A few notes before we get started:
- This story will not take place in the 'modern' Pokémon world
- In relation to the above, there will be three 'kingdoms'. Johto and Kanto will be in a single kingdom.
- Since there is no modern technology, assume that all poké balls are made from apricorns.
- Regions such as Almia and Oblivia will not be mentioned as I am simply not familiar enough with them.
Update (Nov 23, '14) - I feel it is worth noting that I am a very busy person and as such, I probably will go through writing/updating spurts. As is obvious if you look at the number of chapters and the publish date. I do feel bad about this, so I will be attempting to create a 'buffer' of sorts.
Prologue
Ever Grande City, Hoenn
An exhausted looking Wingull fluttered down to land on the ledge of a windowsill. Clutched tightly in its beak was an envelope, stamped and sealed with a gold emblem. Its wings fluttered slightly as it hopped off the ledge into a grand room.
Blue and silver tapestries hung from the walls, each one telling part of an ancient story. Sea blue carpet ran through the center of the room, starting at a massive set of doors inlaid with silver inscriptions and ending on the top step of a raised dais at the other end of the room. At the top of these steps was a single chair, bearing the same silvers and blues as the rest of the room. Smaller matching chairs lined the wall on either side of the dais; however, these ones were occupied.
Ten people sat with their backs straight and their gaze directed towards the grand doors. They wore matching robes of sea blue with silver lining. The group was mostly male, all with shaven heads. The two women that held seats within the room had grey hair tied back in tight, neat buns.
At the opposite end of the room the eight foot tall doors were opening, revealing the two soldiers responsible for their movement. With the doors now open, both soldiers stood to the side.
A third figure came into view, the thick cape that hung from his shoulders and just brushed the ground matched the tapestries it seemed. His clothes underneath the cape were entirely black and a silver crown rested atop his greying head. He entered the room in silence, his stride showing power and a strong determination. The people that had been sitting before now respectfully stood, their gazes focused on their king.
He walked to the end, ascending the dais and taking his seat. The people, his advisors, sat down as he did. The soldiers pushed the doors closed; now standing within the room so that they could guard their king.
It wasn't until the blue and white pokémon collapsed that anyone took note of it. One of the soldiers left his post to attend to the Wingull. He picked it up carefully and removed the letter from its beak. Upon handing the letter to the nearest advisor he carried the bird pokémon across the room to a door hidden behind one of the tapestries. He opened the door and passed the exhausted Wingull through to a servant that was stationed in the hidden room.
While the soldier was doing that, the advisor had opened and read the letter. Worry replaced the emotionless expression as he passed it on. The letter made its way to the king, who read it over carefully. When he had finished reading, he folded the letter up and sat in silence. A frown was etched on to his face as he thought.
"Sire, we must do something," one of the advisors said after a moment of hesitation.
"I agree, this is not something that can be ignored," their king said finally, rising back to his feet.
"What can be done though? The land itself is sick!" a second advisor spoke up, sounding as though he'd already given up.
"There has to be a cure," one of the female advisors assured them, rising to her feet as well. After a moment, the rest of the advisors were standing as well.
"There is, but it is not in this region," the eldest of the advisors said after a moment of silence. His frail voice was hard to make out from a distance, but most heard him.
"How do you mean?" the king questioned, looking at his elder with both respect and concern.
"There is a pokémon not of our region that can heal the land of this disease," he answered, his voice becoming slightly louder.
"That's a myth," one of the younger advisors said, his voice over-powering the elder's quiet one. "We can't rely on myths and children's stories to protect our people."
With this, everyone began talking at once. There were two clear sides, both of which wanted to make their thoughts on the matter clear. A third group questioned both.
"Silence!" the king said over the arguing.
"King Emery, nothing within our borders can eradicate this disease." The second woman looked directly at her king, daring any of her fellow advisors to argue with her. "I say we send search parties for a cure." She avoided specifically mentioning the pokémon.
"We should contact King Nathaniel and Queen Adrianna, they may know something of this," another advisor added.
The king nodded slightly at each suggestion before raising his hand for silence. "Selma, you will send word to the captains of our fastest ships. Make no mention of any legend, but request that they search the other regions for a cure. Kale, I want troops organized and sent to all of our cities. People will turn to crime as things become more desperate, and there will be more pokémon attacks. I will send word to our neighbours."
"Sire, what about Captain Greyson?" one of the advisors questioned.
"No," he stated, sounding almost angry at the suggestion, "I will request nothing of that criminal, not after last time. If anyone sees that ship, they have full permission to sink it."
"But sire," the advisor started.
"I said no! Now do as you've been told," the king demanded, knowing he wasn't being entirely fair to his advisors. "Now we must decide on a reward for when someone is successful."
