This is part 2 of “strength isn’t everything,” as you can see from the title. This is the part of the story where (spoiler) Volcarona dies. This makes Alder change his entire outlook on life, thinking that maybe strength really *isn’t* everything. He travels across the Unova region in despair (at first I thought I had to make him go to *every* region, but I don’t, which makes life way easier!). Alder is also the one who told Brycen to become a gym leader, so that happens here, too.
Well, I don’t want to give away too much, so I’m just going to start the story. Please enjoy! :)
#PAPCReviews ( wanted!)
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Alder’s pokemon was now ed into the Hall of Fame.
Alder took Volcarona’s Pokeball out of the machine and sighed in satisfaction. This was the moment he and Volcarona had been working for his entire life. And now it was finally here.
Alder was now the champion of Unova.
The celebrating had already happened after the match against the previous champion. But that didn’t mean it was over yet.
Alder took Volcarona out of the ball. Volcarona was breathing heavily due to fatigue.
“It’s alright,” Alder told him. “Once we go into our hotel room, I’ll heal you up, and we can have a nice, long rest.”
Volcarona nodded, or at least tried to nod, as it didn’t really have a neck to nod.
Usually when you became the champion, you went back to your house. But Alder would much rather stay in a hotel for the night, especially since it was way closer, and it was really late, and Volcarona seemed to really need a rest.
Alder noticed that his pokemon was really weak, so he went in close and grabbed his dear ‘mon, and told him to relax and stop flying. Volcarona was hot and heavy, but also tired, and Alder wanted him to rest for as long as he needed. He didn’t want to put him back in the ball just yet.
As he leaves the Pokemon League to go back to his hotel, people congratulate him for becoming champion on the way. Word sure did get around fast. It wasn’t even an hour ago since it happened.
Finally, Alder made it to the hotel, and the man offered to give him a suite for free, since he was the champion, after all.
“I wonder how people found out so fast,” Alder told his Volcarona.
The fire-bug type just sighed in agreement, feeling so weak he could barely keep his eyes open.
“We’ll be there soon,” Alder reassured softly. “We’re going to a suite, so the beds will be more comfortable to sleep in. You worked so hard to get here. And you deserve a break.”
Volcarona sighed again.
Then they finally made it to the hotel room. It was your typical suite - 2 huge comfy beds, a mini-fridge, a restroom on the right side when you walked in, a TV, and a balcony with a nice view.
Alder went to the window. He didn’t go outside, but he stared at the view. You could see Castelia City from up here, despite how far away they were from it, and how dark it was. You could see every tall building piercing the clouds, and the light from the inside. You could also see the Ferris Wheel in Nimbasa City, its colors shining vibrantly in the pitch black of night. Unova truly was the region that never slept.
“Check out this view!” Alder exclaimed. “Isn’t it lovely?” he asked, turning to his pokemon.
But when he did, he noticed his pokemon was already flat on the bed, his eyes only half-open. He looked like he was going to fall asleep right then and there.
Alder sighed. “I understand,” he told him. “You’re tired. You just fought 5 really tough battles in a row. I get it. I thought Gym Leaders were the strongest trainers in the region, until I fought the Elite 4. But it was the most fun I’ve ever had in my life.”
Volcarona only sighed once more. He was so tired, that was all he could do. The most fun he had in his life wasn’t the battles, even though they were extremely thrilling. The most fun he’s ever had was when he and Alder went to eat Casteliacones and watch the Pokemon Musical. It was when they could just hang out together and forget about battling. It was when they could truly be a dynamic duo.
But Alder just cared about winning. He just wanted to beat people. But now he was finally the champion, so now Volcarona hoped he would settle down a little…
Alder came over to tuck Volcarona into the covers. The fire-bug type tried to get up and fly, but it couldn’t even manage to do that. So he had to carry him again.
Now Alder was getting worried. He couldn’t even manage flying for a moment.
“Hmm…” Alder muttered. “I think you should see Nurse Joy. You seem *very* weak. You’ve never been so tired that you couldn’t even fly.”
