Chapter 1

Chapter 1

There was once a time when all 17 territories were united and each Warrior lived in peace. The children and elders would never starve, everybody was happy. Everybody except one man who lived alone in the mountains. He thought the world wasn’t good enough and he wanted the land for himself, so he could make it as he pleased. The man approached the people kindly and gained their trust, which he then used to turn each villager against each other. Families became individuals, friends became enemies and all who had different opinions travelled in different directions. Groups formed and the land split. Boundaries were made and new rules were written. Conflict rang through the trees as each group became armies, fighting for food, land and rights. And it hasn’t changed since.

“Karasu wake up you lazy oaf!” Suzume laughed, shaking me awake. “Today is a special day, Karasu, there’s no time to sleep in!”     “Alright fine,” I groaned. I sat up in bed and stretched my legs. Suzume was right, it is a special day. I will finally meet my future friends, who I will be spending the rest of my life with. After 13 years of being a Junior Apprentice I will finally become a full Apprentice for one week. As if reading my mind, Suzume spoke up.
“What’s the point of being Apprentice for only one week? Why can’t we just skip all that and be a Scout already?” she whined.
“Well it’s a week of getting to know our Team members and practicing physical fitness! Plus we can venture out further away from Camp.”
“Yeah, I guess… but I’m so excited to choose my Pokémon!”
I nodded my agreement, it was really exciting to know that just a week away I was to choose my very own Pokémon to be my Battle Partner. I tossed my scarf over my shoulder and trudged outside with Suzume. All the other Junior Apprentices were strangers to me and I could only learn about them from appearance, Suzume and I were placed together at birth and she was the only other Junior Apprentice I had ever talked to. The Apprentices were too busy working to talk to us and most Scouts were helping the Camp out or patrolling. The Junior Apprentices do sometimes talk to the Warriors however.
“Over there,” Suzume muttered, pointing towards the Training Court. We jogged over to the entrance where the other people were standing. The Leader, Kōri was standing on a pillar, looking down on us all with his clear blue eyes glistening in wonder. “Today you will all be split into your Teams. Please understand that the friends that you have made are not guaranteed to be in your group.”
At these words, an anxious mutter rang through the crowd. Ignoring the change in behaviour, Kōri continued.
“These Teams consist of 3 boys and 3 girls and are all equally balanced in skill. It is only how you grow from now on that will determine how strong you will become. We ask that you get along with your new companions, it will only make it easier in the battlefield after all… Now please, carry on through to the Training Court where you will be sorted into your Teams,” He nodded respectfully before leading us forward.
“He can’t be serious about splitting us up, Karasu!” Suzume stammered, “We were raised together!”
Similar conversations erupted from the crowd as we walked.
“Hush now! I will call out your teams!” Kōri boomed as we arrived at the centre of the Court. “Diamond, Arrow, Stripe, Bronze, Eagle, Moonlight, Vapour and Ivory are the 8 Teams you will come to know. I shall now call out each Team. My Chimecho’s Psychic powers will disable your hearing if you are not in the team I am calling out, do not fear it is only temporary.” I glanced at Suzume as Kōri spread out a crumpled ball of paper from his pocket. At that very moment nearly every Junior Warrior flinched and grabbed their ears in shock.
“What’s happening?!” Suzume cried, she was clearly unaffected by it too.
“I think they’ve lost their hearing!” I exclaimed.

A grin spread slowly across Suzume’s face. I knew as well that this meant we were in the same team.
“Team Diamond,” Kōri boomed. “Congratulations. Come up when you hear your name.”
I looked around for someone who wasn’t affected either but I couldn’t see anything above the people around me.
“Karasu Ishi!”
My heart stopped as my name rang through the Camp. I felt Suzume’s hand on the shoulder as my shaky legs brought me up in front of Kōri. He silently pressed a small diamond into my palm and nudged me towards a door to the left.
“Suzume Shinku!”
“Nomaru Ai!”
“Riku Shin!”
“Haru Hideaki!”
“Isamu Seishin!”
The room I was in slowly filled up with people I didn’t recognise apart from Suzume. A short girl with feathery blonde hair stood on my right. I was about to introduce myself kindly but a Warrior came in. “Hi, I’m Tri, you’re Team Guide!” the young man said. When we didn’t respond, he chuckled. “Still in shock huh? Yeah, so was I. Anyway, I’m here to give tips and stuff so we’re going to head outta here and get started!” Tri ushered us away through another door leading outside. I could see my new companions clearly in the daylight. Tri gave us a small tour of our Team Hut (where we sleep) and then led us across a field to the Archery station. “Now despite what this looks like, we aren’t doing archery, that’s for Warriors who decide that area of expertise. We’re actually here to bond, you know, make friends and get to know each other! Because Kōri was right, it’ll help out on patrols and stuff.”
We all then sat on the benches and glanced at each other. I could almost identify everybody’s personality by looking at them. Suzume spoke first, naturally.
“Well hello! My name’s Suzume and this is my best friend, Karasu. We were raised together!” she piped up. I gave everybody a little wave.
“Hi, I’m Riku,” One of the boys said, kicking a pebble away.
“I’m Haru!” said another.
“Call me Nomaru!” the blonde haired girl exclaimed.
The boy furthest away didn’t speak, he had a cold expression on his face and dark drooping hair. Haru obviously knew him.
“That’s Isamu, we were raised together.”
“Cool! Now that you all know each other, we can go do some physical training!” Tri yelled enthusiastically.
“Already?!” Nomaru cried.

Reviews

[Zoe Brewer]

It's probably the 2nd shortest Chapter and my least favourite, but it's still the beginning of an amazing journey and the story wouldn't be the same without it!!