Pokemon - Solo's Strange Journey

And that is how we get back to today!

The hero ran away through the rest of night and through most of the day. 

The tired hero was still following the creek from within the thicket until he spotted the source of the creek.

A lake. A very large lake with a very peculiar island in its center.

Swole-POV:

Huff. Huff.

No way.

Huff. Huff.

I know where I am!

I stop and pull out the Ancient Sinnoh History book. The picture on the cover... It's a perfect match to this view. 

A vast lake with a wide rocky shoreline.

I thought it was weird how still the water on the cover looked, but in real life, it is even more creepy. 

There is no wind and there is no movement at all in the lake. 

Even though still waters should be filled with algae, the water still looks perfectly clear. No dirt or vegetation at all.

Come closer.

The survival books tell me to never trust a water source without cooking or filtering it but I don't care. 

The water looks perfect and I really want a fresh drink. I haven't had anything to drink since I saw that murderous Bidoof either.

I get closer to the water's edge, thinking of all the terrible monsters that could be watching me right now, who are just waiting for me to drop my guard... 

But nothing comes. 

I have my guard thoroughly dropped but nothing is attacking me.

My cupped hands scoop up some water and bring it to my parched lips. 

Deliciously crisp. I actually feel the rejuvenation from this. 

But it's a bit more of a muddy taste than I thought it would be, considering how clean the water looks.

...

... My hands are still covered in mud camouflage. That explains the taste.

I empty out my water container on the shore and refill it with this water instead.

Feeling a little less tired already, I take a new look around. 

It is tranquil here. Not a single fight in sight. But not for a lack of pokemon. They are all around the lake, drinking just like me. 

But none of them look like the monsters I saw on the way here.

The Bidoof in the distance looks peaceful and cute. Just how they should be.

A small colony of Kricketot is just lazing around. Their piano-like sounds are peaceful and harmonic.

I can see a few Budew laying around in the sun, with a Roselia guarding them like a mother would. She probably is their mother.

In the far distance I can even spot a Sawsbuck! His majestic antlers are in full spring bloom.

The whole lake is surrounded by a surprisingly thick forest. I can't see the meadows that I know are somewhere on the other side of the trees.

And in the center of the lake, is a barren, rocky island. From this position I can make out the entrance of a cave. 

I compare it with the book's cover again and the cave entrance is visible there too. This must be the exact spot where it was painted at. 

Someone saw this very same lake and just like me was awed by its atmosphere.

With the pokemon around me being so peaceful, I too finally feel at peace.

For the first time in days, I just sat down. I sit, and I enjoy nature.

How odd. Just a few hours ago, I would have never believed to have another peaceful moment in the rest of my short life.

I wholeheartedly started to believe that I would die on my pokemon journey before it even really began.

An errand Bubble Beam, a Starly that spotted me, some nocturnal pokemon who finds my sleeping hole... All sorts of scenarios that could have gotten me killed.

But I made it to this amazing place. Was it worth it? 

The Bidoof is still fresh in my mind... No! It wasn't worth it! No sight in the world makes that thing's existence worth it.

A ray of the setting sun hits my eyes and I remember that I need to make camp soon.

I put the book back into the bag and pulled the shovel out instead. A nice spot to dig my hole at is at the edge of the surrounding forest, under a large oak tree.

Today's hole has a lake side view. Nice! 

I think I will treat myself a little and make it more spacious this time. I could even collect more leaves and pad out the bottom! 

No more frozen toes in the morning!

...

Now that's a good hole! And just in time too!

The last sun ray has disappeared over the horizon and the little moonlight tonight is barely enough to see. 

With a hideout like this, I might just stay here for a couple of days. 

If the fighting gets to me too much, then I can just relax at the lake for a couple of hours.

---

Narrator-POV:

The 15th day passes and our hero goes to sleep with renewed motivation.

Unbeknownst to him, a playful spirit has been observing him from the moment he stepped onto the shore surrounding the lake.

