So, a week or so ago, I got the idea in my head that I was going to write a fanfiction. This story is going to mix a little bit of the game mythos with a little bit of the anime, so you'll have to bear with me as I try to figure out where I want to go with this story. In the meantime, I hope you enjoy what I've written, a story entitled Always Looking Forward.
My name is Jordan Cooper, and I am a Pokemon Trainer. The story of how I came to be a Pokemon Trainer is a pretty long one. I doubt I would have ever begun on my journey if a few decisive events hadn’t happened.
The first would have to be the most important. My parents were traders, and they had gone to the docks of Vermillion City to check on their latest shipments. I was four, and all I can recall is sitting with the babysitter, watching the news about the hurricane. The devastation was the worst of any natural disaster in the Kanto region. Vermillion’s bay rose up seven feet onto the land. The hotel my parents were staying in crumbled, falling into the sea. At the age of four, I was an orphan.
I was quickly moved to the Oak Ridge orphanage, in a small town near Viridian City. Oak Ridge was where the second event happened. I was six at the time, and because of the death of my parents, I was a quiet child. I didn’t see much point in playing the games the other children played, and instead I read books from the donation bin. I avoided the ones with Pokemon in them, because there was no point to those. I was never going to be a trainer.
One weekend, we were all herded into the television room, where the small television was playing the Indigo League tournament, and that’s where I saw him. Barely a man, he must have been nineteen or twenty, dominating over the other contestants. Every battle was a hard-fought struggle, but I saw this man use his mind to win, outwitting and outbattling the competition every time. I watched, in awe, as he rose, a relative unknown at the time, to win the championship. His name was Bryce Cobalt, and he would become my ambition.
That weekend, instead of spending the money I made doing chores on books, I went instead to the electronics store. A laptop would cost almost two years worth of chore money, but by doing other’s chores for half their allowance money, as well as various odd jobs around town, I had my hands on it in just six months. I spent weeks under the trees in the backyard, learning everything I could about Bryce Cobalt. I knew his pokemon, his battling strategies, his victories, his losses, his journey to the Indigo Plateau, everything. I learned that he had grown up in Viridian City, and that he would be coming there soon as part of a victory tour.
The owner of the orphanage, Mr. Nicholson, a man I had come to respect quite well, noticed my fascination with Bryce, so he let me in on a little secret. Bryce Cobalt had been friends with a few people here, at the orphanage, growing up, and he was going to come here when he visited his hometown! I was excited, but when the day came around, all I wanted to do was lurk around in the shadows of the trees.
Mr. Nicholson led him to me. I looked up from my laptop screen, watching compiled footage of all of his battles, at the man himself, Bryce Cobalt. His black hair, almost blue in the light, like always, his golden eyes, it was him. I was astounded. I tried to close the laptop screen as quickly as possible, but he caught it. It was video of his first battle at the Indigo League, the only one he had come close to losing.
“Jeez,” he sighed, his voice like honey to my ears, “Couldn’t you watch a battle that I did well in?”
The question didn’t even faze me. “Now, why would I do that?” I asked, putting on my best kiddy face.
“Well, my good friend Mr. Nicholson here tells me that you’re my biggest fan!”
“I am, and that’s why I’m going to be the one to beat you.” Bryce looked shocked for a minute, and then he smiled. He sat down next to me, the pine needles crunching underneath his weight. He reached over and ruffled my scruffy brown hair, even as I jerked away from his touch.
“Yeah, you might, kid. As long as you remember one thing.” I looked up at him, expecting some sort of unearthly battling tip, something that caused him to so easily trump all of those other trainers. “Make sure you treat your Pokemon as friends and equals.” This time, it was my turn to look shocked.
“Why equals? If I can trump your typing, and overpower you, why would it matter?” He glanced down at me, and I could see the sadness in his eyes. Was it because of me?
“You say you know all of my Pokemon, right?” I nodded in comprehension. He plucked a pokeball off his belt and opened it, the bright flash of light signaling a release. I gasped in recognition as a Gardevoir took shape in front of me.
“It’s Venus…” I managed to gasp out. The Gardevoir reached over and touched me on the head with an outstretched hand, and I felt a rush of emotions, all of its happiness and sadness, and all of the good thoughts it had about its trainer. Venus withdrew her hand, and then nodded at her trainer.
“Do you understand now, Jordan? Pokemon are friends, not tools. They’re meant to be your equals.” I nodded in recognition, and the Gardevoir turned to Bryce, signaling at a small satchel he was carrying with him, and then to me. He chuckled. “Well, it seems Venus believes you. She trusts you enough to give you this.”
Bryce undid the small satchel, and pulled out an egg, all white with a green top, except for a spot of red right at the tip. “This is a Pokemon egg, and Venus is its mother. One day, it will hatch, and it will become a Pokemon just for you.” I reached out to touch the egg, but he pulled it just out of reach. “I’ll make you a deal. If you promise to love and care for the Pokemon that comes out of this egg, and you decide to become a trainer and truly be a friend to all Pokemon, I promise that I won’t lose until you challenge me. Is it a deal?”
It was a struggle for me just to blurt out “Yes!”, but even that managed to make Bryce smile again. He handed over the egg, and I set it down gently in the pine needles next to me. Bryce began to walk away, but I grabbed his pant leg from my sitting position and tugged on it. He turned back around, and I asked “You’ll remember your promise, right?”
Bryce reached down and shook my hand. “It’s a promise. I won’t lose until I face you. Now it's your job to get to me.”
