The Sundering

Rebirth

"He's a good kid, eh?"

A man stood at the top of an outcropping, an odd spike of granite extending over a forest. Behind him, a merciless and unforgiving maw of stone and vines. He was watching in the forest intently, a group of Pokemon and humans playing games below in the trees. To them, there was no sorry, no worries, only their game and their friends. The man, however, knew different. He had been alive for it, he still remembered it. Very few people could remember, either the trauma caused them to repress the memory, or they simply don't remember the very day it happened. Most just remember waking up to the sounds of panic and regret.

"He is very much so. He takes after his father."

The man heard the voice clearly, despite the wind whipping in his ears. A calm shout that would be carried on the wind, a voice that was impossible to achieve.

He knew everything. He knew who the man was, who the child was, what happened on that day, and why people seemed to forget it without reason. He knew the past, present, and future, and saw it coming. He himself died that day. In death, he achieved that which few achieved in life. He became a legend. His name was Ozymandias. Even the mighty find themselves filled with despair when they look upon his works. Yet no one knew this. Even the man before him had no knowledge of who he was or what he had done.

The man turned, facing what had become the Valley of Death. Pallet Town was only a mere memory now, destroyed by the tidal wave, and obliterated by the ensuring lava and earthquake. In it's place, rock from below was sent upward, and the only plants that could grow were vines that once lay at the bottom of the ocean. Pallet Town had just been rebuilt from a fire, it's small buildings replaces with skyscrapers which rivaled Goldenrod in Jhoto.

He designed it, his new hometown. He designed every aspect of it to be perfect. It was to be the future; steel, glass, concrete. It was a testament to the strength of humanity, the perseverance of a man's vision. It was built in record time. Beneath the rock now lays bodies.

"How did you know his father, anyways?" Ozymandias inquired, sitting idly behind the man. Sighing, the man sat down as well, sliding slightly on the stone.

"I've heard things." The man said plainly, shielding his eyes with his hands. The sun was setting, and he could barely make out the shape of the sphere reaching sea-level. The wind let up slightly, a flock of starly taking the opportunity to leave the ground. "Ozymandias was a fool to think the people of Pallet Town would appreciate what they almost had." Ozymandias merely smiled.

"You only heard things about him as well, I take it? Or saw him on the news?" The man nodded in reply.

"Yes, I don't believe many people knew him well."

"I did, Peter. He created not for those other people, but for himself. He wished it to be made, only because he wanted a memory of his personality to be left behind when he left us. He was unrelenting and unchanging, and he believed that his buildings would be the same." The man looked back, eying the spirit as it began to disappear.

"You've leaving?"

"Yes, Peter, I'm needed elsewhere." With that final word, the image of Ozymandias faded. Standing up, Peter slid down part of the rock, stopping at a small ledge that crossed over a gap in the granite. Though he had been there many times, he needed always be wary, for the path changed daily as rain and wind ate away at the rock nature itself had created. His walk back was long and strenuous, marked by frequent gusts of wind and the sunlight fading into night. By the time he returned to his home, he was ready to collapse, in complete ignorance of what the next day would hold for him.

He awoke to the bell that morning as he did every morning. No matter how much longer he wished to sleep, how tired he felt, he did so. The bell controlled the lives of everyone in that town, cut out of Viridian Forest. Some people viewed it as ironic at the time, that a person would destroy nature after it had just destroyed them. Not many people were happy with it, but they needed to do so to survive. The land there was stable, but the clear areas were not enough to provide living space for the refugees from the surrounding areas. The lack of reliable power made the bell, a standardized way for time to be announced to all, a requirement.

His morning routine ended in his prayers to Kyogre. He was by no means religious, but it gave him the hope to last another day. No one else knew, but prayers to some legendary seemed to be an unofficial religion amongst those in the area. Today was the only day in which people were open about their ideas. Today was the fifth anniversary of The Sundering. It was a time of mourning, a time of reflection. And it was the day in which young trainers were able to decide if they wished to see the world.

Peter knew that the child he and Ozymandias were observing would be leaving today. Despite the relative safety of traveling to the next nearest settlement, it was best to have a guide going anywhere past that. As the next town over had no adults with the experience to guide a child of fifteen, Peter stepped forward to do so. While he was gone, he was given another task to do by the mayor. He was to deliver the schematics of a device that was to be built at the old power plant in the very north-east of what the continent once was. He knew what the device was, what it was meant to do, something only the Devon Corp. engineer also did. The only hint as to what it might be was a label on the manila folder. Rebirth. A cryptic name meant to fool anyone who obtained it through shadowy means.

Peter gathered the supplies which he believed he would need. As the next settlement was roughly a week by foot, he was prepared for several. No one could know exactly what awaited them outside, nor would they be able to guarantee their time of arrival. Vermilion city had shifted closer, but the route was rough and dangerous, even to him. Although water was a means of travel, he ruled it out; a trainer such as Adam wouldn't enjoy it. Heading out into the town square, he looked up at the sun and smiled.

"Rebirth shall come to you. Rebirth shall come for all."

Adam awoke that morning from a terrible dream. He dreamt of a hooded man, standing silent before a crowd of trainers and their pokemon, merely watching them. He dreamt of destruction, the death of thousands, and his own demise. He knew it was just a dream, but it seemed to vivid to be anything less than reality. He thought himself crazy.

He was to leave today, to join other trainers in that brave new world out there. Joining him would be a man named Peter, a man with a reputation that far exceeded his name. "Rock" or "Stone" described only his personality; he never backed down, even in the face of his own death. On the other hand, it gave him the characteristics of being plain, and ordinary, something for which he had never been known. Adam anticipated a wild adventure, never stopping until the destination was reached.

He left his house carrying a pack of supplies, as well as six pokeballs. Though the pokedex system had collapsed, six was the traditional number; only criminals chose to carry more. His lone pokemon, a rhyhorn, was strong enough compared to the others in the town, but would likely be evenly matched against anything outside. They would be passing through a large amount of territory claimed by wild pokemon, and his alone would be worthless. No one knew exactly which pokemon Peter used, but it was rumored that he carried powerful ones, capable of fighting off packs of the wild ones alone.

Adam stepped into the sun in the town square, finding Peter leaning against a statue of a lone trainer looking towards the sky with a pikachu on his shoulder. It was rumoured that he was the champion now, but he had long since disappeared. The statue, although in the forest several years before The Sundering, was damaged by it, and now only known as "The Statue of the Unknown Trainer". Every trainer paid homage to it before they left, and Adam was no different.

Adam and Peter exchanged silent greetings, turning towards the wall at the end of town. As they walked in silence, Adam believed he saw the image of a man watching him from behind. A turn of the head revealed only the sunlight and mist. Peter nodded at the man controlling the gate, an indication to raise it. He stopped.

"Adam, are you sure you're ready for this?" Adam, struck speechless by the doubt of his abilities, merely nodded. Peter gave him a faint smile.

"Once we step out of this gate, there is no coming back until you've achieved your goals, whatever those may be." Adam smiled in return, thinking to himself.

Now we set foot into this unforgiving new world. Arceus watch over us.