Pre-Story Notes:
So, this crossover is primarily based on the Pokémon Diamond/Pearl/Platinum games, with a bit of Pokémon Adventures/Special mixed in.
The fic primarily takes place in the Pokémon universe, but Harry will later on visit his homeworld. However, at the end of the day, he will ultimately remain in the PKMN world.
Also, consider this a sort of "pilot episode" for the fic. On the matter of my other stories, let me put it this way – I'm rather fickle. Sometimes I get a burst of inspiration that forces me to write a plot bunny, but then that inspiration vanishes just as quickly as it came, leaving my stories under an indefinite hiatus until I either get another burst of inspiration, or something draws me back into the story.
Anyway, enjoy this first chapter. This fic has also been posted in Archive of Our Own.
Chapter 1 – The Prologue to a Journey
It was a quiet day on Twinleaf Town.
And a quiet day was nothing out of the ordinary for the small village, especially as Johanna was concerned. With, of course, a small exception that had happened some years before. The day she gained a son. The day Harry had appeared.
She had been gathering the clothes she had put outside to dry in the sun, when a burst of golden light tore her away from her task. At first, she had believed it might have been a Pokémon causing mischief, but the wails of a toddler shortly after dismissed that notion almost immediately. She found a boy around a year old in pyjamas with a bleeding wound on his forehead, with him a plaid-patterned blanket with the name "Harry" embroidered in a corner, and near him a small rectangular white plate with a strange inscription written in the Unown script on its back. One hardly had to be an expert in order to decipher it.
From all creations, over all creations, does the Original One watch over all.
Although some investigation was made regarding the child's origins – including the possibility of him having been the victim of a misdirected Teleport – no one had come forward to claim him. As such, Johanna decided to adopt him as her son.
But that had been nearly ten years ago.
"Ooooott! Come out, come out, wherever you are!"
Johanna glanced at her son as she him come downstairs, the chain on his trousers jingling as he moved.
The wound on his forehead had long since healed, leaving behind only a faint scar in the vague shape of a lightning bolt. Yet very few even knew he had a scar at all, as she knew Harry liked to hide it behind his messy hair.
She knew he would never admit it, but Johanna knew her son was very self-conscious about the scar. And his appearance in general.
"Harry, what are you doing?"
"Trying to find Ott. He's either hiding again, or napping," the boy replied. "Pearl wants to go to the lake."
Barry Pearl. Harry's childhood friend and their neighbour.
Quite frankly, Johanna sometimes couldn't tell if the two were friends of rivals. Their first Pokémon battle days before didn't help matters.
"Unless he's outside," muttered Harry who went to open the entrance door. If Ott was somewhere outside, then it could only be in the pond.
THUD!
"Argh!"
"Dia! We're going to be late! Any more waiting and I'm fining you 10 million!"
"I would if I could find Ott." said Harry a bit irritated and rubbing his now aching forehead. "He's nowhere in the house."
"Ott? He's outside in your pond."
"I knew it!"
Harry grabbed his jacket and bag, and stomped out of the house.
"Bye Mrs. Johanna!" said Barry as he walked out after Harry.
Oh well. At least she would have some peace and quiet for a bit.
"So… why are we going to the lake anyway?"
True to Barry's word, Ott had been taking a bath in the pond outside Harry's house. His partner found and now walking besides him, the two aspiring trainers made their way to Lake Verity, Harry with his Oshawott and Barry with Chimler – a Chimchar that his father had gifted him days before as a birthday present.
"Didn't you see the report on TV? About the red Gyrados?"
"Yeah?"
"So we're going to the lake to find one!"
Harry blinked. Barry wanted to find a red Gyrados… in the lake?
"Pearl, did you see the entire report?"
"Well…no?"
"That Gyrados was red because someone made it evolve by force," said Harry. "So unless there's someone making experiments with Magikarp in the lake, there won't be a red Gyrados there. We'd have better luck finding the lake guardian."
"Imagine if we caught that legendary! We'd be famous!" said Barry with clear excitement about the fantasy. "They'd make a report about us!"
Of course, it was then that Harry noticed something.
"Hey, Pearl."
"Yeah?"
"Did you bring any Pokéballs?"
