What happens when one Pokémon has had enough? The Pokémon Rebellion. Only, it was a complete disaster. Over 300 lives were lost during Larmo's ill fated rebellion, of Pokémon and humans alike, and very little has changed. It was the worst, bloodiest conflict in a long time in a generally peaceful country. People were only starting to forget the tragedy of a Pokémon who stubbornly refused to become a slave to humans...

...And yet, the flames of rebellion still burn, unbeknownst to all… within another of its kin. No. It was not over yet, not by a long shot. He would have freedom, or he would have death.

PROLOGUE

Ilex Forest, Johto Region

(Mother) "He's beautiful, isn't he? Our son… I can just see it… he'll make a great warrior someday."

(Father) "I'm sure he has great things ahead of him… Look, he's about to open his eyes for the first time!"

That morning, in the always dark and gloomy Ilex Forest, a little Zigzagoon hatched from its egg, ready to be welcomed into a nomadic pack of Linoone of about 15 members. Something was different about this pup, however. Its eyes, instead of being brown (as it usually was the case for Zigzagoon), were colored a deep shade of crimson. How wonderful – they thought – that their little angel was gifted with such a unique trait! They'd even named it after the color, in an old language from a faraway land. Unfortunately, this bliss was not meant to last.

When they'd shown the pack leader their newest member, he reacted with a coldness they'd never expected from him before.

"Those red eyes… this is an ill-omen. This child is cursed, his future – doomed. No, I cannot afford to endanger our pack with this. It must be taken away, or…" The older Linoone sat in front of the other members of his pack, his most trusted warriors beside him. All stared at the couple, with the baby Zigzagoon cradled in its mother's arms.

"PLEASE! We have always followed you with utmost loyalty; we've never failed to provide our part, or lay down our lives for the safety of our fellows! We ask you for your pity, great elder!" The mother sobbed, while the father held her in an attempt to comfort her.

"And that is precisely why this situation pains me so. Indeed, you are fine members of our clan and it would be a great loss to do without you… but if you are unwilling to abandon the blood-eyed child, then banishment is my only option. There is no other way… unfortunately. Make your choice."

"I… I – I choose banishment!" The father rose up, and looked the Elder in the eyes, facing him with a fiery expression and surprising everyone present, including the mother. He'd mustered the courage to say what his wife couldn't, or wouldn't. The Elder, briefly taken aback by his choice, regains his composure.

"I'd not expected, nor hoped for this outcome, but… so be it. For the safety of our pack, and with a heavy heart, I hereby banish you and your kin. May we never cross paths again, for all of our sakes."

And then there was silence, as if they were awaiting for a change of mind. But it never came. The Elder and the rest of his followers turned and headed deeper into the forest, leaving the weeping couple and their infant on their own. The Elder never looked back, confident in his decision, but a number of Linoone appeared saddened by the turn of events, and concerned for the outcasts' future. Perhaps because of the recent turmoil that seemed to happen in the nearby Goldenrod City, with its entire population being evacuated in a hurry. It appeared to die down after a few days, though rumors of a bloody conflict were enough to worry even the wild Pokémon living in its outskirts. Ultimately, none of them were affected, but the word "Larmo" was quickly becoming a hot topic around the region.

Yet, despite the lack of protection and feeding opportunities offered by a pack's companionship, the parents and child had managed to survive in the wilderness near town, and achieve a level of happiness they never could have imagined, away from their peers. They thrived, and found peace. However, once again, it was not to last.

Barely a year had passed since the two Linoone and their Zigzagoon were cast out from their pack. The sun was shining brightly outside their little den in the woods, and in this fateful day, the father was going to take his child to teach him how to hunt and protect himself. The mother would stay to protect their territory and watch over their stored food, as there were many Pokémon who would steal it in a heartbeat, given the chance.

"Today's a very big day! We'll be going out into the valley and I'll show you how to hunt Rattata. Don't worry, it's easy! Just make sure to pay attention, and you'll be the one to catch today's dinner. Are you ready?"

"Yes, pa!" The young Zigzagoon answered with a bright smile, wagging his tail full of excitement. He'd been waiting for this day, eager to try out this "hunting" thing his father and mother told him so many cool stories about.

