The Challenge

Sobbing. All that could be heard was A Child sobbing. The kind of sobbing that can only be made by someone feeling the worst they have ever possibly felt in their entire life. Wailing, screaming, gasping for air, and pleading–to whoever might be listening–for wrong done to them to be made right.

Suddenly, a forlorn woman's voice speaks as the cries get a little more quiet.

"There was a legend of a curse." She starts in a hoarse voice. "A curse so horrible and cruel it was only placed onto the most unfortunate of souls. Nobody in at least the last hundred or so years has been said to have it, so most people forget it even existed. It was only for parents to scare their children into being on their best behavior. I was never afraid of it, I was positive it wasn't real. What kind of world would let such a thing exist? It would have to be a cruel, unfeeling one."

Whimpers of A Child can still be heard, but they are dying down as the woman continues explaining.

"Its name was the Curse of Nuz's Lock." The woman says with a tremble in her voice, as if by speaking it aloud confirms this awful nightmare as cold reality. "Whenever someone afflicted with this heinous curse loses a battle between pokémon… the pokémon never wakes up. No matter what you do, no matter how careful you are, even if the last attack that hits is nothing but a scratch on the cheek they will never, ever wake up. Nothing you do will ever fix that."

A Child has finally become silent, but now tears start to fall down the woman's face.

"I'm so sorry, my child." The now revealed mother of A Child apologizes, tears pouring down her face. "I wish that I could take all the pain and heartache you're feeling and bear it for you. If I would have known this would happen I would have never let you touch a pokémon. No matter how much you would have hated me for it. Having to watch everyone you know play with their pokémon, while you sit by yourself, and not even knowing how your mother could be so cruel. I would take all of your hatred if it meant you never had to feel an ounce of this pain."

The mom drops to her knee next to A Child, and hugs them close to her chest. By their knees is the family pokémon, a Rockruff, still as the dead, and several revives and even a max revive.

"Please," the mom begged to her child as she clutched tighter and tighter onto their small body, "forgive your useless mother who can't do anything to help you. I promise, no matter what happens, I'll make sure you're always happy and content, so that you never have to experience even a drop of what you're feeling right now for the rest of your life. You won't even need pokémon. And neither will I. What kind of mother has anything while her child has to go without. I promise, my sweet, sweet child, that you will never be alone, because I will alway be with you."

A Child's mom sat on the ground holding onto them for a long time, both crying tears of sorrow for the lonely future they had together. But those tears were for naught, as A Child's mom had gotten not one but two things wrong during her explanation. 1: There is something you can do to fix this. And 2: this is not a curse for the most unfortunate of souls, but a challenge for the strongest of wills.

The mom could not see it, but hidden in her chest A Child's soft, young face had contorted into a mask of firm unyielding determination. They had no concept of what they needed to do or why they were so determined to do it, but whatever it was they were ready and willing to go to the ends of the Earth to get it done. No matter what.

AN: Hey BlankFacade here, this is my first story ever, so if you could please leave constructive criticism in the reviews I would appreciate it. This story is going to be vaguely interactive. Probably not anything major or anything A Child wouldn't do. Speaking of A Child, you will not choose their name, you don't even get to know their name. If you want to pretend it's you, great. If you want to insert your OC's name, that's cool too, but for all intents and purposes they don't even have a name. Also I know the mom talks weird, that just how she talks, not everyone will talk like that. Now, please leave a review of your choose for:

Is this Pokémon Locke or Pokémon Key

Is the main character A Boy, A Girl, or are they just A Child?