Introduction
This story takes place in the Merigo region, a region founded only 50 years ago. It's capital city, Vespa city, is a bustling big city on the east coast, with sparse countryside surrounding it. Beyond that, unknown frontier in all directions! This region is alot more rough-and-tumble than what you might be used to. The boundary between pokemon battling and human martial arts is blurry if not nonexistent, and some intelligent pokemon hold positions in human society even. Pokemon fight with more than just standard moves, punching kicking and biting each other like animals would, with moves like hydropump and flamewheel being special techniques. Merigo is disconnected from most of the rest of the world.
Chapter 1: The Lonely Pokemon
Naga sat in study hall, bored as always, looking out the window of his school house to a bright expanse of open field, his long wavy pink hair covering his hand as it held up his resting head. 'There has to be more to life than going to school every day, then growing up to be a boring farmer!' He thought to himself.
After some time, a fellow classmate, Kappa, tapped him on the shoulder. "Hey Naga, look at this!" Naga turned his head to kappa, who has messy short green hair, as he held a pokeball in his hand. "My dad out in Vespa city got me a pokemon!"
"Is it a Porygon? I heard you can't find those in the wild so you gotta get em in Vespa city!"
"Not quite, but you're close!"
Kappa released the pokemon inside. "LIL'DUCK!" The pokemon proudly shouted as it appeared on Kappa's desk. It was a small, chartreuse creature with thin legs, flat feet, a bill, and wings.
"Uh, Kappa, I think you're dad just got you a normal duck and said it was a pokemon."
"No, dude! It's not a regular duck! Everyone keeps saying that but it's a pokemon! Look, it can shoot water from its mouth!" He directed his pokemon to use a special technique "Lil'duck, show him your fountain technique!"
Lil'duck stood on one leg, holding a wing out and tilting it's head up as water shot from its mouth and spread to each side, like a water fountain.
"Hmm, I guess it is a pokemon."
"That's right! And don't you-"
"Kappa, are you playing with pokemon during school hours?" Said the teacher in a stern tone as she walked over to the two of them. "And, this mess, clean it up at once young man!"
"Yes Ms. Langtree," Kappa said, putting Lil'duck in its pokeball and walking towards the sink in the back of the schoolhouse.
After school, Naga and Kappa where walking home together, talking.
"Man, I want a pokemon," Said Naga.
"Well, why don't ya get one?" Replied Kappa.
"Not everyone has a rich daddy who can get them anything they want"
"Then why not catch a wild pokemon?"
"Well, most people who catch their own pokemon borrow someone else's to help out." Naga said, smirking at Kappa.
"No way! I don't want Lil'duck to get hurt! He's not meant for battle, he's just a cute little guy!" Kappa said, petting Lil'duck in his arms.
"What's the use anyway? I'd still have to go to school, still live a boring life! You know, in Kanto, kids as young as 10 can get a pokemon and go on an adventure!"
"Yeah, but in Kanto they have an official pokemon league where you can make money off battles and tournaments and beating gym leaders. The 'gym leaders' here give out merit badges for beating them sure, but there's no consistent way to make money as a trainer."
"IT'S NOT ABOUT THE MONEY, KAPPA YOU MATERIALISTIC BRAT! IT'S ABOUT THE ADVENTURE!" Naga began to tear up, and ran into an alleyway between two houses to hide from the other kids who might see him crying. Kappa followed him.
"Naga?"
"Kappa!" He turned to him, his face streaming with tears and snot, "I don't want to live like this! I hate my life!"
"Naga calm down, you emotional weirdo, I can help you get a freakin' pokemon!"
Naga had alot going through his head. He wanted to tell Kappa that just having a pokemon wasn't enough, but he knew that it would help him. He wanted to punch Kappa's teeth in but he knew that was a bad idea. But Naga got a better idea..
Naga put his hand on a wall to stabilize himself as he stood up. "Allright, Kappa. Meet me at my house tomorrow morning at dawn."
The morning came and Naga scrounged up what he could; 1,500 pokedollars, a sleeping bag, a bottle of water, and a satchel. He went outside and met Kappa.
"So where are we going to find a pokemon, exactly?" Asked Kappa.
"The chaparral to the west."
"That's miles away! You expect me to walk for four hours?"
