Renewal is a Pokémon story that I've been head-writing for a while and finally putting to (digital) paper. The idea behind it is mostly to work with setting an atmosphere and theme in a story's setting. The full thing will be fairly short, novella length at the most, and is mostly laid out in terms of overall plot, but I'm keeping the outline fairly loose so I don't get bored. Mostly I just want to write something unserious for a bit to take a break from the work on my novel. It's on the dark side, but overall a rather different look at the interactions of people and Pokémon, use of Pokémon-related technology, and how they can work together to overcome difficult situations, both in good ways and bad.
Aura is a young woman who lives in an underground settlement with her father (who works as their sector's governor) and mother (who suffers from catatonic depression). On the advent of her 16th birthday, she leaves home to take part in a training series that, if she completes successfully, will enable her to join one of the investigative teams that is working on exploring and taming the surface world. At the beginning of this training, she will receive a Pokémon partner, and the two must work together to complete the training challenges and become a team. During the training, Aura learns more than she imagined about life with Pokémon, both on the surface and in the subterranean world, which is far deeper and darker than it ever seemed.
Aura is a young woman who lives in an underground settlement with her father (who works as their sector's governor) and mother (who suffers from catatonic depression). On the advent of her 16th birthday, she leaves home to take part in a training series that, if she completes successfully, will enable her to join one of the investigative teams that is working on exploring and taming the surface world. At the beginning of this training, she will receive a Pokémon partner, and the two must work together to complete the training challenges and become a team. During the training, Aura learns more than she imagined about life with Pokémon, both on the surface and in the subterranean world, which is far deeper and darker than it ever seemed.
Prologue
My name is Aura, and I was the first, and last, natural-born child to be born in my home sector of Vitre, a fact I am reminded of often, but most especially on my birthday. Every year, I get to hear the story of my mother’s bravery, and how her actions gave hope to survivors everywhere that humanity would continue to grow and thrive. Afraid of hurting someone’s feelings, I have never let anyone know how much this tale has grown to bore me. Though living a community of elders, repetition is something I learned to cope with many years ago.
“Ah, Aurélie, happy birthday!” my neighbor Gabriel called to me as I exited my room that morning. As usual in the mornings, he was seated in a rocking swing outside his front door, getting a bit of exercise before the programs started. Seeing him as I climb down my ladder has become something of a routine.
“Seeing you always brings such a smile to my face,” he continued as I dropped off the ladder. “I’ll never forget the day you were born, how terrified we all were that you would be born a hideous monster and that your mother would die in the passing. It seems like just yesterday, that…”
“I hate to be rude, but my father has called me to the hall, so I’m afraid I must be off” I apologized, bowing my head and hiding my gratefulness for the sincerity of my excuse. I smiled warmly at him and ducked away.
“Ah, yes, good luck!” Gabriel called back after me with a wave.
The eldest in Vitre all lived closest to the bottom floor where they were the safest from potential falls, and all of them love to chat and gossip in the mornings. I made many excuses and heard many snippets of congratulations as I took the fastest path to the hall where my father was waiting for me. While my birthday was usually a day full of embarrassment and boredom, today I was happy enough that I was fairly skipping, my footsteps clanging on the metal floors in a lively pattern.
The hall was the largest room in our settlement, a community area of sorts, and where my father did his work to maintain our little sector. It was near the airlock to R117, and therefore quite a ways away from the little set of rooms that I shared with mother. Most of the space was dedicated to storage, originally for food but now filled with spare building supplies, back-up energizers, emergency pill supplies, and other necessities. Because of this, the entrance door is typically locked and coded, but it responded to my palm print immediately. There are perks to having a governor for your father.
“Happy birthday, Aura,” my father congratulated me as I entered into his tiny office. Filled with screens and levers, it was where he monitored the safety and integrity of our settlement and communicated with the others linked by the tunnel system. I could count the number of times I’ve seen him away from this room on one hand.
