I stand in the dark of the stadium entrance, doing a final check of my team roster. The cool air blows in from the stadium as the faint chants of the crowd follow. I take a few calming breaths for my nerves and put on my usual predatory grin that the fans have come to love. I can hear the end of the announcer's speech and start making my way forward.
"... Coming all the way from Pallet Town to make his debut here in the Champion Cup, Erembour Lionheart!"
There's a mixture of boos and cheers as I step onto the designated painted red box on the massive grassy field decorated with a painted Poké Ball in the center.
"And on the green side of the field, our semifinalist challenger who was born and raised a stone's throw away from this very stadium, Leona Victor!"
A striking silver-haired woman walks out of the green entrance opposite me, dressed in a black gown adorned with white dragon motifs. Her hair is done up in a tight bun with a shrunken Luxury Ball nestled at the top.
The crowd goes wild for her as they erupt into chanting her name. She gives me a once-over before smirking and pulling a Great Ball from her belt.
I mimic her, taking off a worn Poké Ball of my own, containing my trusted companion who joined me on my adventure.
"The rules have been set. It's going to be a three-on-three match, no switch-ins are allowed. Once the referee drops the flags, release your Pokémon!"
Our eyes both go to the referee as he holds up a red and green flag, one in each hand. My fingers twitch as I wait for the flags to drop. There's a heavy tension in the air as everyone anticipates the moment that he would drop them. I could feel a small amount of perspiration trickle down my back just as the flags dropped.
Immediately, we both release our Pokémon.
Leona releases a massive 6-foot blue-green bell monstrosity with two arms coming out of its sides, its tell-tale tolling cry reverberating through the field. It has a totem pole-like face with two red eyes containing blue-green irises that stare daggers at my Pokémon and a rectangular mouth. Her first fighter is a Bronzong and I can't stop myself from rolling my eyes and sighing. This is going to be a long one.
I look at my Hitmonchan and smile. Sure, he's missing his left arm and his left eye is missing, but he jabs at the air with his remaining right arm and can't contain his grin. I've replaced his boxing glove with a set of purple bandage wraps that contain Grimer goo. Two of the five blunt protrusions on his head are worn down, and I've changed out his purple tunic and kilt for a black tracksuit.
"Bronzong, use Stealth Rock!" she yells out.
Bronzong's body emanates a radiant glow, and the earth beneath it responds. Chunks of the surrounding terrain ascend, transforming into rugged, jagged rocks that hover momentarily before dispersing into nothingness, blending seamlessly with the environment.
I crack my neck, there it is—the old stall-out.
"Hitmonchan, Power Up with Mach Punch."
Hitmonchan's body coils with tension, and in a blur of motion, he vanishes from sight. In an instant, he reappears right in front of Bronzong, his fist enveloped in a vibrant orange aura. His punches rain down upon Bronzong's side with astonishing speed, each strike landing with relentless force. The impact of the blows intensifies with each successive hit, leaving a trail of powerful vibrations in their wake.
The Bronzong cries out in pain as the punches on its body start to smoke from the intensity.
"Bronzong, get it off of you with Extrasensory!"
I can't help but laugh. This is going to be easy. It can't catch what it can't see.
"Hitmonchan, switch to Detect, then follow with Agility and a Mach Fire Punch."
My Hitmonchan blurs out of vision as he steps back out of Bronzong's attack range before quickly dashing forward at incredible speed.
He rotates his fist and it catches on fire right as it comes into contact with Bronzong lighting it up in an inferno.
"Wow! Talk about an impressive showcase of power and agility from Erembour's Hitmonchan! Even with just one arm, it's proving to be an absolute force to be reckoned with. This Pokémon has clearly earned its spot among the top contenders. Now, all eyes are on Leona. What's her plan to counter this incredible display? The anticipation in the air is electric as we await her next move!"
I see Leona grumbling as she raises her hand. "Bronzong, use Payback and follow up with Trick Room!"
The smile falters on my face as Hitmonchan is blasted backward by a ring of dark energy emanating from the yoke at the top of its head. The Bronzong shoots up into the air as its eyes light up a crimson hue. A large blue rectangular box appears, encompassing both Bronzong and Hitmonchan, before fading into invisibility. I can see Hitmonchan's speed start to decrease as Bronzong starts to dart around the sky, letting out a bell-like toll.
