Rival Me This [Pokémon Fanfiction]

02| Worst Impressions

Although Blue adored wild, loud places, he also liked something more low-key every now and then. There was a small diner a few blocks from the Gym called Viridian Place that was the epitome of "small and quaint," with its warm-colored wooden floors and soft-hued green walls. It was his favorite place to unwind after a stressful day at the Gym.

   While Blue and Silver soaked in the calm atmosphere and made idle chit-chat, Bede looked over the menu with a scrutinizing gaze. "This place actually has curry... I didn't expect that," he noted, then scoffed. "I'm sure it's not nearly as good."

   "Then don't order it," Silver said, absentmindedly stirring the coffee he'd ordered with a spoon. Silver was one of those crazy people who could drink straight black coffee while Blue had to have foufou cream and sugar. He couldn't take much bitterness. Unlike Blue and Silver, Bede had gone with hot chocolate. The mug sat beside him, piled high with whipped cream that in some ways resembled his hair.

   After finalizing his order in his head, Blue decided he should start trying to patch things up with Bede. "So where're you from, Bede?" Blue asked.

   Bede's gaze flickered to Blue to a second before returning to the menu. "Galar," he replied.

   Blue rolled his eyes. "Well, yeah, but what city?" Bede was silent, still staring at the menu. Was he ignoring him? "I'm just curious," Blue gently pressed, only to receive more silence. And of course Silver wasn't saying anything; he was preoccupied with something or other on his Pokégear.

   Oh, hell no, Blue thought. He wasn't about to have a repeat of his trip to Alola. Besides commenting about his new love of malasadas and how he couldn't stand the heat, Red had hardly said a word to Blue, like he always did. "What, ya don't know where you're from?" Blue joked.

   Bede finally reacted then. He sighed, lowering the menu. "Circhester," he said. "I lived there until I was twelve, and then I finished off the last year of my Trainer schooling in Hammerlocke."

   Finally, a response! Blue was happy to continue the conversation. "Hammerlocke? That's the city that looks like a giant castle, right? I definitely wanna go there when I eventually go to Galar, but it also seems like everybody would be pretty snobbish there, with the wealth and all. I dunno how Raihan deals with it."

   "Not snobbish, sophisticated," Bede said. "And you know Mr. Raihan?"

   "I always see him whenever the League Board has a Gym Leader conference, so about twice a year, and he always insists on takin' a selfie with me," Blue said. "If I'm in his photos, then I guess that means I know him."

   "He visited my class a couple of times when I was in Hammerlocke's Trainer School," Bede said, sipping his hot chocolate. "He's a bit... loud."