Second

"Hey, Kotone!"

I noticed her as soon as she entered the cave. I wasn't waiting for her or anything; she always seemed to change the atmosphere when she came within proximity. One minute, Mt. Moon looked just as bleak as the next cave, but as she entered with her Typhlosion, the one I knew all too well, it was like I could be in the cave with her forever.

She jumped when I called her name. I had said it with overwhelming gaiety, though, and I knew it probably surprised her. And I tried to refrain from calling her by name whenever possible, so that my use of it probably shocked her, as well. Ah, hell, seeing me in a cave in the middle of Kanto probably scared the heck out of her, too. I didn't mean to appear everywhere she was… it just sort of worked that way.

We walked towards each other, and as she drew closer, I could smell whatever perfume she was wearing. Whatever it was, it definitely reminded me of her.

"You're here in Kanto, too?" I asked, just to make it seem like I wasn't the one following her. Because I wasn't. But, damn, of course she was here in Kanto, too! Why else would I be seeing her in the middle of a cave in Kanto if she wasn't here? God, was I talking to her ghost or something? Man, I was stupid.

She seemed to notice. "Yes." There was an implied 'obviously' added to the end of her reply, and she smiled smugly. I chose to ignore it. She was, after all, such a pain in the butt that it was just a better idea to ignore her attitude than to comment on it. She was more trouble than she was worth, always beating me in battles and such. She was so weak.

So, of course I had to challenge her! Ever since that stupid Wataru character lectured me at the Te—that crap organization's hideout, I couldn't help but notice some flaws in my Pokémon training. They all led back to me, all the signs pointing to my poor treatment of my Pokémon… but they were so damn weak… Still, I came to Kanto with a mission: to raise my Pokémon correctly and then beat Kotone. I had to try now.

"Some of the Trainers here are tough, which makes it easy to train my Pokémon!" I paused, and she finally looked up at me, her brown eyes wide and curious. God, could I beat her? Well, I had to try! "Kotone! I know that you are strong…" Yeah, yeah, she was, and I was stupid for admitting it to her face (especially seeing the shock in her eyes; God, she couldn't even admit it herself!). That would just make me stronger in the end. "But… I can't help but challenge you!"

Now, something in her eyes told me that I was going to lose. I was. But couldn't I just show her how far I had come since the first time I had met her?

"Fine," she said, and her Typhlosion stepped forward preparing to battle.

Just as I thought.

"I see. You weren't coming to Kanto just to show off…" Not that I really expected her to. She was too modest, too spur-of-the-moment, too wonder—no, I wasn't going to go there. Whatever it was I was feeling for Kotone wasn't supposed to be possible. I was her rival; she was mine. We were supposed to hate each other.

Why was my heart pounding like this?

Trying to snap myself out of it, I pulled my final Poké Ball from my belt, sending it forward into battle. I was just excited by the battle, was all.

"No." She shook her head at me, a little smile growing on her face. "I came here for the same reason you did: to train. And, in my very humble opinion, I think we're both looking great!"

She meant it, but I scoffed, my mind telling me otherwise. She was looking great. She was the one wiping the floor with me. I, on the other hand, was losing quite terribly, and of my training seemingly going to waste here in Kanto. Yeah, the trainers might have been tougher over here, but while I was training, so was she. And it showed, especially when the battle finally ended, all of my Pokémon too tired to battle, while most of her Pokémon had returned to her unscathed.

"I guess it can't be helped…" I paused, feeling a sudden sense of frustration wash over me. God, my Pokémon were so stupid! They couldn't even beat this weakling in front of me—some silly little girl from a silly little town who thought she could just walk all over me. "My training's still not good enough…? My Pokémon are so weak, it makes me frustrated…" I sighed. I just needed to calm down a little bit. I still needed to get used to this whole "change" thing. "But I can feel that they are getting better after each battle…"

But all Kotone did was stand there and smile like an idiot. Yeah, and how could I possibly feel anything for that girl?

