open A Pokémon Journey

[Page.Turner 940]

Months… years… how long has it been? I can’t remember. I can only remember him; Edmund, my master and best friend. We used to go everywhere together so where did he go? Why did he go without me? If he didn’t want me anymore then why didn’t he release me? Too many questions; not enough time to answer. It’s been too long; I can no longer wait here. I’m out of food.

 

It had been a long time since the strange disappearance of the human race. It was as mysterious as the existence of pokemon themselves but this was an event that caused more pain than joy. It was a loss of love and friendship, not a merging of the two. No, these people had been torn away from their lives before even a wish or a hope could have been given. Ginger was particularly grieved.

 

Edmund had been her trainer since both of them had been small and weak. In a whole other country, Edmund’s mother had been a registered breeder of eevee and as a birthday gift to her son she gave him an egg; a most fragile present, indeed, and a large responsibility for a small boy. But even from that moment Ginger had sensed him, she had known him and loved him and he loved her. The moment she hatched it was love at first sight. Since then, the two had been inseparable.

 

Ginger and Edmund spent years of playing together before attempting to battle. It was tough work, for both of them, but they got through it… barely. It took until Edmund was thirteen to discover his love of musical arts and he realized that he and Ginger were not of the norm. Ginger didn’t like battling and Edmund didn’t like hurting her. From there, their friendship was bound by another thread of love.

 

Now, what did Ginger have? She was hatched, raised, trained, evolved beneath a full moon and travelled overseas with the human she loved most out of anyone or any pokemon in the world but now he was gone! Gone… and Ginger had to go, too.

 

She stood in the middle of the living room in Edmund’s little house; her home. She looked one last time at her surrounding, taking nothing with her but a blue neckerchief before hoping up on a shelf and exiting through the broken window above. She landed on the unkempt grass with a hot afternoon sun beaming on her black fur and she looked around, unsure of where to go…

 

Where do I belong now?

[Shankveld 4,949]

"Sol..Sol.."

It was morning already. Unlike most pokemon who use the sun as an indicator of time, cave-dwelling pokemon use the Solrocks and the Lunatones. Nub pushed himself out of a little hole in the ground where he had burried himself in for the night. Nub had barely been able wipe the sleep from his eyes when two nearby Golbats decided to start making a ruckus. Nub gave them two Ice Shards to the back, it was super effective, and the wild Golbats fled.

Nub scurried over to see what had the Golbats in such a fuss and found a small Pichu, she was clearly not from around these parts. Nub sighed in disappointment, he had though the Golbats had found some mushrooms and was eager to chow down.

The frightened pichu scurried off, as Nub went in search for some dinner following his nose.

Sniff...sniff...sniff

Edited February 16, 2012 by Shankveld

[Aureity 3,055]

Dichromate stared out across the vast plains that had been his home for a few months. The wind blew across his fur, but he hardly felt it, lost in his memories as he was. No. Stop thinking about it. There's nothing you can do. Nonetheless, his mind kept drifting back to the estate that he used to live in. He couldn't help remembering the family that had taken care of him. Oh, how he had loved curling up beside the fireplace-You're doing it again! Stop it!

 

Dichromate forced himself out of the dreamlike state he was in. There was no other recourse then. He'd pay his visits one last time to the house that he used to live in, then he'd be able to put all of these painful memories behind him. He took an uncertain step forward, then another. And another. Then his patience broke, and he was sprinting across the plains like there was no tomorrow, back to the place that he used to call home.

[Finesthour 7,287]

Tears escaping his tiny eye sockets, Charmander sulked alone in the hull of the ship near the cargo where he had sneaked in. Regretting every action he had taken since birth, Charmander regretted this mistake much higher than all others. Wanting to hurt himself in any way possible, Charmander dragged himself to the wall of the ship and banged his head as hard as he could, his brain rattling in his skull. Holding his head while screaming, he regretted even that mistake.

