Chapter 1
The assembled group of trainers settled into the uncomfortable wooden pews of the church were deathly silent. You could have heard a pin drop. The facial expressions of those in the audience were extremely varied, but all seemed to be somber or upset in one way or another. Why wouldn't they have been?
The silence dragged on for what felt like hours before the sound of footsteps was heard. Heads turned, and they watched as a young boy climbed the steps at the side of the stage and shuffled his way to the microphone in the middle. His gaze never left the floor.
He grasped the microphone slowly in pale hands, and lifted his chin slightly. Soft brown eyes, void of all emotion, stared at the audience. The trainer coughed politely before beginning a quiet speech.
"Thank you all for coming today on such a short notice. I..."
He was met with more silence. The boy's head came up completely, black hair spilling limply from his signature red hat. Even the cap seemed to be drooping in sadness. He mumbled something unintelligible before continuing.
"Pikachu's sudden death may have shocked many of you. Believe me, I had no idea what to think when I saw him-" he gulped loudly, "collapse like he did. My little buddy and I had been through many battles- but never had I seen him sink to the ground in such utter defeat."
Soft murmurs rippled through the other trainers at this statement. This seemed to bring back some of his courage, and his voice became a bit louder.
"I'm sure there are mixed emotions in the crowd right now. Some of you may be horrified. You might not care much at all. Some of you might be silently struggling with your own thoughts- like I am. A great number of you probably just want me to shut up and tell you where the refreshments are."
Not even a solitary chuckle. The boy swallowed again before gripping the mic's handle.
"No matter how you're feeling right now, I want you all to know, his death is not going to be in vain."
People exchanged odd glances at such a vague sentence. The speaker caught the sight of a familiar champion in the farthest back corner of the pews, his head bowed as a Charizard sat gloomily behind him.
"I'm leaving. Not permanently, I suppose. But... I'm taking my strongest Pokemon and going to train up in the mountains of Kalos. There's a powerful ex-champion living there who is willing to take me under his wing. I'm going to learn everything I can, and return when I feel like I'm ready. Then I'll go up in a rematch against him. Avenge Pikachu's death."
He spoke the word "him" with such disgust that many cringed away. But above that, clamor rose up. Many began to shout out questions, others silently begging him with their gazes to stop. He ignored both of the methods, gingerly setting the microphone back on its post.
"Thank you for your patience. When you bury him, please put my hat in the coffin with him. He always did love to steal it from me."
The boy took off his hat, hung it on top of the microphone, and abruptly leapt off the stage to bolt down the center isle. People jumped up after him, but they were all too stunned to block his path. He shoved his way out of the glass doors and took off into the distance, the others watching him in silent amazement. Only one trainer made his way after him- the solitary champion with his Charizard.
The boy held out his Pokedex, pressing various buttons until the picture of Professor Oak himself clicked into view. His gray hair seemed to stand on end when he saw the trainer glancing through the screen at him.
"Ash? What in the world are you calling me for? Weren't you supposed to be on your flight to Alola this morning?"
The trainer, Ash, gritted his teeth before glancing up towards the soft blue sky. A Pidgey swooped above him, chirping happily as it went. He watched it wistfully for a moment before focusing once again.
"Things changed a bit. I don't have time to explain, but expect me to be arriving at your lab soon."
"Ash, wait! You can't ju-" the older professor sputtered.
The Pokedex clicked off when Ash closed it, and then he put it away.
"Ash, now that you're finally here, care to explain what the whole brooding thing was about? I'm not usually great at interpreting feelings, but you look terrible! Spill the berries, my boy!" Professor Oak exclaimed as the trainer slumped his way inside of the shimmering building.
"Pikachu died. Can I see my Pokemon?" Ash said bitterly. The professor's eyes widened.
"What? What happened?" he cried out, making his way towards a back door as he spoke. The younger child trailed behind him, hands jammed in his pockets.
