The man behind the glass read aloud the name on the ID. "Ju? Juc? J-Ju..."
"Jucentius Edmund," He was noticeable with his sky blue eyes and hair, yet his face looked as expressive as drying paint.
The bluenette pulled down his visor cap with one button in the middle and took back the ID. "I go by Juice. It's easier than my real name." He straightened the duffle bag's strap over his shoulder while fixing the collar of his white undershirt.
"Well, Juice," The attendant slid the train ticket to his side. "Welcome to Velouri, The City of the Wind."
The young man named Jucentius thanked the old man as he slipped the ticket inside his blue vest. As he exited the train station, the blue-themed man stared in awe.
Velouri City was founded and created by a dear friend of another founder of LaRousse City. Even though Velouri City is in the Ferrum Region, one could see many similarities with its sister city. But one could easily spot the difference between the two twin cities: Velouri City overdid their solar and wind-powered generators. As newcomers walked out of the train to see the city for the first time, the first thing they would notice would be that the skyscrapers double as giant windmills themselves. Many of these vanes had people and Pokemon walking on them even as they moved in circles. The engineers of Velouri City must have been geniuses because each blade, or vane as they were sometimes called, would meet with another vane from a different skyscraper windmill in a way that they were so close but never touched. And the natives of Velouri City would walk across them as part of their daily routine.
"City of Windmills. The name is apodictic." Juice looked up to see miniature blimps combined with bikes. It looked fun, but the blunette thought the people here were riding this windmill theme all the way through. "Now, where's Alden University?" The young man fished his pockets for what looked to be the original PokeNav.
"Oh wow!" A young man who looked to be in his early twenties, much like Juice, walked up and pointed to the device the bluenette brought out. "I've seen those before! Those are PokeNavs! A really old model by the looks of it! Are you from Hoenn?"
"Yes?" The young man glanced at his screen as it continued to download data. "I mean no disrespect, but I need to head towards Alden University."
"Then why don't you stop by the Pokemon Center?" Juice looked up to the man who seemed easygoing enough. "They're sure to know where you need to go! I know it takes a while for devices like those to get cross information in different regions. They're sure to have something to help your nav with Ferrum Region Data!"
"Thank you." Juice didn't show much emotion, but he showed his gratitude.
"Don't sweat it! Come on, I know a shortcut!" The man smiled as he walked ahead while humming a catchy song.
Yet, the more Juice traveled, the more the scenery started to change and not for the better. It took the bluenette some time to realize that they were in the dirtier parts of downtown, specifically a dark alleyway.
The bluenette fought the urge to sigh as he assumed the worst. "The Pokemon Center isn't this way, is it?" Juice asked out loud, causing his host to stop in his tracks. When the stranger turned around, he had a smile on his face that was unlike the one he greeted Juice with.
The stranger snapped his fingers, and like Mothim to light, a mob of trainers with thug-like shapes and sizes of colorful variety stepped out with their Pokemon.
"I suppose it's my fault for not recognizing sooner I was being misled." Juice put a hand on his hip as he looked around himself. He did notice that all these thugs had strange headpiece devices that covered one of their eyes.
"Don't sweat it." The man who led him down here held no sincerity in his voice as he said this. "Tourists like you are easy to trick! Especially when they're all alone! Now give us all your belongings, and your stay in this city won't be too painful."
Juice paid attention to the Pokemon surrounding him. While there was a large number of them, he noticed they were more of the common type Pokemon like normal, water, grass, and flying.
The thug leader narrowed his eyes after putting on his own Battle AR. "And just in case if you think you can escape, we've got guys on the roof too!" Not only that, he thought to himself that if the punk decided to challenge them to a Pokemon Battle, he'd use Synergy Burst, a Ferrum Region Exclusive that allowed any Pokemon to fight on the level of Mega Pokemon for a limited time. "So just give us your money!"
"No."
They surrounded Juice 14 to 1. Each Pokemon owned by a thug had held the power of a temporary Mega thanks to Ferrum Region's Battle AR. However—and the thug leader just realized this—Juice still remained stolid.
"I-I don't think you realize the situation you're in, punk!" The thug moved closer to Juice before instincts told him to freeze in his spot. His prey showed not a single ounce of change in his emotions. In fact, why was his body telling him not to step an inch forward as if something dangerous was in front of him?
"I do." The young man remained monotone. "I wish all of you put more effort into gaining money legally. Being a trainer by itself should be lucrative if you travel around the region, and you don't need to shake down tourists for cash." Juice looked around again as if talking to everyone in the area.
"Kole, why are we listening to this guy? Let's beat him up already and take his money!" One of the guys with a Grandbull shouted.
"Well, we tried to be civil!" The one known as Kole shouted, deluded into thinking he and his friends had the right to the moral high ground while robbing an innocent man. "But you had to pull that whole greater-than-thou thing on us! Guys, get him!" At his point, the group started to move in to hurt the young man.
However, Juice sighed as he stepped back...
Everyone in the alleyway expected him to fight back or run away. No one, in their wildest dreams, expected their prey to drop into his shadow as if it was water.
"W-What?" Kole only gapped as they stared at the ground beneath them. He finally had enough sense to walk into the area Juice disappeared, then felt solid earth beneath him. "What just happened?"
