I do not own Pokemon or the characters' species, but I own the characters.

End Game

Chapter 1: Jade

Brandon moved cautiously through the darkness. Here he was, after looking for nearly an entire month… He'd finally tracked down what he'd been looking for.

There was a noise in the darkness, and he glanced at it, but soon he dismissed it as nothing and carried on. Nothing in here could harm him. He held the flashlight confidently and continued forward. Around him, stalactites and stalagmites stretched from floor to ceiling, the former dripping water and forming puddles on the ground.

The old man had said he'd seen someone enter this cave not very long ago. It had been dark, so he hadn't seen who it was, but Brandon knew that the reputation of this place would keep all but the strongest trainers out. At the least, whomever he found here in Cerulean Cave might know where to find the person he was looking for.

Jade. That name was all he had to go by. It was the name of the person reputed to be the strongest trainer in the world. Recently, rumors had circulated that someone by that name had defeated the former Kanto Champion, Red, who had until then been considered the strongest trainer. Red vanished soon afterward, so no one was able to confirm the reports. And though many had looked for him, no one had been able to find this Jade person.

Brandon swept his flashlight at a guttural growl from his right, and something scampered away. Even the wild Pokemon don't dare to fight me…

He was confident that he could defeat Jade, or at least pose a decent challenge to him. He had been a trainer for more than seven years, and he had built his team to be the strongest one possible. He and his Pokemon had been through so much together, he knew they could go wherever and do whatever they wanted…

He spotted a light up ahead, which jerked him out of his reminiscing. It was just a point of light, but it meant that someone, or something, was there. He changed course toward it, approaching it slowly.

"Is someone there?" he called. For some reason his voice sounded muffled.

To his surprise, a voice answered back. "Yes," it said. It was distinctly female.

As he neared the light, he caught sight of a silhouette standing in the gloom. It was a human, but it was very… small. If he didn't know better, he would think it belonged to a child… Then he aimed his flashlight at it, and realized that it was a child.

It was a young girl, with long dark hair and skin so pale it almost glowed. She was wearing a white robe, which was embroidered with red thread near the edges. Her eyes were closed and her head was bowed, as if sleeping, although she was standing upright. The light came from a small yellow creature sitting on the rocky ground next to the girl, which was glowing softly. Brandon recognized it as an Abra.

Brandon paused, then stepped closer to the girl. "Who are you? What are you doing here? You know that this place is dangerous…"

She opened her eyes. They were red, and they had a sort of sharp look to them that surprised Brandon. "…If it's so dangerous, then how did we make it here?" she asked, lifting her gaze to him.

He was taken aback. "Well… I don't know… How did you get here…?"

"Exactly…" The girl sighed. "I'm not as helpless as I look, you know… Looks can be deceiving."

"…What's your name?" Brandon asked, uncertainly.

She paused for a moment, as if considering whether it was worth answering. The whole time, the Abra at her side remained motionless. Finally, she said, "…My name is Jade."

Brandon blinked. After a moment, his brain made the connection. "…Wait, you mean…"

The girl nodded. "I've been waiting for you, Brandon."

"How do you know my name?"

"I've heard about you… You've made quite a name for yourself. You're the champion of Sinnoh, a master trainer… I knew that eventually, you would come here."

Brandon paused. "…Well, I guess… Er, you're really a girl?"

"…Yes."

"…Wow."

She sighed. "Are you going to be stuck on that all day? Or… was there something you wanted to do?"

Brandon nodded. "Sorry. Uh, anyway… I challenge you to a battle, using six Pokemon each."

"I accept." The girl smiled for the first time. "Hopefully you'll be a challenge for me, Brandon… But first, we should go somewhere brighter."

Brandon glanced back the way he'd come. "Er, do you want to get out of the cave? There's a little field just across the river outside…"

"No." She shook her head and glanced down at the Abra. "That would take too long… Abra, you know what to do."

The Abra opened its eyes, revealing them to be red, just like the girl's. "Yes, ma'am," said a voice in Brandon's mind, which he knew came from the Abra. The voice gave him the feeling that it was female, for whatever reason.

Brandon stared. "Your Abra can talk?"

The next moment everything was engulfed in a flash of light. Brandon lost all sensations for a split second, feeling as if his entire body had gone numb at once, and then his feeling was restored. He was, however, still unable to move any part of his body. What the heck is this…?!

The light suddenly faded, and Brandon could see again. He blinked and turned to look around at his surroundings.

Around him were many trees, and he could hear the sounds of Pokemon calling. Leaves rustled, branches snapped, and from somewhere nearby came the sound of waves crashing on a shore. Under him was a dirt path, which ran back through the trees, turned a corner, and vanished. Everything was brightly lit by sunlight.

A few feet away, the girl, Jade, was standing, watching him. He looked at her. "…This is near Twinleaf Town," he said flatly.

She nodded.

"That's in Sinnoh."

Another nod.

"We were just in Kanto. How did you…?"

Jade glanced at the Abra which was again sitting at her side. "Explain it to him, Abra."

The Abra lifted its head but did not reopen its eyes. "It was only a Teleport. I do it all the time… I can think of any place on the globe, and take myself there instantly. My range is a bit more limited with passengers, and this was actually near the edge of my range, but I sensed that this place had special significance to you. That was why I chose it."

Brandon's eyes widened. "That's amazing… But yes. This was where I was born and grew up."

Jade tilted her head. "So…" she began, "Do you want to battle? This place makes a good battlefield…"

"Oh, right." Brandon reached into his backpack and took out a Poke Ball. "Will you be using Abra?" He was confident that even with its awesome Teleporting powers, he could still easily defeat the small fox Pokemon. After all, it was only an Abra, and they weren't that strong.

"Oh, no, I usually only use Abra for Teleporting…" Jade said, shaking her head. She reached into a pocket on her robe and produced a black and yellow ball, an Ultra Ball. "Let's finish this quickly, I have some training to do…"

"Hmph." Brandon pressed the button on his Poke Ball, and it opened, releasing a Pokemon with a flash of light. His Pokemon was a small, white one, with a shape reminiscent of a cloud. "Ara, get ready," he told his Castform.

"…'Ara'? You name your Pokemon… that's cute." With a flash of light, Jade released a Pokemon from her Ultra Ball. It was four-legged, with black claws, a black face, and a black blade attached to its head. It growled and crouched low, anticipating a fight.

Brandon ignored her comment and instead focused on her Pokemon. "An Absol? That's pretty good, but it's no match for Ara."

Jade watched coolly. "I was actually hoping to get some training in for Absol… Try not to lose too quickly, okay?"

"Yeah, right. Let's go." Brandon looked at his Pokemon. "Rain Dance!" he commanded.

"Absol, Swords Dance," Jade ordered.

And the battle commenced.