Adrian POV
My bed is usually relaxing, I easily fall asleep when I'm in it but not tonight. Tonight, it feels like its smothering me in a fire. Like I'm drowning in fire. Sweat covers my body and my head feels like it's about to split open. Finally, I had enough. I threw off my blankets and shot out of bed. I sat down at my desk and took a few deep breaths, my body cooling down in the meantime. I could see that, unlike me, my Murkrow was still fast asleep and relaxed on its perch.
My upcoming journey must be getting to me, it is very important to me. You see my dad died before he could teach me how to battle, but he always talked about how awesome pokemon were. He also frequently showed me the family gym. This gym has been passed down from generation to generation in our family, the eldest child always received the responsibility of running the family gym. My father taught me the importance of the family gym and my responsibility as the eldest child, he taught me what the gym mean to our family. I saw so many amazing battles, I felt alive when I watched these battles and I realized that I wanted to give other people the same feelings I had with pokemon battling. So I dedicated myself to the goal of becoming the best gym leader my family has ever seen.
On the day my dad was going to start my training, he collapsed. At the hospital the doctors were able to save him, but they told us that he had the heart of a 60 year old man in 40 year old man. As long as my father didn't push himself, he would live. My mom, she ran a breeding service for flying type pokemon and since it made a lot of money, we were able to stay afloat while my dad recovered. After a bit, my father returned to his duties as a gym leader. But on his first battle back he pushed himself too hard and died of a heart attack soon after he gave the trainer their badge.
When the new of my father's death reached Sinnoh, my grandfather immediately moved back to Alana in order to help us. My mother ran the breeding business, and our main source of income, while my grandfather took to raising me and my younger brother. My mother was completely occupied with her business and her children so she didn't have the time to run the gym and for my grandfather, his days of being a pokemon trainer were well behind him. So, the gym gradually fell into disrepair until one night, during a storm, the entire thing collapsed. And the gym has stayed a ruin ever since.
I walk by it every day whenever I go into the village. I can't help but feel depressed at the state of the gym. It was like everything that my father stood for, his ideals and morals, never mattered in the first place. To me, my goals for the future were tied to the gym, were never going to happen. This attitude starting to me so much that my grandfather noticed. We talked about it for a while and finally decided that I would go on a pokemon journey.
This journey means so much to me. I will finally be able to start down the path that will achieve my goals, bringing joy to other people through battling. And, if I'm really being honest with myself, it's a chance to feel closer to my dad. He never got the chance to teach me, and he never got the chance to see me become a trainer. If I do this then maybe it'll feel like he's right there with me, watching and being proud of the things I do. And when I complete my journey, I'm going to reopen the gym, so I can continue his legacy of giving trainers a love of pokemon battles. I just need this, so I can feel closer to my dad and for him to be proud of me in some way, even if he's not around to see it.
I looked at the clock and I realized it wasn't even midnight yet. I guess if I'm not going to sleep, I might as well do something to prepare for my journey. I pulled out an in depth guide to the Alana region. I decided to go with just 8 gyms and their respective cities because instead of hitting up as many gyms as possible I can focus more on catching and training pokemon, giving them a more indepth battle experience. And of course there are the towns surrounding the cities that provide people with a spot to relax from city life.
The Alana regions is divided up into 4 districts, each district representing a kingdom of Alana's past. The northernmost district is called Dios, formerly the Kingdom of Dios. Dios is home to most of the mountains in Alana, in fact at least 90% of their landmass are mountains and plateaus. The climate is mostly moderate, with forest and grasslands being the main ecosystems that inhabit the district. However, the mountains themselves are pretty barren, with snow and ice covering them most of the time. There are rumors of a hidden forest within the tallest mountain that is said to contain a plethora of pokemon. A hundred years ago it was discovered that a high concentration of precious minerals and ores were buried in these mountains, so companies like the Devon Corporation moved in and started mining the mountains. It took at least a decade to discover that the intense mining operations were driving pokemon from their homes and all mining operations were halted in order to rectify this. Today, mining continues but at a slower speed compared to when it started. Now only a few select mines are still open while pokemon have returned to their homes. Still the mines produce a multitude of resources from iron to fossils to evolution stones. Truly Dios is the mining capital of Alana, maybe even the world.
