Chapter 01
"Ah, Kouki!" I bent over to catch my breath from climbing all the way up Mt. Silver, my breathing only coming out in short rasps. "Finally, I caught up to you—"
"Wait, there's something wrong here…" my mind tried to argue, an uneasy feeling settling in my stomach.
"This is it…! I'm at my limit…!"
"K-Kouki? What's going on?" I wanted to scream at him just to make him look at me, but the words only echoed in my mind.
"You'll have to do better than that if you expect to defeat me! Blastoise! Hydro Cannon!" The older man gave his Pokémon the final order to remove Kouki's Pokémon from his sight.
"Wait, isn't that Red? But … Kouki's Pokémon just—" My eyes widened in comprehension as the intent behind his command started to sink in.
"No! Infernape!" Kouki cried out desperately, immediately diving after it.
Over the edge…
"Kouki…?" I sank to my knees numbly, not noticing the other man's surprise at the sight of me. After all, Kouki just… dove off the side of the cliff… "Kouki, no! Kouki!"
When I finally came to my senses, I realized that Red was already gone and that I needed to at least find the body for closure. Hot tears stinging my eyes, I sent my Staraptor out and took a nosedive down the side of the mountain, dread settling in my stomach. Once I reached the bottom, however, a new feeling of anxiety threatened to overwhelm me.
His body wasn't there.
Several days later…
"Hey, Inkina! Are you up yet? I'm totally ready for you this time!"
I stretched, curling my toes comfortably while I continued to lie in bed. I lazily glanced over at my clock, which told me that it was barely seven o'clock and grumbled in a combination of irritation and disbelief. She was challenging me to a battle first thing in the morning! What was worse was that she forced me to watch that action-packed movie about the former champion Shirona with her late into the night just a few hours ago. I grabbed the only Poké Ball I had, which sat on my nightstand and released its inhabitant onto the floor next to my bed.
"I'm really sorry, Dratini," I told my beloved partner, "but could you do something about Kuroko? I'm really not in the mood to battle her right now, especially since she just woke me up…"
My Dratini nodded excitedly and slinked out of my room to carry out my drowsily made request. Moments later, I could hear Kuroko, the girl that I was sometimes embarrassed to admit was my childhood friend, yelp in surprise. I guessed that my Dratini had wrapped herself around Kuroko's legs again, which, for some reason, Kuroko absolutely hated. As for me, I thoroughly enjoyed sending out Dratini to deal with her on days like these when I couldn't be motivated to do it myself. After hearing her trip a moment later, I could hear Kuroko begging Dratini to let go of her, followed by what was mostly likely her ascending the stairs outside my room. A set of light yet urgent knocks on my door came seconds later.
"Hey, Inkina, are you mad at me again?" I heard her ask in a worried tone.
"Not really, but Kuroko, just where do you get your energy?" I asked drowsily with a yawn. "And where do you get the drive to challenge me all the time? I don't get it." After rolling over, I added, "Besides, we were up really late watching that movie. You know, Legendary Sinnoh Champion Shirona? The movie that lasted three hours?"
She gasped dramatically, as if to suggest that she had completely forgotten about the movie that she had been so excited to watch. "Oh! I'm so sorry! I guess I was so focused on challenging you that I totally forgot about that!"
"Again, how can you stand to challenge me so much, Kuroko? I mean, every time we've battled, it's been with the same two Pokémon... not that we have any other Pokémon anyway. To be honest, I almost don't want to battle you anymore…" I said with a sigh.
Kuroko tried to speak for a moment, but she hesitated. I guess that she hadn't actually thought about it that way before. Then again, I might've been just a little too harsh on her. Just a little.
"I'm sorry, Inkina," she apologized sincerely. "It's just that I've always wanted to be an awesome trainer like my brother Kouki. You know, going out to all the gyms, earning the badges, and fighting the Elite Four… I've been trying my best to train to be like that, but it's like I'm doing something completely wrong…"
"Have you ever considered the possibility that challenging every hour of the day since the day your brother caught that Starly for you might be the root of the problem? I mean, the matches never actually last that long anyway, and you're always back an hour later. It's not like you can get much training done in-between," I droned sarcastically. "All you're really accomplishing by challenging me so often is helping me train my Dratini. Thanks to you, I haven't had a real reason to go out very far to train it."
