A/N: Thank you for clicking on this story! I hope you enjoy!

This story is my entry for Empress Empoleon and The Light's Refrain's fifth challenge on the PokeWrite Forum. The challenge was to write an one-shot of at least 1000 words based off of mythology. I choose to use A Horrific Myth, a Sinnoh story about the Lake Guardians.

Disclaimer: I don't own Pokémon or the picture used as cover.

Downfall

their goals would prove to be their downfall

On a certain day, three kids with big dreams set out on a journey.

The one who would later be considered the hero, he was the one with the biggest dreams and the strongest will. And as his name predicted, he would indeed shine the brightest of the three friends.

His downfall would be the deepest.

The second one didn't start a journey out of desire to be the strongest. He claimed to, but the true motivators behind his decision were his feelings. He did it out of love, out of enthusiasm, out of fear – out of the desire not to be separated from his friend. His emotions led him and they would bring him close to the highest point.

And lead him down to almost the lowest.

The one who remained was the only girl of the three. She didn't want to be the best, or the most loved- she wanted to know. Her thirst for knowledge was insatiable, and it would bring her a long way.

It would also force her back down on that way.

Look not into the Pokémon's eyes.

In but an instant, you'll have no

recollection of who you are.

Return home, but how?

When there is nothing to remember?

The water wasn't frozen, Dawn noted with interest. With the snow covering the ground and the temperature below the freezing point, it was slightly surprising. But, she reasoned, the Pokémon in the water probably prevented the lake from freezing over.

She released her Empoleon, and secured herself to its back as soon as it was in the water. The wind blew colder and harder now they were out on the open of the water, and Dawn pulled her scarf closer around her neck. Fortunately they weren't bothered by wild Pokémon, and the girl suspected that they had gone to the deeper parts of the lake to avoid the cold. It hadn't been one of her brightest ideas to go to Lake Acuity in the winter.

With a smile and a nod she thanked her starter after it had dropped her off on the small island. After recalling her Empoleon, Dawn made her way inside the dark cave. Her flashlight flickered to life, enlightening her path.

It was slightly warmer in the cave, now she was away from the cutting wind. Puddles covered the path towards the deepest part of the cave, and her boots were splattered with mud by the time she was halfway through the cave.

Lucas had been here, she knew. Though he hadn't seemed too impressed by it, for her it would be a dream come true. Uxie was special in a way, as it didn't hide or flee from people. Still, due to the harsh climate up here, not many visited the Legendary Pokémon.

And in her opinion, Uxie was even more special. It always kept its eyes closed, and Dawn had become very intrigued by that. Since it was the being of Knowledge, she suspected that those eyes might hide all knowledge in the world.

And that's why she was here. She would see Uxie's eyes and find out what they were hiding, she was determined to. She'd do anything for it.

Clenching her fists, she entered the big cavity in the center of the cave. Uxie was already waiting for her.

"Please show me your eyes," she whispered, though she hadn't needed to. This was the being of Knowledge after all – it already knew everything. It knew what she wanted, and that she'd do anything for it.

It didn't speak to her in words, not out loud, nor in her head. Yet she felt the question being asked to her. Physics type, she reminded herself. And a Legendary at that.

Desperation seared through her body. It was not an emotion of herself, but of the being, silently pleading her to think again. Doubt crept in her mind. Anything? Would she truly give anything for this knowledge?

No, she decided. Not anything. She didn't want anyone getting hurt.

"Just me," she whispered. "Don't hurt anyone, just me."

The being didn't respond, not in her head and not out loud. When the silence stretched on, Dawn got down on her knees and lowered her eyes, now staring at the ground in front of Uxie.

"Please show me your eyes," she said softly, determinedly.

No response.

Slowly, Dawn raised her eyes. She could see the ground, Uxie's blue paws, its blue body, its yellow mouth-

And then nothing.

In Snowpoint City, a place that was known for its peacefulness – or dullness, as other people liked to call it – something was actually happening.

Not too long ago, an Empoleon had rushed to the Pokécenter, calling out panicked to the Nurse Joy on duty. The nurse had immediately been convinced of the severity of the situation and had quickly called up a group of volunteers to venture out in the snow. The experienced hikers knew the terrain as no other and would certainly bring back the poor soul who had gotten lost in the snow.

And indeed they did. A young woman, half frozen to death, severely dehydrated and unresponsive to their words. If the Empoleon hadn't gotten out its Pokéball by itself to check on its trainer – or if it had done so later – she undoubtedly would've died.

But now she had had a chance. A Kadabra had been called, and the Pokémon had immediately teleported the woman to the most advanced hospital of Sinnoh.

