[GCEA Event: 20 Years Later] Choices

[Pokemon Trainer Sarah]

Since this story doesn’t have to be canon, I decided to be really random. Hopefully that’s allowed. xD

Choices

Alice shifts the rifle to her left shoulder. It is heavy, and her right arm is still sore from the bite she had taken yesterday. The hastily-made bandage on her arm, torn from an old t-shirt, has been enough to staunch the bleeding, but it doesn’t look good. The Furret had been infected, she is sure, and even if it wasn’t, bites are a great way to catch numerous diseases. That’s what she gets for trying to help a Pokemon. She should have learned her lesson by now, but she can never turn away a creature in need. The world might have changed dramatically since she was a child, but her love for Pokemon has never waned. Even when they were consumed by Shadow Energy, even when they attacked her, even when they left her here alone. That is the worst, she thinks, involuntarily reaching for the three colourful feathers on the chain around her neck. Red, yellow and blue. They say the brain stores memories, but it is the heart that never forgets.

A lot has changed in the last twenty years. Alice has been forced to grow strong, like a flower borne from a crack in concrete. Her Pokemon journey had been so long ago, but she thinks of it often, especially out here, alone. On the worst nights she agonises over every choice she made on that ill-fated journey, every fight she ran from or battle she had won. If she had done something differently, even something small, would Kanto still have been so utterly destroyed? Could she, one person among millions, have made a difference? Sometimes she thinks so, and the guilt gnaws at her stomach like hungry Rattata, barely stopping to breathe. But those times, which had once almost consumed her, are now few and far between. She has settled into a strange kind of acceptance. There isn’t much time to dwell on fantasies when every day is a struggle just to survive. She is one of the lucky few. She has lived. But she has paid the price. Oh, she has paid it dearly.

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What started off as hidden acts of terror twenty years ago had evolved rapidly into large scale terrorism. Over the next five years, the world was changed irreparably. The monster known as Dredd had lost control. The shadow energy that seemed to consume him spread across the region, infecting Pokemon, and eventually other humans. The region had descended into anarchy and chaos as the government failed to stop the increasing attacks by shadow monsters and the other regions closed their borders, not willing to risk spread of the shadow disease. Like her friends, Alice had been stranded here in Kanto, unable to return to Kalos. She hadn’t seen or heard from her parents in twenty years. For all she knew, they were dead, and the shadows had spread right across the globe. For all she knew, there was nothing left on this Earth. But she couldn’t think like that… she needed hope to survive. Especially now.

When all seemed lost, and the shadows had won, the bombs began to fall. Fleets of Unova Army planes could be seen in the air most days, blasting anything and everything, with no concern but to destroy the shadows. Millions died and the Earth was ravaged, scorched and broken beyond repair. All that Alice remembers of those days is fear. She has seen too many things now, and it is all she can do to forget. She had been lucky from the start. When the first blasts rang out across the land, she had been out in the forest around Pallet Town on her way back to the lab to meet with the Professor. The town had been completely burnt to the ground, but Alice had escaped the worst of the blast. She watched the lab smoulder to ashes as the sun set. It was beautiful in a way, the fiery sky a perfect reflection of the burning land below. The next year was spent running, trying to find a place safe from the constant bombings and learning to live on her feet. She had met a man then, who had taught her to shoot. And though she never could have imagined taking a life, the knowledge was enough to make her feel safe in this crazy world. When he died, he had left her his gun and she had kept it since then, old, beaten-up thing that it was. It had saved her many times now, if only by intimidation.

As suddenly as they appeared, one day, the planes vanished. The blasts stopped, but there was no recovering for Kanto. The region had been destroyed, every town razed to the ground, every village looted and burned. Though most of the shadow monsters had been destroyed, so too had millions of humans and Pokemon. Communication with the other regions was impossible. Alice’s world had been reduced to what she could see around her. She travelled alone with only her Pokemon for companions. No matter what, she had vowed to keep them safe. She had not called on them. Not since the first bombs fell. It would destroy them to see their home so changed. Pokemon relied on nature and now both would be scarred forever. Alice would protect them from that knowledge for as long as possible. It was the least she could do after everything they had done for her.

