Pokémon Heroes of Johto

Kanto Bound

I awoke to the bright sunlight pouring into my window. My gaze lazily scanned the room, trying to recognize it. Ah yes, I remember, I'm at home. This must be my room then. I sat up, recognizing my room for the first time this morning. I stretched my arms above my head, Typhlo yawning out loudly as he sat up as well.
"Morning, Typhlo." I murmured drowsily. I got out of bed and changed into my normal attire. I was still a bit drowsy as I placed my cap on in a very crooked way, not bothering to fix it as I left the room. I heard Silver and Gold's distance-muffled voices as I dragged myself downstairs.
"There! See? You look great!" I heard Gold exclaim cheerfully. I spotted them in the living room, Silver now wearing the outfit Gold made for him. They turned their attention to me, a shocked look reaching Silver's face.
"F-Fire!! G-good morning!" Silver stuttered out, trying in vain to cover up his new outfit.
"So, Gold gave you the outfit he made for you? That's good. You look great, Silv." I complemented. Silver blinked a couple times before loosening his grip on his shirt.
"Y-You think so? Thanks...." Silver murmured as he stared at the floor in embarrassment.
"I told you!" Gold cried out.
"Shut up..." Silver growled. Silver glanced up at me, before completely lifting his head and staring at me quizzically. I returned the look of confusion, causing Silver to approach me all of a sudden. He lifted his hands to both sides of my cap, causing me to blush a little as he straightened it out. "There. You're hat was crooked." Silver stated simply.
"Y-yeah, thanks..." I muttered.
"Alright, I'm up! So, what's the game plan?" Crystal asked cheerfully.
"Well, I haven't reached my dream of becoming the Johto Champion, and I plan on collecting the Kanto Gym Badges before I take on the Elite Four. That way I'll be extra prepared for whatever they throw at me." I explained casually.
Why did Silver just give me that strange look?
"So, Fire's out to collect more Badges. As for me, Professor Oak lent me a bunch of books about Legendary Pokémon, so I'll be studying those as we travel. Maybe we'll even run into one, since luck is on our side when it comes to meeting rare Pokémon." Crys stated cheerfully.
"I really want to start figuring out what I'm gonna be doing from here on out, so I'll just be training til I've got an idea." Gold stated. We all turned our attention to Silver, wondering what he wanted to do.
"Honestly, I don't have a goal right now. I still want to get stronger as a trainer, but I think I'm putting that on hold for now." Silver stated softly.
"So what do you plan on doing now?" Crys asked.
"Well, I guess I'm on the same page as Gold for this one." Silver shoved his hands into his pockets as he spoke.
"Yay, we're sticking together!!" I exclaimed, throwing my arms around Silver's neck, causing him to yelp.
"F-FIRE!!" Silver gasped out loudly, trying to pry me off of him. I giggled as he did so.
"What's all the ruckus about? Oh! Are you leaving?" mom asked as she came downstairs.
"Oh, y-yeah. We're planning on leaving real soon. I've got a lot of training to do before I can become the Champion of Johto, so I'm going to earn eight more Badges to prove my strength to myself." I explained nervously.
"Well, my little Champion, go out there, and win the whole thing! I'll be routing for you!" mom exclaimed cheerfully. I nodded, determination filling my heart. Gold, Silver, Crys, and I all grabbed our bags and began to head out. "Fire!" mom called out. I turned to face her, wondering what was up. "You come back a winner, you hear? I want to hear about all your success as the Johto Champion!" mom called. Once again, I nodded, a smirk of determination on my face.
"Right! You can count on it, mom!" I stated with a wink and a thumbs up. With that, I ran off to catch up with everyone else, and start my journey through Kanto.
In a good ten to fifteen minutes, we had reached Viridian City. I took in the familiar scent, reminiscing when mom used to drop me off at the trainers school here.
"Wow it's so beautiful!" Crys exclaimed.
"Yeah! Is there anything in Kanto that's not beautiful?" Gold asked half jokingly.
"If I told you, you wouldn't like Kanto as much!" I joked back.
"Guess you're right, huh? Ha! Viridian City really is a nice place though, the streets are so clean, and it's so peaceful!" Gold commented.
"Yeah, it's nothing like Goldenrod. That city's always bustling about." Crystal added.
"We should probably go get a room if we're gonna look around. Pewter City isn't as close to Viridian as Pallet Town, so it'd be harder to get there in one day if we leave later." I explained, heading in the direction of the Pokémon Center.
"Wait! If we're gonna be staying in Viridian, we could.... stay at my place, if you want." Silver suggested quietly.
"Would that be alright?" I asked, not trying to be a bother to Silver by invading his home.
