a/n one: ahaha! i know i promised to work solely on my other fan fiction, but sometimes, i get a little antsy, and the itch to write something new is overpowering. i am not very good at art, but i want to do a nuzlocke, so i thought to write a story, and hopefully, if i improve, turn it into a webcomic. so here it is, my nuzlocke journey through alpha sapphire. i thought to make the protagonist a mute, because you never really speak throughout the whole game. it's certainly interesting, and rather hard to write a person that cannot speak. but english is not my first language, so please excuse any mistakes you might find!
one: Littleroot
"Physically, Yong couldn't speak. It wasn't a matter that he couldn't, but more of a matter that the doctors said that he didn't seem to want to speak, along with a little mixture that he couldn't. Maybe it was underdeveloped vocal chords. Maybe it was the so-called "psychological trauma" of not really having a father for most of his childhood. It wasn't as if Yong himself would-or could-tell anyone. We all thought that he hadn't even bothered to learn sign language-he just nodded blankly at the speaker, or scribbled quickly upon a small notebook he always carried with himself. Of course, when we started our journeys together, I realized that he had known sign language the entire time, the sly bastard.
Nobody even entertained the idea that a mute boy could become a Pokémon Trainer-how would be communicate with his Pokémon? How would he give them commands? It seemed like a preposterous idea-but Yong never bothered to correct anyone. He'd just smiled slightly at the person, and turned away. I hadn't quite thought that I could even become friends with the mute boy next door, when they moved in when I was three, even though they left again two years later. Yong was just...odd. And I hadn't liked him at first, the mute boy who wouldn't talk to me, wouldn't even look my way. Children are cruel to other children, just as I was cruel to Yong for not giving me the time of day. He took it in stride, and soon I was fed up with the punching bag that never swung back. I left the mute boy behind, and set my mind on becoming a great Pokémon Professor, just like my father before me. I could become a Trainer, a Professor, because it was the only thing it seemed Yong could not do. I wouldn't give him the time off day, just as he hadn't given me a single minute of his. It was a childish, one-sided rivalry, and it would be years before it would be reciprocated from Yong to myself. And yet, I was so wrong about that," Haruka laughed lightly, her smile blinding. "Nobody thought that a undergrown boy who couldn't even speak would amount to much." She waved a hand around frivolously, her lab coat flapping as well. "Look where Yong is now. I wonder what all those people who thought he couldn't do anything are saying now as well, y'know?"
"Yong? Yong, are you alright in the truck?" A soft, yet shrill voice woke Yong up with a snap, and the sixteen year old boy teetered out of the moving van, landing unsteadily on his feet. His mother's concerned, grey-blue eyes met his own, and Yong let out a soft breath, and nodded. Ami Kosugi let out a worried sigh, then proceeded to check her only son all over anyways.
Yong, still lethargic, and slightly jet-lagged half-heartedly pushed his mother's arms off of his chest, and raised a brown eyebrow.
Ami took one look at her son's expression, and fell into the usual routine of reprimanding the teenager. "Don't you give me that look young man. I'm only worried about you. I told you that riding in the back of the van probably wasn't very comfortable, nor safe, so I need to make sure that you're all right." Said teenager only nodded in return, and ran his fingers through his hair.
Sighing as well, his mother took her son by the hand, and led him into the house, like an invalid. This also earned her an inaudible sigh, along with an exasperated eye roll from Yong.
Stopping at the foot of the stairs, Ami gestured up them. "You have your own room now Yong, isn't that wonderful?" She stopped as he looked around, at the Machoke bustling around, placing boxes down in various places. "Your father bought you a clock Yong, you should go upstairs and set it. Ah, wait!" She called out as Yong began to clamber up the stairs. He turned back, confusion flickering in his eyes. "Check to make sure everything made it onto your desk, alright Yong?" He nodded again, then continued to climb the stairs.
