THE FOREVER TRILOGY: THE RESTORED FILES
~NEVERMORE~
Chapter 1: The Beginning
UNKNOWN
Hundreds of years ago—no, more like thousands—the world was at peace. Humans and pokémon lived together, working towards the future. It seemed like nothing could destroy the unity between them. With no more threats, the Pokédex Holders were able to settle down in this serenity. They married and had children. All was well. The last problem they ever had to deal with has been erased by time, with only certain people knowing about it. I'm one of them, naturally.
However, a mysterious organization known merely as the Syndicate lurked in the shadows, going about their business in such a low profile that nearly no one knew about them. When some of the children of the Pokédex holders disappeared, no one knew why. But because they did, no one was around to stop the Syndicate. In only a day, the Indigo League was overthrown, and Hoenn and Sinnoh soon followed. But Unova fought back, led by the Heroes of Truth and Ideals, and managed to stay free. Kalos and Alola were too far away for the Syndicate to touch, due to Groudon combining Kanto, Johto, Hoenn, Sinnoh, and Unova together into one mass continent in a freak incident.
Survivors of the coup d'état fled to Unova, to live under the protection of the Unova League. They formed a rebellion against the Syndicate, only to mysteriously disappear nearly two decades later. Centuries later, in the year 3800, a young man appeared out of nowhere, promising the people of Kanto, Johto, Hoenn, and Sinnoh freedom from the oppressive Syndicate. He gained followers, and built an army. By 3803, the Syndicate was overthrown and a new era began.
The young man formed the Government, setting down its headquarters on a ravaged Indigo Plateau. He then built himself a castle in what had once been Pallet Town. The whole world loved him, and once again it looked like things would return to normal—back to the old days, when humans and pokémon lived together and helped each other. But that was not the case.
Though the Government did not pass a law making pokémon illegal, they produced propaganda of the "truth" about pokémon—that they were dangerous beasts that could not be trusted. As the years went by, the people began to believe it. Slowly but surely, fewer and fewer children became trainers. The reopened Pokémon Centers shut down, as did the Gyms. The trainers that refused to give up their pokémon were shunned. Any child who became a trainer was a disgrace to their family and these children were often disowned. And not a single law was passed. Only Unova refused to follow the Government, and the region had a very tense relationship with its neighbors.
In 3815, a younger trainer decided he could not live in the current anti-pokémon world. So he gathered his friends and traveled to Mount Silver, the largest mountain in the world that no one dared go near. They spent their whole lives turning the mountain into a sanctuary for trainers. However, as the years passed, the Government saw this sanctuary as a possible threat, especially since they were so close by. So they dubbed the refuge the Resistance, claiming these trainers sought out the fall of the Government. The people began to hate trainers and pokémon even more.
Soon, the Resistance decided they would do what the Government seemed to want them to—rebel. Under new leadership, they changed their whole structure, and began to prepare to go on the offensive. They had finally had enough of the deceit and lies.
But the Government's leader, President Synis, was more than ready for the change. He was preparing to make his move, to set in motion his true plan for the whole world. And it was nothing the regions would ever be prepared for.
War was imminent, and already the scheme was set in motion... Synis set up everything. Even if things seemed to go our way for a while, it was all a part of his plan. He was always in control. He was the reason for all the tragedies we had suffered.
My name is Topaz Rosso, and this is not just my story—this is the story of my friends as much as it is mine. Everything is leading up to the final battle, when we will confront Synis and serve the judgement he deserves. I hope to deliver it myself.
It all began three years ago, when I was still just a kid.
Saturday, September 1st, 4998.
I did not want to do this.
I did not want to leave everything I knew, just to move to a lame small town in the middle of nowhere because my dad got a new job. I guess I should have been happy, but I had never moved before and I liked it here in Goldenrod.
Back then I was known as Topaz King, and I was just fifteen years old. I had lived in Goldenrod City, Johto for most of my life, if you haven't figured that out already. My family was moving to Twinleaf Town in the state of Sinnoh, which was situated north of Unova,. Kanto was on the west of Unova, and Johto was on the east. Hoenn was south of Unova. Because Unova wanted nothing to do with us, the Magnet Train was used to connect Kanto and Johto together once again.
