Day -3074

Picture the Champion’s Room on the infamously unforgiving Indigo Plateau. Nobody’s set foot in that room since it was made, until that one day. Not just 1, but 5 people entered the room, having conquered the masters. All of them were but 12 years old, and they all had one purpose- Victory. First there was Yellow, a popular favorite, with her small but all but dangerous Pikachu. Green, with her lethally venomous Venusaur. Tzaak, the newcomer from another region, with his unheard of pokemon from unsaid region. Red, a confident young man springing with life, with his trusty Charizard by his side. Finally, Blue, with his Blastoise- as silent and stoic as himself.

With no need for introduction, the referee waved his flag, and the battle royale began. The fight lasted hours which turned to days, until at last, only one found the strength to stand. It was Red and his Charizard that took the title and would be immortalized in the hall of fame as the champion. As for the others, Tzaak left without a trace, while the others stayed around, forming the vicious group that is known worldwide as the Elite Four. There, they sharpened their skills so that they would not be conquered. The rest of Kanto would not be so easily championed, however. Hearing the news that 5 children from small towns could best the region at Pokemon battling, parents were ecstatic. People rushed to move to Pallet town, hoping that their little boys and girls could fulfill their newfound destiny.





Me? I was 9. I was the son of two successful business people in the bustling city of Saffron. They had given a little thought to starting me off on my own adventure, but then decided we were fixed where we were. There was also no way in hell I could even set foot to any direction of Saffron, at least, not with a standard starter pokemon. All of the routes flanking Saffron are merciless deathtraps, apparently, so I wasn’t going anywhere.

If for no other reason but to keep me from going out of my mind with loneliness, they went ahead and had my Uncle Surge send over a good young pokemon to play with. Predictably enough, he sent a Pikachu. I was a little disappointed, kinda hoping for some variety, but for the time being, I was satisfied. In fact, I was excited. My new friend, whom I named Ialec, and I went and found the nearest trainer in Saffron to challenge.

Now I realize it was a foolish decision, having never really learned how to battle, and it wasn’t surprising that we got beat down savagely, we were humiliated. There wasn’t really any mockery, but we were convinced that everybody took us for weaklings. We felt like we couldn’t show our faces in public after that.

So we didn’t.

For 6 straight months- I kid you not, I checked- we didn’t even leave the house. Not that my parents complained, we were still hard at work. We made the roof of our ridiculously oversized 4-story house our training grounds, and there we built our bodies and minds until we became truly powerful. We could only rely on our feelings, but our judgment shouldn’t be too far off.

The day finally came when we were not just eager, but ready for action. We took off and entered a Rank A-B tournament- we weren’t messing around. The first battle came around, and our opponent was a member of the “Ace Trainers” club that was more or less exclusive, and with him was a Beedrill. Fair enough. As soon as the ref’s flag went down, Ialec was off. As he went to take that Beedrill on, we wondered if there was any fruit to our labor…

We were right. Too right in fact.

Ialec made short work of his opponent, but he couldn’t stop there. He was just too worked up. I jumped in just in time to stop him, after which he calmed down, but when we looked at the beedrill, it was a mess. More importantly, some sort of yellow liquid was slowly oozing out of its wounds. Yes, I now know that bugs have yellow lymph instead of blood, but how was I supposed to know that? I was freaking 9! I was shocked. Ialec flipped.

Before I really had any idea what was going on, the medics were rushing onto the field, and Ialec had bolted for the door. Then everyone was reassured that the beedrill would be just fine. I didn’t feel any relief, though. That one pulled through in the end. Ialec didn’t. After he left out of sheer panic, he didn’t show up. I feared I’d never see him again…



For 8 years, I was correct.









Day 1

Rrrrrrriiiiiiiiinng! Rrrrrrrrriiiiii-

“Owlbark. Can I help…?

“…Yeah…alright…you sure…? Fine, fine, I’ll make my way over…Right…Bye.”

-click-

That was the Professor again. Ever since I moved here, he’s been trying to get a hold of me.

