Prologue
I have seen much in my life, although by your standards my life has not been long. I was born of greed and of villainy, as my father so intended it to be. I revolted though as soon as I saw his true purpose, his true ways. I left and went off alone, first seeking revenge but soon realizing that it was not the way to the peace I so desperately wanted, nor was it a means to receive the answers I wanted perhaps even more desperately. Then I found him. Brian. He was the same boy I grew up watching, the son of his father, of my father. He says this makes us brothers, that our meeting was destined. I know not if this is true, but for now I am with him, his "partner" as he calls me. His brother. This is his, and our, story…
Chapter 1
Brian:
A large explosion blasted through my home. At first I was scared; any kid would be; any adult would have been at least concerned. I dropped my Game Boy and ran through my bedroom door. The walls were shaking something terrible and bits and pieces of the gunmetal colored roof and plaster were raining down all around me like artificial hail. It was all I could do to keep my feet beneath me as I stagger-ran down the corridors. All my dad's workers were running around like madmen, shouting things I didn't understand at the time. Yes, I was scared. Then I found my dad at last, feeling that same strange sense of relief as well as dread that I always felt as I approached him. "Dad, what happened? What was all that noise?" My old man spun around and glared at me, his face twisted in fury.
"Not now, boy!" he roared. "What are you doing here? Where's your mother? Run boy, get out of here now!" At this he turned and dashed down one of the long corridors in our home, which was actually his "place of business" as he had always called it. In case you haven't figured it out yet, my childhood was a bit, well, out-of-the-ordinary let's say. I couldn't believe my dad had just run of and left me there in the middle of our crumbling home. Hey, I was thirteen, you know, the age when you realize a parent cares for you about as much as hot lemon juice over a paper cut and yet you're still too naive to believe it. So what could I do? I turned on my heels and ran through the halls like a little demon. My mom came dashing through a door as I neared it and almost hit me. She saw me and grabbed my hand and we began to run towards one of the exits.
"Mom, what's going on? Where are we going?"
"Don't worry honey, everything is going to be okay, we just have to get out of here right now!" she managed to gasp as we went screaming down the halls. The whole building was really shaking now, like a beast in its death throws. I remember being surprised that we were able to run all the way through the place. It was a big place too; several stories tall and the place sat on nearly three full acres of land. I guess it was the adrenaline but I was still pretty impressed at the time. Before I knew it though we were outside and a safe distance away from my old home. We took cover behind some low-lying shrubs in the nearby woods and could do little else but watch our former home shatter before our eyes. Suddenly something caught my eye. I remember it looking like a rocket, like some of the one's I kept in one of my rooms with other fireworks for parties and celebrations. It was bright purple and streamed up into the sky almost to fast to follow. Then it was gone, disappeared from vision or burned up. About fifteen seconds later the entire building exploded. It was so huge it seemed as though we had been bombed in a war or something. I couldn't see much of it because mom grabbed me and fell over on top of me, shielding me from the myriad types of shrapnel flying through the air. After a long time she finally pulled me up and looked me over with concern. She decided I was okay and basically unharmed, at least not in any serious way, and then jumped to her feet and took off running towards the smoldering war zone that used to be our home.
"Brian, stay right there, I'm going to go find your father!" What could I do? I huddled down behind the bushes and was nearly in tears for the next half hour. The sky began to grow dark as night fell, but still my mother did not return. I wondered where she was and after I fully realized that I was alone in the dark with no place to go I did start to cry a little bit. I must have hade tears streaming down my face for ten minutes or more when I heard a rustling in the bushes. I whirled my head towards the noise and could visibly see the bushes shaking. This I didn't need at the time. I crawled backwards across the ground until I hit the shrubbery behind me. I stopped crying for the time being; I guess I was never much of a multi-tasker, so there was no way I could have cried and been petrified at the same instant. The rustling grew louder still as I waited for what my already traumatized mind was sure was the end for me. And then, most unexpectedly and yet most welcome, a small Pokemon popped out of the bushes and made his way towards me. It couldn't have been more than two feet tall or so and was mostly a sort of dark forest green color with a small circle of pale yellow skin showing through just under its jaw of the same color. Its pointed ears were tall, what seemed to be a bit too tall for its head, which was only about the same height as its ears, and its two oval eyes sat perched above the twin tiny pointed teeth protruding from its mouth. It tilted its head and looked at me curiously. I had spent all my life around Pokemon; both of my parents were quite accomplished Pokemon Trainers and all of my dad's employees always had their Pokemon running around the place. I befriended several of them and I suppose that's most likely why I captured and trained the Pokemon that I did all those years later. This particular Pokemon looked anything but vicious, and as it smiled at me it seemed downright friendly. I had never seen any Pokemon like this little guy and had no idea what it was, but it did look familiar. I thought I should try talking to it, so I dried my eyes on my t-shirt's sleeve and inched towards it. It didn't seem spooked and even came a little closer to me. We both cautiously crept forward until we were only about a foot apart.
