Chapter 1

Sunshine filtered through the trees, as the Pidgeys chirped in the damp morning air. A cool breeze seemed to blow sunlight through the forest, carrying crisp scents of the distant mountains. It was any typical day in the woods, with the bug types working hard to build their nests, the flying types greeting all with their voices, and the Rattata running around along the mossy forest floor.

But one thing was out of the ordinary. Along the forest floor was an unconscious Vaporeon, clothed in a black robe. One would quickly take note of the age of the young Pokemon, who looked no more than 20. Then they would likely see the sword he kept strapped over his left shoulder, covered in a black sheath. He blinked open his eyes, and pulled himself to his feet. "Unn…" he groaned. "I…" He looked around cautiously. "I… Where am I?" He held out his paws, and examined them. "Who… who am I?" He squinted his eyes as he looked up to the sun, and raised a paw to block it from his eyes. He looked down, and looked at the sword sheathed along his hip. He swiftly pulled it out, and examined it. "Wh-what is this?" He held it up against the sun, and it glimmered a beautiful blue... wait. The blade was water! It wiggled gently in its fluidic form. How it didn't leak from the sheath was beyond him. He looked at the hilt, and read what it said. "O-Orachilum…" He put it away, and looked around. "A forest… it… it's beautiful."

"C-caw! What is this?" He looked up to see a Staravia hovering above him. The flying type had powerful wings, and he floated with little effort.

"Who are you?"

"I can ask you the same." The Staravia was obviously a guy, with a voice lower than one would expect.

"Well, me… I…" It was now that the Vaporeon had no idea. "I actually… well, I don't know!"

"WHAT? A Vaporeon who doesn't know who he is?" The Staravia nearly fell from the sky in shock. "A Vaporeon is rare enough. One suffering from amnesia is even rarer." He shot a glance at the Vaporeon. "You're not lying, are you?"

"No! Of course not!"

The Staravia sighed. "It seems so strange… a Vaporeon who lost his memory… unless…" He frowned, as if he had an idea.

"What is it? Please tell me!"

"Well, there once…" His beak was opened, but he was interrupted.

"H-help me!" They heard a scream from a distance.

"What was that?" asked the Vaporeon.

The Staravia rolled his eyes. "It was a cry of happiness. NO! Somebody needs help." The Staravia glanced at his sword. "You look like a warrior… I sure hope you are. Do you remember how to swordfight?"

"I… no…"

The Staravia slapped his face with his wing, and dropped a bit before resuming his flying. "Whatever. I'm going to go help whoever it is."

The Staravia got ready to fly away, but the Vaporeon called out. "Wait! What's your name?"

He responded without looking back. "I'm Aero."

"Okay, Aero, I'll come. But don't expect me to do anything!"

"Whatever." And the Vaporeon ran after the Staravia.

A minute later, they came to the cry for help. "Help me!" A young Vulpix was trapped in a corner of a tree, being threatened by a Mightyena.

"The mayor's daughter, eh? What would he say if I kidnapped you… imagine the money I could get."

She screamed. "Help me! Anybody!"

"Hey. Leave her alone." Aero flapped into the clearing.

The Mightyena snarled. "Who the fuck do you think you are?"

"I'm Aero. And this is my pal."

He turned to face them, and laughed. "Go on. Attack me. Make my day."

Aero quickly launched himself at the Mightyena, but the dark type dodged quickly. He lunged at Aero with a Bite, and caught the bird Pokemon hard. "Gah!" Aero was caught in his jaws, and the Mightyena threw him into the ground. Aero was bleeding, and the Vaporeon didn't know what to do. This was the first Pokemon he had met, and he couldn't let him just die.

With reflexes that surprised himself, he drew his blade. Immediately, he felt the energy within it. He dashed towards the dark pokemon, whose eyes were wide open as the Vaporeon lashed his liquefied blade along his side and howled in pain. The Mightyena pulled himself to his paws. "What the hell was that? So quick…" He shook his head, then pulled out a dagger himself, and charged the Vaporeon.

They parried each other's attacks, Aero's eyes wide with surprise. This Vaporeon… he saved me! Here I was thinking he was helpless… would you know it, he's good. I'll say, he's a hell of a swordfighter! Taking on bandits with no memory. Watching his new friend fighting bravely against the bandit, Aero found new strength, and pulled himself back to his feet. His friend was keeping the bandit distracted enough. The Staravia closed his eyes. Let's be brave. Brave Bird, lets go! And summoning his energy, he flew at the dark pokemon's back at full force. The Mightyena screeched at impact, and fell unconscious. Aero felt a dull pain, but the recoil hadn't been too bad. "Bud, you okay?" he asked the Vaporeon.

The Vaporeon was panting. "Yeah. How's the bite?"

Aero felt the dull wound on his side. "I've been through worse."

The Vaporeon put his sword away, the water no longer in the form of a blade, but rather a pillar of liquid. "Thanks for finishing him off."

Aero nodded. "Hey, you never told me you could fight well! Holy Arceus, I've never seen such a good swordfighter!"

