Hello there! I tried to write this in Spanish. I didn't post it, and I didn't like how it turned out, so yup! I'm going to try this out (in English) and see how it turns out! (I write better in English than in Spanish... ironic, don't you think? Considering it's my mother tongue... LOL. Things make more sense in English... Hehe...)
Full Summary:
Started: 5, June, 2022
Finished: ?
After aknowledging his father's disappearance, 16-year-old Kay embarks on a journey through the region of Eldiw to find him. Along the way, he will meet different people and make new friends. He will face powerful foes, such as the X species, which are Pokémon that come from another world and are invading the Eldiw. Who knows... perhaps he himself is his worst enemy... The Xenoverse Eclipse is just around the corner and Team Dimension seems to have something to do with it! Moreover, Kay will face the truth, a truth that is hard to swallow... Will he be able find his lost father? Will he be able to accept the bittersweet truth awaiting him? Will Kay be able to stop Team Dimension's shady plots and maintain the balance between the Earth and the Xenoverse, whose indissoluble bond has its roots in the past? What do you do when all seems lost? Get up and rise to the stars! Join Kay in his adventure to find out what destiny awaits him! A novelization of the Pokémon Fangame Xenoverse: Per Aspera Ad Astra.
Per Aspera Ad Astra. "To the starts, through hardships."
I DO NOT CLAIM OWNERSHIP REGARDING THE GAME, CHARACTERS OR PLOT.
POKÉMON BELONGS TO NINTENDO AND GAME FREAK.
XENOVERSE: PER ASPERA AD ASTRA BELONGS TO WEEDle.
04/12/2023: Added slight narrative and polished writing, as well as a few typos. (Both the Prologue and Chapter 1)
Prologue
A redheaded man in a black suit walks impatiently with his hands in his pockets, waiting. It was a special day for him. He looks at his watch. It seemed that it had been ages since he started waiting, but it had been only a few hours.
"I can't wait any longer...!" He growls, nervous.
Soon, a door opens behind him, and a young girl steps out.
"Sir, come here, please." She says, smiling.
The man walks up toward her. "Ah! Please tell me."
"I have great news for you. Follow me, come on." The man follows the young girl inside the room. He closes the door before stepping further. "Here we are. Let's play a little game. Could you guess the sex of your baby? Do you think it's a boy? Or a girl?"
The man puts a hand to his chin. "Mmm... I'd say a boy. I always wanted to have a little boy." The girl nods.
"Congratulations sir, you guessed it! It really is a beautiful boy. Come with me." They step further and he smiles when he sees his tired wife holding some blankets in her arms with a nurse at her side. She was sweating, her straight hair tangled and clinging to her forehead due to the sweat, but she still managed to look beautiful to the man's eyes. "Versil, we'll leave you alone for a bit." Both nurses step out of the room to give some privacy to the couple.
The man, Versil, sits on a chair beside the bed while smiling at his wife. "Clover, how do you feel?" Versil looks at the little one inside the blankets. "Look at the splendid child you gave birth to. Look how he smiles, you two look very alike!" He points out when he sees the baby smiling while in a distant dreamland.
"Dear... what do we want to call him? I want you to choose his name. I'm sure you will find a lovely one..." She smiles tiredly at his husband.
Versil takes a moment to think, and after a minute... "How about Kay, honey?"
"Kay? It sounds fantastic! I knew you wouldn't let me down-" Clover starts to cough faintly.
Versil flinches. "Clover, don't overdo it! You should rest now..."
~~•~~
Time passed, and Kay grew, spending days in a joyful family...
~~•~~
FIVE YEARS LATER...
"Kay, get up! Mom and I need to talk to you!"
Five-year-old Kay enters the kitchen and sits down beside his mother. He eats some toasted bread that she had prepared for him.
"We've decided it's time to show you some of the world out there. So today we're going to take a tour of the Nova Ranch." Kay jumps on his chair in excitement and finishes his food in record time. His father laughs. "Come on, kid! Let's go!"
Both of them get up and head for the door. Clover looks at them, worried. She was smiling, nonetheless. "Please, be careful!"
