In the world of Pokemon, each child is presented with a choice between one of three starters when at the age of ten. Pokemon battling was the foundation of the very , business, and events would be centered around this world-wide phenomenon. For nearly centuries, that was the staple of society, children growing up and aspiring to become revolutionary trainers. There have been many exceptional trainers over the years, but as time progressed, a concern over Pokemon Battling spread slowly. It became abundantly clear over time how cruel these battles were, and was overglorified slavery. Many activists strived to free Pokemon and after several decades of political debating and pursuit: Pokemon Battling was officially banned.
As a result: the very business' that thrived off of Pokemon battling sought alternatives. The result was to take battling to the digital world where children could still enjoy the sport without any endangerment of the creatures themselves. However, this was not profitable enough and created competition to create new sports. This period of competition sparked a new age of technological advancement, with hardware and tools never seen by mankind before. The world has changed since 26 years ago, and the next generation gets to live in its glory.
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The skies are blue and beautiful in the Kalos region, warm and humid, fit for a joyful summer day in Lumiose City. Within the rapidly expanding world of technology, Lumiose City remains near the heart of the expansion. Many of the brilliant minds within the city contributed to the new era and as such, the city itself has become a popular attraction for tourists now. The city is the starting place of many important events and started many journeys.
Within the large circular city, two teenagers walk together down a street. One of the teenagers has spiky honey-blonde hair with streaks of white. He wears a grey and red shirt with silver arm socks going just above his elbows. Finishing his attire is grey jeans and black shoes. He walked triumphantly, a large grin plastered on his face and his eyes shut as he marched forward.
His friend next to him is a dark-skinned boy of the same age with short, frizzy black hair and bright brown eyes. He wears a white tank-top and baggy blue sweatpants with black sandals. He walks very casually, hands shoved in his pockets with his shoulders relaxed as he squints his eyes due to the sunlight. He turns towards the blonde individual and asks, "Yo, Aaron, have you ever actually met this chick, before?" Aaron raises his eyebrows, and his grin grows even more as he explains, "Nope, but we've been texting each other like CRAZY, Jared, we vibe hard. I'm telling you, she's the one!"
"I don't know man, seems kind of sus (suspicious) to me. For all you know, she might be cat-fishing you."
"Nah dude, she sent me a picture of herself. She's a chick."
"Whatever, dude, hope it goes well for you." As soon as they look forward, they bump into someone as they fall to the ground. Aaron had bumped into a small child who dropped his mobile device. The child groaned, "oww". Aaron's eyebrow twitched as he raised his voice and said, "Dumb kid, watch where you're going!" Aaron gets down on his knee, helping the child up to his feet and dusting him off before handing the child's mobile device. "Keep your eyes ahead of you, okay? You don't know what you'll bump into."
The child nods and apologizes, hurriedly moving past the two friends and continuing his business. Both teens look at the child's screen to see him playing one of the new Pokemon games. Jared stated, "Oh, would you look at that, the kid's playing Pokemon." Aaron mocks, "I swear, Pokemon is for little kids, nothing else. I'm way too old for that shit."
Jared gives his friend a funny look, commenting, "You know kids actually used real-life Pokemon back in the day? It was wild."
"Yeah, we learned that in history class, I remember, I still think the whole idea is dumb and people that play it are just the same."
"That's harsh, dude."
"Well, that's what they get for enslaving animals for three-four hundreds years or some shit, I don't fucking care." The pair continue their walk towards their destination. As they walk around, they glance around the city and observe the technology covering the city. Covering the many houses of the city are maintenance robots and tools being used to repair and paint houses. Human workers are still occupying the machines and controlling them. Machokes and several other strong Pokemon along with their human partners carried materials across the worksite as they smiled towards one another. Cars passed by at a gentle speed, now mostly-automatic as the vehicles hover just above the ground because of magnetism.
A voice calls out to them, shouting, "excuse me!". Aaron and Jared look behind them and see a young man jogging towards them, they move out of the way as the man hurries forward, baked with sweat. They heard sprinting from behind, and the two look back once more to see an elderly man with prosthetic robotic legs zooming towards them. They raise their eyebrows as they jump out of the way as the elderly man dashes past. They watch for a brief period and in a matter of seconds, the older man passes the jogger from earlier with little effort.
Jared compliments, "Man, technology is amazing. Giving everyone a second chance at life." Aaron was not so impressed, making a "tch" sound and belittling, "I think it's a crutch more than anything else. People don't even have to try when they get those prosthetics on because it's better than actual human limbs. I think it's pathetic, the people who rely on prosthetics like those. It gets rid of the work people have to put in."
"What about people who lose their limbs, they need prosthetics to live their life."
"Oh sure, that's necessary but i'm talking about the assholes who WILLINGLY remove their limbs just to get an upgrade, talk about pathetic." Wanting to change the subject, Jared looks around and his eyes widen as he points ahead and exclaims, "we're here!"
