Okay, so this's my first story in the Pokemon side of fanfiction and a few things might be wrong here and there so just...ignore those little mistakes if you come across them, 'kay? :)
Anyways, this fanfiction is based upon the concept of SAO (Sword Art Online) and Nuzlockes just it has to do with the Pokespe charries. Everyone will also be wearing their normal clothes, just saying.
Shippings will include: MangaQuest, slight Chosen, Oldrival, Special, Frantic, Commoner, and Agency. Be warned that all characters won't show up all at once during the story so not all shippings will be present throughout this fanfiction. Just, be warned :D
Chapter 1 - Welcome to PVR!
Crystal was ready.
She had just recieved the latest copy of the game everyone was talking and raving about; Pokemon Virtual Reality MMORPG or simply, PVR. Apparently, it was a new type of video game made with highly scientific technology so that anyone who wanted to play it would end up in "another world" called the PokeRealm. Basically, it was just a virtual world where one could actually feel and experience the true world of Pokemon instead of just staring at the screens of hand-held devices.
The blue-haired girl glanced over at the list containing items she would need to be able to play the game. Game? Check. Virtual reality headset? Check. Plugged in? Check. Now, all she needed to do was place the headset on her head and turn it on to activate the game.
She bit her lip, hesitating. Even though the reviews had promised that it was easy to navigate through the PokeRealm, Crystal couldn't help but feel she should check over the guide one more time before she walked into the virtual world.
Flipping through the pages of the booklet, she sighed before giving into her desires. After placing a note on the door that read "playing PVR, don't disturb", Crystal sat on her bed and, leaning against the wall of her room, placed the headset on.
Sliding the little black "glasses" over her eyes and taking out the microphone, she flipped the switch for on. A blue screen appeared into view along with the words "close your eyes and relax".
Crystal obeyed, letting her eyes shut before another screen appeared in her mind, this time asking for username and password. She mentally entered them in and waited patiently as an hourglass popped into view.
Seconds later, Crystal arrived in the area known in the Pokemon world as Pallet Town. She was standing in the middle of the huge town, and had apparently been teleported into a weird gazebo-like structure with a Pokeball symbol carved onto the middle. This must be what's called the Teleporter, Crystal decided with a slight smile.
Other players began appear around her in a flash of white, looking either in awe or confusion at the place they had been transported to. Crystal assumed the latter crowd had clearly not seen the posted pictures of the game.
Crystal blinked and realized that she shouldn't dawdle if she wanted to start her journey as a trainer as quick as possible. Or rather, capturer. She grinned. She'd been awaiting the moment where she could travel throughout the five, soon to be six, regions of PVR and capture all the Pokemon available.
She glanced around the sides of the gazebo to see if she could find the lab where all players could recieve their first starters. Too bad she didn't have the town map yet or otherwise it'd be easy to navigate through this new and improved Pallet Town.
The blue-haired girl wandered away from the gazebo and gazed around. Many players all seemed as lost as she was, strolling aimlessly through the concrete paths. She frowned. This place certainly wasn't like the game's Pallet Town. Instead of just four buildings, there were about twenty-five. It was odd that the game creators would do something like that but the girl assumed it had something to do with a future surprise that the Pokemon Company had planned.
Suddenly, she was pushed forward as someone abruptly slammed into her. Scowling, she looked up to see a golden-eyed boy standing over her, looking somewhat sheepish as he offered her a hand.
"Need help, pigtailed gal?"
Crystal frowned at the nickname but accepted his hand anyways, getting back to her feet. The newcomer grinned.
"So your username's Kris the Capturer?" he asked her, looking mildly curious. "I've heard of you before."
She blinked at his words before realizing he had read the username tag that hovered over her head. Crystal scowled as she took in the second sentence he had spoken. "You know my namehow?"
He grinned. "Easy, it's all over the Pokeforums on the internet. Kris the legendary Pokemon capturer, said to be able to catch any Pokemon on the hand-held games!"
How the hell...
"My name's Gold, by the way," he held out a hand.
Crystal glanced up at his username and noticed it read Awesomesauce102, not Gold. She couldn't help but snicker at the name, earning her a puzzled expression from the boy. "According to your username, it's not."
The boy scowled and retracted his hand. "Whatever," he glanced around and returned his attention to her. "Hey, Kris, do you know where we get our first Pokemon from?"
"Didn't you read the manuel?"
"Nope."
Crystal let out an exaggerated sigh. "It's in the Professor's lab, which is somewhere in this city of a town."
