“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 <I style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal">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:

                             Quest of Legends

 

 

Saturday was Landon’s favorite day of the week, like most kids. He liked them so much because all he ever did was train with his parents and go outside to explore. However, this Saturday would be better than the rest. Now, he had a new town and two new friends to explore it with. The sunlight gleamed on the polished wood of the Kamiya dojo just enough to make it shimmer in the day. The dojo was surrounded by a pool of glistening trees that reached over the building. The sound of Karou’s voice echoed loudly against the walls. “Your breathing has shifted far too much, Landon!” She coached her son as she stood in front of him, her wooden sword poised for attack. Kenshin sat against the wall, watching the two train together. He carefully monitored his son’s sword technique, pointing out his flaws and weaknesses. Landon was panting a little heavily. His arms and legs were bruised slightly, showing the areas his mother got to easily. His white and black samurai outfit was a bit tatty and scratched from the fight.

 

 “How many times do I have to tell you, Landon? Kamiya-Kachine is a style that relies on good emotions as well as good strategy. Stop getting so frustrated—you’re relying on it to supply power to your attack.” Karou pointed her sword at Landon. While her son felt tired and weary, she didn’t even break a sweat. Landon pushed his bangs from his eyes and poised his sword in front of him. “Are you ready for another one?” “Yeah,” He told his mother, finally getting his breathing regulated. He gripped the sword shaft and rushed towards his mother. “Kiyaaaaaa!” “Hiiiiyaaa” CLACK!! Barely grazing a stalemate, he bounced back before sending it flying again. “Hiyaaa!” THUD!!! Landon coughed as the side of Karou’s sword belted his stomach. A rush of wind was literally sucked from inside him.       

Landon jumped back and moved in for a counter measure at lightning speed. “This is getting old, Landon!” Karou raised her sword to strike. “Heh-heh!” Landon grinned. <I style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal">“Just take the bait…” He thought to himself. Just as his mom started to bring her sword down, Landon fainted his to the side; with a rapid spin, he vanished into thin air, allowing Karou to hit the sword instead. “Huh?” She staggered forward just a bit. The entire dojo seemed to go into a dead silence and stiffness. Karou’s eyes glanced calmly around the room. For someone who couldn’t see her opponent, she remained incredibly calm…maybe even <I style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal">too calm. Kenshin’s expression simply remained neutral, as if he didn’t even want to make an attempt to look for his son. WHOOSH!! “Kiyaaa!” “ACK!” Landon reappeared behind Karou only to get a sword to the stomach once again. He fell to the ground with a thud, landing on his back. “Uhhhh—you win…” He said dizzily.

 

Poke’mon X (Theme song)

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 new 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 dest-in-y!

 

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 2: When Destiny Knocks at my Door

 

 “I lost again—as usual!” Landon sat Indian-style on the floor and set his sword in front of him. Drops of sweat trickled down his cheek, splattering onto the wood lightly. The sun shone brightly through the windows of the Kamiya dojo. “Don’t sweat it, Landon; it takes loads of practice to get it right.” Karou put her hand on her son’s shoulder. “You’re way too tense.” Kenshin said without standing up. Landon and Karou turned to him to listen. “You must focus on relaxing your body—to flow like water.” Landon looked at his sword and thought about it for a moment. For some strange reason, he pictured himself rowing out to the ocean in a small wooden rowboat. Suddenly, the boat sprang a leak, tipping over with him into the water. “…!!” He started to sweat anime style. Kenshin got to his feet and started out of the dojo. “Leaving all ready, Kenshin?” Karou asked him. Kenshin stopped and glanced back at her. “If I don’t get to the gym now, I’ll be in a lot of trouble—that I will.” He walked over to Landon and patted his head. “Spare us the trouble today, okay?” “Me in trouble?” Landon asked in false innocence. “Goodbye,” Karou kissed Kenshin on the cheek and he left the dojo. “Byyyyeeee!” Landon teased his mother, giggling. CRACK!! “Uugh!” With her temple beating rapidly, Karou brought her sword down on her son’s head harshly. Landon rubbed his hair feverishly from the pain. “What’re you laughing at? You still have more work to do!” Karou scolded him. “Hmmm……” Landon shook his head to try and get the ringing out of his ears. It wasn’t long before their voices were bouncing against the dojo walls again.

