Sun & Moon time!
I'm so excited because this is essentially going to be my chance to correct everything wrong I did in the first chapters. I'm also going to have fun writing the characters of Sun and Moon because of the funny dialogue options the games had.
Because this is essentially the new "Season" of HOPL, I'm also going to redo the old disclaimer here:
This fic is not based on the manga. It is also not based on the show. My goal in House of Pokémon Legends is to write the characters as they appear in the games. Everything I do here is solely based on the games, with little nods to the anime and manga here and there. Because of the complicated Pokémon timeline, I'm going to put the games each pair of Legends is based on at the end of the chapter. This fanfic is mainly about the fun happenings between all the Pokémon protagonists, but they also have battles from time to time.
With that out of the way, here's chapter 45 of House of Pokémon Legends!
Chapter 45: The Grand House
I remember when I became Champion.
It was a great honor in Kanto, so I was excited when I learned that they were just opening the Alolan League. I didn't even plan to be Champion myself, but then I found myself standing right there, alone in front of the throne. I didn't sit for some time. I was busy thinking about everything that happened since I first came to Alola. Getting my first Pokémon, hanging out with Hau, meeting the professor and Lillie, learning about the guardian deities and becoming a real Pokémon Trainer. Alola was very different to Kanto in that way; it didn't pressure people into becoming trainers. In Kanto, the whole place was built around the gyms and the experience. In Alola, there weren't even any gyms, there were Trials. No Gym Leaders, but Captains and Kahunas. Sure, I had a lot of fun training my teammates, growing close to them and seeing all kinds of new different Pokémon, but it was also a lot of fun to see what fun challenges each Trial had in store for me. Each Captain and Kahuna was a new fun person to meet, every new Pokémon a new friend to me.
That's not even mentioning Team Skull and the Aether Paradise. I thought I was just having a fun journey through the region, but I learned so much about Ultra Beasts and prevented so much catastrophe. Gladion and Lillie taught me and in turn, I taught them as well. I have no place to judge or speak my thoughts about Lusamine because I didn't know her, but I knew Lillie and Gladion. If they think she could be saved, then so do I.
In the end, I guess I felt a little alone. Despite it all, the journey was over for me. Lillie was gone and I didn't want to bother her. I knew she had to do whatever she had to do alone. Team Skull disbanded, so I didn't have to patrol anymore. I beat the Trials and the League, so I didn't have to fight anymore. I caught the rest of the Ultra Beasts, united the Guardian Deities, and even caught a strange black creature that reacted weirdly with Nebby and the others. The last thing to do was reunite 100% Zygarde (which I did quickly) and beat the Battle Tree.
The Battle Tree was a treat. I got to see Blue and Red again, got to battle a ton of interesting Trainers, even got to beat old Captains. In the end though, it wasn't was I was looking for. It was fun for a moment, but the fun quickly dissipated. After all that, I gave up and realize I had nothing else to do. Traveling to another region was a thought that went through my head, but I decided not to after thinking about it for a sec. I couldn't leave my friends back here. My mom all alone? Hau? Who was going to be the Champion?
Then, I found something. I came to the Altar of the Sunne one day to see if I had missed a Pokémon there. My Pokédex was at 98%, so I went there last. To my surprise, Nebby shook in his pokéball, demanding to be released. When I did, it roared at a slit in space and beckoned me onto his back, like when we traveled to the Ultra Beast's world.
On the other side, I was once again surprised to see nothing had changed except for the sky, which was dark. Had Nebby done something wrong? Did we just go ahead in time? No, as I discovered that all the sun symbols had been replaced by moons, like the one in the Altar of the Moone. Nebby then calmed down but stayed outside. Obviously confused, I headed to the Altar of the Moone to get some answers. Before I could leave the altar though, a girl in a red hat and bright green shorts showed up in front of me.
Moon.
That was her name. She announced it with a frown and then opened her bag to see that one of her pokéballs was shaking as well. I asked what was in there, and she responded by releasing a Pokémon I had never seen before. That was one of the biggest surprises. After all that time being bored, thinking I was done discovering, I saw this huge bat-like creature that was new to my eyes.
Lunala.
