Void's Past

Part 1

“No! I can’t let them hurt my baby!” the winter winds hushed the screams of the mother Darkrai. Her ghostly arms were tightly wrapped around a small egg. Panting, she soared through the icy forest, occasionally turning around to check how close They were to her.
The mother Darkrai stumbled, and collapsed onto her side. Crying, she struggled to get up. They had arrived. The Darkrai, not knowing what to do, shoved her egg away. They raced up to her.
They were a twosome. One was a Treecko; dark cleverness glowed in his orange eyes. The second was a Totodile; a menacing grin covered her face. Both of them wore pitch black bands around their necks.
The Totodile stamped up to the mother Darkrai, “We’ve got you at last, Darkrai.”
“N-no! Please, you don’t understand!” the Darkrai howled.
“Your pitiful excuses won’t change our opinion on you,” the Treecko growled aggressively.
“I had to protect… I had to protect my child!” she wailed, glancing at her egg, which had rolled a distance from her head.
“A Darkrai child? Great, as if the world needs another one of those beasts. We’ll have to kill both of them, isn’t that right, Treecko?” the Totodile turned to her partner. The Treecko nodded fiercely.
“Where’s the kid, Darkrai?” the Treecko snarled, glaring at the mother. They hadn’t noticed her egg! The Darkrai did not respond.
“Spit it out, fool. It’s not like it matters. We’re going to kill you anyways,” spat the Totodile.
“That’s right!” the Treecko exclaimed. The Darkrai shook her head.
“I’ll never tell you!” she yelled.
“Fine then. We’ll find it on our own. We are a Master Rank exploration team!” the Treecko boasted, “Let’s do this, Totodile!”
The two Pokémon stepped backwards. They both took a deep breath, and then lashed out with their strongest moves; Hydro Pump and Giga Drain. As if that wasn’t enough, they leaped onto the Darkrai and tore at her with Slash and Leaf Blade. Then, the twosome quickly jumped off to see the result.
Blood flowed rapidly from many areas on the mother Darkrai’s body. Her breathing shallow, she looked up at the egg, and gasped, “My child… you must be strong. Always make the right decisions in life. And remember… remember that… I’ll always love you.” She closed her icy blue eyes solemnly. They were to never open again.
“That was too easy,” the Treecko let out a long laugh, and the Totodile joined in.
“Now, where could that Darkrai’s child be?” the Totodile glanced around.
“Beats me. She probably hid it somewhere. Let’s go.” The Treecko motioned to his partner before dashing off into the darkness. The Totodile hurried after him, dragging the body of the Darkrai behind her.





Part 2

“Oh my, you poor little thing! Don’t worry, I’ll take good care of you!” in the bright daylight, a jolly Chansey had discovered the lonely Darkrai’s egg. She picked it up, ever so gently, and merrily skipped to her den.
“There we go, sweetie. Nice and warm!” the Chansey buried the egg halfway under dried leaves, “I wonder what you’ll become!”
Weeks passed, and the egg had shown no signs of being ready to hatch. “Huh,” murmured the Chansey, “I… I must’ve brought the egg in too late…” She was about to pick up the egg when-

Crack!

“Oh my! It’s hatching… at last!” the Chansey began dancing around the room joyfully. A tiny black hand reached out of the egg.
“What is that Pokémon?” the Chansey gasped, “I’ve never seen anything as dark as that in my life!”
The top of the eggshell cracked off. A strange, smoky white plume flowed from the opening. The Pokémon inside rose from the egg. “What in Arceus’s name…?” the Chansey stared at the creature.
It had a small, black head, and blue eyes more intense than ice. A large red growth covered its neck. The creature’s little body looked as if it was tattered.
“My goodness, I’ve never seen such a thing before!” the Chansey shouted. The newly hatched Pokémon said nothing; it did not cry, it did not babble. It only stared at her with its cold, blue eyes.
“I’m sure somebody knows what you are,” the Chansey said sweetly. Extending her arms, she grabbed the baby Pokémon and cradled it. Its icy gaze never left the Chansey.

“Ampharos!” the Chansey had arrived at her friend’s den, the baby Pokémon still in her arms. The slender yellow Pokémon emerged, a juicy Oran Berry in his mouth.
“Yes?” he grunted, muffled by the food. The Ampharos’s eyes widened and the berry fell out of his mouth.
“W-what is the matter?” the Chansey shouted.
“Darkrai!” the Ampharos cried, his heart pounding.
“What?” the Chansey was confused.
The Ampharos made an attempt to calm himself, “In your arms. In your arms is a young Darkrai. How could you avoid seeing that?”
“Is that what you are?” the Chansey examined the baby Pokémon.
“Chansey! What are you doing?” the Ampharos yelled, “Everyone knows Darkrai are dangerous! They are Pokémon of evil! Don’t tell me you are caring for it!”
“… Really?” the Chansey took a long look at the Darkrai, “I had no clue. I found its egg in the forest, and I brought it in.”
The Ampharos nodded, “You must dispose of it immediately, especially since it is a female. Team Plague took down a mother Darkrai last month, and-“ he paused.
“Huh?” the Chansey mumbled.
“That child! It must be that Darkrai’s!” the Ampharos shouted, “Team Plague are still searching for it!”
“I’ve no clue what you are talking about,” the Chansey shrugged.
“Team Plague, you know, that Master Rank team consisting of Treecko and Totodile? Well, one month ago, they killed a female Darkrai. They had to; she was living in the forest, and she attacked anyone who came in. She also, apparently, caused everyone in the area to have horrifying nightmares each night. If Team Plague had only apprehended the Darkrai, everyone would continue to have nightmares, and Arceus knows what she’d do to Officer Magnezone and his crew. Honestly; she’s a Darkrai!”
“Hmm,” the Chansey grunted.
“Yes. The Darkrai claimed she was only protecting her baby. As if anyone would believe a Pokémon as foul as her. Even if that was the case, we all know that there is not a single good Darkrai in the world. They are all merciless and evil for some reason. Anyway, Team Plague brought down the mother, but they were unsuccessful in killing the child; finding it for that matter. They’re currently on a search for it, and you found it.”
“Gee, I had no clue,” the Chansey admitted.
“We shall slay it at once, and then report to Officer Magnezone!” the Ampharos ordered, “Hand me the child.”
A sad look on her face, the Chansey gave the young Darkrai to her friend.
“Look at this thing. She has such a wicked expression on her face, and she just hatched!” the Ampharos commented.
“Well, I’d be mad if I knew someone was going to slaughter me, too,” the Chansey said glumly.
“Chansey, she’s a baby. She doesn’t understand anything we say,” the Ampharos retorted, “What do you think would be the most efficient way of killing this thing?”
“Ampharos, I know how you said all Darkrai are evil. But she’s so little. Why can’t we give her a chance? I bet if we raised her in a happy environment, she’d grow up to be a fine Pokémon!”
“Are you out of your mind?” the Ampharos screamed, “Nothing can stop a Darkrai from being bad. Nothing!”
“Are you sure?”
“I am certain.” The Ampharos trudged back into his den. He returned with a worn, white blanket.
“What are you going to do with that?” the Chansey asked. He did not reply. Narrowing his eyebrows, he slammed the little Darkrai onto the floor. The Pitch Black Pokémon did nothing but glare at him, her icy eyes filled with hate. The Ampharos wrapped her up in the blanket, and stormed away. The Chansey waited a moment before following her friend.
They arrived at a fiercely flowing river. Without saying a word, the Ampharos plunged the bundle into the water. Grimacing, he pushed it far underneath the powerful waves. All of the sudden, he lost his footing and tumbled into the water.
“Ampharos!” the Chansey squealed at the top of her lungs. She watched in terror as the frigid navy waves swept over her companion. The Ampharos then vanished under the dark water, never to be seen again.
The bundled Darkrai floated back to the surface. Sensing danger, the Pitch Black Pokémon struggled to escape from the blanket. When she finally broke out, she managed to leap into the air and float away.
“Ampharos…” the Chansey repeated in a grim tone, “that Darkrai! She took Ampharos’s life! I must report this at once!”
Determined, the Chansey prowled to Officer Magnezone’s station. Upon her arrival, she spotted a muscular Treecko and a sly looking Totodile. I wonder if that’s Team Plague…? The Chansey thought.
“BZZT! HOW MAY I HELP YOU, M’AM? BZZT!” questioned Officer Magnezone as he noticed the Chansey.
“I-I spotted a Darkrai today. I t-think it was the child of the D-Darkrai that Team Plague brought down…” the Treecko’s eyes widened as he listened to the Chansey’s claims.
“Totodile, you hear that?” he turned to his partner.
“Uh-huh,” she nodded vigorously.
“BZZT! SO YOU SAY YOU SPOTTED A DARKRAI? WHERE WAS IT? BZZT!” Officer Magnezone urged.
“Well… actually, I found an egg in that nearby forest a couple weeks ago,” the Chansey answered calmly, “It turned out that it contained a baby Darkrai. But I knew nothing about Darkrai at the time… that’s why I took it to my friend Ampharos’s house. He told me all about Darkrai, and also about Team Plague.”
The Treecko and Totodile exchanged glances.
“Then, Ampharos tried to drown the Darkrai at the river. But, he fell into the water and I’m not sure what happened to him. The Darkrai also went into the river, but it flew away.”
“BZZT! DID YOU CATCH WHICH DIRECTION THE DARKRAI FLEW IN? BZZT!” Officer Magnezone asked.
“N-no,” the Chansey responded skittishly.
“Don’t worry! Team Plague is on the case!” the Treecko declared, striding over to Officer Magnezone and the Chansey.
“Yup! We’ve been searching for that Darkrai child for quite a while. Your report, despite its vagueness, will assist us in tracking it down!” the Totodile announced, copying the Treecko’s movements.
“Have you got any more information about the Darkrai, M’am?” the Treecko pondered.
“Uh… I think Ampharos mentioned that it was a female,” the Chansey told them.
“Hmm, another female Darkrai? Interesting,” the Totodile commented.
“Chansey, we’ll find and destroy this Darkrai as soon as possible. Totodile, are you ready to go?” said the Treecko.
“Of course!” the Totodile exclaimed gleefully.
“Then we’re off!” the Treecko strolled towards the door, “later!” His partner rushed after him. The Chansey watched Team Plague vanish into the horizon from a window, praying that they’d get rid of the Darkrai that claimed her friend’s life.



Part 3

“I wonder where that Darkrai is?” the Totodile murmured. Team Plague had just entered the forest.
“Let’s hope she hasn’t flown off,” grunted the Treecko. The duo trekked through the forest for quite some time. They were certain they had cleared the entire place when the small Darkrai emerged from the ground directly in front of them.
“Too easy,” the Treecko snickered as he reached for her. The Darkrai swerved out of the way right as he was about to grab her.
“Tricky one, eh?” the Totodile chuckled, watching her partner’s failed attempts at catching the little Pokémon.
“Don’t just stand there, Totodile!” the Treecko roared, “You’ve got to help me get this thing!”
“Then I’d be getting in your way,” the Totodile spoke. Her companion released a growl. It was quite clear that the Grass-type did not like being proved wrong. He reached for the swift Darkrai once more, but he slipped and fell flat on his face.
“Grr… Totodile! Do something!” the Treecko yelled, lifting his head up grumpily. The Totodile nodded. She launched herself at the Darkrai, but the young Pokémon narrowly avoided her attack.
“Is it even possible to capture this demon?!” the Big Jaw Pokémon hollered, flailing her arms about wildly.
“Well, keep trying!” the Treecko groaned, pushing himself up. He tried yet again to grab the little Darkrai, but failed like always. Panting, he took a step backwards. The Pitch Black Pokémon’s icy gaze was set on the Treecko; to him it seemed as if she was mocking him.
The Totodile lunged at the Darkrai one more time before toppling to the ground, out of breath. Amused, the Darkrai flew in circles around them.
“Come on,” the Treecko motioned to his partner. Taking a deep breath, he released a powerful Bullet Seed attack. The Totodile then lashed out with Water Gun. The Darkrai, once again, managed to avoid them.
“How does that brat do it?” the Water-type cried. The Totodile watched the Pitch Black Pokémon dive from another blow of her Water Gun attack.
A growl deep in his throat, the Treecko flung himself at the Darkrai once more. To his surprise, he had successfully landed on top of her.
“I-I did it!” he announced joyously. The Totodile’s jaw dropped.
“You did! Wow!” she squeaked. Her partner lifted up the squirming Pokémon, grinning.
“Say goodbye, Darkrai…” the Treecko laughed darkly. Just as he was about to attack, the Pitch Black Pokémon vanished.
“Wha…?” the Grass-type frantically looked around, puzzled, “how did she just disappear like that?”
“Darkrai can create illusions,” the Totodile reminded him, “perhaps that’s what it was?’
“If it was an illusion, why was I able to pick it up?” the Treecko wailed.
“I don’t know,” she answered, shrugging, “maybe she’s just really good at making illusions.”
“That makes no sense,” the Treecko snorted, “c’mon, we’d better get back to searching.”
“Right!” the Totodile cried enthusiastically.
Team Plague rushed off, unaware that the real Darkrai was watching them from a high branch on a tree.


Part 4

A muscular Mightyena strode down the forest trail. He suddenly froze at the base of a tree. “Why, what have we here?”
His long snout was raised toward the uppermost branch of the tree, where the Darkrai sat. The Mightyena observed her keenly.
“That Pokémon’s got potential,” he commented, nodding his head thoughtfully. He paced back and forth, examining the Darkrai from all sides.
“It’s very small. It must be young,” he murmured. He stood up on his hind legs, leaning against the tree, and began to climb. The Mightyena reached a large branch right below the Darkrai’s. He reached his front paws onto the higher branch, and gently bit onto the back of the Darkrai’s neck growth.
She struggled slightly as the Mightyena tugged her off of the branch, and then down the tree. He gently placed her on the ground. The Darkrai stared at him, mixed with both fear and anger. But the Mightyena only looked back at her with warm, caring eyes.
“You need a name,” he said, narrowing his eyes, “many Pokémon ‘round these parts don’t have one. I honestly don’t see why…”
The Mightyena lowered his head to the Darkrai’s level, and studied her thoroughly. “You look like… a Void,” he smiled. He raised his head again, and spoke in a soft voice, “Hello, Void. My name is Buck.”
The newly named Darkrai only stared back at him without saying anything.
“You’re a quiet one, eh?” Buck laughed. He picked up Void and put her on his back. She didn’t try to get away.
“Now, let’s go,” the Mightyena purred, strolling off with Void still on his back.




Part 5

“Good morning, Void. Today, I’m going to teach you how to fight.” A while had passed since the day Buck had found Void in the forest. The Darkrai had grown much since then, both physically and mentally.
“But I know how to fight,” Void protested.
“Sure, every Pokémon knows how to fight from the day it is born. Though without proper training, a Pokémon is almost always uncoordinated and unsuccessful when it comes to fighting,” Buck explained.
“Hmm…” Void mumbled, staring off into space.
“Void, focus!” the Mightyena snapped.
“Huh, what?” Void flinched.
Buck cleared his throat. “I want you to fight me.”
“Me? You? What…?” the Darkrai was confused.
“That’s right. I want to battle you,” Buck confirmed, nodding his head rapidly.
“But-“
“No buts. Let’s go,” Buck lowered his head and growled, his tail swishing back and forth. Void stayed put, hovering in place, a strange look in her eyes.
“Well?” Buck was still in the same pose, eagerly awaiting Void’s move. The Darkrai shrugged, and flew up to him.
As fast as lightning, Buck dashed to the left, and promptly leaped on top of Void. “You need to be faster,” he directed, jumping off.
Void took a deep breath, backed up, and tried again. She swiftly floated toward the Mightyena. She came to an abrupt stop.
“Well, now what?” Buck barked, “now, you have to attack.”
“Uh.. what if I hurt you?” the Darkrai asked, concerned.
“Eh, don’t worry about old me,” he sighed. Void backed up again, and rushed at Buck, using Shadow Claw. She hit his flank; the Mightyena whipped around and gently nipped at her finger.
“Once you attack, you have to defend yourself. Or at least try. Some attacks cannot be avoided,” Buck told her, panting slightly. He flopped onto the ground, his long, pink tongue lolling out.
“… Is that it?” Void hovered up to the Mightyena. To her surprise, he sprang up and clawed her chest.
“What was that?!” the Darkrai cried, cringing.
“It’s called deceiving,” said Buck, “it’s a very helpful and clever tactic.”
“I know that, but-“
“You were deceived.”
“…”
“Alright, Void, that’s enough training for today,” Buck turned and prowled away. He lied down under a bush, and rested his chin on his paws.
“You’re not going to deceive me again, are you?” Void questioned. But the Mightyena was already asleep.

“Totodile, come here, look at this!” the Treecko of Team Plague called in a hushed voice. He was well hidden behind a bush.
“Yeah?” the Totodile waddled up to him.
“Look,” the Treecko pointed at the bush where Buck slept, “a Mightyena.”
“And…?” the Totodile stared at him, confused. The Treecko pointed at a nearby tree. Void was propped up against it, fast asleep.
“It’s the Darkrai,” he spat, his voice full of disgust.
“Great Arceus, she got big!” the Totodile exclaimed while glancing at Void, her eyes wide.
“Well, what do you expect, Totodile?” the Treecko scoffed, “we haven’t seen that thing in forever. Now, try to keep quiet…”
“Right,” the Totodile dipped her head, “so, what are we going to do?”
“What do you think, Totodile? Honestly…” he rolled his bright orange eyes. Messing around with his black band, he spat, “are you ready?”
“Yeah, uh-huh!” the Totodile nodded rapidly.
“Then let’s go,” with that, the Treecko sprang out of the bush. The Totodile clumsily lumbered after him.
Buck’s eyes snapped open. “Who are you?” he hissed. He knew they were hostile.
“Us?” the Treecko laughed, “you honestly don’t know?”
The Mightyena only stared at the duo coldly.
“Why, we’re the most famous team there is! We’re Team Plague!” the Totodile yelled.
“Never heard of you. What do you want of me?” Buck growled.
“We want nothing of you,” the Treecko sneered, “but that Darkrai, on the other hand…”
“Void?” Buck briefly glanced at her, “what?”
“So the beast has a name,” the Totodile laughed darkly.
“Beast? She’s not a beast!” the Mightyena snarled, “what are you planning on doing with her?”
“She certainly is,” the Treecko snickered, “and, what do you think?”
Buck stood up and arched his back, growling menacingly, “Don’t even think about it. I raised that Darkrai. She is anything but a beast. If you want at her, you’ll have to get through me, first…”
The Treecko turned to his partner. “He’s just an old fleabag. This’ll be easy, isn’t that right, Totodile?”
“That’s right!” she replied cheerfully, as if on cue.
At that moment, Void woke up. She was alarmed to see the two Pokémon cornering Buck. “What’s going on?!” she howled.
Buck quickly turned to her. “Don’t worry, Void. I’ll stop them.”
“W-what?” her heart was thudding loudly.
“Aw, don’t worry Void! I’ll stop them!” the Totodile mocked. Buck curled back his lip in anger, snarling.
“Ready… set… go!” the Treecko yelled. He shot razor leaf at Buck, but the Mightyena ducked, and it missed him. The Totodile blasted him with Hydro Pump, sending him flying into a tree.
“Void! You have to fight too!” Buck cried, warily getting up. The Darkrai shot up instantly.
“That’s it!” Buck sprinted toward the Treecko and chomped down on his tail. Void hesitated for a moment, and then launched Dark Pulse at the Totodile.
The Treecko shouted out in pain, and bashed his head into the Mightyena’s chest. Buck grunted and slashed at his back. The Treecko backed away, but then he flung himself at Buck, growling.
The Totodile nimbly leaped into the air, completely avoiding Void’s attack.
“Not very experienced, eh?” the Water type taunted, sending Water Gun at Void. The Darkrai swerved to the right, dodging the attack. She used Dark Pulse again.
Buck roared and shook off his attacker. The Treecko skidded against the ground, but quickly picked himself up. He tore at Buck with his powerful Leaf Blade attack.
The Totodile made an attempt to dodge the Darkrai’s move again, but instead, she tripped and fell flat on her face. The ripple of Dark Pulse swamped over her.
“Not bad…” she muttered, pulling herself up, “but you still have much training to do!” the Totodile shot Hydro Pump at Void.
Buck screamed in agony as Leaf Blade ripped down his back. Tattered and weak, he made a pitiful attempt at scratching the Treecko. The Grass type jumped onto his back and used Giga Drain.
Hydro Pump struck Void. She got right back up, and went at the Totodile with Shadow Claw. The Treecko, believing he had finished Buck, pounced off of him and rushed to his partner’s side.
“We’ve got you now, Darkrai!” he cackled.
“What do you mean? What do you want from me?!” Void cried, backing away.
“Have you looked in a mirror, young un’? You’re a Darkrai. Everyone knows Darkrai are evil, dearie. By slaying you, we’re saving the world from your wicked ways!” the Totodile almost fell backward laughing.
“Excuse me?” Void questioned, taking a deep breath.
“Heh heh, she’s right!” the Treecko flicked his head toward the Totodile, “now, without further ado…” the two of them sucked in air, preparing their strongest attacks. The Darkrai didn’t know what to do. Fleeing would be pointless; they would follow her. Attacking would be even worse. So she just stayed there, shielding her face helplessly.
Team Plague launched their attacks. Void waited for the moves to hit, but they never did. Moving her arm away slightly, she was alarmed to see Buck on the ground, panting and gasping for breath. He had used all of the strength he had left to leap in the way, preventing Void from harm.
Totodile stared at the scene, her large mouth gaping open. “B-but-“
“That Mightyena!” the Treecko exclaimed, glaring at the dying Pokémon.
“Eh, don’t worry, Treecko. We can just try again,” the Totodile told him, her mouth stretched into a wide, toothy grin.
“Wait… where did she go?!” the Treecko looked around frantically. Void was nowhere to be seen.
“Look’s like we lost her again…” the Totodile sighed, rolling her eyes.
“Well then.. we’d better report back to Officer Magnezone’s,” the Treecko mumbled, storming off. The Totodile looked around once more, and then quickly headed off after her partner.
Void had been hidden within the ground, disguised as a mere shadow. She waited until Team Plague had completely disappeared from sight before emerging once again. She silently approached Buck, her eyes glazed with fear and concern.
“Buck… you’re deceiving me, right, Buck? This is all just another lesson… right?” she waited for the Mightyena to playfully spring up and nip at her shoulder, gently scolding her for falling for his trick again. But Buck did not move. All of the life had ebbed from his body. His warm, kind gaze stared blankly at nothingness.
“Buck…” Void sobbed. A tear dripped onto the Mightyena’s bloodstained chest. She remained near him for a while, crying quietly. Wiping the tears from her face, she turned away, and whispered, “I’ll avenge you, Buck. I’ll give those two what they deserve, no matter what it takes.”



Part 6

The doors to Officer Magnezone’s station swung open. Team Plague burst in, with the Treecko in the lead.
“Officer Magnezone,” he panted.
“BZZT! YES? BZZT!” the large Magnezone hovered over to the duo.
“We’ve encountered that Darkrai again!” the Treecko shouted.
“BZZT! AT LONG LAST! DID YOU BRING IT DOWN? BZZT!” Officer Magnezone urged.
“… No…” the Totodile admitted.
“BZZT! WHAT HAPPENED, TEAM PLAGUE? BZZT!” Officer Magnezone demanded.
“We were just about to defeat her…” the Treecko began, “but then, this rotten excuse for a Mightyena leaped in the way and was killed instead. He was also helping the Darkrai beforehand. He seemed to care about her a lot.”
“Yeah, he cared so much about her, he gave up his own life for her,” the Totodile bobbed her head.
“That fool,” the Grass type snarled.
“BZZT! EVEN IF THE MIGHTYENA HAD TAKEN THE HIT, SURELY YOU’D BE ABLE TO STRIKE AGAIN? BZZT!” Officer Magnezone questioned, curious.
“Actually… no, we weren’t…” the Totodile shook her head.
“BZZT! WHY WAS THAT? BZZT!” the Magnezone hovered closer to Team Plague.
“She disappeared,” the Treecko told him with a shrug, “like, we were looking at the Mightyena, and then she was gone…”
“But don’t fret, Officer! We’ll continue our hunt,” the Totodile exclaimed gleefully. With that, Team Plague headed out of the station.



