Pokemon

A Stray Flare

A/N: Pokemon Sun/Moon HYPE! This story will be updated monthly most likely, since we need more info before it can truly continue, buuut- It will feature all new Sun/Moon Pokemon!

So look forward to that! :)

The story starts off in Sinnoh, but, when the games come closer to release(or are released) they'll be going straight to Alola! So look forward to that eventually x)

Chapter 01

Fated Arrival

In the heart of Sandgem town, a fated meeting between Trainer and Pokemon occurred.

The sky was black, filled with the roaring sounds of thunder and flashes of lightning. Between the boom of thunderclaps, screeches from a certain flock of Pokemon rang out- A wild group of Fearows and Spearows, circling lower and lower above the town.

Their appearance in the area was surprising, but more surprising was their aggressive nature towards the people of the town, who were paying them no mind.

Anyone taking a chance to go through the storm was instantly met with the frightening sight of Fearows flying down to them, pecking and clawing at them. One woman in particular, carrying a bag of items from the Pokemart, slipped and fell when trying to flee, and was helpless as they came down upon her-

"Whirlwind!" As the gruff voice cried out, a sudden gust of wind blew the bird Pokemon away. The woman looked over in surprise, watching as none-other than Professor Rowan approached, a Starly perched on his arm. He was wearing a trench-coat and brimmed hat, which was struggling to stay on in the storm's winds. "Go on, get to safety," he told the woman. She nodded and quickly stood, running off.

The flying Pokemon cried out in anger at Professor Rowan, a few beginning to circle up above him. He scoffed at this.

To think a wild phenomenon like this would occur... He looked over to the Starly on his arm. When I only have this one Pokemon with me.

One of the Fearow cried out and suddenly nose-dived from the sky, heading right for Rowan. He tensed up, but knew he could not move out of the way in time in his old age.

"Whirlwind!" The Starly flew forward and began to rapidly flap its wings, sending yet another intense volley of wind towards the opposing Fearow, who was blown off-track, almost hitting the ground, but recovering before and flying back up into the sky to join its flock.

If I'm not careful, I might get overrun- As he thought this, he realized that a sound was coming from behind. Turning, a Spearow had flown around and was coming from behind at a quickening speed. He raised his arms defensively, but, luckily, Starly flew forward, taking the Spearow's full power. It cried out, flying back into Rowan, knocking him back off his feet. He grabbed hold of the Starly as he tumbled and eventually stopped, groaning.

"It's... Alright..." Taking out a Pokeball, he pointed it at the Starly. However, to his disdain, a Fearow suddenly swooped in, grabbing the small bird in its claws. "What?!" He watched as it flew up into the sky, joining the others of its kind once again. This was when he noticed that more Pokemon were being taken by the flock. Looking around, many others with Pokemon had clearly tried to battle, and had fallen. "What is this...!"

A screech rang out, and everyone still left outside looked up, seeing that all of the Fearows and Spearows without Pokemon paused their flight to look down at them.

Professor Rowan weakly stood and raised a hand to everyone. "Everyone, you must get inside!" A few of the trainers slowly started to make their way out, but a few were already incapacitated, so the Professor made his way over to a nearby young trainer, who looked up at him weakly. "It will be alright," he told her. As he reached down to help her, another screech rang out, and he looked up to a horrible scene-

All of the birds facing them swooped down towards the people left outside, some crashing into each other in a wild fury and trying to get ahead of the others, as if competing over prey.

Professor Rowan scowled and got in front of the defenseless girl, outstretching his arms in protection. They grew closer and closer, and he knew his time was almost up...

Or at least, that's how it seemed.

A single figure jumped down in front of Rowan. He was surprised by their sudden appearance, and even more by the seemingly nonchalant expression they were giving him.

"Yo," they said. It was a fairly tall teenaged boy with slightly-tanned skin and jet-black hair, wearing traditional Pokemon Ranger garb consisting of black pants, red boots, a black under-shirt, red vest, and black fingerl-ess gloves. However, his outfit was very worn and faded, obviously seeing the wear-and-tear of years passed, only adding to his relaxed stature.

"Get out of here!" Behind the boy, the wild birds could be seen growing ever closer, seconds away from striking.

The boy turned, looking at them. Only for a moment, his expression became serious as he raised a hand towards them. In an instant, a bolt of lightning seemed to shoot out from the nearby forest surrounding Sandgem Town, hitting one of the Fearows and then jumping out to others nearby, shocking them all in an instant. The entire town flashed brightly from the spectacle, and Rowan was taken aback, watching as some of the birds fell to the ground, and others recovered and flew off in fear.

"That was a little close, I guess," the boy said with a chuckle. He signaled towards the forest, and a Pokemon darted out to him, taking his side: A Manetric. He placed a hand on its back, looking up to the remaining birds above, whom all held Pokemon in their talons.

