Hello all, I know it has been a few years, almost 5 in fact, but I have come back to continue the story of our dear Luke after all this time. Last chapter, he was home, playing a game that was left for him, but was surprised when the game came to life. Mew had put him to sleep as he was taken away to a new world. Two figures, Elana and Ace, had witnessed everything, plotting schemes we could only wish to know. Now though, we move out story to the wonderous world of Pokémon.
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Luke slowly came to, feeling the shard blades of grass under his neck, poking his skin. He shifted slightly as he woke up, picking himself off of the ground. He looked around as he brushed off his cloths, brushing off leaves and dirt. He found himself in a forest, the trees tall and thick, only letting through strokes of an emerald light. He stepped forward, feeling the earth crunch under his bare feet, feeling the leaves crumble. He chuckled a little bit, feeling a touch ticklish. He smiled innocently and took another step, enjoying the feeling.
As he kept walking, he looked around with curiosity, unsure of where he was. Then, as he started to think about that, he then realized, he didn't know who he was. He didn't know what his name was, or what he was doing in the woods. He didn't feel panicked by it, nor did he think it was strange. He just didn't know, and he didn't think it should matter. It was almost as if he was not meant to be who he was, but needed to be who he will become. It was a perplexing feeling, but it made sense to him.
He continued on his path, not really caring where he was going, until he came across a small, broken down shack next to a lake. He tilted his head and walked near it, wandering if anyone was there, or if it had just been abandoned to nature. As he got closer, he noticed that a few things were off.
The door had been knocked off its hinges, there were very large webs scattered around the house, and various nests were made under the overhang of the roof, but only a few had been used. Luke continued to make his way inside the broken doorway, seeing the inside was even more webbed than the outside. He stepped in, feeling the sticky webbing under his feet. He couldn't hold back a small chuckle as it clung to his bare skin. As he stepped forward, walking through the webs, he felt a small chill coming from the next room in. He continued, his curiosity getting the better of him. The door was missing here too.
The next room was a broken kitchen, with more nests in the corners, but different than the ones placed outside, almost as if it were for a different creature. Luke noted that and kept walking, wanting to find the source of the chill, but stopped dead in his tracks as he heard a pained scream from behind the one door that was still up.
Luke instinctively slid next to the wall and crept forward, getting closer to the closed door. It looked as if it was to a closet or a food pantry. He didn't know how he knew, or where the thought came from, but it didn't matter, he was preoccupied with trying to figure out why someone was screaming in pain, and who it came from. He wanted to help, he felt as if he NEEDED to help.
As he came on the door, he pushed his ear close, listening.
"So why is a freak like you here? Are you trying to steal out berries? What do you want? Tell me!" A voice shouted in anger and frustration.
"I-I told you, I was lost. I-I just wanted shelter." A weak voice spoke in response. It was scared and hurt, trying not to cry.
"Now, why don't I believe that? Aren't your kind supposed to travel in packs? Why aren't you with your pack? Did they kick you out because you're a freak?" The stronger voice seemed to growl. "And your lost? So what? You decided to try to stay in our territory? Steal out food? Take advantage of our home while we were gone?"
"I-I'm sorry, it was a mistake. I-I didn't know it was yours. J-just please let me go, I-I promise I won't come back." The weaker voice whimpered like a hurt dog.
"Oh, I know you won't come back, you know why?" The voice sneered. "Because I'm gonna freeze you up and toss you in the lake." His snickered. "Then the forest and your pack won't have to worry about a freak like you parading around."
The smaller voice whimpered and started crying, scared.
Luke couldn't take it anymore, he had to do something. He stepped back, standing in front of the door. He pulled up his foot and slammed it into the door, breaking it off the hinged, just like the rest of the doors in the house he had seen so far. He looked around the cold room, seeing small creatures standing around, four in total. He saw one that came up to his waist, an orange otter with a lighter orange floaty around his neck, a few marks around his eyes that looked like makeup. He saw a large spider hanging from the ceiling, a strange face on it's back, along with a weird red bug like millipede that was to his knees.
He looked at the last one and felt his stomach drop. It was a small yellow and black animal of sorts, Pokémon, he thought, noted, but for later. Its arms had been webbed to the ground, immobile, and its feet were frozen behind him, the chill climbing its legs. He was shaking, freezing and scared for his life.
"I won't let you hurt him." Luke looked back to the others, the spider on the ceiling to his right, the red to his left, and the strange otter between his and the small golden one on the ground. "Just let him go."
