So uh, hi. If you haven't guessed it already from the title change, this is a rewrite of From the Dark Ages. To be frank, the survivalist start had been a slog to try and go through and it was hard to come up with fresh ideas that weren't completely repetitive, so I figured I'd revamp it early instead of forcing myself to continue and ending up hating it. My fault for trying to tackle something too big while new, I guess. Anyway, new start, new drop point, hopefully easier time for me! Mono Dark is still the main typing because I figure it could be fun (and I refuse to throw away the hours I spent thinking about encounters). I hope you guys enjoy the rewrite! As a note: Liam is not some 40 year old man aged down and reincarnated. He got plopped in at the exact age he currently is.
I don't own Pokemon.
Liam couldn't suppress the scowl that graced his face.
He was at one of the smaller beaches that occupied Izabe Island, after finishing his shift he decided to come here in hopes of clearing his mind, to no success. The sounds of the waves crashing against the shoreline rang throughout the area and large palm trees were scattered about the beach. Liam's nose picked up the scent of seawater as a tepid breeze blew through the area that made his shoulders relax, though that still didn't help him with his current dilemma.
A month ago Liam's life was fairly average for a seventeen-year-old. He worked his days away in a soul sucking nine to five job to keep food on the table and the lights on, and as a result free time was usually limited. Though it was usually spent rotting his brain away on video games or messing around in the digital world for hours on end. It was a monotonous existence, but it was unfortunately the only one Liam could afford, being an orphan hadn't left much in the realm of support, so he was happy to even afford the little he had.
Of course - things took a turn for the strange when, after falling asleep on his couch, what greeted him upon waking up was a face full of sand and the feeling of his legs being soaked by the tide.
Fortunately for him, he hadn't ended up on some deserted island, and the commotion from his confused panicking led to him quickly being discovered. He was questioned about his appearance, and after explaining his circumstances to the man who found him, he was offered a temporary room in his home, a beach house not too far from where he had woken up, which Liam gratefully accepted. The chaos of recent events had drained Liam to the point of exhaustion. Despite having just woken up, he was almost immediately put back to sleep when he was shown where his temporary residence would be. Idly noting that the room he'd been given was as large as his apartment before passing out once more.
Unfortunately for Liam - the universe didn't seem like it was in the mood to give him a break.
Liam's sleep was interrupted hours later by a persistent nudging on his face, followed by deep huffs of breath as if something was sniffing him, and his annoyance reached its peak after a few minutes of this treatment. As his eyes snapped open, the harsh comment on his tongue was snuffed out as he slowly comprehended the creature in front of him.
The Mightyena paused its ministrations, tilting its head at his frozen state with red eyes gleaming with innocent curiosity before huffing. A soft whine left its throat before it shoved its head into Liam's chest with another nudge that nearly knocked the wind out of him. Half out of fear and confusion, he subconsciously began to scratch behind its ears; a tactic he used for some of his old pets, and received a content growl for his efforts.
As he continued petting the four-foot canine, the realization of just where he had washed up at was starting to sink in.
Pokemon.
Deep down, Liam knew he wasn't anywhere near his home. The fact that there weren't any beaches - let alone islands - where he lived had clued him into that. But to learn that he had seemingly crossed dimensions and ended up in a previously fictional world? It was terrifying for the seventeen-year-old, but he couldn't suppress the flash of excitement at the thought. It's not like he was missing much anyways, and how many people could say they were transported into a world from their childhood?
'I don't know how I didn't recognize Sidney back then,' Liam thought to himself with a small smile.
Liam considered himself to be an avid Pokemon fan, though his knowledge of the anime was... iffy, to say the least. Tobias just left a bad taste after the Sinnoh League, and after that shit show, he'd pretty much given up on it. Where he truly shined, however, was with the games.
A lot of his game time was spent on Pokemon in one way or another. Whether that involved spending hours on end shiny hunting a Pokemon he would more than likely never use or playing some of the well-designed fangames with hours upon hours of content, even challenging himself by completing these games with only one type of Pokemon or doing nuzlockes. Liam was practically (absolutely) addicted to it. And it seemed to have paid off, albeit unintentionally, considering his current circumstances.
Sidney was generous enough to get him a job at a Pokemart to give him something to do and pay for his own food and clothes instead of becoming a mooch, something Liam didn't have an issue with. He and the Pokemart's owner, an burly old man named Kenai, were friends of some sort, and considering the older man was short on staff, he was happy to accept the extra help. The pay wasn't great; in fact, it was the same amount he was getting at his old job, but it was better than nothing at all. And he would need every cent he could get his hands on to fund his future goals and the current cause of his internal dilemma: becoming a Pokemon trainer.
