Red's Journey (A Pokémon/Frith Chronicles crossover)
Some know him as a champion, others know him as a hero. In all his life, Red only had two goals that he was working to achieve. To be the champion of every known region, and to catch every Pokémon. After he got his starter Charmander, him and his rival, Blue, have always kept each other on their toes, bettering themselves to reach their end goal.
He has saved the world five times, and conquered and caught all the Pokémon in three regions, and after his hard fought battle with Cynthia a month ago, he added another region to that list. Kanto, Johto, Hoenn, and now Sinnoh. All have fallen, and before he can make his way to Unova, he had to catch every Pokémon in this region.
As he was making his way through the gym challenges, he had heard rumors. Rumors of a strong, elusive, Legendary Pokémon. Some called it the Devil, some called it a destroyer, and even more called it 'The Distortion Pokémon.' What Red called it, however, was his next challenge. He was sitting near Sendoff Spring, his Charizard next to him by the lake. Across the lake, was Turnback cave. Red and Charizard stared at the entrance over the lake, excited that he had found the location. He turned to his Charizard and grinned. "How about it pal? You ready to catch the Devil?" Red reached out to pet his Pokémon's head and Charizard nuzzled his hand, the smoke coming from his nostrils meaning he was content.
Red stood up and looked at the Pokéballs on his belt, satisfied with the team he currently had. All his Pokémon had Mega Evolution stones, and he thought his team was pretty balanced, type wise. He didn't know what type this Pokémon was, but he had to cover as many bases as he could. Dusting off his jeans, he hopped on Charizard's back and he flew him toward the cave.
To the locals, the cave was considered bad luck. It was a natural maze, and people who wandered in typically never came out. They feared the cave, but Red knew better. It wasn't the cave itself they should be fearing, it was what was inside the cave they should've been afraid of.
Charizard dropped him at the mouth of the cave, and using the fire from Charizard's tail to see, the two made their way inside. The inside of the cave was dark, and the flame from Charizard's tail created eerie, ghostly shadows against the cavern walls. As they made their way deeper in the cave, they started hearing the screeching of Pokémon who caused this place home. "It's no wonder people think this place is cursed. This place is full of Goldbats and Ghastlies," he muttered to himself as they came across a fork on the path they were taking. Right or left, he thought to himself, looking down at each and not being able to see anything.
"Hey Charizard, use Flamethrower on both sides of the cave." The orange Pokémon stepped to the entrance on his right and let loose a torrent of hot, red orange flames. From above, several Golbats got agitated and flew away, and Red could barely make out a Ghastly or two. Charizard stepped up and did the same in his left, and this time, some ghostly Duskulls, Dusclops, and some Haunters. Red patted his Charizard on the snout. "What do you think, buddy? The side with the ghost types, or the side with all the Goldbats?" His Pokémon nudged his muzzle towards the ghosts, and Red smiled. "You read my mind. Let's go, buddy."
They made their way down the scary side of the cave, but none of the ghosts seemed remotely interested in Red or his Pokémon. The new Sinnoh Champion found it a little strange that none of the ghost types were attacking, something wasn't right here. Typically, the entire Ghastly line would play pranks and scare people whenever they could, but as the duo made their way deeper into the maze, the more it seemed like that line of Pokémon were trying to avoid him. What was even more confusing to Red, even though they were trying to avoid them, they never actually disappeared. They have the ability to phase through walls, yet they just pushed themselves against the wall tight, like they wanted to see what was going to come next. Red found it very strange, to say the least.
They came to an opening in the cave, and in the middle, stood a pillar. There seemed to be ambient light throughout the cave, so Red made his way closer to the Pillar to study it. He bent down a little and squinted to read the faded inscription in the middle.
"This is… That where life sparkles… That where life has faded… A place where world's overlap…" He stood up and scratched his chin. "That doesn't make any sense. Where life sparkles yet faded? There's Pokémon all around us." He turned around and noticed for the first time that there was in fact, no sound in the chamber, except for the cackle of Charizard's flame. As he looked around, he didn't see a trace of any Pokémon, not even when he looked back to the opening where he came from.
"Okay, that's creepy." Charizard let loose a guttural growl from deep within his throat, and Red turned back to where the Pillar was located. At his feet, the ground started getting wobbly, and before the two knew what hit them, a purple vortex opened up under their feet and swallowed them before they had time to react. "Charizard! Catch me and fly!" Red thought he was falling, but in the next instant, he realized he was standing on a floating platform, but sideways. Panicked, he fell on his butt.
