Setting:
•Schoolhouse Ruins, Mt Silver, Kanto•
•Silver aged 18•
•Late February•
•Silver POV•
Chapter Seven
What the Fire Left Behind
Silver stood at the spot where his life was turned completely around just two years ago. At the spot, he easily made out the charred remains of the schoolhouse he had once called home as well as the old battlefield out back where he and his closest human friend held so many practice battles. The field was nothing more than a field of weeds now; the fancy billboard signs that Amber had installed were obviously long since inoperative, merely standing as lifeless bodies that cast ominous shadows on the ground.
He glanced to the nearby lake and noted nothing seemed changed about that at least. It was windy, which was unusual for the Kanto side of Mt. Silver.
It had felt like an eternity since he returned "home". He originally left a week after Amber's funeral, and he vowed never to return, never to look back. The scars of losing his friend were there—not visible, but they pained him nonetheless. He approached the burned remains of the schoolhouse and glanced at the nearby maple tree, which was where he buried his best friend and mentor.
True, he was only two years older, but he also felt like a completely different person. He still looked the same, for the most part: long, unruly red hair with wild bangs that partly covered his right eye, menacing crimson eyes that made people instinctively fear him, the same "trademark" black jacket, as Amber used to call it. He grew only an inch or two in the past year, just barely passing six feet tall. He figured he wouldn't grow much taller since his eighteenth birthday had come and passed.
On the inside of him, that's where most of the changes took place. He surprised himself sometimes at how different he was just a few years later. Truthfully, it felt right for him to be so bitter. Ever since that day, when Team Rocket had taken out their biggest threat, his best friend Amber, in the most cowardly fashion, he'd taken it upon himself to avenge her death, and ultimately, to make the leaders of Team Rocket—his parents, but especially his father Giovanni—pay for everything: his horrible childhood, his atrocious reputation that no matter how much he tried to disprove, came back to slap him in the face, the fact that he lost Amber twice. He knew that at least this time, there was no hope at all of finding her again, that it really was over, and that she was gone forever.
He and Amber had been friends off and on for a very long time, even though he knew she didn't rightfully recall the first time they met. His parents, but especially his father, made certain she'd forget. And to top it off, back then, even after finding her with her memories of him completely wiped, he was told she had died in a mining accident soon afterwards. It shouldn't have mattered too much to him; she didn't know him, even though he knew her. A year later, he didn't know it, but it was the very same Amber who forced his own father to disband Team Rocket publicly.
If only Amber would have known things weren't that easy. Team Rocket simply went underground to continue their operations. When he met her again, he really was surprised that the very same Amber he knew so long ago was indeed the one he heard about on the news. He didn't believe in fate necessarily, but he found it strange that after so long, they'd be reunited at the Indigo League where both were competitors. He figured she didn't remember him, so he didn't press the matter. It was a freak accident that he even found her, or more like she found him.
When she first saw him that day, she didn't shrink away at the sight of him like most people. Actually, she was outright friendly with him, even though he was no more than a stranger to her. At the end of that day, they became friends again, to Silver's surprise. Amber even let him borrow some of her other Pokémon since he only had Sneasel by his side.
He thought she was pretty crazy to trust a stranger with her own Pokémon, even though he knew he'd never take advantage of her. But he found out pretty quickly that she was a very skilled trainer. He even found out she had defeated the Champion of the Elite Four.
He got the chance to battle her, but ultimately, he didn't stand a chance. He was rather easily defeated, despite him even having the type advantage. He really admired her tenacity, since she won that battle with one Pokémon, and it was untrained to top it off. He stuck around to watch her win the championship title in a fierce match with her childhood rival, Blue.
Of course, he thought he lost her again since she left the day after the championship was over. He didn't even get the chance to say goodbye, but he just shrugged it off since it wasn't like they really were close friends or anything. It was the norm for Silver to meet people only to never see them again anyhow.
His only permanent friend was Sneasel, who practically raised him as a child. Sneasel was the only gift from Silver's father, given to him at the tender age of five so the boy would keep busy. Sneasel was captured from Mt. Silver, which very few Sneasel inhabited naturally. Sneasel had always been there for him, and the dark Pokémon would always listen.
Sneasel, himself, was a relatively good battler; they used to defeat Amber back in the old days all the time, even though she eventually got tougher. Still, Silver refused to capture any other Pokémon since he was fine with just his one companion. More than one Pokémon would've been a hassle anyway; he knew that from Amber, who spent most of her time taking care of her thirty plus Pokémon friends.