"We won't be long. If anything happens, you know where to look for us. And try not to hog all the berries just because we're not looking, eh?" The father, (almost) always easy-going and lighthearted, quipped at the mother, who stared at him with the corner of her eyes. "Oh, you joker. Of course I won't eat. Too much." She smiled.

They laughed, and the father and son headed off. After a short trip, they'd arrived at the valley; the singing of Flying Types and rustling of tall grasses signaled a location ripe with wildlife. Danger was always present, be it from occasional Arbok or Pidgeotto who'd swoop down from the skies to prey on smaller Pokémon. But the Linoone was a stout fighter, and feared no local species. Except for one, if only indirectly; it was known as "human". Specifically, the human's trained Pokémon. He'd seen them before, usually just passing through, or looking for any critter brave (or dumb) enough to try to battle, and not run. By themselves, most humans are weak, usually being children who couldn't hope to put up any kind of fight against most Pokémon. But their trained Pokémon were often more experienced and better suited for battling than wild ones, while also having backup and help in the form of Potions and such, from their owners. Typically, the fights would be over quickly and the defeated would be captured, never to be seen again; or left unconscious, usually to be finished off by an opportunistic hunter or even outright killed by the human's Pokémon, though this was usually avoided as it is illegal to kill wildlife, with most forests being protected by poaching laws enforced by watchful rangers.

But in this valley, other than a young man who lived nearby, gathering wood with his Farfetch'd to make Purifying Charcoal and keeping mostly to himself, Trainer sightings were relatively rare and that was precisely why the father thought it'd be the perfect place to show the young Zigzagoon the ropes. Unfortunately, he picked a very bad day.

"There! You see it? That lone Rattata over there, by the pond! Sneak behind it, and use your Tackle and claws! I'll be watching from here. Don't be scared, I'll come running if there's any trouble. Now run!"

The lone Rattata peacefully drank water from the pond, unaware of any danger as the young Zigzagoon clumsily prowled behind it… when suddenly, a human crawled from the tall grass nearby and shouted: "Aha! I finally tracked you down, shiny Rattata! Now you're mine!" The trainer then grabbed a small round device from his belt, which then grew with the press of a button, and threw it on the ground, releasing red energy which then materialized a Bulbasaur. "Bulba-saur!" The Grass Type cried, and readied itself for battle.

The Rattata yelped in fear and attempted to run, but to no avail. "Let's go, Sprout! Use Vine Whip to weaken it!" The Bulbasaur proceeded to attack the Rattata with its vines, violently knocking the small creature off its feet. The Zigzagoon stopped in his tracks, confused… but became angry as that was supposed to be HIS prey! "AWW, COME ON! I WAS GONNA CATCH HIM!" The little Zigzagoon barked cutely at the trainer, who barely paid him any attention.

"HEY! Come back here! RIGHT NOW!" The Linoone started running towards his child, while the trainer threw a Pokéball at the Rattata. The Zigzagoon, infuriated by the sight of his prey disappearing in front of him in an unexplainable flash, jumped at the trainer and bit at his arm, hanging from it and causing the trainer to yell in pain. "Ouch! Hey, Sprout, get that crappy little Zigzagoon off of me!" The Bulbasaur turned to look at his trainer.

"STOP! DON'T HURT HIM!" The Linoone ran as fast as he could.

"Quit biting my trainer, runt!" The Bulbasaur produced a vine and knocked the Zigzagoon away from the trainer's arm, sending the fragile little thing flying. "How dare you! He's barely a year old, you son of a bitch!"

During the confusion, the Rattata managed to escape the Pokéball, and ran away. "NO! Don't go! Aaaargh!" The young boy jumped up and down in anger. Even if it was just a Rattata, catching a shiny would have made him the talk of town, at least for a day. Now it's gone.

"What the hell did you just say, you wild piece of trash?!" The Bulbasaur and the Linoone exchanged insults and glares while the trainer appeared puzzled. "Oh you'll pay for making me lose that shiny! Now you're helping me find it again! C'mon Sprout! Wreck that Linoone! Use Bullet Seed!" The Bulbasaur nodded, and turned to fire seeds from its bulb like a machine gun at the Linoone, who managed to dodge most of them. He then closed the distance and attacked with his claws, wounding the Bulbasaur.

