He inhaled.
Soil, slightly wet, sweet-smelling soil, and a crisp tang, the scent of contentment seemed to fill the air. Just a few minutes past midnight, Littleroot Town, a quiet, quaint haven was slumbering, unaware of its one exception.
A few leaves fluttered by, settled on the ground, and picked themselves up again.
He swung his legs ever so slightly, atop his perch.
The quietness seemed to weigh down on him. Tilting his head lightly, he peered into the distance. Obscurely, he could make out the dark roof of the Pokémon centre, off in Oldale.
What lay beyond, though was darkness.
Of course, he knew what lay beyond. He'd journeyed, covered every square inch of Hoenn, tread every path, climbed every mountain, scaled every peak.
He knew.
Beyond, Route 103 stood, a bridge to Route 110, which lead to Mauville. And from there, Lavaridge, Fallarbor, Verdanturf, Fortree, Lilycove, Mossdeep, Sootopolis, they all stretched, one terrain smoothly giving way to the other, on and on and on.
And then, of course, Ever Grande, with its Road to Victory.
The Road to Victory, the Pokémon League, The Elite Four, and then, the champion.
He felt his right waist, to feel the ever-comforting belt, the ridges that indicated the fact that his Pokeballs rested, containing those storehouses of powers unknown.
Pokémon.
He licked at his dry lips, burning with the cold.
Clad in his normal clothes, he ran a hair through his flawless white hair.
The road had been long. If you weren't prepared, it would take you in, suck you dry of everything you ever held dear, and spit you out without mercy.
The road to becoming a Pokemon Champion had certainly provided one of, no, scratch that, THE most exhilarating feelings he'd ever had the honor of feeling.
That, that sheer joy you felt, when you beat gym after gym, when you step onto the next patch of wild grass, throw out your Pokeball, and beat the opposing Pokemon, only ending in that reward of experience to both you and your Pokemon, ensuring that not only you grew stronger, but the bond, the connection between the two of you strengthened further….to him, it was indescribable.
Bringing both his palms together, he rubbed them, creating some much needed heat.
Of course, there was that incident, how could anyone forget Archie and Maxie, the two men who thought they could hold, control unimaginable power.
For one split second, it almost felt hilariously ridiculous to him.
The whole of Hoenn had been brought down to its knees, just because two men had thought up an infernal scheme to enforce their silly ideals.
He'd gone. He'd journeyed, first on sea, then on land. He'd set foot inside a place that rarely ever saw human presence.
Sky Pillar had stood, tall and imposing amidst the terrifying alternation between torrential downpour and scorching heat wave.
And he'd ascended its heights, never stumbling, never wavering even once from his goal.
When he'd reached the top, however, his knees seemed to weaken. His resolve seemed to crumble.
There it laid, metallic green body curled into a magnificent spiral, with the yellow markings changing, traversing an endless loop of brightening, then fading. Scales bristled with an unknown emotion, eyes fixed on him.
Rayquaza met his gaze.
For a second, time seemed to stop still, to refuse to move ahead.
The next second, it had gone, vanished to the only place possible.
It had descended from its mighty perch, upon Kyogre and Groudon's tempest battlefield, and suddenly, it was all over. It was clear.
When Land and Sea fought, neither had emerged the victor, for when Sky descended, all had cowered.
He was famous, once the incident had come to an end.
The boy who saved the world, the trainer brave enough to ascend to the skies, in order to save both land and sea…he was looked up to as a hero.
He'd paid no mind to it, though.
It was all over, Hoenn was saved, and everything would return back to normal. It wouldn't matter, when he would enter the final gym, and face its leader. The only things that would matter would be him and his Pokémon, not others, not their words, nor their smiles.
But he'd never forget it, that surge of adrenaline that had coursed through his veins when Rayquaza had met his gaze.
And that was the solely the reason…the reason for him deciding not to take the gym challenge yet.
Instead, he'd headed elsewhere.
It was as if fate had drawn him to the very place again.
Once again, he stood atop Sky Pillar, and once again, Rayquaza met his gaze. This time, though, he wouldn't be deterred.
He'd walked up, abandoning every single emotion that threatened to break his composure, or for that matter, even attempted to lay a crack on it.
Climbing up the steps, he looked at it, the God of the skies, Rayquaza.
It looked back at him, unblinking, unwavering.
And then, it reared.
To him, the battle seemed to last forever.
The skies seemed to tremble every time it took to the air, every time it moved, faster than the human eye could see, to strike his well trained Pokémon with Extreme Speed.
And he watched, emotionless. First his Gyarados, then his Camerupt, then his Sableye, one by one, his Pokémon fell, prey to the terrifyingly imposing power Rayquaza represented.
