Updates will be slow, as I will be replaying HG as I type the chapters. This is a SI/bi-gender story. Story will be in Fist POV and Third POV ONLY.
Summary:
Having dreams of gigantic birds, fairy-like beings, dog-like beasts, and creatures only found in folklore, it's only five years later when all of these dreams were considered of a child's fairy tale. But five years later, the dreams come back and the player can experience them firsthand. There's a reason why the Queen is able to move however many spaces she wishes on the chess board.
Fairytale
Arc I: Inner Peace
O1: Struggles With Adversity
Two screens appeared above me, each having their gender signs for female and male. Feeling as though this was a dream, I didn't question why and simply picked the male icon. It vanished. I jerked slightly when I saw myself changing from my normal female body to my apparent male version's.
"Tch... where's a mirror when you need one?" I rhetorically asked myself in a whisper. My voice sounded deeper now... and definitely not as annoying as my female counterpart's. Maybe I'll be alright...
Suddenly, a keyboard and screen appeared. This seemed really familiar... I slowly typed in the first thing that came to mind: E.H.G.. It disappeared, and I was falling. Whenever I blinked, I saw myself in a room.
"What the hell?!" I shook my head. The room was abnormally large with blue walls, brown wooden floors, blue rug in the middle along with a bed with white sheets over a yellow rug. There was a tall plant in the corner along with a blue TV in another with-
"Why is there a Wii of all things here?" Next to those was a cream colored desk with a blue laptop on top of it, the yellow clock just above that on the wall. The window had green drapes. I stared at the PC and walked over to it, wondering why there wasn't a stupid chair-never mind, I found it. It was small and red, almost touching the ground. It was just low enough for me conceding to stand over it.
The PC beeped as it turned on, MAILBOX appearing in the top left corner of the screen. Why is a PC a mailbox now? I, or whomever, had only one letter. It was someone named Lyra...
I clicked on it, opening it. ADVENTURE! EXCITED! I love POKeMON!" was what was there, a... Marill picture attached.
"Holy fuck... I'm in freaking HG!" I exclaimed quietly, as if unable to speak in anything but a whisper. For those of you who don't know, HG is the short form of HeartGold, the remake of Pokemon Gold.
I turned off the PC, eyes drifting to the red rug placed in front of the stairs. If I remembered correctly from whenever I played a PKMN game, you the player always had the entire second floor to themselves... with their mother downstairs and no room. I went down.
As soon as I placed a singled foot on the tiled cream floor, the red haired woman walked over.
"Hi Ethan! You're finally awake." Thanks for stating the obvious-why am I an Ethan? Well, it's alright I suppose... "Your friend Lyra was just here. She was playing hide-and-seek with her Marill." Ah, guess I forgot about her. She, or the male character, was always the player's moral support.
"Oh, I almost forgot! Our acquaintance, Professor Elm-" That klutzy tree? "-was looking for you. He said he had a favor to ask of you. You know where the lab is, right? It's right next door to us. By the way, do you have everything you need to go out?"
Before I could dwell on that piece of information, Mom started chucking things at me from point-blank range. "Here, use this bag to carry things... This is your Trainer Card... Make sure not to lose them!" With that, she turned and went back to the table, sitting and watching the TV.
I blinked, heading outside. Right as I closed the door, Lyra's Marill came up to me, jumping about. Then Lyra called it's name, the blue puffball running towards her, the two walking away. Alright then... Oh yeah. Mom said that Elm...
"This is when I get my Pokemon! Hell yeah!" I ran for the lab and stopped in my tracks, seeing a boy with red hair looking through a window. I knew him... I've forgotten his name, but I knew him. I placed a hand over my chest, confused and worried about the cold feeling coming about. I approached him.
"...So this is the famous Elm Pokemon Lab..." I heard him mutter as I got closer. He suddenly turned around, silver eyes making contact with mine. "...What are you staring at?" He then shoved me back harshly, causing my back to collide with the ground. He then turned back to the window, ignoring me. I frowned, pushing myself up and walked through the lab doors.
Freaking jerk...
Going in, I saw Elm right ahead. "Hi Ethan!" Oh, you too? "I've been waiting for you! Do you know anything about my research?" He carried on, speaking of said research, like how before Pokeballs were made Pokemon walked around with their owners.
"So I'm going to give you a Pokemon!" it's about damn time. "They're over in that device..." He trailed off as his PC beeped. I ignored that and walked over, pressing each button on the balls. A Chikorita, Totodile, and Cyndaquil appeared, all female. I eyed each of them, petting each. Strange, I couldn't feel them...
"Um... hi there. I'm... Ethan Hibiki Gold." Where did that name come from? "Um... I know we just met and all, but I'm becoming a trainer. I want to be a good one, so... I won't just choose. Which of you wants to honestly travel with me?"
The creatures conversed with each other for a few seconds before they pushed a jolly-looking Cyndaquil towards me. I gave a small smile, suddenly feeling like the mute Red up on Mt. Silver.
