Hello there readers new and old! Now I bet those old readers of mine are wondering where that next chapter of 'Next Millennium' is. Don't worry, it's 75% done. I just have the duel and the ending to write, I've just been held up due to things that I'll explain at the end.
Anyway, so yeah! Where did this come from? Well, I've been wanting to write a Pokemon story for a while because I obviously love Pokemon. And I think the irony of writing both a Yu-Gi-Oh! and Pokemon story is satisfying. I was also inspired to make this because of JaidenAnimations and her Nuzlockes and Fuggmann's 'Borne of Caution' fanfic. Please go check those out, they are AWESOME!
I also wanted to write this because I felt like a fun Pokemon story was necessary. I mean, how many stories are there where Ash is "betrayed" by his friends and he travels alone. Yeah, none of that. I'll take Fuggmann's PTSD-styled brooding with taste please.
Okay,let's get this show on the road! Please let me know what you think!
The Orre region. The region on the west side of the Johto region's border. It's so close to it, yet it couldn't be more different than it or any other region. Most regions have lots of towns and cities, different ecosystems, and lots of Pokemon wildlife. Orre is made up of mostly desert and wastelands, a few towns, and little to no wild Pokemon. The western half of Orre has some life in its small green forests, but still very little when it comes to wild Pokemon. For years this place was only known to some decent folk, a lot of rough types, and worst of all, criminals.
The criminal groups known as Cipher and Team Snagem terrorized those that resided in Orre. They stole people's Pokemon with their Snag Machines, a type of device that could steal a trainer's Pokemon even though it shouldn't have been possible. Whatever they stole, they turned into Shadow Pokemon. Shadow Pokemon are created when a Pokemon has had its heart closed off due to abuse and experimentation. This would turn them into violent creatures that would lash out at trainers, but they would be stronger, so that was all that mattered.
Finally, enough was enough. An ex-member of Team Snagem, Wes Silvers, infiltrated the Team Snagem headquarters, bombed it, and then stole their prototype portable Snag Machine. After getting away, him, his Espeon and Umbreon stumbled upon a kidnapped girl named Rui in Phenac City. Rui had a special talent where her eyes could detect the rampaging emotions of the Shadow Pokemon. Feeling horrified at the criminal's actions, Rui teamed up with Wes in order to use his snag machine to steal back all of the Shadow Pokemon and purify their hearts using the power of the Agate Village guardian, the Time Travel Pokemon: Celebi. Together after trials and tribulations, they managed to end the reign of Cipher and snagged all of the Shadow Pokemon that they could. But they couldn't stop there. They ventured further into the region to wipe out any remaining dregs of Cipher that they would come across.
Eventually, Wes and Rui Sivers' adventures wer over. And another's was bound to begin.
20 Years Later:
Outside of Agate Village, closer to the base of Mt. Battle, is a newly grown grassy plain. In the center of that plane is a ranch house with a Pokemon laboratory built next to it. The house is quite a decent size for only two stories. Surrounding the house are plenty of new wild Pokemon that live out in the wide grassland, or have come to explore outside of the forest or down from the mountain. This house and lab combo is the home of the Silvers Pokemon Research Center.
After their adventuring days were over, Wes and Rui got married and decided to start a family together. But they weren't satisfied with just ending things there. They wanted to restore what they can for the region and the Pokemon that they had captured. Together with their friend Mr. Duking, they restored select areas for wild Pokemon to live and thrive. These spots were also meant to encourage new trainers to stop by and capture the wild Pokemon there in order to get stronger and forge new bonds. This project started 5 years after they took down Cipher and there were only three Poke Spots. Twenty years later, the project has turned into a full blown ecosystem restoration program that has brought nature back to almost half of the region, which used to be covered in 85% craggy wastes and sand.
Wes worked with Mr. Duking in order to continue their Poke Spots work. Rui, however, wanted to use the new wild Pokemon and her abilities as a minor empathe to study the emotions of Pokemon and different stimuli that could affect them, including their trainers behavior towards them and their habitats. Surprisingly, her studies of Pokemon and the emotional bond with their trainers led to a surprising amount of arrests in the Orre region due to Pokemon abuse. With these accomplishments, she was able to cement her standing as a credible Pokemon researcher.
Today, however, is the start of another person's journey in the world of Pokemon. Even though, he's starting a little later than most, he's about to head out of the Orre region to see what the other regions have to offer. The newest challenger of the Pokemon League, the fourteen year old son of Wes and Rui: Ben Silvers.
