EVERYONE: - Ongoing The Delusions of Mediocrity

[hydromorph]

Well, this is my fanfic. You may remember this initially appearing on pojo's boards. Well, I've tried my best to re-vamp it. It's only the prologue so it's much shorter than actual chapter will be. If there's anything that would premote violence, gore, bloodshed, or that would require PG-13+ rating, I'll usually post it before the chapter in this little part where I talk and stuff. I hope you like it, and please reply if you do read, because it lets me know you're reading and I'm not wasting my time.

If there's any problem with an inadequate rating of this story, based on how violent a chapter or so is, just let me know.

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Prologue

To whom it may concern,

I woke up just minutes after the sun had set. I could see the hues of orange fading over the western horizon that have all since disappeared. Now it’s dark, around midnight I suppose, but I really don’t know. I don’t know anything. I don’t know who I am. I don’t know where I am. I don’t know my past.

I don’t have a hell of a lot to work with. I woke up around sunset and have been wandering the fields around here for roughly four or fives hours. Knowing where the sun was setting, I was able to determine directions, even though I haven’t been using them to find much of anything. I’m tired anyways, which is why I’m writing this.

I’ve tried for a long time to remember anything, but it doesn’t work. Even my clothes look unfamiliar to me. They’re dark steel colored, and they resemble industrial coveralls. My shoes are large and black. And there’s a bracelet around my left arm, almost like a collar. It has an eight-digit number on it.

I don’t really know how tall I am, as I’d need someone else to compare to. I know my stomach aches and I feel malnourished. My muscles ache as well, and just lifting them to do the most inane tasks is difficult. My plain, brown eyes burn, as if I’ve never used them before. My voice is very hoarse, so I try not to talk.

I have thick black hair that seems to be naturally spiked in almost every direction. I have an earring in the lobe each ear. I have no idea how old I really am.

The only thing I woke up with is a backpack. When I originally examined it, I found 3 red and white balls. I almost immediately recognized these as Pokéballs. I have three Pokémon, a Bulbasaur, a Mankey, and a Sandshrew. I’m still unsure of their genders and how long I’ve been training them. What’s odd is although I have Pokémon, I don’t appear to have a license. My Pokémon seem to have a natural trust for me, so I don’t question whether or not they, in fact, are mine.

The only other things in my backpack were an envelope, a piece of paper, and a pen, which I’m using right now. Having one of each of these items seems odd in my opinion, and leads me to believe I planned this, or someone else did.

I have only two other things with me I’ve yet to describe. One is an ocarina. I’m surprised I remembered the name of such an arbitrary musical instrument. It’s crystalline, an icy blue. I tried playing it, but apparently don’t know how. That or it’s not meant to be played, perhaps just a souvenir.

The other thing I have with me scares me. When I initially found it, my face twisted with a slight hint of confusion. It’s a knife. A large, rusty knife, with bloodstains thinly caked over its silvery surface.

My mind has been racing with various scenarios of what could have happened to me, but none seem to stand up. As hard as I try, I can’t remember anything. Looking up now, I see a mountain in the west, and a city in the east. I suppose I’ll try the city in the morning and hope for the best. The somber music of the night has slowly drowned me, and my pen is running out of ink. So I suppose I’m going to sleep. I’m not sure if I’ll keep this or throw it to the wind, but if you’re reading this, just know that at one point I was safe and didn’t know…

 

[Blackjack Gabbiani]

Interesting, quite suspenseful...

 

[DGE]

Oooh, looks like I've got a story to keep up with. I do love speculating on things and waiting for their revelations...

And thank you for, you know, writing like an intelligent person. ^_~

 

[Togepretty]

This is very well written, and already full of mystery. I love stories like this, so you've got me eager for the next chapter. Please do continue. ^_^

 

[hydromorph]

Chapter 1 - Adam

God, I was just about to post this when I realized I forgot to give one character a last name. Geez, talk about last minute. I whipped out the phone book and pointed to some random name and out pops that one, but it seems to fit.