Alder went to the phone that was next to his hotel bed. He picked it up and dialed the nurse that came with the hotel.
“You just lay there and get some rest,” he ordered. “I’ll call the nurse, and I’ll see what she can do. But I’m sure it’s nothing. I’m sure I’m only overreacting. I just want to make sure.”
And they waited for a few minutes, and after a while, Nurse Joy came by to check on Volcarona, and Alder wasn’t that worried.
At first.
The Nurse Joy did the regular things - checked his heartbeat, breathing, temperature…
“Oh dear,” she mumbled.
“What?” asked Alder, expecting nothing serious. “What is it?”
“This is bad,” she told him. “Very very bad.”
“What?” He said again. “What’s very very bad? What’s wrong with my Volcarona?”
“Mr. Champion,” the nurse said, turning to him, “I’m afraid your Volcarona has a very rare and incurable disease. If we had noticed it earlier, we would be able to maintain it. But since it’s been noticed so late, I don’t think we’ll be able to.”
Alder tried to speak, but nothing would come out. He could feel himself start shaking. He tried to say something as he saw the nurse rush to the phone to call more nurses.
“...Are you-” he tried, but stuttered. He tried again. “Are you serious..?”
When she was off the phone, Nurse Joy said, “Yes, I’m afraid. We’re going to try the best we can, but-”
“No!” He suddenly yelled. “You’re not saying my Volcarona could-” he couldn’t say the word. “He could leave me..?”
Nurse Joy couldn’t answer the question. She hated it when this happened, and she was shaking, as well.
This is when Alder got frantic. “Well, don’t just stand there!” He yelled at her. “Try and do something!!”
“S-Sir, please understand, we’ll try our best, but-”
“You’re doing nothing!! You’re just standing there! He’s getting weaker by the second and you’re just standing there making excuses! Do your job properly and save him!”
“Please!” She called out to him. “There’s not much we can do to cure this illness-”
That moment is when the other Nurse Joys came in to help Volcarona. It was scary. There was a bunch of medical equipment Alder had never seen before. They had to put life on him, which made Alder terrified - it was a feeling he had never ever felt before.
They were yelling at eachother and had a lot of tools in there bags and were doing all sorts of things to the poor Volcarona, who didn’t have the energy to be scared.
Alder just watched them do there work. He felt bad for yelling. They were doing everything they could to help him.
He decided to speak up. “Why did this happen, Doc?”
The original Nurse Joy (or so he assumed was the original) told him, “It could be for a number of reasons. Disagreeable climate, or overexertion, or-”
“So you’re saying,” mumbled Alder, “that *I* did this to him by making work too hard..?” Then he added, “How did I not notice he was sick? Why did I just keep overworking him?”
“It’s not your fault,” the nurse reassured. “The most common symptom is overheating, but since Volcarona is already a fire type, there was no way for you to tell that was happening. However, other symptoms may include constant fatigue, or-”
“Oh my gosh, this *is* my fault,” Alder muttered to himself, feeling like a knife had been lodged into his chest.
He had just ed when Volcarona randomly collapsed in the middle of the champion battle. He was in the middle of a Flame Charge, but for some reason, he completely fell and collapsed. But just as he was about to be defeated, he got up in milliseconds to deliver the finishing blow. Alder assumed it was just fatigue. He had no idea it was something serious.
He killed his best friend. He killed the 1 ‘mon who’s helped him get this far. And despite his ignorance, his Pokemon ignored its own pain to make sure Alder could achieve his dream of becoming the champion. But he didn’t want it now. His dream wasn’t to be the champion. It was to be the champion with Volcarona.
The champion felt something in his throat, and everything started to get blurry. He couldn’t see, but even so, he walked over to where his Volcarona was laying.
He tried to speak, but nothing would come out. But he wasn't going to let his partner go out without a goodbye, so he tried his best.
