Pokemon Revolution

This was a story I wrote back on fanfiction.net. It wasn't getting much attention at all on that site, and I was hoping that maybe the Pokémon fans in this community would give my story a chance. I would really appreciate it if anyone reading this story could give me feedback. Thank you in advanced!


Prologue:

Remember a time, years ago, where there were legendary Pokémon? Even before the catastrophe, it was not common for humans to see us. But even though it was a rare occasion, there was always a special individual who met a legendary and was able to tell the tale. Perhaps they were lucky, and found a legendary hibernating in a cave that was hidden for ages. Nonetheless, legendary Pokémon were not so "legendary" after all, for they were quite well known, and furthermore, had been documented quite frequently. Many Pokémon trainers may not have captured legendary Pokémon, but many of them have surely seen one before in their lives. Perhaps they saw the majestic Ho-oh flying across the sunset sky, or maybe they saw the great Kyogre breaching near the coast. Whatever legendary people saw, it was an amazing sight. These short experiences with legendary Pokémon is what earned us our reputation.

I am Dialga, the master of time, or as you humans call me. To speak my truth, I actually do not control time. One who wields such strength will potentially cause dangerous altercations in the world we know now. Time is not something to be toyed with! Even the great Pokémon god, Arceus, doesn't have a power that amazing. However, there is much you humans need to learn about us. There are many hidden secrets about Pokémon, and the boundaries between what makes people and Pokémon different. Some of these secrets, if discovered, could be exploited by humans with evil hearts. Some of these secrets are far darker than what you expect. I had to find out the hard way. But to not give away too much information, I will start with the catastrophe.

Now, let me repeat my question. Remember the days where legendary Pokémon could be seen all around the world? If you ask many people now, they would not know what a legendary Pokémon is. Why is that? It is because they have all disappeared....in a way. There was a man, we call him the dark lord, with a great lust for power. A human. He was controlled by darkness, and had practiced an evil magic that to this day, I am still oblivious to how it works. He sought power, more specifically, the power of the legendaries. He was able to hunt each of us down, one by one, starting with the weaker legends.

No, he did not slay us. Though, it might have been better for the world. However, the dark lord had a far sinister plan in store. Instead, he had the power to control legendaries, by using Mewtwo, an artificial and genetically enhanced Pokémon with great power and psychic abilities. You might have heard of a mewtwo before, but this was different. The Dark Lord created this Mewtwo for his personal gains, using dark magic to create him. Mewtwo had the power to control any Pokémon, even us legendaries. With one of his moves, Mewtwo was able to turn a legendary into a mindless soldier for the dark lord, where their skin turns into the color that matches the black night. That is how we tell the difference between the corrupted and the normal legendaries. He turned them evil, and hence, these controlled legendaries would follow the dark lord. I'm hazy about when it started, but I remember the Fairies(Celebi, Jirachi, Manaphy, our lake guardians, Victini, etc.) were the first to go. Then, legendaries like the dog trio(Suicune, Entei, Raikou) and the three legendary birds(Articuno, Zapdos, and Moltres) began missing.

At this point, Arceus began to realize something was terribly wrong. He called out to the land, seas, and sky, but it seemed that the weather trio has also disappeared. Arceus informed us about the disappearances of all the legendaries, but perhaps it was a little too late. I guarded Arceus, along with Palkia and Giratina, up above the clouds in the sky temple where the Pokémon god rested. It seemed that our worst day had come upon us. The clouds turned dark that day, and the thunder roared. Without warning, rayquaza penetrated the clouds. However, it wasn't the rayquaza that was loyal to Arceus. No, it was a dark rayquaza, who was controlled by the Dark Lord. It attacked us, right then and there, desecrating the sky temple. With Arceus, the four of us fled to the grounds of Sinnoh, where a trap had been set up. It was quite shocking to see all my fellow legendaries at the top of Mount Coronet, but they were not here to help us. They were all controlled by the Dark Lord, as seen by their dark appearance.

Giratina was the first to react, in his origin form, he swiftly dove down to attack. The corrupted Kyogre shot an ice beam at Giratina, which was able to damage him and slow his descent. Without warning, a dark mewtwo, launched himself out of the crowd of legendaries and shot a large beam of dark energy at Giratina. Giratina was the god of the underworld. I was sure he wasn't going to be corrupted, but I was wrong. Giratina turned on us and was ready to attack the three of us. Palkia and I walked forward to protect Arceus. I used my signature move, Roar of Time, while Pakia used Spacial Red to stop Giratina. However, our moves were blocked by Mewtwo, as he teleported in front of Giratina with an energy field.

Arceus ordered us to fall back, and we did. Mewtwo, shot out another wave of dark energy. I nearly dodged the blast, but Palkia was struck right on the back. I could hear Palkia's struggle, as he was controlled by Mewtwo's powers. I didn't look back as I headed to Arceus. I didn't want to see Palkia turn into one of those monsters. I got to Arceus and he told me something that I couldn't help but refuse. Arceus told me that I had to escape, and he had the power to let me. I was the guardian of the Pokémon god. If anything, I should sacrifice myself to save him! He told me that his mind was made, and that I would be wise to listen to my god. He released a wave of light energy around me and I felt my body absorb it. I should have asked Arceus what he did, but I was too focused on the danger at hand. I tried pleading for him to escape with me, but he was stubborn run by myself. I attempted to argue with him one last time, but he commanded that as his follower, I must obey his requests.

With that, I fled, and I was quite ashamed to do so. I should have stayed to help Arceus fight. As I was down the mountain, I saw Arceus, facing off with the Mewtwo. What shocked me was that Arceus had completely dropped his guard. It seemed that he was completely void of energy. How is that possible? Arceus, the Pokémon God, had unlimited power and aura. Why was he suppressing it all in front of the enemy? It was then that Arceus closed his eyes, and I heard his voice.

There is nothing I can do. Dialga, this all depends on you, now.

Mewtwo transformed into his fighting form, and at the speed of light, shot through Arceus with a move that was so fast I didn't even see it. What I saw was the decapitated head of the Pokémon god. It flew across the top of mountain. I stared wide eyed, at my god, who had just been killed.

At that point, I felt my body begin to shrink. What was happening to me? Then I remembered what Arceus did before I left. He put something, some sort of magic in me. I heard the legendaries begin to follow me. It seems that at the moment, I was the last legendary Pokémon who was yet to be controlled by the dark lord. I levitated down the mountain and flew dangerously low, over the cities of the region. I knew I was breaking Arceus' rule about showing ourselves to humans, but this was not a time to worry about that. I felt myself lose energy. Something was wrong. I shrank even more. I felt my legendary powers disappear from me as I collapsed onto a large field in the middle of a forest. I kept on shrinking. My body was decreasing in size and all I could wonder was what was going on? Was I dying? Was I going to disappear from the world?

I was unconscious for a while, but I opened my eyes and found that I was lying on the soft grass and no one was around. I couldn't move for some reason. I tried struggling, but my legs felt really short and stubby. I glanced at my arm and saw what seemed to be little pudgy hands. I realized that I had turned into a human infant. I was no longer a Pokémon, but a human! Strangely, I felt the presence of the corrupt legends, but they couldn't sense me anymore. The legendaries flew overhead but did not notice me. They soon left the region and I was stuck on the ground as an infant, unable to protect myself. I tried crawling, but I was too weak.

After a few minutes, I heard footsteps. Then I felt two warm hands pick me up from the ground. It was a middle aged woman. She stared at me for quite a bit, then she asked whose child I was. She looked around and there was clearly no sign of anyone else. I don't know what came over me, but I had a strong urge to cry like an infant, and I did. I weeped and weeped and the woman calmed me down by patting me on the back.
"There, there, Sweetie. I'll find your mommy and daddy." she said. Of course, this woman never found my "parents", so one thing led to another, she raised me in her own little cottage. I wanted to demand her to let me go, for I was the great Dialga, but she couldn't understand me and just laughed at me. It seems that humans are not intelligent enough for telepathy. Other than that, the woman was very caring. She fed me and gave me a place to sleep. I felt so vulnerable, yet because of this woman, I felt very safe as well.

I don't know when I started to change. Believe me, I am still grieving about the lose of my god, but I was isolated into human society for many years. I grew older like a normal human child. I began to learn their language and how they lived. It seemed like I almost forgot that I was a legendary. The only reason I remembered I was a Pokémon was because I could understand other Pokémon. It seems that other humans couldn't. So as year passed by, one after another, I found myself thinking less like a Pokémon and more like a human. I don't think anyone has found me out yet, but my memories are still very strong. Everyday, I still think about that dreadful moment where Arceus was killed.

Soon, I had come of age to become what humans called a Pokémon trainer. I was well aware of the humans' practice of forcing other Pokémon to fight each other. I despised it. It was insulting to see humans take advantage of Pokémon. However, as I grew up in a society that constantly had Pokémon battles, my opinion began to change. I started to find the idea to be quite exciting, even though I am a Pokémon myself. But like I said, I have been well adapted into human society. I might appear to have given up, but I am still very determined to save all the legendaries from their curse. They are all gone now because the dark lord keeps every one of them by his side. I've spoken with children of my age and they have never seen a legendary Pokémon before. It seems that the legendary Pokémon had truly become "legends". No one believed of their existence anymore. If I were to become, what the humans call, a Pokémon trainer, I'll be closer to finding the person responsible for the disappearance of the legendaries.

