Disclaimer: I don't own pokémon or anything associated with it. This fanfiction is written purely for the enjoyment of the author and the entertainment of fellow fans. The only things in this story that I own are Stormie, StormEye, and Arashichu. Please e-mail me if you want permission to use them. All chapter quotes were taken either from favorite books of mine, or from the book The Greatest Thoughts of All Time (In Two Lines or Less).

Author's Notes: Not much to say before you start reading it. I've been writing chapters far in advance, so expect weekly updates (every Friday, if all goes well.)

~Z~ Darkness Doesn't Cast a Shadow ~Z~

Chapter One: Fair Warning

"For many men that stumble at the threshold

are well foretold that danger lurks within."

--William Shakespeare

The signs all said it was coming.

I'm not talking about the signs that are situated on the side of the road, so straight and perfect and ugly, stating simply and in formal black lettering what to do and where to go. I'm talking about those little quirks in life, the ones everyone takes for granted and then regrets it.

But why regret that you did not notice them? Are you actually expected to take note of these trivial idiosyncrasies? And even if you do, are you supposed to know what they mean? Can you somehow twist away from your fate, or does it loom against the horizon of your life, written in fixed stone?

I want you to judge for yourself.

::=*=::

That morning, the sky was stained with the blood of the sun shredding at the orange-tinged cloud billows for the right to blaze in the sky, and when I opened my eyes, the crimson glowing above like red hot coals was blurred and intense. Two streams of sodden fur stemmed from my eyes, and a fearful dream was winking at me vaguely as it dissipated off into the sea of the forgotten. Blinking away a teary curtain of waving water out of my vision, I rotated my eyes upwards to be greeted by a multihued sky smiling down at me. I smiled back.

The sharp arms of tree branches tore sinister at the young and tender sky colors, but the mood of the morning somehow remained harmless and soft in its beauty.

The innocence of that morning lingers sadly in my memory, and it always will.

I jolted myself awake with a zapping of static surge from my cheeks, and then trotted over to Ash, affectionately pressing my sparsely furred electricity conductors against his own unusual cheek-marks. I had always seen those jagged symbols as an indication that he belonged with Pikachus like myself, and I wondered at times if his links to my kind went any deeper than that.

"Chuu-uuu, chuuu…." I purred into his ears and nudged him with my damp button nose, coiling my crooked tail around his face and trying to get him to rouse from his deep slumber. But his sleep-sound, a (usually) quiet, grating noise, did not cease or lessen, and I soon decided that grumpy, groggy company would be worse than near-silent companionship.

"Chaa." I sighed in defeat, curling back up into a tight ball in the crook of Ash's arm and letting my eyes wander as they wished.

Rustle…rustle, rustle rustle….

The bushes around us trembled wildly and I leapt up as, with a crackling that resembled that of an inferno eating at the air, a gigantic shadow stepped into the clearing.

"Pika!" I startled at the intruder. It remained in place, emitting a rumble from the depths of its chest. I studied it warily, confident enough to let my guard down the slightest flicker.

An intense red-orange coat was tarnished with serrated black stripes that shot dazzling up its fur in different designs, like the kind of patterns that lightning makes when it's really angry. A cream-colored mane and tail that could easily be mistaken for licks of flame swept out behind its head and body, and also from its ankles. Crimson eyes peered wise into the depths of my existence.

"~What are you doing here, noble one?~" I cried out to him, addressing him in the traditional way of regard towards strangers. My voice was still livid, but I couldn't help but let it slacken in respect.

"~Relax, rodent.~" He bared his gleaming teeth in a grin, and I could feel my fur bristle as his lithe muscles tensed beneath his shaggy red fur. His smile was genuine, but beneath it, in his eyes, I could see mazes of deceit.

"~And why should I?~" My fur shot up like needles, and I flashed some teeth.

"~You are far too mistrustful of your own kind. I am only here to deliver a message--an advertisement if you will--and nothing more.~"

I took note of the leather pouches strapped to his back. "~Do so if you must.~"

"~Your humans are still asleep?~"

"~My friends? Yeah.~"

"~Can I trust you to give this to them?~"

"~It depends.~" I snarled. I still didn't trust him. I had hardly a reason not to, but I was getting warning signals from my sharpened intuition shooting out from everywhere.

He reached his massive head behind him as I approached one of his paws, which was nearly as large as me. He bent his head back towards me in a moment, a piece of paper clenched delicately in his teeth.

"~Just give this to them, okay? If they're pokémon trainers--which they must be since you're around--they should like it.~"

The paper twirled down after he released it from his grip, and settled in silence at my feet.

"~So, rodent, are you going to give it to them or not?~"

Electricity crackled from my cheeks, and I threw an overcast glance at the smirking Arcanine. "~Stop calling me rodent or you'll regret it!~"

"~Fine. But answer my question.~"

With utmost care, I picked up the paper in my paws. The letters swam across the page, all swirling together in my misunderstanding of the written human language. Only one word remained legible to me, an illiterate Pikachu. The word, 'Gym.'

