"Dinner!"
Ethan was sitting in his room, on his bed, when he heard his mother shouting. He hadn't eaten since breakfast, and that meal could barely be considered meager, what with it only consisting of some bread and bacon. Bounding off his bed, he made his way downstairs. He was eighteen, considered of age of in New Bark. He was taller than most kids his age, and was slightly muscular too due to farm work.
Downstairs was small, but livable. The kitchen and dining room sat in one corner of the room, and the living room was the other. A doorway led to mother's room. Dinner was already set - another meal of rice and mareep, the staple of New Bark. The slice of mareep was smaller than his palm and flat like a cracker.
As with any family, dinner between Ethan and Lily – his mother – consisted of small talk. However, the mood over this meal had sour undertones. Another tax collector came from Blackthorn earlier in the day. New Bark was a small, sleepy town where the citizens were mostly mareep shepherds, and the appearance of tax collectors usually made for big news. However, this was the third tax collector to come in six weeks, when some years one wouldn't show for months.
"How many mareep do we have left?" Ethan asked, breaking the silence. "I didn't have a chance to check after he left."
"Two," Lily answered. "The man said it was for another excursion into the Mahogany Prefecture. More food needed for the soldiers, more wool needed for winter excursions, and yada yada. He said that this time, Clair would personally lead the troops."
Ethan scrunched his face in disgust. "It's like they're trying to take our livelihood."
Lily shrugged. "I'm sure Clair has her reasons."
"Does she? What's the point of a Supreme Emperor if there is still fighting between the prefectures? Lance's whole shtick was that he would stop the fighting." Ethan swallowed a helping of rice. "Clair only gets away with this because Lance is her brother."
"Lance was the one that stopped all the fighting in Kanto a few years back."
"Yeah, but…" Ethan ran a hand through his hair. "Clair can only march her army if Lance gives his go ahead. You know that."
"You're not wrong, but – well, other's might not take too kindly to your tone. Clair is still the Silver Prefecture's governor, whether you like it or not, and Lance is still Supreme Emperor, whether you like it or not." Lily looked over her son with love and sadness. He was old enough to be a man, yet he was very much a naïve boy. His shaggy, black hair did nothing to disprove the notion. "You haven't been speaking to Professor Elm again, have you?"
Ethan froze up. "No, you said not to. Why?" That was a lie, of course. The last time his mother found out he spoke to the professor, she made a big stink about it. Afterwards, he vowed to be more careful.
"No reason in particular, just… no. No reason."
That was the same answer she gave last time he questioned her. He decided not to follow up. Placing his dishes by the washing bucket, he moved towards the door before his mother stopped him.
"Where are you going? It's almost dark."
"Going to Lyra's house," Ethan answered. He had practiced that line for hours while in his room.
Lily frowned. "Okay then. Just be safe. And make sure the mareep have enough water before you leave!"
As she watched Ethan walked out the door, she couldn't help but see him as that small, crying child from years ago. She always had that one distinct memory of when he was six. He was playing outside, too close to the mareep pen, when he annoyed one of the pokemon so much that it shocked him. Nothing strong, of course – mareep had miserably weak lightning shocks for an electric pokemon. Rather than back down and cry, Ethan kicked back, so the mareep shocked him again. While he could be hard-headed, Lily always admired his resolve. The world was harsh, and he would need that resolve and hard-headedness to find his way.
But, he was grown up now. And that stubbornness she admired seemed to drag Ethan down directions that, as his mother, disturbed her. Lily knew that Ethan had lied to her; he was not going to Lyra's house, he couldn't stand the girl. Frankly, Lily found the girl irritating, too.
No, he was going to Elm's house at the edge of town. She could not understand why her son and fallen in with the secretive professor, but the fact remained the same that he did. She knew that her son was sneaking off to visit the man for at least a year-and-a-half by now because Ethan suddenly had an interest in Johto's political landscape, whereas previously he had none. She wasn't sure what sparked that interest – it was certainly not from her or his walk-out father; it had to be from some outside source.
