#1: Giving
Written by: wrathie
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Original Concept by: Gamefreak and Nintendo
Manga Concept by: Hidenori Kusaka
Author's Notes:
Please Help ibuberu's effort in Raising Funds for the Japan Relief Efforts! Her Profile is here: .net/u/1056452/
Even if it seems odd... but it's the thought that counts!
#1: Giving
It is not about what you give that counts. It's the action that you are giving in the first place that counts.
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The devastation was horrible, it made Platinum cover her mouth in shock while her companions, no her Knight simply looked at the same scene with a grim expression.
They had came here to assist in the relief efforts of Rusturf Tunnel, the Tunnel had collapsed once again after some repairs were being done in the tunnel while trying to make it safer.
Unfortunately and ironically the result was the collapse of the west-side of the Tunnel, causing the tunnel to be blocked… but it was the least of their worries as it had caused the Wild Pokemon, the group of Whismur, Loudred and the Rare Exploud to escape from the tunnel and begin harassing the residents of Verdanturf Town.
It started a chain reaction that was hard to calm down, with the residents of Verdanturf Town retaliating after the Pokemon just attacking them without warning, the Pokemon being driven back to the Tunnel and then back again when more collapses occurred due to the movement of the Pokemon… the end result was simply that the casualties on both the Pokemon and the Human sides were mounting from the numerous clashes between the two.
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It had taken Roxanne of Rustboro City all her efforts to contain the resident's anger while trying to stop further collapses in the Tunnel… thus in the end she had to resort to calling the other Gym Leaders to help contain the situation.
With nowhere to go, the Whismur family were pouring out of the tunnel, unable to stand the racket from the constant collapsing of the cave while it slowly collapses on itself.
It the tunnel does completely collapse, it would not just mean the end of a straight shortcut from Rustboro to Verdanturt, but the loss of an entire community and environment for Pokemon to live in.
In this case, the Whismur would lose their home, habitat and thus cease to exist in Hoenn at all. Not to mention that the ecosystem near Rustboro and Verdenturf would be disrupted while the Whismur family tries in vain to find a place they can call home.
As there are a few species of Pokemon that is native to only that region, namely Nincada, Skitty, Volbeat and some others…it would mean that they too face a dangerous and looming threat.
Either way, without help from the People in Hoenn, this will surely but slowly built to be a catastrophe unseen since Groudon and Kyrogre's awakening.
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It would an environmental disaster as well as an economical disaster and Devon Corporation, with it's connection to the Hoenn Champion as well as the two heroes and heroines that had saved Heonn from the earlier disaster.
The Pokedex Owners, trainers who own Pokedexes that are given to them from the various Pokemon Professors of their region, Professor Oak, Elm, Birch and Rowan from Kanto, Johto, Hoenn and Sinnoh respectively.
Amongst them, the Hoenn duo of Ruby and Sapphire was most well known among the people in Hoenn as they were the ones who stopped Groudon and Kyogre from destroying the land they call home.
After serious debate amongst the Gym Leaders, it was unanimously decided that they would seek their help in this crisis as well. Not because that they Gym Leaders were unable to handle the situation by themselves, they probably could, but they wanted to resolve the situation in a more peaceful manner.
One way or resolving the incident would have the Whismur be all rounded up and kept to a side while workers finish the necessary repairs before returning them to their habitat.
However, that was not feasible as the people of Verdanturf town, tired and angry after losing their homes after the evacuation order was given, wanted to exterminate all of them instead.
People were angry that their rights were being crushed and the majority of people who supported this extremist way of thinking were increasing.
The Gym Leaders were losing support from the people, a fact that was made clear especially after the last crisis was seemingly by two young children. Even if most details of the incident were hidden from the press, leaks of information were floating around that made the Gym Leaders look incompetent, especially Roxanne, who seemingly had allowed Groudon to proceed without much resistance.
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In truth, she had been threatened about the safety of the residents there and she had placed their immediate safety into consideration before giving up regretfully to Team Magma.
But the people did not know that and support for her was greatly reduced since her inability to contain this current crisis as well.
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Thus, the Gym Leaders decide to seek help from the Pokedex Holders, those children would be warmly welcomed by the people and if they took their sides, it would make it much easier for them to carry out their plans.
Hence this is why all the Pokedex Owners from Kanto, Johto, Hoenn and Sinnoh arrived to help out in a time of need for the people of Hoenn.
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Ruby and Sapphire were of course the main 'stars' and spokesman of the relief task force as they were the most familiar faces with the Hoenn People.
Despite Sapphire's protest, Ruby and Winoha had eventually persuaded her that it was necessary for her to be in the right attire for something as important as this.
'You do want to help the Pokemon, don't you, Sapphire?'
'… yes I do Coach…'
'So listen to Ruby and dress up in this dress… Think of it that you are helping the Pokemon by wearing this… alright?'
It was tough, but with Ruby's experience in contests and Sapphire's knowledge on Pokemon and their Habitat, they were able to convince the people of Hoenn to trust the Gym Leaders and to help restore Verdenturf Tunnel for the Whismur and not to exterminate them.