The Vaporeon blinked. "I don't know what came over me. It was almost instinct."

"Well, you've got good intincts."

Next to them, the Vulpix's eyes were wide in admiration. "Mister Vaporeon and Mister Staravia! Thank you so much!" She looked like a child, only 7. She wore a small dress and was holding a Buneary doll.

The Vaporeon nodded, while Aero smiled. "No problem, kiddo. Hey, where are your parents?"

On cue, two Ninetales walked into the clearing. "Lina? Lina!" A female Ninetales screamed, and ran to her daughter.

"Mom!" Tears of happiness were shed between the two fire-types.

"Our daughter… we have her again," said her father, joining the hug. After the family reunion, the three turned to face the Vaporeon, Aero, and the unconscious Mightyena. "Who are you?"

"I am Aero, and this is my friend, who doesn't know who he is."

"They saved me, daddy. A bad Mightyena was going to kidnap me, and these two nice men saved me. Thank you misters!"

The male Ninetales looked at them, then kneeled down. "My friends, you have our gratitude. A reward is deserved for our daughter's safety."

"I'm sorry sir, but who are you?" asked the Vaporeon.

"I am mayor Agnoleus the third, but you can call me mayor. Please, you may have anything you desire my friends."

Aero grinned. "I know. How about…"

The Vaporeon held out a paw to stop him. "That won't be necessary." He bowed gently to the mayor. "Your daughter needed help, and we happened to be there. Any good pokemon would have done the same."

The mayor shook his head. "Nonsense! At the very least, we shall have a feast, and you cannot deny that. Come on now, my two friends!"

Aero pulled the Vaporeon after him. "Alright bud, don't be humble! You earned this!"

"But…" The Vaporeon couldn't respond as Aero dragged him.

"What do I call you anyways?"

"I told you, I don't know my name!"

"Well, I hate calling you Vaporeon. How about Tsunami? You know, big, fierce, wave? Until you remember everything?"

"I… I…" The Vaporeon knew there was no point in arguing, and sighed. "I suppose so…"

"Great, Tsunami! Let's go eat!"

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After a feast, which Aero gorged down happily and Tsunami barely touched, the mayor began a speech. "Now, my friends, I think some repayment is in order. You saved our little daughter." The Ninetales nodded. "What would you like? Girls? You two look at ages to start picking up your first mates?"

Aero grinned. "Yeah! That soun-"

"That isn't necessary." Aero huffed. Again, Tsunami denied the reward.

"Come on man! Imagine… you and me… pimps… it would be perfect!"

The Vaporeon shook his head. "I'm not interested." He looked at the mayor. "I lost my memory, and awoke in a forest, with nothing but what I have now. Could you help me?"

The Ninetales swished his, well, nine tails. "Memory loss… hmm… rumor has it that a powerful, beautiful sorceress lives in mountains not far from here. She is a master illusionist, so nobody knows who or what she really is. She is said to mind wipe those who see her… much like Uxie."

"Uxie? Could she be Uxie?" chimed Aero.

The mayor shook his head. "It is not. Uxie resides many, many day's journey from here. I have met Uxie. But not this sorceress. Perhaps she could be the cause of your amnesia?"

The Vaporeon's expression was unreadable. "Yeah. Perhaps." He seemed to be trying hard to remember something, but he obviously couldn't do it.

"Listen, you got any rooms or anything for me and my buddy to stay? If you've got any girls too, that…"

"No girls." Aero huffed.

"Fine. Do you have any rooms?"

"Of course. Follow me."

The mayor himself led them to a nice, cozy inn. He nodded to them. "Thank you again for rescuing our daughter. We are forever grateful."

Aero and Tsunami both nodded. "Of course."

They both settled down on their beds. "You know, Tsunami, bro, we should keep working together. You and me make a good team."

The Vaporeon nodded. "Really?"

"Yeah. Your wicked sword skills and my smooth talking? We can really score."

The Vaporeon smiled for the first time. "Alright then, Aero."

He blew out the candle they used for light. "See you in the mornin', Tsunami."

"'Night, Aero."

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The next morning, Tsunami woke up early, and yawned. He stretched, then pulled himself out of bed.

"Hey." It was Aero. He turned around to respond, but Aero simply huffed. "This sorceress you're planning to go after. I have heard of her a little. I always thought she was Uxie, but I guess I was wrong. This sorceress is said to suck the souls of men who wish to catch a glimpse of her beauty." The Staravia frowned. "This is very, very dangerous stuff."

"I know." Tsunami sighed. "I know. But I really must learn about my past. I have no idea where my memory went…"

Aero nodded. "Hey, you want to start heading out now?"

"Sure." The two of them quickly washed up, and Tsunami left a letter telling the town where they had went.

Aero and I are going to leave your town. We are deeply grateful for your hospitality, but it is time for me to move on and learn who I am. Again, thanks.

Tsunami

He placed the note down, then clipped his sword onto his belt. "Let's go."

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The two of them walked and flew along the lush highlands leading up to the mountain without anything happening. The two had packed some bread and berries at the town before they left, and were sitting down on the grass.

