Hi! This is the first fic I've ever published although I have been reading them for years. This one is set in the world of Pokemon and uses the same Professors and Gym Leaders as the anime and games do, but the main characters will be OCs. I'm still trying to figure out the logistics of publishing to fanfic so this first chapter is short, but I hope you all enjoy it! Constructive criticism is always welcome :))
Until my father's disappearance, all I had ever wanted to do was become a Pokemon trainer. Pokemon had always been a family affair and our shared love for them brought us closer together. My father, Dr. Koen, was an esteemed Pokemon researcher and was known across the region for his work and my mother had been a gym leader until I was born. It had always been up to me whether I wanted to follow in their footsteps and become a trainer, but as I grew their passion became my own and I decided there was nothing that could deter me from achieving that dream. Or so I had thought at the time.
The last time I saw my father was a month before my 10th birthday, out with his Lapras on Route 21. He'd often let me come out with him while my mom watched from the porch of our house on the Pallet Town shore. It made me feel like I was on top of the world to be out there with my dad, my hero, but that day was different. Even now, I can still vividly recall how very strange that day felt.
The air was stagnant, absent of the usual sea breeze, and everything seemed to move in slow motion.
"Christine, I need to go, something big is happening in the water." He said hurriedly to my mother as he threw on a rain jacket and grabbed Lapras' Pokeball, quickly kissing the latch, before tucking it in his pocket, something clearly awry.
"Gil, what's wrong?" She asked, concern evident in her voice. It was unlike him to suddenly dash off.
"It's happening, this is what I've been working towards my entire life. I need to go." He slammed the door behind himself, leaving my mother and I baffled. As far as we knew he had been researching the biology of Magikarp.
I chased after him, running as fast as I could in an effort to catch up to him, and my mother chased after me. If it hadn't been for her grabbing me I probably would have kept on running into the sea. We watched as water began to swirl around my father and Lapras, getting increasingly violent and covering them more and more. They were a ways offshore, but I could unmistakably see my father turn to look at us on the bank, a stark look of terror in his eyes as the ball of water engulfed him.
"Baby, we need to get back in the house" My mother urged me, nearly having to shout over the wind.
"No, no no no no no." I fought against her trying to pull me away, desperate to stay and watch. The wind was like a whip, stinging my eyes and blurring my vision and the ground began to rumble under our feet.
The shaking of the ground brought us to our knees as a blinding light projected itself from the sphere encapsulating my father. My mother began to pull me to her chest and I let her. Shutting my eyes as hard as I could I tried to concentrate on her pounding heartbeat. I held on to her as hard as I could and her to me, but when the blast came it was to no avail.
I can still remember the sickening sensation of falling through the air, seawater splattering my face, and my head hitting the ground. As I laid sprawled out in the sand I never lost consciousness. I watched as the professor and his researchers funneled out of the lab and came sprinting towards the shore. Some went to my mom and some came to me. My dad's colleague and close friend Professor Oak knelt by my side and grasp my small hand in his.
"I'm so sorry, child." He whispered, kissing my hand gently, perhaps worried I was dead. He continued to speak to me, but the ringing in my ears drowned it out.
"Let's get them both inside!" Someone shouted.
The professor picked me up and rushed me to the house. By this time all my neighbors had emerged from their houses and were lined up in the street watching what was occurring. Still in shock and unable to move, all I could do was stare at their horrified faces and they stared right back. As the professor turned sideways to get through my doorway I got one final glimpse of the ocean. It was calm now. It was like my father had never been there at all and that's what all forensic evidence would say too. Despite a month's worth of investigations and searches my father's body was never found and neither was Lapras. It was agreed to classify him as missing although some people speak of him being missing the same as they would if he were dead.
Every day I would watch the investigation from my window and hope to see him return, but he never did. Finally, my 10th birthday rolled around and I was at the age where I could begin my very own Pokemon journey. My mother encouraged me to go, insisting that it was what my father would have wanted, but I so badly wanted to be home in case he came back that I could not bring myself to leave, especially knowing that she would be alone if I did. The good professor still gifted me a Pokedex for my birthday, a very high tech one that even had regions beyond Kanto, not to encourage me to go, but as a gesture that whenever I was ready to, I could.
Nearly 7 years later I am still in town. Despite enough money being made from the continual usage of father's research papers, I ended up taking a job in Viridian City's Pokemart just to stay occupied and I was escorted there daily by my mother's Medicham.
Today, however, I was off from work and like most days I was off I was sitting by the sea and dipping my feet in. I have been scared of the ocean since that day and have neither swam nor attempted to journey out by Pokemon since, but dipping my feet is a happy medium that doesn't scare me too much and still allows me to feel close to my dad.
I breathe in the sea air, smiling as it fills my lungs. It's nearly May and quite warm. I begin to daydream as I soak up the sun until I am jarred from it by the feeling of something touching my foot.
I quickly yank my feet out of the water and stare intensely into it trying to locate whatever could have touched me, but nothing is there. I reassure myself that it's just my anxiety and slip my feet back in. I was on edge, but as expected, everything was fine and I relaxed.
"Must have just been a Tentacool," I mutter to myself, but no sooner than I do my feet are seized again. This time yanking me completely under.
Immediately I scream, but the sound comes out as no more than bubbles. Thrashing, I desperately try to get away from whatever has ensnared me, but I am just dragged deeper and deeper into the bay.
Then I heard the voices.