It was a confusing sensation. It felt like a great weight had been lifted off his shoulders, one that he had been carrying for years, now made weightless. It also felt as if the ground had fled from underneath him, leaving him spinning endlessly, with no possibility of recovery. Red leaned his head back and closed his eyes, allowing the feeling to take over and the mountain around him to disappear.

After a moment, the cold wind forced him back to the present and Red opened his eyes. There was no sign of Gold – he had already left the snow-covered peak of Mount Silver, likely to heal his pokémon. It had been a rough battle, like the several before them. There was one profound difference, though. Gold had won. Red was no longer the champion. He remained standing there a few moments as he pondered that. He was no longer the champion. He didn't have to train or accept challenges anymore. He could go back to a normal life, after four years of training and three years of being the best.

What was a normal life after that?

Red shrugged and started down the slope, careful to avoid the gouges ripped or blown into the ground by the previous battle. He paused by a particular mound his Snorlax had made in a struggle with Gold's Typhlosion, the force exerted by both sides breaking up the earth beneath their feet. The smaller pokémon had somehow been able to hold its own against Red's much larger and heavier pokémon, a feat it was completely incapable of the first time they met. Gold had improved rapidly, much faster than Red had when he trained.

Red paused when he reached the entrance to Mount Silver. After a long glance back at his training grounds, he ducked inside, quickly disappearing into the darkness.

By the time Red healed his pokémon at the Center and flew off on Charizard, night had begun to fall. Without any distinct plans, Red flew towards Pallet Town, pokémon and rider both unbothered by the chill in the air after years on the icy peaks. Red lay face up on Charizard's back, stroking his Pikachu's fur as the mouse curled into his chest. The loss had been the first time his Pikachu had been recalled in three years; he had lasted through all of his prior battles without any need to recover. It had been strange not having the mouse at his side or before him; the feeling of disorientation, of something solid being torn away had begun long before he lost the battle.

Charizard's wing beats slowed to a stop, curving to allow the dragon to glide in a circle as he touched down on the shore south of the town. Red slid off, keeping a hand on the beast's warm neck as he looked about. He hardly recognized the town; Pikachu was scurrying about as if it was an entirely new place, sniffing here and there in a widening circle around Red. Everything was smaller, much more subdued than his ten-year old memories said they would be. Charizard snorted, a long, deep exhale with a meaningful glance at Red. He recalled him, wincing as the disappearance of the tail flame plunged the town into near darkness, lit by the stars above much less than the nights on the mountain had been. There were no lights on in the small town, even in Oak's laboratory.

Pikachu snapped to Red's side as he began walking through the town, staring at the almost unfamiliar houses. It was like a weak sense of déjà vu, where he could not predict the next sight to come, but when it came, it fit as it should. First two houses, one with a crack in the window, then a sign Blue had drawn on when they were young. Home of a future pokémon master was still there, after all these years. Finally, he stopped at the last house in the row: his mom's. No, it was still his as well. Wasn't it? Pushing the issue to the back of his mind, he opened the door – in such a small town, neither he nor his mom had ever made a habit of locking it – and stepped inside.

The sight inside was the same as the outside, familiar but unfamiliar. The television, the rug, the table; it all fit in its proper place. He walked up the stairs, careful to avoid waking anyone in the house, signaling for Pikachu to climb on his shoulder so he could step over any squeaky boards. The still form in his mother's bed stirred as he passed by, but he only paused a moment before continuing to his old room. Pikachu jumped down as he stepped inside, sensing that this was their destination. The bed was crisply folded, the desk neat and tidy. The room lit up sporadically as the computer let out an occasional glow, tinting the walls green before fading again. Pikachu perched on his pillow, staring up at him. It was as if he had never left; he could lie down, fall asleep, and it would be ten years ago when he woke up. It fit his memory perfectly, like a picture of that day so many years ago.

"Red?" a hesitant voice said behind him. Red whirled about to see his mother standing behind him, staring at him, her eyes searching his face for something. "Red, it is you!" she exclaimed, embracing him in a hug.

After a few seconds, she stepped back, holding him at arm's length. "What's going on? Why are you back? Are you alright?"

Red shrugged. "I'm not the champion anymore. I was beaten."

Delia's eyes softened as she "Honey, I'm sorry. I know how hard you worked for that."

"Gold was a trainer. He beat me fairly, I just…" Red paused, his gaze sliding down to the floor. "I'm just not sure what to do now. I thought coming back here would help, but…" he trailed off.

Delia patted his arm softly. "Why don't you come downstairs. We'll talk."

She turned and walked down the stairs; Pikachu darted in front of Red as he began walking and beat him down the stairs, leaping up into one of the chairs. Red followed his lead and sat down next to him, opposite his mother. For a while neither spoke. It struck Red that his eyes were level with hers; when he left, she had been several feet taller than him.

"So, what was it like? Up on Mount Silver," she finally asked. After taking a moment to bring himself out of his memories, he began reconstructing his life over the past three years. He described the initial climb the mountain, the way he sometimes had to dig his feet into the snow during a battle to prevent the wind from shifting him, and how he had bonded with his team even further. They continued for half an hour, her asking questions about the time he had been gone and him answering them, before he finally voiced a question of his own.

"What happened to Blue?" It was a thought that had gnawed away at him occasionally in his training, but it was never answered; he had never come up to challenge him. It hadn't bothered him much before, but now, for some reason, it had been steadily growing in his mind.

"Oh, didn't you hear? He became a Gym leader. In Viridian, that mysterious Gym. He completely cleared the place out. Nobody knows what happened to the previous one, only that one day Blue just showed up and opened it."