"Just who are you?" Rowan looked at the unfamiliar boy skeptically, his appearance quite off-putting.

The boy turned to him and smirked. "The name's Jean- Former Pokemon Ranger."

With that said, Jean hopped onto the back of his Manetric, and the Pokemon took off, jumping onto the roof of the Pokemon center across the way, using it to jump up into the air towards the bird Pokemon. Two of them began to flap their wings intensely, sending a Gust straight their way.

"Protect!" As Jean called out, Manetric activated a green barrier around them, protecting them as they flew through the air. "Now for a Flamethrower!" The Pokemon opened its mouth and reared its head, flames forming at its mouth before spewing them out in a huge burst of fire. The Fearows cried out as they were hit by the flames, dropping the Pokemon in their clutches.

Down below, Rowan ran over as fast as he could to the falling Pokemon, who were a Lombre and Buneary respectively. He caught the Buneary and then jumped for the Lombre, though this resulted in him using his body as more of a cushion for the Pokemon as it landed on him hard. He gasped and groaned, on the ground in pain.

This is the kind of thing I wanted to get away from, he thought angrily, watching the events unfolding up above.

The two Fearow flew off in poofs of smoke. Jean and Manetric landed on the ground near Rowan. "You alright? That was a nice catch," Jean told him with a thumbs-up, though Rowan merely scowled at him.

Looking back to the wild birds, a few of them decided to give up, releasing the Pokemon from their clutches. "Heh, that's what I thought." Manetric jumped up into the air as an intense speed, allowing Jean to catch the Pokemon and bring them back down to the ground safely.

The Pokemon Trainers ran out happily, taking their Pokemon and thanking him. The girl whom Rowan had protected before came over and knelt beside him, picking up her Buneary, who looked up at her weakly. She hugged it tight.

"T-Thank you...!"

Professor Rowan sighed. "...Yes." His Starly, recovered by Jean and Manetric, flew over to his side, making a happy noise.

Loud squawks made everyone look up in fear, but they watched as the remaining Fearows began to fly away.

"That was amazing! You were great," the Lombre's trainer told Jean, who rubbed the back of his head and chuckled.

"It was nothin' really, haha..."

"H-Hey! They have another Pokemon!" The Buneary's trainer pointed up towards the birds. Jean looked up and squinted his eyes- Sure enough, one of them that had been way in the back of the flock was holding a small, black-and-red Pokemon.

More people gathered outside to view the aftermath. Many were confused as to the taken Pokemon's origins.

"It's not mine," one person stated.

"Nor mine," said another.

"Hmm... Manetric, let's go get it!" The Pokemon howled in agreement, running off into the forest in pursuit. As they made chase, Jean began to relay instructions. "They're too high up for us to attack safely, so I'm going to need you to boost me." The Pokemon looked up at him and nodded, running even quicker.

After not too long, they ended up below their targeted Fearow. Jean stood on the back of his Pokemon, in a stance to keep his balance.

"Now!" As he called out, Manetric jumped up towards the top of the trees, landing on them, and then using them to jump into the air. It was only able to make it about halfway, thus Jean kicked off of it and jumped even further, making it even further, though it wasn't enough. "Tch... Then let's try this!" Reaching into the pouch at his side, he produced a small, black sphere- A smoke bomb. He tossed it up at the bird, who was surprised as it was hit square in the face, smoke erupting all around it. It cried out in surprise, and the plan worked, as the Pokemon was dropped, falling down from the sky, right past Jean.

Crap! He quickly moved his body to dive from the sky, trying to catch up with the Pokemon. Manetric landed on the ground below, and quickly moved in to intercept. Jeand reached out to the Pokemon, trying his hardest to grab it. I've gotta do it...! Flashes of old memories appeared in his mind- Moments where he had failed to save a Pokemon from a fatal fall at a cliffside. I can do it! He used all of his might to will himself forward, grabbing the Pokemon in his arms. Got it!-

But he was already getting close to the ground. Is this... It? He closed his eyes, holding the Pokemon tight-

Luckily, Manetric jumped in right on time, catching Jean on its back. He sighed in relief. "...Thanks." He smiled. As the large Pokemon landed firmly on the ground, Jean hopped off, looking down at the Pokemon in his arms. He was surprised.

"This is... A Litten?" Jean placed a hand gently on the black-and-red cat Pokemon's chest, feeling its shallow breathing. The Pokemon's expected fiery warmth was fading. He removed his vest and used it to cover the Pokemon, helping to shield it from the rainfall. "Let's get to the Pokemon Center, quick."

