I've been here for one full year! How time flies! It's been a great year, and I thought of doing something interesting for the occasion; you don't become a registered member for a solid year everyday, right? So with that in mind, I'm dedicating this oneshot to today!

Just a reminder: I know that I'm normally writing Pokémon Special, so here's another reminder that this story contains SoulSilver and not BlackSoul, meaning that this chapter uses Silver's game counterpart (more specifically, his HeartGold/SoulSilver counterpart) and not his PokeSpe counterpart.

Inspired by an idea I've been toying with for a while now… as in, the past three months or so… special thanks and recognition goes to my friend Namitaa776 who helped me get started with writing here in general; if it weren't for her I may not be here!

Special thanks to Reiriniverse on Tumblr for making and giving the cover image.

Disclaimer: I don't own Pokémon

"FERALIGATR!" the terror in the red haired boy's voice was clear as day as he was forced to watch his beloved Pokémon take the tremendous attack head on, powerless to do anything to help.

The nearly two and a half meter tall blue Pokémon cried out in pain as the blast hit it, thick smoke rising as a result of the tremendous Hyper Beam attack soon after. As the trainers on both sides waited impatiently for the smoke to clear, Feraligatr's trainer couldn't help but feel his clenched fist tremble.

The smoke cleared a few seconds later, allowing both combatants to see Feraligatr's condition.

It was only a split second later that the distinct dull sound of knees meeting tiles reverberated through the room.

"Feraligatr is unable to battle, the winner is Dragonite!" the referee's words only served to rub salt in the wound of the red haired trainer. Raising one of the flags that he was holding in the direction of the red haired trainer's opponent, the referee continued, "All six Pokémon of the challenger are unable to battle! This means that the winner, and still champion of the Pokémon League, is Wataru the Dragon Tamer!"

A few seconds of silence followed, nobody willing to break it as all occupants of the room remain unmoving. Eventually, with the other two people in the room still rooted to their respective spots, the winning trainer slowly made his way to his opponent. The footsteps of Wataru's boots felt as loud as gunshots in the deathly silence of the room as both challenger and referee didn't make a sound.

Bending down slightly in his knees as soon as he neared the challenger, the cape wearing, carmine haired trainer offered a friendly gloved hand to the red haired trainer on the ground.

"You've fought well Silver," the red haired trainer's opponent said, "But I get the feeling that you were too distracted throughout the battle. You won't be able to win if you can't keep your head in the game. I'll be more than willing to face you again when you think you're ready."

"Enough…"

Silver made the air in the room drop several degrees in temperature simply by muttering that one word, instantly shutting up the older of the two combatants. This did not go unnoticed by either Wataru or the referee, with the latter even taking a step or two away from Silver. Even Wataru retracted his hand and rubbed his arms in a desperate effort to generate a bit of warmth for himself.

"Silver, you really did well and —"

"I SAID ENOUGH!"

A powerful shout made both Wataru and the referee flinch, both adults wasting no time to back away from the trembling teenager. Gritting his teeth, Silver recalled his unconscious Feraligatr and turned around without a word or meeting the eyes of either Wataru or the referee. He would have made a run for it, too, had it not been for the hand that had a firm grip on his shoulder.

"Now you listen here kid, that is absolutely no way to treat the Pokémon League Champion!" the referee shouted angrily.

"Let him go…" Wataru cut him off, no hints of anger or anything evident in his voice. Instead, the carmine haired trainer looked visible distraught as the words left his mouth.

"But Wataru, sir —" the referee began only to be interrupted.

"You heard me: let. him. go." Wataru punctuated each word with a short pause that lasted a fraction of a second. Even so, the short pauses in his speech had the intended effect that the dragon tamer wanted.

The carmine haired champion looked the referee straight in the eyes and nodded once. Receiving the message, the referee begrudgingly let go off Silver's shoulder completely.

Without sparing either of them another glance or muttering even a single word, Silver broke into a run down the hallway of which he came from.

"Why did you forgive him so easily? He was out of turn, sir!" the referee confronted Wataru as soon as Silver was out of earshot, the champion only sighing after hearing the question that was thrown his way.

"Because I know what he is going through," Wataru began matter-of-factly, almost as if he had prepared his answer hours in advance. His reply definitely caught the referee's interest and undivided attention, something that didn't go unnoticed, so the dragon tamer continued, "And because he is that Silver. I'm sure you know about him?"

"Now that you mention it…" the referee trailed off, deep in thought, before realization dawned upon him only a few seconds later, "Wait, don't tell me… does that mean — ?"

