Shattered Memories

Chapter 1: Unlocking the Truth

Yellow appeared slowly out of the darkness, into a clearing which the sun was peering though the trees. The young girl glanced around for a moment, with Chuchu on her shoulder. Yellow could sense that something strange was nearby, almost mysterious as she glanced over at Chuchu who nodded. The young girl nodded swiftly in return, Chuchu jumped off of her trainer's shoulder.

"He'll be a lot stronger than our last encounter Chuchu; it's been almost eight years since then." she stated under her breath as Chuchu glanced at her trainer, nodding quietly before her ears twitched. It had been eight years since Yellow's last encounter with Lance at Cerise Island, and now he had threatened Viridian Forest.

But of course, back then things were different; her pokemon weren't as strong as they were now and she didn't have Chuchu. But now her pokemon fully evolved with new moves to attack any foe that came her way, Yellow had been trying for quite some time now in this forest alone with them. Her hazel gaze gleamed with satisfaction for a moment as she thought of all of the training that they had gone through. Yellow blinked the distracting thoughts away as she tried to regain focus, to focus on the battle which would commence soon. The young girl then noticed a small puddle of water; it was a few feet away from her as she pondered over with pure curiosity.

The small puddle had contained crystal-clear water; it was surrounded by a small patch of grass. The grass seemed quite fertile considering that it was spring time, the perfect time of year in Viridian Forest. She then noticed a small leaf which was floating in the center of the puddle, glancing at it for a moment before turning her head to the underbrush, the clearing suddenly became quite as Yellow strolled back over to her position. She then noticed what the forest was trying to tell her, it had become completely silent. The only noise that Yellow could hear was the small breaths of Chuchu and the nervous beatings of her heart.

Then the silent was broken, in a split second something appeared out of the bracken in front of them. It was a pokemon which seemed too familiar to the girl, glancing over at Chuchu who nodded. They wouldn't attack until Lance had appeared which seemed to be in a few moments after his dragonair's appearance.

The man had appeared out of a nearby bush, his bright, golden gaze gleamed in the sunlight as he glanced over at Yellow. Her eyes widened for a moment, clenching her fist, trying to calm her down. Lance smiled slightly, taking the small leave which was floating peacefully in the puddle below his feet. "The forest told you, didn't it?" He asked the young blond, who nodded curtly in response.

"Yes, the forest told me that it was going to be attacked…" She stated, glancing over at the man before continuing, "But that's what you'd expect from the gifted child of Viridian, now wouldn't you Lance?" She asked, a small smile appeared on her face as the man blinked in response. "Yes, I suppose Yellow." He replied before they both nodded, their pokemon taking their positions. "But now…" He stated before Yellow's eyes glinted with excitement, "I'm not going to hold back."

The dragonair then leapt at Chuchu, the electric-mouse pokemon jumped out of the way, evading the attack. "Quick Chuchu, use a thunderbolt attack!" She ordered as her pokemon nodded in response, producing a bolt of electricity from her crimson cheeks. The dragonair moved swiftly out of the way of the pokemon, evading its attack once more.

It seemed after all of these years that the two pokemon had gotten stronger, their strength were almost matched. The dragonair then leapt itself at Chuchu, ramming its tail against the pikachu as the pokemon flew into the air, unable to fight back as it was thrown against a nearby tree. Chuchu let out a small cry of pain, wincing out in pain as she blinked in response. "Chuchu…" Yellow muttered under her breath, glancing back at Lance who smiled slightly.

"I see your attacks still need some work Yellow." He said as Yellow glared back at the crimson-haired boy. "Be quiet Lance, I've defeated you before." But before the Elite Four member could reply, the battle had continued. Their pokemon's eyes gleaming with rage as Chuchu rammed her glowing tail against the dragonair's brow.

The dragon pokemon closed its eyes as it let out a small cry of agony, before falling backwards to recover from the move for a moment. The two pokemon's gazes locked for a moment, before they both began to pick up speed, running at each other as they gained momentum with every movement of their legs.

