Disclaimer: I do not own Pokémon or its characters.
Author's Notes: Just a quick note about the theme song of this chapter... You know I had to do it. ;)
A warm tingling still grazed Brendan's cheek, the remnants of this pained tears, tears of fear for being stuck in his lifeless prison yet again. Yet, it was this grim feeling that awakens Brendan to the reality surrounding him. He is covered in white, his vision is full of white, yet he is thinking, he is feeling and most of all, he is conscious!
This revelation forced him to glance at his sides, to look at the slippery ground he is standing on. 'Ground?' He thought to himself, surprised to be standing on his feet, instead of being floating in a blank space. A chilly wind stormed over from above, little pieces of sparkling droplets wetting his face and leaving a cold sensation all over him. 'This is snow… The white is snow!' A massive smile broke his lips apart, whatever has been happening to him since the start, had not stopped. He was not left inside that white hell; he was just standing in a place covered in snow.
With the overjoyed discovery gracing his thoughts, his borrowed freedom came to a halt; something that he was more than expecting at this point. As this person walked, ever so brazen and confident to never look down where they are stepping; Brendan had a really hard time to decipher who he is this time. His only clue about this person's features, which would lead to their identity, is the large flock of black hair sticking down in voluminous bangs, that almost covered their right eye completely.
'Wait… I know someone with hair like this.' Surely, even if there is only one piece of clue in this mystery, this characteristic hairstyle is too unique to mistake with anyone else. 'I am Ethan at this moment.' Brendan nodded his head in his inner thoughts, then a certain strangeness hit him fairly fast. 'Where are we… I've never been to a place like this, and certainly never with Ethan. What is this place?'
Seeing as his friend walks with such certainty that even side glances are neglected, Brendan had to resort to feeling his surroundings instead of looking at them through Ethan's eyes. So, he let his senses immerse on Ethan's own senses. His greeting welcome turned to be one freezing cold, even in his own inner body, Brendan felt his arms shiver and his hairs stand up. Then the weather got pushed to a secondary place; the cold turned into a tiny concern when Brendan began to felt the ridiculously fast pace of Ethan's heartbeat.
The sound, the rhythm, even the warmth provided by such overwhelming pressure; all of this amazed Brendan that his friend's heart didn't explode out of his chest. To make this sensation even worse, at each step climbed, at each corner turned inside this freezing cave tunnel, his heart goes even crazier.
Stepping over to a huge set of malformed, natural, steps; Ethan suddenly stopped. His eyes darting upwards to the small opening at the top of that climbing, a shining ray of light coming through that door at the end.
Ethan smiled, a scared, excited, conflicted smile. "That geezer called these the steps of fate…" His smile widened, now just shining with exploding overconfidence. "I like it." His right foot was the first one to touch the stairs, the teenager from New Bark Town going forward towards his destiny.
Little by little, he closed the gap on his way to the summit. At each bold step taken, Brendan could feel the amazing rush of adrenaline coursing through Ethan's body. This moment feels so vivid, so alive, so much more intense than all the others before. If it was not for his own thoughts in marvel at this scenery, Brendan would mistake this as his present and living moment.
Standing in front of the deformed hole at the cave wall, Brendan felt his own mind get numb with an exhilarating thrill. This was taking too long and yet felt that Ethan was walking to fast. This turmoil of conflicting sensations sprung into a maddening fit, and it was only when Ethan stepped outside the rocky maze that this ringing storm inside his head came to a full halt.
Razor-sharp winds carried the falling snow, whipping everything in its course. This violent snowfall making difficult to see ahead, but not impossible to perceive the entirety of this place. Mt. Silver's summit, one giant open space at the top of the fabled mountain; its uneven, rocky ground covered in snow, silver-colored snow. Making a giant ground to all sides, with the only exception being a taller square formation of solid rock at the other end of this place, an altar at the very tip end of the mountain.
On that place, that mystical platform at the top of Johto… A flaming pair of eyes are patiently staring down at the entrance, staring down at Ethan. That gaze sends chills down the raven-haired boy's spine, that blurred silhouette more menacing that the towering form of Lugia in his rampage episode.
At the edge of Mt. Silver, facing the embodiment of his own path, Ethan smiled.
"Red?" Silver mimicked the words that barely escaped Ethan's trembling lips. Slightly disturbed by his partner sudden shift in personality, the red-haired allowed his gaze to follow the trembling arm that Ethan still holds up, letting that calming whiteness on the screen settle inside his thoughts for a few moments. "Is that Mt. Silver?!" The boy exclaimed loudly, his body jolting upwards into straight form as he stared intensely at the screen.
The question was a rhetorical one, as Silver is absolutely certain of what place that is. Too many of his own memories are haunted by that scenery, those white steps leading to the summit of champions. A place that he hated most of his life for representing his rival overwhelming triumph over him, yet unknown to him, this place seems to carry a deep trauma to Ethan himself.
"C-Celebi, sto…" Ethan swallowed his words. Chewing on his lower lip, he agonized with a heavy conflict inside his chest. As he almost asked, Ethan wants Celebi to stop this immediately, no matter what. But if his little friend is doing this, she has a very good reason for it; looking down at the boy lying on the floor the reason is more than apparent for him. "I can't…" Ethan jumped on his feet, twirling on his heels he darted straight to the closed door, just to click on the panel at his side and stop for a moment. "I can't watch this." With a deep scowl on his face, he stepped outside the room and left without a second comment.
"Quite the outburst out of a sudden…" Steven stared at the closing door, his own surprise mirrored in the face of the three others.
"I… get that these memories can be a bit embarrassing." Wally voiced his thoughts, his face still a bit red from his own turn. "But his reaction was way too strange, even for a guy like him."
"Maybe his one is very, veery, embarrassing." May giggled quietly behind her hands, imagining all sorts of silly things that could appear on that monitor.
One heavy grunt sounded off from the tanned girl in front of them, Zinnia glared at the monitor with pointily attention, sparing just a small glance to the pair behind her. "That loudmouth of a guy getting embarrassed?" She snorted and shook her head. "Considering the amount of stupid and crazy things he has done in the little time I've known him; I doubt he would feel such emotion from his actions. Still…" She brought her gaze back to the snowfall at the monitor, a slight frown appearing on her features. "What the hell did happen between him and Brendan that would cause that reaction from him?"
"You're wrong." Silver jumped in, getting everyone's attention onto him but paying no mind to them as his attention is way too focused on what is in front of him. "That is Mt. Silver, a place in Johto that is similar to how Ever Grande is to you here in Hoenn. It would be impossible for Brendan to be involved in this place, this memory… this is something different than what happened to you four."
"So, this is a memory exclusive to him?" Steven asked the red-haired boy, giving a few glances to the door at the back of the room. He held one finger at the touch of his lower lip for a few moments, his face the picture of concentration. Then his eyes widened quite a bit, as an expression of shock washed over his face. "Red… at first, I thought that was a color code between you two. But that is a name, the name! He was talking about the legendary trainer, Red, wasn't he?"
Silver replied with a slow nod, briefly glancing at Steven. The always grumpy red-haired is now wearing an even more upset expression on his face. "I think I know what event is this." He glared down at the small Pokémon concentrating in her task, then back to the white screen up ahead. "Ethan once told me, that the day he became the proper champion of Johto and Kanto… it was a day of silvered-snowstorm." He chuckled in a low and grumpy manner, a way that only Silver would be able to do. "Look at the screen, at the sparkling snowflakes raining from above. This is the memory of his battle against Red."
If the group were curious before, now they are silenced with the weight of their curiosity. For Wally and Steven, both professional trainers, this is a historical event ready to happen right in front of their eyes; the battle of the best. But even Zinnia and May, two of which have a lot less interest in the ways of formal Pokémon battles, their attention to this affair is absolute. Not a single one of them can deny their interest in witnessing something that most, if not anyone aside from those two, were present to see.
One by one, they returned to their seats. The cutting silence that dawned on the room is unparalleled to all the others that came before. Not a single louder breathing, not a word of comment; every single person present, just stared at the screen in silence, for history is about to show itself in front of their eyes.
