The Land I Walk Across
This idea sprung from my head as I was reading the comic (what that comic is, I will tell you all later). I would like to first start with a premise. This story is not mine. It never will be. I will never own it. Never put anything to it. Never hold any soul of it. There are very many reasons why I shall never own this story. The original concept is from someone else.
I have always prided myself with being able to come up with original ideas. But when I saw this, I couldn't stop reading. I was transfixed that something like this could exist. I would like to first thank my good friend, who shall be known as, Zade. Zade introduced me to the world of Nuzlocke.
What is Nuzlocke? You might ask. Well its simple.
Does anyone remember Pokemon? The...
Catch Pokemon, Train them, Beat Gym leaders, Elite Four and so on. Yea, people like to remember it. But while the game play, grinding, and so on felt nice there was no story. And while you were with certain Pokemon for lengths of time, you felt no loss when they fainted.
Nuzlocke remedies these problems. Nuzlocke is a very simple, yet empowering concept.
First: If a pokemon faints, from anything, it is gone. You release it or box it permanently. There is no revive, no pokecenter, its faint and goodbye. Even your starter is liable for death.
Second: The first pokemon you meet on a route, you must either catch or catch nothing at all on that route. This means that if you meet a rattata on route 1, you have to catch that rattata or nothing at all. Even if the very next pokemon you find, on that route, is a fucking Mew-Two. Yep. Also, If on Route Two, you find another Ratatta, You still have to either catch that one or nothing at all.
These two simple rules put such huge constraints on you. I like to think of it as Pokemon on hard mode. But, as I realized, the people who play this also like to have Comics, to go along. And some of the things they did with these comics were amazing. I felt richness, joy, laughter as they went through their journey. I felt angst, sadness, and pain when one of their Pokemon died.
Nuzlocke opened up a grandiose world, and I was sucked in right away.
Why am I telling you all this?
Simple, I am going to grab one of the Nuzlockes. The Nuzlocke I took made me freeze. It was so amazing that have reread it so many times. It is called Yellow Nuzlocke by ~land-walker. You can find it on Deviant art. I wanted to do a Nuzlocke, even though I couldn't draw. So I decided to use this medium. But than, as I kept dreaming up the concept, I kept coming back to this. I kept coming back to the Permise of this comic, this story.
I just couldn't tear myself away, So I decided to grab the premise and make it my own, Citing Land-walker as the original source!
Here we go!
The stars were glistening in the night. Unlike many centuries ago, all of the stars were visible and plain to see. It helped that there was no light pollution or any form of it in the area. The stars glistened like a individual rays as if to say, I am here. The stars contrasted the heavy darkness that surrounded the area, the small town.
This small town was new, in terms of founding. They had cleared the land only 20 years ago. They set up houses in about a year and people started to flock to this small town in the wilderness. They had set up electrical fences and posted a watch, just in case. It was not for bandits or the occasional rogue, it was for the creatures that lurked, not in the trees, but the wild grass.
This small town was asleep, for now, except one small window. In the far left part of town, a light was on in the kitchen. This was a common occurrence in most houses. The town held barely over 200 people. Everyone knew each others families, wives gossiped together and fathers went out and did work together. It was a homely setting. One could say that it was the idealistic small farm life. People took care of each other, helped make sure everyone was happy. But nothing is ever perfect...
"Sameul, I'm worried."
An aurban haired woman, with a long braid running down her left shoulder, squeezed the coffee cup in her hands. It was still warm, she had made it just moments ago. The woman set down the cup in front of her visitor and sat down on the other end. The woman, dressed in her favorite green sweater, clasped her hands in front of her. The worry lines on her forward and cheeks tightened as she looked up.
"I know dear, that's why I came."
The woman forced out a smile. 'He always knows. He isn't a genious for nothing. But I still do not know why he chose to come here, to live in Pallet town, of all places.'
The man continued. "So, is it about Red?"
The woman squeezed her hands tighter. She knew it wasn't a question, but rather a prompt. "Yea... Its about Red." The woman closed her eyes and took a deep breath. She had worried about Red for so many years now. She knew that this man had heard the story from others, but he probably wanted to hear it from her.
"I-I've tried everything, really. I just don't know what to do anyomre, so I came to you, as an old friend. Hopefully you can help him." She spoke quietly, not trusting her voice. "He's turning Eighteen and he... he still wants to be-" Her voice cracked. She didn't want to continue.
Her visitor took a sip of the coffee and continued for her, saving her from her emotions. "You know I'll try and do everything I can for you and him..." The man took another sip, while loosening his tie, while was over his purple shirt. The light shaded his face but one could easily see his genuine concern. The man slowly lowered his cup, mentally steeling himself.
"...But first, I'll need to hear the entire story. All I've heard, over the years, are just bits and pieces. In order to figure out the solution, I need to be familiar with the problem." The man grimaced slightly at his wording. He felt his scientific nature become too prevalent in his speech.