In one of the smaller examination rooms in the Pokemon Lab, was a woman with long, ginger hair, tied into a neat pony tail. She wore a light purple blouse, khaki shorts, pink tennis shoes, and a white lab coat to finish her ensemble. This is Pokemon Professor, Rui Silvers, and despite not having a name related to a type of tree, she has managed to make her own standing in the field. Using her kind and caring demeanor along with her empathic talents, she was able to gain the trust of many different types of Pokemon. Using their trust, she was able to study them closely in their newly formed habitats and begin to prove her thesis.
Currently, she is examining her husband's Espeon on a sterilized table. The Espeon is a small, feline with short, smooth lilac colored fur. Below her large, pointed ears were thick tufts of fur. Her tail splits out at the tip almost as if she was supposed to have two, but it stopped mid-way. Her cat-like eyes were like pools of amethyst gems and her white pupils made it look like her eyes shine at all times . Finally, between her eyes was a small ruby colored gem that is the source of her Psychic powers. The reason that she was being examined was the slight swell in her belly.
"Well Espeon," Rui pulls back her hands and places them in her pockets. She smiles down at the Psychic-type. "You're nice and healthy. That egg should be finished growing in a couple months." Espeon preened at the praise. "I didn't expect you and Umbreon to have a second kid though. Looking to surprise Eve with a sibling when she and Ben get back?" The feline smiled and gave a small shrug. "I think that'll be all for today. Do you want to go see what the boys are up to before they head out for Agate?" Espeon nodded and made her way to the edge of the table. "Need any help?"
Espeon rolled her eyes as her gem glowed. A bright blue glow surrounded her form as she began to float off of the table. She stopped in front of Rui and titled her head expectantly. The Prof. huffed with amusement and pulled her into her arms to carry her. They made their way outside of the Lab to find the rest of their family.
Facing off against each other, a good distance away from their house, was the rest of the Silvers family. On one side was the now grown up and married, Wes. He stands at 5'10 with slightly tanned skin. He still has his signature gray hair in its natural bed head style. His narrowed, amber eyes had not lost their sharpness, but they had grown warmer ever since he started going steady with Rui. An old and worn blue armored coat flows lightly in the afternoon breeze, but the only thing missing from it is the prototype Snag Machine that he no longer needs to use.
In front of him stood his other cat-like partner, Umbreon. His sleek black fur is decorated with glowing yellow rings on his ears, thighs, tail, and one on his forehead in between his red eyes. The rings are currently lit up, giving off a glow like the moon's light.
"Feeling up for one last training session, Umbreon?" Wes smirks at his partner's obvious excitement.
"Bre! Breon!" Umbreon grinned as it crouched low, ready to pounce.
"Alright Ben, it looks like your move first!" He calls out across the field to his son and his Pokemon.
On the other side of the field, rolling his eyes, is 14 year old, Benjamin Silvers. While not as tall as his dad, standing at 5'4, he does almost look like Wes did when he went on his first adventure with the same skin tone and gray hair. His hair is even the same unkempt rat's nest too, for no comb can contain it. However, that's where the similarities end. The rest, mostly his face, he gets from his mother, which his parents like to tease him about. His eyes are bigger and wider than his dad's and blue too. Ben's face is also softer rather than being more angled like Wes as well. He wears an open leather jacket that is the same color as Wes' jacket, but it is not armored. However, his black shirt is padded for protection as a necessity when it comes to training and even sometimes playing with the rougher Pokemon. Below his waist are a simple pair of black denim jeans tucked into dark brown, steel toed hiking boots.
Ben looks up to his partner perched on top of his head and scratches her under the chin, his hands covered with navy-blue fingerless gloves. "I think we can handle one more training session. How about you Eve?"
"Vee evee!" The fluffy creature perks up while hanging onto his hair. This is Eve, Ben's partner Pokemon ever since she was hatched around a year ago. Just like her parents, she is a quadruped, but she is smaller and much more fluffy than Umbreon or Espeon. The tip of her tail and her bushy collar are a tan cream color, while the rest of her is a light brown. Her eyes are a big, shiny doe brown that currently ooze enthusiasm. Her ears flick up and she crouches down in Ben's hair before pouncing off onto the grass below. And just for good measure she adds a front flip before making contact with the ground.
(Battle Theme: Pokemon Colosseum - First Battle)
"Let's open this up with a Tackle, Eve!" Ben commands.
Eve rushes forward, head first, with a determined growl.
Before she can get too far, Wes shouts, "Let's meet her head on with our own Tackle!"
His Umbreon responds with the same move as Eve, but faster. However...
"Eve stop and use Baby-Doll Eyes!"
She stops in her tracks and before Umbreon can make contact, her brown eyes glisten with an abundance of "pure" innocence. Mixed in with their brown color is a glow of pink Fairy-type energy that shows that this is an actual attack being performed. The effect is instantaneous as Umbreon looks at his daughter causing him to flinch with a little regret. Eve smirks as her poor Dad has fallen for this trick yet again.
