Chapter 1: Call Me Champion
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The sword, invented during a time of strife when defending yourself was hard and ill advised. Often it was better to run and hope whoever was coming after you didn’t catch up. Over the course of history since then, they are regarded as esteemed weapons, used to fight for justice and self-defense. But like anything, they were also used to fight against those very ideals.
But the sword itself is neutral, is it not? The sword is an inanimate object, unable to have feelings or a soul. It does not tell you how to use it nor tempt you with some evil spell.
The same cannot be said about their wielders however. It isn’t the sword that makes the decision to commit an evil or good act, that is all dependent on the person or thing using it. The issue isn’t the object, but the person holding it.
Why do people do the things that they do for good or evil? What is their motivation, righteous or immoral? What is it that justifies their actions within the workings of their minds? Anyone can muster that together inside their own head. All actions need a reason, even if it's a bad one.
I know my actions certainly need their own justification, but it isn’t for myself. No, it's for everyone around me. I have no doubts about what I do. I have ideals that I want to uphold.
The drones and buzzing of the crowd slowly brought me back to reality and out of the depths of my mind. Something was off about their whispering, it wasn’t the normal chatter that I could easily ignore.
Something was amiss…
The shining sun made it hard for me to see far ahead of the crowd, not even including the mass of bodies between me and whatever they were looking at. Both humans and Pokémon were all around me looking in the same direction as each other.
I broke to the front of the crowd, seeing two trainers yelling at one another with the number of nearby people growing in number as this argument continued to intensify. It looked on the verge of devolving to violence. With a roll of my eyes, I approached with the hood I was wearing covering my face.
One was a boy, dressed in an orange t-shirt with blond hair… their chin looked sharp enough to be classified as a deadly weapon. The opposite was another boy, he would’ve looked like me given we seemed to have the same green hoodie and light brown hair.
Both were shorter than me by a solid two and a half feet. I was probably dealing with rookie trainers… how wonderful, and potentially volatile.
“What's the issue here?” I asked wearily, already putting a hand beside one of my pokéballs.
The one clad in orange violently pushed the other away from them and pointed at me. Before taking a big, aggressive step towards me. “Stay out of this.”
“Oh, so you wanna play like that…” I muttered as one of my pokéballs opened. “Just tell me what's going on, or she will deal with you.”
Purple coils slowly draped over the ground around me as the form of an Arbok rose to full height. Her scales shone in the sun, with an expression colder than any ice-type. The boy’s face shifted to horror as the snake stared him down.
My years of experience was whispering to me that he was about to do something stupid.
The boy shakily threw a pokéball, the whiz of blue energy and whir of the mechanism revealed a Hitmonchan. Oh you stupid, stupid child... don’t you bloody dare-
“P- punch it-” the boy croaked out as he pointed to the Arbok.
I sighed while taking my hood off. “Lockdown.”
The Arbok shot forward, wrapping around the Hitmonchan as it struggled futility. Her coils tightened just enough to hold it there until I told her to stop. Serene wouldn’t have to wait very long hopefully.
I felt some level of empathy for him, but he should know how to handle this situation better. “Calm down kiddo, just tell me what you two were fighting about-”
Pain coursed through my chest as I hit the pavement. I coughed as the air came flowing back into my lungs, I caught the sight of a Swellow now flying overhead. I didn’t bother to get up. I was completely livid, that little brat will have the fear of the fragility of his life ingrained onto his mind by the time this is over.
“That’s it,” I angrily hissed into the sky like I was speaking directly to Arceus. I gripped another pokéball in my hand, releasing who was inside with the same familiar whizs and whirs. “Ruby, salvage this mess… please.” I muttered to the Gardevoir with a golden locket hanging around her neck now standing next to me.
I felt a familiar concerned-sounding voice pop into my head. [Can you stand?]
“I’m fine… just having a bad day again.”
My sight went white for the briefest moments as the sound of her snapping her fingers sounded out. I found myself standing up beside her, a small smile on her face as she turned her attention to the Swellow.
[I’ll make it quick then.] She teleported into the sky, the bird squawked in fear at the sight of a Gardevoir now in its airspace. Her crystal glowed a bright pink as invisible forces struck the Swellow down into the Earth.
In the blink of an eye, Ruby appeared beside the boy with a hand outstretched towards him. He didn’t notice my approach. She was probably calming him down psychically. His hands kept creeping towards his pokéballs despite what she was doing.
Paranoia didn’t even need to whisper into my ears about the unnecessary risks I was looking at…
Ruby’s voice cut off my train of thought. [Please don’t interfere, I’ve got everything under control.]
[You haven’t exactly won yet… the risks still very much apply.] I sent across the psychic bridge.