Mostly, the tears spoke for him, once they started falling. Volcarona went closer when he noticed, and the champion’s tears hurt him when they fell. He could see the steam fly.
“Get back,” he managed. “I-I don’t want you to suffer more than you already are...”
So, as the last order he would ever follow, Volcarona went back. He sighed, and tried not to cry too, since it was a fire-type.
Alder tried to think of something to say, as he didn’t have much time left. It needed to be quick and meaningful. So he started thinking of everything they’ve ever done together. But when he tried, all he could think about was gym battles and training.
Come on, he thought to himself, we had to have done *something* else together other than train..!
That’s when he ed the 1 event.
The Casteliacones. The Musical. The sports game.
And he found the obvious answer.
“Goodnight, partner,” was what he said.
And Volcarona managed a smile. He couldn’t stop himself from crying anymore. It was those 2 words he thought he would never hear again.
And then he added, “I’m… I’m sorry. I’m sorry for everything…”
Even though Alder told him not to, Volcarona went closer, as if to say, “Don’t be.”
And they just stood there, foreheads pressed against eachothers. Alder’s tears hurt the fire-bug type, and Volcarona’s heat hurt the champion. But they didn’t care even one bit.
And with that, Volcarona was dead.
His temperature dropped swiftly. He was like a lightbulb that had burnt out.
Alder closed his eyes, hoping that when he opened them again, he would wake up from some sort of dream. But when he did open them, there lied Volcarona, motionless and cold.
“...No,” he muttered. “No, this can’t be happening! He can’t be gone!”
He was shaking him and shaking him, hoping he had only fallen asleep beacause he was so tired. Wishing he didn’t just die beacause of his owner’s ignorance. But then he felt for a heartbeat. Nothing. It was over.
Alder buried his face into the blanket, and he sobbed and sobbed and sobbed. He was too upset to be embarrassed of crying. His best friend was gone beacause of him.
Even the original Nurse Joy (I think) had tears streaming down her face, and she had to be comforted by another Nurse Joy. She hated when this happened. She felt awful. She was supposed to help pokemon get better, so she hated it when it came to this. It made her feel like a failure.
And Alder felt that way, too. He didn’t feel like a champion. He felt like someone who had let his best friend down. He experienced the happiest and the worst moment of his life in 1 hour. He had won, but at what cost? It meant nothing anymore.
The original Nurse Joy kneeled down next to him. “I’m sorry,” she said softly, “I’m really sorry for your loss…”
“No,” Alder interrupted, “*I’m* sorry. You did everything you could.”
It wasn’t the nurse’s fault that he died. It was his. Or, at least he felt like it was.
This time, he buried his face into Volcarona’s wings. He was so cold, but at least the tears wouldn’t hurt him anymore.
And all he could do was cry, and he cried for what felt like hours. He didn’t even know if he had fallen asleep overnight, beacause in the morning, he was still in the exact same spot.
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They were in the Celestial Tower.
The undertaker was holding Volcarona with ease, as if he were a beanbag. But he set him in the grave gently, and he prayed silently after he did.
It felt like everyone Alder knew was here. The Gym Leaders were here. The Elite 4 was here. The previous champion was here. All of them came to pay respects to the one who single-handedly defeated them all. He really was a talented hard-worker.
But there were also lots of people whom Alder didnt recognize. They were probably just random trainers he’s beaten before. He didn’t really know why they came. They didn’t even really know him as well as the leaders and E4 did.
The undertaker placed the lid on the casket, and it was the last time Alder could ever catch a glimpse of those fiery wings. Now all he had left of the fire-bug type were the memories. Oh, how he wished he could’ve made more! If only things had been different. If only he hadn’t been so ignorant. But it was too late now. He was gone because of him.
Alder glanced at Drayden, who pretended not to notice. Everything he said was right. But it was too late to realize it now. Why didn’t he listen sooner..?
Everything got blurry again. Alder was about to cry. But he didn’t want to. Not in public. Even though there was a perfectly logical reason to do it, he didn’t want people to see him. So, he turned around and was about to leave.