"No. Did you?"
"Nope."
"Dia, you overgrown Psyduck, why would I have any Pokéballs? You're the one who's always going to Sandgem!" groaned Barry.
"And why would I have any Pokéballs? I can't buy them yet!"
"Neither can I!"
No Poké Mart would sell them to anyone without a Trainer card.
"Well, this is just gr-"
But Harry never finished his sentence, as he suddenly fell silent and was now staring vacantly towards the distance, having also stopped in his tracks.
"Huh? Dia?"
"I… something's angry," said Harry. "Lots of somethings. Ott, let's go!"
"Osh!" the Pokémon cried as he jumped onto Harry's shoulder.
Barry didn't question when his friend began to run towards the lake. He winced as Chimler grasped his hair to make sure he didn't fall from his shoulder when he began to run after Harry like a maniac. Harry had a knack for these things, and he was usually right. He followed his friend as he passed through a small clearing of trees, giving way to the lakeside, where he could see the source of Harry's alarm.
A girl and her Piplup were fighting against a flock of Starly. A rather large flock of angry Starly. And the Piplup was clearly struggling to keep up with the birds. At the sight, Harry didn't lose any time in acting.
"Ott, use Aqua Jet!"
Surrouded by water, the Oshawott lauched himself towards one of the Starly, directly hitting the bird. Although it hadn't been knocked out, it clearly wasn't in a good state, and sent a growl at its opponent.
"Oh no, you don't. Tackle it Ott!"
"Osh!"
Barry and Chimler too had gotten into the battle.
"Chimler, use Scratch!"
Not flashy, but it did the job with one of the Starly now agitated by having a few less feathers. And since they were no longer burdened by having to fight against the Starly flock on their own, the girl and her Piplup too began to drive off the Starly flock.
"Piplup, use Bubble Beam!"
With the three working together, it didn't take long until the flock was dispersed. They didn't so much defeat the entire flock of Starly. Rather, the group of birds decided that it would be best to flee instead of staying to fight.
"Are you alright?" Harry finally asked.
"Yes, thank you," she said while picking up a briefcase which Harry had not noticed until then. "Didn't expect the Starly here to be so violent."
"They're… a bit rowdy around here. Never a good idea to come alone to the lake without a Pokémon."
"Or two," added Barry.
Harry had never seen this girl before, and that she was unaware of the "dangers" of Lake Verity meant she was very likely not from around here.
"Well, I'm Dawn," she introduced herself. "And this is my partner Piplup."
"Pip!"
Harry had seen pictures of Piplup before, but never had seen one personally before. Quite frankly, they were smaller than what he had originally thought. But well, since Dawn had decided to introduce herself, it was only fair if he did the same.
"I'm… erm…"
"Something wrong?" asked Dawn confused.
Barry snickered. "He's just deciding which of his names to give you. He's got three," he said. "I'm Barry. Or Pearl as this Slowpoke prefers to call me- OW!"
"This Slowpoke can use focus punch," said Harry, retracting his first from Barry's head. "Call me Dia. Or Lucas. Or Luke. Any of them works. This is my partner Ott."
"I've never seen this type of Pokémon!" said Dawn, very curious about the water-type on Harry's shoulder.
"Wott!"
"He's an Oshawott from Unova. Hatched him from an egg someone gave my mum."
"He's very cute."
Ott puffed at those words, striking a rather smug stance.
"Heh. Nice job feeding his ego," said Harry as he gave an amused grin at the Oshawott's antics, before turning to Dawn. "You're not from around here, are you?"
"Oh no. I'm from Sandgem Town. Professor Rowan and I came here to investigate the lake, but he forgot his briefcase, so I came back to get it."
"Professor Rowan?" asked Barry as he turned to Harry. "Isn't he the one you sometimes visit with Ott?"
"Yea-"
"Professor!" exclaimed Dawn, interrupting Harry and making the two boys turn towards the source of her surprise. Approaching them was a man Harry recognized from his visits to Sandgem with Ott.
He would recognize that moustache anywhere.
"Hello Professor Rowan."
"Ah, young Diamond. What a surprise meeting you here."
That the two knew each other was a surprise to Dawn.
"You know the Professor?" she asked.
