Chapter 1: I'm too cool
"What sorts of meanings do you think are attributed to this symbol?" A stuffy looking professor asked their assistant.
"Look, prof, I don't care. I'm only here to catch those 'unique and powerful' pokemon you were going on about." The young man leaning against a pillar spoke, looking bored. A green ball balanced on the edge of their finger.
"And I am TRYING to show you how to summon them! Now, pay attention! Ahem, each of these symbols is related to a specific pokemon. Yes, don't give me that look, each and every one has it's own pokemon attributed to it. Each one a symbol in their own right, a living focus for untold power. Weak as separate entities, strong as conceptual beings when wielded correctly, unimaginably powerful in unison. Infinite possibility. Imagine... " They continued.
"Now then, see here as I take notes, I am carefully avoiding touching any of the symbols in question. Even the slightest nudge might carelessly invoke their power."
yawn*
"WILL YOU PLEASE PAY ATTENTION!"
"Yeah, sorry. I'm listening." He lied.
"Oh fine. If you were listening so intently, then YOU can finish up here yourself!"
"What! Oh come on."
"No no, you're obviously the expert here. A model student if I've ever seen one! Go ahead, you finish up while I go have a rest! I'll leave you to it." The professor strutted off with a smirk.
"Fuck..." Putting away the pokeball and grabbing some paper, he trudged over to the ancient carvings and roughly slapped a page down next to some symbols.
"Wouldn't have to deal with this if you gave me my starter like a normal professor. All trainers start out at eleven years of age? Well I'm eleven years LATE!" He begins tracing symbol outlines with the practiced hand of a painter... and none of the patience.
Behind the young man floated a gathering of oddly shaped pokemon, watching the upstart intently.
"Why did I even bother coming out here? I'm too cool to deal with all this dust. I'd rather go try my chances catching something out in the ocean than deal with that old man."
Behind him, pitched voices rang out in chorus. Laughter? Words? Screams? It was hard to tell. All the same that he didn't hear it in time to stop what was happening.
C.H.A.N.G.E.
The man's hand pulled away from the wall's glowing runes as though he had been stung, red lines pulsated through his arm.
"Fuck! Professor! I need some help here!" They shouted into the dark, spying only the myriad of eyes chattering and swirling around him.
"W-what? Are those things? Guh, are you doing this?!" No reply, only more chattering. The strange pokemon pulsated in rhythm as the red lines overtook the man. He soon lost control of his legs and fell to the floor, crawling and grasping for air. No, for water!
Somehow he managed to claw his way to the exit, the morning heat bearing down on him far more than it did just hours before. Just south he spied the telltale reflection of light on the surface of a lake. Pulling himself along, agonizingly slowly, forgetting the strange pokemon and the magic coursing through him, he inched toward it. Maddening thirst threatened to overtake him entirely until a stream of that unknown pokemon burst from the cave and flew out into the sky, the force of their sudden departure sending him breaking through the mirror like sheen of the water.
The man sank, feeling all at once, relief... The red pulsing faded from view as the professor returned from his work.
"Boy! Where have you gotten off to now?" Picking up a sketch from the ground the man stood perplexed. "Well, at least he had the good sense to finish before going off to who knows where. Not a bad outline either. Honestly, he's got a future as my assistant if he weren't so stubborn."
Thinking no more of this idiot and his work habits, he gathered up his supplies and set about finishing the day's excavation. Surely it would be another glorious day of toiling in the ruins, just like every other before it.