Rated R for strong language and gun violence.
Not all journeys are fluffy and candy coated, some go horribly, horribly wrong....
Anew
For so long I had sat in that Pok ball, wondering what it would be like the day I was accepted. Others spoke of it as though it were the only joy in life, the only thing we were meant to exist for. That part I hadnt doubted, because of the way they had carefully raised us, choosing the perfect ones and releasing the others into the wild. I could see from the translucent red top of the ball they kept me in, and every day, the hand drew closer and closer until finally, it picked up my ball.
I felt myself spiraling out to land on the cold, tile floor, and swayed a little on my short, lizard-like legs. I glanced around at the main office before glancing up at the official who had released me, a middle aged woman with long strands of black hair who ran the registration here. From what I had heard, younger humans would come here after taking a test and receive one of us as a prize, or something of that sort, I wasnt quite sure.
She began to speak with another human, whom I could not see, and while the words that came from her mouth were not my own language, I had heard it enough to easily understandEnglish I think it was called. During their conversation, I glanced around at the room; my eyes scanned each of the numerous knickknacks and decorations with enthrallment. I was soon led around the counter and it then that I first laid eyes on the boy.
He was short compared to the official, but much taller than I was, and brimming with near uncontrollable eagerness the second he saw me. He had messy, neck-length brown hair and was dressed in a white T-shirt and jean shorts with the two straps of a gray backpack across his shoulders. He shoved his newly obtained license into his pocket and then picked me up around the middle.
Hi, Im Zack! And you and me are gonna be best friends! he said with excitement. Ookaay, well now introductions were out of the way. He took the Pok ball that the official handed to him and raced out the door. I squinted as the bright light of the sun shone in my cobalt eyes, yet at the same time, I felt a fascination for that eternally glowing orb, for I had only seen true sunlight a few times in my life.
After my eyes had adjusted, I glanced around at the small roads and far-between houses of the town. I had been raised in a facility far from there, and knew nothing of this town that Zack apparently had lived in.
This is gonna be so cool! I get to travel with you, and were gonna battle, and youre gonna get stronger, and then were gonna fight Gym Leaders and be champions!!! he shouted. Somehow, his master plan seemed to have many reality holes in it, but what would I know? I hadnt understood half of it anyway. Gym Leaders? And champions of what? He didnt give me time to ask, because he immediately shouted, Im gonna call you Firestorm!
Firestorm? Wasnt my name Charmander? Oh, waitI vaguely remembered that that was my species name, not my real name. But even stillFirestorm sounded kind of dorky to me, but I didnt complain, he was the master anyway, from what I had been told.
Come on, lets go! We gotta train for the big battles ahead! he shouted. Somehow, I was beginning to hate his enthusiasm.
Alright Firestorm, use Ember again! he shouted. I lunged forward through the tall grass into a clearing and inhaled deeply, breathing out a stream of bright orange flame. The purple rat tried to run away, but I was too fast for him and my attack hit dead on, scorching his fur to a singed black. I grinned at my power; in the beginning, I hadnt been able to breathe fire, but with the help of Zack, over the past few days I had learned what apparently was common for my kind in no time, and the birds and rats of the field were no match for me.
Alright Firestorm! Okay, go, Pok ball! he shouted. For reasons I hadnt yet figured, he needed to shout that every single time he hurled a red and white sphere at another Pokmon. It was just like the one I was kept in, and it hit the purple rat and absorbed him into it with a flash of red light. Zack held his breath in anticipation, but the rat burst out again and fearfully scampered off into the grass.
In order to be a Pokmon Master, he apparently needed to capture every kind of Pokmon in the world, which was why he made me fight them because they would escape from his ball if they werent injured. Most of the time, they didnt want to fight me, but I attacked them anyways because that was what I was supposed to do. So far, however, Zack hadnt proven very good when it came to capturing the Pokmon I weakened.
Oh well, I guess we cant win em all, he said. All? He hadnt caught even one yet, but I didnt bother mentioning it.
I noticed that the sky was darkening, and I strained my eyes to see bright lights in the distance.
Ah, hah! Yeah, I knew wed be able to make it to Viridian City in a week. Come on, Firestorm, Zack said, proceeding to trudge through the long grasses of Route 1. I followed after him, making sure that the flame on the end of my tail didnt hit any of the plants.
We ambled through the fields for the next few hours until finally reaching the mass buildings and human dwellings of Viridian. It was huge compared to the small town Zack and I had left a week ago, and I stared up in amazement that humans could build such massive structures.
By now, the sun had completely sunk beneath the mountain peaks to the west, and now the various lights of the city were our only guide because oddly, there werent many stars here and the moon was but a mere sliver. Zack however, seemed to be growing slightly nervous. He was a humandidnt he know about cities? I walked faster to be right alongside him, feeling some of his nervousness beginning to rub off on me. But what for? Was there something to be afraid of here?
We were nearing an area of the city that was darker than the rest. The gaps between buildings grew smaller, and the burnt out streetlights left an almost tangible veil of shadow that draped the alleys. When trainers traveled to a new city, they were supposed to stay at special Pokmon hotels, so why wasnt Zack leading us to one? It couldnt possibly be in this place, could it?
