Watchers of Raikou

Zak Vangard

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The main protagonist of the first story, Watchers of Raikou. Zak is a kind-hearted individual from a small village-island on the western edge of Johto (specifically near the Whirl Islands).

Zak is described as having silky, jet-black hair of a medium length and dark brown eyes and is typically seen wearing a white shirt and navy-blue jeans. He never travels without his crescent moon pendant, though the origin of this accessory has never been revealed.

Vital Statistics

Full Name: Zak Vangard

Age: Seventeen

Gender: Male

Star Pokemon: Nidoqueen

Warning: Spoilers for Watchers of Raikou appear below this line:

Overview:

At the beginning of Watchers of Raikou Zak is not a Pokemon trainer, though he does have three Pokemon in his possession (Pick, Tauros and Nidoqueen).

Zak leaves his home village in order to search for his father after several months of absence. Though he is a friendly boy, he is a little naive to the ways of the world due to living in such a small, closely-knit farming community and as a result is a little awkward in his first encounters with people.

Zak first travels to Ecruteak City, where he meets Mr. Lunata, a colleague of his father's whom he later learns as being one of the members of the organization Watchers of Raikou, an organization which his father is the head of. Mr. Lunata gives Zak an old key and instructs him to head into the basement of the Burnt Tower, where he discovers a statue of the three legendary beasts of Johto - including Raikou, the legendary beast of thunder. Zak catches a Magmar in the ruins of the tower, whom he names Torch, and retrieves a small box which he returns to Mr. Lunata.

Upon returning to Mr. Lunata Zak is gifted with his father's samurai sword, the Sword of Thunder, and the contents of his box - a dark-blue Scizor which formerly belonged to his father. Mr. Lunata then persuades Zak to become an official trainer in the Johto Pokemon League by defeating as many Johto Gym Leaders as possible.

Zak battles against Morty, the Gym leader of Ecruteak who is a proficient Ghost-type Pokemon user. After a long battle Zak eventually emerges victorious and is granted the badge of Ecruteak, along with Morty's respect as a trainer.

Zak then proceeds to travel south towards Goldenrod City, travelling based on the recommendation of Mr. Lunata that he should speak with a Watcher of Raikou living in Azalea Town. On his travels Zak encounters a shadowy Pokemon trainer attempting to steal a beige-coloured Eevee from a young boy. Zak steps in, causing the stranger to back off and prompting no further incident.

When Zak arrives in Goldenrod he soon finds himself lost due to the sheer enormity of Johto's capitol city. In his attempts to locate the nearest Pokemon Centre he accidentally collides into a young girl, who scolds him for his carelessness. Zak apologises and eventually locates the Pokemon Centre, where he spends the night before attempting to challenge the Goldenrod City Gym leader the next morning.

Upon his arrival at the Gym Zak is surprised to find the leader, Whitney Akane, is none other than the girl he bumped into the previous day. Whitney seems less than thrilled about battling Zak, though she accepts his challenge nonetheless and a close match ensues. Zak is only able to win by calling on his father's Scizor, which quickly rages out of control, refusing to stop attacking Whitney's Miltank despite the fact that Whitney had already conceded defeat. Zak eventually manages to return Scizor to the Great ball and attempts to apologise, though Whitney is far too distraught to listen, instead running from the arena in floods of tears. Zak, feeling ashamed of what he believes to be his inability as a trainer, leaves the Gym and heads south towards Ilex Forest, believing that the knowledge that he was able to beat Whitney was enough, and that he didn't need a badge to prove his accomplishment.

Whitney eventually calms down and catches up with Zak as he is leaving the city, persuaded by her friend Ayane and her uncle to travel with the boy in order to hone her skills as a trainer and abandon her previously sheltered lifestyle. Zak is hesitant at first, worrying that his journey to find his father would put the girl in jeapordy, but Whitney persists and eventually Zak agrees to allow her to travel with him up until Violet City. Zak then receives the Plain Badge of Goldenrod as proof of his victory over the girl.

Whilst travelling towards Ilex Forest, Zak and Whitney both encounter a wild Ditto, which Zak proceeds to catch after battling it with his Magmar, Torch. He decides not to give it a nickname.

