We soared through the air aboard Aerodactyl. The fossil Pokémon was noticeably faster than Charizard, and we arrived at Cerulean City in record time.

We jumped off of the Pokémon and I asked Daisy what her plan was. "Hang on," The girl was scanning the area. "There!" She took my hand and we ran toward a reporter and cameraman standing in front of the gym.

"Portals have appeared all over the region, unleashing black and white Pokémon!" The reporter read off. "While we don't currently understand what is doing this, or how to stop it, citizens are advised to stay inside and run far away."

The reporter's eyes glanced over at us. "This just in, the Champion is here! Perhaps to give us some insight on what's been happening?"

Daisy grabbed the microphone from her hand. "Listen up! I'm Red's best friend, Daisy! We need your help! Kanto is in trouble. The region is under attack from a Pokémon who wants to destroy this region. Everyone out there, we need you to get out there and fight for your home!"

I waved my hands at the camera. I wished I could say something more than ever. Daisy shouldn't have had to do all the talking. "If you've ever been helped by Red or me, or if you care about this region at all, this is your chance to take a stand! Help us... please!"

I held out one of my Poké Balls to the camera. Then, I put a hand to my chest. "We're going to do what we can to put a stop to all of this. So, we need you to buy us time."

The reporter glanced off in the distance. "Looks like a portal just opened over Saffron. Better hope people are watching the news, then."

Daisy handed the microphone back to her. "This region's tough! It can hold it together while we go and stop this. Right, Red?"

I nodded, and then I turned to Cerulean Cave. It was time to finish this. We ran over to the fence across from the cave's entrance, and Daisy sent out Venomoth. "Use Psychic to take us to the entrance to that cave!"

Daisy's Pokemon lifted us into the air. We flew over the river and were gently set down on the small entrance to the cave. Daisy called back Venomoth, and we went inside.

Upon entering Cerulean Cave, I saw a massive portal into the Missing Palace looming above us. MissingTwo was flying in the air beneath it. His corruption had spread all throughout the cave, sapping it of color. The Psychic-Type turned to face us.

"Welcome, Red. I'm surprised you managed to make it here. At least you brought someone who can speak." MissingTwo taunted.

Daisy held up a fist. "Watch yourself! Red doesn't need whatever you gave him! He's still the same person he was before!"

The Pokémon wasn't as convinced. "Really? He can't even command his Pokémon now. What sort of Champion does that make him? Red, you are nothing without my voice. Remember that when you stand against me. If it were not for me, you'd have floundered in every battle. The world you're protecting is the world that left you without a voice."

My friend stomped her foot on the ground. "Would you shut up? Red isn't some helpless baby! He's an amazing trainer and an amazing friend! He was my best friend before ever getting a Pokémon. He'd have found a way to communicate with them because Red is incredible! If you really think that you can just give and take your gifts, you're no better than whatever you're complaining about!"

MissingTwo narrowed his eyes. "If you insist on viewing it that way, then I am wasting my time. Goodbye, trainers." The Pokémon descended into a pool of water beneath him. The water warped around him, allowing him to descend freely.

The corruption in the area started to swirl around us, manifesting into powerful Pokémon. Daisy sent out her Pokémon. "Red, go after MissingTwo! He's going to do something terrible if we give him too much time!"

My eyes widened and I asked if she was sure. My friend nodded. "Of course I am. Trust me, Red. I know how to fend for myself." I was a bit hesitant, gesturing to my lack of voice. "You can do this. I know you can. You're so brilliant, Red. If anyone can think of how to stop that Pokémon, it's you."

I took her hand, and then I turned to the water. Fear was surging through me. I glanced back at Daisy, into her eyes. I could do this. I felt the need to do something before I did. I signed something to Daisy. I gestured to myself, put my arms around my body, and then pointed at her. After that, I charged toward the lake.

I sent out Squirtle and jumped into the water. I grabbed onto Squirtle's shell, and we started to descend. It took several seconds before I saw some light shining from one part of the water. My lungs felt like they were about to burst, my eyes stung from the water.

Finally, we swam toward the light and emerged on the other end of a waterfall. I gasped for air and caught my breath. Then, I got to my feet and looked around. To my left and right was more cave. In front of me, there was a large ravine diving the cavern. Water was flowing into it from two streams on either side of me. Over the ravine was the Missing Palace.

It didn't seem to be a portal. The palace was moving into the area. Around me, there were several tears showing different parts of the region.

