Summer Leaves

by AceTrainerRilthi

Summary:

Most people thought that Red was dead.
Of course, Leaf knew better than any of those people, and she knew for a fact that Red was indeed dead, if only because he had never existed.

Starting over in Alola was supposed to be a fun experience. Leaf just wanted to move to a region in which no one would recognize her, have some battles here and there against the local trainers, and get some peace and quiet for once in her life. But of course, what she got was a battle against a mad woman, dimension travel, the warmest climate ever (disrespectfully), the return of some faces from her previous life that she thought she'd never see again... and a family.

Will she be able to find happiness among all of this?

Notes:

I got the idea for writing this fic from this Pinterest post

The user mrmercurya2000 commented: "now I'm imagining leaf from Pokemon. Giving up the name Red seems like the most fitting thing." And inspiration struck. I hope you enjoy it!

Disclaimers in the end notes

Chapter 1

Most people thought that Red was dead.

The once champion had disappeared from Kanto many years ago, only to be found some time later on top of the highest mountain in the region. But then, after battling the single Johtonian trainer who had dared approach such an inhospitable place, no one had ever seen the legendary trainer again.

Some people thought that Red hadn’t emotionally recovered from losing that battle, so he had found another place to hide; others thought that he was still traveling even more inhospitable places, and finally, the majority of people decided to think that he had simply died at some point after that battle ended, either consumed by shame or falling victim to any other unfortunate accident.

Of course, Leaf knew better than any of those people.

And she knew for a fact that Red was dead, if only because he had never existed.

Or at least, that was what she told herself when she was feeling especially overdramatic.

And she was definitely feeling overdramatic today, especially after the day she’d just had. She was starting to think that the bad guys had a penchant for annoying her after all of this.

But don’t get her wrong. Alola was, in general, a great place to live. It had a way warmer climate than what she liked, especially now that it was summer, but other than that, the people were nice, their traditions were fantastic, and the Alolan forms were such a delight to see. She had caught an Alolan Raichu and a Mimikyu (not an Alolan form, but close enough in her opinion) in the first few months after she arrived there, much to Pikachu’s annoyance. But he was starting to get used to it, and Snorlax had taken an immediate liking to Mimikyu that Leaf didn’t quite understand but had learned to appreciate regardless.

The only thing, apart from the weather, that she didn’t like from Alola was the Aether Foundation. Objectively, she knew that they were doing a good thing and that more organizations like them were needed in the world, but after what Team Plasma had tried to do only a few years ago, she knew to be cautious.

And the president of that same foundation had made a completely unnecessary comment about Leaf’s lack of talking when she visited Aether Paradise. Wicke, an assistant to someone she hadn’t met that day, had later turned up to know sign language, but the damage had been already done.

So when Elio had appeared in her house in a panic and had told her that Lusamine had kidnapped a legendary Pokémon and was about to do Birds-knew-what with it, she had just sighed.

But she never expected being in the middle of family drama and actually going to a parallel world together with a bunch of kids, a weird depressed man, and who she hoped was the craziest woman alive.

Pokémon possession was also not on her plans. Or… Ultra-Beast possession. Whatever.

Lusamine had tried attacking the kids with both her Pokémon and Nihilego’s powers, so Leaf had let Elio, Selene and Gladion deal with the woman’s team while she kept the Ultra Beast away from the kids with Blastoise’s help. She had also asked the rest of her Pokémon to make sure that no other Nihilegos approached the group, just in case.

And then the kids won the battle, and Lusamine-Nihilego got so mad that she completely ignored Blastoise and tried to strike Lillie, but fortunately, Lunala saved the girl before anything could happen, and then the legendary also separated the woman from the Nihilego.

 

So now here was Leaf, crashing on Professor Kukui’s lab for the night with a bunch of kids around her.

She sent an exasperated look to an amused Professor Burnet when Selene started complaining at Lillie for not letting her sleep in the loft that night. Hau and Elio had been more intelligent, since they had bribed Snorlax with food and were now using him as a bed on the other side of Kukui’s fish tank, which was fair game to Leaf.

What wasn’t fair game was the fact that Raichu and Espeon had also abandoned her. Hau’s Raichu had stolen Leaf’s Pokémon’s heart, up to a point in which she was starting to worry that some Pichu eggs would “magically” appear tomorrow. And Espeon had just decided to annoy her trainer, as always.

Gladion seemed to share Leaf’s feelings on this situation, since he was trying to hide from the world on the bunk bed that the other kids had overlooked. Leaf had half a mind to occupy the botton bed, but she was pretty sure that Selene would demand it once Lillie convinced her that this sleepover wasn’t… a sleepover.

Gods, Leaf missed Mount Silver sometimes.

Kukui came back from the basement. He was holding a bight orange sleeping bag that was still folded, and he smiled at Leaf when he noticed her looking at him.

