Hindsight

Johto – July 2010

The world was different than before. Wild pokemon attacked children and adults alike, with attacks became more and more frequent and violent. Families were encouraged to raise pokemon so that they could defend each other as a team against the hostile creatures. 

However, there were fines and licenses that came with owning domesticated pokemon. Only wealthier families could afford to obtain and train pokemon and even then they were not strong (normal types: meowth, magikarp or rattata, bug-types).

Desperate to placate the rising public panic, the government funded a program that would assign each child starting from the age of ten a “starter”, which was intended to be a partner dedicated to protecting them from harm. The only catch was that each child who got a free starter from the govt was obligated to serve as a soldier in the Peace Patrol. For a time, only those with connections could even get their hands on a starter.

With people becoming desperate in such times, it was no wonder criminal syndicates such as TR surfaced to steal pokemon to make money.

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Her name was Terra. Her brown hair matched exactly with the shade of the oak trees that grew surrounding New Bark Town.

Terra had two best friends; both were her next-door neighbours. Ethan and Maya. They both had dark hair, with Maya’s holding more of a bluish tint, and dark eyes. Maybe they were cousins; Terra didn’t know.

When Terra turned ten years old and finally received her first starter pokemon from the government program, she was opted into the the Peace Patrol.

The Peace Patrol was a global organization of Trainers. Each town or city had its own designated Peace Patrol group; New Bark Town’s team had members from Cherrygrove City as well. Their main job was to keep the neighbouring towns safe from raid bosses.

Raid bosses were wild pokemon that often appeared in the surrounding areas and were a threat to everyone’s safety. Fortunately, New Bark Town was a small town situated next to a rushing river. Only weaker raid bosses, classified as Tier 1 and 2, ever seemed to appear there.

Terra never wanted to be a soldier in the first place. No, she never imagined being placed in such a role. Working at a Pokemon Center, sure. But a soldier? She felt far too timid, too incapable of such responsibility.

Chikorita was her choice. The cute grass pokemon’s eyes and sweet scent captured her instantly. Maya chose the timid fire starter cyndaquil, who immediately curled itself into a ball in the girl’s arms. Ethan’s family ran a pokemon daycare and occasionally bred pokemon as well. He didn’t need a starter from the program; his grandparents gave him a marill, which was his favourite, but he was often in the company of many normal-type pokemon as well.

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From a young age, Maya was spoiled. Her parents coddled her and provided her with everything she asked for. As she grew older, she began to realize how this affected her in negative ways.

She wasn’t as independent as Terra or Ethan; she even started her training much later than they had. As a result, she quickly became emblazoned with the desire to prove herself. Prone to being rash and stubborn, she trained hard and accepted battles from everyone. Most of all, she had heard the stories about the boy legend who had defeated the Elite Four and vanished before anyone could challenge him for the title. What better way to prove herself?

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In the following years, Terra and her friends train daily, forming bonds with their pokemon and with each other. Together they fended off the weaker monsters. Terra and Ethan were paired together as patrol partners. Maya was paired with an older Trainer, who gladly took on the role of an older sister to her.

One summer afternoon, a Tier 4 monster is spotted in the vicinity of the town’s surrounding fields. It’s a frenzied Nidoking, stronger than any monster that had come to NBT. Maya immediately rushes to try and defeat it, but misjudges the situation and quickly realizes she and cyndaquil are no match. Terra and Ethan catch up with her to try and join the battle, but as trainees, the nidoking easily dominates the battle. 

A young man with an equally elegant ninetales rescue the three of them and they manage to scare off the nidoking. Though she is embarrassed at having needed to be rescued, Maya thanks the boy and the trio discovers his name is Lukas. He’s currently stationed in Cherrygrove City and works for the government, trying to investigate the cause of the frenzied pokemon.