Several buildings away, no one noticed a shadow moving in the broad daylight. When the shadow reached a safe spot on a roof, Juice climbed out of the shadow and dusted himself off. "I'm sorry for getting us into that mess." From his shadow, a ghost Pokemon floated upward.
An Aegislash politely bowed to her trainer after appearing in the sunlight.
"Thank you, Caliburn. There were too many of them; quick thinking for using Shadow Sneak to escape." Juice turned and petted the sword ghost.
Juice sighed after he finished. "Let's find the University proper. I hope nothing else bad happens today."
+Unity Knights+
In a place so far away that distance could never measure, an Alolan Raichu flew with incredible speed carrying a silver suitcase and unimaginable sorrow.
The crying Pokemon turned his neck back from the place he was escaping, the place he only ever knew as home. Now, it was nothing more than smoldering ash and flames.
He remembered the words of the one who raised him. Using his psychic powers, the Raichu opened the suitcase and took out what looked to be a strange jar.
-When you think you and your siblings are safe, open this bottle.-
The jar looked pinkish and had strange rings around it. The Alolan Raichu recalled that it was based on a Pokemon that could travel anywhere, but he couldn't recall the name. The dual-type regretted all those times he slacked off.
The dual-type's ears perked up as he heard, "Something's moving that way." "I see light. Perhaps stragglers?" "Let's go get 'em!" "Fonip has that quadrant. He should be the one to deal with that."
The dual-type used his psychic powers to open the bottle. In an instant, several things happened: the bottle vanished, a giant ring wormhole appeared, and the surfing pokemon flew right into the wormhole before he realized what was happening.
However, something burst out of the ground, signaling it had been chasing after the Pokemon, and jumped into the ring portal before it closed.
The Raichu looked back and saw an attack from the shadowy figure. However, even though the Pokemon dodged, the attack hit the wormhole they traveled through. It destabilized the wormhole, causing it to convulse with levels of an earthquake. And being the lightweight that he was, the Raichu found himself being flung away from his case—away from his siblings.
The Raichu only screamed as his psychic powers failed him due to the strange energies of the wormhole.
For him, it was the worst day of his life.
+Unity Knights+
"You must be Jucentius Edmund!" The Principal of Alden University himself, a stout man with a pointy beard shaped like a goatee, smiled and shook hands with Juice as he entered through the office doors. Juice inwardly thought the man looked like that of an eccentric uncle in mystery novels; the one that either was the culprit or the one to die first. "It is an honor to have the future heir of Proto Industries in our midst! I am Principal Volder."
"I'm just a student here, Mr. Volder." A sharp man would have noticed Juice's smile looked more forced at that moment. "You don't need to treat me as something special."
"Nonsense! You are our honored guest!" The Principal was not one of those types. "I'm here to give you the tour of the school itself! Then, I'll hand you to one of our best advisors to handle your transfer."
Juice fought the urge to sigh before following after the Principal. As he followed, the blue-themed young man looked out the window. The school blended old victorian-styled houses with digital technology as robots floated to and from the areas.
Some time into the Principal's tour, Jucentius stopped when he spotted something in the courtyard. Sensing the halt, Mr. Volder followed the young man's view to see the battle going on in one of the fields. "Ahh! We here at Alden University also sport a battle program where coordinators and trainers learn more skills to further promote their skills! Some of our Alumni are even Elite Four in different regions! Are you interested in joining the curriculum?"
"No." No one but Juice's Pokemon felt the heavy restraint in his voice. He turned back to the Principal and gave him a smile that didn't reach the eyes. "I don't have time for Pokemon Battling..."
"Of course! A future entrepreneur such as yourself needs to keep other skills sharp! We're almost there to your advisor! Come along now!"
Juice stayed for one more second. He noticed the two trainers and their Pokemon looked like they were having fun. He placed his hand on the glass before walking away from the sight of the battle.
"I don't have time for such frivolous things." The words spilled out of his mouth as if someone had planted that line into him.
Before he left the window, something caught Juice's eye. For a second, it looked like there was a strike of rainbow-colored lightning in broad daylight. The oddity of such a thing tickled the bluentte's curiosity, more so when he realized this thunderbolt did not have a sonic boom following it. Why was it colored differently? Why was it silent? And did no one else but him notice it?
"Mr. Volder." Juice turned to the Principal. "Something came up. Can I be alone for a bit, and we can later meet up with this advisor?"
"Why, of course! If you need to use the restroom, it's on the other side of this hall."
Juice nodded as he did so. When he entered the restroom, he touched the wall. "Caliburn, phase me through the walls. I want to check that lightning bolt."
The Ageislash appeared before granting the request of her trainer. With the speed of a shadow, the two entered what looked to be an alleyway. As Juice stepped out, he quickly noticed a downed and injured Pokemon. Without wasting another second, he ran for the little guy to see if he was alright to carry.
Juice may act restrained and monotone, but his heart was as big as the sky he loved to dress as.
It was such a shame that this was the moment his own kindness betrayed him.
As Juice moved his hand closer to what he assumed was a Raichu, something jumped out from a suitcase nearby and latched itself around Juice's right wrist. Caliburn moved too late as she appeared ready to intercept.
