Pokédox: The Official Story! Chapter 1:

A figure clad in dark clothing emerged from the swirling snow on the mountaintop. She knelt, dusting some of the accumulated snow from the ground with a black-gloved hand. One painted white line was visible. "Blasted snow," the woman grumbled. "Makes the arena impossible to see." As if to punctuate her thought, yet more snow recovered the bare patch of earth. She straightened and snorted.

"I know you're there, Isaac," she called. "You thought I wouldn't notice?"

Looking sour, a man emerged from the mist. "How you could tell is beyond me," he muttered. The wind carried his voice away.

"Come again?" the woman asked, crossing her arms. Her long hair was a very dark brown, if not black, and was blowing in the wind as if with a mind of its own. Her bright green eyes glinted like emeralds, and her brow was drawn into a scowl. Overall, she didn't appear to be a person that was easily crossed, and at that moment, she just looked violent.

Isaac steeled himself before speaking. He couldn't afford to make a mistake. But her gaze was just so unnerving.... Best to ignore it. He had to speak before he lost his will completely.

"T-Trinity, I challenge you!" he called, inwardly cursing the stutter.

Trinity snorted. "You know you'll lose, right? That you don't stand a chance?"

Isaac said nothing, just tried his best to meet her emerald gaze, but it was incredibly difficult. He was no pansy; he didn't ordinarily shrivel under an unfriendly glare. But the way Trinity was looking at him at that moment just made him want to turn tail and flee. She just had that effect on most people-even the most confident person couldn't help but feel small when facing her wrath, with very few exceptions.

And Isaac was about to feel it big time. He could already tell. The sly grin that slid across her face was even more unsettling than the glare.

"No response? Very well. Choose your Pokémon." Her hand went to her side. Not because she was attempting to strike a pose, but because that was where her own Pokémon were. "Well?"

Isaac sighed, trying to compose himself. His hand went to his belt, and in one fluid motion, he had pulled one Pokéball from his belt and had lobbed it into the air. The half-red, half-white sphere split across a band down the middle, releasing a bright beam of red. The light solidified into a somewhat hominoid shape, though it was evident the figure was anything but human.

The figure was about as tall as Isaac with talon-like appendages for hands; its legs called to mind odd red pants with a jagged, yellow hem. However, the wicked looking red beak, the fighting stance it struck, and the fierce glint in its eyes countered the somewhat comical appearance it might otherwise have.

Trinity was less than impressed. "Sad-you open with a fighting chicken?"

The Blaziken looked as offended as its bird-like facial features would allow.

Isaac's first instinct was to retort, "No, it's a rooster." Even in his own mind, the response sounded weak. Instead, his reply was, "What? And you don't open with anything at all?"

"Touché," Trinity said simply. "Houndoom, show the 'chicken' what-for." Even as she threw the Pokéball, her focus was on Isaac. He matched her level gaze as best he could but had to look away after only a few moments.

When the light cleared, the shape took the form of a hellhound. From the two curved horns on its head, to the ridges along its back, to the reddish gleam in its eyes, it certainly looked demonic. Isaac was unfazed. He knew he had the advantage.

Supposedly.

Deciding to kick things off before Trinity got a chance to attack, Isaac barked, "Sky Uppercut!"

Blaziken's fist began to glow as he charged at Houndoom. He aimed a swift upward swing at his opponent's jaw... but Houndoom was nowhere to be found. "Faint Attack," Trinity ordered calmly. As if reappearing from thin air, Houndoom was suddenly behind Blaziken. He rammed into the Blaze Pokémon's back, sending him reeling.

But just as quickly, Blaziken was upright again and readier than ever to fight. "Blaze Kick!" commanded Isaac. Blaziken complied. Houndoom was sent flying after receiving a foot to the face. "Try another Sky Uppercut while he's down!"

Whether by sheer luck or simply unfortunate timing, Blaziken, while running at Houndoom, hit a patch of ice and pitched forward. Isaac winced as Trinity laughed. "Houndoom, use Crunch."

By this point, Houndoom was already on his feet. He rushed at the fallen Pokémon, only to get a mouthful of snow. Blaziken rolled out of the way just in time to avoid bite to the neck. Trinity scowled. "Try it again."

