Let's Play Pokemon White: A Different Take on the Same Old Story

[Innis Cabal]

I called this a Let's Play though I suppose a Travel Journal with pictures might be more appropriate. I won't be taking shots from the game, instead I'll be using fan art and official art in equal parts to illustrate between "chapters". I'm sure this story is going to be a little less then original to begin with but I hope those of you interested enough bare with it as it grows and shapes itself into something that, once again, I hope won't be to dull and overdone.I suppose without further ado we should start this thing.

Spoiler

Show

I wrote this book to tell the whole story, the truth from start to finish with no glossing over’s like the news media would like to tell you. My names is White, Champion of the Isshu league and while a lot of you think you know my story you really only know what you’ve seen thanks to Channel 1. The true story has to be told regardless of the good or bad, the people have to know what really happened three years ago atop the Isshu League and the events leading up to it. I was there from the start when Team Plasma showed their face to the world and I was there to put them down at the end to. But events didn’t go like you heard, and I suspect you bought this book because you wanted to hear the real story…I wrote my jounry down in a journal…thought maybe when I had kids I could let them read it if they ever got the notion to become a Pokémon Trainer. I was asked by a friend to get this published, to ease it out of my system. He thought it’d be therapeutic I guess and maybe he was right but at this point it’s hard to tell. The journal was filled with a lot of needless info, battles I had out in the woods against people who had no right to own a Pokémon, training with my own team and the like and for the sake of this being concise I’ve left them out. Only the cold hard facts and the most important events are here, bits of my journal along with a fairly well summarized history of events remain.

Day 0: The Start of it All

It was a long day I guess, a lot of prep work and festivities I really wasn’t interested in. My mother had cleaned the house…a rare event for sure and invited Cheren* and Bel’s* families over for a huge meal. We had shabu shabu or we would have if my mother had remembered to buy the ingredients at the market instead of the three packs of smokes and a handle of Gray Ducklett. We ordered out for Sinnohese and the adults had some small talk while Cheren and I went upstairs to play a little wii. Bell came to but we’d long since asked her not to play, it was too embarrassing and consoling her took more time then we could really afford to over a simple game. Besides, it was the last day Cheren and I would get to spend together and while Bel was a sweet heart I’d wanted the last day before we were forced out on our adventure to be the two of us. I accepted the reality of the night like I’d accepted the news that I’d be traveling across Isshu for Dr. Araragi, with quite acceptance. We ate in relative silence, my mother on her second glass of soda and Gray Ducklett while Cheren’s parents talked on and on how great it was we were finally grown up and taking our journey. Bel’s parents were oddly silent. The night ended with a drunken rant from my mother how she couldn’t understand why I didn’t want to go, said it was a family business to go out and make a name for yourself on the road. She said I reminded her of Dad, and despite being well armored against the slings my mother shot out from the bottle…it still stung.

My mother was an ex-Pokémon trainer, having traveled across Isshu about twenty years ago. She’d met my father in Nimbasa, he worked at the local Gym’s power grid to earn enough to send himself to college though he was a trainer on the side. Not sure how the meeting went or how the relationship evolved from there, they weren’t on speaking terms for most of my childhood and when my father left to Johto for some big lawsuit against a criminal organization known as Team Rocket my mother seemed to have finally lost what little was holding together. She’s lost at the Pokémon Championship three years in a row, falling to the then Champion each time by a technicality whatever that means. When she’d come home to settle down for good with my father, I think the fire she had as a trainer slowly sputtered out and died. The drinking came after I was born; the strain on the family from my father’s firm forced us to move out of Nimbasa and into Nuvema Town. The move was hard on Mom according to Dad, and while they got on well in the new town, it wasn’t the vibrant or bustling atmosphere that reminded her of the last vestiges of her traveling days. She’d tried to set up a Gym but the League declined her application several times, and the fee’s started adding up. I thankfully don’t remember those days well, only going off stories from Dad before he left, a warning from him I think…I didn’t take it. Even if my mother was a drunk wishing for days long past she was still my mother, that had to count for something right? Bel’s family had tried to get me to move into their house a few times but there was just no convincing me…I think it’d have been the end to her if I left like Dad, but was close enough to see and deal with every day. I honestly couldn’t do that to her so I waited it out. I figured with the money my dad had saved I’d be able to go to college, get a job and move far away from Nuvema Town, maybe move to Johto and find Dad. But that hope was dashed on the rocks before it was ever fit to sail.

A letter came from Dr. Araragi a few weeks ago, something about her Pokedex project and how she wanted me and the other two “kids” in the town to assist her, she made it sound like a summer job but it was the last shovel of dirt for my mother. Most days she’d come home from the market, make something to eat and sit in front of the T.V watching clips from her fights at the Elite Four or the new contests. Screaming and cursing were the paint she used on her canvass of self loathing but when I’d got home from the final day of school she’d washed up, the usual cigarette that hung from her mouth was missing and the house was clean. The meal on the table didn’t smell like rotten cabbage and spoiled meat…something was up for sure. We sat and ate in silence but I knew she wanted to tell me something, but all she did was slide that letter in front of me before moving to clean the dishes. I sat there and read the note…cursed her and cursed the good Doctor for all they were worth. She was in a good mood because all my evading the life of a trainer had all come to one complete and ugly train wreck in the well intentioned desires of the good Doctor. I was sure a note had been sent to the Doctor in my handwriting, my mother had long ago learned to forge everyone handwriting in the Town, and my struggling and rebellion was at an end. To add to it this was the first time in years I could remember my mother looking happy, did I really want to send her back into the wallowing mire that was her booze filled replay of her life? At the end of the night and a phone call to Cheren I decided I couldn’t do that. He was always there for me, Cheren, and despite his serious attitude he had a caring nature deep down. His parents had immigrated to Isshu before he was born from Kanto, something about wanting to get away from the hustle and bustle that was quickly consuming the once rural region. Kids always picked on him at school growing up for his accent and his glasses…I got into a big fight on the playground with Chandler Halley after he’d knocked the poor kid over. Got three days suspension and a black eye for my trouble but you should have seen Chandler. After that Cheren and I became great friends and though we never really knew when it happened Bel joined us in our merry little gang. She was a bit of a cry baby back then to, always worrying over things and losing her place which seemed to drive Cheren a little loopy but looking back on it we had fun.

They’d received letters to, but unlike my case they’d took the bait and leapt at the opportunity to see Isshu and receive a Pokémon of their very own. They both knew my feelings on the issue of becoming a Trainer, I think that’s why I hadn’t’ heard anything from them before my mother dropped the bomb on me and while I had yelled and blamed Cheren at first, I quickly apologized and felt like a right jerk for doing it. The next couple weeks flew by, my mother relapsing every now and then into her usual self but over all life at home had become oddly pleasant. It was like living in a dream and there were a few times there I really thought that my father would come walking through the door and we’d be a normal family again. That didn’t happen and for a few days there I sat in my room and brooded. Cheren and Bel tried to get a hold of me the whole time but I actually ended up breaking my phone. When I finally came out of my funk they were both pretty upset but they never really said anything else about it to me. Cheren and I went and got lunch and Bel came over that night to fail horribly at the latest game I’d gotten for my wii. My mother woke with a vengeance the next day, screaming and throwing bottles around how I wasn’t preparing for my journey, that I needed to train and learn everything I could because if I didn’t I’d never win the Championship. Me going to Victory Road was never part of this deal, but deep down I knew exactly why my mother was so excited but I’d hoped if I kept my mouth shut she’d have let it blow over until I was out of the house and out of the Town before she had the notion to bring it up. I was wrong once again. She’d dug up all her old manuals, training techniques and various strategies. She gave me detailed maps of every location she could find though it wasn’t much help. She drilled me night and day for the next two weeks, denied me sleep and food when I got an answer wrong and there were a few times I really thought she’d finally lost enough sense to hit me. She never did, and at times she’d revert to that kind self I’d seen when the note came which made the whole ordeal more jarring.

The last few days leading up to that horrible dinner were the worst I ever think I had to go through. My mother remained in the house and denied Cheren and Bel from coming over until the very last day before we all took off. She told me they’d be my rivals that I’d have to fight against them if I wanted to be the Champion, that a Champion didn’t have friends or anything like that. They had their Pokémon and themselves and that was it. They were isolated from the world and from their past, that’s what made them strong. I guess by the end, deprived of sleep and food and on edge from the mood swings my mother went through like the weather in Goldenrod City that the crazy seeped through a little. My best friends were going to want to fight, that was the whole point of being a trainer but I guess I figured Cheren and I were to close for that and Bel was too much of an air head to really go through with it. I guess that’s why the comment at dinner finally did me in. The last straw my strung out mind could take and it caved like one too many Bouffalant on a wooden bridge. It was the first time in ten years I cried and after the already awkward dinner I think it was too much for Cheren and Bel’s parents to bare. They took their leave after thanking my mother for dinner but by that time she was in full swing, screaming and throwing things about the house. No one looked me in the eye as they left. That’s how I spent my second to last day at home, listening to my mother’s rampage downstairs while I curled up in bed, the weight of the last three weeks finally crashing down on me like an avalanche.

