Frostbite
Hey everyone, LordMagikarp here. I've decided to take a bit of a break from Oak to write a Reborn story. If you haven't readA Little Night Musicby Srgeman andLiving in the Momentby XOXFirebirdXOX, you should read them right now because they are the codifiers of this genre.
Anyway, I hope you like it.
Disclaimer: I don't own anything that doesn't belong to me. Thanks to Ri2 for prereading.
…
When 'it' happened, my name was Tyler. I was 16, and a competent Pokémon trainer, journeying around the Johto region, aiming to get all the badges with my Pokémon team. All in all, a fairly average goal, and I suppose I was a very average guy at the time. Not anymore.
Anyway, I was in the Mahogany Town Pokémon Centre, having just beaten Pryce, mainly due to the help of my Typhlosion, Cole. I was feeling pretty confident with myself because of my latest victory, and decided to call back home. It was my sister's 14th birthday in about a week, you see, and that would be the day our parents had finally agreed to let her head out on her own journey. I couldn't be prouder of her.
I stretched, got out of the couch I had been reclining in, and walked towards the video telephones by Nurse Joy's counter. I brushed a lock of my brown hair out of my eyes, and dialled the number.
After a few seconds, the screen was covered in static, and my sister's grinning face covered the camera. I couldn't help but smile at the sight of her, I hadn't spoken to her for over a week. (Long story. Involved getting lost in Mt Mortar, endless swarms of Zubats, and some Karate Master. I won't bore you with the details.)
"Hey, Ty," She said, smiling broadly.
"Hey Lucy," I replied. "So, you're gonna be 14 next week, huh?"
She nodded happily, sending her brown hair flowing down her back in waves. "I know! Dad got me a Pokémon egg from a man in Cherrygrove, and whatever hatches from it will be my starter!" She held the egg up to the camera. It was a little larger than her head, reddish-brown, and had a pattern going around the middle that could be intertwining red tails or waves depending on which way you looked at it.
"Do you know what it'll hatch into?" I asked.
She shook her head. "Nah, Dad won't tell me. He says he wants it to be a surprise."
I shrugged. "Oh well, sometimes surprises are good."
Lucy pouted. "Not always…"she looked up at me, a sudden, needy expression on her face.
"Hey, are you going to come help me? You promised…"
I smiled. The last time Lucy had called me, she had been really insistent on me heading down to New Bark town to see her off, show her the ropes of training and travel with her as far as Violet City. She had been so worried and nervous about the journey then that I had agreed instantly.
"Are you sure you need me to come?" I switched to my best Mum impersonation. "You're a big girl now!"
She stifled a giggle, but still looked at me earnestly. "Please."
"All right, I'll come. I've just got to get to Blackthorn and win my last badge. I'll see you at home, yeah?"
"Right. See you soon!" she said brightly, waving at the camera. I waved back for a moment, then ended the call, collected my recuperating Pokémon from Joy, and walked out of the City towards the Icy Path.
After beating up the Pokémon of a few Bug Catchers (I never did understand why the hell they only collected Bugs, easily the least interesting type, and all easily roasted by Cole.), I stood at the entrance to the Icy Path. I wasn't that worried about what was inside. I made sure to bring a few Ice Heals in case any of my team got Frozen, and in any case, I had Cole by my side. I rubbed my hands together in anticipation, and called out my entire team.
Aside from Cole, there was Tania the Sandslash, Samuel the Azumarill, William the Xatu, and Bruce the Hitmonlee. I trusted these Pokémon with my life, and I knew they felt the same about me, a strong bond between trainer and Pokémon forged through many, many adventures. I instantly felt safer with them all by my side, and as one, we walked into the cave.
Once we were inside, things steadily got worse. A mad Piloswine rushed out of the shadows once we were a few minutes through the cave, and unleashed a powerful Earthquake that took out Cole and Tania instantly. Samuel and Bruce made short work of him after that, but still, two of my strongest fighters were down, as was my major source of light inside the cave.
Due to Cole's fainted condition, I pulled a flashlight from my bag, but it was still nowhere near as illuminating as Cole's fire. I could only see a small patch of light in front of me coming from my torch, and as a result, the cave was much creepier. Pokémon cries echoed from all around, and once or twice a Sneasel dashed through my little circle of light, almost too fast for my eyes to see. I stepped forwards blindly, fumbling through the cave, until my foot came down on something squishy. I looked down.
It was a man. Well, what once had been a man. Icy spikes protruded from him in multiple places, including the heart, the neck, and the stomach. Frozen blood stained the snow around the body red, and the eyes of the man were open, staring straight into my face. His mouth was open in a rictus of unimaginable agony, and lying next to his right arm was a bloodstained whip.
I screamed, and the sound echoed off the walls of the cave, bouncing back and forth. Something shifted in the darkness in front of me, and I whipped my light up to see. It was a Weavile, larger than average for its species, and covered in scar tissue, looking like they had been made by a whip. Its claws were stained with blood, and sickeningly, I knew it was the man's.
My eyes darted to the corpse on the floor, and his whip. Could the man have been the Weavile's trainer? The whip and lash marks made that likely. So, the man had whipped his Pokémon, probably not for the first time by the scars, and it had turned on him.
This kind of thing happened sometimes. Not often, but sometimes. Pokémon that kill humans have to be killed, for the safety of everyone.
The Sharp Claw Pokémon hissed, and advanced on me slowly like a Meowth stalking a Rattata. I gulped, or tried to, my mouth was as dry as sand. "Stop him," I said, and my voice was probably an octave higher than normal.
My Pokémon wasted no time to spring into action, Bruce leaping at the Weavile with a Hi Jump Kick, Samuel rolling forth with a Rollout, and William using Steel Wing to strike it.
