Pokémon: Heroes of Time!
Chapter One
In his dream he is watching something happen. He instinctively understands that it is important, without even being told the context of the events. The significance of the sparse landscape and barren décor is obvious, the destruction apparent, but he sees no apparent motive or catalyst for any of it.
Two people, whom he instinctively recognises as his parents are seated opposite a woman. A chessboard with delicate glass pieces set against polished alabaster, the game still unstarted, sits between them. Neither party appears to be taking interest in the game. Betrayal is written across his father's face, despair and perhaps anguish across his mother's.
Their opponent, a woman, is impassive, alabaster pieces reflecting a granite face, flint eyes seeing the shattered diamonds of trust and hope scatter across the floors of infinity. She begins to move her pieces, and so do his parents, but the play follows no recognisable strategy.
Queens India openings are all he sees before an inhuman speed of play sweeps all grasp of tactics away from him. Only the tides of battle are visible to him, attack and counterattack, retreat and surrender. There is sacrifice too, but only by the woman. His parents do not appear to be playing with an endgame in mind, any overriding urge to win, but more to save what pieces they have and buy themselves more time to play.
The woman does not care for time, and he doubts it is relevant to her anymore. The alabaster pieces keep swarming the board, losses replenished by the second with more cannon fodder waiting to be cut down. The glass pieces, once fallen, shatter and do not rise. He is suspended somehow, removed or encased, ensnared and entrapped; independent of time, and its vastness is terrifying to him.
Ignorant of his fear, they play, his parents saving yet more pieces, the woman pushing any advantage at any cost, neither side winning or losing. They know each other too well to lose, he thought, neither of them can outwit the other or trick them, but then he realised that he was thinking in a dream, and something about the absurdity of that notion gave him back his free will. His parents looked at him, and he saw the woman cheat, snatch their queen away without taking it. He sees their defence and their attack crumble like a broken dam before a floodwater, and in five moves, ten moves, some number of moves in this vast game, he sees them lose. His parents are rushing towards him and he tries to yell, to tell them what's happening, what the woman did, but they run towards him, delight on their faces. He sees the table, the board and the pieces vanish, the woman calmly stands up and walks away, the world behind her falling into a darkness so complete that he cannot even think clearly. His parents are gone, and he is bound in a chain of silver whilst eyes open around him. Falling rocks crush him and he calls out weakly to the eyes, but they only stare at him, mute and unhelpful. Calling out to a lightless sky in animal desperation, Dice Sycamore wakes up.
Feathers scattered around him. Somewhere along the way, the yound would-be trainer had decided that shredding his pillow and violently dispersing its contents about the room had been a good idea. On a related note, he found he had feathers in his mouth too.
Hurried footsteps thundered up the stairs and along the landing, and the door pushed open with its familiar creak. Aromas also drifted in through the opening, carrying the tempting smell of bacon and sausages on pancakes. The half open door also allowed his cousin to come sprinting in, panic in her eyes. "Dice, what's wrong? Are you ill, should I call the doctor or Professor Elm…" She tailed off. And stared. And stared and stared. "Why have you tried to swallow a Pidgey?"
Dice glared at her from his unintentional pillow munching stupor. "Whosoever decided that the addition of feathers, of any species, to a complete bedspread, should be found immediately and set before an enraged Rhydon. After that, may Arceus preside over the judgement passed and punishment meted out. Failing that, I should like to ritually disembowel him." All this was said with a completely straight face.
The importance of the matter was lost, however, upon his cousin. "Dice…" she began, "you have a feather stuck up your nostril." Dice buried his face back in the mangled pillow and emitted a low groan. "Why is it that today, a fine winters morn, is the day that I choose to begin a journey? Why did I pick today to choose my very first Pokémon? Why today, to start this wonderful adventure as a Pokémon trainer and go out and listen to weird strangers give me ambiguous pieces of advice? Because frankly Alexa, my darling cousin, today has begun not only with an interrupted and fretful nights sleep, but also with a nose filled with rancid Pidgey feathers."
Alexa started at that sentence. "You're not sleeping well again? Why didn't you say something during the night? I'm sure that one of us would have sat and had a cup of tea or something with you." She reached out a hand to rub his shoulder. "You don't need to suffer in silence, Dice."
