Story Notes:
Disclaimer: All publicly recognizable characters, settings, etc. are the property of their respective owners. The original characters and plot are the property of me, the author. I am in no way associated with the owners, creators, or producers of any media franchise. No copyright infringement is intended.
Chapter 1: The Twin Brothers
July 20, 2000. It was a beautiful, sunny summer day in the small town of Twinleaf. Many of its residents were outdoors enjoying the nice weather. However, there was one child who wasn't as interested in relaxing right then. He had an important task at hand: to find his brother.
The boy was just 9 years old, same as his brother. He had white blond hair and emerald green eyes that did, in fact, shine just like the gem. One assumption that could be made about him was that he couldn't be very intimidating. He stuck to his studies and didn't like the idea of violence.
As the young boy was searching for his brother, he thought of all the possible places that he could be. The boy had already been to their friend's house and Lake Verity. He was currently on his way to the Pokémart in Sandgem Town, a short walk from Twinleaf Town. He and his brother enjoyed spending their spare time there. Besides supplies for trainers, which Isaac and his brother were interested in as they would both become trainers in just a little over a month, there was a variety of other things for sale and always something new each time they stopped by.
The boy came to a stop just outside of the store. He opened the door and took a quick scan of the place. "Not in here, either?" the boy asked himself, annoyed. He dashed toward the cashier, who knew the two brothers because they dropped by so frequently.
The boy made it to the counter, with the cashier slouching over it. It must have been a slow business day, because he looked bored out of his mind. As soon as he noticed the youth, however, the expression on his face became a happier one.
"Well hello there, Isaac!" the man said.
"Hi, Mr. Monroe. Have you seen..." Isaac began.
"your brother?" Mr. Monroe finished for him, "Why, yes actually. He was here about 15 minutes before you arrived. He was browsing for a little and just before he left, he said that he would be heading into the woods. He probably figured that you would be looking for him."
Isaac turned toward the door as he said, "Thanks, Mr. Monroe."
"Anytime!" the cashier shouted, as Isaac was already halfway out the door.
"Good, that means he couldn't have gone too far," Isaac thought to himself. He ran as fast as his legs could carry him. Isaac had no idea why his brother enjoyed that forest so much. The forest surrounded route 202, but there was a path on one side that you could walk down, which led to a small clearing.
Isaac stopped outside the start of the path. He cupped his hands over his mouth and yelled for his brother. "Derek!" he screamed. Isaac waited a minute. No response or sign of Derek.
"I guess I've got no choice," Isaac said to himself. He reluctantly started making his way through the woods. It seemed like he had to do this every other day.
Trainers that wanted to battle each other, but didn't want to injure an innocent passerby with a missed attack, usually walked to the clearing. Trainers also usually went to the clearing to prepare for battles along route 202. Derek, however, liked to challenge the ones that were preparing for other battles, even though he didn't have any Pokémon of his own.
Ever since Isaac and Derek were born, the two of them had unusually heightened strength, speed, and reflexes. Even their thinking processes were abnormally high. They could get hit in the face with rock as big as their head, and not feel a thing or have a single scratch on them. That was why Derek was always challenging people to battle him: he really wanted them to battle HIM with their Pokémon. He and Isaac were strong enough to defeat almost any Pokémon, but Isaac didn't particularly like the idea.
Suddenly, there was the sound of wood snapping, and a mighty crash that echoed throughout the forest. "Great," Isaac thought, "Now what's he done?" He took off, sprinting down the path. As he neared the clearing, sounds of someone fighting could be heard from up ahead, and...
__________________________________________________________
"ISAAC!"
Isaac, startled by the sudden calling of his name, sat straight up as he opened his eyes, only to hit his head on something as he did so. He looked next to the bed to find his Gardevoir clutching her forehead in pain.
"Oh my gosh! I'm so sorry, Valerie!" Isaac said, frantically, "I didn't know you were right there. Are you okay?"
"Yeah, I'm fine," Valerie responded, now rubbing the spot where she got hit. Isaac glanced around the hotel room, confused as to where they were, and then remembered that they had checked in last night. Valerie stood up and said telepathically, " 'bout time you woke up. I've been trying to wake you for at least 10 minutes!" Valerie sounded concerned. Isaac looked around the room and saw that all his Pokémon were staring at him with just as much concern as Valerie. On the other bed was Amy, his female Bellossom, and Victor, his Gallade, who was Valerie's brother. Isaac saw his Empoleon standing in one corner of the room, and his Staraptor in another.
