As the heroes rushed off into the distance toward Pyrite Town in Orre, a few other things were taking place in another region of the Pokemon world. That in world, specifically? It is where their adventure took place. A place of beginning. A place of nostalgia. A place to hide from the dangers in life. But today, was not that type of day.
The sun shone into the houses in and around the peaceful town of Viridian City. Green walked out of Yellow's home to get some groceries for her since she couldn't leave the house. She didn't understand why she couldn't leave but Green assured it was for her own safety. As soon as Green stepped out to get some food for them, because Green was still staying with Yellow until she was sure she was safe, a tall being wrapped in the same red garb that brought familiarity into their lives. However, this being's face was out in the open. And this being was familiar. It was, Shuuryou, one of the few female members of the Reddosuta Shikaku.
She walked up to the door and raised her hand to knock on it, however, someone appeared next to her on both sides and behind her.
"Damn, girl," Red said, standing behind her, smiling. "Nice ass you got there, girl. You got that shit working out for you alright."
"Red, I presume?" Shuuryou asked, turning her head slightly to the left to take a glance at him.
"You presume, correct, girl." Red said, jokingly flirting with Shuuryou, knowing that he couldn't do anything with any other girl for fear of Green killing him.
"And you two?" Shuuryou asked, as Red noticed that Blue and Silver, who had arrived in Kanto just a few minutes ago, had appeared there as well. "You're Blue and you're Silver, one of the new Pokedex Holders."
"Whoa, Silver's here? Who the hell found him?" Red asked, truly surprised that they Silver had finally appeared to help out the cause.
"Well, Hakel did. But, shortly after, Hakel disappeared. So, Silver came here, looking for Green. I decided to escort him here cause I know Green has been staying with Yellow for the past couple days." Blue explained to Red. "And what do we find when we come here?"
"A dumb Reddosuta Shikaku bitch who's trying to kill Yellow and Green. We're actually surprised to see you here, Red. Nice to meet you." Silver said, glaring at Shuuryou.
"You two can exchange pleasantries later." Blue said, taking a Poke Ball. "We have someone to take care of."
"Actually…" Shuuryou said as she moved her fingers silently, as Silver watched her. "You might want to exchange those pleasantries now."
"Hmph." Red said, taking out a Poke Ball as well. "You say that as if we're some kind of second rate chumps. Do you really know who you're dealing with girl?"
Shuuryou smiled and said, "Of course I do. That's why, I myself, came with a trump card." Shuuryou started to raise her arms to pull out her secret weapons, however, Silver stopped her before she could do anything and grabbed both of her arms, throwing her aside. Silver then swept her off of her feet but caught before she fell to the ground. "Oh, pretty boy's got some skills."
"Better believe it." Silver said as Shuuryou suddenly grabbed him close and hugged him tight. "What the hell?"
"Unfortunately, boy, I'm better!" Shuuryou whispered into his ear as two sounds metal of whisking through the air, sounded behind him. Silver already knew what it was. Two, long, extremely dangerous metal chains with spikes on them were coming right at him as fast as possible. And she was take her own life if it meant killing Silver. However, as both spiked chains flew at him from behind, Silver pushed as hard as he could away from her and knocked her to the ground, only catching the brunt of the slash from the chains. Shuuryou watched as Silver smiled at her just as her chains ripped through her own body, throwing blood all over the pavement.
"Hmph." Silver said, walking over her. "Don't seem so strong now." Silver clung to his right arm, feeling the blood trickle down him arm even though it no more than a simple small wound.
"Nice work, Silver. You've impressed me." Shuuryou said, as her head fell back. "However…" Silver turned around quick to see that Shuuryou had gotten back up and had wrapped Silver in her chains. "I'm still better."
"Silver!" Blue and Red shouted, amazed that Shuuryou's wounds had healed that quickly. It was awe-aspiring to see but Shuuryou was already healed despite she had extremely bad wounds. Blood was literally flowing from her body. Yet, there she was, chains around Silver's body, raring and ready to go once more.
