I was going to put this out three days ago but I ended up splitting the original draft in two after seeing just how long it was. Unfortunately, that meant I needed to patch up this first half to make sure it could stand alone by itself and that took quite a bit longer than expected. On the bright side, I managed to add in a few extra scenes into what would have originally just been bits of exposition. Hope you enjoy!

Note: I'll be using the default names for the player characters that they have on Bulbapedia. Also, I'm gonna be basing Mt. Silver's layout and Red's team off of the original Silver and Gold versions instead of the remakes. I'll be following the manga's set-up and treat the remakes as their own separate arcs so that we can get all of the player characters into the party.

Ch 3: The Start of a Golden Era

Red knew that this trainer would be trouble. He didn't have anything to base this feeling on but the moment his base's proximity alarm went up, he just instinctively knew that this intruder was nothing but bad news. And considering how many times his instincts had saved him from being torn to shreds or eaten alive, Red should have listened to it and stayed hidden. Unfortunately, the year or so of absolute peace that he spent in his new underground hideout had dulled his senses and he had rashly headed out to check on this intruder.

After taking one of his base's hidden lifts to the base of the mountain, Red sneaked around the outlying forest until he managed to catch sight of his intended target. With just a brief glance, Red could immediately tell that this was no ordinary intruder. The way he was purposefully walking across the grassy path indicated that he was not someone who had simply lost their way. And considering he was not actively scouting the area, it was very unlikely that he was a fan club member who had snuck in either. The only plausible case then was that this mystery person was a certified trainer who had authorization to enter this place. And from what Red knew, there were only a handful of people that had access to Mt. Silver.

Maybe he's a Gym Leader from Johto, Red thought as he took a closer look at the unfamiliar trainer. Judging from his age though, this did not seem to be the case. The boy looked about a year or two younger than Red but that could have easily just been due to his short stature. His clothes did not exactly scream Gym Leader either as he was wearing a worn-out red jacket and black shorts that indicated frequent traveling. However, all of this information was quickly forgotten as Red looked at the boy's black and gold baseball cap.

Wow, what a lame hat. Being something of a minor hat enthusiast, Red could not help but be overly critical when it came to judging other people's headwear. And as it was, the boy's hat just happened to irk Red in more ways than one. That has got to be made out of something cheap like synthetic wool. And just look at that poorly designed brim! That thing's not going to block out any amount of sunlight! Probably the reason why that kid is wearing his cap backwards but then again, he just might be trying to look cool. Ugh, I hate it when people wear their hats incorrectly like that. Just the sight of it sickens me.

Thankfully, Red managed to stop himself from lunging at the boy for his crimes against hat-kind. Tearing his eyes away from the offending headpiece, Red decided that there was no need to directly confront the boy as it looked like the intruder had no business with him. Silently relieved that nothing serious had developed over this, Red was just turning around to leave when the boy suddenly whipped around and shouted.

"Can you come out already? I can clearly see you hiding back there!"

Red was at a complete loss. How had the kid noticed him? He had been absolutely sure that he had not made a single noise the entire time he was watching from behind the large tree!

As the seconds continued to tick by, Red began to mentally go through a list of possible explanations as to how he had been discovered. Just as he was going through the theory that the boy was actually a mind-reading wizard from a faraway land, a large shape suddenly came out of the patch of tall grass several yards away.

While Red was relieved that the boy had actually been talking to someone else, the Champion soon found himself with another question: Since when did giant sentient backpacks exist?

As Red watched, a brown backpack the size of a small car lumbered out of the grass and began to slowly move its way towards the boy. After a good three minutes, it stopped next to the irritated trainer.

"About time," the boy said as he crossed his arms. "Seriously, are you trying to defy the laws of nature by evolving into a Slowpoke? And here I was thinking that the battle with Blue might have toughened you up."

The mention of his former rival did not go unnoticed by the hidden Champion. However, Red was too busy dealing with a much more important piece of information to pay it much mind.

