This fan fiction is rated T for blood, gore, dismemberment, and suggestive themes. If you do not like the listed then do not read, I do not own Pokémon or associated Medias

He who passed the Proving Grounds

A young blonde haired boy slept soundly in his bed, but his peaceful sleep was abruptly ended with a thunderous earthquake. He looked around in alarm to see what was causing the entire house to shake; outside the three stones that occupied the center of his home town vanished beneath the ground. Before the wonder-struck eyes of the blonde youth three crystalline pillars rose up from where the original stone monuments once stood. The crystal monument ascended with such force that it upended the house the youth occupied, blasting it free from its foundation.
“Anthony! Anthony can you hear me!” cried a frantic voice from the other side of the wall. Before the boy could answer however the world faded dark as he saw the gentle smile of a Gardevoir staring over him.
“Sleep,” she cooed, and the boy did just that.
Anthony woke in a cold sweat looking about his room; everything was in its rightfull place. “Again that dream haunts me,” he muttered to himself.
“Doom,” the large black canine huffed having been disturbed by the restless teen.
“Sorry Jace I didn’t mean to wake you,” He replied gently petting the Houndoom’s horned head. The youth glanced to the clock that adorned his nightstand; five twenty-nine, “well might as well get up, don’t want to keep Uncle Simon waiting,”
He reached over just as the time turned to five thirty activating the alarm, “gah silence you I’m up,”
Anthony dressed himself and headed down to greet his uncle who was sitting at the table reading the morning paper while an Audino cooked breakfast, “Bacon and eggs this morning Penelope?”
“Audi!” she replied waving an egg covered spatula in greeting.
“Have a seat Tony,” the teen’s uncle gestured to a chair, “and… happy birthday.”
“Uncle Simon since when I have ever liked being called Tony,” Boy replied. The older burly man sighed, “Very well Anthony, what do you want for your birthday?”
“You know what I want Uncle, I want to become a Pokémon trainer.”
“Then you know the deal, pass the obstacle course and ring the bell,” he explained taking a sip from his coffee, “and this is your last chance, fail and you give up on being a trainer,”
There was a general disapproval from all who occupied the room, “you can’t do that, Papa O’kai said that I could take the test as often as I want,”
“My grandfather Arceus rest his soul was the only reason you were even allowed to learn Ice climbing, I’ll honor his wishes this time but you’re getting older do you want to waste your life chasing this impossible dream.”
“Papa O’kai never saw it as an impossible dream; I know I can do it,”
“It pains me to say this but maybe my grandfather was wrong, you have yet to pass the test.”
“That maybe uncle but I’ve made up my mind I’m going to become a trainer whether you like it or not,”
Simon heaved a great sigh and pinched the bridge of his nose, “Anthony you are my only link to my brother if I let you to become a trainer and you get hurt I lose that link.”
“Uncle, the world is a dangerous place; even here I run the risk of getting hurt.”
“Yes but…”
“But nothing, I am ten times more capable than some of the other kids that start their journeys at ten, I’m thirteen now and I know how to survive thanks to Papa’s training,”
“Fine, fine I’ll… let you become a trainer even if you fail the test, but you have to at least try every obstacle,” the boy’s uncle relented, “Now do you want to head out now or do you want to wait until after you open your presents,”
Anthony was about to answer when Penelope interrupted with the serving of breakfast.
“AUDINO!” she called summoning the rest of Simon’s Pokémon, as she yelled she secretly passed a flash card to Anthony. He glanced at the card; Present.
“I’ll go with presents first this time,” the teen answered as the rest of the Pokémon gathered in the kitchen.
“Alright Larz get the presents,” the uncle asked the large armored grass type that entered in last.
“Ches,” the Pokémon answered pulling a small stack of presents from the nearby closet. He set the gifts in front of the youth and settled down at the large table next to Simon. Anthony finished his breakfast quickly and started to tear into the presents before him. The first few presents where simple toys and bobbles, but as he reached for Penelope’s present he felt the larger package pushed towards him. The teen looked at the Chesnought that was pushing the present toward him; Larz offered a large smile towards the youth and a wink towards the Audino. He opened the large box to show a large sturdy backpack.
“T… thank you Larz,” Anthony stammered shocked at the gift, “that couldn’t have been cheap.”
“It wasn’t,” the old trainer replied.
