Chapter 000 - Prologue
AUTHOR NOTE: All the way back in 2009, while playing Pokémon Platinum, I couldn't help but make up my own backstory for my little PC, so I wrote it all down and now I'm sharing it. A lot of in-game dialogue and cutscenes will be included, so if you still haven't beaten the game after 10 years, SPOILER WARNING! I intended for the reading level of this fanfic to be about 5th-6th grade level, to better coincide with the game's script.
"RATTATA! Show the audience your Flamewheel attack!"
"Rrrrattaa!"
A whirlpool of orange flames surged around the body of a small purple mouse. I could feel the heat pulsating from the creature-it was not a trick. Mr. Fantastic was not a practitioner of illusions or magic. His show was real; Rattata, a normal type pokémon, was using a fire type attack. I could even see the floorboards of the stage under the Rattata begin to turn black with charcoal. I feared the whole caravan would catch fire, but just as easily as it had ignited, the Rattata put out his flames with a single swish of his tail.
"Rat-ta-taa!" it chirped towards the crowd.
"Ladies and gentlemen! I give you, the rarest Rattata in the world!" Mr. Fantastic knew how to please his crowd. He grinned big and allowed the crowd to cheer a few minutes longer and then stamped his foot on the stage. The floorboards buckled a bit as the center of the stage opened and rose to reveal a miniaturized obstacle course. Hoops made of ice, rope bridges made of vines and a Pachirsu powered wind machine stood ready to be traversed.
"Are you ready audience?" asked Mr. Fantastic the crowd, "Are you ready Rattata? Then on your mark, get set, IGNITE!"
Rattata burst into flames with its Flamewheel attack and jumped right into the course. The hoops made of ice melted as the small rodent jumped through, the vine bridges caught fire and disintegrated as it ran across, and the flames didn't even go out when put up against the powerful wind machine.
"Not even a Whirlwind attack can put out Rattata's flames!" yelled Mr. Fantastic, "And it could be yours along with the whole family!" he stamped his foot again and a short curtain behind the obstacle course rose to reveal twelve more Rattata lined up in a row. One by one, each Rattata caught fire with a Flamewheel attack, and with each passing ignition, the crowd grew louder. I believe this was the day that I fell in love with pokémon.
Most children find their love of pokémon early in life, but it took a few years for me to discover mine. I blame my hometown. I grew up in a quiet, dull little place called Twinleaf, near a secluded wild pokémon breeding ground. Wild adult Starly and Bidoof traveled from all over Sinnoh to start families near Lake Verity. During early spring, thousands of grey dots would litter the clouds for weeks and was really the only thing of any note in that place. Some people found the view spectacular, but having to live around the constant sqwaking of love struck Starly left most in the town pining for something more. For this reason, we welcomed the caravan circuit with opened arms. Not only did they provide us sheltered folks a show, they also offered many of their rare and exclusive pokémon for sale. Many in my town spent their life savings on one of these overpriced creatures. Why settle for a common Starly when they could train a Snubull or Dratini? I too set my heart on something more than just an average pokémon adventure. I waited and saved for the perfect starter pokémon to arrive, but for some reason, the caravans visited with less and less to offer.
At age eleven, I was well behind most kids who leave home to start their journeys and found myself doubting wether or not I was meant for an awesome adventure.