POKEMON FINAL LIGHT: SHATTERED INNOCENCE
Chapter Two
POV: First
Location: Glendale
Day: 000
Hour: 13:59
The Professor and a Travel Companion Part 1
The city of Glendale was a moderately large city with a population of ten or so thousand people and Pokémon, and a small ARK Facility where Professor Maple worked and surprisingly lived.
The streets were clear with the exception of a couple of town cars and pickups occasionally passing us, and the one bus.
I looked at it and on the side it read 'Pidgeot Transport', it was a steel gray bus with the logo of a Pidgeot on the side and from the looks of the inside only a few passengers, and one had a Pokémon, and it was a Kanto favorite of mine named Pikachu. It looked out at us and waved happily with a smile, we all waved back mirroring the Pokémon's smile as it disappeared around the corner headed to the Bus station.
"I've always wanted to see a Pikachu up close." I thought, Pikachu are an amazing breed of Pokémon and I've always wanted one.
The city was a nice place to live at times; everyone was nice and got along well. The Mayor was also a good sort, and the Police were also honorable and quick to help anyone in need. That and the wild Pokémon were also friendly, you could walk right up to one and pet it if you wanted to and it wouldn't run away or attack.
"So John," Louis started his hands held behind his head with Jurichi walking beside him, "got any idea what kind of starter you want?"
"Hmm," that was a good question… as I never really thought about it before, "to be honest, I'm not entirely sure." I looked up into the sky, as if it held the answer, "maybe a fire type like Jurichi, or… hmm."
"You really should have thought about this dude, I bet you'll take forever when you pick one." Louis scolded me, his eyes half slanted and his stride relaxed.
"I know Louis, I was… busy." I told him, crossing my arms and watching my feet.
"Studying every little thing about Pikachu is not 'Busy' its 'obsession'." My friend voiced, walking next to me and thwacking me on the shoulder with his finger, "Seriously, I know you hope Maple will have a Pikachu for a starter, but I highly doubt it."
I rubbed my shoulder with a fake 'Ow' expression, "Can't a nigga dream?"
"Not on my watch, Jurichi ember!" Louis called out.
The Fire type grinned swung her tail at me releasing embers that burned my ankles, "Ow, that hurt!" I exclaimed, glaring daggers at my friend as we continued to the lab. Jurichi giggled as she kept eyeing me, probably planning another attack.
POV CHANGE: Third
As the three continued walking to the lab, the bus that held a certain trainer and Pokémon had come to a stop at one of the bus stops and let the passengers out.
The first was a tall man donning a suit and tie, and held in his hand a steel briefcase. He scanned the city with dark blue eyes before pulling out his cell-phone and walking down the street.
The second was a short brown haired girl, donning a short skirt and a tight shirt with a small brown vest over it. Around her waist were several Pokéballs, and a small black device with several buttons on it. Her light green eyes looked around the city for a few seconds before she darted off down the road.
The third was the Teen from before, donning Black/Blue Traveling clothes and a Pikachu on his shoulder. His Auburn eyes scanned the city with pure excitement radiating from both him and the small electric Pokémon, "We're here, finally!" he cheered, pumping his fist into the air.
"Pika!" the Pokémon Cried mimicking its trainer's excitement, it was glad to be in the city as well. The bus ride was rather bumpy coming in from the airport, the Pokémon disliked bumpy rides.
"We'll, from what Professor Oak told us Professor Maple's lab isn't too far from here," he pulled out a map and looked at it, it showed the city of Glendale and all of its points of interest, "uhhhhhhh…"
The Pikachu facepalmed at its trainer's constant problems with following simple directions, it happened everytime. "Pika cha."
The Trainer Sweat dropped, "Eheheh, why don't we see if we can't find some help with directions?"
"Pikachu pika," the Pokemon agreed. "But then again you could just learn how to navigate ya goof."
Ash nodded and began walking in a random direction, he soon opted to wander for a bit before asking for directions, the city was rather normal looking. Some tall buildings sat here and there, to his left were some smaller structures housing stores and whatnot, and to his right he spotted a Pokémon Center and a tall building behind that labeled 'ARK Facility No1'
Ash was so into the sights he didn't see the person he bumped into that came from around the corner, both fell backwards with an Omph sound as they both the pavement. Pikachu however landed with the grace of a dancer before looking at the scene, someone wearing a black Pikachu Shirt had bumped into Ash as another with a Charmander came around the corner.
"Jeez you alright, John?" Louis asked his friend, helping him up off the ground and dusting him off.
"Yeah," John voiced as he looked to Ash, he held out his hand to the trainer who took it, "sorry about that, I wasn't looking where I was going."
Ash smiled, "It's alright, I was sorta the same."
"Pika." Pikachu stated as it hopped onto Ash's shoulder with a grin, it waved to Louis Jurichi and John. "Pika Pikachu." It greeted.
"Oh wow!" John exclaimed, looking at Pikachu with a wide grin, "a Pikachu!"
"Oh lordy." The Tan Trainer groaned, "this'll be fun."
Ash was about to ask when John had grabbed Pikachu off his shoulder and looked the Pokémon over, "This Pikachu is extremely healthy! Its fur is perfect and it's got a good muscle tone." John started, checking every inch of the small rodent.
Pikachu wasn't sure wither to electrocute him or just let him continue. "Pi?"
"Oh, I'm sorry." the Pikachu Enthusiast apologized as he put the Pokémon down, "I'm a big fan of Pikachu, so I got a little excited." He sweat dropped, "but your Pikachu, it's really healthy… what do you feed it?"
Ash scratched the back of his head, he wasn't sure how to respond, "Um, my friend Brock is the one who made all of the food for my Pikachuback in Kanto, and Johto and Hoenn, and Sinnoh, then Cilan in Unova after that." he listed off, remembering all the good times made the trainer miss them a lot.
John nodded as he crossed his arms and rested his chin on his hand, "hmm, your friends must know a good deal about Pokémon nutrition to have your Pikachu look like its best." He smiled.
"Yeah, if it wasn't for them I'd be lost," Ash smiled, remembering all the good times from days past, "speaking of which do you know where Professor Maple's lab is?"
Louis nodded," Yeah we're actually headed there now, me and my friend are about to sign up for the league after John get's his starter." He told the Auburn eyed trainer.