I heard her groan in defeat, completely missing my sarcasm. "I should've known. It's no wonder why your Dratini seems so powerful compared to my Starly, and she hasn't even learned any of the cools moves that she can learn yet…" She sighed in disappointment. "I wish I could get a starter from Professor Nanakamado just like Kouki did. Maybe then, I'd be able to stand a chance against you…"
I took a deep breath, starting to feel a little guilty about taking jabs at my best friend's self confidence. After all, she was living in her older brother's shadow. "You can come in now, you know." Kuroko finally entered the room with a relieved sigh and tentatively sat on the edge of my bed. "Speaking of your brother, have you heard from him at all recently? He was supposed to be training in another region or something, right?" I played with my messy hair for a moment before continuing. "My brother said that Kouki hasn't contacted him in a while, so I was wondering if he's tried to contact you recently."
Kuroko looked away despondently and huffed. "Well… The last I heard from him, he was going to challenge the Elite Four in Hoenn, but that was well over three years ago… I guess he wanted to go as far south as he could and then work his way back up." She fell back on the end of my bed and seemed deep in thought for a moment. "Actually… Professor Nanakamado hasn't heard from him or Hikari lately."
"Ah, wasn't she supposed to inherit the champion title after your brother left?"
"Yeah, but Hikari supposedly went to catch up with Kouki after all that. Anyway, the last time she called, she had just searched all of Hoenn, only to find out from the league officials that he had already left, and that was nearly three years ago as well. The professor and I have been worried, especially since she won't answer our calls or mails…"
"I really hope that nothing happened to them…" I said as I sat up. "It's bad enough that my mom suddenly up and left a while back to follow Dad without even telling us anything in advance…" I sighed. "I mean, it's nice and all that they're concerned about the world and stuff, but Mom didn't have to disappear in the middle of the night. Heck she could've at least put the letter where we could find it! And before you say anything, attached to orange juice in the fridge doesn't count!"
Kuroko sat up and propped her head on her hand with a half giggle. "I wasn't going to say anything. But I wonder what's going on with the world these days that would make your parents worry, anyway," she commented with a sigh. A moment passed before she blinked the seriousness out of her expression and hopped up cheerfully. "Oh, but I seriously miss your mom's desserts so much! They were so good that she could've put a few bakeries out of business! Her poffins were awesome too!"
"Wait, you ate her poffins?" I asked incredulously, but it fell on deaf ears.
"And… I kinda miss her inviting us over for dinner, even if she only invited us every now and again."
"It can't be helped," I told her. "If there was any way to keep Mom and Dad on leashes in some way, Akira and I would've done it a long time ago."
Kuroko seemed to flinch at the mention of my brother, and I couldn't help but raise an eyebrow. She bounced back onto her feet as Dratini finally reentered the room. "Well, anyway, we're going to be bummed out if we keep talking about stuff like this, so what do you think about getting some breakfast? It'll be my treat!"
"Sure, so long as you don't challenge me in the middle of making it," I teased with a smirk.
She returned my smile with a crooked one. "Okay, okay." She turned away from me, but I could see in my mirror that she was trying to keep her composure. "I won't let her get to me… I won't let her get to me… She's just trying to mess with me, so I won't let her get to me…" She shook her head and turned back toward me. "Anyway, be sure to wash your face, okay?" She left the room after that.
I yawned and stretched, smiling when I heard some satisfying pops and cracks in my back. "I'm almost jealous that she has that much energy. Just where does she get it all? A Pikachu?" I discarded the thought and went to wash my face just as she had requested.
After changing into my usual rose-colored turtleneck and navy blue, high-cut shorts with black tights and white knee-high socks, I went downstairs and into the warm kitchen. Kuroko was making her semi-infamous "all-star breakfast menu", which was so-named because of how many things she'd make and how big the portions were. Dratini, oddly enough, was helping her out by obediently fetching whatever she needed. I smiled and went to sit down at the table when I remembered something.
