A/N: In this world, most people don't have Pokémon – it's a new phenomenon brought about due to a rift in reality that allows people to cross over from the Pokémon world to Faerun, and vice versa . This is using AD&D 2nd edition mechanics and classes, but I'm making the combat a little more unorthodox and dynamic. There aren't any wild Pokémon in Faerun, and the Pokéballs don't work on any local monsters.
The adventurers don't know everything, so when they say something that's not correct it's (probably) intentional by me.
Also, while I wish I was rich enough to own Pokémon and/or Dungeons and Dragons, I sadly don't (except for copies of some of the games).
-X-
Relim looked around the crowded inn for his companions. They'd arranged to have a corner table away from the bar for their recruitment. It was a shame, really; everyone got on really well with Moluth, right up until he left to go be a craftsman. But now, they needed a new source of arcane firepower. And that's why they were here.
Maranus, as the cleric, was the new face of the party – she was the most likable, after all, and being a representative of a God lent her opinions a certain weight. Of course, it'd be Artan who made the final choice – as Relim had joked many a time, he had all of the brains and none of the beauty. And he, the 'gentleman of other talents', was the third member of the group.
He sighed as he spotted his group. Instead of interviewing more wizards, the cleric was talking to one of the Planar tourists, who were all here via a strange permanent portal or gate. Apparently, there weren't any decent dungeons or lost treasures on the other side, or Relim would have been there in a flash.
They had some weird pets, though. Some were a little like animals, some were like objects, and some were simply indescribable. However, they had one thing in common – they were all capable of fighting, and fighting pretty hard at that. Well, at least their owners were protected. Relim thought very little of people who didn't do any work themselves, and lived off the backs of others, but these foreigners wouldn't survive five minutes without their precious Pokémon.
Snapping back to the present, he walked over to join his party, nodding greetings at some of the people drinking. This place was the social hub of the small farmer's town they were in. At least it wouldn't be much longer – once the team was full, they would all go clear more dungeons for money, fame, money, fun and money.
"So, Maranus, who's this?" he asked. "I'm going to go out on a limb here and guess he's not our new wizard, right?"
His companions were silent as he chuckled. "Well…" Artan began, "we're actually considering it. I mean, his Pokémon can do the important bits of what a wizard can, and a lot of stuff he can't."
The newcomer looked up from his drink. "My Pokémon can use fire, electric, water, and rock attacks. They're quite versatile. Besides, I don't want any of the treasure, except to cover my expenses. I'm only after any Pokémon that might be down there. Apparently, some of the local goblins raided across the portal and stole a load of Pokéballs, not that they can use them! Now they're being traded between all the local monsters. My name's Joey, by the way, and I'm the top percentage!"
Relim glanced at his group. "A word, please?"
The three adventurers moved away from the table.
"Are you two crazy?" the thief hissed. "We need some magic power, not just a few fancy tricks!"
Maranus and Artan calmed him down a little. "We're only going to be up against a few kobolds, and if anything goes wrong we can escape easily," the fighter pointed out.
Maranus chimed in, "we're going to see what he can do beforehand. If he's too weak, we'll just send him away. Besides, you'll get more loot than if we used a wizard. That's your key concern, usually."
"Fine. But if anything goes wrong, I'm blaming you guys." Relim accepted. "And I want to make sure he's at least as powerful as Moluth before I'm dungeoncrawling with him. Do you guys remember what happened to the Band of Five? Because they also decided to not bring a wizard along, and they never came back!"
-X-
It just wasn't fair, Relim decided. He still wasn't convinced that this 'Joey' was good enough with his creatures (one looked like a strange dog and the other appeared to be some kind of oversized snake) to replace a wizard, but the other two had overruled him. 'Joey' hadn't even shown them his third creature, claiming it was his private ace! If they all survived, he might go and find a new group. After all, a man of his talents could find employment nearly anywhere there were people and valuables.
He looked around the narrow tunnels, slipping past a tripwire and examining where it reached the wall. Relim, satisfied that it wasn't part of some larger trap, carefully cut it. He moved a little further, scouting ahead of the main party, as always.
The sound of a kobold's voice drifted towards him from around the next bend – probably a guard. And he couldn't peer round to look without risking being seen himself. He sat back and waited for the rest of the party.
"How many foes do you think there are?" Artan asked, calm as always. "Can we take them all without risking too much?"
"I can't be certain, and I can't see safely right now," Relim replied. "I don't think we can advance without going past here, though."
"Remind me again why we're here?" the newcomer butted in. "We could always just leave."
Artan, who was starting to lose his patience after hearing this question half a dozen times already, cut him off with a look. "We need the money, and there's supposed to be some magic gear in here – especially a sword that I could use, and some scrolls for our magic friend here," he gestured at Maranus, "not to mention that there might be some Pokémon. You can't get anything in a dungeon without risk."
