Disclaimer: All rights to Pokémon are owned by Nintendo, Game Freak, Creatures, 4Kids and the Pokémon Company. I do not claim in any way to be affiliated with these companies or their products.
While the name Alex Davis was used in an episode of Pokémon - the Johto Journeys, and a similar chase sequence to the one at the beginning of Pokémon 4Ever is included in the latter part of this book, I assure you this is pure coincidence. I have had this book mapped out in my head for quite some time now (since just after the Power of One came out, I believe), and while I do not claim any rights to the scene in the movie, the scene in the book is an original creation and not to be confused with the big screen.
Now, moving on...
A LEGEND IS BORN - SOLAREON II
PROLOGUE
On a rocky outcrop, three canine figures stood.
One, a regal creature with graceful movement, spoke.
"Are you sure? He is right for the task?"
One, a savage beast, with a tail that forked like lightning, replied.
"Yes. He is the only one who can help us."
One, a magnificent masked wolf, concluded.
"Then it is decided. It begins tonight."
They watched a young boy not older than ten stepping onto a stage, carved from stone by nature itself. Several hours after watching the events that followed, Suicune and Raikou fled into the night.
"Yes. Tonight is only a beginning."
And then Entei joined the Three, leaving nothing but a faint spiral of dust, which soon faded to nothing.
CHAPTER I
Alex could taste the excitement as he gazed over the grass - grass that would soon be trampled into a weaving pattern of uncertainty, like smoke from a bonfire. A small, fleeting gust of wind blew lazily over the plain, ruffling the reeds, making Alex shiver slightly - whether from cold or from fright, he did not know.
The man across the field from him was certainly something to cause fright. His long, jet-black hair was gelled upwards into an unforgiving set of spikes. A tight fitting dark green shirt barely covered his black, muscular torso, and around his neck hung an impressive shark's tooth. The man wore full-length camouflage jeans, which Alex noted would have been torture in this hot weather.
Alex and his opponent seemed to face each other down for an eternity. With a movement that broke the stillness, the dark-skinned man reached down to his jacket pocket and withdrew a small, spherical object, that glinted slightly n the sun. He tossed it to the ground in a blur of yellow and black. A seam, invisible beforehand, widened and split the sphere into two identical halves - from within the hollow centre burst a writhing form of cerise light, playing with the eye in odd ways. It eventually began to take form.
"Donphan!" the small figure exclaimed.
Alex grunted. "Easy."
It was several years after his confrontation with Solareon. Alex was now a beefy sixteen-year old, but some of his seemingly natural prowess had dwindled with its defeat. Suddenly a rookie trainer with no real experience, he had rushed into his next battle foolhardily, and had been crushed where he would have won with his 'Master' talent. Afterward, waiting in a Pokémon Center for his healed friends, he had vowed not to rest in his training until he had reached his former level. Six hard years had passed since then, giving Alex worthwhile experience, toning him and his Pokémon, each day making them more muscular and more battle-scarred.
Alex, having spent day after day out in the blazing hot sunshine - and a fair amount of rainy ones, too - was now almost as bronzed as his opponent was black, and just as muscular. He now preferred to wear a dark sleeveless khaki jacket, and three-quarter shorts that exposed his legs to the brush - after spending large amounts of time outdoors searching for Pokémon however, he no longer cared about the whips and grazes he received.
He stretched out his hand to the ground, kneeling slightly. A small dog-like creature no bigger than his head scampered down it, its brown fur rippling in the slight breeze. Eevee had filled out in the past few months - if it weren't for its size, it would have been formidable. Now mature and muscular - just like its trainer - it bared its sharp canine teeth threateningly, causing the infant pachyderm to stumble backward in fear.
The dark man bellowed to it.
"Don't cower, you little runt! Stand your ground!"
These words seemed to calm the elephantine Pokémon, and it took a defiant step back forward.
Seconds passed with the two creatures staring each other down.
"This guy must be an excellent trainer," thought Alex, "for his frightened Pokémon to change its demeanour like that."
Suddenly the silence seemed overpowering. Alex felt he had to break it, somehow, but before he did, he heard the tall man instruct;
"Donphan, Growl attack!"
The small creature retracted its trunk, and trumpeted in Eevee's face. It stepped back, alarmed at this sudden noise emerging from this armoured animal.
"Don't let yourself be dazed by that weak attempt!" shouted Alex. "Tackle it, quickly!"
Eevee darted at the other mammal, but whether it was due to its armoured body or not, it rebounded quite painfully, and only inflicted a tiny amount of damage due to being dazed from the previous attack.
"You can do a lot better than that pitiful thing, Donphan – use Rollout!"
