Chapter Text
MT. Silver: FALL
A young boy with a hat that covered his red eyes was pacing on a pedestal of stone atop of mt. Silver. The mountain that borders the Kanto and Johto region. he usually paced on days like these. Clear, cool, and usually in the fall when there was not a challenging trainer in sight to interrupt his thoughts or challenge his title. As he paced his thoughts traveled back to a point he had come to multiple times today. That point was that it was unusually quiet compared to usual on the summit of Mt. Silver. Sure, it wasn’t overly loud with challengers normally, but even when no one was here usually there would be at least be a few Natus' or Pidgeotos' calling or even the occasional sneasel roaming about. But it was dead silent today, and even with this uncut silence the Kanto champion couldn’t shake the feeling someone was watching him.
“Pika?” The champion jumped, turning to see his partner pokemon Pikachu sitting on one of the rocks nearby, his ears twitching in worry and the head fur that he usually covered his eyes with was pulled back to see him better. He smirked, walking over to his partner sitting beside him and petting him between his ears.
“I’m fine,” the champion signed, lifting his hands from Pikachu “but, Is it... a little quiet to you?” his hands faltered and dropped to his sides hoping Pikachu would confirm his query.
“Pikaaaaaaa pika-pi!” Pikachu nodded, his head swiping his paw against the bandage that rested on his nose smartly and the champion exhaled looking much calmer. Okay, so it wasn’t his imagination, but on the other hand where had all the pokemon on the mountain gone to? He stood up and paced over to his backpack on the other side of his platform like area he called home and picked up three of the pokeballs he kept there, letting the pokemon out.
“Blastoise....”
“Char-Charizard!”
“Venasaurrrrrr”
The three evolved Kanto starters turned to the champion awaiting his instructions. The champion looked to them then to Pikachu signaling him to his shoulder then turning to the three pokemon once he felt Pikachu climb to his shoulder.
“You, Blastoise search around the rivers and creek bushes for any pokemon, I haven't heard any today,” the champion pointed and signed to the water started who grunted and started shuffling towards the creek that ran out of pool near the summit.“And, you Charizard; check the skies,” Charizard dipped his head and took off, circling the summit letting out cries every now and then. “Venasaur, check the small caves and all the surrounding bushes and grasses.” The grass starter turned slowly extending its vines and started prodding around the area
The champion sighed sitting down on the rock again petting Pikachu slowly who chirred and nuzzled his hair in response. As the champion surveyed the area available to him Pikachu to it upon himself to hop on top of his hat and peer over its brim to look in his trainers' eyes; sticking out his tongue. The champion smiled; Chuckling as he ruffled the hair covering Pikachu's eyes. They stayed like that, watching their stone until they heard a sudden crashing by the river.
“OW! Hey! Put me down you overgrown water fountain! I Swear to Mew I will- oh? Oh uh heya Red!” a tall woman with long brown hair and a white sun hat burst out of the trees and bushes in the arms of the champions Blastoise, with a Ninetails barking at them not far behind. The champion stood up from his rock and signaled his Blastoise to set her down on the platform. He knew this girl but he didn’t expect her to be here today.
“Hello, leaf” Red signed, walking up as his Blastoise set Leaf down on the stone platforms her Ninetails wrapping around her legs glaring up at them a glare which Pikachu returned. “What brings you here at this time? I thought you said you were going to challenge me again next summer?” He tilted his head as Leaf dusted off her black dress, still looking mostly the same from when she had challenged him just a few months prior
“Huh. What do you- oh, OH! Uhhhhhhh no reason?”Leaf Raised her arms in a half-hearted shrug. Smiling wide while shifting her eyes quickly from side to side.
“Convincing.” Red signed with a sarcastic eye roll, watching as Leaf hopped from foot to foot nervously.
“Oh fine! I’m here cause, well, uhhh, h-have you seen any... pokemon around the mountain?”
Red blinked in surprise. “As a matter of fact, I have not, why?”
“BecauseihaventseenanytodayandimreallynervousandIdontknowwhatsgoingonan-!” Leaf was cut off as Red used one hand to cover her mouth and the other to sign.
“Slower please.”
