Disclaimer: I don't own anything, not even the letters that form these words.
XX
It was always the same dream.
Night after night, he heard the same words and saw the same images.
A memory—where Jacen was face to face with the person who had wanted them both to become trainers. A figure whose voice he remembers clearly even if he couldn't picture her features. He has the dream so often and thinks about it so frequently that he has it memorized. A memory that is never once deviated from.
"One day, we're going to become trainers!"
"Really? Do you think we can?"
"I don't see why not."
Everything seems so clear in the dream—Jacen is six years old, same as who he's speaking with. They're both huddled tightly beneath a blanket with a flashlight, careful to not be seen by their parents. A map lies beneath them, torn and frayed with things of all kinds written in marker in various places.
The scribbles that served as their plans blueprint.
"Promise me, Jacen—we'll both be trainers. The best ones to ever live!"
The image that stands out most in these dreams—that demands his attention.
Is a single finger held out to him, a pinky offered as a grand gesture.
Jacen, riddled with nerves at the idea usually was always swayed by their words, their actions. They had a way of speaking that called out to him and made him listen seriously to their ideas.
A compulsion to go against his reservations—each and every time.
He entwined his pinky with theirs as if it would entwined their fates.
"I promise."
XX
"You see anything, Oshawott?"
Jacen used his hand as a visor against the harsh sunlight, the dirt road he walked from Aspertia absent of pokemon. Oshawott shook its head as the two came to a stop beneath a cliff, a defeated look on its face. Arms crossed in thought, Jacen scanned the area for pokemon to add to his team which at the moment consisted solely of Oshawott.
"I don't see a single one. Professor Juniper made it seem like they'll just jump out at you every few steps," he said, turning his attention to the cliff above him. A vague form catching his eye near the edge. "But I'd have better luck having the champion himself fall from the—"
The form suddenly jumped!
Jacen watching as it landed on the ground before them, his words all but forgotten. A thick cloud of dirt enveloped the area in front of him as he fell back to the ground, Oshawott clutched tightly to the leg of his black jeans. A human figure visible in the rapidly settling cloud, well-built and tall with an odd head of fiery hair. The word on the tip of Jacen's tongue slipping out in his astonishment, his mouth agape at the man's appearance.
"—sky."
"Sorry, friend," he declared.
His voice confident and full of power. An inspiring voice that suited the Champion of Unova.
Offering his hand, he basically pulled Jacen to his feet with ease. "You'll have to forgive me, I didn't see you until after I jumped. Not the recommended way down, but I don't exactly have time to climb down the same way I had gone up."
His words were lost on the boy who merely stammered while staring at him. "C-ch-champion Alder?! What? How? Where'd you come from?!"
Unable to process the barrage of questions, Alder could only offer a smile. Jacen staring at his hands as if they held some magical power before thrusting them into the sky, yelling the names of every legendary pokemon he knew. Verbalizing his desire to see each of them fall from the sky before him, each of the fifteen names he knew.
"That's an impressive amount of knowledge about the pokemon of legend from one so young," Alder noted, his face filled with amusement at his antics. "You're an interesting one, I quite like you."
Jacen hadn't even registered his compliment, too distracted by his hands. He stared at them with disappointment and their apparent lack of power. Muttering under his breath, "I should've asked for that one first."
"You say something?"
"Oh, uh, nothing, sir."
"That so," Alder said, clapping Jacen on the back with enough force to nearly knock him over. The Unova Champion kneeling close to Oshawott, examining the water-type as it waved its stubby arms at him angrily. "You've got quite an interesting pokemon, too. I quite like him, though he doesn't seem to think too much of me."
"Umm, I don't want to sound rude, sir. But. . . Where did you-wait, you jumped! Why!?"
"I was admiring the view up on the cliff when I remembered..." Alder trailed, his face contorting to being reminiscent of a wince. Driving his palm into his forehead he looked to the cliff he had jumped off, none of them able to see the top. "Oh, wow that's pretty high up there-Ugh, I'm becoming distracted again! I've got to go!"
The Unova Champion disappeared down the path towards Floccesy Town with speed Jacen could never hope to match, leaving him and his pokemon confused on the encounter. The two exchanging a look of confusion before shrugging, Jacen breaking out into a smile. "Least we got to meet the champion! The best trainer in the region, man. What a weird guy though, wasn't he?"
Just as suddenly as he had vanished down the road, he reappeared.
"Whoa, he's coming back. Wonder why."
