Pokemon: The Kerbala Saga Book I - Cipher's Attack

[Cursed]

Hey everyone! As I implied in the title, this is Book 1 of a series. It's based off an idea I once had for a story. Anyways, here's the table of contents so far:
Part I: Goodbyes, Hello's, and a New Beginning
Prologue: Foresight, Hindsight, and Lucario
Chapter I: Meeting Riolu

Here's a little side note for those who are interested: The story is a mix of Pokemon Mystery Dungeon, Pokemon: The Arcane Tome(my RPG), and Pokemon XD and Colosseum.


PROLOGUE:
Cold.. Dark.. That was how the dream felt, and in the middle of this darkness stood a boy about 10 years old with brown hair and blue eyes, and a creature dinosaur-like and blue-green in appearance with a large flower on its back. The person spoke to this creature. "Chris, come home. We miss you. I want you to come home and make everything normal again." Chris tried to speak, but was incapable of speaking in the same language, being a being known throughout this universe as a Pokemon. The pain of being unable to communicate with his younger brother was unbearable.

Chris attempted several times to speak to his brother, but his words came out as cries of a Pokemon, not as human speech. Chris longed for the days before he had become a Pokemon, in which he had had a human family and a human life. He jolted out of this dream at the sound of a large rumbling. As he drowsily exited the house shaped in his image before he had evolved, a bipedal creature reminiscent of a ferret with a green back, a tan front, and a collar of flames around his neck appeared in front of the house. His red eyes met Chris's own, and they exchanged worried glances and then to the area due east, and saw a large group of pelican-like Pokemon flying to and fro with parcels - emergency supplies for the townspokemon - and in it all, Pokemon who didn't live in the main town were fighting desperately for supplies they would need to survive the crisis. Chris and his partner, Typhlosion, rushed in to help those less fortunate in the first of what they assumed to be several earthquakes.

Chris stopped in his tracks, however. There, in the center of the town, dispensing supplies equally between the Pokemon, stood a Pokemon that seemed to be wearing a mask and a doglike figure, except that it was standing on two legs. It was his hero, Lucario! Looking on in awe, Chris was amazed that such a hero appeared before the townspeople and helped even the tiny wormlike Pokemon, Caterpie, who was so small that the larger Pokemon were entirely unaware of him.

In all the commotion, Lucario kept calm and distributed the last of the supplies. He then turned to Chris.

"I don't recognize you from my last visit to Pokemon Square," Lucario said, "What is your name?"

"It's Chris." Chris said, almost unbelieving that Lucario was speaking to him.

"You're Chris? Chris, the founder of Team FireRoot?!?" Lucario asked in awe. Chris's eyes opened wide at this, amazed that Lucario had heard of him.

"I am that person," Chris stated, "But how did you know of Team FireRoot?" Lucario chuckled at this.

"How do I know of Team FireRoot? More like how do I not know of Team FireRoot!" Lucario laughed, "your team is home to Legendary Pokemon, most of which thought of as myths, and is the most skilled rescue force in all of the nation. I originally came to ask a favor of you. You see, my son wants to train as I have, but back when I started training, I had great difficulties because I was alone. I would like him to join team FireRoot, if you don't mind." Lucario stated, during all of this Chris was thinking to himself how amazing his life had been as a Pokemon.

It was true that he had recruited so many Pokemon, and that Team FireRoot was ranked right next to Lucario himself, but he felt that he still hadn't fulfilled his purpose in life. He decided to ask Xatu, the local oracle, for advice as to where he belonged. The initial earthquakes were gone, and Typhlosion left for Scorched Plains, a meadow near a large volcano. Lucario told Chris that he would be back with his son, Riolu, the next day. Chris sighed. He remembered his family in Palroot City, a megalopolis home to some rare Pokemon, although the rarity of these Pokemon paled in comparison to that of the Pokemon on team FireRoot. Alone in the darkness, Chris walked towards the area known as the Great Canyon. Seeing as it was night, most Pokemon in the dungeon below the plateau on which Xatu meditated were asleep, and Chris didn't find any difficulty avoiding the ones that were awake using his X-ray specs. He soon approached the birdlike Pokemon prophet, who was staring in the direction that the sun would rise. He looked even more wise with the stars twinkling around him.