Gold tapped his chin thoughtfully before making an 'o' with his mouth. He turned to her and waved. "Gotta go get a Pokemon Pigtailed Girl, but see ya later!"
"Hey, wait!" the girl called after him just as he disappeared from sight.
"Oh, dear, boyfriend troubles?" someone snickered.
Crystal spun around to face a brunette girl about a year older then her. Blue eyes gleamed mischieviously as the girl placed a hand on Crystal's shoulder, smiling slyly. "Did your little boyfriend just walk out on you?"
She narrowed her eyes and read the username tag. "Well, MissBlues, I think you've made a mistake. I don't have a boyfriend."
MissBlues smirked and waved a hand. "Uh-huh, sure. And I'm the strongest trainer ever even though I have no Pokemon."
Crystal sighed. "Whatever. Hey, do you know where to find the Professor's lab?"
The strange girl yawned. "Sure honey. It's down that way," MissBlues pointed to a huge building just southeast of Crystal. "Now, I must go and search for my little brother," she did a mocking bow before running off.
I wonder who she is...Crystal didn't bother to ponder the question and instead headed in the direction of the building. Upon arriving at the entrance, she found many online players already gathered, standing in a line to recieve their Pokemon starter. Already, many trainers were walking out with one of the sixteen avalible starters.
"Cool, a Pikachu!" a blonde girl exclaimed, hugging her new starter in her arms. "I'm going to name you Chuchu!"
"Pika," the mouse chirped loudly in response, shocking both Crystal and the blonde, snuggling close to her chest.
So Pokemon can apparently talk and interact with us, Crystal thought in awe, the longing to get her own Pokemon growing swiftly. She joined the back of the line, gazing almost enviously as multiple players grabbed their own starter, snuggling close to their virtual companions.
Surprisingly, the line moved quickly. All one had to do was tap the Pokeball of their choice andthey had their Pokemon sitting in their arms. The blue-haired girl spotted a red-headed boy walk away with a Totodile, and watched as he gave everyone around him a cold glare. He seems rude...
Soon, it was her turn to choose. She hovered in front of the many options. She could choose from Squirtle, to Cyndaquil, to Treeko, to Piplup, to Snivy; there were just that many options. Crystal frowned, too tempted to choose just one, when the impatient groans of the line behind her helped to make up her decision.
"I pick you," she murmured, pressing the little Pokeball saying Chikorita on it.
Instantly, a green creature leaped into her arms, nuzzling Crystal affectionately. The virtual creature cooed gently, the leaf atop its head spinning wildly. Crystal smiled at it. "For a virtual animal, you sure act real," she murmured just as a Pokeball popped into existence and into the Chikorita's mouth.
"Chika?" it chirped in question as Crystal took the Pokeball, pocketing it. "Chika, Chik."
"But what to name you...," she tapped her chin thoughtfully as she exited the lab. "Hmm, how 'bout Megapeon? It fits my naming scheme, after all, having part of the Pokemon's name and the word peon on the end of it."
Megapeon nodded in agreement, its leaf swinging back and forth. The Chikorita cooed again before suddenly tensing. "Chick!" it cried out.
"What's wrong?" Crystal asked, before seeing flames erupt from nowhere.
Suddenly, a crowd of people pushed past her, murmuring eagerly about something as they disappeared around the corner where the flames had appeared. More and more players ran over to the area, and Crystal began to become curious about what could possibly happening. Moving swiftly, the girl made her way over to where a battle seemed to be occuring.
Two boys stood in the middle of the town, right beside the Teleporter, each with one Pokemon standing in front of them; a Cyndaquil and Totodile. The two creatures were attacking eachother furiously, claws and fangs scraping eachother's skin as they battled. She recognized both of them as the boy that had had the Totodile and the other as Gold.
"Scratch!" the red-headed boy called out.
His Totodile obeyed, running forward and slashing the Gold's Cyndaquil. With a cry of agony, the fire-type scrambled backwards, sniffling.
"Don't give in, Explotaro!" the spiky-haired boy shouted. "Tackle!"
The Cyndaquil straightened up a bit before slamming into Totodile, the flames on its back flaring brightly. Crystal cound feel herself in awe of the two creatures, watching as they battled quite fiercely and realistically for vitual Pokemon.
"Scratch!"
"Tackle!"
