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Pokemon FireRed: Despairlocke	By : Atxdepboy Category: +M through R > Pokemon Views: 4976 -:- Recommendations : 0 -:- Currently Reading : 0
Disclaimer: This is purely a work of fiction. I own no rights to Pokemon or any of its associated offshoots, nor do I make a dime for any work. Or a nickle. Or a penny. Or any unit of currency.

Chapter List
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Author's Note: In this chapter, Reed makes a new friend, encounters a familiar enemy, and is confronted with some harsh truths about the world.

I recognize that the story structure can feel awfully disjointed here, and I do apologize for that. It's the nature of trying to adapt a game like Pokemon, which is really more a series of vignettes than anything.

Still, I hope you enjoy it - and enjoy the slightest touch of smut that I managed to interject. I promise, there is more in the future.

CHAPTER TWO: DARKNESS ON THE EDGE OF TOWN

Four hours Since Pallet Town:

Reed had never imagined that his feet could hurt this badly. The road north of Pallet Town - unwalked for at least five years, since the last Grand Tour, was all crags and sharp rocks, winding up a tall hill and through dense trees and underbrush growing over, sometimes making it difficult to even keep track of it at all. He’d never had to walk this far before - never even really had the opportunity. And though he said nothing, he could tell that it was starting to effect Haden as well.

They’d left early in the morning, before the sun rose, so that they could get to the dense treeline before the oppressive sun started to shine down on them. The family had rose to see them off, showering them with praise and affections, stuffing their packs with dried meats, nuts, and homemade salves. Each time he’d heard them say “be safe”, he’d flinched. It struck him as a stupid thing to say. He wasn’t doing this to be safe. He was doing it because there was no other choice. He was sure of it. He could reach Victory Road. He could win. He could tear the Elite apart.

There was nothing safe about it.

As they’d left, a few of the other villagers had gathered on the outskirts to watch them leave, shouting encouragement. He’d spotted her in the crowd. His mother, dressed in red, standing out against the crowd like fire in the dim early-morning. He’d met her eye, just for a moment. He’d nodded. There was nothing to say. And if he stopped, he felt like he might never start again.

“Fuckin’ hell,” Haden grumbled under his breath, reaching up to scratch at his stubble, betraying his discomfort for the first time. “Never realized how steep this was. It’s hard to tell, from so far away.”

Reed said nothing. He was listening. Suddenly, a rustle from his left. His arm shot out, gripping Haden’s bicep, stopping and silencing him. Another rustle. Reed didn’t hesitate, reaching to his belt and gripping the single pokeball they’d allotted him at the end of yesterday’s ceremony - leaning back and throwing it with all of his might into the grass, in the directly of the rustle.

A sharp, plastic crack - followed by silence. The two men stood, staring at the grass, before Reed’s shoulders slumped. He approached the spot where he’d thrown, brushing aside the grass. The pokeball had struck the root of a tree, shattering. No sign of a pokemon.

“Damn it,” he muttered, turning away - letting the grass spring back to cover the shards.

“You’re going to need to be more thoughtful, in the future. They don’t exactly give us a lot of those.”

Reed said nothing, pushing further on down the trail. Haden followed, toying at the pocket on his shirt, mentally debating a cigarette.

“I’m serious. You and I are the underdogs, here. Neither one of us knows what we’re doing, or what we’re up against. We have neither the advantage of brawn, or brains. And if you think ‘heart’ is going to-”

“Shut it.” Reed grunted, glancing over his shoulder. “Honestly. I’m well-aware of what a long-shot this is. I’ll . . . I’ll be more mindful in the future.”

Behind him, Haden chuckled. “Kid, mindfulness has never been your strong-suit.”

- - - -

Ten hours Since Pallet Town:

It was late afternoon, when they finally crossed over the ridge that separated Pallet Town from the rest of the world. To Reed’s dismay, a city already stretched beneath them. Viridian City. It’s name seemed almost like a mockery. The whole place was gunmetal-grey and rust-red. A blighted sore on the landscape. Massive buildings wrought from iron, crafted into inelegant grey rectangles, arranged in a grid. The path was clearer on the way down. It would take them less than two hours to reach the entrance.