“Audi, Audi!” Penelope jumped pushing her gift towards the boy. Her gift was smaller than Larz’s but as the boy tore into the small yet heavy package he saw what she got him; cleats and a pair of ice axes. Their blue chrome finish gleamed in the early morning light, and as the boy hefted them he found that they were incredibly light and balanced, “Penelope this… this is perfect thank you.”
***
Simon took his young nephew out beyond the edge of Anistar City to a small clearing where an old obstacle course stood.
“Alright the rules are the same as last time; clear the course while evading my Pokémon, when you ring the bell you’re done,” The man explained readying a starting pistol.
“Easy,” Anthony smirked as he hunched down at the starting line.
“We shall see,” He replied raising the small snap gun, “Start!”
The teen heard the loud bang of the gun and he dashed for the first obstacle; a set of monkey bars over a muddy trench guarded by a Dragonair named Fay, it was her job to fire hydro pumps at the boy to knock him off free of the obstacle. Anthony leaped for the first bar just as he felt a blast of water clip his shirt; swinging his body forward the teen hoisted himself on top of the bars, a risky maneuver but allowed him to move more swiftly across the trench. His unusual approach also had the benefit of throwing off the Dragonair’s aim forcing every shot fired from the large draconian snake to miss as the teen ran across the top of the bars. With flawed grace Anthony landed hard on the other side but as far as he was concerned, clearing the obstacle was worth the pain.
He pick himself up off the ground and ran for the next obstacle; a tire jog with Penelope clinging to his back pretending to be injured. Anthony hoisted the seventy pound Pokémon to his back before setting into an easy rhythm of the obstacle; halfway through the obstacle however the teen lost his balance, forcing the pink Pokémon to cling tighter to Anthony’s neck.
“*hurk* Penny ease up a bit I can’t breathe,” he gasped out after he regained his balance.
“Audi,” she apologized loosening her grip allowing the boy to continue. Before he knew it though he cleared the last tire and the panic-stricken Pokémon slid from his back.
His third obstacle was simply to out run Jace until he crossed the white line; however pain and fatigue racked his body so out maneuvering the fire hound would be difficult. Jace started his count down as the teen ran pass giving him a five second head start, Anthony heard the large hound bark out a warning signifying the start of the chase. Jace quickly closed the distance on the boy aiming to pin him to the ground with his weight; Anthony heard the heavy gait of the Houndoom and ducked down letting the hound sail overhead. The fire hound yelped in alarm when he felt the human teenager grip him about the waist lifting the dog to his shoulders. Anthony carried the Houndoom on his strong shoulders all the way to the finish line.
“Last one,” he panted as he set the unnerved Houndoom down, “Ring the bell.”
The bell sat perched upon a tall metal pole watched over by the Chesnought Larz. The teen stared down the intimidating armored Pokémon knowing him to be very strong.
“I’m going into unknown territory now,” he breathed to himself. The teen stooped down to pick at the ground until he found a sizable clump of hardened mud. He steeled himself against what he was about to do and charged headlong into the armored Pokémon. Larz crouched down bring his spiny arms forward to shield his face from the mud wielding teen. Anthony stopped short of the Chesnought and hurled the mud ball as hard as he could into the bell. Larz was too slow to react as he watched the dirt clod smash into the fragile brass bell; sending a distorted sound though out the yard.
The Chesnought stared at the ruined bell dumbfounded at the ingenuity of the teen that stood before him. He carefully took what was left of the bell from the poll and gave it a gentle tap; its broken sound echoed through the clearing.
“I did ring it… sort of,” the boy supplied scratching his head.
“Ches,” Larz agreed dropping the broken bobble, “Ches… Chesnought!”
The large armored Pokémon grinned and snatched the small human up in a spine crushing hug.
“ack Larz… let go… can’t breathe,” the soon to be trainer gasped out as the Pokémon muttered meaningless congratulations in his own tongue. Simon stood equally dumbfounded at the situation, “but… but you… gah damn it boy, leave it to you to convince me to let you become a trainer regardless of you passing, and here you are cheating your way through the course,”
“I did not,” Anthony replied
“Yes you did!” The uncle snapped
“I merely approached it from a fresh perspective,” the teen retorted, “Papa O’kai never disapproved of my ingenuity.”
“Chesnought,” Larz added staring down his trainer. The boy stepped back as the large Pokémon began listing off its paw what seemed to be accomplishments done by the youth. Simon wasn’t allowed to argue as his other Pokémon stepped into defend the teen.