"Great! Do... Cyndaquil, if you choose to come with me I won't object, but... But, well, dangerous things may come up-" Like Team Rocket. "And I don't want to get you caught up in that if you don't want to." The tiny creature squeaked and shook its head, getting closer and crawling up my arm, nuzzling my cheek. I grinned, petting it.
Why can't I feel anything?! Suddenly the professor turned to me.
"Hey, listen. I have this acquaintance that people call Mr. Pokemon. Can you go over and retrieve the egg he discovered?" I blinked and nodded slowly. "Thanks so much Ethan! Just head west to Cherrygrove City and then north. After a few miles you'll find Mr. Pokemon's house. See you!" He then went back to him work.
I left the lab, looking over at Cyndaquil, who was on my left shoulder. "Do you want a nickname?" She nodded her head. "Alright. Uh..." God, i forgot how hard this was. "How about... Ueki?" She nodded. I wasn't sure if the name was gender neutral or not, but if I made it up, I guess it didn't matter much.
I paused. Wait, Cyndaquil's a boy? Aren't all the starters the opposite gender of the player-oh.
Suddenly Lyra ran up to us, Marill hot on her trail. "Ethan!" Oh stop using that name! "That's such a cute Pokemon you have! Why don't you go show it to your mom?" And then she left.
I groaned in annoyance. Why am I hating being called Ethan so much? And why can't I fucking feel the Pokemon sitting on my shoulder?! Now I'm starting to wonder just how stressful this journey will be if I'm like this before I even left the town.
Walking back to my house didn't take long. Opening the red door, mom was still at the table, appearing to be reading. The TV was still on, probably as background noise. I tapped her shoulder, causing her to turn around.
"Oh! Ethan! That's a cute Pokemon you have. Professor Elm must have given it to you?" Isn't it obvious? I don't comment on that, telling her of the task I was forcefully given. "Oh, your Pokegear came back from the repair shop!" How did it break in the first place if it was - assumingly - brand new?
She handed it to me and I strapped it to my left forearm, annoyed with how I don't have a pocket watch. After she was done explaining how to use it despite me saying I knew how, I left the house and went west (silently noting how the damn red haired kid was still there). I was stopped by Elm, however, before I could step a single foot out of the town's border.
"I almost completely forgot about this..." The scientist exhaled. "Here, I'll give you my number." I entered the tree's number into the Pokegear after a few tries of finding how to. "If anything comes up, I'll be sure to call." And then he went back to the lab.
I huffed, glanced at Ueki the Cyndaquil, and went off onto Route... wasn't it thirty or twenty nine? Crap... I should really study up on those again. I began to mess with my Pokegear after Ueki crawled down my arm and onto the ground, choosing to walk. I looked at the various backgrounds-why is there a TR design?
Oh. TR is the short form for Team Rocket. They're an evil terrorist criminal organization for... well, lots of things. Killing, abduction, harassment, stealing, trafficking, bombing, raids, abuse, homicide, genocide, and probably more. The crime rate in Johto went up a whole lot when TR came about, like... five years ago.
How do I know this shit? Well, anyways, kids wanting to go be Trainers have to be fifteen years old. In Kanto, you can be ten and leave your hometown. I don't really like the system all that much...
After battling too many Hoothoot, trudging through mud, getting itchy by tall grass, and flies hitting me in the face, Ueki and I arrived at Cherrygove City. We were immediately stopped by an old man, however...
"You're a rookie Trainer, aren't you? I can tell!" No shit! Also, fuck that. "That's OK! Everyone is a rookie at some point!" I threw my hands up, aggravated. Ueki was giving me a look, of which one could associate with sweatdropping,
He then started dragging me around the town, abnormally fast for being... what? Sixty some maybe? I was sweating excessively by the time we stopped in front of his house. He gave me a new pair of running shoes that suspiciously fit me before bidding me farewell. I sighed and went to the Pokemon Center, intentions on healing Ueki.
This was quickly completed, having only one Pokemon. I let Ueki out again and exited the Center, going towards the next route. I was stopped by the old man, though. He was huffing by the time he reached me.
"I.. I almost forgot! Here, take this." I was handed a Map Card for the Pokegear. He quickly left. I inserted it and looked up that one Route's name I couldn't remember. I could feel my eye twitch.
"Route twenty nine... Then we're heading to thirty... Figures I guess right but doubt myself." Sighing, I let Ueki down onto the ground as we walk to Mr. Pokemon's house.
It didn't take long, maybe only fifteen minutes. We didn't run into any Pokemon or trainers. Slightly upset, I said nothing as we were stopped by the Apricorn Man who gave me a box for them, continuing up the road. And then we arrived.
Entering, a man with a white mustache and gray hair walked briskly to me, decked in brown. "You must be E.H.G.." He said. I smiled, happy that someone used the name I had typed in.
