Scott was waiting for the two of them near the rice paddies of Pallet Town. Black had his Zekrom (carefully) touch down on one of the artificial mud roads that the farmers had created, before hopping off. "Thanks, old friend. Like always, I'll ring when I need you." With that brief exchange, Zekrom took off once again into the far unknowns, leaving behind his trainer with Scott.
"I'll say, you have quite a bond with Zekrom if you're willing to let him go far," said Scott as he walked towards one of his future Frontier Brains.
"Huh? Oh yeah," Black said, scratching his head awkwardly. "Zekrom doesn't really enjoy being stuck inside a Pokeball. In fact, most if not all my Legendaries prefer to roam when not in battle."
"But how does it know when you need it?" asked Scott in genuine interest.
"It's kind of like what Annabel has with her Pokemon, I guess, except it manifests as more of a sixth sense than empathy," Black replied. "I've never really thought about it up until now to be entirely honest."
Scott shook his head in wonder. "You would think I've seen it all, what with all the trainer scouting I do. But you and your lot never cease to amaze me," he said sarcastically, causing the both of them to chuckle. "I think that's enough small talk for now. So, Black. Earlier on the Xtransceiver, you said that you'd found the missing Red?"
Black nodded as the two began to walk towards Pallet Town. "I did. He's at the top of Mt. Silver, just like Blue and Gold said he would."
They continued on in silence for a short time before Scott finally spoke up again. "I can't believe he's been up there all this time."
"Neither can I."
"Arceus knows how much stronger he's gotten!" Scott exclaimed. He turned to Black, peering over his glasses. "Now don't be modest with me again: are you still sure you could beat someone like him?"
"..." Black said nothing as he shifted his gaze to the approaching town, his face quickly turning to stone as it assumed the deathly look that had unnerved Red earlier. Numerous people had made it a point to tell him just how downright frightening he looked when he adopted his poker/"resting bitch" face and didn't pay careful attention to its intensity. He'd merely laughed along with the persons who had worked up the nerve to tell him that at the time. But now, as he stood there deep in thought, he couldn't but notice just how severe his face felt when that happened. Huh. Black's mind continued to stray for a second before he mentally slapped himself, returning to ponder the original question. Could I really do it? Beat the same person who some claim to have never lost a battle? Should I be polite and just say maybe not? Hmm... "I think I probably could," Black said at last, turning to face Scott. "I mean, it'll probably be quite a difficult match. But... Who said I couldn't cheat?" The hair-raising Cheshire grin that split across Black's face at that question shut down any and all further doubts.
With that malicious declaration, Frontier owner and Brain-to-be continued on without a word again, both letting the ghost of that last inquiry haunt them. The rice paddies eventually gave way to small, orange houses and dirt roads. Black wasn't paying any attention to where they were going, so it was almost hilarious when he nearly fell on Scott when they abruptly stopped. "Gah—" he started. "Scott, why'd we stop?" The normally cheery man had paused at a gate, scratching his chin, obviously contemplating something. But what was the question.
"Black, I'm sorry if this is abrupt, but we need to stop at Red's house for a few minutes," said Scott, whose back was still to Black. "We, er, need his mom's blessing. I hope you'll understand but I won't feel okay with what I'm doing until we talk to her first."
Black blinked in confusion for a moment before nodding in agreement. "I think that's the right thing to do. But do you have any plans?"
"Simple enough," Scott said as he walked through the white wooden fence toward the old door. "We'll tell her what I told you." And with that, he extended his arm and knocked quietly but resolutely twice. Knock knock. As Black walked to a stop beside Scott, he heard an irritated voice yelling from within the house as it hurried toward the door.
