~Introduction (updated on 25/02/2015)~
This story is an expanded, semi-comedic adaptation of the fifth-generation Pokémon games, Pokémon Black Edition and Pokémon White Edition, set in a beautiful (I hope) hybrid of the animé and game worlds. In terms of action, violence and appeal to older readers it is most like the manga, but I have done my best to follow the original games' storylines, expanding them where necessary.
Blake and Whitney are, respectively, based on the male and female player characters for the game. I have taken a few liberties with how Bianca and Cheren are portrayed, but that's how I perceive them. If you've got a problem with that, make your own adaptation. I have also gone to great lengths to promote gender equality, racial equality and all other kinds of equality, so bigots are advised to read something else.
In this universe, Ash Ketchum and all his companions exist. However, he never comes to Unova, instead deciding to take Dawn on a tour of Kanto. He will not make any appearances in this story other than in this foreword. I might write about his and Dawn's adventures once I've finished this story, maybe in Kalos, but don't hold your breath. I'm a busy man.
New chapters are generally uploaded between three days and three weeks after the previous chapter.
~Chapter One: Leaving the Nest and Taking Flight~
"For crying out loud, where is she?!"
Blake had been waiting on his bed for over an hour. Bianca had been meant to arrive twenty minutes ago, and she was showing no signs of getting any closer. "I mean, she's been waiting to get her first pokémon for five years, and..." Blake trailed off, aware that Cheren, his other, more timely friend, wasn't really listening. He decided to try something.
"Hey, is that a group of hydreigons out there destroying the town?!" cried Blake, nudging Cheren on the shoulder.
"Yes, of course. Very interesting," said Cheren, still staring through his stylish glasses at the book in his hands.
Ordinarily, Blake would have given Cheren one of his most utterly exasperated sighs, but today was different. Today, he was too excited for petty squabbles. Today was, so far, the second-best day of his life. Bianca, the rather excitable girl who lived next door, was bringing the two lads their first pokémon, courtesy of their neighbour Professor Juniper. The professor was said to be the cleverest person in the entire Unova region, so she knew that when she needed something done, it was best to recruit a group of teenagers with attitude and get them to do it. Blake wasn't sure he or his mates had much in the way of attitude, but they all loved pokémon, so it would probably turn out all right.
"Maybe we should go and look for Bianca," suggested Blake, getting restlessly to his feet. Cheren nodded his approval, so Blake took his red-and-white hat from the hatstand by the door (by the time Ash Ketchum had saved the world a few times, they were the height of fashion for pokémon trainers), stepped carefully over a pile of books on the landing, and was just about to go down the stairs when a bundle of joy almost collided with him.
"Hiya!" the bundle of joy greeted him.
"Hi, Bianca. Don't worry, our beards haven't started growing yet," Blake greeted her.
Bianca looked sheepish.
"So, you have pokémon for us to raise, I take it?" asked Cheren, emerging from Blake's bedroom with a slightly amused look in his eyes.
"Yep! They're in here," replied Bianca. She stood up and reached into her handbag. She paused, looking slightly confused, and rushed off downstairs.
"Oh, for crying out-" began Cheren.
"Here we are!" said Bianca cheerily, making her way slightly more carefully up the stairs. She was holding three small spheres, each of which was red on one half and white on the other, with a white button in between. Blake and Cheren instantly recognised them as poké-balls: pocket-sized devices to hold pokémon while their trainers weren't battling with them.
"As agreed, an oshawott for Blake," said Bianca, handing Blake one of the poké-balls.
"Thanks!" Blake thanked her, accepting the ball with a rising sense of excitement.
"And as for Mr Snooty-Pants, here, what else but a snivy?" Bianca continued, handing Cheren the second poké-ball.
"Snooty-pants?!" cried Cheren. "I merely happen to be a talented scholar and a connoisseur of haute cuisine with a mellifluous tongue and an extensive vocabulary of terminology and obscure dialect phrases: one who is infinitely superior to you in every way."
"That's what I meant, snooty-pants!" giggled Bianca, pressing the poké-ball into his hand.
"Bianca, you're fourteen. Grow up," suggested Cheren heavily.
"Well, so are you," Blake pointed out reasonably. Cheren glared at him.