… … … =============== ( watch?v=FoGs1n5hvvQ&t )
"Yo!" Ethan's voice echoed on the snowy mountain, its ring repeating itself until reaching the open sky. "Your name is Red, right?" He addressed the pale tall trainer staring at him from the other side, noticing the other boy's piercing gaze at him made the blunt raven-haired grin widely. "I heard you're pretty good."
If Brendan could, he would puke right about now. He is dazed and amazed by how calm Ethan seems to be with the crazy pressure threatening to squish everything into a tint size. Or maybe the boy is also half the reason why the pressure is this high; either way Brendan is left dumbstruck at the scene unfolding around him.
Red stepped down from the higher platform he was standing, and as soon as his feet landed on the soft cold snow covering the ground, his entire stance changed.
"…"
The older teenager adjusted his cap with one hand, preparing himself to battle without uttering a single word. From his left side, a small yellow Pokémon jumped up and landed at his shoulder, a brave looking Pikachu, staring down at Ethan with the same intensity in his eyes as his silent trainer.
"Not the talking type?" Ethan jested with his mysterious-looking opponent, the cold silence in reply just made the golden-eyed boy chuckle in response. "Fine, let's know each other better through battle!"
Ethan stepped forward, stopping at what he judged to be an equal distance for him and Red to the center side of the area. He himself messed with his black and yellow cap, making sure to put his long bangs out of his field of vision. Then, he brought one hand to his coat's pocket and stared at the other trainer with total focus, neither of them moving or speaking, just pure battle concentration.
Brendan is witness to this quiet stand-off. Despite being stuck inside Ethan's point of view, he can clearly see the entire scope of this soon to be battlefield. He gulped internally in anticipation, this quietness preluding something that is shaping to be extraordinary.
The smaller of flickers in Ethan's arm unleashed overflowing energy throughout his entire body. Such a powerful burst erupting from the raven-haired boy that this intense feeling spread inside Brendan's own mind.
'Now!' Brendan shouted within, recognizing how that little flicker would trigger Ethan's body to move and start officially the battle. Right then, Ethan twirled his arm forward, throwing one of his Poke-Balls at full speed at the center of the arena, the round object meeting one of the same kind in mid-air, as Red responded in the same time. Both balls grinded against each other, taking metallic sparks out of one another, then landing on the ground where they both exploded with a shining light.
From that turmoil of light and flying snow, two large forms ascended to the sky. To the right, a menacing creature of times passed by floated in the air, a massive grey terror named Aerodactyl. And challenging the ancient sky-terror, stands a massive orange dragon with a goofy grin in its face but his eyes flaring with motivation; like all the others of his kind, this Dragonite is a powerful fighter despite his peaceful looks.
"Pecko!" Ethan shouted to his Dragonite. "That guy looks fast, but we will be even faster!" Directing his words also to the trainer standing on the other side, Ethan grinned. He slowly brought his hand up and then swiped it down in front of him.
Pecko, the orange dragon, flapped his wings faster than before; he tipped his large body downwards and started a spear-dive with his head serving as the piercing point.
Red's left arm shot upwards to his side, a fast and silent command. His Aerodactyl had only to glance at the motion of his trainer to start an evasive maneuver, gracefully slipping by Pecko's heavy body. Another swishing sound raised up as the red-eyed champion calmly switched between left and right arm, an imaginary circle being drawn in front of him, but a clear enough sign to propel his Aerodactyl forward.
A grey blur just flashed pass Pecko's side, leaving the Dragonite in a confused daze; then once again another blur flew in a sound-like speed to his left. Before Pecko or his trainer could notice properly the intention of his movement, the Dragonite's eyes had started to swirl in pure confusion, leaving him stunned in place. Right then, a heavy crashing sound erupted from Pecko's round belly, it was only a moment, but it was possible to see Aerodactyl's long tail bashing at his opponent's exposed body.
Brendan cringed at that sound, it was too gritty and too powerful; any Pokémon would faint after getting hit by something so criminally strong as that. At this moment he wanted to fly out of Ethan's body just to look at his friend's face, because he was feeling no change of emotion coming from him, even after losing one of his Pokémon so rapidly.
To Brendan's surprise, a startling one, a loud piercing whistle echoed in the air. Took him good ten seconds to noticed that Ethan had two fingers pressed against his lips.
Pecko, who was slowly falling down from the sky, suddenly jolted his eyes wide open. His trainer's whistle resonated deeply into the Pokémon's mind, alerting him to his situation and the distance between him and the grey menace. Getting back the control of his flying, the Dragonite let his body fall even faster, diving fully into the ground only to swoop in an arc around the arena and rise to the sky again on the other side of Aerodactyl's space.
Aiming at his zooming opponent barely visible in the line of heavy clouds, Pecko opened his mouth, letting a force of yellow crackling light swirled at the opening between his teeth. Pushed forward by a terrifying roar, a spear of lightning bolt flew from the orange dragon, piercing and cleaving the grey line of clouds into an open space.
Red clapped his hands together in front of him, the sound it made echoed in an annoying manner, invading Ethan's thoughts and forcing him to look at the other trainer. And at this moment he heard his Dragonite cry in pain. Pecko is stuck midair, with the grey form of Aerodactyl attached to him, pointy and sharp white teeth pressed at the backside of Pecko's neck.
In the midst of painful screeches of pain and heavy wing flaps, Brendan saw a small flicker onto those unwavering red eyes of the silent champion. Something managed to move the unmovable wall that is Red's concentration, forcing the legendary trainer to avert his eyes away from the battle and into boy battling him.
The tingling sensation on 'his' cheeks was what gave away the source of Red's discomfort. Ethan is smiling, a full-fledged wide smile. While his Pokémon in whining in pain in its lockdown, the raven-haired boy is overjoyed. Brendan frowned in slight confusion, only to be more surprised when Ethan raised his gaze and shouted.
"That's enough Pecko, let's fry him up now!"
Pecko who was writhing in pain abruptly stopped his pained act and switched to an offensive position. He twirled to the left, sinking his claws at the Aerodactyl's back and pushing him further close to his body. Then crying out to the sky, he summoned a giant thunderbolt on top of them both, discharging a powerful current of energy against his resilient scales and into the not so resistant naked grey skin of the grey dragon.
In a rash clash, both dragons landed on the snow-covered ground. Pecko slowly rising up to his feet with a thin line of bruises at his neck, while his opponent lay on the ground showing no signs of getting up anytime soon.
Or so they thought…
Red for the first time raised his voice. "Fire Blast" The intonation deep and strong, a stern ring echoing with the raspiness of his voice. Following his command, Aerodactyl rolled on his belly, resting his open mouth on the snow and taking aim at his opponent.
Scorching heat clashed against freezing cold as an infernal wave of flames unleashed from the ancestral Pokémon's agape mouth. At first, a grey curtain of frozen ashes erupted from the ground, washing over anything in its path; then from this swelling fog, the heated wave came forward, melting the snow into water and blackening the surface of the mountain as it advanced towards the Dragonite.
"UP!" Ethan yelled loudly. He tossed both arms into the air and motioned a broken circle to his right. "Ignore him and reach upward!"
Pecko did as asked and ignored everything in his way, letting the roaring flames follow behind in his trail but unable to reach him in time as the orange dragon reached higher and higher.
The trainer on the other side snapped his fingers and pointed upwards; instantly his flying Pokémon halted his blazing wave and raised up to the sky himself. Pecko got an upstart on his opponent, but Aerodactyl is faster than him, much faster. In this equilibrium of haste and distance, both Pokémon reached the cloud lines at the same time, disappearing behind the grey background.
Ethan and Red traded glances for a mere second and then both directed their gazes to the sky above.
"SKY DROP!" Both of them shouted their orders from bellow, this small choir of voices making a turmoil on the airborne battle as the two silhouettes behind the clouds became one mess limbs and crashing bodies.
A brute line erupted from the sea of clouds, Aerodactyl and Dragonite spiraling down in one single mess towards the snowy grounds. They clawed, bit and headbutted each other at each meter they cruised downwards, unrelenting in their attack, reckless of their safety.
Ethan watched with a scary focus as both Pokémon continued to torpedo down towards the mountain, his eyes clenching to push the snowstorm out of his vision, his lips pressing against one another in anticipation. As the clashing duo got inches close to the ground, Ethan swung his right arm to the side and shouted.
