Chapter 2

The drop off was basically as unceremonious as the pick-up. They pushed me out of the helicopter, the chairman yelling instructions as I struggled against his surprisingly strong shove.

"So remember, you are to have no contact with any family or friends. If challengers approach, you defeat them and return to your training. They may not stay with you. You may not take on apprentices, and don't come down until we have contacted you."

"When?" I asked, finally falling into the cold snow, Pikachu tumbling out after me.

"Oh, who knows, could be a day, could be a couple decades. Just until the press settles down a bit. Have a nice stay, and remember to give us a buzz when you reach your residence!" The helicopter took off and vanished into the distance, leaving me and Pikachu alone in the snow.

I sighed as I looked up the mountain. We had been dropped off about half way up, meaning we had the more difficult part to climb. This wasn't going to be fun.

Pikachu picked himself up and shook his tail, trying to dislodge the snow. I could already see him trembling, and the goose bumps on my arms were coming up fast. I had always been less sensitive to extreme temperature changes, but being on a mountain in a tee-shirt was a lot, even for me. The faster we get there, the faster I can get out of the cold I guess.

Pikachu climbed onto my shoulder, his preferred resting place. It would also protect him from the snow that seemed to clump in his fur very easily. With him in place, we set out. There was nothing else I could do. I had to brave the mountain, for the alternative would be much worse.

You see, the pokemon league isn't only responsible for the pokemon league. In fact, they were the most powerful corporation in the world. They had their hands in the police force, the health care, the government. Anything that involved pokemon, and that means everything. I would be found out very quickly if I disobeyed. Going into any town, or within 100 miles of a town, would have me captured in minutes.

I have always wondered what they do with the people who disobey the league, and truthfully, I have no idea. We just know that once the rogues are captured, you never see them again. Rumors have gone around that they do tests on them, or kill them, or torture them, or feed them to pokemon or something. Personally, I think that's bullshit. They probably just have a jail somewhere on an island. Either way though, I don't want to find out. Hopefully, I'll be off the mountain soon enough anyway.

The snow was getting deeper, and I started seeing very few trees. The small ones that I did see I can't even really consider them as trees, more like spiky shrubs. The wind was vicious, tearing at my bare skin and making my nose and fingers completely numb. Why couldn't I take a coat with me anyway? They said it was to, 'make me stronger' but that is bull shit. I'm probably going to die on this mountain.

I bit the inside of my cheek hard. Thinking like that wasn't going to get me anywhere. I had been in worse situations and gotten through. Plus, I needed to protect Pikachu. He would do the same for me, and right now, I was his only hope.

Pikachu hated me when I first got him. He had been running rampant in some town, screwing with all their wiring. I caught him to help the townsfolk, not to be my friend.

His adjustment to the team took a while. He would always hurt the other pokemon, and myself, and anyone that approached. He finally learned to trust me when he ran away and got attacked by a stampede of Ryhorn. I saved him, but was hurt in the process. Ever since then, we have trusted each other with our lives. He even stands up for me when I can't. Whenever we met up with Green, I always became more sullen and withdrawn than with other people. His words hurt more than most peoples, and I never figured out why. They were the same words, but from his mouth, they hurt like arrows through my heart.

Anyway, Pikachu knew when those times arose, and he always gave me exactly what I needed to get out of the funk. Normally, that consisted of a high voltage shock, delivered to me, or Green.

Oh Green, I'll never understand what drove him to think of me as such a disappointment. It was like one day, he was promising to be with me forever, and the next he couldn't look at me without that stupid smirk of hate. I hated that smirk. It always made my insides jump, it made me doubt myself and hate myself because he wouldn't ever like me. He would never look at me like an equal.

I stopped walking and took a deep breathe. I had to let it go. I know that he isn't trust worthy. In fact, nobody was. They would all abandon you at your most vulnerable time, even your own mother. No, no one could be trusted, except pokemon. They never left, and they always understand how you feel. If I had only my pokemon to rely on, I would be ok.

I rubbed pikachus head. It was very cold, and I could tell the thin air was making him slightly dizzy. My poor friend seemed on the brink of consciousness as the air and cold took hold of his body. Thankfully, we had made some great progress. It couldn't be that much further.