“Thank you, father,” I acknowledged with a smile, sitting down on the little stool in front of his desk.
He grinned and shook his head, his dusty brown hair falling over his eyes. “My, how the years have passed by. I still can’t believe you’re sixteen. When you were born, even after we saw how normal you looked, we couldn’t believe you’d live longer than a year or two, but yet, here you are, hale and healthy as ever.”
I nodded, averting my eyes but keeping the increasingly-fake smile plastered on my face. I hoped I wasn’t going to get a lecture story from him, too.
“Your mother and I have always wanted the best for you, you know.” He stared at me until I looked back at him, my smile faltering. “Are you sure this is what you want to do?”
“Yes,” I replied, injecting as much confidence as I could. “This is… my dream.”
He sighed and looked down, and I let out a little sigh of my own as our eye contact broke. “I’ve been in touch with Professor Palmier. He says that he’d be happy to accept you into their training program and that you can leave to get program details from him as soon as you’re ready.
I stared blankly, my jaw hanging open. “You mean, that’s it? I’m in?”
“Well, there are obviously certain training measures you have to complete, examinations to pass and so forth. But they’re always accepting applicants, and he said he’d be delighted to take you on. You’re a bit of a celebrity in the science world, after all.”
“Woohoo!” Unable to contain my excitement, I jumped up, punching my fist in the air and dancing in a little circle. This was it, my chance! With this invitation, I’d be able to fulfill my dream and finally see the surface world that I’ve thought so much about, the world my parents were driven away from all those years ago when the calamity struck. Even better, I’d have a Pokémon at my side the whole time! My excitement was beyond belief.
Despite his reluctance, it was my father himself that told me about the exploration efforts when I was young. I had an insatiable curiosity and would ask him incessant questions about his old life and the surface world, even when he seemed depressed or loathe to answer. Telling me that I’d be able to see it someday for myself was probably just the best way of shutting me up, but it opened up a whole world of possibilities in my young mind.
“Now I don’t want you to get your hopes up,” father said. “Just because you’ll be accepted into the program doesn’t mean you’ll make it. They only take the best of the best for these expeditions, so you’ve got a lot of work ahead of if you want to succeed. Promise me you’ll do your best?”
“I promise.” I slid around the edge of the desk and hugged him tight, my face mashed against his sports coat. “I’ll even leave today. That should show Palmier that I’m serious at least.”
“Oh, I knew you’d be leaving today for sure. You’ve had your bag packed for over a week, after all. Please make sure to explain things to your mother before you go, though.”
My mood deflated like a popped balloon and I pulled away from the hug. “Can’t… Can’t you talk to her?”
He arched an eyebrow at me. “Don’t you want to say goodbye to your own mother before you leave? You’ll be gone for months like as not. You wouldn’t want her to worry about you.”
“You know as well as I do that she won’t worry about me,” I bit back, my voice flaring up with unintentional venom. I sighed again. It wasn’t fair to father to be angry at him; it wasn’t his fault. “I don’t even know if she’ll comprehend what I’m saying.”
“Well, try at least.” Father squeezed my hand. “I’ll make sure she takes care of herself while you’re gone.”
I nodded, lacking words.
“Oh, I almost forgot.” He broke into my dark mood with a smile and handed me a small box from a drawer in his desk. “Consider it something of a birthday present.”
“It’s a… what is it?” I asked as I stared at the small device within the package. It was mostly plastic with a glass screen on the front.
“It’s a communicator, you can use it to get in touch with people far away.” He reached over and pressed a button, turning the device on and the screen came to life with bright colours. “We used to have fancier versions of these up on the surface world, but we had to redesign them to work in the tunnel system. You can register various codes and then enter those codes again to speak with someone. I already registered the code that I use here; try it and see.”
