Friends in Any Forms
Chapter 1: A Crossing of Paths
By: Coloredraininlives, RyuDragonclaw, Umbreon of Darkness, and Red Wing Zero
This story was written by all four of us together and we all deserve credit for it. Please check out their profiles as well as mine.
Double bars are for point of view changes. Single bars are not point of view changes.
Disclaimer: Pokémon is owned by Nintendo. We own this story, the location this story takes place, and all of our OCs.
Luck. The word that describes it all. Luck. After submitting entry forms like twenty times, I won an all-expense paid trip to an island called the Isle of Souls and was allowed to take anyone I want. I always wanted to go on vacation to take some time off from the old grind. Don't get me wrong, I love helping out Pokémon as a ranger, but sometimes it can be a little...too over dramatic.
"How much longer 'til we get there Carlos?" a girl asked me as she glanced at me with her rich dark brown eyes.
"I'm not so sure Shellie," I told her as we peered over the window, seeing the clear blue skies and the shimmering ocean. "I know it can't be far."
Shellie is my best friend that I love to hang around with and trust her with my life. Although she can take out her anger on anyone when she snaps, she defends her friends when trouble calls.
"Are you sure that this is a good idea? About inviting some people you talk over the web to this vacation thing?"
"We've been planning to meet each other for awhile now," I explained, "and what's a better way to meet than going on a vacation to an island for a couple of days."
"Eevee! Vee! Eevee!"
"Vulpix! Vul!"
We quickly looked around, finding an Eevee and a Vulpix running under the seats and jumping all over the place.
"Manny, Vixie," we called out.
They quickly glanced over with a big smile and raced towards us as their wagged their tails. They jumped on our laps, nuzzling our chests and yipping in delight.
"Hyper aren't you Manny," I smiled as I petted her head.
"Eevee!"
"I'm sorry, but I have to ask you to keep your Pokémon back in the Pokéball for the safety of others," a flight attendant told us as she walked towards us.
"Really? Cause I don't really see much people on the plane that our Pokémon could 'endanger'," Shellie told her, "besides, he's a ranger."
"And the Gardevoir and Lucario that are behind your seat?"
"Never hurts to be prepared miss."
"Okay then," she said awkwardly, "do you two want a snack or a drink?"
"No thank you," we said kindly.
She slowly walked away and I peered behind my seat, finding a Lucario and Gardevoir seeming like they're meditating. The Lucario slowly opened his eyes, glancing at me intensely.
"Lucario?"
"Sorry for bothering you and Gardevoir, Hania. Just checking up," I gave a small smile.
"This is your captain speaking, we will begin our descent. Please fasten your seat belts and thank for choosing Goldenrod Airways."
"Looks like we'll finally get to meet them," Shellie gave a soft smile as she stroke Vixie's fur. "Unless we crash or something. Or they turn out to be child molesters or worse, real estate agents."
I gave her an odd look.
"I'll make sure that won't happen. Who's the ranger?"
"You are."
"Who has the survival skills?"
"You do."
"Who has the mace?"
"Actually, I think I left it back at Goldenrod."
"...Anyways, I'll protect you from any 'devastation' in this vacation. Besides, what's the worst that can happen?"
"All clear," I announced after I looked around and held Manny, "no threats found."
"Gee, I feel safer already," she smiled as she got out of the plane with Vixie in her arms.
"Just doing my job," I gave a cocky grin.
We looked around and found nothing but a long flat area, a trail leading somewhere, and a big billboard that advertises pokéballs. I also noticed a sign that read, ALL POKEMON LESS THAN 4 FEET (1.2 METRES) ARE ALLOWED PAST THIS POINT.
"Sorry Hania," I told him, "looks like you and Gardevior are going back in the Pokéball."
He glanced at me softly as he placed his paw on my shoulder, trying to convince me to keep him out.
"I'll take you out the second I'm able, okay?"
"Lucario," he sighed.
I grabbed his Pokéball from my belt with one back and returned him while Shellie did the same with Gardevior. We began to head to over to the billboard.
"So who are we waiting for again?" Shellie asked me.
"Blackcorundum, Darkfire667, and ChocolateCookiez."
"I meant the real names Carlos."
"We never gave out our real names to be honest, well I almost did though. But don't worry I have their numbers."
"Well, what are we waiting for?"
"Alright," I smiled as I pulled out my phone, "I'll tell them to meet us here. I can't wait to finally see them."
