I do not own Pokemon
The story will take place in a harsher world than that of the games/anime/movies. I have not read the mangas, so I cannot judge those.
Protagonist Parker is not a good person. He'll do and say some... questionable things. You have been warned
Unlike in the games, pokemons that are knocked out are dead. Unlike in the games, pokemons will need to eat and there will be scenes where the protagonist will kill, cook and eat other pokemons. I'll try to avoid being too graphic, but sometimes that will be necessary. Also, as a coroner in training, my sense of what is considered graphic is rather... skewed. I apologize in advance for any scene that might make you uncomfortable, but you have been warned
When it comes to most fight, I used the same calculations in the games to evaluate the damage dealt to each pokemon (shoutout to Pokemon Showdown's pokedex for helping me with the stats for each pokemon), following turns like this was a normal pokemon game. Once the battle is over, I rewrite the battle to add a touch a dramatization. Certain turns might be skipped (I'm not going to mention how a move misses 5 times in a row, I'm only saying it misses once and describing when it hits), but most times you should be able to get a feel of play by play. I'll try to be coy and let you know what moves is used (X pokemon stared at Y with a Glare, Y pokemon's punches hit as fast as a comet for Glare and Comet Punch respectively), but I'm not going to interrupt the flow to name specific moves unless knowing about them is vital (coff Destiny Bond coff)
This is not a Nuzlocke simulator. Altough the fights are brutals, the protagonist and his pokemons will have a certain degree of plot armor
I know Pokemons have genders, but until the protagonist acknowledges them as more than a nuissance, they will be referred to as "it". Certain pokemons may be referred with this pronoun for the entirety of the story, but only because they are genderless or should have been genderless (looking at you, ghost type)
I will simply ignore PP. Every move, regardless of power, has infinite PP
Parker ran across the field, the dazzling red and blue light of Viridian police illuminating the night's sky. He reached into his pocket and tossed his phone into the water without so much as to glance back. He couldn't continue this way: route 22 led to the Pokemon league, there was a guard post to block the entrance that would check the gym medals of anyone trying to go through. Even if he discarded his team Rocket uniform, he didn't have a single gym badge. The guards would send him away, and sooner or later Viridian police would come looking. He turned to the cliff faces that surrounded route 22. They were steep, probably too steep to climb for anyone not raised in the mountain peaks of Blackthorn city. He steeled himself, reaching for something to grasp onto and started to climb, the pitch black of his Rocket uniform blending in with the shadows of a moonless night.
He couldn't remember how long it took him to reach the top of the slope. He was tired, he was scared and most importantly, he was mad. He grabbed his beret and slammed it to the ground, tears flowing.
It was over.
Giovanni was defeated.
'Join Team Rocket' said his cousin. 'Giovanni is the strongest pokemon trainer in Kanto' he said. 'Soon, he'll be strong enough to take on the elite four' he promised. 'We'll take over Kanto' he declared.
All over.
Giovanni defeated, his best pokemons dead and the police at his tail.
He should have never allowed himself to be swayed. What kind of moron joins an organization the day before its boss is charged for criminal conspiracy? And with both his cousin and uncle as high ranking members, there was no way for him to slip through the cracks. Not even a bit, considering how much his cousin had bragged about 'little Parker finally joining the team'. If he considered the fact he was one of three grunts assigned to guard Viridian city when everything went to shit… once again thanks to his cousin wanting to show him how the higher ups handle business. He was sure there would be wanted posters with his face plastered all over the city by tomorrow.
The truth was… he was done for. There was no coming back for him.
He subconsciously reached for his pokeball. His only pokeball.
He tossed it to the ground, letting his Zubat flapping about. He growled in frustration. All new recruits were given a choice for their first pokemon: a Zubat, a Rattata, a Grimer, a Koffing, an Ekans or, if they were particularly lucky on their first day, a Machop.
He had pondered over his options, but he ended up going for a Zubat. After all, their final evolution was a Crobat and that pokemon was a very powerful choice. Difficult to evolve, sure, but still an extremely fast pokemon with enough power to sweep entire teams on its own. Getting his Zubat to evolve twice would take a lot of effort, but that's what his second pokemon would be there for. He had reached out to the Jotho branch and had organized an exchange: a Koffing for an Houndour. Granted, he didn't actually have a Koffing at the moment, but he would have gotten it after this job.
A Koffing he would never get. He would never get a Hondour and now he was stuck with this useless, annoying pokemon.
He should have picked a Grimer.
Now all he had was a stupid Zubat who only knew the shittiest move possible. How was he going to survive in the wild when his shitty starter only knew Leech Life? And how was he supposed to catch another pokemon without pokeballs?
He frowned, suddenly coming to a realization. To catch a pokemon, you need a pokeball. That's pokemon training 101. Everyone knows that. But…pokeballs were a relatively modern invention. He had seen the insides of a broken ball, those things were complex machines with microchips, transistors and batteries and… he wasn't sure what else. Pseudo-random configurable circuit or something like that, according to professor Fig. It was taught in school, but he wasn't a great student. To be honest, professor Fig was also a rather shitty teacher, but that wasn't the point.
