(I am starting a new story, OMG. I know, I have a really bad habit of not finishing what I start, but I have about six chapters prewritten for this, and if it gets bad reviews, eff it, and delete it. –nods- But I will try! Don't own.
And as soon as you see her starter, you're all going to hate me, I'm sure. I am almost SURE of it. But don't worry, she's not going to have the Magical Sue Journey. Actually, later on, she pukes up an eye. But that's another story.
And I KNOW Gary isn't the Professor. It's AU, okay?)
Pallet Town.
Where the dreams of Trainers begin.
But it was never the idyllic paradise portrayed in so many propaganda leaflets.
Trainer output must meet expectations.
Even if that means rejects must become trainers...
Our story starts with a familiar character. A boy named Ash Ketchum. He was late. To the League, this was inexcusable. But Professor Gary Oak, being of the sympathetic sort, gave him a rebellious Pikachu, and sent him on his way.
Sealing both his fate, and the fate of another young girl.
He was traveling along, trying to convince Pikachu to like him, when the Spearow attacked.
The rain had started to fall, and it was dangerous enough with the lightning...
"C'mon, Pikachu! We gotta run!" The boy urged the rat forward, rushing ahead as fast as he could. Pikachu was injured, and he wasn't in good shape himself. And the Spearow were advancing...
Squalling like a child, the new trainer tripped and stumbled, collapsing to the ground. His Pikachu was thrown out of his arms, and cried out with pain as he hit the ground.
The Spearow cawed happily, sensing their next meal. Pikachu fired off a weak electric shock, but it did little damage. Ash crawled over to the electric mouse, and attempted to protect him.
A nice gesture, but one that would prove fatal. The Spearow attacked him first.
He screamed. "I DON'T WANT TO DIE, PLEASE, I HAVE TO BE THE BEST, I DON'T WANNA, I DON'T WANNA!! PIKACHUUUU..." He called for the electric rat to save him, and got no response. He was already stiff with fear.
He was a dead man walking, and he didn't even know it.
Oh, poor him, such a shame.
They'll never put Pokemon Master on his grave...
"SAVE ME! SOMEONE! ANYONE! I'M BEGGING YOU..." He began to cry again, as the Spearow ripped at his flesh. The cuts welled with blood, and the Spearow ripped it wider in glee, tasting the muscle and flesh this prey had to offer.
They went for his head next. One eye was ripped out, but another cruelly saved so the boy could see his attackers as he died.
Pikachu lay still on the ground, seeing it all, and registering nothing.
They went for his legs, and tore out his tendons, foiling his futile escape plot. They reminded the Spearow of worms, and they swallowed them hungrily, cawing for more as they feasted on his fingers.
When his screams got to be too much for them to handle, they tore out his tongue. Pikachu fell silent with shock, and said nothing as the Spearows ripped out his innards as well.
As the Spearow flew off, a bolt of lightning from the rainstorm struck the flock, killing more than half of the grouped-together Spearow.
A group of five were alerted of this the next day.
The New Order Pokemon League.
With frowns on their faces, they discussed the problem in their boardroom, a tech junkie's wildest dream. Computers beeped and hummed, and profiles were shown on the screens. The five men sat and discussed this new problem. "Sir, what on earth are we going to do?" One asked. The oldest, who looked like the clear leader, folded his hands together.
"What we always do, Tristan. We send out another Trainer. Gotta keep the ranks going, eh?" The man said. The man called Tristan piped up, "But, but, sir... we've exhausted all of our supply of children! The only girl left in Pallet Town is... that Johto girl." He said softly.
A third man frowned. "He's right. What was her name again?" The leader pulled up a file, and sighed.
"Olivia Kent. She's a girl from Johto, indeed. Blackthorn, to be exact." He peered at the face onscreen. "Thirteen years old. Passed over every year for Trainer titles, because of fear of mental instability." Tristan frowned.
"Sir? What kind of mental instability?" The leader sighed. "Says here she lived in Johto until she was ten. The doctors think she might inherit the Johtotian madness we see in that region." Tristan stared at the girl's picture.
"Specifically, sir? Dementia? Schizophrenia?" The leader shook his head. "I'm afraid not. You are all aware of the Viridian Disease? The one that afflicts Giovanni of Team Rocket?" They all nodded. The leader nodded, satisfied.
"Johto has that exact same strain of disease. And to top it all off, where she lived has the most potent environment to spawn this... disease. The thing is, this one is far more potent, leaving this girl able to not only heal pokemon, feel the thoughts and emotions of Pokemon, but to see their memories also. But it's only half-likely. We don't know how strong it is in her." The group nodded.