I slowly took in a deep breath as I reached the shore.
"Wow...!" I looked up at the plane in amazement. My Pokémon did exactly the same. Truthfully I had never been on a plane before, I've always travelled by boat but that might be because I live in Pacifidlog...
"Okay here we go..." I said to my Growlithe and Espeon nervously. I got out of the small motorboat and the guy who took me to the shore waved and then sped off. We all knew each other in our town, so it was easy getting a lift here and there.
I began walking over to the plane with only a rucksack and a small bag I was carrying, I'm not one who packs, like, ever possession he has when going away.
As I was about to step onto the long stair case leading up to planes open door a voice called behind me saying,
"Sorry sir..." never been called sir before, "But you will have to keep your Pokémon in their pokeball's for most of the journey..." I felt slight upset that my Pokémon didn't get to enjoy the flight outside their pokeball's but I just smiled and returned them.
I walked into the plane and I was amazed at how empty it was, there was only about five other people on the plane.
"Guess this 'Isle of Souls' isn't the most popular of vacation destinations..." I was being slightly sarcastic, considering the name but then again I was looking forward to going there.
'Ding Dong' "Could all passengers aboard the Slateport Airline please fasten your seat belts and please... enjoy the ride..."
"Huh..." the last bit kind of confused me but then I figured he was talking about the view. Think about it, in the sky, looking down on puny, little Hoenn...
"Ugh! Don't like it!" I thought to myself as I rummaged through a small compartment in front of me with all kinds of leaflets inside.
"The Isle of Souls..." I read aloud as I picked up a leaflet showing a small-ish Island with a couple of smaller Islands surrounding it.
"Hmmm" I then leaned back and remembered to fasten my seat belt, then I just read about the Island I was mysteriously invited to go to by a friend of mine online. As I continued to think about it I realised how weird this is, me, just going to a place I haven't even heard of, with some guys I don't know anything about...
"This better not be a trick... Or worse!" I said spitefully. I then looked at my belt with my only two Pokémon, "But it's not like I can't defend myself. I smirked slightly remembering some of my most recent battles I have had using my Espeon, Syan. Being on a tiny little Island in the middle of Hoenn has its advantages, but also there's the fact that there's hardly anyone for miles, so quite difficult from a trainers prospective.
" Welcome, this is your captain speaking, we will be taking off in a couple of minutes, thank you." The transmission ended with that 'DING DONG' noises that don't really seem to fit in.
"Thank you for what?" I said to myself childishly as I slowly read the leaflet...
"Blah, blah, blah, haunted... Blah, blah, blah, spirits..." I more like scanned the leaflet as it bored me slightly. It just talked about why it was called 'The Isle of Souls'. I didn't believe in all that rubbish.
"Hello sir..." I was surprised to see a hostess leaning over towards me, "Would you like any beverages...?" I looked down at my stomach for a couple of seconds, contemplating whether I could last until we land.
"Uh... Yes please, could I have..." I looked over the cart quickly and noticed a can of soda and some sweets I loved.
"Those and... Those please" I said pointing to the items.
"Thank you, and enjoy the rest of your flight"
"Oh and one more thing, at what point can I take my Pokémon out of their pokeball's?" I asked intently.
"In a couple of minutes, the pilots will announce it once they've been able to establish the correct altitude..."
"Oh, ok" I smiled, as if I had understood a word she had just said. I read a bit more of the leaflet, mostly about sightings, and 'mysterious occurrences', then turned back to the front and stared at the Image on the front again. It showed where we were landing, fairly close to the main city.
"Welcome, this is your captain speaking, we are now well on our way and are at safe flying distance so that any Pokémon related items will not affect the equipment... Thank you..."
"Yes... Finally!" I reached for my two pokéballs and released them simultaneously. I quickly looked around only to see that it was fairly empty and that no one else was bothered about letting their Pokémon out for a while.
"Esp, Esp!"
"Growlithe!" Both my Pokémon were glad to be out and had quickly jumped onto my lap to receive some fuss.
"Calm down guys!" I laughed. I petted them and then pointed towards the small window. They both stepped towards it and peered out only to be met with the most breathtaking scenery a person could lay eyes on. Even I was speechless. The sun was directly above us and the sea, below, all you could see was sea. It went on for miles...
"Espe...!" My Espeon turned to me and then began tapping on the glass. I looked to where she was pointing and noticed I tiny little dot in the middle of the horizon.