Once outside, Kay closes his eyes as he focuses on the feeling of the wind grazing his skin. "Look what a beautiful day!" His son looks at him with a huge grin painted across his freckled young face. "This fresh air always cheers me up." The man looks down at his son and pats his shoulder gently. "C'mon, let's go, Kay. I'm gonna show you around our ranch. Our first stop will be the farm."
They start walking north, toward a bridge that led them to a little field full of Miltank laying around or eating the yellow grass that moved with the summer breeze.
"Daddy, what are those?" Kay points out, for he had never seen those Pokémon before.
"Oh, those Pokémon grazing in the field over there? Those are called Miltank, son. They always provide us with delicious Moomoo Milk. In the evening, however, we close them in the barn to keep them safe."
"Wow..." Kay's eyes shine with excitement. "Can I help you the next time you do that?" His dad nods and Kay jumps up in excitement. Helping his parents should be fun.
They turn back and go west, toward another bridge. Kay looks at the pure water below them. He could see a clear reflection of himself. "The waters of this pond are so clear they put your mind at ease... Don't you think?" Kay reaches down and cups some water in his hand. Then, he drinks it. It was fresh and pure. The two drink some more until they're satisfied. They sigh. "Better, right? Come on, there is one last thing you need to see."
Versil gets up and guides his son until they reach a stone embedded into the ground. A grave.
"Do you see this little memorial, Kay? It was erected in honor of your grandfather who left us years ago..." Versil pats his son's shoulder, and leaves his hand there. "... but you're still too young for these stories..."
Versil sighs and squeezes Kay's shoulder. "And that's it! Now, let's get back home!"
They start walking toward the house, but before they reach the bridge, a loud sound makes them jump. "What was that?!" Versil looks toward the direction where the sound seemed to come from.
He takes Kay's hand and they walk with haste until they reach the northern limits of the ranch.
There, abandoned, lay three Poké Balls. Versil puts his arms in front of his son, as if he was protecting him.
"Wha- Did someone lose those Poké Balls? Kay, stay here. I'm gonna go check."
Kay nods and looks at his father. The older man kneels and gazes at the Poké Balls closely and carefully. Upon further inspection, he gets up and looks at his son.
"It seems that each one of them contains a Pokémon..." He points to each Poké Ball with his finger, from left to right. "A Grass-type, a Fire-type, and a Water-type." The man looks at the Poké Balls and then at Kay. Suddenly, an idea comes to mind. "I have an idea! Kay, why don't you pick one? I could take care of it until you're old enough. Come on, choose the Pokémon you like best!"
Kay runs toward the Poké Balls and looks at them. He was so happy! He could have a Pokémon of his own! But it was going to be a tough decision. Grass, Fire, or Water? He always wanted to have a Pokémon, but he never thought about the type. He didn't know what else to choose and Fire-type was the first type that came to mind. He picks up the Poké Ball in the middle and sends out the Pokémon.
It was a little red lizard with golden eyes and a white belly.
"Tri?" The Pokémon approaches Kay with a little hesitation. It smells Kay's hand for a moment. "Tri!" The Pokémon licks Kay's cheek.
Versil smiles at the scene. But suddenly...
"Hey, you! Hands off those Poké Balls!" Someone in front of them calls out. They don't even have time to see the individual's face, as the man sends out a Tyranitar in front of him. "Get'em, Tyranitar!"
Tyranitar lets out a mighty roar.
The only thing Kay remembers before losing consciousness is seeing his father trying to protect him before everything goes white.
Chapter 1
Xenoverse: Per Aspera Ad Astra
Kay jolts awake. He tries to calm his racing heart, but the nightmare had been too real, too intense. He didn't even remember his father that well. He didn't even know if that had actually happened. He had never had a nightmare like that. It had felt so real... so real it scared him.
He sighs, running a hand through his red hair, his forehead coated with sweat.
"Tri!" Trishout jumps over him, licking his cheek with concern. His Pokémon knew him well and always tried to cheer him up when he was down. Even if it was one of the stupidest reasons to make him upset, Trishout was always there.