'I just wish there was a fine print when I was brought here to let me know that capitalism would be bending me over.' Liam thought in annoyance.
When Liam had first begun researching Pokemon trainers, he wasn't stupid enough to think it would be cheap to get into. He knew on an intellectual level that it wouldn't be nearly as easy as the games portrayed in terms of financial management. You couldn't just steamroll a couple of kids and end up with thousands before you even finished a route. But he hadn't realized the sheer depth of expenses that went into Pokemon training until recently.
To put it in perspective; basic pokeballs, Potions, and Repels cost 200 each, minimum. His current salary was 20 Pokedollars an hour, meaning that he would need to work 10 hours minimum just to afford a single vanilla pokeball. For someone with no financial backing? It was crippling. Liam found himself constantly calculating and reevaluating his budget, trying to figure out how to make ends meet to no avail.
Liam only had seven months before the next league season started to prepare for his journey. Unless a miracle came barreling through the door, he would either need to bite the bullet and sacrifice any extra time he could spend researching the essentials or hope for the best and try to rely on win streaks to sustain himself and his team. From what he had read, relying solely on win streaks was unreliable and likely to crash and burn unless you were fairly skilled to begin with—neither of which were options Liam felt comfortable with.
Getting caught up in one's thoughts wasn't exactly the best for awareness, and as a result Liam was completely caught off guard by the shout aimed in his direction.
"Catch!"
Startled, Liam barely had time to turn before catching the incoming object. A brief inspection revealed it to be a soda pop. The sound of gruff yet smooth laughter greeted Liam's ears as he turned to see who had thrown it.
Ruby-red eyes filled with mirth took in Liam's reaction as the person laughed. Dressed in a black collared V-neck shirt, flipped open around the neck and wrists to show off its yellow, tan lined interior, burgundy pants, and a surprisingly simple pair of black shoes, Sidney had a red tuft of hair occupying his otherwise bald head.
"Nice one." The dark specialist grinned. "For a second there I was worried you were gonna end up knocked out on the beach again."
"If you did, I would make sure Mightyena would be the first to know where I got a new bruise from." Liam deadpanned.
"Sheesh, turning my own Pokémon against me, huh?" Sidney winced in mock hurt. "I take you in, and this is how you repay me? Kids these days are way more vicious than I thought."
"It's not my fault she prefers me over you," Liam shrugged while popping the bottle cap off his soda. Liam mentally cheered as the scent of Pecha Berry hit his nose from the beverage.
"She has taken a shine to you, huh?" Sidney said with a shake of his head. "I'm still stumped on how you did it. The number of people I've seen her actually want to interact with can probably be counted on one hand, and yet you swooped in for only a month, and she's practically attached to you at the hip," he continued, confusion lacing his tone.
"She's not like this with other people?" Liam responded in confusion.
"Nope," Sidney replied after taking a chug from his own soda. "Most of the time she's just indifferent around guests and lazes around somewhere if she's not in her ball. I guess you made a hell of an impression." Sidney finished.
Liam was only able to offer a thoughtful hum in response, and they let the conversation fade away into a comfortable silence.
They spent a few minutes like that - staring out into the deep blue while taking the occasional drink from their respective beverages. Despite his earlier funk, Liam was momentarily struck once again by just how beautiful this world was. Off in the distance he was able to catch a glimpse of Wailord pods traveling further out into the sea. Their cries were loud enough for them to hear despite the vast distance, with flocks of Wingull and Pelipper hovering above them in droves as they traveled.
Despite having been here for over a month, the sight of Pokemon still awakened a thrill like no other in Liam's heart. To see the creatures he recognized as digital monsters, models of code that took up less space on his phone than most apps, come to life each with their own personalities and traits. It was…surreal, to say the least.
However, it seemed Sidney couldn't tolerate the silence any longer. "So," he began, breaking the silence and drawing Liam out of his reverie, "what's got you out here so annoyed in the first place? Everything alright at Kenai's?"
"Everything's fine at work." Liam shrugged. "Kenai is a pretty good boss as long as you don't do anything stupid. As for the other employees, we don't care enough to interact with each other while working, so I can't say much about them."
"Sounds about right." Sidney replied with a chuckle. "Though if not that then what is it? Something happen to you outside of work?" Sidney inquired.
"Nah, nothing like that, it's just…" Liam paused for a few moments, mentally debating on whether or not to vent to Sidney. 'Fuck it,' He thought in resignation. 'It's not like I'm finding any solutions on my own, and if anyone's gonna have an idea it would be the already established trainer.'
