Ok, so this update is gonna be different. I don't really feel like Screen shots anymore. I will do some, but they will mostly be text updates. I really don't feel like taking the time to shoot them, paste in word, upload to Photobucket, edit them to be smaller, and the link them to my posts. Anyways, here we go!
Update 1: The Beginning
My name is Reaper, and I am 21 years old. I have been a fan of the Pokemon games since they hit the shores of the United States. I had kind of been burned out on the games until one day on Smogon.com, I ran into a special challenge in the "Stark Mountain" sub-forums. It was called the "Nuzlocke Challenge". I had decided to give this new challenge a try, and see if it helped me get my Pokemon spark back before Black/White came out. I figured, it couldn't hurt. I read all of the other members challenges, the actual Nuzlocke comics, all the fan comics on the Nuzlocke site, and by this time I was pumped. I read all the rules, and picked out my rules for the challenge. They would be as follows:
- When a Pokemon faints, it is "Dead". It cannot be revived, by an item or PokeCenter.
- When a Pokemon "Dies" it must be released.
- If I want my team to expand, I am only allowed to catch the first Pokemon I encounter on a Route. (No matter what the circumstances.)
- I must nickname my Pokemon. These are my partners. I eat, breathe, sleep, fight, and live with them. They are family.
- No healing items in or out of battle. (Berry's are allowed if they are given to hold before the battle.)
- Only Pokeballs may be bought at the PokeMart.
- I am allowed to use a PokeCenter at anytime in the game, including leaving a gym to heal.
I then pick my version of the game. Red/Blue/Yellow were good, but they just don't appeal to me right now. Gold/Silver/Crystal are my favorites, but I don't have a copy that will save. Diamond/Pearl/Platinum/Heartgold/Soulsilver are great games, but they hold all my events, legendaries, and EV'd Pokemon, so no go there. Plus, I let my best friend borrow my DS, so it didn't matter. Ruby/Sapphire/Emerald were great, and I never spent much time playing them (Cause I spent that period of time playing Football, and meeting girls). So, I start to look for my copy of Emerald, and my Gameboy Micro.
I found the Gameboy pretty easily. It was right where I left it, in the drawer of my bedside table, and still in great condition too. I find Emerald in my old Gameboy case, and insert it into the Micro. I flip on the switch, and the screen freezes at the Gameboy screen. "Must have some dust in the cartridge. Guess I'll blow it out," I say to myself. I pull out the cartridge and blow in it as I walked back to my bed to sit. As I go to sit down I bump my bottle of water, and it spills all over the table beside my bed. "Great. Well, at least it didn't get on anything valuable," I think to myself. I toss the Micro onto my bed, and attempt to set Emerald down on the dry part of the table. As I try to lay it down, it slips out of my hand and lands right in the water.
"FRICK!" I shout, "Now it's not gonna work... guess I'll have to play Red or Blue on my old school Gameboy." I pick up the Emerald cartridge and blow out the moisture, thinking I could at least try it. I probably should wait to try to play the game until it dries up, but I figured if it's ruined, it's ruined. Inserting the cartridge into the Micro, and turning it on registered a surprise to say the least. I felt a slight shock on my left middle finger, and I look at the back of the Micro, only to find a small crack in the casing where my finger had rested.
"Meh," I thought, "Must be ok, as long as I don't touch the crack." I proceed to press the Start button at the Title Screen, and when it brings up the screen that should say "New Game" and "Continue" it only had "New Game" as an option. "I could have sworn that there was a record on here. Crap, either I deleted it, or the internal battery is dead." I press "New Game" and hope for the best, but then the screen just went black and brought up another prompt that I had never seen before.
"Upload?" Was all it said, followed by "Yes", and "No". This was the oddest thing I had ever seen. I didn't remember this being here before. I chalked it up as me having poor memory, since it had been 7 or so years since I played this game, and pressed the A button on "Yes". This was the point in my life where nothing would ever be the same again.
A bright light flooded the room from the screen, and a very loud static sound was emitted from the speakers on the Micro. Then, I felt the familiar jolt of electricty on my left middle finger, but this time it was much stronger than the last. It was running through my hand, up my arm and up to my head. Noticing a sharp pain in my temples, I started to panic. "WHAT THE...??!" I exclaim. Then I hear a voice, and not just any voice. It's the voice of a girl, young sounding, probably around my age. It is the sweetest sound I have ever heard, and I listen closely to her words, even through the pounding in my head.
