Chapter 1: An Unexpected Meeting
Someone can never tell when a storm will begin, but they can always feel inside themselves the calm before that storm. This is was the case of Victor, a seventeen year old trainer from Postwick in the Galar Region, as he found himself walking through the Glimwood Tangle, a maze like forest, filled with enormous trees, reaching triumphantly upward towards the sky, blocking out all light below them. The light that guided travelers in the Glimwood Tangle instead came from glowing mushrooms that grew along the many roads of the forest, guiding, as best as they could, the travelers that found themselves wandering in these woods. The Glimwood Tangle was also filled with a large amount of mischievous, but never malicious, fairy, dark, and ghost type Pokemon, that loved to play tricks on the travelers passing through the Glimwood Tangle; these Pokemon would snicker and chatter as they confused the wanderers. They would perform their acts of mischief and then go back to hiding behind the great tall trees, or inside one of the large bushes that covered the forest. It was so strange then to Victor, on this night, that there was no chattering or snickering from the rascally Pokemon that occupied the Glimwood Tangle and neither were there any of the common pranks that the Pokemon frequently enacted. There was a sense of unease inside Victor as he walked through the Glimwood Tangle, and a sense that something seemed wrong. It had been many months since his last visit to Ballonlea, a small town in the north of Galar region just beyond the Glimwood Tangle, but Victor did recall the antics of the forest's Pokemon very vividly on his last journey, and began to wonder what was happening. He wondered if there was a malevolent actor out there in the forest, making the Pokemon feel unsafe; he wondered what form this haunting force would take—whether it was a human or a Pokeon. While Victor was a strong trainer that would never show weakness in an encounter, he hoped that he would avoid any battles on this night.
He walked through the forest on this night, his path through the forest illuminated by the giant glowing mushrooms. As he walked, he hovered his hand above the Pokeballs attached to his belt, for always in his time of need, his Pokemon were his greatest allies. Cinderace, Flapple, Frosmoth, Boltund, Dreadnaw and Dragonite were the Pokemon that he always carried with him, ready to command them at a moment's notice and find his way out of any battle or encounter, friendly or otherwise. As he walked through the dark forest, he frequently turned and tilted his head, looking out into the dark of the trees wondering what could be out there, hiding in the darkness away from him. Victor could not shake the feeling that something he did not expect to see was out there in these woods. He continued on, using his skills as a master trainer to keep himself calm; despite the worrisome thoughts in his mind, Victor knew in his heart that no matter what happened, his Pokemon would be there to protect him.
Victor walked up to a crossroad and a choice laid before him, to turn left or to turn right. There was a sign that labeled this correct path to go, but the writing on the sign had been scratched away by the mischievous Pokemon of the woods. He tried to recall which path he took on his last journey through the Glimwood Tangle, but in this moment, his memory failed him. His heart rate began to beat slightly faster as he stood still in the forest. Victor felt like he could not linger for too long in one place. He made the split decision to take the path going right. He turned his body towards that direction and began to walk. A sheen of nervous sweat formed on Victor's face as he walked down the path. Now, instead of hovering his right hand over his Pokeballs, he placed it on the Pokeball belonging to his Boltund, whose agility and power would be able to get Victor out of any situation. He walked further on, his path still illuminated by the mushrooms. Second guessing thoughts flooded his mind and he began to wonder if he had taken the wrong turn, and this was instead a path what would lead him to the evil force haunting the Glimwood Tangle this night. Instead of turning back, Victor summoned more courage and strength and continued forward on the route that he had chosen.
