This time, we paint in Indigo!
So far, Red has conquered Team Rocket, All the gym leaders and even his feelings for Blue, which he now knows, aren't one-sided but now the biggest challenge is set aside for him: Can he defeat the Elite Four and be Champion?
Only one way to find out, isn't there? So what you doing reading this? Go on, read the fan-fiction and do not forget to leave a review or suggest it to Originalshippers everywhere!
Entering the league's front door, Red found himself in the rocky cavern known as Victory Road.
Inspecting the area around him, he noticed heavy boulders that needed a Pokémon like his Snorlax to push them around much like on Seafoam Island (the cavern with the beautiful, strange bird). He also took note of the eye-shaped switches and built-in barriers that littered the first floor of the cave and possibly the rest of them. Deriving a conclusion, he managed to figure out the trickery of Victory Road.
Sending out his Snorlax, and using the ability Strength, they both manoeuvred the boulders onto the switches so that the barriers would slide down out of view.
The darkness surrounded Red on many floors, but a faint flicker from the second floor gave light – like a fire torch or his Charizard's tail – which became intensely bright at some points.
Climbing up a set of ladders, towards the flickers of bright light, Red set eyes on a magnificent bird that appeared on wings of fire. Its eyes narrowed fiercely at the trainer but it flew off much like the bird with wings that brought blizzards on Seafoam Islands. This time though, a girl with long brunette hair, white hat with a red pokéball symbol, was seated on the bird Pokémon's back. Blinking, slightly confused, he shrugged it off and continued around the maze that was Victory Road.
Statues aligned, glorifying the name of the Pokémon League.
The building reached the skies, and had a godly structure with a looming shadow as if it was Death or God itself.
The scent of the air was sweet, like Vileplumes, and the skies were getting dark but stayed a beautiful indigo blue hue.
Breathing in the air, and keeping his fists to his sides, Red stormed the frightening yet impressive building to challenge the Elite 4 and fulfil his dream. He entered, healed and stocked up with a heart bursting with excitement and determination.
He was going to win this.
"This is the moment I have been training for, so let's hope it pays off." Red muttered to himself, before stepping through the door after a young woman explained the concept of each room to him.
"Welcome to the Pokémon League!" echoed a friendly, feminine voice. The owner was a woman with bright red hair and glasses, making her ice-blue eyes pop out almost.
"I am Lorelei of the Elite 4! No one can best me when it comes to icy Pokémon; their freezing moves are just so powerful that only someone like me could master them alongside my team. Your Pokémon will be at my mercy..."
"Red... Red of Pallet Town."
Lorelei smiled, apologizing quietly before resuming her obviously rehearsed speech.
"Your Pokémon will be at my mercy when they are frozen solid! Are you ready, Red of Pallet Town?" She announced with such enthusiasm as she threw a pokéball into the air, sending out her Dewgong.
Pikachu pounced onto the tiled platform below Red's feet and grinned, its cheeks crackling with stored electricity.
"Of course I am. Pikachu, use Thunderbolt."
Paralyzing the seal Pokémon, Pikachu jumped and slammed its entire body weight into the stomach of the Pokémon knocking it out cold in the process.
Cloyster was next, but was destroyed in seconds by Pikachu's Thunder attack. It was no competition at all with the type advantages.
Pikachu's Thunder destroyed the remainders of Lorelei's team (except her Jynx, which was taken down with no effort needed by Red's Charizard).
"You're better than I thought." She laughed, returning her Lapras, and then placing a lock of hair behind her ear, she opened the doors behind her. "Go on ahead, you only got a taste of the Pokémon League – Bruno is your next opponent, he uses fighting types so I'd use something that can fly but that's just a tip."
Lorelei stepped aside as Red brushed past her with a grin on his face.
One out of five.
Red continued.
The room was surrounded with dirt and boulders, obviously imported from the cavern Victory Road, and some were crushed or damaged but others remained perfect in shape.
Speaking of 'in shape', Red encountered a man stood on the head of his Onix who jumped down in front of the trainer.
"I am Bruno of the Elite 4..." his pale muscles and long dark hair stood out more than his onyx eyes. He distracted Red only temporarily, as his booming voice brought Red back to Earth. "Through rigorous training, people and Pokémon can become stronger together. Do you understand this, Red?"