Johto has a backpack Pokémon? Red had only memorized a few of the newly uncovered Johto Pokémon during his free time so he was unsure as to whether the strange moving backpack was actually one of them. Not sure what to think, Red looked at the boy and his partner once more just to make sure. And as strange as it was, the boy was clearly talking about battle training with the enormous backpack. Seeing this, Red barely managed to stifle a laugh. I knew Johto had some weird Pokémon but they seriously have a living backpack? What's next? Sentient ice-cream cones?

As Red began to mentally laugh at the thought of living ice-cream cones, the intruding boy suddenly gave a dramatic sigh before plopping down onto the ground.

"Alright, I guess we can take a short break. Put the backpack down for now and get some food out."

The moment he said this, the backpack seemed to collapse completely down onto the ground before it suddenly began to wiggle around. Several seconds later, a very flattened and exhausted Typhlosion crawled out from underneath. Red couldn't help but let out a small "Eh?" as he realized that the Typhlosion had been the one carrying the backpack the whole time. Thankfully, the boy and his Pokémon did not seem to hear this as they proceeded to kick back and relax while eating the snacks they had dug out of their gargantuan backpack.

"I still can't figure out what makes this place so special," the kid said as he practically inhaled his rice ball in one go. "With all that security at the checkpoint, I figured we'd find a bunch of elite trainers to battle here or maybe even a legendary Pokémon."

The Typhlosion, on the other hand, seemed relieved nothing had popped out so far as he stretched his aching back before slowly digging into his own food. His trainer did not seem to pay this any mind though as he continued speaking.

"Well… maybe we'll find something inside the mountain. Like a sacred sword that only the most amazing Pokémon trainer can wield or something." The boy's eyes suddenly began to gleam at this thought. "I can already imagine it now: With its holy power in my hands, I'll be the first person to unite all of the regions into a single glorious empire under my control! People from all corners of the world will gather to catch even a glimpse of my majestic and divine form! My name will echo across the stars themselves as-"

Deciding he had heard enough, Red silently walked away as the kid continued to rant about his delusions. It was fairly obvious to the Champion that the smart move would be to simply leave this intruder alone. The boy was clearly the impatient type and it was very unlikely that he would stay after finding nothing of interest.

Lost in his thoughts, Red did not see the dry twigs on the ground until he stepped on them with an audible snap! This immediately drew the attention of the boy and his Typhlosion as they stopped talking and turned their heads in the general direction that the sound had come from.

Oh crap! Red thought as he quickly dived into one of the nearby bushes. A bush that just so happened to have an ample amount of thorns in it. Ow! Ow! Ow! Why? Ow! Ow!

Thankfully, Red managed to stifle his pained cries as the boy walked over to investigate. The footsteps came closer and closer until the boy stopped right in front of Red's hiding spot.

"Huh. I could have sworn I just saw something moving back here," the boy said as he looked around the area. Trying to ignore the thorns jabbing into his entire body, Red silently began to pray that the boy would lose interest and just walk away. However, Red's prayers were very rarely answered and this time was no exception.

"Hey, Typhlosion!" the boy called out without turning away. "Can you bring me the machete that I have in the backpack? There might be some kind of rare Pokémon hiding inside one these bushes."

"What kind of kid carries around a machete?!"

As silence descended upon the grove, Red realized too late that he had just said his thoughts out loud. Both the boy and his Typhlosion were frozen in surprise as they stared at the bush that had just spoken. Silently cursing himself for the slip-up, Red quickly tried to correct the situation.

"Er… what? You two never see a talking bush before?" If he had not been in such a desperate situation, Red would have slapped himself for saying something so stupid.

Neither intruder said anything as they just continued to stare. As Red began thinking about simply making a break for it, the boy suddenly spoke up in a clearly excited voice.

"No way! You… you're-" The boy began pointing at the bush that Red was hiding in with a strange gleam in his eyes. "You're the nature spirit who guards this area, right?"

You cannot be serious. Even as Red thought this, he quickly began to come up with a plan to take advantage of this situation.

