Gray’s lips twitched as he observed his older brother across the battlefield.

  What he had expected to be a quick one on one had turned into an entire production.

  His grandfather, excited at the prospect of an unknown pokemon battling, had cameras stationed around the battlefield. His many assistants were present, roped in to ensure appropriate data would be obtained from all directions.

  Gray’s return seemed to have spread from beyond the lab, he could see many Pallet town residents making their way to the lab’s battlefield to watch. He gave a jaunty wave at Aunt Mallory who looked suspiciously pleased at the turnout.

  He observed the familiar faces of the people around him. Adults who had watched him grow up now appear more aged, and kids he knew had bellsprout-ed up. He was chargrained to note that some of them appeared taller than he was now, even from afar.

  With seemingly half of the town gathered, Professor Oak gave his two grandsons a thumbs up. The Alakazam by his side raised both spoons and psychic shields enveloped the field, isolating the contenders whilst protecting the audience. The battle could finally begin.

  Meeting Blue’s eyes from afar, Gray contemplated the merits of quick battle.

  “Don’t worry, we won’t beat you too quickly. Would be a shame if you don’t get a chance to show off since you’re so fond of it,” Gray’s voice echoed around the field thanks to the lapel mic taped to his chest.

  Blue was taken aback by his brother’s taunt, not expecting it from the younger since Gray was not confrontational in the past. He smirked back, finding this new side to his precious younger brother much more pleasing than the previous meekness.

  “Fine by me. As long as you don’t end up crying like you used to,” he retorted. Laughter spread around the field, the crowd’s anticipation of a good battle growing with the banter.

  The reminder of how he had left Pallet Town stilled something inside Gray. Taking the sprout of negativity inside him and moulding it into determination, he willed himself to even his breathing. This was not new territory to the experienced trainer – taunting was a common tactic in high level battling where supercharged emotions could lead to poorer mid-battle decision making.

  Not for the first time, Gray suspected that one of the reasons his older brother became a successful rookie trainer was because he was a little shit. How else was one supposed to react to an infuriatingly talented first-year with a silver tongue?

  Choosing not to reply, he held out Sylveon’s ball while Blue did the same.

  After the referee’s countdown, both siblings threw out their pokeballs.

  “Sylveon,”

  “Umbreon!”

  Gray stifled a laugh at his brother’s choice as both fox-like pokemon stared each other down. Umbreon was crouching, ready to move at a moment’s notice. A stark contrast to the dark type, Sylveon stood serenely, ribbons dancing in the wind.

  Murmurs filled the stadium as they observed the unfamiliar pokemon. While Sylveon was rare in the western regions, they were practically nonexistent here where Fairy type pokemon were under used. Powerful and flashy moves were commonplace in the east, as trainers showed off their training focused on harnessing more power. Intense matches, after all, made for good TV, so it was no wonder that local fairy types like Jigglypuff and Azumarill were not frequently seen.

  Sylveon soaked up the attention, as the crowd began discussing him.

  “I figured that we should let these two reunite as well. We can’t be the only ones, right?”

  At Blue’s words, Sylveon dismissed his older littermate with a sneer. The provocation only served to annoy Umbreon further, his dark fur beginning to bristle.

  “You sure about this? I’ll let you switch now for free,” Gray generously offered in reply despite knowing there was no way Blue and Umbreon would do so after his barbs.

  “Umbreon, start things off with Dark Pulse!”

  Dark energy gathered in Umbreon’s mouth before it quickly shot outwards.

  “Deflect it and start getting ready Sylveon,”

  Adopting a battle stance, pink feelers infused with fairy energy extended out in defence, easily swatting the move and causing it to dissipate. Sylveon calmed his thoughts briefly before he stomped, causing pink mists to soon envelop the field.

  Blue frowned at the Misty Terrain, unsure what was going on but ultimately uncaring.

  “Toxic,”

  Darting outwards, Umbreon released a splurge of poisonous waste only to be surprised when Sylveon made no move to dodge. Poisonous fluid enveloped the pink fox, and a grimace was all he gave in response as remained tall. Barely a breath after Umbreon ended his move, the toxic waste visibly dissipated into nothingness with a soft hiss, leaving the pink pokemon completely unaffected.

