PokeStones of the Dead - Prologue
"Gyarados, Earthquake!"
The Pokemon straightened slightly from its aerial coiled position, before hurtling to the ground at enormous speeds, its long body already a blur. Tail extended, the majestic serpent slammed the ground with its tail, causing shockwaves to emerge from the impact.
Temperance turned away. He had seen too many of these attacks to be impressed or surprised. Sure enough, the sound of the bell a few seconds later signalled the knockout of his opponent's Furret, and the end of the match in his favour.
Stepping onto the podium to collect his prize, Temperance sighed. Few did not cower at the mere sight of his Gyarados, much less conjured up the courage to do a good hit on it. Catching, and keeping faith, in the Magikarp that was his 2nd Pokemon remained as distant memories in Temperance's mind, now devoted to more important things like winning tournaments. Undefeated in 3v3 battle, Temperance had never found the energy or the motivation to catch a few more Pokemon to take on the Elite Four, although he was sure he was at least at their standard by now.
Gyarados was now safely sleeping inside one of 3 Pokeballs tied snugly to his belt. The other two contained a Flygon, his newest addition to the team. Caught on one of his random tours around Hoenn, Temperance had found the Trapinch in a cave. The small and unimpressive creature had been almost ignored, but its Arena Trap forced attention, and Temperance had not regretted making the decision to catch it ever since.
And of course, his very first Pokemon – a Dodrio. Definitely his strongest and most loyal Pokemon, Dodrio had not seen a serious battle for a long while. With almost 4 years of experience under its belt, the Dodrio also acted as an unofficial mentor to Gyarados and Flygon, earning both their respect and their envy. Temperance did not give Dodrio the chance to battle often, but when he did, Dodrio always repaid his confidence.
And those were the only 3 Pokemon he had caught since he had started on his journey from the faraway region of Kanto. He had returned home only thrice since his mission started, to visit his parents. He would be going back again after this tournament, a stopover at a recently-discovered island on the way back to Kanto. The ship he had boarded at Hoenn included a free visit to the island, after all. The island was beautiful, with a magnificent view of the sun setting over the water. Although Temperance did not display any outward signs that he was enjoying this pit stop, it was not because he was unable to appreciate the beauty of this scenery. His name was evidence enough that this young man very rarely made any big show of his emotions.
Boarding the ship that would take him back to Vermillion City in Kanto, Temperance glanced at the assortment of medals and trophies in his pack. All these would be added to his room in his house, located between the cities of Celadon and Fuchsia. One wall of the room was already fully adorned with these signs of his prowess at battling.
The ship made its way towards Vermillion Harbour, still the only harbour in Kanto. There were plans to build another in Cinnabar, which made sense, but the frequent volcanic eruptions there put a stop to the half-finished work. Eventually, a decision was made to shift the work to Seafoam, but it would take at least half a year to finish the job.
And so, the next day went by on the ship. Built for luxury, not speed, the cruiser was filled with facilities. Temperance spent most of his time in his room, venturing out only to eat or to get a drink at the bar. Even then, he just finished his meal and went back. Temperance had always preferred quiet rooms, and was most at home in them. The only exception was of course the Pokemon stadium, where he was too occupied in his battles to notice the crowd that he would shun in most, if not all, other scenarios. Unfortunately, this "hotel on a ship" did not feature a stadium.
A bell rang, signalling the arrival of the ship at Vermillion Harbour. The other passengers started to pack, hastily throwing their belongings into their bags. Temperance's bags were already neatly packed, him having taken careful note of the date and time that the ship would reach Vermillion. Taking his first step into Kanto for a year, Temperance allowed himself a rare display of emotion – a smile. He was going home…
Into chaos.
