S.s Oceana

A week had passed since Ray left his old life in the Unova region behind. He was a dark-skinned 17-year-old boy with dark blue hair and gray eyes that shined like steel. His clothes consisted mainly of a gray long-sleeve jacket and black jeans, with a white T-shirt underneath the jacket adorned with a purple banner at the bottom. He also wore a black sweater tied around his neck, symbolizing him as a 'Rich Kid'.

He was currently aboard the S.S. Oceana, a cruise ship. He stood in the registration hall of the ship to get his information checked in for his trainer license. He turned on a PC and began the process.

"Welcome to the Aevium League!" A cheerful voice came from the PC. It belonged to a young dark-skinned woman with short black hair with red frosted tips. Her face was pretty with a bright smile, and she wore a black and white shirt that fit her voluptuous body nicely. Ray couldn't help but be amazed by her beauty.

"My name's Amanda. I'm sort of a scout for the league, helping out newbie trainers like yourself," Amanda said, smiling.

"It's kinda weird to be called a newbie at my age," Ray replied, sweat dripping from his forehead.

"The Aevium League isn't like any other league out there. It has 18 gyms instead of 8 and an 'Elite 8' instead of 4. You heard me right, 8! Haha, so meta, right?" Amanda added.

"Elite 8?! What kind of gauntlet match do they want people to take part in?!" Ray panicked at the thought of fighting 8 people in a row.

"Also, this region is known for having different terrains that could aid or hinder your battling prowess, so better keep that in mind," the scout said with a serious face.

"This region might turn into more of a chore than an adventure," Ray commented lazily.

"Well, enough of that. Please insert your picture, gender, and name into the PC," Amanda demanded.

Ray took a picture of himself smiling and inserted it into the PC slot. He then typed 'male' as his gender and 'Ray' as his name.

"Alright, then. As soon as you arrive at Oceana pier, go north and you'll find Gearan City. I'll be waiting for you at the city lab. See you soon," Amanda's image then vanished from the screen.

Ray walked away from the PC and headed to the receptionist in the room.

"Here you go, your very own trainer card. It isn't verified yet; you'll have to do that when we dock at the pier," the receptionist told him.

"Thanks," the dark-skinned boy replied nonchalantly and walked away.

He looked at his trainer card and couldn't help but smile. "This time for sure, I'll make a name for myself, get a girlfriend, and make a ton of friends!" he said to himself.

He left the room and shouted, "I'm going to be a champion! And then a master!" He lifted his fist into the air. "The journey of Ray starts toda—!" He was cut off by a mysterious woman pulling his cheek.

"Ouch, ouch, ouch! Nancy, that hurts!" Ray cried out with tears in his eyes.

"I've told you a hundred times, don't yell in public. At least you're done with the registration finally," the woman known as Nancy said. She had bright pink hair and wore a white coat. Her pink eyes had bags under them, and her face gave the impression of a hard worker, which she was; she was a rich lady.

"I know it's hard leaving the region you were born in, but it's for the best," Nancy said softly as she put a hand on Ray's shoulder.

(Pfft, 'hard' my ass. Unova sucked. The league was so uncoordinated, the other kids in school always left me behind because I didn't fit into any category: jock, normie, or nerd. And most Pokémon in that region looked horrible.) In his mind, Ray really hated Unova and was ready to start over again in Aevium.

[Author's note: Listen, I don't hate Unova or the Pokémon; I just thought it would be funny for a character to dislike an entire region 😂]

"Anyway, you should go talk to the captain; he's an old friend of mine. He's bound to have a lot of knowledge about Aevium," Nancy suggested.

"Alright, I got it," Ray reluctantly agreed and left. He climbed up the stairs of the ship, thinking about his relationship with Nancy.

At a certain point, he came to the conclusion that Nancy wasn't his real mother. Their differences were too many for them to actually be related, so he stopped calling her 'mom' and started referring to her as just Nancy. He respected her as his guardian, but as a mother, he couldn't.

Who were his real parents? Where did he really come from? Why were his memories of Unova sometimes vague? The teen had so many questions yet no one to answer them.

As Ray walked up the stairs, Nancy walked down and entered one of the rooms. The room was occupied by two beings. One was a Pokémon with a humanoid shape (Gothitelle). It looked like a girl trying out goth-style clothing, dark purple and pink in color with bows everywhere, and it had a sadistic smile on its face. The other was a girl with black hair about Ray's age. She wore a white blouse and a black skirt with suspenders. Her dark purple stockings made her legs look more attractive, and she had two purple flower accessories on the left and right sides of her head.

"I take it everything is going well," the girl spoke to Nancy.

"Well, Ray's fine, but I can't shake the feeling that something big is about to happen," Nancy spoke up.

"I couldn't care less about your faux feelings. If anything is to happen, I'm sure you can handle it; if not, I'll terminate you on the spot," the girl said with a grim tone.

"I understand, Crescent. I'll follow the mission, keep Ray safe, and raise him peacefully in Aevium," Nancy said as she bowed.