It was one step forward… amidst the chaos there seemed to be some hope of order when the people of Hoenn slowly gather together to help with the efforts.
People from all over Hoenn pledged their efforts by donating items like blankets, sleeping bags and even their own Pokemon to help with the restoration and stabilizing of Rusturf tunnel.
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The other Gym Leaders and the Dex Holders were of course lending their power to the efforts as well. When Ruby and Sapphire were sending their message to the masses, Emerald was playing a very important role by helping to calm the Whismur down and with the Frontier Brains, who had came along to assist them, were slowly housing them in the Battle Factory where it would be their temporary home from now on.
Helping him was Silver who was in charge of coordinating the transport of the Whismur towards the ship that was rented by Platinium for this very purpose of ferrying the Pokemon to the Battle Factory.
It was probably the best place to hold all the Wild Pokemon in such a short notice and the Frontier Brains agreed on the plan immediately when it was mentioned by Emerald.
'…. It might be a tight fit, but it beats having all of them suffering out in the open right?'
It could be that Factory Head Nolan was trying to repay Emerald for all that he has done for him and the Frontier Brains but he too was working hard day and night with Professor Birch to solve the crisis as well.
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For the other Pokedex Holders, most of them agreed to help out when they heard about it. Still, it was a shock to everyone but Green, Blue and Red why Silver volunteered his help almost immediately when hearing the news.
The Johto Pokedex holder has been actively volunteering and assisting in many different relief or charity organizations, probably to help make up for his father Giovanni's past wrong doings and he immediately jumped at the opportunity to help.
If Silver is helping, than Gold would never back down and his role in the relief effort was to be the messenger and the coordinator among the various groups that were helping out. His agile and impatient personality was very much suitable for this task as he is always running up and down Rustboro town feeding information to Roxanne and the rest on the necessary updates while distributing aid all around.
It was like he said:
'I've lived with Pokemon all my life… I would not just stand by and have my friends insulted like that!'
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His passionate words made the Dex owners rally around him as well, something that he did not expect and that resulted in Crystal being his most constant companion, to the chagrin of the other Dex owners as she was stationed in Verdanturf Town along with Emerald, helping him by keeping the Pokemon at peace and happy with their surroundings.
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Besides the Johto and Hoenn Dex owners, the Kanto Dex owners were all about as well, even if it has taken quite some time to locate Red, who have once again disappeared up Mt. Silver training vigorously.
As the first Pokemon Champion, he is welcomed warmly by Rustboro City where he is currently stationed with his Pokemon and helping to distribute aid to the people.
As a well known figure in the Pokemon Community, he was the most suited to boost the morale of the people that were affected by the disaster.
Of course, he was a person that was energetic and full of life to fill that role perfectly, something Blue was relief to see. He had been worried that after the Battle in Sevii Islands and that devastatingly tough battle with Deoxyss, Red would actually have a drastic change in personality, choosing to retreat to himself to avoid getting the people around him hurt because of him.
That could be one of his motivations in leaving to train in Mt. Silver after all. But it seems that his fears were unfounded… only to have himself latched on by that pesky girl, Green who insisted on being with him as he assisted the Hoenn Gym Leaders in their various tasks, but mainly using his Pokemon to safeguard the people near the towns.
With Scizor and False Swipe, not to mention the strong battle aura give off by his Pokemon, he was more effective than a Repel, a fact that Green teased him about.
Green however was not just there to tease Blue. She was, ironically the one responsible for Aerial Recon, helping to locate any further landslides with her Wigglytuff as well as to listen for any further Pokemon Rampages with her various gadgets and devices.
As they put it:
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'As a Gym Leader and as a Pokemon Trainer, I have my responsibility to protect both our worlds. My Pokemon have been with me since I was young, there is no reason for me to betray them just because of a simple mistake.'
'Ah, there is nothing wrong with helping others in need, is there? If there is a reason for doing so, I guess I can't see it.. haha~'
'Eheh… if the other two are working hard along with my darling little brother…then as one of the Pokedex Owners, I must do my part right? Doing a little bit of charity work once in a while doesn't hurt!'
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But Green proved her worth, despite her words so to speak when she saw one of the children in Verndenturf Town ready to release her Whismur despite her mother's persistence that she should not do it.
The Pokemon itself was unhappy about the decision as well and Green can see that it was clearly bonded with the child and she floated down with her Wigglytuff beside the girl, sobbing but still insistent on releasing it back to the wild.
She must be upset at Whismur Pokemon in general as her father was attacked by them just a few days ago and she told Green that she did not like anyone who hurt her father or her family while still sniffing unhappily.
Green fell silent as she had been through the same feelings before. She had been kidnapped away by the Masked Man(Pyrce) when she was young by Ho-Oh and thus she had developed a fear for birds.
