Chapter One;
trainer of GLORY
"Aso! Time to wake up!" Asol T. Blitz stretched and groaned from lack of exercise. "Aso, don't do that. It's not my fault you hardly move while you sleep." Asol, or Aso as he preferred to be called, just shook his head. How does my mom do that? he wondered. He shook his head again. Forget that, today's a big day!
As a celebrated holiday, people have been let sleep late to remember Ash Ketchum's late beginning, but celebrated ending as a Pokémon Master. Which was one reason he was holding his hands over his ears like a Psyduck when his alarm clock rang expectedly late. The other reason is that his head hurt from thinking about what pokémon to chose.
After Ash's success with a pikachu, people have started picking weird Pokémon for their starter. Someone chose a Tentacool, another a Polliwag, yet another a PIDGEY! All found around town. A couple others started off with Sandshrews and Ponyta imported from Cinnabar, stranger yet, some chose Venonats, Exxeggcute, and Nidoran found in Fuchsia. Huh. Asol made the customary sign of weirdoes: Spinning his fingers in circles in front of his eyes.
Then there was Asol himself. Choosing a pair of jeans, his favorite blue shirt, a green, felt vest, and an official Pokémon TCG/RTB League cap, he looked in the mirror to study his face. With light-silver eyes, and an "Ash-shade" tan, dark black hair, and nimble fingers, people thought he looked just like Ash (except the eye color of course). People also thought he was named backwards; whenever he played cards with opponents and rivals, he chose the "Blitz Assault" Strategy he had made up, and people had named after him. No one really knew, but guessed he would start out in the world with some fire pokemon
When He was younger, An OLD professor used to come by, and say that he acted just like Ash when Ash was that young. Asol never found out who that professor was, but he did know that people thought he EXACTLY resembled Ash in every way except for Eye color, Dressing, and Upraising.
Asol went downstairs where his Mom was sitting sadly at the card table in the family room. She was looking down at the table top, a worrisome look etched into her eyebrows and mouth. Asol went over silently and kissed her cheek. His mom kissed him back, then hugged him. Trying not to cry, his mom let him go, then waved good bye as he walked out of the house. He waved back, but didn't look in the direction of the house as he headed for the lab, the sun rising behind his back, almost waving as well.
Asol sensed that flowers and metal were already on their way to the lab. He also knew that these elements were Akorda and Defen, but he didn't know why or how. Aso shrugged off these feelings as he headed for the lab, almost a thirteen year-old silhouette against the brightness of the sun.
Chapter Two;
trainer of HONOR
"Defe! Hey Defe! Hey, Wake up Deaf N!" Defen S. Gardyuhn groaned and rolled over, trying to avoid the mess of blonde and PJs that he called his brother. The mess followed. "Hmm, this oughta do the trick!" An animé PoP sounded, then a boom followed. "WAKE UP DEAF N!"
THAT pissed him off. He jumped up and chased his brother around the room. The latter was holding a bullhorn. Defen growled. "C'mere you..."
After he had cooked breakfast for himself and for his brother, Defen wrote a note to his mom stating that he would be back, and that he had just went to get his Trainer's License and Starter Pokémon.
Defen went to his room to change. He picked the clothes that he had saved for this occasion; a green, brown, and tan Army shirt, brown pants, and a forest-green vest to put his badges on.
As he changed, Defen gave his body a once over. Most girls at school had found him "cute", but he didn't think so, especially since he was slightly short. He resembled Gary, Ash's Rival, because of his hairdo, but had Ash's harder facial features, like his mouth, nose, and brows. He was lighter in skin color than Ash, but had neither jet-black hair, nor was he a brunette. He had dyed his hair to be the Darkest of greens, so dark, it looked like a shadow on a field of grass. His eye color was a deep, ocean blue. If you had a staring contest with him for too long, you might get lost in his eyes.
Like Aso, Defen had created a new style of playing, High HP, block damage and status, do mostly status attacks until you have a win. Some people call it the "Long Distance Effects" strategy, although most kids joke that he was the original creator of Stall Decks.
Defen finished dressing. As an after thought, Defen packed his pack full of his TCG cards, decks, clothes, and trainer equipment, including a guide to all the known gyms in the world. He put the back pack by the front door.
