I'm going to preface this story with a few important items:
1. As should be obvious from the publish date, I started this project in 2013, wrote the prologue and two chapters, and disappeared. That's six years ago, folks. But I'm back. Progress updates can be found on my profile.
2. Please don't bother leaving a review if you have not read any of the story. Should be self-explanatory, but I've been seeing a lot of this around the site. If you obviously have not read what I have written, I will not reply. Simple enough.
3. As you will discover very quickly, this story is not set in the modern Pokémon world, and there are no canon human characters.
Ever Grande City, Hoenn
An exhausted looking wingull fluttered down to land on the ledge of a windowsill. Clutched tightly in its beak was an envelope, stamped and sealed with a golden wax emblem. Its wings stretched out ever-so-slightly as it hopped off the ledge into a grand room.
Blue and silver tapestries hung from the walls, each one telling part of an ancient story. Sea blue carpet ran through the centre of the room, starting at a massive set of doors inlaid with silver inscriptions and ending on the top step of a raised dais at the other end of the room. At the top of these steps was a single chair, bearing the same silvers and blues as the rest of the room. Smaller matching chairs lined the wall on either side of the dais; however, these ones were occupied.
Ten people sat with their backs straight and their gaze directed toward the grand doors. They wore matching robes of sea blue with silver lining. The group was mostly male, all with short-cropped hair. The two women that held seats within the room had grey hair tied back in tight, neat buns.
At the opposite end of the room the eight foot tall doors were opening, revealing the two soldiers responsible for their movement. Both soldiers stepped aside, backs straight and spears in hand.
A third figure came into view, the thick cape that hung from his shoulders and brushed the ground matched the tapestries in the room. The clothes underneath the cape were entirely black and a silver crown rested atop his greying head. He entered the room in silence, his stride long and confident. The people that had been sitting before now respectfully stood, their gazes focused on their king.
He walked to the end, ascending the dais and taking his seat. The people, his advisors, sat down as he did. The soldiers pushed the doors closed; now standing within the room so as to guard their king.
It wasn't until the blue and white pokémon collapsed that anyone took note of it. One of the soldiers left his post to attend to the wingull. He picked it up carefully, removing the letter from its beak. Upon handing the letter to the nearest advisor, he carried the bird pokémon across the room to a door hidden behind one of the tapestries. He opened the door and passed the exhausted wingull through to a servant that was stationed in the hidden room.
While the soldier was preoccupied with the messenger pokémon, the advisor had opened and read the letter. Worry replaced the emotionless expression as he passed it on. The letter made its way to the king, who read it over carefully. When he had finished reading, he folded the letter up and sat in silence. A frown was etched on to his face as he considered the words.
"Sire, we must do something," the first advisor said after a moment of hesitation.
"I agree. This is not something that can be ignored," their king said finally, rising back to his feet. "Reschedule all of today's meetings, we must look to address this immediately," he added, glancing at the man sitting to his right. The man rose, bowed, and hurried from the room to do as he had been asked. "It is worse than we feared."
"What can be done though? This describes the land itself as sick." A second advisor spoke up, the pitch of his voice rising toward the end.
"There will be a cure," one of the female advisors assured them, rising to her feet as well. Within moments, the rest of the advisors were standing as well, forming a loose circle before their king.
"There is, but I do not believe it is in this region," the eldest of the advisors said after a moment of silence. His frail voice was hard to make out from a distance, but most heard him.
"How do you mean?" the king questioned, looking at his elder with a mixture of respect and concern, thick brows pulled together.
"There are pokémon capable of cleansing the land-," he answered, his voice becoming slightly louder.
"A myth," one of the younger advisors replied, his voice over-powering the elder's quiet one and cutting him off. "We can't rely on myths and children's stories to protect our people."
With this, everyone began talking at once. Two sides formed quickly, both wanting to make their thoughts on the matter clear. A third group questioned both.
"Silence!" the king demanded over the arguing, his voice cutting through the bickering. The quiet that followed was stifling in the great stone room.
"King Emery, whether or not there is anything within our borders that can eradicate this disease, none of us can say for certain." It was one of the female advisors that dared to break the silence, setting her gaze directly upon her king, daring any of her fellow advisors to argue with her. "Regardless, all possibilities should be considered. I say we send search parties for a cure while our brightest minds look into this." She avoided specifically mentioning the pokémon by name, lest she spark another fight.
"We should contact King Nathaniel and Queen Adrianna, they may know something of this," another advisor suggested, his voice quiet.
The king nodded slightly at each suggestion before raising his hand for silence. "Lady Selma, you will send word to the captains of our fastest ships. Make no mention of any legends or myths, but request that they search the other regions for a cure. Lord Kale, I want troops organized and sent to all of our cities. People will become desperate if the situation continues to devolve, and there will be more pokémon attacks. I will send word to our neighbours."
"Sire, what about Captain Greyson?" one of the advisors questioned.
"No," he stated, his voice cold and flat, his gaze withering. "I will request nothing of that criminal, not after the last time. If anyone sees that ship, they have orders to sink it."
"But sire-," the advisor started.
