PROLOGUE
*Five Years Before*
Nico screamed out his mother's name through the violent water and rain. He was holding on to a wooden board, drifting out away from the sinking S.S. Cactus. The ship had struck something and had started to shudder and creak as it began dipping into the sea. "Go!" Nico's mother had yelled to him as a murky hand of water reached out through the hall, grasping around a dozen frantic people into its embrace. The alarm bell had only just begun to ring as Nico, shocked, had watched as the water took his mother. Nico reluctantly backed away as she was engulfed in the waves. The ship began tilting faster than ever and Nico barely climbed to the top deck. His shoes skidding with only an ounce of friction keeping him on the floor, he jumped over the railing and into the dark water.
Now Nico was desperately holding on as his board rose up and down with each churning wave. The distant ship seemed to have stopped sinking with its upper half still above the water. It had presumably hit a ledge in the ocean floor and it was only a matter of time before it fell deeper in. Nico was not paying attention, instead searching the debris on the surface for his mother, or even any other survivors. Even as the sky began to fill with light, Nico got colder and colder. 'Dammit' he thought. He needed to keep looking but he was all too painfully aware of the fate he would receive if he didn't try to make it to land. Nico looked all around him and spotted a strip of land that seemed fairly close. He struggled against the currents for almost an hour until he was able to make it there and crawl, shivering, onto the grassy beach. He dragged his beaten body further onto land and lay curled up, trying to save heat. The air was warming and Nico fell asleep.
He woke when the sun was in the peak of the sky, bearing down on Nico. Nico had stopped shivering and relaxed for a moment as the sun hit his face. That was when the reality of his situation began to set in. No other survivors had washed ashore while he was sleeping, probably meaning everybody was dead. Including Nico's mother. He began to cry as crowds of Wingulls shrieked in the air above him, probably wondering what this newcomer was doing on their beach. Nico couldn't stop crying as he desperately tried to come up with excuses. Maybe she and the others were sticking together, trying to reach land themselves. Nico knew his mother wouldn't abandon him, though. She would be just as worried about him more than she was about her. No, she would be even more worried than he was.
Therefore, maybe she was still out there, looking for him. She was on her own board, screaming out Nico's name over and over, the same way Nico had for her. No. Nico had experienced firsthand the freezing cold. She wouldn't have been able to stay out there much longer. The cold would've been the death of her. Not that it mattered, as she probably drowned before the cold could get to her. 'Now,' Nico thought. 'I am all alone.'
Nico rose to his feet as the last of the sun's rays shone down. His shoes weren't there since he had kicked them off before. Nico had also managed to stop crying not too long beforehand. Not sure what to look for, he shuffled along the grass deeper onto land, which very quickly enveloped him in a forest. Taking one glance behind him at the water, which shone with the sunset's light, Nico continued on. He walked deeper and deeper until the ocean was nowhere in sight and the trees blocked out the last bits of the sun's light.
Nightfall came fast and Nico realized he would need somewhere to stay that night. He was already tired from walking through most of the evening, and he needed to sleep somewhere until he found some form of civilization. He licked his dry lips, which hadn't seen fresh water in almost 24 hours. Seeing a small indent in the grass, he went there and laid down on the ground. Nico proceeded to try and fall asleep, but visions of the shipwreck haunted him every time he tried to close his eyes. Nico got a lump in his throat as he realized that his life would never be the same. He was in the middle of nowhere with no supplies and nobody to help him. He was all alone in the teeming wilderness. Tears started welling up again, but Nico had a moment of strength. He couldn't let this nightmarish situation get to him. With resolve, Nico wiped away the tears and pushed away his emotions.
Nico was still awake an hour later trying to figure out a way out of his predicament. He needed to look at his surroundings and see if he could recognize anything that might help him. He noticed an undersized Wurmple making its way up a tree. Unfortunately, Nico couldn't remember exactly where in the Hoenn region Wurmples predominantly resided in. Deciding to pick his thoughts up again in the morning, Nico was just drifting to sleep when a sharp crack, followed by a howl, rang out somewhere in the distance. Nico sat up in fear. Whatever pokemon that was, something obviously just happened to it and if it came near him, it might attack. Nico was in no shape for that. On the other hand, if it was hurt, Nico would likely be able to approach it without retaliation.
Nico decided that if he was ever to survive out here, he needed to not be afraid to go check it out. He slowly pushed himself up and went in the direction the sound had come from. As he got closer, Nico heard a small shuffling noises, followed by labored breathing. Even as he approached, the breathing seemed to get more strenuous. Nico then reached a clearing and saw what was going on. A Poochyena was dragging itself along the ground, its back legs twisted out of their shape. The Poochyena saw Nico and stopped moving as Nico cautiously walked nearer. Nico crouched down beside the hurt Poochyena and carefully laid his hand on its back. The Poochyena faintly growled but made no moves against him.
It was obvious the pokemon was quickly losing life and wouldn't last much longer. Regardless, Nico observed the back legs and saw that they had both been snapped in half and partially torn from the rest of the body. Gently petting the Poochyena's head, he tried to convey to the pokemon what he was about to do. Unsure if it understood, but knowing it would die otherwise, Nico returned his gaze to its legs and as best as he could, set the bones in place before the pokemon could react. As soon as he set them and took a few steps back, the Poochyena snapped its head at him and viciously snarled.
With nothing else to do, Nico sat just out of the pokemon's reach. A couple times over the next half hour he tried getting closer to it again, but was always stopped by the Poochyena's growls. It wasn't until the Poochyena was too weak to even snarl at him that Nico came closer, taking another look at its injury. It was obvious it would end up killing it, and Nico became frustrated over how lacking he was in ability to help heal it. He wasn't much of a healer, only… Nico pushed away some older thoughts and returned to the present. He looked the Poochyena straight in the eyes. It glared back at him, clearly untrusting because of what he'd done to it before.
