The Quest for the Legends (version ILCOE)

[Dragonfree]

I randomly decided that since I was registered on here I could start posting and stuff... which starts with this fic that follows me wherever I go. It's also appropriate because

Spoiler: *brag brag*

it just won the Reader?s Choice Award at The Pok?mon Tower today

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RATING

Violence: None, but the whole thing is aftermath of violence.

Gore: A bit. Well... quite a bit, actually.

Sexuality: None at all.

Profanity: None.

Other: Nothing special.
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Prologue

The flaming remains of a town burned sadly in the sharp wind. On the singed ground lay bodies.

Humans, mostly. The plant-less soil was littered with them. Dry blood colored it dark red. Most of them were pretty much in one piece; a few were still weakly breathing although they would certainly never wake up again without medical aid.

There were also several virtually torn apart corpses. They were not of humans. It was like a supernatural being had swept past with the sole intention of killing those but its mere presence had made everything else drop dead too.

The mutilated ones were powerful creatures known as Legendary Pok?mon. There were twelve or so dead Legendary Pok?mon in these former streets in total ? although admittedly, only two of them were not in bloody bits with their guts spread around.

Both had somewhat catlike shapes. One had blood-stained whitish-pink fur; it was rather simple-looking, with stubs for ears, small front paws but large, rabbit-like back legs, and a long, thin tail ending in an oval shape.

The other one looked a bit similar to the pink one, but a lot larger; it was whitish gray with a deep violet, muscular tail; it narrowed towards the similar oval on the tail end. The ears were smaller in comparison to the head and more pointed than the pink one?s. The overall shape of the body was more human; it had long, bony arms with three ball-like fingers although the legs were more like a kangaroo?s. It had a large, bleeding wound in the middle of its chest.

The pink one stirred. It was still breathing. The life slowly returned to the little body. A leg twitched. Soon enough, its eyes opened.

?Mew??

The small creature rose up and stared wide-eyed at the destruction.

The Legendary Pok?mon levitated a meter or so into the air as its big, innocent-looking sapphire blue eyes fearfully scanned the area.

Then it stopped, kicked the air with both legs and darted towards the place it was staring at.

Terrified, the Legendary looked upon a black, feline-like head. It had likely belonged to a Legendary Pok?mon the size of a leopard or so. Two neon green stripes pointed downwards from the top of its head. The same green shade was also on six long spikes which sprouted from the back of its head, three on each side, and on two slash-like markings on either side of the muzzle. The left eye socket was empty; what had been the right eyeball was now merely a torn, bloody mess.

The pink Legend?s disbelieving eyes stared at the severed head in horror.

?Chalenor!? sounded a desperate telepathic scream. But nobody was around to hear it.

 

[Lily]

Hm.

The beginning was quite interesting to read, although the last part confused me a bit...(Chalenor?) Ooh I love any fic with non god playing legendaries, and wow...I can't believe the setting. It tells you something over there, but curiosity is still yet to be risen. Very nice prologue, with good details and some of the bluntly stated sentences bringing more suspense to it.

Nice job Dragonfree! ^_^

 

[Dragonfree]

Chalenor? Well, that's what I'm just getting to... this fic has thingies called "Extras" that can contain flashbacks, background information, in-depth explanations that can't really be placed properly into the fic itself, and other things like that. There are quite a few at the beginning, but they become fewer as they go on.




----EXTRA I----

Chalenor

Chalenor is a fake Legendary Pok?mon, yes, and he?s dead. He still matters.

His head has been described, but you can find his full-body picture here (his eyes are closed for a reason). The most interesting thing about him, however, is probably those neon green parts. They actually aren?t always neon green.

Those who know HTML will know how the hex color codes work, right? Well, their color works exactly like that.

For people who don?t know how the hex color codes work, a quick explanation: There are three base colors, red, green and blue. The value for each color can be up to 255. 0 of all the colors makes black, 255 for all of them makes white (basically, the higher the total value is, the lighter the color is). Red and green mixed make yellow, otherwise everything about the blending works about the same as you should have been taught in Art class sometime.

Red stands for anger, blue stands for sadness, and green stands for being nervous, desperate, uneasy, hyper, etc., basically not being calm. Just like they mix into Chalenor?s mood at a given moment, the color on Chalenor?s green parts (well, green on the picture, even though he does look very content on it) change accordingly.

Lastly, Chalenor is pronounced CHA-leh-nor.

 

[Sawyer]

interesting... but yeah, this is pretty gorey... but it's still good.

 

[Dragonfree]

WARNING: TRAINER FIC AHEAD

Yup, this is a trainer fic. Surprise! But, as the prologue should tell you, there is quite a bit more to it than that. Just you wait...



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RATING

Violence: None.

Gore: None.

Sexuality: None.

Profanity: Nothing real. Just one occurrence of ?butt?, if you're going to be really picky.

Other: Nothing special.
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Chapter 1: The Pok?mon on the Road

Exactly 999 years later, it was a beautiful morning in the town of Sailance, North-West Ouen.

The trees? branches swayed gently in the soft breeze, providing a constant, quiet rustle. The sun was rising, coloring the sky in a glorious, vibrant red. The air was comfortably warm and fresh. The only thing the scenery lacked was birdsong. That was also the only part of it that Mark Greenlet even remotely cared about.

He was short, thin, dark-haired, and currently on the way to school. A year ago, he would?ve been with his best friend Alex, chatting and feeling good. Now, Alex was probably somewhere with his Totodile having fun, while Mark was home in Sailance, walking alone, quiet and feeling miserable.

Mark?s parents were over-protective. There was no question about that. Almost all the other kids had been taken to Green town last year to receive a Pok?mon from Ash Ketchum. Out of the ones left, Mark was the only one who had been looking forward to it for his whole life, only to have his parents tell him that it was too dangerous. What did they know, anyway ? they had never been trainers and had lived in North-West Ouen for their whole lives.

The problem was that North-West Ouen had no Pok?mon in it, for some reason that Pok?mon experts had always debated about. The people who lived there were all lawyers or other rich people who wanted a life in peace without Pok?mon and little kids asking them for a battle all day. And if there was anything that people who had lived there for more than thirty years did not understand, it was the concept of Pok?mon training. Mark?s parents kept pointing out to him the possibility of getting a ?real? job. A programmer? How about a professional artist, since you draw so well? They would ask questions like that every time he mentioned that he wanted a Pok?mon of his own, and were absolutely incapable of understanding how he felt when all his classmates and friends left.

Mark walked into the school building. He hated it, especially the prison-like outwards appearance and that dull, lifeless, rock-gray color of it. Mark loved living things; he had since he was little, and likewise hated cold rock because it was so lifeless. The corridors were even duller, even grayer and even more lifeless, which only added to the depressing feeling of the whole building. To top it all, all the students were snappy and irritated, usually because they wanted to train Pok?mon, and the teachers were all snappy and irritated too, simply because of what the whole environment was like.

Mark?s first lesson on Thursdays was Battling Strategies, a branch of Pok?monology. He sighed as he sat down in front of the classroom. What a waste of time for somebody like him who was never going to get to train Pok?mon anyway. Besides, whether it was because of his rather negative opinion on the classes or because he would rather spend them drawing on the back of his school papers, he was completely lousy at Pok?monology. For tests, he desperately sank himself into the textbook and sure enough, he managed to learn the bits of the text he found the most interesting pretty well. The problem was that they always asked about the most boring and uninteresting things, such as the level at which one Pok?mon approximately evolved into another. This just made him despise Pok?monology even more.

He preferred Pok?mon Communication classes by far ? ?Pok?monish?, as they were usually referred to in everyday speech. He was much better at languages than learning things by heart, besides finding Pok?mon?s language very interesting in general. Those few things in Pok?monology that had sunk in over the years mostly had something to do with this remarkable language of syllables, bodily expressions and voice tones anyway.

One of the very best things in Pok?monish, also, was that in exams, live Pok?mon were brought to classes and the kids got one Pok?mon each to stage a normal casual chat with. At the end of the class, the Pok?mon each gave the teacher a report on how well the students handled the conversation. Mark always got top grades for that; most of the students couldn?t talk nearly as well to Pok?mon as he could, and he was rather proud of that. He remembered the test last year where he had discussed Pok?mon rights with a Vulpix. He smiled faintly at the thought; it was probably one of the best memories of his life. The two of them had had so much in common, and they had ended up in an exciting discussion about Pok?mon rights that went way past the time the exam was supposed to take. The teacher had been forced to recall the Vulpix into his Pok?ball in order to get Mark to leave the classroom. Since then, Mark had been daydreaming about one day sneaking out to Green town on his own account and getting a Vulpix for a starter Pok?mon; it was now his very favorite basic unevolved Pok?mon.

But the class he probably enjoyed the most was Art. His Pok?mon pictures received really positive comments by Miss Taintor, who was a professional Pok?mon artist after all. She was the type of person that was always honest and all but afraid of telling somebody basically that their pictures sucked, but she mysteriously managed not to sound mean, however bad she thought the picture was. Mark was weird when it came to criticism; he subconsciously hated being criticized at all by other people, even if he completely agreed. That wasn?t too bad, though; it had caused him to suddenly decide to draw all day during the summer when he turned nine. When Miss Taintor saw his art in fourth grade, she had said, as he still remembered word for word: ?Very big improvement, young man ? if there were more students with determination like you in this stupid school, I?d be out of a job.? Probably another one of his very best memories ? being congratulated by a harsh critic felt a lot better than the constant compliments from his parents and relatives who always pretended that everything he did was the greatest thing since sliced bread, and hearing a teacher call the school stupid just made him feel all nice. After that incident, he had started to appreciate constructive criticism ? he still didn?t technically like it, but it definitely helped.

He was pulled out of his thoughts by the sound of the bell ringing ? the class was starting. Mark hated that sound; it hurt his ears. To his opinion, it should just be about as loud as the beep of his digital watch ? at least everybody in the classroom heard quite clearly when it rang, and not even his own ears considered the noise too loud.

At least, he heavily stood up, groaned, and got in line with the only kids in sixth grade who weren?t out training Pok?mon. Mrs. Grodski, who taught Pok?monology, was a very grumpy old lady who wore the biggest glasses Mark had ever seen, spoke through her overly large nose and had developed a strong hatred for Mark for some reason he had never understood.

?Good morning, class,? she said sternly as everybody had taken their places standing behind their chairs.

?Good morning, Mrs. Grodski,? the class mumbled, apart from Mark, who said his usual ?Good morning, Mrs. Grumpy.? He knew it was safe; it drowned completely in the rest of the class?s murmurs.

?Today,? Mrs. Grodski announced with a frown at how tired all the kids sounded, ?we will be studying up on recoil attacks. Sit down and turn to page forty-two, please.?

Mark sighed and opened his book as Mrs. Grodski watched him carefully, but as soon as she began reading aloud from the textbook, he silently took out his binder and started to draw a Lugia on the back of an English assignment. It was his favorite Pok?mon; he drew it all the time. Articuno, his other favorite, was a bit trickier for him to draw, but that didn?t make him like it any less. He loved all Legendary Pok?mon. In fact, he was utterly obsessed with them. He had been fascinated by those ultimate beings of the world since he was little.

?And just what do you think you?re doing, Mr. Greenlet?? Mrs. Grodski?s voice snapped. He looked slowly up from his Lugia, partially covering it with his hand. Mark had a hard time hiding his laughter behind an innocent expression.

?I believe I?m drawing, Mrs. Grodski, unless I?m very much mistaken,? he said in a sarcastically polite voice. There were some snickers from behind.

?Quiet!? the teacher screeched. ?And stop scribbling on your papers, least of all in my class!?

