"Pokémon: The Chase for a Hero" by Westrmistr (Westermeister)
I do not own Pokémon. This story and all original characters, concepts, and events belong to me.
"Pokémon: The Chase for a Hero" was my first true foray into the writing field. It helped me grow as a writer, and this can be seen as you progress through the story itself.
I began writing this back in early 2009, finished writing it in late 2010, and completed the final edit in late 2011. It was originally posted on a forum that has unfortunately gone down. I decided it was time to re-post it in a place where people could read it again.
I want to dedicate this story to the people of that forum, to all those that made it such a great place, and to the ones who read my story and gave me help and advice.
I'd also like to dedicate this story to, and to take a moment to thank, my proofreader, who was integral to the final edit.
Credit goes to SirDreamWorks from deviantART for the reworked high-resolution image of the map used in the cover. I made the logo.
This story takes place five years after the beginning of Pokémon Red, Blue, Yellow, and Green Versions, as well as the beginning of the Pokémon anime; it combines the canons of both series as one continuity. If you have any comments or questions about this story, by all means, leave a review or send me a PM directly, and I will get back to you.
Please take a look at my profile; images related to the story are listed there to help illustrate certain characters' appearances.
Without further ado, here it is!
Prologue
In a dark, chaos-torn world, lightning traced the sky over an endless abyss, and a battle waged on. The only illumination in this world was the occasional flash and the menacing red glow emitting from two Pokémon's eyes.
The two Pokémon were silhouetted only for a second. Both were determined they wouldn't lose this fight. They floated in the darkness for a few moments; then came the flash of lightning again, accompanied by crashing thunder.
One of the Pokémon was very large, gray in color, and had a ring around its stomach. The second Pokémon mirrored the first.
One again came the burst of light. The two let out a cry that sounded so otherworldly it would have sent chills down a person's spine.
Both looked into the other's red eyes, awaiting a cue to attack. The lightning flashed, illuminating the Pokémon, then came the rumble of thunder. The enemies howled and charged at one another, clashing with great force, sending shockwaves in every direction.
The fight continued on, not showing any sign of letting up.
A man sat in a dark room talking over a radio, "Base Camp Alpha, status report."
"We have located one of the targets," a voice crackled back.
"Excellent. What about the other?"
"We have yet to find the second target. Base Camp Beta is still looking."
"Very well then. Prepare the item for shipping to headquarters immediately."
"Yes, sir." The radio went silent.
The man reached for a remote control. Pressing a button, a large monitor screen lit up. On it was a blueprint of a structure. Then, he brought up a schematic of an airship and smiled evilly. "It's all coming together," he said, chuckling.
Chapter 1
It was early in the morning; the sun had just barely begun to shine its rays on Pallet Town. It was a peaceful little village located in the Kanto Region, where many new trainers came to obtain their first Pokémon. This town had been used in many stories as the place where dreams and journeys began.
A young man lay in his bed. He swung his arm as if he was throwing a Poké Ball, hitting himself in the face. He sat up with a jerk, rubbing his nose.
"Ouch…" he muttered to himself.
Chase had black hair, blue eyes, and was a little more than five feet tall. He got out of bed and walked over to his dresser. Opening one of the drawers, he got out a black t-shirt and blue jeans. Chase quickly changed from his pajamas to his street clothes, grabbed a belt that was lying on top of the dresser, and strung it through his belt loops. Chase yawned and walked out of his room into the dimly lit hallway, tiptoeing quietly until he reached the door to his parent's room. He peered in through the crack to see if they were still in bed. He couldn't see very well without opening the door further, so he continued on.
Quietly walking down the hallway into the kitchen, he looked around. There was a refrigerator and a sink to the right of him; to his left were some cabinets. Chase walked past the refrigerator and turned left.
Chase was startled when he saw a figure standing there. A tall man was in front of Chase holding a pan with scrambled eggs.
"W-what are you doing up this early? I thought you were still asleep!" Chase said to his father.
"Well, today's your tenth birthday, so I knew you would be getting up early," he replied. "Here's some breakfast!"
Chase and his father sat down and ate. After they were done, the boy got up from his chair.
"Hey, where are you going?" Chase's father asked with a grin on his face. Chase just stood there. "You're going to go get your first Pokemon, aren't you?"
"Well, yes," Chase admitted.
"You're not going now."
"Why not?"
