Preparation
Winter was known as the harshest of seasons. Travelers caught in the frozen snowflakes that fall too the ground forming a whole new landscape usually don't make out alive if they do not have a home nearby to go to. To ensure safety in the mountains north of Rustboro city, the government in the area established base camps, also known as Checkpoints. They chose people to inhabit the Checkpoints and make it like a village. To make sure there will not be many casualties in the blizzards that occasionally sweep through the mountains, there were 17 Checkpoints set up. Quickly people got comfortable with the idea that a town will always be nearby and more travelers began to journey through the area, with the Checkpoints as their allies. Soon there was a new threat to the travelers. There was a forest that seperated Checkpoints 7 and 8 from each other. The travelers that journeyed through the forest have mysteriously disappeared. After a few years, bones would be scattered around the forest, every traveler that has gone inside the coagulation of trees and plants have died...
This leads to the story of a young trainer around the age of 16 that lived in Checkpoint 7, with his array of pokemon by his side that he named individually something that would be easier to remember and made him feel like he was around someone who can actually talk back without saying their own name as a language. There lied a team of 6 pokemon that kept the young trainer Derek company and guidance. To be raised in a lonely envirnment has seriously altered the way Derek thinks, he thought that only pokemon were his friends, he only trusted his parents and pokemon.
The way he named his team, it makes you think that if you were to hear it unspecific, you would think that the person was talking about a human. The first was a young Charmander, nicknamed Bryan. Bryan was a lonely Charmander, found by Derek starving and injured from an attack from a pack of Mightyena. Bryan was one who would keep quiet to himself and would never start any fights with the rest of the pokemon in the ground. Second was Dexter, a young Pikachu who was one of those peace loving pokemon. Next with his little sister, Mercedes, they would usually be the ones snuggling together when it gets too cold inside or out. Usually Derek could not tell the difference between Mercedes or Dexter, so he found a pink flower and wrapped it around Mercedes's left ear.
Even in the worse of factors their bond did not break. Then there comes Ryan the Treeko, he would be the problem starter. Always getting into fights with either Terrence, and Umbreon and Kyle, a Squirtle. Ryan always seems to have a long twig in his mouth, he tried to symbolize that he was not to be trifled with.
Terrence was a very smart Umbreon, usually lead the team out of danger and accidents. He has a scar that runs across the left hemisphere of his face for when he saved Mercedes from a wild Meowth, something that Mercedes or Terrence would never forget. Then there comes Kyle, the youngest in the group, never wants to get into trouble but always does. His excess energy can betray him sometimes, for he gets too hyper at some point and something breaks or something gets destroyed, that is always the story with Kyle.
Derek is fascinated by how the pokemon react with one another, occasionally he would take notes on how Mercedes and Ryan would fight over something, or when Terrence tells everyone to leave in his own pokemon language. Derek was afraid he would never know how saying the name of the host pokemon could be a language, he is also fascinated on how even when one species of a pokemon was talking to another opposite kind of species, for example, a Charizard having a conversation with an Eevee, if all the Eevee can say is "Eevee" and all the Charizard can say is "Charizard" or formal abbreviations of their names, such as "Char" like how Charizards usually say, how can the other one understand. Usually when Derek gets caught up in this theory of his, it would cause a chain reaction in his mind.
Derek was informed that he was to report to Checkpoint 8 with supplies from this side. They were running out of food and lumber, and Checkpoint 7 had plenty to give. This was something special to Derek, he felt a type of responsibility that weighed down on his shoulders like a group of people were sitting on his shoulders. He felt very pressured by this, for if he did not make it, a vast portion of the population would die of subzero conditions or starvation. Since Checkpoint 7 had no Mightyena to pull a sled through snow, Derek resorted to other options, such as recruiting his own pokemon to do the job, feeling the need that his own pokemon need the honor as much as he.
"Ok guys," said Derek explaining the conditions of what is about to occur, "I need you to pull this here sled across the mountain, if we do not complete this task, Checkpoint 8 may suffer under harsh conditions" To be confused by this was common, for one thing, his pokemon group was usually pampered at this area. The only hardship they ever had to face once they were captured by Derek and rendezvous into the Checkpoint was the freezing temperature.