This is where my story begins. It all started on a Pokémon journey. I made very important friends along the way and they were the reason why I was able to fight back against the dark lord. My story of saving all the legendaries is very bittersweet. I gained as much as a lost, and it pained me to relive those moments. The loss of a friend that is.... Now, I will tell you the story, in third person, so my identity will not be too obvious. I'll start from the very beginning, with the start of a harmless Pokémon journey.

Chapter 1: Departure


It was another bright day in the Sinnoh region. People were hustling and bustling down the streets, and it was the start of the season where many children would become new Pokémon trainers. Sandgem town was crowded with children of all ages, eager to pick out a starter Pokémon to begin their journey. Sandgem town was the location of the Sinnoh Professor's lab. His name was Professor Rowan, and he was going to be a very busy man on this particular day.

Outside the commotion of Sandgem town, not too far, was the location of a quiet little coast development called Twinleaf town. This was the most southern and western town in the region. It consisted of a few small houses and cottages. Unlike all the other kids who were rushing to get to Sandgem, there was a boy camping out in the midst of a tall oak tree. He had silver hair, which was a quite unusual hair color. He was able to completely conceal his presence as he watched a Starly land onto the branch right next to him.

Starly were Pokémon that had sharpened senses. It was usually the first Pokémon to notice danger, and would fly away in a heartbeat. However, this boy did not make a sound. The Starly was oblivious that a human was this close to it. The boy waited as he sensed the Starly was a bit jumpy when it first landed on the tree. This was due to the fact that the Starly was a prey, and there were many Pokémon that were predators of its species. The boy waited patiently as the Starly began to relax. He saw the way the Starly loosened its posture and and sank its talons deeper into the tree branch that it was letting its guard down.
There was no moment to spare. As the boy saw the perfect timing, he sprang out of his hiding spot on the tree. The Starly was caught off guard and tried to fly away, but the boy was fast and grabbed a hold of the Pokémon's feet.

"I caught you!" shouted the boy in excitement as he jumped down from the tree, dragging the Starly down with him by his feet. The boy landed on the ground in such a way that he was quickly able to spring up and stop the Starly from flying away. He held the bird Pokémon between his hands as it tried to struggle and escape.

"Don't worry. I'm not going to hurt you." Said the boy as he took the Starly with him and sprinted down towards his home in Twinleaf town.

The boy arrived at his family cottage and burst through the door. "Hey, Aunt Melissa! I caught a Pokémon with my own bare hands!"

A woman dress in red walked down the stairs and saw the boy holding a struggling Starly in his hands. Shocked, she ran up to him and said, "What...What did you do, Ryo? It was a figure of speech. I didn't want you to actually catch a Pokémon with your bare hands!" exclaimed the woman.
"But, Aunt Melissa. You said that I can't go on this journey until I show you I am capable of catching Pokémon." said Ryo.

"Look, I know you are eager to go out and see the world, but it is never too late to do so. There are many dangerous people out there, like hostile wild Pokémon and robbers, you don't know what you will bump into alone." said Aunt Melissa with worry.

"Most kids have already started their journey. I'm twelve right now. That's old enough. I even have my first Pokémon right here!" said the boy as he pointed at the Starly in his hands. The Starly had given up his struggle and was now resting within the warmth of Ryo's hand.

"Well, you have to pick a starter Pokémon down at Sandgem Town. Today is the day they are giving out starters and letting children apply to become a licensed trainer. The Professor's lab is going to close within an hour, so there is no way for you to make it in time. So either way, you have to wait another year." said Aunt Melissa.

"What! I have to go there to register as a trainer! Why didn't you tell me this sooner." said Ryo as he tried to dash out the door. His aunt grabbed him by the arm.

"Stop it, Ryo. I'm not going to let you run there just so you could cram in your registration at the last second. I gave you my final word. You will not start your journey this year." said Aunt Melissa sternly.

"Aunt Melissa, I waited so long to start this journey. I watch the Pokémon outside our house everyday. I learn a lot from them. I have this connection with them that you don't understand. I really want to raise my own Pokémon and battle with other people. I always found Pokémon battling to be so interesting. Why can't you just let me go for once. You were always so overprotective." said Ryo.

Aunt Melissa was about to say something back, but she was swayed by the innocent and determined look in the child's eye. He continued. "You always told me great stories about my parents. You said how they went out on their adventure at a very young age. You told me how they were top of the league trainers who made it to worlds. Even you were a Pokémon trainer when you were young."

Aunt Melissa looked out the window and sighed. "Yes, I know I've told you those stories, but those stories were meant to ease your curiosity, not make you more determined to go on your own journey. You're all I have, and I don't want you getting hurt. I just don't know what I will do without you."

"Aunt Melissa, I just want to be like my parents and start my journey. I want to be the best trainer there is!" said Ryo.

"You remind me of the way I thought when I was a child. I also believed I could be the best trainer when I was your age. But dreams are what they are made to be, dreams. And it is far from what the world would allow you to become." said Aunt Melissa.

"I understand that, but I still want to explore it! I appreciate all that you did for me. I know I never really knew my parents, because they died when I was very young, but you were always there for me. I thank you for that. But now, I want to see the world for myself. But, that doesn't mean I will never come back and visit you." reassured Ryo.

Aunt Melissa tried thinking it over in her head. "Okay. No, you're right, Ryo. I shouldn't keep you here any longer. You seem to really have a passion for Pokémon." she said as she saw Ryo playing with the Starly. She was quite surprised that the Starly no longer wanted to run from him. It was only with Ryo for a few minutes and was already getting attached to the boy.

Ryo stopped playing with the Starly and looked up at his Aunt. "Really? You're going to allow me to go?" he asked.

Aunt Melissa hesitated for a while and answered, "Yes."

"Yay!" shouted Ryo in happiness as he ran up and hugged her Aunt tightly.

After a long hug, Aunt Melissa pulled away and said, "Hey! You have to always remember to write me a letter about your journey every week. That is the condition."

"Sure. Easy." said Ryo as he ran in the kitchen to grab a bag with all he needs for his journey.

"You had all that prepared?" asked Aunt Melissa.

"Yep. I told you. I'm very excited about this day." said Ryo. They stood there staring at each other for a second, and then Ryo went in for another hug with his Aunt. After that final hug, Ryo turned and shouted, "Love you, Aunt Melissa! I promise I'll visit you soon!"

"Wait, one more thing!" shouted Aunt Melissa, stopping Ryo.

"What?" he asked.

Aunt Melissa pulled out a Pokéball and summoned the Pokémon within. A garchomp appeared between Ryo and Aunt Melissa.

"You can go, but you have to take Rick with you, or at least for the beginning of your journey." she said.

"What! Why? I want to capture and train my Pokémon on my own. I don't need Rick to do battles for me. Plus, that would be cheating. He has already had so much experience when he was with you on your journey." complained Ryo.

"Rick isn't going to help you with battling." reassured Aunt Melissa. "All he is going to do is keep an eye on you and protect you from danger. You only have a Starly right now, and that Pokémon might not be able to help you if you bump into trouble."

"Alright." sighed Ryo. "Rick can come with me."

"If you see Ryo in any trouble, I trust that you will protect him." she said to the Garchomp. Rick nodded to show that he understood.

"And also, Rick, you can't get in the way of my battling!" added Ryo. "I fight my own trainer battles with my Pokémon."

Rick playfully patted Ryo on the head.

"Hey, watch it! Those claws are sharp, you know." said Ryo jokingly. "Oh, I almost forgot...." Ryo ran into the house and came back out with a head band.

"I surely need this for my journey. This is my lucky head band." said Ryo as he pulled it down over his hair. "Alright, well, Rick, let's get going." Rick growled in agreement as we headed off on the road.

Ryo looked down at Starly. "Hey, would you like to come with me on this journey" he asked the Pokémon. The Starly nodded and chirped happily in response. "Alright then! Can I call you Ace?" The bird Pokémon looked up at Ryo, and he hoped on his shoulder as if to give his consent to the nickname.

"Yes, so I guess I will call you Ace from now on." said Ryo.

"By Aunt Melissa!" waved Ryo one last time as they departed.

As the boy and the garchomp strolled down the pathway, Ryo began to wonder out loud. "I'm also very curious about legendary Pokémon. It's so strange. Its written in ancient writing and it has been documented in the past, but right now, it seems that no one ever sees these legends anymore. I really want to learn more about them and found out what happened to them. Have you seen a legendary before, Rick?"

Rick looked down at Ryo and shrugged his shoulders. "Some people say I'm a fool to believe in legendary Pokémon, but I'm certain they exist." said Ryo.

Ryo glanced down at his watch. "Okay, we have to hurry. I only have half an hour left before the lab closes. How far is Sandgem city from here?" wondered Ryo out loud as he pulled out his map.
"Oh, know! Can I really make it there in time?" asked Ryo. Rick stopped and motioned for Ryo to jump on his back.

