The Legacy of Darkfire
Reply With QuoteHn, no comments yet? Well, that's okay. And I promise I'll try really hard to not kill this one <3
Chapter One : Dark Water
She made her way into town slowly, hesitating to go near the bustle of a living human society. But she was in need of equipment to set her plans in motion, and she needed to go to humans to secure her items. However, concrete jungles were not her thing. She soon became turned around, even though the small town was not large at all. In fact, it was merely a village. But the stench of humans was everywhere and it churned her stomach.
Every house vibrated with electricity and noise. Static radios and screeching whelps gave her a headache. And to think she would have to endure this for a few years. No, no, she would not have to endure it. In time, there would be no electricity that flowed, created by unnatural means.
Fate or luck guided her to her true destination. After wasting an hour searching, she entered the laboratory of a human named Professor Oak. The elderly man looked alive and full of youth, but held ancient knowledge in his eyes. Darkfire immediately respected this human, something extremely rare for her. She only held this deep reverence for a handful of humans.
"Hello, there," he greeted her slowly, eyes curious. "Can I help you?"
"I desire a Pokémon and trainer’s license," Darkfire said, getting right to the point.
Now, Professor Oak had been having a strange enough morning as it was. Three Pokémon had evolved unexpectedly, one had given birth to twins, and five where sick. Two more where in the Viridian City Pokémon Center as a result of a brawl, and now a stranger comes up, demanding a Pokémon license and a Pokémon. What a day! And it wasn’t even eight yet.
"I’m sorry," he began, noticing how the girl’s dark blue eyes hardened. "I have no Pokémon to give to a beginner, and the tests for a license require some study."
"I have studied and trained and fought to get here," she replied evenly, her voice so emotionless if was almost monotone. "I will take your test and leave with my license before noon, with or without a Pokémon."
"If… you insist…" Professor Oak handed her the papers and a pencil. The strange girl took a seat at one of his tables without even asking and began to answer the questions. She seemed to go through the quiz without a problem, but there were three sections. Multiple choice, fill in the blank, and essay questions. He noticed her slow down when she hit the second part, but also recognized that she was only being more careful. He watched her closely, but she did not falter or erase an answer. She seemed to write a miniature novel when she hit the essay section, and required five sheets of paper.
Finally, he took the test and put I through the computer. He wished he was not required to give the test to any trainer that asked for it, for he did not like the girl’s cold blue eyes. He dreaded the results as they printed, and was horrified that she got bonus points of all things, giving her an overall score of 110%. No answer was wrong, not even the bonus questions. This was unheard of to him, and it sent chills down his spine.
"Well?" the girl demanded. Professor Oak jumped, he had not heard her come up behind him.
"You passed," he replied and handed her another sheet of paper along with the official waiver. "I will need your information, signature, and guardian’s signature."
The young woman paused as she looked at this, then left the building. A few minutes passed and she returned, the form filled out. He blinked at the signature difference between her handwriting and the signature of her guardian. He went back to the computer and scanned it again, and was startled that the signature came up valid under the name of one Elvira Ewing.
A photograph later, the card was printed out to one Darkfire Storm. Height 5’5", weight 125 lbs., dark blue eyes, dark red hair, age sixteen. On the bottom of her card was a print of her signature, and the back of the card was blank, to be filled out depending on what areas of Pokémon training she participated in.
"I am very sorry I do not have a Pokémon for you, Darkfire," the Professor lied kindly. He doubted the lie worked on the girl, but continued anyway, offering her six Pokéballs and a Pokédex, "Perhaps you would like to wait for a new shipment to come in?"
"No," she replied, taking and pocketing the offered items. She wore a tight fitting black shirt tucked inside of blue jeans with a silver studded black leather belt looped through the holes. A dark blue vest covered her shirt, and black and dark blue sneakers completed the outfit. Pokéballs went into one pocket on her left side, and Pokédex went into a pocket on the right side. "I will get my own Pokémon."
