Beginnings and Endings

Disclaimer: I probably should have put this in the prologue, but I do not own any part of Pokemon. Well, technically, I own a few of the games. What I mean is, I don't own the concept of Pokemon, in just the same way I don't own the concept of this story. I think. Never mind, forget everything I said except for the first sentence.

Author's Note: I'm writing about Pokemon. That's about all.

Fun Fact: Apparently, 75 of Azurill are female, yet only 50 of Marill and Azumarill are female. Therefore, 33 of female Azurill will change gender once they evolve. Truly odd.

--

I was just an ordinary trainer from Oldale Town who aspired to "be the very best".

I set out on my journey at the age of ten, as most common trainers do. Within a month, I had defeated the Dewford Gym with my Mudkip and newly caught Ekans, earning my first Knuckle Badge.

The only gym battle I lost throughout the whole region was at Mauville. Then again, I knew nothing of types at the time, and I sent up a Water and a Poison type Pokemon against Electric and Steel types. However, while training for a rematch, my Mudkip evolved into Marshstomp, and I easily decimated the Magnemite and Voltorb, obtaining my third badge in the procedure.

Quickly, I earned my other six badges, suffering not a single loss in the process.

Over time, my Ekans and my Marshstomp evolved, and I obtained a few new Pokemon as well, including a Houndour, a Sunkern, and even a rare Yanma.

You see, I had never wanted just to capture as many Pokemon as possible. I figured out that if I could just get most of the basic types, I would be able to destroy my opponents while still being able to individually train each. Because of this, my Pokemon soon eventually figured out when to use some of their attacks, even without my instructions.

Best of all, they learned how to dodge if something was going to hit them. I have no idea why most trainers don't just drill it into their Pokemon's heads to try to dodge if something would hurt them. For some odd reason, in nearly every battle I've ever had, my opponent still feels the need to call out, "Dodge!" Ah well, it's been an advantage to me. My rant is over now.

Using this strategy, I even captured the rank of sixteenth place at the recent Hoenn League Tournament.

Yes, I had felt so confident at the end of my travels there, ready to begin my adventures in Johto by August, questing to capture the number one rank. I was so overly optimistic about my forthcoming adventures.

Not anymore. I have more at stake than a title. Much, much, much more.

Three hours ago I was just a boy who was trying to strengthen his Bagon in a routine double battle. Now, I am … the Chosen One.

--

"Bagon, Rotom, to the line of battle!" I declare, as I toss the Pokeballs into the air. Hmm…I still can't come up with a good catch phrase.

Quickly, two shapeless, red bolts of energy emerge from their Pokeballs. As the light dissipates from the first one, the familiar blue Dragon type with the triple-crested head appears in its place, poised for battle. In fact, she looks as if she is getting ready to Headbutt the opponent already.

Meanwhile, my trusty Rotom materializes next to it. Rotom is quite an odd Pokemon. The plasma that surrounds it is always moving, even if the Pokemon itself is standing perfectly still. It does not matter anyway, as Rotom's main strength is its speed.

At the same time, my opponent calls out a Stantler and a Whismur, and they both seem as determined as mine to win.

The Stantler starts pawing the ground, and I stare intently at the antlers for five seconds before returning my focus to the battle at hand.

The small pink Whismur just stands, or seemingly squats, watching the other three Pokemon.

Breaking the tension of the first moment, I quickly order my Rotom to use Thunder Wave at the Stantler.

A bolt of electricity bounds out from Rotom's body, and races across the field to Stantler.

"Dodge!" The opponent cries out, but it is too late. The bolt has met its target, and Stantler is upon the ground now, unable to make a single move.

"Whismur, Howl, and then Pound on Rotom!" My opponent shouts to the small Pokemon. It obeys and lets off a hundred-decibel howl. As my Pokemon reel from the sheer volume, Whismur charges forward through the grass and attempts to batter the Plasma Pokemon. Instead, the punches pass through Rotom easily.

