Chapter 1

He burned with anger at the sight of the Zangoose cutting down the thick tree. As Leif hurried forward the red and white Pokemon made another slice into its thick trunk to further dent the wood. Downed trees surrounded them in what remained of the forest, the thick oaks planted and nourished by the Pokemon of the woodland now obstacles to be leapt over.

“This is our home!” he shouted.

Leif rushed forward, catching the Zangoose by surprise as he jumped into the air and slammed his tail into the Pokemon. The Normal-type turned around as it caught the Treecko’s movement out of the corner of his eye just in time to catch a face full of the dark green appendage. The Pokemon stumbled back with its face bruised and temporarily blinded by the blow.

It had a quick recovery time, moving toward the Grass-type after being temporarily stunned before Leif pressed his palms into the Zangoose’s stomach. He grew the vine-like tendrils from his open hands that stabbed through the Pokemon’s fur coated skin. His opponent yelled in pain as the tendrils entered his bloodstream and began sucking nutrients from the Pokemon.

The Zangoose’s fur began to gray while the color in his face began to drain. Leif could feel the skin begin to shrivel as its body deteriorated, turning into a husk. The Pokemon fell over, near dead as it panted in exhaustion.

The cut in the tree was shallow but that was little consolation when compared to the rest of the forest. Hardly a single pine stood tall as nearly every one in sight had been reduced to a stump. Not only did the entirety of the forest itself lay dead on the ground but so did the Pokemon that had remained to defend the woodland.

The ground was scattered with dead Pokemon that lay either slumped over the timber or the forest floor. The darkness formed by the canopy of the branches was now replaced with unfiltered sunlight that revealed the deep pools of blood from those that chose to defend their homeland. There were comparatively few humans lying amongst the dead, a fact that angered Leif to no end.

They’re willing to hide behind us to use our own strength for their gain. He thought. If they’re so powerful...why don’t they just throw themselves into battle instead of enslaving us for bloodshed?

He glared at the sight before catching movement out of the corner of his eye. Leif stood on edge before turning to face the source of the movement. He found a man with red hair and equally red clothing who wore a stoic expression behind thin rimmed glasses approaching. At his side was a Camerupt and Houndoom, two Pokemon that had been burning any Pokemon that stayed behind to defend the forest.

“Maxie!” Leif shouted.

His apathetic gaze drifted from the surrounding area to the Treecko.

“Our woods were not supposed to be destroyed!” he said. “Our deal was the majority of the forest was to remain standing!”

“Your species can subsist off of what’s left,” he said. “The Treecko and Grovyle helped grow the forest from the pitiful saplings it used to be to what it is now within five years, didn’t they?”

Leif leered at the human, growing the tendrils he used to sap the nutrients of the Zangoose from his palms. The anger he was feeling was reaching a tipping point, as he was unable to think of anything but the thought of killing Maxie. Leif didn’t want to battle to survive and protect, only to destroy everything in his line of sight. He knew he could never win against two fully evolved Fire-types but he figured that he could end Maxie’s life before the Camerupt and Houndoom could end his.

“I saw most of the Pokemon scurry out of the forest when we arrived,” Maxie said. “Proving you can survive in areas other than this one. What remains of you foolish Treecko that didn’t fight an unwinnable battle can merely regrow another forest, can you not? You are the guardian of the forest's trees, are you not? Able to transfer nutrients to trees to make them spring up in a moment’s notice? I don’t see the issue-”

The Treecko practically flew at Maxie Leif leapt at him so fast. Everything around Leif became a blur as he reached forward with his palms to use Mega Drain. However, just as he reached the leader of Team Magma, he found his Houndoom was faster. It had already released a stream of red flames at the Treecko just as it approached.

The amount of fire it had unleashed was small and not very hot as the Houndoom had little time to prepare the Flamethrower with how fast Leif was traveling. However, very little was needed to kill him. The flames surrounded him as his entire body began to superheat. He shrieked in pain as he saw the majority of his body turned from light green to pitch black. He fell to the ground, writhing in pain from the charring as Maxie sighed.

“They never learn,” he said. “That humans stand above them in every way.”

As Leif rolled on the dead leaves of the ground, Maxie walked away with his Pokemon at his side. The Treecko felt pain like nothing he’d ever experienced roll over him but in a way it was satisfying. Leif felt relief knowing this was the end of his existence.

I...He thought. Have failed. I don’t want to live with that.

Emerald nervously looked every direction he could, afraid of what might be out in the wilderness. He’d rarely ever been so far from civilization. He clung to the one strap of his bag, the sweat from walking in the late afternoon heat causing his brown hair to cling to his forehead. Emerald had very little to pack as he was penniless and had to be quick with scrambling items for his new life as a Pokemon trainer.

