Sorry for my lateness on my story, people, but I caught what some might call a "Summer Cold". It was soooooo boring being in bed all day and feeling downright miserable. But I'm finally better and able to give this for your reading pleasure. Sorry and thanks!





       “Hello and welcome to the wide world of Poke’mon”. Just a little disclaimer here: while Poke’mon, Ruroni Kenshin, and their characters aren’t copyrighted to me, characters such as “Landon” and “Zeru” are. In this story, you’ll join our young hero, Landon, in his epic and unusual journey in the world of Poke’mon. Equipped with a magical bell, he and his friends must stare down the face of evil, win every challenge, make new friends, and claw their way to the top. But can they stop the ultimate evil that threatens their world? There are many twists and surprises, so you have to keep reading if you really want to “Catch ‘em all!” in:

                                     

                             Poke’mon X

 

 

 

       The fresh smell of hot food drifted on the small hill that separated a small piece of Rustborro City. The hill was a nice little park area for people to chat, eat, and relax. May and Zeru were sitting on the soft, cool grass with their plates in their laps and their mouths drooling a bit. All of the trio’s Poke’mon were sitting on the grass with hungry expressions as well. Landon sat in front of a large pan being heated by Zeru’s very minute portable heater. Resting on a plate beside the heater was a pile of simmering dumpling. “Okay, I think the pot stickers are ready.” Landon said, probing the dumplings with a pair of chopsticks. “Hurry, hurry; we wanna’ eat!” Zeru rushed him. “Yeah, it smells real good.” May said, “Of course, right now, I’ll even settle for Zeru’s cardboard cooking.” Zeru started to sweat anime style; it’s real bad if he wouldn’t even eat his own food. “C’mon, can’t we eat in peace for once?” Landon took the plate around to May and Zeru and tipped some pot stickers onto their plates. Then he moved over to the Poke’mon and started tipping some in their food bowls. The last five that were left, he kept for himself. It didn’t bother him much to eat the least—he could always make more. Landon sat between Tamborine and Pikachu and ate in silence. For some strange reason, strange questions started popping up in his head. Why did he become a Poke’mon trainer, anyway? To study and understand Poke’mon more, yes, but he couldn’t help but feel there was some other reason not even he was aware of. And why was he chosen to become an Origin Waker? Just because someone accidentally breaks into a secret Poke’mon Village doesn’t make them any more special than anyone else. “Maybe these questions aren’t that strange afterall…!?” Landon frowned down at his plate; surely he hadn’t eaten all five of his dumplings in just one bite. “Shroomish,” “Huh?” He wheeled around to see a Shroomish making off with his lunch in a mad hurry. “You little thief! Gimme’ my food back before I decide to take another dish: Cream of Mushroom soup!” He shouted and started chasing after Shroomish, still clutching his black chopsticks. May, Zeru, and the Poke’mon could’ve followed—they had seen him run off—but were too busy eating. “Are you going to go after him?” “He’s your best friend.” Zeru and May said to each other between bites. They glanced at each other, yet still didn’t make a move. Landon would be fine. He never really got into any serious danger anyway…right?



