A roar shook the surrounding forest, causing flocks of Taillow to fly away in a state of panic. Haona and Bib froze, feeling a brief but intense surge of dark energy.
She and Bib recognized this feeling. It was hatred, raw untamed hatred. She felt it whenever she would think about the humans who took her parents, often during strong depressive periods on her own in the wild.
Bib, who was hypersensitive to emotion, felt the hate far worse than Haona. He knew it down to his very bones. Hate so powerful that it coiled around the heart like a vice, driving murderous thoughts into the mind and corrupting the soul, destroying its host from the inside. But it wasn't his. It felt worse than acid being dropped on bare skin, more painful than a stab in the stomach. Bib clenched his teeth, fury rising throughout his body. His psychic abilities subconsciously began levitating objects and twigs off the floor, sharpening them into razor sharp daggers, ready to destroy. Ready to kill.
Haona saw the visible change in Bib's usually jolly happy go lucky demeanor and nudged him.
"Hey. Are you alright Bib? You're scaring me right now," she mentioned. She had never seen him this way before. It wasn't pleasant to look at.
The Ralts once glowing blue eyes then returned to their normal red color and left the pokemon slightly dazed and confused.
"Huh? Why did I- Was that me?" He looked around the fire, noticing the pointed sticks and branches littering the floor. He couldn't even manage to lift two objects remotely three feet off the ground before.
Haona stared at him, concern lining her pristine features. "Yeah, that was you. As soon as the wave came at us, you just…changed." Awkwardly glancing away she asked, "The hate. You felt it too right?"
Bib stared at her, perfectly serious. "Yes. I did."
"I know the Ralts line is really sensitive to emotions but I had no idea that it was that strong."
Turning away, Bib faced the direction in which the roar came from. "It isn't…Let's go." With that he ran towards the riverbank , tiny legs carrying him as fast as they could.
It isn't? Does that mean that part of that overwhelming hate was his own? His parents…? Or something else?
Dropping the subject, she shook her head and ran in the same direction Bib had. Upon arriving at the riverbank, she saw the Ralts standing before the collapsed human near the edge of the water.
Looking at his body, she felt something strange. She had picked it up before but never thought much of it. He felt like her. Like her kind. She sniffed him again and confirmed it.
It's almost as if he's like me. But how? Humans just don't have the abilities pokemon have. Or their weaknesses. Nothing about him makes any sense. Was he the one who roared earlier? Eyes widening, she looked at Bib's equally perplexed expression. No. Couldn't be. That sounded like a Tyranitar's roar. Something much more powerful than a measly human. His lungs would burst into shreds releasing that kind of noise.
The Absol's face now held a look of utter terror, looking at the human as if he was some kind of monster.
Frantic, she told Bib ,"Bib. We need to get out of here. This human. I don't like it. I told you, he's dangerous."
"I'm not leaving."
"What? One day with a human and already you're his pet? You saw what he did! This isn't normal!" she snarled. "See sense! Please."
The Ralts was deathly silent. He simply stood there, not taking his eyes off the human for a second. Finally turning around to face the angry Absol, resolute and eerily calm, he said, "he killed my parent's murderers."
His reply shocked Haona, suddenly remembering the Mightyena pack that the human had slain some hours ago. Suddenly realizing what this meant, she looked at the floor in shame.
"The pack that killed your parents. It was them. That's why you were so afraid."
The tiny pokemon nodded stiffly. "The leader knew. That's why he wanted me. I saw them die you know. How they tore them to shreds. I hid behind a rock like a coward. Too afraid to speak, too afraid to do anything." Bib's tiny hands clenched tightly, nearly cutting off circulation. "I hated them with all my being, but most of all, I hated myself. Now thanks to him, part of that hate I once felt is gone. But some of it is still there. Because I couldn't save them. They say humans make us stronger, stronger than we can ever become by ourselves. I want to see if that's true, and if he's dangerous, I don't care. I want the power to protect my family and myself, so you or anyone doesn't have to get hurt for me."
