When The World Ends
Prologue

Icy wind added a bitter chill to the air as the blizzard attacked the mountain. Tall, twisted, steep and treacherous, the harsh snow was hardly the greatest challenge that those who dared attempt to brave the mountain would face. Much of the interior of the mountain was hollowed, carved out by the growing strength of the monstrous pokemon that lived there, and it was possible to follow those trails all the way to the summit, though the thought of just flying up seemed almost easier.

The winds raged every single day, thwarting any attempts to approach it with helicopters or planes, and to attempt to fly too high up on a pokemon was pure suicide for both the trainer and the pokemon. The interior was the only way to travel up: a twisted, dark maze of destruction. Viciously powerful pokemon lived there, hardened and trained by the inhabitable environment. Every one of them wanted to make their strength grow, and wouldn't hesitate to challenge anything that they came across, including the rare trainer that attempted to ascend the mountain.

The Nurse Joy who ran the Pokemon Center at the base of the mountain could attest to the damage these creatures had done. Out of everyone who attempted to scale the beast, only a handful of them would make it to the top, and that was over a period of at least ten years.

Some liked to try and train their own pokemon to become just as powerful, but the majority tried to climb the mountain for another reason. Mt. Silver protected its secrets well, but there were always whispers about the real prize at the peak.

The summit of the mountain itself wasn't exactly a peak but more along the lines of a massive plateau amongst jutting, jagged rocks. Within the protective rock walls of the mountain, was a home. It wasn't much, but it was perfect for the owner of it, though very few people saw that. No, when the occasional person finally reached the summit, they were met by a silent, looming figure standing at the opposite end of a massive, deadly battle arena. Despite the icy air whipping around them, whispers said that the figure wore a short sleeved, red and white jacket, jeans, sneakers, and a red hat. Whispers said that the wind would whip his jet black hair into his burning red eyes, but he would never flinch, only begin the battle. Whispers said that he never ever whispered a thing himself.

He was more of a legend than anything else those days. Enough people knew bits and pieces of his story to piece together how this man became the strongest trainer in the world, but no one truly knew the whole story of the Pokemon Master's rise to power. Strong, untouchable, unknown and silent, Pokemon Master Red was an enigma to all.

It was true, everyone knew the trainer's name, he was officially given the title of the strongest trainer, and officially had the most political power within the Pokemon League. It was a coveted position so people knew of him, but they didn't know him beyond the simplified story that was made public. Nothing was ever simple though.

Only the best of the best got the opportunity to face him. Official battles for the title of the Pokemon Master weren't quite as simple as just climbing Mt. Silver and challenging Red. There were other prerequisites that had to be met first, but people still saw him as a challenge, and if they could reach him, they could challenge him to an unofficial battle.

Few people ever tried to completely scale the mountain though, and even fewer still actually succeeded to face him. He lived in isolation with only his Pokemon for company. They lived a quiet, peaceful life. Or they did, until everything changed.

...

"Rai?" Brown ears moved back and fourth as a creature with primarily orange fur perked up. His nose twitched for a moment, smelling the air before his black eyes narrowed, fur standing on end as he growled. He scampered up to the window, glaring at the near white-out conditions outside.

Movement within the small house – created and insulated inside of a massive cavern to protect it from the harsh weather – caused the Raichu to look around, eyes focusing on the tall man who came out of another room. His bright red eyes were narrowed and contemplative.

"Rai raichu?" The pokemon asked, tilting his head with worry.

Red looked down at his ever-loyal pokemon, his expression suddenly determined. He gave no warning, simply summoning his Raichu back into his pokeball before turning around and going back into the room that he had just come from before.

There were monitors lining the walls from hidden cameras that were strategically placed around the mountain to keep track of visitors. Red never liked to be unprepared, but he also didn't want anyone to get hurt. Should someone fail in their journey and be unable to go up or down, he would descend to bring their unconscious forms back to Nurse Joy. Now though, there were many, many people on his monitors, unbothered by the weather conditions or any wild pokemon thanks to the sheer numbers they had.

He had to make his move quickly. He was the Pokemon Master, but even Red knew that he couldn't fight an army, not on his own. Walking over to a strange device that looked like someone stuck a pokeball teleportation machine onto a little black box (which is exactly what it was), he placed five of the six pokeballs he had with him on it, activating the machine and watching as they disappeared, the numbers on the small screen of the box changing to show that they were now within it.

