Author's Notes: This is really just an idea for a story that I've had for along time, and this first chapter in particular is one that just been sittong on my computer forever, seemingly. If there's enough support, I'd really like to continue this story, so let me know if that's worth doing, and I'll try my best. Either way, this part is written, and it's a shame to let it go to waste, which is why I'm posting it. Enjoy.
Pokemon: Shadows of the Past
Chapter I: Enter the Renegade
"Freeze human!"
The young male child ignored the threats of his pursuers as he dashed at full speed through the crumbled streets of what was once Viridian City. The 15-year-old boy mentally tried to silence his fear of being caught as he pushed his legs faster and faster. Getting caught was not an option. As sweat dripped from his forehead, mixing with rainwater from the light drizzle that fell from the sky, he knew he couldn't give up now. He had to find a way to escape.
He took one glance behind him at those who were in pursuit before ducking into a nearby alleyway. They were gaining fast, but that was of little surprise. Their psychic powers allowed them to move much faster than the speed his teenage legs could muster. It wouldn't be much longer, he figured, before they managed to catch up to him. Clutching the red-and-white spherical object held in his hands even tighter, the young boy refused to allow himself to imagine the consequences of his possible capture.
"Final warning," one of the two Alakazam shouted in its synthetic voice, as they too turned the corner into the alley to continue the chase. "Surrender yourself now."
The boy did not heed the warning of the heavily-armored Psychic types as he dashed out onto another street, quickly turning the corner down the sidewalk. Faster he ran, past a collapsed building that was once a grocery market, whizzing by another structure that bore resemblance to a school. But he paid no attention to such distractions of the past. All he could feel was the wind rushing to meet his face and the drops of rain that continued to fall from the sky above, now increasing in volume. The next thing he felt was a blast of energy screaming right by the side of his head.
"They're firing on me!"
Indeed, he didn't even have to turn his head to deduce that the two Alakazam had opened fire on him with the psychic energy blasters located on their left arms, attached to their body armor which itself extended up the arms and over the torso of their bodies. These Pokemon were built and trained to be deadly enforcers, and now they had chosen to unleash their power in an effort to stop the escaping boy.
Still, the deadly blasts of energy did not deter him as he kept on running. He leapt into another alley just as a second shot of psychic energy flew right behind him. The speed of his turn caused him to slip on a newly-formed puddle of water, but he quickly righted himself and took off again, the ominous, unnatural sound of the fast-floating Alakazam closing in now louder than ever.
Then, the young boy looked up and saw his whole world come crashing down. As he skidded to a halt in front of a brick wall that marked the end of the alley, he knew there was nowhere else to turn now. He had navigated himself into a dead end, and turning around, he saw the sight that his gut could barely handle: the two menacing Alakazam standing mere feet away from him, blasters pointed squarely at his body.
The boy backed up as close to the wall as humanly possible, holding the spherical object he still possessed close to his chest. This couldn't be it, he thought. It just couldn't. After surviving so many years on his own, avoiding detection by these psychic soldiers day after day, it just didn't seem real that it was now all over. His freedom, or worse his life, was about to be taken away from him.
"Human Davis Onassi, Designation 95A6B7. You are in violation of Code 201a: Illegal possession of a Pokemon, and are hereby placed under arrest. Hand over the Pokeball and come with us, or face termination."
"Never!" Davis cried with an outburst of pure emotion. Although having a Pokemon in your possession was a severely punishable crime, Davis had refused to let his go when the Kanto region fell to its new ruler. It was the first, and only, Pokemon he ever had, and it was supposed to be the one he would begin his Pokemon journey with five years ago. It was the only friend, or family, the boy had left in this world. He was determined never to let it be destroyed, as millions before it had, and would gladly sacrifice his own life to save that of his Pokemon companion.
"I won't let you have it!" he yelled again. He quickly made the decision to release his Pokemon in order for it to have a chance to escape the Psi Troopers. It was a long-shot, and it would certainly mean Davis' own demise if he risked such defiance, but it was something he had committed himself to long ago, and he wasn't about to back away from it now.
Without warning, Davis suddenly felt his body overcome with an enormous amount of pressure as his back was pushed harder up against the wall. His body glowed slightly with a blue aura, which he knew meant that one of the Alakazam was restricting his movements with its psychic powers. Worse yet, he realized, the force of being hit with the Alakazam's attack caused him to drop his Pokeball onto the ground.
