Pokemon Ether 01

Chapter 1 - The Journey Begins

Route 4 - Outside of the East Paese Pokemon Academy

Metal hinges scream in distress as the large ornate iron gates slowly close behind Finn Drayton, culminating in an echoing clang that seemed to jolt the very trees around him. He turned to take one last look at the East Paese Pokemon Academy.

"Never thought I'd see the day we finally left this place, Nuzleaf." he muttered to his Pokemon companion who, to his amusement, stood nonchalantly fiddling with his leaf flute, completely obvious to the weight of the moment.

Looking up towards his trainer, Nuzleaf simply nodded and stowed his flute away, ready to start their upcoming journey.

"7 years, we've been here, Nuz. You not sad to be leaving?"

"Nuz, nuz!" he replied, shaking his round head. There was a look of steely determination in his eyes that showed Finn that he was keen to begin their new journey rather than reminisce about their old one.

"Okay buddy, you're right. Lets get a move on. If we make good progress through the woods, we should make it to Bolderton by nightfall." He said, hefting his rucksack onto his back. He took one last look at the gleaming spires of his alma mater, made a deep sigh and trudged off towards the green wall of fauna ahead of him...

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Mystic Falls, Mount Pinnacle

Small stones crunched under feet as the group of 4 unlikely hikers approached their destination.

"Please tell me we're nearly there?!" pleaded the short skinny girl bringing up the rear. "We've been walking for days to find this Arceus damned waterfall, and I haven't seen so much as a stream in the last 4 hours!"

"Patience, Melanie" sighed the slightly taller lady in front of her. "The boss says it is just up ahead."

"The boss said that an hour ago! And don't call me Melanie, Meg! You know I hate it when you call me Melanie!"

"I do." Meg smirked as the group trundled on along the path, winding around the tallest mountain in the region of Paese.

She heard a little huff emanate from behind her as her reluctant colleague swallowed further complaints and pushed to keep up with the group.

Distracted, Meg almost crashed into the back of her large male colleague, Max, who had stopped suddenly and without warning. "What the hell, doofus! A warning would have been nice!"

"You wouldn't need a warning if you looked where you were going." Max said as he shrugged his muscled shoulders and Meg silently seethed.

In another world, Meg would have been attracted to Max. Physically, he was everything she looked for in a man. Tall, strong, rugged enough to be handsome without being too wild. However, the more time she spent in his company, the more she hated the muscled asshole. Arrogant, self loving and sarcastic in equal measure, his personality was everything that she despised in a partner. Such a waste of a good body.

"Why have we stopped?" Mel piped up, finally catching up to the group.

"Boss, thinks she's found something"

"Oh, thank Arceus! Where is she?"

"Around the next bend. She heard water coming from a cave and sent Gengar in to take a look."

"Then why aren't you there, giving her a hand, instead of hiding around the corner?" Meg asked with a almost imperceptible grin.

"Oh, Maxy is terrified of the Boss' Gengar, aren't you Maxy!" Mel sang in delight.

"I'm not afraid of it, Mel" Max snapped. "But there is something about it that just creeps me the hell out!" Max's massive frame visibly shivered as his thoughts returned to the bosses shadowy minion.

"Well, if you want to wait back here like a big old vajayjay, feel free" Meg chided sash squeezed past him to catch up to the boss. "But I for one want to know if we've finally found the Mystic Falls. Don't you... Maxy?"

Mel also squeezed past the still shivering man mountain and skipped around the bend to join the others, suddenly full of positivity after moaning for the better part of two days about the length of their expedition.

"It's only a Pokemon. It's only a Pokemon." Max chanted as he plucked up the courage to follow his colleagues.

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Route 4 - Just outside of Bolderton

The signpost marking out Route 4 angered Finn more than he thought possible. What he had just trudged through could barely be described as a footpath, let alone a 'Route'. He mopped his brow for what felt like the thousandth time that day and trudged on towards the lights of Bolderton in the distance.

An eerie, unsettling whistle emanated from up ahead. Nuzleaf sat on a fallen tree trunk playing his leaf whistle while he waited for his trainer to catch up. "You know, that song of yours can be really creepy sometimes, Nuz!" Finn laughed. It always puzzled him why all the Nuzleaf that he'd met all played the same haunting tune on the flutes they fashion from their sprouting leaves, but at times like this, when the sun was setting and they were still working their way through what was becoming an increasingly dark and worrying forest, it needlessly upped the tension Finn felt running up his spine.