"For the love of all that is good! How many damn times must I tell you all I don't have any childhood mementos or soiled underwear to sell as merchan—" Several things happened in the instant that the door to Red's house flew open: first and foremost, Red's incensed mother appeared, brown-haired face red with (righteous) fury as she brandished an aged frying pan at the two in front of her; second, Black pulled Scott back away from the threshold instinctively as both scurried to evade the flying pan; and third, Red's mother's anger quickly dissipated to that of shock and horror as the flying pan continued to sail clear across her front yard, missing her (mistaken) victims' faces by mere inches. To say that Black's traveling experience was the only thing that had saved Scott from a hospital bill and lawsuit would be an understatement. "Oh my word, I am so sorry! Are either of you hurt?!" cried Red's mom.
Scott and Black slowly got up, dusting themselves off. "No, we're fine, Miss. Thanks to Black, that is," Scott said, grinning widely at his companion. "Those were some reflexes there, kid."
Black flushed, scratching his head as he was unsure of how to receive the compliment. "Um... thanks. And you're welcome?"
Scott laughed before turning to Red's mom. "I do apologize for having to startle you like that before we've even been properly introduced. The name's Scott and this here's young Black of the Unova region. We were just on our way to Professor Oak's lab when we—actually, I—thought it would be a good idea to stop by here first. I was wondering if we could come in for some tea; I promise you we're not reporters. In fact, I have something to ask of you concerning your son."
The austere woman carefully examined the outre duo before looking back and forth at her neighbors. Black turned around just in time to see a few townsfolk rush off in feigned innocence. "Oh alright," conceded Red's mom with a tired look. "But only for a short while. My name's Hanako. Come in." She stepped aside to allow the two in.
A horizontal hallway greeted Black upon passing through the threshold of the door. About 5 paces in front of him was a wall, which led to three potential archways. The one in front of him, a little ways to the right, led to the kitchen; the one directly down the hallway on his left, to the living room; and the one straight to the right, a flight of stairs to the second floor. Hanako led Scott and him to the living room, where they carefully took a seat on a couch. It was a very modest space, with only two couches, a wooden table for drinks, and a flatscreen TV. Hanako reentered the room, carrying three teacups and a teapot. Black watched her as she served them, noticing the tired and resigned way in which she moved. This was a woman who had endured many torments in her life... one of which he and Scott hoped to help put an end to by the time they left the house. "So," said the mother of Red, taking a seat on the couch opposite of them. "Tell me why you're here."
Black and Scott looked at each other, before Scott spoke up. "We're here to talk to you about your son, Red." Black noticed a slight twitch in Hanako's left eye at the mention of her son as she continued to sip her tea. If he hadn't noticed the sudden movement, he would have almost had to describe the manner in which she composed herself at that statement as cold. Yet still another level-headed and reserved woman of Pallet Town. Black glanced at Scott out of the corner of his eye. Scott seemed to have not noticed Hanako's sudden lapse in composure. "Excuse me, Mrs. Hanako—
Hanako slammed her teacup down onto her saucer. She took a shaky breath before looking both Scott and Black in the eyes. "Please," she begged. "What do you know of Red?" Black couldn't help but inhale sharply. Her entire body had sagged and slumped downward in complete defeat. She was desperate—desperate for any word or mention of her beloved boy.
Scott looked over at Black, who nodded. "Mrs. Hanako, we wanted to speak to you about Red because... well, we've located him. Today, in fact."
Hanako clasped her hands over her mouth in an almost dramatic fashion and gasped. A single tear came to rest on her right cheek. "What... what else do you know about him? Is he... healthy and well?"
Black looked over at Scott again out of the corner of his left eye. "Yes, he's doing relatively fine for someone on a mountaintop." Black paused to let the statement sink in. When Hanako didn't react any further, he continued. "We could have asked him to come down upon finding him. But we didn't think it'd be right until we talked it over with you first, as you're his mom."
Black's voice began to drift off toward the end, causing the statement to hang in the air. Scott immediately took over, understanding exactly why Black had done that. "Right. We came here to receive your permission and blessing to get your son down first. But more than that, I wanted to ask something of you."