The Donphan, having only been pushed back a few inches by the feeble Tackle, leapt forward and galloped past Eevee, building up speed. It rocketed toward Alex, and curled up into a tight ball before peeling off to his left in a roll, throwing up a cloud of dust against his bare legs, stinging him.
The ball of fury raced toward Eevee, scattering grass stalks and reeds either side of its path as it sped in the direction of the small animal.
It struck.
The poor furry creature was sent flying away from Alex, and almost hit the ground – before the baby pachyderm hit it again. Alex couldn't help letting out a cry of horror - Eevee soared high into the air, and as it arced downward the Donphan arced to meet it, hitting for a third and final time. The spinning body of bone slammed into the helpless Eevee, and launched it into the air, coming to a painful stop at Alex's feet. It struggled upright. It looked pained, as if moving, even existing, was a struggle.
Alex was distraught – but he knew that he had to keep poker-faced if he were to keep his head and win. He knelt down to Eevee and whispered in a stage whisper.
"That Donphan's Rollout's pretty powerful, but remember, everyone has a weakness… now here's what I want you to do."
Alex's voice dropped to an inaudible volume. Try as they might, neither the man, nor the closer Donphan, could hear a word. Alex then sprayed the Pokémon with an orange liquid, making sure that it covered the entire body area of Eevee.
A dramatic change came over it. The muscles, sagging slightly and shaking, visibly tightened. It stood proudly and aggressively, facing the opponent down, daring it to have another go.
A snarl escaped Eevee's lips.
"Don't let its attitude fool you, Donphan! It's weaker than it was! Take it down with another Rollout!"
Donphan moved like a train piston, and as it approached Eevee leapt to roll into a ball.
"Now!" screamed Alex.
Eevee raised its head, and launched itself to intercept the jump. It head butted the enemy in its soft underbelly, knocking the wind from it, and propelling it backward several feet toward the mysterious trainer.
Eevee landed, triumphantly, a split-second before the Donphan crashed to earth in a cloud of dust.
There was a moment of silence as Alex felt the adrenaline course through his veins. Then, with a feeling that lifted him up beyond any feeling of elation that he had experienced before, he let out a whoop of joy. For some reason, beating this strong-looking trainer filled him with more happiness than any other trainer he'd ever defeated.
The man, striding over to Alex and Eevee without so much as a nod to his battered Pokémon, halted a few metres away from the pair, allowing them a few seconds to rejoin and to celebrate. Then he spoke. He had a gruff voice, with a hint of a Mexican accent.
"Congratulations."
Alex stopped jumping for joy and listened.
"You possess great skill. And that Eevee of yours is a powerful weapon. The way you worked together was amazing – to come up with a strategy like that, you must have a great military mind.
"Oh, but I have not introduced myself. I travel the land, searching for trainers who could be potential allies. I have a few others, each with powerful weapons at their command - but you have shown yourself of much greater force than them – you may join my army, if you so wish.
"My name is Carlos. But my allies call me Carl."
Alex stood dumbfounded, his rage at this man's blindness building until he couldn't hold it much longer.
"Weapons?!" he shouted incredulously.
"Pokémon are not tools of war! You think I won because of brute force – no. I won because of the love and trust that bonds me with my Eevee here. To treat Pokémon as weapons," he spat the word out, "is just barbaric.
"I won't have any part in your filthy scheme, you monster. Goodbye – Carlos."
He turned, and stormed off, Eevee hot on his heels.
"Wait."
Carlos had spoken.
Alex stopped in his tracks, infuriated that this man was so arrogant. He turned and faced the man.
"Monster I may be," he said, not without a hint of humour in his voice, "but a sore loser I am not. Here."
He tossed a small package toward Alex, wrapped in a thin strand of paper, which Alex recognised immediately as cash.
"Half my stash, the standard rate. And a little something extra, just 'cause I like the cut of your jaw. Maybe next time you'll think twice before coming to rash conclusions and accusations."
Alex pocketed the parcel, making a mental note to get rid of it as soon as possible. This time it was Carlos who turned, and walked over to the still body of his Donphan. He stroked its face, and it looked at him, obviously needing attention, and he gently pushed the button of an empty PokéBall against its trunk. It appeared calmed, almost tranquil, as it was enveloped in soothing crimson light.
Carlos dropped an identical PokéBall to the ground, which burst open in a brighter flash of the same light, almost blinding Alex – he made out a mammalian Pokémon that he had never seen before – it had a long neck, and it stood fanning itself with what seemed to be leaves. It extended its neck around to peer at Alex.
The bandit sat astride its rathe bulky body, and whispered to it. It wafted its leaves, fast, then more rapidly, until it began to hover – then then suddenly sped off into the distance. The only thing Alex could gain from his Pokédex was;
"Data unknown. Please report your new find to a Pokémon Center immediately."
***