Five Jobs Green Never Had... (Green, various pairings, one-shot)
Title: Five Jobs Green Never Had (and One He Did)
Rating: PG
Word Count: 5025
Genre: General/Character Study
Series: Pokémon
Characters/Pairings: Green-centric, various implied pairings
Warnings: minor swearing
Summary: There are many jobs Green has never had. (But if he ever did have them, he'd be sure to be the best.)
A/N: I'm not completely happy with the second one, but I'll live. Also: obvious biases are obvious. ETA: I forgot to say, Breeder!Hibiki is chuuni's idea.
Five Jobs Green Never Had (and One He Did)
1. Police Officer
Sure, he has a reputation for being tough, but Green knows that's not why they called him in. It might be grunt work, but the detectives don't like sharing any more credit than necessary. Still, they know he gets them to talk.
He's young. He's the fastest rising officer in the force and he's young, but that's why the detectives don't like him, don't trust him. (He convinces himself that it has nothing to do with the fact he's prickly and can be a smartass sometimes.)
But he's young and they're young. He knows how to be charming and easy and accessible. He gets them to talk.
"So, why'd you do it?" Green asks smoothly, setting a cup of coffee in front of the boy. His partner, Eevee, is sitting quietly by the foot of the boy's chair. The redhead stares down angrily at the Styrofoam cup before turning that glare up at him. His body language is hostile, arms crossed, the rest of his skinny body stiff with pent-up rage. Green can all but hear the boy grit his teeth.
"Silver," he says, recalling the name on the boy's trainer card. "We can do this the easy way or the hard way. It's up to you. You can tell me, or you can tell them." Green makes a sweeping gesture to the glass window on their right that the detectives are behind. "I can assure you," he adds with smile, "it'll be easier to tell me."
Silver is still glaring at him, but he's not as stiff anymore and has uncrossed his arms.
He tries again. "Why'd you do it?"
There's a long, uncomfortable pause, and Green is about ready to change tactics when Silver mumbles.
"It wasn't about the money."
Green raises an eyebrow. It'd been pretty easy to see that it wasn't about the money. Sure, the Totodile Silver stole had been rare, but there were far more valuable Pokémon he could've targeted if that were the goal. And even an idiot stealing a Pokémon for money would've tried to get rid of it as quickly as possible, but Silver still had the critter on him.
"It wasn't about the money," he states again, more confidently. "So if that's what that damn professor wants -" Silver slams his hand against the table and stands up, "- then he can have all the damn money in the world." Silver starts pulling something out of his pocket, and Green is ready to stand up and subdue him in case it's a weapon, but he finds himself staring at a face full of green paper fluttering down through the air.
So it definitely wasn't about the money.
Green sighs and folds his hands on the table, ignoring the cash scattered around him and the floor. Silver's not looking at him anymore, reverting back to crossed arms and hostile body language.
"Then why did you do it," he prods a little more gently.
Silver's eyes flash at him, and for a moment, Green thinks he's going to burst into another tirade, but instead Silver softly says, "Do you understand what it's like to always get what you want -" Green is about to answer that getting everything you want is probably a stupid reason to steal something. "- but then have it all touched - corrupted - by something you hate?"
Green closes his mouth and listens closely to what Silver is explaining.
"It wasn't about the Pokémon. I don't even care about the weak little thing -" Green almost protests that it wasn't nice to call a Pokémon he'd stolen weak. "- but I just wanted something that was mine. Something that wasn't tainted by him. By them," Silver finishes viciously.
Green doesn't really understand who "him" or "them" are, but a nagging little voice in the back of his head reminds him, isn't that why you decided to become a police officer? because anything to do with Pokémon will always be related to him and you wanted something for yourself? aren't you just as selfish as he is, even though you sneakily went about it the "right" way?
Across the table, Silver is certainly not shaking and most definitely not sobbing quietly, fist tightly clenched.
Before he can stop himself, Green reaches across the table and calmly places a hand over Silver's fist, rubbing it soothingly. Watery eyes look up at him with an ounce of trust. He manages to stop short of pulling the boy into a hug. Eevee, though, has climbed onto the table and is comfortingly nudging Silver's arm with its head.
Maybe it's because Silver's young. Maybe it's because he's still young. But even if the rest of the world will judge him harshly, Green can't help but be sympathetic. And if it comes down to it, he'll fight for the boy because he knows it's right. Because in the end, he and Silver are the same.
"I understand," he says, and means it, even if nobody else ever does.
2. Doctor's Assistant
She rushes into the Pokémon Center wildly, clutching a Chikorita close to her chest with tears streaming down her face.
"Help me. Please," she sobs, and Green has to wonder if she means herself or the Pokémon.
"Just relax and breathe," he commands, firmly placing a hand on her shoulder. She tries and chokes out a hysterical sob instead.
"This is all my fault," she cries as he takes the Chikorita from her and places it in an isolated intensive-care unit. "I shouldn't have been so -"
"It'll be okay, miss," Green interrupts. Partially because he wants to console her and because she's becoming annoying and distracting him from his job. He has to bite back all the snark in his personality that always got him in trouble in nursing school. "I - we get cases like this all the time." Green has been specifically trained in Pokémon emergency medicine, and poor bedside manner aside, he did graduate top of his class. He knows he can do it, knows how to get through this. "Your Pokémon will be fine."
Green tries to offer her a reassuring smile. The girl breaks down in tears.
Oh great, Green sighs, and sends her back out into the waiting room so he can get to work. He leaves his Eevee with her, because even though Eevee is a valuable assistant in the ICU, the girl looks like she could use a bit of comfort at the moment.
"All better," he coos a few hours later as he walks out with it into the waiting room with the girl's Chikorita in his arms. Outside, the owner's face bursts with relief when she sees her Pokémon is okay, and she nearly throws Eevee out of her lap.
"Thank you so much," she cries, this time the tears running down her face out of joy. "Thank you so, so much."
