//------------------------------// // Chapter 1 // Story: A New World, The Same Way // by Xomniac //------------------------------// Veilstone City. An isolated city high up in the northwest of Sinnoh’s main landmass. Despite this solitude and seclusion, the city is a hub of capitalism and enterprise, filled with Game Corners, department stores, a lucrative shipping industry, and major tourism centered on the varying meteorites dotting the landscape the community was founded around. This, plus the presence of Sinnoh’s Fighting-Type Gym, makes the lonely city a bustling hub of commerce. Of course, like all major metropolises, for all the positive aspects, there will always be dark sides. This dark side was particularly well known to a man known as Johnny. Johnny was a member of a gang in Veilstone known as the Muscleheads, a band of smugglers and narcotic-dealers who specialized in peddling performance-enhancing substances to trainers who wanted their Pokemon strong enough to take the local Gym Leader and her team head on. It was an extremely financially beneficial business. Notoriously illegal, but beneficial. Johnny was a dealer for the Muscleheads, distributing their product to whoever had the money to buy. He was so used to dealing with people who were more bicep than brain by this point that barely anyone could phase him. Currently, Johnny was about ten seconds away from absolutely pissing himself as he ran down an alleyway, scrambling to work a Pokeball out of his belt and toss it over his shoulder as he fled for his life. “Close Combat! CLOSE COMBAT!” He screamed desperately, not even checking to see that the order had registered before reaching the end of the alleyway and ramming his shoulder into the door to the warehouse, bursting through it before slamming it shut and locking as many of the deadbolts and latches on it as he could reach. He then almost shrieked in terror when a hand fell on his shoulder, prompting him to twist around fearfully. “Whoa, hey, chill!” The large man who’d touched him raised his hands in surrender, he and the two other goons behind him backing away from the crazed individual. “Jeeze, Johnny, what’s up? You look like you’ve got a Mismagius on your tale or somethin’.” Johnny panted frantically as he got his wits about him before jabbing his finger behind him towards the door. “B-B-Bruce! I-it’s him, Bruce, it’s that-that-that thing! It found me! It found me, it followed me here! W-we gotta get out of here before the rest of them show up!” Bruce frowned in confusion. “Johnny, what the hell are you-?” His expression morphed into one of pure horror as he put the pieces together. “Wait... by ‘him’, you don’t mean-?” “It’s the Gentleman!” Johnny hissed agitatedly. “The Gentleman sicked that damn behemoth of his on me! We need to pack up and get out here before-!” “Before what!?” Bruce demanded furiously. “It’s already over! You said it yourself, that thing’s hot on your trail and he can’t be far behind!” “Hey, don’t worry!” Johnny defended hastily. “I-I set Primeape on him! With any luck, that thing didn’t tell its master where he was going and we’ll have time to get out of here before he comes looking!” “You think that your Primeape, let alone any Pokemon, can last more than three seconds against that thing!?” Bruce sputtered incredulously. Johnny allowed himself a shaky smile. “H-hey, don’t worry about it! I told him to use Close Combat, it’s probably down by now! I mean, come on, Primeape’s a Fighting-Type, and that thing’s-!” CRASH! The drug peddlers jumped in fear and stared in horror at the unconscious and thoroughly beaten Primeape that had been thrown through the wall and was imbedded in a nearby cargo container. “Called a monster for a reason...” Bruce muttered, fumbling to unclip one of his Pokeballs from his belt, a motion that was imitated by the others behind him... “GYAH!” Until one of them suddenly collapsed in pain, clutching his knee in agony. “FUUUCK!” He screamed, rocking back and forth as he clutched the undamaged part of his anatomy. “MY KNEE! S-SOMETHING’S IN MY KNEE!” Johnny made to help him, but was held back by  Bruce. “Don’t bother,” The larger man breathed. “He’s a dead man either way.” Johnny made to protest... but was cut off by something whipping out of the shadows of the warehouse, wrapping around the man’s leg and yanking him into the darkness, his scream dying off