Alright, first things first: happy birthday Red! We're officially same-birthday buddies! No, seriously, we are…! Anyway, moving on, the idea of this story has been in the back of my mind for a long time now, but I haven't really gotten the chance to write it down until, well, now basically. I am now because I have gotten comfortable writing fanfictions by now, gotten a bit more established here on ff and have gotten more used to how this site works.
Setting: a few weeks after the Emerald Battle Frontier fiasco. Sinnoh Pokémon will come out in this story, and everything before Sinnoh. As far as Pokédex Holders go, however, only up to Emerald will appear; sorry Sinnoh, Unova and Kalos lovers! Wally and Lyra/Kotone/Soul may or may not appear depending on the flow of the story, but I didn't plan them in so be prepared for the latter. Oh yeah, before I forget, all characters will have the same clothes that they were wearing in the Emerald chapter unless the clothing are described. OCs will appear, partly as a way to make up for the other characters who do not but also because they will play a role that the others can't. Ok! Enough spoilers for one day!
Inspiration mainly coming from several fanarts I've seen lingering on the web, but since there are quite a few, I can't really give credit to each and every last one of them. So here is a special thank you to all the fanarts that have given me some inspiration for this story!
Disclaimer: if you've read my other stories, you should already know, but in case you haven't, I don't really own anything but the plot and the OCs here…
-= Red's POV =-
The lush green Viridian Forest in front of me, the remains of the Viridian Gym behind me; I was trapped like a Rattata with nowhere to run. I looked at my clothes and arms, seeing that they're torn and dyed red of my blood. A stinging pain and my legs gave way, forcing me on my knees. I made myself look up, seeing a tall man in what seemed to be his thirties, wearing a black suit with a blood red 'R' on his left breast pocket. Giovanni, the leader of the evil Team Rocket organization.
I gritted my teeth, recalling everything he had said. Everything that Team Rocket had done from genetically modifying Vee and scarring poor Gyara to releasing overly powerful Pokémon in the Viridian Forest which scared the citizens of Viridian. The lower members had all paid with the destruction of their headquarters in Saffron, but now… now I'm face to face with the boss, and if I had to go down, then he would go down with me!
I noticed something small bouncing its way to me from above the rubble. It appeared to be a Pokéball and I barely managed to catch it. Looking through the transparent red top of the ball, I saw that it was Pika. To my surprise, unlike the balls of Gyara and Saur, Pika's was not broken, and I grinned, despite the pain coursing through my body.
"Good job Pika! Let's end this!" I complimented him softly so Giovanni couldn't hear me. Gathering all the strength I had left, I got on my feet, trembling and panting heavily. I gripped Pika's Pokéball tighter and glared at the man in front of me, "GIOVANNI! This isn't a battle against a Gym Leader anymore! This is a fight against Team Rocket, and I won't lose! No matter what… I won't lose!"
"You're persistent, I give you that much Red," Giovanni said while chuckling. Somehow, seeing him so relaxed only made my blood boil even more. My knuckles had turned white from the force I was using to hold Pika, and the two of us had begun to move in a perfect circle, eyes never leaving the other, "But it's useless. I'm not called Giovanni of the Earth for nothing Red! Your electric mouse won't stand a chance against my ground army. Nidoqueen, prove it and impale him! Poison Sting!"
Giovanni threw a Pokéball in the air, opening a few meters in front of him. Out of the blinding light a bipedal, sturdy Pokémon appeared. Her hard, blue scales covered it from head to toe and from her head protruded a short yet sharp and powerful horn. I didn't have time to think, only to throw Pika's Pokéball in front of me. My electric mouse appeared from the light and I snapped my fingers in the air.
"THUNDER!"
The very air crackled with electricity, as Pika's small body was completely enveloped by a huge ball of static energy. A second later and Pika unleashed the whole fury of the attack straight at Giovanni's Nidoqueen. The hit connected, and a huge flash of bright energy followed, forcing me to cover my eyes. When I opened them again, a crater around Nidoqueen had formed, smoldering and smoking from the blast. But amidst all that destruction, Nidoqueen seemed unfazed by the attack, as if it never connected.
