This will be my second overall fanfiction that I have started working on in my spare time. This one stems from yet another idea I had while I was with my abusive ex-fiancé (now two years since she cheated on me.)
Disclaimer: I do not own the rights to Pokémon. I can only claim ownership of original characters and/or original plot settings if anything at all. Be sure to support all official Pokémon releases (I think Sun and Moon are awesome. The main story is a little short though).
So…before anyone thinks about submitting offensive or overly negative reviews, consider this: Nobody forced you to read any part of the story. If you think it's that bad, just hit the back button on your browser. Though my stories aren't necessarily the best out there, writing helps more than alcohol to keep from caving in to depression. For everyone else…enjoy.
Pokémon: The Silver Savior
Chapter 1: Prologue – Stranded (in the Seafoam Islands)
Fuchsia City Pokémon Center
Nurse Joy hums happily as she finishes taking care of some Pokémon that were brought in for routine treatment. Once she finishes, the trainer walks in to the center to pick up his three Pokémon.
"Nurse Joy. How are they doing?" The trainer asks.
Joy smiles and brings out the tray with the three Pokeballs. "They are just fine, Alex."
"Excellent. Oh…one question. Do you by chance know how to find the Seafoam Islands from here? I've been wanting to check them out for a while." Alex inquired about the islands that were southwest of the city.
Nurse Joy sighs out of slight dismay "The Seafoam Islands are south and west of here, but…some bad storms are expected later today. If you went there, it might be several days before you could safely return." Joy then gives him more precise directions on how to get to the islands.
"Thanks Nurse Joy. Here's hoping the storms aren't too bad." Alex retrieves his Pokémon and heads towards the beaches just south of there.
"I sure hope he is careful. Those storms can get bad out at sea. Darn…I forgot to inform him about the increased presence of wild Tentacool and Tentacruel in the area." Joy sighs again, this time out of worry.
Alex arrives at the beach just moments after leaving the Pokémon center. Once he reaches the water's edge…
"Come on out Empoleon." Empoleon emerges from its Pokeball. "Surf's up buddy!" Empoleon jumps in to the water, then Alex climbs on its back. They head south from Fuchsia City, battling a small number of trainers along the way, and dealing with a larger than normal presence of wild Tentacool and Tentacruel. When Alex and Empoleon are about 10 minutes away from the islands, the storms start picking up.
"Shit…storms are already kicking up. Hang in there, buddy. We're almost to the islands." Alex tries to reassure his Empoleon as the storms become more violent the closer they get to the islands. After what seemed like a much longer time, Alex and Empoleon arrive at the Seafoam Islands and immediately take shelter in one of the caverns away from the entrance to avoid any further rain.
"Pyro, come on out." Alex's shiny Charizard emerges from its Pokeball and helps to not only provide some light, but also to help Alex stay warm and hopefully dry off.
"Empoleon, you should rest a while. Return." Empoleon retreats to its Pokeball for some much-needed rest. "We might be here a while. What do you think Pyro?" His Charizard nods, then increases the intensity of its flames a little more to help Alex stay warmer. "Just have to hope my supplies hold out long enough though." Pyro just snorts before falling asleep. Alex applies a repellant before falling asleep himself.
Day Three
"Grand. Looks like those storms are being difficult about letting up long enough to make it back to Fuchsia City. Supplies are also starting to run low. Might have another day or two's worth of supplies left at most." Alex says to himself, although Pyro can hear him. He decides to wander around the caverns a bit to occupy some time, applying a repellant before doing so. Although there were various wild Pokémon in the area, none of them seemed interested in going near Alex at all. "Thank you repellant. Fuck off…stupid Zubat." He thinks to himself.
After spending most of the day wandering the caves, Alex lays down and covers himself with a blanket. He huddles near his Charizard to maintain some warmth while hiding from some of stronger wild Pokémon in one of the lower floors of the Seafoam Islands. Before falling asleep, he applies another Pokémon repellant for good measure.
Day Five
It is now on the fifth day, and Alex has used the last of his supplies, other than food which ran out sooner, and a Hyper Potion. He is currently lost in the lowest floor of the Seafoam Islands, but is beginning to feel the effects of hunger on his body combined with the colder temperatures.
"Have no idea where I am right now. Not sure if I'm close to getting out of here, or going deeper into the caverns." Alex says aloud. "Go figure…I managed to evade Sinnoh's police for years, dodged Interpol, yet I get lost in some island caverns. Guess I might just be stuck here permanently at this rate." Alex hears a noise which sounds like it came from a bird of some kind.