"I've been trying to think of ways to earn some extra cash," He finally revealed. Observing the raised brow and confusion on Sidney's face, Liam continued with his explanation."The league season starts up again soon, and while the pay at the mart isn't too bad, it won't be nearly enough to fund me completely before it starts." Liam finished ruefully.
"Ah, the burden of coin." Sidney chuckled. "I would suggest getting another job, but the town doesn't have much else for work, and the pay probably wouldn't be that much better than what you're currently making."
"It would also consume most of the time I could use for researching, except on weekends anyway," Liam pointed out, frowning. "Money doesn't mean much if I end up getting mauled on a route because I did something stupid, like accidentally falling into a Salamence nest." He grimaced at the thought.
Liam had seen the aftermath of a Salamence's rampage while browsing online, and none of the incidents were pretty. The most recent case occurred near Fallarbor Town, where some dumbass thought they could easily snatch a Bagon from its nest. The ensuing rampage by the mother Salamence was so severe that Drake himself had to be called in, along with a handful of rangers, to subdue it.
Fortunately, they'd managed to return the mother and her Bagon to their homes, and the trainer responsible for the incident had his license permanently revoked. It served as a stark reminder to Liam that the world he was in was no longer limited to numbers and code; one bad encounter could be disastrous.
"While the odds of you actually running into one are fairly slim, fair enough." Sidney chuckled darkly, most likely remembering the same event that ran through Liam's mind.
They fell silent once again, allowing Liam's thoughts to wander in search of a potential solution. Unbeknownst to him, Sidney's eyes gleamed with a contemplative glint as he studied the young man.
"Why do you want to be a trainer to begin with?" Sidney suddenly asked, his tone casual but carrying an underlying weight that made Liam instinctively tense. Liam turned towards Sidney, pausing as he noticed the edge in Sidney's eyes and a glimmer of something else that he couldn't quite decipher.
"What do you mean?" Liam replied after a moment, recovering from his surprise.
"I've encountered many trainers in my life, Liam. Some were good, and some were bad, but each one of them had a goal or a reason for embarking on their journey," Sidney responded to the inquiry. "You're not a naive kid, especially considering that most others your age would have rushed into being a trainer without a second thought. I just want to know why you want to go on a journey in the first place." he finished sternly.
Liam silently stared at the man as he considered his response. Sure he'd only known the man for a month but this change in attitude was still somewhat surprising to him. but he figured he had a pretty grasp of the man at this point - but seeing this side of him definitely had Liam reevaluate some of his supposed knowledge about Sidney. He silently berated himself at the thought.
Still, Liam realized that Sidney wasn't going to wait forever for an answer. So after steeling himself with a deep breath; he told Sidney the truth.
"Back home I wasn't able to do much, y'know?" Liam finally replied. "For thirteen years of my life I lived in an orphanage with a couple dozen other brats, before eventually saying fuck it and striking out on my own."
Liam could see a hint of surprise on Sidney's face, most likely because he was now discussing his home situation. He hadn't delved into it in detail before, and Sidney had respected his boundaries.
"You want to know why I want to be a trainer? It's because all of my life I've been on the back foot," Liam continued with his voice raising in intensity. "There were times where I could barely make ends meet and struggled to even keep food on the table, it was hell. But you wanna know the worst part? The worst part was being a spectator to everyone else, having to sit on the sidelines watching while they got to achieve their dreams and aspirations while I was stuck in the same hole I'd been in for years."
"I want to go on a journey to experience life and everything it has to offer, both the good and the bad, with a team by my side every step of the way," Liam said passionately. "I know it won't be easy, and there's still plenty about this world that I need to learn, but I damn well have a bigger opportunity to make something of myself now as a trainer than I ever did before."
Of course, Liam left out the tidbit about his knowledge of future events unfolding in the Hoenn region. He didn't have an accurate timeline for some of them; it had been literal years since he watched any of the movies, after all. But at the very least, it seemed that Team Aqua and Team Magma hadn't fully started their crusades, at least not yet.
A quick search online revealed that while Magma was seemingly inactive, Aqua was active in Hoenn's waters and were attacking ships and pillaging them, seemingly for supplies according to the reports. He wasn't sure what the point of their attacks were, but the last thing he wanted was to be caught unprepared and weak when they began their crusade for Kyogre, and the gym challenge presented the quickest way to grow stronger.