"Oh, Kuroko," I called to her, "did you see my brother at all? I thought he'd be up by now."
"Nope," she replied stiffly, without so much as a look at me, "but if you look on the table, I think I saw an envelope or something. It looked kind of important."
I felt a vein popping already. "It couldn't be…"
I turned around and spotted the very envelope sitting in the center of the table. Although it did look somewhat important, it seemed innocent enough, so I picked it up and opened it. After skimming through the contents of the contained letter, I found that I had to reread it just to make sure that I wasn't seeing things. Once I had read the letter more carefully, I found myself gripping it so hard that it started to crumple where I was holding it.
"Akira, you idiot!" I yelled at the top of my lungs.
Kuroko turned her head immediately and looked at me worriedly. "What happened, Inkina? Did he decide to go on another camping trip without you?"
"No! And what makes you think I ever wanted to go on one of his stupid trips?" I asked demandingly. When I realized how I reacted, I took a deep breath and cleared my throat. "Err, no, that's not it. It looks like he decided to go off on his own to look for Mom and Dad without talking to me about it. Gosh! What is that jerk thinking? Mom told us in the letter she left us to stay put until we heard from her or Dad again, and what does he do? Exactly the opposite! Just what is he trying to do? He's going to be in so much trouble if they come back and he's gone!"
"Well, just eat up first. Then we can try to figure out your stupid brother's reasoning," Kuroko suggested, seeming slightly uncomfortable at the word "stupid," and carefully placed a full plate of food in front of me. I nodded numbly before turning my attention to the breakfast Kuroko had been kind enough to cook for me.
"Are you trying to make me fat or something?" I grumbled offhandedly and yelped when the flipper in her hand was suddenly in motion and headed straight toward my head. I sighed in relief when it stopped barely an inch away.
"Just eat," Kuroko urged menacingly. Only a few minutes of the following silence passed before piercing knocks on the door broke it. I politely excused myself and went to answer the door, but before I could actually open it, the guest took the liberty of opening it himself.
"P-Professor Nanakamado?" I stuttered in shock. "Good morning?"
"Hm! What's the meaning of the ruckus over here this morning?" he demanded. I could feel the sweat bead on my forehead.
"You're several minutes too late, Professor," Kuroko chimed from the kitchen.
"Nonsense!" he called back to his assistant before stepping over the threshold. He turned to me with concern in his aged features. "Now what prompted your earlier scream, Inkina?"
"Oh, um…" Maybe the professor would be able to help! "My brother left in the middle of the night without telling me first!"
"Hmm… Now that is quite a problem…" he commented with a thoughtful stroke of his chin. "Actually, one of my starter Pokémon appeared to have gone missing when I went to the lab this morning. Perhaps the two are linked?"
"Eh?" I tilted my head to the side in confusion with a half-chuckle of disbelief. "But Akira has a Dratini, too. Why would he need a starter? And…" I creased my eyebrows, "how would he even get one? I mean, you can only get in your lab with a key when no one else is there, right?"
The two of us stood in the entrance for a moment, the facts finally sinking in. Simultaneously, we turned in the direction of the kitchen. Only he and his assistants had keys to the lab. The professor cleared his throat, while I huffed in displeasure. It was all starting to make a little sense… The late movie, the rude awakening, the sudden luxurious breakfast…
"Kuroko."
"Yes?" she called all too cheerfully from the kitchen. I narrowed my eyes and walked back to confront her face-to-face.
"Are you so blindly in love with my brother that you would hand over one of Professor Nanakamado's precious starter Pokémon to him without a second thought?" I asked as evenly as I could. The clattering of utensils, the stuttering yelps, and the flushing face confirmed my suspicions.
