Hey all, so…I'm new here, I have been asked by ArceusMinion to rewrite his stories he is unhappy with as he has some stuff going on, Don't worry, he's still at the helm, but as he has grown as a writer, some of his characters have been obviously power creeped. So I offered to step in and try and make it less obvious. Let me know what you think and I'll try and get ArceusMinion to type something in the end bit.
I shook my head, another day of scavenging the streets had proven uneventful, my hood torn and letting the rain chill streaks of water down the side of my face before falling off my chin into puddles on the path as I walked. My hands rubbing together briefly to restore feeling into them as I glanced behind me, seeing the puddles swirling with a crimson fluid. Walking a little further I tried to climb a ladder, my hands slipping on the cold iron causing me to fall back onto the concrete. Cursing under my own breath as I looked up at the sky wondering why on this ball hurtling through space, I had to be given this hand of bad cards. Refraining from cursing a deity that, if reports were to be believed, was very much real. I decided to struggle onwards, gripping a fence to help me stand up.
Hearing growling from within I smiled softly and shook my head.
"It's okay, I'm not coming in, just passing through." I whispered softly, before starting to walk again. Well, more like limping, the fall had aggravated a wound I acquired during the day, a trainer thought I was a member of this cult he was hunting, and his Sceptile had been more than happy to slice at me despite my protests.
I struggled a little further, only to hear a woman scream up ahead, the tone of the scream was one of bone chilling fear, along with sadness. There were few options to go off, but nevertheless I made my way towards the scream. It wasn't more than a few streets away, but it was definitely more than enough to make it difficult. Only when I got there did I realize I had nothing if this was a violent situation. However, a nearby iron bar caught my attention, it was clear it had been left there by someone, either from a construction vehicle or something else.
Either way, it would have to do, gripping the bar in my hands. I used it as a walking cane to lessen the pressure on my injury. Before rounding the corner I made sure I was ready mentally to possibly face my last day on this planet. My own stubbornness not allowing me to let whatever was happening, to continue.
Holding the bar in a similar way a hiker would hold onto a stick to add as a third point of contact with the earth beneath their feet, I focused my gaze on the quickly moving shadows of at least three individuals.
"Think this one's any fun boss?" An almost rat-like voice asked, the knowledge that it belonged to one of the shapes I could see was made apparent as the sound of a strike echoed down the wet brickwork.
"Keep your voice down you idiot, might as well scream we're criminals." Came a Gravelled tone as I inched my way closer, the pipe helping spread my weight enough to muffle my footfalls in the commotion.
"Pardon me Gents," I stated calmly, my eyes watching as I now saw the shapes clearly define themselves into four distinct shapes, three of them were clearly facing me as the silhouettes were squared off against each other, whilst the fourth had fallen back against the wall and looked almost lifeless.
"I was just passing through and I noticed that there was some fun about to happen." I began, seeing one of them step forward a single step.
"And were you hoping to join us?" the figure asked, his two friends chuckling lightly behind him.
"I can't say I want to, no." I answered flatly, my breathing slowing as I began choosing my words carefully.
"Do you know if they're clean?" I asked, my free hand gesturing to the fourth figure.
"I ain't one to judge, but, unless I know that for certain they're clean, I'm not risking my life dying to my own body deciding to fuck itself over." I explained, seeing the two at the back step back slightly from the words.
"Who cares if she's clean?" The leader asked me with mirth creeping into his voice.
"I do, because I don't want to take over ninety pills with breakfast and dinner because I wanted to give in and try and take advantage of someone I didn't know." I retorted, the figure on the ground trying to mumble out words from behind what was obviously an improvised gag.
"Fair, but do you know her?" He asked, stepping closer to me now I could see his face, covered in some scars and having garnet red eyes, his brown hair being disheveled with strands of grey already showing.
"I don't, but I know none of you do, because if you did know her, why would you pick a stingy alley which, most days, has an addict hiding behind the dumpster shooting themselves up? Why not go to her place or yours?" I responded.
I knew he was within striking range of the iron bar, and so, I decided to try and finish him in one blow to try and scare the other two. Cementing my weight back onto my feet and letting the iron bar lift slightly off the ground I moved my leg, moving to step closer to him, only to kick the bottom of the bar with my heel.
The leader had the chance to evade the strike that was quick to come down on his head, and, to his credit, he nearly did, the blow missing the intended target; only landing on his collarbone with a sound similar to a party popper.
"I would hate to hurt anyone further, take this as a gesture of good will and leave them alone." I stated calmly, the concept of mercy being slightly skewed being that the numbers were still against me.
However, I was happy to see that the two behind him had taken the warning to heart and had fled the scene, nearly stumbling over each other on their way.