"Rotom is part Ghost, remember? Normal type moves do nothing to it," I mockingly explain to my opponent.

I watch as he furiously contemplates the fact that both of his Pokemon are Normal types.

"Oh well, it doesn't matter, since Ghost types can't hit Normal types, either," he retorts.

Great. Now I really wish I had put a damaging Electric type attack on Rotom.

"Now, Stantler, use Stomp on Bagon!" My opponent commands.

Stantler forces its front hoof upon the ground, causing a small ripple of land that tosses Bagon into the air. Fortunately, she is able to invert herself, and only her nearly unbreakable crest hits the ground.

Now my Bagon retaliates, not even waiting for my order. The Dragon type charges forward, instantly striking Stantler with a series of powerful Headbutts.

The painful thumps, combined with Stantler's inability to budge, cause it to faint within ten seconds or so.

The opponent calls back his Stantler, congratulates it, and then returns his focus once again to the battle at hand.

Whismur slowly backs away from my Pokemon. As Bagon steps closer to it, I quickly order Rotom to fire off another Thunder Wave.

Although Whismur springs high up in the air to avoid the attack, it fails, and falls to the ground paralyzed. Just as my Bagon prepares a final Headbutt…

Odd… a light Drizzle. The sky was devoid of clouds just a moment earlier. Ah well, nothing like this has ever stopped me before.

However, as soon as I finish thinking that, the rain starts to pound down, and I hear a distant rumble of thunder. A thunderstorm? In just two minutes?

Quickly, I delve within my mind and cogitate. Because my Rotom is an Electric Pokemon, it will most likely attract electricity, acting as a sort of lightning rod. Due to the fact that Rotom is made of plasma, it would not be hurt, but the Pokemon in the immediate vicinity, namely Bagon and Whismur, could be.

I quickly explain this to my opponent, who agrees with me to end the battle. We both return our individual Pokemon to their Pokeballs.

My Rotom complies, but for some incomprehensible reason, my Bagon dodges every attempt to return her, and races off across the meadow over one of the tall hills surrounding our location.

I quickly race after it, suspecting that something is very wrong. Bagon is actually one of my most loyal Pokemon; it never does something like that.

As I near the crest of the hill, I slow down slightly partly due to exhaustion, and partly because of the fact that I am drenched with rain. Bagon continues to race forward nearly to the edge of the cliff.

Wait, there's a cliff around here? I knew we were near the ocean, but this close?

Increasing my speed greatly, I dash forward to her location…and nearly plummet off the edge. However, I quickly lean backwards, dropping back onto the grass near the precipice.

I cautiously creep over now, and gaze above the cliff. All I see is a small beach two hundred feet below and miles of violent water, churned by the stormy winds.

Unfortunately, my Bagon decides to point its stubby arm downwards.

"This is not the time! We're in the middle of a thunderstorm!" I yell, as I uselessly crouch to try to avoid the lightning.

Bagon adamantly continues to point downward, and then hits me with a Headbutt when I refuse to comply.

"Hey!" I angrily shout to her, as I recoil from the force of the attack.

Once again she points downward, and I refuse, eventually causing me to be injured again.

Recognizing the cycle, I decide to simply follow Bagon's instructions to avoid the risk of being hurt again.

However, I soon realize that I left my Yanmega, the only flying type Pokemon I have, at Professor Birch's Laboratory recently.

I quickly dash over the hill, this time in the opposite direction, about to ask my opponent if he had any flying types available. My opponent, unluckily, has left, most likely looking for a Pokemon center in which to settle in for the duration of the storm.

Once again, I dart over the hill to the cliff. My Bagon, of course, still seems as if it will destroy me if I don't go downwards.

"All right, we have no choice. Let's go back. Please?" I quickly state to Bagon.

"Bagon, Bagon!" She replies, while crouching slightly and aiming a rock-solid head, now both literally and figuratively, at me.