 

*Why am I so stupid...* He thought. Once the pain of banging his head subsided, Charmander began to go through the luggage in the docking bay, bringing out anything he could devour in his bottomless pit of a stomach. Now comfort eating, the pain of losing his home now seemed small and trifle. Once he was sure he had filled his belly as much as he could, Charmander sprawled out across the floor, resting his poor stomach.

 

The tears of homesickness soon returned, the thoughts of his family running through his mind. Charmander was still only a child, and about the last of his kind at that. At least, that is what he was told by his mother. With these thoughts in mind, Charmander cried his child eyes out until the ship seemed to stop in it's tracks. No longer was the boat swaying back and forth, but sat still, as if time no longer had meaning, sitting in the existence of limbo. Sitting his small body up with a look of confusion plastered across his face. Footsteps could be heard coming down to the door of the cargo hull, and Charmander began to panic.

 

Running as fast as his little legs could carry him, Charmander jumped into one of the nearby boxes of food he had opened, closing the lid behind him. He could hear the door open and the footsteps come near him, and they suddenly stopped. Charmander's heart was now in his throat, the fear of the unknown thing finding him in the box. His fear was tarnished when he felt the box around him rise in the air, and Charmander now knew what was going to happen. He was being taken somewhere happy!

 

***

Charmander awoke in a daze as he felt himself drop onto a hard surface. Yawning and stretching, Charmander rubbed his drowsy eyes and saw wider eyes stare back at him in amazement. The fear inside of his small body exploded, and Charmander jumped up and ran in any direction he could away from those wide eyes. Seeing an opening, Charmander ran for it, escaping into the forest outside the building.

[Page.Turner 940]

With a heavy sigh, Ginger began to walk away from the house that had been a newer addition to Nuvema town. She had called many places home but none felt so much so as when she was in Edmund’s arms. Just being near him felt like home. The only trouble she had with leaving the house was that Edmund’s things were still there and though the door was locked, what would stop some pokemon from breaking in and making it their home? Objects and items held no meaning to her but there were heirlooms in there… special things. No, she couldn’t leave just yet, she had to go back!

 

Of course she hadn’t gone far but Ginger turned and ran to the front door, almost banging into it in the process. Being locked, there was no way she was getting in without breaking down the door but she just could not bring herself to do it. The window was an option, but she could not leap that high without getting cut on the jagged glass that still held. Oh no… she was locked out! She was done for! Edmund… how could she let him down?

 

“No…” she whispered to herself; humans never seemed to have been able to connect with their pokemon verbally and to their ears they heard only their name. But pokemon were special. Ginger could “Bree!” and “Umbreon!” all she wanted but a pokemon would know her voice the same way humans spoke.

 

“Help!? Someone!?” she began to claw at the door, standing on her hind legs and digging into the wood. “I need in! I need a key! I don’t have a key!” Ginger was panicking.

[Shankveld 4,949]

Nub began crawling along the dirty floors of the cavern, his snout glued to the ground and his tummy grumbling.

"Slow morning.." he innocently told himself and kept at it, "I'll find something eventually, Swinubs have the best sense of smell in all of the Giant Chasm."

Nub had never have trouble finding mushrooms before, usually their was more then enough food to go around, "unless..." Swimnub thought for a second, "unless the Sneasel's are hoarding them all again! Oh those rotten sneaks!"

Nub began charging off in a huff not watching where he was going and accidentally bumped into a Piloswine who also happened to be looking for food.

Nub gazed into the hungry eyes of his evolution and realized that there must be some sort of famine in the cave.

How could this be happening? And why all of a sudden now?

Something must have upset the natural order of the world.

Something big.

[Aureity 3,055]

Dichromate ran like he had never run before in his life. For hours and hours he just ran, and was rewarded by nighttime as he finally paused to catch his breath at the top of a hill. Peering down, he could see the old town where he had used to live. Nostalgia and sadness stirred inside of him, but he ignored those emotions. A few seconds ago, he had been so hyperactive and eager to find his house, but now, as it loomed into view, he found his steps getting smaller and smaller until he had come to a halt in the middle of the town, the estate he was searching for barely bigger than it had been when he had started.