"Alright," the professor replied and watched the girl leave. He would not forget her anytime soon.
Darkfire left town immediately. Her only belongings, stuffed into a duffel bag, remained where she had left them, by the lake. She sat by the waterside and gazed into it, watching the various creatures swim. None of them were land friendly, however. So, instead, she pulled out a fine paintbrush and black paint, both acquired illegally, and began to trace intricate designs on her Pokéballs. Each one varied slightly, but not noticeable at first glance, but they all shared a black diamond at the front. Once finished, she disposed of the painting items and set her Pokéballs out to dry.
Hours lazily drifted by before Darkfire checked them. They were dry, so only strong chemicals and a paint scraper could remove the paint. Pleased, she packed them away and continued moving south until she found the ocean. Then she sat in the sand and just watched. The world was one with her, even in the daylight she felt closer to it than to the humans.
High noon came and the tide was as low as it would get. Darkfire picked herself up and began to dig in the sand for any Pokémon that might have buried itself in the sand. Empty shells and teeth came to surface, but nothing else. Then, she spotted an orb, covered in blood. She blinked and approached the dark blue sphere before picking it up and weighting it. It was small, about the size of one of her miniaturized Pokéballs, with a bit of flesh still clinging to it.
She froze for a second, then began to search the area. It looked like the tail orb of a Dragonair, but she did not find the Pokémon. She gave a sigh and gave up. It was probably dead, at the bottom of the ocean. She crouched down, the water starting to rise again, and peeled the flesh off of the orb. So far she had an impressive collection of shells, teeth, and now a Dragonair’s tail orb. Now if she had a Pokémon her day would be heaven.
A noise caught her attention. Curious, Darkfire made her way to where a young boy sat in the beach, sobbing to himself. He couldn’t have been older than ten, and three Pokéballs were clutched close to him. He didn’t notice Darkfire approach, but most people didn’t.
"Hey, kid, what’s wrong?" Darkfire asked. Swallowing a sob, he hiccuped and looked up at her with big, shining eyes.
"M-my P-Pokémon… I-I always loose!" he resumed bawling, and Darkfire found herself disgusted. His face was red and scrunched up and tears weren’t the only things leaking down his face.
"Maybe you’re not fit to be a trainer," she replied smoothly. She would beg, borrow, or steal to acquire a Pokémon. Well, not beg, but it was close enough. The boy bawled harder and let out his Pokémon. Darkfire had to admire the tiny collection, it wasn’t a normal beginner’s selection. A Charmander, a Taillow, and a Ledyba all looked at their trainer. The Charmander impressed Darkfire to no end. His color was dark, and his flame huge with multiple layers in the flame. His emerald colored eyes intrigued her the most, and his sharp claws came in a close second. She was not so impressed with the other Pokémon, though.
"M-Maybe," he sniffed. Charmander did not look happy at all, while his other Pokémon were sappy and sympathetic. Darkfire snorted, not amused, and looked at the Charmander again. The boy saw her eyeing his Pokémon and sniffed, "You can have him, he won’t listen to a thing I say."
"Sure thing," Darkfire said and tossed one of her Pokéballs at the creature without hesitation.
Charmander hissed angrily and evaded the Pokéball. The woman looked none too pleased, but he didn’t care. He had lost his respect for humans a long time ago, and it wasn’t returning to him anytime soon. The woman’s blue eyes became ice cold and just as hard. Well, he could melt ice easily.
"Charmander, behave!" the sniffling child that was his former trainer scolded. Charmander growled in response, but soon became soaked. He screamed in pain was the water splashed over his tail flame and it hissed, weakening him greatly. Panting, he went onto his knees and looked back at the female. Her arms and hands were wet with seawater. She lobbed the Pokéball at him again, and he couldn’t evade. He was sucked in and all went dark.