I’ve stalled the current information long enough. My name is Kitkh Owlbark, and since that horrific incident 8 years ago, I’ve never been able to see pokemon in the same light. I was 15 when the Pokemon League site at Indigo Plateau was taken down and relocated to the new plaza of the world- Pallet. Naturally, my parents are where the action is, so when people move away from Saffron to experience the real city life, our family becomes a magnet. We moved in a couple houses away from the very man who started the Elite Four on their journey- Oak. When we first formally met, he was evidently formulating strategies in his head about making use of my “potential,” but what the hell? Were it not enough that I’m at age 19, the worst time to start an “adventure,” I’ve already had my own experience with meeting, trusting, loving, losing, and never seeing a friend again. Now, he must be thoroughly convinced that he has a plan to make me a successful trainer? Then what? Either it works, and he makes more money (as if he’s not already swimming in it), or it fails, and I’m another 2 steps back.

Once I entered the lab of the famous professor, I learned otherwise…

Allow me to introduce myself, reader. No, I am not Kitkh. I am the narrator of this story. The paragraph above is written by Kitkh in his personal journal, and excerpts from this journal will be added to this story. For now, though, the story will continue.

Once Kitkh entered the lab, he was met by an assistant.

“Ah, you must be the intern. Welcome to Oak Labs.”

…Of course. I’m the research guinea pig thought Kitkh. “Actually, I was stopping by to…”

“No, you were here by my request.” Interrupted a new voice. Inevitably, the voice belonged to Professor Oak himself, who came in through a oddly curtained door in the back. “Mr. Elm, this is Kitkh. The intern will not be here for another hour.”

Turning his attention to Kitkh, he continued, “Kitkh, do you know why you’re here?”

“Am I expected to know?” Kitkh coldly returned.

“Nope.” Replied the Professor, turning around and exiting.

A couple moments passed until he came back in. He enquired, “Well? Are you coming?” before exiting the room again.

Kitkh glanced out the glass door at the city. Heaving an exasperated sigh, he went to the door in the back and disappeared through the curtain into the unknown room.



A “room,” this was not in fact. When I went through the black tarp, what I saw was not what I expected in the least. In front of me was the entrance to a maze-like wood, with a path going down straight through for as far as could be seen. It was definitely not the picture I had in my mind on the way over.



“So, what do you think?”

Kitkh hesitated as he took in the sight, then dryly commented “And here I was expecting a pen of tiny starter pokemon that you were going to make me choose from.”

“Heh. No, this is how my trainers get started. This forest is filled with rare Pokemon. I discovered it about 10 years ago, and I’ve kept it a secret except to a select few since.”

“So, you’ve effectively given me no choice at this point.”

“Is he always this pessimistic?” Intruded yet another new voice.

“You haven’t heard half of it…” Replied the Professor as the 14-year-old boy to whom the voice belonged entered the room.

This was the entirely wrong thing to say, and Kitkh made sure they knew that. “No, neither of you know anything about my past, and damn it all, you have no right to judge me as long as you don’t.”

“No? Then why don’t you enlighten us? Why is it that you have no motivation to interact?” Pursued the Professor.

“…Screw you people, my life is no experiment of yours.” Kitkh muttered as he turned away.

Professor Oak would not give up that easily. “You’re exactly correct. It’s not. And neither was Red’s. Or Blue’s. Or his brother’s, for that matter.”

Kitkh turned around and looked at the boy with some disbelief. “You’re…”

“Sxkovn. The all but forgotten younger brother of Blue Oak. Yes” finished Sxkovn.

“Right. So what is it then, if it’s not an experiment?”

“I don’t know. I’m not you” answered the professor as he walked off.

Sxkovn went off down the path, although rather slowly.

…s#*t, thought Kitkh as he went after him. They’re going to make me do this, aren’t they?



I can’t say I quite remember what possessed me to follow him into that forest, but I’ll at this point call it the best and worst decision I’ve made in my life. In the end, I don’t regret it, though, because if I hadn’t gone in there, my life would have been no different. Now that I am here, I realize that I don’t belong out there.