But of course, she needed them eventually. And they too were changed. All childlike innocence had been ripped away. Alice led them with logic rather than emotion. Together Alice and her team helped to rebuild villages in the least damaged parts of the region. They had travelled all over the place, documenting the damage and trying to save any injured Pokemon they came across. And all the while Alice thought of the monster Dredd and how he used to be a boy. And how she had loved him.

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“Miss Alice! We need you!” A young child cries out. Alice turns toward the voice, shaken from her reminiscing. She is glad to forget again, even for a moment. The last twenty years have been so hard and she is growing old beyond her years. She thought as age crept up on her, the memories would fade, but they only seem to grow sharper. So too do memories of all she has lost. Plume, Plume, Plume… the name of her Archen rolls round her head incessantly. She is used to the familiar chant by now, but it brings her no comfort. It has gotten worse lately, and she fears there will be no reprieve but death. The old guilt has been trickling in and other thoughts wander too, unwelcome, in her mind. What if?

Alice grabs a Pokeball from her belt and releases a Raichu. “Paprika, keep watch for me,” she says. The Raichu salutes, her trained eyes on the horizon. Sentries aren’t supposed to leave the walls, especially at night, but she is also the only one skilled at healing. Alice knows Paprika will signal if there is any danger. Alice follows the boy to the infirmary. A wilting Oddish requires her attention.

“We found it by the river, miss” the little boy says. He is one of Alice’s favourites. Always calling her “miss” despite her advancing years. “I think it drank the water! Blah!” he says, spitting in disgust. Everyone knows that water must be purified before drinking. These children know no different, Alice muses, but she remembers the cool pleasure of water lapped from a forest stream. It will be hundreds of years before that is possible again. The thought makes her sad, sadder than it should after all this time.

“Bring us some clean water, Miles,” Alice replies, checking the Oddish over carefully with practiced hands. “Grass Pokemon absorb their nutrients,” she explains to the boy. "There must be a heavy metal deposit or some other contaminating toxin around here. There’s nothing to do but try and flush it out.”

“Aster!” Alice calls out without averting her gaze from the Oddish. As she waits for her Venusaur to lumber over, she strokes the Oddish’s leaves, doing her best to calm it. It is mostly still but she feels its heartbeat, erratic and scared. She feels her own heart quicken in response.

“Here, Alice,” Miles says, handing her a rusty bowl filled with thrice purified water. Alice takes it carefully, placing it on the workbench.

“Sauuur,” Aster croaks as he approaches. He has been down by the forest, tending to the gardens. They have had the first good rain in years and his special care will ensure the growing village eats this winter. He is a towering Pokemon now, strong and wise, but to Alice he is still the tiny Bulbasaur she picked from Professor Oak all those years ago, small enough to carry tight against her chest during those first uncertain days of their journey. Even though he dwarfs her in size, she feels a mother's protectiveness toward him, her first one.

“Please put this Oddish to sleep,” Alice says.

“Venu,” Aster consents in his deep voice. Alice turns to watch as he works his magic, rubbing Sleep Powder from the flower on his back onto an upturned vine and then directly applying it to the Oddish’s forehead. It is a technique they developed together, a much more subtle way to utilise the attack than spraying it into the air and it seems to work just as well. Alice had been very excited about the discovery, still a scientist at heart, but there were no more scientific journals in Kanto. Maybe not even in the world. Alice forces the thought from her mind.

Once the Oddish is sleeping, Alice carefully places it into the bowl of clean water. "The Oddish will absorb it automatically through pores in its leaves, and hopefully recover on its own," Alice explains to Miles. In the meantime, Alice knows she has to track down the source of the contamination. If it isn’t cleaned up soon, it might seep into the soil, making all their work planting crops useless. Alice climbs onto Aster’s back. His flower is a deep brown, another change she has noticed from before the bombs. There are not many bright colours left in this world.