"H-How…"
"I told you Red," Giovanni sighed, walking up to his Nidoqueen and placing a hand on her shoulder, "An electric type doesn't stand a chance against a ground type. Face it, you've lost. Nidoqueen, finish off that rodent!"
A wave of horror flooded my entire being as I saw Nidoqueen using her tail to leap high into the air. If I wasn't in a battle of my life right now, I'd be amazed at Nidoqueen's twenty meter high jump. At the top of the jump, Nidoqueen began spinning, and like a bullet, darted straight for Pika.
The intense ringing of my alarm pierced the quiet night like a knife through warm butter. I jolted up, panting and sweating heavily. It took forever for me to calm myself down.
"Just… Just a dream…"
Even so, it was never that detailed. It was more like a nightmare than a dream, but it kept me wondering. I defeated Giovanni when I was eleven and again earlier this year! So why was I dreaming of me in a losing battle against him?
I tried to wipe away the sweat that was rolling down my forehead, failing miserably due to my hand being completely outnumbered by the droplets. Glancing at the clock on the wall, I saw it was eleven forty-seven. Not panting as heavily, I grabbed the glass on my nightstand, got out of bed, filled it up and drank it all in one go. It was then that I noticed my phone ringing. Frustrated at being called so late in the night, I picked it up.
"You know what time it is? This better be good or el—"
"It's good to hear you too, Red."
I nearly dropped my phone at the sound of his voice. Fear like never before crept up my spine and overpowered every single cell in my body. I gulped, steadying my breathing.
"H-How? You were beaten! I defeated you! Twice!"
"I was down, yes, but I was never out."
"The deal's off and you know that!" I began yelling, anger had begun to overflow me as well. How did he even get my phone number to begin with? I shook that thought out of my head for the time being, "I beat you all the way back then, so you can't just come calling me out of nowhere now, lest so in the middle of the night!"
"Oh, but I'm not calling you for that Red"
"Then… why…?" If he didn't call me to try and persuade me into—
"I'm calling you to persuade you to join me."
Okay, scratch that thought. My blood began boiling again and I needed a few breaths just to prevent my voice from trembling, "You know I won't join you, so don't waste both of our time. Give it up Giovanni!"
"On the contrary, Red, I have something that might actually persuade you to join me after all."
"Sure you do, and my name is—"
"Red? RED!"
I froze. I'd recognize that voice anywhere. Two questions directly popped up in my head: 'Why involve her?' and 'Is she alright?'
"So what'll it be Red?"
"You snake!" I hissed, trying to convey how angry I was at him. Doubt it'll work, but who knows? Worth a shot right? "Too scared to face me like a man so you went on and kidnapped someone to bait me out?"
"Clever boy, but you're mistaken with two things. One, I'm not baiting you, I'm offering a trade: her safety for your membership. And two, I'm not afraid of you Red. You're the one who's afraid of what I'll do to her if you're not here in an hour!"
A moment of silence followed. There was no way I was joining Team Rocket, but then, if I didn't… I clenched my fists, barely aware at how my nails dug deep in the flesh of my palms. She didn't deserve to get hurt because of me. There was only one thing left to do…
"… F… Fine… Where?"
"I'm disappointed in you… surely the great Red from Pallet Town would have tried to fight his way out of this problem now wouldn't he?"
"Just… tell me… where you are…" I hissed through gritted teeth. Was it really this difficult to talk to him? My mind wandered to a certain red head trainer from the Johto region, but who was born in Viridian also, and I couldn't help but feel sorry for him that he had a father like this…
"Meet me in the forest bordering Viridian City's western borders. You better come here fast and without your Pokémon or I can't guarantee anyone's safety."
"Don't you dare hu—"
But the line was dropped before I could finish my threat. I threw my phone at the wall in anger and watched as it broke in a million tiny little pieces. I sighed, calming down, before reluctantly getting dressed. I left my Pokéballs on my nightstand, but couldn't help but crouch down to eye level to talk to them one more time.
"I'll be gone for a little while, and no, I don't know when I'll be back, but I know I can't bring you guys with me," I muttered to my Pokémon through the Pokéballs. I bit the inside of my cheek. Hard. The pain snapped me out of my daze, "I'd leave you in the care of someone else, but seeing as it is this late, I doubt anyone would be happy to see me at their front door right now. Take care guys!"
