About a months wait due to me being busy, but It's a longer update so I hope you enjoy it. Time to introduce some characters and get this narrative really rolling!
Review Responses
Keldabe: Requiem is a name that I pondered for a while, but I found that it fits very well for the character that I have in my mind. I'm also interested that you think that the black ball is proud of being evil. It might be Darkrai, might be a Hypno, but she'll hang around so you'll see more of her. Thanks for reviewing.
Susasoldier: Things will be explained, but it might take a bit to get to Red and Blue. It might be Creselia, but it might also be Darkrai. Since this is fanfiction I get to choose the gender of the gender-less legendaries (or if they have genders at all) Thanks for taking the time to review.
Guest: The dreams are a little cryptic, there's a lot of hints in them. Ruby's dream was actually my favorite to write, I got to flesh out both her and her visitor's background.
Okay almost time for the new chapter. The question for this chapter - Who do you think the character at the end of the chapter is. A really open question, but I'll ask it again at some point once you have more information.
Hope you enjoy it :D
Night's point of view
"I don't like coming to you for help and don't think that this gives you power over me." Said Ruby trying to keep herself seeming distant "But I need to know if you can tell me anything about this… you know, as a dark type."
I didn't know what to say. Ruby had come to me for help and it must have been important to her if she was willing to put her guard down to ask for advice. "Well… I don't know anything about that." I shrugged "I wish I could help you, but dreams are more of a ghost type thing I imagine."
The fox looked away "Crap…" she eyed me "Thanks I guess." She paused for a moment "And stop worrying about that thing on the road. You just need to know that it's personal and I have nothing against you." She smirked "Even if you're a little stupid."
"And I have nothing against you. Even if you're a little crazy."
"You guys all set?" sounded Spark's muffled voice from the door "Everyone's starting to get moving."
Feeling a little better about my relationship with Ruby I gave her a friendly smile "You ready for the gym?"
She turned to walk towards the door "Of course, I know that I can fight. To tell you the truth I wanna see how you fare," she turned her head slightly as she turned the doorknob with a paw "I guess it's time to see what Umbreons are made of."
Espeon's point of view
'These dreams are getting worse.' Was a thought that bitterly entered my head as I waltzed the road between Mt. Moon and Cerulean city. Normally the afternoon sun would figuratively and literally brighten up my day but after the week I had been having I wasn't feeling my normal stoic self.
I pressed a paw against an eye and let my ears droop "Espeon… you need to get yourself together. At this rate nothing will get done and you'll just be one of the many that get sucked up in what's coming." I gave a tired sigh "But the first thing to you need to do is figure out how to get a solid night's sleep."
The thought of a nap entered my head, but was evicted when I detected a series of footsteps in some bushes behind me. I was confident in my abilities so without even turning around I said "If you're going to attack me you might as well try it. I'm pretty exhausted, I might not put up much of a fight."
The footsteps stopped but a voice didn't follow. Slightly disappointed that my apparent stalker didn't have the gall to face me I turned myself around and outstretched a paw "What if I just drag you out?" My mind focused and I grabbed my target with a weak psychic and pulled it towards me. However, to my dismay the thing I pulled out was not a Pokémon, it was a beige satchel bag.
"Hey!" shouted a soft feminine voice from the bushes. Within a second a swift Purrloin jumped through the foliage with a shy frown on her face "You can't just do that to someone!"
Equal parts shocked and ashamed I eyed the feline. I hadn't seen one in person, but it did seem that this Purrloin was slightly thinner than one usually was. Her green eyes were more alert, but about as tired as mine. She stood on two legs and picked up her personal effects that had fallen out of her bag.
"You're right." I said as I shook my head in dismay of my violent action"I'm sorry, I shouldn't have done that."
She shoved the last of her items into the bag "Its… its okay." She gripped one of her arms "Everyone's on edge when they're on the road. For all you know I could have been an enemy."
"Maybe you are…"I said with a shrug. My eyes moved to her belongings "I noticed you didn't have any food in that pack of yours." I motioned with my head "There's a berry patch not too far away from here, I could show you."
She frowned and clutched her bag "Why should I trust you?"
"Because I feel a little guilty for attacking you and I feel like I need to prove to a stranger that I'm not the type of person that does that normally." I shrugged "I like it when people don't think I'm just some wandering punk that messes with people for fun."
The cat eyed me closely "I guess you seem alright…"
"And if I try anything you can just hit me with a dark attack." I gave another shrug "I'd be helpless." To be honest I was incredibly bored and conversation is a great way to stimulate the mind. That Purrloin didn't
"You're right." Sounded the Purrloin in a slightly peppy voice "I'll take you up on that offer."
Night's point of view
"So… this is what gyms look like… really flashy don't you think?"
Spark smirked "Was that a pun?"
I shrugged "I try."
Massive structures are something that most wild Pokémon are not accustomed to, so the Pewter City gym (despite my lax attitude) was quite the sight. The building itself was about 30 feet tall made of a rock-like material that made it look much more natural than I'm certain It was.
