Disclaimer: This chapter was posted on PMU previously but it was very flawed, I have put it through heavy editing and it is now in it"s final version.
Chapter One: Prelude
Part 1: “Seeds of hope…”
[b]“Perhaps it is better to be irresponsible and right than to be responsible and wrong.”
― Winston Churchill[/b]
Aven yawned quietly, slowly rising from her makeshift bed of dead leaves. With her back aching from her poor excuse for a night’s sleep, Aven found longing for the days when she had been graced with a proper bed and a loving house. The forest around her was exactly the same as it had been the night before. Satisfied that no one had gone through her small patch, she glanced down briefly at a small seashell pendant lying on top of her tiny, blue-furred chest. The Riolu felt a wave of relief flow through her troubled mind when she saw the white shell still firmly secured to its worn strand of twine.
Composing herself, she then went around collecting various objects surrounding the small pile of dead shrubbery that had served as her bed that night. Her mind drifted while she worked. As usual, the pendant both comforted her yet reminded her of what she had lost. Before her mind could go into backtrack mode, she forced herself to focus on the task at hand and continued to pack her belongings into a small brown satchel while checking to see that all her possessions had found their way into the worn bag. Aven glanced at her lonely collection of items one last time to be sure everything was present; her map, a few spare rags (sadly, all that remained of her last defense scarf), various seeds all packed tightly into a silky, white pouch, a dried Oran berry, and finally, the two apples she had found the day before. Despite the melancholy mindset that had been her only companion for the past 11 months, seeing the two shining, red morsels she could enjoy throughout the day warmed her heart. Her brief ray of elation evaporated like a puddle on the sun, however, when she remembered that she would have to find more food to ensure that she wouldn’t go hungry the next day.
With her gloom and sadness quickly returning, Aven began another day. Another day of the long and uneventful trip that had become her life. Another day of trying her hardest to keep her mind set on her goal, even if she wasn’t entirely sure what it was. “Have to keep moving,” she muttered to herself as if the words could brace her against the trials that were to come…
…
Deep in a thick patch of trees nestled in the center of a dense stretch of forest, a Pokemon was crumpled in a smoldering heap. The Charmander’s pale, yellow chest rose and fell with each shallow breath. The ground around him was scorched black and littered with ashes. The shriveled and frail plants that had survived whatever damage that had taken their less fortunate neighbors leaned away from the fire-type.
Slowly, the Pokemon began to regain the first traces of consciousness. The quiet murmur of the wind brushing against the tree leaves and the forest floor and the soft, rhythmic pound of his own pulse whispered together in his mind.
Next came the first feelings of his small, shivering body: the chill of the air around him and the warmth of the burnt earth beneath him. The sensations came hesitantly at first, but soon his whole body was racked with shivering. It seemed as if the cold and heat were battling over who would claim him as their own.
After some time, he found the strength to open his eyes and was greeted by the sharp contrast of vibrant green treetops against a cloudy black sky.
While slowly composing an understanding of the world around him, his mind began to form the first real question: Where am I? The Charmander looked around curiously, doing his best to sit up while ignoring his aches and pains. Even under the fire Pokemon’s careful inspection, the forest seemed unwilling to forfeit any secrets. The land he was in was a very curious one indeed, as the unusual landscape was dotted with dead trees and withered patches of other plant life. The dying plants would have been odd enough on their own, but the truly mind boggling feature was the patches of vibrant plant life disrupting the somber atmosphere of dread the decaying forest held. It almost seemed that life and death were fighting for control of the forest; as it was however, the captivating mystery of the land was lost on him.
Sighing, the Charmander forced his aching body into what could be loosely defined as a standing position. Almost immediately however, he was greeted with an odd sense of insecurity… something was… off. He quickly inspected himself trying to tell what had felt so wrong, then he was struck with something that his entire consciousness seemed to find… wrong.