Again, she received a glare, and an acerbic, defensive, response. "What makes you think I was suffering from anything? I could have been enjoying myself to an extreme such that you mere mortals can only imagine and simply had the misfortune to wake up due to whatever unforeseen circumstance." He paused. "Or maybe I wasn't sleeping well at all." He tailed off, seemingly lost in thought.
Alexa began to prod him. "Well, you will continue to sleep badly if you don't get a move on. Professor Elm's expecting you and the other Johto newbies by nine o'clock sharp!" Hearing this caused Dice to bound into action like a released spring. "Well then you should continue with the cooking of our morning repast whilst I enrobe and prepare to meet adventure face to face. Mentlegen. START YOUR MENGINES!"
He assumed the dramatic hero pose with one arm pointing into the distance, before running out of the room and into the bathroom to shower. Laughing, Alexa made her way down the stairs.
Dice stared at his wardrobe. It was filled with clothes, some finely tailored by the best seamstresses in Johto, others were made from the rarest of silks, whilst yet more were simple clothes more designed to fill a purpose than win beauty contests. Dice designated at least three outfits to take with him, folding them neatly then rolling them, in order to place them in his rucksack.
He then donned what he deemed acceptable adventure clothing: a pair of green three quarter length trousers and a black polo shirt, followed by a dark blue sweater. As it was the middle of winter with snow on the ground, he pulled a long blue coat that fell to his knees out of the wardrobe and admired his figure.
Out of pure ego, he started to talk to himself. "And yes Mr. Sycamore, that dashing figure in the mirror is indeed yourself and the ladies will be…"
"Laughing their pretty little heads off, no doubt, when they learn that you talk to yourself in the mirror." Tart words entered via the still open doorway, followed by his Aunt. "And I believe twirling is also frowned upon as an attribute of a perfect heterosexual male. Then again, neither of these things really bother you, do they?"
Dice grinned charmingly. "My good and kind Auntie, what sort of world would it be if they did?" He pirouetted in front of the mirror, allowing the coat to billow around his legs, before clicking his heels together and snapping a salute. "Pokémon trainer Dice Sycamore, present and correct, ma'am!"
"Not quite correct, trainer. You're forgetting your good luck charm."
"Oh, I don't need more charm, but I could definitely use some luck..." With a wink he envisioned as roguish, but was more of a squinting grimace, he exercised some more of his boundless energy in striding to the dresser and picking up a hat and a neckerchief.
After slipping the blue and orange scarf over his head and looping it around his throat, he pulled the hat onto his head. A stylised 's' and an image of a Swellow's head garnished the front of the hat. He grinned, and remarked to no one in particular, "And once more, the fabled cap of the Fortree Swellows, proud hat of the great trainer Dice Sycamore, goes adventuring."
"Only this time Dice, its not going to the bottom of the garden to watch Spinarak chase Caterpie. This time, you get to see the world as only a precious few people get to see it. First hand, and with Pokémon by your side. I'm jealous." She smiled fondly at him. "You know they're proud of you, don't you? Your parents." She breathed in heavily before continuing. "I remember the day you were born, and the looks on their faces…well, they were something." She grinned a lopsided grin.
"Your poor old dad was a state. Kept muttering to himself about how he was going to teach you to choose your Pokémon wisely, how to train them, but what he really wanted for you, more than anything else in the world, was to live your life the best way that you know how." She looked at him, proud and noble, tears forming in her eyes. "They're proud of you."
Dice looked at the floor, lost for words. Slowly, phrases clicked into place, snippets of emotion infused with words that seemed right, and then he looked his Aunt back in the eye. "They aren't proud of me just yet. Or if they are, they will have to sum up some more pride. But by the end of all my journeys, whether I'm the champion or just some lowly trainer, I'll make sure they're proud. I promise."
The words were said with such conviction that she took a step back. "You'll go far Dice. With that kind of promise, you'll not have any other choice than to rise to the challenge you set yourself. Atta boy." She wiped her eyes. "Go on then. Get breakfast. Finish packing. And go take on the world. Just be careful of naughty men with sweeties, because I know how much you like to eat and there are some plain bad people out there…"
"And I am now an adult, Aunt Valerie. The only time that has ever happened I was seven, and I was hungry. And I still maintain that he kicked himself in the balls."