Though the girl was long gone from Snowpoint City, she was still the talk of the day. Pokémon Professor Dawn Berlitz, the people whispered. A case of amnesia they had never seen before – the woman had reverted to a baby-like state, living on the most simple instincts of crying and sucking.

When asked about the cause, the doctors could not give an explanation. There were no visible injuries, and on scans, no brain damage was detectable either. The inhabitants of the city however knew very well what had caused the amnesia. Uxie, they explained to whoever asked. The Legendary Pokémon's eyes had caused the memory loss.

When asked about recovery, the doctors fortunately could answer. Though they suspected she'd never be the girl everyone knew her to be, she would be able to live a dignified life. Since she, mentally and emotionally, had returned to a baby-like state, she'd just have to grow up again, they reasoned. Relearn everything, so to say.

Over time, this would prove to be true. And she would turn out to be the luckiest of the three.

Dare not touch the Pokémon's body.

In but three short days, all emotions

will drain away.

It hadn't been his intention to end up here, but his curiosity had drawn him further and further on the lake. Barry had just been taking a nice walk around Lake Verity, his intention to kill the time between coming home and dinner.

Then he had been hit with the idea of fishing, and using his Floatzel, he had ventured out on the lake. Curious to see more of it, he had continued, because, as long as it was fun, everything was fine, wasn't it?

In the middle of the lake, a small island was located, and there he found the entrance of a cave. His curiosity leading him, he went in the cave, and his eyes immediately caught sight of the Legendary Mesprit. Upon seeing him, the Pokémon's eyes widened, and it quickly fled. Intrigued, Barry followed it further into the cave, using his Pokétch to light his way.

He saw it again, and once again, the Pokémon disappeared. It felt like playing hide and seek with his son, he thought grinning. But while he could usually find his little boy fast enough – usually hiding under a blanket, behind the couch or under the table – Mesprit made this game actually a challenge. The Pokémon would run in front of him, then suddenly disappear from his view by hiding in a dark hole or behind a rock, and upon discovery, would continue his flight.

"I'm coming to get ya!" Barry laughed, extending his hands as he ran after the Pokémon. His wife usually laughed at his childishness, but in his opinion, this was pretty cool. How many people had played hide and seek with a Legendary Pokémon, now?

Despite his great excitement, another feeling was slowly seeping in. It was vague, quiet and somehow didn't feel quite as an emotion of his own. His face was stretched in a huge smile, but his stomach was churning uncomfortably as he managed to close in on Mesprit.

If Barry had stopped to think for a moment, he might've recognized the emotion, and who it was coming from. But he didn't, too caught up in his own fun to see the Pokémon's fear-filled eyes.

"Gotcha!" he yelled, jumping forward and grabbing the Pokémon in an attempt to tickle it. Mesprit screeched loudly and Barry let go of it in surprise, and taking the opportunity, it immediately fled.

"Wow… it must've been pretty scared…" Barry muttered to himself. A pang of guilt went through his chest for not seeing the Pokémon's fear before. But, he concluded after standing there feeling guilty for a few minutes, there was nothing more he could do about it now.

After throwing an apologetic look in the general direction Mesprit had fled to, Barry made his way out of the cave, his excitement suddenly not as strong as before.

"Mom? Does Dad love us?" Emma asked. Her mother, who was standing behind her to braid her blond hair, froze and didn't respond.

"Of course he doesn't," her older brother replied curtly. "Dad doesn't love anything."

"Jake!" his mother reprimanded him, her eyes wide at her son's words. But it was only feigned shock, a reaction she was meant to show, because the real shock, the real desperation, the real pain – those had hit her a long time ago.

"What?" He looked at her defiantly. "You know it's true. Dad doesn't love anything. Just like he doesn't hate anything, and just like he isn't afraid of anything. He doesn't feel anything!"

"I-"

"He doesn't?" the girl asked, her eyes widening and her lower lip quivering.

Jake hesitated momentarily, not wanting to upset his sister. His moment of hesitation was enough for his mother to step in, who, surprisingly enough, answered the question.

"No," she said slowly, sitting down on a chair next to her daughter. "No, I don't think he does."

Both kids were silent, watching their mother with an expression of mixed fear and curiosity on their faces.

"It's not his fault," she almost whispered, then continued in a louder voice. "You're old enough to know now… Your father – Barry, he was… normal when I met him. Always happy, excited, and he had so much energy…"

She trailed off, a smile on her face as she stared off in the distance. Then her eyes saddened, and she looked back to her kids. "But then… well, it wasn't in a day, but more like a week… he changed."