"It is not everyday that a Pokémon from Unova finds its way to Sinnoh," answered Rowan for Harry. "As a researcher of Pokémon, having a trainer with one nearby presented a perfect opportunity for study. I also see you have found my briefcase Dawn. Good, good. Say, what brings you youngsters to the lake?"
That last question being directed to the Twinleaf duo.
"We…erm, well, we're trying to find a Red Gyrados," said Barry, who Harry noted was a tad bit nervous.
"Or a legendary," added Harry.
"Yeah, or a legendary!"
"I'm afraid there are no Red Gyrados in Lake Verity," said the professor. "And even the most battle-hardened trainer would struggle to battle against a legendary Pokémon, let alone capture one. Assuming of course, that you'd manage to find one in the first place."
Unfortunately, Harry knew that was true. Whenever any mention of legendary Pokémon came around, the sole thing that bound them all together was the fact that either no one had ever seen them, or that they were extremely reclusive. In the case of Lake Verity, Harry knew the legends – said to be the home of Mesprit, the Being of Emotion. In rare occasions, someone would claim to have seen a shape they would believe to be Mesprit, but few gave any credence to such claims.
"Maybe… huh, what's that?"
Just as before he has sensed the anger of the Starly, now there was something else in the air. Something more intense and yet calm.
Was that… curiousness?
"At least the briefcase wasn't damaged."
"Damaged?" questioned the professor as he looked at Dawn. "Why would the briefcase be damaged?"
"She was attacked by a bunch of Starly," said Berry. "We helped drive them off."
"Did you now? Well, you have my thanks for helping my assistant."
Harry had felt a spark of doubt, or perhaps something similar. Yet it was quickly replaced by resolve… or maybe determination? No, that didn't make sense – why would Professor Rowan be determined of all things?
It was hard to sense human emotions. Pokémon were far easier in that regard.
"In any case, we must be going," said Rowan. "By chance, do you youngsters already have your trainer cards?"
Harry shook his head. "Mine hasn't arrived yet."
"Mine neither," said Barry."
"Hmm. When you do, come by my lab in Sandgem," said Professor Rowan. "I believe I will have something you might make use of in your journey."
And although they left the lake with renewed excitement towards the arrival of their trainer cards, Harry could swear something or someone had been watching them.
Yet by the end of the day, that thought would have faded away.
It was only two days until Harry's trainer card finally arrived. At long last, he could begin his journey. He already had his backpack filled with the basic essentials, but the rest he would need to buy on the way. He had gone to check if Barry had too received his card, but the other boy's mother had told him that Barry had already left. Not that it surprised him, but still… it was a bit disappointing.
"Seems like it's just the two of us," said Harry to Ott as he got on his bike. "Hat or no hat?"
The Pokémon's response was to grab the red beret off Harry's head and shove it inside the trainer's backpack, to which Harry gave an amused grin.
"No hat? Fine by me."
Harry took the opportunity to mess with his mop of hair, moving one of the bangs to hide the faint scar on his forehead. Trying more than that would be a lost cause. His hair had an aversion to being tidy.
"I should get some Pokéballs after we meet with Professor Rowan," muttered Harry to himself as he looked inside his wallet, already planning out his journey. "And Potions too. Maybe a map as well."
Getting lost on the way to the first gym would be a terrible start to his journey, after all.
"Alright, you ready Ott?"
"Sha!"
"Let's go then!"
Author's Note:
So, why is Harry called not only Harry but also Lucas and Diamond/Dia? Because those are his post-adoption names.
Johanna only knows Harry's first name because of the blanket he had with him when he got somehow transported to the Pokémon world, which happened to have his named embroidered on it. Thus, his full name post-adoption became "Harry Lucas Diamond".
And why an Oshawott and not a Sinnoh starter like say, Piplup? Mostly because Oshawott's evolution - Dewott - is my favourite evolution of a starter Pokémon, and I wanted Harry to eventually have one as a partner.
The cover image is meant to be Harry. It's an edited version of Lucas's Platinum concept art mixed with parts from other concept artwork, including Brendan's contest costume and PKMN Ranger Kellyn's hair spikes, as well as a replaced head. My work purely involved matching parts and changing colours.