“Where are you going?” Somebody called. Alder thought it sounded like Drayden.
“I can’t stay here,” was all he said. He tried to say more, but his throat was burning and his voice was breaking. He left the funeral, and before he even exited the tower, the tears in his eyes started streaming down his face.
He regretted everything. This was all his fault. If only he wasn’t so focused on winning all the time, then maybe he would still be here…
You aren’t a true champion until you see that.
Finally, he had noticed. But did it matter now? He still didn’t feel like a champion. He didn’t want to be the champion without Volcarona. Now he felt helpless. What was he to do now?
As Alder walked into the nearest city - Mistralton - he was still in tears, and he had no idea what he was going to do now. He couldn’t go back to his hotel, beacause that was the exact same place he lost his best friend. He couldn’t go to any gyms or the Pokemon League, beacause if he did, he would be reminded of Volcarona.
Alder glanced over at the airport in Mistralton City. That was a *great* idea. He thought about it for a moment. It might be a good idea to leave the region for a little while.
But then he ed that he’s the champion now. He can’t just leave whenever he wants to.
Instead, he figured travelling across the region wouldn’t be that bad. In fact, it seemed like a good idea right now. He needed a bit of a walk.
So, he traveled aimlessly across the region, hitting every city in order, starting with Driftveil, then going to Nimbasa, Castelia, Nacrene, and ending with Striaton. He talked to gym leaders on the way, and stopped to ire the attractions each city had.
He walked out of the restaurant after having just eaten food that the Striaton Brothers gave to him for free. He sighed. He felt way better than before, but that didn’t mean he felt perfect.
He decided to take a walk in the Dreamyard. He wanted to be alone for a moment. And he knew there would be absolutely nobody there.
Or, at least he *thought* there would be absolutely nobody there.
Instead, he saw a bunch of cameras and lights, and a bunch of people running around and screaming.
Alder had just walked into a movie shoot.
“Oh!” a woman walking by said. “Hey there!”
Alder recognized this woman. She was a very famous actor who was in a bunch of movies.
“I-I’m sorry,” he stuttered, “I didn’t mean to-”
“You’re the champion of this region now, aren’t you? I’m sure they’d let you in! We’re on break now, anyways.”
Alder backed up slowly. “Oh, that’s quite alright, I just-”
But the woman walked up to him and held her hand out.
“My name is Diantha. I recently just became a champion, too! I’m also an actress, and I’m from Kalos.”
Alder just sighed, and took her hand to shake it.
“Wow! First Steven, then Cynthia, and now *you!* I’m meeting every champion! But it seems like you all are better champs than I am.”
“Oh, no,” Alder said, shaking his head quickly. “Nobody is a worse champion than I am.”
His mood dropped. He really was the worst champion. But not beacause he wasn’t strong. It was beacause he treated his pokemon like tools. He overworked them. He never let them have fun. He did it so much to the point where he didn’t even have any pokemon left.
“Sir, you’re crying!”
“What? Am I?” Alder exclaimed frantically. Quickly, he wiped the tears away as fast as humanly possible. Then he changed the subject. “So what is this movie?”
“Oh!” she exclaimed. “This is an action movie where my cousin and I are trying to find this villain who only operates at night. During the day, I’m also trying to balance out my love life with my boyfriend who always comes home late.”
Alder sighed. “Let me guess… the boyfriend is the villain.”
Diantha mumbled under her breath, “I told him people would figure it out easily…”
“What?”
“Oh!” she said. “I mean, yes! And the boyfriend’s scenes are actually all done, which is a good thing, beacause Brycen hurt himself pretty bad yesterday-”
“Wait,” Alder interrupted, “Brycen is in this movie?”
“Oh, sure! He’s the boyfriend/villain! And my cousin is Sabrina, and our boss is-”
“Wait, Brycen, Diantha, *and* Sabrina are all in this movie?” Alder exclaimed.
