By Alexandria Francetic
All rights and credit belong to The Pokemon Company, Nintendo, and Game Freak.
Chapter One: Two Worlds Collide
In the depths of a grassy, dew-covered field walled by trees, in the wee hours of the morning, a tiny Pokemon crouched in the shrubery, its back covered in verdant grass and tiny pink flowers. It was Shaymin, the Gratitude Pokemon. It took a step out of a hollowed tree trunk, skittering through the forest. Every crackle and snap made the little Pokemon jump. It flashed its gaze all around, apparently certain that something was out to get it.
It rushed out into a small clearing, speeding to the edge of a pond. Suddenly, the ground shook with a loud bang, and the tiny creature quickly lifted its head. Just on the other side of the water, a gigantic blue dragon- or dinosaur-like Pokemon stood on four legs, covered in bits of sparkling steel. Strange streaks ran across its huge body, and a blue diamond was embedded in its chest. It leaned down towards the lake, gazing at its crystal-clear reflection. It was Dialga, the Temporal Pokemon, or Sinnoh`s ruler of time.
Dialga`s red eyes widened as a swirling black vortex materialized in the water. Just under the surface, it caught a glimpse of a huge creature streaking by. It began to grow closer and closer to the edge, until the massive monster emerged from the hole, its body cloaked in purple light. It appeared to be changing physically, its serpentine tail splitting into six legs.
Dialga let out a roar as the monster clamped onto its neck, dragging the huge Pokemon down into the hole. Cold, powerful winds began to churn, and Shaymin watched from afar, its tiny body shivering. Pokemon felt a chilly gust of wind fly underneath it, and it was quickly swept into the air, screaming and thrashing its stubby legs.
It felt a hard smack, only to discover it had latched onto the fan spreading from Dialga`s back. It let out a piercing screech of terror. Dialga and the mystery Pokemon thrashed and bit at each other, slamming into one another as they were pulled deeper into the churning vortex below.
Meanwhile, somewhere, shrouded in darkness, a young man dressed in a full-body yellow suit, with flared-out, bushy white hair swept over one of his golden eyes sat cross-legged in a nearly pitch-black chamber, illuminated by only the dim glow of a hologram. The hologram of a short woman in a bizarre, circular dress.
"Giratina has captured Dialga and is returning to the Reverse World," the hologram said. "They won`t make it, Infi," the young man growled. "Find the next point of appearance." Infi nodded. "As you wish, Zero," she replied.
At the same time, Giratina dragged Dialga down into an enigmatic world, dotted with small grassy islands and floating orbs. It seemed to stretch on infinitely in all directions. Giratina`s body morphed back into its serpentine shape and slammed Dialga down into one of the islands, erupting a cloud of dust.
Shaymin held on for dear life onto Dialga`s fan, its little heart pounding. Dialga slammed into Giratina`s chest, shoving the giant Pokemon into the air and sending Shaymin flying down to another island below, the miniature Pokemon scrabbling to its feet.
A heavy breeze swept over Shaymin as Giratina streaked by, staring down Dialga. Out of nowhere, a huge cloud of misty purple smoke blew through, right into Shaymin`s face. It began coughing and hacking on the odd haze, until the pink flowers attached to it began to glow, swallowing up the layer of mist as the flowers turned a deep black.
Giratina soared above the islands and spit out a ball of flaming energy, sending it crashing down inches away from where Shaymin stood. The little Pokemon was flung off the hovering strip of land, and it screamed as Giratina appeared to be rushing right for it.
Shaymin squeezed its eyes shut, and its flowers started to glow, radiating with a bright light. The flash of light then exploded into a huge burst of energy, tearing open a hole in the strange dimension. Shaymin flailed around as it was sucked out of the portal, crashing into a river below.
Meanwhile, inside the darkened chamber, Zero`s eyes got huge. "What was that?" he gasped. "That was not the work of Giratina," Infi explained. An image of Shaymin squirming in the river flashed on-screen. "It appears that Shaymin created a portal." The image suddenly flashed back to Dialga and Giratina. "Dialga is entering the new opening," she explained.
Just before leaving, Dialga whirled around and spit a gaping beam of energy from its mouth, slamming into Giratina. The Pokemon reeled back, screeching out in pain as electricity pulsed over its body. With its chance sealed, Dialga rushed through the portal and soared off into the skies above, only to vanish. "Dialga has returned to the Real World and has disappeared," Infi piped up. "Now Giratina is approaching."
Giratina rushed towards the portal, but it suddenly stopped in its tracks, inches away from the hole. It was pushed back, and every time it flew back up, it smashed into some invisible wall and was sent back even further. The creature let out a roar of confusion.
"After coming into contact with Dialga, Giratina seems unable to leave the Reverse World," Infi said. "Time is now running in an infinite loop around Giratina." Zero`s bright eyes flashed. "A time loop," he muttered. "Dialga must`ve done something to Giratina."
Meanwhile, Shaymin was sent flying down the raging river, squirming and flailing as it was thrown over a small waterfall, battered by waves at every angle.
Afterwards, Ash Ketchum rushed up a flight of stairs, his Pikachu perched on his shoulder. "Finally, it`s lunchtime!" he cheered. Dawn and Brock stood at the top of the stairs with their Pokemon. "It`s all ready!" Brock announced.