How did people catch pokemons before pokeballs were invented? Did they wrestle wild pokemons into submission? That couldn't be right… Did they just steal the eggs from wild pokemons and raise them? Possible. Would certainly help him in his current situation, if he had a pokemon strong enough to deal with a couple of angry pokemon parents.
Maybe, if he was fast enough… he could run pretty fast, after all.
He could leave his Zubat behind as bait, but…that Zubat was his only pokemon. If he left it behind, it would surely be torn to pieces and then what? He was sure the parents would go after him next. No, that was a stupid plan, at least for now. He needed to be stronger before he could try something like that. But how could he get stronger if he couldn't even battle? He sure as hell wasn't going to be able to go to the Pokemon Center to heal his Zubat back up.
Again, how did people heal their pokemons before the Pokemon Centers? He knew both his cousin and uncle had used their fair share of potions, but what was inside the potions that healed pokemons? Medicinal plants? Roots? Fruits? Berries? Berries. He did remember at one point one of his classmates asking about the properties of different berries to professor Fig, but the man had almost laughed in her face, saying something about outdated medicine. Yeah, the man was a shitty teacher.
Pokemons did heal surprisingly fast while sleeping, so maybe that was the solution? Possible, but berries felt like the better option. He couldn't just sleep a few hours after every random Pidgey encounter, after all. A berry that helped heal his Zubat could solve his problems, helping him grow stronger, strong enough for him to steal a pokemon egg and… and then what? Cross Victory road into Jotho? The same road where all the trainers looking to challenge the elite four trained? Beasts powerful enough to face off against Lance's dragons AND Agatha's ghosts? No fucking way.
He couldn't stay in Kanto, but he couldn't cross Victory road. Going south wasn't really an option, the only thing south was Pallet Town and the road to Jotho, which would be guarded like no tomorrow looking for him and his fellow Rockets. He wouldn't be able to embark in a ship to the Sevii Island as sure as shit he wasn't going to be able to swim there.
North there were mountains, and after the mountains… What was north of Kanto? Pasio? Ferrum? Sinnoh? Hisui? He wasn't sure, it always felt like useless information to him, but he was pretty certain no one would expect him to climb over a mountain range.
He could rebuild his life there. He could sell his Zubat and whatever egg he nabbed along the way for a fat load of cash and live like a king. Maybe, if his pokemon became strong enough, he could even try his luck in their gyms…
Yes.
He would go north. Cross the mountains over to whatever region awaited on the other side and start over. No more team Rocket, no more illegal business. Was selling pokemon eggs legal? Ok, only a bit of illegal business.
He got up, newfound determination. Yes. He would make it. But first, he needed to find a cave where he could sleep for the night. And somewhere nice to wash. A thermal spring would be the best. Yes: a cave next to a thermal spring.
"Come on, you stupid Zubat. Follow me towards my future!"
The Zubat flapped its wings, following behind him. Parker looked around, searching for a cave, but couldn't spot any. Not that he could spot much to begin it, to be honest. He started walking forward, tall grass reaching his elbows. Parker walked towards the closest tree, but soon before reaching it, he felt something beneath his feet. The silence of the night was interrupted by a loud screech as a ball of fur next to him jumped up. Parker stepped back as the furball attempted to jump at his face with clawed hands, his tail now freed from under the man's foot. He recognized the pokemon, a Mankey. One that he had just woken up and severely pissed off by stepping on his tail.
"Shit. Zubat! Leech Life this thing until it drops dead!" he shouted.
Zubat swept down, tiny fangs biting on the pokemon's tail, causing it to squeal. The Mankey turned around, slashing at the Zubat attached to his tail, but the Zubat sank his teeth deeper, drinking the pokemon's blood, restoring itself with every drop while the Mankey grew more and more desperate with every swipe. Despite the viciousness of the attacks, however, the Zubat was recuperating, every wound on his body disappearing as soon as it was inflicted. After a few more seconds of struggling, the Mankey fell to the ground, Zubat letting go of the tail and smiling happily at its trainer, blood dripping from its mouth.
Suddenly, Parker didn't feel like dismissing his Zubat as a weak pokemon anymore.
"Well…look at that… You're actually quite vicious, aren't you? You like biting pokemons?"
The Zubat fluttered in happiness, coming to a resting spot on Parker's head.
"I suppose I should give you a name then. Let's see… you got a rather vicious bite… vicious bite… Vike! What do you think, Vike?"
Vike fluttered once more in excitement.
"Then Vike it is. Let's go, Vike! Our quest await!"
It took only three steps for Parker to accidentally step onto another's Mankey tail. Needless to say, Vike proved himself quite happy to kill this one as well.
Notes
Welcome to my new serie!
You just met Parker, ex grunt for team Rocket, and you will learn more about him in the future
Vike is a male level 5 Zubat (poison/flying, in case you forgot) with Inner Focus. I'll let you guess his nature. Vike (and every future Zubat encounter) will follow gen 3's learnset, but the moves will follow their most recent balance patch