"Yeah. Come on, it's by the Gym." Silver began leading the way to his home, Gold, Crys, and I hesitantly following behind him. We stopped in front of a one-story house with grey concrete walls, and a faded maroon roof. I kept my thoughts to myself, but I couldn't help feeling bad for Silver. The home in which he was raised look so.... depressing. I didn't want to offend him, so I played a smile and pretended to very realistically admire the building. Silver gave us a hint of a smile before unlocking the door with a key hidden under the doormat.
I'm surprised nobody stole that after all this time.
Pushing the creaky door aside, Silver motioned us in first, shutting the door behind him. It was very different from what I had expected. With the exception of some dusting, it was very clean and homey. There was a crimson couch against the wall facing towards a flat screen TV, a wooden coffee table between them. The dining table was made of a beautiful wood, fitting four wooden chairs for an average sized family. There were to wooden stools at the grey kitchen counter, and past the kitchen and living room was the bedroom hall. I had to admit, Silver has excellent tastes.
Or would it be Giovanni has excellent tastes? .... Whatever.
"Wow! You've got a really nice place here, Silv!" Gold complemented.
"Thanks. It never looked like this when my old man was here." Silver muttered. "Oh, and I know the exterior needs a new paint job, but I couldn't really afford it when I ditched this place." Silver explained, probably noticing our first reaction.
I should've expected something like that from him.
Silver lead us the guest rooms and let us settle in. Once I dropped my bag and Pokéballs, I came back to the living room, spotting Silver in the kitchen. I hopped onto a stool, resting my arms on the kitchen counter.
"Hey, Silv." I greeted casually.
"Hey." Silver murmured back, taking out four plates from the cabinet beside my head. An awkward moment of silence passed before he decided to break it. "It's been a real long time since I've been back here. Yet it seems like nothing's changed." Silver stated, seemingly deep in thought, yet not lost in it.
Getting lost in thought was my thing after all.
"Well not everything's the same. For instance, the Gym Leader is different." I stated in a matter of fact. Silver glanced up at me, giving me a soft smile.
"Yeah, guess you're right about that." I grinned at his response, watching as he continued to set the dining table.
"Why are you setting the table, Silv?" I asked as he picked out four identical glass cups from the same cabinet.
"Isn't it obvious? I have guests, don't I? It's my job to feed you guys." Silver stated in a matter of fact.
"Yeah, but it's too early for lunch, it's still early morning." Silver stopped and gave me a "Seriously?" look.
"Fire, you left home without eating breakfast. We all left your home without eating breakfast." Silver stated as if it was the most obvious thing in the world. I instantly realized he was right when my stomach growled loudly in agreement.
"....Oh." Silver rolled his eyes at me, continuing to set the table.
"Sometimes you worry me, Fire." Silver murmured half jokingly, a hidden truth in his words.
"Hahaha! Sorry, Silv." I joked back, getting up to help Silver make breakfast.
The day went by pretty fast afterwards, with Crystal busy researching Legendary Pokémon and Gold caring to his Pokémon, leaving Silver and I to do some intense training. It got dark before we knew it, and I somehow ended up laying on a hill of grass at the edge of town with Silver, gazing up at the stars. A memory flashed through my head of when Red and I used to lie in the grass like this with dad and Blaze while mom made snacks for movie nights. It's been so long since I've done that, I almost forgot how good it felt.
"I used to do this a lot.... whenever I was upset, I'd lay down and stare up at the sky." Silver stated quietly.
Looks like I wasn't the only one reminiscing.
"Me too.... with Red and my dad.... he used to tell us all about the stars." I murmured just loud enough for Silver to hear me.
"Yeah.... I can't believe I almost forgot how good it feels." Silver said with a light chuckle.
"I was just thinking that." I stated, stretching out my arms.
A moment of silence passed before I chose to break it this time. "Hey, Silv? I was thinking since we're both aiming to be the best, we should get mentors." I suggested.
"Mentors?" Silver questioned, turning his head to face me.
"Yeah, like older trainers with more experiences to teach us how to be better trainers." I explained, pushing myself up on my elbows. "I was thinking about asking a Gym Leader or something."
"That could be really helpful. But who would want to teach a couple of kids how to train Pokémon?" Silver muttered.
"Silver, don't forget, we're not just any ordinary trainers. We're the Heroes of Johto! I'm sure someone would take the time to help us." I stated cheerfully.
"Maybe. Regardless, once I grow stronger with my Pokémon, we're gonna beat you." Silver stated with a smirk.
"In your dreams, Silv!" I teased.
After a while of stargazing, Silver and I grew tired and headed back to his house. As exhausted as I was, I couldn't get to sleep. I just stared at the ceiling while one name continued to ring in my head.