Bianca cleared her throat. "Anyway, this last pokémon's gonna be my special friend. He's a tepig," she said proudly, showing off a third poké-ball. "Professor Juniper says we should bond with them, then go and see her tomorrow 'cause she has a mission for us, and my dad says we can use the little hollow next to Braviary's Talon to practise battling. He wants me to be good at it before I need to leave home so I won't get hurt." Braviary's Talon was what people from Nuvema Town called the old, pointy-looking watchtower next to Route 1, after Unova's most powerful flying-type pokémon.
"Jolly good," said Cheren levelly.
"Awesometastic!" Blake agreed, not levelly at all. Ever since he knew what pokémon were, he'd wanted to meet as many of them as he could; and if he won gym badges, took on the Unova League and became famed in song and legend in the process, so much the better. And now that it was actually happening, just saying "fantastic" or "awesome" simply wouldn't be enough to emphasize how excited he was.
"Come on, you two!" suggested Blake, rushing off downstairs, gleefully aware of the Oshawott's poké-ball resting in his hand. He skidded to a halt in the hallway beside his mother's collection of antique swords and battle trophies, which she was admiring.
"Me, Bianca and Cheren are going out for a bit, Mum," he informed her, after making sure she wasn't so deep in her reminiscences as to mistake him for an enemy.
"Okay. What'll you be doing?" she asked.
"Oh, just hanging out..." Blake replied reservedly. "With our pokémon!" he added, proudly showing off the poké-ball in his hand.
"Oh, wow!" Blake's mother cried, admiring the poké-ball. She noticed Cheren and Bianca arriving more sedately behind her and her son. "I expect the three of you'll be off to bring glory to Nuvema Town and vanquish the forces of evil, then."
"Possibly," said Cheren reservedly.
"But we're mostly just gonna have fun," Bianca added.
"Good! You should never take these things too seriously," Blake's mother advised her. "Unless you actually are vanquishing the forces of evil, in which case you should definitely take it very seriously. Otherwise you'll be killed. You see, the thing about the forces of evil is they've no qualms with hurting children and using dishonourable tactics. One of you should probably learn some sort of martial arts, or I could teach you how to..." she trailed off. Blake, Cheren and Bianca were long gone.
"All right, tepig, I choose yooouuuu!" shouted Bianca. She pirouetted a few times, leapt in the air and threw her tepig's poké-ball across the shallow, grassy hollow in front of Braviary's Talon. Blake noticed with approval that she was copying the form of all the best pokémon trainers from films and TV; assuredly a very practical and realistic method of calling out pokémon. Cheren merely raised an eyebrow.
The poké-ball landed and immediately split in two, revealing a glowing red core of energy. There was a blinding flash of light, after which Bianca's tepig was standing in front of the poké-ball. The poké-ball flew back to Bianca's hand as if by magic, attracting a curious look from the little pokémon.
"So that's a tepig," commented Blake. He'd tepigs before, but never up close and personal like this in such a quiet place as Nuvema Town.
"Oh, wow, he's so cute and snuggly!" cried Bianca, rushing over to her tepig. Cuteness was by far her greatest concession to gender stereotypes. The tepig was an orange quadruped with a pig-like nose and snout, a black patch around his waist, more black around his wide, ovoid eyes, and a yellow patch between his long, round ears, which were also black. He was about knee-high, and his curly tail was tipped with a red orb.
"Tep?" said the tepig curiously.
"My name's Bianca. I'll be your trainer from now on," Bianca informed the tepig, kneeling so he could get a better look at her.
"Tepig?" said the tepig curiously.
"I think I'll call you Templeton," proposed Bianca.
"Tep tepig tep," acknowledged the tepig. Templeton lay down in front of Bianca, looking content. Bianca looked at him for a few moments, slightly put out by his lack of cheer and joi de vivre, then shrugged and turned to Blake and Cheren.
"Your turn!" Bianca declared.
"When you say 'your turn', which 'your' do you refer to? Me or Cheren?" asked Blake.
"To which 'your' do you refer? Blake or I?" said Cheren, with grammatical smugness.
"For that remark, it'll be my turn!" retorted Blake, throwing his oshawott's poké-ball over to Bianca and her tepig. From within materialised a small, blue-and-white bipedal pokémon with a round head, a cute little yellow nose, flat ears, and a cream-coloured shell on her belly.
