//------------------------------// // Chapter 1: Planned Departure, Unexpected Arrival (Revised) // Story: Equestria, I Choose You! // by BronyDJ //------------------------------// I awoke to the loud ringing of my alarm clock. Not even bothering to sit up, I swat blindly in the direction my clock was. After several minutes and failed attempts, I managed to hit the off button, I looked at the clock; it was 8:30 AM. Despite coming home late from a party the previous night, I didn't feel groggy at all. I sat up at the side of my bed, then heard someone knocking at my bedroom door. "Come in!" I called, stretching my arms. A short, bipedal creature with figure that closely resembled a white dress and had what looked like green hair walked into the room. My first, oldest, and strongest Pokemon companion, Gardevoir, or as I call her, "Nova," entered the room. "Good morning, Stephen." She said. Actually, Pokemon can't speak, but Nova is able to communicate with me telepathically. After more than a decade of training and traveling together, we've built a bond that no force, natural nor unnatural, can break. She can also help me understand my other Pokemon and ones in the wild. A kind traveling trainer, a young man named Riley, helped with that whilst training his Riolu, along with helping her sense energies, or auras, that emanate from every living being. "Good morning, Nova." I remarked. "You seem awfully excited today." Despite her being fully evolved and usually very mature, she still failed to hide her enthusiasm at certain times. "Of course!" She replied, as I got off of my bed. "We get to experience something no other person and his Pokemon have ever done before! Don't you think it's wonderful? And to think you doubted Bill's ideas." "Well..." I started, thinking of all of the failed projects I've helped my tech savvy friend with. "I don't doubt without reason, Nova. On average, his latest projects have had a success rate of 65%. It's enough to give anyone pause." Nova considered this, then replied, "I suppose that makes sense." She smiled, hope and trust were evident in her tone. She added, "But if this project is anywhere near as a successful as his PC Boxes, then it'll be an enormous breakthrough!" "It better work," I said with a laugh. "He has me waking up 3 hours earlier than I usually do." I walked out of my room and into the main part of my one story house. It was small, but had all that was necessary: a bathroom, small kitchen with dining table, and a small living room with a small television. I went ahead into the kitchen and proceeded to prepare myself some cereal for breakfast. I noticed Nova sitting on the couch in the living room, content and patient. "Did you eat already, Nova?" I asked. I wouldn't dare leave for Bill's house before taking care of my Pokemon. "I'm fine, Stephen." The Gardevoir responded. She looked to me and continued, "I was so excited that I woke up and ate a bit early." I smiled in response. I looked down after a moment and realized that I never actually touched my cereal, and started my breakfast. As I ate, I my eyes wandered around the living room until their gaze rested upon a series of 5 large frames on a wall. In them, were the respective badges of the eight gym leaders from each region, and a certificate stating that I had defeated the Elite Four and surpassed the Champion in each region. I played each League Champion battle in my head as I ate, from Blue here in Kanto, to the two Unova League Champion battles with Alder, then later against Iris. The most difficult Champion by far, honestly, was Cynthia. Seriously, everything was going so well until that damned Garchomp of hers came out and easily took down what I thought would be an easy way to win. It also happened to be the most intense and closest battle I ever had, aside the one against the Legendary Red, who I have never been able to defeat. Seeing the 5 frames made me smile. I remember when I used to still go out and challenge other trainers and friends to battles. What a rush that had been. But now, at 24 years old, I just wanted to settle down and take care of my Pokemon friends, maybe become a Breeder, like many of those I met in my journeys.A Professor, maybe? My head was still in the clouds for a while until I noticed Nova trying to get my attention. "Stephen!" She called, finally breaking me out of my nostalgic state. "You're going to be late!" I looked to the wall behind and looked to the clock; it was almost 10 o' clock! Bill needed me to be at his house by now! I spent most of an hour just daydreaming! I pushed myself away from the table, grabbed my now empty bowl and quickly washed it and placed it in the dish-holder. Then I ran to the bathroom, took a 2 minutes shower and began to get dressed as quickly as possible. I put on my usual going-out get-up: black jeans, dark blue t-shirt, and a white button down shirt that I always kept open. Then I looked around, panicking as I couldn't find the most two important things I should have as a Pokemon Trainer: my backpack and my ball-sash. "Nova!" I called out. "Help!I can;t find my-" I was cut off by the sight of my green backpack floating towards me, surrounded by a light blue aura. "Thanks, Nova." I turned to her and saw that she