Invisible by Marvech93

Chapter 5: A matter of perspective

Hi guys!!!! Here's the next chapter I hope you enjoy! Also RAMADAN KAREEM to those who celebrate :)
Chapter 5: A matter of perspective

Red turned off the overhead light of his bedroom. Dressed in his most comfortable flannel pajamas and having just finished brushing his teeth, the ten year old boy was just about to head to bed. After he had been crowned champion and the media frenzy momentarily died down, the boy snuck away and flew back to Pallet Town for a good night's rest in his mother's home; a well deserved reward for his accomplishment. He had spent the whole evening being hugged, kissed and praised by his mother for which he was grateful, if not a little embarassed. Now that he was at the top of the world, Red had to question what exactly he was supposed to do with himself. The League wanted him to sit on the throne and battle any challenger that made it past the Elite Four obviously, but Red wasn't so sure he liked the idea of being bound by such a contract. Somehow, he felt like he had other things to do, other places to go, other people to meet.

Being constantly hunted down by the media had gotten old pretty fast. Red was never a very talkative person to begin with and being in the spotlight was not a thing he was fond of. Not even 24 hours into his new status as a Pokémon Master and Red was already sick of it. Lance, the Dragon Master had tried to convince him to stay; he told him that the journalists would eventually leave him alone and only pay attention to him when a challenger would come up to him, which was not a thing that happened often anyway, but it didn't have the desired effect on the young trainer.

Somehow, even if he offically beat the Elite Four, the four best trainers in all of Kanto, and the guy who had beaten them before him, Red didn't feel satisfied. His battle with his rival had been way too close of a call. Had Blue's Blastoise's hydro pump not just barely missed his battered Charizard, his nemesis would have won. There was no way it could have withstood such a poweful water move this late into the battle. His bitter rivalry with his neighboor had drilled perfectionism into him, because it took nothing less than perfection to beat Blue, and now, a close call wasn't gonna cut it. He wanted to go back to training. He wanted to become stronger. So strong no one would even stand a chance against him.

The child stood near his window, pondering wether or not to let it open to let the cool air of the night in. The nocturnal breeze was pretty chilly tonight in Pallet Town, so Red opted in favor of closing it, cutting himself away from the whole world and make his room his safe haven.

Stepping forward, the boy gently grabbed the pannel to slide it shut until a light outside caught his attention. The light in question came from a window on the first floor of the neighboor's house... the Oaks. His rival's house was right next to his so Red had no difficulty identifying Blue's silhouette standing in the kitchen, not too far from the window. The new champion thought it best to turn away right now. He really didn't want to see Blue at the moment. Not after what happened at the Plateau.

Red was just about to turn away when he saw a bigger, taller silhouette pass in front of the window. The unmistakable labcoat left no doubt as to who the silhouette was. Professor Oak appeared to be pacing in front of his grandson and everything about his body language told Red he was not happy. The elder Oak was mouthing inaudible words and gestured wildly with his hands. Blue remained rooted to the spot, his head hung low, looking as if he was trying to make himself as small as possible, like a kicked growlithe. Whatever it was that professor Oak was telling him, it was not pleasant.

The elder Oak eventually stopped in front of his grandson and his body partially blocked the latter from Red's view. The professor had his arms crossed on his chest and Blue had raised his head to look at him with watery eyes. Professor Oak seemed to be waiting for something and Blue seemed extremely uncomfortable and looked like he was contemplating running away. After a moment of silence on both ends, professor Oak resumed his wild gesturing and the boy visibly flinched away from him. It went on for a while until the moment Blue apparently had enough and bolted away; most likely out of the room.