AN: Recently, I got Pokemon X for my sister, and Pokemon Y for myself. You may think I'm behind on my Pokemon games, but last year I completed Omega Ruby in a relentless 72 hour marathon, including the Delta episode.
I still remember way back when I got my first Pokemon game, Emerald. I got better at the game over the years, but I can see my sister in the same place that I was at that age - confused and asking for help with the game with a unbalanced team.
Anyways, what's always bothered me about the games, every Pokemon game, is that the character is practically mute with social interactions, unless addressed with a question directed at them by another NPC.
Turns out, there's an actual anxiety disorder with a crazy amount of parallels. It's called selective mutism, where a person who is normally capable of speech does not speak in specific situations or to specific people and co-exists with shyness or social anxiety. This got me thinking of a character that goes by the name Neopolitan a.k.a. 'Neo' in RWBY.
And then that got me thinking, 'What if...' and bam! This story was created, my own personal spin on my adventure through Kalos with a dark twist...
Enjoy!
Chapter Start
The night was calm, with only the sounds of nocturnal Pokemon and the very few humans who were still awake making up the symphony of the evening...
A single car zoomed by the empty streets, bouncing slightly from the unevenly paved cobblestone path. Its headlights pierced the dark veil, lighting the way for safe travel.
The car itself held a plethora of packed items, more inside than outside the car, and held three occupants - one middle-aged woman, one young man, and one Pokemon.
"Vulpix." the Pokemon's cry caught his ears, waking him from the trance-like sleep that he was in.
"..." he remained silent, though the Pokemon could understand nevertheless what he tried to convey. His blurry eyes, caked with crust, managed to spot the white glow of the full moon overhead, peaking above the treeline.
"Oh? Are you up already, sweetie?" His eyes were torn from the moon's pale illuminations to the final occupant of the car, his mother. She stood at 5'7" with dark brown hair held up in a fanned-out ponytail and silver eyes. Her attire was plain and simple, consisting of a long-sleeved pink shirt, faded blue jeans, and pink shoes.
"..."
"Look, I know it's hard to just move from one region to another, but... think of it as a fresh start, a new beginning." His mother stated.
"..."
"And hey..." she began, a sly grin on her face as she spoke. "I heard that the neighbors have a girl that's around your age. And she's single~"
He said nothing, though his physical reaction spoke what he tried to convey like an open book. He averted his eyes, a tinge of red spreading across his cheeks.
"Don't worry about it, you two will have plenty of time to get to know each other on your adventure." she said.
'Ah, yes... my adventure...' he thought, recalling one of the few reasons why he and his mother were moving to this new region.
Once upon a time, not long ago, the age that a person could begin their own adventure - with Pokemon and without adult supervision - was merely ten years old...
That, however, created a problem generation, in which the children grew up with little to no respect to Pokemon or the lives of Pokemon.
In response, groups like the People for the Ethical Treatment of All Pokemon (PETAP) and Team Plasma blossomed forth, granted that the latter was latter divided into Team Plasma and Neo Plasma to purge corruption.
Their causes called for respect for Pokemon, something that took over nearly a decade of relentless campaigns to achieve. People who were originally Trainers since they were ten - dubbed part of the Tenth Generation - were given psychoanalyses and psychotherapy sessions until they were deemed mentally stable. And to top it all of, to ensure that there would not be another Tenth Generation, the legal age in all regions to begin a journey alone was changed to seventeen.
People could still train Pokemon, but at seventeen, most would have become mature and responsible Trainers.
"Anyways, the house is already prepped. So when we get there, just head upstairs and get some sleep." she stated, causing him to turn back and stare at the moon once more.
Tomorrow would be the beginning of a brand new day, he knew that much...
What he didn't know was how much of a change would come.
-Adventures of A Muteling-
"Where is he?" The sun shined brightly, with flocks of Flying-type Pokemon fluttering in the wind, ranging from Taillows to Pidgeys to Fletchlings.
In Aquacorde Town, a nice and quiet spot known for its classic colonial appearance and European-style apartment buildings and streetlights, there stood four individuals.
The first was a man with robust build, standing as the tallest member of the group at 6'1". His black hair was held in a high ponytail, resembling a pineapple and buzzed on either side of his head, his skin was slightly tanned yet still light, and his eyes were chocolate brown and filled with curiosity. A HoloCaster was on his left wrist, and his attire consisted of a black shirt with a Vanillite on the front, orange cargo shorts, white sneakers with black socks, and a yellow sling backpack.
The second was a shorter man that stood at 5'5" with curly, frazzled orange hair, gray eyes that were shielded by a pair of black rectangular glasses, and pale skin. He wore a white long-sleeved button-up shirt, with the top two buttons open and the sleeves rolled up to his elbows. On top of this, he donned a navy blue button-up vest, dark gray slacks, and black formal shoes. He also carried a blue backpack of a lighter hue than his vest, as well as a blue version of the Kalos Pokedex attached to a cord around his neck.