Both Pokemon unleashed their individual moves upon eachother. They wrestled with eachother on the dirt paths, neither side giving in as they fought for their owners. Explotaro shuffled backwards, about to land another Tackle, when a Servine appeared from nowhere and knocked the Pokemon aside with its tail. Next to it, a robed figure appeared, a hood masking the face of the person.
"Stop!" the figure cried out in a feminine voice, making Crystal assume the person was a girl.
Both trainers looked at her in shock, baffled by her sudden appearance and the lack of a username. The girl's Servine hissed gently before glaring at the crowd, red eyes narrowing as it swung its head back and forth.
Robed girl frowned at the two boys. "If you continue this battle, you'll only kill yourselves," the girl snapped at them. "Withdraw your Pokemon right now or you might put yourselves in danger!"
They both stared at her hesitantly. The red-headed boy narrowed his silver eyes at the stranger, but returned his Totodile without a word of protest. Gold, however, kept Explotaro out, seemingly stubborn to obey her commands.
"What do you mean, kill ourselves?" he questioned her, narrowing golden eyes.
Her head turned towards her and a frown was just barely visible beneath her hood. It seemed that she was almost disappointed by his answer. "I...can't say, it's...not something you'd want to know. At least, not yet."
With a sigh, she withdrew her own Pokemon and turned to them. Showing no more hint of emotion, she raised a hand, took a breath, and vanished into thin air without warning, leaving everyone perplexed as she left them on a cliffhanger.
Crystal herself felt puzzled by the girl's words. Why had she interfered with the boy's battle? It wasn't like they were breaking any rules (well, not any that Crystal knew). The blue-haired girl placed her chin in a cupped hand, wondering what the stranger possibly knew that she herself didn't. And why did she have no username? Didn't all players display usernames above their heads? Did that mean the robed figure was an NPC?
The boy known as Gold rolled his eyes as the stranger disappeared before turning to his previous opponent. "So, Silver, wanna battle again sometime when we're not...inturrupted?"
So he's not going to even listen to the girl's words? Crystal stared at Gold in surprise, a bit irritated at his lack of sense.
Silver glanced over to him, running a black-gloved hand through his red hair. "Not right now, not when something fishy is going on."
Everyone stared at him, confused and yet wondering what he had meant. Silver turned his back on Gold and disappeared into the crowd, leaving the boy alone to ponder his words. With a sigh of defeat, the black-haired boy shrugged and walked off, not seeming to care too much about what the girl or Silver had to say.
Well that was...interesting, to say the least.
"Hey, Kris!" a familiar yet annoying voice called.
"Yes, Gold?"
"Did you see my awesome performance?"
"If you mean Pokemon battle, then yes."
"Wasn't Explotaro just the best?" he grinned at her, namesake eyes flashing as he hugged his Cyndaquil.
"Hmm, sure, but it seemed like your opponent's Totodile was eqully as strong."
He pouted. "Aw, come on, can't you at least admit you were impressed?"
"I'll be impressed when you take down Arceus," she sighed.
Gold tipped his head at that. "Does Arceus even exist in this game?"
She shrugged. "Probably, since the game designers programmed all the regions into here. Although, you'd have to travel all the way over to Spear Pillar with the Azure Flute item, which probably doesn't even exist at this point in time..."
"Woah, are you like a walking wiki or something? Maybe an NPC?"
Crystal gritted her teeth at the last comment. "Obviously not if I have a nametag without the word NPC in it."
He frowned. "Oh, right. Well...that's disappointing."
"What do you mean by that!?"
"Well, you know, it's abnormal to come across someone who is as much as a geek as you in real life, thus the whole NPC thing..."
She rolled her eyes and held Megapeon tightly. "Whatever, I'm going to Route One to train."
Gold opened his mouth to protest but she already had her back turned on him. Crystal walked over to the exit of Pallet, which wasn't much. Just like in the games, a forest formed on two sides, packed in tight clumps, made up the tall entrance that could only fit two people width-wise. Nothing else seemed abnormal here, except for the two lines of pale green grass that didn't match its surroundings. Crystal assumed that this was where Professor Oak showed up whenever you stepped onto the grass to give a player their starter.
"Screw the rules, I wanna see what happens when you go into the grass without Pokemon!" a kid with spiky black hair nearby shouted, leaping headfirst into the two patches before Crystal could stop him.
"Wait!" she cried out, even though it was too late.
Then, like in some sort of movie, the boy hung frozen in midair before blinking out of view. Another kid, probably the first kid's companion, gasped loudly before turning to Crystal. "What happened to Bronze?" she demanded quite loudly.
