Pokémon - Driven to Monochrome

The Death of a Champion

Ten Years Ago
—

The guard examines the case intently. Sixteen badges, glistening in the light above the skies, held in the hands of of a well experienced trainer, dressed in red, and his irises, a color to his name.

"Hmmm, I underestimated you, champion Gold." The guard nodded. "Not only did you collect all eight badges of Johto, you went next door to collect eight more. I'm impressed!"

The adult male takes a couple of scoots to the left, granting the passageway to the young man in front of him.

"Good luck out there, champ!"

"Thanks! I'll do my best!"

As he adjusts the bag on his back, Gold ventures through the caves of Mt. Silver... unaware that his fate has already been sealed.

—
Present Day
—

The jumbo rat collapses onto the concrete ground, lacking the energy to get up before its eyes take the form of swirls. The Absol from the other end glares at its opponent as the blade on its temple loses the dim glow of its trusty Psycho Cut attack.

The white haired woman cheers from behind with her Espeon, jumping up and down for joy. Her opponent, for what appears to be a Team Rocket grunt, stomps his feet onto the ground instantaneously, aggravated over his defeat. His ceaseless amounts of swearing holds no bounds, but it doesn't matter to Takara.

Coming to Cerulean City was a great idea. What better way to start off her visit to Kanto than to come here of all places? Heck, she didn't hesitate to take on this little challenge.

What caught her attention wasn't the prize itself, but the thrill of a Pokémon battle. Fighting against five Pokémon trainers without as so much as catching a breath or taking any time to heal was not something so trivial.

Her Pokémon were on the same wavelength as her. They want to get this challenge done as quickly as possible just to perk themselves up. One by one, each of Takara's Pokémon got through the trainers without a hitch, and the last Pokémon to fight against the big boss himself was none other than the Disaster Pokémon, Absol.

Absol, with its keen observation and perceptive abilities, was able to take down the grunt's team with ease while Espeon, Takara's ace and partner, watches from the sidelines to act as its cheerleader.

As the Raticate returns to its little Pokeball, clutched in its trainer's hand, the man is approached by the trainer and her two Pokémon. As much as he hates to admit defeat, the rules are set in stone. He shoves a hand into his pocket and pulls out a golden ball, reaching it towards the woman.

"Alright, fine." He sighed. "You win. Here's your  nugget."

The girl takes the object from the poor fellow's hands, shoving it into her purse for safe keeping before turning her attention back to the grunt.

"Even if you are a bad guy, you have truly made my day, sir." She exclaimed. "Thanks!"

Her left hand proceeds to flap up and down, showing how much she had fun, battling against a worthy opponent. But, it didn't make the grunt feel any better.

"Man, even after I forcibly resigned, I still couldn't manage to take down a single trainer's Pokémon!" He complained.

The latter stares at the depressed individual with furrowed eyebrows, confused.

"Resigned? Then, why are you still wearing the uniform?" The girl asked.

"I forgot to do the laundry today." The man lamented.

"Oh."