Chapter Text
On the morning of the sixth day at sea, the Paldea region’s southern coastline finally comes into view. The rim of the crater that lies at the region’s core is the first landmark to reveal itself, followed quickly by the sheer cliffs that make up the coast. For Izuku Midoriya, the sight brings more relief than excitement, considering how many meals he’s hurled overboard these last few days. That, and the quickly approaching League tryout deadline, along with all the dread, anticipation, and excitement attached to it.
They’re finally here. They’ve finally made it. His dreams are so close to coming to fruition, with only a few more miles of ocean left before they stop being aspirations scribbled in the footnotes of his trainer notebooks and become something more real. Izuku smiles as his best friend and partner comes up to the bow of the ship to watch the slowly approaching landmass beside him.
“We’re a long way away from Pallet Town, right buddy?” Izuku chuckles, shielding his face from the ocean spray. Riolu just grabs his hand and squeezes his affirmation.
It’s another hour before the boat finally docks at a small two-wide pier just off of the beach on the southernmost point of the region. Nearby, a recreational Pokemon battle arena sits unused, the once-vibrant shade of the field sun-bleached to a pale, baby-blue hue after years of exposure. The field is marked by its storied history, proudly sporting a half-dozen scorch marks and scattered patches of chipped concrete.
Just a bit up the hill sits a white building of an architecture style unlike anything back home in Kanto. Large structural columns frame tall lancet windows, making the building look more like a small rustic mansion than the port authority that it actually is.
As Izuku and Riolu unload box after box onto the dock, he can’t help but notice how different the weather is, too. Where the beach back home was rocky, temperate, and rarely suited for relaxing in the water under the summer sun, the sand here is soft and comfortingly warm beneath his feet.
“Izuku!”
He turns as he drops a box onto the pile accumulating on the dock, finding his mother hurrying down the gangplank, face pinched with concern.
“You need to go! The captain told me Mesagoza is at least a few days' travel from here, and that’s for someone familiar with the area! You’re going to miss your tryout if you don’t get on the road!”
“I was going to help you at least get the boxes moved in. I’m already going to be gone for all of the unpacking, I figured it was the least I could do to at least help with some heavy lifting,” Izuku replies.
Beside him, Riolu stacks three small boxes on top of each other and tries to pick them up. The stack is taller than the Pokemon, who quickly loses his balance and sends the box atop the stack tumbling onto the dock. Inko stifles a laugh at the Pokemon, plastering on a serious expression for her son.
“The moving company will do that. I know the house is just up the road, but we pay them for a reason! Let the Machoke handle it and get going! If you miss that deadline and waste all this effort we put in to get you here, so help me Arceus…”
Izuku decides that he can go without another strongly worded lecture and decides to follow his mother’s advice. “Fine,” he says. “But call me if you need any help? You can leave a message for me at the - ”
“The Los Platos Pokemon Center. Yes I know. I’ll call you if anything goes wrong,” Inko replies, her tone conveying in no uncertain terms that she will not be doing so. “Now, shoo!”
At that, Izuku and Riolu start up the hill, taking their first steps towards their goal.
By the end of the first hour, Izuku is thankful for All Might’s physical training regimen. The path from the docks up to and through Poco Path - the trail that connects to the lighthouse marking the entrance to the Southern Province - is entirely uphill. Izuku doesn’t want to imagine how winded he’d be if he hadn’t spent the last few years exercising every single day.
Riolu doesn’t seem to be having any issues whatsoever. The Pokemon constantly runs ahead, sticking his head in bushes to look for wild Pokemon and coming away with more than a couple String Shots to the face, courtesy of local Tarountula. Izuku is content to continue to play an ever-repeating game of catch-up with his best friend and partner.
“Doing fine?” Izuku asks Riolu as they come up to the fork in the road.
To his right is the Poco Path trailhead, the path they’ll be taking. Riolu nods vigorously and gives a thumbs-up. The Pokemon is antsy, bouncing from foot to foot. Izuku laughs to himself when Riolu bolts ahead again, brimming with childlike enthusiasm.
Before following, Izuku takes a long look in the other direction. If they continued up the hill, they would eventually come across his and his mother’s new home.