“Gah! Fine you passed, happy now,” he finally relented throwing his arms up in defeat. Anthony grinned about to reply when all of his uncle’s Pokémon tackled him and hoisted him into the air, “Thanks guys, I get to be a trainer,”
“Yes but I have a few conditions, first you are going to either start with or catch a bird, physic, or fighting type in your first week, and second you’re going to find a traveling companion,” Simon added having recovered from the chastising given by his Pokémon.
“I have no problem with that uncle, it’s enough that I’ll be a trainer,” Anthony replied from his perch atop Larz’s shoulders, “when can we head out?”
“Tomorrow morning, I have to have one last night with my nephew.” The large man answered pulling the teen from the large Pokémon’s shoulders.
***
Anthony sat at his desk having just finished packing his new backpack with all the supplies his uncle listed before he left for his job at the mine. He quietly stared at an old family photo with his parents and their starters; he fiddled with an old great ball left over from his uncle’s journey while he gazed into the picture. The young teen couldn’t stop the tears from welling up in his hazel eyes as he remembered the nightmare; the night he lost everything. A gentle knock however snapped the youth out of his dark thoughts however.
“Come in,” he answered dismantling the frame to retrieve the picture.
“Audi?” the pink Pokémon asked as she entered the room.
“Hey Penelope, I just finished packing,” he replied storing the photo in a pocket of his birthday present, “what’s up,”
The Audino jump up on the teen’s lap giving him a warm hug, “No, Audino,”
“Yeah I’ll miss you to Penny, but it’s not like I’m not going to visit after I started my journey,” Anthony soothed returning the hug
“Di,” she chirped pointing to the trainer’s chest
“That’s right I’ll have to take on Olivia for the badge.”
Penelope got a worried look upon her face, “Audi, dino… Audino,” she cooed patting the boy’s leg.
“I… I don’t know what will happen when I get there,” he replied solemnly setting the Pokémon down from his lap, “Come on, I want to go say goodbye to Tess and Bard.”
The Audino nodded silently knowing who he was referring to.
***
Here rests Tess
The Gardevoir
She sacrificed herself
To save the life of a child
May she forever
Rest in Peace
Anthony stared at the gravestone silently remembering how she saved his life, “heh… uncle finally letting me become a trainer Tess.”
He turned to regard the headstone next to Tess’s
Here rests Bard
The Gallade
He did what was necessary
To save the life of a child
May he forever
Rest in Peace
“Bard… I know you had to do what you needed to do to free me, know that I forgive you,” the boy finished by placing a pair of white roses on the graves of the two Pokémon.
“I figured you would be here.” Anthony turned to see he uncle walking up with Larz trailing behind, “I tried to get your parents moved here but the expenses were too great.”
“I know,” the teen replied quietly, “I guess I’ll be able to visit them when I pass though Geosenge.”
“I know… come on let’s get back before the pizza burns,”
“Wasn’t it Mew’s night to cook?”
“It was but he suggested pizza to celebrate you birthday and start of your journey,”
“That’s good; Mew’s a terrible cook,”
“Ditto!” cried a lone Rattata that morphed into an amorphous pink blob
“I’m sorry but you are,” the trainer defended causing the blob to wilt
“Anthony look at what you’ve done, he’s melting. Say you’re sorry,” the older man chastised
“Okay Mew, I’m sorry; it’s not that your cooking is bad, it’s more of an acquired taste,” he soothed the depressed Ditto
“A taste neither you nor I have acquired,” Simon whispered.
***
“So what kind of starter do you have in mind,” the old trainer asked as he drove his nephew to Lumiose City, “I know that when I got Larz they had a few pre-caught Pokémon in addition to the lab starters.”
“I think I know what I want,” the teen replied thumbing his new trainer’s license and badge case.
“And what would that be?”
“You’ll see,”
Soon Simon pulled into Lumiose City and parked outside the Pokémon Lab, “here we are; do you want me to wait here or come in with you?”
“I think I’ll be good,” Anthony replied
“Alright but you’re going to show me what you picked as soon as you’re done,”
“I will Uncle,” the young trainer nodded as he entered the building.
“Greetings young sir, are you here to meet with Professor Sycamore?” the receptionist greeted cheerfully from behind her desk.
“Yes ma’am I’m Anthony O’kai, I’m here for my starter,” the youth politely explained.
“I see and what would you like a pre-caught starter, or a lab starter?”