“How can I stop them…?” Void mumbled, pacing back and forth in the air, “fighting them would put me at risk…”
She continued pacing, muttering her ideas out loud. It seemed as if positively nothing would work.
“I could disguise myself… but those two would most definitely see through that. To beat them, I’d need to become something else. And when I say that, I don’t mean just a disguise, an illusion… but how, how in the world could I accomplish such a feat?”
Void froze. She suddenly remembered Buck telling her about a mystical Pokémon that could grant wishes. And Void could most certainly wish to become something else! But, where was this Pokémon, and, what was it called?
“It’s name started with the letter ‘J’, I believe…” she murmured, thinking hard. Jolteon? Jynx? Jirachi? Yes! That was it; Jirachi!
“Jirachi,” Void purred, sounding out the word thoughtfully, “how can I get to.. Jirachi?” She tried her hardest to remember what Buck had said.
“It is fabled that the legendary Jirachi resides in the well hidden Star Cave,” the Mightyena’s warm voice echoed through her mind.
“Star Cave, that’s right…” Void nodded her head knowingly, “but where the heck is this Star Cave?”


Actual Pokémon Roleplay I

The bright, summer sun was shimmering through the fluffy white clouds. It was a simply gorgeous day. A couple of wild Pokémon were frolicking in a meadow; an Umbreon, and an Arcanine.
The Umbreon, whose name happened to be Shard, abruptly lifted his head to scent the air. His eyes bulged. Turning to his companion, he whispered, “I smell a trainer.” He dashed off under a bush, relief in his crimson eyes.
Flame the Arcanine prepared herself for battle. Arching her back, she growled as she spotted the Pokémon trainer that Shard had detected. Bristling with anticipation, she leapt at the trainer as she strolled into the meadow.
“Flame!” Shard exclaimed in a hushed voice, “What are you doing? That trainer will catch you if you’re not careful!” The Umbreon rushed over to Flame, and signaled her to run. The two Pokémon sprinted away, leaving the trainer, Eavee, confused.
“W-what the heck?” Eavee said in a shaky voice. She watched Flame and Shard run, scratching her head.
Panting, Flame barked, “It’s not like she was going to catch me. She clearly doesn’t have a Master Ball.”
Shard shrugged. “It’s better to be safe than sorry.”
“Hmm, should I catch them, or leave them alone?” Eavee pondered. She shuffled through her bag for a Poke Ball, but then changed her mind.
Shard noticed a pretty Glaceon watching the duo from afar. “Look, Flame! It’s Blizzard,” motioning to Flame, he leaped over to her.
“Hey, Blizzard,” Shard greeted, “Flame attacked a Pokémon trainer.”
“Did she?” the Glaceon’s eyes widened.
“Yup. I don’t know if Flame knows this, but I don’t want my friends being captured.” The Umbreon cast a glance at Flame, who was baring her teeth.
“Well, we’d better get away from that trainer,” Shard took off again, his two friends by his side.
Eavee observed the wild Pokémon. “Now, what are they doing?” the Trainer hiked towards the three.
Shard looked back at Eavee. “Guys, she’s catching up! We’d better hurry!” As the Pokémon were escaping, Blizzard noticed something in the grass.
“What is that?” she flicked her head towards a strange lump on the ground. The Glaceon raced ahead to investigate. It appeared to be a small Riolu; she was half asleep.
“Wake up!” Blizzard shouted, pressing her paws against the Riolu’s face. Blinking open her eyes, she made a moaning noise.
“Come on! There is a trainer in the area! You don’t want to be captured, do you?” Shard stepped over to the two of them. Flame quickly followed. The Riolu drowsily rolled over.
“This is hopeless,” Flame grunted. Scowling, she picked up the Riolu, and tossed her onto her back while speeding away.
Out of a bush sprang a pretty Espeon, her eyes glazed with fear.
“Sparkle! Hurry!” Shard called to the Espeon. She swiftly made her way to the fleeing group.
“Oh, what the heck. Go, Eevee!” Eavee cried as she hurled a Poke Ball towards the Pokémon.
“She’s here!” Shard screamed.
“Soooooo tired…” the Riolu moaned from Flame’s back.
“I can’t carry this thing anymore,” Flame snarled, letting the sleepy Riolu slide off of her back. She then burst ahead, and vanished from sight.
“Flame!” Shard shouted. There was no reply. Muttering something to himself, he picked up the Riolu and put her on his back.
“Come on, Eevee! Attack!” Eavee commanded, pointing to her Pokémon. The Eevee snarled and attempted to leap at Blizzard, but Shard stepped up and blasted it with Hyper Beam before it got a chance to attack her. He then ran off.
“Stupid Umbreon,” the trainer murmured, “Eevee! Return!” Eavee called her Pokémon back, and continued to chase after the others.
A Leafeon emerged from the shadows, bristling with anticipation. She was about to greet the other Pokémon when a startled shriek filled the air.
“Help! Help, the trainer’s got me!” it was Sparkle; Eavee had the Espeon in her arms.
“Hahahaha, I’ve got the Espeon!” Eavee bragged.
“Sparkle!” Shard flung himself at the trainer, and was backed up by Blizzard, who angrily used Icy Wind. Sparkle was released, and she quickly sprinted away.
The Leafeon reached Shard, who was growling at the trainer at a short distance from her. She extended a paw and tapped him on the shoulder.
“Hmm?” the Umbreon spun around.
“Hi! I’m Aurora!” the Leafeon announced with a smile.
“Um… hello. The name’s Shard. Now, we’d better get away from this trainer,” with that, the Umbreon rushed ahead, with Blizzard on his tail. Aurora shrugged before following them.
“Why are we running? Why can’t we just fight?” the Leafeon questioned.
“I don’t know, ask Shard. I’m sure we can take on an Eevee…” Blizzard responded.
“We really should fight…” Aurora suggested eagerly.
Shard seemed to have heard her, as he launched a powerful attack at Eavee, with the little Riolu still on his back. The trainer fell to the ground.
“AGH! Stop it, all of you! I’ll get some Master Balls and punish you by making you my slaves!” Eavee threatened. None of them seemed to care, however. Blizzard struck the trainer with Ice Shard, hissing.
“That’s enough, everyone!” Shard screeched, “Aurora, come on! Blizzard, let’s go!”
The Leafeon nodded reluctantly, and then began running fiercely. Blizzard did the same.
“Ha ha, we sure showed that trainer!” Aurora laughed.
“She’s probably just a new trainer,” Shard guessed.
“Yes, looks the type,” the Glaceon agreed.
“And she’s trying to catch us?” Aurora said with a snort.
“She must be very self confident,” Blizzard barked.
“Hmmph. Well, we don’t have to be that powerful,” Shard instructed, slowing down.
“Yeah, I guess you’re right,” the Leafeon sighed. The Pokémon soon made their way to a crystal clear lake. Shard took the Riolu off of his back, and padded towards the water for a drink. Aurora and Blizzard, who were close behind, stuck their faces in the water as well.
“I wonder where Flame went… and what happened to Sparkle. I hope they’re both safe,” Shard grunted to himself when he had finished drinking. Flopping onto his back with a yawn, he turned to the others and said, “This is a good place to rest. We could stay here for the next few days.”
“Right,” Aurora woofed. She then collapsed onto her belly and drifted off to sleep.
Meanwhile, Eavee was struggling to set up a tent. “For all I know, an Ursaring could break in and kill me,” she growled. When she had finally prepared the tent, she drowsily crawled in.
“I’ve had a long day,” she mumbled. Getting out several blankets, she lied down and pulled them over her head.
Blizzard had decided to star gaze rather than sleep. After a little while, the Glaceon trudged off into the darkness.
Morning soon arrived. Shard was the first to wake. The Umbreon stretched, and had a seat right near the shore. He turned around when he heard quiet footsteps; Aurora had woken up.
“Good morning, um… Shard!” the Leafeon greeted joyfully.
“Good morning,” Shard grumbled in response.
At that moment, Blizzard returned, several berries stuffed into her mouth. “I found these,” she announced, her voice muffled by the fruit.
“That’s great, Blizzard! They look delicious,” Shard accepted a juicy berry from the Glaceon. He promptly devoured it.
“Yay!” Aurora exclaimed, taking her berry.
“Is that Riolu still sleeping?” Shard asked, flicking his head toward the Pokémon, “I hope she’s all right…”
“She doesn’t look that good,” Blizzard commented, walking up to the Riolu, “look at the way she trembles and fidgets in her sleep. That’s surely unnatural.”
“Maybe… that could just be the way she sleeps. I wonder what her name is…?” the Umbreon shrugged.
“Oh, that Riolu?” Aurora squeaked, “I know who she is! That’s Aura! She never acts like this normally…”
“Really,” Shard’s eyes widened.
“Uh-huh. She always acts all… jolly and stuff. It surprises me to see her like this,” the Leafeon explained.
“Interesting,” Shard barked in response, “I wonder what’s wrong with her.”
“It doesn’t really matter. It’s not like she’s dying or anything,” Blizzard made an attempt to change the subject.
“Well, I guess you’re right,” the Umbreon stifled a sigh, “do you guys want to be wild Pokémon?”
“What do you mean?” Aurora tilted her head to one side.
“You know, wild, as in not having a trainer,” Shard answered.
“Why would I want a trainer?” the Leafeon sneered.
“I don’t know, just asking,” Shard breathed.
“I want to be free,” Blizzard replied boldly, “I don’t want to have to fight for prizes and stuff.”
“Me too,” the Umbreon nodded in agreement, “I hope we don’t run into that trainer again.”
“It’s not like she can actually catch us,” Aurora snorted.
“Don’t be so sure about that,” responded Shard.
“Aw, are you scared of that little beginner trainer?” the Leafeon shouted challengingly.
“Hey!” Shard cuffed Aurora’s ear with a gentle paw. The Leafeon leapt at him, laughing. The two Pokémon rolled around on the ground, play-fighting.
“You’ve got to me kidding me,” Blizzard muttered.
“Can’t you have some fun for once?” Shard said as he shoved Aurora over.
Eavee had eaten breakfast and put on some new clothes, and she zipped open her tent and stepped out. As she struggled to put it away, she pulled out her Eevee’s Poke Ball.
“You can come out while I do this,” she told the Eevee as she let it out. The Eevee, who looked concerned, rushed off to the four other Pokémon.
“What are you guys still doing around my trainer?” it growled when it reached them, “go away!”
“Leave us be, or we’ll attack you again!” Shard bravely stepped up, “and what is your name?”
“My name is Blue,” the Eevee spat, “and you’d better not hurt my trainer!”
“We’ll leave her alone if she leaves us alone. Now shoo!” the Umbreon hissed, waving his tail in aggression.
“Yeah, go away, you stupid pet!” Sparkle the Espeon pounced, and landed next to Shard.
“Sparkle!” the Umbreon cried, his eyes bright.
“Why don’t you guys have trainers?” Blue changed the subject snottily, “it’s much nicer. And my trainer never keeps me in my ball, unless I’m hurt or tired.”
“I… just don’t like being around humans,” Blizzard turned away.
“Yeah. We like being wild,” Shard answered.
“We wouldn’t want to be a stupid pet like you,” Sparkle rolled her eyes.
“It’s not that bad! You can run around, eat whenever you want, and you always have someone to take care of you when you’re hurt!” Blue did his best to defend himself.
“Not always,” Blizzard sighed.
“Yeah, and we can eat whenever, we can run around, and we have each other when we’re hurt!” Sparkle spat.
“Can you heal each other automatically? Do you eat Poffins?” the Eevee bragged.
“What’s a Poffin?” Aurora asked curiously.
“Who cares?” Sparkle sneered, “Shard, can we get out of here? This pet is annoying.”
“Blue? Where are you?” a sudden cry interrupted their debate. Eavee ran into sight.
“Wait,” Shard hissed, a growl deep in his throat.
“Oh great Arceus, not you again!” Eavee snatched her Eevee off of the ground and fled. She leaped behind a bush, gasping and panting.
A muscular Jolteon strolled up to the group. Shard was the first to notice.
“Hello, who are you?” he greeted gruffly.
“I’m Stream,” the Jolteon replied, “and I just recovered from the electric flu.”
“Oh well, my name is Shard. Nice to meet you, Stream,” Shard said with a smile.
“Anyway, can I join you? I’ve been lonely ever since my trainer abandoned me a few years ago…” Stream was clearly having a flashback. A look of longing spread across his face.
“Yeah, sure,” Shard turned to look at Blizzard. She was peering into the water.
Suddenly, the head of a Gyrados emerged from the lake. It roared ferociously.
“AGH!” Blizzard squealed. Rushing away from the water, she yelled, “We’d better leave!”
“Yes!” the Umbreon shrieked. He and the Glaceon burst away from the lake. Aurora, Stream and Sparkle shortly followed.
“What about Aura?” Aurora screamed.
“Who?” Stream questioned.
“Crud! Somebody go get Aura!” Shard commanded. It was Blizzard who did so; she quickly made her way back to the fleeing Pokémon with Aura on her back, asleep.
When they finally came to a halt, they were met by a lean Houndour. “Hello, I’m Star,” she spoke. She noticed something was wrong. “What happened?”
“There’s a Gyrados in that lake over there,” Shard explained, panting.
“So?” Star shrugged.
“So what?” Sparkle growled.
“Hey, you guys. Look!” Blizzard pointed a paw at the lake. Eavee was battling the Gyrados with Blue.
“What is she thinking?” Shard wailed, “I’ll never get trainers…”
“She probably thinks she’ll be able to catch it,” Sparkle let out a small laugh.
“Wow,” Stream grunted, “wait, who is that?”
“Some stupid trainer,” Sparkle muttered, “she tried to catch us.”
“Oh,” the Jolteon nodded, showing that he understood.
“Look! Look!” Aurora hollered. Eavee had hurled a Great Ball at the Gyrados. To the surprise of the on looking Pokémon, the ball wiggled a few times, and then clicked with success.
“She caught it!” Aurora gasped.
“Wow, she really did!” Star observed.
“But she’s just a beginner trainer…” Sparkle grumbled, confused.
“Oh well,” Shard sat down.

 

“Huh? What happened?” it was Aura.
“Aura! You’re finally up!” Aurora shouted cheerfully.
“Huh, what? Oh yes, yes, I’m up,” the Riolu barked.
“Something seems… different about you…” the Leafeon squinted.
“What are you talking about?!” Aura yelled.
“Aura… you’ve never acted this way before… and your voice sounds different…” Aurora mentioned.
“You’re crazy!” the Riolu howled.
“Hmm?” something seemed to beckon the Leafeon. She strolled over to a patch of bushes, in some kind of trance. The bushes seemed to rustle, and then they were still.
“Aurora?” Shard approached the bushes nervously. To his utter shock, he found Aurora lying on the ground, pale white. “Aurora!” the Umbreon began pressing against the Leafeon with his paws. She did not move.
“No,” Shard muttered, “No, no, no, no, no.”
“What’s the matter?” Star strolled over to the mournful Umbreon, unaware of what had just happened.
“See for yourself,” Shard sobbed. Star shook her head upon seeing the fallen Leafeon. Sparkle and Blizzard wandered over to see what all the commotion was about. Aura only sat there, a slight grin on her face.
“What… what happened to her?” Star questioned.
“I really don’t know…” Shard lowered his head, “we had just met. And we were getting along very well…”
“I’m sorry,” Blizzard murmured sadly.
“It’s strange for someone to just… die like that,” Sparkle uttered, “something’s wacky around here.”
“You’re right,” Shard agreed, “she doesn’t have any wounds or anything on her body…”
“And what was up with Aura?” Blizzard added.
“That’s for me to know and you to find out,” Aura muttered in a snotty tone.
“What was that?” Star spun around to glance at the little Riolu.
“What? Oh, never mind…” Aura turned away grouchily.
“Hmmph,” Star faced Shard and the others again.
“We need to bury her,” the Umbreon directed. He began digging solemnly. The others joined in. When they had finished burying Aurora, Shard flopped onto the ground.
“Ugh. I’m so tired,” without saying another word, the Umbreon fell asleep.
“I’m pretty sleepy too…” Sparkle curled up next to Shard.
“Yes. Goodnight, everyone…” Stream flopped onto his belly, and was followed by Blizzard and Star. Aura sat down and watched the others sleep boredly.
“Good morning…” Shard sighed. He realized that everybody was still sleeping other than Sparkle and Aura.
“Still sad about Aurora?” Sparkle nudged the Umbreon sympathetically.
“Of course I am!” Shard snapped, unaware of the rage in his voice.
“Sorry,” the Espeon moped. She padded away gloomily.
“Wait, Sparkle!” Shard called, “I didn’t mean it like that!”
Sparkle spun around, and gazed at the Umbreon hurtfully.
Suddenly, Eavee walked up to the Pokémon. Shard bared his teeth at her.
“Leave us be!” he hissed, even though he knew the trainer wouldn’t be able to understand him.
Eavee could see the Umbreon was angry, “No, no! I don’t want to hurt you!”
“W-what’s happening?!” Aura gasped.
“Aura?” Shard peered at the Riolu, his eyes wide, “Aura, is something wrong?”
Eavee knew the Riolu was having problems, “I-I can get some medicine for her…”
“What did she just say?” Shard woofed.
“H-how am I supposed to know?” Aura cried.
“Aura! Aura, are you ok?” the Umbreon begged, “Please tell me! I can’t lose another one of you!”
The Riolu trembled, but then began laughing, “No, silly! I’m not sick! I’m not hurt! In fact…” to Eavee, Sparkle and mostly Shard’s surprise, Aura began glowing.
“She’s evolving!” Sparkle squealed blissfully.
“Yes!” Aura squeaked. Her small body began to stretch and shift into that of a Lucario.
“Awesome,” Shard commented.
“A Lucario!” Eavee breathed, impressed.
“What’s going on?” Blizzard trotted towards them. She froze when she caught sight of the trainer, but when she realized that Shard and Sparkle weren’t concerned, she didn’t bother.
“Blizzard!” Sparkle yelled.
“Who is that?” the Glaceon asked, flicking her head towards the Lucario.
“Aura!” Sparkle cried in response, “She evolved!”
“Well, congrats,” Blizzard purred.
“Help! Help!” a small Vulpix dashed up to the others, a mighty Houndoom close behind. The Vulpix scrambled towards a wide ditch, and halted right before it. The Houndoom, however, tumbled into the ditch, and wasn’t seen again.
“Phew,” she released a sigh of relief. Tiredly walking away, she bumped into Eavee. “Oh, oops! I’m sorry!”
“Who are you?” Shard asked the Vulpix.
“I’m Oak,” she told him in a calm voice.
“Hmm. I’m Shard,” the Umbreon bobbed his head.
“I’m Sparkle,” the Espeon blinked happily.
“My name is Blizzard,” the Glaceon greeted.
“And I am Aura. Welcome,” the Lucario bowed respectfully.
“Thanks…” Oak murmured. She strolled over to the sleeping Pokémon pleasantly. “Who are they?”
“That’s Stream,” Shard pointed to the Jolteon, “and the Houndour is Star.”
“Why do you sound so… upset?” the curious Vulpix asked.
“Why does it matter to you?” Shard retorted. Aura frowned.
“Sorry,” Oak bowed her head.
“Hey,” Flame the Arcanine prowled over to the group proudly.
“Flame! You’re back” the Umbreon called.
“Hi, Flame!” Sparkle added sweetly.
“Hmph. Did what’s her face evolve or something?” the Arcanine gazed at Aura.
“My name is Aura,” the Lucario corrected, “and yes, I did evolve.”
“Oh. Congrats,” Flame congratulated gruffly.
At that moment, Star awoke with a yawn. She trotted over to the rest of the bunch.
“Hey, Aura! You’ve evolved! I’m going to evolve soon, too!” the Houndour exclaimed.
“Yup,” Aura responded.
Eavee had been observing the Pokémon for the entire time. “I wonder what they’re talking about…?”
Stream finally woke up. He prowled over to Aura, impressed.
“Well, now that that’s over with, shall we move on?” the Lucario announced.
“Back to the lake?” Shard huffed.
“No… actually, I think we should proceed in the opposite direction,” Aura explained.
“Why? The lake has everything we need,” Sparkle argued.
“Sparkle’s right,” Shard glanced at the Espeon.
“Well,” the Lucario began, “there might be something even better up ahead. We’ll never know, unless we go.”
“Aura may have a point there,” Flame agreed.
“What?” Shard was outraged, “what if there isn’t anything?”
“Oh, I’m sure there will be…” Aura spoke in a smooth, almost hypnotizing voice.
“Yes,” Flame took a step closer to her. The Lucario smiled deviously.
“I’m going to have to agree with them…” Oak admitted. She bounded up to the pair.
“Anyone else?” Aura’s eyes wandered through the crowd.
“I’m with you,” Star raised her paw.
“What are you guys thinking?!” Shard howled.
“They’ve made the right decision,” Aura concluded.
“How is that the right decision?” the Umbreon snapped. The Lucario did not reply. She only turned around and led Flame, Oak and Star away. Stream and Blizzard hesitated for a moment, but then followed them. Shard and Sparkle watched in silence.
“They’re kidding, right?” Shard muttered to the Espeon. Sparkle had a worried look on her face.
“Shard… I’m sorry, but… I think we should all stick together. Remember what I said earlier?” Sparkle began to walk away.
“But I have you, and you have me!” Shard yelled.
“That’s not enough! We’re a team, Shard!” Sparkle cried, increasing her pace.
“Sparkle!” the Umbreon called. Sparkle turned her head to look at him while moving, a concerned expression on her face. Grumbling, the Umbreon trudged after her, staring at his paws, upset.
“Where are they going?” Eavee wondered out loud, “they probably don’t want me with them…” The trainer observed the migrating Pokémon for a while, and then slowly progressed in their direction, Blue by her side.
Very few words were spoken during the journey. The eight trekked across open plain for quite some time, and then they arrived at a densely forested area.
“That’s enough traveling for today,” Aura declared, sitting down against a large tree.
“Who put her in charge?” Shard whispered to Sparkle.
“I am pretty tired…” Stream yawned. He flopped onto his back underneath a thick shrub.
The shrub began to shake violently. The Jolteon let out a startled cry, and stood up immediately. Aura gasped.
“W-what was that?” Stream stammered, glancing around, frightened.
“N-nothing,” Aura answered nervously. A strange shadow shot out from the shrub and squirmed under the tree that the Lucario was leaning on.
“Whoa!” Oak squeaked in amazement, “Did you see that, Aura?”
“See what?” Aura whimpered.
“There was this shadow… it looked like a Pokémon! It went right under that tree!” the small Vulpix nudged Aura’s tree.
“We shouldn’t worry about it,” the Lucario cleared her throat, and began speaking in a much calmer tone, “we all need some rest.”
“Ok!” Oak enthusiastically curled up on the ground, and began snoring. Stream jabbed at the shrub with his paw timidly.
“It’s gone,” Aura assured him. The Jolteon nodded sleepily, and then regained his position under the shrub. All of the other Pokémon assembled themselves, and by the time all of the stars appeared in the sky, each one of them was asleep.
“Cake!”
Stream blinked open his dark eyes. A shiny Bagon was standing over him, a small slice of cake in her claws.
“What?” the Jolteon murmured drowsily. The Bagon brought the piece of cake closer to his face.
“Cake…” she repeated. Stream stared at the Pokémon awkwardly. He watched in utter confusion as the Bagon began dancing about, chanting.
“Um…” Stream took a step backward. The Bagon began laughing maniacally.
“What’s going on?” Aura questioned weakly. She rushed over to the Jolteon and Bagon. “What are you doing?” she hollered at the Bagon.
The Pokémon coughed. “Sorry…” it grunted, lowering its head. Aura shot it a glance.
“What is your name?” the Lucario sat in front of the smaller creature.
“Ember,” the Bagon replied.
“Interesting,” Aura wheezed, “And where did you get that cake from?”
“Got it off some trainer back there,” Ember snickered.
“Did that trainer happen to have an Eevee?” Aura was curious.
“Yep. How did you know?” the Bagon answered.
“We’ve run into that trainer before,” the Lucario told her.
“I see,” Ember said, “would you like some cake?”
“I want cake!” it was Oak. The jolly Vulpix skipped over to Ember hungrily.
“Here you go,” the Bagon handed her the piece of cake she had been carrying, “want some milk with that?”
“I guess so!” Oak’s voice was muffled by the food. Laughing crazily, the Bagon dashed off.
“Wow,” Aura shook her head, “we’d better wake the others.” She paced over to a large rock, and hopped on top of it.
“Attention!” the Lucario shouted. She waited for all of the others to wake before continuing. “Are we ready to set off again?”
“Yes,” Flame barked.
“Good,” Aura sighed. She strode into the forest leisurely, the others sluggishly trudging behind her.
“What about my milk?” Oak squealed, running up to the Lucario.
Aura glared at her. “Does it really matter?”
Oak released a tiny whimper, and then sank to the back of the group.
“Wait,” Aura hissed a little while later. She focused on a gnarled tree, and then leapt behind it, roaring aggressively. A shrill scream filled the air as a pretty Delcatty scrambled away from her.
“Wait!” Aura cried to the Delcatty. The Pokémon froze, and glanced at the Lucario. “Sorry,” Aura muttered, “thought you were hostile.”
“Oh,” the Delcatty meowed. She padded up to the group happily.
“I’m Rose!” she introduced herself.
“Oak’s my name!” the Vulpix announced cheerfully.
“Stream here,” the Jolteon greeted.
“The name’s Flame,” the Arcanine’s response was gruff.
“Blizzard,” the Glaceon smiled shyly.
“I am Sparkle,” the Espeon dipped her head.
“My name is Shard,” the Umbreon grumbled.
“And I am Aura,” the Lucario finished, “we’re searching for a place to settle.”
“Ah,” Rose murmured, “well, up ahead is a huge tunnel. I don’t know what’s on the other side; I’ve never been through it.”
“Very well,” Aura commented.
“Uh… can I come with you guys?” Rose asked.
“Of course,” the Lucario responded in a stern tone.
“Thanks,” the Delcatty purred.
“Onward!” Aura exclaimed, marching forward.
Rose was right. An enormous cavern greeted the journeying Pokémon. One by one, they slipped in.
Star and Flame, who were at the back of the group, spotted something within a bush. Flame bravely stepped forward to investigate.
What the Arcanine found sent a chill down her spine. She motioned to Star, who gasped upon seeing what Flame had discovered.
“It’s D-“ Flame never had the chance to finish her sentence. The life had been drained from both the Arcanine and the Houndour instantly.
“Where’s Flame? And Star?” Shard searched through the group for the duo of Fire types.
“They went to search for food,” Aura lied in a calm voice, “they’ll be back soon.”
“Oh,” Shard muttered.
“How long is this tunnel?” Oak ran up to Aura.
“I don’t know,” the Lucario shook her head wearily. The Pokémon reached a spacious chamber.
A young Shinx with a dark green scarf was standing in front of them, his fur bristled. “Why have you come here?” he demanded.
“Greetings,” Aura coughed, “we are just passing through.”
The Shinx’s eyes glistened. “Me too.”
“Hmm. Well, we’d best be on our way,” Aura pushed past him.
The Shinx eyed Aura suspiciously. “Something’s funny about you…”
The Lucario spun around. “Excuse me?”
The Shinx padded up to a wall. “And what’s this?” His paw struck an oddly shaped shadow.
Aura’s heart began to thud. She collapsed to the ground, whimpering.
“Aura, what’s wrong?” Stream worriedly made his way over to the Lucario. Oak followed.
“Is something the matter?” the Vulpix urged.
“Something’s most definitely the matter,” the Shinx hissed. Oak’s eyes widened.
“Jason?” she cried.
“That’s right,” the Shinx’s tone of voice softened.
“So Aura, please tell us…” Stream begged.
“Noooooo…” the Lucario moaned.
“Aura… we’re your friends. You can tell us,” Oak spoke in a reassuring voice.
“Friends? Pfft.” Shard scoffed, watching the scene from a distance with Blizzard, Rose and Sparkle.
“I can’t!” Aura wailed.
“Well, then I guess I’ll use Imprison on you,” the Vulpix threatened.
“We’ll find out one way or another,” Jason dug his claws into the ground.
“If that is what you wish…” Aura stood up with a snarl.
“Uh… Aura?” Stream stammered.
“My name is not Aura!” the Lucario screamed.
“Er… then what is your name?” Blizzard shouted from afar. The Lucario prowled over to the Glaceon.
“My name… is Void. And that’s not the half of it!” she cackled, pacing back to Jason, Stream and Oak.
“Darkrai! I knew it!” Jason roared.
“D-Darkrai?” Oak whispered, trembling.
“How did you find that out, Shinx?” Void questioned smoothly. At that instant, the Lucario released a shrieking noise and fell to the ground, dead.
“What the…?” Stream’s eyes were clouded with confusion.
“Void just… died!” Oak wailed.
“Guess again, twerps!” the shadow burst out of the cave wall, sending Jason flying. A menacing Darkrai glared at the others hatefully.
Jason began glowing slightly. He let out a low moan. “Void… your presence is messing up the flow of time! You’re going to cause me to disappear!”
“So?” Void retorted.
“Come on, everyone!” Jason ordered courageously, “we need to beat her before I vanish!”
Stream opened his mouth to say something, but then promptly fainted.
“Ptth. Weaklings,” Void hissed.
“We aren’t weak!” Jason shouted, turning to the other Pokémon. The Shinx began glowing brighter.
“Oh no…” he mumbled, “I’m going to disappear… right now!”
“Jason! Quick, take this!” Oak slid a strange object to her companion.
“What is this?” Jason tried to determine what the thing was.
“It’s a Dialga tail charm,” the Vulpix explained, “It contains mystical time powers!”
“N-no,” Jason shivered. “Nothing can stop it this time.”
“That’s right!” the Darkrai laughed demonically.
“Shush, you!” Jason leapt at Void, but the Darkrai managed to dive out of the way.
“Nice one,” Void snickered.
“Jason… you can’t leave…” Oak whined.
“Wait Oak,” Jason stated firmly. He picked up the Dialga tail charm in his paws, and used it to rip open a shadowy portal.
“This will destroy me and save you all!” the Shinx wailed. He grabbed onto Void and began dragging her towards the portal.
“Let go of me!” the Darkrai screamed, extending her legs and kicking at Jason furiously.
“Never!” the Shinx yelled, pulling Void with all his might.
“Goodbye, fools,” the Darkrai spat. She kicked Jason in the face, causing him to release her. Void then ominously sank into the ground.
“Where did she go?” Oak screeched.
“No…” Jason moaned, lowering his head, “it’s too late…”
“Please…” the Vulpix begged.
“Farewell…” with that, the Shinx disappeared with a blinding flash. All that remained was his green scarf, his treasure bag, and a tiny Shinx claw.
“Jason!” Oak hollered. The Vulpix burst into tears.
Shard, Sparkle, Blizzard and Rose watched in pure silence; they were too shocked to speak. Finally, Shard walked over to Oak.
“You know that Shinx?” he asked.
“Uh-huh,” the Vulpix sobbed, “He was-“
“Ssh…” Shard gently hushed her, “I know how you feel.” The Umbreon winced as he remembered Aurora; just lying there, pale white.
“I’ll never see him again,” Oak shook her head in denial.
“Now, there may just be a way…” Shard looked up, thinking. An idea popped into his head. “The Dialga tail charm!”
“Um… how will that work?” the Vulpix clearly did not understand.
“It has powerful time related properties, aye?” the Umbreon did not wait for Oak to respond, “We can use it to bring Jason back, then.”
“Really?” Oak’s eyes lit up.
“Let’s try,” Shard swung the Dialga tail charm through the air swiftly. He smiled as Jason reappeared in front of them.
“Jason!” Oak sprinted over to her friend, joyous.
“H-how were you able to bring me back?” the Shinx questioned.
“The Dialga tail charm!” Shard handed the said object to Jason. Nodding happily, he stuck the charm into his treasure bag. The Shinx then grabbed his scarf off the ground and wrapped it around his neck.
“I can’t believe it,” Rose sighed, “Aura’s a… Darkrai?” The crew of Pokémon had made their way out of the long tunnel.
“Makes sense,” Shard sniffed.
“How so?” Sparkle turned to her friend.
“Didn’t you notice the way she had acted?” the Umbreon barked.
“She seemed fine to me,” Sparkle admitted.
“Hmph,” Shard grunted.
“Void wasn’t necessarily the same Pokémon as Aura,” Jason told them.
“What do you mean?” it was Stream.
“It seems to me as if Void, the Darkrai, managed to gain control of Aura’s body somehow. How she did this, I’m not sure,” the Shinx answered.
“That makes sense,” Blizzard bobbed her head.
“I’ve found you!” everyone spun around. It was Void.
“Void!” Jason roared.
“That’s my name,” the Darkrai flew over to the group.
“Everyone ready?” Jason narrowed his golden eyes.
“Right!” Oak announced.
“Gwahahaha,” Void cackled, “so you puny Pokémon are going to try to put up a fight against me, the Mistress of Darkness?”
“We’ll defeat you!” the Shinx warned, electricity emanating from his body.
“Ooh, I’m so scared,” Void grumbled sarcastically.
“You should be!” Rose meowed, ignoring the Darkrai’s tone of voice.
Blizzard bravely bounded up to Void, forming an Ice Shard in her mouth. Before the Glaceon had the chance to attack, Void launched her Dark Void attack. The Darkrai laughed hysterically as the other Pokémon slumped to the ground, asleep.
“Could this get any worse for these weaklings?” Void threw her head back in laughter. “Of course it can. My presence causes terrible nightmares!”
The bunch trembled and flailed about in their sleep. Void was about to attack them, when Blizzard let out a squeal and performed Avalanche. Unfortunately for Void, the snow came down right on top of her. The Darkrai tried her hardest to escape, and by the time she finally managed to, most of the others had already woken up.
“Look!” Shard suggested to Blizzard in a hushed voice, “Void’s right under that branch. Maybe if you fire Ice Shard at it, and it falls on her head, it’ll knock her out.”
“That’s ridiculous!” the Glaceon whispered tensely.
“Just trust me! Besides, she’s coming right at us!” Shard was right. Void released a growl and leaped towards them.
“It’s too late now!” the Umbreon hissed. But Blizzard still attacked with Ice Shard; the frozen projectile struck the Darkrai’s head. Uttering a moaning noise, Void fell to the ground. She had fainted.
“Good work,” Jason encouraged, nodding approvingly.
“Help!” Sparkle had been cornered by several trainers.
“Sparkle!” Shard exclaimed, rushing over to her.
“What is with her and trainers?” Blizzard murmured to herself, trotting to them. The Espeon yelped in terror as the trainers ran away with her in their arms.
“Sparkle!” Shard screamed, flinging himself at them. He grunted as he fell on the ground.
“Ugh…” shaking himself, the Umbreon darted away from the pack.
“Shard…” Blizzard just stood there, considering whether she should follow or not.
“What happened? Where are the Umbreon and Espeon?” Jason was behind the Glaceon.
“Shard and Sparkle,” she corrected hastily, “some trainers grabbed Sparkle, and Shard went after her.”
The Shinx let out a tiny growl, “Stupid trainers. Blizzard, that’s your name, right? Where’s Void?”
“Over there,” Blizzard motioned to the Darkrai; an unconscious heap. “Yes, that’s my name.”
“Hmph,” Jason paced back and forth by Void.