"Tch! They're still too weak! I need to give them more training…" Where could I go now? I had defeated most everyone in Kanto, except Kotone. Then, something clicked in my head, and I didn't know if it was ironic or not that the first place I thought of was the place of the Dragon Master. "I know! I should take them to Dragon's Den!"

Feeling completely confident and satisfied after our encounter, I grinned at Kotone, turning to leave from the cave. Then, hearing her voice, I stopped.

"Bye, Silver!"

I turned back around to look at her, seeing her wave and smile like a fool. Typical Kotone. Still, I couldn't stop myself from smiling back, waving like a fool just to be like her.

"See ya, Kotone!"

Despite my wanting to see her, I knew I couldn't. I thought of her every day during my training, knowing that she was my inspiration, that all of this effort would build up to my final battle against her, my victory. For now, though, I wasn't ready… and I didn't know when I would be. When all of this passion expired from my heart, perhaps then.

I needed to be sure I would win. But when my feelings were so obviously getting in the way each time I challenged her, my heart went against winning, and I lost every time. Fighting against her, I couldn't win. Yet when I fought with her, like that time against Wataru and that annoying cousin of his, no problem.

All I had to do was forget about my feelings, and I could win. God, I was stupid. It had been years since I had seen her last, and I still thought of her every single day, wishing that I could see her, talk to her, hold her.

I just needed more time.

I could barely remember the last time I saw Kotone.

She used to come once or twice a week to see me at the Dragon's Den. I would train there nearly everyday all day, trying to get stronger for her; whether or not she realized this, I didn't know. All I knew was that the moment she came to visit me, my goal changed from only wanting to beat her in battle to wanting to make her proud.

Some visits were short, some long. Often times she would pack a lunch for me when she came, and we would sit on the edge of the dock, shoes and socks pushed off behind us, feet dangling in the water. Then, we would just talk, though she did most of it. I would sit and listen, trying to think of the reasons why she even tolerated me; I could never think of any. Yet she came each week, and I always looked forward to it… secretly, of course.

Then, one week, she didn't come. Another week passed… and another and another. I kept thinking, perhaps hoping, that she would come back, but she never did. Not once since she stopped. She didn't send me any messages, nor did she give me any signs that she was ever going to return, and I told myself to stop caring. I would someday find and beat her in a battle, as planned, and I would be free from distractions while training this way. It was a win-win situation.

Man, I was stupid.

Years had passed since she stopped coming. I couldn't remember how many. When I woke up in the Pokémon Center in Blackthorn each morning, she was the first person I thought of. She was more of a distraction now than before, and I considered myself pathetic for it. But I wasn't going to go find her. Not until I was ready to win. For now, this solitude just gave me even more drive to win.

And when I found her, I would win and move on, all of my feelings gone forever. Because I could change my heart. I would change.

Years and years passed, and each second, I felt change in the wrong direction.

Oh. It was her. That girl from the lab. Great. Ready to interfere just like before. The girl hadn't said two words to me, and I already hated her. She just looked too happy. I wanted to wipe that silly little grin off her face.

Then, seeing the thing trailing along behind her, looking just as happy as the girl did, I smirked. What a sad excuse for a Pokémon! God, what did it want to be when it grew up? The Pokémon I got—er, stole—was probably ten times as strong as that thing. Whatever it was I got. I'd just have to challenge this girl, was all, show her who was boss here.

"You got a Pokémon at the lab." It wasn't a question; it was a fact. But she looked at me, smiling, like she wanted to answer. I rolled my eyes at her naïveté. "What a waste. A wimp like you." The smile finally fell off her face, but she didn't appear insulted, just confused. Man, how stupid was this girl? "Don't you get what I'm saying?"

Silence. She apparently did not. Either that or the girl didn't know how to speak. Which, you know, I wasn't complaining about. I figured as soon as she opened her mouth I would regret her having done so. Keeping her confused was okay. But I should probably slow things down for her.

"Well, I too have a good Pokémon." Not 'too', per say. More like… just a statement of fact. I had a good Pokémon, she had… whatever that thing was. I sighed, receiving another clueless look from the girl. "I'll show you what I mean!"