Alexa personally thought that Newbark Town looked prettiest in the snow, and at the beginning of February, it still thickly coated the ground. She also reflected that it was good adventure weather, despite the inherent difficulties presented by the now snow covered terrain.
Idly flipping a pancake, she watched a few brave Rattata scamper lightly across the snow in pursuit of Mr and Mrs Next Doors winter vegetable patch. There was a brief skirmish with their pet Delcatty who deigned to investigate their thieving and sharply presented them with the ultimatum of knock off or face the pain. The Rattata chose wisely and decided richer pickings could be found elsewhere, scattering whilst the Delcatty mewled triumphantly. They fled back into the grass from whence they came with a small rustling sound, leaving the rest of the world in stillness.
Finishing her daydream, she realized that the pancake she had been flipping for the last twenty minutes was now turning browny-black rather than golden-brown and hastily deposited it on a plate with some sausages and bacon. She filled an oversized mug painted in a garish red, black and blue design with hot tea and set it down at a place on the table. "Dice!" she called up the stairs, "breakfast's ready!" In an attempt to cover up the pancake mishap, she splashed some syrup on top of his breakfast and grinned widely when he entered the kitchen. She then proceeded to lecture him on the dangers of travelling in cold weather, ambushing him with a plethora of comments when he couldn't answer back with any smart replies.
"Be careful where you pitch your tent, you don't want it to be covered in snow during the night. Don't get lost, EVER. Try and catch a fire type to melt any huge snowdrifts. Don't take sweeties from strange men-"
"For Arceus' sake, I am not a moron! I can take care of myself in the real world, without an extended life lesson on escape and evasion from pervy kidnappers." He grinned slyly. "Although it's touching to know that you actually care enough to want to see me alive, Alexa." She glared at him. "Of course I want you alive. You know as well as I do that this is the best thing that could ever happen for you."
"Strange, that, but I thought the pinnacle of my life would come somewhere after the age of fourteen. Preferably some time around eighteen, when I can drink, drive and get laid as many times and as often as I like."
"That attitude will get you slapped rather than laid, Dice. You need to work on your smooth charm some more." Alexa adopted a thoughtful expression. "For a start, find a girl. And then maybe practise some. We can build it up from there."
Dice rested his head on the table. "You could just say you're going to miss me, Alexa. Instead of grandstanding to a vacant audience about my inability to score with the ladies." He grimaced. "I thought brunettes stood higher chances of getting girls anyway. It's a grim realization, finding out that they don't." Alexa laughed, and then sighed. "I am going to miss you. But not until tomorrow, when I actually realize that you're gone. Then, I'll miss you, miss you."
When Dice Sycamore finally stepped out into the crisp morning air and felt the snow crunch under his travelling boots, he had said goodbye to the house itself, his aunt at least three times, the family Ninetales once (who had then given him a playful Ember attack to the shin), Alexa four times and played a small piece for himself on the piano, as a sort of memorial send-off. He had applied Burn Heal and shouldered his bag after shoving a few more things into it, lucky charms and useful items, and then stepped out into his adventure without looking back.
Extract from the Diary of Professor Elm
It seems to me that in the Johto region, something new is always beginning; something once jaded and abandoned is brought quietly back into existence. Never mind that snow lies four feet thick on the ground at the thinnest at this time of year, but interesting events spring eternal, seemingly from nowhere, or at the very least from the thin air.
This endless cycle of interesting revivals and constant growth lends this region something that I will very much miss when I finally depart this mortal coil. I do so hope that the many new adventures, which begin here, flourish into life with ease, and attain every ounce of their true potential. Why, it was only last month that a boy, and really just that, fourteen or fifteen years old, walked into my laboratory…
…and brushed the snow off his shoulders. "Man, it's cold out there Professor. You should invest in some outdoor heaters, maybe even a nice glasshouse. Hell, a large bonfire would be nice, but then again you have that whole tree thing going on."
The boy smirked at a frustrated looking aide, who was trying to wrestle a highly opinionated Pidgey into some kind of machine, presumably to run some bizarre test on it. "Good look with the bird. I hope you aren't that unlucky every Saturday night." The aide began to growl, an angry retort forming on his lips, but the boy was gone by the time he could get it out.
