Hello, everyone, and welcome to the story! I hope you guys enjoy it, I had this idea circling in my head for over a year now, but for some reason I never really got around to it. But here it is! So sit back, relax, and have fun!
...
"Hello, my name is Professor Ozpin, and welcome to the world of pokemon! As you know, we live with mysterious creatures called pokemon, each with their own fantastic and untapped powers. However, recently a strange phenomenon has taken hold of our beloved companions. Shortly after the great war, the first "grimm" made itself known. Yes, I'm sure that if you're watching this, you must already know about the grimm threat: Pokemon that have been infected by so much of the world's negativity that they've transformed into feral beasts. These pokemon are unpredictable and dangerous, and already we've lost too many great trainers to them. They are more powerful than their unaffected counterparts, and if you were to encounter one your chances of survival are often too low.
"That is where we come in: the huntsmen and huntresses of Remnant. We alone protect the people against this new threat, we alone are capable of facing them in battle. We are the protectors of the people, we are the only ones who can purge the grimm threat. However, we also fund research for them as well. At the end of the day, they're still pokemon, and if we can find a way to save them from their fate it would certainly make our task much easier.
"We hear at Beacon Academy welcome you into our ranks, should you prove yourself to us. Due to the threat of these grimm pokemon, we can only accept the best of the best, and anyone less shall not be permitted. Good luck, future hunters, it is up to you to take the first step to a brighter future for us all."
The promotional video ended, the screen flickered to black as Jaune Arc leaned back and let out a long breath he had no idea he was holding in. He ran a hand through his blonde hair before breaking into a grin. He stood up and pumped his fist into the air, exclaiming, "I'll become the greatest hunter in Remnant, I swear it!"
Since he was young Jaune had grown up on the stories of the hunters, the protectors of Remnant who gave their lives to serving the people. His father had been one himself, and Jaune would always bounce on his knee, demanding one more tale of heroism from the man he looked up to. Since those days, Jaune had never given up on his dream...he had to become a huntsman, he had to.
For his father's memory...
Jaune sighed and sat back down in his chair, resting his elbows against the desk as he stared at the blank screen in front of him. If he could become a huntsman, it would also result in more than enough money to support the family. Ever since his father died, his mother had worked harder than anyone should have to support him and his seven sisters. That's right, seven sisters! Jaune knew that if he could make it into the world of hunters, his family wouldn't have the hard life anymore, they could live the rest of their days in comfort.
"Corp?"
Jaune hummed and glanced down, smiling at what he saw. The crustacean was a birthday gift from his father right before he had died, and throughout the years it had remained his best friend and faithful companion through thick and thin.
"Hey, Corphish," he greeted, reaching down to lift up the small red pokemon. "How are ya, buddy?"
"Corphish!" the little lobster cheered, raising its pincers and bouncing in its trainer's lap.
Jaune chuckled and scratched underneath Corphish's chin, before replaying Beacon's promotional video. Corphish turned around as Professor Ozpin began his speech, and settled down comfortably in Jaune's lap. Jaune wrapped his arms around his pokemon and leaned in close to whisper, "Just you wait, Corphish...Someday, that's going to be us!"
"Corphish!"
"Jaaaaaauuunnne!" an obnoxious whine came from downstairs. "Mom made dinner, get your butt down here!"
Jaune rolled his eyes and paused the video, setting down Corphish before standing up and opening his bedroom door. "Okay, I'll be right down!" he answered before turning back to the small lobster. "Beacon's entry exam is only a month away, Corphish," he reminded him. "If I want to be a huntsman, I'll have to tell mom tonight. Wish me luck!" Without waiting for a response, Jaune ducked out of his room and shut the door behind him, leaving Corphish by itself.
"Corp..." Corphish sighed and scuttled over to Jaune's bed, taking a deep breath before jumping up with all its energy. Its pincers latched onto its trainer's blankets, but as it tried pulling itself up the blankets slipped off them bed, making Corphish yelp in surprise as it dropped to the ground, the blankets piling on top of it and leaving it trapped.
"Corp..." it groaned.
...
"Glaceon, quick attack!"
"Electivire, counter with discharge!"
The ice type bolted towards its opponent, jumping from side to side to avoid the random bursts of electricity. It was close now, it could feel victory in its paws. It jumped up to attack the large electric type, but what happened next shocked it to its core.
"Electivire, fire punch!"
"Glaceon, dodge it!"
Glaceon heard its trainer's command, but it was too late. The blazing fist connected with its ribs, knocking the breath out of it as it was sent flying away. "GLAAAAA!" it cried as it braced for impact, slamming against the wall. Breathing heavily, it tried standing up, but its shaking legs collapsed underneath it. "Gla...ceon..." it weakly whined.
Weiss Schnee, heir to the Schnee Pokemon Company, gasped and rushed to her pokemon's aid. "Glaceon!" she cried, gently picking up her beloved pokemon. "Are you alright?!"