Today was the day we were leaving. We would be riding the Magnet Train, seeing as our stuff had already been sent to Sinnoh and put in our new house. We even had a hovercar waiting for us. The train wouldn't be leaving for a few minutes, and I was secretly praying to Arceus that my best friend for as long as I could remember would come to say goodbye.
His name was, as I knew at the time, Chase Black, and we had grown up together. Though, five years ago, when we were only ten, he became a pokémon trainer—I would have been able to do the same thing if my parents weren't such asses and hadn't said no—and left to travel the world. I hadn't seen him much since, and he only recently stopped by for a visit last month.
He had changed a lot, but I still considered him my best friend. We had known each other for too long for that to change so suddenly.
I was standing in the lobby outside the terminal that led to the Magnet Train, with my arms crossed over my irritatingly flat chest, chewing on my bottom lip as I waited for him. Some people were glancing at me, which was annoying as hell. Why couldn't they just mind their own damn business?
I was turning around a little so I could move, when I heard him call my name.
"Topaz!"
I whipped around towards the entrance, and there he was.
Chase held a striking resemblance to the Pokédex holder named Black Kuro. He had messy, shaggy brown hair styled similarly to Black's, just longer, and brown eyes. He was tall, standing at five foot nine already, absolutely dwarfing me, as I stood at barely four foot nine and a half—yes, the half mattered to me. He was dressed to travel, with a red, white, and black baseball cap resting on his head. He probably had his poké balls stowed away in his pack so no one could see.
"Chase!" I exclaimed with relief once he finally reached me. "You came!"
"Of course," he said, like he was saying No duh, with a roll of his eyes. "You're leaving. Sinnoh's... not the best place for trainers. So... I probably won't be able to see you."
Well, fuck. That sucked a lot. "What? Seriously?" I scowled. "Ugh, whatever."
"Relax, Topaz," he told me with a light laugh, shaking his head at me. "It's for the best. And it's not like we're not ever gonna see each other again."
"Have you met my parents?" I deadpanned. "They're so damn paranoid about pokémon. Especially my mom. She freaks even when a fucking ratatta sneaks into the apartment. And now we're going to be in the country. I hate it so damn much."
He sighed, before giving me a playful smirk and reaching down to ruffle my hair. "Seriously, relax! It'll be fine! Y'know, you might even get to meet a pokémon out in the country! Then you could join me! It'd be great!"
If only I knew then what I would be getting into...
"Hey!" I snapped, swatting his hand away, making him laugh. "Don't mess up my hair, it's already messy enough as it is!" I glared at him as I tried to flatten out the spikes behind my bangs again. "Yeah, sure, like that's gonna happen. How the hell could I even get near a pokémon when my parents won't even let me go anywhere outside of this damn city? I bet they won't let me step an inch outside of Twinleaf."
"Hey, haven't you ever tried sneaking out, dumbass?"
"...Where have you been the past ten years?" I huffed. "Of course I have, and it never works!"
"...Right," he said, like he was finally remembering. "Well, I dunno what to tell you, Topaz. I guess you're just stuck." But then he seemed to think of something as he folded his arms behind his head. "But, y'know... You could always run away with me."
...What...?
...What did he just say?
Did he seriously just suggest that?
...Actually, when I thought about that, it wasn't such a bad idea. It sounded really good right about now. I could finally get away from my annoying family and be... free.
But, I couldn't do that right now... not without leaving everything I owned behind. And I didn't want to do that. I wanted a fresh start, but not completely from scratch.
"Sorry," I said with a sigh. "But not right now..."
He looked down at me, obviously disappointed. "I understand." He lowered his arms to his sides again. "Well, I should be going."
"...Yeah, me too," I agreed; my parents were probably getting pissed right about now. "Well, see you later, Chase."
We both turned to leave. This would probably be the last time we would see each other for a long time, if not for forever. I didn't want to think about that, but I needed to face the reality of my situation already.
"Yeah... Bye, Topaz."
And with that, we both walked away, heading to our separate destinations. I figured Chase was headed back to Mount Silver, where the Resistance was. I, of course, had to board the Magnet Train to go to Twinleaf. We were both in different parts of our lives, though I doubted I would ever get to where he was.
Oh, how wrong I was.