She paused, taking a quivering breath as if readying herself to continue, but then exhaled softly, making it more seem like a sigh. Her gaze was still on the two children, but her attention seemed to have drifted off.

When his mother didn't continue, Jake finally broke the silence by asking in a small voice, "How?"

She blinked, pulling herself back to the present. "I'm sorry, this- this is difficult…"

At a loss what to do with their upset mother, the girl crawled on her lap, snuggling up against her mother in the hope of comforting her, while her brother stood next to her, his hand on his mother's shoulder.

After a few moments of silence, she continued, "I'm not completely sure, but I did some research… Mesprit, the lake guardian of Lake Verity, is said to have the capability to take someone's emotions away."

"You think that's what happened to Dad…?" Jake asked unsurely.

"Yes. He went to Lake Verity for a walk one day, and after that... he changed. Acting odd, and-"

She was interrupted by a car honking outside, and she let out a forced laugh. "And he's still always in a hurry."

Briefly, she hugged her daughter, who then slid off her lap to get her bag. The woman got up, and turned around to face her son. He stared at her for a moment, blinking quickly and his lips pressed tight together, before falling in her waiting arms.

Had he been smaller, he would've buried his head in his mother's chest, but now the closest he came was resting his head on her shoulder. He felt one of her hands leave his back to pull his sister in the hug as well, and when he felt her smaller body joining in, he put an arm around her.

"You know," his mother started, and he pulled back to see her face. Emma was staring up at her as well, waiting for her to continue. "He does care for you. He remembers feelings, even though-"

She stopped short, her brave face falling for a moment, but then pulled herself back together and continued, "What I mean is, he does care for you. Otherwise he wouldn't pretend, would he? He has nothing to win by pretending – he does it for you two."

They were silent, taking in the new information. Another impatient honk came from the outside, and their mother let go of them.

"C'mon you two, get moving, you gotta go," she said. "You got everything, yeah? Okay good. Take care, have a good weekend, and I'll see you Monday again, okay?"

After mumbling their affirmative replies and receiving a quick kiss on their heads, the kids left, more silently than usual.

After the door closed again, she turned to the window, to watch her kids get in the car. In the driver's seat her once-lover was seated, his head turned to greet her – their – kids with a smile. From a distance, it almost looked like he was really smiling – but she knew that his eyes would be empty.

As she watched the car drive away, the woman couldn't help but think sadly that, no matter how much she, or Jake and Emma, or the rest of his family were hurt, Barry was the one who had lost the most.

And he didn't even realize it.

Above all, above all, harm not

the Pokémon.

In a scant five days, the offender

will grow immobile in entirety.

"Torterra, use Crunch!"

The huge Pokémon easily grabbed the smaller figure in front of it, and a sickening sound was heard as the Grass/Ground Type carried out the attack. It tossed aside away the blue body of the Physics Type, which rolled motionless to the side of the battlefield.

All of sudden, the victim sprang back up, seemingly unharmed. Normally, a trainer would've loved it if their Pokémon had an ability like this, but this trainer didn't. Not right now, at least.

"Azelf, stop leaving your body!" Lucas scolded the Legendary. "You have to learn to cope with the pain, you have to learn to fight against your weaknesses! There will be a time when you can't depend on your ability!"

"Look," he said friendlier, and after recalling his Torterra, he knelt down next to Azelf. "You're afraid of pain, I get that. It's normal and natural. But your reaction… it's extreme. C'mon Azelf, you have to try…"

The Pokémon stared at the ground for a moment, before looking up and nodding with newfound determination.

"Let's try something different, hm?" he said softly, more to himself than to the Pokémon. "Pokémon versus Pokémon doesn't seem to work, but maybe human versus Pokémon will…"

He trailed off, his gaze unseeingly locked on a patch of grass as he went over the idea in his head. With a brisk nod he pulled himself out of the daze, and gently grabbed the Pokémon's paw.

"Okay, I'll start off simple…" he said, his eyes fixed on the Pokémon. "Don't be scared…"

Reluctance, panic, pure fear – all coming from Azelf, he knew – flowed into his body, but Lucas was determined. His training technique had always worked, so it would work now too.

"At three," he whispered. "One, tw-"

His hand slammed down on Azelf's paw in one fluid motion, and with a cry of pain the Legendary jumped away.

Guilt washed over him as the Pokémon cowered, holding its paw close to its body.

"I'm sorry Azelf, are you okay? Come here…" When Lucas scooted over, the Pokémon demonstrated its loyalty to its trainer by actually coming closer as asked. Gently, he took the paw in both his hands, inspecting the already fading red print on it.

