Red the Conqueror 45

The concept of losing was not one Red was unfamiliar with. Once upon a time in fact, he had been very familiar with it. Growing up near Professor Oak's arrogant bastard of a grandson had taught him a great deal about losing, starting with the fact that he was a loser because of his short stature most of his life. Eighteen years of dealing with that guy's bullshit had trained Red to deal with frustration.

But even more than that, it had taught Red to deal with strong opponents.

And yet, his temple and drive were being checked by the opponent he found himself facing. Not for the first time since the battle began, he questioned the thought of facing such an incredible opponent on his own.

But it was necessary.

Blue and Sabrina would've been a great help, of course. For sure they might've been able to turn the tide of the battle into their favor. But he needed that.

He needed the battle.

He needed the challenge. A wall that could not be easily overcome, one he couldn't just crash through, he needed to face an opponent that he could not easily defeat in order to sharpen his wits, his mind, his focus and his skills.

And the boss of Team Rocket was proving to be that and so much more.

They went blow for blow, Pokémon for Pokémon, and Red found himself behind. Nidoking, Nidoqueen, both of them had a set of the regal couple, and Red found that his own were lacking. In a two versus two battle, the crimelord had come out the victor.

Sauria had been needed then, and though she and Red's own Charizard could even the scales, it became rapidly apparent that the battle wasn't going in Red's favor, even as he knocked the boss' Golem and then his Dugtrio, in the process losing all but his last Pokémon.

Eventually Rhydon was his fifth Pokémon, his ace as he called it, and with swift action and rapid reactions, the crime lord managed to maneuver Red into an extremely dangerous situation and used a Rockslide attack to finally knock Charizard out, defeating Red's first partner without taking much if any damage on his Rhydon.

That Rhydon alone had knocked out three Pokémon, starting with Blue's Sauria and ending with Charizard, without even needing support from Giovanni's final pokémon, turning the battle from a two versus two affair into a final one versus one to resolve it.

"You're not bad kid," the criminal kingpin said, sticking his hands in his pockets and affecting a smirk that had little mirth and a lot of menace to it. "You could become a quick rising star in my organization, you know?" he said, pulling his right hand out of his pocket and raising it, palms up and fingers halfway curled up. "Together, we could hold the world in our hands," he then clenched his hand into a fist, "and take it for all it's worth!"

Red's eyes narrowed.

He was down to his last Pokémon.

Latias was, of course, always ready to deploy, whenever he wanted her, and wherever he decided she was needed. But facing the Rocket Boss was a staggering experience for him, for someone who hadn't really had a match with someone on his level for a long time now, it was tough facing someone not just as strong as he was, not just as skilled and tactically gifted as he was, but, worse still, he might even be stronger than Red.

It was only Red and Blue's incredibly strong Pokémon, and their discipline, that had allowed Red to even bring the man in the suit down to the point where he had to sweat the battle.

Taking a deep breath, Red took Latias' Pokéball in hand. Seeing his Charizard fall had shook Red to his core, his first partner was also one of his strongest, and in a way, it was the epitome of Red's skill as a trainer.

In a sense, that Charizard falling represented a loss far more impactful than just the loss of one Pokémon in a battle.

There was no time to feel overwhelmed and defeated, however. There was only time to move, time to think, time to push and focus. Red then gathered himself and directed his most determined glare at the mafia lord, raising his last occupied Pokéball.

The man put his hand on his forehead, threw his head back and then laughed. Not evil cackling either, honest, genuine and open laughter. "Yes! That's it, that's what I'd hoped to see! I'd never be able to get along with somebody who might surpass me someday!" he spoke, then he threw his hand forward in a sweeping gesture.

Reacting to that, his Rhydon roared, spinning the drill-like horn on its forehead, before stomping the ground and causing it to shake, then it raised its arms and smashed them against its own chest, causing a deafening noise to erupt, before turning its fiercest glare against Red.

"Come on then! Throw your last pathetic Pokémon out so we can end this!"

The crimelord's face was twisted, manic, anyone lesser would've broken at just the sight of it, the excitement he seemed to be feeling at just the thought of crushing Red gave his presence an unsurmountable pressure.

Red threw out his final Pokéball, and the light took the shape of Latias.

"My master has no pathetic Pokémon, wretch!"

Latias' voice transferred through her psychic power, as she lacked the voicebox in her draconic form to actually form words, instead all she could do was let out a soft yet intense roar, not meant to intimidate, but rather, to warn and advise.

Rainbow light exploded from Latias and Red's body trembled.

Flinching, Red had to hold himself up with pure will alone as his body was wracked by pain and Latias' body grew and expanded as the rainbow energy coursed through her and caused her power to grow, until she reached that same superpowered form she had used before, when her thoughts and Red's aligned into the single minded desire to achieve victory.

"LET'S FINISH THIS!! YOU AND I!!"

The crimelord, master of Team Rocket, took a step forward, raising his left fist in front of his face, bending his knees, and pulling his right hand back, matching the movements of his Rhydon who did the same.