Green sighs as she coddles the Chikorita, the little green Pokémon returning her affection. He picks up Eevee, who bristles a little at being pushed onto the ground, and pats it on the head. "It's nothing. Chikorita is just lucky to have such a diligent trainer." He'd seen too much of what happens otherwise, both in his line of work and while growing up on his grandfather's research ranch. It was, after all, why he had decided on his current occupation.
"Some trainers push their Pokémon too hard, leave the healing off for too long." He smiles at her sadly and pats her on the head. "Then, there's nothing much we can do for them. But your Chikorita will be fine, Miss..."
"Kotone," she says, wiping the tears from her face. "I don't know what I could ever do to properly thank you." She smiles a smile of a thousand suns.
"Just doing my job, Miss Kotone," he says and nods at her. And it's the truth. But in his mind, though, Green knows that those smiles and those tears of happiness are why he does it.
3. Daycare Breeder
Green is a helluva good breeder, and he knows it. After all, he's the one Battle Factories in all the different Frontier regions order from for their perfect moveset, perfect IV Pokémon. He's the one who gets them those perfect results, every time. In fact, he's knows damn well that he's the best, and all the new technology in the most advanced regions can't seem to duplicate his breeding techniques.
How do you do it? they all ask. Name your price, any price. Just tell us how you get your perfect eggs.
Magic, he tells them, even though it's only half-true, and then slams the door in their faces. It's bad business to reveal trade secrets, after all. Maybe, one day when he's old and grey and all alone, he'll tell someone because he doesn't want the secret to die with him. (Green never really did like kids. He was a brat growing up, more than a handful for his grandfather and his sister, and he doesn't think he'd like to deal with that as well.)
Most of them, the technology companies and the other breeders, give up after a while, though they're mostly affronted by him even existing. After all, it's not like he's come from a prestigious family of breeders who'd been perfecting the technique for generations - he's just this kid that popped up out of nowhere who just happens to be a prodigy at breeding the best Pokémon - even if he is related to a famous professor.
What do you do? even his grandfather wants to know - for science of course, not to steal Green's business, but his grandfather is a scientist, which means he's going to write a damn paper on it or something and anyone will know anyway.
I'll tell you when I'm old and grey, Green snaps and neglects to even think about the fact that his grandfather probably wouldn't even be alive then.
But then, this kid shows up at his front door and won't leave.
"Hi, I'm Hibiki," he introduces himself. "I'm the grandson of the couple that runs the daycare in Johto."
Green doesn't even manage to get the words, "I don't care," out of his mouth before he slams the door in Hibiki's face.
When Green goes out to do errands the next morning, he finds that Hibiki's camped out in front of his yard.
"Go away," he seethes, but it's not like he can make Hibiki leave since Hibiki's on the road and not actually on Green's property.
"What are you doing?" Hibiki asks instead and watches him load five mystery eggs into a crate attached to the back of his bicycle, Green's own Eevee snuggling with them, asleep.
"None of your business," he snaps and bikes into town for some business.
When he comes back five hours later with a crateful of energetic, floppy-eared Growlithes smothering his Eevee, Hibiki's still there.
He doesn't even get the chance to tell Hibiki to go away again before the boy's run up to his bike and starting playing with the Growlithes. "So cute," he coos, wagging his finger at the litter. Eevee looks at him disinterestedly, and one of the Growlithes nips at his finger. "Ow," he yips, and pulls his finger back. "They really are strong," he says and turns to look at Green fondly.
"Yeah, well..." Green says and shrugs. He gathers the Growlithes in his arms to take them inside. Eevee jumps out of the crate and follows behind him. When Green turns around, Hibiki is standing at the edge of his grass and the road, looking at them curiously.
"Bye," Hibiki shouts and waves enthusiastically when he sees Green looking in his direction. Green just rolls his eyes and opens his door.
This continues to happen for the next week. And then the week after that, when Green hatches Skitties, and after that, when he hatches Mudkips.
Eventually, Green snaps at Hibiki, who just happens to be standing in front of his door. "What the hell do you want?"
Hibiki looks up at him, confused, and Green thinks, Cute, kid, real cute, but then Hibiki surprises him by saying, "I already have what I want."
Now it's Green's turn to look confused. "What?"
"I...I want to become a better Pokémon breeder. And I learn a lot by watching you work." (Green seriously hopes Hibiki isn't staring through his windows or something creepy like that.) "I mean, sometimes you're unsociable and can be kinda mean, but it's pretty clear you love Pokémon very much." Green doesn't even register the first part as an insult because it's so true, but no one's ever, ever acknowledged until now much he loves Pokémon.
"Um, thanks," he settles on. "But you don't - you never asked. Didn't you want to know?"
Hibiki shrugs. "I mean, of course. You never told anyone, even with bribes of money, so I didn't think you'd tell me." Green can't help but smile a little. "What they did wasn't respectful, though. They thought they could buy your secrets like it was a commodity. I wanted to earn your respect, earn the right for you to tell me." Hibiki pause for a moment then asks quietly, unsure of himself, "Even now, if I asked you how you did it, what would you tell me?"
"Magic," Green says, like he tells everyone. It's not really a lie, or at least Green doesn't think so, because there's got to be some magic in a little love, right? But maybe Hibiki will figure it out someday, and despite himself, Green opens the door and lets Hibiki inside.
4. Bookshop Keeper
"10,000," she says. "I'll pay you 10,000."
Green glares back. "No."
"15,000?"
Green doesn't even dignify that with a response.
"20,000, and not a penny more."
"Look, it's not for sale, okay?" Green snaps. "That's why there's that sign - 'Not For Sale.' That doesn't mean I'm going to change my mind if you offer me enough money. That sign means it's not negotiable."
She stares at him thoughtfully with her blue eyes. Then she says, "50,000. That's my last offer."
If it weren't bad business, Green probably would've kicked her out of the store at this point. Instead, he turns the page of the book he's reading and goes back to ignoring her.