Unfortunately, the Weavile was faster than them. Faster than lightning, the Ice type fired a Dark Pulse straight at William, sending the Xatu flying back, crashing into a wall. A horrifying crunch signified that something had broken, likely his wings due to the awkward position. The Weavile ducked out of the way of Samuel's Rollout, and Slashed at Bruce's torso as he hurtled towards him. Bruce let out an agonized cry, and fell to the ground, clutching at his stomach as his blood poured out of him, staining the ice red.
Samuel turned sharply and uncurled from his Rollout, shooting a powerful Water Gun at the creature who had so badly wounded his teammates. Weavile, however, fired an Ice Beam at the Water Gun, flash freezing it and causing it to fall to the ground, shattering. The Dark type rushed towards the Azumarill with a Shadow Punch, and Samuel responded by charging forth with a Mega Punch. However, just as it seemed the combatants were going to collide, Weavile ducked out of the way, sending Samuel stumbling before his opponent Shadow Punched him in the back, sending him sprawling to the ground, unconscious.
I was too shocked and terrified to speak, but adrenaline drove me to recall my Pokémon to stop them getting hurt any more, and run through the Icy Path, trying to get as far away from the murdering Weavile as possible. My flashlight lay forgotten near the man's corpse, so I was running blind, fumbling through the dark desperately for an exit, but I knew I would never make it in my heart. Still I fought the impossible… until I felt something impossibly sharp pass through my back, indescribable pain…and then everything went black.
The next thing I knew, I was in a void. I could see nothing but darkness in every direction, but I felt as though I was standing on solid ground. I blinked a couple of times, not registering anything that had happened, until-
"Boo," a deep and terrifying voice, like something out of the nightmares of a madman, whispered in my ear from behind me. I screamed in terror, and squeezed my eyes shut, until I heard laughter. I opened my eyes slowly, and turned to see a dark, ghostly Pokémon, around two meters tall, clutching its sides in laughter. It was mostly black, but a red, spiked collar wound around its neck. A piercing blue eye peeked out from behind a flowing mass of white hair, which coiled and danced like smoke.
I knew this Pokémon. It was Darkrai, god of death, darkness, and nightmares. And he was laughing.
"Ah, that never gets old." he chuckled jovially, wiping a tear from his blue eye. He looked up, and saw me staring at him. "What?"
I was stunned, still feeling numb. Then, my mind finally registered what was going on. "Y-you're Darkrai!" I stammered. The Pokémon shook his head sarcastically, and pressed his hands to his chest.
"Darkrai? Who, me? No, you misunderstand- I'm a Clefairy! Duh!" He waited for a few seconds, but I didn't laugh. "Yeah, I'm Darkrai."
"And if you're here… then am I…"
"Dead? I'm afraid so. You'll get used to it. Happens to the best of us and all that. And the worst of us, for that matter," Darkrai said cheerfully.
I stared at him for a few more moments. "I didn't expect Death to be so… jolly."
Darkrai shrugged. "I get that a lot."
"So… I'm really dead? This isn't a nightmare?" I asked tentatively.
Darkrai nodded, a little annoyed. "Yes, we've gone over this."
"So… what happens now?" I asked.
"Well, yours truly will take you to the afterlife," answered the Pitch Black Pokémon.
"The afterlife?" I said sceptically. "That's a little… unspecific."
Darkrai grinned. "Sorry, no spoilers."
I decided not to press him any further on the subject, though I had to wonder what the point of spoilers were since I was already, you know, dead. Then, suddenly, I remembered Lucy.
"My sister! She was… she was going to become a trainer in a week. I was going to help her." I faltered when I realized that now, this was never going to happen.
Darkrai looked at me sympathetically. "Look, kid. I'm sorry, but you're dead. There's nothing that I can do."
"But she needs me! You-you are death itself! Surely you can-" I protested.
"Bring you back? There are rules even I can't break, set by Arceus at the beginning. You are dead. The sooner you accept that, the better," Darkrai said sternly.
"But... can you at least make sure that my Pokémon are okay?" I implored Darkrai.
He looked into my eyes for a moment, considering, before nodding. "I'll make sure that their Pokéballs are put somewhere safe. Now come along. You've got a whole afterlife to look forwards to!"
He turned, and floated away through the void, and I followed him. However, I had barely taken 10 steps before Darkrai stopped dead, as though listening to something that only he could hear. He narrowed his eye, and looked at me oddly. "Are you sure? Him?" he said, but I got the feeling that he wasn't talking to me. He listened again. "Yes boss. I'll see to it that it gets done."
Darkrai shook himself, and then turned to me. "Well, kid, someone up there likes you! You're going back."
I was stunned. "But didn't you just say that you couldn't bring me back? That there were rules?"
Darkrai grimaced. "Yes, there are rules. But, sometimes Arceus takes a special interest in a deceased mortal. He deigns that their death was unnecessary, or something. It's quite hard to guess what Arceus is thinking. Nobody knows what he's up to."
It seemed too good to be true. "I… I can go back to my old life?"
Darkrai shook his head. "No. Your old body is dead. You will be reborn, as a Pokémon. It is massively clichéd and overdone, but the Big Guy says to do it, so we're doing it."
"A Pokémon? Which kind?" I asked.
Darkrai shrugged. "I don't know. I only know which egg you will be born into."
He waved his hands, and an image filled the void, of the red-brown egg that my sister had shown me before. The Pitch Black Pokémon smiled at me, not unkindly. "Looks like you'll be able to watch over your sister after all, eh?"
I smiled back at him, and then froze. "You won't make me a Magikarp or something, right?"
Darkrai grinned wickedly. "I make no promises. Good luck, kid."
His visage was the last thing I saw before I blacked out.
How was that? I quite like writing from first person, it's a nice change.