“A lab starter please,”
“Alright if you would like you can take the elevator up to the second floor where Professor Sycamore will present you with a pokedex and starter,” she explained stepping out from behind her desk leading the boy over to the elevator
“Sounds good to me,” the trainer smiled pressing the button for the second floor. The elevator door closed and lurched up towards Professor’s study.
“Ah you must be a new trainer hoping to take on the champion yes,” the Professor called from behind his desk as Anthony entered the messy office.
“Yes sir, though I don’t know about becoming champion, I haven’t thought that far ahead yet,” the teen chuckled.
“Why not isn’t that the dream of all young trainers?”
“I would be happy with a team of good friends, if that takes me to the Pokémon league then so be it,”
“A wise answer… how old are you son?”
“Thirteen sir,”
“Kind of late to be starting a journey don’t you think?” Sycamore asked stepping out from behind his desk.
“I had to prove something first,” the young trainer replied, “my papa O’kai was a salty old man but he taught me everything I know.”
“O’kai? You are Anthony O’kai?”
“Yes,”
“Then tell me are you planning on getting revenge on what happened to your parents?” the Professor asked solemnly
“No… revenge traps you in the past, I wish to move forward into the future; plus what revenge could I extract on a dead man,” the teen shrugged.
“I see… again more wise words,” Sycamore sighed, “so what kind of starter would you like?”
“Fennekin sir,”
“So polite… and wise, I think I know just who to give you,”
“Sir?” Anthony asked as he watched the Professor retrieve a solid white pokeball from his desk.
“This Fennekin’s been an unholy terror for me; I believe she needs someone of your wisdom to tame her.” Sycamore finished handing the Premiere ball to the trainer, “though can I ask that you don’t release her here I don’t need the sprinkler system soaking my research,”
“That bad?” the boy asked feeling a little apprehensive about the pokeball he held, “so uh… advice on caring for her,”
“Well let’s see here she like all Fennekins like to snack on sticks and twigs, but that is in no way a means of substance for her. You can feed her some poke kibble or if you’re not too squeamish you can allow her to hunt for food,” Professor Sycamore explained, “ She does enjoy getting brushed every now and then but make sure that it’s a metal brush, plastic ones tend to melt,”
“Anything else?” he asked
“Uh… nope can’t think of anything else,” the old man finished quickly
***
Anthony found himself just outside Lumoise City staring at the white pokeball, “Well when she evolves she’ll be a physic type,”
He knelt down pressing the button on the face of the ball releasing the Pokémon contained within,
“H… hi,” he stuttered catching the attention of the golden fox that materialized before him.
“Fen…,” the little fox glanced to what she assumed was her new trainer, “Fennekin,”
“You’re not so bad,” He cooed petting the top of her head, “now what would you like your name to be little girl,”
“Fen,” she growled bearing her sharp little teeth
“heh… that’s cute mind telling me why you are growling,” the trainer chuckled picking the growling Fennekin up. The little fox struggled for a minute before opening her mouth trying to fire an ember into the face of her trainer; unfortunately all she produced was a blast of hot air and a few sparks, “hm your fire sack’s empty, we’ll have to remedy that,”
“Fenne,” she huffed looking her trainer with her best kicked Lillipup look
“You know you remind me of an old animated play called The Cunning Little Vixen; it stared a little Zorua who possessed an unbreakable will and mischievous spirit,” Anthony explained, “now I might get a few odd looks if I called you Vixen but I think Vix will suffice,”
The Fennekin rolled her eyes with an annoyed huff glaring at the human still holding her, “well do you like it?”
She gave a half-hearted smile and nodded showing that she didn’t mind the name.
“Well that settles that, shall we get a move on and get into a few battles,” he offered setting the little fox down, “I’m not sure how long you were cooped up in that pokeball but I think you wouldn’t mind being out of it for a while,”
Vix smirked at the young trainer’s offer, trotting up next to his leg and relived her bladder all over the boy’s leg.
“Thanks for that…” he sighed shaking his leg free of the foul-smelling fluid, “I guess you were cooped up for a while,”
“Fen, Fennekin,” she chirped as she skipped off the path into the tall grass.
***
Anthony followed the troublesome little fox as she pick fights with the local wild Pokémon until he could see she was getting visibly tired as the sun began to set.
“I see that your starting to wind down little Vix,” he remarked as she finished off a little Budew with a puff of her restored ember, “shall we start looking for a spot to set up camp,”
“Fennekin,” she yawned lying atop of the defeated Pokémon using it as a pillow.