“Chu?” Paprika questions as the pair walk toward the gate. The shadows come out at night, but Alice has her rifle and she is unafraid. What more can they take from her?

“We’ll be back soon,” Alice soothes the worried Raichu. “Keep watch for me.” As they leave the bounds of the village, Alice feels a restlessness wake within her. She has remained her too long already. She has lost every home she has ever known and is reluctant to make new ones, which will only be torn away. She has been traveling for years, but no where has she found what she is looking for. She knows she never will, not in this broken world.

Aster and Alice head for the forest. Viridian Forest, it used to be. Alice had come here often as a child but it is unrecognisable from those days. Slowly though, with the care of Aster, life has begun to return. The Venusaur has poured his whole heart into the forest, tending it like a loving father. Alice worries that eventually there will be nothing left inside him, but she cannot ask him to stop. The forest calls to him, just as the Pokemon of the world call to her.

As they leave the lights of the village far behind, Alice’s night vision begins to improve. Here in the oldest part of the forest, tall trees still stand and she finds their presence both welcome and unsettling. In this flattened world, it is unusual for anything to block out the sky.

A slight breeze plays through Alice’s hair, rustling Aster’s leaves. Alice enjoys the fresh air, closing her eyes. She is grateful for this moment of peace, here with her starter Pokemon. After living in the village for the last six months, time alone has become rare. Alice misses it, used to a more solitary life.

As they venture deeper in the forest, Alice instructs Aster to sense for any contamination. The two wander slowly at Aster’s lead. Alice leans back against the stalk of his flower, the rifle on her stomach as she watches the stars. “I think the sky is the only thing that hasn’t changed,” she says wistfully as she tries to make out the constellations her father showed her when she lived in Kanto as a child.

Suddenly Aster stops moving. Alice bolts upright, gun raised. She knows better than to speak, waiting for the Venusaur to make a move. After a moment, Aster lowers his head, bowing… but why?

“Do not be afraid. I am the voice of the forest,” the words seemed to form in Alice’s mind. Unspoken, but heard. Before the pair, a small green fairy-like Pokemon materialises. Alice has seen nothing like it in her travels, but she feels its Psychic energy. Aster raises his head, seemingly unafraid. “We have been watching you,” the Pokemon says telepathically. “Those few of us who remain.”

The Pokemon hovers, shifting slightly up and down. Alice watches it carefully, but lowers her gun. She feels no shadow energy here.

“We come to ask for your help. This timeline is damaged beyond repair," the Pokemon continues. “It is unstable. It was never meant to be. Death seeps from its very fabric and infects the other planes. I have seen it. And that is why I’m here.”

Alice keeps quiet, struggling to understand.

“This is only one version of your future. Of the Earth’s future. And it is perhaps the worst of them. It should never have been. And you can change it. You are the only one left.”

Brandon, Rocky, Rose, Meg… They flash through Alice’s mind unbidden. She has lost every one of them along the way. Alice finally gets her mouth working. “I… how can I change it?” she asks. “It’s too late… there’s nothing…” Alice thinks of all those choices that keep her up at night. But is there really one which could change the world?

“It is the worst of them,” the Pokemon says more kindly, as if it can hear her thoughts. “It is the choice that never leaves you. The one that you only allow yourself to think in the deepest night, when the guilt and the sadness are at their worst. It is the unforgivable and the only one. And the one you have always known.”

Alice looks into the deep blue of Celebi’s eyes, but her mind is far away. The worst of them… the thought she never lets herself entertain… and yet it haunts her, always. The opportunities she had to end all this before it even began. In some way it feels as if she has been preparing for this for twenty years. After a few minutes of silence, she nods. She owes it to her friends at least, to try.