Leaf paused for a moment before taking a deep breath, “I-I haven’t seen any pokemon today, at all not on the Indigo plateau or even here! And I mean I climb all the way up Mt.Silver I didn’t fly and nothing. Not even a Geodude and you know those are freaking everywhere Red, I might be overexaggerating but I’m really freaking out an-,”
Red tapped Leaf on the shoulder; rubbing it gently to calm her down and raised his hand to speak. “Hey it’s fine that’s actually why Blastoise, Venasaur, and Charizard were patrolling around here”
Leaf looked up in relief “Really?” Red nodded and Leaf visibly relaxed sliding down to the floor with her Ninetails, “Thank Mew I thought I was going crazy!”
“Did no one on the plateau question anything?”
Leaf shrugged, “I didn’t really see anyone actually, I was farther up victory road training Fiora here-” The Ninetails chirped at her name, “-and no one was there. You were the closest person I could think of... That wouldn’t think I’m crazy” She patted Fiora who looked a lot calmer than when her trainer was being abducted.
“I see,” Red slowly sat down next to green watching his Charizard circle around the summit dipping down once and a while out of sight to search lower areas of the mountain.
“Nice day huh?” Red glance over at Leaf who looked back at him, waiting for a response.
“I suppose, It’s a bit too quiet for my liking though.” Red raised his eyebrows even though Leaf couldn’t see through the shadow of his hat but she seemed to get his humor.
“Ha ha! I suppose so, but it also makes it a little calmer doesn’t it?” She looked over to where Blastoise was wading through the river again as she and Red listened to the silent rustling of the trees.
“Actually, no it doesn’t”
“No, not really”
Leaf and Red glanced at each other, and after a moment Red started silently snickering while Leaf burst out laughing and Leafs’ sides were getting sore by the time she stopped. They lay there for a few minutes before Leaf stood up and offered her hand to Red.
“Hey c’ mon lets battle!”
"...?"
“Let's have a battle! three pokemon each no bars held. You’ll still be champion, I’ll still be your amazing trainer on victory road! And besides, It’ll pass the time until Veno, Chari, and Blast come back.”
Red blinked at her for a moment. No bars held? He scanned Leafs' face, looking for any chances that she might be deceiving him but she only smiled serenely at him. “No strings attached at all, you promise?” Leaf nodded and continued to smile swaying from side to side. “Fine, but on one condition,” Red smirked as Leaf stopped swaying staring at him in confusion.
“You have to pick your three pokemon randomly-” Red smirked wider as Leaf's playful demeanor faltered. She stared at him like he just held one of her pokemon hostage. “I mean I don’t have a choice in what three pokemon I have, It’s only fair,” Red watch in immense amusement as Leaf huffed and kicked a stone in defeat.
“Well- I mean, I- Drat! Fine!” Leaf huffed as she pulled out her pokeballs, “Fiora, return,” Fiora turned and dipped her head as she returned in a beam of red light.
Leaf then put her pokeballs into her bag and started shaking it furiously. After a few seconds of shaking she put her hand back in and drew out three balls, two great and one standard. She looked to Red in a sort of “You happy” sort of way; to which red nodded fixing his hat as Pikachu lept down from his hat to ground level ready to battle.
“All right lets battle! GO... Uh, whoever you are!” Leaf threw out one of her great balls as Pikachu raced onto the battlefield.
“Pika- Pikachu!”
“Gen- Gengar!”
The characterizing shadow of Leaf’s Gengar Gialle rose up from the stone platform, ready To fight the Electric mouse.
“Okay, let's do this, Gialle shadow ball!”
Gialle leapt into the air just as Red snapped his fingers and pointed two fingers at Gialle. Pikachu rushed in with a quick attack hitting Gialle mid-attack sending him flying across the platform.
“Oh, so that's how we're gonna be playing huh? very well! Gialle Will-o-wisp, then get back in here for a dark pulse!”
“GENGAR!” Gialle flipped mid-air, purple-blue wisp swirling around him before shooting towards Pikachu. Red snapped his fingers twice, Pikachu leaping in the air to dodge the fire, only making it catch his tail a bit. He landed a few feet in front of Green looking around in confusion as the shadow of Gialle slipped behind him and leapt up into the air again throwing his dark pulse at the back of the unsuspecting pokemon.
As Pikachu went flying past Leaf Red smirked to himself, readjusting his hat as he signaled Pikachu to take a longer route around to the platform to take Gialle by surprise with an Iron Tail. “All right Green, you want to fight sneaky? Then I’ll fight sneaky.”