Moving to Twinleaf would set in motion everything that would not only change my life forever, but the world as well. But there was no time to regret. Though now, part of me wishes I never got involved...
The ride on the Magnet Train lasted a bit longer than usual, since we were crossing over Unova and all, but was still relatively quick. I sat near the window, watching as the landscape breezed by. The Magnet Train was wicked fast, traveling almost at the speed of sound now, gliding elegantly above the tracks that were high up on the platform. Timothy, my little brother, bugged me to let him get a view, and I had to push him away from me several times before our mother got mad and made me give up my seat.
Right now, the Magnet Train was slowing to a stop at the station in Jubilife City.
"All right, kids," Mom said, tucking some of her brown hair behind her ear. "Get your things! It's almost time to go!"
Timothy, unlike me, wasn't really bothered by moving. He was ten, after all, so it wasn't that big of a fucking deal to him.
"Too slow!" the annoying runt yelled at me, a devious smirk on his face.
"Shut up," I retorted, shoving him down by his head, messing up his light brown hair. "Go get your own crap."
"Topaz!" Mom snapped, shooting me a look as the Magnet Train halted. "Don't treat your brother like that!"
Timothy stuck his tongue out at me, having gotten his stuff from above, and made a beeline away from us, following our dad. He was fucking smart. I was gonna kick his annoying little ass later. I loved my brother, but sometimes he really made me question why. He was such a little twit, and he got away with lots of crap because he was five years younger than me.
"Come on," Mom said, handing me my suitcase from above like she had done with my brother; we were both too short to reach. "We don't want to keep your father waiting."
"Yeah, yeah," I grumbled, heading down the aisle of the Magnet Train.
The air was cool and crisp when I stepped outside, and it wasn't quite as dirty as Goldenrod's was. The area out here was more rural, though once you got to Eterna, it really got bustling. Dad and Timothy were waiting for us by the entrance to the terminal. We joined them, and went inside. It took a few moments, but we got our passports checked and such, and were finally let go. The Government always monitored the people who traveled throughout the regions for reasons at the time I did not quite understand.
Our hovercar was waiting outside for us, parked at the side of the road. Speaking of roads, they were a lot different than they were in the past. They still were made of asphalt, but the actual roads were rarely ever used anymore, unless you walked or had a bike. They had roads in the air for the hovervehicles. These sky roads were managed by peacekeepers that rode around on hoverbikes. There were also floating, flashing tiles that helped keep everything in order and easier to navigate.
"Okay, let's get going!" Dad exclaimed cheerfully, flashing us a warm smile. "We're almost to Twinleaf and our new house!"
"Yaaaay," I cheered sarcastically. "I'm so excited!"
"Topaz!" my mother snapped. "Don't be rude to your father."
Ugh, that woman was always telling me what to do. It was so damn annoying. I wished she would just leave me alone sometimes. I was always the one who did something wrong in here eyes. Timothy was the perfect one who never ever misbehaved. It was way too obvious who their favorite child was. Back then, I really wondered what I did to make them disapprove so much. I knew now, but...
I gritted my teeth, fighting back a rude remark that would get me into even more trouble. "Can we just go now?" I asked.
"I wanna go already!" Timothy whined.
"Shut up, squirt, no one asked you!" I snapped.
"Make me, midget!" he challenged.
"Maybe I will!" I threatened, lifting my clenched fist threateningly.
"That's it! I've had enough of you today!" my mom exclaimed. "Both of you, in the car, now!"
Timothy smirked at me as if to say "You're in soooo much trouble," before opening the back seat door and climbing in. I glared at him before walking around to the other side and getting in myself. Our parents got in the front seats, my dad behind the wheel, and then we were off. The hovercar roared to life, pushing itself up off the ground, the hover mechanism kicking it. Dad pushed the steering wheel upward, and we rose up into the air.
I looked everywhere but inside the car as we flew. I took the time to cool down. I sighed to myself as I watched the scenery go by below us. Soon the cityscape faded away to rural landscape. I had never seen so much green before in my life. It was... beautiful. Maybe... it wouldn't be so bad living out here. And maybe... I could find a pokémon... and join Chase. Eventually.