"Because it's eight in the morning, and I don't think Professor Oak is even awake yet."
"Oh…"
"Why don't you go pack? I'd say Professor Oak will have everything ready for new Trainers around ten."
"All right!" Chase agreed. He walked back to his room and took out his new, tan-colored backpack. He filled it with extra clothes and food for his trip.
Chase sat down on his bed and rolled over to the other side. There on the ground was an old Game Boy Advance SP. Chase picked it up and turned it on. The colorful "Game Boy" sign appeared and a chime sounded. The screen went black, then Chase started to press the A button rapidly, trying to skip the opening scene. Then, the Pokémon FireRed title screen appeared. He pressed A again and the game started. Chase went to his party, where there was a lone level 100 Charizard.
"Well, this is goodbye, old friend." Chase played on his game until it was time to leave.
Around ten o'clock, Chase turned his game off, grabbed his backpack, a blue jacket, said goodbye to his parents and hugged them, then ran outside. His mother and father stepped out the front door; the man called to his son.
"Goodbye, Chase! Have a safe journey!" he yelled while waving his hand, proud to see his boy growing up.
"Good luck, and stay in touch, honey!" Chase's mother called, also waving. Chase waved back to them in return, telling them that he would.
The boy in blue ran up a large slope leading to Professor Oak's lab. He knocked on the door. A tall, elderly man with gray hair opened it.
"Hello! You must be the new Trainer! I was expecting you!" Oak said happily as he motioned for Chase to come into his laboratory. The room was white in color, and there were many machines scattered around. At the back of the room, there was a table with three Poké Balls lying on it. Chase ran up to the table and looked about in excitement.
"So, which one do you want?" the professor asked. Chase looked over the spheres and chose one.
"I want Charmander!" Chase declared as he tossed the red and white sphere into the air. It opened and a white light shot out. The stream of energy hit the ground, and a small, lizard-like build materialized.
"Charmander!" it said happily. Chase bent down to look the orange Pokemon in the eye.
"Hey," he said, "do you want to come with me on an adventure?" Charmander crossed its arms, closed its eyes, and turned its head away in response.
"Char," it said quickly in disagreement Chase was disappointed. Charmander opened one eye and looked at the boy, a smile creeping across its face. Chase realized it was only joking.
"You were just fooling me! You do want to go, don't you?" He picked Charmander up. "Hey? Do you like running?" he asked. Charmander nodded and said its name. "Okay!" Chase set it on his shoulders and started to run around the lab in a circle.
"Charmander! Charmander!" it exclaimed, enjoying the ride. Professor Oak smiled in pleasure at the two getting along so well.
"If you like that," Chase said, "just wait until we get outside! It'll feel like you're flying!"
Just then, a shockwave pulsated through the room. The blast sent Chase, Charmander, and Professor Oak flying into the air, blowing over many piles of paper and notebooks. They landed on the floor with a thud.
"When you said it was going to be like you're flying, I didn't know you meant it literally!" Professor Oak said, rubbing his head.
"Yeah, me either…" the new Trainer responded. Charmander was lying on it's back, dazed.
"Char…" its voice trailed off weakly while it held its tail away from the ground.
"Are you okay, Charmander?" Chase asked. The Fire-type sat up and nodded.
"Char!" it responded.
"What do you think that was, Professor Oak?" Chase asked. Charmander looked up at the professor, waiting for an answer.
"I don't know," he admitted. "I've never experienced anything like that before."
"Well, what ever it was, I'm sure you'll get to the bottom of it," Chase assured the old man.
"I hope so…" Oak thought for a moment. "Oh! I still need to give you your Pokédex and Poké Balls!" He walked over to his desk, grabbing five Poké Balls and a red notepad-shaped device known as a Pokédex. "Here you go!" he said, handing them to Chase.
"Thank you!"
Chase put the capturing devices on his belt along with Charmander's Poké Ball, and the Pokédex into his backpack.
"Good luck!" Oak said happily. Chase thanked him again. He ran outside with Charmander holding onto his head. Oak began tidying up his lab, completely baffled at what had happened.
Coming to a stop, Chase said, "Now, would you like to go in your Poké Ball for a little bit?" Charmander nodded and jumped off of Chase's shoulder. "Return, Charmander!" A red beam of light shot from the button of the Poké Ball, returning it. With that, Chase walked out of Pallet Town and onto the well-known Route 1.