Alder stopped in front of Jacen, grabbing his wrist without a word before rushing back down the path. Jacen barely able to keep up even as his legs were forced to follow, the muscles in his legs burning as they moved faster than normally possible for him. Oshawott gripped tightly to his pant leg, flowing off his leg similarly to how Alder's white cloak fluttered in the wind behind him, the six pokeballs flung around his neck bouncing uncontrollably with each step they took.
Jacen had no idea where he was being led, but wherever the Champion was going, he was willing to follow.
XX
Chapter Four:
History
XX
Jacen was exhausted as Alder led him full sprint into Floccesy Town. Thankful for the break, he collapsed to his hands and knees upon the concrete gasping for air as the people around him looked on with concern or to Alder with admiration. Oshawott let go of his pants to try to console him, but Jacen could not tell which one of the many Oshawotts that surrounded him were the real one.
"Nothing like a good run wouldn't you say?" Alder asked obliviously.
"For. . . You. . . Maybe. . ." Jacen gasped, struggling to his feet. "My chest is on fire. . . And I don't think I can feel my legs."
"Weakness leaving the body," he dismissed. "Rest up, we've got farther to go still. So, if you need to use the local pokemon center, I would suggest doing so now. You'll be battling where we're going."
Jacen looked past Alder towards the Pokemon Center in the distance as a girl was walking out of it. She had a tepig by her side that Jacen felt he had seen before, but they were both too far away for him to tell for sure. Tepig, being the fire-type starter for the region of Unova, the opposite of his own starter. It had the same potential to grow that his own pokemon had, a powerful creature that could reach a third-stage evolution like what was common to see at tournaments.
The memory of him getting Oshawott on the forefront of his mind. A girl a little shorter than him had arrived that day to claim a starter as well, a hat covering her eyes from view the entire time. Jacen remembering that despite the cold air around here, she was beyond captivating.
He was brought out of his memory by Alder.
"You ready to go?"
Jacen gazed at Oshawott proudly. It was only with him a short time, he was an inexperienced trainer, yet it appeared to be loyal to him enough to show concern already. They were a new team, but they both had the potential to grow. Potential that if he were to accompany Alder and learn what he could from him, he would be certain to reach. He needed to become a great trainer.
Smiling with renewed energy and conviction. "Yeah, I'm ready."
"Good, you've gotten fired up!" Alder exclaimed before sprinting through town, Jacen on his heels. Oshawott gazing towards the Pokemon Center where the trainer with Tepig disappeared before following behind the two excited trainers. "We're not far now!"
XX
"We've arrived!"
What Jacen was presented with was far from his expectation. Instead of a large mansion befitting the level of famous being the greatest trainer, Alder offered Jacen the sight of a lone, unassuming house on the other side of Floccesy Town. The house was simple and worn down having withstood the ravages of time for years but remained standing strong just outside Floccesy, the dirt path to Virbank City passing right by it.
Though, what did match Jacen's expectation was the regulation battlefield in the front yard.
"You're the Champion, yet you live in the smallest house?" Jacen frowned.
"I have no need of some fancy building or trinkets like that," he answered, walking to the front door. "I've walked this region several times over, and each time I find out something new about the world. I find too many people that have it much worse. I shouldn't live in a nice house when the region is kept alive on their struggles, when my status even holds meaning because of their support and sacrifice."
Alder opened the door and came face to face with angry red eyes.
"Watch out!"
"Whoa," Alder said, noticing the figure standing just beyond the door. A surprised look on his face that contorted quickly into an apologetic look, the line of his lips forming a sheepish smile. The figure stepping forward, allowing Jacen to see that his hair was similar to Alders, both with thick manes of fiery hair that reached towards the middle of their backs. However, unlike Alder who was tall and bulky, this person was thin and a little shorter than even Jacen.
"Oh, Benga. . ."
"If you had a larger house, you'd have an easier time finding it, Grandfather!"
The boy, Benga, who Jacen assumed was close to his age, folded his arms in protest. Jacen appearing unhappy with the size of his own arms as the muscles bulged in Benga's from the action, as if he had two tanned boulders attached to his bones. The stern expression on his face pierced through his grandfather as if he could see through his mind and sift through his thoughts. "Drifted into a nice nap? Got lost? Found a rare pokemon?"
"Wish I had found a rare pokemon," Jacen grumbled.
"Where have you been, Grandfather? I don't want another lame excuse—you were supposed to train with me today!"
"I know and I'm sor—"
"All you do is show up late and make excuses!" Benga exclaimed, each anger infused step Alder had taken backward was one that Benga took forward until Alder was driven back to Jacen's side. "Not the conduct of a Champion!"