This... could be bad.
"Iron Defense, Calm Mind, follow it up with Body Press!"
Bronzong's body is surrounded by a mixture of silver and pink light as it seemed to increase in weight. The speed at which it slams down onto my Hitmonchan is surreal as it comes down like a meteor and presses him into the ground. Plumes of dirt erupt into the air as Hitmonchan struggles to keep from being flattened by using its only arm. My jaw clenches as my hand tightens into a fist. This is a pickle.
"Seems like you can't do anything in this position, can you, Erem? How does it feel to have all that speed turned against you?" Leona smirks.
"Bronzy! Iron Defense and press down harder!"
I can hear it let out another bell-like toll as its body shines blue once more. The ground beneath Hitmonchan cracks further as he is pushed deeper into a small forming crater.
Think. Damn it! Think. What can I do in this situation? Wait. Ah, I could use that trump card. Fine. I wanted to save it for the Elite Four, but it'll have to do in this case.
"Hitmonchan! Substitute to get out of there and then Fling!"
With a heavy grunt, he is surrounded by a white aura before he ejects out of the crater and Bronzong's massive body slams down on his duplicate with a resounding thud.
Hitmonchan then unwraps the bandage around his fist and flings it around Bronzong. The darkly illuminated bandage slams into its body, causing it to make a chime-like grunting noise.
"Get it off of you with Psychic!"
Wrapped in a pink aura, Bronzong tries to get rid of the bandage but to no avail. The purplish bandage was stuck to its body as the dark aura from the fling attack repels the psychic energy.
Perfect! We've got this in the bag.
"We got it now! Bulk up and pull it in for Close Combat!"
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Hitmonchan's body glows orange as his muscles begin to ripple and thicken, pulling Bronzong down towards him with the bandage and punching it violently. It flies off and then is pulled back into another punch like a vicious yo-yo.
I see Leona frown as cracks and dents start to appear on her battered Pokémon's body. Her hands were clenched into tight fists as they trembled. She looked to be deliberating something when suddenly -
"Bronzong. Do it."
Bronzong emits an enraged chime as it's yanked in for another punch. Its body glows intensely with a powerful white light before abruptly detonating with great force. Dust, grass, and rock fragments are propelled in all directions, colliding with the psychic barrier enclosing the battlefield. After the dust settles, both Hitmonchan and Bronzong lie motionless, unable to continue.
The referee raises both flags and declares, "Both Pokémon are unable to continue the battle. Trainers, please recall your Pokémon and send out your next ones."
"What a spectacular showing! Even with its mighty ferocity, Hitmonchan went down to a last resort explosion by Bronzong."
I recall Hitmonchan, whispering to his ball that he did a great job, before reaching for my next ball.
Suddenly, the sky above turns pitch black as a massive swirling vortex of red clouds appears. The audience starts screaming and panicking as crimson lightning falls down all around us.
A single enormous eye opens in the center of the vortex, spinning around until it settles upon me.
"Finally, I found a decent host." A voice rumbles through the stadium, causing the stands to crack and split.
I fall on my ass from the sheer force and weight of the disembodied voice. What the hell is going on?
"It's time to strike a deal, mortal. I'll spare you from your fate so long as you keep me concealed."
Suddenly, my mind is filled with vivid images. I see a Golbat engulfed in purple flames, its life snuffed out. The next set of scenes shows people wearing black jumpsuits with white accents and a red R logo, scattered throughout a sparsely furnished white room. The room is in disarray, with broken equipment and lifeless bodies. In the center, a large shattered tube lies amidst the wreckage. Then, there's a flash of a powerful explosion, followed by a vision of myself falling from the side of a tall skyscraper.
Panic fills my mind. What... are these images? What's going on? I can feel myself falling. I feel intense pain in my right shoulder and my left eye. Everything hurts. The pain. It feels like I'm on fire. Make it stop.
"I can make it stop, Mortal. Shelter me and I'll keep you safe." The voice echoes in my mind as I stare up at the massive eye while my body starts to reach maximum velocity. The cold wind is screaming all around me.
"Yes... I accept." I say meekly as I feel my body slam into a body of water.
