The Pokemon Parable

Double Post to make up for the short break I took. Also, I thank all of the lovely people who made a decision this time around. It makes this all the more fun after all.

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Beginning 1.7
Day: 1
Tuesday June 2nd, 2015
Time: Morning
Weather: Grim

[x] Try and reason with Arthur. Whatever happened to him doesn't seem normal, but you're his best friend. If anyone could get him to snap out of it you could.
[x] Try and reason with Arthur. Whatever happened to him doesn't seem normal, but you're his best friend. If anyone could get him to snap out of it you could.

[X] Try and fight. You doubt you can get out of this situation normally, and despite the vast gap in power right now you might be able to use tactics to try and beat that Swampert.

[X] Run away. You only have a Charmander right now and no sort of weapon or anything so a tactical retreat seems like a good idea.
[X] Run away. You only have a Charmander right now and no sort of weapon or anything so a tactical retreat seems like a good idea.
[X] Run away. You only have a Charmander right now and no sort of weapon or anything so a tactical retreat seems like a good idea.
[X] Run away. You only have a Charmander right now and no sort of weapon or anything so a tactical retreat seems like a good idea.
[X] Run away. You only have a Charmander right now and no sort of weapon or anything so a tactical retreat seems like a good idea.

[x] Hide. There's a reasonably vast forest on each side of this route that you could use to lose him. While risky, you have an okay knowledge of the forest so maybe you'll be successful.

All the thoughts running through your head made everything spin a bit, but whatever your subconscious was doing, you knew it was to help you.

"You dare speak to this ant in an attempt to help them!" Arthur seemed to gain a maniacal look to his eye after those ideas ran through your head. You decided quickly out of all of them that running away seemed like your most likely choice to survive.

Your legs moved swiftly as you zig-zagged quickly, intent on getting as far away as you possibly can. Maybe going back to town could help you or something. Anything was better than having to deal with whatever happened to your friend.

"Where are you going?" The sound that came from right beside you made you quickly turn only to see the dull eyes of your friend staring at you. You dashed just away from him just fast enough for his hand to just barely touch the jacket you were wearing. The jacket now had a noticeable chunk missing from it, to your dismay.

"Get back here buddy…you can't escape me forever!" His voice was maniacal as he chased after you. You needed some way to lose him fast. You briefly thought about hiding, but dismissed it as you came up with a different idea.

"Charmander, fire a Smokescreen behind us now!" With the usual sound of assent, the thick inky smoke took over both your and Arthur's form. You hurried along out of the eastern side of the smoke only to run into the menacing form of Swampert. Before you could even utter a word it began to glow a sickening purple color, your heartbeat quickened as you quickly decided to continue running. Back into the smoke and out of the southern side you ran.

You began to think that maybe hiding was a good idea.

With a whooshing sound, you fell to the ground. The gaping hole that went through you dripped with water, it appears a Hydro Pump had been fired at you. Somehow, fortunately or unfortunately, you were still just barely conscious and heard the footsteps coming up to you as your Charmander tried to stand bravely over your body.

To protect you of course.

"Hahahahahaha, how could you be so stupid!" Arthur laughed over you, as you struggled to turn your head to look at him. "Those idiots could never help you. They think they have some sort of influence, but they don't. Soon as they decided to pick one of the options he made, it was over for you. Though, I guess that won't matter once you're dead!"

The bright glow of your Charmander was one that, somehow, allowed you to hold on and cling to your fading life. It began to grow larger and larger until you recognized that it had taken the form of a Charizard.

"Oh, so the puny little Charmander decided to evolve as their Master lies dying on the floor. How ridiculous to think you could do anything about it now." Arthur's…or whatever he was now, voice was cruel and mocking. The darkness around the edges of your eyes did nothing to hide the large toothy grin Arthur was sporting.

Your Charizard let out a roar, a roar of anger and sorrow as the fire on its tail grew enormously. You felt sad that you couldn't do anything, but maybe… You moved your mouth, trying to say the words you needed to but failed. Though, as Charizard launched a wave of cleansing energy towards the Mega Swampert, you died knowing it got the message. Your last words had been "Solarbeam."

Where exactly had you gone wrong?
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Bad End 1.7
Day: ?
Tuesday June 2nd, 2015?
Time: ?
Weather: ?

A dim light shone in the store as a man with silver hair sat in a comfy chair, reading a plain looking book.

"Oh, you finally reached your first Bad End, huh? Well, I suppose it was only a matter of time before you ended up in my shop." The lights all seemed to come on at once, revealing what looked to be an antique shop. Didn't you…die?

"If you're wondering, you did die. Though, this would be a rather lame conclusion to reach seeing as you haven't even made it out of the first Section nor even gotten a chance to pick a Route." The silver haired man let out a sigh as he looked at you with pity.

