I think this may be the single saddest moment I've ever experienced while playing Pokemon...
Okay, the game is Emerald, the location is the Sky Pillar. For those who don't know this is a ruinous spiraling tower full of strange pokemon
( and okay, Golbats... but those fuckers are everywhere.) There are damaged sections on the floor I may only traverse on my Mach Bike, careening quickly over the dangerous floor just to make it to the next set of what are beginning to seem an endless number of stairs. I finally reach the top of the building, rubble and detritus all around me. There in the middle of all the destruction sits Rayquaza, coiled like a snake ready to strike. I save the game and approach the legendary beast. After the unique opening animation, the music starts and it is a tense, inspiring remix of the usual battle theme designed for this beast specifically and this beast only. I take a moment to appreciate this and the beast's impressive claws, mythical figure, and, though it is still a tiny sprite, how it manages to give off the impression of completely dwarfing my partner Armaldo. I have done my homework. I know this beast's types, it's move set, and even it's catch rate (3). This fearsome monster tops out the list of wild Pokemon in any game with it's impressive 70 levels of sheer power, 20 full levels over any member of my team. The imminent battle for mastery and control is almost overwhelming.
With a heavy heart I open my bag. I rifle through the pockets until I reach the ball section. I select the one lone purple ball inside and, before a single blow has been struck by or to the Sky High Pokemon, I throw it. The Legendary beast is unwillingly consumed by the fragile orb. It shakes twice, straining only slightly, and then falls dormant. I retrieve it, catalog the Guardian of the Skies in my PokeDex, and elect not to sully it's majesty with a pathetic mortal nickname. I leave.
...