Authors notes:1
Heyyy everyone! Thanks for checking out my fic! Fair warning, this one will be sorta dark and as the name implies, reshuffles a bit of Pokemon Black's events. There will be other characters from other regions appearing too. Additionally, some familiar characters will feel a bit different due to how they grew up in this version of the Pokemon world. This fic is partly inspired by the Pokemon mangas so it'll be more violent. Be sure to review and follow if you enjoy my works!
Somewhere on a spiral tower, sat a dormant bell. Among stone graves and misty clouds it hung above the rest of the mortal world. Resting, hanging, yet producing not a sound in the skies above. Legends say it gauges the purity of one's soul, just as it would judge one's character. It was akin to that of a ritual that weighed a single feather against one's heart in a distant culture, in another distant realm. Then, one day a boy came upon the bell, his hand touching its cold steel finish. He had hoped it would ring, spreading its clear song to the heavens.
But the bell did not respond.
Leaves blew in the cool summer breeze, scattering into the wind. A swath of warm sunlight beamed through an open window of a large research lab, hi-lighting a human figure and a small, blue-ish Pokemon inside.
"Osha, Osha, watt!" Oshawott leaped up onto one of the lab tables, cluttered with an array of scientific equipment. Beakers, scales, and paperwork all organized in a neat pile in the corner. Excited, the small creature waddled its way to an already prepared bowl of pokemon food, sniffing its contents before taking a first bite before turning to the human beside it with an annoyed glance. "Osha!" It squeaked, pointing to the bowl"
"You need more spices? That's unhealthy, you know?" Black sighed, picking up a pepper dispenser, sprinkling its contents into Oshawott's food.
"Oshawott" The brunette watched his little companion huff proudly, crossing its tiny arms. Brushing a bit of dust from his lab coat, he paced to the fridge, grabbing some leftovers to heat up some noodles from the night before. Along with this, he poured some cups of ready made coffee, leaving one to sit on a lone desk while he enjoyed his own cup. Slowly taking in its fresh aroma, he then heard a familiar click coming from one of the lab doors.
"Morning, Black!" Professor Juniper came from the other side, exchanging her purse for a lab coat that hung next to the door. "How are you and Oshawott holding up during the night shift?" She joked, a small smile creeping up on her face.
"Nothing much as usual, professor. We've been able to scare off any thieves that might fancy the place." Black ruffled through his bed hair lazily while Oshawott squeaked in a similar sentiment. It put its paws up to its chest in a proud fashion.
"And what about the Pokemon living in the lab?" Juniper shot another question, noticing the dark bags under the brunette's eyes. The more she observed him the more worried she grew.
"I fed them, and recorded the data as always" Black answered without skipping a beat, not bothered to fix his messy appearance. The more he idled, the more he felt the ire of the professor dig into him as he started to feel like a trapped Lillipup. Suddenly, he saw the Juniper raise a comb from her coat, a serious yet determined look in her eyes. He started to back away knowing what was coming.
"Black, come here now. I just want to fix your hair for you just a bit" Juniper smiled, sending the lazy boy running in the opposite direction, scattering a flurry of papers in the process. "Oh you won't get away this time!" Packing her pace, turning corner after corner in the crowded lab, she managed to move out of the way of an incoming stream of water from a hallway entrance.
"It'll take more than that to catch me!" Black's voice rang out from the halls with his Oshawott cheering. Hurrying footsteps quickly disappearing into the distance.
"Tch! Not playing fair huh?" Juniper grabbed a pokeball from her lab coat, "Minccino, swift!" Suddenly, a large gray chinchilla pokemon popped, throwing its bushy tail in the air in a swinging motion, producing a shower of stars that zoomed into the two rascals gunning for another door from the hallway.
"Oshawott, razor shell!" Black prepared himself, raising in arm to protect himself while Oshawott swatted away the incoming flood of stars in rapid succession, each impact causing a small shockwave that rippled across walls of the lab. "Now follow it up with another water gun!"
