Snow. Nothing but cold white snow surrounded the landscape. From his perch, all he saw was the blistering cold. The mountain that had been his home for years offered nothing but intense blizzards and painful frostbite. His battered hat was heavy, covered in snow. His brown eyes stared lazily into the empty world.
"Pika?"
Red turned to his right and grinned as Pikachu faced him. The little mouse Pokemon had stayed by his side from the very first Pidgey to Lance's final Dragonite. Pikachu had always been his favorite, ever since Professor Oak brought the two together. Friendship between Pokemon and their trainer is essential to any battler's life, and the bond between the silent teen and his electric mouse was unbreakable. Countless battles, unending roads, growing memories. Red was a part of Pikachu as much as Pikachu was a part of him. Stubborn, persistent, unchanging. The pair respected each other's tenacity and grew because of it.
Looking past his starter, he spotted his Charizard diligently guarding their rear. Years of experience had hardened this creature; its bright and hot blue flamed tail was a testament to the harsh training he underwent. Yet despite his ferocious appearance, he was Red's most loyal and caring team member, next to Pikachu. Red sometimes remembers the small and cheerful Charmander that he found near Bill's house, swelling in pride as one of his oldest friends transformed into the ferocious powerhouse he has become.
Not far from Charizard lay Blastoise, hidden within his shell, most likely sleeping. The turtle Pokemon should've died from the frigid temperatures, but despite Red's most caring glares, Blastoise trudged on with his trainer, never leaving his side for even a moment, just as he was as a Squirtle. Its unlimited water supply was a godsend for the team. Each sip of water, a reminder to Red and his Pokemon of how lucky they are to have Blastoise by their side.
Sleeping on Blastoise's shell lay Snorlax. This mountain had once blocked the route from Celadon to Cycling Road, being a nuisance to the town's folk, and slowly sabotaging their economy. At least until Red came along with his Poke Flute. After hours of grueling battle, Red finally caught the fat normal type Pokemon, and that painful experience was more than enough to convince Red that Snorlax was an excellent addition to his team. In the years he's been traveling with Red, he grew past his lax nature and is battle ready at a moment's notice; Snorlax eagerly awaiting the next opportunity to prove his strength.
His last Pokemon was down in the relative safety of the cavern. Blastoise created an artificial lake, and Venusaur was likely bathing at the moment. He took living in Mt. Silver the hardest as the climate and geography was extremely dangerous for his kind. Yet like all ailments, he had grown used to it. Venusaur had come a long way from being a grumpy little Bulbasaur. He was a loud and troublesome little creature, yet Red saw potential for greatness in the Pokemon, and went through great lengths to hone Bulbasaur's edge into a powerful Venusaur. Venusaur, now a more mature creature, spends his time meditating with Red under the starry sky in the deathly cold, basking in the timelessness of their company.
His last ... Pokemon ... Red frowned at the thought. Pikachu picked up on his trainer's mood and jumped onto his shoulder. He knew what Red was thinking about, his late Espeon. Eevee had been a gift from Blue back when Red was still traveling Kanto. He was a rambunctious Pokemon, and Red grew to care for him just like the rest of his team. Eevee evolved into an Espeon a mere day before Red made his trek into Mt. Silver. But Espeon never reached the top. The wild Pokemon were relentless in their attacks. Red's team blasted through, desperately fending off the powerful creatures within. Onixs, Gravelers, Golems, Golbats. More and more feral monsters tore away at Red's defenses. Each of his friends desperately fighting for their lives, all praying Red could find an opening ... including himself. Backed into a corner, Espeon, against Red's orders, threw out his Last Resort, clearing a way for his friends to escape, and draining every last ounce of energy in his tiny frame in the process. Red grabbed Espeon and raced to the top of Mt. Silver with his allies, desperately hoping that there was something at the top to heal the brave Pokemon. Red kneeled at the top of the Mt. Silver, searching through his bag, desperately hoping that a stray Potion or Escape Rope would be there. Charizard couldn't fly, the exit was too far away, nothing could be done. Hope drained away, all he could do was watch. Watch his friend die slowly and painfully. Each member of the team roared in mourning for the loss of their little brother.
Red stared at the snow, Pikachu sharing the pain. Red had been furious, outraged. Months turned into years as Red thought of more ways that he could have saved Espeon. Before the attack, during the attack, even after it. Yet the years showed Red that anger meant nothing. That anger and desperation led to Espeon passing in the first place. Now, he knew better. There was only one way to stop this from ever happening to anyone he cared about again. They had to get stronger.
