Journey Through the Darkness

Chapter 3: The Journey Begins

Viridian Forest: early dawn

As the sun finds its ways through the somewhat thinned trees, pokemon of mostly the bug variety begin to awaken. Because of the hour, there are no trainers to disturb this peaceful scene, leaving its inhabitants to do as they please. As a result of the thinning, the once well-beaten paths leading through the forest had come to be somewhat overgrown and slightly hidden. Brand new paths had been crafted from the deforestation, and beginner trainers who had little desire to tangle with a swarm of Beedrill, or advanced trainers who cared not about catching such ‘weak’ pokemon were more inclined to use these paths. They were longer, sure, but for most, the extra travel distance meant no getting lost or attacked. Little attention had been paid to the old paths, not even receiving the slightest recognition of their history as being one of the many obstacles on the path of the pokemon trainer, a fact that only the most reminiscent of trainers seemed to be bothered by.

However, just because humans thought this historic trail as little more than a nuisance, meant not that they simply became known as the ‘road less traveled. Pokemon still found these trails useful, as thanks to the more agricultural trainers, a great variety of berry bushes had been planted, providing food for the number of pokemon. Picking through one of these berry bushes, a yellow-furred pokemon not native to the surrounding area. This small, mousey-looking pokemon, instantly recognized as Pikachu. His cheeks give off a minor electric discharge as its zigzag tail twitches, a sign that this particular Pikachu has found something which has caught its interest. He reaches into the bushes before it, before pulling out the familiar blue-colored, tomato-shaped Oran Berry. As soon as this berry is dislodged however, a faint, yellow glow shines through the darkness that of which is inside the bush. This unexpected occurrence is apparently a cause for alarm, as the Pikachu jumps back. “Eek! Demon!” a somewhat feminine, but at the same time, not too young girlish voice exclaims. The owner of the voice is, of course, the Pikachu. Her panic-stricken state is soon calmed down shortly after, as the ‘demon’ doesn’t move from its resting place. Natural curiosity overriding flight instinct, she makes her way back over to the source of the glow. With a little bit of effort, she reaches inside, pulling something out by the ear.

The source of the glow: an Umbreon, with a patch of red fur on its head. To any person with a keen eye, it would be apparent that this pokemon had been injured recently. Small cuts on it are apparent by slightly dislocated fur, likely from its crash into the bush. However, these injuries pale in comparison to the one lying on the back of its head. In that spot, dried blood is mixed in with fur, matting it quite well. The smell of fresh blood is still there, indicating that either the wound is fresh, or that it is healing but hasn’t healed completely. Immediately concerned, Pikachu bends over, and drops the Oren Berry, patting the poor pokemon on the side of its face. “Hey! Hey, you! Are you alright? Wake up!” she exclaims, appearing to lack the realization that it’s unconscious.


As Nathaniel begins to regain consciousness, a certain grogginess can be felt. Though he longed to move, all he felt was a certain sort of tingling numbness, an indication that his body was rejecting his orders. That grogginess gives way to a feeling of strong vertigo: though he knew he was clearly stationary, everything around him seemed to be moving and distorted. He could hear the faint sounds of a strongly echoed voice in the distance, possibly asking if he was airtight and to rake mops. His eyes open the slightest, however, they close again, when everything turns into a colossal, moving blur. It is only when the vertigo fades, that a strong sense of pain can be felt from the back of his head. This almost instantly snaps him from his dizziness, as he lets out a rather loud howl of pain. His eyes shoot open and, though the images before him remain blurry and doubled, he can somewhat make out a big poof of yellow fur.