"Hyper Beam!"
To his surprise, his voice was not the only one getting thought the falling snow. "Dragon Breath!" Red commanded loudly in his stern, raspy tone.
This was a combination with zero percent of evasion chances. So close together to one another, Dragonite and Aerodactyl just unleashed their attacks on their opponents, giving up on their own chances of getting out. The result was an exploding cascade of powers and hurricane of snow flying high as they smashed themselves on the ground and pressed even forward with their powerful abilities.
As the sound and visual clutter dissipated, the sight of both Pokémon finally down to the count showed for the trainers present. Ethan felt a slight frustration of the outcome, but he couldn't help but smile at the challenge in front of him. Red on the other hand just called his Pokémon back to its Poke-Ball, not a slight change in his stoic face.
'H-holy… crap!' Brendan gaped internally at the show in front of him. Everything happened fast... too fast even for him. 'This is Red?' He mused at the image of the enigmatic boy standing tall in front of him. 'This is… Ethan?' Now his admiration hitting the prowess of his goofy, almost never serious friend. At this point, it was hard to no sweat drop and gulp in nervousness at this clash of monsters happening in front of his eyes.
Taking into consideration how amazing and surreal his own experiences against the Elite Four and Steven felt, Brendan, is now facing something way out of his conceptions. Just watching this battle feels insane to him, how fast-paced, how delicate the balance feels around those two that even one misstep can decide the match. Once again, he gulped internally, trying to imagine how the hell would he stand up to this challenge if it was him in Ethan's shoes.
"I've to say… you're way better than what people make you to be." Ethan said with a wicked smile. "Yeah, you are strong all right… But I am stronger!" The golden-eyed boy called his Dragonite back and instantly hurled another Poke-Ball in the field.
A tie from the start? That just fired him up even more.
"This… can't be real, right?" May said out loud, her expression one of pure perplexity.
"It is real…" Wally replied to the girl at his side, his gaze glued at the most intense battle he has ever seen. "I understand your assumption, May. But that is a real battle between very high-level trainers… I know that because of Brendan." A faint frown appeared on the boy's features as he relieved being on the other end of a battle like that. "They are probably as good as Brendan is."
"No…" Steven said back, his tone a bit quieter and his face darkened by a sick look of distress. "They are better than Brendan… my word… they are much better."
"That is too much, no?" Wally rebuked the scion's words, now taking some time to look at Steven. "Even if this is amazing to watch, Brendan himself is able to command his team without giving much vocal feedback."
Steven shook his head, the shaken look in his eyes sending a cold chill down on Wally's spine. "There's much more than that. Guiding your Pokémon through signals or signs is an amazing feat and a great advantage against your opponent; blindside them about your next move and all that. But what they are doing… that is a ridiculous concept." Steven sunk against the support of his chair, taking one hand to his mouth he stared pointily at the screen as a giant Snorlax and a red Gyarados clashed against one another. "They are chaining moves one after another in a complex dance to gain the upper hand… Look at that exchange." He pointed at the screen.
Wally and May stared at the screen with a greater focus, watching as the Gyarados slithered his way around the Snorlax and at the same time soaking the already freezing ground with sprays of water.
"If you look at it on the normal way, the Gyarados is trying to topple the heavy body of his opponent with water attacks. However, that is just a first step in what seems to be a ploy to hinder Snorlax's available ground." Steven explained carefully, his eyes now shining with an increasing admiration of that battle. "Snorlax in the meanwhile is bashing forward with forceful strikes, not even close to hitting their target, but successfully pushing the soft layer of mud and snow to the edge of that arena."
May and Wally traded odd looks with each other. "This sounds a lot more impressive when you put it like that." She said in a mildly contemplative mood. "A complicated dance in a battle, that sounds cool."
"And troublesome." Wally added in.
Steven chuckled, a genuine amazed smile appearing on his lips. "That is a spectacle of genius. I can easily analyze and explain to you what is happening, but that is as an outsider. To be inside that chaos… that is another beast in itself. I've never met anyone capable of doing such things, of battling with just split-second decision making in chain reactions… imagine doing so with such aptitude."
Zinnia grunted on her spot, amazed as she was at the prowess of those two trainers, her full attention is always switching to the young man lying on the ground.
Silver, the other one staying in silence, is watching this fight with an immense sense of amazement and deep frustration. He had fought against Ethan on that very same day, on that same blasted mountain, but looking at this monstrous battle… it was like his hated rival was holding back against him, something that deeply infuriated him.
"Silver… right?" Steven called out to the red-haired, the latter giving out a grunt and glaring to the side toward the blue-haired scion. Steven quirked a brown at the glare directed at him but still continued. "Your partner, he is terrible rude as a person and he deeply irritates me. But I have to admit, he is a brilliant trainer."
"An unhinged capability of irritation is Ethan's most prominent skill, it doesn't surprise me that you don't like him." Silver replied in his stern, emotionless tone; his words getting a snort out from May and a chuckle from Wally but he just ignored those two. "Say what you will about his quirks, but he is the best trainer I have ever met… maybe the best one in the world."
"Debatable…" Steven replied with a crooked grin. "But I relent, he is amazing. Which only intrigues me, why he refused to watch such splendid battle… isn't that curious?"
Following the ex-champion's words, Silver found himself paying way more attention to that closed door than to the running scenes flashing on that giant flat screen. 'Ethan… what are you hiding from me?'
"A-AGAIN!" Wally's voice stormed inside the room, jolting Silver away from the slight dreaming state he was in his mind. "They tied again… this is unbelievable!" Overly excited about the ongoing match, the now energetic green-haired trainer is up on his feet and clenching both hands in tight fists. At this point his own spirit is burning with a heated passion for battle, standing witness to such an amazing match is making a huge impact on him. "If they keep going like that, they will end without deciding a winner."
Steven hummed on his spot, even if still looks composed and remains seated on his chair, the veteran trainer is also getting chills from watching them. "To scout the opponent with your weaker Pokémon is a solid strategy. I will take the liberty to guess that this tactic will fade away from this point forward." He watched as two new Pokémon were released on the open snowfield, his gaze welcoming a stomping Venusaur hastily advancing with his short legs and a beautiful Pidgeot gracefully soaring above the ground, her golden feathers sparkling with the touch of soft snowflakes falling from above. "Certainly, the first upset will happen at this match."
With a growing weariness on his chest, Silver watched Comet fight valiantly against the massive green adversary. Having felt a slight connection to the stupid golden bird after their night together, Silver cringed at each time she was hit with any attack; practically feeling the pain of her body on his own. But he noticed a particularity at this reaction, his and from the boy commanding the golden bird. Each time Silver would cringe and quietly avert his gaze away from the screen, he noticed a slight wavering on the vision showing at the monitor, as if the holder of those eyes was slightly clenching them, forcing himself to look at it despite how painful it felt.
'Ridiculous…' Silver groaned mentally. 'You throw your Dragonite in a suicide rush against that Aerodactyl, but can't stand to watch your Pidgeot get hit by a simple scratch…' His lips parted in a soft smile, ever so tiny and hidden away behind one of his hands so no one would notice. 'Comet really is your doting one, huh?'
Imagining what face his boyfriend would make if he teased him about this, Silver took a quick glance behind him again, his eyes going to the closed metal door again. From the corner of his eyes, he caught a glimpse of a black flock of hair on the other side of the heavy glass window, quickly hiding itself down from view again.
Silver sighed and pushed himself away from his spot against the wall. Making his way to the other side of the room and towards the exit, he received a few annoyed hisses from the others as he blocked their view of the screen. Rolling his eyes and shaking his head, Silver ignored them and pushed the bottom at the side panel, the door sliding itself open.
The pale-skinned boy walked into the hallway, letting the door slid closed behind him before he would turn to the side and gaze at the curling form at the floor that is Ethan crouching and hugging his knees.
"If you're going to peek from the shadows, why don't just suck it up and watch the thing with everyone else." Commented the stern sounding boy, his red eyes locked on his partner; who whimpered and shook his head slowly. "Ethan… seriously, what is going on with you?"
"I can't watch that…" Ethan said with a sad little chirp.
Silver groaned and rolled his eyes again. "You clearly can. I just caught you poking your head at the window to look at it."
