Pokémon Heroes of Johto

Fear of the Four

After an easy trip to Pewter City, I earned my Boulder Badge from Brock and headed to the museum so Crys could study up on ancient Pokémon. Now we're headed for Cerulean City through Mt. Moon.
I spotted the exit up ahead, and beamed with joy. The darkness of the caves was really starting to freak me out. "Finally! We're finally out of that dumb cave!" I exclaimed joyously, falling to my knees in exhaustion.
"But Cerulean City is still a good distance from here." Silver stated bluntly, crossing his arms and closing his eyes in a calm, cool manner.
"Ah, don't be such a downer, Silver!" Gold teased cheerfully.
"I'm not, I'm being a realist." Silver deadpanned.
"What's the difference?" Gold questioned.
"I'm being realistic in the distance we are from Cerulean City. You're trying to make it seem like it's not that far." Silver explained simply.
"Are you calling me a liar?" Gold asked with a half grin, leaning forward as he placed his hands on his sides.
"No, I'm calling you an optimist." Silver corrected bluntly.
"Now that I can't tell the difference between." Crys called out jokingly. The three of them laughed at their own jokes while I sat in the grass taking in the fresh air.
"We better get a move on if ya don't want to be camping out with the Ekans tonight." I stated half jokingly. Crys flinched at the thought, picking herself up and speed walking to my side. I grinned, leading the way downhill.
"So Fire, have you been to Cerulean City before?" Gold asked casually, meeting my pace.
"Yeah, remember Bill? He lives just outside of town by Cerulean Cape. I used to visit him with Daisy after my brother introduced us. I still remember all the times I played with his Eevee." I stated cheerfully, reminiscing about said Pokémon.
"Cerulean Cape?" Gold questioned, giving me a quizzical look.
"Cerulean Cape is a grassy field with a hill to the far end with the most beautiful view of the ocean." I explained.
"I heard it's the go-to sight for couples, that right?" Crys asked cheerfully.
"Yeah. Lots of couples go to Cerulean City for vacation just to visit Cerulean Cape. It gets so packed up in hotels and Pokémon Centers that they're building another hotel down in Vermilion City because there's not enough rooms." I stated as I glanced over at a nearby lake.
"Sounds rough." Gold said with a whistle.
"And Saffron City is still between Cerulean and Vermilion, so that's no quick hike, even if you take the underground pathway." Silver added, keeping his gaze straight ahead.
"Speaking of Cerulean City, here we are!" I exclaimed cheerfully. Gold, Silver, and Crys glanced around, realizing we were already in the outskirts of the city.
"What?" Silver muttered, a look of disbelief on his face.
"Come on, Gold! Let's go see if Bill's home, and then we'll all go pay a visit to Misty's Gym!" I exclaimed, pumping my fist upwards in excitement. Typhlo mimicked my action, crying out in joy as we raced to Bill's cottage.
"Right behind ya, Fire!" Gold called, chasing after me.
"Two Gyms in the course of two days? Where's she getting all that energy from?" Crys asked, placing her hands on her hips as she watched me run off.
"If she keeps that pace, this journey will be over faster than it started." Silver muttered with a shrug, following after Gold and I at a casual pace. Crys sighed, but followed along with a light grin. Knowing Bill, he never locked his door, so I walked right up and let myself in.
"Hiya, Bill! You in here?" I called cheerfully, taking a few steps past the front door.
"Hey, Bill! It's Fire and Gold!" Gold announced loudly.
I heard the soft cry of a Pokémon and spotted a Flareon bounding happily through the hall that leads to Bill's lab room and into my arms.
"Eevee! You've evolved into Flareon! That's so cool!" I cheered, hugging the ball of warm fur close. Flareon purred, nuzzling into my neck sweetly.
"Hey there, future Champ! What brings you here?" Bill called as he came to greet me from the lab room.
"I'm battling the Kanto Gym Leaders so I can be ready for the Champion League. But I wanted to drop by and say hello before challenging Misty." I stated cheerfully.