"Hey, why don't we take you there?" John suggested, "it's not that far."
"That would be great!" Ash agreed,
Louis smiled as the three humans and two Pokémon began moving to the lab, "My name's Louis," he introduced, "and this is my Charmander Jurichi."
"Char Charmander." The Fire type said, smiling a toothy smile.
"Pikachu pika!"
"Heh, my name's John." He said, holding out his hand to the Ebony haired trainer, "and you?"
"Ash Ketchum of Pallet town," Ash took John's hand and shook it, "I'm here to take on the league and win it."
"Well good luck with that Ash," Louis said, grinning evilly, "once me and John sign up we'll be one hard duo to beat, all the time everytime baby."
Ash smirked to himself as the group kept moving to the lab.
POV: Third
Location: Fairview City, Black Pearl Apartments
Time: 14:00
Day: 000
Sick
As the town car arrived at the location provided by Lucas, he thanked the driver and exited the car and headed up the stairs to the door and as he went inside he was greeted with the sight of the vacant lobby, it was normal. Everybody was probably asleep, or at work or something.
The Black Pearl was aptly named, as it was named after a famous pirate vessel from the eighteen hundreds. Rumor has it the ship is still sailing around after this whole time, while others say it has a home at the bottom of the ocean. The interior was paved a solid shiny black color, with the lobby desk being decorated in black pearls. In the middle was a fountain, but now it's nothing more than a trash heap thanks to some money problems with the city,
He went over to the stairs and ascended them, his footfalls echoing throughout the stairwell. He wondered how Amelia would react to this information, him going all the way to Glendale to help out Professor Maple.
He saw his door, the only one being a light blue color instead of blood red like the rest of the building's apartments.
He walked over to his door, and pulling out his key he unlocked the door and opened it and was greeted with the smell of stale food. His mistake of leaving his takeout in the kitchen probably spoiled by now, he was also greeted with the sight of his roommate, one Amelia Maple.
She was a short girl, standing at four feet and wearing a tight red jacket and brown pants with tennis shoes. Her blonde hair was tied in a pony with three bangs hanging in front of bright purple eyes. She spotted Lucas coming into the room and darted over to him, "Lucas," she hugged him, "finally, she's been waiting forever."
"I know, but there was a lot of traffic." He replied, heading to his bedroom, "lots… oi."
With a sigh he opened his bedroom door, inside he saw a massive lump under his covers. With a smirk he walked over and tapped the lump, the cover shot up off the bed and tackled Lucas to the floor, followed by a cooing sound.
The Scientist smirked as he threw the covers off and under them was none other, then a Latias. She looked into Lucas's eyes with a bright smile, "Laa~" she sung, hugging him tightly.
Lucas smiled, "it's nice to see you as well Las," he told her as he hugged her back.
She cooed once more before she coughed slightly, then a couple of more times before some small bits of blood appeared at the corner of her mouth.
The humans grimaced, Amelia came over and pulled out a handkerchief and wiped it away. "Alright enough fun back in bed," she ordered, her tone was almost motherly as the two humans helped the Latias into bed.
Las frowned but didn't object to the idea, she was rather tired and she knew she shouldn't have done that. "but too late~" she thought.
As Lucas helped her onto the bed he noticed that she was rather hot, "must be the fever." He pondered, ever since Las had gotten sick with, whatever the hell it is she's got he's been trying to find a way to get rid of it. So far… no luck.
"She's doing better than before, her fever has gone down and she's actually moving more," Amelia informed the worried Lucas who eyed her with a fearful look in his eyes.
"I know but still…. what is this she has?"
Amelia shook her head, she hadn't the slightest clue.
He sighed as he said, "I got something to tell you two, and you won't like it I bet."
Las and Amelia perked up, "What?" Las asked, she could talk to both of them telepathically so there was no speech barrier for them, making things much easier.
"Professor Cedar has asked me to go help Professor Maple in his stead, I'm to leave now for Glendale and see what it is he needs… and I came by to tell you before I went," he explained.
Las seemed heartbroken, "But… you just got home Luke." She said, her tone albeit through a mental link was full of sadness. He just got home, and he was already leaving?
"I know Las, but this could be a really huge opportunity for me, maybe after this Professor Cedar will take me on after this and I'll be able to work closer to home."
Las sighed… she didn't want him to go but… "Alright Luke… but… be careful, please?"
Lucas smirked, "You know I will, Las." He said before giving her a kiss on the head as he stroked her neck, "I promise you that after this I'll take a whole week off and I'll stay home and do whatever you want… sound good?"
Las nodded with a smile as she brother her head up and licked him on the cheek, "Yes, it does." She smiled.
Amelia smirked as she watched the two, "I'll stay here and watch her, when you do head to Glendale, can you tell dad I said hi?"
Lucas nodded, "Sure."
And after one more hug from the two, Lucas left the building and went back down to the town car.
Las watched him from the window with Amelia, the car vanished around a corner and the two sighed.
POV: Third
Location: Union City, Quick Food
Day: 000
14:00
A New Friend?
Quinn had gotten some breakfast at a restaurant when he heard the news on TV about the Talon Region, under attack from the RTM. "Buncha pricks." He muttered as he took a massive chunk out of his burger, savoring the taste of it.
Someone passed by his table, dressed in black clothing and wearing a black cap. In his hands he had a small tray of food, nothing much, just a small drink and some fries. He sat down opposite of Quinn and pulled out a phone, he gazed at it intently as Quinn finished his food.
"Guy's not hiding his gun too well now is he?" he thought bemused as he eyed his jacket, inside he saw the glint of a silver pistol. "Wonder why he has it, cop or…?"
His thought were cut short as his phone vibrated, he reached into his pocket and saw a number he never thought he would see again. "848 555 6784… Alex?" that was Alex's old phone number, either someone has his phone or… it really is Alex.
He hit the green button as he drank the last of his drink and got up, he left his tray there as he quickly left the building and into an alley. "Alex? is… is it really you?"
"Quinn *bzzz* I nee*bzzz*or help!" a familiar voice rang out over the phone, it was shit due to static but he knew it was Alex.
"Alex! what's wrong, where the hell are you? what's going on, you know th-"
"Quinn! Sh*bzz*p! I *bzzz*n't tell you where I am, *bzzz* I just need your help, I'm sendin*bzzz*mthing to you. You should be *bzzz*ting it today."
