My Name is Marcus: Dark Times

I. Spikemuth in Crisis

A new champion has risen in the distant region of Galar - a young man from Postwick with the potential to change the world. His name is Marcus, and these are his stories.

The champion's Corviknight landed swiftly and heavily upon the half-dead grass near the entrance of Spikemuth, barely leaving enough time for any nearby pedestrians to make way as he made his rapid descent to the ground from the gray skies above. Marcus dismounted from the colossal iron bird the moment they'd made landfall, wasting no time in breaking into a full sprint towards the entrance to the underground city, his fast and heavy footsteps echoing through the stairwell as he descended into the neon-lit tunnels beneath the surface. The corridors, which typically brimmed with an electric energy and resonated with the rhythms and melodies of an exciting in-house performance, fell stiff and silent today, as if the city itself was fully aware of the premonition that had been cast upon it. The light of the familiar streetlamp which illuminated the corner by the city's Pokemon Center was vacant, its usual companion nowhere to be seen.

Where is she?

"Oi, Marcus", a familiar voice called out.

Marcus quickly turned around towards the source of the sound.

"Piers?"

Piers emerged from the dark as he stepped closer to the overhanging light Marcus stood under. Despite the circulating news, he seemed to look like his typical self, boasting the same outfit, the same hairstyle, and the same unemotive facial expression he usually did as he stood with both of his hands in his pants pockets.

"I gotta admit", Piers began, his eyes beaming with the closest thing to surprise Marcus had probably ever seen from him, "wasn't sure you'd actually be showin' up today, let alone as fast as ya did."

Marcus looked to Piers with focused eyes. "Where is she?"

Piers's face sunk as a worried look overcame his usual visage. "You don't waste any time, huh?" He pointed down the corridor. "She's in the arena... hasn't moved or spoken a word since she got the news."

Without another word, Marcus rushed past down the street, leaving Piers alone at the street corner.

...What are we s'posed to do now?

Marcus progressed through the decaying cityscape around him with his eyes set on the far end of the corridor. The light from the arena at the end of the road could be seen from nearly all the way from the entrance of town. It sat at the heart of Spikemuth; it was the pride of the city, both as a concert venue and as a site where some of the most heated Pokemon battles in the area had long taken place. Today, however, while the arena lights casted their rays in every direction across the city as they promised their usual spectacle, the pitch was still. There were no fans cheering from the steel bleachers, no vendors selling snacks or merchandise, no battles taking place. The arena sat completely vacant - save for one, who lay on their hands and knees as their head hung to the ground.

"Marnie!", Marcus called out as he ran to her side.

Marnie remained fixed in her position, not even turning to look at him.

"I got your message", he continued, "I got here as soon as I could." He looked upon her with worried eyes. "Is it true? Are they really-"

"All of it", Marnie replied abruptly, her voice trembling as she spoke. "Every last lick of it, Marcus. They made it all clear as crystal when they came by and dropped the news."

Marcus paused, his feelings of worry now mixed with feelings of shock. "I just can't believe they'd do this..." Marcus muttered.

Marnie let out a weak and hollow chuckle. "It don't surprise me one bit... they'd been lookin' for an excuse for a long time now, and now they got one."

"...I don't understand", Marcus replied in confusion.

Marnie inhaled sharply through sniffles as she repositioned herself to a seated position on the ground, her arms wrapping around her knees as she pulled them in close to her chest. "Underperforming - that's what they kept comin' back to... that we were underperforming, said that our underperformance didn't represent the best interest of the League... "

Marcus scowled at the thought of it.

She sniffled again. "How could I let this happen, Marcus?"

"This isn't your fault, Marnie", Marcus replied adamantly as he placed a gentle hand on her left shoulder. "I promise, it's gonna be okay-"

"No!", she snapped, shrugging his hand off of her as she quickly turned around to face him. "It's not gonna be okay! What about any of this makes you think anything is gonna be okay!?"

Her cheeks were dry and red, almost as if they were chapped, and her green eyes were bloodshot and moist as she continued in her struggle to fight back her tears. She had been crying a lot recently.

"Don't they care about what this city's goin' through!? We're already fightin' an uphill battle just to survive out here", she continued to shout. "Now they wanna replace the gym!? Don't they know what that would do to us!?"

Marcus was speechless as Marnie shouted at him. Words failed him in his friend's moment of need - he felt a pit growing in his chest.

"This is my big bro's legacy, the heart n' hope of Spikemuth, and they wanna rip that away from us? For what!? Another cash-cow in their Dynamax extravaganza!? Don't they know that that'll ruin us!?"

She could hold back no longer. Her hands fell onto Marcus's shoulders and her head collapsed into his chest as the levy holding her tears back gave way. Marcus didn't know what to do. All he wanted to do was right this wrong and make all of this go away, but in that moment, he was helpless. All he could think to do was to wrap his arms around her waist and hold her tightly as she sobbed.

"I won't let them have their way with this", Marcus said softly as he held her. "I promise."

AN: Spikemuth deserved more development. GameFreak missed out on a massive opportunity to do some interesting world-development. But I guess that leaves the topic open to creative interpretation, so it's not all bad, I suppose. Just a heads-up, this one's written more like a drama than the previous works. Happy reading!