Oshawott huffed and puffed its tiny body, before opening its mouth and releasing a torrent of water headed straight from the defenseless Minccino who covered its eyes in panic when a stray of green whipped by, along with a long vine that strike the water type, canceling out its attack.
"Huh?! A vine whip?" Black twisted his body to the side, avoiding another onslaught of vines as he scooped up Oshawott, rolling away from a flurry of glowing embers coming from the darkness.
"Osha!" Oshawott yelped in shock being shielded by its trainer.
"Are you okay, buddy?" Black eyed his starter, but neither of them had time to react as a set of vines latched onto the brunette's legs, catching him before he could make another move. "Shit!"
"Black, that's enough" He heard a familiar voice approach, followed by another pokemon's. He turned his head to look, seeing Cheren walk in with his Snivy while Bianca followed with her Tepig.
"Black, are you and Oshawott ok?" Bianca hurried over to the downed pair of pokemon and trainer laying on the ground, worried.
"Yea…" Black muttered, finally admitting defeat. He then felt a comb dig into his messy hair and Juniper sighing in relief.
"Look at the mess you made. Causing trouble for Professor Juniper!" Cheren raised a hand, pointing at Black and Oshawott, sitting quietly in a pair of lab chairs. The brunette now has less messy hair and more of a smooth spiky finish. Sitting still, his dead eyes stubbornly eyed Cheren's with his mouth turned up in a slight frown.
"I simply didn't want my hair messed with" Black shot back matter of fact, only making his friend reply in a loud facepalm.
"Osha, Osha!" Oshawott chimed in, following his trainer's example, earning an irate glance from Cheren's Snivy.
"H-how about we help professor Juniper clean up the lab first?" Bianca suggested sheepishly, directing the two male's attention away from their little squabble. Cheren looked around, finally noticing the carnage of scattered lab papers and tipped over equipment the chase had caused.
"Now that I look at it, the mess is far less than usual" He pushed up his glasses, already desensitized to Black and Oshawott's antics. He saw Juniper also ignoring the mess, preferring to check in on the lab pokemon that had been left overnight with Black.
"I made sure nothing important was knocked over this time" Black gestured to the computers, and other expensive gear that dotted the facility. "The route I chose also left out the possibility of running into any pokemon".
"That's…actually a bit impressive-" Cheren mused, then halted his train of thought, turning to Black again, "but that still doesn't mean you should have ran like you did. I feel bad having to burden the professor each time we come here"
"Yea, professor Juniper has been like a parent to us sometimes" Bianca said, causing the room to go silent. Black scratched his head embarrassed, lowering his face.
"I should probably apologize to her again. I'm sorry for causing trouble." Black rose up from his seat with Oshawott following close behind. Together, the two found Juniper checking the temperature of a Patrat on the lab table.
"Are you doing ok, Black?" She turned, asking in concern, while the teenager handed her a neat stack of papers he had gathered from the floor.
"I'm sorry professor," The boy looked away, "I didn't mean to cause trouble again".
"Oshawotttt…" The small pokemon in Black's arms also called out, its small beady eyes grew in size, imitating the pout of a lillipup.
Black let out a small yelp, surprised at the light smack from a rolled up piece of paper, followed up by a light scolding from Juniper. "As long as you remember to always brush your hair in the morning. I can't be there for you when you're out in the wild, alright". The professor huffed, scolding the boy as if she were his mother.
"Ok, ok, you don't need to tell me twice"
"By the way, aren't we leaving tomorrow? Have you two packed up everything yet?" Cheren fumbled with his pokedex, calibrating it to make sure nothing was wrong for the journey ahead. The small, smart phone, like device was given by Juniper as a gift to the three after their graduation from the local academy.
Bianca hesitated, but put on a half smile, "I tried convincing my parents, but I think it should be fine". Both her and her Tepig still sounded unsure. Her family was always against the journey, however she persisted, winning a bittersweet battle of words.