"Chuchu, now use a thunder attack!" Yellow yelled into the clearing, her pokemon nodding swiftly as the pokemon released another bolt of electricity from her red cheeks once more. The dragonair let out a screech; Chuchu stopped midway in the air as she winced out in pain, her ears twitched in discomfort.

The dragonair then let out a single, bright beam of light from its mouth. The pikachu, unable to react in time as the attack threw her against another tree. Her body began to show results of the battle, a few cuts and bruises began to appear on her skin.

Then, out of the blue, the electric mouse pokemon sat up. The two pokemon went at it again, throwing a salvo of attacks at each other. The pokemon dodging the attacks with grace, their eyes were gleaming with determination as Chuchu landed on her all fours.

"Pikachu pi!" she exclaimed, picking up the pace as Yellow and Lance nodded, their gazes were filled with anxiousness as Yellow clenched her fist. "Chuchu, attack quickly with another thunder attack!" she yelled into the clearing, Lance smiled slightly as he did the same, ordering his pokemon do make the same moves as Chuchu.

Yellow's eyes widened as she glanced over at Lance, who seemed to be smiling in satisfaction. "Yes, my pokemon can also learn the move thunder. Now, it will be a test to see which one is strong." he stated quickly, Yellow blinked as she turned her full attention back to the battle. Chuchu and Dragonair were running at each other, head on once more as they both released a huge amount of electricity from their bodies.

Once the attack collided, there was a huge explosion. The smoke clouded the young girl's vision as she closed her eyes for a moment, waiting for her vision to clear. Her eyes then widened with fear, noticing that Chuchu and Dragonair were knocked out, fainted from their final attack. Yellow then glanced across the clearing, noticing that Lance had disappeared.

"Lance, where did you go?" she asked herself, glancing around quickly before noticing something. In the puddle in which she was staring at before, the single, green leaf which was floating in the water was shining with some mystical power. Her hazel gaze rested on the sight for a few moments, before turning her head away from the mysterious sight. The young trainer then realized where Lance was, right behind her.

Lance smiled slightly, slipping his hand out of his cloak, which seemed to be same shade as the leaf. "Hello Yellow." He greeted the young girl, placing his glimmering hand on her brow. The young girl's eyes widened as she feel to her knees, beginning to feel overcome with exhaustion.

"W-What are you doing, Lance?" Yellow inquired, trying not sound over come.

"The curse of Viridian, I want the curse." He replied as Yellow blinked, unable to comprehend what the man was talking about. "I want the curse for my own, I only have the gift. I want it all for myself." Lance replied Yellow's eyes widened as her hand began to shake in discomfort. "Y-You know about the curse of Viridian?" She asked the man, who nodded in response.

"Yes, the curse which is passed down from generation to generation, but for some odd reason it was given to you. That's why everyone in Viridian City was so protective of you that are why they were afraid that day when you got lost in Viridian Forest. But it was the perfect opportunity to find you, to seek you out and to obtain the curse." He replied. Yellow nodded swiftly as she felt unable to move, or even speak as she was over come from shock.

Someone else knew about the curse. Not telling a single soul about the curse which was inflicted on her body. Her father hated her for it, detested it by all means by having the child of Viridian, the child of the cursed soul. The curse which was given to the child with the most power, at the time it seemed to select Yellow. But she was the only one in a long time who was inflicted with it, but now, it seemed that Lance was after it. He wanted it for a power, and only that, not wanting it to protect the forest, their only home.

Lance smiled in satisfaction, glancing down at Yellow who had seemed to have come over with shock that he had figured it out. "Yellow, you must show me "the true form"." he requested Yellow shook her head in response as her eyes were still wide with pure fear. "N-No, I can't it's forbidden to show anyone." She stated her hand began to tremble with more discomfort, wondering if someone was going to save her from this disaster.

"Fine, if you won't show me. Then I'll just have to unlock it."

"Please don't do it Lance…"

"It's all that I've ever wanted. I am your power for my own."