"Did I wake everyone up?" asked Isaac, with a look of embarrassment on his face.
"You kinda did," said Victor, telepathically, "You were talking to yourself out loud as you slept. You looked like you were having a nightmare." The Gallade half laughed as he said that. Isaac tried to come up with a fake explanation, wanting to dodge a discussion of what the dream was with Valerie. Valerie had always been one who wanted Isaac to tell her his problems, fears, etc. "Well..." he began, "Not exactly. It was more of I was trying to find something." Little did he know that Valerie already knew what the dream was about, having looked into his mind while he was still dreaming, trying to find out what was wrong. She decided to play along with Isaac's fake explanation... for now.
"Alright, then," Valerie said, "It's time we get the day started, anyway. What are we going to do today, Isaac?"
Isaac thought about it for a moment. They had originally planed to take on the Canalave Gym leader, Byron, yesterday, but it was pretty late by the time they got to Canalave City, hence their being in this hotel right now. He figured that they should make the challenge today, but he still wasn't sure if they had what it would take to win this one. After all, they had little experience with battling Steel types. Victor was the only one who could do any real damage to them quickly, and Empoleon was the only other member of Isaac's team that even stood a chance at defeating Steel types, being part Steel himself. If Staraptor could get a little more training in, then he'd probably be able to learn Close Combat, one of the strongest Fighting type moves out there, but even then it would still be risky sending him in.
"I don't know," Isaac finally answered, now talking to everyone, "I guess we'll do what we can for training until 3:00. After that, we'll rest up at the Center and then take our shot at the Gym." His team nodded in agreement. "Oh! Today is Thursday, isn't it?" Isaac said, happily, "That means that it's your turn to be outside, Empoleon." Empoleon gave a cheerful "EMPOL". Ever since they started fighting against Team Galactic, Isaac had developed a system of switching out the members of his team to remain outside of their pokéball for the day. If they were traveling or walking through a city, then only one was allowed out. Monday- Friday used this system of switching out, Saturday and Sunday everyone was allowed, as they usually spent those two days relaxing anyway. Isaac created this system so that if something happened (Team Galactic or otherwise), he would already have one of his Pokémon out.
As Isaac got up out of the bed, his stomach growled, which rang out in the room. "Hehehehehe..." he laughed and said sheepishly, "Before we do anything, though, how 'bout we get something to eat?"
Isaac walked across the room to his bag. He searched for a moment and stood up and turned to face his team. With his hand on the back of his head, he said, "Umm... It seems we're out of food. Don't worry, I'll be back in a flash with more." He quickly grabbed his clothes and went into the bathroom to change. He came back out after and was about to leave when Empoleon tapped on his back. Isaac turned around and asked, "Oh, you want to come along?" Empoleon nodded. And with that, they were off.
Canalave City was a lot more active now than it had been the day prior, but then again, Isaac had gotten there pretty late yesterday. As Isaac and Empoleon walked through the city, they could hear conversations as they passed by them. Most of these were on the actions of Team Galactic, which made Isaac slightly depressed. He thought back to the day when he had first learned of Team Galactic's plans at the Valley Windworks, when Commander Mars was there. He could still remember that evil smirk on her face. Isaac clenched his fists tighter, which prompted a questioning look from Empoleon. Isaac merely shook his head and said, "It's nothing, Empoleon. Don't worry about it."
As they neared the market, the door opened, and a strange looking man emerged from the building, carrying a bag containing his purchases. He wore a blue jacket with a matching blue hat that was pointed at the front, covering part of his face. He also wore a necklace that had a design that Isaac had seen once before, but couldn't remember where. A Lucario was walking right along next to the man. As Isaac passed by the man, somehow he knew that he was going to be involved in some major event sometime in the near future.