Actual Pokémon Roleplay I [v2]

  "Hello! How are you? Today is a beautiful day, isn't it?"
A small voice echoed in Shard's ears. He sleepily blinked one eye open, his face flat against the ground.
    "Wake up, you sleepy head! Come play with me!"
    Shard twitched his ears, sluggishly lifting his head up. ... Where is this voice coming from? And who in Arceus's name is this, and why do they want to play with me?
    "I'm over here, silly!" Shard whipped around at once. His eyes met the gaze of a Riolu... except this wasn't any ordinary Riolu. Its eyes were icy blue rather than rust red, and its fur seemed slightly darker than normal. "Don't you want to play before the darkness consumes me?"
    Shard raised an eyebrow. "Er... what? I'm sorry, I think you've got the wrong Umbreon."
    The Riolu shook its head from side to side. "No, it's you, Shard!"
    Shard blinked, surprised. "How do you know my name? I don't recall knowing any Riolu, especially with... those eyes..."
    The Riolu closed its eyes. "Come on, let's go play." With that, it walked a few steps before turning and giving Shard an expectant look. "Are you coming?"
    "Uh, well, you see... er, I'm not the one to 'play', especially with freaky Riolu with blue eyes that can read your mind and--" Shard's voice was cut off as a scream pierced the air. Everything suddenly went pitch black, as if someone had turned out the lights. After several heartbeats, a purple light shot down from the sky, and shone down on the Riolu. It was on its back, thrashing uncontrollably.
    Shard gasped. Even though he found the Riolu creepy, the scene in front of him terrified him.
    "Not... even... one... game?" The Riolu's voice choked, "H-help me..."


Chapter One

    "Shard!"
    Shard's eyes flew open at once. A wave of relief washed over him as he was greeted by the warm, honey brown eyes of his Espeon friend, Sparkle. Oh... it must've only been a dream...
    A look of concern spread across Sparkle's face. "You were thrashing and yelping in your sleep. Were you having a nightmare or something?"
    "That sounds about right... it was really weird. There was this crazy Riolu, and she kept insisting that we play before 'the darkness consumes her', and then everything got dark, and the Riolu looked like it was having a seizure," Shard explained, rising to his feet.
    "That is odd," Sparkle murmured in agreement.

Actual Pokémon Roleplay II

Shard felt an overwhelming sense of fear as he strolled through the dark forest. He paused when he spotted an ominous looking shadow. Trembling, his eyes wandered upward, and he noticed that the shadow belonged to a Darkrai.
“Agh!” the Umbreon squeaked, flattening himself against the ground. The Darkrai made a quick hissing noise.
“Chill, Umbreon,” it spoke in a venomous, female voice, “I’ve changed. What’s your name again?” The Darkrai appeared to recognize Shard from a past experience.
“Uh… Shard…” the Umbreon murmured.
“Yes… that’s right,” the Darkrai dipped her head, “I’m assuming you know who I am, correct?”
“Er… no,” Shard admitted.
“Void,” she announced, “I’m quite surprised you don’t recognize me. Heh, don’t you remember, when I revealed myself as a Darkrai in that tunnel… I was a Lucario, but then-“ Void stopped when she saw Shard slowly shaking his head.
“Amnesia,” she concluded. At that moment, a small Riolu emerged from a bush, and began walking towards the two of them, not looking where he was going. He then crashed into Shard. The Umbreon leapt backward in surprise.
“I’m sorry!” the Riolu cried, slightly embarrassed, “I wasn’t looking where I was going.” But Shard had gone.
“Wow,” Void muttered, turning to face the Riolu.
How did this happen? Shard thought sadly. He had strolled a small distance away from the Darkrai and Riolu. He wearily walked through the silent forest before miserably flopping under a bush.
“I’m hungry,” Void snarled. The Darkrai began searching for a sleeping Pokémon so that she could feed off of its dreams. “I hear something…”
Void hovered up to a large bush, and looked underneath it. She found a Jolteon, fast asleep, snoring gently.
“Perfect,” she purred, rubbing her ghastly hands together. Taking a step backwards, Void began absorbing the Jolteon’s dreams.
The Jolteon, whose name was Stream, began trembling and whimpering in his sleep. The Darkrai watched in satisfaction. She then floated towards a tree, and sat down beneath it. Void flinched as she heard a small rustling noise.
“What was that?” she wondered out loud. More rustling. Annoyed, the Darkrai got up. “Urgh… now this is just bugging me. I’m gonna go check it out.”
Void slowly approached where the sounds had come from. Her eyes widened as she discovered that the noises had been made by a trainer. The trainer, Rose, was sitting down on the grass, cheerfully eating cookies.
I’d better leave, Void thought, she’ll probably want to catch me. Just then, Rose stood up. A look of worry crossed the trainer’s face.
Great… I think she’s on to me. I should’ve left while I had the chance… me and my blasted curiosity. Void released a small growl.
“Come on! I know you’re out there!” Rose called.
“…” Void remained frozen. It’s too late to make a getaway now! Genius, Void!
At that moment, Stream woke up. What a terrible dream… the Jolteon thought, pulling himself up. He jumped backward in alarm as he noticed the trainer, who was walking towards him! Tensing up, Stream prepared to attack. But Rose walked right past him.
“Huh?” he gasped, trying to keep his voice quiet. Squinting, he saw that the trainer was nearing a dark figure. What is that?
“Hi!” Rose exclaimed, looking Void in the eye, “let’s go, Charizard!” The Trainer reached into her bag and flung out a Poke Ball. A powerful looking Charizard emerged. Void just stared at the trainer and her Pokémon blankly.
“A trainer?” Glade barked quietly, walking up to Void. The Darkrai shushed him. Stream crept closer to the others, curious.
Rose’s Charizard roared and flapped his wings impressively, eagerly awaiting his trainer’s command. “Charizard, Flamethrower now!” the trainer ordered, pointing at her Charizard. He roared again before sending a wave of flame at Void.
The Darkrai quickly swerved out of the way, avoiding the attack. Looks like I have no choice but to fight… She growled and released Dark Pulse. Glade just watched, stunned.
Rose’s Charizard roared angrily as he was hit by Void’s attack. “Charizard, take to the skies!” Rose shouted. He nodded and soared up high, circling the area.
Void kept an eye on the Charizard while cautiously moving about. Glade fearfully stared at the Flame Pokémon. “Why…?” he murmured, dazed.
“Charizard, Fire Spin now!” Rose yelled. The Charizard hovered above Void and let out a massive swirling ring of fire.
Void tried to dodge, but failed. The raging flames swept over her. “Gwaaaaaaah…” she moaned. Rose smiled before swiftly tossing a well-thrown Ultra Ball at the hurt Darkrai.
“Noooooo…” Void moaned. She broke out of the Ultra Ball. Ha! Looks like I’m getting better at this! The Darkrai vanished into the ground, waving.
Another Riolu, this one being a female, shyly walked up to Rose. She gave the trainer a long, sad look before saying, “I’m sad, my owner died…”
Of course Rose couldn’t understand her. “What?”
“I’m so tired… and so alone…” the Riolu dropped to the ground in exhaustion.
Rose’s eyes widened. “Are you ok?!” she gasped, bending over.
The Riolu lifted her head weakly. She passed a golden locket to Rose before fainting. Rose picked it up, and curiously opened it. Inside was a picture of the Riolu, and what seemed to be her owner. Rose slowly shut the locket and placed it at the Riolu’s paws.
“… Must’ve had a bad day,” she whispered, gently patting the Riolu’s head.
A while later, the Riolu got up. A tear streamed down her face. “I want my owner…” she sobbed mournfully.
“Don’t cry…” Rose spoke in a comforting voice. The Riolu sniffled and ran off.
Void, who had since then emerged from the ground, watched as a Riolu ran by. The small Pokémon froze. She slowly turned to face the Darkrai.
“… Who are you?” Void questioned.
“Pansy!” the Riolu wailed, “now leave me alone!”
“What did I do?” Void spat, “Oh… let me guess. Another prejudiced freak.”
“… I’m sorry,” Pansy apologized, staring down at her feet, “I’ve just been all jumpy ever since my owner died.”
“Ptth,” Void hissed. Pansy glared at her. “What?” the Darkrai snarled.
“You are a grumpy Pokémon,” the Riolu laughed before walking away.
“… Alrighty then…” Void mumbled, her eyes narrowed.
Shard yawned and stretched. He tiredly padded out from underneath the bush, where he had taken a brief nap. Maybe it was that Moon Stone that did this to me… or that Regirock… He gloomily walked down a path, searching for someone that could help him. He finally spotted a trainer. Smiling slightly, he raced up to her.
Rose watched as the Umbreon ran up to her. What now? At the same time, a Vulpix approached Shard.
“Hi, shard!” she exclaimed, happily wagging her tails. Shard stared at her, alarmed.
“How do you know my name?” the Umbreon cried. He turned to the trainer. “Help!”
“Shard? What’s wrong, Shard?” the Vulpix asked, worried.
“What?” Rose couldn’t understand Shard, “oh, whatever.” She walked away.
An exhausted looking Grovyle weakly crawled out of the bushes and collapsed in front of Rose.
“Oh my…” Rose said, concerned.
The Grovyle painfully lifted his head, “… Help…”
“What’s wrong?” the trainer ducked down, worry flashing through her eyes.
“… I don’t remember…” the Grovyle answered.
Meanwhile, a young Shinx had discovered an odd looking rock. “Wow!” he exclaimed, observing it, “I’ve never seen a rock like this before!” He bent over to get a closer look, but tripped and fell on it while doing so.
“Ow!” he yelped, pulling himself up. He felt strange. The Pokémon shrugged and stepped over to a small pool of water, and lowered his head to drink.
He gasped at his reflection. Rather than a Shinx, it was a Shaymin looking back at him!
“What the heck?!” he yelled, jumping backward. Now I’m a Shaymin, for real! He spotted a bush of Gracidea flowers. Curiously, he pressed his paw against one. He began to morph into his Sky Forme.”
“Awesome! Now I can fly!” the Shaymin happily leapt into the air and soared away. He spotted an Umbreon and a Vulpix, and dove down in front of them. Hey! It’s Shard and Oak!
“Shaymin!” Shard exclaimed, watching as the Gratitude Pokémon landed at his paws.
“Jason,” the Shaymin said gruffly, “my name is Jason.”
“Jason?” Oak exclaimed, “I know a Shinx named Jason! He was my partner!”
“I am that Shinx,” Jason replied, nodding firmly.
“Really?” Oak gasped, “What? How?”
Shard’s eyes widened. “Shaymin… er, Jason. Can we talk, in private?”
“Um… ok,” Jason replied with a shrug. The Umbreon climbed up a tall tree, and motioned for him to follow. Jason flew up and landed next to Shard.
“So… what is it you want?” Jason tipped his head to one side.
“You say you were a Shinx, and you’re a Shaymin now! How did that happen?” Shard asked eagerly.
“Dunno,” Jason responded, lying.
“Oh… well…” Shard sadly climbed down the tree. As he began to walk away, he spotted the Darkrai again.
“… I’ve seen you before, right? And I mean before what happened yesterday…” Shard spoke to her.
“Yes, we've met before. You're that Umbreon who tried to thwart my attempts of bringing your little gang down when I was... evil so to speak,” Void replied. Shard nodded and left.
Pansy watched as a dark green Lucario walked by, a map in his paws. She rushed to greet him. “Who are you?” the small Riolu asked.
“Zake,” the Lucario grunted, striding away. Pansy sprinted up to him.
“You’re my evolved form, aren’t you?” she smiled.
“Yeah, yeah,” Zake grumbled, desperate to get moving.
“Hey, where are you going? Can I come?” Pansy asked, bouncing up and down.
Zake rolled his violet eyes, “… Whatever. As long as you do as you are told, and you don’t get in the way.”
“Yay!” the Riolu squeaked joyfully, “I will, no need to worry!”
Zake nodded, examining his map. “We have to go west,” he instructed, beginning to walk in that direction. The pair traveled for a while, until Zake came to a sudden stop.
“Why are we stopping?” Pansy questioned, looking up at Zake with a confused look on her face.
“It’s getting late,” he pointed at the darkening sky, “We need to rest.”
“Oh… ok!” the Riolu exclaimed. She watched Zake leap into a tree, and quickly followed. They both quickly fell asleep.
Morning soon arrived. Pansy had awakened. She glanced at Zake; he was still asleep. Bored, she climbed down the tree, and landed in front of the Darkrai she had run into earlier.
“Don’t hurt me!” the Riolu cried, her rust-colored eyes full of alarm. I wish Zake was awake! He’d protect me!
“Did I say I was going to hurt you?” Void snarled.
“N-no,” Pansy whimpered, trembling.
“What’s up with you?” Void snapped.
“I miss my owner!” Pansy wailed.
“… Wow,” Void responded, “so you mean you actually liked your trainer? From my experiences, I've found that trainers are awful. If one of my former trainers had died, I wouldn't care."
“My trainer raised me from an egg! You have no idea how much he meant to me!” Pansy’s temper was heightening.
"So what? Trainers just use us for money and stupid awards,” the Darkrai argued.
“He wasn’t like that!” Pansy roared, releasing Aura Sphere.
“Sure. Or maybe he just wanted you to think that,” Void stepped out of the way of the Aura Sphere.
Pansy jumped up and used Close Combat. “Don’t talk about my owner like that!”
“Why don’t you try to make me, Shrimp?” the Pitch Black Pokémon sneered, easily shoving Pansy away.
“He looked after Pokémon and eggs that were abandoned by their mothers! He was nothing like you said!” Pansy began to cry.
"Probably so he could make a profit off of them, or trade them for something 'better'." Void protested. The Riolu had had enough. She angrily lunged at the Darkrai, using Frustration.
Void was hit. "Wow, you're even weaker than you look!” she laughed, “And you're pretty weak looking to begin with, twerp."
“Stop it! Please don’t talk about me and my trainer like that!” Pansy screamed, tears streaming down her face rapidly.
“It’s the truth, Shrimp,” Void snickered.
“I’ve had enough of you!” Pansy roared, throwing an Aura Sphere at her foe.
After she was hit, Void tossed the Riolu away from her. “Is that all you’ve got?”
Pansy narrowed her rust-colored eyes. I’ll use Aura Storm. No, I can’t hurt her too much… She used the powerful move anyway.
Void just stood there, as if nothing was happening. “Ptth, ooh, you’re so strong…” She rolled her eyes.
“… If you think attacking me is going to stop me from loving my owner, then you’re wrong!” Pansy barked.
“I didn’t attack you!” the Darkrai hollered, “you attacked me!”
Pansy growled and began charging up Aura Sphere. “That’s because you said bad things about my owner!”
“Well, all of my statements were true, little Riolu. It’s a fact of life. Get used to it,” Void scoffed.
“You aren’t worth it,” Pansy sighed, letting the Aura Sphere fade. She stormed off.
Suddenly, a Lucario walked up to Void. “Hi! I just had the weirdest dream! I was battling you in this arena, and-“
Void gave her a strange look. Glade, who was sitting on a branch of a nearby tree, watched intently.
“I wonder if there are any apples in these trees?” the Lucario curiously sprang up a tree, searching for the fruit.
What a strange Lucario… Void thought, watching her pluck a plump, juicy looking apple.
The Lucario was about to bite into the apple, but she hesitated. Why is she looking at me so strangely? The apple fell to the ground, landing at Void’s feet.
“Ew,” Void backed away from the fallen apple, retracting her legs.
“… Who are you, anyway?” the Lucario asked, leaping out of the tree.
“Void,” the Darkrai answered, “you?”
“Icy,” the Lucario dipped her head.
Suddenly, Glade fell off of his branch. He landed with a thud, right in front of the two Pokémon. The Riolu recognized Void, but the Lucario was unfamiliar to him.
Jason cheerfully flew by, throwing fragrant flower petals in Void’s face. She stared at him blankly, spitting out the petals.
Right at that very moment, Blizzard, a slender Glaceon, snuck up on the Darkrai, and used Avalanche.
Void glared at her. “Oh… lovely…” she grumbled as she was buried under the snow. First the Shaymin, and now this? What the heck?!
Icy glanced at the snow pile before creating an Aura Sphere. When it was just the right size, she pounced onto it. She began twirling around gracefully. The Lucario beckoned Glade to join her on the sphere. He climbed on.
Void dug herself out of the snow pile. “What do we have here…?” she looked at the two Pokémon playing around on the Aura Sphere. Blizzard turned and shrugged.
“Isn’t this fun?” Icy giggled, leaping up and performing a somersault in mid-air.
“Very,” Glade said, trying not to fall. Icy back flipped off of the giant Aura Sphere, and landed perfectly on her feet. The sphere vanished from under Glade. He fell to the ground. “Oof…” he grunted. Icy let out a sweet laugh.
Why do they find that so amusing? Void watched the two coldly.
Icy climbed back up the tree and plucked another apple. She hungrily bit into it, licking her lips.
“Gross,” Void turned away.
“Hey, you never told me why you didn’t like apples!” Icy shouted, hopping down from the tree.
“… Long story…” the Darkrai mumbled.
“I’m all ears!” Icy exclaimed, taking another bite from the apple.
“Never mind,” Void huffed. Jason flew by again. This time, he hurled an apple at Void. It hit her head, before landing on the ground. Growling, Void bent over to pick it up. She threw it back at the Shaymin as hard as she could. The fruit hit Jason on the head, causing him to fall out of the sky.
This time, Glade created an Aura Sphere. He leaped onto it, and almost lost his balance. Icy smiled and created a sphere of her own. She pulled herself onto it, and danced serenely.
Pansy, who had been watching the entire time, tried to make her own Aura Sphere, but it didn’t work. Glade made another sphere. He scooted off the first, and climbed onto the second. He sat down on it.
By that time, Jason had gotten up. He launched another apple at Void. It hit her shoulder.
“You little…” the Darkrai snarled, flinging it back at him. He tumbled out of the sky again, landing right in front of Void. She glared at him scornfully.
Jason raised his head. He began to chuckle. “That was just an act! You can never beat a Shaymin!” with that, he got back up and flew away, releasing another stream of petals. “Pink looks terrible on you!”
Void spat out the petals. “My, Jason, I didn’t know you had a sense for fashion!” Jason ignored her, and floated off somewhere.
Glade continued to play around with his Aura Spheres. Void stared at him. "Why do you Riolu find that to be so fascinating? No offense but... in my view, it's kinda stupid."
"You're not a Riolu, you don't know the fun!" Glade barked, leaping onto another sphere.
"Heh, but I was a Riolu... sort of," Void responded.
"Not all the way," Glade said, making more Aura Spheres.
"Ptth. And while I was Aura, I never would have thought of something as ridiculous as that..." Void murmured, staring off into space.
“Oak!” Shard called, rushing up to the Vulpix. She turned and smiled.
“Hey, Shard,” she breathed, sitting down.
“I’m sorry I left last night,” Shard apologized, lowering his ears.
“That’s alright,” Oak told him in a comforting tone of voice.
“So… uh, can you… teach me how to fight?” the Umbreon asked, a bit embarrassed.
“Of course!” Oak shouted gleefully, “What moves do you know?”
“Um… none,” Shard grunted.
“That’s impossible!” the Vulpix giggled, “why don’t you try attacking me?”
“Um… ok…” he glanced at Oak, and then ran at her, but never carried through with his attack.
“Let yourself go! Don’t think about it; like this!” Oak nipped Shard’s ear.
“H-hey!” Shard cried, taking a step backward. Oak grinned at the Umbreon, waiting for his next move. He suddenly charged, and rammed his body into her.
“Good job!” Oak praised, “See, you know Tackle! Now, try it again, but this time, concentrate!” The Vulpix let lose a Flamethrower.
Gaping, Shard managed to dodge his tutor’s attack. Narrowing his blood-red eyes, he formed a Shadow Ball in his jaws, and shot straight at Oak. He watched, his eyes wide. Wow! That was awesome! How did I do that?!
Oak wailed as the sphere of darkness slammed into her. Shard rushed over to her, alarmed. He promptly helped her up.
“What move was that?” Shard questioned, curious.
“Shadow Ball,” the Vulpix grunted, “strong move.”
He gave her a look of concern. “Are you ok?”
“Fine, really,” Oak answered, not very convincingly. She shook herself before saying, “we should try to find a place called Treasure Town. We can get some of the others to come, too.”
“Um… ok!” Shard barked eagerly.
“Treasure Town? Now why would anybody want to go to that dump?” it was Void. She emerged out of the ground to the side of the duo.
“That’s where I live!” Oak shouted defensively. She turned to Shard. “It’s where you lived, too.”
“Huh? What? Really?” the Umbreon was confused. Oak didn’t say anything; she just nodded slowly. Shard tipped his head to one side.
“Well then… I don’t think the Pokémon there would take kindly to a Darkrai,” Void muttered, staring down at her lower half.
“Make an illusion!” Oak suggested simply.
Void grumbled something to herself. Glade walked up behind her.
“Um… well, don’t possess me. I have thoughts that I kinda want to keep to myself,” the Riolu told her, shuffling his feet nervously.
“What?” the Darkrai hissed, turning around.
“… Never mind…” Glade mumbled, backing away.
“Did I say I was going to possess anyone? I was only able to do that with-“ Void suddenly became silent. Glade stared at her strangely.
“We’re leaving in fifteen minutes,” Oak instructed, pacing forward.
“Well, I’m ready to go!” Shard exclaimed excitedly.
“We have to wait for Void to decide what she’ll disguise herself as,” the Vulpix instructed.
An illusion of a Totodile flickered over Void. “Ugh… I’m hideous.”
Oak snickered to herself before proclaiming, “Let’s go!”
The quartet began to stroll off toward Treasure Town.
"I guess I'll need a new name for myself in this disgraceful form... a Totodile named Void would be pretty fishy, eh? Hmm... Call me Shore for now." Void rambled. She realized she was sinking to the back of the group. She hurriedly waddled after the others, but tripped and fell. “It’s hard to make myself look natural in this pitiful form,” Shore growled.
Glade shut his eyes and confidently said, “If we get stopped along the way by an enemy Pokémon, I’ll get a chance to try out my new move!” He raced ahead and used Low Kick on a tree. “Ouch!” he cried, falling on his bottom.
Shore laughed heartily. “That was just sad.”
The journeying Pokémon reached a large hill. Looking down from its peak, they made out a cluster of friendly-looking tents in the near distance.
“Treasure Town!” Oak squealed, bouncing up and down, “Last one there is a rotten Exeggcute!” Shard and Glade instantly began running. Shore just stood there, scowling.
“As if I care about your silly little game,” she muttered, lumbering after them.
Shard froze when he had reached the town entrance. Something felt awfully familiar. He curiously padded toward a large, green tent.