Out of the entire group, Bryan seemed to be the only one who could withstand the hardships of the outside world, for he was captured last and was forced to live a dangerous existence for even longer before Derek found him.
"I could have sworn that Derek told us to pull a sled" said Mercedes, hugging her brother for the harsh wind took a toll on her, she was freezing, Dexter could tell.
She could not stop shivering, "Yes, that is what it seems, well, we can't disobey our master now can we?" proclaimed Terrence, raising a point, "Don't always listen to your master I always say, it may lead to your death" said Ryan, leaning against the wall of the home of Mrs. Applebee, an old widow that secluded herself from the rest of the village, "Never, he is my mentor, I could never disobey Derek" said Bryan, his head staring down at the almost blinding white snow, "You guys always depend on Derek, what if he were to die tomorrow? You guys would be nothing" said Ryan as he boosted himself off the wall, "Don't say that Ryan!" yelled Mercedes, "Seriously, Mercedes loves Derek, if he were to die, I'm not sure what would happen to her" said Dexter, "This is what I am talking about" said Ryan kneeling down to Mercedes, "Get away from her, she is freezing over here" said Dexter, gently pushing Ryan away, attempting to not cause a fight, for if he were to push hard, it may have started something.
Kyle was jogging in place, trying to get some body heat going. He panted slightly and a light blush appeared on his face after a few minutes, apparently to everyone he was actually getting a bit warm, "Besides, what kind of loving trainer would leave us outside in the cold almost every night?" asked Ryan trying to raise an argumentative conversation.
"You should give Derek more credit, he rescued you from the cruel wild" said Bryan, remembering how Derek saved his own life, "Even so, was it worse there or worse here?" asked Ryan, "It is heaven to me, I have never met any trainer as kind and caring as Derek" said Bryan, "Bullshit, this guy is minimum when it comes to "Kindness" and "Care" said Ryan, "Don't you dare talk about Derek that way!" snapped Terrence, "Oh yeah? What are you going to do about it?" taunted Ryan as he shifted his heads direction from left to right, trying to taunt Terrence into a fight, "You are an ungrateful bastard, you should just go rot in hell" said Terrence, "Oh is that so? Why don't I just leave you guys to pull your fucking sled by yourselves then" said Ryan as he turned around and marched off into the blizzard.
His will was strong even until he disappeared from view, "He is such a baby" said Mercedes, still shivering underneath Dexter, "The trip should be starting soon, I hear the footsteps of Derek" said Bryan, "Yeah, this seems new to me though, pulling a sleigh?" asked Mercedes, "Yes, it seems unnatural to us, this is clearly a job for Mightyena" said Terrence, "Okay guys, it is all been talked out, we are leaving now, everyone prepare" said Derek.
The leather wraps felt more comfortable that the team really imagined it would be. Derek strapped them in carefully and with care, trying not to injure them in any way. Mercedes could not stand this, she was almost freezing to death, Dexter who was stationed right behind her, couldn't help but feel sympathy for her, she was suffering for she did not have as much fur as the rest of the team, not including Ryan and Bryan.
Bryan on the other hand was very cold, he couldn't stand it but he kept his stance and did not back down on his own will. Derek grabbed a long, narrow whip and whirled it around, "Is he going to hit us with that thing?" whimpered Mercedes, "I don't think so, I think he is just attempting to scare us" said Terrence. Derek was completely new to this, he did not know if his pokemon could even pull and 250 pound load of supplies for 5 miles. Derek raised the whip and yelled, "Hyah!" As Bryan was the leader in the stations, he urged everyone to move by attempting my mobilize himself. The supplies began to actually move through the powder-like snow, "Great job guys!" yelled Derek as he followed the team.
A half hour has passed by them and they found Ryan traveling, without question Derek finally remembered that he actually even had a Treeko, but he tried not to show his ignorance. He strapped Ryan with everyone else even if Ryan stuggled to get free. When he was finally settled in he said, "Don't you guys say a word"
Derek yelled again, "Hyah!" And he raised the whip, everyone pulled, including Derek at the back. The supplies advanced without problems. An hour has passed now and Mercedes could barely even move, she was partially frozen solid but she did not complain, she just kept going. A few trees came into view, every step they took another tree revealed itself from the fog of snow. Trees just kept coming and coming until there was an entire cluster of them, standing tall and with snow covered branches.