Perfect. I have a Houndoom, a Lairon, an Arbok, a Rotom, a Swampert, a deranged Bagon, some Pokemon food, a few circular sandwiches, and two empty Pokeballs on hand. I just have to figure out how to employ them all to get down a two hundred foot drop.

Jokingly, I think about evolving my Bagon to Salamence in the next ten minutes. However, I clear the thought out of my mind and settle on attempting to create a real strategy.

Slowly, I formulate a makeshift plan. Swiftly, I reach near my belt and locate Lairon's and Swampert's Pokeballs. Once the little buttons on the Pokeballs, which have some technical name I forgot, are tapped, they expand in size, and I automatically throw them. Two more beams of red light emerge, as I pick up the currently empty devices.

My bluish Swampert stands on all fours, appearing quite courageous. She seems to be almost enjoying the pounding rain, basking in it like a Grass or Fire type would in sunlight.

Meanwhile, my Lairon appears, low but mighty. He gives a low bellow, as if trying to terrify an invisible opponent. Rain washes off his metallic plates, slowly quickly running off in sheets. The metal gleams with a quiet ruthlessness.

Promptly, I order Lairon to use Iron Defense. A sheen runs over its plates. Lairon should now be even hardier than before.

"Swampert, get behind Lairon!" I yell. She obeys me and deftly leaps to the back of Lairon.

"Now, Lairon, I want you to jump off the cliff, and then use Protect right before you hit the bottom. Swampert, follow Lairon!" I scream to them.

They torpidly turn around, a questioning look on their face. I give a slight nod and simply say, "Just trust me."

Lairon crouches slightly, and then springs forward right off the edge, with Swampert closely trailing him.

I zip forward to the edge of the cliff and watch their quick descent.

As Lairon falls, he enacts a small barrier which somewhat reflects the miniscule traces of light.

Just as I expect, the Protect keeps Lairon from feeling the full force of the impact, while the Iron Defense combined with his sturdiness lessens the recoil even more. Lairon bounces off, barely harmed.

Meanwhile, Swampert agilely jumps off Lairon as soon as the Barrier hits, keeping her from being painfully damaged either.

Now, I scream down to Swampert, "Muddy Water upward," Hoping that it will cushion my fall.

A large geyser appears, at a height of approximately halfway up.

I return my Bagon to her Pokeball before she can respond.

Slowly, I glance over the edge. It's still quite a long way down. What if I miss? I'd be dead in four seconds flat. Nervously, my fingers twitch for some unknown reason. Ah, well, Swampert can't hold up that Muddy Water forever, even in this weather.

I quickly dart forward, taking a second to even realize that I am falling. One thought flashes through my mind as I fall; I should have thought of a way back up.

Wow, this is marvelous! Such an incredible thrill!

That's when I realize I had missed the Muddy Water.

I frantically wave my arms and legs, trying to position myself to get back there. It slowly works, and at a height of only thirty feet or so, I am able to steer myself back into the stream.

I quickly jerk upwards due to inertia, but then fall down again in the Muddy Water within a second.

The blast of water slowly lessens as Swampert realizes that I am in it. I gradually descend, and I am safe, if not somewhat muddy. Anyway, the rain will soon wash off the dirt.

The water is only a few dozen feet away at this point. A large wave could easily reach me here.

I recall my Swampert and Lairon into their respective Pokeballs, and then send out Bagon once again so that it can tell me what was so important that I had had to jump two hundred feet.

"Bagon, Bagon!" She screams, obviously angry that I sent her back into her Pokeball without telling her.

However, she soon stops worrying about it and instead leads me around the next corner, a large fold in the rock, which obviously had been eroded quite a bit due to its smoothness.

A cave stands only ten yards away. There is a bright orange light emanating from it. The light is so inviting, especially in this weather.

I quickly dash to it, almost unaware that my feet are moving. The light is so nice and warm…

I finally reach the opening and slowly walk inside. I knew I would have seen many odd things in my travels, but nothing like this. In the cave is one truly magnificent Pokemon:

Ho-oh.