"50,000, and a date," she adds on, smiling at her own ingenious suggestion. When Green doesn't answer, she whines, "Why won't you sell it to me? This is a bookstore. It's just a book, right? Can't you, like, order more?"
Green looks up and glares at her. "First of all, it's not just a book," he says, gesturing vaguely in the direction of Pokémon Myths above his head. "It's the only comprehensive reference manual for legendary Pokémon in existence, and less than a dozen copies of these were printed a hundred years ago. Most of those are now lost, stolen, or destroyed. It's not for sale because it's priceless, and I'm not going to sell it to some hot-shot trainer who's used to getting what she wants for any amount of money or number of dates."
It's not a complete lie. Green himself had picked it up at a bazaar a couple of years ago for mere pocket change, the book lost in a vendor's bargain bin. He didn't know how rare and valuable it was until he showed it to his grandfather, who'd been surprised and almost envious of his discovery. But now that Green knows, and it's never going to leave his hand.
She looks a little hurt. "Why couldn't they just print more then?"
"They did print more," Green snips. "The Complete Encyclopedia of Pokémon Myths (4th ed.) is in the reference section, aisle ten." He looks back down at his book.
"I already looked through those! Those aren't - they're not complete. They have a picture and some little blurbs or text, but that's it. I want to see the real thing!"
Green sighs. From the corner of his eye, he catches Eevee glaring at the both of them for waking it up from its nap.
The girl has a point. Green knows that, but at the request of researchers, most of the crucial information had been omitted in the reference manual, mainly to protect the Pokémon of legends from being captured by greedy trainers. Most of what researchers knew about them came from his book; whoever had compiled the information did an extraordinarily thorough job at it.
"If you won't let me buy it, can I at least look at it?" she asks, her bottom lip jutting out slightly to form a pout. "Please?"
He's usually even hesitant to lend it to his grandfather - who's the world's more sought-after authority on Pokémon - so why should he let some trainer who might be interested in catching them see the book?
"Why?" he asks her back.
"I want to add them to my Pokédex," she says. Before Green can interrupt her with angry accusations about her selfishness for watching catching them, she continues, "I don't need them on my team, or even to meet them, though that would be great. But these legendary Pokémon... some of them might be extinct, and some of them may never have been real in the first place, but in that book, they're alive. They have stories to tell us, stories most people have already forgotten. That's why you protect that book right? Because even if very few people remember those stories, if you protect that book, they'll always exist somehow. But I want to know them too. I want to help you protect them."
Then, Green realizes - she understands. Even more than his grandfather, on some level, she understands what the book really means.
He nods numbly and takes the book off the top shelf. "Two conditions. One: the book stays here. Two: you read it on this counter, where I can see you."
She smiles enthusiastically and takes the book from him, plopping down on a stool. Green tries not to wince as she turns the pages a little too excitedly.
A few hours later, Green has to do restocking so he tells Eevee to keep an eye on her and goes into the back room to open boxes.
"I'm going!" he hears her call as he's trying to lift a box of cookbooks. "The book is on the counter, okay? I'm only halfway done with it, so I left a bookmark. I'll come back later to finish the rest!"
Eevee hasn't made any noises so he's assuming the girl didn't try to smuggle it out of the store.
When comes out from the back, he finds Pokémon Myths flipped open to the page between Latias and Latios, and Eevee sitting on the counter chewing a slip of paper.
"Hey - hey, what are you doing, Eevee?" Green scolds, and Eevee looks at him guilty.
He pulls what's left of the paper out of Eevee's mouth, and looks down at "Leaf," and what appears to be half of a phone number.
"What'd you do that for?" he mumbles and pokes Eevee in the nose. Eevee squeaks "vui~" at him in a half-hearted apology.
Green pulls a real bookmark out of the counter, a green one with a leaf-shape, and, as an afterthought, writes his own number on the back. He tucks it in the page before closing the book and setting it back on the shelf.
5. Field Researcher
Green likes to think that it's sort of an accident that he ended up in this field, but it's really not. As for what "this field" exactly is, even Green hasn't decided himself if he means his particular field of research or, literally, the field of grass he's currently standing in.
The thing is, he never really liked field research in the first place. He says, "If I wanted to do field research, I would've become a trainer," and "Don't you send out trainers to do this kind of data collection thing?" and "Why aren't any of you going out there?" to which he is always answered with sly dodges and nervous fidgeting.
It's not even that Green dislikes the outdoors - he liked doing research on his Grandfather's ranch just fine - but field work? It's so messy and wild and predictable, and if there's one thing Green needs, it's to always have control of the situation.
But his grandfather is wiser than the rest of them and says, "I have some decent researchers working in my lab already, but none of them would be good enough to send out into the field. I don't trust them, not like I trust you."
When Green doesn't look convinced, he adds, "We can breed and raise Pokémon in the lab, but they live in the wild. There's only so much we can learn from them here. And there're plenty of people doing what I'm doing in here already. We need more people out there."
But most of all - "You're too good to stay here. Go out and make a name for yourself," which just about seals the deal for Green.
After a few weeks, Green finds that he doesn't really mind. The fresh air is a nice change and he can see his Eevee getting stronger every day, protecting him from other wild Pokémon. He just about settles into his routine when his grandfather calls to ask him for a favor.
"This kid, Red, he's fantastic - incredibly thorough with his Pokédex," his grandfather raves to him over the phone, and Green can't help but wonder again if what he's doing out here has any significance. "He's doing a great job of collecting data for us. Would you mind taking a gift to him, as token of our thanks?"
Green moans and rolls his eyes. "Why can't you get someone in your lab to do it?" he says through gritted teeth because he's a researcher, not a fucking delivery boy.
"You're closer," his grandfather insists. "Besides, you'll learn a lot from him - he can help your research too. And he's nice. You'll like him."