Mark grimaced at her as she returned to her desk, and made the textbook stand open on the table, shielding the binder and making him look like he was actually reading.

-------

Finally, the day was over. The sky was now slowly getting covered with depressing clouds. Mark went to play soccer with the fifth graders as usual, not really concentrating.

It was early May. May was something that Mark subconsciously connected to the bad knot in his stomach that formed every year as he watched all the lucky ten-year-olds drive away for Green town at the end of the month to get a Pok?mon. The kids he was with now would probably all leave on an adventurous Pok?mon journey soon while he would be left at home, standing at some street corner and drawing the city with imaginary Rattata poking out of the dustbins, Taillow singing in the trees and maybe a lone Meowth staring hungrily at them from below.

The ball came flying towards him and he kicked it away very hard, not bothering to aim anywhere. Stupid Pok?mon! Why couldn?t they just get their butts over to North-West Ouen!

Mark felt all the unfairness of the situation turn to liquid form behind his eyes.

Oh, no, you don?t, you?re staying in there, he ordered, screwing his eyes shut for a second and opening them again. He felt a strong urge to be alone.

He ended up leaving the game and going home to sulk.

It was now gray and gloomy, fitting Mark?s mood perfectly; the clouds were thickening up and it would likely start raining soon. He quickened his pace as he turned down his home street. When he was just about to cross it, he heard something. Something that came from the bushes his back was currently turned to.

He jumped, twisting around immediately. Dead quiet, he waited for a few seconds. Then it happened again ? a branch moved and a twig cracked.

Very slowly and carefully, his heart beating like a drum in his chest, he stepped up to the bush and pulled the branches apart. To his great disappointment, there was nothing there at all. Such a shame, he had been hoping he had found the first Pok?mon of North-West Ouen? maybe a Vulpix. He grinned at the thought, but then shook his head.

?Come on,? he said to himself, ?stop dreaming??

He ran across the street. It was starting to rain.

-------

After a very normal, quiet dinner with his parents while watching Bravo Trainer, he sat down in the sofa in the living room, and stared outside through the blurry, wet glass in the window facing the street.

He stopped dead.

There was definitely something moving out there. Something? reddish?

The word ?Vulpix? instantly crossed his mind, although he knew it was ridiculous to assume that the Pok?mon of his dreams had suddenly appeared in front of his house. Mark leapt to the front door, into his boots and pulled the door open. There was indeed a Pok?mon there, but it wasn?t a Vulpix.

It was an orange, cute-looking bipedal lizard; one of those he had used to point at in picture books when he was little, announcing that it was a Fire-type in order to make his parents nod appreciatively and tell him he was really smart remembering it all.

But this was a real, living Charmander, not a picture in a book, and this fact made the Pok?mon seem scary and foreign. It was lying limply on the middle of the road, and the flame that was supposed to be on the tip of its tail was merely a small, bright glow. That was still enough to indicate that it was still alive.

At first, Mark just stood there like a cow, staring, but then he was knocked to his senses by the sound of a car. He ran out onto the road, picked up the Pok?mon and hurried inside with it, already soaked wet by the downpour.

Mark slammed the door shut and started fanning the Charmander?s tail flame stupidly with his hand in order to revive it, with little success.

?Mom! I ? I found a Charmander on the road!? he panted.

?Really?? sounded his mother?s voice absent-mindedly from upstairs. ?Very nice, but why don?t you just go into your room, dear??

?Parents,? Mark hissed at nobody but himself and the unconscious Pok?mon in his arms. Then he yelled: ?Aren?t you listening? I FOUND A FREAKING CHARMANDER!?

He heard his mother, clearly thinking this was some kind of a game, sigh and stand up before coming down the stairs with red, tired eyes and a cup of coffee in her hands.

Crash! She dropped the cup and it fell to the floor, shattering to a thousand pieces and spilling coffee all over.

?Wha - what is that thing?? she then squeaked, sounding like this was the first time she saw a Pok?mon close-up, which is probably was.

?It?s a Charmander!? Mark snapped. ?A Pok?mon! And it?s dying!?

?Oh God!? she uttered out, speechless. ?John!?

?Not now,? Mark?s father mumbled from upstairs, sounding half-asleep. She dug her fingers deep into her curly mess of blond hair, repeating ?Oh, what can we do? What can we do?? in a panicky voice.

Mark rolled his eyes, sighed and started waving his hand again in attempts to get the Charmander?s flame burning properly again. Slowly as the tail tip dried, the flame was restored. Mark breathed in relief; half because the Charmander was saved, half because his hand was getting stiff from all the fanning.

?Is? is it okay?? his mother asked carefully as Mark shook his entire arm to loosen the hand muscles.

?Yeah,? he said and smiled. ?But I think it needs rest. Er? I guess you should go and get some old cloth so I can put it in my bed, otherwise it?ll burn the house down.?

His mother went back upstairs and got some old clothes of Mark he didn?t fit into anymore. He took them to his bedroom and placed them in the corner of his bed, laying the Charmander gently on top of them. The tail flame burned peacefully. Mark wondered who originally had the idea of making clothes flame-proof; it had always seemed very pointless to him, but now it sure came in handy.

He picked up the book about the Johto Legendary Pok?mon on his desk and started to read, keeping an eye on the lizard. He was starting to calm down and think reasonably. Of course, this Charmander wasn?t wild. It obviously was trained. Charmander were very rare Pok?mon from Kanto, how would one suddenly be in Ouen, let alone the North-West part? Its trainer was probably looking for it. Maybe he?d get a reward for finding it? Or maybe, just maybe? it had been released on purpose?

Mark grinned, looking forward to next morning.

 

[Lily]

Ah, thanks. The extra part explained a lot, although it should be included in your stroy somewhere...right? er..o.o;

I can feel the disappointment Mark has, it must be very fustrating to know you can't go on a Pokemon journey due to isolation from the other regions, especially if your friend is out there too. Eesh. The desire. o.o; Anyway, it was nicely written when he first discovered a 'real life' Charmander just lying there in the rain, and his parent's expression. (OMG a Charizard asdfghjk) What I like is your paragraph structure. I don't see many big paragraphs like that except when holding tons of vocabulary I've never even heard of.

The story is turning out rather interesting, and probably the next chapter or so he'll go on a Pokemon journey. Just a presumption. o.o;;;

*droolz thinking of Charizard*

 

[emeraldslay]

This is great! But, isn't it already finished over on you're own website? I'll go read it over there, save the suspense.

 

[Abskull]

Wow *Jaw falls off* I think I did it! I think I found my role model, unless you don't want want to be my role model. I can't find one mistake unless I'm in a picky mood I would say that "Bravo Trainer" needs quotation marks, but whatever. Every time I try to write a story it ends up to the same conculsion... "It's awsome, but it still needs improvment."

*Crys* So I was hoping that I could look up to you for a good story! If you don't want to, that's fine with me!

 

[Dragonfree]

LilyPichu: No, I could not have put it into the story without some serious disruption. Thing is, because Chalenor died a thousand years ago, nobody knows anything about him at the time when the fic happens.

MewMan: No, it's not finished there. It's at chapter 10. The original was 36 chapters before I decided to start rewriting it, but then it was nowhere near finished. You might as well follow the fic here.

Abskull: Eh... look up to me if you want. Seriously, though, there are better people to look up to than some random person who wrote a Pok?mon fanfic you like...



OK... a short, rather unimportant extra and a long, information-filled chapter - one of the more boring parts of this fic.






---EXTRA II---

Wait a minute? levels?

?The problem was that they always asked about the most boring and uninteresting things, such as the level at which one Pok?mon approximately evolved into another.? ? Chapter 1

Level?

Hey, levels don?t exist! Oh darn, this is going to be another one of those fics with battles that are exactly like in the game? *stops reading*

If you?re thinking something like that, hey, hey, hey, not so fast. I?ve been criticized so much for having levels in it that I was forced to make a whole extra explaining why I have them in.

OK, just if you were wondering, this fic does not portray Pok?mon as digital creatures of some sort, lines of code, whose powers consist of calculated numbers. Not at all. The Pok?mon in it are very much living creatures and can definitely not be explained in a few numbers.

You all know what an IQ is, right? Human intelligence doesn?t really consist of a number, but it is measured in a number.

In my fics, Pok?mon stats and levels are ?IQs?; that is, they don?t actually consist of a number, but are scientifically measured in numbers for convenience. Base stats are averages, created to compare the different species of Pok?mon in their power. Not absolutely accurately, of course ? but they can at least tell you that a Dragonite is much more powerful than a Caterpie. That does not mean, however, that a clever, determined Caterpie can?t defeat a Dragonite with some strategy; basically, I don?t just make the ?stronger? Pok?mon win.

The stats all measure different things. Speed measures reflexes and speed, however the Pok?mon is fastest; Swellow?s Speed is measured in how fast it can fly, but Doduo?s in how fast it can run. Attack measures a Pok?mon?s muscles; basically physical strength. Special attack measures the power of the Pok?mon?s elemental attacks (such as how hot the flames the Pok?mon can breathe are, how many volts the electric charge it can give off is, etc.). Defense measures how well the Pok?mon?s body is built to absorb physical attacks; a Pok?mon with high Defense will feel less pain when punched than a Pok?mon with low Defense, assuming, of course, that neither has a weakness to the punch. Same with Special defense, except for special attacks. Finally, HP measures how much pain a Pok?mon can take before fainting.

IVs represent the differences between individuals. Effort values stand for how adept the Pok?mon is at using a specific aspect of its power.

Finally, attacks and evolution. You may have noticed the ?approximately? in there. Well, I believe the exact timing of learning attacks or evolving is individual-based, but again it?s an average; at least most Mareep will need less training in order to evolve than the average Dratini.

If the implementation of these things still bothers you, I?m afraid I?m keeping them in whether you like it or not, so just try to accept them, OK?

 

[Dragonfree]

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RATING

Violence: It talks about fighting, but it isn't even described.

Gore: None.

Sexuality: None...

Profanity: None.

Other: Nothing special.
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Chapter 2: The Legends

When Mark woke up, the Charmander was still asleep, but this time curled up with the tail flame burning peacefully beside its head. Mark carefully placed his hand onto the Pok?mon?s back. It was warm and breathed normally. He gave a faint smile, quickly dressed and then tiptoed into the kitchen, where he was greeted by his parents? serious faces and folded arms.

?Mark,? his father sighed, ?we need to talk.?

-------

?Why not??? Mark shouted across the table, crushing his cornflakes violently. He couldn?t help noticing that despite his parents being very much unlike each other in outwards appearance ? his father having black hair and being short just like him, but his mother a tall, thin blonde with big, toadlike eyes ? they managed to look remarkably similar when they were both of the same mind.

?It?s very simple, Mark; it?s dangerous out there,? his father sighed.

?So what? I?d have a Pok?mon for my protection!? Mark said eagerly.

His mother said quietly: ?But what if your Pok?mon turns against you??

?That? that? just? doesn?t happen!? Mark said lamely. In fact, he had no idea, but he would soon learn it, if only they would stop getting in his way.

?Are you sure?? his mother asked kindly.

?Well, no, not really, but??

?See, we just want to keep you safe,? she said in a voice Mark recognized as the one she used when she was trying to be convincing. Needless to say, Mark had grown completely oblivious to it over these eleven years.

?But, oh, mom??

?Besides,? his father interrupted, ?we?ve yet to check all the reported lost Pok?mon.?

Mark didn?t say anything; he was aware of that, but he was still hoping somebody had released the Charmander on purpose. Meanwhile, his father stood slowly up, not taking his eyes off Mark, went to the computer in the corner (which was mainly used to find recipes online) and typed ?www.lostandfound.com? into the address bar. Mark quickly jumped to read over his shoulder as he searched for ?Charmander?.

