The Ugly Ducklett [Fanfiction]

[kiuolo]

Title: The Ugly Ducklett
Fandom: Pokémon
Summary: Green, an ugly ducklett pokémon, just wants to be accepted. One day, he's had enough. He decides to leave and find the place where he really belongs. But what's this? Red's following him? Green/Red/Green. Gameverse. A Pokéfied version of "The Ugly Duckling."
Pairings/Characters: Green/Red/Green, Touya, with brief mentions of Nanami and Okido. 
Warnings: None. Well, 'cept for maybe cuteness 
Authors Notes: I took many liberties with the original story. Be warned. xD

  The Ugly Ducklett

Once upon a time, there was an ugly little ducklett by the name of Green.

Ducklett Green lived with his sister, ducklett Nanami and grandfather, ducklett Okido, with all of the other ducklett at the Hodomoe Drawbridge in Isshu.

By all accounts, he should have had a happy life. Though pokémon trainers had captured his parents when he was young, he had a kind sister and a brilliant, if sometimes strict, grandfather. Unfortunately, from the moment he was born, he was different.

Poor Green gazed sadly at his reflection in the waters below the drawbridge, the reason for his name staring cruelly back at him. His feathers, which should have been a beautiful, glossy baby blue color, were ugly and green.

Suddenly frustrated, he pecked angrily at his reflection to distort the image.

Lately, he’d been getting into more and more fights with the other ducklett. His grandfather would often scold him for this, telling him that he needed to be kinder to his fellow pokémon. But it wasn’t his stupid grandfather who had to live with the teasing and harassment, was it? If the other ducklett pissed him off enough, of course he was going to fight back! It was their fault for saying such dumb things.

There was one ducklett, though… Outside of his family, there was just one that didn’t seem to care about his ugly feathers. That ducklett’s name was Red.

Red was a very special ducklett, everyone said. Though his personality was a little off, his reddish pink feathers signified he was a shiny ducklett; truly rare, valued, and beautiful. Red was the perfect example of being different in a good way, and Green would be lying if he said he didn’t hate him for it.

But despite this and their contrasting appearances, they had a very, very odd sort of friendship.

They were childhood friends in every sense of the word, having grown up with their nests right next to each other. However, while they had been closer when they were younger, now all Green would do was pick on and bully the ‘special’ Red. Red was so loved, it was natural that someone like Green would pick on him, right? Yes, it was only natural that a ‘monster’ would torment the ‘great.’ When he saw those other ducklett fawning over Red, he almost wanted to be sick.

But they did have a friendship, even if Green was loath to admit it. Pesky humans liked to try to capture Red and add him to their team, and Green’s body seemed to have a mind of its own during those times. He had chased off more trainers than he could count, his green wings and webbed feet being put to good use as he swooped down upon the unsuspecting trainers and attempted to viciously yank out their hair.

Red never seemed to need the help-as far as ducklett went, he was by far the strongest-but that didn’t stop Green. And when it was all over, just hearing Red’s quiet “thank you” somehow made it all worth it.

But Green was sick of everything. Lately, the taunts from the other ducklett kept replaying and replaying in his head, driving him half crazy. He had even begun to wonder if he really was a ducklett. And now he was determined to prove them all wrong; to show them he wasn’t useless or unnatural. No! He was going to go out into the world, away from Hodomoe Drawbridge and the other ducklett, and show them that he better than all of them! And then maybe he’d find other pokémon that looked like him-find his true family, because surely he was adopted-and then he could feel like… feel like he fit in for once in his life.

With this in mind, Green hatched a plan. During the next clear, starry night, he would sneak away from everyone and begin his journey, going wherever the hell he felt like. While his sister might support him, he knew his grandfather would disapprove, so he knew he had to be secretive. He told no one, making sure to be extra careful so that he wouldn’t run the risk of anyone catching on. Nothing was going to stop him.

Finally, the perfect night came. Green had long since steeled up his courage, and didn’t hesitate. He took some of his favorite peat moss to eat on his journey, left a note, and quietly slipped away from his family’s nest.