Finding no way to answer at the strange occurrence, she shrugged and glanced at the two lines of grass, wondering what had made the boy disappear. Crystal took cautious steps forward, and Megapeon burst out of her arms, the green leaf on her head spinning wildly. The girl gasped at the sight of the Pokemon but not before remembering her companion. "BRONZE!" she called quite loudly.
"Here," the same kid from before muttered, emerging from the road that led back into Pallet Town. "Geez, do you have to be so loud, Quartz?"
"Idiot!" the blue-haired girl shouted to her companion, slapping him hard on the back of his hand. "Do you have to be so reckless every damn time!?"
The kid called Bronze scowled. "Whatever," he muttered before turning to Crystal. "Hey, you! Do you know where to get our starters?"
Crystal blinked. "Over in the Professor's Lab," she answered cheerfully.
Quartz nodded and grabbed her companion's hand, beginning to drag him over to the mass of buildings with a frustrated look on her face. "Seriously, brother, did you have to do that?" she asked him furiously.
Bronze scowled but Crystal wasn't able to catch his reply as they went out of sight. Sweat-dropping, the blue-haired girl made her way to the grass, Megapeon chirping quietly beside her.
The first Pokemon she encountered was a Natu.
Crowing rather loudly, the bird Pokemon hopped up and down on one foot, looking rather happy as it faced Crystal. Megapeon responded with a growl, her leaf swishing back and forth. Crystal watched the Natu curiously, reading the little bar above it. A male Natu at level four on Route One? Isn't it impossible to get a Natu in the Kanto region? she glanced down at Megapeon. Then again, if I own a Chikorita I guess the normal rules of gameplay don't matter here.
A white screen popped up in front of her, showing the four normal controls of Fight, Bag, Pokemon, and Run. Seeing as she had no Pokeballs, Crystal reluctantly hit Run, forcing the bird to disappear from sight.
She continued forward, seeing a few fellow players here and there. Along her way to Viridian City, she noticed Pokemon appear that shouldn't be on Route One. Murkrow, Aipom, Shinx, Pidove, the list went on. Of course, it made Crystal even more determined to find the first Poke Mart that would ultimately lead her to obtaining the first five Pokeballs promised to all players.
Megapeon followed behind her at a lazy pace, occasionally stopping to yawn before running after the blue-haired girl to catch up. Despite being a virtual creation, the Pokemon felt and acted like a real animal, often showing hints of emotion upon tripping over a rock or running head-first into a tree.
Crystal found herself about halfway through Route One when her avatar suddenly froze in place. It was strange, one moment she was moving fine and in the next she was reduced to a figure of rippling static. She was was still aware of everything going around and yet she was unable to lift a finger. Megapeon looked at her with wide eyes, reaching out to touch her but instead just passed through the girl.
"Chika!" she cried in surprise, backing away as she looked at Crystal in confusion. "Chik, chik?"
This must be how Missingno feels like, Crystal mused to herself, a bit worried, as she remained in place.
And then all turned white.
Two seconds later, she was standing in Pallet Town, once again finding herself in the Teleporter. Multiple players flashed into view beside her, each looking as confused as she was.
"Why I'm I here again?" a spiky-haired boy beside her muttered. "I thought I was in Viridian City."
"What's happening!" someone in the crowd cried out.
"Is the game malfunctioning?" another asked rather loudly.
Murmurs of discomfort arose from the rapidly-growing crowd of people. As more and more players teleported into Pallet Town, the sense of panic started to increase. Crystal herself felt anxious and, as she took a look around, she noticed with a start that no Pokemon were in sight. Grabbing Megapeon's Pokeball, she stared at the red cover in shock as she noticed her Chikorita had been absorbed inside.
The blue-haired girl clicked her Pokeball...but nothing happened. Megapeon reached out to place her legs on the roof, scratching at it desperately, but the Pokemon was unable to do anything. Crystal tried clicking again but the Pokeball didn't open. Seeing her fidget with her Pokeball, many other players followed her lead, but were unable to do a thing to release their starters.
"Come on, don't do this Tepig!" a boy whimpered as he pressed the button on the sphere repeatedly.
"Is this a glitch?" someone within the crowd asked to himself as he poked his Pokeball with a finger.
"I don't think so," the spiky-haired boy next to Crystal growled to himself.
Suddenly, Gold popped up in front of Crystal, and the girl had to jump back to avoid bumping into him. He glanced at her sideways before his namesake eyes lit up. "Oh, hey there, Kris!" he waved to her. "What's happening?"