"N-no!" she denied uselessly, but we both knew that she was a terrible liar. "… Y-yes…"
Professor Nanakamado calmly made his presence known behind me with a sharp, "Hm!" Kuroko seemed to go pale at the sight of him, but he just waved his hand dismissively. "Don't worry Kuroko. It's quite alright. I had been planning to give him a starter Pokémon anyway…"
"Well, what should I do now, Professor?" I asked him quietly. This situation had a very sobering effect on my outlook on life. "My parents and older brother are missing, and I don't know when any of them will get back…"
"Very well. Follow me, then," he said simply, immediately turning back the way he came. Kuroko and I gave each other curious looks before hurriedly following the man in the direction of his lab. He fiddled with his keys for a moment, but he still managed to get the door open quickly.
"Professor?" Kuroko ventured first, stepping in front of me. "What are you—?"
"Choose your starters," the professor commanded but added as an afterthought, "even though there're only two left."
I was really going to get a starter Pokémon and travel just like everyone else?
"B-but Professor! I already have my Dratini, and—" I tried to argue, but he interrupted me with a hand on my shoulder.
"Don't worry; it'll just be a boost to your team, is all. You'll need all the protection you can get out there." There was something underlying in his words that I couldn't tell what it was.
"Then I'll choose the Turtwig!" Kuroko exclaimed excitedly at my side. Nanakamado nodded and passed her the specified Pokémon. I stared blankly at the remaining Pokémon.
"Hm, I guess that means you get Piplup," the professor commented idly, passing the final ball to me. Kuroko lightly elbowed me in my side with a small smile.
"So Akira took the Chimchar?" I asked her in a whisper.
"Yeah! So if you have a water type, you'll have the overall advantage over him, right?" she whispered back, and I nodded. The professor didn't seem to notice our hushed conversation, though, and his attention was suddenly on the door behind us.
"Professor Nanakamado."
Kuroko and I whirled around in surprise at the sound of the foreign voice and gasped at who it was we saw at the lab's door.
"Hikari." Professor Nanakamado gave her a curt nod of acknowledgement. "Where have you been? And what of Kouki?"
"I…" At the mention of the former champion, her brows furrowed and her eyes appeared to gloss over. Out of the corner of my eye, I could see Kuroko's hopeful face fall. "I lost him in the mountains of Johto, and…"
"Inkina, Kuroko, go outside for now." Kuroko tried to protest, but the look on the professor's face stopped her short. "Please."
We both silently obeyed and left the professor and Hikari to talk. I could tell that Kuroko was angered by the sudden development, so I hesitantly reached out to touch her shoulder to comfort her. Just before I made contact, though, she exploded into tears.
"Kouki's my brother! Why wouldn't it be any of my business? I…" Kuroko wiped at her eyes and shook her head angrily. "I haven't even seen him in years, so I should have the right to know whatever they're talking about!"
"Kuroko…"
Suddenly, loud Pokémon cries rang through the air with an urgency I didn't think was possible. I whirled around in the direction it came from and realized that it was coming from Route 202. Kuroko also seemed to notice and turned to me.
"What do you think is going on?" she asked quietly, her hiccups subsiding. "It sounds like the Pokémon are in pain! Maybe we should go check it out…"
"It might be dangerous," I argued and put a firm hand on Kuroko's shoulder to stop her, but she just smiled back at me in response.
"That's what these starter Pokémon are for, right?" And before I could reply, Kuroko bolted off. I sighed with the realization that my only choice was to follow her lead and investigate the disturbance outside of town. Once we had made it past the first patch of tall grass, we realized just how grave the situation was: the route looked absolutely wrecked! The Pokémon were angry and disoriented from all the devastation on the once peaceful trail.
"Just… what happened here?" I took a step forward to take a peek around the trees only to get the shock of my life. "A Garchomp?"
"A what?"
I never got the chance to answer Kuroko because the next thing I knew it punched the ground and kicked up so much dirt and dust that I couldn't see it anymore. But that was the least of our worries; the force from its blow had created a tremor that only seemed to agitate the local Pokémon even further. The crack in the ground inched closer to us, and I took a step back and away from it out of fear.
"I-Inkina…"
"Y-yeah?"
