p style="text-align: left;"Hey, everyone! This is the first time I'm putting one of my stories out that I've written over the years. This story is based off of the Pokémon series all the way up to the Diamond and Pearl season, with all of the main characters, including two or three from Pokémon Chronicles, and I'll be throwing in some characters of my own design along the way. I can not and do not take credit for any of the original characters or anything Pokémon-related. All the rights and credit go to the creators and Nintendo. Just as a warning, I'm really into Advance shipping, so I apologize in advance if I offend anybody. Also, I'm willing to accept or take criticism, so if you have ideas or ways you think that the story can be improved, run them by me and I'll see what I can do./p
p style="text-align: left;" /p
p style="text-align: left;"The story takes place in a world where the four regions are under the rule of a single, oppressive government known simply as the Empire. In this world, there are humans who have the same powers and abilities that Pokémon have; the only difference is that these humans have to channel their powers through weapons. They are divided into two groups, and they are known as the Poke Guardians and the Knights of the New Age. The Knights are the mainly responsible for running the Empire and its military. They have waged a relentless and merciless war against the Guardians and their rebel allies, slaughtering, scattering and isolating them at every turn, forcing the two latter groups into hiding. Hope and happiness are scarce, while fear and despair are plentiful commodities. Most people believe that the Guardians and the Resistance are all but finished. Their world is a cruel and horrific nightmare that seems impossible to wake up from./p
p style="text-align: left;" /p
p style="text-align: left;"My story begins with the main character, Ash Ketchum, stumbling through the dark streets of Petal burg City, grievously wounded, with nothing but a sheathed sword and his torn and tattered clothing. He has no idea how he received these wounds; in fact, he can't remember anything except his name. Ash also has no clue that he is about to have a chance encounter that will forever change his the lives of those around him. This is the first chapter of that story, a blend of violent warfare, romance and love, and an unexpected chance at redemption. To those who are reading this and those who may or will read this, I hope you enjoy this and find some sort of connection with one, any, or all of the characters in this, because the point I'm trying to make is no one is beyond redemption./p
p style="text-align: left;" /p
p style="text-align: left;"strongChapter 1/strong/p
p style="text-align: left;" /p
p style="text-align: left;"The darkness of night had fallen over Petal burg City, with the only illumination being the streetlights lined along the sidewalks of the city's streets. The city streets were all but deserted, save for one unnoticed stranger stumbling through the shadows of night. This stranger, known only as Ash Ketchum, leaned his back against a lamppost, his breaths coming out in ragged gasps, his strength all but gone, his life's blood pouring out of multiple gashes on his body and a sheathed, single-edged sword in his right hand. He had absolutely no idea how he had received these wounds; in fact, he couldn't remember anything except for his name. The only thing he was absolutely sure of was that if he didn't find help, shelter, or both, he wouldn't survive the night./p
p style="text-align: left;" /p
p style="text-align: left;"Just as Ash was about to give up hope, he saw a little white two-story house just across the street...and the light was on. That meant only one thing: Someone was home. As he steadied himself as best as he could, Ash willed himself forward, using the sword as a makeshift cane. The only thought on Ash's mind as he limped across the street was emPlease, please let someone open the door./em/p
p style="text-align: left;" /p
p style="text-align: left;""Look, I think that leaving Petal burg City is not the best idea," Jimmy Anderson said evenly, "If we were to move, the best plan would be to just move to a different part of town."/p
p style="text-align: left;" /p
p style="text-align: left;"May Maple had been dreading this conversation for hours; she and the little group that she was a part of had had this conversation before, but this time there was sense of fear and urgency that had not been there before. Their most recent raid on an Imperial convoy had gone awry, and many of their friends in the local Resistance cell had died or had been taken prisoner when the Knights had ambushed. May, her friends, and their master had barely escaped with their lives. Now many of them thought that the best thing to do was cut their losses and leave the city./p
p style="text-align: left;" /p