"A bird…in these caverns? Doesn't seem possible. Not when it's this cold here anyways. I don't recall hearing about any bird Pokémon nesting in these caverns either. Better get some light…and heat around here." Pyro comes out of its ball and illuminates the area. Once the area is better lit, the source of the noise can be seen on a nearby ledge. The light blue bird Pokémon takes notice to Alex and Pyro, stretches its wings, and then slowly approaches the duo with curiosity. Alex signals Pyro not to attack it.
"Stand down Pyro. As for you," looks over toward their visitor "what kind of Pokémon are you?" Alex retrieves his Pokedex and scans the inquisitive Pokémon. Pyro stands down and watches carefully.
"Articuno, the Freeze Pokémon. Articuno is a Legendary Bird Pokémon that can control ice. The flapping of its wings chills the air. As a result, it is said that when this Pokémon flies, snow will fall. Along with Zapdos and Moltres, it is one of the three Legendary Birds of Kanto." The Pokedex's voice states the basic information about the Pokémon. Alex puts the Pokedex back into his pocket after the scan is completed.
"Inconceivable…I have just found a legendary Pokémon. Everyone always told me that the Pokémon of legends appear only to those who are truly worthy. A shame it should be at a time like this. Besides, how can I be worthy of something like this with everything I've ever done in my life?" Alex says aloud. Articuno tilts its head a little more and gently nudges Alex. "Hey, easy. Nice to meet you too." Alex gently pets the legendary bird on the head, feeling almost as if he and Articuno were destined to cross paths one day. He soon realizes that Articuno was also gesturing towards one of the empty Ultra balls on his belt.
"I see. You want to help me get out of here, don't you?" Articuno chirps happily once Alex realizes its intentions, but then readies itself for the inevitable battle. "Very well then. Articuno, let's battle!" The legendary bird nods its head in acceptance, knowing well that defeat will mean capture. "Pyro, stand by for battle!"
Pyro gets up, opens its wings and growls, indicating that it is ready for battle as well. Once the showdown commences… "Start things out with Flamethrower!" The move grazes Articuno as it begins to fly around to evade the fire attack. It fires an Ice Beam at Pyro, which is brushed off shortly after. "Take flight, then use another Flamethrower once you have a clear shot!" The second Flamethrower connects after a few minutes of flying around and dodging Ice Beams. Articuno begins to show fatigue after being hit by the second attack. Pyro lands near Alex. "I think we should wrap this up quicker, how about you?" Pyro roars. "Alright then Pyro…use Fire Blast now!" The Fire Blast connects with Articuno just as it was going to use a technique known as Sheer Cold. It slumps to the ground from the damage it has received during the battle. "Ultra ball…go!" Articuno closes its eyes and gets a slight smile just as the ball connects. After shaking for about a minute, a small ding can be heard from the ball which indicates that the capture was successful. "Can it really be? I just captured Articuno?"
Alex takes the Ultra ball up to his chest. "Thank you Articuno. From now on, you will be known as Tundra. Now…take flight!" The newly captured Articuno emerges, then has a Hyper Potion applied to it to heal most of the damage from the battle. It perks up immediately. "Pyro, return!" Pyro nods before returning to its Pokeball. "Tundra, let's get out here and back to Fuchsia City." Articuno nods before it motions for Alex to climb on its back, and even seems to take to its new nickname. Alex climbs on board, and they begin to fly through the caverns and towards an exit back to the surface. The storms have completely dissipated by the time they leave the caverns. Several onlookers gaze in wonder as Articuno flies past them. Once back at Fuchsia City, Tundra is returned to its ball, then taken in to the center to be treated.
"Alex…oh goodness, I thought you were a goner." Nurse Joy says to Alex in shock after seeing him.
"Not so easily, although I was quite close. That is, until…" Alex pulls out the Ultra ball with his new friend "I found a new friend in the lowest depths of the islands."
Nurse Joy takes his Pokemon in to be treated. She jumps out of shock when she opens the ball with Tundra in it. "Oh, my goodness! It's…Articuno. A shiny at that." She proceeds to treat Tundra's injuries from the battle, along with Empoleon and Pyro as well. Once treated, they are returned to their respective Pokeballs and brought out to Alex.