As Liam finished his speech, the beach was engulfed in silence. With each passing moment of silence, Liam's thoughts continued to wander regarding the current situation. Although he had apparently misjudged Sidney's character, he was still confused about where this conversation was coming from. Had he said something to offend him? Was it some kind of test? Or was there something else he was missing? Doubts began to form in Liam's mind as the silence persisted, until he was mercifully brought out of his anxious thoughts by a soft chuckle from the man in front of him.
"That was one passionate speech kid." Sidney finally said, finally breaking the uncomfortable silence. Liam could only offer a sheepish shrug in response. "Sorry about the sudden questioning, but I just wanted to get a few things cleared up before we continued." Sidney said apologetically.
"Continued with what?" Liam asked in confusion.
"Like I said before, I've seen a lot of trainers in my lifetime." Sidney continued as if he hadn't heard his question. "And while a majority of them were truly invested in what they were doing, a lot of them only became trainers because of how glamorized it is." Sidney scoffed in disappointment. "They had no passion, no ambition, no drive. They simply figured that by becoming a trainer it'd be a smooth sail to a life in luxury because others have reached the top, not realizing what they were getting into."
"But now that I know you aren't like that I've got an offer for you Liam." Sidney grinned. Before Liam could ponder on what said offer could be, Sidney's next words caused Liam to immediately freeze.
"How would you like me to sponsor you?"
"...I'm sorry?" Liam asked in shock.
According to what Liam read online, Pokemon sponsorships were essentially acknowledgements from important figures or companies throughout the world that came with benefits. One of the more famous examples of this was Steven Stone being sponsored by Devon Corp on behalf of his father.
Sponsored trainers received a bi-weekly stipend from the league itself, along with numerous other benefits to support them on their journey. However, sponsorship was not without its obligations. Being sponsored meant representing the benefactor(s) in official Pokémon battles, such as gym challenges or regional conferences. The better the performance, the larger the stipend would become.
It would completely solve any financial issues that Liam had, but before now he had completely crossed it off as a possibility. Now the solution to all of his problems was staring him in the face, and he couldn't suppress the flash of excitement at the thought.
"You know what a sponsorship is, right?" Sidney inquired with a raised brow and Liam could only silently nod in response. "Good, that makes this easy then. In addition to the financial support from the sponsorship, I'd be helping you out for the next few months as well. Make sure you learn how to take care of yourself and your team along with anything else you might need to know."
"There's nobody else you'd rather offer this to?" Liam's confusion was reflected in his voice. "I'm grateful for the opportunity, but I'm not exactly the poster boy for talent or anything. As of right now I'm just some kid who sleeps on your couch. Why would you pick me?"
Sidney grinned and the sincerity in it left Liam speechless. "Kid, talent isn't everything in this world. Passion, ambition, and determination count for a lot. I've seen something special in you, Liam. Your drive to escape your past and make something of yourself as a trainer is inspiring. You may not realize it, but you possess the qualities that can take you far."
Sidney paused for a moment before turning back towards the horizon. "Plus, I sorta see a bit of me in you to be honest." His tone was wistful, almost as if he was reminiscing. "A young man with dreams to take the world by storm but held down by the restraints of society. Though back then I had a huge chip on my shoulder." Sidney smiled almost sheepishly, and Liam chuckled at the thought.
"Back then I didn't have anyone back in my corner, it was just me and Poochyena trying to find our place in the world, so being able to help someone else who was in my shoes? It wouldn't sit right with me to do otherwise."
"So? What do you think?"
Any lingering doubts Liam may have had were swept away at this point. And he couldn't stop the excited grin that bloomed on his face as he stared at his new teacher. "When do we start?"
"Now that's what I like to hear!" Sidney laughed as he sent a hearty pat to Liam's back. Liam mumbled a curse as he was almost sent plummeting into the sand.
By this point the area around them had been engulfed in the evening twilight as the sun set over the horizon. The sounds and sight of the wailord pods had long since faded away giving room for the cries of the nocturnal Pokemon that inhabited the island. Liam jumped slightly at the sudden shrieks of a Murkrow flock somewhere on the island.
"What, afraid of a couple of birds?" Sidney teased with a chuckle.
"Fuck off." Liam grumbled out. He tactfully ignored the laugh that followed after.
"Give me some time to make you a regime for the next few months." Sidney stated after calming down. "I'll have to ask you a couple of questions to get a better idea of where we need to start, but we can do that tomorrow, it late enough as is."
Liam glanced at the now star filled sky and silently nodded in agreement.
Sidney turned and began making his way towards the beach house. "C'mon brat! You've still got work tomorrow and we've been out here long enough already because of your brooding."
