Notes: This story is also being published simultaneously on Archive of Our Own (as Basilikos) and on Spacebattles (as Fanged Basilikos). Thank you for checking out my first and probably only fic. This note is to inform you of what to expect from this story. This is a journeyfic that focuses primarily on original characters, and Lucas. It is an alternate universe fic based extremely loosely on the events of Diamond/Pearl (the games). This means that characters/events/anything at all may be remotely accurate... or may in fact be similar to canon. The pacing of this story will be very slow, focusing mostly on the human characters. Romantic relationships aren't quite the focus of this story but they may exist. Please be aware that not all characters are straight.
For more background on this story, it is loosely based on a very long-term roleplay I orchestrated with family. Their characters (Aiden, Vanessa, and Jason) are theirs and I was given their blessing to write for them as I wished. The intent of this story is to memorialize the many years that roleplay went on for with the hope others may possibly enjoy our journey. Said roleplay took us all the way to Spear Pillar. Therefore, I have plenty of material to work with. Despite that, I am quite a busy person so updates will be sporadic, but when they do drop, that entire "arc" will be ready and published closely together.
If this story interests you, you have my thanks for reading it!
Time and Time Again
Chapter 1: A Skyscraper in a Sea of Trees - Part 1
The sound of loud thumps and stomping could be heard from upstairs in the Coronet family residence. Downstairs, the mother and father of the household sigh as they attempt to comfortably eat breakfast that had been laid out neatly on the dining table. They glance at each other now and then, hoping the other will go upstairs to check on their peculiar daughter whom they both love dearly.
'You do it. I did it last time!' the mother expresses to her husband through body language alone. The father lets out another sigh, accepting his fate, and clears his throat.
"Vanessa!" he shouts from his seat. "Is everything al—"
"Where is it?!" The man is interrupted by the shrieking sound of his daughter's cries of anguish. "I can't find it anywhere!"
The father looks back at his wife who now seems to be enjoying herself, temporarily absolved of responsibility.
Twinleaf Town was once rather peaceful before they arrived. The family is quite famous for being the loudest in their small town. Everyone knows who they are. The Coronet family, who assure their fellow neighbors that they have nothing to do with the mountain range, settled down in Twinleaf Town when Vanessa was just a young girl. Despite the noise problem, they adjusted well in their new home. They quickly became acquainted with—
"Aghhhhhh!" Vanessa screams in frustration. Her parents walk upstairs and open her bedroom door slowly to peek inside. The room is completely in shambles at the hands of their daughter. Everything is torn about. The floor is covered in books, bags, clothes, CDs, and other belongings. Their little girl, who is now a teenager, is knelt down on the floor and about to hammer open a safe she just pulled out from under her bed.
"Hey kiddo, what are you doing?" her father asks weakly while taking in the state of the room.
Vanessa turns to her father and gives him a terrifying look. The look quickly shifts to despair as she vents more in frustration.
"I can't find my recording of Cynthia's Pokémon League victory! I've been looking for it all day." Vanessa begins landing a few hits on the safe before her father carefully takes the hammer away from her.
"Oh, that thing?" her father says. "That was the last tournament, wasn't it?"
"Yes!" Vanessa cries. "How am I supposed to go on my own journey if I'm not one hundred percent sure how Cynthia completely annihilated her competition? That battle made history!"
"That's right! Today's the big day, isn't it?" her mother giggles as she steps into the room. She was completely aware of how special this day is to her daughter.
The mother walks over to Vanessa's desk that had been tipped over in the mess and picks up a red-and-white patterned envelope, handing it shortly to her daughter. Inside is official proof of recognition by the Professor Rowan himself. Professor Rowan is a famous Pokémon researcher in Sinnoh, the region they reside in, and is known for handpicking a very small number of kids to send on journeys to chase after their dreams, for his own interests of course.
"There is always more to learn about our world," the professor once said in an interview when he was much younger and his hair less grey. To be requested at his laboratory is an honor only a select few may have. The opportunity did not come often.
