Autumn. Year unknown. Tucked away in the corner of the Unova region that he called home, a young man raised a metal hoe just high enough for its soiled edge to glisten in the light before it found itself in the loose soil it had known its whole life.

The sun above him scorched the evening sky with a warm and vibrant orange, matching the leaves starting to fall from the trees. Not a single cloud dared hide the majesty of the sun's light. The shadow of the slowly world grew taller and taller over the land of the region as the sun continued to fade further back into the sky. The slight chill hanging in the air was getting stronger by the minute, evidenced by the growing howls of the winds as they glided across the earth's surface.

None of this mattered to the man, whose movement with the hoe was an almost robotic pattern.

Lift. Check. Lower.

Tall and lean, the man repeated this process several times while dressed in nothing but a dirt-stained t-shirt and shorts. Every time he struck the ground, he left a small indent in the soil barely the size of a finger. Based on the surrounding terrain, it was evident that he had been doing this job for a long time. There were several rows of these indents, neatly spaced out and separated by even taller mounds of dirt. No matter where one looked, the quality of work never faltered.

And even as someone came out to join him on the vast field where he did his work, the man continued to move without stopping.

"Hey. Good work, man. Call it here," the watcher said, crossing his arms as he watched the man work.

No response. Just a rep of lift, check, lower.

That got the watcher a bit angry. "Luca! Hey! Luca! Yer done!"

"Eh?"

The working man had already half raised the hoe to strike again, but lowered it much more gently this time as he turned around to look at his visitor.

"Call it quits, Luca," the watcher said, nodding his head. "You done plowed enough."

"Are you sure?" Luca asked, looking out at the rest of the field he hadn't gotten to. "I've got enough in me for one more row."

"Do ya now?" Luca's watcher took an aggressive step forwards. "Then maybe you should use that 'one more row' o' yer's t' walk on home before it gets all cold an' dark!"

"But—"

The watcher stepped back, crossed his arms, and huffed. "I ain't hearin' it. None of us are. Yer done fer the day, Luca."

Luca sighed. "Fine, Donnel. You win."

"Bring the hoe on back to the house. We'll catch ya next week," Donnel said, his agitated attitude having vanished entirely.

"You're sure you don't want me to get that one extra row done?" Luca asked, pointing the hoe towards where he wished to get his work done.

"After all you've already done fer us just these past two days? Naw man. Ivaldi and I can handle that."

"I get more done in a weekend than you two get done in a week. Surely you must know that," Luca chuckled.

"An' thas why you only work with us on weekends. If you workin' here e'ry day of the week, there wouldn't be any work fer us left!" Donnel laughed back. "Yer like a one man army, brutally o'erpowered an' not waitin' t' take orders from nobody. I don't care that ya disagree, man. I think you humans got it better."

Luca rolled his eyes, though Donnel could see his smile. "Oh boy. Here we go again."

"We don't need ta have this discussion fer the thirtieth time," Donnel said, his voice instantly overpowering Luca's. "You got yer thoughts. I got mine."

"So can I discuss my thoughts regarding the work I've left to do?"

"Dammit Luca!" Though Donnel was a small creature only about a third of Luca's height, he felt no fear as he leapt up and smacked the man's arm with his leaf-shaped tail. His body was serpentine and slender, with a green body and a cream underside. Despite his snakelike appearance, Donnel noticeably had hands and feet, even if the length of both weren't particularly impressive.

And when the two brown-eyed creatures exchanged a brief stare, Donnel the Snivy made sure to say his next statement directly to Luca's face.

"You may be the more efficient worker 'round here. But I'm yer boss! So you can tell me all yer thoughts regardin' the field that still needs plowin', but I'm the one who says whether or not you can get the work done! And I say no! Yer goin' home."

"So much for not having the same discussion for the thirtieth time," Luca smirked.

"What's that supposed t' mean!?"

"Nothing, nothing," Luca said. "You win. I'll go, okay?"

"Humph." Donnel crossed his arms, before pointing towards the farmhouse in the distance. "I ain't repeatin' myself."

"House. Hoe. Away," Luca said, already beginning his walk towards where Donnel was pointing. "I'll be sure to check in with Roy and Lucy too."

"I can do that fer ya. They'll figure it out," Donnel said, walking beside Luca.