"Ugh, he's always a sucker for Eve's antics." Wes groans into his hand.
"While Umbreon's distracted, rush into his side with Quick Attack!" Ben ignores his old man's grumbling.
Eve's small body is coated in an aura of white Normal-type energy. She rushes to the left at a much faster speed than her earlier Tackle. Making it quickly into position, she zips right into Umbreon's side and bowls him over just as he notices what's happening. The impact hits much harder than someone would expect a small fluff ball like Eve was capable of. It knocks Umbreon off his paws, hitting the ground hard enough to bounce him a few feet away. The white fades away as Eve smirks at the small triumph, but she remains on guard knowing that it takes more than that to put him down.
Umbreon shoots back up to his feet quickly, but when he faces back to Eve, he pouts at her, feeling a little betrayed. "Umbrrr..."
Eve sits back on her hind legs and actually shrugs with her forearms, shaking her head. "Vee Vevee."
"Okay, Eve has been hanging out with you too much if she knows how to shrug like that." Wes looks at his son who just shrugs the same way as his partner with no shame whatsoever. "Let's kick it up a notch, buddy! Let out a Screech!"
Umbreon growls as he breathes in deep before letting out a piercing cry. The sound reverberates in the air along with distorted blue sound waves that crash into Eve, causing her to cry and cover her pounding ears.
"Follow up with Iron Tail!" Wes commands his partner, who charges towards his opponent as his tail begins to glow with a silver sheen.
"Eve get out of there with Quick Attack!" Ben shouts out loud so his Eevee can hear him, which she is barely able to register. She quickly lets go of her ears and jumps back with her aura boosting her speed.
"That's exactly what I wanted." Wes smirks. "Cancel and switch to Pursuit!"
"Oh crap, Eve move!" He tries to warn her, but it's too late. Umbreon's tail glow peters out quickly as a dark purple miasma of Dark-type energy forms around him. This aura causes him to speed up while chasing Eve, who's still trying to dodge using Quick Attack. Just like the move states, Pursuit causes Umbreon's attack to be faster and stronger if their opponent is trying to get away. It was only a matter of time before...
"VEEE!" Eve is slammed mid-dodge by Umbreon's Pursuit. Her white aura disappears on impact as the pain causes her to lose concentration.
"Now, follow up with a Bite and toss her away!"
The Dark-type complies by biting down on Eve, specifically the nape of her neck for less damage, then tosses her away like a small toy a few meters away. Eve pants as she struggles to get back up from that last combo. Her limbs are shaking as she tries to put her weight back onto them.
"C'mon girl, I know you've got this!" Ben encourages the battered Pokemon, who's ears perk up at his voice. "Let's show them what we've been working on!"
"Ve..." She grunts as she shakes her head, her ears flop side to side before she stands tall, or as tall as she can, in perseverance. "Evee!"
"Well, if you wanna show us something then you'll have to do it now. Dark Pulse, Umbreon!" Wes commands Umbreon, whose mouth opens as he charges up the same Dark-type aura in front of him.
"Alright, Eve just like we practiced. Ready," Eve turns to her friend and gives a smile with a sharp nod. "Then counter with Swift!" The tip of her tail glows with that same Normal-type energy, but there's an added glitter effect to it. She lifts her hind legs up then uses her front paws to twist and spin her in a flourish. With a shout, she unleashes several golden stars down the field to Umbreon, who fires off his own attack of dark purple rings. The two sets of projectiles meet in the middle and explode upon contact.
"Finally! We got Swift down!" "Vevee!" Both Ben and Eve cheer at their first successful attempt in a battle to use Swift.
"Don't count your blessings yet, Ben." His dad's voice knocks them out of their excitement. They both look back into the smoke to see more of Dark Pulse's rings shooting through the smoke and scoring a direct hit, catching her off guard. It smacks right into her face causing her body to lurch and flip backwards a few feet away. This time she doesn't try getting back up, knowing she's down and out.
Ben looks towards his Eevee and sighs at their over-enthusiasm. As he looks at her, he concentrates on his eyes, causing them to gain a shine. His vision changes. It looks as if someone placed a darker filter over his eyes, except it doesn't affect him or Pokemon, who he sees clearly. Focusing on the downed Eevee, he can see little flecks of gray flowing from her. His eyes turn back to normal as he walks up to her.
"Hey, there's no reason to feel disappointed, girl." He crouches down to scratch behind her ears. "We knew we weren't gonna beat him. What matters is that we showed them that we're ready to head out on our own. And you finally got Swift down! You performed it even more than flawlessly with that style of yours. I'm so proud of you, Eve."