 

The sun had only moved through the sky slightly in the few hours that passed. “That’s enough, Landon; take a shower and you’re done.” “Okay, mom, I’ll only take a little bit.” Landon stepped out of the steamy bathroom a little while later. He was wearing a long, black Japanese shirt tied at the top with a yellow strap and white pants. His hair was still wet and dropped down to his back. This time, he didn’t even make an attempt to tie it in a tail like he normally did. Landon slipped on his sandals and grabbed his water bottle before stepping out of the dojo, “I’ll be back, mum!” He called before sliding the door shut. “Be careful if you wander off.” Karou’s voice was muffled by the wall. “Don’t worry, I have my wooden sword with me.” He assured her. Once he turned around, the morning sun greeted him warmly, gleaming off of the water droplets in his hair. He sat on the long porch that circled the entire dojo with his wooden sword at his side. The shadows from the light trying to push through the trees made a pretty pattern all over. A gentle breeze pushed through and played with his hair. Landon opened his water bottle and started to take a sip when he stopped abruptly, “…huh?” His eyes shrank just a bit. A sudden shill ran up his back—he felt the wind gave an unpleasant shift. The presence of another seemed to sneak up on him from behind. Landon grasped the hilt of his sword slowly and quietly, “……Kiyaaaa!” He picked it up and, in a fragment of a second, brandished it deftly before his water bottle could hit the ground with a clatter.

 “…Oh my--!” He gasped when he saw Zeru and May standing behind him with horrified looks on their faces. A stick that was clutched in Zeru’s hand waited for a second before falling cleanly in half. “…That could’ve been us…” He squeaked. May was so startled that she couldn’t even make a move. “I’m so sorry, but you surprised me. I mean, you were about to hit me.” Landon explained, picking up the empty bottle, of which the contents had spilled all over the porch steps. “How could ya’ tell? We were behind you!” Zeru shot. “Well, if you haven’t wet your pants yet, are you ready to start exploring?” Landon asked them, starting away onto the grass. May and Zeru nodded to each other and ran up behind him.

 

The grassy path the three chose to take was quiet except for the sound of footsteps and Poke’mon. Zeru, who brought up the rear, gave a slight yawn of boredom. As a matter of fact, it seemed that Landon, whose hair was in a tail again, was the only one who seemed enthused at all. Maybe it was because he had never explored the town, or maybe it was just his crazy optimism. “Where are you dragging us, Himura? It’s not like we haven’t been around here already.” Zeruput his hands on the back of his head impatiently. “I don’t know—that’s kinda’ the whole point.” Landon replied. “Well, I know this one place where ancient ruins are rumored to be.” May said, “It’s probably just a rumor, though.” “Like it’d be true coming from you anyway.” Zeru told her flatly. “Oh, be quiet!” “What? I can’t hear you!” “I said SHUT UP!” The two started bickering back and forth and, shrugging his shoulders, Landon drowned their voices out. Instead, he took the time to take in the sounds of the hidden Poke’mon around him. The farther he went, the more disoriented the trail became and the sky was hidden by the canopy of threes. In a way, it was kind of peaceful seeing all the bird and bug Poke’mon zip across the tree tops. “I really wish I…Huh?” The ground beneath Landon seemed to give a slight rumble to his weight. “……okay, that was something—” KKKSHHHH! Before he knew it, the ground collapsed and allowed gravity to pull him down into a deep pit. “Whaaaa!” His voice echoed. The rushing wind made May’s and Zeru’s voices faint to him. He was too scared to make any kind of move—all he could do was wait to see what kind of end would befall him.