Red thought about that for a moment, tapping his hand on the tabletop. Blue, a gym leader. He'd never seemed the type; he'd always been the challenger, always trying to beat the strongest person he could find.

He might have changed just as much as Red had, he thought.

With that thought in mind, Red stood up from the table and walked outside, ignoring his mother's surprised questions. He took a ball from his belt and tossed it forward, blinking as it burst, momentarily lighting up the nearby houses.

"Viridian City," he told the newly formed Charizard, and climbed on its back, recalling Pikachu as the mouse ran up to him. He caught a glimpse of his mother's bewildered face as Charizard crouched, spreading his wings out, and then he was in the air, burying his face into the beast's neck as he tore upwards through the sky. Charizard quickly leveled out, his wing beats slowing as the forest below became an indecipherable mass of green. Red relaxed his grip on Charizard's neck, allowing him to settle into his back. He winced as he recalled his mother's face; he had not meant to leave so abruptly, but he had just figured out the answer so quickly that he had not considered anything else. He would call her later, to apologize.

He mused on the prospect for several minutes, until Charizard's wing beats stopped entirely, leaning down into a dive. Red readjusted his grip as the ground flipped in front of him and gravity seemed to fade away, leaving him feeling weightless as the dotted colors of the town rushed closer. The weight returned abruptly with a jolt in his arms as Charizard flapped his wings against their free fall, slowing at a drastic rate before thudding into the ground. Red dropped off and shook his arms, glaring at the dragon for his maneuver. He chuckled, waving his tail about playfully, and Red recalled him.

As he walked to the gym, Red noticed that he was receiving stares from the few people he saw up and about. It was not often that a boy fell into town on a dragon, especially a champion. Red pulled his cap down, trying to ignore the looks he was receiving, and quickened his pace. It was not long before he arrived at his destination, and he quickly stepped inside and pulled the door shut. He leaned against the metal door, trying to think of what he would say. It had been three years, after all. He had not felt this much anticipation even about seeing his mother, but this was different. Blue was…

"Yo! Red! Been a while, hasn't it?" Blue.

Red turned around. Blue looked much the same as he always had; his brown hair was still spiked up, he was still wearing a black shirt. That ever-present smirk was there as well. He looked older, though. It was his eyes, Red decided. They were different.

"Still as talkative as ever, huh? What's going on? You scared now that someone's strong enough to beat you?" Blue asked, crossing his arms. Red jumped.

"How did you-"

"Don't be so surprised. I got a call from gramps just a moment ago, and he said you up and flew over here after showing up in Pallet. So, what is it? Why are you here?"

Red slid a ball off his belt and dropped it, releasing Pikachu in a flash of light. "To battle."

Blue stared at him, unmoving. "…I'm not battling you. I hate to admit it, but I know when I don't have a chance."

Red faltered, doubt flickering back into his mind. "You're not going to battle? You're my rival, you've always battled me. Why not now?" Blue sighed.

"Look, I'm not your rival anymore. I wish I was, but I'm not. When I battled you for the championship, that was my best. My strongest. It took me a while, but I accepted that I was no match for you. I'm a Gym Leader now. I still love a good battle, and I'm itching for a challenge like you gave me all those times, but I can't. And why would you want one, anyways?"

Red glanced down. "I don't know. It just felt right. I battled you all the time during my journey, and it felt good. You're one of the strongest trainers I know, so I didn't think you'd ever refuse a battle."

"Tch, one loss and you're a mess. Why is it so important to have a battle?"

Red thought for a moment. "I don't know. It felt right, important."

Blue shook his head and sighed, letting his arms drop. "Look, you're trying for the wrong thing. I should know, you've beaten me plenty of times. Each time, I wanted to grow stronger, to beat you. I never did. I became the champion, and I still lost, because I lost sight of what I was training for. And now you've lost it too."

Red stared at him, confused. Exasperated, Blue pointed at Pikachu. "Him. That's what you train for. Him and all your other pokémon. Do you remember what gramps said after our last battle? Why I lost? I lost sight of what I was training for. I wanted to win, to beat you, and I forgot about my pokémon along the way. If you feel lost, it's because you have lost sight of your goal. So, what do you want?"

Red stood there a moment, mulling over what he had just said. He leaned down and reached down towards Pikachu, letting him scurry up his arm to rest on his shoulder.

"Well, Pikachu? What do you want to do?"

Blue grinned.

Gold stepped out onto the peak, straining his eyes against the blindingly bright snow and hail. After allowing his eyes to adjust, he caught sight of a figure with his back to him, staring out into the snow unbothered by the wind and cold.

"So you couldn't stay away either, huh?"

Red didn't move; a slight incline of his head was his only acknowledgement of the question asked.

"It was so weird. I was finally the champion, but it didn't feel real, you know? It felt like I'd missed something, and I didn't know what it was. I tried going back home, but it didn't feel right. Nothing felt like I was supposed to be there. Home, the gyms, they weren't what they used to be. I slowly realized that it wasn't that everything had changed; I had."

Red turned around, looking Gold in the eye through the hail and snow. Gold shivered and hugged his body, continuing his speech.

"I wasn't a regular person anymore, I was a trainer. I lived for my pokémon, and they just wanted to fight for me. I didn't fit in there. There was only one place I wanted to be, and I couldn't believe it."

Red spoke, a soft word snatched away by the wind before Gold could hear it, and his Pikachu dashed out from by his feet. Gold grinned and unclasped a Poké Ball from his belt, throwing it forward into the snow.

"Here. Battling the best." And it began.