The leader, on the other hand, was glaring at me as I walked past him and over to the figure on the ground, which now was made clear to me that she was a young woman, possibly early twenties if her form was anything to go by. With a quick snap of my head I looked back towards the leader, seeing him start walking out, holding his shoulder. Turning my attention back to the woman, her eyes the color of the darkest rubies whilst her shoulder length hair was almost emerald green with strands of red streaking through it.
"Miss, can you walk?" I asked her, my tone still calm as I knelt down next to her and removed the cloth from her mouth letting her speak freely.
"I can, but I have to ask, why did you ask that line of questioning? It's a little uncomfortable." She responded, sitting up with the occasional twinge of pain.
"Because if that was their intention, which is what it sounded like, giving them a perspective of a worst case scenario was the best gamble to end things peacefully as well as try and stop them from doing it in future." I replied, helping her to stand up on her feet.
"Plus, if they do think about it again, or they have the chance to stop it from happening, they will. Without bloodshed, without violence of action, just with words. Because while I was able to stop this attempt, I can't stop them all, so if I can make one more person intervene, more can be saved." I finished, looking down the alley only to grimace as a dull throbbing reminded me I was still injured. Looking at the woman with a small nod I held out the bar for her to grip onto.
"Good Samaritan laws aren't going to help me here, I used a weapon without knowing if they had a force amplifier. And if I run into another Arcanine I'm more than likely dead." I explained, a hollow laugh leaving me as the woman stared at me dumbfounded.
"You say that like they'd attack you on site. Why?" She asked, her hands slowly removing the iron bar from my grip, letting me lean back against a wall of the alley and look down at the floor.
"They might not attack me on site, but they'd sure want to. I've got an open wound and I'd have no choice except to run. Predatory instincts would kick in and I'd be gone in one of the more painful ways." I explained, slowly sliding down the wall to rest in a sitting position.
"I can only offer you some advice, get someone's attention, scream fire or something, and ring the emergency number, tell the operator what had happened, tell them everything from your point of view, I just ask you make your way home after that; And please, avoid overly dark areas, I don't think I can be in two places at once, as much as I want to be sometimes." I continued, my voice nearly faltering as I let the exhaustion grab at the corners of my vision, starting to worm its way up to the center of my vision before I suddenly felt warmth start spreading through me. Though I did feel a hand on my shoulder as I slipped away.
Next thing I knew, was a warmth I had not felt for years, my hands folded onto my stomach as the sound of a kitchen echoed in through the walls. Opening my eyes slightly I was greeted with what appeared to be a Japanese style room, the ceiling being untouched wood with white walls made a small smile appear on my face, my hands raising slowly to rub at my eyes to help wake me up.
"It's good to see you awake at last, Rachel was as scared as a newborn when you suddenly passed out." A feminine voice came from my left; looking over, I couldn't help but do a double take, sitting in a chair, was a woman with what looked to be the silkiest golden blonde hair with emerald green eyes. Her voice was both monotone yet full of emotion at the same time.
"I wouldn't know," I chuckled softly, my voice barely above a whisper as I looked to the ceiling.
"I don't often ask for names if I get involved, it tends to put others more at risk because others might think they know more." I continued, emphasizing my point by indicating to myself.
"We know about you Matthew, which is why you were taken care of and not left behind." The woman explained, much to my confusion at her knowing my name.
"Do not worry, Rachel is safe. And, if things go well, you will be as well." She continued.
"I'm glad that Rachel is safe, however, I don't want to intrude on anything." I responded, my hands moving to lift the covers off my form, stopping momentarily to see that, somehow, against all odds, there was now a tattoo sleeve down my arms, depicting some type of serpent, maybe a member of the Ekans line, however, the design didn't quite match up. The line of dark scales seemed to scatter like lightning and not remain a flat line.
"I don't think, with Rachel having given you that gift, you would be intruding. In my honest opinion, I think she wants you to stay." The woman said with a small chuckle, only to stop when a click was heard.
The door then swung inwards, revealing the woman from the alley.
"Hey Arcy, breakfast is ready-" She began, trailing off as she looked at me being very much awake, now looking over at her.
"Rachel, was it?" I asked her calmly, slowly sliding off the bed, rising to my feet.
"Yes Matt, that is one of my names." She responded, with what almost sounded like a playfully teasing tone, like this was a game of charades for her.
"Well, I'm glad to see you're alright, and uh, thanks for the gift, I'm amazed the coat was able to go on so cleanly without waking me up from the pain." I finished with a small chuckle, looking down at the floor while I stretched my arms above my head.
"Matt, what she means to say is, we are both known by many names, me more so, but that's because you humans have been giving me names since they became ingrained in your culture." Came the voice of the woman, who I now thankfully knew as Arcy. A tone of mirth with an undertone I couldn't quite place.
"What do you mean 'you humans'?" I asked, looking over at them both to see them both giggling.