Houndoom leapt into the air, aiming on Blaziken's neck once again. "Counter with a Fire Punch!" Isaac said quickly.

Blaziken's fist connected with the side of Houndoom's head, throwing him off course and into the snow once more. Isaac sincerely doubted his attacks were doing much damage-Fire versus Fire doesn't tend to work out very well-but if he could keep it up, he just might be able to get an attack to connect that was actually super effective. Namely: Sky Uppercut. But for now, he'd bide his time. Rushing could turn the tide against him...

"Get up!" Trinity ordered. Houndoom struggled to his feet. "There's a good boy," she murmured. "Use Faint Attack again."

The Dark Pokémon momentarily phased out of existence, then reappeared at Blaziken's side, slamming into him and knocking him off balance. Blaziken was thrown to the ground. "Now use Crunch. He's helpless on the ground; make sure it connects this time."

Blaziken was less than thrilled about that particular prospect. He attempted to roll out of the way again, but Houndoom's attack caught him in the shoulder. The demonic dog hung on, determined not to let go. Blaziken's attempts to twist out of his captor's grip was in vain. He tried to get to his feet, tried to dislodge his assailant, but one last, desperate wrench and a stomach-churning snap signaled the end of the battle for Blaziken-his bone, thin and weak because of his avian nature, had broken. Grimly, Isaac recalled him.

This was an unfortunate development, but it raised the stakes and showed just how desperate Trinity was to win this battle as well. If she would unashamedly resort to breaking an opponent's arm-

But that's not all of it, Isaac realized. Earlier Houndoom was going for Blaziken's neck! That would be a killing blow. A cold chill ran down Isaac's back that had nothing to do with the weather. He had to end this battle, and quickly, too. Mentally, he ran through his roster. Fire-specialist that he was, he was hard-pressed to come up with a Pokémon that could do significant damage to Trinity's own Fire-type.

He came to a reluctant decision. Pulling another Pokéball off his belt, he hurled it into the air. "Your turn, Camerupt!"

Camerupt was far from his most maneuverable Pokémon, which put him at a bit of a disadvantage against Houndoom's speed. On the other hand, Isaac hoped his dual Fire- and Ground-type nature would give him the edge.

While Isaac consulted his thoughts, Camerupt glared at Houndoom. However, a glare from a heavy-set, stubby-legged camel with miniature volcanoes in the place of humps was far from intimidating, and Houndoom just looked away haughtily.

Isaac took a deep breath. His plan was risky, but as calmly as he knew how, he commanded, "Camerupt, use Fissure."

Trinity looked shocked. Understandably, too: a snowy mountaintop isn't quite the best of places to use such a powerful move. Isaac only prayed Camerupt wouldn't overdo it.

The camel raised one foot and slammed it into the ground, creating a hairline fracture that grew into a massive split by the time it reached Houndoom. The shockwave that followed nearly knocked the two Trainers off their feet. Houndoom was nowhere to be seen.

A low rumble sounded in the distance, and then all was quiet. After a sullen pause, Trinity said, "If there's going to be an avalanche now, I blame you." Without speaking, she pulled out Houndoom's Pokéball and recalled him. The red light stretched into the depths of the crack, homing in on wherever its part-time resident was. Apparently successful, the red light retreated into the sphere once again.

"You have to admit though... it was fairly well controlled," Isaac responded. Sure enough, the split started near Camerupt and grew wider, yet by the time it reached Trinity's feet, it had already shrunk to a tiny crack, not bigger than one that might be seen in a sidewalk.

"And you're quite lucky for that," she muttered, attention elsewhere, most likely deciding which Pokémon to use next.

Much to her surprise, Isaac recalled Camerupt. "Won't happen again," he promised. In all truth, the real reason he wanted to switch his Pokémon was because Camerupt was far too slow. It didn't stand a chance of keeping up with the rest of Trinity's Pokémon. He wanted to use one of the swifter Pokémon on his team. "Arcanine it is!" he called, flinging the Pokéball.

