Red is the final opponent in Pokémon Gold & Silver, as he waits for the player at the peak of Mt. Silver. This raises the question of what Red was doing on Mt. Silver and why he wasn't continuing his Pokémon journey, especially as there are other regions that are waiting to be conquered by powerful Pokémon Trainers.

Once the player has acquired the eight Gym Badges from the Johto region in Pokémon Gold & Silver, they are able to travel to the Indigo League and challenge the Elite Four. If the player can survive this incredibly difficult gauntlet, then they will face Lance, who is the Champion. Once Lance is defeated, the player can travel to the Kanto region from Pokémon Red & Blue and face the Gym Leaders there. If the player can defeat them and earn sixteen Gym Badges, then they have earned the right to enter Mt. Silver, which is home to powerful wild Pokémon. Waiting at the top of Mt. Silver is Red, the protagonist of Pokémon Red & Blue, and he challenges the player to one of the toughest battles in the Pokémon series.

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Red serves as the ultimate opponent in Pokémon Gold & Silver, yet he has almost no role in the game. He went from being the former Champion who saved the Kanto region from Team Rocket, to a hermit who lived on a mountain, waiting for challengers. Why exactly was Red waiting on Mt. Silver?

Red's Changing Role In Pokémon Gold & Silver

PKMN TRAINER RED in Pokemon Gold

Red's role changed a great deal during the development of Pokémon Gold & Silver. According to The Cutting Room Floorthere was an interview at the back of a Japanese guide called ポケットモンスター公式ファンブック (Pocket Monsters Official Fanbook) before the games were released that hinted at Red's role. The interview claimed the protagonist of Pokémon Gold & Silver was inspired to go on their journey after hearing about a boy from Kanto completing the Pokédex. The leaked beta of Pokémon Gold & Silver from Space World 1997 included an early version of the world map, from a time when the idea was for the player to travel all over Japan. Red (referred to as Blue in the files of the game) was going to be the Gym Leader that represented the entire Kanto region.

The idea of using only the Johto/Kanto region in Pokémon Gold & Silver happened late in development and many of the concepts from the beta were scrapped, such as Giovanni returning. Kanto was added as a post-game region, with the original Gym Leaders having their levels beefed up considerably. As Red was the one who conquered the Indigo League in the first game, it makes sense that would be used as the ultimate challenge for this revised version of the game. Mt. Silver was just a gatekeeping tool, in order to make sure players couldn't challenge Red early. Sealing off Mt. Silver meant that the player had a reason to complete the Kanto region again, as they needed sixteen Gym Badges to enter it. In-universe, this gives Red a great reason to be there, as only the best Pokémon Trainers in the world could approach him for a battle. A visibly older Red later shows up in the Alola region with Blue in Pokémon Sun & Moon, so he may have been free to travel the world again, once he had finally been defeated in battle.

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Source: The Cutting Room Floor