Cameran Palace, Kanto
A steady roar filled the large stadium. Every seat was full, and everyone was cheering. Green and red banners were strung up above, criss-crossing in the sky over the stadium. Several officials stood down below, off to the side of the battlefield that was painted on to the hard ground in the middle of the stadium.
The door at the north end of the stadium opened, revealing the silhouette of a person. They walked out of the shadows to the edge of the battlefield. The person, clearly male, was dressed in red with a black cape that fluttered out behind him. Dark hair framed a pale face and piercing eyes. He stopped within the borders of a box that had been painted on to the hard-packed ground. Much to the crowds delight, he raised his right fist to the air as he looked around at the audience.
"Ladies and gentleman, and our royal highnesses, please help me welcome Sir Samuel of Kanto, our reigning three time champion!" The announcer had trouble making himself heard, and the last of his sentence was entirely drowned out by the cheering.
The door at the opposite end of the stadium opened revealing a second male. Where Sir Samuel was confident, this man was determined. He was dressed much like his opponent, except his clothes were green and his cape was white. His brown hair was cut short and he was tanned from time in the sun. He stood in the painted box opposite Sir Samuel, his gaze trained on his opponent.
When the roaring had died down the announcer continued, "And the challenger, Sir Weston of Johto!"
The officials stepped forward, all holding various flags. The head official raised a blue flag, signalling to the crowd that he'd just ordered the two trainers to choose their pokémon.
There was a flash of light on either side of the field as the two men opened their Poké Balls. Before Sir Samuel stood a massive brownish-orange pokémon with green wings that was easily taller than any human. It flapped its wings and roared, further exciting the crowd. On the other side of the field was a second massive pokémon, only slightly shorter than its opponent. The armour that made up its body was polished so that the sun glinted off of it and the spikes that protruded from its back and shoulders.
When the official had finished explaining the rules to the two trainers, he brought the flag down and stepped back.
"Dragonite, use Aqua Tail!" Sir Samuel yelled out, starting the battle with a clear display of confidence.
The large dragon pokémon launched itself forward, water materializing behind it and swirling through the air around its tail. It approached the opposing pokémon with immense speed, something that had helped him to defeat his previous opponents with ease.
"Brace yourself and use Stone Edge, Tyranitar!" Sir Weston called out.
The massive armor pokémon planted both its feet firmly, the ground below it vibrating slightly when it stepped down. The air around it glowed as multiple jagged rocks formed. Dragonite was almost upon him when the rocks shot out, slowing the winged opponent down and causing it to falter slightly. The two crashed, Dragonite's tail slamming into Tyranitar. Tyranitar was knocked back a ways from the impact. Dragonite landed hard on the ground, shaking off the impact from its opponent's Stone Edge.
Above the stadium a large blue and white pokémon was diving down towards the battlefield. It avoided the battling pokémon, flying directly to a separate viewing box on the first level of the stadium. Two guards rushed forward, prepared to protect the occupants of the viewing box from the foreign pokémon that was landing on the ledge. The large bird opened its massive beak, revealing the letter it had been carrying. Immediately after the guard had taken the letter from the pokémon it flew off, heading in the direction of Mt. Silver.
"One of Emery's messengers?" the woman that had been sitting within asked calmly. She shifted her red dress and leaned forward to take the letter from her guard.
"I would assume so. A Pelipper, I think it was," the man seated beside her replied. He wore a matching robe of red, and both had golden crowns seated atop their heads.
The door to their private box opened and a flustered looking soldier hurried in, further taking their attention away from the tournament going on below. He carried his helmet under one arm and his face was streaked with dust.
"There's been an attack at Cianwood City. Wild pokémon are over-running the city as we speak. They're requesting our help,"" he said, after taking a deep breath.
"Send the Grey Squad out there," the woman said as she unfolded the letter to read.
"Yes, Queen Adrianna! Thank you, ma'am," the soldier said, bowing slightly. "King Nathaniel, sir," he added with another bow before taking his leave.
"What does Emery have to say?" King Nathaniel asked, his gaze on the letter instead of the battle that was still going on below.
"All of the plant life in Hoenn is starting to wither, he's described it as a disease spreading across his land," Queen Adrianna responded quietly, re-reading the letter to double check that she had definitely read that. "Nathaniel, the disease is already in Johto," she realized, looking up at her husband with surprise and what might have been fear in her eyes.
"Cianwood," he murmured, coming to the same realization. "Send a scout to check the land around Cianwood City," he ordered one of the guards, who hurried out immediately. "We have to be sure that that's the reason for the attack before we jump to conclusions."
"No one in Hoenn knows what to do; they're sending ships to find a cure," she added, glancing back at the letter.