Kiyo was sat on the floor of the Fighting Dojo. He was watching the news, which was running the clip of Daisy and me. The man got up and charged outside, sending out Hitmonchan and Hitmonlee. They began to battle against the corrupted Pokémon.

I glanced at another tear, seeing Erika battling in Celadon City. Her Grass-Types were surrounded by an army of Fire-Type Pokémon. Her Pokémon were being overwhelmed by the flames. Then, a Snorlax charged into the area. The Pokémon delivered several punches to the opposing Pokémon and let out a roar.

I could hardly believe what I was seeing. There were more tears around me as well. One showed Vermillion City, where Lieutenant Surge and the Pokémon Fan Club President battled against various corrupted Pokémon.

Lieutenant Surge's Raichu sent electricity into them, while Rapidash charged around the city and swung its horn into foes.

Fuschia City was also under attack. Taruos were stampeding through the city, and it seemed the Safari Zone had been attacking.

Koga was fighting against a swarm of Pokémon, and trying to corral the wild Pokémon that had been set loose in the town. "I... I cannot manage all of this." The man said beneath his breath.

That was when a Tentacruel flung several balls of poison into the attacking Pokémon. "Dad, I'm here!"

"Janine, I told you to stay inside!" Koga shouted to her.

The girl shook her head. "You need to trust me, father! I know how to take care of myself, and this isn't time for arguing."

Her father sighed. "Fine then. I suppose as long as you stay close..." The two family members began to battle in tandem.

Then, I found myself looking at a tear showing Pewter City. Blue and Yellow leaped from Blue's Pidgeot, and they sent out their aces. They started to battle in tandem, and I was surprised by how well they worked together.

A swarm of giant stone Pokémon lumbered forward. A cluster of Tyranitar were heading for the Pewter City Museum.

The two trainers tried rallying their Pokémon. "Come on Typhlosion! We need to keep it up!"

"Pikachu, you too! For Kanto!" Yellow called.

Pikachu sent a blast of electricity into one of the foes, while Typhlosion launched fire into another.

The trainers looked at each other. "I don't know how we're supposed to keep them all back."

Yellow racked her brain. "It's sort of like that time we ticked off a whole swarm of bug Pokémon in Illex Forrest. We need to focus on crowd control. Pikachu, use Surf!" Pikachu created a wave of water beneath her surfboard and rode it into the foes.

One of the Tyranitar slammed their foot into the ground. A fissure appeared at the impact point. The crack surged towards Yellow, and Blue sprang into action. "Yellow, look out!" The boy ran at her, pushing Yellow out of the way.

The two trainers rolled across the ground while their Pokémon launched further attacks into the Tyranitar, finally thinning out the crowd.

Blue realized he had his arms around Yellow, and he let the girl go. "S-sorry about that."

Yellow's face was flushed red. "It's... it's alright Blue. Thanks for savin' me."

"Course," Blue replied, looking away from her. "Listen, Yellow. I'm really sorry about ditching you and Bill. It wasn't fair to either of you, I know that. I just didn't know how to handle what was happening, but that isn't your fault."

Yellow was seemingly speechless. "Blue... I... It's alright, really. I figured you were goin' through somethin' I just... I wish you had told me. I wanted to be your friend. You meant a lot to me. You were one of the few people that treated me like I could handle myself."

Blue looked off to the side. "Yeah. I screwed up. I'm happy you got to become Champion. I just wish everyone didn't treat you like you couldn't have done it fair and square."

A faint smile crossed Yellow's face. "Yeah... but now I've got friends who understand that. Friends like you."

Blue chuckled and glanced at her. Both of their faces had a small tint of red. "How about we talk more once this whole end-of-the-world thing is over with, yeah?"

Yellow held out her hand, which Blue took. "Sounds good to me." The two then ran towards the next wave of Pokémon.

There was a lot to process there, but I saw one more tear. Bill was frantically fighting against corrupted Pokémon in Lavender Town. His Clefairy swung a shining fist into a monochrome Pokémon, while another tried to attack him from behind.

That was when a Gengar flew forward and tossed a purple projectile into the foe. The ghost girl, Ally, appeared next to Bill. "Listen, pal! You're really slacking here! My ghosties have saved you five times already!"

Bill chuckled. "Hey, I can't be everywhere at once! You've got a whole army on your side!"

The girl shrugged. "Excuses excuses, that's what I say!"