"Please Kappa? I swear after today I'll be out of your hair and I'll never bother you again. No more teasing, no more rivalry!"
"If that's what it takes, fine, I'll go that far with you."
They walked far far from town, in a straight line as to not get lost. Eventually the healthy trees and tall grass of their plains gave way to tall dry grass, and rocky mountains and plateaus.
"So where now?" Kappa asked.
"I'm not sure." As they looked out upon the large field they stood in they saw a mixture of animals and pokemon scattered about, but all the pokemon seemed like they'd be too hard to tame. The boys wandered for a bit before the sun got to them, and they decided to take a break in a cave. Naga took a sip from his water bottle.
"Hey, can I have some of that?" Asked Kappa.
"You didn't bring any water with you?"
"No, I didn't think to! I didn't know how far we were going!"
Naga chuckled,"You do have one water source." Naga said.
"What? Oh, you can't be serious!"
"Well, I'm not sharing any of mine."
Kappa thought to himself silently for a moment and released Lil'duck, holding him in both hands. Embarrassed he commanded, "Uh, Lil'duck, water fountain in…my mouth." and opened his mouth. Lil'duck happily spat a stream of water for Kappa to drink from.
As Naga chuckled, he heard a cry from deeper inside the cave.
"What was that?" Asked Kappa.
"A call to adventure!" Naga said, as he quickly stood up and ran towards it. The cave was dark but the sound came from an area that seemed to have light; yes, a hole above the cavern shown sunlight through, and the scene was sad to behold.
Two pokemon, one naga recognized as a Charmeleon, a favorite among kids his age and the other Naga didn't recognize at all, a pokemon that looked like a crocodile with tan skin, standing on its hind legs, bullying another pokemon. They kicked it as it lay crying on the ground, next to a skeleton of another pokemon.
"Hey you! STOP THAT!" Naga yelled at the pokemon as Kappa caught up to him.
"Oh crap! Naga we can't- there's two of them! I only have one pokemon!"
"That's fine. You and Lil'duck take on the Charmeleon, I'll take on the other!" At Naga's command they both ran towards the pokemon they were tasked with, Lil'duck running in front of Kappa. But, as the pokemon came towards them, they shared a glance with each other, and criss-crossed their trajectories! The charmeleon was running towards Naga and the crocodile pokemon was running towards Kappa!
Kappa panicked, stopping and grabbing Lil'duck to protect it, before his own survival instincts kicked in and he held it out in front of him! The pokemon yelled "Krokorok!" As it slashed its claws at Lil'duck, carving a gash in it's front.
Naga fought his new enemy head-on, giving the Charmeleon a side-kick to the head, sending it to the ground. Naga was ready to tackle it and pint it to the ground, but as he tried, it let out a breath of fire at him! Naga tried to change his trajectory as he fell, but could only do so partially, as the fire engulfed his arm and upper body. Naga screamed on the ground as his skin boiled!
As the Charmeleon jumped on top of Naga from behind, ready to sear him more, Kappa backbeadaled away from the Krokorok, and pointed Lil'duck towards Naga and the charmeleon.
"Lil'duck, shoot that water as hard as you can! Water Gun!" Lil'duck let out a surprisingly powerful pressurized blast of water for its size that hit Charmeleon in the back of it's head. That alone would have hurt it, but as the water splashed on the fire of its tail it cried out in pain and reeled back from Naga. Krokorok was taken aback for a moment and paused.
"That's right, fire pokemon are weak to water right? And that tail, it's your life force! I saw that in a documentary once! So back off charmeleon or I'll-" Kappa stuttered as he was secretly terrified,"I'll put out your flame permanently!"
The Charmeleon held its tail protectively and gave an aggressive look..
Kappa started,"Lil'duck…" And the Charmeleon started waving its hands, trying to plead in it's own pokemon language, before running off. Krokorok ran to catch up to it, before they both slowed down to a normal pace.
Kappa helped Naga up as Naga held his shoulder. "My arm, Kappa it hurts so bad!"
"We'll get you to a hospital when we get back home."
"Home?" Naga asked, sounding almost confused. Kappa seemed confused by Naga's confusion, but Naga refused to elaborate.