Nico felt like he had to do something, so he took a few berries from a nearby bush and delicately placed them in the Poochyena's mouth, one by one. They didn't seem to have any effect on the Poochyena's health. 'So these aren't the types of berries that can heal pokemon' Nico thought. However, the Poochyena seemed to enjoy them. Nico could tell from the greedy look in its eyes as he gave them to it. Eventually they were out of berries and so Nico looked the Poochyena in the eyes again, although this time it seemed more trusting of him than before. Nico laid down next to the pokemon and softly pet its ears. The Poochyena warily poked Nico with its snout and relaxed as it shuddered with pain. Nico placed his head on its back and still continued to look the Poochyena in the eyes until it couldn't keep them open anymore.
Nico started to panic. He couldn't lose anything else, not after what had happened. He clasped the Poochyena's paw in his hands as its breathing slowed, and eventually stopped. Nico felt himself losing it. He broke down as the sun began rising in the sky above the unmoving creature. Nico knew what he could do, but he would not allow it. He had to push his emotions away, stay strong for the new day. But the dead Poochyena laying in front of him was only a painful reminder of what he had lost. If couldn't save this, no wonder he couldn't save anybody else. After all, what was he capable of? Nico had one thing going for him, but he had learned to not use it. His ability made him a freak. Then again, he was a freak as it was, living in the wilderness alone. That was the problem though. He was alone.
Nico struggled to overcome his fear and keep control. He knew how to save the Poochyena, even after death, but using it made him an abomination. After he had raised their Whismur back from death, his mother had reacted with great fear. She told him to never do what he had done again. She said to let the dead stay dead. She took the Whismur, which was so happy to see her again, and killed it. Nico's mother had made Nico bury his ability to bring dead pokemon to life deep inside of him made sure he never used it again.
The thing was, what did it matter now? His mother was gone, but the Poochyena in front of him was not past saving. Nico steeled himself. Out here, he would have to do what needed to be done. Nico needed a companion. He needed something he could count on to be there, and at the moment this was all he had. He bowed his head in the golden sunlight, and brought his shaking hand to the Poochyena. His ability surged through him and for a moment, the clearing turned pitch black. Then again the sun appeared, this time not shining on a dead Poochyena, but an alive and completely healed one.
Over the next week, Nico and his Poochyena searched for some sign of human life. Nico stayed alive by eating the berries he found. They not only contained water, but provided enough nourishment to keep him going. Concerning the Poochyena, Nico felt some regret, but every time he saw it walking beside him it cleared his doubts. The Poochyena owed Nico for his efforts and stuck to him. Nico got thinner and dirtier, his clothes starting to match his hair color. He felt a little helpless, but the Poochyena encouraged his progress. It was then that he found the town.
During the nighttime, Nico would imagine what it would be like to finally find traces of human life. Whether it be a discarded chocolate wrapper, fire smoke in the distance, or an actual person, Nico would imagine what would happen. He'd try to picture what he'd say to them, how to explain his situation. Nico would tell all this to his Poochyena, who would probably be asleep. Nico wondered what he would think of the people he found. Or what they'd think of him.
Nico found a rut in the ground while searching for berries, and jumped up and cheered, a smile grinning across his face. He followed the tracks even past nightfall, eagerly awaiting what he pictured would be in front of him. A little past what felt like midnight, Nico saw a boy about his age who was leaning against a tree trunk, sharing a couple of food scraps with a wild Wurmple. The Wurmple seemed pleased with its treats, while the boy longingly watched it. The boy didn't seem to have any pokemon, in a ball or not. Nico and his Poochyena raced towards him, while Poochyena let out a sharp bark.
The boy looked up, startled to see a ragged boy and a Poochyena so close. He examined Nico as he jogged up, explaining his story as fast as he could.
"Hey! My name's Nico! I was in a shipwreck and made it to shore near here. I've been in the forest for almost a week, looking for civilization. I really need some help, maybe wherever you're from can help me..." The boy interrupted Nico.
"Wait you're from that shipwreck last week? News was there weren't any survivors, and the ship was ten miles offshore… You must be some kind of swimming freak if you could pull that off" the boy jokingly told him. Seeing Nico's impassive face, the boy turned his attention to the Poochyena at Nico's feet. "I'll bring you back to Littleroot Town. If you were in the wreck, how were you able to keep your pokemon with you?" he asked. Nico tensed up, but the boy didn't notice. He had started to walk away from the pair, so Nico rushed after him. "Oh, and my name is Will, by the way."
Nico said "I found this Poochyena a while back near the shoreline. It was hurt, so I helped fix it and it's staying with me now." He didn't expand any further. He felt good about helping the Poochyena, but that was in a time of need. He was never again going to use his ability, much less tell anyone. He couldn't afford being shut out right now.
"Cool. You're so lucky you got a pokemon to trust you so well you don't need a pokeball. I've got a wild Wurmple that likes me, but it won't follow me back home and I don't actually have any pokeballs to use on it. Professor Birch is the only one in the town that has some." Seeing Nico's surprised expression, Will laughed. "That's right! The famous Professor Birch lives in Littleroot town! We'll go to him first to see what we can do to help you two. Besides, he's the only one I'd trust to not tell my parents I was out tonight." Will sheepishly grinned as he tried making excuses for why the Wurmple was so important to him, and how he really wanted his own pokemon to travel Hoenn with.
Nico grinned back, happy with his discovery. He'd found somebody who could lead him to a town, which he hoped would care for him and Poochyena. Will seemed friendly, and after a week with only a pokemon as a friend, every time Nico looked at Will it was like he was looking at the most beautiful person in the world.