The girl shrugged. "Everyone's being teleported to Pallet Town, maybe for some sort of special event announcement?"
Spiky-haired boy grunted, his green eyes staring at hers as he caught her attention. "That's not possible," he muttered.
"And what makes you so sure of that?" Gold snapped to the brunette.
He glanced at Gold wearily. "Because I'm a-"
Riiiiiiiinnnnnngggg!
The sound of a bell cut off the brunette boy and gathered the attention of many players. Many wandered out of the gazebo area and into the fresh air of Pallet Town, gazing up at the sky. Crystal followed their line of sight and was startled to see a robed figure much like the one from earlier hanging in the sky.
"Welcome," a deep voice spoke, booming across the town, "to my realm. I am EHacker, a fellow player that may or may not be among you now and thanks to my genius skills, I have twisted this world to fit my needs. This is no longer just a game, my friends, this is a Pokemon Nuzlocke."
Everyone looked up at the cloaked figure in confusion, tilting their head to one side as they looked around for confirmation on what a "Nuzlocke" was.
EHacker chuckled. "For those who don't know, a Nuzlocke is a hard-core way of playing Pokemon. There are just two basic rules for my version of a Nuzlocke, however, that differ slightly from the real one. Rule one is that all Pokemon die upon "fainting". Rule two is that anyone who loses all their Pokemon will become "black-screened", aka dead. And when you die in here, guess what? You die in real life."
He became silent to let all the information sink into their heads, grinning. Screams erupted from all around Crystal as people panicked, and many began to run away from EHacker...only to be teleported back into the town yet again.
"But that's impossible, that can't happen in a game!" Gold shouted to the figure, fists clenched. Sweat was beginning to drip down his face, despite being within a virtual place.
Spiky-haired boy nodded in agreement to Gold's words, looking quite troubled. "How would one be able to kill another in a game and in the real world?"
EHacker chuckled. "Well, you might be surprised, but your headgear will do all the killing. Being the first of its kind, the headgear, if fixed properly, can kill you in certain situations by sending out a shockwave that'll stop your heart. Oh, and none of your family or friends can help you because it'll be impossible to remove your headgear now since it's kind of attached to your heads. You'll thank me later."
Wait, does this mean...!?
"By the way, I forgot to mention but...real-world logic applies here as well. Fall off a tall tower? You're dead. Get hit by a Flamethrower? You suffer burns. Poisonpowder? You're now poisoned. It's as simple as that."
More screams erupted from the crowd and many began to fall to their knees, sobbing loudly as they came to realization at what was happening. Crystal, too, felt wobbly, her eyes burning slightly. They were trapped inside a virtual game and could be killed at any moment. This was not good at all.
"Screw this crap!" a familiar voice shouted and a black-haired kid streaked past Crystal and over to the Teleporter, seeming unaffected by the news. "Has anyone forgotten about the Teleporter yet?"
Murmurs of joy rippled through the crowd as they realized Bronze's words held true. There was still hope for them! They all watched eagerly as Bronze stood in the middle of the Pokeball logo on the floor and opened up his menu for the Log Out button. He stayed looking through the menu for a few seconds before narrowing his eyes. "It's not there," he growled.
"What do you mean it's not there!" Quartz shouted, jumping to his side. She opened her own menu and scanned it with her eyes but held the same disappointed look as Bronze. "You're right, it's not...there."
At this, the many players began to try once again to escape but failed in their mission as they were teleported back to the Teleporter again and again. Crystal watched the robed figure numbly as a grin formed from under the hood.
"Now, now, I should've mentioned this earlier but...there's no way to escape until you beat the Kanto League so I suggest you start right now gathering in groups to train and defeat the many gyms located throughout the game.
"Oh, and I added a twist here, but let it be known that every time it turns to night here, Team Rocket NPC's will wander around to challenge any and all trainers. The only way to get rid of them and stop them from attacking you is to create guilds to protect the towns. I recommend you start on that right away. Buh-bye."
A gust of wind rippled through Pallet Town and the robe figure disappeared in the blink of an eye. Many players fled from the area, leaving only the rational or broken people behind. The spiky-haired brunette on Crystal's side stepped forward and sent out his starter, a Charmander. The fire-type glanced up at its owner before nodding and releasing a rather loud snarl that caught everyone's attention within hearing distance.
"Everyone, stop what you're doing and pay attention to me!"
