again, that look appeared in Blue's eyes- the fear that he was way out of his depth.

Looks like Jirachi heard your wish, as they say.

"Okay, let’s do this." Blue was trying to get himself in the right headspace. "Go, Charmeleon!" he called, sending his Charmeleon out into the open. When had he managed to evolve his Charmander? Once again, he was ahead of you - but it didn’t matter now.

"Gible, let’s go!" Red said, sending out the same Gible you had already encountered. The small, dragon-like head appeared again, ready to fight. Charmeleon stood a head taller, but Gible didn’t mind - he was already waiting to bite his opponent.

And then, the fight began.

“Flamethrower!" Blue shouted, enjoying the thrill of the fight as a wave of flames engulfed the battlefield, the heat reaching even you and the rest of the crowd. But Red simply said, "Dig, and stay down until I say so."

"What’s going on, Red? Afraid of my fire?" Blue was getting cocky again. "Charmeleon, just keep lighting this place up. The Gible will show himself eventually," he instructed. But Red didn’t even acknowledge the banter, he calmly stuck to his plan.

About thirty seconds passed, though it felt much longer, while Gible kept digging and Charmeleon spewed flames. "The legendary Red is afraid of my Charmeleon! I fucking knew those legends were exaggerated. Get your Gible out of hiding, come on!" Blue taunted. Red looked at him, hardly believing the boy’s audacity. Then Red’s eyes shifted to you, and you could tell he almost pitied you for having to grow up dealing with this bullshit.

"Gible, get up and show him how much you care," Red said in a monotonous tone, as Gible stepped out straight into the flames.

"Got you now!" Blue shouted, as his Charmeleon continued breathing fire. But Gible just stood there, unmoving. Eventually, Charmeleon stopped, confused and ignoring his trainer, eyes fixed on his target.

Gible smiled at him, taunting.

"If you knew a little more about Pokémon, you’d know that Gibles live near geothermal heat—and my Gible was the toughest one in his pack. Your flames mean nothing to him," Red explained. Now, both Blue and Charmeleon wore the same fearful expression.

"Gible, it’s time to finish this - go for a Rock Slide!"

Gible didn’t waste a moment, digging again in the direction he had gone through, but now hurling a rain of rocks toward Charmeleon with his head. One hit, then another, and before long, Charmeleon was buried under the rocks. Blue called it back to its Pokéball before it became too dangerous for him.

At that point, the crowd roared. Bell cheered, happy to see the man who had humiliated her defeated so easily, and Rhapsody hugged you. Red looked back at both of you, smiling confidently - which made your heart race.

"Now, Blue, you’re going to apologize to Amber and get out of here before I kick your ass again," Red said. "And never, EVER, pick on her again. I promise I will come to end your journey for good."

Flustered, defeated, and humiliated, Blue stood before Amber and the entire crowd, mumbling words you never dreamed of hearing.

"I-I’m sorry for everything, A-Amber... for the names, for picking on you, and… everything." He didn’t really want to admit his actions. "I…I promise you it won’t happen again."

He sounded insincere, but you didn’t really care. This was all you had ever asked for - and it was all because of Red.