“I found a sleeping bag!” He announced. “Leaf, Selene, you’re the last ones without a bed. Unless you want Snorlax back, Leaf?”

“No, she doesn’t!” Elio said before sending her puppy eyes. “You don’t, do you?”

She couldn’t help but smile. “You can have him tonight. Besides, it would be impossible to move him now.”

Elio looked at her hands with concentration written across his face while she signed, and then he nodded and looked at Kukui anyways. Pikachu chuckled loudly.

“She’ll let you have him for the night,” Kukui translated. “But I’m sure you know enough sign at this point to understand that. Have some faith in yourself.”

“Sorry,” he mumbled. Then, he turned to Hau. “Did you hear that, Hau? We can have… Oh, he’s already asleep.”

That made Kukui chuckle. “It’s been a long day.”

Leaf could only nod in agreement.

Selene didn’t take too long in going down from the loft. “Lillie doesn’t want me there.”

“She probably wants some privacy,” Burnet told her. “It’s had to be especially bad for her.”

“Yeah, I know.” The girl sent a look in Gladion’s direction before sighing. “Leaf, would you mind taking the sleeping bag? I’d like to…”

“To be close to the siblings tonight. I know.” Leaf stopped for a moment, making sure that Selene was understanding her. “Go to bed. I’ll take the sleeping bag.”

The other girl smiled. “Thank you.”

She nodded, and Kukui gave her the sleeping bag while Selene crashed on the bed. She was exhausted after such a day, but a part of her was worried that she wouldn’t be able to sleep because, y’know, she just went to a parallel dimension.

At least she’d have to try.

Chapter 2

The next morning found Leaf cuddlying Pikachu, as always. Espeon had returned to their side at one point and had her tail on top of Leaf’s face, which didn’t surprise her in the slightlest. And when she tried to move, she found Venusaur waking up next to her.

She buried her face in his enormous leg as a greeting, which made Espeon hiss and slightly slap her with her tail before sitting up on top of her head. So she started laughing, and the vibration woke up the Pikachu on her chest.

Pikachu was soon screaming at an amused Espeon, so Leaf stood up and tried to diffusse the situation before anyone ended up getting electrocuted. Once the annoyed rodent was safely imprisoned within Venusaur’s vines, Leaf sighed in relief and glared at Espeon.

She started rubbing herself against Leaf’s leg, the master manipulator. So she petted her briefly before Venusaur put Pikachu back in her arms. The yellow Pokémon glared at her, but he seemed to calm down when she kissed the top of his head.

Then she looked up from the situation at hand, and she saw everyone but Gladion and Kukui looking at her. And Snorlax looked amused, the traitor.

She felt her cheeks heat up, which made Burnet chuckle. “I see you’ve just avoided a situation there.”

She tried to answer, but Pikachu was still in her hands, so she put him on his usual spot on her shoulder beforehand. “They are the worst. Sorry if we’ve woken anyone up.”

“Don’t worry,” Hau said. “I was already smelling the pankakes before Pikachu started screaming.”

“Of course you were, your love for food knows no limits,” Elio complained.

“Are you telling me that you’re not hungry after yesterday?!”

“We had dinner before going to sleep!” The Kantonian boy fired back.

“But now I want breakfast,” the Alolan mumbled.

Kukui, who was putting the pankakes on a table, chuckled at their antics. “Don’t fight. Breakfast is ready, so everybody can come to the table. Gladion, I know you’re awake, so stop pretending otherwise.”

The kid made a sound in protest, which had the man shaking his head while smiling widely.

“Hau is going to eat all of Gladion’s pankakes,” Selene sing-songed while slipping out of her bed. She yawned. “I want some milk.”

“There is,” Kukui said. “And honey for the pankakes.”

“And chocolate?” Leaf requested.

The Professor laughed. “I didn’t know you had a sweet tooth, Leaf. Of course we have chocolate.”

She smiled, especially when Hau started saying that people who liked chocolate were cool (and then Elio said that everybody liked it). This lab was much more homey than the one in Pallet Town, even if she couldn’t have Charizard out on the basis that the whole building was made of wood, and she liked Kukui much better that she had ever liked Oak.

Not like she wasn’t grateful to the old Professor, if only because he had given her a starter and a Pokédex, but she had never liked how the man’s favoritism had made Green hate her.

And he had never even tried to understand her. But Kukui had started learning sign language as soon as he had met her, and she was pretty sure that he also knew about her past, but he had never asked her anything about it.

She petted Espeon absently, while Lillie went down the stairs from the loft and Gladion did the same from the top bed, and when she exchanged a look with Professor Burnet, the woman winked at her before sitting down on the table.

 

Lusamine was being taken care of in the Aether Foundation, and that’s where Lillie went to after the other kids had left the lab in order to challenge the newly created Pokémon League.