By the way, this isn't meant to be a journey fic by those ignorant enough to take some hints overly serious. I'll explain more in future chapters, but until then enjoy, and bash the hell out of me if you see any problems, grammar or other.

-Here's where I'd normally warn you of upcoming violence or language/dilect, but this chapter's pretty docile.

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Chapter 1

I’m not sure how long it took me to get to sleep. My mind was full, and my body was aching everywhere. I had a cluster of leaves, which I wasn’t one hundred percent sure weren’t poisonous, to sleep on and no blanket to protect my body from the chill of the night. Sleep finally found me somehow throughout the night, and I drifted off into a peaceful slumber. And I was just getting to a state of total relaxation when the sun reared its ugly head over the eastern horizon.

I had to have been sleeping at the worst possible location. A ray of gold brightened the area around my eyes and nothing else. As much as I wished to deny it, I was awake. Muttering curses under my breath, I turned over, expecting to find a pillow, but finding only leaves and dirt. I quickly lifted myself up and stared at the ground, remembering last night. I turned over on my back again, stretching my arms, which were still sore.

It was then about a foot or so away from my feet I saw a small little rat. The impish creature sniffed the ground and then froze as it noticed me. It began to stare at me for a while, it’s tail stiff. I recognized it as a Pokémon, a Ratatta. As it stared, the tail twitched and began to rise into the air. I quickly fumbled across the ground, trying to get to my backpack, trying to find my Pokémon. The Ratatta dug its paws deep into the ground, in a fighting stance, all the while retaining eye contact.

I was captivated and was captured by its eyes. I couldn’t help but stare. Perhaps it was the wrong thing to do in such a situation, but I couldn’t help it. All I knew is I needed to find my backpack. My left hand was frantically searching the ground now, putting small clouds of dust into the air.

The Ratatta suddenly turned its head upwards and sniffed the air quickly. In seconds, it darted off into the grass. I breathed a sigh of relief and tightened the grip on my now found backpack. I checked inside to see if everything was there when I heard another, larger set of feet stomping towards me. I scrambled to get up, only to fall from the weakness of my arms, which didn’t seem to want to cooperate this morning. The stomping got louder and the mystery Pokémon beyond the brush was about to show itself. I finally managed, somehow, to reach my feet, open backpack in hand and could only wait for what would show out of the brush in the following seconds.

Out of it popped a girl. At first I was surprised, and she was to. She looked at the ground, panting for breath in the clearing, before glancing up at me. She stared at my head and followed the gaze to my feet, quickly examining me with her beautiful brown eyes. Her dark brown hair that extended just past her shoulders was wavy, scrambled from the run she just experienced. She put her hands on her knees, which were covered by a pair of cutoff jeans that extended just past the knee. She tried to catch her breath, and I was trying to catch mine as well. I didn’t realize how heavily I was breathing up until this point.

Just then, a large bee with two needles for forearms busted through the brush, circling the clearing from above. It’s wings shimmered in the morning sun and reflected upon the ground as it got closer. The girl looked at me, jaw down, as if to try to explain something, but couldn’t get it out. Somehow I understood, and as if it was second nature, my hand was already clutching one of my Pokébals.

I threw my backpack on the ground towards what had been my bed. I stared at the bee, which I recognized as Beedrill, with utter contempt, glaring at it, before heaving the Pokéball at it with all my might.

The Pokéball burst into an eerie white light as the Pokémon inside came out. It twitched its long tail a bit upon coming out. It had the fur and shape of a monkey, and the snout of a pig. The digits on its hands and feet were primitively pushed inwards, though it didn’t hinder its powerful claws. It screeched ferociously at the Beedrill as it landed on its feet. My Pokémon was revealed, and it was Mankey.

“Use Fury Swipes.” I commanded. The words had barely left my mouth when the Pig Monkey Pokémon catapulted itself toward the ferocious bee, attaching itself to it’s back, towards it’s neck. It quickly unleashed a barrage of precision-aimed swipes at the opposing Beedrill.