       Landon cornered the thieving Shroomish by a tree and the two gave each other sharp looks. He gave his chopsticks a click and the Poke’mon jumped a little. There was only one dumpling hanging out of its mouth, but as long as there was still one, Landon would take back what was his. It wasn’t even about the quantity now—it was the principal of the matter. This Poke’mon was not about to make off with his food. “….I got you!” “Shrooomish—mish!” Clack!! Landon’s chopsticks slammed around the dumpling firmly and he and Shroomish went into a tug-of-war. “Give it back!” “Shroo!” “I-said-GIVE IT!!” “Shroomish-shroomish!” “Relinquish my food, you little—huh?” Landon jumped back a bit as a yellow dust erupted from Shroomish’s pistil. He backed away as quickly as he could; not even food was worth inhaling just a small amount of stun spore. Shroomish gave a triumphant grin. In an instant, it gobbled up the last dumpling greedily. “Awww….” Landon frowned. “Bleh!” The wild Shroomish stuck out its tongue before hopping away through the trees. Landon gave a mean look into the distance with his stomach growling hungrily. Suddenly, the sound of rushing wind blew all around his body. Almost immediately, Landon took a shocked step back. An intense vibration beat against his chest soundlessly. Landon looked around; there wasn’t a soul around. No people—no Poke’mon—just a bunch of trees, whispering with the wind. Landon felt a sharp sense of foreboding and yet curiosity kept him rooted in his spot. He could feel that it wasn’t just any Poke’mon causing this. Something else had decided to make its presence known. The crystal bell swayed to and fro, glimmering its light blue color. Landon held it up to his face and it vibrated even more.

 

                           Theme Song: Pocket Monsters X(treme)

Running at

The speed of sound

What adventures can be found?

Traveling the world all around

As fate just spins it upside-down

Little monsters

Everywhere

Find a knew one and I’m there

Victory is just for fun

There’s no stoppin’ till I’m number one

 

Crys-tal,

Clear, and Shadow

Three lights—

That fight the way

Protect those legendary

Is my destiny!

 

Poke’mon X

(Poke’mon X)

Leading the way

Is my sweet victory

Poke’mon X

(Poke’mon X)

A mystery

Behind each one we see



Poke’—mon X

(Ex—Ex)

This journey I’ll run

Has only begun!!

 

                  Episode 12: “When Bell Tones Collide!”

 

       The world as Landon knew it melted away into what looked like the sandy bottom of the ocean. Tiny rays of sunlight pushed through and lit up each patch of sand it touched. Landon felt his body floating just above the sand calmly. The water around him wasn’t cold, nor was it wet. As a matter of fact, he couldn’t feel it at all. Landon let go of the Crystal Bell. Even at something so weird, the pang of panic was replaced by curiosity. Or perhaps he had expected something like this to happen. After all, ever since he received the Crystal Bell, his life has been anything but normal. “Oh good; I finally got through to you. You’re a hard person to contact, Koryu.” Landon’s eyes widened a bit—he knew that voice all too well. And there was only one person who would shorten his real name like that. “Hello, Indigo!” He turned around to see his blue-ribbon Poke’friend floating in front of him. Indigo smiled a friendly smile to her old friend. “I haven’t seen you in…well ages! What happened?—where have you been?—is your dad okay?—tell me what’s up—” “Whoa, slow down. I don’t think I can answer them all at once.” Her British accent spoke, “I take it you miss me, then?” “Is the sky blue?” Landon smiled back to her. Then, his expression went serious again. “This must be something important, right? Your dad sent you to tell me something?” Indigo’s  expression went serious too and she nodded, “Yeah, it’s important. That’s why I’m communicating via our minds.” “Our minds?” “We’re in your mind to be precise. This is a physical form of your subconscious inner self. Can’t you tell?” Landon let his eyes wander around the vast ocean of his mind. In the background, he could see tons of different water Poke’mon gliding through the water. “So, what’s the flavor this time?” He asked his friend. “Landon, do you remember the pieces of that sword I was telling you about?” “The Fang Sword—Shikon Subeta?” “Yeah; that’s the one. It seems that there’s something I kinda’ left out about it.” Landon sat on the sand bottom and folded his arms. Indigo stared at the ground with a more serious expression. She paused for a little bit as if she knew something bad was going to happen. Landon sat quietly, but no less interested in what she had to say. “Tell me: have you come in contact with any other bells like yours?”