"Where the heck am I?" You asked looking around, eyeing some of the items that were on stands of some sort. Maybe this was a store or something, you thought mildly to yourself.

"Hmm, I suppose you can call this the help corner. Not necessarily available to you per say, but available to those people who help you make all the important decisions in your life. I'm here to tell those people where exactly they messed up."

"Ugh…okay." You don't really know what this guy is talking about, but for some reason your rooted to your spot, unable to move. You felt as if you should be freaking out about that more.

"So, first of all I suppose I should say one of you actually chose one of the few correct choices. Now who exactly did so…well I'll let you all figure that one out. Running was generally a bad idea, especially when not knowing what you're up against. If he had wanted to, he could've killed the main character right where he stood earlier, but as this is your first Bad End, I won't hold it against you all." Reaching off to the side, the man snapped his fingers as a door to the west opened.

"Yeah, as Sensei said, it was only inevitable." The person who spoke was a little girl with blonde hair and what you recognized as a witch's hat. As she stepped into your view better, you saw the black and white dress she wore, along with the black cat following her.

"So, you can see during this ending that things won't always play out fine just because you're the main character. You can, and most likely will, die. At least until you reach one of the conclusive endings." Continuing from where the silver-haired man ended, the little girl continued as she jumped into the lap of the man speaking.

"Sometimes what's written down isn't necessarily the right choice, but you won't know that until you actually make a choice. And to you people who tried to reason with the possessed, well this isn't anime kiddos. You're not a typical shounen protagonist, ya know? Be happy you died before you saw what could have possibly happened had that been thew majority choice, I read the script and saw how bad it could get."

"Well said. Anyways, only one of the options chosen had a high chance for success and even that came with risks. You people haven't been using your ability to create your own choice to its full potential, so I suppose my advice would be to think a little outside of the box from now own. Even though you're offered a lot of choices, doesn't mean you can't make one that's right on its own."

"Yeah Magical Girl M-"The silver haired man put his hand over the little girl's mouth as he let out a sigh.

"Ignore her when she gets like this, she tends to get delusions of grandeur when we help out people like you all. Well, see you all again sometime. Knowing you all, it'll probably be within a week."

The lights dimmed again and you once more found yourself on Route 1, but the knowledge of the strange shop you had just been in seemed to be nothing more than a distant memory. The thought of going to see what was wrong with Arthur was still in your head, but you had an ominous feeling running through your bones and decided you'd take some time to actually think about this before you make a decision. So what should you do?

[ ] Go ahead and fix things with Arthur.
[ ] Go back to town and visit your Mother, an odd sense of melancholy fills you as you think of her.
[ ] Go back to town and talk to Oak about the oddities you can remember. Even now, the memory of what happened continues to slip from your mind.
[FONT=&quot][ ] Write in your own suggestions.[/FONT]​

Author Notes

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Anyways, let's see where you all end up this time. Also you unlocked a new path, successfully might I add.

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Memories that won't happen 2.1
Day: 1
Tuesday June 2nd, 2015
Time: Midday
Weather: Partly Cloudy

x2 [X]Write down as much as you can remember

Yeah, that seemed like a good idea actually. You could sort of feel the memories of what just happened fading away from you, luckily enough you did happen to bring a journal with you in the backpack your Mom gave to you. It'd probably be for the best that you moved away from Route 1, less Arthur decides to come get you, you think to yourself nervously. You decide for now that maybe you should go home for a bit.

Puling out your Journal, you dated the first page with the date June 2nd as you began your trek back to Pallet Town. You began to write about how something had possessed Arthur and for some reason or another, it was trying to kill you. You noted that it didn't seem to be actively trying to kill you, because you had no doubt in your mind that it could've caught up with you now if it needed to kill you.

As a side note you wrote down that it seemed like running away was not something that would work unless you're Pokemon were stronger. That was about the gist of what you could remember, you had the important parts down at the very least. You swear there was something else that you needed to write down, but you couldn't remember it as much as you tried.

"Oh well." You shrugged your shoulders and noticed that Charmander seemed to have somehow fell asleep on your head. You vaguely remembered it being on your shoulder, but decided that it had crawled up there as you were walking back to town. The trees swayed as the breeze picked up slightly, it was a nice relief from the oppressive sun you thought as you entered Pallet Town.

You could see kids playing in the small playground with a soccer ball. A small smile came over your face as it reminded of you of when you and Arthur used to play together. You made a promise to yourself that you'd figure out what the heck had happened to Arthur when you got a chance to do so.

