Hello everybody, and welcome to Chapter 2 of Pokemon Re: dux! Three VERY important characters have been introduced in this chapter and I hope you enjoy how they are portrayed throughout the story. It's taken time to upload this chapter, as I've been doing these ahead of time. Feel free to review as those are a huge motivator for the development of the story and enjoy the second chapter!
2025 - Sinnoh, Eterna Forest
A young Pokemon ran through the deciduous grasses of Eterna Forest.
Near a lake, other pokemon played by the shore, swimming and dancing around.
The younger Pokemon were orange, resembling weasels or sea otters they had blue collars around their necks, and two blue fins on their arms. They had cream-colored spots above each eye and two parallel marks on their cheeks. The underside of their faces and stomachs were also cream-colored, as were the tips of their twin tails.
The adults were also Orange, resembling anthropomorphic otters or weasels. They had longer arms than legs, have four fingers on each hand and three toes on each foot. their feet were small in comparison to the rest of their bodies and had two pointed fins on their arms. They also had aligned backward swept pointed fins on their heads and two tails. They also had yellow flotation sacks, wrapped around their bodies which seem to be made of rubber or similar substance giving them the impression of inflatable life vests.
In the middle of the lake, a young female of the species crawled onto a large stone.
She opened her mouth and begin to hum a mesmerizing note.
All the Pokemon near her began to walk and swim over to the lake, attracted to her beautiful voice.
Several Finneon begin to jump in and out of the water, as the mammalian creature finished her tone.
She closed her mouth and took a large gasp of air, taking in the sweet and leafy smell of the forest.
Feeling sleepy after the display, she curled herself into a ball and rested.
Seconds later, the pokemon awoke to several loud booms, caused by a Draco Meteor attack.
The noise rang through the forest, sending Starly flying out of trees, and Pachirisu running out of bushes.
The Pokemon looked around, semi-worried for her pack.
After turning around, she stared in horror at the disastrous scene in front of her eyes.
Many forest Pokemon were sprawled out across the forest floor, appendages and blood flung everywhere.
Trees, Bushes, and lakewater were all over the ruins, loosely tossed around by the assault.
Most of the Pokemon lying in the pile were deceased, many disfigured and mangled.
A group of humans stood in the wake, laughing amidst the chaos.
The surviving Pokemon were slowly being taken out by the group, the attack being led by a Garchomp and a Lycanroc.
One by one, the Pokemon of the forest were being ripped to shreds, attacked, beaten, and brutally killed by the poachers.
The surviving Pokemon were to be kidnapped and stuffed into cages, shoved into the back of a truck.
In seconds, an entire section of the forest had been completely wiped out.
The Pokemon froze in her spot, too terrified to move.
She'd known of the Pokemon trainers who would come through the forest, and even capture members of her pack, but nothing on the scale of this.
She fell to her knees, defeated.
Her friends and family... gone.
She looked up at the massacre in front of her, getting one last glimpse of the chaos.
many lakeside and mammalian Pokemon started to run away, futilely attempting to escape.
Taking a closer look at the pile of bodies, the Pokemon noticed one body in particular.
in the complete maelstrom of death and destruction, lay the discombobulated body of her mother, nearly unrecognizable.
A tear streamed down the Pokemon's face.
Then another.
And another.
Soon the Pokemon began to wail, screaming for its pack to come back, grasping at the chance that this was all a hallucination.
That awakening would never come.
An entire community of flora and fauna...
Gone in an instant.
This was her reality.
2027 - Unova, Unknown Location
The Pokemon awoke, the experience being a nightmare and clenched her head.
"Right... Just a bad dream." She thought to herself.
2027 - Unova, Star City Retsuko's apartment
Back at his apartment, Retsuko dug through his fridge, searching for a can of Roly-Cola.
The girl sat on his sofa, happily sipping on a berry smoothie.
Retsuko obtained the last can, rubbing the condensation off of the aluminum.
"Y'know Retsuko, that stuff is super unhealthy." The girl, named Via, commented.
She had a soft and cute accent in her voice and, though faintly recognizable it was of Galarian decent.