"Are you okay, Azelf?" he repeated, and when the Pokémon hesitantly nodded, Lucas smiled. "Very well. It's not that bad, now is it?"

It vaguely nodded again, the pain in its paw almost gone, but now completely overwhelmed with the feeling that something way worse had happened. It had always avoided pain for a reason Azelf itself didn't quite know – a reason more than just mere self-preservation.

The Pokémon still didn't know what reason, only that it had failed in preventing it from happening. And that that could only have bad consequences.

Lucas was unaware of his Pokémon's inner turmoil, and pushed himself back up from the ground. A glance at his watch told him that he had still another hour of training to go, but his determination to continue had faded.

Strangely, the idea of going home and crawling in bed didn't seem very appealing to him either, but he shrugged it off. Can't be full of energy all the time, he thought to himself. A good night's rest would make him feel better.

"Good job Azelf, you progressed a lot today, you can be proud of yourself," he said to the Pokémon, not seeing its anxiety.

"Enough training for today," he mumbled, recalling Azelf and clicking the Pokéball to his belt. For an unknown amount of time Lucas stood rooted on the spot, unmoving and content, before shaking himself out of the daze and forcing his feet to walk back home.

"I'm sorry ma'am, there's nothing more I can do for him," the doctor said to the elderly woman who had just arrived in his chamber. The woman's face hardened as she nodded, and the man felt sorry for her. She must've heard this reply so many times, gotten her hopes up as many times, just to have them crushed again.

"I'm sorry," he repeated, knowing how hollow his words must sound to her and unable to do something about it.

"He will be returned to his room soon then, I take?" she asked, her eyes now focused on the person behind him.

"Of course ma'am. Later this afternoon he will be escorted back," he replied, doing his best to convert his sympathy in words. It didn't seem to have any effect, as she just simply nodded again, her face still expressionless.

"Thank you for your help," the woman said, and he nodded, finishing the sentence for himself. Even though you failed.

The elderly woman shook his hand again, and glancing behind him, she waved at her son. As expected, the man didn't show any sign of response, and with a brisk nod as last goodbye, the woman left.

When the door closed with a soft click, the doctor turned around to face the almost unmoving man in the chair. If it wasn't for the blinking eyes and the steady breathing, one would've thought he was dead.

Doctor Benson was sure that, if it wasn't for his former Champion status, he would've been given up long ago. His patient seemed to have lost the will to live. But it wasn't quite as it sounded like. Lucas wasn't like any of his suicidal patients, because they had at least had the will to die.

Lucas… He was an exceptional case. He lived, but was completely incapable of taking care of himself, even more so, he seemed to be completely incapable of doing anything at all. He was a slave of his own body, falling asleep where he stood, relieving himself when needed – he was like a baby in that case.

But a baby who wouldn't chew, who wouldn't drink and who never moved – unless forced to. It was… horrible.

He shuddered lightly. This case had haunted him, as well as many other doctors and specialists, and had driven many of them to despair, unable to find a cure or cause. How could one of the best Champions be reduced to this?

His championship… many people thought that to be the cause. Too much stress, too much pressure, too many ambitions had apparently caused his breakdown. He couldn't disagree with this, as he hadn't been able to come up with a more plausible cause either.

He shook his head firmly. This was no longer his case, he reminded himself. He had given up.

He stared at the man in the chair, pity and sadness etched on his face. Though he knew very well that he wouldn't get an answer, he couldn't help but utter that one question.

"What went wrong?"

A/N: Thank you for reading! I hope you somewhat liked it. I don't know exactly how I was inspired to write something like this, usually my stories have happy endings. I started with the myth and the vague idea to link Dawn, Barry and Lucas to the three Lake Guardians, and it escalated to this.

As for what now exactly happened to them, to clear away any confusion, Dawn has in my opinion the happiest ending. She lost all of her memory, and every bit of knowledge she worked her whole life to gain, but she still will be able to live a fairly normal and happy life, though in a body older than her mental age.

Barry lost his emotions, the thing he had always been full of, but he continued to pretend to, for the sake of his family and friends. However, his nameless wife couldn't handle living with a semi-robot, and after the birth of their second kid (with whom she was pregnant during his 'change') they divorced. Barry continues pretending and living, because he even though he won't find any happiness in life, he won't find any happiness in death either, and that would hurt his friends and family.

And Lucas… well, he's like a vegetable. He lost his will. I can't even imagine how that would be, but not having the will to do anything, to live or to die, and maybe being horribly scared, but at the same time not having the will to anything about it. So yeah, I think he got the worst ending.

Anyhow, feedback is very welcome and appreciated, and thanks again!