He started looking around, and he noticed platforms everywhere, all floating at different angles. He looked up and saw an upside down platform, with Charizard standing right above him. "You okay buddy?" He shouted to his Pokémon. His Charizard was wobbling a little, no doubt confused just as he was. But he let out a roar, as if to say 'I'm okay!' Red breathed a sigh of relief. "Hang in there! I'm going to find a way to you!" He noticed that the floating platforms weren't very far apart, and he figured he could probably jump across them. He walked over to the edge of his and looked down. All he saw was a glowing purple surrounding, as if he were in the middle of a spooky purple fog.
"I wonder…" he took off his backpack and pulled out an empty PokeBall. He backed away from the edge, and dropped it. Sure enough, it fell at his feet. He knelt down to pick it up, and looked at a platform that was across from him. "No way," hemuttered. He tossed it to the platform across from him, and it fell to the ground on the other side, sticking to it as if it were a magnet.
"So each platform seems to have its own gravitational field. That means I have to be careful if I jump to a platform that's facing a different direction than the one I'm on." He glanced up at his Charizard, and he saw him looking over the edge, blowing little flames over the side. He walked up his platform, put his feet on the edge, and took a deep breath. "This would be a very uncool way to die," he muttered as he leapt to a platform above him.
Though it felt like an eternity, it was really a few seconds. He didn't have time to twist his body in mid air and landed sideways on the new platform. "Oof." He got up, dusted himself off, and repeated the process two more times until he made it to the upside down platform where Charizard was located. He put his hand on his knees and panted. "Buddy," he took in a deep breath and stood up, blowing his sweaty hair out of his eye, "I don't think it's safe to fly here. I'm going to put you back in your ball until I figure out what's happening." His Charizard nuzzled his hand, and Red sighed. "We'll find a way out of here. But rest for now, okay?" He unclipped the ball with a flame from his belt, and touched the button to Charizard's muzzle. He turned into a white light. In the next instant, Red was alone.
He sat down on his upside down platform and looked around. He was getting tripped out from seeing everything from an upside point of view, but something caught his eye in the distance. It was a large shadowy figure, standing far away on the biggest platform around. Red groaned and laid back. "Of course. Of course it's far away." He reached into his bag and took out a water bottle, chugged it, and put it back in his bag. "Whatever." He got to his feet and took a deep breath. "Here goes nothing," he said to himself as he ran to the nearest platform and jumped across. It was a weird sensation, as he jumped between platforms there was a split second where gravity didn't exist. He had to rely on his momentum to ensure he made it to the right platform. The further he went along, though, the harder it became. He rarely landed on his feet, and he was starting to get bruised up all over.
He didn't let that stop him, however. He knew he had to make it to the figure if he intended to get out of here. The closer he got to the shadowy figure though, the more he was second guessing his decision. He was close enough to see that it had a serpentine body, and he had red, glowing eyes. Eyes that never took themselves off of Red as he made his way closer. Red knew it was a Pokémon, but he never felt such dread from anything in his life before. The Pokémon had to be at least 15 feet tall, and Red noticed it had six legs. The ambient light showed more detail, and when he was a single platform away, he saw it clearly for the first time.
It had grey scales, and down the center of his under belly up to his head, were red and black stripes. He had black, shadowy wings with red accents and on his head, he wore a crown of gold. Red could feel immense power radiating from the Pokémon, and he started second guessing himself. He shook his head and slapped both sides of his face with his hands. "No, Red! You've come this far! It's now or never." He took a deep breath to calm himself and steel his nerves, and made the final jump, landing in front of the creature. He met the creature's eyes and his hand reached for Charizard's ball, but before he could grab it, the creature growled, and started to shape shift. Red fell back, confused. What stood before him now wasn't a Pokémon, no, it was a man.
"What the- I don't understand." The man wore a fine set of black clothes, and he had another crown of gold on his head. He cocked an eyebrow at Red, as if amused by his reaction.
"Did you really think you could catch a God?" The man said. Red shakily stood up, flabbergasted by what was happening. The crowned man just shook his head and continued. "I've got to admit, it's been awhile since I've had any visitors, but this is rather amusing."
"Who are you?" Red managed to get out. The man waved his hand, and a shadowy throne appeared. He took a seat, resting his chin on his hand. "Me? I'm Giratina. God of the Dead and Afterlife, Ruler of the Distortion Realm. The realm in which all other realms are connected."
Red held up a hand, "Wait a minute. You're actually a God? You're not a Pokémon?" Giratina laughed loudly, his laughter echoing throughout the void. "Technically, yes. My Father is Arceus, the God of Creation. He was the first Pokémon, and shaped the reality of your universe. But he's a God, so he isn't confined to a singular form, as neither am I. So to answer your question, yes, I am."
