9
[12:00 AM. Mt. Silver Summit. Mt. Silver. 30 years ago.]
Blue tugged at the collar of his jacket as the wind howled a melancholy threnody. He stood on the last step of the worn staircase. The air was so clean, crisp like an untouched brook; every gust told a story, every zephyr sung of innumerable heroes.
So this is where he goes to be alone.
Blue saw him in at the far edge of the summit, coast billowing in the wind, staring into the eternity of the nameless forest that lay beyond the mountain. How many countless hours had his friend stared off into the distance. What did he see? What secrets had the cold wind whispered into his ear?
The man turned as soon as Blue's foot touched the peak of the great mountain.
"I had not thought you would come, Blue."
The Pokemon Proffessor froze. "Anything for an old friend, Red."
Red turned back to the forest. Blue noticed something different about Red, something calmer, something other-worldly.
"We have know each other our entire lives," Red stated.
"Since before I can remember."
"Always, I have strived to better myself, as have you."
"We were the perfect rivals."
Red smiled to himself. "Yes…rivals. Because of you, I became stronger, Blue."
"The same is true for me."
"When we met, that fateful day, at the Indigo Plateau—I have never battled harder in my entire life than I did on that day."
"How could I forget it?" Scenes from the climactic battle flashed through Blue's mind, clear as they had been, nearly twenty years ago. A shiver, independt from the cold, raced down his back. Having just overcome Octavius, his first match was against Red, and what a match it was. He could still feel the intense feeling of jealousy coupled with anger upon losing, but as the years would pass, he would find those feeling of anger turn to admiration and fondness.
"Nor have I, not since that day."
Blue took a few more tentative steps towards Red. "You didn't call me here to reminisce about the good ol' days, did you?
"Not today, my friend, not today. What is the one thing we both strove for, when we left, bright eyed and bushy tailed, from your Grandfather's lab? What did we both want to be?"
The words came Blue's lips on the back of the wind. "To be the very best."
Red turned and smiled, "Like no one ever was."
The wind moaned into the darkness of nascent morning.
"Red, the reason I came here—I'm here to bring you back."
Red's face lowered. "Back? Where?"
"Home, Red, home. It's time to come home.
Again, the man turned away from Blue. "This is my home. I have nothing below the clouds."
"So you won't come with me?"
"I'm afraid I cannot."
"Why? What are you doing up here, alone, for all these years? What could be so captivating about this place?"
Red laughed. "It's the stars. No one is as close to the stars as we are right now."
"Red, you need to come home, please."
"Every trainer of worth has come and battled me here. Octavius is not the end of their journey. Every trainer has the same fire you and I had, every trainer who has ever made his way through the trials as we had has faced me. I have defeated them all. That is what it means to be the champion."
"Red, your mother—"
"Every trainer, except for one: you, Blue. You are the only trainer that has not sought me out. You chose to stay below the clouds. Why did you choose to do so?"
"Your mother died waiting for you."
Red paused. "I see. Then there truly is nothing left for me down below."
Blue felt something in his heart break. Red was gone. He did not recognize the man that stood before him. "How can you say that about your own mother! Your own mother died alone waiting for her only son to come home! I've come here now to bring you back. Whether you want to or not."
"So at last you come to the summit of Mt. Silver to challenge me. I discovered something in my exile; there was doubt in my resolve—you. How could I be sure of my own power if I could not be sure I could defeat you as we stand now, masters of pokemon? That is why I summoned you, Blue. I need to defeat you here. I need to know."
Blue looked down. He knew there were no more words, no more friendship. This would be their final test. If Blue could manage to bring Red home, would he even want him there? Could Red even survive in Tohjo, living as he had for so long?
Red gripped a pokeball proudly in his hand. Blue recognized the worn and battered exterior, just the same as the one he subconsciously reached for on his belt.
"Blue! Let us see who really is the very best!"
[6:01 PM. Ruins of Celadon City. Present day.]
Blue came around slowly. A girl was above him, beating on his chest. She was crying. He let his head fall. Beside him, his Blastoise breathed in strained heaves. It opened one eye to look at its trainer, and then closed it. The noise was deafening. The hot air was choked with horrible screeching. A man moved the girl aside. A Slowbrow waddled behind and the man began collecting something from the shell on its tail in a long needle.
"Professor Oak, are you all right? Can you hear me?" The voice was fuzzy and sounded far away. He tried to nod, but his head fell again to the ground. Every bone ached, every muscle felt strained.
"He's not answering!" the girl shouted. "Do something, Doctor!"
"I'm trying!"
Mia. The girl was Mia. Mia? What have I gotten her into? He tried to mouth the word 'run' but his face felt numb. Everything was numb. Red? Where are you, Red? Some old friend.
"Vibrava!" Mia shouted. Blue strained his head to sea, but all he could see was a Mandibuzz circling overhead. He summoned what energy he had and craned his neck up: a Dragalge and Vibrava were locked in a battle against a terrifying Talonflame. Blue's body seized and cracked his head on the warm, ashy ground."
Red…
[12:06 AM. Mt. Silver Summit. Mt. Silver. 30 years ago.]
"Red…"
Blue lay on the cold ground, panting, watching his breath float away like a wisp to the night sky. Red stood above him, hands on his knees. Both were drained, but there had been a clear and final victor.
"So it is decided."
In his heart, Blue knew the fight could not have gone any other way; all his life he had walked in the invisible shadow of his friend, and now the shadow cast over him was long and untravereseable, a chasm of skill that could never be crossed. Blue allowed himself a moment to breathe.
"You won, congratulations. Is it everything you thought it'd be?"
Red smiled at the stars. "And more. Now I know: I am the very best."
Blue watched the starlight catch his friend. "Like no one ever was," he whispered.
In an instant, Red vanished, and Blue was alone with the stars.