This fic was originally posted elsewhere under the same name. It's gone through many revisions, so adding to what's already there and fixing/tweaking, I don't see too many revisions happening at this point.
While this is set in the game universe, it takes many cues from the anime and deviates a lot. It does borrow from the Adventures manga as well, even though I'm not a frequent reader of it.
The number of moves a Pokémon will cap out at eight. Also, exact numerical values for aspect like Level, HP, and stats be brought up either, but related terms like health will come up.
Due to the number of major characters, there won't be any nicknames. It also felt awkward having two Pokémon in the same sentence with only one having a nickname.
There are touchy subjects, such as mental health, past violence, and past emotional abuse/manipulation, present in this fic. Past violence's brought up in the first chapter.
The main setting is an OC region.
References are present, and these can range from historical to musical to another franchise. Actual song lyrics won't be copied and pasted.
Reaching for My Future
Rated T
Genres: Hurt/Comfort, Angst, Trauma, Romance, Slice of Life, Friendship, Humor, and Fluff.
Valen's had it rough, but he longs for his glory days of being a Pokémon Trainer. He longs for joy, friendship and love. His childhood friend, Melanie, will plant the seeds of change within him.
Rosa seeks popularity and fame within the Calvana region, and she misses her boyfriend. Hilda's the president of the BW Agency. Is she too busy with moving the main division to reach out?
I did post this under its old name, The Price of War, back in February. However, the fic's gone through a lot of changes since then. That's why I'm starting over here. I don't see too many major revisions at this point.
While this is set in the game universe, it takes many cues from the anime and deviates a lot. It does borrow from the Adventures manga as well.
The number of moves a Pokémon will cap out at eight. Also, exact numerical values for aspect like Level, HP, and stats be brought up either, but related terms like health will come up.
No Pokemon nicknames are present, unless I missed yet another one when replacing them with species' name.
Past violence is mentioned/implied in the first chapter.
Chapter 1: The Wheels of Fate
The early afternoon sun beams its rays over Angel City, the largest metropolis within the Calvana region. As flocks of various bird Pokémon fly over the city's bustling downtown, many people are going about their business within. Among them is Valen Barsotti.
With his hands in the pockets of his black, Guzmani leather pants, a scowling Valen saunters through a packed sidewalk. As he passes rows of towering skyscrapers, his expression is one of indifference, his glare so icy that it can make someone feel like they just got hit with Sheer Cold. People who happen to look into the dead gaze of his dark blue eyes end up being unnerved by the lack of emotion within them.
Much to Valen's annoyance, he's got to walk through a usually crowded area frequented by both locals and tourists. He wishes he had brought headphones to drown out the sound of sneakers and heels on the sidewalks, people talking and yelling in person or on their cell phones, vehicles beeping at the busy intersections, plus other noises one would expect to hear within a bustling city block.
Lots of Pokémon are present among the crowd too, such as a Herdier, a Litten, a Growlithe, a Bulbasaur, and a Kantonian Meowth. The Growlithe wants to be petted by its trainer, as does the Litten. Valen faintly smiles at these sights, now thinking about his own team.
Then, Valen notices a billboard atop one of the skyscrapers. His eyes slightly widen when he sees who's on the billboard: Melanie. He notes that Melanie's Swampert and Dragonite are also on the billboard.
Despite his longtime friendship with Melanie, Valen's now staring at the billboard with apathic gaze. He's still got his Pokémon. They're not just friends—they're family. That's more than enough for him. He doesn't need people friends.
Or does he? Has he been lying to himself? He misses his friends, but will he be re-accepted? Will his glory days of being a trainer ever return?
Unbeknownst to Valen, Melanie isn't too far from his current location. She's currently residing within the middle floor of a luxury suite that happens to be on the same road. Melanie sits on a brown leather sofa, straightening out her elbow length, black hair that's almost as straight as an arrow, However, grooming is not what's on her mind—she's been searching for her childhood friend. She's gone to his house, but not even one of his Pokémon came to the door. She tried to call him at work, but he didn't answer. What happened to this guy? Not even Rosa's heard from him, so what's his deal?
"Hard to find is an understatement in this case," Melanie laments as she glances at an old photo album that she's kept for years. The album's opened to page that contains photos of their starters through the years. For Valen, it's photos of Cyndaquil, Quilava and Typhlosion. For her, it's photos of Mudkip, Marshtomp and Swampert.
Melanie flips to the next page, now glancing at photos of Valen, Rosa, Hilda, and herself. What's going on with Hilda? Why hasn't she contacted her back, let alone tried to contact Valen? Hopefully, she'll get answers eventually.
Recently, Melanie's heard that the BW Agency's planning to move their main division to Angel City. Is Hilda just busy with the BW Agency?
Melanie stands up and straightens out her blue, Valerie Versace jean jacket, which matches her blue jeans and her azure shirt underneath. Both are also from the same brand, which has been her favorite for years.