“Yeah, it’s supposed to be the biggest movie of the year beacause of us 3. See? Brycen’s sitting over there, and Sabrina is by the refreshments, and see there? What’s her name? Vivi? No, it was Valerie. She’s our costumer! Her designs are really cute. And there is our cameraman-”
Alder stopped listening to glance at Brycen, who was sitting on a bench with his face buried into his hands. That didn’t look good. Something was wrong.
Alder walked over to him, slowly.
“-And she’s the editor, and that woman is- hey, sir, where are you going?” Diantha called out.
Alder didn’t turn back. Instead, he went up to Brycen and waited for him to look up.
Eventually, he did. His face was completely stained with tears. He was obviously surprised, beacause he didn’t expect the champion of Unova to be standing right in front of him.
Outside of acting in movies, this was the first (and last) time Alder would see Brycen cry.
“Um… hey,” Alder started.
“...Hi,” he replied softly, wiping tears away, even though more fell to replace them.
“Um…” Alder tried, “Are you okay?”
He tried to answer, but all he could do was shake his head.
So, he sat down to the left of the actor. He didn’t touch him; he just sat there while he kept crying.
“So… what’s the matter?”
“*sniff* Yesterday I had to do this action scene, and, well, I got injured really badly.” He wouldn’t give any more details than that.
“Oh. Well… does it hurt?”
Brycen nodded. “Yes… but that’s not why I’m crying.”
“Oh. Well, then why are you-”
“I’m not allowed to do any acting until it heals,” he itted. “And now I don’t know what to do. Beacause acting is what I want to do. But now I can’t.”
Alder nodded. He understood. He had a ion for acting, and he loved it more than anything in the world. But now he couldn’t do it. Obviously that was upsetting.
He thought for a moment. What could he do while he was healing up..?
That’s when the obvious answer hit him.
“Drayden is looking for gym leaders,” Alder told him. “You could do that.”
“Gym leader?” Brycen repeated. “I-I’m not strong enough to do that!”
When he said “strong,” Alder winced. He hated hearing that word. But now he also knew what to tell this actor.
“You don’t have to be strong. You just have to love your pokemon and push them harder than what they think they can do. But don’t push them too hard. Let them have fun once in a while. As long as you love your pokemon properly, then you can be anything you want to. Do you love your pokemon?”
“Of course!” Brycen answered. “I love them very much!”
“Well, then Drayden will definitely let you be a gym leader! You can do that until you’re healed up. I’m sure it won’t be that long until then. But please … loving your pokemon is all that matters, Brycen.”
And with that, he stood up, and was about to walk away. But before he did, he added one more thing…
“Strength isn’t everything.”
And with that, the champion walked away, back to Diantha, who was eating some kind of pastry.
“What’s that?” Alder asked.
“It’s an eclair,” she answered.
“That’s tiny!” he exclaimed. “What am I going to do with that?! I’d need 5 of those!”
Diantha only chuckled. “I should’ve known you’d say that. Every food in this region is 5 times bigger than it’s supposed to be. But try one! It’s good!”
She gave one to him, and he took it. He ate it. It was soft and creamy, with a hint of chocolate.
“That *does* taste good!” He said, grabbing another one. Then he said, “Oh yeah. These aren’t even mine.”
“Ah, take as many as you want. You’re the champion! Hey, by the way, can I tell you something?”
“Sure,” he nodded, putting another eclair in his mouth.
“Um… I heard about your Volcarona.”
Alder’s mood dropped again.
“And I just wanted to recommend this place called Poni Island. It’s in Alola.”
“Poni Island..?” Alder repeated.
“Yeah. It’s where I talk to my grandfather all the time.”
“What does your grandfather living on Poni Island have to do with-” then he stopped, and finally realized what she was saying.
“...Is this real?” he said instead. “I can really see him again if I go to Alola?”
Diantha nodded. “It’s like he’s standing right in front of you. You can talk to him and even touch him. It’s amazing. And you could also visit me in my region, if you wanted.”