Without a word, Trinity tossed her Pokéball. Both emerged simultaneously. Isaac's resembled a large, tiger-striped dog, while Trinity's was black with yellow, oval markings and was closer in size and proportion to a cat. After eyeing the fissure between them, both took up a fighting stance and waited for their respective Trainer to give them a command.

Isaac didn't want to risk waiting. "Extremespeed!" he called.

Arcanine charged at Umbreon with a speed that put Faint Attack to shame. Umbreon was sent flying before she could so much as tell that Arcanine had moved. With an angry yowl, she rose to a standing position, red eyes looking murderous. Arcanine bared his teeth in response.

"Bite," Trinity said calmly.

Arcanine skirted to the side as Umbreon came at him, leaving his opponent with a mouthful of fur instead of a grip on his throat. He dislodged her easily, and while she was still regaining her balance, he blasted her head-on with a Flamethrower. Umbreon staggered back, thoroughly singed, the bright yellow ovals on her body blackened with soot.

In normal circumstances, Isaac would have been furious if one of his Pokémon had attacked when not ordered to. But in this case, with the stakes as high as they were, it seemed best to just go with it. At least for now.

"Shadow Ball."

A shadowy blob blasted Arcanine between the eyes and sent him tumbling to the ground in a blur of orange. He shook the snow from his coat, but while he was distracted, Trinity added to her earlier command: "Now Confuse Ray."

Umbreon shot a multicolored beam at Arcanine. Slightly dazed as he was, he was powerless to resist the attack. Instead, he reverted to a puppy-like state and began chasing his own tail. It was cute enough, but Isaac could only groan.

"Enough of this-" he started, reaching for Arcanine's Pokéball.

"Quite," Trinity said slowly, looking him in the eyes. Isaac regarded her warily, but before he could say anything, she commanded, "Faint Attack."

Before he could realize that she was ordering her Pokémon to attack him, he felt a sharp pain, followed by a dull ache, and then there was nothing but blackness.

Seeing his Trainer knocked unconscious, Arcanine snapped out of his confusion. He howled in agony.

"Quiet," barked Trinity, snapping her fingers. Another Shadow Ball knocked the Pokémon out cold. She then walked over to Isaac's prone form and toed his head with a heavy boot. No response. She knelt, taking stock of his face. His short white-blond hair was matted with sweat and melted snow. A trickle of blood ran out of the corner of his mouth. His eyes, a deep blue when open, were shut tightly, and his expression was set in a grimace. Trinity took off her glove and held her hand over his mouth. "Still breathing," she murmured, somewhat uncaring. Instead, she went to his side and took all the Pokéballs from his belt, including the one that ordinarily contained Arcanine.

"Shame," she remarked, standing. "In weather like this, one of your precious Fire-types would be quite an asset when you wake up." She halted to reconsider her words. "Well, if you wake up, anyway. But, as you know, I'm not that nice of a person," she added as she returned Arcanine. Umbreon watched the red light, head cocked, as if wondering why her Trainer was addressing an unconscious person. "Ah, but of course you know. Otherwise you wouldn't have come. You shouldn't have really, if for your own sake." She paused, grinning maliciously. "It's your own fault, my friend. You walked right into it."

Not even looking back, she turned to the path that led down the mountainside. Umbreon bounded after her, leaving Isaac behind in the snow.

***
He honestly didn't know why he was here. Really, what self-respecting fourteen-year-old would spend his summer months whiling away his time by fishing? He should be out... having an adventure or something. Wasn't that what kids his age did?

No, it was what ten-year-olds did. But he waited and bided his time. He had wanted to be a Trainer, he really did. But... unsupportive parents, friends who were a bit more inclined to stay in town.... It was those sorts of things that kept him here, sitting at the edge of the river, waiting for the fish to bite.

If there were any fish. He looked into the water, but the only thing that looked back was his own reflection, wavering in the current. His almost-neck-length brown hair, streaked with gold from large amounts of time outside, fell into his face. It was messy as always, but he couldn't be bothered to comb it. It was going to tangle itself again anyway, so why bother? But the getting-in-his-eyes-all-the-time thing seriously got on his nerves. He sighed and fell back spread-eagled on the grassy riverbank, laziness and boredom making him feel suddenly exhausted. He left his fishing pole on the ground with the line trailing in the water. The fish weren't biting, so he felt no concern for it.

