So I've decided to go ahead and do it. This is the very first part of my OC, Amira's journey following all of the games' stories. We start with XD Gale of Darkness/the Orre Region. This is the very first of MANY.

Fair warning: This story, as a whole, mainly follows the games' stories but with some differences and side stuff later on. I have adjusted the timeline/multiverse to fit accordingly and for my OC (the main character). My warning is: at some point, there WILL be darker themes, blood, and even death. I'm making the Pokemon world a bit more... "realistic" I guess. Besides, from evidence in the games, we know death and even abuse happen. It's not all sunshine and rainbows. Anyways, whether you're here for nostalgia or an interest in what I'm going to change, welcome and I hope you enjoy!


"All right, this will do for today," a young man said as the large machine beside him powered down.

From the machine stepped out a younger girl wearing Trainer attire: a well-fitting, sleeveless blue shirt with black accents, matching fingerless gloves, a matching pleated skirt with black tights underneath that stopped above her knees, and red running shoes. She fixed her long rust-colored hair and pushed it behind her shoulders.

"That was a well-played battle," the man continued. Your battle skills have improved greatly. I mean, it was impressive the way you handled that big Metagross. You took control of it as if it were your own Banette there."

The ghost Pokémon rushed over to his young master and jumped up into her arms. He was much smaller than the average height for his species, making him easy for the girl to carry him around outside of his ball.

The girl giggled. "Pokémon are easy to understand. Even the digital ones. The Battle Sim makes them pretty realistic."

"Ha! Well of course they're easy for you to understand, Amira. You're the only person we've ever heard of being able to speak to them! Too bad none of the tests we've run could ever figure out how you do it. We'd probably have to do some other kinds of cruel or inhumane tests to figure it out, so it seems we were never meant to know." He took a moment to watch the Banette staring lovingly up at the girl. "Say, Amira…"

"Hm?" she looked at him.

"Don't you think it's about time you start considering raising other Pokémon, too? You have an incredible aptitude for battling. I think you'd make an outstanding Trainer."

"Really?"

He smiled brightly. "No doubt! A kid that has battle skills like you and can talk to and understand Pokémon? You'd be a real Pokémon Master!"

She looked down at the Banette in her arms. "What do you think, Benny?"

The Banette smiled at her. "I think you can do all sorts of amazing things, Amira! We can do it together!"

She laughed. "I think so, too! Oh… Too bad Pokémon are so scarce in Orre. They have to be imported from other regions. All the Pokémon already belong to people, and I've never seen any wild Pokémon. Except for you, Benny."

"Does abandoned count as wild?" the scientist thought aloud. "Well, either way, you could always leave Orre and go on your own adventure. I hear lots of kids your age do that."

"I heard most of those kids are ten. I'm nine."

"Nine, ten, eh, close enough. I've seen younger Trainers."

"Heh, well thanks for letting me test out the new version of the Battle Sim. I should go check in with Mom."

"Alright, see you later."

Amira jogged out of the room with Benny still in her arms and made her way through the halls of the laboratory. She knew the place like the back of her hand. She grew up there, after all. Growing up in a lab, she learned a lot of things, especially about the lab's main topic of interest: Pokémon. Though Amira herself was also a subject of much interest in the lab.

Around age four, she had wandered off into the surrounding woods and gotten lost. Eventually, little Amira became so overwhelmed that she began to cry as the sun set and the forest grew darker. Upon stopping to rest by the stump of a fallen tree, she discovered a Banette sitting on the other side. The creature appeared lost and depressed.

She sniffed. "Hello… Are you lost, too?"

The Pokémon had looked up at her, sadly. "She left me… All alone in the alley… Not wanted anymore…"

"Who?"

"My friend…"

"Well," she sniveled and wiped her wet face, "I can be your friend. I promise I won't leave you behind." The Banette approached her and she carefully picked him up in her arms. "I'll call you Benny. My name's Amira." And, together, the two eventually found their way out of the woods and back to the lab where they encountered Amira's worried mother.

At first, her mother and the other scientists had believed Amira's story of Benny speaking to be the imaginings of a frightened child, but they soon realized otherwise after a few days of watching the girl and the Pokémon interact. It seemed as though she really was having full conversations with him, so they decided to test it with other Pokémon around the lab.

