The Beginning

That night, after having cried themselves to sleep, A Child had a strange dream. They were floating. There was nothing but darkness for miles in every direction. They couldn't help but feel… anxious.

From somewhere within the darkness, a soft, calming voice calls out without warning.

"So, A Child has finally arrived to confront their destiny."

"W-Who are you?" A Child asked the voice. "What do you want? Why am I here?!?"

"All very good questions that will be answered in time," said the voice, "but first you must know that, regrettably, I am part of the reason your Rockruff will not wake up."

A Child was silent for what could have been minutes. Struck dumb by the absurdity of th-the sheer incomprehensible statement this voice just made. The casualness of which it said it, as if it wasn't the cause of all their misery in the present and potential future, but merely as if it said the sky and oceans were blue.

"Y-You," A Child's voice trembled immensely, "you did this? You're the reason Rexy won't wake up… the reason I'll never be able to battle with my friends… the reason mom won't have her own pokémon again… the reason I cried myself to sleep?

"Why…? Did I do something wrong…?" A Child questioned pitifully with tears beginning to gather in their eyes. "I'm sorry for what I did. I promise I'll never do it again, so please… please wake up Rex-"

"You did nothing wrong."

For the second time the voice has said something that stop A Child dead in their tracks

"You are but A Child. I could never punish you for something you didn't know was wrong. You were simply chosen for a test."

"Why? Why do I need to be tested? What's so special about me?" A Child asked, rubbing the tears from their eyes.

"First I must explain who I am, so that you can fully grasp your situation. I am what you call a "Legendary Pokémon''. I am known as Kaz, the Pokémon of Blessings. My brother, Nuz, the Pokémon of Curses, and I take turns deciding who in the region of Dailure has what we think is the strongest will. Once we have our chosen one we give them a blessing and a curse. I'm sure you can guess what the curse is, but the blessing is something every human on earth wishes for. The ability to understand Pokémon. Of course, this blessing is not all powerful. You will not be able to hear them speak, you will simply understand their want and desire on a level no one else, not even themselves, can."

"But… I'm too afraid of hurting them to even go close to one." A Child pointed out fairly.

"Because, Child, you are going to need to truly understand Pokémon if you hope to defeat me."

"Wh-What? Why would I need to do that? Why can't we just be friends…?" A Child questioned.

"It is the only way he will ever be willing to lift the curse. I will even let you keep the blessing afterwards. It will not be easy, and you will lose Pokémon. I understand that you did not ask for this, but I would not have chosen you if I did not believe you were strong enough to do it.

"To earn the right to challenge me you must prove that you are, without a doubt, the very best of all the battlers in Dailure. Once you have done that, you must find one of my messengers, so that he may guide you to a hidden portal within one of Canduve Forest's clearings. Your soul will be tested and if you have proven yourself you will once again be brought here to face your destiny.

"I do hope you are up to the task. All the chosen humans before you weren't. They have all either given up hope, never reaching the final lengths of their journey, or they simply lost the will to go on…But I can tell by the look in your eyes that you will never give up. That you will be able to prove to us that you are special!

"Our talk has been a wonderful one Child, but now you must go. It is time to prove to the world your greatness, prove to them that your will is the strongest!"

"Wait! You never told me why! I wanna know why I have to do this!" A Child frantically questioned the legendary pokémon.

"Why? I already told you, to prove to the world that you are the very best. Like no one. Ever. Was.

"Goodbye for now, Child, I hope that when we next meet you will be strong enough to defeat me. Your destiny must be fulfilled."

With a snap A Child woke up. They scrubbed their face free of the tears they made in their sleep. They lay in bed, staring at the ceiling. They tried desperately not to let more fall, so as to not disturb their sleeping mother.

"'Prove to the world you are the very best.'" A Child repeated the words Kaz used. "How could I ever do that…? Everyone else will be older and smarter and stronger than me… and they don't have the fear that I have. The fear that at any moment I'll lose all of my friends…How do you expect me to succeed where everyone else has failed?.Why is this so unfair…? Why do you have to keep doing this to people? Is this just some game to you? You seemed so sad when you explained all of this… so what's the point?"

A Child stood from their bed, looked at the ground, lifted a hand to their chest… and clenched it onto their shirt… right over their heart.

"I swear," A Child whispered with a quivering lip and eyes shut to keep the tears away, "I will beat this challenge. Not for me, but for Rexy, for the pokémon I might lose later, and for my mom, who won't allow me to suffer alone. Also… to convince you that you shouldn't do this anymore. You, who could be using your power to help others instead of making them suffer. To prove to you that this game you are playing has real victims, with real lives… even if it's just A Child and their pokémon."

AN: Hi BlankFacade here. So, it seems A Child has decided to take the lives of others into their own hands. This is a result of your choice. By selecting Pokémon: Key you have chosen to face Kaz as your final battle. Kaz's opinion of strength is different from Nuz's and so A Child is more reflective than if Nuz had chosen them. This was probably the biggest choice I'll allow you to make. The story is now completely different than if you had chosen Pokémon: Locke. A Child now looks for flaws within themself and focuses on the future instead of looking outward at others and focusing on the past. I have a full alternative chapter written and if people ask I could post it as a one-shot or an outtakes stories where I put the alternate choices. There is no choice this time because this chapter was to establish a goal and, more importantly, a motivation for A Child. Until next time, I hope you have a swell day.