Anger Point

"You scumbag! Why didn't you call your Snorlax off?" Ethan yelled as he grabbed the front part of Red's collar. "That Outrage attack was way out of control! You should've stopped it as soon as it became obvious that my Ambipom had lost already!"

Red said nothing.

"Hey, are you deaf? I'm talking to you, Red!" Ethan shouted even louder.

Red said nothing.

"ANSWER ME!"

Red said nothing.

Without hesitation, Ethan raised his right hand again and delivered a mean right hook to Red's left cheek, but he didn't let Red's collar go.

"My Ambipom is seriously hurt," Ethan said, his voice cracking, his eyes watering. "Pokémon battles weren't meant to go that far. A Pokémon battle is supposed to only be a friendly fight in which the Pokémon and their Trainers give their best in order to grow stronger. And form friendships with other Trainers..."

"But you. You were battling as if you were aiming to kill. This isn't what Pokémon battles are all about. You're abusing your right as a Pokémon Trainer and you're betraying the trust your Pokémon are showing you. This isn't right! What do you have to say for yourself?"

Red said nothing.

Ethan's sadness transformed into fury. "YOU'RE STILL BEING QUIET?" And he smashed Red's forehead with his own. Red fell down on the snow-covered ground. Ethan stood up; eyes wet with tears and face red with rage.

"Take this, you little piece of..." Ethan raised his right hand again, ready for a punch to Red's stomach when all of a sudden a hand grabbed his elbow firmly and stopped him from moving.

"Enough acting like a Primeape, Ethan," Leaf said calmly from behind him. Ethan turned to look at her, and to his surprise it was Blue who was holding him back. Leaf was standing to his left.

"We didn't ask you to come up here to have a fistfight with Red. We asked you to have a Pokémon battle with him," she continued.

"But Leaf! You saw what he did! He purposely commanded his Snorlax to crush my Ambipom without mercy!" Ethan shouted to her, struggling to free his elbow, but to no avail. "You can't possibly think that that's okay?"

"I don't," Leaf answered, "but that's not the point. You're here to fight a Pokémon battle and that's all. Blue and I warned you that this will be the hardest challenge of your life. Are you telling me you're going to back down?"

"What? I don't believe this! You guys are seriously letting this jerk do whatever he wants to the Pokémon of other Trainers like that?" Ethan shouted again, still struggling against Blue's grasp. "That's not right! You don't care about Pokémon and you have no respect for other Trainers! What kind of people are you?"

"Do you think this is just a game, Ethan?" Blue said to him sternly. "Do you see Pokémon journeys as merely little adventures where you go out to see the world with your dearest friends, challenging other people to get better and stopping bad guys with the powers of friendship and trust?"

Ethan looked at his senior. "What?"

"Do you think that life in this world of ours is like that? Do you see Pokémon battling as friendly matches between friends like playing cards or sports, where winning or losing doesn't really matter in the long run? Is that what you've been thinking all this time, Ethan?"

"I... I... What are you saying?"

"I'm saying that this battle with Red is real life!" Blue scolded him. "This isn't some sort of video game where you run around with your Pokémon and fighting battles and saving other people, occasionally resting up in Pokémon Centers! You don't get to do that here! There are no guaranteed rest stops and save points in real life! You have to give it your all, your everything, for your Pokémon's sake. And I mean your everything."

Ethan stopped struggling as he listened to what Blue was saying.

"Red's challenge is only given to Pokémon Trainers who we deem are strong enough to face him head on non-stop," Blue continued. "This is real life! This is real danger! Stop acting like a little kid and deal with it! Unless you don't have the mentality to go all the way, then you can go back home and play your little game. Leave this mountain NOW!"

With that tone of finality, Blue let Ethan's elbow go. Ethan said nothing, and merely looked at Blue, who was waiting for his answer. Leaf walked towards Red and helped him up.

Red fixed his shirt and cap, and then walked back towards his previous spot, in silence. Ethan looked at him, and thought he saw a hint of sadness in his eyes. Ethan breathed deeply.

His opponent was ready again, standing still. Blue and Leaf was looking at him expectantly.

Ethan closed his eyes, and nodded slowly. Then he proceeded to wipe the tears in his eyes and looked at Blue and Leaf. "I get it. I understand now," he said to them.

"Now I see. I really do have to survive here, don't I? This isn't just some battle I have to win. This is a challenge for life. All this time, all the things I've been through... They didn't teach me to survive. They only made me stronger, but they never really pushed me and my Pokémon towards the brink of death." He opened his eyes and looked at Red. "And he knows that, doesn't he?"

Blue and Leaf nodded together quietly. Ethan smiled, but it wasn't a smile of joy. It was a smile of desperation. "Fine. I accept the challenge. I'll show you. I'll show you all just how survivable I can be."

And with that he walked back towards his own spot, across the field from Red. Blue and Leaf looked at each other and then proceeded to go back to their previous tree.

As soon as Blue sat back down on his branch, and Leaf standing beneath him once more, Blue shouted towards the two Trainers. "Both Trainers ready?"

Red and Ethan nodded, each taking out a Poké Ball.

This is it. This is real. This is life. Survival of the fittest. A Pokémon battle driven by the desire not to win, but to live. I'm ready.

"Then let the challenge resume. Round 2, begin!"