Chapter 1: The Reclusive Youth on Mt. Silver
On Mt. Silver, a youth was walking slowly toward its deepest parts.
Beside him was a beast-like Pokémon, a mix of yellow and blue, radiating heat from its back. Blue smoke rose from it, providing warmth for its Trainer.
Unlike the Forest and Rocky Area at the Mountain Foot, the deepest part of Mt. Silver was, strangely enough, a bright, snow-white clearing.
It was a vast, white Snowy Mountain, and Heavy Snow was falling.
As he continued deeper, the Youth finally reached his destination.
The peak of Mt. Silver.
A man wearing a red Cap stood with his back to him.
Dressed in simple clothes, he had the appearance of someone undergoing Arduous Training, sitting silently on a High Platform.
This was Gold. It was a secret he had learned after becoming the Champion of the Johto Region League.
Legend had it that an existence far stronger than any League Champion had been undergoing Arduous Training on Mt. Silver.
And Gold had often heard of this man's deeds during his travels through the Kanto Region after leaving the Johto Region.
Defeating eight Gyms, dismantling Team Rocket, beating the League Champion… a legendary figure.
"Hey! Battle me!"
Gold immediately held up a Poké Ball and shouted.
The Typhlosion beside him stood up straight, clenched its claws, and arched its back, erupting with an unprecedented flare of Fierce Flames.
Mysterious Man: "..."
He turned around, his expression cold, his eyes devoid of any color. He remained silent.
Ever since that guy, Green, had exposed his whereabouts, he had been harassed by countless Fodder Trainers who hoped to make a name for themselves by defeating him.
But to this day, no one had even managed to force him to use his second Pokémon.
Perhaps it was the lonely Snowy Mountain, or perhaps it was because his Level was so much higher than the average person's—it was lonely at the top.
He had grown stronger, but he had also become withdrawn.
And the arrival of this Youth today finally made his gaze shift slightly, as if this was a battle brought about by fate.
"Come on."
He spoke his first words in years, his voice surprisingly mechanical and cold.
With that, he threw a Poké Ball. A red light flashed, and a small, round-faced Electric Mouse Pokémon appeared on the snow.
"Pikachu, a very common Pokemon. Unremarkable."
The Pokedex automatically broadcasted.
"Then try this one on for size!"
Gold also threw a Poké Ball.
In the next moment, a colossal figure appeared on the mountain.
The falling snowflakes suddenly hung still, as if frozen in the Air. A powerful Pressure enveloped the entire area!
It had silvery-white skin, a long, slender body that was part beast and part bird, and a pair of broad wings that looked like hands.
The Sea God, Lugia!
"..."
Seeing this, his eyes lit up.
The Pikachu in front of him licked its lips, its cheeks crackling with a terrifying golden Electric Current. A great battle was about to begin!
"Are Lugias all the rage now?"
Neither of the two, who had already begun to battle, noticed a blurry figure floating above them.
With calm eyes, it silently watched the battle. Its face bore a slight resemblance to the mysterious youth below.
It was like a Ghost, yet also like an existence that had transcended this World.
His name was Red.
A few hours ago, Red had been tempering his Willpower in the ice and snow.
Then, he had an epiphany.
Red realized he was just a fictional game character.
Sure, he had memories of receiving a Starter Pokémon from Professor Oak, memories of his first Gym challenge, and his first battle with Green...
Battling Team Rocket, battling the Elite Four...
He even retained memories of traveling to the Alola Region with Green and Blue (manga character)...
But he lacked any of the finer details.
It was only at this moment that Red understood.
This World was nothing more than a fictional Digital World, where everything was just a pre-scripted plotline of code.
Even though he was now a nearly Invincible existence, he was just an ordinary game puppet.
When he realized this, Red transcended. His Soul emerged from his physical body.
But he was just a piece of code, so how could he be said to possess a Soul?
And now, before his eyes, his own physical puppet was fighting as the final Boss of this world against the game Protagonist of another era.
This was a battle of the Peak!
Freed from his Shackles, Red now really wished he had a bucket of popcorn in his hands.
The battle below continued. Pikachu faced Lugia, and after an exchange of golden Lightning and air blasts that tore a crater into the foot of Mt. Silver, they ended in a stalemate.
Next was Snorlax against a strange, red Gyarados.
Venusaur against Entei...
Lapras against Suicune...
Charizard against Ho-Oh...
Red couldn't help but feel his scalp tingle as he watched.
Do all players these days like using teams of Legendary Pokémon?
How shallow!
Only by raising ordinary Pokemon to become the strongest could one be considered a true Trainer!
At the end of the battle, Gold's Ace, Typhlosion, officially took the stage.
Flames shot into the Sky from its back, its imposing might like a volcanic eruption, raising the temperature of the entire Mt. Silver by a considerable amount.
"Go, Mewtwo!"
The puppet Red also threw out his last Pokemon.
Boom, boom, boom...
After a fierce struggle, as Gold finally secured a narrow victory, the puppet Red below couldn't help but smile.
"..."
He let out a laugh that sounded like a release, then turned his back and fell into a strange silence.
At that moment, the top of Mt. Silver flashed with a blinding White Light, dazzling Gold's eyes and obscuring everything.
And after the Light faded, the puppet Red had vanished.
This was a battle of the Peak.
It was also a curtain call.
Red had completed all his tasks in this world, so he naturally disappeared.
And the soul of Red in the Sky knew that if he hadn't had that epiphany, he probably would have disappeared along with his body.
