Sometime Ago, Iron Island
Flashback
One night later, after the skirmish, the dark skies were so clear that Machop could see a sea of a million stars. This was only possible since light pollution was nearly non-existent on the remote island far off the coast of Sinnoh. The only light came from the lucent disk floating peacefully in the unreachable space above. Compared to the stars, the full moon loomed over everything, almost arrogantly, as if it were the centerpiece of the picturesque scenery. It was a star among stars. Machop stood wide awake, basking in the ethereal glow. Sleep was supposed to be his current task during this time, yet he felt like breaking that rule.
“Awake still?”
A shudder enveloped his small body when he heard the tranquil voice of his caring mother. The Machoke rubbed her eyes as she stepped out of their little cave-like home. Machop felt guilty and sorry whenever he was caught doing something wrong. Even now, his voice trembled as he attempted to stutter out an apology. However, the Machoke waved him off. To his surprise, she smiled at him and rested her hand on his head.
“You want to train, don’t you? As your parent, I want to protect you from going out there in the dark and getting lost, or even worse. But, there isn’t anything wrong with wanting to become stronger. If you want to be strong, then I shouldn’t stop you from reaching that goal. Nothing should if you stick to that path. As long as you know why.”
Why did the Machop want to be strong? That was the question. He felt so weak and insignificant compared to his fellow fighting types. Even though Machop was just a child, that didn’t change the fact he was still the weakest. Other Pokémon in the community around his age constantly teased him about his weakness and inability to even dodge an attack. Even when on the offensive, his attacks were not very effective against his fellow fighting types. There was even the enemy Pokémon that lurked on the island. Although he has the type advantage, the Machop could barely leave a dent on the Onix he struck earlier. First, the Machop needed to be able to protect itself. Then it needed to be able to help defend the community whenever they were attacked by an outsider group. And maybe one day, it could follow in the footsteps of the Machamp and venture out into the outside world. Get stronger and discover the world outside the only place it knew. Were those dreams too big for a Pokémon? Was it allowed to dream?
“See you in the morning.”
After observing her son briefly, the Machoke could tell Machop had thought about what was said. With the recent skirmish in the rearview mirror now, it was unlikely for the Steelix group to try anything so soon. As long as her son didn’t go off too far, he should be fine. The thoughtful expression of the Machop soon morphed into an excited one.
“See you in a minute, then.”
He bid his mom farewell with a wink and a grin, referencing the fact she’ll just see him again once she wakes up. When she went back into the cave home, the Machop began to wander away from the settlement. It went to the area it had been training at a day earlier, giving it the view of the sea below glistening in the night. As he began to work on his form, he could hear the whispers in the dark. Training all alone in the night was a bit scary now that he thought about it. The Machop thought it was hearing things. However, if it wanted to become strong, it had to overcome fear. Disregarding the ominous sounds, the Machop continued to practice until it suddenly heard an even louder sound. This time it sounded like a howl in the near distance. The Machop could feel its heart beginning to pump faster. He wanted to believe it was all in its head, but when it took a closer look down below, he was able to see something parked on the water.
It looked like some sort of large human vessel. Even stranger was that there seemed to be smaller ones coming out of it, speeding towards the island with their small lights. Machop didn’t know what they were, but it seemed like something bad. Suddenly, it heard another cry, this time clearly a Pokémon, causing the Machop to jump. Whoever the invaders were, they must’ve already been on the island and were close to him. Fight or flight? As soon as it heard some nearby rustling, Machop made its decision to run. Unfortunately, it didn’t make it far when something searing hit connected to his back. It was on fire. The Machop let out a cry as it fell to the floor, writhing in pain.
“Well, well, what do we have here? Oh, it’s just a shitty Machop.”
A flashlight lit up the Machop as it tried to get up after the fire attack. That voice was clearly not from a Pokémon. It was that of the human standing beside the Heatmor that had attacked him. The human seemed to have a lot of black material on him and even some sort of weapon with a flashlight on it. For a moment, the human had the weapon pointed at its head before making a gesture for the Heatmor to move forward. Just like that, they disregarded him. However, as they began to walk away, the Machop was able to quickly discern where the duo was going.
“There should be more up ahead. Let’s move- eh?!”
