Born Anew ~ A Pokemon Oneshot

[Light]

A/N: Ah... here's a piece of work I wrote back at the original NSider. This was made about a half a year ago, and won Second Place in the FFotW contest. My writing techniques have grown since then, though, but I hope you like it anyway.

Disclaimer: I do not own Pokemon.

Genre: Tragedy, Friendship.

Summary: The end of one life leads to the beginning of another. It reminds us not to mourn, but to celebrate.

I?can?t feel my body?I?m so old, maybe it is my time. I?ve been with my trainer so long, and I?ve lived in the wild, before he caught me. Maybe time has finally caught up to me after all. I think I can finally see it?a bright light, coming my way?and this is the part when I view my memories, right? Heh?looks like humans were actually right about something for once.

Ah yes, the day I met Nick?that day changed both of our lives forever?

--

?Wow! A wild Charmander!? A young Pokemon trainer of about twelve exclaimed. Nick Sage had short brown hair and brown eyes, which were fixed on the wild Pokemon at the moment. The Charmander hadn?t noticed the trainer, and was eating a berry off a plant. Nick had been traveling out of his home town, Viridian City, for about a day. He only had one Pokemon so far, a Squirtle given to him by none other than famed Pokemon Professor Oak himself.

Before he set out on his true journey, however, Nick decided to train his Squirtle on the plains in front of the Indigo Plateau. ?I?ve heard that Charmanders are one of the most rare Pokemon in the world! Maybe if I play my cards right, I?ll be able to catch it.? His eyes sparkled as he grabbed a Poke Ball from his belt. ?Go! Squirtle!? He threw the pokeball, which opened up and returned to his hand. Where the Poke Ball should have landed was a blue turtle standing on two legs.

?Squirtle!? It yelled. Still, the Charmander did not notice, being very hungry.

?Squirtle, use Bubble!? Nick commanded. Squirtle blew many bubbles out of its mouth which knocked the poor, unsuspecting Charmander off his feet. ?Good job, Squirtle! I think that was enough!? He then took another Poke Ball from his belt, enlarged it, and then threw it straight at the knocked down Charmander.

Charmander disappeared into the Poke Ball, and after the ball shook three times, glowed red and and stopped. Nick let out a sigh of relief. Then he began jumping up and down, picking up the Poke Ball, saying, ?Alright! My second Pokemon!? He smiled and released the Charmander from his Poke Ball. The red lizard just simply stared at Nick. Nick knelt down to Charmander?s level, and patted him on the head.

?Hi. I?m Nick, and I?m a Pokemon trainer! And this is my partner, Squirtle! Will you please help us out on our journey to the top?? Charmander let out what could only be described as a sigh.

?Char-char, Charmander. (Well I have no choice, now that you own me.)?

?Come again?? Nick asked, obviously not understanding Poke-speech. Charmander just nodded. Nick smiled widely, and lifted Charmander up. ?I can tell that the three of us will be best friends!?

--

Nick?you were right. And I?m still your best friend now, even as my time remaining is slipping away. I remember all the times we spent together?rising to the top, journeying from Kanto all the way to Hoenn?no matter how far away from home you went, you always took us with you. Squirtle and I were always together with you, no matter what.

The light?it?s getting bigger and brighter. I?m remembering more and more. The light?is overwhelming?Nick?Squirtle?don?t forget me?I?will?always?love you guys?no matter?what???happens?

AFTER ALL HAS BEEN DONE, NEVER GIVE UP HOPE. YOU SHALL BE BORN ANEW.[/b]

--

Nick yawned very loudly and long, reaching for his Poke Balls, which still only contained Charmander and Squirtle. ?Good morning, guys? He said throwing the two Poke Balls across his hotel room.

CLUNK!

Nick looked up, and although he saw Squirtle, he did not see Charmander. All he saw was the Poke Ball, still unopened on the floor. Another odd thing was that Squirtle looked like he was going to cry. ?What the?? He walked over to the unopened Pokeball, and grabbed it. He then tried to open it with his hands, and eventually it opened up.

A large, blue light shot out from the ball, blinding Nick and Squirtle for a few moments. When they opened their eyes, they saw the Pokeball broken on the ground, with a large red egg next to it. ?Charmander??

--

?Wake up, my creation.? I heard a voice say. I opened my eyes to see a large being on four legs, with a ring around His body. I immediately knew who it was. I bowed down quickly, being sure to remain ever reverent.

?Lord Arceus, you have summoned me.? I said. It was a known thing to say if one should die, and awake in the presence of Him. I looked up at him again. ?My Lord, please, I want you to notify my trainer that I?m alright. That I shall remain up here, with you, and all the others whose time has past.? The great Lord looked at me, and simply nodded.