This girl was probably the same, developing a fear for Whismur type Pokemon after seeing her Father get attacked by a crowd of them and Green knelt down beside the Girl, holding her shaking hands and easing it down while releasing the Whismur from it's Pokeball.
The Whismur wanted to comfort the child but it was stopped by Wigglytuff, who shook it's head and watched her Trainer do her magic on the little girl.
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'You know… I understand how you feel… you feel sad and angry that your Father was attacked by the Whismur and it's family right?'
'*Hic* yes… I don't want papa to be hurt!'
'But you see… all Pokemon are different… it all depends on the user and the Pokemon by itself… your Whismur won't do that…'
'But… but the other Whismur did… my father caught that Whismur for me and they might be mad at me and Dad for that… If I let it go maybe they won't attack me again…'
She rubbed her eyes and Green could only sigh at her logic. But she can't deny it either as it did make sense to the girl. It was best not to deny and to aggravate her further.
'Maybe… but you, better than anyone else should know what your Whismur feel towards you, right?'
Petting her head and making her look over at her Whismur, which was anxiously looking at her behind Wigglytuff and it's ears twitched in greeting before she turned away again.
'B-but… but!'
'All Pokemon are different… it's like different people you know… you can't say that all Pokemon are the same. That's like saying that all the big man around you are your father… do you understand that. Pokemon are like People after all… it's the trainers and the surroundings that affect them.'
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Perhaps it was too difficult for her to understand, as the child seemed confused but Green motioned to let the Whismur slowly approach her and she held the girl there as she coaxed her with her reassuring words, hugging her softly while whispering softly to her.
'Sometimes… you friends might do mean things… but it might all be a misunderstanding them.'
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'So be brave… and give them a chance again. After all, they became you know your friends best right? They wouldn't so something as mean as that…'
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It took some coaxing, but she did eventually get the girl to not release her Whismur after all, a small contribution, but surely a good one as she went back to her duties, unaware that her actions did not escape the eyes of the sharp Blue, who simply sighed and nodded his head at her actions.
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On the last member of the Kanto Dex holders, Yellow, her task was simple as she was gifted with the talent to be able to read the minds of Pokemon.
'… If it is anything I can do to help the Pokemon, I'll do it…'
Red has taught her that Pokemon can be their friends and she has believed in the words from the boy she had a secret crush on. Following the Kanto Dex Holders, Yellow had stationed herself near Red, unsurprisingly while helping the Professors with their research, gaining insight on the Wild Pokemon's thoughts about what is going on and trying to come up with a suitable plan to stabilize the situation…
Red drops by pretty often too, he was always a little worried about the young girl, even though compared to Ruby and Sapphire she was her senior, but he could not help himself as she knew that if she used her powers for too long, it would cause her body to be strained.
Leaving Yellow aside, there were the Sinnoh Trio and they had arrived late due to Platinum, who had taken upon her to organize a fundraiser in Sinnoh to raise funds to help the injured people and Pokemon in the Hoenn region.
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'It is not about how much you give or what you give. As long as one gives something, it will create a cycle, a cycle of goodwill and hope for the People and Pokemon in Hoenn; a cycle that will build up to a tremendous force that will help those in need right now. That is what we believe, that we should give back to the community that has helped us in the past.'
Smiling as she gave the speech in the grounds of Mr. Backlot's Mansion, Platinum Berlitz were with her two Knights who took their cue and spoke to the people gathered there as well.
'The Amount does not matter, it is the thought of giving that counts… even if it is a single person, it is still a beginning. We do not urge people to give up everything they have in their possessions, but just to give. It is the thought that counts… we just need all of you not to just 'think' of helping but translate that into 'action'.'
'We too view Pokemon as our friends, they have helped us through many struggles in our lives… can you imagine life without Pokemon? They have enriched our lives, gave it their all and dedicate their whole lives to us. Now is the time for us to show that we Humans can help them in their time of need. So please…'
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The three Saviors of Sinnoh bowed their heads and echoed their wishes to help all those in need in Hoenn.
'Please help them, help us… the people and Pokemon in Hoenn needs us right now.'
From their rally and sincere words, donations and volunteers all pitched in to the relief effort while Platinum herself along with her two knights rushed off to Verdenturf town where they witnessed the devastation.
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But, they saw too the good that had came from the incident. Pokemon and Humans getting closer than ever before, the region might have been rocked and divided by the crisis. But it too have been strengthened when the differences between the people and Pokemon have been resolved as well.
'Let us help them, Pearl, Diamond!'
Pulling out her Pokemon, Platinum rushed over to the aid of her fellow Pokedex Holders while the two boys nodded and followed her lead.
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It takes just a few voices to start a chain of reactions that will change the world. They might be just children whose fate was intertwined with the Device that gave them their title, but without their strong beliefs, strong mindsets and the determination to pull through all hardship, they would not be here today.
They make good of their words, never gave up when the giving was tough and most importantly, loved and cherished the Pokemon that has been with them all the way.
Pokemon made them who they are and now, they are giving back to that same community that enriched and changed their lives.
So have you… helped them out too?