Heads turned to the stranger as everyone stopped in their attempts to flee. Crystal watched in awe as the stranger walked up the first few steps of the Teleporter, his cold gaze capturing the attention of many.
"Listen to me! My name is Green and I am a fellow moderator of this game!"
Shouts of fury and anger arose from the crowd of players upon hearing the word moderator. It was well-known that moderators would join the game to make sure that it worked properly and to make sure there were no hackers inside. They were responsible for everything that went on within PVR and, for one to tell their status now in front of a terrified and panicked crowd, was a rather risky action for Green to do.
"Fix this then!" a boy from the crowd shouted loudly.
"Yeah, make it so we can logout and get out of this nightmare!" another growled.
"Yes, I am a moderator and no, I don't know how to fix this. But listen, my grandfather is the creator of this game and he'll surely be looking for a solution to this problem once he sees this happening! But, until then, we're all on our own so I recommend that we all start up a guild dedicated to beating this game!" murmurs of hope arose from some players when they heard that Green was the son of Samuel Oak, the creator of PVR.
He continued on. "Everyone who is able to handle grinding their Pokemon and battling for the sake of everyone else here should come to my side now so that we can keep everyone from dying! I want everyone here to be safe but I can't do this on my own. Who is brave enough to join me?"
"We are!" three voices called.
Crystal watched as the crowd of people parted to let a few players through as they walked over to Green's side. A black-haired boy walked over to Green and gave him a thumbs-up sign while the girl known as MissyBlues stood opposite of him, leaning on Green's shoulder with a playful smile on her face. Silver took the spot next to MissBlues, looking rather annoyed as the brunette girl flashed him a grin.
Gold glanced sideways at Crystal. "Hey, are you gonna join them?" he asked her, seeming quite unconcerned with the news EHacker had brought them.
"Me?" she asked, emotion lacking in her voice.
He nodded. "Of course."
"I don't know...I wouldn't be the best at leveling up my Pokemon."
The spiky black-haired boy rolled his eyes. "Oh, come on! You're the legendary Pokemon capturer and you're afraid of leveling up your Pokemon? Man, that's pathetic!"
She puffed out her cheeks at his taunt, falling for it and losing all previous thoughts. "Oh, yeah? Then what do you have to show for, Mister I'm-better-then-you?"
He took out Explotaro's Pokeball and spun it on his finger. "Haven't you figured it out yet?"
Crystal blinked. "Figured out what?"
The boy sighed impatiently. "I'm Gold the Pokemon breeder!"
She tipped her head to one side. "Never heard of you."
"Seriously?" he drew back in surprise, eyes widening. "Aw, that's sad," he clucked his tongue to show his disapproval.
"Oh, shut up!" she snapped, stomping over to where other players had gathered around Green and took her place behind Silver, rolling her eyes when she noticed Gold following her.
Two minutes later, the amount of players stepping up to join Green came to a halt, leaving them at a rough estimate of twenty players. Everyone who had wanted to join them had already, leaving all the confused players to stare absent-mindedly at Green's group. Crystal noticed that those who stayed behind either looked lost, without confidence, frightened, or furious, and that no calm or rational person stayed behind in the crowd.
Gold chuckled loudly and Crystal scowled. Well, we may not have irrational or panicked people but we're unfortunately stuck with him, she stared at the golden-eyed boy, eyes narrowed.
"What?" he asked, noticing her stare. "Can't get enough of me?"
She rolled her light blue eyes and began to pay attention to Green, who was once again speaking out.
"Thank you all for joining me in this complicated mission. I know this is all a shock for everyone to handle at this moment but, for the sakes of everyone else, we must train and try to beat this game. We can't do anything until my grandfather fixes the game, so we might as well try to see this world through. But let me say this now: I do not accept slackers. If you plan to lay around and do nothing, leave now."
He fell silent and stared coldly at all of them, as if he thought his cold gaze would convince everyone of them to give up joining him. However, no one moved. Even the blonde girl who stood on the outskirts of the group refused to move, holding her Pikachu tightly. Crystal stood her ground, holding Megapeon's Pokeball tightly in her hands.
"Good. Now, our first task is to protect the other players and the NPC's of Pallet Town. If EHacker was right, then Team Rocket grunts should start attacking us soon. When that happens, I want all players inside Pallet Town so we can protect everyone from a bitter death. So, until it hits night, I want everyone to pair up and search for any players who have fled from Pallet Town to Route One. Work fast and if you have to then you can use force. Our goal is to protect people however, so don't do anything and I repeat, anything to hurt fellow players. When night begins to fall, come back here as soon as you can so we can stop the grunts from entering. Oh, and it might do some good to grind your Pokemon up in levels. You're all dismissed."