Leaf went with the girl, mainly because she was worried. There, she was told that Lusamine was still weak due to Nihilego’s toxins, which had refused to leave her body. Leaf frowned when learning that the Ultra Beast was probably a poison type. This was going to be difficult, and Lillie seemed so worried too…

But then she remembered Bill. He had been merged with a Clefairy while working on the PC system, all those years ago. Leaf had been the one to unfuse him, although she really had no idea how the process worked. But he probably knew better than anyone about these kinds of things! He might be able to help Lusamine.

But contacting Bill would prove difficult. Leaf couldn’t do it without making Kanto dissolve into chaos, so Wicke decided on the second best course of action: asking Samson Oak about it.

Which had, of course, fallen on Leaf’s shoulders, mostly because Lillie wanted to stay with her mother, Kukui and the other kids were too busy with the League, and Burnet was trying to help with the great amount of Ultra Beasts that had fallen to Alola after Lusamine opened her portal.

…Leaf was pretty sure that she’d have to help with that too.

But for now, she had agreed to meet Samson Oak on top of Mount Lanakila. Which was more than fine for her, actually.

Once on the peak, she closed her eyes an inhaled the cold air that seemed adamant to hurt her nostrils. Pikachu did the same on top of her shoulder, while Raichu and Mimikyu returned to their Poké Balls by themselves, probably because they were used to warmer weather.

The wind was softly moving the long skirt of her dress, and she had to put her sun hat inside her purse after a moment. So caps were better for this climate, huh. Dully noted.

Samson Oak was waiting for her near the entrance to the Pokémon League. He still looked like a tanned version of his brother, which made Leaf almost have a heart attack the first time she saw the man.

This time, he was wearing a jacket and didn’t complain when Lapras came out of her Poké Ball and lied down on the snow right next to him. Instead, he waved at Leaf with a smile on his face.

“I know this is a strange place to meet, but I figured you would appreciate the climate of a snowy mountain.”

Leaf nodded. “I actually missed this. Alola is so warm all the time…” She frowned. “Wait, how do you know I would appreciate a snowy mountain?”

The man arched an eyebrow. Leaf’s eyes widened, and she took a step back in fear.

He knew.

And he was an Oak. He only needed to make a phone call before all of Kanto knew that she was still alive, and then…

“I’m not telling anyone anything,” he stopped her train of thought. “Don’t worry, Leaf. Sorry if I scared you, I didn’t mean to.”

Leaf left out a shaky breath. “How did you know?”

“Your team,” the man said. “Kukui also told me that you’re from Kanto. I took a while, but in the end it seemed rather obvious, especially with your unusual eyecolor and with how you’ve just reacted.”

Leaf nodded, slowly, trying not to curse.

Her mother knew. Leaf had climbed down Mt Silver after her defeat against that Johtonian girl, and she had broken down in front of her. She had told her everything: about Giovanni, about Green’s hatred after losing the Championship against his longtime rival, about Professor Oak’s weird favoritism and how he was the one to push Green towards that hatred, about Mewtwo, about how everybody’s expectations towards an 11-year-old had nearly broken her, and about the fact that she was a girl.

Mom had looked at her with tears welled up in her eyes, but she had hugged her after Leaf’s hands became too shaky to continue signing, and she had called her her child. Once both of them had calmed down enough, she had looked at her with those sparkling scarlet eyes that she had inherited and asked Leaf what her name was. From that moment onwards, Mom had referred to her as her daughter.

So the only family she had left in the world knew that she was alive, as well as who she was and what she had done, and accepted her regardless, but she knew for a fact that the rest of Kanto wouldn’t react in the same way. Especially after she’d been gone for so long.

No, it would be better if everybody kept thinking that she was dead.

“I’m not going to say anything,” Samson Oak repeated. “I understand why you want to keep away from the public eye, and I don’t particularly like my cousin anyways. I was surprised to find you in Alola of all places, is all.”

Leaf couldn’t help but smile at that. “I wanted to start over. And I guessed Alola would be as good of a place as any. I also liked the Alolan forms.”

Samson chuckled. “Please, now you’re praising my area of research? I didn’t know you’d be a flatterer.”

Leaf’s smile vanished. “You’re an Oak through and throughout.”

“Can’t battle my genes in all aspects.” He shrugged. “Now, you wrote in your message that you wanted me to know something important. What is it?”

“It’s about what happened yesterday,” she started. “With Lusamine. While we were in Ultraespace, she fused herself with Nihilego, and although we managed to unfuse them, now she’s sick because Nihilego’s toxins are still in her body.”

Samson nodded. All his amusement from earlier had vanished while Leaf explained the situation. “I’ve been told that Nihilego is a parasite, so that doesn’t surprise me as much as it should. I does surprise me, but at this point I think I’d expect nearly anything from Ultra Beasts. But I don’t see how I can help with that.”