"Vee! Eev!" Her attitude takes a complete 180 as she nuzzles into the hand that's petting her with a content smile on her face. Ben's eyes glow again as he looks over Eve. The flecks of gray vanish and is replaced by a much more potent pink color. He turns his power off again, and continue to pet with a proud grin.
Ben's eyes, like his mother before him, have a special empathetic power when it comes to Pokemon. However, his can be seen as the next generation. Where Rui's eyes could detect when a Pokemon's heart was closed off, like with Shadow Pokemon, or when they're feeling extreme emotions. Ben's eyes can detect what she can see, but also a bit more. His eyes are able to detect a colored aura emanating from a Pokemon based on their emotional state. Using the most recent examples, gray can mean disappointed or self-doubt and pink can mean love or adoration. This power comes in handy when it comes to handling and bonding with new Pokemon. It takes out the guesswork when trying to figure out how they're feeling. It's also handy for detecting hidden Pokemon in his vision too if he concentrates.
"Espeee..." A maternal growl draws everyone's attention to the newcomers on the training field. Exiting the Lab are a nervously laughing Rui and a floating, irate Espeon who's glaring daggers at her mate.
"Umbre..." Umbreon backs up slowly, trying to placate her that this was just training. However, Espeon takes one look at her daughter on the ground, dirty and bruised, and that diminishes all reason for her.
"ESPE!" She shrieks out as she twists her head. A multitude of the same stars for Swift form around her. Rui quickly moves over to her husband to avoid the gathering Normal attacks. Once she finishes moving her head in a circular motion, she finishes with a thrust forward, unleashing all of the stars she built up towards Umbreon. Let it be said that it was a LOT more than what Eve had made.
Umbreon books it in terror trying to get away from Espeon's maternal fury. However, despite him being fast, the Swift attack has a homing feature. While he could just blast them out of the sky with a Dark Pulse that would just make her more angry.
"While that's going on," Wes and Rui walk up to the kids. He tosses Ben a Super Potion. "Use that on Eve. Don't want her to be tired before you leave on the boat later."
Ben says his thanks before spraying the Pokemon medicine on Eve's coat. She flinches at first because the medicine always stings in the beginning. Then she relaxes as her wounds heal and she starts to get back some of her expended energy. Eve breathes a sigh of relief as she stands back up with no problem.
"Espeon." Her mother floats over towards her, while an explosion and a scream of horror can be heard in the background that no one pays any mind to. She cancels her Psychic move that's helping her float and she walks over to clean up the dirt on Eve's fur. The Eevee's face is blank despite being embarrassed, but she says nothing, just accepting her mother's makeshift bath.
"I think you guys did a good job for today's spar." Wes grins at the both of them. "You two really are ready for Johto. While you're out there facing trainers and other Pokemon, you need to be able to strategize, not just brute force your way through."
"Right." Both Ben and Eve nod at his words. Eve jumps onto her trainer's head, ignoring Espeon's pouting. She kneads her favorite perch with a blissful smile.
Rui looked at her watch and sighed. "It looks like it's time for you to go. The boat to New Bark Town leaves in an hour." She looks to her son with a longing smile. "I'm sure you have things to finish up before you leave?" Her son nods, returning her smile with a nervous one of his own.
"Yeah, I wanted to stop by Agate Village before I go."
"I thought so." Rui takes a deep breath to calm herself. She swears she's not gonna cry! "While you're out on your journey, I want you to send us any Pokemon that can't fit into your team, or that need a new home. You're registration is sponsored by our Research Lab, so you'll have no problem sending Pokemon over here instead of putting them in a PC, or a different Pokemon researcher."
"Got it."
"Oh and don't send any Ice-types to us yet. Mr. Duking and his team haven't finished scouting out the Snow Fields in the far north yet."
"Sure thing, I don't think there are many Ice-types in the Johto Region anyway." Ben and Eve shrug at the same time.
"And call us regularly to let us know how you're doing."
"Okay, Mo-."
"Oh! Don't forg-!"
Wes cuts her off by putting his hand on her shoulder. "I think he gets it, honey. They're gonna miss the boat if you keep at it."
Rui sighs. "I know... I just didn't expect it to be this hard..." She hugs her son tightly with one arm while the other strokes Eve's fur collar. "Please remember to call."
"I will, Mom."
She lets go of him with a proud smile on her face and slightly red eyes. "I love you."
"Love you too." Ben smiles before walking up to his dad, who's holding his arm out. Wes wraps his arm behind his son to guide him over to their "family vehicle".
