Hello, and welcome to my first Pokémon fanfiction. My story is based on the main series of Pokémon video games, but the mechanics are similar to real life. I was greatly inspired by Daystar Eld's Pokemon: The Origin of Species, as well as Journey of the Guardian by dragonwolf12.
All feedback and criticism is greatly appreciated!
Pokémon: A Lifetime of Adventure
Chapter 1: Deep Bonds
Red is up late that night- the night before his big day! He is finally going to embark on his journey with his very own Pokémon. Restless, he finally gets up. It is no use trying to sleep. He tosses his bag onto the bed and dumps its contents all over it. He might as well do something productive, right? He goes through his supplies and checks whether he is carrying all he needs- Item Balls...extra clothes...food...a flashlight and batteries...a first aid kit...a water bottle...his sleeping bag...
Yup! All there.
He still can't sleep, so he decides to watch a League Battle for a while. He turns off the lights and stuffs a wad of clothes under the door to prevent any of the light from being seen from outside. He then switches on the TV and turns down the volume till he can barely hear the sound. He has watched TV at night so often that he knows exactly how to avoid his mom from coming to know; he's practically a pro at this now.
There it is!
Finally, he finds something worth watching- the latest League Battle of the challenger Mika. She is a new trainer, but she is speedily rising through the ranks. Her latest Pokémon battle is against Elite Bruno. Red is soon immersed in the battle. Oh the skill with which they battle! Lightning quick reflexes, split-second decisions, switching Pokémon in and out within the allotted time of 1.25 seconds; it is almost too fast to follow.
Mika switches her Shiftry into Bruno's Steelix's Stone Edge and hits back with a perfectly aimed Leaf Blade. Bruno withdraws the injured Steelix and replaces it with Toxicroak, dishing out quick Poison Jabs, which Shiftry dodges, only to be replaced by Nidoking.
It is a relatively new trend amongst trainers to use musical instruments or other auditory stimuli to command their own Pokémon, in a system where each different sound is associated with a different command. In this case, Red notices Bruno using a pair of hollow rods to command all his Pokémon. When he hits them against each other at different points, different pitches of sound are produced. Mika, on the other hand, uses a one-handed reed flute, leaving her other hand free to switch her Pokémon at a moment's notice.
Nidoking, being a Poison/Ground type, virtually absorbs the Poison Jabs, unharmed due to its 4x resistance to Poison type moves. It retorts with a flurry of Power-Up Punches, each one amplifying the power of the next, till the opposing Toxicroak is knocked out. Mika gives Bruno a breather to let him check his Pokémon's condition before shifting to his next one. Now comes Lucario, who is met by Dusknoir.
Bone Rush-dodge, Future Sight, withdraw-
"Go Sylveon!" Mika shouts out.
Sylveon fires an unusually strong Moonblast; Lucario goes down, and Bruno switches back to Steelix, the giant serpent gracefully dodges the Moonblasts and Digs underground, erupting out behind Sylveon for a quick take down using Iron Tail. Mika checks on Sylveon inside its Pokéball and sends out her strongest Pokémon- Charizard. Bruno, of course, knows this and says,
"Oh, so that's how you want to play this, huh?"
The unusual glint in his eye gives away his intentions as he shifts in his own trump card- Blaziken.
"Let's see if you can take Charlie out,"
Challenges Mika, holding up her pendant with her Keystone in it. The audience gasps as her Key Stone resonates with Charlie's Mega Stone, on a bracelet on his forearm. There is a bright flash where Charlie was standing a moment ago, and he emerges, Mega Evolved. The orange Charizardite on his arm glows, distinct. His ability- Drought- kicks in, and the open-air stadium is suddenly bathed in bright sunlight.
According to the League Rules, if a Mega Evolved Pokémon on any trainer's team is defeated, it is counted as a loss for the entire Battle. Moreover, when two Mega Pokémon are on the field at the same time, neither trainer is permitted to switch their Pokémon. The outcome of the battle is then decided by the fight of the two Mega Pokémon.
The audience seems impressed my Mika's move, but Bruno, on the other hand, seems indifferent. He promptly holds up his hand, which holds his own Keystone, embedded in a simple but tough Krookodile-skin band. It resonates with the Blazikenite on his Blaziken's Black Belt, et voilà! There stands Mega Blaziken, tall and proud, striking its signature defensive pose, with one knee raised like a martial artist.
