Thanks for reading this far. I hope you enjoy this chapter, it's one of my personal favourites.

If you have any criticism or feedback, please let me know.

Mt Silver stretched upwards into the night sky, looming over Kanto and Johto. The forgotten realm where the Pokémon were strong and only those considered worthy were allowed to tread. This was where Red, the boy famous throughout Kanto, had been training for years. And it was somewhere deep inside this colossal chunk of rock, that the Viridian Gym leader and the former king of Team Plasma were standing.

A large rock scree was running along the wall on one side of them, heading up into darkness. On the other, the ground dropped away in a sheer cliff. An icy black river was coursing beneath them. The roar of the water was pounding in Blue's skull. He was tired, he was hungry, and he was sick to death of this cave. He just wanted to get to Red, then get out as soon as possible.

Blue squinted up at the rock face, calculating. Then, he drew a Pokéball and released a Sandlsash. "Rockclimb," he instructed it. The creature positioned its hands on the rocks and waited as Blue grabbed hold of the spines along its back. He glanced over his shoulder at N.

"Grab on."

N stood a little way away, blinking up at the rock, then down at the river, then at the scree again. He was still clutching the grey Pokémon to his chest, he'd held it for the entire journey. As a result, he'd been tripping an awful lot and now had numerous tears along his clothes and skin. Blue was finding it irritating, but N was able to keep wild Pokémon from attacking so he hadn't complained. Now though, he was starting to lose patience.

"You know I don't want to use Pokémon," N said, shaking his head. "I still feel awful about using your Pidgeot. I won't use your Sandslash, too."

Blue groaned, mashing his palm into his face. This really was too much. He took a deep breath, trying to remain calm. "Well..." he said through gritted teeth. "How are you going to keep going? This is the only way through and the only way up is on Sandslash."

N scowled. "I'll climb myself."

"Don't be ridiculous," Blue scoffed. "You can't possibly-" However, N had already grabbed a rock on the wall and was hoisting himself upwards. He had tucked his jacket into the waistband of his trousers and carefully stowed the grey Pokémon in the gap between the jacket and his shirt. Its blank face was poking out of the top. Every so often its little leg stumps would twitch. Keeping his body arched so that the Pokémon wouldn't hit the rock face, N began to climb. It was slow work. He reached up to test whether the next rock would hold his weight, then slithered upwards to rest on it. Occasionally he would tap a nearby rock and a miniature avalanche would take place. Rolling his eyes, Blue gently nudged his Sandslash and moved upwards alongside N.

"This is stupid," he told the green-haired boy tetchily. "You're wasting time. Dozens of other trainers could be having their Pokémon stolen right now and you're idiocy is preventing us from getting the solution."

N's jaw was set and he didn't reply. Blue sighed, shaking his head. Then he tapped Sandslash with his heel and they scurried up the rest of the scree to the safe ledge above. Glancing down, he could just make out the top of N's hat. It was a small speck of white amongst the dark grey. He swore for what felt like the hundredth time that day, mentally urging N to speed up.

The boy reached up to grab the next rock. Then things seemed to slow down. Blue watched in horror as the rocks gave way beneath N's feet and, with a rumble that shook Blue right to his bones, sent him tumbling downwards. The boy's hands reached upwards, his mouth forming a silent scream. One hand shot to cover the Pokémon at his chest. Then, the darkness swallowed him.

Blue fell backwards, his mouth hanging open. N had fallen to his death. That strange boy... He'd been annoying, sure, but Blue had been growing fond of him. And now... Now...

There was a loud rumbling from down below and the cave floor began to shake again. Blue scrambled to his feet as the lurching figure of a Tyranitaor loomed up from the scree. His eyes locked with the Gym Leader's. It reached out a colossal hand, scrabbled behind its head, then produced something limp and pale. Something with a rush of green hair. Something clutching a small grey Pokémon to its chest.

"N?" Blue said incredulously when the Tyranitar placed him on the ground and vanished. He blinked nervously. "I guess that talking to Pokémon thing is true, then?" N looked up. His eyes were wide and staring, his mouth blank. Then, his shoulders began to shake. Before either of them knew what was happening, they were both clutching their sides and heaving with laughs. The sound bounced off the cave walls, being reverberated and made louder. At N's chest, the Pokémon waved its legs in a feeble effort to join in.

Eventually, the two boys' laughter quietened down and they sat staring around them. They were deep inside the mountain now, too far to turn back. Not that they were going to turn back, of course. Blue was determined to have his Pokémon returned, and for that he needed Red's help. To find Red, he needed N to help keep wild Pokémon from attacking. So they were both in for the long haul.