p style="text-align: left;"Paul Richardson, the group's unofficial strategist and tactician, was the strongest advocate of this plan. "If that's your plan, then where in Petal burg would we go?" the purple-haired young man asked, "The Imperials are combing the city block by block, arresting and detaining anyone they think is with the Resistance. It doesn't really matter where we go in Petal burg, even in the slums; sooner or later they'd find us and take us too. We're lucky they didn't catch us during the raid, but I don't think-"/p
p style="text-align: left;" /p
p style="text-align: left;""But they didn't catch us," Misty Clearwater, the tall, orange-haired sitting on the couch, interrupted, "If we just move into one of the abandoned parts of the city, it'll be next to impossible for them to find us."/p
p style="text-align: left;" /p
p style="text-align: left;""That's not the point, and you know it," Paul snapped, "They've demolished most of the abandoned buildings, and those that are left stick out like a sore thumb. That'll make finding us that much easier."/p
p style="text-align: left;" /p
p style="text-align: left;""Then we can hide in the sewers," Barry Gordon, the blonde leaning against the wall, piped up, "They can't exactly blow them apart, not without bringing down the entire city. On top of that, it's impossible to track anyone down there, considering that Petal burg is home to 9 million people, that makes for a complex sewer system."/p
p style="text-align: left;" /p
p style="text-align: left;""You're forgetting that in a sewer, all sorts of crap gets dumped down into it. Even if we did lose them, we'd eventually be too sick to run, let alone fight, and I doubt Brock could take care of all of us considering how short on medical supplies he is. Brock, how much do you have left?"/p
p style="text-align: left;" /p
p style="text-align: left;"Brock Johnson, the brown-skinned man leaning against the wooden railing that lead upstairs, replied with a dejected sigh, "I only have enough to keep half of you in fighting condition for three days, after that I can't make any promises."/p
p style="text-align: left;" /p
p style="text-align: left;""So the only thing you can think to do right now is to shoot down our ideas?" Jimmy retorted, his voice rising./p
p style="text-align: left;" /p
p style="text-align: left;""No, I'm trying to tell what options we have available to us, that's all," Paul shot back, his voice rising as well, "Either we leave and live to fight another day, or we stay here and do nothing until the Imperials come busting in through the door and kill us, or worse, haul us off to the prison camps. However, all of you seem hell-bent on ideas that'll more than likely get us killed-"/p
p style="text-align: left;" /p
p style="text-align: left;""All of you, that's enough," Lance Dragoon, their master said loud enough to be heard over the arguing./p
p style="text-align: left;" /p
p style="text-align: left;"Everyone, even Paul, slid into tight-lipped silence. May just didn't understand it; in a fight these guys were rock-solid, but when it came to conversations, somebody would say one wrong word and they would be ready to start World War Three. This was the second and biggest practical reason why she hated having these conversations./p
p style="text-align: left;" /p
p style="text-align: left;"Thankfully, she wasn't the only one thought along those same lines. "Guys, this isn't helping anything at all," Mirian Robins said, looking as worried as May felt./p
p style="text-align: left;" /p
p style="text-align: left;""I'm with Mirian on this one," Gary Oak, the group's tech genius and master hacker, agreed, "What I think we should is hear out where each one of us has to say before coming to a decision."/p
p style="text-align: left;" /p
p style="text-align: left;"Inwardly, May breathed a sigh of relief; besides his technological and virtual savvy, Gary was seen as the voice of reason, able to cool everyone's temper so that they could come to a reasonable decision. Unfortunately for May, that met only one thing.../p
p style="text-align: left;" /p
p style="text-align: left;""I agree with Gary," Dawn Wright, May's best friend, said, "May, you haven't said anything yet. What do you think we should do?"/p
p style="text-align: left;" /p
p style="text-align: left;"This was the third reason May didn't like these conversations, but this reason was more personal. After Gary had reigned in everyone's tempers, May had to be the one to help look for a compromise. This time, however, May didn't think there was a compromise this time. She had a bad feeling Paul was right; it was either one or the other. She knew that leaving was the most logical choice, but there was no way she was going to leave her parents and her little brother behind to face the Empire's might on their own./p
p style="text-align: left;" /p