"… Sure. I mean, of course I am! I am the mighty spirit of this forest who… umm… guards this place from… evildoers… and such. Anyways, what business does a puny mortal like you have in my domain?"

"Oh, I was just visiting in the hopes that I could find something interesting here." The boy's eyes suddenly began to glow even brighter as he realized something. "Wait a second… if a spirit like you is guarding this place, then that means there has to be some kind of ancient relic around here, right? Like a legendary sword or something?"

Biting back the urge to question any of this, Red simply chose to continue playing along to divert attention away from himself.

"Er…Of course! The holy sword you seek is at the… umm… top of the mountain! Yes! All the way at the top! And it… ummm… only appears to those that are worthy so…"

Red did not even get to finish as the boy gave a loud cheer before zooming off towards the mountain.

"Thanks for the info, weird talking bush spirit thing!" the boy shouted out as he disappeared from view. His Typhlosion simply gave a sigh before giving an apologetic bow towards the bush as if he knew exactly what had been going on the whole time. With a tired look on his face, the Typhlosion made his way over to the backpack before putting it on (which completely covered him once again) and trudged after his trainer with the enormous sack of luggage in tow.

Red could not find anything to say as he simply watched the large backpack slowly fade from view. After remembering that he was still inside a thorn-filled bush, Red jumped out with a single prominent thought forming in his head: Why do I always have to deal with the crazies?

Hoping that he would never have to see that strange kid again, Red gave a tired sigh of his own before silently walking back to his secret base to clean himself up.

xxx

Fate can be a cruel mistress at times. This was a harsh truth that many people knew to be true. Red, however, disagreed. To him, fate was not a cruel mistress but actually a puppy-kicking, genocide-inciting, maniacally laughing sadistic sociopath who loved nothing more than to make his life a living hell. And considering the things that had happened to him (as well as everything that were going to happen to him in the near future), it seemed that Red actually had a point.

After returning to his little underground suite, Red had bandaged up the various cuts that he had sustained from the thorn bush before making himself a nice, hearty Pidgey sandwich for lunch. As he ate though, he could not help but feel worried about the weird boy he had met. More specifically, he was afraid of what the boy might do in his efforts to get his imaginary sword. Knowing that the entire mountain being blown up in the process was a very real possibility, Red decided to take some preemptive measures.

After finishing his sandwich, Red took one of his various elevators up to the summit. Once there, he began to whistle a shortened version of the Route 1 theme. Just as the last few notes faded away, a large Tyranitar came out of the cave connecting the summit to the mountain pathway.

"I got another job for you," Red said in a business-like manner as the wild Tyranitar stopped in front of him. "There's a kid heading up here and I want you to keep an eye on him. I'm pretty sure he has authorization to be here so try not to directly confront him unless he does something stupid like blowing up the mountain. If he does though, just restrain him and drop him off at the eastern entrance. I'm sure the security guards will pick him up if you do that."

The Tyranitar simply gave a curt nod before extending his hand forward to receive its payment. Fully prepared for this, Red pulled out a large envelope filled with Pokédollars from his vest and handed it to his associate (why the Tyranitar wanted human currency though was still a mystery to Red). After counting the money and giving another nod, the Tyranitar headed off into the caves to follow and trail his designated target. Having worked with this Tyranitar numerous times over the year and confident in its skills of dealing with unruly intruders, Red began to feel that his problems had been successfully taken care of. With a satisfied smile on his face, Red walked over to the large boulder that was actually the door to his hidden elevator. With practiced motions, he typed in the password onto the nearly-invisible keypad and waited for the door to slide open. And it was at this moment that Red realized that fate was once again playing a cruel joke on him.

Instead of the rocky exterior sliding off to the side to reveal the elevator, the door simply made a small whirring noise in response. Confused, Red punched in the password again only for the door to remain firmly shut. Hoping that this was just a glitch in the system, Red waited a few more minutes before inputting the code again. All that followed was the same, sad whirring noise.