"What the-" Silver started to ask as Shuuryou pulled on the chains, making them tighter and more difficult for Silver to escape. The chains already cut his skin a bit more in several different places which stung even more. "How?"
"I'm an assassin, boy. Don't underestimate me." Shuuryou said as she suddenly felt something large come up from behind her.
"Oh yeah? Well, don't underestimate me either!" Silver shouted as his Ursaring came up from behind her and slashed her down the back violently, dropping her and her chains from Silver to the ground. Silver and his Ursaring jumped back, safetly awaiting Shuuryou's next move. "Well? Is that all?"
Shuuryou sighed and said, "No… But, I fear that I will not get this message to Lady Yellow after all."
"Message?" Red asked. "What message?"
"A message from Pulse himself." Shuuryou responded as Red ran up to her and grabbed her collar, lifting her up into the air.
"What's the message, damn it? Don't screwing with us and tell us what Yellow needs to know!" Red shouted, staring straight into her eyes.
"Very well, Red. We will tell you and your two friends." Shuuryou said as she locked her gaze onto Red. As they stared into each others eyes, Red saw eyes so terrifying that he had never forget them from that point. As Shuuryou spoke, eyes colored of blood red hatred and fuel seeped from her own, almost as if a thunderstorm was tearing at her eyes, trying to find something to destroy or at least tear down. Her eyes turned sinister, evil, and insane, almost as if she was trying to kill Red with just her very gaze. "Tell Yellow this: Two months from now we will come for her. She does and will not why or when on that day we will come for her. But, we will come for her. And we will get her. And when we confiscate her from your clutches and put her into ours, she will become one of us. And when she becomes one of us, we will hunt you all down with her intel and make her kill EACH and everyone of you herself." Shuuryou then disappeared in a blast of dark red smoke, making Red drop to his knees in shock.
Red gagged a few times, unable to control himself. He was left in complete shock because when he looked at his hands, he saw them shaking, in all different directions, as if he couldn't see straight. The more and more he thought about what Shuuryou had said, the less he could control himself. He felt himself slowly fading and fading into the darkness. Suddenly, he fell to the ground completely, unable to keep himself conscious any longer.
Blue and Silver ran over to Red shouting his name a few times. Without anything to do or why he fainted out of nowhere, Blue and Green took Red into Yellow's house, and told her of all the things that transpired outside.
Underground over in Johto, Hakel and Espeon woke up, and realized that Lugia had done this. It was frustrating because they knew if they tried to go back up from the way they came, the ground would collapse and somehow make someone above them cave into the underground cavern that they were in.
Hakel sighed and stomped once saying, "Damn it, Espeon. How do we manage to let Lugia do that to us? We weren't that careful, I guess… Let's just go, Espeon. I want to find a way out of here as soon as possible." Hakel and Espeon nodded to one another and started heading forward, toward the possible exit that was before them. However, as they started to walk forward, Hakel sensed that a light behind them was beginning to grow and glow brightly.
Hakel and his Espeon turned around, seeing that a large light was coming at them. "What in the-" Before Hakel could finish his sentence, the bright green light showed its colors and completely submerged Hakel and his Espeon in it. When the light disappeared, Hakel and his Espeon also disappeared from the underground cavern as well, nowhere to be found.
Back in Orre, the heroes there arrived in Pyrite Town a few minutes later. As soon as they arrived, the heroes took a look at the town in general.
Pyrite Town, unlike Phenac City, was a mining town. The town seemed to be hewn out of a crimson-colored and was laced with bits of old trash and mining debris, which apparently was a reminder of the town's mining past. Most buildings and machinery around them were saturated in dust.
"So… This is Pyrite Town, huh?" Machine asked, as they all got off of their ways of transportation, with Rich and Machine calling them back.
"Yeah, it was once a mining town." Wes said as he pressed a few buttons on his motorcycle's side, instantly changing it to the size of a small, metal cube that could fit in his pocket. He stuffed it in his pocket and sighed saying, "But now… it's a town of thugs and criminals who take pride in that."