A broad grin spread through Mark?s face as the results appeared: Two lost Charmander, both of them in Kanto.

His father sighed. ?That does not mean you?re about to go on a journey.?

Mark was going to protest, but was interrupted by a sound:

?Char??

The little lizard carefully stepped into the kitchen and looked curiously around.

?Oh, it?s awake,? Mark?s father groaned.

?I?m not an ?it?!? said the Charmander in an offended voice, at least if Mark?s knowledge of Pok?monish was as accurate as ever. The Pok?mon?s voice, though rather high-pitched on human scale, was clearly masculine.

Mark turned to his father with and said in a scolding tone: ?He?s a he, dad. Should I have said ?Oh, it?s awake? when I came in here and saw you??

Charmander looked confused and asked: ?What?s going on??

?We?re arguing over whether you will go psycho and kill me,? said Mark and shot a ?what-weirdoes-those-adults-can-be? look back at his parents. Charmander raised an eyebrow.

?Look, hon, that?s not quite the way we put it,? Mark?s mother began in an apologetic tone, but Charmander interrupted loudly:

?What am I doing here, anyway??

?Er,? was all Mark?s father said.

?I brought you in here when you fell unconscious on the road in the rain yesterday,? said Mark, leaning down to Charmander?s level. ?And the reason we?re arguing is that I was? uh? wondering?? Suddenly he felt like abandoning the idea; it was ridiculous to tell a Pok?mon that you were going to be its trainer, just because that was what you wanted.

?If you can be my trainer?? Charmander finished for him, sensing that Mark wasn?t about to continue. Mark nodded; the Pok?mon smiled. ?Sure, why not, since you saved me and all? I need a new trainer anyway??

?What?s your name?? Mark immediately asked, feeling comfortably warm and light.

?I don?t really have one, just call me Charmander,? he answered cheerfully. Both of them looked hopefully up at Mark?s parents, wearing the broadest grins they could manage.

?No way,? said his father, folding his arms. Charmander?s expression dropped.

?Maybe I should just leave, then,? he said, turning around.

?No, wait? you can stay here! Just as a pet! Or whatever!? Mark?s father called after him, not wanting to send the poor thing out to die in the next downpour. Charmander turned slowly back to them.

?Do you trust me more here than out there??

?It?s just that...? Mark?s father started, but his wife interrupted:

?You can?t deny that there are dangerous Pok?mon out there ? and you?re too small to handle them if they do attack.?

?But they?re usually nowhere near Sailance!? Mark argued.

?Usually,? his father emphasized.

Charmander couldn?t think of anything to say ? it looked like his and Mark?s silent plan wasn?t working.

Yet.

-------

For a few days, Charmander was Mark?s pet. They had a really fun time ? always went to bed very early, but set Mark?s digital watch to beep at two AM or so, and then in the dark bedroom with Charmander?s tail flame as the only light source, they discussed ways to get out on a journey. Just for fun, they started imagining this was the dungeon in the castle of two evil lords who kept them imprisoned, inventing loads of ideas of how to escape, each more absurd than the other.

?I think we must use our cunningness for this,? Mark whispered, leaning closer to Charmander. ?You will set the castle on fire and while they burn, we will run and tell the world of their dictatorship so that peace can reign in Ouen again.?

They both snickered.

?Hey, Mark?? said Charmander thoughtfully, ?I think I have an idea. No, not that kind of an idea, a real idea??

-------

Mark walked into the kitchen in the morning, his face expressionless.

?I don?t want breakfast, mom,? he said gloomily. ?I just came to say goodbye.?

?What??

?I?m gonna kill myself.?

Crash. Another cup went to waste. His mother?s expression was so priceless he almost burst out laughing, but he had to keep the depressed-and-tired-of-life face.

?No, you?re not!? she screeched.

?It?s just? my friends are all gone,? he went on.

?But how do we fix that, dear?? she asked in a worried tone.

?I just wish I could go and meet up with them, on my own journey.? Mark immediately realized that the smile that followed was far too hopeful. And too un-depressed. His mother sighed.

?You?re not funny, Mark. I mean? do you even have any idea how much that cup cost??

?A lot, if I know you correctly,? Mark muttered, well aware that the cup was just a random thing she turned her attention to because she had been very upset. Neither of them said anything for a while, until his mother sighed again.

?Are you that desperate to go on that journey of yours??

?Of course I am!? Mark replied, his expression brightening up. ?Mom, Charmander and I have been secretly thinking up plans at night! We?ve been imagining you?re evil dictators keeping us inside a dungeon and planning our escape in the middle of the night!?

?And,? said Charmander?s threatening voice as the lizard Pok?mon entered the room, ?we will do that every night from now on and there?s no way for you to stop us.?

Mark?s mother got a weird expression halfway between a smile and a hopeless look, and then said: ?You?re incredible, boys ? I think there?s no way to keep you in here for very long before you think of a way to force us to.?

?YES!? Charmander shouted.

?WHOOOOO!!!!? Mark yelled, giving his Pok?mon a high five. He hugged his mother tightly.

?Thanks, mom.?

She just hugged him back, tears in her eyes.

-------

 

[Dragonfree]

Things were being packed into an old red and blue backpack that looked like it could burst at any time. Mark?s father was not happy, but he had ended up giving in to his wife, who was suddenly all for it. Mark and Charmander bounced around the house in a wild celebration-dance. He got a nice sum of money to buy things for. Finally, he set off with Charmander by his side.

?Bye dad! Bye mom! I promise I won?t get myself killed!? Mark?s mother smiled through the tears as he waved. Then he turned and started running.

The Gyms in Ouen had been arranged so that the recommended first Gym was in Cleanwater city, a big one which was conveniently not that far from Sailance, then went in a spiral inwards until the last gym was in Acaria city in the heart of the continent. Cleanwater was near the edge of the Pok?mon-inhabited part of Ouen, built near a mysterious lake which was famous for being so clear that the bottom was always visible in details, despite being the second-deepest lake in the whole of Ouen. It was therefore called ?The Lake of Purity?.

But Mark was not headed to Cleanwater city yet. He was going to the Sailance Library to get Pok?mon Training for Dummies.

Mark, despite all his interest in Pok?mon, was a rookie when it came to Pok?mon training. He knew how it worked, of course, and the rules of the Pok?mon League, but he didn?t really know much about how to get started, what he?d have to do. His parents didn?t either seeing as they had never been trainers, so they had advised him to go to the library. Technically Mark didn?t know if a book by that name existed, but it had to exist, right?

The library was a huge, bright white building in the middle of the town. The walls were decorated with carvings of various Pok?mon; Mark?s favorite was located over the door and was of a big Articuno flying to the left, its tail swishing behind it and looking amazingly alive. As always when Mark entered the library, he gave a small bow in respect for the magnificent bird. The automatic door slowly slid open before him, and he prepared to walk inside when he remembered that Pok?mon weren?t allowed in the library.

?Sorry, Charmander, you?ll have to wait outside,? he said guiltily. ?I won?t be long.?

?It?s okay, I?ll just wait,? said Charmander, smiling. ?It?s not like anybody could steal me without getting roasted or anything.?

Mark eyed a few people staring at the Pok?mon like a miracle, and pride started spreading around his chest. To think of it? he was a trainer.

He smiled back at his Pok?mon friend, and then entered the building.

The search computers along with a few shelves of paperbacks with huge titles greeted him, along with the familiar smell of books that Mark had always loved. But he walked right to the elevators, as this book would be on the second floor.

A chubby middle-aged woman wearing what looked disturbingly much like a Sentret fur coat came through the metallic door, eyed Mark like some kind of a big disgusting insect and then walked away with her nose in the air. Mark decided she was a grumpy old snob as he stepped into the lift.

An endless row of Marks stared back at him from the mirrors on the sides. All of them turned to the buttons at the same time and all of them managed to slip their fingers between buttons two and three, accidentally highlighting both as the elevator started ascending.

It stopped on the second floor and a tall, thin man with a suitcase stepped in, but Mark suddenly felt a weird longing to go up to the third floor. First floor was novels, second was Pok?mon training and third was Pok?mon. He usually did go to the third floor, after all; he was always looking for books he hadn?t read before.

He didn?t want to keep Charmander waiting for too long, but of course he would just go and have a look around and see if there were any new books. It wouldn?t take long.

He went out on the third floor and looked curiously around. He could go left or right; a voice in his head told him to go right.

For whatever reason, Mark saw one particular shelf and walked firmly towards it, seeing nothing else. On it there was a book that looked older than most of the others, one that he had certainly never seen before:

The Ouen Legends

Mark?s attention was instantly caught. His heart started pounding in his chest. Despite knowing everything there was to know about the Legendary Pok?mon of Kanto, Johto and Hoenn, for whatever reason he had never found any decent books about the Legendary Pok?mon of his own region. His burning interest for Legendaries, of course, had never fully accepted this. He did have a vague knowledge of their names and what they looked like, but he didn?t know much else

But now was his chance. He reached forward with his hand and took the book out. On second thought, it was dusty, but not all that old. Like it had just not been moved out of the shelf since? before it was printed? Odd.

Mark shook his head and slowly, with the book in his hands, walked over to a big, fluffy and comfortable-looking green couch. He flung himself into it, examining the cover image. At the top, it had six differently-colored dragons soaring in the sky. He figured that those must be the so-called Color dragons, named so because their basic structure was all the same except for the colors, elemental powers, and some markings and additional things representing their element.

Below the dragons, there were eigth winged unicorns. Like the Color dragons, they all looked basically the same apart from their colors, wings, mane, horn and tail.

But at the very bottom, there was? Mewtwo?

Yup, he was sure of it. The whitish-purple anthro cat-like shape was unmistakably that of the first super-clone that had ever been created and had gotten such experiments banned. A Kanto Legendary.

What?s Mewtwo doing on the cover of a book about the Ouen legendaries? Mark thought. He looked better at Mewtwo?s shape. The eyes were closed, but looked creepily open all the same. It?s that highlight, said Mark?s artist eye. The shading gives that effect, the highlight on the eyelid looks distantly like a pupil. But it was still scary, with those closed eyes that seemed to be watching. Had the cover artist drawn it like that on purpose?

Either way, Mewtwo wasn?t supposed to be there at all. Mark scanned his head for a reason why Mewtwo would be on the cover of a book about the Ouen Legendaries, but found none.

Mark shrugged and opened the book. He flicked past the title pages, apart from checking the publishing date. It was just a little less than five years old.

The book started with the Color dragons. The left page had a watercolor illustration of them, with their names written near them.

There was a small, silver one in the middle of the page with a big, innocent-looking head and tiny wings, apparently called Lidreki. What caught Mark?s attention about it, however, was that where the light reflected off the dragon?s scales, it broke up into the colors of the rainbow.

The other ones were the real Color dragons themselves. They were all larger than Lidreki, European-style dragons with big, clawed legs, small arms and broad wings spreading out from their shoulders.

The bottom left one was a deep metallic green color with no special outstanding features. The name beside it read ?Dragoreen, the Dragon of the Poor?.

Opposite Dragoreen so that both stared hatefully at each other, there was a golden one, apparently ?Preciure, the Dragon of Wealth?. An occasional ruby poked out between the shiny scales; silver spikes were lined down its whole back and to the tail end.

Above them, there was another pair of dragons that seemed to loathe each other. The right one Mark recognized even before he read the description as Raudra, the Fire dragon. Two bony white, sheep-like horns grew from the top of its forehead; fiery red scales covered its whole body except the yellow belly and a thick, golden mane flowed down its whole back.

The left one however, was apparently ?Dracobalt, the Water Dragon?; it was dark blue, with a large fish-like fin on its back and two long, swirly, narrow, white horns.