One of the first tests simply involved Amira sitting in the corner and covering her eyes while a Quagsire watched one of the scientists hide a small toy. After, Amira was to ask the Quagsire where it had been hidden and the Pokémon would tell her. She found the toy every time.

Since then, the girl began to play crucial roles around the lab.

"Hello there, Amira," a man greeted her as she entered the room. He had messy brown hair and wore glasses and a lab coat. Amira had grown up knowing him as the director of the whole lab. Her mother was his assistant.

"Hello Professor Krane," she replied.

"Amira," her mother turned to look at her. "This is the Director's office. You should have at least knocked first."

Krane laughed. "Oh, no need to be so stiffly official, Lily. Amira, I've heard the battle coach singing high praises about you recently. Your skills have improved dramatically lately. Outstanding! I don't think I'd stand a chance!"

Lily shook her head and sighed. "I wish everyone wouldn't drown my children in such gushing praise all the time. They'll be spoiled rotten!"

Krane smiled. "Oh, there's nothing to worry about, Lily. Both Amira and Jovi are wonderful kids."

"Speaking of… I don't think I've seen Jovi since lunch. Amira, I hate to bother you, but could you go find her for me? Several very important research projects are currently in their critical phases, so I can't afford to take any time off just this instant."

Amira nodded. "Sure, Mom. I'll go find her."

"Thank you, dear.

Professor Krane seemed to have noticed Amira's slight look of disappointment. "Sorry, Amira. After five long years, this project is finally on the verge of coming together. We can't do it without your mother's expertise."

"Hm? Oh, it's not that. I don't mind looking for Jovi, I just… um, never mind. It's not important. I should go look for her. You know how she gets distracted and wanders off all the time." She began to head for the door.

"I see. Ah, yes! Amira, I left a P*DA on the desk in your room. I hope you don't mind me going in there to do so while you were away. I think it will prove to be quite useful for you. It can even send and receive emails, among other things. It's quite easy to use."

"Okay, I'll check it out. Thanks!" She hurried out of the room and down the hall.

"Amira," Benny said. "What's wrong? You were going to talk to your mom about going on an adventure, weren't you?"

She slowed her pace. "Well, yeah, but Mom's super busy lately. I don't want to bother her with silly stuff, you know?" A loud sound from the TV in the nearby breakroom caused her to come to a halt. "What's going on?" She entered the room to see a breaking news report playing live on the television.

"We're live, bringing you ONBS News. Authorities still fail to find any traces of the cargo ship SS Libra since its sudden disappearance off the coast of Gateon Port. There have been no reports of flotsam that may indicate the ship's sinking. Authorities appear mystified by the way the ship vanished like smoke. There are reports that numerous Pokémon were on board and concern is rising over their welfare."

"I heard there was a Pokémon on that ship that even Professor Krane has never seen before," a male scientist said from the table in the corner.

"A huge cargo ship doesn't just vanish into thin air," said the female scientist sitting with him. "They just have to be more careful about searching. The ship probably had engine trouble and is adrift in the sea somewhere."

"But wouldn't they have still been able to contact someone?"

The Quagsire and Psyduck in the room seemed to be bothered by the loud television, so Amira lowered its volume with the remote before continuing on her way. "A cargo ship just…vanished? I hope the people and Pokémon are okay…"

Making a quick stop in her bedroom, Amira went over to her desk to pick up the small device resting atop it. "This must be the P*DA." She turned it on to find that she already had an email waiting for her. "It's from Krane…"

"What does it say?" Benny asked.

She read it aloud. "'If you're reading this email, then you must have obtained the P*DA. Make sure to try out its many features. By the way, Adon was playing hide-and-seek with Jovi earlier. Why not ask him about her whereabouts?'"

"Adon's workshop room is right next to the breakroom where we just came from!" Benny exclaimed.

Amira nodded. "Yeah. Let's go see if he's there."

Upon entering Adon's room, they found that it appeared to be empty of any people. Amira watched as her little Banette jumped out of her arms and ran over to a table off to the side. He suddenly raised his arms up and shouted at something beneath it.