Via was very attractive, having fair skin with bright Violet eyes and freckles. She wore a white button-up shirt, with a red bow extending into a tie on the chest area. She also wore a plaid skirt with a transparent rainbow-colored bow on the side. On her neck was a black necklace carrying a Firum Z, and she had on black dress shoes. Her hair was a dark red blend that extended down to her back, and she had two blonde strands of hair, resembling the tufts of fur on a Flareon's head. She wore a black and red Z ring on her wrist, and a green bow tied around her hair.
"I know..." Retsuko nervously replied.
"You seem tense," Via told her friend, her Braixen nodding in agreement.
"I'm fine, just a bit tired." He replied to Via.
He opened the can and took a long sip, walking over to the sofa.
Via began to slurp her drink through the straw again.
"You're sweating like crazy." She told Retsuko, who noticed the vast amount of liquid secreting from his forehead. He wiped his face off semi-embarrassed and went back to looking at the aluminum can in his hands intently.
"You sure you're alright?" Via asked again.
Retsuko awkwardly looked up at her.
"Never better!" He chirped, faking confidence.
Kuu rested in the bedroom, regaining his health, while Retsuko's other Pokemon were downstairs training with each other.
"Are you okay?" Via questioned, this time sounding worried, after noticing the latter's discomfort.
"I'm fine, it's just..." Retsuko began to respond.
He turned away from her in embarrassment.
"Why are you... Here? In Unova I mean." He asked.
"Rude." Via jokingly snapped.
"I'm sorry, it's just that I haven't heard from you in a while!" Retsuko scrambled.
"It's fine!" Via replied happily.
She took another sip from her smoothie.
"As for what I'm doing here, I'm visiting you, silly!" She playfully explained.
"Ahh," Retsuko answered, scratching his head.
Via giggled.
"Y'know, that reminds me, there's someone who wanted to seeee youuu!" She told Retsuko excitedly.
"Who is it?" Retsuko replied.
He took another sip from his soda.
"You're gonna have to come and find out! The day is still young. There's so much to do and see!" Via burst, jumping off of the couch.
She ran over to the door and paused.
"You coming?" She asked.
"But we literally just got back," Retsuko replied.
"Doesn't matter. You need to get out of the house Mr. Champion of Unova!" Via said, tugging Retsuko's arm to get him off of the couch.
Retsuko chugged his soda and then looked over to Braixen, who was giggling unsympathetically.
"Is this what you have to deal with every day, Vye?"
2027 - Unova, Star City District 4
Kion walked through the district with his hands in his pockets.
Khan followed closely behind him, free from the confinement of his Pokeball.
They entered a small family-owned Cafe, across the street from his apartment.
Kion sat in one of the booths, Khan sitting in the seat across from his.
"Same as usual?" He questioned his partner.
Khan nodded.
A waiter approached the booth and the two ordered their usual food.
As Kion enjoyed his tea, he thought of a certain redheaded girl.
He placed the drink on the coaster.
"I wonder... How she's doing." He pondered
He took another sip.
After the two finished their meal and drink, they made their way to the apartment.
At the door, Kion flipped out his smartphone and dialed a number.
He turned to Khan.
"Wait inside the house, I have something to take care of." He ordered.
Khan reluctantly complied, entering the apartment.
2027 - Ancient Shrine
A young boy walked up to the side of a large stone, resting in the center of a buried underground shrine.
He reached for his belt and choose a dive ball, throwing it into the air and releasing a Primarina.
"You know what to do." He told the Pokemon.
The Pokemon nodded and burst into song, emitting many bubbles.
The bubbles moved towards the stone and exploded, blowing chunks and debris everywhere.
The Mini explosions revealed a fossilized case.
The boy looked at the leftovers of the rock and smirked.
Out of nowhere, the boy's phone began to ring violently, begging to be answered.
He reached into his pocket and grabbed the device, sliding the switch to answer the call.
"Hey, Jax." The boy greeted.
The person on the other side of the call, Kion, replied.
"Hi. Was my intel correct?" He questioned.
"Yeah... Do me a favor and contact the woman who goes by the name Asther. I have something important to tell her." The boy ordered.
Kion sneered.
"I'm not a damn messenger. and I'm definitely not going to associate with someone who's seeking out Nailah Asther. We had a deal, Naoki." He responded.
"Then the deal's off." The boy replied.
And with that, he hung up the call.