"I think it best if you look at the head of the tattoo Matt, it might give you an idea." Rachel managed to get out through her giggling.
Taking the advice to heart I looked for the head of the serpent, only to be momentarily stunned to see it wasn't just any serpent, it looked almost exactly like,
"Rayquaza? Hang on…Rachel…oh Arceus I really am thick." I said with a chuckle, deciding to see where they would go with this. Only to see Rachel smile and leave the room, followed quickly by the sounds of clothing being torn, only for a certain legendary Pokemon's head to poke through the door.
"You are indeed Matt, but, knowing what you know now, would you still like to leave, or stay and listen to what we want to offer you?" Arcy asked, her tone going serious as the choice was now in my court.
"I suppose I have little choice in this matter, from the time I saved Rachel I guess this became my fate." I said with a small smirk on the corner of my lips.
"Eh, I suppose this is better than being an urchin in Black City." I chuckled, slowly walking over to the bed.
"I'm glad you decided to go that route Matt, While we can say the time here will be better than being in Black City, I can't say your life in general will be better." Rachel managed to say, somehow.
"We ask you, and others like you, to help those who can't help themselves, those who are preyed on by those stronger than them. Those who use that power for the wrong reasons." Arcy began, her eyes watching me carefully, as if she was studying how I would take the news.
"Those beings, be they Human or Pokémon, are not likely to change their ways without some convincing, hence why we ask others to assist us, because as much as we hate knowing it exists, we can't be everywhere at once to stop it." Arcy finished, her arms folding in front of her as she waited for me to give any sort of response.
"Those who abuse their power on those weaker than themselves, and to protect those who can't defend themselves, I take it that any form of lethal force is not exactly encouraged given how it then would make us look bad, as much as fear is a great motivator to change, it only takes one wrong step to be seen as no better than them." I theorized, seeing Arcy nod her head as she heard my reasoning.
"Then the only option is non lethal and negotiations, unless…you had someone take the fall every time they got caught, keeping you in the good faith of the public, someone to hope for, while in reality it's an illusion and those they hold out hope for as almost as bad as those they hurt. As they can't really stand up to you if you showed up; However, those in the dark would have to be scorned already by society, or refugees from war torn nations, just to make the public believe that you tried to change them but were unsuccessful." I continued. My mind formed other options as I saw their reactions to my theory. Both shock and fear were there as I stretched my arms above my head. Hearing my shoulders pop from the movement.
"We never encourage actions like that, as much as you may believe so. If someone does go so low as to become the thing we are trying to stop, we dismiss them from our service." Arcy responded, her hands coming up to brush her hair back behind her ears.
"I figured, which is why I am choosing to accept this role." I responded with a chuckle, hearing Rayquaza let out a giggle of sorts as I slowly stood up, looking over the mark on my arm once more.
"I hope this turns out for the best, as much as I know this is a complex issue, I am ready should I be needed to deploy immediately." I finished as I looked over at Arcy, watching her stand up and move over to me, her hand resting on my shoulder.
"Don't overwork yourself, it's not what he'd want and you know that." Arcy said calmly, immediately putting me on the defensive.
"Who is he?" I asked cautiously, though a part of me already knew the answer.
"You're brother, but you knew that already didn't you?" Arcy asked. Only for me to nod.
"Yeah, but he can't exactly talk, given what happened." I answered, seeing Arcy sigh and shake her head, turning to leave.
"Are you saying that in condemnation? Or in regret that you couldn't save him?" Arcy asked, turning the corner and vanishing from view before I could even answer.
The words rang within me for longer than they should have, my emotions boiling to the surface as my fists clenched. My breathing started to get deeper as the memory flashed through my mind. The tower, his fall, his open mouth in a silent scream the further down he fell.
"Matt? Are you okay?" Rachel asked, now back in her human form, she stood by the door, seemingly willing to leave if asked.
"Yeah Rachel…Rayquaza…whatever, I'm fine." I responded with a sigh, kneeling down on the floor and cupping my hands in front of me in an attempt to calm me.
It didn't take long for my emotions to subside, and when I opened my eyes I was drawn to the door where a few new faces were standing.
"I didn't know I'd have guests this early." I joked, slowly rising to my feet and bowing my head.
"Matthew Sanders, it's a pleasure to meet all of you." I said, only to see one storm forward, her fiery hair gave me a hint now I knew what to look for.
"Don't talk unless spoken to runt." she spat, raising her hand in a clear threat of violence.
"Ma'am, if violence was the language of this discussion, I'd love to postpone it for now. Especially since neither of us know anything about the other." I responded calmly, raising my hands in a surrendering posture.
"You would dare strike a Legendary?" She asked with a growl.
"I fought the authority in black city, I have done things I regret, what's one more thing?" I asked calmly, my gaze finally meeting her own, my expression cold as I observed her stance.
