Pokémon Fanfic: The Legendary Guardians
Redemption
Prologue: The Tragedy
"Ngh…help…"
A pitiful cry in the forest.
The cry of a child.
The dreams of a trainer, the plan to be a master,
Shattered to pieces by the wild.
The first night out in the forest,
The moon shining, as if a guide.
The air was so crisp, so clear,
The setting seemed so mild.
A shadow lurked close by,
Waiting to pounce and destroy.
Soon it would come to pass,
The tragedy of a little boy.
An encounter against a wild pokémon first,
Its appearance was quite rare.
The creature gave a little mewl,
It had plenty of wool to share.
Approaching it with curiosity, the new trainer grew near.
He took out his starter, the one of fire, and together they observed.
Although a wild creature, the pokémon saw quite clear,
That this boy and his partner could be trusted, so it was not perturbed.
Slowly and surely, the pokémon, both wild and caught,
Starting greeting each other with no distrust or fraught.
Until the growl of the shadow became apparent,
The wild pokémon fled in an instant.
The growl of the shadow signaled the end,
The end of the new trainer's journey.
Light is falling, failing, darkness seems more trusting.
Calamity will soon be near…
Confused by the sudden turn of events, the new trainer turned his head to where he heard the growl.
"Aw…" the boy sighed. "I was hoping to catch that pokémon. It seemed so nice." His partner walked up to the boy, giving it a nudge. "Don't worry, Cyndaquil, we'll find some more friends soon, for sure."
"Cynda," the pokémon cried out in encouragement before the new trainer returned his pokémon back into its pokéball. He held onto the pokéball for a second, clutching it in excitement.
"I can't believe I'm finally a pokémon trainer," the boy breathed, looking at the real pokéball in his hands, and picturing throwing the same pokéball out onto the arena of the pokémon league.
The growl came suddenly once more, making the trainer snap out of his daydreams. An uneasy chill rose from his spine to the back of his neck. Something definitely felt off.
It'd probably be best if I left it alone. The trainer reasoned. It probably thinks I'm in its territory. The boy remembered his mother giving him the advice that not all wild pokémon are fond of trainers. If they start growling, be prepared to either fight or leave.
"Well, time to get going then," the trainer chirped before walking away.
Swooosh!
A blob of sludge flew past the boy hitting a tree nearby. The trainer jumped up in shock as he saw the tree start to fall over due to the impact. Turning around quickly, he saw the growling pokémon begin to rise out of the bushes, its figure still a shadow due to the dark night. The boy reached for his pokémon, ready for a fight, but the wild creature started standing taller and taller. Soon enough, the shadowed creature was bigger than any pokémon the trainer had seen up close. Its menacing eyes glowed yellow, and it gave another vicious growl.
I need to get out of here! the boy thought, then quickly turned and ran, putting his pokéball back onto its holster on his jacket. Unfamiliar with the woods, he tripped over a few vines, but quickly jumped back onto his feet and fled. For a moment, he thought he would make it back onto the path, where he was sure he would be safe. However, the more he ran, the more he realized he didn't know where he was going. The moon's light started to fade away, and suddenly the forest looked significantly less peaceful and much more foreboding. The friendly chirps of Pidgey and Butterfree could no longer be heard.
The world itself became darker. A new feeling the boy had never felt before begin to overtake his soul: dread. He tried to run faster, as if he was running from darkness itself, and looking for a light. The more he ran, though, the darker the world seemed to be. Fear began to overwhelm him as he began panting and pushing through some of the bushes. Scratches began to form on his arms as he shielded himself from low hanging branches that attempted to seize him and prevent him from escaping.
Soon running out of breath, the trainer rested next to a large tree. Catching his breath for a second, he wondered if the shadowed creature was still following him. He glanced around, but he couldn't see a thing; the moon's light had gone completely out. The boy looked up to see a dead sky looking back at him.