  Ripples of shock echoed around the field. Professor Oak was ecstatic, words rushing out of him as fellow scientists and assistants around him were furiously taking notes.

  Smiling politely at their older brothers, Gray and Sylveon waited.

  “Quick Crunches, Umbreon. Weaken them,” Blue snarled.

  Umbreon rushed forward, the Quick Attack leaving a white streak behind as his fangs gathered dark energy.

  “Avoid and entrap,”

  As the dark type neared, Sylveon burst into action. They both danced around the field, Sylveon avoiding the snarling Umbreon with graceful movements, relying occasionally on strategically placed ribbons to disrupt Umbreon.

  Their back-and-forth tempo began to get faster and faster, quickening to the point where they almost became a blur to the untrained eye, evenly matched in speed.

  Blue commanded with bared teeth, “Get him!”.

  When Sylveon extended a ribbon out to disrupt Umbreon’s movements again, the dark type chose to bite into the ribbon rather than avoid it.

  A pained howl was their reward, but before they could celebrate, other tendrils began to quickly wrap around him. Sylveon hoisted Umbreon up into the air, leaving the dark fox’s softer underbelly exposed as he struggled to break free. Fairy Wind began to pick up around Sylveon, and he let loose a directed hurricane into the air.

  “Bre-on!” The older pokemon screeched at the super effective damage.

  It was shocking to Blue, because Umbreon had always been able to shrug off damage with ease. His eyes flickered back to the unknown pokemon. As the Fairy Wind died down, Umbreon was slammed into the ground for good measure

  Retracting his ribbons, the fairy kept his eyes focused on the downed pokemon as Umbreon tried to get himself upright.

  “Fairy type?”

  “That’s right!” Gray replied pleasantly. Murmurs spread around the crowd, and the gaggle of academics led by Professor Oak became more enthusiastic.

  Blue acknowledged that with a nod before turning to his Umbreon who was trying to get back on his feet. “You okay, bud?” Umbreon nodded to his trainer. “Artillery - shoot him down,”

  Dark Pulses of energy fired out in quick succession, with Swift stars honed into his opponent interweaved between pulses.

  The quick retaliation took the younger duo by surprise, hitting Sylveon solidly for a few moments before another fairy infused ribbon swatting the attacks away gave him enough time to dodge.

  “Get close, Sylveon,”

  Sylveon ran forward to close the gap, dodging out of attacks with deft side leaps. When two simultaneous attacks gave him no room to dodge sideways, he hopped upwards.

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  Taking advantage of his younger brother’s vulnerability in the air, Umbreon fired off a quick Hyper Beam. Sylveon, too slow to react, had no choice but to take the hit.

  He rebounded harshly towards the ground, but before a painful landing, he expertly manoeuvred his ribbons against the ground to right himself, landing deftly on four feet.

  The crowd roared at that, exhilaration spreading.

  Umbreon, in a bid to preserve the distance between them, began to run around the field, periodically aiming at the pink quadrupedal fox with more intense attacks.

  It was a testament to how well trained he was, able to maintain the power in his attacks despite simultaneous rapid firing.

  “Wait for it!” Blue encouraged his starter.

  Timing it right, Umbreon aimed a Hyper Beam at Sylveon after a particularly wide Dark Pulse forced him to take another higher leap.

  The move struck the leaping fox again, the explosive collision causing him to ricochet into the protective psychic walls right by his trainer.

  Gray remained unmoved from his relaxed posture, barely sparing his fallen pokemon a fleeting glance. Sylveon gingerly got up on his paws, shaking his head free of dust. He looked annoyed at having to do so before shooting his dark brother with a murderous glare.

  “That’s twice now,” Gray teased his starter. Sylveon directed his dirty gaze back at his trainer before he strode forward a few steps, readopting a deeper battle stance than what he had started with.

  He shot towards Umbreon, leaving behind a pink streak from the Quick Attack.

  The dance resumed with greater intensity, this time with both pokemon using the same move to get around faster.

  Their back and forths had each of them trading occasional glancing hits, though it was obvious that the pixelated Quick Attacks were causing more damage to the dark type.