"I'm stopping by the house anyway. I might as well. Unless—"

Donnel grinned and gave Luca a weak punch to the shin. "Nuh-uh. No 'unless.' I'm not fallin' fer yer little trick with this y'know. Where ya get me t' bring in the hoe for ya as you run off t' git back home. Fool me once, shame on you. Fool me twice, shame on me. Ya won't get me a third time."

"Then how about I just give you the hoe without the sweet talk?" Luca asked, lightly dropping the tool onto Donnel. As the Snivy tried to awkwardly and simultaneously protect his head from harm while catching the hoe, Luca suddenly broke out into a run in another direction, headed off the fields and away from both Donnel and the house. "That way you still take it in and I still start my way home!" he shouted as he ran.

"Son of a—"

"I'll see you next week, Donnel!" Luca shouted, waving behind him. He was already too far away for Donnel to give any meaningful pursuit, leaving the Snivy to finish his cuss under his breath.

"Git home safe!" Donnel shouted after Luca, though he had no idea whether or not his message had been heard. "And don't tire yerself out before gettin' home again…"

––––––––––

Luca was starting to regret leaving work in a run.

It was normal for Luca to walk all the way home after work. To him it was a daily tradition, and something that he always looked forward to at the start and end of a long day's work. It didn't cost anything, kept him in good shape throughout the working week, gave him time to think, and it just felt soothing overall.

On days like these, where Luca was coming back from fieldwork, Luca was especially drawn away from taking any form of transportation other than his own two feet. Getting into a car or a bus with his dirt-soiled and sweat-drenched clothes seemed like a nightmare, both for Luca and for whoever else was in the vehicle. Sure, the walk was well over an hour long both ways, but it was a flat route that never failed to get him to work and back. A longer walk for Luca meant more time to himself, and more time to reflect on recent events.

However all Luca could really reflect on right now was his mistake of leaving work in the condition he was in. It wasn't long after he had dashed off the fields and started his long journey home that he began to feel cramping in his stomach and aches in his legs; their effects combined nearly brought Luca to a complete stop after about 5 minutes of trying to power through.

This wasn't new. It had happened a few times before, albeit rarely. Most of the time, Luca would start cramping up around a bus stop at the halfway point between his house and where he worked, so he'd be able to catch a much needed rest there.

But right now, Luca wasn't even halfway to the bus stop and he was starting to keel over from the pain. His walking had slowed dramatically, and his movements were becoming more forced. The cold weather and darkening sky didn't exactly make his situation much better.

Somehow, despite his current situation, Luca managed to force out a small laugh. "I guess I didn't have that one row left in me after all," he muttered under his breath.

His laugh turned into a sigh. Deciding to screw it all, Luca stopped walking entirely, choosing instead to slowly lower himself to the ground and take a seat on the edge of the sidewalk. At the rate he was going, Luca was sure he'd eventually just fall over and be forced to lie down well before he could reach the comfortable seat of the bus stop, and that was the second to last thing he wanted.

The last thing he wanted was for someone he knew to find him sitting there, cramped up and without energy, on the edge of the sidewalk. But that wasn't going to happen. Nobody he knew took the road he was currently on.

He didn't care if strangers saw him. Almost nobody ever used the sidewalk he was on anyway. Sure, there were several cars passing by going in both directions, but odds were that people simply didn't care about some random adult sitting down off the sidewalk with an almost childish smile on his face.

Luca made himself comfortable, gave off another sigh, and began to wait till he was feeling more able to walk. He wanted to at the very least make it to the bus stop before needing another rest, as he knew it wouldn't be a straight shot home in the condition he was in. Luca considered phoning his home to inform everyone that he'd be running late, but he also knew in the back of his mind that his father would instantly start up the car and go to pick Luca up if he knew he'd be late enough to miss dinner.

With nothing better to do other than sit and wait in total silence till he felt good enough to walk the next quarter of the way home, Luca began to count the cars passing by, taking mental notes of their colors. It was mind numbing, but all he could think to do. Red. Green. Blue. Yellow. Yellow again. Gray. Light blue. Red again. Green again. Blue again. Pink. Pink? That wasn't a color you saw every day on cars… Gray, yellow, gray—

BEEEEEEEEEEP!

