Obsessions

Gold-hearted

Gold had always been overprotective of Crystal, as much as he hated to admit it.

Although they were the same age, Gold always felt like Crystal was the little sister he never had; he had always wanted his parents to have another kid. When Crystal’s parents had divorced, Gold and his parents had acted like a second family to her. Ironically, Gold was actually a couple months younger than Crystal-she was already eighteen, but he was still seventeen, but he never let that stop him.
When he found out about her obsessive crush on Eusine, Gold worried that the blond was way out of Crystal’s league, though Gold was too polite to tell her that. Besides, he suspected that a traveler, in particular a sociable and attractive traveler like Eusine, would probably have picked up a girlfriend, if not multiple girlfriends on his travels. To Gold, it didn’t seem like Eusine had any interest in Crystal at all. Gold still recalled the first time Crystal spoke out about her emotions towards Eusine.
"I’m 99% sure he doesn't like me, but it’s the 1% that keeps me hanging in there," she had confessed.
Gold knew better than to try and tell Crystal his doubts, though. He didn’t think she would take his opinions about Eusine too seriously and would dismiss the brunet as being jealous. It wasn’t that Gold had anything against the blond-they had encountered each other a few times on their respective travels and though they were on speaking terms they weren’t exactly friends. They tolerated each other at best and exasperated each other at worst.
Gold wasn’t sure how much better Eusine was than the alternative: Silver. Gold also met the redhead on various occasions, and he had always suspected that Silver had his heart set on Crystal. Gold found Silver to be callous, aloof, spiteful and obnoxious, while he was sure Silver found him to be nosy, clingy, overprotective and obnoxious. Regardless of how Crystal had said Silver had changed since the first time they met, Gold still couldn’t bring himself to like-or even trust-the redhead and the feeling was mutual.
Gold especially disliked Silver because he had stolen the Cyndaquil from Professor Elm.  When Crystal left on her Pokémon journey, Gold vowed that he would do his best to protect her and help her in any way he could. Because of this, Gold became even more protective of his friend. At the behest of Crystal’s mom-and often of his own decision-he would call Crystal to check up on her. Crystal could get a little irritated with his concern towards her, but it was only his way of showing he cared.
When Gold started hearing rumors that the Legendary Beasts were sighted in Ecruteak, he jumped at the chance to see them-and hopefully catch them. He knew Crystal had heard about this too, which both excited and worried him. Knowing he would most likely run into Crystal as he pursued the Legendaries, a rumor about Suicune drew Gold to Cerulean Cape.

Now he had encountered the last person he had expected-or wanted-to see.

