Prologue
Snow was lightly falling through the mid-December evening as James Wilson Senior and his wife Elisa strolled leisurely along Sinnoh's Route 201, with their son, James Junior running around them as they walked.
"It was nice seeing your family again," James Sr. said to Elisa, taking her hand into his.
"It was, we don't come out here often enough," she replied, returning his grip.
They had been happily married for six years now, and their five year old son meant the world to them. Despite their different backgrounds and origins, it was love at first sight. And even though James Sr. wasn't a native to Japan, he was welcomed into Elisa's family with open arms.
"Daddy! Mummy! Lookit, a pokerman!" Their son squealed in excitement as he pointed at a wild Bidoof that emerged from the treeline. It regarded the humans with a blank look, tilting it's head in what looked like curiosity.
"Don't get too close, James! It might be dangerous!" Elisa called out in concern, as James Jr. started to wander close to the wild pokémon.
"Relax, it's just a Bidoof. It's not gonna do any harm, and besides, I've got an ex-regional Champion as a wife to protect our boy," her husband said, pulling Elisa in close and rubbing her hand affectionately, as she prised her eyes away from her son to briefly look up into the eyes of her love.
And in that brief moment, the Bidoof scampered off back into the treeline, and as young James made to follow it out of childlike curiosity and wonder, he caught a glimpse of something amazing just within the gaps of the trees.
It was a pokémon unlike anything young James had ever seen before. It was big, as big as his parents, and in a similar shape to his father's Herdier, but sleeker and less hairy. And it was also a shade of light blue, with a white underbelly, and had a strange thing on it's head and wavy things that looked like paper streamers that his cousins would run around with.
James stared in awe at the magnificent beast, and as he began to slowly approach it, it quickly turned it's head to stare right back at the human child. James froze, and he uncertainly but curiously met the pokémon's gaze. It lasted barely a second, before the pokémon seemed to huff and turned its body around so fast James had blinked and missed it, seeing only its rear end as it pranced away, deeper into the woods.
With his focus now solely on the mysterious pokémon he had seen, young James took off after it, stumbling and wobbling as he tried to run after it through the snow and over the tree roots.
It was at this precise moment, that Elisa looked away from her husband and back to where her child had been not a moment ago, only to find that James Jr. was no longer in sight.
"James?" She called out, letting go of her husband's hand as he noticed the worried look on her face. "James, where are you?" She called out again, but no response.
"James, you okay buddy?" James Sr. called out, scanning the treeline where he and the Bidoof had been.
"James?!" Elisa called out, more frantically this time, as she walked towards the trees, trying to see if she could see her son.
"Herdier, emergency!" James Sr. shouted as he pulled a poké ball from within his coat out and threw it in the air, bursting open and releasing a stream of white light, that struck the ground and solidified into his most loyal companion.
"Our son has gone missing, see if you can catch his scent!" JAmes ordered as he caught the poké ball. With a bark his Herdier nodded and began to sniff the ground and air, trying to find the right scent.
"I looked away for just a second and he was gone! He was right there! What if that Bidoof did something? What if-" Elisa's panicked stream of words was interrupted as James Sr. pulled her into a comforting hug.
"It's alright, we'll find him. He can't have gone far, why don't you send out your pokémon to help search?" James said as he rubbed her back soothingly, Blinking back tears, she nodded and pushed away from the hug, grabbing three of her own poké balls and throwing them out onto the path.
With three more flashes, three more pokémon appeared, this time a Ninetales, a Garchomp, and a Luxray. "My friends, my son has gone missing! Please, go find him!" With cries of determination and acknowledgement, they started to move out to begin searching, when Herdier's barking drew everyone's attention.
"What is it boy, you got his scent?" James Sr. asked, to which his Herdier barked in affirmation. "Great! Lead on!" Another bark, and HErdier was running off into the trees, with his owner, Elisa and her own pokémon not far behind.
Meanwhile, young James was still trying to catch up with the strange but awesome pokémon, which swiftly pranced and leaped around the trees and over roots with serene grace and beauty. He lost sight of it, and after a few minutes of blindly running through the forest, he emerged from the trees out upon a small snowy bank next to a vast lake, with a small island in the middle. And standing upon the island was the strange pokémon, in all of its mysterious beauty.
Staring wide eyed in amazement at the creature, James saw it turn to look at him once more, it's strange purple hair and the white streamers flowing as if a gentle gust of wind was moving them, despite the fact that the air around the lake was unnaturally still.
Looking down at the surface of the lake, James Jr. saw that the water was frozen solid, and realised that he could cross it to reach the pokémon. With a brave step, he placed a foot upon the ice. It as somewhat slippery, but he was able to keep his balance. Placing his other foot on the ice, he slid a little and frantically windmilled his arms to try and stay upright (just like he saw on a cartoon), which seemed to do the trick.