"Take pride in being a criminal? Are you serious right now?" Kusa asked as Wes nodded. "Damn, that's really strange. Is it because they don't have any other way of living and they have to resort to being a gigantic town of criminals."
"I suppose so. But what I heard was that most of the residents have become criminals since the town's livelihood began to wane. But, don't get it twisted, most rumors about this town are a bit… exaggerated, I guess you could say." Wes explained, laughing nervously after he said that.
"Exaggerated? How far does this exaggeration go?" Artie asked.
"Well…" Wes said, trying to think of some of the rumors. "It's said that people who… stay in Pyrite for a long time take on the town's characteristics. Locally, this shit hole is known as 'the town of earth, wind, and money'." Wes explained as the heroes all sighed in unison. "That would be the truth, if it wasn't complete bull shit."
"So… Where should head off first?" Rui asked, as Wes shrugged.
"I don't exactly know, Rui. I suppose we can head over to the Pyrite Colosseum, the Duel Square, or the ONBS News Station." Wes said as Rui smirked at him. "And don't play dumb with me, Rui. We all know that you've lived most of your life. After all, you're one of the reporters for ONBS, right?"
"Well, um…" Rui stuttered as she tried to find something to say, however, it was much too difficult to find a lie to tell. "Damn it… Fine, you got me. This is my home but-"
As she started to explain herself, a man with a white cloak took out a Poke Flute and began playing it nearby the entrance of the town. It filled the entire place with serene sounds, calming everyone down and making them forget what they were doing for a few minutes. He played his Poke Flute like a master and everyone soon admired him for his beautiful, elegant playing of the flute. They listened all the way to the end of his Poke Flute, with everyone who was around him clapping happily for what he played.
After a large crowd of clapping people eventually dissipated, the heroes walked over to him. Before they could even speak, he said, "Welcome to Pyrite Town, Pokedex Holders. You were about to ask me who I am, correct?"
"Uh… yeah…" Rich said, a little crept out by this man's quick response.
"Then what are you waiting for?" The Poke Fluter asked as he stood up from where he was sitting. "Ask away."
"Okay then…" Machine said, shrugging to everyone else. "Who are you?"
"Simply a traveler who you happened to meet. Do you know who you are?" The man asked, as Wes glared at him.
"Old man, stop talking nonsense! You're not making any sense! And what kind of question is that to ask when you didn't even really answer ours?" Wes asked, annoyed by this old man's constant prattling.
The old man sighed and said, "You speak of me not answering your questions, however, you have yet to truly answer any of mine."
"Well, sir," Kusa stepped up to the old man in a much nicer tone of voice. "Maybe you should answer our question before we-"
"Answer yours?" The old man asked, finishing her sentence before she could herself. "Very well. I will answer your questions, Kusa. My name is-"
"Wait a second," Artie interrupted the old man. "How do you know Kusa?"
"It's only natural that I do, Artie." The old man stated. "Your team are world renown Pokemon Trainers. You haven't reached the title of Master yet but… you're on the right path. There will be tough trials ahead but you will make it through them."
"How do you know all of this, old man?" Rui asked, stepping up to the old man cloaked in white. "We haven't even truly met, however, you seem to be spouting claims about their future. It makes no sense to me."
"The bitch is right, old man." Wes stated. "Explain yourself."
As the old man went to speak, Machine stopped him and said, "Don't bother, sir. A man as wise as yourself does not need to explain anything. Your wise, knowledgeable look and aura tells me that you are one to be respected. I sensed that in you when we first came upon you."
The old man smiled at him and shook his hand saying, "Thank you, Machine. I very much appreciate your intervention."
"No problem, sir." Machine said, shaking his hand as well. As he started to take his hand away from the old man, a shock jolt of white electricity shot up through Machine's arm, making him shake for a bit. "But forget what my comrades had said before. Please, continue with your introduction so we may become further acquainted."
