Snow on Mount Silver

Chapter Three: Perish Song

    Gold travelled for what felt like ages. It was only him—alone, in the middle of the treacherous blizzard, with nothing but the clothes on his back, and his single Pokémon, Typhlosion. He had never felt such loneliness or hopelessness in his entire life, and though he tried to keep his determination up, the horridness of the situation weighed on him and the ever-present cold continued to plague his body. Colder and colder he became, his movements slow, his breath labored, and his skin burning with frostbite while it begged for warmth...but now it seemed he would never receive any.

    "I-I...I have to reach the summit soon, right?" Gold said. His voice had become hoarse and raspy, due to his exposure to the constant snow. Occasionally, he fell into coughing fits, and those certainly did a number on his throat and lungs. Despite all of his suffering, however, he did not give up. No. Not just yet. "I can make it. The summit's close."

    He struggled through a large mound of snow, bracing against what felt like the millionth overpowering gust of wind. It did not knock him over, to his relief. Once or twice, this wind had swept him off his feet, and sent him into the thick snow, but not this time. Gold shuddered, striving to pick up his pace as the wind died down a smidge. The snow continued, whirling all around him. He kept shivering, and rubbed his arms for warmth, but of course it did nothing.

    "A-almost there." He forced himself forward, attempting to ignore the aching of his legs. On more than one occasion, exhaustion had threatened to take over his body. He didn't let it...besides, it wasn't nearly so terrible compared to the constant frigid state he was in.

    He came to halt in front of another snowy bank. It looked almost like a staircase, similar to the one he climbed up back before his Pokémon all died out. His heart lifted, giving him a brief boost of confidence and resolve. Forcing back a burning cough, he marched through the building snow and right up the rocky slope before him. And, as he'd expected, there it was. The summit of Mount Silver.

    He let out a long, painful breath, watching it escape in a puff of steam, frozen in the air. Casting his gaze around, he scanned the white horizon for Red...or any life, for that matter. He saw nothing, only snow, the sight of which now nearly drove him mad. Releasing another breath, he took a few shuffling steps forward.

    "Wait..." he said. There was something here. Half buried in snow, right in front of him lay a Poké ball. It was frosted over, much like Typhlosion's, of which Gold still held close to himself. He tucked it away, however, when he approached the mysterious ball. His entire body quaking, he bent down and examined the Poké ball, tilting his head to the side. It looked ordinary, minus how it was frozen over. "Huh. Weird." He reached towards it. As his frostbitten fingertips brushed against the ball, an ear-splitting shriek pierced the air. With a cry, he scrambled away from it, falling into the snow. To his horror, his vision swam into darkness, and all he saw was pure black.

    His vision cleared in only a moment, and when Gold rose to his feet and whipped around, before him floated Celebi, in a similar to state to Typhlosion and himself. It stared at him with a black, dead eye containing a glowing red pupil. Gold shuddered, this time from fear, rather than the cold. The Pokémon was in the perfect position for battle. This was a battle.

    Gold clenched his fists; they ached as he did, but he ignored the burn of the cold. He reached for Typhlosion's Poké ball, but he stilled when Celebi focused its attention on him. Gold hesitated, his eyes widening. He could read Pokémon well—had been a trainer long enough to read their expressions, and half the time know what they were thinking. The Celebi's expression made his heart thunder, for he knew what it wanted by the look in its evil eyes.

    It didn't want to fight another Pokémon...it wanted to fight him.

    Moving hurriedly, Gold attempted to retrieve Typhlosion. Before he could, the eerie sound of Perish Song rose over the howling wind. The haunting tune warped its way into Gold's mind. He gripped his head, grinding his teeth as he felt an unfamiliar pain burn through him, along with the horrible sensation of the biting cold. Both of these things became worse—growing and growing till Gold dropped to his knees and let out a wretched scream he didn't recognize as his own.