Pokemon Beta: Prologue

prologue

Throaty roars filled the air, tearing through the clouds of smoke and dust that blinded the battlefield.  Armored bodies hurled themselves across dirt paths.  Long claws raked along pelts of fur and walls of scale.  Fire exploded.  Electricity flared.  Earth tumbled.  Blood splattered.

            A large man pressed himself between a pair of small homes, his cloak pulled tight across his chest.  A pale hat gripped desperately onto his hair as powerful winds rushed by.   An Onix crashed onto one of the buildings he stood between, shattering what structure was left.  The wooden walls fell down around the man, forcing him to roll out of the small ally.  Dust and dirt flew into the air around him.  He crouched over his chest protectively.  As the flurry cleared, the man blinked his eyes clear and glanced around.

Underneath the Onix’s armored face he could see crimson streaks dripping out of its mouth and eyes that stared blankly off.  The killing blow sat between a pair of layers of rocky skin.  Water oozed out of the opening that nearly tore the creature in two.  Men in brightly trimmed armor trotted around with spears in hand, striking anyone who opposed them.  Several bulky Pokemon followed closely behind finishing off foes.  The teamwork within and between the two groups was impressive.  The man felt a pang of envy.  The men from the village, identified by their furs and stone weapons, stood very little chance, even with powerful bulky Pokemon defending them.

            As the destruction behind him calmed, the giant man shuffled back into his alcove.  It was smaller now, the collapsed building’s wall pressing onto the other home.  Soon the weight of that and the fires swirling around the town would take it down too.  Until then, he would continue to hide, crouched and huddled over something in his cloak.  It shifted slightly, struggling for comfort.

            “Keep searching,” a deep voice boomed over the chaos.  “We were told to clean this place out!”  Screams filtered throughout the air, thicker than the smoke that was probably killing them.  He gritted his teeth, his face contorting in pain.  The screams were snuffed out in short order.

            The man crept further back into the collapsing alcove, bumping into a crumbling wall of wood.  He pushed against it, but his strength and size did nothing against a building.  He stood up, coughing against the smoke creeping out of a window, and opened his cape.  A small creature floated out.  The tiny thing shook, the pink and black petals she held threatening to fall off.  He cupped her in his large hands. “I need your help,” he whispered.  She stared at him with widened, scared eyes, but nodded. 

            “Sir, over here!” The man peeked over his shoulder, the narrow opening making it difficult to turn with his broad shoulders.  Behind him, one of the brightly trimmed soldiers pointed at him shouting.  His heart thudded inside him, rising into his throat. 

            “Now!” He bellowed at the small Pokemon.  She jumped at the sound, but understood.  Raising her small flower, she pointed it at the wall of collapsed wood.  The petals began to glow as she imbued them with an ancient power.  For a brief moment the man thought she would fail, but the flower burst into a barrage of petals.  The pressed against the fallen wall and forcefully shoved it aside, sending it flying.  The intensity of the blow sent gusts of wind and dust through the ally.  Before anything else, the man shoved the flower Pokemon back in his cloak.

            As the nearby chaos settled, the man could see a forest off in the distance.  If he could just safely traverse the farmland in between he’d probably be safe.  “Captain,” a soldier yelled from behind hm.  Without looking back, the man leapt over what was left of the wreckage and began racing across the open ground.  He nearly tripped over the mutilated body of a farmer that lay covered in his own blood.

            Heavy hoof beats followed him, thundering across the earth.  He glanced back and spotted a large Zebstrika bursting out of the town’s wreckage.  It flew over the fallen buildings, landing with a heavy thud on the other side.  Nostrils flaring, it charged forward with powerfully muscled legs carrying it across the field.  Bolts of electricity flashed around its feet.  As it tilted into a full sprint, its head lowered, revealing a familiar rider.  The man turned back to the forest and ran harder, but even with his massive stride he could never outrun such a beast.  It dashed past them and cut them off from the forest, the electricity stunning the man.  It reared dramatically, snorting from the effort.  The man skidded to a stop right under the beast’s feet.  Its hooves began to fall, but a beam of pale light from the man’s cloak threw it backwards.

            The Zebstrika screeched as it fell onto its back, its rider barely rolling out of the way in time.  Out of terror, it released bolts of energy, stunning them all momentarily.  The flower Pokemon landed with a soft thud by his side.  Before he could recover and reach out to her, the blade of a glaive pressed itself against his chest.  A man stood over him, panting heavily.

“I’ve finally found you,” the armored man hissed.  Unlike the rest of his soldiers, a large yellow plume-like ponytail shot out of the back of his helmet.  He also wore a decorative shield on his left arm, a spiraling sun covering most of it.

The large man tensed against the weapon, pressing into it, “Then do it.”

He tisked at the man on the ground, “It’s not in my nature to commit fratricide.”  His eyes wandered over to the small faerie.  “We didn’t think you were still alive,” he continued.  “I was sure that what was left of your people would have turned on you for what you did.”  He waved at the Zebsrika, which had recovered from its fall, “Ezekiel, hold him down.”

“Yes, sir,” the beast snorted, pressing its weight onto the man.  He squirmed and struggled to breathe, but he was trapped.  There was nothing he could do against the weight of it.  The armored man picked up the small Floette.

“You know, brother, all Pokemon in the kingdom are required to fight.”

Author's Note

How was my mood and setting?