Since the dawn of mankind, there has always been a divide, be it between the different tribes of different territories before simple hatred toward another race, as humans have evolved, so too has their prejudice and their will to persecute those they deem different, and this was no different when quirks started to appear.
For generations, those with these new gifts were persecuted, given vulgar labels, and ousted by society for something out of their control, however, soon it became clear that people with quirks were beginning to become the majority and the views that these people were genetic abominations had vanished and were welcomed as the next step in human evolution. Yet, it was the prejudice that evolved most of all, people with dangerous or "villainous" quirks were judged and shunned by society, believing them to be destined for evil and join the villains who had ran rampant across the generations and with the rise of heroes who fought against evil, the system became rigged as people viewed quirks as either good for hero work, good for being a villain or useless.
One such person who was judged was a young boy with dark hair, a pale, thin body, and purple eyes that unnerved most people as a lighter additional ring was around his iris which gave him a haunting look. The boy was named Erik Konrei and he was only four years old; these thoughts were his, it would be unusual for any child at such a young age to have thoughts like this, yet Erik was quite unusual for a child, he was incredibly quiet and shy around kids his age and thus spent his time reading books that delved into subjects of deeper thinking.
It also was the reason he was currently sitting away from the other children at the park, they were regulars at the park and had taken a liking to teasing Erik over his eyes and apparent lack of quirk, the fear they put in him sent chills down the young man's spine, he simply kept his head buried his book on Quirk history. Erik wished that his mother was close so she could whisper her calming words in his ear, and he could feel safe, however, she was busy at home and father was away at work, the park itself was just outside their home which was why Erik was allowed to be alone, perhaps if they knew the truth of what Erik felt then they may come to watch him.
"Hey, Ghoul! What weird thing are you doing?" Asked a cruel voice that made Erik jump in fear.
He turned to see his fears come to life as a large kid with an extra pair of arms sticking out of his back, following close behind were a couple other kids that hung out with him, Erik never learned their names nor their quirk despite their near constant torment.
"I-I…was..."
Erik could only mumble as his nerves glued his tongue to the top of his mouth, he kept his gaze low out of fear, an act that the boys were quite aware of as they laughed at his meek nature, the large boy going as far as to do a mocking imitation of the poor boy's stuttered speech.
"Hey, you know, we heard that there's a place down the road that seems to be perfect for you." Said the four-armed boy with false sweetness as he placed a hand on Erik's quivering shoulder.
The poor boy tried to object and make it clear that his mother had told him to never go beyond the park, yet it only came out as weak mumbles that fell on deaf ears as the boys ensnared him and quickly carried him away from the park.
Erik squirmed and struggled with all the might his weak body could muster, but it was all in vain as he watched the park slowly fade into the distance over his shoulder before facing their destination which made his blood run cold.
There is an urban legend about a small convenience store that was sat at the end of the road, according to the oldest residents of the neighbourhood, that store had never been open, it simply sits there, abandoned, growing more dilapidated as the years went on, however, if a person was unfortunate enough to be near at night, they could hear strange noises come from inside; few brave souls had ever ventured inside and found nothing before hearing the sound echo through the night.
The fear renewed Erik's vigour as he struggled evermore to free himself before he could be thrown into that cursed place, yet his tormentors were stronger as well as had the numbers to overpower him as they reached the abandoned store, the four-armed boy opened the door before facing Erik with a cruel grin.
"Here you go, one creepy place for one creepy kid, have fun!"
With that, his cronies shoved Erik through the door and into the dark store, shutting the door behind him, Erik scrambled to his feet and rushed to the door before yanking the handle, yet it would not budge and the laughter outside told him that his tormentors had seen to that.
"Listen, ghoul, we're gonna go and grab some ice cream, if you're lucky we'll be back before long." Sneered the voice of the four-armed boy.
Erik shouted and pleaded to be let out, but the sound of footsteps slowly walking away was a clear sign that he, much like the store, had been abandoned and was left to face pitch black darkness that filled the interior, Erik stood frozen in utter fear as his stared into the all-consuming darkness, he felt like it threatened to swallow him whole if he got to close. He quickly curled up onto the ground and hugged his knees as he shut his eyes and whimpered, Erik tried to force his mind away from his situation and go to a better place, where his parents were and they gave him a kind hug and told him he was going to be alright, however, it became clear that the terror that he felt would override any attempt is mind made to soothe his torrent emotions.