"I suppose moping around won't help. Let's see if his boss can get him to meet up with me." She glances towards a large window on her right, staring into the clear skies above.
After about a minute has passed, Melanie turns away from the window and opens a wooden door that leads to a flight of stairs. "I better take the back entrance." Melanie sighs. "Just in case."
Valen's arrived at Liniya Industries, and has been greeted by Dimitri Liniya within a monitor room.
Valen keenly eyes all of the computer monitors. Security, that's been his job. All he's got to do is sit there and watch all these monitors, looking for troublemakers. Little interaction with anybody else here, then he goes straight home. Then, he spends the rest of the day reading and chilling with his Pokémon. He's been an avid reader since his teens, and that won't change.
Dimitri sports a faint frown. Why does Valen never take a day off? Furthermore, Valen never talks about anything personal, and he usually keeps to himself. It's like all he knows is work and serious matters. Dimitri knows that this is unhealthy, but does Valen himself realize it? He needs to spend more personal time with other people. Hopefully, he's at least spending personal time with his Pokémon.
"You have yet to miss a single day," Dimitri remarks, adjusting his white Grimsley Lauren suit.
"Consider it my way of saying thanks," Valen replies. "You gave jobs to former soldiers, and it's not easy adjusting back to civilian life after serving in the military."
"It is the least I could do," Dimitri admits with his left hand in the pocket of his white dress pants. "However, we will have to cut this talk short."
"Who else's responsible?"
"I do not mean what you think I mean."
"What're you saying?" Valen directs his attention to the room's pitch black walls.
Black, the color of mystery. At least, that's what Valen's thought for a long time. Is it a coincidence that Dimitri's saying this when the walls around them are finished in black? Or, does fate have another plan for him?
Dimitri never talks about his own personal life, so why's he doing all of this? All he knows about Dimitri's that he was born in Vega City, and that this company dates back to the 17th century. Like many others, Valen also knows that Liniya Co. is to Calvana what Silph is to Kanto, and what Devon is to Hoenn.
"Melanie wants to meet up with you. Maybe it is time for-"
"She's actually been asking about me?" Valen cuts Dimitri off, scratching his disheveled, black hair.
"You really don't pay attention, do you?" Dimitri places his right palm on his face, the ends of his fingers touching his copper brown hair.
"...Dimitri...I'm different now." Valen bows his head. "Will I be accepted?"
"Well, there is only one way to find out."
"...Tell her that I said to wait in our old spot," Valen says, feeling like he's in a lose-lose situation.
"Remember, I have the power to make you take an indefinite vacation," Dimitri tells Valen. "Do I have to call General Barsotti?"
Valen rolls his eyes, grumbling, "Fine, but at least you unintentionally reminded me to call my dad."
"You will understand why I am doing this in due time."
"I hope so," Valen replies, sauntering out of the monitor room.
Melanie waits for Valen on a park bench in a quaint, quieter neighborhood that is a considerable distance away from downtown. However, this area's within Angel City's massive boundaries.
This is the same neighborhood where both Valen and Melanie grew up in. Melanie recalls that Valen's a big fan of old architecture, and he'd gush about how cool it was to live in a Neoclassical area of the city. Melanie's parents moved her when she was seven, as her parents fell in love with this style of house. Her father was writing a novel set in the 18th century, and came here to study the architecture.
Melanie sits on a park bench in a quaint, quieter neighborhood that is a considerable distance away from downtown. As plants rustle in the wind, Melanie quietly waits for Valen, surrounded by people walking, laughing and talking. She watches a pair of teenagers battling it out with a Druddigon and an Altaria, reminiscing about how Valen and her used to duke it out with their own Dragon-type Pokémon in this park.
A familiar roar catches her attention. She glances upwards, looking for the source, but only sees a flock of Pidgey and Pidgeotto startled into flight by the noise. Another roar, and the Salamence flies into sight. The dragon lands, and a group of kids marvel at the powerful Pokémon.
Melanie's mouth curves into a smile, noticing who's slouching between the dragon's wings. Her childhood friend's finally showed himself.
Her brown eyes light up as she watches jumps off his Salamence. She likes the color combination of his clothes—a black Guzmani leather jacket with a copper shirt from the same brand underneath. He's also wearing black leather pants, meaning his attire hasn't changed much. Valen's always liked to present himself as either a bad boy or a classy gentlemen. The latter's how he presented himself when he was a famous trainer.
Then, one of Melanie's Pokémon lets himself out of his Poké Ball. The Pokémon in question is her Dragonite. The two dragons are delighted to see each other, giving each other a claw bump.
"It looks like they still have their dragon bromance," Valen tells Melanie. As he sits next to her on the bench, Valen watches his Salamence and Melanie's Dragonite playfully arguing over who's the cooler dragon.
