"Once, there was a small, quiet boy from a small, quiet town. He had jet black hair and crimson eyes that were, oddly enough, completely natural. I see the look in your eyes, you associate these colors with villainy and tyranny and evil-doers, but I assure you, this boy was none of those. No, he was not a villain. He would grow up to become a great hero, in fact. He had a mother who loved him and a friend who motivated him.
"Yes, you know who I'm talking about by now, don't you? Red. The great, legendary Red. He did not talk much, which was alright. Green did enough talking for the both of them. His mother cared for him enough for both parents. His father died when Red was at a young age, and life was hard, but, as was customary of his hometown, Pallet Town, he received his first Pokemon at the age of twelve from Professor Oak, and went on his way.
"On his journey, he encountered Green Oak, who was not only a friend, but a rival. A motivator, as I said before. He challenged him along the way, testing his strength, and Red prevailed every time, in his own quiet manner.
"So it was that four years ago, around this time in the heat of the summer, Red left Pallet Town with Pikachu to chase after an adventure that would take him to the top of the world. Quite literally. After beating all eight of our gym leaders here in Kanto - who are here with us today, save Giovanni - being challenged by Green Oak on numerous occasions and somehow coming out unscathed, and taking down the evil organization Team Rocket and its all-powerful leader, Giovanni, single-handedly, iall at the age of twelve,/i it was then that he challenged the Elite Four.
"It was like an epic poem of Homer that he came in and took down all four top-notch trainers and continued to challenge the Champion to find it was his dear friend and rival Green. Green had only been Champion for a few minutes, and Red came in and took it from him without speaking a single sentence. It was like a horrible nightmare, but Green accepted it without a fight, for once.
"Red became bored. He didn't enjoy trainers coming infrequently just to be disappointed, just like he felt like he disappointed Green. Red didn't vocalize this, it was spoken with his eyes, and Green, being the closest person to him, knew best how to read him. Red hated being cooped up in a room all day, to do nothing but sit around and grow fat and restless. So, he escaped. The next man to challenge him put up a decent fight, so Red allowed him to sit in the Champion's throne while Red would flee to Mount Silver and regain his ability to run around and be a child again.
"It was up there, at the highest point of the mountain, where Red would die. Green, frightened at the thought of Red getting lost up there, which, in my opinion, was silly. But, he was his best friend, and Green a was concerned, and decided to go and journey to find him. It was two weeks before he found Red.
"He found his tracks and marched along, following Red's path, until the footprints suddenly ended. Green, in a split second, panicked, and had a vision of great meaning.
"It was snowy. Red stood, facing the other direction. When Green slowly approached him, and tapped him on the shoulder, Red turned around. Red smiled. Green was scared out of his wits, wondering what in the world was wrong with him. His friend's skin was ice cold, and he wasn't wearing a jacket up here on this wretched mountain. The snow hit his face and melted, but when it hit Red, it didn't melt, it just began to pile upon his shoulders.
"Red smiled at Green, and began to talk. He talked to Green now more than he ever had done in his life. He said, 'Green, you are my closest friend. I didn't want that other boy to be the one to find my body, so I challenged him to a battle, hoping he'd be driven away each time I beat him, but instead, he kept persisting. When he finally won, I let him go peacefully. Green, this boy, Gold. I want you to find him after you find me. I want you to bestow upon him my blessing. Tell him to go out in the world and change it for the better with his words and acts of kindness, something I could never do.'
"But Green cried, not only because his friend had just revealed to him that he was dead, but that he thought so little of himself. Green was about to speak, to tell him that he was wrong, but found himself unable to. Red touched him on the shoulder, and said, 'Go now.' And when Green awoke, he was laid before the frozen corpse of this young boy, frozen at the age of sixteen like a popsicle on Mt. Silver.
"What is the point of this story, may I ask you? And how do iI/i know all of this? Well, in truth, this was written by Green, and he didn't give me a reason for the story, because I can assume my own. The point of this story is to show that Red loved and was loved. Remember him always. Keep him in your thoughts and your memories, not for his legendary feats, but for his kindness and his caring heart. Now, please, bow with me in prayer."
In the audience, Green shifted and bowed his head lower than it already was, to signify that he was indeed praying and not just hiding his tears. He held Red's mother's hand and trembled.
The legend was dead.