“We shouldn’t go in through the main gate,” Haden muttered, leaning against a tree, studying the sight below. “If anyone down there knows we came from Pallet, it might cause trouble for us. We’ll look like easy prey.”

“What . . . what is this city ‘for’?”

Haden shrugged. “Dunno. Maybe it's not ‘for’ anything. According the old folks when I was a boy, cities and towns didn’t have to be ‘for’ anything. Let’s head down along the path, then cut to the side before we reach the gates.”

Reed merely nodded, clenching the Pokeball containing Brax tightly in his right hand.

- - - -
Twelve Hours Since Pallet Town:

Sunset in Viridian City made the whole city look like it was on fire - the reds and oranges reflecting off of the metal buildings and radiating like a borealis. The sight gave Reed a headache. They’d managed to make it down to the town’s edge, and had crept along the fenceline until reaching a gap. Up close, they were surprised at how badly the town stunk. It was larger than Pallet Town by several degrees, and it smelled as if it was bursting at the seams with humanity. A sinking feeling settled in Reed’s gut, as they moved along the city streets - keeping as low a profile as possible, though the watches secured to their wrists identified them immediately as trainers.

The sinking feeling persisted, until they rounded a corner by one of the large metal buildings, emerging onto what looked like the city’s main thoroughfare. Then the sinking became a sudden drop.

Men and women. Some clothed, some nude, some stripped of gender entirely. Chained or collared. Dragged along in groups, or trotting behind individuals. Many weeping, but most silent. Viridian City, adjacent to Victory Road.

“This . . . this is where they keep them. The people who lose, and are given to the Elite.” Haden had never heard the boy’s voice take this tone before. This mixture of fear, and-

A well-dressed gentleman in a pressed suit was nearby, close enough to hear his voice. He was an older man, in his sixties, with a bushy mustache - watching as a naked man with a shaved head kneeled next to a horned horse-pokemon, brush in hand. The horse glowed brightly, its mane and tail wreathed in flame.

“I should let him kick you to death, you worm,” the older man growled. “You’re lucky I’m merciful. Get under him, satisfy him. If you do well, maybe I’ll change my mind.”

The slave trembled, whimpered, croaked. Reed realized that his voice had been taken. He crawled beneath the fiery horse, mindful of where its tail whipped back and forth. Shaking hands reached up, to a sheath beneath the beast, stroking there, coaxing a thick equine member from it. It must have been unbearably hot beneath the creature, as the slave’s skin shone with sweat. His eyes screwed up tightly shut, as he opened his mouth and guided the tip to his lips.

Reed was shaking. His knuckles wrapped around the pokeball were white.

“This . . . this was so close. Less than a day’s travel,and this abomination was . . . I . . .” He took a step forward. Haden didn’t hesitate. He gripped his nephew by the bicep.

“We have to go.”

“They can’t. I won’t let them.” Reed’s voice cracked. Fury bubbling out of them.

“We have to GO!”

“I won’t-”

Haden was larger and stronger than his nephew by a good amount. No longer able to stall, a calloused hand shot out over the boy’s mouth, silencing him and physically lifting him up, dragging his struggling form away from the sight, away from the main street. It was all he could do.

- - - -

Sixteen Hours Since Pallet Town:

They’d made camp on the outskirts of Viridian. It had taken Haden nearly an hour to calm his nephew down, and even now he was sullen - staring into the small campfire they’d built. A thin trail of smoke drifted towards the sky, from the cigarette perched on Haden’s lip. He glanced sidelong at the boy, grunted, and flicked a twig into the flames. It was remarkable how much easier it had been to get a good campfire, with Charmander assisting.

“I figure tomorrow we’ll wake up early and split up, see what we can find. North of town is another checkpoint where we’ll be able to get some Pokeballs.”

Reed was silent.

“Look, kid. You’re gonna see a lot of bad stuff out here. A whole lot of bad stuff. You gotta learn how to deal with it fast, or you won’t have to deal with it for long, got me?”

Rich green eyes flicked up at him, before moving back to the fire.

“I’m going to kill them. All of them.”

Haden was quiet for a long moment, letting the words ring through his mind. He wanted to comfort the boy. Wanted to scold him, even. But he couldn’t find it in him. Not after what he’d seen today.

“Then get strong.”

What else was there to say?