It was then that I realized that I would become a Pokemon trainer. I would challenge the Indigo League, and I would gain the same eight gym badges he had, and that one day, I would stand on that battlefield, across from him, and finally face my first real friend and my greatest enemy.
Always Looking Forward
Chapter 1
Chapter 1
My name is Jordan Cooper, and I am a Pokemon Trainer. The story of how I came to be a Pokemon Trainer is a pretty long one. I doubt I would have ever begun on my journey if a few decisive events hadn’t happened.
The first would have to be the most important. My parents were traders, and they had gone to the docks of Vermillion City to check on their latest shipments. I was four, and all I can recall is sitting with the babysitter, watching the news about the hurricane. The devastation was the worst of any natural disaster in the Kanto region. Vermillion’s bay rose up seven feet onto the land. The hotel my parents were staying in crumbled, falling into the sea. At the age of four, I was an orphan.
I was quickly moved to the Oak Ridge orphanage, in a small town near Viridian City. Oak Ridge was where the second event happened. I was six at the time, and because of the death of my parents, I was a quiet child. I didn’t see much point in playing the games the other children played, and instead I read books from the donation bin. I avoided the ones with Pokemon in them, because there was no point to those. I was never going to be a trainer.
One weekend, we were all herded into the television room, where the small television was playing the Indigo League tournament, and that’s where I saw him. Barely a man, he must have been nineteen or twenty, dominating over the other contestants. Every battle was a hard-fought struggle, but I saw this man use his mind to win, outwitting and outbattling the competition every time. I watched, in awe, as he rose, a relative unknown at the time, to win the championship. His name was Bryce Cobalt, and he would become my ambition.
That weekend, instead of spending the money I made doing chores on books, I went instead to the electronics store. A laptop would cost almost two years worth of chore money, but by doing other’s chores for half their allowance money, as well as various odd jobs around town, I had my hands on it in just six months. I spent weeks under the trees in the backyard, learning everything I could about Bryce Cobalt. I knew his pokemon, his battling strategies, his victories, his losses, his journey to the Indigo Plateau, everything. I learned that he had grown up in Viridian City, and that he would be coming there soon as part of a victory tour.
The owner of the orphanage, Mr. Nicholson, a man I had come to respect quite well, noticed my fascination with Bryce, so he let me in on a little secret. Bryce Cobalt had been friends with a few people here, at the orphanage, growing up, and he was going to come here when he visited his hometown! I was excited, but when the day came around, all I wanted to do was lurk around in the shadows of the trees.
Mr. Nicholson led him to me. I looked up from my laptop screen, watching compiled footage of all of his battles, at the man himself, Bryce Cobalt. His black hair, almost blue in the light, like always, his golden eyes, it was him. I was astounded. I tried to close the laptop screen as quickly as possible, but he caught it. It was video of his first battle at the Indigo League, the only one he had come close to losing.
“Jeez,” he sighed, his voice like honey to my ears, “Couldn’t you watch a battle that I did well in?”
The question didn’t even faze me. “Now, why would I do that?” I asked, putting on my best kiddy face.
“Well, my good friend Mr. Nicholson here tells me that you’re my biggest fan!”
“I am, and that’s why I’m going to be the one to beat you.” Bryce looked shocked for a minute, and then he smiled. He sat down next to me, the pine needles crunching underneath his weight. He reached over and ruffled my scruffy brown hair, even as I jerked away from his touch.
“Yeah, you might, kid. As long as you remember one thing.” I looked up at him, expecting some sort of unearthly battling tip, something that caused him to so easily trump all of those other trainers. “Make sure you treat your Pokemon as friends and equals.” This time, it was my turn to look shocked.
“Why equals? If I can trump your typing, and overpower you, why would it matter?” He glanced down at me, and I could see the sadness in his eyes. Was it because of me?
“You say you know all of my Pokemon, right?” I nodded in comprehension. He plucked a pokeball off his belt and opened it, the bright flash of light signaling a release. I gasped in recognition as a Gardevoir took shape in front of me.
“It’s Venus…” I managed to gasp out. The Gardevoir reached over and touched me on the head with an outstretched hand, and I felt a rush of emotions, all of its happiness and sadness, and all of the good thoughts it had about its trainer. Venus withdrew her hand, and then nodded at her trainer.
“Do you understand now, Jordan? Pokemon are friends, not tools. They’re meant to be your equals.” I nodded in recognition, and the Gardevoir turned to Bryce, signaling at a small satchel he was carrying with him, and then to me. He chuckled. “Well, it seems Venus believes you. She trusts you enough to give you this.”
Bryce undid the small satchel, and pulled out an egg, all white with a green top, except for a spot of red right at the tip. “This is a Pokemon egg, and Venus is its mother. One day, it will hatch, and it will become a Pokemon just for you.” I reached out to touch the egg, but he pulled it just out of reach. “I’ll make you a deal. If you promise to love and care for the Pokemon that comes out of this egg, and you decide to become a trainer and truly be a friend to all Pokemon, I promise that I won’t lose until you challenge me. Is it a deal?”
It was a struggle for me just to blurt out “Yes!”, but even that managed to make Bryce smile again. He handed over the egg, and I set it down gently in the pine needles next to me. Bryce began to walk away, but I grabbed his pant leg from my sitting position and tugged on it. He turned back around, and I asked “You’ll remember your promise, right?”
Bryce reached down and shook my hand. “It’s a promise. I won’t lose until I face you. Now it's your job to get to me.”
It was then that I realized that I would become a Pokemon trainer. I would challenge the Indigo League, and I would gain the same eight gym badges he had, and that one day, I would stand on that battlefield, across from him, and finally face my first real friend and my greatest enemy.
