Arc 1: Crown of Lies
Two men stood facing each other in the remnants of a throne room. The two glared at each other wordlessly, their actions mirrored by the beasts in between them. The black cloaked man with spiked red hair cracked a grin.
"If you surrender now, I'll let you live out your life as an exile. I might even spare the remnants of your pitiful resistance. That is of course, if any of them are still alive. My betrothed can be very zealous when angered." Screams of pain and sounds of battle echoed into the room, driving home his words.
His opponent said nothing, hidden behind his suit of dark red armor. The massive charizard bellowed a roar and charged the much larger orange dragon. The dragonite bellowed back, catching the charizard's arm in its massive clawed hand.
"So be it. Never let it be said that Lance is not a merciful ruler. Dragonite, end this little game." Lance ordered.
The charizard pushed again, attempting to break free of the larger pokemon's grip. The dragonite gripped tighter, causing an audible crack from the wrist in its grasp. Charizard screamed in pain, unhinged its jaw and belched a stream of fire into the dragonite's scales. Unfazed by the flames, the dragonite ripped into fire drake's side, tearing through scales and muscle. With a terrifying bellow, the dragonite bit down and tore the charizard's arm from its body.
Charizard collapsed, blood streaming out of a massive wound in its side. It let out one last whimper, then went silent. The dragonite let out a triumphant roar, then turned on the red armored trainer. The massive beast stared down at the rebel, awaiting the final order.
"This is your last chance Red. Surrender or die." Lance said almost gleefully.
The man in red armour dropped to his knees, bowing his head. "I surrender." His voice was almost synthetic, clearly modified by some sort of machine. He held out a ball and tapped the button. A red light zapped to the prone charizard. It remained still, not de-materializing into the confines of its ball. Red slipped the ball back onto the holster on his chest.
Lance stepped forward, drawing closer to the man on his knees. "Be thankful that I did not kill you. I will not have it said that I am not a merciful man." Lance circled him, glaring at the red armour. He finally stepped forward, bringing himself face to face. Lance dropped to one knee, resting a hand on the red mask.
Lance pulled on the mask, pulling it off and revealing the man underneath. His raven coloured hair reached down past his shoulders, unkempt and messy. He had a strong jawline, and a crooked nose that had clearly been broken several times.
"I doubt however, that my wife has been as merciful as I have." Lance smiled. "She always was a fiery one." Lance stood up, walking away from Red. He tossed the helmet towards his pokemon, sending it clattering along the ground. The dragonite lifted a foot, crushing the helm underfoot. The glass of the eyepiece shattered, along with Red's resolve.
Lance walked away from the broken man, cloak sweeping behind him. The massive dragonite roared at the kneeling man before turning and following its trainer out of the shattered room. He heard the door open and a familiar voice scream his name. The sounds of a howling arcanine and rampaging nidoking were audible.
"Blue…"
Faint screaming and a high pitched laugh reached his ears. He could hear dragons roaring, answered by less and less pokemon as time passed. His eyes shot open. He opened his mouth to speak but all that came out was a sad wheeze. He shook his head, clearing his throat. He stood up, determination driving him. He attempted to return the charizard to its ball. When it didn't work, he knelt over the beast. He didn't cry, only patting the side of his fallen friend and picked the communicator out of the crushed helmet.
"This is leader Red. Is anybody reading me?" His voice was hoarse and cracking, "If there is anyone left… I failed. Run if you can, I'm going to give you a chance." He dropped the radio, releasing a trio of battered pokemon from their balls. "Perun, Amaterasu, Oceanus… We lost. I need you to light this place up. Bring down the sky."
The pokemon nodded, looking at each other. Red turned away, stepping over to a window. Behind him, the blastoise, pikachu and espeon went to work. Oceanus started a rain dance, forming thunderclouds above the plateau. Perun shot bolts of electricity through the holes in the roof, charging electricity through the atmosphere. Amaterasu held the door in place with her powers, erecting barriers and barring the doors. Another red flash came from Red, bringing out his snorlax.