Jet-black hair flustered to the side, that signature long bang grazing against the laced arms as Ethan turned his head to the side, making one eye visible to look at Silver. "Watching you… I was looking at you."
"Me?" Silver asked with furrowed brows. "And when did you ever go sneak and shy about that?!" His voice getting louder at the end of the sentence. "Oh, please do tell what did I do this time to make you so tame. I will gladly repeat that every time."
A long and tired sigh escaped the boy curled into a ball. He slid his head back to the other side, hiding his face and getting back to his drooping state.
"This isn't like you… not at all." Silver said a bit more calmly, getting himself to his lover's side and slowly sliding down to be sitting next to him. "I reckon this would be one of those times that you would be insufferable. Gloating about your victory and how amazing you are and all that." A pair of pale fingers traveled to the voluminous flock of black-hair hiding Ethan's face, slowly caressing it away to reveal his beautiful features. "I must be crazy for feeling like this, but… I would prefer that version of you, annoying the life of everyone than seeing you like this."
"How can I gloat about winning, when I didn't?" Ethan replied with a sultry but silent voice.
"You didn't?" Silver stopped the caressing touch of his hand, the shock forcing him to just stare at Ethan. "What you're talking about? You're Johto's Champion because you defeated Red, the League itself proclaimed that loudly for months."
"It doesn't fucking matter, because I didn't beat the guy!" Ethan lashed out angrily, his voice echoing on the dark abandoned base as he jumped away from Silver. "I… I didn't defeat Red… Lugia did." His furious gaze slowly cooled down, his shivering grey eyes averting its attention from Silver's surprise face and down to the damp metallic floor. "I couldn't… I was so close to doing it, so close… But that little yellow devil was too much. Who would believe that one small creature could be so strong?"
Silver pulled himself up, dusting his pants as he gathered his thoughts. "So, you used Lugia to win against him?"
Ethan quietly nodded; an ashamed slow nodding.
"Does it matter?" Silver asked in his stern and serious way of talking. "You fought hard to capture Lugia, so why would be wrong to use him in a battle?"
"Because it is." Ethan brought his face up again, a disapproving frown showing up. "He fought fair and square, not a single legendary on his side. I was weak, desperate to not fail after getting so far… I defeated Red that day." He sighed again, bringing one hand to his face and clutching it in a forceful grip. "But I betrayed my best friend's trust in order to do so."
Now growing confusion was brooding inside the red-haired boy's head. He opened his mouth to voice his numerous questions but was silenced by a soft hug; a warming needy embrace.
"Sorry for raising my voice earlier... Let's go back in." Ethan whispered at Silver's ear, making that part of his body tingle at the closeness. "You were right. This is not only something I can watch… but it is one that I have to, painful as it is."
Ethan pulled his arms away from his lover, leaving the lingering feeling of his arms around the boy's waist. Without another word, Ethan just forced himself towards the metallic door and opened it up, stepping inside to be greeted by sparkling gazes of admiration.
Silver stood in place for a little longer, his gaze fixated on his boyfriend's back. 'Betrayed your best friend?' He repeated the words in his head, getting a light frown on his already stern-looking features. "This is making less sense the more he opens up about it." The red-headed mused in a quiet whisper; shaking his head to distract himself from creating dozens of theories on Ethan's past, Silver stepped inside the room and from this point forward watched the monitor with a spare of his attention while all the rest is carefully studying Ethan's every reaction.
Reactions that quickly began to manifest as the boy took his place back on his chair. Just a glance at the screen made him frown deeply and cross his arms against his chest.
An energetic cheer escaped the young brown-haired trainer as he watched Comet absolutely dismantle her opponent, the heavy Venusaur had little chance against the golden bird's speed. Took little time for Brendan to choose a side and start to root for his friend against that absolute beast of a trainer; seeing Ethan achieve the first real win in the match was an ecstatic experience. Sadly, Red's sharpshooter of a Blastoise turned the scale back to an equal state after he blasted the nimble Pidgeot out of the sky.
Right now, Proto is skillfully evading the Blastoise's torrent of water cannons. Differently from his feathered companion, the red bug has a more intricate pattern in his movements, dashing from side to side in a zigzag manner without letting the snow hinder his speed.
Despite how well Red has remained calm and collected despite the hopeless attempts of striking his foe, Blastoise is not showing such control. The giant blue Pokémon is getting angrier and angrier at each missed shot, his heavy feet stomping forward at each attempt as the enrage scowl in his face deepens.
"Proto!" Ethan called to his Pokémon.
The fast Scizor stopped his running streak for a moment and glanced back at his trainer.
Both of Ethan's arms went up and above his head, his fingers spread as much as they could. "Let's do it!" The teenager said to his trusted friend, a sharp grin showing on his lips as he saw a glint of recognition flashing on the Pokémon's eyes.
Looking a lot more alert than before, Proto returned his gaze to the Blastoise. Then, he just disappeared. A red streak began to cross the field, twice as fast as before, but straight as an arrow as it traveled to every corner of the room. This blurred image of red dashed like a storm toward the big blue turtle, one sharp red claw grazing as the dazed Pokémon's cheek.
The hit while weak and not very effective in a physical manner, had a great impact on the Pokémon's mental. Blastoise went into a full rampage, pumping his water cannons everywhere, desperately trying to hit anything, even if the after-image of Proto's dashing form was evading all with ease.
Proto went in again, this time hitting his opponent twice at the side of the head, this time more powerful in its strike; having enough strength to push the heavier Pokémon a few steps back.
A mighty roar erupted on the arena, the blue Pokémon losing any grip he had on his focus. Now water just blasted from everywhere, from the ground and up from the sky; it was like a majestic show of light, but instead of ethereal luminous beams gracing the scene, it is a destructive storm of piecing water bodies.
As beautiful and frightening as this move was, it had little success in landing anything at the red menace that continues to sprint at the arena. Arena this one that is now completely changed, those beams of waters that fired from everywhere quickly got frozen in place by the harsh cold surrounding this place, leaving the ground covered in almost hundreds of thin mirrors separating small sections from the others.
'I got him!' Ethan's triumphant words exploded inside his head, making their way to Brendan's own thoughts. 'Night Slash' The name popped up on his train of thoughts, of course never making past his closed lips. Proto had understood the meaning of Ethan's strategy, so it would be pointless to shout the move at this point or worse than that would only alert the opponent of his impending demise.
So instead of saying anything else, Ethan just watched and waited. When the streak of red disappeared behind the line of mirrors, he knew that it had started.
A heavy sound echoed in between the arena, a sound of metal clashing against an equally hard surface. Then the sound echoed again, again and again. When the first visual cue made itself available to normal eyes, it was already too late.
Lost for action in the strangeness of the new shape of the arena, Blastoise was left at the mercy of Proto's Night Slash barrage. The red bug hiding behind the mirrors in the gaps of each strike. When Proto's full form appeared completely in front of the blue turtle, he had already slashed his opponent for the sixth time, the seventh landing right after and each ensuing hit only getting stronger.
'We got him!' This time Brendan shouted to himself internally as Red's fourth Pokémon crashed against the ground, completely out of combat.
Ethan wanted to shout at the top of his lungs, he was feeling the best he has ever felt in his life. He is beating Red, the legend himself, and it was not by a small margin. Ever since Comet handled Venusaur, Ethan had taken control of the pacing of this match and he can feel it in every bone of his body. Normally this would push him to tease his opponent or to count his victory ahead of time, yet…
The look on Red's face, one of pure serenity; as if everything is going just fine and under his control. This ticked Ethan in the wrong way; how come that person is so calm despite being clearly on the verge of losing?
'Screw that… no time to be spacing out.' He growled himself out of his daze, his eyes going to the fifth Poke-Ball coming from his opponent.
Like every other Pokémon coming out from Red's team, the battlefield instantly transformed into a different state. This one even more noticeable than last time, as the blazing Charizard touched the ground, the towering icy mirrors all melted down into puddles of waters.
"That's a mean looking one." Ethan commented loudly, mostly talking with his own companion. "Ok, Proto. Let's change! I will take the helm now, okay?"
Proto, who landed a few paces ahead of his trainer, looked back at Ethan and nodded firmly. The red speedster stepped aside and gained a more neutral stance to his previous more aggressive one.