  As soon as he could get enough distance, Umbreon shot another wide Dark Pulse that had his younger brother leaping higher into the air again. Not needing to change an already working strategy, a red ball of concentrated energy formed quickly from his snout and the Hyper Beam shot out.

  Before the move could strike true, this time, Sylveon’s feelers, suffused with pink energy, extended outwards and danced quickly in the air. Dexterously manipulating them into forming a protective sphere around himself, he effectively shielded himself from a direct hit.

  ‘Kaiten,’ Gray thought, amused.

  The quick defense allowed Sylveon a narrow window where he could huff in a huge breath.

  Gray called out with flair. “Clear the field with Hyper Voice. Show him what your Hyper Beam looks like,”

  “Syl-Sylveon!”

  A pink-tinted Hyper Voice erupted all around Sylveon, forcing the Dark Pulse Umbreon had managed to hastily fire backwards with an explosion. The intensity of the collision left smoke lingering in the field. Before it could clear, a concentrated Hyper Beam fired out, the pink laser amidst the smoke giving Umbreon no time to dodge, blasting him towards his trainer reminiscent of his own earlier move.

  Before he could stand back up, however, Sylveon took a bounding leap up into the air, previous midair vulnerabilities forgotten.

  “Moonblast!”

  An illusionary backdrop of a full moon appeared behind Sylveon mid leap as he formed a pink ball of intense energy from his mouth. Growing bigger and bigger, Sylveon threw out the attack when he reached his zenith, using the higher vantage point to slam the ball down.

  “Syl-veon!” He smashed the move into Umbreon before he could scramble to stand.

  The force of his own attack propelled Sylveon backwards. He somersaulted in the air in his trainer’s direction, and landed on the ground with a flourish.

  Once the smoke had cleared, Umbreon could be seen unconscious in the middle of a considerable crater.

  The crowd roared in approval at the intense match, shouts of cheers and compliments directed at the panting fairy. Despite how tired the match had made him, Sylveon took a few deep breaths, maintaining his graceful disposition to the crowd’s glee.

  Blue gaped at his fainted pokemon, only startling back to reality when the crowd began chanting the victorious pokemon’s name.

  Welcoming the energy of the audience, Sylveon pranced back to his trainer’s side and wrapped a ribbon tightly around one arm. He left his other ribbons up in the air, waving cheerily at the crowd. Bemused, Gray used his free arm to do the same and the audience roared louder.

  Despite their initial misgivings, they couldn’t deny that in the middle of a cheering crowd; it felt good to be home.

  _________

  Gray spent a considerable amount of time reconnecting with the more familiar members of the crowd gathered around to greet him. He bashfully smiled where appropriate, returning barb for barb at the more receptive elderly who had welcomed his cheeky tongue even in his youth.

  He playfully glared at the more daring aunties and uncles who squeezed his cheeks in fond remembrance of the boy who would spend afternoons beneath their eaves. Aunt Mallory took the time to gloat at her popularity and ability to gather a welcoming crowd so quickly after Gray’s return.

  In a similar vein, Sylveon remained dutifully by Gray’s side, similarly accepting affectionate pats and rubs of the younger crowd enamoured with his battle prowess.

  Pokemon and trainer continued to take the affection with grace. Gray could see his vibrating grandfather peripherally but elected instead to take his time with the people who actually gave a crap about him growing up. Professor Oak was more than able to financially provide for his family, but spending quality time with them was a love language he could never speak.

  Only when the crowd had thinned considerably did the esteemed professor approach his wayward grandson. His mouth opened excitedly, but before his tirade could begin, he found himself somewhat lost at the obvious change in his youngest’s composure.

  Gray visibly tensed as his grandfather neared, the rapid change from his previous relaxation causing the atmosphere to sour. It was a distinct reminder that the estranged Oak grandson was, afterall, estranged for a reason.

  The older generation within the crowd, having a better idea of what had transpired, began to bid their hasty goodbyes. They hurriedly dragged away their younger family members who were confused at the sudden change.

  In a place like Pallet Town where everyone knew everyone, Gray’s running away had become common knowledge. The elders of Pallet Town were a close-knit circle of war veterans enjoying the simple joys of peaceful life. They respected Samuel Oak as a champion turned professor who effectively spent his prime ending the Kanto-Johto war to form the Indigo of today.