He had every intention of staring blankly at the sky, but instead, his brown eyes met a pair of familiar dark green ones. Familiar or not, he lurched forward with a start. "Jaden, what are you-?!" he began to ask his friend.

"Hiya Logan!" Jaden said brightly. "Did you know your fishing pole is getting away?"

Logan exclaimed something, but all he could manage was unintelligible nonsense. Jaden watched in amusement as his friend dove for the pole and began reeling in his catch as if there was no tomorrow. Oblivious to the world around him, Logan kept up the stream of gibberish. At last, with a large splash, the fish emerged from the water, all the while struggling vainly to return from whence it came.

Logan would have none of that. With one last tug, the silvery fish was on the bank, flopping helplessly, gills flapping uselessly. Jaden peered at the catch. "Remoraid," he said. "Nice."

"Th-thanks," Logan gasped, looking just as breathless as the fish. "Strange, huh? You don't see a lot of them...."

"You'd know better than I would," Jaden said, a mischievous smile creeping over his lips. "I'm not the one who wastes all my time fishing."

"Hey now..." retorted Logan, punching Jaden in the shoulder in a brotherly manner. "We could have been Trainers, but you said it was best to have a shred of originality-"

"Is that a Vulpix?" Jaden interrupted.

"What are you talking abou-that's my fish!" Logan cried.

While they were distracted, the six-tailed Fox Pokémon had swiped the fish. It fled along the banks and towards the woods, the unfortunate Remoraid clamped firmly in its jaws. Without a second thought, Logan tore after it screaming bloody murder. Jaden chuckled to himself before following after at a jog. "That fish is having a really bad day."

It was simple enough to follow the two. The Vulpix had continued to run along the river. However, its speed far surpassed Logan's and it wasn't long before the human was outdistanced. Between that and the dim light in the forest, it was no great surprise that Logan lost sight of his target when the river ended. That was where Jaden found him-standing at the banks of the lake the river led into. When Jaden approached, Logan was muttering something along the lines of "Only fish I caught all day but that stupid little-" but if there was anything else, it wasn't understandable.

"Come again?" Jaden asked, trying and succeeding to startle Logan.

"Stop doing that!" he groaned once he'd composed himself somewhat. "I'd been out there all day, but that was the only thing I caught...."

Jaden shrugged, expression blank. "Watched pots don't boil. You seemed to be focused pretty hard on that water. 'Course you couldn't find anything."

Cringing, Logan muttered, "I was trying to see if there were any fish..." He looked Jaden in the eye. "But that's beside the point. What are you doing here, anyway?"

"If you want to get technical, I'm here because I followed-"

Logan waved a hand at him to silence him. "Then don't get technical. Just talk like a normal person."

Jaden shrugged again. "There was something I wanted to ask you-"

"Wait!"

"Are you going to keep interrupting me or what? You're the one who asked-"

"Hush!" Logan ordered, suddenly looking quite serious. "Did you hear that?"

"You're not talking about the Remoraid are you? That Vulpix is probably long gone, off feeding its family or something...."

"Jaden, shut up! This is serious."

"You've got to be kidding m-oomph!"

Jaden's statement was cut off as Logan tackled him, knocking the pair of them into some bushes along the side of the river. If Jaden had grand visions of attempting to talk, Logan thwarted them by firmly covering his mouth with one hand. "Be. Quiet," he commanded, just as a tall figure stepped out of the underbrush. Eyes wide, Jaden nodded, stunned into silence.

The figure was male, possibly in his thirties, though there were flecks of gray in his dark, neatly-styled hair. He stood at the edge of the lake quite close to where the boys had been standing and only mere paces away from their hiding place. He glanced at the bush, eyes narrowed, but seemed to decide nothing was amiss. Ever-so-carefully, and much to Logan's displeasure, Jaden squirmed away from his friend's grip and tried to find a better vantage point through the leaves. The only problem was that this left Logan nearly blind. He stewed in silence, wishing he could see more than the leaves. Jaden had taken his spot, not that that was saying much. The bush they were in was one of the denser shrubs, but it still wasn't the most ideal hiding place. Logan wished they could have hidden up a tree. Then he might have been able to see.

