Hey readers. I posted the first chapter of my new story, but immediately I want to start another, one that's been in the works for a long time. But first I have to say something
I'm going through a difficult time. Tonight I just felt disconnected and sad, I wondered if one of you could pray on my behalf if there's anyone else out there of faith reading this. Heck, even if you don't have any faith try praying... see what happens. Just pray for my family and that I would have the opportunity to say something important to them.
Okay, but seriously I've had this amazing idea running for a while now, and I just finally got back to Pokémon Alpha Sapphire today after not playing for a long time, beat the E4 and caught a lotta mons, you know how it is. Its finally time to start my next fanfic. That's right, I'm doing a Pokémon fanfic. This one will involve mostly my own characters, and a pretty interesting arc for all of them. Get ready for a good story. Now, I think the actual Pokémon games are in chronological order in terms of time, seems to make sense. A while ago, when pokemon GO was all the rage, I think Game Theory did a vid on it and determined that pokemon GO happened pretty early in the Pokemon time line. Pokemon has a timeline...? Apparently. Good ol matpat mentioned something about there being a war that took place, thought it was an interesting concept, there being a conflict between the three factions. My fanfic is based off that. Okay, im about to put on my narrator cap to say the rest of the exposition. Actually, at a certain point in the fic, it will become apparent pretty much exactly when this takes place.
A time long ago, a conflict took place that divided the world. People still did not fully understand the power they wielded when they participated in the time honored tradition called "Pokémon battle". Many still saw these creatures as a means to an end... and did not know what they were capable of. Well they would soon learn...
This conflict took place among three powerful clans at the time. Teams Mystic, Valor, and Instinct. The three teams were named for their respective battle types. There were those who planned carefully, knowing all too well when to be aggressive, and when, and how long to wait. They knew full well how the tide of battle flows, and wasted no opportunity to gain an advantage in battle. They were known as mystic, for their impeccable strategy. Their symbol: Atricuno: the Ice guardian, for their cold and calculating approach. They are capable leaders and team players alike, they are intelligent in command. Don't be fooled by their veneer of politeness though, as they are known to be manipulative at times. Next, Team Valor. They are never unaware of the odds, just defiant enough to change them. They see every challenge as an opportunity for growth, and embrace difficulty with terrifying strength and grace. Their way of battle is power and spirit. They argue that perhaps one doesn't known all the details, but its best to act decisively, even in situations where there are unknowns. Only if one acts quickly can the best results be acquired. Valor members are brave and strong. They are capable of overcoming difficult obstacles. They learn from their mistakes and grow stronger, wiser. Unfortunately, they can be overconfident, proud, and difficult to reason with once they have made their mind. These two teams... quite a history they have. They've battled on and off with one another, for so long, it seems the original cause for their antagonism has been lost to history...
But, as fine a narrator as I am, I would be doing our audience a disfavor to forget the third faction in the equation. Team instinct, once mighty like the other two. Both wisdom and power are useful, but team instinct believes in following a certain gut feeling, a hunch, an intuition, a connection perhaps... to the very creatures they used themselves. To the average team instinct follower, the trainer is but half the equation, one must develop a working relationship with the Pokémon they use, and view them as equals, to trust that they share a common fate.
They fought a terrible battle. division turned into misunderstanding. Misunderstanding lead to hostility. Hostility lead to conflict. We all know where conflict can leave us. But to truly appreciate how this little war affected people, let us examine it through the lens of a boy who had to live with the aftermath...
PART ONE: Sky Omen
Somewhere Far off the shores of the Hoenn Region...
They say just a small fraction of the seas have been explored... but a new chain of islands had been discovered not too far away from the Hoenn Region. They'd been untouched as far as anyone could tell. After just a few towns had been settled, select trainers were invited to the islands to set up their own Pokémon gyms. This was a new opportunity for many young trainers, and two of the islands gyms ended up being taken by the youngest gym leaders yet. A second wave of trainers came to challenge the gyms and earn badges, as rumors spread that an official Pokémon league chapter was about to be opened for its first year. The island chain came to be known as the "frontier", as it was the newest discovery of land known to humankind. Many say the island is home to certain ancient species of Pokémon that had the chance to survive without human interference. It should be noted that there are many dangers on this island, due to the lack of human contact, many of the Pokémon show increased levels of...
The rest of the report Coltrane was reading became unreadable after his coffee spilled over the rest of it. He had just turned 14, and made use of some of his new... vocabulary he had picked up on.