Pikachu, though initially freaked out by his yelling, begins to flail her arms a bit. “Stop yelling. Stop yelling!!” she exclaims, a look of clear panic appearing on her face. “You’ll cause trainer attention if you do that!!” she shouts, frantically, thinking logic to be the key to getting him to shut his mouth. Her time in exploring the pokemon world had taught her many things, amongst them being that silence is a virtue, more quiet less riot, and stealth was the key to not being caught. It was for this reason that she traveled alone, and became panicked each time some loudmouth pokemon opened their maw and started to shout out all sorts of things, often leading to her running away from the noisemaker. However, she felt something different from this pokemon: something intriguing. Instead of abandoning him, she does only what she can think of doing: she shoves the Oren Berry into its mouth.

As the berry is forced into Nathaniel’s mouth, his fangs pierce the ripe, blue food out of instinct. As the skin tears, the sweet, blue juice runs over his tongue, and down his throat, into his stomach. As soon as it hits his stomach, he closes his eyes, as a sensation only able to be described as ‘warm and tingly’ overcomes him. With this feeling, all the pain he had felt begin to slowly vanish, as his wounds close. The dried blood that had matted his fur seems to dissipate into thin air, leaving him with just a pleasant feeling. As the pain fades, so too does the noise as a result of this pain, returning the forest to the serenity it had experienced up until then. Despite having no reason to scream, and ergo no reason to keep a hold of the berry, he continues to willingly chew on it, enjoying the feeling it provides. There was a nagging feeling at the back of his mind, something telling him that this wasn’t right. He ignores this feeling, however, he drops the berry to the forest floor.

The sudden lack of noise causes Pikachu to let out a sigh of relief, as her own frantic actions halt. She picks up the leftover berry and smiles a little, laughing, before eating the rest. She scoots closer to him, and holds out her hand, an offering of greeting and peace. “I guess you were hungry, huh? Or hurt? Ya’ sure did eat a lot!” she says, tilting her head a little. “I’m Pikachu! Who are you? Why were you in that bush? Why are you in Viridian Forest? Aren’t you afraid of being caught? Don’t you know sleeping like that is dangerous?” she asks. Inquisitive by nature, this particular Pikachu often would fire off questions a mile a minute, seldom waiting for an answer. Understandably, this had lead to great conflicts for her, as it was rare for even the most patient of pokemon to be able to withstand never-ending inquiry. However, because this came natural to her, she would rarely catch herself doing this, often needing someone else to tell her she was going on and on. It appeared that, from any outside observer, this would be one of those times.

Nathaniel keeps his eyes closed, ears pinned, as he somehow manages to block out the sound of the motor mouthed inquisitor. Instead, he tries to focus on more important things, like where he is, or how he got there. Each time he tries to pull a bit of information, however, he’s met with nothing. There is no vague memory, no fuzziness, just a sort of.. darkness clouding his mind. This somewhat concerned him, which grew with each memory. The more he tried to recall something, the more darkness he found. He couldn’t recall anything: location, time of day, even his own name. Figuring his efforts weren’t enough, he concentrates as hard as he possibly can manage, an action which would prove to be to his detriment as a rather dull pain fills his head. Not wanting another berry to be shoved into his mouth, he clenches his teeth a bit, as he raises a paw up to his head, and starts to rub. “Nnnnhh..” he mutters. “Darn it.. this.. this isn’t good..”

Pikachu tilts her head to the side a little more, as she finally stops asking questions. “Was I walking too much again? I’m sorry..” she says, her ears drooping a little to express this. “I hope you’re not mad at me. You’re not going to attack me, are you? I don’t handle pain well. What isn’t good? Are you hurt still? Didn’t the berry heal you? Do you need another one?” she asks, but shakes her head quickly, and lightly hits herself upon the head, flinching a little. “No! Stop asking questions! You’ll only make him mad!” she says, hitting herself again. Her look of concern returns, however, as she turns her attention back to him, and taps his nose gently. “What’s wrong? Are you alright?” she asks, clearly sounding concerned.

