Pokemon: The Dawn of Twilight

A guard decorated in a captain's uniform and golden armor steps forth and places a VHS tape in a VCR, the TV lights up, displaying a map of a region you aren't familiar with at all.

"The world of Pokémon, an interesting place to be if you desire adventure, action, mysteries, and so on and so forth. If you're seeing this video tape, it means that you, my lucky viewer, have ancestral family ties to Eqtrot, and your curiosity is itching to discover the ancient past.

Oh! But where are my manners, you can't even see me at this current moment in time! Allow me to adjust this blasted camcorder... without turning it off this time."

The camera seems to shake as someone, likely the source of the deep feminine voice, trying desperately to adjust the recording device to their liking. Eventually, the device is simply turned to the right, showing off a woman in her early-to-mid thirties. Despite the long flowing navy blue hair, a few silver-ish white streaks could be seen amongst the long luscious navy locks. She wore a labcoat, one that seemed to be completely colored black, and adorned with various stars and a large crescent moon that holds the collar together.

The woman clears her throat and puts on a friendly smile, adjusting her labcoat as she looks towards the camera.

"Greetings, my name is Nocturna, I'm the Pokémon professor of the Eqtrot region. I was also one of the princesses who ruled over the kingdom of the region me and my sister called our home, but you don't have to harp on that for long. As much as I loved being a princess, doing all I could for my subjects with my royal decrees and such, being a Pokémon researcher was my true calling, especially with what my research brings to the ever expanding field of scientific study.

I study the symbiotic relationships of certain Pokémon, how such creatures interact and become like entirely brand-new species, if they trusted each other enough. We have Pokémon species like Slowpoke and Shellder, who require each other's own physical presence to evolve into a Slowbro or Slowking, but then you have Pokémon who have defied science for the longest time, like Diglett and Dugtrio, as well as their Alolan cousins, and their Paldean counterparts.

It fascinates me to know end, and I wish to know what makes these Pokémon tick, maybe even see if I can find something that helps relate to a side project I'm working on.

But, that's nothing for you to concern yourself with. Fact of the matter is, if you're seeing this video, you are essentially being recruited to aide me in my efforts. There is tons of stuff to do in Eqtrot, so that way, you can always keep yourself busy when I don't have any work for you. You will be paid and compensated fairly for your efforts, but be warned, should you shirk your responsibilities, you will be PUNISHED!!"

The entire TV seemed to shutter and quake when the professor raised her voice. You shuddered a bit yourself, but then the professor quickly takes a few deep breaths and clears her throat, realizing she let her emotions get the better of her.

"Sorry about that, but I am still serious that consequences will be enacted if you don't do your job. I can excuse the first three times you shirk your responsibilities, Eqtrot is a beautiful place, after all, but after those three times, I will not be as lenient with your tardiness and less than subpar performance.

As soon as you can, fill out the paper that the guard hands to you. Fill out your name, age, gender, pronouns, whatever you feel would be important for me to know about you. I hope my outburst didn't deter you, it's rare that I ever pull out the "Canterlot Voice" as Solesta likes to refer to as such."

The video ends and the guard steps up to you, putting a pre-printed piece of paper in front of you. It looked like a resume, but it was printed on a tough, but clearly aged piece of parchment, almost resembling a piece of an ancient scroll.

You pull out a black pen and get to writing down the designated information.

NAME:
Russell

GENDER:
Male

NATIVE REGION:
Orre

AGE:
18

HAVE YOU EVER RAISED A POKéMON BEFORE?
No

HAVE YOU LEFT YOUR HOME REGION BEFORE?
No

WHICH POKéMON TYPE WOULD YOU SPECIALIZE IN?
Doesn't matter which type, as long as the battle isn't disappointing.

ARE YOU TECH SAAVY?
I know my way around machines, but I'm not a mechanic.

WHAT WAS YOUR MOST RECENT NIGHTMARE?
... Familial Abandonment

WHAT IS YOUR PERSONAL GOAL WHEN YOU COME TO THE EQTROT REGION?
To be the very best in my own right.

JUST TO MAKE SURE YOU WERE PAYING ATTENTION, WHAT IS THE PROFESSOR'S NAME?
Nocturna

WHAT'S THE NAME OF THE REGION THE PROFESSOR COMES FROM?
Eqtrot

ONCE YOU'VE FILLED OUT THE FORM, HAND THE PAPER BACK TO THE GUARD, AND FOLLOW HIM TO THE CHARIOT.

You rub your eyes due to an unexplained strain in your vision, but you shake it off and hand the paper back to the guard. You get up and follow the guard, leaving the room. It was a simple day, but this has completely changed things for you.

Now it's up to you, to figure out if that's for the best, or the worst to come.

The guard steps outside, gesturing to a rather high-tech chariot being pulled by two strange horse Pokémon you've never seen before. You sling your bag over your shoulder, and hop into the chariot, with the guard following behind you.

As the door closes, the horse Pokémon let out a whinny as they take off, pulling the chariot through a large brick tunnel. You look out the side, noticing train tracks to your left, and you're left wondering why you didn't just take the train.

The guard simply sits on the opposite end of the chariot, looking back to the front of the chariot, wondering if things are going off without a hitch. Before you can utter a single word, the chariot starts to buckle and shake for a moment. The two horse Pokémon start to panic, and the chariot comes to an unscheduled stop.

The guard is clearly irritated. "Darn it, there better not be a nest of Rattata again. Stay here, I'll go look and see what's wasting our time." The guard instructed.

The guard quickly pulls out a Poke Ball and readies it like a weapon. The guard steps out of the chariot, looking into the shadows for any sign of a threat. Before the guard can even react, something pulls him into the shadows, causing him to drop his Poke Ball in a panic.

You're not sure what to do in this situation, but you know for sure that this is a dangerous situation, and staying could mean the end of your life. You quickly hop out of the chariot and snatch the Poke Ball off the ground, pocketing it into your bag as you run to the other side of the train tracks.

As you climb onto the solid concrete platform, you can hear what sounds like a Pokémon crying out in agony, but at the same time, it's also wailing out in anger. Within the shifting shadows, you see a pair of glowing red eyes amidst the darkness, but they don't seem fixated on you, in particular.

Whether you did it out of instinct, self-preservation, or sheer terror, you immediately ran past the unknown attacker, hearing its guttural cry as it tries to follow your trail.

You jump, roll, dodge and slide around tons of obstacles, constantly trying to keep the unknown beast from getting its grasp on you, but the creature seems to just phase through the obstacles with little consideration. It was gaining on you, trying to tear the bag away from you, but you pulled out a repel and sprayed it into the beast's eyes, causing it to roar out in pain, making it withdraw back into the shadows.

As you smile at your subsequent victory, you don't have enough time to notice that the tunnel is not entirely finished on one side. You suddenly lose your footing and fall off the ledge, descending into a river and hitting your head on a very blunt rock at the bottom.

You're knocked unconscious, left to float down the river as the beast from the shadows looks down upon you, angered and clearly riled up that someone got away from it. It retreats back into the unfinished tunnel, while your unconscious body floats along the river to a nearby town.