Lily gut sank every time she thought about Elm; something just seemed wrong about the man. Face-to-face, he was fine; polite, well-spoken, and quick-witted. But, there always seemed to be something hiding behind the surface, as if he was always scheming.
With a sigh, Lily cleaned off her plate and placed it in the washing bucket. Ethan was his own man, now. She could only pray that he made the best decision for himself.
It was growing dark quickly outside. The sun was below the tree line, but hadn't descended across the horizon just yet. The sky was a brilliant glow of yellow and orange in twilight. The shadows from the trees extended across the house, swathing it and the lawn in near darkness.
Ethan hated lying to his mother, but sometimes he had to do what was necessary. Of course, he was not going to Lyra's house; he found the girl insufferable. But, he knew that he had to honor his mother's instructions before leaving, he went around the house to check on the mareep. He grabbed a lantern sitting next to the doorway and lit it; he would need it on his walk to the professor's house.
Around back, the shadows were more severe, contributing to the depressing sight of the mareep pen. Two months ago, they had ten mareep. After the first tax collector came, they still had another six. After the second came, they still had five. But after today, it seemed that there were only two left. Two mareep in a pen built for at least twelve. Ethan scowled; it was pathetic.
Sure enough, when he checked on the water trough, it was running low. So, dropping his lantern, he headed towards the well. He had done the trip enough times to do it in the dark. It wasn't like anything changed between trips.
But, something was different this trip. As he was drawing water, Ethan noticed a silhouetted figure not even thirty yards away. After a moment of fixating on it, he figured it to be a person crouching on the ground. Even though the silhouette was beyond the pen's fence, suspicious activity was suspicious activity, so when he drew the water he needed, Ethan left to investigate.
"Hey, what in Arceus's name are you doing?" Ethan said as he drew closer.
The silhouette jumped to its feet. At first, Ethan thought it was a girl, what with its long, flowing hair. But, then he realized it was a man not much older than him.
The man, with his hands clasped together, eyed Ethan up and down. After a moment, he turned his back to Ethan. "Mind your business, kid. Next time you could get hurt."
"It is my business – you're acting weird next to my property." Ethan held the man's gaze.
In a flash, the man was standing over Ethan. Damn, he's fast, he thought as the man slammed his fist into Ethan's face. The next moment, Ethan was on the ground writhing in pain. He felt like he got hit in the eye with a rock.
After struggling to his feet, Ethan brought his hands up. But, looking around, he saw that the man was nowhere to be seen.
"Yeah, you better run!" He called out, but he didn't put much heart into it. His face was in serious pain. Walking over to where the stranger stood, he found a drawing on the ground. It had a series of rectangles and squares mashed together along with a couple x's and arrows around the periphery. It made no sense to Ethan, so as retribution, he mussed it up with his feet. That would show up the stranger for punching him.
Walking back to the water trough with a bucket of water in his hands, he found the two remaining mareep staring at him with their beady black eyes.
"Fat lot you assholes did back there," he muttered as he dumped the water in. The mareep meep'd in response.
Grabbing the lantern, Ethan headed back around to the front of the house. Lyra's house was to the south; of course, he wasn't going that way. Instead, he went east.
The streets of New Bark were thin, dirty trails that coughed up dust on the hot summer days and bogged down in mud during the winter rains. As it was summer, the roads were dusty, but no one had used them in a couple hours, so the dust wasn't too bad. The houses were spread out and quiet; some had farms behind, some didn't, and most were one-story shacks with overgrown yards. Ethan and his mother were on the wealthier side in New Bark. He couldn't imagine how worse off some of the denizens were holding up due to the taxes.
Everything seemed to be going wrong for New Bark this year: a winter drought and a freakish, early spring freeze crippled any potential harvests. People were already on the brink, and Clair thought she could come in and take what they couldn't afford to give up? Ethan's blood boiled at the thought. The warlords had always been demanding, but so long as people accepted their rule and minded their business, they could carry on in life. No wars; peace and quiet. That was the unwritten contract.