His room was large, to say the least. Yong hadn't had a room of his own back in Johto. They had been living with his mother's younger brother and sister in-law, and his (sort of) annoying cousin Gold, who was the most hyperactive, competitive kid he had ever stumbled across. As Yong finished setting the clock, he realized that it felt somewhat liberating to have his own room, and not have to share it with hyperactive eleven year olds. It gave him a much needed sense of privacy, he thought, rifling through the pages of his worn leather journal. It was chock full of facts that the brunet had picked up on Pokémon from his father, as well as relatives, so it would come in handy if he actually managed to go on a Pokémon journey. Closing the book with a resonant thud, Yong snorted soundlessly. As if anyone would actually let him go on a stupid journey. Well, he really shouldn't think like that if he wanted to go on a journey. Yong would have stood there for hours, chasing his thoughts 'round in circles, but his stomach voiced its complaints, having not been filled the entire day. Grumbling mentally, Yong slipped down the stairs, and into the foyer.
"Yong! Yong, come over here! There's a broadcast live from Petalburg City! Maybe Dad is on," Mrs. Kosugi waved frantically at her son, and Yong teetered forward, towards the live television.
"We've come to you live from Petalburg City Gym folks! Until next time, this is Mari, signing off!" A woman with cropped short brown hair smiled brilliantly at the camera, waving goodbye. Behind her, in the background, Yong could see the familiar red of his father's sweat jacket, and the stark black of his hair.
Looking dejected, his mother shut the television off, and set the remote down onto the coffee table. "Oh...it's over. I think Dad was on, but we missed him. Too bad. Ah, but one of Dad's friends lives in town. His name is Professor Birch. Do you remember him and his daughter, Haruka, Yong? Arceus, it was such a long time ago when we lived here. You should go over and re-introduce yourself, Yong. The last time you two saw each other, you were only five. Oh, I doubt you remember each other." She laughed lightly, then pushed her son softly. "Go on Yong, go. Make some friends, alright?"
Confused, and slightly hungry, Yong found himself pushed out of the house, and into the balmy summer air that was brought in with the day. Exasperated, yet not quite concerned, Yong shrugged, shoving his hands into the deep pockets of his cargo shorts, and loped over to the house next door.
Not quite sure what to do once he stood in front of the wooden door, Yong rose his hand up in a fist, and rapped on the door thrice with his knuckles.
A woman with dark brown hair, dressed in a black dress with white polka dots opened the door, and did a double take up resting her eyes upon Yong. "Oh my...Yong! It's nice to see you again, how is your mother doing?"
Yong smiled at the housewife, then pulled out the pocket-sized notebook he carried with him, and wrote, She's doing well, Mrs. Birch. How are you doing?
"Why, I'm fine Yong. Why don't you come in? Haruka should be upstairs in her room, dear. Why don't you go and say hello?"
Yong nodded, stepping inside, and pocketed his blue pen and notepad. Climbing up the stairs, and musing to himself, he wondered what Haruka would look like after all those years. Would she still be that perpetually angry little girl that kicked him in the shin, and knocked one of his front teeth out? Well, he really hope not. Yong would rather keep all his teeth in.
"Oh holy shit! It's you!" Yong looked up, and realized that he was at the top of the stairs, and staring one very shocked, quite angry looking Haruka Tachiki. "I can't believe this! What are you doing back in Hoenn?"
Slightly intimidated by the girl's fury, the teen took out the pen and notebook again, and scrawled, Well sorry for moving closer to my father. I'm here because my mother thought I needed to re-introduce myself. Obviously, I did not.
Haruka snorted, tossing her head imperiously. "Still haven't learned sign language then, hm?"
Who said that I didn't know sign language? Yong wrote, a single eyebrow cocked.
The brunette looked at him derisively, like he was a fly on her pale pink walls. "Well, anyways. I have to go help my father out with some research on Route 103. See you around, Yong." And she shoved past him, and down the stairs.
Shrugging-he seemed to do that a lot these days-Yong trotted down the stairs, and silently thanked Mrs. Tachiki, before leaving the house. He wanted to speak with Professor Birch, and the Lab seemed like an ideal place to start.