“It is the only way,” Celebi agrees. “Changing the past is the only way to erase this future.”

And then Alice is spinning through time. Whether it takes seconds or hours is indeterminable. When she opens her eyes, it is mid-afternoon. She stands in Viridian Forest, exactly where she left. But Aster is gone, and this forest is vibrant and full of life. Bushes blossom and trees bear colourful fruit. The hum of bug Pokemon is loud in the air and birds squawk overhead. The colours are a shock to Alice after so many years of grey. Tears roll down her cheeks as she falls to her knees, touching soft grass for the first time in a decade.

And then she hears voices. Us, she thinks, remembering back to this day. She and her friends had been traveling through the forest on the way to Pewter when they were attacked by Beedrill. They had all survived, somehow. Alice understands what she must do. She finds a place to hide and waits for the group to come into view.

Sure enough, after a few moments, there they are. Max at the front, leading them of course. His confidence clear. Rose and Meg follow, one guiding the other. Brandon and Rocky bring up the rear. And there she is, twenty years younger. Alice trains the gun on Max, following him. But she can’t bring herself to do it. Young Alice watches Max too, but hers is a different kind of longing. Two sets of grey-blue eyes focus on the man who is to destroy them all. Alice’s hands shake as she struggles to hold the gun steady. She is trembling all over, tears running down her face. He is just a child to her now. How can she do it? She can’t do it. She can’t. Alice finds herself reaching for the feathers around her neck. Somewhere in her mind, a memory is released from its prison.

Alice’s Archen lies on the ground, her wing broken. She had been riding on Alice’s shoulder, her favourite position, when they were attacked from behind. Plume had jumped at their opponent, slashing furiously with her claws to protect her trainer. Alice, taken by surprise, could only watch as the Herdier’s teeth sank into Plume’s wing. The bird Pokemon squawked in pain, the piercing sound bringing Alice back to her senses. “Plume!” she cried as the bird fell to the ground. Alice swung her gun, firing without aiming. The dog Pokemon scampered away, unhurt, but the damage was done. Alice scoops up her Pokemon. She doesn’t realise she is crying until fat tears plop onto the ground by her feet.

“Speak to me,” Alice says gently, rocking the bird in her arms as a mother would a child. “You’re okay, Plume,” she says, begging more than reassuring. Plume squawks weakly and Alice hugs her close, hope blooming in her chest, but only for a second. Alice saw the shadows in the Herdier’s eyes. She looks down at the Pokemon she raised from an egg, her constant companion, and the tears flow in earnest until there is nothing left.

It takes two days for the shadow energy to consume the Archen. Alice tends to her the whole time, strapping her wing, pretending she will recover. On the second day, Plume opens her eyes and they are bright red and empty. Alice, trembling, shoots her in the chest. Three feathers fall to the ground. Red, yellow and blue.

As the memory fades again, Alice is still shaking. Tears come so fast, she can barely see. Max is a boy now, but he will be a monster.

For Plume, she thinks as she trains the gun on the young man before her. For Rose. For Rocky. For Brandon. For Meg. “And for you, Max,” she whispers as she pulls the trigger.

The crack of the rifle echoes around the otherwise silent forest, causing birds to scatter into the air in surprise. Immediately Alice’s vision begins to fade. She falls to the ground, dropping the gun. A harsh buzzing is heard as the clearing fills with deadly Beedrill, woken from their slumber. Somebody screams.

Celebi appears before Alice, just a bright blur now. “You did it, Alice,” The Pokemon says without emotion. “Dredd will never come to be. Your timeline has been erased... Which means this version of you no longer exists,” it continues more gently, and Alice feels a calming sensation move through her body. She reaches for Plume’s feathers around her neck and instead grasps an egg. “May you find peace,” Celebi whispers.

Everything goes black.

And then there is nothing.