"Do what you want, don't let them hold you back" blunt, but encouraging words came from her messy haired friend. For some reason, right after cleaning up the lab, Black's hair flared up again like he had rubbed his head against an angry pikachu.
"What about your family Cheren? Did they say anything before we went?" Not wanting to dive into her own family issues any further, Bianca shifted the topic. Cheren pushed up his glasses, having Snivy by his side made him seem more confident.
"As much as I want to say they gave a full green light to my plans, my mother still worries about me" The bespectacled boy replied, "But I told them I would make it to the Pokemon league even if they tried to stop me"
"That's pretty reassuring, I wish I could say that to my dad when he's angry" Bianca sighed. Everytime she had voiced her wishes to become a trainer, her parents would dismiss her dream. However she persisted, and with the help of Juniper, they managed to convince her family. Yet, only time could tell if they'd change their minds again.
"It sounds like you two have finally sorted things out back home" Juniper walked over, "Black, what about things on your side with Glenda?" At the mention of that name, everyone in the room seemed to freeze. Leaving the room to be filled with the low hums of the lab equipment, casting in an eerie silence.
"It's fine, she didn't say anything".
"Are you sure it's a good idea to leave without telling your mother?" Cheren insisted, plowing through a field of tall grass, the individual blades of green brushing against his face. Occasionally, he would brush against the leg or tail of wild pokemon in the area. Several feet away from him were Black and Bianca on either side, making their way through the crowded area of route one.
"She probably forgot I was at the lab a long time ago, probably won't remember if I told her" Black looked back, having Oshawott riding his shoulder. Whenever the two were attacked by a wild encounter, the little blue starter would immediately finish off with a quick water gun, leaving a trail of fainted Patrats in the process.
"She's still your mom, right? She must be worried" Bianca chimed in, her Tepig riding in her messenger back. It had almost set fire to the entirety of the area when they first arrived. Holding back her pokemon from burning the grass away was harder than anticipated.
"Nah, nothing's changed since back then," Black jumped out from the grass, finally coming to a clearing without the chance of being randomly jumped. The area was a lush forested area with a few other trainers already setting up tents and supplies. A smell of burning firewood followed by the sweet aroma of cooked food filled the air. By the time the three trainers had weeded their way through the massive area from Nuvema to here, it was already close to dusk. "Let's set up our camp here today, it'll be a while before we can make it to Accumula town".
Cheren flashed open his smartphone, "It looks like we'll have one more day before we can arrive on foot". Although the pokedex was useful in gathering data on pokemon alone, most trainers still carried around a phone to help them navigate the world.
"Me and Tepig will pitch up the tent, we can gather some firewood over there," Bianca turned to an already ready made pile of wood used by the other trainers around. Several trees were already cut down in the clearing by some of the more powerful pokemon around. In the years of Nuvema town sending out trainers, this would be the most popular area for starting novices or schools looking to train their students on the knowledge of wilderness survival.
"Yoo! Aren't you guys from Nuvema academy?" Suddenly, the three heard someone call out from the crowd of campers. In the middle of the hollow, a plain looking bug catcher type sat with a lone Sewaddle. The girl gave a friendly wave before inviting them to her campfire.
"Nana, it's been so long!" Bianca greeted back, taking a set next to the petite brunette, "How's everything after graduation? I thought you applied to train under a gym leader in Castelia".
"I was gonna, but Leafy fell sick so we had to back out before the application deadline." The girl named Nana recounted, softly petting her Sewaddle gently propped itself on her lab. Her small partner sleeping soundly against the soft light of the flowing camp fire.
"Oh, I'm so sorry for that. I hope you two are doing ok now" Feeling a bit of Nana's heartache, she picked up her Tepig, hugging it tightly against her chest. Embers of the flames traveled far into the violet sky, disappearing into the atmosphere, scaring away any wild pokemon nearby.
"Then have you decided to go tackle the League now instead?" Cheren placed his backpack down, letting his Snivy explore the area on its own. A white light reflected from his glasses.
"Mmm, yea, something like that? We all camped here when the school taught us the basics of wilderness survival back then, so I'm just catching up on the basics before I officially set off."