Pushing the large doors open, it took Yong's eyes a few seconds to adjust to the sheer amount of technology gathered within the large building. The electricity hummed and murmured around him, almost as if the building itself was a sentient, living thing.
In the corner, by a set of bookcases, there was a twitchy, nervous-looking man scrawling data onto a clipboard. Excuse me. Yong tapped the man on the shoulder, causing him to jump a little, then look down at the notebook the brunet was holding out. Do you know where I could find Professor Birch?
The twitchy man adjusted his spectacles several times before addressing Yong. "Huh? You're looking for Professor Birch? He's out on Route 101, doing some fieldwork."
Thanking the man as well, Yong darted out the building, and out into the summer sunlight once more. Strolling rather slowly along the one, worn pathway that wove through Littleroot, Yong stood beside a small girl standing by the archway that led in and out the of small village. (If it even counted as one. There were what, three houses and a Pokémon Laboratory?) She turned to him, and her pretty green eyes looked scared. "I think I can hear someone screaming up ahead. Big Brother, can you make sure that no one is hurt up there? I would go out on my own, but my mommy would get angry with me..." the toddler pouted, her rosy cheeks puffing out.
Yong ruffled the little girl's hair, and stepped out into the damp grass, and followed the dirt path until he came across one of the strangest sights he had ever seen before. And that was saying something-he had lived with his cousin Gold for most of his life. And Gold did a lot of weird things.
There, was the stout professor, running around in the tall grass, being chased by a small, very angry-looking Poocheyena. The Poocheyena reminded Yong of Haruka, and the mute teenager had to suppress a laugh.
The Professor, having spotted Yong, but not yet recognized him yet, screeched out, "Hallo! You over there! Please help! In my bag! There's a Poke Ball!" Crouching down, Yong riffled through the leather satchel the Professor had discarded in the grass. True to his word, there was not one, but three Poke Balls, neatly labeled with their respective type symbols. Eyeing the poor Professor once more, Yong quickly snatched up the Water type Poke Ball, and released the Pokémon inside. It was Mudkip, Yong realized, a small grin spreading across his face. But then, despairingly, he realized that the Pokémon could not understand him, and he could not speak to the Pokémon. Desperately, Yong scribbled on his notebook, and held it close to the Mudkip's face. It seemed to understand, for soon, it fired a jet of pressurized water at the Poocheyena, which splattered all over the dog Pokémon's face, scaring it off.
The Pokémon Professor sighed, and allowed Yong to help him up. "Whew! I was in the tall grass, studying wild Pokémon, when I was jumped." Squinting a little, the Professor leapt back. "Oh ho! You're Yong, Norman's kid!" He scratched at the small beard on his chin. "Hmm. Well, this really isn't the place to talk, so come by the Pokémon Lab later, OK?" Patting Yong on the shoulder, he walked off.
Yong stared down at the small, blue Pokemon at his feet. It sniffed at the ground a little, before walking up to Yong once more, and complained about its stomach. "I'm really, really, hungry! Can we eat something?" Yong froze.
Sweet Latias, was the Pokemon talking? He blinked once, twice, then scribbled on his notebook again, half-certain that this was just a hunger-driven hallucination. He was pretty hungry too...
What do you want to eat, then? Just a test, to make sure that the Pokemon was actually talking, and Yong wasn't completely insane.
The Mudkip looked up, and blinked once, twice as well. "Berries, please..."
OK, then. He wasn't insane. I can understand you? Yong hadn't been around Pokemon much, aside from the Zigzagoon named Molly, that his father often left at the house. Molly had died two years ago, of old age, but never once had she spoken to Yong. He was pretty sure that she never actually said anything at all...
The Mudkip was beginning to look annoyed. "Well, obviously. Can we go? I'm hungry," it whined, butting against Yong's leg once more. The teen sighed, and scooped the water-type up into his arms, pocketing the notebook and Poke Ball.
