Pokémon Quartz

Hello everyone. I hope you are doing well. This story was made mostly for fun and whatnot. I uploaded this on Deviantart, but I wanted to expand here as well.
The story has nothing to do with Ash and his motley crew. Save for the creatures, the story is loosely based on Pokemon Platinum, with some of my own OC's. If it gets popular enough, I'll post more chapters here too. Hope you guys enjoy.

Pokémon and related chars. All property of Nintendo.

Chapter one: "It starts…"

June 15, 2106

Today was a different day of sorts. Usually the nostalgia of one starting their very own journey into the world of Pokémon would have been of great excitement. In Mark's case, it was the nostalgia of having to live under the reputation of your eldest brother.

Before we get too far into the story, let's discuss whom Mark is for a second. Mark is a young man, whom had never seen or even heard of Pokémon since he arrived in the strange undiscovered world of Sinnoh. He usually wore an orange hoodie and regular blue jeans. After an accident long ago, his right arm and leg had been torn from his body, and replaced with cybernetic appendages. It's unusual for a boy of his age, but he eventually accepted his lack of nerves and continued on with life. He lived with his family in the U.S. before his father was given a brand new job for his work. He and his family were to report to a new land that had formed 50 years ago, and help with the construction of a new facility that would be emplaced there. His father, being the leader of the family, of course, went ahead to start working at the new station that was set up in a new town called New Brush town. The plan was for the station to be finished in two years. Mark, his brothers Daniel and Steven, and his sister, Sheila, as well as his mother, all arrived a few months later with all of their moving supplies.

Their first real surprise wasn't the neighborhood at all. The real surprise came when everyone seemed to take notice of the family's pet dog, Kirby. Kirby was nothing more than a Cocker Spaniel mix. He was a very active dog, and took note to bark at every little thing in sight. When neighbors came, they would ask, "So what type is that dog?" or "I've never seen anything like that before. Does it know any cool moves?" All of which, infuriated Sheila to the breaking point and started to chase after people with the broom, which her mother kindly held away from her.

It was indeed, awkward to live in a place where the people were so used to the fact that little puppies could neither shoot flames from their mouths, nor terrorize any unsuspecting person from the area with a single bark. But, Kirby was just that…normal in every aspect.

Of course, that didn't stop the family from accepting the weird and nonsensical, as the father would usually bring home interesting things from work when he got home. At first, it was just to show the mother the different animals in the area that lived among us. Then, it became a daily show, of which, he would come home, and then, after dinner, the father would bring everyone into the living room and show what showed up at work today. Usually, it was a Rattata or a Bidoof. Then, it turned into the bizarre as Hoppip, Oddish, or even a Magikarp was found in the area. It almost came to a halt when the father brought home a Ghastly whom nearly terrified the mother before Daniel subdued it.

Otherwise, life went on perfectly normal. Everyone went to school, and came home, and everything they would do back in the US. Then, once Daniel finished High School, he packed up a backpack full of things, and left with some of his friends. That was the last anyone heard from him, until they turned on the TV to see him competing in a game with the bizarre creatures that the father would bring home. That was the day Daniel became an Elite champ. Everyone in school was jealous and excited to know that his relatives were still in the vicinity of the town. Many people began to complement the family on their son's effort. Others tried to battle the younger ones, which they couldn't. The mother hated the fact that young people stopped their education just so they could go off and get themselves killed. Mark spoke that here this was a right of passing for the young men and women, and they would grow off of the experiences at hand. But just one look at his mother's face could tell that she would not allow any more of her children to be involved in such tomfoolery. Stephen, the hot-head of the group, disobeyed his mother's orders, and started to search for one of his own. He was gone for so long one night that his mother had to call the police to find him. He was all right and they didn't understand why she had to ground him just for looking for a partner.

But Stephen finished school, and his mother and father counseled him on what he would do for his life. He knew what he wanted and spoke very earnestly of it, but his parents refused, saying that they would not let someone do something that didn't put bread in the cupboards. Furious, Stephen packed his things and left in the middle of the night. His Mother called the police again, but they could do nothing for it was his choice and they couldn't stop him from leaving. The mother cried, "What good are you then?!" and slammed the phone into the receiver. This was the next chink in the armor that led to a tougher love. Mark and Sheila were bombarded with question after question of what they would do with their lives. Sheila seemed to have a pretty good idea, but Mark was a challenge and more. He could have cared less, let alone done nothing in the entire world.

Mark was more laid back than his family would let him. If his mother didn't constantly remind him of what he needed to do, he probably would have led an unsanitary life style. Needless to say, Mark was not uncaring to people's feelings, but he hated being tied down to his family's wishes.

Back to the story, it was Mark's last year of high school, and the 18 year old couldn't have been happier. It seemed that a lot of things were expectant of him once he got out. The episode of when his eldest brother won the league challenge was still stuck in everyone's minds. And there hadn't been anyone to oppose him of his right as of late. A challenge was soon, that was for sure, but no one knew the exact time.

Mark was walking home after the ceremony, thinking about what he should do now. His mother had him filling out a whole bunch of applications for colleges he didn't want to go to, but to her avail, or rather his luck, nothing came thru from the mail.

