Story: The Void
Chapter: Genesis
Rating: T
The rotting leaves crunched under his boots like brittle bones, flinging themselves against his black-clad legs. He carried on, paying no attention to the sickening noises, and remembered that it was said they used to be a blending variety of yellow, orange, and red, but as forests were torn down in order for an unimaginable number of factories to be built, they have turned to a shade of grey, just like everything else.
Tap, tap, tap, went his feet, carrying him in his journey to nowhere in particular with an unhurried manner. A tree behind him toppled over by the slightest breeze and shook the land with a small earthquake. He didn't even spare it a swift glance.
The cold December air ruffled his white hair gently and then in aggression as the wind picked up again, carrying glittering spores along the way. The boy's eyes flashed, instantly reached for the gasmask in his messenger bag and held it to his face, unmoving. It was then that all the remaining trees deteriorated to nothing as the spores attached themselves to their trunks and slipped through the microscopic holes, all the yellow grass standing by their tips and disintegrate to ashes, and the wild flowers shrivel and wilt – all in a matter of a few seconds.
"Ashes, ashes, they all fall down." He whispered, removing the mask as the wind blew a different direction, herding the destructive spores with it. He let himself fall backwards onto the now naked ground, and fished up his PokéNav from his pockets. The boy scrolled down the list of contacts, noticing the faint light by many of them had faded to nothing, and then hurled the device across the land with frustration. Sensing it was a foolish and risky decision, he quickly got to his feet and checked if it was functioning correctly before tugging it back to the security of his pocket.
A faint splash demanded his attention. He slowly turned his pale blue eyes to the direction of the sound, and slowly but silently, he crept to the pitifully thin stream, discovering a single feebas flopping desperately in the shallow water in a vain attempt to survive. Its pink mouth gaped continuously at him. He tilted his head to the side.
"We both are the unwanted children of Rayquaza." The words rolled off his tongue easily, as he recited the speech numerous times to the dying Pokémons that he had encountered throughout his journey. "He does not care for our safety. He does not hear our prayers. He does not acknowledge our existence." He smiled humorously, seeing that the struggles of the fish had decreased, and blood leaking out of a circular wound from its tail.
"Holes," he continued, but no longer pertaining to his well thought-out speech. "can ruin everything. You are ruined too, aren't you? You would have made it to safety with your pack if it wasn't for that injury on your fin." He paused. "A hole in the sack of rice. A hole in one's plan." Or a hole in the back of your Pokémons' head. His subconscious taunted in a sweet tone.
The memories of his partners flooded his mind, and he recalled the times where the four of them lied on a grassy hill, staring at the night sky and discussed what they would do with their future. Blaziken had his dream of starting his own dojo, a goal that is now unrealistic because of the many things banned by the new government, and private training being one of them. Gardevoir wanted to be a veterinarian, which is quite impossible to accomplish since all the wild poochyenas and skitties were captured and served as delicacies. Umbreon coveted an easy life consisting of eating and sleeping, and again, not idealistic for all Pokémon were harshly trained by the government, and often to their deaths.
But never during those conversations did they say 'I'd like to be shot right in the back of my head and be hung by my feet outside a government building so I can be an example to warn the crowd'.
"Holes," he repeated, swallowing a lump in his throat with difficulty. "can ruin everything. You know why? Because all of us are the unwanted children of Rayquaza."
The fish only stared at him blankly. He returned the eye contact and mentally cursed himself. It made a lot more sense in his head.
He woke up, refreshed, and at a strange place not yet embedded into his memories; however, he vaguely remembered the nostalgic scent that lingered in the room. He sat upright and surveyed his surroundings. He was clearly in a barn, as hinted through the collection of sleeping ponytas and miltanks that were penned far away where he lied on a bed of hay. A family of rattata scurried from one side of the wall to another, the father occasionally looking up at him to check if he was any form of danger.
"Oh, ya up, Bai?"
He turned his head to the direction of the speaker – a lanky teen with dark red hair covered by a straw hat and dirt-covered overalls, a generic farm boy. His dimples and freckles were clearly apparent when he flashed the white haired boy a shit-eating grin. "Why don't ya come to the dinin' table, since you're awake already? I made some breakfast, fresh and delicious, just like what Mum…"
Bai zoned out to another world. How did he get here? What's Matt doing in a barn? And-
"Hey, buddy, ya listenin'? I said that I put some clean clothes by that stand over there," He flicked a finger to the direction of the small table. "The spores won't travel here since Dad installed an anti-spore insulation layer beneath the wood, so don't worry about not being in your travel clothing."
Bai nodded, dragging the bundle over with his closest hand, and looked up at the farm boy. "Are you going to leave, or are you going to stay here and watch me change?" He asked in a deadpanned tone.
The other smiled sheepishly and put his hands in front of him in mock defense. "I'm goin', I'm goin'. Just surprised a little, that's what. Haven't seen ya in such a long time. Almost thought you were dead before I found ya today." With that, he dismissed himself, whistling a mellow tune.