"Please…Mom…D-Dad, help, me" He whimpered as he stayed on the floor, holding himself for what seemed like an eternity, as he waited for anyone to come and help him because he could not do anything just like his bullies would tell him, he had no quirk and therefore was helpless, the feeling was like a chunk of ice had nestled in his heart and there was nothing he could do to move.
"I'm so useless."
It was not until a while later that he dared open his eyes, unsurprisingly, the blackness was there to meet him again, he felt foolish for thinking that something would have changed and was going to shut his eyes when he noticed it. Erik had to focus on the shop counter that was a couple of feet away from him, something atop the counter was giving off a glint of light. It was intriguing to Erik who slowly uncurled himself as he started to sit up and focus on what caused the light.
The darkness was still quite ominous, yet Erik knew this object could be something that could help him get help or at least something that could light up the darkness, on shaky legs, he stood and ever so slowly he shuffled toward the checkout counter; straining his eyes to see what exactly it was although he struggled. He was upon the check when he managed to see the source of the glare he was searching for, he stood on the tips of his toes as he examined the objects, the first was rectangular device which was orange in colour, he picked it up and was surprised to see it was a brand-new smartphone, Erik would have smiled but he tried to turn on the phone like device to no avail.
He decided to grab the other object, it was a sphere with a red half and a white half and a small white button in the middle, Erik was confused at what the device was until he noticed a note attached to the back of it, he quickly brought it up to his face as he read it aloud.
"Press…the button."
Erik blinked before looking at the ball in his hands, he was naturally suspicious about following random instructions on an unrecognisable device that was mysteriously new in a store that had been abandoned for decades, he was child, but he was not naïve as he eyed the device with distrust, however, Erik could feel something in the back of his head, it felt like an ancient instinct that compelled him to press the button. He struggled to understand why, but this feeling was telling him that he had to press the button in order to receive something that would help, he tried to rationalise how this device would help and yet he had no reason besides the feeling which he was slowly giving into.
With no other option than to sit alone in the darkness, Erik took a deep, shaky breath and pressed the button on the ball.
It immediately popped open, and a blue light shot out of it, startling the frightened boy who jumped back and watched as the light shot through the air and quickly changed shape, it took the form of a small orange round thing that had a pointed head and two lightning bolt shaped arms of energy, it had barely finished forming before it shot around the room, making a high-pitched sound as it went.
Pi Pi Pi Pi
Erik was dumbfounded at the sight, he looked down at the ball in his hand with astonishment, it had closed itself again, he was amazed at the strange creature that flew around the store, bringing some much-welcomed light into the dark building, but it suddenly stopped moving and looked down to Erik who looked back with a nervous smile. Without warning, the creature shot straight towards him before he could react, the best Erik could manage was throwing his hands up which still held the devices he found, the creature hit the smartphone and vanished, it surprised the boy before he jumped when a small lightning bolt shaped antenna popped out of the top of the phone, he felt the back vibrate and turned the phone over to see the face of creature now covered with back with a grin.
"W-what's going on!?" Erik squeaked out as tossed the phone up in the air out of fear.
To his surprise and moderate horror, the phone did not drop on the floor and instead hovered in the air with a couple of electronic beeps, he could not see its eyes, but Erik could tell it was staring at him, he swallowed his nerves and raised a shaky hand to wave.
"U-um…hello." He said quietly, doing his best to steel his nerves, the front of the phone turned on and a loading symbol appeared, it was quiet for a moment besides the noise that came from the device itself.
Language selection complete.
"Y-you talk!" Erik yelped as the phone ignored the outburst.
Please identify yourself, User.
"…I-I'm Erik." He stuttered out, mostly out of curiosity as the machine loaded again.
Erik's user registration completed. Rotom phone. Initialising.
The screen showed a bar that quickly filled up to 100%, prompting a small ding and the phone to twirl in the air before facing Erik, the screen filled with the oval eyes and grin of the strange being.
Hello, User Erik, nizzt to meet you!