The otter laughed and looked at the other bug-like Pokémon. "Can you believe this human? He burst in wanting to be a hero to this freak." He turned and growled at the small golden Pokémon in disgust. He turned back to Luke and looked him over. "And look, he's just as weird, his hair is silver." He laughed and looked back at the yellow Pokémon. "And look, he has your eyes." He gave a mocked motherly voice, then straightened up. He waved behind him. "Just ignore him and maybe he will go away."
"How is he a freak? He looks fine to me?" Luke said blatantly, not really understanding the normality here. "And no, I will not go away. Not until he is safe." Luke stood firm, looking down on the orange otter.
The orange Pokémon looked back, confused. "What did you say?"
"I said I am not leaving without him." Luke said firmly.
"Wait, you can understand me?" The otter put up his hands, patting the air in front of him. "That there is some freaky shit. How the hell can you understand a Pokémon? No one can, except that one weird Meowth guy that hangs with humans, but he's a Pokémon himself. What the hell is going on here?" He looked confused and kind of scared. He sighed and looked back at the others. "Freaks all day, I'm telling you." He looked back at the small yellow Pokémon. "You got weird friends kid." He looked at the bugs and waved to the side. "Just kill him. I don't want to have to deal with this guy blabbing about what we did. We can send him down the lake too."
The spider Pokémon shuffled and seemed to nod, turning around, facing away from Luke. His backside twitched and started spewing webs, a jetting stream shooting at Luke. He stepped to the side, avoiding them casually.
Luke didn't feel scared, even though they were threatening his life, or currently trying to kill him. He didn't care, he just wanted to get the small yellow one to safety. He stepped closer, avoiding another shot of webs.
"Spinarak, you idiot, he's a human, just shoot him." The otter shouted and waved. He turned to the small red one and shouted again. "And why are you just standing there, Venipede? Get him you idiot!"
"Yes boss!" It chittered back, skittering closer.
Luke didn't wait for him to try to attack before stepping around the otter though, slipping past and grabbing the cold yellow Pokémon. He pulled him hard, snapping the webs and breaking the ice off. But while he was turned around, doing so, the Venipede launched itself onto his back, biting down hard and breaking skin. Luke felt the fangs puncture, and felt them inject something into his skin, but ignored it as he picked up the shivering Pokémon and ran. He dashed out the door and kept running outside the shack. He kept running, his heart pumping fast, pushing the poison though his body. He began breathing heavy, his vision clouding. He ran into a path, looking both ways, he saw no one. He started down, stepping onto the path, but felt a sharp cold pain on his back, feeling cold crystals grow on his skin. He screamed in the sudden freezing pain.
He dropped to his knees, trying to keep the strength to keep going, to try to get to safety, to try to save the golden Pokémon in his arms. But he couldn't, he didn't have the strength. The poison ran though his body, sapping it all away, the cold froze his skin, freezing his muscles as the ice grew. He fell forward, leaning to the side, at least trying not to land on the small Pokémon in his arms. He held him close, trying to not let go, his vision breaking. He grew colder, tired. He tried to stay awake, but soon failed. He just didn't have the strength. He soon blacked out, still clutching the Pokémon in his arms.
A shadowed figure walked up, seeing the boy in the path, clutching the Pokémon, now unconscious as well. It seemed to sneer down at him and poked him. As he saw the boy breathing, he sighed, kneeling next to him. As he did, the trio of Pokémon burst out of the bushes, each one ready to fight. The figure shook his head, pulling out a Pokéball, clicking the button. A bright light burst out and a large tree like Pokémon emerged.
The trio flinched and backed up a step. The tree grunted something, and the trio ran, scared.
The figure looked back at the boy, looking him over. "Here not even a day and you already made trouble, who would have figured?" The figure looked up, his face becoming clear, his brown hair waving in the soft breeze, his emerald eyes gleaming in the light from the trees. "Orotto, break the ice, I need to get to the poison on his back." The tree nodded, vines emerging from his trunk, like snakes as they struck the ice like a whip, shattering the ice in a snap. The brown-haired figure pulled something from his bag, a small bottle spray. He squirted something on the boys back, the spray fizzing fiercely as it broke down the poison. "That will hold for just a bit, but he needs better treatment." He spoke to himself, sounding disappointed. "Well, lets get going I guess." He looked at the large tree. "I'm going to switch you out for something a little less…. Aggressive." The tree seemed to nod as the brown-haired figure clicked the Pokéball, the tree getting sucked back into it. He pulled out another Pokéball, clicking it open as a small bear with a crescent moon on his forehead. "Teddiursa, carry the small one. We need to go." The bear nodded, and picked him up, carrying him carefully. The yellow Pokémon nodded awake slowly, looking around.