While Logan brooded, the man did something strange. From his pocket, he pulled an egg-sized reddish stone that emitted a slight, chiming hum. It was garnet colored and sparkled in the sunlight. He held it up to eye level and examined it briefly. Then he held it high above his head and waited.

He didn't have long to wait. At first there was silence. Not the silence of nothing happening, but the kind of silence that signaled a very big change was about to occur. No wind stirred the leaves. No wild Pokémon made a sound. Logan and Jaden did their best not to breathe. The only signs that time hadn't frozen completely was that the stone's shine seemed to intensify, if only slightly, with each passing moment, and that the man was tapping his foot impatiently.

Composed though he seemed, the flash of light that followed still seemed to take him by surprise. His free arm jerked as if he was about to use it to cover his eyes but decided against it. Logan, on the other hand, hadn't seen any of the past few moments' happenings, and so was taken almost completely unawares. He bit down on his tongue to stop from crying out. As his eyes watered in pain, he decided biting his tongue wasn't the wisest of ideas.

The light faded, but the stone continued to glow warmly, casting patterns of crimson light on the man's olive skin. He kept the stone above his head and scanned the area carefully. Before his eyes, on a large flat rock a little ways around the lake, a form seemed to materialize. It was fuzzy at first, but eventually solidified into a creature that resembled a wingless dragon, just waking after a brief slumber on the slab of rock. Its build was thin and lizard-like, and had ruby scales. The sun glinted off its golden claws as it stretched and yawned like a cat. Its long tail was tipped with a fire that flared like a torch, and a stream of fire trailed from the top of its head.

The hum from the crimson stone intensified as the dragon Pokémon jumped elegantly off the rock, landing with a gentle thud that seemed too soft to have come from so large a being, and approached the man with the stone. The look in its brilliant green eyes was transfixed, but its motions forward were hesitant and apprehensive. "Jingara..." the man murmured, and the spell was broken.

The Pokémon, Jingara, reeled back as if it had suddenly come across a brick wall. It turned to flee, but the man seemed prepared for such an eventuality. He pulled a Pokéball from his belt and hurled it in the air. Hearing the familiar noise of an opening Pokéball and not being able to tell who had released it nor exactly what it had released, Logan cursed the fact that he couldn't see anything once again. With only his ears to tell him what was going on around him, he was still extremely confused and growing more annoyed by the second. "What's going on out there?" he hissed.

Jaden looked as though he was in shock. "Weird guy has... really. Weird. Pokémon." He shuddered. Logan felt a chill run through him, but decided the discussion was over. He wasn't sure he'd be able to get Jaden to talk again, anyway. Not until they got out of whatever mess it was they had found themselves in, anyway. Or if they did. Logan sincerely hoped it wasn't the latter.

And because Logan didn't think Jaden would speak again, he was incredibly startled when his friend murmured, "Jingara... I've never heard of it before."

"What are you talking about?" Logan asked, now more frustrated than ever.

"After that flash, some red, dragon-looking thing materialized out of thin air on a rock." Even for a whisper, his voice was hushed. "I think that guy is gonna try to catch it."

Hoping he wasn't rustling the leaves too much, Logan tried to get a better view of what was happening in the world outside their bush. The best he could manage was a glimpse of the lake. At that moment, it was perfectly still and reflective as a mirror. He could somewhat see the Pokémon Jaden had called Jingara. It was slowly walking backward, eyes locked on something Logan couldn't see. At the very edge of his field of vision-he had to move a leaf or two out of the way-he could see the reflection of the man who, according to Jaden, was trying to catch the ruby dragon beside the lake. However, he could not see the "weird" mystery Pokémon the man was going to use to catch it.

