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The Beloved Turnabout- The Champion's Voice
-"I am first and foremost Kanto's League Champion. I must not let my guard down, ever." "It's noble of you to believe so, Red, but are you sure that you're being honest with yourself?"
It wasn't hard to find the location of their next source of information- Red Ketchum had been spotted at a local inn, refusing any interviews about the incident involving his cousin. Perhaps he'd be willing to talk to them more about the victim than to the press, anything to figure out what resulted in Ash's assault.
The trio didn't even needed to ask the innkeeper for him, as the young Champion was found in the lobby, staring helplessly at his Pokégear. He looked every bit the young boy the photos in the magazine presented; and his resemblance to Ash- even by picture- was unsurprisingly uncanny.
Phoenix carefully approached the boy, Apollo and Athena trailing behind him. "Excuse me, Mr. Ketchum?"
With barely a glance up, any trace of emotions disappeared from the youth's face as he closed his Pokégear. He looked straight ahead to them. "Suits... Sunflower-shaped badges... are you the ones who took the defense of this case?" he asked, his voice almost monotonous. It made sense a Champion would try and stay stoic in such a situation.
"Indeed we are. I'm Phoenix Wright, the lawyer in charge of the case. And my fellow lawyers here-" he designated the duo behind him "Apollo Justice, Athena Cykes- are my assistants. May we perhaps ask you a few questions that could help solve this case?"
Red pursed his lips before nodding. "My room's across the hall. Let's talk there. If you'll follow me..."
The room Red was staying wasn't exactly the most luxurious, but it made sense that, despite being Champion, the youth was still a humble kid from Pallet Town. A Pikachu was dozing off, curled up on the edge of the lone bed in the room. Red sat next to the Pokémon, double-checking his Pokégear before addressing the lawyers. "In case you're wondering," he began, grabbing the rim of his cap to adjust it, "I'm not ruling out a possible motive that someone attacked Ash to get at me. Figuring out who, and why they put the blame on Misty, still escapes me at the moment."
"So, you believe in her innocence," Athena noted.
"It's too obvious a setup. Whoever did this probably had a motive to point blame at her, too." His face clouded for a moment, before going stoic again. "Have you... talked to Ash about this? He is the victim, after all."
Phoenix shook his head. "We're unable to speak to him at the moment; he's still unconscious."
"I... wasn't aware of that," Red admitted. "You'd think, as his cousin, I should've been told about his situation."
"I'm surprised you can keep your cool in a time like this," Athena mentioned. "Especially since it's your cousin that's the victim!"
"I am first and foremost Kanto's League Champion," he explained, his tone clear. "I must not let my guard down, ever."
Apollo's hand was on his bracelet. "It's noble of you to believe so, Red," he told the youth, "but are you sure that you're being honest with yourself?"
Red's eyes widen as he let out a hissing gasp. Phoenix and Athena turned to their co-worker in surprised. "Apollo? Did your bracelet react to him?" the elder lawyer asked.
"Funny enough," Apollo began his explanation, "I've noticed his tic beforehand, since he's been holding on his hat like a safety blanket. And whenever the subject is about his cousin," he pointed to the fingers grasping on the baseball cap Red was wearing, "his grip gets tighter."
The young Champion looked away from the trio, pulling the rim on his cap to hide his face. "I don't... I didn't..." He took a sharp breath. "I said the truth."
"When you said the words 'first and foremost', Red, you tensed up like you did when your thoughts were about your cousin," Apollo pointed out as he checked his book bag for a certain magazine, to which he pulled out and presented to the youth. "In your interview with Johto Weekly, you said you valued your family over being Champion, with even pictures of the two of you printed in the article."
"I..." Red's voice wavered, and Athena was certain she could detect distress within. "I'll be fine. Ash's still alive, right? All I've got to do is to stay strong for him, both as his cousin and Champion."
"You say that," Athena noticed as she began to play with her earring, "but I can tell this is taking quite a toll on you. As much as you want to be seen as this impenetrable defense, you're still a kid. And no kid should ever experience something like this."
"..." Red pulled down his cap and held it close to his chest, eyes watery. "Ash couldn't be more important in my life besides my mother and sister," he lamented. "To Leaf and me, Ash might as well be another brother."