“B-I-L-L.” Leaf spelled his name. “The guy who created the PC system. When I met him, he had accidentally fused himself with a Clefairy, so I had to help him go back to normal using a weird machine. I haven’t used the PCs since Mt Silver, so he probably doesn’t know I’m still alive, and I fear he might do something stupid if I contact him.”

“So you want me to tell him about Lusamine?” Leaf nodded. “That might work. Green told me something about the Clefairy situation, I’ve no idea how he learned of it, so I could say that Burnet told me what was happening and I remembered him.”

“You’d do that?”

“Of course, leave it to me,” he said. “I don’t want poor Lillie to be sad. Kukui has talked so much about her that I’m starting to consider giving her some presents during the winter holidays.” Leaf giggled. “I think Daisy gave me Bill’s number a while ago, so I’ll get to it soon.”

“Daisy?”

“Yes, they are dating.”

“Oh. Good for her, I guess.”

He nodded, and he seemed about to continue the conversation when a ruckus was heard coming from the Pokémon League.

Both of them (and Lapras) turned towards the building, just in time to see Selene going out of it with her male Salandit on her shoulder and screaming at the skies.

They looked at each other, thoroughtly confused, and then Elio, Hau, Gladion and Kukui went out behind her. She stopped screaming and seemed to see the Kantonians, because she started waving at them.

“Yo! Leaf, Professor Oak, come here!”

After another confused look, they walked towards the goup. Kukui seemed happy, and Selene was thriving, but the boys had long faces and looked a little disappointed.

Leaf already knew what had happened before Selene told them the news. “I’m the first ever Champion of Alola!”

Leaf smiled and clapped at her, which she took with pride. Gladion huffed, before saying something about training and going away.

“The competition was hard,” Kukui told Leaf. “I didn’t know who was going to win. They are all such good trainers.”

“They are,” Leaf agreed. “Selene, I’m so proud of you! Just remember that if anything happens in Alola, you can still count on the rest of us to help you; you don’t have to do anything just because you won a Pokémon battle. And if the press gives you distortion, talk to Kukui.”

“Okay,” she said. “Thanks!”

Kukui put a hand over the new Champion’s shoulder. “I’ll take care of that. There won’t be a repeat of you, Leaf.”

She nodded, trying to dissipate her worries about him knowing who she was. She already suspected it, but now it was clear as day.

“Can I battle you?” Selene asked her with bright eyes.

Leaf smiled. “You can try, but I’m not going easy on you now that you’re a Champion.”

“I’m more than fine with that.”

“And guys,” she turned to Hau and Elio. “I’m also proud of you. And of Gladion too. I’m sure you did very well.”

“I almost had it!” Elio told her.

“No, I was the one who almost had it!” Hau tried to talk over his friend.

“And because of that, if you want to battle me, I won’t hold back either.”

Hau’s eyes widened. “You promise?”

“Yes.”

“Great!” Elio said.

Samson chuckled next to her, but she didn’t pay him much attention because Kukui spoke at that moment. “Let’s go back to Melemele. We have a party prepared for the first Alolan Champion, Selene.”

She smiled like crazy. “Really?”

“Of course,” the professor said. “Leaf, Professor Oak, you’re obviously invited too.”

“I’d love to go, but I’m afraid I have to decline,” Samson said, looking at Leaf. “I have a phone call to make, and I think now’s the best time to coordinate with Kanto’s time zone.”

Leaf smiled at him. “Thank you.”

“Of course. Go have fun!”

And so they did.

Notes:

Leaf seems to have a penchant for trying to put the weight of the world on her shoulders. Must be the Pokémon protagonist genes. At least Alolan Oak is willing to help with Lusamine's situation!

Chapter 3

The festival was beautiful. Almost everyone Leaf had met in Alola came, and Selene seemed to know most of the people there too.

Leaf noticed how the newest champion sneaked out of it with Lillie after a while, but she decided not to say anything. Of course, she regretted her decision as soon as the girl appeared with Tapu Koko caught inside a Master Ball, but the guardian was released before Hala could have a heart attack, so it was all fine in the end.

Or at least, Leaf hoped so, because the Master Ball wasn’t destroyed, so Tapu Koko technically still belonged to Selene. But Articuno, Zapdos and Moltres also belonged to Leaf and she hadn’t seen them in years; legendaries were like that.

So the festival continued with a battle royale and some fireworks, which Leaf got to see next to Elio and Espeon. Hau got an offer to train with Ilima, and Selene spent the majority of the time together with Lillie.

 

Leaf woke up the next day to a message from Samson Oak:

Hi, Leaf

I got your number from Kukui. I’m sorry about that, but it’s pretty urgent.

