The morning winds swept through Black's unkempt hair as he and his beloved partner, Zekrom, raced back to Pallet Town to share the news. Below them lay a vast sea of snow white clouds, reminding both of the capped peaks of the mountain that they had left behind mere minutes ago. As he gazed upon the cold expanse of unforgiving mercilessness (should he fall) lurking in the sky, his thoughts returned to the events which had driven him to search for the missing legend.
"Oh man the air smells so fresh!" exclaimed Black, stretching his arms into the clear blue sky in joy. The last 2-ish years of his journey had been the best. True, he'd set off with the ultimate end goal of finding his wandering friend, N, but the experiences that had filled those approximately 730 days were what had made them so memorable. During his travels, he had been to several new regions, competing in the various tournaments and leagues along the way, quickly making a name for himself as a trainer without peer—or rather, almost. He'd met tons of new people and Pokemon within that time, even managing to earn the friendship of several Legendaries he'd encountered along the way as well. Eventually, though, his adventures brought him into contact with a long forgotten tale... the buried myth of a virtuoso trainer who had once walked the lands of Kanto, tearing apart all who dared to stand between him and the throne of kings... And so, taking with him his nearest and dearest, Black had quickly set out to explore the land of this enigmatic fable. His sub-quest had led to his retracing the steps of the Kanto Champion as he sought to understand the young man who had vanished from the face of the Earth without saying a word. In due time, the background knowledge he'd obtained from the members of the Indigo Plateau and various Gyms had led him back to the legend's starting point: Pallet Town.
Black took another deep breath and exhaled as he looked upon the quiet countryside from atop his little hill. Rice paddies silently ringed the outskirts of the small gathering, while trees dotted all along its dirt roads added a sense of idyllic beauty to the quaint place. Red-orange houses sparsely decorated the base of a large hill at the center of the town, where a big windmill and laboratory were set up. A flock of Pidgey flew past as Black continued to gaze in interest at what was obviously the famed Samuel Oak's lab. Next to him, Zekrom gave a gentle snort as it tried to remind him why they were here in the first place. "Oh, right," he said, snapping out of his reverie. "Thanks, Zekrom." The black dragon merely nodded in answer, eyes also fixed on Oak's Laboratory. "I think I'll walk the rest of the way there, to be honest. Don't want to cause an uproar with the locals because they've never seen you before. I'll call you when it's time to go, okay?" Zekrom nodded again in reply, before taking off toward the green plains, no doubt looking for a small stream to rest in. For as long as Black had known the Legendary Pokemon of Black Yin, it had always preferred to stay outside of its Pokeball and roam whenever not in battle. The dragon's trainer scratched his chin in deep thought for a second. Come to think of it, nearly every Legendary he'd ever known seemed to share that trait of preferring to stay outside as opposed to inside its Pokeball. Oh well, he thought. Whatever worked for them.
Black turned his attention back to Pallet Town as he looked for the quickest and most inconspicuous path to Professor Oak's lab. (Supposedly) Like the trainer that had drawn him here, Black did not enjoy being under public scrutiny every time he went outside. However, unlike the Kanto Champion whose title he too had obtained, Black was at least blessed enough to pass as "socially capable," even if it was quite a stretch (or so he liked to believe). Taking out the new bike he'd gotten when he had first arrived in the faraway region, he prepared his thoughts for how he would approach the wizened researcher, and readied his mind for what said researcher might have to say back to Unova native...
Black stopped for a moment along the hillside to catch his breath. That hill was far steeper than it had appeared at first glance. And the fact that he had had to scale its circumference all the way up several times did not improve matters. He took a look at his Xtransceiver, wondering what time it was. 12:04 P.M. Good. He had some time for lunch. He quickly pulled out some cheeses and berries from his bag and dug in with relish. A swig of clean, cold water later and he was ready to continue his trek up to Oak's home (this time, without a bike; what a mistake that had been). Black sighed in vexation. "Perhaps I should have just had Zekrom cover us in thunderclouds like he normally does and take me right to the top instead~"
A flight of time-worn stairs greeted Black upon his arrival at the top of the hill. He groaned and dragged his tired body up the remaining labors. Despite having traveled for much of his life, his body was just not in the mood to climb a large hill and stairs, it appeared. He wearily knocked on the aged brown doors of the building, wondering if the whole trip had even been worth it, when they opened. Black took a step back in surprise and looked at the person who greeted him. It was a researcher. "E-excuse m-me, I was w-wondering if Professor Oak was here," he managed to stammer out. So much for socially capable.
"Oh yes! He's just finishing up lunch," she replied with a warm smile. "Please come in. He'll be with you momentarily." The researcher stepped aside to let her guest in. From out of the corner of his eye, Black could see her giving him a cautious once-over. A slight shift in her eyes told him that she had recognized who he was. Impressively enough, nothing about the rest of the researcher's facial expression gave any indication that she had put two and two together. Black's imaginary self nodded slowly in respect: this was obviously a very well-composed person, not to mention polite. He absentmindedly took a seat on one of the couches as he looked around at his surroundings, waiting for the famed professor. The living room was a simple and quiet place filled with bookshelves, as humble and picturesque as the town it resided in. On the floor was a soft carpet that tickled his shoes as he dragged them back and forth in curiosity. Several minutes passed as Black became lost in his examination of the room. He snapped out of his daze when a throat gently cleared itself. Standing in front of him, with a polite but reserved smile on his face, was Professor Samuel Oak of Pallet Town, Kanto...