That's when Benga's anger moved to Jacen, who felt himself shrink beneath his gaze.
"And who're you?!"
"What? Me?"
Alder began to laugh warmly, clapping Jacen on the shoulder as he explained. "This here is your sparring partner for the day!"
The two boy's surprised reactions were in sync. Their reactions that followed were what differed, Jacen immediately growing nervous as he stepped backward shaking his head while Benga sized him up. The dissatisfaction in his eyes was unmistakable as he gauged the power of Oshawott, showcasing the three pokeballs attached to the necklace he wore like his grandfather.
"I see only a single pokemon in its weakest form whereas I have three times that amount. All I reason as being much stronger," Benga complained. Jacen grumbling about it not being his first choice either as Benga approached Alder. "What would beating him prove? Just how much do you underestimate me, your own grandson!"
Alder's expression hardened. "It's because you're my grandson that you should know to not underestimate him. Amount of pokemon or length of training doesn't equate to a fixed strength."
"So you've said," Benga huffed taking a position at one end of the battlefield. "Let's just get this over with so I can get to my real training."
Jacen's nerves were at their peak. They expected him to wage his first battle as a trainer against someone so obviously experienced under the watchful eye of the Champion. This was something that would drive the nerves of even the most experienced trainers wild!
Sensing Jacen's growing unease, Alder put a reassuring hand on his shoulder. "You'll be fine."
"Wish I knew what made you think so."
Alder put a hand to his chin in thought, smiling as he flashed a thumbs up. "My gut!"
"Oh, is that all?" Jacen smiled weakly as he walked towards his position on the battlefield. His heart was racing, his legs were shaking to the point he wondered if perhaps it were the earth itself that shook, and throughout it all the loyal pokemon he called his partner waited for him from its spot on the battlefield with determination in its eyes. "I feel like I might die. . ."
"I figure a battle is still a battle. Even if I don't learn much from it," Benga said, addressing Jacen directly for the first time with a pokeball already in hand. Throwing it into the air, he released his pokemon in a blinding white light that Jacen was slowly acclimating to, a small, but powerful purple scaled pokemon all that was left as the ball returned to his hand. "Rise and shine, Draco."
Jacen was aware that it was a gible, a dragon and ground type. Oshawott held the advantage as far as typing but it didn't make him feel any better for his odds.
Alder was smiling as he watched the two pokemon engage each other. "Now, let's see the strength of your spirits!"
XX
Adrien found himself wandering, lost on a ranch between Floccesy and Virbank.
Initially it was going to be a short break to catch some pokemon, the couple who owned the land being well-known for allowing trainers to do such. A few rare species known to wander in because of their warm treatment and protection. It sounded like a sort of pokemon sanctuary, and from the moment Adrien stepped onto the property he could tell they weren't exaggerating.
Though, before he could begin to do so the owner's had approached him for help to find their missing Herdier. They said they weren't terribly worried, but something they said stuck with him. He, and his partner Snivy, wanted to find the pokemon fast. Their words ringing ominously in Adrien and Snivy's heads.
"It's unlike it to wander off, these two are inseparable."
The longer he searched, the more uneasiness gripped him. Even as the sight of fruit bearing trees became replaced by those of the wild, he continued to mull over what he knew. While generally unfamiliar with the herdier species, Adrien was confidant that unless forced or threatened they would stay within a comfortable space. Certainly not the kind of creatures that suddenly wander off far enough away that an hour of searching couldn't find them.
"Snivy," Adrien called, stopping to gesture towards the pidove nearby picking the ground for food. "We're switching tactics for an aerial view. I've got a bad feeling about all this. It should have been found by now."
Snivy nodded its understanding as its tail began to glow a bright green. Spinning in the air, a flurry of leaves began to swirl around it as if trapped in a tornado with Snivy at its center. The funnel of wind soon moving beyond Snivy, carving the dirt in its wake as it traveled to pidove, the pokemon taking to the skies too late to avoid being trapped.
Weakened by the razor sharp leaves that swirled around it, it used all its strength to push through the wind funnel and escape. It's shaky flying gave Adrien the perfect opening to capture it, the pokeball shaking even before it hit the ground. A sound indicating a successful capture filled the air as Adrien retrieved it.
"The end result is what matters," he said, summoning his new pokemon to heal before sending it to the sky. The two following their flying friend until had started to circle a spot of the forest, the two running towards the scene. Adrien eager to find the pokemon and be proven as paranoid, but his hopes were dashed when they began to hear pidove cry out in distress.