“Silver! What are you doing here?!” Gold burst out.
Silver let out an irritated groan. “Look, why don’t you get back to being Crystal’s bodyguard and go away? Oh, that’s right. She doesn’t need you.”
“You’re looking for Suicune, too?” Gold glared at the redhead. The nerve of this guy! He always had to turn up at the worst times. Hopefully by the time Gold could get him out of the way Suicune would still be there.
“No. I’ve got something better to look for: Crystal.”
So she is here, Gold realized.
“You stay away from her,” Gold reached for his Poké Balls.
“You mind your own business,” Silver retorted, also reaching for his Poké Balls.
“What do you see in Crystal anyways?” Gold asked, both annoyed and genuinely curious about Silver’s answer.
“The same things as you,” Gold’s mouth hung open slightly. He saw a satisfied smirk flash across Silver’s face as the redhead realized he had struck a nerve. “Yeah, I know you want her, too. You’re not exactly subtle about it,”
Gold tried to hide his annoyance. “Crystal’s not interested in you anyways. She loves someone else.”
Silver’s glassy gray eyes widened. “Who, you? Don’t make me laugh. She’s way out of your league.”
Gold considered telling Silver how infatuated Crystal was with Eusine and that neither of them really stood a chance of making any impression on her. Gold knew; he had tried many times, yet she never noticed his affections as being anything more than friendship. He held his tongue, thinking it wouldn’t make any difference. Silver wouldn’t know who Eusine was, anyways.
“At least Crystal and I are close friends. What does she see you as, the obnoxious jerk who follows her around?” Gold snapped.
“You’ll find out soon enough how she feels about me,” Silver replied in a surprisingly casual tone. “I just need to find her.”
Gold's eyes, one sloe and one amber, narrowed. "My intuition tells me that I don't trust you."
Silver sneered. "Does your intuition tell you to stay out of this?"
Silver threw a Poké Ball, releasing a Magneton. Electricity crackled from the tips of its magnets. Gold flinched slightly. He only had one Pokémon, his Marill, Merrimack. He would have to fight despite the type disadvantage.
“Merrimack, use Superpower!”
Merrimack was surrounded by a red aura. As the aura grew, Merrimack charged up to Magneton and threw it into the air. Both Gold’s and Silver’s gazes followed the Steel-type as it soared through the air, then came crashing down, creating a large hole in the ground where it hit. It was clear the Magneton had fainted from the impact. That was the advantage of having only one Pokémon: since he only had one to raise, it was extremely powerful. Quality over quantity.
Silver withdrew Magneton, before throwing out another Poké Ball, releasing Alakazam. Gold hesitated before making his move. He didn’t have any moves with a type advantage.
“Merrimack, Hydro Pump!”
The Marill unleashed a thick jet of water from its mouth, hitting Alakazam square in the chest. It staggered from the impact, but remained standing.
“Alakazam, use Psychic!” Silver commanded.
Merrimack tried to dodge, but Alakazam was faster. It rapidly adjusted its attack, catching Merrimack in the middle of it.
“Merrimack, use Hydro Pump again!”
Merrimack repeated its attack, though the effort it exerted to do so clearly showed. Though Gold had seen the attack used many times, he still found it impressive that the tiny Marill could hold so much water. The attack struck Alakazam, this time knocking it off its feet and onto the ground. Gold smiled; two Pokémon down, four more to go. Maybe this battle wouldn’t be so bad after all.

Three KO’s later, Gold was still winning. Merrimack had taken more than a few hits, but Aqua Ring was helping it recover. It had taken out Golbat with repeated Rollouts, fainted Sneasel with Superpower, and subdued Gengar with two Hydro Pumps. Silver was down to his last Pokémon.
“Go, Typhlosion!” Silver called out as his strongest Pokémon. It roared as it emerged from the red light of its Poké Ball. It was the Typhlosion he stole from Professor Elm, Gold noted with contempt.
“Typhlosion, Quick Attack!” Silver commanded. Before Merrimack could even try to avoid Typhlosion, the Fire-type slammed into it, knocking the smaller Pokémon off-balance. Merrimack appeared to be fine, but Gold could tell the Marill was beginning to tire.
“Merrimack, use Hydro Pump!”
A stream of water, smaller than the previous times, shot out of Merrimack’s mouth. This was the last time Merrimack could use the attack. Typhlosion jumped out of the way of the attack, completely dodging it.
“Typhlosion, hit it with Swift!” Silver called out.
Typhlosion whirled around and shot star-shaped beams at Merrimack. Though Merrimack tried to dodge, it couldn’t shake the attack.
Let’s hope he doesn’t do that again, Gold noted. Merrimack was beginning to run out of steam. The brunet reached into his bag to take out a Super Potion, but after fumbling around for a moment, he couldn’t find one. Merrimack was going to have to do this on its own.
“Merrimack, Rollout!”
The Marill curled up into a ball, then rolled towards Typhlosion, picking up speed exponentially as it gained ground. As Merrimack struck, Typhlosion was flung backwards by the impact. As it scrambled to its feet, Silver gave it its next command.
“Typhlosion, use Swift again!”
“Merrimack, repeat Rollout!”
Before the Fire-type could even get in its attack, Merrimack struck again with Rollout, this time even harder and faster than the last. Silver looked down at his starter with a look that said “I’m screwed”. Gold couldn’t even tell if Typhlosion had fainted or not. As Gold looked on, Silver sullenly withdrew his Typhlosion.
“All right, you won,” Silver muttered. As he turned away from Gold, he tucked the Poké Ball into the red-lined pocket of his black jacket. The redhead left a small pile of victory money on the ground and left.
“So I was right. Crystal is here, too,” Gold mused as he quickly bent down to pick up the victory money. “I wonder if she’s looking for Suicune. Regardless, I’d like to find her. I have something important to tell her!”
“Mari?” Gold’s Marill looked up at him in anticipation.
Passion burned in Gold’s sloe-and-honey-colored eyes. “Merrimack, Cerulean Cape is known for being a hotspot for couples. Where else would be a better place to finally tell her how I feel?” 