Struggling to move his head to a position where he could look down onto where the ball landed, Davis could only helplessly watch as one of the Psi Troopers knelt down to retrieve his Pokemon friend and bring it to a certain doom. Davis tried with all his might, but he was powerless to escape the psychic pressure being exerted upon his body. Unable to bear watching his Pokemon being taken away, he closed his eyes and turned them away.
Ching
The quick and loud sound of metal slicing through metal filled the alleyway, echoing throughout the empty corridor. Davis immediately opened his eyes to see what had just transpired, but his view was obscured by a large figure standing between his Pokemon and the Alakazam which had, just moments ago, reached to take it. Eyes opened to their maximum, Davis could only stare in awe at the large hulk of a man who had seemingly fallen from the sky above to save him and his Pokemon.
Glancing to his right, he saw the weapon his savior held down towards the ground: a large, shiny blade that extended all the way to its hilt, which was gripped tightly in the man's right hand as he now stared down the two Alakazam. At the tip of the blade dripped several drops of indigo-colored blood that fell to the ground and mixed with the rainwater. Not far from the pool of blood and water rested the arm cannon of the Psi Trooper.
Calmly, the man raised his sword into the air and quietly slipped it into its sheath, which was itself wrapped around his back diagonally. The Alakazam did not seem intimidated by his arrival at all, and now was he packing up? Getting ready to leave? Why didn't he attack them further, drive them off? Still, Davis watched and wondered in silence, waiting to see who made the next move.
The Alakazam which had its arm lopped off made had made no shouts of pain or agony, and now merely stood there with its partner, ready for a battle against the mysterious stranger. Davis noticed that its arm was no longer bleeding from the attack; he figured it must be suppressing the blood, as well as its pain, with its immense psychic abilities.
"Unidentified human," the other Alakazam spoke. "You are hereby requested to stand down. Relinquish your weapons and offer no resistance, or face immediate termination."
The stranger merely glanced at both Psi Troopers before slowly beginning to walk towards them. The Alakazam that was still armed quickly raised its blaster and shielded its partner in anticipation of a fight, but did not fire. The human before it so far was offering no hostilities, and it reasoned that he was preparing to come with them quietly. Still, it felt obligated to offer one final warning as the man continued his march towards them.
"Unidentified human," it spoke again. "This is your final warning. Hand over your weapons now or--"
The Alakazam's words were cut short as it felt the powerful fist of the stranger thrust into its mechanical voice box, located on the front of its neck. The impact of the punch caused the Psi Trooper to fall backwards, landing hard in a large puddle of water.
"You know, I liked you guys better before you could talk," the stranger remarked.
The one-armed Alakazam quickly rushed the stranger in an attempt to bring the man down physically, but before it could even get a chance for a clean tackle, it found itself staring down the barrel of a blaster gun, pointed squarely at its forehead.
"Psychic scum," the stranger said in a cold voice before pulling the trigger. He stepped back and watched as his enemy became consumed with an energy that snaked its way around the Psi Trooper's body. Moments later the Alakazam was completely vaporized, its singed metal armor falling to the ground with a resounding "clink" as it struck the concrete.
Not wanting to take victory for granted, the stranger quickly turned to the other Alakazam only to be greeted with a screaming blast of energy that connected with his own blaster, tearing it from his normally firm grip and sending it skidding across the ground, right below Davis' feet. The young boy still struggled to break free from his psychic bonds to help the stranger, but unfortunately for him, the one Alakazam still standing was the one who had originally pinned him in his certain position.
Overcoming the initial shock of the attack, the stranger narrowed his eyes on the target and its smoking blaster arm as he slowly reached towards his belt with his left hand. As if he had a premonition of an impeding attack, he dashed out of the way of the Alakazam's next shot and tumbled across the alleyway as the energy blast punctured a large whole in an already dilapidated brick wall. After regaining his bearings, he immediately yanked an object off of his belt and tossed it between himself and the enforcer.
A mechanical opening sound and a flash of red light quickly resulted in the large, imposing figure of a Charizard materializing from the stranger's Pokeball. Its body shivered as the rain drops first contacted its scaly skin. The orange, fire-breathing Pokemon snorted puffs of smoke at its new adversary as its bulky body shielded its owner from further blasts of energy.