Illustrations

Spoiler

Show

Cheren

Bel

Chapters

Prolog: How I met your Mushara
Chapter One: Gray Skies at Morning, Pokemon Trainers Take Warning
Chapter Two: Route 2 is Paved on Good Intentions
Chapter Three: Dream a Little Dream of Me
Chapter Four: Halcyon Days

Other Information

League Rules and Pokemon Types

Special Thanks

Da Mongoose: Title Picture
Readers Like You: Who keep this crazy dream alive.

[Terry576]

Well this looks interesting.

Very interesting. I like how White's mother is dying inside the best.

[AtlanteanTroll]

Very wordy for an LP, but when I'm in the mood for some fan-fiction, I'll come back (I did read this entry but more w/o pics could be tough for my attention-span...).

Anyway, one thing I noticed that ALWAYS bugs me. It's spelled Johto, not Jhoto. Sorry.

[Innis Cabal]

Whoops, that was my bad. I wrote this fairly early/late depending on what you consider four or five AM without any sleep so there might be some errors. I did go back and scan over it but again with no sleep so might have missed some things.

This is going to be fairly wordy, and while I called it a Let's Play...there's really no other word for what it's going to be. I am going to be playing through the game and writing at the same time...so in a manner it is a Let's Play but I don't really have the time or desire to screen capture (Nor do I have the ability to do so) so words and art will have to do.

Thanks all for reading

[AtlanteanTroll]

Whoops, that was my bad. I wrote this fairly early/late depending on what you consider four or five AM without any sleep so there might be some errors. I did go back and scan over it but again with no sleep so might have missed some things.

This is going to be fairly wordy, and while I called it a Let's Play...there's really no other word for what it's going to be. I am going to be playing through the game and writing at the same time...so in a manner it is a Let's Play but I don't really have the time or desire to screen capture (Nor do I have the ability to do so) so words and art will have to do.

Thanks all for reading

Aye, it's understandable. It's ust going to take some time (well, for me and, I'm assuming, others like me). Anway, how old are White, Cheren, and Bell suppose to be? In the game they're like 12~ but they seem older here.

[Innis Cabal]

They're older then 12, I'd say around 16+ here. I was also was under the impression that the characters were a bit older then previous editions.

[AtlanteanTroll]

They're older then 12, I'd say around 16+ here. I was also was under the impression that the characters were a bit older then previous editions.

I think 12 (could be 14, but that's max) is older, as you were 10 before.

[ThePhantom]

This should be interesting.

[Lord Loss]

Very, Very, Very interested. The wordy style really fits the approach... I assume you won't be using any screenshots? or will you include a few?

[Innis Cabal]

No screen shots but I'll be posting pictures and illustrations I find appropriate for the post itself.

Thank you all for reading

[Innis Cabal]

Chapter One: Gray Skies at Morning, Pokemon Trainers Take Warning

Spoiler

Show

The next day started easily enough, my alarm clock woke me to the sun filtering through the lone window in my room. I remember breakfast being an even more awkward affair then the night before, my mother having cleaned up and it appeared she had bought a new outfit just for the day. Breakfast was okonomiyaki though true to form my mother’s legendary inability to cook shone through and what could have been a good breakfast to leave on ended up burnt on the bottom and soupy on top. The culinary nightmare was accompanied by a slew of rapid fire question and answer style tirades from my mother, quizzing me on all the things she thought I’d need to be a good trainer and thus making an already unpleasant breakfast nearly unbearable. More mail came for me, I guess the good Doctor had decided to make this event even more public and humiliating then it already was. When the news that Akiyoshi Mayumi’s heir was taking his journey hit the airwaves fans of my mother went ballistic. Little did I know that for the past three weeks my mother had been receiving mail almost every day which I was certain put the local postal office through their paces. I suspect it was one of the many reasons she kept me locked up in the house for as long as she did. It was mostly letters though from the looks of it money had been a big portion of the gifts from her adoring fans judging from the new outfit she wore.

But someone had also decided a cruise was what my mother needed to celebrate such a happy event in her life, I could see the gaudy red and blue tickets from the breakfast table, sitting on the kitchen counter like some obnoxious chatot that refused to shut its trap. The only reason I’d noticed them in the first place was because they were sitting under my backpack which to my surprise was stuffed to bursting just from the look of it. It seemed my mother had been quite busy in the early morning hours, and while I’m sure the pack wasn’t filled with anything terribly useful it saved me the trouble of getting food and supplies for the first leg of my journey. The other object that drew my attention was a large suit case with the good Doctors insignia, and while I could guess as to what was inside I didn’t dare investigate for fear it would fuel my mother into some scheming rant on how I should take the entire case and leave my friends in the dust. After all, she’d spent hours telling me how as soon as we hit the road we’d never be friends again. She told me of my Aunt, her sister, and how they hadn’t spoken for almost twenty years because of their journey. She of course went through the whole song and dance of betrayal and revenge against one another as they vied for the Champion title but in the end it seems neither one of them won it. Instead the title went to a man named Adeku, a name that was spit forth with such venom and hate I feared the words would take form and puncture my chest like a blade of grass in a tornado. Little did my mother know I’d actually met my Aunt several years back just as my father was leaving for Johto, though I can’t say she made much of an impression, the meeting was fairly icy all around.

She didn’t say a word about the tickets or the pack, cleaning and humming about the room from the night’s tirade and subsequent throwing match versus the wall. I lent a hand just to speed the process up in silence, even if it was the happiest day of her life all it meant for me was a forced march across the country against my will. I had convinced myself over the weeks that at the very least it was a paid for road trip that would let me see some of the places I wouldn’t have had a chance to, and of course an excuse to get as far away from Nuvema Town as possible. I took my pack and the suit case up the stairs, trying to tidy my room idly though I honestly don’t know what possessed me to do it. It wasn’t like I was coming back an time soon, and even if I did I could always room with Cheren and his folks. Regardless of what was running through my mind it carried me to the afternoon swiftly and before I knew it Cheren had arrived. He played a little wii and talked idly but it was clear his excitement levels started to peak as he eyed the suit case. Cheren was hard to read sometimes, he was usually so quiet but when he got excited everyone knew instantly. Despite his level of eagerness Cheren was nothing if not honorable so we waited for Bel to arrive. Unfortunatly she always managed to slide in late to anything ever in her life and today was no exception. She came bursting into my room with a hail of apologies and bowing, her face flushed and her clothing muddy. No doubt she ran all the way here in her excitement and managed to trip in a mud puddle. By this point I no longer cared about the state of my room, a little mud no longer bothering me though had it been any other day I think I’d honestly have been a little irritated at her. Thankfully my mood had shifted because what came next would have pushed me over into a rage.

I opened the suitcase, three pokeballs sitting on a velvet mat, cradled delicately by the soft fabric like new born babes. A picture of each of the Pokémon sat on the other half of the suit case, hanging over the pokeball they were held in. The three were Oshawott, Snivy, and Tepig, I’d heard these were the most common starting types given to fresh trainers, but thought nothing of it until now. The three formed a perfect triangle of strengths and weaknesses. Snivy was a grass type Pokémon which was strong against Oshawott which was a water pokemon, which in turn was strong against Tepig which was a fire type. The triangle was finished in that Snivy was weak against Tepig. Cheren had suggested I get the first pick since we were doing this in my house, but I think he suggested it because he knew unlike himself and Bel I had no real desire to be doing this in the first place. I really didn’t care which I picked, the Pokémon was just an animal after all. I closed my eyes and picked at random, and I can honestly tell you now that I tell you this in shame. I ended up with Snivy but before I could investigate my new pokemon Bel powered through and grabbed a ball of her own. I guessed she’d go for the Oshawott, the thing was admittedly pretty cute and she was a sucker for sad looking animals but I felt bad Cheren didn’t really get the option to decide on his own. He said he wanted the Tepig from the start, and while I didn’t think he lied I think he’d wanted one of the other two as well and he’d not decided at the start. With our Pokémon chosen we went about calling them out of their balls, investigating them and fussing over them. Despite my mother’s teachings on what Pokémon were for, I felt a tug at my heart strings even then at the anctics of my new “friend”. The thing was inquisitive, searching around the room swiftly and tearing apart my hard work in a minute or less. Sadly his rash attitude seemed unable to keep his energy up and he swiftly hid under my bed. Bel had taken to her Oshawott like a fish to water, already crying out for a battle. I tried to persuade her to fight Cheren first but she was adamant that her Oshawott wanted to fight my Snivy. I had to fish the thing out from under my bed to find it snoring loudly, just to keep her quiet.