I bit my lip and peering at the screen, pressing buttons to look at the various options. It wasn’t much different than the entertainment center at home, just smaller and with a different purpose. It only took me a few seconds to find my father’s contact and I pressed the icon. Less than a second later, a small chime sounded on the other side of my father’s office, and then there was his face on the small screen in front of me. He waved then pressed a button, disconnecting.
“That’ll be useful. I’ll be able to see you and mom while I’m gone, then.”
Father nodded. “You’ll also be able to get in touch with the professor in case you have any questions, or the local authorities in case of an emergency. There’s also a map function in case you get lost in the tunnels, and an app to locate the nearest energizer station for when you’re traveling about.”
“Thanks dad.” I smiled, hugging him again.
“You’re very welcome, sweetie. Now go see your mother and get ready. I’ve got work to do still.”
“Sure.” I sighed, resigned. “Do you want me to come and say goodbye before I head out?”
“That won’t be necessary,” Father replied, already staring at one of the screens on his wall. “But do call and let me know when you’ve arrived at the Professor’s.”
“I will,” I said, heading towards the door, “and… thanks again, for arranging this for me.”
By the time I was back on path heading towards home, the common areas on the bottom floor were silent and empty. The programs must have started up while I was in the hall. The sound of my footsteps echoed against the walls of the various habitats strewn about, but I refused to let the silence get me down. There might be no one around to share in my happiness, but loneliness has never been able to get me down before.
As I climbed up the ladder and back into the rooms I shared with mom, I saw the telltale glow of the entertainment set flashing in the main room. I ducked into my own bedroom to grab the small bag that I’d packed, then steeled my spine to talk to my mother.
She was sitting just as she always sat, curled up like a cat on the left side of the couch, her feet tucked under her and her hands clenched in her lap. I saw with dismay that she’d forgotten to change her clothes again and was still in the same dress she wore yesterday.
“Mom, get up and let me help you change your dress,” I pleaded, though I knew it was fruitless. The programs had started up for the day, and she’d be glued to that spot on the couch for hours. Once I tried to force her away but she started sobbing so loudly and screaming and clawing at her arms that I let her go and she just sat back down and started staring at the screen all over again.
I sighed and sat down on the right side of the couch, the side reserved for me, though I rarely sat there. Compared to the permanent dents and stains on mom’s side of the couch, this side was almost pristine. “Mom, I’m going to be going away for a while. Dad got in touch with Professor Palmier in the central hub and they’re accepting me to enter into a training program to go up to the surface. Isn’t that exciting?”
I sat and waited for a response, but none was forthcoming. Instead, I looked at mom’s limp hair and sallow skin, wondering if she’d forgotten to use the energizer this morning. It certainly wouldn’t be the first time.
“I… I hope you’ll be happy for me,” I stuttered, “because this is something I really want to do. And I hope one day I can help you, too.”
I sat frozen in shock as mom turned her head to look at me, her eyes slowly focusing on my face. “Aura. Happy birthday.”
“Thank you, mom.” Tears welled up in my eyes as she turned back to face the screen. I angrily brushed them aside with my hand then stood up, grabbed my bag, and left the house without a backward glance.
“Ah, Aurélie, happy birthday!” my neighbor Gabriel called to me as I exited my room that morning. As usual in the mornings, he was seated in a rocking swing outside his front door, getting a bit of exercise before the programs started. Seeing him as I climb down my ladder has become something of a routine.
“Seeing you always brings such a smile to my face,” he continued as I dropped off the ladder. “I’ll never forget the day you were born, how terrified we all were that you would be born a hideous monster and that your mother would die in the passing. It seems like just yesterday, that…”
“I hate to be rude, but my father has called me to the hall, so I’m afraid I must be off” I apologized, bowing my head and hiding my gratefulness for the sincerity of my excuse. I smiled warmly at him and ducked away.
“Ah, yes, good luck!” Gabriel called back after me with a wave.