Luca instinctively covered his ears and lowered his head towards the ground, caught off guard by the loud sound of a car's horn. When the sound stopped and Luca looked up, he saw a car had stopped beside him on the street. It didn't seem to be going anywhere. Odds are this was the car that scared Luca half to death.

His first thought was to the car's color, as that was on his mind prior to being rudely interrupted. It looked white, but it was a bit harder to tell due to the darkening of the sky as the sun slowly continued to retreat past the horizon.

Maybe some of those grays had been whites and Luca never thought of it.

BEEP!

The car's horn went off again, and now Luca could tell that the horn was directed at him.

Great.

Cautiously, he stood up and tried to peer into the front window, though it was, again, difficult to see into the car with the dark sky around them all. He could see the outline of a person, and movement from within the car, but the features were difficult to make out…

...until the driver lowered the window and flashed a smile at Luca.

"You know my mom said to never give a hitchhiker a ride in the car. Or anyone for that matter. But I think even she'll agree with this exception that I'm about to make," the man behind the wheel said, giving Luca a friendly stare.

Luca gasped. "Are you—?" He stopped himself. Bad question. He knew the answer.

Yet somehow he still doubted it a bit. "I… How is it that I'm both relieved and frustrated to see you here? Is that normal?"

"Well if I were the one chilling on the side of the road, tired as hell after a day of work, and you were the one to suddenly pull up in a car next to me, I think I'd feel pretty embarrassed myself. The last thing I'd want is for someone I know to show up and find me there," the man said, nodding his head. "But I'd also be scared as hell because you have the worst vehicle driving skill I've ever seen. I wouldn't even trust you with an RC car."

Luca sighed. "Of all the people to find me here tonight, it just had to be you, didn't it?"

"Goodness, am I confusing you for someone else? Surely someone with a self-proclaimed silver tongue wouldn't greet a friend like that in his hour of need." After a short laugh, the man reached over the passenger seat and opened the door, patting the chair a couple of times. "Hop in, Luca. Let's get you home."

"Do I get a choice?" Luca asked.

"Well it's either hop in the car now and we get you home in like ten to fifteen minutes, or you walk home for the next forty-five minutes and show up late to dinner. And we both know how your dad is about that."

"You make a compelling argument," Luca chuckled, already half into the car. "And you don't care that I'm all sweaty and dirty from work?"

"Buddy, have you seen the back seats of my car?"

When Luca turned around to see what the driver was talking about, he discovered that he couldn't even make out where the seats were amongst the pile of...things. He couldn't tell if it was all trash or if the car was being used for storage. The longer he looked at it, the more confusing it got.

"Oh."

"A little extra dirt in the front isn't really a big deal," the man said, giving Luca a small nudge. "Now you know why I never agree to drive you places. And why I hate driving this thing."

"And what makes you drive it now?" Luca asked.

"Mom wanted me to run an errand in Virbank. And unlike you, I'm only crazy enough to walk to Floccesy from Aspertia. Anything past that is bus or car." As Luca closed the passenger side door, the driver leaned his head in towards Luca. "Y'know, my offer to teach you to ride a bike still stands. It'd cut your travel time down by like, way over half. And you still get good exercise on the way to work."

"What if I say no to that?"

"Then you're nineteen and still don't know how to ride a bike."

Luca playfully shoved the head away from him. "Just shut up and drive, Justin," he laughed.

"Can do, Luca. Can do."

––––––––––

"You're sure you don't want me to just drop you off in front?"

"Well I need to look like I've walked some distance, yeah? Or else my dad—"

"Or else what, your dad's gonna give me a call to thank me? Or he's gonna tell me to pick you up from work from now on, only for me to say no, and him to respect that choice?"

"I'm getting out of the car now."

Justin's small grin exploded into full out laughter as Luca opened the door to exit the car. "You realize that means I win, right?"

"Who won what?" Luca asked back, already back onto the pavement. "I didn't encounter anyone on my way back home today other than the normal strangers that pass on by."

"Bastard," Justin said, still laughing a bit. "Tell your family I said hi."

"That I can do."

Justin gave Luca a small wave as he closed the car door. "Catch you around."

Luca waved back. "See ya. And thanks."

"Don't mention it. No seriously, you seem very set on not doing so."