The third and last pair of rivals was at the very top. Puragon, the left one, was pearly white all over, with four narrow crystalline horns. Venoir, in the top right, was pitch-black. It had dark purple horns similar to Raudra?s and glowing red eyes with slits for pupils, making it look very creepy and terrifying.

Mark excitedly started reading the information on the right page.


THE COLOR DRAGONS

The legend says that an ancient, powerful dragon Pok?mon named Vaxil, the Dragon of the Rainbow, laid six eggs and hid them where no living creature could harm them. One she dropped into the crater of a volcano, one she hid at the bottom of a deep lake, one she secured in a dark cave, one she buried in snow, and two she took with her to her own cave, filled with gold and treasures.

The first egg to hatch was one of the eggs that Vaxil had taken with her. As the other eggs would later, it hatched into a Lidreki. He was greedy and loved nothing more than burying himself in his mother?s gold.

The second egg to hatch was the one in the volcano. That Lidreki was female, and she loved the lava, fed on it and never felt the need to leave the volcano?s crater.

The third egg was the one in the dark cave. It was a male, and he fed on poisonous Pok?mon that lurked there in the dark, without ever finding out that there was anything outside the cave.

The fourth egg that hatched was the one in the snow. The young Lidreki was a female, and slowly became oblivious to the cold.

The fifth egg was the one at the bottom of the lake. A male, he adapted to underwater life, hunted fish and rarely went out of the lake.

Finally, the sixth egg hatched ? the other egg that Vaxil had taken with her. It was a female, and she instantly disagreed with her brother in everything ? she wanted to give the gold to those who were in need instead of keeping it all for themselves who had nothing to do with it except collect it. They disliked each other, and as they grew, the male thought the female took too much space. One day, he fought her out of the cave, and she sought her brothers and sisters to help fighting him.

She went to her sister in the volcano, she went to her brother in the lake. She went to her brother in the cave, she went to her sister in the snow. She lived with all of them for a while, and told them all ? because Vaxil had told her ? where the other ones were hidden, and asked them to come and help against her oldest brother. They came, more because they wanted to see their mother, but as they traveled, they developed hate for each other in pairs, and upon their arrival in Vaxil?s cave, a big fight broke out. The oldest brother fought the youngest sister, the sister from the volcano fought her brother from the lake, the brother in the cave fought his sister in the snow. Vaxil tried to stop them, but they only started attacking her too and in the end Vaxil threw herself off the cliff to her death. The siblings were horrified, and all blamed each other, but slowly they became enveloped in a white glow and evolved, each to one of the Color dragons. The female from the volcano became Raudra, the male from the lake became Dracobalt, the female from the snow became Puragon, the male from the cave became Venoir, the youngest female became Dragoreen and the oldest male became Preciure.

Due to their mother?s death, they decided not to keep fighting and all went off to different places, and supposedly they still lurk there, desiring only superiority over the opposite sibling?

All of them have very special abilities. Raudra, Dracobalt, Puragon and Venoir have immense powers of fire, water, ice and poison respectively, but Dragoreen and Preciure have different powers; Dragoreen?s attacks are independent on the defender?s weaknesses or resistances, and Preciure?s golden scales can repel any attack well and effectively.


Mark turned past some pages consisting of the few things he already knew, interviews with people who claimed to have seen them and some old paintings of the Color Dragons (as interested as he was in art, he didn?t want to keep Charmander waiting for too long), and finally reached the next chapter.

He studied the picture. It was a watercolor illustration which showed the unicorns all together, dashing towards the viewer.

The first one was all white with normal, feathered wings and a swirly horn. It was Waraider.

The next one was also white, but had a flaming mane and tail similar to Ponyta and Rapidash; the horn and hooves were bright orange and the wings were made of fire. That one was Emphire.

The third unicorn, Seasar, was beautifully dark blue. Its tail and mane didn?t seem to exist at all; it rather seemed like a river burst out from the top of its head and ran smoothly along its whole back, finally gracefully dropping down like a waterfall and then disappearing into thin air just before reaching the ground. The wings seemed made of vapor that took form into a wing.

Electhrone was the fourth one. It was whitish-yellow, but its mane and tail were very dark blue. Small sparks flew between the hairs. The horn was a bit crooked; its wings were composed of oddly pointed, sharp feathers.

The fifth one was called Natruler. It was white like Waraider, but in place of feathers, its wings had long, beautifully green leaves. The horn resembled a branch growing out of its forehead, and the tail and mane looked like bundles of grass and leaves.

Unicorn number six was Freezaroy. Icily white with a tint of blue, its tail, mane and wings appeared to produce snow that spiraled in a trail after it. The horn resembled an icicle.

The second-last one was called Mysticrown and was white with lavender tail and mane. The horn and hooves looked like they were made out of some kind of a magenta-colored gemstone. Its eyes were creepily purple, and unless Mark was very much mistaken, it seemed to glow with a very faint violet aura. The wing feathers were tipped with purple too.

The last one, however, was pitch-black; evil-looking red eyes glinted in the head. The wings seemed made of smoke, wispy and formless. It was Darkhan.

Mark turned to the information page.


WARAIDER

It is said that there were originally eight Waraider, but somehow all but one of them evolved into different elements. Waraider lacks the elemental powers, but is equally powerful overall as the other ones. The last Waraider is the leader of the herd; unlike the Color dragons, all the Waraider and evolutions supposedly keep close together wherever they go. According to the legend, their being together keeps the world balanced, and should they ever be separated, chaos would reign until they reunited.

There have been interestingly many reported sightings of them, but no photos nor Pok?dex data exists to prove any of them.


After that, there came a bunch of stuff Mark wasn?t as interested in, so he turned past it. After that, there came what he was probably most curious about: what Mewtwo was doing in that book.

He looked at the illustration first as he had done before. Again, its eyes were closed in that creepily ?watching? manner that had been on the cover picture. Mark couldn?t help wondering why it was drawn like that, though. He would?ve believed Mewtwo?s eyes would usually be open.

The answer was on the right page, where the title ? partially ? explained it:


CHALETWO


?Oh, yeah,? Mark muttered to himself. ?Stupid me, I should?ve remembered that one. I?ve heard the name before, I?m sure. But? why does it look like Mewtwo??

He started reading the text.


Chaletwo is the only one of the Ouen Legendaries that is definitely confirmed to exist. He appears every year at the exact same time and place; 4:26:45 PM on the 25th of May, the grass patch outside Green town. His coming always attracts a lot of tourists, and is what made Green town so big in the first place.

The first time that a human witnessed him, he supposedly said telepathically: ?Do not fear. I am Chaletwo and do not intend to harm you nor any other living thing. I only wish to come here once a year and have a quick look around the world before leaving.?

Nobody knows why he bears such a striking resemblance to Mewtwo, who is in fact a Kanto Legendary (although that is arguable due to the fact that he is man-created), look-wise.


Too bad, thought Mark disappointedly.


Due to Chaletwo?s limited availability, Mewtwo has been asked about this by a reporter.

?Do you think I wouldn?t like to know?? he answered before teleporting grumpily away. ?He said he didn?t wish to tell, least of all me. He wouldn?t reveal anything else.?

People wonder whether Chaletwo might be another Super-clone, backing that up with the name he after all introduced himself with, which ends in the trademark ?-two? of a genetically modified Pok?mon clone, but experts doubt it.

?He?s not just a simple second Mew clone,? Pok?mon researcher Ash Ketchum explained in an interview once. ?I?ve studied both of them carefully through making detailed 3D models from close-up photos. I?m telling you, every last hair on their bodies is the exact same! Technically, Mewtwo?s creators could have made an additional one with almost the exact same genetic code, resulting in a clone that looks the same, but face it, according to all sources we have, Mewtwo destroyed the lab and everything in it, which would have had to include another embryo if one had been there.?

It appears that there are only two differences between them: Chaletwo?s eyes and his Dark/Psychic type.

Chaletwo?s eyes are probably the greatest power of this world. If they look upon a living thing, it dies. If they look upon an inanimate object, it blows up. Only his own eyelids can withstand the power, and even through closed eyes, he can see through things. Nobody is quite sure how his eyes work, but there are many theories.

Chaletwo is said to match the Kanto Legendary Molzapart in power, tying them as the most powerful Pok?mon in the world.


Molzapart. Mark, obviously, could have recited many books? worth of information about it if he wanted. It was not confirmed to exist, but said to have been created when Mew found the legendary Mist stone, which was rumoured to have the power to evolve any Pok?mon at all, whether it can naturally evolve or not. Mew made a decision to attack the stone in order to prevent Pok?mon from stumbling across it and evolving into scarily powerful creatures, and called the Legendary Birds of Kanto for assistance. But even their attacks combined could not destroy such a magical object, and instead they found themselves facing the ?evolved form? of their attacks: a large, magnificent, golden bird with a burning flame on its head, brightly blue wing feathers, a long, dark blue tail feather, huge bright orange talons, and the psychic powers to severely injure its accidental creators with one blast. Then Molzapart flew away and trained until his power had no match.

Apart from Chaletwo, apparently.

Mark looked at his watch, discovering how long he had been reading, closed the book, put it back where he had found it and hurried down to meet up with Charmander again.

 

[emeraldslay]

Meh...I think I'll read it here...suspense is good...

 

[Dragonfree]

-------
RATING

Violence: None

Gore: None

Sexuality: None

Profanity: None

Other: Nothing really special...
-------





Chapter 3: Vuiiii!

When Mark was out of the library, Charmander was sitting on the stone steps, his head resting against the shiny wall and his eyes closed peacefully. Basically, he was looking absolutely adorable, attracting quite a few ?awww?s from passers-by.

?Are you asleep?? Mark asked cautiously, poking Charmander?s shoulder. The Pok?mon started, his eyes opening wide.

?Wha? no, I was just? er, in deep thought,? he replied awkwardly.

?Right,? said Mark and grinned. ?Shouldn?t we move on??

Charmander stood up, and they walked out of the town while dark clouds gathered above them.

-------

Keep running, keep running?

Four small paws beat the ground soundlessly.

He had no idea where he was running, nor did he care.

It didn?t matter.

Why would it? He had better things to worry about.

A bright white lightning flashed with a terrible roar of thunder. He shrieked in fear, turned around and ran even faster in the other direction.

Small drops of water started falling, prickling down his beautifully light brown fur coat and soaking the soft, creamy-colored ruff around his neck. He shivered, but kept running.

-------

It had started to rain. Charmander?s tail flame was spouting thick steam; Mark glanced worriedly at it every now and then as they walked down the road south to Cleanwater.

?Are you going to be OK??

?Yeah, I?ve been through more rain,? said Charmander casually, obviously referring to the one Mark saved him out of.

?If you think so,? said Mark doubtfully, still keeping an eye on his friend.

-------

Should I give up all hope?

No?

It? can?t be?

He was far too exhausted to run, but the knowledge that by every passing second, his greatest fear was more likely to have come true, drove him on.

His forepaw hit a small rock hidden in the wet grass. He tried to keep his balance, but tumbled over. He got up right away and despite the pain nailing his left front paw, he aced it and kept going at the same pace.

-------

?Hey, Charmander, have you ever thought about evolution??

?Yeah, why?? Charmander questioned.

?Do you want to?? Mark rephrased his question.

?Huh??

?Do you want to evolve??

?Why are you asking?? Charmander said, puzzled, looking up at Mark.

?Shouldn?t I ask you?? Mark asked, raising an eyebrow.

?Of course you should,? Charmander said, looking down. ?But most trainers wouldn?t, that?s why I was surprised. My old trainer wouldn?t.? He spat the last words in a resentful tone.

?Yeah, that?s one thing,? Mark said thoughtfully, ?did your trainer release you??