"Anything," she whispered as a second tear fell to join its brethren.
"As I said earlier, my name was Scott," he began. "But, more than that, I am the owner of a group of seven battling facilities spread all throughout Kanto known as the Battle Frontier, which has always been my lifelong dream. However, I've recently decided I wanted to expand on that dream... and assemble a group of the 5 greatest Trainers in the world." Hanako again didn't say anything as she dabbed at her eyes with a handkerchief. "As part of my job, I often go around the world, scouting for the most powerful and talented trainers of the region. And it just so happens your son has caught my eye."
Hanako's face hardened almost immediately. "You swore you weren't one of them," she whispered coldly, referring to the media and business owners that had been bothering her ever since her son had gained the title of Champion when he was only a little over 11 years of age. They were the ones who had forced her to resort to throwing frying pans like a mental patient.
Scott backtracked immediately. "Now, Mrs. Hanako—"
"Please, hear us out," interrupted Black. He shot Scott a look that clearly said You are in no position to try to reassure her. "Ma'am, while Scott may be the greedy businessman between the two of us, I can vouch for his word that he doesn't mean to make your life any more difficult than it already is." Black paused for a moment, formulating several different possibilities in his head in an effort to decide which reasons would persuade Hanako the most. From the sound of things, Scott wanted to make Red a Frontier Brain. Now let's see, thought Black. I hope what I'm making up here is exactly what Scott wants too. "We would not have come here if we hadn't thought it'd be a great idea. Please, just listen for a second. Scott wants to invite, not force, Red to join the Battle Frontier as a Frontier Brain operating there. Make no mistake. We call them that to show that they are all connected by one man. But it's really more like a bunch of structures spread all throughout an area. I would assume that, as a Frontier Brain of the international level, Red would be able to pick the location of his facility?..." Black looked over to Scott, who nodded in confirmation.
"Yes, he'd be allowed to decide where he wanted his facility located, which means he could set it close to home if he wanted."
"Right. I'm also assuming he's holed up in Mt. Silver—" Hanako actually shot out of her seat when she heard about his location before realizing what she'd done and sat down again. "As I was saying, I'm assuming he's on Mt. Silver because he's looking for strong challengers, as well as training his team. By becoming a Frontier Brain, we could help him in the sense that he wouldn't have to be on a mountain to filter out weak trainers. Scott does that in his own spare time, by scouting out potential challengers so that only the truly formidable know of the Battle Frontier. I can speak for this fact because I've been down that road firsthand."
Silence filled the air again as Black let Hanako digest the information and her tea. "So you're saying that I should give you permission to invite Red to become a so-called 'Frontier Brain' on the basis that it would remove any reasons for him to be on Mt. Silver and keep him closer to home?"
"That's right, ma'am."
"If you can produce another reason why being a Frontier Brain would keep him off the mountain, I'll consider it."
Black had already anticipated she might ask for a third reason, and, as fate would have it, his blindly stumbling along had finally given him the last reason necessary. "Remember how I hypothesized that he was also on Mt. Silver to train? The staff of the Battle Frontier are each powerful and capable trainers in their own right; why would Red need to seek out wild Pokemon to train with when he has some friends nearby said to be on par with or even surpassing the might of the Elite Four?"
Hanako said nothing as she drained the last of her tea. "It looks like you need some time to think this through," Scott said at last, much to everyone's shock. "We'll come back and visit you again tomorrow for your blessing on the matter of both returning Red and making him a Frontier Brain. Please bear in mind that we still intend to return your son to you regardless of whether you agree to our proposition or not; I don't like blackmailing. But do please consider my offer of making him a Frontier Brain. And, uh, thank you for the refreshments and your time." And with that, both Scott and Black quietly left the tired woman to her thoughts. Black looked over his shoulder one last time before closing the front door. The sight of the broken, brown-haired mother alone in her living room, hunched over in misery continued to haunt him even as he and Scott reached Professor Oak's laboratory.