"Pokémon: Fragmented Destinies" - 01
If there was one constant in Ryutensei's life, it was boredom.
Continuous, everlasting boredom. A general boredom and apathy that made it hard for him to enjoy 'normal' life.
Normality, however, was quickly shattered on one special day.
Ryu sighed as he did his homework in the back of the moving truck, a passive look on his face while his hand wrote down the answers to the questions at a rapid pace.
What is the evolutionary line of Popplio?
"Popplio, Brionne, and Primarina," He mumbled as he wrote down the final question and felt the truck stop moving abruptly. "Finally, took long enough." He got up, packed his stuff up in his bag, and walked out of the truck after kicking the door open.
His mother, Emily, smiled at him as she saw him exit the truck. "Here we are, sweetie! Our new home!" The violet-haired woman cheerfully said, her lavender eyes glowing with excitement.
Ryu, on the other hand, blankly stared at his mother. "Who-oo," He unenthusiastically said, before jumping down and sighing. "Mom, you and I both know how this is gonna go. I'm gonna just go back to my room and keep studying."
"B-but, what about visiting your dad? Or your journey? Don't you want to go on a journey to become a Pokémon trainer like your father?" Emily laughed nervously, wanting only to get her son out of his apathetic state.
"No, not really," And with that, the white-red-haired boy slung his bag over his shoulder and walked into his new home.
The moment he stepped into his new room, he set up his 'base' and went for a Pokéball attached to his bag, throwing it to release a small brown fox-like Pokémon. Eevee. "Heya, Eve, whatcha think of this place?" He asked as he sat on his bed, with the Evolution Pokémon jumping up and sitting on his leg. He smiled slightly as he stroked Eevee's fur gently, comforted by his friend's presence. "I know mom and dad probably came here since it was convenient for dad's new job as Gym Leader, and that I could start a journey here, but I really don't care about that."
Eevee looked at him curiously before jumping down and grabbing her Pokéball and nudging it into Ryu's hand. "Eevee! Ee-vee-ve!" The Evolution Pokémon chirped, causing Ryu to sigh again.
"Eve, you should know I don't care much for that. Training you is enough work for me," Ryu huffed as he got up and walked over to his window after carefully and tenderly setting Eevee back down. He then paused as he saw a notification appear on his PC, walking over to it to find a message from his only friend in Hoenn, Brendan.
Brendan: Hey man! How's the trip? Did you make it here safely?
Ryu chuckled at the concern of his friend, walking over to the PC and taking a seat, quickly replying as Eve jumped over and sat on his desk.
Me: Yeah, we made it. Just moved in, Eve's here too.
Ryu paused, thinking about what else to say before he returned to typing.
You're starting your Pokémon journey soon, right?
He waited patiently for a response, stroking Eve's soft fur for a short while and smirking at what he saw next.
Brendan: Yeah, not much else to do. Besides, isn't it basically a rite of passage to at least attempt a journey at our age? What about you, still too lazy to go?
Me: I'm not lazy, I just don't see a point in going.
Brendan: Whatever floats your boat, man. Hey, gotta go now, I'm about to head out in a bit. See ya.
He quickly said goodbye to his friend before picking up Eve and walking off, noticing his mother making dinner. "What's on tonight, mom?"
"Well, we're limited on ingredients right now, just moving in… so, I'm making a fruit salad. We'll be having cake later though, your dad'll be bringing that later tonight," His mother easily replied, as he hummed. He had no issues with that, he rather liked simpler foods.
Eventually, Emily walked over with a plate of fruit salad, setting it in front of him. She then turned to Eve and smiled, putting down a pet bowl filled with berries. "Eat up, dearies."
"Thanks," He softly replied before digging in, easily consuming the collection of berries and salad.
"And now, we introduce the newest Gym Leader of Hoenn!" He heard from the television as Ryu's eyes shifted to stare at the screen, which his mother had just turned on. "Hoenn's and Oldale Town's first Dragon Gym Leader, Shinra Shock!"
The black-haired man on the TV smiled as he walked up to the podium. "I am thankful to the Pokémon League for giving me this opportunity. I graciously accept the title of the Dragon-Type Gym Leader. To all budding Pokémon trainers of Hoenn, come to me after collecting all previous 8 Gym Badges. You all know the deal, if you can beat me, you will be given my Badge, and then allowed to move on to challenge the League." He then bowed his head slightly. "I wish you all luck."
"Wow, your dad's really got into this whole Gym Leader thing quickly," His mother giggled as Ryu's lips twitched upwards, knowing his dad acted all serious and formal, when in reality…
"I'm hooooooooooome!"
Shinra was the hammiest, goof of a dad in the world… in his honest opinion, of course. He couldn't just say things as fact. "Dad, did you really just fly here on Flygon?" He asked amusedly, turning to face the green-eyed Gym Leader. Shinra only laughed in response.
"Guilty as charged, but hey, Dusty's real fast! Useful for getting from Area A to B in seconds!" Shinra said, holding a chocolate ice cream cake in hand. "So, sport, when are you going on your journey?"
…
"Hm… still too lazy to do anything, huh?" Shinra sighed. "You were so excited about everything Pokémon when you were younger. Why'd that change?"