My ears twitched. "~I suppose I will.~" I tried not to look curious and allowed my gaze to turn icy. "~I don't want you hovering around any more, though. I don't trust you.~"

"~Hummph. Don't kid yourself. I have better things to do than hang around a puny Pikachu… especially one with your attitude problem.~" With that he turned and bounded off back into the brush, branches rattling behind him.

"Pi." I snuffed. I was still on edge, though, and as I held the notice close to my chest, I heaved a sigh and felt a tremble cascade through my body. Why had I been so tense lately? Normally, I would have been sociable, tried to make friends with a fellow pokémon, but today…

Ash was the first human in our little group awake for once. I think that maybe he caught on to my nervous vibes (he does that sometimes) because the first thing he garbled when he opened his eyes was "Pikachu, was someone here during the night or something…? I thought I heard some voices."

"~Good morning.~" I greeted him. "~Yes, someone was here. He was an Arcanine and he gave me--~"

Ash's cloudy brown eyes snapped open. "Did you say an Arcanine?"

"~Yes, but--~"

"Was it a wild one?! Where'd it go?!" Ash jumped up, still clad in his sleeping bag, glancing all over the place like a paranoid Rattata. "Pikachu, where is it?!"

"~He left a long time ago.~" I replied, blinking. "~And I don't think he was wild either.~"

"Awww…" Ash groaned, slumping back on to the leaf-littered ground.

"~Anyway…. He gave me this.~" I plunked the slip of paper in his lap, and watched in silence as he scanned the black lettering with his eyes. For a while, the whole world seemed to hold its breath. Even the singing wind that had been sweeping over our campsite halted. Maybe it was as curious as I was.

All in a frayed second, Ash Ketchum, my trainer and best friend, turned from a (relatively) normal kid into a crazed bundle of enthusiasm. If you knew Ash Ketchum, you would know he gets that way when he's excited.

His eyes and his smile overwhelmed his face, and, before I could flick an eye, he had tossed his fist into the air, just barely whooshing past my stomach. "Yeeeeah!" He whooped, just about loud enough to wake a Snorlax.

"Chaa!" I squealed, diving out of the way at just the right moment. "~Ash! What is it that could be so exciting that you would almost clobber me?~" I reprimanded, then pointedly gestured over to where Misty and Brock had been unwillingly awakened by his yelling.

"Ash…" Misty groaned, peeping out from half-lidded eyes at her hyperventilating friend. She yawned. "What's the fuss all about? What time is it?"

Brock nodded sleepily to acknowledge his questions were the same. "Yeah, Ash. What's going on?"

It was at that moment Ash turned back into his normal self. Or at least close enough for the record. Since most of the questions had queried for the same thing, he answered those ones. I think he would have answered that question even if we hadn't asked it.

"A new gym just opened! And it's right nearby!" Ash tumbled those last sentences out so fast that they were pretty much indecipherable, but we caught enough of the jumble to piece together what he meant.

"And lemme guess, you want to go challenge the new gym leader," Misty stated bluntly.

"~Of course he does!~" I agreed. I have to admit, a quick buzz of excitement raced through my veins, too.

"Of course I do!" Ash grinned, and I could tell he was restraining himself from bouncing back up again.

He wriggled himself out of his sleeping bag (finally) and groped around for his hat, which he soon located and enthusiastically shoved over his chaotic black hair.

"Well Ash…we really should go stock up on Potions if you're going to challenge a gym leader," Brock pointed out, but Ash was unfazed.

"Aww, c'mon, my pokémon and I will be fine! I wanna go straight there! Anyway, we haven't had a battle for a while now. They're probably all rested up by now." Ash beamed down at me, but I wasn't so sure… Again with that intuition thing.

"Where is this gym anyway?" Brock questioned.

"Umm," Ash snatched up the notice, nearly crumpling it in the process, and answered, "…Lavender Town."

Misty slapped herself on the forehead, moaned, and plopped back onto her pillow all at the same time as he said that. "Remind me why I'm still traveling with you guys?"

"~The bike?~" I cocked my head and suggested wryly, tail quivering. Ash shot me an instant death glare.

Misty's face turned a kind of reddish color when I said that. Out of remembrance of past anger or embarrassment or what I honestly don't know, but I was just barely holding onto my sanity by now so I sparked my cheeks in warning.

I think she got my clue, because, in a very un-Misty-like fashion I must add, she shrugged it off and said, "Ohhh yeah," while turning redder all the while. But I caught that glower she sneaked at Ash. That glower seemed to promise a later argument when I wasn't around to roast them as a scolding.

Ash just blinked at Misty in disbelief that she had forgotten. He shot me a joking glare for reminding her. Had I glared at Misty, it would have been a lopsided triangle of glares.

Meanwhile, Brock was oblivious to the anger that was emanating from behind his back. Or maybe he was just ignoring it. I'll opt for the latter, and if so, he was smart for it.

"Ash…you know that we're just outside of Vermilion, right?" He asked.