After an hour of walking, I found the first rock cliff I would have to get up. The hand holds looked plentiful, and it proved easy to climb. However, at the top, I was faced with another, this one being much more advanced.

I started up, Pikachu tucked inside my jacket so he wouldn't fall. The first few feet were easy, but it got difficult fast. I reached my hand out as far as it would go to grasp the next hold. It was so close to making it. I wriggled my fingers trying to get closer when suddenly, I felt one of my legs slip off the cliff. The foot hold had been icy and I couldn't get my foot back on.

My body swung out, banging against the rock face as I tried to regain my composure. I was ok, I just had to pull myself up. I turned my body around carefully so I was once again facing the cliff. I reach my hand out, and luckily, it made it. I pulled myself up and out of harm. Pikachu hadn't stirred at all, even though he was resting over my heart that was beating as loud as a drum. I knew to look out for the ice from now on.

After finally finishing the rock cliff, I sat down for a second in the snow, letting it take care of my aching muscles with its cool numbness. Pikachu was still shivering, but I was not. In fact, aside from the dull ache of over used muscles, I could barely feel my body at all. My fingers had turned a greyish colour, and I was pretty sure that wasn't healthy. I needed to find that shelter, and soon.

The peak didn't look very far away anymore, and hour or two at most. If I picked up the pace, I could be there by night fall.

I got up to continue forward, but as soon as I did, I was stopped as a hulking figure started appearing slowly in front of me. The creature was huge, and covered in snow. I reached to find my pokedex, but it wasn't in my pocket. I must have left it at home. I swore under my breath. Of all the days I had to be unprepared, it was today.

The pokemon was on I had never seen in Kanto or Johto before. It was mostly white, with hints of green. It had a lot of frost incrusted hair that covered everything except its eyes.

I felt Pikachu stir against my chest. He was in no state to battle; we wouldn't stand a chance against a pokemon like this in the state we were in. I would have to run. The beast bellowed in front of me and started to charge. I ran away, fighting through the strong wind, as the pokemon turned for another charge. I ran as fast as I could up the mountain, listening to the bellows of the pokemon behind me. They started to get quieter as I started to run out of breath. Finally, I was forced to stop. The thin air was to light for me to run any longer. I sunk to the snow in exhaustion. We must have ran out of the pokemon's territory, that is the only explanation I could think of that might explain why it stopped it's pursuit.

I looked in my think jacket to take in Pikachu's state. It was barely moving, and when I touched my hand to its electric sacks, I felt no tingle. Pikachu was almost finished. I didn't even have its pokeball with me!

I hurried on, hoping I could find some sort of cave where we could rest for the night. However, the snow that swirled endlessly in front of my eyes blocked much view of anything. I had lost sight of the peak in my mad dash away from the Pokemon. I squinted, thinking I might have seen a shadow close by. I continued walking towards the faint outline, and walked right into a wall.

I shook my head to clear it and then looked closer. The wall had been packed with snow, disguising it completely. However, as far as I could tell, the snow was not natural. It was far too tightly packed for that. And if I looked close enough, I was pretty sure I saw hand prints from where people had put snow on. Using my hand as a guide, I followed the cliff face around.

Finally, I saw it. Our salvation. The darkness of the cave entrance stood out in the white wasteland. I ran inside, grateful to be out of the wind. Inside, I was surprised to find supplies. This must have been the cave they had meant for me to stay in. We had made it!

I collected some wood and lit a fire with the provided matches. I lay Pikachu close by the fire hoping he would thaw quickly in its comforting glow. Once I had done all I could to ensure Pikachu was warming up, I looked over my own condition. My fingers were a purple gray, but they still had the slightest amount of feeling in them. My toes on the other hand, had fared much worse. I could tell by the black flesh around one of the toes, and it's lack of feeling completely that it had died. I would have to take it off before the flesh had a chance to rot. What a treat that would be.

I rooted around in some of the draws of supplies that lined the cave walls until I found what I was looking for. Wire cutters. I went back by my fire.

"Welcome to your new home, Red." I whispered to myself as I lined the tool onto my toe. "It'll be so comfortable and homey soon. A couch here, a missing toe there, looking forward to it." I took a breath in, and squeezed my hand together. My grunt of pain echoed through the cave as my toe fell to the floor.