He opens his eyes again, as he mutters a sentence, but it comes out as being rather incoherent. Sensing this himself, he slowly rolls onto his stomach, before clearing his throat. “I… I don’t know if I’m alright.. My head, it’s.. ..” He slowly moves to a seated position on his haunches, and rubs his eyes a little, before shaking his head quickly in a vain attempt to clear his mind. He rubs his head a little, before glancing over at the Pikachu. “..where am I?”

She tilts her head a little more, enough that if she did so again, her head would practically be vertical, ears pointing towards the sky and ground. “You don’t know where you are?!” she asks, a clear look of confusion on her face. “How can you not know where you are?! You got here, didn’t you? Are you brain damaged? Do you have anterograde amnesia? Do you have retrograde amtesia? Global amnesia?” she asks, as she goes off an a questioning spree again, listing all forms of amnesia she can think of.

He starts to rub his head a bit. “Amnesia..? Amnesia.. .. That thing where you forget things..? Sounds about right .. … Amnesia..” he mutters, his features displaying an obvious concern. *But how did I get it..? Why am I in this place? What happened? Stupid head, remember something!* he thinks, trying to command his brain to remember even the slightest detail. Finding this to be getting him nowhere, he lets out a deep sigh, and glances over at Pikachu, who’s still going on about how she knew a pokemon with amnesia once, a story he really couldn’t find himself able to focus on. After a bit of watching her, some small thing clicks in his mind, as a very minor part of the darkness is illuminated. “..Nathaniel.” he says aloud, unintentionally.

Pikachu finally stops with her incessant inquiry, suddenly giving the Umbreon her undivided attention. “What? Nathaniel? Who’s Nathaniel? Your trainer?” she asks, as she pulls a branch from the bush, that of which contains a few more fresh Oren berries. She begins to chew on one herself, given the one she’d originally planned on eating had been half-eaten by her ‘friend’ here. She actually waits for an answer this time, instead of going on another question spree or a tangent.

He shakes his head, as he glances over at her again. ‘No.. Nathaniel. It’s my name. Something’s telling me.. .. That’s all I can get..” he mutters. Despite his predicament, he manages to smile, and actually let out a bit of a laugh. “I guess it’s better than nothing, right?” he asks, tilting his head a bit. For some reason, the lack of his memory seemed to not be as much of a concern as it would any usual person, for reasons unknown even to him.

This change from the serious dark to the more lightheaded mood seems to spark a change in the Pikachu. She returns his smile, with a cute one of her own. She nods a little bit, and offers another berry. “Nathaniel, huh? That’s a great name! I bet your trainer is a really cool guy, giving you such a cool nickname like that.” she says with a quick nod, and takes a huge bite out of the berry she’d just been offering him, her own hunger overcoming her sensibilities. Without even offering him a second berry, she throws the branch back in the bush, and stretches. “So, where are you headin’, Nathaniel? Or did you forget that, too?”

“Well, I don’t..” he begins, but quiets down as a light wind begins to kick up, blowing in a westerly direction. As it does this, the leaves of the trees and bushes ruffle a bit, a few leaves blowing off. Small bits of trash are included in the debris, amongst them, a map, likely lost by a trainer en rout to destination unknown. This map floats around on the wind for a good few seconds, before smacking Nathaniel square in the face, inciting an ‘ouch‘ from him. Coincidentally, as soon as occurs, the wind dies down, causing the map to gently flutter to the forest floor, landing face-up, at his forepaws. Overcome by curiosity, he looks over the map a bit. It appears to be a highly detailed map of both Johto, and Western Kanto, all locations west of Mt. Moon. There is a red marker on Viridian Forest, and a red, dotted line leading from that, through the Silver Mountain Range, and through various areas of Johto all the way to the Ilex Forest, containing a green marker. He studies the map for a few minutes and, figuring he had really no idea now of what to do or where to go, he decides to follow this map, He nods once, and looks up at Pikachu. “Ilex Forest.”