"Good morning, boy." The red lizard sits on his lap, looking at him with big golden eyes. "I'm fine, don't worry." He looks at the clock on his nightstand, to his left. It read 10:31. "I can't believe I'm 16 now..." He chuckles. "Better go downstairs... Mom's going to get mad if I sleep too much..."
Kay gets up and grabs some clothes from his wardrobe. He puts on his boots after getting dressed and stretches. He grins at Trishout, who was already curled up on the spot where he had been sleeping and looking at him with lazy eyes.
He shakes his head while smiling at his Pokémon. He turns around and before going out of his room, he looks to his left. There was a photograph hanging from the wall. Her mother was smiling as well as his father, and he had a smile on his face himself. It must've been taken a little while after his 4th birthday. He had changed so much. His face was chubby and he had freckles all over his cheeks and nose. But, as he grew up, the freckles had started to disappear to the point where they stopped being visible, and his face was like that of a grown-up teen now. His hair had grown too, and it was spikier. Two of the spikes to the left ended with white hair, as well as a spike that grew over his left eye.
He smiles at the image and gets out of his room, leaving an already snoring Trishout on his undone bed.
He turns to the left after closing the door behind him and starts descending the staircase.
Once downstairs, a voice coming from the kitchen greets him.
"You're finally awake, sleepy boy!" He looks to his right and sees his mom, Clover, coming out of the kitchen. She hugs him and kisses his forehead lovingly. "Happy birthday, Kay!"
He smiles. "Thanks, mom!"
Instead of smiling back, she sighs.
"Too bad that your dad is not here to see how much you've grown..." She rubs his shoulder, without looking at her son's eyes. "You know he's always abroad for work..."
Kay sighs, his mind going back to the nightmare. The memory was still fresh, and he couldn't shake off the feeling. Something was felt off...
The woman notices his distress right away.
"Darling... what's wrong? You seem upset."
Kay looks up at her, nervous. As soon as she mentioned his father, he knew that there was something she wasn't telling him. The way she refused to look into his eyes everytime she mentioned something about his dad made him doubt.
"It's nothing... I just had a weird nightmare. Dad and I were outside, and he was showing me the ranch until we heard this loud sound. It seemed so real..." He whispers. He looks at Clover. She seemed to have spaced out for a second. "Mom? What is it?" He asks, worried.
She looks at him in the eyes with all the seriousness in the world.
"Well, the time has come... Let's go to the kitchen and have some breakfast while we speak."
She prepares herself a mug of coffee and places a bowl full of cookies next to the one with fruit, which was always on the table. She hands Kay a glass of milk and sits down on the seat at his right, facing him.
They eat in silence for some minutes before Kay breaks the ice.
"Are you going to tell me what's going on, Mom?"
Clover sighs. "It's probably not the best day, but you're old enough to hear this..." They look at each other. "What you told me isn't just a dream!" Kay knew it. There's no way his mind had made that up. "Eleven years ago, your father decided to bring you outside our ranch... I was pretty against it and, at the same time, worried about you two. Dad was with you, though, so that reassured me. However, that day..."
Clover starts to space out again.
"Mom? You OK?"
Clover sighs and rubs the bridge of her nose. "Sorry. It's just that... no one came back... Days after, Nana Flora knocked on the door, in the middle of the night... What a relief finding you at the front door! You were unconscious and had a Poké Ball with you. But your father was not there... I haven't seen him since that day..."
Kay looks at his hands. He couldn't believe what he was hearing...
"Sorry that I waited so long to tell you about this, after years of lies..."
"I..." Kay gets up. "I'm gonna go find him!"
Clover looks at him with disbelief. "Darling! Wha- are you out of your mind? How can you think of such a thing?! You're not ready to go look for your father yet. You're still a child! We are working on it. Me, Aster... it's not that easy for us adults either!"
"I'm sixteen, mom! Does THAT make me a child? Look at me! Am I still a child to you?!" Kay waits for an answer that his mother isn't willing to give. "I'm gonna go find him, even if you disagree!"
