Disclaimer: I do not own or pretend to own the Pokemon phenomonon. If I did, do you seriously think I'd be writing this as fan fiction? I can quite safely assume no. So in that case, I don't own the Pokemon games, anime or manga series, but I do own this story and the original characters who appear in it. Also note that the paragraphs aren't spaced. This is because cannot upload files correctly to save its life. So without further ado...
A huge, devastating blast of orange fire crashed down into the snow-covered, rocky valley below. Golem flinched at the impact, but continued pushing back against the onslaught, growling deeply in an attempt to boost it's strength. Hovering high up in the clear blue sky above, the large, powerful form of a Dragonite, it's leathery, orange wings beating proudly, watched it's opponent struggle. Riding atop the beast was a man wearing a stern, anxious expression on his face. He knew how much this Pokemon battle meant.
"You must stop this madness, Geol!" the rider called down to where the opposing trainer stood, his form hunched over and his figure obscured by the large, dark brown trench coat he wore. The man's eyes focused entirely on his Golem, it's giant, round form covered in armour-like stone plates.
"That I cannot do, Lance." Geol shouted back in reply, not removing his gaze from the battling Pokemon.
"Then you leave me no choice!" Lance declared, pointing down towards Golem. Despite the protection of his bulky jacket and long, flowing cape, both bearing the insignia of 'Official Johto Pokemon League Champion', Lance shivered as a frosty wind began to pick up. The northern mountains of Johto were notoriously cold all year round and Dragonite's current altitude offered little relief from the temperature. His long, spiky pink hair ruffled in the breeze before he shouted out the orders to his Pokemon. "Dragonite, let's dive down and finish this battle off!"
The flying lizard nodded it's approval and immediately swooped down towards the waiting Golem. Geol, standing atop a nearby ice-covered boulder, watched with gritted teeth as the attacker came closer, and closer, and closer, until he could eventually call out his orders.
"Golem, Explosion now!" Everything seemed to turn silent as the man raised his voice and leapt backwards without a second glance as a huge blast of intense fire engulfed the entire mountaintop and the figures of Golem, Dragonite and Lance all became lost in the inferno. The next thing he could see was total darkness as he rolled down the jagged rock slide until after several minutes the ground beneath him finally became horizontal once more.
Harsh, ragged breathing filled the dark, black void of silence; the very warmth of the man's breath sucked away by the bitterly cold, unforgiving air of the claustrophobic cave that surrounded and absorbed his presence. He shivered, removing a large glove from his right hand and placing his palm against his chest. His body temperature had dropped dramatically during the past five hours in which he had already been here. He coughed gently before deciding to move forward, further into the darkness.
"Zak..." he whispered to himself, his voice sounding soft and weak. "I'm sorry."
The huge, towering shadow of the SS Aqua came roaring into view of the comparatively small port of Olivine. On the top deck, staring out towards his destination was a young man. Around sixteen years of age, he had silky, jet black hair of a reasonable length, rising an inch or so above and over his forehead, the back cut just above his neck. If you had judged him by his clothing, the only distinguishing factor about him would be the black, loosely fastened belt hanging from his waist that carried six red and white spheres. If you got close enough, you could even see a minute line of text in dark brown stitching along his right hip which read: 'Zak Vangard - May your legend be the greatest of all'. His eyes, however, seemed to tell a different story; a sign of ambition and determination. The white shirt he wore blew against the coastal breeze in time with that of his own, flowing hair, as he leaned over the handrails, watching the new city, and this promising new land, come into view. Below his shirt he wore a pair of navy blue jeans and below them were sneakers that had clearly been well-worn and were covered in minor dirt and grass stains. The boat began to dock, causing the boy to turn and head towards the ship's exit.
Emerging from the liner, he made his way through the docks, and into the streets of Olivine. It wasn't a particularly large town, but compared to his home village, it was a bustling metropolis of sights and sounds. He had never been to Johto before; in fact, he had never left the small island country of his birth until today. It seemed to be a historic moment in his life, and one small step on the road of his journey.
He continued to walk through the fisherman's marketplace, where sailors and merchants were selling and inspecting goods to be bought. One was even showing off his prize Machoke, a well-built Pokemon of the Fighting-type. The young trainer was intrigued by this - he had only ever seen such a creature in the Pokemon research books he would often read at home to pass the time. Fixing his gaze back on the path, he made his way past the last of the stalls.