"Was that really… necessary?" the boy stuttered as Darkfire collected the Charmander’s Pokéball. She smirked in response and nodded.
"I’m a professional Pokémon trainer," she lied. "I know what I’m doing."
"Oh," he sniffed again and wiped his tears away. "Take care of him."
"Don’t you worry about a thing, I will," Darkfire replied and left the beach. She walked around the outside of the town and passed up into the northern route. For a time she was lost in thought. She had a wet Pokémon that wasn’t battle ready and steady, and she needed more creatures added to her team. But, for now, the Charmander would do. She thought more and wandered less until she found a thicket and curled up in it, content to lie there until nightfall.
Hours passed and people came and went. Darkfire dozed off every now and then, but by nightfall she was completely awake. She crawled out of her hiding place and released her capture.
"Chaaaa!" he snarled at her angrily. Darkfire just watched, eyes glittering in the darkness from the fire on its tail. The flame was still dim, but it had recovered some of its former glory through the graces of time. It had taken little actual damage, the water had just stunned it. He was still weak, but obviously capable of doing damage.
"You’re mine," she told him, calm. Her eyes still held that emotionless, icy glare. The Charmander knew he had no chance to flee into the wild, the human was too fast with her Pokéball. And he could tell at a glance that she would not consider releasing or trading him. So he was left with two options. Quick as he could, he lunged at her, slashing with his sharp claws. Darkfire evaded and grabbed a hand full of dirt.
When Charmander lunged again, faster than before, she hurled the dirt in his face, causing him to cry out in shock and pain. Blinded, he stumbled, searching for his target. Darkfire grabbed a rock and hurled it at him, hard. It struck him across the nose, cutting it open. He cried out in shock and pain and recoiled.
Darkfire then grabbed a stick and struck the Pokémon across the stomach. He gasped and collapsed onto his knees. She struck him again, once across the face, then across the back. Defeated and bleeding, Charmander just lay submissively still, waiting for her to finish the job. No more blows came, leaving Charmander with one more option. He slowly opened an eye and looked up at her. She was waiting, her thick weapon still in hand. He had been beaten before, once a long time ago. The shock of being beaten again, and seeing her loom over him, made him change his mind more than anything.
They stayed where they were for a long time, dark blue and emerald green eyes gazing at each other. Until, finally, Charmander dared to get up. Darkfire made no move to attack, so he left her alone. Stiff and in mild shock, he slowly approached her. She reached out with her free hand, making him flinch and wait for the smack. Instead, he received an accepting pat on his head. He blinked his eyes open, shocked, and looked up at the young woman.
Darkfire surveyed her damage. She knew what sort of Pokémon lived in this area, and easily came up with multiple excuses for his wounds. A double encounter with a too tough Mankey followed up by a harassing Spearow seemed to fit the details of his slowly forming bruises and scratches. She ran her fingers down the back of his head and he slowly relaxed, enjoying the stroking. But it only made him wonder more, how crazy was his trainer?
“It’s alright, Aridane. The first few days will be hard, but now we are seeing eye-to-eye,” Darkfire said, looking the Charmander in the eyes. Aridane? Was that him? He closed his eyes. He had never had a name before. Aridane gave her a soft purr of content and went willingly when she recalled him to his Pokéball.
Now Darkfire was alone. Perhaps she would always be alone, but she doubted it. She tucked Aridane’s Pokéball into a pocket and headed away from Pallet Town to Viridian City. She was not alone in the nights, so she would not always be alone in the daylight. However, she would have to change her sleeping patterns. The Gyms were not open at night unless a trainer had special reason. And she did not wish to alert the Gym Leaders to her presence until after they had fallen to their knees in defeat.
Most Pokémon she crossed paths with fled at the sight of a human. They were wary of the new trainers since they lived so close to a city famous for the beginning trainers that came out of Pallet Town. She did not mind. Aridane needed rest, she did not need to be riled up since she would attempt to sleep that night instead of stay up late into the night.