The woman nodded slowly. If one were to look at her now, that person would say that she looked twice her age. The bags under her eyes and the crease lines of worry showed under the kitchen light. "I understand." She lowered her eyes, unable to face her guest. "You probably remember Red as a kid – always energetic and happy, but most of all-
-Fantic about Pokemons."
"He just loved it. He used to spend every minute of hist time studying more about them."
A black haired boy in a large, baggy t-shirt stared at he screen in front of him. Light flashed through the different pixels and the boy stared at it mesmerized. His face was split with a goofy and awed grin. His hand were clenched in front of him and was radiating excitement. His blue eyes shining from the light of T.V.
"He always dreamed about being a champion one day- the greatest trainer of all. It was all he ever talked about. When he turned 13, I finally let him catch his first pokemon." The woman chuckled for a moment, remembering the day.
Red looked at the grass very carefully and back to his note book. He had to do this just right. Setting up his trap carefully, Red placed bird seeds in the middle and crept slowly back. It wasn't long till his prey came near.
"It was a Pidgey. Red Caught him without any pokeballs, by using an old bird trap trick he learned from a book. I've never seen anyone do something like that. He had a gift for training. It only took him two days to make the Pidgey fully obey him. After about three months of training. Red decided he wants to start battling."
The auburn haired lady put a hand to her face in weariness. It was always so hard to just remember how happy he was, back then. "He was great at that too."
"Mom! Mom! I beat the kids over by Viridian. They were nothing for me!" She smiled as she watched her little boy run around, his pidgey on his shoulder. He went on to explain all the strategies he knew and why he used them. He even talked about how good his pidgey was.
"It's unusual, really. I don't think it even makes sense. He battled one of the Viridian kids, a friend of his, and ..." The woman's voice cracked. Her voice could not bear the pressure of the memory, of the sadness, of the pain.
The man, understanding the pain, picked it up for her. "I think I'm familiar with this part. It really is unuusal. Instead of just fainting the pidgey..."
"Died." The woman finished for him. She sniffed loudly. It made her stomach twist and turn and her heart split into two. "yea... it died." She blinked slowly. She would've cried but the tears had been shed a long time ago.
What was this. Blood. It was coming from … Why? He's hurt. He's hurt. I made him battle. Why? I hurt him? He needs help. Blood. Why?
"He was in complete shock .He took the bird and ran for two hours without stopping until he reached a poke-center. But the nurse told him the poor bird had died. She had no idea why. Nobody did. Red thought it was his fault. He collapsed." The woman felt cold as she spoke. She tightened her crossed arms, as if hoping to keep in the warmth. "It's not his fault, it can't be his fault." She said with force as if willing it to be true. "But pokemon aren't supposed to die from battles right? Ther was no reason for that bird to die. I don't know what to think anymore." The woman shook her head.
Now was what was fresher. Now was the continuous, sharp pain that echoed every time she woke up. "After the incident, Red shut out everything around him. He stayed in his room for a mont, always under his blankets. "
He's dead...
….
….
After a while, he started coming out. He showered again, and he started eating again.
I'm sorry.
…
…
The boy looked at his food. It tasted like ash. It felt cold too. He just wanted to make everything go away. But it didn't.
"It's been two years. For two years, he hasn't said a single word. He lost all of his friends, and he spends most of his time either reading or just staring blankly into the wall. I've tried psychiatrists, heck. I've even tried telpatic pokemon healers. But he somehow blocked them out too. Red just locked himself inside his own mind and he won't agree to come out."
The woman looked up at her guest. "But I know he's still there. And I know he still dreams about training pokemon. So I'm turning here to you. Because you're an expert in the field. Can you help me save my kid? Can you do something?"
The man sighed. "His case really is an unusual one. However, it's not the first time i've heard about a pokemon dying form battling. But it's incredibly rare. I'm going to look into that matter and try to figure out the cause."
The man looked up, the lighting fully showing him. Grey dominated his hair though he still had patches of black. Proffessor Oak gave a reassuring smile. "And of course i'm going to help Red. Don't be ridiculous. No need to be so dramatic I already know just how to do it too. Send him over to my laby in three days. I'll have everything ready by then."
The light was bright on pallet town. The sky was clear and the clouds shining white.
"Oak's waiting for you at his lab, you better hurry up!" the woman said, looking at her son. She smiled, wearily, as she received a blank stare. But She could see from the eyes the message that he tried to convey.
"And don't forget to come back home for dinner ok? You're Fifteen but that doesn't mean you can go running off now."
The boy nodded and turned to walk away.
The woman called after him. "bye, sweetie. Have fun!"
The boy kept on walking, not acknowledging the message.
The boy had black hair in a bushy mess over his head. His bangs were quite long so some of his hair was covering his eyes. His eyes were blue, a sky blue but held a tint of teal. He wore a black t-shirt with a orange and red jacket, he had gotten it from a friend. He wore his favorite worn out jeans. His skin was pale though, a bit too pale from staying inside all the time. His face was blank as if representing a canvas waiting to be used.
I am Red.
"Adventure is not outside man; it is within."
And there we go! I highly suggest you check out Yellow Nuzlocke as my fanfic does not even give it justice. It is so beautiful!