Giving his dog one more pat on the head as a goodbye, he stepped outside of his house. Warm sunlight greeted him. Defen strapped on his watch, and remembered which holiday he was to start his journey on. He checked the time. 10:30. Pleeeeeeeeeeeeenty of time. Why should I rush? he asked himself, Professor Trackagam is never impatient and the lab was almost 7 minutes away! Nooooooooooooooo hurry. With somewhat a strong metallic edge to that thought, Defen walked on.
He took out his pokéflute and played the lively sunrise song, to keep his spirits up. "You still play well, Defen." Defen turned to the source of the soft voice, his best friend Akorda. She reached out for his hands. "It's my birthday too, you know. Let me walk to the lab with you." He took her hands and led her out of the yard, hugged her, kissed her on the cheek, then led her to the lab with him. A lady sitting by a window in Defen's house shook her head sadly, and waved goodbye. Defen didn't notice.
Chapter Three;
trainer of FRIENDSHIP
Akorda Luhrlai walked happily with Defen to the lab. Unlike other girls, she was excited by the chance to be a Pokémon trainer, and studied them till she knew every single trivial fact about the recently discovered ones. And as her mom says, "If I'm confused about something in the papers, Akorda always helps me out in a matter of seconds." Some people say that's the only good she'll ever be.
But in fact, she was useful in other ways. Little kids came to her so that she could help them with their decks; some called her the Pokémon Lady, even though the real one lived in Saffron City. She too, had built a new kind of Strategy, the one called, "All the CUTE little people", which was popular among the girls.
Akorda looks almost like the Lass in the Trainer Card, except her hair is a little more curly around the edges. The skirt is a little longer than that, even though it was point-blank in the middle of Summer. She had about the same skin color as Defen, but she had the usual brown eyes that were common in Pallet Town. Her skirt was powder blue, her stomach was bare, her tanktop was white, and she had a gold necklace which she had gotten from Defen. Although this is embarrassing, I have to admit, she was the most buxom of the girls in her age-group.
Akorda is a psychic. Which is one reason she built up decks that are based around psychic abilities, and knows what decks to adjust before each play in a tournament. But, she's only partially-psychic, because she can only focus on one person at a time. No one but herself knows it. Not even Defen, her best friend, companion, and neighbor, ever since birth.
But now, she didn't care anything about what ANYONE thought, her mind was bursting to the rim about the all the different starter Pokémon choices. In her mind, she re-read the Starter's Guide to Beginner Pokémon; Bulbasaur has already been decided to be a good Starter, as was Squirtle. Pikachu might be hard to deal with at first, but after you gain their trust, they are loyal till death. Both species of Nidoran are as fast at evolving as Bulbasaur, Squirtle, and Charmander. Totodile has been decided as the best of all the Second Generation Pokémon. Caterpie is weak, but then evolves into a strong Metapod, then a Dangerous Butterfree, as is with Weedle. Pidgey has been proven to be as loyal as a Pikachu, though it has many weaknesses. Clefairy's metronome attack that it learns later on is just plain USEFUL, and Clefable's attack power makes the attack... ...What was that? Oh,.. "We're Here!" Akorda sensed a lightning force in the air. "I guess the last member of the Three Musketeers is here." The pair went inside, Akorda feeling as light, free, and unexpecting as a, a, a fragile flower. The thought surprised her as she had never thought of herself as a flower, forget Fragile! And how did she know that the lightning was Aso?!
Chapter Four;
Shadows of Virtue
A shadow fell across the window of one of Professor Trackagam's lab's windows. Ruby Red eyes glittered and then disappeared in a long blink. Gloved hands twirled in shifting shapes, then twirled again to reveal a Nyura card. Four more Gloved hands also twirled. Three Sneasel cards were thrown into the air. A Burst of Light, and three Sneasel appeared. The first shadow glared and twitched his hands into a shape that resembled three kids, and three pokéballs. The Sneasel nodded, and disappeared.
In the Lab...
Professor Trackagam was sitting down in his Study Room, meditating, when the messenger arrived. "Professor, the missing pokéballs have been found!" Trackagam's eyes snapped open.
