Chapter One
A Passing of the Ways
AN: Hello, just a quick bit from me and then I'll be on my way. Throughout this installment, and the hopefully many chapters to follow, I'll be using the mythology of Pokémon extensively. At times I'll play fast and loose with canon, but trust that any deviations are simply plot devices. Thank you, and enjoy.
14 January 2000
The snow was lightly falling on the streets of Pallet. A fine layer of dust covered the gravel roads, each flurry fell silently in the night, illuminated by the fires from each street lamp, an almost supernatural mist followed in its wake with every brush of wind. Resting on their porches were a few elderly citizens, they watched the snow, and tried their best to shoo it away with broomsticks. Above, the sky was overcast, with small patches of darkness poking through. An occasional star would shine its way down. Although it was creeping towards eleven, there were still several lights on throughout the town. Roughly seven of the twelve houses were dimly lit, in two of the houses the silhouettes of families sitting down for a late dinner were present. For the others, the neon light given off by the televisions flickered, the town died and was born again in just a few seconds. All the houses were similar in structure. They had a brick foundation, wood siding and tar roofs, the chimneys were made of brick as well (each one puffed smoke at a steady beat). Rather than having a porch, each house had their doors on ground level, and there were no garages. Pallet was so small that there was no need for cars, moreover, due to how harsh the Winter had been so far, the economy had taken a hit, making cars difficult to buy for most citizens. Pallet, or the Kanto Region in general, is known for its farming and fishing. With a port to the south of the city, Pallet maintained a healthy portion of the fishing community, while also acting as wheat and corn farmers.
As one of the smaller towns in the region, Pallet typically kept to themselves. Apart from fisherman and aspiring professors, the population rarely went above thirty. The city is encased by a large, white wooden fence that is about six feet high. Beyond the fence are trees and failed crop sites. To the east, there is a memorial for the first settlers of the city. It is a bronze plaque with all fourteen names printed on there, the plaque is attached to a marble base which has a small garden at its feet. Once a year, the citizens gather around the memorial and give thanks to their ancestors. Not only were they the first settlers in Pallet, but the region as well. Roughly four hundred years ago there was a drought in a neighboring region, one that lasted for a full decade, and was only broken with the help of a Slowpoke. The people were split, stay in the land they had called home for generations, or move on and try to find something new. A party of one hundred souls decided to head east and look for water in the process.
The expedition made their way through modern day Pewter and Viridian, naming them based off the predominant colors in the city. For Pewter, they noted the dull color the dirt was all around them, the rocks were pale as well. Viridian was a lush forest that stretched several miles, hence the green name.
Due to the elements, lack of food and disease (Kanto carried a different form of Influenza that they were not used to), eighty-six perished, their bodies laid to rest all along the routes they took, their plots marked by rocks that just read their name and the year that they died. Several of the rocks still survive and were declared national landmarks.
Down on the aforementioned port was a group of teenagers meeting on the dock, four in total, they had a radio next to them and were taking turns sliding rocks on the frozen sea.
The first one, Evan, wore a red jacket with his fathers named stitched onto the fabric just below his neck. With a pair of light brown pants that had dry mud stains along with brims, Evan wore a black shirt and had a pair of steel toe boots on. He walked over to a white, industrial bucket the group had and produced a handful of thumb sized rocks from it. Winding up submarine style, he let one rip across the ice, it bounced twice before sliding and went on for nearly fifty feet 'not too bad. Steve, can you find something other than the news? Shits too depressing.'
Evan carried his fathers name, a fact that often-caused frustration when receiving mail or signing up for services. It had been six months since his father had lived with his mother and him. After a painful, albeit quick divorce, Evan Sr. had become lost and began a years long journey across the region. He took with him only the pictures he had of his family, food for two weeks, a sleeping bag and two sets of clothes. He later regretted not packing a tent but given that he was traveling on foot it would have been extremely difficult. Whenever he reached a new town Evan Sr. would be sure to call or write to his family, sending trinkets to them as well. Evan cherished them, putting every Pokéball or rock that was sent back on his windowsill and staying up a few extra hours in the hope that his father might walk through the door. There were no hard feelings between the three of them, though Evan found it difficult to understand how, after twenty-four years, a relationship could crumble. In the end, it wasn't infidelity or abuse, they had just grown annoyed and unhappy with one another. Privately, Evan's mother (Carla), still loves her husband, there is a part of her that always will. However, she would have divorced him again if given the chance.