Glaceon slowly nodded, attempting to smile at its trainer. It failed and had a coughing fit, and Weiss took a deep breath and pulled out the ice type's pokeball. "Here, you deserve a nice, long rest," she whispered gently, returning it. She sighed and stood up, clipping the pokeball to her skirt.
There was a clapping behind her. "Very good, Miss Schnee," a smooth voice complimented. "You did much better than our last lesson. However, you were a bit to hasty towards the end. When your Glaceon took the thunder punch powered by electric terrain, you should've stayed at a distance instead of trying to close in with a final attack."
Weiss nodded and turned towards her instructor. The man was tall and lanky, and his most well known feature was the large mustache that partially covered his mouth. His hair was beginning to grey, and his eyes held much wisdom and intelligence. "Yes, Mr. Watts," Weiss acknowledged. "I'll be more careful next time."
Arthur Watts sighed and clasped his hands behind his back. "See to it that you will, Miss Schnee," he advised coldly. "Beacon Academy only accepts the best of the best, and if you wish to escape your father's thumb then you're battling skills will need to be top notch. Unless you are able to defeat me you will never leave Atlas."
'You're a member of the Atlas Elite Four,' she wanted to shoot back, but she bit her tongue and nodded. She knew what Watts spoke of was true, she had to be the best if she wished to attend Beacon. "You're right," she agreed, "thank you, Mr. Watts."
"You can thank me when you beat me, Miss Schnee," Watts said as he returned Electivire to its pokeball. "Your sister cannot protect you forever, that's why she asked me to train you. And although you've improved much faster than I would've imagined, you still have one fatal flaw: you allow emotions to cloud your judgement."
Weiss tilted her head. "My...emotions?" she repeated. "Mr. Watts, I'm afraid I don't understand."
Watts chuckled and shook his head. "The fact you're not even aware of it makes it much worse, you know," he pointed out. "Your anger towards your father, your desire to be set free from your cage, both of those things keep you from having a cool head, they keep you from having a winning strategy, they keep you from victory." He stepped towards the heiress, tapping the side of his head with one long finger. "You must be cold, calculating, consider all angles instead of focusing one what's in front of you. That's how your sister earned her position among the Elite Four, and that is how you must battle if you wish to attend Beacon. Do you understand what I'm telling you, Miss Schnee?"
"I...I think I do," Weiss answered as best as she could.
Watts stared at her for a long moment before sighing. "Well, I suppose that's better than nothing," he muttered before waving Weiss away. "That will be all for today, you are free to go."
Weiss nodded and hurried out of the courtyard, feeling Watt's eyes burning at the back of her skull. She shivered and quickened her pace, jogging back to her family's grand estate.
The Schnee Pokemon Company: the leading corporation of technology. Ranging from potions to pokeballs to projects even Weiss wasn't aware of, the SPC dedicated themselves to the advancement of pokemon and their trainers. And sitting at the very top of it all was her father, Jacques Schnee, a tyrant in his own right. Having married into the family only for the company, he cared little for them except for raising Weiss as his heir. Ever since Winter left to pursue her career as a pokemon trainer, Jacques needed someone to take his place when the time came. Weiss had little say in the matter, but her position as heiress allowed her to see the company from a whole new light, and she realized what a hellhole her father had created.
The workers were underpaid, they were often stationed in dangerous areas teeming with grimm, and no one cared. They were expendable, nothing more than rattata in her father's eyes, and she couldn't stand for it. Perhaps right now she couldn't do anything, but she had vowed to improve condition the moment she inherited the company. And to prove herself to the people, she vowed to become a huntress, a protector. Her father wasn't keen on the idea, but eventually relented on the condition that Weiss would attend Atlas Academy. However, Weiss had seen the military-like way Atlas trained its hunters, and she immediately looked for any other option. Cue in Beacon Academy in the Vale region, who were much less strict and much more open, which Weiss could appreciate. Imagine, the heiress of the SPC fighting to protect the people in a region not her own, that alone would prove to the population that she wasn't anything like her father, that she could change the SPC for the better.
Winter would be proud of her.
Weiss sighed as she entered her family's large mansion, taking note of the emptiness of it all. A perfect metaphor for the love between her family, she thought.
A sudden barking caught her attention, and Weiss broke into a grin and dropped to her knees, embracing the medium sized dog that nearly tackled her. "Hello, Herdier!" she greeted cheerfully, running her fingers through the pokemon's fur as it happily licked her face. "Where's Klein?"
"Herdier, please don't dirty up the young mistress," a slightly overweight man lightly scolded, appearing from a far off corner.
Weiss stood up and grinned. "You know I don't mind when it's Herdier, Klein," she reminded the old butler.
