Disclaimer: I don't own Pokemon
One man stood upon the summit of Mount Silver.
Day in and day out, his thin form would stand in silent protest against the bone-chilling wind that raged relentlessly. His dull red eyes would constantly gaze out into the blank blue sky, waiting, but not for anything in particular.
The pale-skinned teenager was a myth to many. The stories always told of the exploits of a boy with a blood red cap who became the champion of the Pokemon League, single-handedly defeated an evil crime organization, and caught every single Pokemon in Kanto.
All accomplished at the tender age of ten.
The stories just stop there with his supposed disappearance. Very few have actually witnessed what has been dubbed as the 'Phantom of Mount Silver' before having their whole team knocked out by pokemon trained by the relentless cold.
Even fewer have made it back down alive to tell the tale.
Now, he stood as a symbol of the dreams of young, aspiring trainers. The fabled holy grail hidden in a forgotten temple waiting to be found. The summit atop the harsh mountain only the strongest and the most determined can scale.
But Red knew they shouldn't want his life. No one should. No one should want a life where all you do is pursue power, walk down a forever lengthening road just to partially quench an infinite thirst. No one should want a life where the only human friend you have is the dark shadow against the clean, white snow.
No one should want a life where all you are is an empty, heartbroken shell that spends its days rotting under cold sunlight atop a winter wasteland.
Red closed his eyes for a moment, feeling a cool blast hit his pale face as he recounted the events that led to his self-imposed exile.
XxFlashbackxX
Pikachu purred in content as its trainer ran a warm, soft hand down its small back, its red cheeks sparking lightly in comfort. But Red wasn't paying attention to the tiny yellow mouse.
His crimson eyes were fixed upon the golden trophy standing atop his desk. The lemon yellow sunlight streaking through the windows bounced of the trophy's spotless surface, illuminating the room with its lustre. The culmination of his efforts. The fruits of his and his Pokemon's training. The end of the long, winding road he walked on for the past year.
And what made it even better was that he beat Blue for it. Blue, his rival for much more than just pokemon battling. They were rivals for pretty much everything.
Even rivals over the same girl.
"Red!" A familiar girlish voice said from downstairs, accompanied by light footsteps.
Speak of the devil.
Red tore his gaze away from his prize, his gaze falling on the girl that called his name a few moments ago. He allowed himself to smile. The girl, Leaf, wore her usual outfit; blue singlet, red miniskirt, complete with a clean white wide-brimmed hat that covered the top part of her long, shiny brown hair.
Leaf's smile turned into a frown as she saw the clothes, books, and various other nitbits strewn all over the brown hardwood floor. "Are you ever gonna clean up your room?" She asked rhetorically.
Red simply shrugged in response. Pikachu had noticed the visitor and gave her a cute "Pika pikachu" along with a small wave as a greeting.
Leaf smiled brightly at Pika "Well hello to you too!". She gave the small pokemon a pat on the head before joining Red on the floor.
"Congratulations champ!" She said energetically.
Red rubbed the black hair at the back of his head. A small pink blush formed in his otherwise pale cheeks.
Leaf slapped his arm playfully "Awwww, no need to be modest. Winning the League isn't a small feat you know."
An akward silence fell upon the two, Leaf running out of things to say to the silent boy. Pika seemed to have left the room, following the attractive scent of food leading downstairs.
"Hey Red?" Leaf blurted out after some time.
Red gave a small nod in response.
"Do you think Blue likes me?". Leaf's cheeks were tinted pink.
Red froze at the question. It seemed at that very moment, the whole world froze around him. Then like glass, it simply breaks into unfixable shards leaving red with a cold, empty feeling inside. He wanted to cry right then, but couldn't do so without arousing suspiscion from his longtime friend.
"Red?" Leaf called quietly.
This seemed to break the young boy out of his trance. He gave her an encouraging smile, complete with a warm hand on her shoulder. He just hoped to Arceus she couldn't see behind his smile.
Leaf smiled at him, then wrapped her pale, thin arms around his neck. "Thanks Red! I'll go tell him right now!". With that, she got up and skipped down the stairs and out of his house.