Pokémon Mystery Dungeon Roleplay

The wind whistled softly. Small waves lapped at the shore of the beach steadily.
A small Eevee was lying face down in the sand. She was groaning loudly. A Riolu, which was casually strolling down the beach, froze in her tracks. She ran up to the Eevee, and knelt down in front of her. “Are you okay?”
The Eevee slowly stood up. She froze, staring at her paws. Paws? I have paws? Where are my hands?!
“You’re an Eevee, right? I remember seeing one in a book when I was a human,” the Riolu told the Eevee, tipping her head to one side.
Eevee! I’m an Eevee?! Her mouth gaped open. “No, this is not happening! I’m a human!”
The Riolu’s eyes widened. “You’re a human too?”
“Yeah…” the Eevee murmured. “Wait, what? You too?”
“I… used to be a human, but then I turned into a Pokémon. That must have happened to you too,” the Riolu said.
“… I guess…” the Eevee mumbled, staring down at the ground.
“Hey, what’s your name? I’m Aurora,” the Riolu asked the Eevee, curious.
“Emily,” she replied simply.
Not too far away was a Charmander. She was sitting in the sand, staring out into the ocean, a shocked expression frozen on her face. She heard a conversation in the distance, but was too stunned to move.
“So…” Aurora began, “do you remember anything about being a human? I don’t.”
“No,” Emily glanced at the Riolu before walking away.
A loud voice filled the air. “I’m a Larvitar? Seriously? Out of all the Pokémon in the world, I get turned into a fat, ugly, Larvitar?” a Larvitar was angrily pacing back and forth. She didn’t seem very surprised by the fact that she was a Pokémon. 
Aurora looked around. Along with Emily, she also spotted a Charmander and a Larvitar. “Huh? What’s going on here?” she wondered out loud.
The Larvitar scowled and kicked a pebble. It flew into the air, straight at a bush. “Ow!” someone exclaimed from within it. An Eevee crawled out. “What was that for?”
Aurora glanced at the Larvitar. “Let me guess- you’re a human too?”
"Heck yeah, I was a human. I wish I still was one," the Larvitar snarled, gritting her teeth.
“You’re all humans too?” the Eevee’s jaw dropped.
“Jeez, is everyone here a human?” Aurora muttered, losing her temper.
“I guess so,” Emily murmured.
“But it’s awesome! I love being an Eevee!” the Eevee that had been hit by the pebble shouted.
"Well yeah, you're an Eevee. Just look at me! I'm hideous!" Chris yelled.
“I hate being an Eevee,” Emily hissed.
“Hey, it’s better than being a useless Magikarp,” the other Eevee spoke in an optimistic tone, “who are you guys?”
“Christina. But I prefer being called Chris,” the Larvitar growled.
“Aurora,” the Riolu sighed, staring down at the ground.
“Emily,” Emily responded.
“Oh, that’s cool. I’m Luna,” the other Eevee told them.
What the… the Charmander rubbed her eyes, a puzzled look on her face.
Chris glared at the Charmander. “What are you looking at, punk?”
“W-what?” the Charmander jumped, spooked.
“Yeah, I’m talking to you. Who are you, anyway?” the Larvitar thrust her paw in her direction.
“… Kim…” the Charmander answered quietly.
“Pfft,” Chris rolled her eyes and trudged away.
A hyper Vulpix bounded up to Chris. The Larvitar froze. “Oh, great. What do you want?”
Kim watched Chris from a distance. What is her problem?
In response, the Vulpix spat flames at Chris.
Chris snarled furiously and released Rock Slide. The Vulpix dodged and used Flamethrower. Chris ducked out of the way and unleashed Dark Pulse. Her attacker skidded a few feet away before shooting more flames at the Larvitar. Chris tried to swerve out of the way, but was hit. However, the attack did little damage. The Vulpix swiftly lashed out with Ember.
Chris avoided the attack. She quickly used Rock Slide. "Wow, you don't get it, do you? I have a type advantage over you."
The Vulpix blew a wall of flame at the Larvitar’s Rock Slide, enjoying the new sensation of power. Chris rolled her eyes and used the same attack again.
... I wonder what it's like to battle like that? Kim thought, watching the two Pokémon fight intently.
The Vulpix shot another jet of flame at Chris’s attack. The Larvitar, enraged, let loose both Rock Slide and Dark Pulse at the same time. The Vulpix managed to dodge Rock Slide, but was then hit by Chris’s second strike. The Larvitar grinned cruelly.
Aurora looked back and forth at the Vulpix and Chris. "Why are you two fighting?" she asked.
Chris promptly shrugged. “Why does it matter?”
Aurora rushed up to the Vulpix, who was lying on the sand, a pained expression on her face. “Who are you? Are you okay?”
The Vulpix made a low groaning noise. She weakly lifted her head. “Trix.”
Chris snorted. “Trix? Like the cereal?” She began dancing around. “Silly rabbit! Trix are for kids!”
Trix rolled her amber eyes. Aurora slapped herself in the face. Chris frowned.
The Riolu curiously approached the Charmander. She sat down next to her. “Do you really think we don’t belong in this world? If so, why did we come here in the first place?”
“What?” Kim looked surprised. Is she saying she’s not from here either? How did she know that I’m not from here?
“You mean you didn’t know that I was a human?” Aurora questioned.
“Er… how would I know that?” Kim tilted her head at an angle.
“I just thought…” Aurora’s voice trailed off.
“You’re humans too?!” Trix wailed.
Kim and Aurora nodded in unison.
The Charmander’s eyes wandered from Trix to Aurora. “You were both humans…” she mumbled, trying to process what was going on.
“But the question is… why are we Pokémon?” Aurora was staring at the two others.
Kim opened her mouth to reply, when all of the sudden a Bagon ran by, screaming.
Aurora raised an eyebrow. “What the heck…?”
The Bagon ran by again, and flopped down in the sand in front of the others. “Holy… I’m a Pokémon too!”
  Aurora gave the Bagon a strange look. “Whoa. Who exactly are you?”
The Bagon jumped to her feet. “Annie!”
“Okay…” Aurora mumbled.
Annie rushed ahead. She soon made her way to a small cliff. She leaped off, grinning. “I WANT TO FLYYYYY!”
Aurora gasped. “What are you doing?!” The Riolu hurriedly dashed up to the cliff.
Annie hit the ground with a thud. “Oof.” Wiping sand off her legs, the Bagon ran back up to the top of the cliff and jumped off again.
“Wow…” Chris muttered, watching in amusement. She then turned and stared at the ground hungrily. Why do I have the sudden craving for DIRT?! The Larvitar couldn’t resist. She bent over, and scooped up a pawfull of soil. She sniffed at it curiously before shoving it into her mouth. “Hey, wow! This isn’t bad at all! It’s great!”
A trio of Pokémon stared at Chris in disgust.
“Well… that’s disturbing…” one of them, and Eevee, muttered.
“What are you DOING?” a second one, a Shinx cried.
“Calm down, Anaru, Trevor. It’s probably her instincts,” the third, a Poochyena told his companions.
Chris shot the Eevee, Anaru, a glance. “Disturbing? How is this disturbing? Dirt is delicious!” The Larvitar then turned to Trevor, the Shinx. “I’m eating, can’t you see?”
About a yard away, a different Shinx was glaring at a twig angrily. “Well, it’s not like I have to have moss on my leg!” He looked at the twig, as if he was waiting for it to reply. “You don’t even have legs, so there!”
“Yuck,” Trevor turned away from Chris.
“If you want to see disturbing, look at that!” the Larvitar murmured, muffled by the dirt. She hastily pointed at the Shinx that was seemingly arguing with a twig.
Trevor glanced at the other Shinx. He raised an eyebrow. “Are you talking to a stick?”
The other Shinx turned around, smiling. “No, I was talking to my legless friend, Mr. Twig!”
The Poochyena stared at the others. “Okay… why is everyone here going crazy?”
“Crazy? Who are you calling crazy?” the other Shinx started laughing.
“I’m not crazy either! This stuff is delicious! You guys should seriously try it!” Chris yelled.
The second Shinx shoved a mouthful of dirt into his mouth, and swallowed it whole. “It tastes like… nothingness.”
“Do you not have taste buds, Shinx? Its taste is simply delightful… it’s so good that I can’t even describe it!” the Larvitar swallowed.
“Aargh! One minute I’m in my bed, and the next I’m a Shinx, and in… where am I, anyway?” Trevor cried.
“We’re in Pokémon Land, where everyone randomly turns into a Pokémon!” the Shinx with the twig snickered.
Trevor sighed, and closed his eyes. He shook his head slowly. Opening one eye, he asked the other Shinx, “Who are you?”
“Me?” the Shinx with the twig exclaimed, “I’m Leaf!”
“That’s a fitting name,” the Poochyena muttered.
Chris walked off, searching for fresher soil. Anaru curiously followed. The Larvitar stopped at a wide, wet patch of dirt. She happily flopped onto her belly and began gobbling up the dirt as if it was chocolate ice cream.
Anaru gasped. The ground began to tremble. Her eyes wide, the Eevee watched as a giant Steelix burst out of the ground behind Chris. She ran back to the others.
“Guys! Guys! There’s, like, this huge Pokémon, and I… Agh! I left it alone with Chris!” Anaru cried, panicking.
Leaf cocked his head to one side. “Huge Pokémon?”
“Yes! And it’s with Chris! It didn’t look too friendly to me!” Anaru responded.
“Er… did you see what type it was?” Leaf asked anxiously.
“I didn’t see what it was. All I know is that it was HUGE!” the Eevee shouted, throwing her paws into the air.
The Poochyena sighed. “As weird as that Larvitar is, we have to help her.”
“You’re right, Night!” Anaru breathed.
Leaf chuckled. “You’re a poet and you didn’t know it.”
Night rolled his eyes. “Now is not the time to joke around, Leaf! We he to hurry!” He sped off toward Chris and the Steelix. The others quickly followed.
“Yum… I know I’ve eaten a ton, but I don’t feel the slightest bit full,” Chris murmured, gazing at the deep trenches around her. She froze. Something was towering over her…
Chris worriedly turned around. Her mouth gaping open, the Larvitar looked up at the Steelix. “Er… hello. Would you like some dirt?” she asked it, holding up a small pile of soil. The Steelix roared, and knocked the dirt from her paw. “Okay… that’s definitely a no.”
The group of Pokémon rushed up to Chris and the Steelix. Night snarled and shot a Shadow Ball at it. The Steelix roared in rage. It whipped around, and swung its heavy tail at the Poochyena. Night was sent flying backward.
“Ooh… well, there’s always Plan B…” Chris got up instantly. She stepped back and let loose Rock Slide. The Steelix tried to attack, but the Larvitar nimbly rolled out of the way. She then noticed that other Pokémon were fighting alongside her. Oh goody! It’s them! It looks like they’re gonna fight the Steelix for me! Chris sat down where she was. I’ll just watch, and… eat more dirt.
Leaf reared up on his hind legs and kicked the Steelix in an awkward movement. “Hah! Feel the awesome power that is Leaf!” The Steelix roared and lunged at him, but he jumped up and scurried away in the nick of time.
Night scowled. He shot another Shadow Ball at the Steelix, leaping back into the battle. “Come on, guys, help me fight this fool!”
Anaru lashed out with Scratch. “We’re trying, can’t you see?”
Trevor darted up to the foe and used Quick Attack. The Steelix roared, furious.
A Cyndaquil was standing on a nearby cliff, watching the brawl observantly. He took a step forward, and to his surprise, the rock that his foot landed on came loose. He made an attempt at scrambling back up onto the cliff, but he failed. The Cyndaquil plummeted straight toward Chris, who was cheerfully munching on dirt.
“Ack!” the Larvitar spat out the soil she was chewing as the Cyndaquil fell on top of her.
“Ouch…” the Cyndaquil moaned.
“Wahh! Who the heck are you?” Chris growled, crawling out from under him.
“Blaze,” the Cyndaquil answered warmly, “that was quite an introduction, wasn’t it?” He beamed at her.
“Oh yeah, it sure was…” Chris muttered, annoyance in her voice.
Meanwhile, the Steelix was roaring in aggression. It lifted its head into the air, summoning Rock Slide. Trevor was pummeled by the boulders. “H-help!” he cried at the top of his lungs.
Leaf rushed up to the pile of rocks, and began digging the other Shinx out.
Blaze seemed oblivious to what was going around him. He stared down at the ground. “So, you… EAT dirt?” the Cyndaquil questioned Chris.
“Yep, I eat dirt. It’s delicious! You should try it,” the Larvitar happily scooped up more soil in her paw.
Night pressed his paw against his face. “I can’t believe I have to deal with these guys for the rest of my life.”
“Note to self: Do not eat any food prepared by her,” Blaze mumbled to himself. Chris gave him a strange look.
“Yes! We finally defeated it!” Anaru exclaimed, waving her paws in the air. Sure enough, the Steelix was lying on the ground, unconscious.
“Congrats,” Chris muttered. She continued eating soil contentedly.
The sky was beginning to darken; the sun was sluggishly sinking into the horizon.
“We should get away from here before it regains consciousness again,” Night instructed, stepping up boldly.
“Good idea,” Leaf had finished digging out the other Shinx. Trevor appeared hurt and exhausted.
Night strode off, watching as the sand turned to grass beneath his feet. He glanced over his shoulder. “Are you guys coming?”
“Oh, yes, yes,” Anaru skipped after the Poochyena, and was followed by Leaf, who was helping Trevor. Chris and Blaze sat side by side.
Blaze looked at the others. “We should probably go too.”
“Hmm. Maybe you’re right,” she murmured. She pushed herself up, and jogged toward the others, leaving the Cyndaquil behind. Blaze slowly trudged after them.
Night came to a stop in a large patch of bright, green grass. “This looks like a good place to settle.”
Anaru nodded. “Yeah.” The Eevee yawned and flopped down on the grass, tucking her paws under her fluffy, cream-colored mane. Night dipped his head and curled up into a ball. Leaf watched as Trevor lied down, and then walked off. The Shinx stretched himself out on the ground.
A devious smile spread across Chris’s face. She prowled over to the edge of the patch of grass, and began digging. The Larvitar gulped down all the soil she dug up, as if she was starving. Blaze stared at her for a while before slumping onto the ground and falling asleep.
Chris groaned. Her belly was bulging greatly, stuffed full of soil. “Ow… I can’t believe I ate that much dirt… I just couldn’t stop…” She tried to stand up, but her enlarged stomach prevented her from doing so. “It was just too good… now I feel like I’m going to burst.”
The Larvitar stared up at the sky, her stomach aching. Unable to do anything else, Chris drifted off to the realm of sleep.
The morning sun sparkled in the sky, giving everything below it a bright hue.
Chris’s eyes snapped open. Her stomach no longer hurt, yet she felt oddly different. That’s… strange. She struggled to her feet, except the problem was… she didn’t have any feet.
“You’ve evolved!” a loud voice shouted. Chris whipped around. Her eyes met Aurora.
She glanced at herself. “What?”
“You’re a Pupitar now! You’ve evolved, you’re much stronger now!” Aurora exclaimed, a hint of nervousness in her voice.
Anger flared up within Chris. “I don’t care,” she growled, her eyes narrowed, “I’m even more hideous now.”
Trix zipped over, hyper as usual. “No you’re not! You’re beautiful!”
The Pupitar glared at her.
“Besides, soon, you’ll be a powerful Tyranitar!” Aurora informed her, trying to sound excited.
Chris growled in response.
“You’re so lucky, I wish I could evolve!” Trix shouted.
Chris rolled her eyes. “Sure, you get to become a pretty Ninetales. I’m stuck as a pupa with a face.”
“Well… Pupitar are uber strong!” the Vulpix yelled, thrusting her paw into the air.
“How can a pupa with a face be uber strong?” Chris questioned.
“They can topple mountains, create earthquakes, cause avalanches…” Trix went on and on.
“Psh,” the Pupitar grumbled.
Trix ran around Chris in circles cheerfully. “Hey, wanna train?”
Chris made an attempt at shaking her head. “No.”
The Vulpix ignored her. She jumped backward and spat fire at the Pupitar.
Chris sent a Rock Slide at Trix, enraged. “I said ‘no’, stupid. Are you deaf?”
Trix didn’t seem to hear her. She bolted at the Pupitar, striking with Quick Attack. Chris shoved the Vulpix and wildly attacked with Thrash. Trix used Overheat while trying to dodge the Thrash attack. Overheat hit Chris, but did very little damage. The Pupitar jumped up and launched Dark Pulse.
Aurora was watching the fight attentively. “See, Chris? You’re even more powerful as a Pupitar!”
Chris didn’t respond to the Riolu. She watched as Trix slammed into a tree. The Pupitar snickered darkly.
Another Eevee trudged out of the surrounding woodland, nearing the group of Pokémon that had settled in the grassy patch. They were watching the battle between Trix and Chris amusedly, chatting amongst themselves.
Trevor, who was now in a much better condition, pricked his ears at the sound of footsteps. He turned away from the quarrel and observed the Eevee. He then padded up to her. “Hey, who are you? I’m Trevor.”
The Eevee’s eyes widened. “Whoa, a TALKING Pokémon?”
Trevor had a blank expression on his face. “You talk, why shouldn’t I be able to?”
The Eevee laughed nervously. “Because you’re a Shinx, and I’m a human! That’s why!”
Anaru leaned over and chuckled. “You’re an Eevee, silly! Just like me!”
“Er… okay, I think I’ll be going now…” the Eevee tried to walk away, but ended up tripping and falling on the ground. Anaru burst out laughing.
Trevor raised an eyebrow. “Anaru, I think she may be one of us,” he whispered. He took a step toward the Eevee that had tripped. “Are you okay?” He then helped the Eevee up.
“Umm… thanks?” She had a strange expression on her face.
Trevor’s eyes wandered over to Leaf, Night, and Blaze, who apparently were too into watching the battle to notice the newcomer.
Anaru was eyeing the other Eevee. “Hey, you never answered Trevor’s question! What’s your name?”
The Eevee blinked. She spoke in a small voice. “Dusk.”
Anaru smiled. “Oh, that’s a cool name.”
Chris grinned in satisfaction, assuming that she had won the battle between her and Trix.
Annie the Bagon strolled up to Aurora. “Hiya!”
“Er… hi?” Aurora mumbled.
“How about we battle?” Annie suggested.
The Riolu sighed. “Okay.”
Annie leaped at Aurora, her mouth hanging open in preparation for Bite. Aurora easily swerved out of the way. She extended her arm and struck Annie in the side with Force Palm.
Annie stumbled backward. Wow! I didn’t think it would hurt that much! Retaliating, she charged toward Aurora, using Headbutt. Right when Annie was about to hit her, Aurora used Force Palm on the Bagon’s head. However, surprisingly enough, Annie’s head took the damage, and she proceeded to ram directly into Aurora.
The Riolu screamed. The collision had sent her flying. She surprisingly landed safely and ran up to Annie before using Brick Break on her.
Thinking fast, Annie lowered her rock-hard head, allowing Aurora to hit it. Once again, the move did little damage. In fact, the Bagon barely felt anything at all. Annie ducked down and shot an Ember straight at her opponent.
Aurora cringed as the Embers hit her. Ouch... so this is what it feels like to get hit by Fire type attacks... After the Embers died away, she scampered up to Annie and unleashed a Shadow Claw.
Annie tried to shield herself with her head, but Aurora managed to slash her in the back. The Bagon groaned in pain. She weakly struck with Bite.
Aurora squealed and kicked Annie as hard as she could, sending her flying through the air.
“Wheee! I’m flying!” the Bagon cried joyfully. She began to flap her stubby arms as if they were wings. The Riolu watched, a strange expression on her face.
Annie hit the ground with a thud. She looked up, smiling. “Boy, that was fun flying!”
Aurora said nothing.
Chris gloomily propelled herself down a sprawling dirt path, not knowing where she was going. This is ridiculous. Fine, I’ll put up with being a Larvitar, but a Pupitar? Heck no. I need to turn back. She arrived at a great plain. The wild, overgrown grass was a dusty yellow color. Lightning flickered overhead ominously. The air was humid.
Wow. What the heck kind of place is this? Chris thought crossly. She studied the area before blasting herself into the plain.
Thunder crackled, and lightning lit the air. The Pupitar moved forward, unafraid. This place is weird. It’s gray and stormy here, but it’s bright and clear where those other freaks are. 
Chris continued ahead, until she came to the edge of a cliff. She froze in her tracks as thunder roared like a lion and multiple streaks of lightning danced across the sky violently. Suddenly, a lithe, yellow creature sprang out of seemingly nowhere and landed in front of the Pupitar. It resembled a tiger with a bright yellow pelt entwined with jagged black stripes. A purple appendage that looked like a cape made of storm clouds sprouted from its back. Snarling, it bared its lengthy saber fangs at Chris.
“This is my territory,” it boomed, electricity sparkling from its fur, “leave now, or you’ll be destroyed!”
“Raikou…” Chris murmured, examining the large creature that stood in front of her. Its back was arched like a cat, and it produced a series of sharp hissing noises.
“You have five seconds to leave,” Raikou spat, flexing its claws. It began counting down. “Five, four, three, two-“
“Hey! I’m not gonna leave! Why should I leave? Can’t you learn to share?” Chris argued, rolling her eyes.
“One!” the legendary screamed, pouncing.
Chris whipped out of the way. Raikou flew through the air, and landed smoothly on the ground. It threw its head back and an enormous bolt of lightning shot down from the void of swirling black storm clouds, straight at the Pupitar.
“…” The thunderbolt clearly hit Chris, but she felt absolutely nothing.
Raikou let out a grunt of surprise. Before it could attack again, Chris leaped into the air, and hit the ground hard, sending a wave of earth at the Electric type legendary; Earthquake. Raikou yowled in agony as it was struck.
Raikou pulled itself forward. Growling, it charged forward and flung itself at Chris, claws extended. Chris instinctively ducked. Raikou soared straight toward the edge of the cliff. It scrabbled at the air wildly, but its efforts did nothing to help it. The Pupitar watched as Raikou plummeted off the cliff, into the chasm of darkness below.
“Well,” Chris snorted, backing away from the edge of the cliff. Not knowing what else to do, she made her way back to the patch of grass where most of the others were settled. Smirking, Chris exclaimed, “Guess what?”
An unfamiliar Eevee lifted her head. “What?”
Chris stared at the Eevee. She realized that it was shiny; its pelt was sparkly silver rather than plain tan and cream. “Wait, who are you?”
The shiny Eevee pulled back her ears. “… Star.”
Chris grunted.