"Alright… Woo! I'm ready!" shouted my ecstatic trainer "Are you all set Katherine?"
Kat brushed some of her dark hair away from her face "Of course." She looked down "Ruby, Razor… I think it's about time we get a badge."
"Oh man I'm so ready." Huffed Razor with a wide smile "I'm gonna roll over this gym."
Ruby rolled her eyes "Please do… I'm gonna be about as useful as Spark here."
"Hey!" shouted my partner.
The fox eyed him "Come one Spark. You and I both know that this is all about how well Night and Razor can pick up our slack. I feel like Razor's got this... Night." She looked at me for a few seconds "Well, good luck."
That didn't do an outstanding job of increasing my confidence but I was lucky enough to have a bloated ego so I simply ignored it as I thought about just how I was going to win. Spark, despite how much I thought he was a strong Pokémon, wasn't going to be of much use. I needed to abuse my ranged attacks and hope that the rock types in the gym were slow enough to get hit by a shadow ball.
"Night, Spark." Spoke Jack. I looked up at him to see his large green eyes "I know you guys can do it."
I sighed "Well, at least he's encouraging."
The humans pushed open the large doors to reveal a massive room with white lines etched into the floor with boulders and rocks scattered about. The whole scheme of the place seemed to be gray and brown, very appealing to the boring man's eye but dull to look at for anyone else. A quick glance around the room seemed to suggest that there was no one inside that didn't belong to my little group but a voice soon proved that wrong.
"Oh, some visitors!" echoed a male human voice throughout the chamber.
My ears pinpointed the source and I saw a darker skinned human leaning on a wall. From his stature I could tell he was someone of confidence, the human seemed to think he was someone of importance.
"You must be Brock." Spoke Katherine taking a step forward "My friend and I are here to challenge you."
The man smiled and pushed himself off the wall "Great then, I love when new trainers come through my gym." He glanced to his side "Get everything set up, we got ourselves a set of challengers!"
Espeon's point of view
"Dawn… that's a nice name."
The Purrloin gave a small smile "Thanks… I- I never caught yours."
The sun was still high in the sky as me and the Purrloin I was conversing with made our way through the foliage of the forest. I was actually enjoying myself with the feline that I had counted as an enemy when I met her. It was hard finding an innocent soul roaming the wilds, but I think Dawn was one of the few pure spirits I had ever seen.
"I… you can just call me Espeon, I don't really have a name." I said with a flick of my ears
'Stop lying, you have a name Requiem.' Boomed the thoughts in my head. I clenched my teeth together to rid myself of the hindrance of my inner voice.
"Oh you don't have a name…" she looked ahead for a second before turning back to me with a smile "Well, that's alright."
"The berry patch should be just ahead." I said quickly changing the subject.
"I really should thank you for this, you're one of the few people that I've met out here that's willing to help another Pokemon." She swung her arms about "It is difficult to live on the road and I appreciate you doing this for me."
"I haven't done anything yet…" I stopped myself realizing that she was trying to give me a compliment and that I was acting like she wasn't even there "… and it isn't a problem. I was the jerk that attacked you so it's the very least I could do to atone for it."
"The very least…" she smiled "That's such a silly little thing to say." Dawn noticed my change of expression and continued "I mean… don't you think that it would be rude to do the least helpful thing you could do for someone? It… it's such a funny phrase." The feline looked ahead "But I'm probably thinking about this too much… I appreciate what you're doing anyway."
I little surprised I replied "I didn't expect you to be the deep thinker type."
A smile crawled onto her face but her eyes showed a cold sadness "I've been out here for a while… trying to find-"her head lifted "Oh my gosh Espeon… you didn't tell me these were Oran berries."
I raised a brow as the berry trees came into view "Is that a problem-"
"No…" a wide open smile found its way onto the Purrloin's face. She lifted her paws to cover her mouth but her joy at the sight was obvious. Her arms shook as tears started to form in her eyes. "I… it's just been a long time since I've had any actual food." She looked at me "You don't know what this means to me Espeon."
It had been years since I felt that good watching another Pokémon feel happiness. I didn't know what Dawn had been through, but if seeing a bunch of berries made her that glad I didn't want to ponder what had happened in her life.
"We should eat." I said with a smile as I plucked a large blue berry from a tree "I think we both might deserve a little time to relax."
Night's point of view
"Your first gym battle, I'm excited for you Katherine!" shouted Jack from sidelines in ecstasy "Good luck!"
Katherine stood on one end of what seemed to be a battlefield. White outlines showed what I assumed to be the borders of the action and rocks large and small littered the playing ground. On the other side of it stood the Pewter City gym leader, Brock. He looked calm but that was to be expected. Katherine on the other hand was a little fidgety, unlike her Pokémon.
Razor had a permanent smile on his face, this was what he must have waited years to do and now was his chance to prove himself. Ruby on the other hand looked like she thought that it was a waste of time for her to be there as she blew on of her bangs away from her eyes.