It was quiet for a few minutes save for the cheerful chirps of the wild pidgey outside. Then, the reality of the situation finally hits Red straight in the gut like a fist coming from a hitmonchan.
Finally, he let a single tear, a single tiny droplet, fall from his eye onto the cold wood floor.
Yet, something sparked within his broken form.
Dragonite shook in obvious fatigue before falling over in defeat. "Thank you, Dragonite." Lance said before pressing a button in the pokeball, a red beam of light shooting out, absorbing the large, yellow winged reptile.
Even as the sound of applause resonated around him, even as his Charizard stood, bruised but strong, as his final Pokemon, Red wasn't satisfied.
Lance walked up to him, black cape waving as he did. "Good battle, Red." He stuck out his strong hand which Red took.
It was then Red decided that the battle was too close for comfort, for two reasons. The first was his concern for his Pokemon. If only they were stronger they, his allies, his friends, his brothers, wouldn't have been hurt as much.
The second was reason was more selfish. Much, much more selfish.
He wanted to defeat his opponents, but not just defeat them. He wanted to crush them in the palm of his hands, relentlessly rip them into tiny microscopic shreds, maul them mercilessly into a bloody, broken pulp.
Just like what he had done with Team Rocket a year ago.
He didn't know where the roots of this desire lay, but it didn't matter. What mattered was that he wanted it. The prospect just seemed to seduce him like no other.
And as his crimson eyes watched Lance retreat into the dark passage in the other side of the stadium, he decided to heed its tempting call.
And he knew the perfect place to gain the power he craved. He knew he'd have to give up the life he led now, virtually everything, to walk down his chosen path.
But as he recalled Leaf's confession, he was convinced he wouldn't have much to give up anyways.
XxFlashback EndxX
And now, he knew he was happy where he was. But that didn't mean he was content. Proud of his Pokemon, but not disappointed.
The bright sky darkened. Red looked up, finding wispy black clouds moving atop, blocking out the little sunlight that had struggled towards the soft, snowy ground. The winds sped up, howling painfully as it passed. But Red made no move to retreat into the dark, damp caverns of Mount Silver.
After all, how could you feel cold when you are made of it?
Squish. Squish
Footsteps sounded behind Red. It was quiet due to the wind's pained screams, but the teenager heard it nonetheless.
He knew what the person was here for. A challenger for his title, a skeptic of his existence.
But to Red, they were all the same. All he saw his challengers as were oppurtunities to get stronger, stepping stones in his neverending pursuit of power.
He heard the footsteps stop a few paces behind him. The wind's howls transformed into screeches pleading for relief from its apparent pain.
"Red?" the person called. Red froze at the girlish voice that uttered his name. He turned around, confirming his suspiscions.
There she was, bundled up in a puffy light blue jacket and light blue jeans. Her long brown hair dancing with the wind, white wide-brimmed hat holding the few calm strands of hair in place. She gazed at Red with soft green eyes.
Leaf.
Red's eyes widened slightly before hardening. Here she was, a demon from his past. Yet, she looked the furthest from what anyone would call a demon. To Red, even after all these years, she looked like an angel.
But for Red, this was an opportunity to banish past demons, free to walk down his neverending power-hungry road. All he had to do was beat her, right here right now, in an all-or-nothing Pokemon battle.
"Red, I f-f-finally f-found you." Leaf said, her voice wavering in the midst of the relentless cold. Her eyes hardened as she steeled her resolve "I'm here to bring you home."
But Red did not listen. Instead, he reached into the holster of his belt.
When he found a particular pokeball, he threw it in between him and Leaf with all his might.
(A/N): This is my first short story on the character of Red. To me, Red (game) is a blank state and it is up to the author to determine his character.
So anyways, try to find something I could improve on, even if you have to be nitpicky. I don't care. If you have constructive criticism, feel free to tell. I'm writing as practice for my English class.
So, I'm going to stamp this as complete unless anyone wants me to continue.
Ciao
Update: Just cleaned up a few errors