"Nothing really excites me about them anymore, I got used to them. When I was a kid, sure, I was excited about everything about them because they were new. I was still inexperienced with life," Ryu sighed, putting down his fork. "But now, Pokémon are just another part of life that isn't really exciting… like how people usually grow out of their favorite TV shows."
Shinra winced slightly. "Right… Anyways, who's up for cake?" He asked with a hesitant chuckle. Emily sighed, walking over and flicking her husband's forehead.
"First, you need to have dinner, you idiot," She said, forcing the man to sit down as the family had dinner together. Mere moments later, Eve's ears flicked up to attention as she began to loudly bark.
"What's up, Eve?" Ryu turned to his friend, who immediately ran out the door. He got up and walked out, his parents following close behind, and paused as he saw a giant shadow looming above the clouds. "Is… that supposed to happen?"
"No, not really," His father replied slowly, disbelieving of the size and shape of the shadow in the sky.
"Shinra, does that look a little like… it?" Emily asked hesitantly, her lavender eyes looking at Shinra worriedly.
"I'd say that actually is it," Shinra replied, as the shadow began to descend, revealing a massive, long green serpentine Pokémon with yellow eyes. It also had yellow, linked, circular markings on its entire body. "Rayquaza's back…"
"Wait, wait, wait. Rayquaza? Back?! Rayquaza was here before?" Ryu demanded his parents for an answer as he turned to them, just as Rayquaza appeared just in front of their house. His parents silently forced him to face the Legendary Pokémon, which silently stared at him with its yellow eyes. He eventually, hesitantly reached his hand outwards, just as Rayquaza moved its head forward. His hand came into contact with the Legendary's cold scales, marveling over how smooth they were… then over the fact he was touching a Legendary Pokémon. "Mom… dad… what's going on?" He asked, turning to them, just as their eyes widened in panic. Eve called out to him as he looked at Rayquaza again, which rose up into the sky quickly, blowing wind around it as it did so; knocking him over on his back and giving him a splitting headache.
"Son! Are you okay?" Shinra asked him as he snapped out of his panic, kneeling next to him as Ryu laughed.
"What the hell was that, dad?" He asked instead, as Emily pursed her lips.
"Honey, I think you should tell him about your family." His mother reluctantly said, forcing Shinra to sigh.
"Ryu, our family's… special. We have bonds, links to certain types of Pokémon. Typically Mythicals and the weaker Legendaries," Shinra explained, helping him inside as Emily carried Eve in her arms, soothing the panicked Pokémon. "I, for one, have a connection to Darkrai, though they stay away from us for our own safety. Bad Dreams and all that.."
Ryu had a feeling where this was going. "I have a connection to Rayquaza, don't I?" He asked, as his parents nodded silently.
"We were meaning to tell you when you went on your journey, but you never showed interest in that… so were willing to keep that secret from you. We didn't want to force you to go on a Pokémon journey," Emily said calmly. Ryu's expression shifted to one of deep thought.
"How exactly did you know that Rayquaza was linked to me? Or vice-versa?" He asked. Shinra smiled weakly.
"Ah, that's simple. Our links typically appear in front of us at a very young age, and then revisit us when we're a bit older, usually around the age we go on Pokémon journey," Shinra explained. "As for your situation…"
"Before you were even born, when I was pregnant with you, Rayquaza appeared before us… and just… stared," Emily continued. "It was their appearance that inspired us to name you 'Ryutensei'. We believed you were blessed by the Legendary, since it appeared even before you were born. And now that it appeared now, when you're 11, well… it just confirmed you two were linked."
Eventually, Ryu smiled… and then smirked, before bursting out into laughter. His parents blinked in surprise at the sudden change of attitude. "I've got a new goal!" He declared, bringing a smile to Eve's face as she jumped out of Emily's arms and into her Trainer's. "I'm going to go on a journey to meet all the Legendaries/Mythicals the world has to offer! And I'll make sure to catch Rayquaza too! If they're my link, then I want them to be one of my partners!" With that said, the white-red-haired boy rushed upstairs, leaving his parents silenced from shock.
"Did… did meeting a Legendary reinspired his love for Pokémon?" Emily asked silently.
"If I knew that was all it would take, I would have called Darkrai…" Shinra muttered. "...I just realized, now that this is happening, I'm going to have to battle my son."
"Yep," Emily hummed. "Well, now he's actually going on a journey, want to give him his present?"
"You mean Turt? Yeah, I'll hand them over."
Ryu's Team (So Far):
Eevee (Pokéball): His starter (technically) Pokémon.
Eve (F) Leftovers, Level 12
Ability: Adaptability
Nature: Timid (SPD Up, ATK Down)
Type: Normal
Moves: Tackle, Tail Whip, Sand Attack, Baby-Doll Eyes, Quick Attack, Bite
Turtwig (Pokéball): The second Pokémon he caught, gifted to him by his dad as a going-away-on-a-journey present.
Turt (M) Leftovers, Level 10
Ability: Overgrow
Nature: Adamant (ATK Up, Sp. ATK Down)
Type: Grass
Moves: Tackle, Withdraw, Absorb