"Really? You will do that for me?" asked Ryo.

Rick nodded and motioned for him to hurry.

"Starly, you should probably hold on tight." warned Ryo. He hopped onto the back of the land shark, and with great speed, Rick dashed across the land with his dragon strength. "This is so fun!" shouted Ryo in the wind as they sped through the woods. And just like that, the boy was off on his Pokémon journey.

 

Chapter 2: Becoming a Pokémon Trainer

Up at Sandgem Town, the Pokémon trainers were dissipating. What was once a crowded town earlier that day had now began to quiet down as evening approached. The line outside of Rowan's Lab was decreasing in size.

"Good luck on your journey, and make sure to take care of your Piplup." said Rowan as he bid farewell to a newly registered trainer.

"Sarah, send in the next person." Rowan said to his lab assistant. Sarah walked over to the door and motioned for the next child to come in. The next person was a girl, around the age of twelve. She had a short cut hairstyle that barely grew past her face. She had beige colored hair and she wore a peculiar necklace. On the necklace was a tag that had a carving of some sort of creature. This necklace caught the attention of Professor Rowan as she walked in.

"Welcome to my lab. What is your name?" asked the professor.

Professor Rowan had somewhat of an intimidating figure. Most children who were registering as a trainer were a bit nervous to talk in front of him. However, the girl was calm and she was completely composed.

"Hello, Professor Rowan. My name is Hazel." said the girl.

"Hazel, you say? That is a unique name. You want to get your license first or do you want to first choose your starter Pokémon?" he asked.

"I'd like to have my license first." said Hazel. Professor Rowan showed her to a desk. He asked her to provide some personal information. After all the work was done, Rowan stepped into his private room to retrieve something.

A few minutes later, he came out with a brand new card. "This is your Trainer's License. With this card, you have the privilege to battle anyone else who also have a trainer's license." said Rowan.

"Ok. Thank you." said Hazel as Rowan handed the license to her.

"But, make sure you battle responsibly. Your license could easily be taken away if you abuse it. We promote competition, but if you are hurting people or Pokémon with the way you battle, you could be revoked of your license." Informed Rowan.

It bothered the professor that Hazel did not immediately respond. Hazel looked down at her license and seemed to be pondering about something. She finally answered, "Yes, I'm aware of that."

Professor Rowan brought her to a room where there were three pokeballs neatly placed on a table. He grabbed all three released each Pokémon from their Pokéball. Out of the pokeballs, appeared the Sinnoh starters.

"These three are the starter Pokémon. Chimchar, Piplup, and Turtwig." said Rowan. "For now, you can only choose one."

Hazel looked at the three Pokémon. "They all look very promising." said Hazel. "But, I've been thinking about this for awhile. I have to go with....Turtwig." as she was speaking, she bent down and picked up the grass turtle Pokémon.

"Interesting choice. Is there any reason you preferred Turtwig?" asked the Professor.

"I was adopted when I was a baby. I never knew who my parents were. I was raised by a foster mother and she owned a little cottage in the woods. She had a torterra there in the garden and I loved to always play with him, especially when I was little. I grew really close to my mother's Torterra, and that is why I decided to chose Turtwig." explained Hazel.

"So moving on, here are your pokeballs." said Rowan as he handed her six pokeballs. "You will receive six pokeballs from me, but if you need more, you'll have to buy them yourself. They sell pokeballs and all sorts of other goods at the pokemart. There should be one located in every city."

Hazel received all the pokeballs and placed them in her bag. She placed the Turtwig she was holding down on the ground. The Turtwig liked Hazel, and stayed close to her feet.

"The little guy seems into you. You must have a way with Pokémon." said the professor.

"Hm, maybe." said Hazel. "Um, Professor. I know most people don't talk about this, but may I ask if you know anything about legendary Pokémon?"

"Legendary Pokémon? Well, those beings are myths. I'm aware they are talked about in ancient writing, but that is all I know about them." said Rowan.

"Professor, I have reason to believe that they are more than just myths. I, um, there has been many documented cases of people seeing legendaries, around a decade ago. It's weird that we don't ever see them anymore today, but if they appeared before, they must be real." explained Hazel.

"You can't possibly believe everything you read. Many people claim they saw legendary Pokémon just to get attention. There are so many hoaxes out there. If those ancient scriptures had accurately depicted legendaries, then we should be seeing these Pokémon much more frequently."

Hazel dropped the topic. She was certain that legendary Pokémon were real. She had been hiding something from the Professor about her past. If the professor had known right then and there, he would have surely revoked her license.

"So, is that all?" asked Hazel, ready to leave.

"If you don't have anymore questions, then you can start your journey." said Rowan. As Hazel turned toward the glass doors that led outside, she heard a scream.

"AAAAh! WATCH OUT!" shouted a bunch of people.

"Everyone, get out of the way!" shouted another. Hazel heard chaos coming from the line that was waiting outside Rowan's lab. Before long, the children who were waiting dispersed and evacuated the front entrance of the lab. Hazel stared in shock as she saw what everyone was reacting to. Not too far into the distance was a garchomp, charging at full speed toward the lab! As she looked closer, she noticed there was a boy that was riding it.

"Professor Rowan!" yelled Hazel. "Look!"

Rowan walked over to the front door and saw the garchomp, and he was moving at great speed. "Hazel, take cover!" shouted Rowan as he pulled her away from the door.

"Rick! Slow down! We're going to crash!" shouted Ryo. Rick, realizing he was going too fast, tried slowing himself down by digging his feet into the ground, but there was too much momentum bringing them forward that Rick tripped over his feet when he tried to plant them to the ground. The landshark and the boy, both yelling in shock, as they crashed through the sliding door and into the Professor Rowan's lab.

After the dust settled down, all the kids looked inside to see what had happened. Rick got up and dusted off the depree from the broken door. Ryo, thankfully, was shielded from the blast by Garchomps large body.

"Young man! What do you think you're doing!" shouted the Professor after seeing all the damage done to his lab. Ryo looked back and saw the destruction he and Rick had caused.

"Oh! Sorry about that." said Ryo apologetically.

"Professor, it's only a door. You can always replace it." said Hazel with a matter of fact tone.

The Professor let out a long sigh. "What are you doing here? Are you also here to register?" he asked.

"Yes! I'm here to pick my starter and become a Pokémon trainer!" exclaimed Ryo.

"Well, I'm going to need your information." said the professor. Rowan made Ryo go through the same processes as Hazel did. Realizing that he had been ignoring the girl that was in the same room with him, he asked, "Hello, my name is Ryo. What's your name?"

Hazel looked at Ryo. They seemed to be on the opposite end of the spectrum. Ryo was very outgoing and cheerful while Hazel always kept to herself.

"Um, my name is Hazel." she said. Her gaze fell on the garchomp next to Ryo. "Is that your Pokémon?" she asked curiously.

"Oh, no he's not. His name is Rick. He's my Aunt's Pokémon. When she was a trainer, she caught him as a a gible and used him in battle. My Aunt wasn't going to let me go on this journey unless I brought him along. She said just in case I get into trouble, Rick can protect me." explained Ryo.

"What about the Starly on your shoulder?" asked Hazel.

"Oh, Ace? He's my very own Pokémon. I caught him with my bare hands." said Ryo nonchalantly. Hazel stared at Ryo, wondering if she had heard him correctly.

"Ryo, it's time for you to pick a starter." said Rowan as he motioned toward the table that had the three starter Pokémon present.

"Oh wow! They all look great!" said Ryo with excitement. He glanced at each one carefully. "I just don't know which one to choose." said Ryo. He turned toward Rick. "Who do you think I should pick?" he asked. Rick brought his head down closer to the table as to examine each Pokémon. The starters became a little unnerved by that, for he was a scary looking landshark.

"Ryo, you shouldn't ask your garchomp to pick a starter. You have to make that decision." said the Professor.

"May I give you my opinion?" asked Hazel. "Each of the elements, water, fire, and grass, has a secret symbol to them. People who chose the water starter value intelligence and fluency. People who chose grass value nature and stability. People who choose fire value dreams and ambition. Listen to which one of those characteristics you feel describes yourself."

"Where did you learn that?" asked Rowan.

"My foster mother taught me it." she said.

Ryo closed his eyes, trying to think hard. Which was he going to choose. He eventually reached out a hand and placed it atop a head of a starter.

"I choose Chimchar." said Ryo.

The little fire monkey jumped in happiness as he jumped onto Ryo's chest. "Hey, Chimchar, calm down." said Ryo.

Professor Rowan walked over with six pokeballs in his hands. "These will be your first six pokeballs. It seems that you already have to use three of them." said Rowan as he mentioned towards the Chimchar, Starly, and Garchomp.

"Thank you for the pokeballs." said Ryo. He sat down with his new starter Pokémon and played around with him. Hazel watched as the two were bonding within seconds. It reminded her of herself, maybe Ryo had an even better connection with Pokémon.

"It's getting late. You two should probably be heading out. I still have a couple more trainers to go through before I close down the lab." said Rowan. Ryo summoned his Chimchar into his Pokéball and also summoned Ace into a Pokéball.

"Don't you need a Pokéball for your garchomp? He could be mistaken as a wild Pokémon" said the Professor.

