Pokémon: Darkness in Orre
For a time, Orre lived in peace after Cipher was disbanded permanently. Everyone could live in peace, not to worry about the dangers of the Shadow Pokémon, whos heart are artificially closed. Now, the threat has returned as a new syndicate called Team Darkness has risen. Not only do they create Shadow Pokémon, but also turn their trainers into Dark Trainers, people possessed by the syndicate who will do anything to spread fear across the land, even attack Pokémon and their trainers themselves. No one is safe from the Dark Trainers' attacks, not even the legends of the planet.
Now, four heroes from other lands must come together to take down Team Darkness. The fate of Orre, maybe the galaxy, rests on their shoulders. It all starts in Sandgem Town....
Chapter 1: Darkness Rising
"No, I won't let you control it!"
"Silence, boy! Now, my god, make this pest of an Aura Guardian vanish forever!"
"No!!! Don't do it, Arceus!!!!"
Mat woke from his sleep in a hurry. This was the fifth nightmare he had in a row ever since returning to Sandgem Town, where he originally had lived. He was visiting with Dawn, who had finally turned 13 years of age. Tomorrow, he would return to Pallet Town for quite a time.
"Man, another dream like that," he said to himself. "Somehow, it's like these dreams are trying to tell me something... something important."
The next morning, he ran to Twinleaf Town, hoping to say goodbye before departing. When he got there, he saw Dawn, but she was backed up against a wall. A trainer holding a black Poké Ball was walking toward her. Without hesitating, Mat ran and stopped in between them.
"Alright, pal! What's the big idea, cornering my girl like that?" Mat snapped.
The guy let out a small chuckle, which then became insane, uncontrollable laughter. He tossed his Poké Ball, releasing a Salamence. It was a Dragon-type and was a very formidable opponent to any trainer. But to Mat, any Dragon Pokémon wasn't much of a problem.
"Ok, I'll put you in your place! Come out, my friend!" Mat said, tossing a Poké Ball too.
The Pokémon that Mat called out was a Lucario, one who had been with him for a long time. It was his first Pokémon when it was a Riolu, which he had rescued from the defeated Team Galactic.
"Lucario, show this guy who he's dealing with! Dragon Pulse!"
Lucario fired a blast of dragonic power at Salamence. The dragon-like Pokémon took the attack head-on. Its body glowed with a strange power as it charged at the Dragon Pulse and stopped it with ease. Then Salamence did the same and attacked Lucario with full force.
"Aah, Lucario!"
What was that attack it used?" Dawn asked.
"I..... I don't know. If it can stop Dragon Pulse, then it must be something powerful."
The crazed trainer continued laughing like a maniac. He then revealed some kind of machine on his arm. In his hand, there was another black Poké Ball.
"Is he doing what I think he's doing?!" Dawn cried.
"Not on my watch!" Mat said.
Before the trainer could throw, someone came up from behind and grabbed his arm. It was Prof. Rowan.
"All right, you. What do you think you're planning to do with that Poké Ball?" he sternly asked the trainer.
The trainer just gave a wicked smile and threw a hard punch to the professor's stomach. He fell to his knees in pain. The guy just kept laughing as he turned back toward Mat and Dawn.
"Hahahahahahaha, burn them down with Dragonbreath!" he commanded.
Salamence opened its mouth and aimed right at Dawn. Energy began to build up as it prepared to attack. Mat got in its way and readied himself.
"You realize you're messing with an Aura Guardian?!"
Dragonbreath was unleashed. Before it reached them, Mat formed a barrier of Aura around himself, blocking the attack. When the attack finished, the trainer called his Pokémon back and ran off. Something of his was left behind. It looked like the machine he was about to use before Prof. Rowan stopped him. He took it back to the lab where the professor and his assistants studied it. So far, nothing.
"Hmmm.... we may need to call Professor Oak about this," Rowan suggested.
"Good idea. Lucky I remember the number for his lab."
Mat walked over to a video phone and dialed in the number for Oak's Lab. Instead, it was Tracey who picked it up. Mat showed him the machine they found and asked if Samuel was there.
"Sure, he's just outside. I'll go get him for you."
Professor Oak rushed to the phone in a hurry. He seemed to be excited of hearing from them.
"Is there something I can help you two with?" he asked.
"Yeah, there was this guy who was stalking Dawn and tried to attack us. He had this strange machine on his arm. Do you you what it is?"
"I'll need to see it in person so I can try to figure out what it is. You and Dawn should come back to my lab."
"What a coincidence!" Mat said. "I'm due back to Pallet Town anyway. We'll be there by tomorrow, ok?"
The trip overseas was quite smooth this time. Normally, the ferry had to cut through some powerful waves to get across from Sinnoh to Kanto. Though it did feel nice to have a relaxing ride this time. In fact, it made them drowzy.
"Hopefully, I won't have that dream again," Mat said, climbing under the covers.
Unfortunately, he did have the exact same dream again. Again, the mystery figure in control of the god Arceus. This time, the dream went in a different direction. Three more Pokémon were in it: Dialga, the controller of time, Palkia, the controller of space, and Giratina, guardian of the Distortion World.