I sent out my Pokémon from its Poké Ball, expecting something big and powerful to come out. Nothing. What, did I pick a dud? The thing felt heavy when I took it!

Oh. Great. Down there. What the hell was that? Well, at least it looked more formidable than that thing the girl had.

Yet I was shut down in a second. She attacked with such agility that I didn't even see it coming. I grunted, disgusted by what I was seeing. Whatever that thing was that was following her around was quick, while mine was… well, anything but that, apparently.

"You're doing okay for someone weak," I said, if just to see if she would get cocky. But she just smiled again.

"You, too, smart alec." I wasn't at all surprised to hear what she sounded like. Overly girly, high-pitched. She sounded just like what I expected. I was just amazed that she could actually talk, and that she was being so snotty about it.

Then, it was over. Her Pokémon struck mine again, and the thing… Totodile, or whatever, passed out, falling unconscious against the ground. But the girl's face lit up, and her Pokémon skipped back to her, the two looking annoyingly happy, as always. I returned my Pokémon to its Poké Ball, angry that I had picked the weakling out of the pack, and crossed my arms.

"Are you happy you won?" I snapped, and the girl stopped smiling again. Did she even know who she was messing with, here? "Do you want to know who I am?" Rhetorical question; of course she wanted to know. "I'm going to be the world's greatest Pokémon trainer."

She appeared completely unimpressed. Shoving her out of the way, I began to walk forward, attaching the Poké Ball back to my belt. Then, like a siren in a crowd, I heard her voice calling my name, which I knew I specifically did not tell her.

"Silver! Silver, wait up! You forgot your—"

Trainer Card. Crap. I hurried back over to her, and she held the card out to my in one of her tiny hands. "Give it back! That's my Trainer Card!" I snatched the card from her hand, shoving it into my pocket. Then, it clicked into my head. She knew my name. She could turn me in. And then what? I would never be able to show my dad up, to be the greatest trainer in the world. "Oh no! You saw my name…"

I hurried away again, trying to get as far away as possible before she could tell someone. And I prayed that I would never see her a second time.

I still came to the Dragon's Den whenever possible. Some weeks I went to Kanto to train, challenging whatever new trainers popped up in that region. But whenever I was in Johto, I went to Blackthorn to train in the cave, working with my Pokémon instead of against them as I used to. I regretted those days… but I couldn't forget them.

Now, I was back in Blackthorn again after two weeks in Vermilion City. Refreshed and restored after a good sleep in the Pokémon Center, I headed back into the Dragon's Den to continue my training. Everything in the town was still quiet; it was still early, before dawn, but I worked best during those hours. I liked to get training out of the way and then spend the day relaxing. As much as my team needed the training, we still needed to rest.

I immediately noticed a difference in atmosphere when I entered the cave. I knew it wasn't my imagination; I had been here enough times that I practically lived here, and I could sense when something was wrong. And something definitely was.

That was when I saw a body lying on the dock across the water.

And I recognized it.

I had never ran, nor surfed, so quickly in my entire life. When I got to Kotone, I fell to the ground beside her, shaking the small body violently as if to force her to life. And when I heard breathing—or, snoring, rather—I became angry. How the hell could Kotone scare me like that? What kind of person was she, anyway? God, what the hell was she thinking, sleeping in a cave like this? What the hell?

"Wake up, stupid! Come on, wake up!"

The snoring ceased, and she was waking. A sense of cool relief fell over me, as if this reassured me that she was truly alive. But I was still pissed.

"Wake up!"

She opened her eyes now, the brown irises growing as her pupils shrunk to adapt to the light given off from the lamps of the Dragon Master's home. Seeing her, actually here, after so many years had passed, I didn't know if I wanted to see her. Actually being near her made me realize how foolish I was for expecting to get over my feelings for her, for wanting to see her only as a rival, for wanting to stay away, if only to protect my heart. Those feelings had obviously not gone away while she had vanished.

Then, she sprung to life, tackling me, arms flinging around my neck as she exclaimed my name. I had missed her saying it, though she rarely did. I wondered if she was too scared to say it, as though she thought of it negatively.