?No? not really?? said Charmander faintly.

?What happened??

?Well? he battled a girl with a Quilava once. Didn?t use me for it, he never used me at all. But she beat him and he showed her me, lied that I was level 15 like her Quilava was, and asked to trade. She bought it, she didn?t really appear to like her Quilava all that much for whatever reason. They just did an unofficial trade by handing each other the Pok?balls, and then my trainer quietly made himself disappear. Then it appears that when the girl registered me to her Pok?dex and found out I was level five, she tossed the ball to the ground in anger and ran after my old trainer, so I popped out of the ball and was left there. Then I just walked off in a random direction, and ended up in that monsoon.?

?Oh?? was all Mark could say. He paused, then added: ?He must?ve been a selfish little brat.?

?Yup,? said Charmander and sighed.

-------

He was beyond exhausted. He was even starting to slow down. He tried to order his legs to speed up again, but they answered simply by collapsing under him. He helplessly crawled a bit on through the tall grass, and to his horror he realized that he was lost either way.

It was too painful?

He eyed the road and the cars just a few meters away, and made his hopeless decision.

-------

?Hey,? Charmander suddenly exclaimed, ?did you hear something??

?No,? said Mark.

?It was just, you know, a small rustle??

?Like a Pok?mon?? Mark suggested hopefully.

?Yeah??

Mark stopped and looked around the yellow, soaked grass on both sides of the road. Something moved, just a few inches from the roadside.

He carefully came a bit nearer, and saw that it was a little brown furball with long, rabbit-like ears. A thick, creamy ruff covered its neck and a bushy tail extended from its backside. It was flailing around a bit, apparently trying to crawl but not really being successful.

?An Eevee!? Mark shouted so loudly that the Pok?mon made a desperate, yet unsuccessful attempt to get up and run away before fainting with fear. He quickly realized the mistake of his over-excitement, and started thinking about his next problem.

?Why do I have to run across an Eevee just when I don?t have any Pok?balls?? he moaned. ?Just my luck??

Exactly then, he caught a glimpse of something in the grass, a few meters away from the Eevee. It was a familiar red and white sphere?

He couldn?t believe it. A Pok?ball was lying there, exactly when he needed it.

He quickly walked over to it, bent down and picked up the ball. It felt cold and metallic; a few grass blades were glued to its wet surface by the water. But it would work just as well. He took aim at the Pok?mon.

?Pok?ball, GO!? he yelled, just like he had seen on TV.

?What do you think you?re doing??

Charmander jumped up and punched the ball away in the air so it missed its target.

?What was that for?? Mark groaned.

?What was it for?? Charmander snapped, raising up his tiny thumb. ?One: He?s unconscious.? Charmander raised his forefinger, continuing: ?Two: He?s obviously too young to battle at all, don?t you see how small he is?? He raised the third miniscule finger: ?And three: He?s in an absolutely terrible state; he?s obviously been through hell before we came here.? He lowered his hand firmly. ?Don?t you know the Agreement? If a Pok?mon is caught while unable to put up a fair fight for its freedom, it is free to ignore or even attack its trainer until released back into the wild.?

Mark blushed; of course he knew this. The Agreement between Pok?mon and humans clearly stated that Pok?mon must only be caught while they were still in proper condition to battle. He had forgotten all about it in the shock of seeing one of the most sought-after Pok?mon in the world.

?Also,? Charmander went on with folded arms, ?he?s young enough for me to strongly suspect that he shouldn?t be wandering around on his own. I think he must have lost his mother.?

Mark now felt terrible about his foolish longing to throw a metal ball at the little thing. It could?ve died; what was he thinking?

?A male, you say?? Mark questioned.

?Yeah,? Charmander nodded.

Mark slowly walked towards the fainted Pok?mon, bent down and touched the fur on the head. It was soft, thick and very smooth, but with a few twigs tangled in it. He brushed them off, and the Eevee?s body twitched a bit.

Carefully, he picked the Pok?mon up. Its body was warm; Mark felt weird holding it. He stroked a few times over the fur on the head with some soothing words, and to his delight found that Eevee?s eyes opened a bit.

?Vuii!? he shrieked and weakly struggled to get away, but Mark held him tightly. Eevee seemed to find the warmth from a living body to be somewhat comforting and in the end just curled himself up in his arms.

For a few seconds, Mark just stood there like in a trance, but then snapped out of it.

?We?d better hurry to Cleanwater to get him help,? he said to Charmander before breaking into a run. The lizard followed on his heels.

A lone Pok?ball was left by the roadside.

 

[Dragonfree]

---EXTRA III---

The Agreement

The Agreement is basically the ?ten commandments? of the Pok?mon world. It?s my own idea, by the way, so don?t steal it. It goes like this:


1. If a Pok?mon is not in the state to battle due to age, injuries, or any other reason, it must not be caught. A Pok?mon that is caught under these circumstances does not rightfully belong to its trainer, and is by law free. If the Trainer does not release the Pok?mon to be permanently free from the Pok?ball, the Pok?mon may ignore or even lightly attack the Trainer if necessary in order for the Pok?mon to gain its rightful freedom.

2. If a Trainer?s Pok?mon possesses an Attack capable of killing its opponent, it is on the Pok?mon?s own responsibility to dampen or aim its attacks so that they will not cause fatal injuries to another Trainer?s Pok?mon. Likewise, a Trainer may not command his or her own Pok?mon to kill another Trainer?s Pok?mon in any case. For example, a Scyther may never aim its Slash at its opponent?s neck, and a Flareon must keep its Flamethrower?s temperature at a low enough level not to cause serious burns.

3. A Trainer?s Pok?mon may not in any case attack a human with the intention of killing or seriously injuring him or her. Likewise, a Trainer must never order his or her Pok?mon to attack a human with the aforementioned intentions.

4. Pok?mon battles should be a sport, and a sport only; they should not be used to settle personal disputes between Trainers, in order to humiliate another Trainer, or to threaten another Trainer.

5. If a Pok?mon does not wish to battle for whatever reasons, its Trainer must not force the Pok?mon to battle.

6. A Pok?mon should never be separated from its Trainer in any case if that is not the Pok?mon?s own will.

7. Pok?mon should never be punished for disobedience or failure to win. If physical punishment is attempted, the Pok?mon is free to defend itself.

8. A Trainer must not let his or her Pok?mon be without food, drink, or proper health care. If the Trainer does not have access to these primary needs, the Trainer must try to obtain them as soon as possible.

9. A Pok?mon has equal rights, including freedom of speech, to a human.

10. Neither Trainers nor Pok?mon may abuse the rights specified in this Agreement.

 

[Lily]

Nice chapter once again.

The cute speech tones between the Charmander and Brian are turning out well and amusing at to,es, as well as the thoughtful abandoned story with behind its past. The one thing that's bothing me is the overused Pokemon...Eevee. ><; Of course, I know it can be meaningful depending on HOW you obtain it and such, but I personally feel finding an abandoned injured Eevee is a bit overused...

Other than that, it's once again a great chapter, the intelligence of the Charmander surprised me a bit though. But it was called for when Brian was imitating the TV, very thoughtful. XD Also, the chapter before that was pretty informative, when he took a visit to the library, but don't try and cram too much information in that one part...x_X I lost myself in there.

Awesome chapter Dragonfree. ^o^

 

[Dragonfree]

Brian? Er, I think you're confusing fics, because his name is Mark. XD

Eevee isn't abandoned, by the way, not that it really matters. This fic has a lot of overused Pok?mon in it because I had read two fanfics ever when I first started writing it and had no idea what was overused and what wasn't. I'm very much against the concept of "overused Pok?mon", though, because if it's bad to have the same species as most other fics have, why isn't having humans bad? Nevertheless, I can assure you that Eevee is not going to be a typical "I-love-my-trainer-so-much-that-I-evolved-into-an-Umbreon/Espeon-during-a-Gym-battle" thing. But if you hate to see overused Pok?mon, I suggest that you go read another fic, because this fic is literally crowded with them.





-------
RATING

Violence: None.

Gore: None.

Sexuality: None.

Profanity: None.

Other: Nothing special...
-------



Chapter 4: Cleanwater City

After ten minutes or so, Mark and Charmander arrived at the Cleanwater city Pok?mon Center, panting.

Mark went straight up to the bell on the desk and hammered it with his hand until a red-haired nurse dressed in white, whose name was most likely Joy, came out of a room in the back.

?No need to be so harsh on the bell,? she said serenely.

?I? I found this Eevee,? Mark panted, attempting to catch his breath, and gently placed the little Pok?mon, unconscious, on the desk. ?He was fainted near the road to Sailance??

?Sailance?? the nurse, whom Mark just decided to call Joy, questioned. ?Isn?t that out of the Pok?mon-inhabited area??

?Yes, it is, is Eevee going to be fine?? Mark asked very quickly.

?What was an Eevee doing there?? repeated Nurse ?Joy?.

?Should I know that?? Mark said loudly. ?I asked: Is he going to be all right??

Nurse Joy took out a small tool resembling a red cellphone, pointed it at Eevee and pressed a button. A little beep was heard before she took it and read off it.

?He?s just exhausted, hungry and cold,? Nurse Joy announced upon looking back at Mark, smiling. ?He will be fine, but it could take some time to revive him. Just have a seat, and I?ll alert you when something happens.?

Mark sighed in relief as Nurse Joy took Eevee into the room at the back, then turned around and as he was now breathing normally again, he took some time to look around.

The floor was covered in a light pink, fluffy carpet. The room was very large, and at random places all over except in the direct path from the automatic door to the counter, there were big, comfy-looking red sofas. Several trainers sat in them, either chatting or just staring into thin air, waiting for their Pok?mon to be healed.

Mark walked towards the nearest sofa, which was empty, and sat down there, tapping his foot impatiently while observing the room better. The walls were painted white, but covered in posters and advertisements about everything from the Ouen league and challenges for trainers to always carry Potions with them to cheap travel packages. Meanwhile, Charmander stood at the foot of the sofa, watching his tail flame burn.

The automatic door slid open, catching Mark?s attention. A girl ran inside. She had long, brown hair and wore a pink sweater and a dark blue skirt.

She hurried to Nurse Joy, quickly handing her three of the Pok?balls attached to her belt, and then walked towards Mark?s sofa and sat down in it, glaring anxiously at the back room where Joy was treating her Pok?mon.

Seeing as Mark had nothing better to do and many things to ask, he decided to talk to the girl.

?Um, excuse me?? he said, turning carefully in her direction. She jerked her head in his direction, and upon realizing he was waiting for an answer, she replied with a dry ?Hello?.

?Do you live here?? Mark asked. The girl nodded.

?Can you tell me something about the Pok?mon Gym here??

The girl shrugged. ?Sure. What would you like to know??

?What type of Pok?mon does the gym leader train?? Mark asked, happy to have managed to get to the point so quickly.

?Legendary Pok?mon,? she answered simply.

?What?!? Mark yelled so loudly that a few people stopped talking to stare at him. He lowered his voice, his face going red. ?Erm? how does a Gym leader train Legendary Pok?mon??

The girl giggled. ?You?ve never heard of Rick? He spent ten years of his life finding the Legendary Pok?mon of all four regions. He got some hairs, feathers, whatever of them, and cloned the Legendaries for himself and his junior trainers. They don?t train them much at all, though, so they?re really low-leveled.?

?Cloned? But that?s illegal!? Mark protested.

?Super-clones are illegal,? the girl corrected. ?And only if they could wreck something. His Pok?balls prevent the Pok?mon they hold from directly disobeying a command, making them harmless. He made the balls himself. He even got a special license allowing him to keep one super-clone, no higher than level ten, mainly for experimental purposes.?

?But affecting Pok?mon?s free will is breaking the Agreement!? Mark argued. The girl just shrugged.