Silver believed in Sneasel, and he already knew they were a good team. Of course, Silver did know plenty about other Pokémon, so he easily could manage ones he'd borrow from time to time. Borrowing Pokémon from Amber was something he normally did back at the schoolhouse.
Anyway, he was proven wrong when he met Amber yet again a mere month later on Mt. Silver, where Sneasel and he lived in a makeshift cabin. The Silph Corporation held a tournament with a huge cash money prize for their campaign, and Amber was entered in it on a dare from Blue.
The competition itself could've been suicide, in Silver's opinion. A trainer had to scale the mountain with one Pokémon to reach the halfway-point on Mt. Silver to retrieve an item known as a Life Orb—a new invention of the company on promotion. Of course, scaling the mountain itself was dangerous simply because the top half had very thin air and always blizzard-like conditions, even in summer. And, in addition to that, fierce wild Pokémon inhabited the mountain. Silver knew of them firsthand. But, the million dollar cash prize was plenty good to reel in plenty of dumb applicants.
And, to make things more difficult, no one could use a Pokémon to get to the top. So, no one could ride their Pokémon, which meant they'd have to scale the mountain on foot, lest they get disqualified. Once a trainer reached the place and obtained the Life Orb, all other trainers had free rein to battle that one trainer to obtain the item.
So, his home pretty much turned into a free-for-all war zone. He and Sneasel had packed up to leave, but that was when he spotted Amber, and he learned of her own situation. Before he knew it, he was signed up in the crazy competition too; Amber was very persuasive without even trying.
Once both he and Amber were registered, they split ways as they tried to scale the mountain. He figured he had the advantage since he lived near the bottom of the place, but Amber proved to be very adept in climbing as well. Also, her Jolteon, Blitz, was at least as fast as Sneasel, if not faster. Amber managed to reach the objective first and got the object, but Silver was a close second, so naturally, he challenged her to a battle. It wasn't for the item since really he didn't care about money, but he just wanted to test himself against her again.
During the middle of that battle, a blizzard forced the two to find shelter in a cave inside of the mountain. He and Amber patiently waited out the snowstorm, which lasted quite a few hours. During that time, a fierce Rhyperior charged at them, angry that they were intruding in its territory. They battled as a team against the tough Pokémon, but Amber had to recall Blitz before the little fox was seriously injured. Sneasel forced the mighty Pokémon to retreat, to their relief, and he and Amber continued to wait out the blizzard.
Finally, the blizzard ended, and the two decided to head down the mountain. Silver said he'd protect her to make certain she got to the bottom to win, and Amber seemed pretty glad he was on her team, so she promised to share the money with him since she didn't really care whether or not she won, anyway.
Unfortunately, as they were leaving the cave, the Rhyperior returned and aimed a powerful Rock Blast attack carefully at the cave wall nearest Silver for revenge. He didn't know what was going on at the time, but Amber sure caught on fast.
What happened next was what made him realize that he and Amber really were friends, despite how distant they had seemed. Instead of yelling at him to look out, Amber tackled Silver out of the way and pushed him out of the cave. At the time, he had no clue what was going on, and he was pissed off slightly that she almost pushed him off the mountain itself.
The sound of the wall crashing down was what made Silver realize exactly what Amber had done. Unfortunately, when she pushed him, her momentum made her fall onto the cave floor, and she barely had enough time to get her upper body out of the cave before the falling rocks tumbled down on her lower legs, trapping her.
The whole entrance caved in, and Silver was horrified to find that Amber had nearly sacrificed herself just to save him. Surprisingly, she still had a firm grip on consciousness and ended up giving him the Life Orb. She told him to finish the competition for her and practically verbally forced him to leave, despite the fact he wanted to dig her out. Silver hurried to the base of the mountain and won the competition, but he also achieved his actual goal in getting a rescue team to his friend immediately.
Before he even thought about accepting his earnings, he was on the way back to the top of the mountain on a medical helicopter. When he got there, he was relieved to find that Amber had called her Charizard to dig her out, though her shins and feet were definitely worse for wear. She was pretty much a bloody mess, in short, but she was still conscious and actually trying to pass off her injuries with lighthearted jokes despite the pain she was in.