Apollo knelt in front of him. "Red, I know exactly what you're going through. When you're led to believe that someone you care about could be dead, it hurts...and when they survive, you're relieved, but you want justice. To bring down the monsters who tried to take them from you.¹"
The boy's shoulders hitched as his unoccupied hand covered his mouth, muffling the sobs he cried as tears were finally shed. "Why did this happen?!" he choked. "There's no reason for this to happen! Who'd want to attack someone so kindhearted?!"
Phoenix grimaced. This kid was younger than Trucy, and seeing him cry over something out of his control- something involving another child- filled his heart with an all too familiar ache; the same one he had upon realizing Trucy had nobody else but him to take her home. "That's exactly why we took the case, Red," he explained to the distraught boy, sitting on the other side of him. He put a hand on Red's shoulder. "We'll uncover the truth behind this mess and bring back peace to everyone's lives."
Red looked up to Phoenix, his namesake-colored eyes staring deep, as in trying to look into one's soul. Then, with a nod, he dropped his hand to have it clutch his cap like his other one. "Please," he begged, "please help my cousin." He lowered his gaze. "I don't want him to stop smiling because of this."
Phoenix said nothing, but carefully brought his arm around the boy's shoulder and brought him closer in an embrace. Athena quickly went to grab a few tissues from the box found on the bedside table, to which she offered Red. After a few minutes of crying, Red was able to calm down, still trembling however.
He looked over to his Pikachu. "Figures he'd still be sleeping." He reached out to pet the Pokémon. "Then again, that shows how trustworthy you guys are. With Ignatius still resting from all that flying to Olivine, Taranis here's playing bodyguard." He weakly chuckled. "And here I was, hoping to see Ash with a smile on his face. I guess..." his face clouded once more. "I guess it wasn't meant to be."
"You'll see his smile again, I'm sure of it," Athena told him. "He'll be happy to see you again, Red, I'm sure that would him smile."
To that, Red actually offered a tiny smile of his own. "Yeah, you're right. I'll be patient for his sake... and when he wakes up, I'll greet him with a smile of my own... and tell him, 'I'm back.'"
¹Yes I totally copy-pasted that from you with some mods, Sara. It was too perfect.
Edited August 9th for Ignatius and Taranis' names, Red's Charizard and Pikachu respectively.
It wasn't hard to find the location of their next source of information- Red Ketchum had been spotted at a local inn, refusing any interviews about the incident involving his cousin. Perhaps he'd be willing to talk to them more about the victim than to the press, anything to figure out what resulted in Ash's assault.
The trio didn't even needed to ask the innkeeper for him, as the young Champion was found in the lobby, staring helplessly at his Pokégear. He looked every bit the young boy the photos in the magazine presented; and his resemblance to Ash- even by picture- was unsurprisingly uncanny.
Phoenix carefully approached the boy, Apollo and Athena trailing behind him. "Excuse me, Mr. Ketchum?"
With barely a glance up, any trace of emotions disappeared from the youth's face as he closed his Pokégear. He looked straight ahead to them. "Suits... Sunflower-shaped badges... are you the ones who took the defense of this case?" he asked, his voice almost monotonous. It made sense a Champion would try and stay stoic in such a situation.
"Indeed we are. I'm Phoenix Wright, the lawyer in charge of the case. And my fellow lawyers here-" he designated the duo behind him "Apollo Justice, Athena Cykes- are my assistants. May we perhaps ask you a few questions that could help solve this case?"
Red pursed his lips before nodding. "My room's across the hall. Let's talk there. If you'll follow me..."
The room Red was staying wasn't exactly the most luxurious, but it made sense that, despite being Champion, the youth was still a humble kid from Pallet Town. A Pikachu was dozing off, curled up on the edge of the lone bed in the room. Red sat next to the Pokémon, double-checking his Pokégear before addressing the lawyers. "In case you're wondering," he began, grabbing the rim of his cap to adjust it, "I'm not ruling out a possible motive that someone attacked Ash to get at me. Figuring out who, and why they put the blame on Misty, still escapes me at the moment."
"So, you believe in her innocence," Athena noted.
"It's too obvious a setup. Whoever did this probably had a motive to point blame at her, too." His face clouded for a moment, before going stoic again. "Have you... talked to Ash about this? He is the victim, after all."
Phoenix shook his head. "We're unable to speak to him at the moment; he's still unconscious."