Pokémon Mystery Dungeon - Saviors in the Morning and in the Night

Prologue: Arceus Suddenly Decides to Destroy the World

The crystal tiles of the Hall of Origin sparkled in the dim moonlight. The air was warm and still. Not a sound could be heard.
Suddenly, a loud pounding noise broke the silence. The floor began to shake as Arceus, the Alpha Pokémon, emerged from the darkness.
“Why have I let the world… become the way it is?” Arceus growled, staring down at Spear Pillar through the see-through floor. Dialga and Palkia were both peacefully resting at their pedestals. Arceus snorted before spinning around and walking in another direction.
He stiffened up. “It is in too much of a bad state,” Arceus muttered, his eyes flashing. “Nothing can be done. I have no choice… but to destroy it.”
Arceus stood frozen, staring off into the night. He lowered his head, and murmured something to himself.
A small pink shape floated up behind him. “Master Arceus?” it called, “is something wrong?”
Arceus turned his head around. “Of course there is something wrong, Mew,” he answered in a calm tone. Arceus narrowed his eyes. “Can’t you see?” he roared, abruptly furious.
Mew, spooked, hovered backward. “What? What are you talking about, my lord?”
Arceus gritted his teeth. “Are you blind? This world has gone out of hand. Come. We must get rid of it. Together, we can form a new planet!”
Mew blinked, confused. “I don’t see anything wrong, master.”
“Fool,” Arceus hissed, his tone intense.
“Excuse me?” Mew snarled, her pink fur bristling with anger.
Arceus scowled. He scraped his golden hoof against the tiled floor.
“Master, how exactly do you plan on destroying this world?” Mew questioned, a hint of anger remaining in her voice.
“We will get all of the other Pokémon to do it for us, starting with the legendaries. In fact, I’d better gather them right now,” with that, Arceus stalked off, disappearing into the blackness of the night.
“But Arceus-“ Mew’s voice trailed off. She knew Arceus wouldn’t listen. She slowly shook her head, and then flew upward.
Something isn’t right with Arceus. I never imagined he’d even consider doing something like this! Mew looked down at the Hall of Origin, a pained expression on her face. I can’t let this happen. I ensure that something will be done.

Chapter 1: Aurora Pwns a Larvitar

The sun glimmered in the pale, morning sky, giving off warm rays. The tall, green grass gently bent and leaned as a result of the slight breeze. Quiet birdsong filled the air.
A Riolu cautiously strolled through the forest, moving rather awkwardly. She occasionally stumbled, or tripped over her long, blue tail. She constantly glanced around, nervous. The Riolu froze. A few yards in front of her was an Eevee, lying face-down on the ground.
Worried, the Riolu sprinted up to it, while trying not to trip. She noticed that the Eevee’s fur was a lustrous silver color, rather than plain old brown. She knelt down in front of it. “Hello?” she whispered, concern nipping at her voice. “Are you okay?”
The shiny Eevee slowly lifted its head. It blinked open its midnight-colored eyes. The Eevee’s eyes wandered over to the Riolu. Flinching, it let loose a small yelp.
The Riolu gave the Eevee a strange look. “Huh? What’s the matter?”
“You’re a… you’re a… talking Pokémon!” the Eevee exclaimed, her ears flattened against her head.
The Riolu narrowed her eyes, confused. “You are too, what are you talking about?”
The Eevee’s mouth hung open. Then, she finally said, “I’m not a Pokémon! I’m a human!”
The Emanation Pokémon gasped. “Wait a minute… are you telling me that you used to be a human too?”
“I am a human. This is all some crazy dream,” the Eevee breathed, shaking her head rapidly.
The Riolu stifled a laugh. “That’s what I thought too, at first. But this is real, I’m telling you.”
“T-this can’t be real!” the Eevee stammered.
“It is. Come on, I’ll show you,” the Riolu grabbed onto the Eevee’s paw, and yanked her up onto her feet. She dragged her over to a small pool of crystal-clear water. Releasing the Eevee’s paw, the Riolu murmured, “See? Look at yourself.”
The Eevee timidly stepped up to the pool, trembling. She peered into it. Staring back at her was the blurry reflection of an Eevee with dazzling, silver fur that shined like a jewel. The Riolu covered her ears as the Eevee screamed at the top of her lungs.
“Are you quite done yet?” the Riolu muttered, one eye closed.
“This… this can’t be happening!” the Eevee was hysterical.
The Riolu sighed. Trying to change the subject, she asked, “What’s your name, anyway? Mine’s Aurora.”
The shiny Eevee blinked several times. My name… what is my name?
Aurora tapped her foot on the ground. “Well?”
The Eevee dug through her thoughts, trying to remember her name. She scowled, frustrated. But then, in an instant, her name jolted into her mind. “Star!”
“Star?” Aurora repeated. “That’s an interesting name.”
Star stared at Aurora, trying to process what was going on.
“Um… Star? Can you stop that? It’s sort of freaking me out…” Aurora backed away.
“… Sorry…” Star let her dark blue gaze drop to the ground. “Didn’t you say that you were once a human too? Why do you not seem surprised by that at all?” she mumbled, puzzled.
“What did you say?” Aurora questioned, leaning toward the shiny Eevee.
“Never mind,” Star said quietly.
After a long moment of silence, Aurora announced, “I’m starving, what about you?”
“I guess,” Star mumbled.
“Well, let’s go look for something to eat,” Aurora instructed.
Star looked up at the Riolu. “As long as you don’t drag me this time.”
Aurora laughed. “I won’t.”
After what felt like eternity, the two Pokémon finally came across what appeared to be an Oran Berry bush.
Aurora gently plucked a plump berry from the bush. She examined it thoroughly. “”I’ve always wondered what these would taste like,” she spoke before popping the Oran Berry into her mouth. The Riolu took her time chewing the fruit.
“How’s it taste?” Star asked as Aurora swallowed the berry.
Aurora smiled. “It’s really good! I can’t really describe the taste… it’s sort of spicy, sort of sour… it’s like a lot of flavors blended together.”
“Hmm,” Star grunted.
Aurora picked another juicy berry off of the bush. “Are you gonna have one?”
“Oh yeah,” Star struggled onto her hind legs and cupped an Oran Berry with her paws. She tugged on it as hard as she could, but the berry didn’t come loose.
“Star, you can’t just pull on it, you have to twist it off. Here, let me-“ Before Aurora could finish, Star finally managed to yank the Oran Berry off of the bush. As a result, she flew backward- right into a Larvitar who had seemingly come out of nowhere.
The Larvitar glared at Star, a scowl forming on its face. It released a quiet growl and balled its fists.
“This can’t be good,” Aurora whispered, alarm flashing in her rust-colored eyes.
The enraged Larvitar curled back its lip in a snarl before lunging at Star. The shiny Eevee yelped and darted out of the way before her foe could strike. The Rock Skin Pokémon tumbled to the ground and fell flat on its face.
“I just can’t get used to this,” the Larvitar muttered crossly, heaving itself up.
“What?” Aurora whimpered.
The Larvitar’s crimson gaze met Aurora. “Why don’t you mind your own business, punk?” it growled through bared teeth.
“Pardon me?” the Riolu puffed out her chest, and boldly stepped up to the Larvitar. Star watched through worried eyes.
The Larvitar snickered. “Looking to start a fight, eh? Well, I’m fine with that. Bring it on!”
“Aurora, what are you doing?” Star wailed, fluffing up her silvery tail.
Aurora shushed the Eevee. “Very well, I’ll fight. I’d like find out what kind of moves I know.”
The Larvitar grinned. It leaped to the left, and then threw its arm into the air. Roaring in aggression, the Larvitar summoned a powerful Rock Slide.
Aurora made an attempt at dodging, but failed. The avalanche of stones had clearly hit the Riolu straight-on, but she felt little pain.
A look of confusion spread across the Larvitar’s face. “What?”
Aurora hid a smile. “Rock type moves barely affect me. However…” the Riolu jumped into the air, and then slammed her paw into the Larvitar, sending it flying. “… My Fighting type moves, such as Force Palm, are super effective against Rock types like you.”
The Larvitar struggled to its feet, dazed. It shook its head before leaping at Aurora, its mouth gaping open. It sank its teeth into the Riolu’s arm.
Aurora winced, but then said, “Same with Dark type moves, like your Bite; they aren’t very effective against me, either.” She rammed her foot into the Larvitar, using Low Kick.
The Larvitar let out of scream of agony. It weakly let loose Rock Slide again, but Aurora swiftly whipped out of the way. The Riolu lashed out with Force Palm once more, causing the Larvitar to soar behind a bush. Aurora waited for the Larvitar for several moments, but the Rock Skin Pokémon did not return.
“Good job! You fought excellently!” Star praised.
“Thank you!” Aurora exclaimed brightly.
Star turned toward the berry bush. “I think this time, you should pick the berry for me,” she giggled.
“Good idea,” Aurora chuckled. She walked up to the Oran Berry bush, twisted off a berry, and handed it to the Eevee, who quickly devoured it. Aurora laughed quietly.
The Riolu gazed at the bush that the Larvitar had disappeared behind. “What was up with that Larvitar?” she murmured, scratching her head.
Star made an attempt at shrugging. “Beats me.”
“The way she moved… it seemed unnatural. Do you think she’s one of us?” Aurora questioned, a curious expression on her face.
“What do you mean?” Star tipped her head to one side.
“You know, a former human?” Aurora reminded the Eevee.
“Oh, that. Maybe,” Star said, pawing at the ground.
Aurora stared up at the sky, her eyes clouded with puzzlement. “Why have so many of us turned into Pokémon? What’s going on here?”
“I wish I knew,” Star sighed.
The two of the jumped as the bush began to shake. They both whipped their heads around, and watched as the Larvitar crawled toward them.
“Oh no, not again…” Star whispered.
The Larvitar frowned. “What are you looking at?”
“Don’t tell me you want to fight again. Haven’t you learned your lesson?”Aurora growled.
The Larvitar rolled her eyes. “Did I say I wanted to fight? But if you twerps insist on it, I gladly will. And this time, I’ll win.”
“We don’t want to fight, isn’t that right, Star?” Aurora turned toward the shiny Eevee. Star nodded simply.
“Fine then.” With that, the Larvitar stormed off.
“Wait!” Aurora called.
The Larvitar spun around. “Now what?” she hissed.
“We wanted to ask you something,” the Riolu explained, striding up to the Rock Skin Pokémon. Star galloped after her.
“What?” the Larvitar spoke in a halfhearted tone.
“Were you once a human?” Aurora questioned.
The Larvitar narrowed her eyes. “Yeah, I sure wish I still was one instead of this hideous creature. How the heck did you know?”
“I don’t know,” Aurora replied. “Well, both of us were humans too.”
“Really?” the Larvitar looked mildly amused.
Aurora nodded. “What’s your name?”
The Larvitar raised an eyebrow. “Why do you need to know?”
“Well, if I don’t know what your name is, then what will I refer to you as? Larvitar?” Aurora responded.
The Larvitar sighed, annoyed. “Fine, the name’s Christina. But I’d prefer to be called Chris. No- scratch that. You’d better call me Chris.”
“Er, whatever you say, Chris,” Aurora murmured.
Chris dipped her head and trudged toward the Oran Berry bush. She leisurely plucked a berry off, and tossed it into her mouth. “Yuck. This is disgusting,” she muttered, muffled by the food. The Larvitar swallowed as if it was torture.
“Well, I thought it was good,” Aurora commented in an optimistic tone.
“Good for you,” Chris said, rolling her eyes.
“What is with you? Why do you act like this?” the Riolu questioned sternly.
“What are you talking about?” Chris was staring at the ground hungrily.
“You act so rude and hostile! Why do you have to do this?” Aurora demanded. Star nodded her head slowly.
The Larvitar’s gaze wandered over to Aurora. “Rude? You think I’ve been acting rude?” she repeated, trying not to laugh. “Oh, you don’t want to see ‘rude’.”
“I probably don’t,” Aurora mumbled. Right at that moment, a Vulpix sprang out of the bush that Chris had flown behind earlier. It dashed up to Chris, its long, pink tongue lolling out.
“Oh great,” the Larvitar muttered, a blank expression on her face, “what now?”

Chapter 2: Of Rocks and a Fox

The Vulpix responded by shooting a jet of flame in Chris’s face. The Larvitar growled and fell backward, but quickly rose to her feet again. She unleashed Rock Slide, a sneer forming on her face.
The Vulpix howled in pain as it was pummeled by Chris’s attack. It managed to slither out of the pile of stones and use Flamethrower again.
Chris swiftly dodged the attack. Bending over, she released Dark Pulse. The Vulpix sprinted away as the wave of darkness rushed toward it. It suddenly turned and ran back toward its foe once the shadowy matter had dissolved into the air.
Chris kept a close eye on the Vulpix, watching its every movement for signs of how it would strike next. When it was a few feet away, the Vulpix sent another blast of fire at the Larvitar, who ducked and avoided the attack again.
Doesn’t that Vulpix get it? I have a type advantage over it. Chris suddenly remembered her battle with Aurora. Oh, never mind. She then lunged at the Vulpix and bit down on her shoulder.
The Vulpix let out a scream of pain and tried to shake off the Larvitar. But, Chris, who was exceedingly heavier than the Fox Pokémon, remained planted to the ground. Smirking, Chris bit down even harder.
The Vulpix continued to scream and thrash around, yet Chris stood as still as a stone. The Fox Pokémon finally collapsed to the ground in an exhausted heap. Chris released her at last. Licking her lips, the Larvitar stepped away from the defeated Vulpix.
“Are you okay?” Aurora and Star scurried up to the Fox Pokémon, worried. The Vulpix did not respond in any way.
“Chris, what did you do to her?” Aurora yelled, pointing at the Larvitar accusingly.
Chris sniggered. “I was just defending myself.”
“You really hurt her! She won’t respond at all!” the Riolu shouted, hysterical.
Chris shrugged. “She’s knocked out, that’s all.”
“And look at her shoulder!” Aurora held up the Vulpix so that Chris could see her shoulder wounds. There were several very deep gashes, and out of each trickled scarlet blood.
The Larvitar hid a smile. “So?”
“You heartless freak! How could you be so selfish?” Aurora screamed, fuming with anger.
Chris shrugged again, a grin starting to form on her face. “Dunno.”
Aurora snarled, disgusted by the Larvitar. Her paw began to glow bright yellow in preparation for Force Palm. She darted up to Chris, ready to attack. Suddenly, Star leaped in the way, causing the Riolu to stop in her tracks.
“Aurora, stop! Don’t resort to violence; you’ll be just as bad as her! Two wrongs don’t make a right!”
“But three rights make a left,” Chris snickered, enjoying the Eevee’s reaction.
Aurora glared at the Larvitar, her rust-red eyes burning with rage. “Shut up, Chris.”
Chris rolled her eyes. “Jeez, you guys flip out at every little thing.”
“Look who’s talking,” Aurora mumbled. She then spun around and padded toward the Vulpix. “We have to find something to treat her wounds.”
“Don’t think we’re gonna find any Band-Aids out here,” Chris commented, a hint of laughter in her voice.
“I told you, be quiet,” Aurora hissed, beginning to walk off. Star bounded up behind her, leaving Chris alone with the Vulpix.
“Where are we supposed to find something to help that Vulpix?” Aurora murmured, walking at a steady pace with Star by her side.
“I don’t know,” the shiny Eevee replied.
“That helps,” Aurora growled.
Star paused. “Aurora, what’s wrong?”
The Riolu’s gaze wandered to the ground. Her eyes grew dark. “That Larvitar… she just ticks me off so much.”
“I know, right? I wonder what her problem is…” Star sighed.
Aurora stifled a laugh. “Well, I guess I’d be mad at everyone if I was a Larvitar, too.”
“Good point,” Star chuckled.
“Yeah. Who would want to be an overweight, midget dinosaur that eats dirt?” Aurora burst out laughing, and Star joined in.
The trees began to thin out. Aurora and Star soon made their way to a wide field. The first thing they saw upon leaving the forest was a motionless, orange lump in the distance. The smell of smoke was in the air.
“What could that be?” Aurora gasped, pointing a paw at the orange lump.
“Do you think it’s… another Pokémon?” Star suggested, worry nipping at her voice.
“Oh, I hope not…” Aurora replied, quickening her pace.
The orange lump was indeed a Pokémon. It was a Charmander, lying flat on its back, staring up at the sky with a flabbergasted look on its face.
“Great Arceus,” Aurora whispered, kneeling in front of the Charmander, “what happened to it?” She waved her paw in front of its face, yet it did not respond.
“Is it even alive?” Star asked, gazing at the Charmander curiously.
“It’s breathing,” Aurora confirmed, “I don’t know what its problem is.”
The Charmander snapped to its feet without warning, barreling Aurora over. “Hey!” the Riolu shouted.
The Charmander blinked several times, glancing at Aurora, and then Star. Its dark green gaze drifted to the ground. “Er… sorry…” it spoke in a particularly quiet voice.
Aurora gave the Charmander a strange look. “Are you okay? Is something the matter?”
The Charmander stared at them for several moments, its mouth gaping open.
Star nudged Aurora. “I think she’s one of us.”
“What?” the Charmander tipped her head to one side, puzzled.
“You were a human once, weren’t you?” Aurora questioned.
“Wait, what?” the Charmander had a blank expression on her face. “So you mean… I’m not dreaming?”
Star and Aurora exchanged glances. “That’s right… you’re not dreaming,” the Riolu confirmed.
A smile spread across the Charmander’s face. “R-really?”
“No,” a voice sounded from behind them. Spinning around, the three Pokémon saw that it had been Chris.
“Chris!” Aurora growled, “What are you doing here?”
Blinking, the Charmander mumbled, “Huh…?”
Chris snorted, amused. “Of course this is real. If this was a dream, would you be able to feel this?” Snickering, the Larvitar marched up to the Charmander. Lifting her leg off of the ground, Chris rammed it into the Charmander’s thigh as hard as she could.
The Lizard Pokémon jumped back, surprised. Wincing, she rubbed her aching leg.
Aurora narrowed her eyes. “Was that really necessary, Chris? Why are you even here?”
Chris yawned. “Yes, it was necessary. The Charmander didn’t know if she was dreaming or not. She wouldn’t have been able to feel pain like that if this was merely a dream.”
Aurora rolled her eyes. She turned to the Charmander, who was staring at her leg. “Do you know what? All of us used to be humans. Even Chris, she’s the Larvitar who kicked you.”
“Wow,” the Charmander breathed, amazed.
“What’s your name? I’m Aurora, and that’s Star,” the Riolu motioned to Star, who was listening to their conversation while keeping an eye on Chris.
“Kim…” the Charmander replied shyly.
“Cool,” Aurora dipped her head, and then strolled up to Star. “We need to keep looking for something to help that Vulpix.”
“Right,” Star nodded smartly.
“Does it really matter? We’re probably gonna end up defeating gazillions of Pokémon. Are you really gonna stop and start searching for some kind of medicinal material for all of them?” Chris questioned, one eyebrow raised. She tapped her foot on the ground impatiently.
“Well… no. We just… think she’s one of us, you know?” Aurora responded.
“So what? What if there’s a hundred of ‘us’? Then what are you gonna do, huh?” Chris spoke in a snobbish tone.
“Don’t be ridiculous, Chris,” Aurora sighed, shaking her head. She then began to walk off, with Star behind her. The Riolu suddenly stopped short. “Kim, are you going to come?”
Kim looked at the two of them, surprised. “Uh, sure, I guess…”
“What’s the matter?” Aurora asked, concerned, “Do you not want to go? You don’t have to, you know.”
“No. I do want to go. I just…” the Charmander stared down at her feet.
“Don’t like to talk?” Aurora guessed.
Kim nodded.
“Ah. I thought so. That’s perfectly okay,” said Aurora. She watched as the Charmander got up and started walking toward them.
“I still don’t see why you’re wasting your time doing this,” Chris commented. None of the others, who were trudging away, seemed to have heard her. The Larvitar grumbled something to herself before stalking back into the forest.
“What kind of things do you think we’ll find out here in the wild that we could use for that Vulpix’s wounds?” Star asked, biting her lip.
“I don’t know. We need something that can act as a bandage. But the question is what?” Aurora’s voice trailed off.
“That’s what I want to know,” Star mumbled.
Aurora glanced at the Charmander. “Any ideas, Kim?”
Kim simply shrugged. “No clue.”
“Oh well,” Aurora sighed, beginning to walk ahead of the others.
“Aurora, slow down!” Star called, flicking her ears.
Aurora glanced over her shoulder. “Maybe you guys should speed up! You two are slower than Slowpoke!” the Riolu chuckled. At that moment, Aurora stumbled over, screaming. Rather than simply falling to the ground, she had disappeared completely!
Star gasped. “Aurora!” The two of them rushed toward the spot where Aurora had fallen. They came to a sudden stop.
In front of them was a small, perfectly round pit dug with upmost perfection. It appeared to be frighteningly deep; all Star and Kim could see was darkness. It had become evident that Aurora had tumbled straight into the hole.
“Aurora!” Star wailed hysterically. Squinting, she peered into the pit, trying to seek out Aurora in the darkness. “Aurora, are you okay? Please say something!”
A lump formed in the Eevee’s throat when her friend did not reply. She glanced up at Kim. “Kim, we have to do something!”
The Charmander gazed into the hole. “Um… like what?”
“Maybe we could use a rope or something? I don’t know!” Star cried, her heart pounding against her chest.
“… We don’t even know if she’s okay… maybe she’s unconscious? I don’t think she’d be able to climb up a rope if that was so. Besides, where are we even going to get a rope?” Kim responded calmly without looking at the Eevee.
Star sighed. “… You’re probably right… but we have to do something…”
“I don’t know what we can do, aside from going down there ourselves. But why would we want to do that? We’d just end up in the same situation as Aurora,” the Charmander mumbled.
“Yeah-“ All of the sudden, a hiss sounded behind Kim and Star. Before they could turn around and see what had made the noise, they were shoved into the pit.

