Chapter 1: Legend of the King
She wandered the edges of Lacunosa Town, thinking. The forests and the rough terrain were silent this autumn day, with nary a sound uttered, save for the crunching of leaves under Olivia Touko Rion, who wandered the copses of trees, no purpose in mind. The day was stretching into the late afternoon, the blue sky darkening with the slow descent of the sun.
She had journeyed into the town, hearing rumors of strong pokemon, strong opponents for her team to train against. She fiddled with the pokeballs on her belt as she contemplated this; her brother Hibert, better known as "Hil", had told her of this and her curiosity piqued, she decided to travel to the sleepy town, hoping for better prospects in life than what she had now, traveling aimlessly through life.
The white washed walls of Lacunosa Town loomed over the trees like a silent monolith; she suspected that the walls were old and beautiful when the sun set, splashing them with color. A policeman met her at the entrance of the town, standing by an arch, the thick wooden doors held ajar. He looked as if he just finished his patrol for the day and was only resting.
"Careful miss," he warned her as she came close. "It's dangerous to be out so late."
Olivia glanced upwards. "It's not that late," she countered, much to the policeman's scowl.
"You're not from here, are you?"
She shook her head. "No, I came here because my twin brother said that it was a good place to train."
"It is, during the day."
"What do you mean?"
He ignored her question "You better get inside before the gate shuts for the night. "There's a Pokemon Center in the town square if you need a place to sleep." He sounded terse and annoyed with her questions.
Olivia nodded in gratitude. "Thank you. Have a good night." she skittered past him as he snorted at her. It would appear that she made a poor impression on him. "Either that or I just happened to cross him on a very bad day." The Pokemon Center loomed over the old and quaint buildings of Lacunosa Town, the shiny red and white roof indicative of this. As she passed the buildings, she could see the wary eyes of the residents as they gazed at her through partially closed windows. Maybe they were suspicious of her, she guessed. Or they weren't used to villagers.
She crossed the town square, past the fountain that gurgled sluggishly, sputtering water in bursts. Like everything else in the village, it too, was white, marble to be exact, with veins of black and gray running through it. Curious to get a look of the town she would be staying in, Olivia decided to sit on the edge of the fountain, to get her moorings before she became hopelessly lost. She had a horrible habit of ending up lost. Cheren, her friend, swore that she could get lost in a paper bag. "I probably could too," she laughed at herself. The fountain burbled behind her, as if agreeing with her presumptions.
Olivia adjusted her pink and white cap-a gift from another friend, Bianca—and took a good hard look at the village. It was built of clean lines and straight roads. Some of the houses had multiple stories, with large patios and verandas. It looked as if it was used for some other purpose other than what it did now, which intrigued her. But the town was quiet and still, almost stagnent, and it struck her as odd. Even in places like her hometown of Alcumula Town, there was some activity at this time of day. Here, there was nothing. In fact, other than the police officer and the glimpses of onlookers, she didn't see anybody out, something that made her uneasy.
"Maybe I better get out of this place while I still can," she muttered. She reached for her shoulder bag, which she had taken off as she sat, and headed for the Pokemon Center, praying that she didn't get lost along the way.
The sliding doors of the Pokemon Center opened as she stepped inside, amazed at the cleanliness of the place. The Center was empty, save for the Nurse Joy at the counter and the Audino at her side. There were no trainers, no guests at any of the chairs or tables. A television blared in the corner of the room, shattering the eerie silence. Along one of the wall were stone panels, with carvings of fantastic beasts. The Nurse Joy, who had been reading a newspaper, perked up at Olivia's approach.
"Welcome to the Pokemon Center," she greeted happily, as if she was overjoyed to have guests. "What can I do for you?"
"I'd like a room please," Olivia answered, handing over her trainer card. All trainers carried one, for both identification and registration, among other things.
The Nurse Joy took the card and slid it through a machine attached to the computer. "Are you Olivia Rion?"
"Yes ma'am."