"Show Me!"
As they rushed through the halls, the messenger explained what had happened. "The three new trainers-to-be found the pokéballs near a bush by your lab. They brought them to us." The pair entered a room, dimly lit by infrared lights. Trackagam went up to a pokéball and examined it.
"Hmm, the 'C' for containing Pokémon is on the button, but there isn't an elemental symbol on the pokéball, like all monster balls that have pokémon in them." He looked at and studied the pokéball. Then he shook it. The ball shook back. "Uh-huh." Trackagam glanced at the scientists watching him. "Have you tried to get the pokémon inside, out?" The assistants nodded. Trackagam frowned.
In the usual room where trainers get their starters...
"So this is where Ash got his Pikachu." Asol looked around in wonder. So did Defen and Akorda. "It's, confusing." The other two nodded. "I wonder where Trackagam is..."
The lab doors slammed open. "THERE are my angels of justice! Caught the pokéball thieves did you? Good Job!" The trio was squashed in a massive bear-hug as a mass of flesh belted out compliments. The trio managed to look up and recognize the man as...
"Professor Bohmm!" The man grinned.
"You kids didn't notice before?" They all laughed. "Professor Trackagam is off to contact the Elite Four on something new. He told me to give you your starters." The mass of flesh let go, and the trio breathed easier. They followed the walking ball of fat to a circular table. "Since you are trainers leaving on Ash's Starting Anniversary, Trackagam has decided to use the world famous Circular Table, where Ash go his Pikachu. Well, take your pick." They each picked up a pokéball.
Chapter Five;
Destined to Be
A Bright Aura filled the room. "AAHH!" all three of the kids cried. Then, just as soon as it had appeared, the Aura vanished. The kids shook off the weirdness.
"What happened?" asked Professor Bohmm. "Is everyone Okay?" The trio nodded. They also screamed a few moments after. Professor Bohmm sighed. "What is it now?"
Akorda spoke first. "The Aura is imprinted on the Pokéballs, and its Shifting!" She was right, the Aura had been imprinted onto the pokéballs, and it was shifting, but for each pokéball, there was a different color play.
Defen's pokéball stopped shifting first. "Hey, the Aura stopped, and it made a shape that looks like a, ... a shooting star!" The other two checked theirs. Asol's ball had a Sun emblem; Akorda's ball, a Yin Yang. Defen frowned. He showed his ball to Professor Bohmm. "This isn't any elemental symbol I've heard of." He Frowned again. Professor Bohmm was shaking. "What's wrong?" The trio surrounded Professor Bohmm. Bohmm cowered.
Finally, Professor Bohmm worked up the courage to speak. "Those symbols represent the trio of Cards!" Sensing the three's confusion, he continued. "The trio of Cards is a symbol on a mythical piece of pottery, which has those three symbols in a triangle shape, within what looks like a playing card. The card is surrounded by shapes that look like pokéballs and Unown. If in a certain order, the Unown will spell out something, but no one has translated what they spell out." He looked around, saw no one else but the trio, and continued. "There are also shadows, three of them, that have the symbols within them. Unown below actually spell out writing: 'The shadows of Darkness, the people of Light, Sky darkened by Storms, when the Gods appear to punish the Bad, the Shadows will emerge to form a Being which can stop an Apocalypse. Twin Shadows of Blizzard and Blaze will be their guide. The Fire is vanquished, the Storm stopped, and the Thunder muted, and with that, the Shield of Light, the Sword of Power, and the Arrows of Thoughts will destroy whatever evil has descended to defy the gods. A stone dropped by the likes of Gold and Silver will call upon the greatest Power within Destiny, and a Miracle of the Heavens will take place." Bohmm stopped for breath. "You kids are the people of Light, and the prophecy is now to be fulfilled with your pokémon. Go ahead, meet your starters."
The new trainers looked at each other, then threw their pokéballs.
Another Aura filled the room, this one of Pokéball energy. When the Aura cleared, three shapes were writhing into a proper form. When they did decide on a shape, it was a strange one.