There was no way the Machop was going to let them go towards its home without a fight. Before the Heatmor could take another step, Machop lunged toward it and attempted to strike with a
Karate Chop. The hit evidently surprised both the mysterious man and the Heatmor as they both turned back around. Unfortunately, that’s all the attack seemed to do. Not even a scratch on the Heatmor. The little Machop took a step back when the Heatmor glared down on it. Suddenly, the sound of another explosion could be heard in the distance and an unnatural light could be seen. The cries of Pokémon were also gradually growing louder. It seemed like Pokémon all over the island were under attack. If Machop didn’t get back to his home first, his family could be next.
“Err, some random Machop isn’t worth much. Get rid of this nuisance, Heatmor.”
A puff of fire escaped the mouth of Heatmor as it accepted the command. Machop didn’t know what was said but saw that it had the full attention of the Heatmor. In that case, it would attack head-on. The Machop attempted to charge at its foe once again, but this time the Heatmor fired back. A blazing heat escaped its mouth and began to surround the Machop. The flames encircled the Machop like a
Fire Spin. A panicked cry escaped the Machop, with its consciousness fading as the flames consumed it.
Some time passed before the Machop reawakened. Gunshots rang out in the distance. They were coming from the direction of its home. Although the pain of the burns lingered on, the Machop forced itself up and trudged back the way it came. All it took was one move for the Heatmor to knock it out. Needless to say, it was severely outclassed by the stronger Pokémon. Even if Machop returned, would it just be a liability to the others who could fight back? It was painful to think about. Even more difficult to witness was the war zone his home had become.
“Aaaggghhh! These guns aren’t working!”
One of the goons shouted as he had just unloaded an entire round onto a Machoke. The bullets did nothing to impede it. Not even a dent. There was nothing he could do when the Machoke crushed his rifle with one hand and sent him flying with the other. He was unconscious before even crashing onto the ground, with his body twisted in an uncanny way. In the distance, an Onix rose up out of the ground, swallowing anything and everything in its vicinity whole. There was a Hitmontop leaping from person to Pokémon delivering swift kicks while the Hitmonlee and Hitmonchan working with it followed up with their own moves. Steel, Rock, and Fighting types alike that inhabited the island were now fighting with and against each other and these mysterious invaders. It was this lack of cohesiveness that gave the invaders the upper hand as time passed. Even though their weapons were essentially useless, the Pokémon of the militants were much more dangerous.
“Mom!”
Near the area his cave should’ve been, the young Machop could see the motherly Machoke fending off some Pokémon and humans. Fortunately, Machamp was nearby fighting dozens of other Pokémon at once. However, it couldn’t stop a Kingdra from delivering a powerful blow to the Machoke with
Hydro Pump. The Machoke was down on her knees while the dark-maroon-haired man with a scar running from his nose down to the side of his face pulled out an ultra ball. Running as fast as its legs could take it, the Machop forced energy into its arms. Just before Kingdra could launch one final attack, the Machop delivered a
Thunder Punch straight to its head.
“What is this?”
Keeping up a calm demeanor, the Kingdra’s trainer looked at the Machop now standing there. Yellow electricity coated its left fist. Machop had used such an attack and he could see the worried surprise in his mother’s expression. However, the Machop didn’t break from its focus as it stared down the Kingdra. For some reason, although the damage didn’t seem like much, the Kingdra couldn’t move, almost like it was paralyzed. This time cool, frosty energy consumed his right hand as the Machop jumped in for an
Ice Punch. Again, the attack connected and the Machop felt its confidence surging. He attempted another punch, this time the energy in his left hand flaring up for a
Fire Punch. However, he was suddenly struck on the side by the same Heatmor from earlier. Machop was flung to the ground and heard a worried cry from his mother. Machop looked up, he could see the wicked grin of the Heatmor’s trainer.
“I know this place is called Iron Island, but it’s a fucking gold mine!”
It was only after the invader shouted in delight did Machop realize what had happened. It had just used three very rare moves that not many from the Machop line knew. Looking around, the Machop had begun to notice many of its fellow fighting types had vanished, some of them disappearing into a red light. The Machop didn’t have much time to process this as the ground shook violently. It couldn’t even stand without falling over. There was only one Pokémon Machop knew that was capable of such power.
“You’ve gotta be shitting me. No wonder it’s the strongest. Who could have taught it—”
The man with the maroon hair could only grin in surprise as the earth near the Machamp split open, creating a deafening crack. Screams of both Pokémon and humans alike could be heard as they began falling into the narrow opening. It was like a
Fissure. The frightening move caused everyone who had not fallen into the deep pit to pause and look at the almighty being who had split the earth. Beating its chest like a drum with two of its four arms, the mighty Machamp released a mighty roar, letting everyone know and remember who reigned supremes. Morale rose on the side of the remaining native Pokémon.
