[Blue passes a skeptical look, but he keeps his mouth shut after that. No, he figures it wasn't as common for most rivals to go as far back as childhood neighbors or friends, but rather a situation like Raihan's, where they met along their journey. Not that neighborhood rivalries weren't common, either.]
[Even if people asked what was in the water in Pallet Town. That was a whole other basket of Exeggcute.]
[Blue had always been the one blazing ahead while Red dominated at his own pace. Maybe it took longer for people on the outside to realize what a prodigy he'd been when Blue was busy hogging the spotlight, and that had been exactly how he wanted it. Maybe he'd just worked so hard to stay ahead because he knew what would happen when they met in battle every time.]
[He scoffs irritably to himself, feels a burn in his chest, and tries to listen, instead.]
Didn't think to get ahead, huh? [Blue grins, and interjects again,] Kidding. I know how your League works. Wouldn't have mattered, right?
[He knows how this story ends. What matters to him, more, is what comes after. All the time inbetween the battles- he wonders what that guy, Leon, must have thought, every time he smacked Raihan back down.]
...So did he? [His eyes drift away, bitterly. He knows the answer to that already. He doesn't even have to ask.] Ever?
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[Blue passes a skeptical look, but he keeps his mouth shut after that. No, he figures it wasn't as common for most rivals to go as far back as childhood neighbors or friends, but rather a situation like Raihan's, where they met along their journey. Not that neighborhood rivalries weren't common, either.]
[Even if people asked what was in the water in Pallet Town. That was a whole other basket of Exeggcute.]
[Blue had always been the one blazing ahead while Red dominated at his own pace. Maybe it took longer for people on the outside to realize what a prodigy he'd been when Blue was busy hogging the spotlight, and that had been exactly how he wanted it. Maybe he'd just worked so hard to stay ahead because he knew what would happen when they met in battle every time.]
[He scoffs irritably to himself, feels a burn in his chest, and tries to listen, instead.]
Didn't think to get ahead, huh? [Blue grins, and interjects again,] Kidding. I know how your League works. Wouldn't have mattered, right?
[He knows how this story ends. What matters to him, more, is what comes after. All the time inbetween the battles- he wonders what that guy, Leon, must have thought, every time he smacked Raihan back down.]
...So did he? [His eyes drift away, bitterly. He knows the answer to that already. He doesn't even have to ask.] Ever?