"You wish to speak to me?" Xatu asked, his green head not turning in the least.

"Erm.. Y-" Chris began, but Xatu interrupted him, "The stars that formed on the day of your arrival to the world that we Pokemon live in are shifting. I believe that they represent you, and your desire for somewhere to belong." Chris was amazed. Xatu seemed even more wise as he spoke these words. Xatu then gestured towards the sky with his white, red-tipped wing, revealing a pattern of two yellow eyes below his neck.

"The stars are very wise," Xatu spoke slowly, "but they cannot tell me everything, such as where you belong. For that, you may need to speak with the one responsible for your being a Pokemon." His eyes showed a weariness that made Chris feel even sadder.

"However," Xatu said, startling Chris, "I recommend you bring Typhlosion with you on this journey. He will miss you if you find the place in which you belong without him. Besides, he may prove to be a help to you on your quest."

" Thank you Xatu." Chris said, proceeding to leave Xatu to his meditation. Xatu stopped him before he left.

"Chris, I have one last thing to tell you," Xatu said, reaching towards a natural shelf on which something sparkled in the light of the full moon. It was the remnants of the teleport gem which Chris and Typhlosion had used to reach the tower of clouds on which Rayquaza, a serpent who was capable of destroying a meteor that was unbalancing the world and creating unnatural disasters, lived. The fragments were surrounded in a blue aura and swirled in a circle. They eventually all began to fit together and form the full gemstone. Xatu then gave the newly reformed jewel to Chris.

"Wherever you go, Chris," Xatu said, "You will still be able to return to the life you once had here with us Pokemon." Tears of gratitude began to form in Chris's eyes.

"Thank you, Xatu."

 

[Astinus]

Hello! ^_^ I decided to stop by and give you a review.

This is a good prologue. You did well with summarizing what happened in Chris's past. Now I'm not confused as to what happened to him before the main adventure. Also, you started out well in the prologue by starting with some sort of hook. I wanted to know more about Chris and why he couldn't communicate with his brother.

And yes, you did well ending with another hook. The adventure is about to begin! I'm interested in reading more about Chris's adventure with Typhlosion!

Your grammar skills are even good. No glaring errors that detracted from the story line. You did good there, and it shows that you took the time to make sure that there were no errors in your story.

So, hey...there's no areas of improvement for me to tell you! I can tell you that you have a reader that will keep coming back to this fic!

 

[Cursed]

Thank you, Hanako Tabris. Well, here is Chapter I:

Chapter I:

Chris prepared everything he needed the remainder of the night. He planned to wait for Riolu and send him on a few of the minor missions off of the notice board. There was a shortage of food in Tiny Woods, and Riolu's speed would help greatly, assuming that he had almost the same amount of speed as Lucario. Chris then went into the night once again and approached Scorched Plains, where he explained to Typhlosion about what Xatu said and wanted to return to the human world, at least for a while. Typhlosion agreed, realizing that it was his fault that Chris had remained in the Pokemon world. Chris, however, could barely remember his life as a human, so they would ask Gardevoir, the Pokemon who had pulled Chris out of his life and into the Pokemon world. Early in the morning, Chris woke up to see two figures approaching. One was very small, only about a foot tall, the other was slightly taller than Typhlosion. Chris was still amazed as he saw Lucario's dog-and-humanlike figure. The smaller one, having Lucario's basic body, but with less developed features, slowly approached behind him. Lucario was the first of the three to speak.

"Well, Chris, I'd like to thank you. I haven't the time to train Riolu myself, and he is in dire need of a purpose." Lucario said gratefully.

"It's not a problem," Chris said, "Say, where will Riolu be lodging during his stay on Team FireRoot?" Lucario was anxious to leave, but he had a responsibility as a father.