"What? Three more?"
Below the other three legends, there were three other figures. They all pointed at him. Dialga, Palkia, and Giratina all aimed and fired an attack at the same time. But before the attacks reached him, one of the figures ran at him and grabbed his shoulders.
Mat woke up in a hurry and surprised someone. It was Misty. She had a different outfit this time, a lot similar to her mermaid costume. Max was there too. He was a little taller than last they met. Dawn was surprised to see them too.
"What are you two doing here?" Mat asked.
"Max and I wanted to explore the Sinnoh region," Misty responded. "My sisters returned from their trip and resumed being the gym leaders of Cerulean, so I began travelling again. Max finally became of age and began his journey. He's got four Pokémon already."
"So you're done your trip?"
"Actually, we got a problem on our hands."
Mat explained about the trainer that attacked them and that they needed to go to Oak's Lab to find out what the machine was. Misty was a little concerned about this, because her and Max were also attacked by a trainer who used a Pokémon with an unknown move.
"So you also were victims of that guy?" Dawn asked.
"Yeah. That Salamence of his took down my Jolteon easily." Max said.
"Somehow, this must connect to those nightmares I've been having."
"Nightmares?" Misty asked.
"All of the same thing. This can't be a mere coincidence. I feel something's up...... something big. We'll have to talk it over with Professor Oak when we get there."
Arriving in the Kanto region, the group of four traversed back to Pallet Town and walked up to Oak's Lab. Tracey and the professor were waiting for them at the front door. They wanted to see the machine that Mat wore on his arm when they travelled back. Mat explained the nightmares and the attack while the machine was studied. It had some kind of special power source, one that once shown, gave off a negative vibe that only Mat felt. It made him quiver.
"What the?! What is that?!" Mat snapped suddenly.
"It's just as I feared. I know what this really is," said Prof. Oak.
"What is it, professor?"
"This is a Snag Machine, a weapon that turns ordinary Poké Balls into Snag Balls."
"Snag Balls?" Dawn asked, scared to know what they were.
"You know how a Poké Ball can only catch wild Pokémon and not ones that belong to a trainer already, right? Well, a Snag Ball is an evil Poké Ball that can actually steal Pokémon from other trainers, but this power source here..... this isn't a regular Snag Machine."
"That power source gave off some kind of dark energy when you opened it. You think it had something to do with how that guy was behaving?"
"Who knows, Mat? But what I do know is that whatever created this power source isn't man-made. The four of you will have to find the creator of this Snag Machine and gather more information from there."
"Where do we go, Professor?" Max asked.
"To Orre, a region made from a wasteland. There is hardly any wild Pokémon living there because the ecosystem was practically destroyed a long time ago, making most of it an almost unsurvivable desert. I don't know the exact location of where this was manufactured, but it is somewhere in Orre. The only way there is to board a delivery boat since ferries do not travel in its direction."
"Then that is exactly where I'm heading," Mat said, picking up the Snag Machine and smashing the power source. "Without that thing fueling the machine, it should be safe to wear, right?"
Mat walked out of the lab, carrying the machine. Misty and Max followed him out.
"Mat, you can't do this alone. You saw that Salamence's power, right? Imagine what might happen to other Pokémon if they are exposed to it!" Misty said.
"So you're saying you also want to stop this too, huh?" Mat replied.
Max then stepped in. "Yeah!"
"Then it's agreed. We all go to Orre and stop this new threat! By the way, where's Dawn?"
Dawn walked out, wearing a new set of clothing. A small blue vest with two hearts, her white top from underneath her old black dress, and now she had a longer skirt similar to her old one that extended more from the back, and also had a heart on it. Her hair and new garb sparkled in the setting sun, presenting her new beauty to the world. Mat, Misty, and Max were amazed as she approached them, elegent as a princess.
"Sh-sh-she's a goddess!" Mat let slip out his thoughts.
"Sorry if I took so long. My mom just sent this and it took a while to get on properly."
"Anyways," interrupted Misty, "we should find that delivery boat. We'd have no choice but to stow away on it."
"Did I miss something?" Dawn asked.
"We're all heading to the Orre region to put a stop to whatever's going on. You coming?"
"Of course! I've been completely bored and never got to go anywhere."
They all high-fived together and ran off to the port to head for Orre.
Next time on Darkness in Orre
"So this is the Orre region," Mat said as they got off the boat to Gateon Port, the first step in their new quest.
"So where do we go first?" Dawn asked.
"No idea, Dawn."
Before they could move on, a lanky man with a purple long-sleeved shirt and disco pants came up from behind and spun Mat around, grabbing the Snag Machine he held. The guy had a white and red afro and gold shades. Two more guys who looked like thugs surrounded Dawn and the others. They had been ambushed.
"Tell me, are any of you here to steal more Pokémon for those psychotics again?" said the lanky man.
"What psychotics? We just got here from overseas."
"Is that so? Well, then I'll be glad to give you the welcoming party, courtesy of Miror B. and his Shadow Pokémon!"
"Shadow Pokémon?!" Mat snapped.