As their dragons playfully quarrel, Valen glances towards Melanie. "This park's relaxing," he admits. "I've always liked the old style of architecture here."
"We made a lot of memories here," Melanie remarks, sporting a warm smile as she's overcome with nostalgic, happy memories. One such memory involves Valen jumping for joy when his Shelgon evolved into Salamence. "I'm happy that you remembered this spot."
"I believe you have questions for me, even though I imagined that you'd be much more happy to see me," Valen remarks, silently pondering about how this reunion will turn out.
"Of course I am happy to see you again, and yes I do have questions," Melanie replies. "First of all, why were you so damn difficult to find?"
"I dunno, why was I so difficult to find?" Valen retorts, slouching as he stares blankly at the sky. "I'm not a magician, you know. I'm just a guy who likes to be very discreet."
"Oh, like I'm going to accept that reason," Melanie grumbles. "Give me a better answer."
"Do you think I give a fuck?" Valen barks, closing his eyes and folding his arms. "Accept it or don't accept it. Do whatever the fuck you wanna do."
"Hey, don't be so rude!" Melanie scolds, furrowing her brow. "I've been looking for your ass, and this is how you respond to me?!"
"Huh, you were indeed looking for me," Valen nonchalantly observes with his right thumb and index finger on his chin. "Interesting, so I guess my hunch was incorrect."
"What do you mean by that?!"
"Pokemon are loyal, but I dunno if I can trust people again." Valen refuses to make eye contact with Melanie, his eyes glancing towards the right side of her blue jean jacket.
Melanie gasps, her eyes becoming watery. "No...is that why...nobody's heard from you?"
Both Dragonite and Salamence note that the conversation's escalated. Dragonite notices that Salamence's got a pained look on his face. He pats Salamence on his head, letting out a soft cry to console his longtime friend. Salamence lets out a soft roar to thank Dragonite. Salamence hopes that one day, the trainer who raised him will return.
Melanie's at a loss for words, feeling like somebody just put heavy weights on her back. How did Valen become this callous and apathetic? Melanie sniffles as she flashes back to the Valen that she remembers, comparing the smile he used to sport with the scowling Valen that's sitting next to her. As kids, Valen was the first one to make her feel at home in the neighborhood. As kids, they received their starters within the same week. She picked Mudkip while Valen picked Cyndaquil. Valen was a sweetheart to her, always making sure she was okay, always making sure she smiled, always supported her in her dream of becoming a writer, and so on.
Their relationship was so close they even platonically cuddled a few times. How can that Valen and the guy sitting next to her be the same person? Melanie's never felt this heartbroken before. Even though he's alive, that war still took her best friend away, leaving only a bitter shell of his former self.
"Are you-"
"What the hell is this, Valen?" Melanie erupts, clenching her teeth as tears start to stream down her cheeks. "How can you not trust your friends?! Why're you like this!? What happened to my best friend?!"
"Don't give me commands, and don't ask me questions." Valen rebukes, his voice emitting a harsh tone. "You're not my commanding officer in special forces."
"Forget this!" Melanie screams, getting up from the bench as fast as she can. "I don't want to be your friend anymore if you've become such a jerk!" Melanie begins to storm off.
Valen realizes that no matter how bitter he feels, that's not an excuse to act this way. "Wait, I'm sorry."
Melanie's eyes widen as she halts, rapidly turning around to face Valen. "Did you...apologize?"
"You looked for me." Valen closes his eyes. "You don't deserve that kind of treatment."
Melanie blinks, unsure of what to make of this. Then, she notices the two dragons have been looking at them, along with several other onlookers and Pokémon.
"I can be brash, but I'm not cruel," Valen says. "I went too far."
"...I'm sorry too...I got upset," Melanie admits, wiping away her tears. "Can we...can we start this meeting over? I really...I really missed you."
"Of course, come on back," Valen replies, re-opening his eyes. "It's nice to be able to talk to you again."
Melanie faintly smiles as walks back to the bench. She down next to her old friend again.
Melanie looks at her Dragonite, saying, "Don't worry, I'll be fine."
Dragonite lets out a soft cry to indicate that he understands.
"I'll be okay," Valen reassures his Salamence.
Salamence nods, sporting a faint smile.
"Moving on, you said special forces. I'd like to know at least a little bit about that, assuming everything isn't top secret."
"First, I think a memory refresher may be needed. Initially, my tasks included search and rescue, disaster relief, fighting Pokémon poachers, and so on." Valen explains.
"I remember now."
"Eventually, they didn't even need me, as Calvana had no major conflicts that needed all hands on deck."
"Please keep going."
"I was going to be part of the third unit that got deployed to Orre," Valen explains. "However, my commanding officer unexpectedly wrote a letter of recommendation for me to a certain unit. I can't give much more information than that. We weren't even allowed to use our real names.
