Yeah, I know, I don't own Pokemon, but let's face it, if I did, I wouldn't be typing this. All created Pokemon and characters are mine and can not be copied or used without my permission.

Enjoy.

Drakor Region:

Chapter 1:

Begin Conquest

I am a little bit of loneliness a little bit of disregard
Handful of complaints but I can't help the fact that everyone can see
these scars
I am what I want you to want what I want you to feel
But it's like no matter what I do, I can't convince you, to just believe
this is real
So I let go, watching you, turn your back like you always do
Face away and pretend that I'm not
But I'll be here 'cause you're all that I got

"Faint" by Linkin Park

Meteora

It was a cold start for a morning this far into April, but that wasn't going to stop the avid new trainers heading to Professor Aspen's laboratory. Just on the outskirts of Star Town, the lab was the place to go if you were a starting trainer needing a Pokemon. The wind was causing the tower in the Prof.'s backfield to sway slightly, as well as causing a few sleeping Blujay and Carustle to be blown into the sky.

Just outside the lab were two girls, both looking to be in their mid-teens, and both were shivering against the cold. And it's no wonder why they were cold.

The girl on the right was wearing a light blue tank top and a matching blue miniskirt. Her shining blonde hair was left loose to the wind, though it normally hung around her face and neck to the shoulder. The navy blue shoulder bag she had didn't look like it would have enough room for one's traveling needs, but it was bulging at the seams. Her pale blue eyes looked towards her twin sister beside her.

Her sister was wearing a red strapless top with arm warmers and crimson denim shorts. She too had a shoulder bag, hers' being red, that also looked like it was going to break at any moment. Her dark brown hair was tied at the base of her neck so only the ponytail was left blowing in the wind.

After a moment of waiting, the door to the lab was opened, allowing the two girls to rush in side, knocking down Professor Aspen in the process. The Prof. shook his head as he stood back up and dusted off his lab coat.

Professor Aspen looked to be in his late twenties, quite young to be running his own lab. He kept his brown hair in neat locks while his dark blue eyes seemed to always have a twinkle in them. His specialty is Pokemon Rarity, the determination of how rare a Pokemon is in an area.

Prof. Aspen faced the two girls, who had both taken seats near a table display with three pokeballs on it. Brittany, the girl in blue, was on the right side, as usual, while Courtney in red was on the left. Shaking his head, he remembered seeing them as they grew up.

Being twins, they shared everything together: clothes, toys, make-up…the only thing they couldn't share was…

Bang bang bang! A frantic banging at the door brought Prof. Aspen out of his recollection. Brittany and Courtney instantly tried to make themselves look their best for some reason. Opening the door, Prof Aspen found a young man about the age of 16 panting on his doorstep.

The boy had dirty blond hair in what looked like a comb-over, wore a white long sleeved shirt with red and blue bands around the elbows, and a pair of worn blue jeans with white running shoes barely seen underneath the folds. Wire thin glasses perched on the end of his nose, completely his image of "nerd" (sorry to people who find this offensive, but that's what he is).

"Professor! Am I too late?!?" Blake gasped out in a panicked voice. He was obviously trying to beat someone, but who was the question.

"No, no, you're fine Blake, although Brittany and Courtney are both here and they get to pick before you," Prof. Aspen replied, indicating to the twins who had looks of disappointment on their faces.

Blake perked up at the site of Brittany and Courtney. Excellent, I've got both girls to myself for once. Blake thought, instantly grabbing a seat beside Brittany. Brittany humphed, not impressed and turned her attention to Professor Aspen. Courtney smirked, glad that Blake hadn't chosen to sit next to her, as neither her nor her sister liked Blake's' persona.

"So Brittany, do you know which Pokemon you're going to pick?" Blake said, attempting to make conversation with her.

"Naturally I'm going to pick Dolphun, who else would you think? And before you ask, my sister is going to pick Ignox so you're stuck with the grass one, whatever it is," Brittany replied harshly, flipping her hair at Blake while she gave occasion glances at the door.

"Well, since it seems each of you has already decided which Pokemon one so I'll just give them to you," Professor Aspen said, trying to keep the peace in his lab. He hated fights, especially the ones that this particular group had when the final member was present.

Prof. Aspen handed a blue pokeball to Brittany, the red one to Courtney, and the green one to Blake. He then gave a corresponding Pokedex and PokeNav to each new trainer.

"Each of you should know how each of these devices operates so I'm not going to bother explaining them to you. Your extra starting materials are on the table here, marked by the Pokemon you selected," Professor Aspen explained, indicated to the table that previously held the pokeballs on it.

Blake wasn't paying much attention and began trying to talk to Brittany again. "Hey, what's your PokeNav ID? Mine's 07353R-" Blake started, cut off by Courtney suddenly questioning the Professor.

"Professor, do you know if Za-" Courtney started, only to hear the front door bang open, a rather tall guy standing in the doorway.

He stood at 6'3" in height with black hair that he keeps spiked towards the back of his head. His dark crimson eyes, coloured by special contacts even though he can see fine, flicker around the lab, taking in as much as possible. A dark red stud to cover the damage from a Bagon bite pierces his right ear lobe. He is wearing a black sleeveless shirt with a Dragold, the cyborg dragon Pokemon, on the front in flames. His cargo shorts are held up by a chain running through the belt loops with some spare chains hanging loose. His black size eleven running shoes with red laces look to be newly acquired. The other noticeable devices on Zack are his spiked wristband and the golden/dark red pokeball on a chain around his neck.

The boy looked towards the Professor while both girls batted their eyelashes at him. "So Professor, am I too late?" was all the boy said.

"Not at all, you're actually earlier than I expected…Zack Ketchum."

Blake sneered at Zack, hating the way that the twins fawned over him. What was it that Zack did to deserve so much attention? Maintaining his cool, Blake tried to unsettle Zack.

"Oh gee, what a shame Zack, it seems that there are no more Pokemon to be given away to new trainers today. Looks like you have to wait until next month," Blake said, spinning his green pokeball in his hand.

Zack stepped inside the lab and stood in the middle of the floor. Then he detached a pokeball from one of the chains on his belt and held it out. "What do I need of one of your starters when I have one from my father right here?" was all Bane said in return.

Blake looked like he had the wind knocked out of him. Whenever Blake tried to take Zack down, whether with wit or game, he always got pushed further down the hole. Blake once tried to drop water balloons on Zack while in the cafeteria at school, only for the balloons to somehow hit the school bully instead. Blake felt the after effects of that for a week.

Professor Aspen disappeared into his office for a moment, emerging after Blake and Zack's spat with a rectangular box, which he presented to Zack. "This is from your father as well, although I have no idea what it could be. He just posted a message on the corner to open it on your own and use it carefully," Professor Aspen said as Zack walked over and took the package and read the note for himself. Zack nodded, tucking the package into his bag.

"Zack, what Pokemon did your dad send you? Is it a dragon, like you're always talking about?" Courtney queried

"Yah, show us Zacky, you know you want to," piped up Brittany.

Blake scowled at Zack, and then blurted out, "How about a battle 'Zacky'?" The instant the words left Blake's' mouth, he regretted it.

Zack turned to face Blake and stared at him for a moment. After what felt like eons, Zack spoke. "Your on, Flake."