"Yes sir!" MissBlues crowed, giggling loudly as she saluted him. "Come on, Silver, let's ride!"
The brunette released a Squirtle and grabbed the red-haired boy beside her, dragging him over to the entrance of Pallet Town. Others followed her lead, grabbing a partner before running over to Route One to round up any panicked players. Soon, everyone was gone from view, and the only ones left were Green, the black-haired boy, Gold, and Crystal.
Green glanced over to the black-haired boy. "Red, do you want to scout out the town with me for any...surprises?" he asked.
"Sure," the boy named Red nodded and the two turned their backs to Crystal and Gold as they disappeared from view.
That left Gold and Crystal. Looking over to the blue-haired girl, he beamed. "Hey, Kris, wanna be my-"
"No," she said curtly, walking over to Route One.
"Aw, but Green said we have to work in pairs."
"So?"
"That means that we should work together since we're the last ones left. So, shouldn't you team up with me?"
"I reject your offer."
"But, but-"
"No."
Gold sighed and placed his hands behind his head. Pouting the boy began to follow her as she traveled through the grass. Instantly, two level three Natu appeared, cawing loudly as they faded into view. Megapeon popped out of her Pokeball and stood in front of Crystal protectively while a Cyndaquil joined her.
"Why is there a Cyndaquil beside Megapeon?" Crystal asked, half to herself, before she noticed a little text message saying Awesomesauce102 and Kris the Capturer have encountered two Natu.
Looking over to Gold, she was surprised to see him in a battle stance, one leg forward, one back, all while narrowing his eyes. The battle menu popped into view and he hit the Battle option. Selecting a move, he looked over to Crystal. "Gonna help?"
"Fine," she growled, hitting Battle and then choosing the option of Tackle and then picking her opponent of the two birds; the female Natu.
The battle began immediately. Megapeon launched herself forward and slammed into the female Natu, making the bird take a critical hit. Snapping her beak, the Natu shuffled forward while her partner cawed in outrage. Explotaro moved next, performing his own Tackle on the female Natu, successfully knocking her out.
"One down, one to go!" Gold shouted, beaming at Crystal.
She rolled her eyes. "Whatever."
The male Natu used Growl, lowering Megapeon's and Explotaro's attack as they stumbled backwards in shock. Gold did a fist-pump before opening his menu again. He picked Tackle as his move and Crystal followed his choice, picking Tackle as well.
Megapeon moved first again, weakening the enemy into the yellow zone. With a triumphant look on her face, the Chikorita strutted over to stand in front of Crystal, looking at her trainer proudly.
Explotaro launched forward after Megapeon had stopped her attack and rammed into the bird, knocking it out. The bird blinked out of sight.
"Good job buddy," Gold called, picking up the little Pokemon as it squealed in delight.
"You did a great job too," Crystal murmured to her own starter, who beamed in response.
"See, we should work together," Gold said slyly, placing an arm around her.
She pushed it away with a huff. "Come on, we should be scouting for other players, not messing around arguing about partners."
He blinked hopefully. "So, does this mean..."
"Yes. Now hurry up before I regret my desicison-" she hesitated, "-partner."
The boy did another fist-pump and placed Explotaro on his shoulder before he gave her a happy look that reminded Crystal of a puppy. Sighing in an exaggerated manner, the girl continued walking through the grass to look for any wandering players.
It was about eight o'clock when the two gave up their search. Everywhere they went on Route One (which was longer than Crystal expected) was either a dead end or Pokemon infested area. After many desperate battles, and a few levels up on their starters, the two decided to head back since it seemed that everyone was already back in Pallet Town.
Now, jogging back into town, they were met by Green. The boy scowled as he noticed they were without any other players and crossed his arms. "I see you weren't able to find anyone but no matter, I'm sure anyone with senses will be able to survive the night. Moving on, I want you to stay on the frontlines and guard Pallet Town from the Rocket grunts. You're Pokemon are at level nine or higher, right?"
Crystal nodded. "Level nine."
"Level eleven, beat that!" Gold grinned at the spiky-haired brunette.
Green snorted. "Whatever. Hurry up, it's almost night and I don't want any grunts to slip through you two. Replacements will be avaliable later but for now, do your best. Retreat only when your Pokemon are about to die. First heal up your Pokemon by NPC and then stand on the frontlines. Understand?" they nodded. "Good, you're dismissed."