Moon said it was called Lunala. Like Solgaleo, it was revered as a great protector of the Alola region, but it had powers deriving from the Moon instead. Then, it all clicked into place. I had been transported into a parallel dimension where everything happened at night and Lunala appeared instead. On top of that, several events happened differently. The first trial had Alolan Rattatas instead of Yungoos, there were Alolan Sandshrew instead of Alolan Vulpix in Mt. Lanakila, Moon even caught some different Ultra Beasts. She also explained that she was the Champion of Alola, and it was clear to me that she did everything I had done. She was me, but in this world, the Moon dimension.
I was happy. Finally, things were looking up. I had new Pokémon to catch and a new friend to meet. She helped me and introduced me to everything new. We even traded some of the Pokémon that were really rare, like the strange Ultra Beasts. It was weird that everyone else existed here too, and that Nebby evolved into Lunala here instead.
Moon was different. Everyone else had something to do but not her. She was like me, done with her adventure and looking for something new. As I learned through the next few months, we had a lot in common. Our mom was the same, which was weird. I brought her back to my world, the Sun dimension and did what she did for me when I first met her. We had a lot of fun. I noticed that, unlike everyone else, she was dynamic. Others had something to do, a person to be, but we were ever-changing and free. It didn't take long for me to fall in love with that. The void that filled me when I beat the League and the Battle Tree was filled by her. I wasn't bored anymore. She was everything.
Now, we're both in a hotel in Kalos. We found a way to circumvent the Champion problem. All we had to do was switch dimensions and we were no longer Champions. There's so many different worlds, invisible to our eyes but clear to Solgaleo and Lunala. We just had to choose one. Of course, we beat the Kalos League and decided to rest here. Next, we're going to Sinnoh.
Knock Knock Knock!
I frown and turn to Moon, who's playing with her Raichu (Alolan, of course). She shrugs and goes back to petting the cute surfer.
I shrug as well and open the door to see two trainers, clearly exhausted.
"Do you have...any idea...how hard it is...to track you two down..." The male trainer pants, out of breath.
"No?"
"You talked to Red, right?" The female one asks.
I nod and frown.
"Yeah? What about him?"
"The House of Pokémon Legends." She answers.
Right. He talked to me about it after we fought for the second time. Or, he tried to. Blue did all the talking.
The House of Pokémon Legends is a place where only the strongest trainers join to seek refuge from fame or just to calm down and have a place to be after everything they have done. I didn't go at first because I wasn't ready yet. My Pokédex wasn't complete. After I caught them all I met Moon though, so I kind of just forgot about it.
"Oh, right. I'm sorry, but I can't go now. I'm staying with Moon."
"Oh no, we want her to come too." The guy shakes his head.
We can both go? I guess that makes sense. We're both Champions, after all.
"I was also skeptical at first but trust me, you two are going to love it."
He nods at Moon, who appeared behind me with a frown.
"And you are?"
The two trainers stand next to each other so we can see them both clearly.
The guy has a blue jacket with a red hat and black sunglasses. He's also wearing blue jeans and blue-laced black boots. He's Kalosian, judging from the Mega Ring on his wrist.
"I'm Calem, the 7th male Legend of the House."
The girl has a red skirt, black leggings and a black shirt. She's also wearing a red hat with white sunglasses and black shoes. The Mega Ring tells me she's also Kalosian.
"I'm Serena, the 7th female Legend of the House."
I move over so they can see Moon as well.
"We're-"
"Sun and Moon."
Serena nods.
"We know. Red told us. Come on, get a flying Pokémon."
I shrug at Moon, who does the same and follows them.
Outside, Calem gets on a Talonflame and Serena gets on the fabled Yveltal. They stay there, waiting for us.
"Wait, where's your gear?" I ask.
They frown.
"What gear?"
"For you riding Pokémon. Why are you using Yveltal and a Talonflame to fly, anyways? How is that on your Pager?"
They smile.
"We don't need gear. These are our Pokémon, so we don't have a Pager."
Moon's eyes widen in surprise.
"You don't have Pagers!? So you just hop on your Pokémon and fly?"
Serena nods.
"Yep."
"That's stupidly dangerous. What if you fall?" I shake my head.
Calem rolls his eyes.
"We won't. We trust our Pokémon. It makes sense for you, your riding Pokémon aren't the same as your battling Pokémon. You don't share the same bond."
I get a bit angry, but I call my Charizard from my Pager either way. Moon does the same.
"Alright. Follow us!"
That we do. The launch themselves up in the air and we struggle to follow due to their speed.
"Through the Mirage Spot!"
Serena points at a portal in the sky.