Steve nodded and began turning the dial, static played alongside the incoherent mesh of commercials and songs. Before the dial had been turned, the radio personality had been reporting on the five-day forecast, before that the topic was about five people had gone missing while exploring Mt. Moon. Finally, he found a station that was playing current hits, all four voiced their approval and carried on with their game.
Although Steve was the youngest of the group, he was sixteen, there was little enjoyment to be had for him. He and his mother had moved to Pallet just last Spring in the hopes of downsizing and living a more affordable life. Only two months prior to their move, Steve's father passed away due to a heart attack. His father, Rick, was an electrician in Vermillion. One afternoon, he answered a call to work on a set of powerlines. Unfortunately, when he was suspended up in the air, he encountered a live wire and it sent waves of high voltage electricity through his veins. According to the coroner, his death was almost instant, which if anything was a small amount of consolation. At the time his mother, Louise, worked as a cashier at the Pokemart. The accident caused half the town to lose power, including her store, so she was unaware that her husband had passed until the sheriff found her keeping the remaining customers in check.
Louise had grown up on a farm, her parents were immigrants from the Orange Isles and brought with them seeds to exotic fruits that were valuable in Kanto. With the knowledge she had from the years spent tending to the crops, Louise felt downsizing and returning to her roots was the best option for her son. Of course, with the cold, any plans she had of this life being prosperous have been put on hold. Many nights were spent wide awake, trying not to think about how little money was left. In recent weeks Louise has been applying for cashier positions as far away as Cerulean, almost thirty miles away. Their nicest possession is a bike that her husband would use to ride from one job to the next, so at least she had a form of transportation. Regardless of what she needed to do, it all came down to the reason she came to Pallet in the first place, whatever would be best for her son, she would do.
Steve now took a handful of rocks and began tossing them, before each throw he needed to brush away his eye length brown hair that never stayed combed. Unlike Evan, Steve was braving the cold, he had on only a yellow t-shirt, with the words 'Forever Still' written in cursive over his chest, a pair of blue jeans and white tennis shoes. He played with each rock before launching them like a Tommy into space. Once the ninth and final rock skidded into the darkness, the four of them sat cross legged on the dock, their clothes now damp from the snow.
Far off, towards the horizon, the island of Cinnabar was outlined against a break in the clouds.
The remaining two figures, Allison and Rebecca, were sisters, four years apart, and the middle of the group. Although they were a few years apart, most mistook them for twins. This mistake stemmed from their hair and eyes being identical. Both had a bright shade of blue for their eyes, though upon closer inspection they reflected pasts far different. For Allison, there was a certain spark that glistened against the Sun, or Moon for that matter. She was innocent. However, Rebecca had eyes that ran deep into her soul, they served as a door to her inner strength and sorrow. Instead of glistening, light seemed to disappear when her iris was stuck, it sank deep into pupil, and seeped into the vitreous. Much like how fish are born blind at the bottom of the sea, her vision is disrupted by her view of the world. The two sisters admired the horizon and wondered out loud what lied beyond their quaint town. Neither had left Pallet, and while they dreamed of escaping the clutches of their hometown, the thought of leaving scared them. On several occasions they made their way to Route 1, a heavily forested path to the north of Pallet which leads to Viridian City, but upon looking at the tall bushes and trees that encase it and knowing that Bug Pokémon inhabit the area (poisonous to be precise), they always walked solemnly back to their house and locked themselves in their room for the night.
Outside the lone window of their room, was the research facility, Oak Laboratory. One of the fantasies they traded back and forth was the thought of getting their first Pokémon, training it, and setting off on a grand adventure. It was nice to dream, and easier to believe the lie than face the truth, but in the end, none of it did them any good.
Time dragged on like a blade, slowing peeling away at the fabric of space, it may have been an hour, or only a few minutes before the silence was broken 'I'm planning on leaving in a few days' Steve said, 'I don't know when I'll be back, but I feel like if I stay in this town another minute, I'll go crazy.'
'I don't mean to sound negative, but where do you plan on going? It's not like you have any money, and your Mom needs you.' Allison replied, turning sideways and working her way to her feet, as she did the ponytail she fashioned for her long, chestnut colored hair came undone
Steve shook off this concern, stating that his mother is a strong woman, and one less mouth to feed is a blessing. He had hopes of finding work a few towns over. Over the radio, there was a commercial for a new church that was opening, and they needed Holy Men. While not ordained, Steve did have experience in the spiritual studies. From grade school through eighth grade, he assisted the local minister after school. There he learned all the stories needed to carry a sermon, and was offered by the church to be ordained, but his aspirations were elsewhere. With that being one of his only qualifications, it was a stretch, but one worth fighting for.