Sensing the prospect of freedom, the Pidgey made a bid for the door, screeching its triumph into the morning air. Not long after the Pokémon had fled the confines of the laboratory, the aide crumpled to the floor, sobbing quietly.
Professor Elm began to grin as the boy passed through into the main section of the lab. Scruffy brown hair topped off a face that was covered in freckles. Cheekbones protruded from a skinny face, whilst the rest of the boy's body was thin. Elm mused that the thin frame would one day mould into an athletically slim build, but for now, the boy only moved with a certain awkward grace. Between the casual and flippant way the boy had greeted his aide and his physical appearance, it reminded the professor of something he'd seen, a long time ago, but he couldn't quite place it.
All in all, the boy was a niggling memory to the Pokémon professor, an elusive fact in his mind. Something was there, but he just couldn't see it, not now at least. Still, the boy was obviously looking to be a trainer, and he therefore had an obligation to him: to provide him with a Pokédex, pokéballs and most importantly one of the three starter Pokémon for the Johto region. Smiling, Elm stood from behind his desk and reached out to shake the boy's hand. "Dice Sycamore…I've been waiting for you to show up"
"And its wonderful to see you too Professor. And can I say that I really love what you've done with the place. It has a very art deco feel that not many places have anymore." He nodded approvingly before turning to the professor. "Your aide was having some trouble with a Pidgey back there. On a personal note, I think you should hire on someone else. He looked close to snapping, if you see what I mean." Dice twirled a finger on the side of his head.
Elm just laughed. "You mean Joel? That poor kid has the worst luck in the history of the universe. You should have seen his first day here…" The professor tailed off as the door to the lab swished open, and two girls and a boy walked in. All three appeared to be aspiring young trainers, dressed to protect against the cold, with empty pokéball holders at their waists.
One of the girls and the boy already appeared to know each other, as they were bickering amongst themselves. The other girl was glancing round furtively, but Dice put it down to excitement, or first day nerves, or some combination of both. Her blue scarf matched her eyes, whilst black hair tumbled down her back from underneath a knitted hat. She wore a long black overcoat, with a knee length blue skirt, and a faded t-shirt could be seen through the coat's opening. She smiled at him when the three got closer, but made no move to introduce herself.
The other girl, however, immediately introduced herself, a nasal voice cutting through the still air of the laboratory, whilst her lackey cringed. "And I suppose you are the person in charge here?" She demanded of Professor Elm. Her voice was imperious and loud, yet she made no effort to quiet it. "Well…aren't you going to register us as trainers so we can leave, already? I don't exactly want to wait here for very long!"
Her arrogance matched the clothes she was wearing, some sort of pirate themed ensemble, with knee high boots and breeches, and a loose fitting shirt beneath a leather jacket. Frizzy, brown hair was almost contained under a skull and crossbones print bandana. Professor Elm simply stared at her before blandly requesting her name. She flicked a hand imperiously, as though this was too much effort. "My name is Chloe Riva. Are you done now?"
"Not quite, Miss Riva. I still need to register these other three trainers." Chloe's companion stepped forward. He also sneered slightly when he spoke, and had the same nasal voice as Chloe. "My name is Alberto Riva." He jerked a thumb at Chloe. "Her brother. Now may we go, or do we have to wait for these rabble to be registered too?" Casting a contemptuous glance at Dice and the other girl, he turned and sneered at Elm again.
"I'm afraid so, Mr Riva. If you would be so kind as to remain silent whilst I register these other trainers?" He coolly ignored both Riva's objections to his statement as he turned to face the other girl. "And you are?"
"Grace Lafonte, Professor." She hesitated, and then ploughed on. "I've heard a lot about your research into Pokémon eggs and newly hatched Pokémon, and it's fascinating how much there is still to learn." She smiled at him, and he beamed back. "It's wonderful to hear my work is appreciated, Miss Lafonte!" He turned to Dice.
"Mr Sycamore…Your Aunt said that you've been looking forward to today for the better part of your entire life." Dice grinned. "She wouldn't be lying there professor. In fact, it's probably been longer than that." He saw the Riva siblings roll their eyes a small distance away. Smirking, he muttered to Elm, "Their lordships are getting impatient over there. You'd better stop stalling them before they break something to get your attention." Elm cleared his throat. "If you will follow me, please, you will now receive your starter Pokémon."