"Good work Syan!" I smiled, which made her excited once again lying in my lap awaiting me to stroke her back, which of course I did. Flare still looked out the window with amazement, which made me wonder what he was thinking, but of course I would never know...
"Welcome, this is your captain speaking..."
"Yeah I think everyone knows that you're the only one who uses the com'!" I said irritated. Of course no one heard me.
"We shall be landing in five minutes, please buckle up and prepare to land. All Pokémon must now be returned to their respected pokéballs and may be released once the plane has come to a complete stop..."
"How can Pokémon stuff affect a plane any way...?" I said looking towards my Pokémon, they just shrugged in reply. I then returned them, much to their annoyance, and waited to finally walk on dry land once again. Flying was good an' all, but it still didn't beat walking on hard, solid ground.
I felt the plane begin to descend which made me feel a bit queasy but it wasn't bad enough for me to complain. 'BUMF BUMF!' I suddenly felt the carriage sway a little as the wheels touched down.
"Uhhh.. Uhh..." It wasn't a very enjoyable experience, I have to admit. Once the plane had come to a stop, I quickly got up and quickly walked to the exit which was already open.
"Few... Dry land at last..." I said happily. I was grateful that this guy paid for all the expenses but... Couldn't they have chosen something less... groundless? I laughed to myself as I grabbed my pokéballs and released Syan and Flare, who were very grateful for being released. I turned my Pokegear back on and immediately a message popped up.
1 message unread from Thunderleaf21
I quickly opened it and all it said was 'meet me Pokéball billboard...'
"Huh?" I said in confusion, "What billboard?" I looked around and quickly my Pokémon copied me. We began walking, all moving our heads looking for a billboard. The area was quite disserted which, again, made me feel a bit suspicious but then.
"Espe, Espee...!" Espeon always had the better eyesight, she always won 'I spy'. I looked over in the direction she was pointing in to see a large sign with, what looked like two people standing underneath it.
"Hmmm, guess one of the others have already got here..." I concluded. I began to quicken my pace as my Flare and Syan began quickening their pace. That was my queue for 'We're having a race!' causing me to start running towards them as well. This probably looked weird to the others who were looking at us but I was more interested in winning then what they thought. I noticed the image get closer and closer and then noticed one of them was a girl, I knew he said he was bring one of his other friends with him, but he didn't really say anything more specific than that.
"Huh... No!" I then notice a purple light behind me which quickly disappeared and reappeared right next to the couple standing by the sign post.
"Hey that's cheating!" I panted as the I got to the other guys. I noticed they had already struck a liking to my Espeon as they were both stroking her, which made her happy of course, causing her to purr.
"Hey... My names Darkfire667... Well Alastair for short!" I smiled warmly as they both looked at me, returning my warm greeting with one of their own.
"Hello, I'm Carlos, and this is Shellie" I smiled in response and then we started talking. I was relieved that this wasn't all a scam, well for all I knew anyway.
I looked out of the plane's window at the seemingly endless ocean. Just then a speck appeared on the horizon. The Isle of Souls. I had been invited there by one of my friends from the Internet who won all-expense paid trips for him and all his friends. We decided to meet each other in real life there. If you are wondering, my name is Ryu Dragonclaw, and I hail from Eterna City in Sinnoh. I'm just your average really smart guy. I'm about average height for my age, which is fourteen. I have short black hair. My eyes are brown. One is actually a little lighter that the other, but you wouldn't notice unless you looked real closely. Not that I stare at my eyes two inches in front of my bathroom mirror or anything. Never you mind that.
My chicorita playfully nibbled my ear.
"Wilt thou stop that Verda."
"Chica!" Verda was smiling and being hyper-energetic like she always was when excited. She had never been on a plane before, so that was probably why.
I also had a Zoroa named Shadow. She was currently curled up sleeping by my feet. She was wearing a little black bow that she always wore on her left ear.
I took off my glasses so I could clean them. As I cleaned my glasses with my shirt, I watched Shadow cutely sleeping.
"Hello, can a get you something to eat or drink?" A flight attendant stopped by my seat with a food cart.
"Sure, what do you have?"
"We have alcohol, soda and juice."
"ALCOHOL! You do realize I'm only fourteen do you!"
"The Isle of Souls is far away from any region and doesn't have its own government, so it won't be against the law for you to drink here."
"I'll stick with soda, thank you."
"Okay, and would you like to have anything to eat?"
"Nah, I'm okay." Verda looked at me with Eevee kit eyes. "Actually, I'll have some peanuts."
