17To my favorite readers: When I took you from Hogwarts to Narnia, I know you enjoyed yourselves. This may be Pokémon, and you might originally think it's silly originally, but that's the last thing it'll be to you when you finish. Like "The Other World," it's a completely new take on something, and I spent a lot of time ensuring that character is the most important factor in the story. Enjoy. Sorry I've been gone so long!
To Pokémon fans: this is going to be really different, but I hope you enjoy the quality of the literature and the time I've put into this story. This tale may shock you a little, but it's what I foresee would happen if Pokémon were real and that society were the same as in the games. This is NOT a referendum against Pokémon. I loved it as a kid and I still do. I just wanted to explore another direction. I hope you enjoy it!
Note: This occurs soon after the events in the original Red and Blue games.
Chaos Revolution
I was way too naïve. I thought the world worked the way it was supposed to work. I thought there was justice. Coherency. Not chaos.
The scars on my face prove otherwise.
Sorry to start off my narrative so bleakly, but that's the way it is. There's no other way to tell this story. It began when I was fourteen, in Pewter city, Kanto, my hometown. I had waited my whole life, just like everyone else in the entire world, to be old enough to leave town and capture a Pokémon of my own to train. I mean, who didn't have one? If you didn't you were some sort of freak. And let's face it, you wouldn't be able to get from one town to the other safely.
I woke up that perfect morning, a month after my fourteenth birthday, when I was old enough and had enough money to buy a Poké ball of my own so I could be a trainer like everyone else. My parents... well, my mom's an artist and my dad works as a janitor, so they don't make very much money and…. Yeah. No allowance or anything. Most kids' parents' bought them six or seven Poké balls months in advance before their legal birthday, but not me. I had to work for my own money. I did odd jobs- mowing lawns, watching people's Ponytas so they don't burn down their house while they're gone, that sort of thing. It took me forever, but I finally scraped up enough money.
I trundled downstairs in my pajamas, passing my mom served me pancakes with a Poké ball drawn in it with chocolate syrup. We both laughed at it before I started shoveling it in. My mom has one of those faces that you know has smiled a lot, if you know what I mean. Really warm, brown eyes, and long brown hair that curls right before it stops. She was a little shorter than most people I knew, but made up for it by smiling so much you almost can't stand it. She makes a room light up, you know?
My dad who was sitting across the table, was a little different.
"So, you think you're ready?" He prodded. I paused in the act of pouring more syrup on my pancake.
"I think so," I answered. He nodded, then pulled open the newspaper, hiding his face. If you could see through the paper, he really didn't have the same kind of face as my mom. Lots of analytical lines on his forehead and nose, not very many around his eyes. He didn't smile very much. Like every morning when I saw him, he was wearing his one-piece grey janitor suit.
"What did I just hear?" Came a voice from the hallway. My brother, Eric, stumbled halfway into the kitchen, his hair shoved out towards the right side of his head from bedhead, his chest bare and his eyes bleary. He was seventeen, and was starting stand out as a trainer at the gym in town. I had never gone to the matches, mostly because you can't get in without a Pokémon at your side.
"Today's the day, then, huh?" he asked, swatting me on the shoulder. I half-grinned and punched him back.
"Yeah. Don't hit me while I'm holding a fork by my face."
"You goin' to catch one today?"
"Sure. If I can." I went back to my pancake. I'd almost finished it.
"Viridian forest?" Eric asked. Mom went to the sink and started spraying off dad's dishes.
"Jason?" Eric called.
"Mmf?" I asked, my mouth full.
"You going to Viridian forest to catch your first one?"
I swallowed the last of my pancake.
"Yeah." I got up from the table and walked out of the kitchen, heading back to my room.
"You want some help?" Eric called after me from the bathroom. I paused, then walked back and stared at him as he tamed his wild hair with a big comb in front of the mirror.
"No, I can do this myself."
"Jason, I was meaning a trade."
That stopped me.
"What did you say?"
He paused and looked at me.
"Trade," he said, like he was teaching me a new word. "Bring me, oh, a Kakuna and I'll trade you a Growlithe I'm not using."
"A Growlithe? Are you serious?"
"…yeah?"