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~2 hours later~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
“Hydro pump, Flash cannon, Dodge- NO DODGE! IC- whoooooaaaaaah Arceus damn it!” Leaf cursed as she wobbled when the ground beneath her started shaking again as a result of another of Reds Snorlaxs' earthquake. Leafs Blastoise Blaine stumbled around getting hit dead-on for about the fourth time, He stumbled, fell over onto his shell and did not get up. “Drat! Ugh, no, just- oh fine!” Leaf huffed as she returned Blaine to his Pokeball and turning to see red smirking as he returned Snorlax to his, Pikachu recovering behind him from the damage Gialle and Fiora; who Green had the luck to send out second, had left him with.
Once she and Red shook hands and took out their pokemon to start healing them they noticed Reds Venasaur laying back through the trees waiting. A few moments later Charizard made one final round of the mountain and landed next to Venasaur just as Blastoise waddled up from the creek.
“Anything?” Red glanced at each pokemon who each shook their heads Venasaur letting out defeated clicks as Reds glance landed on her. Red nodded in understanding returning the three back to their pokeballs and turning to Leaf to sign. “This is extremely odd and there must be something going on, all the pokemon on the mountain can’t just disappear like an abra.”
Leaf nodded turning back to applying a potion to Blaine, “do you think we should contact prof.Oak, maybe Blue, or even lance?”
Red thought for a moment and then nodded, “Yeah that sounds good I’ll go to blue, you try to contact lance if all else fails... we’ll see the professor.”
Leaf nodded and returned all her pokemon except Fiora to their balls turning heel to head back off the mountain. At the same time, Red returned his Snorlax and signaled Pikachu to climb into his backpack. As Red reached into his pocket to grab Charizard's Pokeball he turned to Leaf who turned to him and they raised their hands in goodbye. Just before Red could release Charizard however the ground below them suddenly started shaking violently. It wasn’t like before with Snorlax because the move earthquake only cracked the ground and now the trees were shaking extremely violently.
Leaf stumbled, falling into one of the nearby trees while Fiora flattened her body to the shaking ground as it increased in intensity. Leaf shakily reached into her bag and pulled out one of her ultra balls. “Fiora return Quick!”
“Nine-Nine!” Fiora leapt towards Leaf returning to the ball in a flash of red light just as Red wrapped his arms Pikachu who slipped from his hat. He stumbled a bit as the world seemed to rock sideways and the rocks on the platform bounced around.
The rumbling and shaking carried on for what seemed like forever. As the shaking subsided Leaf and Red steadied themselves; while they brushed the debris off of their clothes Leaf turned to Red with concern and confusion etched in her face.
“What the in Ho-Oh’s name w-”
*CRACK!*
Red and Leaf's eyes shot to the floor of the pedestal. Just in time to see a sudden dark crack in the stone floor that started spiderwebbing quickly across the stone. I didn’t just stop at the pedestal and once it started spreading past it more cracks started appearing around the summit. For a split second the silence around them seemed to be even more still, and the next second the cracks exploded into blinding white light which quickly spread to the areas in between the cracks
Leaf instinctively stepped back from the light shocked to find that the ground around her was slowly disintegrating. Revealing a dark void beneath the light. Leaf turned away from the void only to unbalance herself as the ground in front of her started to fade away. “AH?! RED!”
Red turned to see the wobbling trainer and started running towards her dodging and hopping as the floor dropped around him and the trees started falling. Another scream and cracking sound caught his attention and he instinctively looked down only to see a tree that was previously falling into the black abyss suddenly shoot back up straight towards him at an increased speed.
“PIKA-PI!” Pikachu burst swiftly from Red's bag and bounced off of his hat hitting the tree dead on with an Iron tail which split the small tree in two. Red ran forward to catch Pikachu, only for him to never fall down. Red looked up to see what had caused Leaf to scream and the tree to change directions.
A vortex; a giant swirling vortex was swirling just above the summit. It was bright blue, lighter than the sky, and seemed to reflect rainbows as it turned, shooting out bright white beams along the rim. Red's eyes widened in horror only being distracted as his hat tried to slip from his head. He gripped his hat tightly as the wind from the void below picked up suddenly, and he only got a few seconds to see another tree heading dead-on towards him.
Pikachu wasn’t there to hit the tree as it hit the trainer dead-on in the stomach. Throwing him up into the vortex, which closed soon after the Champion disappeared and the silence plagued the summit cut out to the sounds of Pidgey’s and Spearows circling the summit of mt.silver that looked the same as usual. the only thing missing was the Champion who had never been seen off the summit and the trainer who seemingly disappeared from the pokemon center she was staying at.