The flight attendant handed me a cup of soda and a pack of peanuts. I gave the peanuts to Verda and smiled as she ripped the packet of peanuts.
The speakers turned on. "This is the captain speaking. We will land in about ten minutes.
I began wondering why the island was named the way it was. Probably the people who discovered it thought it was haunted or something cause it was so far away from any other land. In fact I remembered hearing about some ancient legends this place had. We'll I had time so I pulled out my laptop to do some research on the legend. Research can save lives you know...
I stepped off of the plane and into the sunlight. Shadow was in my arms and Verda on my shoulder. With a name like The Isle of Souls, you'd expected it to be eternally storming. Once more proving that this was just a regular island, and that myths are just that- myths. I looked at my poketch and noticed I had a message from ThunderLeaf21 saying that our meeting place was under a billboard advertising pokeballs. I looked around and seeing only one pokeball billboard, I headed towards it. There were three people standing underneath the billboard.
"Hey, it's me Blackcorundum! You can call me Ryu, my real name, though."
"Hi, I'm Carlos. You know me as ThunderLeaf21."
"And I'm Alastair, AKA Darkfire667."
"I'm Shellie, Carlos's friend."
"So we're just waiting for Chocolatecookiez?"
"Yup." Alastair looked around
We talked a little while we waited. Then we a saw a figure heading our way.
I knew not what shall be happening, but I hoped that this would prove to be an interesting endeavour.
One word: Amazing. The view from the plane was of an infinitely blue surface with the surface the water reflecting the sunlight in a unique pattern, and I wished I hadn't left my camera with my luggage. Being the youngest of the those invited, I'd never been on a plane before, and let me tell you, it was way better than in all the pictures I'd seen.
"Hello, sir. Would you enjoy a light snack?" A voice said politely from behind me, and I found that it was coming from the flight attendant that had a genuine smile. There was only one attendant on board, as there were only a handful of people.
My stomach was loaded from the superhuman amount of chocolate bars I had consumed since we had left for the Isle of Souls, so I politely declined. "No thanks."
"Okay. We will be landing in about 10 minutes. The lady said, continuing on her path.
This was followed by a 'ding-dong!' and the light above my seat that showed a seatbelt came on.
"We will be landing in about ten minutes," The pilot's voice said over the microphone, and I couldn't help but feel smart that I knew it before the other passengers, "We hope you enjoyed your flight on Sinnoh Airlines."
Wow, look at me.14-year-old Oliver Marlin of Jubilife City, is going on his first real adventure! After so many years of writing about stuff like it, it was coming... true. After so long... It was cool!
After what turned out to be 15 minutes (and what felt like much longer) we were finally allowed to unbuckle our seat belts and dash off of the plane. I couldn't wait to let Soak, my Mudkip, and Volt, my Pikachu, out of their Pokéball. They hate being inside of them, and this must have been the first time in a month or so. We had a really strong bond together, which is why I only kept the two.
It was lucky I was even here. Some friend I met online invited me here, because they won a competition. Good thing I make friends easily.
I just hoped they weren't all axe murderers, but I wasn't that unlucky. I think.
It was just as I grabbed my unnecessarily large black-and-white bag (I'm the kind of person who takes almost everything they own on holidays) and turned on my phone when I heard the custom ringtone which meant I had just received a text. My family wouldn't be described as 'rich' but we certainly had a lot of money to buy the phone with, which was thanks to the job that my mother and father shared as the higher positions in the Jubilife TV station. Despite this, we'd never been on a holiday before, because they're always so busy at work. This is also why I spent so much time online.
I snatched my phone from my pocket and looked at the message:
TO: CHOCOLATECOOKIEZ!
FROM: ThunderLeaf21
TOPIC: meeting place
Hey ChocolateCookiez, enjoy the flight? Anyway, we're meeting at a billboard advertising pokéballs, and hurry, you're last! You'll be able to find the sign easily.
At this, I slipped it back into my pocket and rushed through the gates as quickly as possible. I hated being late. I was running towards the exit of the building when I saw a white line.
A large sign above it said 'ALL POKEMON LESS THAN 4 FEET (1.2 METRES) ARE ALLOWED PAST THIS POINT.
After punching the air, I quick as a flash let Soak and Volt out for a look.
"Mudkip!" Soak exclaimed.
"Pika..." Volt said, rubbing his bed-fur back into place.