"Wh-what happened?" He looked up at the bear. "Wh-who are you?" He struggled weakly in his arms.
"Relax kid, your hurt and still tied up. Your trainer saved you. Just relax until we get to the Pokémon Center. They're gonna fix you boys up nice and easy." The bear tried to sound calming as he continued to carry him.
"Trainer? He's not my trainer. I don't have one." He relaxed a bit, looking up at the unconscious human. "He …. Just saved my life." His head swayed in the bears arms, falling back asleep, the cold breaking down his energy.
"Not your trainer? Well he sure acted like he was. He seems like a nice guy." The bear smiled, also looking at him.
"Y-yeah." The small Pokémon closed his eyes and fell back asleep, thinking about what happened.
+0+0+0+0+ Later at the Pokémon Center +0+0+0+0+
Luke woke up in the Pokémon Center, the human wing. Next to him was the Nurse Joy assigned to the Center, adjusting the machine, the brown-haired figure, leaning against the wall, and the small golden Pokémon he saved, sitting on the bedside, looking down at his bandaged paws. Luke looked around at them, sitting up. "What happened?"
"That's what we would like to know?" The brown-haired figure stepped forward. "Why were a trio of feral Pokémon chasing you down, attacking you and that Riolu?"
"Riolu?" Luke looked down at the Pokémon next to him. Riolu looked back up at him. As they looked into each other's eyes, Luke smiled. "Are you ok, Riolu?"
Riolu teared up and lunged at Luke, hugging him. "Th-thank you for saving me. I was going to die there." The Riolu bawled his eyes out, tears flowing down his cheeks.
Luke smiled and hugged him back, petting his eyes. "It's ok, I wasn't going to let them hurt you like that." He pulled back and looked at him again. "And you are not a freak, ok? You look perfectly normal to me."
The Riolu sniffled and smiled, nodding, wiping away tears.
"You didn't answer my question kid." The brown-haired figure snapped.
"Ace, please, calm down, he isn't fully recovered." Nurse Joy looked back at him. "He still needs rest. He should not be stressing right now."
Luke looked back at Ace. "They were going to kill Riolu. I saved him. Simple as that."
"Why would you save him? Nature was on its course, you should let it run through." Ace glared down at him.
Luke glared back. "I will not let anyone be pushed down or threatened like that, especially for how they look or how they are born. I did what I did, so why are you freaking out about it?" Luke started showing agitation, the machines beeping steadily as he continued to glare.
Ace looked at the machines, keeping an eye on his vitals. He sighed and looked back. "Relax kid, you just put your life in danger. It's not smart."
Luke sat back, keeping his hand on Riolu's head. "And? I saved this guys life. I wouldn't change a thing."
Riolu looked back at him, eyes still teary.
Ace looked at both of them. "Alright, whatever. So, is he yours? Or is he a feral Pokémon as well?"
Luke looked confused. "Mine? What do you mean?"
Ace and Nurse Joy looked a little surprised. "Is he your Pokémon? Are you his trainer?" Ace reiterated.
Luke shook his head. "I'm sorry, I don't know. I just found him in the shack."
"Shack? Wait, you just found him? Do you know what a trainer is?" Ace started firing questions off fast.
"Ace, I need to check him for head trauma, please step out. He may have amnesia." Nurse Joy quickly started ushering Ace out the door before he could object.
"I'm sorry, I don't really remember anything miss." He looked at her, apologetically.
"Well, what's the last thing you remember? Obviously not waking up here, you remember how you found the Riolu." Nurse Joy started examining his head, looking for any scratches or breaking in his skull.
"Waking up in the forest. I was just there. I don't even know my name." Luke sat still as she moved around him, examining him.
"Hmm, sounds like amnesia, were you hurt when you woke up? Any headaches? Pain anywhere?" Nurse Joy stepped back, looking at his vitals.
"No, I felt fine." He thought a moment, as if searching for anything. "I just know how to talk, breath, and move. I don't know much else than the necessities. Sorry." Luke looked like he was a disappointment.
"Oh, sweetie, don't be sorry, it's not your fault. We just need to know who you are. I couldn't find any identification or a trainer card on you. Your cloths are pretty basic, and you don't have pockets. And you have no bag, so there wasn't anything to find." She looked at the Riolu. "And this one isn't hurt to bad, we patched him up just fine. Everything should be healed by the end of the day." She smiled at him and he smiled back shyly.