"Hercules, hold that door." The massive pokemon lumbered over, bracing itself against the doers. Red smiled to himself as he released his last pokemon. "Pan, help Herc." The venasaur roared and shook its vines loose.
Red looked down at the field of battle. A shadowy figure floated down from the ceiling. It hovered over Red's shoulder, watching him intently. Red didn't turn, only staring out the window at the remnants of the rebel army fleeing. At least someone had heard him he thought. At least not everyone had to die.
Finally addressing the ghost, he spoke. "You told me that prophecy knowing that I wasn't the one didn't you?"
The ghost blinked once, then spoke in his mind. "I did not know. I still see it. The prophecy still stands."
Red turned on the ghost, glaring angrily. "You told me that we could win. That Lance was doomed to fall to the Red and Gold banners. You lied to me." The venom in his voice was clear. "I took up the banner of Red. Ethan took up Gold. Now Ethan is dead, I've been beaten and…"
A massive roar and crash from the door told him that Lance was trying to get back in. He couldn't hear the sounds of Blue's pokemon anymore. Screams of pain told him that his friend was still alive, but for how much longer?
Red fell to his knees. "And now Blue is dying. All my friends are dead. Lance has destroyed it all. He's won." He looked up at the ghost. "This is all your fault."
The ghost floated closer, barely even audible over the crashing at the door. "I see it still. The Red sun rising over a broken dragon." A huge crack appeared in the door, followed by a triumphant roar. The ghost looked at the door, then back at the man on his knees. "Your son will do perfectly." It disappeared, sinking into its own shadow and leaving a howling Red behind.
The door blew inwards, knocking Herc and Pan across the room. Amaterasu cried out, wobbling at the blow to the psychic barriers. The dragonite looked almost gleefully at the battered remains of Red's team. A second blow collapsed the barrier, bringing a cry from the collapsing Amaterasu.
The dragonite stepped into the room, glaring at Red. Lance followed him in, smiling and clapping. "You know what Red?" He started. "You've impressed me. I truly thought that tearing off your charizard's arm would have broken you. I'm not usually impressed."
A pain shot through Red at the mention of his pokemon. He would not let this man see him broken. He would fight to the bitter end. "Guys…" He looked at his team. Perun and Oceanus glared at the dragon. The dragonite roared and charged, met by a bolt of lightning arcing from Perun. A blast of water burst out of Oceanus' cannons, driving the dragon back into the wall.
Herc and Pan returned to the battle with a pair of beams that crashed into the dragon, sending it crashing through the wall. A deafening explosion rocked the room, sending Lance stumbling. Red took advantage of the distraction, unsheathing a sword. He charged Lance, roaring obscenity after obscenity. Lance managed to draw his own blade, barely getting it up in time to deflect the blow. He fought back with ferocity, driving Red back.
The angry bellow from the hole in the wall told Red that the dragonite wasn't dead. The entrance of a woman flanked by a pair of dragonair told him that Blue was. He let out a primal scream and charged again. His pokemon mimicked him, charging the dragons. The dragons met them halfway across the room, ripping into Red's team. Red met the two dragon tamers with his blade, all thoughts of his own survival were thrown away in a desperate attempt to finish the battle himself.
A desperate bellow and sickening crack met Red's ears. He turned to see Herc's head being torn from his body by the dragonite. Perun crackled with electricity, bringing down a massive bolt of lightning onto the dragonite. The beast shook it off and let loose with its own bolt of lightning. Perun shook, overloaded by the amount of electricity. The dragonite stopped, then unleashed a beam of energy that wiped the electric mouse from existence.
Red screamed for his pokemon, watching Herc's headless body topple over. The rest of my the battle was unfolding in a similar way. Oceanus was barely able to move, constricted by the dragonair wrapped around his body. Pan was attempting to fend off the other dragonair, his vines singed with fire. The dragonair reared up one final time and launched a stream of fire into the flower on Pan's back. Red had never heard a sound as terrible as the screaming venasaur. Amaterasu hadn't moved since she had collapsed.