But before Yellow could protest anymore, Lance closed his eyes in deep concentration as he began to mutter the words under his breath. The words to activate the curse's true form, the form in which the user wasn't supposed to show anyone or else something bad might happen. Lance began to mutter the enchantment, letting Yellow's eyes close as if she was in a daze.

"By the power of the forest, let this life pass through
Let me see the true form of this creature
Let me see what this child has to show to show me
Let me see what you don't want anyone else to see
Let me know what the curse of Viridian truly is."

Lance chanted, Yellow was unable to protest, to even make a sudden move to stop this madness. But she had to obey; it was the way of the forest. The chant which unlocked the true form, the curse in which Yellow was afraid to show anyone else. The young girl opened her eyes; they changed into a dark navy, the color of rain which would drench the forest in the times of spring. But then, the next step was more painful as a single tear trailed down her cheek, into the ground as she couldn't do anything but cry.

Lance smiled, pulling his hand back to his side, falling backwards as Yellow looked down at ground. "Lance…" she whispered under her breath, not continuing on as she glared back at him, her gaze filled with hatred towards the man. The silence was broken as a harsh gust of wind rippled through the clearing as the clouds covered the sun's view. Yellow unable to stop what was going on; a single seal appeared on the girl's brow, the seal of Viridian. The seal was the lightest shade of green, it gleamed in the sunlight.

The wind continued to ripple violently through the clearing, then for a moment Yellow stood up, unable to speak as she felt over come by the feelings in her body. Only wishing that there was a way of stopping herself, but it was too late, this had to be done. This was the only way to protect the forest, she was the guardian of it and this was her only duty, to protect it with her life.

But then, the wind stopped suddenly, Lance's eyes widened as he realized what he had truly done. Wondering what would happen next as there was anther silence but this time, it was broken by a single, loud 'rip'. Two wings appeared out of Yellow's back, the wings which were fragile, the feathers almost looked like leaves as Yellow's eyes widened as she winced out in pain. This was the true form of the cursed child, the thing in which her father couldn't even look at.

Lance glanced at Yellow, her eyes were cold as ice as the final tear had feel from her eyes, almost noticing that there was something wrong with her. He knew that he had done something wrong, this power was too much for him to handle as he ran at the girl. Lance's golden, bright gaze gleaming with anticipation as he reached out for her brow. But there was no avail as he was stopped abruptly, feeling Yellow's tight grip on his wrist.

"Don't look at me, don't even touch me." Yellow stated her eye color went back to normal; her eyes were a deep hazel once more. She began to cry once more for a moment, her wings twitched with discomfort. Lance nodded swiftly, moving his hand back down to his side before clenching his fist. "Very well then Yellow…" he replied before noticing another dragonair which had appeared behind him. "But I still want your power…" He replied, his dragonair appeared beside him, its mouth open as it was ready to attack the young girl as it was trained to do.

"Please, don't hurt me."

Yellow could only reply as Lance smiled slightly, Dragonair nodded as it bit into one of the wings. There was a huge 'shatter' as Yellow's eyes widened, one of her wings was broken in half, it feel off as it shattered on the ground.

Lance caught gathered them, this was the true power of the curse, but she was still learning how to control it. "Perfect…" The man replied as Yellow closed her eyes, feeling as if parts of her mind were shattered as well. The young girl fell backwards, feeling quite light headed as she wondered what had just happened.

Lance smiled in satisfaction, disappearing into the darkness with Dragonair beside him; He had gotten what he had come for, the power of the curse.

Then she felt as if something had caught her, opening her eyes for a moment before the darkness as surrounded her view. She had slipped back into her normal form as she recognized the face, it was Red.

His dark brown gaze was filled with concern for the girl, almost as if he wanted to know what had just happened to her. But he was too overcome by sorrow, too overcome that he wasn't here to help Yellow in her times of need.

The only word in which he could whisper back in reply before Yellow blacked out in exhaustion:

"Yellow-chan…"