  They had worked together to ensure the younger generation knew little of the atrocities of war, presenting a united front that had them keeping certain tidbits of information closer to their weary chests. Not wanting to burst the bubble of admiration for Professor Oak, they kept mum on the failings of Samuel Oak as a grandfather.

  The gathering dispersed, leaving behind Gray, Blue and their grandfather. The dead silence that greeted them was not dissimilar to a group of beginner trainers traversing a Mt. Moon tunnel beneath a flock of sleeping Zubat.

  One wrong move could cause devastation, but someone had to take the first step. Afterall, the only way out was through.

  “Gray, I understand that you may have left on a wrong note, but don’t you think such hostilities are unnece –”

  “You want to study Sylveon right? I’m amenable to that as long as he remains comfortable, no worries,” Gray hurriedly interrupted his grandfather with a pat on said partner’s head. He twirled one ribbon round his arm, letting the calm that came with the action engulf him.

  “Of course I do! But we must still –”

  “I have other pokemon you can study too, it isn’t an issue. I’m still allowed to use the ranch, yes? Do I have a limit like your sponsored trainers?”

  Professor Oak’s eyes gleamed in interest, but before the excitement could bleed through, he seemed to regather himself, “Remarkable! But no you do not, this is still your home. I insist that we –”

  Taking the miniscule show of elation as proof of his grandfather’s unchanged, workaholic nature, Gray allowed his smile to turn even more bitter. Restraining himself, he wound another loop with Sylveon’s feelers. He would not be fighting his grandfather today.

  “I don’t mind sharing my knowledge, though I understand how important it is for you to develop your own conclusions. After all, no one is as good and as important as the Pokemon Professor, right? I’ll speak with your assistants. No need for you to waste your time with me, you must be very busy!”

  Samuel Oak stood there silently amidst the storm of his grandson’s words. It would not do to blow up, as responding in anger could potentially awake the flock of Zubats overhead. He thus swallowed down his own anger, summoning the patience he had had to muster as an Indigo Champion.

  Blue interjected before disaster truly struck. “There’s no need to pick a fight, Gray.”

  Gray appreciated Blue’s intervention as he focused on his brother fully, deeming his conversation with his grandfather over. Nevertheless, Blue was neither blameless nor an innocent party in Gray’s grievances. His quip came quickly, like a lone Zubat swooping down for a taste of fresh blood.

  “I’m not! Did you know that a Sylveon’s ribbons are able to quench enmity and hostility? With him here, we’d never feel the need to fight. Of course,they’d have to be around you instead. I never tried to pick a fight with you growing up.”

  Gray calmly pointed out, much to the chagrin of his older brother. It was not pretty how often he had confronted his younger brother after his ‘failure’ of a first circuit, words particularly sharp and demeaning.

  Blue had never been known for his patience. He reddened and his mouth twisted into an ugly snarl. The Zubats above bristled.

  But before he could respond, shrieks of excitement stopped him.

  “That was awesome! Your Sylveon is super cool!”

  “Yeah! Can we pet him?

  The two voices had the group turning towards two running children towards them with a seemingly familiar old man too far away to make out trailing behind. They appeared to be around 8 to 9 years old, near the traditional age for beginner journeys yet not quite there. One had Gray’s jaw and sparkling brown eyes. This little boy had similar gravity defying hair, though his were a darker burnt orange the exact shade of his older brother.

  Gray turned his attention to the other boy and fought the apprehension threatening to leak into his face. He was shorter than the other child, with midnight spiky hair jutting out in all three directions. His tanned cheeks were rounded in youth and marred with squiggly-line birthmarks on each side. Gray’s eyes traced his sharp jaw before flicking them up to meet glistening obsidian eyes shining in childish excitement,

  There was no mistaking it. This was Ash Ketchum, protagonist of the Pokemon franchise in all his pre-cannon, childhood glory.

  Before Gray could assess the implications of this little boy’s presence, he was distracted by the old man hobbling behind.

  Suddenly, the world tilted in its axis and nothing else mattered to Gray. Relief surged through him and he could feel his chest loosen from the constricting worry that had been plaguing him the past few days, for there, cane in hand standing hunched but alive was Grandpa Sammy.