Prologue: 3 Years Of Silence

'Mount Silver was aptly named' Henna mentally remarked as she stumbled her way across the craggy terrain. There was nothing but rock in every conceivable direction and her entire vision was filled with constantly shifting shades of silver and grey, if she wasn't already aching all over from her hellish climb then it might have given her a headache worth mentioning. At this point however, she was no stranger to pain and a mere headache was the least of her worries.

With a tired sigh she checked her GPS once again, a look of relief washing over her face when she saw the tiny distance between her location and her destination and a sense of achievement when she saw the distance between her location and the beginning of her journey. Sniffing her clothes she plucked a small bottle from her backpack and quickly doused herself in another shower of Repel, she wasn't about to risk any wild pokémon appearing. Satisfied she was sufficiently odorous to Repel any and all wild pokémon she clumsily pulled herself up onto the final plateau of Mount Silver, she was where she needed to be, now she could only hope he was too.

She glanced around the plateau and her face fell. There was no sign of him. Promisingly there were at least signs that he had been there, few as they were. A single bag, the colour all but worn off and the fabric thinned almost to threads in places, and a small fireplace filled with charcoal were the only traces of his presence here, but they were enough.

'Thank god, if my boss found out I came all this way and he wasn't here I'd be in trouble.'

There was nothing else she could do but wait. So she did, dropping her bag and pacing around the plateau several times before choosing the flattest spot she could to sit on. Crossing her arms and feeling relief flood through her body, the fatigue of the day beginning to catch up with her. Just getting here was hard enough she couldn't imagine how she was going to get back.

'Well. If you wanted peace and quiet, this is definitely the best place to go.'

The plateau was unnaturally quiet. Seemingly devoid of even a single wild pokémon so it didn't take long for Henna to notice his arrival. The air around her, which had been stagnant, suddenly filled with the kind of electric tension reserved for battlefields, or board meetings. She could practically feel the five suspicious glares that were boring into her from every direction, this was something else. Call it what you like, 'aura' or 'killing intent' or anything else you can think of but it was something you'd encounter regularly if you spend any time around pokémon. The killing intent' of a champion's pokémon however, was something more incredible than she could have imagined.

She was trembling slighty, some base instinct of hers reacting to the pressure the pokémon were giving off, but still managed to force herself to stand and turn to face them. That didn't help. Facing them only proved to make the unreal pressure that was swallowing her up even more powerful. The five of them were gathered around him, the fierce red dragon on his left, the solid cannon tortoise on his right, the hulking form of the leaf reptile stood in front of him, the massive behemoth of flesh that passed for the sleeping giant behind him, the seemingly harmless yellow mouse perched on his shoulder. A single pokeball remaining on his belt.

'This is what it feels like to be in the presence of a legendary champion. This is what it feels like to be stood in front of a hero. This man can't be anybody except him.'

"Red." She murmured despite her shaking. The figure smiled and nodded.

Seeing the terror evident in Henna's eyes Red raised his hand and waved his pokémon off. Immediately she felt their aura fade and the air around her settle down. The five of them slowly slinking away to positions where they weren't directly facing her but could still watch her out of the corner of their eyes. Feeling as though a huge weight had been lifted from her shoulders she let out a long sigh of relief and for a while Red simply watched her as she regained her composure. As she caught her breath she examined Red. He was wearing tattered clothes which, like his bag, had frayed and faded into colourless rags. His shoes were almost nonexistent and the only piece of clothing that was still in good shape was his red cap. His hair was long, stretching down to the crook of his back and his face was unshaven, leaving him with a scraggly beard.

"Um..." She finally managed to speak, only to falter immediately when she met his gaze. It was so intense. They say that people's experiences show in their eyes, if that was true then the emerald shine that penetrated his mop of untidy hair spoke volumes for the life he had lived. Finally, she managed to speak. "My name is Hennalor Torsen. You're Red right?"

Red nodded, the action making his thick head of hair ripple.

"I'm here on behalf of Silph Co International to give you this." With a flourish she produced an envelope, printed on expensive paper with gold trimming. The second it came into contact with Red's fingertips the pure white was irreparably smudged. "You've been invited to attend the Silph Co War of Champions! We're gathering high level trainers and ex champions to compete to prove they're the best out of all the currently active trainers, from all the regions, all the leagues."

Red nodded distractedly as he read the invitation, on one side was just a simple line of text stating that he had been invited, on the other however was a large collection of information on the tournament. Including confirmed competitors, rumoured competitors, dates and possible special events. Red's eyes were scanning the list of competitors when a smirk flickered on his face and a quiet chuckle escaped his lips.

Henna couldn't help but wonder which of the competitors had caught his attention and tried to remember who was on the list. She was deep in thought when Red finally stopped reading and paced over to his bag. He pulled four aging pokéballs from inside and dropped them on the ground, his four huge pokémon obediently pacing over and tapping them, each one disappearing in a flash of red light in turn. With his Pikachu hopping onto his shoulder he shouldered his bag and began to walk away, he was about to jump down from the plateau and begin descending the mountain when Henna found her voice again.

"Um. I'm supposed to bring you back with me! I have the GPS and everything!" She yelped and waved her GPS at him, grabbing her backpack as she did.

He smirked and in a voice that was rusted and tired from disuse said. "Let's go then."