?So shall it be done.?

--

Nick just stared at the egg, tears streaming down his eyes. What had happened? Where is my Charmander? His thoughts were interrupted as the egg began to wiggle, and then it broke down, revealing a small, baby Charmander. He was holding what appeared to be a note. Nick quickly grabbed it and began to read.

--

I, Charmander, known by the great Lord Arceus as Lucius Sage Flare, had a great vision. All the Pokemon in the world, and then some, were happily playing in a grand field, everlasting. Never on earth was there grass as pure as this, water as pure, flowers as pure.

And that was when I looked up. On one of the hills, the highest of them all, stood Him. Pure, loving, eyes full of care. With one glance, any - and all - of us could know who it was. Lord Arceus, for it was He, gave a grand roar, and the entire landscape seemed to burst even more with beauty.

Never had I been so happy in my entire life. I knew then, more then ever, where I was. And I knew I would be there for the rest of my life.

Nick, Squirtle, don?t forget me. I?m alright. Don?t ever mourn for me, for you have no reason to. Train the hatchling as you did me, love him as you did me, and don?t forget him, as I hope you will me.

For after all is said and done, we shall be born anew.
End

[Triforce_Luigi]

Ah. It has been awhile since I read a fan fic with tragedy. It was a nice turn. The story was very well written.

[Light]

Ah. It has been awhile since I read a fan fic with tragedy. It was a nice turn. The story was very well written.

Thank you very much for your feedback. Yeah, I've also noticed that almost every fanfic on this board is:

a) A tasteless comedy
b) Written by Wiiboychris (ugh...)
c) Written by an ok author but posted by Wiiboychris (Once again, ugh, 'cuz I hardly read anything he posts)
d) Discontinued.

Then again, there are those few good - or sometimes great - fics that make my day. (ie. Your Memories Are Not Enough, The Binder)

[DededeCloneChris]

Good story, howerer, I didn't get the part of the new Charmander.

[Light]

Good story, howerer, I didn't get the part of the new Charmander.

The phrase, "Born Anew", doesn't give you any clue whatsoever?

[Triforce_Luigi]

It is really quite simple, Chris. The premise for the whole story is that when one life ends, a new one begins. So when Charmander died, he was BORN ANEW, so to speak.

[Light]

It is really quite simple, Chris. The premise for the whole story is that when one life ends, a new one begins. So when Charmander died, he was BORN ANEW, so to speak.

Well put, Tri. Thank you for clearing that up for any readers.

[Triforce_Luigi]

You're welcome. Just had to clear up the concept.

[DededeCloneChris]

It is really quite simple, Chris. The premise for the whole story is that when one life ends, a new one begins. So when Charmander died, he was BORN ANEW, so to speak.

Well put, Tri. Thank you for clearing that up for any readers.

Ohhhh I get it! The previous Charmander was old right?

[Light]

It is really quite simple, Chris. The premise for the whole story is that when one life ends, a new one begins. So when Charmander died, he was BORN ANEW, so to speak.

Well put, Tri. Thank you for clearing that up for any readers.

Ohhhh I get it! The previous Charmander was old right?

He could have died of old age, an unspecified disease, etc. You're the reader. Picture the story the way you want to see it.

[THEBIRD]

Great story, LS. It was kind of short, but the point of the story made it so it was alright to make it shorter then most one-shots. The whole grasp of the story gave me chills. I mean, we are talking about death and rebirth, which can be a sensitive topic for some. The beginning was really good. First Charmander was talking, then the flashback... Well, the first couple of paragraphs were my favorite. Anyway, it was written very well. I did notice a few flaws, and if you want it to look perfect you can edit them. I'll write them below, but other then the few things I noticed, it was fine.

"Go! Squirtle!" He through the pokeball
Should be 'threw'. An easy mistake. Homophones can be annoying.

"Char-char, Charmander. (Well I have no choice, now that you own me.)
Forgot the second quotation mark ;).

"Lord Arceus, you have summoned me." I said.
Comma instead of period before the speech tag. I don't need to explain this, I know you know this rule :P.

Besides those three mistakes, and some consistency errors with how you spelled 'pokeball' I didn't catch anything else. Wow, I feel like part of the FFW team again :P. Anyway, if you didn't want me to point any of that out I'll edit this for your benefit.

[Fell]

 :'(

sad......very sad...... 10/10!!!

And I typed this without looking!!!

:O

[Allegretto]

That was a fantastic story! 10/10 ;)

[jnfs2014]

8.9/10. It would be 10 if you made a fic out of it.  :)

[Light]

Thanks for all the feedback! ;D PokeMaster, what are you talking about? It is a fic.