(Green thinks that if the kid is anything like the other trainers he's met on the road doing research then no, Green won't like him. Is the concept of, ‘No, I'm not a trainer so I don't want to battle,' really that hard to understand? But it's usually worth Eevee's smug satisfaction when she gets to beat them.)
In the end, Green agrees anyway because even though he doesn't want to be relegated to a delivery boy, it's his grandfather asking, and the item gets sent to him via his PC. He's not sure why they couldn't have just given it to the boy that way instead.
Green then spends the entire day waiting at the checkpoint between two routes for Red to show up like his grandfather says he will. It's not so bad because he gets some of his report written, but Eevee is bored and whiny, now used to being outside all day, and it is kind of hard to concentrate when you have to look up every five minutes to make sure that the person passing through the checkpoint isn't the one you're looking for.
Around nine, Green is irritated and ready to leave but then a boy with a red cap and a Pikachu on his shoulder shows up.
"Are you Red?" Green approaches and asks, and if he isn't, he's seriously thinking about killing someone for wasting a day of his time. The boy looks at him tiredly, but nods.
"God, what took you so long to get here?" Green rants at him as he digs through his backpack for the item his grandfather wants him to give to Red. "Don't you know it's rude to keep people waiting? I just wasted an entire day waiting for you."
Red shuffles nervously while Green rants at him, and jumps a little when Green thrusts the item - an HM for Flash - at him, looking at it warily.
"Here, take it," Green says, and Red's appropriately red eyes look at him, confused. "...Didn't my grandfather tell you I had something for you?"
Red shakes his head. Green has never been madder at his grandfather.
But he realizes it's not Red's fault either, so he clears his throat and tries again. "Sorry," he says sheepishly. "I'm Green, Professor Oak's grandson. I'm doing research in the field. Here -" he takes Red's hand and presses the HM 05 Flash into it. "A gift. For you." He puts on his best apologetic smile.
Red looks stares at him, but puts the item into his own backpack.
"Can I see your Pokédex?" Green asks, remembering what his grandfather told him about the data. "We can get dinner. I'll pay," he adds, because he hasn't eaten yet and Red looks so haggard that even if he has eaten, he probably could and should eat more, and he really owes it to Red as an apology for snapping at him.
Red pulls down his cap over his eyes a little and nods.
So they find a late-night diner and Green orders them a plate of fries while Eevee and Red's Pikachu munch on some treats. Red turns out to be not much of a talker (at all), but Green finds it cathartic for someone to just sit there and listen to him talk about his work.
"Thanks for all the data," he says when they leave the restaurant. "Here, give me your Pokégear. I'll give you my number in case you need anything. And I'll call you in case my grandfather decides to be stupid again and not tell you I'm waiting to give you something."
Red nods mutely and hands over his Pokégear for Green to program his number into.
It turns out that his grandfather is right (go figure), and Red's data does make Green's life significantly easier. They meet a few more times, quickly exchanging data and whatever item his grandfather's passed on to him to deliver. Red always seems a little disappointed at the end of their meetings, but Green thinks that it might just his imagination.
He accidentally meets Red again on his way back to Pallet Town from Route 22.
"What are you doing here?" he asks amicably, and Red pulls out his case of eight badges.
"Oh," Green says, a little surprised. But then again, he'd always known that Red was trainer, a good one at that, so it shouldn't have been such a shocker that he collected enough badges to challenge the Pokémon league.
Before Green has the chance to excuse himself and get out of his way, Red shoves his Pokédex in Green's face.
"Erm... thanks?" he says and takes out his laptop to download the data onto it, and Eevee takes the time to play with Red's Pikachu for a bit. He doesn't particularly need it right now, but Green knows whatever Red's collected will eventually be helpful.
When he finishes, he catches Red staring straight at him expectantly.
There's an awkward pause. "Oh. Um, I- I don't have anything to give you this time," he admits sheepishly. And then he realizes that he never exactly told Red that the gifts were from his grandfather, not him.
"Then you should take me out to dinner again," Red says and pulls his cap over his eyes, his face turning bright red.
Oh, his brain thinks. Then - Is that the first thing he's ever said to me? And then - What? which is also what he tries to say, but it ends up coming out like, "Okay."
Both of them blink in surprise.
"Y-yeah. Sure," Green stutters. Red's not blushing quite as hard anymore, but he's wearing a shy smile on his face that might be something like, That'd be really nice.
Green thinks that he might owe his grandfather one.
0. Gym Leader
"Match - gym leader Green," the referee declares and waves his flag in the direction of Green's side of the field. The challenger looks distraught, but walks up to the middle to in order to exchange a handshake with Green anyway.
Eevee bounds up to his side, barely looking ruffled from knocking out three Pokémon, and Green picks it up, holding it against his chest.
"Good job, Eevee," he says and pats Eevee on head as it snuggles into him.
He watches as that trainer walks dejectedly out of his gym. Green considers stopping him for a moment and just handing him a badge anyway, though he decides against it. He doesn't know what the boy's name is, but he'd been coming around twice a week for the last three weeks to fight Green, each time a little stronger. Green knows that kind of trainer - he used to be that kind of trainer. If it were him back then, Green thinks, he'd be insulted by such an act of charity.
This battle had been the closest yet, knocking Green down all the way to one Pokémon when he still had half his team left. But Green let Eevee play, and Eevee proceeded to effortlessly pulverize the rest of his team.
"I don't think it's fair to let you play anymore," he says. "You're just too strong."
"Vui," Eevee replies sulkily, but seems to understand. Green doesn't believe in throwing matches anymore than his Eevee does, but he wanted to give all the trainers a fair fight.
"Don't worry," he says. "You know you'll always be my best girl." He laughs when Eevee growls and headbutts him in the shoulder. After all, that kind of statement holds little meaning when Green already has Red.
"C'mon, let's go see Red and Pikachu," Green says, and Eevee visibly brightens.
Green may already have Red (and Eevee may have Pikachu), but there's enough room in his heart for more than one. But even more than that, there's no one Green would rather have to always be at his side.