In response, Nuzleaf shrugged, stowed away his flute and effortlessly jumped to his feet to get ready to go yet again. He jumped down from the fallen tree and was about to lead the way when a blood curdling scream tore through the forest around them, making both trainer and Pokemon jump.

"What the hell was that!"

"Nuz, leaf, nuz nuz!" Nuzleaf shouted and pointed off to their left about a second before darting off in the direction he was pointing.

"No, wait!" Finn shouted after his partner but it was too late. He uttered a curse and took off after his unruly companion.

Wet leaves slapped Finn in the face as he sprinted through the brush towards the area that Nuz pointed to. Since the first scream, silence had reclaimed the forest but for the sounds of the odd Method clattering against each other like a gross living wood chime. He was beginning to think he was lost when he heard Nuzleaf up ahead shouting for him to keep up. Another scream followed by the sound of hurried running and a low growl blared through the air. Whatever it was, he was close.

Finn raced through the trees before coming across a small clearing with a small rock face on the far end. Pinned up against the rock face was a terrified young woman in a yellow flowery sundress who was making a futile effort to try and scale the rock face. She appeared to have been penned by a large creature draped in shadow?

Finn stared at the shadowy shape ahead of him, illuminated just slightly in the moonlight. A large, angry-looking Rhydon was snarling and snapping at something in front of it, concealed by it's large frame. As Finn raced closer, he saw that in-between the the bear Pokemon and the girl, was an embattled Chansey, who was giving it's all to protect what Finn could only assume was it's trainer. The Rhydon raised one of it's great limbs and swiped it at the round body of the Egg Pokemon, eliciting a startled cry as it fell to the ground.

"Woah, That was Brick Break" breathed Finn. "I have to do something to end this or that Chansey is in deep trouble." He knew that whilst Chansey are renown for having exceptional defensive stats, a direct hit with a fighting type move like Brick Break would cause some serious damage.

Following movement off to his right, he spotted Nuzleaf, preparing to strike on Finn's command. Fortunately for them both, neither the girl, the Chansey or the Rhydon had spotted either of them yet, which gave them an advantage. "Nuz, use Fake Out!" Finn yelled, and Nuz darted towards the battle, leaping at the last second so that he could land on the Rhydon's large, horned head. Upon landing, Nuzleaf used both hands to slap the rock/ground type Pokemon as hard as he could before jumping away to safety. The Rhydon yelped and jumped back at the sudden interruption. Cold eyes scanning around him for the mystery intruder.

"Keep up the pressure! Use Leaf Blade!" Finn directed. Nuzleaf nodded and darted back towards his foe, slicing at it's legs as he passed. The Rhydon roared as it stumbled downover. "Great job buddy. Let's close this up. Leaf Blade again!" Nuzleaf swung back around so that he was running at the Rhydon head on. He leapt up to deliver the finishing blow to the hulking Pokemon. As Nuzleaf's wooden feet left the ground, however, he was shocked by a quick blur of motion in the dark. The Rhydon's giant stump flashed in front of him, catching him with a Brick Break across the torso.

"No!! Nuzleaf" Finn cried out as the Grass type was flung backwards with force. Nuzleaf landed with a thud but rolled through and popped back up to his feet. A move they had practiced religiously throughout his final years at East Paese. Finn breathed a sigh of relief seeing that the blow hadn't been as catastrophic as first feared, but he could see that the blow caused a lot of damage. "You OK buddy?" he shouted.

"Nuz" nodded his companion, as he readied himself back into a fighting stance.

As Nuzleaf caught his breath, Finn could see that the Rhydon was getting back to his feet and starting to advance on their position. Caught in the moonlight, Finn noticed a large scar trace down the Rhydon's skull, clearly from a previous battle. As both Pokemon moving gingerly, it was clear that the battle would not last much longer but he was wary of the Rhydon's experience given the scar and it's moves. "OK. Time to change things up. Keep your distance and use Razor Leaf!".

Nuzleaf darted around the clearing, circling the increasingly agitated Rhydon. It lashed out, swiping it's giant limbs at it's tormentor. Nuzleaf followed orders and stayed just out of reach, waiting for the Rhydon to lunge so that he could fling some razor sharp leaves at him from a safe distance. He repeated this tactic a few times while the Rhydon flung itself around chasing shadows in the moonlight.

"Now, use Leaf Blade one more time!"

