Beginning Author's Note: Hello all, welcome to my latest pokemon story. I was planning on holding off on posting even this prologue until I had a significant backlog of chapters, but since it's turkey day I figured I'd give you all a feast fit for any voracious reader and introduce you to my personal take on a slightly more realistic pokemon world. That said, take everything you read in the prologue with a grain of salt, as it is from our protagonist's point of view and he doesn't know everything about the world, hell if you were to ask him he'd say he doesn't know even a tenth of everything there is to know, meaning he knows nothing. Anyway, be on the look out for more chapters as the week progresses, and I'll probably set myself up with a posting schedule of 1 chapter a week if my muse can actually continue to enjoy this story and won't drag me away. Oh, and if you're here from any of my other stories on the Archive, just know I'll try to get back to them, but no promises on when that will be as my muse is being fickle, again. She's focused on this story and I'm trying to keep her entertained so I don't end up writing nothing for months on end again. That said, please enjoy and tell me your thoughts.
Jason Cross' Pokémon Journey
Prologue: The World of Pokémon and How it Became as it is Today.
The World of Pokémon, a vast and beautiful world where the animals and even some plants have human level intelligence, and they are all EXTREMELY dangerous. We humans live alongside these wonderous creatures, termed Pokémon by the scientific community, and have found ways to make them part of our everyday lives. However, not all is bright and rosy in our world, in each region there are groups that are planning on conquering the world by using Pokémon in their own nefarious misdeeds, wild Pokémon are very territorial and will attack those who enter their territory, and some Pokémon will not hesitate to eat humans if they have no other food sources available or are just plain hungry enough.
It does not help that until ten years ago the regions of the Pokémon world were isolated from each other. You see, ten years ago The International Pokémon League was formed, headed by Directo4r Charles Goodshow, and the Pokémon professors of each region, as well as the individual champions of each region who had basically run their region any way the saw fit. You see, each region was a nation unto itself, with the Champion deciding how the government worked, though the Pokémon Professors had a large hand in making laws for the regions, the Regional Champion had the ultimate say in how the region was run.
This changed with the creation of the International Pokémon League, The Champions had all agreed to meet at a summit, to talk about the needs of their individual regions, and the Professors broached the topic of making the head of Kanto's Pokémon league, besides the champion as the chairman of the International League.
They proposed many plans in this meeting, but the three big proposals that all champions agreed upon were 1. The Regional Champions would still be the heads of their Regions; however, the International Pokémon League would be able to make some global rules and be able to set the standard for trainer rankings globally. 2. The International age of young trainers would be changed from 10 to 16, since up until this point the world had been sending CHILDREN to their deaths to prove that they were capable of surviving in this wonderful, yet oh so dangerous, world. Finally, 3. Every person over the age of 10 would be able to take a test for a regional starter, but only those who scored in the top 10% in each region would be able to get a "Regional Starter," that was one of the rare Pokémon the region was known for.
The regional professors would later make an addendum to this regional law that anyone who scored in the top 25% could get a regional starter, and anyone who scored lower would get a more common partner. However, those who scored in the top 10% would get either a rare Pokémon from the professor's personal collection that was equal in level to a regional starter, or first pick of the regional starters.
This addendum would be agreed upon by the International Pokémon League, as it was technically the Pokémon Professors of each region who determined whether trainers had the ability to survive in the world, and were the ones who created the tests for young trainers, and as long as a trainer scored in the top 10% at least once in their six years of studying, their name would be recorded, though those who consistently remained in that position would be looked on more favorably than those who only entered the top percentiles once throughout their entire schooling career.
This led to the champions proposing that battling be added to the curriculum of trainer schools, and the Contest Leaders adding that Contests should also be considered, since book smarts weren't all people needed. The Pokémon Rangers then chipped int hat survival skills should also be validated and taught by the schools, as most trainers would be on the road during their journeys, and all these tests together would allow trainers to get a feel for whether they truly wished to pursue a career as a regular Pokémon trainer or would like to follow a different path.