"That's right!" Vanessa exclaims to her mother. "Professor Rowan is conducting an experiment or whatever and I was one of those selected. This opportunity is merely a stepping stone in my inevitable fate to become Cynthia's successor at the next Pokémon League!" Vanessa rises up from the floor, confidently making her declaration with fire in her eyes.
"I-I see!" her father steps back.
"That's why…" Vanessa starts. "I need—to find—that recording!"
"Ah, I think I remember!" her mother snaps her fingers. "You let Jason borrow it from you a few weeks ago. I can make a phone call…"
"No need!"
Without a second to spare, Vanessa dashes out of the house, envelope in hand, and runs across the street. After several dozen taps on the doorbell of the residence, she is let in and soon enough, starts banging on her childhood friend's bedroom door until it opens.
"Vanessa! Vanessa! Vanessa, what's wrong?!" The boy is in a state of shock. Although this sort of behavior has happened time and again, she seemed much more panicky than usual to him.
"Morning, Jason!" Vanessa smiles. "I need Cynthia's victory recording—now."
"Geez, that's it?" Jason sighs as he goes into his room to look for it. "With the way you were acting, I thought Cynthia had come to town to visit you herself."
"Yeah, I'm sure you'd know if that ever came true." Jason could imagine the girl screaming in his head; a thought he could do without.
Letting Vanessa in, she takes note of how Jason's room is pretty clean, compared to the state of her room at the moment anyway. At the corner of the room by his single window, the small television set is on.
"…So let's hear it one more time for Shaila! Thank you for being here…" the morning talk show host on television says as the audience in the studio cheer for some celebrity guest. Credits start rolling on the screen as music plays and the camera zooms out.
"You're into these boring talk shows?" Vanessa asks Jason while he searches for the recording she came for. He then walks over to her after picking up the video tape hiding underneath a book.
"Of course! Don't you know? Everyone has been talking about…" Jason notices that the girl looks impatient and does not seem to actually care. "Anyway, I found it. Why don't we watch it together?"
Jason pushes the tape in and the television screen goes dark. Moments later, a blonde woman wearing an abundance of black clothing is looking coolly as she stands by a menacing-looking, large Pokémon. The arena she stands in with her opponent is quite spacious and there is an unbelievable amount of people cheering in the audience. The commentator enthusiastically tells the crowd that Cynthia, the blonde woman, had sent out her signature Pokémon: "the ferocious terror, Garchomp!"
According to the score, it seems her opponent has been backed into a corner but despite this, the ginger-haired girl with the long ponytail looks completely calm and confident behind her chosen Pokémon, an Arcanine.
"Who was she facing again? She's kind of pretty," Jason asks.
"Who cares? Cynthia's going to crush her anyway!" Vanessa is absolutely overjoyed at the sight of her role model despite having seen this recording hundreds of times before. To Vanessa, there was no one as cool, strong, talented, smart, and beautiful as the incredible Cynthia.
As the battle progresses, the video's audio is completely overpowered by the unbearable sound of a jackhammer coming from outside. RIZZZZ!
"Looks like it's construction time again," Jason says as the two look out the window beside the TV. "Just how far are they going to expand anyway? It's crazy!"
Jason looks to his side expecting a response and instead notices his friend's face is completely red in anger. He asks the girl if she's okay while backing off a little but receives no response as she brings her hands up into fists, visibly shaking.
If Vanessa were not a passionate, hot-headed, teenage girl and instead a massive volcano, the entirety of Sinnoh would melt under her as nothing would be able to suppress the rage she's currently feeling. Of course, Cynthia would be all right at least. In fact, all of Sinnoh would be under molten lava but a ring of safety where no lava would touch would keep Cynthia perfectly unharmed. Fortunately, Vanessa is indeed a passionate, hot-headed, teenage girl and not a volcano in disguise.
"That guy!" Vanessa screams as she storms out of Jason's room to look for the source, Jason following shortly after.
Typically, if one were to describe Twinleaf Town, it would be a small, tranquil town surrounded in greenery. One would imagine it would be pleasant to stay in and life would be moderately simple in such a small area of Sinnoh. Unfortunately for those imagining such a thing, that is not what they would find in modern day Twinleaf Town.