"What? why can't you tell me wha-" he was cut off as the sound of gunfire over the phone, along with some kind of squishing sound and screams, along with gunfire.
"I just want t*bzzz*ou I'm sorry Quinn… for everything th*bzzzzz*happened to you and Dana, if I*bzzz*asn't' such an idiot… maybe life would have been bett*bzzz* for you two… good bye.*bzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz* Phone call disconnected."
"Wait, Alex!" Quinn cried, but he was gone. Quinn looked at the phone, and saw his hand was shaking as he stared at the words, 'Phone Call Disconnected'
"So you do talk to your brother, I'm not surprised." The young man shot around, spotting the man in black from before, "the whole damn Mercer line is full of traitors, just like your damned brother."
"Shut up! I don't know what you're talking about." Quinn shot back, his blood was boiling and he was starting to get angry, his face contorted and a deep frown on his face.
"I overheard your little conversation with Zeus, what's he sending you eh?" the man questioned, pulling out his pistol and aiming it at Quinn, "is he sending you something my superiors would like to know about?"
"Listen buddy, I don't know what you're going on about. I was talking to my mom, she wants me to bring home some shit so why don't you just put your little water pistol back in your pocket, and twerk off a cliff or something."
The man in black smirked as he held up what looked like a recorder, he clicked it. "Alex! what's wrong, where the hell are you? what's going on, you know th-" he clicked the off button.
"I heard everything, so why don't you just stop lying and tell me where he is already so I can leave this shithole called a city."
"Look, I don't know where he is, and even if I did I wouldn't tell an asswipe like you, so buzz off." Quinn snarled, his fists clenching. Sure he didn't know his brother all too well, but he knew he was a good man despite everything that happened to him.
"Heh, sure you don't. Listen, how's about we just skip the talking and get right to the killing? Hm? I think the world," he started, aiming his gun right at Quinn's head, "will be better off without you."
Quinn backed away and just as the man was about to pull the trigger a blue blur shot out from nowhere and knocked the man to the ground, but as he fell he pulled the trigger launching a bullet which hit the wall and producing a loud bang that prompted many nearby to run… and call the cops obviously.
Quinn took this chance to run away, darting down the alley behind him and into a nearby bundle of bushes, he ducked down and waited. He saw the man in black had gotten up, and when he didn't spot Quinn he cursed and bolted as soon as he heard sirens.
Quinn sighed in relief as he fell on his behind, "that was close…"
"You're telling me."
Quinn looked behind him, and not seeing anything he said, "who's there?"
"Oh yeah, sorry about that." the voice said, given its soft tone it sounded female.
Quinn looked all around, and spotting a glow he stopped. Something started to glow slightly in front of him and when it went away, his jaw nearly dropped a mile.
In front of him was a Mew! And not only was it a Mew, it was a shiny one, "You're kidding me…"
"Nope." She said, floating upside down and looking Quinn in the eye, "I'm real."
"Um… why?"
"Oh yeah, I'm here cause your brother sent me."
"Alex… sent you?" Quinn questioned, Alex had gotten his hands on a Mew, and a shiny one at that, "why did he send you and how do you know my brother?"
"All that I will answer in due time, for now we should get inside it's about to storm and I don't know about you, but I don't like getting wet." She suggested, turning invisible and floating out of the bushes.
Quinn shook his head as he stood up, surprising a couple that was walking by and making them walk away at a quickened pace. For all they knew he was a mugger, he certainly looked like one.
Dressed in a dark gray hoodie and slacks, and wearing beat up runners. His unkempt light brown hair that dangled over green eyes, he looked like one in a sense.
Looking around he asked, "Where'd ya go?"
"I'm above you, I'll follow you home and then I'll tell you everything."
Quinn nodded, albeit hesitantly and started home.
POV: Third
Location: Everett City Streets
Day: 000
14:10
Secrets
Eli had left the bar sometime after he had met Alice, she was a sweet girl who like him had a brother overseas evacuating civilians out of the city. Both of which were worried about them, "Freaking Dubai and stupid sandstorms" he muttered, he wished Jake was here so the two could be partying.
As he walked he failed to notice a truck coming up from an alley way he was in, when he did see it however he was nearly hit by it. "OH SHIT!" He jumped out of the way just in time as the truck swerved out of the alley and down the street, he looked up as it sped down the empty road.
On the truck he spotted a familiar logo painted on the side, "Gentek dickheads." Eli murmured under his breath as he stood up, as the truck left he looked down the alleyway they barreled out of. He saw some knocked over trash cans and old newspapers littering the pavement, a single light was left on from a security light hanging over a door.
He had heard rumors of Gentek having secret underground labs beneath all the cities, he didn't know if it was true or not. But…
Sighing he decided to walk down the alley, his hands casually in his pockets as he eyed the path in front of him. He didn't hear anything except for the cars on the road behind him, and the occasional bird Pokémon flying overhead.
He hated alleys, mainly cause they smelled like crap and he was mugged one time by a freaking Charmander…. It was not his proudest moment, to be mugged by a Pokémon that comes up to your knee is like getting your ass handed to you by a level one Jumpluff.
Once he made it to the corner he heard something that sounded like a forklift, crouching down he crept his way over to a small wall and peered over. An eyebrow rose when he saw men dressed in pitch black armor, the one noticeable feature about them was their helmets. The lenses were a bright blue color with three lenses, one overlapping the other with hoods draped over them.
"That's weird, who are they?" the student wondered as he pulled out his camera, a Nightingale Pro. He bought it shortly after he joined school, for photography classes and such. He peered through the camera and down at the soldiers below, he saw several insignias he recognized from both internet propaganda and hard facts.
"Blackwatch, Gentek, Secronom, ARK, HERC, what the hell are they all doing here?" it was strange to see so many competitive companies in the same area as one another. There were scientists, soldiers and the like and he also spotted to his surprise one Dr. Adler, a man he met briefly at a bar one night.
Elijah could just barely hear Adler talking to a taller looking man wearing jet black armor, sans the helmet.
"We're moving into the facility as you have instructed" the man told Adler, looking over at the scientists and soldiers as they moved their gear and heavy looking machinery out of large trucks and into the large looking elevator, "we'll begin our operations shortly doctor."
