Disclaimer: I do not own Pokémon or some of the characters mentioned in this story.
It was just a typical day for Blake Hiiro, he had just finished his intense gym battle with Sabrina yesterday. He digs into his bag for his badge case, opening it up to see an assortment of badges.
"6 badges down, 2 more to go." He began to grin at the thought of reaching the Elite Four soon.
He looked outside the window to see the beautiful sight of Saffron City. *No matter how often I look at this sight, it always looks great.*
He digs into his bag again to look at the strange orb that Sabrina gave him for beating her on his first try.
*What is this thing? Sabrina told me it was something to eat, but it does not look safe at all.* He holds the orb toward the roof, contemplating whether he should eat it. *She gave me a note alongside this too.* He reaches inside his bag to find a little note.
Dear Blake Hiiro,
Firstly, I don't give out special items to any normal challengers, even if they beat me on their first try. I see something in you, in the future, you will achieve fantastic things and save the world, whether you want to or not. This orb I've given you is called a Monster Orb, this particular one is called the Soro Soro Kyuutai.
Eating a Monster Orb grants the consumer powers called Pokégift. I don't know the kind of Pokégift you will receive, however. Make sure you eat the Monster Orb as soon as possible. You'll need it.
From,
Sabrina.
P.S. Thanks for the fun battle, your Blastoise is incredibly strong.
Blake doesn't really understand the note, however. *What's this about saving the world? Do I really have what it takes?!* He jumps around in excitement at the thought of him saving the world. Picking up the Monster Orb once more, he glares at it for a couple of seconds before deciding to take the risk and eat it.
He almost throws up at the taste of the orb and collapses to the ground. *It tastes so bad!* He rolls around in anguish, grabbing his pained stomach.
After struggling for about 5 minutes, the pain begins to die down. *Is she trying to kill me?!* A large explosion is heard from outside as he stands back up.
He rushes to the window to witness a horrific sight. *There's smoke coming from the gym!* He rushes to grab his bag and Poké Balls.
Running out of his rented apartment, he begins to worry. *Why would someone blow up the gym?* He rushes down the steps as fast as he can.
Outside, the beautiful city of Saffron is lit ablaze by crimson flames. Panicking screams are heard throughout the town as people are being evacuated from the city.
Blake stands still in shock at the event, he remembers how Kaito dealt with these kinds of events easily without fear. *This is my chance!* He runs to the gym, thinking that this is what Sabrina wrote the note about.
Arriving at the gym, he freezes once he sees a humanoid dragon with the hair of a normal human. Flames are erupting out of its mouth as it grabs a mother a child duo. The duo's faces are frozen in absolute fear as the dragon turns his head toward them. He shoots a blast at the duo, burning them to a crisp.
Blake freezes at the sight, the screams of the duo making him take steps back in the opposite direction. He's absolutely terrified but still shouts at the dragon. "Put them down!"
The dragon turns towards him and starts to speak. "Who do you think you're talking to?" The dragon said while discarding the charred bodies of his most recent victims.
Blake starts backing away. *I can't do this!* Blake starts running away from the scene, with the dragon chasing after him. Tears begin to form in his eyes as he tries to understand the scenario. *Why did I ever think that I could be a hero? I'm such a fool.*
He suddenly feels something piercing through his stomach. Looking down he sees the bloody hands of the humanoid dragon.
"This is what stupid kids like you deserve for thinking that they could become heroes." The dragon removes his hand from the stomach. "Those who go against Team Starlight will be shown no mercy, even if you're just a mere kid."
Blake falls on his face, barely conscious. A bloody puddle is formed around his body as he starts to tear up. *Why?! Why did it have to end this way?!* His eyes slowly close as he starts to black out.
A few days later, Blake wakes up in a hospital bed, shocked that he's alive. *How am I alive?* He looks down at his stomach to see it wrapped up. He notices the girl fast asleep on the side of his bed. *Kuraki? I thought she was at Helios Academy.* The teen girl starts to wake up due to the bed shifting from Blake's movement.
The girl begins to rub her eyes before she rushes to give Blake a hug. "I'm so happy that you're okay!" Her eyes begin to water. "I don't know what I would've done if you died."
Blake smiles at her. *She came all this way because she was worried.*
The two of them chat with each other for a while, joking about and laughing at each other. After their fun conversation, Kuraki's smile fades away as she starts to talk about the event.
"Saffron City is gone," she frowned. "Wiped off the map."
Blake widens his eyes in shock. "You must be joking right? There's no way, Saffron City is the pride of Kanto!"
Kuraki shakes her head. "Take a look yourself." She takes out her phone to show Blake a video of the aftermath.
The once proud city of Saffron was reduced to just piled charred rubble.
"Did anyone besides me live?" Blake asked, concerned.
Kuraki nods with a melancholic smile. "Not that many, there was a barrier around the city to prevent people from evacuating. Out of the 500 injured bodies recovered, only around 30 people were alive, including you. You're lucky that none of your vitals were stabbed."
Blake frowns, suddenly remembering the incident again. The screams of the panicking citizens play in his head on repeat. He begins to tear up, with Kuraki rushing to comfort him with another hug. He couldn't do anything but cry while Kuraki hugged him tight.
After composing himself a little more, he looks around for his Poké Balls but finds only one.
He turns to Kuraki to ask about it. "Where are the rest of my Pokémon?"
She frowns at the question because she knows the answer. "They weren't able to find them in the rubble, only that Eevee of yours was found." She felt too guilty to actually tell him that his Pokémon were stolen, so she lied.
Blake was crushed, not only was he absolutely traumatized from the horrific incident, but he had also lost all of his close Pokémon partners. He wanted to cry more, but he didn't. He grabbed Eevee's Poké Ball, clenching it hard.
He knew that he probably never going to see them again, so he decided to think of his future. He couldn't beat the Pokémon League with just an Eevee, so he decided on a different goal. He was going to get stronger, this time for a different purpose.
He wanted to defeat Team Starlight to revive his ego and get revenge. He wanted to avenge all the people killed in the event.
No, matter, what.