?Yeah, maybe, but Rick?s got the police in his pocket. He?s capable of world domination with all those legendary clones, and they know it only too well. As long as he isn?t doing anything they absolutely have to do something about, they won?t. They?d get completely screwed unless they attacked in hundreds.?

?But he isn?t about to do anything like that, is he?? Mark asked worriedly.

?Of course not, he?s a respectable man with a little brother,? said the girl.

?What?s a little brother got to do with anything?? Mark questioned, puzzled.

?Their parents died in a car crash when Rick was fifteen, leaving him alone with his two-year-old brother,? the girl explained. ?Rick has been like a parent for his brother since then. Shows that he?s responsible and knows what he?s doing.?

?Oh.? Mark paused. ?So he has them all??

?Well, nobody knows, since he only uses the Kanto and Johto ones, but that?s what they say.?

?So, are all of the Legendaries at very low levels, then?? he then asked.

?Yeah, they don?t go higher than level 15,? the girl said. ?And the more Pok?mon a junior trainer has, the lower are their levels. The strongest ones are possessed by the junior trainers with the fewest Pok?mon.?

?Sounds balanced,? Mark said.

?But remember that they?re Legendaries after all,? she warned him.

?OK, thanks,? Mark said, and was about to ask something else when Nurse Joy stepped forward and pointed for both of them to come. Both kids stood up and walked towards the counter.

?Megan, your Pok?mon have been fully healed,? Nurse Joy said with a small bow, handing three Pok?balls to the girl, then turning to Mark, ?and your Eevee is going to be in perfect battle condition tomorrow. The hotel is just round the corner, if you plan on staying there.?

?Battle condition?? Mark questioned. ?But isn?t he too young to battle??

?Technically, yes,? Nurse Joy sighed. ?But he?s been battling, apparently. Got some Rattata bites and scratches. Goodness knows what he?s been through??

?Oh, okay,? said Mark. ?But I?ll release him afterwards, right? He isn?t caught in a Pok?ball??

?Well?? said Nurse Joy sadly, ?I have to admit that I don?t think that?s a very good idea. He?s been battling, but hasn?t fared all too well. If he came across a Raticate or Sandslash??

?You mean I should take him?? asked Mark, shocked.

?I mean that we should explain the situation to him when he wakes up, and ask him what he wants to do.?

Mark didn?t answer; he wanted to own an Eevee, of course, but tried not to because he knew then he?d be disappointed if Eevee rather wanted to be released.

?Is your Charmander fine?? Nurse Joy asked, smiling.

?Yeah,? said Mark, snapping out of his thoughts. ?Anyway, thanks. I?ll come back tomorrow.?

Next, Mark went to the Pok?mart with Charmander. It looked a bit like the Pok?mon center beside it; a big, white building with an automatic door and a dome-shaped roof, except that instead of the Pok?mon center?s red color, the Pok?mart?s roof was blue. Beside the door, a large sign clarified the building?s identity.

Mark walked inside. To the left, there was a counter with a funnily-dressed punk guy behind it, busy claiming cash for people?s purchases. To the right, metallic shelves with healing items, Pok?mon food, and all sorts of Pok?mon equipment stood in straight rows all the way to the back of the shop.

Mark examined the contents of the first shelf. They were healing items; to the far left, cheap Potions and status recovering items were stacked; then they gradually went more expensive as they went farther to the right. Mark grabbed a few of the purple and green spray bottles known as Potions, then walked a few steps on. Most of the things he wasn?t all that interested in; this early on, they wouldn?t be worth their price.

At the end of the row, he stared longingly at a little white box with a red cross on it; a Pocket healer, one could place a Pok?ball into it and press a button, and the Pok?mon inside would be refreshed with energy in an instant, besides gaining a boost to its natural recovering abilities while inside, being able to fully heal of all its wounds in a remarkably short time. Of course, this item was reserved for out-of-battle usage.

Unfortunately, the price tag contained the rather unattractive number of 98,000. Mark quit dreaming, and went on.

He browsed through the shelves. Stat-boosting items were for more advanced trainers, and he didn?t want to buy TM and HM moves until he had planned his Pok?mon a bit better. If Eevee would come with him, he would maybe buy an evolution stone for him; of course, he reminded himself as he walked past them, Eevee might not come with him at all, and might not want to evolve, or would rather evolve into Espeon or Umbreon.

The Pok?dolls he wasn?t too interested in, but near them were the Pok?balls and Pok?ball belts, so Mark took one belt with six Pok?balls attached to it. Finally, he bought a bit of canned Pok?mon food for Charmander and Eevee, and walked to the counter in order to pay. All this stuff put a huge dent into the money he had brought, but that was what the money was for, after all. He just hoped he had enough left for the hotel.

Once outside, Mark pressed the little buttons on the Potion bottles one by one, minimizing them to the right size to fit neatly into his backpack. He also put on his Pok?ball belt. He checked his watch; it was six o?clock, and the rain had subsided. Finally, he stuffed the cans of Pok?mon food into the bag; it was now getting full.

He eyed the hotel sign behind the shop, picked up his bag with a sigh and walked to the hotel, Charmander following him like a fiery ghost.

 

[Lily]

Ugh...Forgive the stupid mind of Lily. ;_; Anyway...

Nice chapter. The majority of the paragraphs were mostly like describing things in the simplest matters as possible...not saying it's bad, but I'm too used to stories with too much description paragraphs. :P Pocket healer...very interesting, I wouldn't have expected items I didn't know of to be here. And about the legendaries, I'm really glad you at least didn't use them the wrong way. Imagine the chaos, but the thoughtfulness expressed through Megan's explanation was pretty good, about the gym leader's status.

In fact, I loved that part. It was so informative, and knowing about the gym leader arised the tension of his first gym battle. I wonder if Megan is going to be Mark's journey partner...perhaps.

Otherwise, great chapter. ^_^

 

[Dragonfree]

My description is very shifting depending on the mood I'm in when I write a chapter. So expect a lot of varying quality in the description...

Journey partner? Heh, I'm not that cheap. You'll see...

Chapter five tomorrow, don't miss it.

 

[Dragonfree]

I haven't been able to get on, so sorry for the delay...

(Long chapter ahead)



-------
RATING

Violence: Just Pok?mon battles, maybe a bit above average on the violence scale.

Gore: Doubt you'd really call it 'gore', but there's a bit of blood involved.

Sexuality: None.

Profanity: One "****" in there.

Other: Nothing worth mentioning.
-------






Chapter 5: The Lake of Purity

The hotel was a huge building that appeared to be entirely composed of glass from the outside. To Mark?s pleasant surprise, he found a sign outside it announcing that Pok?mon trainers paid half price.

He walked inside, not sure if Charmander was allowed outside a Pok?ball, but just assuming he was. An elderly lady in a blue dress sat by the counter and read the newspaper. Her huge square glasses were on the edge of falling off the tip of her nose.

?Excuse me,? said Mark. The woman looked up and observed him carefully, eying Charmander.

?Pok?mon trainer?? she asked in a monotone voice.

?Yeah,? answered Mark.

?How many nights?? she asked, turning slowly to a computer standing beside her.

?One to begin with,? Mark said.

?Your ID number, please??

Mark immediately realized that of course, he had forgotten to buy a Pok?dex, and what was more, he had never actually read Pok?mon Training for Dummies. Feeling stupid, he blushed and said: ?Er, I don?t have one yet.?

?It?s necessary to give your trainer ID before checking in,? said the woman.

?I?ll go to the Pok?mart and buy a Pok?dex, then, and come back afterwards,? Mark suggested. The woman nodded and sank back into her newspaper.

Mark walked outside again, closely followed by Charmander. The clouds were slowly drifting away, predicting a starry night and good weather tomorrow.

?Well, there?s always something you forget to buy,? Mark sighed. ?Charmander, would you like to go into your Pok?ball now, or???

?Yeah, maybe, I?m getting tired of walking,? said Charmander, relieved. Mark removed one of the red and white spheres attached to his Pok?ball belt, maximized it by pressing the button, and touched Charmander gently with it. He was turned into red energy and drawn into the ball.

Mark went into the Pok?mart, constantly reaching crazily down to check if the Pok?ball was still there. He would just have to get used to it, but at the moment it was somehow really discomforting. Reassuring himself that his Pok?mon was definitely still inside the Pok?ball, Mark walked over to the fourth row of shelves, finding Pok?dexes of various shapes, sizes and colors lined there. After a bit of thought, he picked a sapphire blue one with a white back, some red lines and signs for decoration and two flaps to fold in so that it would fit neatly into one?s pocket. After paying almost all of his money left, he exited the shop, unfolded the Pok?dex and turned it on.

?Thank you for choosing Pok?dex Advance, Kyogre edition,? said a voice with a British accent as if to test the sound. The screen turned light blue, and then displayed the words ?Would you like to start the set-up now??

Mark selected ?Yes? and pressed A.

?Please place your right eye in front of the scanner and press A,? the screen now read, with a small picture showing with a red arrow where the scanner was placed ? apparently, the Pok?dex used the same tool to identify Pok?mon as its owner?s iris. Mark held it up to his eye, pressed the button blindly, and as he heard a beep, he removed it, blinked a few times and looked at the screen. It showed the words ?MATCHING PATTERN ? PLEASE WAIT? for a second, then all sorts of information about him appeared, including his name, home address, date of birth, education, bank account number, and even, to his horror, a school photo which he looked absolutely horrible on.

?Was I drunk when they took that?? he said to himself with disgust, then looked back at the screen. The information about him had been replaced with a big ?Thank you for registering your Pok?dex. Your ID number is 0439522166.? Mark pressed A and now it showed the main menu, indicating that he wouldn?t need to do anything else for the set-up.

Curiously, he selected the option ?About the Pok?dex?. The voice immediately started speaking again.

?The Pok?dex was invented by Professor Samuel Oak of Kanto. Its original purpose was, in Oak?s words, ?to be an encyclopedia for the trainer to get more information about his or her Pok?mon, and to automatically and safely record the data of any undiscovered Pok?mon a trainer might see on his or her journey in order to tell fact from fiction when it comes to new Pok?mon discoveries?. Since then, all sorts of useful features have been added to the Pok?dex?s potential and now it is the only essential tool a Pok?mon trainer must have, combining the various devices that have been developed in the different parts of the world for all kinds of Pok?mon-related purposes. After Oak retired, the development of the Pok?dex was continued by his grandson, Gary Oak, who??

Mark decided not to listen to all of it so he pressed B and the voice fell silent. Finally, to register Charmander to his ID number, he held the Pok?ball up to the scanner and pressed A.

?Charmander ? lizard Pok?mon,? the Pok?dex announced. ?It is very vulnerable to water; if the flame at the tip of its tail dies, so does this Fire Pok?mon.?

The screen then asked if he would like to view this Pok?mon?s stats; he chose ?No? and it showed the main menu again, except that now it said ?1 Pok?mon caught? in the top left corner.

Mark turned the Pok?dex off and walked into the hotel again.

?Back?? the woman asked, not looking off the newspaper. Mark nodded.

?So, your ID number??

?0437522166,? Mark said after turning his Pok?dex on again to check. The woman entered it into the computer.

?Mark Greenlet??

?Yeah,? he answered.

?You said one night??

?Yup,? said Mark cheerfully. The woman handed him a key labeled with the number 387. Assuming that the Pok?dex had handled the payment automatically, he walked up some staircases to room 387. It was small, but neat; everything in it was blue except for the walls. Blue bed sheets, blue lamp, blue carpet, blue curtains. He switched the light on.

Mark flung himself on the bed and sighed, letting his mind flicker across the day?s adventures.