It wasn't until an hour later that Bai attended the dining table. Breakfast may be important, but personal hygiene was a step above that. By the time he took a long shower, washed his hair, and brushed his teeth until his gums hurt, Matt was hungry enough to start chomping on the side of that mysterious thing he cooked, but dropped it quickly when his friend took his seat.
"Gee wiz, Bai. What took ya so long?" The redhead wailed before examining him and snickering in amusement. "Man, you look funny in my clothes. It's like a kid wearing his grandpa's pajamas."
"You're just freakishly tall." The boy retorted, using the rusty fork to jab his food.
"No, you're just too short, Shorty McShort. What are ya, 4'11''?"
"I'm 5'5''." He stated matter-of-factly.
"Well, still plenty short for a twelve year old kid."
"Sixteen." He hissed, chucking his knife at Matt's own plate of meat. It hit right on mark.
The farm boy waved his hand dismissfully, as if shooing away an unwanted fly. "Okay, so maybe I'm not good with those numbers. And that's fish," he pointed at the content in the plate. "Dead and cooked. You don't have to keep stabbin' it."
Bai made a noise of acknowledgement, but jabbed it once again.
"So, un, how's your family? Especially your dad. I talked to him once, and he's pretty cool. What's his name again. I never caught it."
"Does it matter? We are all using fake alias and age, aren't we? If the government finds us with the real names, we would all be beheaded right on the spot for being rebels." Bai dropped his hostile façade, reminding himself that it was his comrade who he is talking to. "His name was Charles. But you might as well just call him orange mist, since that's all that he had been reduced to."
Matt grimaced, his eyebrows knitted together in frustration. "The government's dogs set up explosives again?"
"No. Electrodes, actually. A pack of them all used Self-Destruct in unison. I find it a little odd."
"Sketchy. There's no doubt that the government is behind it."
Bai nodded solemnly, and they ate in silence, both absorbed in their thoughts before the redhead spoke again.
"Aren't you going to ask me how you got here?"
"No."
"Well, I was going down to the forest to check if there are any Cheri berries left since one of my ponytas was paralyzed for a bit, and I thought I better stock up in case if it comes back. But the spores came before I could, and as you probably guessed, the whole forest went down."
Bai sat there unimpressed, still stabbing his food.
"Then my PokéNav started beeping, as it usually does when one of my contacts are somewhat close. I thought that person might be in trouble because of the spores, so I went out of my way to find him. That's how I found ya, lying by a stream being all delirious. Your little friend told me what happened though." He looked thoughtful.
"I didn't have anyone with me." The boy spoke with suspicion, narrowing his eyes at the other.
"Ah, I mean that feebas who was with you. He even attacked me despite how weak he was when I tried to carry you. So I figured that you two must have formed some kind of bond."
Bai snorted. "Bond? I just told him how much of a bastard Rayquaza is."
Matt shrugged. "I brought him back here with a Pokéball. He is in the pool in the yard, if you want to see him."
"As if I'd want to see that thing."
But he did eventually, and wondered why he did so. Matt must have healed its tail, since the feebas was swimming freely with its natural speed. When the Pokémon spotted Bai inching towards the pool, it slowly swam over.
"Why did I come here anyway?" The boy grumbled, taking a seat by the edge. He looked at the fish. "What are you doing? Go away. You are ugly, an even worse sin created by Rayquaza."
"And you are the most insecure coward I've ever seen." Feebas retaliated.
"Maybe so." Bai rested his chin on his knees. "Rayquaza is ruthless, isn't he?"
"Are you going to blame everything on him?" The creature asked, its tail swaying slowly in the water.
"If I need to."
They sat with a comfortable silence between them, and stayed until night's darkness wrapped the sky.
A/N:
Thank you guys for reading! This chapter is fairly short, since it is the introduction, and I am in need of more characters. Yes, I am taking OC requests. I need around 3 main characters, several supporting characters, and bad guys. 8D
Rules.
You may submit as many OCs as you want to increase your chances of one appearing in my story.
Do not make your character into a Mary-Sue. That means no animal components, angel parts, etc. Odd hair colors are fine, since it is in a fictional world.
As for their Pokémons, do not use legendaries.
Also, please note that this story is a morbid one containing tragedies and death.
Form:
Name:
Gender:
Age:
Appearance: (You may write anything from a few sentences to several paragraphs, or, you can give me a picture)
Personality:
Pokémons: (A maximum of four, prefer less)
Pokémon Personality + Names: (Optional)
Love Interest: (Can be no one)
Character Role: (Main, Supporting, or Antagonist)
I prefer male OCs and boy x boy pairings. Submiting a male OC will increase your chances, but I will also write het pairings if I like the female character enough. (And I do need a few female OCs as well.)
Please send your request through a review. Thank you!