When the professors agreed to these changes for regular trainer schools, other schools dealing with the Pokémon Professions that were added to the International Pokémon League's coverage started to appear. As of three years ago there were now schools for Pokémon Nurses, Pokémon Doctors, Pokémon Researchers, Pokémon Breeders, and the all-important trainer schools that taught young trainers everything they'd need to be a Pokémon Champion, a Pokémon Coordinator, or a Pokémon Ranger. Another thing that was put into effect was that all these schools would be run by the International Pokémon League and be free to the public so long as the person in question scored at least 50% on the entrance exam, with special privileges given to those who scored over 90% in their chosen academy's exam.
All this also led to the age of 16 being considered the new age of adulthood where one could start a career, though certain privileges were still age restricted, such as smoking, drinking, and recreational drug use, all of which required a person's brain to be more developed and at least age 21.
With these changes, the mortality rates of average citizens started to drop, and the mortality rate of professional trainers dropped by about 50%. Of course, with the increase in the standard of living across the multiple regions, came an increase in criminal activity. This increase in criminal activity has led to trainers that have earned at least two gym badges from the "Top 8" or the eight strongest gyms according to the Regional Pokémon League's rankings, being given a designation that allows the local police force to call upon them to help deal with any criminals, as well as the regional military to call upon any trainer with more than one badge in a state of emergency. It also led to the emergence of trainers in the police force, so now you will regularly see a police officer and their Pokémon partner patrolling the big cities, and even some small towns.
Of course, during all of this the Ranger Corps have not been idle, with the job of a Pokémon Ranger officially being recognized by the league, and there being two different types of rangers, those who were trainers and those who used the capture stylist, there became a secondary organization known as the Ranger's union, which covered any trainer not taking the league challenge who had some Pokémon Ranger qualifications. They also ran what many people called the Trainer's Guilds, which were buildings where young trainers could take jobs issued by the Pokémon Rangers, or locals in the area, for extra spending money.
These guilds truly became important a year ago when everyone realized that Pokémon were starting to behave strangely the world over. They were becoming even more territorial than ever before, starting to attack humans who entered their territory, and pursued them until they entered a more dangerous Pokémon's territory, and were starting to be more volatile in how they dealt with humanity. It was thanks to the guilds that these Pokémon were slowly calmed down, which earned the Ranger's greater recognition.
Alongside all of this, there have been reports of terrorist organizations cropping up in each region, each with their own goals and plans. The most common factor between each of these organizations is that every member has some sort of outfit that denotes their allegiance, they won't hesitate to attack civilians, trainers, or even ranger outposts if it aligns with their goals, and more importantly, they all seem to have plans that involve the legendary Pokémon.
This is worrying for the world at large, as most people consider the legendaries to be some kind of deities that oversee the balance of the world and believe that should anyone disturb the legendaries and try to capture them, the world as we know it will be in great danger. Of course, according to the National League, the Terrorist organization's may not be targeting the legendaries, but they still wish to catch them, just in case such thoughts prove to have some foundation in the truth.
Alongside these terrorist organizations are other groups who have been on the rise including what people are calling the underground, an organization believed to be trying to close off the hearts of Pokémon to make them more vicious, and an organization trying to build a machine to steal any other trainer's Pokémon. As of right now all these rumors are considered unverified, though the Underground is believed to be highly likely to exist due to the disappearances of trainers, civilians, and even some league officials who were looking into the rumors.
Another unfounded rumor is that of the Pokémon Slave Battler League, this supposed Pokémon League is believed to be a place where people can put their lives on the line by betting their freedom on Pokémon Battles, or betting the lives of their followers, slaves, or team on the battle. This league is supposedly high stakes, high rewards, and yet supposedly it's so secretive that only those who have been invited are allowed to truly know anything beyond the rumors, and it is implied the Slave Battler League has some kind of contract that prevents its victims, clients, and those who escape from being able to talk about it beyond saying things in hypotheticals.
