This is the first time I've written something other than Speak Up for about three or four months now! I only wrote this though because I had the idea in my head for ageeeeeees and this morning it just exploded out of me and I had to write it. I think it's rather crappily written though, so I hope you don't all hate me.

Anyway, this is not set in the same continuity or whatever as Speak Up, so that's why R-diz is speaking.

Disclaimer: I do not own Pokemon.

Atmosphere.

Fun fact: Oak trees are the trees most frequently struck by lightning.

Age 8

"Red! I'm going to be the Champion and you are the trainer who has come to challenge me!" Green proclaimed, placing his hands on his hips to show he was "the boss" in their game. The smaller boy nodded and walked backwards a few steps so he was facing Green. They were out in Green's front yard playing, bnd the wind blowing around was making him rather cold, and he hadn't brought a jacket. He hoped they'd end up running around so he'd warm up a little. "But you won't beat me of course, because I'm the Champion! I'm the strongest trainer in the whole region!"

Red rolled his eyes, they'd played this game so many times and he'd never been the Champion. Actually, that was a lie. He'd been the Champion once, but Green had still won that time, despite being the trainer. He thought the whole thing rather unfair, but went with it anyway, it was fun most of the time. He pulled an imaginary pokeball out his pocket and threw it onto the grass in front of them. "Go, Charmander," He mumbled.

"My turn!" Green exclaimed, tossing his pokeball out onto the lawn. "Go, Articuno!"

"Boys," Their game was interrupted by a third voice, and they both looked up to find Green's mother calling them from the doorway. "You should come inside, it's going to start raining soon and I don't want either of you to catch a cold," She pointed upwards and Red noticed that the sky was rather cloudy and grey. It probably wouldn't be a bad idea to go in the house.

"But mum," Green whined, dragging out the latter word and stamping his foot on the ground. "We're playing something!"

"You can play ins-" Her last word was cut off by a large clap of thunder and she shook her head, telling them I told you so. Green, on the other hand, yelped and dashed inside, running past his mother and into the lounge room. Red watched the scene for a moment, tilting his head to the side in confusion and then slowly followed him in.

He wandered into the lounge and scanned the room for his friend. He couldn't see Green anywhere, not on the couch or on the coffee table, no where. He stood in the doorway and looked again, he couldn't have gone too far, the house wasn't that big. After a few minutes of searching, he managed to locate him - crouched under the table, his hands covering his ears and his eye squeezed shut in fright.

"Are you okay?" Red asked quietly, bending down so he could see his friend properly.

"I'm fine," He hissed through clenched teeth. Typical Green. There was another clap of thunder and he jumped, scrambling over to the other side of the coffee table. Red couldn't help but smile slightly at this, he would never have guessed that Green was afraid of thunderstorms. Irrationally scared too, he looked terrified, and it wasn't even very loud or heavy yet.

"I'll take you home now, if you'd like. It hasn't started raining just yet," Red heard Green's mother again, and he stood up and looked at her, nodding. "Green probably won't be a lot of fun anymore, he's not too keen on storms," Well, no kidding.

Mount Silver

"You know, I don't know why I even bother coming up here, it's such a difficult hike!" Green announced, striding into the cave in which Red now resided. He looked up to find the other male standing there with his hands on his hips, attempting to look stern, but really just looking rather flustered.

"You don't have to," He replied, not moving from his seat against the wall. It was rather cold as it was snowing outside, but it'd be worse if he stood up. Plus, Pikachu was asleep on his lap.

"Good to see you too, Red," He pouted, crossing his arms. "You'd die if I didn't and you have to stay connected with the rest of the world somehow. I mean, what do you even do up here?" He stepped further into the cavern and held out a little basket for Red, who took it and peered inside it cautiously. "Oh, come on. It's just food. I bring it up everytime I come to visit you,"

"Thank you,"

"You're welcome!" He said it in the most exaggerated tone, complete with arm gestures and an exasperated sigh at the end. It made Red laugh a little and the shaking of his body (which was partly because he was shivering as well) woke Pikachu up. It whined a little, but when it noticed that Eevee was here it jumped off his lap and ran over to meet the little creature. They nuzzled each other slightly and then wandered off deeper into the cave.

Green was now pacing around the place, muttering to himself about the "Godforsaken weather" and how he had no idea how Red even "liked it up here". He watched him for a while until, chuckling quietly to himself until his ranting was interrupted by a large clap of thunder. Green froze mid-step and Red could swear he saw his eyes widen. A moment passed and then he slowly began walking around the place again, but he looked kind of nervous now.

"Are you still afraid of thunderstorms?" Red asked, finally standing up.

Green spun around and glared at him defensively. "No! I was never afraid of them! Why would you even think that?" Red raised an eyebrow, he didn't really expect any answer other than that. Green was too stubborn to admit that something might bother him. It wasn't a good thing, really.

He'd started to pace again, looking around the place nervously. It was silent for a few minutes until more thunder sounded and echoed around the cave. Green made a very un-Green-like dive for the wall and sat up against it, pulling his knees to his chest. Red slid down and took a seat next to him, a smile tugging at the corner of his lips.

"Yeah, not afraid," He said.

Green was silent, and he was staring down at his feet nervously. Though Red had found it kind of funny that his "rival" was afraid of something like a thunderstorm at first, it was a little concerning that he was still this frightened. It had been almost ten years now! Had no one ever helped him?

"It's only because I'm more likely to be struck by lightning than most people are," He said, choosing each word carefully. He looked up at Red, and for the first time he saw some sort of helplessness in his eyes. Green seemed to be almost reaching out for his help here! Well, that was okay, but he had just phrased it so strangely that Red had to suppress a giggle.

"Why?"

"Because oak trees are the most frequently struck by lightning!" He said it with such a firm determination that Red couldn't keep his laughter inside anymore. It burst out of him and filled the whole cavern, and looking back, Green figured that everyone in Viridian would have heard him. It was the loudest the boy had ever been! But at the present time, this annoyed (and mostly embarrassed) Green. He huffed and looked away from Red to try and hide his pink cheeks (though he could later blame this on the cold).

"You're not a tree, Green," He said softly once he had managed to compose himself. "I don't think you're going to be struck by lightning,"

"Shut up," He muttered, still trying to hide his blush. Just as he finished his sentence, there was another clap of thunder and out of instinct, Green turned and buried his face into Red's shoulder. After a moment, he realised what he had done and shuffled further away from the other boy in embarrassment.

Red just smiled in response. "Not afraid,"