"It does…" Wataru muttered sadly, enlarging his Dragonite's Ultra Ball and recalling the mighty beast after having fought a close match. Turning around as if to walk back as well, the Champion continued with a sigh, "If you know about that then you know that he doesn't mean to be that way. Don't hold it against him."

"Right…" the referee retreated, feeling slightly ashamed of himself for stepping out of line now that he knew who the challenger was. With his gaze still lingering in the direction that Silver ran off in, the referee's features softened considerably, "Poor kid…"

"Your Pokémon are all healed up and —" the pink haired nurse announced cheerfully, holding a tray of Pokéballs in her hands as she walked up to the only person in the Pokémon Center.

"Thanks." Silver muttered, interrupting the nurse's words and grabbing his Pokéballs from the tray. Making sure to clip them securely on his belt, the red haired trainer made his way to the door with both hands in his pockets. Before he could exit, however, the nurse called out to him.

"Are you planning to go out again at this hour?" she asked, concern filling her voice as she rushed to Silver's side. What surprised the nurse more than the fact that she was ignored was the impatient look on the red head's face, "How about you rest here for the night and —"

"Thanks for the offer…" Silver sighed with his eyes closed, cutting the nurse mid-sentence. With a deep breath, Silver opened his eyes before directing them towards the nurse's, "But no thank you."

Without wasting another second, Silver had opened the door and exited the Pokémon Center, leaving a very shocked nurse behind.

"Those eyes…" the nurse trailed off in shock, caught off guard by the glint in the redhead's eyes as he left the building, "I can't imagine the pain that he's hiding behind them…"

It wasn't long after leaving the Pokémon Center that the seventeen-year-old male found himself on the very top of a mountain peak, watching the pure-white snow dance majestically towards the ground below. Sitting there all alone, the redhead winced slightly as the conditions of the mountain peak were far from desirable.

The redhead decided on the wrong time of day to visit the mountain peak as he was caught in the raging snowsquall the moment he reached his destination. Both the raging snowfall and the howling winds prevented the redhead from either seeing or hearing anything.

Despite all of this, Silver didn't make any effort to move away or protect himself more from the elements. Instead, the redhead was apparently content in letting his crimson locks be covered by the frozen droplets as his empty eyes gazed into the distance.

Before he realized what was happening, Silver's recently evolved Weavile had curled up in the redhead's lap, quite content at supplying warmth for his trainer and enjoying the cold air at the same time. It wasn't until Weavile had accidentally retracted his claws that Silver even realized that the Pokémon was in his lap.

"A lot can happen in a month's time, huh Weavile?" Silver muttered lifelessly as soon as he noticed his Pokémon in his lap, slowly stroking his partner's back as the Pokémon let out a content sound whilst leaning more into Silver's touch. With a small smile evident on his lips, Silver continued to talk to himself, "To think it has been a solid month already…"

Weavile, despite knowing what Silver was referring to, remained silent as he let his trainer talk, knowing full well that his trainer needed to talk. It was after trailing off, however, that Silver, too, fell silent, and the only sound that could be heard by either of them was the sound of the dying winds.

Ten minutes passed before the snowsquall finally died off and one of the two finally made a move. Moving gently as to not disturb his sleeping Pokémon, Silver pulled his Weavile off of his lap and into the snow. Once the redhead was free of the weight in his lap, he stood up, dusted off the snow that had stuck onto his hair and clothes and released the other five Pokémon in his party.

Out of the bright flashes of light came the five Pokémon that had been by his side for longer than he could remember, all five of them seemingly caught off guard at being called upon. While Silver's Magneton, Crobat and Gengar appeared to be primarily shocked at being released on a mountain peak, it were his Feraligatr and Alakazam who immediately recognized where they were and were visibly shocked to be called upon on that mountain peak.

Not knowing any better action to do, all six Pokémon, as a grumpy Weavile had joined the little group not long after they were all released, turned to face their trainer.

"Before any of you ask; yes, this is that place…" Silver began, confirming Feraligatr's and Alakazam's worries, and igniting the worries of his other Pokémon, his gaze softening as he turned to look into the distance in pain. A look of pain that was shared by all of his Pokémon once they had fully processed the redhead's words, "You're free to go and do whatever you want to do now."

The expression on Silver's Pokémon changed to varying degrees of shock as soon as they recognized what Silver had said. Silver waited patiently for his Pokémon, any of them, to make a move for what could have been hours. It was when none of his Pokémon moved an inch after hearing his command that the redhead lost it.

"Well?! What are you all waiting for?!" Silver shouted angrily at his team, "I don't need any of you! Isn't this what you've wanted all along? To be away from me?! Now's your chance! GO!"

