Nimh

He sat under the Tower, waiting, waiting... Screaming. Who was screaming? Someone ran out- their footsteps sounded loud enough to bring the rest of the building down- and then a Haunter laughing. More footsteps going out, at a more leisurely pace, and then silence.

They... left? One of them had sounded a little upset, perhaps something else was making them leave? He sighed. They’d been so close...

Now it seemed it was his turn to chase them.

----

“As much as I’d love to stay and catch up with you Nimh, I do have a Gym to run, so I’ll see you tonight.” Kedri said after helping the two trainers (well, mostly Wally as Nimh was already used to the place) settle into his home. Nimh simply nodded in return and watched as Kedri walked out.

“Um, Nimh...” He turned his attention to Wally. “What happened to his leg? I... I wanted to ask him but I didn’t want to seem rude...”

“His leg?? Well, a couple years ago, before I met him, he went into Cerulean Cave to try and catch some strong Pokémon but he wasn’t really prepared for them... He got attacked and his right leg got so messed up it had to be amputated. Really sobered him up I guess. You know he’s only seven months older than me?”

“Really? He seemed older...”

“Yeah, that’s what I thought at first too.” Nimh dropped onto the couch beside Wally and turned on the television to catch up on the news. “He does have his moments though, where he’s more the rash young trainer I guess he used to be. But like me, he doesn’t entirely agree with the League. He used to be the Indigo Champion, did you know that?”

Wally shook his head ‘no’.

“Gave it up just a couple weeks after he made it, he couldn’t stand having to stay in one place and battle hundreds of other trainers trying to gain his title.”

Wally sat silently for a minute, thinking. “What about Steven? Before you became Champion? He was always all over the place.”

Nimh grinned. “He had the same disregard for the rules too, but masked it as concern for other matters. Which wasn’t too hard I suppose, as he really was concerned with those other matters...”

When the news revealed nothing of interest, he turned the tv off again and wandered into the kitchen. “Awesome, looks like he’s been grocery shopping recently!”

“Are you sure we’re allowed to be eating his food?” Wally called from the couch, peeking over the back of it into the other room. He coughed lightly, his lungs protesting being turned at such an odd angle.

“Sure I’m sure, he won’t care. You want something?”

“Um...” The green-haired boy thought for a moment. “Just something to drink, water maybe.”

“No imagination.” Nimh teased, but got him a glass of water anyway. “Here’s some fruit too, you should eat something at least.”

Wally accepted the food and sipped at his water. “Could we go to the Gym later? I’d like to see Kedri battle.”

“Sure, he won’t mind.” Nimh agreed, and returned with a sandwich of his own. “But first, we take advantage of his hospitality and relax for a while.”