"Osha!" the oshawott shouted, somersaulting over to Templeton, taking the shell off her tummy in the process. Holding her shell in the 'en garde' position, she kicked Templeton on the nose.
"Hey! What do you think your oshawott's doing?!" demanded Bianca. "For that matter, what does she think she's doing and what does she think you're doing and what do you think you're doing hurting my poor, innocent little tepig like this?!"
"Don't look at me!" protested Blake.
"Some pokémon are naturally more aggressive than others. This particular oshawott is a warrior, through and through," Cheren suggested.
"Oh. Listen, Oshawott, that tepig's your friend, or at least a non-enemy acquaintance," he declared.
"Osha?! Oshawott wott osha!" protested the oshawott, turning her back very meaningfully on Blake. Blake stared in disbelief. This wasn't how pokémon were supposed to be. Blake was aware that Cheren was smirking at him, which couldn't be allowed. He knew there were two ways to gain the trust and loyalty of pokémon, so he promptly chose the wrong one.
"Oshawott, I am your master, and you will obey me! Now kneel before me and beg my forgiveness, or so help me, I'll-" a blob of mud splattered onto his face. After wiping it off, he saw the oshawott standing beside a small mud patch, carefully preparing an arsenal of mud balls. Cheren, Bianca and Templeton were watching from a safe distance.
"Okay, Oshawott, perhaps we've got off on the wrong foot," said Blake placatingly, sitting down in a completely non-threatening way in front of the oshawott. "My name's Blake Stormheart. Pleased to meet you," he declared, never one to miss an opportunity to remind people his surname was Stormheart. Blake offered the oshawott his hand. She glared at the hand with undisguised contempt.
"Do you have a name?" Blake persisted. The oshawott made no reply. "Is it... uh..." the oshawott sounded female, so, "Jemima?" asked Blake. She shook her head. "Is it Francine?" The oshawott shook her head. "Simone? Arlene? Caitlin? Sophie? Darina? Wendy? Tethys? Vicky? Taylor? Nadia? Brianna? Laurel?" Blake persisted. The oshawott rolled her eyes. Of all the humans in all the world, she had to end up saddled with this one?! Then again, his dogged persistence was heartening.
"Osha! Oshawott wott wott," the oshawott interrupted Blake, making a few meaningful hand gestures.
"What? Don't you have a name? Or is it something unpronouncable?" asked Blake.
"Keep trying. You'll get it sooner or later," suggested Bianca.
"All right, then... Is your name Samantha?" asked Blake. The oshawott looked surprised for a moment, then nodded.
"Okay then, you're Samantha! Pleased to meet you, Samantha," said Blake happily, shaking her by the hand.
"I love a happy ending!" said Bianca cheerily.
"What do you mean, happy ending?! We still haven't seen my beautiful snivy," Cheren pointed out. "I choose you, snivy!" he added, lobbing his poké-ball onto the grass. It released a slender green pokémon, with its pointy snout and whiplike, leaf-tipped tail making it look like a snake with legs.
"Snivy! Snivy sni!" the snivy greeted Cheren.
"Ooh!" commented Bianca.
"Greetings and salutations, young snivy," said Cheren formally. "I am Cheren, son of Gerald and Christobel, and firstborn of the House of McTavish, and I am your new trainer. May I say what an honour it is to have such a fine young lady as yourself in my team?"
"Snive?" asked the snivy, looking curiously at Cheren. "Snivy!" she added happily, noticing the mud Samantha had been throwing at Blake. She ran over to the mud and started splodging around with reckless abandon, splattering Samantha, who quickly clambered up onto Blake's shoulder to get out of reach.
Cheren stared in disbelief. "But... snivies are supposed to be refined..."
"Well, tepigs are supposed to be all playful and excited," Bianca pointed out. Templeton was lying peacefully on the ground, occasionally letting out a puff of white smoke from his nose. Were it not for that smoke, he could easily be mistaken for a cuddly toy.
"And as for Samantha, whoever heard of an oshawott not getting on with its trainer?" Blake asked, giving Samantha a meaningful look. She did not react.
