I. After Defeat
"No! That can't be! You beat my best! After all that work to become League Champ? My reign is over already? It's not fair!"
In less than a day, I had risen to the top only to come crumbling down. Everything I had worked for was now in ruins before my eyes.
"Why? Why did I lose? I never made any mistakes raising my Pokémon…"
As much as I refused to believe it, it didn't change the fact I had lost to such a pathetic trainer, a trainer who had never even shown half of the potential that I had. He'd just gotten lucky, but still I had to suck it up and go down with some dignity, making sure to never show just how crushed I really was about this.
"Darn it!" Looking up at the illuminating, reinforced ceiling of the Champion Room, I refused to face that wide-eyed twerp jumping up with excitement in front of me. "You're the new Pokémon League champion! Although I don't like to admit it."
Before I knew it, gramps showed up, late like always. Kicking me while I was down, he congratulated Red, only after lecturing me about "trust and love". Like that would ever help me. Gramps escorted Red inside the Pokemon Hall of Fame, leaving me behind. This sucks!
As Red walked passed me though, our eyes met for a brief moment, and I suddenly felt immobilized. Somehow, it was like looking at an entirely different person. Something about him was different now, but I tried not to make anything more of it. It wouldn't be too hard to ignore these strange feelings either, seeing as how that would be the last time we would see each other for a very long time.
Sometime after my embarrassing defeat at the Indigo League, I received a promising call from Viridian City, an offer to become the city's new Gym Leader. The position was currently vacant, and the city wanted to make sure they kept the reputation for owning the toughest Gym in Kanto. Naturally, they asked me to fill in, and it was for that reason only that I accepted their offer.
Years went by and I easily proved I was up to the challenge, defeating trainer after trainer, only occasionally being bested by someone who got lucky. My skills and knowledge of battling were continuously tested, but it soon became clear that there was only so much I could get out from this job. Battle after battle, win or lose, there was always something missing.
Whenever the chance came up, I took it upon myself to leave the Gym and travel around the region to train, explore or simply relax, hoping to find something new. Eventually I figured out that being Gym Leader wasn't going to cut it anymore, no matter how good I was at it. It was time for me to find a new challenge.