Further and further he walked, down the mysterious path he had chosen, until suddenly, he heard off in the distance a rustling of leaves and loud snap of a twig that must've been laying on the ground. He stopped dead in his tracks and assumed a defensive stance; he planted his feet into the ground and held his arms up in a fighting stance. Victor quickly grabbed Boltund's Pokeball and held it in his hand, ready to summon his ally at a moment's notice. The sound of the rustling leaves went away and instead were replaced by footsteps that sounded like those of a human. Victor stood steadfast as the footsteps began to sound closer and closer; he gazed out on to the faintly illuminated path, trying to see what it was that was coming towards him, his heart beginning to beat faster like the wings of Scyther. He squinted his eyes and looked before, and saw a bright pink colored figure coming towards him in the midst of all the surrounding darkness. He relaxed his arms and his legs but the tension within his body did not vanish. The figure clothed in pink came closer to Victor and soon he was able to recognize who it was. It was a boy around Victor's age, clothed in a bright pink sports jacket and shorts. The boy has pale white skin, curly platinum blond hair, and deep purple eyes. Above all, however, the most notable feature about the boy was a look of smugness on his face. The boy in pink clothing spoke out to Victor as he came closer.
"What do we have here? An ex-champion of Galar wandering the Glimwood Tangle all by himself at night? What could you possibly be doing here?" questioned the boy walking closer to Victor. Victor placed Boltund's Pokeball back on his belt and relaxed his body. The boy stopped walking a few yards away from Victor and stood before him with a strong look of ego. He placed his hands on his hips.
"You've looked like you've seen a ghost," noticed the boy, looking at Victor's uneasy countenance. He crept forward further towards Victor, a sly smile forming on his face.
"Are you really that scared of me?" he asked further with a playful tone. The boy's voiced was honeyed; it was very soothing on the ears and had many feminine qualities about it.
"Agh, no Bede, I've never been scared of you, and I never will be," replied Victor, annoyed. His heart rate had finally.
"Oh? Well what's got you in a fright then?" asked the boy named Bede further. He inched up closer to Victor and then began to walk slowly in circles around him, shooting Victor a mischievous smile.
"Ah, nothing," complained Victor looking around suspiciously at their surroundings, "It just feels so eerie right now... it feels like something is not right here." Bede stopped walking in circles around Victor and turned his head to him; he squinted his eyes.
"It feels like something is not right in the Glimwood Tangle?" questioned Bede curiously, "if that's what you think then I would have to agree with you. It's been so mysteriously quiet in these woods for weeks that the townspeople have started to become worried about it, which I as the Gym Leader of the Ballonlea Gym have to taker seriously. But that reminds me, Victor, you never answered my question. What are you doing here?" Bede gave Victor a confused look.
"I'm traveling to Ballonea," answered Victor truthfully. He remained steadfast during Bede's inquisition.
"And you decided to walk your way to the town in the middle of the night, wandering through the tricky Glimwood Tangle?" questioned Bede, scoffing. His sly grin grew larger on his face. He seemed to enjoy asking Victor all of these questions.
"Why didn't you just call a cabby to take you to Ballonlea? I'm sure it would've been easier," continued Bede. There was a pause in the conversation as Victor took a moment to respond.
"I like walking to places. It' s more fin to make everything a journey," stated Victor confidently. He continued to vigilantly look out for trouble that could come from the shrouded trees of the forest.
"Ah, so you're still are avoiding human interaction and connection," remarked Bede, "you're still running away from everyone, even after all this time, aren't you?."
"And what about it?" questioned Victor, his annoyance becoming more and more obvious.
"Oh, nothing," Bede replied, placing his hands on his hips once again, "I just think it's a little sad is all. Some things about you won't ever change it seems—just like your horrible taste in fashion" Bede remarked at Victor's appearance and clothing; he looked up and down Victor, his eyes lingering on the boy's red sweater and white colored beanie, woven from Dubwool wool. Victor only scoffed and rolled his eyes at Bede's response. Annoyed at Bede's continuous questioning, he wanted to turn the questions on to him.
"You said the townspeople of Ballonlea were concerned about the Glimwood Tangle. Why is that?" questioned Victor assertively. He looked into Bede's enchanting purple eyes with intensity.
"Hmm, always wanting to play hero, aren't you," remarked Bede. He turned his head away and tilted it towards the ground and closed his eyes. He sighed in exasperation. "I guess it only makes sense—ex-champion of Galar and all. I suppose you think you're held responsible to help everyone who comes your way."