p style="text-align: left;"Then there was a loud, banging knock at the front door, and everyone was on their feet in an instant; everyone except Master Lance, who calmly remained seated. May instinctively reached for the twin tomahawks clipped to the belt around her waist. Unfortunately, she and Jimmy were the only ones that had their weapons immediately on hand, as she saw him raising his bow, aiming it towards the door. "May, Jimmy, can you hold them off so we can grab our weapons and then try and make it out the back door?" Paul asked, his voice barely above a whisper./p
p style="text-align: left;" /p
p style="text-align: left;""Paul, I don't think that will be necessary," Lance said, a small smile on his face, finally rising from the chair, "May, why don't you bring in our unexpected guest?"/p
p style="text-align: left;" /p
p style="text-align: left;"Everyone, May especially, looked at him like he had gone insane. Despite her best judgment, she went anyway. For one, it got her out of the awkward position she had been in only a moment before. Second, she didn't feel any hatred, anticipation, or gleeful malice; in fact, she only felt desperation coming from the other side of the door. Placing her hand on the door handle, May hesitated for one brief moment; then, she turned the handle and opened the door./p
p style="text-align: left;" /p
p style="text-align: left;"May all but knew that there wasn't an Imperial soldier waiting when she opened the door, but what she saw didn't shock her any less. She saw a boy with raven-black hair, not much older than she was, his clothing in shreds, crimson blood pouring from multiple gashes on his body with a sheathed sword in his right hand. May had seen many battles and firefights; she had seen dead comrades with wounds similar to this. However, she had never seen one alive, much less standing. Even still, he was visibly shaking from the effort of just trying to stand on his feet, and his breaths were coming out in ragged gasps./p
p style="text-align: left;" /p
p style="text-align: left;"When May looked into his brown eyes, she didn't the terror she saw when a person was about to die; surprisingly she saw hope. Even more shocking was the fact that he had a smile on his face. "Thank...Thank you..." he managed to gasp./p
p style="text-align: left;" /p
p style="text-align: left;"With that, the boy's strength left him, the sword slipped from his hand, his eyes closed and he fell forward. Luckily for him May was there to catch him, the blood instantly soaking through her shirt. "Brock! I need help!" she shouted, the full weight of the boy's body pressing against her./p
p style="text-align: left;" /p
p style="text-align: left;"Brock was there in a heartbeat, snatching him from her arms. "Barry, give me a hand," Brock called in the direction of the living room./p
p style="text-align: left;" /p
p style="text-align: left;"As May watched Barry rush in to help Brock carry the unconscious boy's body up the stairs, the only thought running through her mind was emWhat happened to this guy?/em/p
p style="text-align: left;" /p
p style="text-align: left;" /p
p style="text-align: left;" /p
p style="text-align: left;" /p
p style="text-align: left;" /p
p style="text-align: left;"The story takes place in a world where the four regions are under the rule of a single, oppressive government known simply as the Empire. In this world, there are humans who have the same powers and abilities that Pokémon have; the only difference is that these humans have to channel their powers through weapons. They are divided into two groups, and they are known as the Poke Guardians and the Knights of the New Age. The Knights are the mainly responsible for running the Empire and its military. They have waged a relentless and merciless war against the Guardians and their rebel allies, slaughtering, scattering and isolating them at every turn, forcing the two latter groups into hiding. Hope and happiness are scarce, while fear and despair are plentiful commodities. Most people believe that the Guardians and the Resistance are all but finished. Their world is a cruel and horrific nightmare that seems impossible to wake up from./p
p style="text-align: left;" /p
p style="text-align: left;"My story begins with the main character, Ash Ketchum, stumbling through the dark streets of Petal burg City, grievously wounded, with nothing but a sheathed sword and his torn and tattered clothing. He has no idea how he received these wounds; in fact, he can't remember anything except his name. Ash also has no clue that he is about to have a chance encounter that will forever change his the lives of those around him. This is the first chapter of that story, a blend of violent warfare, romance and love, and an unexpected chance at redemption. To those who are reading this and those who may or will read this, I hope you enjoy this and find some sort of connection with one, any, or all of the characters in this, because the point I'm trying to make is no one is beyond redemption./p
p style="text-align: left;" /p
p style="text-align: left;"strongChapter 1/strong/p
p style="text-align: left;" /p