"But," He sighed, staring at the picture, "I don't believe we have a choice. Notify Oak. Tell him the circumstances, and have him alert the parent. And one more thing; keep an eye on her. If she is a threat, kill her." He turned away.
"I would rather not fulfill the quota than deal with a rebel."
We go back to Pallet Town. Back to a young girl's house.
"I fucking hate this place." The girl said, snarling at the cookie-cutter decor that the New Order League had decreed in every house. Her mother winced.
"Language, Olivia dear." She turned to her mother in anger. "Why? Because of the fucking bugs they have in this shithole?" She made an obscene gesture.
"There," She said with a satisfied smirk, "I hope they're watching." Her mother sighed, and said nothing.
They sat in silence and ate breakfast, a plain paste that might've once been oatmeal. They were interrupted by a knock on the door. Olivia's mother smoothed out her skirt, and opened the door, smiling.
"Hello, Sheila. It's nice to see you." Gary Oak, the young, lean, and much-adored professor said softly, leaning against the doorframe. His Umbreon growled a greeting by his side. Sheila simpered.
"It's so nice to see you, Professor! Please, won't you come in?" He nodded. "I most certainly will. I'm here to see young Olivia."
The girl did not say anything. Merely, she came up and petted Umbreon. The night fox purred happily, and wagged her tail gently. They shared a glance, and then Olivia looked up at Gary. "She says her feet hurt."
Sheila frowned. "Honey, I told you not to do that in front out our guests." Gary shook his head.
"It's okay, I heard you were a special little girl!" Olivia detected his falsity in the tone and timbre of his voice, but said nothing. He looked down at her, and smiled a bit too fatherly for her liking. Something was up.
"How would you like to be a Trainer, Olivia?" She blinked owlishly up at him. She looked at Umbreon. Pointing to her, she said, "Would I get something like her?" Gary chose his words carefully, not wanting to upset her. Girl trainers with Umbreon were frowned upon...
"I don't know. If you choose an Eevee, maybe." She nodded, satisfied. She said, "I suppose I can try being a Trainer. But why did the League pick me now instead of three years ago?" Gary frowned.
"Well... a boy named Ash Ketchum just died. Attacked by Spearow. And you know the rules; we have a quota to fulfill. So we decided your turn had come." Olivia looked back at her mother to see her reaction to the boy's death.
"Go pack, dear. Just think! This is your chance at glory!" She clapped her hands together, already dreaming of fame and stardom. Olivia frowned, along with Gary. She said nothing, but went upstairs and packed.
Stopping by her mirror, she looked in it, annoyed. A diminutive girl, stick thin and melancholic, stared back. Her dark brown hair fell razor-straight to her shoulders. Her nose jutted out of her face, and her too-large eyes blinked back at her, a stormy blue that matched her feelings right now. She sighed, and gathered some things.
A few Pokeballs she had kept lying around. Some money she had been saving. A hairbrush. Necessities, really. After much debate, she decided to take her simple stone charm necklace, the one with a garnet attached to a black leather string.
She smiled thinly as she got dressed. Girls were required to wear skirts, dresses, or leggings. She decided to screw them, once again, and wore a simple pair of black jeans with a Feminine-Regulation pink shirt. She scowled at the shirt, but left it on. She tied her boots on too, the tough steel-toed ones. Packing some leggings and skirts, (in case she was stopped for her jeans), she headed downstairs.
"Bye, mom. I'll call." She said, not meaning much of it, really. Her mother nodded. She wouldn't call, either. Too many listening devices.
Gary nodded to Umbreon, and all three started for the door, to head back to the lab. She looked at the bland houses, before asking Gary,
"Professor, do they think I'm insane?" Gary winced. He knew she'd catch him in a lie, so he said, "Possibly." She seemed satisfied with that answer, and said nothing for the rest of the trip.
As they walked into the lab, Olivia noticed a list.
Feminine Starters
Chikorita
Bulbasaur (Everstone required)
Clefairy
Eevee (Espeon, Glaceon, and Vaporeon ONLY)
Squirtle (Everstone required)
Jigglypuff
Pichu (Everstone required)
Skitty
Nidoran (Female only)
Plusle/Minun
Totodile (Everstone required)
Dratini (Dragonair only)
Vulpix
Budew
Pachirisu
Buneary
BY DECREE OF THE NEW ORDER LEAGUE
And another one:
Masculine Starters
Charmander
Cyndaquil
Nidoran (Male only)
Poochyena
Pikachu
Aron
Dratini
Riolu
Trapinch
Rattata
Croagunk
Bidoof
BY DECREE OF THE NEW ORDER LEAGUE
She frowned. "I don't see Charmander on my list." Gary nodded. "Charmander is for male trainers only. Sorry, kiddo." She growled.