“Seems like we were lied to. Calypso,
Surf.”
With a simple command to his Kingdra, its trainer then washed all their hopes away. Just like that, the Kingdra began to rise above self-created water. Machop watched in awe as it grew and grew. Fortunately for him, they were behind the path of the gigantic wave. The wave grew to a point where the Machop couldn’t even see the Kingdra surfing on top of it.
“By the great Kyogre, that’s a tsunami.”
Machop could hear the softspoken words escape his trembling mother. This was power. There was no other way to describe the all-consuming wave. All Pokémon in its path were sucked up inside and the Machamp just watched. It waited for the wave to come crashing down. As it did, the Machamp then leaped up, and that was the last Machop saw of it. A number of minutes went by as everyone watched with bated breath. The water drained out quickly due to the crack in the earth. Then everyone could see the fighting type on its knees.
“Good. Now,
Draco Meteor.”
The man didn’t wait a second before making a command. His Kingdra let out an ominous cry as its blue aura wrapped around its fish-like body. At first, nothing seemed to be happening. That is until the little Machop raised its head up. Almost as if a shooting star had been shot out of the sky, there were large, glowing rocks that began to fall down. The haughty moon was now nothing more than the backdrop to the meteors that fell from the illuminated space above. At least, that’s what Machop saw. It was a magnificent sight to behold for the young Pokémon. This was the pinnacle of a dragon’s power and it was robust indeed. The Machop watched as the meteors rained down towards the Machamp from above. Machamp seemed to have all the power in the world but even that didn’t seem to be enough on its own. Was this it? Is this where his beacon of hope would be snuffed out? The answer was a resounding no. Almost as if a miracle had been summoned, a bright blue ball of energy suddenly ascended towards the meteors. When it collided with the first rock, a giant explosion occurred, flashing everyone with a near blinding light. It all seemed like a dream to Machop. When the light cleared, its sight was a bit hazy, but it could see a Pokémon now standing beside the Kingdra, holding a similar blue
Aura Sphere. Although the fighting and steel types had been at odds for so long, here was a Lucario, sharing a combination of both types, to save them all.
“So you really do still roam these parts.”
The Machop didn’t exactly know who the maroon-haired invader was talking to until he pulled out a pistol and shot it three times upwards towards the individual with the hat. When Machop’s eyes located the target above, he couldn’t believe what he saw. All three bullets were seemingly stopped by this new mysterious figure. Its hazy vision didn’t allow it to see much, but with the rise of the dawn beginning to whisk the darkness away, it seemed like some invisible force protected the arm of the man dressed in blue. He gazed upon the inhabitants with fondness before meeting the eyes of the trespassers. That look was enough to get the message across.
“If I knew you were still here, I wouldn’t have been too worried about Byron.”
Although the man tried to appear cool-headed about the turn of events, his tempered breathing and sweat dripping down his forehead said otherwise. Then, he gave the trainer with the Heatmor a look. Before the Machop could even comprehend what was happening, it felt a searing hot lash strike it from the back. The last thing Machop saw was his mother shouting and moving towards him before everything went black.
From then on, the young Machop couldn’t remember much. It went in and out of consciousness. The bits and pieces it did recall seemed unimportant or things it did not want to remember. He briefly remembered there were two humans muttering something as he watched from a sealed cage after waking up due to some unusual movements. It was almost like they were all riding something. They both seemed to claim how they were the remaining few or how they depended on him to save them. Why would he save them? He remembered waking up again to gunshots and seeing the bodies of those same two bleeding out on the ground. The man who had committed the deed was that same maroon-haired man. His injuries were apparent as blood streamed down his face. He mentioned something about how Machop’s abilities were the reason they both could live. Some magical Pokémon put it to sleep again. The next time it awoke, it was in some strange place, hooked up to some devices. That same man was there and another human dressed in white called him Boris Ivar. From there, it just remembered the pain as its body was opened until he was moved yet again.
“Although he has had his fair share of trouble in society, Jeremy’s family, the Desrosiers, have been very gracious donors. It will be thanks to them that you’ll have a chance to find new homes, so please do be on your best behavior.”