Dice was startled to hear the Riva siblings laugh out loud. Chloe sneered at him derisively. "Why would I ever want one of those pathetically weak Pokémon? My father got us both some good Pokémon." Alberto laughed along with her. Grace covered a yawn with her hand. "Really? Did Daddy dearest pay a high enough price for them, or did he catch them for you himself? Did he ever show them love, or are they just bought-and-paid-for pets?"
Despite her feigned boredom, Dice saw her other fist clench and her tone was laced with blatant sarcasm. Chloe simply glared at her. "My Pokémon is just fine, you little brat. And it's just a Pokémon. It's not as though loving it makes any difference. It's stronger than any of those pathetic starters, anyway."
Dice felt he had to speak up, after hearing her dismiss her own Pokémon as nothing more than a possession, and a worthless one at that. "If it's really that strong, then you won't mind challenging me to a battle, will you? After all, it sounds like you can't lose." His pulse was rising with the anticipation of both getting his first Pokémon and battling with it. Elm smiled at him. "And which Pokémon will you choose, Dice?" Dice grinned, and it was a shark's grin, all teeth and no humour. Checking the tag on it, he ripped a Pokéball off the plinth in front of him. "Let's take this outside, Riva."
Outside, they took opposite sides of the battleground. Alberto stood behind his sister, whilst Elm and Grace stood behind Dice. Joel acted as referee. "The match will be a one on one Pokémon battle. Each trainer will comply with the Pokémon league rules and will obey any decision the referee makes. Are we clear?" Dice nodded firmly, whilst Chloe simply yelled out. "Can we get on with this now, weakling?"
"Ladies first," Dice mocked. She flung the pokéball at her waist. "Go! Misdreavus!" A ghostly shadow emerged from the pokéball before forming into a Pokémon. Its body was formed of a flowing purple mist, and it squealed its cry into the morning air. "Miiissss…drea!"
Dice smirked and unclipped a pokéball from his waist. "Lets heat it up a little, shall we? Go! Cyndaquil!" The diminutive fire type sprang from the ball, sending up a cloud of steam as it immediately ignited the flame on its back. Dice smiled at its enthusiasm. "Nice attitude, Cyndaquil! Now, lets kick things off with an Ember attack!"
Cyndaquil set its legs firmly in the snow, before launching hot ashes from its mouth at Misdreavus. Chloe yelled out. "Misdreavus, dodge that and use your Psywave attack!" A multicoloured beam shot out of Misdreavus' necklace and towards Cyndaquil, who was struck by it and thrown backwards. "Cyndaquil, use Smokescreen to conceal yourself, and then use another Ember attack." Cyndaquil nodded. "Quil!" A thick black fog spread through the air, before a bright orange glow emanated from inside.
Misdreavus squealed as the ember attack hit it, and slid backwards into the snow. Dice shouted out in triumph. "Great job Cyndaquil! Now use Ember again!." The flames on Cyndaquil's back flared, and it shot orange flames towards the fallen Misdreavus.
"Misdreavus, get up again, now!" Chloe yelled at her Pokémon, disbelief and anger marring her face. However, Cyndaquil's attacks had burned it badly, and it sat mewling piteously on the snow. The Ember attack hit it full on, sending it sprawling through the snow before coming to rest. When the snow and smoke cleared, Misdreavus could be seen lying in the snow, swirls in its eyes.
"We did it Cyndaquil!" Dice ran over to Cyndaquil, his boots crunching on the snow. "Great work little buddy." Cyndaquil let out a small puff of satisfied smoke, before curling up into a ball in Dice's arms and promptly falling asleep. He looked up at Elm and Grace who were applauding his victory, and then over at the Riva siblings, who were stalking back into the laboratory. Elm's face fell. "I hate to think how they're going to do, adventuring around Johto." He sighed dejectedly. "I can't believe she couldn't care less about her first Pokémon either. Most trainers couldn't care more about their first Pokémon, but she just doesn't care at all." He sighed again. "But, hey, Dice," he said, his eyes lighting up. "The way you battled there, it was extraordinary! You've got some real talent."
"I thought it was brave that you stood up to her, Dice." Grace spoke up, some unknown and unspoken emotion in her eyes. "Even if you hadn't won, standing up to her was still the right thing to do."