Zak had soon made his way to the outskirts of the harbour town, noticing a large building which dwarfed the others in size. Upon closer inspection, the sign hanging above the door read: 'Olivine City Pokemon Gym', including details of the leader and the type of Pokemon they used. He paused for a moment, his mind deep in thought, then looked to his watch. It was around ten thirty AM, and he had been told to meet with an old associate of his father's in the city of Ecruteak, several miles to the east of here. Hopefully he could give Zak some information on his father's whearabouts. Turning away from the Gym, he made his way down the path towards the next town.
The sun was still shining brightly in the sky, with little or no clouds up above. It was a truly beautiful day, and Zak wondered whether it was always this warm in Johto. The path was quite dusty, and many footprints had been made in the soil, probably due to the amount of tourists traveling to and from the harbour. Fields of bright, green grass covered the rest of the route, with the view broken only by the large trees which lined the edges several yards away from the path itself. He had seen several Pidgeys and Spearows as he walked, but had decided not to disturb them, since he wasn't attempting to become a fabled 'Pokemon Master'. The only thing he cared about was trying to locate his father, who had mysteriously disappeared seven months ago.
Though he only had three Pokemon, he had trained them well, or at least, as well as he could on the small island he had lived on. Most of the villagers would merely use the creatures to help them in their daily chores, such as cultivating the land for crops, gathering food and firewood; even to chase off thieving birds from eating the seeds they had sown. His greatest, and strongest, Pokemon, was by far the Nidoqueen he owned. He had caught it in the forest overlooking the village as a Nidoran a few years back. Around three months before today, he had found a bizarre stone which, despite being in the sun for hours, would stay as cold as ice when touched. He recalled it glittering oddly, then causing his Nidoran to evolve after she had found it on his bedside cabinet and attempted to eat it.
Zak smiled at the memories he had of the village, before his step-mother had asked him to leave for Johto to try and find his father again. He was reluctant to leave at first, insisting that his father could take care of himself, and that she needed Zak's help at home. But just two weeks ago, the village had been attacked by an incredibly odd youth...
Zak stopped for a second and looked behind him. He had become lost in his thoughts again, and hadn't realised that just over an hour had passed since he left the harbour town. His legs shook, letting him know that he was tired and needed to rest. An examination of the area revealed a small tree just cropping out a yard or so away from the path itself. Relieved to find such a perfect spot to take a break, he sat down underneath the cooling shade of it's leaves and stared up into the clear, blue sky, remembering that day...
Zak had just been to collect the firewood needed to last the next few days for his step-mother. Though they weren't related by blood, he still considered her to be close enough to his real parent. They would rarely argue and in fact, they got along as if they were close friends. His father had been away for months now 'on business', though exactly what that involved was still a mystery to him. Zak's father worked as a high-ranking security advisor to the Silph company's Johto division, market leaders in Pokemon research and technology, and as a result he was rarely at home, his longest trips usually lasting a maximum of four months or so.
Zak smiled to himself; it was a good family to have, and a good place to live, even if there were no other villagers around his age. He had a half-sister, who would be approaching the age of six soon, and she would often keep him company when he wasn't working on the land with the rest of the adults. He remembered turning the corner which would lead him back home that day, just around the edge of the woods, when he noticed huge flames rising from the village houses. Smoke towered up into the air, fire bending and distorting the air around it with intense heat. Dropping the firewood, Zak dashed towards his homestead, mind blank, not wanting to try and take in what it had just seen.
"Mom!" he shouted desperately as he approached the inferno that was once his house. "Sora! Where are you?" there was no answer. Raging fires broke the otherwise total silence. The entire area was empty, the grass singed and the crops ravaged, with no signs of life anywhere to be seen.
Zak stared around for a moment, still trying to absorb and make sense of what he was witnessing, when he began to hear a laughter, making itself known in seconds. He looked up to see a figure with long, untamed hair rising up and just over his forehead. The stranger seemed to be dressed in a large, bulky material, but because of the flames rising from the roof on where they were standing, making out any kind of detail was impossible.
"Who are you?" Zak cried, his right hand shooting to his waist, ready to unleash one of the monsters he had been training for many years. "Did you do this?" there was no response. "ANSWER ME!" the figure turned and began to laugh again, then raised his head to allow the illumination of the fire to reveal his face.
"Where is Geol?" he asked, his sick smile turning to an angry frown, a growl present deep in his throat. Zak's eyes widened.
"My father?" he stammered. "What do you want with my father?" the stranger's anger became more audible, as he raised an arm and pointed what appeared to be a thick spear towards Zak.
"I'll ask you one more time..." he hissed. "Where is Geol Vangard?" Zak hesitated before answering.