The primary responsibilities of a trainer are threefold. He remembered from school. The first was to capture Pokemon for human usage, such as Electric-types to generate electricity, Fire-types for heat, Water-types for clean water, ect. The second is to kill the excessive Pokemon in the wild so the wild population doesn’t compete against humans. And the third is to join a gym or Team Aqua or Magma and do as they’re told, usually changing the environment to suit human needs.

Emerald had repeated this in his head with every step he took to convince himself he was needed and useful. He didn’t want to let the notion that he was a forsaken outcast get to him. But the young man knew he was lying to himself as he was very aware he had no value to anyone. As Emerald tried to stay on the alert for danger as he traveled down the flat field leading to the Petalburg Woods, he thought about what led him to becoming this desperate.

He could still picture his mother’s hair grayed from years of stress. She sat on the couch as usual, her face looking like it was about to break out into tears. Lydia had not left the house in a week, barely eating after the most recent hearing concluded.

The court case had been going on since Emerald had been born. He’d seen his father in person only a few times in his life so most of what he knew of him was from news reports. From what he knew of the custody case, his mother and Norman were pledged to be married fifteen years ago before a last minute abandonment on his father’s part caused their breakup.

This was due to Norman being pressured by his actual wife, Caroline, that Lydia was not aware of to not go through with it. She was left a broken, abandoned woman with a baby on the way. For years she had tried to bring Norman to court for not paying child support. However, as a gym leader, he had more than enough influence with the Hoenn government for the courts to simply ignore it.

Only now, after a decade and a half of raising a son did the court finally decide to take the case seriously. But now Emerald was legally an adult by the Hoenn government standards. Now there was no child support that had to be paid. The denial of justice his mother felt had angered her to the point she no longer wanted to see Emerald.

This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.

Lydia told him to leave her house a few days ago since she was no longer legally obligated to take care of him. Emerald could tell his mother was serious as evidenced by her complete apathy to not only her son’s wellbeing but her own. She couldn’t look him in the eye or even bother to stare in his direction. Whatever part of Lydia’s soul hadn’t been broken when Norman left her was now.

“I can’t go on,” she said. “I don’t know when...when I’ll be able to…”

“Mom,” Emerald said. “You’ve always been able to get back on your feet...I know you can. You’re strong...you’ve done it before so-”

“I may,” she said. “But I can’t raise you anymore. In fact...I can’t have anyone in my life right now.”

And so Emerald did what all kids with poor grades, zero useful skills and were unwanted by their parents did. He became a Pokemon trainer. It was very easy to do so where he came from.

Professor Birch gave him a PokeDex that allowed him to look at data of Pokemon he’d find in the wild, a Pokeball and a potion. Birch allowed most any prospective trainer to have those items so long as they paid a hefty sum for it. Emerald gave Birch the two hundred dollars that was his before leaving to catch a Pokemon.

Emerald figured that he could make a decent amount of money by becoming a member for Team Magma or Aqua as the more successful grunts were generally paid well. The problem is he didn’t know which to join. Team Magma was focused on changing the terrestrial landscape for human expansion, i.e. planting forests, cutting down forests for timber, digging for rare minerals and even using the power of Ground and Rock-type Pokemon to change the land itself for mankind’s benefit. If you were willing to work hard you’d get a big paycheck but they also did a lot of Pokemon battling and Emerald was unsure if he’d risk his life for that.

Team Aqua didn’t do as much battling as they primarily tried to change the surrounding bodies of water for human benefit. This included everything from draining bodies of water to make room for farmland or growing populations or even flooding areas and creating new bodies of water. From what Emerald remembered in school they encountered less Pokemon battles but their sea campaigns were known to have huge casualties. When Team Aqua attempted to change the water levels of the ocean it could quickly turn deadly as sudden storms or the swarm of Pokemon living there made for notoriously disastrous projects.

But still, both were sponsored by the government and were still extensions of the Hoenn military. Teams Aqua and Magma were the primary reasons Hoenn was the rising superpower among the various regions around the world. Their determination to change the entire region for their benefit was giving them advantages that other, more cautious governments would back out of. If Emerald joined one and did well he could finally gain some pride in something and not just be thought of as a love child everybody wished never existed.

Maybe my dad will even recognize me as someone worthy of love. He thought.

Emerald was so lost in thought he almost didn’t notice the fallen tree at his feet. He tripped over it, catching himself at the last second. After staggering a little, he looked at his surroundings.

There wasn’t a tree left standing in sight. All had fallen to the ground after what looked like several cuts had been used to sever the trunks. The ground was littered with dead Pokemon and some humans, the amount of blood pouring around them was enough to leave pools and create cascades of red.

Around the area were trainers, some in Team Magma uniforms, overseeing Pokemon that were lifting the large trees and loading them onto vehicles. The Pokemon doing this were mostly Vigoroth, Zangoose or other Normal-types that tied the timber down with straps and waved to the drivers who subsequently drove off. A path was soon being created by the Ground-types like Diglett and Sandslash who were using their Earthquake and Earth Power to create the road. He was standing at the edge of the downed forest.