After he woke up, my Snivy seemed fairly in line with the others in the room, posturing and strutting about with a swagger in his step. The fight was swift to say the least, Bel spending more time fussing over her Oshawott’s fur after each attack from my Snivy then commanding it to retaliate. Once our battle was finished Cheren tended our Pokémon’s bruises, but the fight stirred in him the urge to fight as well and as he released his Tepig it seemed the fight in the air was infectious. Our battle was more fitting for the word, his Tepig was strong and for a minute there I thought I was honestly going to lose. My mother would have had a heart attack on the spot and it was no small consideration toward that end that I almost threw the fight. But in the end my Snivy was victorious in its first two combats. It would have celebrated more I think but it passed out on the floor. I returned it to its ball before surveying the damage to my room. Both fights had made what was an immaculate cleaning job into a disaster zone. My bed was broken in two by Cheren’s Tepig, and I could swear before we all left I saw a chair hanging from my ceiling fan. Cheren being the person he was wanted to inform my mother about the mess, at this point I could have cared less.

We ran into my mother at the foot of the stairs where she spied on the whole fight. She patted Cheren and Bel on the head and sent them on their way, the three of us agreeing to meet at the good Doctors later. My mother seemed near to busting, congratulating me on my victories. She handed me my x-transceiver and told me she’d clean my room while I was out. I didn’t waste time, moving through the small town to the Doctor’s lab. Most of the time it was empty, the Doctor was a bit of a jet setter, traveling around the world with her research. She was a bit of a hometown hero for most and even I had to admit she was quite the celebrity when she did come home. When I arrived at her door I was met with only Cheren, Bel had rushed home for something and hadn’t come back. It fell to me to go and get her, and as I trudged off again I heard a snap, my Snivy seeming to have figured out how to get out of its pokeball. I tried to return it but it seemed fairly content to walk, or at least until it got to tired and tried to sun itself on a rock despite it being the start of winter. I quickly retrieved it and placed it on my shoulder where it seemed happy enough, curling up and trying to keep warm. The scene at Bel’s house was less pleasant, her father finally breaking his silence in a serious way. Bel sat near to tears as I walked into the house, her father’s face the color of a beet as he ranted and screamed incoherently. What little I caught made it sound like he wasn’t happy about his daughter’s decision, though her mother stood up for her when she spotted me and ushered us out the door. Bel’s parents were nice folk, simple farmers that had made a small fortune after finding a diamond mine on their property which the Isshu government bought off their hands. We walked together, the silence between Bel and I punctuated by her soft sobs. I transferred my Snivy to her shoulder which seemed to perk her up, the little things were important. Cheren had remained at the door, waiting for us to reach him before opening the door. The Doctor was waiting, pacing the floor nervously though perked instantly when she spotted us.

She assaulted us with questions and her vivacious actions, Bel’s already fragile state cracking fully into tears. I had to explain the situation though the Doctor assured us she’d handle Bel’s father. Cheren leapt to the chance to answer the Doctor’s questions while I stood in silence, taking in the room. Machines blinked and whirred loudly, the laboratory air hot and dry. A small house was built into the laboratory, fully furnished though quite small compared to the other homes in the town. I faded out in all the action, coming to as my Snivy nuzzled up against my cheek and crying out softly. Doctor Araragi was waiting patiently, smiling knowingly at me…that smile bugged me then and bugs me now. The woman may have been a vibrant beauty with a mind filled with knowledge unknown to the world, but she was also a few crayons short of a full box. She asked what I wanted to name my Snivy, her tone noting it was probably not the first time she’d asked. I blushed then as a mix of embarrassment and shame filled me, getting scolded was always bad but to be scolded under hand and by a woman who couldn’t have been much older than me stung a little. I hadn’t thought of it in all honesty, in the whirlwind of events and the lack of food and sleep, the idea of a name for an animal seemed like a luxury. I asked for some time, which the good Doctor gave of course, seeming more interested in explaining how the pokedex operated. It was a miniature wireless computer that detailed information on pokemon through a scanning tool built into the device itself. It catalogued it’s cries and gave as much information as it had complied each time you accessed a picture. We scanned each other’s first Pokémon though the information was fairly sparse. With our business concluded we decided to go out and learn how to catch some Pokémon of our own at Route 1, the good Doctor accompanying us to give us some pointers. My mother way-laid us on our walk, no doubt spying on us, which I was quite certain she would do as long as she could stay within a reasonable distance of the house. She thrust a more complete and current map of Isshu at us, giggled and ran off. The whole event was a little perturbing and I think even Cheren and Bel who were used to my mother’s often times manic episodes walked away feeling a little uncomfortable. My mother was not in the habit of giving gifts even to me, so it came as a surprise she’d gone out of her way to get them maps of the region as well. Added to the fishy event was my knowledge of how she felt about them now that they were my “rivals” though I kept that worry to myself. I wouldn’t have put it past my mother to sabotage their maps and I’d turn out to be correct though that’s a story later on with little to do with the events that unfolded after running into her in town.

The Doctor got ahead of us swiftly as he talked about everything we’d learned up to this point, Cheren mostly acting as “tutor” for the most part and before we knew it we’d hit Route 1. Bel got it into her head we all had to step out onto the Route together as a group to which we complied. Doctor Araragi caught a Patrat though released it on the spot after her demonstration, handed us some pokeballs of our own and headed off to the next town over, leaving us to look out at the expansive Route all on our own. I stared up into the slate gray sky, feeling my Snivy crawl under my shirt for warmth as a cold wind started to blow, leaves dancing in the air like so many dreams long since gone in the wake of a destiny I didn’t want. It was a clarifying moment as I looked up at the clouds, a single word coming to mind as I fished out my Snivy from my shirt.

“Haiiro…Your name will be Haiiro.”

The words didn’t seem a great revelation to him as he crawled back up my sleeve into the warmth. What little I knew then, that one statement can shape the foundation of the world around itself, and my sentence spoken out of an innocent attempt to clarify this moment, to steal it from everyone else that had thrust it upon me, had consequences I could never see coming.

Illustrations

Spoiler

Show

Pokemon

Snivy


Oshawott


Tepig


Patrat

People

Dr. Araragai

Items

The Pokedex


Pokeballs of Assorted Type

Location and Map of Isshu

Isshu


Current Location

[ThePhantom]

Nice work. Very good.

[Xondoure]

I'm liking it a lot so far.

[Lord Loss]

Nice! Also, the images of Cheren and Bel don't work anymore.

[Innis Cabal]

Thanks, all the links should be cleaned up and the first chapter is edited. I'll try to edit before posting from now on but it looks like they'll be finished late in the evening no matter when I start on them in the first place.

I'm working on a more complete format for the chapter and the illustrations as well, the one above is the one I'm thinking of sticking with so any feed back on it would be greatly appreciated. Chapter 1 came out a bit longer then intended, I'm trying to keep them all within three to four pages in Word but I won't cut them short should they go longer.

Thanks again for everyone reading along Your words of encouragement mean a lot.

[Innis Cabal]

New title picture has been added. Thanks and credit go to the amazing Da Mongoose.

[XiaoTie]

Despite the lack of screenshots, this is AWESOME. No, seriously, it is! And it breaks the trend of the "anti-hero" main character I've seen in some of the pokemon's let's play around the boards.

Keep it up!

[Innis Cabal]

Thanks a lot, I'm glad you're enjoying it

[Innis Cabal]

Chapter Two: Route 2 is Paved on Good Intentions

Spoiler

Show

Route 1 wasn’t much of a hike; the majority of it was separated by a large river system that fed into the ocean making it impassable without some manner of boat or a Pokémon to ride on. The routes after 1 on that side of Isshu weren’t part of the Trainer’s path, so it didn’t really matter at the time to go down them. Accumula Town was the next town over, holding the joint Nuvema/Accumula grocery store and home to a Pokémon Center. Despite the distance I rarely had time or cause to go. Our school also shared it’s classrooms with Accumula and there were talks of merging the two Towns together as they were growing faster than anticipated though no one really had made a move on the legislation. Even now they’re separate entities though the writing seems to be on the wall for their eventual merger. I hadn’t been there in years and I can honestly say I was a little excited to have the chance to finally leave Nuvema Town on its own even if I could see both Towns in the distance if I looked north or south respectively.

