Ragnarok

Note: Sorry this one took so long to add up. Like I said before, I have yet to reach my comfort zone, and will not reach that until the Prologue is over and done with.

I can say that the Prologue should end within the next 2-4 chapters. I apologize for such a stretch of Prologue, but this is the only way I could think of to fit this information in the story.

As for the lemon, it'll get here eventually. I swear.

Please leave reviews and such, even harsh criticisms if necessary. The more criticisms I recieve, the more quality that I can put into my story. Simple as that.

Also, rate my story as well. :)

One last thing as well. If anyone is interested, I'm making a Ragnarok Mailing List for anybody who wants instant updates on freshly added chapters. To get on the mailing list, simply email me at this address:

red_ghost16@yahoo.com

With all this out of the way, all I can say is to enjoy the read!

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0:03
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"Agh! Easy, easy, not so tight ma! It's kinda choking me," the young Noah squealed. He tugged at the tuxedo, trying to loosen the tight feeling around his neck. Sweat was already beginning to form on his forehead as he thought about the long night he had ahead. After almost an entire decade of schooling, this was it. He was ready to finish what he started, and finally graduate from Twinleaf Pokemon Academy.

He sat at his dresser, his mom continuing to fix his suit, looking for any problems that she could find. She inspected him for any wrinkles or smudges he might have accidentally caught within the last twenty minutes, absent to the fact that she'd been with him the entire time he had been wearing the outfit. Once her long and drawn out task was complete, she placed her delicate fingers along his shoulders, and lovingly wrapped her arms around his neck, careful not to be the cause of an unwanted wrinkle or stain. Her hair dropped over his shoulders and head, her body heat and calm breathing warmed the back of his neck.

"You know how proud we are of you Noah. You know that we don't need to tell you this," his Mother whispered to his ear, ending with a peck of a kiss on his cheek, which unknowingly left a faint red color on his skin that neither cared to notice.

"Vivian, can I see him yet? He's going to be late to the Academy of you don't hurry!" A gruff voice boomed down the hallway and into Noah's room.

"Please Richard," she replied in a playful tone, "You know that I can't rush perfection." She pat Noah's shoulder, signaling him to stand up. "Look into the mirror; you've never looked so handsome."

Noah stared at his image in the mirror on his dresser. Handsome would definitely describe himself right now. Clean, white tuxedo, with ivory colored slacks, and shiny white shoes that reflected the light from his room lamp and into the surrounding area. To finish off the dazzling outfit, a black tie that dropped to his stomach. A bit long for the skinny short build of the fifteen year old Noah, but with a sentimental value that he cherished none-the-less: It belonged to his father, who also wore the tie to his graduation, as well as his father, and so forth. A tradition that stretched back to all of the males in the Sol family, and to Noah, not only as an initiation into a full time Pokemon Trainer, but also as a display of affection that was so hard to come by in the males of the Sol family (if anything, another habit that generated from the Sol family tree, this Noah was sure of).

Continuing his own inspection, he scoped his jet black hair. Just the way he liked it: short enough to barely reach around his ears and down toward his eyes, but wild enough to differentiate himself from a crowd; bed head was his favorite way to have it, and not even his parents would be able to convince him otherwise, especially tonight.

Vivian's voice broke the silence. "Your father's waiting, Noah".

He audibly gulped to show his mother exactly how nervous he was. He knew his dad would love what he was wearing, this he knew already. No, what he was nervous about was the evening to come in a few short hours. As he headed toward the opening that leads into the hallway, he dived into his inner thoughts.

"What's the worst that could happen tonight?" He racked his mind for an answer to his own question. "Well...they could just not show up. What an awful thing to even think! They're my parents, why wouldn't they be present at my ceremony? Oh...yes...that's right." Noah thought, reminding himself of the incident on his ninth birthday. Everything was set up for that perfect day just as today, and as soon as the candles blew out from his cake, both of them vanished. "Business" of some sort he assumed. It always happened to the two of them, and Noah couldn't really blame them either. Being set up as active "reserves" for the Sinnoh Government, as well as constantly being away from home on duties with a friend they named "Bee", occasionally left Noah home alone with a teenage babysitter or something of the like. Not that having a babysitter affected Noah anyhow, since he always stayed in his room and studied, or watched the Pokemon Battle Network on the television in the living room, jotting down notes of the battles for his studies later.