Red was speechless as he realized that the door was somehow broken despite the fact that he had just used the exact same elevator to reach the summit a few minutes ago. Red forced down the panic welling up inside him as he tried to figure out what to do. Deciding that getting this door working was the fastest and most inconspicuous way of getting off the summit, Red wracked his brain for anything that could help him fix this problem. In the end, the only thing that he managed to come up with was the tried and true method of kicking an object until it corrected itself.

Several minutes of violent door bashing later, Red slumped onto the ground in defeat with nothing more to show for it than a sorely aching foot. With frustration setting in, Red even contemplated getting one of his Pokémon to tear down the door. However, this left the problem of the intruder finding the fake boulder with a gaping hole that led directly to Red's base. Deciding that having his base found out would be even worse than being found himself, Red chose not to act upon this plan. Instead, he got up to check if he could sneak down the mountain towards one of his other lifts. This plan was immediately foiled however when Red saw just how dark the cave leading down was. With none of his Pokémon knowing Flash and the HM for it back at his base, Red knew it would be foolish to blindly walk through the treacherous path that was riddled with numerous pits and cliffs. Besides, with his luck he would probably run straight into the boy he so dearly wanted to avoid.

This left only one option available: fly down the mountain using Charizard. Having seen some wild Pidgeot resting at the summit before, Red knew that it was theoretically possible that Charizard could manage to fly at this high altitude. However, two things prevented Red from going through with this plan. The first of these issues were the powerful air currents that were commonly found at this height. If a particularly powerful current happened to catch hold of Charizard during his flight, both Red and his Pokémon would most likely end up becoming a smear on the rocky mountainside. And knowing his track record of unfortunate events, Red was not willing to risk it. Beyond that though, the other reason for Red's reluctance was that he was still rather uneasy about flying after the nightmarish chase by the fans. It had been over a year since then but the memory of that event still haunted him to this day. As such, Red wanted to avoid flying again if at all possible.

As the Champion tried to think of some other way of getting down the mountain, the Tyranitar from before suddenly came back to the summit. He was clearly not expecting to see Red there as he stared at the Champion with a look that silently asked why he was still on top of the mountain. Before Red could explain himself though, the Tyranitar seemed to hear something and quickly pointed at the cavern entrance with an urgent growl. While not the most eloquent way of putting things, the meaning was quite clear: We have company.

Red was now stuck in a dilemma. Going through the cavern was no longer an option which meant he could either pray to his imaginary god again for the elevator door to open or take his chances trying to fly down the mountain. While neither of these choices seemed very appealing, Red decided that the latter would be a tiny bit more likely to succeed even if it meant certain death.

Just as Red brought out the Pokéball that contained Charizard, a loud voice suddenly echoed from inside the cave.

"Man, they really need to build an elevator up here or something... Oh, hey! I think I see the way out! Come on, I'll race you up there Typhlosion!"

Red did not know if he had wasted more time up here than he originally thought or if the boy was just an unnaturally fast mountain climber. Whatever the case was, the boy was clearly less than a minute away from reaching the summit and discovering Red. Seeing the freaked out expression on Red's face, the Tyranitar decided it was time to take drastic actions and reached behind a pile of boulders to pull out a large wooden baseball bat. Realizing what the Pokémon was planning to do, Red hurriedly shook his head before voicing his disapproval.

"No, no, and no! You are not bashing people's skulls in again! I only let you do that the last time because those guys were clearly a bunch of poachers! If you kill a certified trainer who was seen going in by the security guards, then this place is definitely going to be swarming with cops! And I'm pretty sure that's something that the both of us want to avoid!"

Tyranitar seemed rather put down by this but Red ignored it as he began pushing the giant monster towards the cluster of boulders that he had pulled out his bat from.

"Stay there and stick to the original plan. Only confront the kid if he does something stupid and that's only to restrain him and remove him from the mountain. And no matter what happens, don't use the bat!"