within instants. “Oh fuck me...” Johnny breathed in horror. The other goon stumbled backwards, shaking his head frantically. “No... just... hell no! Screw you guys, I’m out of- WAGH!” Whatever he was about to say net was lost in a shriek of fear when something small and pitch black leapt out of the shadows, onto his body and began to maul him like a wet Meowth. “GET IT OFF!” He shrieked, stumbling around blindly as he fought to dislodge the creature. “FOR THE LOVE OF DIALGA, GET IT O-ACK!” He was cut off by the same something as last time whipping around his neck and dragging him away. “We’re dead.” Bruce decided flatly. Johnny swallowed heavily as he glanced around fearfully. “M-maybe we can make a break for it? Get out before they-?” Once anew, he was interrupted. This time by the loud sound of something retching violently and a wave of an absolutely horrendous-smelling liquid flooding across the floor. Bruce and Johnny gagged as the fumes emanating from the toxic concoction hit their noses. “S-sludge Wave!” Bruce wheezed. “We gotta get out of here!” Johnny coughed, running towards the hole his Primeape had created as it forcibly entered the warehouse, sparing a moment to flash his Pokeball and return said simian to its container. Once outside, he and Bruce collapsed to their knees, coughing and hacking miserably as they tried to clear their lungs. “W-what do we do now...?” Johnny moaned. Bruce made to respond... “Now?” But was halted by something pressing itself into the bottom of his chin and forcefully directing his head upwards. Slowly, fearfully, the pair tilted their heads back and observed the person standing before them. He was a relatively tall man, most of his form enshrouded by shadows, save for the black-gloved hand that was clutching the cane pressed into Bruce’s jaw. Flanking the man were six inhuman figures of varying sizes that were watching them apathetically. “Now you pay the price.” The man stated, his voice the height of etiquette, prim and proper. Johnny swallowed heavily, fighting to keep himself from pissing his pants. “W-wait, please-!” He begged. “‘Please’?” The man tilted his head to the side questioningly as he regarded the pair like he would a particularly repugnant Bug-Type. “My dear boy, you’ve broken the rules that I enforce in this dear city of mine. That crime alone guarantees the lack of any and all mercy in your treatment. ‘Please’ has no place in this conversation whatsoever. Actually, on second thought, I’d prefer not to waste words on either of you at all. Good night.” “Nononowai-!” THWACK! THUNK! Whatever Johnny was about to say morphed into a moan as the man whipped the cane up and swiftly clubbed the pair in the head, leaving them to moan pitifully as they slipped into unconsciousness. The man sniffed disdainfully as he brought his cane up and began to wipe off its end. “Filthy barbarians...” He then began to regard the warehouse they’d burst out of. He glanced at one of the figures behind him out of the corner of his eye. “It’s empty?” One of the figures grunted in a positive-sounding manner. “Good.” He turned around and began to walk out of the alleyway. “Burn it to the ground.” All but one of the figures followed him, the last taking a moment to rear his head back and then whipped it forwards, unleashing a massive plume of flames that cascaded into the warehouse. The figure followed behind its comrades once it was certain that the warehouse was well and truly ablaze. The group walked away, leaving the building to burn steadily into the night. -o- Officer Jenny growled furiously as she observed the smoldering ashes of what had once been a warehouse, impatiently tapping her foot on the ground as firefighters, investigators and their Pokemon investigated the scene. ‘Come on, come on, where is she...’ She thought agitatedly, snapping her head back and forth as she searched the streets for a certain individual. Finally, she was rewarded when she caught sight of the person she was waiting for stumbling around the corner. ‘Finally!’ She thought in exasperation, running up to the person. “Maylene! What took you so long!?” “Je-nnyyy...” The bathrobe-clad Gym Leader moaned pitifully, blearily rubbing her eyes, which were half-closed with exhaustion. “Why did you call me? It’s three o’clock in the morning! I was sleeping...” Her words were backed up by her disheveled hair and the bandage that was only partially hanging on to her nose. She then blinked as she took in the scene of destruction before her. “Whoooaaa... what happened here?” “Hmm, let’s see...” The blue-haired police officer tapped her chin sarcastically. “This warehouse held several large shipments of illegal muscle boosters and other illicit substances, we found four skivvy individuals with criminal records bearing Musclehead tattoos tied to a lamppost on the street near the warehouse with their Pokeballs hanging in a bag above them, and said fire was apparently started with a Flamethrower attack. WHAT DO YOU THINK HAPPENED!?” She finished in a shout of rage. Maylene leaned back and blinked in muted shock as she processed the statement. “Ah... they were attacked by a rival gang-member with a Houndoom?” Officer Jenny’s eye twitched for a moment as she growled in annoyance before she finally grabbed Maylene by the front of her robe and began to drag her down the street. “Come with me!” “Woah!” Maylene stumbled as she tried to keep up with the enraged officer. “W-where are we going?” “Papa Pierre’s Pizzeria!” “Oooooh, really?” Maylene’s eyes lit up at the mention of food. “Are we getting pizza for breakfast?” “NOT EVEN CLOSE!” “Aww...” -o- In the well-lit and polished dining hall of the twenty-four hour eatery known as Papa Pierre’s Pizzeria, only one individual was partaking in the delicious Johto-original dish at the insane, Un-Legendary hour. This individual was a tall, well-dressed and out-of-place man, whose attire- suit, fedora, gloves and cane- were all far too highbrow for the obviously low-key eatery. Even his Pokeballs, well-kept and thoroughly polished, denoted a level of wealth and status that would have been otherwise unheard of in the establishment. Nevertheless, the man hummed pleasantly as he savored bite of cheese pizza he was partaking in. Once he’d swallowed, he cast a winning smile towards the counter of the restaurant. “As delicious as always, Francois! This is why I eat so late, your pies are truly magnificent!” The man standing behind the counter laughed generously as he rubbed his head in embarrassment through the large chef’s hat he was wearing. “Only the best for you, sir! After all, there isn’t a customer around who I like serving more than you!” “Mag! Magby bee!” A short, red-skinned creature with a spout-like mouth cried happily in agreement, waving around a pizza spatula enthusiastically. “Heh, and it looks like little Pierrot agrees with me!” The chef laughed as he rubbed the Magby’s head affectionately. “Now now, Francois!” The well-dressed man shook his finger at the chef mock-accusingly. “I trust you aren’t disgracing your other customers by serving them substandard pies!” “Gasp!” The chef whipped his hand to his chest in exaggerated insult. “You wound me, monsieur!” “Well we can’t have that, can we? Allow me to make it up to you!” The man chuckled in a good-natured manner before snapping his fingers expectantly. “Garcon! Your wine list!” The Magby cried joyfully as he swiped a sheet of laminated paper from behind the counter and ran up to the man, proffering it to him eagerly. The man chuckled kindly as he patted Pierrot on the head and took the list. “Thank you, Garcon.” He then began to lazily contemplate the menu. “Let’s see... I believe I’ll have the... Alto Mare 4982.” Francois felt a thrill of exhilaration as he recalled the price of said bottle. “An excellent choice, Mister-!” “JASPER EARNSHAW!” Both Francois and Pierrot jumped in shock and fear when a female shriek rang out and the door to the restaurant was kicked open. The suited man, however, was unaffected as he handed the menu back to the magby. “On second thought, better make it a Battle Chateau 4919. Ah, and here!” He drew a folded banknote out of his pocket and handed it to the short Pokemon. “For your troubles.” The Magby took one look at the note before squealing in shock and running straight back to Francois and waving the piece of paper about excitedly. The chef took the note from his hand, saw the amount of zeroes, and smiled enthusiastically at the man. “Right away, Mister Earnshaw!” He cried as he and his Pokemon entered the back to search for the desired bottle. Jasper’s smile never left his face as he watched an irate, blue-haired officer march up to his table, flanked by a pink-haired and drowsy Gym Leader and a somewhat uncomfortable-looking