Alongside the rumors of this Hypothetical Slave Battler League, appeared a rumor that was later confirmed by the Pokémon Professors to be very possible. The rumor in question was that humans would be able to crossbreed with Pokémon. The professors explained that while they found the idea unethical, partly since one could not know if Pokémon were giving consent or not, and while the act of Poképhilia was not illegal, it was highly frowned upon by polite society. The proposed hybrids would usually be born of the union between a human and Pokémon, though as of the present no hybrids have stepped forward claiming they are such, and no trainer has admitted to having a hybrid child with their Pokémon.
With all of that said, I can now summarize it into the present, give you the date according to the International Pokémon League, and begin my story properly.
So, with that said, the current state of the world is as follows: The International Pokémon League, and the other Pokémon Organizations that collaborate with them oversee the world.
Trainers have multiple rankings, starting based on badge number, then ranking in regional Pokémon leagues, then finally number of years as a trainer.
The International Pokémon League and its collaborators are divided into The League Itself, the Ranger's Union, The Breeder's Union, The Professors, The Contest Circuit, and The International Defense Force.
There are rumors of terrorist organizations popping up in each region, each with their own plans, goals, and most likely wanting to take down the International League so as to gain control of the world.
There are also rumors that at least one of these Terrorist Organization's is trying to create a way to steal other's Pokémon without the league realizing it, and another is trying to close off the hearts of Pokémon to make them more aggressive, more violent, and more likely to attack anyone they encountered.
The Legendary Pokémon are currently staying out of sight of the populace, until idiots disturb them. This most likely means they don't see a reason to affect the world personally, which we can all be thankful for.
The act of Poképhilia, while frowned upon, is legal. Due to Poképhilia being legal, there are rumors that Pokémon Hybrids have been born, but none have come forward, yet, despite the league announcing they will treat them like any other citizen.
Finally, there is supposedly an Underground Organization that is helping fund criminals, has ties to the supposed Pokémon Slave Battler League, and said Slave Battler League apparently has ways to prevent their "merchandise" and "clientele" from talking about them unless they are given permission to recruit others.
That is the state of the world as of the Global Calendar Year 10 AF, or After Formation. That is also the state of the world when our story begins, and the state of the world when I'm taking my final exam to be a Pokémon Trainer. Who am I, and why is all this important you ask? Well, I'm Jason Cross, and all of this is important because it's the setting of the world during my journey and will give you some background of WHY I'll be dealing with a lot of the shit I'll be dealing with going forward.
That said, sit back, grab a drink, grab something to eat if you want, make sure you go to the bathroom before you start reading, and strap in as I tell you, my story. If you're ready, let's begin.
End of Prologue
End Author's Note
Well, I hope you see why I said Jason doesn't know everything and explains a bit about why he talks of rumors. That said, I hope you enjoyed the chapter and you'll possibly see chapter 1 as early as this coming monday, or as late as next Friday depending on both my, and my muse's moods. She's a feisty lass but shes' actually been convincing me to write for a while and let's just say I already have the first chapter divided into sub-chapters for those who want to read it, but I won't be posting anything until chapter 1 is completely done and I'm onto chapter 2. Also for anyone who's curious about how long things will be, well the story's just begun and it's already over 40 pages in according to MIcrosoft Word. Anyway as I said hope you enjoyed, leave a review or kudos if you want, if not well no scratch off my back, and I'll see you as soon as Chapter 1's done. Oh also Happy Thanksgiving, Turkey Day, etc., to those in the U.S like me.
P.S, if I get enough demand I may create a server where people can talk to the author, or I might just link my if you guys think this is worthy of support, been unwilling to link it due to my personal opinion that my lack of urge to write isn't a fitting reward for any patrons. I'll probably upload some stuff to if people really want to check it out, including some of my more original fics that may eventually become novels, tell me your thoughts in the comments everyone. That said, See you around, for real this time!