Whatever pidove found wasn't good!
"None of this is going as planned, but I'm not going to let my pokemon get hurt! Hurry up, Snivy!"
XX
"Draco! Brick Break!"
Gible's stubby arms glowed white as it lunged at Oshawott, who barely managed to dodge at Jacen's urging. Draco's arm submerged in the dirt where Oshawott once stood, removing it to reveal a deep hole. Lunging again, Jacen couldn't think of anything more to do than dodge, the speed of the battle faster than this ability to process and counter.
Jacen found himself overwhelmed.
Oshawott wasn't better off, barely able to get its bearings before it needed to move again. Each strike had enough force behind it to be decisive if it struck, but luckily it appeared Oshawott had better mobility. Jacen struggling to think of a way out before Oshawott made a mistake and got caught by Draco's relentless attack. Oshawott breathing in relief after its most recent evasion.
"Not this time!" Benga exclaimed, smirking as it lowered its arm into the dirt with tremendous force. It's intent not to attack Oshawott directly, but to envelope them both in a thick cloud of dirt. The water-type stumbling out from it, eyes shut tightly in pain as it rubbed the dirt free. Jacen stunned as Draco dashed from the cloud, it's arm augmented in an all too familiar glow that batted Oshawott across the field.
"Everything happens so quick. . ."
"You're pretty good at running away, but that doesn't last," Benga taunted.
Jacen racked his brain for something to say back, but could only watch helplessly as Oshawott struggled to its feet after the crippling attack. He had plenty of ideas accumulating, but none that wouldn't be easily countered. Though, doing something simple was better than doing nothing. It didn't matter if it was countered with ease, Jacen needed to do something!
Alder smiled as he watched the wheels in Jacen's head turn. "He's learning."
"Oshawott, can you hear me?" Oshawott shaking the fuzz from its mind as it reached its feet, nodding as it stared down Gible. Jacen smiling as Benga eyed him with curiosity. "Good. We're going to fight back! Try a Tackle attack!"
Complying with narrowed eyes, Oshawott lunged fiercely.
"Lemme educate you on some battle practice, Newbie!" Benga held up two fingers with a spark in his eyes. "The first, and most common as you've been demonstrating all fight, is dodging. However, I'm different than you are."
Jacen grumbled. "I've got a bad feeling. . ."
"The second thing," Benga said, the remaining finger he held up now pointed at the lunging Oshawott. Benga and his pokemon both smirking as instead of dodging the attack, Draco let Oshawott collide with it. The water-type trying its hardest to push it back while Draco stood its ground with ease. "Is also my personal favorite—overpower!"
Jacen's eyes widening as Oshawott was pushed away as if he weighed nothing.
"Rock Smash!"
Draco's arm glowed once more, augmented by the fighting-type attack that swung towards Jacen's pokemon. Unable to dodge while off-balanced from Gible's earlier push, Oshawott had no choice but to try to block it, using both its arms to hold back the attack as the ground buckled beneath it. It appeared to be a stalemate as neither one could move past the other, but Jacen knew better.
Benga saw the same inherent flaw as Draco's free arm became surrounded in the same brilliant glow.
Oshawott shocked as Draco backhanded it in the stomach, launching it across the field once more. Concern in Jacen's eyes as he watched his pokemon tumble along the ground, each spot where it bounced fractured beneath the force with which it landed. Oshawott struggling to rise, wobbling unsteadily once it did.
"Educational. Even the one losing the battle can learn in environments like this," Benga declared, his voice almost taunting.
Jacen was backed into a corner, that much was clear. His opponent was strong and had landed several powerful attacks that frankly he found surprising hadn't already ended the battle. Oppositely, he hadn't done anything that would damage his opponent.
Though, despite himself he had broken out in a smile. Followed by laughter as the nerves that had built up in him began to leave his body.
"What's with you, weirdo?"
"Oh, sorry. It's nothing really," Jacen said, falling to the ground. "I've just realized what your fighting style is!"
"You're bluffing."
"Oshawott, Tackle!"
"Haven't I taught you that it won't work? Meet it with Rock Smash!"
Jacen watched patiently as Draco got within striking distance, it's glowing fist holding Oshawott back as before, it's free hand ready to strike. This time, however, it's glowing backhand met with nothing but air as Jacen called it to jump back, throwing Gible off-balance as it's glowing hand plunged into the ground. Oshawott jumping on top of it, pinning it into the ground as Draco squirmed beneath Oshawott's weight, struggling violently.