"Well, he would be content to lodge on Mt. Discipline," Lucario said, glancing towards the rising sun, "But I have to go attend a town meeting on the other side of Mt. Blaze.

"Don't worry. Riolu will be fine with team FireRoot." Chris assured Lucario. Chris turned to Riolu.

"Would you like a mission now, Riolu?" Chris asked. Riolu nodded slightly.

"Tiny Woods is suffering a food shortage," Chris said, sounding as businesslike as possible, "And we need a Team FireRoot member to deliver as many apples as the Keckleon brothers will supply us with. Although they will ask for some money for their services." Then, Chris handed Riolu a sack of gold coins, and sent him off to the east to the main section of town. Chris then headed off to meet with Swampert, who would supervise Riolu's activity. The journey to Swampert's home was faster than Chris expected, probably due to the evacuation of major dungeons. Chris then entered the swamp in which a blue quadriped with two grey fins atop its head and orange elbow and knee pads, Swampert, resided. Chris explained Swampert's babysitting job, and gave him some toys and such for Riolu's rewards. Chris then set off for Sky Blue Plains, where the Pokemon responsible for his transition of species lived. Chris walked up to her, a womanlike figure with a white dress.

"Hello, Chris, what do you need from me today? It's Smeargle's new flag, isn't it?" Gardevoir asked, glancing over to where a dog-but-yet-humanoid creature resembling a short Lucario with a long tail was busily painting a single tree in the center of the small town using his own tail as a paint brush.

"No, no," Chris lied, fearing that he might hurt Smeargle's feelings if he stated what he thought of the new flag, "Actually, I wanted to talk with you." This threw Gardevoir off guard. She was somewhat conceited, so she had no idea if she ever did anything wrong, and when she realized she did something wrong, she simply said that the procedure itself, whatever it may be, is wrong instead.

"All right," Gardevoir sighed, "What do you think I did wrong during the rounds this time?"

"Nothing," Chris replied, noticing that Riolu would soon be done with his mission, "I just wanted to know how I could get back to my life as a human if I wanted to."

"Oh, you don't like it here as a Pokemon?" Gardevoir teased, smiling the whole time.

"That is not the case at all," Chris said, staring at a stationary cloud north of the plains, "It's just that I would like to see my family again."

"I understand," Gardevoir sympathized, "Sometimes one wishes to enjoy what they previously had, and I know how you can return to your life as a human. Meet me at Pokemon Square after you check up on Riolu's mission."

When Chris returned to Pokemon Square, Swampert ran up to him, gasping for breath.

"Riolu.. Food… Stole.." Swampert wheezed. Chris couldn't make any sense of what Swampert said until he saw Riolu run past them, carrying a sack full of what Chris thought to be food, but Chris's jaw dropped in horror when he heard the sack jingle as Riolu ran.

"Stop! Thief!" A bipedal reptile with a red zigzagging stripe across his stomach yelled, seeing the criminal who took his store's money run into tiny woods. Chris stopped the Pokemon, whom he knew to be Keckleon, the owner of the general store.

"What's going on?" Chris asked, glancing in the direction in which Riolu ran.

"I'll tell you what's going on," The Keckleon exclaimed, "That wannabe Lucario just took all of my money!!!"

"I'm sorry for what Riolu did and claim full responsibility for my teammate's actions." Chris calmly said, "How much money did he steal?"

"He stole twenty thousand Poke from me and ninety thousand from Felicity Bank," Keckleon grimaced, knowing that he was billing the leader of a team matching up in rank to that of Lucario himself. Chris sighed and withdrew from his own money the one-hundred ten thousand Poke.

"There goes my fund for a vacation…" Chris moaned…

 

[Astinus]

Okay, now that we've moved onto the first chapter, I can see a little places where you need some improvement.

When Chris goes to talk to Typhlosion, you could talk more about Chris's feelings. Right now, I don't know if Chris is feeling scared, nervous, excited, or joyed about going to see his family again and leaving Typhlosion behind. See, if you describe the character's emotions, then it makes them more real to the reader, and the reader will be more willing to read about someone that they care about.