Despite the small distance I had to travel I took my time, investigating the tall grass and even chit chatting with some other new trainers from Accumula Town. None of them wanted to battle though I was honestly thankful for that, I had no desire to really train against other Trainers at this point. My investigation and purposeful meandering brought me into a pack of Llipup, most of them scattering when they caught wind of me. One in particular stood its ground, and since it was my job, I sent my Snivy to battle it before eventually catching it in one of the pok balls the good Doctor had given me. I caught a Patrat of my own alongside it before finally deciding it was time to meet up with Cheren and Bel in Accumula Town. They had gotten ahead of me it seemed, Bel cheering over her newly caught Lillipup though if it was from the same pack I had encountered I had no real way of knowing. Cheren was patiently waiting as was his wont to do and as I approached he gave me a warning look though it was too late. Bel had caught sight of me, rushing over with her two Pokémon in a flurry as she tried to show them off. I hid my pokeballs to make her feel better and tried to brush past her to Cheren but she was in rare form. She challenged the both of us to a catching contest but I didn’t feel inclined to play games with the lives of animals and showed her the two I had caught before running into her. She wanted to give me a prize but I just patted her on the shoulder in hopes of distracting her. The ploy worked and before long the three of us were underway to meet up with the good Doctor.

Accumula Town is a bit larger then Nuvema despite their close proximity, and in the time between my last visit and that day it’d grown even larger. The pokecenter was merged with the town store and it loomed over the rest of the buildings like a friendly giant that was posed to crush the city under it though purely by accident. The complex was made mostly of glass standing three stories tall with a bright crimson roof that glittered in the winter sun. The design gave a fairly good view into the store and the hospital that ran twenty four hours as well as the store that sold the most common brand name goods from around Isshu and the adjacent regions. The hospital was for the human population though it also seemed to be an emergency room for Pokémon as well. I could see exotic Pokémon that my pokedex couldn’t identify undergoing treatments, their trainers fretting about nervously. Haiiro stirred under my shirt and I wondered if I would have the same reaction should he grow ill. The rest of the town had a grown up around it, the buildings ranging from small single floor ranch houses to two story apartment buildings made of brown weathered brick. Unlike Nuvema Town which went for a natural look with sweeping lawns and gravel roads, Accumula Town was mostly paved giving the entire place a fairly well manicured though constructed feel. A park sat in the center of town built on a large hill, allowing even the buildings built on the lower planes to have a nice view from the top stories. Where Nuvema Town kept an air of small town unassuming complacence, Accumula felt…busy in a way I can’t quite describe. The streets were fairly empty but the place had a hustling feel about it which made me quite certain that the rumors it was expanding faster than they could build up were true. It was an oddly nice feel after the boring atmosphere that pervaded home, but I had little time to soak up the natural flavors as the good Doctor was waiting patiently for us in the Pokecenter.

It was just Bel and I who met up with the Proffessor, Cheren having already spoken to her it seemed. She took us through the store and the hospital before finishing up at the Pokémon Hospital and computer terminal. The Pokémon Hospital wasn’t a building or room set aside for the care of a trainers Pokémon, it was a machine that sat quietly and neatly behind a counter along with a nurse who seemed quite happy to take our Pokémon and heal them for free just as a demonstration. I still have no idea how the machine works but its powers are nothing short of a miracle. It takes up to six Pokémon, as long as they remain in their balls, and heals them fully of cuts and bruises and even cures of them of harmful ailments such as poison. I admit even I hadn’t known about it or the computer terminal that would allow us to access any Pokémon we caught after our first six. The Leauge had fairly stringent rules on how many Pokémon a person could carry at any one time, forcing trainers and regular people alike to carry no more than six at a time. Any Pokémon caught after that was transferred to a region sweeping network via the pokeball itself that would store them in a location of the person’s choosing. The technology was fairly cutting edge, placing the Pokémon into stasis where they’d merely sleep and dream thus easing the burden on the trainer from having to feed them or take care of them. I had to admit it sounded a little cruel at first but no Pokémon seemed to dislike the system though I figured it would be difficult to gauge how they felt if they were asleep the whole time. The good Doctor assured us they were in no pain and with the recent improvements to virtual reality; they didn’t even know they were in a computer. Bel of course inquired about this and the good Doctor was more than happy to explain. It seemed someone in Isshu devised a system that would create a large “island” of data the Pokémon would be booted into. Once there, they’d be unable to tell the island they were placed on was any different than a real world location of similar size and habitat. It eased my conscious I must admit to hear it, knowing they at least got to move around even if it was just in their mind. The good Doctor also revealed that studies were underway to improve the island and not just make it a small program in the system but a fully fleshed out digital world the Pokémon could physically move around in once uploaded to the program itself. Technology is certainly wonderful. Bel went off afterwards and I was set to follow until Doctor Araragai took me aside. She gave me another ticket, telling me unlike the other two my pokemon would be placed on an actual island that was owned by my parents back when they were trainers themselves. The island had been cleared for some time, awaiting my journey. I figuring when I had the time I’d check the island out once I’d caught more Pokémon but that thought sounded odd to me. Even I knew they weren’t objects to simply “capture” and “collect”, they were living breathing creatures and even if it was my job to capture them and help the good Doctor study them, I endeavored to find another word for what we were doing.

I thanked her and then went and looked for Cheren but I found far more then I had ever anticipated. The heavy hand of Fate deciding that that instant was the best time to strike, the events of this story start here and the consequences of those events as well no matter where they for better or for worse. Some display was going on in the small park that sat in the middle of Accumula Town, a large crowd having already gathered and as I stepped closer I could just barely make out Cheren. The event hadn’t started yet and as I moved closer I seemed to have caught Cheren’s attention. He motioned me over and we chit chatted for a bit before music blasted from some unseen speakers. Oddly dressed men and women walked out onto the park, dressed in gray and black body suits with a white tabard with an emblazoned shield with a blue P in the center. Only their face was visible, and it seemed they’d dyed their hair orange or at least what little was peeking out from their odd costume. The ensamble parting and a man in even stranger clothing stepped forward, his hair clearly dyed a deep sea green. He wore an eye piece over his left eye, his cloak a mismatch mosaic of colors that honestly was a bit garish. He said his name was Ghetsis of Team Plasma, an organization that sought to make the world a better place for Pokémon. The crowd stirred at the phrasing of the man’s statements, talking hushed amongst themselves with worry and confusion. The man continued on with his clearly rehearsed speech, saying Pokémon were beings of unlimited possibilities and that humans abused them and kept them from their true state of perfection. He said that Team Plasma’s goals were to establish a world just for Pokemon, that they’d take them from their trainers and the wild and set them in a world apart from the humans that harmed them no matter the stakes before imploring us to consider his statements and to see “Reason”, to give up our Pokémon willingly because it was truly what they wanted. It was utter crap, all of it and as the strange group packed and left the people in the crowd muttered and talked louder now that they wouldn’t interrupt the odd goings on’s. Neither Cheren nor I cared to debate or argue against any that actually agreed with the nonsense but all the same I think we were both a little angry. Not just at the people but at ourselves most of all. I think it dawned on Cheren as well as myself that we weren’t just studying rocks or inanimate objects, we were going out and catching living creatures and what that actually meant. Haiiro continued to stir under my shirt, and even if I didn’t know fully then the inkling that myself and my friends were protecting and helping another living creature added a bit of maturity to the situation that hadn’t been there before.

We went out for a light dinner, Bel joining us a little while after we’d ordered our food. We talked and chatted as the sun went down about odds and ends, where we were headed and what we were going to do there. The next Route was Route 2 which would take us to Striaton City and our first Gym. We had little information to go off of about our first Gym Challenge but Cheren and Bel seemed excited none the less. Trainer’s goals outside of the one the good Doctor handed us was to challenge the Pokémon League, but not just anyone could waltz up and challenge the Elite Four any old time they wanted. The League set up eight gyms in the eight largest cities around Isshu each with a theme and run by eight of the strongest trainers from around the region itself. The Elite Four were the ruling body of the League, overseen by the current Champion at the time, each the five strongest trainers in the entire region. If you could beat eight gym leaders there was a chance you could make it past the Elite Four and challenge the Champion directly though few made it past the Elite Four at all. It was a serious TV event whenever anyone managed to beat two of the Elite Four, the entire event televised and free to watch so long as you had a TV or radio if you wanted to listen. The League had even gone global, allowing people to watch the events over their x-transceivers though a small fee was tacked on by the x-transceiver service. Each gym hands out a badge that acts as a mark of entry to the League, though many trainers use them as a way to show off to their peers. I remember once as a kid I found my mother’s Badge Case, the colors and shiny lacquer over them made them look like oddly shaped toys to my eight year old self. I’d taken them out to play with but when my father caught me he acted as if I had shot someone, sweeping me up and putting me in my room as he hastily cleaned up. I had a long talk that night with my parents on how they weren’t toys, and didn’t get dessert that night either. We finished eating and Bel went off to rent us some rooms for the night, the sun already low on the horizon though Cheren wanted to go for a walk around the town before we moved on in the morning. I went with him just for some company, Haiiro under my shirt having long since passed out from the warmth though I had saved him some food I hoped he’d at least eat. I didn’t really know to much about the eating habits of Snivy and was a little worried on how to go about figuring it out since the pokedex had no information on it.

