Lyra followed behind Blue as he sat on Arcanine, staring straight ahead with an unreadable expression. It wasn’t normal, and it worried her greatly. Blue was the one who didn’t have a mask like Red. To see him so stone-faced was so abnormal, she was having difficulty even speaking up. Eventually however, she managed to open her mouth.
“Blue, we need to talk.” Lyra trotted forward so she was keeping pace with Arcanine, watching as Blue blinked and glanced toward her. Feeling her heart give a thud, she saw the suspicion in his eyes.
“Alright.” Blue brought Arcanine to a halt, and hopped off, leaving Giovanni sitting on Arcanine. Straightening up, he brushed his hair out of his face before turning to Lyra, waiting for her to begin.
“Blue, I’m worried about you.” Lyra decided to begin honestly, knowing Blue would see through any deceptions she tried to put up. Taking a step closer, she looked him directly in the eyes as she spoke. Blue glanced away in response.
“You don’t need to worry, I’m fine.” Blue didn’t bother putting up a pretense, it was useless against Lyra. He just wished she’d stop looking at him with those eyes though. Ponies told too much with their eyes.
“But you’re not, and you know it Blue. You were almost begging Red back there, you would never do that normally.” Lyra put a hoof on Blue’s shoulder, which he shrugged off. Even as tall as she was, she was still smaller than Blue.
“That’s none of your business.” Blue turned away once more, and folded his arms. If this was all Lyra wanted to talk about, he didn’t really want to hear it. He’d had enough bad news for a lifetime.
“How is it not Blue? Do you even know why Red was hesitant to let you go?” Lyra once more gently gripped his shoulder, turning him around so she could see his face. Blue glanced to her, closed his eyes, and heaved a sigh. Turning fully to her, he rested his eyes directly on hers. Lyra felt a slight chill pass down her spine, but ignored it.
“Because he doesn’t consider me a good enough trainer to defeat Giovanni?” Blue stated it simply, and quickly. He ignored the pain in his chest, and continued gazing directly at Lyra. Lyra flinched, eyes widening in shock.
“You can’t honestly think that, can you?” Lyra tried to read Blue’s face, but found it difficult. It was as if a large wall stood between them now. She didn’t like it, Blue was cutting them off.
“Doesn’t matter if I do, it’s true.” Blue’s voice fell slightly at the end, before he turned away once more, quickly composing himself once more. He had to face the facts, there was no point in denying it anymore. Lyra reared back, unable to keep her disbelief out of her voice.
“You don’t think you can defeat Giovanni!? Blue, are you even hearing yourself?” Lyra didn’t know what she was expecting from this conversation, but she wasn’t expecting it to be this bad. She could barely recognise Blue. Was this what this adventure had done to him?
“What do you want Lyra?” Blue turned back, and fixed his gaze on her once more. Lyra forced herself to think carefully about her next sentence, before opening her mouth, and moving forward.
“I’m surprised you could get it so wrong Blue, that’s not what Red was thinking at all!” Lyra leaned back, and stood on her hind legs as she brought her hooves to rest on Blue’s chest, leaning forward so Blue couldn’t ignore her. If Blue tried to move, she would copy his action. Blue said nothing, so she continued.
“You idiot! He’s concerned about you! Every time you interact with Giovanni he kicks you between the legs! Do you really think he’d want you to battle a fight where you might get hurt even further?” Lyra kept her eyes trained on Blue’s face as he glanced away, and bit his lip. Giving a sigh, his gaze lowered to the ground and he sighed once more.
“I don’t really see what Giovanni could say that could top his last performance.” Blue once more bit his lip, before turning back to look at Lyra. He watched the emotions roll across her face. His eyes widened slightly as tears began to fall onto his shirt.
“Blue, I don’t understand. What happened to you Blue?” Lyra hung her head, looking at the ground as tears began to fall from her face. Still holding onto Blue, she continued.
“What happened to the Blue that simply shrugged off something bad happening.” Lyra leaned forward, causing Blue to take a step back at the unexpected weight.
“What happened to the snarky jerk that took everything you threw at him and just laughed it off like your efforts were a joke.” Lyra raised her head once more, looking at Blue, pain in her eyes.
“What happened to my friend?” Lyra searched his eyes, before returning her gaze to the ground, tears finally drying up.
“His wall broke,” came his simple reply. Lyra raised her head, seeing the downcast gaze as he looked away from her. Silencing her tears, she pressed.
“Your wall? For what?” Lyra watched Blue look up, before returning his gaze to their side.
“Holding back thoughts.” Blue closed his eyes, and they twitched for a moment before he opened them again.
“Why didn’t you share them with us? We’re your friends.” Lyra saw Blue once more glance to her, before finally turning his gaze entirely to her.
“There are some things you don’t share with your friends.” Blue let Lyra absorb that, gazing at her evenly. Maybe finally she would leave him alone.