Valen reveals the inside of his jacket, showing Melanie a gold medal shaped like a fang, and a purple medal shaped like a shield. "My only 'achievements' are these medals—the Fang of Valor and the Purple Shield."
Melanie winces at the sight of Valen's Purple Shield. "Why didn't you tell me you got hurt?!"
She bows her head, wondering what else he's hiding from her. She also knows he's lying about his achievements, but she doesn't understand why. This guy tamed a Salamence. A Salamence. Even with a strong bond, that's an achievement in itself.
"Relax, I made a full recovery from those wounds," Valen replies. "The scars are still there, though."
"...At least tell me what happened...please?" Melanie winces, shedding tears again. She places her left hand over her paining gut. "Please...please tell me...how you got wounded."
"...My unit ran into a machine gun nest near Pyrite Town," Valen admits. Valen points to his Salamence, stating, "This guy eventually took out that nest."
Salamence recalls that incident well. He's not proud of going on a rampage, but what was he supposed to do? The trainer who raised him was wounded by enemy forces. He doesn't like to shed blood when he doesn't have to, and it's the same story with the others. However, nobody wounds their trainer like that and gets away with it.
"You saw a lot of horrible things in Orre, huh?" Melanie asks in a brittle tone, still feeling pain within her gut.
"I thought I'd seen all of humanity's dark side, then I saw what happened in Orre." Valen frets.
Melanie wipes away her tears, musing, "It's hard to blame him for feeling this way."
"There's quite an interesting dynamic between us," Valen states.
"What do you mean?"
Valen's mouth curves into a faint smile. "You could be hanging out with big time celebrities, but you passed all that up to find a nobody like me. Heh, I can't say I was expecting that."
"A nobody? Is that what he thinks of himself?" Melanie laments to herself.
"Thanks for trying to reach out," Valen says with a hint of gratitude. "I guess fate's got other plans for me."
"We're still friends, big guy," Melanie replies in a warm tone. "However, I expect to see you again very soon."
Valen closes his eyes, not wanting Melanie see his eyes have moistened up. He's moved that his childhood friend went to the trouble of looking for him, and he accepts that he was at least a little bit wrong.
"I'm not a social person anymore," Valen tells Melanie.
He re-opens his eyes and stands up. He saunters towards his Salamence. "I should be getting back to Dimitri now."
"Wait, can I ask you something?"
"...Go ahead."
"Will you reach out to Rosa?" Melanie asks, feeling pain in her gut again. "She's asked me about you, but I didn't know where you were."
"I'd love to, but I screwed up." Valen lets out a heavy sigh. "I'm sure that Rosa's really mad at me."
"You're wrong," Melanie replies, sporting a somber frown. "Please believe me when I say that Rosa really wants to hear from you again."
"Relationships need communication...I dunno if I can make up with Rosa," Valen laments, shedding a few tears as a feeling of heaviness overcomes him.
"Valen, don't be a fool!" Melanie whimpers. "You don't need to make up anything to her! She loves you!"
"...I love her too...but I dunno what to do anymore." Valen glances up at the sky. "I miss everybody...I missed you too...but I feel lost...can I trust anyone else again?"
"Valen-"
"I'll see you around."
Salamence takes flight, sporting a concerned expression over his trainer's current demeanor.
Melanie and her Dragonite wave good bye as they watch them leave, both looking concerned themselves. Then, Dragonite turns his head to see how his trainer's doing. Dragonite remembers Rosa too, and he doesn't understand why Valen's acting like this.
Melanie sheds a few tears, feeling like someone just put a heavy load on her. Should she be happy that she met up with Valen again, or should she be sad that he's become the opposite? Furthermore, how does she get through to him about Rosa? How can Rosa be mad at him? Did he forget how happy they were together?
Melanie wipes away her tears and goes silent for a brief moment. Dragonite looks on, wondering what his trainer's going to do.
Then, Melanie smiles and forms a fist with her right hand. "I guess it's up to us to bring back the old Valen, isn't it?"
Melanie turns to look at her Dragonite. "I'm sure you want another duel between dragons as well." Dragonite's expression turns into one of confidence upon hearing his trainer utter these words.
Then, Melanie hears her phone ding, and she goes to check her text messages. Before she arrived at the park, she texted Rosa about Valen. Rosa's replied, apologizing because she was busy. She understands, as Rosa's even more popular.
Rosa texts that she's got faith in Valen. He'll reach out to her. Melanie smiles, admiring Rosa's positive attitude. Maybe she should have the same faith in Valen as she does. After all, Valen's still her childhood friend.
What did you think of the first chapter?
Angel City's the Pokémon Los Angeles. Orre's based off of Arizona. The original region in this fic's based on California, Oregon, Washington, Nevada, and Idaho. However, there's European influences as well, especially in the architecture.