"Thank you." Luke smiled as well and pet Riolu again, who responded by nuzzling his hand happily. "But what's a trainer card?" Luke looked lost.
Nurse Joy sighed and looked defeated. She had no way to tell who he was, no name to search, he wasn't in any database, and no one reported someone like him missing. Hair like that would be hard to miss or forget. "Well, for now we can set up a temporary trainer card for you, I guess. There can't be any harm in that. Once you know who you are, then we can transfer everything to your original card."
Luke smiled kindly. "Thank you, but …" He trailed off, something still bugging him. "What about my name?"
Nurse Joy looked troubled. "Well one thing is for sure, we can't let Ace name you." She grinned a bit. "He's terrible at naming things. His Pokémon especially." She gave a chuckle as Luke smiled along with her.
Luke looked at Riolu and asked. "What do you think? Any ideas?"
Riolu looked at him again, looking into his eyes. "Damian. You look like a Damian to me."
"Then Damian it is." Luke, now Damian, looked at Nurse Joy. "My name is Damian."
Nurse Joy looked a little confused. "U-um, ok, so, Damian, now that we have a name, once you feel strong enough to walk, we just need to take your picture and we can get your documentation in order." She got herself together and smiled like she normally did.
Damian smiled and picked up Riolu, sitting him on his lap as he swung his feet over the edge of the bed, standing with ease. "I feel great already." He smiled at the Nurse, who was worried he might fall over. Riolu sat in his arms, content with where he was.
"Ok, then I guess we can do this now. I just need to get the paperwork together, so stay here and I will come back to get you." She hesitantly left him standing there and did her work.
Ace walked back in, looking at Damian standing next to his bed. "Ok, so you don't know who you are, you saved a wild Pokémon, and your just perfectly fine with this?" He looked perplexed.
"I don't see why I should freak out about it. I mean I'm fine now, so no harm no foul." Damian giggled a bit and sat in a chair near the bed, setting Riolu in his lap.
"And what are you going to do with that?" Ace pointed at Riolu. "It is still feral and not a tamed Pokémon." Ace looked between the two.
Riolu looked up at Damian, a worried expression on his face. "I don't know, I don't know what I'm supposed to do at this point." Damian looked down at the Riolu in his lap. "What do you want to do buddy? Go back in the wild? Do you have family looking for you?"
Riolu shook his head. "They kicked me out because my fur is yellow." Riolu looked at himself, seeming like he hated his fur.
"Hey, I told you, you look normal to me." Damian pulled Riolu's gaze back to him. "Do not ever hate your fur. I think it looks great." Damian smiled happily and pet Riolu again.
Riolu teared up a bit and smiled, nodding. He looked back at Ace and thought a moment. "Teddiursa, I want to talk to him again." He looked at Ace, hoping he understood like Damian did, but Ace was watching Damian intently, as if studying a specimen that was under his microscope. Riolu didn't like that look.
"Teddiursa? Who's that?" Damian looked confused.
"What do you want with my Pokémon? And how do you know about Teddiursa?" Ace gave Damian a glare, boring a searching look in his eyes.
"Riolu just said it." Damian said it like it was natural. "What? You didn't hear him? He was speaking pretty clearly." Damian looked puzzled, tilting his head.
"No one can understand a Pokémon, we can only hear their name." Ace looked almost furious. Damian didn't know why, and neither did Ace. There was no reason why he should be upset. He sighed and rubbed his eyes. "What does it want with my Teddiursa?"
"He wants to talk to him I think." Damian looked back to Riolu. "Yep, wants to talk."
Ace gave a defeated sigh and pulled out the Pokéball with the bear inside, releasing him in front of them. Riolu hopped off Damian's lap, pulling Teddiursa to the corner of the room and whispered to the bear to where Damian couldn't hear him.
They came back over, and the bear pulled on Ace's bag. Ace set it down, not questioning it anymore. The bear pulled out a small black and gold speckled Pokéball, carrying it over to Damian.
"Hey, what do you think your doing?" Ace objected. "That's a luxury ball, that's not meant for starters."
Riolu looked back at him, his eyes pleading. His face spoke all it needed to. Ace understood the Riolu needed this. Ace sighed and leaned against the wall again. "Whatever, I can replace it later at the mall."
"What's a mall?" Damian looked at him confused. "And what's a Luxury Ball?"