Red was about to question how the Elite knew his name, but then he remembered Lorelei probably let the rest of the trainers know before he arrived in this chamber. He just nodded in response.
"I've weight trained with my Pokémon, for example..."
Red nodded again, unsure as what to say to that until he noticed the Onix move closer to the ground. He reached for his pokéball.
"Red! We will grind you down with our superior power!"
The Onix rotated its body, like a drill, and charged at Red but was stopped dead in its tracks by Red's Blastoise.
"Blastoise, use Hydro Pump!"
The Onix was blasted with a fierce jet of cold water, soaking and defeating the rock-type.
The same repeated, with the use of Water Gun and Hydro Pump, to defeat the second Onix in Bruno's team and the fighting-types were brought down by Red's Charizard and their Fly attack.
It was an easy win for Red, and the second pair of doors opened; "My job here is done! Go and face the next challenge, Red!"
He didn't need to be told twice.
"I am Agatha of the Elite 4... You must be Red."
The elderly woman, Agatha, had aged well with wisdom embedded in her skin.
"Oak has taken a lot of interest in you, child - he tells me, we used to be... well, you know." She laughs to herself, bringing her cane back down to the ground. "That old duff was once tough and handsome, decades ago that is. Unfortunately, he just wants to fiddle with that Pokédex of his now, well I believe he is wrong."
"Wrong?"
"Pokémon are for fighting! Let me show you how a real trainer fights, Red!"
Sending out her Gengar straight away, Lapras was an easy choice; Red took down the shadow Pokémon in one Physic move.
Pikachu used Thunderbolt to paralyze and knock out the Golbat with ease, Agatha's team reducing to nothing but defeated foes.
Arbok, Haunter and Agatha's second Gengar were all taken out with a barrage of Surf, Physic and Blizzard attacks; freezing then shattering the ice and mind of the foe to the point of unconsciousness, occasionally sending them back in a tsunami of water.
Agatha huffed in defeat, obviously still having a faint child's heart when it comes to a loss.
"You win!" she retorted, waving her cane towards the door in gesture. "I see what that old duff sees in you now. I have nothing else to say, so run along now! Go on, get!"
Red laughed, sticking his tongue out mischievously before heading to the final Elite. Lance, the dragon master.
Spiked red hair like a mane.
Clothes that only a noble of a country should wear or anyone of great power.
Eyes like the earth, the ground, the dirt but hardened like iron or stone.
"Ah, I heard about you, Red!"
"Is that so?" Red grinned, petting his Pikachu.
"I lead the Elite 4; you can call me Lance the Dragon Tamer!" He exclaimed, brushing a hand through his hair chuckling. "You know, dragon-types are rather mythical Pokémon... Hard to catch, and hard to raise but their powers are superior in the Pokémon world to many."
Red could feel the aura of pride evaporating off Lance.
"They're virtually indestructible!" He laughed after shouting it to the heavens before taking out a pokéball seemingly from nowhere.
"Are you ready to lose, Red?" – "I was about to ask you the same thing, Lance."
Smirking, the dragon tamer stared deep into Red's eyes.
"Your Pokémon League challenge ends here with me, Red!"
Gyarados came out, with a beam already charged up in its mouth. Red's Lapras stared up, intimidated.
"Hyper Beam! Lapras, duck!"
As Lapras attempted to duck, the beam smashed into Lapras' back shell.
"Lapras!"
The Water-Ice type lifted its head and its eyes lit up purple-indigo colour as Gyarados was lifted into the air and wrapped around itself, tighter and tighter.
"Lapras, now use Ice Beam!"
The struggling Gyarados couldn't break free of the Physic attack and was destroyed particularly with the following beam of cold shards.
Each dragon-type after that felt the icy wrath of Lapras, one after another, with the occasional Surf attack thrown in for Aerodactyl. After aiming multiple Ice Beams at the exhausted Dragonite, the heavy Pokémon fell to the ground defeated.
"That's it..." Lance echoed with his eyes empty of emotion. Red was about to apologize until those same eyes lit up with laughter and interest. "I hate to admit it, but you're a Pokémon master in the making! I still can't believe my dragons lost to you, Red!"