"You know," Blue said after a while. "You wouldn't have fallen if you'd just left that thing at home." He eyed the grey thing, which was silently opening and closing its gummy mouth. Its eyes were still closed and limp. N picked it up and ran a finger over its head in a soft stroke.

"I like it," he said. "And besides, you can't leave a baby unsupervised. I know the others wouldn't have looked after it properly."

Blue rolled his eyes. N had insisted on calling it 'a baby', despite everything they knew about Pokémon eggs. Still, if the stupid thing was what was needed to keep him there.

"Hey, N," Blue said, looking around. "D'you think you could ask one of those Golbats where to find him?"

N nodded and moved down the ledge a little way. Blue watched him conversing with one of the winged Pokémon, which shrieked and flapped its wings. It swooped over Blue's head and down the corridor, where it hovered by a small tunnel. N jogged up to stand beside Blue, pointing.

"I asked it if it had seen another human living here and it said that it would show us the way. Um... Apparently they call him-" N gave strange shriek which sounded exactly like a Golbat.

Blue stared at him blankly. "I don't speak Golbat."

"It means... Well, roughly translated, it means The God of Destruction."

Blue turned to look in the direction the Gollbat was indicating. It had been several years since he had last seen Red. This mountain was too dangerous for even him to traverse easily, and the two of them had been cut off. Now he had gained a reputation amongst the Pokémon here. 'The God of Destruction'? So much was different to that time when he, Red, and Leaf had just been children in Pallet Town. Leaf was right, everyone changed, and some more than others. He wondered dimly which out of the three was the most different.

They started walking after the Golbat, through the quiet mountain. The sound of water dimmed as they traversed the long, twisting tunnels. The Golbat flitted through easily, despite its large wingspan. At times they emerged into the open air. It was bitterly cold, and covered in snow. N hastily wrapped up the 'baby' in his jacket to protect it. It made small mewling sounds which were faintly muffled by N's jacket.

Mt Silver was in so remote an area between Kanto and Johto that it was impossible to see anything with the naked eye. Blue held a Zoom Lens up to his face to scan the surrounding landscape. He could only just make out the Indigo Plateau in the distance, but all else was a vague blur of green, brown, and grey. He lowered the lens, blew into his hands to warm them, then continued the walk through the mountain cave.

The two boys were silent for most of their journey. It was in a small cavern that N spoke. "This guy... Red, was it?"

Blue nodded.

"We're looking for him..."

"He's the strongest trainer I know," Blue said, feeling his mouth quiver into a smile.

N nodded. "And he knows Leaf?"

Blue halted so abruptly that N walked straight into him. The 'baby' squeaked at the impact. N opened his mouth to ask what was wrong, but the expression on Blue's face silenced him. His jaw was set, his eyes were burning. A cold fury seemed to emanate from every pore.

Blue stood square in front of N. When he spoke, his voice was little more than a growl. "Now, you listen to me," he said, jabbing a hard finger into N's chest. "That is not why we're here. Leaf has nothing to do with this, alright?"

N nodded. "But-"

"No! She may collect Legendary Pokémon, she may have stooped to stealing them, but that was nothing on this scale. Besides, none of the stolen Pokémon were legendaries, were they?"

"Well, no, but-"

"I'm not condoning her actions," Blue continued, his voice rising. "I think stealing is repulsive. But she is nothing to do with the thievery taking place right now, got it? That nameless organisation is nothing to do with her. Okay? Okay?"

N nodded quickly. Blue glared at him for a few more seconds, then turned away. As they walked, N tailed a few steps behind.

"That's not what I was talking about," he murmured after a while.

"What?"

N raised his voice. "That's not what I was talking about. I wasn't implying that Leaf had anything to do with any of this. I just... I just wanted to ask... You knew Leaf, and you knew Red. I was wondering if this Red knew Leaf as well."

Blue looked round. N was looking down at his feet, his shoulders hunched. In his hands, the 'baby' was sleeping. He sighed.

"Sorry. I jumped to conclusions. Yes, Red knew Leaf. We all grew up in Pallet Town together. Although, Leaf was a little younger than us. She stayed at home when we started journeying with Pokémon. I remember she was pretty jealous." Blue sighed, running his fingers through his hair.

There was silence for a few minutes. Then N spoke again. "I met Leaf. In Unova. I saw the way her Pokémon talked about her, the way she interacted with them. Nobody whose Pokémon trust them like that would steal another's. I know she didn't possibly have anything to do with this. She couldn't."

N looked away. His face was a soft rosy pink colour which couldn't be seen in the cave's dim light. He remembered the way Leaf had spoken to her Pokémon, the things they had said during their battle. He remembered the way Zekrom had come to her. The way she had yelled at Ghetsis that he should be ashamed for all he'd done. He remembered the way she'd kissed him. No, she was a good person. She couldn't possibly have stolen those Pokémon.

