Ash_Junior
Irredeemable Nerd
Not that long a time ago, in games most of us have played, Red defeated Giovanni, and foiled his plans to take over Silph Company and take the Master Ball for himself. Later, Red drove the evil genius into hiding shortly before becoming the Indigo League's Champion.
Each chapter will have part of posted for all to see, with the rest hidden by spoiler tags to save you scrolling time if you've already read certain chapters. It should give you a good indication of what's coming up, or it will set up what's coming up.
Following in His Footsteps.
Part 1: Violet's So Blue
Vignette 1: Red's Moon Waning
In the Future....
The night was quiet and still, the waves lapping at the shore. A herd of Sawsbuck paused by the edge of the water, taking a drink. Above, the moon hung in the sky, a bright spot in a sky spotted with pinpricks of illumination.
A man emerged from the forest that grew up nearly to the water’s edge, and looked out across the lake. Tall and powerfully built, he stood with quiet confidence, and surveyed his domain. His tattered red baseball cap sat at a rakish angle as his eyes searched the sky. They would be coming soon. They always came to him.
He walked forward quietly, passing within feet of the deer Pokemon without disturbing them. He crouched down and drank the lake’s water from cupped hands, glancing at the deer Pokemon as they studied him without fear. None of the area’s Pokemon were scared of him anymore. They had all gotten used to him and he to them.
The man slowly rose, admiring the curve of the lake, and brushed off his jeans. They were worn, faded, and patched many times over, but they were still the best clothes that he owned. One had to look his best when visitors came, after all. He checked the insides of his vest to make sure that the worthless scraps of metal were there.
He hated them. He hated that he had devoted an entire decade of his life to collecting them. He hated how they had made him act. He hated that they caused so many people to come looking for him. There was no other place to run from them.
He took one final look at the moon before turning back to the woods and the challenger that waited for him there. He smiled. “Of course it was you,” he said quietly. “Who else would it have been?”
Chapter 1: The Girl They Call Violet
Saffron City
Saffron City Gym
“Thank you for having me.” Sabrina looked up, her intense red eyes settling onto her guest. Her upsetting guest. Not necessarily to Sabrina herself, but certainly to Lance and the other members of the Dragon Clan. For that reason alone, Sabrina would have given Jey an audience, but Jey had also requested a challenge.
A most....unusual challenge. Sabrina had not received a challenge like it since the mercenary's last visit.
A tall woman, Sabrina was wearing her formfitting, red peacoat, along with a pair of skin-tight red pants. It was her standard fare for challengers. Her long, black hair swayed slightly in the complete absence of any wind. It had been an unusual match, even for her. Her eyes narrowed slightly as she let the memory of the rush of the battle wash over her once again. It had been an intensely different experience, one she would not soon forget.
Sabrina studied the woman that had been her opponent. She wore black tight-fitting, leather pants and top underneath a bright red bridge coat topped off with a red fedora perched atop her head. When she had first arrived, she had given the alias “Carmen”, which had held up under Psychic scans from every one of her staff except Sabrina herself.
“It was no problem,” Sabrina said slowly. She gestured with her right hand, and a pair of high-backed, winged red leather chairs emerged from the shadows, and came to rest just behind either woman. A twitch of a finger, and heavy curtains extinguished the light coming in from the three-story windows that backed Sabrina's desk. At the same time, a fire roared to life in a larger-than-necessary fireplace that took up half of one of her walls, and rose nearly seven feet from the floor.
The flickering light reflected off of the spines of countless books that lined her bookshelves. The books ranged in color from pastels to grim greys and blacks. Their subjects ranged from philosophy and history to childrens books and cookbooks. The bookshelves rose as high as her windows, but had no ladders to help potential readers reach particular books. The Marsh Gym, after all, was a gym where only Psychics could train.
Jey's lips twitched. “Fairly dramatic,” she said, lounging into the chair as if she owned it. The Huntress crossed her legs and studied Sabrina. Sabrina herself sat down slowly and purposefully only after her guest was fully comfortable, the firelight casting deep shadows across the Gym Leader's face. She sat only on the edge of the chair, refusing herself the luxury of melting into the comfortable chair. She sat perfectly straight, and stared at Jey without blinking. A smirk ran across Jey's face. “Good. I like that.”
“You have to,” Sabrina said in a tone that was just shy of mischevious, “Have a bit of fun sometime.”
Each chapter will have part of posted for all to see, with the rest hidden by spoiler tags to save you scrolling time if you've already read certain chapters. It should give you a good indication of what's coming up, or it will set up what's coming up.