Kion slammed his fist into the wall behind him and prepared to curse Naoki out, but was knocked off balance from an explosion happening across the city. The shockwave caused a tremor in Kion's area, and he was caught in the middle of it.
"Welp. Duty calls." Kion said, jumping up onto a low sitting balcony and climbing his way back to the apartment.
"You've done it again, Naoki." The boy at the ruins said to himself, holding the phone in his hands.
He petted his Primarina on the head.
"We found it."
2027 - Star City Shopping District
At the shopping district, Retsuko and Via stood in front of the plaza, prepared to enter one of the large malls.
"Welp let's get this party started!" Via exclaimed.
"Let's go in then." Retsuko began as he stiffly marched towards the mall with Kuu, seemingly forcing himself.
He was halted by a quick tug on his hood by Via, stopping him and his feathered companion in their tracks.
"Eh?" He questioned.
"Hold your Ponyta," Via said.
"Why?" Retsuko asked, spinning around to face her.
"The mystery man should be here already..." Via pouted, puffing out her cheeks.
"Wait, who are we-"
"You'll see."
As if on cue, both teens heard a loud squeal, originating from a food stand, not far from where they were standing.
In front of the stand, A blue-haired boy with a Mimikyu and a Greninja was having a loud self-debate.
His hair flared up at the top in a pair of side-swept bangs held together by two white bandages. He had lightly tanned skin and pretty silverish or white eyes that glistened in the light. He wore a blue shirt with a beige cuff and exposed his upper chest and loose-fitting pants with a light scarf wrapped around his neck and mouth. Lastly, he wore black sneakers and a keystone bracelet on his wrist.
Retsuko looked over to Via, dumbfounded.
"No way." He said in disbelief.
"Kyu."
Instantly Retsuko got a flash of his daydream, specifically the blue-haired boy he and Kion fought.
Via continued to explain, but Retsuko had spaced out, completely unresponsive to her words.
"You ok?" Via asked Retsuko.
"O-Oh, yeah I'm fine." He replied, snapping out of his vision.
What is going on with me? He Thought, clenching his head.
"Yup!" Via replied with a wink.
The boy's Greninja was ushering his trainer and partner away from the stand, wanting the least possible embarrassment.
Via cupped her hands in front of her mouth and yelled.
"Kyu!" She called out to the boy.
He turned his head and saw her in the distance, immediately noticing her.
Retsuko got flashes of the Pokemon League two years prior and the boy that he and Kion fought in the finals.
Kyu ran over to his friends, his two Pokemon followings close behind.
He pulled Via into a close hug, and then repeated the action with Retsuko.
Via happily accepted the embrace, while Retsuko immediately got flustered by the sudden affection.
"Mff. Kmyouh. Staphff Squuezthing Mae." Retsuko uncomfortably said, his voice muffled.
"Oh, sorry," Kyu responded.
He backed away from his friend and Retsuko's face returned to its normal hue.
Kyu grinned.
"Long time no see!" He greeted, making a waving motion with two of his fingers.
Retsuko paused, the statement taking time to register in his brain.
Kyu was massively different than he used to be. Firstly, his style of dress changed immensely because he used to wear all black and white schoolboy clothing, and a stoic expression. Secondly, his personality did a complete 180. The entire vibe he was giving off was completely unfamiliar to Retsuko. Kyu was acting the same way that he used to act when he was younger...
"O-Oh." He said processing Kyu's words.
He nodded.
"Yeah, long time no see..." He distantly repeated.
"How have you been?" Via asked Kyu.
"Great! Being the reigning Champion of Kanto has its perks..." Kyu deviously replied.
Retsuko gawked in surprise.
"Dude, you're Kanto's new champion!?" He shouted quietly so that he wouldn't attract attention.
"Yup! I've been the Champ for two months! Undefeated of course!" Kyu boasted, pumping his chest and exhaling deeply.
Now I feel bad for not staying in touch. Retsuko thought, bitterly.
"How's my uncle?!" Kyu asked cheerfully.
"He's fine. He actually told me that you made a full recovery just earlier." Retsuko explained.
His Mimikyu floated into the air and into Retsuko's hands. She then did the same with Via, cuddling against the girl.
"Why Hello there Nagatae, how are you doing?" Via caringly asked, snuggling up to the ghost and fairy type.