However, as the door to your house opened and your Mother flashed a brilliant smile, you decided that you'd take things one step out a time. Dragging you over to the table in the kitchen she and you sat down to chat, your mother quickly noticing the Charmander that lied asleep on top of your head.

x2 [X] Speak with Mother

"Oh, you picked Charmander son? Just like your dad, huh?" Your Mom had long blonde hair, unlike yours which was short and black, and looked quite youthful despite her age. From what your Mom told you, your Dad used to joke about her being a Vampire because of her red eyes and how youthful she was. You subconsciously noted that she was wearing her usual black jeans, white shirt, and sweater wrapped around her waist.

"Yeah, though I think Arthur wanted a bit more than me. He was a bit upset about me picking it." You left out the fact that he apparently would then go on to kill you had you went down Route 1 after him. You didn't want your Mom to worry about something that wasn't going to happen.

"Well, I suppose it would make sense. His Mother has a Charizard and I remember that she let him ride it a few times, so he probably just wanted one for himself. Don't worry though," Your mother gave you a reassuring smile as she reached across the table you two were sitting and patted you on the shoulder. "I've no doubts that you'll figure out how to fix the situation."

"Thanks Mom."

"It's no problem, after all, it's the job of the parent to believe in their child. Oh, that's right!" Your mother bopped her fist into her hand as she quickly hopped up from the table and ran up the steps. Coming back down in only a minute or so, she carried with her a pack of sorts.

"Here, I got a present for you dear." She offered the bag to you, and your face lit up in a smile as your realized what exactly it was.

Get Pokeballs x10!
Get Potions x10!
Get Ether x10!

"I also got you this." Reaching into one of her pockets she pulled out a Pokeball that was fully Crimson in color. "It's a special Pokemon that you can't get in Kanto, but I've gotten a friend to tweak the ball so that it'll open at a specific time. Now, I also packed a few things that you'll have to see for yourself, but those are surprises for a later time. Now dear, do you have anything else you need to talk about otherwise I'd recommend you hurry along. I wouldn't want my little one to get caught by that which lurked in the night."

You hated that your Mom didn't know exactly how ominous that sounded. However, she did have a point, you should probably make a decision on what to do now.

[ ] Tell your Mom about the stuff you wrote in your Journal. You'd feel safer if you had her to help you.
[ ] It's still sort of early, you can afford to talk to your Mom a tad bit more.
[ ] Go and speak with Professor Oak about what happened to you. Maybe a Pokemon Professor would be able to give you an insight into what happened.
[ ] Go ahead and try and get to Viridian City. The only thing for certain in your way is Route 1...and maybe Arthur.
[ ] Write in your own suggestions.​

Author Notes

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Memories that won't happen 2.2
Day: 1
Tuesday June 2nd, 2015
Time: Midday
Weather: Partly Cloudy

The various ideas that ran through your head in situations like this was almost becoming a common thing, you thought to yourself as you sat there for what felt like minutes and processed the info you had. You thought it was useful for the most part, despite the headache that you sometimes got afterwards.

[x] Go ahead and try and get to Viridian City. The only thing for certain in your way is Route 1...and maybe Arthur.

It was a lesser thought, but you knew exactly why that wasn't a good idea. Well, maybe not so exactly since as you thought about it, the memory of Route 1 was scarce and only your journal held the truth about what happened. Either way, you knew for certain that something bad would happen if you went right now so going to Viridian City right away is a big nope for now. Maybe tomorrow you'd try and go to Viridian or at least after you were a bit more confident.

"Dear, is there something troubling you?" Your mom's voice broke you from your reverie. She looked a bit worried about you, though you could only tell from the minute facial expressions she did show. Your Mom had always been rather good at hiding how she felt.

"Ah…hahaha…" You nervously laughed as you scratched your cheek; a nervous habit of yours. "No, I'm fine Mom just sort of thinking about what I should do next."

"Well, take your time dear. It'd heart your precious Mother's heart if her child rushed out and got hurt due to a lack of thinking about their actions." Getting up from the table she gave you a glance that almost made you…

[x] Tell your Mom about the stuff you wrote in your Journal. You'd feel safer if you had her to help you.

…but ultimately your mother walked away and sat down in the living room. It was weird, it was almost as if you had been nearly compelled to tell her, but you managed to snap out of it. You blamed it on the guilt you felt at hiding things from your own Mom, but you knew that it was the right thing. She be worried to death if she knew the actual truth after all and that wasn't something you wanted.

There was only one option left it seems.

X4 [x] Go and speak with Professor Oak about what happened to you. Maybe a Pokemon Professor would be able to give you an insight into what happened.

You needed to talk to Professor Oak. It was the best idea that you had currently and it certainly wasn't the worst one you've had. You vaguely thought about that idea to reason with the possessed Arthur, and decided that it had been pretty stupid, but even more importantly you remembered something about what happened! You wondered what brought that to occur.