'I've been planning an escape' Rebecca followed, the group sighed and humored her, 'no, really. There is this mansion off on Cinnabar, rumor has it that it holds some of the oldest secrets to Pokémon. My first goal in life was to be a historian, and if I'm ever going to start, it might as well be there.'
'Do you still have those journals, or papers you sent in for publication?' Evan asked as he made his way over to Rebecca, she replied 'yes,' and explained how none had been accepted yet
'We've all been here for so long that it seems impossible to leave. But I think it would be foolish for either of you to go alone.' Allison said as she lovingly placed a hand on her sisters' shoulder, the two felt that connection that only sisters share, and for the briefest of moments, all other worries faded away 'I'll go with Becky, and how about Evan tags along with Steve, at least until he reaches the church.'
'That grand adventure we always talked about?' Rebecca chuckled
'It'll do.' Her sister replied
The four then watched the clouds part for a moment, unveiling a star lit sky, after a few tears were shed and hugs exchanged, they parted ways and headed to their respected homes.
Originally Published In: The World, As We Think We Know It
Humble Beginnings (pg. 24-25)
Rebecca Vans
When studying most topics, literature, cinema or art, there is room for interpretation. A grey area that allows for the writer to view it the way they feel, and while it may not be the creators' intent, the writer is not inherently wrong. Art if the study of feelings, history is the study of facts. For something to be considered a historical event it must be witnessed by at least two people, one to give testimony, and the second to verify it. However, what is the procedure for when the event takes place millions of years ago, long before the first line of evolution began to take place? In this case, the Earth is our witness, and the stories she leaves behind act as the verification. The topic for todays paper is about the numerous creation myths that surround the Pokémon World.
In the beginning…
There are those who believe that Arceus created the entire universe millions of years ago, entire stories have been written about the mythical creature, most notably, the Original Story:
In the beginning, there was only a churning turmoil of chaos.
At the heart of chaos, where all things became one, appeared an Egg.
Having tumbled from the vortex, the Egg gave rise to the Original One.
From itself, two beings the Original One did make.
Time started to spin. Space began to expand.
From itself again, three living things the Original One did make.
The two beings wished, and from them, matter came to be.
The three living things wished, and from them, spirit came to be.
The world created, the Original One took to unyielding sleep...
There is a total of four stories written about Arceus being the creator of the universe, the remaining three spans across the entire world, and with the help of carbon dating we have found that the stones that they were initially etched into predates when the civilizations made first contact with one another. So how did these stories, all with similar themes, come to be. There is the argument that as humans we are conditioned to believe in a higher power, that we were created, and if you come across enough examples of myths there will certainly be similarities, as they are all trying to explain the same thing.
Interestingly, this story contains references to more than just Arceus, in total, there are five other Pokémon spoken of. Traditions states that these are Dialga, who was given control of time. Reported sightings of this Pokémon have existed throughout recorded history. They generally occur at, or around major historical events when the emotional response is at its peak. Dialga has a sister, Palkia. This creature was given power over space and all that inhabits in, and due to the nature of time and space, the siblings often fought. In May of 1922, there was an earthquake that was felt throughout the entire world, loud, demonic like cries could be heard echoing through the ether. Entire towns were leveled, and the sky darkened, dropping the worldwide temperature by four degrees. When silence fell, the skies cleared as well, one of the highest regarded scholars of the time, Dr. Ruth Walker, was able to record the sounds and found that they matched the descriptions of Dialga and Palkia from settlers several thousand years ago.
The remaining three are Azelf, who brings the world the power of will. Second, there is Uxie, who gives the world knowledge. It is from this Pokémon that the Sinnoh Region town gets its name. Finally, there is Mesprit, which offers emotion. These three Pokémon make up what is commonly referred to as, the Lake Guardians, as after their creation they were sent to live in secluded areas around the lakes of the Pokémon World. That is, except for Mesprit, with this Pokémon it can be found guarding the graves of the fallen Pokémon in the Celestial Tower. All three-followed suit with their creator and fell into a deep sleep until they care called for.
There is much debate over whether a sixth Pokémon was created by Arceus. This stems from the belief that an idyllic society cannot exist without a threat looming, no all-powerful being would create a perfect situation for its creations. Consequently, logic states that there is another Pokémon which controls all things that are negative, the dark of the world, or other dimension of it.
Once the work of Arceus was done, it fell into a deep slumber. Many have searched for it, but as of this writing, no evidence of its existence has ever been found.