Red grinned, and hugged Lance.
"You're now the Pokémon League Champion!"
Red thanked Lance repeatedly but was abruptly interrupted.
"...or you would have been, but you have one more challenge ahead of you for that title. You have another trainer to defeat."
"Another?"
Lance nodded, opening the doors behind him.
"His name is... Blue."
Red stared into the chamber where Blue awaited him, smirk on his face and pokéball in hand.
"Hey, Red!"
His laughter echoed as Red slowly stepped towards him, his Pikachu with eyes of determination.
"I was looking forward to seeing you; after all, my rival should be strong to keep me sharp!"
Red rolled his eyes, and urged Blue to continue with his sarcastic eyes and the silence.
"While working on the Pokédex, I looked all over for powerful Pokémon to make the perfect team; I assembled teams that would defeat any Pokémon type!"
Laughing, his eyes hungry and drunk on power.
"And now... Now, I am the League Champion! Do you know what that means, Red?!"
"I will tell you personally; I am the strongest Pokémon trainer in the world! Let me show you!"
Sandslash versus Blastoise; this old song and dance.
The ground-type charged forward with claws at the ready, only to be blasted back into the ground by Water Gun. It attempted the same move again, only to be pushed further into the small crate it made before. This time, Sandslash did not get back up.
Blue shrugged it off as a fluke. Same old Blue.
Sending out Snorlax, to fight off Alakazam was not the smartest idea but was not the worst; Snorlax was thrown towards Red with Physic but hit the doors behind them. Lance had left quickly, before been crushed by the heavyweight Pokémon. Getting up with much difficulty, Snorlax blasted Alakazam with more brute force with a Hyper Beam, destroying a pillar in the room.
Exeggutor waddled towards Red's Charizard, giving Charizard the edge as it used Fire Blast; Exeggutor emerged from the smoke burnt but still standing. Pushing the large fire lizard to the floor, he continuously used Stomp on the Pokémon's head only to be greeted with a second Fire Blast that finished the grass-type off.
Sunrays shone onto the flower on Venusaur's back, which absorbed it producing photosynthesis. Cloyster knocked Venusaur back a few inches using Aurora Beam, freezing one of the petals; Big mistake when Venusaur greeted Cloyster's face with an immense Solarbeam attack to the point where even withdrawing into its own shell wouldn't have protected it.
Lapras came out again, having been healed, but was caught in a binding vortex of fire. Ninetales could be seen through the flames, waving its tails almost mockingly.
"... ..." Red stayed silent and upon seeing an entry in the vortex, clicked his fingers.
Lapras summoned up a small wave of water, and doused the flames and Ninetales. A second wave, larger than the rest of them, soaked the fire-fox into defeat. Pulling it down into the ocean of loss.
Jolteon versus Pikachu; Two electric types, the same dance, the same song, the same eyes full of determination in both Pokémon and trainer.
"Pikachu!" – "Jolteon!"
"Let's end this!" Blue and Red exclaimed, in harmony.
Jolteon's speed increased, and slammed into Pikachu with a Quick Attack following up with a Pin Missile attack; this time four rounds hitting the rodent. Pikachu pulled out the pins and slammed straight back into Jolteon twice as hard.
Red healed up Pikachu, who had taken the beat down out of the two then ordered a Thunder Attack. Charging up, electricity flying up at all angles from the small rodent, ran into another storm of metallic pins from Jolteon – taking them, Pikachu slammed into Jolteon's head and set off a Thunder Attack.
The lights seemed to dull.
Blue's eyes seemed to dull.
Red's eyes seemed to brighten.
He won.
Blue ran over to his Jolteon, hugging his starter close to his body.
"No! This can't be!"
Red picked up Pikachu, healing the Pokémon and stared at Blue from the short distance. He towered over the crouched, angry boy.
"I won, Blue."
"You beat my best! All that work to become the Champion and you just took it away in minutes? My reign can't be over!"
"Blue, I won; I'm the new Champion..."
"It's not fair!" Blue screamed, banging his spare fist into the floor. He returned his Jolteon and grabbed Red's shirt causing him to drop his Pikachu.
