Pokémon 0: The Hearts of Trainers


It's been 9 months I think. Feels good to write again! Enjoy!


"I'll pay you back." - Rob

Chapter I: Red and Black

"So I was thinking I'd do like you and get myself a flat near Hearthome," Darius said. He had a proud strut in his step as we followed a country dirt path through an empty field. His flashlight lit the way.

Hearthome City's lights from a distance were a manmade Milky Way. The real stars in the sky were blurred out by the smog clouds. Skyscrapers and giant cranes were gathered in the southern part surrounding the radio tower and its blinking, synchronized red lights. The city was black at night. The city's name came from the saying "Home Is Where the Heart Is," but Hearthome was more of my hub than a home.

Staring out at the city made me lag behind Darius. "Do it man," I said in distraction.

Darius started to talk about the money he'd have to put down and questioned where he would get it.

"You have any regular Poké Balls on you?" He asked. "You know some of those Rocket boys pay for Pokémon still."

I ignored his implied suggestion. "Or you could get a Pokémon team together and fight in the Battle Tent," I said. "You'd have to ask Nina for a fake PokéDex but you get nice money from it. Legal too. Kinda."

He shrugged and said nothing. We continued down through the field. Being the only two humans in the area at that time of night was weird. Out helping Darius with catching Pokémon for Team Zero was even weirder. He had come to my apartment ringing my doorbell two hours ago asking me to protect him.

Four years had passed since I met him in Johto. We both used to be Pokémon Trainers but we figured getting into Team Zero would benefit us more. Unlike him, I still had my Pokémon while he decided to drop from our leader's pupil to a basic member by giving his only Pokémon up. His ex replaced him as Zero's pupil a few months later. The two ignore each other.

"How'd you get a Gastly?" I asked him as we passed by the old, collapsed wreckage of a farmhouse. "I don't remember what you had before him, but I don't think you started off with one."

"I traded for it," he said tersely. "It was like my first homework assignment from Zero. Damn sure couldn't find one myself and he didn't want to give me one."

I snickered. "And now you get to catch some."

He mumbled something incomprehensible as we got near the end of the field. Our boots squelched in the wet grass from an earlier rainstorm as we reached a dense thicket that covered the entire perimeter. A familiar chill ran through me. Wild ghost types had that effect. Darius froze up and stared into the darkness through the trees.

"Do you really need ghost Pokémon?" I asked. He kept silent. I put a hand on his shoulder and he flinched violently.

"Uh. Yeah! Yeah… Zero always preferred ghost types," he stammered out.

That was news to me since Zero never made me catch Pokémon for him after a screw-up with a bunch of Slowpoke I caught.

A light breeze rustled the trees. The chilling feeling subsided.

"Feel that? The wind probably scared them since they're babies," I said.

Darius was still petrified. "They might run away if you don't hurry and catch some," I reminded him.

He rattled his head and zipped his coat up. Then he tightened his gloves and pulled a Zero Ball out of his pocket. "Let's go."

He stepped into the thicket, but then immediately jumped out glaring at me before I could even follow.

"What beats ghost types?" He asked in a harsh whisper. "You can hurt ghosts right?"

Seeing Darius get jumpy made me wonder if other forces were influencing him. He was giddy to catch some Gastly after learning about a cluster made its home in the abandoned farms outside of Veilstone. Gastly were easy to deal with, but they had to come from somewhere or something.

"I can scare off a bunch of little ghosts," I said. "Now can we go? I feel like you're going to end up asking me to catch them for you."

Darius brightened up with a toothy smile. "And if I did, would you?"

I sighed. "Nope. You brought us out here. Just hurry up before it hits dawn."

He pulled his cellphone out his pocket and turned on the screen. "It's only about 2 AM."

My temper began to rise. "So don't stand here for three hours! Go on!"

Darius sucked his teeth and began to head back in but hesitated one more time. "You'll stand right there, right?"

"Dude, just go!" I shouted. His rustling became louder and hurried as he made his way through the thicket. Going in there myself would've been too dangerous if anything did happen. My Pokémon wouldn't have enough space to fight and keep us safe at the same time. The idea was to start wrecking the place if something happened. Darius lacked Pokémon so he always had to make sure he had someone helping him out. Catching Pokémon could get dangerous. Catching Pokémon with an illegal kind of Poké Ball was worse.

A bright flash came from inside the thicket. My arm shot to my eyes to block the glare. Zero Balls gave off a blinding light when they were activated.

Suddenly, a powerful gust hit me on my side and sent me tumbling over the grass. My hand was already on my belt, ready to toss out my special attackers.