"Whatever, everything will be fine if I just go and get this over with..." Noah whispered to himself, giving him an inner comfort that he would desperately need for the remainder of the night.

The carpeted floor absorbed the sound of him walking down the hallway. His father quickly jumped to his feet from a couch that he was resting on, waiting for what seemed like hours for his son on this special night. Noah looked at the den as he approached. A banner had been crudely placed above the door which read "Congratulations!" in big, bold, blue lettering, with blue and white balloons scattered around the floor, some with more air than others. His dad held a small gift wrapped in a silver foil in one hand, a noisemaker in the other.

Noah chuckled at his father. He would look just like a kid if he didn't have his common brown business suit on.

"So dad, whaddya think?" Noah asked his father.

"Hmm," Richard replied, looking at his crisp and sharp looking son. A smile stretched across his face, Noah literally feeling the pride radiating from his father's being.

His father always had some sort of omnipotent presence about him. Just being in his presence made Noah feel completely safe from any harm, like a comfort zone. At the same time, his mother filled him with a loving intimacy that sent Noah into a world of pure, ignorant bliss. The two were definitely a great couple, with a great reputation -which spread across the continents- that sometimes bugged Noah of course, but when in their presence, there was never a negative emotion to be felt.

Richard whistled, impressed by his son's suave look. "You really do remind me of when I was your age, I can tell you that."

"Really?"

"Yeah. When I graduated from Pokemon Academy, I wore a suit very similar to the one you're wearing right now." Richard paused for a second. "My lord. It's like looking into a mirror," he added, giving off his hidden nostalgia with another bright smile. "Bet you're a little nervous too, huh?"

"Just a little bit, but I've trained myself for this moment. I can handle anything they throw at me."

Richard smiled even more. "That's my son, always planning ahead. I like that." He rested a hand on Noah's head, and messed with his hair, not that Noah really cared.

"Are you ready to go, Noah?" Vivian asked from down the hall, approaching the two.

"Yes mom. I have about twenty minutes to get to sign ups, and then I have to wait until I'm called for the ceremony to begin."

"That's fine." Richard interrupted. "We have the information we need to arrive on time. You can go ahead without us. We'll head out in about an hour."

"Sounds good." Noah said, hugging his mom goodbye. "You'd better be there." he teased at his parents as he went to hug his father, careful not to mess with the tuxedo he had on. On his way toward the door, he felt his father's strong hand grab his shoulder and pull him back a few steps.

"Woah, woah, hold on there! You still have a minute or two, and I have something to give you." his father's voice boomed.

Noah's body was turned by his father's strong hand, the silver-wrapped gift forced into his hands. He looked up at his dad, skeptical as to what might be in the box.

"Can you do me a favor Noah," his father asked, "and don't open this gift until after the ceremony?"

Noah looked at the gift, puzzled as to why it was important to his dad that he was to open it after the graduation was over, rather than before. He didn't question it aloud though, realizing that his dad probably knew best. After all, it was a gift from his father; he knew what he was doing. After this reassurance, Noah prepared himself for the quick walk to the Pokemon Academy in downtown Twinleaf. Right as he was about to turn around, his father's hand again stopped him, but before he could look back at his parents, his father wrapped a necklace around his head, letting it fall onto his shoulders and sink toward his neck.

Noah looked at the necklace, confused as to what it was. His father read his facial expression, a chuckle escaping from his throat.

"I have no idea what it is exactly..." Noah's father told him, pointing to the center of the metal object that now rested atop his black tie. In the center, was a milky white diamond. It looked glorious in the light that the setting sun gave off from the window in the den, and its color matched with Noah's tuxedo to boot. "...but that there in the center is what is called a Soul Plate. It's a mystical item found nearby Lake Verity many years ago. I have no idea what it does, and I've had it for a long time now, and to this day, I have never been able to figure out its secrets. Maybe someday you will figure out what it does."

Noah analyzed his new necklace. Aside from the diamond in the middle of the metal object, there were sixteen grooves that surrounded the center where the apparent "Soul Plate" rested. The metal around the necklace was colored gold, the metal itself cold and smooth to the touch, the edges turned out to be anything but sharp. Noah took an instant liking to his new gift.

"T-thanks dad." Noah said.

"It's brought me nothing but luck in my life," Richard told Noah, "here's to an infinite wealth of luck to you as well."