"Ha! Sure!"
We shook hands on it. I practically skipped down the hallway. This was turning out to be the perfect day.
It was Saturday, so thankfully I didn't have to sit through school. Anyway, most trainers dropped out after they turned fourteen. Not many people cared. Earning medals at gyms was much more important to people anyway. Trainers like Ash Ketchum had become household names. It was all anybody could talk about in the news, at school, anywhere, as he fought his way through the trainers at Indigo Plateau. There were only seven people in the last fifteen years that had even made it past Lorelei, the first member of the Elite Four.
I sprinted through the crowded streets of downtown Pewter, heading for the nearest shop I knew of that sold Poké balls. I had to do a lot of running around people, since I was so little, but I didn't let that dampen my spirits. In my right hand I clutched a bag that had all the money I'd saved in it, and around my waist I had one of Eric's old belts with hooks for the Poké balls. Had to have some place to hang my first one, didn't I?
I waited in line for eternity in the store. It was packed with people, and stuffed full with every kind of Pokémon merchandise you could imagine – potions, expensive kinds of Poké balls that were supposed to work better, wildly expensive Pokédexes, backpacks, jackets, hats, everything.
The Poké balls were all behind glass at the counter, since you had to be fourteen to buy one. A bored-looking girl at the counter wearing a silly Pikachu hat checked my I.D. card (thank goodness I remembered to bring it), looked at me carefully, then gave me one. I took it with both hands. The ball was made of two halves, the bottom white and the top red, with a button on one end that opened it. It was heavier than I expected, and the metal was cold.
"Good luck," the girl behind the counter told me.
"Thanks," I said, and left the store.
I ran through the streets again, stuffing the Poké ball onto my belt, and dodged through people and traffic to get to the outskirts of town. I paused as I saw what I was looking for in the distance:
Viridian forest. The place where all kids from Pewter first went. It stood in the south like a green wall in the distance across the rolling hills. Most of the people my age that I knew had already been to Viridian and come out again with Pokémon at their belts. They'd made fun of me when I didn't go. I gritted my teeth, fighting back against the nervousness that was threatening to bubble over. I'd never left town before. Not on my own, anyway.
I walked for a long time towards that green wall of trees, steeling myself as they grew larger and larger. I spotted a path that led to an archway at the forest's edge, and followed it.
Without pausing in step, afraid that I might lose my nerve, I walked straight into the woods.
You know the creepy forests that're in stories, where the light doesn't shine through the top of the forest canopy, and sticks are everywhere and every noise you hear makes you want to jump ten feet in the air and scream for your mommy? Well, Viridian forest is worse. It's dark, much darker than the movies. Sure, patches of sunlight shine through and make pools of yellow across the path, but that only makes it so it's harder to see past the shadows. You're eyes never get the chance to adjust. The only un-foresty thing about it was that the path was unusually clear of twigs.
What also made my skin crawl was the sound. Bugs were singing constantly, birds chirped here and there and fluttered around, but the worst part was the rushes of noise that would suddenly blast across the path behind me and would be gone before I had the chance to see anything. Then something would whoosh to my right, and then my left. I was severely creeped out, because I knew I was being watched from every angle and there was nothing I could do to stop it. I wanted to yell for them to go away, but I also knew that would only make more come.
After about a mile I stopped walking. If I went any further I would start running into trainers, and I didn't know how forgiving they'd be on a newcomer. I mean, I had a Poké ball at my belt. They'd probably challenge me, thinking there was a Pokémon inside.
Whoosh!
Something else moved beside me and I jumped and turned, ready to run, and slammed right into a tree.
There was a scraping noise and an irritated rattling noise, and something large and yellow fell from the sky and landed right next to me with a thump. I leaped backward away from it, afraid I was about to get stung to death by a horde of Weedles, then realized what had landed in front of me.
It was about two feet long, and brownish yellow. It had a rounded end, and its other came to a point. The whole thing was made of some sort of hard outer shell that layered over itself like armor. A Kakuna.
"No way," I muttered to myself. I carefully approached it, just to be sure I was right.