Klein chuckled and whistled over for his pokemon. The loyal dog pokemon barked and hurried to its trainer's side, wagging its tail happily. "Yes, yes, I know," he replied with a chuckle. "But we both know what your father thinks of it and I would rather keep my job, Miss Schnee." He motioned for her to follow him. "Come join me in the kitchen, I'll make us both some hot coffee."
Weiss nodded and followed the family butler, and Herdier joined her side and nuzzled its head against her leg. The heiress giggled and softly pet the dog's head.
"How was your lesson today, Miss Schnee?" Klein asked once they entered the kitchen, immediately setting to work on the coffee.
Weiss sighed and glanced down at Glaceon's pokeball. "I lost again," she answered. "Mr. Watts was quick to scold me for it too."
Klein scoffed. "That man's as good of a teacher as I am a gymnast." he jested. "I wouldn't let his words get to you, Miss Schnee."
"But he was right to scold me," Weiss argued softly, leaning against the counter top. "I know why I couldn't beat him, and until I can I'll never be able to attend Beacon."
"Well I have good faith in you," Klein offered, setting down a mug of hot coffee by the young mistress's side. "I know you'll be attending Beacon, you're an excellent trainer Miss Schnee."
"Thank you, Klein," Weiss said gratefully, smiling and sipping at her coffee.
'I wonder what Beacon will be like,' she thought, and she felt a swell of excitement for what was to come.
...
"Absolutely not, young man!"
Jaune winced at his mother's tone, and shrank back a little. "But Mom-"
"But nothing, Jaune!" his mother hissed. "I refuse to let you go out and risk your life for some foolhardy dream! You're going to get killed out there!"
"But it's what I want to do!" Jaune argued. "Mom, don't you see? If I can make it, we'll be set for life! Can't you see I'm doing this for us? We won't have to worry anymore!"
"I'm not going to lose my son so soon after losing my husband!" his mother cried out, her eyes filling with tears. She took a deep breath and sighed. "Jaune, please...don't worry about me, I'm doing fine. I don't want you going into the world with these foolish dreams of heroism that got your father killed. You're not ready, Jaune, so please stop it..."
Jaune clenched his fists. "Mom..."
"Besides," his mother continued. "Beacon only accepts the best of the best! Prodigees, Jaune! You're not even an official trainer, what hope do you have of standing with those kids?"
"I..." Jaune hadn't considered that before, and he found himself struggling to find an answer. "I...I have to at least try, Mom..."
"No, no you don't." His mother pinched the bridge of her nose. "No more talk of hunters, Jaune. Go to bed."
"But-" Jaune was cut off by his mother's stern glare. "...yes, Mom..." he finally relented, exiting the kitchen and heading back upstairs to his room.
When Jaune shut the door behind him, he slammed his fists into the wall. "Dammit!" he hissed. "Dammit, dammit, dammit!"
"Corp?" Corphish's concerned cry came from underneath a pile of blankets. Jaune sighed and helped his pokemon out of the trap, setting it down on his bed. The blonde sat down next to his pokemon, staring down at his feet. "Corphish?" the lobster asked, nudging its trainer's arm.
"What are we going to do, Corphish?" Jaune wondered, clenching and unclenching his fists. "Mom says no, but are we just supposed to give up like that?"
Corphish thought about it for a moment, before shaking its head.
"Then what are we supposed to do?"
It was a tough question to answer, but as Corphish glanced around the room its eyes caught sight of something. "Corp Corphish!" it cried, pointing its pincer forward. Jaune glanced up and saw the window his pokemon was pointing at. The blonde was confused for a couple of moments, but the lobster's meaning struck him, and his eyes widened.
"You want us to run away?!" he gasped.
Corphish nodded.
Jaune stood up and shook his head. "W-We can't, Corphish! Mom would-"
He froze as he locked eyes with Corphish, the two stared at each other for a long moment as understanding passed between them. Finally, Jaune nodded slowly. "You're right," he breathed out, "this is the only way we can do this. I know Mom would be upset, but once she sees how much this can help her..."
Jaune suddenly jumped into action, grabbing his backpack and stuffing his clothes from the floor into it. Corphish cried out and pointed at Jaune's jar of lien, and the blonde quickly nodded his thank as he opened it and filled his pockets with the money. Finally he reached for Corphish's lure ball, the one his father caught him in, and returned the pokemon into it. Clipping the ball to his belt, he quickly opened his window and glanced at the large tree branch a few feet away.
'I'm sorry, Mom,' he thought. 'But this is for us!' Taking a deep breath, he leaped out of his room and reached for the branch...
...only to land promptly on his face.
...
And that's a wrap! So what did you think? The early chapters are mostly gonna be set up, so sorry if you came in expecting a lot of action and didn't get that. Also, for those who might be wondering why Jaune has a Corphish...why not have a Corphish? We could all use a little Corphish in our lives, wouldn't you agree? Anyway, don't forget to review (no seriously guys pls review)! And remember, stay wykkyd!