The Machop remembered this part clearly. It was hard to forget being trapped in an inescapable cell with so many other fellow Pokémon. All of them shared what seemed like a cruel fate not because of what they were, but due to the potential they possessed. He remembered shuddering after encountering the blond-haired menace for the first time. Something about this human told him to run as far away as possible. However, there was no escape. The Machop would know. There were many things the Machop had been willing to do until he learned to not cross the man sitting at the top. To think such boundless evil lingered in its own species. However, the Machop still shuddered to recall his first formal interaction with Jeremy after being claimed.
“People think I’m a psychopath just because I stabbed some kid with his Honedge. Except, he would’ve lived if he just listened to me and stopped. I know, crazy, right?! So he got what he deserved. Justice! So listen here, you little Caterpie. Your name is Prince now. Don’t worry, I name all my Pokémon that, so you’re not special. There can be more than one Prince, but only one—”
End Flashback
Some shouting and whining snapped the Machop out of its afternoon daze. It blinked a few times, clearing the extra liquid out of its eyes. That’s right, it had found somewhere to sit on its own. Somewhere nice and quiet to train away from Jeremy was always good. Yet, that wasn’t on the menu today. There had been some random human that had come up to him. Where could he have gone? If the strange noises in front of him were any indication, the human was on the floor wrestling with the Froakie.
“Froakie, stop it!”
Unlike the human, the Machop could understand its fellow Pokémon and felt some pity for what he was hearing. The Froakie held onto the boy's necklace and they had fallen over wrestling over it. Apparently, the Froakie wanted to take the necklace for itself and then sell it. Payback for the trainer trying to sell the Froakie from the sounds of things. Of course, the trainer didn’t understand, so it was a bit funny to see them fighting. The Froakie pulled on his hair, ears, and shirt before eventually giving up when it saw Machop watching.
“Uhh, this human is clueless. Don’t listen to him.”
Froakie told Machop as it hopped back. The Machop this to be slightly amusing, but just returned a silent nod. As the trainer sat up, he readjusted his cap and let out a sigh. Although his relationship with Jeremy was pretty horrible, to say the least, it seemed to have more structure than whatever these two had.
“Damnit, being trapped in this shit hole sucks. Well, not that I’m actually living here, but, well, you know…”
The trainer raised the cap over his eyes, giving the Machop a clear view of his aqua blue eyes. It reminded him of the bright blue ocean that surrounded his home. That view he saw every time he trained. Perhaps it had been reminiscing too much. However, the trainer seemed a bit embarrassed about what he said as he began to frantically tug on the short strands of his black hair. The Machop just blinked.
“Ahh, what am I saying?! I always thought Pokémon and us naturally understood each other. At least, that’s what it showed on TV and the trainers I knew easily communicated with their Pokémon. Like Alyssa. I actually wonder how she’s doing. Arceus, she probably hates me now. All this shit that’s been happening and I forgot about my family. I thought getting your first Pokémon was supposed to be the easy part. Like, shit, didn’t Acacia just start out with Windie?! Cynthia with Gible? And here I am stuck with th-the-theg Fr-Forg-argh!”
Before the trainer could even finish his statement, Froakie was now pulling the side of his cheeks, tugging the lips by default. The Froakie didn’t sound like it appreciated what the human was saying, nor did it return any respect either. It really was a weird relationship. When the trainer finally got the Froakie to stop, he scratched the pinched part of his cheek with an index finger, looking away.
“Ouch, that hurts! You see this?!”
With a pout, the trainer looked back at the Machop. The Machop just blinked again. Out of the few humans it had encountered, this one was certainly… unique. Naive could be a better term. Then again, that would just put them in the same boat.
“I just wanted to have fun and become the strongest. Was that too much to ask for? Instead, I was just given a Pokémon that made me strong. It’s hard to explain, but I just wanted a regular Pokémon. I didn’t want to have a Pokémon with perfect genetics. I didn’t want my reputation as a trainer to be solely defined by how gifted my Pokémon are. Like I’m not a great trainer if I’m only strong because my Pokémon are special. That’s just the easy route. I do know that Champions and those alike have Pokémon that are innately special as well. That’s why I also want to be a trainer where it doesn’t matter what type of Pokémon I have. How I start now will determine how I end up in the future. Like, am I only a good trainer because of my Pokémon? Are my Pokémon only good because of me? Or is it that we’re just good collectively? I just can’t let it be the first one because I believe only the best trainers are the ones who make their Pokémon better and not the other way around. But maybe, being born with all the talent in the world isn’t all it's cracked up to be either. I don’t know what you’ve been through, but you don’t seem happy even with the gifts you were born with. And now I realize I’m rambling. You probably don’t even get what I said. Sorry about that.”