After making sure that Tyranitar was well camouflaged among the rocks, Red walked up to the far end of the summit with Charizard's Pokéball in hand. Taking a few deep breaths to calm his nerves, Red slowly raised his hand and prepared to make his getaway.

And that was when things went horribly wrong.

"Ha ha! I totally beat you Typhlo… What the…? Is that a person standing over there?"

Having been too busy mentally preparing himself for the flight, Red had failed to hear the running footsteps that preceded the boy's arrival. As such, he had missed his window of escape by just a few seconds.

As Red was mentally beating himself up while also trying to figure out what to do (which resulted in him just staring silently ahead in real life), the boy began to walk closer towards the Champion to get a better view of him.

"I didn't think there would be anyone up here," the boy said to himself before looking directly at Red and shouting out loud. "Hey! Who are you?"

Maybe if I pretend to ignore him, he'll go away, Red thought hopefully as he refused to turn around and let out what would eventually become his trademark line.

"... ..."

"Huh. Not much of a talker, are you? Still, I can't help but feel like I've seen you somewhere before…"

Oh, come on! Red mentally screamed. Don't tell me he's secretly one of my fans as well!

Out loud though, he simply let loose another barrage of dots.

As the boy continued to try and identify Red, a strong gust of wind suddenly blew across the place. As Red instinctively tightened his grip on Charizard's Pokéball and grabbed onto his hat with his free hand, the boy's eyes began to gleam as he took in the sight before him.

"Now way! It can't be! You… You're…"

Red braced himself for the worst.

"You're the spirit of the sacred sword right?!"

It took a few seconds before Red could process what he had just heard. After mentally confirming that he had actually heard correctly, Red turned around to face the boy with a raised eyebrow.

What Red failed to realize was that the gust of wind just now had made him unknowingly assume a rather impressive pose. This, combined with the awe-inspiring mountaintop background and the rustling of his worn-out vest, had given Red an appearance that would not have looked out of place in an epic fantasy novel. Also, the fact that his recent thorn injuries looked like battle scars from far away only added to the heroic image.

As Red continued to wait for a response, the boy suddenly perked up as he saw the Pokéball in Red's hand and immediately began to come up with a convoluted scenario to explain what he was seeing.

"I get it now! I have to defeat you in a Pokémon battle to prove myself! Awesome! This is exactly the sort of trial that a chosen hero would have to face before attaining ultimate power! Alright then, I shall take on your challenge, great spirit of the sword!"

From what Red could tell, there were several ways he could handle this situation. One was to simply fly off as originally planned. However he strongly suspected that the boy would follow if he tried to do so and another aerial chase was the last thing he wanted. The other was to go against everything he had just said a few minutes ago and signal for his Tyranitar associate to bash the kid on the head with the bat. Sadly, this ran the very serious risk of bringing over the cops as he had previously mentioned. The third and final option (and one that Red could not believe that he was even considering) was to just play along with the boy's delusions like he had before. He already knew this was a terrible idea but it was the only way that he could have even the tiniest chance of sneaking away without causing some sort of disastrous incident.

With an enormous mental sigh that could have toppled a mountain, Red quickly swapped Charizard's Pokéball for Pikachu's and gave the slightest inclination of a nod to the expectant stare that the boy was still giving him. As expected, the boy was beyond exuberant about being able to challenge what he thought to be a heroic spirit. What wasn't expected though was what he said next.

"Oh, I almost forgot to introduce myself! Heh heh. Guess I got caught up in the moment. Alright, listen up spirit of the sacred sword! I am Ethan, the Champion of the Johto region, conqueror of the Kanto gyms, and the child of destiny who shall become the greatest trainer known to mankind and Pokémon alike! Know that the sword you guard shall be in worthy hands after I prove to you the full extent of my might! Now, come! Let us battle!"

There were a lot of things that Red could have questioned about this statement but they were all ignored in favor of one overarching thought: They've really lowered the standards for Champions nowadays, haven't they?

And with that, the two trainers threw out their first Pokémon as the most iconic battle in the history of the Pokémon universe began…