"Hey, Mom! I'm going to go and talk to Professor Oak for a while, and…maybe go and start my journey." Your voice was filled with an assuredness that you didn't know you had, and you were only briefly surprised as your Mom got up from her seat in the comfortable looking couch and hugged you.

"Of course you are. I expect you to do great things; after all you're my child. It's the job of the parent to wholeheartedly believe in whatever their child is going to do, even if it means that they might face danger. Just…try and be safe, okay?" She looked at you with a very concerned look and you could only nod resolutely as she looked at you with her crimson eyes.

"Alright, then. Now, get going else things might get rather hectic for you." With those parting words you swiftly left the comfort of your Mother and your home, and headed towards Professor Oak's Lab. This is where you would get the answers you sought for.

In only a matter of minutes you made your way to Oak's Lab, and despite the knowledge of the fact that Oak was probably your best bet of getting an answer to all of this you felt a foreboding feeling as you gripped your Journal. Going into his lab cautiously, you released the breath that you were holding in. Oak was still on his computer doing something, you noted as you made the decision to call out to him.

"Professor Oak, I need your advice!" Your voice echoed slightly in the building and you saw him jump a bit due to this. He looked back at you with a bemused expression before sighing and getting up from his seat; it seemed to be a rather comfortable chair.

"So, what brings you here then? Perhaps you find yourself in need of advice from this spry old guy?" You chuckled slightly at thanked whatever gave Professor Oak his humor, it made this a tad easier for you to talk about.

"Professor Oak, have you ever heard about a situation in where you experience an event and then go back and do it again? I mean, the event itself feels real and everything, not like a dream." You tried your best to explain the situation to him, but you don't think you got your message through clearly.

"Hmm, well…what you're describing is rather abnormal I must say. It could be many things, but my most probable guess would be that it's a Pokemon. Scientists have theorized that a Pokemon with a sufficient amount of psychic energy, or just pure energy in itself, could possibly warp reality. A Musharna could potentially overwrite a small piece of reality with a dream, and that's just the tip of the iceberg. We had a report written up before that if Giratina, Palkia, or Dialga were to ever start using their full power they could, quite literally, erase space and time on a macro scale if left unchecked. This of course came from a city where it had actually experienced being erased, well almost."

"So…I might've actually experienced the event, but I'm able to redo it because some Pokemon wants me to do so?" It made sense sort of, Pokemon were considered rather supernatural creatures after all.

"Yes, but I have another guess at what it might be as well. It happened to quite a few trainers during their careers, and it tended to be quite noticeable after some time. Tell me, have you started to hear strange voices in your head? Voices, that tend to sound like yours somewhat and give you advice, advice that you always seem to follow?" Professor Oak's eyes seemed to beam a hole through you almost, but you felt yourself calm down forcibly, as if something was preventing you from freaking out.

Oak…might be onto something. Those voices and thoughts, while generally helpful didn't necessarily seem like you at times. Some of them had even pushed you to do things that you otherwise might've not done, so did you tell Oak the truth or not?

Guilt Check!

The voices so far hadn't offered any truly bad advice yet, nor had you actively been made to do anything completely bad yet so for now…you'd trust the voices. They didn't seem like they wanted harm to befall you and they had seemed rather panicked when the thing with Arthur had happened so maybe they were just trying to help you?

"No nothing like that so far Professor Oak, I haven't really thought anything out the ordinary as of late so I'd like to think I'm fine." You refuse the urge to scratch your chin in nervousness as Oak stares at you with his analytical eyes, you couldn't help but feel that he knew you had lied to him.

"Well, I believe you. But, if you start to hear those voices, let me know. They can be very bad at times, and have led many aspiring trainers to do horrible things to achieve a goal. They can make you cross a certain line, and once you do…it's almost certain that you'll have a very, very bad time."

"O-okay." You muttered, stepping back a bit as Oak's presence seemingly overwhelmed the room. You didn't know that he could be such a scary guy.

"Well, now that that's out of the way, do you have anything else you need to talk about?" His voice lost the edge in it, and back in place was the grandfatherly tone that he normally used. You almost thought something bad was going to happen to you there, anyway did you still have anything left to do here? You mostly got the answers you needed, and your new knowledge was rather enriching, but there's always more to gain.

Decision Time!

[ ] Ask Oak more about how he knows these things. His knowledge could be useful to make sure nothing bad happens to you.
[ ] Get going, if Arthur was still there on Route 1 you at least knew he was there, and sometimes knowledge made all of the difference.
[ ] Spend a night at home. If you're Mom lets you anyways.
[FONT=&quot][ ] Write in your own suggestions.[/FONT]​