He began heading east, a swell of nervous energy bubbling up in his stomach as he got closer to Route 5. Finally he arrived at the edge of Hodomoe Drawbridge, Route 5 just inches away. For a split second he paused, some indecisiveness he didn’t know he had making itself apparent. The next moment, he was in Route 5.

A feeling of inexplicable pride over this action welled up in his chest, and he went to continue going forward when something made him turn around.

There, standing right behind him was a silent Red. Green nearly jumped out of his feathers, squawking loudly in surprise.

He was quick to regain his cool, however. Wings raised slightly threateningly, Green demanded to know what Red was doing there.

Red, for his part, seemed unfazed. He merely took a step forward, uncaring about the dangerous glare being sent at him. He wanted to go with Green.

Green shook his head at this. No way. No way would he let Red to go with him and ruin everything. It was his adventure, not Red’s! Besides, Red would be safer here, with the rest of the ducklett.

But Red was even more obstinate than usual today, it seemed. He continued to walk forward, and something in Green seemed to snap.

Green swiftly rose into the air, his wings glowing brightly. This was it. He was going to use Wing Attack on Red, and then the stupid ducklett wouldn’t try and follow him anymore. Even though a part of him really didn’t want to hurt his only friend, he’d do it if it meant he could go alone.

He began to swoop down as fast he could, quickly descending upon Red’s unmoving figure. Then, just as his attack was about to connect, Red looked up…

…And promptly shot a powerful Water Gun attack directly at Green’s face.

It was a critical hit. With a sound that was a mix between surprise and pain, Green’s wings stopped glowing and he fell to the ground.

For a brief moment, Green felt embarrassment, which quickly turned into frustration. Just as he was about to angrily stumble to his feet and try again, Red waddled over to Green’s fallen form and gently nudged his head against Green’s, silently apologizing and urging the other back to his feet.

Flustered, Green scrambled away from Red. Fine, since attacking Red wasn’t going to work, he’d just hurry ahead and lose him. Red couldn’t follow him if he didn’t know where he was going.

Green kicked his webbed feet off of the paved road of Route 5 and rushed into the forest just to the side of it as fast as he could, determined to shake Red off of his trail.

He wasn’t sure how long he had been running when he eventually slowed to a stop, out of breath from having hurried so much. However, Green was satisfied. He was sure Red hadn’t caught up to him, and that was all that mattered.

Content in this knowledge, Green plopped down on the ground and allowed himself a break. He wasn’t quite sure where he was, but he couldn’t bring himself to care. He could figure that out later.

Just as he was about to doze off for a short nap, Green spotted something out of the corner of his eye. He snapped his head to the side, about to demand that whoever was there come out, when his jaw dropped.

There, ‘hiding’ behind one of the many trees that surrounded them, was Red. About half of his body was hidden, the other half peeking out as he stared at Green.

For a minute, all Green could do was gape stupidly. He was sure he had lost Red! How in the world had the other ducklett kept up with him?

Red stared some more.

Finally, Green let out a frustrated huff. Right now, he just wanted to take a quick power nap. He’d deal with Red when he woke up again.

Obstinately turning his back on Red, Green fell into a light sleep.

It continued much the same way in the days that followed. Green would do everything he could to lose Red, but Red seemed unshakeable. Every day, just as Green thought he’d finally gotten rid of Red, Red would pop back up without fail. It was annoying, but Green refused to give in. Red was not coming with him!

It wasn’t until almost a week later that something changed. Green had been going along as he normally did, Red quietly and not-so-subtly following behind him, when Green noticed that something seemed to be off.

He looked back at Red, trying not to be too obvious about it. Somehow, Red seemed a little out of it-more than normal, anyway. This was weird, as Green could grudgingly admit to himself that until now Red had seemed very serious about what he was doing, never seeming to let himself get distracted even once.