I managed to talk to Bill and he agreed to help Lusamine out. I messaged the Aether Paradise during last night’s festival, and it seems like they got ahold of Lillie. She’s going to Kanto with her mother. The ship will sail in about an hour

 

She bolted out of the bed, scaring most of her team in the process. Pikachu protested, but he shut up as soon as he saw her face.

She sent messages with the news to Hau and Kukui. Kukui seemed to know something already, probably because Lillie had been living with him up until now, but Hau panicked at first and then said that he’d be at Elio and Selene’s in a blink, so Leaf left her phone on her bedside table and continued getting ready. Good thing Charizard had passed a test that allowed him to act as a Pokéride as soon as she set foot in Alola.

When she got there, she found Kukui talking to Lillie in front of the port. Charizard landed next to them, so she managed to hear the professor promising Lillie that she’d always have a place in Alola.

She hopped onto the floor with Pikachu in his usual spot on her shoulder and the rest of her team on their Poké Balls.

“Leaf.” She looked at Lillie, who seemed to be somewhat sad. “Thank you so much for this opportunity. I know it was you who got Professor Oak to talk to Bill, so I…”

“Hey, it was nothing,” she interrupted her. “I’m just asking you not to mention me once you’re in Kanto in return.”

Lillie nodded.

“Don’t let Oak bully you either. I mean Kanto’s Professor Oak, not Alola’s.”

She giggled. “I know, you don’t seem to like him that much. Neither does our Oak, for some reason.”

“He’s bad,” Leaf summarised. “But if you happen to go to Pallet, say hi to my mum.”

Lillie’s eyes sparkled with interest. “Send me her address and I’ll see what I can do.”

“We have a deal.”

She heard someone running into the port, so she turned around just in time to see Hau coming with the twins. “You didn’t tell us anything!”

“Hau…” Lillie sighed. “I’m sorry. But I have to go to Kanto.”

“Why?” Elio asked.

“I want to help my mother get better,” she answered. “And… and I also want to get stronger.”

“Are you going to do the gym challenge?” Selene asked. Everybody looked at her. “Not the right time?”

“Yes,” Lillie admitted, surprising everyone. “I don’t… I’m sad to leave Alola… but the thought of going to Kanto fills my heart with excitement! I’m going to become a real trainer and meet all kinds of wonderful Pokémon!”

“That’s great,” Leaf signed. “I you need help with the gym challenge, just send me a message.”

She giggled. “Wouldn’t that give me an unfair advantage?”

“Why would it? I did my gym challenge years ago. Everybody must’ve improved since then.”

“You’re impossible,” Selene mumbled.

“Selene,” Lillie said, gaining her attention, “Hau, Elio… Leaf. No matter what happens on my journey, I’m going to be okay. Because of the smiles you shared with me. You three and the Professor and everyone here… thank you all so much!”

Hau started crying, which was a real mood.

“Oh, Hau!” Lillie hugged him. “I’ll come back someday! This is not forever!”

“But…” He sobbed into her shoulder. “I haven’t said any of the things I… I wanted to say to you! I’m sending you the biggest letter! Just you wait!”

Lillie giggled again, but this time it sounded much more like a sob. The twins hugged Hau and her, and Kukui and Leaf were soon roped into it. Then, Lillie started giving some her things to everyone, and Leaf started crying once she gripped the other girl’s favorite blanket.

Lillie might be about ten years younger than Leaf, but distortion if she didn’t consider her a member of her family at this point. She only hoped she’d be okay in Kanto. It wasn’t a good place for everybody, but Lillie was strong, even if she didn’t know it yet.

She was probably stronger than Leaf had ever been, and she wasn’t referring to Pokémon battles. All in all, the girl would be missed.

That night, Leaf slept at Kukui’s.

Chapter 4

Leaf generally didn’t like being roped into things.

Unless those things were battle related, of course.

So, when Elio barged into her house talking about a battle facility in Poni Island that Hau had told him about, Pikachu and her had been out the door before anyone could complain.

He told her more things on the way there. Apparently, he would be training alone for the time being, because Hau was under a special training regime designed by Ilima, Gladion had taken over as acting president of the Aether Foundation while his mother was recovering (and the thought of that boy being president of an international charity was worrying. He was just a kid!), and Selene was off doing something… for the International Police. So much for not taking on too much responsibility just because she was Champion.

Leaf would need to interfere before disaster struck.

But first, onto the Battle Tree!

It was a normal battle facility, in wich you just need to win many battles in a row before whoever was in charge challenged you, you win PB which then can be exchanged for all sorts of items, and the like. Leaf knew enough about these kinds of facilities thanks to Hoenn’s Battle Frontier and Unova’s Battle Subway, which had been a delight to challenge.

Although she was bad at Double Battles.

Which had never been a problem to her until the Subway Boss that was in charge of the Doubles Line had laughed in her face.