 

Oh come on. You came all this way, don't just stand there. Dichromate sighed, flicking his tail nervously as he continued his trek at barely more than a snail's pace. Along the way he saw just how much the town had been destroyed. Fences were torn apart, doors were broken, and a house with windows intact was a rare sight indeed. Many Pokemon, whether wild or previously trainer-owned, were running through the streets, all with the same desperate look in their eyes. Most of them were starving, and Dichromate thanked his common sense that told him to fill up before the journey had begun.

 

Dichromate eventually stopped near a cluster of houses. Running continuously for hours on end had really sapped his energy, and he paused to take a rest.

[Shankveld 4,949]

Riddled by hunger Nub decided to travel out into the Plains area (which was only accessible through the cave). The problem being, their was a body of water preventing him from crossing and being a ground-type, Nub did not care for that. Luckily years ago Nub has helped a young Seel from a school of Basculin, who had now evolved into a beautiful Dewgong.

Eternally grateful to Nub, the Dewgong had agreed to allow Nub's to Surf on his back whenever he needed to go to the Plains.

Nub patted the water with his paw, impatiently waiting for the Dewgong to emerge.

A large splash of water soaked Nub as the Dewgong rose from the water laughing.

Nub was not pleased, but crawled onto the Dewgong's back anyway.

The things I'd do for a mushroom right now.

"To the Plains!" Nub demanded, but the Dewgong turned and store at him with a nervous look.

"Are you sure you want to there?" The Dewgong asked.

"Of course!? Hurry! Hurry! A growing Swinub needs his grub!"

The Dewgong swam across the body of water...

Edited March 10, 2012 by Shankveld

[Finesthour 7,287]

Charmander ran as long as his little legs could carry him, the fear of the situation soon dying down to a halt. Panting behind a nearby home, Charmander attempted to catch his breathe. This new land was so unfamiliar to him, so he did not know what to do or where to go. He wished with all of his heart that he could just go back home to his comfy nest with his mother, just completely safe if her arms. Tears began to rush from his eyes again now that he had caught his breath, his exhaustion finally catching up to him.

 

Before he could collapse from exhaustion, Charmander heard a distressed voice call out for help. His natural instincts kicked in, knowing that he must help anyone in need. Running to the voice that was at the front of the home, Charmander called out,

 

"Is anyone ok?" In the language that is mother had taught him.

[Aureity 3,055]

Dichromate surveyed the scene as he waited patiently for his energy to return to him. "Looters everywhere," he sighed, shaking his head. Well, at least the town wasn't burning down. That was something. Although at the rate the looters were pillaging houses, it was only a matter of time. A few Slugmas were at it even now-he could have sworn they were deliberately incinerating one house and the items inside. A twinge of fear gripped him, he wasn't sure whether they had touched his house or not.

What used to be my house, he corrected himself. Stop living in the past.

To his immense irritation, he saw an Umbreon attempting to crash through the door of a house. "Not a very stealthy looter, are you?" he muttered under his breath. His energy was trickling back, bit by bit, and he cast another apprehensive glance at his destination.

[Shankveld 4,949]

Nub entered the valley as hundreds of eyes fell onto him.

Nub felt anxious, but didn't want to show it.

There were pokemon all over the Plains, pokemon he had never even seen before.

Yellow ones, green ones, ones with purple eyes.

Who are all these pokemon? What are they doing here?

"If you've come for food you're out of luck, there is none here either," an unidentifiable pokemon said crossing paths with Nubs.

Nubs didn't respond, he was still in complete shock.

 

Suddenly a small pink pokemon spotted a mushroom.

"MUSHROOM! SHE'S GOT A MUSHROOM!!"

A huge battle broke-out.

Flamethrowers and waterguns filled the air.

Nubs was hit by a Thunder but it didn't effect him.

This is chaos.