Pikachu, who had been busy removing small twigs and bits of dirt from her fur because of that freak windstorm, looks over at him, clearly surprised. “Ilex Forest?? Why there?” she asks, very curious. Truth be told she, like most pokemon, tended to avoid that place. It was a universally-known rumor amongst pokemon that often times, those entering that forest would never be heard from again. Larger rumors go to state that there was some form of giant, evil pokemon sealed away inside, that fed on any creature who dare to enter uninvited. Of course, these were just rumors, and the amount of pokemon that had actually disappeared was rather low, but it still served as a deterrent. It was said that even powerful pokemon kept clear of the area by land or sky, it was such a deterrent.

Nathaniel nods a bit, as he stands, stretching out a bit. Though it would be unexpected for him to adapt to his new form and the way it works so quickly, his condition was a special one. What would usually feel illogical and downright strange to his regular, human side, a good portion of that had been sealed away with his memory. With nothing to compare to the past with, what would be the usual was taken over by a sort of instinct of how his form operates, thus enabling him to act without trying to adapt the restrictions of the new form to what he was used to doing in his old. “That’s right. Ilex Forest .. .. I don’t know exactly why, but let’s just say.. I saw a sign?” he says, tilting his head slightly

Pikachu lets out a small sigh, before giving a small smile. “..c’mon then. Let‘s go.” she says, extending a paw towards him. She knew he couldn’t easily shake it unless he was sitting, but she felt the need to show the kind gesture nonetheless. “Ilex Forest is super far from here, and you having your brain thingy, you could use all the help you could get.” Though she didn’t know why, she felt a sort odd feeling, that in a way compelled her to join him in his quest, however blind it may seem.

Nathaniel gives a small nod, unable to help but return the smile himself. He looks around a little, before nodding again, and heading South towards Viridian city, towards Route 2. According to the map, they would have to head towards Viridian City, before heading West towards the Silver Mountain Range. Pikachu quickly gathers a few branches worth of small berries, before walking next to him. Together, they walk off down a path seemingly illuminated by the morning glow of the sun itself, towards adventure unknown.


Location Unknown..

In this particular area, there is a dim light, illuminating a space made up of a sort of odd, purple, almost tie-dye-looking light or material. The ground, ceiling, and walls are indiscernible, to a point that it is unknown if any exist, or it’s simply a world of odd purple. However, four figures, made up completely of a sort of aura or energy projection, stand out. Because the figures are just light, they have no real shape to them, and such the only way of telling them apart are by their colors: pink, green, gold, and silver. The incorporeal forms are gathered in a sort of circle, but nothing much else can be told from them.

The green one glows a little brighter than the others, as a small voice, one that sounds slightly strained when it’s speaking, can be heard. “How long can we stand by and let those Team Rocket people get away with this!? Their atrocities are reaching an all-time high! If we all just..”

The silver one glows brighter, as a rather smooth, yet strong, male voice interjects. “If we all just gather together and take them on at once, it would be foolish. They have the advantage in numbers, pokemon, and technology. As powerful as we are, we wouldn’t stand a chance. Have you not forgotten how one single human from their organization captured you, forty years ago? They as a species have evolved at a rate far quicker than any of us could have imagined, and the presence of this organization has made it extremely difficult to coexist, let alone move in the open. I think we should wait until..” he begins, but that last sentence causes an argument to begin between three of the four presences.

The fourth one, the one of pink light, glows quite bright, silencing the others. A soft voice comes from it, as the creature behind it begins to speak. “Please, now is not the time to be arguing amongst ourselves.. We cant fight against them like this, yet we must do something.. Fortunately for us, Team Rocket has dropped what we needed right into our hands.. I cannot act directly because of the danger, but I will do my best to guide him on the right path. Things will turn out for the best, just have a little faith.. Everyone, please gather here again in one week’s time. Hopefully by then..”

As the pink form’s sentence drops off, the four incorporeal forms begin to fade. As soon as they all leave, the light fades to black, as the odd location disappears into an inky darkness, having faded out of existence