"...I hate boats..." The young trainer got up to look in the mirror to see if he had gotten any coffee on himself. He was on the shorter, smaller side of things. Late bloomer. fair skinned starting to tan just a bit from exposure to the elements, light blond hair that hadn't been cut in a while tied back in a simple ponytail, topped with a worn baseball cap that advertised the Hoenn Pokémon League. Cloudy Gray-blue eyes. On top, he was never without his favorite jacket, dull blue and shades of gray stripes that almost looked halfway between a camo design, and as if someone had just swiped a paintbrush across the jacket halphazardly. It came with a hood, well worn and a bit faded, but in good condition. He had almost completely grown into it. On bottom, a pair of water-resistant greyish shorts that might have come from an outfitters shop, also well used, and somewhat stained in places. Rugged hiking shoes on his feet. Random scratches and faded bruises on the exposed parts of his limbs. His normally serene expression had turned to annoyance over a long journey by sea via his least preferred method of travel. Back in Hoenn, he'd just hop on the back of his Skarmory to travel over sea to nearby islands. But, he'd left his Hoenn pokemon behind with a friend, besides, this was too long a journey for a skarmory...
Coltrane got up, just wanting to find something to distract himself from the way the boat sways... he noticed that during the voyage, the ship's deck had become the popular place to hold Pokémon battles. Technically, the ship's captain hadn't allowed battles on his ship, but try enforcing that rule with a bunch of gung-ho, adventurous trainers traveling to a new region to find adventure. Besides, they were all quite restless, like Coltrane. It was well along in the journey, and the battles had been organized into a loose tournament style, with most of the amateurs weeded out at this point. But not Coltrane. The scrawny, and somewhat shabbily dressed teen didn't look like much, but he could battle. As Coltrane climbed the last step up, and emerged unto the main deck, many eyes turned to him. A crowd had gathered around the space battles were happening. A regulation-compliant space had been spray painted on the deck. The crowd had taken up a place behind a second spray painted line measured a "safe" distance from the battle area. Well... it was never 100% safe to so close to a Pokémon battle, but pokemon tend to avoid causing collateral damage pretty well. The sky was partly cloudy, a little breeze. Temperatures were moderate but on the humid side. The occasional Wingull circled curiously over the large vessel. The vessel itself was fairly outdated, with most of the modern Hoenn fleet being assigned to new tasks, this was the best that was available. At least the tickets were affordable, enough for many young trainers to afford on whatever meager winnings they made in money matches. The living situation on board was bare minimum, so people often came topside to stretch their legs, or have Pokémon battles. There were tournament matches in the mornings and early afternoons, with friendlies happening in the evenings. As of right now, the ship sailed in open sea, nothing to watch but the horizon and the occasional flying or water type.
Coltrane took his place on one side of the field. On the other side, looking smug, was an older boy standing besides his Blastoise. A pretty healthy specimen, Coltrane could tell, because as he approached, Blastoise shot off a round of water at high pressure skyward, and created a little shower, getting the whole crowd wet. The crowd clapped their support for the trainer, who had just won a battle and earned his place in the semifinals of this makeshift tournament. Coltrane sighed at the very obvious and pretentious flex, shaking out the water from his cap.
"Hey, I'm Max, got any mons, kid?" Max the trainer looked upon his opponent in disdain. Max himself sported a utility belt holding 6 high-end pokeballs, all with a powerful beast inside, no doubt. However, Coltrane wasn't wearing a pokeball on his person, as far as the audience could tell. But surely, if this kid had come this far in the tournament, he must have at least one.
"Hey, I remember him! He helped my pokemon a couple days ago after my match!" a girl from the crowd pointed out. Indeed, as the ship didn't have a pokemon center, a few people from among the passengers or ship crew had volunteered to help with caring for pokemon after matches. Coltrane had plenty of experience patching up pokemon, so he had agreed. Probably because of that, he got a few modest claps and nods of approval from the crowd. Coltrane simply nodded back, and without saying anything, his pokemon appeared from inside his jacket, poking her head from the little unzipped portion on his neck. It was a Pachirisu, a small electric rodent you might find in some urban parks, they like to climb up powerlines and soak up some electricity. Not a terribly common pokemon, not very threatening either, compared to a blastoise. A few laughs and "aaaww"s from the crowd. A few people murmuring about whether type advantage could make up for the massive difference in size, strength, and defense.