His loyal espeon struggled to its feet, still wobbly. Even as all the might of the dragonlords bore down upon it, the energy in the atmosphere exploded. The sun pokemon ignited in a final desperate attack, that tore the room to pieces. Waves of energy surged over Red, blowing him backwards and disorienting him.
Red struggled to his knees while he moaned, low and sad, watching his pokemon slowly die. Suddenly there was a hand on the back of his head. He felt the cold touch of a blade on his neck. He watched the dragonair snap Oceanus' neck, saw the ghost look at him out of the shadows. Then he felt the blade move, and there was nothing at all.
Sixteen Years Later
Pallet Town sat inside the small stockade that backed onto the water. Several small, low houses and a larger rectangular building were visible over the top of the wooden stockade. Two boys sat underneath a tree, hiding from the setting sun that baked everything in a yellow glow.
"You know we aren't supposed to be out here Ash." The taller of the two boys complained. He shook his shaggy brown mop of hair out of his eyes, revealing a pair of deep brown eyes and a scraggly mess of facial hair.
Ash Ketchum cracked a massive grin. "Calm down Jay, there's nothing else to do around here anyways. Would you rather be back in the lab watching the professor preform the same experiment a hundred times?"
Jay frowned. "I'm just frustrated with how little you care about the rules. Wild pokemon are called that for a reason. If anything bigger than a rattata shows up, it might be more than we can handle." His expression softened then he laughed. "You might have a point though. The old man's been stuck on the same problem for two months."
Ash stood up, yawning and stretching his back. "Ok mom. Even you have to admit that it's boring here. At least the threat of instant death makes it slightly interesting. I'd be able to take you a little more seriously if we weren't out here for several hours every day. We've never seen anything we couldn't handle around here. Face facts, there aren't any really dangerous pokemon around here."
Jay shook his head, before speaking. "None that you've seen at least. Rattata can be dangerous enough though. Find one that's hungry enough and it'll definitely try to rip your throat out." He stood up, whistling into the field of grass that flanked each side of the road. "We do need to head back now. I for one don't want to be out here after dark."
The grass started rustling, something moving quickly towards the two. A Growlithe poked its head through the edge of the grass, panting heavily. At the same time, a Pikachu dropped out of the tree beside them and onto Ash's head. Ash scratched the mouse on his head and turned to head back to the settlement. Jay whistled again, then started after Ash, jogging to catch up to him.
"You know," Ash started "I wouldn't mind hitching a ride on the next supply convoy to get out of here. It could take us to Viridian then we could find a job and make some money. Find a few friends, have a bit of fun. Actually live a half decent life instead of scrabbling around in the dirt here forever."
Jay shot him a look. "Don't let our mums hear you talking like that. They'll just go on forever about how Pallet is out of sight and not usually noticed by the Empire's tax collectors. How we would hate the hustle and bustle of the city. Most of all, they'd remind us about the time we found that burned out convoy just north of here. No, its best if we just keep our heads down, and work with the professor all day."
Ash laughed. "You're starting to sound like our mothers right there. Constantly worried sick that we're getting attacked by something. I know the wilds are dangerous, but we do have our own pokemon. Plus, whatever convoy we hopped on would have its own guards too. I'm sick of..." Jay trailed off. He turned around and whistled again.
Ash stopped, tensing up. "Where's growlithe?"
Jay's expression hardened. He whistled again, louder than before, then called out for growlithe. "Growlithe, come."
The two listened intently, watching for any sign of Jay's pokemon. Ash motioned to Pikachu silently. The mouse jumped off Ash's shoulder and bounded off into the brush. Ash and Jay followed silently, scanning the brush.
"I see a small clearing in the grass up ahead; just before the trees over there. Can't be sure but it looks like there might be something there." Jay whispered. "I don't see anything red though."
Ash put his hand on Jay's shoulder "Growlithe is fine. The damn thing nearly ripped Gary's throat out when he swung at you that one time. He's the toughest little pokemon I've ever met."
Jay mustered a small smile. "I'd be more encouraged if you'd met any pokemon outside of Pallet."