Benga desperate as he called, "Brick Break!"
"Get away!" Oshawott leaped off the creature as it swung and missed, landing at Jacen's feet.
Jacen was now the one smiling, Benga gritting his teeth as he watched his pokemon rise. Benga kept glancing subtly at Alder, who was observing the battle with a proud smile, Jacen understanding what everyone meant when they said trainers reveal themselves in battle. It was weird, but he felt that he understood Benga better now than he did at the battles beginning, more than he ever could have if they never fought.
He was just angry for not feeling like his grandfather paid him any attention.
"Brick Break!" The words snapped Jacen back into the battle, Oshawott reacting without needing its trainer's command. Trapping Draco's arm between it and the earth, except in a move that surprised even Jacen, it drew in a deep breath of air. Benga and Alder aware of what it was preparing for, but Jacen was shocked as it leaned forward and spewed water at Draco, launching it from its trapped position and into the tree behind the visibly stunned Benga.
"What. . . Just happened. . ." Jacen breathed, observing the gible as it fell limply to the ground, a trail of wet dirt leading to Oshawott.
Alder smiled wide. "They adapted on instinct. I'm impressed."
". . . You did great, Draco," Benga praised his pokemon, returning it as Jacen approached. Hesitant, Benga admitted with an outstretched hand, "you did better than I thought you would. Maybe Grandfather was right to bring you here. I'm sorry for being kind of a jerk."
"Kind of?"
Benga grumbled. "Fine. I'm sorry for being a jerk."
"Apology accepted," Jacen smiled, accepting the handshake.
"Don't get used to it," Benga said, breaking into a smile himself as the two trainers laughed together. "You're a pretty good trainer for a beginner."
"Thanks, but the pokemon did all the work. Oshawott and Draco were both amazing!" Jacen exclaimed as Benga fished out a wad of crumbled bills from his pocket, forcing it upon the new trainer as he dubbed it his winnings. A friendly smile on his face as he watched Jacen struggle to straighten the bills before putting them in his pocket. The more experienced trainer offering the advice to give Oshawott a more unique name, citing that it would strengthen their bond. A thought that had swirling loosely in his mind, unsure until then if he should.
"Splendid show!" Alder clapped as Jacen picked up his wobbly Oshawott. "Torrent kicking in combined with the already present type advantage turned the tables even from the jaws of defeat. Truly wonderful, both of you. My hunch was spot on."
"That was more enjoyable battle than I thought it would be," Benga said, his contagious smile fueling Jacen's already present one that seemed to form such a strong attachment the end of the world wouldn't have removed it. The two glowing from the Champion's praise. "Me and, uh. . . This guy are pretty good!"
"My name's Jacen," he replied.
"Right! Apologies for having forgotten to ask!" Alder laughed heartily as Benga's face paled. "As my way to thank you for having helped out today, why don't you join us for dinner? A good meal after a hard battle is it's own reward. And I make the best stew this side of Unova!"
Nodding, Jacen watched as the two headed inside. Left alone with his pokemon, whose arm was shaky as it rubbed the shell on its stomach to express its hunger, Jacen mulled over many things. His excitement of eating a meal with the Champion was overshadowed by having won his first battle as a trainer, despite his opponent not going at full-power.
Gible knew more powerful moves than the ones it used.
"Lemme educate you on some battle practice, Newbie!"
Benga had held back Gible's more powerful attacks, ones that probably could have ended the battle much quicker had he used them. He had three pokemon whereas Jacen had only the one, Benga could have easily chosen a pokemon without a weakness to water or have even held back his words. The time he wasted on taunts were time Jacen got to think.
The more the facts piled up the more it appeared that Benga had waged that battle for Jacen's benefit. A trainer who was mad at Alder when they had started to battle, but still spent it trying to help him acclimate to battling. For all his words of complaint towards his grandfather, the two were really alike.
Excitement swelled within him as he raced forward, "let's go. . . Roi!"
XX
Adrien was exhausted when he reached the base of the cliff his pidove had been circling.
As he expected, he found Herdier beside his fainted pidove. Also, like he had expected the two pokemon weren't alone, Herdier huddled fearfully with pidove behind a menacing man wearing a gray body suit that hid his features, a black beret covering his hair with two-lines forming an 'X' on its front. Black boots, black belt, and black vest all harbored the same blue 'P' on it with some intricate design.