"...I don't know!"
"You are lying!" the man spat, tightening his grip on the weapon in his hand, obviously preparing to strike, causing Zak to grab one of the spheres on his belt and throw it towards the newcomer.
"Go, Nidoqueen!" a flash of white light occured, revealing a large humanoid shaped creature, covered in light purple and blue plates of natural armour. It bore a small horn on it's forehead and growled low, eying the stranger suspiciously. It's small but sharp claws extended from it's stone-like paws, before it launched itself towards it's target. The man jumped from the roof, throwing a projectile of his own towards his attacker.
"Charizard!" he called as the same light appeared from the ball in his hands, releasing a large, deep-orange coloured dragon, towering just over two feet taller than it's purple adversary. The tip of it's tail burned brightly, as it flapped it's large, scaly wings and grinned, snorting slightly and creating a puff of smoke from it's nostrils. "It's time to play..."
Zak stepped back, staring at the Pokemon in awe. Shaking his head and bringing himself back to reality, he pointed at the dragon.
"Nidoqueen, use your Ice Beam!" the armoured beast growled and opened it's mouth, generating white energy inside before blasting it straight towards it's rival. The Charizard met it's attack with a stream of fire from it's mouth, fighting back the onslaught but to no avail, eventually having to quickly dodge, then counterattack with it's claws. The dragon snarled and slashed away as the opposing Pokemon struggled to defend itself. "Your feet, use your feet!"
Nidoqueen's eyes opened. Hearing the call of her master she obeyed, and kicked back at the Charizard, which again dodged and took into the air.
"Keep your guard up-!" Zak's words were cut off as the man sweep kicked him from behind, causing him to fall to the burnt ground. He quickly rolled forward and got to his feet, turning to face his attacker, breathing heavily.
From this distance Zak could now see the figure's image more clearly. His hair was a deep, fiery red, intense in colour at the root, a darkened orange at the tips - at least the hair at the front of his head. The colour difference wasn't obvious - you had to concentrate to notice it, but it was there nonetheless. Several strands of it covered his forehead, yet it was wild and untame, not like Zak's. His eyes appeared to be a deep, quite bright green, like that of an emerald, yet his face was sharp and looked decidedly malicious. The bulky clothing he wore now appeared to be a strangely customised suit of armour. He had shoulder pads and a chest plate, whilst the rest of his stomach and torso was covered in a flexible, black coloured undersuit. His arms and hands were bare, whilst the lower portion of his body was dressed in slightly darker black pants made of a mixture of polyester and cotton, forming a bizarre contrast in his clothing. A blue belt, slightly brighter than navy, and similar in style to Zak's, hung off his waist, complete with Pokeballs. The weapon he once held was now sheathed at his waist, and looked like more of a short lance than a spear, as Zak had originally thought.
"Wait a second..." Zak murmured, eyes widening as he suddenly realised something. "You're about my age!"
The youth didn't answer, instead charging at Zak, forcing the two to fight amongst the burning inferno. The warrior lunged at Zak, who slid underneath his attacker and kicked him in the stomach, sending him flying into a nearby window. The boy emerged, wiping the blood from his mouth, his frown becoming angrier. He looked up, then smiled, laughing.
"You're pretty good..." he commented. "Who are you?"
"I'd like to ask you the same thing!" Zak growled in response.
"...Very well..." the boy conceded. "I am called Knite." Zak paused before answering.
"Well that makes sense..." he muttered, once again glancing at Knite's uniform with a slightly perplexed look on his face. "I'm Zak Vangard."
"That explains it..." Knite whispered to himself. He stepped back, then smiled sinisterly again. "We may meet again," he declared, walking away from the burning wreckage of Zak's house. "Charizard, come!" the firey Pokemon broke away from it's own battle, then returned to the form of white light, absorbed by the red and white ball in Knite's hand.
"Hey, wait!" Zak called. "Come back!" he ran just past the ruins of his house, wanting to give chase, but instead stayed, and hurried to find his family. His memories faded and his vision came back into focus as he returned from his day dream...
Zak took his gaze from the sky and watched the dirt path in front of him. Opposite him was a small Pidgey, searching for food in the long grass. Fortunately, nobody had been injured during the fire. The villagers had all taken refuge in the forest, and emerged after Zak had chased off Knite. His smile turned to a frown, vaguely tracing his fingers over the crescent moon pendant of his necklace as he wondered what exactly Knite had wanted with his father. Sighing, he got to his feet and continued the trek to Ecruteak.