"Oh, I can't get him inside one of these pokeballs even if I wanted him to. He belongs to my Aunt and she already has a Pokéball for him, which is back home. So Rick, here, is stuck outside at my side." said Ryo.

Ryo and Rick exited through the broken door, and Hazel followed after him. Both children bid farewell to the professor as they headed to an inn in Sandgem town. It was getting quite late. Hazel, by coincidence, was also going into the same inn.

"Hey, that's a nice necklace." said Ryo as he motioned toward the carving. "Do you know that Pokémon?"

"Oh, this. This is a legendary Pokémon. My foster mother told me stories about it. It is known as the master of time." she said. Ryo stared at the Pokémon on the necklace in awe.

Ryo couldn't help himself, so he confronted Hazel and asked, "Hey, would you like to travel with me on my Pokémon journey?"

Hazel was quite startled by this request. "Me? I, I can't. I started this journey to travel alone. I have my own....goals." she said. "I want to see the legendary Pokémon."

"Really? Me too! I always wanted to learn more about them!" said Ryo.

"You don't think legendaries are myths?" asked Hazel, surprised that someone shares her interest.

"Not at all. They are very real."

"How do you know?" she asked.

"Well, I...." Ryo paused trying to explain. "I just know. I have this feeling that they are real, or have existed before."

"Okay, Ryo. I will travel with you!" said Hazel abruptly.

"You changed your mind? Well, that's great!" said Ryo innocently.

"You are one of the few people I met who believes in legendaries. We can get farther if we work together in our research." said Hazel.

"Well, I also would like to be a great Pokémon trainer as well." said Ryo. "If you want to learn more about legendaries, then why is it important for you to become a Pokémon trainer?"

"It gives you access to more information." said Hazel. Ryo wasn't sure what she meant by that. But he was just happy that he was able to make a new friend that day.

That very night, Hazel lied awake staring up at the ceiling. She felt bad for lying to Ryo as well.

Ryo lied awake that night too. He also held a secret. He couldn't stop thinking about the Pokémon on Hazel's necklace.

 

Chapter 3: Trouble in Jubilife

Ryo and Hazel slowly made their way to the next city. This stop was not like any town Ryo has seen before. Jubilife was a full scale city, with buildings that touched the skies. The city was crowded with people and the Pokémon school was nowhere in sight.
"I don't see the school house anywhere. It should be down this street." said Hazel as she scanned the area.
"Is it that over there?" asked Ryo, pointing at an old red building.
"That can't be it." she said as she looked at the directions given by the Professor. As Hazel glanced down at the map, then back up again. She saw that Ryo and Rick had already ran up to the door of the building.
"Hey, wait up!" shouted Hazel as she chased after him.
The two pushed through the double doors and Hazel followed in after him. The building was larger than it looked. It had multiple battlefields lined up in the middle of the room and there were trainers all over the place, congregating.
A woman walked up and said, "Hello. Welcome to the Trainer's School. Are you two new Pokémon trainers?"
"Yes, we're here to learn the fundamentals of Pokémon battling." said Hazel.
"Ok, then. Follow me to our learning room." said the lady as they entered a side room. "Sorry, your garchomp can't come in here." she said. "No Pokémon can set foot in this room."
"That's fine. Rick, can you stay out here?" asked Ryo. Even though he was unhappy, Rick obliged and stood by the door as the two entered the room.
In that room, the two learned about Pokémon battling and the rules of it. Each player takes turns and have to have the same amount of Pokémon. The lady went over policy and proper edicate. She also went over how Pokémon types worked and type advantages and weaknesses, as well as effective and ineffective moves.
After the lesson was done, she asked, "Would you two like to battle each other to try it out?"
Ryo and Hazel looked at each other, and then simultaneously, both answered, "Yes." The followed the lady out onto a battlefield and she stood at the center. Hazel and I each took a trainer's box on opposite sides of the field.
"I will be the referee for this battle." she said. "This will be a one on one battle. If a trainer's Pokémon is unable to fight, then the other trainer wins. Now, let the battle begin."
"Chimchar, I choose you!" shouted Ryo as he summoned Chimchar out to the floor.
"I guess I will use my starter too. Turtwig, come on out." said Hazel.
"Chimchar, use ember." said Ryo as Chimchar shot a wisp of fire at Turtwig.
"Turtwig, dodge." shouted Hazel. The Turtwig was very light on its feet and jumped up into the air, making the ember attack miss. However, Chimchar was already in the air as well, going up for a follow up attack.
"Use scratch." said Ryo as the Chimchar swiped down onto Turtwig's face, sending him falling back to the ground.
"Turtwig, use absorb!" shouted Hazel. Turtwig began training Chimchar of his energy.
"Don't let Turtwig absorb any more of your power. Go in for a quick attack!" shouted Ryo.
As Chimchar began blindlessly running toward Turtwig for an attack, Rick noticed the poor decision. He tried growling at Ryo to warn him of what's next, but it was too late.
"Use Razor leaf!" shouted Hazel as Turtwig shootout blades of grass that cut Chimchar many times over.
"Chimchar, no!" shouted Ryo. Chimchar fell to the ground and was out cold.
"Chimchar is unable to battle, Turtwig is the winner. This makes Hazel the victor of the battle!" shouted the lady.
Rick walked up to Ryo and knocked him on the head. "Hey, what's that for?" said Ryo.
Rick motioned toward the battle field. "Yeah, I guess I could've used Ember again instead." said Ryo as he ran up to Chimchar. "Sorry about my lousy battling skills, I hope you're okay." he said. The Chimchar was awake now. Even though he lost the battle, he was still full of energy and began jumping around from excitement of the first battle.
"Hey, Hazel. Good battle." said Ryo.
"Thanks." said Hazel. "You did great too. I actually had some battling practice when I was younger. My foster mother was a decent trainer herself, and she exposed me to the art of Pokémon battling when I was five."
"Alright, you two. You may now go off on your journey. You have learned everything you need to know to be a Pokémon trainer. From here on out, it's practice." said the lady as she went to greet the next trainer that walked in.
Ryo and Hazel left the school and headed for the Pokémon center. They walked through the sliding door, and stared at a horrific scene.
"EVERYONE GET ON THE GROUND, NOW!" shouted a large bodied man. He was with four other men and they all had masks on. Ryo realized they were Pokémon robbers, just like Aunt Melissa warned them. They all had Houndooms and the robbers used them to threaten all the people at the store.
Ryo and Hazel obeyed and dropped to the ground, as well as everyone else in the Pokémon center. Rick was reluctant to get on the ground, but Hazel nudged at it's feet to do so. The largest man, with his houndoom, walked to the counter and demanded the nurse for all the Pokémon in their possession. The nurse walked around back and returned with a cart full of pokeballs.
"Lucky us. Looks like today we have a larger stash than usual." said the robber as he began placing all the pokeballs into his bag. The men collected all the pokeballs and began heading for the door.
Ryo couldn't stand to watch. He got up right when the robbers were at the door. "You can't leave! I'm not letting you steal all those people's Pokémon!" shouted Ryo.
"Big mistake, kid." said one of the robbers. "Houndoom, attack!" he shouted. The black dog pounced toward Ryo. Remembering his promise to Aunt Melissa, Rick sprang up and used Dragon Claw. He clawed the houndoom right in the face, sending it flying back and crashing into the wall.
"That......all of you, attack!" shouted the robber. All the houndooms pounced simultaneously at Rick. Rick was very trained to fight on his own. It would have been easy for Rick to take out all of them with Earthquake, but he acknowledged the fact that there were many humans there, and his earthquake could cause the whole building to collapse. As two Houndooms(one in front and one behind) sprang up to attack him, he used Dragon Tail on one and Dragon Claw on the other, sending them crashing into opposite sides of the Pokémon center. The other two houndooms also jumped up for the attack. Rick used brick break on one and managed to dodge the other.
One of the robbers pulled out a device. It was some sort of collar. As the last Houndoom sprang at Rick again as a distraction, the robber threw the collar at Rick. Rick used Brick Break on the Houndoom, but as he was attacking, the collar clasped itself onto Rick's neck. Confused by what happened, Rick began pulling on the object that had attached itself to him. Before long, the collar began surging with energy and Rick roared out in a cry of pain.
"Oh no! What are they doing to him?" shouted Ryo as he saw Rick being shocked by the collar.
"It's a control collar. It has the power to control any Pokémon." said Hazel.
"Hahaha! Yes. That Garchomp is mine!" laughed the head robber maniacally. But his celebration turned to fear as well. Rick began attacking everything around him. He roared and roared and began kicking over tables and dragon clawing the walls.
"Hey. I have control over you! You must obey me!" yelled the robber. Rick turned toward them and used Dragon Rush, sending all the robbers flying. When all the robbers were knocked out cold, the people of the Pokémon center began running out screaming for their lives as a wild land shark was rampaging.
Ryo ran up to Rick. "Hey, calm down. It's me." he said. Rick glanced at Ryo, but then a shock from the collar made him roar again and he dove toward Ryo, ready to dragon claw him.
"Turtwig, use Razor Leaf!" shouted Hazel as Turtwig shot blades of grass at Rick, irritating him. The land sharks attention was focused on Hazel now. The collar let out another shock burst, causing Rick to screech in pain again. He blasted a hole in the ceiling again and jumped out.
"Hazel, we have to follow him!" shouted Ryo as they headed out of the Pokémon center. Outside in the streets, police cars were rushing to the site. One car stopped in front of the store. Hazel ran up to the officer and said, "The robbers are in there."
"We don't care about the robbers. There is a wild Garchomp terrorizing the city!" said the officer.
"No! He's not wild, he's trained. He is being controlled by an electric collar." said Ryo as he began running down the street after Rick.
Rick was charging down the street, ramming his neck into the buildings to try and break off the collar. He stumbled upon the center of the city, where all the people were. They all screamed and ran from Rick. Ryo managed to catch up to the chaos. He tried to proceed, but an officer blocked his path.
"It's dangerous here. Stay back!" he commanded.
"No, he belongs with me!" said Ryo as he broke past the officer and ran towards Rick. Rick saw Ryo coming and tried slashing out at him. Ryo was agile and managed to break left before he was hit and he leaped onto Rick's back.
"It's alright, Rick! Stop struggling!" yelled Ryo as he used a sharp rock in his hand and tried to smash the collar off. The collar was very durable, and it wasn't breaking as easily as Ryo thought it would. Unable to shake Ryo off, Rick began scaling the building next to him. He smashed his body against the glass windows, but Ryo held on.
He continued smashing the rock on the collar trying to break it off. Rick reached the top of the building and finally managed to get Ryo off by impacting the ground. The shock wave sent Ryo flying off his back and he landed at the edge of the building. Thankfully, Ryo managed to stop himself from rolling off. He looked back and realized this particular building was a skyscraper. Ryo's back also hurt from some glass cut wounds.
Rick let out another roar. Ryo couldn't bare to see him in so much pain. He noticed the many depree on the roof that was created from Rick's earthquakes. He grabbed a piece of rock that was even sharper than the last. He ran in one more time for a strike at the collar, but Rick suddenly swung out his arm, hitting Ryo in the stomach. Ryo let out a cry of pain as he was sent flying back. With great focus, and in mid flight, he endured the pain and threw the sharp rock like a projectile at Rick's collar.
The rock made contact and Ryo saw the split second of the collar snapping in half and exploding. Happy he was able to destroy the collar, he relaxed a bit. But not for long as he realized that Rick has pushed him with great force and he was plummeting off the roof top. The people of the Jubilife screamed as they saw the twelve year old boy fall from the top of the tower.
"RYO!" shouted Hazel from the crowd.
Ryo was helpless. He saw the ground approaching him. But, then miraculously, Rick dived off the building in a position that made his descent five times faster. He reach Ryo and caught him in between his arms. He then pulled him in and landed feet first on the stone ground. As Rick made impact, dust flew up in the air.
The people were uncertain what had happened. They all stared intently into the area of impact. As the dust clouds cleared, everyone saw that the garchomp had protected the child. They were quite confused, for it was attacking him just a moment earlier. Ryo had passed out from the fall. Rick let go of Ryo's body and he himself collapsed onto the ground.
When Ryo was awake, he saw Hazel next to him, as well as an officer. He was inside a hospital and noticed that his back and stomach was bandaged. Hazel saw that Ryo was awake and informed the officer. She walked over to Ryo and sat down.
"Your garchomp has caused quite a lot of damage today. And, it seems you have suffered quite a lot as well." said the officer, motioning toward my wounds.
"Where is Rick. I mean, my Garchomp." asked Ryo.
"Don't worry. He's in the next room being treated as well. He is not going to be in trouble. It turns out he is not a wild Pokémon. He cannot be caught by a Pokéball." said the officer.
"He's my Aunt's Pokémon. She gave him to me on my journey so he could protect me." said Ryo.
"It seems like your garchomp hurt you more than he protected you." said the officer.
"He did protect me! He saved me from those robbers. He protected me from those Houndooms who were about to attack me. The robbers had a control collar that they manage to attach to Rick's neck. That is why he went out of control It wasn't his fault. Plus, he even saved me from falling off the building when he was freed from the collar!" said Ryo.
"Well, it doesn't matter anymore. Your garchomp is not going to be taken away. The robbers will be getting full responsibility of the damages that were caused. You don't have to fight any more." said the officer. "I'm just here to return this to you." she said as she placed Ryo's license on his lap. "I saw it drop out of your pocket during the commotion."
With that, the officer left the room. "That was really dangerous, Ryo. I'm glad you're not hurt too badly." said Hazel.
"I'm just glad that Rick is fine." said Ryo.
"I have some good news." said Hazel as she pulled out a flyer from her bag. "The great Sinnoh Competition is being held here, just outside of Jubilife in a week! This competition only comes once every ten years!"
"What is the Great Sinnoh Competition?" asked Ryo.
"It's like a tournament, where around fifty to a hundred trainers attend. There are different event and trials, where in each, a large percentage of trainers are eliminated. I'm not too sure what these events are, but the best part is, the last eight trainers remaining will be able to obtain all eight gym badges of Sinnoh!" she said.
"All eight! That's perfect. That means we can save all that time traveling around the region, and instead, be able to compete in the Sinnoh League after this tournament." said Ryo.
A nurse was eavesdropping on us, and she commented, "Don't go to that tournament. You kids are too young. That Competition is not for the faint of heart. Most of them might be rookie trainers, but they are very skilled. The trials there are something far more strenuous than a gym battle. I should warn you."
"Oh, thank you for informing us." said Hazel. She looked back at Ryo. "She does have a point. Maybe we shouldn't go...."
"No! We have to. The sooner I get my badges, the better. I'm going to participate, and you are going to come with me!" said Ryo. Hazel sighed. It was an apparent mistake. Hazel realized that once Ryo had an idea, he would never back down.
"Alright, then. Let's do this." she said. "But promise that you will rest up this next week."
"Okay, I promise." said Ryo as he looked out the window with determination.