"I suppose we all have misfit pokémon, then. Now, Snivy, what shared interests do we have? If we are to bond as Professor Juniper suggested, it will help if we have something in common," said Cheren. Like most pokémon trainers, he was using his snivy's species as her name. "I don't imagine you are interested in poetry, natural history, computing, science or art, so... How about battling?"
Snivy perked up. "Snivy!" she said happily, striking a heroic pose on a small rock near the mud.
"Excellent! Now, Templeton's asleep, so how about a duel between yourself and Samantha?" proposed Cheren. "I know all the local pokémon species by heart, so don't worry about me not having any snivy-related experience."
"Ah, now..." said Blake unsurely.
"You do want to become a great pokémon trainer, do you not?" asked Cheren.
"Of course! Samantha, how about it?" asked Blake.
"Osha..." replied Samantha, meaning something along the lines of "If I must..."
"In that case, I'll be the referee. Trainers, take positions at opposite sides of the battlefield!" commanded Bianca. Blake and Cheren shook hands in a formal, honourable sort of way, then headed in opposite directions until they were about ten metres apart. Samantha and Snivy followed their trainers, looking fierce battle-ready.
"The battle will be one-on-one, finishing if and when one of the pokémon is unable or refuses to battle!" declared Bianca, having memorised all the refereeing speeches from her favourite TV programmes. "No cheating, mind, or I'll tell your parents. Start fighting... now!"
Blake and Samantha looked into each other's eyes, single-mindedly determined for victory. Although they had started out as enemies, it was clear that between them-
"Use leer," commanded Cheren. Snivy nodded, then glared at Samantha with murderous hatred, rapidly reducing Samantha's defensive capabilities. Don't ask me to explain why, it's just what leering does.
Blake blinked. "Um, Samantha, let's respond with-"
"Tackle," ordered Cheren, and he gave a satisfied smirk as Snivy smashed into Samantha, knocking the oshawott onto her back.
Blake cringed. Samantha was doing badly, possibly because he was taking too long to think of what to do. "Water gun!" he ordered, it being the first water-type attack in his mind.
Samantha put her head in her hands. Cheren sigheded, looking at Blake with a cross between amusement and pity. "Oh, Blake... First of all, your oshawott is not powerful enough to use water gun yet. Second, even if she was, water gun would be ineffective against Snivy. You have a lot to learn before we embark on whatever mission Professor Juniper has in store for us. I'll tell you what, Snivy and I will put an end to this quickly. Tackle!"
"Jump as high as you can!" shouted Blake. He had no idea why that particular sentence entered his mind, but it worked. Samantha leapt high above Snivy, whose momentum caused her to crash into Blake's legs.
Cheren's eyes widened. "Er... quick, Snivy, turn around and use tackle again!"
"Samantha, counter-tackle her from the side!" ordered Blake, staggering slightly as Snivy pushed off from his knees. Samantha rushed over to the oncoming Snivy, cartwheeled away to the left and bore Snivy to the ground.
"Use leer while she's down!" commanded Blake, looking triumphant. Samantha, also looking triumphant, leered at Snivy with all her might as the leafy snake clambered to her feet, equalising the two pokémon's defences. Victory was surely near; all he had to do was-
"Tackle," ordered Cheren calmly. Snivy charged at Samantha, sending her flying. Samantha struggled to her feet, clearly hurt, but still with a fiery heart.
"Argh... Bloomin' distraction..." muttered Blake. Cheren was famous throughout Nuvema Town for his love of computer games, so he had probably learnt complete concentration from many long hours spent gaming. Compared to him, Blake was living in cloud cuckoo land. "Tackle, and give it some welly!" he ordered. Samantha ran at Snivy, putting all her strength into the charge.
"We'll use tackle too," said Cheren levelly. Snivy rushed at Samantha. The two pokémon collided like atoms in a particle accelerator, glaring furiously at each other as they vied for position in midair. Then the laws of physics won out, Snivy and Samantha fell to the ground and slowly keeled over. Blake and Cheren both sighed with relief.
"Both pokémon are unable to battle, so the battle ends in a tie! Congratulations, Blake and Cheren, you've both won!" declared Bianca happily. Blake smiled at her as he picked Samantha up. The little blue otter was bruised in several places, but he knew she would be fine. As everyone knew, when pokémon became badly injured in a battle, they would enter a deep healing trance, and were referred to as having fainted. It still pained him, though, to see Samantha looking like that.