A C# from Mika's flute, and Charlie uses Fire Spin. As fast as the great reptile is, Blaziken is faster, owing to its ability- Speed Boost. It leaps up, fists aglow, missing Charlie. Mika snorts derisively, but Bruno is calm, with a hint of a smile. In the knick of time, Mika realizes why. Blaziken jumped high, not to reach Charlie, but to maximize the reach of its Stone Edge. Charlie rises high, avoiding the sharp rocks that fly upwards. He retaliates with an Aerial Ace, blindingly fast. Blaziken, despite its speed, is unable to dodge the attack, and instead, it uses Stone Edge again, bashing its hands against the ground, hard enough to send a huge spike jutting out of the ground, which pierces Charlie's wing, rendering him flightless and pinning him in place. "Time to finish him, Blaziken," Bruno says into his headset, as Blaziken increases its physical attacking power with a quick Swords Dance and charges a Poison Jab. Bruno obviously used a Technical Machine (TM) to teach this move to his Pokémon, and it wouldn't be as strong as a naturally learnt move. But still, combined with the Swords Dance and the toxicity of the attack, it might as well be fatal for the already-injured Charizard.
"Challenger!"
Bruno's voice echoes throughout the stadium.
"You have already lost the battle. Forfeit while you still can, for the sake of your Pokémon. I am forbidden to show any mercy, and I hope you find enough sense in what I am saying."
Pokémon deaths are quite a common occurrence, especially in Pokémon battles, when adamant trainers refuse to withdraw their defeated and tired Pokémon. But that doesn't make the loss of such a dear friend and comrade any easier, especially since, in time, most Trainers realise that they were the ones at fault.
Fortunately, Mika is a sensible one and accepts defeat. She withdraws Charlie and checks on it, making sure he's not too badly hurt, before turning to Bruno and thanking him. She formally salutes him in the way native to the Kanto Region- a low bow with her fingers interlaced behind her back.
Red switches off the TV. He is quite sleepy now. He repacks his bag and sets his alarm clock. He lies down to catch up on his sleep, wondering what is in store for him the next day. He has worked under Professor Oak earlier, as a part time job in summer, and has seen many exotic and strong Pokémon such as a few Dratini, Trapinch, and even an Axew. But hoping for such strong and exotic starters is nothing but foolish! He would probably get a Nidoran or a Lillipup, maybe even a Pikachu if he were lucky. He wonders what Pokémon Blue wants. He remembers their pact and smiles. They are going to have their very first Pokémon battle tomorrow.
I just can't wait to beat Blue!
BzztBzztBzztBzztBzztBzztBzztBzztBzztBzztBzztBzzt
Damn, what time is it?
Red looks at his Ninjask-themed alarm clock- 6:30 AM
Well, that's plenty of time...
Fifteen minutes later, Red is standing in the kitchen, in front of the stove, frying a couple of Pidgeot eggs. He is ready to embark on his journey, and he is so excited about it, but he is definitely going to miss his mom. He eats silently as his mother enters the kitchen, beaming, trying to conceal the great sadness that Red can so clearly see in her eyes. Red swallows the last bite and gets up to rinse his mouth.
"Bye Mom,"
He says nonchalantly, trying not to meet her eyes.
"Do you have everything you will need...?"
"Yeah."
"Enough of food?... Your sleeping bag?... Clean underwear?"
"Moooom!" Red complains, and his mother smiles apologetically, before pulling him into a tight hug and slapping his cap onto his head. He's out the door before he knows it. He walks away from home, down the main street of Pallet Town, not looking back, afraid to see the tears in his mom's eyes; even more afraid to show her his own. By the time he reaches Professor Oak's Lab, his eyes are mostly dry, and the sadness of leaving home is gone, replaced by anxiousness. He enters the Lab and is greeted by a lot of friendly, familiar faces. He greets people as he makes his way to the centre of the Lab, where he is sure Professor Oak will be waiting with his grandson, and Red's best friend, Blue. But neither of them are anywhere in sight. He is surprised to see a girl waiting there though.
Who is she? I don't recall seeing her around here before.