Rating: PG
Word Count: 5025
Genre: General/Character Study
Series: Pokémon
Characters/Pairings: Green-centric, various implied pairings
Warnings: minor swearing
Summary: There are many jobs Green has never had. (But if he ever did have them, he'd be sure to be the best.)
A/N: I'm not completely happy with the second one, but I'll live. Also: obvious biases are obvious. ETA: I forgot to say, Breeder!Hibiki is chuuni's idea.
Five Jobs Green Never Had (and One He Did)
1. Police Officer
Sure, he has a reputation for being tough, but Green knows that's not why they called him in. It might be grunt work, but the detectives don't like sharing any more credit than necessary. Still, they know he gets them to talk.
He's young. He's the fastest rising officer in the force and he's young, but that's why the detectives don't like him, don't trust him. (He convinces himself that it has nothing to do with the fact he's prickly and can be a smartass sometimes.)
But he's young and they're young. He knows how to be charming and easy and accessible. He gets them to talk.
"So, why'd you do it?" Green asks smoothly, setting a cup of coffee in front of the boy. His partner, Eevee, is sitting quietly by the foot of the boy's chair. The redhead stares down angrily at the Styrofoam cup before turning that glare up at him. His body language is hostile, arms crossed, the rest of his skinny body stiff with pent-up rage. Green can all but hear the boy grit his teeth.
"Silver," he says, recalling the name on the boy's trainer card. "We can do this the easy way or the hard way. It's up to you. You can tell me, or you can tell them." Green makes a sweeping gesture to the glass window on their right that the detectives are behind. "I can assure you," he adds with smile, "it'll be easier to tell me."
Silver is still glaring at him, but he's not as stiff anymore and has uncrossed his arms.
He tries again. "Why'd you do it?"
There's a long, uncomfortable pause, and Green is about ready to change tactics when Silver mumbles.
"It wasn't about the money."
Green raises an eyebrow. It'd been pretty easy to see that it wasn't about the money. Sure, the Totodile Silver stole had been rare, but there were far more valuable Pokémon he could've targeted if that were the goal. And even an idiot stealing a Pokémon for money would've tried to get rid of it as quickly as possible, but Silver still had the critter on him.
"It wasn't about the money," he states again, more confidently. "So if that's what that damn professor wants -" Silver slams his hand against the table and stands up, "- then he can have all the damn money in the world." Silver starts pulling something out of his pocket, and Green is ready to stand up and subdue him in case it's a weapon, but he finds himself staring at a face full of green paper fluttering down through the air.
So it definitely wasn't about the money.
Green sighs and folds his hands on the table, ignoring the cash scattered around him and the floor. Silver's not looking at him anymore, reverting back to crossed arms and hostile body language.
"Then why did you do it," he prods a little more gently.
Silver's eyes flash at him, and for a moment, Green thinks he's going to burst into another tirade, but instead Silver softly says, "Do you understand what it's like to always get what you want -" Green is about to answer that getting everything you want is probably a stupid reason to steal something. "- but then have it all touched - corrupted - by something you hate?"
Green closes his mouth and listens closely to what Silver is explaining.
"It wasn't about the Pokémon. I don't even care about the weak little thing -" Green almost protests that it wasn't nice to call a Pokémon he'd stolen weak. "- but I just wanted something that was mine. Something that wasn't tainted by him. By them," Silver finishes viciously.
Green doesn't really understand who "him" or "them" are, but a nagging little voice in the back of his head reminds him, isn't that why you decided to become a police officer? because anything to do with Pokémon will always be related to him and you wanted something for yourself? aren't you just as selfish as he is, even though you sneakily went about it the "right" way?
Across the table, Silver is certainly not shaking and most definitely not sobbing quietly, fist tightly clenched.
Before he can stop himself, Green reaches across the table and calmly places a hand over Silver's fist, rubbing it soothingly. Watery eyes look up at him with an ounce of trust. He manages to stop short of pulling the boy into a hug. Eevee, though, has climbed onto the table and is comfortingly nudging Silver's arm with its head.
Maybe it's because Silver's young. Maybe it's because he's still young. But even if the rest of the world will judge him harshly, Green can't help but be sympathetic. And if it comes down to it, he'll fight for the boy because he knows it's right. Because in the end, he and Silver are the same.
"I understand," he says, and means it, even if nobody else ever does.
2. Doctor's Assistant
She rushes into the Pokémon Center wildly, clutching a Chikorita close to her chest with tears streaming down her face.
"Help me. Please," she sobs, and Green has to wonder if she means herself or the Pokémon.
"Just relax and breathe," he commands, firmly placing a hand on her shoulder. She tries and chokes out a hysterical sob instead.
"This is all my fault," she cries as he takes the Chikorita from her and places it in an isolated intensive-care unit. "I shouldn't have been so -"
"It'll be okay, miss," Green interrupts. Partially because he wants to console her and because she's becoming annoying and distracting him from his job. He has to bite back all the snark in his personality that always got him in trouble in nursing school. "I - we get cases like this all the time." Green has been specifically trained in Pokémon emergency medicine, and poor bedside manner aside, he did graduate top of his class. He knows he can do it, knows how to get through this. "Your Pokémon will be fine."
Green tries to offer her a reassuring smile. The girl breaks down in tears.
Oh great, Green sighs, and sends her back out into the waiting room so he can get to work. He leaves his Eevee with her, because even though Eevee is a valuable assistant in the ICU, the girl looks like she could use a bit of comfort at the moment.
"All better," he coos a few hours later as he walks out with it into the waiting room with the girl's Chikorita in his arms. Outside, the owner's face bursts with relief when she sees her Pokémon is okay, and she nearly throws Eevee out of her lap.
"Thank you so much," she cries, this time the tears running down her face out of joy. "Thank you so, so much."
