Hello, my loyal readers, and welcome to yet another one of my Pokémon stories. You guys have been waiting for this one, so I thought it would be appropriate to post the first chapter on Christmas. In case you're new to this, you might want to read what I have so far of Best Wishes first, so you won't be confused. Either way, I hope you enjoy!
Through the treetops of the green forest, I'm is able to see a huge gray, tan and white bird-like creature, flying high up in the pale blue sky. I gasp, recognizing the Pokémon. "It's a Mandibuzz!"
"Pika," Pikachu whispers in amazement from my shoulder.
A younger girl, and one of my traveling partners and good friends, runs up to me and Cilan, my other traveling partner and friend, and secret crush. "Cilan! Do you see it?" she asks eagerly.
He looks at the electronic map in his hand. "Not yet, Iris, but I think we should see it fairly soon."
Not able to contain my excitement for the next town, I run ahead and out of the forest, out of the trees. I see a cute little village on the hill ahead, and gasp at the sight before her. We're here!
Iris and Cilan catch up to me. "That's it!" Iris gasps, excited.
"It must be!" Cilan says.
In case you haven't noticed, me and my friends are staring into the village of Eindoak Town. It doesn't have a Gym or a Battle Club, but it does have an annual Harvest Festival each year, along with a Harvest Festival Battle Competition. And I just know Pikachu and I will win!
But walking towards the town of Eindoak, us three friends see a dangerous path along the edge of a cliff, where two Deerling, a male and female, snack on some berries on a nearby tree. The male reaches for one, but is suddenly startled by something, and knocks into the female. The female starts to slide down the rocky cliff, but the male grabs her tail to pull her up.
I slowly climb down onto the edge of the cliff and make my way down to the Deerling. "Don't worry!" I call to them. "I'll help you out there!"
Pikachu tightens his grip on my shoulder. "Pika pika!"
I feel the rock underneath my feet rumble, and sure enough, the ground beneath my right foot gives out, half falling off. I yank it back, picking up the pace a little bit, but still going slow and steady.
"Here I come," I mutter to them, trying my very best to not look down. "Hang on!" I inch closer to the two Deerling.
"Pika!" Pikachu says.
Iris yells to me and she starts to jump down to me. "Alice, I'm coming to help!"
But Cilan pulls her back. "Wait! Don't do it! The ground won't hold!"
She looks a little disappointed. "Okay..." When she's not looking, I give Cilan a thankful smile. The ground wouldn't hold, and it would send us both sliding down the edge for sure.
The male Deerling suddenly loses his grip on the ground as I come so close to them and starts to slide down. Quickly, I lean down and wrap my arm under his body to lift him up, taking the female in my other arm. Although I now have both Deerling, and seemed to have saved them, I realize I'm still in danger. My right leg seems to give out, and I'm tipped over the cliff edge, shrieking.
"Alice!" Iris yelps.
Pikachu jumps off my shoulder and grabs onto my left leg, pulling on it to keep me balanced, while some other force grabs my other leg. I suddenly feel some kind of rich, powerful energy coursing through my body. But before I have time to even think about it, the ground beneath my other leg gives out totally, and Pikachu and I start to slide down the cliff edge.
"Alice! No!" Cilan yells.
When I stop sliding down, I'm facing the land below, the only thing to break my fall are the trees, but they're miles down. I try to pull myself up, but I can't take it any longer. I suddenly jump through the air, surprising myself, Pikachu, the Deerling, and possibly my friends. I land on a small piece of rock near a cave, far away from my two friends. I gently place the unharmed Deerling down and turn towards Iris and Cilan.
"We're okay, guys!" I yell to them, waving my arms. "We all landed in one piece!"
"Pikachu!" my buddy adds.
Although I can't see her very well, I can tell Iris is glaring at me. "And how are you planning on getting out of there?!"
I turn back to the cave, feeling a gentle rush of cool wind blowing at me, which gives me a sense of comfort, knowing that if I enter the cave, there's another way out. "Hey! There's a breeze coming through! We'll follow it out!"
With Pikachu and the Deerling either at my heels or following close behind her, I start to lead the way into the cave. I don't have the best sense of direction, but it's good enough to get out of a cave like this. But when I come to multiple tunnels, I'm not so sure. My fear of closed-in spaces and caves fresh in my mind, I look at each one, trying to decide which one would take us out.
Suddenly, my eyesight seems to black out, and I see the tunnel to the left, leading towards many other tunnels and paths. I'm taken across them, and soon find my way out of the cave. When the vision ends, my eyesight is returned to me, but I feel different. I feel like I've followed this tunnel my entire life, and know it forwards and backwards.
"Follow me." I head to the tunnel on the left and run into it. After a few more tunnels, I come to a dark place, with a maze of frozen ice-like paths. I call out to any living soul in here who might be able to help us. "Hey! Anybody hear me? Anyone?! Hello!" Nothing.