You won't get far.

A sharp pain drove itself down through my skull behind my right ear. The sensation did a sudden swirl and made me collapse to the ground holding my head.

You'll regret this. You'll be caught. You'll be killed.

I tossed out two Poké Balls. The ground under me shook from Alan's weight and June's aura raised the air's temperature. Gastly can't mess with people's heads. A stronger Pokémon was stirred.

The area became unnaturally dark after Zero Ball's glow faded away. The shadows from the trees and blades of grass stretched from June's illuminated body. A wild Gengar wanted to fight.

"June! Stay close to Alan. Alan! Get ready to do the Shadow Ball move we practiced!" I commanded as I got up and crawled over to June to stand next to her. Her current heat wouldn't harm me.

Flames ignited in her clawed hands. She was ready to roast the ghost. Her sharp green eyes darted around to catch a glimpse of the sinister ghost.

Alan towered over both of us. His massive frame was wide and ready to take whatever was thrown at him right in the chest. Massive for a Nidoking, I once asked a breeder about what could have made him so large. They guessed it was his body's way of compensating for the excess poison glands. The spikes on his back were fully erect and his bottom jaw was wide open. His mouth was pitch black, collecting the dark energy from the environment. Some ghost Pokémon had a tendency to make a lot appear despite being weak to it. Gengar was one of those kinds.

An agonizing scream erupted in my head. June pushed me away and shot a lick of flames behind me. I turned around and saw a small, plump shadowy figure rolling on the ground covered in fire. The normal giant grin Gengar usually have was a frown on this one.

You'll regret this. You'll be caught. You'll be killed. There's a lot of people waiting for me back at Headquarters.

Alan blasted the writhing figure with its own shadows that it used to trick us. The blast sent the Gengar rolling across the field, where the flame on its body exploded. The Gengar incinerated in a matter of seconds. Its ashes shriveled upward into the air and faded away.

I sat on the ground as the Gengar's darkness slowly brightened back up to the normal nighttime light. "That was easy," I said in surprise as I wiped the dirt and grass blades off my shoulders.

Darius jumped out the thicket holding his Zero Ball. His head darted around and he was on his toes ready to run. Seeing my Pokémon made him stop and take a step back.

He frowned. "Damn Ed! I was just about to warn you 'bout the thing." The fading smoke wafted past him. "Took care of him yourself, I see."

I got on my feet and wiped my jeans off. June got my attention by letting off a slight stream of fire into the air with a flick of her wrist. Then she stretched enough to pop her bones and let out a screeching yawn. Getting out of a Poké Ball after a week stuffed inside one made her stiff. The only time my Pokémon were let out was when I was training them back 'home'. They were only used in emergencies if I was on Team Zero duty. The Champions knew my face and they didn't need to place it with my Pokémon. A Blaziken was a common enough starter Pokémon, but June and I would've stuck out. We'd be caught if news ever got out telling we were now in Sinnoh.

She turned around and faced me when I grabbed her Poké Ball to return her. She had grown up in a gym learning how to fight. Her jade eyes reflected a sense of learned strength and ability. Other Zero members always talked about how fierce she looks and asked how she got so strong. However, I felt regret every time I had her out. The same feeling touched me when I had any of my Pokémon out, but June had the status of being my first Pokémon and the one who I used to use the most. I went from carrying her in my arms to holding her hand while I went around the Johto mainland. That was four years ago.

Darius had his cluster of Gastly and we left. We made our way to the ends of the fields to where a road laid and followed it back to a small, country town called Lemon Hill. My Pokémon were already back in their balls and on my belt despite it being so late at night. While we were waiting at the bus stop, I had to look down and make sure I was wearing civilian clothes. Normal clothes.

The bus came and we got on. We rode it back to Veilstone and Darius stayed onboard for the round trip to get back to his place at Headquarters. I waved him farewell and went on my way through the streets of the city. The streetlights on the sidewalk made me thankful I didn't have to live in Lemon Hill or on its farms.

Turning the lonely corner on Esis Street brought me to the doorstep of my place. Sounds of heavy bass and a rapid tempo came from a few blocks away. Going to a house party would've been nice any other night but I was yawning as I climbed up to my apartment. First thing I did after unlocking my door was toss my coat on top of the other coats on my recliner. Second thing was to get disappointed at the dishes piling out of my sink. Third thing was to quietly get into my room and throw off my clothes. My girlfriend Gabrielle was sound asleep sprawled over my bed. I carefully stepped around her clothes on the floor and got on the other side and sat down on the mattress to untie my boots. She slid over consciously or unconsciously (couldn't tell) and I climbed in to bed and went to sleep without a word.