She is not very tall, about five feet two inches; around six inches shorter than him. She is fair, and has a round face and prominent cheekbones. Her eyes though... they are a deep shade of green.
Red smiles at her and extends his hand,
"Hey! I'm Red."
"Leaf," She replies, shaking his hand. She has a soft voice, "I assume we'll be travelling together...?"
What?! It's not just Blue and me then?
"Yeah, I guess," Red says, trying to play it cool.
Just then, Professor Oak enters, along with Blue, and the boys bump their fists, excited. The Professor clears his throat and speaks in his usual booming voice,
"I see you've already acquainted yourself!"
He looks at Red and then at Leaf, takes a pause and then continues,
"I assume that you know why you three are here today...?"
He asks. Of course they know! Today is the biggest day of their lives- the day they get their first Pokémon.
"Well, duh!" says Blue, "Come on Gramps, of course we know why we're here. Come on already! Where are our Pokémon?"
Professor Oak smiles. "Impatient as always, Blue," Red chides.
The Professor continues, ignoreing their immature teasing, "Yes, you know that you're going to get your Pokémon today, but did you also know that you will be given a PokéDex each?"
No-freaking-way! This day just got so much better!
Five minutes later, the Professor has registered them to their PokéDexes, and told them to get comfortable with it. Red marvels at the feat of technology in his hands. A tiny device, no more than 15cm by 8cm, that holds detailed data of all the Pokémon ever studied. It is red, shaped like a handheld gaming console, with a sleek body. It has a silver Pokéball, with a blue joystick in the middle, on the left end, and a few buttons and speakers on the right. In the centre is a large, black screen.
"This is the newest model,"
says Professor Oak,
"As a matter of fact, it is just a prototype; I just finished working on it last week and had three more made specifically for you! Now, I'll show you the more advanced features, but first, let me register your Trainer IDs and your fingerprints to your PokéDexes."
After this is done, Red switches on his PokéDex and goes through the list of Pokémon- #001 Bulbsaur...#236 Tyrogue...#318 Carvanha...#491 Darkrai...#610 Axew...all the way to #721 Volcanion. Red lets out a low whistle,
"That's a lot of Pokémon!" He exclaims.
"Now," Professor Oak says, "It's time for you to choose your starters..." and he walks deeper into the lab, signaling for the three youngsters to follow him. They follow him through a long corridor and end up in a room different form the rest. It is a small, pitch-black room with a table in the centre with three Pokéballs on it, which is brightly illuminated by three spotlights. Red has never seen this room in all the time he has spent at the Lab, trying to learn all he can about Pokémon. On the three Pokéballs are the symbols for Grass, Fire and Water, respectively. Professor Oak turns to them, a broad smile on his face.
"You can interact with these Pokémon for today. You will spend the night here, and by tomorrow, you should have decided who wants which one. These Pokémon are just about the rarest and the strongest you will find anywhere. I hope you will put these Pokémon to good use."
He switches on all the lights in the room, then picks up an empty Pokéball and says, "Now, there are two ways of summoning your Pokémon. You must first press the button in the centre to enlarge it, like so, and then you can either aim wherever you want your Pokémon to appear and command it to, or you can throw the Pokéball. When you summon it from your hand, though, there is quite a significant bit of recoil, so you might not want to start with that."
"But why the recoil?" Red asks suddenly, "Surely the scientists and researchers at Devon can develop some new piece of technology or even upgrade the existing Recoil Cushion to reduce the recoil, can't they?"
"Well, according to the third law of motion, every action has an equal and opposite reaction. If you are shooting out a Pokémon at the speed of light, don't you think that the amount of recoil you feel has already been reduced by leaps and bounds?"
"Well..." Red trails off, flustered at the simplicity of the answer.
"Anyway, why don't you go ahed and choose your Pokémon?"
Red and Blue exchange looks, before diving for the Fire Type Pokéball. Red gets to it first and holds it up in his hand triumphantly. Leaf grabs the Water Type Pokémon and Blue resigns himself to choosing the Grass Type.
"Great, now call them out!" The Professor says.
He seems to be more excited about this than any of the young trainers. Leaf throws the Pokéball and lunges to catch it on its returning trajectory, but misses. There, amidst the bright flash, stands a Squirtle!