"You fought well, Samantha. I'm sorry I wasn't really on the ball at the start of the battle," he said softly.
"You may not be a lady, Snivy, but you certainly are a warrior. Good try," agreed Cheren, who would never allow Blake to outdo his compassion.
Bianca looked at Templeton. "Do you think you could fight like that?" she asked.
"Tep," replied Templeton.
And thus did it come to pass that the three Nuvema Town teenagers and their three pokémon companions trained long into the night, growing stronger by the hour. Snivy, Templeton and Samantha's power grew with the blazing spirits of their trainers, until all six were certain nothing could stand in their way. And all too soon (i.e. tomorrow morning), Blake, Bianca and a few other villagers were waiting outside the gates of Nuvema Town for Cheren and Professor Juniper.
"...I mean, really! The one time his timeliness might come in handy, and he's not here!" Blake complained. He looked to see Bianca's reaction, only to discover she was deep in conversation with her father, known outside his family only as Mr Redwood. He was a serious, bearded man, currently showing Bianca a stack of books.
"This one's about how to raise strong, healthy pokémon..." he handed his daughter a well-thumbed hardback, "...and this is the Hitchhiker's Guide to Unova..." he handed Bianca a paperback, also well read, "...and here's my personal favourite, How to Train your Dragonite!" He handed Bianca the last book, a fairly new book with a picture of a dragonite, a salamence and a hydreigon fighting above a snowy peak.
"Thanks, Daddy, but I already know most of this. You know, 'cause you wouldn't even let me watch pokémon stuff on TV until I knew as much as Professor Juniper?" Bianca pointed out. "At least before I melted your cattle prod."
"...I'd never have actually used it," said Mr Redwood, momentarily wrongfooted. "Anyway, there's a lot of information in these books, Bianca. Who knows when you'll desperately need some little bit of information you happen to have forgotten? Besides, your bag's got mass dampening technology. It won't weigh you down."
"All right, then," said Bianca.
"That's my girl!" Mr Redwood reached inside his pocket. "Now, do you know how to use a whistle and pepper spray? Oh, and I think I've got a life jacket in here..."
Blake's mum rolled her eyes. "Honestly, if he had his way she'd still be in nappies!"
Mr Redwood, who had good hearing, rounded on her. "Oh?! And just who are you to question my methods, Ravyn? You haven't prepared Blake at all!"
"Actually, Mr Redwood, she taught me karate and fencing. I'm not even remotely good at either of them, but she did prepare me," Blake pointed out.
Mr Redwood shot him a withering look. "...Anyway, Bianca, if you get attacked by a wild pokémon and your own pokémon aren't able to protect you, spray this in its eyes. If it doesn't have eyes, whistle to attract help, and if your whistle's broken, scream. If you can't scream... well... Are you sure you want to be a pokémon trainer?"
"Absolutely!" replied Bianca, with hundred percent certainty.
"Thought so..." sighed Mr Redwood.
Any further conversation was stopped in its tracks by a shout from afar. "Behold greatness, mortals! Cheren the Magnificent is here!" roared Cheren, as he strode over to the group, his black leather cape billowing out behind him. On top of that, he had walking boots, a rakish brown hat, a scarf and a walking stick. Snivy's poké-ball hung from his belt along with five others, testament either to how well prepared he was or how much his parents doted on him.
"Cheren! What the...?! I mean...!" cried Bianca.
"Well, here I am!" declared Cheren, doing a little twirl so everyone could see his outfit. Blake looked at Bianca, giving her an almost imperceptible eye-roll.
"That cape is woefully impractical! It could get caught on a branch, weigh you down in the water, make you easier to see..." ranted Mr Redwood. "You should've followed Blake and Bianca's example."
As per his words, Blake was wearing all-weather trousers, his blatant-Ash-ripoff hat and a blue jacket, and Bianca was wearing a white dress, an orange tank top, red trousers and fairly nondescript shoes.