"Indeed, I just want Ray to smile. His happiness is the most important thing to me right now," Crescent, the mysterious girl, said with a malicious smile.

Ray continued to make his way to the captain's quarters until he got distracted by a pleasant sound. He turned around and saw a beautiful woman playing the piano with a round pink Pokémon on top of it, dancing about.

"Wow, that sounds amazing!" Ray said out loud.

"Well, thank you for the compliment," the woman smiled.

She had dark green hair, fair skin, and green eyes. Her dress was a long green ball gown. She continued to play the piano, and Ray listened on. He was fond of music and wasn't bad at playing the Poké Flute.

"So, what's your name, fellow music lover? Mine's Louis, but my friends just call me Piano Lady," Louis (Piano Lady) said.

"The name's Ray, nice to meet you. So, you must love your job to get a nickname like that," Ray laughed a bit.

"Indeed, it's my passion. When you find something or someone you love so much, you take the risk to keep them, no matter what," Louis said proudly.

These words stuck with Ray tightly. Something he loves, huh? He just wanted to be a trainer because everyone was doing that, but something he loves intensely was nowhere to be found. Maybe he would find that in Aevium.

"Well, it was nice talking to you, Piano Lady. See you later," he waved at her as he walked away.

"We'll see at the banquet. I'll perform a special song just for you," she said smiling. She was quite friendly, Ray thought. If he could make friends like this in Aevium, he'd be happy.

Ray opened a door on the top floor. An old man wearing a blue coat shimmering with medals looked straight at him. He had blond hair and blue eyes. His stern face made him look intimidating.

"You must be Ray. Nancy told me you'd be coming. I'm Captain Augustas Briney. Here, have a seat; we have much to talk about," Captain Augustas offered Ray.

The conversation went on for an hour. Ray had no problem listening to a hot woman, but listening to an old man was pushing his limits.

After the conversation, Ray and the captain attended the banquet. The hall was full to the brim with passengers, all sitting on silver chairs with pink tables covered with golden tablecloths. Ray sat next to Nancy. He turned around to see an attractive girl with a Gothitelle (a famous Unova Pokémon). He smiled at the girl, but she ignored him. The Piano Lady began to play the famous song 'I Want to Be the Very Best' on her piano. Captain Augustas stepped forward to address the passengers.

"It's been just a week at sea, but it seems like we've become like family. Cheers to our final dinner before we depart!" Augustas shouted, and the audience cheered. However...

At that very moment, the hall doors were kicked down. "Evening, people! This vessel's under Xen rule. We've placed bombs all over; failure to comply will lead to consequences," a woman wearing black said as she walked into the hall. Naturally, everyone panicked, screaming and running about.

"Quiet! We're looking for someone here, so stop messing around!" Another mysterious person shouted.

Nancy quickly grabbed Ray and tossed him towards the mysterious woman with a Gothitelle. "Cresent!" she shouted.

"Got it!" The woman snapped her fingers, and her Gothitelle stared at Ray.

"Wait..." Ray said before he vanished from sight.

"Goddamn it!" The intruders shouted as one flipped a switch on his remote.

Ray opened his eyes to see he had been placed in a darkened captain's quarters. (Did I just get teleported?) he wondered.

He stepped out of the room to see the Piano Lady packing her things near her piano. The ship was a wreck, with broken floorboards and stuff.

"Louis, what's going on?" Ray spoke up.

"Ray! There you are. After you vanished, those goons blew up the ship," Louis said sadly.

"Damn it, when everyone was happy, why did stuff like this have to happen?" Ray said, angered.

'Crack!' From the broken floorboards, numerous red tentacles sprouted. They had big white eyes on them, watching Ray and the Piano Lady.

"The hell?" Ray said, puzzled.

"I don't know what these are, but they're just watching us for now. You should go look for other survivors; I'll be fine," Louis said, reassuring Ray. Ray nodded and went downstairs.

Ray saw a man blocking the entrance to the cargo hold and ignored him. He then went south and saw Augustas with a group of people.

"Captain!" the boy called out.

"Ray, thank goodness you're safe. Nancy's run off somewhere, and numerous people are missing... I can't believe Team Xen would attack my vessel," Augustas said.

"Team Xen?" Ray asked.

"Yes, that's right. Similar to Team Plasma in Unova, Team Xen is the evil team of Aevium. They seemed harmless at first, but now they're showing their true colors," Augustas explained.

A man standing near the entrance called everyone's attention. "I see something!"

The man walked towards the flooded floor to see a shadow in the water. Tentacles then sprouted and ensnared the man.

"Run!" he shouted as he was pulled down under. Strange beings colored red, blue, and black emerged from the water, each having four long tentacles.

"Ray, go to the cargo hold. I'm sure Nancy is there; run!" Augustas said, shoving Ray aside as he went to face the beings.

Ray hated his powerlessness but had no choice but to go. Ray raced to the cargo hold. He faced the man guarding the hold. "Let me through!" he shouted.

"No way! Going down there is suicide!" the man replied.