Ash wasted no time taking a seat and grabbing a fork, reaching for a plate of pancakes. Brock stepped foward and stopped him. "Hold it! Did you wash your hands?" Ash smiled and held up his hands. "Yup, clean as a whistle!" he cheered. They weren`t. In fact, they were covered in some black stuff that came from God knows where.
"You should always wash your hands before you eat!" Dawn snapped, making an example by washing her own hands under a faucet. Ash shrugged. Since when are you my mother? he thought. "Pika..." Pikachu sighed.
Brock placed out bowls of Pokemon food, and the legion of creatures quickly rushed up and began chowing down. "Alright, now it`s our turn!" Ash cheered. He turned over to the table, but only a suprised gasp escaped his mouth. A filthy little Shaymin was perched on the picnic table, chomping down the plate of pancakes.
Pikachu eyed the creature curiously, and Piplup tried to pull a pancake out of Shaymin`s mouth. Shaymin shook its body, releasing a plume of dust. It bounced off Ash`s head and leapt down onto the small stove below, knocking to the ground with a clatter.
A huge puff of black smoke billowed out in Shaymin`s face, and Ash and his friends watched as the tiny Pokemon swallowed the smoke into its body, and its once-pink flowers turned black again. Its body began to glow, and it expelled a burst of energy, sweeping the team off their feet.
When the dust settled, Piplup was the first to react. It leapt off the table and fixed Shaymin with an icy gaze. The other Pokemon gathered around as well, glaring at the Pokemon with angry eyes. Dawn threw her arms up. "Everyone, stop!" she shouted. "The poor thing`s terrified!" She scooped up Shaymin and carried it in her arms, washing it over the spray of running faucet water.
She wrapped a towel around the Pokemon and said, "Okay, you`re all clean now."
"That felt really nice," Shaymin squeaked in a high-pitched, feminine voice. "Although it was a little chilly." Even though it spoke with perfect enounciation, its lips did not move once.
"What`s that?!" Dawn gasped. "It`s telepathy!" Brock shouted. Ash peeked over at the little creature. "Where`d ya come from?" he asked. Shaymin pointed over into the distance. "From over there," it replied. "It`s a little past here...then you head over there..."
Its voice seemed to be trailing off. "Is it okay?" Ash asked. Dawn rubbed her hand over Shaymin`s head, and the Pokemon felt like it was on fire.
"It`s burning up!" she gasped. "It has a fever! We`ve got to get it to the Pokemon Center!" Ash nodded. "Let`s hurry!" he shouted.
After what felt like an eternity, Shaymin peeled open its tired eyes to find itself in a Pokemon Center, lying on a gurney surrounded by flickering, humming screens and machines. "Where...where am I?" it croaked. "You`re in the Pokemon Center," Dawn explained.
Nurse Joy turned away from her computer screen and nodded. "That`s right," she said. "It`s the Gratitude Pokemon, Shaymin. It`s awfully tired, but everything`s just fine!"
Dawn leaned down and smiled at the little Pokemon. "Nurse Joy made you all better," she chirped. "Oh, please, I never need healing!" Shaymin scoffed. "But I`m hungry!"
Dawn turned and reached into her bag, pulling out a tiny treat that looked much like a cookie. "I made some Poffins, would you like one?" she asked in the nicest, most motherly voice she could muster. Shaymin`s eyes lit up. "Oh, thanks!" it cheered as it snatched up the Poffin in its mouth.
After a long pause, it continued, "Oh, well. It tastes okay." Ash leaned down and glared at the tiny Pokemon. "You`re not that grateful at-"
Before he could finish, Shaymin spit a puff of smoke in his face. He coughed on the coarse dust. His mind suddenly lit up. "Hey, I remember now!" he shouted. "It sucked up all the smoke from our stove and it exploded!"
Nurse Joy waggled her finger. "It`s a technique called 'Seed Flare,'" she explained. "The Shaymin will absorb polluted air and separate it into light and water in its body. Then it casts it out in a huge explosion. There was once a Shaymin who destroyed an entire forest with its Seed Flare! You`re lucky your stove wasn`t very toxic!"
Shaymin nodded. "I am pretty amazing," she chirped. "And now you all owe me a big thank you!"
"What?!" Ash yelled. "Seriously!?" Shaymin turned and glared at him. "You are going to take me to the Flower Garden, right?" The team stared at the creature in confusion. "Pika?" Pikachu muttered. "What Flower Garden?" Ash asked.
Nurse Joy smiled. "For the flower bearing, of course," she said. "Every year, Shaymin gather in a Flower Garden and take off into the sky. A new garden grows wherever they decide to stop."
"My friends are waiting for me!" Shaymin snapped, bouncing on Ash`s head. "Now, take me there!" Ash crossed his arms angrily. "I thought you could fly!" he shouted. "I can, but not now," Shaymin replied. "Now hurry up already!" Dawn stepped foward and petted the little Pokemon. "It`s okay, we`ll take you," she reassured it. Ash sighed. "Ugh, do we have to? Why do I have the feeling I`m not gonna like this?"