"U-Uniden-en-en-tified hu-uman," the Alakazam tried to speak through its shattered voice box. "You ar-r-e in vi-iolation of c-code--"
"Shut him up, Charizard," the stranger commanded. His Charizard bellowed a ferocious roar and quickly spun in place, connecting its tail with the Alakazam's midsection and sending the Psi Trooper flying over the crumbled apartment buildings in the near distance and off further into the horizon.
Davis felt himself fall to the ground immediately upon the Alakazam's defeat. As he pushed himself back to a standing position, he looked towards the man who had appeared out of nowhere. The mysterious stranger simply stood there, deathly quiet, seemingly relaxed after such as impressive victory. His inner calm appeared to be further enhanced by the torrent of rain that continued to fall from the sky above, washing away his sweat from the battle.
Picking up the stranger's blaster, Davis silently and stealthily moved towards the man as he recalled his Charizard back into its red-and-white container. As Davis drew closer, he could only look up in amazement at how large a human being he was. He had to be well over 6 feet tall, his build looking like that of a linebacker with the massive muscles to match. It was no surprise to Davis that he was able to dispatch those two Psi Troops so effortlessly. He must have been built for such confrontations.
"H-Here's your blaster back, sir," Davis said sheepishly, offering up the weapon to the stranger. The man looked directly at Davis, who could now see the stranger's cold brown eyes, rugged face, and a scar stretching endlessly across his right eye and down his cheekbone, reflecting features of a warrior who had seen a thousand battles.
"Thanks, kid," the stranger said to him with almost no emotion at all. He grabbed the blaster by its handle and nested it snugly back into its holster on his right pant leg. As Davis watched the stranger re-adjust his black vest and green gloves, he could tell that this man was only moments away from leaving. Davis, however, was determined to not let his savior just walk away without knowing anything about who he was.
"So, you're a Pokemon trainer?" Davis asked, the nervousness in his voice beginning to subside. The question stopped the stranger in his tracks just as he was about to move on, and he chuckled with mild amusement.
"Pokemon trainers don't exist anymore, kid," he said, turning his face to Davis again. "They died out years ago. In case you hadn't noticed, Pokemon are outlawed."
"Well, then what does that make you?" Davis questioned again.
"Those of us who brave to have Pokemon in this day and age like to refer to ourselves as Pokemon renegades."
"Well, I guess that makes me a Pokemon renegade too." Davis reached down to the ground where his Pokeball had lain since he dropped it during the Alakazams' attack. He picked it up and showed it to the stranger, who cast the young boy a look of intrigue.
"You, a renegade?" the stranger asked with a raised eyebrow and another chuckle. "If I were you, kid, I'd get rid of that thing as soon as possible. Next time, you won't have me around to bail you out when you've got a battalion of Psi Troopers breathing down your neck."
Davis lowered his Pokeball and his head in disappointment, as it seemed his savior was nothing more than a cold-hearted loner who just happened to be in the wrong place at the wrong time. Davis couldn't figure out why the man had even bothered to save him; he seemed like the type who cared for no one other than himself. But, Davis concluded, there just had to be more to his mystery.
Looking up to question him further, Davis saw that the stranger was already walking away from him, departing into the denser sheets of rain that fell outside the alleyway.
"Wait!" Davis cried.
"See you around, kid," the stranger said. With a flick of his hand to signal goodbye, the stranger turned the corner and disappeared from sight. Davis immediately rushed to catch up to him, but stopped when his foot collided with a small, red object that sat on the wet concrete of the alley. Not noticing it there when he had first run into this dead end, he was curious as to how it had suddenly appeared.
Davis bent down to pick the item up, and as he wiped away the rain and mud that had just recently begun to accumulate on it, he examined the object closely. He pressed what looked like a button in the center of the red device. To Davis's shock, the item sprung open into multiple pieces, but remained intact.
In the center of the inside of the object was what appeared to be a small viewing-screen. It was cracked down the middle, but still displayed a picture, although most was obscured by static. The picture seemed to be of a boy, no more than a few years older than Davis himself, but the only distinguishable feature he could make out was a red and white hat.
Davis began to fool around with some of the buttons that were housed within the unit, but most seemed to be broken or non-responsive. Almost wanting to give up on figuring out what this piece of junk was, Davis pressed one last button, which surprising activated a voice recording that before had lay dormant within the old electronic circuitry.
"T-This Pokedex unit," it began to speak in an electronic and partly broken-up voice, "belongs t-to Pokem-mon trainer Ash Ke-etchum. If l-lost or stolen, I c-cannot be replaced-d."