"Uh…hi…m-my name…is Brian…who are…you?" I managed to stutter. It straightened up and looked me in the eyes.
"Munchlax, lax munch munch lax!" it cried in Pokemon talk, introducing itself.
"A Munchlax? I've never heard of one of you before, but you seem cool. Will you…be my friend?" The little Pokemon looked me square in the eye and then jumped into my lap. It looked at me some more and then smiled brightly.
"Munchlax!" it said enthusiastically, accepting my invite. So I reached into my back pocket and fished around until I found the Poke'ball that I had picked up from inside one of my dad's office spaces a few years ago. It looked a little odd, certainly different than any Pokeball I had ever seen at the time; the bottom was the standard white color below the opening, but the top was blue instead of red, and it had a pair of red stripes on each side on the top half. It was interesting to me and my dad had several big boxes full of them, so I figured he wouldn't miss one. I pressed the button and the Poke'ball enlarged, and then I dropped it on top of the Munchlax's head. The ball opened and the Pokemon was engulfed in bright red light as it was sucked into the Poke'ball. The ball fell to the ground and lay still for a few seconds and then the button returned to its normal color. I picked up the Poke'ball that now had my new friend and partner inside and stared at it for a while. I had always dreamed of this day coming, where I would hold my very first Pokemon. It seemed surreal somehow. I immediately tossed the poke'ball a few feet away from me. It hit the ground and popped open, and in a flash of crimson light my new pal Munchlax emerged. It looked around a little bit and after saying its name a few times ran off into the woods, motioning me to follow. I wasn't sure at first if I should leave, but decided I could trust my new Pokemon and followed it into the forest. I scrambled through the brush as best as I could, picking up more than a few scratches along the way. We traveled for quite some time, I couldn't tell you how long exactly, but eventually we broke through into a meadow surrounded by tall trees and a small pond that was shimmering with the reflection of the moon. Munchlax waddle-ran over to one of the shorter trees and gave is a sharp Headbutt. The old evergreen shook back and forth a bit and then Pecha Berries began to rain down from its many branches. My new little Pokemon gathered a few of them in his arms and then scurried back over to where I had parked myself next to the pond. Munchlax placed a couple of them in my lap and then swallowed the rest of them whole.
"Whoa, do you always eat like that?" I asked, surprised at just how big the small Pokemon could open its mouth for food. "My mom would freak out if I ever started eating like that." My friend just smiled and tossed one arm up into the air.
"Munchlax, Munch!" it cried with a grin.
"Well, thanks for getting those berries for me, I was getting pretty hungry," I said in between bites of the fruit. I picked up Munchlax and sat him in my lap. After I ate three more of the Pecha Berries I was stuffed. "Man, I'm full. I can't eat another bite. Do you want one of these other berries Munchlax?" I asked. Munchlax promptly grabbed all six of them and crammed them into its mouth and swallowed them.
"Munchlax!" it yelled happily in my face, spewing bits of the devoured berries on me. Munchlax quickly wiped me off after seeing what it had done and then said its name a few more times. Just then I heard a voice calling my name from back towards the smoldering pile of rubble that was my house. It was faint but I recognized it as my mother's voice. I stood up quickly.
"Hey Munchlax, that sounds like my mom! C'mon, you have to meet her!" My new Pokemon jumped up into my arms.
"Lax, Munchlax!" it screamed with glee. We dashed off into the forest in search of my mother.
Six Years Later:
"Forget it old man! I've had it with all of your crap!" I shouted at my father. "You never cared about me or even mom! All you cared about was your business. And now I find out you were lying to us this whole time? You're just a crook!" I clenched and un-clenched my fists as my face continued to burn brighter shades of red. My dad looked about the same as I did, leaning over from behind his desk.
"You ungrateful little wretch! How many years have I put up with you, fed you and let you live in this house? I've spent my good money on you, and with what repayment?" Dad was really hot. Of course, he was usually really hot, yelling at his workers, yelling at me, yelling at mom. "You're worthless to me, just like you're mother! You could never comprehend my plans, my goals and my ambitions! That's why she's gone, she couldn't cut it! I suggest you shut your mouth and go think about how you can become less of a disappointment!" I was about to knock the sense out of him, if he had had any to be knocked out of him. But I was able to contain my rage, at least partially. But I had just had it. There was no way I was taking this anymore.