"Just spit it out already," interrupted Victor impatiently. Bede turned his head back to Victor and look at him disapprovingly.
"Uh, I-uh, fine," muttered Bede angrily and sensing the seriousness in Victor's voice, "the townspeople of Ballonlea have become worried about the Pokemon in the Glimwood Tangle—they no longer see them when they walk these woods themselves. They've noticed a severe lack of their wonderful pranks and mischievous laughter for weeks now, especially at night, and are wondering what is the reason for their absence. And now I, as a responsible Gym Leader, have heard the pleas of the townspeople and am now trying to figure out what is going on."
"Well, do you have any ideas so far?" asked Victor, "because something is seriously going wrong here. It feels so... weird here, like there's a sadness within the Pokemon, almost like there's something hurting the Pokemon here and they don't want to come out at night." Victor looked around and noticed the stillness of the forest. He could feel an abnormal worry in the air around him.
"Agh," grunted Bede with frustration, his sly grin disappeared, "no I haven't. This is the first night I've started investigating."
"Hmph, some diligent Gym Leader you are," responded Victor.
"Hey! I've got a lot to do!" exclaimed Bede, raising his arms in protest, "I've got so many things to do at the gym that you wouldn't understand—or rather you would understand if you were still champion." Bede said the those last words hoping they would annoy Victor, but he noticed no change in the boy's expression.
"It doesn't matter," declared Victor, "what matters now is that we try to find whatever it is in this forest that is disturbing the Pokemon. I've been thinking that it could be an aggressive Pokemon, a large one that is an invasive species."
"We?" questioned Bede, a look of frustration dominating him, "there you go again trying to always be the hero, Victor. Some of us don't always need your help. I think I'll be able to do this by myself!"
"Are you seriously denying my help right!?" shouted Victor angrily, his pale cheeks turning red from the blood rushing to them, "Pokemon could be in danger right now and you're refusing help! Screw off!" Victor felt a swelling of anger inside him at the irresponsibility of Bede and he clenched his fists. A look of rage began to form on Bede's face and he once again threw his hands up in protest. He opened his mouth as if to respond to Victor, but before he could, a loud, piercing sound cried out from behind them, in the direction that Victor had walked from, and it hurt both of the boys eardrums, leaving a ringing sound in their heads. They both crouched down to the ground, holding their hands over their ears. Victor recognized it as the sound of a Pokemon in agony.
"What was that?!" questioned Bede, his eyes wide open and his heart racing. He stopped couching and his turned his head towards where he thought Victor was but instead saw that boy running quickly towards where the sound came from.
"Hey, wha—hey!" cried out Bede, confused. He started running after Victor, using all of the strength in his skinny legs to catch up with the boy. They both ran quickly up the path, the glowing light of the mushrooms guiding their way in the darkness. Their shoes stomped with great strength on the ground below them and their breathing became increasingly faster as they ran as quick as they could.
"Hey! Where are you going?!" exclaimed Bede, using all of the air that was left in his lungs.
"That sounded like it came from a Pokemon," replied Victor out of breath, "it sounded like it's in trouble. C'mon let's go help it!" Victor tilted his head down used all the strength he had in his legs to move faster. The sound of the Pokemon echoed in his ears; he thought of the devastation he would feel if it was one of his own Pokemon that was crying out in pain like that. Just a little further up the path Victor could spot the Pokemon. He recognized it as Morgrem, the fairy and dark type Pokemon. It was laying next to a glowing mushroom on the side of the road, seemingly lifeless; not a muscle seemed to be moving. Victor quickly ran up to the still Pokemon and knelt down on the ground beside it. He noticed that something was different about this Morgrem—it was a shiny Pokemon. Instead of pink skin and dark hair, this Morgrem had deep blue skin and silvery white hair. He was shocked by the unique and rare beauty of the Pokemon.
"Ah, w-what's going on with it?" asked Bede out of breath. He leaned over and placed his hands over his knees to relax his breathing once again. Victor rolled over the Pokemon which had been laying on its side. He placed his hand gently over its heart.