"This is what the Isle of Souls is..." I said to them both, "Nice, huh!"
"MUDKIP!"
"PIKACHU!"
Volt almost shocked me in delight, but I stepped to the left just in time.
"Helpful." I said to him sarcastically, nudging him with my foot. "So, where are those guys?"
The airport wasn't busy or large, but was still painted with advertisements, the largest of them all being the one I was looking for, not that it was hard to find them anyway. I could see 4 people under it, and it was the biggest group in the whole place.
One was a boy, slightly older than me, with black hair. He also had an Eevee next to him. There was also a slightly short girl leaning against him with black hair and a Vulpix beside her.
There was also a light-brown haired guy with an Espeon and Growlithe. The youngest of them, another one with black hair, had a Chikorita. They all looked bored, and I knew it was because they were waiting for me. I hurried up to them and introduced myself.
"Hi?" I said, trying to be friendly, "Are you from the competition?"
Two of the boys shrugged, but the girl spoke up. "Are you ChocolateCookiez?"
I nodded, "Yup. My name's Oliver."
She smiled. "Great, we're all here. I'm Shellie. This here is Carlos." She pointed to the boy closest to her with the Eevee, "He's my friend. Also, this is Alastair, the boy with the Espeon and Growlithe, and lastly, that's Ryu."
"Wow..." I said, looking at each one. I guessed who each person was from their online counterparts, but was still surprised by their looks, something I didn't expect for each of them.
"This is amazing..."
It was all too much.
And so, that's when my adventure began.
Author's Notes:
Carlos and Shellie (C) coloredraininlives
Alastair (C) Umbreon of Darkness
Ryu (C) RyuDragonclaw
Oliver (C) Red Wing Zero
Isle of Souls (C) coloredraininlives and RyuDragonclaw
Origins of the story: This story first began as coloredraininlives envisioned a story written by all of us together. We all agreed and this story began. We faced many challenges like living in different time zones, but we were able to develop the story you see now.
Please review! Each of us worked really hard and put a lot of time and effort into this story (especially since we're scattered all over the world) and we would all appreciate if you would leave a review! We really appreciate all the reviews and faves we get.
Isle of Souls map: .com/art/Isle-of-Souls-Map-256601633
Character Profiles:
Name: Ryu Dragonclaw
Screen Name: Blackcorundum
Gender: Male
Age: 14
Description: average height, black hair, brown eyes. Wears glasses
Pokémon: Verda (Chicorita, female, starter and stays out of Pokéball), and Shadow (Zoroa, female)
Personality: Nice, caring to friends, doesn't trust those who aren't his friend, smart, likes being mysterious. Prone to embarrassing himself. Likes using shall/shalt instead of will.
Name: Oliver Marlin
Screen Name: ChocolateCookiez!
Gender: Male
Age: 14
Hair: Dark Brown
Eyes: Blue
Height/Weight: Average, Average
Pokémon: Soak (Mudkip, Male) Volt (Pikachu, Male)
Personality: Innocent and adventurous. Tries to act brave around others but always comes off as clumsy. Great at making, and keeping, friends. Loves writing stories, Pokémon, and is somewhat independent and immature at the same time. Comes from a wealthy family that works in the Jubilife TV station.
Name: Carlos Arizmendi
Screen Name: Thunderleaf21
Gender: Male
Age: 15
Hair: Black
Eyes: Brown
Pokémon: Manny (Eevee, female), Hania (Lucario, male)
Personality: Quiet, protective. Usually almost silent without the company of friends and protective to the ones close to him
Name: Alastair Colby
Screen Name: Darkfire667
Gender: Male
Age: 15
Hair: Short, Light brown
Eyes: mixture of Green/ Brown
Personality: Not great at making new friends but treasures the friends he has. Very protective but generally doesn't like getting into fights unless, of course, it is for one of his friends. Has a weird sense of humour but doesn't laugh often, generally keeps to himself unless he is around his friends and prefers having one-on-one conversations with his friends... Oh and loves his Pokémon's company and will even prefer it to human company, depending on who it is of course...
Pokémon: Syan (Espeon, female), Growlithe (Flare, male)
Name: Shellie
Sex: Female
Age: 15
Description: slightly below average, black hair, brown eyes
Pokémon: Vixie (Vulpix, female), Gardevoir (Female)
Personality: Can take out her anger on anyone nearby under a lot of stress and anxiety, always cares for her friends and fights with or for them, strong, draws insanely awesome