“Where did you say you lived again?”
“Kalos.”
“Maybe I’ll do that,” he told her. But he wasn’t ready to see Volcarona just yet. He still wanted to think about strength and what it truly meant, so he could apologize properly.
And that’s exactly what he did - he told the E4 to look after Unova while he was gone, and he went to Kalos for a few months, along with several other regions. The travelling changed his entire outlook on life, as he met several other champions and other people who have lost pokemon partners. He learned so much along the way. He truly thought he had figured out what strength really was.
But he needed one more person to help him before he could see Volcarona.
Now Alder was back in Unova, in Opelucid City, where this whole endeavor started. He was walking into the gym with 6 new Pokeballs. These were ‘mons who had respected and ed him throughout his travels. They would never ever replace Volcarona, but Alder was still thankful for them.
He stepped through the automatic doors and tried to look for Drayden. But he didn’t have to, beacause he was right at the entrance.
“...And I want you to take the new gym leaders to there gyms… bug, electric, and, oh, flying, I believe. …Yes, Clay, I know they’re only 19, but we hired the Striaton Brothers when they were 10, ? …Okay, just take them to there gyms, and explain everything to them, like you did to Brycen…”
There was a little girl in front of him who was pointing to Alder. Drayden turned around, and looked surprised for a moment.
“...Right. I’m going to have to call you back later. I have an unexpected visitor. …Alright, goodbye.”
He hung up and put the phone in his pocket. “Alder!” he said. “I haven’t seen you in ages! How’s it been?”
“Better,” he answered, and meant it. Drayden didn’t have to ask what he meant by that.
He turned to the little girl. “You must be Iris! I heard about you when I was in Hoenn. Or was it Jhoto? Yes, it was Jhoto, beacause they told me you came from there!”
Iris just nodded. “Drayden’s teaching me.”
“Yes,” Drayden confirmed, “and she’s doing rather well. She’ll sur me in no time, I’m sure.”
“He always says that,” Iris corrected, “but nobody can beat Master Drayden.”
“Let’s see about that…” Alder said, taking out a pokeball.
“Are you *challenging* him?” Iris exclaimed. “You’re gonna lose!”
“Maybe,” Alder said, “but I want to fight your master one more time. Properly.”
Again, Drayden didn’t have to ask what he meant by that. Instead, he just took out a pokeball and said, “Alright. Let’s do this.”
As they went to the battlefield, Alder had only one thought before the start…
Volcarona… this fight is for you.
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Okay, so part one was definitely better than part 2. And the draft before this one was way longer, and I had to cut it short, even though I liked it.
Even so, I'm very proud of this story! It takes place in Unova but it isn’t about one of the gym leaders! That’s a start!
This story is actually a draft I started working on a year ago, and continued recently. I liked Alder’s backstory, and the fact that he pursued strength like Cheren in BW. I can totally just imagine him yelling at his Pokemon every time he lost because all he wanted was to win. But he truly did want his Pokemon to be successful. My Drama teacher says she pushes us to do better than we think we can do. That's exactly what Alder does to Volcarona, but he takes it a bit too far.
I highly doubt the illness was actually caused due to overexertion, but I thought it would make the death more meaningful if it was caused by that, so now it is.
Pokemon Black and White has the best characters, and they have such deep backstories, and I absolutely adore them. I could write about them all day. I love every single Unova character whose name isn’t Ghetsis. That includes Alder. That jerk Ghetsis tried to taunt him with his backstory in the games, but that was about it. I feel like they should have mentioned it more, and maybe it could’ve even had something to do with the story (but I don't really know how that would make it better than it already is, beacause it’s already amazing!).
Anyway, I hope you enjoyed another Gen 5 story from me! More work in the making? I might even post drawings again, and maybe some more comics! Expect anything I post to be about Gen 5. I'm sorry if you're tired of it, but maybe it shouldn't be the best!
But anyway, I hope you guys enjoyed! Until next time~
Please give . I’d really appreciate it.
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