With that, I stood up and, hands still balled into fists, left my house, making sure that I locked every door and closed every window. A cool yet gentle breeze invited me to the open. I sighed, before looking up. Despite the circumstances, I still smiled seeing the sky. Green was right about today, the full lunar eclipse was beautiful. I found myself gazing up at it for who knows how long. After a while, I reluctantly tore my gaze from the moon and started walking towards Viridian. Only one thought repeated throughout my mind over and over again.
I'm coming for you, and you're going to pay Giovanni!
-= 3rd Person POV =-
Two weeks have passed since the night of the lunar eclipse, and Pallet Town has prospered so much it would be hardly recognizable from what it used to be only a decade ago. Today, however, it was nice and quiet, the sky being of a clear yet deep blue color and hardly any white, cotton-like clouds were visible anywhere. That is when a lone figure hanging onto a midnight blue, almost black bird, which people would wonder how it could support its trainer's weight, appeared into view. The bird's eyes were as red as the hair of the boy he was carrying.
The two descended in front of the biggest building in the area, the lab of the renowned Professor Oak. Letting go of the bird's talons, the boy thanked it before returning it to the Pokéball. Dusting off his shirt, the red head walked into the building after knocking on the door.
"Ha! Told you he's late, so YOU pay up!"
"Gold, for the one hundredth and twenty third time… Silver was the first one here. I asked him to go and look for the two that are late. That reminds me Silver, any luck?"
"Sorry, no, I couldn't find either of them…"
"Maybe they finally got the balls to confess and are now on a date~"
"Senior Blue, with all due respect, I don't think now's the time for matchmaking."
"For once I agree with Prissy Boy here, let those two seniors go at their own pace, they'll get there eventually."
"Just like you two? Just get a room already!"
"Alright, THAT'S IT!"
Over the cacophony of noises and conversations between the young trainers, one person stood there, arms crossed and eyes closed in irritation. Silver couldn't really blame him, as he was starting to get a headache himself. Looking around, he saw his fellow Pokédex holders: his senior Green who quieted the room earlier, his 'older sister' Blue, his fellow Johto peers Gold and Crystal and his very loud Hoenn juniors Ruby, Sapphire and Emerald. It was lucky, or perhaps not, that those three were visiting the Kanto region when they were all called upon to meet up this day.
"Since we can't find those two, we'll just start without them," Green said irritated. The air suddenly tensed up, some people visibly moved a bit away from the brunet and many gulped, "I doubt anyone here knows why you're here right?"
Everybody but Green and Crystal shook their head with a blank expression. Green sighed before he continued, "Alright… guess I have to fill you guys in then…"
"Wait!" everybody turned to the source of the sound, seeing the amber eyed boy from New Bark Town in the Johto region, "Senior Red and Straw Hat Gal aren't here yet, so shouldn't we wait for them? And where the hell is the old man anyway?"
"Watch your mouth Gold!" Crystal scolded, smacking him on the back of his head. This, of course, resulted in a yelp of pain from the boy. Putting both her hands on her hips, the navy haired pigtailed girl glared at the slightly taller boy, "Professor Oak is a busy man and he'll be here soon. And show some respect to Senior Yellow! She's over a year older than you for crying out loud!"
"And Gold… that's my grandfather you're disrespecting there," the extreme calmness in Green's voice was so scary that even Silver backed away from him. A few moments of silence before Green, sighing once more, got started, "I don't know where Red or Yellow are, and quite frankly I couldn't care less, but we need them here. While waiting for them I'll fill you guys in on what's been happening recently. Lately, there have bee—"
Green was interrupted with the door being opened. With their attention divided, the eight teenagers turned to the door opening, only to see a lone boy entering the lab. About the same height as Green, his jet black hair was long enough to reach his shoulders, some bangs covering his forehead and framing his face, all the way down to his jaw. Wearing a dark green jacket and black pants, Silver could feel an air of confidence and strength being emanated from him.
"So this is the lab of the great Professor Oak from Pallet Town… not bad, not bad at all," the boy said to himself, obviously impressed by the lab. He didn't seem to notice the trainers in the room before he was only a few meters away from them, "Oh, is this a private party? If it is, I'll be coming back later to meet the professor."