"Fuck you too, Sidney." Liam replied blankly. The barking laugh he got in response cut through the night as they walked back home.
"Is that all, Steven?"
"Yes, that should be the last of it, Sidney." The silver-haired champion replied, smiling. Sidney suppressed the urge to look away from the blinding sight. "We can consider this meeting adjourned."
"Finally! If we sat here any longer, I'm pretty sure I was gonna turn into a ghost myself," exclaimed Phoebe, her bubbly tone bringing forth chuckles from everyone on the call. Even Drake, the grumpy bastard that he was, cracked a small grin at the ghost specialist's enthusiasm.
"Regardless, please make sure you keep each other posted on any suspicious activity." Steven gave a smile over the screen, but the tenseness of his shoulders revealed his true feelings. A quick glance from Sidney towards the rest of his colleagues revealed that they seemed to have noticed it as well. "These 'Team Aqua' raids have been getting out of hand, and we have yet to figure out if their attacks are truly random or if there's something bigger at play."
"We'll make sure things are handled on our end Steven. Don't worry." reassured Glacia with her melodious voice. "If we discover anything of interest, we'll be sure to inform you. Just make sure things on your end are running smoothly. We'll put an end to this soon enough." Her words were followed by nods of agreement from Sidney and Phoebe, and a grunt of approval from Drake.
Steven let out a relieved breath as the tension eased in his shoulders, and his smile became more genuine as he nodded in response. "I'll leave you all to it then. Goodnight, everyone."
After a few goodbyes, Sidney was left in silence, staring at the blank screen. He stretched his limbs with a satisfied groan, feeling the satisfying cracks. Getting up from his chair, he made his way over to the couch and plopped down on it lengthwise with a sigh.
'What a fucking mess,' Sidney thought to himself tiredly.
The past few months had been a constant test of Sidney's patience. The usual pressure that came with league responsibilities was expected, especially with the new season starting soon. Sidney was accustomed to it at this point. And while occasional hiccups were to be expected with the league, the frequency of them this time of year made him want to claw his eyes out.
But things had gotten messier when a group of pirates started flooding Hoenn's waters, pillaging everything they could find. This posed a significant problem, considering how much water comprised the region and its role as the main mode of travel for tourists entering and leaving the area. The situation only worsened when Professor Oak himself was aboard one of the attacked vessels while on a trip to visit Professor Birch.
Fortunately, the ex-champion had managed to handle the situation and suppress the attack with ease. However, the implications of someone with such a high profile being targeted sent the league into a frenzy, increasing the pressure on the region's elite four members and subsequently increasing Sidney's frustration.
The worst part was that the attacks seemed random, and not every ship was targeted. Sometimes weeks would pass without any incidents, and then a cruise liner would be ransacked and ravaged in the middle of the night with no warning until it was too late. It was baffling to say the least.
Sidney let out a frustrated sigh, laying around and getting angry about it wasn't going to solve anything, so Sidney decided to shelve the thoughts for later and turn in for the night.
Pulling himself from the couch imprint he made with a grunt, Sidney paused for a few moments to get the blood flowing back into his legs before making his way through the long hallway towards his bedroom. He paused as he passed by Liam's room, taking in the scene before him, and couldn't help but huff in amusement.
'She's gonna kill him like this,' Sidney thought to himself, softly chuckling at the scene in front of him. It seemed his Mightyena had taken a liking to his young ward more than he had realized. The one-hundred-pound canine was using Liam as a pillow, with the covers having been completely shoved off the bed in the process of her take over. He had to hold back another chuckle as Liam attempted to shift the crushing weight off of him before eventually giving up with a soft grumble.
Truthfully, Sidney was still a little perplexed by how comfortable she was with him. Outside of a select few people, she mostly gave visitors of his the cold shoulder when they came over or preferred to hang around the rest of his Pokemon. Nevertheless, it wasn't something he was overly concerned about. Whatever she saw in the young man must be positive, and it was definitely better than her being hostile towards him.
Stifling a yawn, Sidney decided he had spent enough time pondering for one night. Leaving the two to their rest, he reached the entrance to his bedroom. It was fairly large, with its own built-in bathroom, and even with the sizable bed occupying a chunk of the room there was still plenty of space to maneuver around with. While Sidney didn't consider himself particularly materialistic, being an elite four member paid well, and he spared no expense when it came to where he slept.
As his head crashed against the pillow and he slowly embraced the call of Cresselia, his last thoughts centered on what sort of training regimes he could devise for his new student.
Feedback is appreciated as usual. See you guys next time.