Yet, the blue-themed young man looked at the strange object in question: he had seen something like it once in an old cartoon with those multi-colored costumed heroes. However, his situation can wait; the Raichu's couldn't. Seeing as he was not harmed, Juice focused back on the downed Pokemon, especially after seeing blood on the little one.
"Caliburn, get us back to the university. I recall seeing a Pokemon Center in the entrance."
The Ageislash started to move. "It will be done, Master."
Before Juice fell into the shadows, he blinked as he heard a voice coming from his most trusted partner.
+Unity Knights+
It didn't take long before his mind returned to him. Yet, before he woke up, a memory played before him: one of a kind yet difficult period in his life.
-For an electric type, you sure love the wind. Hmm, alright, how does the name Boreas sound to you?
That was the name he received. It was the mission he accepted.
If he was alive, then his mission wasn't over yet. To the Alolan Raichu, he had to succeed. The only other choice would be worse than death.
When he opened his eyes, the first thing he noticed was the bright light that forced him to close his eyelids again. Soon, he found out he was resting in some hospital area.
The Raichu had to admit this was the nicest way he's woken up in a long time. A part of him wanted to gather strength and res—
Time slowed down for the dual-type when he remembered what had happened before he woke up.
-You're the fastest out of all your brothers and sisters! They're all in this case with the Unity Braces! *BOOM!* GO, BOREAS! GO!
He lost his siblings and the most important hope of his world.
Luckily for everyone involved, the room Boreas was in was empty for two seconds before it exploded with psychic and electrical energy.
+Unity Knights+
After meeting an advisor about his future classes, Juice finally took the time to find out what was attached to his wrist. As he sat under a lone cafe table with an umbrella, he noticed it was a strange device: twice the size and length of a watch, but it looked like a toy that kids would use to pretend to transform into their favorite masked heroes. What was also odd about it was the fact that it felt both technologically advanced yet older than maybe the region he visited.
He tinkered with the device, but it didn't seem to respond to his poking and prodding. Afterwards, Juice attempted to remove the object.
Several attempts later, including failed results of phasing the object out with ghost powers, the heir turned to his shadow. "Caliburn, please take out the suitcase that we found in the alley."
Caliburn appeared before placing the suitcase on top of the table. Juice opened the latches to see if there was some instruction manual as to what attached itself to his wrist.
Instead, he found what looked to be notches where Poke Balls should have been. Juice began to count how many empty notches there were before his hand reached the corner and felt a flap. Being distracted, he flipped over the flap and saw another set of empty notches, but this time, it looked like it previously contained devices like the one on his wrist.
It didn't take long for Juice to notice that the number of empty notches matched the empty Poke Ball slots.
While this was all interesting, he still didn't know what it meant. Nor did he understand what was attached to his wrist.
"Was there anything else in the alley that we missed, Caliburn?" Juice asked.
"Not to my knowledge, Master." It took Juice a second to recognize the voice. As long as he's had the device, he could suddenly hear Pokemon speaking human language. Or perhaps it was some Pokemon Translator. Regardless, Juice had to admit that it was an experience that he did not expect.
"Thank you regardless." However, Juice seemed to accept the sudden shift in perspective rather calmly. A thought occurred to him now that he could understand Pokemon. "Let's go visit that injured Raichu. This might belong to him and his trainer."
"It will be done, Master." Caliburn bowed before fading into Juice's shadow. The blue-themed young man looked around to see if anyone watched him before leaning backward and falling into his own shadow.
However, he nor anyone else noticed the second rainbow thunderbolt striking mid-day.
From the endpoint of the thunderbolt, a figure rose slowly as steam emanated from his form.
"... Where is... that... Raichu?"
+Unity Knights+
Another problem occurred when Juice turned the corner to see the Pokemon Center in smoke. The blue-haired adolescent spotted and rushed to Nurse Joy.
"Are you alright!? What happened?"
"Oh! It's you!" Nurse Joy looked to Juice. "I-It was the Raichu you found! He suddenly woke up and escaped! Luckily, no one was hurt, but Officer Jenny and the Police are already on the lookout for it!"
Juice's eyes widened before he looked around. "Do you know where he ran off to?"
"I'm sorry, no." Nurse Joy responded. However, before she could say something else, someone else in need called out to her.
Feeling responsible for this, Juice knew he had to find where the Pokemon ran off too. But he had no idea where to look.
That was until he felt the armlet starting to vibrate. Juice found himself looking at the dull-colored brace and felt this odd pull. Jucentius had a feeling that this device was more connected to the Raichu than he thought.
"Caliburn," He asked of his trusted partner. "Let me point the way."
No one noticed the young man vanishing in a blink of an eye.
+Unity Knights+
Jucentius followed the pull until he eventually reached the same area he found the Alolan Raichu: the alleyway.
Fighting the feeling of nostalgia from already visiting alleyways 3 times in one day, Juice scanned the area. This time, Claiburn shot out with the speed of a geyser before using King's Shield to intercept a blast of psychic energy.
Jucentius looked up to see the Alolan Raichu. The usually docile and content natures the species were known for did not match the rage and sneer of the creature flying overhead of the two.