The walk was pleasant enough, Cheren and I talked about our pokemon and the training we were going to do to prepare for our gym battle. We didn’t notice as a boy about our age approached until he shouted at us. We stopped and I quickly scanned over him. He couldn’t have been much younger than us, his face youthful and oddly pretty with a jovial smile and bright eyes. His hair was a strange green color but it looked natural, hanging down his waist and covered in a black ball cap. He dressed fairly plainly in a pair of khakis and a dress shirt over a black undershirt. He was effeminate but not too much so and gun to my head I couldn’t honestly say he was that bad looking if in a fairly normal way. But the normal part ended when he opened his mouth, his voice a little high in a youthful way that cracked and changed pitch. He asked us about our Pokemon, my Haiiro having peaked out of my shirt to see why we’d stopped moving. Cheren of course went and opened his mouth and explained everything in one long stream of information that I think overwhelmed the boy though it didn’t seem to matter since all he caught or wanted to catch was the word pokedex. He spouted the same stuff “Team Plasma” had spouted earlier, about how Pokémon were mistreated and how putting them in pokeballs was cruel and wrong. I wanted to point out that he had one in a pokeball as well but it seemed he beat me to the punch, releasing a Purrloin and challenging me off all people to a duel. He said he wanted to hear my Haiiro speak though it sounded a little more like he was just a lunatic than anything else. The fight went swiftly all things considered and he handed over the duel money happily though left on more of the strange “Save the Pokémon” routine. Cheren and I decided to hit the Pokecenter before heading off to the hostel that Bel had found to settle in. They didn’t sleep much; the energy was still high for them and their trip but myself and Haiiro passed out pretty quick after the days series of victories.

Illustations

Spoiler

Show

Pokémon

Lillipup: Fred


Purrloin

People

Team Plasma


Ghetsis


N

Location and Map of Isshu

Isshu


Current Location

[ThePhantom]

Interesting. Nice explaination of the weirdos of team Plamsa.

[Innis Cabal]

Thanks I can honestly say I wasn't to happy with this submission but I re-wrote it and hopefully the finished product came out OK. I do second guess my work from time to time.

[Innis Cabal]

The League Rules

1. Should a Trainer find themselves without shelter on their travels, they are allowed to ask the nearest home to give them safe housing for up to eight hours. Any time after eight hours can be granted on the home owner’s discretion. Should a Trainer cause undue stress or harm, the homeowner may exercise their full rights to remove the offending Trainer.

2. No Trainer or common person can carry more than six inhabited Pokémon on their person at one time. Those found violating this law are subject to a fine not exceeding 200,000 Yen.

3. Trainers must present all eight badges to the League officials to gain entry to the Victory Road

4. Unofficial Badges are not recognized as legal tender to gain entry into Victory Road. Creation of false Badges will be met with fines not exceeding 500,000 yen.

5. The League is not responsible for harm befalling Trainers on Victory Road

6. Trainers may not steal other Trainers Pokémon. Failure to obey this law will be met with immediate incarceration upon proof of failure to comply.

7. Trainers may not use their Pokémon to harm other Trainers or people. Failure to obey this law will be met with immediate incarceration upon proof of failure to comply.

8. Upon presenting Gym Badges, Trainers may access exclusive goods at Pokemarts that sponsor League Charter.

9. Trainers cannot turn down a Trainer Battle nor can they run from a Trainer Battle once it’s started.

10. The losing Trainer in a Trainer Battle must forfit over earnings not exceeding half their current earnings.

11. Trainers may work other jobs while on their League Journey but may not earn more income from side jobs then they earn during Trainer Battles. Earnings exceeding this total become taxable as appropriate.

12. Gym Leaders are permitted to leave their Gym though failure to indicate such activity to the League will result in the removal of Gym Leader status.

13. The League can exercise the right to acknowledge another Gym Leader for any chartered Gym.

14. Gyms much be affiliated with a corresponding Type from the seventeen known Types. Gyms owned by former Champions are exempt from this rule.

15. Current Champions are prohibited from running a sanctioned Gym during their time as Champion.

16. Champions are permitted to leave their position so long as they leave a proxy in their place. Proxies can confer the Right of Passage on any able to defeat them while the current Champion is away.

17. Any Trainer with the Right of Passage may challenge the Champion without battling the Elite Four upon his or her return.

18. Champions beaten by a Trainer with the Right of Passage cannot claim Ex-Champion Status.

19. Trainers and the League are not exempt from international law and can be called on by the International Police Services during a time of Emergency to act as Deputies of the Law.

The Seventeen Pokémon Types

Normal: Pokémon resembling real world animals

Fire: Pokémon that harness the power of fire or found in inhospitable, hot climates. A common type for beginning trainers

Water: Pokémon found in bodies of water such as fish. A common type for beginning trainers

Grass: Pokémon that either are made up of plants or bare a close relationship to nature. A common type for beginning trainers

Electric: Pokemon that can harness electrical currents

Psychic: Pokemon with above average intelligence, quite rare and powerful

Ice: Pokemon that often live in frigid climates or are made of ice

Dragon: Pokemon baring resemblance to Dragons, typically quite powerful with near legendary status

Ghost: Pokémon that are either the ghosts of deceased Pokémon or merely spiritual entities

Dark: Devious or abnormally violent Pokémon, a fairly rare type.

Steel: Pokémon typically made from metal, marked for their high defensive natures

Bug: Pokémon resembling real world insects

Rock: Pokémon made from rock or having a strong relationship with the earth

Ground: Pokémon most often found in caves and underground, shares a close relationship with Rock Type Pokémon

Fighting: Physically powerful Pokémon, they often resemble humanoid shapes.

Flying: Pokémon with the power of flight, often birds of some variety

Poison: Noxious or toxic Pokémon, often times just as harmful to their trainers as Pokémon

[AtlanteanTroll]

Isn't N suppose to be older then the player?

[Mando Knight]

Isn't N suppose to be older then the player?

Unknown.


My question, though, is why you use a hybrid of the two sets of names: Bel, Araragi, and Isshu rather than Bianca, Juniper, and Unova, but using the English names for everyone else.

[Innis Cabal]

@N's Age- I've changed the character's age and N was at least close enough in appearance to the other characters I didn't feel it'd be much of a stretch.

@Naming-I'm accustomed to referring to those three as their Japanese names but I was also going to use the Japanese names for Gym Leaders and the Elite Four since I didn't edit their names to the English version. The only character name that's been rendered in English is Ghetsis and that was simply for ease of writing since I'd need to Copy/Paste ē each time I wrote about him. Since he was a fairly prominent character and it breaks writing flow to stop and copy/paste it, his name was left in English. I could work my Word filter to auto-correct that as well, but since he's been introduced as Ghetsis I will probably stick with that name instead.

I play in spurts and write, though use a bit of prior knowledge from my first play through and artistic license on things to fill in the gaps and flesh out the story. Because of this, the names of the Pokemon I catch are fresh in my mind in English, thus they get written down in English. The only reason the é comes through is because Microsoft Word auto-corrects it in.

The City/Town names being in English is because despite character naming, I am trying to keep everything else in English. Maybe it all seems a little arbitrary but there's a method to the madness.

[Innis Cabal]

Chapter Three: Dream a Little Dream of Me

Spoiler

Show

I woke up in the morning and got some breakfast with Cheren and Bel before they went on ahead to Route 2. I went and bought some more pokeballs and a few items for Haiiro and went and trained in the early morning though my team seemed pretty powerful as is. The Routes in Isshu are separated by small tunnel like buildings, each with a help desk and a moving screen that displayed the temperature, weather and general conditions of the Route and upcoming city. Route 2 is another small route between Accumula Town and Striaton City though it’s overrun with trainers from the immediate area. I got out of the tunnel and before I could even scan the Route fully my x-transceiver started to ring. My mother had called me, telling me she had a “present” but before I could ask what it was she hung up. I was relieved for a moment before I heard her behind me, shocked of course I whirled around to see her face to face. She had followed me…and before I could even say anything she thrust a pair of new shoes at me. I’d never seen them before but she swore she had found them while she cleaned. I took them and thanked her before she ran off. I wasn’t a dummy and after she left I went off the trail a little and let out Fred, my Lillipup. He tore into them with a fierce determination that I’d honestly never seen before in a Pokémon. Moments later a pile of fuzz and scraps were all that was left, and as I sifted through it I found what I had feared. She’d bugged the shoes, a small chip blinked merrily and thoughts of crushing it in my hand flooded my mind before a devious thought took its place. I grinned, the first ounce of freedom tasting sweet like candy as I went wading into the tall grass. I found a Purrloin and after a brief battle I knocked it out and attached the chip to it. My mother could track a wild Pokémon for a while if she wanted. I went about catching a few other Pokémon, a Purrloin of my own that I named Mikey though the forest seemed fairly silent considering all the trainers around.