"Yeah…." Ash replied, raising his eyebrows.

Misty's face was turning a more normal color by now and she sat back up to pay attention to our traveling plans.

"Well…you know that Lavender is about…well…about a five or six day walk from here if we move at our normal pace, right?"

"Yeah…." Ash repeated. His eyebrows lifted near into his hairline.

Misty crossed her arms and let out a huff. "Aaash, don't tell me you plan on hiking that all today…."

Ash beamed. "You bet I do!"

I wasn't so sure what his motive for going so fast was, but I agreed with a quick "~Okay…!~" nonetheless. Misty voiced my concerns for me shortly.

"Why can't we just take it slow for once…?" She sighed, but soon turned away, deciding the argument wasn't worth it if she was going to lose.

"Because if I'm going to be the World's Number One Pokémon Master…" Ash replied anyway, starting his famous lines of determination.

I listened intently to his little speech, but Misty and Brock ignored it and started packing. I figure that's okay because by now they've probably got it memorized. I know I do, but I believe I've got to stick by Ash when no one else is going to.

When he was finished talking, he too begin to pile his stuff into his backpack, and at this point I drifted into boredom and considered asking Misty if she would let Togetic out for me to play with. However, as I was on my way to requesting Togetic's presence, I felt a sharp prickle in my paw.

"Chuu cha." I muttered, gingerly lifting my wounded appendage and inspecting it. I discovered a thorn imbedded in a bloody crevice in between two of my toes, and I took immediate action in gnawing it out.

Meanwhile, I was oblivious to the fact that Ash, Misty, and Brock had already set off on the trail.

I didn't hear him coming. I nearly jumped out of my skin when I realized he was standing there, half-swathed in shadow.

He was an Ivysaur, but his coloring was an inky olive and I couldn't see his face due to the fact that it was overthrown by the shade of the trees.

"Pi!" I squeaked in surprise, jolting upwards when I first saw him. However, when I realized he was nothing but a fellow pokémon, I apologized. "~Oh! I'm sorry. I didn't know you were there.~"

He backed farther into the gloom when he realized I was looking at him. He fidgeted, directing the contour of his face away from my eyes.

"~Don't go.~" He whispered in a harsh, deep voice. His tones were solemn and forbidding, like the waters of a treacherous swamp at night.

"~Pik. Don't go…where?~" I was thoroughly creeped out, but I felt it would be rude to show it, so I just blinked at his hazy figure and tilted my ears. Thinking back on the early morning's incident with the Arcanine, I didn't know why I had acted so…neurotic… towards him. Maybe I was just grumpy. If that was the case, I had gotten over it by now and I was very concerned with my manners towards other pokémon.

"~Don't go with your trainer. He wants to challenge that gym leader. You're going to regret it if you do.~"

"~But I'm loyal to--~"

"~Just don't do it. Trust me, I know.~"

I shook my head. "~I can't do that.~"

The Ivysaur remained silent.

It was then that the sun chose to burst out from behind the gauze of the cloud cover, and I was shown a reality that stunned me.

The shadows stretched away from his face, retreating for cover further in the brush. I gasped as he stood before me, fully revealed.

A livid scar twisted across his face, cutting through one absent eye and distorting his nose. A vacant eye socket stared back at me, and his remaining eye gazed into my own eyes, reflecting fear and horror in such extremes that I winced and tried to pry my eyes away.

Much of his body was torn and blackened with the dried blood of old wounds, and the half-budded flower perched upon his back was wilted and dark with decomposition.

He looked horribly uncomfortable as he muttered, "~I…have to go….~" With a last lingering look he turned and slouched away, his gait shuffling and strained.

"Pi…ka…" I peeped, my nose twitching, as I watched his form hobble away into the brush with a rustle. At that point I sped off towards Ash, thumping on to his shoulder after a fantastic leap. He patted me on the head to acknowledge he knew I was there, then continued concentrating on the path ahead.

"Chuu." I murmured, spiraling my gaze up into the sky, where the clouds were fleeing from the cheery azure. Perhaps if I would have seen a tempest flinging water down at the earth, thunder roaring in the background, I would have heeded the Ivysaur's advice, but the sun was flashing and the sky was clearing and life was good and I loved Ash too much to let him down.

I told him nothing of the Ivysaur's alert.

Looking back on that day, I wish I had. Oh, how I wish I had…

::=*=::

Author's Notes: Well, there you go. Kind of boring, admittedly, but you can't expect all that much from this prologue, since its only purpose is to set up the rest of the story. I'm going to put a few things right here that you might want to know about the story:

Character Ages:

Ash-15

Misty-15

Brock-19

Pikachu-???

Time Frame: Takes place in between the time Ash gets his 8th and final Johto badge and the beginning of the Silver Convention (the Johto League Championships.) Ash-tachi are traveling around Kanto to try to pick up some extra pokémon for the tournament and to kill time. Yes, I am aware that they do not go back to Kanto at this time, but I felt it a good place to set the story.

Please review, I want to know what everyone thinks!