"Sawa, sawa" Leafy chirped, crawling up to Nana's shoulder. It nods along in agreement, looking curiously towards Bianca's Tepig who also became curious.
"Have you found a training buddy yet? It's always nice to go on a journey with someone else" Bianca asked, relaxing a bit. She had let go of Tepig who started talking with Leafy.
"It's better to travel in groups. Although going alone is possible, if you get in trouble it's hard to find help in the wilderness." Cheren remarked, more in concern than a lecture. Besides, all students before graduation were tasked to form groups as a way to prevent accidents. A stray move from a feral pokemon could easily end someone's trainer career. Humans were just too fragile in the face of creatures that could easily control the elements around them.
"How about coming with us when you're ready? We can always use another member?" Nana shook her head at her bubbly friend's suggestion.
"It's fine, it'll be another few months before we set off anyways. I haven't given up on that application to Castelia either-" Before she could finish, Leafy jumped up in a sharp yelp, as a large shadow loomed over the three in the clearing. A demonic aura erupting from whatever was keeping in the air. Murmurs came from all over the campground, as people retreated closer to their tents.
"What is that!?" One shouted, scoping up his Lillipup.
"Are you kidding me? I thought route one was safe!" Another yelled.
"Everyone, stay back" An ace trainer jumped out from the crowd.
"Are we done setting up?" A long tree trunk hovered above Nana and the other, completely obscuring the light from the fire. Black towered over with a single log as wide as a small trailer in his left hand with Oshawott standing proudly next to his right. Meanwhile, the more seasoned trainers in the area had mistaken his appearance as a surprise wild Krookodile attack, already throwing out their strongest pokemon to battle. Yet, this odd behavior did little to shock the three humans in the middle of the clearing.
"Ha-hahahaah!" Nana let out a bellyaching laugh, leaving the surrounding crowd even more confused.
"Black, you didn't have to overdo it again" Cheren stared blankly back at his friend, who held an equally stoic expression. It was the face of someone who was used to his antics and had finally given up on dealing with them. Dead hazel eyes met dark navy orbs.
"Pft hahahhaa, remember when Black did the exact same thing back when we were campers? The instructor-pftttt the instructor freaked out!" Nana recalled a distant memory of when they were all younger. When Black had been tasked with collecting firewood, instead of dead branches he brought an entire tree.
"But it's easier to have one big one in place," Black said lazily. In reality, it was more of his way to not doing the assignment, or rather finishing it more quickly.
"We can't burn that unless you want to start a forest fire" Cheren shot straight back, dry, blunt, and without remorse, "go do it properly this time."
"Then I'll just chop this up."
"We don't need that much wood."
"Share it with everyone else."
"How are you this freakishly strong?"
"Beats me."
After each snapback, Cheren's headache increasingly grew. Placing a head to his head in a loud facepalm, he could see a small smirk creep up onto his best friend's face. Now that he observed more carefully, Osawhott was holding an equally evil smile on his face.
"Black, you should be more nice to Cheren, ok?" Bianca said half in jest, half serious.
"He made me study for subjects I didn't like, for that I still hold a grudge" Black replied in a childish monotone.
"You idiot, if I didn't force you, you wouldn't have passed!" Holding in his rage, just thinking back to those hellish sessions of getting that brute under control enough to cram for his exams was a massive feat in itself. Between the wild battles in the library to keep up with the boy athletically.
"Hey, it helped you scrape by in gym class didn't it?" As snarky as ever, Black never backed down, "It was all calculated from the start, down to the last window I leaped out" Once again, he earned a death glare from Cheren, which only made his smirk grow wider. His face grew red and redder until…
"Hmp!" The atmosphere changed, "If you insist on pissing me today, then how about I knock your ego down a peg in a battle" A noble aura emitted from the usually composed Cheren, showing off his more aggressive, prideful side. Despite being known as a scholar at the Academy, his run-ins with Black have made him slowly more hot headed as time passed.