"W-what... i-is it?" asked Bede with fear in his voice. He did not even want to say the word. Victor held his hand over the Pokemon's heart for a few moments, worry beginning to set in the longer he didn't feel a heartbeat, however, he did eventually feel what he was looking for.
"It's alive," said Victor, with relief in his voice, "but its heartbeat is very weak." Bede was comforted to hear those words and let out a sigh of relief. He walked over to Victor and the Morgrem and knelt down on the other side of the Pokemon. There was a look of sadness in his eyes.
"I've always wanted to see a shiny Morgrem in person," stated Bede, a small tear forming in his left eye, "but I didn't want to see one like this."
"It's awful," said Victor, feeling choked up as well. He held the Pokemon's hand in his, grasping on to it tightly to try and let it know that it wasn't alone. Morgrem remained unresponsive.
"What do you think happened to him?" asked Bede, looking solemnly into Victor's bright brown eyes. Victor didn't respond right away; his eyes darted back down to the Pokemon's body, trying to find clues or evidence of a struggle or a fight. He noticed on the side of Morgrem's body a set of eight short but thick needles that had punctured the Pokemon's body and remained lodged inside. The needles had incredibly thin strings of wiring coming out of them, and seemed to have been torn away from the rest of the strings. It seemed like Morgrem had slashed the strings attached to the needles. What was most suspicious to Victor was how deep the needles had penetrated the Pokemon; it seemed to him like they came from a projectile weapon, something like a taser gun. The only people who walked around with taser guns were Pokemon poachers, some of the most dangerous and depraved people in the wold. Poachers preyed on wild Pokemon, having no moral qualms or dilemmas, and using any means necessary to capture the Pokemon they wanted. Once a Pokemon was captured, the poachers would sell, traffic, or harvest body parts from the Pokemon. They were evil, and truly dangerous people that would not hesitate to severely harm someone trying to stop them. Victor placed his finger on one of the needles and it warm to touch, as if it had recently been fired; his heart sank. He tilted his eyes back up.
"Bede, do you know if the Glimwood Tangle has an issue with poachers?" asked Victor softly.
"Poachers! You think they did this!" exclaimed Bede. The very mention of poachers made Bede spiral into rage. The pale skin on his face became red from the angry hot blood filling his face.
"Shh, quiet," demanded Victor, shushing the boy desperately, "I don't think we're alone. Us and Morgrem could be in very serious danger." Bede became quiet and the look of anger on his face soon turned to one of worry. They both looked each other in the eyes, realizing that they needed to leave as soon as possible. Bede quickly grabbed Morgem and gently held him in his arms. Just as they were about to get up and leave they could hear only a short distance away, an unfamiliar voice. Victor's heart leapt out of his chest.
"I think it went over here. The tracks lead this way," said the voice. To Bede and Victor's ears it didn't sound like a normal human voice. It sounded like it was being distorted by some kind of device that was lowering the voice's tone and octave level; to their frightened ears it was the most horrifying they had ever heard in their life. Since Pokemon poaching was highly illegal, most poachers went to extreme lengths to protect their identity. Victor stood still for a moment, in shock, wondering whether he and Bede should run as fast as they could now or if he should fight the poachers with his Pokemon. Trusting the power of his bond with his Pokemon was became determined to fight; he placed his hand over his Dragonite's Pokemon, ready to stand firm against what came his way, however, Bede had a different idea.
"What are you doing?" asked Bede in a hushed voice, "we need to hide—we can't fight right now! This Morgrem is seriously injured. C'mon, let's hide in those bushes." Holding Morgrem in his hands Bede moved into the bushes of the forest, trying to get as far away from the road as he possibly could without making too much noise. Victor snapped out of his fight mentality and followed Bede into the bushes, trying to brush away any tracks that he, Bede or Morgem might've left behind. He followed Bede away from the road and they both laid down on the ground, as quietly and as still as they possibly could, shrouded by the darkness of the forest and covered by the thick leaves of the bushes. Regardless of their ability to expertly hide, Bede still felt like a moron for wearing bright pink on this night. As they laid there, they could hear the sound of two pairs of heavy boots walking down the path. Both of their hearts began to race. Because of the way that the two boys were laying down on the ground, within the bushes, the could not see the two people walking down the path, however both Bede and Victor heard them, their terrifying voices distorted by what ever device they were using.