"Catch it? That thing looks like a legend! Why else would it pop out of nowhere?" Logan muttered to himself, but in such tight quarters, he might as well have been talking to Jaden. "It'd be nearly impossible to catch that thing! It's got to be super-powerful!" Jaden nodded dumbly as if he hadn't actually heard, which suited Logan just fine. He hadn't meant to speak aloud. Regardless, he was completely certain about his statement. He'd never seen a legendary Pokémon in his life, but he'd heard stories, and plenty of them. In all of them, legends were nigh impossible to beat with your average run-of-the-mill Pokémon, even if said Pokémon had had the greatest training. Most people had come to accept that: legends weren't meant to be beaten, they were meant to be respected. Anyone who went chasing after one went chasing after his own doom.

For the second time, the man spoke: "Bind it," he ordered. His voice was cool and crisp, and had a commanding ring to it. It was the sort of voice that would make you suddenly change your mind about anything, just because the speaker told one to. Logan guessed he was talking to his Pokémon. He was utterly unprepared for the beam of light that followed. Beside him, Jaden uttered a tiny gasp, and for all he knew, Logan did the same. It was pure white and bright enough to leave after images whenever he blinked, even though he was only looking at its reflection.

Jingara cried out in alarm and skirted away from the attack, accidentally putting less distance between itself and its attacker. It spun around, its long tail smacking the man in the gut and sending him flying into a tree. He lost his grip on his Pokéball. As it hit the ground, the recapture mechanism activated itself and recalled his Pokémon. By that point, Jingara was already deep into the woods, out of sight and hopefully safe.

When the only sounds were the only sounds of the forest, and when they were positive the man was actually unconscious, the two boys crawled out of their hiding place. Logan was the first to speak.

"Scariest day of my life," he breathed.

Jaden nodded in dumbfounded agreement. "When he looked at our bush, I thought we were done for."

"You an' me both...."

They tried to remove the debris from the bush, dusting leaves and twigs out of their hair and clothing. Jaden walked to the edge of the lake and stared at it for several moments. Absently, he pulled a small stick from his now-matted black hair and tossed it into the water, disturbing the mirror-like stillness it had before. "So we had a legend living near us the whole time? Just outside our town?"

"I still kinda want to know how it got in there in the first place," Logan said, coming up beside his friend and watching their rippling reflections in the water.

"I wanna know what that guy was going to do with it. I mean... he tried to catch a legend!" Jaden flailed his arms vaguely. "That's not natural! But," he blanched, "neither was that guy's Pokémon. It was this weird... black... thing." He made another unclear hand gesture.

Logan stopped looking at the reflected Jaden and gave the real one a strange look.

"Never mind... I can't describe it. But... all this.... Well, this is gonna sound random, but I didn't expect to run into all that... strangeness." When one of Logan's eyebrows threatened to rise, Jaden did his best to cut him off, as well as string more coherent sentences together. "I mean... apparently we had a legend living right by where we live. And we-mostly I; sorry 'bout that-just saw this wicked awesome battle and some shady guy try to walk off with our town's legend. So I say, 'hey, what better time to be a part of that?' I was just going to ask you earlier while you were fishing but-"

Logan's eyes went wide. "Are you saying what I think you're saying?"

Jaden grinned. "Most likely. Are you thinking that I'm saying something about being a Trainer?"

In spite of all that had just happened, Logan burst out laughing. "You have got to have... the worst timing ever," he said through his laughter.

The grin faded slightly. "Well I didn't expect all that to happen! But I needed to ask you at some point, but I couldn't earlier because you were so obsessed with that fish...."

Logan scratched the back of his head in thought, unintentionally dislodging particles of dirt and pieces of dead leaves. The fish, that Vulpix... that seemed like all it happened days ago. But... had they even been in that bush for half an hour? It seemed impossible, and yet....

The man, slouched against the tree, began to groan. Jaden took one look at both the stone and the Pokéball that were laying on the ground, and decided it was best to leave well enough alone. Instead, he glanced at Logan, who was still lost in his thoughts. He hadn't noticed that the strange man was waking.

"I think you left your fishing pole by the banks, too."

For an instant, Logan stared at Jaden like a deer caught in the headlights. In the next, he fled in the direction they had come from. Jaden snorted. "Seems to be having one of those moments where he can only focus on one thing at a time.... And he says I'm the one who ruins the moment." He followed after hurriedly, wanting to put as much distance between himself and the forest as fast as possible, but he couldn't help but shake his head slightly as he ran.