 

Chapter 4: The Competition Begins


Stark Mountain was the sight of a raging volcano. No one stepped foot in that region because of the dangers and hazards located at every corner. However, this mountain held a secret. Deep under the volcano was a hidden lair that stretched for miles upon miles. Inside this lair, stood the dark lord and all of the legendary Pokémon. They were turned into mindless slaves and followed the lord's commands. They stayed in the caves under Stark Mountain and did not try to escape. Even after having control over all these legendaries, the dark lord was not happy. One legendary was able to escape his grasp on that revolutionary day.

"Dialga, the master of time. Exactly where have you ran off too?" thought the dark lord. It was surely a strange phenomenon. The day where Mewtwo took down the Pokémon God, Dialga was there and completely helpless. But when he ordered the legendaries to seize him, the giant legendary disappeared, straight into thin air. Where was he? And more importantly, how did he escape? The Dark Lord thought these questions would never be answered, however, luck sided with him.

As usual, the Dark Lord would occasionally send small legendaries to scout Sinnoh and the other regions, in hopes to find Dialga. Everyday, the legendaries came back with no information. But today was different. As the lord was sitting at his throne, casually ordering Groudon and Zekrom to spar each other, Mesprit teleported in front of the Lord with important news.

Talking telepathically, she said, "Sir, I have found Dialga's aura." You might know this, but every Pokémon has aura, especially legendaries. Legendaries are better at sensing aura from other Pokémon, however, legendaries can keep their aura concealed. However, when a legendary becomes excited from a fight or some other event, a lot of aura will leak out from the Pokémon.

The Dark Lord's eyes lit up. "Where? Where was this aura you speak of?" he asked.

"I sensed it in the heart of Jubilife City." said Mesprit. "But, strangely, I did not see master Dialga there."

The Dark Lord began thinking, and he realized what had happened to Dialga on that fateful day. "It seems that Dialga is hiding." he said. He summoned upon Lugia, who use to be one of the guardians of the Johto Region. The legendary flew to him at once. He was a mix between a bird and a dragon, and his white feathery scales had been tainted with a dark misty color from the curse placed onto him by Mewtwo. Nonetheless, Lugia was majestic, but he only thought to serve the Dark Lord, then.

"Lugia, go to Jubilife City. Dialga is in that area. You will go and retrieve him by force." said the Dork lord. "Attack anything that gets in your way." Lugia gave a loud roar in obligation and flew out of Stark Mountain. He flew high above the clouds, as to conceal his presence from the humans down below. With another stroke of his wings, he flew like a jet and began soaring toward Jubilife.


Ryo and Hazel trained day after day for the upcoming Sinnoh Competition. Skilled trainers from all around the region were coming to the event so to get a head start at the Sinnoh League. Ryo and Rick both recovered from their injuries, and they were perfectly fine with training together even after that incident. Hazel was able to catch an Eevee. Eevee was a great addition to her team, and with Turtwig, they were perfect battle partners.