“What could be so secret you couldn’t share it with us?” Lyra felt herself be pushed away as Blue took a step back, and his face became contorted with frustrated anger.
“What couldn’t I share with you! What do you think Lyra! Maybe it’s every single agonising letter Giovanni has spoken this entire trip!” Blue grabbed his hair, and began to pull at it as he shouted to the sky.
“Maybe I didn’t want to share the fact I despise Red because Green picked him. Maybe I didn’t want to share the fact I have never won A SINGLE FREAKING BATTLE against my rival! I’m a RI-VAL, I am supposed to be on his level but instead I’m so far beneath he doesn’t even trust me enough to take on Giovanni! Giov-freaking-anni!” Blue turned his glare on Lyra, moisture beginning to from in his eyes.
“Maybe I didn’t want to share the fact I barely defeated the Elite Four, and Red swept through them so fast he caught up to me literally 5 seconds after I got the Champion title! Maybe I don’t want to share the fact it hurts seeing Red win so easily when I have to struggle to win one battle against trainers without all badges! Maybe I don’t want to share the fact I feel like a terrible trainer who can barely keep his pokemon leveling at half the speed Red is. Maybe I don’t want to share-” Blue cut himself off, and turned away, his voice growing quiet.
“Maybe I didn’t want to share how much I hate myself for being such a freaking loser.” Blue crouched down and held his head in his hands, unable to face Lyra anymore. Lyra stood there absolutely stunned, unable to even think after Blue’s outburst. As her mind began to form thoughts, she realised Blue still hadn’t moved an inch.
Lyra knew she had to think of something to cheer up Blue, but all her thoughts seemed muddled and confused. It was hard enough realising she was still standing in mute shock without mentioning the addition of cohesive thought. She took a step toward Blue, and another, before coming to a stop behind him.
“Blue.” Lyra began, thoughts finally starting to form in her mind. Blue lowered his hands and glanced to her, both ignoring any moisture present. He stood up, and looked her straight in the eyes.
“Have you ever wondered why Red is always right behind you?” Lyra watched Blue’s eyes carefully as he considered the question, before shrugging.
“Yeah, why?” Blue frowned, unsure where Lyra was going. Lyra took another step forward, eyes glinting in the sunlight.
“And why he spent so long at the top of a mountain after becoming the champion?” Lyra took another step forward, eyes furrowed with concentration.
“Well, yeah.” Blue wondered why Lyra was bringing this up, but assumed she had a point. And as she once more stepped forward and leaned on his chest so they were eye-level, he began to hear it.
“Don’t you see Blue? Red is following you!” Lyra leaned in, eyes sparkling as she revealed what she hoped would be the final key to the puzzle.
“Red has always followed you! After becoming Champion you stopped doing things that would allow Red to follow you, so he went to the top of a mountain to think to himself.” Lyra leaned in, watching Blue’s eyes widen as she got very close.
“Red looks up to you! He wants to follow you! If you do something he overcomes it because YOU set the bar! If you don’t set a bar, Red is left with no goal! Red needs you just as much as you need Red! Without you Blue, Red doesn’t have a goal to beat, because the only thing that can defeat himself is his future self!” Lyra felt a smile come to her face, it all seemed so simple.
“You don’t have to be the best, because you MAKE the best! Red would be nothing without you! You are not a loser, you make winners! You’re a perfect rival if I’ve ever seen one. If you weren’t, why would Red have followed you all those years! He would often make special trips to see you fight at your gym!” Lyra paused to take a breath, leaning closer as she tried to convince Blue of what she could see.
“Each time he saw you lower your bar slightly so a budding trainer could defeat you, but only after a tough battle, he would smile. It was the kind of smile that made me envy you! I could never earn that smile from Red, no matter how many years I was his Pokemon! You don’t realise how amazing you are Blue.” Lyra leaned closer, almost touching Blue’s face.
“And I would do anything in my power to make sure that you didn’t think otherwise.” Lyra finished talking, and looked Blue in the eyes.
And then she leaned forward even further.
In the sky, the sun shone in the clearing as trees gently brushed a breeze through it. Birds glided through it lazily, as if they had all the time in the world to glide through the clearing. Any monsters who looked into the clearing saw the guardian of fire protecting the two forms, and knew it would not be worth the battle for thin scraps. Among the trees, squirrels feasted on fresh nuts, knowing full well they would eventually have to store them for winter. But on this day, they could feast, if only for a time.
Lyra leaned back, and landed back on four hooves and turned away, trotting to the other side of the clearing. Blue scratched the back of his head, trying hard not to break into a smile. Lyra turned and gave him a smile, giving a laugh as he awkwardly motioned to Arcanine.
“We should er...Go save Green,” he spoke, motioning to Arcanine as he once more scratched the back of his head. Lyra followed him as he walked to the Pokemon, a beaming smile on her face.
“Well yeah, we kinda need to do that.” Both Lyra and Blue had to suppress a laugh at that as they once more set off into the woods.