Silver mentally cursed himself as his legs chose that exact moment to give in, forcing the redhead to fall forward and into the snow. If it weren't for his quick reflexes, Silver would have found his face buried deep into the snow. Even so, for Silver, it was bad enough that his legs and arms were completely buried in the snow, finding out the hard way that the earlier snowsquall brought with it a thick layer of snow on the ground.

Unable to find the strength to move or even hide his anguish from the Pokémon in front of him, Silver was forced to stay in that position. Silver was forced to show the ones who had been by his side to see him break down.

Silver's trembling figure remained in that same position for what could have been hours. It was only after hearing the crunching of snow that the redhead began to control his breathing. What the redhead had not expected was the fact that the source of the sound was closing in on him.

Looking up with an almost inaudible gasp, one that none of his Pokémon missed, Silver was shocked to see the crestfallen looks on his Pokémon. What shocked him even more, however, was the fact that they all moved in to help him up back on his feet before huddling closer to their trainer.

"Why…?" Silver managed, wiping his eyes with his sleeves to make sure that they were dry, "Why stay… with me…?"

"Isn't it obvious, Silver?" a voice called out from behind him, causing Silver to turn on his heel to face a familiar face. Standing there was a male who looked like he was Silver's equal in both height and age, wearing a red coat and scarf despite the snowsquall having died off already. Silver's eyes, however, were focused on the familiar-looking Noctowl that the newcomer was dismounting, instantly recognizing the Pokémon, "I must say that I'm impressed to see that your Sneasel has evolved as well now. You've worked hard, it seems."

"What are you doing here Hibiki?" Silver, instead of answering the question asked by the newcomer, Hibiki, threw a question of his own at him. Rather than focusing his attention on either Hibiki or the Noctowl he had flown on to reach him, Silver's gaze went back to the setting sun in the distance as he lost himself in the view. In an almost inaudible whisper, the redhead quietly added, "You have no reason to be here…"

"That's where you're wrong," Hibiki replied solemnly and, despite the air given off by Silver, took a few steps in the redhead's direction. After he placed a hand on Silver's shoulder, Hibiki continued, "You're going at it wrong… what would Kotone think if she saw you like this right now? Is this really what she would have wanted to see of you?"

"Don't talk about her like you know!" Silver cut him off, angrily knocking Hibiki away as the redhead was now radiating a new set of emotion. Anger… Hatred… Frustration… Agony… but, most of all… Pain… Before even Silver knew what he was doing, he let loose a stream of words that conveyed the one emotion that had been building inside of him for the past month, "What do you know of what she would have liked? What do you know how she would think? She's no more, Hibiki! She's no more! Can't you see?! We'll never know what she wanted!"

Hibiki had remained silent throughout the redhead's tirade, allowing Silver to shout away. Now that the redhead seemed to have finished, however, he stepped in again, "Then… do you really think… that she would be happy… with what you were about to do?"

"What's the point?!" Silver's throat was throbbing from all the shouting that he had done in the past few seconds. Even so, that didn't make the proud redhead falter even in the slightest, "What's the point of doing it your way?!"

"The point of doing it my way…" the start of Hibiki's response was muttered slowly as he stepped forward while enlarging the PokéBall in his left hand at the same time. With no trace left of the usual carefree nature in the youth, Hibiki's glare was enough to make Silver take an unconscious step back, "Is that I know that Kotone wouldn't have wanted for you to become what you are right now, Silver. She wouldn't have wanted you to do what you were about to do. She would've wanted to see you soar! Even if she couldn't fly by your side, she of all people would have wanted to see reach beyond the skies above! You should know that better than anyone, Silver!"

"I can't!" Silver admitted through gritted teeth, clenching his hands into tight fists as the redhead looked to the side, clearly in a painful mental struggle. A short period of silence followed between the two trainers before Silver's namesake colored eyes dulled and the redhead softly muttered, "It's too late…"

"It's not!" Hibiki exclaimed, rushing forward as he grabbed both of Silver's shoulders. The redhead, however, didn't even flinch at the sudden contact, "It's never too late, Silver! Come on, please… let's just… let's go home… this isn't what Kotone would have wanted."

"You're wrong… it is too late…" Silver sighed, a dark smile forming on his lips as he slowly removed the hands on his shoulders and took a step back to distance himself from Hibiki, "You're always late… back then… time and time again… even now…"

"Silver?" Hibiki breathed out, not understanding where the redhead was going with this line of thought.

"This fight… this struggle…" Silver continued lifelessly as he slowly took more steps back, "What's it all for…? Why am I still fighting this losing battle…? Why are there people who still support a weakling like me…? Why care for a weakling like me?"