Green watched warily as Red continued to stumble behind him. He unconsciously slowed, finally stopping altogether before he hesitatingly turned to face Red, a little concerned.

Just as Green was about to gruffly inquire as to what was wrong, Red’s eyes closed and he began to fall forward.

Alarmed, Green scrambled back and picked up Red, eyes wide with worry. Recalling what Nanami used to do with him, he placed his forehead against Red’s, pulling back almost immediately. Red was burning up!

More than a little panicked, Green frantically looked around. What was he supposed to do? He had never taken care of a sick pokémon before! He couldn’t let anything happen to Red!

Finally, Green forced himself to calm down and think. He knew there was a human town called Sekka City not too far from where they were, and human towns meant Pokémon Centers. He knew that was where trainers usually took their pokémon, but what other choice did he have? If a Pokémon Center could help Red…

It was around that time that Green’s panic took over again.

The next thing Green recalled was wildly bursting through the Pokémon Center in Sekka City’s doors, feathers askew and looking even more like a wild pokémon than he probably intended.

The nurse at the front desk jumped in surprise before rushing over. She paused only a moment, surprised at the odd colors of the pokémon in front of her, before crouching down and trying to figure out what was wrong. She spotted Red’s slightly open, glazed eyes before deciding to check for a fever.

She made some soothing noises, making sure that Green wouldn’t react negatively before placing a hand on Red’s forehead. The nurse’s eyes widened, and in a flurry of movement, the sick Red was gently picked up from off of Green’s back and carried off into a back room.

Green could only stare dumbly as everything happened, not quite sure what he could be doing. His first instinct was to follow after Red and the nurse, but he was quickly stopped by the other pokémon in the center. A few of them eyeing his feather with a strange sort of curiosity and slight disgust, he was informed that he needed to leave the nurse and Red alone so that Red could be properly treated.

The situation and the looks from the other pokémon proved to be too much for Green. Frustrated, overwhelmed, and the tiniest bit sad, Green stormed out of the Pokémon Center. Though he tried to tune it out, he could hear the other pokémon whispering to each other as he left.

Unbeknownst to Green, kind eyes observed him as everything happened. As Green left, the person stood and quietly followed after him.

Green kicked angrily at a rock in his path, wanting desperately to release some of his frustration, but not knowing how else to go about doing that. He really wasn’t sure what he should do. On one hand, if he left Red here then he’d be able to get away and start his solo adventure like he wanted. But on the other hand, he wasn’t quite sure if he could leave without knowing if Red was okay or not.

He was startled out of his thoughts by a noise coming from behind him. Green turned, his surprise showing clearly on his face when he saw a human standing a few feet away from him.

The human smiled reassuringly in response, though looked a little worried when Green started backing up in spite of this.

“Hey, now… It’s okay,” the human soothed, crouching down on his knees and holding out a hand. “I just wanted to say ‘hello.’ My name is Touya. You’re a ducklett, right?”

Green glared at the question. What, was his appearance really so odd that this stupid human couldn’t even tell he was a ducklett?

Touya laughed, the sound a little nervous. “Sorry,” he apologized, retracting his hand. “Of course you’re a ducklett. I didn’t mean that. It’s just… Ah…” He began rubbing the back of his head, a little nervous and unsure of how to continue. Finally, he asked, “Want to sit down?” Touya waved to the empty spot of grass beside him.

Green looked suspiciously at Touya, as if waiting for the other to pull a trick on him. After a few moments of nothing happening, he reluctantly nodded his head and waddled over, plopping down in the proffered seat with a hmph.

Touya smiled kindly again at this, and Green took a moment to wonder if that was the only expression the human ever used.

“You know,” Touya said, breaking the silence, “what you did for that other ducklett was really nice. Is that red ducklett your friend?” He wrapped his arms around his legs, drawing the appendages closer to himself so he could rest his head on them.

Green angrily shook his head in the negative. After all that stupid Red had put him through, whatever kind of friendship that they had was officially over!