Max laughed too, most likely to convey confidence, in an attempt to send the message that there was no way Coltrane and his rodent could win this battle. taunting and mouthing works on some people, but it wouldn't work on someone with actual experience. The referee was a girl older than Coltrane, not by much. She was from the Hoenn region and a pretty good pokemon breeder. "Breeders" are somewhat different than trainers. Most pokemon breeders will still battle every once in a while, but are a little less focused on battles and earning badges. They're more focused on raising pokemon, strengthening them through focused training and quality of life. They try to raise pokemon of particular traits and pass them on through selective breeding, often times seeking rare pokemon with rare traits, like hidden abilities, or Pokémon with rare discolorations. In fact, a Zangoose with blue shocks of fur stood beside her. The girl's name was Samantha. She prefers Sam. They had met before, she lived in Rustboro, Hoenn's biggest urban center. She was wearing the same old leather jacket and jeans with holes and gyarados print on the belt buckle. Messy chocolate brown hair spilled down her shoulders haphazardly, intelligent olive eyes. She nodded at Coltrane, taking a small emblem out of her jacket pocket for a mere second with a yellow insignia. They exchanged a silent greeting. She cleared her throat and began.
"The battle between Max and Coltrane will now begin. This match will determine who will enter the quarter-finals of the tournament! By neccesity, this will be a one-on-one battle." Sam glanced towards Coltrane, who nodded. He only had one, leaving the rest of his Pokemon behind in Hoenn. It was a common practice, his friend in Hoenn would use his pokemon for him. But there's always that one Pokémon that a trainer can never part ways with. For Coltrane it was Pachirisu, his first. Max chose his Blastoise, it was the same for him and Blastoise. Once the pokemon were in position, Sam listed some of the rules for the match, Coltrane drowned it out and imagined a few scenarios of how this battle should start. In each scenario, the optimal way to start is...
"Okay, ready? 3...2...1... BEGIN!" Sam announced, her voice carried quite well, waking Coltrane out of his daydream.
"Water gun!" Max called. Well, he's smarter than he looks, using a move like water gun right from the start. It was a move right up Blastoise's alley, but not a super powerful move requiring massive amount of energy. Max probably didn't expect it to hit, but put Pachirisu on the defensive. Better to make a move first and force your opponent to react. Good initiative.
"Quick attack. Get close." Coltrane uttered in a tone just loud enough for his pokemon to hear, he timed his words so that Max couldn't possibly hear over the thundering of Blastoise's water cannons. Pachirisu sprung into action, swiftly leaping to the left, and began to flank Blastoise. A simple, but well practiced maneuver that helped close distance while balancing being a hard target to hit. The water gun attack splashed uselessly against the deck, Coltane's Pokémon nimbly evading in the nick of time. There were a few gasps from people who actually thought the water gun attack would connect. Pachirisu closed the distance even faster than Max expected. Max judged that his Blastoise had enough time to use another attack, however, his calculations were wrong.
"IRON TAIL!" Coltrane called out. Pachirisu managed to put on even more speed and closed the rest of the distance. Speed in general is always useful, but this Pachirisu had been trained to start at a certain speed so the opposing trainer would make a decision based off that speed, then accelerate. It took time and work to get faster, and Coltrane preferred to train alongside his partner, doing some cardio himself. A trainer should always be in tune with his partner... Blastoise only had enough time to raise its arms over its head, which at least prevented the opposing Pokémon from landing a one hit K.O. For about a second, Pachirisu's tail actually took on the properties of solid iron, and impacted Blastoise's chest with the same amount of force.
"BLAST-OISE!" Grunted the massive water type as it took the impact. It had to back up a couple steps. Pachirisu was able to run away before Max shouted:
"HIT IT BACK WITH ICE PUNCH!" Blastoise punched the ground where Pachirisu was a few microseconds ago, frozen shrapnel spraying everywhere. But Pachirisu had already created plenty of distance between them again. Max must of had a new brain cells to his name, because he ordered his Blastoise:
"USE SCALD ON THE GROUND BETWEEN YOU AND PACHIRISU!" Clever. He had covered the space between Pachirisu with steaming hot water, making approach impossible without risking burns. However, Coltrane noticed something. Blastoises moves clearly had raw power as their focus, throwing as much water per second out as possible. A Blastoise with different training would have more focused streams of water, but this Blastoise was... messy, and some water dripped to its very own feet. It didn't seem to bother Blastoise... the crowd was impressed by Max's strategy, and thought he had Coltrane on the ropes. Blastoise was known for its ranged capabilities, with its powerful dual water guns, it could most certainly win the battle, especially after restricting Pachirisu's movement options with scald. Blastoise readied his cannon for another volley of water gun, and the crowd looked to Coltrane and his pokemon to see how he would respond.
