Read at: Fanfiction.net
The world of Pokemon is built on the classic "friendship, struggle and victory" framework. You make friends with Pokemon by capturing them, fight powerful opponents and earn badges until you become the best there is. The question, though, is: are Pokemon really happy with this arrangement? What does it mean for a kid to bear responsibility for the life of another living thing? Game Freak cannot resolve this contradiction without breaking the thing that they made. That, of course, is what fanfiction is for.
Haru, the protagonist of "The Suicune's Choice," is set to become a researcher. But first he has to commit a crime: releasing his tropius Heconilia back where he caught her on Route 111, an illegal act. In the process, he exposes another trainer to near-fatal injury and unwittingly steals his ninjask. Even after escaping law enforcement, his new job in Mauville City only exposes him further to society's contradictions. How much more will Haru have to give up in order to live by his principles? And is that such a bad thing?
Haru meets many people along the way: foolish trainers, outcast scientists, political activists. Each character could carry a story on their own, but instead they recede into the distance. We're left with Haru in the end: stubborn, naive and principled Haru, who clings to his grandmother's religious traditions despite living in a world that has deemed those traditions obsolete.
"The Suicune's Choice" is a religious parable, but one that leaves room for doubt. Is Haru a budding saint? Is he a hypocrite? Does his story prove that he was, in fact, chosen? Nobody else can agree on what "Suicune's Choice" was or what it means. Only Haru is sure. "Do you understand now? You give up everything. And in return, you receive everything."