Clover gets up, too. Her Wigglytuff had been standing on the corner, and was now at her side, worried that things were going to escalate. "Don't insist, Kay! There's no way in the world I'm changing my mind! If I were to lose you too, my only child, I-"
Clover sighs heavily, not wanting to even think about the possibility of losing Kay.
"How can you be so unfair?!" He yells, knowing that he'd regret it later on.
Clover turns around, trying to hide the fact that her eyes had started to tear up. "Go to your room, now!"
Kay looks at her in disbelief for a second, but shakes his head and returns to his room.
He opens the door and slams it shut behind him. Trishout opens his eyes, startled. Kay doesn't even turn to look at his Pokémon. Instead, he finds himself below the family picture he'd eyed before.
"Dad..." He whispers. How could his mother forbid him from going to look for him?! He should have the right to decide whether he wants to or not. He was lied to for eleven long years! He punches the wall softly and puts his forehead against the wall. He closes his eyes tightly.
Trishout looks at him. He had heard everything, so he knew what was going on. The Pokémon jumps down from atop the bed to tap Kay on the leg.
The boy looks down. "What is it, Trishout?"
"Tri!" He cries out. It seemed like he was asking if he was OK.
Kay looks at Trishout for a moment before looking back at the picture. "This is so unfair..."
Trishout, seemingly taken aback by the answer, growls softly. Soon, an idea graces his little brain. "Tri!" He runs toward the window near the TV. "Tri!"
Kay sighs and walks toward the impatient little creature, kneeling in front of it.
"What is it?" Trishout jumps and gestures to the window impatiently. After a second of thinking, Kay furrows his brow. His Pokémon was crazy. "You are crazy, you know that? It can end with me in the hospital..." Trishout looks at him with disappointment. "Jumping out the window, right? Gotcha." Kay gets up and picks up his white backpack near the desk and stores some clothes inside it.
He straps it to his torso and opens the window carefully. He looks down. If he was correct, the distance between the window and the floor was, approximately, 5 meters. That didn't matter that much, because he could grab the branch of the tree that grew in the back of the house.
Before going out, he looks to his left, where Trishout's Poké Ball lay, on his desk, untouched. Trishout had always been out of his Poké Ball since Kay remembered. He takes it, knowing full well that his Pokémon was coming along. He stores it inside the backpack and carefully starts to exit the room. With one hand, he steadies himself, and with the other, he reaches out and grabs the tree branch. He uses all the strength in his legs to jump, but the branch snaps in half before he's able to do anything. He falls down, and after some seconds, he's on his back, on the floor.
"Phew!" He sighs in relief. The tree had broken the fall. He gets up and walks toward the window. Trishout was looking at him, happy. Kay extends his arms. "C'mon, buddy!" He whispers. Trishout jumps without a warning and lands in Kay's arms. "I've got you..." Kay smiles at Trishout, noticing his happiness shining inside his golden eyes. The Pokémon rounds his neck and settles on Kay's left shoulder.
Kay looks at both sides before running in the direction of his grandfather's grave. He felt like he should at least visit before starting his journey. Before getting there, however, a voice stops him in his tracks.
"Kay! Where are you going with such a rush?"
"Nana Flora! Good morning!"
Kay walks toward the old woman and hugs her. She'd always been like his grandmother.
Nana Flora looks at Trishout on Kay's shoulder and laughs softly. "Would you look at that... Your mommy finally let you go, huh?"
Kay laughs nervously. "Yeah..." He crosses his fingers inwardly, hoping that Nana Flora doesn't realize his big, fat lie.
"She probably realized she was shielding you too much... Hee-hee! But anyway, you are about to start a journey that will make you run into a bunch of new Pokémon! These Pokémon can attack you, but you can catch them with this special gizmos called Poké Balls. Here, take some!" The woman hands him 5 Poké Balls. "Why don't you give it a try with... that little Sparkowl over there?"
Nana Flora points out to the branch of a tree in front of them. A little, round bird was cleaning her wing with her little beak.
Kay smiles. He takes a step forward and extends his arm toward his objective. "Trishout, Ember!" He shouts.
