The wind howled around the peak of Mount Silver that night, the snow flow around him but Red barely batted an eye. He had been up here for three years now, and the conditions had only strengthened him, trained him and his Pokémon to the peak of their ability. They were the best, having beaten the previous League champion, Lance and dismantling the nefarious Team Rocket almost single handed, but Red knew that the bond between him and his friends could only ever get stronger. He had made a promise to himself, when he started on his journey that he would be the best, and be considered a Pokémon Master, and so far he had fulfilled his dream. He chose to live here now, where the harsh weather and conditions meant that only the strongest wild Pokémon could survive, and he had spent the last three years training against them. On rare occasions, other trainer's sought him out, to test him, to try and take his place as Master, but all of them had been beaten back, once of twice even Lance had visited him, in an attempt to take back his title as Pokémon Champion. Other than that though, the only contact Red had was his old rival, and now friend Blue, who came up to visit now and again, although since he had overtaken the Viridian Gym, on top of his research these visits had become less frequent.
Red drew his jacket closer around him, tonight was colder than usual, and he didn't like it. Something was coming, and Red could not shake the feeling that it would not end well for him and his friends. Reaching around to his the small of his back he felt for his Pokéballs, counting them slowly, with all of six of them there, he should have nothing to worry about. They were the strongest team in Kanto, and at the risk of sounding arrogant, possibly even Johto as well. He had met many trainers from that region, and although their Pokémon were new, and some of the trainer's were considered the best in the League, they stood no chance against Red.
It was then that Red heard the crunching of footsteps in the snow. Standing up, he brushed the snow from his pants and turned around. The sound of footsteps getting louder Red took in a deep breath, knowing his luck it was going to be another trainer, who felt like they had something to prove against the almighty Red. He wondered how easy this one would go down, and deep inside hoped this one would give some sort of challenge, unlike any of the recent challengers. As the newcomer reached the top of the mountain, and began to walk through the snow, Red saw his hunch had been correct, but he was still surprised, the trainer heading towards him was just a boy. Even though Red was only 14 himself, it still surprised him that someone that young had made it up the mountain to meet with him, let alone beat the Elite Four and Lance. Red said nothing as the boy stood there, panting slightly from the climb, only noticing similarities between the boy and himself, there was a look about him, something different that stood him apart from the other trainers. Red smiled, this should be interesting.
"Welcome, to Mount Silver trainer. You've done well to climb to the peak." Red began, the words sounding strange in his ears, it had been too long since he spoke to another person.
"Oh, hey thank you. Yeah, it was a bit of a steep climb" the newcomer replied breathlessly, looking back down the mountain, as if trying to see through the fog of snow. "So, you must be Red, the Pokémon master right? My names Ethan, from New Bark Town."
Red nodded and thought upon the name of the town Ethan had said he was from, New Bark Town, it sounded so familiar. Suddenly it dawned on him, it was a town in Johto, hometown of Professor Elm, a Pokémon Researcher who had visited Professor Oak once when Red had returned to Pallet Town, after defeating Lance and Blue, who had only just become the champion.
"Very well Ethan, I assume you wish to battle?" Red asked, clearing his throat in anticipation, his gut wrenching, this was different. This trainer was different and Red knew for certain that this was what he had been feeling before Ethan had turned up. Pulling a Pokéball from his belt he let out Pikachu, his strongest and most loyal friend. Pikachu looked up at Red and with a nod, ran out in between the two trainers, prepared for battle.
"Yes! Thank you!" Ethan grinned, and reached behind him pulling out a Pokéball, "Donphan, I choose you!"
Red smiled slightly, Ethan was reminding him more of himself when he started out, and the Pokémon he chose was a good way to start the match. "Pikachu, use quick attack now" Red commanded, at the same time as Ethan called out his attack. The Donphan quickly curled itself up and began to roll towards Pikachu at an alarming speed, too quick for Pikachu to come out of its quick attack and dodge. Red grunted himself as the Donphan's attack struck true, "Pikachu, get up and use Iron Tail on it, quickly!"
"Donphan you know what to do, now!" Ethan yelled. Donphan stopped rolling around in the snow and jumped in the air, beginning to spin as it landed, burrowing underground.
"Pikachu be careful! Donphan is using dig!" Red called, but it was too late, Pikachu's attack was nearly finished and hit the ground just before Donphan rocketed out of the ground, hitting Pikachu with the full force of its attack. Pikachu hit the ground with a thud and passed out.
"Oh Goddamn it!" Red cursed and summoned Pikachu back into its ball. It has been so long since anyone had even managed to defeat just one of his Pokémon, but that was ridiculous, Ethan had beaten him so quickly. Growling Red grabbed at another Pokéball and sent out his Blastoise, commanding it to use Hydro Pump instantly. He needed to teach this punk a lesson, and finish the rest of this match quickly. Blastoise, sensing Red's impatience hit Donphan with a fierce Hydro Pump, echoing its trainer's rage. Donphan hit a rock with such force that the rock broke and Donphan passed out. Ethan stared at Red as he called Donphan back, surprised and a little afraid of the ferocity of Red's commands. Patting Donphan's ball Ethan congratulated it before slipping it in his pocket.