Landon blinked to think to himself. In reaction, the mind ocean rippled wildly. The water Poke’mon swam across both the background and himself swiftly. “…Bells like…! I did meet up with one. That Syorin kid had a clear one just like mine!” The ocean flashed with a transparent image of Syorin’s Clear Bell. "The Clear Bell? It couldn’t have happened at a better time.” Indigo said. “Huh?” Landon blinked at her. Just like before, the ocean reacted and formed a blue question mark behind him. “You see, that Clear Bell is the Crystal Bell’s other.” “Ah!” Landon jumped up to his feet. “O-o-other?” “A rival, a brother—call it what you will—but being in contact with its other must have been enough to reawaken the aura that activates the pieces of the fang sword. But there’s still a problem; it seems that, since the sword’s been dormant for centuries, it’ll need a great deal of energy to be revived.” That was <I style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal">it? She freaked him out with that look—made him worry—just to tell him something like that? It wasn’t that grave of a situation. “Okay, so I’ll just find some way to give it a jump-start. Maybe someone can—” “Only you can touch the sword.” Indigo stopped him before he could continue, “It has to be you. The Fang Sword reacts to the first person that touches one of its three scattered pieces—good or bad. It’s a sword of power, not judgment. In any case, you can’t just jump start it with something like a Poke’mon attack.” Indigo floated over and landed on Landon’s head. It was a good thing Toya wasn’t there—she couldn’t stand it when other Poke’mon even touched her favorite spot on her trainer’s head. “Why not?” Landon asked. Indigo stared towards the ground again. “Because there’s something like a test involved. Though the aura was revived, the pieces were not. In order to allow them to merge and become the Fang Sword, they must draw energy from their owner. Once they get their first taste, they won’t stop until they are fully revived. It could be really dangerous…….” She trailed of into silence. But Landon wasn’t worried about it at all. He grinned and prodded her in her side. “Hey! I’m tryin’ to be serious here and you should, too! This is your life we’re talking about!” Indigo fumed. “I know, but you shouldn’t worry like that, that you shouldn’t. Remember, I was chosen by your dad to be an Origin Waker. If he thought I had no sense of destiny, he wouldn’t have given me this bell.” Landon held up the Crystal Bell. Indigo grinned at the word “given”. If he only knew…. Then, he took Indigo off his head and pulled her into a hug. “Gulp,” Indigo started to blush, “Lan, what are you doing?” “You’re a good friend, Indigo. Thanks for worrying.” Landon told her. Indigo smiled and hugged him back, “What are friends for, eh?”

 

 

       “Landon—Landon, are you okay?” “Let me try, May. Toya, use your Water Gun attack.” “Mudkiiiip!” There was a gurgling sound and a rain of water splashed all over Landon’s face. He coughed a little bit before his eyes focused on his surroundings. It was raining lightly, so drops of water were still beating his face. When he became fully awake and aware, he noticed that his Poke’mon, May, and Zeru were hovering over him. It was now that he realized he was lying on the soft grass. But just a second ago, had he not been in the landscape of his mind? It couldn’t have been a dream because the Crystal Bell was still shivering against his body. That Indigo really knew how to make an exit. “Hey, are you okay?” May asked him. “I’m fine; just fine.” Landon answered her, sitting up and rubbing his head. “Nice place to sleep.” Zeru cracked. “Mudkiip!” Toya jumped onto her trainer’s head. She was so happy he was okay, her tailfin wagged wildly. Tambourine, Vulpix, and Pikachu wagged their tails as well, smiling at Landon. “Hey, guys; sorry to make you worry about me.” He reached over and massaged each of them behind the ears. The Poke’mon vibrated appreciatively. May and Zeru folded their arms and frowned. “Yeah, we were only worried about you a lotta’ bit, too.” May stated. Landon smiled to them too. “Thanks to you two too. Now, how ‘bout we head to the Devon Company building before it really starts raining?” He got to his feet and dusted himself off. However, his friends still looked at him with concerned expressions. “Oh, come off it. I said I was fine; isn’t that enough?” Landon assured them. There was a loud clap of thunder and the rain sped up its collision course to the ground. “We should get going now. Back into your poke’balls for now, Tambourine, Vulpix, and Pikachu.” Landon recalled his Poke’mon to keep them from getting to wet in the rain. The rain started to soak his clothes now. “C’mon, let’s go!” He picked up his backpack and started running across the wet grass with his two friends right behind him.