"Bayy-net!" was all the man heard, causing him to jump up and hit his head.

"Wah – Ouch!" He crawled out from under the table, rubbing his head. "You ghost types, always spooking people like that… Oh, hi there, Amira."

"Adon," the girl approached him, "what were you doing under there?"

"Hiding. Jovi and I are playing hide-and-seek. Well, at least, we're supposed to be. She sure is taking a long time to find me. My back was starting to hurt, and now my head does too…" he eyed the Banette snickering beside him.

"We're looking for Jovi right now," Amira explained. "No one's seen her in a while."

"Really? Ah, well maybe she's run off to Doctor Kaminko's manor again."

"Who?"

"It's a big, weird house just southeast of here. She talks about it a lot lately. Maybe try there? I'll go ahead and look around the lab."

She nodded. "Okay. Come on, Benny!"

The Banette hurried after the girl as she ran out of the room.

"Sheesh," Adon said to himself. "Kids and ghosts make such a tiresome duo..." He rubbed his head. "Ouch…"

Benny jumped up onto the back seat of the electric scooter that Amira was mounting and held on to her waist as it came alive. It did not take them long to find the manor in a darker part of the pine forest.

The house and its surrounding area had a strange aura about them, as well as their own dark storm cloud. Benny climbed up onto Amira's back, holding on to her shoulders, as she got off of the scooter and entered the stone courtyard through the stone wall gates. They gazed at the old fountain in the center as they passed it. The water was dark green and there was a small statue of a Pokémon on top.

"I think that's called a Groudon," Amira said, stopping to look up at it. "I saw drawings of it in a book once. It's supposed to be a legendary Pokémon."

She continued over to the manor. The building was old and gray, though it may have once been white, and the pointed roof was black like soot. Protruding from either side of the roof was a strange antenna of some kind that was sparking with electricity. It appeared as though they were intended to attract and harness the lightning bolts of the surrounding storm clouds. Standing before the manor, on either side, was a large and leafless dead tree. They looked like giant hands reaching up to claw at the building.

"What a spooky place," Amira said. "Why would my sister choose to come here?"

"I kind of like it," Benny said.

"Stop!"

They both jumped at the unfamiliar voice and looked over to see a tiny man approaching. He had blue hair slicked to the side and wore a lab coat, yellow bowtie, and large round glasses.

"Who goes there!?"

"Oh," Amira said. "Sorry, we're just –"

"You must be a burglar!"

"Wait, what?"

"Chobin will put you straight!"

"Hold on, I –" She froze as he pointed at her.

"Don't you move! Chobin is the name! And Chobin is the number one assistant to Doctor Kaminko! Chobin is the only assistant, so Chobin has to be the number one assistant!"

"Er, okay?"

He tossed a Pokéball and sent out a Sunkern.

"Wait," Amira said hastily. "I don't want to –"

Before she could finish, her Banette jumped down from her back and launched a Shadow Ball attack at the tiny Pokémon, sending it flying and instantly knocking it out.

"Benny!"

He looked back at her. "What? They started it!"

Chobin glanced back at the Sunkern. "Oh, you've made Chobin angry now!" He paused a moment, fixed his glasses, and stared at her. "Huh? …Closer observation reveals that the subject is a child. Ergo, not a burglar!"

"Uh, yeah!" she said. "My name's Amira."

He laughed. "Ohoho! Chobin wishes you spoke up right away!"

"Well, I tried…"

"Chobin apologizes for jumping to the wrong conclusion." He returned his Sunkern to its ball.

"It's okay," Amira told him. "I mean, it is pretty dark out here. Even though it's supposed to be like daytime…"

The front door of the manor suddenly opened and a girl with blue hair who was even younger than Amira stepped out. "Oh! Big sister! What are you doing here? Wait! Jovi gets it. You're lost, aren't you?"

Amira smiled at her little sister. "That's right. I got lost."

Jovi giggled. "Jovi thought so! Big sister, you look dependable, but then you make silly mistakes! This big house is Dr. Kaminko's. Dr. Kaminko's job is to make incredible inventions. There's a whole bunch of neat machines like they have at the Pokémon HQ lab. You should come in too, big sister." Jovi hurried back inside.

