Shadows of a Hero

"The Ancient City of Tamari draws hundreds of tourists a day, including Liz and Company. The city is located in the serene northern mountains of the Sanrin region, and remains as one of the last reminders of the planet's peaceful past. But lately, Kris has been having strange dreams, as citizens begin to call into haunting and eternal sleep. Events begin to take a drastic turn for the worse, and all of the cities hope falls on Liz, Kris and Sierra. After this fateful vacation…things will never be the same."

Author's Note: So here's my story about Liz, Sierra, Kris and all of their friends! I enjoyed writing this story and I hope you do too! Just because I think it might be fun to try, I'll make a soundtrack for this story! A daring move indeed, and I'll share it with you soon. Pokémon does not belong to me, and the characters used belong to me or my friends respectively.

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CHAPTER I

A young girl with long, flowing blonde hair dashes across the open field of grass. She stops on top of a hill, looking over the valley around her. She takes in a deep breath of the clean air while enjoying the scenery around her. The sky glows a bright blue, shadowed only by the enormous mountain range that surrounds her. She turns around and shouts back to two other girls following behind her, "Guys, come look at this view! It's stunning!"

Taking a quick breath, the girl with short red hair sprints up beside her and gazes around as well. "That's Sanrin for 'ya, Sierra," she grins as the third girl catches up to them, with a Weavile right by her side. "I've seen pictures of Northern Sanrin before, but this beats any photograph," Liz continued as she stretches her arms behind her head.

The trio pause their journey as they stare in awe at the sheer beauty of their surroundings. The massive trees loom around the edges of the field and up the mountain sides. Wildflowers in every color the rainbow sway in rhythm across the landscape with the gently breeze. The sky is dotted with fluffy white clouds, casting their shadows that dance across the plains. The girl with the Weavile, Kris, finally breaks the serene silence, "We should keep moving. If this is the scenery, I can't wait to see the actual town!" she grins and motions for the three to move forward.

They climb down the hill and continue through the knee high grass. Wild Swellow and Taillow scatter into the air as they pass by. Just as Sierra points out a stray Manetric that is standing in their path, Kris' pokegear suddenly rings, startling the wild Pokémon back into the grass. Kris quickly pulls it out of her pocket with an embarrassing smile, "Hello?"

"Kris? This is Inca!! How are you!? " A familiar man's voice quickly speaks. Inca is a friend of Kris' from all the way back when she first began her Pokémon journey in the Johto region. They met briefly and became friends, and the two call each other to chat in their downtime. "You'll never guess where I'm headed!" he continues, and Kris asks him where. "Tamari Villa's Annual Summer Festival! Cool, right??"

Kris' face lights up, "Whoa, we're on our way there too! Where are you right now?" She begins to babble off, and Liz playfully rolls her eyes at Sierra.

"This'll be great," Liz sarcastically moans. Sierra giggles, and continues to wait to hear the rest of the news from Kris while she chats some more.

Kris hangs up the phone and smiles, "Inca and his friends are going to participate in the festival too, believe it or not!" The group continues walking as the conversation continues.

Liz clenches her fists and grins, "I can't wait to get my hands on that Tamari Cup…and now that I get to defeat Inca too, this will only keep getting better!" She literally can't hold in her excitement anymore, and skips ahead of the group, up the mountain path. Sierra and Kris quietly laugh to each other.

Liz abruptly stops dead in her tracks and gazes off into the brush in front of her. Sierra tries to call out to her but Kris immediately hushes her as the three of them stand in the dead silence of the forest, wondering what has caused their friend to freeze up. Liz lowers her voice to a menacing tone, and she reaches to her belt and to her poke balls, "Who's there? Show yourself!" At that moment a husky young man stumbles down the hill and skids to a halt in front of them.

"Hold on there, travelers…" He tiredly growls, regaining his composure. "State your purpose here."

Liz hesitates, but quickly thinks to herself why he would have just asked that. Ever since the ancient spirits of the earth have been disturbed, the balances between light and darkness have slowly begun to crumble away. Only until recently, or few days ago, have these events become a problem. Liz continues to recall that in a reading she studied that the balance of these forces is what prevents one of these forces becoming too powerful. She's heard threats of civil wars, violence breaking out, and many people were becoming afraid for their safety. Liz bravely speaks up, "We only want to get to Tamari. We're going for the battle tournament."

The man glares at them and clenches his fists. The forest falls eerily silent as Liz stares straight back at the man, her hand on her belt ready to act in case he decides to pick a fight. Sierra takes a step back as a cold chill shoots up her spine.

The man's hands relax and his gaze turns into an outgoing grin, "…are you lost?" Liz gives him her trademark mischievous grin. "I can lead you to Tamari, if that's what you want," he says.

Kris and Sierra fall back surprised as Liz confidently replies back, "We're not lost…but if you're willing to guide us…" As if the man could hear the lie in her voice, the four of them stand there in awkward silence.

Sensing the man is true to his word, Sierra speaks up and holds out her hand, her sparkling blue eyes beckoning him, "We'd love it if you could show us the rest of the way to Tamari. My name's Sierra!"