Inside the forest Whitney and Zak set up camp for the night, where Whitney attempts to learn more about Zak's journey, sensing that he is not attempting to defeat the Elite Four of the Indigo Plateau as a typical trainer would. Zak declines, though Whitney senses that he is hiding something.

The next morning Zak travels with Torch in an attempt to find some food. The trainer and his Pokemon eventually stumble upon some wild Oran Berries, but are soon interrupted by a wild Chikorita. Zak has Torch battle the Pokemon in the hopes of catching it, but Chikorita proves more cunning than Zak had first anticipated and manages to distract Torch long enough to flee. Zak is unable to contemplate his loss for long, however, as he hears Whitney crying out for help.

Zak rushes back to the campsite to find it abandoned. Following Whitney's voice he eventually comes to a clearing, where a young boy by the name of Tanner reveals himself as a follower of Knite Ferasim. Tanner has stolen the Great Ball in which Zak's Scizor resides and demands Zak yield his father's samurai sword to him as well. Enraged, Zak and Tanner battle, and it isn't long before Tanner's Pinsir is overwhelmed by Zak's Fearow, Pick. Tanner angrily admits defeat, but manages to escape on his Xatu before Zak can catch him.

After the incident Whitney confronts Zak yet again as to what his journey's ultimate objective is. Zak once again declines to answer truthfully, instead instructing Whitney to head back to Goldenrod as she isn't safe whilst travelling with him. Whitney heads back north through Ilex Forest, angry that Zak refused to tell her more. Meanwhile Zak continues to head south towards Azalea Town, angrily blaming himself for putting Whitney in danger.

Upon his arrival in Azalea Zak heads to the Pokemon Centre where he stocks up on supplies and leaves the majority of his Pokemon team to rest up in the hands of Nurse Joy. It is here he meets Alex and Tori, two trainers who are gossiping about Blackrock, the legendary black-coloured Onix which roams Union Cave and its apparent unrest in recent years. The three trainers quickly become friends and agree to travel to Union Cave together in order to find Bugsy, the Pokemon Gym leader of Azalea, who is currently investigating the Blackrock situation.

It doesn't take long for the team to discover Bugsy and Dalton, the local woodcutter, battling Blackrock. Bugsy then demands that Dalton escort the youngsters back to Azalea. After some protesting, Tori and Alex eventually agree to leave. Dalton notices the sword Zak is carrying and tells Alex and Tori that they'll catch up with them as Bugsy gives chase to Blackrock through another cavern. Dalton then proceeds to challenge Zak to a swordfight, which Zak promptly loses due to his lack of his skill. The fight continues for a few minutes until eventually Bugsy is heard calling out in despair and Dalton and Zak leave the fight for later to go and attend to the Gym leader.

Zak and Dalton arrive in the next cavern to find Blackrock almost paralysed by a nearby machine which is sapping the Onix's power via a large metal bracelet wrapped around the Pokemon's body. The group are then interrupted by Cassidy and Butch, two members of Team Rocket who are monitoring the effects the machine is having on Blackrock. The two groups battle, and Zak's Ditto is soon overwhelmed by the grunts' own Pokemon and is swept away by one of the cave's many small rivers. Zak panics at this development and attempts to chase the drifting Ditto, tumbling down a waterfall and into a secluded cave where he finds himself surrounded by wild Chinchou. Noticing the wild Pokemon's playful athletics Zak gets an idea to have Ditto transform into a replica of a Chinchou and use Waterfall to escape the cavern, using its new form to gain the upper hand in the battle against Team Rocket. The plan works well, and Cassidy and Butch are soon defeated thanks to the combined efforts of Zak and Bugsy. Dalton removes the bracelet from Blackrock with his hunting knife and the machine is destroyed, thus solving the mystery of Blackrock. Dalton then explains that he was once a Watcher of Raikou and offers to train Zak in both Johto martial arts and swordplay. Zak accepts this invitation and for the next three months stays in Azalea Town training both himself and his Pokemon as much as possible.

Significant Relationships:

Geol Vangard (Father)

(Step-Mother)

Sora Vangard (Sister)

Whitney Akane (Friend)

Zenith Ainsborough (Friend)

Velcia Kitsuga (Biological Mother)

Yuki Kitsuga (Half-Sister)

Pokemon:

Pick (Fearow)

Tauros (Tauros)

Nidoqueen (Nidoqueen)