My dear Frodo...
Pardon me, wrong story.
This is the tale of Jack Storm, a Pokémon master; and more, but we'll get to that later. For now I think it best to start at the beginning; in a forest, in the Sinnoh region.
It was not big enough, or close enough to a human city to be named by them, but to the Pokémon who lived there it was known as Greenwood. It was a little cliché, but who's going to fault them?
More specifically, our story begins in a little cave inhabited by a small family of Lucario; Mother, Father, and a little Riolu pup named Jason. They lived a happy life there with the other forest Pokémon. Not a carefree life, but a happy life. Until one summer day...
"Dear, I'm going to get some food for dinner," called the male Lucario, "I'll be back in a while."
"Okay," called his mate, coming out of the cave to see him off, "Just make sure you're back by sundown, and try not to get into too much trouble."
Father Lucario grinned, as much as he could with a snout, and said under his breath, "Yes, mother."
"I beg your pardon?" the Mother Lucario said, pretending to be offended; the effect was ruined by the smile on her face.
"Nothing, nothing at all," Father Lucario replied with mock innocence.
Mother Lucario laughed at her mate's boyish antics, and planted a quick Lucario-style kiss on his cheek.
"I thought you were going to get dinner," she said, giving him a playful shove towards the woods, "Get going, you idiot."
Father Lucario's grin grew, and he gave her a mock bow, "Right away, ma'm."
Thus saying, he went out into the forest, passing by several forest Pokémon on the way to his favorite foraging grounds. When he arrived he quickly took stock of the available food, then he gathered enough for himself and his mate (young Jason had not been weaned yet) and bundled it all up in a basket of long grass.
After living in Greenwood for several years, he knew his way around pretty well; he knew the tricks of the trade too, such as how to tell which berries were ripe. But he could still remember his first year in the wild; when he fell head over heels for Mother Lucario, his trainer decided that for Father Lucario to be happy, he had to be free.
That first year in the wild was the hardest thing Father Lucario had ever gone through, especially the winter, but the forest Pokémon were nothing but kind to him and his new mate. They persevered, and in time life became easier; eventually, Greenwood began to feel like home.
Of course, even though he now lived in the wild, Father Lucario still retained a lot from his years as a trainer's Pokémon; he could read and write as well as any human, and he could even speak English fairly well. Most Pokémon he knew never bothered to learn to read, write, or speak English, and most trainers never bother to teach their Pokémon to either; but as Father Lucario proved, it was not impossible.
Once he'd collected enough food for dinner, Father Lucario headed back to the cave that he and his mate called home; knowing that he had plenty of time before sundown, he decided to take the 'scenic' route home. Turning off the beaten path, he passed close to the lake at the centre of the forest. It was usually a peaceful and serene place, where he often went to relax; emphasis on usually.
As he stepped into the clearing then, he saw three Poochyena stalking something. Feeling like having a little fun, and wanting to help whatever they were stalking, he put down his bundle and stepped out into the open.
It was not a good day for the Poochyena; Father Lucario gave them a proper whipping, and sent them packing. After chasing the perpetrators away, he got his first look at what they had found; it was a human baby! Following this discovery, Father Lucario engaged in a brief but heated mental discussion with himself.
"A human baby? How did it get here?" asked one part of his mind.
"More importantly, what do I do with it? Should I just leave it here?" asked another.
"No! Of course not; those Poochyena would be back as soon as I leave." exclaimed the first.
"But then what do I do with it?" he took a closer look.
In reality, the baby was a him, and couldn't have been more than a few months old.
"About the same age as Jason," he thought.
The baby was wrapped in swathes of cobalt-blue cloth, that felt amazingly soft and warm; unlike anything Father Lucario had ever seen. The baby's head was covered with pale yellow fuzz, but what really caught Father Lucario's attention were the electric blue eyes staring back at him. As soon as he made eye contact, the baby started to coo and reach for him.
"He doesn't seem frightened by me at all. I wonder..."
"Don't be ridiculous. I can't keep it, it's a human!"
"What does that matter, we're all God's creatures. Besides, if I don't take him with me, he'll die out here."
The father Lucario picked the baby up and rested it in the crook of his arm, where it soon fell asleep.
"Well that settles it," he said out loud, "he hasn't got anyone else, so we'll just have to take care of him ourselves."
Carrying the baby in the crook of his arm, Father Lucario walked home at a sedate pace; trying not to wake the child. In his preoccupied state, he barely remembered to pick up the bundle of food on the way.
When he got home, Mother Lucario was just coming out to look for him, fearing that he had run into trouble; she could never have guessed what had actually taken place. Her joy at seeing him safe and sound, was soon replaced by confusion at the blue bundle he was carrying so carefully.
"What have you got there?" she asked, with her paws on her hips, "Not another human knick-knack, I hope."
Ever since they'd settled down in Greenwood, Father Lucario had taken to 'borrowing' things from the human town just ten minutes walk from the edge of the forest. He only took things that no one wanted any more; things they were going to throw away, or had already. Still, Mother Lucario didn't approve of the practice.
"You could call it that," he replied, showing her the contents of the bundle, "but I get the feeling you'll want to keep this one."
Mother Lucario gasped in surprise, "What? A human baby; where did you get that?"