Once more, taking his uniqueness furthermore, Ethan stepped forward, getting in range of the battle arena. What he did next, greatly surprised Brendan and even Red himself, managing to get a startled look out from the silent trainer.
Ethan stood next to Proto and took a fighting position himself. "Can you do it in this place?" He asked his Pokémon, who first took a few glances to the arena around them and then nodded. "Great! Heh, to think I would debut this against the big man himself." The younger trainer traded the position of his legs, taking the left one forward and bringing the right one back, he jumped in place and shouted very loudly. "LET'S GO, PROTO!"
Proto jumped forward, moving his legs in the same way that Ethan did. But differently from his trainer, the red bug continued moving at a full speed, holding his arms in an exact copy of Ethan's posture.
"Sword!" Ethan shouted, bringing his left arm back and shooting the right one forward.
Proto once again copied the movement, flying at full speed towards his opponent and throwing at him a full charged punch. Charizard waited for the red claw to get close enough and raised one of his wings to intercept the hit; while the fiery lizard growled mildly in discomfort, he remained steady-fast in his spot.
Soft stepping sounds came from the other side of the arena, as Ethan sprinted his way around the imaginary circle. "Bounce!" He shouted. "Streak Two, Spear." He stopped in his track, his feet sliding across the slippery snow. Doing a fast twirl, the boy bounced backward and then rolled forward, pushing both arms in a synchronized move.
While the human counterpart of the duo looked at bit funny and quirky while he was doing this, the Pokémon one was nothing short of spectacular. Proto dashed to the side, kicking his feet against the ground to make himself slid backward as both of his claws began to glow with a bright white light. Then flying like an arrow made of light, he attacked Charizard with a spear-shaped move, darting across the battlefield in a blink of an eye.
As fast as Charizard's reaction time is, he could not move as fast as Proto. He tried to bring both of his arms in the line of aim of those flying claws, but before he could make contact, that attack exploded against his belly; sending him flying a few steps back.
At this point, it was impossible for Ethan to hide his huge grin. He was watching the orange Pokémon get back on his feet, with all the concentration in the world, but deep inside his mind, he was already feeling himself on his win. Immersed in this conflicting experience brewing in his mind, the young raven-haired trainer failed to notice the sharp hawk-like stare he was getting from the trainer at the other side.
One loud whistle echoed from Red, getting all attention onto him.
"Ignore your sight." Said him calmly and then nothing more.
As Charizard nodded and got himself back into a fighting position, Ethan and Proto traded a small confused glance between each other.
"So, you can't see him, then why bother? Am I right?" Ethan tossed one small jab at Red, the other boy not gracing him with any reaction other than a solid stern gaze. "I don't blame ya. But I'm ahead of you, Red." Ethan stepped forward again, getting even closer to the range of the battling Pokémon. "You will not be able to hear anything… when we go turbo!"
Proto's head cocked a bit to the side after hearing that special word. It was their code, the line to make him go faster than ever before. So, the valiant Scizor prepared his thin legs and waited for the finishing move.
Ethan began to run all the way to his previous spot again, and as soon as he slid back there; he tossed himself to the side and rolled out to the left, stopping after the fourth roll and jumping back at his feet to raise one fist. "One more to end, Proto!" He rallied up in an energetic way, running sweat marking his cheeks. "Time for the Red Buster."
Proto dashed to the side, faster than ever before. He took the maximum amount of distance between him and his target. Four taps to the side, he trailed to the left in an equal number of times as Ethan rolled on the snowy ground; Setting his feet in place, he was ready to unleash everything.
"Right side!" Red's voice stormed loudly for the first time; his words prompting Charizard to raise one arm to the said direction and timely catch the flying blow incoming from Proto's shining claws.
Ethan's eyes widened almost as much as Proto's eyes did. He even gasped in pain when Charizard punched his Pokémon at the side of the face, sending the red bug rolling down into the floor. He then switched his gaze to the other trainer, standing taller than ever in front of him.
Red looked at him and the faintest of smiles appeared on his lips. "No need to hear it, when I can see you do it."
Hearing that sent chills up Ethan's spine, any momentum he had in his brazen confidence against Red instantly cooled down to apprehension again; this battle is still far from over.
'What a freaking monster!' Brendan just found himself dumbstruck because of that red-eyed trainer yet again. He found utterly confusing, and unnecessarily stupid, each and every movement Ethan did while commanding his Pokémon. It was like watching a kid trying to imitate how Pokémon do battle, but instead guiding the Scizor in a very detailed and fast manner to not only confuse their opponent but also catch them off guard.
That being put, Red not only was able to remain cool about the whole silliness of the situation, but he was also able to read Ethan's command to Proto with just a third glimpse at the weird technique.
Brendan never felt himself more out of his league as he is feeling right now, and even if he is rooting deeply for Ethan; he cannot help himself but admire how absurdly amazing Red is as a trainer.
"Proto, let's change back…" Said a less enthusiastic golden-eyed boy. "Sorry…" He trailed his gaze in a downcast way to the side, feeling disappointed and angry at himself. So keenly aware of battles and their unraveling situations, Ethan's knows that Proto stands no chance as it is against that Charizard, he knew that from the start. Because of this, he tried to change the flow of the battle by taking charge of the Scizor's movement himself, but now that Red is able to read him like an open book, continuing with that would only create an even bigger disadvantage.
Countered in his special strategy, Ethan got relegated to be a sideline spectator to the one-sided beating his fast Scizor was suffering from that powerful fire breathing dragon. Even when he tried to command Proto with words or signs, the metallic bug had little success in landing any attack; only being able to dodge a few of the burning waves flying his way.
It took Proto sliding harshly with his back against the ground for Ethan to call his Pokémon back and forfeit this one battle. Doing so he frowned deeply and sighed heavily.
Despite his outstanding skills and amazing capabilities as a trainer; Ethan is still very young, hot-headed and inexperienced. This shows heavily each time this match has a turning point, where he is overjoyed when one of his Pokémon stands victorious against the opposition and when one of them is beaten, he gets silent and sulky. To his prejudice, the latter type of reaction is still the strongest one and it is also the most evolving one; with him getting less focused and more anxious at each loss.
At this moment, he is holding two Poké-Balls, one in each hand. While his right hand is clenching heavily its hold on the little round object in its palm, Ethan's gaze is fixated on the purple one at his left hand; a trembling hesitant gaze in his eyes.
Brendan, looking at the same purple Poke-Ball through the lens of his friend's eyes, feels a nasty poking edge at his chest. Such a powerful and painful sensation, that it was almost as if someone was stabbing him in the heart with a sharp knife. Staring at that purple thing he recognized this feeling, this hesitation; It is one he has felt himself in multiple times while looking at Groudon's blackened prison.
'I know how hard it is, Ethan…' Brendan spoke without even noticing it himself. 'The temptation of taking the easy route, how hard it is to refuse the urge, how rotten it feels to give in.' A very vivid image of Brendan stuck in his bedroom, staring at his wardrobe, flashed across his eyes, one of his restless days coming back to haunt him at this moment.
"It's you and me, partner." Ethan's soft whisper pulled Brendan back from his traveling thoughts, taking his attention to the fact that his friend has put the purple ball away and is holding only the other one in his hands.
Ethan hurled the thing at the center of the arena, the sparkle of youth returning to his eyes as the Poke-Ball split itself into a show of light and erupting flames.
"This is your last stop, Red." Ethan proclaimed loudly and brazen in his usual way of taunting people. "I'll recognize the strength of your team, especially your Charizard. However, he is quite little when paired against Flames. Your strongest Pokémon versus my strongest Pokémon, this is the final straw of our battle… Champion."
Flared up by his trainer's words, Flames let his voice roar fiercely around the arena, the blistering fire collar at his neck getting twice higher in its height in this demonstration of ferocity.
Impassive as always, Red just looked at the younger boy. However, just this once, the pale champion let a ghost of an amused smile appears on his lips, forcing him to bring a hand to his head and hide half of his face as he adjusted his white and red cap in place.
Likewise, when Proto was facing against that orange beast of a Pokémon, using any type of intricate tactic would prove most useless. This Charizard excels in his defensive prowess, while also dishing out some nasty attacks; forcing Flames to waste energy to try and confuse the opponent would only tire him out.
