Debunked Onwards Paths

So, through the various polls I've given, a few a while ago, and many over the last few days, I've more or less narrowed down the path of the story. If you don't remember what it is, it is quite simply the pokemon story I'm writing in tribute to my doggo.

As it is, initially I was thinking of doing it in Kanto, in the manga-verse, aka Pokemon Special that focuses on a manga adaption of the Pokemon game worlds centring around the game characters and is a lot more mature and brutal than the anime.

Route 1: The more or less route for this one, was a gym leader route. Now, this probably doesn't sound as exciting to most as say being a champion, but early in the pokemon manga, Elite Four and Champions weren't a thing, in fact, the original Elite Four in Lance, Lorelei, Bruno and Agatha were eco terrorists and Lance literally attacks Vermillion City with an army of dragon types and blows up the place. On top of that, there wasn't really any established government for the most part, and Kanto as a whole was just made up of quite a lot of settlements, Viridian City was more of a large village than anything else for instance and the highest authority in the lands, were the Gym Leaders who protected these settlements and people really didn't know much about pokemon.

The idea for this story, was the mc Yarden starting off in Viridian City, where the gym like the games, has been more or less abandoned by Giovanni, though he is using a sectioned off part of Viridian Forest as a gladiatorial area where pokemon fight brutally to get stronger so he can use them in his army.

Yarden, while taking up a job to make a living in Viridian City, would eventually be noticed for his skill with his Growlithe and fighting off any wild pokemon, specifically in defeating and capturing a literal Dragonair that canonically escaped Giovanni's little scheme area and was attacking people. And at the behest of the people, take up the spot as the new Gym Leader of Viridian City and basically begin a city building-esque lifestyle.

Of course in the background, Team Rocket are being literal terrorists trying to take over the region and literally trying to fuse the three legendary birds together. Also part of them are Surge, Koga and Sabrina.

Yarden would eventually get involved when they make their big bid and confront Giovanni himself when he comes back to try and take Viridian's Gym back for a climactic showdown with Red. At this point, he would have caught a Rhydon and Alakazam that were rampaging in the area after Team Rocket's little plans failed and all the violent pokemon escaped and spread out.

Later, when the Elite Four are trying to destroy all of the budding civilization of Kanto, Yarden would team up with Red, Blue, Green, Blaine, Giovanni, Yellow, Surge, Sabrina and Koga to stop them.

Come the Johto arc, there is literally a big tournament arc pitting all of the Johto Gym Leaders against the Kanto ones and Yarden would be involved. At the same time, the newly reborn Team Rocket would be trying to capture Lugia and Ho-oh so they can create a perfect gold and silver pokeball that could capture Celebi. While the legendary dogs roam the land and try to stop them, each of them trying to find a trainer to serve to stop them. Yarden, would end up being chosen by Suicune and capturing it and helping put an end to the 'Masked Man' the leader of the new Team Rocket's plans.

At this point, the league itself would have begun to take root in the regions and suddenly the weather patterns of the world are out of whack because Team Magma and Aqua, and Yarden at the behest of a few would head to Hoenn to help, where he would end up getting the Treecko left behind with Professor Birch when Ruby and Sapphire left on their journeys. And then come back to find himself in the middle of the events of the Fire Red and Leaf Green saga, where Giovanni has got his hands on Deoxys and is causing a ruckus, for as it turns out, his son, Team Rocket was only ever created for him to expand his influence and find his son that was kidnapped as an infant. Of course, things don't go too well in the end, because as it turns out, one of his top trusted agents, is in fact a spy for Team Plasma who has captured Darkrai and was there specifically to put an end to Red, Green, Blue, Silver, Gold, Yellow and the like so they couldn't be a threat to Team Plasma, Yarden would of course have been on that list as well. Basically, it's a whole thing. Doesn't really matter now, because this path was the first to be debunked. Here, have a trainer card;

Route 2: Now, route two is still based in the manga-verse, but starts off in Sinnoh, specifically Oreburgh City. Yarden here, would like in route 1, be looking for work and end up getting a job as a miner under Roark and becoming more or less an assistant to Roark who trained under him to learn how to be a proper trainer.

Later, a trio consisting of Platinum a sheltered ojou-sama on journey that everyone in her family did at her age would arrive, being escorted by Pearl and Diamond, the pair of them having been mistaken for her hired bodyguards and them thinking they had won some tour around Sinnoh with her. They're comedians by the way. Platinum from a family of scientists is there to broaden her horizons and in the process decides to take part in the gym challenge. That's where the mc would meet the trio and become friendly with them, but not leave with them after they left. He, would leave later to do more or less some errands for Roark, who would give him a newly revived Cranidos to assist him just in case. He'd first be making his way to see Byron, on the way being attacked by a certain rough gang of Starly led by a Staravia, whom the mc would defeat and capture.

Later at Canalave, he'd end up heading to Iron Islands, where he'd encounter the boss of the island and the strongest pokemon there, a rather large, oddly coloured and powerful Steelix. He would lose to it. Which to be fair, it would be in the level 40-45 range and he'd have a party of three all around level 20.

He would end up training with Riley and his Lucario for a bit, and challenging the Steelix again, only to lose again, before promising to come back as he returns to Oreburgh and then basically has to travel around Sinnoh for a bit making deliveries and such as a trusted courier for Roark. While on his way to Eterna City, he'd come across a mishief loving Gible that was constantly picking fights and capture it, before moving on to past Hearthome, where he'd run into Platinum and co once more, spend more time with them and have his first fight with Team Galactic...who are after Platinum. A much more dangerous Team Galactic than the anime or games, who are filled with literal brainwashed zealots who will outright suicide bomb their target if they can't defeat them normally.

....Yeah Team Galactic were fucking scary in the manga.

Well anyway, he'd travel with the trio a bit to help keep an eye on Platinum, who is kind of oblivious at the moment to what was actually going on, because she wasn't in the area where Team Plasma and her real bodyguards showed up and were promptly more or less 'murdered', in the process saving Diamond and Pearl who decide to protect Platinum.

I'll leave the broad strokes out beyond the fact the mc would eventually get involved in the full on battle and brawl consisting between Dialga, Palkia, Giratina and Regigigas. And would have returned to defeat and capture Steelix for its strength and power to help in the Galactic and would later be the one to defeat the bitch with the Darkrai, and then free Darkrai and earn its allegiance. Which is where this trainer card came from;

As far as pairings went.

Route 1: Green
Route 2: Platinum

Route 3, the one I'm settled on now takes place in the anime and in Sinnoh and will re-use a few things from the other two Routes. And the pairing for that, will be: Dawn.