Journeys: Red, Green and Blue//ON HOLD//

Chapter 9

"Riza, please get down. I need to put my shirt on," Red grumbled to his partner, who at the moment was dangling from his arm like some kind of fiery pendulum. She also happened to be very stubborn, refusing to let go. "Hmm... is a tickle attack what you're after? Because that's what you're about to get," he warned, swooping in with his other hand to tickle Riza's belly. She wiggled around, trying her hardest to hold on, but the tickle attack was too much. Finally, she dropped to the floor, landing on her feet but stumbling a bit. Red managed to steady her so she wouldn't fall over.

"You ok?" he asked. Riza replied with a nod and a grin that showed her pointed teeth. "Alright. You can play with Piyo until I'm dressed and packed up if you want. I'm sure she won't mind," Red said, knowing that last bit was somewhat of a lie. Piyo didn't like being woken up, but she'd need to get used to abrupt starts to the day.

Riza growled the affirmative before going straight to jumping on top of Piyo. The surprised bird Pokemon definitely did not agree with the sentiment. With a laugh and a grin of his own, Red was finally able to pull a plain, black t-shirt over his head.

"Well, then. I wonder why I can't see," he joked when he realized the shirt had flattened his hair over his face. He brushed it away before setting to packing what he had out, sealing each item he needed in their respective containment capsules. Hopefully, he'd be able to head out to Viridian Forest quickly, the only obstacle between him and Pewter City. Once he got there, he planned on spending some time training before taking on the gym leader. He'd heard that most trainers lose their first gym challenge due to being overconfident, so he knew he was in for a tough battle. The forest itself probably wouldn't be too bad at least. The team would be able to rely on type advantage to help them until they got to the city.

Red took a deep breath before standing up, hoisting his bag up onto the bed. It looked like Riza and Piyo were busy wrestling each other, so at least they were occupied. He'd grab a quick drink of water from the bathroom before heading out. However, as he went to go to the bathroom, his Pokegear started ringing.

"Yes, hello?" he said, answering.

"Red! It's good we managed to get ahold of you," came the very recognizable voice of professor Oak.

"Professor? What do you need?" Red asked, wondering what he might need. He was sure he'd told Professor Oak everything in the update the night before.

"Your mother just wanted me to warn you about something while she's at work. Apparently, Team Rocket has been spotted snooping around in Viridian City, so be careful. She wanted me to specifically tell you not to get involved if you see anything happening it seems," the Professor said.

"Why would I get involved with a Team Rocket situation? That sounds dangerous," Red said, filling up his cup.

"We know you. You don't like to stand by when people are in trouble. Just be careful. That's all I have to say," came the reply.

"Alright then. Tell my mom I said thanks, ok?"

"I can do that. Goodbye," at that, the professor hung up.

Red sighed before drinking his water. Professor Oak had been right about him not liking to stand by while people were in trouble, but it wasn't like he'd go looking for danger. The police were more than capable of handling Team Rocket. It wasn't even likely he'd run into them.

"Riza, Piyo, it's time to go," he called out to his Pokemon. It was time to get to Viridian Forest.

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Apparently, going around and finding forgotten clothes was not Blue's forte, a really weird fact considering how often she stole things. Compared to that, finders keepers should've been easy. But no. It had to be the hardest thing in the world. Soon enough, she'd have to pretend she needed to go through the lost and found, since stealing clothes out of someone's room would be a rather difficult thing to do. Lost and found it was.