"It has been a while since we received any travelers," Nurse Joy lamented, handing the card back to Olivia. "All I've been getting are sniffles and colds from the residents' pokemon. No trainers."
"No trainers?" Olivia asked, curious.
Nurse Joy nodded. "We haven't received a trainer in quite a few months. The last one was about six months ago. We haven't heard anything from him since." she shrugged. "I guess he moved on to another town." Olivia sensed that she wanted to add something more, but decided not too, which piqued Olivia's curiosity.
"Why haven't there been any more trainers?"
Nurse Joy pointed to the stone panels on the western wall. "That's why." Depicted on the panels was a monstrous beast like creature, with a massive head and jagged wings that protruded from his back. Despite the primitive design, Olivia could sense the power lurking underneath the bestial facade. "That's Kyurem, the Frost King. According to legend, he is the master of ice and snow and at night, he travels here to hunt."
"Kyurem? I've never heard of him."
"Very few have. Many dismiss him as a local legend, with some skeptics claiming that "Kyurem" is nothing more than some dragon type that got loose and lived in the woods since." Nurse Joy shook her head. "But I shouldn't be worrying you. Do you need anything? Food, healing for your pokemon?"
"Well, I am a bit hungry and I think my pokemon need to stretch their limbs."
"I have some pizza in the oven. It's not much but then again, it's been very quiet."
"I'm okay with pizza." Olivia reached for her pokeballs, releasing them one by one. "Come on out guys!"
Six flashes of light appeared, revealing the silhouettes of six pokemon. Nurse Joy could pick out the forms of a Samurott, Sawsbuck, Krookodile and Archeops, but the last two were not as unfamiliar to her. "What are those two pokemon?" Nurse Joy asked. "They don't look like Unova Pokemon."
"Oh, that's Ceasar, my Infernape," Olivia pointed to a monkey like pokemon, studded with golden armor like protrusions, carrying a staff that looked well worn with use. "And that's Hoplon, my Bastiodon." Her finger went to a ceratopsian pokemon, tan and gray, with a broad shield like face and two horns jutting just above her eyes. "My twin brother—the family's little training prodigy," Olivia nearly spat the last part. "Was chosen to be a part of a foreign exchange program with the professor in Sinnoh. So he traveled in Sinnoh for a bit and he sent me back a Chimchar—that's Ceasar's beginning form—and a Shieldon for me. The others are Joan, my Samurott; Rannoch, my Sawsbuck; that one is Oakley, the Krookodile, and Achilles, the Archeops—Rannoch! Stop eating the plants!" The deer pokmone looked at her guiltily, his tail drooping and bowing his head, his antlers crowned with the red leaves of autumn.
"Your pokemon look very healthy to me," Nurse Joy smiled. "You should be proud."
"I am, when they aren't driving me mental." Olivia's stomach growled and she flushed, chagrined. "Um, can I have that pizza now?"
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Olivia sat on the edge of the bed, sated with her meal of oven cooked pizza and whatever else Nurse Joy let her have, which included a bowl of chocolate chip ice cream. It would seem that Nurse Joy was much more lonely than expected, Olivia thought as she tugged out the scrunchie from her hair. Thick and a chestnut brown, it always was unmanageable, at least to Olivia it was, hence, the pony tail. Her mother always told her it was her best feature, along with her blue eyes, while Olivia dubbed it "The Mane", unruly and untamed as it was. She wondered as she brushed her hair, if she could cut it short in a cute bob like Bianca's, just to save the trouble of managing it,
She had long since changed out of her traveling clothes—a white tee with shorts and hiking boots—and into her pajamas, a white tank top with a pair of pajama bottoms, dotted with dancing mareep and miltanks. She set the brush aside and pulled out the Xtranceiver to give Bianca a call. After dealing with the residents of the town, coupled with the legend of a monster lurking about the town, she needed a dose of sanity. She dialed the number, praying that Bianca would answer.
"Hello?" Bianca's sleepy visage appeared on the screen and Olivia gave a sigh of relief. "Olivia, is that you?"