Bill glanced up and dove out of the way as a monochrome bird descended from above. The Pokémon had jagged wings and a pointed beak. A Zapdos, though covered in corruption. Ally had been squashed by the Pokémon and faded back into view. "Well darn, Mr. Zapdos is under that fiend's control!"

Bill gasped. "W-wait, that's the real Zapdos?"

The Pokémon sent out a bolt of electricity that he narrowly dodged. Ally held out her hand. "I can fix this... but I'll need time."

Clefairy tried running in at Zapdos, but the Pokémon flew into the air. "Well what am I supposed to do about a freaking Zapdos?"

As Bill was asking this, a rush of water slammed into the avian Pokémon. Bill looked to see a Gyarados coiled up not far away. Standing next to the beastly Pokémon as its trainer, Solus.

"Is this another ghost trick?" Bill asked.

Solus rolled his eyes. "Oh come on! I'm here to help! Is that so hard to believe?"

Bill nodded, and the former Champion sighed. "Just... tell me what I need to do."

Zapdos roared, and Ally winced. "Keep knocking this bird down! I need a bit more time to get him fixed up!"

"Clefairy, use Meteor Mash!" Bill's Pokémon lunged at Zapdos, slugging it in the face with a metal punch. "Listen Solus, I'm glad you're here, but can you forgive me for being a bit surprised?"

The man sighed. "That's fair enough. However, I can't just sit idly by while everyone else works to save this region! That wouldn't be fair at all! Gyarados, use Stone Edge!" Solus's Pokémon sent several stones into the Zapdos. Ally snapped her fingers, and the color returned to Zapdos.

Bill pumped his fist in the air. "Oh yeah! Got 'em!"

Several corrupted Pokémon appeared around the group, and they resumed the fight.

I could hardly believe everything I had seen. Everyone was giving it their all against the attack. They had heard us. I sent out my Pokémon and got in front of them. I gestured to each of them, trying to find some way to communicate.

I looked at my hands, and then I had an idea. I pointed to Squirtle and snapped my fingers. Then, I made a spinning motion with my hand. I gestured to the Pokémon, and he seemed confused. Ivysaur made a suggestion, and Squirtle got into his shell and started to spin.

I nodded my head enthusiastically. He understood what I meant!

I was about to continue this process when MissingTwo arose from the ravine. "Well, well. You've come quite a way down to see me, Red."

My body started to involuntarily shiver, and my Pokémon moved in front of me. "Such a shame. Do you really intend to stand against me? Fine then. It'll be the first act in my new world to erase you from existence!"

I Mega-Evolved Charizard, and my Pokémon climbed onto Charizard's back. Ivysaur looked at me, seemingly watching for commands that I'd give. It was time to see what we could do.

Three Shadow Balls appeared on either side of MissingTwo and were flung at my Pokémon. I clapped my hands together and pointed at Charizard, and then gestured to the sun. Ivysaur chattered into Charizard's ear, and he instantly fired a Solar Beam into the approaching projectiles.

I clapped my hands and thrust my hand forward, and then I snapped my fingers and did the spinning motion. I clapped twice and pointed to Pikachu, and then made a punching motion. I also pointed to Squirtle. Ivysaur relayed all of this to my Pokémon, and Squirtle started to spin while on Charizard's back.

I snapped both my fingers and gestured to Ivysaur, then I moved my arms like his vines and pointed at Squirtle again.

Pikachu jumped on Squirle's shell, and Ivysaur picked the shell up. He lobbed Squirtle at MissingTwo, who sent out a wave of Psychic. The Psychic stopped Squirle, in his tracks. Pikachu was launched directly into MissingTwo, allowing him to slug the mighty Pokémon in the face.

MissingTwo lost his hold of Squirtle, and the Pokémon unleashed a torrent of water into the creature's body.

I snapped my fingers and clapped my hands, and gestured to the sun. Ivysaur and Charizard unleashed two Solar Beams in unison, combining them into one move. The beams rocketed toward MissingTwo, blowing into the foe.

Things then got complicated. I had to follow up on the pressure, and began to wildly gesture at my Pokémon. I had Charizard use Slash, Pikachu use Wild Charge, Squirtle charge a Skull Bash, and then Ivysaur use Toxic.

Ivysaur relayed this to the other starters, and they moved in. Charizard attempted to strike MissingTwo, but he parried the strikes and launched the Pokémon away. Pikachu charged directly into the Legendary Pokémon, while Ivysaur drenched him in poison.