Chapter 3: A Sticky Situation

Kim and Star screamed at the top of their lungs as they plummeted down the hole. They landed with a loud thud.
“Ow…” Star murmured, sluggishly pushing herself to her feet. She glanced at Kim, her eyes adjusting to the darkness. The Charmander was laying face-down at her side. The flame that burned on her tail was particularly dim.
“Kim?” Star prodded Kim’s shoulder, concerned. The Charmander let out a long breath of air before slowly turning her head toward Star. The shiny Eevee felt a surge of relief. “Oh, you’re okay, good.”
“What… happened?” Kim mumbled, standing up. Her tail-flame began to brighten slightly.
“I don’t know,” Star answered, looking around worriedly. She spotted a wide, tunnel-like entrance to their right. Nudging Kim, she announced, “Hey, look over there.”
Kim turned toward the tunnel. Her eyes widened. “Maybe that’s where Aurora is,” she suggested eagerly.
Star nodded in agreement. “Yeah, let’s go.” With that, the two of them walked off into the tunnel, keeping a fast pace.
What appeared to be spider webs stretched across the ceiling and walls of the subterranean tunnel, giving it a creepy aura. Kim held her tail at her side like a torch in a vain attempt to light up the darkness. Odd skittering noises sounded in the distance.
After several minutes of walking, Star and Kim emerged from the tunnel, into a moderately sized cavity. Jagged boulders were strewn all throughout the cavern, and were covered by colossal webs. The skittering noises were much louder now.
“I don’t like the feeling of this place,” Star whispered, her ears flattened.
“Me neither,” Kim said quietly, “but we have to look for Aurora.”
Star and Kim warily trudged forward, constantly glancing around. Propped up against the wall in the far end of the cavity was a pulsating, snow-white mound.
“What the heck…?” Kim squinted, trying to get a better glimpse at the mound. “What is that thing?”
“I don’t know!” Star cried, her legs shaking with fear. An ear-splitting shriek rang through the air. All of the sudden, four Pokémon, two Spinarak and two Ariados, dropped down from the ceiling.
Kim and Star jumped backward in surprise. The four spider-like Pokémon crawled toward them hungrily.
“More prey,” one of the Ariados hissed. The two Spinarak fired Poison Sting in unison, and were followed by the Ariados.
Star and Kim dove out of the way. “What do we do?” Star cried, frantic.
“We have to fight!” Kim exclaimed, fearfully watching as the hostile Pokémon inched closer.
“I know that, but how?” Star yelped, dodging another shot of Poison Sting.
“I don’t know!” the Charmander shouted.
Mustering all her courage, Star experimentally rushed forward, and rammed herself into one of the Spinarak. The String Spit Pokémon screeched in pain before launching itself at the Eevee. Star was thrown backward, into one of the boulders.
Gasping, Kim dashed toward the Spinarak, and made an attempt at swiping at it with her claws. Her foe, however, swerved out of the way and furiously began slashing at her with Fury Swipes. The Charmander staggered backward, wincing. Shaking off the pain, she threw herself at the Spinarak. Her foe tried to move out of the way, but was unsuccessful.
Moaning, Star struggled to her feet. Dazed, she lopped toward the other Spinarak, and flung herself at it. Her foe shrieked in rage, and shot Poison Sting. Star avoided the attack, and tackled the Spinarak again. The String Spit Pokémon collapsed to the ground in defeat.
Kim, who was on top of the other Spinarak, raked her claws down its back while leaping off. The Spinarak squealed in terror, and fainted, leaving only the two Ariados.
“Good job,” Kim panted, bracing herself for the next strike.
“Likewise,” Star breathed, waving her tail.
One of the Ariados sprang forward, landing a few inches short of Kim. The Charmander clumsily jumped backward. Star surged toward the Ariados, using Tackle again. Kim then sprinted after her, readying Scratch.
The Ariados shrieked as it was hit. The other Long Leg Pokémon crawled over, and fired Pin Missile at Kim. The Charmander screamed as she was struck by the sharp thorns.
Growling, Star leaped at the Ariados that had attacked Kim. It nimbly backed out of the way. The Eevee landed gracefully in front of it. She slammed herself into it, using Tackle. The Ariados screeched in fury before ejecting a stream of webbing from its jaws. Star attempted running away, but was too slow. The blast of web propelled her into a boulder, and the sticky silk covered her like a blanket against it. Star struggled and squirmed helplessly, but it was no use. She was stuck.
With searing pain still throbbing through her body, Kim clenched her teeth. I need to help Star! I can’t let these Ariados defeat us! Roaring in rage, she sprang into the air. To her sheer disbelief, a jet of fire erupted from her mouth, and scorched the two Ariados. The duo of Long Leg Pokémon screamed in agony as they crumpled to the ground.
Kim stared blankly at the singed Ariados that were lying motionlessly on the ground in front of her. How did I do that…?
“Kim!” Star shouted, still trying to escape from the sticky mess, “that was great! Now can you help me get out of here?”
Kim turned around. “Oh, yeah.” She walked toward Star, trembling with pride. The Charmander gently clawed off the webbing, releasing her friend.
Star dipped her head. “Thank. Now, we’d better get out of here, who knows? Maybe the Ariados have back-up.”
“Right,” Kim nodded in agreement. She watched as Star spun around and paced toward the tunnel, but remained where she was.
“Kim? Aren’t you coming?” Star called, glancing at the Charmander over her shoulder.
Kim blinked. “What about Aurora?”
“Oh, I completely forgot! That battle… it got my mind off of Aurora!” Star exclaimed, padding over to Kim.
The Charmander pointed a claw at the white mound. “Do you think we should check that out? I think we were going to, but then those spiders appeared.”
“Yeah,” Star began walking toward it, followed by Kim.
The white mound appeared to be composed of silk webbing, the same kind that had clung Star to the boulder. It was violently thrashing around; something was inside.
“… Do you think we should see what’s inside?” Kim asked, her gaze shifting from the mound of web to Star.
“I don’t know. What if there’s something that isn’t friendly in there? Or a Spinarak, or even worse, an Ariados?” Star replied.
“Well, if it was something unfriendly, I’d think it would be rather thankful if we released it from that mess. And why would a Spinarak or an Ariados cover itself in webbing? That seems silly,” Kim protested.
Star released a sigh. “Oh, whatever.”
Kim quickly began tearing off the webbing, and Star reluctantly joined in. As they continued to strip off the sticky gunk, patches of pale blue fur emerged. They then knew exactly who it was inside the mound; Aurora!
“Aurora!” Star exclaimed, hurriedly ripping off layers of webbing with her jaws. The Riolu did not respond.
“She’s unconscious,” Kim confirmed as she and Star ripped off the last layer of webbing.
“That’s funny. She was just moving around in there a moment ago,” Star said, confused.
“It it,” Kim replied simply, staring down at the fainted Aurora.
“So, uh… now what do we do?” Star murmured, glancing around.
“I don’t know.” The Charmander shrugged.
Star took a deep breath. “… We need to find an alternate way out. Otherwise, we’re stuck down here forever.”
“Right…” Kim mumbled in a crestfallen tone, “… and what about Aurora?”
Star hesitated. “Well, we’ll have to carry her, I guess.”
“Yes, but what if the escape route, if there even is one, involves climbing?” Kim stared down at her feet.
“Aurora can’t be that heavy, can she?” Star slid her front paws under Aurora, and tried to lift her off the ground with all her might. The Riolu remained on the ground. “Oof… she’s heavier than I thought.”
Kim stared off into the distance. “I wish I could be a Charizard. Then, I could fly both of you out of that hole…”
Star stifled a laugh. “I don’t think a Charizard would fit through that hole, to be honest.”
“Whatever. As if it was going to happen anyway,” Kim grumbled.
“Sorry,” Star muttered crossly. “We have to start looking for a way to get out.”
Has she already forgotten about Aurora? Kim thought, reluctantly following Star as she padded toward the left side of the cavity.
“Hey, look!” Star abruptly darted forward. Kim hurried after her. The Eevee was standing in front of a small passageway that barely stood three feet high.
“I wonder what it leads to?” Star wondered out loud, peering into the passage. She crawled in, curious. “Kim, you coming?”
The Charmander sighed. “Yeah, sure…” What about Aurora? She walked after her friend, while glancing back at the fainted Riolu.
“What’s wrong?” Star questioned, lowering her ears.
Kim paused. “Well, aren’t we forgetting someone?”
Star rolled her eyes. “We’ll come back for her, don’t worry…”
Kim had an unconvinced expression on her face. “Whatever you say…”
The two of them trekked down the small passageway, finding that it was inclined. The tunnel seemed to brighten with each step, until the duo reached a wall of blinding light.
“An exit!” Star wailed, racing forward.
“Star, wait, we have to go back for-“ Kim froze when she felt something prodding at her shoulder. She instantly whipped around, to find… Aurora!
“Looking for me?” Aurora giggled.
“Aurora!” Kim shouted, surprised by the Riolu’s sudden appearance.
“That’s my name!” Aurora responded rather cheerfully.
“But you were just…” Kim’s voice trailed off.
“Fainted, I know. I woke up,” Aurora explained in a casual tone.
“Uh, okay…” the Charmander didn’t know what to make of her.
“Kim? Who’s that you’re talking to?” Star turned around, silhouetted against the intense light from outside.
“It’s me, Aurora!” the Riolu called, running up to her friend with Kim behind her.
“Aurora?” Star repeated, puzzled, “but you were…”
Aurora rolled her eyes. “Here we go again,” she muttered under her breath. “Well, I’m awake now, so there.”
“Alright then…” Star turned and continued strolling toward the light.
Kim breathed in the fresh air once they had emerged from the passageway. “It’s good to be out of there,” she said quietly.
“So true,” Star agreed.
“Eww,” Aurora grumbled, stopping suddenly. She slowly peeled something off of her arm before holding it out in front of her face, examining it. “Ariados web.”
“Wait,” Star barked, eying the piece of webbing, “that’s perfect!”
“Huh?” Aurora gave the shiny Eevee a strange look.
“We can use that bit of Ariados web as a bandage for that Vulpix! It’s perfect!” she cried excitedly.
“Ooh, you’re right! Good idea!” Aurora praised enthusiastically.
Star beamed with pride. “We’d better get this to that Vulpix as quickly as possible!”
“Right,” Kim and Aurora replied in unison.
The trio of Pokémon sprinted toward the forest in which they had left the Vulpix. They were puzzled to find that the Fox Pokémon was nowhere to be seen.
“What the… where did she go?” Aurora glanced around, frustrated.
Right at that moment, Chris leisurely strolled out of a bush, tossing an Oran Berry up and down in her paw. “Fed her one of these. Her wound healed up right away. She’s as good as new.”
“What?” Star’s jaw dropped.
“Are you kidding me?” Kim snarled.
Chris grinned, continuing to toss the bright blue berry into the air. “I told you that this was a waste of time.”
Aurora balled her fists, annoyed of the impertinent Larvitar. I would really like to kick her or something, but like Star said, that would make me equally bad.
“So, uh, where did that Vulpix go?” Kim questioned, a slight amount of anger in her voice.
“Dunno. She ran off somewhere. Hyper little thing, psh. Her name’s Trix, by the way,” Chris answered, continuing to toss the Oran Berry up and down. She threw it into the air exceptionally high, and rather than landing in her paw, the berry fell to the ground. Scowling, she kicked it into the bush.
“Trix?” Aurora echoed.
“Yes. Like the cereal. ‘Silly rabbit, Trix are for kids!’” Chris sang in a fairly high-pitched voice, dancing around. She then tripped on seemingly nothing, and fell flat on her face. “Oof.”
Kim snorted, trying not to burst out laughing. “Nice one.”
Chris heaved herself off of the ground. “I meant to do that,” she grumbled, “it was all part of my act.”
“Whatever you say,” Aurora chuckled.
Chris crossly muttered something to herself, glaring at the three others.

Chapter 4: The Steel Snake Strikes!

Aurora stifled a sigh, her rust-colored gaze wandering from Pokémon to Pokémon. “So, um, do you think we should try to find Trix or whatever her name was?”
Chris let out a sarcastic laugh. “Are you kidding me? That Vulpix is a nut. We should just let her be.”
“Yes, but we think she’s-“ Aurora was cut off.
“One of us. Yeah, yeah, whatever. Didn’t we discuss this earlier?” Chris seemed particularly annoyed.
“But-“
Chris hung her head. “You people are hopeless. Why do I even hang out with you?”
“Because you’d be even more hopeless if you were on your own,” Aurora growled, fed up with the Larvitar.
“Psh, as if,” Chris protested under her breath.
Aurora rolled her eyes. “Well, I’m going to look for that Vulpix. Who here is with me?”
The Larvitar quickly took a step backward. “Not me. Definitely not me.”
Aurora groaned. “I wasn’t asking you.”
“You never said you weren’t,” Chris protested, a defiant gleam in her eyes.
Aurora ignored her. “Now, let me repeat myself. Who wants to help me find Trix?”
“I guess I will,” Star padded up to the Riolu. Aurora dipped her head firmly.
“Yeah, me too,” Kim paced after Star.
“Oh, joy. Looks like I’m on my own again.” It was hard to tell if Chris was using sarcasm or not.
“We have to be extra careful; we don’t want to go through what happened last time again…” Aurora warned as the three of them walked away from Chris at a steady pace.
“You can say that again,” Star breathed.
“We have to be extra careful; we don’t want to go through what happened last time again…” Chris sneaked up behind them, doing her best impersonation of Aurora.
“What are you doing here?” Aurora questioned, her paws on her hips, “I thought you weren’t coming.”
“I changed my mind. There’s nothing else to do. Got a problem with that?” Chris snickered.
“Yes, we do have a problem with that in the matter of fact,” Kim muttered under her breath. She sure is an interesting character… in the bad way, of course.
Chris leaned toward the Charmander. “What was that?”
“Nothing,” Kim spat.
“Well, now that you’re here, do you have any clue which direction Trix went?” Aurora asked Chris, her arms crossed.
“No. And if I did, do you think I’d tell you?” Chris tried her best to contain her laughter.
Aurora slapped her forehead. “Well, whatever. What do you guys think; should we split up to look for Trix?”
Kim shook her head. “I think we should stay as a group. We wouldn’t want to get lost and separated, would we?”
Chris stared down at the ground. “Oh, joy.”
Aurora made a soft growling noise. “If you don’t like it, leave. Anyway, I guess I agree with Kim. We don’t want to go through all that trouble with the Spinarak and Ariados again.”
She says that as if she fought with Star and I, Kim thought bitterly.
“Let’s go that way,” Aurora gestured north. She began walking ahead, waiting for the others to follow.
The sky was a blend of bright orange and neon pink; the sun was beginning to set over the horizon. The four Pokémon plodded forward, growing tired from all the action that had occurred earlier.
“How about we call it a night? I’m exhausted,” Chris suggested.
“No, Chris, we have to find Trix. Who knows what could happen to her?” Aurora answered in a stern tone.
Chris groaned and petulantly kicked a small stone as hard as she could. It flew up into the air and made a soft thunk sound as it landed behind a large log.
The Pokémon flinched as an earsplitting shriek sounded. Aurora whipped her head towards Chris, pressing her paws against the sides of her head. “Chris, what did you do?” she roared, rage flaring up in her voice.
“How am I supposed to know?” Chris yelled in response, grimacing.
“What did you hit?” Aurora demanded.
“Why do you expect me to know? Do you think I’m psychic or something?” Chris snarled, “If you want to know what the rock hit so badly, why don’t you go check it out yourself?”
“Humph,” Aurora snorted, storming off behind the log. Aurora saw an Eevee; unlike Star, who had shining silver fur, this Eevee’s fur was a rich chocolate-tan color. The Eevee was lying on its stomach, a dazed look on its face. The stone Chris had kicked was right next to it.
Aurora kneeled down in front of the Eevee. “Are you okay?” she whispered in a concerned tone. This is just like when I first met Star!
The Eevee flicked its ears and murmured, “Fine, I’m fine.”
“Huh,” Aurora breathed, “I’m sorry that you got hit by that stone. My, er, friend kicked it.
The Eevee sat up, an angry expression on its face. It growled quietly.
Chris peered over the log, struggling to climb onto it. “Who’s that? Is that what I hit?” she questioned, a hint of laughter in her tone.
The Eevee bared its teeth. “Yes, your stupid stone hit me. And how exactly is that funny?”
“How is it not funny?” Chris replied, a wide grin spreading across her face. She finally pulled herself on top of the log. She crawled to one side before sitting down.
“Shut it, Chris. It’s not funny. You could’ve really hurt her,” Aurora scorned, her paws on her hips.
“With that thing? Psh, yeah right,” Chris snickered, pointing at the little stone.
“Shut it, Chris,” Aurora repeated, her tone growing more intense.
Chris rolled her eyes. “Whatever.” With that, she slid down the log onto the opposite side of Aurora and the Eevee.
“Who are you? What’s your name?” Aurora asked the Eevee, her voice softening.
The Eevee shook her head rapidly before answering, “Dusk… er, well, I don’t really know anymore…”
Aurora tilted her head to one side. “What do you mean?”
Dusk took a deep breath. “I’m not an Eevee. Well, I’m pretty sure I’m not. I can’t remember anything, except… except that I was a human.”
“Really? You too?” the Riolu tried to sound surprised, but failed.
Dusk nodded. “So, wait… you were a human too? What about that Larvitar?” she narrowed her eyes, still angry at what Chris had done.
“Chris? Yes, she was a human as well, apparently. And so were Kim and Star. Come on, I’ll show you them.” Aurora grabbed onto Dusk’s paw, and walked over to where the three others were.
“Who’s that? Is that who Chris hit with that rock?” Star asked, her gaze shifting from Dusk to Aurora.
“Sure was,” Chris had a large grin on her face. Dusk flattened her ears against her head, angry.
The Riolu sighed. “Yes. Her name is Dusk. She was a human too.”
“Hi, Dusk, I’m Star,” the shiny Eevee greeted in a kindly tone.
“I’m Kim,” the Charmander murmured shyly.
Dusk dipped her head. “What exactly are you guys doing?” Curiosity glowed in the Eevee’s dark eyes.
“We’re looking for Trix; she’s a Vulpix, and she was a human, too. Trix ran away when Kim, Star, and I were out looking for something.” Aurora explained.
“Oh, I haven’t seen her,” Dusk said.
“Hmm. Are you going to come with us and help us look for her?” the Riolu offered.
“Sure,” Dusk responded happily.
“Okay!” Aurora smiled. Our little group just keeps getting bigger and bigger! The more, the merrier!
The sun had almost disappeared from the sky. Stars began to twinkle in the almost completely dark sky.
“Seriously, can we please get some rest?” Chris begged, trudging after the rest of the group as they continued to search for Trix.
Aurora groaned. “Remember what I told you?”
Chris snorted in contempt. She searched for a stone to kick, but found nothing. The Larvitar scowled and walked on.
“I’m not tired at all. This is too exciting!” Kim commented.
“I know, right?” Star replied.
“Yeah!” Dusk exclaimed, trotting up to Kim and Star.
Aurora opened her mouth to join in the conversation, but was interrupted by a thunderous roar. Cringing, she took a step back.
“W-what was that?” Star stammered, her fur standing on end.
“I-I don’t know!” Aurora cried.
An earsplitting scream filled the air, causing the Pokémon to cringe again. Chris narrowed her eyes. “I know that voice!”
“What?” the Riolu turned her head toward Chris, one eye closed.
“Trix,” the Larvitar breathed.
“Really?” Aurora shouted, “She must be in trouble, then! Come on, let’s hurry!” The Riolu raced ahead worriedly. Kim, Star and Dusk exchanged glances before hurrying after her.
Chris watched as they ran forward. “Me and my big mouth,” she grumbled, lopping forward.
Breathing heavily, Aurora skidded to a halt. In front of her was a wide ring of dirt, surrounded by a wall of cliffs. The three others quickly caught up. “It’s a dead end!” the Riolu yelled.
“T-then where could Trix be? And whatever made that roaring noise?” Kim gasped.
“I don’t know!” Aurora screamed, fear and confusion flooding over her.
The ground began to shake. The four quickly stepped back, and watched as an enormous figure erupted from the ground. It was serpentine in appearance, with a rugged body that appeared to be made of shiny metal. It had gigantic jaws, which it opened to release a loud bellow. On top of its huge head was a small shape that was tawny in coloration. It was too small and high-up to see clearly, but it seemed to be a Pokémon.
“Steelix!” Aurora wailed, panic flashing through her eyes. The monstrous creature roared again, and swung its heavy tail at the four others. They leaped to dodge the attack.
Chris finally reached the scene. She stared at the others in confusion. “What are you-“ The Larvitar was cut off by an earsplitting screech. She looked up at the sky, her eyes growing wide. “Oh… my… god…”
The Steelix crashed toward them, flinging boulders in all directions. The five Pokémon scrambled to avoid its attacks.
“What are we gonna do?” Dusk hollered, watching as a colossal rock flew past her and hit the side of a cliff.
“We’re… going to have to fight!” Aurora wailed, her eyes shut in fear.
Kim took a deep breath. Come on, Kim, you can do this. You beat those spiders earlier; this Steelix will be no match for your Fire type attacks! Focusing, Kim shot a stream of flame out of her mouth at the Steelix. It roared in agony as it was struck, before sending itself flying at the Charmander. Kim shrieked, paralyzed with terror. The Steelix’s blow sent her flying into a cliff, much like the rock her foe had thrown.
“Kim!” Star yelped, watching as Kim hit the wall. Turning around, she rushed forward and tackled the gargantuan Pokémon as hard as she could. Her move had little effect on the Steelix. The Iron Snake Pokémon bent down and bit Star, electricity crackling in its jaws. The small creature on its head yelped and nearly slid off. Star howled in pain, stumbling backward.
Even though Aurora was absolutely terrified by the Steelix’s intimidating appearance, the Riolu dashed up to it and struck with Low Kick. The foe screamed loudly before weakly attempting to whip Aurora with its massive tail. However, the Emanation Pokémon hopped over it as if it was a jump rope. She sprang at it again, her paw glowing in preparation for Force Palm. She slid her paw down the Steelix’s back, wincing as it screeched deafeningly. The Iron Snake Pokémon promptly collapsed to the ground. “I… did it,” Aurora panted, not caring to look at the figure on the Steelix’s head. The tawny Pokémon was about to leap off, when the Steelix suddenly rose from the ground. Oblivious to the fact that the foe hadn’t been defeated, Aurora was struck by its weighty tail. She screamed as she was thrown to the side.
Star and Dusk both ran up to the Steelix and tackled it fiercely, but the huge Pokémon simply shook off their attacks. It lifted its head into the air and sent an avalanche of stones at the two Eevee. Star and Dusk tried their hardest to avoid the strike, but failed. They shrieked in unison as they were pummeled by the falling rocks.
Chris had been watching the battle intently from a distance. Pressing a paw against her chin, she mumbled, “Hmm, wonder if I should help out?” The Steelix violently slammed Dusk into a wall. “Nah, never mind.”
The Steelix glanced around the battlefield. All of its attackers were too hurt to strike. It roared in victory, causing the tawny Pokémon to nearly fall off its head.
A bolt of lightning disrupted the Iron Snake Pokémon. It whipped its head around, searching for whatever had created it. It spotted a Shinx off to one side of the dirt ring. The Shinx’s teeth were bared, and electricity sparkled at its paws. “Leave them alone,” it snarled, furious, “they didn’t do anything to harm you, until you attacked them, of course.”
Rage shined in the Steelix’s eyes. It sent a flurry of rocks at the Shinx, but the cat-like Pokémon managed to dodge each of them. The Shinx sprinted forward, bashing the Iron Snake Pokémon with Quick Attack. That was all that was needed for the Steelix to faint. The enormous creature collapsed to the ground again, but the Shinx was certain that it wasn’t faking it this time. Staring at the fainted Pokémon in satisfaction, the Shinx padded up to each of the others.
“They are all critically injured. Something needs to be done,” the Shinx stated boldly, leaving the battlefield. It walked right past Chris without notifying her existence. The Larvitar frowned. What’s his problem?
The Shinx padded up to an Oran Berry bush, which wasn’t too far from the dirt ring in which they had battled the Steelix. He searched the bush for the plumpest berries, and twisted them off. He gathered up all of the berries he had picked in his mouth, and made his way back over to the injured Pokémon, his cheeks stuffed. He spat out the Oran Berries at his paws.
The Shinx placed an Oran Berry in front of Aurora, and gently nudged her shoulder. The Riolu moaned and struggled to look up at him.
The Shinx smiled. “Hi there. You fought very well, but I can see that you are hurt. You might want to eat this.” He pushed the Oran Berry closer to her. Aurora groaned and sluggishly reached for the bright blue berry. She slid it into her mouth, and chewed thoroughly. As she swallowed, a jolt of energy surged through her body. She jumped to her feet. Wow! The last time I ate an Oran Berry, it didn’t have an effect like that!
“Thank you!” Aurora praised, the pain fading away.
The Shinx dipped his head. “I’m happy to help. You’re welcome.”
“Hey, what’s your name?” Aurora asked, curious.
“Trevor,” the Shinx replied, “I used to be a human… I don’t know what happened, but now I’m a Shinx.”
“My goodness, another one!” Aurora exclaimed. “Everyone here, well, aside from the Steelix, was a human too!”
“Really,” Trevor looked amused.
“Uh-huh!” Aurora nodded fiercely.
“Well, speaking of everyone here, we should finish healing them,” Trevor picked up one of the remaining Oran Berries in his jaws, and walked over to Kim. Aurora watched as the Charmander ate one of the berries, and promptly got up. She then grabbed two Oran Berries in her paws, and healed Star and Dusk.
“Hiya!” A loud voice filled the air. The tawny colored Pokémon, a Vulpix, which was last seen on the Steelix’s head bounded up to the group, its tongue hanging out.
“Trix?” Aurora guessed.
“Oh Arceus, no…” Chris hissed, staring at the Vulpix.
“Trix’s the name!” the Fox Pokémon hollered, bouncing up and down.
Kim blinked, a bit frightened by the eccentric Vulpix. Now I see why Chris didn’t want to find her…
Aurora dipped her head. “Well, I’m glad we were finally able to find you,” she spoke in a gentle tone. The Riolu walked up to the front of the group. “I’m tired, and I bet all of you are too after all the things that happened today. We should get some sleep.”
“Finally,” Chris breathed, flopping down right where she was.
Dusk narrowed her dark eyes. “We’re sleeping, right here?”
Aurora stared at Chris before turning toward Dusk. “I guess so.” With that, she sat down, her eyelids drooping.
“Are you kidding me? What about the Steelix?” Dusk hollered, her eyes flashing.
“It’ll be fine…” Aurora’s voice trailed off as she sank onto the ground.
Dusk growled. “No, it won’t.”
Kim let out a long sigh. “You’re right, Dusk, but… we’re too tired and it’s too late; we can’t find a better place to sleep now.”
“I’m not tired at all!” the Eevee huffed, kicking up a cloud of dust.
“Hey, if you’re not tired, why don’t you stand guard? If the Steelix wakes up, you can alert us!” Star suggested, tucking her paws underneath her chest.
The other Eevee grunted as if she didn’t know how to respond to what Star had said. She seated herself on the ground, watching as the others lied down around her.