"These damn pokemon keep attracting attention," the man mumbled, noticing Adrien's presence. "What do you want? Keep it moving. Otherwise, anything I do to these stupid pokemon will be done to you, starting with your shitty bird that gave away my position. You don't want to test me on this."
Adrien froze. The figure before him didn't even register as human anymore, but as a monster.
He felt murderous intent as if he had cornered a wild animal.
Adrien knew that if anything happened to the herdier, it would be his fault. This monsters fault for whatever acts he commits, Adrien's fault for being unable to stop it. Snivy made noises at his side that resembled an angry growl, Adrien aware that the same feeling was written on his own face.
"Let the herdier go!"
"You trainers are something else," he roared in a sound that mimicked laughter. "You get a single pokemon than suddenly think you can take on the world. Like you can beat everyone you come across that you don't agree with. Solve the whole world's problems—"
Adrien's pupils focused into fine points when the monster pointed to its insignia. The design was vaguely familiar, as if he had seen it before. . .
Snivy stepped forward to bridge the ten meter gap between them, but Adrien motioned it to stop. Something about the insignia was not only familiar, but apparently dangerous. He just couldn't remember exactly what it was and how it connected to what was going on.
"—The only ones truly capable of changing things for the better is us! All you trainers should just stay out of our way!"
The repeated gestures towards the insignia he wore began to strike a chord within Adrien. It seemed to be the only answer, much less the obvious one. Reasoning that it was his fear that prevented it from striking him before, and the drastically different uniform from what he remembered them wearing a few years ago when they were more prominent.
"Team Plasma," he spat.
The villain bared his fangs. "Seems you remember us from a few years ago!"
Adrien tried to speak, to say something to alleviate the bitterness he felt. However, the words weren't coming out despite everything he tried. His nerves were getting the best of him and it only made that bitter feeling grow.
"I know what you're thinking—we used to parade around in some ridiculous medieval knight getup. You're right, we were approaching the problem for the angle of being the heroes of our time that gave the populace the chance to aid us in the task of pokemon liberation. We tried to go the peaceful route. To let the people make the correct and morally just decision—they didn't. So, we try again but this time we took the choice part out!"
Adrien tried to sneakily return his pidove into the pokeball, but was blocked by the figure. Before he could react, he suddenly found a gun aimed at his chest like a beast's claws nearing his throat.
"Free the pokemon."
It was clear that they weren't the same group for three years prior. They had the same end goal, but gone were the family friendly messages and attempts to use reason and rational moral arguments that took the high ground. Instead, they unsheathed the sinister beasts within their members that sought to force their will upon others. They were more worthy of the fear trainers felt for them now than they ever were.
"Return your Snivy to its pokeball. It's an eyesore."
Adrien must have shown his discontent plainly on his face, but he did as he was told.
"You ever notice that possessing a gun is similar to a pokemon? I mean, think about it. The situations are the same in that if I were to confront you with a pokemon when you did not. Reversing the situation will also be the same, if you have the pokemon and I don't, you'd win. The same is true for each situation if you replace the pokemon with a simple, easy to find firearm.
"Yet, firearms are legally limited to police whereas anyone can become a trainer! Elderly and even children, it doesn't matter what your mind-state is or what you've done, as soon as you reach a certain age you can legally own and battle with a pokemon!"
It was scary how accurate the words rung.
"Wha. . ."
"Team Plasma was trying to peacefully save the world. Pokemon are superior to us, but get used by us. That can't last forever, that was shown to each one of us, we alone were made aware of what should have been so obvious. Human's are fragile and easily hurt whereas Pokemon can take and dish out powerful attacks to level cities with ease if that was what they wanted!
"Guns and Pokemon are both tools we're using to create peace. I've just chosen the method I prefer!"
"Domination and peace seem contradictory," Adrien observed quietly.
Adrien had begun to shake in his anger, but he didn't dare move. The struggle between his emotions and rational mind were in full display as he glared at the monster before him, the cells in his body desperately trying to move forward while his feet were rooted in place.
"Upset? Wanna fight me? Feel desperate?" He roared. "You should be. It's just bad luck for us both to have crossed paths, this stupid herdier had the bad luck to run into me while you had the bad luck to come stumbling after it. I just wanted to get away nice and quiet, but now I'm neck deep in shit's creek."
Adrien mustered his internal strength to fight his frozen body. All he managed was a mere scoff, venting a fraction of his discontent and rage.
"Curse the heavens. Curse your fate. Curse the world," the monster growled, the gun cocked like claws gripped tightly around Adrien's throat. "Hell, you can even curse me if it makes you feel better in the end."
