Lucas/Diamond [Terminus]

Just like his mother Johanna, Lucas was born in Hearthome City. When he was still a baby, not even a year old, his father Kaito died; his mother would never once talk about how or why, only ever bringing him up in their yearly remembrances. Lucas would never ask, either, even when he was old enough to see the glimpses of her true pain. His father became ethereal in his head, existing in photographs and his mother’s sadness but never in a way Lucas could grasp himself. The man stayed in the back of his head always, forever out of reach.

His time in Hearthome, however, was not so easily shoved aside; it was pure hell. Being a smaller boy, and quite meek, Lucas became an easy target for older bullies. Whether verbal or physical, they attacked him relentlessly until, no matter how much the other boys threatened him, he could no longer hide it from his mother. Johanna acted quickly, bringing hell down on the parents and other adults who had ignored it all despite knowing, but the damage was already done. To protect her son from a toxic environment, she decided to sell their home and move to the small town of Twinleaf.

Lucas flourished in their new home, though it might have been difficult for anyone except Johanna and their house Pokemon to tell. He even made a friend, getting along well with an excitable, loud boy named Pearl who always seemed to run everywhere even in his own house. Lucas never minded having to keep up, though. Pearl nicknamed him Diamond, calling him a “diamond in the rough”, and he was pretty much convinced their friendship would be forever.

Somehow, that particular lightning struck twice when he and Pearl met a girl named Platinum at Lake Verity, after they’d been attacked by territorial Starly. What started as a chance meeting quickly morphed into the chance for a full blown adventure with both his new and childhood friend, an opportunity Lucas couldn’t let slip by even as his anxiety tried to convince him otherwise. He was lucky Johanna trusted him so much despite her own fears; she never once tried to convince him to stay, only reassured him he could always return if he needed to.

At first, finding a goal of his own was difficult, as new people and new places terrified him. He went along with the badge collecting because-well, despite his confidence issues, Lucas was pretty good at it. But it wasn’t until he met his second Pokemon that he found part of his answer. She was a rescue, a Pikachu named Starlight who had once lived with abusive people, and bonding with her made Lucas realize something. He wanted to help Pokemon that had been hurt and betrayed, to gain their trust and become their friend. Every Pokemon other than his starter ended up this way, and they cared for him as much as he did for them. His battle style adapted to their needs, and while unorthodox, nobody could deny his potential nor the strong connection Lucas had with his Pokemon.

When the troubles with Galactic began to escalate, it was their casually cruel treatment of Pokemon that infuriated Lucas more than anything else. The way they would inflict pain on innocent beings-beings stolen from friends and family-cut deep into his soul. No matter how afraid he was, how overwhelmed he felt, Lucas knew he had to help stop Galactic and all their horrible plans. That was exactly what he, Platinum, and Pearl did; they defeated Galactic at every turn, ending their attempts to shape the world all the way from the terrifying chaos at Spear Pillar to the very end at Stark Mountain.

When it was all said and done, Lucas wanted nothing more than to forget about end-of-the-world ordeals and everything evil Galactic had done to the region. For awhile, he stayed with his mother at his home, recovering mentally from everything that happened. Soon enough, though, his two friends encouraged him to complete his League challenge; after all, Lucas already earned all eight badges. Unsure of his chances, he only agreed in the end because Platinum was going to take part, too.

To his surprise, his own challenge turned out to be not only be successful, it was fun. Lucas found his own building confidence carrying him from Aaron all the way to Cynthia, where he and his Pokemon actually won against her incredibly powerful team and strategy. It was the shock to end all shocks. He had zero desire to actually be the Sinnoh Champion, though, despite his victory; Lucas gladly returned that title to Cynthia in favor of heading to the Battle Resort with his friends, where they celebrated his and Platinum’s victory. His Pokemon had done a wonderful job, and Lucas figured they could use the rest. His days became a revolving door between staying at the Villa, returning to Twinleaf, or visiting Hearthome, as Johanna was a contest star. His battling days now mostly lulled, and with no Galactic to fight, Lucas found himself at ease.

The biggest mistake he ever made in his life was on one of those very days he traveled to Hearthome to see one of his mother’s contests. Lucas hadn’t intended for anything to happen; all he wanted to do was kill time before meeting up with his mother. But even so, that was when he met an older woman, someone who’s name he can’t even remember-someone who had known his father. She told him he looked just like Kaito, that it was a shame the man died so young and so tragically. And though Lucas never asked for her to do so, she threw upon him all the awful details of his father’s death-the one thing he had never known his entire life, what he had avoided on purpose because he could never bring himself to intrude upon his mother’s pain. When she was done talking, he was shaking all over. The old woman apologized more than once, but it was too late to take back the knowledge of his own father’s suicide.

He felt distant with his mother after that. It wasn’t a feeling Lucas could voice aloud, lost in his own irrational thoughts. He remembered her telling him about Kaito. They were more alike than Lucas wanted to believe. Maybe Johanna was right to never tell him the awful truth of his father’s death; maybe she had been scared. But still some part of him resented her. That was why he didn’t travel with her when Johanna took a longer trip out of region to a gathering of contest stars; better he stay behind than potentially ruin her good time.

He still regrets that, now. It wasn’t long after her departure that the epidemic started and separated them. Lucas hoped against all reason that somehow, she had returned home early, that they would be together-but when he arrived in Twinleaf, their home was empty of both her and their house Pokemon. The only thing that saved him from complete, soul shattering despair was that Platinum and Pearl had also chosen Twinleaf as their place to rush towards. The three were together again, and they stayed together. They had always been together. It didn’t keep the guilt from festering, but Lucas could survive with his friends there. He had to. For their sakes, for his Pokemon, for his mother.

Of course, that won’t stop him from being very worried when Pearl is convinced that a Legendary inside a rather scary looking cave is their best bet at.. something. Lucas loves his friend, but he’s not so sure about this one.