“I’m…a…Charmander…?” he asked himself, racking his brain for an answer to a riddle that he couldn’t begin to comprehend. Sadly no such answer came to him; in fact, nothing came. This served only to elevate his current level of panic; desperately he searched for at least one memory to grasp onto, a single shred of whatever it was that he had lost.
“Walker,” he muttered to himself, “my name is Walker.” Taking his new revelation, he spun in a full circle to observe his surroundings. “And I’m a Charmander…” Walker ignored the war between the nagging voices in the back of his mind and his instincts and tried to focus only on the task at hand; but what was that?
The Charmander thought for a second and decided that whatever he needed, it wasn’t in the clearing. Pushing all his doubts and uncertainties aside for later, he picked a direction and started moving. His steps were clumsy at first, but after stumbling a few times his instincts kicked in and assisted him slightly. He soon gained confidence and proceeded with a marginal level of success. Walker went on into the forest; he didn’t know where he was going, yet he knew there was nothing for him in the clearing. Suppressing his panic and confusion for the time being, the fire Pokemon pressed onward in search of help.
…
Crack! The sound of a dry branch snapping in two resonated through the forest, nearly scaring Aven out of her wits. “Doom Seeds,” she cursed to herself under her breath, diving behind a tree for cover. Please don’t be a wild Pokemon, she prayed silently to herself and any Legendaries who might have been kind enough to listen. Cautiously, she peered around the thick oak that she was hiding behind and was greeted with an unusual sight. In front of her standing between two trees, was a Charmander.
He looked very odd for a Charmander however; he was uncomfortably skinny in a kind of way that sent an empathetic shiver down her spine. It was clear he was suffering the consequences of malnourishment. There was also a series of deep crimson stripes running down the length of his tail. She had seen markings like them before on other Pokemon, but they didn’t help the Charmander look any less peculiar. His tail was an oddity in itself, it hung awkwardly at his side inches above the forest floor as if he didn’t quite know where to place it.
Upon seeing her, the Pokémon tilted its reptilian head to one side very obviously confused. He opened his mouth to speak and called out to her. “You there… Riolu,” he said, the last word obviously causing him some difficulty. “Do you know where I can find someone to help me?” His voice sounded hoarse and pained; it was almost like conversation was some unusual and foreign activity for the Charmander.
Something about this guy seems really strange, Aven thought to herself, noting his unusual behavior. On the other hand he is the only non-wild I’ve met in weeks that hasn’t tried to mug me, so I should mind my manners, her mind argued.
“Sorry, you’re out of luck. I don’t think anyone lives within miles of here…” Trying to lead the Charmander into a conversation, she continued, “Let’s get things out of the way. I’m Aven, and you are?” she ended with what she hoped was a polite tone.
The response she received from the orange Pokémon was not what she had wanted however. Upon hearing her response, a look of horror replaced the mask of confusion and desperation he had worn only moments before. Stumbling backwards he took off on all fours, running away from her.
“Wait, I’m sorry!” she called after the obviously delusional Charmander. Not wanting to miss her first opportunity to have a conversation in ages, even if it was with a less than sane fire-type, the Riolu gave chase.
She dashed after the retreating Charmander, his fiery tail making an effective beacon in the dark forest. Leaping over a fallen tree, she noted that the fire-type was having a very hard time running. The Pokemon seemed dropping to all fours for short periods before returning to a stumbling two footed dash.
As she skidded over a patch of wet muddy earth and narrowly avoided falling to the ground, her short-lived pursuit met its abrupt end. The Charmander had taken the first opportunity to trip over a stray root from one of the forests numerous dying trees. Seizing the chance that fate had given her, the Riolu jumped and landed a foot away from the still frantic fire Pokémon.
“What in the name of Arceus is wrong with you?” she yelled at the frightened Pokémon, giving up the polite approach entirely. She paced over to the panting Charmander, doing little to hide her angry disappointment.
“I-I d-don’t…” the cowering Pokémon responded, still on the ground with his voice cracking and his eyes quick and frantic.