"Who are you and why are you here?" Green demanded, stepping forward. The other Pokédex holders took a defensive stance as well, lining up on either side of Green, Pokéballs in their hands, "You have no right to just barge in here uninvited! Answer me!"
"Hey hey, calm down there," the boy held up both hands to try and calm down the other trainers but was only mildly successful, if at all, "You know, where I come from, you're only allowed to ask those kind of things after you've introduced yourself. You want that information from me, you're going to have to give the same information to me."
"Fine…" Green huffed, getting a few surprised stares from others, including Blue, "My name is Green Oak. I'm—"
"Professor Oak's grandson, a Pokédex Holder, runner up to the ninth Pokémon League tournament held at the Indigo Plateau and the Viridian City Gym Leader," the mystery boy interrupted, getting several perplexed looks from the people across him. He smiled, "Am I right? If so, is it safe to assume that all of you are Pokédex Holders as well?"
"If you already knew…" Green's eye twitched in anger. Blue backed away three steps, knowing full well how dangerous Green can be when angered enough, "Then why would you need to ask… you know what? Forget it. You already know who we are, so tell us who you are. I'll need to forcefully show you the way out if you don't."
"Whoa, hold your Ponytas there, finalist. It's true I knew about Green Oak and the Pokédex Holders," the boy laughed, putting both his hands in his pockets, "It's also true that I didn't know that Green Oak was you until just a few moments ago. I'm only here to meet your grandpa, nothing more nothing less. So where is he?"
"You know what? You're starting to get on my nerves! Are you a trainer?" Gold suddenly exclaimed loudly. The newcomer was surprised at his outburst at first but nodded all the same, "Then we'll battle! We win, you go. You win, we'll help you out. How about it, tough guy? Feel strong enough?"
"Gold…" Crystal warned, but said boy ignored her warning completely.
"Fine with me, on two conditions," the boy shrugged, taking out a Dive Ball and a Luxury Ball from his belt, "I only fight one of you one-on-one. Otherwise, I'll force my way through."
The Pokédex Holders huddled together to discuss the recent events and to try and figure out a strategy to defeat him.
"I'm NOT going to battle ANYONE!" Ruby exclaimed frantically, not getting any surprised responses from anyone, "My Pokémon's fur will get dirty and I just groomed them!"
"Stop being such a sissy, sissy!" Sapphire punched Ruby in the face, causing the boy to fly through the room a few meters. Turning back to the group, the brunette grinned, "I can take him! I'll fight him seniors!"
"What if he has a Salamance, huh?" Emerald pointed out, causing Sapphire to shudder at the memory, "Then what? Oh, I know, you'll lose the battle almost by default, just like last time! Let me fight him. You just go and get a room with sissy pants there."
"Guys guys," Gold intervened before the argument could turn into a fight amongst the fellow trainers, "Stop fighting. I challenged him so I will fight him. And you better believe that I'm going to win!"
"Stop being so cocky Gold," Crystal pulled Gold back down from the table and slapped him across the face for good measures, "We don't know how strong that guy is, or which Pokémon he has! With Senior Red not here, Senior Green is our best bet of beating him."
"I second that," Blue joined in, looking more serious than ever, "Even that old hag of a Brinca said that Red and Green are equal in strength! Sure she might not be perfectly sane, but she did have a point! Green is strong, and I'm sure you can all agree that Green is the strongest one here right now so he should take a crack at him!"
"I won't hold back if he threatens anyone here, but I didn't come here to battle anyone," Silver stated, looking at the black head who was busy polishing his Pokéballs. Repressing the urge to shiver, he turned back to the group, "Green, I guess we're all counting on you."
"Alright then…" Green gave in, knowing that they needed the newcomer out of the lab as soon as possible. He stood up and walked to the waiting trainer, with the other Pokédex Holders following behind, "You're battling me. Follow me."
"This should be interesting." the boy muttered amusedly. He grabbed his Pokéballs, stood up and followed the Pokédex Holders.