was also holding my ball-sash. What's a ball-sash, one may ask? It sounds a bit weird, but it's quite a simple concept. It's a black strip of a certain material (I forget what) that somehow holds the minimized shape of a Pokeball when not in use. When you reach and remove the ball from the sash, it turns into the generic size Pokeball we're all familiar with. It only holds six balls, as a Trainer should only have six Pokemon on him. Nova was the only one of my Pokemon that I refused to put in a Pokeball unless in very dangerous situations. I donned my backpack and sash when I heard a someone knocking at my front door. "Hey Stephen!" A very familiar female voice called from behind the wooden barrier. "Let's go, You're going to be late!" "Hm?" My companion Gardevoir recognized the voice. "I thought we were going to meet her at Bill's house?" I shrugged as a reply. I walked over to the front door and opened it to reveal a young woman about my age. She had long brown hair, a white shirt, and knee-length jean shorts (think of a somewhat older Hilda or Black/White girl model).She also had a ball-sash and was carrying a medium size bag for her own Pokemon-related items. "Hey, Kara." I greeted, surprise evident in my tone. "I thought we were going to meet up at Bill's place?" The girl named Kara waved her hand and replied, "And what, miss that chance for a ride with you, sweetie?" With that she gave me a kiss on the cheek. She pulled away and saw Nova behind me, and went over to the Pokemon. "Nova! How are you?" The two girls hugged for a bit and smiled. "I'm doing fine, Kara." Nova answered. Then continued with a serious face, "But I really hope we can make it to Bill on time." "That's right! Let's go, Stephen!" Kara took my hand and began pulling me out towards my car in front. Nova followed and stayed behind to close and lock the house door and joined us at the car, sitting in the backseat. The ride to Bill's house was about twenty minutes long, beating the hour-long walk. It was a quiet ride, except for a little small talk between the girls about Kara's Pokemon and their well-being. Pulling up to the house, I looked to Kara, who asked "Are you okay? Nervous?" "Yeah," I replied. "This is definitely a huge development for us. I really can't wait for what happens." With that, the 3 of us got out of the car and walked up to Bill's house at Cerulean Cape. It was a bit secluded, separated by a small natural maze of trees and hedges stood between our destination and Cerulean City. When we reached the house, we could see a huge antennae on his roof. "Stephen," Kara looked to me, concern written on her expression. "Are you absolutely sure you want to go through with this?" "Yes." I nodded. "I have faith that Bill's project will be successful, and that I won't get hurt. Besides, if I do get lost somewhere, I'll have my Pokemon with me." I noticed Nova smiling proudly at my remark. I knocked on Bill's door and was greeted by another face. A blonde girl wearing glasses popped out to greet us. She looked excited, although very exhausted. "Stephen, Kara, Nova!" Bebe smiled and hugged each of us. Then commented, "You're late." We apologized then followed her into the house, where it was obvious that Bill and Bebe were hard at work. Several computers were running at once, endless numbers and figures being processed in milliseconds. Coffee rings and empty mugs were seen on the desks. A tired looking Bill was in the corner of the room, tapping away at a device connected to a huge cylinder near the back of the room. After closer inspection, the front of the cylinder had a door and small window. The giant device had wires leading out a window and going up towards the huge antennae on the roof. "Bill!" I called to get his attention. "How's it coming?" He turned to me with bags under his eyes. "So far, so good Stephen. That last variables you added to the processes really sped things up for us." He pointed to a nearby monitor that read, Connection to One Island: Successful. My tech savvy friend continued, "My buddy Celio managed to fix the wiring for his receiving machine. We'll be up and runnig in no time!" I pat his back and asked, "Are you okay, man?" I hated seeing Bill overworking himself like this. He looked like he hadn't slept in days, and the occasional eye twitch showed evidence of non-stop computer work."You gotta stop pushing your limits. You might hurt something in that giant mind of yours." He smiled and replied, "I'm used to doing this, Steve. Don't worry, I'll feel much better once we get this baby online and working successfully. In the meantime, I've got some stuff for you. I've been wanting to get these to you for a long time." He brought me over to a long table where Nova and Kara were admiring what lay on it. The first things I saw appeared to be 6 pristine red-and-white Pokeballs, not unlike ones you would buy at a Pokemart. I looked to Bill, holding one. "What's so special about these, Bill?" I asked, a skeptical look upon my visage, yet a smug one on his. "Turn it over." He simply replied. I turned the ball in my hands and noticed what looked like a small screen. It was blank. Before I could ask again, Bill said. "Call Nova into the ball." I turned to Nova, who stood ready to be