Beedrill attempted to swing it’s powerful needle arms at Mankey, but to no avail. Mankey furiously unleashed more swipes until the Beedrill began to lose it’s balance. Mankey quickly leapt off as the Beedrill lost it’s balance in midair. The bee quickly regained it’s senses and flew off in the direction from which it came.

Mankey released a cry of victory. With a small sense of satisfaction, I recalled Mankey back into it’s Pokéball, put it inside my backpack, and reverted my attention to the girl, who had now caught her breath.

“Thank you!” She exclaimed, before squeezing my arms to my sides. She caught me off guard, but seemed happy and genuine enough for me not to care that I was losing feeling in my hands.

“Um…” I muttered under my breath, trying to think of something to say. She released her grip, reforming a slightly more noble stance.

“Oh, I’m sorry. I get carried away sometimes.” She extended her hand at a distance. I just stared, in all truth unsure of what exactly to do. After a while we both felt very awkward and she repealed her open hand.

“So, what’s your name?” She asked, walking slowly away. I followed her, slinging my backpack over my arms. It was after I was walking alongside her the question finally registered in my mind.

“I… Uh…” I fumbled with an answer, trying deeply to probe my mind. I didn’t want her to know my problem. I don’t know why, maybe because I wasn’t fully sure I wasn’t some escaped convict or serial killer. In the off chance I was, I obviously didn’t want anyone knowing.

“My name Jessica.” She interrupted. “I just got my Trainers License a few weeks ago. That when you got yours? A few weeks ago in Pallet Town?” I just shrugged. Her eyes narrowed and her pace quickened a bit as her feet created small clouds of dust from the dirt road. “What was your name again?”

“I don’t know.” I said quickly, knowing full well she’d find out sooner or later. She looked at me, her eyes still narrowed trying to understand.

“What do you mean exactly?” Jessica’s eyes softened, but still looked as if she demanded information.

“I don’t know. I woke up and I was just there. I can’t remember my past or anything like that.” Jessica stared at me for a while. I bowed my head down, not wondering what her reaction would be.

“You have amnesia?” She asked. I nodded, head still safely locked on the ground. “Do you have a Trainers License?”

“All I have is my Pokémon and the backpack. I don’t have anything else.” I was still having trouble in the situation, relaying all I knew, my life as I knew it to a perfect stranger. Whatever she did now could honestly shape my destiny. I suddenly felt her hand on my shoulder.

“Relax.” She said. My head jolted up and my eyes fixated on her. “I’m going to Pewter City.” She pointed at the city in the backdrop of the rising run, which was now a small jog away. “At the Pokémon Center you can straighten this thing out.”

“Thank you.” I replied, a bit awestruck with generosity. She then reached into her pocket and pulled out a thin, red, electronic booklet or sorts. She began pressing the buttons, casually flipping through various pages on the electronic screen.

“Ah here it is.” She exclaimed, handing it to me. “Most Grass-types around here carry poisonous spores. Some of them could have a negative effect on the brain, possibly amnesia.” I examined the strange device.

“That’s a Pokédex.” She continued. “It keeps a trainers information about Pokémon and stuff like that. You should have one…”

“No,” I replied, shaking my head to the implied question. “All I have are the Pokémon.” I handed back the Pokédex.

“Nothing else?”

“Well…” I responded. I pulled out my backpack. I looked inside, past the three Pokéballs and at the other two items. I pulled out the ocarina, making fully sure she didn’t see the knife. “There’s this…”

“Oh, that’s nice? What is it?” She held it up to the sun; it’s icy reflection glistening in her eyes.

“An ocarina I suppose. But it doesn’t work. Just a souvenir.” She quickly put it to her lips and blew, releasing an enchanting sound. My jaw fell open and a churning feeling appeared in my stomach as she tossed the ocarina back into my hands.

“Sounds nice.” She said. I realized a smile was now encompassing her face as she walked. I put the instrument back in my backpack before continuing into the city, which we were now entering.