"You stole them! Give them back!" The Raichu cried out before his eyes glowed with more psychic energy.
"I did not steal your case! In fact, I was the one who helped..." The heir trailed off when he realized that instead of launching an attack, the benches and loose stone around the area started to levitate upward. Instead of an attack going in one direction, the Raichu attempted to crush them with an attack from all directions.
"Sacred Sword!" The blue-themed young man screamed before the objects bulleted towards him and Caliburn. Lines marked the area around the two in less than a second before all flying objects got cut in half and flew past their marks. However, the Raichu no longer saw either the human or the Aegislash after the storm of slashes.
"We're not here to hurt you!" The Raichu turned around to see Jucentius had somehow circled past him. The dual-type started to gather energy...
Until Jucentius pulled out the suitcase. "Is this what you're looking for!?"
For half a second, Jucentius waited for the reaction of the Pokemon. He had to admit, he thought it would calm him down. His gamble... paid off as the Raichu slacked in his stance in the air.
"I found this," Juice lowered the box and held out his hand. "But when I picked it up, up, this latched on to me." He brought up the strange device attached to his wrist.
When Juice did so, the expression of the Raichu changed again. Jucentius expected the Raichu to go into a fit of rage, not drop his jaw in bewilderment.
The Raichu pointed while Caliburn moved to protect her trainer. "You were chosen to be a Unity Knight!?"
Juice and Caliburn turned to each other, both of them blinking once before turning back to the Raichu.
The blue-haired young man answered in a way that was appropriate to the situation at hand. "I do not know what that is."
"A Unity Knight is... is! Well, it's the most important role for my world!" The Raichu's eyes widened. "Ah! Wait! You understood me! The Unity Brace chose you!"
"Let us start again from the top," The blue-clad young man stepped forward. "I am Jucentius Edmund; you can call me Juice. This is my friend, Caliburn."
The Raichu eyed the two, especially the Aegislash, who didn't put down her shield. "I'm Boreas. ... I can't believe it. You're a Unity Knight?"
"Again, I do not know what that is." Jucentius blinked as Caliburn relaxed.
"Well, a Unity Knight is..." The two watched the Raichu pause with an expression as blank as Juice. "Ummm... err... well... you're heroes... kinda? Chosen by... look! Just open up that case and throw out one of the Poke Balls there. One of my siblings should be able to answer better than me."
Juice did so, even as he knew what was about to happen.
"Uhh... why is it empty?" The alarm in Boreas' voice started to rise when he saw the emptied case.
"Because I found it empty except for this item when I found it with you." Jucentius didn't see a reason to lie to the Pokemon. He was trying to calm it down and understand what this strange object attached to him was.
That is why when Boreas learned that he essentially lost his entire family in the span of a few hours, the Raichu reacted towards the honest words in a reasonable manner.
"WHHHAAATTTT!?"
+Unity Knights+
Reasonable and electricity did not usually mix, but Juice found out that Boreas was one of those people who wore his heart on his sleeves. In other words, Boreas used his emotions more than his thoughts, which the ruined alleyway they left behind would not appreciate if it was sentient.
"Please make yourself at home. It's a little subpar, but I can try to make it more comfortable for you later." Jucentius' idea of "subpar" included the luxury suite of a 4-star hotel that he brought Boreas into.
Boreas gawked at the area while the Heir reached for a phone. "Caliburn, if there's any food, please give it to our guest."
The Raichu heard a ding behind the door, and soon several bellhops came in with what looked to be a mobile dining table. When the bellhops removed the silver domes, they revealed a number of exotic and high-quality meals that instantly made the Raichu's mouth water.
By the time Juice finished his call, he turned and saw the Raichu devouring everything on the table. "You must have been hungry. It's alright; we can order more later if you want."
It finally dawned on the Raichu that a grand feast like this was normal to the one who took him in. After swallowing, the dual-type looked over to Jucentius. "Are you a prince?"
"No."
"I'd argue that you are of modern royalty, Master."
The adolescent returned the brief look to his friend before looking back to the Alolan Raichu. "Semantics aside, I would like to learn more about this device and how to remove it."
"Wait, remove it!? Why would you remove it!?"
"It's," Jucentius pulled on the device to prove his point, "Stuck."
"... I did not know they stick," Boreas admitted.
"Yes, we even tried phasing the object away." Juice looked to Caliburn once more. They were surprised that the object seemed to be connected to Juice even on that level.
"How was I supposed to know they do that? It's not like I always listened to those lectures." However, Boreas realized that they were waiting for an explanation as to what was going on. The Alolan Raichu blinked before he scratched his ears. "Right. Um whoops. Well, where do I begin? ... Long before I was born, the world... it must have been good, right? Because where I lived wasn't anything like what you have here. Or at least, everyone older than me kept saying that it was pretty neat. But I'm rambling, aren't I? ... Okay. A long time ago, someone or something calling himself Master Arcades challenged the world to a great war, one where he defeated everyone. Humans, Pokemon, and even Legendaries couldn't stop him and his chosen Burst Warriors. My place was one of the few remaining pockets of resistance, and this guy, Professor Havoc, he was... he was great. Everyone thought he was weird, but he was always so nice to me. ... Anyway, he figured out something about the power source of these Burst Warriors that Master Arcades sent out. Eventually, he created these devices he called Unity Braces. These strange but important things could defeat and turn the tide against the punk Arcades—at least that's what everyone said they'd do. I just trusted them. So. Yeah. We were about to do testing after most of them got finished, but we got found out by the Burst Warriors. And..." Boreas' ears dropped. "Professor kept all my brothers and sisters in their case before handing them and the Unity Braces to me. I was the fastest out of everyone, so I had to escape. He gave me this strange bottle—which I lost—that I should only open if I was safe—which of course I thought I did until one of those Burst Punks jumped in right after me—and of course, they were scary because I've never seen them before today—that's not even mentioning what the bottle did because I don't even know that it could just open a wormhole and—"
Boreas stopped when he saw their vacant expressions become emptier than before. It was impressive but not helping either of them.