With the young man asleep, she finally reveals herself for the world to marvel at her glory.

A small creature with bright pink appendages hanging from her head and a sparkling red jewel on her forehead. She is floating right above the camouflaged sleeping hero.

Mesprit, the legendary lake guardian and bringer of emotions.

Satisfied with improving the mood of the young man, the fairy lets out a childish giggle and disappears from sight again.

...

...

...

Rustle

The night has passed and the hero is waking again. The 16th day begins and our energized hero is ready to continue his adventure!

"Stupid nightmares..." He grumbles. His mood sour as always. No amount of luxury could make the entitled hero happy. "At least I can feel my toes today... But I'm still cold to the bone. Why do I have to live in Sinnoh? This sucks."

He continues to grumble to himself as he does his morning ritual. "Stupid Aspear Berry... Stupid Oran Berry." He pulled hilarious faces in disgust at each bite.

He washes down the horrid taste with a breakfast of beef jerky and stale hard-tack, and finally washes that horrid taste down with a swig of crystal clear lake water.

"Wow. That stuff is really good. I can't believe it's just water."

With his morning mood defeated, our hero sits down at the lake and plans out his day.

"... Yes. I have decided. I'm going to go through the forest and wait for fights to happen near me. My strategy hasn't changed. I could never beat a pokemon like my father did. The bribery stays."

Is what he decides for himself.

"In the meantime I can look up this lake in the book! I am actually really curious about this now. Who knew we had such an amazing place near Twinleaf Town of all places?"

Swole stands up and ensures his camouflage is as good as it can be before tracking through the forest.

But before even making it all the way through, he already hears the struggles of two pokemon fighting each other.

One sound he recognizes as the battle cry of a Staraptor but the other sound is foreign to him.

Recognizing the danger that a wild Staraptor poses to him, he slows his approach down greatly and arrives on the battlefield a little bit too late.

A few Staraptor feathers and knocked over grasses are all that remains as proof of a battle having occurred here.

"A wild Staraptor..." He wipes some panic-sweat off his brows. "The pokemon around here really are tougher. I would never see a fully evolved Staraptor if I only stayed on the routes..."

He walks off absentmindedly and secures a good hiding spot nearby where he can wait out the day.

"Any pokemon that survives in the wilderness with these powerhouses flying around is bound to be incredibly strong."

"... Huh... Could that be why these pokemon are out here in the first place? To become stronger by any means necessary?"

Suddenly he has an epiphany: "I am out here because I want to become stronger by any means necessary. I am not so different from the pokemon that live here... Only I was able to bring my own food..."

---

Swole lays prone under a bush. He pulls out the Ancient Sinnoh History book and looks through the book's index.

"Hisui history... Celestica history... Invention of pokeballs... Pokemon Marriage... Aura Guardians... Myth of creation... Arceus... Lake Guardians! That must be it." Swole closes the book.

"What the fuck are these chapters? I don't care much about history, but Aura Guardians? A chapter on Arceus? Is that book a secret gold mine?"

Splitting the book halfway Swole starts looking for the start of the Lake Guardians chapter.

"The book is thick. Does Sinnoh really have that much ancient history? Why didn't we learn about that stuff in school? It was just the first and second Kanto war, all the time. Who cares about stupid Kanto? They keep getting their ass beat by Johto anyway."

---

Lake Guardians

The Lake Guardians are a Sinnoh myth that I personally strongly believe in for the most part. In our adventures across the ancient sites of the Sinnoh region, we have come across many ruins which all suggest that 3 powerful guardian spirits can be found in the Sinnoh region. Some sites have named them Uxie, Mesprit and Azelf.

As part of the creation myth, these guardians have supposedly been created by Arceus after time and space had been created. The creator of time - Dialga - and the creator of space - Palkia - were fighting each other, and causing immense destruction to the creations within the universe in the process.