"Eh, we'll get him this time, won't we Osawhott?" Black nodded to his partner.
"Osa, Osa!" The blue otter was just as fired up, raising one paw and beating it into another, initiating a first bump.
"Then I'll be the referee as always, tee hee" Bianca stood between the two. Watching on, Nana giggled again at the three. That, and how none of them had bothered to set up camp at all and it was already too dark to see anything properly. Let alone have a heated pokemon battle.
And with that, the day finally concluded. The soft whisperings of the warm night air blew through the camp, exhausting any remaining embers of a dying campfire. Trees rustled, as wild Patrat headed into their dens and napping Pidoves cooed throughout the dark. A blanket of blackness covered the world, with only the cold stars in the sky as company.
"Huh, I didn't know they made movies about fairytales anymore" Cheren walked by a movie theater lined with a crowd. A line that snaked its way around the building with a large graphic billboard. Displaying a dramatic poster of a white dragon type pokemon facing off against an equally menacing dark dragon. Along with this, two identically faced trainers in ancient dress accompanied the legendary beasts.
"Wow, that's a pretty long line," Bianca added, "Wasn't this about that one legend we were taught in school." She checked the film's website, which gave a general summary of the film, "Oh I see why it's so popular. It has all the latest rising star actors in it. The twin brothers who will be playing the heroes are super famous."
"Just riding on the actor's fame huh? I guess otherwise this adaptation wouldn't draw much in the box office." Black stretched his arms in a lazy yawing, "where's this battle area anyways? That truck ride here was really bumpy."
"Not like we're in a hurry, me and Snivy aren't exactly short on time." Cheren pushed up his glasses stubbornly. As for how the two avoided a clash on the road to Accumula, it involved receiving help from a friendly driver that just so happened to be by the camp that day. In short, they three, along with a few others had convinced a trucker to drive them to town first thing in the morning.
"Still mad from the other day? You'll become an old man before you know it, Cheren." Bianca shrugged, having gotten used to the two boy's antics since childhood. When Cheren was worked up, he refused to let go of his grudges.
"It says here they have one right near the park area," Black scrolled through his map app, pointing towards a road that was nearby that led to their destination. Many townspeople dotted the streets and roads along with their pokemon. A Pidove performed party tricks with a street performer, drawing a sizable crowd of people, while a small army Timburr picked up an array of building materials for a half finished building. Businessmen chatted on their phones, strolling back and forth followed closely by tiny Solosis who used their abilities to float all their important paperwork with ease. Everywhere the three went, Pokemon and people were working together in harmony. Finally, uponding turning the last corner, they strolled into a busy park.
"Here should be a good spot," Seeing an empty lot, Black stopped at the faded chalk lines that resembled a crudely drawn battle arena. The blacktop seemingly weathered from age, plus many battles in the past.
"Looks like a nice place to fight," Cheren took to the other side of the blacktop with his Snivy, who lept down with her vines out, as if already challenging the other foe.
"There doesn't seem to be any people to get caught in the heat, either," Biance eyed the area, noticing it to be most devoid of people. In fact, it appeared unnaturally quiet. "Alright, the coast is clear! You can start."
"Snivy, vine whip!" Shouting out loud, Cheren's Snivy rushed at Black's Oshawott, stretching out her green vines, aiming for the small otter who was able to dodge by jumping in the air at Black's command. However, this was just a faint, letting Snivy launch a flurry of yellow seeds, swirling into the air when combined with a deadly leaf tornado, trapping its opponent in a no win situation. Yet, the little otter gulped down a breathful of air, before blasting a torrent of powerful water, shooting the chaotic mixture, diving into the stream itself, letting the water protect it from the surrounding leaves. Emerging from the other side, grabbing the shell from his chest, transforming it into a sharp razor, slashing into the shocked Snivy, sending it flying back.
"Nice, so you managed to ward off my attack for now," Cheren congratulated, "but what did it cost you hm?" Acting more as a mentor than as a friend, Black saw his Osawhott was covered in small yellow seeds after dealing a heavy blow to Snivy.