The next morning, I woke up to find a shirtless Rob hastily pouring a glass of my orange juice and filling it to the brim. He was the same Rob from four years ago, with the same barrel-chested build. Same wild black hair down to his shoulders. Still reckless. He saw me and started to gargle. I stared at him in confusion.

"Usually you ask," I said, "but that's kind of disgusting."

He swallowed the juice, coughed harshly, and spat into the sink. "My throat was all itchy when I woke up. I'm not trying to get sick and anything citrus kills anything that makes a sore throat."

He turned on the faucet to let it clean out his spit off the stack of dishes. "I'll pay you back." Then his eyes brightened as he stared at the tower of china in front of him. "How about I wash these and we can call it even?"

A glass of orange juice to clean a week's worth of dishes? "Awesome. That works."

We planned our day out in the kitchen while I cooked myself some scrambled eggs. Then Gabrielle walked in all tired, yawning with her brown curly locks getting stuck on her lips. She sat down with us put her forehead on the tabletop and groaned in frustration. Rob immediately got up to put his glass in the sink and turned on the faucet to start washing dishes.

"Gabby, you got up just in time," I said scraping eggs from the frying pan to the plate. "Rob and I are going to hit up the Veilstone Gym. Wanna come and finally give my Pokémon the attention they deserve?"

Gabby stayed quiet while she rolled her head onto her ear. "'Hit up?'"

I sat down with my breakfast. "We're going to the gym. Rob and me. Come with us. Cheer me on. We can run on the treadmills afterwards."

She groaned. "It's Sunday so I gotta head over to The Fellowship and sort files…again…while finishing a history paper due tomorrow. Then I need to apply for this scholarship that's been in the back of my head for a week now."

I chuckled and wondered how having a measly three gym badges would stack to her. "Ha! Homework. But yeah, I thought your shift started at 2. It's 11 and the gym is on the way."

Gabby sat up to stretch and yawned. "You know what? I think I'll just clock in early. Get extra money while writing on dead kings and queens. Let me grab my clothes and get out of here."

She got up and went back into my bedroom and closed the door behind her. I caught Rob standing straight after leaning to the side to check her out. He went back to scrubbing the plates.

"Hey Rob, isn't weird to think about people our age having to do homework?" I asked, finishing my eggs.

"Well, you'd be on your last year of high school I think," he answered as he rinsed a glass. "Or in Johto you would. I'd probably be kicked out of school or in college. Kicked out most likely."

I put my plate into the dishwater and patted Rob's back. "Rob, you're smarter and you work harder than any of these stuck up students who live near us. Except Gabby's cool because Gabby doesn't make it her goal to get wasted every week like the rest of them."

"Instead her goal is," Rob cleared his throat and began speaking with a high and mighty Sinnoh accent, "to become a high and mighty, upstanding citizen in the community – helping regular people and Trainers alike."

Rob heard my bedroom door open quickly shut his mouth. Gabby came out in a simple tank top and jeans. She grabbed her backpack and coat from the living room and came back to the kitchen to kiss me bye and a goodbye wave to Rob. We kept silent until we heard the front door close behind her.

"So yesterday," I started, sitting backwards at my table, "you said Eli might have another job for me?"

Rob put a stack of clean plates into a cupboard. "He was thinking about it. I don't think he'll use you though. You really don't' wanna be mixed up with him again anyway."

My head sunk into my folded arms. "I didn't mind beating people up for him. He gave me folks who deserved to be smacked around. You don't think I can do it?"

Rob sighed and shook his head. "Anyone can sit there and hit someone who's tied to a chair. But for you, nah, it's something I'm glad Zero got you out of. And speaking of him, he told me something extremely awesome and interesting."

I leaned forward. "'Sup?"

The dishes and glasses were finished and put up. Rob jumped his rear up onto the counter with a mischievously wide smile. "An old friend of ours is coming up from Hoenn to join us."

All I could do was frown. Whatever devious thought Rob had left him and made him concerned. "The hell's wrong?"

My heart sank and I became conscious of my Poké Balls on their belt lazily hanging up. Happiness was outnumbered by romantic confusion and inferiority. A small tremor had shaken every development and achievement I made in the past four years and brought them closer to the edge of a shelf, and they were just waiting to fall and break.

I sighed and laughed. "Alice is coming to Sinnoh huh? I guess it's time for me to start being self-conscious now."

Rob nodded. "Yup. And with that train of thought, you're going to beast in the gym all this week and when she gets off that boat or plane…whatever she's on, you'll challenge her to a fight right then and there and then everyone won't feel bad anymore."