"Whoa!"
All the three shout out together, Squirtle, in its final evolution, is amongst the strongest Water Type Pokémon in Kanto. Full of newfound excitement to meet their new Pokémon, Red and Blue simultaneously call theirs out- Blue throws the ball, while Red aims it forward with one hand. As soon as the Pokéball shoots its beam, though, Red's hand is snapped back with a painful jerk.
Red makes a mental note- I need to work on my upper body strength...
Red turns to Blue, who is gawking at the Pokémon with his mouth hanging half-open.
"What...?"
Red says before seeing the Pokémon himself- Blue's Bulbasaur, and his-
"Charmander!"
He half-whispers, pointing reverently to the orange lizard in front of him. It tilts its head at him quizzically, wondering what's wrong with its trainer,
"Rawr?"
"Red, that is so amazing!" Leaf says excitedly.
Blue's face suddenly lights up and Red realizes why. All of their Pokémon are insanely strong in their final forms, and, more importantly, they have access to the powerful and unique transformation of Mega Evolution, amongst a handful of other Pokémon. This alone, means that if reared and trained properly, their Pokémon can be absolute terrors in the stadium! Professor Oak is studying the reactions of all the Pokémon and their trainers. He seems amused by somthing.
Almost ten minutes later, Charmander has taken nicely to Red, earning him a lot of jealous glances from his best friend, who seems to be having a tough time befriending his Pokémon.
"Aaargh!"
Blue shouts in frustration after being Vine Whipped for the millionth time.
"This Bulbasaur is one nasty piece of work! Does anyone want to switch with me?" he asks, looking hopefully at Red.
"Really, Blue? You think?" Red retorts with a smug smile.
"I'll do it," Leaf says, causing both the boys and the Professor to look at her. The two friends had completely forgotten that she existed. She walks up to the Bulbasaur and pets it.
"It seems to like you," Blue says.
Leaf takes Bulbasaur's Pokéball from Blue, and gives him Squirtle's. The little blue turtle is apparently as inclined towards battling as its new trainer, for it shows off with a number of moves, like quick Tackles and strategic Withdraws, topping it off with a spectacular Bite. Bulbasaur, however, is exactly the cute and cuddly Pokémon that Leaf always wanted to have, and they hit it off nicely. By night, the Professor has registered their Pokémon to them and all three trainers have already formed deep bonds with their Pokémon- bonds strong enough to last a lifetime...
Red, Blue and Leaf are waiting outside the Pallet Town Lab.
"I wonder what Gramps wants now?" Blue muses.
All three are busy getting to know their new Pokémon. Blue and Leaf are checking what moves their Pokémon know, while Red has put his Charmander's Pokéball on Virtual Training Mode.
Inside their Pokéballs, the Pokémon live in a simulated environment suited to their type, and similar to their natural habitat. Red can see what his Pokémon is doing right now. Charmander seems to be asleep, in a lush green meadow with trees and a pond around it.
What? No tall mountains or dangerous crags? I thought wild Charmander lived in the mountains...
Red accesses the Virtual Training tab in the Pokédex and checks out the 'Learned Moves' section. He sees there that his Charmander knows Ember, Scratch, Bite, Growl and Smokescreen.
He lets his Charmander rest, and observes Squirtle. Blue commands it to use Water Gun on the Pokédoll outside the Lab and then charge in with a Quick Attack. Leaf seems to be fascinated by Blue's training methods. He takes out his Pokédex and frantically types something in it. He withdraws Squirtle and lets it rest for a while. Just then, Professor Oak exits the Lab, and heads towards the three youngsters. He hands each of them five Pokéballs each, and then gives Red an Ultra Ball for his Charmander.
"Whoa Gramps!" Blue exclaims, "Why don't we get any of those shiny, new Ultra Balls?"
"There's a definite reason, Blue," the old Professor says, "Red's Charmander is a Fire Type Pokémon, and your normal Pokéballs may malfunction if it comes in close proximity to a flame. The Ultra Balls, however, can handle extreme heat, cold, high voltage electric shocks, and even strong bursts of Psychic, Dark or Ghost energy! You and Leaf don't really need one, and they are quite expensive so..."