Suddenly, I see a bright red-orange light, the same color as fire, come up in a line and pass through me, sending shivers yet warmth through my body. I let my gaze follow it up, where it soon disappears.
"What was that?"
My eyesight completely blacks out again, and I receive the vision of myself taking the path out, like I've walked it my whole life. When my eyesight returns, I blink in confusion.
"Again..."
I follow the icy path into a dark tunnel and keep walking forward. I soon come to a doorframe, where a spiral of stairs lay out. I follow them, Pikachu and the two Deerling still behind me. I end up at a brick wall, which, to my surprise, slides open. I push on it to open it, and come into some kind of little storage room. I go up to the balcony, where I see Iris and Cilan running towards it.
Smiling, I call down to them, waving her arms. "Hey!" They both look up at me, hearing my voice. "Iris! Cilan! Come on! Get up here! You've gotta check out this view! Quick! What are you standing there for?!"
"Pikachu!" Pikachu calls to them.
Once they get up to the balcony, the Deerling jump down and run towards the meadow, none of them looking hurt at all. I yell after them, "Deerling!" They turn around. "Try hanging out in safer places, okay?"
"Pika pika!" Pikachu adds. The two Deerling nod and run off.
The three of us admire the beautiful view of the town below us. Not only that, but you can see the trees, lakes and mountains beyond the village. To me, it's so pretty and colorful, not to mention natural.
"This castle is called the Sword of the Vale," Cilan says, breaking the silence.
Suddenly interested, I turn to him. "Sword of the Vale?"
He nods and points over to a little valley in the distance. "Look. Over there! They say it flew through the air from that valley, and landed right here in this spot!"
Iris and I gasp. "Flew through the air?!" Iris asks.
I look up at the top of the castle, blinking. "But how can a castle fly?"
"It's a legend," Cilan tells me, smiling. I blush sheepishly—I'll always believe the impossible. "It's impossible to really know it's the truth. But look!" He motions over to the trees below us, each and every one filled with berries. "You can see with your very own eyes that the berries and the surrounding orchards are beautiful and delicious."
Iris smiles. "Awesome! They look yummy!"
I can't control my hunger now, and try to reach for the berries. "Gimme!"
"Pikachu..." my buddy whimpers.
Iris smirks at me. "Somebody hungry?"
I straighten up and stare at her, glaring. "In case you haven't noticed, I'm always hungry, and that's that!"
Pikachu jumps on my shoulder. "Pika pika!"
A low growling is heard, and I notice it's my own stomach. I blush deeply with embarrassment and chuckle nervously. Iris sighs. "Oh, why do I even ask?"
"Alice, I've got just the thing!" Cilan opens a small basket. "My homemade macarons!"
I smile at him. "Thanks a lot, Cilan!" I take two, one for me, and I hand the other one to Pikachu.
"Yeah!" Iris says. "Way to go!" She takes one, eating it.
While walking through the castle, Iris and Cilan in the lead, I stay behind, munching on the macarons. I hold one in each hand.
"These macarons rule!" I say to myself, throwing one into my mouth and eating it. "The best I ever ate!" I go for the other one, but realizes my hand is empty. "Uh-oh." I know I had it in my hand!
Iris turns around to me. "Alice? What's wrong?"
I answer her without looking at her. "It's gone! The macaron disappeared!"
Iris places her hands on her hips. "Knowing you, you probably ate it." I start to fake-cry, pulling my arm up to my face.
"Hey Alice, don't cry," Cilan says gently.
I move my arm away, smirking. "Ha! Fooled ya! Look!" I take my last one out of my pocket. "I still got one!"
Iris rolls her eyes and turns away. "Oh, what a kid!"
Laughing like the playful kid Iris claims I am, I try to eat the macaron in my hand, but when I open my eyes, it's gone. I give a soft, surprised shriek.
The familiar boom of fireworks from outside fills my ears. My friends and I exchange looks with each other. "The festival's beginning!" Cilan gasps, running and taking the lead.
Iris and I run after him, Iris in front of me. I suddenly feel myself bump into something, but nothing can be found. It seems like whatever it was was invisible. I place my hand on my chest, where the force hit me, and keep on running.
All three of us run down the stairs and into a little room. Cilan stops, looking around. "Let's see..."
Iris and I catch up to him. "Quick!" Iris snaps. "If we don't hurry, we won't be able to register for the competition!"
"I can take you," a voice says. We turn to see a man with medium-length black and white hair coming down a ladder, jumping down and pointing to a certain path. "Here. If you're in a rush, this way is much faster."
The three of us smile at him. "That's do nice!" Cilan says. "Thank you."