"You won't hurt me with that stance, lower it, and generate power in the core." I advised calmly, simply wondering what would happen.
"You think I want to hear this from a lowly human?" She snapped back, her eyes showing a fiery anger.
"Tress! Enough!" Rachel exclaimed as she grabbed the raised arm. At which point I stepped back. Deciding to leave this situation before it became even more heated.
"Is there a training area?" I asked Rachel, only for her to nod and beckon another into the room.
Her ruby eyes were the first thing to catch my attention, but then noticing she had a mark of Mew on the back of her hand put me more at ease. Though her midnight blue hair did make me question if she was in a similar situation to me or was someone else.
"My name is Mystic, please, follow me." She said calmly, to which I nodded and left the scene. Hearing an argument for a few doors down the hallway.
Walking with Mystic I got to see how large this place really was. And it seemed to show various cultural reflections, an axe, a shield, a club that looked to have blunt instruments at various points along it. However, there were also those with symbols of healing and scrolls on them. My eyes instinctively scanned the doors as we passed them, causing Mystic to sigh.
"Not everyone is interested in fighting. Some of us are supports and others are diplomatic." She explained, to which I nodded.
"I guessed, but it's an old habit, Street life tends to do that." I chuckled out, taking a few more steps before seeing that Mystic had stopped.
"You lived on the streets?" She asked in shock.
"Yeah, I didn't get to go on any grand adventure, I was lucky to survive as long as I did." I responded, watching Mystic shake her head and walk forward.
"Did you save an Eevee in your time there?" She asked.
Now it was my turn to stop, my brain trying to recall if I ever did rescue or tend to an Eevee.
"I don't remember off the top of my head unfortunately, but it is possible." I answered slowly, watching her smile softly and nod. Before pointing to a door with a spear and shield engraved on it.
"Training room is in there, I think Blaze is in there now, she never stops training." Mystic explained before she opened the door.
"Hey Mystic, finally wanting to spar?" Asked a voice from within.
"No Blaze, you'll likely burn half the training hall to the ground. But I have someone who needs to be evaluated." Mystic responded as I walked inside.
I wasn't nearly surprised to see a Blaziken standing there next to some target dummies that looked like they had been used for weapon training.
"So, you're new?" Blaze asked as she walked forward.
"Something like that." I responded, taking note of how her stride was shortening the closer she got.
"So tell me, why did they choose you?" She asked calmly.
"Probably my lack of self preservation." I responded half jokingly, seeing Mystic watching from the doorway.
"I see, so you think you can be a fighter?" Blaze asked, stopping just outside of my reach.
"I think I can handle most humans, Pokémon on the other hand, I know I stand no chance, I have no illusions of that." I answered honestly, my words causing her to laugh.
"I like it when someone else is honest, let me see what you've got and I'll see if the fighters need someone new." She said with a chuckle, leading me to a small stone on a pedestal.
"It's a blank stone, the legendries can channel their energy into it to make them into the evolution stones, a few years ago they wanted to see if anyone could channel something similar." Blaze explained before Mystic stepped forward.
"Blaze, he is human, he has no type affinity." Mystic said as I put my hand on the stone.
"So I channel what? My emotions? Or my aura into this stone?" I asked, my hand on the stone gripping it lightly.
"Well, normally it's energy, but I think aura would work best for you." Blaze theorized with Mystic shaking her head.
"Not all humans have precise Aura control, especially to that degree of output." She began to rant, which I had to tune out, focusing on the stone with a small scowl forming on my lips.
The idea of pouring aura, something I didn't fully understand, into a stone as a right of passage didn't make much sense to me, and that showed in how the stone refused to change.
"Matt?" A voice sounded from the doorway, snapping me out of my concentration.
"Yes, Arcy?" I asked as I turned around and saw her worried expression.
"Rachel is unconscious, she's fine, but you should probably go see her." Arcy explained.
Well guys and girls and everyone else, He's done a decent job. I won't say perfect, his detail could use some work, but he's getting there. I can hear some people now already "Hey, if he isn't up to par, why not do it yourself?" Well, I have a full time job, and a family I need to care for, when I wrote this story originally I was on my own and at a lower level in my job. As time went on I got more responsibilities to where this had to be put on the back burner. And when he approached with an offer to keep writing my stories with me only proofreading and suggesting things, I took them up on the offer. I'd be a fool not to, I know how much you all enjoyed my take on the champion style story, and I want you all to have the best version of the story.
Stay safe out there everyone,
ArceusMinion
Well, sorry for this being so late everyone, my pc blew, then I had to move homes, but it got done in the end, I hope you enjoyed it. If I can improve in any way, let me know. I write this because I know how much I enjoyed reading the original, and I know a few people really enjoyed it, So I am making this as a way to keep the story going.