"I think this might be a bad time to say this, but… don't turn around."
Unfortunately, after hearing such a request, I couldn't help but turn around anyway, and I immediately regretted my decision. Our way back to town was blocked off by a large number of angry local Pokémon like Shinx, Starly, and Bidoof. I gulped and clutched the Poké Ball with my Piplup since I left my Dratini at home.
"A little too late for that, Kuroko," I grumbled, my eyes searching for an escape route. Then I saw it. "Wait! If we just go around the bend and jump over the ledge, we can get around them!"
"Okay," Kuroko hesitantly agreed, but she quickly turned to me with a question. "But what about that Gar-something-or-other? There was something over there, right?"
"Forget about that! Let's go!" We both dashed like mad around the trees and followed the path until we could see Sandgem Town over the ledge. "Jump!"
I made sure that Kuroko made it over before leaping, but as I was preparing to jump, I stumbled and fell instead over the ridge instead. I cried out in pain, which caused Kuroko to stop short of the town and turn back in my direction. She seemed to panic at the sight of my situation and took a step forward to help me. I shook my head at her and pointed in the direction of town.
"Just go and get help! I'll be fine!" She reluctantly nodded and immediately whirled back around to tell the professor the situation. As for me… I looked down at my muddied and most likely bruised knees and grimaced. At this point, the furious Pokémon had caught onto my plan, so I was now surrounded on both sides. Before I could send out Piplup and complain about how unfairly the odds were against me, a blue Pokémon with large, white wings landed in front of me. She glanced back at me for only a moment before flapping her great wings to keep the wild Pokémon away.
"Yeah! Keep it up, Altaria!" I looked back at the top of the ledge and saw a slightly older boy with a blue coat and black hair that peeked out from under a white beanie with a red Pokémon insignia. He looked down at me and smiled. I could feel my cheeks flush slightly from the thought that he must've seen my embarrassing tumble, but before I could ask if he had, he hopped over the ledge and held his hand out to me. "You okay?"
"U-um…" I reached out to grab his hand but quickly flinched away when a sharp pain shot through my ankle. His brows creased in concern.
"Are you hurt? Hold on a sec…" The boy turned around and bent over, giving me an expectant look over his shoulder. "I'll carry you."
"Ah, wait, um…" I reached out to grab his shoulders but stopped short, suddenly feeling bashful. "… I don't even know your name…" I mumbled so quietly, I wasn't sure he had even heard.
"Me?" He pointed to himself quizzically, and I responded with a slow nod. "I'm Akuto. And you are…?"
"I'm Inkina," I told him with a small smile that turned into a wince when I carefully climbed onto his back. He grabbed hold of my legs and cautiously turned to face the wild Pokémon around us, and I tightened my hold around his neck with concern. "Don't tell me you plan to fight all these Pokémon…"
"Huh? Yeah," he replied naturally, and I couldn't help but sputter at his response. "… Unless you want to help?"
I nodded and released my starter Pokémon for the first time. The Piplup shook his head the moment he was out as if to gain his bearings. He glanced in our direction in confusion, and I belatedly realized that he probably wasn't sure which of us his new trainer was. I raised my hand to get his attention and smiled.
"Piplup, would you mind helping his Altaria with fighting these Pokémon?" The Pokémon turned to the crowd behind him and seemed to jump at the sheer size of it. I watched him in concern before calling out to him again. "Just focus on one at a time! You just need to be support!"
The Piplup relaxed at my words and turned back to the group of Pokémon almost fearlessly.
Akuto nodded approvingly before calling out to his own Pokémon, "Okay, Altaria! Start singing to put these guys to sleep!"
"Huh?" I leaned over Akuto's shoulder to get a better look at him. "If you do that, then what's the point of me sending my Pokémon out? They're all just going to fall asleep…"
"Not true," he replied quietly and looked at me with a boyish grin. "As powerful as an Altaria's singing is, it isn't very accurate, so it might not put all of them to sleep. Plus, I'll need your Piplup to keep them away from my Altaria until it works."