 

"STOP!" Nubs screamed releasing an earthquake attack throwing all the battling pokemon off their feet and calling the attention of the flying pokemon.

A somber feeling filled the air as some moping pokemon began to explain that they were abandoned by their trainers and had nothing to eat for days.

Apparently, they had been searching for them, but gave-up and started looking for food instead.

That explains the Pichu I encountered earlier.

 

"We need to do something about this!" Nubs said bravely, even though he was shaking inside.

An Alakazam approached him, "I think Nuvema town would be a good place to start. I can teleport you there".

"Who me? I-I-can't-I!"

The Alakazam hushed Nub, he was a psychic pokemon afterall, maybe it was just better to trust him.

 

Nub was teleported to Nuvema town.

Edited February 16, 2012 by Shankveld

[Page.Turner 940]

Ginger heard a voice nearby calling to her and she was honestly surprised to hear a friendly tone. She stopped her clawing and looked in the direction until Charmander appeared in a huff and, sitting back on her haunches, she greeted him. “Hello…” for a moment she was wary that he might be a looter but the house had already been ransacked for useful pokemon items save for a soothe bell in the living room which served no purpose now but held years of memories for her. She wondered why she hadn’t taken that instead. Oh, if only she could get inside!

 

“I’m sorry… I’m sorry to trouble you. I need to get into this house. It was my human’s and the front door is locked. I made a mistake and I left from the window but now I need to get inside! I shouldn’t have left… I should have brought the key!” Ginger wailed before plopping down on the grass dramatically. She had hoped that the Charmander would be able to help her but it was impossible to tell for sure. Besides, she also had a few conditions about not harming the house…

 

If she had noticed the arcanine she likely would have asked him to break the window free of the jagged glass, allowing her to leap in, but sadly she was too wrapped up in her own problems. Ginger sat up again and sighed, shaking her head. “I just want to grab some more things before I leave.”

[Finesthour 7,287]

Charmander's face squinted as his confusion rose even higher in his small body. Pondering what the pokemon in front of him had said, he quietly questioned,

 

"What's... a human?" Keeping his face straight as possible, Charmander tilted his head to show the pokemon that his confusion was not something to take lightly, but the other things the pokemon had said stuck out in his mind.

 

"Why would she live in a home like that...?" Charmander asked inside of his mind.

[Shankveld 4,949]

Nub couldn't believe his eyes, all the fire and destruction around him froze him harder than an Icebeam attack.

Nub had never seen anything like this before, he had never ventured outside his cave home except for short visits to the Plains.

A panic of pokemon breaking in and out of large stone mini-caves, battles, and a raging fire surrounded him.

Nub was afraid he'd get a burn.

 

Nub scurried off to a mini-cave that wasn't on fire and noticed a black pokemon with yellow rings trying to enter through a wooden plank. The pokemon was scratching at a shiny part of the door. Nub was about to break it using an Ice shard when his own thoughts consume him.

 

What are you doing here? You don't belong in a place like this, you belong back in the Giant Chasm, that is your home. That's were your friends are... well if you had any friends. Why do you always need to help hopeless looking pokemon! Why? Why!?

 

Nub jerked, his stomach in pain from not eating. He looked at the black pokemon again and realized that she must be as hungry as him and that there was probably food in that mini-cave. Nub used Ice shard. The ice shard shot through the air in between the black pokemon's long ears destroying the wooden plank in front of her.

Edited March 10, 2012 by Shankveld

[Aureity 3,055]

Dichromate finally found the energy to stand up again. Took longer than I thought, he thought with a trace of concern. Maybe I should start worrying about food like everyone else. He noticed now with irritation that another pokemon, a swinub, had joined the previous two in their looting attempts on the house. Dichromate felt a bubble of anger. He really. REALLY. hated thieves. I could do it, he thought to himself. One's a kid. One's an ice-type. And the last one can't even break down a door. He was considering it, his very nature egged him on, but eventually he backed down. Maybe if I was more reckless. But other thieves will just take their place, and I don't have time to go around guarding the town from robbers. I'll just go pay my respects, he thought, casting a long glance at the estate that was his destination, before walking towards it.