The cloud's must be covering the stars. The boy thought. I hope I can find my way to a shelter before it-
A drop landed on his head, soon many raindrops began following its lead. Although most were blocked by the trees, some still broke through the defenses and gathered on the ground.
"…rains…" the boy sighed. "Great, now what can I do?"
Kaboom!
The trainer cried out and jumped as lightning tore through the sky.
That was really close! the boy shook himself, trying to regain his composure.
Just as he calmed down, a twig snapped nearby. The boy snapped his head around towards the sound, and he felt his skin crawl as he heard the growl once more.
No, I thought I lost it! Struggling to control his panic, the boy moved around the tree as quietly as he could in the rain, desperately looking for a place to hide. As soon as he was sure the tree was between him and the monster, he dove into a nearby bush. Hoping he didn't make too much noise, the trainer turned around to see the creature slowly marching around the tree, as if trying to sense the boy's location.
It felt like the entire night was going by as the boy waited and hoped that the creature would give up the chase. He could hear the creature sniffing around, especially around the tree the boy was just resting upon. With a slow turn, the creature began looking in the bushes nearby. The trainer didn't dare let himself breathe out just yet, at least not until he was sure the creature was far enough away, but he couldn't hold his breath for much longer.
Finally, the beast gave a grunt before turning away to lurk somewhere else in the forest. The boy couldn't hold his breath in anymore, letting out a sigh. Unfortunately, the sigh was much louder and forceful than he had hoped, causing the bush to rustle. Suddenly, the creature jerk its head directly at where the trainer was hiding, its yellow eyes piercing right through the bush and directly at the boy. Their eyes met, and the boy knew he had been found.
Trying to get a head start, he snapped off a piece of the bush and threw it at the creature before running in the opposite direction. The roar informed the boy that he had caused some damage, but he knew it wouldn't be enough to stop the chase. Hope was started to wear thin for the trainer. His lungs were heaving; he had never ran so fast for so long before. It was hard to keep his eyes open as the rain became torrential, but it hardly matter as the boy could barely see where he was going.
I need to get back home! the trainer thought frantically, searching for anything familiar. Lightning once again tore through the sky, and it gave the trainer a small glimpse of his surroundings before the world became dark once more. In that small glimpse, the trainer could see some sort of area up ahead, and he summoned all of his strength to run faster than he ever had before. Although he couldn't see, the boy could feel the trees getting further apart, and relief began to swell in the boy's chest.
Swoosh! A familiar sound whizzed through the air, but this time it didn't go past the trainer.
It connected right with the boy's right leg.
Tensing in shock, the boy fell immediately to the ground, skidding a few feet in the mud, which trashed his clothes, and destroyed his backpack and materials. His pokéball fell out of its holster and rolled a few feet away. Pain seared through the boy's right ankle as the sludge attack continued to eat through the clothes. Luckily, the rain washed it away before it could reach the skin. However, injuries were all over the boy's body. Scratches and bruises were scattered all over his arms and chest, while his clothes were torn and tattered.
When the shock finally ended, the boy shrieked in pain. His cry was drowned out by the roar of thunder. The trainer gripped his right shoulder, which had taken the blunt of the fall. Looking at the area ahead, the boy's heart sank as he realized it was just the same large tree that he had ran away from in the first place.
Turning his head back to the nearby pokéball, the trainer decided he had to get his partner free. Crawling meekly across the mudded ground, he reached out towards the pokéball, wincing as his body screamed at him to not move. Ignoring his instinct to curl up, the boy summoned out his partner, who appeared in a light blue flash. The pokémon's confused expression turned to pure horror as it saw its beaten up trainer.
"C-cynda…quil," the boy gasped. "Get…out of…here! RUN!"
"Cynda! Cynda Cyndaquil!" the pokémon cried out in protest, before a familiar growl echoed throughout the forest. The trainer glanced back to see the shadowy figure before turning back to his partner and shoving the pokémon away from him.