"Nice to meet you too." Erik said slowly, he was once again dumbfounded at the fact this smartphone was still talking to him and floating in front of him, for the first time he forgot his fear as his curiosity took over, he was brimming with questions.
"What are you?" That was one of them, Erik slapped his hand over his mouth despite being too late to stop the words from leaving his mouth, he expected the phone creature to be somewhat offended by his question and yet the creature just chuckled.
I am a Rotom Phone, a device with a multitude of uses like being used as a phone, computer and a Pokedex, zzt.
Erik just had more questions with that short explanation, this was a lot for his young mind to take in, the Rotom Phone could see the confusion on its user's face and quickly deduced what the reason was.
User Erik, are you unfamiliar with Pokémon?
The child was taken aback by the question, at first, he grew confused by what Rotom meant until it finally clicked in his head what the floating phone was asking.
"E-er, yes, I am unfamiliar." He said, struggling to pronounce the last word, his vocabulary was not quite as verbose as his family, he ignored that and watched as Rotom started loading something before going up close to Erik's face and showed him the screen which began playing a video.
Pokémon are creatures who inhabit your world, there exist hundreds of Pokémon of all types who live in many different environments, everyone is unique to their region and different variants are known to exist which is why the Pokedex was created, nzzt.
Erik was rapt with attention, he hung off every word that the Pokémon had told him, it was unheard of that the world was covered in these creatures who lived among them and no one knew about it, he questioned how someone like him had been the one to learn such a secret.
As you probably figured out, I am a Pokémon, a Rotom which is a dual type Pokémon, Electric and a Ghost type, nzzt. This smartphone was designed to house my form and help you learn more about the Pokémon you encounter and/or catch on your journey.
That final part quickly raised flags in Erik's mind as he questioned whether he had heard Rotom right.
"C-catch Pokémon, what do you mean?" He asked Rotom, his curiosity at full vigour.
Exactly that! Pokémon can be caught in poke balls, the sphere device that your holding, nzzt, once you find a Pokémon, just throw the poke ball at them and they will be drawn in and after a couple of moments, the Pokémon will be caught!
The young boy looked at the poke ball in his hand with unease, he felt that using these devices to capture innocent creatures sounded absolutely horrible and yet Rotom was happily explaining that this was a necessary part.
"That sounds terrible, isn't it bad to capture Pokémon?" Erik asked, causing the plasma Pokémon to pause as he looked at its user.
Not unless you mistreat the Pokémon, as the Trainer, you can befriend and form strong bonds with your Pokémon, nzzt. The bond between a Pokémon and their trainer is important.
Erik let out a breath of relief at that, he was pleased that these creatures would not suffer if they get captured and yet, his unease shifted to Rotom's implication about him being the Trainer.
"W-why am I the Trainer?" He asked nervously.
Well because that's your Quirk!
Every thought came to a screeching halt as Erik repeated the answer in his mind, Rotom continued as it took the stunned silence as a sign to keep going.
I have been programmed with awareness about the world and how 80% of the population have Quirks, this is your Quirk, User Erik, The Trainer, nzzt. It allows you to see and interact with Pokémon that normally would not be in your world, it is quite powerful if I do say so!
Erik felt the wetness on his face, a quick swipe from his hand confirmed that he was crying, his mind was a storm of rushing emotions and screaming praise as he heard that he actually had a Quirk, the constant teasing from his bullies had allowed doubt to sprout in his mind and now for it to be erased was a weight off his chest and Erik could not describe the utter euphoria he felt.
Ah! User Erik, are you okay!?
Rotom panicked at his Trainer's sudden outburst, rushing towards him to see how he could be of assistance, he did not anticipate that he would be wrapped in Erik's arms as he gave him a gentle hug and look at him with a shaky grin, as if it was the first, he made in a long time.
"I…I-I'm just so happy, thank you for telling me this." He said, his words breaking through the sobs of joy.
"Mimikyu!"
The moment was interrupted by the sudden sound of something else, Erik sat up straight as he remembered where he was and fearfully searched the darkness, his eyes shot toward ever direction and he could not see a single thing that appeared out of place in, it did not help that he was still stuck seeing in total blackness.
Ahem, nzzt.