Chapter 5: Raikou Commits Suicide

“Everyone, wake up! The Steelix is conscious again!” Dusk screamed as loud as she could.
The six snapped awake, looking around frantically. To their surprise, the Iron Snake Pokémon was still out cold.
“What in Arceus’s name are you talking about?” Chris snarled, angry at the Eevee.
Dusk huffed. “You guys majorly slept in. My guess is that it’s past noon! I somehow knew that would wake you up.”
“Well, you nearly gave me a heart attack,” the Larvitar growled, tapping her foot against the ground.
“Stop fighting,” Aurora directed scornfully, “sure, it may have been loud and abrupt, but hey, it worked.”
Chris walked up to the Steelix. She tapped its side repeatedly. “Is this thing even alive?” The Larvitar padded over to its head and kicked it square in the nose. The Steelix’s eyes snapped open. It emitted a low growling noise as it pushed itself off of the ground.
“Chris!” Aurora wailed, her eyes wide with shock, “What in Arceus’s name are you doing?”
Chris didn’t seem to hear the Riolu. Her gaze wandered upward as the enormous Pokémon rose to its full height. The Steelix opened its mouth and released a thunderous roar.
“Guys, don’t just stand there! Run!” Aurora cried, darting away from the colossal Pokémon. The others hesitated before sprinting after the Riolu as fast as their feet could carry them.
The Steelix watched the seven flee, grumbling quietly. The Iron Snake Pokémon figured that it wasn’t worth chasing after them, so it turned and burrowed under the ground again.
Aurora came to a stop in a small patch of woodland, panting heavily. The others halted beside her. . The Riolu turned around, struggling to catch her breath, and pointed an accusing paw at Chris.
“You… you…” Aurora was fuming with anger. She marched up to the Larvitar, her teeth bared. “You are the most arrogant, idiotic, infuriating being I have ever met! You have done nothing to help my friends and me, so why don’t you just get lost?”
Chris opened her mouth to reply, but no sound came out. Anger flashing through her rust-colored gaze, the Larvitar stormed off.
“Good riddance,” Aurora sighed, placing a paw on her forehead. None of her companions said anything; they just vacantly stared at Chris as she stomped away.

Snarling in anger, Chris flopped onto the ground. I hate those jerks. I hate being a Larvitar. I hate my life. If only there was a way for me to become a human again… A wide smile spread across her face. Maybe there is a way for me to turn back to normal. I just have to find out what it is. My guess is that those freaks want to be human again, too. Well, when I find out how to reverse this, I ain’t gonna share the method with them!
Chris stood up, her mood lightened. She scanned her surroundings, trying to determine which way she should go. The Larvitar decided on going east; few trees dotted the sprawling plain that spread out for seemingly miles in that direction. It looked like an easy path. . Chris walked off at a steady pace.
After several yards of hiking, Chris began to notice that the tall grass she was stepping though was a dusty shade of yellow rather that a pleasantly bright green color. Weird, she thought, her eyes narrowed. The sky had abruptly grown a stormy gray as well, and the air was hot and humid. The Larvitar flinched as a flash of lightning lit up the sky.
This isn’t normal. Chris was beginning to grow wary, Then again, nothing that’s happened lately could be considered ‘normal’. Driven by fear, she hobbled forward. To the Larvitar’s dismay, she ended up at the edge of a cliff. She raised an eyebrow. That can’t be right! I walked all this way only to end up at a dead end?
Chris was about to turn around and walk back when a low growling noise sounded from behind her. Her heart skipped a beat. Fear clawing at her heart, the Larvitar slowly spun around. She gasped at the sight of what stood in front of her.
The creature formidably towered over her. Its pelt was an electric yellow color, aside from his chest and belly, which were white. Jagged black stripes which resembled lightning cut through his fur. On his face was a patch of dark gray fur that resembled some sort of mask. His eyes were red like rubies. Under the creature’s nose was a pale blue star shape that looked oddly like a moustache of some kind. Long fangs like those of a saber toothed tiger protruded from his jaws. He had a puffy white mane around his neck. A purple appendage that looked like a cape made of storm clouds sprouted from his back. He swung his crooked tail back and forth as he released a snarl. The creature seemed to give off an ethereal aura.
“Raikou,” Chris breathed, staring up at the legendary beast with wide eyes.
Raikou arched his back, the cloud-like cape on his back flowing behind him. “This is my territory. You are not permitted here. If you do not leave, I will destroy you.” His voice was low and rumbling; it sounded like thunder in a way.
Chris felt a surge of boldness spread through her body. “Listen, I’m just passing through. I’m-“
Raikou, annoyed, cut Chris off. “Look behind you, my friend. It is quite clear that you have reached a dead end. There is nothing beyond this point. Turn around and go home, little Larvitar.”
Raikou’s right. This is a dead end. There can’t be anything past here. But what right does he have to boss me around like that? I could easily beat him, no sweat! Chris’s rust-colored eyes met Raikou’s ruby gaze. “No,” she said simply.
Fury raced through the legendary beast’s veins. “What did you say?” he hissed, flexing her claws.
Chris swallowed hard. “I said, no.”
Raikou began hissing. “A foolish decision, my friend. I will give you five seconds in case you want to change your mind.” He exhaled deeply. “Five…”
Chris stood as still as a stone, staring up at Raikou hatefully.
“Four…” Raikou snarled, his tone growing more intense.
The Larvitar remained where she was.
“Three…” Electricity sparkled at his large paws in preparation for battle.
“You don’t need to count. I’m not going anywhere,” Chris told him.
“Is that so?” Raikou questioned, thunder roaring overhead.
She nodded in response.
“Then let the fight begin!” Raikou cried, rearing aggressively. Chris stepped back, studying his movements. He roared thunderously before shooting a stream of electricity at the Larvitar. Chris yelped and tried to dodge the attack, but failed. She had been expecting pain, but felt nothing from the Raikou’s attack.
“W-what?” she uttered, confused. Wait… that’s right! Larvitar are immune to Electric type attacks, since they’re part Ground!
Raikou’s eyes widened. “Dang it,” he snarled, a wave of realization flooding over him. Baring his fangs, he rushed forward and pounced on Chris, pinning her to the ground.
Chris struggled to be released. Thinking fast, she quickly lifted her head up before slamming it against the ground, creating a small Earthquake. Raikou yelped and instantly released her. He stumbled backwards, hurt by the Ground-type attack.
Grinning, Chris fired a Rock Slide at the beast, but he managed to leap out of the way. Raikou flew straight at the Larvitar, his jaws gaping open. He plunged his fangs into Chris’s arm.
Screaming in agony, Chris kicked away from her attacker. Pain throbbing through her body, she jumped into the air, and landed hard on the ground, creating another Earthquake.
Raikou growled and sprang into the air, avoiding the attack. He landed, but right after he flung himself at Chris again. The Larvitar swiftly ducked. Raikou soared straight toward the edge of the cliff. It scrabbled at the air wildly, but its efforts did nothing to help it. The legendary beast plummeted off the cliff, into the chasm of darkness below.

Chapter 6: A Heated Battle

“You know, it’s really quiet without Chris here…” Star admitted to Aurora. The Riolu had been leading the group in the opposite direction of where Chris was heading.
“Yes. But that’s a good thing,” Aurora replied with a heavy sigh.
“Yeah,” Star agreed, dipping her head.
“I’m thirsty!” Trix complained all of the sudden. She bounded up to Aurora, her tongue hanging out.
“There should be a stream or something somewhere around here,” the Riolu responded, glancing around, “the faster we move, the faster we-“
“Wheeeeee!” Aurora was interrupted by a high-pitched squeal. The Riolu instantly spun around to see a Bagon racing toward them.
“What the heck?” Dusk exclaimed, jumping backward.
The Bagon jollily sprinted past them. The group watched as it ran off, slightly amused.
“What was that?” Kim laughed.
“I really don’t know,” Trevor answered, smiling.
Aurora shook her head rapidly. “Wow,” she said bluntly, “well, we should keep going.”
“Yeah, ‘cause I’m really thirsty!” Trix cried, thrusting her paw into the air.
The six of them soon arrived at a small pool of water. Trix pushed past the others and shoved her face into the clear liquid. She slurped it up greedily.
“I could do for some water too,” Star commented, leisurely sauntering up to the pool. She stuck her face in, and lapped up the water delicately. When she had finished, to the others’ surprise, she sprang into the pool, creating a small wave.
“Star! What the heck are you doing?” Aurora cried, alarmed.
The shiny Eevee surfaced, spitting out a mouthful of water. “What, Aurora? Is there anything wrong with me swimming?” She paddled around in the water cheerfully. “I just love the water. I want to evolve into a Vaporeon!”
Dusk puffed out her chest. “I want to be an Umbreon.”
“There’s no surprise there,” Trevor purred, clawing at a strand of grass.
Dusk gave him a funny look. “What?”
“Your name is Dusk,” he replied, chuckling, “it makes sense that you’d want to be an Umbreon.”
“It’d be funny if she wanted to be an Espeon,” Kim stated, joining in the conversation.
“It would be,” Trevor meowed, “Dusk the Espeon.”
Dusk kicked up a cloud of dirt. “Yuck, I’d never want to be a stupid Espeon.” The Eevee padded up to a small boulder which lied a few feet away from the pool. She pounced onto it, and curled us, tucking her fluffy tail under her chin. “I stayed up all night last night. I’m exhausted.”
All of the sudden, the Bagon they had seen earlier leapt up onto Dusk’s boulder, causing the Eevee to slide off. Dusk yelped as she hit the ground with a thud.
“Wheeeeee!” the Bagon cried, flapping her arms as if they were wings. She crouched down before springing up and soaring off the boulder. Her flight was short lived. The Bagon crashed to the ground, headfirst.
Aurora gasped. She ran up to the Bagon, not even the slightest bit concerned about what had become of Dusk. The Riolu lifted the Dragon-type Pokémon’s head worriedly, and whispered, “Are you okay?”
The Bagon’s eyes fluttered open. “Okay? I’m fantastic!” She jumped to her feet, causing Aurora to fall backwards. The Riolu growled, a bit annoyed.
Dusk stood up, flapping her fox-like tail furiously. She strode over to the Bagon, shooting her a glance. The Rock Head Pokémon stared at her, blinking absentmindedly. Dusk groaned, shaking her head, as she turned and walked away.
Star pulled herself out of the water, and shook herself off, sending sparkling water droplets flying in all directions. She examined the Bagon curiously, and then turned to Aurora, who was sitting on the ground, her arms crossed. “I wonder if that Bagon was a human.”
“Human?” the Bagon echoed, marching up to the boulder. Pulling herself onto it, she exclaimed, “I was a human! Two nights ago, in the matter of fact! But then I woke up as a Bagon the next morning! And I also woke up wanting to fly!” Her voice trailed off as she flew off the rock, flailing her arms wildly. She hit the ground on her belly. “By the way, my name’s Annie.”
“Jumping off a boulder like that won’t get you anywhere,” Dusk snarled, pawing at a small pebble.
“So?” Annie chuckled, standing up. “I don’t care! It’s fun!”
Dusk gave her a blank look. “You’re hopeless.”
Annie’s eyes drifted over to an ominous looking cavern carved in the side of a cliff. Curiosity pulled her towards it. The Bagon rushed into it cheerily.
“Annie! Come back here! What are you doing?” Aurora cried, throwing her arms into the air. Annie didn’t seem to have heard her.
“She reminds me of Trix,” Star commented glumly, shaking her head.
“Me?” Trix exclaimed, bouncing up and down.
“Yes, you,” Dusk snapped, annoyance in her voice.
“And Dusk is just like Chris,” Star giggled.
“Hey!” Dusk yelled, “Don’t compare me to that hideously overweight, midget dinosaur!”
“Sorry,” Star apologized halfheartedly, trying her best not to laugh. The other Eevee shot her a glance.
“Guys,” Aurora growled, her fists balled, “this is no time to joke around. We have to go get Annie before she hurts herself.”
“Oh, please,” Dusk retorted, rolling her dark eyes, “she’s jumped off a boulder and fallen onto her head, and she was fine. I don’t think it’s possible for that Bagon to get hurt.”
“We don’t know that for sure, Dusk,” Aurora responded, “I highly doubt that’s even possible. Come on.”
“No,” the Eevee hissed stubbornly.
Star snickered quietly. “What, are you scared?”
Dusk curled back her lip in a snarl. “Fine, fine, I’ll go. This’d better be worth it.”
Aurora, ignoring the arrogant Eevee’s hasty response, strode into the cavern, the others cautiously padding behind her. To their surprise, the cave’s interior was lit up, and burning hot.
Star scanned her surroundings with her eyes curiously. “Where’s the light coming from? And the heat?”
Trevor ambled over to one side of the cavern. “Look,” he declared, pointing at what lay in front of him with his tail. The other five Pokémon obediently stepped over to him, and gasped at what they saw.
In front of the wall was a deep trench, filled to the brim with steaming lava. It gurgled and bubbled, sending splashes of burning liquid flying into the air.
“Whoa,” Star whispered, the lava reflecting in her indigo eyes.
“This isn’t good,” Aurora took a deep breath, trying to stay calm. “Annie…what if she tested her bravery by jumping in?”
“Nah,” Dusk replied, “That Bagon’s stupid, but she’s not that dumb, unlike Trix. It wouldn’t surprise me if she jumped into the lava right now.”
As if on cue, the Vulpix pushed past the others and belly flopped straight into the lava filled trench. The molten liquid hissed violently as Trix hit the surface and sank into it.
“Trix!” Aurora screamed at the top of her lungs.
“Stop worrying, Aurora,” Trevor said in a reassuring tone, “she’ll be fine. Her Flash Fire ability will prevent her from harm.” As the Shinx finished speaking, Trix popped her head out of the lava.
“Yay!” she exclaimed, pulling herself out of the trench, “that was fun!”
“Just don’t do that when Annie’s around,” Dusk barked, glaring at Trix. “You’ll set a bad influence.”
“What’s an influence?” the Vulpix questioned, wagging her six tails at the same time.
“Forget it,” Dusk scoffed, turning her head away.
“Come on, you guys,” Aurora directed sternly, “we’re wasting time.”
The group ventured deeper into the cave, constantly stopping to examine their surroundings for signs of Annie. To their horror, they found themselves at a dead end.
“No,” Aurora panted, clutching onto her forehead, “no, no, no!”
“Aurora,” Trevor breathed, “there has to be an explanation…”
“There is an explanation!” the Riolu roared, “Annie jumped into the lava and died!”
“No!” Trevor wailed, “That’s not what I meant! Don’t think that!” Taking a deep breath, he continued, “Maybe we just haven’t searched thoroughly enough. Let’s turn around and take a closer look…”
The Shinx was interrupted by a loud roar. The Pokémon instantly spun around to see a fearsome looking Magmortar towering over them. It pointed its cannon-like arm straight at them, a fireball forming at its fingers.
“Where’d that thing come from?” Dusk yelped, fearfully backing away.
“I-I don’t know!” Aurora stammered.
The Magmortar blasted the fireball at them. Trix swiftly jumped in front of the others, taking the hit. Her tawny fur absorbed the ball of flame, protecting her from damage. She retaliated with a quick Ember, aimed straight at the Magmortar’s face.
The Blast Pokémon threw its arm in front of its head, preventing the attack from hitting its face. Releasing a sharp growl, it pointed its hand at the Vulpix. Sparks of bright electricity began to generate between its claws. The Magmortar punched Trix’s chest, using Thunder Punch. The Fox Pokémon was sent flying backward, into the cave wall. She slumped to the ground, defeated.
The Magmortar made a noise that sounded vaguely like laughter as it blew out the smoke that was billowing from its arm cannon. Its gaze shifted to the remaining Pokémon. Grinning, it beckoned them forward with a wave of its arm.
“I bet you regret banishing Chris now,” Dusk huffed to Aurora, shooting her an angry glance.
Aurora glowered at the Eevee. “Be quiet, Dusk. I’m sure we can beat it without her.” She paused. “Isn’t that right, you guys?”
“Um…” Star looked uncertain.
“You’re hopeless,” Aurora snapped furiously. She dashed toward the large Pokémon, and rammed her foot into its thigh. The Magmortar screamed in pain. Enraged, it slammed her aside with its arm. The Riolu ran back to it, her paw growing bright yellow. She shoved it across the Blast Pokémon’s large abdomen, using Force Palm.
The Magmortar fell over, grimacing. It staggered to its feet before shooting a wave of flame from its arm cannon at Aurora. She tried to jump out of the way, but failed. The Riolu grunted as she was singed by the fiery attack.
Trevor pushed forward, and flung himself at the Magmortar, using Quick Attack. The Blast Pokémon snarled and shot a fireball at the Shinx. Trevor jumped out of the way before launching a small sphere of electricity at it; Spark. The Magmortar blasted a ray of flame at the attack, sending it back at Trevor. He yowled in surprise as he was hit.
Star rushed forward, tackling the Blast Pokémon. She was followed by Dusk, who used the same attack. Kim sprinted after them, raking her claws down the Magmortar’s side, using Scratch. The Magmortar weakly sent a stream of fire at the trio. Each of the three Pokémon easily dodged its vain attempt at an attack. They struck with the same moves they had used last time once more. The Blast Pokémon finally fell to the ground, knocked out.
“Yes,” Star panted, staring at the fainted Magmortar with wide eyes. Her eyes wandered over to her companions, who were lying on the ground. She padded over to them, and simply asked, “Are you okay?”
Aurora blinked open one eye. Moaning, she pulled herself to her feet, and nodded. Trevor slowly stood up, and trudged over to Star. Trix remained where she was.
“Trix?” Star called, giving the Vulpix a concerned look. There was no response. Dusk, her dark eyes shining with mischief, sauntered over to Trix, and poked her shoulder. The Vulpix jumped awake, letting out a short cry.
“What the heck, Dusk?” Star gave the other Eevee a funny look.
Dusk twitched her ears. “What?”
“Annie,” Aurora breathed, her eyes clouded with grief.
Trevor sighed. “Yeah, we need to start looking for Annie again.” With that, he turned and walked around the fallen Magmortar, waiting for the others to catch up.