"I'm walking home now Justin!" Luca said, turning around and throwing his arms into the air.

From within the car, Justin silently smiled and began preparing to head back home. "I totally won that exchange," he muttered before driving away.

Luca did exactly as he said he would, walking straight home from where Justin had dropped him off. He'd asked to be released a few blocks away from his house, so that it would still somewhat appear he had walked all the way home. Justin gave a few compelling arguments as to what Luca's father would have done if he found out about the drive, and while Luca believed both claims to be correct, he'd forgotten the biggest one, and the one Luca didn't want to have happened the most.

"Now the last thing I need is Justin being invited over for dinner tonight. Let's hope I don't will that into existence, too."

It was only a few minutes of walking till Luca spotted the familiar sights of home. The neighborhood around him was filled with gorgeous looking homes, each with carefully crafted unique architecture that made every single house stand out amongst all the others. Every exterior was spotlessly clean, every lawn was well kept, and every driveway had a nice looking car in it. This was the rich side of town. All it took was one glance to know.

And here Luca was, walking around the streets he called home in a t-shirt and shorts stained with several layers of dirt and grime. To him, it was very awkward. But by now, everyone around the neighborhood knew where Luca worked and what he did. He was far more likely to receive friendly waves from neighbors over confused expressions, and he knew it, so that saved him some embarrassment. Though, hardly anyone was out this late in the day in this part of the city. There would be no sudden greetings from friends and acquaintances tonight.

Finally, Luca's destination was in sight. Tucked away in the very corner of the neighborhood was a house that both fit in and stood out amongst its peers. Its elegant coat of white paint gave it a smooth looking exterior, expertly masking the rough stones cemented together that formed the house's outside structure. The windows were all decorated with either elegant curtains that complimented the white exterior, carefully framed family photos, or a combination of both. The front lawn had several hedges trimmed into the shapes of various Pokemon. Compared to almost every other house in the neighborhood, the house was much shorter than the rest, barely having enough height on one half of the structure to call it a second floor from an outside glance.

But that had never bothered Luca. It was still a place that he was happy to call his lifelong home.

Without any further hesitation, Luca's simple walk turned into a light jog as he went up to the front door. By now he knew the 6-digit code by heart. Though he was sure he could enter it without looking, he was grateful for the little sunlight he had left, ensuring that he hit the right combination. Center, bottom left, bottom, center, bottom left, top left.

The lock turned on its own, and the door opened with a gentle turn and push from Luca.

"Hey. I'm here," Luca called as he stepped inside.

The response was instant. He heard muttering from further in the house, before a voice called out to him. "Luca! Get over here! You've got to see this!"

The voice was his father's. He'd recognize it anywhere. Judging from where the voice was coming from, as well as the smell of a fresh dinner in the nearby kitchen, Luca figured that despite his best efforts, he had arrived late to dinner.

Luca walked forwards again, this time intent on reaching the dining room table as quickly as possible. He hadn't even changed or taken off his shoes. Any time spent doing that would be time he wasn't spending eating dinner with the rest of the family, and under his roof, that was perhaps the biggest crime of all.

But much to his surprise, when he passed by the living room on the way to the dining table, he caught his father sitting on the sofa watching TV, most definitely not eating. He was a simple looking man with a simple looking build, not too chubby or thin, not too muscular or bony. Even the way he dressed was very standard with a simple black turtleneck and a pair of jeans.

His light blue eyes matched those of the person sitting next to him: Luca's twin brother. The two were born identical, and had kept their distinctly similar appearance all throughout their lives. Though they weren't carbon copies of each other.

"Dad I don't think he'd be interested in this," he said, nudging his father a little. Compared to Luca, his brother was slightly skinner and less well built, but was also a little taller with longer hair. It was difficult to tell the two brothers apart at a glance or distance, but when the two were close together, it was easy to see who was who.

That was, of course, when they weren't dressed in radically different clothing, which was something they almost always did.

Their father waved him off. "Nonsense, Spectral. This is your brother we're talking about!"

"Yeah," Spectral said. "That's exactly why he wouldn't be interested."

"I mean, I can give it a shot," Luca said, shrugging as he moved further into the living room. Evidently they were looking at the TV, and he couldn't get a good look of that from the doorway.