The Golbat drew to a stop by a small door. Light was pouring in, indicating that it headed outside. It gave another shrieking cry.

"It won't go any farther," N translated. "To venture too near to The God of Destruction will result in certain death." He turned to look at Blue, who shrugged and stepped through the cave exit. N moved to follow, but the Golbat swooped in close. It lowered its face to the baby in the boy's hands, which raised its own face to look upwards. The Pokémon gave a low call, too low for N to make out. The baby mewled in response, waving its legs.

Then, the Golbat turned and swooped back down the cave. N watched it go, then looked at the baby. It had fallen asleep, still tucked into his coat. He had seen many strange interactions with Pokémon, but this was unlike anything. He wondered what it meant as he stepped out into the open.

A single peak stretched out in front of them, covered in snow and ice. The cliffs dropped away on either side of them, plummeting to infinity. The sky was a cold, crisp blue. And there, facing away from them, stood a boy. He was of a slight build, a few inches shorter than Blue and roughly the same height as N. Shaggy black hair could be seen peeking out from under a battered red cap. His entire outfit seemed battered, probably as a result of living in such a rugged environment for so long. When Blue and N approached, he did not react.

They stopped a few feet from him. N glanced at his companion, feeling at a loss. Blue merely smirked.

"As chatty as always, Red."

Here, the boy turned. His face was sharp, his chin and nose coming at angles. His dark hair seemed to mimic the contours of his face, coming in ragged clumps. His eyes were a warm, rich brown that almost seemed to shimmer and change to a dark scarlet as N watched. His skin was covered in scuffs and scrapes and scars. Some scars were thin and faded, obviously old. Others were fresh and pink. A couple of cuts were still oozing blood or had only recently scabbed over. His entire body, covered in marks of conflict. The sight of it made N gasp.

Red turned turned his head to look at N, his face an icy cold expression. When their eyes met, N was reminded of the way in which Leaf had looked at him that time they had first met. It was a cold look that seemed to slice straight through him. His cheeks, already red from the cold, flushed a even deeper crimson. His insides squirmed and yet he found it impossible to look away.

Red slowly turned back to face Blue, breaking his hold over N. The two trainers stood in silence, surveying each other. Then, Blue gave a small smile and Red's mouth twitched.

"It's good to see you, again," Blue said in a jovial tone. "Although you don't make it easy." Red shrugged, then looked quizzically at N.

Blue pointed at him. "Friend of mine. Name's N. He can talk to Pokémon so I brought him with me to keep attackers at bay."

Red nodded once in greeting, the turned back to Blue. He raised one eyebrow.

"This isn't a social call," Blue said, translating the silent boy's movements as easily as blinking. "I need your help. Actually, everyone needs your help."

Red didn't move.

Blue took a long breath. "The thing is, and we're not sure how it happened, the Pokémon of all the Gym Leaders and Elite Fours in the world have been stolen. Stolen and replaced with... Well, with these." He pointed at the bundle in N's arms. N hastily peeled back a flap of coat so that the baby could be seen. It huffed at the rush of cold air and fidgeted, until N covered it back up. Red looked at it cooly. Then he shrugged.

"I'm assuming yours haven't been stolen, yeah?"

Red looked at Blue, then pointed down one of the slopes. The two boys followed his gaze. Below them, on an outcropping roughly the size of Goldenrod City, six Pokémon were sparring with each other. As they watched, a colossal burst of electricity was produced. Enough to raise the hairs on Blue's head.

"Excellent." Blue turned again to look at Red. "The thing is, they (the people who did this) they say they have all the Pokémon and are capable of stealing more. Red, I've no idea what they're planning, but it can't be good. We need you to help defeat them. You're our only hope."

Red looked at Blue for a full minute. Then, he glanced out at the open air. He shook his head.

"Red!" Blue grabbed his friend's shoulders, turning him back so that their gazes locked. "You can't say 'no'. This is serious. You have to help us!"

Red shook his head again. His hands splayed their fingers, indicating the surrounding rock. Blue understood his meaning. This was his whole world now. If it didn't effect this, Red didn't care.

He groaned, tightening his grip on Red's shoulders. There had to be some way to convince him. Some way to show that it effected-

No. No, he couldn't say that. It would mean admitting everything he had fought to deny. Giving in to everything his gut was telling him which he had been fighting with every fibre of his being.

But it was the only way.

Blue took a deep shuddering breath.

"Red." He raised his eyes to look hard at the other boy. "It's your sister. She's the one behind this. Leaf's been stealing people's Pokémon."