She wasn’t proud of that fistfight, and she was obviously devastated when she had been banned from the Battle Subway for life. But she would do it again.

The Battle Tree had both singles and doubles, but she had learned her lesson that one rainy day in Unova (which would probably please the smiling man), so she decided to focus on singles for the time being.

She was excited, though, because Elio said that many famous trainers from around the world were trying their luck on Poni Island, and there were rumors that Sinnoh’s most infamous ex champion, Cynthia, was there. Leaf didn’t know the woman, but she was excited about the prospect of facing her in battle.

Elio didn’t know who was in charge of the Battle Tree, however, only that their title was that of Battle Legend. A really arrogant title, if you asked her, but whatever. She’d know them soon enough.

Once they got far enough into the Poni Plains, and after dodging a weird giant thing that was eating rocks like mad, Leaf looked up and saw the Battle Tree.

It was the biggest tree she had ever seen, perhaps save by the White Treehollow in Unova. Its shadow loomed over half of the Poni Plains, and its branches were so full of green leaves that she was hardly able to see the platforms that hanged from them.

It was the middle of summer, so it was normal that the trees would be green. However, as far as she had been told, Alola’s tropical climate made it so that seasons weren’t especially prevalent in the region, so it was possible that the tree’s leaves would be green throughout the whole year.

“Woah,” Elio mumbled next to her, making her go back to reality. “It’s huge. We’re gonna have so many cool battles in there! Let’s go!”

Leaf hardly had time to nod before he took her by the wrist and started running towards the tree.

She gasped, and Pikachu downright cried in shock before gripping a lock of her long hair. She grimaced at first, but then she started running next to Elio anyways. Soon enough, she was outspeeding the kid, so she took his hand and pushed him along. His protests soon evolved into laughter.

Approaching the tree felt like entering it. There were enough lower branches to form some sort of natural door, which whoever was in charge of the project had completed with two wooden panels that looked a little like the doors in the entrance of every area where there was a trial from the Island challenge.

There weren’t many people in the main entrance; Leaf could see some workers and a couple of trainers walking around and talking with each other.

She let go of Elio’s hand, and they started walking towards the reception counter while looking around. There were people and Pokémon on top of the hanging platforms, who seemed to be practicing moves on them, probably to make sure there weren’t security issues.

She was so distracted looking at them that she didn’t realize they were near the main counter until Elio grabbed her arm and digged his nails on her skin. “Leaf.”

She hissed in pain, looking down from the platforms with the intention of glaring at him. However, as soon as she saw the counter, her plans to do that went out the metaphorical window.

She hardly noticed Elio removing his hand with a quiet ‘sorry’.

 

He was talking to a female worker and hadn’t seen them yet, but Leaf could perfectly see his profile from this angle.

He was older, but she recognized him right away. His usual purple jumper and baggy trousers had been replaced with a black shirt and green jeans that fit him so well-

And Leaf should be panicking.

Heck, she was panicking. Green Oak was right in front of her, and it had been almost ten years, and now he was here in Alola for some reason, and he looked so content right now and he was so hot and…

And he was turning around.

Notes:

Leaf ma'am you're a mess

Also, enjoy the references to Emmet and to Guzzlord!

Chapter 5

Pikachu cried in alarm, and she took a step back. Elio took one forward, shielding her as much as he could given their height difference, but the movement only caught Green’s eye.

Green looked at her and then at Elio, but his gaze soon backtracked to look at her with a slight frown. Pikachu and her held their breaths at the same time, but he shrugged as if to himself before approaching them with a slight smile on his face.

“Bonjour!” He greeted them with his usual hand gesture- putting his index and middle fingers next to his forehead and pushing them onto the air before dropping his hand. But the Kalosian word was new. “Welcome to the Battle Tree! Are you Trainers?”

“Yes!” Elio answered with enthusiasm, although he still seemed a little tense. “My sister’s the Alolan Champion! So I have to train if I want to defeat her, and my best friend said this place was good!”

“It is,” Green said. He seemed taken aback when Elio mentioned Selene, but he recovered soon enough. “Y’know, I was a Champion once, so I can give you some pointers.” He offered his hand to shake. “Battle Legend Green, at your service.”

Leaf’s mouth hanged open. Elio gasped audibly, before shaking Green’s hand. “You’re the guy in charge?!”

Green giggled. It sounded glorious. “I am.”

“Oh my gods,” the kid muttered, sounding almost as hysterical as Leaf herself was feeling. “I’m Elio. And… and these are Leaf and Pikachu.”

“Of course.” Green let go of Elio’s hand and offered his to Leaf. She took it with as much nonchalance as she managed, and before she had time to react, he was kissing her hand.

Was it her, or had the weather warmed up a few degrees just now?

“It’s a pleasure,” he mumbled against her skin, sending a shiver up her spine. He stood up straight soon enough, but he seemed to forget to let go of her hand. He frowned. “Actually, do I know you? You look familiar.”

