Prologue

//Starting author so don't judge me too harshly.

Hope you enjoy

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According to 'destiny' notions, there is a fixed (divine) goal which will be attained no matter how much we strive against it. Human actions don't make any difference - fate ensures the future will turn out the same no matter what we choose or how we act. Everything, down to the very way we breathe is set in stone, carved into the walls of time, never changing and never straying from it's singular linear path. Each and every action was preordained and no matter how hard individuals fought or continue to fight against it, their own fates would always be unchanging and unyielding.

This was destiny's epithet.

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"So, thoughts? Opinions? Concerns?"

Juda Unmei looked up from the paper he had just finished perusing, light blue eyes shifting their focus from the blocks of text on the sheets over to a young man with bright white hair situated on the ground. A light wind blew over the two boys, ruffling Judas' fluffy black hair as he heartily slapped the essay clutched in his palm.

"Not gonna lie to you bro," Juda narrowed his eyebrows. "It's a sheet of hot garbage."

The white haired youth immediately sat up straight, having been previously sprawled out on the bright layer of concrete. "Now hold on a sec-"

"You forgot to capitalize multiple letters, including the letters at the beginning of a sentence, used the word 'because' multiple times throughout a SINGLE paragraph, and proceeded to use similes and metaphors that made no damn sense in the context of the prompt." Juda shook his head as he rifled through the three full sheets of paper, listing the problems as he went.

"Aye, those similes were pretty good," the young man rebuttalled half-heartedly. "Did you see-

"The part where you compared destiny and fate to a damn donut," Juda interjected. "Yes Daniel, I did see that. The fuck does that even mean?"

"Because destiny is holy and a donut has a hole.....and its circular representing the circle.....of life." Daniel's voice trailed off the longer he went on until he gradually sputtered out.

"Even setting that aside for the time being, the Prompt of the essay was to pick something that you could provide a good argument against and run with it." Walking over to Daniel with a exasperated look on his face, Juda handed the slips of printed paper back to their owner. ""You're main argument is that destiny is a sham and that we're free to make our own choices. So why the hell is the title of your argument called Destiny's Epithet?"

"Because it sounded cool," Daniel admitted begrudgingly as he tucked the papers back into his bag. "I wanted to run with something that caught the readers attention."

"It makes sense in theory," Juda responded softly as he plopped down next to his childhood friend. "But Google is free, don't you even know what the word 'epithet' means? I highly doubt it means what you think it does."

"I think it's like a descriptive nickname...," Daniel frowned slightly. "In which case, does Destiny even HAVE an epithet?"

"Dawg.....YOU WERE THE ONE WHO WROTE IT!!!"

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Juda wasn't even sure why that conversation popped into his head at that exact moment, a bit of banter and advice from one friend to another. Maybe it was because he could instinctually feel that something was about to happen or maybe it was just some random thought from the past coming back to remind him of something.

Either way, it didn't really help him much in the current situation.

Juda slowly opened his light blue eyes, brows squinting as the light from the sun temporarily blinded him, bright rays unfettered by a single cloud. He felt really strange and slightly light headed, like he had been inside of a dream for a long time. The last thing he remembered was a flash of light, searing pain, and then a slow feeling of becoming cold and stiff. The whole thing was slightly traumatizing, it had given him the impression that he had actually died, but that didn't seem to be the case. The cool breeze that blew over his face, the warmth of the summer sun, the feeling of grass beneath him, all of this served as a reminder that he was still alive.

The sky was so blue and beautiful out here, a color he had forgotten the sky could take as, for the past week, his hometown of New York City had been plagued by a number of mysterious storm clouds that had painted the sky a shade of black that Juda had never seen before. It had been a peculiar event, one that made the black haired individual glad to once again see the endless expanse of a light blue sky. However, while he did want to enjoy a nice relaxing nap there on the lush grass beneath him, he had things that needed to be done and classes that he had to be present for. Pushing himself up into a sitting position, Juda took a look around and nearly passed out once again from sheer shock and astonishment, because what he saw brought back the possibility that he was dead.

He was on a grassy slope that overlooked a rather large scale town that had various houses scattered about like dice thrown across a game board. Though this didn't prove he was dead, the mysterious creature looking like a rather large purple rat with square buck teeth that ran past definitely did. Either he was dead or having a dream, it was only one of two as there wasn't any other possibility that Juda could think of in his current state of panic.