A stronger breeze came to Coltrane's attention. A particular kind of wind. A downdraft...
"Looks like its gonna storm pretty soon, let's wrap this up quick." Coltrane, relaxed as usual, but always with a plan. He wanted to finish this match before the weather forced everyone to retreat under the deck.
"Yeah. Let's wrap this up quick, Blastoise, HYDRO PU-" He didn't have time to finish his word. Coltrane gave a command to Pachirisu only he and his pokemon could hear. The next moment, a wave of electricity made its way across the puddle of boiling water Blastoise had made and electrocuted the giant turtle. The battle was over. Max simply stood there for several moments, his mouth still open. It took the crowd a second or two to process what had happened, but Coltrane had already collected his pokemon, and casually walked back towards the steps back to the lower decks. The crowd started to clap, before they realized why Coltrane was so quick to exit. It began pouring, no dumping rain, and everyone, including Max, forgot all about the battle as they made a dash for the lower decks as well. Sam stayed behind for a second to order her Zangoose to pick up the still-frozen-from-surprise Max, while she grabbed Max's pokeball to get his Blastoise out of the coming storm. Once everyone returned to the lower decks, they all clogged the hallways of the ship in an effort to congratulate Coltrane on his timely victory. This was much to his annoyance, as he simply wanted to return to his bunk so he wouldn't have to puke from seasickness in front of everyone when the storm inevitably made him seasick. Even Sam couldn't get everyone to calm down... Coltrane looked desperately around the tight hallway, but people seemed to be everywhere. He could only inch his way towards his room. He was highly considering having his pokemon zap everyone...
"Hey! Over here! Quick!" Came a voice behind him. For some reason this voice stood out to him over all the people cheering and congratulating him.
"Huh?" Was all he got out before someone grabbed his arm and pulled him into a room. Well, whoever it was, Coltrane didn't miss the opportunity to slam the door to the room shut before anyone could enter. He locked it, and then slouched down on the floor. Crowds stressed him out, messed with his Zen.
The same Blue Zangoose that belonged to Sam stared down at him. Coltrane figured he must be in Sam's room. "Thanks."
"No prob, wanna lemonade? I found a way to get, like, six of these out of the vending machine for the price of one."
Coltrane smiled and accepted the cold drink. Typical Sam. She came from a poorer part of Rustboro, apparently all the prosperity Devon Corp made for the City didn't reach everywhere. But she would still always give him a bed and something to eat when he came by to visit. She took care of Pokemon, and so she took care of people too. She was also a fellow team instinct member...
"Good to finally get a chance to talk. I've heard about some of your battles, but I've been booked this whole trip so far." Sam was a breeder, but the more you got to know her, the more you realize how well-rounded she was. Her grandfather was once a decent gym leader, but was dethroned by a vastly better trainer at some point. Heck of a story... but her Gramps taught her everything he knew about Pokemon, and got her officially certified as a referee. A breeder with a background in gym battles and official certification as a referee. She had been reffing the whole voyage. Turns out she's the only one on this boat with accreditation. I could see in her eyes she hadn't gotten a healthy amount of rest. This was the first time we really got to talk, since things were now getting closer to the finals...
"I understand, appreciate you reffing. Having this tournament really helped pas time for everyone. Long ride, huh?" I could taste the brand of Lemonade. These things were all the rage these days, in vending machines all over. The high demand made them kinda pricey though. Good stuff, the lemons come from somewhere tropical I think... Alola, was it? These were less sweet, with a concentrated lemon flavor. But it was good that way... "Hows Parker doing?" I nodded at the Zangoose, that was the name Sam gave him. I remember Sam was working on teaching Parker some new moves. Sam just glanced over to Parker.