Day 1

Well, I Never Did Feel Like I Belonged Here…Or There…Or Here



Looking around, I was less impressed with the sight than terrified. When I imagined the first path that the Elite Four took on their journeys, I did not expect a dark and desolate forest. Looking over to the side and seeing two eyes gazing at me from through a bush with the grass stained below with blood definitely provided no help at all.



“So, ever been this deep in the wilderness?” asked Sxkovn casually.

Kitkh made no reply; as he continued to survey the area surrounding him, he had less and less motivation to do anything except turn around and head back. Obviously not one to reveal his emotions, though, he continued on silently.

Sxkovn grew slightly annoyed. “Right, wasn’t expecting an answer or anything. Just try not to lose it out here.”

Kitkh grew indignant and answered sarcastically, “Ah, please. What could possibly make me lose it out here, of all places?”

“Look, you’ll be fine for now as long as you stay on this path. You’d be much better off with a partner.”

“Which is why you’re here, I’m eternally grateful.”

“I’m talking about you getting a pokémon. But yes, this first time around Grandpa told me to join you so you could learn a thing or two.”

“Hey, don’t take me for an idiot. I know how this crap works.”

“Which is why you don’t have a pokémon of your own, I see.”

“That’s my decision, and if I hear one more word about that--”

“Tzsss!* Quiet.” Interrupted Sxkovn, signaling behind him with his right hand.

(*You will see this quiet a bit throughout the story. Kitkh, Sxkovn, and further co. use this to get others’ attention. It is pronounced more or less the way it appears.)

In a much more hushed voice, he continued. “There’s something close by. I can hear it. Get that poke-ball out, and please don’t ask how it works.”

“Again, you take me for a clueless idiot. Will you just accept that I know more than you think--”

“There!” Sxkovn quietly interjected, pointing at a rustling bush. Out came from below a somewhat rare sight, but all too familiar to Kitkh.



For all that I thought I didn’t care about what was in there, there was only one thing I did not want to see coming out of that bush, and damn it all, that’s exactly what came out- A Pikachu. Just when I thought I was getting close to clearing my mind of such a horrible memory…



Kitkh loathingly sighed at the worst-case-scenario inevitably happening. Again, he resorted to sarcasm in order to alleviate the painful sight. “Oh my god, a wild mouse appeared. What will SXKOVN do?”

Sxkovn glared at Kitkh a moment, then said dryly, “SXKOVN used BATON PASS.”

“Oh, screw you.”

“Alright, fine, since you can’t be bothered, this one’s mine.”



I could have just as easily let him have it. There was no way it was going to be Ialec; even if it was, what do I care? Then I realized how stupid that sounded.



Damn it, Thought Kitkh, looking at the target’s eyes. They made him shudder. You’re going to make me do this, aren’t you…?

“Move aside…” Kitkh lightly shoved Sxkovn, who was preparing his own ball, to the side and stood right in front of the target.

Sxkovn was confused and a little frustrated at this. “What happened to you?”

Kitkh completely ignored him and focused on this Pikachu, who looked right back. Every second that he surveyed it, the Pikachu grew more and more familiar...Reaching into his coat pocket, he pulled out an old, dusty poke-ball that evidently had not been used for years.

Sxkovn was completely lost. “Where did you get that? What are you doing? Hey! Stop ignoring me!”

Kitkh’s trembling finger pressed the button on the ball.



Those eyes…lied to me. 

I’ve never felt like so much of a fool in my entire life.

I didn’t know who that Pikachu really was…but I will never forget him…or forgive him.



“Right. Would you like to tell me what the hell just happened? I thought you told me you knew how--” Sxkovn was cut short when he saw to his dismay Kitkh bound off of the trail into the heavy wilderness, chasing after the Pikachu that had just fled.

“SHUT UP! That thing’s MINE now!”

“No, wait! Don’t go! STOP!”

Too late. He disappeared entirely.



There was only one thing on my mind as I dashed through the trees with Sxkovn’s voice fading away behind me. Revenge. Never have I felt such humiliation, agony, and letdown in my life, and that’s a fact. It was also a fact that I was not about to let that fake get away with it.