"Well, that's mighty nice of you, Fire! Daisy should be back soon, if ya want to wait for her. Make yourselves at home." Bill motioned us to the living room, sitting across from us on one of the two blue sofa chairs while Gold and I took the blue four-person couch. There was a knock at the door again, and the sound of it creaking open by a hesitant hand.
"Hey, Fire? Gold? You guys here?" Crys asked nervously.
"Crys, you better hope this is the right place, because I am not getting charged for breaking and entering." I heard Silver growl.
"Silver this is the only house out here! Where do you think they are?" Crys asked, irritation filling her voice. I chuckled, getting up from my seat on the couch.
"I'll be right back, Bill. Hey, Silver, Crys, we're right here!" I called as I headed for the door.
"See, there she is! We thought we lost you for a moment." Crys stated, changing her tone quickly as she turned to me. Silver rolled his eyes, walking past Crys.
"Good to see you guys caught up. Come on, I want to properly introduce you guys to Bill." I stated cheerfully, turning on my heal and strolling to the living room. "Sorry about that. Bill, I want to introduce you to two of my friends. This is Crystal and that's Silver. They've been traveling with Gold and I since we left Goldenrod."
"Hi!" Crys exclaimed cheerfully.
"A pleasure." Silver said softly, holding back his irritation.
"A friend of Fire's is a friend of mine! It's my pleasure to meet you both. Oh? Hey, I remember you from that situation back in Goldenrod! Thanks a bunch for your help!" Bill exclaimed cheerfully, signaling Silver and Crystal to sit. "I know you guys are probably in a hurry to get to the Gym, but I'm sure Daisy would like to see you, Fire." Bill stated calmly as he took his seat once again.
"Yeah, I want to introduce her to everyone, too." I stated as I sat beside Silver and Gold.
"I'm sure that'd make her happy. Oh yeah! You all heard of Cerulean Cape, right? They're holding a fireworks show there tonight. You guys should come with Daisy and me." Bill suggested enthusiastically. I smirked, putting a finger to my chin as I observed him.
"Does that mean you finally made your move?" I asked teasingly, the smirk still playing on my face. Gold chuckled, while Silver and Crys stared on in confusion. Bill flinched, leaning back in his seat as if he wanted to fall through it, a bright red blush on his face.
"W-what?!" Bill blurted out, staring at me wide eyed. I bursted out laughing, throwing my head back as I did so.
"Oh Bill, you don't seriously think I don't know, do you? Everybody knows about that little crush of yours!" I exclaimed in a giggling fit.
It's just too fun to tease Bill.
"Th-that's not true! Not everyone knows!!" Bill yelled in complete shock. I laughed harder, tears building in the corner of my eyes as Gold joined in the laughter.
"You didn't deny it! Bill's secret is revealed!" Gold exclaimed through his chuckles.
"It never really was a secret!" I teased, easing down a bit.
Bill growled in annoyance, the blush unwavering from his face.
"Bill? Do we have visitors?" A calm voice called from the entrance.
"Daisy!!" I exclaimed, dashing to the door.
"Oh, hi Fire!!" Daisy exclaimed joyously, hugging me tightly.
"I didn't know you were coming! What a surprise!" She glanced over at Gold, Silver, and Crys, giving them all a quizzical look. "Are these your friends, Fire?" Daisy asked.
"Yeah! That's Gold, Silver, and Crystal. They've been traveling with me for a long time now." I stated cheerfully.
"Daisy, right? A pleasure to meet you. Fire's been wanting to introduce us to you for a while." Silver stated calmly, taking a few steps forward to shake hands with Daisy.
Seriously, since when had he gotten so professional in introducing himself?
"It's nice to meet someone Fire's so close to already." Crys commented cheerfully, earning a grin from me.
"Yeah, it's almost like we're family." Gold added with a large grin.
