Pokemon Regression

Chapter 36: Blue is Bitter

Over in one corner of the Pokemon Centre was a booth with cushioned seats around a table, which provided a place to sit and talk with some degree of privacy. After Blue's outburst had attracted the attention of the whole foyer, I'd quickly ushered both him and Chee away to a table, where we were now all seated.

We spent a few minutes in absolute silence, not really sure how to continue. Blue sat across from me with one leg leaning over the other, his arms crossed across his chest and a scowl more intense than I'd ever seen from him plastered on his face. he impatiently tapped his foot and gritted his teeth as his glowing sapphire eyes stared out into the open floor, not meeting my gaze. 

By my side, Chee sat upright with her fingers curled up and her palms pressed into her knees. Her head was bent over, staring at her feet, and she was shaking ever so slightly. She'd started behaving like this the moment Blue had growled at her, so I could only assume this spout of extra obedience was her response to Blue getting angry. 

Or considering what I now knew about her past... Perhaps that was her reaction whenever anyone got angry. 

Unlike the other two I was sitting with my knees just far enough apart not to cause discomfort. My back was straight up and my head pointed straight forward. My hands were by my sides, and I'd actually had to suppress the urge to salute Blue when we sat down. His presence reminded me a lot of Red when he was upset like this.

I was quiet for a few moments, since Blue seemed to be in a particularly nasty mood today, but eventually he let out a rough sigh and turned his gaze to meet mine, the hues of sapphire draining from his eyes as his expression softened. "Since you're not in the hospital, I assume your injuries were overstated?" He grumbled in a gruff tone. 

The words were spoken harshly, but as I stared into the silver eyes of the man in front of me I felt as though somewhere, he did actually care. Enough to hear the answer at least.

"Fortunately, we didn't receive any permanent injuries." I answered, keeping my tone cool and even like a military report. "After around 5 days at the hospital we're both back in fighting condition!"

Blue tilted his head to one side for a moment, his eyes pressed closed as he pursed his lips. Then, he opened them. "So I came all the way from Vermillion City for nothing. Great." He growled, the scowl reforming on his face for a few moments before he relaxed the expression. 

"Oi, Green." His sharp gaze fell on Chee. "I'm not going to eat you, you can stop shaking already." His mouth stayed open as he seemed to hesitate for a short moment before continuing. "...It's not you that I'm angry at, alright?" He finished in an uncharacteristically soft tone. 

It was subtle, but Chee's shaking slowed to a stop and she tilted her gaze up just enough to meet his-Although only for an instant before he threw his head back to the side. 

"You came all the way from Vermillion City? Does that mean you already got your third Gym Badge?" I asked, despite being pretty sure I knew the answer already. Based on how far ahead of us he'd been even when we arrived in Cerulean, and the fact we'd had to take almost a week to recuperate... He'd almost certainly been in Vermillion for at least a few days. 

I waited for his response but he still didn't meet my gaze, staring into the open Pokemon Centre wordlessly. After a few more seconds of uncomfortable silence his gaze returned to me. He opened his mouth for a moment, and I thought I spotted a hint of hesitation in his jaw. "...No. I didn't have time, so I've just got two badges. Well, I'm sure that's more than you two at least."

I tried not to let Blue's attitude get under my skin, so I sheepishly rubbed the back of my head. "Yeah, Yeller and I got taken down pretty badly when we challenged the Cerulean Gym Leader, so we still only have one badge."