"I said, no! You will do as you've been told," the king demanded, knowing he wasn't being entirely fair to his advisors. "Now, we should discuss what kind of reward we should offer for when a solution is found."
Cameran Palace, Kanto
A steady roar filled the large stadium, the very earth it sat upon vibrating. Every seat was full, and every single person there was cheering. Green and red banners were strung up above, criss-crossing against the bright blue sky over the stadium. A handful of officials stood down below, to the side of the battlefield that was painted on to the hard ground in the middle of the stadium.
The door at the north end of the stadium opened, revealing the silhouette of a person. They walked out of the shadows to the edge of the battlefield. The person, clearly male, was dressed in red with a black cape that fluttered out behind him and complemented his strong shoulders. Dark hair framed a bronze face, piercing eyes taking in everything before them. He stopped within the borders of a box that had been painted on to the hard-packed ground. Much to the crowds delight, he raised his right fist to the air as he looked around at the audience.
"Ladies and gentleman, and our royal highnesses, please help me welcome Sir Samuel of Kanto, our reigning three time champion!" The announcer had trouble making himself heard, and the last of his sentence was entirely drowned out by the cheering.
The door at the opposite end of the stadium opened, revealing a second man. Where Sir Samuel was confident, this man was determined. He was dressed much like his opponent, except his clothes were green and his cape white. His brown hair was cut short and he was tanned from countless hours in the sun. He stood in the painted box opposite Sir Samuel, his gaze trained on his opponent, ignoring the audience around them.
When the roaring had died down the announcer continued, "And the challenger, Sir Weston of Johto!"
The officials stepped forward, all holding various flags. The head official raised a blue flag, signalling to the crowd that he'd just ordered the two trainers to choose their pokémon.
There was a flash of light on either side of the field as the two men opened their poké balls. Before Sir Samuel stood a massive brownish-orange pokémon with green wings that was easily taller than any human. A dragonite, years of battle experience reflected in the fierce set of its face. It flapped its wings and roared, further exciting the crowd. On the opposite side of the field was a second massive pokémon, only slightly shorter than its opponent. The armour that made up its body was carefully polished, the sun glinting off of it. Spikes protruded from its back and shoulders, and, when the tyranitar tipped its head back and roared, sand swirled around the stadium.
When the official had finished explaining the rules to the two trainers, he brought the flag down and stepped back. The stadium had already transformed, wind whipping dust and dirt all around the battlefield.
"Dragonite, aqua tail!" Sir Samuel yelled out, starting the battle on the offensive, confident in his pokémon.
The large dragon pokémon launched itself forward, water materializing behind it and swirling through the air around its tail. It approached the opposing pokémon with immense speed, speed that had helped him to defeat his previous opponents with ease.
"Brace yourself and use stone edge, Tyranitar!" Sir Weston called out.
The massive, armoured pokémon planted both its feet firmly, the ground below it trembling with each step. The air around it glowed as countless jagged rocks formed. Dragonite was almost upon him when the rocks shot out, slowing the winged opponent down and causing it to falter slightly. The two crashed, Dragonite's tail slamming into Tyranitar. Tyranitar was knocked back by the impact. Dragonite landed hard on the ground, but kept upright as it shook off the sting of its opponent's counterattack.
Above the stadium, a large blue and white pokémon was diving down toward the battlefield. It avoided the battling pokémon and the sandstorm that raged around them, flying directly to a separate viewing box three levels up. Two guards rushed forward, prepared to protect the occupants of the viewing box from the foreign pokémon that was landing on the ledge. The large bird opened its massive beak, revealing the letter it was carrying. Immediately after the guard had taken the letter from the pokémon, it flew off, heading in the direction of Mt. Silver.
"One of Emery's messengers?" the woman that had been sitting within asked calmly. She shifted her red dress and leaned forward to take the letter from her guard.
"I would assume so. A pelipper, I think it was," the man seated beside her replied. He wore a matching robe of red, and both had golden crowns seated atop their heads.
The door to their private box opened and a flustered looking soldier hurried in, further taking their attention away from the tournament going on below. He carried his helmet under one arm and his face was streaked with dust.
"There's been an attack at Cianwood City. Wild pokémon are over-running the city as we speak. They're requesting our help," he managed to say, breathing heavily.
"Send the Sky Guard out, and update us as soon as there is more news," the woman said as she unfolded the letter to read.
"Yes, Queen Adrianna! Thank you, my queen," the soldier said, bowing slightly. "King Nathaniel, sir," he added with another bow before taking his leave.
"What does Emery have to say?" King Nathaniel asked, his gaze on the letter instead of the battle that was still going on below.
"The plant life in Hoenn is starting to wither, he's described it as a disease spreading across his land," Queen Adrianna responded quietly, re-reading the letter to double check that she had definitely read that. "Nathaniel, this sounds not unlike what is happening in Johto," she realized, looking up at her husband, eyes wide, the briefest flicker of fear crossing them.
"Cianwood," he murmured, coming to the same realization. "Send a scout to check the land around Cianwood City," he ordered one of the guards, who hurried out immediately. "We mustn't jump to conclusions or panic, we must be certain about this."