“Ah,” Touya nodded, though he didn’t look entirely convinced. “Well, it was still brave. You don’t see many wild pokémon enter towns.”

Green didn’t do anything to reply to this, though Touya noticed that his chest seemed to be puffing out a bit more than it had earlier.

“What are you and that other ducklett doing so far away from Hodomoe Drawbridge? Are you going on a journey?” Touya asked, honestly curious. While he imagined ducklett might like the different puddles around Sekka City, he had never seen a wild one so far away from its home before.

Green smirked proudly. “Ducklett duck,” he replied, nodding his head.

Touya grinned lightly in response. “I’m going on a journey, too. It’s really nice, you know? Travelling, meeting new people…” he trailed off, eyes instead observing the white clouds in the sky. “It’s nice…”

Green remained silent, not wanting to disturb Touya’s thoughts.

Finally, Touya took a deep breath and spoke again. “But I wouldn’t be able to do this without my friends. I’d be very lonely without them. No one should have to travel alone. Yeah…” He turned to look at Green. “No one should have to travel alone,” he repeated.

Confusion swept through Green. Just what was this person trying to get at?

Touya seemed to brace himself, and it was obvious he was trying to steel his courage. “Do you…” he began, an embarrassed red tint to his cheeks. “Do you want to travel with me?”

Surprised, Green jumped to his feet. What the…?

For his part, Touya looked shy and sheepish. “I’m very sorry… Too soon?” he questioned, burying his face in his arms. “But… you just looked so sad…” After a pause, he raised his eyes, meeting the stunned expression of Green.

In that look, Green could see all of the acceptance he had ever hoped for. If he traveled with this person, there was a very good chance he would never feel left out again. He would never again feel useless or unnatural.

But it was in that moment that Green realized that he recognized that look of acceptance, of kindness. But where had he seen it before? No one… No one else had ever looked at his green feathers and accepted him, had they…?

An image of deadpan red eyes flashed before his mind.

Green’s heart skipped a beat.

What… What was he doing? He shouldn’t be sitting here! Because it was Red; it was always Red! Red had been giving him exactly what he wanted, and he had been too blind to see it. Then, in return, he had left Red sick in a Pokémon Center! He needed to get back in there and make sure Red was okay, because… because…

Green took off running for the Pokémon Center, flapping his wings frantically.

Touya smiled softly at his retreating form.

----------

Green burst into Red’s room at the Pokémon Center, ignoring the commotion he had caused when he had raced through the building. He let out a breath of relief when he spotted Red’s form lying quietly on his cot.

Noticing Red’s closed eyes and even breathing and determining he was asleep, Green managed to calm himself enough to quietly close the door behind him. He then rushed over to Red’s side, nervously fretting over him.

His fever seemed to be gone, thankfully. It must have been that strange machine he had seen earlier. But still… Green began to pace, wondering how Red would be feeling after he woke up.

As if on cue, Red’s eyes began to slowly open. Green, too lost in his thoughts, didn’t immediately notice this until Red turned over and looked at him.

Green’s eyes widened before he shook his head. Looking a little ashamed, he tiled his head forward, the gesture a silent question.  Are you feeling okay?

Red nodded his head in response, though he looked strangely… excited?

Green’s brow furrowed. What? Red hardly ever looked excited about, well, anything.

Red started to sit up. Green began fretting at the move, trying to get the obstinate Red to lie back down. He had just got over being sick! He shouldn’t be up!

Red shrugged Green off; he had something he needed to do. Opening his wing, he revealed some of Green’s favorite peat moss. He began to hand it to him.

Green blinked stupidly in surprise. What was this?

“Duck ducklett duck.” Happy birthday.

For a moment, all Green could do was stare. Then, tears began to well up in his eyes-manly tears, he would tell you.

He had completely forgot it was his birthday today, what with the excitement of his adventure. Red… Had Red been follow him to give him his present on his birthday? Surely not, but… but…

Green jumped forward, enveloping Red in a feathery hug.

And they lived happily ever after.