Adler nodded, "good, I don't need this getting out. You have to understand," Adler started, looking up into the sky for a brief moment before placing his gaze on the large capsule that the ARK soldiers lugged into the massive elevator hidden in the side of the ARK Facility, "our facility south of Fairview was just raided by the government, someone claimed we were doing illegal experimentations on humans and Pokémon."
"Well don't worry," the man started, "the government doesn't know the locations of all of our facilities and even if they did it impossible to enter them without running into our private security, we have the best men women and Pokémon available to protect our assets." He assured Adler with a grin as he watched two Dragonite land next to some other Pokémon, both of them decked out in special armor made for their species.
"Well, I only hope you're right." Adler voiced, wiping his brow of the sweat the collected from the heat, "we don't need the Havon government snooping around."
The man nodded as Elijah snapped a few photos sans flash and crept away from the area, his eyes wide open from the sight of the Dragonite and their intimidating appearance. "Oh wow." He murmured, walking back onto the streets and down to his apartment. "I wonder what it was they don't want the Havon government to see?"
POV: Third
Location: Talon Region, City of Dubai
Day: 000
14:16
Close call
The city of Dubai, chaos reigned from the skies as the torrential sandstorms tore the city apart. The citizens all moved to evacuation points located in the hotels and police stations, all of which were under the direct control of HERC and ARK officials.
Jake sat inside one of the hotels on one of the many couches as HERC soldiers directed the civilians to the lower levels away from the surface, the Sergeant held his gun and watched the storms outside with a frown. It was hell outside, "and it's only getting worse…"
"Hey Jake!" someone called out to him.
The Sergeant caught sight of his friend, one Lieutenant Hernandez of the 54th, Jake stood up and greeted him with a firm handshake, "Lieutenant."
"Ah pfft, we're buddies, call me by my name dude." The dark skinned man asked, a smirk on his face as he shouldered his SPAS-12 shotgun.
"Okay then, Nick." Jake nodded, "so what's the status of the evacuation?"
Nick stood about six feet and wore the simple armor the 54th were given which consisted of standard military armor, a vest to hold the shells for his shotgun and a balaclava which he wore as a hat. His clothing was made to blend in with the sands and his shotgun as well.
"We managed to get about three thousand out but that still leaves," Nick stopped to look at the paper containing the number of people left, "fifty-three thousand five hundred and ninety four people left."
"Jesus," the sergeant muttered, that was fifty-three too many, "at this rate and the damned storms it's going to take a month or more to get them all out."
Nick sighed, he knew it to be true.
When they started everything was going so smoothly, people followed orders and everyone was working together to escape the city, but then the Red Thorn Militia showed up and started their attacks. People got scared, ran away and even joined the RTM fight against the 33rd and 54th.
A lot of lives were lost in the span of three days, and all because people got scared.
"Hey, we need a doctor over here!" someone yelled.
Jake and Nick looked over at who called for help as Several men baring the red cross made their way over to a man who had fallen onto the floor and was writing, "Blurgh, bah, ahhh!" the man choked.
"What's wrong with him!?" a young girl asked, falling to her knees next to the old man. "Help!"
"He's going into shock!" the medic called as he started to work on the man, "damn it!"
The man started to shake, his body convulsing as foam spewed from his mouth.
"He's seizing!" the first medic Carl yelled, trying in vain to hold him down as they administered aid.
"What's going on?!" The second Medic Fred questioned, this wasn't normal.
Then, to the young girl's relief he stopped seizing, but he also stopped breathing. "Daddy!" she cried, grabbing him by the shoulders and shaking him.
"Move!" Carl told the girl, pushing her out of the way as he yelled, "get the paddles!" he ordered as he ripped the man's shirt open and attacked the safety pads and heart monitor.
Fred nodded and grabbed them, "Charging to two hundred, clear!" he called out before shocking the man's chest. He convulsed and fell still, a long beep echoed as he tried again, "Three hundred, clear!" once more the man convulsed and it beep for some seconds before the prolonged beep of death sounded once again.
Carl cursed as he grabbed the paddles, "Four hundred, clear!" he slammed the paddles onto the man and shocked him causing his legs to buck and arms to flail, it beeped, followed by several more beeps… it was steady. "Yes!" Carl exclaimed silently.
The girl grappled the two doctors into a hug and thanked them both, "thank you, thank you, thank you!"
"Just doing our duty ma'am," Fred told her, wiping his forefinger under his nose with a smirk, "glad to be of service."
Jake and Nick smiled, both glad something good happened today out of all the misery that followed come the Sandstorm.
Several other medics came over and putting the man on the stretcher they carried him down below, to one of the medical areas that were established for treating the more critical people and injured soldiers.
"Well, looks like something good came out of this today." Jake remarked, hefting his rifle onto his shoulder and heading into to one of the food courts.
"Yep, close call." Nick agreed, following him.
POV: Third
Location: Talon Region, Areas between Boston and Philadelphia
14:21
Day: 000
The Eight
The area between these two huge cites was vast, several smaller towns and even smaller cities sat between them, each one about twenty miles apart from each other. To the west sat the vast Vass desert, a hundred miles of nothing but sand dunes and one small abandoned city called Vasstop.
We're however focusing on one small town, named Hendricks with a population of ten thousand five hundred. In one of the many houses, colored green with a brown roof was a young girl.
She donned a tight jacket that hugged her upper body and loose fitting jeans and hiking boots. Her long brown hair was tied in a pony with three strands hanging in front of silver eyes, her name was Sarah Overbeck.
She sat on her bed inside of her room, which was rather bland. Only one poster was plastered onto the wall and it was an outdated military poster showing a soldier gearing up for the cold war, a war long ago fought over on Bosto. Only her bed and desk was the only furniture in the room, and a blood red rug was on the floor.
In her left hand she held a small book, the paper a faded yellow and in her right hand she held a pencil covered in teeth marks. She stared at the paper intensely as she wondered what to write, "hmm… maybe." She started, the pencil closing in on the paper only for her to pull it back, "no, not good… damn it." she cursed.
She tossed the book at the end of the bed and put the pencil on her desk and sighed, she swung her legs off the bed and stood up and stretched her aching limbs and sighed in relief as several joints popped, "time to get some shit done." She muttered as she walked over to her door and opened it, she exited her room and closed the door before going down the hall and venturing down the stairs into the kitchen.
Down there she spotted her older sister Anna and grandpa Willem Overbeck, or as he liked to be called, Bill.