"Hello Pokemon Trainer "Reaper". Welcome to the Hoenn region. Your trainer ID number is 52750. Please remember to enter this into your PokeDex upon recieving it. We hope that you have a great journey, and experience many triumphs. We await the news of your success! Good bye, and good luck!"
"What?" I respond to the disembodied voice, "Who are you? What is this?" But before I get a reply, the world goes black... quiet... cold...
...
...
...
Noises fill the quiet void, like the sound of an engine roaring, and then something odd happens. "Remember this well. There are two types of fights. As we have put our lives in battle, we must be able to distinguish between the two. The fight to protect life, and the fight to protect pride," says a voice in the cold black, "Which will you choose, young Reaper? Will you protect the lives of your companions, or will you protect your own pride as a trainer? Seems it is time to see the answer unfold before our very eyes."
Then nothing. No voice, at all. "Hello?" I reply, but recieve no answer. "Who's there?" I say, this time louder, but still, no answer. I hear the squealing of breaks, and realize I am in a truck of some sort. Does this mean I have been taken hostage? Did someone harm my family and remove me from my house when I blacked out? I hear the roar of the engine die down, and I ready myself. Whoever comes to get me out is gonna get a rude awakening. I hear the latch of the trailer door come unhooked, and I stand up quickly, ready to lunge at my captor.
"Reaper?" I hear a very feminine voice say, "Are you ok back here? It's time to get out!" The door slides up and the compartment is filled with natural light. After my eyes adjust to the lights, I see a woman standing there. Upon closer inspection, I see that she looks very friendly, and is quite beautiful to behold. She looks at me with a very kind, and loving look, like she a lot of affection for me. "I hope you don't think I am a horrible mother, making you ride in the back of the truck like that, but it was the only place we had room!" She says.
"... Mother?" I think to myself, "This isn't my mother. Not even a slight resemblance to my mother at all."
Then it hits me, "This must be a dream! I passed out from the shock of the Gameboy, and it has triggered a dream! This is how Emerald starts out, and I am living out the opening sequence!"
After I settle upon this way of reasoning, I decide to play along, and let my dream run it's natural course. Besides, being a REAL Pokemon trainer is every nerd's dream at some point, so what could it hurt?
"Nah Mom, you aren't horrible," I tell her, "I just wish you would have left a light on in here or something. Or at least given me a seatbelt. My head is killing me from the ride."
"Well, take some medicine and lay down. OH! Wait, you will have to delay that. You need to go meet the neighbors. Prof. Birch lives here in Littleroot, and he will be delighted to meet his old buddy Norman's son! Plus, I hear he has a daughter about your age too. Maybe you can be friends?"
"Ok, ok. I'll go meet the neighbors," I say, "Be back later."
As I start off to the house next door, leaving the mover's Pokemon to unload the truck, I start to take in the sites. A nice little town with plenty of greenery surrounding it. I see birds flying overhead, but can't make out what kind. "They gotta be Pokemon!" I say outloud, realizing I sound like an idiot. I walk up to my destination, and notice that this house looks almost exactly like my new abode. "Guess I better knock," I say aloud.
-Knock, Knock-
"Come on in!" I hear a woman say from the other side of the door.
I twist the knob, and push the door open.
"OH HI!!" a woman greets me, with way to much enthusiasm, "You must be Norman's son, Reaper! I have been waiting to meet you!"
"Uhh, yes," I respond. "Pleased to meet you. Are you Prof. Birch's wife?"
"Why yes I am. My name is..."
"MOM!!!!!!!" a shout comes from the top of the stairs.
"That would be May, our lovely daughter," she says to me, "Yes dear?"
"Where are my spare PokeBalls?" responds May, who is starting down the stairs.
"Down here!" says her Mom.
As May rounds the corner, I am stunned. She is absolutely breathtaking. Her hair falls gently to her shoulders from underneath a bandanna, and her eyes sparkle with a blue much like the endless sky. She notices me standing there, and smiles.
"Hi, I'm May... You are...?"
"Reaper. I'm your new neighbor."
"Well, nice to meet you Reaper! I'm sorry to rush off, but I have to be going. Maybe we will run into each other sometime? Bye!"
"Hopefully, bye!" I say as she rushes out the door. "Well I better be off. I'll see you around Mrs. Birch."
"Bye Bye!" I hear as I leave her house and start to wander back to my own house. "Hmmmmmm, hopefully I don't wake up before I see May again," I think out loud, "She was definitely something."
