The Red Ascendant - or 'It is now my duty to protect' (Pokémon, Zirca 2036 OC-I)
Twelve years ago…
It was a dark day but… I was just a kid. I doubt I would have the same innocence as back then but… I was dumb innocent.
Maybe I am being harsh about it, but I still remember how thoughtless I was as I sat alone in one of the plastic chairs beside the kind police officer's office that was currently handling some documents that he mentioned being important.
I wasn't aware those were adoption papers.
I was ten, I was clueless- or maybe I forced myself to be so stupid. I was just… worried. Sickly so. Dad and mom, they were nowhere in sight. Mere hours ago, the pain and the blood, and the silence.
I remember it all, how it was unpleasant to the bone- how that moment, so dreadful to my mind, was robbed of relevance back then through a single thing. A Gameboy SP with the Pokémon Fire Red's cartridge put in. I was busy playing, busy 'engrossing myself away from the fear'.
I still have that thing. It was a memento that came from my last birthday with my biological parents before that drunk truck driver hit our car. I survived, they didn't- I just didn't know that back then.
I only had the game, I only had the dreamful experience of any kid that had the chance to try out that game. Maybe, if things had gone different, I would have expanded beyond just that installation of the series in terms of 'favorable ones'. But, as time would go on, I would always stick to this one the most.
New regions? Cool, but the original flame remained more alluring to me. It was the shelter of my childhood, the warmth that coddled me in my moments of need and that had never extinguished.
I learned new things, I would forget some or change to adapt my own ways. But then life came through.
The kind officer that took me in? His name was Eric Morris. He was around for ten more years of my life. Good man, very caring but… he was not happy. He was a widower and without children of his own as his wife died young.
Still, that smile made it up beside that old game. And the words he uttered to me about the adoption, delivered in such a loving and yet sad way, always remained to me.
"Evan Morris… what do you think, kiddo?"
I merely nodded, looking away from the game and at him as I thought it had a different meaning than that.
"It has a nice ring, sir."
I remember his mirthful chuckle and slight head shake. "It sure does…"
Ten years later, a robbery would go wrong and see him gunned down while helping some civilians away from the robbers. Eric Morris died a hero, and a second father to me.
But where that would have been the end of that new arc of my life… the next one just proved to be different than what I had expected as I found myself saddled with new expectations and responsibilities.
Just not the ones many had thought for me to handle through the next phase of my life.
Present Day
"Are you sure you are up to it, sonny?"
It was embarrassing but… I couldn't blame it. Being the son of a well-respected officer in town did have its benefits in being close with many members of the department- the chief? That was once a surprise but nothing to be awkward about. Then teenagehood and early adulthood happened and I started to feel embarrassed over it.
It wasn't like I didn't respect or see Chief Robertson as a reputable man, but it sure felt odd that he was keeping me company while waiting at the bus stop, prodding at my sureness on what I was doing.
Education had been something that Eric had stressed me much about- on how I had to step up to be ready to shape my future and… I was influenced by his passing two years ago.
"I am, sir."
Which is why I am planning to become a police officer myself. Helping people… it was always something that I wanted to do. Eric tried to have me try to be a doctor or a nurse, but I just felt this strong sense of… doing things for others- to be on the line rather than keep behind brave people.
I wanted to be brave too for once.
So, here I was… waiting for the bus that was meant to take me to my new destination to drive around the corner and park beside the stop. It did so in less than a few minutes and, right as it briefly parked, I found myself engulfed by a hug.
"No dumb moves, kiddo. Remember what Eric told you about not being reckless."
I smiled as I was let go, staring at the old veteran with a confident look. "I will not, sir."
Picking my bags, I walked inside the bus, taking quick notice of how empty it was. Normally this sort of buses were full with people, especially at this hour but… maybe I stumbled on a rare chance where there were no people around? Odd, but not impossible.
I sat down, waiting for anyone else to walk inside and take a seat, but it ended up with me being the only one riding the bus. Quite confusing, but I didn't let this get to my head.
The bus started to move and I felt a wave of tiredness hit me. I had barely slept the previous night due to how nervous I was. I played at Fire Red, going for two runs in a row.
Differently from previous runs, my team had been a bit shabby, but I felt like I mastered how to use the curious combination I went for. It felt 'Red-like' and fitting with the kind of silly mindset the games once had.
And here I was, yawning and hugging my bag with all my stuff, slowly closing my eyes and… then falling asleep. It was going to take hours before we hit our destination, so I was sure to wake up just in time to not mess up.
…
I think I messed up, just not within the limits of what I expected things to get messed up. I woke up in time to hear the bus groan and then turn to the side as it impacted onto a large rock. The ensuing shake stirred me fully awake as I held tight by the seat in front of me.
No broken bones or limbs, but I ended up with a bit of a disoriented mind due to how suddenly this all happened. From the light of the sun previously shining all around, now everything was darkened as clouds casted shadows over what looked to be some sort of battlefield.
I pushed myself out of the bus, gauging the scenery I was in and… I could tell I was no longer in the US. Eyes wide open, I tried to regain bearing of my situation as I started to browse within my bag for anything that could help. While at it, I realized something else was missing.
"W-Where's the game?"
Fire Red was no longer within the bag, drawing a panicked mood over the attempted effort to keep calm as I wildly looked for it and… frowned when I found something else inside. I felt a mostly spherical shape and drew the unusual item out to check it.