p style="text-align: left;"The darkness of night had fallen over Petal burg City, with the only illumination being the streetlights lined along the sidewalks of the city's streets. The city streets were all but deserted, save for one unnoticed stranger stumbling through the shadows of night. This stranger, known only as Ash Ketchum, leaned his back against a lamppost, his breaths coming out in ragged gasps, his strength all but gone, his life's blood pouring out of multiple gashes on his body and a sheathed, single-edged sword in his right hand. He had absolutely no idea how he had received these wounds; in fact, he couldn't remember anything except for his name. The only thing he was absolutely sure of was that if he didn't find help, shelter, or both, he wouldn't survive the night./p
p style="text-align: left;" /p
p style="text-align: left;"Just as Ash was about to give up hope, he saw a little white two-story house just across the street...and the light was on. That meant only one thing: Someone was home. As he steadied himself as best as he could, Ash willed himself forward, using the sword as a makeshift cane. The only thought on Ash's mind as he limped across the street was emPlease, please let someone open the door./em/p
p style="text-align: left;" /p
p style="text-align: left;""Look, I think that leaving Petal burg City is not the best idea," Jimmy Anderson said evenly, "If we were to move, the best plan would be to just move to a different part of town."/p
p style="text-align: left;" /p
p style="text-align: left;"May Maple had been dreading this conversation for hours; she and the little group that she was a part of had had this conversation before, but this time there was sense of fear and urgency that had not been there before. Their most recent raid on an Imperial convoy had gone awry, and many of their friends in the local Resistance cell had died or had been taken prisoner when the Knights had ambushed. May, her friends, and their master had barely escaped with their lives. Now many of them thought that the best thing to do was cut their losses and leave the city./p
p style="text-align: left;" /p
p style="text-align: left;"Paul Richardson, the group's unofficial strategist and tactician, was the strongest advocate of this plan. "If that's your plan, then where in Petal burg would we go?" the purple-haired young man asked, "The Imperials are combing the city block by block, arresting and detaining anyone they think is with the Resistance. It doesn't really matter where we go in Petal burg, even in the slums; sooner or later they'd find us and take us too. We're lucky they didn't catch us during the raid, but I don't think-"/p
p style="text-align: left;" /p
p style="text-align: left;""But they didn't catch us," Misty Clearwater, the tall, orange-haired sitting on the couch, interrupted, "If we just move into one of the abandoned parts of the city, it'll be next to impossible for them to find us."/p
p style="text-align: left;" /p
p style="text-align: left;""That's not the point, and you know it," Paul snapped, "They've demolished most of the abandoned buildings, and those that are left stick out like a sore thumb. That'll make finding us that much easier."/p
p style="text-align: left;" /p
p style="text-align: left;""Then we can hide in the sewers," Barry Gordon, the blonde leaning against the wall, piped up, "They can't exactly blow them apart, not without bringing down the entire city. On top of that, it's impossible to track anyone down there, considering that Petal burg is home to 9 million people, that makes for a complex sewer system."/p
p style="text-align: left;" /p
p style="text-align: left;""You're forgetting that in a sewer, all sorts of crap gets dumped down into it. Even if we did lose them, we'd eventually be too sick to run, let alone fight, and I doubt Brock could take care of all of us considering how short on medical supplies he is. Brock, how much do you have left?"/p
p style="text-align: left;" /p
p style="text-align: left;"Brock Johnson, the brown-skinned man leaning against the wooden railing that lead upstairs, replied with a dejected sigh, "I only have enough to keep half of you in fighting condition for three days, after that I can't make any promises."/p
p style="text-align: left;" /p
p style="text-align: left;""So the only thing you can think to do right now is to shoot down our ideas?" Jimmy retorted, his voice rising./p
p style="text-align: left;" /p
p style="text-align: left;""No, I'm trying to tell what options we have available to us, that's all," Paul shot back, his voice rising as well, "Either we leave and live to fight another day, or we stay here and do nothing until the Imperials come busting in through the door and kill us, or worse, haul us off to the prison camps. However, all of you seem hell-bent on ideas that'll more than likely get us killed-"/p
p style="text-align: left;" /p
p style="text-align: left;""All of you, that's enough," Lance Dragoon, their master said loud enough to be heard over the arguing./p
p style="text-align: left;" /p