"I want Charmander." Gary sighed. "I bet you won't say that after I show you your starter! Remember you said you wanted an Umbreon like mine? Well, here!" He went back to a tube, and pressed a button. A red-and-white pokeball was spat out into his waiting hand.
With a proud flourish, he tossed the pokeball. "He's all yours. He's my Umbreon's son, by the way." She stared passively at the Eevee that materialized. It was a grayish-brown, and kinda skinny and small.
He padded over to her, and nuzzled her leg. She stared down Gary angrily. "I can't have an Umbreon. The New Order League says so." Gary faltered.
"Uh... I guess you can have an Espeon?" Her face flushed. She gritted her teeth in rage, and shoved the Eevee away.
"I WANT CHARMANDER!" She shrieked, stomping her feet. "I HATE THIS STUPID RULE! THIS THING'S DUMB! I BET IT CAN'T EVEN FIGHT! IT'S NOT FAIR! I HATE BEING A GIRL!! I WANT CHARMANDER!" She screamed, tearing at the sleeves of her shirt.
She kicked Eevee angrily, sending him skittering. She screamed, and began to yell at the Eevee. "YOU STUPID BASTARD, YOU'RE FUCKING WEAK!! WHY THE HELL AREN'T YOU A CHARMANDER!!" She sat down, and began to dry-heave tears. "IT'S NOT FAIR!" Gary raised an eyebrow. Johto Madness, indeed.
Eevee hid in terror at his new master. She could feel his fear, and it merely added to her anger. "I HATE YOU! I HATE THE LEAGUE, I HATE EVERYONE!" Gary stared. Sighing, he quickly scribbled down something on a piece of paper, and handed it to her.
"I'm on your side. Listen to me. Charmander still run free in the wild; catch one there. We need your help. Don't speak; this place is bugged." He stared at her, until she grumbled, and wrote something down.
"With what?" The note read. Gary smiled. He got a new piece of paper, and wrote.
"We are resisting the New Order Pokemon League. I need your help. Or, should I say, the resistance. A bunch of trainers and Professors have banded against this new League. The old Gym Leaders are gone. The Elite Four of every region are gone. And we all need and support you. If you can collect all eight Badges, and challenge the Elite Four... you will win, and we will all be free." Olivia frowned.
She wrote down, "Why can't someone else do it?" Gary wrote another note.
"There are others... but we need all the help we can get. I bet you'll make a great trainer. And he's not as weak as he looks; he's my Umbreon's son, after all." She frowned, and nodded.
"Two questions," She wrote. "First, what's up with his color? Second, will I be able to find others... fighting in this resistance?" Gary nodded, and took the paper.
"I honestly don't know what's wrong with his color. I think he was premature; that might have something to do with it. And as for the resistance, possibly. Look for people who don't fit the gender norms that the League has decreed. A girl with a Cubone, for example. Or a boy with a Skitty. Any more questions?" Olivia shook her head.
He scribbled down a series of numbers, and handed them to her. "Call me. If you, you know, find someone." He winked at her. "My line's not bugged." He whispered. Olivia nodded. He smiled, and handed her a small knapsack filled with supplies. He fastened a Translator on Eevee, and handed Olivia five more.
"Take your pokedex. Good luck, young Trainer!" He was back to his false voice, and Olivia rolled her eyes, akin to saying, "Cut the shit', only silently. Gary smirked, as she walked out the door. "Good luck, kiddo." He said softly.
She looked at Eevee. Eevee looked back at her. "You know, you're kind of a crappy pokemon." She told him, matter-of-fact. "And I did want a Charmander." Eevee faltered. She could hear him. "Sorry..." She shrugged.
"I guess... you're not too bad. But you have to prove you're a good pokemon; you know, win some battles, and beat a few trainers until I catch a Charmander or something. Okay?" He nodded. "Yeah! You're gonna be my friend!" She smiled at him, but immediately changed it to a frown when he smirked at her.
They set off. Eevee and trainer. In a world like this one, they were either bound to succeed, or bound to die. Painfully.
But that wasn't to be discussed right now... for now, they'd just get to know each other.