- - - -

One Day, Three Hours Since Pallet Town:

It had been a rough night. Sleep had come to Reed fitfully, if at all. He wasn’t used to camping, and the sights that he’d seen earlier that day wouldn’t leave his mind. Still, it felt good to be away from Viridian and its stink. He and Haden had gone to the checkpoint extremely early in the morning, well before sunrise, and gotten the two Pokeballs distributed there. They’d agreed to meet up around sunset, in order to compare what they’d been able to catch.

As he pushed through the underbrush of the woods north of Viridian, he could see the massive shapes of the trees that made up Viridian Forest-proper looming in the distance. Brax trotted along behind him, occasionally reaching out with his grey hands to pluck berries from nearby branches. Occasionally, it would see a clump that it couldn’t reach - and would kick the trunk, shaking the whole tree and causing them to drop. Reed smiled. It reassured him to see his companion walking around freely. Made him feel safer than if he’d been alone. And out here, there was no real risk associated.

A twig snapped nearby, and he put his arm back to silence the Machop. Up ahead, a small purple rat emerged from behind a root, scraping dried leaves back behind itself, having apparently tended to its business a few seconds before. It was distracted. Reed grasped the Pokeball in his pocket, taking a deep breath. You were supposed to weaken Pokemon before you attempted to catch them, but the rat was small. Brax couldn’t do much to it that wouldn’t risk its health. He had no better options - he threw, giving the rat enough to time to do little more than squeak indignantly, before the ball collided with it, pulling it inside. It shook violently, to the point where it was all Reed could do not to run up to it and clamp it closed with his hands. Finally though, it ceased, giving a chime that sounded almost resolved.

Reed couldn’t help himself. He laughed, he whooped, he ran to the ball and held it up to instead it. His first real catch. Brax ran with him, lifting his trainer up over his head and laughing along with him, even if he didn’t understand why.

- - - -

One Day, Seventeen Hours Since Pallet Town:

The road east of Viridian City, heading towards the entrance to Victory Road - the path to the Indigo Plateau, consolidated seat of the Elite’s power - could not have been more different from the one that connected it to Pallet Town. It was immaculately paved, experiencing perfect upkeep from a veritable of army of slave-workers. They were gone, now - the moon was nearly reaching its apex for the night. Haden had heard rumors in the city that rare pokemon were known to be sighted along the edge of the road. He and Reed had left the campsite to investigate, under cover of darkness.

Reed thumbed at the pages of a book roughly the size of an old-world paperback, squinting at it, trying to make out what he could in the dark. “A Beginner’s Guide to Pokemon Training.” Haden had found a copy in a dumpster, and the two had poured over it for the better part of the evening. WIthin, they’d learned that Brax would eventually be able to evolve - and that Okie, the rattata that Reed had caught earlier, would as well. Haden, meanwhile, had spent the better part of the day finding out what he could about the best path to proceed - all signs pointing towards Viridian Forest as the next stop on their journey. He’d also managed to catch his own second Pokemon, a pidgey.

“I think someone was bullshitting you,” Reed mumbled, staring out into the distance. The road was built right on the edge of a plateau, with a cliff flanking it on one side. Across the valley below, lights from an immense mountain shone down upon them - a golden fortress in the distance. The sight made Reed feel tiny. He stopped, staring into the lights, firsts balled.

“Amazing, isn’t it?”

The voice made Reed’s blood run cold. Walking down the center of the road was the unmistakable silhouette of Orson, the man who’d challenged him earlier. A member of the Elite. He was dressed, as before, in an impeccable suit - that did little to mask the fact that his face belonged on a brute. Reed turned to face him slowly, eying him immediately with the wary stare one might reserve for a wild Charizard.

“How the hell did you find us out here?” Haden asked, voice calm - but sounding just as wary as Reed looked.

“Simple, isn’t it? We don’t affix you with those watches purely for your own benefit.” He tapped on his own wrist, which was bare. “You may run along now, old man. I’m here to speak to Reed.”

“The hell-”

“It wasn’t a request.” The stocky man brushed a hand over his front knocking his suit jacket back slightly - exposing the six pokeballs on his belt. The threat was explicit. If he wanted to, he could challenge either of them to a duel right here - one they couldn’t possibly hope to win. Haden taking a step back seemed to do little more than prompt Reed to step forward. The older man eyed him nervously, before turning on his heel and beginning to walk down the road away from them, realizing how powerless he was in that moment.