Part 1: Violet's So Blue
Vignette 1: Red's Moon Waning
Chapter 1: The Girl They Call Violet
Chapter 2: Battle to the Beginning
Chapter 3: Visions of the Past
Chapter 4: Unhappy Reunion
Vignette 1: Red's Moon Waning
Chapter 1: The Girl They Call Violet
Chapter 2: Battle to the Beginning
Chapter 3: Visions of the Past
Chapter 4: Unhappy Reunion
Following in His Footsteps.
Part 1: Violet's So Blue
Vignette 1: Red's Moon Waning
In the Future....
The night was quiet and still, the waves lapping at the shore. A herd of Sawsbuck paused by the edge of the water, taking a drink. Above, the moon hung in the sky, a bright spot in a sky spotted with pinpricks of illumination.
A man emerged from the forest that grew up nearly to the water’s edge, and looked out across the lake. Tall and powerfully built, he stood with quiet confidence, and surveyed his domain. His tattered red baseball cap sat at a rakish angle as his eyes searched the sky. They would be coming soon. They always came to him.
He walked forward quietly, passing within feet of the deer Pokemon without disturbing them. He crouched down and drank the lake’s water from cupped hands, glancing at the deer Pokemon as they studied him without fear. None of the area’s Pokemon were scared of him anymore. They had all gotten used to him and he to them.
The man slowly rose, admiring the curve of the lake, and brushed off his jeans. They were worn, faded, and patched many times over, but they were still the best clothes that he owned. One had to look his best when visitors came, after all. He checked the insides of his vest to make sure that the worthless scraps of metal were there.
He hated them. He hated that he had devoted an entire decade of his life to collecting them. He hated how they had made him act. He hated that they caused so many people to come looking for him. There was no other place to run from them.
He took one final look at the moon before turning back to the woods and the challenger that waited for him there. He smiled. “Of course it was you,” he said quietly. “Who else would it have been?”
Chapter 1: The Girl They Call Violet
Saffron City
Saffron City Gym
“Thank you for having me.” Sabrina looked up, her intense red eyes settling onto her guest. Her upsetting guest. Not necessarily to Sabrina herself, but certainly to Lance and the other members of the Dragon Clan. For that reason alone, Sabrina would have given Jey an audience, but Jey had also requested a challenge.
A most....unusual challenge. Sabrina had not received a challenge like it since the mercenary's last visit.
A tall woman, Sabrina was wearing her formfitting, red peacoat, along with a pair of skin-tight red pants. It was her standard fare for challengers. Her long, black hair swayed slightly in the complete absence of any wind. It had been an unusual match, even for her. Her eyes narrowed slightly as she let the memory of the rush of the battle wash over her once again. It had been an intensely different experience, one she would not soon forget.
Sabrina studied the woman that had been her opponent. She wore black tight-fitting, leather pants and top underneath a bright red bridge coat topped off with a red fedora perched atop her head. When she had first arrived, she had given the alias “Carmen”, which had held up under Psychic scans from every one of her staff except Sabrina herself.
“It was no problem,” Sabrina said slowly. She gestured with her right hand, and a pair of high-backed, winged red leather chairs emerged from the shadows, and came to rest just behind either woman. A twitch of a finger, and heavy curtains extinguished the light coming in from the three-story windows that backed Sabrina's desk. At the same time, a fire roared to life in a larger-than-necessary fireplace that took up half of one of her walls, and rose nearly seven feet from the floor.
The flickering light reflected off of the spines of countless books that lined her bookshelves. The books ranged in color from pastels to grim greys and blacks. Their subjects ranged from philosophy and history to childrens books and cookbooks. The bookshelves rose as high as her windows, but had no ladders to help potential readers reach particular books. The Marsh Gym, after all, was a gym where only Psychics could train.
Jey's lips twitched. “Fairly dramatic,” she said, lounging into the chair as if she owned it. The Huntress crossed her legs and studied Sabrina. Sabrina herself sat down slowly and purposefully only after her guest was fully comfortable, the firelight casting deep shadows across the Gym Leader's face. She sat only on the edge of the chair, refusing herself the luxury of melting into the comfortable chair. She sat perfectly straight, and stared at Jey without blinking. A smirk ran across Jey's face. “Good. I like that.”
“You have to,” Sabrina said in a tone that was just shy of mischevious, “Have a bit of fun sometime.”