Adrien slammed his eyes shut with fear behind his glasses, expecting the end.
One second passed.
Two seconds passed.
Three seconds passed.
Adrien dared to open his eyes, his glasses having slipped down the bridge of his nose to create a blurry sight. At first, he didn't know what he was seeing, just a jumbled blurry mess as the black of the monster was engrossed with a mass of white and tan. Herdier was wrestling to get the gun away, repeated strikes landed on its face in an attempt to knock it away.
Growls intertwined through the air as Adrien stepped in, pushing the gun into the air. A few well-placed shots to the his ribs knocked the wind out of Adrien and drove him to the ground and cracked his glasses. Didn't once loosen his grip as he continued to struggle against Herdier.
Adrien coughing on the ground as he watched the power struggle shift with fear in his eyes.
"Let go, you damned mutt!"
One final hit made Herdier's drop its guard enough to wrench his arm free. The gun alternating its aim between Adrien and the battered Herdier, each on the same page as they looked to the fainted pidove with worry. It had become a hostage, now that it was the only one left it appeared to the turning slowly in their favor, but that was too optimistic. Reality said that he held more power than before.
"You've pushed my buttons since you've showed up, you know that?" The anger in the words stabbed their way into his ears, the gun moving to Adrien's recent capture, the defenseless flying-type that had been incapacitated shortly before Adrien's arrival.
"Don't do it!"
Inhuman eyes gazed back, just an almost feral rage that sucked everything else into them like a void. The black coloration of the gun standing out in the orange hue of sunset, as if even the sun didn't dare see what was about to occur. Adrien pleaded, but the finger still moved.
Adrien didn't hear the shot. The Earth itself had gone quiet for a brief moment, he saw the Herdier cry out beside him, countless pokemon in the surrounding trees take into the sky, and the cause of it all mutter beneath their breath. However, not a single sound reached Adrien except a dull ringing as the sounds of the world around him slowly came back.
"No. . . What did. . . What did you do?!"
Adrien stumbled towards his fallen pokemon. The monster he stood across from allowed it, watching as he collapsed to his knees beside the flying-type at the sight of its injuries. Pidove was too small to have possibly survived the direct hit that had left a gaping hole in its body, the blood staining its feathers and the dirt. The pokeball it had been caught in unresponsive to the body, no matter how many times Adrien tried to return it he couldn't.
No matter how much he willed it to move—it didn't.
"I liberated it."
Adrien grabbed the black clothes he wore, rage gazing at despair. Tears spilled down his face in huge, wet droplets that fell on what was formerly Pidove's pokeball. The rage and sadness swirling within Adrien felt as if it were pulling it him in every direction. He felt every facet of those two conflicting emotions pound down on him to the point that he almost didn't feel either of them.
He had many things he wanted to get across but his thoughts were frozen.
"A pokemon that's dead is more free than one under a trainers thumb. You wouldn't see it this way, but I did the best thing for it!" Adrien was thrown away from the raging beast with a single swipe of its hand, he and Herdier rushing it once more when it brought the gun back into play and fired a single shot.
This time, Adrien heard the loud pop and saw the flash of the muzzle.
He halted on the spot as the gun was held limply beside the user, the trainer quickly patting himself down to check for injuries. At first, he considered that maybe the bullet had missed them all, that it was intended as a warning or to keep them away. Herdier assured that the thought was wrong with a single, weak whimper.
The despair Adrien felt was like none he had ever imagined as possible.
The wounded Pokemon was larger than Pidove had been, roughly the size of a person and the bullet wound treated it much the same. It rested on the ground, laid on its side as its white fur was dyed red one strand at a time spreading out from the epicenter. He wasted no time, immediately welding his hands to the wound with all the pressure he could muster. His hands enveloped in warm scarlet liquid as if they were sinking into the pokemon's body.
"Fuckin' kid, I'm done with this place. These shots are gonna attract attention, maybe if you're lucky you can save it. Either way, I hope I never see your face again. Follow me and I won't spare you after all."
Adrien seethed while applying all the first-aid he knew. He didn't dare look away to see the Plasma member escape, nor did he gaze at the corpse of his own pokemon not even a few feet away. They had met by pure misfortune, not even together for an hour and he had sent it to its death without realizing. Similarly, his actions hadn't been smartly chosen, he acted purely on fear and Herdier was paying the price for that.
He wanted nothing more than to chase down the member of Team Plasma, then move onto the rest. However, Herdier was fading fast, wherever the bullet hit must've been somewhere vital. Blood oozing from between his fingers as he applied pressure, his mind racing on ways to get it out of the situation alive.