It was only then that Hibiki realized that Silver was only one step away from the peak's edge. Even after breaking into a frantic sprint, all seven Pokémon wasting no time to follow his lead, Hibiki knew that he realized it a second too late, "Silver! No! Don't do this!"

"As my Pokémon didn't want to return to the wild, I guess that I have no choice but to leave them with you…" Silver smiled, locking his gaze with Hibiki's. With a final, sincere smile, Silver took another step back in the snow. The redhead found himself teetering on the edge of the mind after taking that last step. With his gaze focused completely on the running Hibiki and the smile still on his lips, Silver muttered his last words, "Thank you for believing me… for so long… and… I'm sorry…"

As soon as the redhead finished talking, he closed his eyes, spread his arms wide and let himself fall backwards.

"SILVER!"

A blood-curdling scream rang through the building and, not even a second later, was followed by the sound of a pair of hurried footsteps that were hastily making their way down the hallway. It wasn't long before one of the many doors in the hallway was slammed open and a male who appeared to be in his late teens came rushing into the room. Sporting a black trench coat and purple pants, the young man wasted no time in getting to the bed that was in the corner of the room.

Occupying the bed was a fair-toned girl of about his age with brown hair that reached halfway down her back. The brunette was sitting upright and was shaking uncontrollably, her clothing drenched in sweat and the blanket laying in a messy heap on the ground.

"What's wro —" the red haired male began in alarm as he rushed over to the bed, only to find himself trapped in a spine-crushing bear hug by the brunette. Flinching slightly at the sudden, unexpected action of the brunette, the red head soon found himself returning the hug, albeit much gentler, "It's all right… I'm here… I'm here… it was just a nightma —"

"Don't leave me!" the brunette cut the taller redhead off, burying her head in his shoulder as she clung onto him with all her remaining strength, "Don't… please… please… don't leave me…"

"I won't." the redhead responded, not wasting any time to give his answer.

"And please…" the brunette added softly, tightening her hold on the redhead as she buried her face deeper into his shoulder, "Don't kill yourself if… if something happens to me… please! Silver…"

"I won't," Silver breathed out softly, his fingers roaming freely towards the brunette's hair. Before either of them realized it, Silver found his fingers comb through the brunette's hair almost mechanically. This small action visibly calmed the brunette down, and Silver let out a sigh of relief once he realized this, "You need to rest again… do you want me to stay with you?"

"Yes please…" a soft reply came, muffled by Silver's coat as the brunette's face was still buried in it. The shorter brunette showed no signs of letting go of her lifeline anytime soon as she was visibly finding comfort in the redhead's presence.

This was all the reply that Silver needed. Gently guiding the trembling figure in his arms to lay back down on the bed, the two savored the familiar touch of the other person's skin as they fell into slumber together.

A few minutes later, the only sound that could be heard in the room were the synchronized breathing of the two sleeping figures and the soft, rhythmic beeping of the machine by the bedside.

Unbeknownst to the two young adults in the room, a familiar male of about their age was watching the two from the door with a wide grin on his face. His breathing was heavy, hinting at a previous sprint of his own, though he was visibly relieved to see the scene in front of him.

Without any warning whatsoever, the sound of the young male's PokéGear made a quick end to the peaceful, serene air of the room.

"Hibiki! What's going on over there?"

"Nothing, really…" the male, Hibiki, responded with a smile despite the hand on top of his heart. As his eyes landed on the cuddling couple in the room one more time, Hibiki closed the door slowly before letting out the breath he didn't know he was holding. It was only then that he remembered that the call was still on.

"Kotone just had a nightmare, apparently, but Silver has already taken care of it before I even got here," Hibiki elaborated, his free hand behind his head as he slowly walked down the corridor, "Everything is going to be fine, Utsugi-hakase. It's that Silver and Kotone, after all. If anyone could handle something thrown their way it is them without a doubt!"

Special thanks to LightZephyr for suggesting this type of fic for my one-year anniversary here.

For those who are unfamiliar with the Japanese names of the Pokémon characters: Wataru – Lance, Kotone – Lyra, Hibiki – Ethan, Utsugi-hakase – Professor Elm. Interestingly enough, Silver's name is the same in both English and Japanese.

A year sure passed by quickly… it is still quite hard to fathom at how much has happened in a year… at how many great people I have met here on and through fanfiction in just a year's worth of time… I can't describe in words just how grateful I am for, well, everything, really! All I can say is 'thank you', 'I hope you will continue to support me' and 'I hope that I can keep up to reach out to everybody'! Have a great day everybody!