----------------------------------------
I wake up, gasping for air, in a dimly lit room filled with the beeps and whirrs of medical equipment. The first thing that strikes me is the throbbing ache coursing throughout my entire body. I take a deep breath and conduct a quick self-assessment. Starting from the bottom, I wiggle my toes and confirm that I can still move them. Moving upward, I check my legs. They feel sore and weak, but they can still be moved. So far, so good. I then shift my attention to my arms. My right arm is immobilized in a sling, but my left arm is free and operational. That's a relief. Next, I move my neck side to side, which seems mobile. But then, something catches my attention. I notice that I can feel the movement in my right eye, but my left eye remains unresponsive. I delicately reach up with my left hand and gently touch the area, only to discover it's bandaged, obscuring my vision in that eye. A sense of despair washes over me, and I struggle to hold back tears as I come to terms with the fact that I can't feel my left eye.
The door to my room opens and the light turns on. The bright light is intense and immediately causes me to wince in pain from a quickly forming migraine forcing me to close my eye. A small groan escapes my lips before I can stop it from alerting whoever came in.
"Doctor! Doctor! He's awake! Quick!" I hear the person in the door rush out of the room. After a few seconds, I slowly opened my good eye. I can see that the room is a mellow orange color, but sparsely decorated. There's a TV across from the bed silently replaying news about a burning skyscraper with the headline "Is Team Rocket Back?"
At the foot of the bed, on a medical table is a silver plate with a Poké Ball in the center of it.
Why am I in the hospital? What happened?
A middle-aged man walks in wearing a white lab coat. He has laughing lines around his eyes, gray stubble, and a thin smile on his face. I can tell he's nervous but also relieved. How those two mix is beyond me.
"Hello there. I'm sure you have some questions for me, but I have a few of my own to ask you before I can tell you what my findings were. Is that alright with you?" His voice is smooth and gentle, belying his large frame. I simply nod and wait.
"Alright. What is your name?"
Well. That's rather easy. I open my mouth to answer and pause. Panic starts to come back. What is my name? I don't remember. Why can't I remember?
The doctor must see the look on my face because he launches into another question.
"What are Electric types weak to?"
"Ground," I answer immediately with no hesitation and even startle myself a little.
"Hm… Good."
The doctor writes something down on his clipboard. When did he get a clipboard?
"Who are your parents?"
"I don't know." My voice startles me as I speak the three words. It's rough, raw, and hoarse. It doesn't sound like me, yet I don't know what I'm supposed to actually sound like.
"Who is the current Indigo Champion and the 4 current members of the Elite 4?"
"Lance is the current champion. The Elite 4 consists of Will, Koga, Bruno, and Karen."
I can see the doctor frown at my answer and continue to scribble something down. The nurse comes in and starts to fidget with the medical equipment I'm hooked up to. She's trying her hardest to avert looking at me. Her fingers are trembling.
Something isn't adding up here. My body starts to tense which causes a dull ache to pulse from my right shoulder.
"Alright. This is my last question and then I'll explain the situation. Do you remember where you live?"
Where do I live? The gears in my head clock into overdrive, but as fast as they whir, I come up blank. I don't remember where I live. Or where I came from. Who was I? Who am I?
" I-I don't remember. I don't know. " I say feebly as my heart pounds in my chest.
The doctor gives me a sad smile before putting the clipboard down next to the Poké Ball at the foot of the bed.
"So, there are a few things to go over. You're currently in a hospital located in Pallet Town. You were found and rescued by a fishing boat. I'm surprised you weren't eaten by any wild Pokémon. Regardless. You were found and brought here. Now, the damages you sustained were substantial. There was a piece of metal lodged inside your right shoulder and you had a few fractured ribs. The worst injury was to your head. Some kind of Pokémon with powerful claws clawed at your face and took out your left eye. There were also fractures in your skull showing that you suffered head trauma."
He takes a deep breath before letting it out in a sigh and sitting in the armchair next to the bed on my right.
"What does this mean? It means that you have retrograde amnesia, which is why your memory is so fragmented. Don't be too alarmed, your memory will recover over time as the trauma heals, but it will take time. The damages done to your body have been healed with an experimental treatment involving ditto cells and forced cellular regeneration. We obviously could not get any form of consent, however, we are pleased with the results all things considered. You were in a medically induced coma for a week."
He pauses and then nods, seemingly satisfied with his explanation.