"Sorry, Elliot, but I kind of agree with Spectral here," said a third voice. On the opposite side of the couch from the two men was a single Pokemon. It was a small, green, frog-like creature with a large, closed up bulb resting on its back.

Spectral gleefully pointed towards the Bulbasaur. "See? Ephraim agrees."

"Hold on now. What makes you say that?"

"Uh... " Ephraim looked lost for a moment. "Well… From what we saw so far? This isn't really the kind of stuff that Luca wants to think of on a daily basis. One-hundred percent."

"So maybe he'll start thinking about it after watching it," Elliot said, with an excited smile on his face. "He already said he'd do it, didn't he?"

"But—"

Elliot raised up a hand. "No buts, Ephraim!"

"He's already rewinding it," Spectral drawled.

"Whether or not you care, this will be an important day in history, not just for the both of you, but for this region's history," Elliot said. Luca kept his attention off the TV so that he could go into whatever it was his father wished to present without any sort of spoilers.

"Huh? You really think this'll be a special day in Unova history?" Ephraim asked.

"And now comes the part where he pitches it," Spectral chuckled, receiving a light nudge from his father shortly after.

"Let's test your historical knowledge, Luca," Elliot said. "We'll ignore the fact that you almost flunked it in school, of course. Today, under normal circumstances, would have a national event associated with it. Do you know what it is?"

Spectral gasped from next to Elliot. "Oh that's why they did this today!"

"He gets it," Elliot laughed.

Luca shook his head. "I'm clueless."

"Well, I'm not surprised you've forgotten this. It has been some time, after all. Ordinarily, today would be the day of the Champion's annual address to the region. But of course, they haven't done those recently."

"Well yeah, the Champion hasn't said a word in the past 5 years," Luca said, rolling his eyes. "Some Champion he is. Sealing off the Pokemon League and never showing his… Wait a minute." Luca turned to Elliot, now looking very interested. "Did...the Champion make a speech today?"

"Sort of!" Elliot said. "You'll see what I mean. If you would…"

With Elliot pointing to the TV, Luca shifted his attention to the screen at the front of the room.

There on the monitor was a woman, average height, blonde, and dressed in casual looking attire. She held a few pieces of paper in her hand as she read into a microphone. As the camera panned around the scene, Luca found that there were absolutely no spectators or audience members of any kind. Just a camera crew and the speaker on an outdoor, rocky terrain.

"Hello, people of Unova. My name is Jolene. Today, I will speak on behalf of the Champion for their annual address." Her voice was low, loud, and exceptionally clear. A normal person would think she'd rehearsed the speech in advance with how quickly and clearly she spoke during the rest of the presentation, but it was apparent to everyone in Luca's house that this too was her first time hearing what she was reading. She held up the papers clearly for the camera to see.

"What I have in my hands right now is a message handwritten by the Champion, which they gave to me and instructed me to read today, right now, for a public broadcast. Once I start to read these papers, every word out of my mouth from now on will be the Champion's own words, with nothing omitted or added. Unfortunately, the Champion themselves did not wish to present this to everyone. My apologies for this, but they were very firm in their decision. Let us begin."

The lady cleared her throat and began to read.

"To the people of Unova, and to a greater extent, the world. Hello. This will be my first and last message as the Champion of Unova. After today, I will resume total silence. Listen to my words well. I will not have them repeated.

"I won't waste time with excuses for my lack of presence, nor try to apologize when forgiveness is undue. The truth of the matter is simple: For the past five years, I have been so silent that I may as well have been dead. I have been uninvolved with this region's politics. I have never strived to make a public appearance. I haven't even given the world my name. I have contributed absolutely nothing beneficial to this region, or this planet, other than filling a role of power far greater than I should ever be trusted with. In doing this, I have failed as a Champion, and freely accept all criticisms that have been directed to me.

"Today, I will change things. I've come to make an announcement. For five years, the Unova Pokemon League has remained silent, locked behind closed gates and sealed shut to all challengers. This impulse decision of mine was a grave mistake, and my biggest mistake of all as the champion.

"I will amend this now.