The motives for their fighting are not depicted in the known Sinnoh ruins but professor Samuel Oak has provided a thesis for my dissertation: It is possible, that Dialga and Palkia were bored after they finished their tasks and in their boredom, they have caused enough destruction to warrant intervention by Arceus.

Uxie, Mesprit and Azelf were created with red gems in their forehead: These pokemon can use the gems to seal away and even control Dialga and Palkia.

In my previous chapter I have already listed the facts that speak for and against this Creation Theorem that my colleague has put forward to the scientific community. It is currently unclear whether or not the lake guardians have anything to do with the creation of Sinnoh, the universe or humanity. But, according to ancient scripts, Uxie has gifted the newly created humanity their knowledge. Mesprit has given humanity emotion to use their knowledge fairly and to ensure that humanity does not misuse it to enslave each other or the pokemon. And last but not least Azelf has given humanity willpower. The willpower to survive and to succeed in a world which used to be wholly dominated by pokemon.

---

Swole finishes the first page and whispers out his thoughts.

"That's insane. There is more but this is already shocking enough. I always thought it was just Arceus who created everything by himself. My parents taught me that, were they wrong? ... They weren't wrong about the wilderness."

"Who wrote the book?" He wonders before inspecting the book's spine for an author. "Professor Carolina Shirona... Shirona? Is she related to Cynthia?"

At that, Swole fondly remembers the hidden posters in his bedroom of the current Sinnoh champion.

Like any other healthy young male, Swole has posters of Cynthia Shirona in his room.

An unbeatable trainer with an incredible team. Who also happens to be an incredible beauty in her late 20s.

"Her Garchomp alone is world famous and beat an entire team alone in the first round of the recent Platinum League." Swoons Swole. "She got a Gible as her starter pokemon. So lucky! ... I miss staring at her boobs now."

---

Luxi!

"A battle!" Swole whispers loudly to himself and he immediately packs up his book and makes his way over to the noise.

Around 200 meters away, a Luxio and Stunky have started fighting. 

When our hero arrives to watch, Stunky is a little battered and Luxio is walking with a limping front paw.

Stunky, the skunk pokemon, sports an obvious bite wound on his back. But apparently Luxio, the electric lion, could not bite it without repercussions. 

Acid Spray or something similar has burned Luxio's paw.

Now, both pokemon are circling each other.

Our hero has quickly gone through some tactics, common moves and other advantages in his head. 

At some point in his travels through the wilderness, he stopped looking only at the carnage and simply focused on the tactics that the wild pokemon display. Using any and all opportunities to train his mind as a future trainer and taking lessons wherever he could.

"Stunky is the underdog here. If he wins, I could capture him. Luxio has much greater base strength and there are no type advantages..." Swole comments to himself. 

"Stunky can't take many more hits, he should poison Luxio with Poison Gas and then stall by hiding himself in a Smokescreen."

Ky!

The young and inexperienced Stunky charges normal type energy in his claws and starts running at Luxio. 

Swole shakes his head in surrender.

Luxio uses the distance between them to fire off a Leer first before charging his own normal type energy in his body.

"Leer lowers Stunky's defenses... Stunky can't afford to take on that clash now."

Scratch meets Tackle. Both are fairly weak moves but a resounding boom still echoes through the meadow from the hit.

As a result, Stunky is flung away and hits a tree near Swole's hiding spot.

He stiffens and remains as motionless as he can be.

"Stunky is almost KO. Just one more hit and he is down." This time the hero keeps his commentary entirely in his mind.

Without turning his head, his eyes move back to Luxio who is charging some electric move now. "Smart. If he attacks with a physical move now, he just risks getting hit by an Aftermath ability."

Boom!

Thunder Shock hits the barely standing Stunky and his eyes turn into swirls.

Stunky is KO. Luxio wins. 

A smoke cloud of gaseous acid forms itself around Stunky and our hero is just barely out of its reach.