“What do you want?” His voice was low. Orson couldn’t help but grin at the fear lingering in the back of it.

“Why, I thought you’d like to know about my new project. See, I’ve grown rather bored as of late. You . . . showed me something unique, in that little hovel you call home. I saw the opportunity for a game, of sorts. I’ll begin my own Pokemon journey. Just like yours. I’ll collect and train until I beat you in a fair fight. And when I do-” The grin that followed made Reed actively nauseous. “You’ll come home with me. My little pet.”

“Eat shit.”

Orson smirked, withdrawing two Pokeballs. “That’s the spirit. It’s no fun if you give in too soon. Come on, let’s battle. I want to see if that grey-skinned joke of yours has gotten any stronger.”

Without waiting for an answer, he threw one of the balls, releasing a Pidgey in a burst of light. By the confused look in its eyes, it must have been freshly caught. Reed didn’t hesitate either - throwing his own. Okie emerged, scratching himself behind one ear.

“A rattata? How quaint. I hardly ever see them anymore at the Plateau. Pidgey, blind it!”

The small bird flew up, looking around and flying back down level with the ground - attempting to kick dirt up at the rat. But it was a miscalculation - the road’s paving was too fresh, there was barely any debris to kick up. Not that it mattered much to Okie, who dodged out of the way effortlessly. After catching him, Reed had wasted no time in setting to work to see what skills he possessed. To his surprise, the purple rat was capable of immense speed in small doses.

“Okie! Quick attack, let’s go!”

The rat didn’t need to be told twice. It held its ground, waiting for the pidgey to circle again, to come in for another attack. As it swept lower, he struck - leaping up to sink fang and claw into the bird and drag it down to earth, where it collapsed in a ball of feathers.

“Impressive,” Orson said, rolling his shoulders. “Truly impressive. But perhaps a rematch is in order.”

To think that he was mentally in-sync with the degenerate would have disgusted Reed. But even still, he instinctively knew what the man wanted, and he was happy to comply. Brax was on the field at the same time as Orson’s Charmander, having to dodge to the side of a burst of flame just as soon as he materialized.

“Burn him up,” Orson said, casually, arms crossed behind his back - watching as the Machop was forced to dodge and weave around the bursts of flame - which lingered upon the road for a few seconds, before dissipating. The Machop had taken no damage, but the effort was starting to show regardless.

“Focus, Brax. You can do this!”

The Machop continued to dance about the flames, its gaze going hard, its movements precise. Two more jumps, to more gouts of flame. Then it was rushing forward, rushing straight through one of the shots, landing a kick directly to the center of the Charmander’s chest. All four participants in the battle realized it immediately. It was a harder kick than any of them thought Brax was capable of. It lifted the Charmander off its feet, knocking it to the side. It flew. Brax, even knowing the creature was his enemy, reached out to save it.

But he wasn’t fast enough. The Charmander flew to the side, across the road, and out over the cliff. It screamed, as it tumbled down into the dark.

All were silent, for a moment. Then, a chuckle pierced through, turning into a laugh.

“Hahaha, I can’t believe this! Incredible.”

Reed said nothing, his eyes locked on Brax, whose shoulders shook. The machop stared at his own feet.

“I have to say, it’s been years since I lost a Pokemon. I’m genuinely impressed. You really are one to watch out for, you-”

“Shut up.” Reed said, his tone dangerous. “Shut the hell up, and get out of here. That was your Pokemon, it trusted you, you don’t even-”

“Hey, maybe don’t take the moral high road so soon, Reed.” Orson dusted himself off - pulling out the Pokeball that had belonged to his Charmander and tossing it over the edge after its former occupant. “You're the one traveling with a killer. Until we meet again, Reed. Let our next battle be as exciting as this one.”

And with that, he was gone, walking down the road in the direction of Victory Road.

Reed continued to stare at Brax, his heart pounding in his chest. Without a word, he closed the distance between them, wrapping his arms around the Pokemon’s shoulders, pulling him close and hugging him tightly. He didn’t know if the creature was really intelligent enough to understand, but it didn’t matter, ultimately.

He needed this, too.

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Pokemon FireRed: Despairlocke