"That's so nice of all of you. Why don't I make you guys some lunch, and then we can go see the fireworks show." Daisy suggested, heading for the kitchen. So we agreed and had a late lunch at Bill's place. I let Umbre out of his Pokéball to meet Flareon, and watched them chat in a way only they could understand. After it grew dark out, we headed for Cerulean Cape to watch the fireworks show. Daisy informed us that they held it every few months in honor of all the relationships built here.
I stood leaning against the white wooden fence as I watched for the fireworks. Occasionally, I would glance around to see if I could find Misty. Red introduced me to Brock, Misty, Bill, and some other new friends of his when he came back for my birthday. It was a lot of fun getting to know people who Red grew close to. But now I'd be battling those people. I needed to in order to get my eight Kanto Badges. I thought long and hard about that, but I didn't realize that I had lost sight of Daisy and everyone else until Silver appeared to my side.
"There you are, I've been looking for you. Why'd you run off like that?" Silver asked, a mild impatience hinted in his tone.
"Sorry, I was looking for a good spot. With all these people here, it was hard to see." I stated softly. Silver stared at me for a long moment with expressionless eyes.
".... Fire.... why are you doing this?" Silver asked quietly, almost to low for me to hear.
"Doing what?" I questioned, causing Silver to look taken aback. I don't think he wanted me to hear that. With a sigh, he decided to continue.
"You're taking on the Kanto Gym Leaders.... but why?" Silver asked, mixed emotions in his tone. This was odd, I've never heard Silver speak like this to me. I didn't know what he meant. I told them why I was challenging them, didn't I? Why was he questioning it?
"I already told you I was challenging them to be ready for the Champion League." I stated shakily, the steady tone I wanted to keep failing me. Why did I feel shaken? Silver took in a deep, sharp breath.
"No..... no that's not the reason, Fire." Silver stated firmly.
I took a step back, suddenly very shaken by the firmness in his tone.
"W-what?" I questioned.
"You're not doing this just for a warm up for the Champion League. Don't lie, I can tell. You might not even realize it, but I do. I know the real reason. Fire.... you're afraid." Silver stated calmly, a mix of emotions filling his eyes. My heart began to race as I took two more steps back, my eyes wide in shock. I felt like I just witnessed someone getting hit with an express train right in front of me. Afraid? Me? Of what? I didn't feel afraid until now. I stared on at Silver in utter shock, realizing the look in his eyes was apologetic, but firm. I knew what that meant. He doesn't want to hurt me, but there's something he needs to say, and he's not holding it in.
"You're afraid of the Elite Four. You're afraid to lose. You're afraid of what we would think if you lost. You think if you were to lose, you wouldn't be strong anymore..... you wouldn't be strong enough to save Red." Silver went on. I placed a hand to my mouth in shock, feeling the coldness of my skin. I must've been really pale, I could practically feel the lack of color on my face.
"Wh-where is this coming from, Silver?" I asked shakily, my body starting to shiver.
"I've noticed it, the fear in your eyes whenever you talk or think about the Elite Four. I know battling the four strongest trainers in all of Johto seems scary. Their levels far exceed that of a Gym Leaders. But so do yours." I gasped, staring straight into Silver's eyes and taking in their sincerity.
"Fire, I've lost to you time and time again. Your strength is..... amazing. To be able to get in sync with all of your Pokémon in such a way that you understand each other completely, and to touch the heart of the Legendary Ho-oh and get it to save the partner you so dearly love, that's not something anyone can do. My advice to you, Fire, is don't think about strong the Elite Four are. Think about how strong you are, and move forward from there." My body began to relax again, but the weight on my heart was unwavering.
"Silver..... will you... will you help me..... help me get over my fear...?" I asked softly.
"Of course. Fire.... I want to see you take this all the way. Soon enough, I'm going to start calling you Champion Fire. But first, let's get stronger..... together." Silver stated coolly. I nodded, embracing him softly as the fireworks went off.

I have a lot to learn about myself and my strength. But as long as I'm with Gold, Silver, and Crystal.... I think everything will be just fine.