The Pokémon jumps into the air and casts a little flame that impacts against the Sparkowl. She had been oblivious to the attack, so she had begun falling and was close to hitting the ground. Kay takes one of the Poké Balls and throws it toward the Pokémon. It traps it in mid-air. The Poké Ball lands, and starts to move side to side until it stills. A green light in the center of the Poké Ball lights up, which meant that the catch had been successful.
Kay smiles, and watches as Trishout runs toward the object and picks it up, handing it to Kay.
"Thanks, buddy!" He looks at the ball and decides to send Sparkowl out so that they could start getting accustomed to each other.
"Go, Sparkowl!" The little bird lands at Kay's feet, confused. The boy kneels and extends a hand. "Hello there, little one. I'm Kay, your new trainer. And this here is Trishout. Sorry about the sudden attack, by the way." The little bird looks at them with her closed eyes for a moment. She chirps. She was accepting the apologies. She starts flapping her little wings and Kay extends his arm so that she could land on it.
Kay smiles and pets the bird's head softly.
After some minutes, he decides to continue and stores Sparkowl in her Poké Ball. Trishout settles himself on Kay's shoulder.
He heads north after saying his goodbyes to Nana Flora. He reaches the area where he had met Trishout. He sighs, looking at the Pokémon on his shoulder. It nods at him encouragingly.
Before Kay takes another step forward, a shout from behind him makes him flinch.
"Where do you think you're going?!" His mother stands in front of him, blocking his path. "Did you really want to run away without saying a word?! What a childish behavior!"
Kay crosses his arms. "I don't care what you think. I already told you that I'm going to search for dad. Is that too complicated to understand, or do I need to say it again?!"
Clover sighs, frustrated.
"I know you miss your dad! Don't you think I feel the same, Kay? It's not easy to raise a child on your own!"
"I do! That's one more reason to look for him!"
Both mother and son hold their gazes for a moment. Clover crosses her arms.
"Do you really think a newbie like you could do more than two adults?! You don't even imagine how dangerous is the world out there!"
Trishout gets on Kay's head and growls, annoyed, which makes Clover gasp.
"So Trishout agrees with you...!" She lowers her gaze. "It had to happen, sooner or later..." She looks at Kay in the eyes. "I see talk is cheap with you, Kay. Well, then... Prove me that you're worthy of this with a Pokémon battle!"
Kay smiles at Trishout while stepping back to distance himself from his mother. "Ok."
"I'm ready to teach you a lesson if that's the only way I have to protect you."
"Bring it on, then!" He grins.
"Go, Jigglypuff!"
Clover's Jigglypuff lands softly on the floor, ready to battle. Kay extends his arm, and Trishout jumps from it, landing in front of Jigglypuff with a growl.
"Ok, then! Do the first move!" Clover yells from her spot.
Kay smiles. "Alright! Trishout, use Ember!"
Trishout casts a little flame toward the pink Pokémon. It rolls out of the way before the attack hits her.
"Tackle!" Jigglypuff rolls toward Trishout and hits the Fire-type in the belly. Trishout is sent backwards. He gets up and shakes his head. "Use Tackle repeatedly!" Clover yells.
Jigglypuff nods and rolls toward Trishout once again.
Kay gasps. "Trishout, dodge and use Ember again as soon as you can!"
Trishout dodges the first Tackle, and the second, and the third, until Jigglypuff has to stop for a moment to locate Trishout again. But Trishout is faster, and before the Fairy-type is able to attack, the little flame hits the Pokémon, forcing it to stop her charge.
"Great! Use Tackle too!" Trishout sends Jigglypuff toward a tree.
Before Trishout finishes her off, Jigglypuff rolls out of the way.
"Use Sing!"
Clover covers her ears, and Kay looks at her, confused. Nonetheless, he covers his ears, too.
Once he uncovers them, he finds Trishout laying on the floor, sleeping.
"Trishout!" He yells. The Pokémon doesn't even move.
"Now that it's asleep, finish it of with Tackle!"
Trishout is hit once, twice... But he is still sleeping. Kay calls for him again, and it works this time. Trishout is able to wake up before getting hit for the third time. But there's no time to dodge, so he just lets out a cry that sends Jigglypuff flying toward Clover's feet, fainted.