But was it really worth it, giving up everything and everyone I loved, to become a pokémon trainer? I wasn't even sure if I would like pokémon. And, surprisingly, I didn't see any pokémon around as we flew by. I thought they were supposed to live in nature, in rural areas.
Finally, we arrived in Twinleaf Town. The town wasn't large enough to have high skyways, so we had to lower our altitude, soaring a couple hundred feet above the road, where people walked, rode on bikes, and even drove some old cars. I stared out the window in fascination; I had never seen anything like this before in my life.
Or... had I?
Why... did this seem familiar? It was this vague feeling tugging at the back of my mind... An intense sensation of déjà vu.
What the fuck was wrong with me? Why was I feeling this way?
If only I knew back then... If I knew the truth, I might not ever have set in motion the path to destruction of everything and everyone I cared about...
The hovercar pulled to a halt in front of a two story white house surrounded by a white picket fence. It lowered itself into the driveway, and then my dad shut it off. We all sat in silence for a moment or two.
"...We're here," said Mom, sounding astonished. "We're finally here."
"Wow..." breathed Timothy, his brown eyes wide. "The house is really pretty! They sure don't look like that back in Goldenrod!"
Dad chuckled, amused. "Of course. Sinnoh has a different style than Johto. Since it's farther away from the Government, they can keep more of their traditional architecture."
So, here in Sinnoh... the Government's grip was looser? Huh.
"But didn't you say they were rebuilding the military base here?" Mom inquired, frowning slightly.
...What?!
"They're rebuilding the fort here?" I blurted. "What happened to it?!"
"Nothing happened," Dad replied evenly. "They just decided to knock it down and build it again with updated technology. Supposedly there's been a tech breakthrough up in the capital."
Huh... Well, that definitely meant that Chase couldn't come here. If he got caught, I would never forgive myself.
"Enough about that!" Mom exclaimed, obviously in a much better mood. "Let's head inside!"
"Yeah!" Timothy cheered, abruptly unbuckling his seat belt.
We all got out, and while Timothy went inside with our mother, I stayed out with Dad to help him with the luggage. I got along with him better than Mom for various reasons. I wasn't the strongest person in the world, but I managed to help him somewhat. When we got inside, my little brother was running around, looking at everything in awe.
"Topaz, you should see everything!" he exclaimed, running up to me, actually being civil. "This place is so huge! And so white and clean! And can you smell the air?! Mom says it's pine!"
Indeed, I had smelled a strange, clean scent as soon as we entered Twinleaf. So it was pine trees, then, from what I learned in science? There weren't any of those kinds of trees in Johto, so of course we had never seen one, let alone smelled one before.
"This place is great!" he grinned.
I couldn't help but smile and laugh. "Yeah, I guess it's not so bad."
Sunday, September 2nd, 4998.
The next day came rather quickly after we spent most of our time unpacking. My room turned out rather well. It was a lot bigger than my old one, with a walk-in closet of all things, and my own bathroom. Okay, so Twinleaf was turning out to be not so bad after all. I could make the most of this, right? A brand new start couldn't be that bad... I just needed to stay positive about it, instead of whining all the time.
"Mom?" I called, entering the kitchen where she was at work. "I was wondering... Can I go walk around town and check things out?"
My mother finished hanging the old fashioned clock on the wall, and turned around to face me. "It's too dangerous. I've heard that pokémon wander into town from time to time. So, no, you may not."
...Of fucking course.
She never let me do anything by myself. It was like she thought I was incapable of taking care of myself. Like a fucking pokémon in a fucking town surrounded by fucking people was going to hurt me! She was so damn paranoid about every damn thing! She always thought about the negative side, never the positive. She didn't think I might, I don't know, meet someone my age. It would be really nice if I could make a friend before actually having to start school, you know? But nope. She had to make everything so damn difficult.
"...Mom," I said, forcing myself to try to stay civil. "There are peacekeepers all around, right? I'll be safe even if a pokémon wanders by. And I don't think they go around attacking random people anyways."
"You don't know that," she said sternly. "Pokémon are dangerous, wild, unpredictable creatures that can't be trusted! Haven't you been paying attention in school?"
I sighed aggravatingly, brushing back my bangs like I always did when I was irritated. "Mom please, would you just let me do one simple thing for once? I'm not a little kid anymore! I'm fifteen years old, Mom!"