orange-furred dog. “Officer Jenny, what a pleasure it is to see you again!” He greeted, doffing his hat politely before nodding at her companions in turn. “And you, Gym Leader Maylene, and you as well, young Growlithe!” Maylene waved at the man tiredly. “Morning, Jasper.” “Growr!” The Growlithe barked, panting at him happily. SLAM! The two jumped in shock and fear when Jenny slammed her palms on the table, leaning forwards and glaring at the nonplussed man. “Cut the crap, Earnshaw,” She snarled indignantly. “You’re not getting away with it this time. Tell him, Maylene!” Maylene started slightly at being addressed before nodding hastily. “Ah-! S-she’s right! You’re going away for a long time, you bad, bad man!” Jasper pouted slightly as he folded his hands in his lap. “Is that so? Well, that’s a crying shame. Are you sure we might not be able to put our differences aside over, say...” He gestured innocently at the mostly whole pizza before him. “A slice of tomato sauce and mozzarella? I have more than enough for all of you.” In an instant, Maylene’s mood snapped from exhausted to eager, drool hanging from her lips as she stared hungrily at the delicious dish before her. “For reals? Whatever you say, Mister Earnshaw sir!” “MAYLENE!” Jenny snapped irritably. “But Jeeeennyyy...” Maylene whined, gesturing helplessly at the table. “Piiizzaaa! I’m sooo hungry...” Jasper chuckled good-heartedly as the police officer stared daggers at the League member. “Such animosity...” He leaned over and grinned at the onlooking Growlithe. “What about you, boy? You want a slice?” “Grow-wow!” The Puppy Pokemon yapped eagerly, lipping his lips. “Alright then, catch!” The man took a slice of the pizza and flung it into the air, prompting the young canine to wheel around and dash after the slice, leaping into the air and opening his mouth wide to receive it. Jenny growled in frustration as she unclipped her Pokeball from her belt with practice and pointed it over her shoulder. “Return.” The Growlithe disappeared in a flash of red light, leaving the slice to splatter against the ground. Jasper tutted reproachfully as he observed the mess. “I do hope you intend to pay for that, Officer. That was a criminal waste of a perfectly good slice of pizza!” “Bite me, Earnshaw!” The officer snarled. “You can’t talk yourself out of this one. I don’t care how much money you have or how ‘friendly’ you are, I am done letting you flaunt the law like it’s nothing more than a... a guideline!” “My dear constable!” Jasper whipped his hand to his chest in over-exaggerated offense. “I assure you, I have nothing but the utmost of respect for the laws that you so endearingly uphold!” He flashed her a cheeky grin. “Shall I testify to such under oath?” Jenny’s eye twitched violently before she reached into her back pocket and slammed a pair of handcuffs onto the table. “Assume. The position.” Jasper sighed wearily as he extended his wrists before himself. “Really now, Officer. Can’t we at least attempt to be civil?” SLAM! “OW!” He grunted as his face was slammed into the table and his arms were wrenched behind his back. “That was hardly necessary...” He groaned. “Not in my book...” Officer Jenny growled as she fastened the metal bracelets around his wrists. “Jasper Earnshaw, you are under arrest for arson, assault and battery with a Pokemon, and for being an absolute, unrepentant ass. Say goodbye to your freedom, scumbag, because I promise you, this time, nothing short of divine intervention will set you free!” It was at that point that the night sky was suddenly lit by a blinding ray of light. “Well now...” Jasper stated succinctly. “That is both extremely fortuitous and unfortunate.” “Oh you have got to be-!” “Rest now my children, for when you awake a whole new world shall be your home.” And everything became white. -o- Jasper groaned fuzzily as he re-entered the waking world, his skull throbbing with more pain than he thought was possible. “Owww... did anyone get the number of that Rampardos’s owner?” He moaned, bringing his wing up to his forehead. ‘...wait a moment...’ Jasper slowly opened his eyes and regarded the pitch-black feathers that appeared to have replaced his fingers. Upon secondary examination, he noted that the feathers on the inside of his wings were actually dark red. He blinked slowly as he processed this fact before slowly pushing himself up and climbing to his... ‘I have talons...’ He noted numbly. Looking down at his body, he noted more facts. ‘And a  predominantly black plumage, save for a white crest on my chest...’ He raised his wing and felt the top of his head. ‘And this black one on my head, shaped like a fedora...’ Jasper blinked again as he considered the information presented to him. ‘I appear to have somehow become a Honchkrow. How ironic, yet oddly fitting...’ He looked up and around himself, taking in his snow-covered surroundings and the brick buildings that formed the alleyway he was apparently in. ‘Also, I am, apparently, in a set of unfamiliar surroundings. That, or Snowpoint City.’ Suddenly, glancing downwards, he noted an object lying in the snow next to him. ‘Well. It would appear that my cane came alongside me. Good. It cost me a small fortune. It would be a shame if I found myself having to replace it.’ He leaned over, stumbling slightly due to his unfamiliar and displaced center of balance, before picking up the rod of wood, clutching the curved top with his feathers in a manner similar to how he’d seen Farfetch’d hold their leeks in pictures and documentaries. Jasper stared at his cane emotionlessly before breathing out of his nose and pressing his cane to his forehead. “Do not panic. Panic is the mind-killer. You have succeeded by using panic to your advantage in the past. Do. Not. Panic.” He muttered quietly to himself. He took in a deep breath... and then released it slowly. “Alright... prioritize... no Pokeballs around... so I don’t know where my family is. That... is a definite priority.” “Alright, ground-pounder! Hand over all your bits, now!” The Honchkrow clenched his eyes shut and let out a heavy sigh of exasperation. “Although I suppose it plays second-fiddle to that. Miranda was right, my good-samaritanism is a curse...” And with that, he passed his cane into his talons, flapped his wings, took to the air...! And promptly scrambled to land on his talons instead of his face when he fell back down to the ground, only just swapping his cane back to his wing in time to catch himself with it. “Right, going to have to work on that...” He grumbled before waddling towards the raised voices as fast as his avian legs allowed, aided somewhat by his cane. -o- Maud blinked slowly as she stared up at the two heavily-built pegasi that were hovering above her. “You hear me, dirt-for-brains?” The one on the left with the switchblade cutie mark growled, flexing his well-built biceps menacingly. “This is Baron territory. You either hand over the bits, or we’ll break your legs.” “Hehehe, yeah,” The other, with a griffin knuckle-duster Cutie Mark, chuckled darkly. “It’ll be fun seeing ya try and crawl away.” Maud withheld a weary sigh as she watched her two assailants. This was the third time that month that she’d been held up, and it wasn’t even the second half of it yet. Really, it was getting quite annoying by this point. To say that Stalliongrad had been different than she’d expected would be a major understatement. Yes, some aspects were as promised. Cold? Yes, but nothing she couldn’t handle. Isolated? Most definitely, but she liked it that way. Diverse population? A higher than average population of griffins, a few dozen minotaurs and zebra, even the odd diamond dog. Highly-profitable trade industry? Apparently, the isolation allowing for easy airship-access, coupled with its relative proximity to Griffinhiem, all but guaranteed it. What she hadn’t been prepared for was the distinct lawlessness. It wasn’t that the Royal Guard didn’t have a presence, it was just that due to the divisiveness over varying equally represented and supported political factions constantly vying control of the local government, they never got enough support and leeway to do any good. As such, the city had been all but carved up by three major gangs: The Conclave, a unicorn-centric organization that was relatively civilized and ran a variety of protection rackets and smuggling and gambling rings, The Cultivators, a hard-headed and extremely thick-skinned band of Earth Ponies who grew and sold everything from azaleas to poison joke, and finally the Barons, the ever-violent and xenophobic gang of pegasi whose sole goal was complete and utter control of whatever territory they could get their hooves on. Ironically enough, all three gangs equally hired griffons based on their