Sure enough, as soon as Isaac was about to enter the market, the man turned and said, "Hey, you're going to be training for the Gym, aren't you?" Shocked at how accurate the man was, Isaac couldn't help but nod in response. "Yeah... how did you... Who are you?" Isaac asked. The man put his hand to his head, saying, "I'm sorry... where are my manners? My name is Riley. I'm a trainer myself." Riley held out his hand. Isaac shook it, saying, "I'm Isaac. How did you know that I was going to be training for a Gym battle?" Riley smiled and said, "Well, your Empoleon is a big giveaway. I can tell just by looking at it that it is strong. It takes a true trainer to raise an Empoleon to be as strong as yours is." Riley paused for a moment, and then continued, "Well, if your training for the Canalave Gym, there's no better place than Iron Island. All of the Pokémon on that island are Steel types. I'm actually going to be going over there in about an hour. So, if you'd like, we could go together, and I could show you around the place. That is assuming you want to go."
"Oh, of course I would. Thank you, Riley," said Isaac.
"See you in an hour, then," said Riley, as he headed off to another part of the city.
Isaac grabbed everything that he needed and paid for it. As he and Empoleon were walking back to the hotel, he thought to himself, "Wow, an entire island full of Steel type Pokémon! It's perfect!" He opened the door to the hotel room, and was immediately greeted by a pair of big, red eyes, causing Isaac to jump back a little. He realized that it was Valerie and relaxed. Valerie smiled and said, telepathically, "What took you two so long? You said you'd be back in a flash."
"I know," said Isaac, "But I was talking to someone before I got our food. He was telling me about an island where all the Pokémon are Steel types! Can you believe it?" He was now speaking to everyone, "Change of plans: We're going to Iron Island!"
About an hour later Isaac and his team, (his team being inside their Pokéballs, except for Empoleon), headed down to the docks. Riley was waiting patiently for them on one of the benches. When he noticed Isaac, he stood up and smiled. "Are you ready to go?" he asked Isaac. Isaac nodded, a look of determination in his eyes. Riley turned toward the captain of the boat. "We're all set," Riley told the captain. The captain let them board and then got on and prepared the boat for launch. Soon, they were on their way to Iron Island, Isaac having no idea that this experience would change his life forever.Chapter End Notes:DBZ narrator: It is a secret we have known since before Gohan could even form words in his mouth. Through fights with... wait a minute. This isn't my booth!
(Door opens)
Gardevoir Lover: What the hell are you doing in my booth?! I told you: Your booth is down the hall and to the LEFT! Get out of here! (PTAS jokesteal)
Lucky you, you get two jokes this chapter. So, review this, and just know that the story is going to get better, A LOT better.Fun Fact: The necklace that Riley wears has the same design that is on Sir Aaron's gloves. The design is also found on Groudon's arms
The boy was just 9 years old, same as his brother. He had white blond hair and emerald green eyes that did, in fact, shine just like the gem. One assumption that could be made about him was that he couldn't be very intimidating. He stuck to his studies and didn't like the idea of violence.
As the young boy was searching for his brother, he thought of all the possible places that he could be. The boy had already been to their friend's house and Lake Verity. He was currently on his way to the Pokémart in Sandgem Town, a short walk from Twinleaf Town. He and his brother enjoyed spending their spare time there. Besides supplies for trainers, which Isaac and his brother were interested in as they would both become trainers in just a little over a month, there was a variety of other things for sale and always something new each time they stopped by.
The boy came to a stop just outside of the store. He opened the door and took a quick scan of the place. "Not in here, either?" the boy asked himself, annoyed. He dashed toward the cashier, who knew the two brothers because they dropped by so frequently.
The boy made it to the counter, with the cashier slouching over it. It must have been a slow business day, because he looked bored out of his mind. As soon as he noticed the youth, however, the expression on his face became a happier one.
"Well hello there, Isaac!" the man said.
"Hi, Mr. Monroe. Have you seen..." Isaac began.
"your brother?" Mr. Monroe finished for him, "Why, yes actually. He was here about 15 minutes before you arrived. He was browsing for a little and just before he left, he said that he would be heading into the woods. He probably figured that you would be looking for him."
Isaac turned toward the door as he said, "Thanks, Mr. Monroe."
"Anytime!" the cashier shouted, as Isaac was already halfway out the door.
"Good, that means he couldn't have gone too far," Isaac thought to himself. He ran as fast as his legs could carry him. Isaac had no idea why his brother enjoyed that forest so much. The forest surrounded route 202, but there was a path on one side that you could walk down, which led to a small clearing.
Isaac stopped outside the start of the path. He cupped his hands over his mouth and yelled for his brother. "Derek!" he screamed. Isaac waited a minute. No response or sign of Derek.