The eldest in Vitre all lived closest to the bottom floor where they were the safest from potential falls, and all of them love to chat and gossip in the mornings. I made many excuses and heard many snippets of congratulations as I took the fastest path to the hall where my father was waiting for me. While my birthday was usually a day full of embarrassment and boredom, today I was happy enough that I was fairly skipping, my footsteps clanging on the metal floors in a lively pattern.
The hall was the largest room in our settlement, a community area of sorts, and where my father did his work to maintain our little sector. It was near the airlock to R117, and therefore quite a ways away from the little set of rooms that I shared with mother. Most of the space was dedicated to storage, originally for food but now filled with spare building supplies, back-up energizers, emergency pill supplies, and other necessities. Because of this, the entrance door is typically locked and coded, but it responded to my palm print immediately. There are perks to having a governor for your father.
“Happy birthday, Aura,” my father congratulated me as I entered into his tiny office. Filled with screens and levers, it was where he monitored the safety and integrity of our settlement and communicated with the others linked by the tunnel system. I could count the number of times I’ve seen him away from this room on one hand.
“Thank you, father,” I acknowledged with a smile, sitting down on the little stool in front of his desk.
He grinned and shook his head, his dusty brown hair falling over his eyes. “My, how the years have passed by. I still can’t believe you’re sixteen. When you were born, even after we saw how normal you looked, we couldn’t believe you’d live longer than a year or two, but yet, here you are, hale and healthy as ever.”
I nodded, averting my eyes but keeping the increasingly-fake smile plastered on my face. I hoped I wasn’t going to get a lecture story from him, too.
“Your mother and I have always wanted the best for you, you know.” He stared at me until I looked back at him, my smile faltering. “Are you sure this is what you want to do?”
“Yes,” I replied, injecting as much confidence as I could. “This is… my dream.”
He sighed and looked down, and I let out a little sigh of my own as our eye contact broke. “I’ve been in touch with Professor Palmier. He says that he’d be happy to accept you into their training program and that you can leave to get program details from him as soon as you’re ready.
I stared blankly, my jaw hanging open. “You mean, that’s it? I’m in?”
“Well, there are obviously certain training measures you have to complete, examinations to pass and so forth. But they’re always accepting applicants, and he said he’d be delighted to take you on. You’re a bit of a celebrity in the science world, after all.”
“Woohoo!” Unable to contain my excitement, I jumped up, punching my fist in the air and dancing in a little circle. This was it, my chance! With this invitation, I’d be able to fulfill my dream and finally see the surface world that I’ve thought so much about, the world my parents were driven away from all those years ago when the calamity struck. Even better, I’d have a Pokémon at my side the whole time! My excitement was beyond belief.
Despite his reluctance, it was my father himself that told me about the exploration efforts when I was young. I had an insatiable curiosity and would ask him incessant questions about his old life and the surface world, even when he seemed depressed or loathe to answer. Telling me that I’d be able to see it someday for myself was probably just the best way of shutting me up, but it opened up a whole world of possibilities in my young mind.
“Now I don’t want you to get your hopes up,” father said. “Just because you’ll be accepted into the program doesn’t mean you’ll make it. They only take the best of the best for these expeditions, so you’ve got a lot of work ahead of if you want to succeed. Promise me you’ll do your best?”
“I promise.” I slid around the edge of the desk and hugged him tight, my face mashed against his sports coat. “I’ll even leave today. That should show Palmier that I’m serious at least.”
“Oh, I knew you’d be leaving today for sure. You’ve had your bag packed for over a week, after all. Please make sure to explain things to your mother before you go, though.”
My mood deflated like a popped balloon and I pulled away from the hug. “Can’t… Can’t you talk to her?”
He arched an eyebrow at me. “Don’t you want to say goodbye to your own mother before you leave? You’ll be gone for months like as not. You wouldn’t want her to worry about you.”
“You know as well as I do that she won’t worry about me,” I bit back, my voice flaring up with unintentional venom. I sighed again. It wasn’t fair to father to be angry at him; it wasn’t his fault. “I don’t even know if she’ll comprehend what I’m saying.”