Green sighs as she coddles the Chikorita, the little green Pokémon returning her affection. He picks up Eevee, who bristles a little at being pushed onto the ground, and pats it on the head. "It's nothing. Chikorita is just lucky to have such a diligent trainer." He'd seen too much of what happens otherwise, both in his line of work and while growing up on his grandfather's research ranch. It was, after all, why he had decided on his current occupation.
"Some trainers push their Pokémon too hard, leave the healing off for too long." He smiles at her sadly and pats her on the head. "Then, there's nothing much we can do for them. But your Chikorita will be fine, Miss..."
"Kotone," she says, wiping the tears from her face. "I don't know what I could ever do to properly thank you." She smiles a smile of a thousand suns.
"Just doing my job, Miss Kotone," he says and nods at her. And it's the truth. But in his mind, though, Green knows that those smiles and those tears of happiness are why he does it.
3. Daycare Breeder
Green is a helluva good breeder, and he knows it. After all, he's the one Battle Factories in all the different Frontier regions order from for their perfect moveset, perfect IV Pokémon. He's the one who gets them those perfect results, every time. In fact, he's knows damn well that he's the best, and all the new technology in the most advanced regions can't seem to duplicate his breeding techniques.
How do you do it? they all ask. Name your price, any price. Just tell us how you get your perfect eggs.
Magic, he tells them, even though it's only half-true, and then slams the door in their faces. It's bad business to reveal trade secrets, after all. Maybe, one day when he's old and grey and all alone, he'll tell someone because he doesn't want the secret to die with him. (Green never really did like kids. He was a brat growing up, more than a handful for his grandfather and his sister, and he doesn't think he'd like to deal with that as well.)
Most of them, the technology companies and the other breeders, give up after a while, though they're mostly affronted by him even existing. After all, it's not like he's come from a prestigious family of breeders who'd been perfecting the technique for generations - he's just this kid that popped up out of nowhere who just happens to be a prodigy at breeding the best Pokémon - even if he is related to a famous professor.
What do you do? even his grandfather wants to know - for science of course, not to steal Green's business, but his grandfather is a scientist, which means he's going to write a damn paper on it or something and anyone will know anyway.
I'll tell you when I'm old and grey, Green snaps and neglects to even think about the fact that his grandfather probably wouldn't even be alive then.
But then, this kid shows up at his front door and won't leave.
"Hi, I'm Hibiki," he introduces himself. "I'm the grandson of the couple that runs the daycare in Johto."
Green doesn't even manage to get the words, "I don't care," out of his mouth before he slams the door in Hibiki's face.
When Green goes out to do errands the next morning, he finds that Hibiki's camped out in front of his yard.
"Go away," he seethes, but it's not like he can make Hibiki leave since Hibiki's on the road and not actually on Green's property.
"What are you doing?" Hibiki asks instead and watches him load five mystery eggs into a crate attached to the back of his bicycle, Green's own Eevee snuggling with them, asleep.
"None of your business," he snaps and bikes into town for some business.
When he comes back five hours later with a crateful of energetic, floppy-eared Growlithes smothering his Eevee, Hibiki's still there.
He doesn't even get the chance to tell Hibiki to go away again before the boy's run up to his bike and starting playing with the Growlithes. "So cute," he coos, wagging his finger at the litter. Eevee looks at him disinterestedly, and one of the Growlithes nips at his finger. "Ow," he yips, and pulls his finger back. "They really are strong," he says and turns to look at Green fondly.
"Yeah, well..." Green says and shrugs. He gathers the Growlithes in his arms to take them inside. Eevee jumps out of the crate and follows behind him. When Green turns around, Hibiki is standing at the edge of his grass and the road, looking at them curiously.
"Bye," Hibiki shouts and waves enthusiastically when he sees Green looking in his direction. Green just rolls his eyes and opens his door.
This continues to happen for the next week. And then the week after that, when Green hatches Skitties, and after that, when he hatches Mudkips.
Eventually, Green snaps at Hibiki, who just happens to be standing in front of his door. "What the hell do you want?"
Hibiki looks up at him, confused, and Green thinks, Cute, kid, real cute, but then Hibiki surprises him by saying, "I already have what I want."
Now it's Green's turn to look confused. "What?"
"I...I want to become a better Pokémon breeder. And I learn a lot by watching you work." (Green seriously hopes Hibiki isn't staring through his windows or something creepy like that.) "I mean, sometimes you're unsociable and can be kinda mean, but it's pretty clear you love Pokémon very much." Green doesn't even register the first part as an insult because it's so true, but no one's ever, ever acknowledged until now much he loves Pokémon.
"Um, thanks," he settles on. "But you don't - you never asked. Didn't you want to know?"
Hibiki shrugs. "I mean, of course. You never told anyone, even with bribes of money, so I didn't think you'd tell me." Green can't help but smile a little. "What they did wasn't respectful, though. They thought they could buy your secrets like it was a commodity. I wanted to earn your respect, earn the right for you to tell me." Hibiki pause for a moment then asks quietly, unsure of himself, "Even now, if I asked you how you did it, what would you tell me?"
"Magic," Green says, like he tells everyone. It's not really a lie, or at least Green doesn't think so, because there's got to be some magic in a little love, right? But maybe Hibiki will figure it out someday, and despite himself, Green opens the door and lets Hibiki inside.
4. Bookshop Keeper
"10,000," she says. "I'll pay you 10,000."
Green glares back. "No."
"15,000?"
Green doesn't even dignify that with a response.
"20,000, and not a penny more."
"Look, it's not for sale, okay?" Green snaps. "That's why there's that sign - 'Not For Sale.' That doesn't mean I'm going to change my mind if you offer me enough money. That sign means it's not negotiable."
She stares at him thoughtfully with her blue eyes. Then she says, "50,000. That's my last offer."
If it weren't bad business, Green probably would've kicked her out of the store at this point. Instead, he turns the page of the book he's reading and goes back to ignoring her.