As soon as I got within a foot of it, the Kakuna wriggled. I froze. The armor slid
over on itself, drawing closer, tighter around itself, then went stiff as a board. I nervously laughed. That was the Kakuna's only defense. Hardening. This would be easy.
I pulled my new Poké ball off of my belt, pressed the center button, and tossed it at the Kakuna.
The complex technologies of the Poké ball made the ball twist in the air, lock towards the Kakuna, open, and with a flash of light the Kakuna disappeared. The Poké ball landed with a thunk on the dirt.
I trotted over and picked up the Poké ball. This was too easy. Would catching
other Pokémon be this simple?
VVVVVVVV
When I came back home, my prize in hand, Eric was waiting for me in our front yard. He whapped me on the shoulder.
"Good work, bro. Lemme see it." Eric looked much better without bedhead. He was dressed like any other trainer – well, the current fashion was to look like Ash, with an unbuttoned jacket, jeans, and a backpack thrown over your shoulders. Eric had the whole crazy-hair thing going, so he didn't wear the traditional baseball cap. Now that it was nearing lunch he was his usual bright-eyed self as I unclipped the Poké ball from my belt and pressed the button.
There was a pop and a hiss, then a terrific flash of light and my Kakuna appeared on the ground in front of me, laying sideways, still stiff. Eric grinned and crouched next to it. He tapped its head with his finger and the Kakuna made an angry rattling noise, like a snake.
"All right, deal's a deal," He said, rising. I pressed the button on my Poké ball again and with a flash the Kakuna disappeared inside it. Eric pulled one of his many Poké balls off his belt and handed it to me. I slowly took it and wordlessly handed over my Kakuna. I stared at the new ball. I saw Eric raise his eyebrows.
"Go ahead, Jason. Let him out." An irreversible smile broadened on my face, and with a feeling of joy I pressed the button.
Brilliant white light flashed from the ball to the ground, and from it materialized a bright orange dog, about a foot high, with black stripes and a white tail. A punklike wisp of white hair curled off its forehead. It had keen, intelligent eyes that looked up at me with curiosity. It shuffled its feet for a moment, then sat down on its haunches and looked me in the eyes. I could tell from its gaze that this dog was smart. Its nose twitched and it snorted, and when it did a spurt of fire flew from its nostrils. I stared at it in wonder, and heard Eric chuckling next to me. I didn't care. The Kakuna didn't count. It was this moment that I became a Trainer.
VVVVVVVVVVVVVVV
I didn't put my Growlithe back in its Poké ball for a week. I named him Blaze, and he followed me all around the house, never making noise unless he had to go out to go to the bathroom. He was the most intelligent-looking animal I had ever run across. He always looked me in the eye when I talked to him. The only downside was that I couldn't pet him very long or else I'd burn my hands – he was hot to the touch. His body temperature must have been twice what mine is.
Eric thought I was weird at first, for not keeping him in my Poké ball. When he found out I had named him, he thought I was crazy.
"It's a Growlithe," he protested. "You don't name it."
"Him, not it," I corrected as I did my useless math homework on the couch (who needs homework when you're going to drop out, right?). Blaze was lying right next to me. I absent-mindedly scratched his ears and he sat his head up on my leg, wagging his long-haired tail briefly.
"Whatever," Eric conceded. "You know, if you care about it that much you're not gonna be able to fight it very well."
VVVVVVVVV
That night I had an argument with my dad at dinner.
"I don't understand. I'm ready to be a trainer! Why does it matter if I stay in school?"
"And what happens if you wash out?" Dad shot back. "You come back home with a middle-school education. You think there's any way you'll get a decent job?" Dad really looked angry. He'd been just like this right when Eric dropped out. Everyone's chicken and rice had been forgotten.
"Dad, just let I go!" Eric jumped in. I looked at him askance, surprised. He'd never really stuck up for me before now. Dad's face turned red and he rounded on him.
"Eric, we all know you got lucky. You got noticed by some sponsors. But who says Jason will?"
Mom and I were looking back and forth between Dad and Eric. Mom's smiling face was gone, replaced by a nervous, going-to-cry-if-this-gets-any-worse face. I was confused. Suddenly this had become a fight between the two of them, and Dad was much angrier than he should have been.
