Chapter 1: A Stab in the Dark

Lillie was horribly lost. She had decided against her better judgement in an attempt to cross a shortcut to make it to the island's motel, and now the heavens had opened, causing it to rain Littens and Lillipups. The wind had picked up too, quite violently too. And to top it all off, her PokéGear had run out of power. In her excitement to proceed to the next trial, she must have forgotten to recharge it. No PokéGear meant no map.

Not that it mattered anyway, she was certain that this shortcut wasn't on a map. She wasn't even sure what time it was, but she had assumed it was late, because the longer she stayed out here, the less she could see. "I'm going to catch a cold for sure..." she thought to herself as she shivered. Part of her wanted to bring out her Bewear for warmth, but considering the strong armed bear's affectionate nature, she'd rather not risk adding sore back from loving bear-hugs to her list of predicaments at the moment.

Batting aside a drenched plant as it flailed in the wind, she noticed that she had come to a clearing. The Mountain guide hadn't mentioned this here, maybe she had taken a wrong turn? Her heartbeat increased in panic as it began to set in that she was well and truly lost, cold and drenched in the rain. Thoughts of doubt and despair began to cloud her mind as the situation truly set in. Maybe she wasn't meant to start her island trials?

Maybe she wasn't strong enough at all. Her Z-Powered form was just a facade, a veil, a disguise to hide her true, cowardly, weak self from the judgmental eyes of the world.

BOOOM!

Lillie jumped in panic as the sky lit up with a brilliant flash of lightning, followed by a loud roar of thunder. She didn't mind storms but in times like this, it did not help the situation at all. She needed to find shelter, and fast. But could she? She was weak, and unable to do anything by herself.

No, she couldn't let these bad thoughts keep her self-esteem low. She was better than this. Steeling herself, she waited for another flash of lightning, not flinching this time, before spotting what looked like a rocky outcrop across the clearing. Maybe there was a cave there!

Wasting no time, she set off across the muddied and drenched plains, getting her white boots muddy, and occasionally stumbling, trying not to slip on the slimy ground. "I can make it!"

She was now able to make out the opening of a small cave entrance, nestled in the cliff face ahead, thoughts of relief momentarily flooding her head-

BOOOM!

She was caught off guard by this thunderclap, as the lightning disoriented her, and she stumbled forward, just able to catch herself from a face full of mud by her hands. Great, now her hands were filthy. Looking up, it appears that she had made it to the cave. She sighed in relief as she got up, avoiding the instinct to dust herself off due to her hands, which were now sore, before making her way inside the dry shelter.

She failed to notice the unusual slash marks around the mouth of the cave.

Stumbling inside the cave, she had to blink her eyes, noticing it was darker in here than it was outside. It was almost eerie, there was no sound of a single Pokémon in the cave, in fact she was certain she hadn't seen any in the area for the past hour. However, she had an idea.

"Clefairy, I need your help!" she called as she threw a Pokéball out into the darkness. A brief flash of light later, and out popped the pink fairy, who also had to adjust her eyes to the darkness, before looking at Lillie with an inquisitive eye. She wasn't the only one however, from behind the cave, unbeknownst to both of them, a pair of sharp looking antennae poked out from an outcrop, curious.

"Clefairy, I need you to take a gamble here, and use Metronome!" Lillie commanded. The fairy type began to waggle her fingers whilst chanting her name, before both her fingers flickered alight with a small flame. Ember. Lillie sighed in relief again, she could see what she was doing now, but what greeted her was what she did not expect.

The cave's interior was decorated with multitudes of large slash marks, that seemed to have cut straight through the cave walls in some places. Even a few stalactites were shaved clean off the ceiling. A new unsettling feeling began to settle into Lillie as the worry that she had stumbled into a wild Pokémon's nest, and what ever Pokémon it was, it was a force to be reckoned with. But... where was it?

The strange being in the cave had ducked back behind the outcrop, now shivering in fear. It had encountered the strange orange glow before, and its kind did not like it. It was very frightening. Maybe if it stayed still, the girl would leave? It nervously scraped its strange blade-like limbs together, quietly.

Lillie heard this however, and she cautiously began to approach the outcrop. "H-Hello? Who's there...?" she called out before continuing. "If this is your home, i'm sorry for intruding, but I just want to stay here until the rain stops... If that's okay with you...?". She placed her hand on the outcrop, carefully peering over, before-

A high pitched screech of fear echoed throughout the cave, causing Lillie to jump back, and Clefairy to ready the ember attack. Something small, but fast, breezed its way over Lillie's face. She screamed in surprise and could even briefly see her own reflection in the strange creature's body, before realising that one of her locks of hair had been sheared off, as it fell from her head and onto the cave floor, she turned around in surprise as the creature floated down by the entrance.

Clefairy wasted no time in throwing the ember attack at whatever the being was, also feeling threatened by the being, It struck its mark, briefly illuminating the cave with a fiery glow, which once again reflected off the being. A pained screech was heard, and then another, as Clefairy fainted abruptly. Lillie did not respond however. She knew what this being was now, and she had made a terrible mistake in coming here.

Floating over the fainted body of Clefairy, with a smart strike attack beginning to fade from it's bladed limbs, was a small, but incredibly dangerous ultra beast.

A Kartana.

The beast trembled as if frightened, not unlike Lillie. The next few seconds happened in a literal flash. Lightning filled the cave as thunder roared outside again, causing both Lillie and the Kartana to scream and screech in fright. Lillie, in her panic, had pulled out a Pokéball, thinking it to be Vulpix's or Bewear's Pokéball.

And then Lillie doubled over in pain, as a razor sharp feeling cut through her skin and dress on the left side of her body, below her ribcage. The Pokéball slipped from her hand, before activating. But it was too late for Lillie. She could feel her new wound quickly moistening from her own blood, as her dress began to stain red. Her vision going dark, she fell forwards with a thud on the cave floor.

She heard a multitude of things before darkness claimed her. First was the telltale ping of a Pokéball locking shut, as if capturing something.

And secondly: "I think it came from this cave...!"

And then everything went dark.

A/N: Please leave reviews, Story will be updated Tuesdays and Fridays! (And I promise to finish it this time, if you're following me)