"HELP! SOMEONE IS BEING ATTACKED BY A POKEMON IN THE TALL GRASS! PLEASE COME HELP!" I hear suddenly, interrupting my thoughts of May. I turn to my right and notice a young boy waving his arms at me. "PLEASE, MR." he shouts at me,"YOU HAVE TO HELP!"
Without thinking I run towards the kid, who points me in the direction of the attack. I see it happening, a Poochyena is chasing a rather rotund man in a lab coat. "That must be Prof. Birch!" I think. I rush towards him and shout, "Prof. Birch! I'll help!"
Noticing me, the Poochyena turns, and runs at me. I panic and start to back up, tripping over a bag laying on the ground. The rabid Pokemon lunges at me and I manage to get my arm up in defense. It's mouth latches down on my forearm, and it bites down hard.
"OUCH! HOLY CRAP THAT HURTS! I THOUGHT THIS WAS A FREAKING DREAM!" I shout in pain. Flinging the Poochyena off of my arm, I move frantically and my hand lands on something. Thinking it is a rock, I pick it up and chuck it at the Pokemon. It flys wide right, and a flash occurs. I realize that the object that I thought was a rock, was in fact, a Pokeball. The light subsided, and the ball flew back to my hand. I look at the newly released Pokemon, and realize it is a Treecko. The little gecko looks like it isn't very strong at all.
"TRAINER! What are you waiting for?! Use the Treecko to defeat the Poochyena! Hurry, we need to get a look at your arm!" shouts the Prof.
"Uh, ok... Treecko! Use Pound!"
With insane speed, Treecko leaps into the air, flips and brings his tail smashing down onto the head of the Poochyena. The enemy Pokemon staggers backwards, and regains it's composure. It charges at Treecko trying to Tackle it.
"Treecko, brace yourself then use Leer!"
Treecko crosses it's arms and lowers it's body to meet it's opponent head on. It takes the hit and then stares the Poochyena down, causing it to freeze in fear.
"NOW TREECKO! POUND!"
Again, Treecko bashes Poochyena in the head, this time causing it to crumple onto the ground. Treecko looks at me with an approving look, and I raise the PokeBall. "Treecko, you did well, return." A red beam emitted from the PokeBall hit's Treecko, and it disappears into the ball.
I look down at my arm and realize that the bleeding isn't so bad. A bandage will fix it right up. Lost in my own thought, I failed to realize the Prof. looking at me.
"Quick, follow me to the lab, and I will get you fixed up."
He proceeds to walk away from me, and I decide it's best to follow along. He leads me past his house, and my own, to a larger building on the outskirts of town. It's very clean looking, like you would expect a lab to be. The door opens up to let us in, and he leads me to the back of his office.
"What is your name, young trainer?" he asks.
"Reaper. I bealieve you know my father, Norman."
"Well I'll be a Mankey's uncle! You are the great Norman's son? I should have known from the way you battled!" he says as he wraps my arm in gauze, "Which reminds me, you can keep the Treecko you used. I promised Norman that I would give you your first Pokemon when you got here. However, I didn't expect that it would happen like that!"
"Really? My own Pokemon?! Awesome!!" My head was racing! I had a Pokemon! My own! It was mine!
"You can nickname it if you would like. Nicknaming a Pokemon shows that you strive to have a stronger bond with your companions. It helps bring you closer together."
"Yes," I replied, "I believe I'll call my Treecko... Leonidas! I think it's a strong name, and it show's just how strong my new friend is."
With an odd look, the Prof. says, "Well, I think it's a fine name! I'm sure Leonidas will grow strong for his new trainer!"
"Thanks Prof. Birch," I say with a smile.
"Your welcome!" He exclaims, "That should do for your arm! Good as new!"
I examine my arm and see that it is nicely wrapped, and the bleeding seems to have subsided for now.
"Since we have that all taken care of, could I get you to go find my daughter, May?"
My heart gave a slight flutter. "I would be honored! I met her earlier, so I know what she looks like. Any ideas where she headed?"
"Why, she should be up past Oldale town to the north, on Route 103. I asked her to do some research on the Pokemon up there," He says.
"Alright, sir. You can leave it up to me!" I say as I'm heading out the door.
"BE CAREFUL REAPER!" The Prof. shouts in my wake.
"This will be easy!" I think as I walk up to Route 101, excited at the prospect of seeing May again.
***End of Part 1***