***

“Marill! Mar Mar!” Merrimack squealed, pivoting as fast as its stubby legs could allow.
“What is it? Did you hear something?” Gold had been looking for Crystal for a while now. By now he was beginning to consider giving up and trying to call her. She might have already left Cerulean Cape.
“Mar!” Merrimack’s ears twitched towards the cliffs overlooking the water.
“C’mon! Let’s see what it is,” Gold began to head in the direction Merrimack had indicated. As he got closer, he heard a very familiar voice.
“I always knew he loved me.”
“That’s definitely Crystal! Good job!” Gold sprinted up the crest of the hill, with Merrimack following. As he cleared the crest of the hill, he saw to his disappointment that Crystal wasn’t alone.
"You're here, too?" Gold spurted. First Silver and now Eusine. I only came here to see Suicune. This is turning into a really weird day. Then again, considering the rumor, I shouldn't be surprised to see Eusine here at all.
"So I heard a rumor that Suicune was sighted here." Gold said abruptly, trying to make normal conversation. "Did you see it?"
"Absolutely! Crystal caught it!" Eusine announced.
Funny. He's actually happy for her. I guess he's a better person than I thought he was. "You don't seem as disappointed as I thought you'd be," Gold commented.
Crystal hugged Eusine. "Of course he's not disappointed. I may have caught Suicune, but now Eusine and I have each other."
Gold held in a sigh. As much as Crystal tried to hide it, Gold had always known she was infatuated with the blond Pokémon hunter. Gold had been the only one she’d ever confessed those feelings to.
He'd never expected that Eusine would return Crystal’s feelings, though. Quite frankly, Gold always thought Eusine was both too enamored with himself and too obsessed with catching Suicune to notice any girl.
Perhaps Gold wasn't giving him enough credit.
Gold had always been fond of Crystal, but in recent years, Gold had developed a true crush on her, though he had never admitted his feelings. It was just as well; as far as he could tell she never had any romantic interest in him, anyways. She never seemed to notice his romantic advances or any hints that he dropped.
“Okay,” Gold turned to Eusine and lowered his voice, enough so that Crystal was out of earshot, but not a whisper. “But if you break her heart, Merrimack will keelhaul you from here to Sinnoh.” As if to accentuate Gold’s words, the Marill made a punching motion.
"Well, I'll see you guys later," Gold stated. Crystal and Eusine were clearly having a moment with each other, and Gold felt like a voyeur standing around watching them indulge in their romance. Sure he was a bit jealous, but he wasn't about to ruin the moment for them.
In fact, he didn’t feel anywhere near as disappointed as he had expected to be. He had known for a long time that he had almost no chance of Crystal ever noticing him over the much better-looking and much better-dressed Eusine. Gold couldn’t imagine why the blond would dress in such a flashy-though admittedly extremely flattering-style; it couldn’t be comfortable for a Trainer to travel around dressed like that. No matter when Gold encountered Eusine, he always was dressed to the nines. Maybe he did it for the attention; from what Gold observed, it certainly appeared to work. Gold briefly contemplated trying it out for himself…
He admitted that his encounter could’ve been much worse. At least Crystal was still his friend. There were always other girls out there for the brunet.
A thought pricked at the back of Gold’s mind. Why can’t she see that she belongs with me?
As soon as the thought came, Gold shoved it out of his head. He should be happy for his friend, not secretly pining after her.
"C'mon, Merrimack." He beckoned to his Marill, who let out a squeak and followed his Trainer. Once Gold was out of earshot, he looked down at Merrimack, who was at his side.
"They're really something, aren't they, Merrimack?"
"Mar! Marill!" Merrimack affirmed.
"Perhaps things will work out for them after all." Gold said, half to himself as he walked back to Cerulean City, all the while looking back at the young couple on the cliff.
A loud ringing shifted the brunet’s attention. He reached into his pocket, checked the name of the caller on his Pokégear and held it several inches away from his ear before answering.  
“H-hey, Gold,” Gold could hear sobbing coming from the other end.