“What?” she responded, a hint of frustration still present in her voice.
“I d-don’t know… I can’t r-remember anything…” the Charmander replied in a quiet, scared voice. Unsure of how to respond, Aven simply stared back at the Pokemon, now truly concerned for his well-being.
This response took Aven completely off guard. Choosing her words carefully, the Riolu slowly replied, “… I do not want to hurt you. Please let me help.” Aven stressed the tone of concern in her voice. She watched as the terror faded from the Pokémon’s eyes replaced by something much harder to place; was it confusion?
Seeing that the Charmander would not respond, or quite possibly couldn’t out of fear, she forfeited her efforts and gave up on the fire-type. Turning to leave, she could not help the cascade of sadness that overtook her like a black flood of despair; just as always, she had been denied the one thing she truly wanted; a friend.
“Wait!” a voice called out to Aven, she turned to find the Charmander now on his feet. “I’m Walker…” Aven smiled for the first time in a long time. Maybe fate was finally shining on her.
…
Walker stared down at the plump red fruit he held in his hands. Somehow he knew it was an apple, but when he tried to remember how it tasted, his mind drew a total blank. He cautiously took a small bite and was greeted by a very sweet and pleasant taste. He eagerly took another bite and continued to scarf down the delicious fruit until there was only a small white core left.
Aven, only a few bites into her own apple, laughed slightly. “Hungry?” she asked, a chuckle hidden in her voice. Arceus, she had missed laughing like that.
“Hey, as far as I’m concerned, this is the first time I’ve ever eaten,” Walker said defending himself, also amused. He had only known the blue Pokémon for a brief while, but he already felt like they had become best friends. It had not taken long for the ragtag twosome to strike up a conversation and before they knew it, the afternoon had crept up on them, or at least Walker thought it was the afternoon; the sky had remained unnervingly black and bleak throughout their walk. Clouds, Walker thought to himself, trying to explain the phenomenon.
“So you can’t remember anything?” Aven asked Walker for the umpteenth time, breaking Walker’s stream of thought as she took another bite from her apple.
“Nothing at all, except waking up in this forest and then running into you. I know that there should be more than that. but when I try to find it, all that I find is emptiness…” Walker responded, searching his brains for more information, but to no avail.
“But you did remember your name?” she inquired curiously, still trying to make sense of the things the Charmander had said throughout the day.
“Yup,” the fire-type simply responded.
"Well that means that you could still have some other memories and not even know it!†The Riolu exclaimed excitedly, thrilled by the prospect of unraveling her companion’s mysterious, veiled past.
“Yeah, maybe…” for some reason, the thought of having memories of his locked away from him, hidden in the deeps of his own mind, didn’t sit well with Walker. The idea made him feel like he was a stranger to himself.
After a moment of silence, Aven tried to restart their conversation. “So you really don’t remember anything about apples?” she teased her new companion, trying to get his mind of the subject of his lost memories. It was clear to her that the mystery of his past bothered and maybe even scared Walker.
“Nope, I’ve got no clue… just know my name…” the Charmander responded, obviously deep in thought.
“Too bad,” the fighting-type said, trying her best to be sympathetic and positive at the same time. The odd pair walked in silence for a while; Walker still immersed in his own private musings, Aven afraid that she had crossed some sort of line when casually interrogating the Charmander.
Aven was searching her mind for a new topic of conversation when Walker posed the question she had been dreading all day. “So, where are we going?”
Groaning inwardly, Aven tried to answer the best way she could. “Listen, I trust you and I want to keep traveling with you. But there are some things I just can’t tell you, at least not yet. But our destination… well, you’ll know soon enough.” While he seemed content with the answer Aven noticed a quickly hidden look of disappointment cross her partner’s face. She hated the level of secrecy she had to put up with.