He wasn't that good with dealing with the impossible and usually only accepted the rational, completely rejecting the notions of anything that science couldn't explain. This was one of those moments that he just couldn't cope, that his senses just couldn't handle. Honestly though, this was exactly how any normal person would react when faced with something impossible, denial or shock.

Juda took deep breaths, an attempt to steady his rapidly beating heart and help clear his mind from the never ending tide of thoughts and theories that were running through his head. His brain, like most normal humans, pushed away the unexplainable and then tried to rationalize them through various scientific, mechanical, or spiritual processes until the brain accepted whatever idea that made the most sense to that person. In Juda's case, his brain came up with the brilliant idea that this was a simple dream and nothing more, that none of this was even remotely real. After his brain accepted that it wasnt his own reality, his body started to slowly regain a modicum of normalcy, a perfect example of how one's state of mind affected one's body.

Once Juda had fully stifled his own inner turmoil, he finally attempted to stand up, deciding that, since this was nothing but a dream, he might as well have a look around. He rose to his feet, pushing himself off the ground while brushing the dirt off the seat of his pants. The next step was to decide which way to go, though Juda didn't really like the thought of moving into an unknown area without proper preparations. However since this was supposed to be only a dream he didn't plan on stopping just to prepare for any eventualities that might occur. No one stopped to try to prepare themselves while in a dream, it just didn't make any sense. With all caution thrown out the proverbial window, Juda didn't even hesitate.

"Okay," Juda said to himself as he pivoted a full 360 degrees, his eyes scanning the surroundings, "Which way should I go then?"

He was having an internal debate, but managed to narrow it down to two places. The first direction was the town, the same path the large purple rat had taken. The second path was in the complete opposite direction, a dirt path that lead to a far away hill. Sitting at the peak was a large two story building with an fresh looking wind turbine standing behind it, the combination making Juda feel quite curious about it. Just as he was thinking of strolling towards the town, Juda noticed movement out the corner of his eyes. In the far distance, a figure in a white lab coat was making his way up the incline of the hill. This shifted his attention completely away from the houses and made him focus on the moving figure heading to the pinnacle of said hill. Juda eventually nodded to himself as he began a steady jog down the path leading to away from the town, his mind made up about which way he wanted to go.

The hill was actually a lot farther away then it had first appeared, taking Juda about twenty minutes just to get to the base even though he had been jogging the whole way. The figure in a white lab coat he had seen before had disappeared into the building at the top long before he had reached the base. There was a straight path that lead directly to the two story tall building and everything to the right of the path appeared to be nothing but forest. The safest path up was definitely the trail and since Juda wasn't really much of a risk taker he decided that the path was the better option rather then taking a stroll through a forest of trees.

Juda began a slow trek up the dirt path, enjoying the details that this lucid dream held. It was by far the most detail oriented dream that he had ever had; he was amazed that his imagination could even be so vivid. It was just great that he had the chance to experience something as amazing as this and hoped he'd remember it when he woke up the next morning. It took him ten minutes to reach the top of the hill, but only because he was constantly stopping to appreciate the view the tall hill provided of the scattered houses and beautiful surroundings.

After getting his fill of the scenery, Juda turned his attention to the building, getting a close look at the structure of it. Though it was nothing compared to the buildings they had back in his hometown of New York it still had its own appeal. To put it simply, the view was rather breathtaking for something that had been created in Juda's head. Shaped like a giant sideways "P", the establishment was reminiscent of a doctors office that Juda had once visited, but on a much grander scale. Numerous windows lined the first and second floor, each and every square inch of the place was clean and well maintained, including the walls and even the roof.

Though the edifice was attractive, he didn't stand there admiring it for too long as he approached the entrance of the building. The door was made of thick glass with a complex metallic doorknob that held a keypad above it. Juda moved his face up to the glass and peered through in an attempt to see if there was anyone inside, but all he saw was a big room with a small counter and a hallway off to the side with doors lining the side of it. When he didnt spot a single soul anywhere he tried his luck on the door, and surprisingly enough, it simply popped open with a single sound. To be quite frank, the young man hadn't expected it to open so easily, figuring it would've been locked.

