Pokemon: Hazel's Path (fanfiction)

Chapter 1: Reminiscence

"I choose Torchic!" Hazel proclaimed as she reached for the Poke Ball containing a precious, young Torchic.
"Aw, man!" said a boy next to her. "How am I supposed to be a Fire-type Gym Leader without a Fire-type starter?"

"Sorry, Norby, but I got to him first!" Hazel teased.

Norby chose Treecko, and another girl, named Brooke, chose Mudkip. Outside, they let their Pokemon play with each other, while they decided on names.

Flame.

That was the name of Hazel's Blaziken.

Remembering this moment brought back the joy and hope that Hazel had lost. When her legs were injured in a battle against the legendary Deoxys, she knew she would never be able to follow her dream, as her injury never healed correctly, and had become debilitating.

She would never become a Dragon-type Gym Leader.

Every now and then, she felt the effects of her condition, causing walking to become difficult. However, she was lucky. She had a legendary Pokemon on her side that she could ride when she couldn't walk. With Latias' Levitate Ability, Hazel could sit on her back while she glided through each of Hoenn's routes when need be.

However, with Hazel's increasing pain and failing strength, Latias had to be summoned so much, that Hazel decided it would be easier for Latias to be a permanent member of her team. It wasn't just Latias that worried for Hazel's health, it was each and every one of her Pokemon, especially Flame.

With Hazel's growing condition, she couldn't continue her role as Hoenn's Champion, so she had to pass the role off to the next viable candidate. At first, she thought about handing it back to the previous Champion, Steven Stone, but Norby had just conquered the Elite Four, and he defeated Hazel in battle, naming him as the next Champion, while Brooke was just finishing the last Gym in Sootopolis City.

Hazel sat at her desk in her Secret Base at the Secret Shore, reading a book about the research of Pokemon Moves, written by the Alolan Pokemon Professor, Professor Kakui. The results of his research had been fascinating, but Hazel wasn't sure if this was the field of practice she wanted to pursue as a Pokemon Trainer. She had read Professor Sycamore's book on Mega Evolution, and a few other books concerning Pokemon research, but had come up dry on what subject to look for.

Hazel closed her book and sighed, laying her head on her book and folding her arms in front of her. What was she supposed to do? With Latias by her side, field work seemed easy enough, but it wasn't interesting enough, either. Her legs were constantly wrapped in bandages, to help protect her legs, as the nerves hadn't fully grown back. Hazel was finding it hard to stand, so every time she sent Latias into battle, she rode on her back. Not only was it so that she didn't collapse if her legs gave out, but she could see what it was like to see from Latias' perspective, which was a privilege she made good use of. But always having to rely on a Pokemon took away some of Hazel's sense of independence, something she had sought to gain on her journey.

Latias floated up next to her and began stroking through Hazel's long honey brown hair with her claws, freeing it from knots. As a Psychic-type, she was able to tell that Hazel's stress had taken a toll on her as well.

"It pains me to see you like this, Hazel," Latias told her. "You have such a special gift. But even those come with a price."

Hazel didn't reply. She understood fully what Latias was saying, as though she were speaking Hazel's native language, that was her special power that few other humans had. However, Hazel had become depressed since the incident. But the mission wasn't a total failure, in fact, quite the opposite. Deoxys had been caught.

"Hazel," Latias prompted.

"I'm sorry, Latias," Hazel replied. "I just don't know what I'll be able to do, now that the possibility of becoming a Gym Leader is gone. I would have been amazing at the job! And now what? I can't even stand without crutches! There's no coming back from this..."

Latias sighed and looked down. Would Hazel ever be truly happy?

Hazel grabbed her crutches and hobbled over to her bed. Setting them down against the wall, she sat on the bed and held her head in her hands. 

Seeing the horrified looks on everyone's faces when they saw her was a memory burned into her head. Her parents were devastated, Norby and Brooke, clueless as to what they could do to help. 

Norby had since been defeated as the champion, and started a secret team: Team Wildfire. Brooke had joined, and Hazel's team, Poketalkers, had joined forces with team Wildfire, and did what they could to supply Hazel with the necessary services to help her heal.

Everyone was still trying to recover from the initial shock of the terrible incident.

Flame walked over, holding a tray of pasta that he and Grenaria, Hazel's Gardevoir, had prepared.

"Here," Flame offered. "You should eat something."

"Thanks, Flame," Hazel smiled weakly.

Flame dipped his head, and turned to his punching bag. Even at max level, he still trained hard, never failing to let Hazel down. He had even more of a reason to remain strong for Hazel, now, and he wasn't going to set it aside for the world.

Eevee, the shiny Flareon who's name never changed when she evolved, was dusting the surfaces. She was a surprisingly clean Pokemon, and did her best to make sure the base was clean. She was also the one who made sure Hazel's bandages were changed out every once in a while. As hard a worker as she was, she was still devastated from the incident, and cleaning was the only way she could take her mind off of things. That and battling. Eevee was the first Pokemon whose levels maxed out under Hazel's training.

Every one of Hazel's Pokemon worked diligently, and it brought a smile to her face. She knew that there would be a day where she finally found something she could do that she was passionate about.