"GO!" the boy yelled at the top of his lungs. Cyndaquil shook in horror; this wasn't supposed to happen. Their journey together was supposed to be pleasant, fun, and friendly, not this dark, bloody image in front of him. Then the pokémon saw the yellow eyes of the large creature, and anger flared within his heart. Cyndaquil gave out a battle cry before charging at the shadow figure. The shadow creature batted away the tinier pokémon effortlessly, sending it flying towards his trainer. Cyndaquil landed right in front of the boy, and the trainer could see that Cyndaquil had fainted from the one blow.
"Cynda…quil!" the trainer gasped, his voice failing him as pain began to override his body. The pokémon soon regained consciousness, but could barely stand up.
"Cyn-ngh-cyndaquil!" the trainer struggled to speak now, his body started to become weak. "You…need to get…out of here…please…" Cyndaquil shook his head defiantly at his trainer's command.
Unable to think of any other way to save his partner, the boy picked up his pokéball, and aimed it at his partner. Cyndaquil gave a cry of protest as a red beam was fired at it, causing the pokémon to go back into the pokéball. Then, with his last bit of strength, the boy threw the ball as far as he could. He never heard or saw the pokéball after it was swallowed up by the darkness of the forest.
Now he was all alone against this beast. Even the wild pokémon seemed to have abandoned the woods, making it a foreign place. The growl grew louder as the shadowed creature came closer. The boy began to crawl as fast as he could, trying to buy himself as much time as he could, hoping that something could come save him.
Suddenly, everything went quiet. The rain had stopped for the moment, but the clouds still covered the sky, making the whole forest eerily dead silent. Even the creature had stopped growling. The whole world seemed to stop. Time had come to a standstill. The trainer gave one daring look behind him.
With a vicious cry, the creature swung at the trainer, sending the boy flying. The boy couldn't even cry out before his back collided against the large tree, and a sickening snap could be heard. He tried to scream, but no noise was made; shock had completely frozen him over.
Shaking in shock, the boy glanced up to see the creature getting closer and closer. Suddenly, a purple glow began to emit from one of its arms. Realization slowly sinked in, and the trainer tried desperately to shield himself with his beaten up arms. The creature violently shoved them aside, leaving the boy wide open. The purple glow descended swiftly towards the boy, and his eyes widened as the attack connected with his chest.
Lightning struck throughout the sky, and the boy could get a small glimpse of what this wild pokémon looked like before his vision became blurry. The boy could only gasp in shock as he felt the attack sinking into his chest. The world fell dark as the trainer could only feel the most agonizing pain growing inside of him.
Then the beast twisted its arm, wrenching the attack further into the boy, and held it there. The boy began violently spazzing as he felt poison seeping into him and through his veins. Soon, there wasn't an inch of his body that didn't feel like it was on fire.
In the last desperate attempt to survive, the boy tried vainly to grasp the arm of the beast currently stabbing him, but the pain was so great that he could barely hold onto the arm, much less push it away. Eventually, even his arms failed him, and they fell to his sides. The trainer struggled to look up at the beast, his eyes barely staying open.
Finally, the beast retracted its arm, causing the boy to widen his eyes in shock as a new rush of overwhelming pain flowed throughout him. The beast then suddenly vanished, leaving the boy to spasm at the base of the tree. The boy's eyes were wide open and strained, but he still couldn't see. He could feel something seeping from his shoulder and chest. Soon, the pain started to become numb as he started to lose all feeling in his body. His eyes glazed over as his hands stopped clutching the ground, and his chest stopped heaving for air.
"Ngh…help…" the boy pleaded with what little breath he had left. But nobody came.
A pitiful cry in the forest.
The cry of a child.
The dreams of a trainer, the plan to become a master,
Shattered to pieces by the wild.
Rain falls once more, darkness seems to have prevailed.
For the child now falls, and his strength has failed.
However, this is not the end of the story.
For every story needs a setting.
This tragedy is rather the start of glory.
Welcome…to the beginning.