As the week sped by, it was now the morning of the Sinnoh Competition. The flyer gave the information that applicants for the competition will meet at the large field next to the river between Jubilife and Canalave City. Ryo and Hazel rushed to the sight of the tournament, where they were shocked to see hundreds of Pokémon trainers, all gathered by the river bank. Most of them were older, ranging from teens to young adults. The two of them had prepared well for the tournament. Ryo's chimchar had evolved to Monferno, and Starly had evolved into Staravia. Hazel's turtwig had also evolved into a Grotle, and her Eevee had evolved into Vaporeon.

Despite their efforts, it was clear to the both of them, that compared to the other applicants, they were out classed. Most of the trainers awaiting the start of the competition have a full party of six Pokémon, and many of them had fully evolved starters and other Pokémon with them, showing off their fearless team.

"Ryo, it seems that we might have underestimated this competition. Are you sure we should continue?" asked Hazel.

"We don't need a full party. You read the flyer, right? This is more than just Pokémon battling. What gets you to the top is your determination and connection with your Pokémon." said Ryo.

The two walked into the crowd of trainers and their Pokémon. It was tough, but they were able to squeeze their way to the front, where all the Sinnoh gym leaders had gathered to volunteer and manage the registration.

Ryo walked up to Roark, the gym leader of Oreburgh City. "Hi, we would like to register for the Sinnoh Competition." said Ryo.

"Okay. I need to see your trainer's license and and all you have to do is fill out this form." said Roark. Ryo and Hazel sat down and began filling in their information. Hazel immediately saw warnings on the paper.

"The Sinnoh Competition is not responsible for any injuries during the event. This tournament will contain a series of trials that runs in an elimination style. Multiple people had died during the last one held a decade ago. The competition is not for those with the faint of heart. So by signing this form, the trainer has agreed that if anything were to happen to him/her, it would go uncharged."

Hazel read this line and was about to inform Ryo about it, but she saw that he had already ran up to submit it. She let out a sigh. The truth was, Hazel was more than ready to join this competition. It was Ryo she was worried about that didn't have what it takes.

Roark stared at Ryo's form. "You only have two Pokémon? A monferno and a Staravia." Ryo was confused with his reaction.

"What's wrong. Did I not meet a requirement?" asked Ryo.

"I'm not suppose to give my opinion to other trainers, but all the applicants here have six Pokémon and they have very strong ones as well. Based on your Pokémon, I would say you have little to no chance of getting far in this tournament. I would recommend that you wait for the next one."

"But the next one will be in ten years. I can't wait that long! I want to attend this competition, and I already said on that form that I would take full responsibility for it." said Ryo certainly.

"Well, if you really want to....wait, is that your Garchomp?" he asked pointing toward Rick, who was casually nudging Ryo in the side telling him to hurry up. "If you sign that Pokémon up, you might have a better chance." said Roark.

"He's mine, but he is not my Pokémon." As you could imagine, Roark stared in confusion. "He is my Aunt's Pokémon and he is only with me now to protect me from danger on my journey."

Roark jotted Garchomp's name on Ryo's form. "Hey! I told you I..." Ryo began yelling, but Roark get him off.

"You said your Aunt wants him to protect you, right? Well, he can only do that if he is signed up for the tournament." with that, Roark placed Ryo's application form onto the pile. "Next!" he said.

Ryo sighed and walked off. "Guess you're going to be sticking around with me for the competition." he said to Rick.

Hazel approached and handed Roark her registration form. "Not you, too. I have to tell you, two Pokémon is not...." Hazel cut him off and slammed her hand onto the table. "I don't care about your recommendations. I know what I'm doing." Roark was very surprised to see the resolve in Hazel's eyes. Without questioning, he added her form to the pile.

Hazel went to look for Ryo, but he had disappeared into the crowd. "Hey, Ryo!" called out Hazel. But he did not answer back.

Ryo was hanging around with Rick until a trainer was rushing by to the registration table and tripped over Rick's tail. "Hey!" he shouted. "Your garchomp tripped me!"

Ryo looked down at him and said casually. "Oh, sorry about that." and walked right along. Angry, the trainer got up and stepped in front of them. "Do you know who I am? I am a veteran trainer! This is my second region. I already collected all the badges from Hoenn." he said with pride. "I want you to bend down on your knees and beg me for your forgiveness." he said.

Rick growled at the trainer, knowing he was nothing but trouble. "Look, I'm sorry that my garchomp's tail tripped you, but you can't blame me that you didn't look to see where you were going." said Ryo. Angered, the trainer threw a punch at Ryo, but Ryo quickly dodged it. The trainer swung very hard and the momentum made him fall forward as he missed and he fell onto the ground. The trainers around Ryo noticed the commotion and began chanting.

"Fight! Fight! Fight! Fight!"

At that moment, an officer came into see what all the fuss was about, and she saw a Ryo standing in front of another trainer sprawled on the ground.

"Young man, if you are starting a fight, I would have to remove you from here." threatened the officer to Ryo. Thinking fast, the trainer got up and pointed an accusing finger at Ryo.

"Officer, I just came to tell him good luck, and , and he pushed me down on the ground for no reason.

"That's not true!" yelled Ryo. But the officer was not taking any of it. Fortunately, a girl stepped up.

"Officer, this boy did not start the fight. This lousy trainer was the one who threw the first punch and he missed!" she said. The trainers around her laughed at the comment.

The officer looked back at the trainer on the ground and all he could do was smile embarrassingly.

"Come here, you little rascal." said the officer as she grabbed the trainer from the ground and dragged him away.

"Hey, thank you for that." said Ryo.

"Oh, no problem . He deserved it." she said. "By the way, my name is Lucy. I'm here to win this competition." she said and she reached a hand out for Ryo to shake.

"Oh, fine by me. I plan on winning as well." said Ryo as he shook her hand. "My name is Ryo." he added.

"Well, Ryo, you do realize that the top eight applicants all receive the eight badges, so it is possible for the both of us to be winners." she said. "I heard you only have three Pokémon. What are you up to?" she asked.

"What do you mean? I'm just here to get stronger. I started my Pokémon journey around week back and I'm using this competition as a place to connect more with my Pokémon." said Ryo.

"Hold on, are you telling me you only have one week's experience of being a trainer?" she asked bewildered. "Looks like you have lots to learn my friend." she said as she dragged Ryo along. "Take a look around. All these trainers are very skilled. Occasionally you might get a trainer who thinks to highly of himself, but most of these people have lots of training experience. I'd recommend for you to avoid any confrontations during the Competition." she said.

A bunch of trainers were gathered around, stalking another trainer who was hanging out with his gliscor. "Look at that kid. He looks pathetic."One trainer said. Another said, "Hey, lets go and mess with him." The four trainers approached to the young boy. He looked approximately the same age as Ryo. He had dark blue hair and he had a threatening gaze in his eyes that the trainer didn't seem to notice.

One of the trainers walked up and pushed him back. "Hey, you! What's your name punk."

The boy looked up expressionless at the bully. "My name's Quinn. Nice to meet you too." he said sarcastically, reaching out for a handshake. The taller trainer slapped his hands away.

"You think you're so funny?" said the trainer as they four of them dove in to punch Quinn.

Lucy explained Pokémon battling to Ryo, and how he should play during the competition. "You need more practice. Do you know how much experience I have? I've been to three other regions. I've seen Kanto, Johto, and Unova. The Sinnoh league will be the fourth league I'm going to attend."

"Why, you must be really good!" said Ryo.

Her phone buzzed in her pocket. "Oh, that's my friend calling. I gotta go. Good luck!" she said as she ran off.

When Ryo was alone with Rick again, he began searching for Hazel. As he began walking, he saw a boy walked up to an officer. "Excuse me, miss. You might want to go back there. Four kids have passed out on the floor."

"What? Really?" she said as she hurried back there. The boy looked around his area and Ryo's eyes accidentally met with his. Smiling unusually, he walked over to Ryo. "Hi, my name is Quinn." he said.

"Hi! I'm Ryo." he said, but he couldn't help but notice that this boy was a little strange.

Quinn looked up at Rick and eyed him. "Cool garchomp you have there." he said. Rick stared down at him suspiciously. Ryo didn't bother to clarify that it wasn't his.

"So, what kind of Pokémon do you have?" Quinn asked curiously. Ryo was about to answer, a large voice disrupted their conversation.

"CONTESTANTS! TURN YOUR ATTENTION TOWARD THE SINNOH CHAMPION, CYNTHIA!" shouted an announcer. Up at the end of the large crowd of trainers was a podium, where for the first time, all the trainers realized that the champion of the region had made her appearance.

Cynthia was a rather tall woman and she wore a brown coat and unique curls in her hair. She stood up at the microphone and started her speech. "Good morning Pokémon trainers! The infamous Sinnoh Games will finally begin. I wish the best luck to you all and pray that all of you will make it out alive."

She paused and her expression grew darker. "This competition is dangerous. If you are not determined to become the best of the best, I'd advise you not to continue."

The trainers in the crowd began to mutter to each other from what she said. "Well that's all I have to say. Now, let the competition begin!" All the trainers yelled and cheered on que. As Cynthia stepped off the podium, an announcer stepped on.

"It seems that this particular year, we have an abundance of Pokémon trainers attending this competition. In the previous decade, the number of applicants only reached 95. However, today we haves around 200 applicants. Because of this, we will be including the preliminary trial."