When she finally got off of me, I frowned at her, still angry with her poor judgment.

"What the hell did you think you were doing?" She looked surprised by my harsh tones, and I almost felt bad. Almost. "Were you sleeping in here? Why didn't you go to the Pokémon Center to get rest? You could have been attacked by a wild Pokémon in here. Not to mention, you could have caught a cold. It's really wet in here."

She opened her mouth, obviously trying to come up with an excuse, but I wasn't having any of it. It was my turn to talk; she was the one who never came back. "I was just coming in to train, and I saw you just lying on the ground. You looked…" I couldn't tell her what I thought. She would think I was weaker and stupider than before. "Anyway… find a better place to sleep next time, got it? Man, you're stupid."

She seemed genuinely bothered that I was upset with her; was this… no.

"I'm sorry," she said. "I just was trying to find you, was all. And it was really late, so I just figured I would catch some sleep here instead of going all the way back to the Pokémon Center. I'm sorry to have worried you."

I smirked. Hell, yeah, I had worried. But I wasn't about to admit that to her. "Worried? Oh, I wasn't worried."

She smiled, and nothing was said for a few moments. Everything that needed to be said was kept silent, and everything that shouldn't had been said when she left. It was time to move on now, to get up and leave, to let me be the one to walk away. And yet I stayed where I was, beside her in the place we had first battled together as a team, if only because it felt right.

"I want to battle you." The request seemed to echo in my ears, not off the save walls, and I wasn't quite sure I had heard correctly. I looked at the floor, hoping she would get the hint. I wasn't ready to battle; I hadn't even been ready to see her again, yet, as before, she was the one who decided to come.

"Hey, did you hear me, Silver? I want to battle you!"

"Kotone, why—"

"Come on, just send out a Pokémon. I'm battling you, and you better give it all you've got!" And without giving me time to reply, she sent out her first Pokémon. I stared at it, knowing, hoping that I would lose this battle.

I didn't want to win. Not now. I wasn't ready. She needed to win this one.

But I sent out a Pokémon, anyway, hoping to end this quickly.

I was nothing compared to Kotone. While we appeared more evenly matched than ever before, she was a caliber all of her own, with power unlike anything I had ever seen. It was no wonder that she had beaten Wataru. While he was powerful, and had easily defeated me, she was just something else. Some other type of power.

I definitely wasn't ready.

Finally, I was down to my last Pokémon: my Feraligatr. In a matter of minutes, my first Pokémon had wiped out all of her Pokémon, except her last one. I knew what it was before she even sent it out. It would be just like our first battle, ending the same way, a loss on my side and a victory on hers.

"Hey, Silver!" she called. "Look, it's like our first battle! Can't you just picture my little Cyndaquil and your little Totodile?"

"Don't remind me." I couldn't help but smirk at this; she had noticed, too. I pretended to act cocky, feigning superiority, as though I would win. But we probably both knew that I was about to lose this match. "Things will be different this time; I'm gonna win!"

She laughed anyway, saying what I was feeling. "I don't think so!"

And just like that, it was over. With its blinding agility, her Typhlosion attacked my Feraligatr before it could move. Just like the first battle. Yet, I had never felt so satisfied in my life, and I certainly hadn't after that first match. This was much more reassuring; I had expected to lose. I knew my strength, and I had predicted hers.

"I wanted you to win," we both said at the same time. Then, looking at each other, we walked closer.

"What are you talking about?" I asked before she could. What was she talking about? Anyone could understand why I wanted to lose. It was all about integrity, pride, me, her. But… I could think of no reason why should would want to lose. As usual, she had me stumped.

"What are you talking about?" I narrowed my eyes and crossed my arms. No way. I asked her first! I did! She sighed, waving a hand. "Fine. I just wanted to you to beat me. I mean, I wasn't going to lose on purpose, obviously, but I really wanted to see how much you improved. I wanted to lose. No one has beaten me yet. I just opened a Gym, and I've been bored silly because no one even stands a chance…"

I stopped her, holding up a hand. When did this happen? Was this why she had disappeared? Was this why she just stopped coming? Still, to leave without warning… but… maybe there had been. She had talked about Pryce's retirement once or twice. Maybe she mentioned it when I was zoning out thinking about her.