That's really the only thing glaring about this chapter. >.< That, and a few small typos.

 

[Cursed]

The real problem is the fact that Chris is professionally detached. While he cares for his family, he would regret leaving his team, due to the instability of the area. I hope that the readers don't get too attached to the Mystery Dungeon theme, as chapter II ends that.

 

[PokeForce]

Quite good! I like this story very very very very very very very very very very very very very very very very very much

 

[Cursed]

Okay, I haven't been on in a while, but finally decided to keep posting the story. Here's Chapter II:
Chapter II:

Riolu was really beginning to make Chris regret owning such a large rescue team. The flower on Chris's back swished to and fro as he struggled to get out from the pile of logs under which he was buried, a trap Riolu set up. He's just tempting fate now. Chris thought to himself as he brushed away the remaining debris with the vines growing from his back and went to Riolu's room, marked by a trail of gold coins from the sack he had been carrying. Chris placed his front right foot on the door. The rotting wood on the locked door splintered from Chris's weight, instead of simply swaying open like it would if he were still a human. Inside, Riolu turned to the leader of Team FireRoot and snickered. Chris glared.

"Riolu, I don't want to have to use corporeal punishment to get you to do what you should, but I will if I have to." Chris snarled.

"Relax stupid," Riolu calmly said, "I got the food to Tiny Woods. Swampert said I could keep any change left over."

"Swampert meant any change obtained honestly," Chris frowned, glancing at the old analog clock on the wall, "now thanks to you, I'm going to be late for my meeting with Gardevoir in Pokemon Square. You'll just have to come along with me." After some coaxing from Chris's Vine Whip, Riolu climbed on Chris's back, in front of the flower.

Riolu grudgingly went with Chris to Scorched Plains to meet Typhlosion, which was a long and grueling trip in itself, due to Riolu's annoyed mutterings, and Chris's hurt leg due to the logs falling upon him. Once there, Chris explained Riolu's crimes to Typhlosion, who listened intently, having been a troublemaker himself, and then the three hurried to the center of town. Chris had it all planned out: having some experience with Poke Balls and teleportation devices prior to becoming a Pokemon, he had designed a type of Poke Ball that would call forth Pokemon from Friend Areas, small areas in which Pokemon could stay during their membership of Team FireRoot. Hopefully by taking this Poke Ball with him to his previous life, he would keep in touch with the Pokemon on Team FireRoot. According to Gardevoir, he would also be able to speak the language of Pokemon when he got there, as well as the English language.

The party of four then departed for Mt. Freeze. This was also a long trip due to the fact that Riolu kept arguing with the rest of the group and that Chris's leg got sprained from the barrage of logs, which he said Riolu would have to deliver to Tiny Woods to help them build a town hall. They finally got to Mt. Freeze, a gloomy mountain where Ninetales resided.

"The way these places of importance are so gloomy, you'd think we were part of a story," Gardevoir murmured under her breath. Chris then froze. Turn back now. A voice in his mind echoed. Chris, however, was determined to continue. Throughout the first, nearly deserted floors of Mt. Freeze, Chris couldn't shake off the feeling that they were being watched.

As Chris and the other Rescue Team members progressed, they hit a dead end, created by a recent rockslide. Riolu was the first to spot the three Nosepass, strange totem-like creatures with massive noses, in their stone-on-stone movements.

"Watch out!" Riolu cried from his position, charging a sphere of magnetic force to counteract the three-way Zap Cannon attack from the Nosepass. The sphere of magnetic force saved all four members by absorbing the waves of electricity. Riolu then directed it towards a wall, where it would clear a path as well as throw the Nosepass off guard. Chris then concentrated hard. Thorny vines then erupted from the flower atop his back. They reached into the ground and they each grabbed one Nosepass. Typhlosion then erupted with white-hot flame and managed to control it to engulf the three Nosepass. Gardevoir then, noticing the mental strain placed upon Typhlosion from holding the flames in place, took control of Typhlosion's mind and then pooled their willpower to keep the flames in check, while Chris retracted his tentacle-like vines. The Nosepass then collapsed and Riolu stepped up to one of them, charging a sphere of magnetic energy to finish the job…

"No, Riolu. It is not a Rescue Team's place to kill their opponents. Rescue Teams are formed to help Pokemon, not kill them." Chris said, disapprovingly. Riolu then released the magnetic force, and resumed his position. They continued up Mt. Freeze, Riolu sulking about the lack of entertainment along the way. On the 20th floor, a strange wave of fear passed through Chris as they stood at the summit.