Leaf blinked. She saw Pikachu covering his eyes with his paws on the corner of her eye. Green looked at him, his frown deepening, and when Leaf yanked her hand out of his grasp, he looked like a kicked puppy.

But Leaf needed to answer him.

She exchanged a panicked look with Elio, but when she looked at Green again, she found herself unable to come up with a lie.

She swallowed her nerves before finally greeting him. “Hi, Green. It’s… been a while.”

His eyes widened.

When they were kids, Leaf had created a sign for him, because she had been complaining that she didn’t want to spell his name every time. Green had immediately forbidden her from making his sign be the one for the color green, which little Leaf had found outrageous.

So she found one that matched him even more. First, she touched her nose with her index and her middle finger -“smell ya later”- and then, she put those two fingers next to her head -the exact same gesture he had made when greeting Elio and her just now.

Leaf was pretty sure that he was still using that sign for himself, or that he remembered it at the very least, because he jumped back when his mind clicked.

“You-” He covered his mouth with his hand so fast that Leaf was worried he’d slapped himself. “Oh- Oh my gods. You’re… you…”

His eyes began watering. Leaf panickly took a step towards him, and he fell into her arms as if it was second nature.

She returned the hug just as quickly, and Pikachu only had time to hop to the floor before Green’s head fell on her shoulder. She held him tighter when he sobbed, not minding one bit the tears that were falling on her dress.

But she didn’t understand anything. Why was Green crying? He’d told her that he hated her. She had destroyed his dreams. She had humiliated him! Sure, it hadn’t been on purpose, but why was Green crying on her shoulder right now?!

Elio looked at her with wide eyes, but she could only arch her eyebrows in confusion.

The hug didn’t last for too long, which Leaf found strangely disappointing. Sooner than she would’ve liked, Green let go of her and tried to dry off his tears with one hand. 

When he looked at her, there were still unshed tears in his eyes, but he didn’t seem to be paying them any attention. “I thought you were dead.”

Oh.

That made sense.

Everybody in Kanto thought that she was dead. Or almost everybody, anyways. She wasn’t seen when she went down Mt Silver, and she had gone to Hoenn immediately afterwards, where no one had really known who she was at the time.

But she didn’t know Green would react so harshly at that. It kind of made sense, because death is a heavy topic after all, but he hated her. Why would he mind?

“I…” Green crossed his arms and looked to the floor, as if embarrassed. “I thought you had died thinking that I hated you. I couldn’t… Oh, gods. I don’t know how I survived that. But- But now you’re here, and… Why didn’t you tell me?!”

That- what?

Green thought she had died thinking… that he hated her? Did this mean he didn’t hate her?

She shook her head. That was impossible. Green had told her to get lost, that he didn’t want to see her ever again. And that was what she’d done! Why was he acting like this now? She didn’t understand anything.

“For Arceus’ sake,” Green mumbled. “You… Didn’t you care? Is that why? I can’t believe you would leave everyone like that. What about your mother? What about me? We thought you- you…”

More tears spilled down his cheeks, and he sneered in rage. Leaf hesitated, before deciding that she shouldn’t admit that her mother knew about her right now.

“I…” She spent a moment with a hand over her chest, trying to decide how to phrase her thoughts. Green shook his head in order to see her signs better through his tears. “I thought you’d be happy.”

“Happy?!” He closed his fists, but a flash of pain appeared in his eyes. “Why would I be happy thinking you were…? Are you nuts?”

“You said you hated me.” Green recoiled at that, to her utter confusion. “You didn’t want to see me ever again. I had just destroyed your dreams, I understand, I just…”

“I was eleven!” Green’s desperate scream scared her. He seemed to notice, because he straightened his back so he wasn’t looming over her and spoke with a slightly softer voice. “I was stupid. I thought my grandfather would love me if I was Champion, and you took the title and his love from me.”

“Professor Oak never loved me.”

“I know that now,” Green said. “He… I don’t think he ever truly loved anyone, except maybe himself.”

Leaf nodded, slowly. She’d known that, but she had also realized it too late. As soon as she had gotten the title, Professor Oak had tried to take credit as her mentor, when he had only given her a starter and a Pokédex, the same things he had given most people in Kanto. He had tried influencing her for making decisions pertaining to the League, when she hadn’t known the first thing about how it actually worked, and he had scared her so much with his “friendly” stalking that she’d hidden from him in the Indigo Plateau for almost two weeks. Even then, the only reason he hadn’t barged into the Champion’s room as soon as he knew of her whereabouts was that Lance and Agatha didn’t appreciate him either, and walking past three angry Dragonites and a prankster Gengar wasn’t precisely easy.