"Hey Bianca, what's shake'n'bakin'?" Olivia fell back on the bed, Xtransceiver in hand.
"Olivia, that is such a cheesy phrase, but I'm doing okay, just hanging out at the lab. How are things on your end?"
"I just crashed at the Pokemon Center here at Lacunosa Town. I heard it was a good place to train, so I decided to stay here for a bit."
"Still trying to attempt to beat the League?"
Olivia frowned at the remark. "Trying to, at least. In case you didn't hear, I got trounced again by Alder. I don't know how Hil did it."
"He's just really good, that's all. It's weird though that he didn't decide to become Champion."
"Gee thanks, that's the last thing I need, to be compared to the Champion."
"Sorry. I'm not trying to put you down or anything."
"I know Bianca. It's just I get tired of always being compared to my brother, that's all. Just because we're twins doesn't mean that we oughta be always compared to each other."
"You did dismantle Team Plasma by yourself and get chosen by Reshiram you know. You should be proud of that."
"No one's going to hear about it."
"I did, and so did Cheren."
Olivia smiled. "Thanks Bianca."
"Somebody has to keep your pessimism in check. You need to come back and visit though. It gets boring without you or Cheren. I need somebody to paint nails with." she teased.
Olivia pulled a face. "You know that I don't like to paint my nails. Is Cheren still a hobo on the mountain top?"
"Yeah, he's almost as bad as you. At least he visits occasionally, unlike somebody I know. Cheren owes me an ice cream too."
"I know, I know. It's..it's just that I still need to, you know, find my place, what I want to do. Hil is busy being, well Hil, you work with Professor Juniper and Cheren wants to be the next Champion. Me, I don't know what I want to do."
"I thought you wanted to be a Champion too."
"Everybody does." Olivia waved a hand. "But not everybody is cut out for it."
"But it never hurts to try it."
"Since when did you become so wise?" Olivia joked.
"Since I started hanging out with Professor Juniper. And I'm not that wise."
"I know, because who else would complain about Cheren owing them an ice cream."
"Well he does!"
Olivia pursed her lips, as if wondering about something. "Bianca?"
"Yeah?"
"Can you ask Professor Juniper about something for me?"
"Fire away."
"At Lacunosa Town, everybody is weirded out by some kind of pokemon-monster-like thing called "Kyurem". Can you ask the Professor to see if she knows anything about it, if she's even heard about it?"
"'Kyurem'? That sounds like a noise someone would make if they sneeze. "Kyurem!" "Oh, bless you!" "Why thank you!"" Bianca made faces as she went through her little skit, causing Olivia to break into peals of laughter.
"So...much for...you...being wise," Olivia said between laughs. "Thanks."
"No prob. Do you want me to tell you if she knows, or do you want Professor Juniper to tell you?"
"Either one would do. Thanks again for your help." Olivia glanced at the clock. "Well, it's getting late on my end, I guess we better get to bed, huh?"
"You're telling me. I was in bed when you called."
"I noticed. Night Bianca."
"Night Olivia, and don't forget about visiting us, because I don't have anybody to..."
"I know, I know. Night Bianca." Olivia shut the Transciever off and shoved it back into the bag.
The night sky was pouring in through the windows of her room, bathing everything with a silvery light. Feeling lonely, she pulled out the pokeball of Joan, her Samurott and let the otter pokemon out of the ball. "Hey Joan," she cooed to the warrior pokemon. "Wanna sleep with me tonight, just like old times?" Joan snorted, the long white whiskers on her snout quivering and clambered onto the bed, moving her head to avoid skewering Olivia on the large barbed spike that made up her "helmet". She rested her head on Olivia's head and her trainer absentmindedly stroked the deep blue fur of Joan's neck.