'No need for that.' Ethan smiled as he stared at the large back of his Typhlosion. 'His harden defense only needs an overwhelming blast for it to shatter to pieces. If anyone can do it, that it is you, Flames.'
"Partner!" With a booming voice, Ethan called out to his Pokémon. "Go get him."
If Flames' roar was loud before, this time he deafened any other sound daring to exist at the peak of Johto. His thundering voice bending the mountain into a silent submission as the blue and yellow Pokémon charged forward with a stomping dash, with his sharp eyes stuck on Charizard's form.
One fist coated in fire flew at a high speed towards the orange dragon; the response was swift and effective, as Charizard raise one of his wings to meet the punch and block it entirely. Quickly retaliating with a fire punch of his own, Charizard exploded his right hand at his opponent's cheek, the sound was painful as the hit itself and the small shock wave coming from it pushing the falling snow away from those two.
As powerful as Charizard punch was, his arm instantly stopped moving when the attack clashed on the Typhlosion's head. Still having the dragon's fist attached to his cheek, Flames twitched his face a bit to the side just to give the other Pokémon a unfazed look; then with one swing of his upper body, he exploded his right fist forward again, this time twice as fast and engulfed by flames two times bigger than before.
It was like watching a grown-up person trashing a little cushion doll. Flames explosive punch was so devastating, that at the moment his fist connected with the lower part of Charizard's chin, the orange dragon got ejected to the air in a spinning twirl. A second, just as powerful, Fire Punch came crashing from above, this one pressing Charizard's form against the ground in a shattering pressure.
From the landing impact, a steaming heatwave exploded in a circle, melting any left-over solid snow into a warm pool of water, cascading down onto the side of the mountain.
Fighting to free himself of the opponent's hold, Charizard swung his long tail in the air, bashing it in a whipping like motion against the side of the towering Typhlosion, sending him sliding back to the center of the arena. Clawing himself up from the ground, the angered dragon opened his mouth and unleashed an inferno wave of fire at his opponent.
Staring at the spiraling wave, Flames stomped each of his foot on the ground, taking a firm hold of his stance, he just allowed the attack to explode on him, head-on. This wave transformed into a swirling tornado of flames around its target, burning the ground and the air around it with its heat. But as the flames died out, Flames stood strong in his spot, a few charred spots in his body yet a resolute look in his face.
Letting the fire collar on the back of his neck explode wildly, Flames got down in four onto the ground, aiming his mouth at his opponent. From within him, an equally devastating wave of fire exploded out, burning out any left unscathed ground that had endured the last blazing attack. Charizard spread his wings to try and fly away from that raging blast, but instead of doing so, he just curled them around his body, forcing him to endure the attack in the same manner that taunting Typhlosion did.
A stubborn idea that the dragon instantly regretted. Flames attack was not only more forceful in its push, but somehow those blazing flames were a lot hotter than what Charizard himself had released. One more time, the dragon got pushed down into the floor, this time leaving his wings heavily wounded in the attempt to withstand that attack.
'This is over. The difference between them is too big.' Brendan mused to himself, as he watched Ethan's Typhlosion heavily outclass the other fire Pokémon. 'Flames, huh… I wonder if Ekkisu would stand a chance against him.' A warm chuckle escaped the young champion, Ekkisu would probably hit him again if he heard this, mostly for Brendan doubting him but also for making him fight a Pokémon this crazy strong.
Livid in rage at how much weaker he is looking against that fire-type Pokémon, Charizard just ignored the hard and long training drilled in his head by his trainer. So frustrated and furious, the dragon just charged forward, much to Red's disapproval as the boy shook his head at his Pokémon uncaring action.
At each punch, scratch or bite that Charizard would dish out at his opponent, he was receiving a double paced retribution, with Flame's attacks having lasting effects on him while his attempts where only bruising the other Pokémon. As one upwards hook landed at Charizard's belly, the dragon fell to both knees on the ground, gaging heavily at the pulsating pain throbbing from his stomach.
With a quiet bewildered grunt, Red called his hot-headed Pokémon back, giving to Ethan his fifth win and match point.
Where Charizard fell, Flames stood tall and strong; the imposing Pokémon glaring at Red with a scary sharpness on his eyes. The trainer behind him was all smiles and confidence; Ethan as always is having a hard time concealing his growing enthusiasm, in his head, he was already the victor of this match.
So much confidence was swirling inside his chest, that Ethan stepped forward again just to address the other trainer. "Come on, Red. Choose your next Pokémon and let's be done with this. It's time for a new Champion to rise."
To the provocation, Red just eyed the other boy with a quirked brow. But as Ethan requested, he needed to call the next member of his team. But it would seem that the last member himself was more than ready to jump in action, the little Pikachu leaping from his trainer's shoulders all the way to the center of the arena.
'A Pikachu?!' Ethan almost roared out a burst of laughter as the yellow rodent landed on the ground. 'I thought the little plushie toy was his pet friend. He actually is going to force that pint-sized Pokémon to face off against Flames?'
"Are you ready to continue?" Red's stern voice crossed the arena, taking Ethan out of his inner monologue.
The golden-eyed boy cocked his head to the side, giving one of his 'looks' at the other trainer. "Hah! Sure, man. We were born read-".
Ethan's vision became an instant blur of faint blue, his ears got flooded by a ringing noise, both of his hands flying to his head as he squinted his eyes in pain. It was like a giant thunder had crashed on top of Mt. Silver.
Took Ethan more than several seconds for him to get his proper vision back, his hearing was still a mess of noises and a minor headache had made itself present. Shaking these sensations away, he scanned the arena with a perplexed look at his face, he searched for Flames but found nothing but a giant crater at the side.
"Flames!" He called out, his own voice sounding like a muffled mess of sounds to his ears. 'The hell happened here?' A cold shudder shook his shoulders as he glanced at the small yellow Pokémon jumping out from the wide hole, he himself has made. "Come on, buddy. Where are you?"
From the left side, a fresh mount of snow began to shiver and crumble as a bruised Typhlosion dug his way out of it. Taking even normal steps forward was proving like a gigantic task for Flames, as yellow flashes of static ran all around his body, paralyzing his members.
"You got it wrong before…" Red called out to Ethan. "Charizard is not my strongest Pokémon."
Responding to his trainer's words, Pikachu dashed around the arena, his movements looked a lot more like a bolt of lightning than a Pokémon running.
Mouth agape, lifeless arms trembling at his side; Ethan had a blank gaze onto him. This shocked expression changing a little, but the bright golden glow in his eyes vanishing for the moment. "Full of surprises until the end… I couldn't ask for a better opponent than you." A thin line of a grin showing on his lips as he calmly recovered a bit more of his concentration.
"Ethan…" Flames' rugged voice called to his trainer. "I can do it… I will take that little rat down."
'I know you can…' The words while crossed his mind, never made their way past his lips. Instead, Ethan just nodded to his partner. One of his hands going down to the front pocket of his pants and softly tapping a Poke-Ball.
While the lack of proper response felt strange to the fire type Pokémon, Flames just accepted the nod as an answer, taking his full attention back to the dashing yellow streak.
For Flames, it was dizzying to try and follow Pikachu's path. It was too fast for his eyes to catch, like trying to gaze at a falling thunderbolt. The crackling noises he makes at each turn was sickening to hear as if at any moment another lightning strike would soar down from the sky.
It was only when a zapping noise erupted from above that Flames made his movement, dodging to the side as quickly as he could to escape another devastating thunderbolt. Yet, as his feet landed on the slippery ground, a flashing streak crossed his line of vision and Pikachu's charged tail whipped at his face, almost toppling Flames down on his sides.
Another thunder falling from the sky and dodged by the nimble Typhlosion, another charged up tail bash struck at his head. This pattern continued to go on for more than seven times, each one leaving Flames in a worse state than before.
"Ethan..." Flames' voice is raspier than before, showing how hard is for him to just still be standing, imagine talking or fighting. "I can… do it… still can… do it."
He cannot.
That was Ethan's immediate thought after looking at the horrible state his partner is in. Just looking at this fight anymore was downright torture, it was tearing Ethan to pieces seeing his Typhlosion gets bashed from one side to the other, he could not stand it anymore. Even worse, his chest was a profound mess torn apart by his immense desire to win and anger of seeing Flames get beat up so easily.