“You know,” Jessica continued. “This year the league admitted 500 new licensed trainers, the largest number ever. All those people have been traveling around, mostly in groups or teams. I’m sure if you travel enough you’ll meet someone that knows you.”

“Really?” I asked. “You think so?” Jessica nodded.

“As a matter of fact, I’m traveling in a group. We got a bunch so far, but I’m sure we got room for one more if you wanted to join up with us.” Jessica ran her hand through her hair. I was caught off guard by the question.

“You don’t have to answer now.” Jessica said quickly. She looked up at the tall, circular skyscraper that stood before us in the center of the city, built into the side of a pewter peak that jolted upwards towards the heavens. “C’mon, we’ll get our Pokémon rested and then I’ll buy you some breakfast. It’s the least I can do after you saved me from that Beedrill.”

I nodded, and we entered the Pokémon Center through the giant automatic doors. Inside, there were multitudes of people, mostly teenagers. They waited in the lobby, talking over random things, like how strong their Pokémon were, or what they were going to do today. There was a large, circular desk that surrounded the center of the equally circular room, a few nurses or clerks working behind them on the computers.

Jessica directed me to the elevators to the right. We went inside and after a few seconds, we were launched into the air towards the twenty-sixth of the forty-something floor building. The large windows on the outsides of the elevator were the same as the large windows surfacing the walls of the center, giving a phenomenal view of the cityscape. The view wouldn’t last though, as the elevator quickly approached our destination.

“Floor twenty-six, trainer verification, Pokémon stats…” The electronic voice trailed off from the elevator as Jessica and I stepped forward through the doors and to the front deck, where a woman was working. She looked up and gave a plain smile.

“Can I help you?” She asked, her arms neatly placed on the countertop.

“Yeah,” Jessica began. “My friend lost his Trainers License and I was wondering if he could be issued another one.”

“Name?” The nurse asked, prepping her fingers on the computer keyboard.

“Uh,” Jessica trailed. “Here’s the thing. He doesn’t know it.” The nurse looked at me in an odd stare, probing my eyes for sincerity. “He’s got amnesia. I’m guessing from a field Pokémon.”

“If that could be the case...” The nurse reverted her attention back toward Jessica. “Well, I can check his Pokémon for you if you’d like. They should have the Trainer information on file.” Jessica nudged me and I dug into my backpack for the three Pokéballs.

“That’d be great.” Jessica said, pulling a Pokéball that was attached to her belt off. Most trainers carried their Pokémon this way, as it was easier to reach. “Could you check mine as well?” The nurse nodded, pulling out a tray that had a handle at either end and six groves, which could be fitted by Pokéballs. Jessica put hers on, and I put my three on in the other three groves.

The nurse took the tray to a small mechanical door in the wall. It opened much like a stove, or a small cadaver. She inserted the tray inside, closed the gray door, and flipped a few switches. She retreated back toward the computer and began typing quickly.

“Jessica Fairbanks?” The nurse asked, questioning Jessica first. A long plasma screen suddenly clicked on behind the nurses back, it showed Jessica’s trainer information, and the Pokémon she currently had, a tiny, blue, bipedal reptile with a large jaw, a Totodile.

“Your Totodile seems to be in a tired state. It needs some rest and some medication, probably potion. There’s also traces of minor poisonous secretions on its skin commonly found in bug types, mostly the family Weedle.” Jessica put her hand behind her head and glanced at me.

“Heh, yeah. Thanks again.” I nodded, still to concerned with my information to read too much into it. The screen suddenly went blank and the nurse went on to check the next ones, my three Pokémon.

The screen popped up as a small window with data about my Bulbasaur quickly filled the screen. The screen quickly shifted to that of Mankey, and soon after that to Sandshrew.

“These Pokémon do belong to the same trainer, and they’ve been with him for roughly two weeks each. The Pokémon all seem to be in a healthy state…” Her hands jolted across the keyboard in lightning quick pivots as the screen reflected on my face and eyes, Jessica’s too.