"50,000, and a date," she adds on, smiling at her own ingenious suggestion. When Green doesn't answer, she whines, "Why won't you sell it to me? This is a bookstore. It's just a book, right? Can't you, like, order more?"
Green looks up and glares at her. "First of all, it's not just a book," he says, gesturing vaguely in the direction of Pokémon Myths above his head. "It's the only comprehensive reference manual for legendary Pokémon in existence, and less than a dozen copies of these were printed a hundred years ago. Most of those are now lost, stolen, or destroyed. It's not for sale because it's priceless, and I'm not going to sell it to some hot-shot trainer who's used to getting what she wants for any amount of money or number of dates."
It's not a complete lie. Green himself had picked it up at a bazaar a couple of years ago for mere pocket change, the book lost in a vendor's bargain bin. He didn't know how rare and valuable it was until he showed it to his grandfather, who'd been surprised and almost envious of his discovery. But now that Green knows, and it's never going to leave his hand.
She looks a little hurt. "Why couldn't they just print more then?"
"They did print more," Green snips. "The Complete Encyclopedia of Pokémon Myths (4th ed.) is in the reference section, aisle ten." He looks back down at his book.
"I already looked through those! Those aren't - they're not complete. They have a picture and some little blurbs or text, but that's it. I want to see the real thing!"
Green sighs. From the corner of his eye, he catches Eevee glaring at the both of them for waking it up from its nap.
The girl has a point. Green knows that, but at the request of researchers, most of the crucial information had been omitted in the reference manual, mainly to protect the Pokémon of legends from being captured by greedy trainers. Most of what researchers knew about them came from his book; whoever had compiled the information did an extraordinarily thorough job at it.
"If you won't let me buy it, can I at least look at it?" she asks, her bottom lip jutting out slightly to form a pout. "Please?"
He's usually even hesitant to lend it to his grandfather - who's the world's more sought-after authority on Pokémon - so why should he let some trainer who might be interested in catching them see the book?
"Why?" he asks her back.
"I want to add them to my Pokédex," she says. Before Green can interrupt her with angry accusations about her selfishness for watching catching them, she continues, "I don't need them on my team, or even to meet them, though that would be great. But these legendary Pokémon... some of them might be extinct, and some of them may never have been real in the first place, but in that book, they're alive. They have stories to tell us, stories most people have already forgotten. That's why you protect that book right? Because even if very few people remember those stories, if you protect that book, they'll always exist somehow. But I want to know them too. I want to help you protect them."
Then, Green realizes - she understands. Even more than his grandfather, on some level, she understands what the book really means.
He nods numbly and takes the book off the top shelf. "Two conditions. One: the book stays here. Two: you read it on this counter, where I can see you."
She smiles enthusiastically and takes the book from him, plopping down on a stool. Green tries not to wince as she turns the pages a little too excitedly.
A few hours later, Green has to do restocking so he tells Eevee to keep an eye on her and goes into the back room to open boxes.
"I'm going!" he hears her call as he's trying to lift a box of cookbooks. "The book is on the counter, okay? I'm only halfway done with it, so I left a bookmark. I'll come back later to finish the rest!"
Eevee hasn't made any noises so he's assuming the girl didn't try to smuggle it out of the store.
When comes out from the back, he finds Pokémon Myths flipped open to the page between Latias and Latios, and Eevee sitting on the counter chewing a slip of paper.
"Hey - hey, what are you doing, Eevee?" Green scolds, and Eevee looks at him guilty.
He pulls what's left of the paper out of Eevee's mouth, and looks down at "Leaf," and what appears to be half of a phone number.
"What'd you do that for?" he mumbles and pokes Eevee in the nose. Eevee squeaks "vui~" at him in a half-hearted apology.
Green pulls a real bookmark out of the counter, a green one with a leaf-shape, and, as an afterthought, writes his own number on the back. He tucks it in the page before closing the book and setting it back on the shelf.
5. Field Researcher
Green likes to think that it's sort of an accident that he ended up in this field, but it's really not. As for what "this field" exactly is, even Green hasn't decided himself if he means his particular field of research or, literally, the field of grass he's currently standing in.
The thing is, he never really liked field research in the first place. He says, "If I wanted to do field research, I would've become a trainer," and "Don't you send out trainers to do this kind of data collection thing?" and "Why aren't any of you going out there?" to which he is always answered with sly dodges and nervous fidgeting.
It's not even that Green dislikes the outdoors - he liked doing research on his Grandfather's ranch just fine - but field work? It's so messy and wild and predictable, and if there's one thing Green needs, it's to always have control of the situation.
But his grandfather is wiser than the rest of them and says, "I have some decent researchers working in my lab already, but none of them would be good enough to send out into the field. I don't trust them, not like I trust you."
When Green doesn't look convinced, he adds, "We can breed and raise Pokémon in the lab, but they live in the wild. There's only so much we can learn from them here. And there're plenty of people doing what I'm doing in here already. We need more people out there."
But most of all - "You're too good to stay here. Go out and make a name for yourself," which just about seals the deal for Green.
After a few weeks, Green finds that he doesn't really mind. The fresh air is a nice change and he can see his Eevee getting stronger every day, protecting him from other wild Pokémon. He just about settles into his routine when his grandfather calls to ask him for a favor.
"This kid, Red, he's fantastic - incredibly thorough with his Pokédex," his grandfather raves to him over the phone, and Green can't help but wonder again if what he's doing out here has any significance. "He's doing a great job of collecting data for us. Would you mind taking a gift to him, as token of our thanks?"
Green moans and rolls his eyes. "Why can't you get someone in your lab to do it?" he says through gritted teeth because he's a researcher, not a fucking delivery boy.
"You're closer," his grandfather insists. "Besides, you'll learn a lot from him - he can help your research too. And he's nice. You'll like him."