The cost of sending Izuku to Paldea for the Trials had originally been too high, and his mother would not have been able to afford losing Izuku’s help with work back home. But after seeing her son’s grit and determination to follow his dreams, she uprooted their entire family business from Pallet Town and found a job in Paldea so Izuku could attend this year’s Trials.
Izuku smiles, grateful for everything that his mother sacrificed for him and determined to follow through on the opportunity she’d given him. Izuku turns away from that path, takes a deep breath, and steps past the sign, beginning his journey and tackling his first route traveling as a trainer.
Not a trainer yet, he reminds himself. We need to pass the tryouts first to earn that title.
Poco Path is significantly less maintained than the well-worn road that led up to it. The trail is only wide enough for Izuku and Riolu to walk single file, flanked on both sides by tall grass that brushes up against Izuku’s hops. A few feet off the path in each direction are small clusters of trees, where he can see some Fletchling and Tarountula watching him suspiciously within the branches.
Without a Pokedex, information on Pokemon not native to one’s local region is often hard to come by. For most people, the wild Pokémon that roam within a few miles of their home are all they ever learn about so there’s little practical use in studying the hundreds of species from distant regions. Professional trainers already have that information at their fingertips through their Pokedex and have no reason to share it online. All of this makes research frustratingly difficult.
Still, that never stopped Izuku from trying his best to compile as much knowledge about Pokémon around the world as possible.
Izuku's train of thought derails when he catches movement in his peripheral vision. It starts as a soft rustling in the grass to his right, but as the path curves and inevitably brings Izuku and Riolu closer, the rustling patch zips toward them and a small figure bursts onto the trail.
A small, round, pig-like Pokemon hunches forward with a defensive posture, clearly ready to attack if they take another step. Izuku tries to wrangle up recognition, as the Pokemon certainly seems familiar, but he can’t put his finger on the name off the top of his head.
“Rio!” Riolu barks a warning, bringing Izuku back to reality as the Pokemon digs its feet in and holds its position.
“Sorry, buddy! Got a bit distracted,” Izuku says, rolling his shoulders. “Alright, first battle, let’s do this! We’ll wait for it to make its move.”
Riolu nods silently, eyes fixed on the threat ahead. The Pokemon shuffles side to side in front of Riolu, testing the waters. Riolu holds his ground, unflinching beneath the wild Pokemon’s glare. Izuku sees the twitch in the pig’s legs just before it makes its move.
“Now! Force Palm!”
Riolu reacts instantly, trusting his partner’s judgment. His right paw flashes white, then yellow, drawn back and ready to strike. True to Izuku’s prediction, the Pokemon makes a quick pounce forward, trying for a Tackle.
Riolu side-steps the attack and jabs out with a quick strike, catching the wild Pokemon just under the chin. The energy discharges with crackle and a small shock wave passes through the tall grass behind the Pokemon as it’s knocked a few feet up the path.
After skidding to a halt, the Pokemon starts to follow up that attack with another one of its own, but flinches when it takes its first step. Yellow static arcs across its body, emanating from the place where Riolu’s attack landed.
Paralysis, Izuku thinks, recognizing the phenomenon, It’ll have trouble moving.
To Izuku’s surprise, the Pokemon doesn’t attack again. Instead, it turns and scurries back into the tall grace from whence it came, reduced to a rustling patch after only a few seconds.
“Wait, come back!” Izuku shouts after it. “Our battle isn’t finished! That was just one attack!”
Riolu shouts after the Pokemon too, taking after his trainer in his frustration. Izuku smiles at him, knowing the Pokemon is also looking for some practice. He stares through the gap the Pokemon disappeared into for a few more moments before sighing in defeat.
Izuku and Riolu encounter two more wild pokemon on Poco Path. The first is another of the pig Pokemon, which Izuku finally recognizes as a Lechonk. The other is a Scatterbug, a bug type Pokemon native to Kalos.
While watching the bug type flee from a Force Palm that didn’t even connect, Izuku clenches his fist in frustration, nails digging into his palm.
“We’re never going to get enough practice at this rate,” Izuku laments. “I know the trailhead notice said the Pokemon here are generally young and inexperienced, but I was expecting a little more than this.”
Riolu grunts out a frustrated remark as well, crossing his arms and stomping further up the path.
Izuku knows most people would be envious of such uneventful travel. Getting to their destination safely and quickly is often the priority. Unfortunately, the two of them are both painfully aware of their shared lack of battle experience, so the idea had been to get as much practice as possible on the path to Mesagoza.