Nuzleaf nodded and waited for it's foe to leap at him one more time, telegraphing the pokemon's movements. The Rhydon leapt forward one last time, swinging it's arm with yet another Brick Break. Nuzleaf dodged the attack and darted around the bringing down his Leaf Blade across it's back. The Rhydon cried out and toppled forward. It spun to face a now stationary Nuz, standing between it and the downed Chansey and roared with frustration before turning away and stomping off into the dark shroud of the forest.

A sudden silence fell upon the clearing, broken only by the quick, shallow breaths of it's current inhabitants. Finn ran over to check on Nuzleaf, who stood still, staring at the trees where the Rhydon had disappeared. Despite overpowering his much larger foe, Finn knew that his quiet companion would be beating himself up for being caught out during the battle. Finn placed a hand on his shoulder and squeezed gently. "We'll both learn from this, Nuz. Come on, let's go."

Nuz broke his stare to look at his trainer, surprised by his understanding and calmness. Nodding to himself, he turned to fall in step as Finn approached the fallen Chansey and still sobbing woman.

"Hey, my name is Finn and this is my partner, Nuzleaf." He said calmly, maintaining a respectful distance. "Are you OK?"

The woman wiped away a tear and turned to look at her saviour. Seeing her face up close in the moonlight for the first time, he saw that despite her puffy eyes and tear stained cheeks, she was gorgeous. Dark hair tied into a ponytail, framed a soft, feminine face as she gave him a shy smile. Finn only realised that he was staring when the Chansey between them let out a low moan and gingerly began to roll over. The woman quickly looked to the injured Pokemon and immediately tried to help it to it's feet, showing surprising strength for her size. Finn darted in to help the woman get Chansey back up to a vertical base.

"Are you OK, Sweetie?" she asked. The Chansey nodded weakly, straining at the effort. "Use Soft-boiled." she asked softly.

Chansey began to hum softly as it reached towards the egg on it's stomach. After a second, the egg began to glow gently, growing gradually brighter and brighter until suddenly the light shot outwards from the egg and spread across Chansey's body. Almost immediately, Chansey stood up straighter and it's breathing steadied.

Finn knew that Pokemon like Chansey could heal themselves through his studies, but this was the first time he had seen it in person. He was suitably impressed.

The woman turned back to face Finn. "My name is Poppy, this is Chansey." she said.

"Chaaan si" The pink Pokemon echoed.

"Thank you both for saving us." Poppy added, bowing in turn to both Finn and Nuzleaf. "I don't know what we'd have done if you didn't show up when you did."

"It was no trouble." Finn lied. "If you don't mind me asking, what are you two doing out alone in the forest at night?"

Poppy blushed with embarrassment. "We were picking berries when we got lost. I thought I knew the way back to Bolderton better than Chansey so took the lead. A couple of hours later, neither of us knew where we were and we ran into that Rhydon as it started getting dark." She suddenly gasped. "Oh no! My boss is going to kill me! I was supposed to be back hours ago to make that Pokeblock he wanted. I can't believe I've been so stupid!" Her breath caught in her throat and Finn could tell she was starting to panic. He reached out to place a hand on her shoulder and gave a gentle squeeze.

"Don't worry, I'm sure it'll all be OK." he assured her. "As it happens, we're heading to Bolderton too, and Nuz here has an excellent sense of direction! If you're up for the hike, we'll take you there in the morning."

"In the morning?" she asked. "Can we not go now? I have to get those berries back to my boss or he'll fire me on the spot!"

"I'm sorry, but I can't risk it." Finn said looking down at Nuzleaf. "I don't know if you saw but Nuz got clocked pretty hard in that battle. I wouldn't normally have a problem taking you if we were both on top form but the truth is we just down't know what's out there." Nuzleaf rubbed his torso where he took the hit and stared a hole in the floor, ashamed.

Poppy saw this and knelt down in front of him, calmly caressing the Pokemon's cheek. "Thank you for what you did Nuzleaf. You were so strong and brave. Finn here is lucky to have you as a partner."

"I am" Finn echoed as Nuz looked up into Poppy's eyes before nodding solemnly.

Rising to her feet again, she turned back to Finn. "What do we do now then? I don't have any camping supplies and the only food I have are those berries" she pointed over her shoulder to a basket Finn hadn't noticed. As she pointed to the basket, they both noticed that it seemed to wobble just slightly before a small furry head popped out and looked directly at them. The Zigzagoon licked it's lips, savouring the taste of the various berries that it had just gorged itself on. Seeing the humans staring at it with open jaws. The racoon Pokemon, took that as it's cue and bounded away to the relative safety of the dark woods surrounding the clearing.