"Just shut up and talk to the Riolu." Ace looked away, pondering how little the boy knew.
Riolu took the ball and handed it to Damian, who turned it over in his hands, looking at its sleek design. "When a human meets a Pokémon and grows a bond, the human catches it in this ball. The Pokémon is then owned by the human, who becomes their trainer. Normally there is a battle to catch the Pokémon, but I want you to catch me. So, you can be my trainer. I want to go with you, Damian." Riolu looked up at him, his face determined and set on his goal. He liked this human. He was the first being to ever show him kindness, the first one to accept him for his colored fur. He owed him his life.
Damian was confused but held no objections. "Ok, I just don't know what exactly I'm supposed to do now." He said blatantly.
"Oh, lord Arceus, just touch him with the ball." Ace sounded agitated, like dealing with a child who asked all the wrong questions.
Damian did as he was told, tapping the ball on the Riolu's head softly. In a flash of light, Riolu was gone, the Pokéball beeping and flashing a few times before chiming a sweet tune.
"Did he go in the ball?" Damian looked worried. "How do I get him out?"
"Push the button." Ace said plainly.
Damian tapped the button and Riolu flashed back out, looking happy. He hugged Damian's leg, his tail wagging. "Thank you" he said softly, barely a whisper.
"Well that was touching, really, but what now? Do you know what your going to do now that you have a Pokémon?" Ace asked drily. Damian got a feeling like he should do something but wasn't sure.
"Not really, no. Why? Should I be doing something?" He looked back up at Ace as he put Riolu back in his lap, petting him.
"Well, if you want to travel, your going to have to fight. Meaning, your sweet Riolu there will get hurt, and you need potions. You are going to need money, a trainer card, identification, a wallet, a bag, and some new cloths." Ace looked him over. "And that hair stands out."
"What's wrong with my hair?" Damian reached up to feel it, pulling a few strands in front of his eyes. It was almost metallic, shiny silver. "Mirror?" He looked around but didn't find one. Ace handed one to him, a small hand-held mirror, but a mirror nonetheless. Damian took a good look at himself. His hair was solid silver, not just grey, but a shiny metallic silver. It was dazzling. But what caught his eyes, well, were his eyes. They were a deep crimson, almost a dark blood color, the same as the Riolu's in his lap.
"Wow, I. Look. AWESOME!" Damian shouted, excited and ecstatic. He loved his hair and was overjoyed. He had no complaints.
"Though, it's not normal. You will stand out." Ace said, trying to get his attention.
"And? Why should I care. I look awesome." Damian grinned and giggled. He looked at Riolu. "Why didn't you tell me I had this awesome hair?"
Riolu just shrugged. "Humans are weird. I thought it was normal." He smiled.
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After a few hours of extra care and examinations, just to be safe, Nurse Joy released Damian and Riolu, giving them their new identification and Trainer Card. The nurse gave them a small bag, some starting money, and an extra pair of plain cloths. Damian didn't like them though, so he kept the plain white shirt and pants. He didn't take the shoes either, he liked being barefoot. It felt great. Ace said he would take time to introduce Damian to the world, explaining how things worked. He could put his plans on hold till the time came to take them back up. Damian needed the help first and foremost. Ace claimed he had to take responsibility to do so, he found him on the side of the trail. He had that obligation. Damian had thanked him and started fallowing him around, learning about the world they lived in, learning about Pokémon, what they were, and how the world revolved around them. Ace made sure Damian resisted the urge to talk to other people's Pokémon, especially when people were around. Ace made it clear that it was not normal and needed to be kept under wraps. Damian agreed to what Ace said, being as he was the expert on these things. Riolu almost never went into the Pokéball, unless it was in special circumstances, such as traveling on busses, trains, or if it was raining, or he was hurt. Ace was resentful, but let it slide, having bought extra Pokéballs afterword. Damian and Ace traveled around, Damian usually just doing what he wanted as Ace tried to real him in.
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Next time in A New PokéLife, a new traveler joins the group, and she has a few things to offer in exchange for a secret. A tapestry that tells destiny, and a fight for the ages as Damian finds his special way to fight with his Pokémon.
What kind of dangers does our dear hero face? What mysterious plot is Ace playing at? And what happened to that Floatzel? Does anyone care? NEXT TIME
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Well, after so long, I spent a total of 5 hours writing this. That's all it took. I hope it entertains, and I promise, this will not take another 5 years to update. I will keep writing this, very possibly every week if I can find the time. I thank you for your patience, and I hope this story has not lost its very small fallowing.