"Like I said, I umm. I'm not good at explaining things." The Raichu rubbed the back of his head.
"Wormhole." They all looked to Jucentius. "You said wormhole. I was wondering what you meant about the world being previously good since I've never heard of anything catastrophic happening nor about this Master Arcades until this moment, but you describe it as if it was normal. I have a rather preposterous notion I'd like to share: are you—by chance—not from this world?" Juice would usually be cautious about such extreme ideas. Yet, the oddities of him suddenly being able to understand Pokemon completely by bizarre means made him wonder if things weren't as impossible as they seemed. Adding to that, ever since he had this brace on, he had this alien feeling about the device's ability to allow him to listen to Pokemon.
"I'm not sure..." Boreas put a hand on his head. "All I know is that I had to open that bottle. I don't think the professor told me where it would send me," He shook his head. "Okay! But I do know that those who can activate the Unity Brace are basically the ones who can stop this Lord Arcades fellow! And you're one of them! So, do that thing and save my world!"
...
...
...
"I feel it's prudent for me to point out we're all missing key points on how to achieve or grasp these conditions." The heir raised his brow as even Boreas had to admit that he had no real idea what to do. "How about this? You came here with your siblings, and since they're missing, we should look for them. We'll figure out more about this... situation when we have greater idea of what to do."
"Man, you talk funny. But I get what you're saying: find my family first. That's a good idea." Boreas put his paw on his chin. "We could first try searching for—"
The Alolan Raichu had to stop his train of thought when the Unity Brace started to beep frantically.
"What is it doing?" Caliburn saw that item start to flash in light while making a strange beeping sound.
However, when Caliburn and Juice looked back at Boreas, the regional variant had this horrifying look on his face.
"Oh no. T-That's the scanner! All of the other Braces went off like that before we got attacked by Burst Warriors!"
"Wait, Burst Warrior? I realize you never explained what they were."
Juice's question got an answer but not by Boreas explaining anything. Instead, his answer came in the form of the entire building shaking underneath all three of them.
+Unity Knights+
He did not know where he was, but his mission stayed the same: hunt down stragglers. That bizarre Raichu shouldn't have been able to escape him the way that it did. But ever since he came into this strange land, he felt this pull. As if something was calling out to him.
No.
Not to him specifically, rather to the crystal that housed...
Regardless, he knew his mission.
And he knew what happened if anyone were to get in his way.
+Unity Knights+
"Caliburn, get everyone else out of here!" Those were the first words that flew out of Jucentius' mouth when the building started to shake. Without wasting another second, the Aegislash dropped into shadows, intending to whisk people in the upper floors to safety first.
Jucentius looked to Boreas. "We need to lead whoever this is away from crowded areas!"
"Right! He's after me, so!" Boreas used his psychic powers to open a nearby window before racing out.
"Wait!" Juice quietly cursed before he bolted out of the shaky room.
Boreas raced down as he saw people and Pokemon running out of the entrance. He made his way into the lobby but found it so different from the extravagant and bright place that he saw only minutes ago. It looked like a war—it looked like how his home fell as he was escaping it. Boreas knew that wherever he was, it was untouched by the taint of these Burst Warriors. A part of him realized this might have been his fault, and the thought spurred Boreas to make this right after a series of mistakes.
As everyone on the first floor left, it became quiet enough to hear a pin drop. Boreas looked around for any sign of the Burst Warrior, but he could see nothing.
In fact, the longer he stayed there, the more lights started to flicker before being cut off, creating spots in the room that was so dark that it looked like they were eaten by the color black. Not only that, it was like the darkness moved closer and closer towards Boreas.
"Boreas, duck!"
The levitating electric Pokemon did so, feeling something barely missing him as it flew over him and sped into the darkness of the ruined area. While Boreas couldn't see the attacker, the Raichu followed the warning to see Juice running towards him on a staircase before jumping down and heading towards him without losing momentum. "We need to get out of here! You're a sitting target like that!"
Boreas only nodded before using his powers to lift his new friend. They both felt a spike of killing instinct before the Raichu flew out with Juice in tow.
As they sped off, Juice looked up to the sky to see the sun starting to set. "Boreas, what is a Burst Warrior!?"
"A burst warrior is a human who can transform into some pokemon-human hybrid and use their powers! Before I came here, one of them was after me and chased me through the wormhole! It must be that guy!" Boreas shouted back.
