A New Beginning
Episode 1 of the Johto Chronicles
Written by Atma
It was finally over. For a good month, the Indigo League Pokemon Tournament had been my main focus. Weary but victorious, I returned to my room and went to sleep, only to dream of a familiar voice.
Atma...
"Moltres!"
Yes, Atma... congratulations on your victory, but you're still needed.
"I am? Where?"
West of here is a large land called Johto. Although there aren't as many humans, there are many species of Pokemon not found here in Kanto.
"Cool."
Recently we have felt a growing evil there... it has grown strong enough that we have decided to take steps. But pokemon outside of Kanto don't follow us -- they have their own Legendary pokemon as leaders: Houou, Lugia, Entei, Suikun, and Raikou.
"So how come they're not dealing with it?"
Lugia sleeps on the ocean floor, waiting for something -- what he waits for, we do not know. Houou is a loner, taking action in only the most extreme circumstances. And the Legendary Dogs -- Entei, Suikun, and Raikou -- vanished without a trace over a month ago.
"So Johto is left with no guardians able and willing to help out..."
No, that's the strange part -- the Legendary Dogs reappeared two days ago, but with darker fur and personalities completely different from before.
"And they can't be fakes, right?"
Right. Even Dittos are unable to Transform into the shapes of Legendary pokemon. You must find Houou and convince him to take action!
"Don't worry, I'll leave in the morning."
"Thank you, Atma. The closest city in Johto, Blackthorn City, is just over the mountains on the western edge of Indigo Plateau. Good luck, Atma -- we're counting on you!"
-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-
As soon as I woke up, I ate breakfast and took off to the west, before most of the spectators were awake. Moltres had conveyed a sense of urgency, and I couldn't just sit around signing autographs all day. Within minutes, the Indigo League city had faded into the horizon, and ahead of me was the mountain range that marked the end of the Pokemon Council's influence. Once I crossed them, I would be on my own, with no help from anyone but my pokemon. And, as I passed over the highest peak, I felt a strange emptiness. Most of the pokemon council's power ended here -- no longer would they be able to help me.
-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-
Blackthorn city was a small city in a mountain valley, covered by dark black clouds. Only two big roads led out of it, one to the west and one to the southeast. I landed on the southeast road and started walking towards the city. After a few minutes, I ran into a woman, fleeing the city. As soon as she saw me, she let out a scream.
"Get away from me!" she shouted.
"What's the matter?" I asked.
"You know full well what's the matter!"
"I have no clue what you're talking about -- I've never met you before and this is my first day in Johto!"
"...You're really not in league with them?"
"With who?"
"With the pokemon that have taken over Blackthorn City!"
"A whole city... taken over by pokemon?"
"Yes... and they're all fire-types, even the leader!"
"They have a leader? This isn't just an unruly mob?"
"No, loyal pokemon have abandoned their trainers to support their leader, a pokemon no one in the city could recognize."
I blinked. "This could be very bad... please don't tell me that the leader is named Entei, Suikun, or Raikou!"
Her eyes went wide. "Yes... the leader calls himself Entei."
-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-
I hurried onwards to the city. I met two people along the way, and, not surprisingly, they screamed and fled off the path when they saw me. I ignored them and continued to the city, only to find a Magmar and a Typhlosion blocking the gate.
"Outsiders are not welcome!" the Magmar said. "Begone or else!"
"Go away," I said. "I don't take orders from Magmars."
Typhlosion snarled. "You'll pay for that!" Magmar charged forward, try to Fire Punch me, but I grabbed his wrist with both claws, spun him around with Strength, and Seismic Tossed him into a wall. Typhlosion pounced forward, and I grabbed him. As he struggled to get free, I flew up a good thirty feet, and hurled him to the ground.
"You won't... get away... with this..." Typhlosion muttered as he lost consciousness. I entered the city, only to have a Growlithe lunge at my throat. I slammed a Fire Punch into his stomach, knocking him onto his back, and clamped my foot down on his chest. I could clearly see the fear in his eyes.
"Where is Entei?"
"He- he's in the Gym!"
"And where is that?"
"Just keep going down this road, it's about twenty buildings down!"
"Good." I started past him, but instinct, I turned and fired off a Mega Punch. He had tried to lunge at my throat again, but my fist slammed into his jaw, knocking him out. I muttered and continued on to the Gym, fighting off pokemon along the way. Eventually, I reached the gym doors and slammed them open, leaving me face to face with what could only be the Legendary Dog of Fire.
-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-
"So... it looks like the Pokemon Council has sent their beloved Atma to interfere in the affairs of Johto."
"You must be Entei. And based on what's going on, some 'interference' is definitely needed here!"
"Don't be foolish! I am Entei, and you are a mere Charizard. You have no hope of defeating me -- leave Johto and never return, or you will perish here!"
"Legendary or not, I'm not going to let you enslave an entire city!"
"Then die!"
Entei glowed a bright red, and levitated off the ground, surrounded by a shield of flames. Grinning, he shot blasts of flame at me from his shield. Recalling my training at Saffron Gym, I put up a shield of Psychic energy, deflecting the flames. But the shield was rapidly weakening. Entei was much stronger than I had thought, and my psychic shield wouldn't last much longer. In desperation, I changed the psychic shield into a psybeam and fired it at Entei.... with no effect!
"Fool!" he cried. "Psychic attacks have no effect on me!"
"But Psychic attacks do normal damage to Fire-types! The ones immune are Dar... WAIT! You're not the real Entei! You're an impostor from the Shadow World!"
"So you figured it out... too bad you won't survive to tell anyone!"
I dove to the side, narrowly dodging a blast of flames, and quickly put up another psychic shield. Dark-types were weak against Fighting attacks, but first I'd have to get through his shield. As he fired blasts of flame, I shot back with Psybeams, not at him, but at his shield. Finally, I tore a large hole in his shield, and as it closed up, I dove forward and spun, slamming him in the chest with a Rolling Kick. He immediately got up and lunged forward, trying to sink his fangs into my neck. As he landed on me, I grabbed his jaws, holding them open. Struggling against his weight, I charged up energy, and slammed a Hyper Beam down his throat. The false Entei exploded into a cloud of black smoke, which quickly drifted out the window, never to be seen again.
-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-
With the false Entei gone, his mind control on the pokemon of Blackthorn City vanished. Throughout the city, fear turned to relief as trainers knew they could trust their Pokemon again.
-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-
On the floor where the false Entei had been, there rested a pokeball. Yet it had a flame symbol on it, and text in the ancient Annonscript encircling it repeatedly. I tried to open it, but to no avail. What could this mean? I picked it up, vowing to find out what it meant. But first, I'd have to find Houou. Solitary or not, he would take certainly action once he found out what had happened here. And so, I set off to find him.
Johto: A large land to the west of Kanto (the area covered by the Indigo League). Less people live in Johto than kanto, but there are more Pokemon there.
Blackthorn City: This small city is in a valley in northeastern Johto. Claire, the Dragon trainer, is the Gym Leader here. This is the closest city in Johto to the Indigo Plateau.
Annonscript: Annonscript is an ancient way of writing text with pictures of the 26 Unown (also called Annon), which resemble English letters. Ancient writings were frequently in Annonscript, but in modern times it is rarely used.
Fire Ball: This mysterious pokeball has flame symbols on it and text in Annonscript encircling it. What, if anything, is inside?
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