The Legendary Pok?mon, of course, had most of his attention. He had set it as his goal to reach Green town in time to see Chaletwo. If only he could ever know what was up with its similarity to Mewtwo. Mark sighed again.

Why hadn?t he ever found decent books on the Ouen Legendaries before? And why hadn?t he found that book before?

His stomach made a loud gurgle to protest this stupid distraction from the bare necessities of life, and Mark rose lazily up.

?Let?s get ourselves something to eat,? he muttered, knowing that Pok?mon could hear the outside world from inside their Pok?balls. He went down to the hotel?s restaurant and Mark ordered a pizza for both him and Charmander to celebrate the first day of their journey after making carefully sure that Pok?mon were allowed and that Charmander didn?t mind trying human food.

?By the way,? Mark asked as they started greedily attacking the pizza, ?you never actually answered. Do you want to evolve??

?Dunno,? said Charmander as Mark took a sip of his coke. ?I?ve heard that Pok?mon can go through a huge mental change when they evolve.?

?Yeah,? said Mark eagerly; this was exactly one of the few things in Pok?monology he found to be very interesting. ?It?s because if Pok?mon don?t have very defined beliefs and a determined personality, their added power after evolution can result in arrogance, the sudden realization that humans are wimps, and just an overall change in their views on the world. It depends on you, really.?

?I?m not sure, I don?t want to change mentally? but I want to be strong, and to fly as a Charizard one day.?

?They say that late evolution helps in these aspects,? Mark commented. ?Personality changes are usually biggest in Pok?mon that evolve immediately when they can.?

?Yeah,? said Charmander absent-mindedly, watching a Pidgeotto flying outside the window. ?That?s probably best, just evolving when I?m properly ready??

He looked at Mark. ?I?m a bit nervous, though. What if I just reach level 16, evolve ? and turn into a completely different person?? There was worry in his voice.

?You just need to resist it, you can stop your own evolution without much trouble,? Mark said reassuringly.

?Yeah,? said Charmander, sounding more comfortable. ?You?re probably right.?

-------

After they ate, Mark suggested that they would go up to the Lake of Purity and catch some Pok?mon. Charmander liked the idea, so they decided on that.

?Charmander, look around for wild Pok?mon too,? Mark said, sending Charmander out of his Pok?ball as he walked along the road to the Lake. Tall grass surrounded it in both directions; small bushes poked out of the grass here and there.

?What?s that?? asked Charmander, pointing. A purple tail, curled up at the end, stuck out between the grass blades to their left.

?I think it?s a Rattata,? said Mark thoughtfully, ?but I don?t really want one, they?re pretty puny??

The Rattata seemingly took high offense to this comment, as it immediately leapt out of the grass, baring its fangs.

Mark had never really liked Rattata, but seeing one in real life, he found it kind of cool-looking. The shiny, bright purple fur of its back blended smoothly into the pure white of its belly, paws and head below the nose. Two long whiskers vibrated on either side of its face, sensing small changes in the air; shimmering red eyes full of determination stared hatefully at his face and then turned to Charmander with a low growl.

?Rattata!? the Pok?mon cried in a high-pitched voice, leaping at Charmander, who quickly swished his tail forward into the purple rat?s face. Smacked sideways with a burn mark on its cheek, the Rattata let out a cry of pain, but nevertheless stood right up again and raced head-first towards Mark?s fire lizard.

?Dodge!? Mark shouted, suddenly now remembering that he was supposed to be giving his Pok?mon orders. Charmander ran to the side, more of instinct than obedience. The Rattata followed angrily, and finally took a well-calculated leap at the lizard?s tail, biting it firmly.

?Charmander, try scratching it,? Mark suggested, Charmander already raising his claws. With an angry ?Mander!?, he slashed the Rattata across the face.

?Raaat!? screeched the rat Pok?mon, stepping a bit backwards as it started to wag its tail rhythmically. Charmander?s eyes followed the curled tail end; left, right, left, right?

?Don?t be distracted by it, it?s trying to catch you off guard!? Mark called. It was too late, though; the Rattata leapt at Charmander with a triumphant battle cry and tackled him to the ground. Growling, Charmander slammed his tail flame into the Rattata?s face again; he was still too inexperienced to use proper fire attacks, but the fire on his tail tip was always there. The rat Pok?mon screamed in pain, but then retreated into the tall grass.

Mark shrugged. ?Well, I didn?t want to catch it, anyway. At least, you did great, Charmander.?

He said the last words in an attempt to sound cheerful, but he couldn?t help thinking that his own part in this battle wasn?t big.

-------

When they arrived at the Lake of Purity, they found that it was crowded by tourists and trainers. Pok?mon battles were going on all around; noisy Pok?mon cries and their trainers? shouts filled the air.

A huge tourist information sign was positioned near the lake itself. Mark walked up to it, recalling Charmander into his Pok?ball in fear of somebody tripping over him or something.

The sign told some useless facts about the Lake of Purity, like its size and how there were no rivers in or out of it ? and then, the legend behind its purity, which was the only thing Mark was really interested in on it.

It was far longer than it had to be; it was basically an extremely dramatic description of how Suicune had saved the city, which was small then, by cleaning the lake and banishing the Gyarados that terrorized it. Since then, Suicune had raced all the way from Johto to purify the lake every night.

Mark realized that he had an extremely broad grin on his face and quickly told it to look normal. He looked back at the text. Below the legend, there were a few words that seemed especially directed at him:

WARNING: Legendary Pok?mon possess power that no human could dream of and should never be attacked, provoked or even approached. Travelers are advised to leave the Lake before nightfall.

The warning, of course, wasn?t likely to convince many foolish people like Mark that trying to see Suicune wasn?t worth the risk. Much more effective, however, were the ?Missing? reports below, telling the reader of people who had seemingly just vanished into thin air near the Lake of Purity at nighttime, the only trace being a bit of red on the dried grass blades on the bank the next day.

Mark quickly decided he could just see Suicune sometime later and turned away from the sign. The crowd was thinning, so he had some space now. Mark threw Charmander?s Pok?ball to the ground and it popped open, releasing Charmander in a shower of red light before bouncing right back into his hand.

?Should we go into the tall grass?? Charmander asked, pointing at a patch of grass near the left side of the lake.

?No, I think we should try in the trees over there,? said Mark, looking towards the right. Charmander shrugged.

They walked over to the trees and Mark picked up a small rock. Not bothering to aim very carefully, he threw it towards the nearest tree-top. Disappearing into the denseness of leaves and branches, the rock apparently angered one of the inhabitants of the tree; an annoyed chirp of ?Pidgeoooott!? was heard as a streak of brown and cr?me shot upwards and then dived down towards Charmander.

?Uh oh,? Mark muttered before issuing his command: ?Charmander, dodge!?

The fire lizard attempted to duck, but the bird Pok?mon grabbed him with its talons and took off into the sky.

?Hey!? Mark shouted. ?Let go off my Charmander!?

The Pidgeotto grinned devilishly and flew over the lake, threatening in very clear sign language to drop the petrified Fire Pok?mon into the water.

Mark knew that the pigeon wouldn?t dare breaking the Agreement by murdering a trainer?s Pok?mon, but he didn?t like being taunted in this way at all. His hand moved towards Charmander?s ball.

?Pidgeotto,? he announced loudly, ?come back here and face me like a Pok?mon!?

The Pidgeotto made a rude sign at him, at the same time emphasizing its false threat by releasing one claw off Charmander, who winced.

?You asked for it,? Mark sighed, holding out the Pok?ball and recalling Charmander into it before sending him back out with both feet on the ground. The Pidgeotto dived at Charmander again, but the lizard took both Mark and his opponent by surprise when he opened his mouth and released a cloud of silky flames which engulfed the unsuspecting bird Pok?mon before it managed to turn. The pigeon?s scream of pain died down quickly as it fell to the ground with a thump, scorched black.

?Whoa, nice Ember,? Mark congratulated his Pok?mon. ?Good job, Charmander. Only too bad I didn?t get to catch it.?

?Sorry,? said Charmander apologetically, sounding somewhat confused at the same time. ?I didn?t even know I could do that??

?Yeah, seems like you?ve reached level seven,? Mark explained. ?Charmander learn Ember around that point.?

?Hey, look,? said Charmander, pointing. A yellow armadillo Pok?mon with shiny scales was watching them curiously from a safe distance.

?Cool, a Sandshrew,? Mark said, his expression brightening up. ?Ground types are always useful, I?m going to try and catch it. Charmander, attack!?

They ran towards the Sandshrew. It curled up into a tight ball from instinct before the jet of flames Charmander fired from his mouth reached it, and the tough scales mostly repelled the heat. It showed no intentions of uncurling afterwards.

?I guess I?ll have to resort right to the ball now,? said Mark, rather loudly in order for the Sandshrew to hear him well, and then took out a Pok?ball. He paused, waiting for reactions, but when there were none, he hurled the ball at the armadillo Pok?mon.

The sphere hit the yellow, scaly ball, opened around the middle and the Sandshrew was transformed into pure energy before being drawn into the ball in a beam of red light.

The ball fell to the ground. First it was still, then the button glowed blue as the ball slowly started rocking to the sides. Mark watched it intensely, clenching his fists automatically as to telepathically prevent the ball from opening again. Gradually, the ball slowed down as the blue light on the button was fading?

The ball suddenly took a sharp twitch, its two halves separating again as Mark disappointedly watched the Sandshrew materialize on the ground. The armadillo Pok?mon growled unsurely, realizing that just curling up and waiting was the worse option.

?Ember!? Mark ordered. Immediately, Charmander leapt forward and blasted a jet of flames from his mouth, which hit the Sandshrew before it managed to curl up again. Screaming, the Pok?mon stumbled backwards and fell over.

?Let?s see how well you break out of Pok?balls after that,? Mark said, taking out a second ball and throwing it. As it hit the Sandshrew, the Pok?mon was absorbed into the ball in the form of red energy before the two halves of the Pok?ball closed tightly.

The ball fell to the ground and for the second time, Mark watched the button light up as the ball wobbled harshly in the grass. After a few seconds of fighting between the armadillo and the metallic sphere, the ball claimed victory; the blue light faded away and the Pok?ball stilled with a ping, confirming Mark?s first Pok?mon capture.

?Wow,? Mark breathed after a few seconds of silence, walking slowly towards the Pok?ball and picking it up. The smooth, cold surface of the metallic sphere was wet, the grass it lay in still being covered in water after the earlier downpour. Mark got a creepy feeling when touching it; he actually felt that there was a Pok?mon inside it.

He slowly took out his Pok?dex and pointed the scanner at the Pok?ball. Pressing a button, the Pok?dex started speaking:

?Sandshrew ? mouse Pok?mon. It likes curling up into a ball for protection; its rock-hard scales can repel almost any physical attack. It is also an extremely fast digger.?

Again, the Pok?dex offered Mark the option of viewing the Pok?mon?s stats. This time he chose ?Yes?. The screen immediately showed detailed information about his new partner; it was a young male, level nine; it even announced that he had a careful nature.

?Sandshrew, go!? he shouted, tossing the ball forward. It burst open as it hit the ground and bounced back into his hand as his newly-captured Ground Pok?mon formed from a red beam where the ball had landed.

?Shrew?? asked the Pok?mon, confused, scratching its head. Mark was going to introduce him to Charmander when he felt a finger tap his shoulder.

 

[Dragonfree]

?Hey,? said a voice. He jumped, turning around. Sandshrew and Charmander looked around too.

It was a girl, probably around his age. Her most attention-catching feature was her long, blue hair; at the moment she had it tied in two weird ponytails which somehow stuck forward and outwards from her face. Her face looked rather plain, although she had an annoyed expression Mark sincerely hoped he had no part in. A dark blue sweater was visible beneath a white jacket; white shorts with an old-looking Pok?ball belt covered her otherwise bare legs down to the knees.