Jey smiled thinly. “Indeed. Though we may have different definitions of what is fun. For example, I wouldn't ask you to come out and get wasted with me and the Talons I'm in the Leagues with, for example.”
Sabrina blinked. “No.” she said, and left it at that. For several minutes, the only sound to be heard was the crackling of the fire. Both women studied each other. Sabrina, with her unblinking stare, Jey with her bemused expression.
“You know why I've come.” Jey said at last.
“Yes.” Sabrina said, pushing at the logs in the fire mentally. A spray of sparks flew into the air, for a moment illuminating her entire face, before the shadows chased the light away.
Jey studied Sabrina for several moments. Sabrina waited. “And?” Jey asked, growing tired of the game.
Sabrina blinked. “I have had many challengers since last you came.” Her voice was low and monotonous, with an almost threatening edge. “But per our agreement I have made dossiers on the most promising of the bunch.” Her eyes widened slightly for a moment, then narrowed again. “There is one, however, that you should pay close attention to.”
Sabrina paused, waiting to see if Jey would interrupt. But the other woman knew the Psychic too well for that. “She has caused quite the media stir recently, given her heritage. She showed considerable skill in her battle, and lost honorably.”
“So she didn't get a badge from you, then?” Jey asked, her expression deadly serious as she hung on Sabrina's every word.
“On the contrary,” Sabrina said. “I gave her her very first badge. Unlike the other, stupid, Gym Leaders, I do not give out badges on the merits of brute strength. I honor skill. She made an excellent accounting of herself, and fought with more skill than anyone her age has any right to have. I do not doubt that her father gave her pointers. She showed preferential treatment to her Starter, but gave her other Pokemon demeaning names. If I had to guess, she caught them only to be able to keep up with other children her age, and plans to catch so-called better Pokemon later.”
Jey nodded, serious. “I know exactly who you mean.” She leaned forward. “Well, if there's nothing else.”
“But there is,” Sabrina said, the slightest tremor of excitement entering her voice. “Jey, she has the gift.”
Jey exhaled sharply and dropped back into the chair. One of her eyebrows rose sharply. “Are you sure?” she demanded.
Sabrina nodded sagely. “Without a doubt. I cannot say what form it will take, but without a doubt she has the ability.”
Jey smiled. “Then I will keep a close eye on her, then. A close eye indeed.” the Huntress rose to her feet gracefully and extended her hand. “Thank you for your time, Sabrina.” The Psychic nodded acknowledgement. “I will pick up the dossiers from your assistant on my way out. Queen to King's Rook Four.” And with that, Jey walked towards the door. “And I believe that's check.”
Sabrina said nothing, but merely stared straight ahead, as if Jey were still sitting in front of her. One eyebrow rose slightly. “Fascinating move,” she murmured to thin air. “Fascinating, indeed.”
*****
Viridian Forest
Just over 1 year later
The wind blew through the trees softly, whispering sweet nothings to each other. The sky was grey, although the horizon had been sliced open to reveal a thin wound of orange. The lake was mirror smooth, and the entire world seemed to hold its breath. There were none of the normal sounds of the forest in the morning. Only a quiet, despondent weeping disturbed the picturesque scene.
A young girl sat before the lake with her knees hugged to her chest, tears rolling down her face, as she trailed her fingers over a wooden cross she had lovingly labored over for several days. It had been enough to take her mind off of the pain, but now the pain she had fought against returned sevenfold.
This was her spot, where things always turned out right. No matter if her father had retreated to the lake-side cabin because he couldn't take the world anymore or she simply had boy troubles and needed to get away—this was where she always came. And it always turned out better.
But not this time. This time things would not work out in her favor. Her parents were off in Johto, her hopes and dreams of being a Pokemon Trainer were all but dashed, and her belt team was in complete disarray.
Slowly, she reached once more for the object that lay in the sand in front of her. The small, spherical-shaped object that had held the power to change her life so completely. Top half red, bottom half blue. The customarily silver stripe around its hemisphere instead a bright, almost perky color of purple.
The custom Pokeball her father had ordered for her. For her very first Pokemon. Her starter was the offspring of his starter, and became even more special because of it. She had loved Sergeant Bubbles almost as much as her father's Blastoise. Nothing had been too good for Bubbles when money had been flowing. When times were tough, Bubbles always get the biggest share.
And now, Sergeant Bubbles was gone.
Forever.
Because of her.