Quinn yawned as he listened. It was obvious that he wasn't interested in the explanation. Ryo, however, was listening intently.

"The preliminaries will be held on Iron Island. All Pokémon trainers, please enter the boats to your left. Don't rush, there is enough room for all 200 of you." Said the announcer.

All the trainers began migrating towards the boats. Ryo followed Quinn into the closest boat to them. When they got on, Ryo saw Hazel.

"Ryo, there you are!" She said as she walked up to him. "Where were you this whole time?" She asked.

"Oh I was just looking around. I met a few people. Um, this is Quinn" said Ryo. Quinn looked up and waved at Hazel. As the three of them got on the ship, the side doors of the boat slammed shut and the headed off to Iron Island.

Meanwhile at the riverbank, the officer was looking for the four people that the boy had told her about. Now that all the trainers had left, it was easier for her to search. However, what she found really shocked her. She saw four people lying on the ground near the back next to a tree. As she walked closer to examine them, she had found that they didn't just pass out. The four boys were beaten up so badly that their faces were indistinguishable. She quickly bent down and shook the closest trainer to wake him.

"What the hell happened here?" She asked the trainers. "Whose Pokémon did this to you?"

"It wasn't the Pokémon!" Stuttered the trainer. It was clear that whatever it was scared them out of their minds.

Back at the boats, as Ryo and Hazel talked to each other about plans for the preliminaries, Quinn just stared off into the sea, seemingly not caring about what happens during the competition. Quinn noticed something about Ryo. He had an unusually strong aura.

Lugia slows his descent as he senses Dialga's aura. It's very weak, but it is present. He sensed it start to leave Jubilife and was heading up North. Lugia changed his course and flew after the scent.

 

Chapter 5: Challenge 1 - Iron Island

The boats sailed along the blue ocean. Quinn let out a loud yawn as he turned to face Ryo. "So, what Pokémon do you have?" he asked.

"Oh, um, I have a monferno and Staravia. This is Rick, but he isn't really my Pokémon." said Ryo.

"That's all? You only have three Pokémon? Why the hell are you competing in this competition?" asked Quinn confused.

"Well, I'm here to let myself and my Pokémon become stronger. And if I do happen to win, then I can get a free ticket to the Sinnoh League." said Ryo. His innocent response irritated Quinn a little.

"Let's say you do get into the top eight, by some miracle. You only have three Pokémon. Do you think you can compete in the league with only three Pokémon?" challenged Quinn.

"Oh, I guess I didn't think about that." said Ryo nonchalantly.

"What about you?" asked Quinn as he turned toward Hazel. "Why are you here?"

"Same reasons as Ryo stated. I want to get stronger. There are many pro trainers on this boat with us right now. From the experience of this competition, I can learn a lot." said Hazel. She looked down at her pokeballs and began to contemplate about something. "However, unlike Ryo, I will not be going to the Sinnoh League after. This is not my goal."

"What? Why not?" asked Ryo. "Don't you want to win and get the eight badges?"

"I do want to win, that I am certain. But the Sinnoh League isn't what I'm after. I have to take care of something else." Hazel was avoiding to tell them something, and Quinn was a ware of the fact.

"Ok, whatever." said Quinn, as to quickly end the conversation. "And plus, you two seem too young to be risking the danger you would put yourself in in this Competition." he added.

"You aren't much older, either. You look the same age as I. Why are you here, then?" asked Ryo.

"Are kidding me?" said Quinn. "I have a party full of powerful Pokémon. I'm much more prepared than the two of you. I have a Metagross, Salamence, Gliscor, Tyranitar, Charizard, and Greninja. They are all on me right now, and they are registered for the competition."

"Show off." muttered Hazel under her breath.

Soon, the boats arrived on Iron Island. The island was desolate and void of any kind of vegetation. The land seemed to stretch mile after a mile with only rocks in sight. Ryo, Hazel, and Quinn got of the boats and were swept forward by the crowd of applicants. As soon as all the trainers set foot off the boats, the boats started up and sailed away.

"Hello, everyone! This is the sight of the Preliminary trials. Now everyone, take a look to your right." motioned the announcer as she pointed toward a large rock structure. There was a cave entrance. It was quite large and it gave off an eerie atmosphere.

"In a moment, you would all proceed into the cave. Iron Island may not be very large, but there is a network of tunnels and large caverns underneath. And this leads me to the first trial. There are entrances like this one all around the coast of Iron Island. All you will divide yourselves in groups of four to five. Your goal is to reach a secret room hidden deep within the maze of caves under Iron Island. It's very simple. If your group gets to the room before six hours, you will pass to the next round. People who don't make it will get eliminated. The elite four will be situated in that room to receive all the applicants who made it thus far, and once the time is up, they will help guide you out of the cave through a secret exit."

The announcer paused, and then said, "There will be many wild Pokémon located throughout the caverns. I should warn you all to be careful, for they will attack without hesitation. We do not have control over these Pokémon. Now, choose your groups."

All the trainers began talking amongst each other. They were all assumably looking to form alliances and become a group. Ryo looked over at Hazel and Quinn.

"Hey, the three of us could be a group." said Ryo.

"Yeah, but we need at least one more person." said Hazel, looking around to see if anyone was interested in joining them.

Their choices were diminishing. Trainers soon began dispersing with their groups, and it seemed that new members for their group was becoming scarce. "Ok, let's just ask that guy over there." said Ryo, pointing to an older trainer, around the age of sixteen. He seemed to have the same problem. He was left without a group as well.

"Hey, can you join our group for the first event?" asked Ryo. The trainer turned around to see trainers younger than him walking his way.

"Oh, yeah, sure!" he said immediately. "My name is Dan. And you guys seem to need my help." he began to act quite boastful. "I guess it's my job to take care of the rookies."

"We're rookies?! Oh you don't....." began Quinn, but Hazel cut him off.

"Yes, thank you for agreeing to come with us. It seems that most of the trainers have already created their groups." said Hazel.

"Ok, well, I will lead the way." said Dan cheerfully. Quinn did not like his demeaning attitude toward them.

We walked up to the announcer, showing her our group of four. She recorded our names and brought us to a cave entrance.

"Currently, the cave door is closed. Once all the trainers get into groups and are each aligned at a cave entrance, the entrances will open and the clock will begin to count down. Remember, you only have six hours." said the announcer. "And also, you are only allowed two Pokémon for this event, so I will hold on to the Pokémon you aren't taking into the cave."

"Ok, here are my extra Pokémon." said Quinn as he handed the announcer four pokeballs. Hazel only had two Pokémon, so she didn't have to choose. Dan was reluctant to give the announcer the rest of his Pokémon. He worried that two Pokémon was not enough.

Ryo looked at Rick and then the two balls in his hands. "Sorry, Pal. But I need these two guys to get a little more action." Ryo said to him. Realizing that Ryo was going to leave him out, Rick stamped his feet on the ground, demanding a place in his party in the caves.

"How about this. I promise to use you and only you for the next challenge." compromised Ryo. Well, that was enough to get Rick to oblige.

"You don't have a Pokéball for your garchomp?" asked the announcer warily.

"Well, no. I don't have his Pokéball on me. But he is tamed. Don't worry. Rick wouldn't hurt a fly." reassured Ryo. Rick walked away with the announcer holding their pokeballs. The announcer place all of their pokeballs in a crate and labeled each of their names on it. She then looked at Rick, not sure wat to do with him.

"So, where are you from?" asked Hazel to Dan.

"Oh, I'm from the Unova region. I've been on a Pokémon journey for a very long time, feel free to learn from me." he said. "I've been to Hoenn, Kanto, and Johto. This region will be my fifth." he bragged.

"How many leagues have you been to?" challenged Quinn.

"Oh, yeah, well, about that....I didn't have time, because I was...... so busy getting invitations from skilled trainers...."

"Did you even get all eight badges from any of the regions?" asked Quinn.

"I've....I've gotten a few badges here and there." stammered Dan. Quinn was really enjoying this, but the four's attention was turned toward the entrance as the stone door slowly slid out of the way to reveal the darkness within.
"Cut it out guys, we have to proceed." said Hazel.

"Yeah, you can go first, I'll......protect from the back. Most attacks happen from the rear." said Dan. So the four of them began treading through the darkness of the cave. All of them couldn't prevent themselves from bumping into rocks or tripping over jagged rocks on the floor. "Hey, I got an idea!" said Ryo as he summoned Monferno.

As the fire monkey appeared, the flames on his body lighted up the dark tunnel. "Good thinking." said Hazel.

"I would've thought of that too if I had a fire Pokémon." added Dan. Quinn rolled his eyes.

It all seemed fine at first. The tunnel didn't branch off at any point, so all four of them were certain they were on the right track. However, as almost an hour had passed, the group was not able to find any other passages. It was as if the tunnel was never going to lead anywhere.

"Something's wrong. This might be a trap." said Quinn.

"Did you notice?" asked Hazel.

"What?" Quinn asked.

"The ground we are walking on, it's tilted down. Look." mentioned Hazel as she grabbed two pieces of rocks. She threw one in front and one backward, and the four of them listened to the sounds of the rocks bouncing along the cave walls. The sound of the rock that was thrown backward had ceased, but the one that was thrown forward continued to bounce in the distance."