The vehicle in question was a rust colored, strange motorbike. It only had one large wheel in the back. What kept the bike from falling over was the side car that was attached. It had a plate underneath it that ran on hovercraft technology. Orre region may be a wasteland, but they sure beat the other region's with some of their tech. Lastly, the front of the bike, where the handlebars were attached, was an exposed engine with six exhaust pipes. The engine was only held up by a single solid steel bar, there was nothing else below it.
Ben hops into the side car, with Eve dropping from his head to his lap, bracing herself for the speed of the vehicle. Wes lifts his right leg over the bike's seat and turns it on. The machine turns on with a loud mechanical whir before it gets going. Wes revs up the engine with a sharp grin on his face causing the exhaust pipes to spew flames. Rui, Espeon, and a roughed up Umbreon watch as the bike speeds off towards Agate Village. Rui holds her hand to her heart with the same smile she wore moments ago as her son's ashen hair disappears from her point of view.
"That boy will do great things. I just know it." She mutters to herself. The two Pokemon beside her nod in agreement.
Agate Village
Agate Village is a naturally prosperous town to the left side of Mt. Battle in the Orre region. Before Wes and co. were restoring nature to the region, this was where the greenery still thrived. The village houses and other buildings are all made out of large, old trees that were spread out on the hills that made up the terrain of the village. These hills all surrounded a forest that is in the center of the village, but is impossible to get to by normal means unless you access the cave at the base of the village.
Ben and Eve are walking towards the cave under the hills. The river of the village runs through it causing the sounds of rushing water to bounce off of the walls. Crossing a small bridge, they see the guard for the cave, an older man with light brown hair with some gray streaks. The man wears a simple pair of jeans and an old yellow jacket. He smiles at the two as they approach him.
"It's about that time, huh?"
"Yep, we're finally heading out." Ben looks down to grin at Eve who nods with a "Vee Vee!"
"You know she's gonna miss you right?" He raises an eyebrow.
"I'll be back some day. And she'll probably keep an eye on me with her powers, somehow." Ben and Eve walk past the guard who chuckles at his response.
Relic Forest
Passing through the cave, they enter the Relic Forest. The forest is filled with many trees that are all close together. The sunlight shines from the spaces between their leaves and branches. The only place to walk on after exiting the cave is a stone walkway that ends after a short distance. At the end of the walkway, the stone expands into a strange, jagged circular design. In the center of the circle is the 'Relic' of the forest, which is a stack of misaligned stone circles. However, the stones are a darker gray than the stone they stand on.
The trainer walks onto the walkway with a warm smile before concentrating on his eyes. The world darkens, except for the Relic, which glows a lights green.
"It looks like she's here today. She would have probably been mad if she missed us, huh Eve?"
"Vee." She nods before putting her paw on the Relic.
Ben follows along, placing his left hand on the surprisingly warm stone monument. He hold out his right thumb and index finger before placing them at the edge of his lips and blowing.
*Fweeeeeeeeee~!*
A sharp whistle echoes through the forest until he puts his hand back down, the other still holding on to the Relic.
...
Silence, except for the sound of the wind blowing in the trees. But then...
"Bi bi briiiii~!"
A small green blur zooms towards Ben from out of nowhere in the forest. Almost as if it came into existence there. The blur smacks right into the side of the trainer's face, not that it harmed him, and latched on with pure joy. Now that it wasn't moving at high speeds, the blur could be seen for what she was. She was a small, light green, fairy-like creature with tiny wings on her back. Her eyes were large and as blue as the sky with thick black rings surrounding them. Above them were two antennae that had blue tips at the end. And lastly, she had tiny hands with only three fingers each and her legs looked like she was wearing a green pants that was a darker green than her skin color.
This was Celebi. The time-travelling guardian of the Relic Forest.
"Hey, I missed you too, Celebi," He gently pulls the Legendary Pokemon off his face and hugs her to his chest. "How have you been since I last saw you?"
"Bri bri!" The fairy flies in front of him and holds up two fingers in victory.
"You got to beat up some more grunts trying to steal you again, didn't you?" Ben guessed.
Yesterday:
Standing outside of the cave entrance was the jacket wearing guard. He was leaned up against the rock wall with his eyes closed and a grin on his face that he was trying to keep suppressed. Why? Well because...
"HELP! HELP! Oh sweet Arceus, it took Paul!" A terrified grunt screams!
"What do you mean it took Paul?!" A woman shrieks!
"Some vines just dragged him into the darkness under the trees!"
"Screw this, let's get out of here!"
The guard of the cave finally gives in and starts laughing out loud as he hears the bandits footsteps going full speed to run away.
"Who would have thought trying to snag a Legendary time-travelling Pokemon would have been this difficult! Whose Stupid idea was this anyway?!" The female bandit yells as they exit the cave back into the village.
"IT WAS PAUL'S IDEA!" Her remaining partner yells.