With a flick of his wrist, he threw the sixth pokeball up into the air, revealing a massive, powerful flying-type. Pidgeot stretched out her large wings, focusing on her trainer. The man worked quickly and silently, dismantling the machine and securely strapping a carrier bag onto the pokemon. She stood silently as he put the machine inside, and then slid Pidgeot's own pokeball into the bag.

The pokemon looked at him sadly, and Red placed his hand just over Pidgeot's beak silently. The flying-type closed her eyes for a moment before opening them again. "Pidgeot ot!"

Red moved over to the computer system that was there, putting in a command before a huge panel slid open, revealing a passage that would bypass any pokemon, any trainers, and the dangerous winds that assaulted the mountain. He was silent as he urged his pokemon to go, and though she hesitated, the Pidgeot still took flight, trusting her trainer. He could have gone with her, but he had little doubt that there were others waiting around the mountain. He would have drawn too much attention, and his only goal was to save his pokemon from a fate worse than death.

Red sighed and went back to the computer, hitting a few more buttons and leaving the room, closing the door behind him. It was only a moment later that an almost deafening crash was heard from in there as the room purposely caved in on itself, completely destroying everything inside.

Then, Red walked towards the table that he had been sitting at before the alerts warned him that there was someone on the mountain. He pulled the bowl of now soggy cereal to him, taking a bite.

The cries of victory and the storming footsteps overpowered the sheer winds, but he paid no mind to it. Nor did he even flinch at the loud bang on his door before it was shattered and the frigid air rushed in. People swarmed in, but he still ignored them, eating his cereal like it was a normal day.

Red only looked up when he was finished, staring blankly as a tall, broad man walked into his apartment. A quick glance around told him that everyone else was clothed in black suits made for the weather, bright red Rs on them. This man was different though. His clothes looked like the best money could afford, and the Persian that strolled leisurely behind him walked proudly, looking at his small home with disdain.

"Master Red," the very familiar man spoke. "You seem quite unconcerned that Team Rocket has taken your sanctuary."

Red cocked an eyebrow at him, everything about his features portraying how uninterested he was in the conversation.

"Boss," a woman spoke up, her twisted blond hair bouncing around her face as she walked towards them. "His pokemon are nowhere to be found."

Giovanni was silent as his dark eyes looked back at Red, contemplating him. "Clever. You knew that we were coming and sent them away, didn't you? Pity your intelligence didn't extend to finding a way to escape yourself." Giovanni waved his hand at the woman. "No matter, our collection of powerful pokemon has expanded exponentially during the expedition up, and from the raid on the Pokemon Center." He paused, looking back at Red. "Pity about the Nurse Joy there though. She put up a fight. I'd give a consolation for her untimely demise, but she is highly replaceable."

Red didn't respond, but his shoulders visibly tensed.

"I heard that you made a vow of unbreakable silence," Giovanni noted. "Though you were never one to talk much when we were younger, were you?" Giovanni spoke as if they were old friends, even if he was older than the man sitting before him. "I'm interested to see how long you can keep this vow with what we have planned. Come now, old friend, I have a front row seat of the events to come saved especially for you. We wouldn't want to be late."

Red looked up at him sternly, never once breaking eye contact as he was swarmed, his arms cuffed behind him as he was herded out of the room by high ranking, Team Rocket grunts. He wouldn't let his worry show, no matter how badly it was plaguing him.

...

Flying low in the forest until it was clear of the mountains, Pidgeot raced as quickly as her wings could carry her. Once she was a safe distance away, she soared up high in the sky to ride the air currents that would take her in a south-easterly direction.

She knew where she needed to go, she just hoped that the person she was supposed to deliver her precious package to was still there.

...

Note

From the second I decided to expand my series beyond TMoA, this was my real end goal. The other movies don't impact anything enough for this, since they're all relatively similar to their original forms. While this is the sixth instalment (it's officially The Road You Choose Part VI), technically ALL five of my other fics are just one long prequel to this.

If you haven't read them you might be a little confused about certain things. If you want to catch up the order the stories go in order as follows: The Mystery of Aura, The Master of Mirage, Between Time and Space, Distortion and The Harbinger of Life. You might be able to keep up without them, but that's up to you.

Written by: Skylight Sparkle
Edited by: CLAVUS