"Fine! If I'm such a disappointment to you then I'll leave. I wouldn't want to bog down all of your "enterprises" with my worthless attitude!" I spun around and dashed out the door, ignoring my old man's screams of "Get back here!" and "Where do you think you're going?" as I left, and started making my way towards my room on the lower floor. We had rebuilt our home and his office after the explosion four years ago. My dad had survived the explosion. I still curse that fact to this day. I spent most of my free time outside of school hanging out with friends and training my Munchlax. Munchlax was a big help, especially after mom left. She used to cry a lot and then one day, she told me she loved me and walked out the door. I never saw here again. I knew it was my dad's doing. So I hated him even more and my hatred grew through the years. Munchlax was there for me though. I almost can't believe even a Pokemon would stick with a person through all that happened to me, but he did. Munchlax never yelled at me, never hit me, never even got angry at me. It would just jump up into my lap and lay there for a while, listening to me cry, shout or just talk to him. Munchlax really saved me and still was there for me. Although then I didn't call him Munchlax anymore. One day we were having a friendly battle with my friend's Growlith, and wouldn't you know it, Munchlax evolved into a Snorlax. I knew Munchlax had looked familiar when I first met it. Well we won that battle and many more to come too. There wasn't too many big changes, aside from the fact that he got a lot bigger. And he wasn't quite as active as Munchlax had been. It was intriguing though, because I had studied Pokemon as much as anyone else and I for some reason my Snorlax didn't seem to sleep all the time like most do. It sure had the normal Snorlax appetite though, let me tell you. It was about all I could do to keep him fed. But I was really surprised because my Snorlax just seemed to be awake a lot. I'd come home from school and let him out and he would be awake. I'd finish my homework and he would be awake and ready to go outside and walk through the forest. He only seemed to sleep when I went to bed and for the first part of school. I even learned to whistle a little tune and it would wake him up, but I tried not to do that because it got him pretty angry. Snorlax don't seem to appreciate being awoken. I was baffled for a while but eventually I got used to it, and it was actually pretty cool. I mostly just let him roam around the house when I was home, and today was no different. I was tearing through the house and rounded the corner on the second floor near my bedroom and ran smack into Snorlax as it was exiting the room. Well, at least I didn't have a Golem instead. I bounced off of him like a trampoline and fell over onto the hard floor.
"Ooof…owww…" I cried as I slammed into the ground. "Snorlax, are you okay?" Snorlax stomped over and scooped me up and hugged me.
"Snorlax, Lax Snorlax." It said, seeming very concerned.
"Snor…lax…can't…breathe…" I was able to gasp with my limited supply of oxygen. Snorlax immediately put me down and I gasped for some fresh air. Snorlax looked even more concerned and sad now. "Don't…worry buddy I'm…just fine." I wheezed, regaining my breath some. "C'mon," I said, remembering my anger and stamping into my room. "We're leaving." I began to rummage through my room and stuff things into my backpack. Clothes, my sleeping bag from the closet, the Poke'dex my mother bought me a week before she left and about two thousand dollars I had saved from birthdays, Christmas and odd jobs I had been doing for years. I guess I had always knew this day would come, if only subconsciously. I snatched a few more things I thought I might need or didn't want to leave behind and put on my light-weight black jacket. I pulled on my hiking boots and strapped on my belt. Then I grabbed my wristbands from next to my bed. They were these two leather wristbands that I had picked up from a salesman in town about two years ago. They fastened just like watches but each of them had three small circular slots for downsized Pokeballs, you know like how most people carry them on their belts? I thought it was cool and they were only about twenty bucks so I snagged them. I strapped them onto my wrists and filled five of them with five more of those odd Pokeballs my dad had in his office. The sixth space I put Snorlax's ball into and then filled up a duffle bag with food, Potions, Full Heals, cooking utensils and some general first-aid items. I grabbed a map from my desk and then headed out of the room.
"Snorlax, Snor!" Snorlax called. He dropped my blue and white hat onto my head. My lucky hat, I was about to leave it.
"Thanks Snorlax, I had forgotten it. Come on, let's go. It's just you and me now." I said through a few tears. Snorlax nodded silently and followed me at a quick pace down the stairs and through the front door. We were stopped by two of my dad's workers in their uniforms.
"Hold on there, Brian." One of them said holding up a hand to block my path. I backed up a bit. "Your father called down here and told us to stop you and take you up to his office. He wants to talk to you for a while." I didn't back down and I didn't feel like messing around either.
"Get out of my way and let me go, now." I commanded them both, in no mood for taking orders from them.
"Sorry," replied the other. "The bosses orders come first, boy" I didn't much care for these scrubs and was already pretty angry in general. So I decided to take it out on these fools.
"Snorlax, give 'em a Mega Punch!" Snorlax jumped clear over my head and knocked the first one clear across the yard and into the bushes with a glowing fist. It was one of those awe-inspiring things. Like the first time you see those huge bomber planes that look like they weigh as much as a fright train lift gently into the air like a bird. The second guy stepped back and started fumbling for one of his Pokeballs. Snorlax stepped over to him and gave him a solid shot to the gut. The guy didn't even have time to say "Ooof!" before he joined his buddy admiring the shrubbery. Snorlax turned back around to face me and smiled.
"Snorlax, snor snor lax!" it said in obvious satisfaction.
"Nice job, buddy," I said with a grin. I took his Pokeball from where it rested on my left wristband. "C'mon, we can travel faster with you in your ball." Snorlax nodded and with a flash of red light he was back inside his spherical home. I downsized the ball and clipped it back on the wristband and then took off in a quick jog. I had a stop to make before leaving my home town.