Rival Me This [Pokémon Fanfiction]

End| New, Sappy Horizons

Blue, Bede, and Silver stood outside the Viridian Gym at nine the next morning, waiting for the driver that was to collect Bede to show up. The few challengers that had already been there were chased away, so it was just the three of them.

"So, I guess this is it," Silver said.

"I never knew three days could last so long," Bede said. "At least it felt that way to me."

In a good way or a bad way? Blue wondered. "Were things decent enough?" he asked cautiously. "After the mess, I mean?"

"You're worried what the League Board might think if I say things did not turn out well?" Bede asked knowingly, and Blue shook his head.

"No, I'm just worried about how Opal would react," he half-lied. "She's a great Leader and all, but she's scary sometimes."

   "I find it funny how out of all of the Leaders, it's Opal who scares you when Drayden and Whitney are in the same room," Silver said.

Blue rolled his eyes at that. "Yeah, yeah, Whitney is terrifying, it's not like I haven't heard that one a thousand times," he said. "Whitney has her demon Miltank, but Opal has over seventy years of experience. That's scarier to me."

Silver nodded respectfully. "Wow, that's actually a logical response," he said, impressed. "Good for you."

A tiny spike of irritation jabbed at Blue, and he sneered. "You want that paycheck or not? 'Cause I can easily take it back," he taunted.

Regardless of whether Silver knew Blue was only kidding (partially), it still seemed to take some of the wind out of his sails. "That's low, even for you. I'm surprised."

"I'm a man of many surprises," Blue said with a mischievous smile. He then noticed that Bede had zoned out of the conversation. His gaze was elsewhere, his hands in his coat pockets as a slight frown was visible on his face. "What's wrong?" Blue asked.

Bede glanced at him, and Blue was surprised to see the slight hint of worry his eyes held. "Could you not tell Ms. Opal or the Board how I acted?" he asked. "I didn't mean it... for the most part. I don't want to return to a punishment, because I know Ms. Opal will think of something worse than cleaning the entire stadium."

"I'm obligated to tell 'em how everything went and what happened," Blue said, and Bede struggled to hide a wince. "But I'll be vague with the details," Blue quickly followed up with. "I'll just say we didn't get along at first because of a clash in battle or Gym management thoughts."

The tenseness left Bede's shoulders as they slumped with relief. "Thank you. And..." He exhaled sharply. "I'm sorry, Mr. Blue."

Blue's eyes widened, both because of the apology and what Bede had called him. "Mr. Blue? Didn't expect to hear that," he said. He was sure he'd been more surprised over these past three days than in his entire life.