Hey, kid a low voice sounded from around a corner. Zack immediately spun around to the right, but couldnt seem to find the source of the words. He slowly backed up with a look of pure terror etched onto his face. I didnt understand. It was a human voice, so why did Zack need to fear a fellow human?
Yeah, you, with the orange lizard. This is our turfso what the fuck are you doin here? it said again, and by now I knew that it was a male voice, and there obviously were others with him.
Justjust trying to find a Pokmon Center Zack stammered.
You hear that? He just wants to find a Center? he said mockingly. There was a string of jeering coming from the others near him. Yeah, well theres a toll for comin down here an I think well take it out on this here lizard.
I quickly turned to the sound of footsteps behind me. I looked up frantically to see a human much older than Zack stepping from around the corner. He was dark-skinned and dressed in shoddy, black clothing. Then there was a second, a taller, paler-skinned guy with equally dark clothes. Then there was a third, a fourtha fifth. There were five teenaged humans who had emerged from the alley and I felt myself backing away just as Zack had.
The second guy picked me up at the thick part of my tail, below the flame and said, Yeah, I think we can make due with this.
Not really thinking, but rather acting purely from instinct, I twitched the tip of my tail so that the flame connected with his arm.
Aah, shit! Little bastard!! he yelled, dropping me to the ground. Wincing in pain, I stood quickly and stepped away from him.
Gripping his arm, he grinned, pulled out two dingy spheres, and said, Whats the matter, dont want to play? He threw the spheres at the ground, releasing in a flash of light, two Pokmon of which I had never seen before. The first was a large, overbearing blob of sludge with thick, powerful arms and tiny piercing eyes. His scent seemingly burned my nostrils and caused me to recoil away from him. The second was a tall, and rather vicious looking rat; similar to the ones I had fought in the grassland, but with coarse, shaggy fur and a murderous glint in his eyes.
The human smirked and snapped his fingers, a curious motion I had never seen which created a loud cracking sound. In any case, I wasnt expecting what it meant.
The rat lunged forward on his webbed forelegs and turned to kick me with powerful feet. I flew back and struggled to my feet, clutching my face and being met with a string of jeering and low laughter. I swung my head around quickly and found myself being enveloped by one of the purple blobs oozing arms. He gripped me with muscles that almost burned my scales before hurling me. I felt my back connect with the brick wall and I crumpled to the ground, pain flooding my senses and dulling my reflexes. Once again, I felt that haunting jeer coming from the humans. Why?
No answer to my thoughts was provided, rather the human who had released the monsters said, What, dont want to fight? Not much fun if the damn lizard wont even fight. He paused, and pulled a small silver device out of his pocket. It was narrow, and had a handle to be held with and a tiny switch near the handle. I stared at it, feeling a curiosity as to what it was, but at the same time threatened by the evil grin that made its way across his features.
Cmon, dont wanna make us bored, do you? he asked, still having that smirk plastered onto his face.
NO! a younger voice yelled, and from the side of my vision, I saw Zack sprint forward and jump onto the guys back.
What the hell are you doin, man?! the teenager yelled, reaching back with his left hand and struggling to pry him off. He finally grasped Zacks arm in his huge fist and threw him off, immediately swiveling his right arm and pointing the silver device at the young trainer.
A deafening blast filled my ears and I flinched with a ringing in my ears. When I finally opened my eyes, I widened them suddenly in horror.
What the fuck, dude, you werent supposed ta shoot the bastard! the older, dark-skinned guy shouted. The sound of people shouting and the tap of footsteps on pavement reached my ears as I slowly backed away, taking short, fearful steps as I gaped at Zacks motionless body, his wide, lifeless eyes, the the scarlet blood oozing down his chest... There was a small hole in his shirt, where the crimson liquid poured from before pooling on the gravel.
It wasnt my fault, the asshole jumped me! he yelled back. He then muttered, Shit, lets get outta here.
Wait, man, wheres the lizard? the other asked.
I wasnt there. I sprinted through another alley, my heart pounding in my chest as I ran as fast as possible on my short legs that most obviously were not built for speed. I ducked around buildings, not wanting to look behind me until finally, I felt the gaps between structures growing larger and to my great relief, saw the tops of trees greeting me in the distance.
I slipped on the emerald blades of damp grass and regained myself long enough to bound into the brush. The thorny branches scraped against my ginger scales and, clutching my tail, I stood to my feet.
Slowly and shakily, I turned back to glance back at the city. He was dead, there was no question of itand yet a enduring guilt resided within me. Almost as if I felt I was abandoning my trainer. We hadnt exactly been close and yetwhy did I feel as though a part of me was gone? So long I had heard the tales that a trainer and his Pokmon were inseparable, that theirs was an instinctual bond of teamwork, and I finally determined that that was what forced me to linger there so.
Tears pricked the corners of my sapphire eyes, and I slowly whispered, Bye, Zack, before straying off into the forests to the west, where I knew there would be others. Wild ones who could help me to begin anew.
Everyone on SPPf loved this one the most out of my one-shots for some reason. I dunno, I don't like it that much. ^^ All comments and criticism appreciated!!!
~Chibi~


A Pokémon fanfic fifteen years in the making.
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