They exited the lab and walked outside. After a minute or so of walking, the group of nine had reached an open space where the two trainers could battle it out. A clearing with trees surrounding it, the younger Pokédex Holders were surprised to see that the area was tiled.
"I'm not going easy on you!" Green announced while he grabbed his Pokéball of choice before throwing it in the air, "Charizard!"
In a bright flash of light, a reddish orange dragon emerged. His wide wings were both strong yet graceful and a strong red and orange flame was ignited on the end of his tail. Charizard let out a deafening roar the moment he landed on the ground.
"Charizard eh? Nice choice…" Green's opponent chuckled, before he enlarged his Dive Ball he was holding. Smiling at it, he glanced at the brunet on the other side, "Alright, Lapereo, you're up!"
The Dive Ball soared through the sky before it opened and revealed a plesiosaur-like creature with a hard, grey shell on its back. It made a huge thud when it landed on the ground, before turning its head to the fire starter across from it. No Pokédex was needed to identify the Lapras.
"This is bad," Ruby muttered from the sidelines. All of them knew why, so his explanation that followed was almost pointless, "That thing got quite a good type advantage against Senior Green's Charizard!"
"We know that fashion lad," Gold said, ignoring the comments in reply to his nickname from said boy, "But Green should be just fine. Even senior Red has trouble beating that guy!"
"Charizard! Roast that thing with Fire Blast!" Green commanded, taking the first move of the battle.
Charizard roared while the flame on his tail grew brighter and bigger. A second of silence and a red-hot fireball erupted from Charizard's mouth. The fireball changed shape to look like a fiery starfish and went straight for Lapras.
"Fire Blast, eh? Interesting opening move," the newcomer muttered to himself while grinning. He then looked up and made a command of his own, "Alright Lapereo, Hydro Pump! Gamma Four!"
"What?" Blue yelled loud enough for everybody in the area to hear.
Lapras opened its mouth wide and a high pressured stream of water came from its mouth. What shocked everybody but Lapras' trainer was that Lapras had aimed the Hydro Pump straight on the ground. The water bounced off the area, creating a barrier which doused the Fire Blast without much effort, leaving Lapras without a single wound.
"Using an offensive move in a defensive way like that," Green began, slightly dumbfounded how Charizard's Fire Blast was so easily beaten, "I admit I'm impressed."
"The great and proud Green Oak is actually complimenting me!" the newcomer laughed while holding his sides to try and hold back his laughter, "You know, if you weren't battling with me right now I'd probably had recorded it to show the people back home!"
"This guy is good," Silver commented, his eyes never once leaving the battlefield. His comment resulted in a few stares causing him to shuffle slightly, uncomfortable with the attention he was getting, "Even though he has the advantage, he's playing it safe and keeping watch to see what his opponent can do. Lapras are also known to be more defensive than offensive anyway, and he trained his very well. Also, the power of that Hydro Pump… I've never seen any Water type attack like it… It's on par with the power of my Hydro Cannon! Green has a tough battle ahead of him…"
'This guy can use Hydro Pump to defend, so any Fire type move is useless.' Green thought to himself, trying to find a way to defeat the Water/Ice type Pokémon in front of him. 'That means I have to get in close if I want to deal any damage, but that could give him the chance to attack me from close up, thus dealing a lot of damage as well. This guy is real good, with just one move he has cornered me this much… Red… what would you do in this situation…?'
"It really takes this much to push you to your limits?" Lapras' trainer taunted, "I'm truly disappointed… if I had known that I would have defeated you faster."
"Who says I'm at my limits?" Green shouted back, only to get a grin in response. Angered, Green turned to his fiery dragon-like Pokémon, "Charizard! Get in there and use Steel Wing!"
Charizard's wings turned a bright white as he took to the skies. With a loud roar, he started to head straight for Lapras.
"Alright Lapereo, let's go with Ice Beam! Delta Eight!"
Lapras faced straight up and opened his mouth. A ball of bluish white light appeared as Lapras shot the Ice Beam straight into the air. At about thirty meters high, the Ice Beam diverged and created arrows of ice that rained down in a dome like formation around Lapras, creating a semi barrier that stopped Charizard in his tracks.
"Not just Hydro Pump but also Ice Beam in a defensive way like that?" Sapphire exclaimed, more surprised than ever, "Man… if this battle's over, he'd better teach me a thing or two!"