Slowly, he started to move forward, being careful not to slip too much on the ice. As he began to cross the frozen lake, the pokémon watched wide eyed as the human child dared to cross the ice to reach it. Young James glanced up briefly at the pokémon to see if it was still there, and it was, watching him in what he thought was fascination. But the pokémon was watching him not in fascination, but in slowly growing horror.
Without warning, just as james had took another step on the frozen water, his foot fell through a patch of very thin ice, cracking the area around him as his leg plunged into the icy cold water. Gasping in fear and panic, he fell forward onto the ice, cracking it even further. Parts of it broke away, and he found himself suddenly slipping backwards and underneath the surface of the freezing water. It was so cold, his chest became very heavy and he found himself unable to breathe in or out, gasping in a silent, panicked scream. His thick winter clothing only served to weigh him down and along with the inability to swim, he sank deeper and deeper into the lake.
As his vision blackened, he saw something plunge through the surface above him. Although it was fuzzy, it looked sorta like the pokémon he had been chasing...
After some time, Herdier led James Sr. and Elisa through the forest and out onto Lake Verity's shoreline, emerging on a small natural embankment. Seeing his Herdier indicating that the scent trail went over the frozen water, James Sr. froze.
"JAMES!" He shouted, cupping his hands around his mouth to direct his voice across the lake, but the response he got wasn't from his son, but his wife.
He spun sharply on the spot as Elisa screamed in horror, and he quickly saw why. Further down the embankment was their son, lying motionless on the ground, and right behind him was... a Suicune?!
"JAMES!" Elisa ran forwards, not caring about the powerful legendary standing just beyond her son. She fell to her knees as soon as she was near, grabbing her child and hugging him as tears flowed down her face. Her pokémon rushed forwards also, taking up defensive positions in front of their trainer and glaring daggers at the Suicune.
James Sr. quickly joined his wife, and tried to check his vitals, but Elisa's grip made it almost impossible. "Honey... give him here." He tried to gently take him out of her hands, but she held on tighter. "Elisa! I know you're upset but let me do my job!" He shouted, shocking his wife into silence. She turned to stare at her husband, tears still falling down her cheeks, before glancing back at their son.
"Okay..."
"Thank you." James Sr. carefully took his son into his own arms and checked for a pulse, before examining his face. "He's got no pulse, and he's damp and freezing. He must've fallen through the ice!" He surmised, staring down at his only child in shock. "He needs immediate medical attention! Where's the nearest hospital?" He asked Elisa, who was looking even more distraught.
"J-j-jubilife City!" She cried.
"That's too far away! Dammit, we'll never make it in time!" James Sr. could feel tears of his own threatening to escape, and he quickly squeezed his eyes shut. That's when the Suicune spoke.
'I can take him there,' it said, using telepathy to speak the words directly into their minds. Elisa looked up, finally acknowledging the legendary's presence, as her grief stricken face twisted into one of pure hatred.
"YOU! You did this!" She shouted in fury as she stood up, pointing threateningly at the legendary.
'Indirectly, but yes. It is my fault your child fell through the ice. I am sorry to have let it happen, but I can save him, if you allow me to take him to this hospital.'
"NO! You're not taking my baby! Garchomp, attack!" The Suicune managed to nimbly dodge the dragon pulse sent at it by Elisa's Garchomp, leaping over their heads and landing behind them, next to father and son.
"Elisa, don't! None of our pokémon can get there fast enough, and an ambulance would take too long! Responsible or not, this Suicune is our son's only chance!" Standing up with his son cradled in his arms, he turned to the legendary. "Please hurry, take him as fast as you can to the hospital in Jubilife. Tell them what happened." Elisa watched with growing fear and grief as her husband gently placed their son upon Suicune's back. After making sure he wouldn't slip off, the legendary quickly ran off, leaping across the ground in great bounds and at an incredible speed.
"Wha... what did you do?!" She screamed at James Sr., causing him to flinch.
"I did what was best for our son! If he fell into freezing water, then time is of the essence! If you're not quick enough to get them proper medical treatment at a capable facility, then they're as good as dead. Suicune are a fast pokémon, allowing it to take our son to the hospital may have just saved his life!" He snapped back, making her flinch. Pulling out two poké balls, he returned his Herdier and released his Unfezant. "Let's go, we need to get to Jubilife ASAP."
As his Unfezant grabbed him by the shoulders, Elisa quickly returned her Ninetails and Luxray, before climbing onto her Garchomp's back. Together, they set off in the direction of Jubilife, with James flying through the air and Elisa traversing the ground.