Although the Coronet family has since ruined the serenity of the town by merely existing, they were the least of problems. Amongst the small houses in town, there is a single, enormous skyscraper in the middle of town that is as tall as one's eyes could see from anywhere near it. It is an unsightly view for its people, or at least Jason and Vanessa think so.
Standing at the entrance of this skyscraper, Vanessa is knocking on the glass door repeatedly while the receptionists sitting at the desk at the far back of the room inside are looking at each other in confusion.
"Vanessa, what in the world are you doing?" Jason catches his breath, running towards her.
"I just yelled at the guy with the jackhammer but he ignored me!" Vanessa exclaims. "I would fight him but the guy has a jackhammer. So, I'm going to make a complaint directly to the man himself. Back me up, okay?"
"What? No!"
Ignoring whatever protests Jason has to make, Vanessa continues to knock until one of the receptionists approaches the two of them with a forced smile on their face. The receptionist walks outside and lets out a, "Um, hello! This is a revolving door. It turns. You don't have to knock on it. Please, come inside."
"A revolving what? Um—I already knew that! I just didn't want to step in your tower. Get your boss out here, right now!" Vanessa demands. "I have a complaint to make."
"Oh, Master Aiden is currently in a very important meeting. He's a very busy man." The receptionist looks back to the other receptionist in the lobby, giving a very pleading look for help.
"No excuses!" Vanessa declares. "As you might be aware, I have a strong voice and if you don't want your reputation to go down the drain because you're funding… whatever this is, then you'll call your boss—now!"
Jason begins to step away slowly in discomfort from his overbearing friend. He honestly doesn't really care about what was happening here or what was going to happen since he too was fortunate enough to get the famous envelope from Professor Rowan. Soon enough, he'd be kissing Twinleaf Town goodbye—for now.
However, he'd have to be blind not to notice the drastic changes that have been going on around town. A week ago, a fountain appeared at the north gate of town. What was just a plain field is now a small, yet beautiful park. The townspeople supported the idea wholeheartedly at first but soon enough, houses were bought off and demolished. Then, construction began for what seems to be a roller coaster, an arcade, a food court, and so on. Last week, a sign was put up near Route 201 that states: "Welcome to Aidenland: Coming Soon!"
Jason couldn't help but wonder how Aiden was getting away with this. Twinleaf was more of a village than a town, and now it was starting to look like a giant amusement park. 'Why wasn't anyone stopping him?' he once thought, but soon enough, he'll be long gone before it ever matters.
"Is there a problem here?" a voice calls out from behind Jason and Vanessa. They turn around and see a man in his early 20s wearing a visor and sunglasses while carrying a bag of golf clubs. There is something striking about his appearance that seems to radiate an aura of "I'm important" despite the casual attire he is donning.
"Ah, Master Aiden!" the receptionist says. "How was the golf course?"
Vanessa's eyes light up when she realizes her prey has walked right to her. 'Busy?' the girl thought. 'He was out golfing!'
"It was exceptional, yet small. We need to cut down more of the forest. It will get dreadfully boring in a matter of days. Tell Isabella to start plans for it."
The receptionist nods in agreement and scurries away.
"You!" Vanessa sticks out her finger at the man. "You need to cease construction—at once! It's because of you and your construction of whatever, I can't sleep, eat, or watch my darn video!"
The wealthy man chuckles, perhaps out of pity rather than amusement.
"What's so funny?" Jason asks defensively for his friend's sake.
"Your video? How selfish!" Aiden laughs. "You whine about trivial problems while I am over here trying to turn this dump into paradise. We all make sacrifices. You: your entertainment. Me: my time. Surely, you can sacrifice a little bit of your needs, can't you? I'm changing the world as you know it." Aiden moves his way past the two of them and steps into the Aidenland Tower lobby with Vanessa and Jason trailing behind. Vanessa isn't having it.
"Wait, just a minute here, you—"
"Isabella?" Aiden claps his hands. Suddenly, a beautiful, bespectacled woman appears from another room and approaches the three of them.
"Yes, Aiden, sir?"