The first city I chose in Dios is Midith City. Situated at the base of Mt. Orion, Midith City is the capital of mining in Dios. Founded by Dios's first king, King Midith, the city was the largest in its day. Even back then people understood that valuables lied beneath the mountains of Dios as stone was being harvested from the outside of the mountains. Midith's castle stood in the center of the city and was a place of commerce and trade. When the king passed away the city was named after him. Fast forward a couple hundred years and the city has retained its medieval architecture, the only notable city to do so. The city has strict laws preventing the altering of the style of architecture from the days of King Midith, even new buildings have to adhere to these laws. Internally the buildings are modern bout one the outside it looks like you wondered back in time. Maybe that's why every year they throw a medieval themed festival, raking in millions. Combine that with its lucrative mining operations and you make Midith City into a rich city. Then there's the Devon Corporation. They arrived in Midith back when mining was really starting to take off and they bought Midith's castle to use as a headquarters. The presence they have in the city generates millions since they can revive fossils, sell precious ores and stones as well as generate power for the city. Though they have stayed clear of the evolution stone business as the branch manager seems uninterested in it.
The Devon Corporation proved to be so popular that a town was constructed nearby and was named Devon Town. Originally a place where Devon employees could stay while in Alana Devon Town experienced an influx of tourists who wished to see the mountains and relax after a long journey before proceeding to Midith City. Tourists came so often that a resort was constructed and contests and showcases are frequently held there.
The second city in Dios I chose was Castle Bors. A Duke rebelled against King Midith and stole stone from Mt. Orion to in an attempt to build an even grander castle compared to the king's. However, King Midith attacked the Duke and defeated him. This caused the castle's construction to stop and to this day the castle remains unfinished. The residents of the castle fled to the nearby town when the Duke was defeated. The sudden population surge caused the town to expand into a moderate city. Due to their close proximity to the castle the city took on its name. Over the years multiple attempts have been made at finishing constructing the castle, but each time it ends in near fatal disaster. It got to the point that no company would ever take up the role of finishing the castle. So an attempt at tourism was made until a massive crater formed between the town and the castle, halting any attempt at going near it. A few years after the crater appeared, the gym was built at the very bottom of it. The rumor is that a secret tunnel was discovered in the crater and that the gym was built on it in order to prevent anyone from venturing into the tunnel.
Daisy Town was built in order to supply Castle Bors with food. An abundance of Daisys surround the town, making the town stick out in a sea of white. Grain, vegetable and fruit fields also surround the town. The aroma of the flowers and the food grown in the town has given rise to an increase in bug and grass type pokemon. And because of that, honey industry has popped up. This honey industry is mostly used by Pokemon trainers to catch wild pokemon but honey from Daisy Town is shipped around Alana, making the honey a local pride. An interesting town but the only noteworthy thing about it is that it's a popular spot to host contests and performances.
And now we move down to the Sera District. The Sera District has, unlike Dios, a majority of forests. So unlike Dios, Sera generates economy not through natural resources but through artificial means. Sera was the first to develop trains and railroads, later moving on to cars and finally planes. This transportation monopoly meant that across the region, any form of transportation came from Sera or at least money was paid to Sera. Of course there must be an industrial complex to produce these vehicles, which has since expanded to include Poke balls,mining equipment and computers. Sera also hosts the financial trade center, meaning all forms of trade and stock run through Sera at one point. And because of its flat and forest environment, Sera holds more cities than any other district.
Mordin City is not a city that contains a gym but its still a notable city. If I had to choose a city to embody the word modern, it would be Mordin. Mordin serves a technological, financial and transportation hub for the entire region. All train lines lead to the city, Central Station. Only one airport exists in Mordin, but it's so massive that it takes up 10% of the city. Throughout the city are towers that take all signals relating to financial transactions and funnels the signals through a hub that stores and process the transactions, every transaction in Alana goes to this hub. And let's not forget Dorin Labs, the massive technological and communication company. Dorin Labs are the people who came up with signal system for all financial transactions, and they gained the exclusive rights to implement them across Alana. This company is a one hit wonder as they haven't come out with any new products and the only service they offer is maintenance of the signal system.
Farther south is Albert City, named after the last king of Sera. The capital of Sera and Alana itself, the city pales in comparison to Mordin. The city is a typical modern city with asphalt roads, electricity and cars. Two points of interest in the city stand out, the gym and the Royal Palace. The gym is located in a massive clock tower, situated next to the Royal palace. Easily the tallest building in the entire city, maybe even the region, the gym is situated at the very top. The gym has a quirk that allows any trainer to challenge the gym leader, but only for an hour. And to get to the top of the tower you must be exactly in the right place at the right time. The internal elevator system takes at least 45 minutes to get to the top and the elevators are only operated during the hour that trainers can challenge the gym, so if you miss the elevator then you are done. Of course there is another way of getting to the top, from the outside. The outside of the tower boasts an impressive array of stairs and small elevators. The thing about this route is that it takes much longer to get up with it and that the small elevators are also timed and these small elevators are essential to getting up to the top. But from a distance the tower is certainly impressive and rivals even the Prism Tower in Kalos in terms of beauty.
