I'm really excited about this fic. It's my first multi-chapter Pokemon FanFiction but my mind's been racing about this idea for ages and I have to get it up.
Disclaimer: I do not own Pokemon, but when my plan to genetically cross-breed turtles and trees to make Turtwigs unfolds, I w-, uh, I mean, Nintendo does...
Every single Pokémon trainer wants to be a master. That's our purpose. We battle others, get stronger, challenge the gyms, challenge the Elite Four, and challenge the Champion. No one had beaten all five regions, and the first person to do so would be deemed a Pokémon master…until I came along.
I am a Pokémon master – the one and only.
I remember being younger; all I wanted in the world was to be a master. I was a stupid kid back then. When I started my journey, I was only eleven, and everyone in Pallet Town scoffed at me, saying 'The only kid who'll ever become a master so young is Blue!' Oh, how I hated Blue back then. With his snarky team and ego bigger than his head, it was hard to like the guy. No matter how many times I beat his stupid team, he was still convinced that he was the best.
But I'm getting off topic. This is not what you're here to hear. The whole 'incident' began when I was thirteen, when I was on my way to Victory Road.
"Can you believe it, Pikachu?" I breathed. "We're almost ready to face the Elite Four!" Pikachu happily let out a "Pika Pi!" and nuzzled my sneaker. You're almost there, Red, I thought proudly. You're just one step closer to becoming a Pokémon master.
A Cool Trainer caught my eye and grinned. "Hey, kid," he called. "Let's battle."
I knocked out all six Pokémon with ease. It was a cakewalk, really. The stunned Cool Trainer could only stare helplessly as I collected my prize money and went on my merry way down the route. That was when things took a turn for the unexpected.
Pikachu and I were suddenly stopped in midair by a floating hand. It was wearing a black glove, completely covering it. I skidded backwards, jumping from being startled and fear. "Pikachu, Thunder-" The hand cut me off and made a 'stop' gesture. I froze in place as it pointed its finger and started drawing letters in the air. The writing was shaky, but it was legible. "Do you want to be…" it began, "A Pokémon master?"
"What are you talking about?" I asked out loud before warily glancing around. No one else was near, which was good, because they would probably think that I was going crazy. Talking to a floating hand…
But it responded. "I can take you on a journey where only the best can win. You are an extremely tough kid; I can tell. Won't you join me in the Nuzlocke Realm?"
"I still don't get your point," I said flatly, crossing my arms.
"Ah, there always must be a prize," the hand mused in the writing. "You see, if you manage to win this game, you may earn one wish, catch free."
I couldn't help but smile. One wish. I could wish to become a Pokémon master! Everyone would practically worship me, even stupid Blue.
"I'll do it," I said definitely. Another hand suddenly appeared behind the one that had confronted me and made a slashing motion. The entire fabric of space ripped in front of me, revealing a swirling dimension. "Pikachu, return," I whispered, sending it back in its Poke Ball.
The two hands hoisted me up under my armpits and began to float. We entered the 'portal,' if you will; the world around me completely changed. I left the sunny route and was now inside a dark land. The entire world around me was different shades of green with floating platforms of land and floating purple doors. I had no idea where I was and started to have a bad feeling about this ominous world. Things went even further downhill from there. The black gloves covering the hands began to simply melt away, revealing what was underneath. I understood why these hands wore gloves. Each was pale white, like a ghost, and was shriveled to the bone. Tendons and flesh were hanging from each one of them in grotesque detail. It took all my self-control to stifle a scream.
After what seemed like floating for miles and miles, we reached a fairly large, circular platform. The ground was sleek metal and had twelve plates forming a circle. I could see other Pokémon trainers standing on them. There was a boy with a black and yellow hat, a girl with a poofy, brown ponytail and shorts with pockets hanging out. They all had an air of toughness almost radiating from them. I could tell. They placed me down next to a boy with shoulder-length, red hair. He didn't even look at me – merely kept his fixed, stony gaze ahead at the center of the circles. The last person to be carried in made my blood boil: Blue, landing on the plate on my left. I couldn't believe that Blue, of all people, had made it here, of all places. He smirked confidently, I guess trying to appear unfazed by the apprehension the place gave off, and nodded. "Long time, no see, Red." I rolled my eyes and tried to be like the red-haired boy and stared at the center of the platform.
In the middle stood a desk. There was a man at the desk, though I couldn't see him well. He wore a black hat, tipped way down so it covered his face, and a long, black trench coat.
"Hello children," he said, voice raspy and like sandpaper. It made me cringe and clench my fists. "You have all been selected to participate in the Nuzlocke Game. Your outstanding trainer abilities all qualify you as worthy competitors."
Blue smirked. I could already see his ego inflating another five times.
That was when the music began. Four beats began to play. I- I don't know how to describe it to you, but it was like- 1 being the lowest and 4 being the highest – 1 2 4 3 1 2 4 3. The ominous beats played over and over while a robotic, eight-bit tune sounded over the beats. The red-haired boy murmured, "Binaural beats," though I had no idea what the heck he was talking about.
Someone began to speak over the words. The voice matched the one of the man's, though it was visible he wasn't speaking.
The Nuzlocke Realm
The Nuzlocke Realm
It'll make your life a living hell!
Instead of fainting,
Pokémon die!
Hush, now child!
And don't cry!
The Nuzlocke Game!
The Nuzlocke Game!
The craziest world,
It'll drive you insane!
So take a deep breath and stand up strong,
You won't be with us very long!
The 'binaural beats,' as the boy had called them, faded to a close. A girl with a green bandana was clutching her nose; I could see blood coating her fingers. Had the song caused her nose to bleed? No, that was a stupid idea.
"I will now explain the rules," the man said. "First of all, Pokémon in this world do not faint. If your Pokémon is knocked out, they are dead."
This caused almost everyone including me to gasp. I couldn't believe that some universe's rules forced Pokémon to die. I mean, when you thought about it, it made sense in a twisted way.
"Secondly, you may only capture the first Pokémon of each area." This rule wasn't as much of a shock, but it certainly made things harder.
"Third, there are no PC storage systems in the Nuzlocke Realm. You may only have a maximum of six Pokémon with you at a time." Okay, that's fine. I have Venasaur, Blastoise, Charizard, Snorlax, Lapras, and Pikachu. They're good. And they won't…die, right?
"Fourth, any newly-captured Pokémon must be nicknamed." Random…but okay.
"Now," said the man as his trench coat and hat melted away like the gloves. His skin was deathly pale and shriveled, eyes hollow pools of nothing. His fingers were boney and skin was horrible caved, his ribs profound and stomach horrifyingly narrow. He was the perfect picture of a grotesque zombie. "You may call me Buryman. And now you must all introduce yourselves. Let's start with you two over there."
He pointed to two brown-haired teens standing side by side. "My name is Black," the boy said. "And I'm his sister, White!"
It went around the circle. The next two were named Diamond and Pearl. After that came Ruby and Sapphire. Then Gold, I learned the red-haired boy was named Silver, and a girl named Kris. Lastly was a girl named Leaf, Blue, and then me.
Buryman snapped his fingers as Poketch devices formed around our wrists. "In these Poketches, you may check the status of the others. You are out of the game when your entire team dies." Twelve pictures of each of the competitor's faces showed up. "The faces will be grayed out so you know you're still up against."
We all took a moment with our Poketches, realizing that there were a couple other apps that could check the status of your team, the time, and the date.
"All right," Buryman said with a toothy grin. "Let the games begin."
Thank you so much for reading! Please leave a review telling me what you though. Since this is my first Pokemon fic, I want to know what you think. Was it good? Do you have some constructive criticism?
-Dezzi