I battled a few of them as I made my way through the Route, they were fairly good for beginners though I think my edge was a bit unfair against them. Their Pokémon were obviously caught on Route 1 and Route 2 and while they put up a good show in the end my Haiiro was just a grade above them. This delighted him to no end let me tell you and as we moved through the Route he chirped and climbed over me in a frenzy. I tried to calm him down, knowing full well by now he was just going to tire himself out but it was no use. He had it in his little head that he wanted to expend his energy. Just as Striaton City came into view I saw Bel at the city entrance, clearly waiting for something. I slowed my approach, trying to rouse Haiiro from his inevitable slumber before walking up to her. She greeted me and asked if I wanted to have a picnic with her and her Oshawott and though I wasn’t in a hurry I wanted to get into the city and at least find a shower since I’d missed it in the morning rush to get back on the road. She was adamant about it like she was about anything that got into her head so I relented under the pressure. We talked for a while as the morning sun moved to the afternoon and the chill wind picked up. She’d made egg salad sandwiches and bought a few soda’s, she’d clearly been waiting all morning for me to come down the path since the soda’s were warm and the sandwiches were a little slimy. She was thankfully a good cook, and despite the lukewarm food it was a pleasant rest. Haiiro and her Oshawott played and tussled about the blanket she’d laid out making what I figure they thought were threatening noises at one another. Bel thought it was hysterical but I figured it wouldn’t last long before the two of them fell asleep. Our talking turned to Cheren, it seemed he had headed into the city after waiting for me to scout it out and hadn’t returned. Bel always blushed when speaking about him though at the time I really never thought about it. She blushed at everything at the slightest provocation. We finished our meal and collected our little warriors before walking back to the city entrance. I asked Bel if she wanted to test out the Pokémon she’d caught up to now and without even the slightest hesitation she agreed. I beat her without a scratch to my Haiiro though I think he got a few lucky shots out, I felt a little bad at Bel’s haplessness though she honestly had improved since the day before. She thanked me and made her way to the Pokémon center while I went about to investigate Striaton City.


The City was huge compared to Nuvema and honestly I felt a little small standing on the paved streets between the towering gray brick buildings with their dark blue roofs. It was a common understanding that a Trainer taking the League Challenge was allowed entry into homes if the owner was alright with it. The law was created so that traveling Trainers wouldn’t be left out in harsh weather; a few Trainers back in my mother’s time had died from exposure during the winter and had caused one heck of a stir for the League. I didn’t want to abuse the situation but I explored the inside of a few houses and had some nice chats with the residents. I was nervous at first doing so but the ones who answered the door were always quite polite and kind. I was given a towel and another lunch by a kindly elderly couple before I was rushed off to the shower. Their grandkids played with Haiiro and I think he quite liked it. The atmosphere was pleasant, nothing like home, only two days into my journey and I was enjoying not having to stay in that oppressive house. We chatted for a bit longer before I took my leave of the couple’s house though they told me if I was ever through the city I would always have a bed. The old woman even asked me to call her Grandma, it was a little weird but I still stay in contact with them to this day. They shoved food in my pockets and pack to bursting as I fled their honest and good natured hospitality, and as I finally got free from the grasp of the well intentioned couple I struck out back into the city. I wanted to challenge the gym right away so I could enjoy the city more but as I made my way up the stairs a man wearing dark sunglasses stopped me. He told me the Gym Leaders weren’t in and that I’d have to wait to challenge them. He advised me to go to the Trainer Academy to brush up on my A game in the mean time with a wide sneer. I’d have been insulted if the idea I needed to brush up on my “A Game” wasn’t so laughable or for the fact that he also said that the Gym Leaders taught classes there and I might be able to request a match from one of them if I found them. I grudgingly hiked the way there though I was a little miffed I’d been repulsed so swiftly.

I found Cheren at the Trainer Academy but the Gym Leaders were nowhere in sight, though I really didn’t know what they looked like. The idea there was more than one was a little strange as well. Cheren wanted a battle as well and his Tepig was in top form, nearly beating Haiiro with some well timed strikes. I was a little worried my winning streak was at an end so swiftly though I pushed through all the same. Cheren shared some berries he’d found with me, saying that a Pokémon was permitted to eat them in battle and that they had curative properties, Cheren was always good with academic knowledge like that. I shared some food with him because I honestly had to lighten my load and let him go, still fairly disappointed that the Gym Leaders were nowhere to be seen. I kicked around the City for a while, even finding an abandoned location the locals called “The Dreamyard” though it was overgrown with thick vegetation I couldn’t push through. Some trainers had taken up squatting in the area in hopes to catch some rare Pokémon but I didn’t see any evidence that Pokémon were even in the area to begin with. I battled the few that were there and made small talk with a fairly nice young lady who offered me a “once in a lifetime” opportunity. She said that for the simple price of watching me battle, she’d give me a Pokémon just like that. I’d told her I’d already beaten all the trainers in the area, so she handed me a pokeball with some bubbles etched on the top in lapis lazuli. A Panpour was inside and before I could ask about it the chick was gone like smoke in the wind. It was a little disconcerting but I pushed it out of my mind and went back to the elderly couple’s house to sleep.

I spent the whole next day training on Route 2, not wanting to get rusty and to learn about the Pokémon I’d just caught. Before I noticed night was fast approaching and I figured I’d give the gym another shot before waiting till morning. I lucked out and as I stepped into the Gym that snide old man assaulted me with a bottle of water. Called me “Champ in the making” and told me I had a shot at making it to the big times. The guy was a sycophantic jerk for sure and I brushed past him. The gym had a strange theme; it was a restaurant and a Gym all in one. People were eating their meals and the waiting staff had poke balls attached to their aprons. A waitress informed me that the unique nature of the Gym allowed people to view battles while they enjoyed their meals and that the Gym Leaders were the top three chefs and servers of the restaurant. It seemed weird but I saw Cheren and Bel eating so I made to go join them. Before I could reach them though a waiter challenged me to a duel which I of course accepted to the cheers and hopeful looks of the patrons, until the battle was over and I won of course. The rest of the battles went more or less like that until a strange green haired man stepped in my way. He seemed most interested in my Haiiro and before I could say anything he whisked me to the very back of the restaurant, clearly the most posh area if the patrons were any indication. Two other people were there, a fiery headed young man and a dark blue haired boy, all dressed the same. The hair had to be a dye job; those colors were just a little too outrageous to be real. They introduced themselves as the Striaton City Gym Leaders Dent, Pod and Corn and before I could inquire what parent would be so unkind as to name their own child after a grain they sized me up and told me the rules. I’d only have to challenge one of them but it would be dependent on what starting Pokémon I’d received for my journey. My Haiiro was of course present and accounted for so it didn’t take them long to decide who I’d fight. It ended up that I’d be fighting Pod and as per the rules we decided on a two on two battle, each picking two of our Pokémon to go up against the other Trainer. I picked Haiiro and my Panpour Gojyo and the battle was set. He sent out a Lillipup and after a little stalling Haiiro executed a one hit K.O via a well placed Vine Whip. Pod sent out a monkey like Pokémon of his own, my Pokedex claiming it was called Pansear, clearly related to my Panpour. Not to be outdone I sent Gojyo out and just as the round before it was a wash, literally, for Pod. I received my Trio Badge and thanked the three of them before going and joining Cheren and Bel at their table. Dent, Pod and Corn joined us and we made small talk for a while before the restaurant/Gym closed for the night. Dent gave me a Technical Machine before I left but I didn’t have a whole lot of time to investigate it.

Pokémon learn moves naturally over the course of their growth, unlocking their hidden potential as they learn and grow, but sometime in the past some scientist decided that power needed to be harnessed. No one knows the process that first made the Technical and Hidden Machine’s but they’re a fairly integrated technology in the world today. Technical and Hidden Machines are small laser disks that attune themselves to the infrared scanning in Pokeballs, allowing Pokémon to learn moves while they’re in suspended animation. Due to this though, the League allows a single Pokémon to use only four moves during League matches, otherwise Pokémon would be using twenty or so moves and cause a good deal of destruction to the surrounding area. Hidden Machine’s were unique in that they were recognized by the League as any move helpful to a trainer and helped traverse dangerous terrain with ease. Rules were put in place to make such moves more difficult to attain, otherwise trainers would bypass most of their actual journey through their use. Badges, among other things, also allowed you to boot up and teach Pokémon the information on the Hidden Machine disks. The Trio Badge allowed me to teach and use the Cut Hidden Machine though I didn’t have it to teach. That would change swiftly, I soon found out.