"GIGA IMPACT!!"

Both Pokémon and trainer threw their fists forward, Rhydon's fist becoming wreathed in pure power, undiluted and concentrated into the single point right in front of its claws, carrying power sufficient to fell a mountain, fisure the earth and cause the maps to be redrawn, the power of a high level, mighty and unstoppable.

Red grit his teeth, blood falling from his right nostril, his left eye becoming tinted as the veins within burst, a wave of psychic force overloading him as the power crossed through his mind.

It wasn't enough. Mist Ball wasn't, wouldn't be, enough. Latias' ability to perceive the future was extremely limited and weak, she couldn't even learn Future Sight naturally, but with the two of them together, they could delve deeper, read deeper, immerse themselves in the mists of fate and read the flow of providence and causality.

Going deeper, deeper, deeper and deeper, and finding nothing to help.

Looking one, two, three, five seconds into the future, defeat and nothing but defeat. That fist carried the power to reshape the landscape, and though it would leave Rhydon defenseless afterward, it meant little in the face of an overwhelming power that guaranteed victory.

None of the Moves Latias could execute would get them through it-

No, there was one move.

She didn't know it. She hadn't learned it. Red hadn't thought it important to teach it to her. A physical move, of all things, on a pokémon mostly reliant on her exotic special moves that dealt non-physical damage.

But Red knew it, and thus, so did Latias, because Red and Latias were one and the same, a single being merged, for that brief second.

Every single fiber of Latias' body was brimming with power and she charged forward, wreathed in energy and bringing the ultimate effort forward, breaching all logic, breaking her limits and throwing all reason away.

The power of the Giga Impact's power was so incredible that it seemed like an impossible change to overcome, but in just a single second, a solution was found, and then, executed, such was the incredible power of a bond between a trainer and his Pokémon.

Such was the power of a move oft forgotten and neglected by trainers who saw their Pokémon only as tools to be used and discarded.

Rhydon's attack was countered and Latias' went through, the purple dragon wreathed in a rainbow smashing her entire body into Rhydon with the force of all her love for her trainer, knocking it out in a single blow and sending it flying, smashing into the far wall and past it, crashing through the wall, and into the hallway behind it.

"Return..."

The mafia lord started laughing with a soft, almost serene chuckle, then he began to shake his head, his face caught between resignation, defeat and even an odd satisfaction.

"I lost to a trainer using Return... how long has it been?" he muttered, looking towards the broken wall. His Rhydon had gone as far as breaking the wall on the other side, which opened up to look at the sky. He retrieved his Rhydon, turning the fainted Pokémon into energy and storing him.

He still had one Pokéball he hadn't pulled yet, but, he didn't even pull it out.

"You know, a long time ago," he said, closing his eyes and taking a deep breath and looking out of the building through the hole his Rhydon had made and nearly fallen out through. "A long time ago, was the last time I ever lost a Pokémon battle when I was giving it my all. It's been thirty years since," he said. "I've not taught any one of my Pokémon Return since."

Red's entire body trembled, and it was only the tension that was holding him up.

"You've won today. I'm beaten," he spoke, closing his eyes and a smile forming on his face, before his brow furrowed and he put his hands in his pocket once again, bending his head forward and taking a threatening, powerful stance once again. "We'll meet again, Red," he said, "I've seen it... I'll go back to my roots, I'll find my strength again, and when we meet, I will defeat you. This I swear, I, Giovanni, will knock you down!"

Red exhaled, and his body seemed to relax, tension slowly melting off of him as he took a step forward, bringing a hand up to his chest, thumb popping out to point at himself, as he offered Giovanni a labored yet confident smirk.

"Until we meet again!"

The crime boss pulled his hand out of his suit jacket's pocket and then threw the small sphere he withdrew from his pocket into the ground, causing a great and mighty flash and deafening noise to come out of it, a surprise flashbang, and within moments, his presence was gone.

That last Pokémon he had must've been his escape route.

Nothing to do about it.

With that finished, Red fell to the ground, putting his hands first and trying to hold himself up, his entire body hurting, his skull feeling way too small for his brain, and pain coursing through him like bolts of lightning that was also on fire.

Even through all the agony, he couldn't help but feel an overwhelming sense of victory.

And then, he passed out, knowing nothing more than the warm embrace of sleep. As he started to drift off, he saw Latias flying back to him, and by the time his eyes closed, she was already on him, her body morphing to her human form.

By the time he woke back up again, his head was laid on Latias' lap.

In his hands, he held a small orb, it was like azure glass with a roiling cloud of scarlet red energy swirling within, consistently changing from gaseous mists into flowing currents and then back again, as he observed it.

Latias' smiled brightly, and between blinks, the sphere disappeared.

He raised his hand, too weak to reach her face, but she caught it, and brought it to her own cheek, leaning against it, closing her eyes.

It was a moment that they both took, a moment to rest, a moment to repose, a moment to relax.

A moment...

To mend their soul with peace and quiet.