availability and necessity, due to the hybrids bearing enough traits to make them neutral territory. “Hey! Equestria to earth-head! Are you hearing me, or is there too much mud in your ears to listen to anything?! Are you gonna hand over the bits or what!?” Maud blinked again as the Baron spoke up. She’d been so lost in her thoughts, she’d almost forgotten about them. It had been happening a lot lately, due to the combined stress of having to remember who controlled where and attempting to think of anything other than the extravagant student loans she needed to pay off. While the education she was receiving in the Stalliongrad University of Geology in order to obtain her Rocktorate was top-notch, it was also expensive. As such, she couldn’t afford to spend her bits on anything. Not on quality food, not on a better apartment, and definitely not on a pair of chauvinistic pegasi. Maud shook her head slowly in denial. “No. I won’t give you my bits. I don’t want to.” The pegasi glanced at each other incredulously before giving her a pair of vicious grins. “On your head be it.” The one on the left chuckled. The two started to swoop down... “KROW!” “HEY!” “WHAT THE-!?” Maud blinked in surprise when a large, black-feathered and vaguely crow-shaped bird suddenly hopped in front of her, jumping up and down and waving a stick- no, a cane, she noted idly- a cane at the pegasi, cawing and squawking at them furiously. “What the Tartarus-?” The second pegasus asked in confusion. “Move it, ya dumb bird!” The first pegasus demanded, waving his hoof irritably. Instead of complying, the odd bird gripped his cane with both his wings and swung it even more forcefully. “KROW! KROW! HONCHKROW KROW!” “Tch...” The knife-mark’d pegasus scoffed, lowering himself and extending his hooves. “Dumb bird. You don’t wanna move? Fine! Eat my-!” THWACK! “OW!” The pegasus cried out in pain when the bird suddenly leapt up and slammed its cane straight down on his forehead. The pegasus growled furiously as he glared down at the bird. “Right, that tears it, no more mister nice-pegasus. I hope that Sergov is hungry, because he likes his meat raw!” “KROW!” The crow-bird cried, waving his cane about defiantly. That was when Maud chose to step in. She laid her hoof on the bird’s shoulder, prompting it to halt in its actions and look at her in confusion. “Thank you.” She stated simply. She then looked at the pegasi and narrowed her eyes minutely. “Leave. Now.” The knuckle-duster pegasus snorted derisively. “Why? What the Tartarus can you... you... you... ah...” His protests swiftly died when Maud slipped her hoof beneath a nearby dumpster and hefted it above her head. “Leave.” She repeated flatly. The pegasi glanced at one another before flapping their wings and darting away. “THIS ISN’T OVER, ROCK-HEAD! WE’LL TELL THE BARONS! WE’LL HAVE YOUR HEAD ON A-!” “DUDE, SHUT UP! I DON’T WANNA GET CREAMED!” And with that, they were gone. Maud and the bird stared after them silently for a moment until the bird turned to her, puffed its chest out and folded its wings over the top of its cane. “Honch, Honch krow. Krow krow, honch krow Honch.” It cawed, raising its wing and nodding its head as though doffing its hat-like plumage. Maud stared at it evenly. “I can’t understand you.” She stated. The crow blinked twice before slapping its wing to its face. It then glanced back and forth before noticing a patch of untouched snow. It then hopped over to the snow, reaffirmed its grip on its cane and... Maud blinked in surprise when the crow stuck its cane in the snow and actually started to write something. “Can you read this?” The crow turned its head and looked at her expectantly. Maud nodded, indicating her understanding. The crow hopped up and pumped his wing victoriously. It then hopped over to a wider stretch of snow and began to write with earnest. “Perfect! Now, my name is Jasper Earnshaw. I am a being known as a human, who is currently in the form of a Honchkrow. Would you mind telling me who you are and where I am? I’m a bit lost.” Maud read the message silently before pointing her hoof at herself. “My name is Maud Pie. I’m an Earth Pony.” She then gestured at the buildings surrounding the two of them. “This is Stalliongrad. A city in northern Equestria.” The Honchkrow blinked at flatly before slowly writing out another message. “Well... it would appear that I’m in quite the pickle.”