"Why? Why did I lose? I never made any mistakes raising my Pokémon!" Blue growled, his eyes flamed with rage. "Darn it! You're the new Pokémon Champion..."
Red held Blue close as he growled and sniffled.
"I hate to admit it, but it's true..."
A voice echoed, causing Blue to push Red away and wipe his tears.
"Red!"
The Professor came running up, panting much as he did back in the beginning, but stopped to rest for a moment in front of the two boys. Once regaining his breath, he grinned at Red giving him a thumb up.
"So... you won! Congratulations!"
"Thanks, Professor?" blinking, Red wondered how news travelled so fast.
"Yes well, you've grown up since you first left with Pikachu! Red, it appears you have come of age!" Oak grinned, his face filled with pride for the trainer. This pride faded into heavy disappointment when he turned to Blue.
"Blue... I'm disappointed in you, though." Blue's face struck with fear and rejection. "I had rushed here when I learned you were Champion, but you were defeated so easily by Red when I got here!"
Blue glared at Red, envy coursing through his veins.
"Blue! Pay attention!" The brunette went back to looking at Samuel Oak. "Do you understand why you lost? It is because you forgot to treat your Pokémon with trust and love; without that trust and love, you will never become a champion again..."
The Professor grabbed Red's hand and led him to the room in the back.
"Red, you understand your victory was not your own doing, but yours and your Pokémon with the help of that bond you share, which is marvellous!"
Red nodded faintly, his eyes connecting with Blue's for a second.
"Come with me, Red."
A large computer was in a dark room, lighting up their surroundings and illuminating the lack of emotion on Red's face.
Oak coughed, ready to announce a speech he had prepared for Blue firstly.
"Congratulations, Red!" He spoke, with a pride in his voice that was meant to be reserved for Blue. "This room is the Pokémon Hall of Fame! Pokémon League Champions are honoured for their exploits here, along with their Pokémon."
"Red, you have endeavoured hard to become the new Champion so congratulations once more, Red because you and your Pokémon are hall of famers!"
Red watched his team and himself be recorded in the large database.
He did not really care; He was proud, he was happy but the emotions left when he saw what he had done to Blue.
Therefore, after all was done, he just walked home.
'You finally won, Red; how does it feel?'
"... ... ..."
'How does it feel to know back in Lavender Town, he asks whether or not you know what it's like to have one of your Pokémon die? He no longer has his Raticate that he used in previous battles, like the battle on the S.S. Anne.'
"... ... ..."
'His Raticate sustained serious injuries from the battle... However, because of crowds and confusion on the luxury liner, he was unable to make it to a Pokémon Center in time and the Raticate passed away. The real reason Blue was in Lavender Town to begin with? Was to lay his deceased friend to rest, the friend you killed.'
'Despite all of this, your little... boyfriend... never outwardly tells you that you are responsible for the death of his Pokémon. He hides his grief and instead channels that energy into the motivation he needed to continue his quest to become Indigo League Champion.'
"... ... ..."
'The death of his Raticate effectively destroys your precious Blue's impish, childhood innocence. Although he tells himself that he does not hold you responsible, he subconsciously holds a great deal of resentment towards you, which further fuels his ambitions. Tearfully, swearing upon his Raticate's grave to not fail in what he set out to do, he trains hard in hopes of becoming better than you - defeating you - and to eventually make it to the Pokémon League.'
"... ... ..."
'Then, mere moments after he became Indigo League champion, he was defeated... by you!'
A dark chuckle echoed throughout Red's head.
"... ... ..."
'Although he fulfilled his promise to his fallen Pokémon, it was only for a painfully brief instant. In the end, his grandfather scolded him while you receive the professor's praise. During the course of this game you call a journey, you steal your rival and once best friend's innocence, crush his dreams, and ultimately snatch away the love of his own grandfather.'
"... ... ..."
'Oh, and you remember that Blue is an orphan right?'
Red just kept walking.
Fire just disappeared.
That was the end.
We are at the end!
...Or are we? Red needs to keep his silent promise to the Pokémon World and to Blaine by capturing and defeating Mewtwo.
Then we have two special chapters!
I hope you have liked this series so far.