There was only one hospital in Jubilife, and it served as a center for all critical human injuries. While clinics and pokémon centers were capable of treating any human injuries, any serious and life threatening cases had to be directed to the nearest hospital.
After arriving in front of the hospital, James and Elisa quickly returned their pokémon before crashing through the doors of the hospital's main reception. They ran to the main desk, barging past the queue of people already waiting and surprising the receptionist.
"Our son should've been brought in by a Suicune! He was suffering from hypothermia due to cold water exposure!" James explained quickly to the receptionist, who paused for a second before turning to type on a computer.
"Yes, he was brought in... ward 3, second floor. Ask for a Doctor Sail."
"Thanks!" With that, they rushed off towards the nearest elevators.
After reaching the second floor, and following signs for the correct ward, they entered and went straight for the nearest nurse's station.
"We need to see Doctor Sail! It's about our son!" JAmes asked the nurse at the station, who nodded and quickly dialed a number on the phone on the desk. Within a minute, a man in a white medical coat strolled over, cleaning his glasses with a pocket hankercheif.
"Can I help you...?" He started to ask, glancing between the couple.
"We were told to come here, our son was brought in by a Suicune."
"Ah! You must be the boy's parents! Come, follow me." Gesturing them to follow, he led them down the ward to a small private room, where the door and curtain were closed. Pushing it open, he allowed James and Elisa to enter, and as they passed through the door, they saw their son lying on a hospital bed with a Growlithe resting across his body. On the opposite side of the bed sat the Suicune, watching with an unreadable expression as James and Elisa ran to their son's bedside. "He was brought in just in time, we were able to resuscitate him and bring his core temperature back up. He'll make a full recovery."
Taking their son's hand between both of their own, James and Elisa sighed in relief as they stared at their son, who rested peacefully on the bed.
After some time, the couple finally addressed the Suicune in the room, who had been waiting patiently at the opposite bedside, only it's mane and tail were moving.
"Thank you." Elisa spoke first, staring at the legendary with untold gratitude. "Thank you for saving our son. I'm sorry for acting rash earlier... that was wrong of me, I'm sorry."
'It is I who should be seeking forgiveness. I allowed the boy to follow me, and I did not expect him to try to cross the frozen lake to reach me. If I had acted sooner, or if I had never showed myself in the first place, this unfortunate incident would never have happened.' It bowed it's head in shame, as it began to explain what had happened at Lake Verity. After it had finished reciting the events at the lake, it turned to look at them once more. 'I do not expect forgiveness, but I will try to make it up to you and your son.'
"What happened was an accident. If anyone was to blame, then it would be us for not keeping a close watch on our son." James spoke, giving the legendary a reassuring smile.
"It was tragic, what happened, but don't ever think of it as your fault. An even if you do, saving our son was more than enough to make it up to us." Elisa added.
'If you say so...' the Suicune seemed to mutter uncertainly, returning it's gaze back to the floor. 'I shall remain until the boy awakens, and then ask for his forgiveness, too.'
'If he forgives me...' the Suicune added as a thought, glancing out of the corner of his eye at the slumbering child.
Fifteen Years Later...
It was well past three in the morning, and James Wilson Junior was hard at work at his computer, scanning webpages, saving images, copying walls of text, and memorizing maps. The twenty year old had been doing what he called "research" ever since a fateful (and near fatal) encounter with the legendary beast Suicune. Little did it know at the time that upon his awakening, it had sparked an interest inside the young child. One that hungered for knowledge, knowledge about pokémon. But not just any pokémon, oh no.
James Wilson Junior, one-time regional champ, aimed to become the best researcher of legendary pokémon that ever existed. Ever.
The only obstacle that stood in he way of his dream, however, was his dear beloved mother.
"JAMES ARTEMIS WILSON." His mother all but shouted as she threw open the bedroom door. "What have I told you about this late night 'research' you are doing?!"
"Don't use it as an excuse to view explicit content...?" He said nervously. Despite getting on in years, Elisa Wilson was still as fearsome as she was back when she was the champion of Sinnoh. A fact she regularly exercised upon the family household.
"Well, yes, there's that. And I also said to not do it! You need to sleep and staring at a screen like that all night will only damage your eyes! Now go to bed, before I get Garchie to unplug your computer." With that, she closed the door on the thoroughly scolded Wilson. Sighing, he powered his computer down, making sure to save everything, before walking over and collapsing into his bed.
"Snitch," he grumbled to the room's only other occupant, and from the shadows emerged a Gardevoir.
'Can't prove anything,' said the Gardevoir smugly, and even though James couldn't see it, he knew it was sticking it's tongue out at him.