'I have no choice…' Ethan brought his hand to his pant's pocket again, this time he grabbed the Poke-Ball fully in his grasp. 'Flames… I have no choice, I need to… I want to win.'
"DON'T DO IT!"
Ethan jumped out from his seat. He was practically standing in the middle of the screen, impending everyone else's view; but no one made even a slight noise of complaint. They are all too dumbstruck to even say anything.
Feeling his heart carve itself into a miserable hole of regrets; the young champion clenched his right fist, pressing it against his chest.
"DON'T DO IT!" He practically screamed at the monitor. "Please… don't do it. Fucking lose the battle but don't do it…"
It was all flushing in back to his memory now; the moment he pulled Lugia's Poke-Ball out, the moment the called Flames back… That look in Flames' eyes, one of absolute betrayal and sadness. Ethan would not be able to withstand looking at that again.
'I know we can't change the past… but please… believe in him, stick with your friend until the end.' Ethan closed his eyes and pleaded, with all his devotion, with every bit of his being. If there was a way of even for a moment undoing what he did that day, it would be worth it.
"DON'T DO IT!"
'Ethan?!' Brendan felt this imaginary world of memories tremble in its entirety. His friend's voice echoing everywhere, but not the one he is currently present with, but the older Ethan the one he got to know first in Hoenn.
This call for help shook the fabric of this reality, making time as it was flowing stop for a moment as Brendan got overwhelmed but two streams of emotions. One from the present Ethan, his burning desire to win, and, the other from the future version of him, a desperate plea to heal his still-open wound.
As much as Brendan was rooting for Ethan's victory in this battle, his own heart resonated with older Ethan's feelings. He once felt great regret in his life, he still feels it sometimes; if only once he could change that, he would take the opportunity, he would cling at it as if his life was dependent on it. And so, for his friend, he did.
Taking as his strength, the burning feelings of Ethan on the other side, Brendan pushed through the merciless chains holding him in his spectator's place. He fought and pushed against everything, even time itself, making an unimaginable struggle to go forward and take control of this single moment.
With the first chain of light disappearing into nothing, Brendan's eyes opened themselves up a second time, even if they were open before. It was like wakening up from a dream and taking control of his body fully again, but this was still happening inside of Ethan's memory.
Brendan stepped forward, taking over Ethan's body. "I believe in you!" He forced his throat to comply and unleash his voice as loudly as it could. These words reaching the beaten Typhlosion and making him look back at the boy. "I know you can do it, Flames! Show them how strong you truly are."
With the interloper's intervention, this world of memory began to crumble and fade. As Brendan tried to change the past, time itself began to fight back against him, destroying this memory little by little with its all-consuming light.
With Mt. Silver getting slowly swallowed by the lifeless white void, the battle in itself had not stopped.
Flames glanced back at this trainer for a moment, a surprised look in his face but a giant smile taking hold of his features. The fierce Pokémon pulled his right arm backward and locked his gaze at the impossible fast Pikachu. He is bruised, beaten and hurting, but those words coming from his friend had given Flames every bit of strength he had needed to push forward at least one more time.
He waited for the sky to buzz and crackle again, he firmly stood his ground, letting the raging thunder collapse on top of him, only intensifying his pain. However, his focus was absolute, and as Pikachu flew in at him yet again, tail charged up and ready to strike. Flames let his right fist swing true at his target, a blazing coat of fire surrounding not only his arm but his entire body as his response let itself be known to the terrifying small creature.
The punch landed squarely on Pikachu's body, a giant wave of fire exploded on him, taking over the small curtain of electricity Pikachu had made, practically devouring the rodent's attack and giving it back to him ten times worse than it was before.
As this scene burned up in Brendan's eyes, the world flashed all in white. He saw Flames explode the Pikachu to the other side of the arena, then falling forward with his face on the ground, a giant smile on him.
Flames quickly faded to nothing, Pikachu also disappeared, as did the mountain and the sky. Getting pulled back by the tyrannical light, Brendan saw one last thing before he himself disappeared. The figure of a tall pale boy, staring at him with piercing scarlet eyes; Red watched him quietly to only then give him a sincere smile and nod approvingly.
"Congratulations… this is your victory."
Then, nothing else.
To everyone watching, the screen slowly faded to white and then to black as any visuals got shut down.
Celebi, the poor thing, collapsed to the side after exhausting herself beyond her limits. Like before, her small body returned to her home as it quietly faded away from the room.
As panic was about to explode on the room, for the little helper's disappearance and the sudden blackout of the screen, Spiegel himself shot up from the ground; his eyes startling wide open and a loud gasp for air coming from the boy.
Steven, Zinnia, Wally, and May; all of them jumped from their seats startled at the doppelganger's sudden reaction. May instantly began to sob looking at the confused looking boy, Wally at her side was almost sharing the same reaction as her, but he was holding in his tears, settling to just stare at his friend with a relieved expression.
"B-Brendan…?" Steven called out to him first, given how frozen in place Zinnia is on the other side of the room.
A pair of deep-blue eyes glanced at Steven. Lingering on him for a moment and then traveling all the way to the still-open door at the front. Taking no time to say anything, Spiegel/Brendan, jumped to his feet and sprinted out of there, dashing in a crazed way towards the dim-lighted hallway.
"W-Wha?! Where is he going?!" Wally ran to the door just to see his friend make a turn at the end of the hall.
Getting scared out of her daze, Zinnia sprinted right after to her possible running boyfriend. Her own desperate stampede after him prompting the other three to follow her and go after their escaping friend.
Only Silver and Ethan remained back in the room, with the red-haired one watching as his partner was looking down at the floor, with his face hiding behind some shadows.
Now, understanding at least a little about this borderline traumatic event on his lover's life; Silver stepped closer to him, putting one of his hands at Ethan's back. "How are you feeling?" Just as he asked, light shivering crossed the other boy's body.
Two little droplets fell onto the floor, followed by a quiet sob coming from the raven-haired trainer. "I'm such a dumbass…" His lips quivered into a little smile as a few sobs escaped from him. "You were able to do it, Flames… I should have trusted you."
Taking Silver by surprise, Ethan quietly turned to him and pulled the pale boy into a tight and needy embrace. Overwhelmed at first, but understanding of it; Silver wrapped his own arms around his boyfriend's back, letting him sob quietly against his shoulder.
"Thank you…" Ethan whispered quietly.
Just as Silver was about to ask what was that about, he heard Ethan said that another time and then repeat it once more. It felt distant, personal and most of all, not entirely directed at Silver himself; but the red-haired could guess to whom those words are meant to.
With Zinnia at the helm of the chase, the group continued their sprint inside the maze that is the abandoned Team Rainbow Rocket's base. At the mid-point section, most precisely at the second row of climbing stairs; Wally and Zinnia increased their running speed twice more than what they were doing before, sadly May and Steven are not as athletic as the other two, both stopping to catch their air and then taking things a bit more calmly or their lungs would probably explode out of fatigue.
To the duo ahead of the rest, reached the entrance of the cave right on time to see Spiegel pull his cerulean Poke-Ball out from one of his pockets, promptly throwing it at the ocean's waters.
"Bre… HEY YOU!" Zinnia shouted at him, the tanned girl desperately trying to reach him in time. "Stop running, dammit!" She managed to step on the more sandy/rock covered spot at the edge end of the cave where the sunlight is lazily warming it up; but right then she could only watch as he jumped into the water, submerging deep into the sea.
As Spiegel sunk below vision, a large shadow deep bellow began to move at an impressively fast pace, covering the distance between Lilycove and open sea in a mere moment.
"He… escaped…" Wally jumped down from the broken platform, landing next to Zinnia as he tried to catch his breath. "Is he thinking straight? I mean, what is the deal about running like that?"
A pair of emerald eyes glared at Wally, the gritting frown on her face is showing the size of Zinnia displeasure with all of this.
"That shadow, he called Kyogre out just to zoom the hell away from here." Zinnia reached for one of her own Poke-Balls, her gaze going back to the blue horizon ahead of her. "That stupid jerk, if he thinks he will get away from me so easily… I will make him regret getting this idea."