They went immediately to the hospital, and she went directly to the emergency room while he got his prize money, which he honestly had no clue what to do with. He felt guilty for winning, since it was Amber who actually would've won if she didn't risk her life for him, so he explained the situation to the chairman, who remembered Amber since she once saved him from a hostage situation back in Saffron City.
So, Amber was awarded money as well, and Silver was left in charge of the money at least until her parents arrived. He realized from there he was free to leave if he wanted, but he decided to stick around despite the crazy traffic from her many friends who swarmed the hospital to see if she was alright.
Silver realized she had risked her life for him, and he was truly indebted to her, so he at least had to thank her. Once she was stable enough to be wheeled out, he thanked her, and ultimately, he was put in charge of watching over her since she was stubborn enough to demand crutches, despite the fact that she wouldn't be able to walk with them. He realized right then what a handful his best friend really was.
With Amber out of the hospital, the two decided what they'd do next. Amber really hadn't thought out much of her future, aside from winning the league. And, she was stuck in a wheelchair, probably never to regain true mobility again. The two became very best friends as Silver put up with her and took care of her the best he could, despite the fact that her independent personality made things difficult most of the time.
Since they both had so much money and no clue what to do with it, Amber decided that she should teach others about being a trainer, since she felt it was her calling to help out struggling trainers.
And so, Silver, Amber's Pokémon, and some construction workers built the schoolhouse. At one point, Amber truly asked him why he still stuck around her, since she stated very clearly she could take care of herself. That was when Silver admitted a few things to her, seeming how she was oblivious about him.
He was practically in exile all thanks to his parents' bad reputation. Word of his alleged relation to Team Rocket spread pretty quickly, though he was in no way affiliated with them. He hated Team Rocket with a passion, but that still meant nothing to just about everyone else who openly tormented him.
At first, once Amber realized that he was the son of Giovanni as well as her former boss, Ariana, she did act a bit different to him, as if unsure how to treat him. It wasn't because of whom he was—she didn't care about that—but rather, it was because she didn't realize that was why he had the bad reputation that constantly followed him.
As construction on the house continued, Amber revealed her own past, though he knew the real story about her being in Team Rocket firsthand. After she was abandoned in that mining incident where her Nidorino had saved her life, Amber reunited with her family, who thought her to be dead.
She trained under his own mentor, Darrius Surge, for a few months before taking on the gyms of Kanto. With her fresh start, she tried her best to prove herself to her Pokémon and make up for her past mistakes. She even found her long-lost Charmeleon, who ran away the second day of her being an official trainer.
Her Charmeleon, Charry, evolved into a powerful Charizard, and finally Amber earned the Pokémon's respect after she cared for it after a close encounter with drowning. Her team grew stronger and stronger the more they spent time together battling others, and she took on Team Rocket with the help of some of her human friends. In the end, she was the trainer to risk everything in an attempt to force his father to disband the organization.
Silver actually thanked Amber for standing up to his parents like that. It had been his own dream to topple Team Rocket, but thanks to his own particular situation as being the rightful heir to the business, he had no real way to take them on alone. Day by day Silver and Amber grew closer and closer as friends, and in time their own schoolhouse was complete. The day Amber stood up again and walked was something he'd never forget.
They had been mildly arguing about her welfare, seeming how she kept on stubbornly insisting on using crutches, even though the likelihood of her even standing up again was slim to none. With a smirk, she uneasily got out of the wheelchair, managed to stand on her own, and won that battle.
Of course, once Amber regained the ability to stand, he definitely couldn't stop her there. She began to walk again, and before long she even started to run about. She'd disappear from time to time, but he soon realized she was adding on a room just for him, seeming how he had no place to stay.
He accepted the room and helped finish it, and like that, he became her pupil at the school. Over the next two years, he learned quite a bit about battling and handling Pokémon thanks to her, and the two of them made many fun memories together. Even though Amber made things perhaps a little extra challenging for him since he permanently lived at the schoolhouse, he still became her star pupil, and she took pride in him.
Then came the day of the death threat. Amber traveled to Viridian City once a week to pick up the mail on her Arcanine; that particular week, he noticed the inconspicuous postcard lying on the table where Amber heedlessly placed it. It was written in neat black font: "We are coming for you. Your fate will be sealed soon enough. This is your only warning. –Team Rocket."
The letter downright scared Silver, who was certain it was meant for his friend. Intrigued, he asked Amber about it, but she didn't seem in the least bit concerned for herself. She shrugged her shoulders as she told him it was probably just a prank.