Haona stayed silent, unsure of what to say, unsure of what to do. She couldn't possibly leave her friend. Closing her eyes, she nodded. She would endure the human for him. She promised she would protect him when she found him huddled in a tree stump a few months ago. If that meant she would have to deal with a human, then she would.
Bib understood and turned back towards the human, placing a small hand on his forehead."I felt the same thing in him. He needs help or that rage will eat him inside, until it drives him insane, turning him into a monster that wishes only to destroy, robbing others of what was stolen from him long ago. He's alone. He needs us."
Nothing about him felt good, his psychic intuition told him to get as far away from him as possible, the malice that came from him in that brief moment made his stomach churn. Still, he believed that the human could be reasoned with.
"How do possibly know that?"
"Screams can be songs too."
The Absol hesitated for a moment, pondering the psychic's statement. She stared at the sleeping human and relented. "Let him sleep then," Haona said, feeling a gentle breeze glide across the riverbank.
"Yeah. Just dunk him into the water later." Bib smirked mischievously, attempting to use his playful demeanor to distract the dark type.
It seemed to work, as she curled up next to the strange human, calling Bib over to sleep on her soft fur.
"There's the Ralts I know. Serious doesn't suit you."
Riven stirred, back slightly aching from sleeping on the floor, he opened his eyes and caught a glimpse of the rising sun. It was dawn. His eyes started slowly closing again, drifting off to sleep. Before they closed fully, he caught a glimpse of a white blurry ball.
It was approaching rather quickly.
His mind was still groggy and didn't register the hit until after the white furball collided with him, sending him over the riverbank and into the gentle river water.
Now fully awake, he pulled himself out of the water, sputtering enough curse words to put a latrine to shame.
Eyesight still a bit hazy, he looked at the culprit with silent fury. No one enjoys a rude awakening after a peaceful slumber. No one.
"YOU! Why would you do that?! Could a simple push not have done the same thing? Next time you decide to brood and sleep , I am going to pour ice cold water on YOUR face." He ranted for a couple minutes, dripping on the forest floor, black hair sticking to his face.
The Absol just sat on a rock, like a regal and pompous little stubborn queen, licking her paws and fur clean. She looked completely nonplussed.
"Are you even listening to me?!" He yelled, trying to get creature's attention.
She turned her head facing him, a small smug little smirk on her face, taunting him.
Taunting me? Argh. Should have known. Demonic creature for sure. Fantastic. She pushed me into a blasted river! Who does that to a sleeping person?
Clearly amused, the smug little "queen" leapt off the rock, holding her head high and smiling. She had won, trotting back to their camp in proud strides.
"What am I going to do about that one? It behaves like an actual human woman! Thanks, god. Yet another torture for this poor soul. First I wake up in a world that makes no sense, then I get stuck with this dog-feline that loves to play tricks." Riven grumbled, hair and clothes still thoroughly drenched from his unexpected dunk.
He started back towards camp. Catching sight of a rather mischievous looking creature, he immediately knew the mastermind behind the act. Looking at the Ralts, fistful of berries in its mouth, he fumed.
"Hey! Stop eating all the berries!"
The small creature clutched his sides, rolling on the ground laughing his tiny little ass off.
It was now nearly noon, the forest now alive with sounds and activity. Taillow could be heard squawking in the distance as Linoones scurried about, with Seedots serenely swaying with the wind in the trees.
It was a calming sight. Although it did rub Riven rather strangely. Not being chased by things that wanted you dead just did not sit well with him. Perhaps it was his overcharged nerves.
"Are forests always this peaceful?" He said to himself, eyes glued to the tree tops. Creatures swung through branches and birds flew overhead, occasionally chirping and squawking.
"Absol Ab." The white demon responded, he had still not forgotten this morning's incident at the river.
"I cannot understand your speech , demon spawn." Riven declared , glaring daggers into her. It seemed to be clearly ineffective as she just laughed and gave an infuriating grunt in response.