Ruby rolled her eyes as the boy’s hands steadied. [Sure.]
The boy looked to calm down, miraculously coming to his senses enough to return both of his Pokémon. Serene retreated beside me as her coils returned to the ground, now empty of their previous occupant.
“Ready to talk yet, kid?” I grumbled with a roll of my eyes.
“We were arguing…”
My patience continued to dwindle with every word. “About what?”
“About… uh…”
“You know what, just forget it!” I announced as I shook my head with anger starting to bubble through that I was desperately trying to hide. “Let bygones be bygones. Thank you Ruby and Serene for helping calm the situation.”
I returned them both before the smile on my face vanished. I grabbed the kid by the collar of his shirt and dragged him close. I whispered into his ear with fear blackening his eyes. “I understand, kid, arguing over stupid shit with a friend or rival. You can do that all you want. There is no law stopping you after all. But remember that threatening people attempting to keep the peace with violence is a quick way to lose everything.”
“I- I- I understand…”
“Oh you better understand, there are no second chances with me,” I said with a sigh as I released him. “Now get your ass out of here before I do it myself.”
I walked off back towards the crowd. All of them got out of my way, no one knew what I said. Some cheered or clapped… others stared in what I assumed to be disappointment or horror. I couldn’t help but smile a little.
It wasn’t like they did anything to help the situation. Bunch of useless deadweights…
None of them followed me as I turned a corner and put my hood back over my head. It was back to me just trying to blend in, and act like everything was fine. Guess it was a good thing one of the courses I happened to be great at was acting.
I almost wanted to laugh a little. Been doing this little dance for years, yet it never gets any easier. I’ll probably have to get a new sweater to throw people off thanks to this incident. I don’t like being recognized, especially out in the open.
Too many people… too many possibilities… too many variables… Everything adds up in the end. Good or bad. And I ain’t got the time to deal with it all, I always have a plan and it demands perfection. Every cog in the machine must pull its weight and most of all… not get in the way of everything else.
A sigh escaped me as I rounded another corner and through another crowd of people. I pulled my hood low over my face and kept walking, just hoping to not be bothered right now. I wasn’t having a bad day by any means. But I wouldn’t be lying if I said I just woke up on the wrong side of the bed this morning or something.
I kept walking straight ahead as the sound of ocean waves hit my ears. It was a pretty day, so I had no doubts about the beach being full of people and Pokémon. I had no intention of going to the beach however. My destination only happened to be right beside the waters.
By the docks ahead of me was an area with a few fountains and a large statue stood in the middle of it all. The statue depicted an old human warrior clad in armor wielding a sword and shield with his back to a Dusknoir, the both of them seemed like they were facing off against something together.
Between two buildings on my right as I entered the area had an alleyway of sorts, I walked towards that. My gaze slowly drifted around the area out of a paranoid feeling that seemed to always surround me.
The smell as I got closer was something anyone could imagine… trash and who knew what. People weren’t anywhere near me, meaning this was far more noticeable than slipping in when there was a crowd around me.
I stopped, and simply sat on a nearby bench by one of the fountains. Another glance around the area revealed a few security cameras that I didn’t see before. That was almost a mistake… a very traceable mistake. A few curses rang through my head for my carelessness.
Upon closer look, I noticed the cameras did not see into the alleyway, and that they were not pointed enough in my direction to see if I went into it. I took a deep breath and got up again, and briskly walked into the alleyway.
A person was waiting for me, dressed in a trenchcoat with no discernible facial features from under his wide brim hat other than his white beard. He knew I was finally there, and spoke quietly in a firm voice.
“Welcome back, Champion. I didn’t think you’d actually take me up on my offer in all honesty.”
I glanced behind myself one last time before leaning against one of the walls that wasn’t covered in filth and grime from who knew what. The light of the sun did not reach either of us. “Just name the guy, we’ll start there.”
“Fine then…” he muttered as his right hand dug out a lighter and cigarette. He offered one to me, to which I shook my head. He shrugged before lighting his and starting to smoke.
He took a deep breath before continuing. “James Leonard Patrick.”
“And what has he done?”
A puff of smoke came from the man. “Bribery, a few… ‘misconduct’ accusations, and having ties to the NRS. If it were my choice, he has committed treason against Veneta and her people.”
“NRS ties? Hmm…” I put my right hand to my chin in thought as I faced the wall he was leaning against. “I see why you brought this to my attention. But how does this tie back to what I initially did for you?”
“Those people you put behind bars have ties to him, but only under the table ones. Expose them for it, but only when you have some hard enough evidence to go after James. The things he has already been accused of have been ‘debunked’ by a court that we all know damn well didn’t have actual justice in mind.”