Juice could not believe what he heard. "Huh. Pokemon-Human hybrid; it sounds oddly unpleasant."
"They conquered my home with it, so I bet." Boreas kept speeding up, flying through the roads.
Although Juicentius still couldn't wrap around the idea of a hybrid, another thought came to him that felt more important to their current situation. "Wait, do you know what Pokemon he's using to chase you?"
"I... I think a ground type? It was quick, but he caught me off guard when he busted out through the ground."
"If he was just a ground type, he wouldn't need to use darkness like that to strike at you," Juice said aloud as his mind thought back to the tactics of their pursuer. "Could he be using—ah! Boreas, turn there!"
The Raichu saw Juice talking about what looked to be an empty park. Pressed for time, Boreas flew over to the area and let down Juice.
"Why here?!" Boreas looked around for any sign of attacks from the other guy.
"This was the only place I saw without people." Jucentius watched the sun already half gone on the horizon. He panicked at the thought of this assailant being so well-versed in using darkness for combat. If it was complete night, they would be hunted with the potential for attack from every direction. There was no way they could prepare for that especially without Caliburn.
The two stood back to back as they expected an attack to come from even underneath them. They did not anticipate a sudden sandstorm.
"So he can use Pokemon moves," Jucentius noted to himself as he shielded Boreas under his jacket while putting his free hand above his eyes. His instincts flared, but it felt like it was telling him that it was too late to dodge. Instead, he pushed away Boreas before something blindsided him with enough force to send him flying into a tree.
"Juice!?" Horror returned to Boreas' heart as he saw the one person who cared for him after losing everything get hurt. However, anger came over him as he saw this Burst Warrior finally stand still. If he had the ground type, then electrical attacks wouldn't work. But as his eyes started to glow, Boreas thought about nothing but smashing this monster to the ground multiple times with Psychic.
The psychic force surrounded the silhouette... before it broke without the figure moving.
"What?" Boreas's eyes widened.
In the meantime, Juice forced himself to wake up. However, he could feel his entire left arm broken from the impact. His entire body screamed at him in pain, but he didn't care about that as he saw Boreas trying to use psychic but failing on the attacker.
That only made Juice realize his assumptions from before were correct. "Boreas, he's also a dark type! Use Psychic around him!"
The figure in the storm glanced over to Jucentius. At that moment, the blue-themed young man felt a glare down on him with the sandstorm. Thankfully, it was short-lived as Boreas instead lifted the ground beneath the mysterious warrior and slammed him down with the intent to make him a sandwich between a rock and the ground they walked on.
But in his haste, Boreas forgot about the half-ground type his opponent was. When the rock got destroyed, instead of a body, a giant hole stood where the Burst Warrior should have been.
Boreas flew over to Juice while there was another lull in the attacks.
"Juice! Are you alright!?"
"Well, my left arm is broken right now, so it wouldn't be wrong to say I'm all right." Although he tried to smile, the blunette winced when he tried to move his left arm again.
"I can't believe you're joking at a time like this!" The Raichu yelled over the sandstorm.
"I'm being attacked by an alien-human who can turn himself into a Krookodile hybrid. I'm fairly certain I'm allowed to joke." Even when being snippy, Juice was still very monotone.
However, Boreas felt responsible for getting Juice hurt. They only knew each other for a short amount of time, but the Raichu was glad to be friends with someone well-meaning. Yet, all the more reason for Boreas to make things right after failing everyone and everything so far.
"Juice," Boreas lowered his gaze. "Run."
"What?"
"Get out of here. He's only after me, so you'll be safe if I distract him long enough."
Juice's eyes widened before he forced them to shut after sand got into his eyes.
However, the human felt his heart sink when he heard Boreas' soft voice, even with the sandstorm around them. "Thank you, Jucentius. You're a real stand-up guy."
The blunette snapped his eyes open before he saw Boreas fly back into the worst of the sandstorm.
Boreas started to lift rocks and throw them in random directions. "Here am I am, you burst freak! Come and get me!"
As soon as the words left his lips, the ground erupted from underneath the floating psychic type. Had he been a pure ground-bound electric type, he would have died for sure to the energy fangs about to clamp down on him. As he was levitating in the air, Boreas had more than enough time to dodge, but barely.
Even though the regional variant dodged, he felt something grab the middle part of his tail. Boreas yelled as he got slammed into the ground. When he looked up, he saw the figure about to attack him with dark energy.
"A failure to the end, huh?" Boreas managed to gasp before he closed his eyes.
The Raichu heard a loud sound, but he felt no pain. As the Alolan Raichu looked up, he realized that the Burst Warrior staggered away. To Boreas' right, Juice grunted in pain on the ground next to him.
"Right!" Juice hissed. "If I'm going to dropkick someone, do not land on the broken arm."
"W-What are you doing here!? You're supposed to run!" Boreas shouted at Juice.
"That would have been wise," Juice slowly got back up and faced the Burst Warrior. "But I'm just like you, Boreas: I also have responsibilities from lost loved ones." Boreas didn't expect Jucentius to understand how he felt. "A friend of mine stood by me when it got too hard, so the best I can do is do the same for you."
The silhouette seemed to finally shake off its confusion from the dropkick to the face. It glared in Juice's direction as if no longer treating him like an annoyance.