Aaron looks, a grin grew on his face as he sees the cafe he was supposed to meet the girl at. Jared repeatedly pats his friend on the back, supportingly suggesting, "Go on, she's probably waiting!" Aaron takes the step forward and moves towards the Cafe. As they enter the exquisite cafe lined with bushes, Aaron looks around at the tables in the cafe and finds a table with a woman already seated.
She is a beautiful young woman with wavy purple hair, bright blue eyes and pink lipstick with obvious make-up. She wears a white pleated-shirt and a long black skirt with high-heels. She looks towards Aaron and smiles. Aaron's jaw dropped as he took in the sight, she was more beautiful than he expected. Jared pats him on the back, ushering him forward and telling him, "Bro, that's a steal! Go!" Aaron moves towards the table, taking a seat right across from her.
She gives a playful chuckle, understanding his shock at seeing her. Aaron clears his throat and begs, "Y-you're Olivia, right?" She nods and responds with a soft and calming voice, and deeper than he expected, "You look more handsome than expected." Aaron turned bright red, he didn't know why he felt so embarrassed, he felt like he was on his first date again when that wasn't the case. He complimented, "You too, I mean- You look beautiful, not handsome, err-"
"I know what you mean." She smiled, Aaron didn't know how to contain himself, the more he looked at her, the more his teenage hormones made him uneasy. A young man, the waiter, approaches them and asks for their orders. Olivia asks for a simple tea, and upon seeing this, Aaron seizes his opportunity to impress her. He proclaims, "Give me your strongest drink!" The waiter gives him a strange look due to his outburst and jots his order down, explaining he'll be back soon.
Olivia comments on Aarons' order, "Feeling a bit risky today?" Aaron returns a fat grin and respons, "I'm pretty confident." Olivia lets out a "hmph" sound in an amusing manner and meets his eyes, "I like that in a man." Aaron turns red like a tomato upon hearing this, very proud of himself for his success. He takes a seat, not wanting to embarrass himself in front of the entire cafe. Jared, who was sitting nearby gives him a supporting thumbs up to assure his friend who gives a thumbs up back.
Aaron settled down, looking around and formulating questions to ask his date. "Nice day, isn't it?"
"It is, you chose a really good day for this. I wouldn't have chosen a better day myself." Aaron felt flustered, scratching the back of his head and thanking the woman. Olivia then noticed Aaron's eyes were closed the entire time since he walked in. She questioned, "Is something wrong with your eyes?" Aaron comes up with a quick response, leaning on the table and answering, "My eyes are unworthy of seeing your beauty." She found the compliment funny and giggled, making him exhale as he wasn't too sure how well the pickup line would land. Aaron sits up straight as he lets out a chuckle before they both stopped and it became awkward. Olivia asked, "So, are you going to open your eyes or not?"
A bead of sweat formed on the teen's forehead, as he fumbled on his words and looked around the cafe and scratched his head. He musters an answer, "Well, you see… I'm… how should I put it? I'm… blind…? Yeah, that's it."
"If you're blind, then how do you get by?"
"That's what my pal, Jared is for. He helps me out, and I have some pretty good ears too, I just learn to feel my surroundings."
"Like a Zubat?"
"What? I mean- yeah, sure." Olivia stood up, an embarrassed look on her face as she said, "Excuse me, I need to use the restroom. I'll be right back." Aaron responds: "Take your time." As she walks away. The teen lets out a sigh of relief, glad to have averted that crisis. Jared hurries over, leaning on the table and asking his friend:
"How is she?"
"She's great! She just needs to use the bathroom."
"Get it man, I believe in you." Jared and Aaron began to talk about the woman further in-depth and how Aaron should woo her. The two coming up with creative ideas during the process until they were silenced by the ferocious rumbling of the floor. Every object rattled and crashed as everyone hid underneath a table. Aaron, surprised by the commotion, asks, "What the hell, an earthquake?" They heard a loud mechanical sound above them as the ceiling was ripped apart by a large hand.
Everyone's jaw dropped when they saw a tall, jet black mech blocking out the sunlight with a singular glowing eye. Without hesitation, the machine grabs ahold of Aaron, squeezing him within its mechanical grip and raising the teen up towards his glowing eye before chucking him as far as possible down the street. Aaron had no stability as he was flung across the air, descending towards the concrete floor and rolling on it roughly. The teen groaned because he was partially bruised, getting up quickly to gaze upon his attacker who happened to be a large mech several stories tall. Aaron grit his teeth and states, "You dare attack me while I'm enjoying a nice date. That is it, you're going down." As he finishes his declaration, his eyes shot open to reveal his glowing red pupils. He assumed a stance before sprinting towards his target.
The mech was slow and heavy, each stomp causing the ground underneath to cave in with each step. It reaches down for a car and picks it up with relative ease, launching it towards the approaching teen. Aaron focuses his eyes on the incoming projectile, dancing out of the way of the vehicle as it barrels by him. This would not stop his advance as he had his eyes dead set on the machine in front of him. The machine raises its palm towards the teen, revealing a circular hole within the center that begins to glow with a gentle light. Aaron scoffs at the cliche nature of the weapon presented as the dangerous glow grew before releasing into a ferocious beam of energy.
