This world is inhabited by creatures that we call pokemon. People and pokemon live together by supporting each other, but now the scourge threatens the safety of the entire region. Kohaku has become a dangerous place, where children stay at home and only brave souls go adventuring.
Welcome to KOHAKU. Come for the nightmares. Stay for the tea and crumpets.
The season is SUMMER. It is easy for survivors to forage for food from the land, as there are entire abandoned farms ready for harvest. On the downside, you can smell the corpses.
swarms
GRAND OPENING !
Welcome to KOHAKU REGION's grand opening! If you're interested in joining, come check out our grand opening giveaway!
Dan still couldn't believe he was here. Just yesterday he was just some nobody who wanted to try and make a difference in the region. Now here he was, an officially-certified, Styler-bearing Ranger. The training, the travel, the hardships . . . all just the prelude. The real trials started right here, right now.
Was it an adventure? It certainly didn't feel like it. While the excitement of his new position was at the front of Dan's mind, there was a constant nagging reminder of the stakes that lied before him. He had yet to see any Scourge in person, only illustrations in newspapers and training materials, and yet they were still such a clear, present threat in his mind. Truly this would be far different from the journeys he observed in youth. While usually quiet, Humilau was always a bit more exciting whenever a new trainer rolled around to challenge Marlon. The kind of energy around the town was unmatched, almost impossible to describe.
This was different. Less energy, more obligation. Less journeying, more duty. The road of a ranger was going to be a hard one, a road Dan wasn't even sure he would have taken up anywhere but Kohaku. He couldn't help but wonder what life would be like if he and his family hadn't left Unova. Would he have just stayed on that breeding range forever, maybe even become one eventually?
That wasn't important, though. What mattered now was the present: he and his Krabby taking the first steps of their new career as Rangers. The two looked up at the sun starting to set, Ambrose perching right on Dan's head. They may not have always seen eye-to-eye, but they were a team and in the end that's what really mattered.
Of course, Proserpia was petty much the hub for hotshot rookies like them. Who knew what other newcomers they'd end up finding?
Like Dan, Josh had yet to fight the scourge himself... But he'd seen it in full living color. They had robbed his family of their personal family Pokemon, a Raichu... Lost, killed by the infection. It was a sight he would never forget, and one that drove and motivated him into town.
It wasn't the adventure he wanted.... But it was the adventure he would be getting.
Josh sat down as he looked out at the water in the docks, pondering everything he had sacrificed to come here. But he would not stop, would not quit until he could stop the scourge...
Dan wasn't the only one on the docks tonight. However, the other person currently sitting at the edge of docks seemed just as lost in thought as he was. Compared to most of the people he'd seen so far in Proserpia, constantly hustling from place to place, the two must have stood out quite a bit.
Still, holding onto all these thoughts wasn't always healthy. Maybe a bit of conversation be good for the both of them. He approached the other trainer, sitting down next to him.
Someone suddenly sat beside him, snapping him out of his stupor. He looked toward the man, and nodded to his question.
"I'm fine" he reasoned, taking a breath. "Just thinking about my path, what I'm doing you know? If it's worth it. If it's worth the sacrifice, the trials, the tribulations that will be ahead. All to avenge someone in the family" he explained.
"Is being a Pokemon Trainer in this day and age worth it?"
"I know how you feel there," Dan remarked. "I guess in a way, it is and it isn't. I mean, it's definitely not the same as it was a few years back. More dangerous, especially, and a lot less fun. It's probably more of a job now than it ever was before.
But in a way, isn't it necessary too? Without being able to protect others, or even just ourselves, things can only get worse. If anything I'd say we need more trainers than ever before, if only so nobody ends up left behind if things in Kohaku take a further turn for the south. In that sense, it's definitely worth it.
He nods a bit. "I dreamed of this when I was a kid" he said. "Wanting to be a Pokemon Trainer... Going on an adventure... Becoming a Pokemon Master... Well, my supposed to be time was years ago. But those damn zombies ruined that. Now that time for that dream is gone, but I can still do a good thing" he said.
