Well, I've finally managed to break the writer's block I had about VfB, thanks to playing some Pokemon Mystery Dungeon: Explorers of Sky. And it was due to this that I was able to figure out the supporting character in this chapter should be: Yellow, who is based on the Pikachu I had as a Partner in EoS.
Anyway, welcome to what I hope will be my second greatest (or greatest - depending on how well PotK does) story here on - Pokemon Mystery Dungeon: Voids from Beyond! (A crossover between Pokemon Mystery Dungeon and Paper Mario)
Just a fair warning, there will be some mature themes being touched on throughout the story, but for now, it's time to pick up where A Brief History of the Omniverse ended... and begin Auro's journey through the world of Pokémon...
Chapter 1: Welcome to Porta Charlatan
Story Segment Prologue: The Amnesiac Riolu
The seaside town of Porta Charlatan was infamous for the high numbers of crime being committed there, although as the so-called 'backwater gateway to Orrenova' – a continent which was possibly the worst continent on Earth, especially in terms of crime rates – it was the number three worst city on the planet, although it pales in comparison to both Crisis City and Carnage City. But, while Crisis City is mainly where Team Magma has their base – and being highly destroyed, with most of the ground being lava – Carnage City has the highest death rate of any city on Earth, mainly due to the high numbers of murders in that city, which is why few people ever visit there: most visitors are dead within a day of visiting Carnage City. Then again, Porta Charlatan, or even the surrounding areas, is not a place to be found out cold, especially if you are… different from the rest of your species. And a green Riolu – who no-one had ever seen before today – is one such Pokémon which shouldn't be allowed to be found knocked out by the locals, not if you want the Riolu to stay intact.
"Well, well, well… look what we found," a Raticate who was missing half an ear and a fang noted to his 'crew'. "I'm sure that we'll get a fine price for taking this poor fool…"
He was interrupted by a sudden Ember shot his way from a female Charmander. "No, this here bitch is mine!" she countered, before being hit by a Water Gun from another local… and, typically, the whole thing started to go to shit – which, for Porta Charlatan, was commonplace. Within ten minutes, at least eight groups had laid a claim – or at least tried to – on the knocked out Riolu, with none of the groups having the best intentions for the Riolu in mind. And, with no proper police in Porta Charlatan, it would normally seem like the Riolu's fate was sealed…
…Well, until a sudden Volt Tackle stormed right through the groups, paralysing most of them. And the cause of the Volt Tackle?
"Leave… that Riolu… alone!" the Pikachu who used said move cried out, somewhat worn out from the Volt Tackle's recoil, but not giving up one bit.
"Yellow! Why do you always ruin our fun?" a Squirtle complained. "This is the fifth Pokémon this week you've stopped us from fighting over!"
"Yeah! Can't you at least let us fight over this Riolu?" the Charmander who had been hit by the Squirtle's Water Gun after using Ember on the Raticate added.
"…No. The fact that you're fighting over a Riolu… I can't let this Riolu suffer the same fate as my old friend!" Yellow cried out.
"Please. You know it wasn't us who kidnapped your old pal and…"
But before the Squirtle could finish, Yellow hit him with a Thunder Shock. "Don't you DARE talk to me about him like that!"
After that 'explosion' by Yellow, the remaining Pokémon took the chance to high-tail it out of there, taking their paralyzed companions with them. And then, the Pikachu finally got a chance to check on the Riolu which he had just saved. But, just as he reached to check the Riolu's pulse…
"Urg…" The Riolu moaned, swatting away Yellow's paw, before slowly opening his eyes.
"Oh, thank goodness!" Yellow exclaimed. "I… I thought you might had…"
"…Huh?" The Riolu's face looked puzzled when he saw Yellow. "You can speak English?"
"English? Never heard of it before," the Pikachu replied. "We're speaking sPoké," he added.
"…sPoké? I… Vaguely remember reading about something along those lines…" the Riolu noted. And then he started to get up… although on catching a glimpse of his own body… he fell onto his tail in shock. "W… What the?!"
"Huh? Something wrong?"
"I… I shouldn't look like this…"
"I agree with you on that. I mean, a green Riolu?"
The Riolu was shocked. "A… green Riolu?! But I'm human! …Or, at least was one…"
"…You're an odd one… Anyway, what is your name?"
"My name? Well… I can't remember much, but I clearly remember my name: A…"
But before the Riolu could say what his name was, a shout could be heard from nearby. "Hey! Let go of me!"
The Riolu got up, and turned towards the sound of the crying: it turned out that the voice came from a Pichu who was in the grasp of two Mankeys, led by a Primape.
"Sorry, Lady Trump's orders," one of the Mankeys replied.
"What the…?!" Yellow was shocked… but was even more shocked as the Riolu charged towards the group! "Hey, wait for me!" he cried.
As the Riolu ran towards the group, he cried out, "Stop right there!" which caused the Primape to stop and turn around.
"Oh, what do we have here? A green Riolu?" The female smirked as she tapped a scouter-like device which she was wearing. "And only level 1?! This should be easy for you two fools. Forget the Pichu – get that Riolu instead!"
"Yes, ma'am!" the Mankeys replied, saluting, while the Pichu used the chance to flee. And then the duo turned towards the Riolu, who was already in a fighting stance.
"So sorry to break it to you…" the first Mankey noted.
"…But you're coming with us, if you like it or not," the second Mankey replied.
"No way! I… I'll kick your butts!" the Riolu countered, before charging at the first Mankey with a Quick Attack, even though he didn't know that it was a Quick Attack at first. And the attack landed… with a critical hit, causing the Mankey to backpedal!