Bill was a tall veteran soldier from the Thorn Region war twenty years ago, he wore a white shirt and black slacks with his old combat boots on, he also had graying hair that was neatly combed and a full beard to go with it. His blue eyes locked with Sarah's silver ones as she entered, "late for breakfast." He told her, looking at a newspaper that sat on the table in front of him, a cup of coffee next to him.
"I know Grandpa," she said sweetly as she took a seat in front of him as her sister handed her a plate, "thanks Anna."
"No biggie." Anna said as she made herself a plate and sat down as well.
"Looks like there's some trouble down in Philadelphia," the war veteran stated, looking at an article pertaining to one of the larger cities of Talon, "some kind of flu outbreak in the town next to it."
"That sounds nasty," Sarah said, eating her food while looking at the same article, "think it'll hit here?"
Bill shook his head, "probably not, but if you see anyone sick at school don't get near them… alright?"
"Yes Dad," the teen joked as something brushed up against her leg, she peered under the table and saw her friend, "hiya Leaf!"
"Ser," the long grass type snake hissed as he slithered out from under the table and up to his trainer, "Serperior, ser."
"Okay okay, chill out Leaf we're going." She told the Grass type as it slithered over to Bill and gazed at him for the longest time before leaving the room and out an open window, "hehe."
"I don't think your snake likes me much Sarah," Bill noted, finishing up his coffee and getting up.
Sarah watched him as he walked over to a coat rack and picked up his work uniform, even though he's well into his sixties he's healthy and looks great. "Going to work?"
Bill nodded as he picked up his hat with a construction logo on it, "yep," he walked over to Anna and gave her a kiss on the forehead followed by Sarah, "you two get going now, or you're going to be late." He told them as he exited to house and over to his pickup, he entered the vehicle and drove out of the driveway and down the road to work.
Sarah got up and grabbed her pack which she had set by the door hours prior, Anna followed suit. As the two exited the house Anna took the time to lock the door while Sarah grabbed her PokéBall and returned Leaf to it, the two then made their way down the road to their school with smiles.
As they walked to school, in another part of the town near the highway to Philadelphia sat one of many Bikers belonging to a group known as Hell's Legion, he had close shaven hair with a small symbol shaved into his hair, and his arms were covered in a wide variety of tattoos from simple tats to one specifically designed for his gang. He donned a dirty looking leather vest over a white wifebeater covered in stains, and blue jeans with combat boots. His brown eyes scanned the landscape as he sat on his Harley bike, he was waiting for someone.
In the north he saw several storm clouds, all headed this way. "I hate clouds." He muttered, he was a man who hated a lot of things, the list was too big.
Thankfully to his relief he spotted a gray sedan headed this way, the car was a simple gray with black tinted windows with four doors and small rims. The car pulled up to the bike and stopped, the front door opened and out stepped one of the more 'higher class' of Hell's Legion.
He donned a white suit with a blue under shirt and dress shoes, his hair was short and brown and well groomed, and his eyes were gray as he looked around the area. Once he eyes caught the appearance of the biker he scowled further and walked over to him, backpack in hand.
The Biker saw the ring of his finger, adorned with the same symbol as his gang, "bout time Colonel Sanders." He told him, smirking at his resemblance to a fast food icon.
"Yeah whatever grease monkey," the man told the biker, mocking his appearance right back before handing him the backpack he asked, "you have the cash?"
The leather clad biker reached into his pocket and pulled out a small roll of money, he looked at it before tossing it to him, "happy Nick?"
The man now known as Nick frowned as he counted the money, once he counted up to three hundred he replied, "Sure Francis, pfft." He murmured as he walked back to the car and got in.
The Biker named Francis stuck his tongue out at Nick as he started up his bike, and once he shouldered the backpack he took off down the road, headed to Philadelphia.
Nick took off as well, but he was headed south. Thirty miles to the Savannah, he had someone to meet.
Meanwhile in Philadelphia at one of the many collages situated near the sea and massive woodlands was a young girl headed to class, "Hey wait up!" she called out to her friends.
This girl was named Zoey and she was a college student at Philadelphia University, and not exactly one of the most likely to graduate. She was a short girl who donned a bright red jacket and jeans with white runners, on her back was a dark black backpack and in her hands she held some books for her current classes.
Two girls both dressed in matching school uniforms slowed as they looked behind them, their friend just catching up to them as the blonde asked, "you're late again Zoey." She joked, poking her friend in the chest.
"Ow, don't poke me in the boob!" Zoey complained, rubbing the spot on her chest where her friend's sharp nail poked her, "they're sensitive, Julie"
"Pfft," Julie scoffed, hefting her pack up and slinging onto her back, "sure they are."
The three shared a short laugh as a thundercloud rumbled across the sky, Julie and her sister Trixie both gasped and flinched at the loud booms that followed, it sounded as if the gods were having a duel in the heavens above.
The two sisters were scared, both trembling at the sounds of the coming storm. Their gazes looking up into the clouds as lightening danced across sky, bright blue streaks shot from one cloud to another drawing the attention of several students and faculty members.
Many took out several camera phones as the sky took on a red/orange hue, the clouds darkening and the sun poking through them casting down rays of dark red light. It was a mesmerizing sight to say the least as it was almost like the sky was on fire.
The red jacket wearing student Zoey loved this sight, she remembered a time back when she was a kid. Her and her dad had gone to the park one day, and the sky did the same after a similar storm. It was also the day her dad introduced her to the zombie franchise, one that she forever loved for whatever reason.
She looked up into the sky, smiling at the faint memory, "I wonder… if zombies are real?" she pondered as she continued to class, her friends following close behind her.
As the clouds rolled on across the orange/red sky, people moved into the classrooms and into their dorms. The people had no plans on getting wet, nor the desire to. The thunder clouds rumbled and the lightening crackled, the clouds were headed to Philadelphia City. People driving on the roads near Philly spotted the unusually colored clouds as they filled the sky above them, some passengers took photos of the blood red tinted sun.
In the city of Philly in one of the IT buildings observing the sky was a Junior Systems analyst at Franklin brothers IT, a tall dark skinned man named Louis. Five foot and a shaved head, wearing black dress pants and shoes and a white long sleeved shirt with a red tie, his coat was draped over the back of his chair inside his office where he was currently standing. His office was small but it didn't slow his work any. Motivational posters hung on the eastern wall, some depicting greatness is a few steps away while others were about determination and strength.
