Speak Up was a Pokémon Fan Fic by Mya Latti.
So after about four months of tests, the doctor had confirmed to his mother what was wrong with Red. "Your child is mute," A novelization of the generation one games.
Speak Up is a story based on the Pokémon Red and Blue games. One aspect of Red that fans often wonder about is his inability to speak in Pokémon Gold and Silver. This fan fic is the author's take on that: Red is mute. Red wants to become a Pokemon master, so he goes on a journey throughout Kanto, learning many new things, struggling to communicate with everyone around him, and discovering things about himself in the process.
Prior to July 2023, it could be read here
, but the link is currently dead as the author deleted all of their works.
This work contains examples of:
- Action Hero: Red. He's mute, but he manages to foil Team Rocket's plans and become the champion.
- All of the Other Reindeer: In flashback chapters, kids didn't like Red for his mutism and thought he was dumb. Green called them all out on this.
- Childhood Friends: Red and Green have known each other since they were babies.
- Cluster F-Bomb: The F word is dropped a bit often in the fan fic. The author isn't very proud of this.
- Darker and Edgier: Not as bad as other Pokemon fan fics, but it's definitely serious in that Pokemon can actually die and Mr. Fuji actually believes Team Rocket's lies about Red abusing his Pokemon.
- The Determinator: Nothing can bring Red down, not even people's ignorance.
- Disabled Means Helpless: Completely defied with Red. He's mute, but he manages to defeat Team Rocket and become the champion.
- Handicapped Badass: Red can't speak, but he still manages to be a capable trainer nonetheless.
- Hot-Blooded: Both Red and Green tend to be rather fierce in battle.
- Irrational Hatred: Green briefly goes into this by thinking that Red killed his Raticate on purpose. Thankfully, a stranger talks him out of his assumption just as quickly. Not only that, when Red tells him it was an accident, they make up.
- It's All My Fault: Red feels really bad about killing Green's Raticate by accident.
- Killed Off for Real: Ever wonder what happened to Green's Rattata and Raticate in the games? In this story Red's Pikachu accidentally kills it with a thunderbolt attack that was stronger than Red intended.
- Luke, I Am Your Father: Giovanni, the leader of Team Rocket, is Red's father. The author took this idea from Pokémon Live!.
- Nice Job Breaking It, Hero: Red battles Green once, but Pikachu's thunderbolt hurts Raticate to a point where it dies from its injuries.
- Original Character: Mia, a girl Red interacts with in the story.
- Poor Communication Kills: A prominent problem in the series. One chapter has Red attempt to save Mr. Fuji, but Team Rocket tells him Red abuses his Pokemon. Mr. Fuji believes them. Red tries to protest, but he can't talk and none of them understand sign language, so Mr. Fuji believes them. Averted regarding the issue with the death of Green's Raticate. Red manages to tell Green that he never meant for it to happen, and this helps them make up.
- Precision F-Strike: There's quite a bit of swearing in this fan fic, and the author now regrets adding in so many curses.
- Shout-Out: The Pokemon team that Red accumulates is canon to his team in Pokemon Heart Gold And Soul Silver.
- The Speechless: Red is mute in this story. He compensates via sign language.
- To Be a Master: Red and Green want to be champion of the Pokemon League. Red wins, per game tradition.
- Ungrateful Bastard: Red takes in a Charmander that a trainer abandoned, and the latter repays Red by ignoring everything he says and being a brat. A lot of reviewers find this attitude to be realistic for a Pokemon, as one doesn't simply be happy upon getting abandoned and adopted within a very short time span.
- Wham Episode: Chapters 14 and 20. In chapter 14, Red learns that his Pikachu accidentally killed Green's Raticate, and feels awful about it. In chapter 20, Red tries to save Mr. Fuji, only for Team Rocket to step in and tell Mr. Fuji that Red abuses his Pokemon, even though this isn't true. The kicker? Mr. Fuji believes Team Rocket because Red can't tell him otherwise.