"I guess I've got no choice," Isaac said to himself. He reluctantly started making his way through the woods. It seemed like he had to do this every other day.
Trainers that wanted to battle each other, but didn't want to injure an innocent passerby with a missed attack, usually walked to the clearing. Trainers also usually went to the clearing to prepare for battles along route 202. Derek, however, liked to challenge the ones that were preparing for other battles, even though he didn't have any Pokémon of his own.
Ever since Isaac and Derek were born, the two of them had unusually heightened strength, speed, and reflexes. Even their thinking processes were abnormally high. They could get hit in the face with rock as big as their head, and not feel a thing or have a single scratch on them. That was why Derek was always challenging people to battle him: he really wanted them to battle HIM with their Pokémon. He and Isaac were strong enough to defeat almost any Pokémon, but Isaac didn't particularly like the idea.
Suddenly, there was the sound of wood snapping, and a mighty crash that echoed throughout the forest. "Great," Isaac thought, "Now what's he done?" He took off, sprinting down the path. As he neared the clearing, sounds of someone fighting could be heard from up ahead, and...
__________________________________________________________
"ISAAC!"
Isaac, startled by the sudden calling of his name, sat straight up as he opened his eyes, only to hit his head on something as he did so. He looked next to the bed to find his Gardevoir clutching her forehead in pain.
"Oh my gosh! I'm so sorry, Valerie!" Isaac said, frantically, "I didn't know you were right there. Are you okay?"
"Yeah, I'm fine," Valerie responded, now rubbing the spot where she got hit. Isaac glanced around the hotel room, confused as to where they were, and then remembered that they had checked in last night. Valerie stood up and said telepathically, " 'bout time you woke up. I've been trying to wake you for at least 10 minutes!" Valerie sounded concerned. Isaac looked around the room and saw that all his Pokémon were staring at him with just as much concern as Valerie. On the other bed was Amy, his female Bellossom, and Victor, his Gallade, who was Valerie's brother. Isaac saw his Empoleon standing in one corner of the room, and his Staraptor in another.
"Did I wake everyone up?" asked Isaac, with a look of embarrassment on his face.
"You kinda did," said Victor, telepathically, "You were talking to yourself out loud as you slept. You looked like you were having a nightmare." The Gallade half laughed as he said that. Isaac tried to come up with a fake explanation, wanting to dodge a discussion of what the dream was with Valerie. Valerie had always been one who wanted Isaac to tell her his problems, fears, etc. "Well..." he began, "Not exactly. It was more of I was trying to find something." Little did he know that Valerie already knew what the dream was about, having looked into his mind while he was still dreaming, trying to find out what was wrong. She decided to play along with Isaac's fake explanation... for now.
"Alright, then," Valerie said, "It's time we get the day started, anyway. What are we going to do today, Isaac?"
Isaac thought about it for a moment. They had originally planed to take on the Canalave Gym leader, Byron, yesterday, but it was pretty late by the time they got to Canalave City, hence their being in this hotel right now. He figured that they should make the challenge today, but he still wasn't sure if they had what it would take to win this one. After all, they had little experience with battling Steel types. Victor was the only one who could do any real damage to them quickly, and Empoleon was the only other member of Isaac's team that even stood a chance at defeating Steel types, being part Steel himself. If Staraptor could get a little more training in, then he'd probably be able to learn Close Combat, one of the strongest Fighting type moves out there, but even then it would still be risky sending him in.
"I don't know," Isaac finally answered, now talking to everyone, "I guess we'll do what we can for training until 3:00. After that, we'll rest up at the Center and then take our shot at the Gym." His team nodded in agreement. "Oh! Today is Thursday, isn't it?" Isaac said, happily, "That means that it's your turn to be outside, Empoleon." Empoleon gave a cheerful "EMPOL". Ever since they started fighting against Team Galactic, Isaac had developed a system of switching out the members of his team to remain outside of their pokéball for the day. If they were traveling or walking through a city, then only one was allowed out. Monday- Friday used this system of switching out, Saturday and Sunday everyone was allowed, as they usually spent those two days relaxing anyway. Isaac created this system so that if something happened (Team Galactic or otherwise), he would already have one of his Pokémon out.