"The what!?" I yell over the roaring winds.
"The Mirage Spot!"
I guess that's what they call them.
They disappear into it and so do we, a short moment afterwards.
At the other side is a huge mansion standing on a floating island that's surrounded by blue skies.
"Don't try to explore." Calem warns us.
"There's nothing around the island. It's an empty world made just for the House."
I share a glance with Moon, who looks just as confused.
"Come on in." Serena nods at the door.
"But get ready. They're all excited to meet a new one."
Serena opens the door and Calem quickly walks in. The first thing you see is a small hall with a coat hanger and three doors. Calem blocks the doors to the right and the left, pointing at the door to the left. Serena opens that one too once we enter, and this time our ears are blown by several people yelling:
"ALOLA, SUN AND MOON!"
The greeting makes both of us smile. Even after all these years, I find it funny that we introduce each other with the name of the region.
In the room, there's a large table with several fancy-looking trainers seated around it. There's seven pairs of trainers, including Calem and Serena. They're seated first, so they're the first ones we talk to.
"This is tradition." Calem explains.
"You have to meet all the Legends individually to get to know them better. They'll each say what they're famous for and what they've done to contribute."
Serena continues.
"We're the Kalos Legends. We're Champions of the Kalos region. We didn't really contribute much except for stopping Team Flare, everything that happened with AZ and helping Dexio and Sina discover more about Zygarde."
"Oh yeah!" Moon remembers them.
"We met them in Alola! We both got an 100% Zygarde."
They frown.
"100%?"
I see they don't know yet.
Calem shakes his head.
"Explain later. You have people to meet."
We move on to see a young guy with floofy brown hair and an equally young girl with buns in her hair.
"I'm Nate." The guy introduces himself confidently.
"That's Rosa."
She smiles and waves.
"We're a pretty big deal. Champions of Unova and protectors from Team Plasma."
Rosa tries to contain her laugh.
"Oh, we're nothing. Black and Hilda are the real Champions. We just beat Neo Team Plasma. Things would have been much worse if it wasn't for them."
Nate suddenly turns to her with rosy cheeks.
"Rosa! I was trying to be cool! Those two don't need more praise than they already have!"
He crosses his arms and sinks in his chair. I'm guessing he's the childish one. Rosa seems smart and kind.
The next two trainers are a lot calmer and a lot more mature-looking than Nate and Rosa. The guy in the blue jacket doesn't even look up until the girl in the torn jean shorts nudges him in the ribs.
"Ow! Oh, right. Hey, I'm Black. I'm the Unova Champion and ranked 5th in the entire world." He says with a confident grin.
"Just under Red, Leaf, Gold and Kris."
If this is Black, then I guess the other is-
"Hilda. We beat Team Plasma and the Battle Subway and I organized the Pokémon World Tournament in Unova."
There's a sort of moment of silence as the two trainers stare at each other. Hilda smiles, but Black does not.
"And his name is Hilbert."
The trainer practically jumps from his chair.
"Dammit Hilda! I told you! Black! My name is Black! The same thing happened with the other two!"
In turn, Hilda laughs, rearing her head back.
"I'm sorry, it's just too funny..."
She continues to laugh and moves her hand in a shooing motion, which I guess is our cue to move on.
"You two!" A trainer in a scarf and a large hat points at us.
"How did you do it!?"
We frown at each other.
"How did we do what?"
"The spatial control. You shouldn't be able to hop around dimensions like that, even if you had Palkia."
I shrug.
"Solgaleo and Lunala. They opened the portal to the Alternate World, so we thought they could to that to open other portals."
He shakes his head.
"That's dangerous. I'm going to-"
"Oh sit down, Diamond." A girl with blue hair and a white cap rests her head on her palm.
"That's Diamond." She explains.
"I'm Dawn. Nice to meet you."
She holds out her hand and we shake it.
"We're the Sinnoh Legends, and therefore Champions."
"I have all the Legendaries!" Diamond proudly proclaims, shoving a finger at his chest.
"Except for Mew and whatever you two have. He's never been to Alola. He's just jealous, ignore him." Dawn whispers with a hand covering her mouth from him.
I sigh and follow Moon as we continue the meeting.
"Ruby and May." A guy in strange white hair introduces himself and the girl beside him.
"No, it is not my hair, it is a cap. We're the Hoenn Legends, responsible for discovering the different timelines and further exploring Mega-evolution."