Noah audibly laughed at this, now caressing his new necklace. There was something about the material used that he adored. It felt wonderful to the touch, and it made him feel at ease. Perhaps because it was his fathers; possibly...the "aura" that surrounded his father was withheld inside this medallion? Noah didn't seem to care why he felt this warmth, he was simply glad that it was there for him whenever he needed it.

"I'd love to stay, but I gotta go." Noah announced to his parents, after realizing that the sun was already half gone behind the hills that stretched to the outskirts of town.

"We understand." Vivian replied.

"Yes. Now go Noah, and show them what it means to be a Sol!" his eccentric father added.

Pride overwhelmed Noah as he rushed out of the door to his house and darted down the street, an endless reservoir of energy flowing through his body. His parent's happiness obviously had an effect on Noah's mood. He felt fantastic; nothing was going to get in his way of graduating tonight, and getting his official Pokemon Trainer license.

He dashed toward the gate that surrounded his home, opening it up with a fierce rigor, and headed out, letting the gate slowly close behind him.

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"There! It's open, grab it!" a man's voice commanded to a lesser grunt. The white picket gate slammed down on the grunt's arm, but due to its light weight, didn't harm the young man.

"Got it, the gate's open." the grunt told the man standing behind him. He waited for the young man to run out of eyeshot before slowly opening the gate up again, allowing both himself and the other man to sneak into the inside of the fence. Quickly, they both slithered into a set of bushes and tree by the opening of the gate that led to the house up ahead.

"Let's re-discuss what's going to happen here," the man's cold voice calmly spoke, "the more you understand, the easier this will be, got it?"

The grunt stuttered back a few steps, positioning himself inside the bushes. "Yes, sir." he whispered.

Minutes passed as the two discussed their plan...

"Understand?"

"I believe so. Once the job is done...torch it, right?"

"Correct. We'll have a crew waiting back here at the fence. Once you've crossed, burn it to the ground, and follow the crew back to the rendezvous point."

"But sir, what about-"

"Don't worry about me." the man interrupted, a sharp grin revealing itself on his face. "I can handle myself."

"B-but sir! With all due respect, they are the Legendary-"

"I'll handle it." the man sharply hissed, malice obvious within his words. The grunt fell back onto the grass. The murderous vibe that this man's body emitted was immense. Just being in this man’s presence made the grunt fear for his life.

There was nothing but silence between the two for several moments.

"W...when are we going to begin?" the grunt asked.

The man cracked an evil grin that stretched from ear to ear. "Once that...thing is gone." he said, pointing back toward the setting sun.

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Richard and Vivian watched as their son left their house behind the fence, and then quickly shut the door, walking back to the den. Even with the sofas begging for them to rest, they continued to stand, both staring deeply into each other's eyes.

"Do you think we can handle this?" Vivian asked.

"We can and will, that son-of-a-bitch is getting what he deserves tonight." Richard's voice growled, his mood drastically changed from moments before. He approached his wife, pressing her body against his muscular frame, and without any thought otherwise, deeply kissed her, both standing in front of the setting sun against the window of the den for the long moment. He could feel her love for him, and she could feel his love for her. Locked in each other's embrace, they continued for moments after, eyes closed and both in a loving trance with one another.

Vivian finally broke the bond between their bodies, and looked out toward the window. The thoughts of a mother in a panic began to arise from within her being.

"You think he'd go after him?" Vivian asked.

Richard dismissed the question with his hand. "He won't. That's why we're here."

"Yes." she replied.

"We have no more time to screw around, let's end this once and for all."

Richard swiftly walked into the master bedroom of the house, Vivian right on his heels. They both split to the opposite sides of the room when they approached the bed, each reaching onto their own personal nightstand for their belts. The two quickly strapped on the belts, and waited for a few moments as the last rays of sunlight escaped the valley in which they lived. Richard and Vivian both reached for the six pokeballs that rested on each of their waists. Both husband and wife grabbed two, and activated them, the pokeballs doubling in size as they did so.

"Let's go." Richard told Vivian.

They both felt an ominous presence looming over their shoulders as they head toward the front door, Vivian disturbed at Richard's apparent strategy.

"Wait, wouldn't this be too obvious?!" she said as they slowly broke into a run.

"Yes," Richard answered, "so obvious in fact, that maybe he won't expect it. If anything, he thinks we're coming out the back door."

Vivian couldn't help but smile as they reached the door, laughing at her husbands comment. The plan was so absurd and crude that it was stupid enough to actually work. She truly hoped for it to work.

"I want to see Noah right after this is done, no matter what, okay?" she told him as they reached the door.