Between dear old Professor Oak and the press’ pestering, it was no surprise that she had bonded with Mewtwo and isolated herself on the highest mountain in the region.

“I think you’re right,” she agreed with Green’s guess. “But I… I’m sorry, for what it’s worth. We were rivals; I was just competing with you. I never wanted to drive a wedge between us, or to push you away from your grandfather.”

“The wedge was already made when we started our journey,” Green rebutted. “I was already jealous of you because of my grandfather’s favoritism. And honestly, you pushing me away from that old man was the best thing that could’ve happened. As of today, I haven’t talked to him in about seven years.”

Leaf’s eyes widened. Green chuckled at her reaction, but it didn’t seem to have any humor.

“He was too much,” he explained. “Keeping my distance to him is more difficult now that I’m starting my career in the academic community, but…”

“You’re a scientist?”

“I’m trying,” Green seemed more amused now. “‘Got my degree in Kalos. I’ll go for a PhD next, but first I needed a vacation.”

“You’re… wow.” Leaf smiled sadly. “So much has happened since that day in Kanto.”

“Of course,” Green agreed. “And that’s just my life. Don’t think I’m not interested in yours.”

“It hasn’t been so noteworthy…”

“Don’t lie.” She jumped at Elio’s rebuttal. She had forgotten he was there. “Just the last couple of days have been worthy of a movie.”

“That’s something I can get behind.” Green offered his hand once again, and when she put hers over his, he kissed it like he’d done before. For some reason she couldn’t quite understand, she blushed more this time. “We have so much to catch up for. How about we go get a coffee one of these days?”

Leaf blushed even more. He couldn’t be proposing a date, could he?

His wink answered her inner question almost perfectly. She covered her face with her free hand in a poor attempt to hide her blush, which only awarded her a giggle from Green.

“You could also have a battle,” Elio proposed, apparently none the wiser. “I wonder what the result would be…”

Green seemed to think about it, but she recovered the hand he was holding to answer quickly. “Maybe at another time. I don’t think I’d be fit for battling right now.”

“I thought you had come here explicitly for battling,” Green teased. “Or did you just want to see me?”

“Shut up.”

He chuckled. Pikachu, still next to her, seemed outraged. She sent him an apologetic look.

“Let’s try this: when you manage to get to the 20th floor in the Battle Tree challenge, we will have our battle,” Green proposed. “Same thing’s for you, Elio. In the meantime, I still have a few things to prepare around here, so…” He took a card from his pocket and gave it to Leaf with a wink. “This is for you. Hit me up anytime. Smell ya later!”

With that, he turned away and walked towards the tree itself, where he disappeared into the foliage.

Leaf scrambled to look at the card while Pikachu quickly climbed on her.

It seemed to be a business card, albeit a very simple one. His name was on it, along with the title ‘Battle Legend’. There was also a phone number under it.

Leaf’s eyes widened. Had he given her his number?

Elio tried to look up at the card, and when he couldn’t, he pulled on Leaf’s arm until it was to his height.

He gasped after he read it. Something in his gaze let Leaf know that everything had clicked. “Did you just get yourself a date?”

She shot him a mareepish smile. His answering gasp seemed almost offended, but he was soon smiling in glee at the promise of drama.

“I need to tell Selene about this!”

He was running before she could react.

She sighed, and looked at the card again. She couldn’t help but smile when she read the phone number on it.

Then, she turned towards the Battle Tree proper. Pikachu cried in enthusiasm when he saw it, and her smile widened.

Sure, she could just call Green and decide a date through the phone.

But she could also see him herself after winning some cool battles.

After exchanging a look with Pikachu, it was decided. The Poké Balls in her bell also shook in trepidation, so she steeled herself and walked towards the counter with more confidence that she had ever felt.

It was finally time to look forward to her future.

THE END

Notes:

Catch me praying so that the sign I described doesn't already exist in ASL

I can't believe I've finished posting a fanfic. This is a milestone for me! And hopefully something that will be repeated.

This has been a short but fun ride.
It's been a pleasure! I hope you have enjoyed!

Notes:

I hope you've enjoyed this chapter! This story will be short, because How to cope is taking up most of my time. By the way, this story and How to cope take place in two different universes

Disclaimers:

-The sign language Leaf is using is ASL, since I figured most people here would know more about this one than about others. However, since I'm a Hearing person (or hard of hearing, if we want to be specific, but my hearing loss is really mild) and I'm not American, I don't know ASL. In order to write this, I've consulted some Internet forums and a Hearing friend who knows a little of Spanish Sign Language, but if any of you feels like I've done a disservice to the language, please, by all means, I'm completely open to constructive criticism. I'm trying to learn.

-Likewise, I'm not a trans girl. I can relate to things like gender dysphoria and deadnaming because I'm genderfluid, and I've also looked information up on the Internet, but if anyone has got a suggestion or a worry, please tell me.