 

After what seemed like forever, what had been a distant speck on the horizon finally loomed before him. He was relieved to see that it had been left intact, mostly due to the fences that surrounded the perimeter. Here and there a few ground types had borrowed holes, or a few flying types had flown over, but at least the house was still standing, which was more than he had expected. Using the backdoor passage hidden behind a few bushes, which was how he had always used to go in, he popped through the fence into the yard.

 

Alright, I'll take a look and maybe then I can finally put it behind me.

[Skye Starlight 223]

Phione was relaxing in the sea, just south of Nuvema town, looking for floating berries and kelp. It had found some Nanab berries which it had decided to take back to its home, after eating a Kelpsy berry. It had been a good morning. Luckily, its owner had lived in the house closest to the sea, so Phione didn't have to go far on land. It pulled itself up the beach before noticing the pokemon standing around a neighbors house. It recognised the Umbreon, having seen in through its window, but the others were new, and looked very hungry.

 

"Hey!" Phione called in a inquisitive tone, "What are you doing?" It was still carrying the Nanab berries...

Edited February 18, 2012 by Skystar

[Page.Turner 940]

Ginger blinked. Did this pokemon really ask that? “Humans are… er, rather, humans were tall and kind. Or a lot of them were kind but some were bad, but mine was kind. He was sweet. He hatched me from an egg and he raised me. He’s my family. If we can get inside, I’ll show him to you!” Ginger knew specifically that there was a framed photo of Edmund in the living room and her pokeball was in the bedroom. She rubbed her nose on her paw and sniffed.

 

“Besides, we-“ before she could finish her sentence, she felt a cold rush of air between her ears and suddenly the door was open. No, it was more broken into shards than anything else. It filled her heart with great pain to see the door defiled like that after working so hard to preserve it. She stared blankly for a moment before whipping around with a poofed tail at the assailant. “WHO DID THAT!?” she cried, her expression was one of fear and in this moment of panic, she didn’t even notice her old neighbour Phione just yet.

 

“My door…” she whispered. It was terrible. Broken. Splinters everywhere! What would Edmund think?? Ginger leapt away from the door and took an offensive stance, ready to attack. “Show yourself!”

[Shankveld 4,949]

"You surface pokemon sure do have a strange way of thanking folk," Nub arrogantly said approaching the black pokemon at a Swinub's pace. "You have a trainer don't you?" Nub began as he drew closer, "owned pokemon aren't allowed to battle without their trainer." Nub store into the black pokemon's eyes. He knew she was using all of her inner strength to fight back tears. He had never seen such a look, such strength yet such pain. Could that wooden door really have been that important-

 

Sniff! Sniff! Nub rose his snout to the air.

 

"FOOD!" He exclaimed, "THERE'S FOOD IN THERE!" Nub bolted through the door and into the kitchen as if he was sliding down an ice hill. He may have been small, but there is no stopping a hungry Swinub. Swinub had ran by so fast he didn't even realize he pushed the other pokemon around him over, causing the small blue pokemon to drop it's berries.

 

Nub followed his snout all the way to a stash of human food, food Nub had never tasted before...

Edited March 6, 2012 by Shankveld

[Skye Starlight 223]

"Hey!" Phione cried out, "My berries!" It quickly gathered them up before looking up at the other pokemon...

"You must be wondering how I managed to find these berries, huh..."

[Page.Turner 940]

"Thank you!?" Ginger was simply outraged. "And if you haven't noticed there ARE no trainers! The people are GONE! Or have you been living under a rock!?" she barked and sneered, her fur bristling as she prepared herself for an oncoming battle. Her defenses were cut short, however, when the little swinub pushed past everyone else, effectively knocking even Ginger over.

 

She looked to Phione and frowned. "I'm so sorry, Phione..." Ginger sat herself up and helped gather up the berries for her neighbor before turning to the house and shouting, "THERE IS NO FOOD! There's nothing. That's why I left the house!! What you're smelling is rotten garbage!"

