Lyra's POV

"Bayleef, use Solarbeam."

"Feraligatr, use Dark Pulse."

One Hour Ago

Red was nowhere to be seen. My match was about to start. I had no idea how I managed to beat Ethan in the semi-finals.

"Silver is here." Said the Announcer. "Get ready for the final of Johto League. Lyra, are you ready?"

"Yes." I said.

"Silver! Ready?" Asked the Announcer.

"Absolutely." Said Silver, detaching one of his Pokeballs. "Go Rhyhorn."

Rhyhorn was a rock type. I took a deep breath.

"Go Quagsire." I said. "Use Water Gun."

Rhyhorn was critically hit.

"Rhyhorn, use Earthquake." Quagsire being a ground type managed to get away unharmed.

"Quagsire, Water Pulse." I said. Rhyhorn fainted.

"Rhyhorn, come back." Said Silver. "Go Haunter. Use Shadow Ball."

Quagsire fainted. "Come back Quagsire, you did great. Go Furret."

"Haunter, use Lick." Silver shouted. He was really stressing out.

I was surprised how I had not already lost. I could win, it would be a dream come true.

I looked at the crowd, all cheering for me. In the centre sat Red, my cousin and the best cousin ever. He smiled and showed me a thumbs up, even though he lost, he wanted me to win for him.

"Furret, use Shadow Claw." I said. Haunter fainted. It was a one hit knock-out.

"Come back, Haunter." Said Silver. "Go Macargo."

"Furret, use Quick Attack."

"Macargo, use Flamethrower." Furret fainted.

"Come back, Furret." I said. "Go Marill. Use Water Gun."

Macargo was critically hit.

"Macargo, use Fire Blast." Marill fainted.

"Come back, Marill." I said. "Go Togetic. Use Metronome." Togetic used Outrage.

Macargo fainted.

"Come back, Macargo." Said Silver. "Go Stantler. Use Quick Attack."

Togetic fainted.

"Come back, Togetic." I said. "Go Bayleef."

"Stantler, use Stomp."

"Bayleef, use Razor Leaf." Stantler fainted.

"Come back, Stantler." Said Silver. "Go Pidgeot. Use Wing Attack."

"Bayleef, use Solarbeam." Bayleef collected solar energy.

"Pidgeot, use Wing Attack." Bayleef unleashed her solar energy. Pidgeot fainted.

"Come back, Pidgeot. Go Feraligatr."

Feraligatr was Silver's last Pokemon. I've done it, I was left with two more Pokemon. I won.

"Bayleef, use Solarbeam."

"Feraligatr, use Dark Pulse." Bayleef fainted.

"Bayleef, come back. Go Flaaffy."

"Feraligatr, use Hydropump."

"Flaaffy, use Thundershock." I said.

"See you later." Said Silver. "Feraligatr, finish it with an Aqua Tail."

Flaaffy fainted. Silver won.

Red's POV

I knew it. It was the last day of me being a Pokemon Trainer. Why wouldn't it be? I had lost once again due to my irresponsibility. I made myself a failure, and I couldn't even change it.

I was happy for Lyra, but she too seemed off. After all she was second, and now that I know how it feels to come second, I knew exactly how she was feeling - worse.

"Where to now?" I asked in a heart broken tone. Lyra turned to me, her eyes filled with tears but she stayed strong. She wasn't a kind of person who would cry for anything, so these tears were a big thing.

"Home." She managed to say in a strong tone.

We walked outside the Pokemon League. A horn was heard and we could see a blue colored bus down the huge stairs of the Indigo Plateau.

"That's your queue." I said. "That's the bus heading back to New Bark."

Lyra looked at me. "Take care, Red." She hugged me. "Just take care of yourself."

"I will." I said. "You don't wanna miss the bus."

"How are you gonna go?"

"Charizard." I said, I grabbed out Charizard's Pokeball. "I'll fly back."

Lyra forced a smile and quickly walked down the stairs. I was sure she's going to cry in the bus and that was the part that hurt.

Lyra deserved the first position as much as Ethan deserved it but Silver, he aced it and was way stronger than both of them. Well, Silver proved that he is something without his father.

I couldn't believe I didn't even make it past the Elite four, it was disheartening. Thank god I didn't call anyone from Pallet to watch my match, would've been embarrassing.

I had no idea how to deal with this, but I was sure I wasn't gonna continue Pokemon Training. Maybe I would finally become like Dad, a scientist, I was good at these things too. Or maybe a programmer, I just needed the right education.

I clipped Charizard's Pokeball back to the belt and walked downstairs. I didn't want to go home, it was a bad feeling.

I had to quit.

"Quitting so soon?" Said a voice. I looked around, only to see Professor Oak.

"Professor. Uh- what are you- what are you doing here?" I asked.

"I came to watch the final match. And got to know about what happened. It's alright Red." Said Oak.

"No, Professor. It's not alright. It's really easy to say all of this. But it isn't to experience."

Professor gave me a gentle smile and walked by my side, placing his one hand on my shoulder. "Let me tell you something about a man named Ben. He was exactly like you. Red, I knew your father very well, and I also knew what he was capable of, no one knew him better, not even your mother. The man had many secrets in his past and more in his present. He started off like you, he loved Pokemon. So he, without even thinking, he asked my father if he could become a trainer. And my father let him pick a starter and he, like you, won the Pokemon League."

I looked at Professor, "But Blue won the-"

"Or did he?" Oak chuckled. "Your father too made many mistakes, which brought him down as a Pokemon Trainer. Ultimately, he had to quit. This is where he failed."

"But, no,  his mistakes were his failure. The choice of quitting and going in a science field was his victory." I said, correcting Oak.

"Red, his mistakes were his mistakes. There's nothing he could do about them. But what if he chose to continue. But he quit, quitting is the biggest failure. The fact that he became an excellent scientist, that was just his luck, and hard work. I'm just telling you all of this because, your father wanted you to be better than him, he wanted you to learn from your own failures, but the fact that you're about to quit. Is not your failure-"

"It's his." I said. I couldn't believe in what Professor just said but all of it made sense. Still, I wanted some time to think, if I wanted to continue or not was just a decision. But was I ready to quit? That was something I had to think about.

"Red." Oak continued. "Time is something you don't wanna mess with, and I'm happy that you decided to send the GS Ball back to me. But I was really unhappy by what you did with the ball, that was just a mistake. But see, you got to know much more about Giovanni than anyone ever knows."

"So was it victory?" I asked.

"That was your luck" Said Professor Oak. "But now we know that Giovanni himself works on someone's orders. But let's not talk about that. Go home, Red."

"Where are you going?"

"I have to go to Vermillion, I have a meeting with an old friend today." Said Oak, patting my back. "Off you go."

Professor was right. Everything I've achieved was based on luck and it had finally ran out. I had to prepare myself for bigger battles, and I needed advice for choosing what I had to do now.

"Come out, Charizard."

Giovanni's POV

"Vermillion?" I said, holding my phone and smiling. Finally, the time has come. "I'll look forward to meet you."

"You'll be more than happy." Said the Masked Man. "Eight O'clock sharp."

"I'll be there!"