He remembers the second time the golden-eyed boy visited. Ethan, he has to remind himself. His name is Ethan. After the boy leaves (losing, obviously), sometimes he contemplates why he remembers his name the best out of all of them. Contemplates that if he is Gold, who is the Silver to his Gold? Why does he think so hard of the boy anyway? He doesn't know, but he can't seem to tear his thoughts away from the raven. Perhaps it was because he was finally against a worthy opponent? He believes he remembers reading and article of a boy named Ethan becoming the new champion (he's made friends with a couple wild pokemon, they bring newspapers and articles so he can still stay in tune with the outside world). A champion, huh? This is the first time I've faced off against someone with that title up here. Interesting.
The second time Red and Ethan had battled, Ethan had improved quite a bit. This time, he got two pokemon down and injuring three others. While it may have seemed like nothing (a loss was still a loss, and in a world where the ends do justify the means, losing is still a loss, no matter how well you lose), Red was impressed. It was the first time someone had gotten this strong on their second try. While he still has yet to understand why he keeps persisting (nobody knows who he is, just vague tales about a champion clad in red), he doesn't seem to care too much. The thrill of a good battle was enough for him. As long as the boy keeps fighting hard, giving everything he has, Red is content.
Ethan spends all of his time training. There was no time to falter, but when he does, he blames it on the crimson-eyed boy, standing calmly in the cold weather (in a t-shirt, no less!) on the top of the mountain. Sometimes he wonders if the guy ever leaves the mountain to get food. He was skinny, but not malnourished. Maybe that was why he decided to battle the guy again. To test how his skills improved, of course, but maybe it was for a different reason and he just convinced himself it was to test how his skills matched up to the mysterious mountain dweller's. He can't seem to think straight when he stops training, so on the worst days, he takes the excuse of being low on supplies to travel down the mountain, where he can think in peace (not counting all the powerful pokemon and slippery steps he has to stumble over).
When he reaches New Bark Town to report to his mother that her son is safe (he does this every month, usually over PokeGear, but he can't seem to get a signal on the mountain), he starts to wonder if the crimson-eyed boy talks to his mother a lot. Probably not. He just can't see the boy leaving the mountain for anything but food or supplies. Actually, scratch that, he can't see the boy leaving the mountain at all. How the guy survives up there is beyond him.
After the quick rest at his home, he travels to the Indigo Plateau to make sure everything was running smoothly. Luckily enough for him, it was an off season for the Elite 4 and Champion, as most people would be challenging gyms. The few people that got to the League this early was easily swept aside by either Will, Koga, Bruno or Karen. Both Johto and Kanto were running smoothly as well, and the economy overall was doing great. After a quick check-in, he would leave on his Togekiss towards Mt. Silver, where he would continue training right where he left off, content with the routine he has so far.