[Shankveld 4,949]

Nub stopped and began spitting-up the rotten garbage. He had never tasted something so revolting before. What is wrong with humans? Why would they keep this? Nub stuck with furry paws in his mouth, trying to wipe the taste off his tongue. It was futile. Nub's stomach roared, he was feeling weak, he had never gone this long without food before.

Suddenly Nub remembered that the small blue pokemon had berries. BERRIES.

Nub spun around and bolted back toward the entrance. He reached the small blue pokemon and grabbed a berry from her hand and shoved it in his mouth.

It was DELICIOUS. Not smooth, yet not hard. He sunk his teeth into and felt the juice squeeze out. It was enough to make a Swinub tear-up.

Swinub attempted to grab another went his eyes met the piercing red eyes of the black pokemon. He suddenly remembered what she had said. All the trainers are gone? How could that be?

Nub stood up straight, although the black pokemon was still towering over him.

"Explain yourself."

[Skye Starlight 223]

Phione passed a berry to Charmander and Ginger before staring at the Swinub.

"Swinubs usually live in caves, right?" It asked Nub, "They're ground and ice types if I remember right... It's been a while since the humans disappeared and I don't remember much..."

Edited March 9, 2012 by Skystar

[Shankveld 4,949]

Nub averted his attention to the small blue pokemon handing out berries.

"That's right..." he began, "and what kind of Pokemon are you? It's true I'm a long way from home, and I've never really left the cave until now. The only pokemon I've seen are other cave dwellers and pokemon owned by humans."

Nub rubbed the tip of his snout with his paw.

"Do you have a trainer?" He paused, anger in his eyes, "and you claim they all disappeared?" Nub snickered.

"So young and so naive, you really think those humans care? Isn't it obvious what happened here? They all packed up and left, it seems they've grown tired of you. Pokemon and humans could never be friends, we're just too... different." Nub starred up at the sky.

"And now you're left here, to dig into their trash. That's such a human thing to do," Nub's gaze met back with the little blue pokemon's. His words stung.

[Skye Starlight 223]

"I'm a Phione. I came from the Sinnoh Region. I'm here in Unova now, very far away from home... Anyway, where would the humans have gone so fast?" Phione babbled on about how most trainers (including her own) loved their pokemon and wouldn't just pack up and leave, especially since they all disappeared at the same time...

[Aureity 3,055]

(Revival time )

 

Dichromate quiety sneaked back into the house. Memories...or whatever, he thought staring wistfully at the doorway he had come from. In the back of his hazy memory, he remembered using it often, when he would sneak outside-he hated being cooped up indoors, after all. How ironic, he mulled, thinking over his current situation. Silently padding into the deserted hallway, he peered around, careful not to disturb anything. He was surprised to see the house in relatively good condition-almost new, in fact. Almost. He felt a slight pang in his heart as he realized the only thing the house needed was the family living inside, his family.

 

What's the use staying here? Come on, go on. Slowly gathering his thoughts, he walked into the first room he saw on his right, which happened to be the kitchen. As he expected, looters had been here. They must not have been too strong, though. They didn't get anything in the...what was it that humans called it? The fridge. Or something like that. He padded over to the fridge, stepping over the tiled floor, until he had reached it. Grabbing the handle firmly in his jaw, he managed, after several annoying moments, to yank the fridge door open. Well, it obviously hadn't been powered for a long time, if the smell from inside told him anything. Trying not to gag, he searched around for anythnig he could take. He did manage to find a few metallic cans that smelled okay, by which he meant not revolting like everything else in the fridge. These are supposed to contain food or something, I think. He grabbed the cans and headed back outside, the way he had come in.

 

Slowly exiting the house again, a few cans in his jaw, he glanced back one last time. The victorian building loomed back at him, silent and empty. He let out a muffled sigh. Don't look back. With that, he turned his back on the house for what he was sure would be the last time.