The man known as Scott had joined the two of them halfway through their discussion on the enigma known as Red. He'd politely waited until Professor Oak had finished telling Black about the snowy terror, Mt. Silver, before taking a seat across from the wizened man. Black had initially had his doubts about this strange person. What business did someone as curiously dressed as him have with an academic like Oak? In Black's defense, it had seemed like a fair question at the time. The complete stranger sitting next to him was wearing perhaps the loudest outfit Black had ever seen in all his travels: round, black sunglasses that completely obscured his eyes; a blue Hawaiian shirt that, upon closer examination, had more than just flowers on it; and a pair of white shorts and equally bright shoes. Definitely not someone you'd expect sitting in an esteemed researcher's house for lunch.
"... and might I ask your name, young man?" The question aimed at him took Black momentarily by surprise (if only because he had been politely ignoring the conversation up until that point).
"I'm sorry what?" he replied.
"I asked what your name was," the man repeated.
Black blushed in embarrassment. "Oh, er, Black. Pleased to meet you." Confound it! He'd already messed up twice in a social setting in one day!
The loudly dressed man sat back deep in thought for a second. "Hm! Hm! I like that name. A pleasure to meet you, Black. The name's Scott. I'm the owner of several battling facilities over here in Kanto known as the Battle Frontier. Maybe you've heard of them?" When the trainer shook his head, Scott grinned. "I expect someone as talented as you would find them a real nice treat. Professor, would you mind explaining the situation to young Black? I believe he might be able to help us, seeing as to how our goals seem to be similar."
The Professor nodded and sighed. "Black, Scott is, as he so said, the owner of the Kanto Battle Frontier, a group of 7 different competitive facilities headed by powerful trainers said to be on par with the Elite Four. For that reason, only some of the toughest trainers out there go to challenge these 'Frontier Brains.' Scott here stopped by, asking after the same person you were."
"Red," breathed Black.
"Yes. You see, Scott wants to expand his long-realized dream of creating a new challenge for strong trainers," Oak continued, looking over at Scott.
The owner of the Battle Frontier nodded several times in agreement. "Oh yes. I was thinking about starting up a whole new Battle Frontier, this time filled with the best trainers in the world—the top 5 actually!"
Black simply sat there in stunned silence, not quite sure what to make of things. "And do you have any idea on how you're going to find these top five?"
Scott chuckled. "In fact, I do. I'll explain it to you later. But first," he said, leaning forward. "I'd like to ask of you two things..."
7 Frontier Symbols and countless struggles later, and he had found the legendary Pokemon Master, Red, as per the Battle Frontier owner's second impossible request. Black smiled as he felt the sun's gentle rays start to gain intensity. It had certainly been quite a task, tracking down first Blue and then Gold, trying to get both of them to crack on what they knew about Red's whereabouts. Finally, though, they had relented when he'd told them he was doing it for Scott and, more importantly, Professor Oak. Black looked down at his upgraded Xtransceiver. It really was quite amazing what technology could do after all these years. With little more than a few presses, Black had the entirety of the Kanto region spread out before him in the form of a map. He did some quick common-sense-based calculations in his head before gently laying a hand on the side of Zekrom's neck. The dragon turned its head to the side so that one eye was focused on his trainer and friend. "I think it's safe to go below the clouds now," Black said. "In fact, I think we'll have to; the sun's starting to heat up." Zekrom nodded and began their descent as they raced through the humid, gray clouds of the upper skies. Black closed his eyes as he tried to suppress a shiver. The early morning clouds really were quite cold—though not nearly as cold as Mt. Silver. He had been ecstatic at having found Red again, even if he'd only seen him for a few brief moments. For a teenager who'd lived on a cave for a third of his life, Red was really really good at slinking off when he felt the need to.
Black sighed, and glanced down at the world zooming below him. The sea of clouds had begun to thin as trainer and Legendary began to near the Earth's surface. Finally, the patches of clouds parted to reveal the skyline of a waking Viridian City. Before them stretched the pillars of humankind and its ingenuity, birthed by nothing short of miracles piling on top of each other, while directly below lay the natural labyrinth that was the Viridian Forest. Black couldn't help but be amazed, despite having flown numerous times before. Each one was a new experience, each its own unique existence, which was to be savoured like the finest of cheeses.
"Alright, Zekrom," shouted Black. "Onward to Pallet Town, post haste!" Zekrom's tail began to hum with power in response to his close friend's wishes. Lightning started to cloak the pair as the trainer quietly wondered in his mind what the people down below would make of a shooting star made of pure electricity zooming by across their sky in the wee hours of the day.