This originally started as a oneshot about Red before his final match with Gold. A few people said they would be interested if I wrote a novelization of Gold/Silver/Crystal, and this is it. Here's the oneshot that started it all:

…: A Pokemon Gold/Silver Oneshot in Red's POV

My foot fell into the loose gravel that layered the mountain trail before me like a thin and creamy fudge frosting on a sweet, sweet ten-layer chocolate cake. The rich taste would always linger in my satisfied mouth as I rubbed my eyes, being blinded as I walked with excited steps through the towering golden arches, bathed within the glorious, brilliant lights of the beautiful Indigo Plateau that defined the cutthroat battles that raged on in front of me in thrilling detail to bring to a conclusion each every perfect birthday as I grew up, my small hands grasping lovingly those of my mom who baked those delectable pastries. My mom who I had left behind for a light I couldn't see.

I trotted along the path carved into the rock that surrounded me, my worn sneakers kicking up stones and dirt, my hand running along the wall as my eyes pierced through the darkness, searching relentlessly for the future that was among my most desperate desires. When you reach the top of world, what else is there left to do? Try to climb higher, obviously. That's why I'm here, scaling the heights of Mt. Silver. Professor Oak told me I would meet my next challenge here. I only hoped he wasn't referring to the wild pokemon as I watched my venusaur mercilessly throw a rhyhorn into the mountain with its mighty vines, leaving the poor rock-type to be buried in the crumbling wall.

I sighed as I continued my trek. Ever since the professor had given me my first pokemon, the venusaur whose victorious roar now shook the ground atop the range dividing Kanto and Johto, I spent my nights fantasizing about that one divine moment that I would stand at the pinnacle of the coveted Pokemon League, brandishing my trophy, my spoils of victory, my proof of ascending to the highest of ranks among pokemon trainers, the champion, the undefeatable master. That far off glimmer in the future, that light I was sure I would one day reach, drove me into battle against thousands of opponents. I was guided to victory by my urge to continue onward to my certain destiny.

That moment finally came when I beat Green in our final battle on the Indigo Plateau. My goal was finally met. I was the greatest trainer, the strongest trainer. No one could beat me. I held tight to my title with an iron fist that couldn't be broken. But maybe that wasn't what I really wanted. I enjoyed every battle I fought as I tried to get to this point. But after I got there, that thrill slowly depreciated with each victory. Maybe part of that thrill is the uncertainty of what's to follow. I wanted to win so that I could move on to my next challenge, and keep going. But from here, where is there left to go? If I win now, I would only fight another battle later for the same goal, again and again.

I continued to walk forward. Professor Oak told me to come here. It was Professor Oak who had set me off on my journey to begin with. My heart beat with a sudden excitement at the thought. Listening to the professor had to be worth it. It almost felt like it was worth it just to be here right now, striding along a mountain path, my shoes digging into ground that, until now, had been unbeaten, to travel into new territory and experience something new, to face the unknown once again as I had three years ago. I didn't know what Professor Oak had in mind for me on this little mission he had given me, and that uncertainty seemed to rekindle the old flame I had before I became the champion.

Yes, this journey was definitely necessary for me to grow even further. It was certainly a fact that humans are just not meant to reach perfection, to be the greatest at their endeavors, to never fail. People live because they believe in what the future has in store for them. However, when that future becomes the present, the glory and feeling of achievement will gradually go away and it eventually becomes a means to an end. A person's will to live must be infinite, but what becomes of that will when that person has no future? People must continue to fail to keep living. I pulled my vest closer to my body as the air around me grew chillier and grinned. So Professor Oak had sent me here to fail.

And now I could see the world expand below me. Here I stood at the top of Mt. Silver, only me and the loyal partners who have fought by my side for the past three years as my only companions at this lonely point on our green globe. I was truly standing on top of the world where no one could reach me. But I couldn't help but feel uneasy. However, with that uneasiness came a sense of excitement that sent my stomach hurling into a fit of somersaults. A feeling I haven't felt in three years. What could this challenge be that Professor Oak was so determined that I fail in? I know it couldn't be my imagination, my anxiety of coming to such a dangerous place. I was destined to fall from the top of the world.

And then he came. Venusaur stirred with low growls, eyeing the path we had come from with such ferocity. I heard the footsteps that bounced off the walls into the darkness as well. It couldn't be a wild pokemon. No wild pokemon had ever gotten Venusaur so excited, not even Mewtwo. I smiled. Professor Oak's challenge had arrived. The boy in the black-and-gold baseball cap looked at me with a fire in his eyes. The old fire I carried three years ago. We didn't need to speak. We knew what we were here for. In a split second, our pokeballs were in our hands before you could blink. A pikachu charged out of my ball, its fur surging with electric sparks, and an aipom out of his, flexing its muscles mockingly at me.

Well now, Professor Oak, let's see just what waits in the future beyond this battle. I won't fall without a fight, Gold!