His desk was a deep mahogany reddish brown with a Dell computer and a bobble head of a popular game situated next to it, several work papers were neatly organized in folders labeled either very important or urgent. The desk itself was clean and tidy, and the faint smell of coffee coming from a mug hung in the air. Small swirling pillars of steam flew out of the white cup as he talked on his phone.
"Listen," the man started, his voice was calm and collected as he talked on the phone to someone who went home sick with the flu, "you need to come in later today no ifs ands or buts about it."
"But," the man on the line said, ignoring what his supervisor said to him about no Buts, "I am really sick, heck it's not just here it's all over Philly!" he told Louis, his voice sounded hoarse and he soon had a coughing fit.
"Well I can't help it, everyone else has gone home sick and I need people here to help out with the paper work," Louis told him, cupping his elbow as he held the phone, "we're swamped."
"I'm sorry Louis I-" the man started only to end up coughing heavily, then the sound of the line being disconnected sounded and Louis scoffed.
He put the phone back onto the receiver and looked out his office window, "what a day…" he murmured as he went about doing the work load himself, today was going to be a long day.
As he worked on the papers two individuals in the Savannah were next to one of the small bridges in a small town called Boutros, one was a local mechanic named Ellis and the other was his lifelong friend Keith. Ellis was standing next to a small metallic ramp facing the edge of the gorge while his friend was sitting inside of his jalopy, a 1976 pickup with a cracked rearview mirror and more rust covering it then a ship at sea.
Ellis giddily held a camera in his hands as he yelled out, "All right Keith! You got this brother!"
Keith cackled madly as he revved the engine of his truck, the loud noise could be heard from the small town nearby along with the sound of screeching tires. "WEEEEEEEEEEEEEHAAAAAAAAAAAW!" the man yelled as the truck sped towards the ramp.
"Ohohoho man!" the mechanic laughed as his best friend sped towards the ramp.
The truck was going an easy sixty across the road, and its driver enjoying every second of it. The vehicle quickly approached the ramp and once it hit the homemade slope it flew into the air over the river and was quickly making its way over to the other side. Ellis was pointing the camera at it, recording footage of the jump for youtube, thoughts of how many views he would get filled the young man's mind.
Then the unthinkable happened, as Keith neared the other side thunder struck the small truck and caused its engine to ignite and sending flames blasting out of the hood and engulfing the sides and top, "Hot diggity damn!" the man yelled as his truck crashed into a tree, much to both of their amusement.
"Oh shit Keith!" Ellis cackled, running down into the river and wading across to his friend. The truck was completed demolished, the front end was destroyed and the entire cab was on fire, "hey Keith!"
The front door popped off and out stumbled Keith, his tank top charred and jeans on fire. The man yelled as he ran over to the river and jumped into it, dousing the flames, "Whoooo! That was crazy awesome!"
"Hell yeah man!" the mechanic shouted, hoisting up his camera with a grin, "and I got it all on camera!"
"We'll be Youtube famous!" Keith cheered, jumping out of the lake as sirens filled the air around them, "uh oh."
Cops soon descended on the two, but we're done with them… for now.
Meanwhile in a Television studio there was currently a broadcast going on, news reporter Max Prism was on the air talking about sports, earlier he had been talking about an outbreak in the United States. Some people on the eastern coast had been infected, however news as to what it was has yet to have been released.
In one part of the Studio sat a young woman named Rochelle, she was seated in a small chair in the back watching as the news report went on. Rochelle donned a Depeche mode t-shirt and tight black pants over dark skin, hoop earrings and had her hair tied back. She wished she could be a reporter, but she lacked the skills and the conviction. So she remained a Coffee Girl, which is basically what she did, get the real reporters coffee and food.
A sigh escaped her lips as one of her co-workers came over, "rough day?" he asked, his name tag read Frank. He was a short man, medium length reddish hair and a short mustache and brown eyes.
"Pretty much," she replied, "today's kinda boring."
"I know what you mean," he sat down beside her, "the only thing interesting I heard about was the Unified Korea."
"What about them?"
"There's talk of the New Unified Korea moving into the Middle East," he started, "something about 'ending the conflict' once and for all."
"That sounds serious," Rochelle commented, cupping her chin with a thoughtful look, "maybe I'll get lucky enough to be sent over there to cover it."
Frank laughed, "I highly doubt they would send a coffee girl overseas to cover something that important." He stood up, "but who knows, maybe they will."
Rochelle grinned as the news report ended and she was called over, most likely to do her job… of getting the dreaded Max something to shut him up.
Speaking of Sports, at the local high school an older man was teaching the new recruits the ropes, and by teaching I mean he was eating a chocolate bar while they ran around the field throwing a football.
His name was Coach and he was a fifty something bald African American wearing a dark purple shirt and beige pants and black shoes, on his hands he wore leather fingerless gloves and had a candy bar in his mouth idly chewing away.
As he did he looked up into the sky, seeing it change from a nice bright blue to a duller gray he tilted his head as he saw a streak of light shoot across like lightening. Lighting up the scattered clouds and making an eerie rumbling sound, "what the?"
"Coach! Billy lost our football!"
"No I didn't you spaz! You missed cause you suck!"
Coach sighed, another fight to break up. "Now hold up children!" he yelled, getting up and jogging over to them.
POV: Third
Location: Havon Region, Glendale
Day: 000
The Professor and a Travel Companion Part 2
"So," Ash started as he walked alongside John and Louis, "how big is this region?"
John turned to face Ash, "oh it's a big region, bigger then you're probably used to," he pulled up his map on his Pokégear, "its seventy-one thousand square miles, mainly forest and whatnot."
He young Ebony haired trainer's eyes grew wide, "holy crap, this region is huge!" he exclaimed, Pikachu was just as shocked as he was.
"Ha!" Louis laughed, "if you think that's big you should see Bosto, that's three times as big as this place."
"Bosto?" Ash questioned, "is that another region?"
"Yep," John answered, pulling up the United Federation of Havon's map, he showed it to Ash, "there are four regions under the control of the UFH, Havon, Talon, Sabre and Bosto. Talon is closest to us, while Sabre is a hundred miles away and Bosto is right in the middle of the three, it being over two hundred thousand miles big."