"Osa! Osa!" his buddy cheered on Black, despite small green roots starting to crawl up its tiny body. Leech seed. An attack that stole away at the opponent's energy. The little guy smirked at its trainer, who gave an equally confident smile back. That was when it did something totally unexpected. Rushing in another attack, Snivy reeled back seeing Oshawott kicking up a layer of dust from the sides of the arena, rolling its body against the mud until a launched a mudball in the green snake's direction. Blinded by the dust, Cheren ordered her to retract with the entire area now covered in a thick layer of foggy yellow.
"You think I haven't learned to deal with that yet?" Black said as Oshawott revealed itself, yanking off the last of the roots with its razor shell. Then, as if on cue, Osawhott shot out another water gun, at Snivy who bounced around the blacktop to avoid its onslaught in the blinding. However, Cheren saw through Black's trick in and ordered another round of leech seed but this time aimed at the ground. Soon enough, the whole battlefield was covered in slippery water and seeds that took root from the addition of moisture.
"Think you could change the battlefield on my watch?" Cheren raised an eyebrow, totally revealing his cocky side, but sounded as he enjoyed the battle more and more. Snivy shook her head, feeling sorry for the other team.
"Who knows? Maybe this is exactly what I was going for?" Black snarked, even know, now every step Oshawott now took drained a bit of its will to fight. In fact, the pain it was receiving matched or even exceeded the slash it inflicted on Snivy just a few moments ago.
"Both of your Pokemon look exhausted guys! The next attacks will be the decider!" Bianca declared from the sidelines, Tepig cheering the two on in the arena.
"Snivy, another leaf tornado" Cheren commanded. Snivy swirled its tail in summoning another force of leaves, however nothing came forth. Instead, it scattered another layer of seeds on the ground once again. "How the-?!"
"Osa, Osawhott!" the otter clapped, its grin growing wider as each moment passed.
"Encore, is a pretty useful move, huh?" And with that, the Oshawott zoomed straight at its opponent, who struggled to cancel out its leech seed attack, waving its tail wildly in the air. Raising one paw, the otter grabbed Snivy by one of its leaves, slashing its chest.
"And stop! The winner of this match is Black and Osawhott!"
"I can't believe it, I didn't see that encore coming" Cheren sounded amazed, he didn't expect Black locking his Snivy's attack in place.
"So, instructor Cheren, have I grown from our last match?" Black sprayed Snivy with a healing potion, returning the small Pokemon to its trainer. Sarcasm mixed in his voice.
"I'll give it 70 points, minus 10 for the attitude tho." Cheren mused, waiting to receive another equally jabbing reply from his friend, but nothing came. "Hm? Something wrong?" He finally turned to face Black, but saw both him and Bianca were staring into the distance.
"Cheren, I think I saw someone go behind that tree…" Bianca pointed to a lone oak near one of the more shadier parts of the park. It's dark shadow looming over the cracked sidewalk, as if obscuring something from sight. Hiding, waiting.
"I definitely saw someone there," narrowing dark hazel eyes, with his instincts sharp as ever, Black had an ominous feeling about whoever was there. Growing up, dealing with all sorts of shady characters had taught him as much, it was to the point where he was able to discern the intentions just by peering into someone's eyes. Perhaps his days on the streets weren't for naught after all.
And just as Black's sense of eeriness intensified, so the gaze returned by the hidden figure from the oak. Messy green hair flowing in the wind, hidden in the soothing shadows.
Authors note: Annnnnd that concludes chapter 1. Black comes from a broken home and he'll mainly be sticking with his friends throughout the journey. Now to explain more in depth, the Pokemon world can pretty dangerous, just look at the manga. Humans can't do much against let's say a large wild Pokemon attack so its better to be in groups. Then there's N showing up at the end, Black is already suspicious of him and since he's pretty shady himself, he'll likely not give N a good impression. These two will not like eachother. Once again please review if you enjoy!