I speak up. "Hi! I'm Alice. I'm working to become a Pokémon Master. And this is my partner, Pikachu." I motion to the yellow electric mouse perched on my shoulder.
"Pika pikachu!" he greets.
Iris picks Axew up. "My name's Iris. This is Axew. I'm training to be a Dragon Master."
"I'm Cilan, a Pokémon Connoisseur," the emerald-eyed boy says.
The man smiles. "My name is Damon. I've been working on restoring this castle. Please, follow me."
Once outside, and at the festival, we admire the sight of the festival, where numerous sights and activities take place. Suddenly, a humongous rock-like creature walks past them, pulling some kind of cart.
"It's a Golurk!" Cilan gasps.
I can't keep my mouth from falling open in shock. "It's huge!"
"Wonder what it's pulling?" Iris asks.
Cilan turns to the two of us. "Let's find out." We nod, and follow the Pokémon.
The huge Golurk stops by a bridge, and we're able to see it's pulling a cart of Pokémon dolls and necklaces. We're able to catch up to the cart and take a good look at it.
"Oh, look!" Iris squeals. She points to the collection of Pokémon dolls on the cart. "They're so cute!"
"They're Victini dolls," the woman behind the cart says, poking her head around to see us. She walks out from behind the cart, coming into view of us. She's wearing a long red dress with beautiful patterns on it. "The Victory Pokémon."
My smile fades in confusion. "Victini?"
The woman nods. "Right, Victini. They say it's lived in this town since long ago."
A smile reveals itself on my lips. "Really? Now I wanna meet it!"
The woman gives me a gentle smile. "Very few have ever seen Victini."
My smile falls once again. "Oh..." I really want to meet it—it sounds interesting!
"Could you tell us more about it?" Cilan asks her.
The woman nods and looks off into the distance, towards the Sword. "Long ago, it was said to have protected the Sword of the Vale."
Iris gasps in amazement. "Really? Awesome!"
Something brown and simple catches my eye, and I turn my head to see a small and wooden Victini pendant on a leather string. I point to it.
"I'll take one of these, please."
The woman nods and takes it off the cart. "Here you go. And one day, may you receive Victini's power as well," she adds as she lays it in my palm.
Excitement rises up in me as I take it and hold it up. "Now, I know I'm gonna win the Battle Competition!"
The three of us stand among a large crowd of Eindoak Town residents, giving the mayor of Eindoak Town our full attention. I finger my Victini necklace around my neck nervously, eager to show off my battle skills.
"Ladies and gentlemen, moms and dads, girls and boys, and of course, Pokémon, I welcome you all to the Eindoak Harvest Festival!" he announces. "My name is Mannes, mayor of Eindoak Town." He stops when he sees the woman from the Victini cart and another girl, presumably her daughter, wave at him. He waves back and continues his speech. "Folks, I'm happy to report our orchards have given us a bountiful harvest this year. So, Festival fans, are we having fun?"
The crowd below cheers, Iris and I joining in.
"Then it's time to kick off what you've all been patiently waiting for," the mayor announces. "Our annual Battle Competition!"
Three Pokémon, a Klink, a Klang, and a Klinklang, move away from his side and disappear into a music machine, and once they enter, loud festive music starts playing.
The mayor holds up one of the Battle Competition necklaces. "Here are simple competition rules. Trainers who have gathered here and wish to participate will have a one-on-one Pokémon battle with no substitutions. Whoever holds the competition necklace until the end wins!"
The woman from the cart turns to her daughter. "Carlita, good luck, dear."
Carlita nods determinedly. "Thanks, Mom. Piece of cake!"
Mannes beams as he announces, "Alright, let the battle begin!"
At once, various Trainers begin to call out their Pokémon, including us three friends.
"Just watch me win!" Iris smirks, reaching up her sleeve for a Poké Ball.
"Watch me win!" Cilan retorts, taking out one of his.
The both of them throw the Poké Balls, and in brilliant flashes of blue light, Iris's Emolga comes out, along with Cilan's Pansage.
I turn to the electric mouse on my shoulder. "We're gonna win, right, buddy?"
"Pika pi!" he growls playfully, his little hand curling into a determined fist.
I throw a Poké Ball from my belt. "Scraggy, let's go!" At once, my Scraggy bursts out in blue light. "Scraggy, I want you to watch all the other Pokémon when they battle, to see if you can pick up any tips from their battling ways."
Scraggy gives me a determined look, hiking up his "pants" as he does.
My face breaks into a happy smile. "Then let's go!"
"Pika!" Pikachu cheers.
And the competition begins.
And there you have it! The first chapter of Black: Victini and Reshiram. I might update this story on New Year's as well, but I'm not sure yet. In the meantime, tell me what you guys think, and if I should continue or not! Bye, and Happy Holidays once again!