Erik turned to Rotom who had turned around and faced with an amused grin, before Erik could say a word, Rotom spun and showed the basic phone home screen, it quickly went through the different icons and stopped on the image of a flashlight and a beam of light started to come out of the phone.
A blush grew on his face and Erik released a chuckle as he was embarrassed that he now had a marvellous piece of technology and was oblivious to its basic functions, he was hesitant to grab the phone as he feared he would upset his new companion, when Rotom raised no objections, Erik grasped it in a better grip and stood up off the ground, using the light to pierce the inky abyss that surrounded him.
The light crossed the aisles, revealing nothing but empty shelves and barren walls, Erik swept the front of the store tirelessly and yet he found nothing that could have made the sound, it did little to relax his unease and so he kept his senses alert for anything that would give him a location.
"Mimikyu"
Erik cursed his luck as he could tell that the sound came directly behind him, sucking in a deep breath of air, he slowly turned around to peak and flinched at what he saw, it looked like a strange mouse creature with pale skin, rosy cheeks and odds eyes and a jagged smile, a strange dark lightning bolt shaped tail. At first, Erik was completely unnerved by what he assumed was a spooky looking Pokémon before he looked again and noticed a small pair of black beady eyes in the chest, he noticed the head looked especially ragged, to confirm his suspicions, Erik raised his torch to look at the creature.
"Mimikyu!!"
Erik flinched at the sudden cry of fear and saw the strange Pokémon duck behind the counter, it dawned on him that the Pokémon was afraid of his torch, he quickly pointed it to the ground and watched as it slowly peeked around the corner at him, but it was hesitant to come out as it could still see the light. Erik knew he had to choose between meeting another Pokémon or dissuading his own fears, he looked at the shaking form of the raggedy Pokémon and decided, the light vanished, and they were plunged into to complete darkness again, Erik ignored the fear that was creepy over him and focused on the small creature as it slowly left his hiding spot and came out in the open again.
"H-hello, I'm Erik, who are you?" he asked softly, watching as the Pokémon moved and turned the fake head to face him which he found both unnerving and oddly cute.
"Mimikyu" It said again, the tone sounded kind which made Erik feel better about this interaction, it also became apparent that he could now see what this creature was, taking his Rotom phone, he held it up and checked the apps he had available, and he spotted the one labelled Pokedex and pressed, it opened the camera and Erik put the Pokémon in the frame which was scanned and showed an entry about it.
Mimikyu, the disguise Pokémon. A lonely Pokémon, it conceals its terrifying appearance beneath an old rag so it can get closer to people and other Pokémon. Although it's a quiet, lonely Pokémon, if you try to look at what's under its rag, it will become agitated and resist violently.
Erik looked from the entry to the small ghost/fairy Pokémon who looked back, after hearing about Mimikyu and his disguise, Erik felt a feeling he could not describe properly that compelled him to talk to the lonely Pokémon.
"Mimikyu…you remind me of myself." He said sadly, Mimikyu titled its head in confusion which prompted Erik to continue.
"The other kids…they bully me because my eyes look creepy…so, I understand." He struggled to control his emotions welling up inside, pausing to hold back the tears that sat on the edge of his eyes, Mimikyu looked down for a second before it looked up in realisation and scampered away without a sound, leaving Erik alone with his pain. Erik could only scold himself for telling a random creature his woes and not expect it to leave, it was just a testament to how lonely he truly was, that even a creature who wants attention would leave him in the dark because he was just something that other beings could not care for and he just had to accept that.
"Mimikyu!"
Erik looked up from the ground to see that Mimikyu had returned and not empty handed as it was dragging another rag, he was speechless as Mimikyu quickly walked up to him and grabbed the rag with its two black shadow like claws and held it up for Erik, it was a hood that had two small holes made to see through and it big enough to fit over a child's head. Erik took the rag and looked at it before looking at Mimikyu who smiled without a mouth, his lips trembled and tears started to fall from his eyes which caused the Pokémon to panic, but Erik put the hood on with haste and let his vision adjust as he looked through the whole at Mimikyu who looked back. Not a word was said before Erik hugged the disguised Pokémon, he was overflowing with joy at the thoughtfulness of Mimikyu's gift, it was naturally shocked before it wrapped his black appendages around the boy as the pair enjoyed the moment.