"That's strange," Gardevoir murmured, "Ninetales was supposed to meet us here." Then, out of a shadow, a black cat-and-dog-like creature with golden circles on its forehead and legs appeared. Its red eyes pierced through Chris's soul.

"Ninetales is not here," The creature said bluntly, "But asked me to show you the Gate. I hope you're ready for what you are about to experience." The creature, known as Umbreon, then nodded towards a stone archway, which had circles similar to Umbreon's own etched onto every other stone. Chris was surprised that he had not noticed this on his last visit. As he was pondering this, a black shadow appeared on the one wall illuminated with light. Out of this wall leaped a transparent humanoid creature with spines on its back and a demonic air about it. Its malevolent red eyes stared into Chris's own.

Chris couldn't believe it. After all this time, it was happening again. The same one who had tried to drag him to the Dark World and had been identified by Ninetales herself as the human cursed to be a Pokemon forever. This demon had possessed Gengar. It shifted his stare to Gardevoir, at one time its starter Pokemon. It had hated her ever since it had become a Pokemon. Had she taken the full blow of the curse it would have maintained control of the human.

"I don't have time for chit-chat. I want to simply pass through the Gate." The monstrosity stated with more malevolence in his voice than in his stare, if that were possible. He started towards the Gate, but Chris stood in front of him. Chris's eyes sparkled with defiance.

"You have some nerve to return here, after pulling Ninetales's tail, leaving Gardevoir to suffer in the curse meant for you, and trying to kill me," Chris said, preparing for battle, "If you want to pass through the Gate, you'll have to go through me to do so." At this, the demon also assumed a fighting stance.

"If you say so, although I think you'll soon regret it!" The monster, known as Dakarir yelled, hurling spheres of shadow energy at Chris. Chris, despite his bulk as a Pokemon, managed to dodge each attack as it came. Gardevoir and Riolu soon joined Chris, fighting Dakarir with their combined abilities. Typhlosion on the other hand simply stood. Is it right for me to fight the very one to have spared my life? Typhlosion asked himself, recalling that Dakarir had saved him from dying in the wake of the Hyper Beam attack Rayquaza had used to destroy the meteor. He stood there, not knowing whether to aid Chris or to refuse to fight. Around him the turmoil of the battle had done little to shake Umbreon, who was doing nothing as well. He has no reason to fight. He knows little of either side or its intentions. Typhlosion then looked back to the battle. Chris was panting, having used so much energy against the Nosepass. He, on the other hand, had used little of his willpower to control the flames, being aided by Gardevoir. He then made his mind.

The bipedal weasel-like creature ran in front of Chris and released all of his rage towards Dakarir for attempting to kill his best friend. He was then engulfed in a huge shield of flame. He turned his head to Chris.

"Go through the Gate, we'll handle Dakarir!" Typhlosion yelled over the roar of his own flames. He then turned to Gengar and released a mass of flames, a miniature supernova fueled by his pure rage, aided by Riolu's magnetic force sphere and Gardevoir's psychic aid. Chris protested over Dakarir's screams of pain, but Typhlosion struck him with a small ounce of this power, blowing Chris backwards into the Gate. Chris then vanished. Typhlosion turned back to Dakarir, only to find he was gone. He then glanced backwards, just in time to see it entering through the Gate. The flames around his body then died down. He trembled at the power he had held momentarily, and then at the fact that he may have hurt Chris when he forced him into the Gate…