"Okay, then... Piplup!" The penguin Pokémon glanced back at me for my orders, and I couldn't help but smile at his enthusiasm. "Pound that Bidoof over there!"
"Altaria, start singing!"
Several minutes had passed before all of the raging Pokémon were calmly sleeping or fainted and no longer intent on trying to attack us. It was also around that time that Kuroko had finally shown back up with Hikari and Professor Nanakamado in tow. Hikari and the professor seemed relieved to see that everything had been peacefully resolved, but Kuroko just stood in front of them with wide eyes and a gaping mouth. Before I could ask what was wrong, she beat me to it.
"Inkina! Wh-who is he?" she asked, frantically pointing at the boy I was still clinging to. At the realization that I was still on his back, I felt my face overheat. "Ah! And you're blushing!"
"Kuroko!" I jumped off of the boy's back in an attempt to grab at my best friend, and I belatedly remembered the reason why he was carrying me in the first place. Luckily, he had reacted quickly and grabbed me before I hit the ground. "Ah, sorry…"
Professor Nanakamado stepped in front of Kuroko and interrupted her resulting angry outburst. "Am I wrong in assuming that you're Akuto? I was informed that you'd be stopping by here for a Pokédex."
"Yeah, that'd be me."
"And speaking of which…" The professor pulled out two of the devices and held one of them out to me. He passed the other to Akuto. "That one is for you, Inkina. It'll come in handy on your journey."
"Thanks Professor!" I turned the Pokédex around in my hands, examining it with wonder.
When I looked up, I noticed that Hikari was watching me with a thoughtful expression, and strangely enough, she was the one who took a step forward and proceeded to pull me to my feet with the help of Akuto. I gave her a curious look, unsure of why exactly she was still here. Why would she still be hanging around when she could be out searching for Kuroko's brother? She seemed to notice my confusion and gave me a strained smile.
"I still need to search for Kouki, but family comes first." She paused to gauge my reaction before continuing, "Your mother was my cousin, so that makes us cousins, too. A-and with your parents and brother… g-gone, that means that you need someone to watch over you, so..."
"So…?" Hikari seemed hesitant to finish was she was saying, so Professor Nanakamado stepped in to say it for her.
"I think it'd be wise to travel with Hikari since she has quite a bit of experience in both travelling and battling. Plus, you and Kuroko obviously need some supervision to stay on task and bring your brothers back."
"I don't really mind," Kuroko commented with a shrug. I nodded in agreement.
"Then it's settled," the professor concluded with a soft clap. "Now then, you three should head for Jubilife City first. You might be able to collect some information there. As for Akuto… I should like to speak to you a little more in my lab."
"Alright."
"Oh, and girls, don't forget to pack up everything you need. It'd be a shame if you forgot anything."
The words hovered above us until I deciphered the meaning behind them with a pale face. I anxiously turned back to town and shook slightly.
"I almost forgot about Dratini! Ah! I'll be right back!"
And so I weakly hobbled back home to prepare for what would be the biggest adventure of my life.
Omake
"She should've been back by now…" I glared up at the door knob and cursed not only my shortness but also my lack of arms. "Inkina! Where are you? Where are you? Where are you?"
I nearly cried from happiness when that accursed door opened, and Inkina limped in… Wait. She had a limp?
"Inkina, Inkina, Inkina! What happened? Why are you hurt? Ah! I knew I should've followed you out there, but the door was so scary and—"
She just giggled and patted my head, completely misunderstanding me. Why could Pokémon understand humans, but humans couldn't understand Pokémon?
"Don't worry, Dratini. Did you think I was going to leave you behind?"
"What?"
"Anyway, we have to pack! We're going on a journey to find everyone, so we're going to have to grab everything we need…"
Before I could futilely question where we were going, a Piplup peeked out from behind her and startled me. I wasn't her only Pokémon anymore? And what was worse… he had arms and was hugging her legs shyly like that and— I was pretty sure that I needed to evolve soon. This inferiority complex was starting to get to me…
Stupid arms.