*****
Viridian City
Belle Terra Gym
“This is supposed to be a good fight,” the silver-haired woman remarked, glancing up from the program she had been handed upon entering Viridian City's Gym. “From what my sources tell me, she was the Gym Leader's protege until she left on her journey a year ago.” Her blue eyes glanced down at the empty arena, then returned to the program.
The older woman's companion grunted a response, but did not look up from a clipboard full of notes. “Oh, perk up!” the silver-haired woman reproached her sternly. “That's an order. I didn't take you off your mother's hands for you to become lost in the minutae.” The younger woman glanced up at the older woman, nodded, and returned to her notes.
“Honestly, Alora,” the older woman said. “We're here scouting for possible talent for your mother. You can read these kids' stats until the day Mew and Arceus battle at the end of the world, but that won't tell you what you want to know.”
The young woman who had been called Alora sighed, and swatted at a strand of her red hair in frustration. “Fine. You tell me, Jey. What am I looking for?” Her intense green eyes glared at Jey.
The older woman smiled, and pointed lazily across the arena. “That dugout there is where the competitors are waiting for battle. The last of them just arrived.” Jey's hand withdrew slowly, and tugged on the red silk gloves she had decided to wear underneath a thick, metal device on her right arm. “Look at them, tell me what you see.”
Alora followed Jey's instructions, and looked. “I see a bunch of kids who have no idea what the actual power of Pokemon might be because they follow the Leagues' conventions, instead of marshaling the Pokemon's full potential. I see a bunch of snot-nosed brats. I see a bunch of hassles in my future as we tangle with the best and brightest Leaguers to try to recruit the best of the bunch.”
Jey smiled tightly. “That's not all you see,” she said quietly. “That's simply all that you perceive.” Jey nodded at the dozen or so children that huddled in the dugout. “What I see over there, my dear Alora, are a collection of narcissistic, occasionally sociopathic individuals who must prove to themselves that they are the best. Or wear themselves out doing so.” Jey's stern look preempted Alora's I-Told-You-So. “But every once in a while there's a diamond in the rough who breaks the mold, and dares to be different.”
“Different. From a Leaguer.” Alora snorted. “That'll be the day. If they're not on some kind of power trip they're all about the touchy-feely 'Pokemon gain power through LOVE!' hippy crap.” She pointedly ignored the glares that were coming from more and more people sitting in the uncomfortable metal bleachers around them.
Jey's response was only to smile cryptically.
Sabrina blinked. “No.” she said, and left it at that. For several minutes, the only sound to be heard was the crackling of the fire. Both women studied each other. Sabrina, with her unblinking stare, Jey with her bemused expression.
“You know why I've come.” Jey said at last.
“Yes.” Sabrina said, pushing at the logs in the fire mentally. A spray of sparks flew into the air, for a moment illuminating her entire face, before the shadows chased the light away.
Jey studied Sabrina for several moments. Sabrina waited. “And?” Jey asked, growing tired of the game.
Sabrina blinked. “I have had many challengers since last you came.” Her voice was low and monotonous, with an almost threatening edge. “But per our agreement I have made dossiers on the most promising of the bunch.” Her eyes widened slightly for a moment, then narrowed again. “There is one, however, that you should pay close attention to.”
Sabrina paused, waiting to see if Jey would interrupt. But the other woman knew the Psychic too well for that. “She has caused quite the media stir recently, given her heritage. She showed considerable skill in her battle, and lost honorably.”
“So she didn't get a badge from you, then?” Jey asked, her expression deadly serious as she hung on Sabrina's every word.
“On the contrary,” Sabrina said. “I gave her her very first badge. Unlike the other, stupid, Gym Leaders, I do not give out badges on the merits of brute strength. I honor skill. She made an excellent accounting of herself, and fought with more skill than anyone her age has any right to have. I do not doubt that her father gave her pointers. She showed preferential treatment to her Starter, but gave her other Pokemon demeaning names. If I had to guess, she caught them only to be able to keep up with other children her age, and plans to catch so-called better Pokemon later.”
Jey nodded, serious. “I know exactly who you mean.” She leaned forward. “Well, if there's nothing else.”
“But there is,” Sabrina said, the slightest tremor of excitement entering her voice. “Jey, she has the gift.”
Jey exhaled sharply and dropped back into the chair. One of her eyebrows rose sharply. “Are you sure?” she demanded.
Sabrina nodded sagely. “Without a doubt. I cannot say what form it will take, but without a doubt she has the ability.”