After a while, the three kids spoke at the same time. "What is THAT?"
trainer of GLORY
"Aso! Time to wake up!" Asol T. Blitz stretched and groaned from lack of exercise. "Aso, don't do that. It's not my fault you hardly move while you sleep." Asol, or Aso as he preferred to be called, just shook his head. How does my mom do that? he wondered. He shook his head again. Forget that, today's a big day!
As a celebrated holiday, people have been let sleep late to remember Ash Ketchum's late beginning, but celebrated ending as a Pokémon Master. Which was one reason he was holding his hands over his ears like a Psyduck when his alarm clock rang expectedly late. The other reason is that his head hurt from thinking about what pokémon to chose.
After Ash's success with a pikachu, people have started picking weird Pokémon for their starter. Someone chose a Tentacool, another a Polliwag, yet another a PIDGEY! All found around town. A couple others started off with Sandshrews and Ponyta imported from Cinnabar, stranger yet, some chose Venonats, Exxeggcute, and Nidoran found in Fuchsia. Huh. Asol made the customary sign of weirdoes: Spinning his fingers in circles in front of his eyes.
Then there was Asol himself. Choosing a pair of jeans, his favorite blue shirt, a green, felt vest, and an official Pokémon TCG/RTB League cap, he looked in the mirror to study his face. With light-silver eyes, and an "Ash-shade" tan, dark black hair, and nimble fingers, people thought he looked just like Ash (except the eye color of course). People also thought he was named backwards; whenever he played cards with opponents and rivals, he chose the "Blitz Assault" Strategy he had made up, and people had named after him. No one really knew, but guessed he would start out in the world with some fire pokemon
When He was younger, An OLD professor used to come by, and say that he acted just like Ash when Ash was that young. Asol never found out who that professor was, but he did know that people thought he EXACTLY resembled Ash in every way except for Eye color, Dressing, and Upraising.
Asol went downstairs where his Mom was sitting sadly at the card table in the family room. She was looking down at the table top, a worrisome look etched into her eyebrows and mouth. Asol went over silently and kissed her cheek. His mom kissed him back, then hugged him. Trying not to cry, his mom let him go, then waved good bye as he walked out of the house. He waved back, but didn't look in the direction of the house as he headed for the lab, the sun rising behind his back, almost waving as well.
Asol sensed that flowers and metal were already on their way to the lab. He also knew that these elements were Akorda and Defen, but he didn't know why or how. Aso shrugged off these feelings as he headed for the lab, almost a thirteen year-old silhouette against the brightness of the sun.
Chapter Two;
trainer of HONOR
"Defe! Hey Defe! Hey, Wake up Deaf N!" Defen S. Gardyuhn groaned and rolled over, trying to avoid the mess of blonde and PJs that he called his brother. The mess followed. "Hmm, this oughta do the trick!" An animé PoP sounded, then a boom followed. "WAKE UP DEAF N!"
THAT pissed him off. He jumped up and chased his brother around the room. The latter was holding a bullhorn. Defen growled. "C'mere you..."
After he had cooked breakfast for himself and for his brother, Defen wrote a note to his mom stating that he would be back, and that he had just went to get his Trainer's License and Starter Pokémon.
Defen went to his room to change. He picked the clothes that he had saved for this occasion; a green, brown, and tan Army shirt, brown pants, and a forest-green vest to put his badges on.
As he changed, Defen gave his body a once over. Most girls at school had found him "cute", but he didn't think so, especially since he was slightly short. He resembled Gary, Ash's Rival, because of his hairdo, but had Ash's harder facial features, like his mouth, nose, and brows. He was lighter in skin color than Ash, but had neither jet-black hair, nor was he a brunette. He had dyed his hair to be the Darkest of greens, so dark, it looked like a shadow on a field of grass. His eye color was a deep, ocean blue. If you had a staring contest with him for too long, you might get lost in his eyes.
Like Aso, Defen had created a new style of playing, High HP, block damage and status, do mostly status attacks until you have a win. Some people call it the "Long Distance Effects" strategy, although most kids joke that he was the original creator of Stall Decks.
Defen finished dressing. As an after thought, Defen packed his pack full of his TCG cards, decks, clothes, and trainer equipment, including a guide to all the known gyms in the world. He put the back pack by the front door.