The Royal Palace was the residence of the royal family of Sera before the monarchy was dissolved. The last living descendent of the royal family died over a hundred years ago and in their will they gave the palace to the Pokemon League for use in the region's pokemon conferences. The palace was a massive complex with an entire village built around it in order to support the residents of the palace. So when the palace was given to the League, the village and grounds outside the palace was also given as well. Ever since then, the Pokemon League has been hosted there. Every year the Albert Conference, the yearly tournament for the league, is hosted within the palace and it usually draws a massive crowds of not just trainers but tourists wishing to see the next champion. Though there are some parts of the palace restricted from the public, especially the lower levels.
South of Albert City, right on the coast line is the town of White Cliffs. Named White Cliffs due to its proximity to the worldwide famous white cliffs that make up a portion of Alana's coast. White Cliffs is a small town with a booming tourist business, supported by multiple hotels that have been constructed in order to accommodate the year round tourism that the town has. Something that they let people do in the cliffs is rock climbing and exploring the natural cave system hidden in the cliffs by a small entrance. The caves, initially, are just like any other cave with stalagmites and stalactites but they soon give way to something truly spectacular, the Crystal Caves.
No one knows how the Crystal Caves came to be, every attempt at studying it has ended in failure. The tools that the scientists used either overloaded or registered nonexistent things. This doesn't mean that scientists have given up on studying the caves, in fact, a Devon lab has been established just before the entrance to the Crystal Caves. As for the cave itself, all I've ever seen of it are pictures from the internet. It looks like energy from a rainbow is trapped in time, forever encased within a diamond like structure. It's a brilliant display of every single color in existence, even colors you never knew existed. The material of the caved itself is harder than any other substance on Earth as every attempt has been made at trying to cut a piece of the cave and transport it elsewhere, it just can't be done. Finally, when you've gone as far as you can in the cave you stumble upon crystal statues of pokemon. The statues themselves are causing so much of a mystery that the final chamber has been sealed off and only a high ranking member of the Devon Corporation or the government can access it. After beating the gym at White Cliffs, I'm definitely going there.
Then we go west into the Leo District. Unlike the other districts, who all started out as their own independent kingdoms Leo originally started off as a part of Sera. Leo is nearly cut off from Sera due to a massive mountain range in between the two, the only way they were connected was through a narrow road way that ran all the way around the mountain before finally ending in Leo. So the people thought that they did not want to be ruled by a kingdom they barely had any connection and so they rebelled against Sera. They defeated soldier after soldier thanks to ambushes setup along the narrow road and eventually Sera allowed Leo to become independent. Leo, however, now had a people to feed and an economy to sustain as Sera was no longer going to help them out now. So Leo turned to the sea in order to sustain itself, from fishing to the pearl industry to basically anything related to the ocean.
The majority of the people in Leo are concentrated in one city, Capson City. A massive coastal city that compared to other cities, feels more like a quaint town than anything else. All the buildings except for the central portion of the city was barely two stories high, three for some others. The center is where the city's government, business and financial are housed. The rest is just suburbs, complete with locally owned restaurants and groceries stores. It's really a city where everybody knows everybody by first name. Then there's the docks, the real heart of the city. You never really see any cruise ship there, only fishing and exploration boats. Some are so massive you can easily see them from within the city. The gym itself in buried beneath the sea bed, an elaborate tunnel system made out of glass that leads directly to the gym. The entire tunnel is made out of glass, giving you a view of the ocean from top to bottom.
A small town does exist just outside of Capson's limits, Cee Town. It's located next to a vast freshwater lake, water from this lake is used all across Leo and parts of Sera because the water itself is delicious and refreshing, even if its been left out in the sun for hours. There's a small stream that feeds into the lake and if you follow it you'll come across an underground glacier. It's a strange glacier, it appears to be in a perpetual state, always melting itself so water can be deposited in the lake but never shrinking in any way. The glacier is so strange that the gym is located at the entrance to the glacier. Contests and performances are also frequently held at the glacier.
Going across the sea to the finale district of Alana, Ion. Ion is a massive island separated from the rest of Alana by a thin sea. The capital of Ion is Sean City. Sean City is an extremely historic city. For one it has a massive graveyard honoring the defenders of Ion, pokemon and humans alike. Some say one the darkest night of the year, their spirits wander the land of the living for the night. The historic sight I'm most interested in is the gym. Two ancient towers were constructed with the intent of serving as watchtowers for any incoming enemies and to link the two towers together, a castle was constructed on the arch between them. Years have gone by since the towers have been needed so the city decided to move the gym into the castle on the arch. And with that move came a gimmick to get up there, each day you must climb a tower to get up to the gym but no one knows which tower to climb up as it changes every day. Though compared to the gym in Albert City its far easier to overcome.