She suddenly stopped and gave me a hard stare. She glanced back at the screen and then back at me, a baffled look in her eyes. Her eyes; they said everything. She just kept them locked on mine.

“Adam.” She said, giving a small smile off. “Adam Reed. Trainer #2391-418-107A. You’ve been a trainer for 2 weeks.” Jessica and I both released the buildup of tension in heavy sighs as we listened to the news. A small smile formed on my face, the first time I ever smiled.

“See Adam.” Jessica said. “Nothing to worry about. You’re file has everything. What else can you tell us nurse?” The nurse looked from Jessica and back at me, the smile completely disappeared. She clicked a button on the keyboard and a blue screen with white, courier letters appeared. It had all the information I had on file.

“Nothing.” The nurse replied. “There’s nothing.” I stared at the screen in disbelief, staring at nothing but the blank where my date of birth was. Staring at the blank where I was born, who my parents were, how old I was. Everything was blank accept for those eight letters which formed my name.

Jessica looked back towards the nurse in disbelief. “What does that mean?”

“Well,” The nurse began. “It just means the Pokémon haven’t had the information attached to them well enough. There’ve been some glitches in the system with all the new trainers. It’s nothing to worry about. But I will need to cancel Adam’s current information in case someone tried to use his trainers license. Then I can transfer his Trainer’s information to his current Pokémon.”

“You hear that Adam?” Jessica asked. My mind was still fixated on the screen. A feeling of doubt suddenly churned inside me.

“Adam.” The nursed asked, switching off the monitor. I snapped out of my makeshift trance and looked back at her. “I’m going to change your Pokémon’s information. I’m going to copy the information we have onto the Trainer File. I’ll get you a temporary Trainer ID and laminate it; make sure you don’t lose this one. I would shut down the old account, but we’re going to need to leave it open so the glitch in the system can be corrected. If anyone uses your trainer card, we’ll have it located immediately and terminated. You should receive your new official card in two weeks, and any new information we get we’ll inform you of.”

Jessica gave a supporting nod. I nodded as well, and nurse went off to her duties. My shoulders relaxed a bit, and Jessica released a heavy breath.

“Well,” She spoke slowly. “We might as well have breakfast.” Jessica and I got back in the elevator and took it to the upper floors, where the food courts were. Rather than empty space occupied by a few chairs, the upper floors had booths. The computers replaced by registers, and the nurses and clerks replaced by fast-food employees. I sat down at one of the booths while I waited for her to get some food. She promised to get something good.

I just slumped my head on the table, staring at some packets of sugar and salt. My head was spinning with questions. As much as I felt I needed to answer these questions about my past, the only question that stood in my mind was, oddly enough, whether or not to accept Jessica’s proposal of joining her group.

I had little time to think it over before Jessica appeared with a large plastic tray full of food. She placed a plate in front of me. It had toast with little packets of jelly, which I recognized. But what I didn’t recognize was the circular bread-like pieces in the center. It had some sticky, sweet stuff on it.

“You can have some OJ and milk too.” Jessica said between bites. She pointed to two small cartons holding milk and orange juice respectively. I took up a fork, which I seemed to have trouble remembering how to use, and pierced some of the bread circles and put them in my mouth. The taste was amazing as the syrupy substance mixed with the bread in my mouth, flavoring it. I opened up the milk and chugged some, refreshing me for more. Whatever the food was, it was amazing.

“You like it, huh?” Jessica asked, watching me scarf down my food.

“Yeah…” I said between chews. “What’s it called?”

“Pancakes?” She asked, giving off a smile. “Boy, you are bad off.” I ate more of my food, unintentionally avoiding conversation. The breakfast went by fast as Jessica randomly popped up with the story of how she wound up running from the Beedrill this morning and how her Totodile became injured. She had almost finished when the intercom spoke.