However, Jucentius stood firm even with a broken left arm. "I won't back down."
The mysterious Burst Warrior rushed for Jucentius. Boreas, not wanting to lose his new friend, found himself rushing forward.
And then, the Unity Brace started to shine. A bright light warded away the Burst User, forcing him to shield his eyes as he staggered back. Suddenly, a powerful spike of psychic energy froze the entire sandstorm still and, with one motion, decimated it to free the night sky.
Under the light of the half-moon, a figure stood where Juice once did. The figure wore armor reminiscent of medieval times yet exuded an ancient power. However, the armor in question seemed to be stylized in both brown and gold: the color schemes of an Alolan Raichu. The helm styled itself after the head of an Alolan Raichu with a full face visor. A long, flowing purple cloak with golden trims laminated in the winds the presence created.
With the sandstorm gone, the enemy revealed himself at last: some strange, large, and bulky man with features similar to that of a Krookodile. For the first time, the pursuer could only stare in disbelief at what was before him.
"W-What? What are you?" The Krookodile hybrid asked before his stance tightened. "You're not a Burst Warrior!"
The armored figure motioned a hand outward, making his psychic powers restore the broken area. Electricity raced around his form from the excess of power. Then a voice from within the soul of the Unity Brace erupted like a geyser that was long sealed. "I am the culmination of hope of two worlds! I am the Unity Knight: Raichu!" Two voices overlapped from the armored being as he pointed to his enemy. "Burst Warrior, your abuse of power and loyalty to a master of destruction ends here!"
"How dare you mock the great lord! Foul Play!" The Krookodile Burst Warrior screamed before his claws ignited, and he rushed for the bizarre fusion of both Jucentius and Boreas. Yet, despite wearing armor, the Unity Knight moved with speed the Burst Warrior did not expect. Nor did the Burst Warrior expect to get decked in the face for missing his blow.
Although the hit did hurt, it wasn't enough for the Burst Warrior to fall. He rushed again, only to get kneed into the stomach. Yet, despite the increase in speed, the attacks didn't hurt as much as they could have.
Juice and Boreas also noticed this.
(Aww, come on! I thought we'd have more power than that!) (This armor seems to reflect your powers, Boreas. We simply have to change tactics.) The blue eyes behind the visor turned purple.
The Unity Knight backed off and started to float mid-air. With effort, he raised his hands, creating chunks of earth that flew and pelted the Burst Warrior from all sides. The Unity Knight concentrated energy around one mound of dirt the size of a human torso before launching it at the battered Burst Warrior.
Sure, the psychic energy disappeared when it got close to the dark and ground type. A shame that the velocity and speed of the object did not do the same.
This time, the Burst Warrior crashed through several trees before stopping. However, even as the dust settled, the enemy of the Unity Knight stood tall. Sadly for the Juice and Boreas, it was the Burst Warrior's turn to counter attack. He unleashed another Sandstorm move that caused the two to brace themselves. Even up in the sky, the Burst Warrior leapt to strike down the Unity Knight. Luckily, Juice was was quick enough to dodge the guy's claws.
... But neglected the tail afterward.
Juice and Boreas felt their world spin as they got knocked into the ground by a powerful force. If the armor really reflected Boreas's abilities and limits, then they both couldn't take another hit like that.
(You've got to be kidding me! He's still fighting this hard!?) (We might need a Super Effective move to take him down.) (Uhh, you do realize both of my main types don't work on him, right!?) (... Luckily for us, we've bought enough time.) (Time for what!?)
Jucentius rose from the ground before he pointed to the Burst Knight. No, wait. He pointed... behind him? "Sacred Sword!"
It took a second for The Burst Warrior to look confused. However, as he felt a shift behind him that wasn't psychic energy, he realized his mistake far too late.
Caliburn had finally caught up with them and unleashed the super effective fighting move on the unsuspecting hybrid.
The strike looked to be a critical hit as the Aegislash's move finally forced the stubborn hybrid to fall on his back. As he did, the storm faded while his form started to change. The energy was released, and a man with long white hair wearing dark clothing hit the ground. Yet, something flew into the air... and it looked like a crystal with a Krookodile in it?
(AAAHHH!? Juice, destroy that!) (What?) (It's a Burst Heart! Those are the things that give Burst Warriors their powers!)
Seeing his chance, Juice trusted the power he held and stretched his hand outward. His cape quickly followed and formed into a staff that he pointed to the flying Burst Heart.
"HAAAA!" Juice and Borea's voice screamed as they flew at the speed of thunder right for the crystal. Their energy, speed, and power shattered the crystal, causing particles of light to disperse into the air.
Several things happened at once. First, the rainbow thunder reappeared and opened what looked to be a portal, one that Boreas recognized as the same one he used to enter into Velouri City. The Portal swallowed the human whole, making him disappear as mysteriously as he appeared in the first place. The second thing that happened was the light of the Burst Heart converging and forming into an unconscious Krookodile.
(Boreas, do you know what just happened?) (Uuuuhhh, we won?) (I know that but where did the human go? And why is there a Krookodile?) (...Look, I thought we established that I wasn't good at listening to the important stuff! Be glad I remembered the Burst Heart thing in the first place!)