"Don't die, you got that?! I'm not your trainer, but you've got some people waiting for you, okay?! You don't wanna let them down, do you?!"
It hurt.
"You're listening still, right?! You've gotta pull through this—I don't care what it takes! You've gotta!"
It hurt like a gunshot through the heart. Yet, he kept applying pressure to the wound.
"You've got two people that are counting on you to get home! Y-you can't leave them. . ."
The motivation he gave sounded more directed to himself than anything, words that kept him from running away. His face lost color at the sight of even a bloody lip, his body sapped of strength—yet it enveloped his hands as if he plunged them into a scarlet pool, filled by a faucet that poured red. His arms felt weak and he threatened to faint, but he willed himself to continue. Not when a life was dependent on his screams for help reaching someone, not when this was the only thing he could do for it.
"HELP! ANYONE HELP!"
This shouldn't have happened.
Anything could have happened—why had it been this?
"SOMEBODY! ANYBODY! Help me. . . We need help. . ."
This should have been a completely average day.
"I need help."
All the while Herdier grew steadily weaker.
Breathing hurt—its body shook in pain each time.
Its skin was cold.
The grunts that told him it was alive were weak and harder to hear each time.
"No no no no no no no no no. . ."
He gathered all the energy he could muster for one final screech. A bellow that threatened to rob his body of each molecule of air.
"SOMEBODY HELP US!"
Each time Herdier's chest fell Adrien feared it wouldn't rise again. The pokemon's body going limp beneath his touch as his fears turned into reality, his face white as a ghost as the strength he had managed to hang onto thus far finally slipped away.
"No. . ."
Running away until his legs gave out, he leaned against a tree and threw up. He knew he would have to return to the scene, but every fiber of his being fought against the realization. It had been a complete nightmare from start to finish—his first day as a trainer had been met with complete failure.
XX
Adrien wiped sweat from his brow with a forearm, hands too caked in dirt and dried blood to be used. His glasses had been cracked in one of the lenses, his eyes were still red and puffy, and the fear he felt was still present.
However, he had returned because the two pokemon deserved a proper burial.
The disturbed land that served as the makeshift graves for both Herdier and Pidove were marked with a circle of rocks. The image appeared almost peaceful beneath the moonlight, despite the reality being the opposite. The gunshots had attracted the ranchers, their sobs as they took in the image being what had brought Adrien back. His defeated look brought the two to embrace him, the three in tears.
"It's alright," one of the ranchers said, the remaining Herdier nuzzling their hand. "You did all you could."
"I just wish it didn't end this way."
"We all feel the same way," they said. "It's a blessing on its own that you survived the experience, but its such a sad thing for a young man to go through. Much less just starting out, I'm sorry that us asking for your help put you in this mess."
Adrien fell to his knees, while the two ranchers had started to pay their respects.
XX
"What's your goal as a trainer, Jacen?"
The three were seated at Alder's dining room table, empty plates in front of each of them. Their pokemon were all eating in the next room, their noise made it hard to focus on conversation. A welcome distraction as Jacen didn't feel as though he could answer any of the pressing questions he expected to be fielding.
"Ummm. . . I'm not actually sure."
"Your not sure?" Benga inquired.
"Yeah, I. . . I just don't. . . Have a set idea, you know? I want the badges but I also don't want the topple the league. I want to meet the legendary pokemon, to confirm for myself whether or not they exist. I want to be a strong trainer that even the champion can recognize. I want everything. . . But not everything that goes with everything. . . I guess?"
"Sounds confusing," Benga replied.
"I think it's an admirable goal to have!" Alder boomed with laughter as the table shook each time. The praise made Jacen feel as though his goal wasn't so weird in the end, but the hard part was still ahead of him. "You want to see the world and try to make a name for yourself while seeing if everything you've heard about it is true. That's wonderful!"
It was true in part that he wanted to explore and see the world for himself. However, he had left out the part that he was only doing so to search for something.
To search for someone.
A friend—his closest friend. The person he may have known better than himself that had left much earlier than him on a journey, eager to accomplish their dream. They must have spoke about it all the time, had everything mapped out so neatly. Though, nothing had so far gone according to their plan.
He found himself thinking about it a lot lately, accompanied by two feelings that overwhelm him.
Life felt unbelievably short. The world felt unbelievably small.
Authors Note: Another chapter out, another version different from the last time I went through it. I like this version better myself, a few characters are missing but cameo this chapter to be given more focus in their own!