"I'm sorry, everyone, we couldn't stop him," said Cheren's long-suffering mother Christobel, looking apologetic. Blake was about to say something when a tall, stylish woman appeared as if out of nowhere, clapping her hands for attention. It was Professor Juniper.
"Friends, Unovans, pokémon, lend me your ears!" she shouted. "You may be wondering why I've decided to give three ordinary children some powerful pokémon and then ask all of you to meet me out here. Well, it's quite simple. Do any of you know what one of these is?" The professor removed a small, flat object from her coat, which was a cross between a lab coat and something out of a Kalosian fashion magazine.
Cheren raised a hand. "A Nintendo DS?"
"Not quite. This item within my hands is a pokédex! One simply has to scan a pokémon with this device and it will reveal all of that pokémon's vital statistics, as well as any data currently known about the species. The thing is, this pokédex is the first of its kind ever to come to Unova, so there isn't much information in it. That is where you three come in!" declared Professor Juniper, somehow managing to include Blake, Bianca and Cheren in one sweep of her gaze. "I have four pokédexes here: one for me, and one for each of you. As pokémon trainers, you will no doubt encounter all manner of pokémon throughout our region, and I would like you to scan each and every one of them, enter any interesting facts you discover into the pokédex, and maybe send me a few specimens."
"WHAT?!" cried Cheren. "You mean you're going to use us as cheap labour?!"
Blake quickly moved in front of him. "I'll be glad to help you, Professor! We'll have those pokédexes filled before you even notice they're gone!" he declared loudly, accepting one of the pokédexes from her hand.
"Me too!" agreed Bianca. "I'm sure it'll be great fun for all three of us! And a great opportunity for learning life skills, of course." She took two more pokédexes, forcing one into Cheren's hand.
"But..." Cheren blustered.
"Not to mention the amount of lives all the stuff we find out about Unovan pokémon could save, and the advances in medical science and pokémonology..." said Blake meaningfully.
Cheren stared fixedly ahead for a few moments, mulling that bit of information over. "In that case, as a gentleman, is is my duty to lead our little party with all the skill and alacrity of a true son of the House of McTavish. Onwards!" he shouted, pointing out into Route 1 with his staff.
"Now?" asked Blake, as Cheren strode boldly forth.
"But of course! Time and pokémon wait for no-one," said Cheren sagely.
"Not even us?!" cried Christobel.
Cheren blushed slightly. "Oh. Well, of course. Mother, Father, I... You're both... I'll send you a postcard."
Blake rolled his eyes, turning back to his own mother. "I love you, Mum, and not just because I want to look better than Cheren," he declared, giving her a hug.
"Oh, Blake... There's no dishonour in doing something just because seeing someone else almost forget to do it reminded you," she said softly. "You're going to have to watch out for that, though. Don't just stay in Cheren's shadow all the time."
"I won't," Blake reassured her. "Goodbye, Mum! Goodbye, Mr Redwood! Goodbye, Professor Juniper! Goodbye, Gerald! Goodbye, Christobel!"
"Goodbye, everyone!" agreed Bianca laconically.
"Try not to get eaten, Bianca!" Mr Redwood advised her.
"What do you mean, you'll send a postcard?! You might not be seeing us for years!" Gereld protested.
"Cheren has a cross-transciever, doesn't he? Those things can handle video chats," Bianca pointed out.
"Well, yes, but that's beside the point! Cheren, would a hug or something really hurt that much?" Gerald persisted.
"No. Come on, you two. Adventure awaits us, no matter what those two imbeciles say!" shouted Cheren. Ignoring his parents' protests, he took Bianca and Blake by the hand and all but dragged them off along Route 1. "Farewell, Nuvema Town! We will bring honour and glory to you all!"
"He's off, then," said Christobel matter-of-factly.
"That's our Cheren," agreed Gerald. "A fiesty lad, but a bit..."
"A complete brat?" suggested Blake's mother.
"I heard Bianca call him a snooty-pants," proposed Mr Redwood.
"Don't worry about Cheren," Professor Juniper piped up. "Pokémon change people, and vice versa. And besides, what's the worst Cheren could do?"
"You're right," accepted Mr Redwood. "Anyway, Bianca's with them!"
There was a pause.
"Blake's with them, too," Mr Redwood added.
"Well, that's a weight off my heart..." said Christobel.