Something changed in the past year. The Daily Shepherd – the town's local paper – brought news of conflicts breaking out in the rest of Johto. The warlords of the Tin Prefecture and the Mahogany Prefecture started bickering over some territory between them, and somehow a small land dispute turned into a standoff. Old issues between the Cianwood and Olivine Prefectures rekindled; The Golden Prefecture decided to flex its muscle over Route 36, which greatly angered the Violet Prefecture; and, for some reason, the Silver Prefecture was taking an army into the Mahogany Prefecture.
And through it all, Supreme Emperor Lance did nothing. Ethan knew the rumors, everyone did. Lance had seized power three years ago under bizarre circumstances. Originally, Indigo Plateau was very briefly controlled by an up-and-coming warlord only known as Blue, but then he abdicated, opting to serve under Lance instead. Why Blue would willing give up power was beyond Ethan, but he heard it had something to do with a betrayal of his childhood friend, Red. The whole situation was surrounded by lies, rumors, and subterfuge. Even three years after the dust of the Kantonese Civil War settled, no one truly knew what actually happened behind the scenes. No one except Lance, Blue, and Red that was; only, the first two weren't likely to speak freely on the topic, and the third hadn't been seen since the war's end.
Yet, here in New Bark, it seemed like nothing had changed. Whispers of conflicts from the world outside the town's bubble spread from wandering mouths to curious ears, yet no one did anything about it. All the townsfolk did was gossip, bitch about the state of affairs, and then carry on with their day. As if there was no drought. As if there were no tax collectors. As if they weren't ruled by uncaring leaders. It infuriated Ethan that they were willing to tolerate it! Even his own mother didn't seem to care.
"People can still feed their families. There is conflict, yes, but there's no conflict here," she told him once when he broached the subject. "You'll understand the true value of peace when you're older."
Oh, he understood the value of peace. But peace was not a carrot to be dangled by leaders in exchanged for servitude; it was fickle and demanded constant attention to maintain its perseverance. It could be taken away at a moment's notice if one wasn't careful. Peace must be fought for.
At last, he reached the house he was looking for. It was massive; with three full stories, large double-doors, and two distinct wings, it was by far the largest house in New Bark. It was also at the farthest reaches of the town; any further east, and Ethan would be in the wilds of Route 29.
Despite the time of night, the building was fully lit inside. Not only was it the largest house, but it was also the only house with voltorb generators to power everything. Besides Professor Elm, there was no one else wealthy enough to afford such luxuries – even Ethan and his mother had to make due with candlelight at night!
"Professor?" Ethan said. His voice echoed down the corridors. The main entrance was marvelous; to his left and right entryways to the corresponding wings of the house. Before him stood a pair of stairways that led to a second floor balcony that overlooked the main entrance, and between the stairwells on the first floor was another door. "Professor?"
After a moment, the doors between the stairs slammed open. A slender man with short-cropped gray hair stuck his head out. The white sleeves of his lab coat drooped wide enough to fit another arm. "Yes? Who's there?" He focused his gaze on Ethan. "Oh, you're here! I was expecting you a half-hour ago. You're late. Never mind that, come with, come with."
Professor Elm disappeared behind the door, and Ethan quickly followed.
"My apologies professor. Had to do some chores for my mother."
"Don't worry about that now. I have an important task I need you to –" Elm stopped, and stared at Ethan's bruised eye, tracing a finger along it. "By Arceus, what happened here?"
Ethan brushed the hand away. "Nothing too bad. Just a scuffle. Some stranger was poking his head around the mareep pen. You shoulda' seen the other guy, though!"
"I'm sure you gave him quite the beating," Elm said. "Can you see okay?"
Ethan nodded.
"Good. I need you in good health – I have a very important favor I need to ask of you." The professor continued to look over Ethan's eye, his face maintaining a look of indifference. "Well, I don't think you have any major bone breakage. Of course, I'm saying this without any equipment. But I think you'll be okay."