"But I've heard rumors about that. The Legends say that Giratina is an evil, malevolent creature. Isn't that why your Father locked you in this place?" Giratina sighed and rolled his eyes, as if the conversation was starting to irritate him. "Once upon a time, I guess you could say that. I wasn't content with this place, I was angry that my brothers got to have some of the most powerful domains of all. I grew jealous, and Arceus locked any passage for me to escape this place with my full power. I can leave this place once every thousand years, but without my full powers and not for long. I used to be bitter, but now I'm just bored."
Red started fiddling with his hat, not sure where this was going to go. "However, you came with the intention of capturing me, did you not?" Red glanced at his Poké balls, not answering. "As I thought. I cannot let this slide, mortal. To be arrogant enough to think you can catch a God, one should be punished."
"Woah woah woah! I didn't know you were a God! How would you punish me for that?" Red's mind started racing. He may be a God, but he was still a Pokémon, right? Maybe, just maybe, he could fight his way out of here. Slowly, his hand made his way to Charizard's ball once more, prepared to battle it out with the so-called God of Death. "Perhaps it's not your fault, but you still cannot stay here." Giratina raised his hand and sighed. "I'm too bored to even care, anyways. Just, begone." Red grabbed Charizard's ball, ready to through it, but in the next instant, Red was weightless, floating in place. He couldn't move or talk, and he was stuck staring Giratina in the eyes. "One benefit of being here, I get to see other realities. I think this one would suit your talents quite well. Maybe you can even find a way home." Red started panicking, what was this guy talking about? Was he trying to send him somewhere else? He tried to move with every ounce of willpower he had, but nothing was working. Giratina then closed his hand, and the next thing Red knew, he was somewhere else. And he was falling.
He felt a strange power, and a bright light engulfed him. Something started etching itself into his head, but the panic of free falling kept him from worrying about that. He was still holding on to Charizard's ball, and he panicked and threw it. "Charizard! Catch me and Fly!" A red light appeared from the ball, and Charizard appeared. The Pokémon flapped his wings, turned and saw Red falling. He matched Red's falling speed so as to not kill him, and Red grabbed hold of his neck, swinging his legs over his back. After seeing his trainer was holding on, Charizard dove through the clouds, and when he broke through, they saw they were over a vast ocean. Red looked behind them and saw an Island with a three story mansion, and he motioned for Charizard to land over there.
As they dove towards the island, Red noticed people pointing up to him and running around. They were approaching fast, and Charizard extended his wings, flapped once, and landed. Red dismounted, turned around, and saw people running towards him. The two people closest to him, one about six feet tall with black hair, the other a tad shorter with bright red hair, seemed angry. As they got closer, he noticed they both had seven pointed stars on their forehead. Black haired guys had a suit of armor and was glowing a soft white and red head guys had a bird with a long neck. He didn't get to wonder what that was for long though, because as soon as they were close enough, black haired guy yelled "Luthiar!" and a suit of armor rose up from the shadows around him.
The man then disappeared through the shadows, while the other guy, who Red could now see was wearing red scales armor, summoned flames from his freaking hands! He shot the flames at him, and Charizard instinctively put his wings around Red, protecting him. From the shadows behind them, the armor-clad man rose up, ready to swing his sword, but Charizard growled and swung his tail, causing the man to go flying back.
"Wait, what's going on? Why are you attacking?" Red shouted, causing the two men to falter. The shadow armor disappeared, falling back into the darkness and the black haired man cautiously walked up to him, his shadow sword still in hand. "Who are you? What type of eldrin is that?" Red glanced at Charizard, confused.
"Eldrin? I don't know what that is." The red haired man stepped forward, looking pissed. "How are you going to have an Eldrin, and not know what it is? Volke, this guy has to be a part of the Second Ascension." The black haired man, now identified as Volke, turned to the red head. "Zaxis, we don't know for sure." He turned back toward Red. "Are you from the Second Ascension?" Volke cautiously asked.
Red just shook his head. "No idea what that is. What region am I in? And how do you guys not recognize me or my Pokémon?" The red head, Zaxis, held out his arm and a red bird with a long neck landed on it. Red gasped, when the bird ruffled his feathers, he could see a flame inside of it, soot falling off the bird's feathers. "Forsythe, what's going on?" The bird cooed, then it spoke, startling Red even more. "No sign of any enemy ships, my arcanist. It's possible that this man flew a long distance, however."
Then, as if things weren't weird enough, the shadows at Volke's feet shifted and started talking as well. "My arcanist, you also felt it, yes?" Volke nodded. "He's not lying, but it still doesn't make any sense. Who are you? And why should we know you?"
Red looked at the other people approaching, a woman with an eyepatch over her left eye, a white ferret looking creature on her shoulder. A man with a cat on his shoulder, a woman with another fiery bird flying behind her, and a girl with white hair and an empty suit of armor, one that looked incomplete, if the holes were anything to go on.