 

       The rain decided to pour harder as they darted across the cobblestone streets into the city. While Toya enjoyed the water, her human friends were more worried about catching a cold. The Devon Company building was just a few blocks away from the cluster of stores in the shopping districts. The sidewalks and streets were a sea of different colored umbrellas; for some strange reason, people preferred to walke or ride a bike rather than drive as there were no cars. Landon, May, and Zeru moved up onto the sidewalk. They covered their heads from the rain with their back packs. They stopped in front of the large Devon Company building and gazed up at the large dark oak doors; Landon pushed the big doors open and dashed inside in eagerness to get out of the rain. The lobby floor was designed with a blanket of red carpeting and the pillars were designed with different kinds of Poke’mon. A few people in lab coats shuffled across the floor, rummaging through papers on clipboards. A long wooden counter stretched from one wall to the other in the back, blocking off a staircase. Landon rung the water out of his pony tail and tried to feverishly dry it with his wet backpack. Toya shook wet droplets off her body onto May and Zeru. “Hey!” They brushed the water from their hair back at her. “Landon, do you think it’s okay for us to just walk in here?” May asked. “No, but it’s a lot better than being out in the rain.” Landon patted the rest of the rain from his hair. “Excuse me, may I help you?” A man in a white lab coat stepped up to them. He had long brown hair, blue eyes, and tiny spectacles that were barely gripping the bridge of his nose. “Yeah, we’re just here to drop off something. Maybe you can help us?” Landon reached into his backpack and rummaged through the contents until he withdrew the compact case Ms. Itzono gave him. But instead of the pleased expression the three expected, the man’s eyes went from a busy worked look to a narrow expression. “This…this is the special box disguised as a compact mirror. Those are the documents to Delta?” “Delta?” Landon blinked. “Erm…I think so.” Zeru answered the man, scratching his hair. The lab coat nodded, “Right then…SECURITY!”