The rest of Aven’s day passed in a similar fashion; the pair of misfit-adventurers talking the day away and making progress at a slow and leisurely pace. Aven was in the middle of explaining how a Defense Scarf worked when she noticed a tree adorned with a multitude of pink fruit. She stopped mid sentence and gestured for her partner to remain silent. The Charmander obeyed without question, getting behind a nearby tree with her, looking at her curiously.
“That tree over there is full of Pecha Berries, and Pecha Berries are a great food,†she started in a hushed whispering tone. “But they also usually mean wild Pokémon are nearby. So we might have to battle… Are you ready for that?” she asked her companion.
Walker was shocked by Aven’s request. “Battle!?” he responded in a fearful but still whispered voice. “I don’t know anything about fighting; I might have never even battled before!”
“It’s easy! Just follow my lead if anyone attacks,” Aven encouraged him, peering around the trunk of their tree, eager to get more food. The fire Pokémon cautiously followed suit getting beside her and advancing towards the Pecha Tree, not wanting to look like a coward to his new friend.
To the pair’s pleasure, there were no signs of other Pokémon. The Riolu and the Charmander went to work, each picking a generous armful of pink berries from the tree. Walker had soon gathered a small pile of the pink fruit at the knotted foot of the large tree. They smelled so nice that Walker had to stop himself from eating a few before his work was done.
Walker was about to pick his last fruit from the tree when an odd noise reached his ears. As he was trying to discern exactly what the noise was, he was knocked to the ground violently and was greeted by a sharp pain in the back of his head.
Walker looked up from his position to see a small brown bird turn in the air and then fly straight at him, talons outstretched. Just before the sharp claws made contact with him, his instincts kicked in and he rolled quickly to the side. The fire-type collided with the trunk of the tree painfully, just barely avoiding being hit.
Aven must have heard the commotion because she was now at Walker’s side trying to help him up.
He gladly accepted her assistance as the bird Pokemon turned to attack again.
Aven dropped into a fighting stance beside him, “Walker, that’s a Spearow. They are very territorial. We’ll have to fight it off,†Aven stated in an almost commanding tone.
As it came closer, he prepared to dodge when he realized that it was no longer aiming at him. The bird Pokémon was going for Aven. She attempted to jump out of the Spearow’s path but it proved too fast for the Riolu. It’s sharp bleached-white talons grazed across her small chest, drawing blood and knocking her to the ground with a dull thud.
Feeling a shocking surge of anger, Walker quickly decided that he wanted nothing more than to burn the flying-type to a crisp. “Hey, you pathetic excuse for a bird! Come and get me!” he called out to the Pokémon, surprised and even slightly unnerved by the lack of fear in his voice.
Whether the wild Pokémon understood his words or not, it certainly seemed to be further enraged by Walker’s taunting. As the Spearow turned to attack him Walker’s new-found bravery quickly vanished upon realizing that he knew no attacks. When the Spearow was only a few seconds away, he did the only thing that came to his mind and grabbed the bird by its scaly, taloned, feet.
Unfortunately Walker’s tactic did not stop the Pokémon’s momentum as its talons collided with his chest. He winced as they dug in, drawing blood. Despite his pain, Walker held tight to the shocked Spearow and slammed it as hard as he could into the trunk of the Pecha Tree, rattling several of it’s namesake fruit free with the impact. He dropped the bird to the ground at the base of the tree and it quickly flew off, presumably to a tree free of other Pokémon.
Looking down at himself, Walker was greeted with a strong wave of nausea, the area of his torso the Spearow’s claws had collided with was dyed a deep red and a strange ache inside his head told him that the blow the bird Pokémon had given his head had been much worse than he thought. As his vision began to fade into a colorless fuzz, he felt his legs give out. The last thing he saw was Aven standing over him, clutching her still beading wounds with one small paw with a look of horror on her face.
…
Thanks for reading! Special thanks to Brutaka, KnightFall, ShadowLucario50, Agent Tectonic, Pokenutter, and everyone else who helped me to turn a stray idea into a story.