“Hey, guys, look at this!” Star shouted suddenly. The others froze. Star flicked her bushy, silver tail at a small pit dug into the ground next to a cavern wall.
“Good eye, Star! We hadn’t noticed that earlier!” Aurora praised joyfully. “Annie must be down there!”
“You’re right!” Star responded happily.
Dusk lumbered over to the pit. She peered into it, a frown on her face. Looking up, she questioned, “How deep is it?”
“I don’t know, we’ll have to see,” Aurora answered. Dusk moved aside as the Riolu lowered herself into the hole.
“Aurora?” Star called down the pit, “Can you hear me? How deep is it? Is Annie down there?”
“I hear you!” Aurora yelled, “It’s pretty deep, Star. It’s not so deep that if you fell down it, you’d break something, but it’s deep enough that it’d require a rope or a ladder to get out. And I can’t see anything; it’s pitch black.”
“Oh,” Star said, bobbing her head up and down. “Do you want us to come down with you? How big is it down there?”
“From what I can tell, it’s pretty big. I’d feel more comfortable if you guys were with me, but make sure that one of you stays up there, so once we find Annie, they could fetch us a rope or something of the sort,” Aurora explained.
“Alright.” The shiny Eevee turned to face the group. “Who volunteers to stay up here?”
There was utter silence. Trix, Trevor, Kim, and Dusk exchanged expectant glances, until the Charmander finally muttered, “Fine, I’ll stay.”
“Thanks, Kim.” Star murmured with a smile. She then pounced into the pit. The three others shortly followed her, leaving Kim by herself.
“We should’ve just gotten a rope, and thrown it down there for Annie. I don’t see why all this is necessary. Besides, if I can’t find a rope, then six would be lost, rather than just one. But I will find that rope… won’t I?” Kim mumbled to herself, staring blankly at the pit.

“Gah, now I feel stupid,” Star growled, squinting in the darkness.
“What?” Aurora was confused.
“We should’ve had Kim come with us. Her tail would’ve lit up the darkness,” Star grumbled.
“That was stupid,” Dusk retorted.
“Hey, Dusk, if you knew better, you would’ve offered to sit out. That makes all of us equally stupid,” Star explained. Dusk made a hissing noise.
“It doesn’t matter. It’s too late now. We’ll have to do our best without Kim,” Aurora instructed.
“Um, you guys…?” Trevor sounded awfully nervous.
“What is it, Trevor?” Aurora asked, fear surging at her heart.
“… I don’t remember any of us having eyes like that,” the Shinx stuttered.
“What are you…” Aurora’s heart skipped a beat.
Directly in front of them were two glowing crimson eyes, narrowed with hatred. A quick roar sounded, and then light suddenly filled the pit.
The owner of the crimson eyes was a relatively large feline creature, with some canine traits mixed in. He had thick, russet colored fur, aside from his lower jaw and chest, which were pale yellow. Atop his head was a three-pointed golden crest. Covering most of his face was a ruby-red mask. Over his mouth was a silver moustache-like thing. Around each of his legs was a black bracer. He had enormous gray paws. Sprouting from his back were several silver spikes. A wispy cloud of smoke billowed from the back of his neck.
He stepped forward, his teeth bared. “Have you come in search of that pathetic excuse for a Pokémon?” His voice sounded like a raging wildfire. He pointed a paw at a small, blue heap in a corner of the room. The others gasped when they realized who it was; it was Annie! The Bagon appeared to be knocked out.
“What did you do to her?” Aurora screamed, staring up at the creature with hateful crimson eyes.
The beast looked undaunted. “She trespassed in my territory,” he growled, flexing his claws. “You are all trespassing in my lair too, so I shall take each of you down as well!”
“Guess again, Entei,” a sharp voice sounded from behind the beast. Sneering, he turned around. It was none other than Chris. The Larvitar was in a battle-ready stance, anticipation glowing in her blood red eyes.
“Chris?” Aurora shouted, shocked.
“That’s my name!” Chris exclaimed, “I couldn’t stand to let you defenseless twerps be pulverized by that nasty Entei.”
“But how did…” Aurora was cut off.
“No time for questions. C’mon, Entei! Let’s get this show on the road!” Chris looked up at Entei challengingly.
Entei reared and shot a stream of fire at Chris. The Larvitar leaped into the air, dodging the attack. With a smug look on her face, she threw her arms into the air. Boulders tumbled down from the sky, burying Entei.
“Ha,” Chris snickered, smacking her paws together. She leaned up against the rock pile, striking a rebellious pose. The pile suddenly began to rumble. Chris stepped back as Entei emerged, a wall of flame surrounding him. He charged straight at the Larvitar. She was flung into the air, and sent flying into a cavern wall. Smiling, she jumped off of it, landing hard on her feet. A wave of earth shot up, hitting Entei. The beast howled in agony as Earthquake struck.
Glowering, Entei bit down on Chris’s arm. The Larvitar slugged him a punch in the face before springing backward. Before the Volcano Pokémon could retaliate, Chris lashed out with another Rock Slide. Once again, the beast was buried beneath the large pile of stones. Chris waited for Entei to escape from the pile, but nothing happened after several moments passed.
“Ha, and you call yourself legendary?” Chris yelled at the unmoving rock pile, snickering.
“Whoa,” Aurora gasped, blinking rapidly. “You…”
“Yeah, whatever. He was a piece of cake,” Chris laughed.
Aurora rolled her eyes. Ignoring the egotistical Larvitar, she ambled over to Annie. She gently prodded her side, whispering, “Annie? Annie, are you okay? Get up.”
The Bagon opened her eyes. “What do you want?”
“Annie!” Aurora cried joyously, “We were worried sick about you! We thought you jumped into the lava, or…”
Annie blinked. “I’m stupid, but I’m not that dumb. I really don’t know what happened. I was jumping around, and then I fell down this hole. This dude yelled at me, and then he like, killed me.”
“… I see…” Aurora commented, giving the Bagon a strange look.
Chris stared up at the ceiling. “So… now what?”
“Now,” Aurora began, “we wait. We sent Kim to find us a rope so we can get out, but until then, we’ll just have to wait.”

Chapter 7: Ropes for Hope

With a deep sigh, Kim turned away from the pit. Taking her time, she ambled back the way she had come, making sure to stay on the lookout for any hostile Pokémon like the Magmortar.
With friends, this cavern wasn’t so bad, Kim thought, glancing around, but now that I’m by myself, it’s like a whole different place. Even though the lava and my tail are lighting it up, it still seems as dark as ever, not to mention the unnerving feeling in the air. I keep thinking that I hear footsteps and see weird shadows creeping towards me, but it’s only my imagination, or at least I hope it is. I wouldn’t be surprised if some monster jumped out of the lava right now. But I have to stand tall and be brave. My friends’ lives are in my hands!
Feeling a bit better, the Charmander quickened her pace. She tried her best not to think about what could be watching her in the shadows of the cavern. As she continued forward, she thought she saw a dark shape silhouetted against the bright lava. Squinting, she tried to identify what it was.
It wasn’t very tall- it was only about Kim’s size. It had a long horn-like thing sprouting from its top. It’s probably just a funny shaped rock, she thought, trying to stay calm. But no; whatever it was, it was moving straight towards her. It had to have been another Pokémon- and Kim didn’t expect it to be friendly.
Bracing herself for a fight, Kim made sure she didn’t make the first move. If it is friendly, I wouldn’t want to turn it against me. The creature stopped.
“Kim?” it hissed, “Oh, great. That means the rest of the twerps must be nearby.”
The Charmander instantly recognized the voice. “Chris? What are you doing here?”
Chris made her way forward. “I, um…” The Larvitar didn’t want to give away how she was searching for how to become a human again. Trying to change the subject, she grumbled, “Where are the others? I don’t see them anywhere.”
“Why should I tell you?” Kim snapped, “You’re just going to torment them some more.”
Chris looked down at her feet. “Well, that’s true, but…”
“No. I won’t tell you,” Kim pushed past the Larvitar, “you’ll just have to find out by yourself.”
Chris stared at the other Pokémon angrily as she walked away. That Charmander’s got a lot of nerve. Shaking her head rapidly, she continued walking in her own direction.
I wonder what Chris is doing here. It looked as if she was trying to hide something, thought Kim as she resumed strolling through the cavern. She noticed a bright light in the near distance; the Charmander presumed it was the exit. Relieved to be close to the egress, she began moving faster. Soon enough, she had made her way out of the fiery cavern.
Blinking in the sunlight, Kim let out a long sigh. It sure feels great to be out of that place. But now that I’m out, where am I supposed to find a rope? She walked forward at a leisurely pace, trying to think of where she could find one.
When the Charmander came across an old maple tree, she was surprised to see a long object dangling from its branches. Is that a rope? Squinting, she tried to get a better glimpse at the object. It is! Wow, this was easier that I expected!
Kim joyfully rushed up to the rope, and made a grab for it. As soon as her hand wrapped around the rope, a purple creature shot down from the upper branches. Kim fell over, spooked.
The creature, which was hanging from a branch with its tail, glared at her menacingly. “And what do you think you’re doing with that?” It resembled a large, violet cobra with startling markings on its wide frill. Its tongue flickered in and out of its mouth as it waited for Kim to respond.
Mustering all her courage, Kim stammered, “Y-you see, my friends went into this pit to rescue a Bagon, and they sent me to find them a rope so they can get out, and I just wanted to borrow it so…”
“Silence!” the cobra-creature roared. “Why should I lend my rope to a puny pipsqueak like you? What if you’re just lying, and you want to steal it?”
“Why are you so worried about it? It’s just a rope,” Kim said, rising to her feet.
The violet Pokémon raised an eyebrow. “Ah, so you are intending on stealing it!” It began to lower itself from the tree.
“N-no! I don’t want to steal it! I was just wondering why a rope would be so valuable to a snake like you! I mean, you don’t have arms, so how would you use it?” Kim hollered, waving her arms in the air.
“Snake?” the cobra-like creature laughed, “I’m an Arbok, darling. And if you were wondering, that rope is an important family emblem. But don’t try to lie to me, shrimp, for I can see your true intentions.”
“I don’t want to steal it! How many times do I have to say that? I just want to borrow it! When I’m done using it, I’ll give it back! I promise!” Kim wailed.
“Lies!” the Arbok screamed, landing hard on the ground. She opened her mouth and spat spheres of Acid at her foe. Kim leapt to dodge before shooting Ember at her.
The Arbok hissed and tried to duck, but failed. She winced as the flames blasted her frill. Enraged, she sped up to Kim, and began to coil herself around her before the Charmander could do anything to defend herself.
“Say goodbye, puny Pokémon,” the Arbok purred, squeezing her foe as hard as she could. A smug grin was plastered on her face, as if killing was merely a game.
Kim gasped for breath as the snake-like Pokémon tightened her grip. She made a vain attempt at struggling to release herself. What do I do? There’s no way to escape this thing! Am I just supposed to die?
“Stop squirming, darling. Struggling will get you nowhere, I’m afraid,” the Arbok snickered. Kim gasped and choked for air while continuing to struggle, ignoring the Arbok.
“Stop right there!” A particularly small voice sounded. The Arbok spun her head around, slightly loosening her grip on Kim. The voice belonged to a Cyndaquil, who was bravely standing tall and looking right into her spiteful eyes.
The cobra-like Pokémon stifled a laugh. “Oh, let me guess- you’re one of this shrimp’s little friends, aren’t you?” She flicked her head at Kim, who was continuing to hopelessly struggle.
The Cyndaquil swallowed. “No, actually; I’ve never seen that Charmander before. But no one should be treated like that.”
An amused expression crossed the Arbok’s face. “Oh, but she tried to steal my precious rope! I’m defending my personal property!”
The Cyndaquil narrowed his eyes. “Yes, stealing is bad, but that doesn’t give you the right to kill her! Look at you; you’re suffocating her!”
“So what?” the Arbok snapped, tightening her grip once again.
“That does it,” the Fire Mouse Pokémon growled, starting up the flames on his back, “you’re going down.”
The Arbok bared her fangs in a toothy smile. “Why even bother? You’re just going to end up like this pathetic excuse for a Pokémon.” She finally released Kim, who slumped to the ground, passed out.
The Cyndaquil let loose Ember, which the Arbok easily avoided. “My goodness, you’re even weaker than that Charmander, and that’s certainly saying something!”
With a scowl on his face, the Cyndaquil flung himself at her, using Tackle. The Arbok retaliated with a quick Poison Sting. Purple darts imbued with toxins stabbed at the Cyndaquil’s flank, causing him to yell out in pain. Smirking, the Arbok smacked him away with her tail.
Standing up, the Cyndaquil determinedly released another Ember. This time, it hit the Arbok head on. She roared in pain as the fire scorched her forehead. Shaking it off, she glided forward, hurling globs of Acid out of her mouth.
The Cyndaquil speedily dodged each of them before using Ember one more. The intense flames scalded the Arbok’s neck.
Screaming in agony, she weakly fired Poison Sting again- but the attack completely failed to hit the Fire Mouse Pokémon. Feeling confident in his abilities, the Cyndaquil jumped up and shot one last powerful Ember at the Arbok’s face. The Snake Pokémon let out a long hiss before collapsing to the ground, knocked out.
Breathing hard, the Cyndaquil walked up to the fainted Charmander, glad that the battle was over. He pressed his paw against her face. “Hello? Are you okay?”
Kim grunted and rolled over before opening her dark green eyes. She stared up at the Cyndaquil confusedly.
“You’re okay- that’s good,” the Cyndaquil felt another surge of relief.
“Wait…” Kim pushed herself up. “You… the Arbok… you saved my life.”
The Cyndaquil blushed. “No sweat. Hey, what’s your name? And what exactly is the story with the rope? I’m not going to trust that Arbok.”
“I’m Kim,” the Charmander replied, entertained by the other Fire type’s rosy cheeks. “Well, my friends and I met a Bagon, but she ran off into this fiery cave, and we were concerned about her, so we followed her in. We searched the entire cavern, but found no trace of the Bagon- but then one of us discovered a pit in the ground. It was deep, but not so deep that if you fell down it, it would be fatal. Nevertheless, they sent me to search for a rope so that once they were done down there, they could get out. I had no idea where I was supposed to find a rope in this place, until fate caused me to find a nice sized rope hanging from a tree. I had no clue that it belonged to that Arbok; once I touched it, she sprang from the tree and started threatening me. I promised that I’d only borrow it, and that I’d be sure to return it when we were done with it, but she didn’t believe me. And if you hadn’t come, the Arbok would’ve killed me.”
The Cyndaquil nodded. “Well, you seem like an honest Pokémon to me. My name is Blaze.”
“Okay,” Kim dipped her head. “You know, from what I remember, I used to be quite fond of snakes when I was a human. I’m not so sure if that’s the case anymore.” She shuddered, reminded of the terror she experienced while being constricted by the Arbok.
“Wait, you were a human?” Blaze sounded surprised.
“Oh, yeah. I guess I forgot to mention it to you,” Kim told him.
“Really? So I’m not the only human turned Pokémon?” A smile began to form on the Cyndaquil’s face.
“You are too? Wow, it’s like half of the Pokémon I meet used to be humans. I’m starting to assume it’s pretty common- but why?” Kim’s gaze shifted to the sky.
“There’s more?” Blaze asked eagerly.
“Yup,” Kim answered, “all of my friends, and the Bagon we were trying to rescue were humans. Come with us, I’m sure you’d fit in well.”
“Well, you see…” Blaze shuffled his feet, “… as much as I’d like to come with you, I just…”
“You don’t like being around a lot of people?” Kim suggested, tipping her head to one side.
“That’s exactly it,” he nodded rapidly.
“Heh, me too. They’re really nice… well, most of them are, but it’s easy to get used to those who aren’t.”
“I see,” Blaze sounded uncertain.
“You can at least come and meet them,” Kim directed, “come on, I’ll show you where they are. But first…” the Charmander walked over to the maple tree and pulled down the rope. She wrapped it around her arm. “We can’t forget this. Now let’s go.”

Chapter 8: The Brawl by the Waterfall

“How long is this going to take?” Chris demanded, staring up at the hole in the ceiling.
“Be patient,” Aurora snapped, “sure, you might’ve saved us, but that doesn’t mean we’re on friendly terms.”
“You’re welcome,” Chris muttered to the ungrateful Riolu.
“Chris has a point. Kim is taking an awfully long time. I hope she’s okay,” Star commented.
“She’s fine,” Aurora sighed, “she’s probably just having a hard time finding a rope.”
“That’s true,” Star responded, “where are you even supposed to find a rope in this place?”
“Beats me,” Aurora mumbled, crossing her arms.
A familiar voice sounded from above. “Hello? Did you find Annie?”
“Kim?” Star cried, jumping to her feet.
“Yup, we found her, and also…” Aurora was cut off.
“How about we get you out of here first so you don’t have to yell?” Kim suggested. A long rope drifted down from the hole.
“We?” Dusk repeated, confused. “Oh well.” She leapt for the rope, and began pulling herself up. Once she had finished, the others subsequently followed.
“Who’s the Cyndaquil?” Trevor questioned once everyone had climbed out.
“His name is Blaze,” Kim explained, “He was a human too. But he saved my life when I was searching for a rope.”
“Did he?” Aurora commented. “Well, we have someone to be grateful for, too, and that’s Chris.”
The Larvitar frowned. “You sure don’t sound very grateful.”
Aurora ignored her. “All of the sudden, Entei appeared and threatened us. But then Chris came out of nowhere and saved us.”
“Hmm,” Kim grunted. “I was being suffocated by an Arbok, but Blaze came and defeated her. If he hadn’t been there, I would’ve died.”
“Well, thank you, Blaze,” Aurora said warmly, “if Kim had died, then we would’ve been trapped down here too, thus we would die as well.”
“You’re welcome,” Blaze dipped his head shyly.
“Well, we have no reason to be in this cave now that Annie’s been rescued. Let’s get out of here.” With that, the group made their way out of the fiery cavern at a relaxed pace.

“I’m hungry!” Annie whined as they walked out of the cave.
“Good for you,” Chris snapped.
“We should find something to eat,” Aurora instructed, “anyone see any berry bushes or anything?”
“No,” Kim responded, “the one thing that sucks about being a Pokémon is the food. All there is to eat is berries and fruit.”
“Yeah,” Dusk snorted. “I could really do for a thick, juicy steak right now.”
“Stop, Dusk,” Star moaned, her stomach growling.
“And some creamy mashed potatoes on the side, smothered in warm butter… and an ice cold glass of sweet iced tea to wash it all down,” Dusk described, licking her lips.
“Shut it, Dusk, it ain’t happening,” Chris snarled, annoyed.
The Eevee rolled her eyes. “Whatever.”
“We’d better search for some food. Maybe if we’re lucky, we’ll find something better than fruit,” Aurora told them.
“Like seeds. Oh boy,” Dusk murmured as the group began walking away, “or maybe some lovely grass. That would be mighty fine, now, wouldn’t it?”

“This has to be the most beautiful forest I’ve seen in my life!” Star exclaimed, racing in front of the others. They had arrived at a small patch of woodland. The grass was a soft shade of teal, and sparkling dewdrops tipped each blade. The tree trunks were dark gray, and thick vines wrapped around them like snakes. Each tree was topped with a mass of leaves that fluttered in the breeze, ranging in color from sky blue to navy.
Chris blinked. “This place keeps getting weirder and weirder.”
“You can say that again,” Dusk mumbled crossly. Chris considered repeating herself, but then decided against it.
Pokémon Mystery Dungeon: The Next Generation

★Prologue: Slowking’s Folktale★

“After the heroes defeated Uxie, Mesprit, and Azelf, Deoxys teleported them to Mt. Coronet, where the angry Arceus was waiting. They climbed to the mountain’s peak, despite freezing temperatures. When they had made their way up the crystal staircase, they were met by Arceus, who began the battle instantly. The heroes fought hard and strong, and successfully brought down what they had believed to be Arceus- but upon his death, he changed shape into a Zorua! Though shocked, they rescued both Mew and the real Arceus. The two gods explained to them why they had become Pokémon- but then Mew realized something peculiar; in front of them were ten Pokémon, when she had only transformed nine humans! She questioned them as to why this was so. The heroes chattered amongst themselves nervously, wondering who was lying. Without any of them noticing, Aurora the Lucario stepped up to Arceus and Mew. She morphed into a Zoroark right before their eyes! Aurora said that she had been disguised as a Riolu, later a Lucario, the entire time. She studied the heroes, trying to discover their weaknesses so that Zorua, her son, could beat them easily. But now that her son was dead, she was going to kill the heroes herself- or so she thought. Before she could even move, both Arceus and Mew blasted her with their most powerful attacks. Well, kids, I don’t want to get into detail, but that was the end of Aurora. Though in shock, horror, and disgust, the heroes were sent back to the human world in which they had come from.”
The embers of the campfire crackled as the ancient looking Slowking recited an age old story. Several young Pokémon were gathered around it, their eyes wide with interest.
“Is that a true story?” a small Pichu asked inquisitively, “did Zorua and Zoroark really capture Mew and Arceus? Did they really try to destroy the world?”
“Well,” the Slowking began, “I’m sure that tale holds some truth, but over the years, it’s been stretched out beyond proportion.”
“Oh, okay. That makes me feel a lot better. If two regular Pokémon could kidnap the gods, then…” the Pichu’s voice trailed off.
The Slowking stifled a laugh. “No need to worry, young one. Now, it’s getting late. Your mothers are probably looking for you. I think it’d be best if you all ran on home.”
The young Pokémon rose to their feet, stretching. “Thanks for the story, Slowking!” they exclaimed in unison before walking away.
“Gosh darn it, those are the sweetest little kids,” Slowking sighed, ambling to his den, “it makes me feel awful to lie to them. But I wouldn’t want to terrify them; Zoroark and her son really did try to destroy the world way back when. They did capture both Mew and Arceus, and they did convince all of the legendary Pokémon that Arceus wanted them to destroy the world.”
He shook his head slowly. “Now, Zoroark had two kids, and one of these kids lived to have kids of its own. Surprisingly, I never found the surviving kid to be a threat- but its daughter seems to have potential, and that potential is negative.” Slowking reached his den, and crawled into it. “Well, there’s nothing I can do. Only time will tell, and if anything happens again, I’m sure that Mew will do something.”

★Chapter One: The Dungeon Disaster★

“Wake the hell up, weaklings.” A venomous voice cut through the air like a knife. The sound echoed off the hard stone walls, ringing in the ears of the ‘new recruits’.
That voice… do I know that voice? A Vulpix slowly lifted her head off of the ground. She gasped in shock; where in the world was she? The room she was in was extremely dark, the only source of light coming from a small torch that was tacked to the wall. There were absolutely no windows. Rusty chains gloomily dangled from the walls, and bones were scattered across the floor. But what surprised her the most was what sat in front of her- a small group of Pokémon.
P-Pokémon? Everyone knows Pokémon aren’t real! She stared at them, her eyes wide. She examined them carefully, making out a Dratini, a Cranidos, a Riolu, a Wooper, a Kabuto, and an Eevee. They all had confused expressions on their faces.
W-what’s going on? The Vulpix didn’t know what to make of the situation.

“My arms! What on Earth happened to them?” the Kabuto screamed, waving her stubby legs around in the air.
“Hey, you’re lucky you even have arms,” the Wooper retorted.
The Kabuto flinched. “What the heck? A Pokémon, and a talking one at that? What did I eat?”
“I’m not the only Pokémon here, shell girl,” the Wooper said.
The Kabuto’s red eyes were glowing with rage. “What did you just call me?”
The Wooper seemed to be amused. “You’re a Kabuto, you do know that, right?”
“What?” the Kabuto wailed.
“You heard me right,” the Wooper giggled.
The Kabuto was speechless. She stared blankly at the ground, shuddering. The Wooper grinned.
The Dratini was smiling, too. “This is the best dream ever!” He slithered around the stone floor happily.
“This… isn’t a dream,” the Kabuto told him, seething with anger.
The Dratini froze. “It… isn’t?”
“Do I need to repeat myself?” the Kabuto questioned, enraged.
“Seriously?” he squealed, his voice growing higher in pitch.
“Yes, now shut up and be happy you didn’t turn into something hideous like me!” the Kabuto snarled.
“What are you talking about? I would’ve loved to turn into a Kabuto!” the Dratini shouted, “I would be overjoyed if I turned into any Pokémon for that matter! But the fact that I’m something as cool as a Dratini is just…”
“Well, unlike you, I have preferences when it comes to becoming a Pokémon, and as you can see, Kabuto isn’t very high at all on my ‘list-of-Pokémon-I’d-enjoy-becoming’,” she muttered, “I’d rather be a Wurmple.”
“Just stop fighting, guys,” the Wooper sighed, propping herself up against one of the stone walls. Her gaze shifted to the Vulpix. “Oh, look, the Vulpix is awake.”
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