"You opened a Gym?" I asked, just to reiterate. "When?"

"A while ago. Pryce retired, so I took over. But I think people have been nervous about challenging me. So, I came to find you since you never came to me. You're the only one who gives me a real challenge. I've really missed seeing you around."

She wanted me to find her. To come to her. And she missed me. There was just so much to wrap my head around, here. Everything she said echoed in my mind, repeating over and over like a broken record. Did all of this mean that she felt the same way about me that I did about her? It sure sounded like it to me.

I had so much to say. But as I prepared to say it, I stopped, unable to get my lips to move and my throat to let air through.

Finally, I managed to gasp, "Yeah, well…" I looked from her brown eyes, which looked so carefully at me, timid but seemingly omniscient, to the ground. I couldn't look at her anymore. I wanted to… "I wanted you to win because I wasn't ready for a battle. I've been working with my Pokémon for years now, but I wanted to battle you when I was ready to win. I didn't feel it today. That's why I haven't tried to find you. And if I had won this battle, I wouldn't have felt as good about the victory. So, I wanted to lose. I've been battling against everyone just to prepare myself for you."

She looked surprised by my admittance. Even I was surprised that I managed to tell her that much. How I could even say that much was a mystery to me. "But you sounded so sure that you would win," she said.

"Nah, that was all for show. I mean, I didn't let you win, but I was actually pretty sure I would lose as soon as you pointed out that it was my Feraligatr against your Typhlosion."

"Just like our first battle. Only with stronger Pokémon." She giggled in that same girly, high-pitched voice, and I felt my cheeks heat up. I no longer felt annoyed by her voice; it was far too familiar to me. "Hey, Silver, will you please come find me even before you're ready to battle? It's been so long since I've seen you… We don't have to battle every single time we meet, you know. We could just… you know, hang out. Like friends."

I wanted to die. And I had thought she liked me. What a joke. I was so stupid.

"Friends?"

"Yeah, you know, those people that hang out because they like each other and want to spend time together? I kind of think we've been rivals long enough. If we can stand here and have a conversation like this, we aren't rivals anymore, anyway. We're definitely friends already. It doesn't necessarily have to be declared to happen, stupid!"

I smiled at this. Well, of course! She did like me.

"But… I was sort of under the impression that you liked me a little more than that…" I was shocked at myself for saying it aloud, but as soon as I saw her face drain of all color, I knew. The way she made me so flustered, the way I made her nervous, the way she made me want to impress her, the way she wanted me to win a battle. In that second, I knew for sure.

So, I reached a hand behind her neck and pulled her lips towards mine with confidence, knowing that in that second, everything I had been fighting to protect myself from didn't matter. Despite wanting to change my heart, I only strengthened it.

And now, in that second, everything changed.

Author's Note: You needn't have read First beforehand to have understood this, so it's technically not a sequel. I just had to name this Second, anyway, so I decided to phrase it as a sequel just for the heck of it. It would be weird to read Second first and First second, but I imagine many of you did. XD

I've never written from a boy's perspective before, and I have to say, it was very interesting. Silver is a very complex character, in my opinion, in that he's tsundere. His cold demeanor was a heck of a lot more fun to write than his more… not-as-cold demeanor. But it was hard to keep him in character while keeping in mind that he needed to change. So, I thought it was a little difficult. And, being a girl, I probably didn't capture his whole "manly" essence.

I hope I did a good job keeping him in character! Please tell me if I didn't—I will be happy to revise it!

By the way, did anyone notice that some of the lines (the prose, or whatever, not the dialogue) here are exactly the same as in First? Hehe. Not many, but a few are the same.

And, wow, this fanfiction is even longer than the last one! Whoa!

Disclaimer: I do not own Pokémon. Heck, I don't own half of this dialogue! The parts you recognize (from the games, not my other fanfiction—or both, maybe) don't belong to me.