"H-Heey…" May popped out at the base entrance, her face even more pale than usual after losing her breath more than twice on her way here. Behind her is an equally exhausted Steven, looking just as confused as she is.
"Where… is… him?" Steven asked in between long breaths, the poor scion almost gagging in his desperate breathing for air.
Wally shrugged at the question and pointed down with one finger. "He jumped into the water and vanished to who knows where." Tired from not only this little sprint rush but also the shaking experiences from before, the green-haired gym leader plopped his back on the ground, looking for a little rest on the soothing sunlight. "The way I look at this, we will just have to wait it out and see."
A gush of sand flew Wally's way as Zinnia kicked in his direction, the boy barely had time to close his mouth before it hit him. "You wait all you want." She snarled at him, who looked indifferent to her outburst. "I will go after that sneaking bastard and bring his fleeting ass back, even if I have to kick him all the way."
Wally rolled to the side, resting his head against one hand as he laid down. "Well, good luck with that… I had my share of Brendan chasing for the day."
"Hmph!" Zinnia puffed heavily from her nostrils. She finally pulled a Poke-Ball out and casually walked to the border of the sea. "I don't need any luck… I just need a dragon."
"Are you alright, kid?" Kyogre watched his guardian stumble towards the messy beach, the boy coughing water like he was some sort of fountain.
Spiegel nodded weakly; his mouth way too busy puking out water for him to reply to the titan with any words.
"Half-witted was always a trait I recognized in you, but not at this capacity." If he was capable of doing so, Kyogre would chuckle at the boy's stupidity, and even more so at his desperate reaction after they emerged back from the deep. "Next time you drag me into a hectic trip, make sure to stay out of the water… You're human now, after all."
Ignoring the smartassery coming from Kyogre of all beings on the planet, Spiegel pulled himself up to his feet. With a killing headache clouding his thoughts, he shifted his entire focus to the last thing he heard before waking up. It was like a siren's song, guiding him exactly to one spot and one spot alone.
With trepid steps, the young doppelganger adventured forward into the mess that is the ruined Sky Pillar. It is hard to walk, hard to think and even harder to process the myriad of experiences that suddenly were injected into his being; even now those memories still linger at the corners of his mind, echoes of voices and blurs of colors; all existing there while not properly being registered as his own.
"Here…" Spiegel said in a faint whisper. His trembling steps taking him further inside the ruined island. "I… am here…" He spoke again.
Taking one false step at a broken stair, his body tumbles forward; a sudden weakness taking over him. But before his knees could hit the ground, his right arm was taken in by a soft but firm grasp.
A glad little smile appeared on the doppelganger's lips, his blue gems slowly lifting up to glance at his savior.
"Welcome back… brother."
Brendan smiled to his identical little brother, carefully helping him up to his feet again. "Yeah… It's good to be back. Thank you for finding me."
A rush of strength flood Spiegel's body, giving him the energy to step forward and pull Brendan into a crushing hug. "Of course, I found you. Taking care of Zinnia would be too much trouble for me." He smiled cheerfully, tapping Brendan at the back. "Sorry, but that is something that only you can do."
Both boys started to laugh in a heartfelt way, still holding each other in a tight embrace.
Sadly, their little moment of peace came to a full halt when the giant form of Rayquaza soared above the island. His shining emerald scales spreading blinding light everywhere as he serpentines his way above them.
"YOU!" Zinnia's furious voice stormed around the flattened island, and if her tone is any indication, Brendan is due to a very harsh time… maybe both Brendans. "Is this funny for you? Running around like a headless Wurmple? Any fun in scaring the crap all of everybody, huh?" She stomped her way closer to Spiegel, her eyes practically making a hole at his back with their intensity. "Got any excuses?"
"Hm…" Spiegel pulled himself away from Brendan, rubbing the back of his head as he turned to look at Zinnia. "Maybe…"
"We got one." Brendan poked with his head above his little brother's shoulder, an impish smile on his lips.
All anger that was steaming the tanned girl's inside got blown away in an instant. "B-Brendan…?" She stuttered as her legs stopped in their tracks. Zinnia brought one hand to her lips and let out a gentle sob as her eyes began to glitter with small tears. "Brendan!" Letting her feet run as fast as they could, Zinnia leaped on them, pushing both Brendans to the ground and wrapping one of them around her arms. "I missed you… I missed you so much."
The young man in her arms squirmed for a moment, trying to get a little space to breathe under her crushing embrace. "Zinnia… Please… let go for a moment." He pleaded to her.
"Never! I'm never letting go of you, not a chance." She protested loudly, her tears now streaming down her cheeks. "I am scared of unwrapping my arms from you and you disappearing from my life again."
"Zinnia… you got the wrong Brendan." He said quietly with a bit of sorry sympathy on his tone.
Instantly Zinnia jumped away from the boy, her eyes widening with shame and a bit of guilt; those sparkling emerald gems traveling to the other Brendan sitting at her side.
Giving her a small chuckle, Spiegel shook his head and pointed to his long hair. "He is messing with you." Once again, he made sure to point at his hair and them to Brendan's short one.
Poor Zinnia went completely red, from the tip of her ears all the way to her toes; she didn't know where to look after this. Her reaction only made Brendan burst into a thunderous fit of laughter, the boy wrapping his right arm on her waist, pulling her closer to him.
"You Jerk!" She rewarded him for his little joke with a mighty punch to his chin, sending the boy spiraling down with his back on the ground, which didn't manage to take away his huge smile. She glanced at the happy man lying bellow her, his sparkling happy features melting away any brewing anger she had in her chest. "I really missed you… stupid."
Brendan hummed and pulled her down against his chest; his right hand slowly caressing her soft hair. "I missed you too, love." He planted a gentle kiss at her forehead, only to make her blush again and smile happily. "Took me some time, but at least I can say it now… Zinnia, Spiegel… Thank you for not giving up on me."
"It was hard… too hard. But I never did, not even once." Zinnia replied softly. "Aster also believed in you, and Ekkisu, and Layla and Naito… all of us continued to wait and hope that you one day would come back to us."
Spiegel, who was staring at the other way, gaze completely locked on the peaceful sun; he just nodded quietly in his spot and hummed too. "Hoenn would not be the same without you."
"I say the same to you, little brother…" Brendan looked at Spiegel, who shuddered at the mention. "Make sure to come back to us too, okay?"
Spiegel gave Brendan a look that said 'You know?', but the other boy's smile was more than enough to answer that question. So, the doppelganger relented and sighed. "Considering that Flannery would kill me if I didn't… There is no other option. One day, I will be back in Hoenn. When it comes, let's go back to Littleroot together… I want to come clear with mom and dad."
A voiced reply didn't come from Brendan, instead, he raised his left hand and made a fist towards Spiegel. The blue-eyed boy stared at his brother for just a moment and then smiled. Raising his right arm, he fist-bumped Brendan in a quiet agreement.
'Now more than ever I want to see the world, Brendan…' Spiegel trailed his thoughts to the sky above them. 'I want to grow as you did, experience weirds stuff like Ethan does all the time, get to know a lot of people like Zinnia tends to do… I want to be like you, brother… Like you, but not you.' He let out a quiet laugh at the small contradiction of his earlier ambitions with his dream of the moment. 'You are my role model, my brother… my hero. But that is not something that I will say out loud; I rather save myself from such humiliation.'
"Spiegel…" Brendan called out to him.
"Yeah?" The youngster of the 'twins' responded.
"You do know that we still share a link, right?" The look on Brendan's face is one that rivals Ethan's teasing façade, this mortified Spiegel to his core.
"…" He brought one hand to his face and completely turned away from Brendan and Zinnia. "Please forget everything."
"Not a chance." Brendan laughed as Spiegel lumped to the ground, and while one brother was teasing the other, Zinnia was left obliviously unaware of their exchange; but if the smile on her lips says something, is that she is more than fine to just be holding on to her boyfriend again.
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Mr MogiGaming chapter 38 . Feb 7 – So, Ethan's golden eyes are 'proof' of Ho-oH powers, the ability to feel no fear. As long as Ethan eyes are shining with a golden color, he is fearless as he has shown to be most of the time. When something manages to scare even him, this ability stops working and his eyes turns back to their original color.
I hope this is not very confusing.