The Professor trails off as he registers the Charmander to the new Ultra Ball and takes its old Pokéball. Red switches on his Pokédex and notices the vast difference in the options.
Wow! That is a lot of features! Way to make Blue jealous later...
"Red, Leaf, your Pokémon are both females, and Blue, your Squirtle is a male. It doesn't really make too much of a difference, except if you are breeding your Pokémon. I'm sure the Lady at the Pokémon Day care just outside Cerulean City will tell you more about breeding if you want to know. She's the higher authority on Pokémon Breeding, you see... Moving on, Red and Blue, I know you wish to have your very first Pokémon battle now, so I will teach you some of the basics. Leaf, you should listen too, just in case you have to battle a wild Pokémon by yourself. Now the main goal is to attack the opposing Pokémon till it cannot fight. Now, you must be careful so as to not hurt the opposing Pokémon permanently, or injure it too badly. Similarly, it is for you, as good trainers, to know when your Pokémon cannot fight further and accept defeat by withdrawing your Pokémon, instead of making it fight, and getting it killed. All your occupied Pokéballs automatically get synced with your PokéDex and you can see your Pokémon's vitals live, as the battle is going on." He pauses, before continuing, "So, are you ready?"
Red and Blue are both quite anxious after what Professor Oak has said, especially the part about Pokémon getting killed. Neither of them wants to lose their Pokémon, especially not on the very day they have gotten it.
The two young boys take their place on either side of the Practice Battle Stadium next to the Lab, facing each other. Red nervously fidgets with his Pokéball, while Blue seems more confident. After a moment of suppressing their nervousness, both the boys call out their Pokémon,
"Go Charmander!"
"Squirtle, I choose you!"
The two Pokémon come out onto the field, immediately tensing and hopping into a battle stance the second they notice each other. Red's Charmander stand in front of her trainer, as if to protect him. Her sharp claws slide out of her fingers and she bares her teeth in a menacing snarl. Squirtle is less sure of himself, and stands hesitantly, ready to Withdraw at a moment's notice.
"Squirtle, use Water Gun, go!"
Squirtle douses the entire Stadium with Water Guns, one after the other. Charmander dodges them instinctively, knowing that Water Type attacks will damage it severely. Finally, Charmander manages to slip out of the Water Gun's range and Red screams,
"Now, Charmander! Use Smokescreen!"
"Ah, Red fighting smart, I see," remarks Professor Oak, as the flame on Charmander's tail dims, and thick, acrid smoke billows from it.
"Making it hard for Squirtle to hit Charmander is an excellent was of negating your Type Disadvantage! Charmander, being a reptile has a keen sense of smell, and can, of course, navigate easily through the dense Smokescreen."
By now, Squirtle and his trainer are thoroughly confused. Not knowing what to do, Blue decides to play it safe,
"Squirtle, Withdraw, now!"
"That's all right Charmander, cook 'em up! Use Ember!"
Red retaliates. Charmander seems to sense that the battle is drawing closer to its end. She goes all out, her Ember lighting up the black curtain of smoke. Blue gives in before his Pokémon, afraid for his life, "Come back Squirtle," he says dejectedly,
"You win, Red, call off your Charmander."
And Red does so. Professor Oak then calls out a Pidgeot, which disperses of the smoke with a weak Whirlwind. "Well, that was quick," Red says, grinning.
"Traditionally," says Professor Oak, "The loser of a Pokémon battle offers the winner prize money, but that's none of my business, I guess." He stops to glare pointedly till Blue forks out 200 PokéDollars, then continues, "Now, are you all ready to embark on your very own Pokémon adventure? Do all of you have enough Potions and Repels? What about-"
"Hey, hey Gramps!" Blue interjects, "Red and I have taken our share of survival classes form you, and I'm guessing Leaf has taken some too. I think we are pretty much prepared for whatever happens."
"That, and whatever we don't have, we can just make a note of it in our Pokédexes while we are on Route 1. Uhmmm…" He trails off, seeing Blue's pointed looks. "Err, I mean, what we need will be more obvious to us on the- Umm, you know what, never mind actually…"
"Well, if that's how you feel," says the Professor, "I guess I'm just wasting your time. Why don't the three of you take off then? I'm sure I've held you back for long enough already."