Jey smiled. “Then I will keep a close eye on her, then. A close eye indeed.” the Huntress rose to her feet gracefully and extended her hand. “Thank you for your time, Sabrina.” The Psychic nodded acknowledgement. “I will pick up the dossiers from your assistant on my way out. Queen to King's Rook Four.” And with that, Jey walked towards the door. “And I believe that's check.”
Sabrina said nothing, but merely stared straight ahead, as if Jey were still sitting in front of her. One eyebrow rose slightly. “Fascinating move,” she murmured to thin air. “Fascinating, indeed.”
*****
Viridian Forest
Just over 1 year later
The wind blew through the trees softly, whispering sweet nothings to each other. The sky was grey, although the horizon had been sliced open to reveal a thin wound of orange. The lake was mirror smooth, and the entire world seemed to hold its breath. There were none of the normal sounds of the forest in the morning. Only a quiet, despondent weeping disturbed the picturesque scene.
A young girl sat before the lake with her knees hugged to her chest, tears rolling down her face, as she trailed her fingers over a wooden cross she had lovingly labored over for several days. It had been enough to take her mind off of the pain, but now the pain she had fought against returned sevenfold.
This was her spot, where things always turned out right. No matter if her father had retreated to the lake-side cabin because he couldn't take the world anymore or she simply had boy troubles and needed to get away—this was where she always came. And it always turned out better.
But not this time. This time things would not work out in her favor. Her parents were off in Johto, her hopes and dreams of being a Pokemon Trainer were all but dashed, and her belt team was in complete disarray.
Slowly, she reached once more for the object that lay in the sand in front of her. The small, spherical-shaped object that had held the power to change her life so completely. Top half red, bottom half blue. The customarily silver stripe around its hemisphere instead a bright, almost perky color of purple.
The custom Pokeball her father had ordered for her. For her very first Pokemon. Her starter was the offspring of his starter, and became even more special because of it. She had loved Sergeant Bubbles almost as much as her father's Blastoise. Nothing had been too good for Bubbles when money had been flowing. When times were tough, Bubbles always get the biggest share.
And now, Sergeant Bubbles was gone.
Forever.
Because of her.
*****
Viridian City
Belle Terra Gym
“This is supposed to be a good fight,” the silver-haired woman remarked, glancing up from the program she had been handed upon entering Viridian City's Gym. “From what my sources tell me, she was the Gym Leader's protege until she left on her journey a year ago.” Her blue eyes glanced down at the empty arena, then returned to the program.
The older woman's companion grunted a response, but did not look up from a clipboard full of notes. “Oh, perk up!” the silver-haired woman reproached her sternly. “That's an order. I didn't take you off your mother's hands for you to become lost in the minutae.” The younger woman glanced up at the older woman, nodded, and returned to her notes.
“Honestly, Alora,” the older woman said. “We're here scouting for possible talent for your mother. You can read these kids' stats until the day Mew and Arceus battle at the end of the world, but that won't tell you what you want to know.”
The young woman who had been called Alora sighed, and swatted at a strand of her red hair in frustration. “Fine. You tell me, Jey. What am I looking for?” Her intense green eyes glared at Jey.
The older woman smiled, and pointed lazily across the arena. “That dugout there is where the competitors are waiting for battle. The last of them just arrived.” Jey's hand withdrew slowly, and tugged on the red silk gloves she had decided to wear underneath a thick, metal device on her right arm. “Look at them, tell me what you see.”
Alora followed Jey's instructions, and looked. “I see a bunch of kids who have no idea what the actual power of Pokemon might be because they follow the Leagues' conventions, instead of marshaling the Pokemon's full potential. I see a bunch of snot-nosed brats. I see a bunch of hassles in my future as we tangle with the best and brightest Leaguers to try to recruit the best of the bunch.”
Jey smiled tightly. “That's not all you see,” she said quietly. “That's simply all that you perceive.” Jey nodded at the dozen or so children that huddled in the dugout. “What I see over there, my dear Alora, are a collection of narcissistic, occasionally sociopathic individuals who must prove to themselves that they are the best. Or wear themselves out doing so.” Jey's stern look preempted Alora's I-Told-You-So. “But every once in a while there's a diamond in the rough who breaks the mold, and dares to be different.”
“Different. From a Leaguer.” Alora snorted. “That'll be the day. If they're not on some kind of power trip they're all about the touchy-feely 'Pokemon gain power through LOVE!' hippy crap.” She pointedly ignored the glares that were coming from more and more people sitting in the uncomfortable metal bleachers around them.
Jey's response was only to smile cryptically.
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