"Very well." The old man said, clearing his throat. "As I was saying before… my name is Whitaker. I am just a simple traveler who-"
"Knows much about us. Is that right?" Kusa asked, raising an eyebrow at him.
"No, I just watch the news around these parts a lot. They serve as an excellent source of information." Whitaker said, shaking his head at Kusa's comment.
"Hmm… I see. So, is that why you took extra interest in drawing attention to yourself when we entered the town?" Kusa asked, as Whitaker shook his head.
"No, not really. I am just simply honored to be talking to the Pokedex Holders. It is definitely a great honor." Whitaker said, as Kusa shook her head and backed off.
"Well… We definitely appreciate the love, old man. It'll motivate us because everyone's opinions truly matters to us." Machine said, as they shook hands once more. This time, when Machine took his hand away from him, no electricity came from Whitaker's hand so he deduced it must have been the friction from their two hands.
"I know it does. That is why you all fight for justice and are heroes. Rather, examples for all Pokemon Trainers to follow. You inspire hope into one another and all those around you. I am no exception." Whitaker said, as he sat down on the ground in front and took out his Poke Flute again. He set it on the ground and said, "I am also a personal storyteller. Would you all like to hear it?"
"If it's as amazing as your Poke Fluting, then, yes, we would." Rich said as everyone else but Wes nodded. Machine then punched Wes in the side, making him nod at what Whitaker wanted to say.
"Very well. Listen closely." Whitaker said as he began to tell them all a story. "This story is very special. It is a story of the first Pokemon Masters. It is a story of romance, action, vengeance, along with many other story elements. The story begins with Pokemon Trainers who wanted to become the best there ever was. However, they didn't want to become the best without working to that point. It started with three travelers that met long ago.
"The three travelers destiny was laid out for the moment they were born. Their destiny, in fact, you could say, was like a Pulse of greatness. This Pulse was so great that many evil doers conspired against them. But, it was no use. These travelers eventually became much too strong and not even toughest enemy could beat them. They conquered every Gym in every region, made all new friends along the way, and eventually managed to beat each and every Elite Four challenge in every region. Even the Champions of each Region could not take them.
"The first traveler, who chose a fire Pokemon as his preference of Pokemon type, was like a Machine. His body was as fierce as it was noble. He fought through every obstacle, obtaining even legendaries to his side. This traveler who was like a Machine met a girl of yellow. She was as yellow as a Pikachu she always kept by her side. Their love was unexpected because this Machine-like man couldn't understand or process his feelings for this girl of yellow until the time was right.
"The other two travelers fell for one another, although, their journey to love was scorned with troubles. However, when they truly joined with another and they accepted each other for who they were, their love was like that of a Kangaskhan to its child. They could not be separated that easily. This only happened once and the man of this relationship allowed his fury and sadness to overwhelm him and he ended up striking his lover to the ground. Their love was strong though so, they knew they could overcome that bump in the road. And they did. Otherwise, they wouldn't be together till this day.
"Now," Whitaker started to finish. "I will you people a happier story. How about the curious monkey?"
The Pokedex Holders, Wes, and Rui looked at Whitaker confused, perplexed, and utterly shocked. They couldn't believe this man knew so much about the Pokemon world. But… how? And why… did he know this much? It didn't make any sense. Especially Wes.
He had had enough with this man constant idiotic prattling about random stories and other strange things that he had to say. He figured he must been a random man that was trying to con them out of their money or Pokemon. He knew they were a valuable bunch with a lot of value on their heads. Before anyone could say anything else, Wes blurted out, "Man, what the hell was that? You're still not making any sense even though you said you would tell us story! I thought the story involved us somehow! How was that even relevant to us?"
"Maybe you should have been paying attention kid before blurting out your own asinine comments! Don't you think?" Whitaker asked, as Wes growled at him angrily.
"Damn it, old man! I'm going to make you pay for wasting our time! Take-" As Wes started to raise his fist at Whitaker, Machine grabbed his hand, flipped him onto his stomach, and tied his arms around his back, holding him in place where he lay. "What… what the hell, Machine?"