"WELL THEN PAUL DESERVED WHAT HAPPENED TO HIM!"
The guard stops laughing for a moment as he hears a small cry of triumph echo from inside the cave followed by a body covered in a blue glow shooting out at high speeds. It homes in on the runaway ruffians and slams into them, causing them to fall into the river. This causes him to just double over in laughter again.
"Oh hey look... It's Paul..." One of them says while drifting away.
"Why did you guys listen to my stupid idea..." Paul groans.
"SHUT UP PAUL!" The other two scream at him as they're carried out of the village.
Back to Present:
She nods with a surprisingly feral grin for such a little pixie. Looking down she spots her Eevee friend and zooms down to hug her as well.
"Vee vee!" "Brrrbi!" The two Pokemon nuzzle each other before Celebi flies back up to the Trainer and grabs his hand. She starts to pull him off the platform and towards the trees.
"Hahaha! Ok Celebi," Ben chuckles shaking his head. "We'll play one game of hide and seek, but then we need to talk afterwards, okay?" The Celebi let out a joyful cry before putting more effort into tugging on her friend's hand. "Alright, alright, we're coming. Oh! And no time powers to find where we're hiding!"
"Bi bi..." All he got in response was a mocking chirp.
The game lasted for a fun 15 minutes. Unfortunately for Ben, he was the loser for every single round, being a human up against a vulpine-like critter and the guardian of the forest he's trying to hide in. It's not really a fair match up. But it's the thought that counts.
Ben looked at his watch and noticed that it was time to go. "Alright," He called out. "Eve, Celebi time to come back." Then he turned and made his way back to the entrance.
Naturally, the first one to catch up with him is a slightly disappointed and confused Celebi followed by Eve who jumps onto her Trainer's head with little effort.
"Bri?" The fairy tilts her head. The game was just getting good, why would they stop now?
"That's what I wanted to talk about, Celebi." Ben stops at the exit tunnel. "We're actually leaving in a little while to head to the Johto region. We'll probably be gone on our journey for awhile." He looks at her with a somber expression.
"Bi...?"
"It's our time to head out on our own and show the world what we're made of." He puts his hand on her head and gently pets her. "We wanted to make sure to play with you again before we left. I wish we could take you with us, but we know you're needed here."
Tears start to form at the corners of Celebi's eyes, but she quickly sniffles and wipes them away. She looks at him with a stern look at and pokes his chest.
"Bi ebri! Bi bi!" She looks him in the eyes as if asking him to say no to her.
Ben laughs a little and moves her finger into a handshake. "Okay, yes, we promise that we'll be sure to visit you when we can. Right, Eve?" He looks up at his partner.
"Vee!" She nods and holds down a paw for Celebi to shake as well.
The guardian accepts their promises and floats back. She looks at her friends with a smile before placing a hand on her hip and shoos them away with her other hand.
"See ya around, Celebi!" "Vee Eevee!" They say their farewells and exit the forest.
Celebi watches them leave with a grin that fades to a contemplative frown. She knows that they'll do great things on their journey. Heck, she could travel forward in time to instantly confirm that, but it wasn't worth it. She wanted to see them succeed in this time. The fairy just wished that she could do something. Anything to help them out. She crosses her arms and closes her eyes to think.
...
...
Wait... Where did they say they were going?
Celebi gasps as inspiration struck her. That could actually work. There was no reason for it not to work. She could help out her precious companions after all and fulfill one of her sacred duties all in one clean swoop. She looks back to exit with a warm smile. The sound of her friend's echoed foot steps fade away as she knows they're gone.
Her eyes close as she concentrates. A bright green aura slowly wisps around her small body. She turns around and streaks into the forest proper.
"Bi bi. Ebri." She whispers before there's a flash of light as she soars by.
And then she was gone.
Gateon Port:
The rustic motorbike pulls to a stop before the father, son, and Pokemon trio hop out of the vehicle. The final stop before leaving the region was in sight. A decent sized ferry was waiting at the docks for the new arrivals to the Johto region. Wes sighs as he knows his time with his kid was almost up. He looks at Ben, who looks a little nervous and eager at the same time. Before he can take a single step towards the boat, Wes puts his hand on his shoulder and draws his attention.
"Now I know you weren't just going to head out into the open world without your supplies." Wes teases.
Both Ben and Eve blush a little at their short-sightedness. He scratches the back of his head, as Eve does the same. "What? No, don't be silly, Dad."
"Just checking." Wes winks before walking over to the trunk of the sidecar and pops it open. He pulls out a large dark green backpack with a Pokeball symbol on the front. He tosses it to Ben who catches it with ease. "This is the present from your Uncle Duking. That's a Silph Co. Camper's Pack, so it will hold a lot of camping supplies and other essential items that you get along the way. Because it's from Silph Co. it has an inner pocket dimension storage space like the Pokeball. Don't ask me how, but it just does."