"Ash Ketchum?" Davis repeated ominously, slightly shaking his head. "It…it can't be."
Quickly realizing he had spent too much time fooling around with this thing while his savior was hurriedly getting away, Davis folded the Pokedex back up, shoved it into his pocket, and took off running in the direction the stranger had departed.
One by one, the three metallic fingers rapped upon the cold, steel armrest. Deep within the confines of his dark, sterile throne room, the owner of those silvery talons sat anxiously in his usual spot, high upon his metal throne. The room itself, usually shrouded within the shadows of darkness, was abnormally dark today, even by its standards. Only the flashes of lightning high above, cast down by the raging thunderstorm that stretched over the Kanto region this dreary afternoon, illuminated the space, and only a small portion of it at that. All but a few sections of floor before the large, steel doors were lit; everything else was cast in total darkness…
All except for one glowing green eye that shone with an unnatural fluorescence, peering from atop the throne to the door.
A loud crash of thunder hid the creaking sound of the large doors opening as a Slowking crept into its master's chambers. Slowly and silently, he marched along the dark red carpet that stretched from the entranceway to the foot of the throne itself. When he was but a few feet away from his master's presence, he knelt down and bowed his head.
"Rise."
The cold, inhuman voice of the fearsome tyrant echoed throughout Slowking's mind, and quickly he obeyed the order, rising to his feet where his eyes were greeted by the single visible one of his master.
"My Lord," Slowking spoke in a natural voice, one spoken from his lips without the assistance of a voice synthesizer. His fear was evident in that voice, and although this Slowking had served under his master for many years and was now his right-hand Pokemon, that fear had never subsided. It was still as present as the first time he had been summoned before the evil tyrant.
"The renegade…he has returned," he continued. "Our forces in Viridian City report a human being managed to defeat two of their more powerful soldiers while aiding in the rescue of a younger fugitive. A description from the sole survivor of the attack matched that of the renegade. Shall I order another battalion to assist them in the pursuit of him?"
The Slowking's master continued to tap his fingers upon the steel armrest. There was no other response beyond that.
"My Lord?"
"SILENCE!"
The harsh words of the tyrant, audible even over the loud crash of thunder that rang from the skies above just as he spoke, caused Slowking to reel backwards in terror and sent an instant chill down his spine. He recovered quickly, masking his fear as best he could. His master, of course, knew better.
"Where is the renegade now?" his master questioned.
"L-Last reports put him on a course south from Viridian City."
The tyrant ceased the incessant tapping of his fingers and rose from his throne. Slowking could only lift his head in awe as he watched the glowing, mechanical eye of his master rise higher and higher into the darkness.
"So, he's going…home," his master spoke with a light chuckle, the air of amusement most evident even in his telepathic voice. "Most interesting."
The dark lord stepped forward, the steel undercoating of his foot clanking loudly on the metal floor as it landed. Such a sound could easily be confused with the loud sonic booms that the storm outside was generating. Another step, another loud clank of metal, and he soon found himself towering over his frightened minion.
"Keep me informed of the renegade's progress. I will deal with him when the time is right. You are dismissed, Slowking. Get out of my sight."
"Y-Yes, my Lord!" Slowking said without hesitance, quickly turning around and rushing out of the room. The dark lord returned to perch himself back upon his throne to sit in quiet reflection upon the news he just received.
It had been quite some time since his oldest adversary had shown his face. While in years previous the renegade quite often made his presence known, slicing through one battalion of his troops after another, more recently though he had been more discreet with his appearances. Many months had passed since his last sighting.
Now, however, it seems the human had made himself known once more, and whether it was done purposefully or not was of little concern. The fact remained…he had returned.
The ear-splitting sound of metal-on-metal shattered the silence that the dark throne room usually commanded. It was a sound most would liken to fingernails scraping across a chalkboard, but to him, it was a most pleasurable sound. It was a sound that filled him with satisfaction and power, and his victims with fear and dread.
The dark lord lifted his mechanical right arm; the arm which housed the agents of death and destruction responsible for such a deadly sound. He traced the round, stubby fingers of his remaining organic hand overtop of the long, steel daggers that jutted out just above his mechanical one. First he moved up the initial blade; then the second; then the third.
"Enjoy your homecoming, my worthy adversary," he said, retracting the blades back into his arm, accompanied with the same sound they produced when they first came out. "Soon, very soon, you shall join all those lost souls you failed to protect so many years ago."
"I look forward to that day…"
To Be Continued…