"If I said this is the start of me feeling worthless, what would you think?" I said, sulking and getting paranoid of the impending drama between Alice, her Pokémon, me, and my Pokémon. All I could predict were blood and tears along the later on. This would be one bittersweet reunion.

"I'd say you're finally thinking too much after I-don't-know-how long," he replied. "And besides, you two are both grown now. You got a hot girlfriend who you fuck on a regular basis unless you've been bullshitting me over the phone. You've had one-night stands from parties and such. Living the life of a Trainer. All that stuff." He shrugged. "But yeah. I'd say you are over whatever happened back when you were thirteen or fourteen and now you're just thinking too much. A simple fight would fix it."

When I was still traveling in Johto, Alice and I had to fight each other for our fourth badges. She not only beat me, but she destroyed me. One of my Pokémon had been beaten to a bloody pulp and was out for days. June had been incapacitated and then had her arm broken. And this was done by a girl I had developed feelings for. She was a crush, and I even kissed her after I lost. After that, I first felt like everything I chose to do was wrong. I was supposed to be mad at her but I couldn't make myself stay angry.

Every time I look at June or Shox, I feel stupid and I apologize to them in my head. I found my peace eventually and all I could do was hope she found hers. But if she came to me ready to fight me again, I told myself I would destroy her like she destroyed me when I was a child.

I smiled from the corner of my face. "Well, we'll see Rob. I think calling her fat might be easier though."

That alone had us laughing while we got our gym clothes on. Then we decided to race to the gym. Despite his bulky frame, Rob managed to stay on my heels. He almost passed me when we crossed the bridge into the inner city. We dodged people and managed to even jump over boxes and pets (I think Rob jumped over a small child and caused a mother to shout at us.)

We were almost at the Gym when we hit an intersection. Both of us breathed hard and held our knees waiting for the orange DON'T WALK light to change. We were next to an electronics store with HDTVs on display in the window for passerby to see.

Rob grinned at me, heaving through his teeth, and burst into a dash across the street. An incoming car hit its breaks hard causing a screech that made everyone on the block turn their heads. Rob just cackled and waved back at me as he made his way down a hill and out my view.

"Yeah keep running. I'll just take my sweet time walking," I said to myself in defeat. I took a step on the street once the signal came on, but the familiar, urgent theme tune from the local news channel blasted from the electric store's speakers. Always wanting to be on top of things, I turned around and watched the 3D letters soar on screen spell out BREAKING NEWS. A Hoenn female reporter at a desk popped up on screen, quickly fluffing her puffy hair.

"We're covering breaking news right outside of Veilstone where police are on the scene of an apparent murder of a Pokémon League Champion."

My excursion with Darius last night came back to me in full force. I prayed the Gengar had nothing to do with the Champion for my sake, Darius' sake, and the dead Champion's sake.

A map showed up on the television and a chill ran over me when the camera zoomed into the dot labeled Lemon Hill. A male reporter at the scene spoke into his microphone as police were walking about behind him. The scene kept changing to focus on trees, police cars, and police tape.

"We are in the Peyton Fields right outside of Lemon Hill where Veilstone police are investing what they believe is the murder of a Pokémon League Champion. They reported that a call came in 10:30 today saying a body was found deep in the nearby woods. The person who called led the police into the woods to where the body was to confirm the story was true. The police confirmed the victim was a Kanto Pokémon League Champion named Benjamin Bradshaw. The cause of death has not been announced yet, but the police state it was murder."

I was no stranger to the brush of death, but experiencing another's was something only a few people in the world could handle. I wasn't one of them. The Gengar I 'killed' had been made out of Benjamin Bradshaw's memories. It had probably been a Gastly, but came in contact with the corpse and reacted to it. Ghost Pokémon gathered toward death and the dying – the lifeless and the near-lifeless were rich with anti-waves.

I knew Zero would want to talk to me about this. What I didn't know was how far down this murder was in the chain of events I had no idea I was part of. The last thing I wanted was to have anything to do with a Champion. The worst thing that could happen was if police somehow put me and Darius at the scene

When a Champion falls, more come in and replace him. No doubt Champions were already investigating the murder. The Champions would probably find some trace of the Gastly and the Gengar. That was enough of a stretch for them to start looking for me.

Zero, Dmitri, and Ilia no doubt had this figured out. I didn't know what I would be doing in the coming months, but something told me I wouldn't be in Veilstone anymore.


Anyone know how I can contact folks to show them I've started uploading the sequel? That's what those author/story alert things are for, right?