"That little shit is around 'ere somewhere," declared one of the voices in an accent thick enough to hear, even with the voice distorter, "the tracks lead here. They end right about here."
"Then where is it?" asked the other voice assertively.
"I dunno, but it's around 'ere somewhere... I can feel it," said the first voice.
"Then shut up and look for it!" shouted the second voice angrily, "We're not leaving here empty handed tonight! If the tracks end here then it's probably gone off the trail. You look over on that side and I'll take a look over here."
"Sounds good boss," agreed the first voice. The two poachers moved away from each other, going in separate directions. Both Victor and Bede could hear their heavy footsteps move around, one pair of them heading right towards them, coming closer with each footstep. The poacher moved closer to where the two boys were hiding, but rather slowly; he swiveled his head and searched every area thoroughly with a flashlight before taking one more step, determined to find the Pokemon he was after. Victor's heart rate began to quicken; he tried to keep his heavy breathing quiet in order not to be heard by the strange human approaching them.
"Victor," whispered Bede in a panicked and hushed voice, "Ballonlea is to the left of us. We need to make them go to the right so we can escape them." Victor realized what he needed to do; he grabbed a large stick that was laying beside him and waited for the right moment. As the poacher approached Victor and Bede they could both see the blinding light of the flashlight that the poacher was using. He turned to the left and right searching in all possible directions for Morgrem. Victor grasped the stick hard and was ready to throw it; the poacher turned his head and his body to the left one more time and then Victor suddenly, and as quick as he could, got into a crouching position and threw the stick as far as he could to the right. It landed a long distance away from them but made a loud sound as it brushed through the leaves of the bushes. Victor quickly laid back down on the ground, not moving a muscle and not breathing to make himself hidden.
"Hey! Did you hear that! Over there were might have something, haha!" laughed the voice evilly.
"I'm on it boss!" shouted the voice furthest away from Bede and Victor. The two boys could hear the heavy boots of the two poachers running away towards the sound that they heard. As soon as they poachers got far enough away both Victor and Bede knew they had no time to waste and quickly got up off the ground and ran as fast as they could towards Ballonlea, not daring to look behind them for even one second. They ran as fast as they could, Bede leading the way, all the way up to the sign that Victor had passed earlier. They quickly sprinted in the opposite direction that Victor had chosen earlier, which was the correct way to Ballonlea. Running with all of their might, and with no breath in their lungs they made their way out of the Glimwood Tangle and were on the road to the town. Still, they dared not to look back and only went forward, away from the poachers and towards the Pokemon Center which was where they intended to take the injured Morgrem. They ran past trees and bushes, and as they got closer to Ballonlea they ran past buildings. One of the buildings caught the eye of Victor; it was a massive mansion painted a bright and sterile white. It was behind a large stone wall, seemingly guarded from the public on purpose, and it was built on a large plot of land of seemingly privately owned land. Despite the bright white color of the mansion, it gave Victor a chill down his spine, and he could feel a foreboding sense of darkness and dread from it on this night.
Both Bede and Victor continued to run as fast as they could, starting to run out of energy from their long sprint out of the Glimwood Tangle.
"Only a little further!" exclaimed Bede with what little air he had in his lungs. He was exhausted by carrying Morgrem all of this way.
"The Pokemon Center is just up this way!" he continued with determination. They had reached the heart of Ballonlea, surrounded by the town's old and whimsical architecture.
Victor had finally reached his destination this night. The calm was over and the storm had arrived.
Author's Note: Thanks for reading this first chapter. I plan on updating this story as frequently as I can. Please a leave a review if you have any feedback. Thanks again!