The second Mankey got angry, and tried a High Jump Kick, but the Riolu ducked in time, causing him to carry on into a wall!
"What are you two fools up to? Knock him out!" the Primape cried out, before being hit by Yellow's Thunder Shock. "And what do you think you are doing?" she cried out after recovering from the hit, as Yellow ran up next to the Riolu.
"What do you think?" Yellow retorted, before charging up for a Volt Tackle. At the same time, the Riolu Quick Attacked once more into the first Mankey, dealing some more damage before it could try and counter with a High Jump Kick… which ended with almost the same results as before. Except for the fact that the impact with the wall knocked the Mankey out.
As the Mankey fainted, the Riolu felt a rush of power within his body… and then, he watched as Yellow Volt Tackled the Primeape, knocking her nearly out!
"Dang it, retreat, retreat!" the Primeape cried out, causing the other Mankey to pick up his fainted companion, and the trio fled from the scene! As they did so, both the Riolu and Yellow felt a rush of power – the latter knowing exactly what it was.
"Yes! Another level for me!" the Pikachu cried, smiling, before turning to the Riolu. "Are… You okay?" he asked.
"Yeah… What was that sudden surge of power I felt? Twice?"
"Oh, you mean the surge of power one gets from gaining a level? Well, if what that Primeape was saying was right, you most likely had little to no experience whatsoever. But, by sending those bullies packing, you managed to gain experience – which, if you get enough of, allows you to gain a level," Yellow explained. "And, by doing so, not only do you get stronger, but you can expand either how many Moves you can have active at one time, how many Abilities you can have active at once, or the amount of Energy, or PP, you have to use Moves with. For example, I just levelled up and I chose that I could do with some more PP, so that I can Volt Tackle more. Therefore, my PP increased."
"Hmm… I think I get it," the Riolu replied. "And I guess you get one increase per level you gain?"
"Yep, that's the case."
"…Sounds a lot like the mechanics to a RPG, if you ask me," the Riolu noted, causing Yellow to face fault. "Not that I'm complaining, mind!" he quickly added.
"True that… Anyway, you were about to say your name when that incident happened," Yellow noted.
"… I don't know… Maybe I shouldn't say my name…"
"Well, do you have any nicknames you go by, then?"
"Yeah, I do: Auro."
"Auro… Interesting nickname. Sounds a lot like Aura – the power that your kind can use."
"Well… I can't remember how I got that nickname, but…"
"Oh, I know – maybe the Prof can help you out!" Yellow noted, causing Auro to look confused. "…You know, Professor Oak?"
Auro shook his head. "No, can't say I have heard that name before…"
"Well… We should head to his place: Porta Charlatan's a bad place to be, as you just saw."
"Porta… what?"
"Porta Charlatan – apparently the third worst city on the world, if you believe the news," Yellow replied, as he started to show Auro a safe route through the city to a cove on the outskirts.
"What's the first two?" Auro asked.
"Oh, there's Crisis City: home to the base of the evil Team Magma… but even that pales in comparison to Carnage City."
"Okay… I don't think I'd want to go to either of those places from just hearing the names of them."
"Good idea… Oh, can you see Sharpedo Cove up ahead?" Yellow asked, pointing out the cliff face which had an odd cave at the top of it – which looked like the jaws of a shark.
"Yeah, I think I can," Auro replied, nodding.
"Good. Because that's where we'll be going, as the Prof lives there. And so do I as well – he took me in after an… incident."
"An incident?" Auro asked.
"Yeah… I don't want to talk about it much. It… Well, I lost a friend then…"
Auro nodded. "Then I won't press you for any information. Not that I have anything to say about my past… mainly as I can't remember anything before I woke up and saw you… except for the fact that I was a human, and not a Riolu…"
"Well, I hope the Professor can shed some light on what's going on…"
And thus, the story begins. As you can possibly tell, the leveling and battle system is slightly altered - while it retains Pokémon's stats, it also has three new stats in place of a few things: PP is now a shared pool, which each move (barring 'basic' moves, which cost 0PP) can consume anything from 1 to 12 (or more!) PP at once; MA or Move Allowance, affects how many moves can be equipped at once, with more powerful moves using more MA; and AA, or Ability Allowance, which affects how many Abilities one can have active at one time. Plus, some moves are changed into Abilities: for example, Endure is now an ability which costs 3AA, but allows one to survive a hit as long as they have at least 2HP left.
Anyway, it's time for the stats. For the first time a character is introduced, Natures, Characteristics and the number of IVs the character has will also be shown - all other times, only Max HP, Max PP, MA and AA will be shown, along with the currently set Moves and Abilities.
Auro - Level 5 Riolu (Serious Nature, Alert to Sounds)
IVs: 154
Max HP: 21
Max PP: 18
MA: 6 (6 free)
AA: 6 (1 free)
Moves: Quick Attack (0PP/0MA)
Abilities: Steadfast, (1AA) Foresight, (1AA) Endure (3AA)
Yellow - Level 6 Pikachu (Hasty Nature, Highly Curious)
IVs: 143
Max HP: 22
Max PP: 16
MA: 4 (0 free)
AA: 3 (0 free)
Moves: Thunder Shock, (0PP/0MA) Growl, (1PP/1MA) Volt Tackle (6PP/3MA)
Abilities: Static (3AA)
And with that, this ends the first chapter of Voids from Beyond. Stay tuned for the next chapter, where we meet Professor Oak and learn a bit more about Orrenova!