I have an ominous feeling she might try something devious tonight as well. Who knows what her and the child are concocting at this very moment. Riven inwardly remarked, warily eyeing both the White queen and the Spike of Mischief. Yes, those will be their pen names from this point onward.
Turning away from the two with a dramatic huff, he eyed a peculiar metal sign. Scanning the area around for any lurking threats, he walked up to it and stood in front, probing it with a finger and jumping back a few feet in case a metal trap went off and decided to shower his face full of shrapnel. When no such threat to his face came, he relaxed.
The sign read, "Route 101".
What does that even signify? Why would anyone be foolish enough to waste metal on a lowly sign? What a disastrous and stupid usage of resources. He looked around the edges, trimmed and cut to an expert degree, almost knife edge exact. It nearly brought a tear to his eye. Using an expert artisan, no less. Whomever is responsible for this needs to receive a massive scolding for misuse of military resources. But it is very well made...
"Route 101. No other place to go besides onward correct?" Walking to the left, he could see faint outlines of something. They looked like buildings.
Memories and caution slammed into his mind, making him instinctively reach for his blades. There are no buildings here. There should be no humans residing in this area. Then again, the forest did not belong here either. Nothing was how it should be.
Waving a hand forward, the Ralts and the Absol sensed his caution and ran up to him, also scanning the area for danger. Human settlements were dangerous for them as well, more on the off chance of getting caught than anything.
Finding no indication of or trace of hostility in the surrounding path, Riven and his companions continued down the road, walking with a just a sliver of paranoia and plenty of caution.
Grasping his blades, he started to remember bits and pieces of what occurred last night. Much of it was like a haze, and none of the memories were aligned, only glimpses of images and feelings coming to him. He recalled how he got close to the river, pounding the floor in desperation. He remembered seeing his reflection in the water.
Then all he saw was a pitch black darkness. He must have rendered himself unconscious. And then… whispers? Silencing the faint voices he seemed to hear in his skull, he kept walking, recollecting his thoughts on last night's events.
If only White Queen could talk to me. I would persuade her into informing me of everything. Knowing what little I noticed from her so far, she would rather misguide me as a form of entertainment though. I cannot seem to remember anything else. How infuriating. Approaching the buildings he now saw something that amazed him.
Every single building looked beautiful. The houses were beautifully painted and had perfectly tiled roofs with flower gardens growing around them. He had never seen so many houses in such a gentle state. War had a way of making even the most elegant edifice nothing but an ugly stump sticking out of the ground.
These people must be wealthy. Those buildings over there, are they made of metal too? By hell, is that red dye?
Bib and Haona walked alongside Riven, looking at his absolutely befuddled expression. He seemed genuinely amazed by the houses and that building they called the laboratory. It was as if he'd never seen a building like that before.
"You don't think he was raised in a cave do you?" The Absol speculated. "Humans are raised in those city things, right?"
"Looking at his jaw hit the floor each time he sees a new building, I'm starting to wonder if he's lived under a Geodude his whole life," Bib proclaimed, slightly amused by his human companion.
Haona snickered. "I think you may be right."
Bib snorted.
Pointing to the amazed young man with her horn, the Absol lifted Bib onto her head and ran ahead to catch up to the human. He was now standing in front of the pokemon lab, seemingly debating whether to step foot inside or not.
Haona rammed into him, pushing him through the sliding doors and into the building.
"Ah! The doors opened by themselves!" He let out an unmanly shriek, startled and intrigued at the same time. "How do they do that?! Some kind of magic?"
"Magic? Hah! Hey, Bib. I think your clueless idiot theory certainly applies now."
"Told you. I'm always right."
Riven looked dumbfounded as he looked around the interior of the laboratory. He looked at the television screens in a mix of awe and shock. Images of various things flashed across them, somehow fitting half a person into a small rectangular surface.
"What in the blazes are those!" The clueless human stammered, jaw hitting the floor. Again.
"Ah! Come to register for the pokemon league, hmm?" An older man with a white lab coat and sandals asked as he entered the room. "You must be... Dan Jennings, right?"