"You are still a child, Topaz," she said. "Unless you prove yourself worthy of being treated like an adult, I will treat you like one. My words are final."
Was she fucking serious? Not only did I look like a kid, but she was going to treat me like one? I knew it wasn't like I was eighteen or anything, but still! Ugh, I couldn't stand this. Where could I go to get some damn respect around here? Maybe I wouldn't be so upset if it wasn't always me getting this treatment.
"Well, I'm going anyways!" I exclaimed defiantly, turning around and heading out of the kitchen. "And you can't stop me!"
"Topaz King, don't you dare!" she snapped from behind me. "What is wrong with you?!"
"You don't give me any freedom!" I retorted back before storming right out the front door and slamming it behind me.
...I was so going to pay for that, but it was too late now.
I headed down the stairs, onto the front lawn, and then the street. I looked around, wondering where I should go first. The street I was on was pretty vacant and quiet. There was no one on the road, or above in any hovervehicles. It was... peaceful; something I wasn't quite used to. Goldenrod was always so busy.
Well, I might as well just wander around and take my time. I wasn't eager to go back inside anytime soon. I sighed to myself, and began to head down the street. I adjusted my hoodie, zipping it up a bit when a crisp breeze blew by, ruffling my ponytail. I reached up to try to pat down my annoying hair spikes, or at least fix them from the wind making them wilder.
I stuffed my hands into my pockets, my sneakers scraping on the asphalt beneath me as I walked along. Soon I found myself next to a stretch of trees and bushes. I looked at them as I went by, admiring the greenery. I was still a bit surprised that nothing was turning colors for fall yet. It still seemed like summer here.
Suddenly, the boughs of one of the trees began to rustle. I watched as something purple appeared, and dropped down from the tree. I stared, startled to see a girl about my age stand up from a crouch. She had wavy, bright purple hair that went down to her shoulders, and eyes of the same color. She was wearing a cropped, white and violet striped shirt and ragged, ripped jean short shorts, with no shoes on her feet. Her skin was tan and she was toned with muscle.
What the fuck was she doing in that tree?! Was everyone in Twinleaf like that?
She finally seemed to noticed me, narrowing her eyes. "What are you starin' at, kid?"
I scowled darkly. "I'm not a kid! I'm fifteen, thank you very much!"
Her eyes widened. "What? Seriously? Sorry..." She sighed, and walked down to the edge of the grass, stopping in front of me. "Who're you? I've never seen you around here before."
"I just moved here, that's why," I replied rather hotly, but I internally chided myself to calm down. "I'm Topaz King."
"Viola Murasaki," the purple girl said, holding out her hand. "Welcome to Twinleaf, I guess."
I took it, and we shook hands. She had a strong, firm grip.
"Thanks, I guess," I said.
She laughed, and grinned. "I think I'll like you. Say, are you from Johto? You sound like it."
I couldn't help but smile a little too. "Yeah, I am. Goldenrod City."
"Ah. I've never been there," she mused, stepping down onto the road. "Oh, I'm from Azalea Town. I moved here when I was ten. You'll get used to it after a while. Though for me it wasn't much of a change."
I was dwarfed, as usual, by Viola. She had to be about seven inches taller than me, more or less. But it made me feel better to see that she didn't really have that much of an impressive bust. She seemed to be more of the athletic, wilderness loving type, considering that she had been climbing a fucking tree a few minutes ago. That was a bit weird to me, to be honest.
"Well, I better get goin'," she said, turning to go. "I'm screwed if my folks find out I was out here again. Catch ya later, Topaz."
And with that, she headed off, still barefoot, and not bothered by it at all. I stared after her. Yeah, she was definitely weird as hell. I sure hoped not everyone in this damn town was that freaky. I mean, who wore clothes like that? At least she seemed to act normal.
I sighed, and started off again. I wandered down the street, and I noticed our house was closer to outside the town than I realized. We lived near the lake. That must have been why my mother had been so damn worried. But so far, I hadn't see a single pokémon, so I didn't really see what the big deal was.