"Despite this man's outlandish claims, you must NEVER put your hands on another innocent being! And if you would have thought about what you were going to say before you would say it, you'd not get yelled at as much as you do! Learn from these experiences, Wes! And not fall into path as you did before!" Machine ordered, raising his voice slightly. Machine then let him up and said, "Understand, Wes?"
"Stop treating me like a damned kid, Machine. It's starting to seriously piss me off." Wes said, walking away from everyone else.
"Wes!" Rui called to him, however, he simply just urged for them to follow him. "Should we?"
"Just go ahead, Rui. We'll catch up to you. Artie, Rich, you go with them as well. Make sure they don't get into anymore trouble." Kusa ordered as the three followed after Wes to make sure that he wasn't going to do anything stupid anymore.
Kusa and Machine turned back to Whitaker. When they realized it, he was already gone. They looked at each other and ran away, over toward everyone else who was already on their way to the Pyrite Colosseum.
On the rooftop near the entrance of Pyrite, Whitaker stood there, looking down on everyone else. As he started to walk away, he caught something out of the corner of his eyes. He saw that, near the entrance of Pyrite, an old women was being harassed by a Cipher Peon. He took her bag from her hands and started running away but before he got far enough, Whitaker appeared before him and knocked him to his feet, while taking the purse from his hand at the same time.
"Hey, you bastard!" The Cipher Peon shouted. "Give me that back! I stole that far and square!"
Whitaker walked forward and held his hand out saying, "Pokemon Trainers do not need to follow after your example. Next time, learn from this lesson." As Whitaker started to pick the Cipher Peon up, an explosion was heard from another part of town. A few women screamed, alerting Whitaker and the heroes over to the ONBS Building on the far side, nearby the Pyrite Colosseum. Whitaker dropped the Cipher Peon but not before returning the woman's purse and delivering ten extremely swift blows to the Cipher Peon. With the Cipher Peon stunned and stolen item returned, Whitaker disappeared in a blast of smoke over to the ONBS News Building.
The heroes try and rush over to their help, however, many different rush over to and try escape themselves, blocking their way. A few more screams are heard when the heroes hear a large wooden plank fall to the ground. The screams stop in mid shout and everything turns quiet as the night. Then, when the crowd dissipates, the fright quickly turns into happiness as everyone claps to see that they the people were saved by a man of older age, wearing mostly white. Even his hair and eyes seemed that excruciatingly white.
However, as the heroes make it over to the ONBS Building, no one can seem to find the "White Pokemon Warrior" anywhere. Just as the heroes go to investigate what happened, the police arrive on the scene. It seems that Cipher had attacked and was finally beginning to take their initiative without Snagem's help. The police soon for the Pokedex Holders help but, before they enter the building, Machine and the others catch a white flash jumping past them.
They soon realized who it was. The police officers then bring over a Cipher Peon that was trying to steal someone from a woman and they see his mouth moving but no sound is coming out. The heroes read his lips and he turns out to say, "He wasn't human." He kept repeating and no matter what the heroes tried, they couldn't turn away until he was taken into an ambulance that had just arrived on the scene. The ambulance drove off into the sunset but, they now understood who had attacked Pyrite Town's ONBS Building. It was obviously Cipher.
But, more importantly, Machine deduced who had saved everyone who was going to be crumbled from that giant wood plank. It had to be that same man that they had just met. That old man. It seemed he was no ordinary man, that Whitaker.
"An old man, huh?" Machine asked Kusa as they all walked over to help out the fallen in the ONBS Building. "He can't be what he seems. We should keep a tight watch on that man before we leave this region."
"You're right, Machine." Kusa said, as she helped an injured person to their feet. "But for now, let's try to worry about these people. They matter much more right now. Try to keep your mind off of that guy." As Kusa walked away with the injured person over her shoulder, Machine took one last look behind him. Whitaker was nowhere to be seen. Nowhere to be found.
Whitaker; a mysterious shadow of the Orre Region. Who was this Whitaker person truly? And is he to be trusted?