Aaron slid at the last second as the beam shoots a meter above him before returning into a sprint. The beam contained enough power to generate a large explosion which propelled the boy forward into a roll. Aaron controlled himself and got back on his feet as he was just about to reach his target. The mech brought its arm back in anticipation, raising it high before slamming it down with terrifying speed. The mass alone displacing the air it cut through as it was about to smash the boy into the ground. Aaron stopped, planting his feet and bringing up both hands as he caught the incoming attack.
The collision created a shockwave and had enough force to shove Aaron's feet into the ground by a foot but he remained standing. The teen remained unwavering as he held the fist in place, exerting enough force to make even his muscles bulge in splendor. With one powerful push, he forces the giant fist away as he is met with the other coming directly towards him. With incredible reflexive speed, he stops the other attack which pushes the boy back just slightly but he isn't brought down.
Mustering the rest of his strength, he shouts as he throws the other fist aside with so much force it makes the machine take a few steps back to stabilize itself. Aaron seized his opportunity to leap towards the torso of the mech, spinning rapidly as the momentum carried his fist into a powerful punch against the machine. The plating caved in as the pieces that held it together popped out and the rest of the torso caved in along with it. The monstrosity launched and fell onto its back, crashing into the ground as the sound of metal scraping against the floor pierced everyone's ears.
The air was still as silence filled the area, the teen letting out a sigh of relief as he looked at his fist which was steaming from the impact. He shut his eyes closed, concealing them as he exclaims, "No amount of machinery can beat raw strength!" His ears were whelmed with the sound of clapping and cheering as he looks around, finding civilians within their houses celebrating the teens victory. A bystander even shouting, "Nice prosthetics! Way to go!"
The comment struck a nerve with the teen as he angrily mumbles to himself, "These idiots think I have prosthetics? Clearly they've mistaken natural talent for a scientific fluke." Before the teen could prepare a statement, he heard police sirens sound from nearby. He looks to find several vehicles approaching, stopping upon arrival at the scene. The vehicle in the very front had its window rolling down to reveal a man with short, black hair and a beard. Sharp brown eyes and wearing appropriate officer apparel. The man said out loud, "Nice job, I expected no less from the son of Daniel Barsony."
Aaron furrows his brows out of distaste and calls to the officer, "Am I in trouble, ?" The man leaned on the window and smirked, "Maybe." As the conversation happened, the rest of the police force got to work and blocked off the site to all pedestrians as they got to work revealing the pilot of the vehicle. The officers were aided by several strength-based Pokemon who were perfect for heavy lifting, and together, they managed to pry open the cockpit of the machine to reveal the person inside.
Aaron and Andres looked towards the vehicle to see the officers carrying out a older man who was attempting to break free from their grip as he screamed bloody murder. Once on the floor, the man was pinned down and handcuffed. The entire time, the older man glared at Aaron, not removing the boy from his sight. He was soon shoved into a Police vehicle and taken away, leaving Andres with the teen. Aaron mumbled to himself, "I wonder what that was all about?"
Andres tells the boy, "Actually, I need to talk with you and your mother right now. It's something urgent."
"Could it wait? I'm kind of busy here." Andres sassed, "With what? Are you on a date?"
"Yes actually."
"I see, well it's gonna have to wait. This is more important." Aaron groaned, physically displaying his disappointment and groaning out loud, "Come on, , we got all dayyyyy, let me at least have this. I swear, when I'm done, I won't do anything else." The officer was visibly displeased by the sudden turn of events and let out an exhausted sigh, looking away for a brief period before tilting his head towards the teen, "Fine, make it quick. I'll be back around dusk, be there." The teen gives a assuring thumbs up before Andres rolls up his window and drives off into the distance.
"Aaron!" The teen hears from nearby, he turns to find Jared running up full of energy. "That was awesome man! I didn't think you had THAT much strength." Aaron smirked, putting his hand on his hip and rubbing the tip of his nose in flattery. He states, "You see, Jared, I'm too good for those lame prosthetics. I got all the strength I need right here." Aaron flexes his biceps, receiving a sign of approval from his friend. Aaron noticed out of his peripheral vision, Olivia leaving the scene as she began to walk away. The teen's eyebrows shot up as he raced over to his date and grabbed her attention. She turned and waited for him to catch up. Aaron pleaded:
"I'm sorry about all this, I didn't mean for our date to get ruined!" Olivia's expression softened as she turned around and states, "I had fun, but I have some things to do at the moment. How about we meet up later tonight? A little after dusk works with me, how's that sound?"
"That sounds fine with me! I'll see you then." Olivia gives a playful wave to Aaron as she walks away and says, "See you later…!" As soon as she was far enough from the teen, she continues under her breath, "...Aaron Barsony…" With a sign of contempt in her voice. Olivia begins to hum as she walks down the street and out of sight.
To be continued in Part 2...