"Uh, what? Poke what?" Riven asked dumbly. "Leag-"
"Yeah, I know you're so excited you can't wait to start your adventure, even if you look much older than my regular trainers to be! Rather odd getup too, really old timey there, Dan."
"W-what?"
"Don't be shy!" The professor clapped him on the back , pushed his palm onto a scanner and told Riven to straighten up for a picture. Trying to process all of this at once, Riven was hardly aware as a flash of light illuminated the room for a split second.
"Great! You're set! Now it's time for you to choose!" The professor beamed, excitement evident throughout his body. Ah, a new trainer, a new adventure. Always amazing to see a trainer start the next phase of their life. Places to see, pokemon to catch…
"Wait! What did you just do to me?" Riven hissed, automatically assuming the worst. The man did not appear to be hostile, but whatever he did must have meant he had some ulterior motives.
"Huh? I registered you for the pokemon league. Isn't that what you came here to do?" The professor explained. "All I did was take your fingerprints and your picture so the system can register your ID number. It's all automatic so the paperwork gets created for you, no tests or qualification exams, since you're probably over sixteen anyway. Too tall for a ten year old kid. And they don't grow stubble either."
"The what can register what? I have no honest idea what you are trying to say to me." The trainer to be objected, still stupified.
"You mean to tell me…" Birch raised a concerned brow, "that you signed up for the pokemon league without knowing a single thing about it?"
Riven raised his arms to his head. "What in fuck's name is a pokemon?"
"Oh dear god." Birch murmured. "This is a joke, right? You can't be that dense. My son is dense and even he knew what a pokemon was well before he started his journey. Were you living under a Geodude these past ten years by any chance? Well maybe more than ten. You look about seventeen or so." The professor replied, now as confused and astounded as he was. How did anyone, anywhere not know about pokemon?
Riven heard snickering behind him and frowned, seeing White Queen and Mischief struggling to contain their laughter at mention of the Geodude.
"I think I would have noticed if I had been living under a rock with a face," he retorted, starting to get a bit annoyed.
"Errr, okay. I guess you'll have to get crash course in training from your pokedex then. But for now you have to choose your starter!" The professor pushed him along through another set of automatic doors and into a room with all different manner of equipment. Images were being projected on the screens, and strange beeps came from the boxes around the room. "Here we are. In each of these pokeballs there is a starter pokemon that you will choose as your very first official pokemon. Choose wisely because you cannot trade it in for the other ones."
Riven stared at Birch in palpable incredulity. Either this man is a stark mad lunatic or does not possess the power of logic. It is not possible to fit any pokemon bigger than my fist in there. "You cannot possibly fit a cr-pokemon in such a small sphere. That is impossible, it makes no sense. My fist is bigger than that."
"Really now? Well then... here's to your sense! Torchic, come on out!" The man exclaimed as the ball opened up in mid air and projected a white light on the ground. The light assembled into a form and then cleared, revealing an orange colored chick in its place.
"Torrrrrr-chic," it chirped, glad it could be out of its ball to stretch its legs.
The young man stood there completely stupefied.
How? What. In. the. Fuck? A pokemon just emerged out of that ball! That puny… I… Abjrekggjenbm! Dazed and looking like someone had slugged him with the logistical equivalent of a megaton bomb, he sat down on a nearby chair. Hard. The boy needed some time to take in and assess what just occurred. Mindblown was the most apt term to describe the boy's expression.
Meanwhile ,White Queen was rolling on the floor laughing so hard she couldn't breathe correctly.
"Oh! His jaw went through the floor, around the earth and smacked him! Did you see his face? Priceless!" Giggling uncontrollably, she hesitated to get up before collapsing back onto the floor in a laughing fit.
Bib was speechless, having already laughed more than he could bear, he just sat on the floor clapping like a stupid Sealeo, tears of laughter coming out of his eyes.
Birch put a hand on Riven's shoulder, watching the two pokemon laugh uncontrollably. "Haha! Take your time. The shock should wear off in a few hours, want some lemon tea?"