“Jessica Fairbanks and Adam Reed please report to the front desk at floors 25 or 26.” Jessica quickly gathered her stuff, as well as mine, and threw the scraps of food and plastic utensils we had away. We went back into the elevator and rode it down.

“So, have you thought at all about it yet? I mean, I know you got a lot going on and stuff, but we’ll be seeing all of Kanto. Chad and Nick are meeting me here later today.”

The door opened and we went back to the nurse who originally helped us out. She had our Pokémon and a beige, laminated card with my name and new trainer number on it. With that, we went back into the elevator and Jessica pressed the button for the ground floor.

“So…” Jessica said, looking at me. I honestly had no idea what I would be doing after I got out of the elevator.

“You’re traveling all over Kanto?” I asked, a slight tone of hesitation in my voice.

“Yup,” Jessica said. “Chad is one of our best trainers, and he’s trying to collect all eight badges. You don’t need to concern yourself with that though, you should just be interested in seeing the world, adventuring. C’mon Adam, you gonna come with?”

“Sure.” I stated as the elevator doors opened.

“Great.” Jessica exclaimed as I stepped out. “I’ll be waiting in the lobby at six tonight. In the mean time, go get yourself some clothes.” She reached into her pocket and pulled out some money, stuffed it into my hand and clicked the button on the elevator. “I’m going to go reserve a room, have fun.”

“But what do I…?” My words trailed off as the elevator doors closed, leaving me standing there, confused, with a fistful of money.

 

[achooxp]

:-D Cool fic you got in the workings here. Sorry I didn't get around to it earlier though. Hmm- ocarina- is this a Pokemon / Zelda crossover at all? That battle with the the Beedrill was so gosh darned creepy for some reason; gave me shivers all over. Really liked that almost scientific way you dealt with the Pokemon Center and that letter at the beginning was so nice and colorful.

 

[DGE]

o_o He doesn't know what pancakes are!? Kidding. Mr. Adam is quite a mystery, that he is. Has he time-traveled? Missing birthday, confused by the circular food and the giant Pokécenter.

Your writing is fine, in fact, one of the better styles I've found on here, which makes it twice the delight to read. If there's anything grammatically wrong, it's a few misplaced or absent commas. In dialogue, when indicating that someone's speaking at the end of their quote, end the sentence with a comma rather than a period. Example: "Oh, aren't WE a grammar bitch today," Shingo said.

"Watch your language, you," retorted Zukin, fetching her ropes of punishment.

^^;;

Mousie-san, I don't think "ocarina" automatically = "Zelda." Get a life, you gamer. (kidding again) ^_~

Eagerly awaiting chapter 2. Yay non-journey fic! Yay OCs! YAY dark themes!

 

[achooxp]

Originally posted by Pika-Zukin
Mousie-san, I don't think "ocarina" automatically = "Zelda." Get a life, you gamer. (kidding again) ^_~

Eagerly awaiting chapter 2. Yay non-journey fic! Yay OCs! YAY dark themes!

I'm not really a gamer. I only play Zelda, Pokemon, Super Smash Brothers, and Street Fighter. And it's been so long- I didn't play when I was in college this year!

Btw, how did you know to call me "mousie"? Kinda creepy. *shiver*

I'm going to post a journey fic here someday!

 

[Togepretty]

Very interesting. Well, at least we found out his name. Now we have to discover what happened to him. I bet the amnesia wasn't caused by a Pokemon at all. And the ocarina was again brought to attention, so that obviously has a important part to play in this story.

Anyway, very descriptive chapter. More, please. ^_^

 

[DGE]

Originally posted by achooxp
I'm not really a gamer. I only play Zelda, Pokemon, Super Smash Brothers, and Street Fighter. And it's been so long- I didn't play when I was in college this year!

Uh huh. Excuses, excuses.

Btw, how did you know to call me "mousie"? Kinda creepy. *shiver*

I know more than I let on. ^_~ All the cute dialogue, tis a distraction from my evil genius.

I'm going to post a journey fic here someday!

That's just ripe for me to say something colorful. When did I develop a sense of decency!?