"I have more purpose then I used to though" he said. "So... Maybe that's my motivation to keep going. This isn't about me anymore. This is about making sure that nobody else has to suffer like me and my family did" he suggested with a shrug.
At his last question, he looked at him.
"For my family. For this region. For the memory of someone dear to my heart"
"That's the spirit!" The newcomer may have seemed somewhat brooding, but he sure as hell was resilient. At least he seemed like he was bouncing back from being so lost in thought. "Region could use more people with that attitude."
And then came news of the loss. It almost reminded Dan of what one of the rangers he met mentioned, about her Houndour. So many people were effected by this Scourge, forced to lose those they cared most about . . . Dan knew as soon as he had the chance, he wouldn't let that slide anymore. The Scourge was going down.
"Who knows? In a way, maybe you'll still end up some sort of master."
He smirks a bit. He felt better, at least. That there were others like him. Trying to fight this scourge. That cheered him up. They would get through this together, no matter what....
"Perhaps not a Master" he said. "But being someone who helped get rid of these blighters is damn well good enough for me. Doesn't pay the bills, but what good is a full time job if you're dead and your families dead and your pokemon are dead?" he asked with a shrug, chuckling. "And maybe this'll be what I need to meet people where I might find opportunities, something to make all of this worth it, besides just ending the scourge. But even if I don't actually have anything to show for it, I'm just glad I'm doing something out here, making something of myself instead of sitting on my ass" he said. It would be nice indeed to meet people... Josh had been a quiet sort in primary school, so he didn't exactly have any friends. Perhaps along the course of his journey, that would change. Getting to meet new people while doing a good thing was a prospect that appealed to him, indeed. And maybe along the way, as he said opportuities, he would find something about himself that would change everything. Different people brought out different things in a human being after all. Character development anyone?
Seemed like he was taking all of this in good spirits, at least. That resilience would pay off a ton for him in the future, especially when the Scourge came knocking.
He made a good point about opportunities, too. This wasn't some vacuum, a game with one player taking the center stage. No, this was an entire region at stake, all depending on and supporting one another. All of the others he encountered so far, so much more experienced but also so helpful, were a testament to that. Nobody was really alone in his region, were they? Maybe that's what EOS was truly about.
Then this was all just some distant, ugly memory, the rebuilding could begin. And who knows? The bonds forged through these flame might have left the region even stronger than it had ever been before.
"Juno Town" he said, motioning back from where he'd came from. "Haven't been doing this Pokemon thing long, obviously" he said with a small laugh. "I haven't even had my first battle yet. Did a bit of training, but.... Yeah" he said with a shrug.
Ah, the struggles of training. He hadn't experienced it entirely just yet. But he would... Soon, he was sure.
"Where are you from?" he finally asked, in response.
"That makes two of us. I've had one, but it was more of a training spar than anything." Ambrose nodded bitterly. He may have lost the first battle, but next time he'd be the one laughing!
"I'm from Humilau City," he responded. "Although nowadays my family and I live in Sol. Guess we picked a damn good time to move to Kohaku, eh?"
He laughs. "I guess we did" he said, smirking a bit. "At least you've gotten some training under your belt. I haven't really been able to do anything as of yet, yknow?" he said, giving a shrug. Hopefully, soon, that would change.
"Looks like I'll probably be seeing you in some scourge fighting soon enough though, eh?"
"You can count on that!" Ambrose perked up a little at the mention, claws clacking excitedly. He had been waiting to get his pincers on those damn infected since he first started training with Dan. The sooner, the better . . .
"Same to you. Just train your Pokmeon well and I'm sure you'll get great things done!"
"My family, really," Dan responded. "I figured that since I got them in this mess, I might as well try to get strongest and bring the out of it. Sure, people say Sol City's well-defended, but I can't be too sure . . ."
There seemed to be a bit of guilt underlining Dan's usual casualness. Still, he did a remarkably good job hiding it.