"Who says Jason won't?" Eric countered fiercely. "Just because you failed as a trainer and had to spend your life cleaning toilets doesn't mean the rest of the world-"
"Eric!" Mom shouted.
"Get out!" Dad yelled.
Everyone froze.
"Honey, don't-" Mom tried to interrupt, her voice shaky.
"Wait, you were a trainer?" I asked Dad. It was like he couldn't hear me.
"Eric, get out. If you think it's so easy, try being a trainer without free food and a free house."
Eric stared.
"You're kicking me out?" He asked, dumbfounded.
"No!" Mom cried, bursting into tears.
"Come back when you realize the world isn't as nice as TV makes it out to be," Dad spat.
Everyone went quiet. Eric and Dad stared each other down.
"Fine," Eric muttered. He threw down his fork, got up from the table, and stormed out of the kitchen toward his room.
We were all silent for a long time. I could hear Eric rustling around in his room. Then I heard his feet hit the hallway floor. He passed by the kitchen door, dressed in his trainer jacket, his backpack, and his belt.
"Bye," he called, and went out the door, slamming it behind him.
"Eric!" I called, jumping up from the table and running out after him.
Eric was jogging away from the house down the sidewalk, towards the city. The sun was almost set, casting the houses, trees, and lawns in a warm red and yellow glow. It was completely opposite of what I felt. Everything was falling apart.
"Eric!" I shouted. He slowed down and turned.
"What?"
I ran up to him, my breathing heavy.
"Can I come with you?" I asked. Eric laughed bitterly.
"You know you'd never make it with me. You don't even know what your Growlithe can do yet."
"So teach me," I pressed. "I'm going to be a trainer. Might as well start now." Eric shook his head.
"There's only one way I can get big enough sponsors to live on."
I nodded.
"You're going to make a move for the Elite Four, at Indigo Plateau."
"You know what that means, right?" He asked me seriously. "Going all around the country, beating all of the gym masters one after another."
"Nobody's done it in ten years," I said.
"You'd leave home to help me?" Eric wondered.
"Let me get Blaze," I answered.
VVVVVVVV
I snuck back inside, grabbed Blaze, packed up a backpack full of clothes, and left before mom and dad even knew I'd been there. I could hear her crying in the kitchen. I gritted my teeth and forced myself to sneak out again. Blaze, thankfully, was his usual, silent self at my side. Eric met us at the end of the block, and together we left toward the skyscrapers of downtown Pewter.
When we got into the heart of the city Eric made me put Blaze back in his Poké ball.
"He's too small. We'll lose him in the city." I knew he was right. I apologized to Blaze, then with a flash of light I sucked him into the Poké ball and put it on my belt. The sun had set by this time, but the billboards, street lights, cars, and skyscrapers were so bright it didn't matter. Using some spare money he had in his wallet, Eric bought us some food. We stuffed it into our backpacks, then headed south out of Pewter to the forest.
"Why Viridian forest?" I asked nervously as we left the city behind and began crossing grassy hills. The wall of trees in the distance looked a lot scarier at night. The moonlight shone off the top of the tree canopy and made such deep shadows by the trunks it practically screamed 'don't go in here!'
"It's the fastest way to Viridian city. I've already beaten Brock, so looks like Giovanni's next. He's the closest one, anyway."
"Isn't he the leader of Team Rocket?"
"Yeah."
"How're you gonna beat him?" I asked. Eric shook his head.
"Luck, mostly. I think I have the right combination to win."
Soon we reached the forest. I paused at the edge of the trees, afraid of the pitch darkness we were about to step into. Eric walked past me into it, then turned and looked back at me with a frown.
"What?"
"I-… what about the wild Pokémon in there?"
Eric waved my question off.
"Don't worry. I've been here a dozen times. I can take out anything in here. Now, are you coming or going back home?"
Not entirely sure I believed him, I followed Eric into the darkness.
We hadn't gone thirty feet before something whooshed past off to our right. Eric stopped and put a hand to his belt. I ran into him .
"Get off. What was that?" He lightly shoved me back and stared into the trees.
"I heard that when I was here last week," I murmured. "It's how I found your Kakuna." Eric glanced at me with a raised eyebrow.