"Don't worry, I don't get it either." He opens the pack and feels around. However... "Hey, Dad? There's already some stuff in here." Ben pulls out the end of a large box. "There's already a new tent set in here!?"
"Yep, that's the rest of Duking's present."
"What do you mean?"
"He got you a full camping set and enough Pokemon grooming supplies for a few different types. He also left in one box of each type of Pokemon food in case you weren't able to cook anything."
"Anything else?" Ben asks with a dumbstruck look on his and Eve's faces.
"Yep. Five Pokeballs, one Great Ball, one Quick Ball, and a Dusk Ball. Those are all in the small pocket in the front."
Ben opens unzips that pocket and pulls out one of the Pokeballs in there. "Man, I don't know what to say."
"He says that you can pay him back with your success under our sponsorship." Wes smirks as Ben face-faults to the ground. Eve hops off before he hit the ground.
"Of course he would say that." He dusts off his clothes after getting back up. "Well, it's not like that wasn't part of the point in my journey."
"Now for one of the gifts from your Mother." He pulls out a small black rectangle. "This is a brand new Poke'phone. It's already been set up and activated by us. It can make phone and video calls, pull up a map of the region, connect to the radio, and some other things that were in the advertisement."
"Wow," Ben sweatdrops. "Mom really wasn't kidding about staying in touch."
"No she wasn't. If you can't use the phone at a Pokemon Center then just use this. It'll keep her from freaking out on us." They both laugh at that before Ben realizes something his dad said.
"Wait, you said this was one of my presents from her?"
"Mhm. The other one you should get during your first week over there thanks to a special favor your Mom got with a colleague of hers."
"Okay, so that's an amazing present from Uncle and Mom." He raises an eyebrow at his Dad. "Does that mean you got me something too?"
"What do you think?" Wes rolls his eyes with a grin. He pulls out a piece of what looks like a slightly curved piece of reflective glass with four small metal rivets, one in each corner. There's also a small curved opening at the bottom with padding that can be seen. "Can't get into a fight without a little bit of your old man's sleek style."
"Isn't this the visor you wore when you and Mom were exploring the region?" Ben asks as he flips it over and he can see through the glass. On the inside is a smooth looking black strip of some sort of rubbery material that outlines the inside and acts as padding for the nose.
"Yep. I cleaned it up and replaced the gripping material because it was looking a little gross. Now, here," Wes grabs it and places it over Ben's eyes. When he lets go, the advanced eye-wear stays in place. He looks at his son with a bit more pride, as if looking at a mirror into the past. "These glasses work like a one-way mirrored lens for you. You can see through them, but nobody can see your eyes. It also helps protect your eyes against harsh lighting. Arceus knows how flashy a Pokemon battle can get."
"How is it sticking to my face?" Wes chuckles before he flicks the glasses up past Ben's forehead.
"The grip material is specialized to stick to any surface and can't be moved by a lot of force, but it can be moved gently or flicked up and down as I just demonstrated."
"Cool, thanks Dad!" Ben moves over to hug him but he puts up his hand first to stop.
"Ah! I've got one last gift for you in the trunk." Wes walks over and pulls out a thick silver brief case. He holds it in front of Ben with a serious expression. His son looks at him in equal parts concern and curiosity before his eyes drift downward as it's opened. Ben's blue eyes widen in shock at what is inside the case.
Inside the silver case was a strange black device with a dark orange outline. There was a left shoulder pauldron with a white gem on the front connected to a thick orange wire. That wire ran down into an armored sleeve that would cover from the elbow down to most of the hand when worn. This was the device that through most of the Orre Region into chaos. This was what Wes stole in order to fix it. The very machine that could steal a Trainer's Pokemon and override the Pokeball's coding in order to claim it as yours. This... was the Prototype Portable Snag Machine.
"This is your..." Ben couldn't believe his eyes at what he was looking at.
"Yep. This is my old Snag Machine," Wes shrugs, but looks his son straight in the eyes. "I'm trusting you with this on your journey."
"But..." He looked down at the machine then back to his father, confused. "Why?"
Wes sighs. "The world isn't perfect. Just because the rest of it isn't the Orre region does not mean that there aren't some monster trainers out there. There are some horrible trainers that can raise Pokemon that end up just like them. But there are those that won't conform to there thinking and are hurt for it." He points at Ben. "What I want you to do with this is if there is an emergency and you can't call the police to help, then snag the abused Pokemon and either keep it on your team and take care of them, set them free somewhere in the region, or send them back to our preserve."