MissingTwo surged with anger, sending out a wave of Psychic that grabbed Pikachu and Ivysaur. "How... How are you doing this? You have no voice!" MissingTwo threw Pikachu and Ivysaur into the ravine, and I felt my heart sink.

Before I could process that, I was suddenly grabbed by an invisible force. "Try commanding them now!" I couldn't move. MissingTwo began charging a Shadow Ball in his hand.

Charizard flew in, launching several blasts of fire at the opposing Pokémon. MissingTwo deflected all of them with a barrier of Psychic. "You're helpless now." He fired the Shadow Ball at me, and Charizard jumped in front of it to take the blow.

Squirtle finished charging his Skull Bash and jumped forward. Mewtwo held out his hand and electricity flew from his fingers. The powerful shock forced Squirtle away, repelling his attack. MissingTwo stood tall, being barely phased by the Toxic damage. I still couldn't move. I didn't know what to do.

Then, Ivysaur launched himself from the ravine with Pikachu in tow. He fired a Solar Beam down at MissingTwo, and Charizard launched a Fire Blast at the same time. Squirtle used Hydro Pump, and Pikachu ran at the figure.

Squirtle, Charizard, and Ivysaur's attacks were all blocked by MissingTwo's psychic power. Though, Pikachu slammed his fist into the Pokémon's head and his form shuddered. The Pokémon fell to his knees, and I was freed from his hold.

I started to command my Pokémon again as they regrouped. We needed to go all out if we were going to beat this foe.

Charizard flew into the air, waiting for MissingTwo to recover. The Mewtwo surged from the ground and flew at the lizard, leaving my other three Pokémon to prepare our attack.

My Charizard flew around the arena, trying to keep away from the far faster Mewtwo. He swerved around several of the waterfalls and looped around towards my other Pokémon. Squirtle had been charging a Skull Bash, and Ivysaur tossed him into the air with his vines.

Squirtle slammed his skull into MissingTwo, causing the Pokémon to come to a stop. Ivsyaur then fired a Solar Beam into the target. MissingTwo recovered from the attacks and fired a rain of Shadow Balls down into my Pokémon. Pikachu obliterated them with Thunderbolt, getting MissingTwo's attention.

The Legendary Pokémon flew at my tiny mouse, and he started to run for a waterfall. Pikachu stopped in front of the waterfall, and MissingTwo drifted in front of him. "And now you're trapped. Pathetic!" Pikachu couldn't hide the smile on his face as a fireball from Charizard flew into the water behind him.

A cloud of steam erupted from the waterfall, cloaking the battlefield. Ivysaur wrapped his vines around MissingTwo while Squirtle unleashed a torrent of water into the foe. Now soaking wet, MissingTwo was struck by a blast of electricity from Pikachu.

The combo was finished by Charizard flying in and jamming his arms into the opposing Pokémon's body. Ivysaur let him go, and MissingTwo rocketed into the ground.

The steam cleared, and we all waited for a few moments. Then, MissingTwo emerged from the crater. His body was rocked with poison damage, but he seemed to still be able to fight. Just as I expected.

MissingTwo glared at me. "All of that, and I'm still standing. Boy, do you still not realize that you need me? What are you going to do if you win? What will happen without your voice? The one you longed for all your life!

I looked at my Pokémon. I thought back to my friends. To the people I had met along the way. I didn't need a voice to be able to reach any of them. It had been helpful, but I had never needed it. I just needed to find people who would understand me, and ways that those around me could understand me.

I took a few steps forward. I tried signing this to MissingTwo, but the Pokémon rolled his eyes. "Enough with this." He began to charge an attack in his hand. I sighed and took out the Master Ball from my pocket. I tossed the purple sphere up at MissingTwo.

His eyes widened as the speedy ball flew into him while his attack was charging. The ball opened up and sucked the creature inside. The ball started to spark with electricity and smoke rose from it. I caught the sphere and charged toward the Missing Palace. It likely wouldn't hold for long. I just needed a few more seconds.

Adrelanin pumped through my body as I charged over the ravine and held the ball shut. I landed in the Missing Palace and then found a pit that led to the void. Here we go! I jumped down and held the Master Ball close to my chest. I prayed that it would stay shut for a few more seconds.

Everyone, thank you. Thank you for helping me find my way... for hearing me. As I descended, I began to near the void. If you can all hear me, you'll save me! I trust you! I called out. Then, I held the ball in my hands and tossed it into the pit.

As it entered the darkness, it faded away. In a few more seconds, I'd be consumed by that same darkness.

But I knew my friends would save me.