"Don't be too confident guys." Sounded Katherine "Just because we have a type advantage that doesn't guarantee us a win.
"Even though it kinda does." I said quietly.
"It doesn't." complained Spark before sighing and putting his paws on his hips"It just makes their task a lot easier to handle."
"Are you ready?!" shouted Brock.
Kat nodded "Yep!"
"Okay then." The gym leader took a Poke-ball from his belt "Brick, show everyone what you're made of!"
A red light shot from the ball and took the form of a brawly Geodude, about what was expected by the way everyone reacted.
"Ruby, give it your best shot." Sounded Katherine with strength before eyeing the fox "Do your best."
"Yeah yeah…" said the vixen as she strolled onto the battle ground "It is good to test yourself sometimes, maybe this'll be a positive experience."
"Brick, lets show them what you can do. Start out with a rock throw!" shouted Brock as he pointed at the small fox across from him.
"Rubes, be ready to dodge and use Ember." Said Katherine.
The Geodude picked up a fairly large boulder that was about the size of his target and chucked it at Ruby. The Vulpix, being a good distance away had plenty of time to jump to the side. She quickly shot out an Ember attack that punched out of existence by the rock-type she was facing.
"Try a smaller one Brick." Suggested Brock "This Vulpix is a little quick."
Kat frowned "Ruby, use quick attack to dodge and move in to attack."
Brick followed his trainers command and picked up a rock small enough to fit in one of his hands. Ruby started her quick attack and jumped from left to right as she approached the Geodude. With accuracy that I didn't expect the Geodude lobbed the small rock at Ruby, striking her in the shoulder. The fox gave a quick scream and tumbled to the ground.
"Ruby!" shouted her trainer with concern "Get up, the Geodude's coming for you!"
The vixen looked up to see her opponent speeding over with intent for damage. Reflexes that would make Spark jealous went active in Ruby as she pushed herself off the ground, just missing the Geodude as it stormed passed. Following the orders that she had been given first Ruby landed and pounded herself into the rock-type's attack, although valiant, barely made the Geodude budge and recoiled Ruby a few paces away.
"Brick, punch it now!" shouted Brock.
"Ruby, dodge!" yelled Katherine, but to no avail. Ruby had already taken some damage and was recovering from the last attack when Brick crushed his fist into the side of her head.
I cringed "She can't win this, no matter what she does her attacks do nothing." I couldn't figure out why but I was worried about her. She still bothered me and I found her to be a little cranky but there was something likable about Ruby and seeing her getting tossed around like that wasn't pleasant.
"Just withdraw her…" quietly said Jack as he gritted his teeth "She's getting destroyed."
Katherine looked upon her Vulpix in dismay as she stumbled to the ground after the crushing blow. Ruby's grayish red fur was matted with dirt and her limbs wobbled weakly. There was no doubt that this wasn't her fight and with a sigh Katherine said "Ruby return, this isn't going your way."
The vixen turned to her trainer with anger "Are you serious? You just want me to give up?!"
"It's not giving up Rubes." Said Razor with a warm smile "She just doesn't want you getting hurt in a battle that is against you in every way."
Ruby frowned deeply, glared at her trainer, then to Razor and then over to Spark and I before letting lose a grunt "Fine… but you better kick some ass Razor, I'm really not in the mood right now."
"I thought she didn't care about this battle, she sounded like she didn't outside." I said with confusion.
"She cares, she cares more than you'd might think." Spark eyed me "Razor and Ruby have been through a lot, this is their first step in a journey they've waited their whole lives to start."
I nodded "Well if that's the case I hope they win."
"I wouldn't worry about it too much." Sounded Spark before smirking "Razor is quite the threat when he wants to be."
Espeon's point of view
"Have you gotten everything you need?"
Dawn smiled and nodded "Yep, thanks again for showing me this." she put a final berry into her bag "These should last long after I've traveled to Cerulean."
"Exellent." I said feeling very good about myself. I felt like I had proven to myself that I could be helpful and kind if the situation presented a easy way to do it. Then sun was starting its decent and it was about time that me and the Purrloin parted ways.
Dawn sighed "Well I should get back on the trail." she moved her satchel "This should keep me energized on the way there."
"It should, I have to get back to Mt. Moon." I said looking away from her "I hope you get there safe."
"And I hope you find whatever your looking for." responded the cat with her peppy soft voice.
"I hope he does too."
My ears perked up and I quickly turned to the source of the very familiar voice. Standing a few paces away was a Leafeon with a faded red bandanna around her neck. Her scruffy fur hugged her form and her large brown eyes glared at me with anger. As the sun shinned down on the grass type her face tightened and her mouth opened in a scowl.
"Purrloin I'd get out of here if I were you." sounded the Leafeon "Requiem and I have somethings to catch up on."
I sighed and gave a weak smile. That dream had given me the fake version and I was actually glad to see the real her "Hello Jane... it's been a little while."