She falls to her knees, cradling the pink Pokémon in her arms.
Kay runs to her, worried.
"I can see his determination shining through your eyes..." He hears her mumble. She stores Jigglypuff inside her Poké Ball and gets up. "Who am I kidding?" She sighs. "I cannot even change my son's mind. How am I supposed to find a missing man...?"
"Mom..." The woman dissmisses him with a gentle gesture of her hand.
"Kay, I've seen the determination in your eyes... Is this what you really desire the most in this world?"
"I think you know the answer..." He mumbles.
Clover sighs. "Maybe Nana Flora is right... I shouldn't clip my child's wings... I had no right to keep you from this so long, but I did it only for your sake!" Kay crosses his arms, knowing full well that he was right about having the right to decide if he wanted to go or not. "But now that you know the truth, I'm sure you won't be happy to stay here without being able to help!"
"Damn right." He chuckles. She knew him so well, not for nothing she was his mother.
"Ok, darling! You're free to leave the nest to grow and mature! If this is what you want, just go and embark on a great adventure through the Eldiw region! But remember, I'll always be here and you'll always be welcome whenever you need!"
Kay smiles and hugs his mother tightly. Despite having been angry at her the entire morning, he already misses her.
They separate.
"Oh, right. This whole thing almost made me forget your birthday present." Clover takes 3.200 Poké Dollars from her pocket. "Here it is, lil' man!"
Kay ignores the 'lil'man' part and takes the money.
"Mom, this is a lot of money! Are you sure you wanna-"
"Oh, shush! You'll need it more than I do to buy Potions and Poké Balls, and to buy food!" She smiles at him.
Kay sighs and stores the money inside a little pocket inside his backpack.
"Now you have everything you need to reach Hadwarf City safely. Down there, you'll meet Aster, an old friend of dad's. Do you remember him?" Kay shakes his head. "Well, even if you don't remember him, he'll recognize you. I'm sure he'll give you some useful tips!"
Kay nods. His mother takes his hands between her own. "Be careful, and don't make me worry. Be sure to call me so that I know you're OK!" A devilish smirk appears on her face. She looks at Trishout, who was already set on Kay's shoulder. "Trishout, be sure to keep an eye on this brat for me, OK?"
"Hey! I'm not a brat!" Kay whimpers while Clover and Trishout laugh.
"Best of luck to you, my lil' man! I love you..." She says, in a mixture between sadness and happiness.
"Oh, mom... I love you too... I'm going to miss you..." Kay hugs his mother once again. This time, they take their time. Kay is only able to release her from the hug after five minutes have passed.
They say their goodbyes to one another, and Clover heads back toward the house. Kay watches her leave and makes sure she arrives home safely from his position. Once he's sure she's OK, he turns toward the path in front of him. Trishout returns back to his trainer's shoulder. They look at each other with determination in their eyes.
Kay steps forward. His first step in his journey. And one step closer to his dad.
"I am going to find you. I promise... Dad..."
And that's how Kay's journey through Eldiw begins.
~~•~~
Author's note:
Hello there, dear readers!
I know, I know. Why are you writing another story when you haven't finished the Skyward Sword's novelization? Well, mostly because I wanted to do something different. This project, as I said before, was started in Spanish, WAY back. I started it in mid-2021, which means it's a project I had in mind before the Skyward Sword Novelization was born. So yeah, I'm gonna try to write for the two of them. Also, it's a way to continue both stories smoothly, because sometimes, I may not want to write the other one, and I have this novelization to continue, and vice-versa.
Well, I hope you liked this chapter. What do you think? Tell me in the comments. Votes (in Wattpad and Ao3) are very much appreciated, and favorite and follow the fic (in Fanfiction) is also appreciated.
I recommend you play the game if you don't want to be spoiled, because this is going to be full of spoilers. Or, you may want to read and know the story and all the plot twists before playing. You're free to do whatever you want, but I really recommend playing the game first so that you're able to see the Pokémon in your head and the places too, along with the characters.
Well, that being said, see you in the next chapter!
-Pkmnacezelda