THUDD! “Yieeeoooch!” Landon crashed harshly onto his bottom. He didn’t know how, but was glad he was still alive. The pain was still shooting through his body, so he couldn’t stand up immediately. He opened his eyes slowly. A few tears rushed out before he regained his vision. Landon glanced up to see the drop really wasn’t as dramatic as he made it seem. Within the pit he was in lay a long, dimly lit tunnel. From the faint glow of orange light coming from around the corner, he could tell there were candles set along the wall. “What in the heck happened?” Landon rubbed his bottom. He got to his feet, dusting the tiny rocks off his shirt and pants. “May…? Zeru…?” His voice bounced up the long hole, but didn’t quite make it to the top. Grunting, Landon started to attempt to climb back up the hole, only to come sliding back down. “Landon, are you okay?” May and Zeru poked their heads into the pit. “Yeah, I’m fine.” “Good, just hang tight. We’re gonna’ go get some help.” Zeru called down. Their footsteps could be heard faintly as they scampered across the ground’s surface. Landon was never really one who was patient. The more he stood against the wall with his arms folded, the more the tunnel before him took up his curiosity. “…oh, right; like somebody would really sit still and not explore it.” He joked, but didn’t even crack a smile. He stepped off the wall and started down the rocky corridor.

Silence filled the corridor except for the crackling sounds of the burning torches. Landon said nothing as he walked across the trail with his hand along the wall. Drops of water occasionally dripped from above, splattering onto the floor. As he continued, he noticed that the wall became rough and detailed rather than smooth and cold. He glanced to the side and gazed at a wall that was more like an art canvas. Engraved were ancient pictures of odd Poke’mon and people. Strange symbols and scribbles decorated them all over in a mysterious, but beautiful fashion. The pictures had a peculiar focus on a Poke’mon that resembled a kangaroo mouse. In every scene, a bunch of its kind surrounded a few humans serenely. Landon came to a stop to a dead end wall with a small puddle in front of it. The design o the wall looked like an art canvas in the middle with some kind of slab off to the lower right-hand corner. He ran his hand along the wall and, at once, some kind of foreboding presence shot through him. “Hmm…” His eyes wandered around. As if it were magic, the slab slid open like a drawer hauntingly, practically asking him to check the contents. Landon pulled reached in and pulled out a tatty and ancient-looking square stone. It was quite dusty, but he could tell there was some type of marking engraved on its front. Landon feared that if he rubbed it, he would damage it. So instead, he plunged it into the puddle beneath him to free the dust. Now he noticed that the marking looked sort of…incomplete. Without warning, the stone burst in flash of blue light. A strong gust of wind seemed to blow from nowhere against his face and body. The candles smoked out, leaving the blue stone as the only light source. The drawer fell completely from the wall and into the water; several identical stones splattered from within, glowing as well.

 Landon’s heart was still pumping wildly. His eyes thinned a bit as his breathing was slightly labored. “… What in the heck just happened?” He said breathlessly. The piece of rock felt warm in his hand. From the corner of his eye, he could see a blue light started to shine from the stone canvas. The whole wall became a glowing entity; a strange presence beckoned for him to come nearer. Landon’s hand was drawn to it like a magnet; it lifted against his will, and pressed the stone piece to the canvas. The stone stuck to it like glue. “It’s…I think this is some sort of puzzle.” Landon blinked. Out of shear curiosity of his theory, he reached into the water and grasped another. Just like its other, the stone piece shot to the canvas with a definite stick. “oh, yeah; I think I get it.” One by one, Landon placed and rearranged the puzzle pieces on the wall. First, he assembled the four corners, then the rest of the sides, and finally the inside. After what seemed like ages of rearranging, Landon stepped back to observe his work. It figures that the image would be of the Poke’mon that was depicted on the walls so many times. “…it’s Mew!” suddenly, the stone picture started to glow, resulting in a mild tremor that shook the cavern. Water rained from the ceiling off the jagged rocks. “What’s going on?!” Landon forced his legs to stay steady, staring at the ceiling that was threatening to fall on him at any given moment. The light on the wall started to gather towards each other in a small bead of glimmering energy. Landon could barely stay up on his feet. It was as if the ground was sliding—or falling! As if the trembling wasn’t weird enough, the rocky bottom practically disappeared from underneath him. “Wha-wha-wha-wha!” His arms flailed to grab something solid, only grasping the bead of light. Landon yelled as he melted through the floor swiftly. The light in his hand became cold and solid, vibrating rapidly against his skin like a bell.