Whoosh. It moved across the path to our left. We both whirled to find nothing there.
"We need to move," Eric decided.
"What's going on?" I whispered.
"I've never heard anything like that in here, but it sounds like we're being hunted and I don't like it."
"Hunted?" I repeated, my voice shaky.
"Let's keep walking. Maybe it'll leave us-"
Vmmm.
A noise like wings buzzed in front of us and suddenly something appeared in the shadows on the path ahead. We both stopped. Eric put his arm back to shield me. He flicked his arm and there was a pop and a flash of white light that completely blinded me.
"Flash," I heard Eric command. When I opened my eyes the whole area was lit up. A two foot tall orange and black mouse with large pointed ears was standing in front of Eric, its face and tail crackling with electricity and lighting up the space. A Raichu.
Twenty feet away was what I could only describe as an enormous bug with blades instead of arms. It was bright green and armored, with a triangular head and large, sharp-looking hooks for forelegs. The only un-buglike thing about it was its eyes, which had pupils and irises just like us. It was looking directly at us. Its wings flicked and buzzed for a moment.
"A Scyther!" Eric exclaimed. He sounded shocked. "They're not supposed to be in here!"
"That's because he's not from these parts."
Both of us jumped at the sound of a new voice. The Scyther moved to the side, still staring at us, and a kid around Eric's age walked into the pool of light being cast by Erik's Raichu. Eric visibly relaxed.
"You're out late," he commented.
"We're out late," came another voice. I jumped and turned. Another trainer stepped out of the shadows behind me. The path was blocked both ways.
"Looks like we've got ourselves a double duel," the Scyther trainer said with a chuckle. He was wearing a black hoodie with a torn decal of a skull on the front of it. The other trainer was wearing a long black coat and had black hair, but I couldn't tell anything else about him.
"Look, you can fight me, all right?" Eric said, "but my brother's not ready to yet. He's with me. He just got his first Pokémon last week."
"That's not the way it works," the second trainer murmured. I stared at him wide-eyed. I was about to have my first duel, and I hadn't even trained Blaze yet. I didn't like this at all. I got back to back with Eric. My heart rate was rising out of control, making my fingers shake. I pulled my single Poké ball off my belt. The trainer in front of me smiled.
"I like first timers," he said quietly. "Easy wins."
"You wanna fight?" Eric yelled. The other trainer laughed. The Scyther made a noise that scared me to death – a deep, rattling hiss. The trainer in front of me tossed a Poké ball, blinded me with a flash of white, and a big round, mostly brown monster with sharp spines spiking up all over its back, a face of a rat with round eyes, and enormous claws sprouting from its paws. A Sandslash. It hissed at me and got into a crouch, waiting. I felt Eric stiffen behind me.
"Fine," he growled. "Cut Flash."
The forest went black.
BOOM! A blast of light brighter than anything I'd ever seen flew across the clearing and thunder slammed into my eardrums. Lightning flashed, lighting everything, then sent us into darkness over and over. I saw the other trainer's Pokémon slowly beginning to waddle towards me by the flashes. I heard Eric and the other trainer shouting and the Scyther roaring as the Pokémon jumped around and fought behind us. I panicked and pressed the button on my Poké ball.
Light flashed and Blaze appeared.
The Sandslash tackled Blaze and disappeared into the darkness.
"Blaze! Do…something!" I heard the tearing, ripping sound of two animals fighting and rolling around in the leaves. Blaze screamed.
"Fire!" I shouted, hoping it react. At once Blaze and the Sandslash were revealed, red fire bursting from Blaze's mouth like a flamethrower and lighting up the leaves and twigs. The Sandslash bristled up and jumped out of the way, curling up and rolling away like a spiky basketball. Lighting blinded us again and then Blaze disappeared. He was out of fire.
"Fury swipes!" The trainer shouted over the sound of the lightning.
Blaze screamed again.
Time seemed to slow as the Raichu's lightning lit the scene. The Sandslash pounced on Blaze and started tearing into him with his claws. The two rolled one over the other, Blaze squealing. The Sandslash jerked, then Blaze cried out and then fell silent and still.
Darkness returned.
"You lose."