The young man calmly smiles, "I'm Benjamin, or Ben. Whatever you want to call me," he jokes, "nice to meet you," and returns her handshake. Ben ruffles his short dark orange hair, as his tall stature looms over them. His loose plaid shirt and denim shorts drifting gently in the breeze, he shakes hands with Liz and Kris as they shared their names as well. "I'm a tour guide in Tamari, seeing as how it's a great tourist destination. There are lots of sights to see, so I'm usually all over the place. Plus, I've come to know this area like the palm of my hand," he snickers at his own joke.

He starts to lead them in a different direction up the hill than where the girls were initially heading, implying they were going the wrong way in the first place. After a few minutes of hiking the steep hill, Ben speaks up, "Sorry I jumped all over you back there. With these new threats of violence out there now, and Tamari being somewhat of a last stronghold of peaceful cities, you can't be too careful." They nod in agreement. Ben continues, "I've spent all my life in Tamari…I couldn't live with myself if something happened there, especially if I could've prevented it."

Sierra feels empathetic for the young man, because at one point in her life her home town was threatened when she wasn't home to help defend it. The three follow him the rest of the way through the winding paths along the mountain. Just as they reach a small clearing near the top of the hill, a building begins to peer over the tree tops. Becoming enveloped with excitement, Sierra, Kris and Liz sprint the rest of the way to the top. There in front of them, at the bottom of the ravine, stood the thriving city of Tamari. "Wow…" Kris says under her breath.

"Welcome to Tamari!" Ben spreads his arms wide as he catches up to them, and grins as the four of them look out into the picturesque city. The large yet cozy town nestles itself between two lush green mountains while overlooking an enormous canyon. The buildings look like small white sculptures, and every part of the town that isn't paved into a road or walkway is dotted with flowers in every shape and in vibrant colors. "Now about where you'll be staying…" Ben inquisitively asks them, but gets no definite response. "Don't worry about that, I know the perfect place!" he once again laughs.

Ben leads them down the cliff and into the city. The trio's eyes bounce from building to building as they look in awe at the beauty of the city. They pass through the main town square of the city that is decorated beyond imagination. As if it they had just jumped into a fairy tale, the town is ornamented with lanterns and ribbons, balloons and merchants, trainers and Pokémon, and green gardens galore. As they continue through the city, every nook and cranny is built into some sort of small shop or bakery, and they are constantly greeted by smiling faces everywhere they go. They finally reach Ben's favorite hotel on the edge of town, the Spirit of Tamari, and he opens the lobby door for them in a gentlemanly manner. "I think you three will love it here, 'cause it has a splendid view of the surrounding mountains, not to mention it's the perfect spot in town to watch the sunsets," he smiles.

"O-oh!! I love it! I can't wait to check in," Sierra squeals at the sight of the beautiful chateau and crystal clean lobby.

The three of them bid farewell to the friendly Ben as he holds the door open for them when they walk inside. They approach the reception desk, and are happily greeted by the employee. They check out a room, receive their keys, and head down the hallway to put away their bags. As they toss their bags onto the fluffy beds, Liz's stomach growls, "I think it's time we find something to eat…!"

"Where do we even start? I can't believe how much there is to do here! And we haven't even seen half of the town yet," Kris smiles enthusiastically, clutching her stomach in agreement with Liz.

Deciding to go out and find a late lunch, they head out of the hotel and onto the streets of Tamari. After wandering around town for only a few minutes, the trio comes across a light and inexpensive café. With a unanimous vote, they go in and eat up on sandwiches and iced tea. They stuff their faces with the scrumptious food, leave a generous tip for their cute waiter, and then head back out into the city.

"Ah!" Liz sighs loudly, patting her satisfied stomach, "That hit the spot. Man, this city place is great!"Sierra quickly chimes in, "So where now? We can go back to the hotel…"

Kris and Liz both poke fun at her, "We came all the way to this city…just so you can lie lazily at the hotel?" They playfully laugh, knowing that Sierra only wants to watch the sunset there.

"I'm sure we'll be able to see it from anywhere in town. But first, we need to go to the square. It's supposed to be all lit up at night like a carnival, and that's when the real festivities begin!" Kris replies with a grin on her face.

At that statement Liz's face lights up with excitement, "Oh yeah! Quick, the sun's practically down right now, and I don't want to miss any moment!" She grabs Sierra and Kris by their arms and rushes off to the town square, which is now starting to light up, before they could say anything else.

They enter the massive center plaza, while Pokémon trainers and their partners are battling out of spirit. Children prance with novelty toys in their hands, and even some people show off their Pokémon in contest fashions. Merchants holler across the streets advertising their products and families pose for pictures in front of the various statues and scenery.

Liz, Kris and Sierra continue to walk around, still in awe at how beautiful yet dreamlike the town is, until a familiar voice from behind called for them. The three of the turn around and see Inca jogging towards them. He stops in front of them with a smile spread wide across his face, "So you guys made it! Awesome."

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