This is my first ever Nuzlocke Challenge, starting in Pokemon Diamond. If you don’t know that the Nuzlocke Challenge is, check out the page I have for it.
I figured I’d put the prologue and the first chapter together so no one has to wait for the first chapter.
And without further delay, let’s get started!
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Prologue
Guess I should start from the beginning.
My name’s Ark. I hail from Sinnoh. Solaceon Town to be precise. We moved out to Twinleaf about 10 years ago.
I don’t know about your region, but in Sinnoh, and many of the other places I’ve heard of and been to…The rules of Pokemon are harsh. Trainers are under no obligation to retreat their Pokemon when they’re in danger. There is no safety device on our pokeballs. And if you ever concede a battle when you could have kept going…You are forbidden from being tested by the elite four to take the Champion’s throne.
As a result, many, many Pokemon die in our battles, and several species have reached the brink of extinction. Rather than implement safety protocols to protect battling Pokemon, a rule was established to restrict the capture of wild Pokemon to prevent further any further decimation of their population. We are only allowed to capture the first Pokemon we encounter from each area we travel to.
How can this atrocious system exist, you ask? Well, because those who truly care about Pokemon are few and far between. Everyone has their own theories on what they are. Some believe Pokemon are simple animals or mutants from some previous disaster, incapable of independent thought. Others believe they are living weapons left over from before the Great War, weapons only smart enough to understand battle commands and combat. Still others believe Pokemon are some form of living data, and that their pain and emotions are all artificial.
I don’t know if any of these theories are true. But I know one thing I know they have wrong for sure.
Pokemon aren’t just mindless tools of war. They have emotions, thoughts, feelings. They tend to be as smart as you or me. They just can’t communicate with humans.
Except me.
If I try really hard, I can sometimes hear what they are thinking. It’s not a reliable skill, and often I can’t quite make out what they say…But I’ve heard their voices enough to convince me that they aren’t just mindless monsters. And they don’t deserve to be treated as such.
Only the champion of a region’s league can change the rules. But to reach that lofty goal, I would have to fight many battles, and possibly send many Pokemon to an early grave… I didn’t think I could ever put a Pokemon through that.
Until one day, a strange chain of events led me to the beginning of a journey. An Odyssey. A crusade to change the rules. This is the story of my mission to free the Pokemon of Sinnoh…My challenge.
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Chapter 1: A Single Step.
I’ve always loved Pokemon Discovery. They have the best documentaries. Although this latest one I call bogus on.
A red Gyarados. REALLY? Then again, this documentary comes all the way from Johto, so who knows? Apparently they discovered floating hieroglyph Pokemon over there, so anything is possible.
Groaning, I got up to go for a walk. Not much else to do in this town. It was pretty much work on my blog, or see if I could find a few Pokemon around to practice my Link Talent on.
Mom was downstairs, watching “trainers today”. She looked up and told me Tyson came by a little while ago looking for me and took off before she could ask what the heck was up. I sighed. Tyson wasn’t a bad kid. He was one of the few friends I had in this tiny little nook of the world, after all. But he was far too excitable. That and he still didn’t believe I could understand Pokemon. “Yeah, sure, Mom. I’ll go drop by his place.”. I nodded to the TV “Dad show up today?”. Mom shook her head “Not since his call last week from Lilycove. Then again, he said the next few badges are across the sea, so I can’t blame him for not keeping in touch”. I shrugged. “He’s only missing 2 badges, right? Shouldn’t be too much longer before he can take on the League there.”. Mom smiled. “It’ll be great to see all that work of his finally pay off.”.
I could see where this was going. “I’ll see you later mom. I’m going to go see what Tyson wants, see ya.”. And I took off before I got another speech to try to convince me to at least TRY to take the gym challenge. I wasn’t interested.
I popped over to Tyson’s house, and sure enough, he was in one of his adventure fits. So as we finally hit route 201, I asked him what all of this was about. “Hey, you remember that special on the red Gyarados at the Lake Of Rage? I have a theory…”.
I sighed. “This is why we’re out of town at 9 PM? There’s no special Pokemon on that lake. NOTHING exciting happens here…But fine. I wanted to take a walk anyway. Why not to the lake? Let’s see if we can spot your Red Gyarados.”
It seems we weren’t the only ones with that idea, though. When we got to the lake, there was an odd pair at the water’s edge. Before I could get a feel for what they were talking about, the pair turned and left, offering us a sincere sounding “good evening”.