"So, where do I go now?"
Red was a little puzzled.
He was now a redundant existence.
Just then, Red felt a vortex on the horizon, pulling at his Soul.
The colors of the scene before him began to fade, and the World before his eyes gradually turned to black and white...
Soon, he was sucked in, and his consciousness began to blur.
When Red woke again, the bright world was a bit dazzling.
Red looked around. This was a great Forest.
It was very similar to the forests he had walked through before, yet it had something new.
Vitality!
Red quickly realized that this was a real world!
"Did I transmigrate?"
Red looked at himself. He was still in a Soul State, and with a thought, he could still float.
"Jijiji!!"
Before he could decide on his next move, a frantic series of bird calls came from the Jungle to his side. Then, a dark flock of Spearow burst out from the woods, flying in one direction.
"???"
Curious, Red subconsciously controlled his soul body and drifted in that direction.
At this time, heavy rain had begun to fall from the Sky.
Upon reaching a high Cliff, Red saw a youth in the distance, riding a bicycle at a frantic pace.
In the basket in front of him lay a common Electric Mouse Pokémon, Covered in Wounds, clearly in a Flickering State.
"A Rookie Trainer angered a Spearow, and now he's being hunted by its entire family, while his own Pokémon is in a Near Death State?"
Red guessed blindly.
He wanted to help but was powerless, so he could only watch silently.
"Clack!"
The bike hit a bump on the muddy ground. The youth, who also wore a Cap, was not a skilled rider. He and his bike went tumbling.
Even the dying Pikachu was thrown several meters, landing with him on the muddy Rocky Area.
And at that moment, countless Spearow surrounded them.
They circled in the air, looking as if they would attack as a group at any second.
"..."
Red's eyes widened. He wished once more that he had a bucket of popcorn.
To see such a thrilling scene right off the bat—this transmigration was worth it.
But then, the situation changed again.
The youth, his face still showing its childishness, stood up, trembling. He spread his arms wide in a T-pose, shielding the Pikachu.
"Hey, who do you think I am!"
"I'm the future Pokémon Master!"
He let out a loud Snarl.
"Pikachu, now's your chance, get into the Poké Ball..."
He then added in a hushed voice.
Clearly, he wasn't as tough as he sounded. The loud Snarl was merely an act of desperation.
However, the flock of Spearow didn't understand human speech. In the next second, they screeched and swarmed in!
Countless Rookie Trainers die unnatural deaths every year. This was not unusual.
Although Red felt a degree of sympathy, he just watched quietly.
"Pi..."
But the next scene made Red freeze for a moment.
The Pikachu lying on the ground suddenly burst forth with its true Power. It stood up, trembling, and then began to run.
"Ka..."
It scurried up Ash's body, and to the latter's shocked expression, leaped from his shoulder, charging toward the hundreds of Spearow in the Sky.
Its tiny figure seemed incredibly weak in front of the massive flock of Spearow.
"Chu!!!"
The next second, with a fierce cry.
A terrifying Electric Current erupted from its cheeks, completely enveloping its tiny body as golden bolts of electricity shot toward the heavens.
"BOOM!!"
A thick Bolt Strike suddenly fell from the sky. Aided by this Lightning, Pikachu's Electric Current exploded instantly.
The terrifying Imposing Might struck all the Spearow at once.
Its Strength did not diminish, even surging upward and blasting a vacuum into the dark clouds in the Sky.
BOOM!!
The flash of lightning blinded Red. Before he could even register a sound, he felt a terrifying suction from the source of the Bolt Strike.
He was completely powerless to resist it. His Ghost-like body was pulled in that direction.
`cout << "Damn!" << endl;`
That was the last thought in his mind.
"Coo coo coo..."
The lightning dissipated. The Spearow were thoroughly terrified and flew back to the Forest in a fluttery swarm.
The youth and the exhausted Pikachu collapsed onto the muddy ground, looking at each other.
At this moment, their hearts and minds were connected.
The dark clouds dispersed, the rain stopped, and a rainbow appeared in the sky.
A Bird Pokemon with an exceptionally brilliant appearance flew past. Its whole body glowed with a seven-colored Light, and the sacred motes of light it scattered seemed to have a healing effect, restoring a good portion of HP to the heavily injured pair.
They were finally able to slowly get up and gaze at the Sky.
"What kind of Pokémon is that?"
he asked blankly.
"Fearow, a common Flying-type Pokemon. It has a bad temper."
A mechanical voice sounded from his pocket.
As a Newcomer's Pokedex, it often automatically reported data on Wild Pokémon.
It was perfectly logical.
Whether it was intentional or not, the Bird Pokemon in the Sky suddenly shed a Feather.
Swoosh..!
It floated down from high above, landing perfectly in front of him.
The youth named Ash grabbed the Rainbow Wing, his face filled with shock.
"So this is what a wild Fearow looks like out here! I'm so glad I came on a journey!!"
Being a bit simple-minded, he was instantly overjoyed.
Ash had seen Fearow in Pallet Town; they were ordinary, single-colored Pokémon.
But this one, as if it represented the very will of heaven and earth, radiated an incredibly powerful Aura and had an immense Pressure!
"Tsk, it's just a Ho-Oh that was an even match for my Charizard."
At that moment, a rather deep voice suddenly echoed in Ash's mind.
He shot up with a start, startling the Pikachu beside him.
"Am I possessed?"
Red: "You've hit the jackpot."
(End of Chapter)