Giving his dog one more pat on the head as a goodbye, he stepped outside of his house. Warm sunlight greeted him. Defen strapped on his watch, and remembered which holiday he was to start his journey on. He checked the time. 10:30. Pleeeeeeeeeeeeenty of time. Why should I rush? he asked himself, Professor Trackagam is never impatient and the lab was almost 7 minutes away! Nooooooooooooooo hurry. With somewhat a strong metallic edge to that thought, Defen walked on.
He took out his pokéflute and played the lively sunrise song, to keep his spirits up. "You still play well, Defen." Defen turned to the source of the soft voice, his best friend Akorda. She reached out for his hands. "It's my birthday too, you know. Let me walk to the lab with you." He took her hands and led her out of the yard, hugged her, kissed her on the cheek, then led her to the lab with him. A lady sitting by a window in Defen's house shook her head sadly, and waved goodbye. Defen didn't notice.
Chapter Three;
trainer of FRIENDSHIP
Akorda Luhrlai walked happily with Defen to the lab. Unlike other girls, she was excited by the chance to be a Pokémon trainer, and studied them till she knew every single trivial fact about the recently discovered ones. And as her mom says, "If I'm confused about something in the papers, Akorda always helps me out in a matter of seconds." Some people say that's the only good she'll ever be.
But in fact, she was useful in other ways. Little kids came to her so that she could help them with their decks; some called her the Pokémon Lady, even though the real one lived in Saffron City. She too, had built a new kind of Strategy, the one called, "All the CUTE little people", which was popular among the girls.
Akorda looks almost like the Lass in the Trainer Card, except her hair is a little more curly around the edges. The skirt is a little longer than that, even though it was point-blank in the middle of Summer. She had about the same skin color as Defen, but she had the usual brown eyes that were common in Pallet Town. Her skirt was powder blue, her stomach was bare, her tanktop was white, and she had a gold necklace which she had gotten from Defen. Although this is embarrassing, I have to admit, she was the most buxom of the girls in her age-group.
Akorda is a psychic. Which is one reason she built up decks that are based around psychic abilities, and knows what decks to adjust before each play in a tournament. But, she's only partially-psychic, because she can only focus on one person at a time. No one but herself knows it. Not even Defen, her best friend, companion, and neighbor, ever since birth.
But now, she didn't care anything about what ANYONE thought, her mind was bursting to the rim about the all the different starter Pokémon choices. In her mind, she re-read the Starter's Guide to Beginner Pokémon; Bulbasaur has already been decided to be a good Starter, as was Squirtle. Pikachu might be hard to deal with at first, but after you gain their trust, they are loyal till death. Both species of Nidoran are as fast at evolving as Bulbasaur, Squirtle, and Charmander. Totodile has been decided as the best of all the Second Generation Pokémon. Caterpie is weak, but then evolves into a strong Metapod, then a Dangerous Butterfree, as is with Weedle. Pidgey has been proven to be as loyal as a Pikachu, though it has many weaknesses. Clefairy's metronome attack that it learns later on is just plain USEFUL, and Clefable's attack power makes the attack... ...What was that? Oh,.. "We're Here!" Akorda sensed a lightning force in the air. "I guess the last member of the Three Musketeers is here." The pair went inside, Akorda feeling as light, free, and unexpecting as a, a, a fragile flower. The thought surprised her as she had never thought of herself as a flower, forget Fragile! And how did she know that the lightning was Aso?!
Chapter Four;
Shadows of Virtue
A shadow fell across the window of one of Professor Trackagam's lab's windows. Ruby Red eyes glittered and then disappeared in a long blink. Gloved hands twirled in shifting shapes, then twirled again to reveal a Nyura card. Four more Gloved hands also twirled. Three Sneasel cards were thrown into the air. A Burst of Light, and three Sneasel appeared. The first shadow glared and twitched his hands into a shape that resembled three kids, and three pokéballs. The Sneasel nodded, and disappeared.
In the Lab...
Professor Trackagam was sitting down in his Study Room, meditating, when the messenger arrived. "Professor, the missing pokéballs have been found!" Trackagam's eyes snapped open.