But then, it never shook him.
"Go, Blaziken."
Bit by bit, he hacked away it, dodging, striking, and dodging again.
And finally, the decisive moment came.
"Blaziken….OVERHEAT!"
A strange sensation made its presence known to him, as he watched Rayquaza, the God of the skies, dwindle down to its last leg.
He didn't pause. He didn't hesitate.
When Rayquaza saw him, it was with his hand outstretched, a purple ball resting carelessly on his rough palm.
And it looked at him, as he held the ball, almost as if he was offering the ball to it.
He knew. It didn't make sense, at first, possessing the Master Ball, yet engaging in battle with a God. But it somehow struck him, the fact that he must overcome this challenge, and he couldn't simply throw a Master Ball at the Lord of the Skies, and expect it to work.
He held it out, the ball facing the terrifying Pokémon.
He returned its gaze, and for that time, it was only the two of them, just him and Rayquaza, man and God, looking each other in the eye.
"….You hesitate…..human."
For the first time, he trembled out of pure, unadulterated fear. It…It was…..
"…Why not….? The bond…the bond that you humans speak of….with Pokémon…."
"Why not….show me?"
It's terrifying maw contorted into a snarl. Barely moving, it lay on the ground, brought to its knees by a mere human.
"….Do not be….afraid."
He closed his eyes, breaking contact.
When he opened them, he threw it, and as the Master Ball flew towards its target, his stomach seemed to flutter, his heart seemed to stop beating, and he stopped breathing.
"Do not be…afraid….human…"
He'd battled on after that, relentless and unforgiving. He forged through Victory Road, defeating anyone who stepped up to challenge him.
And every time, his opponents never had even an inkling of the power he housed. True, it was hard to see, but if you looked closely, one would see only five balls on the front of his belt.
The sixth, the Master Ball, always lay at his back, strapped securely, never to be released for a long time.
He beat the first of the Elite four with relative ease. Careful planning had ensured him an easy victory against Sidney.
Phoebe, the ghost type user came next, and she too, fell prey to his unique and awe-inspiring battle style.
Glacia, the Ice user was no match for him, and finally, Drake, the most powerful of the Elite Four fell.
And all the while, he only ever used five Pokemon. Sometimes, when pushed back, he would resort to a Revive, or a Hyper Potion, but never did any of the Elite Four even have vaguest idea about his sixth, his last hand.
Not the Elite Four, but their Champion, Wallace.
It was a majestic sight watching the two of them clash, watching him and Wallace put everything they had into a fight neither wanted to lose.
And he pushed on, relentlessly, attack after attack, never even thinking about defeat.
Looking back, that was probably his greatest flaw.
To him, defeat was an impossibility, a null and void.
And ironically, when his Gyarados fell, the realization hit him like a freight train.
Wallace seemed to look at him curiously for an instant. Where was his sixth Pokémon?
He inhaled, and told himself to calm down, to steady his breath.
"Go…"
"…Rayq-"
The last of his words were drowned by the roar, the terror-inducing, yet at the same time, awe inspiring cry as the heavens descended. He was filled with the same feeling once again, that feeling that commanded every nerve in his body to bow, and stay that way.
Wallace looked on, fear getting the best of him as his challenger brought out his final, terrorizing power.
"…..Outrage…"
For a split second, Rayquaza seemed to have disobeyed his command.
And then, it happened.
All eyes were on him, everyone, the Elite Four, the Gym leaders, all witnesses to his final blow, as Wallace's Milotic fell, no match for Rayquaza's fury.
Wallace fell to his knees, and yet, he, the challenger stood, mouth agape, still under Rayquaza's trance.
It turned to him. Everyone were still standing, stock-still.
And they watched, as Rayquaza turned to it's trainer.
They watched, as it inclined its head by a fraction.
And in that instant, he knew, knew that Rayquaza, destroying his opponent in a mere minute, would obey him, and him alone.
Slowly, his lips curled into a smile.
It was not malice, nor was it greed.
It was satisfaction.
Somehow, by forces he knew never existed, courage started flowing through him, the courage to summon God momentarily to do his bidding, and in that moment, Rayquaza would always acknowledge him, the only trainer with the power to make it do so.
Again and again, opponent after opponent, every league, every champion in the world fell. Sometimes, if they were lucky enough, they would witness Rayquaza's power, and sometimes, cruelly not so.
And it all seemed to lead up to this very moment, this moment of utter peace, and tranquility, atop a tree at Littleroot Town, he was perched comfortably, caressing the Master Ball.