"Wow," Ash gawked, "that is… big."
"Yep, and it's on the list of regions for the league tournament," Louis added,
"Wait, you mean we don't do all of the battles here?" Ash questioned.
"Pika."
"Nope, we go to four different ones." John told him, "do they not do that in Kanto?"
Ash shook his head, "no, all of the gym battles take place in Kanto, once you have all eight badges you head to the Indigo Plateau."
"Hmm," John hummed in thought, "guess it makes it easier."
Louis continued on with his explanation, "we're to battle the five gyms in Havon first, then sail on the SS War Ring where several smaller battles will take place, then we head to the Talon Region and travel through the Vass desert to Vass city where we battle the desert king Cyrus," he listed off, "if we beat him we head to Philadelphia in which we compete in the Philly Battle Round-"
"Just how much do we have to do?!" the Auburn eyed Trainer questioned, this was nothing like back Kanto, or even Hoenn or Johto.
John chuckled lightly, "Oh this tournament is the biggest and meant for only the toughest trainers, hundreds from all over the world will be competing in it for the ultimate prize."
"Oooo," Ash had begun to shake in excitement now, an ultimate prize? "what's the ultimate prize?"
"No one knows," John said, "its mysterious prize that no one has managed to get… which makes it even better!"
"As I was saying about the battles," Louis interjected as Jurichi giggled as him being interrupted several times, "we go to the Philly Battle Rounds after the Vass Desert and take on the Santiago Triplets, each one using a different elemental type, Fire, Water and Grass."
"Sounds a lot like my friend Cilan's Gym back in Unova, they did something like that."
"Neat, but I bet they're nothing like the Santiago Trips," the brown haired trainer shuddered, "they're a funky bunch."
"How?"
"Just how they do things really," John added, "I don't know…"
Ash nodded, not wanting to hear anymore about them to further John's dislike of them, "What's after the triplets Louis?"
"Well after that we take a plane over to Sabre," the tanned teenager continued, "now Sabre is a different region from what you're used to. The reason is because it's a sacred land with only four ancient cities, all of them massive with walls going around the entire place." He pulled up his Pokégear and looked at the map, "Sabre's main city is the Sky Tower, it's the oldest structure in the world dating back to… hell I don't even know, but it is old as all fuck."
Ash winced at Louis's word use, back in Kanto he had on occasion heard Brock swear under his breath when he stubbed his toe on a root sticking out of the ground or when Misty Grabbed him by the ear. Misty didn't exactly keep it hidden though, she would curse sometimes when she was fishing and almost caught something but missed, "Sounds… pretty old."
"Eeyup," the tan skinned teen voiced, "then if we get through that… we head to Bosto, the final destination and one of the hardest battle regions to date. It's the oldest Region in the world, as old as the Sky Tower even, maybe even older… some of the oldest structures in the entire world are there, most of them old forts and castles, deep catacombs and mines and tons of others that have yet to be found."
John decided to add, "They're still finding catacombs, ruins and tunnels there today, and they've been digging and exploring for well over fifty years."
"How deep do have they dug?" the Kanto native asked, "I mean, like how deep… are the tunnels…"
"How far have you gone down?" Louis asked him.
"Um… you know Mount Moon?" Ash remembered that mountain well, as it as the place where he witnessed the evolution of Clefairy and saw the legendary moon stone in action, "that's about as deep as I've gone…" he would have mentioned the SS Ann, but that was a memory he never wanted to relive.
"Well the tunnels and catacombs are said to go far beyond sea level, so…" John tilted his head upwards, "about, couple thousand miles."
"Couple thousand miles?!" Ash exclaimed in thought, "that's pretty deep… just how far do they plan on digging?"
"Until they hit the bedrock I suppose."
The three continued their conversation to the lab, exchanging various topics from Pokémon battling tips to good food to take for traveling.
Behind them drove a solid black Town car, the same one from Fairview. Inside sat Doctor Lucas Tanner, his eyes closed and arms crossed as the vehicle drove to Professor Maple's laboratory. The Doctor wished he didn't have to leave Las but it was that or lose his job, "I'll be back soon Las, I promise."
The car passed by the three teens and Pokémon without so much as a second glance, continuing to the same destination as they were.
We know head to the Lab ARK Facility No1, where we look at Professor Maple and his work.
Inside the large lab was where the famed professor lived and worked, he was currently sitting in his office, typing away on his computer terminal as his subordinates walked around the lab dressed in their work attire which consisted of white lab coats continued their work, from moving small boxes filled with chemicals to using the various tools and equipment.
"Sir," someone walked into his office, "there's a man outside who wants to see you."
Maple looked up, his bright purplish eyes looking into the young women's dark brown ones, "did he say who he was?" he asked, his voice sounded smooth and business like.
"He stated he was a Doctor Lucas Tanner, he's here about the help you needed from Professor Cedar."
"Ah, he must be the replacement Cedar mentioned," he stood up and straightened his lab coat and tie, running a hand through his light brown hair he said, "let him in, and thank you."
The woman nodded and left the room, "no problem, sir."
As she left he went back over to his desk and upon reaching for his left hand drawer he opened it, inside sitting on top of papers and folders sat a small metallic case about as big as a 40Mil Syringe. He picked it up and opened it, inside of the case were several small vials which held a darkish purple liquid inside. He closed it with a sigh before putting it into his pocket and exiting the room.
He arrived on one of the small metal walkways and headed to the stairs, below several people walked around tending to their experiments and work zones, most of it was formula's regarding Pokémon physiology.
Professor Maple continued down the walkway until he came to some stairs, he walked down them the steps and walked past his research assistants with an occasional hello as he soon arrived at the lobby.
It was a large spherical room painted a marble completely white, the symbol of ARK plastered on the floor right in the middle. The ceiling was nothing but curved windows that let in a nice amount of sunshine and gave it quite the view once it was raining, the lobby desk was a large white with several computers and lobby attendants wearing the ARK uniform which consisted of a white coat and pants with black work shoes.
The doors were rounded to fit with the round-ish motif of the building's shape, it being almost round completely.
Once he was in the lobby he saw Doctor Lucas and welcomed him as several guard decked out in pitch black armor checked him, "Ahh, welcome Doctor, can I call you Lucas?"