[Rival Max]

Oh my god! :/ finally finished reading it. For never was a story of more woe than this of Juliet and her Rome.
It is a tragedy and I get why you wanted me to read it. I liked the sci-fi post technology world you created. I especially enjoyed the use of pokemon in a more practical way. I did however want more though. Who was she now, had she ever been in love? How did she get by? Had she made any real connection or was she just traveling from town to town

[Dragon Master Mike]

Doesn't have to be cannon? Considering everything that can go wrong does go wrong in GCEA (At least in BB), I wouldn't be so sure that this isn't cannon...

Anyway, oh my god, this was so good. I didn't realize how good of a writer you were (Although I guess I probably should have). This was so sad, but it was so well written, I want more lol. I think that an apocalyptic/post apocalyptic GCEA story would be really cool (I guess GCEA X was an attempt at something like that... Look how that ended lol). Anyway, getting back on topic, just this has me wanting to know so much more. What exactly happened to Meg, Rose, Brandon, etc. Is Dredd still alive (As far as Alice knows at least). I so want to read more lol.

[Rival Max]

Doesn't have to be cannon? Considering everything that can go wrong does go wrong in GCEA (At least in BB), I wouldn't be so sure that this isn't cannon...

Anyway, oh my god, this was so good. I didn't realize how good of a writer you were (Although I guess I probably should have). This was so sad, but it was so well written, I want more lol. I think that an apocalyptic/post apocalyptic GCEA story would be really cool (I guess GCEA X was an attempt at something like that... Look how that ended lol). Anyway, getting back on topic, just this has me wanting to know so much more. What exactly happened to Meg, Rose, Brandon, etc. Is Dredd still alive (As far as Alice knows at least). I so want to read more lol.

Actually this story inspried me to think about a writing prompt where people would work off each other stories to tell one story. Can you imagine each story people write are directly connected to the other how cool that story would be. This was awesome

[Dragon Master Mike]

Actually this story inspried me to think about a writing prompt where people would work off each other stories to tell one story. Can you imagine each story people write are directly connected to the other how cool that story would be. This was awesome

That sounds like a really cool idea. I would love to see that.

[Rival Max]

That sounds like a really cool idea. I would love to see that.

Will have to talk Brettles and Jacob about it.

[Pokemon Trainer Sarah]

Oh my god! :/ finally finished reading it. For never was a story of more woe than this of Juliet and her Rome.
It is a tragedy and I get why you wanted me to read it. I liked the sci-fi post technology world you created. I especially enjoyed the use of pokemon in a more practical way. I did however want more though. Who was she now, had she ever been in love? How did she get by? Had she made any real connection or was she just traveling from town to town

They are all good questions. I felt like Alice would be a bit of a lone warrior by this point. But I like to think she had some happier times. :) It would be cool to expand on the timeline for a future event. :D Thanks for reading it!

Doesn't have to be cannon? Considering everything that can go wrong does go wrong in GCEA (At least in BB), I wouldn't be so sure that this isn't cannon...

Anyway, oh my god, this was so good. I didn't realize how good of a writer you were (Although I guess I probably should have). This was so sad, but it was so well written, I want more lol. I think that an apocalyptic/post apocalyptic GCEA story would be really cool (I guess GCEA X was an attempt at something like that... Look how that ended lol). Anyway, getting back on topic, just this has me wanting to know so much more. What exactly happened to Meg, Rose, Brandon, etc. Is Dredd still alive (As far as Alice knows at least). I so want to read more lol.

Aww thank you! I really appreciate you taking the time to read it! :D Haha you're right, this could probably be canon. I guess I didn't want to lock Alice into a sad future like this.

That sounds like an awesome idea for GCEA. I wasn't around for X though haha. I'm not exactly sure what happened to the others. xD Maybe if there's a chance to explore this timeline more in future, I will give some more detail about the earlier days! I think Dredd may not be around anymore, at least in the form he's in in BB. But the shadow energy would have spread pretty badly and is still a threat.


I like the idea of a joint story! :D