(Green thinks that if the kid is anything like the other trainers he's met on the road doing research then no, Green won't like him. Is the concept of, ‘No, I'm not a trainer so I don't want to battle,' really that hard to understand? But it's usually worth Eevee's smug satisfaction when she gets to beat them.)
In the end, Green agrees anyway because even though he doesn't want to be relegated to a delivery boy, it's his grandfather asking, and the item gets sent to him via his PC. He's not sure why they couldn't have just given it to the boy that way instead.
Green then spends the entire day waiting at the checkpoint between two routes for Red to show up like his grandfather says he will. It's not so bad because he gets some of his report written, but Eevee is bored and whiny, now used to being outside all day, and it is kind of hard to concentrate when you have to look up every five minutes to make sure that the person passing through the checkpoint isn't the one you're looking for.
Around nine, Green is irritated and ready to leave but then a boy with a red cap and a Pikachu on his shoulder shows up.
"Are you Red?" Green approaches and asks, and if he isn't, he's seriously thinking about killing someone for wasting a day of his time. The boy looks at him tiredly, but nods.
"God, what took you so long to get here?" Green rants at him as he digs through his backpack for the item his grandfather wants him to give to Red. "Don't you know it's rude to keep people waiting? I just wasted an entire day waiting for you."
Red shuffles nervously while Green rants at him, and jumps a little when Green thrusts the item - an HM for Flash - at him, looking at it warily.
"Here, take it," Green says, and Red's appropriately red eyes look at him, confused. "...Didn't my grandfather tell you I had something for you?"
Red shakes his head. Green has never been madder at his grandfather.
But he realizes it's not Red's fault either, so he clears his throat and tries again. "Sorry," he says sheepishly. "I'm Green, Professor Oak's grandson. I'm doing research in the field. Here -" he takes Red's hand and presses the HM 05 Flash into it. "A gift. For you." He puts on his best apologetic smile.
Red looks stares at him, but puts the item into his own backpack.
"Can I see your Pokédex?" Green asks, remembering what his grandfather told him about the data. "We can get dinner. I'll pay," he adds, because he hasn't eaten yet and Red looks so haggard that even if he has eaten, he probably could and should eat more, and he really owes it to Red as an apology for snapping at him.
Red pulls down his cap over his eyes a little and nods.
So they find a late-night diner and Green orders them a plate of fries while Eevee and Red's Pikachu munch on some treats. Red turns out to be not much of a talker (at all), but Green finds it cathartic for someone to just sit there and listen to him talk about his work.
"Thanks for all the data," he says when they leave the restaurant. "Here, give me your Pokégear. I'll give you my number in case you need anything. And I'll call you in case my grandfather decides to be stupid again and not tell you I'm waiting to give you something."
Red nods mutely and hands over his Pokégear for Green to program his number into.
It turns out that his grandfather is right (go figure), and Red's data does make Green's life significantly easier. They meet a few more times, quickly exchanging data and whatever item his grandfather's passed on to him to deliver. Red always seems a little disappointed at the end of their meetings, but Green thinks that it might just his imagination.
He accidentally meets Red again on his way back to Pallet Town from Route 22.
"What are you doing here?" he asks amicably, and Red pulls out his case of eight badges.
"Oh," Green says, a little surprised. But then again, he'd always known that Red was trainer, a good one at that, so it shouldn't have been such a shocker that he collected enough badges to challenge the Pokémon league.
Before Green has the chance to excuse himself and get out of his way, Red shoves his Pokédex in Green's face.
"Erm... thanks?" he says and takes out his laptop to download the data onto it, and Eevee takes the time to play with Red's Pikachu for a bit. He doesn't particularly need it right now, but Green knows whatever Red's collected will eventually be helpful.
When he finishes, he catches Red staring straight at him expectantly.
There's an awkward pause. "Oh. Um, I- I don't have anything to give you this time," he admits sheepishly. And then he realizes that he never exactly told Red that the gifts were from his grandfather, not him.
"Then you should take me out to dinner again," Red says and pulls his cap over his eyes, his face turning bright red.
Oh, his brain thinks. Then - Is that the first thing he's ever said to me? And then - What? which is also what he tries to say, but it ends up coming out like, "Okay."
Both of them blink in surprise.
"Y-yeah. Sure," Green stutters. Red's not blushing quite as hard anymore, but he's wearing a shy smile on his face that might be something like, That'd be really nice.
Green thinks that he might owe his grandfather one.
0. Gym Leader
"Match - gym leader Green," the referee declares and waves his flag in the direction of Green's side of the field. The challenger looks distraught, but walks up to the middle to in order to exchange a handshake with Green anyway.
Eevee bounds up to his side, barely looking ruffled from knocking out three Pokémon, and Green picks it up, holding it against his chest.
"Good job, Eevee," he says and pats Eevee on head as it snuggles into him.
He watches as that trainer walks dejectedly out of his gym. Green considers stopping him for a moment and just handing him a badge anyway, though he decides against it. He doesn't know what the boy's name is, but he'd been coming around twice a week for the last three weeks to fight Green, each time a little stronger. Green knows that kind of trainer - he used to be that kind of trainer. If it were him back then, Green thinks, he'd be insulted by such an act of charity.
This battle had been the closest yet, knocking Green down all the way to one Pokémon when he still had half his team left. But Green let Eevee play, and Eevee proceeded to effortlessly pulverize the rest of his team.
"I don't think it's fair to let you play anymore," he says. "You're just too strong."
"Vui," Eevee replies sulkily, but seems to understand. Green doesn't believe in throwing matches anymore than his Eevee does, but he wanted to give all the trainers a fair fight.
"Don't worry," he says. "You know you'll always be my best girl." He laughs when Eevee growls and headbutts him in the shoulder. After all, that kind of statement holds little meaning when Green already has Red.
"C'mon, let's go see Red and Pikachu," Green says, and Eevee visibly brightens.
Green may already have Red (and Eevee may have Pikachu), but there's enough room in his heart for more than one. But even more than that, there's no one Green would rather have to always be at his side.