Yong pushed the Lab doors open, and peeked inside, before tripping on his shoelace, and landing face-first onto the tiled floors. The Mudkip, who Yong had decided to nickname Mamoru-he'd tell it later, and hope it wasn't a girl-leapt off his shoulder, and onto the ground.
"Hey, Yong! You alright over there?" Nodding, Yong hauled himself up, allowing Mamoru to leap back onto his shoulder.
"Well, since you and your mother moved away, I've heard quite a lot about you from your father. I've also heard that you don't have a Pokemon yet. But the way that you battled earlier, I never would have guessed that!" The Professor looked closer. "...also, good job on your quick thinking, Yong. I guess you are your father's kid after all, huh? As a thanks for rescuing me, why don't you keep that Pokemon you used earlier? I have no doubt that you'll be able to get along with him quite well." Yong stared at Professor Birch. The Pokemon Professor smiled, and leaned towards the boy. "I haven't forgotten that you can't speak, Yong. I have no doubt that you will be able to find some way to communicate with the Mudkip. Ah, would you like to give him a nickname?"
Mamoru. Yong scrawled, patting the Mudkip upon his head.
Professor Birch looked amused at this. "Do you know sign language, Yong?"
'What do you think?' Yong snarked, his fingers moving slightly clumsily. He hadn't used sign language in years, not since the boy Silver, from Kanto had visited New Bark Town in Johto. He hadn't gotten along with Gold-and Gold hadn't gotten along with Silver.
The Professor laughed. "That's good. Maybe you should try to teach your Mudkip sign language?"
Yong shrugged, and began to turn to leave. "Oh wait! Yong! One more thing! I think you can become a great Pokemon Trainer, Yong. But you should go find Haruka on 103. She's out there, studying Pokemon. It might not be a bad idea for you to meet up with her, you know?" The Professor smiled kindly, and clapped Yong on the shoulder. "Speak with your mother first, alright? Get her permission before you leave. She's going to lose another person around her home."
'Bye then.' Yong replied, waving goodbye. The summer air was still warm, yet Yong had never felt so cold. He was leaving his mother behind, and his father was never home anyways. What right did he have to leave her alone in that large house that was too large for two people, and enormous for one? Breaking into a run, Yong burst through the door. He wanted to scream for his mother at the kitchen, still cooking tonight's meal. She looked shocked, at her normally passive son, dashing through the door, face flushed pink, panting harshly.
Wiping her wet hands on the white apron she had tied around her waist. "Come here." She drew Yong close to himself, as he tried to catch his breath. "What is the matter, Yong?"
'I want to go on a journey, Mom.' He confessed, signing slowly.
"Then go, Yong." Ami looked her son in the eyes, her eyes. "I won't stop you. I went on a journey when I was your age as well. How do you think I met your father?" She shoved him playfully. "Go get cleaned up, Yong. I'll pack your bag, and you can leave after dinner. I'll also set some Berries out for your Mudkip, alright?"
Yong smiled wryly, then darted upstairs, not after setting Mamoru on the dining table, where the small Pokemon circled for a minute or two, before settling down, watching the mother and son lazily.
Ami Kosugi stopped her son by the gate. "Where are you going?"
'I promised Professor Birch that I would meet up with Haruka by Route 103. I'll be back in time for dinner, Mom.'
Ruffling his messy hat hair, Ami watched her son leave through the gate, and wade through the tall grass. He was growing up, leaving her behind.
a/n two: thus ends chapter one!
so, my name is jae-ha, but you can call me jae. this is my second fan fiction, and i hope it goes well!
please don't kill me for allowing communication between pokemon and yong. i felt that it would make things rather easier, because it is tough, writing a story where the main character doesn't even speak! yes, this is a nuzlocke, so pokemon will die, if they faint. such is the rules.
all names used are the japanese names, because they are the ones i grew up with!
i hope you enjoyed the first chapter, and please review/follow/favorite!
until next time, jae-ha