A/N: This is a collab with an author who wishes to remain anonymous. I provided the plot, characters and script while she made it into a fully-fledged story. It's an attempted serious crack story, so feedback is encouraged. ^^
Sometime in the past, a mysterious event wrestled the power of the Legendary Pokemon from them. Soon after, all the Pokemon in the world disappeared. Every single one of them. None were spared. No trace was left.
The humans just woke up one day to find their battlers, pets, assistants, companions, friends gone. There was pandemonium and widespread chaos. Without Pokémon, countless things the world had taken for granted before were gone as well.
Power plants had to find more ways to generate the electricity once covered with ease by a legion of electric-Pokémon. With the absence of delivery birds, mail delivery once again reverted to a sluggish pace. Battling, Co-ordinating, Breeding- all out of the question. Worst hit were the people who relied on Pokemon for their profession – breeders, trainers and League members all lost their jobs.
For those still young, there was still a chance to learn a second trade. Something like accountancy or cooking or being a shopkeeper's assistant- boring, but at least you got a livelihood. For the stars whose career was built on their Pokémon, their situation plummeted. Some managed to pick themselves up, somehow-or-other land themselves with another job- a process nothing less than extremely awkward, and often very humiliating. Most of them, being almost living reminders of Pokémon and the past, were shunned.
In a society reeling from this devastating blow, many found it too much and chose to end their life. Others continued on what appeared to be a semblance of the past. Children –and even some adults- developed imaginary friends. Many sank into depression. Most tried to pretend that things were fine, that Pokémon didn't exist- never existed- and that they would get along fine without them anyway.
But there were still more to come, just as human civilization was beginning to make a comeback from the disappearance of the Pokemon. A few years later, another wave of darkness washed over the world. Sunlight dimmed mysteriously, as if the earth was cast into shadow- the land was forever stuck in the half-light of evening. Clocks stopped just then, at 7.30sharp. It was almost like the earth was stuck in limbo.
And then they came.
The humans did not know it back then, but they were the ones who had orchestrated the fall of Pokemon and the advent of endless night.
The Lamia lived by absorbing others' life force through physical contact, killing their prey if all the life force is drained out. However, upon their arrival on earth they quickly developed a preference for human blood. In fact, it was more than just a 'preference'. The early generations of Lamia almost went mad at their first 'heavenly' taste of human blood- that was the extent of which this macabre source of nourishment appealed to the Lamia.
Human blood was supposedly so good, the Lamia decided that they must have more. They wanted continuous supply, in fact, and it would be even better if the humans were to bow down to them- they made good entertainment.
Settling down on Earth, their next conquest, the Lamia took over the running of the world. Obviously this frightened the humans very much, and at once they were labelled 'vampires' –but the society, with defences crippled by lack of Pokémon (both in the frontlines and the factory lines producing weapons) and the remaining humans still somewhat traumatized, quickly fell to the new race of rulers.
At first the Lamia gorged themselves, but later generations soon tempered their bloodlust and began living up to their role as rulers and not simply predators. Blood was mostly taken in moderation, and humans gradually climbed up the societal ladder to 'servants' rather than 'source of food'. Some even say that the pale, willowy humanoid forms of the Lamia were an evolved trait to help them settle into this world better.
Soon Lamia agents –in most cases, simply "lesser" Lamia who still had superiors to report to- were in every company and organization, and their laws had to be strictly obeyed. The most common form of punishment was the blood tithes and even reasonless demands for blood were now a daily occurrence in places governed by the more corrupt Lamia. Most of these agents were simply supposed to ensure that the humans conformed to the new rule, and stamp out any rebellion- however, in most cases these agents were dictators in themselves.
Life continued on the planet, albeit in vastly different conditions than what it was a few years before. The perpetual darkness cloaking the world echoed the desolation of the humans. Some took the disappearance of the Pokémon and the arrival of the Lamia as a sign that the reign of the humans was over.
Most of the humans just wearily accepted their fate, being preoccupied with surviving or believing that there was no point prolonging the dying struggles of the human race. Those who rebel do so in secret now, for the foolish ones who openly opposed the Lamia without strategy or plan were quickly disposedo f.
So far the Lamia played the mostly benign rulers, seeming content with just observing and taking part in the day-to-day affairs of humans –and of course, the more-than-occasional taking of blood to sustain themselves. But on second glances, they seem to be planning something deeper and more sinister than what they have done so far.
What could this "master plan" be, if it even exists? Could it be possible that the Lamia's conquest of earth conceals a hidden motive; rule of the humans not an end in itself but a means to an end yet achieved?
Of course, this is an unexplored field of thought. Those that have time and energy have devoted them to the cause of someday overthrowing the Lamia and reclaiming their homeland, and most humans are usually preoccupied with trying to get by.
This story follows one such group of humans.
Unable to find jobs, food or even a roof over their heads, these outcasts have banded together as a group of performing travellers that entertain for their next meal- at least it's better than outright begging for money.