"Maybe its just coincidence," Mark thought as he continued walking on. Then, he could barely see as a pair of hands cupped over his eyes.

"Guess who?" a familiar voice rang in his ear.

Mark sighed, "Arnela, you've got to stop doing that."

Arnela was Mark's first friend since he came to Sinnoh. She would always wear the same red dress with a white belt tied around her waist and white shoes to go with it. What really made people's heads turn was not her pink hair (oddly enough, people had that hair color here) but the neko-neko ears she had on her head. Mark always thought she got them from some random after effect from an attack or something, for they were very real. People at school would make fun of her for having those ears, but Mark would stand up to defend her. That was how they became good friends.

She removed her hands;"Aw, but I was having fun" she giggled.

Mark sighed, "Nothing's going to be fun anymore after this."

Arnela frowned, "It's your parent's right?" (Mark nodded) "Oh come on Mark! You could at least tell your mom how you feel."

Mark gave her a dark look that said "yeah, right". "Okay, so maybe she isn't into the differences between here and now, but at least you're doing something that's going to be good right?"

Mark shook his head, "No. I still haven't heard from anyone about a recommendation or anything. I'm starting to be concerned."

Arnela passed in front of him and stared at him, "Maybe it's a good sign?"

Mark stopped, "…Yeah…maybe."

He got home and placed his bag on the bed. He was about to fall asleep when his mom called, "Mark, dinner is almost ready, could you take Kirby for a walk?"

Mark sighed. It was Sheila's dog, make her walk it. He grabbed the leash, and like a bolt of lightning the pup zoomed to the front door. Mark attached the collar and they both walked outside.

Kirby sniffed the ground in the evening sun as Mark watched. He had always liked Kirby, this was for sure, but there was times when he was a trifle to deal with. One time, he had gotten loose from the house and started barking and chasing some Pidgeys that were settling next to their home. Kirby would've been taken away by a Pidgeotto if it hadn't been for Mark's quick thinking.

They walked from the house, taking their usual route, going past the school towards the edge of town. This gave Mark a good chance to have some quiet time and think. He looked around him. Tall grass surrounded him on all sides. He took note of this, knowing that wild creatures roamed in the tall grass and it would be unwise to enter without protection.

Then, it happened. Kirby's eyes darted towards something in the tall grass. Mark looked at the pup, "Kirby, what's- ". Then, he heard it too. Someone was calling for help. Mark ran through the brush, Kirby at his side until they reached a clearing to see a man huddling under the attack of a Starravia, a giant bird. Mark knew this man. This was Prof. Eucalyptus, the poke' scientist whom his father was working for. He was a squat man with blonde, puffy hair growing from the sides. He was bald, but he was also one of the greatest minds in the world when it came to the creatures in the area.

"Someone, help me!" he cried. Mark ran up to his attacker and shouted, "Shoo! Shoo!" The bird flapped at him and a powerful gust billowed from its wings and struck him in the chest. He flew back and hit the ground, narrowly missing Kirby, whom continued to bark at the bird.

"In the briefcase!" The Professor shouted, "Use what's in the briefcase!" He pointed towards a black leather briefcase that was lying a few feet from him. Mark rushed over to it and pried it open.

Out popped three orbs that rolled around in the interior. Mark was shell shocked! He knew what these were.

"Aaah!" the professor cried. There was no time for waiting, Mark thought. The professor could be hurt. Out of random, he picked up one of the spheres. "Go!" He cried, throwing the orb into the air.

It spun around for a second, and then opened, and a burst of light issued forth from the opening. Mark gasped. He didn't realize that it was occupied. The light fell to the ground and soon, dissipated as a small turtle appeared from nowhere. The turtle was green and had an earthly colored shell. Even weirder was the small plant growing on his head. "Turtwig!" It cried as it flew at the bird in what seemed a charge. With a thud, the turtle knocked the bird off of the scientist and it flew off into the sky.

Mark rushed over to the professor, whilst Kirby was investigating the new animal, "Are you all right, sir?" he asked.

The old man raised himself up and said, "By Jove, I've been saved!" He rushed forward and vigorously shook Mark's hand. "Ah! Thank ye, so much lad! What be yer name?" he asked.

Mark, dumbfounded by the man's ability to move after that attack stuttered, "M…Mark! My dad works for…"

"Oh! You're David's son! Tha's wonderful! We must have a chat! But…er, would you mind returning my Turtwig?" he said.

Oh! Mark realized and turned to the small turtle, which was getting uncomfortable as the dog continued to sniff him. Mark raised the ball just as Kirby lifted his leg. The beam of light hit the turtle, and absorbed him into the ball before he was struck by liquid. The dog, seeing the light, tried to follow it, but ended up barking at the orb in Mark's hand. Professor Eucalyptus laughed at the sight.

"Ay, what a cute dog," He said, rubbing Kirby's head, "Oh, please lead the way kind sir."

"Where?" Mark asked

"Where else of course! To yer parents house, me lad. I have a proposal to talk with them", replied the professor.

And the two of them left briefcase and puppy in tow, to the beginning of an adventure.