 “I think I’m gonna’ be siiiiickkkkk!” The room around Landon went into a whirling blue oblivion, spiraling madly out of control. His stomach gave a lurch and he doubled over in mid-air. THU-BUMP!!......... “Little Koryushima? Hey, you’re not dead, are you?” Yes, he could definitely hear a voice around him. His face was pushed to something soft with an earthy odor. He ran his free hand across the soft blades of grass while his other remained clutched around that cold ringing object. “Uhhhgnnn…” Landon groaned, pushing himself up from the ground. His eyes opened, contracting and expanding to try and adjust to the world around him. “At least you’re not dead.” The voice sounded again. Landon’s eyes adjusted to a setting of lush wide hills and crystal-clear lakes. The sun reflected off of the green grass blindingly; the air was much cleaner and more inviting than in anyplace a human could inhabit. The hill he was sitting on sloped down into a small waterfall leading to a semi-rural village. Near the edge of the village was a tall marble building that oversaw the houses. A small moat surrounded it, being filled by two mini waterfalls flowing from the balconies. “Hey—I’m talking to you!” “Huh?” Landon got abruptly to his feet with his eyes trembling in disbelief. That long tail, those kangaroo feet—the pink Poke’mon matched the one depicted on the walls of the cavern to every last detail and then some! “You’re that Poke’mon—you’re Mew!” Landon exclaimed. The Poke’mon batted its blue eyes and took a polite introductory bow. Judging by the indigo ribbon tied around its neck, it was obviously a girl. “How do ya’ do, kiddo? I’ve been waiting a long time to talk to you in person.” The Mew extended her hand, “My name is Indigo.” “Erm…Himura—Landon Himura.” Landon shook her hand and, even though she was so small, Indigo helped him to his feet. “I know who you are; I’ve been following you ever since you moved here last week. I was so thrilled when you came.” She exclaimed happily. She floated down from the air to rest on Landon’s shoulder. “I know this is a little fast and maybe even wrong for a Poke’mon like me, but maybe we can be friends or something?” “Huh?” Landon didn’t even get a chance to realize where he was and Indigo was already three steps ahead of him. “Erm…” “It’s just that I want to learn more about humans and you seem to be a really nice person. And also…” Indigo let her eyes wander to the ground. “I need you to save my people.” Landon knew that the catch would pop up soon; it was bad enough that the situation was terribly confusing, but now he was being asked to do favors too? He was either really popular, or a big sucker. “What do you mean?” He asked. “I mean what I asked. I didn’t think you could at first, but after seeing you solve that puzzle back in the cavern, I knew I was right in following you around.” Indigo replied to him. Landon folded his arms, “The puzzle was too simple—a toddler could’ve figured it out.” “But the toddler wouldn’t have been able to see it. To normal humans, that wall is nothing but a dead-end to a cave. But you; you’re something different. I can sense it.” Indigo flew behind him and started to push him down the hill. “Don’t worry about it; I’ll explain later. My father will love you because you’re just like me.” She assured him. Landon held his hand to his face to see what had become of the object that resided in his grip. The object that was once a speck of light was now a small circular bell made out of beautiful crystal.

 “But I don’t think I’m cut out for this.” Landon felt like he had been drafted in the army as Indigo dragged him across the orange-brick ground of the village below. Landon always thought that there was only one Mew and only one kind. But a walk through the village just proved how wrong he was; tons of Mew of different colors and sizes floated around the streets. Some were just flat colors while others had weird markings on their bodies. They moved around in a frantic motion as if something frightened them to be skittish. However, one glance at Landon, and they stopped to gasp or frown. The building he had seen from atop the hill was much closer now so that he could see it was marked with the same symbols from the cave. “Indigo, I don’t think they like me here.” Landon told his mew friend, frowning. “Nonsense,” Indigo said carelessly. Her care-free personality wasn’t exactly complimenting Landon at the time: The mews were staring at him like some sort of criminal. FWEEEEPP-KABOOOM! “Huh?” Landon gasped as the ground around him started to shake. Between a few eastward houses, smoke billowed into the clear air. The bell in his hand started to ring against his palm. “What was that?” “They’re here again!” Indigo started to sweat. Without warning, she took off through the air just as franticly as the other mew in the town. “Hey, Indigo, who’s here again?” Landon dashed off after her.



THIS IS THE END OF CHAPTER 2, PART ONE