I screamed as spines and claws slammed into my face and tore through the skin on my left cheek. I fell backwards. The Sandslash jabbered in my ear as it bit and scratched me. Someone yelled, and suddenly the Sandslash flew off of me with a screech. I briefly saw Eric's sneaker. He had kicked it off.
I was crying. Something liquid and hot was running down my face. Then I realized it was my blood.
"Eric!" I shouted. Lighting flashed. He was kneeling over me.
"What'd you kick him for?" The other trainer shouted.
"Shut up!" Eric jumped up and punched. I heard it connect. Eric reached for his belt, then there was a flash and an enormous snake appeared on my right. An Arbok. Its hood flashed open and it coiled up, rattling and hissing, facing the other trainer.
"That's against the rules!" The trainer shouted.
"Stop or I'll have it bite you!" Lightning flashed and I saw Eric whip his head towards it. "Thunder wave!"
My hair stood on end as a surge of electricity powered through the air and lit the trees with purple light. The Scyther screamed. Eric grabbed another Poké ball off his belt and threw it. Light flashed and a squat, hairy monkey with huge fists and feet appeared right in front of the trainer.
"H-hey. You can't attack other trainers unless you beat their Pokémon first!"
"Go suck on it!" Eric yelled. I was about to pass out, my heart rate was going so fast. I felt like we were going to die at any moment.
"I'm reporting you! You'll never get into another gym!"
"Try it!" Eric shouted back. The Arbok rattled and hissed again.
"Eric….Blaze," I managed. He glanced at me for a moment, then looked back and forth between the other trainers. I heard the Raichu squeak and a random burst of electricity flashed across the pathway.
"Withdraw your Pokémon and let us go, or I'll have you pounded to a pulp-" He pointed to the Scyther trainer, "- and I'll have you bitten and poisoned. You'll be lucky to get to a hospital alive."
There was a long moment where only the Pokémon made noises. Then there were two pops and flashes.
Three followed shortly after.
"You'll pay for this," Someone said. I slowly pulled myself to my feet. My legs were weak. After so much lightning, I could barely see for the burns across my vision. Eric grabbed my arm and helped me stand. I held my hands over my face. They were wet. It felt like my cheek was on fire.
"Find someone who cares. Jason? Where's your Growlithe?"
"H-he's…" I pointed to where I thought he might be. Eric walked over, and suddenly he cursed.
"What did you do? He's dying!"
"What?" I yelled. The darkness was starting to fade. I could see the trainer I had fought in the blackness. He looked panicked. Eric waved over to me.
"Give me your Poké ball!" I handed it over without question. He took it, pressed the button, and Blaze disappeared.
"Why'd you put him in there?" I asked. Tears were starting to stream down my face again.
"It'll slow the process down until we can get both of you to the hospital. I think we can save it there. Come on." He grabbed my arm and shoved past the trainer. I didn't look back.
We walked as fast as we could for what seemed like hours until we burst into the moonlight and the forest came to an end. Eric told me to keep my hand pressed on my face and we ran across the hills, back towards the skyscrapers.
Half an hour later I sat in a hospital, my face full of anesthetic as a nurse stitched my wounds closed. She told me after she was done that I would have very large scars, and it couldn't be helped.
Blaze was much worse than me. He had multiple lacerations – at least that's what they called it – and the Sandslash had impaled him in the stomach. They had to operate on him as soon as we came in.
After the surgery they let me see him. The surgeon told me Blaze had about a fifty-fifty chance of survival. Then they left me alone. The whole room was white, and filled with empty tables. Blaze was lying on his side, bandages over his stomach and huge black, pointy stitches drawing lines where he had been slashed. I knew he looked like me. I had looked at myself in a mirror since I'd been stitched up. IVs ran in tubes from Blaze's forepaws. The heart monitor flicked up and down next to the bed, but made no noise. No beeping to fill the deafening silence.
What kind of world did I live in where this could happen? What kind of world would support this with every fiber of its culture? A world where you can't walk from one town to another without getting mauled. A world without justice. A world without coherency.
A world of chaos.
VVVVVVVVV
This is the first chapter in a planned series, so put me on your author alert list!
Let me know what you think! Please review!