It took everyone a little while to realize that it was what everyone was talking about, "No..." whispered Terrence to himself. As everyone saw, Terrence was wrong on what he has said previously, Derek was going to make them go through the Forest of Nightmares...
This leads to the story of a young trainer around the age of 16 that lived in Checkpoint 7, with his array of pokemon by his side that he named individually something that would be easier to remember and made him feel like he was around someone who can actually talk back without saying their own name as a language. There lied a team of 6 pokemon that kept the young trainer Derek company and guidance. To be raised in a lonely envirnment has seriously altered the way Derek thinks, he thought that only pokemon were his friends, he only trusted his parents and pokemon.
The way he named his team, it makes you think that if you were to hear it unspecific, you would think that the person was talking about a human. The first was a young Charmander, nicknamed Bryan. Bryan was a lonely Charmander, found by Derek starving and injured from an attack from a pack of Mightyena. Bryan was one who would keep quiet to himself and would never start any fights with the rest of the pokemon in the ground. Second was Dexter, a young Pikachu who was one of those peace loving pokemon. Next with his little sister, Mercedes, they would usually be the ones snuggling together when it gets too cold inside or out. Usually Derek could not tell the difference between Mercedes or Dexter, so he found a pink flower and wrapped it around Mercedes's left ear.
Even in the worse of factors their bond did not break. Then there comes Ryan the Treeko, he would be the problem starter. Always getting into fights with either Terrence, and Umbreon and Kyle, a Squirtle. Ryan always seems to have a long twig in his mouth, he tried to symbolize that he was not to be trifled with.
Terrence was a very smart Umbreon, usually lead the team out of danger and accidents. He has a scar that runs across the left hemisphere of his face for when he saved Mercedes from a wild Meowth, something that Mercedes or Terrence would never forget. Then there comes Kyle, the youngest in the group, never wants to get into trouble but always does. His excess energy can betray him sometimes, for he gets too hyper at some point and something breaks or something gets destroyed, that is always the story with Kyle.
Derek is fascinated by how the pokemon react with one another, occasionally he would take notes on how Mercedes and Ryan would fight over something, or when Terrence tells everyone to leave in his own pokemon language. Derek was afraid he would never know how saying the name of the host pokemon could be a language, he is also fascinated on how even when one species of a pokemon was talking to another opposite kind of species, for example, a Charizard having a conversation with an Eevee, if all the Eevee can say is "Eevee" and all the Charizard can say is "Charizard" or formal abbreviations of their names, such as "Char" like how Charizards usually say, how can the other one understand. Usually when Derek gets caught up in this theory of his, it would cause a chain reaction in his mind.
Derek was informed that he was to report to Checkpoint 8 with supplies from this side. They were running out of food and lumber, and Checkpoint 7 had plenty to give. This was something special to Derek, he felt a type of responsibility that weighed down on his shoulders like a group of people were sitting on his shoulders. He felt very pressured by this, for if he did not make it, a vast portion of the population would die of subzero conditions or starvation. Since Checkpoint 7 had no Mightyena to pull a sled through snow, Derek resorted to other options, such as recruiting his own pokemon to do the job, feeling the need that his own pokemon need the honor as much as he.
"Ok guys," said Derek explaining the conditions of what is about to occur, "I need you to pull this here sled across the mountain, if we do not complete this task, Checkpoint 8 may suffer under harsh conditions" To be confused by this was common, for one thing, his pokemon group was usually pampered at this area. The only hardship they ever had to face once they were captured by Derek and rendezvous into the Checkpoint was the freezing temperature.
Out of the entire group, Bryan seemed to be the only one who could withstand the hardships of the outside world, for he was captured last and was forced to live a dangerous existence for even longer before Derek found him.
"I could have sworn that Derek told us to pull a sled" said Mercedes, hugging her brother for the harsh wind took a toll on her, she was freezing, Dexter could tell.