After Riven had staggered over and gulped down half a pitcher of tea while fighting feverish symptoms, the professor spent the next few hours explaining to him about pokemon and how the balls worked, as well as the pokemon centers and the pokemon league.
Riven listened intently but was left with even more questions than he had before. It was still being processed but he got the general gist of it, despite giving him a massive headache. Since when did ten year olds go out on their own and into the wild to survive on their own devices? Since when did people start caring for pokemon as pets? Nobody was trying to viciously rip each other's throat out? What kind of screwed up timeline did he end up in?
"Dan, my boy-"
"Riven."
"Riven, yes. I see you have two pokemon following you right now. Do you want two pokeballs so you can register them as your own? A Ralts and an Absol, very good catch!" Birch noted, addressing the Absol and Ralts that tailed Riven as he walked around the lab. "What did you do to earn their trust?"
"I, uh, bribed them with berries," Riven explained vaguely. Mentioning the Mightyena pack may not have been exactly ideal, and he wasn't technically lying to the strange man, right?"
"Ah, the tried and true method of befriending pokemon! Well done! Hahahah! So, are they going to join you also? Three for one is very uncommon, but I've had a kid come in here with five little rascals trailing him once! Well, they were all Furrets but that's besides the point... So, yay or nay?"
"That is up to them to decide." Riven responded hesitantly, still thinking about the world he came from and how different it was from the one now. What was he going to do now? Become a pokemon trainer and take on the league? Or search for answers? Apparently people didn't murder each other randomly anymore, which definitely left him feeling rather useless. Pohleese were the authority in this world, as Birch had explained once questioned about the usage of pokemon or weapons for violent purposes.
Birch didn't seem perturbed by Riven telling him he was a soldier, in fact, it seemed like he outright dismissed it as truth. While annoying, Riven figured he would doubt himself too, given his rather shit explanation of how he ended up in Littleroot. So, trainer seemed like a more plausible solution for the time being while he searched for any clues.
Figuring he could do both, he reached out and took the pokeballs from Birch. The trainer part was a secondary and a means to an end, at this point it mattered little to him what the League did or stood for. He'd also learned that the child's species name was Ralts. The Absol was easy enough to guess.
"Absol and Ralts. Do you accept me as your trainer?" He respectfully asked, not wanting to force them to do anything they were not comfortable with.
White Queen came up to him, sniffing the ball.
Bib is staying. So will I.
She pushed the white button in the middle with her horn, opening the pokeball and sucking her in. After a few moments of stillness, the ball clicked. She was his. The Ralts followed suit soon after, pushing the button and getting sucked into the ball.
Moments after, the balls re-opened and the two pokemon came out. Riven still was a bit perplexed by the ball's ability to condense matter and shrink it. He would make a note of studying said subject later on in his travels.
Birch was a little surprised to see both pokemon come out of their pokeballs on their own, usually only pokemon who didn't like the virtual reality did that. It was that or they felt confined in the ball, wishing to be outside better.
Turning to Riven, he put his hands on the boy's shoulders and asked, "Are you ready for your journey?"
"I think so?" The youth responded. "All the information you gave me was useful, so I owe you my thanks, Professor Birch. With luck I will find the answers I seek, and understand some of this insanity." He blinked. "Maybe, I guess. Goodbye. But before that, I would like to know the whereabouts of some sort of library or location with a collection of old books. I feel like I am missing a lot of things I should know, and I am looking for something."
The man scratched his beard and cheerfully answered. "Why that's easy! Rustboro City is your best bet. Devon Corp. is also there. I suggest you pick up a PokeNav and a holo caster. It's new tech from the Kalos region that's very convenient. Good luck on your travels! Oh and don't forget to fill up that pokedex!"
Walking out of the lab, Riven felt a change in the wind, marking a new start. A new opportunity, a new world.
Bizarre to the nth degree, but it was a new start regardless.
Good, I can work with bizarre.
Chapter Revised 8/14/2020.