"That was… A lot to process. " I look up at the ceiling. There are little painted Pidgeys flying in the sky among some clouds. I guess they wanted to set up a nice calm theme for this hospital room. My memories are gone. I can't even remember who my parents were… Or, if I actually had any still alive. Was I a trainer? The few core memories that still stay in my mind consist of battling techniques and strategies along with some Pokémon info.
The doctor coughs to get my attention. I look back at him. From this close, I can see that his eyes are a mellow brown color and there are bags under them.
"We tried to determine your identity, but..." he trails off, gesturing toward my hands. "Your fingerprints were completely burned off. We even attempted to match your retinal scan and analyze your DNA. Nothing. No matches whatsoever. It's as if you simply appeared out of thin air."
He pauses, weariness etching his face, before mustering a faint smile. A gentle knock on the door diverts our attention, revealing a young man dressed in an indigo vest and shorts peering into the room. Some part of my mind recognizes him as an Ace Trainer from the Indigo Plateau, evident from the neatly pinned badge on his left breast pocket. But how do I have that knowledge?
My heart races and an inexplicable nervousness grips me, though I can't decipher the reason behind it.
"Excuse me, Dr. Kaguya. Am I early?" the Ace Trainer inquires.
Dr. Kaguya scratches the back of his head and stands up.
"No, not at all. In fact, I was just about to inform our patient that we needed to call you in to help unravel his identity."
The Ace Trainer steps into the room and walks over to where I am. In a quick flash of red, a black-bodied humanoid Pokemon appeared. Its head was teardrop-shaped with a white bow-like fixture attached to the tip of what looked like its black hair that flanked out from the sides of its head in four flat black disks. It is about five feet tall and its body was segmented into four progressively larger tiers, with the smallest uppermost tier being where its head and arms are attached. Each tier had a white bow-like fixture to the front of it. He had released a Gothitelle next to him. Its face has a purple complexion to it with a small mouth and red lips, but what captivated me were its eyes. It stares at me with its narrowed bright blue eyes, as if it was judging me to be some kind of villain.
" My name is Bryan and this here is my partner Leia. Now, don't be alarmed. She's going to be probing your mind to see if she can get some more info about you. You may not recall, but hopefully, she'll be able to find out what is needed. The mind is a tricky thing, but psychics are pretty good at putting pieces back together."
She scoffs before placing a hand on her hip in a haughty manner. Bryan rolls his eyes and gives a small smile. My heart continues to beat rapidly while my hands start to clam up. Why am I scared? I don't need to be scared.
A thousand different scenarios immediately come to mind. I could grab Bryan - no, she's a psychic, she'll scramble my brains before I can do anything. Maybe if I catch her off guard and knock her out. Oh, who am I kidding? She's a fully evolved Pokémon, my fists wouldn't even faze her. My eye darts to the only window in the room, but I can see judging from the treetops that I'm at least 4 floors above the ground. What about the Poké Ball? My eye darts to it. No. It's too close to Bryan and the doctor. Besides, I don’t even know what might be inside of it.
"Are you ok?" the Ace Trainer asks me, snapping me back to the present time. "Do we have your permission to begin?"
Gothitelle's narrow stare grows more intense as Bryan's hand reaches subconsciously for a Great Ball at his waist, his eyes narrowing as well.
I'm going to have to go through with it. I give him a smile as a form of assurance.
"Ye-Yeah. If you believe it will be able to help figure out who I am, it's worth a try. Sorry, I'm just scared about all of this."
Bryan's body relaxes and he grins.
"Of course! It'll be ok. Leia here may look intimidating, but she'll be gentle."
Another scoff from his Pokémon before her body lights up with a pink aura. I feel something intrude into my mind. She seems to be muttering something as Bryan takes out a notepad and starts to jot stuff down. Jumbled memories come to the surface, simple fragments that I can’t understand.
I feel her start to penetrate deeper, which is a weird sensation as if she is dipping a bucket into a well to fish. A headache starts to develop as I can feel things being lifted to the surface. I'm sitting in a classroom filled with trainers. An image of a baby Zubat being given to me along with her Pokeball. A feeling of overwhelming happiness followed by grief.
Suddenly the memory starts to get fuzzy, something inside of me pushes back against the intrusion. I can see Gothitelle struggle, as blood drips down from her nose and eyes, and then boom. There is a powerful disconnect between the two of us as a flash of white light fills my vision and all I can hear is static. I can feel myself collapse into the hospital bed as the light fades from my vision and everything goes black.