She could not stop shivering, "Yes, that is what it seems, well, we can't disobey our master now can we?" proclaimed Terrence, raising a point, "Don't always listen to your master I always say, it may lead to your death" said Ryan, leaning against the wall of the home of Mrs. Applebee, an old widow that secluded herself from the rest of the village, "Never, he is my mentor, I could never disobey Derek" said Bryan, his head staring down at the almost blinding white snow, "You guys always depend on Derek, what if he were to die tomorrow? You guys would be nothing" said Ryan as he boosted himself off the wall, "Don't say that Ryan!" yelled Mercedes, "Seriously, Mercedes loves Derek, if he were to die, I'm not sure what would happen to her" said Dexter, "This is what I am talking about" said Ryan kneeling down to Mercedes, "Get away from her, she is freezing over here" said Dexter, gently pushing Ryan away, attempting to not cause a fight, for if he were to push hard, it may have started something.
Kyle was jogging in place, trying to get some body heat going. He panted slightly and a light blush appeared on his face after a few minutes, apparently to everyone he was actually getting a bit warm, "Besides, what kind of loving trainer would leave us outside in the cold almost every night?" asked Ryan trying to raise an argumentative conversation.
"You should give Derek more credit, he rescued you from the cruel wild" said Bryan, remembering how Derek saved his own life, "Even so, was it worse there or worse here?" asked Ryan, "It is heaven to me, I have never met any trainer as kind and caring as Derek" said Bryan, "Bullshit, this guy is minimum when it comes to "Kindness" and "Care" said Ryan, "Don't you dare talk about Derek that way!" snapped Terrence, "Oh yeah? What are you going to do about it?" taunted Ryan as he shifted his heads direction from left to right, trying to taunt Terrence into a fight, "You are an ungrateful bastard, you should just go rot in hell" said Terrence, "Oh is that so? Why don't I just leave you guys to pull your fucking sled by yourselves then" said Ryan as he turned around and marched off into the blizzard.
His will was strong even until he disappeared from view, "He is such a baby" said Mercedes, still shivering underneath Dexter, "The trip should be starting soon, I hear the footsteps of Derek" said Bryan, "Yeah, this seems new to me though, pulling a sleigh?" asked Mercedes, "Yes, it seems unnatural to us, this is clearly a job for Mightyena" said Terrence, "Okay guys, it is all been talked out, we are leaving now, everyone prepare" said Derek.
The leather wraps felt more comfortable that the team really imagined it would be. Derek strapped them in carefully and with care, trying not to injure them in any way. Mercedes could not stand this, she was almost freezing to death, Dexter who was stationed right behind her, couldn't help but feel sympathy for her, she was suffering for she did not have as much fur as the rest of the team, not including Ryan and Bryan.
Bryan on the other hand was very cold, he couldn't stand it but he kept his stance and did not back down on his own will. Derek grabbed a long, narrow whip and whirled it around, "Is he going to hit us with that thing?" whimpered Mercedes, "I don't think so, I think he is just attempting to scare us" said Terrence. Derek was completely new to this, he did not know if his pokemon could even pull and 250 pound load of supplies for 5 miles. Derek raised the whip and yelled, "Hyah!" As Bryan was the leader in the stations, he urged everyone to move by attempting my mobilize himself. The supplies began to actually move through the powder-like snow, "Great job guys!" yelled Derek as he followed the team.
A half hour has passed by them and they found Ryan traveling, without question Derek finally remembered that he actually even had a Treeko, but he tried not to show his ignorance. He strapped Ryan with everyone else even if Ryan stuggled to get free. When he was finally settled in he said, "Don't you guys say a word"
Derek yelled again, "Hyah!" And he raised the whip, everyone pulled, including Derek at the back. The supplies advanced without problems. An hour has passed now and Mercedes could barely even move, she was partially frozen solid but she did not complain, she just kept going. A few trees came into view, every step they took another tree revealed itself from the fog of snow. Trees just kept coming and coming until there was an entire cluster of them, standing tall and with snow covered branches.
It took everyone a little while to realize that it was what everyone was talking about, "No..." whispered Terrence to himself. As everyone saw, Terrence was wrong on what he has said previously, Derek was going to make them go through the Forest of Nightmares...
Chapter End Notes:
Disclaimer: All publicly recognizable characters, settings, etc. are the property of their respective owners. The original characters and plot are the property of the author. The author is in no way associated with the owners, creators, or producers of any media franchise. No copyright infringement is intended, and is applicable for all consecutive chapters that follow.