"Please remove them from my lobby. You can give them a form to file their complaint so that I'm cozy at night near my fireplace." Aiden smirks for a moment.
"Understood."
"Now if you'll all excuse me, I have a bathtub of money to sink in," Aiden says.
The bespectacled woman suddenly grabs the two of them with unexpected strength and starts dragging them out of the lobby against their will. One can hear, "I'll remember this! You hear me?!" from Vanessa's mouth before they are thrown out.
Watching his childhood friend continue to throw tantrums, Jason sighs, wondering what he had gotten himself into. He looks at the small clock tower near the skyscraper and notices that today's dilemma has kept them from doing more important things.
"Vanessa, the time! We need to get ready before we head to the professor's place."
"Ah, you're right!" Vanessa gasps. "That dumb snob got me all worked up for nothing!"
Without a second to waste, the two of them wave their goodbyes and promise to meet again at the scheduled time after packing for their short journey to the neighboring town that Professor Rowan resides in.
At the strike of noon, Vanessa and Jason meet up with each other at the gates of Twinleaf Town that would lead them up Route 201 to Sandgem Town. They are holding bicycles and are carrying bags of supplies for their trip. Vanessa's parents are there along with Jason's mother who are wishing the two of them off safely.
"Please take care of each other," Vanessa's mother tells the two of them.
"Don't let Vanessa do anything dumb, Jason. I'm counting on you!" Vanessa's father laughs as Vanessa and her mother give him disapproving looks.
"It's just a small trip," Jason's mother reassures them. "Just do whatever he needs you to do and be back home, okay?"
"Pfft. Yeah right!" Vanessa asserts. "Jason can come back if he wants, but there's no way I'm coming back until I'm champion."
The group of adults laugh with Vanessa and how knowingly rash she can be. However, they know if anyone can be champion, it would probably be her.
'He hasn't told his mom anything, has he?' Vanessa looks at Jason who is frowning at her response. There was no way he was coming back.
"Jason, will you also be competing with Vanessa?" Vanessa's father asks him. "Only one of you can become champion but you know I'm on both of your sides."
"…I don't know yet. Probably not!"
Jason glances at his mother who doesn't seem to be following the conversation very well. Feeling nervous, he tells everyone that the two of them should get going.
"Please, take care!" Vanessa's mother exclaims.
"Call us!"
As the two pedal away on their bicycles with their bags on their backs, their parents wave farewell to them and wish for their safety.
Beyond the trees of Twinleaf Town and the road that takes them here, Sandgem Town is peaceful and larger than what that Twinleaf Town had become. Apart from the skyscraper that now occupies Twinleaf Town, the buildings in Sandgem are taller and more grand. Because of its larger population, many markets exist in the area, and among people, actual Pokémon Trainers exist here. To the southeast lies the town's main attraction: plenty of sand on the shore of Route 219. They say people coming from Jubilife City up north would stop by in warmer seasons to enjoy themselves in the town's waters.
Another main attraction is none other than the laboratory of Professor Rowan. In front, Vanessa and Jason scale up the hill on their bicycles and finally reach the entrance after a couple hours. They notice a limousine driving away from the laboratory as the two approach but pay no mind to it, unable to contain their excitement.
"So, this is Professor Rowan's lab," Jason says as he gets off his bike.
"Seems like it!" Vanessa giggles. "What do you think the old man is like? You nervous?"
"You look more nervous than I do," Jason laughs.
The two walk to the front door and Jason motions to Vanessa to take the lead and open it. Having no complaints with that, Vanessa reaches for the doorknob and begins to turn it. 'This is it! This is what I've been waiting for!' she thought. The anticipation had been killing her. She has been waiting every moment of her life for this moment.
They step inside and, after being guided by a few assistants to a different room, they see the old man they were expecting standing next to a very familiar-looking person with their back turned to them. Their hearts sink upon recognizing this person's unpleasant aura and general profile. Vanessa and Jason's eyes widen as the person turns around to face them and smiles in twisted delight.
"Y-You!" Vanessa stammers.
"What are you doing here?" Jason asks in shock.
That person is none other than Aiden holding a red-and-white patterned envelope.