They got a better look at the crying pokemon. It looked like Charmander, further evidenced by the fact the bones it cried over were clearly that of a Charizard, yet, it's skin was a pale sickly brown, and it seemed to have no flame on its tail.
"Wow," Said Kappa,"that Charmander's got no flame on its tail but it's still alive!"
"Look how weak he looks though, he's probably barely holding on!"
"That skeleton looks long gone, I wonder…"
"Hey buddy," Said Naga as he bent down to the pokemon,"Did you just hatch, all alone?"
"Ch-Chu-" The pokemon muttered as it sniffled, and leaned into Naga's arm.
Kappa walked over to the skull and lifted it up a bit, inspecting it.
"CHYAU!" The pokemon yelled at Kappa, reaching out for the skull. Kappa handed the skull to the pokemon and it held it, sobbing.
"Listen buddy," Naga said in a caring voice,"You're all alone right? I'm gonna go on a big adventure soon, and I need a pokemon friend. What do you say, wanna be my partner?"
The pokemon looked happy but slightly confused. "Chyoo-cyoou" It muttered some more. Naga began to pick the pokemon up before being struck in the back, and falling! Moments later the same happened to Kappa, and kappa fell on Lil'duck, leaving it too hurt to battle! The Krokorok had returned on it's own!
"KROOOOOOK!" It screamed with a phlegmy rasp, before sharpening its claws against each other.
The lonely pokemon took the skull it held, jaw missing, and put it on it's own head like armor. "CYOOO!" it yelled as it slapped it's cheeks preparing for battle. It picked up a bone from its mother and turned around. It confidently shouted "CUBONE!" as it rattled the bone! The cave almost seemed to shake with it.
The Krokorok's claws glowed for a moment as they turned to solid steel, and it slashed at the Cubone! The cubone blocked the claw slash on the side with the bone it held, and smashed the Krokorok with a headbutt, sending it flying back! The shock sent through Krokorock left it stunned for a moment! Cubone used this moment and bashed it over the head with its bone club, knocking it out!
Cubone ran over to Naga, trying to roll him over. Naga was alive and awake, but hurt. "Cu-cubone! Cu-Cyuuu!" It seemed panicked, pointing Naga to the exit. Naga, Kappa, Lil'duck, and Cubone all made their way to the exit of the cave. When they got there, they could see the Charmeleon from earlier walking away, not trying to come back like the Krokorok did.
Naga huffed, trying to catch his breath. "So buddy, does that mean you want to travel with me?"
Cubone shouted with a smile and pulled on Naga's pant leg. He took that as a yes.
"Well, Kappa, this is where we split paths. You can head on home if you want."
"What do you mean? You're staying out here for a bit longer?"
"No, dude, I'm running away."
"Running away? You can't be serious!"
"Oh I'm dead serious. I said yesterday, I hate my life in Marigold town, it's boring! I want adventure, and the west, the uncharted frontiers, that is adventure! There's towns scattered all about Merigo but no one's ever made it all the way! All the way to the west coast! THAT's an adventure! You talked about money? You think they wouldn't laud the first guy to make it to the west coast with money and prizes?"
"Dude, are you- if you're serious I hope you brought more than a water bottle."
"No, I brought some money and a sleeping bag too."
"How much money?"
"1,500 pokedollars!"
"You wont survive out there like that dude! You can't eat money, and even if you find a town 1,500 is nothing! What if it rains? You don't even have a tent! PLUS, I'm sure they would reward anyone who could make it to the west coast but how would you prove it?"
"I-"
"Listen man, your goals are admirable but you wont make it like this."
Naga looked dejected. There was a momentary silence, the breeze could be heard rustling the tall dead grass.
"But I'll help you," Kappa said, grabbing something out of his pocket. "Here's 50,000 pokedollars. You take that to Vespa city, where you can buy real, good supplies. And if I were you, I'd talk to someone in the government and ask about starting an official expedition."
Naga hugged Kappa, tearing up. "Oh my god, Kappa, thank you! Thank you so much."
As Kapa put his arms around Naga, Naga jumped back in pain. "AH! My shoulder!"
"I'd probably go to a hospital in Vespa too. Their pokecenters there are free, and help people too."
"Kappa," Naga said as they walked towards Marigold town,"I can't thank you enough! I owe you so much!"
Kappa chuckled,"Oh, I'll hold you to that!"