"You know," said Aero, "You certainly seem like the quiet type."

Tsunami nodded, while chewing on a piece of bread. "Mmm." He swallowed it. "I don't know. There's not really anything to talk about, since I don't know anything. I mean, I can feel like there is something missing in my mind, but I just don't really know what. It's rather tough to explain."

Aero grinned. "I totally know that feeling, bro."

Tsunami just sighed, then looked at the mountain that had been slowly pulling closer to them. "The sorceress… I wonder if I'll be able to talk to her without fighting."

"What? You'd totally whoop her ass!"

Tsunami shrugged. "I'll have to meet her first before I make any judgment. If she truly is an illusionist, my sword will be near useless."

Aero huffed. "Maybe. Doubtful though."

Then, suddenly, Tsunami heard some voices in his head, ringing out like chimes.

"You ready, kid?"

"Yeah." Tsunami recognized his own voice. The voice who spoke first sounded like a tough guy.

"Alright, bud. This sorceress in the mountains… she is quite powerful."

"I know that. I'll be careful."

"I know."

"Oh, wait, what's her name?"

"Lily. Be very careful, commander."

Then, just like that, he came to. "Hey, Tsunami… you okay?"

"I… I… I yeah." He nodded.

The flying type frowned slightly, but didn't push it. "Okay."

Tsunami paused, then decided to share what he had heard. "I just heard a voice in my head, like a flashback. I heard that the sorceress' name is Lily."

"Lily… hmm… are you sure it wasn't just a daydream?"

"Positive. It sounded like the voices were right next to me."

Aero pondered the question, then nodded. "Okay, Tsunami. I believe you. Did you find out anything else?"

Tsunami shook his head. "Sorry. If you're looking for her type or anything, I don't know."

"No, it's okay. Knowing her name will help."

They packed up the food and continued walking through the day, until the sun was setting. "It's going to be getting dark very soon. Maybe we should wait?"

Aero nodded. "Sure." And of course, it had to start raining. Normally, this wouldn't be an issue, but there was lightning. A super-effective hit on either of them could result in death. Aero groaned. "We have to find shelter." They both looked around until they found a cave. Water from a stream trickled deep into the cave, and they could hear the flow of the water seeping from the roof. "This is rather creepy…" They had no source of light, and the sound of heavy drops echoed along the cavern.

Tsunami slowly walked into the cave until he saw something outlined against the darkness. He squinted to make out the black shape, and saw it was a book. He carefully picked it up, and waited for lightning to strike. Right when it flashed, he made out some strange characters. I wonder what that means… these characters are so foreign.

A short distance away, Aero was walking along the ground. He slowly walked, then tripped. PAK! The sound of metal rang throughout the cave as Aero tripped on a cup.

Tsunami put the book down, and glanced at Aero's outline. "Oops?"

"Sh!" Tsunami could hear some quiet footsteps coming from deep within the cave.

Then he heard a soft, feminine voice. It sounded calm, like a river in a forest. "Well well… I certainly haven't had visitors in awhile."

"Where are you?" asked Aero.

The voice laughed. "Where am I? I don't know. I could be anywhere. I could be behind you." Tsunami felt a tail gently brush along his leg and spun around, but he couldn't see.

"We're not here to fight, Lily."

He felt her freeze, and sensed a change in her attitude. "Lily? How do you know my name?" He felt her move slightly closer to him. "Have you heard of my beauty? Do you know why I stay in the darkness? I stay here to avoid those suitors who want nothing more than my body." There was a cold edge in her voice, and he sensed her crawl backwards. "I'm going to let you two go. Don't ever come back."

"I'm sorry, sorceress, but we can't oblige. I have some questions that must be answered."

"Don't worry, we don't need to see you. You can wait in your shadows," added Aero hastily.

For a moment, Tsunami expected Lily to refuse. But after a short time, he heard her sigh. "Fair enough."

"Alright. I know you can see me. Have you ever seen me before?" In the darkness, he slowly felt the mysterious Pokemon pull next to him.

He felt her gently touch his fins. "A Vaporeon… no. I have not." He sensed curiosity coming off the female now.

"Excuse me. What kind of Pokemon are you?"

"That is none of your business." She recoiled and slid further into the shadows, but he sensed her still watching him. "I did as you asked, please leave now."

Aero flapped over to Tsunami. "Alright, bud. Let's go. She gave us an answer. She creeps me out…"

Tsunami whispered, "There's lightning. We can't go out there. We'll die."

Aero nodded. "Fine. Miss Lily," he called out loudly. "There is thunder outside. I'm a flying type, and my buddy here is a water-type. We can't go out."

There was a long pause before the mysterious voice replied, "Fine. On one condition. You leave before sunrise."

Tsunami bowed. "Of course."

Aero chimed in. "And if we don't?"

Tsunami nudged him, but it was too late. The voice hesitated, then said, "Then I'll do what I do to all other guys."

"What is that?"

The sorceress' voice simply laughed, then all was quiet.

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