And that plan is going swimmingly…Izuku thinks bitterly. We have to pass the tryouts. If I don’t make it into this year’s Trials, everything Mom sacrificed for us would have been a waste.
The Trials, a yearly event held by the Pokemon League, is the definitive path any aspiring trainer must take to acquire a trainer’s license. The Trials are held in a different region every year, and only those of the ages eighteen to twenty-one qualify to try out. Doing so requires traveling to the selected region for the year and auditioning before a panel of professional trainers, where only the best are selected to participate. The audition changes every year, with different professional trainers overseeing the event as well.
All Might had aced the Trials during his year, completing all gyms without a single Pokemon knocked out on his team, and only two substitutions throughout the entire gym challenge. He and his Palafin proceeded to sweep the regions, dismantling underground criminal organizations and fostering an era of peace where civilians didn’t have to worry about their Pokemon being stolen or the power of legendary Pokemon being siphoned for personal gain.
Team Rocket in Kanto, Team Magma and Team Aqua in Hoenn, Team Galactic in Sinnoh, and Team Plasma in Unova are just a few examples of the evil he’d expunged during his prime, truly becoming the greatest trainer to ever live and the world’s symbol of peace.
Then, he’d disappeared.
A little bit over a year ago, All Might dropped off of the face of the planet. Nobody knows where he went. Sure, there are plenty of theories, including but not limited to secret operations to unearth a massive government conspiracy, a sudden death while on a mission, and alien abduction. Some are certainly more plausible than others, to say the least.
Either way, All Might had disappeared, and that meant that the pressure his presence exerted on the evil-doers of the world had let up. Crimes such as Pokemon theft and trafficking are on the rise again.
I’m going to follow in his footsteps. Izuku clenches his first in determination. I’m going to become the champion of champions. I’m going to become the world’s number one trainer.
Of course, that means step one is to pass his tryouts and be accepted into the Trials, which means that step zero is to get more practice, and these wild Pokemon becoming frightened and fleeing after one interaction is neither helping Riolu grow stronger or helping Izuku put his hours of study on battle techniques into real practice.
Around the time when the sun reaches its peak, the tall grass begins to thin, receding to a path more defined and well-trodden. Ahead, the lighthouse marking the junction between Paldea’s southern coast and the Southern Province comes into view. By that point, Izuku and Riolu have been hiking uphill for hours, and both are looking forward immensely to some rest and refreshment before they continue on towards Mesagoza.
The lighthouse itself is rather unremarkable. It is little more than a hollowed-out white brick tower with a ladder on the inside and a small, locked room at the base, sorely lacking in benches, seats, or any other sort of furniture to rest on. Izuku lets out a grunt as he lowers himself to the short grass, settling into the shade cast by the building. He wipes sweat from his forehead and absently flicks it off the cliff behind him. Riolu follows suit shortly afterward, joining Izuku and giving his legs some much-needed rest.
Izuku pulls two bottles of water out of his backpack, tosses one to Riolu, and takes a long drink as he slouches against the wooden guardrail. From this high up, he can only faintly hear the crashing of waves against the cliffside, though the ocean’s saline scent still fills his nose. After both he and Riolu finish rehydrating, Izuku returns the bottles to his bag and sucks in a deep breath, wrangling his breath and heart under control.
Riolu is the first to get up, walking over to the tower. Riolu steps inside and points up the hole, tilting his head.
“You want to go up there?” Izuku sighs, pulling himself up from his seat to follow.
Riolu bounces in place, nodding vigorously as Izuku follows, smiling despite himself. Riolu scrambles up the ladder first, moving at more than twice the speed that Izuku has the energy for given the brevity of their rest. By the time he finally makes it to the top, the breeze off the ocean is cool as it brushes against his skin, and the midday sun is warm against his shoulders.
He finds the enthusiastic Pokemon pressed up against the ledge, standing up at the tips of his toes to try to see over the guardrail. He’s just short enough that he can’t quite gaze over the edge, so Izuku walks over and picks up Riolu under his arms, putting the Pokemon onto his shoulders so that they can take in the breathtaking view together.