In the Pokemon Center, it was very crowded with the various people and Pokemon that had been injured. The Nurse Joy of the center was frivelously going back and forth between patients, a Chansey and Wigglytuff assisting her.

The doors slid open, and Jean entered. Everyone immediately noticed his entrance.

"It's the Ranger! The one who drove them away!"

A few people began to clap and cheer, making Jean smile. "Come on now, it was nothing-" Suddenly, Professor Rowan appeared in front of him, much to his surprise.

"Hmph, nothing? You seem to know more than any of us," the Professor stated. "Tell me, why were those Pokemon so out of control?"

"Uh, well, you see..." Jean searched for the answer in his mind, but the Nurse Joy came over and intervened.

"This can wait! We need to take care of this Pokemon first," she stated. Jean dipped his head in thanks and handed her the Litten, which she took in her arms and quickly rushed off with.

"That Pokemon... A rare sight here. It is local to the Alola region, I believe," he explained. "But what is it doing out here with seemingly no trainer?"

Jean shrugged. "I'm as lost about it as you are..."

"But what you are NOT lost about, is the attack at hand!" Rowan pointed accusingly at Jean, who gulped.

"Okay, okay! But... In private, alright?"

Nurse Joy rushed back over to the two.

"If you wish, your Pokemon is in one of the rooms down the hall," she told him.

"Thank you! Uh, er, it's not mine but-" Before he could finish, Nurse Joy dipper her head and hurried away to help some others. He sighed.

"Then let us speak in there," Rowan stated, leading the way.

Litten was laying on a tall, padded bed, with a device attached to the tufts of red fur on its cheeks, and a blanket over its body. Its breathing, Jean noticed, was becoming more and more consistent, much to his relief.

"I see you care very much about Pokemon," Rowan pointed out as he watched him.

"Of course... Like I said, I was once a Ranger."

"Why would someone as young as you quit?"

Jean looked down at the floor, his usual happy expression replaced with a solemn one.

"Why wouldn't I...? You saw what those Pokemon did out there! They were savage, untameable-" Jean shook his head.

"You're saying... Pokemon Rangers did this?!" Professor Rowan was taken aback by this statement. "Surely this is an improbability."

"I wouldn't lie about it... A new Styler has been making the rounds, one that forces Pokemon to obey without the need to capture them. The creators ensured that the Pokemon weren't being hurt, so it quickly picked up steam, but..."

Jean recalled that moment once more- He was at a cliff-side, and a Pokemon, whose image was fuzzy in his memory, was falling. He ran to the edge and reached out to it, missing it, watching as it fell to the rocky abyss below. He cried out in agony, and pulled out his Styler, which was a black, triangular-shaped design. Holding it out over the cliff, he dropped it down to the rocks below, and turned to leave. Returning to the present, he looked up at the recovering Litten.

"Pokemon don't like to be controlled by force. It's natural that they will become more aggressive as a result," Jean continued. "All I've seen since those... Stupid Stylers were made!- Was anger and death."

The air inside the room was becoming heavy. Rowan remained silent as he thought about the situation for a moment.

"Tell me... Who was it that devised those new Stylers," Rowan asked, "And why not tell others of its danger?"

"As if they would listen... After all, the main backers of the Rangers are the ones who created the device-"

"Team Flare."

As if on cue, lightning struck very close outside, sending the sound of thunder all around. Professor Rowan was intrigued, and was ready to ask more- However, a small noise made them look up towards the bed.

The Litten was lifting its head weakly, looking at them. Jean quickly changed his expression, smiling as he stood and approached it, kneeling beside the bed.

"Hey there, you're gonna be alright," he said calmly, reaching out to pet the Pokemon. However, the Litten's fur on its back rose a bit as it hissed and nipped at his hand. He pulled it back, and chuckled. "I know I know, I'm still a stranger, but I won't hurt you," Jean told it, reaching out again slowly. The Litten watched with skeptical eyes as his hand grew close, closing its eyes in preparation- However, it seemed surprised as Jean placed his hand gently on its head, petting it. It looked up at him with a confused expression. "See?"

Upon watching this, a small smirk escaped Rowan's mouth. He stood and walked towards the door.

"Listen young man... Your love for Pokemon is proof enough to me that you can complete your quest. But taking on a flock of wild Pokemon isn't going to help you much," Rowan stated. As he placed a hand on the door handle, he looked over to Jean.

"If you really want to make a difference... I can help."

As Rowan looked his way, lightning from outside illuminated the room. Jean grinned at him and looked down at the Litten. "Only if this one can tag along."

The Litten's eyes glistened in wonder as it looked up at Jean, the feeling of Human affection very foreign to it...

And thus, began the journey of a Trainer and a stray Pokemon... And how little did they know of how entwined their fates really were.

TO BE CONTINUED