In the four years that followed, Red trained his team fiercely and tactfully. He came to Mt. Silver to find a true challenge. Despite Lance giving his team a fair run, no Dragonite could hope to keep up with Pikachu's nightmarish speed and deadly Thunders. Blue had been even stronger, yet he too fell before Venusaur's mighty Solar Beam. Blue was the last to see Red before his long disappearance. A simple nod to Blue conveyed only a single message. Acknowledgement. To this day, he is still unsure of what Red was acknowledging to him.
All these memories ... he could never forget his Mom. It had been so long since he had seen her, around five or six years. The last time he had seen her, he was at the Johto League Champion. Even that visit was short and painful. And that was one of his last contacts with civilization before training on top Mt. Silver. Not a single person dared challenge him. Few even dared challenge Mt. Silver. Yet now, Red found even the fabled Mt. Silver nothing more than mild entertainment.
Red couldn't stand it any longer. Stagnation was the worst of all fates for a Pokemon trainer, and Red needed to discover something new. Perhaps the four years changed not just him but also the world. New gyms, new leaders, new champions. There had been rumors about new regions in the past, perhaps those rumors proved true. This couldn't be it for him, there had to be more.
Red stood, slowly as to not jolt Pikachu and motioned for his team to follow. Charizard perked at the sound of crunching snow and roared to wake up Blastoise and Snorlax. Venusaur walked out of the cavern, curious to know what all this fuss was about.
There the grave stood. Red lowered his hat as memories flooded his mind once more. He knelt down, careful not to crush the beautiful white snow under his feet. Looking back, he motioned for Charizard to come up as he placed his finger on the stalactite. Charizard watched carefully, memorizing the lines and curves Red's finger made on the hard stone. When Red finished, Charizard dug his sharp claw into the rock, mimicking Red's motions. Once done, Charizard backpedaled besides his teammates. Red stood in front of the grave. Mourning, one last time.
Let it go
It was hard, but this place held no more opportunities for him nor his team.
A violent gust of wind blew past him, and he immediately grabbed his red cap, making sure it didn't fly off. As he did, he felt its material, wasting away and falling apart. He stared at his hat, confused. This was the last gift his mother had given him, and he cherished the gift every second since he got it. But now, it felt wrong.
Glancing at the grave, he made up his mind. Stabbing the cap into the stalactite, it fit perfectly. It's marred red color and small holes matched the broken look fo the rock. Red felt the wind blowing through his hair. Now, it felt right.
Red let out a silent sigh as he finally started to move. He went back into the cavern that had been his home for four years and grabbed his pack. It too was worn from years of use, but it didn't matter. Red figured he would get a new one once he was down. Grabbing his Pokeballs from his belt, he recalled Snorlax, Blastoise, and Venusaur. Charizard growled in confusion. They hadn't returned to their Pokeballs in years, why now?
Red walked outside again, past the fire-breathing dragon and ignoring his question. Even Pikachu wasn't sure what to make of Red's actions. Red trudged towards the edge of the summit, Charizard following close behind, Pikachu still on his shoulder. He reached into his pack to find his old Town Map. Luckily, it had survived these harsh conditions and was mostly intact, albeit somewhat illegible. He motioned for Charizard to look at the map, and he pointed to Pallet Town.
Charizard roared in excitement and let out a huge torrent of bright blue flames from the depths of his stomach all the way up into the sky. Red grinned as the fun little Charmander in Charizard surfaced, even for a brief moment. Charizard bent down and Red jumped on his back with Pikachu smiling gleefully, eager to return to their hometown. And like a jet, Charizard dove downwards towards the top of Victory Road.
Hope you enjoyed this fan-fiction. This is actually based off of another fan-fiction titled "A True Champion" By: Shadowyman. While I enjoyed the story that they had written, they stopped writing after only a few chapters. I decided that I wanted to continue the story, but with my own vision on how the story should progress. in other words, while this is inspired by "A True Champion," please don't expect this story to be anything like what Shadowyman had written. The first chapter is very similar since I used their first chapter as a guide, but the second chapter already heavily deviates from the original story, and the following chapters will deviate more.
I would also like to note that this is my first time writing a fan-fiction, and I need as much advice and critiques as humanly possible. Comment what you truly think of the story. How cringy it is, how the grammar isn't up to par, any spelling errors, poor use of diction, sentence structure, etc. I would also appreciate any positives you may find in the story, but it's all up to you.
This series is also meant to be a more realistic portrayal of how Pokemon battles and their society would function. However, I'm heavily limited by my own stupidity, and would appreciate critiques on political, psychological, or logical errors that I make in this chapter and upcoming chapters.