"We are walking down an incline. It seems that we are way below sea level by now." said Hazel.

"But what does that mean?" asked Dan.

"It means that we are getting closer to the room with the elite four. Remember what the announcer said. The room we are looking for is hidden deep inside the caverns. This means that the room must be located at the very bottom. We entered the cave from the surface of Iron Island. There is not enough room for the networks of tunnels to spread above. Therefore, we should be aiming to go down." explained Hazel.

"So, that means we are on the right track! See I told you we had nothing to worry about." boasted Dan.

This time, Hazel was the one to roll her eyes. As they kept walking, they stopped dead in their tracks when they heard a rumble.

"What was that?!" asked Hazel.

Before any of them could react, the ground gave away.

"Ah! What's going on!" cried Dan.

"There must've been some sort of tunnel right below us, and the roof above must have gave away from our weight!" explained Hazel(somehow) as they all went plummeting down.

"Monferno! Use rock climb!" shouted Ryo. Monferno grabbed Ryo by the feet. Ryo swung down and grabbed Quinn. Catching on what was happening, Quinn caught Hazel by the leg and Hazel grabbed onto Dan's shirt. Monferno dug his one free arm into the side of the pit and they managed to stop their fall.

"Yay! We formed a link!" commented Ryo.

"Enough with that. Tell Monferno to pull us up!" cried Dan. Monferno tried inching up, but the four humans were just too heavy. The piece of rock that Monferno had grabbed onto broke off.

"Uh oh..." said Ryo as the four of them began falling again. They all screamed all the way down, but the pitfall began to flatten out, and it turn into a rock slide, a perfect transition as to ease their fall. The rockslide brought them through an opening. Apparently, the ground was not right under the opening. They fell a few more feet and hit the hard rock floor.

"Well, that hurt." said Quinn.

"Where are we?" said Hazel as she got up to look around. Even though Monferno was there, his flames didn't seem to lighten up the darkness in front of them. "There is a lot of echoing from our voices. Therefore this is probably a fairly large cavern we had just landed in. Ryo, tell Monferno to use ember straight up in the air." said Hazel.

Monferno shout out a ball of fire straight up. All four of them looked up to see if the ceiling could be reached. Right before the ember began to die out, the ceiling of the cavern could just be seen.

"From that height, I'd estimate the ceiling being around two hundred fifty feet tall?" said Hazel. "Well, let's get going. I feel like we're getting closer."

At the room where trainers were suppose to converge, sat the elite four members. A single applicant has not showed up and they were becoming impatient. "These trainers seem so incompetent. How can they take such a long time just to find a room in a cave." said Aaron.

"Be patient. This trial may not seem as easy as it looks. These tunnels are very disorientating, and there are many dangerous Pokémon lurking around in the shadows." said Bertha. "These trainers have no idea the danger they are in. You cannot just get through this Competition with battling skills alone."

There was a flash of light, and a girl with an Alakazam appeared in the room. "Well, looks like we got our first applicant." said Lucian.

"Oh, finally! I used teleport to get here. Alakazam here has transported us to some weird parts of the cave, but we finally made it to the right place." exclaimed the girl.

"Where's your group?" asked Bertha.

"Um, my group?" asked the girl. "I left them behind when I used teleport. Alakazam can only teleport one other person."

Bertha sighed and wrote something down on paper. "There is a reason we force all the trainers to get into groups before the challenge. It shows your teamwork." said Bertha. "May I get your name, hun?"

"It's Lucy." she said.

Back with Ryo and the gang, they continued navigating through the large open caverns. They would constantly bump into stalagmites that were twenty feet tall. Ryo stopped dead in his tracks.

"Hey, kid, why did you stop?!" Asked Dan.

Ryo's face grew serious. "There is a Pokémon nearby." he said.

"What where?" cried Dan startled.

"Ryo, I don't hear anything. Are you sure?" said Hazel.

"Yes, I'm sure. And it is very big. Its, its right below us." said Ryo.

"EVERYONE JUMP BACK!" yelled Quinn as he dashed backwards. Startled, everyone else followed his command. Right when they got out of the way, the ground they were just standing on seconds ago burst open and out came a large ferocious Steelix.

"Monferno, use flame wheel!" shouted Ryo. Monferno jumped up and wrapped himself in fire. He than spun around in a circle and launched at the Steelix, hitting it straight in the face. The Steelix was knocked back and it let out a roar. It was very angry.

"Everyone, run to the right!" shouted Ryo. It was as if Ryo had read the Steelix's mind. It swung its iron tail at the four of them, but it missed them just by a few inches as all of them were able to dodge just in time from Ryo's warning. Steelix's tail smashed into the side of the cave, sending stalactites crashing to the ground.

"Gliscor, come on out." said Quinn. Out from his Pokéball landed a Gliscor. "You know what to do." Quinn said to him.

"Glis-cor!" shouted the Gliscor as he prepared to attack.

"What is he going to do?" asked Hazel, but as she turned around to see what Quinn was doing, she noticed that he had summoned a Salamence.

"Everyone, jump on Salamence!" shouted Quinn. Ryo and Monferno hopped on, followed by Hazel, and then Dan jumped on afterward. Quinn gave the signal to Gliscor. Gliscor caused rapid movement from the ground, and before anyone could tell what was going on, they all began to feel the vibrations from the earth. It was so strong that they could all feel it in the air.

"Gliscor is using Earthquake!" shouted Hazel. "I never felt an earthquake this strong!" The ceiling began to cave in as the earthquake grew stronger.

"Alright, Gliscor, that's enough. Hop on!" shouted Quinn. The gliscor flew to Salamence and Salamence jetted away from the area as fast as he could. Large boulders were falling from the ceiling and Salamence did a great job maneuvering past all of them.

Dan looked back to see an avalanche of rocks approaching them. "Hurry, we're going to get crushed!" cried Dan.

"Brace yourselfs. We're going for an impact!" shouted Quinn.

Around ninety trainers had made it to the room with the elite four. They all waited for the time to run out. There was only a few minutes left. They all chattered amongst themselves, proud that they made it past the first trial, but the ground began shaking violently.

"Hey! What's happening?!" cried a random trainer.

"It's earthquake. Is a Pokémon using Earthquake?" asked Flint.

Bertha was very shocked to feel the immense vibrations coming from the ground. "I never felt an earthquake this powerful. What's amazing is that whatever is using the move is very far away." she said.

After a minute or two, the rumbling finally settled down. As the trainers all just began to catch their breath, a large explosion at the side of the room sent trainers running in every direction."

"Everyone, calm down!" cried Bertha as she motioned toward the wall where the explosion happened. As all the trainers looked to see what it was, the depre dissipated and they saw a giant Salamence carrying four Pokémon trainers.
"Did we make it in time?" asked Ryo as the buzzer just went off a second after.

"ZZZZZZAAANNNGGG!!!!" It went.

Bertha was quite shocked to see that grandeur entrance. "Um yes, you made it in time." she said. Quinn commanded Salamence to land and he summoned him back into his Pokéball. They walked up to Lucian as he asked for their names.

"It would've been nice if you four could have entered by means of the entrance we made for you." he said motioning towards the door to the room.

"Hey Quinn, how did you even know where to find this room?" asked Hazel.

"Well, let's just say that Salamence has quite the blood lust for humans. A bunch of humans gathered in one place is like a feast for Salamence." said Quinn as she stared at Hazel with a creepy expression.

"Ehh, you're spooky kid." said Dan as he shivered from the thought of how he was able to tame that Salamence.

Aaron walked up to the microphone in the room and said, "Congratulations everyone, for passing the first challenge. It seems like we have many talented people this time around. Out of two hundred people, half of the groups were able to make it here in this room. Now follow me back to the surface."

Aaron turned around and pressed a button. A large rock door opened up, revealing a smaller room with a metal floor. "Everyone, proceed into the room. It will be a little tight, for I didn't expect so many people to pass, but it will make do." he said.

All the applicants squeezed into the room. Aaron pressed another button and the metal platform underneath them began moving upwards. All the trainers looked up to see light shining in from the top. The elevator picked up speed and within a few seconds, the elevator platform shot out of the ground to the surface. All the trainers dispersed onto the coast smelling the beautiful fresh air, happy they were away from the musty darkness of the cave. Cynthia was outside to greet all the applicants.

"What is that!?" cried a trainer. Everyone looked up to see a large creature diving towards the island. Cynthia squinted toward the sky and saw a large dragon like Pokémon flying towards.

"Everyone get cover! This is not a planned event!" shouted Cynthia. Everyone panicked and began finding a rock to hide under. The creature let out a loud roar and began driving dangerously close to the ground.

"That's, that's Lugia!" said Hazel.

"What?! You know what that thing is?" asked Dan.

"But, it's color...." began Hazel. But Ryo dragged her back.

"Hazel, we have to run away. That thing is dangerous." he said.

Ryo and the gang ran near the center of the Island, thinking that it was the safest spot. But Lugia was looking for something and that was his sole purpose of being there. He concentrated and found the location of the aura. It made a 180 degree turn and flew towards Ryo and the gang.