"They have not yet found anyone in Hoenn with an answer; they're sending ships to find a solution," she added, continuing to read the letter.
"We will need to do something about this when the scout returns with more information," King Nathaniel stated. "And we should send word North, whatever this is, it appears to be spreading. If it's not already there."
Queen Adrianna rose from her seat, causing a noticeable change in the stadium's atmosphere. Much of the audience had noticed the goings-on in the king and queen's private box and much of the cheering stopped completely when their queen rose. Down below, Sir Samuel and Dragonite had also noticed. Sir Weston and Tyranitar took advantage of their lack of attention to launch a powerful, blinding hyper beam directly at the distracted Dragonite. The dragon pokémon was launched backward, hitting the wall and collapsing to the ground.
Tyranitar stood in the centre of the battlefield and threw its head back, its roar shaking the earth around it. Sir Samuel recalled Dragonite and fumbled at his belt for his next pick, unable to keep his gaze from flicking back up to the royal spectator box. He watched as the royal couple exited the box to deal with the new development, ignoring what was happening below.
Eterna City, Sinnoh
The sky was darkening over the city as the sun set. Lamps were being lit in the streets below and most well-to-do citizens were either heading home or already inside. Above the city, a large bird could be seen as it soared lower and lower over the streets and buildings.
If anyone were watching, they would see that it was heading to the north of the city. Toward the largest structure, a small castle. With the fading light, it was hard to make out the exact colours, but it was clearly made from a dark stone. Several of the rooms had lamps lit inside, allowing for the light to shine out through the windows. Few other buildings in the city had glass windows rather than wooden shutters to keep the elements out.
The large bird pokémon landed on one of the window ledges, a letter clutched in its talons. It peered through the window with dark, unreadable eyes. After a moment, it tapped on the glass pane with its long beak until someone walked over and opened the window for it. It picked up the letter in its beak and hopped down into the room.
The person that had opened the window reached for the letter clutched in the fearow's beak, but the long-necked brown pokémon jerked its head away and glared at the human. It was well-trained, and the man reaching for the letter was not its intended recipient.
A young girl walked into the room, looking as though she'd just been preparing herself for bed. Her hair was down and brushed out, creased from being up all day. Her simple, light green dress brushed the floor and threatened to trip her while the sleeves went down just a little bit too far and restricted the use of her hands.
"What's going on in here?" she asked, stifling a yawn as she studied the unfamiliar, vicious looking bird that was in the room.
"It has a letter, but won't hand it over," the man who opened the window replied, shooting the bird a dirty look.
The pokémon studied the girl momentarily before walking over to her, its head bobbing as it walked. Upon reaching her, it reached up and placed the letter in the girl's hand.
"Lord Roric, you don't happen to have any treats for this fearow, do you?" the girl asked, scratching the creature on the top of the head.
The man, Lord Roric, reached into his coat pocket and pulled out a small bag. "I have a few left," he replied, emptying the remaining treats into his hand and offering it to the pokémon. The fearow took the treats with a distrustful look at Lord Roric, backing away immediately. It headed back to the window and jumped out of it, disappearing into the night as quickly as it came.
"Would you fetch my brother, please?" the girl requested upon seeing the seal on the back of the envelope.
"Of course, Princess Natalia," the young man responded, hurrying from the room.
By the time Lord Roric returned with the young man that was Princess Natalia's brother, she had finished reading the letter. The young man with Lord Roric did not look impressed at having been called to the room at such a late hour, barely suppressing a yawn.
"You both need to read this," the young woman informed them, handing the letter to her brother. "And try not to look so irritable, Liam."
Prince Liam grumbled something unintelligible before taking the letter. He read it quickly, Lord Roric reading over his shoulder. "I doubt it will spread here," Prince Liam scoffed, shaking his head at the thought.
"We should prepare ourselves, my prince, just in case." Lord Roric kept his voice even, looking at the princess instead. There he found his concern reflected in her face.
"I agree, and we can't stand by and do nothing. We are going to be affected by this whether we act or not." Princess Natalia squared her shoulders and held her head high. "These are our trade partners, as father used to say, their problems are our problems."
Prince Liam frowned, not impressed to find himself out numbered on the matter. "Fine, but what do you think we can do?"
"We should start by sending people to Canalave City. If anyone has heard of something like this before it'll be one of the elders living there," Lord Roric suggested, turning his gaze to the dark streets outside the window.
"Our largest port is there as well, if we need to send out ships or take any in. It will also be among the first cities affected if this problem — this disease — spreads like other illnesses do," Princess Natalia added, pleased to find herself in agreement with Lord Roric.
Prince Liam still seemed unimpressed that they were even going to involve themselves, but even he would admit it was a good place to start. "This can all wait until tomorrow, we aren't sending anyone out at this hour." He did not wait for a response, instead turning on his heel and walking to the door. He paused, halfway out the door. "We have people in the other regions, have them look into this." The door closed softly behind him.
"Lord Roric, I want you to personally travel to Canalave. I trust your judgement on these matters." Princess Natalia crossed the room to stand beside the young man.
"Of course, Your Highness, I would be honoured," Lord Roric responded, turning toward her and bowing slightly. "I will leave at first light."