       In a flash, two buff police officers arrived at his voice and grasped the three kids about the arms. “Hey! What’d you do that for, old man?!” Zeru shouted. “Yeah—” “What’s the big idea?” May and Landon growled. “Devon referred to a special woman to deliver these and we’ve been getting reports that a mysterious force has been following her all the way from Evergrande City.” The man snatched up the compact and brandished it in their faces, “Admit it; you three are the ones who attacked Ms. Itzono and took these documents! So which are you: Team Magma? Team Aqua? I hear Team Darkhorn has been pulling some pretty crazy stunts too.” “IF WE WERE THE ONE’S, WHY WOULD WE BRING THEM HERE!?” Zeru shouted. “You’re the criminal—you figure it out!” “What a dumba—” “ZERU!” May stopped him. “Oooo! When I get loose—” “If you get loose—” “Shut it!” Zeru and the man went back and forth, trying to out-shout one another. By now, all the workers had stopped what they were doing and stared in surprise. Landon and May looked at the floor out of sheer embarrassment.  “What’s going on down here?” Everyone averted their attention to the stairway behind the counter to see a tall old man walking down. Unlike the others, he was dressed in a normal outfit; a red shirt and khaki pants. His entire skin color looked like he had tanned for too long in the sun and his hair was long and white. “Hey, it’s my grandpa!” Landon pointed out. “Your what?” the man who was arguing with Zeru blinked. “Hmmmm….” The old guy seemed to be examining the situation a bit. Then, when he reached Landon, his face beamed. “Ah, I say, unhand my grandson, you two.” “You know this boy, Dr. Takashi?” The lab coat asked. “Only since little Karou had him. Now drop him!” Without much hesitation, the guards literally dropped Landon, Zeru, and May onto the ground harshly. “Geez!” Zeru growled as they rubbed their bottoms. “Landon, long time, no see!” Dr. Takashi smiled. “Very long, Grandpa!” Landon said. “So, what brings you to the Devon Company building? You and your friends finally decided to pay a visit to this old man?” “That’s one reason.” Landon stated eagerly, “The other reason is in that man’s hand.” He pointed out. Dr. Takashi walked up to the lab coated guy and smiled. “What’s that?” He pointed to the compact. The man put it in the old guy’s hand. “It’s the documents to Delta, Dr. Takashi.” “Delta?” Without warning, Dr. Takashi’s expression went serious. It was something about that name that made everyone just…well, stop. “Uh…gramps…what’s wrong? What’s Delta?” Landon asked out of concern. “Huh?” And just like that, Dr. Takashi snapped back to reality. He turned to his grandson and smiled. “Oh, don’t worry about it, Lan. Thanks for delivering it.” He put the parcel in his pocket and started back towards the counter. “C’mon, Landon—oh, and who are your two friends by the way?” He stopped at the counder door and glanced back. “My name is May Birch.” “And I’m Zeru Sagarah.” “Right; you’re the two Landon’s always talking about.” “Talking about us? Just what did he say?” May and Zeru asked in unison, sweating anime style. “I’ll tell you along the way to my lab.” Dr. Takachi started up the steps with Landon, May, and Zeru following. “Oh, and another thing before I forget.” He reached into his pocket and pulled out a pair of glasses, “Your mom wanted me to give you these.” “Ack!” Landon started to blush and snatched up the pair of glasses. “Ah, what do we have here?” Zeru grinned, staring at the glasses. “I didn’t know you wore glasses, Lan….wait, if you wear glasses, why weren’t you wearing them before?” May asked him. “I prefer contact lenses over my glasses. But I knew it was just a matter of time before mom found out that I left them at home on purpose.”

 

       “So that’s what you went through to get this?” Dr. Takashi examined the compact as they all walked down a rather long and white hallway. The three kids had explained to him what they had done to get the Devon documents to the company building. For once, Toya chose to walk by herself, but stuck close to Landon as she gazed at the many doors on the wall. “And you all stood up against Team Aqua and even Team Magma? You’re just like your fathers.” Takashi continued. He glanced down at Toya just a bit to examine her. Just by looking, he could tell Landon took great pride and care in her. “You’ve done an exceptional job raising your Mudkip.” He complimented. “Thanks; she’s like a sister to me.” Landon smiled at Toya, who smiled back. “What exactly do you do, Dr. Takashi?” May asked him. “Well, I’m the head of the engineering department; I design and sometimes even build the prototype products that come from Devon Company. It’s interesting because all I have to do is put my imagination on paper and watch it ‘come to life’ so to speak.” “That is interesting.” Zeru said. Dr. Takashi stopped in front of a door on the left. The glass window had a gold heading that read “Poke’mon Research and Development”. And what lab or company would be complete without one those bad boys, right? “Could you wait here, Landon?” Dr. Takashi asked. “What for?” Landon blinked. “When I heard you were starting your very own Poke’mon journey, I took the liberty of getting a couple of gifts for you. Now, just wait for a moment, will ya’?” Dr. Takashi pushed open the door and went inside. “Mudkip!” Toya clambered up Landon’s body and came to rest atop his head. Zeru leaned up against the wall with his arms folded while May started scrolling through Pokemon pictures in her Poke’dex. Landon took a peek through the window and inside the room. It actually looked dark and empty with little blue lights strung along the floor and walls. The only items that appeared to be inside were some strange, tall glass capsule chambers. Dr. Takashi was at the one in the middle. It looked like he was getting something from out of it. When he turned, Landon ducked back down with his friends as if he hadn’t moved an inch. “Sorry that took so long.” Takashi came out through the door holding two items in his hands. One was a device that looked like a black souped-up stopwatch with a phone speaker at the bottom. The other was a poke’ball. “Here, Landon, I got these especially to help you on your quest. I’m pretty sure you know what this is.” Dr. Takashi handed Landon the device. “I sure do. This is the poke’gear I’ve been begging dad to get me for ages!” Landon exclaimed. “And I’ve got a couple for you, too.” Dr. Takashi pulled out two more poke’gears from his pocket at the “left out” looks on May’s and Zeru’s faces. “The blue one is for you, May, and the green one is for Zeru.” The two beamed at him and took up their gifts gratefully. “Thanks!”