Juda eased opened the door and slipped inside, silently shutting it behind him as he took a few steps into the room. From what he could see just from a quick scan of the interior, this was the front room, a section where people came to visit, a sort of lobby where many could congregate and sit to chat. Juda, who still thought this was all just one big dream, was about to go exploring, when a loud bang sounded out, echoing off the walls as a door to the right of him was blown apart into tiny fragments. From the opening of the wrecked doorway, a strange creature darted almost quicker then Vex could follow. It was small and yellow, looking a bit similar to a mouse but with a crooked yellow tail at the end of it. The creature had straight longish ears that were black on the tip, a cute face with big black eyes and two red dots on either side of its cheek. This creature ran down the hall at a surprisingly rapid speed, skidding to a halt right in front of him.

Juda was confused, staring at the creature as the creature stared back, curiousity deep in its eyes as they held each others gaze. Right when Juda was about to kneel down and pet the weird creature, a shout rang out from down the hall and an elderly figure with gray hair and a kind face appeared from around the corner. The creature, after seeing the man, ran around Juda and jumped onto his back, climbing onto his shoulder, as if trying to encourage Juda to protect him. The elderly man glared at the creature, but it quickly turned into a smile as he noticed the young man who had walked into the building.

((Did this guy just smile at me? What?")) Juda thought as he glanced from the man to the weird mouse creature on his shoulder. ((I'm an intruder who just barged in, without prior consent, and without a solid reason for doing so. Even for a dream, this guy is mad weird. Sure seems nice though I guess".))

"I'm deeply sorry for the way that that Pikachu is behaving, he never climbs on anyones shoulder. He usually shocks them!!" The elderly man reached out to touch the creature he had called Pikachu but pulled back when something yellow flashed between the mans hand and the creatures cheek. He didn't seem at all bothered by the fact that Juda was an uninvited guest. In fact, he seemed delighted and completely at ease."Ya see? You're the only person who he's ever climbed on, whats your name kid?" He tried once again to grab Pikachu but the flash of yellow lit up once again, forcing him to retract his hand.

(("Who is this guy? Why is he so calm? Is he used to people barging in or is he just a nice guy?")) Juda couldn't figure it out. If it was any of the adults he knew then he would've already been called out and reprimanded. However this guy merely smiled and avoided the topic altogether, never asking about why he was here or where he came from. It was all just so strange.

"My name is Juda Unmei," Juda replied after a few seconds, his thoughts drifting towards whatever the strange light had been. If the old man wasn't going to bring it up then he wouldn't bother with it either. "What is this creature? Is it some sort of mutant mouse." He reached out his hand cautiously expecting the yellow light, but when none came, he reached out hand began to rub his hand over the creatures head. The creature named Pikachu closed its eyes and rubbed its head affectionately against Juda's hand, completely stunning the old man.

With a look of curiosity on his visage, the elder turned around and walked back down the hallway from where he came at a rather brisk pace. Juda decided to follow him, somewhat as to who this man was and where he was going; eager to find out more information.

The man had ran into the room whose door had been completely shattered by the Pikachu. While the outside was a mess of wooden shards, the inside of the room seemed to be perfectly intact. Drawers and cabinets lined one side of the room with a sink in the middle of it, even having a microwave on one of the countertops. On the other side stood peculiar and mysterious looking machines that Juda had never seen before, things he probably couldn't just buy in any Amazon store. The machines held his gaze for a few seconds longer before his luminous hues focused on the old man once again.

The man was currently typing up on a thing that looked like a combination of a computer and an old school arcade game, like the one Juda used to play pacman on. "Juda Unmei, Juda Unmei," The elder kept repeating the name over and over again, though Juda wasn't entirely sure why.

"There aren't any pokemon trainers who go by that name, nor any pokemon tamer, performer, breeder, or anyone related to Pokemon as far as my computer can tell." The old man glanced at Juda, a curious look coming over his face. "Young man, do you know what a pokemon is?" The question clearly held a lot of weight to it, but once again Juda was confused. He didn't know what the man was talking about, not understanding a word of his muttering or even when he spoke clearly to him.

Juda shook his head and readjusted the beanie on his head. "Sorry, really can't say that I do. I'm not really familiar with the word Poke....man." Juda didn't see any particular problem with this but apparently it greatly interested the old man as he began writing down something into his computer.

The elderly man glanced at Juda again, his curiousity seemed to have grown even stronger. "Well before I start explaining things to you, you should know that my name is Professor Oak, a pokemon professor and the owner of that Pikachu which seems to have attached itself to your shoulder."

//Make sure to vote. Next chapter out in a bit. Trying to get into the swing of things.

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