I left Cheren and Bel to fend for themselves that night, planning on heading back to the nice old couple to take them up on their offer of a nice warm bed, but it seemed fate once again was going to tug me into a series of events that would have untold consequences down the road. A young girl in a lab coat was walking on the road opposite to me, a pink flower hair clip in her hair. One she spotted me and Haiiro she rushed towards me in a flurry. She introduced herself as Makomo, a lead scientist in Pokémon Dream Technology and something called the C-Gear, an device that would allow the owner to access a global network with the other regions of the world and trade Pokémon among other things. She asked for my assistance and took me to her home where I met her assistant Shōro and the device they claimed would send Pokémon to this “Dream World” though it just looked like a small bed to me. Makomo asked me to go to the Dream Yard and handed me the Hidden Machine for Cut, claiming the abandoned area was overrun with trees and vines that the Pokémon I had on me wouldn’t be able to get through without proper instruction. I booted it up and taught it to Mikey, figuring if anything else his claws could get through the underbrush. I made my way to the Dream Yard as asked and managed to bump into Bel as well. Seems she was asked to help out as well and between the two of us we managed to cut a small entrance into the dilapidated building. We investigated a bit though hour search turned up nothing initially until we heard a forlorn cry and the sounds of people talking. Bel wanted to look into it though images born from too many Yakuza films made me a little apprehensive. We spied on the commotion from a crack in one of the walls; two “Team Plasma” grunts were kicking and abusing a poor defenseless Pokémon. That seemed strange to me but before I could stop Bel she’d rushed out in defense of the thing and alerted the two thugs to our presence. It turns out that the Pokémon, Munna, was what we were looking for but also a Pokémon that Team Plasma wanted. The Dream Mist that it let out could sway people’s minds which they planned to use to convince Trainers to give up their Pokémon. It seemed even odder for a peaceful group, or so they claimed, to support thugs and motives such as this and as I watched the two beat up on the Munna I felt the anger in me rising. I swiftly dispatched Haiiro to take them out, their Pokémon no match for my tactics though it seems I acted a little too hastily as they vented their frustrations out on the Munna severely. I don’t really recall what happened after that, the world went white or a moment and it sounded like there was more talking but when my head cleared Makomo and Bel were standing over me looking quite pleased. Bel told me a Musharna had come to the rescue of its baby and made some illusion that made the two brutes run away. I had remembered an odd dream, thinking my Haiiro had evolved and when I finally felt it move against it me it seemed…larger. It peaked out from

Makomo seemed to have gotten what she wanted out of the experience and we went back to her place. She handed me my C-Gear and asked me to put one of my Pokemon asleep to help her in her research. I chose my Goyjo for it, putting him to sleep though by this point I was more than ready to join him. Makomo let me leave for the night, and I crashed at the old couples place. I woke in the morning to Makomo calling me on my x-transceiver, saying I needed to rush over fast. I got dressed and ran out the door, promising Grandma that I’d return after some errands and hoofed it to Makomo’s. It seemed in the night my Goyjo had found something in the Dream World and I had to get sent to some forest to pick it up. Turns out that Gojyo had made friends with a Poochyena in the Dream World and it had followed him home. I caught it and returned back to Makomo’s for her to study it. Afterwards I went out and trained some more at the Dream Yard, hoping to catch a Munna for the good Doctor since I figured she’d want to study it herself. I spent almost the rest of the day out in the Dream Yard, catching an Audino and Munna though oddly as I caught it, it evolved into a Musarna completely unprompted. To add to that, it to seemed quite reluctant to stay in its pokeball. I didn’t want to force it in so I just let it be as I continued to train. I ran into another trainer at the Dream Yard named Percy, we battled a few times and traded contact information before I decided to call it a day. He was looking for a Purrloin but said they seemed to have deserted the factory. I’d caught another Puurloin a few hours before so figured I’d trade it. He traded a Zorua for the Purrloin, saying that it was pretty rare but its mother didn’t want the baby anymore so he had to keep it away. The deal seemed to work out pretty well in the end, and I called it a night afterwards. I figured that I’d train more in the morning before making a move to the next Route, all in all I felt pretty good about my first Badge win and the events of the past few. I had strange dreams that whole night though I blame Cheery, the name I finally decided on for the Musharna.

Illustrations

Spoiler

Show

Pokemon

Panpour: Gojyo


Pansear


Munna


Musharna: Cherry


Zorua: Yen


Poochyena: Bitey


Haiiro Evolved!!: Servine


Audino: Momo

People

Shōro


Makono


Dent, Pod and Corn


Grandma


Grandpa


The Gym Leaders

Technology

Trio Badge


C-Gear Interface

Location and Map of Isshu

Isshu


Current Location

[Innis Cabal]

Sorry for the long period between updates to those who are actually reading along. A combination of looking for work and trying to figure a way around having characters beat up and take money from little kids. While it's an amusing part of the game, I didn't particularly think it was in character with the characters that are developing. I am going to try and get a set day for updates so I don't slip as I am quite committed to this project. Without further ado, Chapter Four.

Chapter Four: Halcyon Days

Spoiler

Show

Cheren, Bel and I left together in the morning after a hearty breakfast at the old couple’s house. I got their number down since they seemed oddly attached to the three of us and as a parting favor we took their grandkids to a small pre-school on Route 3. I of course agreed since they’d given me a place to sleep, plenty of food and hospitality I honestly didn’t think I’d find anywhere. After all my own home was a cold and dark place almost all my life, what would have led me to think it was going to be any different? I figured that I’d find even worse people to be honest, only helping because it was the law and not because they honestly cared. I had a lot to think on at that time to be honest and it wasn’t easy for me at the time, especially not with Cheren and Bel around. Not because they didn’t want me to think on it, they of course had no idea what was going on through my head, but because when around them life felt…better somehow. Especially now that we were on the road, even if it was only a few days, the air between felt clearer like when my father was still around and my mother hadn’t lost her mind. It was a good feeling, a healthy feeling like we didn’t have to step on egg shells throughout the entire town. Even Bel seemed a little freer though just as ditzy without her father screaming at her about one thing or another though I think Cheren’s influence was helping her a good deal.

The walk was really not that far, but the kids seemed happy for the company and Bel was just tickled to be around. As could be expected from a young girl like herself, she adored children and honestly she was quite good with them. Cheren seemed a little irritated by the screaming and giggling but took it in stride though I think deep down he was just as happy to be around them as Bel, maybe because of her in fact. I on the other hand knew exactly how I felt about the situation and while I didn’t hate children I honestly thought the screaming was going to cut through my patience like a hot knight through butter. I made it to the Pre-School though and took a stop at the Day Care. The old lady was actually the owner of the day care and the Pre-School both, her daughter and her husband running the Pre-School while herself and her husband rand the day care and helped Pokémon and hold eggs that may come about. Cheren and Bel went to the Pre-School while I inspected the grounds, a few baby Pokémon were sick and I helped administer medicine to them with the elderly couple. I got thrown up on for my kind act by a very ill Patrat much to the embarrassment of the owners. They shuffled me off to their house for a change of clothing, though I’m not sure exactly why they had clothing for someone my age though from the pictures I managed to see as I was hurried to a room their Grandson was also on his journey and these were his clothing. I tried to explain to them I had clean clothing but they had none of it. It was here I came to the understanding that the elderly are scary and you shouldn’t refuse them when they get something into their head. You’re just going to lose and it’s not going to be pretty.

I ate with Cheren and Bel out front of the Pre-School; we’d promised to walk Grandma’s kids back at the end of the day, and chatted amongst us about what was next. Cheren and Bel were going to head to Nacrene City after they got back onto the road though I thought maybe I’d take a couple days and stick to the roads and see what I could see. We finished eating and waited for the kids but as the class got out the teacher, the daycare ladies kid, came out and asked us if we could stick around for a couple days. It seems the kids had heard we were trainers and wanted to learn how to catch Pokémon of their own. I was flatly against it merely on the principle that Pokémon weren’t for kids; they were a responsibility that children couldn’t take care of on their own. I remember the problems they caused in my family and I didn’t particularly want the kids here to grow up in a similar or worse environment that I had. Bel stood her ground and managed to convince Cheren onto her side, and that’s how I ended up getting roped into it. We stayed at Grandma’s place for three days, relaxing and enjoying the food and company at night and during the day we taught the kids how to groom and clean some Pokémon from the day care, what they ate and how to feed them and general other care issues that might come up. I was surprised how fast they learned it and how well they retained it and on the fourth day as we were finishing up our classes we helped them catch their first Pokémon. They wanted to battle of course once they got them, and we agreed to do so with them and honestly at the end of the day as the sun set slowly behind the hills it was a good bit of fun. The kids enjoyed themselves and it just looked natural for Bel, she took to the whole experience like a fish to water and for the first time she really looked like she was in her element. The ditzy girl we knew was replaced by a competent and caring person beyond the caring girl we knew and the children loved her to death, so much so she had to sneak out just to make sure they wouldn’t cry. Cheren went with her and told me we’d meet on the road near the Wellspring Cave. The teachers had scrounged some money up to pay us for our time but since Bel had to flee like a thief in the night and Cheren had already departed they handed it to me. I thanked them for the money, it honestly wasn’t expected, and went on my way. I met up with Cheren and Bel as promised and split the money before they went on their way.