       “And this is also for you, Landon.” Dr. Takashi dropped the poke’ball to the ground and it burst open in a flash of light. The Poke’mon it was small with a cute, light-green body. She had a large leaf growing from her head and red eyes. The quadruped Poke’mon had a short tail, a sweet-smelling necklace of green buds around her neck, and a dark mark just above her thigh in the shape of a heart. “Chikori?” She rubbed her eyes sleepily. Click-ick! “Chikorita, the Leaf Poke’mon. This Poke’mon’s favorite pastime is bathing in the sun. Chikorita lets out a sweet smelling scent from the buds around its neck that is said to sooth souls.” “Chi?” Chikorita gave a glance at Landon and seemed to be a little interested. Landon smiled and waved, though he felt like a complete idiot doing that. “Hello, Chikorita.” “Chika!!” Without warning, Chikorita got on all fours and lunged forward. “Chika!!” BANG!!! Chikorita rammed her body heavily into Landon’s stomach. He could feel the wind go rushing from his breath as he fell backwards. “Mudkip!” Toya leapt off his head just as he hit the ground. “Chiki-chika!”Chikorita stood triumphantly on top of her new trainer’s stomach, grinning. Then, she reached over and gripped his arm with her teeth. Landon let out a wince from the pain. May, Zeru, and Dr. Takashi were taken aback by the Poke’mon’s aggressiveness. And yet, Chikorita still seemed to smile so sweetly while she did it. “Ughn…” Landon moaned as he sat up, pushing the grass Poke’mon off. His stomach and arm throbbed from the attacks. “That was pretty mean; why’d you do that to me, Chikorita?” “Chika?” At this, Chikorita’s smile flashed into a frown. Her eyes flickered with a mixture of sadness and anger. Slowly, she backed away from the boy, but kept a cautious eye on him.  Landon could feel a sense of danger from her and backed away a little as well. “…Chika!” Chikorita turned around and raised her tail to him in an insult. “Mudkiip!” From out of nowhere, Toya tackled Chikorita to the side quite angrily. Anyone who insulted Landon insulted her as well. Afterall, he did say she was like a sister to him; would a sister let someone get away with insulting their brother in such a crude manner? “Mudkip, Mudkip—mud! Mudkip-kip-mudkip!” She shouted. “What did she say?” Zeru turned to May, who shrugged. “Repeating it isn’t a good idea.” Landon got to his feet. “Maybe you should return her to her poke’ball.” Dr. Takashi handed him Chikorita’s poke’ball. “Erm…okay,” Landon took it up and turned it towards the feisty grass Poke’mon. “Chikorita, could you return to your poke’ball please?” At his command, a thin red beam of light shot from the button in the middle. “Chika!” Chikorita frowned and jumped to the side; the beam fizzled out as soon as it touched the floor. “This isn’t funny, Chikorita. Return!” He said more forcefully and another light beam shot out. Just like before, Chikorita dodged and growled at him. “Feisty, isn’t she?” Dr. Takashi said. Landon and Chikorita stared at each other, fighting with their eyes instead of fists. “You want something—I can see it in your eyes.”



Fast Fact Quiz: What is the true Japanese name for the Fang Sword? If you can’t guess, find out at the end of this Chapter!



This is the end of part one of Chapter 12