“Well, try at least.” Father squeezed my hand. “I’ll make sure she takes care of herself while you’re gone.”
I nodded, lacking words.
“Oh, I almost forgot.” He broke into my dark mood with a smile and handed me a small box from a drawer in his desk. “Consider it something of a birthday present.”
“It’s a… what is it?” I asked as I stared at the small device within the package. It was mostly plastic with a glass screen on the front.
“It’s a communicator, you can use it to get in touch with people far away.” He reached over and pressed a button, turning the device on and the screen came to life with bright colours. “We used to have fancier versions of these up on the surface world, but we had to redesign them to work in the tunnel system. You can register various codes and then enter those codes again to speak with someone. I already registered the code that I use here; try it and see.”
I bit my lip and peering at the screen, pressing buttons to look at the various options. It wasn’t much different than the entertainment center at home, just smaller and with a different purpose. It only took me a few seconds to find my father’s contact and I pressed the icon. Less than a second later, a small chime sounded on the other side of my father’s office, and then there was his face on the small screen in front of me. He waved then pressed a button, disconnecting.
“That’ll be useful. I’ll be able to see you and mom while I’m gone, then.”
Father nodded. “You’ll also be able to get in touch with the professor in case you have any questions, or the local authorities in case of an emergency. There’s also a map function in case you get lost in the tunnels, and an app to locate the nearest energizer station for when you’re traveling about.”
“Thanks dad.” I smiled, hugging him again.
“You’re very welcome, sweetie. Now go see your mother and get ready. I’ve got work to do still.”
“Sure.” I sighed, resigned. “Do you want me to come and say goodbye before I head out?”
“That won’t be necessary,” Father replied, already staring at one of the screens on his wall. “But do call and let me know when you’ve arrived at the Professor’s.”
“I will,” I said, heading towards the door, “and… thanks again, for arranging this for me.”
By the time I was back on path heading towards home, the common areas on the bottom floor were silent and empty. The programs must have started up while I was in the hall. The sound of my footsteps echoed against the walls of the various habitats strewn about, but I refused to let the silence get me down. There might be no one around to share in my happiness, but loneliness has never been able to get me down before.
As I climbed up the ladder and back into the rooms I shared with mom, I saw the telltale glow of the entertainment set flashing in the main room. I ducked into my own bedroom to grab the small bag that I’d packed, then steeled my spine to talk to my mother.
She was sitting just as she always sat, curled up like a cat on the left side of the couch, her feet tucked under her and her hands clenched in her lap. I saw with dismay that she’d forgotten to change her clothes again and was still in the same dress she wore yesterday.
“Mom, get up and let me help you change your dress,” I pleaded, though I knew it was fruitless. The programs had started up for the day, and she’d be glued to that spot on the couch for hours. Once I tried to force her away but she started sobbing so loudly and screaming and clawing at her arms that I let her go and she just sat back down and started staring at the screen all over again.
I sighed and sat down on the right side of the couch, the side reserved for me, though I rarely sat there. Compared to the permanent dents and stains on mom’s side of the couch, this side was almost pristine. “Mom, I’m going to be going away for a while. Dad got in touch with Professor Palmier in the central hub and they’re accepting me to enter into a training program to go up to the surface. Isn’t that exciting?”
I sat and waited for a response, but none was forthcoming. Instead, I looked at mom’s limp hair and sallow skin, wondering if she’d forgotten to use the energizer this morning. It certainly wouldn’t be the first time.
“I… I hope you’ll be happy for me,” I stuttered, “because this is something I really want to do. And I hope one day I can help you, too.”
I sat frozen in shock as mom turned her head to look at me, her eyes slowly focusing on my face. “Aura. Happy birthday.”
“Thank you, mom.” Tears welled up in my eyes as she turned back to face the screen. I angrily brushed them aside with my hand then stood up, grabbed my bag, and left the house without a backward glance.