Suddenly, the door rattled, and snickering could be heard, Erik and Mimikyu looked to see the door of the store now opened and in came a familiar bunch of boys who looked around the store, the four-armed boy taking lead as he searched for something.
"I wonder where the ghoul is, I bet he peed himself, crying for his mommy." He said venomously, his goons snickering in response.
Erik tensed at the sound of the voice, he was going to panic again when he looked at Mimikyu who looked back with a comforting look, grabbing the hood Erik wore, it was clear enough to the boy what it meant, the mask was his shield and with this he slowly stood up and faced the boys who still had not noticed him. It was not until they neared the checkout that they spotted him, at first, they froze at the sight of the boy in his ragged hood, but it was the leader who shook out of it first and approached.
"Huh, looks like you found something that looks good on a freak like you." He sneered, yet Erik did not move and simply stood there, holding a strange plush with his head down, the silence unnerved the bullies further and their leader fared no better as he growled and approached the boy in anger.
"I was talking to- "
The words died in his throat as Erik lifted his head, the holes cast a pitch-black shadow across his victim's eyes that would have hidden them, if not for the eerie glow that now shone through, enhancing his terrifying appearance and sending chills down the spines of everyone present.
"Leave me alone…go away…" He said quietly, holding the plush closer to him.
The four-armed bully blinked as the words registered in his head, in an instant, his fear became rage as he glared at the boy, he called ghoul, he questioned how someone as weak and spineless as him had the nerve to give him orders, he growled and reached forward with his arms to grab him and remind him of who was in charge.
"Mimi."
The boy hesitated at the sound and looked to see the plush was now staring at him with anger, its form shifted and squirmed.
"Kyu!!" It cried out, launching a massive claw made of shadows that smashed into the boy and sent him flying into his stooges who cushioned the crash, they all took a second the gather their bearings before looking at Erik and Mimikyu, the pair taking a demonic form in their eyes which destroyed any confidence the bullies had as they scrambled out of the store, screaming in terror.
Erik watched with awe as his tormentors fled in clear terror of Mimikyu and himself, usually he would feel sad at driving someone away, but he only felt gratitude to the small pokemon in his arms, he protected him when he could not. With a hidden smile, he looked at the Mimikyu and giggled.
"Thank you, Mimikyu." He said, without a hint of fear.
"Mimikyu!" said the Pokémon, in joy.
User Erik! It looks like Mimikyu has gotten attached to you, nzzt, why don't you capture in her in poke ball.
Erik looked to his side to see Rotom floating, he remembered what he was told and looked down at Mimikyu who looked at him expectantly, despite his previous reservations about catching a Pokémon, he was starting to understand why.
"Do you want to come with me, Mimikyu?" he asked, and the Pokémon nodded immediately, his fake head shaking back and forth at alarming speed, it was enough to get Erik to giggle again, then he realised one thing they overlooked.
"Rotom, I don't have any poke balls." He said sheepishly to the phone Pokémon who chuckled in response.
Nnzzot to worry, I have a built-in storage system that holds both Pokémon and items, the inventory has 10 poke balls for you to use, just hold your hand and think, Poké ball.
Following Rotom's instructions, Erik held out his hand and thought of the sphere device, a light flew out of the phone and landed in his hand, it glowed for a second before it dimmed and revealed a brand-new poke ball, Erik took a moment to awe at the object before smiling at Mimikyu and holding the poke ball toward it.
"Let's do this, friend."
"Mimikyu!"
Mimikyu pressed the button on the poke ball, it opened and a red beam enveloped Mimikyu and it was sucked into the poke ball which shook in Erik's hand, it shook two more times before it clicked.
Congratulations, you caught a Mimikyu, her data is being added to the Pokedex.
Erik could barely register what Rotom told him, he was transfixed by the Poké ball that held his new Pokémon, he held the ball close to his chest and smiled.
"I will always be with you, we're going to face the world together and nothing will separate us, I promise."
The young boy was unaware, but this promise would become his first steps toward a great destiny, a future of adventure, friendship and love and the start of a journey on the path of heroism as Erik goes on to try and be the best like no one ever was.