"Volke, who is this, what's going on?" The man with the cat asked. Volke raised his hand to stop him from continuing. "Master Zelfree, he was just about to tell me that information." Red took a hesitant step back. As if his day couldn't get weird enough, his Charizard growled, then it freaking spoke as well. "How do you not recognize the champion from four different regions?" Red's mind went into shock, and before anything else could happen, he fainted from the weirdness of the day.
—
Red woke up to strange surroundings, he was in a room he didn't recognize, in a bed that definitely wasn't his, a woman he definitely didn't know standing over him. He bolted upright, scooting back against the wall, confused as ever. The woman held up her hand in surrender. "It's okay! My names Gillie, and I'm nursing you back to health." A small, white bird flew into the room and landed on her head. "Your Eldrin vanished into one of those balls when you passed out, and we couldn't get him out. What are those?" The white bird asked him.
Red shook his head, this could not be happening to him! "Where am I?" He asked the woman, Gillie. She smiled cheerfully. "You're on Gentle, the Atlas Turtle! This is the headquarters for the Frith Guild!" None of that made any sense to Red, and he was sure that Gillie noticed. "Have you not heard of the Frith Guild before?"
Red shook his head. "No. I don't know what that is, or an Eldrin, or how your weird strange Pokémon can even talk!" Gillie and the white bird exchanged glances. "Pokémon? What's that?" Red just stared at them. He picked up the nearest Poké ball, and held it up. "Pokémon? Creatures with powers? You guys have them it looks like, but yours are weird. And why are they engraved into your head?"
Gillie gently grabbed the bird from her head and placed her at the foot or Red's bed. "Alana, watch him while I go get Everett and Eventide." The bird chirped then responded. "Yes, my arcanist." The once cherry woman took one last look at Red, then hustled out of the room. Red just stared at Alana, his mind working overtime. "What region is this?" He finally asked the bird.
"We're in the Shard Sea." He repeated the name in his mind, but nothing came up. "Tell me, have you ever heard of Kanto?" He asked her. Alana cocked her head sideways, as if she had no clue what he was talking about. "Kanto? I'm afraid not."
"Johto?"
"Nope."
"Hoenn?"
"No."
"Sinnoh?"
"I'm sorry. I've never heard of any of those places." Just then, the man he remembered as Zelfree, walked in, followed by another woman, and Gillie. "This is the guild master, Grandmaster Eventide. And this is Master Arcanist Everett Zelfree. Hopefully you guys can figure out what's going on." Gillie called for Alana, and the bird flew out of the room, following Gillie. Red threw off the blanket covering him, and stood up.
The woman, Eventide, stepped forward. "What's your name?" Red grabbed his belt, strapped it around his waist, and unhooked a Poké ball. He studied the woman's forehead, it also had a seven pointed star, but he couldn't tell what was supposed to be inside of it. It glowed, like the man, Volke's, and whatever creature it was snaking all the way under her hair, covering the back of her neck and disappearing down her back. "I'm Red."
The man, Zelfree, was studying his forehead. "Why is your arcanist marking that ball?" He asked, pointing to the ball in his hand. Red looked at it, shrugged and tossed the ball on the ground. It bounced once, a red light appearing from it. The red light formed into his Lucario, his fighting/ steel type. Zelfree took a step back, glancing at the Pokémon and Red's head. "Your mark changed into… whatever that is." Red, still as confused as ever, motioned over to his Pokémon.
"This is Lucario." Lucario turned to Red and bowed his head. Usually, Lucario was able to speak telepathically in his mind, but this time he spoke out right. "Master Red, I have to say something." Red should've been surprised that his Pokémon was talking, but after all the weirdness of the day, it was starting to faze him less and less. "What is it, Lucario?" He asked
Lucario straightened up. "Did Giratina not say he was sending us to a place where our talents might be of use?" Red nodded, slowly starting to understand where this was going. He knew of any of the Pokémon paying attention to the encounter, it would've been Lucario. Pokémon were capable of knowing what happened outside of their ball, after all. "Lord Giratina also said he can observe different realms from his dimension. It is possible that this is not our original reality, and being here caused a fundamental change in our magic. I feel my magic, stronger than before, and I feel it connected to you. My powers course through you when not in a ball."
Red slowly stood up, looking at his other Poké balls. He looked up at the two people standing in front of him and sighed.
"I'm pretty sure that's what happened. I met a God, and he sent me to this place. This isn't my original world or reality, and I don't think I can go home until I help you save it, from whatever threat it's currently facing."
This submission was a part of an Emerald Library writing competition starting on June 30, 2021. To participate or vote in the competition, you're welcome to join the discord link we have on the profile.
Written by Ernesto5700.