Emerald recognized this as a project timber cutting and road making venture that was being undertaken by his father’s gym trainers and Team Magma. The Petalburg Woods was grown by the wild Pokemon with the permission of humans as the wilds were lied to that their habitat would remain mostly intact. After the trees were cut and the wild Pokemon slaughtered or caught, new Pokemon would arrive to take care of the new forest before the cutting would happen again.

Emerald knew that it would happen eventually but didn’t know it was going on today. He came to Petalburg Woods to catch a Pokemon as the forest was home to a wide range of strong Pokemon. He sighed, figuring he’d have to return to the grasslands around Oldale or forested marsh near Petalburg City to find a Pokemon. However, something caught Emerald’s eye that immediately got his attention.

He ran forward to see it was a heavily burnt Treecko. Most of its lime green skin and half the darker green of its tail was blackened. While its body from the neck upwards and part of its limbs remained untouched, it was as though the Grass-type had been roasted over an open fire. It was rolling along a patch of dead leaves that wasn’t coated in blood in pain, crying softly.

Should I catch it? Emerald thought.

He began to weigh his options. While Emerald definitely needed a Pokemon, one that was so close to dying was possibly a bad choice. He would need to use his potion and he’d much rather use that on his own injury until he gained more Pokemon to defend himself. However, this also meant he had a near sure chance of capturing it considering how injured it was. Emerald could definitely try his hand at another but something about how it flailed about looked so pitiful.

To use my potion would mean I could die since I only have one. He thought. But if I don’t he’ll die. But with a burn that severe, I’m not sure he would even recover...

He gritted his teeth and took the Pokeball from his bag. Emerald tossed the Pokeball forward, to which the capsule opened up and swallowed it in a flash of light. He raced over to the Treecko and picked the capsule up before opening it by pressing the button.

The Grass-type was still flailing in pain but that stopped once Emerald took the spray bottle of medicine out and started applying it to his burn. A burn heal would have regenerated the Pokemon’s skin a lot faster but the potion still worked pretty effectively. After using all of it up the Treecko’s skin took on its normal green color after what must have been a moment of healing. After its body was fully restored it stopped flailing around and stood up on both its thin legs.

“You shouldn’t have saved me,” he said, Emerald recognizing it was a male.

Emerald was surprised at his answer, thinking the Pokemon would be more surprised it gained the ability to understand and communicate in human speech since human language was downloaded into a Pokemon once caught. And the answer it gave was so odd. Emerald didn’t think Pokemon had any real emotions but the gratitude of being saved from certain death was something he thought every creature had.

“B-but-?!” Emerald said. “Why? I saved you...didn’t I?”

He leered at the young man with the kind of stoic, sharp gaze that Treecko were known for giving.

“It doesn’t matter if you saved me or not,” he answered. “I could not save my forest from being destroyed. Us Treecko...we are tasked with caring for the forest’s trees from our birth. The other Pokemon in the forest depend on us to grow them and protect them from invasive species.”

His eyes blurred with tears.

“And I failed despite my best efforts,” the Treecko said. “I was relieved knowing I would die.”

“But you were in pain!” Emerald shouted. “I saw you rolling on the ground with your skin blackened like a roasted Pidgey!”

“It doesn’t matter,” he said. “I wish you’d left me to die. Knowing what I do...my family dead...everything my species worked for my entire life...gone. I have no purpose left.”

“Well…” the human said. “I...look, you’re my Pokemon now. And I’m your trainer. So you have to do what I say!”

He looked up at him with disinterest. It was clear nothing that Emerald was saying would intimidate him. The boy’s words were just empty pleas to the Pokemon. So he thought he would try ordering instead.

“Well…” Emerald said. “You’re going to survive now! And...and you’re going to battle for me!”

“Fine,” he said. “I don’t care anyway. It doesn’t matter...subject me to whatever you want. I can’t do any worse than I already have.”

“Okay,” Emerald said. “Then...do you have a name? Mine’s Emerald.”

“Yes,” the Treecko answered. “But I don’t know if I want you to use it.”

“Why?” Emerald asked. “

“I gave the same name to the humans who we negotiated a deal with,” he said with a stern face. “Us Treecko and Grovyle acted as representatives to you humans and many of us even went so far as to learn their language before they destroyed our home. If you have my name...and then you hurt me...it would mean a second blow to my pride.”

Emerald sighed.

“I-I-” he said. “I’ll do my best to keep you safe. How’s that?”

“Maxie and Norman said the same thing,” the Treecko said. “Acted as though they were saviors and the better angels of your race to goad us into growing the trees for them.”

My father destroyed his home and ruined his life? He thought. Sort of like he did me...

“N-N-Norman?” Emerald asked.

“But if you must know…” he said. “It’s Leif. Why...do you know that name?”

He leaned down and began petting the Grass-type’s smooth head.

“You can say…” Emerald said. “We’re aware of each other’s existence.”