Disclaimer: Pokemon and its characters are copyright Nintendo, GameFreak and their respected companies.
To Be a Master
God, was it cold.
In all of the world, never once in his life had he felt so nullifying a chill. He tucked one of his hands into his jacket pocket and used the other to shield his eyes from the snow. Out of breath, he spit phlegm out of his mouth and watched it hit the ice and snow, rapidly freezing in the process. How high…?
Good thing he brought a jacket.
It was a numbing experience, exiting the spacious caverns of Mt. Silver, and Blue cursed himself for not preparing for it properly. The sky above was nearly indistinguishable from the snow and only the cave entrance behind him was visible amongst frost and sleet. The opening seemed much larger than it did on the inside, and with his balance in question it felt as if the cavern beckoned him in, inhaling to return its inhabitant back to the safety of the inside. He knew only that his path continued upward, and that he must have been near the peak of the alp.
Attempting not to inhale too much of the glacial drafts, he set his mind to the goal he had been reaching for so many years; his hopes thin as thread, his mind weakened by disappointment. His grip tightened onto rigid icy rock. Balance. With steady movements, he stumbled in the only direction he was sure was not downward.
So cold. Freezing.
The temperature was monstrous to his hands, and he felt the chill of the snow through his shoes. The longer he was outside, the more easily he distinguished mountain from atmosphere. His jacket protected him from the full brunt of death, but he could not last forever in such weather.
Lingering emotions still clung to him…betrayal. Frustration. Concern. All were hollow and mostly absent, yet never did they falter completely. He was not the same man he once was…but could one person remain same without change through tumults so permanent? Not yet broken, hope clutched deeply in his breast with one desperate question always holding out.
Was he here?
He made his way up the peak, and a silhouette gradually took form at the apex of the mountain. A lone figure amongst the blank white frame of snowfall. Blue's eyes were unsure whether they were functioning correctly or not. He pressed forward.
The gap between him and the figure diminished slowly, time weaving a lethargic web that gave the feeling of infinity. Black became color, eyes registered more than simple contrast. A young man, garbed dangerously thin for the altitude, turned stationary toward the edge of what seemed to be infinite emptiness that spelled death.
So he was here.
Convictions held true, and Blue felt his energy return with a warmth and fury that he had not felt in years. His steps became trudging strides, his sluggish movements given purpose. Closer and closer he reached with every step, until…
"I found you."
The reaction was prolonged, given after much thought into its execution. The head of the figure, covered by a worn out baseball cap, gave a slight glance to the side, indicating his awareness of Blue's presence.
"…"
Blue felt the strange urge to chortle despite the freezing breezes. "…Is that really you…Red?"
A momentary pause. Only icy chills were audible. With a slow, prudent gesture he turned toward his childhood friend.
"…What are you doing here…?" His voice rasped and cut through the air. How long…?
Blue could detect those hollow feelings, now reanimating in the wake of the cause. Wounds that had healed opened, amazement transformed into gradual rage. "What am I doing here…? Where…the hell have you been?"
Movements slow. Actions predetermined. "Here." He coughed out, the choke of one with bronchitis and fatigue. "Just here…"
Silence followed, snow blasted all around. Groans of thunder far away.
"Are you mad?" Blue barked. His voice was somewhat nasally through frosty air. "Why in the world would you come to a place like this? What would drive you up this useless mountain?"
"Persistence. Drive. Enlightenment…" He gazed at the icy rock beneath his feet. "Why are you here?"
"To find you, you idiot!" Composure threatened to dissipate. "Do you understand that I've been looking for you all three of these long years?"
No response.
Blue snarled. "Answer me! I went searching and abandoned my post as Champion for you."
A slight twitch of emotion in the stoic countenance. "Doesn't sound like you."
Blue sneered and gave a nasty cackle. "For me? I didn't do it for me, you prick. Do you know how worried everyone became when the Champion of the Indigo Plateau dropped his title and disappeared without a word? Do you understand how worried my grandfather was? Gramps was frightened for you…" He chuckled sourly. "Only your mother was sure that you were fine…"
He garnered no reaction out of Red. Blue closed his eyes in frustration before he received an answer.
"It was something I had to do, Blue…"
"Well, would it have killed ya to at least tell someone before you do these kind of things…?" He shook his head. "But enough yelling at each other. I've finally found you: enough hiding. Let's end this ridiculousness and go see our families."
Red's eyelids gradually drooped closed in thought. "I can't go, Blue."
Emotions flared up once more. "…and why not?" His grit his teeth in exasperation. "Why can you not go home?"
The greatest of trainers twisted back to face the abyss behind. "When I was beginning this quest, I never thought that I would become the best. I dreamed it, and strove for it. But never did I imagine it…" His head tilted down. "…to be a burden."
Blue cried out, "What burden? Just what 'burden' has forced you upon this mountaintop! No burden, only stupidity!"
Red ignored him. "To become the best…yes. That is what I am now. No trainer in Kanto nor Johto could hope to defeat the League Champion. I pushed and pushed to reach the top…only to find that there was nowhere left to go." He faced back toward Blue and the young man saw the first real emotion. Pained agony. "Do you know how it feels to find no more challenge in your dreams? To master your lifelong goal in less than a year?"
"Red, there are other goals in life than just-"
"No!" he interjected, his faint voice quickening. "I reached the top and found that after all that I had nothing but money, a title and fame. What was I to reach for? What was I to strive for? Blue…I am the greatest trainer. There is no challenge, no strife, no difficulty…and as a result I lost myself. There is only one solution…"
Blue growled. "And what is that…?"
"To find out the truth. To become the second greatest trainer. And so I dragged myself atop the most dangerous terrain, the darkest caves, until I found this peak, the epicenter of these regions, and trained here. Until I find that one challenger who can defeat me…" His teeth clenched. "Only then can I leave this mountain in peace."
Determination struck. "Then I will defeat you, and bring you down this mountain myself."
"You cannot do that. Never have you beaten me, Blue. Never."
"Then today will be the first time."
And then they battled, both trainers at their wit's end. A hopeless battle, in truth, for who could defeat such a powerful foe? But Blue struggled and held on until the very end, where defeat graced him with an icy draft that gave no solace to the trampled.
Blue took the loss without any sneers or jeers, unlike any of their battles from previous years. With the defeat, he understood, and felt as if he had seen enlightenment through Red's perspective. He nodded to his adversary, one all too powerful, and turned to return from whence he came. Determination held through his demeanor. Confidence in the form of understanding.
No. He could not defeat Red. Never. But as a Gym Leader, he could find the one. And he made it his goal to save the doomed man of the mountain.
With purpose and strive, he descended. Life had changed.