Her hand accidentally brushed against another pokeball in the belt next to her bag and Olivia paused, hand hovering over Joan's neck. With her free hand, she reached over and plucked it off the belt. It was violet on one half, white on the other. Two circles of pink appeared on the top half, with a "M" was painted in white in between the two circles. It was a Master Ball that she had used to capture Reshiram, in order to defeat N and Team Plasma, but after the battle, she decided to release the Legendary, feeling that she didn't deserve to have the dragon pokemon. It would have been unfair to keep it on her team. So, one day, she went out to the woods and released Reshiram. Ironically though, the ball didn't break, as balls were wont to do when they go through the ordeal.
"I wonder if it was the right choice," Olivia said. Joan, annoyed that her trainer decided to stop petting her, glared at the Master Ball and snorted derisively, as if answering Olivia's question for her.
"You're right," Olivia said with a bitter laugh. "I mustn't worry about stupid things like that. I made the right choice, so I shouldn't regret it, right?"
Joan nodded.
"You are much wiser than me." Oliva hugged the otter pokemon around the neck. Joan rumbled in her throat, please. "Night Joan." Olivia settled under the covers of the bed while Joan rested her head on Olivia's abdomen, content.
Her eyes slowly began to close when suddenly, a scream ripped through the night. Olivia jumped out of the bed, heart hammering in her chest, hand reaching for her pokeballs. Joan leaped off as well, standing on her hind legs and grabbing the shell blade that were tucked away on her forearms. The scream was gutteral, throaty; a noise that no human could make naturally. It rang in her ears, like rusty knives on a chalkboard or ice cracking. The scream was heard once, twice more, each longer and higher pitched than before. Did Kyurem make off with another victim, as the story went? Or was it something else entirely?
Olivia went to the window and peeked outside, like a child would, waiting for Santa Claus. Nobody was running outside to investigate the noise; they must be used to it by now.
"Or they're too frightened to even get out of bed." Olivia shivered to herself, the echoes of the bestial scream running through her head like a broken tape player. After a while, she managed to steady herself enough to crawl back into bed. It took even longer for Joan to sheathe her shell blades and crawl back into bed.
Before she went to bed though, Olivia checked to see if the windows were locked.
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He stirred from his lair, sensing something wasn't right. He lifted his head off the ground and sniffed at the air. The air tonight seemed different, what it was to cause such a thing, he wasn't sure. He inhaled once more, feeling the heat from the air cool to subzero temperatures in his sinuses. The air seemed richer, unknown, like a memory from the past that was mere shadows, teasing him in his faulty memory...
. . .That was it.
The air was filled with the taint of what he had once been. The air was filled with the taint of truth-
-Of Reshiram.
He gnashed his teeth and bellowed with rage. How dare they come into his territory! He did not need reminders of his past, to taunt him, to haunt him. He screeched with rage and the air dropped to subzero temperatures, flash freezing everything within the vicinity. Using his deformed wings, he flapped outside and on top of the rock formation that he called his home. He screamed once again and the air was filled with ice crystals, covering the trees, the rocks, the bushed, with a thick rime. Wild pokemon fled from his presence and huddled close together for warmth and protection from him. He screeched a second time and ice covered all that was in his territory with the frost. Reshiram wouldn't dare to enter his territory now.
He would show them! How dare they!
He bellowed a third time, this one of regret and mourning. The screams faded to an echo, only to be swallowed by the night. He surveyed his territory, the scent of winter in his nostrils, the stench of truth and Reshiram gone. He slowly made his way back down, flapping and hopping like a bird.
It would take hours for the pokemon to be back to normal.
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A couple of fun facts :)
Yes, Olivia is based off of White/Hilda in the games. She was originally going to be called "Sarah", after the girl in my game, but a lot of people were using that name, so I went with Olivia. Her last name, "Rion", is "Noir" backwards, which is French for "Black".
Her Samurott, Joan, is named for Saint Joan of Arc, the female warrior who defeated the British in the Hundred Year War and was burned at the by the Roman Catholic Church after being accused of heresy. Her infernape, Caesar, is named for Caesar in "The Planer of the Apes".
See if you can guess the meaning of the names of the other ones :)
Like it? Love it? Absolutely loathe it? Send a review to express your opinion!
~Gwen :)