"We need to do something about this," King Nathaniel stated. "And we should send word to our neighbour, whatever this is could spread into Sinnoh.""
Queen Adrianna rose from her seat, causing a noticeable change in the stadium's atmosphere. Much of the audience had noticed the goings-on in the king and queen's private box and quieted down when their queen rose. Down below, Sir Samuel and his Dragonite had also noticed. Sir Weston and his Tyranitar took advantage of their lack of attention to launch a powerful Hyper Beam directly at Dragonite. The dragon pokémon was launched backwards, hitting the wall and collapsing to the ground.
Tyranitar stood in the center of the battlefield and roared until both trainers returned their pokémon to their Poké Balls. The three time champion of the tournament bowed to the new victor, though the disappointment was evident in his expression.
The royal couple exited the box to deal with the new development, ignoring what had happened below.
Eterna City, Sinnoh
The sky was darkening over the city as the sun set. Lamps were being lit in the streets below and most well-to-do citizens were either heading home or already inside of their homes. Above the city the shape of a large bird could be seen as it soared lower and lower over the streets and buildings.
If anyone were watching, they would see that it was heading to the north of the city. Towards the largest structure, which just so happened to be a small castle. With the fading light, it was hard to make out the exact colours, but it was clearly made of a dark stone. Several of the rooms had lamps lit inside, allowing for the light to shine out through the windows. It was also one of the few buildings in the city that had actual glass windows instead of just wooden shutters to keep the elements out.
The large bird pokémon landed on one of the window ledges, a letter clutched in its talons. It peered through the window with dark, unreadable eyes. After a moment, it tapped on the window with its long beak until someone walked over and opened the window for it. It picked up the letter in its beak and hopped down into the room.
The person that had opened the window reached for the letter, but the long-necked brown pokémon jerked its head away and glared at the human. It had been trained to deliver mail to the exact person it was supposed to, and that training was quite clear in that moment.
A young girl walked into the room, looking as though she'd just been preparing herself for bed. Her hair was down and brushed out, but it was clear from the creases that it had been up all day. She was also wearing a simple light green dress with sleeves that went down a little bit too far and restricted the use of her hands.
"What's going on in here?" she asked, stifling a yawn as she studied the vicious looking bird that had entered the room.
"It has a letter, but won't hand it over," the man who opened the window replied, clearly irritated with the pokémon.
The pokémon studied the girl momentarily before walking over to her, its head bobbing slightly as it walked. Upon reaching her, it reached up and placed the letter in the girl's hand.
"Sir Roderick, you don't happen to have any treats for this Fearow, do you?" the girl asked, scratching the Fearow on the top of the head.
The man she'd referred to as Sir Roderick reached into his coat pocket and pulled out a small bag. "I have a few left," he replied, emptying the remaining treats into his hand and offering it to the pokémon.
The Fearow took the treats with a distrustful look at Sir Roderick. It then headed back to the window and jumped out of it, disappearing into the night.
"Would you fetch my brother, please?" the girl requested upon opening the sealed envelope.
"Of course, Princess Natalia," the young man responded, hurrying out of the room.
By the time Sir Roderick returned with the young man that was Princess Natalia's brother she had finished reading the letter. The young man looked somewhat annoyed at having been called to the room at such a time.
"You both need to read this," the young woman said, handing the letter to her brother. "And try not to look so irritable, Liam,"" she added.
Prince Liam grumbled something unintelligible before taking the letter. He read it quickly with Sir Roderick reading it over his shoulder as well.
"I doubt it will spread here," Prince Liam said, clearly ready to brush off the threat of a disease that could destroy their land.
"We should at least prepare ourselves, sir," Sir Roderick said, much more concerned than the young prince.
"I agree, and we can't stand by and do nothing. We're going to be affected by this whether we act or not," Princess Natalia said.
Prince Liam frowned slightly, clearly not impressed at being out numbered. "Fine, but what can we do?"
"We can start by sending people to Canalave City. If anyone has heard of something like this before it'll be one of the elders living there," Sir Roderick suggested.
"Our largest port is there as well, if we need to send out ships or take any in. It will also be among the first cities affected if the disease does make its way here," Princess Natalia added, agreeing with Sir Roderick.
Prince Liam still seemed irritated that they were even going to involve themselves, but even he had to admit it was a good place to start. "Alright, but most of this can probably wait until tomorrow, correct?" He wasn't actually looking for an answer, as he turned and walked out clearly meaning to go to bed.
"Sir Roderick, I want you to personally travel there. I trust your judgment on these matters," Princess Natalia said when her brother was gone.
"Of course, milady, I'd be honoured to go," Sir Roderick responded, bowing slightly.