"Amira," Chobin said, attracting her attention. "You are that girl's older sister? She comes her sometimes and wanders around everywhere. Chobin finds it hard keeping an eye on her so that she doesn't bother the Doctor."

"Yeah, sorry about that. My sister is really hyperactive."

"Hm. Oh, yes! Amira, you will have a look at Dr. Kaminko's inventions, yes? This way, please! Follow Chobin." He led her inside and over to a large screen with a projector. "Okay! Chobin will now show you the inventions of the inestimable Dr. Kaminko. Dr. Kaminko's inventions, it needs to be said, are number one in the world! Chobin is full of admiration! Oh? Why does Chobin know that they are number one worldwide? That needs explaining?"

"I didn't say any-"

"In the whole wide world, no one but Dr. Kaminko would invent such inventions! Therefore, they are number one in the world without question! Our Dr. Kaminko, who is verily great, is inventing in that room there." He gestured to a room off to the left. "Anyway, let Chobin acquaint you with just some of Dr. Kaminko's greatest inventions. Let the VCR roll!"

The projector turned on and began to play something on the large screen. It was Chobin. "Dr. Kaminko's inventions are number one in the world! Chobin's choice is this, tadaah! The unhealthy sandals! The insole is studded with lumpy nubs that fail to stimulate every pressure point in a fabulous way. Keep wearing these and Chobin will guarantee painful feet and chronic worsening of your health. Chobin thinks it is superlative."

"Ahaha! Incredible, is it not?" Chobin said after the video finished.

"Er, yeah…" Amira exchanged a look with Benny.

"There is much more than that, too. The Doctor's inventions, which are fantastic, can be seen on this monitor. Chobin gives you permission to use this anytime you like."

"Um, thanks Chobin. Anyways, I should be getting after my sister."

She went over to the room he had pointed out earlier and found her sister seemingly pestering a man with white hair that stood up straight and tall. He was looking over a diagram of some kind. Benny went over to a Minun off to the side and greeted it happily.

"Hi, big sister," Jovi smiled at Amira. "Look at this funny drawing! It's a really detailed drawing of a really weird machine!"

"That's really cool, Jovi, but we should start heading home."

"Huh? But you just got here!"

"Yeah, but I'm lost, remember? I need you to show me the way home so I remember for next time."

"Oh, Jovi gets it! Okay! That's what Jovi will do!" She turned to the Minun. "Mimi, let's go home with big sister!" The Minun cheered and jumped up into her arms. "Okay," Jovi said. "Let's move out! Jovi will visit again, Doctor. Bye-bye!"

Kaminko turned to look down at her through his glasses. "Hm? Incidentally, child, how long have you been here? Hmm…"

Jovi looked up at Amira. "That's how Dr. Kaminko is all the time," she told her. "Chobin said that his genius has different sensibilities from ordinary people. Does 'sensibilities' mean that you're kind of absentminded and in a fog? Don't people say that Professor Krane is a genius? They're very different from each other."

Amira chuckled.

As they stepped out of the manor, the P*DA in Amira's pocket went off, startling her. She took it out to see that she had just received an email.

"What is it? What is it?" Jovi was trying to see the screen.

"It's an email from Professor Krane," her sister told her. "He says he needs my help with something."

"Okay! Let's go home right away!"

"Mi-mi (Yeah)!" Mimi cheered from Jovi's shoulder.

To be continued...


Yeah, so like I said, it follows the games' stories, so a lot of the dialogue is from the games. I just always liked to imagine my own take on it with my own character of some kind. Unpopular opinion, but I always disliked Ash.

Oof. Anyways, if you've played the games covered in this story, then this will be a sort of nostalgia trip for you but with a twist. I have more original content that will come later on. And Amira will get a human companion eventually, too. It's actually a character from the games Silver/Gold/Crystal/HeartGold/SoulSilver so it won't be during her time in Orre. Can you guess who?

I think Orre is going to stay pretty true to the game's story and I'll start really diverging in Johto, which will come after Orre. Hope you stick around!