"What happens if there's one of those Shadow Pokemon you told me about?"
"If, Arceus forbids, that you run into a Pokemon that is on the way to or has closed its heart off to become a Shadow Pokemon, do no hesitate to snag it and get out of there."
"Right... But what about the police? I don't know if they'd be comfortable with me having this if they knew what it was." Ben closes the case and stuffs it into his new bag.
"Well, most people won't know what it is because they never had to deal with it, so they'll just assume it's an interesting piece of armor. Even most of the Orre region doesn't know what it looks like. They just knew what it could do. And if an officer catches you snagging something, I've got you covered." Wes reaches into his pockets again and hands out a signed document. "This is an authorized license for your use of the Snag Machine. A friend of mine over at Interpol was able to help me draft and finalize this for you. If the cops still give you a problem, have them contact me or Interpol and ask for Looker."
Ben puts away the document with his Snag Machine case and straps the camping pack to his back. Him and Eve share a soft look before they both hug Wes (Ben hugs him normally, Eve hugs his hair). "We'll make you proud, Dad."
"I know you will," He returns the hug with a strong grip before releasing the two. "You'll both do great and help out some good Pokemon along the way, right?"
They both give a determined nod in response.
"And I better see a reason for us to stop by at the Silver Conference later this year."
"Haha. Sure thing," The horn for the ferry blows causing them to look at the docks. "Let's get going, Eve."
"Eevee!"
Ben turns around, heading for his ride to the Johto region. He holds up a hand and waves back to his Dad while he keeps walking forward. If he looked back, he'd probably find another thing to talk to Wes about and never leave. He makes it to the boat, scans his ticket, and steps aboard before he finally looks back. At the entrance to the Port, he can still make out his dad and the family bike. Wes is sitting on the bike and gives him a thumbs up when he spots him. He revs up the engine good and loud before pulling the bike back to pull off a 180 turn before speeding off.
As the dust from the bikes exit fades away, Ben looks to his Eevee with a smirk, which she returns. "Well, Johto region," He turns around and flicks down his visor over his eyes. "Here comes your new challengers." After asking for directions, he heads towards their room to prepare for the journey ahead. The boat lets out one final honk signalling its departure.
Meanwhile: New Bark Town Port
Just arriving from the Unova region is another ferry with a fresh face to the Pokemon League. A short, young girl in her mid-teens stands proudly at the bow of the boat. Her spiky mane of white hair is tied up in a high pony tail that flows lightly in the sea breeze. She wears a large purple and turquoise striped sweater. The sweater itself is so baggy on her that its sleeves drape over her wrists and the blue spiked frills at the hem almost cover her waist like a skirt. Thankfully, she doesn't wear her sweater as if it were also a skirt because she wears a pair of black shorts and a matching tank top underneath it. Finishing off her look are her long black boots with turquoise platforms. She adjusts the large black guitar case strapped to her back with a triumphant gleam to her sky blue eyes.
"Hehehe," She smirks out at the city their approaching. "Good thing we caught the boat in time, huh partner?" She looks down to the Pokemon standing next to her. They nod and hop up to the railing. "It may have been a last second change, but I think we can work with this." The girl steps back and breathes in deep.
"Aright, Johto region," She suddenly shouts with her eyes closed, startling the other passengers. "I hope you guys know how to rock because Roxie and Wave are here to show you how it's done!" Her hand points up into the sky with her Pokemon copying her movements. Her eyes open as she nods in acceptance to her outburst, ignoring the strange looks everyone gives her.
"Let's rock!"
And Cut! That's a wrap for the first chapter/prologue of the story. There isn't much going on here. Just a catch-up on what happened in Pokemon Colosseum and what happened after it. Then the set up of Ben and Eve leaving.
I hope that the Pokemon battle between Eve and Umbreon was alright. That's the first time I've written a battle that didn't have the characters just standing in place. I may have written attacks for the duels I've written, but everyone is still basically standing in place.
And Tah-dah! Roxie is here with her first Pokemon! What is it? Is it a Poison-type or something else? What is she doing in Johto. Well, I should be able to answer those next chapter! So stay tuned!
Please feel free to ask questions and leave comment/reviews!
And now for my reason for not posting for "Next Millennium." Well, first I got distracted writing the first chapter of a story that I'm really not ready to post yet. I'm just not feeling it right now. Then I got distracted with even more ideas for new stories and tried writing for those, and that's where this chapter came from. Lastly, my workplace started their renovations and brand transfer so there was and is all sorts of craziness going on since like November.
I'm almost done with Chapter 6. I just need to kick myself in the pants to get it done.
Stay tuned for more Pokemon and Yu-Gi-Oh! GX in the future!
Middl Mo out, peace!