Red and Gold
What else does one do when one becomes the best, the greatest to ever live? Such a lonely fate for a man whose own unrelenting drive led him to the very fate he curses. Trainers had long been abandoned as no mere man could match his skill in battle, only gods…and soon enough, even the gods fell. He waits atop the icy peak of Mount Silver for a challenger, one to give his life meaning once again. He prayed for a trainer, who would convince him to carry on.
He heard footsteps in the snow nearby.
"You…gotta leave now don't you?" a young blonde girl shyly asked the trainer.
"…" He simply nodded and turned to walk away.
"Battles aren't everything Red…" the girl began to weep silently.
"One day…you will understand." she whispered under her breath.
"….." he stopped for a moment, giving her false hope. Red simply turned back, and gave the girl a slight smile. Then he faded away from her world forever.
Gold searched the world for the one trainer above them all. Countless had fallen to the boy from New Bark, the boy who defeated Rocket once and for all. He searched and searched…Lance…Brock…Misty…Sabrina…Blaine…Green…no one could best him in battle. His weary Typhlosion walked beside him the whole journey…battle after battle…and became one of the strongest pokemon on Earth, strong enough to defeat Suicune, Entei, and Raikou all at once.
"I've heard of a trainer…deep in the mountains…one like you." Professor Oak uttered quietly to the broken Gold.
"Just tell me…will he challenge me?! I need to know if I am truly the best…" Gold cracked from frustration.
"Oh yes…he was the boy…from long ago. The one I gave the Pikachu to. That must've been decades ago..." the old and withered Oak rasped.
"He has to be better than the others…he has to be!" Gold violently tossed his badge case against the wall.
"Trainers like you…come once in a generation my boy…but please, if you do meet the boy one day…" Oak gazed out into his garden.
"Tell him I was proud of him from the beginning." Gold was already half way out of the door, and simply nodded to the request.
The conversation happened over a year ago, and Oak had long since passed on. Gold kept the old professor's words in his soul since the day. What could he have meant? Who is this boy?
"Yeah…now I have officially been defeated twice…here's your badge kid." Green haphazardly flicked the emblem to Gold.
"You…have only lost twice?" Gold caught the trophy and tossed it in his pocket.
"Yeah, and both times have been rough…not even close. Come to think of it you remind me of him. He was champion ya know…long ago."
"Why did he retire?"
"Ha! He simply quit in the middle of a battle he was dominating. He said it just wasn't worth his time anymore…the other guy was declared champion by default." Green snickered lightly to himself.
"He was a proud fool…ran off to train long ago. I haven't seen him in 10 years honestly." the veteran trainer stated.
Anticipation guided the trainer's steps as he drew closer to his ultimate goal. The snow began to fall much faster, turning the battlefield into a hellish blizzard. Bell tolled from the towers of Johto, both new and ancient. A beast of green and yellow flew overhead, flooding the air with a mighty roar. The blistering wind became violent, causing Typhlosion's fur to rustle.
Crunch…Crunch…Crunch…
Every footstep became audible as Gold's heart began to pound faster and faster. The hair on the back of his neck stood on end, awaiting the battle…the final battle.
Crunch…Crunch…Crunch…
The footsteps reverberated through the gusts, captured by the trainer atop the peak. He could not help but wonder who could've found his covert enclave…his sanctuary. The only place he felt truly alive. The only thing the master had ever known was loneliness. No one else could get close enough to touch him…he was too powerful. His adamant pride vanquished every opportunity to make real friends and keep in touch with his family.
Crunch…Crunch…Crunch…
Gold stopped…a figure could be seen through the curtain of snow. He turned his old hat backwards to counter the other man's forward facing headwear.
Crunch…Crunch…Crunch…
Gold continued towards the other trainer at the apex of Mount Silver. The figure became clearer and clearer. A lone Pikachu with tired eyes perched on the man's left shoulder.
The two made eye contact…and in that moment, the world faded around them. All of the disappointment and frustration dissipated in the fleeting seconds of mutual respect, the moment when two people recognize each other as pokemon trainers. All that remained was the battle…it was all that mattered in the end. The battle would decide who the best truly was, but it ran deeper than that…this battle was the culmination of every lonely victory and mundane opponent. Two souls will be forever cleansed of former tortures. Win or lose…this battle signaled a change. Two lost souls…finally found the rival nature truly intended for them.
"Why do you have to do this?!" an irate Crystal demanded answers.
"I have unfinished business." Gold coolly replied.
"What? To become the best? Then what?!" she screamed at the boy.
"It is something I must do." Gold picked up his cap and began to walk away.
"You will be just like the man you've been hunting for so long…alone! Who abandons their friends for a battle?!" Crystal was sobbing into Gold's jacket.
"A person…with something to prove. I'll be back, I promise." Gold smiled and wiped the tears from Crystal's eyes.
"I don't know if I will be here when you get back…" she muttered to herself.
"…" Gold continued to walk, pretending not to hear the girl's last words.
Typhlosion stepped forward, as did Pikachu. They had long since caught on to their trainer's emotions…decades of war…only to battle one more time. The blizzard subsided, creating a certain comfortable silence between the two men. They looked at their respective pokemon, and then gazed back into each other's eyes, and smiled. Let the final battle…begin.
"..."
"…."