After so much contact with so many new people I honestly needed or two to rest on my own and the idea of running to a new city wasn’t really on my list of things to do right away. Haiiro and I hit the road and hiked up into the hills, making a small camp fire as the sun finally set. I called Grandma and told her I was safe as promised that morning and settled in. You think a lot when your alone, or at least when you didn’t have someone that could talk back to you. I let my Pokémon out of their balls to roam around though also because it seemed wild Pokémon weren’t brave enough to get into the camp when there were a lot of other Pokémon around in the first place. They all seemed to enjoy the chance to move about and played together though Haiiro was steadfast at my side, though a part of me figured it was also the blazing fire I’d started. I made dinner with some of the perishable items the old couple gave me, throwing them into a pot with some water Gojyo was more than happy to give me. It ended up being a lot and I shared what I could with my six Pokémon and sat in the majestic beauty of nature. The Pokémon bedded down early next to the fire though I let it die down a little so as not to risk them getting seriously injured as I fled into my tent. Sleeping in a tent is a lot different than sleeping in a nice warm bed with four walls and a roof around you, the rocks cutting into my back at every turn which drove me nuts. Haiiro joined me in the tent, he honestly seemed completely disinterested in sticking with the other five when I was around though there really wasn’t too much space to give him for himself. It seemed quite alright to him as he curled up on my back as I finally settled into a position where rocks weren’t cutting into my sides at every movement though the weight was way more than unwelcome. He’d slept at the foot of the bed the other nights at Grandma’s place but tonight he was unmoveable. I didn’t really relish the idea of cuddling with a Pokémon but he seemed to think my opinion in this matter wasn’t important, despite my few attempts to move him to a more comfortable location. I finally managed to get to sleep though I can’t say it was the best I’d ever had and as the sun crested over the horizon in the morning I peeked my head out of the tent long enough to get the fire burning again as it’d gone out during the night. I let my Pokémon out to get their own food when the fire was blazing enough to fight back the freezing morning air as I munched on an apple. I waited for the sun to warm the air a little before breaking camp though I felt like another hike.

The hike netted me a few chance sightings of some Pokémon, a Blitzle rummaging through the forest and blazing through it with speeds I couldn’t catch up with. I set up a trap with Yen and caught it and when I returned to my base camp it seemed as if Haiiro had battled and knocked out a Pidove all on his own. I caught it as well; it seemed a little silly to let the chance get away from me. With a few more Pokémon added to the dex I moved down further along the back to the road at a leisurely pace. By the time I managed to get back to the road proper the sun was already setting and I made camp closer by. I could have stopped by the day care but I honestly didn’t want to risk getting stuck on the road in the dead of night. The night was also fairly uneventful though the Wellspring Cave clearly had a family of Woobat sleeping there as they streamed into the air as the sun finally set which drove my entire team insane. I had to let them go just to get some peace and when they returned it was in a flurry just as they’d left. I had to follow them into the dark a ways until I found a downed Woobat. I caught it as well and figured when we got back to a town or city I’d reward them for their honest good work. The fire was thankfully visible for a fair distance away and by the look of it I’d climbed a bit higher than it and the rest of the local landscape and from my vantage point I could see tons of other fires blazing away in the distance. The number was staggering, like a thousand fire flies winking on black velvet. I don’t know what broke me from the revery of the scene, maybe it was the freezing cold wind or my Pokémon trying to urge me back to camp, but as I came to and stumbled back to my base it was like a dam had broken. Isshu was a fairly densely populated country, in fact we boasted some of the largest city centers in the entire world, but most of the population centers were around said cities. The small peninsula Nuvema Town and it’s two sister cities sat on, at the foot of a massive mountain range, was the least populated of the entire region. When I tell you it was dark out here, most of you won’t really understand what I mean.

Darkness in and around cities is a fairly different affair, a soft orange or yellow glow at the horizon if you live far away from the city or a constant wash of light from the ground level if you’re actually central to the city itself. But not out here where there were street lights or billboards miles away that cast their warm glow into the nether that is the sky at night. Only the stars stretched out before you above and the inky black of night around you that a camp fire couldn’t combat. It’s a very isolating feeling being in such a state, the sounds of nature sound distant even though the local insect symphony is only yards away from you at any given time. The calls of Pokémon in the night sound lonely and forlorn even if they’re the friendliest of creatures any other time, even wild. And when I was on that large hill, overlooking so many other trainers who were dealing with the cold with fires of their own I started thinking what teams they might have. Why were they so deep in the wilderness and what were they doing at that very moment as I was looking down on them? And then I started to think about if they had people like the old couple I met, or the daycare people or any other number of trainers I’d met on the road so far and did those trainers camp fires I saw. Did they all have people that cared for them so fiercly after only having met them in such a short amount of time? What about families, did they come from a home like mine or were their families together, thinking about their children right now instead of placing their lost dreams on their shoulders. It was some sobering thoughts and what little I could voice at that time was fielded at Haiiro as we finally crawled into our tent. At that point the cuddling and contact wasn’t so bad, and Fred even managed to sneak in and cuddle up with me as well. Even if I set foot on Route 1 thinking that I’d do this with no strings attached I could tell that it wouldn’t be that easy. The pokemon I’d caught already saw me as their leader, their friend and I couldn’t fight feeling that maybe…just maybe they were my friends as well. It was a pleasant thought to go to sleep on.

What wasn’t pleasant to wake up to however were the shrill screams of Bel and my tent being ripped open by said shriller. It was a shock she was even here but as I got up and threw a shirt on I caught the jist of what was going on. She’d been called by the day care and rushed over from Nacrene City in the early morning to see what the matter was. She had one of the Pre-School children with her and it looked as if they’d both been crying, the hysterical sobbing was also a dead giveaway though. Cheren also seemed to have come with her, his face flushed with anger. It was rare to see Cheren in such a state but I figured he’d be the one to ask if I really wanted to know, so we had a quick breakfast and he told me what was up. Someone had stolen the little girl’s Lillipup that night and I honestly was a little upset with myself that I didn’t march to the Pre-School. Cheren and I promised Bel and the girl we’d go and get her Lillipup back. It seemed that the Wellspring Cave, a good hike though not to far from my camp, was where the culprit was hiding, Cheren and I wasting no time as we bust into the small and mostly water filled cave. What we found though was a shock, though in hindsight we really should have seen it coming. Four members of “Team Plasma” were discussing among themselves how they’d stolen a good number of Pokémon from trainers in the area and before I could stop him Cheren had dashed out to confront them. I cursed his cavalier attitude in situations like this and went out into the open next to him.

Cheren gave the four a fairly good scolding if I do say so myself, and it seemed one of Team Plasma’s plans was to kidnap and “free” Pokémon from their trainers though it didn’t look like they were freeing them to me. It also came as a surprise that people so dedicated to freeing Pokémon from humans would use them and keep them in pokeballs, a sin according to them, but it seemed they did and much to my annoyance they tried to battle us. They were pathetic and as the first two fell back the next pair dashed at us, ready and willing to double team either of us. Luckily we brought back up and the two on two match went faster than a greased lightning. Cheren and I made a pretty solid team and the pairs tactics were…well the Pre-School kids were honestly better trainers after a day then these guys. We got the Lillipup back as “Team Plasma” ran off and returned it to its rightful owner. Bel and Cheren left after that and I walked the kid back to the Pre-School, where I spent the rest of the day just in case those jerks decided to come back for some easy pickings. I went back to the Wellspring Caves to look around a little the next morning and caught myself a Roggenrola and even headed back to Striaton City to rework my team since I’d got a few new allies under my belt. I figured a rounded team was better than focusing on a single type, keeping Haiiro, Yen and Gojyo but decided my Bliztle, Cherry and my new Roggenrola would make good additions to my team. With all that done I headed back to Route 3, I’d stalled for two days and I’m sure by this point Cheren had already got his next badge. No way I was going to be shown up.

Illustrations

Spoiler

Show

Pokemon

Blitzle: Rush


Pidove: Peace


Roggenrola: Xiua'Hi


Woobat:Mi'i

Location and Map

Isshu


Current Location

[Level8Mudcrab]

Another good chapter, great work.

[Innis Cabal]

Another good chapter, great work.

Thanks for reading along Gives me the added conviction to keep going knowing at least there are some people who are enjoying it.

[Xondoure]

And the adventure continues! This story is really shaping up.