"I know," said Dice, staring at the retreating back of his opponent. "It's why I did it."
When they returned to the lab, they found the Riva siblings waiting, sullen and uncaring. Elm produced sets of pokéballs for them to use, and handed over four of the newest Pokédexes. "These Pokédexes will allow you to identify the various species you encounter along they way, and obviously, the Pokéballs are to catch them. I also suggest you take either the Pokémon Gym or Pokémon Contest challenges. They're excellent ways to test your skills, and who knows, you might even make Champion one day!"
Chloe just stared at him. "Fine. Can we go now, because I really don't want anymore of your inspirational little speeches." Her tone was insolent, and her eyes smouldered after being defeated. Elm gave the smallest of nods. "You can leave, yes. And to be honest, Miss Riva, I'm glad to see you go." Chloe flipped her hair over her shoulder and stalked out of the lab into the cold air, yelling for Alberto to follow her.
When they were gone, Elm let out a sigh of relief. "Well, that's the back of them for a while." He turned to Dice. "What's your plan, Dice? I assume you're taking the gym challenge-"
"Professor, there's a man here who's looking for…" Joel stuck his head round the door and glanced at Grace. "Well, he won't take no for an answer." The professor turned to Dice. "I don't suppose you already have a travelling companion, Dice? Because I'm sure Miss Lafonte would like some company on her journey, so perhaps you could travel together." Dice noted that his genial smile was a little too forced, and his eyes kept flicking towards the entry of the lab where raised voices could be heard. "Grace, you picked out a Pokémon didn't you?" She nodded quickly. "Yes, I did thank you professor. If it's alright by you, I took Totodile?"
"Yes, that's an excellent choice! From what I've seen he and you should work well together!" The voices at the door were becoming heated and the Professor winced. Dice began to make out one or two threats. Professor Elm moved to shut the door. "Perhaps you two should make a more...discreet exit..." Dice noticed that Grace herself was beginning to look quite nervous, and reached out a hand to test a theory. Masking it as a handshake, he shook her hand briefly, only to feel the palm slick with sweat. "It's a pleasure to meet you Grace. I'd be honoured to accompany you on your journey. From what I can surmise so far, you sound like you need it." He motioned to one of the windows. "Shall we?"
Dice hopped over the windowsill and into the snow, before helping Grace out. As they made their way towards route 29, he stopped and looked at her. "Interesting how Elm was so keen for us to exit via any other route than the front door." He raised an eyebrow and blithely asked, "I don't suppose you have anything to do with that?" She narrowed her eyes threateningly. "Nothing at all. And if you were to say otherwise, me and Totodile will be having strong words with you. So you just be careful, Mister Sycamore." The comical expression of anger on her face made him laugh. "If you insist, if you insist. But I'm sure I'll be entitled to a couple of questions at some point."
They reached route 29, and looked out across the snow-covered track, the hills in the distance shrouded in mist. Grace looked at him. "Thank you," she said. At his confused look, she explained. "For letting me travel with you."
"Not a problem," he said, not making direct eye contact. "It's not like I was going to travel with those two." The tone of his voice made it clear whom he was talking about, and also his opinion of them.
He let out a deep breath. "Well, times wasting and there's not much we can do about them now. Let's get going to…" He consulted his Pokégear. "…Cherrygrove City. Nice place, there. Some good coffee shops," he mused. They started walking, first in companionable silence, before Grace spoke. "So you're from Newbark Town, right?"
Their voices drifted into the air as they made their way into an adventure which little did they know, would change their lives forever.
On the other side of the region, hidden beneath the Whirl Islands, an abandoned underwater facility began to wake up. Power flowed through conduits that had lain unused for some time, and the central computer system came online once more. Desalinisation stations began to churn water once more, filtering it to provide for the new inhabitants.
Dustsheets were removed and stored, everything the epitome of efficiency and ambition. Grunts rushed from station to station, hauling cables and power leads, wielding spanners, welders and soldering irons to fix damaged sections. Divers swarmed the outside of the underwater station, sounding the hull and checking for breaches.
Slowly, with an ominous hum, the station came to life. At the eye of the storm of activity, one woman stood. With a face of stone, she reflected no emotion, hard eyes surveying all she saw. Betraying nothing, she continued to watch the installation.