I will make you pay, you damn rat! thought Kitkh as he continued. After a few minutes of uninterrupted full-on sprinting, he almost completely collapsed. Supporting himself by a tree, he bent down, chest heaving, and realized that he was utterly lost now.

“…S***. Now I lost it, and I have no freaking idea where I--”

A peculiar voice rented the air. “תן לי ללכת, לעזאזל! מישהו! אף אחד! תוציאו אותי מכאן!”

[I]What the… where’s that voice coming from?[I] “Hey! Where are you?”

The voice answered back , “האם מישהו? אתה! עזרה! תודה לאלשאתה כאן! חופש!”

All this time, Kitkh’s head was down as he was recovering. Taking a moment to look up, he saw something odd-- a Meowth encased in a web suspended across two trees. Despite his multiple attempts to free himself, he was clearly incapacitated by this web. He continued to call out to anyone it seemed, but his strange dialect resulted in a total barrier of communication.

Well, no wonder he’s gotten no help. I can’t understand a word he’s saying. Maybe he understands English, though I doubt he could speak it. Eh. Anything’s worth a try at this point. “Hey! What’s going on? Why are you up there?”

“זה נכון. פשוט בא על פני. קדימה.”

“Uh, right. Just hold still, I’ll-- ACK!”

As Kitkh stepped toward the Meowth, his foot got caught in a similar sort of web, causing him to trip and fall onto the ground, which was also covered in this web. The Meowth lost it.

“אתה טיפש לעזאזל! קום! לקום! קבל--” Before he could complete that sentence, a wooden shaft suddenly shot through the air and transfixed him right through the chest. Dead in seconds. Kitkh lost it.

“WHAT!? What just happened?”

A large cage-like web blanketed across Kitkh, and in a matter of moments, an ensemble of Forest Pokémon surrounded him and the lifeless Meowth’s body.

“Ai! Get this mess off me!”

“שקט. אלא אם כן אתה רוצה את מה שהוא קיבל,” Interrupted a Pidgeotto, which planted its talon in Kitkh.

Just then, a voice rang through from the other side, saying “שלב משם, Iscon! זה אחד שלי.”

Kitkh looked back behind him, and was appalled at what he saw…



It’s as if the last “Worst Case Scenario” wasn’t enough five ****ing minutes ago. When I saw it, I don’t know what kept me from throwing up. It was, yet again (I really should have seen this coming), a Pikachu. This one was much different. Its entire body was painted with who knows what. It looked too intricate for that to be just slapped on, so it clearly wasn’t the one I saw “five ****ing minutes ago”; that, and, It was much stockier, like it didn’t do much work. Its authority, as you can imagine, threw me for a bit of a loop. The REAL loop came just afterwards.



The Pidgeotto showed some frustration at what had just been said. “כן, זה תמיד שלך. אתה מוכן לתת למישהו אחר הזדמנות כאן?”

The Pikachu indignantly retorted in a no different dialect, “אתה מעז לנסות שאלת הסמכות שלי?

The Pidgeotto switched to a more defensive tone, though it showed a hint of irony. “בכלל לא, מיס כל מה שאני אומר הוא שאם Ialec היו כאן--”

Zip!

Thunk!

“****!”



I have never in my life seen death happen right in front of me, so you can imagine what it’s like to see it happen twice, so suddenly, and in such rapid succession. That Pikachu pulled a small blad out of  nowhere  and sliced the Pideotto. It died immediately. Nobody said a word.



The Pikachu looked around itself and yelled aloud, “עוד מישהו לטפל להביא את הנושא? ... אף אחד? ... נכון. עכשיו, בחזרה לענייננו.”

Kitkh, yet again, masked his absolute terror with indignant irony, “Right, can we all please speak the same language for a couple seconds? ‘Cause I just need to tell you all how idiotic this whole--”

The Pikachu walked over to him, laid its hand on him, and everything went dark.



Day 1 continues and concludes in the next chapter…