"I don't want to talk about it," he said lowly. Oak gazed steadily at him before shaking his head and opening the door. He was not the kind of man who pried into the business of others.
"Alright, if you say so. They're all back here with the others."
He emerged into bright sunlight, a glass dome covering a foresty expanse of what seemed like miles. Pokemon scampered about joyously, interacting with one another and munching on berries. Many looked up and tried to approach him when he milled farther inside, but he was looking for his own team.
"Guys, it's me, Ash. Anybody here?" he called out. Birds twittered back grouchily, and he sighed. Maybe they didn't want to see him.
"BOLDOREEEEEE!"
Ash screamed in surprise as he was knocked backwards by a solid mass of rock. Two hollow, yellow eyes stared fondly at him, and the boy's face twitched slightly with a smile as he patted the Ore Pokemon's head. It made a sort of purring noise and rolled off of him. The trainer sighed and rubbed his chest a bit.
"Hey, buddy. Just like I remembered you, eh? You're gonna break my ribs, y'know. I ought to- hey, who-" he looked up, and this time a true grin came to his face, small as it was.
"There they are!" he said softly, watching as what seemed like a horde of Pokemon engulfed him. He knew each of them well, and loved each as much as the last. His shiny Noctowl in particular was pretty thrilled to see him again, cuddling close and twittering nonstop with untamable excitement. His smile dropped before long as he pushed himself out of the pile of disappointed Pokemon.
"I'm going to need my most powerful Pokemon for this journey, so I have to make my decision well," he said with an unusual monotone voice. He glanced over the now nervous Pokemon, tapping his foot in a slow rhythm. Memories flashed with each creature he settled his gaze on. Battles won and battles lost. He slowly let out a breath before holding out six Pokeballs.
Ash nodded his thanks to the professor before beginning to make his way down the stairs outside the lab. He was almost halfway down to the main road before a person emerged from the bushes, catching him off-guard.
"Woah! What the heck?" he cried out, tripping over a stair and nearly falling down the slope. He whirled around, glaring daggers at the person who had startled him. The angry look faded when he saw who it was.
"...Alain?"
"I'm coming with you."
His voice was as quiet and emotionless as always, but there was a firm edge to it that suggested he wasn't taking no for an answer. Under normal occasions, he would have happily agreed, but now he barely even flinched. The younger boy turned away and shook his head.
"I'm sorry, Alain, but I have to do this on my own."
"It's not like you can stop me."
The two of them exchanged blank glances before Ash finally gave up. He blew air out of the side of his mouth sharply and stalked down the stairs without another word. As he expected, the champion followed him from behind. For such an intimidating personage, Alain sure could move around quietly... he growled in frustration and abruptly snatched a Pokeball from his belt, spinning around and tossing the device at his rival in one fluent motion.
"Charizard, Smokescreen!"
Without a second's hesitation, the lizard released a cloud of thick smoke straight at the foreign human. A string of curses escaping the champion, Ash seized the moment and returned his Pokemon before whirling around and lunging down the final section of the stairs and bolting off down the path.
"Damn you, Ash!" was the last thing the young trainer heard before his voice faded entirely. He rounded a corner with a triumphant look and was gone.
The experienced trainer shifted in the leather seats and tried to find a comfortable position to sleep in, but he knew it was hopeless. He could barely even bring himself to blink. He had become a victim of insomnia. He was just so... nervous. And being caught up in the guilt of leaving Alain behind and the pain of the Pikachu's death wasn't helping.
He felt himself jerk a bit when the plane's speakers crackled to life, and he glanced up in expectation.
"This is your captain speaking. We will be landing in Kalos within ten minutes, so please pack up your personal belongings and prepare for touchdown."
A faint smile drifted onto his visage. Finally. Of course, he'd brought almost nothing with him, but that didn't matter. He merely grabbed his backpack from under his seat and settled it onto his shoulders before waiting stolidly for the plane to land. It was time to begin his next adventure.
However, he knew that it wouldn't quite be like all the ones he'd had before.