OriginalShipping Drabbles

Prologue

(Alternate Title: Get off the fucking mountain, Red.)

Two hours ago, he was perfectly fine in the comfort of his apartment on the top floor of the Viridian Gym. He was warm, safe, comfortable, warm, entertained, content, warm.

Of course, however, one hour and thirty minutes ago, worry crept its way into his mind just as it did every other night, crawling up his spine and refusing to be put down. He would find himself pacing his living room, muttering to himself like a madman about the various reasons why his former rival was okay in hopes of drowning out his fears. He would occasionally bump into the coffee table, rattling his third cup of herbal tea that was supposed to relieve stress, according to Erika. He would give it a careless glance, take a half-hearted sip, and pray for the herbs work their magic.

One hour ago, he gave in to his unending fretting, threw on a few layers of clothing, grabbed his Pokémon team and set out to the barrier between Johto and Kanto: Mount Silver.

The location was notorious for its ruthlessness: temperatures never rising above the negatives, Pokémon stronger than any others lurking about, sharp winds constantly whipping up dangerous blizzards, and the occasional avalanche due to Donphan herds stampeding nearby. It wasn't for rookie trainers, or anyone accompanied by less than four Pokémon capable of surviving in harsh conditions. It was a trek suited only for those who had been through unspeakable hardships.

The perfect environment for the one he was searching for, Green mused.

For the past sixty minutes, Green had been clinging to his Arcanine, his fur radiating heat to alleviate the cold threatening to leave him frozen solid. He had long returned Pidgeot to her ball to prevent a broken wing, instead replacing her with Alakazam, whose psychic abilities could help protect the group from hail the size of baseballs.

They weren't far from the summit they were headed to, where the "strongest trainer" was supposed to be. Green had caught word of the rumor from a gym challenger, and after a vague description of the trainer, he concluded that this could possibly be his old rival. His biggest obstacle. The victim of his relentless bullying from childhood.

Red.

Green was once the champion of Kanto. He'd gathered all eight Gym Badges from across the region, endured the hardships Victory Road brought him, and overcome the challenge of the Elite Four. His name was etched into the Hall of Fame. It was all he'd ever wanted since the dawn of his Pokémon journey, since receiving Squirtle in his grandfather's lab, since he was eleven years old.

He'd finally achieved his goal...

... for thirty-nine minutes.

Two-thousand-three-hundred-forty seconds after becoming the strongest trainer in the world (at least in his eyes), Red, his life-long rival, strode into his domain, whitewashed his team, and stole his title.

He had been angry, of course. Furious, even. Livid. He wanted to grab Red by the collar of his shirt and shake him until his head fell off, or give him a really good punch.

Yet the only thing he could manage to do was fight back tears of frustration and despair as his own grandfather idolized Red before scolding him for losing. He had still become champion, hadn't he? It was still an amazing accomplishment - the same achievement his rival gained. So why had he not even received a "congratulations"?

The memory was a cold reminder that the esteemed Professor Oak, though a skilled and knowledgeable man on Pokémon, was not as great a grandparent as he was a professor.

Red had never seemed to enjoy the spotlight, and when he was swarmed by news reporters dying to know what it was like being the youngest champion yet, he fled to the unknown, deserting his place as region champion and nearly disappearing off the face of the planet. His name was in headlines: "Champion of Kanto Reported Missing", "Legendary Trainer Red Disappears After Achieving Champion Status". His mother worried herself sick, bombarding both Green and Oak with questions of where they'd seen her son last. She begged Green to find him, constantly reported to the police, though Red still never turned up.