He repeated it, voice getting deeper each time he did. He finally stopped when he sounded like the devil, hissing it, warm brown eyes turning black and steely. I ran out of the house once I saw Oak's eyes like that. I could feel my legs shake. I turned to Ueki.
"W-What just happened, Ue-... Ueki?!" I threw the thing off of me, backing away. The Cyndaquil's eyes turned black and beady, waves of killing intent rolling of him. I tripped, a stick cutting my leg. Suddenly I found myself facing an unknown roof from from my backside, coughing with a concerned Cyndaquil on my chest.
"Cynda?" It asked, concern increasing. I was sweating a lot-too much. I slowly sat up after he moved, gold and black hat falling off my head. My entire body was shaking.
"W-..." I coughed more, stiffening as small specks of blood hit my hand. "Don't speak, son!" My head jerked up, seeing Mr. Pokemon and Oak. I swallowed hard with difficulty and spoke anyway, most of my words lost.
"W...at... a-appen... ed? Why... a-am... bl... "I started to hack into my hands, chest constricting by an unknown force. The two old men rushed about and got closer, easing me up further after the attack subsided. I was handed a cup of water and sipped at it.
"Professor Elm said that a boy would be coming by today... it's been a full day since I got the message and decided to look for you with Professor Oak here," He gestured to the older man, of who sat down in a chair.
"We found you in a ditch surrounded by very harmful plants and some Spindark. The Spindark had poisoned you, thus your coughing attacks. The plants, however, seemed to be a kind that makes you hallucinate." I nodded at this, face turning blank as I didn't feel him place a hand on my shoulder.
I, with a force I shouldn't have to use, lifted my arm and attempted to make a scribbling motion with it. I was swiftly handed a pen and paper. Thanks for helping me. This has nothing to do with the plants, but I cannot feel your hand on my shoulder. This hasn't happened until recently, and I woke up like this. Also, pleased to meet you. I'm Ethan.
He nodded. "I see. I'm Mr. Pokemon. It was I who sent an email to Professor Elm earlier." He eased my off the couch once I gathered enough strength, escorting me to the yellow table. He then handed me an egg (of which I took after I stuffed my hat into my pack, making enough room to cushion it before putting it in there).
"This is what I want Professor Elm to examine. A friend of mine from Ecruteak gave it ro me. I thought my colleague might be able to tell what this is."
"And with that... I'm Professor Oak," He said, sliding off his stool and walking to stand in front of me. "A Pokemon researcher! I was just visiting my friend Mr. Pokemon. I heard you were running an errand for Professor Elm, so I waited here. I'm glad I did, or you would never have been found!"
He then paced in his spot for a moment, eyeing Ueki (who was on the table). "Oh! What's this? A rare Pokemon! ...I think I understand why Professor Elm gave you that Pokemon." He shifted his brown eyes to me.
"Tell me Ethan... before today or yesterday, did you ever have a dream of meeting a creature of a mystical nature?" I blinked. Wary of what would happen if I rejected, I thought.
"Err... One time I dreamed of a time when I was little and saw a creature that was large, dog-like, brown, had a smokey mane, and something like a red mask on its face. Another time I saw a giant orange bird with white, red, green, and golden feathers... And another dream was of a group of birds. One was yellow, loud like thunder. Another was a cream color with the heat of fire. The last one... the last one was blue with an even darker feather-like mane and tail, cool as ice.
"There was also a large creature in the sea... it was white, or silver... I'm not sure. I saw another dog-like creature, but it was blue with a purple mane and white ribbons following it. One time there was a small fairy-like creature that was green with blue eyes... I think it was by a shrine of some sort. A giant, the biggest of them all I think, was a horse-like creature. It was white with black on it, gold accents and a large golden ring around it. It... was in a place with glyphs. Some ruins, I think."
I paused, eyeing the looks I was given. "Sir... why are you asking me this?"
"Well... Ethan. Those dreams you had... I am almost positive that they weren't dreams." I blinked. What.
What I spoke of were the dreams I had before I apparently entered the Pokemon world! There merely childhood fantasies. That's...
"How would you like to help me out?" He changed the subject. Oak pulled out a- "See? This is the latest version of the Pokedex. I'd like you to have it. Please complete that Pokedex! Ethan, I have a feeling that this is not the last time we'll meet..." He then gave me his number and left.
After being question by Mr. Pokemon on if I was alright, he sent me on my way. As soon as I closed the door, i got a call from Elm.
"H-Hello? Ethan? It's a disaster! Uh, um, it's just terrible! What should I do? It... Oh, no... Please get back here now!" With a click from the other end, the call ended. I stared at the Pokegear.
Worry and fear latched onto my insides as I placed Ueki on my shoulders and ran. I ignored my logical side saying that this was part of the game. But... with how I met Oak and what was said by him and Mr. Pokemon...
I don't think I can trust what I know anymore.
