Title: Forgotten One
Author: Shadow/Phantomness
Pairing: Championshipping (Lance x Red)
Fandom: Pokémon
Theme: #47, Déjà vu
Rating: PG-13
Disclaimer: Pokemon belongs to Nintendo and Shogakukan Comics. This non-profit, non-copyright infringing fanfiction belongs to me under international copyright laws and taking it is plagiarism. Thank you. *Phantomness bows*

Notes: <> for telepathy, ** for thoughts, italics if a pokemon talks

Warnings: AU, Fanon, Het

“Do I know you?” She asks.

Red’s expression shatters and he shakes his head. “No.” With that, he runs off before the tears can start rolling down his cheeks. It was wrong of him, it was foolish, Lance was dead, and he just said ‘hi’ to some stranger on the street that probably thought he was insane!

As Wataru stares after the boy’s retreating figure, she feels something odd, but she cannot understand it, so she walks on.

The next day she sees him again.

“Do you work here?” Red asks, surprised, as he walks into the Pokemon Mart.

Wataru nods. “I just transferred over from the Olivine Branch. Business there wasn’t doing well.”

“I see.”

Red picks out a few pokemon items that he wants and pays for them. As she swipes his credit card, she notices the signature.

“You’re the Pokemon League Champion?”

“Yes.” Red says softly.

“That’s quite interesting. I had no idea…”

“I’m no one special, really. Thanks for your help.” With that, Red leaves with two brown bags in his arms, and Wataru frowns.

Why is this boy familiar?

She sees Red again a week later, as he comes up with sixteen Full Restores in arm. It must be terribly strenuous to be a Champion, and she remarks on it.

Red looks wistful, and says that it is not so bad, but he misses someone. The way he says it, she must be someone special.

After he leaves, Wataru wonders why she feels tightness in her chest. Is she jealous?

But she doesn’t know Red at all, besides as a good customer. She has no reason to feel jealous, none at all. Surely every girl must have a crush on a celebrity like him.

Thus, she thinks no more of it.

The next week, Red comes in with a girl. She’s got red hair that relatively orange, but she’s polite and asks if they have any Water Stones on stock. She does, and she buys two of them and grins that it’s time to evolve her Starmie.

Red nods, from where he’s studying the Poke Ball aisle. He returns with a few Love Balls and pays for them.

Wataru realizes whom the girl is later. She is Gym Leader Misty from Cerulean, and she wonders why she is shopping in Viridian City. Perhaps the rumors that she and Red are together are true?

Who knows?

“I can’t believe it.” Misty says, as they exit. “She really does look like Lance, except for the hair. I never imagined Lance would have white hair.”

“Do you think she got amnesia somehow?” Red asks.

“It’s possible. I mean, rumors say that she fell off a cliff, right? So if she didn’t die, she might have hit her head really hard and blacked out. Does she recognize you?”

“Only as Champion,” Red sighs despondently.

Misty pats him on the back. “Don’t give up!”

“I’ll try not to…”

When Red comes in next time, she is on her break, so when the black-haired teen starts to talk to her, she listens politely and nods, but why is Red bothering with this?

She is no one important.

She is no one to him…

Is he trying to hit on her?

That is when Red leans across the counter and kisses her.

“What was that for?” She demands, once she can breathe again. “Do you think that just because you are Champion, you can do what you want?”

Red stares at her, searching her face for some sign of recognition, but finds none. “Wataru…”

She freezes. “What did you call me?”

“Wataru,” He smiles. “That’s your real name, isn’t it?”

“How do you know?” She asks, because what Red is saying is true. She has always been Wataru… but… there’s something… something else…

Red holds out his hand, and he is holding something, a key? But it’s a strange key, all dark blue and black, with a little moon on the top.

“This belongs to you.”

It can’t be, she has never seen it before in her life, but she holds out her hand and takes it, and words bubble up into the forefront of her mind… something about darkness…

But it’s still too elusive, and she kicks Red out of the Pokemon Mart while she tries to sort out her confused tangle of thoughts.

What is going on here?

Red doesn’t understand why it’s not working, if the kiss didn’t trigger something, at least the magic would have…

What if Lance has lost her magic?

That’s a very frightening thought, but she hasn’t changed into Destiny, no, not yet, so maybe he is overreacting. Maybe everything will be all right?

He has to hope. He has to!

There is no one else to hope after all.

Wataru puts the key in her pocket and doesn’t think about it, and when Red comes in a few days later to buy more Full Restore she doesn’t talk to him.

It hurts him so much, but Red doesn’t say anything either, and decides just to wait, because what else can he do?

He tried to force memory to return, but it didn’t work…

Months pass. Red comes in every so often, but he never brings another girl with him. Wataru doesn’t know if she should be relieved or disturbed.

Finally, one day, it’s a cold morning in the fall, and while Red is paying for his purchases, two people burst in. they’re wearing black uniforms with red ‘R’s on their chests, Team Rocket, and they attack…

And Red’s winning, even though he only has two pokémon with him, Poliwrath and Venusaur, and…

And something in her mind snaps, and she shouts commands in a language she shouldn’t know, and dragons explode out of the ground, and Team Rocket flees amidst a shower of Hyper Beams…

And afterwards, she’s staring at her hands like she has never seen them before, and Red puts his arms around her, and this time, she’s the one who initiates the kiss.

And her memories crash into her so hard she almost faints, but Red holds her close and whispers to her and pets her long hair, though it’s brilliant white and not crimson, but her eyes are still pure gold, and she remembers.

“I thought you were dead.” She whispers. “I forced myself to forget you…”

“I didn’t die.” Red frowns. “I was in the hospital for months, and it was touch and go for a while, but I didn’t die. No one told you?”

“Lorelei and Agatha were dead. Sabrina and Morty were insane… Karen and Will were missing. Who would spread the news?”

“I know.” Red whispers. “But it’s all right now.”

“It’s not all right. Team Rocket is still out there, and we’ve wasted all this time-! And now they’ll know.”

“They’ll know, but we’ll have first strike.” He reassures her. “What have we to lose, Lance-chan?”

And hours later, they watch Viridian City burn, but at least Team Rocket is gone. It is over.

Praise Lugia.

End Fic

Completed 8/22/06

Edited 6/24/09

Phantomness: I hate, hate MS grammar check! Sometimes, names don’t count as names and all sorts of green lines pop up…

Shoyko: NOOOOOOO!

Phantomness: What? It wasn’t darkfic, was it?

Lance: *Hugs Red*

Red: *Smile* I got to be seme for a bit!

I just thought I’d make this clear. Phantomness only dislikes Anime! Misty. She likes Misty in Special/Adventures and Pokemon Zensho, because she kicks butt in the first and is adorable in the second.