He walked away, leaving them to hurry to the nearest healer NPC so they could get their Pokemon healed. Finding one, an old man, they let the character take their Pokeballs and place them inside a small machine one-by-one before returning them to the original owners.
"I didn't know random NPC's could heal Pokemon," Gold muttered as they walked away and over to Route One.
"I think it's a new function placed inside the game," Crystal replied as she released Megapeon.
Gold yawned loudly. "Well, that's cool."
"Yeah, I guess...hey, Gold?"
"Hmm?"
"What do you do...in real-life?"
The boy turned to her, confusion written on his face before the realization of her question dawned on him. "I go to school, and play Pokemon, of course. Why?"
Crystal looked at her feet. "Just curious."
He yawned again. "Ah, well, my life isn't that entertaining. How's yours?"
"Fine," she said with a shrug of her shoulders. "I go to school, babysit kids, go on capturing quests for people in Pokemon. I usually study and when I have free-time I either read or play Pokemon."
They went into silence as they entered Route One, the moon peeking up over the distant mountains. Darkness had fallen upon the virtual world of PVR and even though it was just a game, it oddly all felt real to Crystal. She could feel the wind on her skin, hear the trees rustling ominously, see the the clouds flying across the sky, and she could sense the presence of many Pokemon that wandered freely on Route One.
Gold stood beside her, no longer grinning as he faced the darkness. His hand brushed hers, and she shivered at the touch of his cold hand. They stayed there in the silence, waiting and waiting. Even the light of the full moon couldn't settle their beating hearts as they watched.
Megapeon sat perched on Crystal's shoulder while Explotaro sat on Gold's, her red eyes gleaming in the darkness. The Chikorita shuddered and snuggled closer to Crystal, trying to gain any shard of warmth she could get. In response, the blue-haired girl stroked it, trying to remain calm.
The sound of footsteps and both girl and boy flinched. A black-clad figure with a bright red R printed on the front appeared, followed by a duplicate, each containing red-and-white Pokeballs in their hands.
"Well, well," one sneered, shocking the duo. "Looks like we got some wimps here. One battle should be enough to take them down. What do ya' say?"
"Agreed," the second one chimed, releasing a Rattata while his companion released a Beedrill. "Let's finish this quickly."
Crystal clenched her hands into fists as Megapeon leaped off her shoulder and into battle mode, crimson eyes regarding her opponent carefully.
Gold gritted his teeth. "Let's do this," he murmured to the blue-haired girl, namesake eyes shining in determination.
"Yeah."
-End of Chapter 1-
Pokemon Virtual Reality MMORPG Manuel Guide:
Welcome and we hope you enjoy you're new copy of Pokemon Virtual Reality or PVR bought either legally or illegally, although we hope it's the former. Anyways, we have written this guide for your convenience during your playthrough of this game. This guide has been written from fellow beta test players and is sure to help you through your playthrough!
Moderators: Moderators are the overseers of the game. They have access to certain privileges that most normal players don't have like cheat codes and can manipulate the game coding to alter the game. Only a few are chosen for this highly-ranked job, either taking up positions as gym-leaders or game supervisors. Well-known examples of moderators are Misty, Green, Brock, etc.
The Teleporter: The Teleported is a gazebo-like building in the middle of Pallet Town that contains a Pokeball symbol in the middle. This's where players can teleport back and forth from the game and real life, although it doesn't seem like it's working right now...
NPC's: Like in the games, there are NPC's in PVR. Although quite annoying, they can help you during your gameplay, giving away free items like Potions, healing up Pokemon, or offering tidbits of advice. They can also battle you too if you look at them, so if you want to avoid a battle avoid eye contact!
Avatars: Unlike most Pokemon games, you are unable to obtain avatars that look like Leaf or Lyra or whatever. Instead, you're shown like your normal self from the real-world. Unfortunately, this brings some problems for people who have, say, a malformed body part. The Pokemon company is working on a way to fix this but so far no solution has been found.
-Author's Note-
So, here we are and let me say...we'll be seeing more of four certain characters later (guess who?), everyone mentioned by name will have a part in this story.
Moving on, as seen above, there will be little guides that help to understand the story better (based upon the manuel mentioned by Crystal). It just tells about basic things and newly put in functions of PVR and helps you guys to understand what the characters are saying half the time ^^
Oh, and review please! It helps to see how others think of my story and what I can improve on.