As Isaac got up out of the bed, his stomach growled, which rang out in the room. "Hehehehehe..." he laughed and said sheepishly, "Before we do anything, though, how 'bout we get something to eat?"
Isaac walked across the room to his bag. He searched for a moment and stood up and turned to face his team. With his hand on the back of his head, he said, "Umm... It seems we're out of food. Don't worry, I'll be back in a flash with more." He quickly grabbed his clothes and went into the bathroom to change. He came back out after and was about to leave when Empoleon tapped on his back. Isaac turned around and asked, "Oh, you want to come along?" Empoleon nodded. And with that, they were off.
Canalave City was a lot more active now than it had been the day prior, but then again, Isaac had gotten there pretty late yesterday. As Isaac and Empoleon walked through the city, they could hear conversations as they passed by them. Most of these were on the actions of Team Galactic, which made Isaac slightly depressed. He thought back to the day when he had first learned of Team Galactic's plans at the Valley Windworks, when Commander Mars was there. He could still remember that evil smirk on her face. Isaac clenched his fists tighter, which prompted a questioning look from Empoleon. Isaac merely shook his head and said, "It's nothing, Empoleon. Don't worry about it."
As they neared the market, the door opened, and a strange looking man emerged from the building, carrying a bag containing his purchases. He wore a blue jacket with a matching blue hat that was pointed at the front, covering part of his face. He also wore a necklace that had a design that Isaac had seen once before, but couldn't remember where. A Lucario was walking right along next to the man. As Isaac passed by the man, somehow he knew that he was going to be involved in some major event sometime in the near future.
Sure enough, as soon as Isaac was about to enter the market, the man turned and said, "Hey, you're going to be training for the Gym, aren't you?" Shocked at how accurate the man was, Isaac couldn't help but nod in response. "Yeah... how did you... Who are you?" Isaac asked. The man put his hand to his head, saying, "I'm sorry... where are my manners? My name is Riley. I'm a trainer myself." Riley held out his hand. Isaac shook it, saying, "I'm Isaac. How did you know that I was going to be training for a Gym battle?" Riley smiled and said, "Well, your Empoleon is a big giveaway. I can tell just by looking at it that it is strong. It takes a true trainer to raise an Empoleon to be as strong as yours is." Riley paused for a moment, and then continued, "Well, if your training for the Canalave Gym, there's no better place than Iron Island. All of the Pokémon on that island are Steel types. I'm actually going to be going over there in about an hour. So, if you'd like, we could go together, and I could show you around the place. That is assuming you want to go."
"Oh, of course I would. Thank you, Riley," said Isaac.
"See you in an hour, then," said Riley, as he headed off to another part of the city.
Isaac grabbed everything that he needed and paid for it. As he and Empoleon were walking back to the hotel, he thought to himself, "Wow, an entire island full of Steel type Pokémon! It's perfect!" He opened the door to the hotel room, and was immediately greeted by a pair of big, red eyes, causing Isaac to jump back a little. He realized that it was Valerie and relaxed. Valerie smiled and said, telepathically, "What took you two so long? You said you'd be back in a flash."
"I know," said Isaac, "But I was talking to someone before I got our food. He was telling me about an island where all the Pokémon are Steel types! Can you believe it?" He was now speaking to everyone, "Change of plans: We're going to Iron Island!"
About an hour later Isaac and his team, (his team being inside their Pokéballs, except for Empoleon), headed down to the docks. Riley was waiting patiently for them on one of the benches. When he noticed Isaac, he stood up and smiled. "Are you ready to go?" he asked Isaac. Isaac nodded, a look of determination in his eyes. Riley turned toward the captain of the boat. "We're all set," Riley told the captain. The captain let them board and then got on and prepared the boat for launch. Soon, they were on their way to Iron Island, Isaac having no idea that this experience would change his life forever.Chapter End Notes:DBZ narrator: It is a secret we have known since before Gohan could even form words in his mouth. Through fights with... wait a minute. This isn't my booth!
(Door opens)
Gardevoir Lover: What the hell are you doing in my booth?! I told you: Your booth is down the hall and to the LEFT! Get out of here! (PTAS jokesteal)
Lucky you, you get two jokes this chapter. So, review this, and just know that the story is going to get better, A LOT better.Fun Fact: The necklace that Riley wears has the same design that is on Sir Aaron's gloves. The design is also found on Groudon's arms