Almost instantly, he was grabbed by tentacles and flown away. "Ahhhhhhhh!" were his last words. Ray, seeing this opportunity, ran into the cargo hold.

Cargo hold

Ray ran into the broken door in the cargo hold. He saw his guardian, Nancy, fighting off the creatures while also trying to stop the flooding with her trusted Pokémon, Sylveon.

"Nancy!" Ray cried out.

"Ray, you're alright! Thank goodness!" Nancy smiled.

"Listen, Ray, we have to—" Nancy was about to say something when a mysterious light appeared in front of them. The purple light formed the letter N, and a woman appeared from it. She was dressed in a black and red suit, her purple hair swaying to the right side. She wore shades for some reason, and her grin widened.

"Found you," she said playfully.

"I won't let you touch him!" Nancy said, moving in front of Ray.

"Oh dear, I'm not talking about the boy. I'm talking about you, Nancy. Team Xen has made it so that your capture will finally bring us out of the shadows and into the limelight! This is the start of our conquest!" The woman shouted, smiling.

Nancy returned Sylveon to her ball and grabbed Ray.

"Ray, listen to me. Take all my Pokémon and get to safety. One knows Surf, so I'm sure—" Nancy was interrupted again.

"No way, Nancy! I'm sick of running! We'll fight them together!" Ray said, tired of running away.

"Oh, Ray..." Nancy gave a small smile. The woman, tired of seeing this farce, ordered more beings to apprehend Ray and Nancy. Three strange creatures separated the two from each other.

"No!" Nancy protested as the creatures closed in on Ray. 'Baaaaaam!' A huge object fell from the ceiling, crushing the creatures.

"Huh?" Ray realized the object was actually a piano, Louis.

Upstairs, Louis had saved Ray's life. "You better appreciate me, kid. Huff, huff. It's not easy pushing a piano, you know!" she said, pouting. 'I don't know if this changes anything, but it's better than nothing. Don't waste this chance,' she thought. Four of the creatures then grabbed her from every direction. 'Cause it looks like... my time is up.'

Ray, seeing no way to get to Nancy, shouted, "Goddamn it, Nancy, you better survive this! I'll come back and save you! Count on it!" Ray shouted as he jumped into the water.

Nancy smiled as she faced the purple woman. 'Tsk,' the woman hissed.

Ray managed to swim all the way to the dock of the ship. However, as he was running, he bumped into a scary-looking man. He was dark-skinned with gray hair. His red eye was complemented by a tattoo on the left side of his face. He wore a dark blue coat that reached his knees. He looked at Ray with pity, and Ray looked at him with rage.

"That look in your eyes pisses me off," the man said.

"Well, your face makes me sick!" Ray countered.

"Don't let him escape. He's the kind of person who becomes a nuisance if left alone," the purple-haired woman came from below with an army of tentacles.

'This is bad,' Ray thought to himself. A truly hopeless situation, no Pokémon, no power, yet he couldn't give up.

"Listen up, you Xen creeps! I'm going to become the strongest trainer you've ever seen! I'll kick all your asses! This is the start of my legacy! Ray's legacy!" Ray cried out as he charged the man with his hand balled into a fist.

The man readied his Pokéball, and the woman sent some tentacles to attack Ray.

"Flammmmmmmmmmme!" A screech cried out from the sky. A shadow raced towards the ship and picked Ray up.

The Xen members were dumbfounded. 'Damnit, this is a problem,' the woman thought to herself.

Oceana pier

Ray's eyes opened up to see a giant red bird on top of him, warming up his soaked body.

"Thanks," he said softly. He was on a pier with numerous ships docked there.

A yacht passed by and went into a nearby shed. A woman came out of the shed with a worried expression on her face. She had tanned skin and red hair, red eyes as sharp as flames. She also wore a red dress with white flames designed on it. She pulled Ray away from the bird and stood him up.

"Are you hurt? I sent Talonflame ahead of me to rescue anyone on the ship he could find," the woman explained.

"Did you find anyone else?!" Ray shouted as he clung to her.

"Sadly, no, but I doubt Team Xen killed them. They're probably going to hold them somewhere," the woman said.

"Then there's no time to waste; I've got to get stronger," he said as he gathered strength into his legs.

"Do you have a place to stay?" she asked.

"Not really, but I'm supposed to head to Gearan City. Then I'll become a trainer and defeat Team Xen," Ray said with a determined look on his face. The woman was impressed by his resolve.

"May I ask your name, boy?" she asked.

"It's Ray, and I'm going to become the champion of this region!" he said, making a fist at her.

"Fascinating. My name's Tesla. I'm a firm believer in fate, and I'm sure your presence here today is a sign of something yet to come. Till we meet again," Tesla said as she rode her Talonflame and flew up into the sky.

Ray looked on as she disappeared from sight. A tear fell from his face, but he quickly wiped it off. No need for tears; Nancy and the others were safe. What he needed on his mind now was positivity. And with that, he walked north towards Gearan City.

That's it for the beginning. Next chapter, the story unfolds for our hero Ray! Till next time.