"In three months from today, as the year draws to a close, I will give the ambitious trainers of Unova—and of the world—a chance. In three months time, I will host a tournament. A National Unova Championship. It will take place on Route 10, at the very base of Victory Road. The winner of this tournament will be given the honor and privilege of being the first person to challenge the Unova Elite Four in five years. Succeed against all four, and you may challenge me for the title of Champion of Unova. If you are tired of how I have lived my life and done my job during my time as Champion, then usurp me. Show me the strength of your ideals of a Champion.

"To qualify for this tournament, you must meet one requirement and one requirement only: You must have, in your possession, all eight of Unova's Gym Badges. Basic, Bolt, Insect, Jet, Legend, Quake, Toxic, and Wave. I do not care if you are just starting out as a trainer, or have been one for several years. I do not care if you are a loyal citizen of Unova, or a foreigner that wishes to jump at the opportunity for a Champion title. Bring the badges, and I grant you entry. Prove your skill, and challenge me for my title. I welcome all challengers.

"I'll be waiting.

"Signed, K."

Elliot immediately paused the video, excitedly towards his kids one after the other. "Well!?"

"It's about time," Spectral said, folding his arms. "The man's finally doing something."

"I'm glad that whoever's there in the Champion's seat is finally doing something with themselves. It's good to acknowledge one's mistakes," Elliot said. "But I'm more interested in what you think, Luca."

"I mean...it's cool?" Luca said. "I'm not sure how this pertains to me other than like...duh, I live in Unova."

"You were listening to the lady, weren't you?" Elliot asked, sounding a bit disappointed. "She said there would be a tournament!"

"Yeah I heard that part. Need the eight badges and all that."

His father leaned in a bit. "Aren't you interested?"

"No."

Elliot reared back a bit in shock. "What?"

Ephraim nodded. "Knew it."

"I told you," Spectral said, rising from the sofa and standing next to his father. "It doesn't appeal to him."

"Oh come on." Elliot stood up as well, walking over to Luca. "You're a Pokemon Trainer!"

"I was a Pokemon Trainer," Luca said, a hint of bitterness in his voice. "That was three years ago."

"You're not winning this, Elliot," Ephraim said, leaping off the sofa onto the table in front of it. "Trust me."

His father didn't quit. He started slowly approaching Luca. "Even if it was three years ago, you're still talented! We all watched you in the Johto League back then. You were incredible!"

"If I wanted to keep going, I would have done so."

Ephraim sighed. "I'm leaving before this gets worse." He hopped off the table and began walking down one of the hallways.

"I know you can get all eight of the badges in three months. This is your homeland! This opportunity was made for you!"

"No thanks."

"You're not going to get this chance again, you know that, right? This is a great way to get back into—"

"I'm not interested, Dad!"

Elliot took a step back. Luca wanted to say more, but the distraught look on his father's face made him pause and choose to take a deep breath before continuing.

"My days as a Pokemon Trainer are done. I'd rather keep the jobs that I have now than give them both up to pursue a single tournament I couldn't even win. I don't think it's worth it."

His father sighed. "After all that work we went through to get you your license…"

"Thank you for that. Again," Luca said, smiling a bit. "It meant a lot to me, and it still does. I'm still half impressed we managed to even get one… That's why I'm sorry to tell you that I won't be doing this." Luca turned around and faced his brother. "Spectral."

"Yo."

"Don't think I haven't noticed you poking more and more into my trainer life over the past few months. I've heard from my Pokemon that you've been talking to them more and more, too."

"I have no idea what you're talking about," Spectral sneered.

"Maybe you're more interested in this than I am?"

"I'll admit that this seems to be more appealing to me than it is to you. My internship did get me a lot more interested in the whole Pokemon training biz'" Spectral said, entering a sarcastic thinking pose.

"Did it really?" Elliot asked. "I never knew this."

"Well duh, I never mentioned it. But, sorry, bro. If you're offering me your Pokemon to participate in this thing, then I'm gonna pass." Spectral grinned again. "You know me. I'm too proud to win with someone else's team."

"That's assuming you win," Luca said.

The twins laughed together, and Elliot couldn't help but smile at the sight. "All right you two," he said, moving in and patting them both on the shoulder. "How about we continue this discussion over dinner?"

"Keep Dad away from dinner? I would never," Spectral said, still a bit giggly. "Let's eat before it's too cold to bite into."

"Yeah." Luca nodded. "Let's."