“What’s wrong, Whitney?” Gold asked, concern showing in his voice. Whitney was usually so cheerful and upbeat; nothing could get that girl down. What could have made her so upset?
“I fought three Trainers today and I lost to all of them!” The sobbing grew louder as Whitney continued speaking. “I think I’m losing my touch! I haven’t been a Gym Leader for very long, and I don’t wanna lose my position!” After finishing her sentence she broke down in another fit of sobbing.
“Don’t feel so bad about it. I didn’t have a good day, either,” Gold replied, though he regretted it the instant the words left his mouth. Now Whitney would demand to know everything that had happened.
“Really? What happened to you?” Whitney’s sobbing was beginning to subside.
“I ran into the one person I hate, and we had a battle,” Gold decided to leave out the fact that he won that battle; it wouldn’t help Whitney feel any better. “Then after that I found out that the girl I love is with someone else.”
“Aww! That’s terrible!” Whitney paused for a moment. “Wait, does that mean you’re single?”
“I…I guess so.” What is she trying to get at?
“Well, I’m single, too!” Whitney had stopped crying completely. “I know! We should get together sometime!”
Gold hesitated. He wasn’t quite sure how to define his feelings for the spunky Gym Leader. He had only met her a few times, including their Gym match. Whitney had always taken whatever opportunity she could get during those encounter to flirt with the brunet. On the other hand, Gold had heard rumors that Whitney was notorious for being flirtatious; supposedly she flirted with all of her male challengers, which meant Gold wasn’t anything special. Whitney was certainly pretty, and she was always so friendly and sunny.
“Um, sure,” Gold wasn’t in the mood for a date, but he knew that declining Whitney would only make her cry again. That was the last thing he wanted.
“Yay!” Whitney squealed. “This is gonna be awesome! While we’re at it, let’s have a rematch, too!”
“Okay,” Gold knew he’d have to tell Merrimack to take it easy on Whitney’s Pokémon. It wasn’t that Whitney was a bad Trainer; she just didn’t handle losses well. Gold didn’t want to upset her by winning, like he had when he’d won the Plain Badge from her. That time she was so upset she refused to give the Badge to him until after she calmed down.
“What time works for you?” Gold didn’t have any plans or obligations, so he could have his rematch with Whitney pretty much any time.
“How about Saturday at noon?” Whitney suggested. “I always get bored on Saturdays; not a lot of people come to the Gym and all the best sales at the Goldenrod Department Store happen on the weekdays. Also, let’s go out to lunch before our battle! I know of this super cute café in Goldenrod!”
“Sure,” This rematch or date or whatever it was supposed to be actually sounded like a lot of fun. “I can’t wait!”
“Awesome! I’ll see you Saturday! Meet me at the Magnet Train station!” There was a brief pause before Whitney continued speaking. “You still have that cute little Marill with you, right? Bring him along!”
“Of course. We go everywhere together,” Gold replied with a fond look at Merrimack. “See ya!”
Gold closed his Pokégear, anticipating his rematch-or was it a date?-with Whitney. He felt a wave of relief that Crystal still considered him a friend.  Sure, Gold had some great times with Crystal in the past. They had been friends when they were younger, and he had always dreamed they would be lovers when they were older. He’d had his share of fantasies about him and Crystal together, but that was all that they were now: fantasies. Gold would always be there for Crystal as a friend, and if Crystal’s relationship with Eusine ended, Gold would be right there for her. Even if it didn’t, Gold would still be there for her.
But what about Whitney? A little thought nagged him. Gold shrugged it off. He could be friends-or more-with either of them yet still be supportive of both of them. After all, Crystal had always told him he was gold-hearted.

    Obsessions is a triptych. All three of the parts have events that coincide with each other, but they all take place within the same time frame. Because of this, you can read the parts in any order you like, but to appreciate the whole story you MUST read all three of them, since each character’s experience contains unique facets of the story.