I simply shrugged. “And what do you have to gain from this? Why not do it yourself instead of reaching out to me?”
“Bluntly, Champion, I don’t have the resources like you do. I have enough to know about certain things… but not enough to actively make moves against these people. They’re snakes, they’ll squeeze you out and toss you to the curb if they ever find out you’re after them. But you’re different. Your name holds real weight-”
“Yes, yes, I know that my name holds along with my friends…” I crossed my arms, glancing back at the entrance to the alleyway, seeing no one out of place. “So then, we have a deal I’m guessing? I do these gigs for you, and you get me information on the person I was asking about last time.”
The man outstretched his gloved hand towards me. “Yes, I believe we do, Champion.”
“Then you better not do anything stupid.” I shook his hand as I spoke in a dark tone.
He chuckled a little again as he started to walk further into the alleyway. “Happy hunting out there, Champion. It’s you against the world.”
I simply shook my head a little as I walked back out the entrance, making sure to keep out of the line of sight the cameras had. Maybe now I could go sit on a bench and get a better look at the waters… and it's not like the cameras seeing me was a problem anymore…
Wearily, a sigh escaped me as I made my way closer to the blue ocean. I walked past a few people and sat on a bench that directly overlooked it all. I was slumped forward, my right hand supporting my head.
It was a beautiful view. A clear blue sky, the afternoon sun shone down, a few ships were out in the distance, some Pokémon flew overhead…
My thoughts wanted to dwell on nothing for the time being. I just wanted to enjoy what was in front of me for once. But as usual… I could never make it last. It wasn’t boredom, no, boredom at least allowed me to do something that could directly stop it.
This feeling was different, I knew it well. And truth be told, I hated it. It ruled me, I knew it did, yet I didn’t care. I know that it was what brought me here, to this very moment, as a Champion of the region of Veneta. It’s what gives me my reason to fight.
My thoughts quickly drifted back to what I was just talking about with that guy. I didn’t know his name, he refused to give me one beforehand. All this talk about keeping Veneta safe and whatnot could all just be a front. I don’t trust him, but he’s the only lead I have.
Besides… if what he said was true, getting rid of these people would do nothing but help Veneta as a whole.
One of my pokéballs burst open, the blue energy that poured out of it shaped into the form of a Gardevoir. I know she didn’t see or hear any of the conversation I had with that guy thanks to the pokéball. Her golden amulet swayed a little side to side as she looked around and sat beside me. A tug on my mind soon occurred before I heard her voice.
[I can tell you’re feeling unwell, did something happen?] she said while looking at me with a worried expression.
“No, nothing happened. It just doesn’t take long for the thing I don’t like to always come up in my mind. Sorry if I disturbed you…”
She smiled warmly, her crystal heart briefly glowed pink. A soothing presence calmed my emotions a little, it felt cool and refreshing, like a small bit of weight had been taken off my heart. [Luke, I’ve said this a million times… but please, for the love of Arceus, tell me when you need help. I want to help you, and you’re always more than welcome.]
“I’ll try to remember…” I said with a tired sigh.
[You’re not a burden to anyone. There is no weakness in acknowledging that you need help. Remember that, okay?] She reached out and brought me into a hug as her crystal heart glowed a little. The Gardevoir leaned her head on my right shoulder. [Your mother and father would say the same.]
I continued to stare out into the ocean as I hugged her back with my right arm. It was a wordless action. Ruby did not say anything further either, instead just continuing to hug me gently while she kept my emotions in check. Her golden amulet shone in the sun a little, letting the Gardevoirite be seen within the ruby colored gem.
Her skin was smooth and soft, almost human but just a little off in its own way. I didn’t pay much attention to it, I just let everything around me dictate my thoughts instead of what my mind tried to get me to focus on.
“The view is nice…” I said softly, almost afraid to break the moment of peace.
Ruby nodded in agreement with the same warm smile on her face. [Yeah, it is. Today is a good day. Even if a little hectic, like earlier with that kid. But it worked out in the end… and now we’ve got the whole day to do whatever we want.]
“I’m going to stop by home, drop everyone else off and go out to meet Jonathan to practice some sword stuff a little. You want to come with us? Vence will be there.” I said as my eyes went to the Gardevoir hugging me still.
She slowly let go of me and pulled away, though the refreshing feeling did not fade, and neither did her smile. We both got up at the same time while she spoke with a cheery voice. [I would love to!]
“Alright then… let's start walking home.” I said while walking away from the dark blue ocean waters behind us now. She wordlessly nodded, following right beside me as we left the area and statue behind. I gave one more look to the sword the statue had. In a sense… I was taking up mine now with what I had set in place…
I could only pray that it stayed a tool of justice.