Moments later, I found myself at the edge of town. I was so close to the outside world, the wilderness, where pokémon supposedly roamed free. I hesitated, wondering if I should go out or not. I could get in some serious shit, or have nothing happen at all. Maybe... I could find myself a pokémon so I could go join Chase and get away from all the trouble I would get into when I went home.
But was running away really the answer? I should just suck it up and take it. But...
I was still curious. Why were pokémon so bad in the first place? I couldn't understand it. I wanted to see them for myself. And in order to do that, I would have to go into their territory.
That settled it. I was going in. I was going to visit Lake Verity.
I took a deep breath to steel myself, and then stepped over the invisible borderline. I walked down the abandoned, overgrown dirt path. Long, thick bright green grass lined the sides of the path, with patches sparingly sprouting here and there in the dirt. This dirt road had not been used in a very long time. And still, I did not see a single pokémon. Where the hell were they?
I had to pass through a group of trees to get near the lake. And there it was, its sapphire blue waters gleaming in the sunlight. The lake was surrounded by golden sand, which turned to dirt, and then more long grass. Trees separated the area from the rest of the world. It looked so beautiful and serene, and there were no pokémon around here either.
...Did pokémon... even exist? Or were they just myths that were conjured up to scare everyone into staying away from nature? But then, how was Chase a trainer, along with so many other people? Where in the fucking world were all the damn pokémon?
I walked through the grass, onto the dirt, stopping on the sand in front of the rippling water, my sneakers sinking down. A cool breeze blew back my hair, and I could smell the clean, fresh water. It was nice here. It made me... calm. Nature... made me calm. I felt... at home... like I had always belonged here.
I crouched down to dip my fingers into the water of the lake. It was cool, lapping at my fingers gracefully. I smiled to myself. I really did like it here.
But then something happened.
The water several yards away from me began to ripple. I frowned as the ripples grew more violent. Lifting my fingers from the water, I began to stand back up. Suddenly, something monstrous burst from the lake. Water rained down from everywhere, some of it flinging on me. I looked up in horror at the monster before me.
A gigantic blue creature with a coiling, serpentine body towered above me, with blood red eyes and a wide, gaping jaw with sharp, elongated fangs. It glowered down at me, a deep, low growl emanating from its throat. I couldn't think. I could barely breathe. All I knew was that that monster was out to get me. It had a dangerous gleam in its eyes that terrified me to the bone.
Something began to charge inside its mouth, a glowing red light. Oh shit, that was not good, that was not fucking good at all! I stumbled backwards, tripping over myself, and fell down hard on my butt. But then something orange leaped in front of me.
"PIIIIIKAAAAACHUUUUUU!" it cried, golden voltage crackling from its red cheeks as a wicked bolt of electricity shot from its body, directed at the monster.
The sea serpent roared in pain as it was hit by the lightning bolt, its attack interrupted. It dropped like a rock, hitting the water with a large splash. Water splayed everywhere, and I was drenched. When the lake calmed down, the small orange creature with bright black eyes, red cheek pouches, brown back stripes, and a bolt-shaped tail turned around at face me.
"Fuckin' gyarados isn't about to get away with shit," it growled, scrunching up its nose. "Not on my fuckin' watch. Hey, aren't you gonna thank me? I just saved your sorry ass."
Hello everyone! For the longest time I was letting this sit here, collecting dust as I tried to find muse for the story I currently had. But, after months of deliberations and missing the sixth, seventh, and now eighth anniversaries of the Forever Trilogy, I decided to... well, rewrite the rewrite. I love the characters and story line too much to give up on it. But rather than delete this and republish it, I decided to keep this up for nostalgia's sake and just post the new rewritten chapters as I go. I promised you all I would finish this, and I intend to do so, even if it takes me five million years.
A lot of what you see may seem the same as the previous rewrite, but I am keeping what I can from it. But I will be adding a lot and changing a few things, the things that were draining my muse because I no longer liked them. So this will really be a rewrite of the rewrite. I also have to incorporate Sun and Moon, so look forward to that.
For those of you who are new, welcome! This is a remake of the original Forever Trilogy that I wrote years ago. You're welcome to check them out, but I don't recommend it. Also, Blue is male and Green is female. I would change it to the proper names but it's too late considering some major spoilers. So, please don't complain. Thank you, and I apologize for any confusion that this causes.
Reviews are greatly appreciated!