p style="text-align: left;"Everyone, even Paul, slid into tight-lipped silence. May just didn't understand it; in a fight these guys were rock-solid, but when it came to conversations, somebody would say one wrong word and they would be ready to start World War Three. This was the second and biggest practical reason why she hated having these conversations./p
p style="text-align: left;" /p
p style="text-align: left;"Thankfully, she wasn't the only one thought along those same lines. "Guys, this isn't helping anything at all," Mirian Robins said, looking as worried as May felt./p
p style="text-align: left;" /p
p style="text-align: left;""I'm with Mirian on this one," Gary Oak, the group's tech genius and master hacker, agreed, "What I think we should is hear out where each one of us has to say before coming to a decision."/p
p style="text-align: left;" /p
p style="text-align: left;"Inwardly, May breathed a sigh of relief; besides his technological and virtual savvy, Gary was seen as the voice of reason, able to cool everyone's temper so that they could come to a reasonable decision. Unfortunately for May, that met only one thing.../p
p style="text-align: left;" /p
p style="text-align: left;""I agree with Gary," Dawn Wright, May's best friend, said, "May, you haven't said anything yet. What do you think we should do?"/p
p style="text-align: left;" /p
p style="text-align: left;"This was the third reason May didn't like these conversations, but this reason was more personal. After Gary had reigned in everyone's tempers, May had to be the one to help look for a compromise. This time, however, May didn't think there was a compromise this time. She had a bad feeling Paul was right; it was either one or the other. She knew that leaving was the most logical choice, but there was no way she was going to leave her parents and her little brother behind to face the Empire's might on their own./p
p style="text-align: left;" /p
p style="text-align: left;"Then there was a loud, banging knock at the front door, and everyone was on their feet in an instant; everyone except Master Lance, who calmly remained seated. May instinctively reached for the twin tomahawks clipped to the belt around her waist. Unfortunately, she and Jimmy were the only ones that had their weapons immediately on hand, as she saw him raising his bow, aiming it towards the door. "May, Jimmy, can you hold them off so we can grab our weapons and then try and make it out the back door?" Paul asked, his voice barely above a whisper./p
p style="text-align: left;" /p
p style="text-align: left;""Paul, I don't think that will be necessary," Lance said, a small smile on his face, finally rising from the chair, "May, why don't you bring in our unexpected guest?"/p
p style="text-align: left;" /p
p style="text-align: left;"Everyone, May especially, looked at him like he had gone insane. Despite her best judgment, she went anyway. For one, it got her out of the awkward position she had been in only a moment before. Second, she didn't feel any hatred, anticipation, or gleeful malice; in fact, she only felt desperation coming from the other side of the door. Placing her hand on the door handle, May hesitated for one brief moment; then, she turned the handle and opened the door./p
p style="text-align: left;" /p
p style="text-align: left;"May all but knew that there wasn't an Imperial soldier waiting when she opened the door, but what she saw didn't shock her any less. She saw a boy with raven-black hair, not much older than she was, his clothing in shreds, crimson blood pouring from multiple gashes on his body with a sheathed sword in his right hand. May had seen many battles and firefights; she had seen dead comrades with wounds similar to this. However, she had never seen one alive, much less standing. Even still, he was visibly shaking from the effort of just trying to stand on his feet, and his breaths were coming out in ragged gasps./p
p style="text-align: left;" /p
p style="text-align: left;"When May looked into his brown eyes, she didn't the terror she saw when a person was about to die; surprisingly she saw hope. Even more shocking was the fact that he had a smile on his face. "Thank...Thank you..." he managed to gasp./p
p style="text-align: left;" /p
p style="text-align: left;"With that, the boy's strength left him, the sword slipped from his hand, his eyes closed and he fell forward. Luckily for him May was there to catch him, the blood instantly soaking through her shirt. "Brock! I need help!" she shouted, the full weight of the boy's body pressing against her./p
p style="text-align: left;" /p
p style="text-align: left;"Brock was there in a heartbeat, snatching him from her arms. "Barry, give me a hand," Brock called in the direction of the living room./p
p style="text-align: left;" /p
p style="text-align: left;"As May watched Barry rush in to help Brock carry the unconscious boy's body up the stairs, the only thought running through her mind was emWhat happened to this guy?/em/p
p style="text-align: left;" /p
p style="text-align: left;" /p
p style="text-align: left;" /p
p style="text-align: left;" /p