"I also helped with the science of breeding, which was unknown prior to our adventure. It's why all breeders have bandannas." She points at her head but we shake ours.
"I haven't seen any."
She frowns.
"There aren't any breeders in Alola?"
Moon shakes her head as well and explains.
"No, some people breed, but none really call themselves breeders. It's weird."
May looks down.
"Hmm. I guess it would, to someone who's never seen them before. Whatever."
The next pair of trainers is composed of a guy in a backwards black and yellow hat with a baggy red and white jacket, as well as a girl with jagged blue hair and yellow shorts.
They don't introduce themselves at first. They're too busy talking to each other. Still I tap the guy's shoulder to make him turn around.
"Oh right. What's up?" He smirks.
"I'm Gold and she's Kris. We're the Johto guys. Apart from you two, I'm the only other person to have every fought Red while still in my adventure. We finished off Team Rocket and also beat the Kanto League."
Kris introduces herself next.
"I'm Kris. I did what Gold just explained to you and helped to discover magic of Shiny Pokémon across all the regions. Go ahead, finish the tour so we can speed up the process."
Unlike Gold and Kris, Red and Leaf are facing us when we approach them.
"... ... ..."
Red shows a hint of a smile, while Leaf shows a full one.
"Sun and Moon! I've heard so much about you two! Sorry about not being there with Red in the Battle Tree, but I was off visiting the region. It's not like I was looking for people to battle anyways."
She shakes our hands and we turn to Red.
"You already know me."
It's the first time I've ever heard him speak. Even when the House was explained, Blue was his interpreter. At first I just thought he was mute, but Blue said he was just shy. Even back when I first met him in Kanto, he just said nothing and pushed me away. He's like a wall of silence.
His voice is...surprisingly normal. I thought it would be low and old, but he just sounds like a regular dude.
"Not really. I just know that you're the World-Wide Champion and that you let me win in the Battle Tree. Blue told me."
Red nods, still silent.
"I'm curious," Leaf interrupts.
"What does Alola think of Red?"
Moon shakes her head.
"They don't think anything of him. It's been so long, he's basically a myth. Plus, Alola is so cut-off from the rest of the world that they don't really care about Pokémon battle stuff. They're generally peaceful people, so they wouldn't care about someone like Red."
Red nods once again.
"That's it!" Calem announces from the other side of the room. Was he spying on us?
Him and Serena rush towards us as Nate and Rosa roll a chalkboard behind us. Where did that even come from?
"That's it for the meeting. Now, you only have to do two more things to become a fully-fledged member of the House:
Go through the Question Segment where we ask each other questions about our journeys, and
Go through the Qualification Tournament, where you are placed on the House Rankings. The Tournament is divided between the two genders and the rankings are:
Male:
Red
Gold
Black
Ruby
Calem
Diamond
Nate
and
Female:
Leaf
Kris
Hilda
Serena
Dawn
May
Rosa
The Qualification Tournament is now obligatory for both genders, as decreed by the Founders Kris, May and Dawn. Lights out!"
It is late. Did they do it on purpose and go get us late?
"Where are we going to sleep?"
Calem smacks himself on the face.
"Gah! I knew I forgot something! And I thought I got it all..."
Serena smiles.
"You have a shared bedroom up top. It's up the stairs and to the right, next to our room. We can show you if you want. We're going to sleep too."
Moon and I share a glance and then I nod.
I wonder what new things this place has to offer.
YAY! I'M SO HAPPY! I BASICALLY RE-DID THE FIRST CHAPTER AND IT'S SO MUCH BETTER!
I love it when I compare two chapters and I can easily see the difference in quality.
The Sun and Moon protagonists are really fun, by the way. The way Gamefreak wrote their dialogue options makes them very funny and down-to-earth to me. I expect a lot of stuff between them and the Kalos and Sinnoh Legends. Kalos because they were the previous ones and Sinnoh because Alola has a ton of links and references to Sinnoh. Plus, it's supposed to be the next game to remake.
I was debating whether to just leave this fic with the Kalos guys and start another one with the Alolan ones. I guess it'd be better because the first thing you see in this fic is that horrible first chapter and in the theoretical new one this is what you'd see.
Eh, I'll think about it.
As it has always been, please comment to let me know what you thought! I had a ton of fun writing this chapter and I hope you had a ton of fun reading it.
Laters!