“Vix let it go,” Anthony chastised
“Fenne?” she slyly asked
“No I’m not catching it just so you can have your own personal pillow, now up,” He continued picking the Fennekin up by the scruff. The tiny bulb Pokémon quickly recovered and dashed into the overgrown flowers.
“Kin,” she pouted as she hung limp in the trainer’s hand
“One thing I refuse to tolerate is cruelty,” the trainer continued tucking the tiny fox under his arm, “now let’s find a place to set up camp before it gets too dark.”
The teen eventually found an old campsite off the beaten path, complete with a stone lined fire pit, “ah perfect it looks like an old traveler’s site, there should be some firewood in that box over there.”
He set the little fox down and began to set up the camp for the night; Vix on the other hand surveyed the camp for a moment before selecting a soft bed of grass to flop upon.
“I take it you’re not going to help start the fire,” Anthony remarked dryly as he searched the fire-box, “wouldn’t matter anyway... not enough wood to last the night,”
“Kin,” she sighed rolling over in the sweet grass to watch her trainer try to start the small pile of wood with a flint striker, “Fenne?”
“Don’t worry I’ll not rely on you starting the fires anytime soon,” the teen replied finally getting a good spark to catch on the dry wood, “but I suppose you just too tired, battling all day is very exhausting, I guess you don’t want to eat,”
“Fenne!” she barked in protest
“Oh so you are hungry, well then get up off your ass and help me cook some food,” Anthony snapped back, pulling out a small can of chili, “or would you rather have some dry nasty kibble they gave me to feed you with.”
“Fen,” Vix groaned hoisting herself to her feet to join her most loathed trainer. Anthony finished cooking the meager meal and set aside a dish for the little fox pouring some of the chili from his plate in to it. The Fennekin glared at the human as he ate waiting for him to finish or to move away from the dish, “if you don’t start eating I’m going to toss it out after I’m done.”
“Kin,” she huffed indignantly moving closer to eat from her dish. The little fox found the spicy chili tolerable as she finished. When she cleaned her dish she made a hasty retreat to her patch of grass, “nekin,” she added under her breath.
“You’re welcome Vix though I thought you would like a slice of this Iapapa berry,” he chuckled brandishing the large yellow fruit. The Fennekin’s mouth watered as she remembered how sour the berry was, “Fennekin?”
“Well…” the trainer pressured slicing the fruit in half with a small knife. He placed one half in Vix’s dish while he nibbled on the other, “yup that’s pretty sour.”
She quickly hurried back over to his side and snatched up the berry half, carrying it back to her grassy bed, “wow the aid did say you liked sour foods,”
Anthony set the sour fruit to one side and began to pitch his tent keeping a careful eye on the Fennekin so she wouldn’t steal his half of the Iapapa berry. Soon the fire died back to embers and Anthony started his usual evening ritual; Vix watched as he set out a small spray bottle, a short plastic stand and set to work removing his shoes. She noticed that his right foot looked very funny before he stood to remove his pants; it wasn’t just his foot that looked funny but his whole leg was wrapped in a black cloth. That wasn’t the worst of it however, just below his knee his leg tapered severely into a blue metal poll in place of his shin.
“Fenne?” she asked easing herself for a closer look.
“Oh yeah I forgot to tell you… um I lost my leg when I was very young,” Anthony explained as he removed the prosthetic, “it can be a pain sometimes but I’m still very capable,”
Anthony completed his evening ritual and crawled into the tent, “Want to come in?”
“Ne,” Vix replied shaking her head.
“Are you sure? It might get pretty cold without the fire,”
“Fennekin,”
“Okay but I’ll leave the flap unzipped if you get too cold,” he finished, wiggling into his sleeping bag. True to his word the temperature plummeted and the little fox shivered in spite of moving to the warm ash pile that was left of the fire.
‘Damn it this is not the daycare,’ she cursed herself having been raised in a climate controlled building; she looked to the open flap on the tent, ‘if he tries anything I’ll bite him’
Anthony woke to the not so gentle flop into his stomach; he reached out to feel the small, ash covered and very warm weight of his Fennekin.
“Cold?” the trainer asked quietly
“Hmph,” she retorted,
“I thought so,” he chuckled.

Author’s note, sorry for the dark period but I had a bad case of writers block after the black out. Don’t worry I haven’t forgotten about my other story but I feel that my adventures in Kalos deserves mentioning, as before please leave a review and know flames please
Kolofox