Parker the Zangoose, as if to understand my question, closed its eyes, changed its stance... a peculiar stance for a melee fighter like a Zangoose typically is... not a fighting stance... not the stance of a creature ready to attack, shifting its weight to spring forward, but instead balanced its weight between its feet, standing tall, breathing in and out. Almost like meditation... Parker raised its arms slowly, then with one motion, sliced the air with both its claws. Coltrane didn't even notice at first what had happened. Then he noticed the empty flower pot sitting a few feet in front of Parker had been sliced to shreds, as if the cutting force of Parker's claws had reached across space, maintaining its energy. Parker opened its eyes, and looked at Coltrane. Its eyes twinkled a little, looking proud of itself. Coltrane figured it out in a few seconds.
"Psycho cut... nifty... haven't seen many Pokémon outside psychic types learn that one. "
"Yeah. It's a trade off, teaching your Pokemon moves of another type. Gives ya more versatility, at the expense of using moves of a different type. You remember that paper I wrote about moves and types?"
"Mmhm." Coltrane remembered that Sam used to write articles in some local magazines about pokemon. The one she was referring to talked about what pokemon types really meant. Pokemon types are like some sort of affinity for the elements, and they are classified by what element they have affinity for. A normal type like her Zangoose would be versetile, Normal almost seemed like the "miscellaneous" category for pokemon, and normal types tended to be well-rounded, which explains how Zangoose could learn a move like psycho cut. Certainly, some training must have been done... but how does one train a normal type to do something like that... Parker would have had to actually learn how to train its mind to be able to do something like that it's just... is Parker doing Yoga?! I watched in disbelief as a zangoose assumed a cobra position on the floor. "Is he doing what I think he is?!"
"Why yes, Yoga is a great way to train your mind and your body, I do it too sometimes."
"Body and soul is good...what about soul?" Coltrane had a topic he really wanted to bring up with Sam... he had never really asked her about THAT before.
"Well... I guess I haven't given it much thought..."
"Well, I could always introduce you to-"
Coltrane's sentence was cut off by a violent jerking motion, as the entire vessel was shaken to its core by an unknown force. Doesn't this always seem to happen in these kind of stories? Oh, whatever, I'm a narrator, I'm paid to deliver a story, not to ask questions. Anyway...
Sam was just fine, she fell softly on a spare yoga mat, and parker was already on the ground in child's pose so he was fine. Coltrane? Not so lucky.
"aaaauuuuggghh... me duelo..." Coltrane rubbed his many sore parts after that rude interruption. Lemon pudding stuck her head out of his jacket again and looked around curiously, wondering who, or what, had interrupted her midday nap. Unfortunately, Coltrane's predicament was excruciated by the sudden increase in the boat's rocking. Sam simply handed him a paper bag while she exited her room to go topside to see what was going on. Halfway to the stairs all the electric components on the ship flickered in and out, as if a surge had run through.
"What the..." Sam kept moving, a few other confused passengers joined her. Sam could make out the sound of the wind even before she got close to the deck. "Sounds like a helluva storm." Sam muttered. The others grunted in agreement. But in the back of her mind, she was thinking this was more of a storm. The door that opened to the deck was way harder to move than normal due to the wind. It took her and two others to force it open.
Outside was a violent maelstrom, the sky a color Sam had never seen before. It was hard to describe... the clouds were dark, but a deep hue of azure was mixed in... it was strikingly beautiful. The waves were picking up. The wind was howling like a pack of wolves, and the air was damp, cool, and fresh. Thunder sounded like the guns of an invading legion of artillery and soldiers. Her clothes wavered and flapped in the violent gale. But the thing she noticed the most was a light. A brilliant and eye-catching glow. The form seemed to move through the sky. Judging from other's awed expressions, they saw it too, and heard it. A shriek not unlike a bird of prey rang out and filled the sky. A sound that seemed to echo on forever. The sound seemed to have come from the light. sure enough, the light was moving, it was alive! It was a creature unlike anything she had seen before.
Sam had spent her life around Pokémon and understanding them, not just their attributes, not just how to breed them properly, or to breed Pokémon of particular traits, but on an emotional level. This cry was communicating something. This impressive creature clearly showed up for a reason... Pokémon like this weren't seen every day. She got the message loud and clear. The great bird flew away into the horizon, leaving this group of people in shock and amazement. They were all so dumbstruck, they didn't immediately begin chattering. They all just looked at one another, and came to a mutual understanding.
Events like this happen for a reason.
-END PART ONE
Hey readers. I'm working full time now. Will try to keep this coming. I know I've been inactive, and that I've posted two new first parts of new stories. This is going to go in an exciting new direction. More in the next author's notes.
-Solo, peacin' out