"Yes Sir," he said, smiling as he met the famous Maple, "can I say what an honor it is to meet you sir?"
Maple chuckled, "a lot of people say that once they meet me in person, well it's an honor to meet you as well, shall we get down to business?" Lucas nodded as Maple said, "oh right, I'm waiting for someone else, do you mind? I have a student coming here and I'm suppose to give him his first Pokémon today."
"It's quite alright sir," the Secronom Doctor voiced, "I don't want to rush you."
As they waited the three humans and two Pokémon arrived at the lab, it was a large building, being almost round and four stories tall. Ash saw several windows at the top and the doors at the front were glass and rounded, surprisingly. "Wow, this lab is huge!"
"Yep, and this is the smallest lab." Louis stuck his tongue out, "there's bigger ones."
Ash didn't question it any further, it seemed people in Havon liked their stuff large. "Man."
Just as they walked towards the doors Ash bumped into someone, Ash saw black colored hair under a black cap worn backwards and brown eyes, on the hat he spotted what looked like a small light. The newcomer also donned a Black shirt over what looked like a white tee-shirt and a familiar badge pinned on the front, Saffron city. The Black haired teen also wore green fatigues with built in knee pads and steel toe boots. Black Fingerless gloves wrapped the teen's hands, the middle ring and forefinger being covered with the pinky and thumb being free, on his side was a climbers rope on hooked onto his belt and wrist compass. On his back he donned a medium sized backpack with a sleeping bag on top.
In his hands he held a Camera, one John recognized as a Nightingale 5 Pro. "That's an expensive camera."
The newcomer looked at the three before saying, "hello."
Ash decided to greet him, and apologize, "sorry about that," he held out his hand, "I'm Ash, Ash Ketchum, I'm a Pokemon Trainer from pallet." Pikachu made itself known, perching itself on Ash's head, "and this is my best friend Pikachu."
The teen looked at his hand and took it, "Dredrick Tao, Pokémon Photographer."
Louis and John walked up as well, "I'm Jonathan Reese, I'm going to be a Trainer."
"I'm Louis Macoy, I'm already a trainer." He grinned as Jurichi walked up, "and this is my partner Jurichi."
Dredrick Smiled, "nice to meet you all," he held up his camera and snapped a picture of Jurichi, "mind if I snap a few photos?"
Ash looked up at Pikachu, the last time someone tried to take Pikachu's photo they got shocked… Good ol Snap, "Umm… not sure, want your picture taken Pikachu?"
Pikachu shrugged, "Pika!"
Dredrick aimed his camera at Pikachu, and once it focused he pushed the button, snapping a Picture of both Pikachu and Ash. "Thanks."
"We should get going, I have to sign up for the league soon."
Dredrick shrugged, "cool, though I'm heading in as well, there's something big said to be going on with the league this year and I'm going to capture it all." He explained, "and it all starts here."
"Cool man," John stated, "well, let's all head inside."
The group nodded and headed to the front door, they opened automatically and the six were greeted with a breeze of fresh air conditioning. Looking around John spotted Professor Maple, "Professor!"
"Ah John you made it," Maple walked over, and spotting the young teen and his friends he greeted them, "Good to see you Louis, how's Jurichi doing?"
"She's doing fine sir," the tanned teen replied, and as if to emphasize his point Jurichi added,
"Char Charmander~"
"Well that's good," Maple laughed, once his eyes landed on Ash and Dredrick he asked, "and you two are?"
"I'm Ash Ketchum of Pallet Town," Ash grinned, "I'm here to sign up for the league."
Dredrick snapped another photo and replied, "I'm Dredrick Tao, I'm here to photograph the league's big events and build up my portfolio."
Maple nodded and cupped his chin, "hmm… alright, John," he turned to him, "I was about to call you earlier but your mother told ne you left already, I was going to tell you I just gave away my last Pokémon today to another trainer."
John's spirits seemed to have fallen at this point, there wasn't anymore? "Oh… um… alright."
Maple smiled and put his hand on the young man's shoulder, "But don't fret," he held out a PokéBall, "take this."
John took the empty PokéBall, "why?"
"Me and my assistant Lucas here are about to go out into the wild for some research, and this will give you the chance to capture your own Pokémon."
"Oh wow! Really?"
"Yes, now your friends can join us but they must be very quiet and stay close, the wilds we're heading into are vast and filled with dangerous Pokémon." He turned to Lucas, "are you ready?"
"Of course sir." He nodded, "ready when you are."
"Good, cause we're taking them with us out into the wild, both for John to get him his own starter and for the assistance I need you for." he started for the door, after one of his work assistants handed him a small brown work bag he was set.
Lucas followed behind him as Ash, Louis, John and Dredrick followed him. They exited the building and proceeded down the road, the skies were clear of clouds and the roads were packed it seemed, many people preparing for the league battles, and trips to go see the battles in person.
From the looks at the stores they were jam packed full of customers, people buying League merchandise and TV's. It was insane really, some punches were thrown but that was normal… in a way.
But soon enough they made it to the outskirts, the buildings fading away into oak trees and thick foliage. Bird Pokémon called from the tree tops and flew overhead, Ratatta and Sentret scampered away into bushes as the humans passed by. Not sure wither or not they were going to try and capture them, or merely attack them just for sport.
The group traversed through the woods, eventually going down several dirt laden paths by crystal blue rivers and streams. Dredrick took several photos of the area, spotting Pokémon grazing in the woods, Stantler and other kinds.
After about three more minutes of walking they came to a small clearing, but instead of green grass there was scorch marks on the grand, the trees were burnt slightly and the grass singed.
"Whoa, what happened here?" Ash questioned, it looked like a Charizard went all out here.
Maple took off his bag and reached into it, "no one knows what happened, though it happened last night." He pulled his hand out and in it he held what looked like a radar gun the police use, only a bit smaller.
"What's that?" Louis asked.
"This is something used to scan the dirt and pick up alien particles and take sample," he looked to Lucas, "this is what I need you for." he then looked over to John, "I think there may be some Pokémon around here, why don't you try and catch one?"
John nodded as Maple and Lucas left the group of teens to help John Catch a Pokémon.
John turned to the others and stated, "well… let's move out team!"
Everyone smiled at his enthusiasm and began moving out.
Little did they know that in the foliage, a Pokémon was watching them from a tree… it smiled then moved away to a safer distance as to follow them.