To the north, rolling plains stretch across the rest of the Southern Province, the grasses shimmering in ripples of silver and green beneath the sunlight and wind. Patches of trees dot the open land, and in the distance, a river winds lazily through the fields in a bright and shining path.
To the east, the plains give way to weathered red rock, the canyonlands eroded by years of wind and rain. Towering stone spires and arches rise from the earth, their defiant shapes sculpted by both storms and time alike. The rocks are a deep, rusty read and streaked with sedimentary layers deposited over centuries.
To the west, the land climbs a steady ascent through layered plateaus topped with scattered trees and Flying-type Pokemon nests. The cliffs rise like ancient steps towards a towering mountain that juts into the sky, and a lake near its peak spills a great waterfall over the edge of a sheer cliff. The waters glisten as they tumble down and shatter into mist at the base, shrouding the lower slopes.
And finally, ahead, towering above the hills and canyonlands and open plains, Izuku’s destination looms.
Mesagoza is a monolith of a city, dwarfing even Viridian back home. Rising from the hill it sits on, the League headquarters commands attention, its towering structure standing high above the sprawling city and casting its gaze across the entire region. Some say it was built that way to symbolize the League as an overseeing force, watching over the region and keeping a protective eye on all who live beneath it.
Izuku sees it as something else entirely.
The way the structure is visible from most of the region makes it a beacon. It is a symbol anyone can look up to. A symbol of support, and of a League meant to serve as a guiding icon both for those in need, and those who seek to help.
Izuku and Riolu are almost too busy admiring the view from the top of the lighthouse to notice the two specs soaring through the air from the east. They do notice when a stray blast of pure electric energy tears through the air and blows the top pylon clean off of the lighthouse.
Brick dust and debris rain from the sky around them, scattering down across the platform. Izuku coughs, whipping toward where the blast came from, and finally spots the figures ripping through the sky. They are getting closer very, very quickly.
“Down the ladder!” Izuku shouts, scrambling toward the opening in the tower. Riolu leaps from Izuku’s shoulders, dropping into a run beside him and jumping onto the ladder just after Izuku does. Neither bothers taking it one rung at a time. They slide down, using the ladder only for balance as gravity takes over. Just before the ground rushes up to meet them, Izuku and Riolu both tighten their grip on the side rails, slowing their descent, though not without rubbing the skin of Izuku’s palms raw.
Izuku ignores the pain. As soon as his feet hit the ground, he bolts out of the lighthouse hatch with Riolu right on his heels.
He looks up just in time to see two unfamiliar Pokemon come barreling in, firing attacks at one another. One is sleek and violet, with a long yellow and light blue underbelly. The other is a scarlet lizard with white feathers jutting from the sides of its head. Both have what look to be wheels along their underbellies, much like what a Cyclizar might have, though neither resemble any pictures of that species Izuku has seen online.
Just before they cross in front of the lighthouse, the red Pokemon in the lead suddenly flares its wing-like ears, coming to an abrupt halt mid-air. The violet Pokemon is unable to slow itself in time and crashes into the other, sending both tumbling out of the sky in a tangle of mixed limbs and tails.
Together, they slam into the top platform of the lighthouse.
Stone and brick explode outward. Debris rains across the surrounding ground and the entire tower shudders. Izuku and Riolu don’t have time to move out of the way before the tangled, falling Pokemon ricochet off the tower and hit the earth just a few feet away.
The ground buckles under the force of the impact, and the cliffside gives way beneath their feet.
“Rio!” Izuku’s partner screams out, reaching out towards his trainer.
But he’s too far away.
Gravity takes hold, dragging them both toward the beach below. In a panic, Izuku flails, trying to get ahold of his partner, to do anything to shield him from the impact, but Riolu is just out of reach.
The world seems to slow around Izuku. The tumbling rubble drifts through the air as though suspended, its breakneck plunge toward the ground stretching into a crawl. In a last-moment decision, Izuku whips his hand to his belt, unlatches Riolu’s Poke Ball, and enlarges it in his palm.
He points the sphere at his partner. A red beam jets from the center, recalling Riolu into the safety of the Poke Ball. Then, the world snaps back to full speed.
Wind roars in Izuku’s ears. He dares a glance over his shoulder, only to see the ground racing up to meet him. He lets out a breathless sigh of relief that, at the very least, his best friend will not be hurt.
When he hits the ground, everything goes black.