?What are you staring at me for?? asked the girl, rather rudely. Mark felt idiotic.

?Erm? what was it you wanted??

?A Pok?mon battle,? said the girl like it was the most obvious thing in the world, plucking one of the two balls from her belt. Mark felt rather confident; he had a level nine Pok?mon after all.

?Two on two?? Mark questioned, nodding towards his companions.

?I?d prefer one on one, actually,? said the girl, smiling the oddest smile Mark had ever seen. On her mouth?s behalf, it was a normal smile, but her eyes had a glint of something between evilness, confidence and the kind of glint he usually got when he thought about Legendary Pok?mon.

?Hey, wait,? said Mark, looking at Charmander and Sandshrew, ?this isn?t fair. You?ve seen both of my Pok?mon, but I haven?t seen either of yours.?

?Fine with me,? said the girl, shrugging, as she grabbed her two Pok?balls, maximized them into either hand and threw them both to the ground. Two Pok?mon formed in a flash of red light.

One was a huge butterfly, with a wingspan of around one meter. Its body was dark blue with a tint of purple; two bright red, compound eyes almost covered the top of the head, but the mouth was light blue with two miniscule fangs in it. In the same shade of light blue were two tiny arms and long feet. Broad, silkily whitish-transparent wings fluttered in the breeze; a fine system of dark veins covered their delicate surface.

The other Pok?mon was a giant, metallic vulture; it stood considerably taller than its trainer on two narrow, yet powerful-looking legs. Talons that looked like they could crush bones to dust with little effort dug into the ground. It all shone in various shades of gray except for the bright red, peculiar, sword-like wing feathers. A long, sharp beak extended from its pointed head.

Mark felt even more confident seeing the girl?s Pok?mon. Both her Butterfree and Skarmory were vulnerable to fire attacks, so Charmander should beat whichever Pok?mon she chose.

?Sandshrew, come back,? he said, holding out Sandshrew?s Pok?ball and pressing the button. A red beam shot out of it, hitting the armadillo so that he dissolved into red light, and shot back into the ball.

The girl examined Charmander, and not taking her eyes off him, she took out one of her Pok?balls and returned her Butterfree into it. The two Pok?mon left took their places and nodded towards each other.

?Skarmory, fly up!? commanded the girl loudly, suddenly speaking very fast and basically in a completely different tone of voice.

?Skaaaa!? screeched the vulture in a high-pitched, raspy voice before it clumsily took off from the ground. As it ascended, it gained better control of its flight and then rather gracefully circled above its trainer?s head, watching Charmander.

?Man, are you slow?? said the girl impatiently. ?Stop staring at Skarmory like that.?

Mark blushed, envying the girl of being able to focus properly on the battle; he was too fascinated by the Pok?mon themselves to concentrate.

?Uh, Ember!?

Before Charmander could do anything, the girl grinned devilishly. ?I doubt anything less than a Flamethrower is going to hit Skarmory up there, you know.?

Mark slapped his forehead and took a deep breath. Why couldn?t he just think for once? That girl had probably paid more attention in each Battling Strategies class than he had ever done counting all of them together.

?Skarmory, peck it and then pull up, quickly!? the girl ordered. The steel bird obeyed instantly, swooping down at the fire lizard. Charmander automatically released a small cloud of flames from his mouth, but the Skarmory dodged the fire skillfully without much trouble and then jabbed its long beak into Charmander?s stomach before shooting upwards again. The lizard tumbled over, almost setting fire to the grass but quickly stomping on it to put it out as he rose up again with difficulty.

?No, wait, Charmander ? try lying low, and then the Skarmory can?t get to you without crashing!? said Mark, getting a strategic idea. The girl smiled triumphantly as Charmander crouched down.

?I hope you will remember from now on that you should always take into account the possibility of TM moves,? she announced before ordering in the Pok?mon battle voice: ?Swift!?

?Ska-a-a!? the steel vulture cried, flying high above Charmander and releasing a flurry of small, sharp metallic feathers from its body. Charmander was bombarded by them, getting cuts all over his back. Moaning, the lizard attempted to stand up, but failed. Mark felt terribly sorry for him, but he found a certain determination that made him want to at least try as hard as he could in his first trainer battle.

?I can keep this up for however long you like,? said the girl calmly as her Skarmory released another blast of razor-sharp feathers. ?You can just as well give up.?

Mark shook his head, not liking this girl at all.

The girl sighed, rolling her eyes. ?Another Swift, then.?

Her Skarmory nodded loyally, preparing to shake off more steel feathers. Mark opened his mouth, just to say something, got a sudden idea and blurted out as quickly as he could:

?Melt them!?

Charmander used his last strength to lift his head; he spewed a cloud of flames upwards, enveloping the feathers, and for a moment, it seemed like Mark?s plan was working.

Then, white-hot, but not melted, the feathers all fell through the fire, visibly tearing up Charmander?s flesh like knives. He cringed in pain; Mark looked down, unable to watch what terrible torturing he was putting his friend through.

?You think a small Charmander?s Ember is hot enough to melt Skarmory feathers?? asked the girl, raising her right eyebrow. ?Man, you need to study.?

No words were necessary; Mark just silently recalled the badly cut Charmander into his Pok?ball, accepting defeat.

?Well ? anyway, I?ve got loads of training to do now, I?m planning to challenge the Gym leader tomorrow?? said the girl, recalling her Skarmory ? as Mark noted especially ? without any compliments at all. She looked at him as if wondering if it would be appropriate to say goodbye, but then just turned swiftly around and hurried towards the city.

?What level is that Skarmory of yours, anyway?? Mark called after her.

?Seven,? she shouted back, disappearing behind a hill.

Mark stared, feeling more than ever that he was completely lousy.

He sent out Charmander, who was still bleeding, and took one of the Potion bottles from his bag. Carefully, he sprayed it on the lizard?s scratched skin, muttering constantly about how extremely sorry he was. The wounds slowly started to close right before his eyes.

?This feels good,? Charmander said in relief. ?Kinda tickling, but cooling and pain-easing. And pain is an inevitable result of any battling, so don?t worry about it.?

After a few more seconds, there were barely any traces of the cuts left. Mark looked up to find that he was alone with Charmander.

The clouds in the west were blood red, but it quickly faded into the purple and finally dark blue of the evening sky.

I shouldn?t be here, Mark immediately thought, glancing at the missing reports on the tourist information sign and imagining his photo and name on it. Panicking, he looked at the lake.

The air chilled as a graceful, dark blue shadow rushed out from the forest to the right. The elegant, catlike shape stopped at the bank of the lake, to be illuminated by the moonlight which now flowed out after a cloud passed above.

The head, which now was to Mark?s horror staring straight at him, belonged to a darkish blue feline. White, diamond-shaped spots covered the slender body. A crown-like crystal shape grew backwards out of its head. Two long, pearly white ribbons floated in mid-air by its sides, rippling gracefully like the ocean?s waves. A long purple cloak which appeared to sprout from the base of its neck moved in similar soft waves.

?Suicune,? Mark whispered, forgetting all about the missing reports; all that mattered was that he was right now looking at a Legendary with his own eyes. By his side, Charmander also stared, stunned, at the Legendary Pok?mon.

That one moment seemed to last for hours. Then Suicune did what Mark could?ve sworn was a small bow or nod, and then a white paw carefully touched the water?s surface. Instantly, Mark saw the purification spread out with the ripples. As suddenly as it had come, the graceful Pok?mon sped back into the woods.

At that exact moment, a much more terrifying shape rose from the lake.

A dark blue, scaly monster or dragon, rising high above them, staring at Mark with terrifying, red eyes with the whites visible all around them, and a gaping, fanged mouth?

The Gyarados? roar drowned Mark and Charmander?s screams, but as Mark was preparing to turn away, he quite clearly heard English coming from the monster:

?No! Don?t leave!?

The Gyarados? voice sounded desperate, almost terrified.

?You ? you can speak human?? Mark croaked.

?Yes, but that?s irrelevant. What matters is that you stay here, understand??

Mark slowly came a few steps forward, blindly obeying the beast without thinking about the possible consequences.

?No, don?t come so near.?

He stopped, confused.

?Step back!? the Gyarados ordered.

?Why?? Mark asked, puzzled and terrified at the same time.

?DON?T TEMPT ME!? the monster hissed.

Figuring that at least he could barely be worse off that way, Mark took three steps backwards.

?Tempt you how??

?I don?t want to lose you like the others before I even started explaining myself.?

?What others?? Mark asked, nevertheless having a strong feeling about who they were. The Gyarados didn?t answer; just jerked its head towards the tourist information sign with a pained expression. Mark felt sick.

?Look, that doesn?t matter now. The only thing that matters is getting me out of this place.?

?What??

?I need to get out of Suicune?s reach!?

?Suicune?s??

?SUICUNE IS A **** MURDERER!?

Mark was convinced that this Gyarados belonged in an insane asylum. ?I don?t understand??

?It doesn?t matter! What you do is catch me and get me to a Pok?mon center. You must not tell anybody where you found me. You must never mention what happened here to anybody. If you just do that, I will serve you with all my might forever. Agreed??

?But??

?There?s no time for questions!? the Gyarados hissed. ?Just do it!?

Mark backed away.

?PLEASE!? The giant sea monster lowered its head to the bank with a few odd coughs, then looked up again, its eyes full of water. ?Please??

Mark stared open-mouthed at this turn of events. They were likely to be crocodile tears, of course, but the desperate tone in the Gyarados? voice throughout the conversation made them look a lot more real.

After all, it could barely hurt?

?O ? okay?? Mark said doubtfully, taking out a Pok?ball and throwing it as well as he could at the sea serpent?s body. All of its gigantic shape was transformed into bright red energy which was then sucked into the ball as it bounced back to land on the bank. The ball didn?t wobble; the monster wasn?t showing any resistance at all. Instead the button?s blue glow immediately faded away and the ball pinged.

He carefully walked over to the ball like the Gyarados could suddenly burst out of it, then bent down and had to collect his courage before touching it.

He turned around, to Charmander.

?Incredible, isn?t it, how such a large Pok?mon can fit into such a small ball??

Charmander looked puzzled. ?Uh, now that you mention it,? he answered, ?yeah, it?s kind of weird. Why are you suddenly asking about that??

?It?s just?? Mark paused, trying to think of the right words for how weird he felt knowing he was holding a huge monster in his hands. ?Oh, let?s just go down and get him to a Pok?mon center. Or her? Wait??

He took his Pok?dex out of the side pocket of his pack and pointed it at the Pok?ball.

?Gyarados ? atrocious Pok?mon. Evolving from the weak Magikarp, Gyarados are known to sink ships on occasions. They are among the Pok?mon that have dragon-like powers but do not have the genetical structure of a true Dragon Pok?mon.?

The statistics appeared on the screen upon Mark?s command.

?OK, it?s a he, at least. Level 20? I?ll probably crush the Cleanwater City Gym with him??

?Are you sure? The guy uses Legendary Pok?mon, remember??

Mark shrugged. ?Perhaps. But Gyarados is a strong Pok?mon, and? holy Miltank!?

?What?? asked Charmander, seeing that what shocked Mark so much was something the Pok?dex said, and he wasn?t tall enough to see the screen.

?Just look at those stats! They?re much higher than what an average Gyarados is supposed to have. And look at this picture of a typical Gyarados ? if you compare the color of the armor to the one I just caught, mine is much darker??

?Odd,? said Charmander simply, not that interested. ?Shouldn?t we go down to town and get Gyarados healed like he asked??

Mark just shrugged, still with his mind on Gyarados? odd qualities.