Red grunted again, this time not amused by how much Ethan reminded him of his younger self. It was naive to act like that in a battle of this much importance, and why support a Pokémon who failed. Shaking his head Red considered his strategy, as the next Pokémon sent out was an Ampharos, an electric type. It was strange, but Red had the feeling that whatever Pokémon he used, this Ethan had a team that was prepared to take advantage of every weakness he had. As the battle dragged on, Red's fear proved to be correct. Ampharos dominated the battle with Blastoise, but was defeated by Snorlax, a move Red felt would help end the battle quicker, and prevent his first loss in four years, a strategy that failed when Ethan countered by using his fighting type Pokémon, Hitmontop, who used his superior speed and fighting moves to take advantages of Snorlax's weaknesses. Charizard came next and was pitted against his opponents Feraligatr, and when Charizard fell Red called upon his Venusaur to deal with Ethan. Ethan countered this with Noctowl who used his flying techniques to prey upon Venusaur's vulnerabilities.
Red reach for his last Pokéball, desperation clouding his mind, not since his battles with the Elite Four three years ago, had anyone present so much of a challenge, clearing out his team one by one with relatively no trouble. For the first time Red considered the fact that he might lose, with Lapras being his last hope, and Ethan still having Noctowl and an unknown Pokémon left to battle with. Closing his eyes he threw Lapras into the fray.
"Lapras! You're my last hope in this, use Blizzard now!" he commanded, grinning as the wind tossed Ethan's Noctowl left and right, battering him with chunks of ice until she fell to ground, unconscious. Red relaxed slightly, it was one on one now, and with Lapras on his side, it was almost impossible for him to lose. He was a Pokémon Master, a title he had defended for 3 years, and he wasn't about to lose to some upstart trainer from Johto. Red looked at Ethan, who after this intense struggle was still smiling, enjoying the challenge. Red snorted, soon he was going to knock the smirk of that boy's face. Ethan grabbed his last Pokéball, and sent out his last Pokémon, a sight that made Red's face drop in shock and fear. Just seeing that Pokémon, Red knew his reign as Master was over. Before Lapras stood a Pokémon Red had never thought he would ever see, the legendary Pokémon Ho-Oh, in all its glory, took off into the sky and began circling, a pattern of rainbows streaming behind it as it circled above Lapras and Red.
"Lapras...use Ice Beam!" Red shouted hoping that if he struck quickly and aggressively he could take the legendary bird out before he had the chance to attack. Red's heart soared as the beam struck true, hitting Ho-Oh square in the chest. Ho-Oh cried out, as the ice began to creep over its wings and face, freezing it.
"Ho-Oh!" Ethan shouted, his voice carrying above the wind, "Use Sacred Fire now, before its too late!"
Ho-Oh screamed in triumph as he lit up, the fire generated from his body, engulfing the legend, melting the ice around him, and pouring away from him, straight towards Lapras. Red closed his eyes, sighing deeply. He didn't even need to see the result of the attack. Lapras was done, and so was Red. No longer would be considered a Pokémon Master, no longer would he be the ultimate prodigy. He didn't understand, he hadn't slacked off, he had trained every day, training his Pokémon to be the toughest they could be, to fulfil his dreams, his hopes. All of it was gone now though. Red brought Lapras back into its ball. Once again, he ran his fingers over the Pokéballs housing his team, but this time something felt different. Pikachu's ball, felt odd, heavier than normal, something was wrong. Letting Pikachu back out of his ball, he saw the problem immediately, Pikachu was still unconscious, but was letting out bursts of electricity, whimpering in pain each time. Picking up his best friend, Red stared at Ethan, who was still celebrating his win, hugging the legendary bird tight congratulating themselves. Growling Red began to run, down the mountain, towards the nearest Pokémon Centre, even though it was a day's journey, Red had to make it. He had to help Pikachu before it was too late.
Ethan smiled and turned away from Ho-Oh to speak to Red, "Hey, thank you for the battle..." he began, before seeing that the former Master wasn't there. "What...where did he go?" Ethan turned to Ho-Oh, who cooed and nuzzled at Ethan's shoulder.
"Oh well, lets head back to New Bark Town Ho-Oh, and celebrate the good news with Professor Elm and Mom!" He shouted, jumping onto the Legendaries back, and flying away from Mount Silver, back to Johto.
Red sat in the Pokémon Tower in Lavender Town, in front of a row of gravestones. His head bowed, cross legged staring at the freshest grave there. Behind him stood Mr Fuji, the old man, who owed Red his life. Red had been there for nearly two days, almost unmoving. His other Pokémon had been at the Pokémon Centre since his arrival, and Mr Fuji had been popping in to check on them. They were not the same Pokémon Fuji remembered, now that Pikachu was no longer with them, the life had gone out of them, and their spirit. The same held true for Red. No longer was he the idealistic, young man from four years ago, something had snapped in him. The only movement he had made since Pikachu's burial was to tie the Pokéball to a leather strap that he now wore around his neck. Since then, all he had done was sit there, unable to cry.
Days later, Red finally emerged from the Pokémon Tower, in the middle of the night and collected the rest of his team from Nurse Joy. As he reached the exit of the town, Mr Fuji stopped him, touching him gently on the shoulder.
"Red..." he began, his voice soothing and calm, as it always had been, "Where do you plan to go? What do you plan to do?"
Red shrugged, and walked away again, away from Mr Fuji, away from Lavender Town, away from everything. There was nothing left for him, no reason to continue the way he had. He was going to find something, before he drove himself into insanity. He would not let Pikachu's memory fade, and he would not let his legacy disappear like that. Ethan had taken everything from him, and Red hated him for it.