That night, he learned otherwise. Amber had called her father, a policeman in Viridian City, about the note. There, he learned that Team Rocket had returned, and they were out for blood this time around. By that time, five police families had already been executed. It was also rumored they were out searching for her.
After Amber hung up, he confronted her, himself. He practically begged her to think on hiding somewhere as to avoid attention. He didn't want her hurt, much less killed. If only she had listened to him… Instead, Amber simply told him that if Team Rocket wanted to finish their business with her, she'd take them head on.
Hiding wasn't her style; it never had been when someone openly challenged her. Silver knew it was a lost cause, so he agreed to fight by her side when the day came for Team Rocket to attack her. If only he had actually been there when they struck…
The day the schoolhouse burned to the ground was when Team Rocket fulfilled their threat. Silver didn't need to be told it was them to blame; he knew it as soon as the reality of the situation set in. A part of him died when he found her remains. He didn't even dare call it a body, since it was nothing more than an empty, burnt shell of the person he swore to protect. The part of him that believed in friendship with others practically ceased to exist as he led the funeral arrangements for his friend.
A news reporter asked him if he'd restore the school. They swarmed the place ever since news of Amber's death broke out. She was, after all, somewhat of a celebrity. He irritably replied he'd never return to the schoolhouse much less rebuild it. From there, he fled to his old cabin on Mt. Silver, where he brooded for the next few months almost endlessly.
Sneasel forced him to eat as he became engrossed in tracking down Team Rocket. Silver often forgot about his own Pokémon, and soon enough, he was too blinded by the thought of revenge to even care about anything else. Sneasel tried to cheer him up, but he just ignored it. Silver also released Amber's Pidgeot to the wild, too hurt to keep anything to remind himself of her.
From that moment onward, his only goal was revenge: he'd make the entirety of Team Rocket pay for taking Amber's life. He felt cold inside as he dealt with shady characters who gave him leads on the organization's whereabouts. Most turned out to be dead ends, but Silver doggedly refused to stop searching. Finally, a long two years after Amber's death, he tracked down a small faction of Team Rocket to a small town known as Azalea in the Johto region.
One by one, he'd make every member of Team Rocket pay. He'd end the organization once and for all, and he'd make certain his parents were locked up for the rest of their lives. It was the least he could do for Amber: finish what she started.
So, on the day of his return to the schoolhouse, which unbeknownst to him was only a few days before a certain girl named Wolfe became a trainer, Silver decided to start his work of destroying Team Rocket.
He approached Amber's grave under the maple tree and simply stared in silence at the blue marble stone. Deep down, he knew Amber probably wouldn't be too pleased with the new him, but it was necessary that he'd survive the only way he knew how. Revenge would make him feel alive, if anything. He didn't care what happened afterward, but at least for that moment, he had a purpose, and no matter the cost, he'd stick to his quest for vengeance.
Silver despised his old self for being so weak. If he had only been there the day Team Rocket decided to kill Amber, then he and Amber would be tracking down Team Rocket together as a team.
In a way, he despised Amber for not simply waking up and fighting Team Rocket off herself. Why did she have to sleep in that day of all days?
He hated the fact that she was dead; the news that she died from the smoke instead of the fire didn't placate him in the slightest. Greater still, he despised himself for wishing she were still there with him to encourage him. Amber was a great source of strength for him; she believed in him despite whatever he did.
And most importantly, he despised his emotional weakness. Perhaps he was too attached to his late best friend, which was why he still found it hard to accept the fact that she really was gone forever. He wanted to protect her; he vowed to protect her, and he couldn't forgive himself so easily since he had failed so miserably.
What was left was simply a bitter young man, who tried to cut away any attachment to anything or anyone, including his first Pokémon, Sneasel. He was much harsher than before.
At least he and Sneasel were also stronger two years later. Silver taught Sneasel how to use the powerful move, Blizzard, as opposed to the previous move, Icy Wind. If only they had Blizzard when Amber needed them. It would've been better than watching the schoolhouse burn, even if it would've still been too late.
As Silver turned to leave Amber's grave, an involuntary tear rolled down his right cheek before he swatted it away hastily. Silver then trudged onward into the Johto region and towards New Bark Town. It'd be a long journey ahead of him, but it was his responsibility to get rid of Team Rocket, and only he would get the job done.