"I... wasn't aware of that," Red admitted. "You'd think, as his cousin, I should've been told about his situation."
"I'm surprised you can keep your cool in a time like this," Athena mentioned. "Especially since it's your cousin that's the victim!"
"I am first and foremost Kanto's League Champion," he explained, his tone clear. "I must not let my guard down, ever."
Apollo's hand was on his bracelet. "It's noble of you to believe so, Red," he told the youth, "but are you sure that you're being honest with yourself?"
Red's eyes widen as he let out a hissing gasp. Phoenix and Athena turned to their co-worker in surprised. "Apollo? Did your bracelet react to him?" the elder lawyer asked.
"Funny enough," Apollo began his explanation, "I've noticed his tic beforehand, since he's been holding on his hat like a safety blanket. And whenever the subject is about his cousin," he pointed to the fingers grasping on the baseball cap Red was wearing, "his grip gets tighter."
The young Champion looked away from the trio, pulling the rim on his cap to hide his face. "I don't... I didn't..." He took a sharp breath. "I said the truth."
"When you said the words 'first and foremost', Red, you tensed up like you did when your thoughts were about your cousin," Apollo pointed out as he checked his book bag for a certain magazine, to which he pulled out and presented to the youth. "In your interview with Johto Weekly, you said you valued your family over being Champion, with even pictures of the two of you printed in the article."
"I..." Red's voice wavered, and Athena was certain she could detect distress within. "I'll be fine. Ash's still alive, right? All I've got to do is to stay strong for him, both as his cousin and Champion."
"You say that," Athena noticed as she began to play with her earring, "but I can tell this is taking quite a toll on you. As much as you want to be seen as this impenetrable defense, you're still a kid. And no kid should ever experience something like this."
"..." Red pulled down his cap and held it close to his chest, eyes watery. "Ash couldn't be more important in my life besides my mother and sister," he lamented. "To Leaf and me, Ash might as well be another brother."
Apollo knelt in front of him. "Red, I know exactly what you're going through. When you're led to believe that someone you care about could be dead, it hurts...and when they survive, you're relieved, but you want justice. To bring down the monsters who tried to take them from you.¹"
The boy's shoulders hitched as his unoccupied hand covered his mouth, muffling the sobs he cried as tears were finally shed. "Why did this happen?!" he choked. "There's no reason for this to happen! Who'd want to attack someone so kindhearted?!"
Phoenix grimaced. This kid was younger than Trucy, and seeing him cry over something out of his control- something involving another child- filled his heart with an all too familiar ache; the same one he had upon realizing Trucy had nobody else but him to take her home. "That's exactly why we took the case, Red," he explained to the distraught boy, sitting on the other side of him. He put a hand on Red's shoulder. "We'll uncover the truth behind this mess and bring back peace to everyone's lives."
Red looked up to Phoenix, his namesake-colored eyes staring deep, as in trying to look into one's soul. Then, with a nod, he dropped his hand to have it clutch his cap like his other one. "Please," he begged, "please help my cousin." He lowered his gaze. "I don't want him to stop smiling because of this."
Phoenix said nothing, but carefully brought his arm around the boy's shoulder and brought him closer in an embrace. Athena quickly went to grab a few tissues from the box found on the bedside table, to which she offered Red. After a few minutes of crying, Red was able to calm down, still trembling however.
He looked over to his Pikachu. "Figures he'd still be sleeping." He reached out to pet the Pokémon. "Then again, that shows how trustworthy you guys are. With Ignatius still resting from all that flying to Olivine, Taranis here's playing bodyguard." He weakly chuckled. "And here I was, hoping to see Ash with a smile on his face. I guess..." his face clouded once more. "I guess it wasn't meant to be."
"You'll see his smile again, I'm sure of it," Athena told him. "He'll be happy to see you again, Red, I'm sure that would him smile."
To that, Red actually offered a tiny smile of his own. "Yeah, you're right. I'll be patient for his sake... and when he wakes up, I'll greet him with a smile of my own... and tell him, 'I'm back.'"
¹Yes I totally copy-pasted that from you with some mods, Sara. It was too perfect.
Edited August 9th for Ignatius and Taranis' names, Red's Charizard and Pikachu respectively.
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Oh Red-bb. ;w;
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and yes, I am SO glad you used my line <333
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