A Pokéball?
I gave it a closer inspection and… it looked quite real. I was mesmerized by the shape, the strange feeling it gave to my hand spreading to my whole arm before I put it back in my bag.
I couldn't find the game, but I found my phone. My brain reasserted control over the rational steps to follow in this situation- call at Chief Robertson. The call didn't even get to reach out as a strange notification popped up on the phone's screen. It said it was out of reach but… I was in the open. This didn't make any sense at all…
Catching my breath, I stepped out of the bus entirely, looking around for any path to follow and feeling a degree of unease at even looking at the rock we hit. Upon a closer glance, I could actually correct myself: it was not a rock, it was a bunker. The strange-looking structures all around were decrepit bunkers all aiming at a specific direction.
An old border? I was confused as this was definitely not a place in America. Not with those structures.
Where the hell am I?!
I proceeded to look around by taking on what looked to be a 'path' out of this area and, it was right as I was wandering through those muddy steps over the grim ground, I found quite an issue along the way. A small flying creature, serpentine in frame but… floating without any wings flapping- it was running away from fox-shaped creatures.
The multiple predators had red fur and they looked familiar…
Wait, those are Thievul!
One of the Pokémon added during Sword and Shield versions but… Pokémon!? Here?! HOW?!
Despite what shocking value this development had, the vulpine threat was approaching fast and the small flying noodle looked more concerned to not get devoured by the foxes than rushing towards me. It was further confirmed when he tried to use me as a meatshield by wrapping its noodle-like lower body around my left hand.
"H-Hey!"
The little worm thing squeaked with some fear in its voice and… I think I recognized it as a Dreepy? I think that is the name for such a noodle. Ghost and Dragon, quite the combination, but not good for a fight.
I don't have anything on me that could fend this off or- or maybe I do!
I rushed my free hand inside the back, fishing out the same Pokéball I had retrieved a while ago. It was the same despite there being five more as I could recognize the same feeling.
Warmth, intense, it was like a fire- no, it was a fire that had yet to be fully ignited. For some reason, this gave me a clue on what was being held within the ball and, without thinking much about it and allowing my instinct to take over, I dared a fight.
"Go Charizard!"
The fire exploded mightily!
The Pokéball rushed up and then released a blue light that recreated the last evolution of the Kanto-own Fire-Type Starter. The orange-scaled powerhouse of a Fire-Type that was Charizard roared for the fight, staring right at its opponent and waiting for an order.
I blinked, my awe briefly stealing attention from where it was needed.
"C-Charizard, use Flamethrower!"
The brief stuttering was due to the shock I was at the thought that… this was real.
The Dreepy squeezing tensely at my arm was real, the heat erupting from Charizard's tail and the attack that it propelled at the three opponents in front of him- it was all so sudden and then… then the fire that decimated the Pokemon. This was not a case of 'fainting'. There was nothing standing once Charizard was done attacking.
The Dragon-like creature then slowly turned, a hint of worry on its face and-
"I-I am fine," I blurted suddenly, trying to lessen the tension but… Charizard approached slowly, and I expected it to caught on the fact I was not 'its trainer' but… it merely leaned its snout forward for-
Me to reach out and pat it.
The Pokemon gurgled happily, a strange guttural noise that reminded me of a purr but… fiercer.
I smiled a bit, feeling soothed at the warmth it produced.
"Thank you."
I reached for the ball which previously housed it and returned it to the sphere. Silence ensued as I stared at the orb I was holding with a case of giddy eyes.
"T-This is all real," I turned to the Dreepy. "You are real."
It blinked back at me and then… it nodded.
"I am glad to see that and… wait, are you alright?"
"Dree!" It offered a smile, releasing itself from my body and swirling around to show its unscathed self.
"I see, I am glad that you are well and… I know that I shouldn't be asking too much but… do you know where the closest settlement is?"
I was in foreign land and I needed a guide.
This didn't look like any of the known regions and, while asking a Pokémon didn't feel like a smart idea, it was my only chance beyond randomly wandering off into the unknown.
"Dree-Dre-Dreepy!" It looked giddy and supportive, so I took that as a positive response.
"Thanks. Please, do lead the way."
The Dragon-type noodle took the lead as I followed closely after it, distractedly checking my bag for anything else beyond the Pokéballs that I needed to keep track of. I fished out a plastified card under the spheres, red in color and with a description of… myself and my team? Plus, are those Kanto Badges?
This is actually my Trainer Card!
This is actually a good thing to have as it acted as a proper ID around and, maybe, I could use it to not be detained as an anomaly. That would be… great. This first encounter had just told me that this wasn't going to be sunshine and flowers but…
Surely, this isn't going to be too bad. It's Pokémon after all!
AN
Why not make this a SI story too? Well, I thought about it and, since I already have a Pokémon SI currently unraveling, I didn't feel like going that length.
Rather, I decided that this was the best way to tackle this AU. Zirca 2036 is a Fan Project created by ScruffyTurtles and 00_Homura/Nyantcha/ThiccWithAQ and it involves, as the name says, the Zirca Region. There is not much of a map fleshed out and there are just a few locations known, but I think I can work with this as the entire League circuit is fleshed out, from the Gym Leaders to side characters and the League itself.
And, if any of you think that going with that sort of 'Strong' Team may be too OP… let's just say that the Champion can easily beat three 'Reds' at once if needed.