On the other side of Ion is Horn Town, named after a massive horn discovered just beneath the surface. Some say the horn is of an ancient battle between legendary pokemon and others say it was a man made horn dedicated to the pokemon of the region. Either way the horn is too degraded for studying so the gym was set up in order to prevent any unwanted individuals from getting even close to it. Another thing is that this year the Wallace Cup is being held in Horn Town, coordinators from all over the world are going to be there. Bet it will be an amazing sight.
And now finally we move on to my home, the Village of Soaring Skies. It's located on Haven Island, located in the sea between the two parts of Alana. Colonists from Sera attempted to journey to Ion across the sea, only to come across a storm the likes of which had never been seen before or since. The colonists became stranded on a previously undiscovered island where they decided to wait out the storm. It took months to calm down and years before anyone ever found the island. By then the colonists had constructed a fully functioning city that had thrived despite the conditions of the storm. They named the island Haven and their city Sanctuary as both had given them shelter when they most needed it. Eventually some people moved to the other side of the island in order to escape the city life, and so they founded the Village of Soaring Skies. Which, compared to Sanctuary, was a lot smaller and had a lot more natural things like forests and lakes. Interestingly enough, Sanctuary is the place where contests are held while the village held the gym. Fate is funny sometimes.
And that wraps up the important bits of my journey. Of course Alana has way more gyms than 8 and a lot more towns but I think 8 is enough for me. Reviewing all this information has finally calmed me down enough for me to go to sleep. I pulled my blankets onto me and slowly drifted off to sleep.
Jensen POV
"Leader Ruby, we've discovered that Professor Aspen has recently come into the possession of a large number of psychic pokemon." I said. I watched Ruby stare out through the window, the ocean rushing past it as the ship moved through the waters. Her graceful frame never giving away a hint of emotion or thought.
"I sense hesitation in your voice, speak. You are my most trusted agent and advisor." Ruby said, never looking back at me.
"For the past few years, we've been building up our strength. Remaining hidden at all times, especially from authorities. Why are we now moving into the open?" I asked.
"The legend of King Albert. Once, all the districts were at war with each other. The war lasted for thousands of years, entire cities were burned to the ground. Until along came King Albert. Albert had four children, and he trained each child as a warrior. He sent the three eldest out into the war, confident that they could end the war in Sera's favor. All three children came back in coffins. The first was defeated in battle and slain by the enemy commander, what was left of his body was recovered by his men. The second child was ambushed in their camp, and killed while they slept. The third was poisoned, an assassin snuck in earlier and poisoned the food in the hopes of killing the top commanders at dinner. The king's final child was just becoming an adult and would soon join the war, not wanting the same fate to befall his final child King Albert devised a radical plan. He constructed a device that harnessed the power of psychic pokemon to a degree that allowed him to influence the human mind. In an instant the device was activated and the king ordered the war to stop and peace come to the land. The device forced everyone to drop their weapons and unite each kingdom, creating the Alana we see today. The device was shut down after this and hidden away to parts unknown, freedom and choice soon returned to the people. Albert, however, grew depressed at what he had done and soon passed away. The child became king and ordered the monarchy be disbanded and a democracy be established in the hopes of rectifying Albert's crime and give more freedom to the people." Ruby answered.
"But it's just a legend, no way it can be real." I said.
"Every legend begins with a seed of truth, and I have found the seed. Now I will finish what Albert couldn't and bring peace to not just Alana but the whole world. When I activate the device, it will keep going and going and going. Humanity will finally be at peace. Aggression, hatred, prejudice, anger, loss, it will all be gone." Ruby said.
"And that's why you need psychic pokemon." I stated.
"Yes, but we'll need more than that. So much more and not just pokemon, but technology as well. Team Hunter's goals are finally within reach and humanity will look upon this moment and revere it."
Author's Notes
Hopefully I've given you guys a lot to think about with Alana and Team Hunter. Though a few things need to be addressed. The Alana region is based off the British Isles as I tried to incorporate elements from the Isles while also creating an original backstory for the locations.
I've noticed that a lot team lineups consist of overpowered pokemon like Lucario or Dragonite, so if you guys can keep it to a reasonable level that'd be great.
And if you didn't see your character not accepted, then I'm still thinking about it.