The gas dissipates and Luxio confidently approaches his prey. Pridefully pretending his foot does not hurt anymore. 

"... I know what comes next and I don't like how close I am to that." Are the thoughts of the hero. 

As Luxio passes Swole's hiding spot, he suddenly stops and Swole almost starts shitting himself in fright.

A paw covers the nose of Luxio and his snout takes on an expression of disgust. He quickly takes his prey and limps off with three legs to where everyone knows the creek should be.

"Oh. My. Arceus. I thought he smelled me. But it was just the Stunky that he smelled." Our hero lets out a long sigh of relief. "Poor Luxio has to eat such a foul smelling creature."

"But that was such an amazing match! Real pokemon fights are so much cooler to look at than the ones on TV!"

He sits down to calm down his excitement and he takes a deep breath... Only to move his own nose closer to his armpit and retching soon after. 

All the color is draining out of his face at once. "He smelled me. Not Stunky. I almost got killed today because I smell like a garbage bin."

Instead of despairing, and instead of taking a much needed bath, our dirty hero rubs more dirt and mud into his disguise.

The smell is gone but so is a little bit more of his dignity.

With future disasters averted, Swole once again returns to his hiding spot and opens the book.

---

---

I myself believe that the creation theorem is too much rooted in occultism and Sinnoh religion, and my colleagues have lost their objectivity when they examined the ruins of Sinnoh on our expeditions. I do not believe that the lake guardians have had a hand in humanities development.

However, we know for a fact that the lake guardians exist.

On our expedition across Sinnoh's wilderness, we have used the hints from the ruins and found all three lakes where the spirits are supposed to live: Lake Verity in the south west, Lake Valor in the south east and Lake Acuity in the far north of Sinnoh. With the mostly untouched and unmapped Mount Coronet in the exact center of the three lakes.

As a reminder, according to ancient Sinnoh legends, the Universe was created with Mount Coronet in the center and everything else around it. Somewhere on Mount Coronet is supposed to be a place called Spear Pillar. Murals and even cave walls have supported the claims with depictions of this place with guardian pokemon hovering around it that closely resemble Nosepass and Magneton.

In the middle of each lake is a strange cavern. For some reason my expedition team was unable to enter any of them. Our flying pokemon were blocked by strong winds and our swimming pokemon were blocked by strong currents. Even our teleporting pokemon was unable to enter due to some sort of telepathic interference.

We suspect that the legendary pokemon are inside those caves and they stop every attempt to enter the island or cave.

As to how I know for a fact that these pokemon exist: All three of these lake guardians have shown themselves to exactly 3 members of our team. But it only happened when those members were separated from the rest. As if they only wanted to show themselves to the most worthy of their traits.

I myself have seen Mesprit at Lake Verity. My esteemed colleague professor Samuel Oak has seen Uxie at Lake Acuity and my esteemed colleague professor Giovanni Sakaki has seen Azelf at Lake Valor. My colleagues and I have each attached colored sketches of the pokemon we have seen to this work (attachment#281 to #283).

---

"Giovanni!?" Swole almost shouts out but manages to keep his voice low at the last second.

"When was this book written? That guy is the leader of team rocket now. And these 'pokemon resembling Nosepass and Magneton'. Those must be Probopass and Magnezone." Swole gives the book a new look over.

"What the hell was this expedition?"

A new sense of fulfillment enters our hero. "I have been where Samuel Oak himself was once... Was this before he tutored Red?"

With the most recent revelation completely pushing out the traumatic sights of the previous 15 days: "I am stepping in the footsteps of giants and it was worth it. I WILL become the Sinnoh Champion! And a hundred years from now, someone else will read books about my adventures."

Our hero, Swole Solo. He was too busy preparing himself in a library to make his dream come true, that he forgot to really have his own dreams in the first place.

But a new certainty washes over him and Swole is finally ready to be a pokemon trainer.

Somewhere, a childish giggle sounds out again but Swole can not hear it.