As Jucentius felt himself relax, the Power of the Unity Knight became undone, and the two found themselves separate from each other.
"Ow! Owowow!" Boreas suddenly clutched his arm. "Why does my arm hurt!?"
Jucentius felt his arm. "Hey, my arm isn't broken anymore. It still hurts, but did our fusion share my pain?"
"Apparently!" Boreas screamed while Caliburn floated towards Jucentius.
"Thanks, Caliburn. As always, your timing is on point."
"The praise is unnecessary but welcomed, Master Jucentius." The ghost and steel type bowed.
...
"Hey, Juice?" Boreas started after things calmed down. "Thanks. For... not leaving me."
"I meant what I said: I know what it's like," Jucentius sighed as he started to think about his responsibilities. "But it's getting late. We should stop by the Pokemon Center. Then, after I make a call about my responsibilities, we'll look for your siblings."
Jucentius blinked. "By the way, who were you going to suggest we find first?"
Boreas opened his mouth—
-Author Notes-
TheyWhoAreNone: And here we are. I have been playing with this idea for a little over 4 months. While it's been hard to write for me, I finally finished the intro chapter.
There's so much to cover. This idea is based on the Pokemon (power) Ranger fan series that I've always seen but never invested in. And it's combining some aspects of Pokemon Burst. It's true people rather not touch the series with a ten-foot pole, but I thought there was an interesting potential in having the gimmick of that series fit as an enemy-of-the-week formula.
Boreas: Hey! Author! Enough with the technical stuff! You made an SYOC, so people are expecting how to enter and get in!
TWAN: But there's so much technicality that I worked hard on the story, and it's not even complete yet!
Jucentius: We will shelve it for later. You're still trying to be a better writer, but now's not the time to practice. Erhm.
These SYOC auditions will be more competitive. We will not simply take first come and first serve unless they fit the parameters of what we are looking for.
Caliburn: In other words, please follow the following instructions to enter. They will also be posted on TWAN's Profile for easier access.
RULES OF SUBMISSION.
Name: *Add nicknames too after*
Gender:
Age:
Appearance/Height/Body Type: *You can search up Waifulabs to create your own Anime Profile if you want to. Then send a link through the Private Message to show me what character you made*
-You can list what type of clothes they wear.
Backstory: *Good luck, this will either impress me or make me not interested, so I suggest you give it your all. I'll give you some points and small nudges for the direction of the story*
-Unity Brace/Boreas' sibling: *This might be part of the backstory or later part of the list of Pokemon partners. But for now, explain only one Pokemon that grew up in a rebel base with Boreas. This will be the Pokemon your character will create a Unity Knight with.
-Reason for being in Velorui City at the time: *This can vary if living or visiting or etc.*
Personality: *This is also important as it'll give me an idea of how your characters react to others and their partners*
-Hobbies:
-Flaws:
-Fears:
-Aspirations/Goals:
-Romantic goals?
Pokemon Partners: *Aside from the Unity Pokemon, you can have up to 6 other Pokemon. However, the more you put, the harder it will be for me to write about all of them, and the more I won't be inclined to write your characters.
-Feel free to give your Pokemon quirks and character traits.
-Also feel free to give a quick summary of how they met/befriended/or caught these guys if they have them.
-I'm trusting you guys not to use Legendary Pokemon in this list or the as the Unity Brace partner. And if you do want a legendary, you better give a narratively good reason to convince me to do so, otherwise I'm not going to choose your application.
(Now, those are the main points. Here are some extra side notes. You are handing the character to me; as such, I have the final say. I will do my best to keep your character true to how you envision it, but I may put tweaks and changes to fit this story. I'll usually tell you, but if you do not respond within at most 3 days, I will make the change myself and consider that a yes.)
(The next note is that I will be accepting submissions for 2 months. It's to give myself more time to figure out how your characters are going to interact with one another along with figuring out my schedule. I will also be strict, if I'm allowing many to apply, there will be some I like more than others. So if you want to join, you're going to have to do your best.)
(If you don't get in, I am sorry. I do wish I could include everyone, but I have limits. Hopefully, you at least had fun in creating your character.)
End of Submission Notes.
TWAN: These are the main building blocks of your characters. If you can impress me with these, then they can join the story.
Jucentius: If there are any more things you think are important, then please add them.
Boreas: And fun fact about "Waifulabs". It's a site that allows you to create free anime portraits! It's how TWAN here created Juice!
Juice: It is nice to have a face for people to recognize.
Caliburn: Please send links of the pictures through Private Messaging. If one wishes to spend time trying to create their character.
TWAN: What else? Ah, right. With how this story works, we're looking for at least five other potential Unity Knights to go with Jucentius. Even if you are not accepted, we could work out cameos or even rework your character as a reoccurring villain. And if not, we hope you at least had fin in creating your character.
Juice: Let's also mention that auditions will be finished in 2 months. And add the disclaimer that if you do accept the character, there may be something that you as the final writer will choose to change over what was submitted.
Boreas: We have a lot of rules. Will anyone even want to join us?
Juice: It's up to them, but honestly? I'm already having a lot of fun in only one chapter. I hope you join in with us too.
Bores: So good luck out there and have fun!