"Well, in that case…" Joey pulled out a red-and-white orb and gestured with it. He then ran around the corner before anyone could stop him, and there was a flash of white light.
"After him!" Artan shouted, and the other three party members followed their new companion round the corner. There, they skidded to a halt as a flash of red returned whatever creature Joey had used to its small home. There had been three kobold guards around a campfire, within easy reach of a large gong that presumably activated the alarm.
None of the guards had reached it. They were stretched out in a pool of blood. One had a hole through his chest, another appeared to have had every bone in his body broken. The third was barely recognisable as a kobold any more.
"Well," Joey said, surveying the carnage, "that was easy! What do we do now?"
-X-
"He's a demon!" Maranus whispered.
"Nonsense! At most he has a demon in his orb," Relim countered, "and I doubt he's strong enough to control one."
"Let's just be careful around him until we know the extent of his powers. If we stay calm and sensible, we should be fine." As always, Artan was the voice of reason. "We have nothing to worry about right now – only an idiot would pick a fight with his companions in a hostile dungeon."
"Couldn't we take him out, then?" Maranus asked again.
Artan was annoyed again, Relim could hear it clearly. "Let me repeat my last sentence: 'Only an idiot would pick a fight with his companions in a hostile dungeon.' That includes us." Louder, he added "Ok, Relim, scout ahead again. We don't want to get lost in this labyrinth."
-X-
Soon, Relim found the main Kobold treasure chamber. Along with all the Kobold guards. And, it appeared, their chief too.
Cursing their luck, he slipped back to warn the others. "We've got most of the Kobold clan ahead. If we take them out, we can get all their treasure. But, and I can't stress this enough, if we lose we will all die. What do you guys think?"
Maranus was the first to talk. "We've gone this far, let's just get it over with. Besides, I've heard all sorts of things about how rich this clan is. I say we do it, in the name of my God!"
Arlan was quick to respond. "The reason they're so rich is because they're strong, and even if they weren't powerful when they got their treasure, they'd have to be strong by now or they'd have lost it again. I'm against it."
"I've made a point of not getting involved in our little disagreements," Relim stated. "I'm not too fussed either way. Looks like it's up to Joey here to decide."
"In that case, let's do it!" the young trainer said. He called two of his creatures out (the snake and the dog again) and got ready to attack. Relim slipped ahead so he could despatch the chief from behind once the battle started. Maranus stood next to Artan, ready to heal him if he got hurt, while he readied himself to charge.
The moment Artan sprang forward, Joey and his pets moved as well. Relim was careful to stay out of sight as he watched the battle. Artan looked calm as always, swinging and killing with precision and grace. Maranus was busy piling onto a larger Kobold, taking him down after a few heavy blows. And Joey was in the thick of it, with a beast either side. His snake, which he called 'Ekans', had wrapped two of the guards and bitten a third, who was off in a corner clutching at his stomach and spitting blood. His dog, which he called Growlithe, had set one Kobold on fire and ripped another's throat out, while its roar had made another two back away and hide.
Relim saw his chance. He darted in and rammed both his daggers into the Chieftain's back, then jumped away. He waited for his target to get distracted again, a job that Maranus fulfilled to perfection by chanting a loud, violent and graphic prayer to her god. As the Chieftain was distracted (it appeared he understood what she was saying) Relim moved in from his other side and cut his throat.
After seeing their leader die, most of the remaining Kobolds were rather demoralised. They were easily forced into a corner, which Joey took advantage of by immolating half of them with his hound. Maranus and Artan finished the rest off, with Relim throwing his daggers in to add to the confusion and drop a Kobold or two extra.
The party cleaned their weapons, and Joey returned his Pokémon. All four of them looked pretty exhilarated – after all, they'd just taken on a Kobold clan on their home ground and won. The next step was sharing the treasure, and they were all dreaming of what they might find.
"So, do you want to look at the treasure now?" Artan asked. "It's in the locked room there." He gestured towards the chamber the Kobolds had been guarding.
Relim stepped forward to pick the lock. After a few pokes and a little muttering, the door finally swung open. Inside, nestled amongst the sacks of coins and to the right of the weapons rack was a single, grimy, yet undamaged Pokéball. Joey stepped forward and took a hold of it. With trembling fingers he pressed the button in its centre. A white light spilled out as a Pokémon materialised…
-X-
A/N: I hope you enjoyed this. I'm not sure whether to make it a short 3-5 chapter story arc or whether to continue it to a longer campaign – please leave your opinion in a review. If no-one appears interested, I'll probably stop rather quickly. Also, if you have a good idea for what's in the Pokéball please leave a review too. I already have some ideas, but more are always welcome.
Also, the main reason I wrote this was because I couldn't find any stories like it (cross-over of D&D and Pokémon). If anyone knows of any, please tell me!