That’s when Tyson pointed out the briefcase they left behind. “Hey! Let’s check it out!” “Tyson, it’s not ours. Besides, it’s in the tall grass. I don’t know about you, but I’m not willing to take another Bidoof bite to the shin for you.”. “Aw come on! It’s only for a few seconds to pick up that briefcase. We won’t be in the grass long enough to get attacked.” Tyson taunted as he stepped into the grass.
And that’s when they swooped on us. “Starlies! Heads up!”. They looked especially angry at something. “I think we’re in their territory, Tyson…Let’s get the hell out!” I yelped, ducking a Tackle. “But Ark! The briefcase!”. I groaned, knowing full well he wasn’t going anywhere.
I focused and tried to call out to the Starlies, but they were only getting more and more upset. “Dammit Tyson, stop waving your arms around! You’re only ticking them off even mo-“. That’s when he knocked over the briefcase and it popped open.
“What?! We’re NOT stealing those Pokemon, Tys-“. “GO GET ‘EM CHIMCHAR!”. “Oh for Mew’s sake, you idiot!” I grabbed the nearest pokeball. Even if it was just a pair of Starlies, leaving Tyson to battle them alone wasn’t the best plan. I hated to use someone else’s Pokemon without their permission, but I think this qualified as an emergency. I hurled it.
“Holy-…A Turtwig? This guy is just walking around with a full set of Starter Pokemon?!”. The Turwig growled at the starly and they began to circle each other. “Tackle it, Turtwig!”. The Turtwig lunged, knocking the starly off balance. “Now’s your chance, Turtwig…One more tackle! Try not to kill it!”
<Gotcha!>
Turtwig tackled the Starly to the ground and pinned it. <Get lost, you puny bag of feathers!>. The Starly flapped back and took off with its partner (singed at the tail feathers), screeching. “Tyson! Are you alright?”. Tyson turned and grinned. “Your turtwig totally rocked! Still got nothing on my Chimchar, though!”. I sighed and recalled Turtwig. “We need to return these guys. They’re not ours. Do you know how much time you can do for Pokemon theft in this region?”.
“Oh there’s the briefcase!”. The girl was back. She stopped and stared at the open briefcase. “Oh no….Did you use the Pokemon in that?! Oh…this isn’t good…I’ll just take the briefcase for now. Don’t do anything reckless, I’ll be back soon!” and she took off again. I groaned. Hopefully the researcher wouldn’t press charges.
We walked back to town, Tyson playing with the Chimchar all the way back. I felt bad that I was keeping Turtwig locked up in his ball, but he wasn’t mine. It wouldn’t feel right. Besides, I didn’t want a Pokemon of my own. I had decided a long time ago that it was the best way to prevent myself from losing one…
To my surprise, the researcher and his assistant were waiting for us in Twinleaf. “I heard that you used our Pokemon. Let me see them please.” The man said, with the most intense and serious look I had ever seen. I popped out Turtwig, and to my surprise it almost immediately came to rub against my leg. The professor looked intently into Turtwig and Chimchar’s eyes and then into mine. It was about as unsettling as it sounds. “Hmmm…That’s the way it is…Dawn, I’m going back to my Sandgem lab!”. And then they took off.
“What was all that craziness about?” Tyson asked, looking more perplexed than I had ever seen him. I shrugged. “I don’t know…He said his lab’s in Sandgem, right? I’m going there first thing tomorrow and returning his Turtwig. I don’t want it.”. Tyson looked shocked. “You’d give up a chance to have your very own Pokemon?! A Starter type even?! Why? …Oh, is this that whole ‘I don’t want to get them hurt’ thing again? Come on, you know that Pokemon are made for battle! It’s kinda what they do, even in the wild!”. I shrugged and headed home, knowing a futile conversation when I saw one.
Mom was as excited as Tyson was about the incident at the lake, wanting to see Turwig for herself. It took almost a half hour before I could recall Turtwig to his ball and go to bed. I tossed and turned a lot at first, unsure and nervous about what all of this could mean. I didn’t want to fight. I hated to hear Pokemon’s cries as they got hurt, and I didn’t want to put any creature I cared about into a battle they could die in…It was for the best I return him to…What name did Mom call him by? Professor Rowan?
Finally my eyes rested on Turtwig’s ball. …He was probably lonely in there. I hesitated for a moment, and then reached for it. He was pretty cuddly for a grass type and was happy to snuggle up to my neck. I stared at the ceiling, unsure of what tomorrow would bring…
The Dragon's Wavelength 