Pokémon: The Original Shipping (RedxBlue)

Lv 1: After Defeat

"No! That can't be! You beat my best! After all that work to become League Champ? My reign is over already? It's not fair!"

In less than a day, I had reached the top only to be shoved back down to the very bottom. Everything I had worked for was now in ruins before my eyes.

"Why? Why did I lose? I never made any mistakes raising my Pokémon..."

As much as I couldn't believe what had just happened, it didn't change the fact that I had just lost to such a pathetic trainer. I'd beaten him at just about everything , and yet he had somehow managed to come out of nowhere and win when it actually mattered. If anything, he just gotten lucky, I kept telling myself, trying to make sense of all this. It was probably at this moment that I knew I could never show just how crushed about this I really was. Trying to go down with my dignity still intact, I knew I'd have to suck it up and congratulate him.

"Darn it!" Looking up at the illuminated, reinforced ceiling of the Champion Room, I refused to face that wide-eyed twerp jumping up with joy in front of me. "You're the new Pokémon League champion! Although I don't like to admit it..."

Before I knew it, gramps showed up, late as usual, to kicking me while I was down. He also took the time to congratulate Red, but only after lecturing me about "trust and love". Like that would ever help me. Gramps escorted Red inside the Pokémon Hall of Fame, leaving me behind. This sucks!

As Red walked passed me though, our eyes met for a brief moment, and I suddenly felt immobilized. Somehow, it was like looking at an entirely different person. Something about him was different now, something I was finally realizing, but at the same time I tried not to make anything more of it. It wouldn't be too hard to ignore these strange feelings either, seeing as how that would be the last time I would see Red for a very long time.

...

Sometime after my embarrassing defeat at the Indigo League, I received a promising call from Viridian City, an offer to become the city's new Gym Leader. The position was currently vacant, and the city wanted to make sure they kept the reputation for owning the toughest Gym in Kanto. Naturally, they asked me to fill in, and it was for that reason only that I accepted their offer.

Years went by and I easily proved I was up to the challenge, defeating trainer after trainer, only occasionally being bested by someone who got lucky. My skills and knowledge of battling were continuously tested, but it soon became clear that there was only so much I could get out from this job. Battle after battle, win or lose, there was always something missing.

Whenever the chance came up, I took it upon myself to leave the Gym and travel around the region to train, explore or simply relax, hoping to find something... else. Eventually I figured out that being a Gym Leader wasn't going to cut it anymore, no matter how good I was at it. It was time for me to face a new challenge.