Retsuko gawked at the Pokemon.
"Since when can she float?" He asked, pointing to the Pokemon.
"I went through Alola on my journey to achieve salvation. I met up with Acerola and her Mimikyu, and she taught us." Kyu explained.
"Waiiiit. Isn't Acerola's Mimikyu dead!?" Retsuko questioned mentally.
Via rushed into the mall with the Mimikyu, and Kyu, and Retsuko quickly followed after.
Via entered a crafts store, and her friends followed behind.
Kyu sighed in relief.
"To be honest, I'd thought you would be super angry or upset with me right now..." He said.
A gust of wind breezed through the mall, blowing against Retsuko's hair.
Retsuko paused.
"Huh?" He questioned. "Why?"
"I'm sure you remember what happened at the League finals," Kyu said coldly.
Retsuko looked down at the ground for a bit as if he were thinking and then back to Kyu.
"That's in the past now. We can talk about that later if you want but for now, let's have fun. We can't keep Via waiting!" He said forgivingly.
Kyu looked back at Retsuko with tears in his eyes and the biggest smile a person could have.
"You're the best friend a guy could ask for! To be honest, I think you guys might have actually just saved me." Kyu said, in between sobs.
Retsuko waved his hand away from the crying mess that was Kyu and backed into Via by mistake.
They were in the sewing section, of a crafts store the entire time, and Retsuko had caught Via looking through the different fabrics.
"You still modify clothing?" He asked, walking up to her.
Via smiled.
"It's just a hobby, but I still modify, and even design clothes!" She answered.
She picked up a blue frilled cloth, holding it up to her waist.
"Would this make a good skirt?" She asked.
Retsuko shook his head and smiled uneasily.
"I doubt I would help you with my input, seeing as you can look good in pretty much anything, and my fashion sense is crap." He kindly rejected.
"I'm taking that as a yes," Via replied, ignoring Retsuko.
Vye jumped into the shelf and spotted a distinct red fabric, similar to the red on her fur.
She called out to her trainer, pointing to it with her paw.
"Oh my gosh Vye, this is great!" Via happily applauded.
She picked up another white fabric, and then a clear one.
She and Vye walked over to Retsuko.
"I have everything I need from this store. Wanna get Kyu and head out?" She asked.
"Sure," Retsuko replied.
They left the store after Via paid for her supplies.
They found Kyu outside and came to see that he had run off to another food stall and was flirting with a group of friends.
"Figures." Retsuko groaned.
Via yanked him away from the crowd, much to the latter's dismay, and threw him over to Retsuko.
The trio began to browse through the mall, each finding things of interest to them.
Retsuko found a new tablet and a music player he liked and bought an extra pen for Kuu.
Kyu found plenty of foods he and Nagatae enjoyed, while Kou (Kyu's Greninja) continued to keep them away from the stalls.
Due to his massive popularity as Kanto's newest champion, many people crowded around him and lined up to try the food he was enjoying so thoroughly.
Via and Retsuko sat on a bench near the Castellia Cone shop, sipping on beverages.
Via removed her lips from the grasp of the straw.
"So, do you get fans and stuff like that? Everyone's crowding around Kyu because he's famous, but you should be twice as popular as he is.
Retsuko shook his head.
"They aren't crowding around me... Because they don't recognize me." He explained.
"Why not?" Via asked.
"Remember the hair clips you used to make for me? When I take them out, my hair is long so it falls down to my neck, and I look different. When I'm out as champion, I wear my hair long." Retsuko explained.
Via clasped her hands together in realization. "Like supermon's glasses!"
He pointed to his head and the blue clip he'd worn to make his hair stick up as it did.
He removed it and his hair fell down, revealing a large amount of hair on his scalp.
It fell down to his neck and covered his ears. It blended well with the attributes of his face and highlighted his eyes.
He flicked it behind his ears.
"See." He showed.
Via looked at him in awe.
"Wow. I forgot how pretty you are."
"T-Thanks." He said, semi-flustered.
He quickly lifted his hair and put the clip back before anyone noticed.
"I'm back!" Kyu exclaimed, walking over to the bench.
He held a container full of cake, and a cup of Castellia Ice cream.
"You gonna eat all that?" Via asked.
He tossed the cup over to Retsuko.