"Ack! He's tough! I better take out another one…!" Shocked at the wild Linoone's tenacity, he then grabbed another Pokéball from his belt, and released a Torchic. "Go Torchic! Attack that Linoone!"

(Hm? But he's alone… isn't Sprout out already?) The Torchic thought to herself, hesitating to attack the Linoone. "What're you waiting for?! Come on, attack!" Mostly everyone, including the Pokémon themselves, knew that battling 2 on 1 was largely frowned upon and even considered illegal by authorities far and wide, but the Torchic had little choice in the matter.

"Tch! You damn cowards… Have you no honor?!" The Linoone spat, and stared both his foes down.

"Shut up! This isn't a duel, you're just a wild animal! Know your place!" The Bulbasaur used its vines to attack once again, while the Torchic used Ember. The Linoone was wounded by their attacks, but would still not quit. He got up to his feet, and Headbutted the Torchic, instantly knocking it out!

"NOW! Use Sleep Powder while he's distracted!"

The Bulbasaur generated a white mist which made the Linoone become drowsy. "Shit… I can't… pass out… here…!" The Zigzagoon ran to his father and tried to shake him awake. "DAD! I'm here! Please, don't die!"

"-aan… just… run… to mother! I'll be… okay… GO…!" The Zigzagoon, whimpering and crying, hesitated, then ran. But not before taking a good look at the trainer's face, glaring at him with an expression uncharacteristic of a cute little Pokémon like a Zigzagoon, its red eyes piercing his own. The trainer soon threw a Pokéball and the Linoone turned into red energy, which then entered the ball, followed by a satisfying click. He was captured.

"DARN IT! I came here looking for a shiny and all I got was a boring old Linoone… Now, it better help me track it down again, once it's outta the Center… Sprout, Torchic, return!" The trainer then began to make his way back to Goldenrod, pouting all the while.

The little Zigzagoon ran through the bushes, shrubs and branches as fast as he could, towards the den which he knew as home for nearly his whole, short life. In minutes, he'd arrived… only to see his mother being attacked by several Beedrill!

"MOM!" The pup shrieked in horror, and quickly moved in to help defend his mother from her assailants. Despite being outnumbered five to one (or two, if you counted the Zigzagoon's attempts at fighting), they managed to drive away the Beedrill, who appeared to be after their supply of berries. Unfortunately, the mother was heavily injured, and poisoned. She collapsed, after they flew away.

"Mom, please, get up! Daddy's in trouble! We need to find him! Mom?"

"I feel so… sick… need a Pecha… berry…!" She struggled to speak, but the Zigzagoon instantly remembered that when he got stung, his mother fed him a pink berry and he felt fine in minutes. He dashed off to grab one from their little den… but they were all gone. The Beedrill must have stolen them!

"Don't worry! I'll find a berry for you! Just wait!" After some minutes of scrounging around for any pink berries, he finally finds one, and hurries back while holding it in his cheek pouch…

"I'm so proud of you… now… I… you must fend… for yourself… I'm sorry…" Upon returning, it was already too late. Gripping the Zigzagoon's arm, she then closed her eyes, while her grip slowly weakened.

"Mom? Talk to me! Can you hear me?! MOM! WAKE UP PLEASE!" Tears rolled from red eyes as the little Pokémon attempted to wake his mother up, but it was to no avail. Now, he was all alone. He'd briefly considered trying to take her to the "Pokémon Center", a wooden building located not very far from the den. His parents talked about it a few times, a place where "they" supposedly helped Pokémon.

"They."

No. NEVER! "I hate them! I'LL NEVER TRUST THEM!" From that moment on, humanity became his sworn enemy.

Thus, the Zigzagoon who could barely perform a Tackle had to make his own way in the world… but once the melancholy worn off, only one thing remained. Determination. To survive, and to find his father. He'd never forget that face.

And before long, the young Zigzagoon learned to fend for himself, and fight off wild and trained Pokémon alike in his search for that one trainer. Even as he grew into a Linoone, with the fame of a fearsome Pokémon known as "Red-eye of Goldenrod" who couldn't be caught even by the police's Growlithe, his search would go on. But he could never find him.

Would he ever? Perhaps that is a story for another time.