"Show Me!"
As they rushed through the halls, the messenger explained what had happened. "The three new trainers-to-be found the pokéballs near a bush by your lab. They brought them to us." The pair entered a room, dimly lit by infrared lights. Trackagam went up to a pokéball and examined it.
"Hmm, the 'C' for containing Pokémon is on the button, but there isn't an elemental symbol on the pokéball, like all monster balls that have pokémon in them." He looked at and studied the pokéball. Then he shook it. The ball shook back. "Uh-huh." Trackagam glanced at the scientists watching him. "Have you tried to get the pokémon inside, out?" The assistants nodded. Trackagam frowned.
In the usual room where trainers get their starters...
"So this is where Ash got his Pikachu." Asol looked around in wonder. So did Defen and Akorda. "It's, confusing." The other two nodded. "I wonder where Trackagam is..."
The lab doors slammed open. "THERE are my angels of justice! Caught the pokéball thieves did you? Good Job!" The trio was squashed in a massive bear-hug as a mass of flesh belted out compliments. The trio managed to look up and recognize the man as...
"Professor Bohmm!" The man grinned.
"You kids didn't notice before?" They all laughed. "Professor Trackagam is off to contact the Elite Four on something new. He told me to give you your starters." The mass of flesh let go, and the trio breathed easier. They followed the walking ball of fat to a circular table. "Since you are trainers leaving on Ash's Starting Anniversary, Trackagam has decided to use the world famous Circular Table, where Ash go his Pikachu. Well, take your pick." They each picked up a pokéball.
Chapter Five;
Destined to Be
A Bright Aura filled the room. "AAHH!" all three of the kids cried. Then, just as soon as it had appeared, the Aura vanished. The kids shook off the weirdness.
"What happened?" asked Professor Bohmm. "Is everyone Okay?" The trio nodded. They also screamed a few moments after. Professor Bohmm sighed. "What is it now?"
Akorda spoke first. "The Aura is imprinted on the Pokéballs, and its Shifting!" She was right, the Aura had been imprinted onto the pokéballs, and it was shifting, but for each pokéball, there was a different color play.
Defen's pokéball stopped shifting first. "Hey, the Aura stopped, and it made a shape that looks like a, ... a shooting star!" The other two checked theirs. Asol's ball had a Sun emblem; Akorda's ball, a Yin Yang. Defen frowned. He showed his ball to Professor Bohmm. "This isn't any elemental symbol I've heard of." He Frowned again. Professor Bohmm was shaking. "What's wrong?" The trio surrounded Professor Bohmm. Bohmm cowered.
Finally, Professor Bohmm worked up the courage to speak. "Those symbols represent the trio of Cards!" Sensing the three's confusion, he continued. "The trio of Cards is a symbol on a mythical piece of pottery, which has those three symbols in a triangle shape, within what looks like a playing card. The card is surrounded by shapes that look like pokéballs and Unown. If in a certain order, the Unown will spell out something, but no one has translated what they spell out." He looked around, saw no one else but the trio, and continued. "There are also shadows, three of them, that have the symbols within them. Unown below actually spell out writing: 'The shadows of Darkness, the people of Light, Sky darkened by Storms, when the Gods appear to punish the Bad, the Shadows will emerge to form a Being which can stop an Apocalypse. Twin Shadows of Blizzard and Blaze will be their guide. The Fire is vanquished, the Storm stopped, and the Thunder muted, and with that, the Shield of Light, the Sword of Power, and the Arrows of Thoughts will destroy whatever evil has descended to defy the gods. A stone dropped by the likes of Gold and Silver will call upon the greatest Power within Destiny, and a Miracle of the Heavens will take place." Bohmm stopped for breath. "You kids are the people of Light, and the prophecy is now to be fulfilled with your pokémon. Go ahead, meet your starters."
The new trainers looked at each other, then threw their pokéballs.
Another Aura filled the room, this one of Pokéball energy. When the Aura cleared, three shapes were writhing into a proper form. When they did decide on a shape, it was a strange one.
After a while, the three kids spoke at the same time. "What is THAT?"