"Nope. I know how much Retsuko loves the white stuff, so I bought him some." He explained.
Retsuko quickly finished his milkshake and began to dig into the ice cream.
"That's a lot of dairy, Retsuko," Via warned.
"Milk strengthens your bones!" Retsuko said confidently, rolling up his shirt and flexing his bicep muscles.
After they finished their snacks, they continued to walk through the mall.
Kyu and Via started to catch up, but Retsuko felt too awkward to start a conversation, so he began to listen to music with Kuu, who lowered his hood to listen with his trainer.
He would always do that, drifting away from social interaction.
As he listened peacefully to the music, his mind began to drift off...
Retsuko found himself jumping through the air around objects, making his way through an empty star city with Kuu following above.
Retsuko was running to a destination that even he didn't know, but it was as if he was being urged there by a supernatural force.
He pressed his index finger and thumb together and blew them on his mouth signaling Kuu.
The owl Pokemon lowered its altitude and allowed Retsuko to swiftly hop onto his back, jumping off onto an apartment building.
Retsuko reached into his jacket and pulled out a Pokeball, releasing the pokemon inside.
Out came a midday form Lycanroc who began to run alongside her trainer.
They were quickly approaching another building, and Retsuko had to scale it to continue.
"Rio! Stone edge!" He shouted, as Rio the Lycanroc forcefully slammed her claws into the concrete, making 4 stone pillars for Retsuko to jump across.
He jumped down from the roof, and across another building, jumping down a flight of stairs to get to ground level.
Retsuko leaped out into a hill with a lakeside river at the bottom, coming face to face with the same pokemon he'd seen in his dream.
Both figures landed, and Retsuko rolled out to avoid injury from the fall.
Retsuko slowly stood up, his gaze into the pokemon's eyes, unwavering.
The pokemon did the same, failing to break eye contact with Retsuko's navy blues.
"It's you. They both said in awe.
Kuu and Rio caught up to him, skidding to a quick halt behind their trainer.
"You need to Run. Get away. Something dangerous is coming, so gather your friends and leave." The Pokemon warned Retsuko.
Retsuko reached out to the Pokemon with his arm prepared to ask more questions now that he'd had a better view of her but he abruptly awoke from the flashback, dropping the Casteliacone in his hand in shock.
He immediately pulled out his earbuds, and Kyu and Via turned to face him.
"Yo, are you okay?" Kyu asked, snapping his hands 3 times.
Retsuko prepared to say something in response but was interrupted by a shockwave.
The warning he received from the Pokemon he'd seen in his vision rang in his mind again.
Everyone turned around to see where it came from but was blasted with another wave of force.
Kuu and Kou glided into the air and landed in front of them.
"Frenzy Plant!" "Hydro Cannon!" "Blast Burn!" Retsuko, Kyu, and Via ordered in unison.
Kuu slammed his talon into the ground and massive vibes sprouted from the floor, protecting the group and the civilians around them. Vye lighted her stick on fire and blew away the incoming rubble and explosion with one of her own, and Kou pushed them all to safety and strengthened the protection against the debris.
Retsuko made a sign with his hands that meant "thanks' and spread Kuu's wings to see the source of the explosions.
Immediately his eyes widened.
Dust and smoke intoxicated the air, and the building was being supported only by the remains of Kuu's attack.
"What the heck happened!?" Via shouted in anger.
"I think an explosion went off in the center of the plaza!" Kyu said.
Retsuko groaned again and held his throbbing head.
"Like I said... Frick my life."
2027 - Unova, Star City Plaza
In a helicopter above the Plaza of Star City, Orakuru grunts poured out of the sides, declining through repelling gear.
In the cockpit of the vehicle, Ascent and his Castform Stood.
He took his Mask out of his long coat and placed it on his face, holding a stone in his hands.
He returned his Castform to its Pokeball and attached it to the stone in his hand, and then smiled under his mask.
"Project Oracle is in motion."
The Star City Plaza had exploded.
So like I said in the first chapter's Authors Notes, this chapter is an example of Pokemon Redux's timeline. The explosion at the end of the chapter actually takes place after the events of the last chapter where James, Reagan, and Noah get the call, and during the scene with Jackson and Naoki. Pretty confusing, but y'all will get used to it eventually. Chapter 3 is in the works!