"Your Pokemon have been fully healed. I can't believe you even saw, let alone captured Articuno. Most trainers only get to dream of such a thing." Joy says with a smile.
"Thanks Joy. It's certainly something I will not take for granted. Well…time to get going. I think I might head for Vermillion City from here." Alex retrieves his Pokemon and leaves, with Joy waving goodbye.
Two Hours Later – Outside Vermillion City Gym
"Tundra, return." Alex returns Tundra to its ball. "Wonder if Sparky is around today?"
"Sparky? I heard that soldier!" Vermillion's gym leader, Lt. Surge, approaches him. "Keeping out of trouble eh?" Surge gets a strong smell in his nose. "Blech…hit the showers, and meet in the chow hall in 40 minutes." After about 30 minutes in the shower Alex, now fully cleaned after his trip, gets dressed in some fresh clothing and heads for the gym's cafeteria where Lt. Surge is waiting for him.
"About time you got here Private." Surge taps his watch. "So, what was the deal with earlier?"
"Oh, that. If you must know, I was forced to camp out in the Seafoam Islands for five days because of bad weather, and almost didn't make it out of there." Alex reaches for the Ultra Ball with Tundra in it. "If it hadn't been for a certain Pokémon anyways."
"It must be a…special Pokémon. I have to see this." Surge smugly says to Alex.
Alex was irked now "That does it…gym floor now, Sparky." The two head for the gym floor, with some of the other trainers following behind them.
"That's Lt. Surge to you…baby!" Surge uses his favorite insult on Alex while heading for the gym's arena.
Once there… "You want to see it so badly, well here…" Alex is cut off by another gym leader walking in.
"Now what is with all the commotion, Sparky?" Blaine, the leader of the Cinnabar Gym shows up unannounced. "I could hear your loud mouth all the way from Cinnabar Island. Plus, you spew enough hot air to turn the lowest depths of the Seafoam Islands into a tropical paradise."
"Nothing you need to worry about at all. Why are you here anyways, Chrome Dome?" Surge fires back at Blaine.
Blaine raises an eyebrow "Chrome Dome…Oh really? I just happen to know more about the Seafoam Islands than you, and I know of a legendary Pokémon that is said to dwell within those caverns. If my hunch is correct based on what I just overheard, young Alex has caught that very Pokémon."
"Yeah right. If he has a legendary Pokémon, then I'm not the Kanto League champion." Surge rolls his eyes. Alex tosses the ball into the air, and his Articuno emerges. Surge's jaw drops, while Blaine lowers his glasses.
"Well I'll be darned. Seems I was correct. You did catch Articuno, and it's shiny to boot. An amazing find." Blaine nods in approval, then gently pets Tundra which earns a chirp of happiness. Surge is still speechless as Tundra is returned. Some of the other trainers in the gym were stunned (pun intended) as well. "Guess you AREN'T the Kanto League champion, eh Sparky."
"Gentlemen, if you will excuse me, I'm exhausted and would like to find a place to sleep." Alex turns and heads out the front door.
"Don't work too hard Sparky, if you even work at all." Blaine chuckles, then leaves as well.
"Well kid…it looks like you just might have hope of finding your redemption after all. I know I found mine a long time ago. Good luck to you, Alex. You will need it. As for you Chrome Dome…nah, maybe some other time." Surge thinks to himself and grins.
Vermillion Hotel
"Hi, can I help you?" The receptionist asks.
"Yes, one-night stay. Room for one. The name will be under…John Stewart." Alex been using this alias for several years just in case someone ratted him out had he used his real name.
After paying the room fee, the receptionist hands Alex a key. "Enjoy your stay, Mr. Stewart."
Once in the room, Alex opens a small book with photos of his younger days and realizes that it has been ten years since he committed his worst offenses while in Team Galactic. Under Sinnoh law, the statute of limitations would have elapsed by then, technically making him a free man. He closes the photo book, lies down and falls asleep. As he sleeps, Alex begins to contemplate some of the events that brought him to this point. Starting around the time he abandoned Team Galactic and left Sinnoh ten years prior.
Alright. First chapter in the bag so far. Was a little longer than I had initially planned. Depending on how this story fares, I may plan a prequel to give Alex a more detailed backstory.
Some mild spoilers for later chapters…on second thought, there will be no spoilers.
Anyhow, like I said before, writing is my main tool for keeping my depression in check (without medication, alcohol or drugs). If you like what you've read so far, have questions or reasonable comments, you know what to do. Peace out for now.