-Chapter One-
I awoke from my dream with a start. Quickly sucking in air, I gasped loudly, startling my Sableye. He nimbly jumped onto my cot from his post on the window sill, worry clear in his crystal eyes. "Oh, Sin." I sighed unhappily. I felt the tears rush to my eyes, blurring my vision. I could still feel the cold air on my face, feel the warmth of Tabe's body underneath me, the blurry ground miles below. Looking around at the dark room around me, I allowed reality to take its hold on me once again.
The forms of my fellow soldiers slept peacefully in their cots, the sound of snoring all that was heard. Looking out the window, I saw the battlements, and the crematory, the flames of Magmar, and Houndoom destroying the remains of their fallen comrades. Slowly, the waves of reality came crashing down on me, hitting harder each time. Sin cackled quietly and I scooped his small figure into my arms, allowing the tears to finally flow.
- - -
In the beginning, I had started out like any other teenager. Dreams of becoming a Pokemon Trainer almost within grasp, ideas of my adventure to come dancing through my thoughts. I was born Alexiane Corrigan, but most called be Alex. Born in Twinleaf Town, I was surrounded by new trainers my whole juvenile life. My parents refused me the privilege of leaving for my own journey at the age of ten, so when fifteen hit, I was finally on my way.
Starting out with Sin, my Sableye, my dreams, and a little luck, I managed to battle my way through the Sinnoh region. Battle after battle, my Pokemon and I got stronger, and our bonds developed. By the time I finally had beaten all eight Sinnoh gyms, two years had passed. Confident in my skills as a trainer, I signed up for the Elite Four challenge.
Then war broke out.
Being on the road all the time, I hadn't heard much about any news outside the trainers world. I had caught rumors of tension between the Sinnoh region and The Revolution, but of course, when wasn't there tension between the two? Multiple small scale battles broke out between Sinnoh's Elite Force (SEF) and The Revolution (nicknamed the Red because of the fact that blood was always spilt), usually ending well for SEF. There were a couple close calls, but SEF always pulled through. When arriving back in Twinleaf after my journey, I watched the news more often, and asked more questions.
The Revolution was a large criminal group that caused chaos wherever they decided to damn with their presence. Using all force necessary, they took what was needed, uncaring of casualties left in their wake. From what I'd heard, they would attack small towns and take supplies, and steal Pokemon. Their largest target that I'd last checked was Solaceon Town. They had raided all the houses, and made off with all the Day Care Pokemon before SEF got there, and when they did arrive, all traces of The Revolution were gone.
Not now. Their forces had grown. The Red was finally a daily threat to peace in Sinnoh. Despite desperate calls for help from the Sinnoh Elite to the Elite of Johto, Hoenn and Kanto, they received a cold shoulder, no one wanting to bring The Revolution upon their region. SEF began putting out stations where trainers with six or more badges could train and become a SEF member. They were growing more desperate for help as more and more attacks were put onto the unprotected civilians of Sinnoh.
The Elite Four made the decision to evacuate all small towns, moving more people to the already crowded cities. It was the cities Gym Leader's job to protect its citizens with a small troop of SEF their only help. The Elite Four and a majority of what was starting to be called Sinnoh's army began violently clashing with The Red in battles that's tremors could be felt miles away, and the smoke, and burning flesh stained ones clothes with a pungent smell. The refugee camps that had to be set up were disgusting, a living hell for the small town citizens that were now forced to live in them for their own protection. My family was one of them.
War was finally declared on the 13th of October. Panic and despair ripped through the Sinnoh region, fueling the Red with crazy energy. The battles got bloodier, our casualties mounted. Suicide was common, and after a while, people stopped crying, their tears ducts dry. Along with the utter depression that blanketed most, there was a few who saw this as a chance to prove themselves. They walked with a sense of foolish courage.
My older brother, Gregory, was of the first to volunteer for SEF. I remember clearly the day he walked out of our home (rather our standard issue military tent the relocation officers had given our family to sleep in), his eyes blazing, taking his Scyther and Raichu with him. Two months later, we received a package from SEF. It contained his dog tags.
I knew my parents wouldn't be able to stand losing another child, but I felt it my duty to serve my region, to serve my Elite. I left in the middle of the night, a letter on my sleeping bag. Walking through the tent flap of the Recruitment Center, I remember the simplicity of it all, as if this was supposed to comfort us and our almost certain deaths. The officer at the small desk looked up at me, bored. "Well?" he asked gruffly. "You signing up?"
"Yea, guess so." I nodded. He yawned and pulled out a clipboard with a form attached to it, and handed me a pen. He then gestured to the chairs that lined the east and west walls of the tent.
"Bring it to me when your done, the next shuttle leaves in a hour, so you better hurry." Filling out the form was like signing a death certificate, every other line telling you how the Sinnoh Elite Forces were not responsible for and injury and/or death by signing this form and that and injury and/or death occurring to a Pokemon was the Trainers responsibility. I cringed at that last line, looking at Sin's Poke Ball, trying not to imagine my friend pitted against a Red's Alakazam. Which three Pokemon are you bringing with you and what are their levels? I decided quickly.
Sin/Sableye lv. 79; Tabe/Charizard lv. 78; Lark/Luxray lv. 75. Diverse, and powerful. The Core Rules of any good team! I remember Gregory once telling me. Once again, my eyes watered up, but I quickly shook it away. Refusing to think about him, I finished the form with my signature, long and skinny at the bottom of the page. I walked to the desk, my boots barely crunching the asphalt beneath them. I handed the pen and form back to the officer who scanned over it quickly before slipping it into the file cabinet to his left.
"Well, shuttle'l be here in ‘bout ten minutes. It's at the entrance of the city, so you better run if you don't want to wait for noon. Oh, and you'll need this." He handed me a green card about the size of my palm and told me to fill that out and give it to the bus driver when I did. I quickly thanked him and ran out the tent flap, pulling Lark's Timer Ball out as I ran.
"Go!" I shouted, and threw the ball into the air, mid step. Still running, a white flash revealed my Luxray, who quickly fell in next to me. With a quick jump, I landed on his back and returned the Timer Ball to my belt. He sped for a moment, turning a street corner just as a large black bus pulled up to the bus stop. A sudden chill on my right shoulder told me Sin had decided to pop out of his Dark Ball and hang out on my shoulder for the bus trip.
"Well, this is it Sin. Another adventure, eh?" Maybe our last… I though to myself. I shook the thought away and jumped off Lark, thanking him for the speedy ride and returning him to his ball. The six other trainers barely looked at me except for a girl about my age with medium length brown hair wearing blue jeans and a tight white t-shirt with a Poke Ball design. She smiled at me before climbing onto the bus. I looked around at the lights of Jubilife City, and above that, the ever present smog. Turning quickly, I stepped onto the bus, not knowing where this would take me.
.