"Oh, I am soon dead when I get back to the day care centre" Poppy huffed as she sank to the floor, deflated. "It took us hours to get those berries! If I turn up a day late with no berries, I'm definitely fired!" She started to sob again.

Finn sank down next to her and put a comforting hand on her shoulder. "I'm sorry Poppy but there's nothing either of us can do about it now. What we need to do is set up camp here until the morning and we'll see what we can scavenge on the way back to town. We have all the camping gear we need to get us through the night in my pack but I would have to ask you to return Chansey to it's poke ball, or it might get a little stuffy in there"

Chansey huffed at Finn but relented and Poppy got up to give her Pokemon a hug. "Thank you for defending me like that Chanse. Have a good rest now. I'll be alright. See you in the morning." Poppy pressed the recall button on Chansey's poke ball and the large egg Pokemon disappeared in a flash of light. She hugged the warm poke ball to her chest and gave it a loving kiss before putting it back on her belt and turning back to Finn and Nuzleaf. "So, where do you want me?"

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Mystic Falls, Mount Pinnacle

The 4 unlikely hikers emerged from the small cave entrance into the freezing mountain air, immediately bracing themselves against the icy chill. "How is it possible that it feels colder now than it did when we went in?" Mel complained, bitterly. "It's colder than an Articuno's arsehole out here!" she shivered.

Max laughed heartily as even he battled stop his teeth chattering while Meg pulled out an extra layer of clothing from her pack and put on in front of them, letting out a contented sigh as she zipped up her windbreaker. "There is no such thing as bad weather, only poor clothing choices!" she recited. Max and Mel shot daggers at the taller lady s she looked back into the cave looking for their boss.

"Is she playing with her new toy or something?" Max asked.

"One does not play with power, Maximilian!" came the disembodied response from within the cave before a shape began to emerge. "What I have in my hand is the first step towards creating a new world, free from war, from violence, from chaos. The Eye of Psydrake is no mere trinket! It is the key to absolute power in this and any world. And it belongs to Team Ether!

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Forest Clearing, Route 4

The campsite had been erected mercifully quickly as the night grew colder. Nuzleaf and Finn had set up the tent while Poppy gathered dry wood from around the clearing for the fire. As soon as the fire was going strong, Finn asked Poppy to mind the fire both as a distraction and as a way of keeping her warm as a chill set in over the forest. When the tent was ready, Finn took a seat next to Poppy and stared into the fire.

"So I told you what I was doing out here, what about you?" she asked.

"I just got out of East Paese this morning...."

"Wait, you just graduated THIS MORNING?" she interrupted

Finn smiled. "Yup, passing out ceremony finished at 11am."

"So you're telling me it's your 18th Birthday, today?!"

Finn looked at his watch. "I guess so, for another hour or so." he shrugged.

Poppy stared at him, trying to work him out. "Well Happy Birthday, I guess." she laughed. "So this is all kinda new to you too, huh?"

"Yes and no. I grew up in the country so my dad made sure I was good with survival skills, even before I met Nuz over there." he pointed towards his companion, who had taken the opportunity to climb a near tree and stretch out on a branch with his back to the trunk and was currently obsessing over his flute. "My dad's used to loan me his Shiftry to battle so that I could get a taste for it before I turned 11"

"Well, I guess that explains why you're a natural battler then." she said while Finn blushed and batted her compliments away. The truth was that battling had always come easy to Finn, it was everything else that came with it that he had to work on. But work on them he did, and his results reflected that. By the time he graduated from East Paese, he was comfortably in the top 3 students in the academy. Only Trey could (and did) claim to be better, and fuck that guy!

The region of Paese differed quite substantially from other regions in how they managed their new Pokemon trainers. Anyone is allowed to catch Pokemon from a young age however, unlike places like Kanto where they set pre-pubescent nightmares free with a vast array of powerful monsters, by law, Paesans can only train one pokemon at a time unless they can gain the necessary qualifications, which is where the region's four main pokemon academies come into play. If your family can afford it or if you qualify academically, you are invited to attend your nearest academy with your pokemon partner. Across seven years of intensive learning, young trainers are taught to train, develop, and look after their pokemon, alongside their regular studies. Over seven years of intensive study, trainers are able to choose their ideal career path and work towards that end. When the students reach their 18th birthday, if they have successfully completed their required qualifications, they are granted their trainer licence, which allows the bearer to catch and train as many as six pokemon at the same time.