Wednesday, December 12, 2012

Chapter Five: The Taste of Home

Luca looked over at Jerry, who was sprawled on the ground, muttering something about how asphault tastes. Luca was about to go over and help him get up, but was interrupted by a quiet noise. A noise that sounded like...crying.

Curious, Luca followed the noise to the biggest house in Virbank City, the one where someone called the gym leader used to live. Luca had no idea what made this gym leader person so special. They trained pokemon to fight with other trainers, only to be beaten by anyone that passes through the town. Being a gym leader must be pretty depressing, Luca thought. He was snapped back to his senses by the sound of more sobbing coming from inside.

He stepped into the house and saw a familiar shape sitting in the back room. It was Penelope, crying over the hat she always carried with her. "Hello, Luca," she said, turning toward him.

"Hey, you were great back there," Luca replied, "Andromeda's jut a bit sour sometimes."

Penelope continued to stare at Luca. "Thanks, It's just..." She turned her gaze back to her hat, "Sometimes I wish Ben was still around. I remember how he would wrap his arms around me and tell me how...how much I meant to him."

Before the humans were eradicated, Penelope travelled from region to region with a boy named Ben. Ben was a great trainer, the kind who always cheered his pokemon on in a fight and was willing to put himself in harm's way to help them. He had found Penelope as an Azurill in Sinnoh, and from then on they were as close as a trainer and their pokemon could be. As such, it was a very sad day when Ben was taken away by Oblivion. The memories of that day still lingered in her mind.

Luca looked down at the ground, unsure of what to say. He had heard that he was bred in captivity, but his trainer had died before he'd hatched.

Penelope got up and turned toward him. "It's okay, Luca. You don't need to say anything. I may not have him anymore, but I still have you, and Audrey, and my books." She gestured towards the large bookshelf against the wall.

"Now come on, help me find a good one."

Saturday, December 8, 2012

Chapter Four: Remembrance

Castle Oblivion loomed over Unova, a warning to all who would dare to stand against the empire's might. Once the fortress for a group of humans who called themselves Team Plasma, it had been seized early on in Vladislav's conquests, acting as the base of operations ever since. The castle was nigh-invincible, fortefied with immensely thick walls and guarded by thousands of powerful pokemon ready to lay down their lives for the empire.

Louis and Raymond passed through numerous checkpoints on their way into the castle. Being built atop a mountain, the checkpoints were the only way to get to the castle, adding yet another strategic advantage. After being identified a total of nine times, the doors of the fortress swung open and the two operatives were allowed entry. With unusual agility, Louis ascended the interior walls and climbed into a hidden chamber. His own fortress of solitude, the chamber once belonged to another Zoroark, so it accomodated Louis perfectly. He stepped in, his eyes falling upon a familiar silhouette.

"Another success, Sweetie?"

Standing in the center of the room was Celes, a Gothitelle that had become quite attached to Louis ever since the Empire found him. She stood taller than most of her kind, and had a sweet high-pitched voice that made most male pokemon bend to her whim. Louis just glared at her, immune to her feminine charm. "It disturbs me that you think of this ongoing slaughter as normal, Celes," Louis retorted, his gaze never faltering, "don't you treat anything like it has magnitude?"

"Of course I do, Sweetie," Celes chuckled, sauntering right into Louis' arms, "but you keep on pushing me away."

Louis shoved her off, then turned away. "You're just like that spoiled little brat Haley," he muttered, "obnoxious, inconsiderate, and above all selfish!"

"Oh, poo," Celes grumbled, "this is about your sister again, isn't it?"

Louis growled. Back when he was a Zorua, Louis had belonged to a trainer whose name has has been lost in time. The trainer was highly competitive, and raised his pokemon to become the most powerful they could. Most of the trainer's other pokemon rejected Louis, all except for one:

His half-sister, whose name he had forgotten.

Both being children of the trainer's Smeargle, Louis and his younger sibling spent lots of time together. He had fond memories of running through the tall grasses of Route 3 with her at his side. Life was good back then, but was cut short by the cruelty of the humans.

Cut short by Haley.

One Summer morning, the trainer's bratty little cousin, Haley, came to town with her parents for her birthday. She went up to Louis' trainer and demanded him to give her one of his pokemon, throwing a huge tantrum until he gave in. Haley ended up giving her Louis, a pokemon he said didn't live up to his expectations. Louis still remembers that moment, when his trainer disowned him and a little girl stole him away from his family. He never forgot his sister's tear-swollen eyes as he was carried off, unable to do anything but cry out.

But that was not the worst of his suffering.

Unlike her cousin, Haley did no know nor care about the needs of her pokemon. She spent her time yelling at Louis to use moves like thundershock and ice beam and kicking him around when he failed.

Louis touched the scar on his neck, a grim reminder of Haley's abuse.

Finally, when he could take no more, Louis fled into the wild, where he evolved and eventually joined Oblivion. He carried out numerous raids and assassinations, all motivated by one thing: revenge. One night, he got his wish, and brutally attacked Haley in her own home, leaving her to die a slow and painful death. When he heard about the Unova Alliance, he was shocked. Why would any pokemon work to bring back those terrible humans, he wondered. Do they like being enslaved and forced to fight for their trainer's entertainment? Although he was an assassin,Louis didn't like hurting other pokemon. There was only one reason he even involved himself with the horrible UA:

They had his sister.

Louis turned back towards Celes, fire blazing in his eyes. "Say what you want about her, but she's the only one who I hold close, the only person I have left. I will find her, no matter what I have to do.

Celes frowned at Louis, then turned around and disappeared without a sound.

Saturday, December 1, 2012

Chapter Three: Life in the Shadows

A shadowy figure creeped through the shadows of Lacunosa town. Nearby, a group of UA troopers stood listening to thier leader, an Abomasnow named Mortecai, rattle off thier plan to attack the Oblivion encampment on Villiage Bridge. The figure listened intently, taking in Mortecai's every word. Finally, Mortecai walked away from his cheering followers,

And right into a carefully prepared trap...

No sooner was Mortecai out of sight then a black claw tore across his neck. Reeling, Mortecai looked up and saw the face of his assailant. He was a Zoroark with red bandolier, indicating that he was one of Oblivion's soldiers. However, there was something different about him. his expression told of anguish and sorrow, as if the killing hurt him. The last words Mortecai heard befor blacking out were "I'm sorry," whispered by his attacker.

His name was Louis.

Louis stood over Mortecai's corpse for a moment, deep in thought. "Why did the war have to go on like this?" he wondered, "Why are we forced to kill each other like this?" "Are we really any better than the humans we overthrew?" His contemplation was interrupted by the sudden appearance of his teammate, Raymond the Emolga, who promptly descended from his perch and landed at Raymond's feet.

"Now that he's gone, this division of the rebels is hosed." Raymond said, pulling out a pair of sunglasses and slipping them on, "No more yeti sightings here."

Louis continued to stare down at Mortecai's body. Unlike Raymond, he struggled with the idea of killing other pokemon, even if they did sympathize with those accursed humans. Louis slowly turned around, taking one last look at the death he had brought, and leaped onto the rooftop.