"You got it." Richard said. His face was anything but happy right now. Intense fear took over his body at what was coming, but he refused to show it in front of Vivian. Not now, not ever. He swung open the door, leading them from the safety and comfort of their own home, and into the fierce and ravenous blender that was the oncoming struggle in the night.

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Noah sat in the wooden chair, waiting for his name to be called in anticipation, along with a large class of other soon-to-be graduates. A blissful grin had been on his face ever since he had left his house, since he gave both his mother and father a hug goodbye. He could hear the cheers of the crowd on the other side of a golden curtain, which also disabled his ability to see exactly how many people were viewing the graduation ceremony. Oh yeah, he was definitely excited, and his ever-growing anxiousness only continued to multiply after he checked in with the dean of the Twinleaf Pokemon Academy a little over an hour ago.

Noah went over strategies and statistics of random Pokemon in his head, to keep himself "fresh" before it was his turn. The graduation was extremely different from what he had imagined. Rather than simply have a dull and tedious ceremony with standardized diplomas and a constant applause from the crowd, each graduate had to compete in a Pokemon battle, in his case, Noah's very first Pokemon battle. Rather than be graded depending on win or lose situations, students were graded on how well they used whatever Pokemon they were given on stage. This relieved Noah, the pressure of winning his first battle easing up slightly, although the concept of winning his first battle ever still gave him a sort of motivation to try his hardest and succeed.

"Fire loses to water," Noah repeated in his head, ensuring that all the knowledge of battling he gained at the academy was concrete, "and captivate only works against the opposite gender. Ooh, and also, normal type attacks can't damage ghost type Pokemon, and thunder is more accurate with rain dance active on the field."

A loud roar from the audience ripped through the curtain in front of him, forcing him out of his seat in excitement. The last battle just ended, apparent when both graduates re-entered the waiting room moments later, shaking each others hand, both holding an authentic diploma. Stamped on the piece of parchment: the seal of approval from High Noon itself. Noah's heart skipped a beat when he saw and recognized such a seal, one would have to be completely ignorant of politics to not notice the familiarity of such a stamp. In a green emerald color, a picture of the world, with a large fist gripping the entire planet in its palm, finished with lighter colors of green lines to shape the world like a pokeball. A symbol that inspired Noah to do his best, for the high hopes that he too will soon be inducted to become a member of High Noon.

Noah's expectations of himself had to have been really high to get into High Noon.

High Noon: an all powerful group of authority figures who govern the world. The individuals all control a portion of the world itself, split into four smaller factions: The Kanto, Johto, Hoenn, and Sinnoh Government. The leaders of these four powers are those who make up the party known as High Noon. Their actions are always the absolute, and no one who was sane would ever go against their infinite wisdom.

Just imagining that High Noon itself would approve him of becoming a Pokemon Trainer made him smile even harder. His spirit was going crazy, his control was slipping. Even if no member from High Noon were present, he wanted to show his full potential in combat to please anyone who would witness it.

"Noah Sol, report to the battle stadium." a voice boomed over the auditorium, silencing the crowd, the graduates, and the faculty members that lined up on the other side of the golden curtain. All were quiet except Noah, that is. He felt his heart completely stop as he jumped off of his seat, and tried to walk calmly into the brightly lit stadium behind the golden curtain.

He shoved the blinding curtain aside, and walked through, along with his opponent on the other side of the stadium. The crowd roared in anticipation, demanding more action and Pokemon Battles to please their appetite.

Noah looked around the audience before locking eyes with his opponent. No sign of his parents from what he could see, that is, if he could even see in that ocean of people to begin with that is.

"Maybe I didn't look hard enough." He thought to himself as he looked away from the audience. "Maybe they are here; I just couldn't find them in time."

He smirked as he recognized his opponent. He wasn't familiar with the graduate, or even acquainted for that matter. He did, however, know this student's class rank from the other graduates. It was because of this rank, that Noah had the tendency to call him "Mr. 2". This student was always second to Noah, but that by no means meant that Mr. 2 would be easy to defeat, even compared to someone ranked near the bottom of the list. This was after all, Noah's first battle, and one mistake or slip-up could easily cost him the match.

"This is it, Noah." He told himself, the smile immediately evaporating from his face. Nothing but confidence was revealed through his tall and powerful figure.

Noah cracked his knuckles, still locked eye to eye with Mr. 2. "It's Showtime!"