He gave her the ten second version, finishing with, "...he hasn't got anyone else, and we can't just leave him to die; I know it seems strange, even impossible for us to raise a human child, but I believe that God will work it all out for good."
Moments after father Lucario had finished, the baby began to cry, and Mother Lucario's kind heart went out to it. She took the baby into her own arms and gently rocked it back and forth. This action dislodged a small golden disk from the bundle of fabric. The father stooped down and picked it up; it was about two inches in diameter, had a picture of a lightning bolt on one side, and two words on the other.
"Jack Storm," he read.
Mother Lucario stroked the baby's face with her paw, causing him to giggle happily from the fuzzy touch.
"Then that's what we'll call him," she said. "Jack Storm."
Just then Jason, Mother and Father Lucario's little Riolu pup, stuck his head out of the cave and noticed the bundle of blue cloth his mother was holding.
"Momma," he said curiously, "What's going on?"
"Come on out Jason," Father Lucario said. "We've got something to show you."
Mother Lucario crouched down, and Jason walked over and stood on the tips of his hind paws to get a better look at what she was holding. Jason's eyes went wide as he saw what was wrapped in the blue bundle; he'd never seen a human before, much less a baby, and so he had no idea what he was looking at. But as he looked, the baby opened his eyes and looked back; the new brothers stared at each other for a second, then young Jack made a burbling noise and reached out his hands to Jason. Jason stretched out a paw and Jack grabbed it eagerly, giggling happily.
Jason smiled and looked up at his mother. "Can we keep him?"
As the years went by, Jack Storm grew up side by side with his Pokémon brother, Jason. Training, learning, and growing in faith and body. In fact, he grew and matured surprisingly quickly; almost as quickly as his brother. His foster parents found that within two months, Jack could already walk on two legs, and a month after that he could run and play tag with the other Pokémon. A full year after Jack had joined the family, he was four feet tall, and he and Jason started training in combat; a necessity for wild Pokémon.
They usually trained against their other friends, but they often sparred against each other as well. The two brothers were not evenly matched, however. Jason had the abilities and instincts of a Riolu, and so could beat Jack every time they sparred. By this point though, Jack was the mental equivalent of a ten-year old, and he learned with startling ease. He started copying his opponents' movements and techniques, and began winning increasingly often. Then, three and a half months into their training...
"I'm going to wipe the battlefield with you this time Jack," Clayton, the young Mankey against whom he was sparring, shouted playfully; he was a good friend, but had trouble controlling his temper sometimes. A fact of which Jack intended to take advantage.
"Oh yeah?" Jack said in a cocky tone of voice, "Then come over here and say it to my face."
Clayton let out a primal war-cry as he charged at Jack with Tackle.
Jack just stood and waited until the right moment and then gracefully sidestepped the attack, at the same time tripping his opponent who landed face first in the dirt. The crowd of young Pokémon surrounding them cheered. Clayton got back up and faced Jack, who began to taunt him.
"Is that all you've got? My mother hits harder than you."
This was completely true of course, but it still had the desired effect of ticking Clayton off even more.
"You think so?" the Mankey said in an angry tone. "Eat this, you smug son of a Magikarp."
This time Jack's opponent went in with Dynamicpunch. Not the smartest move, because it focusses more on power than accuracy, and is therefore easier to dodge; which Jack promptly did. Mid-attack though, Clayton switched direction completely and landed a solid Tackle on Jack, knocking the wind out of him and sending him sprawling.
"He's good," Jack thought to himself as he got back up, rubbing his side where he'd been hit. "I'm not sure I could take him if he had a clear head. I'd better step it up a notch."
Jack would never say this out loud, of course; instead he forced a cocky smile onto his face and said, "Ha! if that's all you can do, then I'm twice the Pokémon you are."
"You still want more?" Clayton said. "Just give up, Storm; you can't win, you can't even use any moves."
"Oh really," Jack said under his breath; out loud he said, "Come and get me then, or is this Mankey a little Torchick?"
"You'll pay for that," Clayton shouted. "No more mister nice guy."
The Mankey charged at Jack, all caution thrown to the wind. Once again Jack let him get closer, but this time the boy's eyes momentarily turned a pure golden colour.
To the complete astonishment of all in the clearing, Jack executed a flawless Counter attack by grabbing the Mankey's right wrist with his left hand, and yanking the off-balance Pokémon into his right hand; which just so happened to be curled into a fist at the time. Clayton was out for the count.
A shocked silence ensued, followed by tentative clapping which turned into applause that spread though the crowd like wildfire. The referee, a young Machop, confirmed it.
"Clayton is unable to battle. Jack Storm is the winner."
Later that night, after a party thrown in Jack's honour, Jason confronted Jack about his new found power.
"Okay, so let me get this straight," Jason said calmly, "You mean to say that you've been secretly training yourself to learn Counter for weeks now, AND YOU DIDN'T EVEN TELL ME?!"
Jack tactfully waited for his brother to vent, before replying.
"Yeah, pretty much," he said with a shrug. "I wanted my first move to be a surprise. It's a pretty important occasion; I remember the party Mother and Father threw when you learned your first move."
The young Riolu stared at him for a second in stunned silence, before gaining a thoughtful look.
"Alright," he said after a moments reflection. "Just promise you won't do that to me again?"
"I promise," replied Jack. "Now, let's get some dinner."
"Right!" Jason said eagerly.