With a nod of approval, Elm turned and continued walking down the corridor. Soon, they entered a room full of lights and sleek, metal machines that blinked different colors. Gas pipes along the ceiling coughed steam. It was Professor Elm's lab, and Ethan always found himself in awe each time he stepped inside.
"You said you had a favor for me; what was it?" Ethan said.
"Just a moment on that. Let me grab some ointment for your eye." Elm walked towards a messy desk covered in vials and other glassware. To Ethan, it seemed as if the professor was always on the move, always thinking of his next project.
"What did your mother need you to do before you got here?" Elm asked.
"Huh? Oh, nothing much. Just water the mareep trough. Of course, that was also when I met the guy that gave me this." Ethan pointed to his black eye. "By the way, if anyone asks, I'm at Lyra's house." Quietly, he added: "Mother really doesn't like you, you know."
If Elm was surprised by the comment, he didn't show it. He walked back over to Ethan with the ointment. "Here, take this. It won't stop the pain, but it will reduce the bruising. Put a dollop on your finger and massage it around the bruise. Your mother is right to worry about you, you know. She is your mother after all."
"I know," Ethan said while applying the ointment
"But we are a doing something of importance, too. We are acting for the greater good. Tell me, how many mareep were in your pen before you left?"
Ethan scowled. "Only two."
"Only two," Elm repeated, nodding. "Taken for Clair's nefarious purposes, I have no doubt. And when will the next shepherd arrive from Viridian?"
"I don't know. They should've came a month ago, but they never came."
"We can't all live like this, Ethan. You know that. Each warlord thinks they can take from the others, but not leave the rest for us?" Elm said. "That is why what we are doing is right."
"Could you tell me again about the old empire?" Ethan asked.
Professor Elm smiled. "Of course I can. Before there was Supreme Emperor Lance, before there were warlords, before there prefectures, before the Reckoning, these lands were united under one flag, one entity. They called it the Land of the Rising Sun, and its rule stretched from Hoenn in the south to Sinnoh in the north. It was a time of peace and prosperity, not petty squabbling and infighting that you see nowadays."
"And we are going to bring it back to those days!"
"Exactly. One land, one government."
"For Nihon," Ethan said.
"For Nihon," Elm repeated. For the first time since Ethan saw him that night, the professor smiled. "But first, we must start with Johto."
The professor turned and headed towards the large, domed machine at the back of his lab.
"Now, onto that favor I asked of you." Elm grabbed some documents by the machine and handed them to Ethan. "I have known you for some time now, and you continue to impress with your work ethic and commitment to our cause. It is time you took the next step."
Ethan's good eye widened upon reading the document. "This is a pokemon trainer license!"
"A counterfeit, but to most it will pass as the real thing. You have proven yourself to be excellent in commanding pokemon during our lessons, and you will certainly need those skills. Now, listen carefully: your task is to locate a Mister Pokemon. That's an alias, not his real name. I received a telegram – signed by him - from Cherrygrove two days ago. In it, he says he has a package for me and some information. Find him, retrieve the package, and get whatever info he has. Then come back and deliver them to me."
Elm paused for a moment before speaking again: "Remember, time is of the essence of a revolution. The moment comes and goes in a blink of an eye, and if you miss it, it may be gone forever. You must be willing to sacrifice if you want to see Lance fall."
"Understood." Ethan did not quite understand the professor's cryptic words; surely Elm knew that he would sacrifice anything to overthrow Lance? As he looked at his trainer license, something caught his eye. "It says my name is Gold. Why is that?"
"That's your alias. Too dangerous to go around using your real name, especially in our line of work. Don't worry: most trainers use a stage name on their license, anyways. You won't stand out."
Ethan nodded. A sensation swelled in his chest, one of excitement and nervousness. He had rarely left New Bark, and of the times he had, it was always with a group of people.
"This task shouldn't be dangerous, but you never know. So, that leaves us with one last thing."
Elm pressed a button on the domed machine, and it snapped open. Inside sat three pokeballs.
….
A/N: Thank you for reading. Reviews and Likes are always appreciated!