"This battle has lasted long enough!" Green said angrily, pointing straight at Lapras, "Charizard! End this with Blast Burn!"
Numerous gasps from the audience, as Charizard's tail flame almost exploded due to the power surge. Opening his mouth as wide as it could, the beast let loose a stream of all powerful, bluish white flames that headed straight for Lapras. Unlike the Fire Blast from earlier, the Blast Burn attack remained in a stream, but it was so hot it actually melted the tiles under it. This time, however, not only didn't Lapras move, but his trainer made no move or command.
The inferno exploded upon reaching Lapras, and thick smoke was still going into the open air the moment everybody turned back to the battlefield. Charizard came back down on the ground, exhausted but still standing. Lapras was still obscured from view by the smoke.
"A big risk, but a risk that was well worth it in the end," Green smirked, slightly panting. It was quiet from everybody else, too shocked to respond, "This battle is over!"
"For once, I agree with you… this battle is over." The newcomer said, head down. He then looked up and Green was shocked that he was grinning, "But it isn't over for me! Lapereo!"
Lapras' cry sounded loud and clear, and the smoke started to clear. Green's eyes widened as he saw a light green, almost transparent bubble around Lapras. Said Pokémon was unharmed.
"Pro…tect…" Green said lifelessly, "Your Lapras… knows Protect…?"
"You got that right!" Green's opponent exclaimed cheerfully as he pointed at Charizard, "Blast Burn is indeed powerful but forces the user to rest up after using it! That makes Charizard a sitting duck! Lapereo, now! Hydro Pump Alpha Seven!"
Lapras made a loud shriek as it opened its mouth for the third time. A high powered, high pressured stream of water was fired straight at Charizard. This Hydro Pump was nearly three times as powerful as the previous one.
"Quick! Use Protect!"
Something jumped in the line of the Hydro Pump and took the attack head on. When the water had subsided, it appeared to be a Wigglytuff. Green snapped his head to the crowd, where everybody was looking at one person.
"As you said, this battle is over… Green lost," Blue said calmly, walking up to the Wigglytuff and petting her head, "He lost the moment Blast Burn failed to defeat your Lapras, and as promised, we will help you out. But before that, couldn't you at least tell us who you are so we know how to call you?"
"Pesky woman…" Green muttered under his breath. By the time the other Pokédex Holders had reached the center of the battlefield, Green had returned his Charizard, "Thank you Charizard."
"Well, I guess that's only fair after all…" the newcomer shrugged, petting his Lapras for a job well done. He returned him back into his Dive Ball before returning back to the crowd in front of him, "I headed to Pallet Town because I was told that Professor Oak knew where to find what I was looking for."
"Senior Blue asked you who you were, so please don't dodge the question," Crystal stated politely yet sternly, "And what exactly are you looking for?"
"My name is Mirza," the newcomer, Mirza, stated. His rather confident and relaxed demeanor from before disappeared like snow in the sun, replaced with an air of seriousness and urgency, "And I'm looking for the Guardian of the Viridian Forest."
Alright, that is everything for now. I know I'm leaving you hanging with a cliffhanger (third one today!), but that will only give you more reason to get back to my story again next time right? Anyway, Mirza is my OC who is loosely based, both in appearance and behavior, by several other characters from other franchises I like. Is he a good guy? Is he a bad guy? Who or what is this so called "Guardian of the Viridian Forest"? Why is he looking for this "Guardian of the Viridian Forest"? How is Mirza so powerful that he beat Green without breaking a sweat? What is his history? What are his other Pokémon? What happened to Red? And to Yellow for that matter? Will I ever stop asking questions? Who knows anymore these days?
If everything goes well, the next chapter should be up in between one or two weeks. I know it is at a slightly slower pace than my other stories but for one, Crimson Sunlight is based on an already established product, and two, I'm just super stoked for this one and want to put in a lot of effort into it. Not that I don't put any effort in the others, it's just that I've been looking forward to writing this one down for so very long that I want it to be perfect (or at least as close to the definition of that word).
Again, like all my others, feel free to favorite, follow and review this story; it really means a lot to me!