A high pitched bark and a blast of electricity broke the silence. The boys didn't hesitate, sprinting towards the clearing. What they saw startled them. Two bodies lay slumped over each other, clearly having been locked in a mortal struggle that both had lost. A battered scyther lay on the edge of the clearing, clinging to life. The bodies were still fresh, not even starting to smell yet. Growlithe and pikachu were facing down a pair of rattata with ease.
Pikachu let loose another bolt of electricity, sending thousands of volts through its body and into the rattata. The pokemon convulsed violently, coursing with electricity. It dropped to the ground, blood leaking from its eyes.
Growlithe leapt on top of the other rattata, knocking it onto its side and ripping into the pokemon. Blood splattered all over the fiery dog. The rattata shook, attempting to buck growlithe off it. That only seemed to spur growlithe on further. The pokemon opened its mouth, spitting fire into the rattata's open side. The rattata screamed a high pitched wail, before fading entirely and only leaving a smell of burning flesh.
Ash muttered under his breath "What the hell happened here?" He turned to Jay, motioning to one of the bodies. "This one is wearing ranger fatigues. He's got an Indigo badge too. Jay, if there's a dead ranger here then the Empire is going to come looking for him."
Jay ignored Ash, pulling the bodies apart. "The other one looks too professional to be any sort of raider. He's got body armor, combat boots, and his jacket looks too much like a uniform for him to be working alone." Jay poked into the man's pockets. "Well look at what we have here." He pulled out a pin emblazoned with a red and gold sun side by side. "Now I know that this guy isn't just a raider." He handed the pin to Ash. "Recognize anything?"
Ash took the pin, turning it over in his hands. "It looks like the insignia of the old rebellion, but this one isn't old. It looks like it's in too good condition to be fifteen years old though. I thought Lance wiped out the rebels completely."
Jay grimaced. "Nobody tell him that he missed one." Jay pulled the only pokeball on the rebel's belt off and pressed the button. The light flashed from it, returning the scyther on the edge of the clearing to the ball. "No point in letting it just die here. Maybe Oak can help it."
Ash nodded back, still staring at the rebel. He wasn't much older than the two of them, but he looked like he had been fighting for years. Scars covered his face and neck. Ash stood up, putting the boy out of his mind. "Let's get back now. We don't want to be here when another ranger comes looking for his friend." The two boys turned back towards the road. What they saw froze them to the spot.
An alakazam stood in front of them, bleeding from several gashes and barely able to stand. It glanced at them, then the bodies in the clearing behind them. It's eyes lit up without warning, a wave of psychic energy blasting Jay and Ash off their feet. It stumbled forward, then managed to levitate itself off the ground.
Growlithe and pikachu leapt into action, not waiting for orders. Growlithe was hanging on to the alakazam's leg, jaws clamped down and carrying the dog for the ride. Pikachu couldn't fire off any of its electric attacks without hitting growlithe at the same time. Realizing this, the alakazam tore the fiery dog free of its leg, ripping out a chunk of flesh at the same time. It threw growlithe into pikachu, knocking the pair into the underbrush in a tangle of limbs.
Jay's fist hammered into the alakazam from behind, driving it out of the air and into the dirt. It retaliated instantly, throwing Jay across the grassy plain with its mind. Ash rounded on the psychic too, not daring to dart in for an attack on his own. Growlithe burst out of the underbrush, providing Ash with the distraction he needed. He hefted a rock and brought it down on the psychic's head, cracking it open and spilling brain matter out onto the ground. Ash immediately bent over the ruined corpse of the pokemon and vomited the remains of his lunch.
Jay stood up, recovering from his several meter long flight. "Ash…" He started. Then he saw the body of the alakazam, and the rock that was laying where the pokemon's head should be. "Fuck. Let's get you back to the professor. I've got a feeling that we're in deep shit.
Thank you everyone for reading the first chapter of this story. It's the beginning of a long and perilous journey. I hope everyone enjoys reading this as much as I enjoy writing it. Have fun everyone!
Disclaimer: I don't own pokemon and this is only a work inspired by the love I have for this great series.