The third member of the group was a woman, the shortest member of the group, standing at 5'3". She had tanned skin, olive green eyes that held just a slight mirth of mischief, and brown hair that was held up in twintails that went down to her waist. Her outfit was made up of a pink midriff shirt that exposed her abdominal region, blue short shorts, pink-and-white themed sneakers, and a similarly themed handbag.
And lastly, the fourth member of the group was also a woman. She stood at 5'6" with vibrant blue eyes, light skin, and honey blonde hair that went down to her shoulders. She wore a black shoulderless shirt with short sleeves, a red wrapped skirt with a bow on the left hip and went down to her knees, black stockings, a pair of white shoes, and a pink tote bag.
"Oh come on, Shauna. Have some patience." the second woman said.
"I just want to start our Pokemon adventure some time soon, ya know?" the first woman stated. "Yet here we are, waiting for some guy who just moved here!"
"I'm with Shauna on this one." the first man added. "We've been waiting for this moment since we were, what, twelve?"
"Still, it would be rude to not meet the new neighbor at least once-" the second woman retorted, only to feel a tapping on her shoulder.
She quickly spun around, coming face-to-face with what was most likely the very person they were talking about.
He stood a good four inches taller than her, at 5'10", with slightly pale skin that was just a little lighter than her own, jet black hair that went down to his neck, and...
Silver eyes. He had the most peculiar pair of eyes that she ever saw. It was almost hypnotic, in a way...
"Serena? Earth to Serena?" the woman snapped back to reality, jumping back with a cross between panic and embarrassment on her face.
"Uhh, I - Uhh..." she sputtered, taking a good look at the man she was staring at, specifically his outfit. He wore a black-and-yellow themed zipped-up jacket, a black logo cap, dark blue jeans, black shoes, and a dark blue two-tone bag.
He smiled and waved lightly at her, giving no verbal response of any kind.
"You must be the new neighbor." Shauna stated, causing the man to nod in affirmation.
"Well, nice to meet'cha! Name's Tierno!" the first man said. "Then we've got the orange haired guy Trevor, the brunette Shauna, and the blonde Serena!"
"What's your name?" Serena questioned.
'Shin...' he mouthed, causing the other four to look at him questionably.
"Shaun?" Tierno suggested, only for Shin to shake his head 'no'.
"Shay?" Shauna suggested, receiving the same response as Tierno.
"Shin?" Trevor suggested, said silent man nodding in response.
"Shin... huh?" Serena mumbled. "Is that Johtian? Kantian?"
Shin continued to smile, holding up two fingers to reply to the question.
"A Kantian... so is Shin your given or familial name?" Trevor asked, causing Shin to hold up a single finger instead.
"Enough Q&A!" Shauna exclaimed, pumping her fist into the air. "Let's begin our Pokemon adventure!"
-Adventures of A Muteling-
"We still need to get our Pokemon first, though." Serena pointed out, causing the tanned girl to visibly deflate.
"Right... There's that." Shauna mumbled.
"..." Shin pulled out a Poke Ball, pressing the button on the front and making a red light shoot out.
"Vulpix!" the cry of the Fire-type Pokemon caught the other four Trainer's ears, causing them to turn to the source of the sound. The Pokemon was a small, quadruped, fox-like Pokemon. He had a red-brown pelt, brown, pupil-less eyes, large, pointed ears with dark brown insides, and six orange tails with curled tips. The Pokemon also had curled locks of orange fur with bangs on top of his head, a cream underbelly, and brown feet with lighter brown paw pads.
...
"What Pokemon is that?" Shauna questioned.
"It's a Vulpix." Trevor replied. "Female, by the looks of it."
'Yin.' Shin mouthed, kneeling down and rubbing the Vulpix affectionately before allowing the Fox Pokemon to climb up his shoulder, swiftly making her way to rest on top of his hat. The average Vulpix usually stood at 2'0" precisely, but this one stood at 1'5", just a little less than three-quarters of the average height, making it possible for this Vulpix to balance on top of her Trainer's hat.
"Yin, huh?" Trevor said.
"How can you understand what he's mouthing?" Shauna asked.
"I learned to read lips a while back." Trevor responded, scratching the back of his head sheepishly.
Shin clasped his hands together and bowed slightly, being careful not to have Yin fall off in the process.
"Well, Professor Sycamore told us to give you guys a choice of one of three Pokemon." Tierno stated, pulling out a horizontal cylindrical box. "Guess he wasn't counting on one of them already having a Pokemon."
"Oh! I can't choose! You guys go first!" Shauna exclaimed.
"Shin?" Serena called out, causing the black haired man to gesture for her to go first. "Alright..."
"Okay, so in the Poke Ball on my left is the Grass-type Chespin, in the middle is the Fire-type Fennekin, and on the right is the Water-type Froakie." Tierno explained, pointing to each Poke Ball as he spoke. "Now... choose."
"I... choose..." Serena began.
Chapter End
Post AN: I'm definitely certain that this type of story is a year or two late, but I'm going to do it because I want to put my own spin on Pokemon, and Naruto stories can only take me so far.
Anyways, I'll see you guys next time! Ja mata!
-CrimsonKyuubiSage out!