"Go….Rayquaza"
With a soft sound, the red light gave way to the Dragon's form, as it curled up on the ground beneath him.
It seemed to understand, understand what it's trainer needed now.
The silence never broke, no, not even for a second.
And yet, they talked, God and man. It talked about Land, it talked about Sea, and how Kyogre and Groudon were essential to nature. It talked about nature, it talked about humans, and he listened, not interrupting it, yet taking it all in.
They seemed to revel in each other's presence, as Rayquaza;s powerful tail swiped at the air lazily, and he lay against the tree, closing his eyes and listening.
After a while, they seemed to stop talking, and instead, simply stare at the sky, the two of them.
He didn't know when, maybe when the color of the sky started changing, he got up with a sigh. Without a word, he touched Rayquaza, and then tightened his grip on one of its scales, and rested himself on it. It seemed to know, without the help of words, what its trainer wanted.
They took to the air. He felt it whipping at his face, cold, and yet so pleasant. He'd flown, lots of times, across Hoenn, but he didn't know why. This time, it felt different.
It felt…new.
And he dismounted when they had reached their destination. It made it's way across the roof of its original home, and they stood, staring at each other.
The nostalgia was hard to ignore. How many years had passed since that meeting at Sky Pillar…? Years…so many, many years.
And again, after all that time, here they were, at Sky Pillar again, in the same position they were in all those years ago.
Yet, this time, there was a glaringly obvious difference, almost impossible to miss.
Sometimes, the thought would cross his mind, all those years ago, had he…conquered God, when the Master Ball had confined Rayquaza?
Had he…overcome God?
And now, all those years later, he received his answer.
Simple, yet beautiful.
No.
For he'd felt fear, for a long, long time, even after his famous capture. Fear that, one day, Rayquaza would turn, would disobey him, would…would….
Would conquer him.
And now, standing, it seemed amusing, how he'd experienced such fear.
He understood, all this time later, at this moment, the truth.
He, them, the trainers….all of them were…so…so insignificant, so fragile, when they stood in front of Rayquaza.
All their silly plans of domination, warfare, violence…all were so childish.
He understood, why Rayquaza existed.
It was a mere sink, a place where every single negative thought every single man had experienced would be stored, and turned, reversed into positivity.
Rayquaza would exist as long as men felt negative thoughts, thoughts about control, domination. And it would appear to those select few, to put it back in order. Every single attack, every single power Rayquaza possessed existed, fueled by negativity, and in an action only capable of none other than itself, it would project that negativity as its reverse, pure positive energy.
Just as so many years ago, they stared at each other.
And then…it reared.
This time, he smiled, enjoying the sensation that he'd only feel two times in his entire life, that sensation of battling Rayquaza…becoming one with it.
It was battle like never before. The environment seemed to recognize their fierce duel, and seemed to pulsate in resonance with it.
"BLAZIKEN! GO, BLAST BURN!"
And Rayquaza roared, colliding with his Pokémon's powerful move in a display of magnificence.
And this time, there was no doubt. There was no restraint. This time, his attack hit home, and finally, for the first time in all of eternity, Rayquaza closed its eyes.
He recalled Blaziken, and smiled.
Rayquaza lay, eyes closed, oblivious to its surroundings.
He never would've realized it, all those years ago, that it would all lead to this, this finale, where he'd have to battle his own Pokémon, and overcome it.
And yet, it made sense.
Somewhere, later, who knew how many years later, maybe another trainer would come, with the capability of harnessing Rayquaza'a power when all hell would break loose.
And he knew, Rayquaza would not only obey that trainer, but would guard him, teach him, guide him, just as it had done to him.
Still smiling, he reached into his worn-out brown bag. Drawing out a small vial, he turned it.
'Max Revive', it said on the front.
With a small chuckle, he uncorked it, and flung its contents at Rayquaza.
Not looking at it, he turned round, and stumped off, legs aching, arms tired, and ready for rest.
He opened the door silently. Walking into his house, back at Littleroot town, he climbed the stairs tiredly, toward their bed.
He stood next to the bed, and gazed at his wife, sleeping contentedly, her auburn hair strewn across the pillow. With a smile, he tucked one strand of her hair behind her ear, and leaned toward her face to plant a kiss.
And as he lay down, achingly tired, yet strangely contented, amidst the soft, warm bed and May's embrace, Brendan looked out of the window nearby, and into the sky.
And as he looked on, it's entrancing duality struck him, the way it looked calm, so calm and serene, and yet, the way it looked dark and formidable…the way it screamed and raged out its message, yet the way he felt it whisper….
"When Land and Sea fight, neither shall emerge victorious, for the Skies will descend, and all shall cower."