POKEVERSE SUMMIT PROLOGUE
Note: I'll write the entire summit pic (Have been working on and off on it between school) and will eventually post the whole thing on Ao3! For the time being now though, while it's still mostly a draft, I just wanted to post the prologue! I love making scenes with all the groups all under one roof and fleshing out relationships that may not have any reason to interact otherwise!
The doors creaked to a close as the last name on the list entered the building, Silver's eyes wandering critically about the smaller than expected attendance. The elite four member scoffed at the high ceilings of the wide entrance room of the Opelucid city mansion that held the long awaited summit.
“Seems a bit overkill for a group with the same numbers as big as a school classroom.”
Jabbing her elbow deep into his side, Kris ignored her friend’s hiss in favor of glaring at him. “You complained on the way here about the possibility that the venue was too small, and now it's too big? Get over yourself!” He muttered a passive aggressive apology, rubbing his sore side while taking stock of his surroundings again.
The small audience milled about in the large front room, the hum of conversation diluted among the large space. With everybody pushed as far into the corners as they could, it surely looked less like an exclusive invite only event and more like a reluctant workplace party.
Silver recognized some of them, of course- The Kanto attendants were next to their own little group. Gold has been animatedly retelling a story to Red and Blue- the dark haired man hanging on to the tale with unrivaled interest, while the lighter haired man nodded politely along. Leaf and Lyra had been giggling for the last ten minutes, pointing at the way the clock’s second hand moved funny. Kris offhandedly wondered aloud if a ghost pokemon had anything to do with it.
Though the majority of guests he failed to recognize. A group from Sinnoh draped in clothes much too warm for the cooler Unova region in the spring, talked quietly, other than a blonde man and a bespectacled woman making jabs at each other about personal financial debt.
While he took some grace at the fact they were across the room so he didn't have to crane his head to even glance at them- the group from Galar was too tall for Silver's liking. On top of their intimidating heights, one girl was dressed in an outfit ripped straight from a fairytale, laughing far too loudly, her arms waving wildly in her large sleeves. Silver shook his head at the noise.
The trio from Hoenn was alarmingly peaceful in the corner by the fireplace. The lanky professor took up less space than his shorter wife, though he seemed at ease at the fact. She commanded a strong presence even as she simply joked with her green haired friend who only clicked his tongue at her tone with an unserious grin.
The Unovans were the largest in size, though Silver would argue the most boring. Save perhaps the girl on the side who dressed in pastels and loud shapes and her companion with a scowl and a mess of hair on his head, Silver glazed over the group easily.
He recognized one face in the rambunctious group from Alola, though he dared not greet his former student at the moment. Not while his company was the reason for most of the noise in the room as they cheered at a rotom phone for one reason or another.
“Hello everyone! Welcome to PROJECT PRYGON! "PRYGON" being a stylized variant of PPR-GON: the "Pokemon Preservation and Restoration- Group Organized Network!”
Silver's attention was caught at the wordy acronym, his head swiveling to his right. Just in front of the large door to the north wall, a blue haired woman stood excitedly, her hands clapped together. Her dark cheeks flushed with adrenaline as she continued with a wide smile, “Thank you for coming! I know almost all of you had traveled far at our invitation, and I wanna emphasize how much it means to us that you've managed to be here today!
“That said!” she grabbed a stack of papers from a service tray behind her, “Would you each please grab a form and fill it out before we proceed with today's activities?”
“Why do I need to have an opinion on the state of berries in my local ecosystem?” Silver mumbled to himself, paper gripped frustratingly in his crossed arms. He stood in the line to turn in his form, though a complication in the front caused him to stand stagnant for a moment. Separated from his friends who took longer to fill it out, the redhead jumped as a voice quipped behind him.
“Perhaps that question wasn't for you, then.”
Turning to see who spoke, a brown eyed young man peered straight at him. Silver felt uneasy under his gaze.
“Perhaps that question wasn't meant for you.” The brown haired man repeated, unwavering. He glanced at Silver's crumpled paper. “I'm guessing you didn't care much about naming your favorite pokémon historical event either?”
The redhead narrowed his eyes at the man, “Can't say that I did.”
“Questioning the theory of song in pokémon handling and evolution?”
A grin broke out on the man's face, like he'd made progress in a puzzle. “I see. You were able to answer the questions about pokemon battling, right? About using the right items and such?”
“Maybe I did- why do you care?”
The stranger's back straightened, a hand coming up to adjust the brim of his hat. He seemed to be calculating at a mile a minute, analyzing every spoken and unspoken word with an eerily keen eye. His smile returned to his face, smaller but more accomplished and content.
It unnerved the older man.
“All to know which questions are right for each person. Everyone here's got their own favorites.”
His eyes flickered away for a second before returning, his voice lighthearted as he spoke. “You’re up.”
The redhead ripped himself away from the odd conversation, walking forward to hand his paper to the service attendant. Looping back to his friends, he didn't dare spare a glance to the weird stranger. His discontented frown only softened when Lyra sat next to him, her cheeks rosy. She squealed and patted at Silver’s leg, “I wasn't expecting that at all! What a fun questionnaire!”
He stared blankly at his girlfriend, “What about that was fun to you?”
The brunette scoffed at him, as if he'd told a bad joke, “Number 14 was about the importance of breeding patterns and egg groups! No one ever asks about that- and as one grandchild of a daycare couple, it means a lot to see it up there! Everything important is usually about battling- so you never have a problem being seen.” Lyra pouted a bit, and settled more into her chair, letting her words sink into the man beside her.
“The questions…not for me.”
Sparing a look across the room, he found the odd young man in the Unova group, unseeming and relaxed in the way he carried himself. For someone so nonchalant, Silver couldn't picture him as the same person behind him in line.
At least not until Leaf had come up and pointed at the odd man minutes later with pride, “Y’know, that's my nephew! Isn't he so tall now?”
Looking at his brunette friend, so well known for her exuberant personality, and a little less well known for her scarily critical mind and instincts, Silver only sighed in full understanding.
“I can really see the family resemblance.”