called into the Pokeball. I extended my arm, ball in hand and said, "Nova, return." The capsule ball opened, and my Gardevoir briefly turned into a mass of red energy that quickly flowed into the Pokeball. When it closed, I looked at the screen on the back. It had things like 'Name: Nova (Gardevoir)","Status:None","Level: 100." I looked up to Bill, and he chuckled at the astonished look on my face. "A little help from Kurt, and BAM," Bill said. "New Pokeball!" He stood, arms crossed, a very proud smile on his face. He continued, "Now call her back out." I did so, and once Nova was completely out of the ball, the screen just read "EMPTY". "What does 'level' mean?" I asked. "When a Pokemon is at its peak in terms of power and potential, in which it will stay for a time, it will be considered to be a high level." Bill explained. "Seeing as you've trained all of your Pokemon here around the world and for such a long time, it would be no surprise to see them at level 100 or similar." I nodded to show I understood. "Status is the basic, obvious part; it shows if a Pokemon is Poisoned, Paralyzed, or Asleep. I turned to him, and before I could ask another question he cut me off and answered, "Yes these are compatible with the ball-sash." I swear, he's a freaking mind reader sometimes. "I could also transfer your other Pokemon into the new balls, if you'd like." I nodded my thanks, and gave him the rest of my team. He walked over to another machine in the corner that looked similar to a Pokemon Center's healing machine. He placed the 5 Pokeballs of my team and placed five of the new Pokeballs on another side. About a few minutes later, he came back with my team in their new Pokeballs. I looked at the rear monitors to check to have the members of my strongest team. My strongest companions were nicknamed: Nova, Volta, Patrician, Tempest, Reaper, and Maple. This team was composed as a combination of the strongest Pokemon of my best teams from each of the 5 regions and Nova, the one I've been training from my childhood. "Thanks a bunch, Bill. This'll really come in handy." I gave my friend a quick hug. "I really appreciate this." "C'mon, man. I had to. You were volunteering for this, I'd feel really bad that if I didn't help my good friend with his stuff. "Plus this way, I repar the favor of your being the subject in our project. "Bill," Kara spoke up, she'd been observing Bebe's work on the computers. "If this hurts Stephen in any way, I'll have to kill you." I laugh and respond, "Don't worry, Kara." I approach and give her a hug and kiss for good measure. "I'll be fine. I trust Bill." After sharing quick kiss with her, I add, "Somewhat." "Hey!" The techie yelled. "I heard that!" "You were supposed to, Bill." I laughed. I kissed Kara one more time and walked over to the cylinder. "C'mon Bill, let's get this over with." The door to the machine opened with a hiss. Before entering the machine, I double checked that I had a sufficient amount of the necessary items in my bag, as well as all 6 of my companions on my sash. There was a convenient space in the cylinder for me to stand in, which I did. I watched as the door slowly closed on me. I looked around this machine and saw lights and switches and monitor with random figures flashing away. I gulped down my fear, and took deep breaths. Nova was safe in her Pokeball, and Kara was next to Bill and Bebe on the Device connected to the teleporter. The three gave a wave, eager to see what would happen. Bill then nodded to Bebe, who began tapping away at the device. While this was happening, I managed to keep my eyes on Kara. She noticed this, smiled, then blew me a kiss. That gave me some confidence; if this experiment was successful, I'd have someone waiting for me at home. I didn't want to think of any negative consequences, they'd just freak me out. "Stephen!" I could barely hear Bill through the thick metal door. "Good luck! We'll see you on the other side!" I nodded in response and he took it as the signal to proceed. "Hit it, Bebe!" I suddenly felt light headed, and felt myself being violently compressed and getting smaller. It wasn't pleasant; I recall shouting, but can't remember what it said due to all of the pain. After a moment of total body-wracking shock, I blacked out. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ I awoke, but my eyes wouldn't open. I could feel the hard ground on against my face. My body wouldn't respond, no matter how hard I tried. After a while, I was able to slowly move my hand, and felt loose dirt and bit of very dry grass. Where was I? Did Celio have his device outside? Did I fall out of it? With a little more effort, I opened my eyes and they were met with a light brown, dry ground. I managed to slowly turn over and sit up. I l squinted up at the sun, and what I could tell, it wasn't noon yet. I set my gaze around me, and to my shock, there was nothing! I could make out some trees to my left, but nothing but expansive dryland everywhere else. A few tall mountains stood about a hundred miles in front of me. The one thing that was obvious: I was not on One Island. I had been all over the world of Pokemon, but this place was completely unfamiliar. I felt my eye twitch. "GODDAMMIT BILL, I'M GOING TO DESTROY YOU!"