The three youngsters eagerly pick up their backpacks and their Pokéballs, shrinking them and putting them in their pockets. They wave goodbye to Professor Oak and his aides as they make their way down the street, towards Route 1. Red and Blue are chatting away, and Leaf is playing with her Bulbasaur, bored of their talks already- "Oh well, I wish I had someone to talk to…"
"So Red," Blue says, "Seen any new battle recently?"
"Oh yeah! Last night! I saw Mika's battle against Bruno."
"You did?! Wasn't it intense? Oh especially the part where Sylveon somehow took out Lucario despite the solid type disadvantage!"
"Oh and I gotta tell you, when the Steelix came out with that Iron Tail… I so called that!"
"Hey, so," Leaf interjects, "Are you guys just gonna talk about battles and bore me to death?"
"Ohh we're sorry," Red says charmingly, while Blue laughs ,"Are you getting bored listening to us talk about battles when we are on a journey to become the strongest Pokémon Masters in the world?"
Leaf laughs too, "Well maybe you want to be a Pokémon Master, but I just wanna be a Pokémon Coordinator someday, and maybe complete the Pokédex…" She is serious by the time she finishes the sentence, "So please, don't keep forgetting about me, okay guys."
"Sure," Red says, with a thumbs-up gesture, and mockingly turns his back to her and pretends to be in deep conversation with Blue.
"Very funny Red," Leaf says, rolling her eyes.
"Well you aren't really supposed to find it funny!" Red retaliates as Leaf allows herself a grudging smile, "Whatever. Lets just move on…"
A few silent minutes later, the trio finds themselves at the North exit of Pallet Town.
Leaf''s eyes suddenly sparkle and she says, "Lets play a game!"
About an hour later, Red is running as hard as he can, trying to keep pace with the small, green Pokémon that has been trying to flee him for the past few minutes. Judging from the colour, it seems to be a Grass type, as they are usually the only ones that are green in colour. Red jumps over a rotting log and lands in an awkward position, one leg on a root, the other stretched out behind him. The momentum of the jump is too much, and he falls over, rolls and jumps back up. The Pokémon was startled by his sudden fall, and he can see it at the edge of his vision; it's trying to figure out what he is doing. It seems…intrigued.
He still can't figure out which Pokémon it is, so he stays still. It comes closer, and he gasps as he catches a glimpse. It is still lurking in the shadows. But Red saw it; a Treeko!
A Pokémon like that… Damn, I can kick Blue's butt bad!
He gets up slowly, and takes out Charmander's Pokéball. He summons Charmander. The orange lizard growls at the opposing Pokémon, claws out and fangs bared. The Treeko accepts the challenge and was into their sight. "Charmander, Scratch!" But the Treeko is too quick. It jumps over Charmander, Pounding at it as it lands. The strikes all connect, and Charmander backs up in pain. The wild Treeko dashes of into a bush, and suddenly attacks from behind Charmander. She tries to dodge, but the Treeko is too quick.
That speed! Red thinks, mesmerised.
Another Pound, but his time Charmander is ready. She twists around, and blasts the Treeko head on with an Ember. The Treeko, severely hurt due to its weakness to Fire type moves, retreats, and lunges into the forest. Red runs behind it, trying to lock-on to it with his Pokéball. But by the time they cross the hedges, the Treeko is already gone.
It's like it vanished into thin air!
Busy wondering about the Pokémon he just saw, he does not notice Charmander, as she is sniffing around the bushes. Suddenly, she claws at the bush as the Treeko jumps out, having healed itself with Absorb. It leaps up, and lands on the lower branches of a tree. It begins jumping from tree to tree, in a circle, trying to confuse Chramander, and, it seems to be working. It bounds down and strikes at her every now and then, but in a seemingly random pattern. "Chramander, use Smokescreen!" Red shouts, and Charmander complies. The next time the Treeko attacks, Charmander lets out a cloud of thick, acrid smoke, and the Treeko falls to the ground. Once again, Red shouts, "Ember!" Then he locks his Pokéball onto the Treeko and throws the Pokéball at it. It lands on the ground…. it shakes once, twice, there is a short delay, and Red despairs, but is quick to be overjoyed when her hears the telltale click. His very own Treeko!