It was a hot humid day on Route 214 and it's surrounding towns and wilderness. The thick heavy air hovered over the ground, preceding the summer storm that was slowly sweeping from Hearthome City towards Sunyshore City and the sea beyond.
"It's so hot out! Can't we take a break?" A girl dressed in black and pink called, pushing her dark limp hair away from her face. She sat down unhappily on a boulder, her Piplup leapt from its location in her backpack to sit beside her and chirp encouragement.
"Come on, Dawn! We have to catch up to Ash," A voice replied above her. Dawn looked up to see Brock, standing on a ledge a couple of feet above her head. He knelt and offered a hand to help her to the ledge.
"Why is it that every time he hears a rumor of a strange occurrence dealing with a pokémon, he goes running off regardless of what the rest of us think?" Dawn growled as she stood up and grabbed Brock's hand. With ease, he hoisted her upwards until they were standing on the same ledge.
"You can't really blame him for it. Everyone wants to be the person who solves the mystery first," Brock replied as he looked upwards to the cliff beside him.
"Yeah, but he can at least ask us if we want to go with him. I would've liked visiting the Veilstone Department Store. My mom said the place has the best Contest Apparel, even better than the apparel over in Jubilife City," Dawn said. She followed his gaze and groaned, annoyed at the sight of the cliffs towering over them.
"We need to keep moving, or else we will end up losing him," Brock said as he walked to the cliff wall and began climbing. Dawn nodded as she began climbing, but not before she heard her pokémon screech at her angrily.
"What is taking them so long?" Ash asked in annoyance as he plopped down on the grass.
"Pika," His Pikachu replied as it sat on his lap.
"You don't suppose they are having difficulties getting up here, right? We got up here rather easily," Ash pondered as he scratched the pokémon behind the ear.
"Pikachu. Pika pi," Pikachu answered. Then, the sound of shifting rock and gravel came from the location Ash had climbed up.
"Ash! Get over here and lend us a hand!" Brock yelled. Ash stood up, sending Pikachu to the grass. The yellow pokemon yelped as it landed on its back in the grass, rolling over to glare at Ash and grumble in annoyance.
"Sorry, Pikachu! I am coming!" He called as he ran over to the cliff's edge. Brock was standing a few feet below him, Dawn struggling to keep her balance on a thin ledge.
"Take my bag!" Brock yelled as he slung it upwards towards Ash. Ash grabbed its cloth handle and deposited it just beside the brooding Pikachu. Brock carefully scaled downwards until he was close enough to grab onto Dawn's arm and pulled her upwards. When she regained her footing, Brock climbed upwards until he reached the edge. He pushed himself over the edge and then reached down to grab Dawn's flailing arm and pull her up and over the edge.
"Are you guys okay?" Ash asked as he stared at the duo. Dawn glared angrily at him, but didn't answer him.
"We had a difficult time climbing up here, but we are all right," Brock replied.
"Difficult time?" Ash asked in surprise.
"It was harder for us to climb up here, we don't have the same enthusiasm to get up here as you do," Dawn growled in annoyance.
"Don't worry, Dawn. We don't have much farther to go, see? The cave is just down there," Ash replied as he pointed across the grassy meadow to the edge of another cliff. Brock and Dawn lugged themselves to their feet and followed Ash to the ledgem to see what he was pointing at.
"Down there? Can we at least stop here for a rest?" Dawn groaned as she noticed that they would have to scale down the craggy slope to reach the cave. Ash and Brock both grinned before they rushed off, leaving an astonished Dawn and the still upset Pikachu behind. The two groaned before standing up and racing after the boys.
Giratina was meditating deep in the cave; the flow between the world he had been banished from and the Distortion Realm pulsed in the vicinity of the legendary pokémon. It listened to the strong flow of power as it swirled around the room and the ripples from the Distortion Realm dissipating when it had strayed too far from it's original source.
However, its rest was disturbed when echoes of voices faintly drifted into the cave. Giratina growled as it opened its eyes, annoyed at the disturbance. It listened to the voices, so soft that normal human hearing would be unable to hear it. The voices collided against each other as echoed through the cavern, making it near difficult to judge the location. However, it wasn't about to let a little problem such as repeating echoes stop it. After a few minutes of listening to the echoes, it judged that the intruders were located outside the entrance to its cave. As its annoyance grew, a faint curiosity as to who these strange intruders were nagged at the back of the legendary's mind.
"We are resting here and that is final!" Dawn said stubbornly as she pulled off her shoes and socks and walked towards the lake. Her Piplup followed after her, chirping in excitement as it noticed the clear waters of the lake.
"But…" Ash said as he looked towards the cave.
"No buts! I am not moving towards that cave until my feet stop aching!" Dawn replied as she walked into the water. Cool squishy mud slid between her toes as she walked in.
"Why should we wait? The cave is right here, I can almost smell the adventure waiting inside. Something cool is hiding in there and we should go in and find it," Ash asked in annoyance as he sat down on the grass.
"I bet all you are smelling is your own shoes, Ash," Dawn called out with a faint laugh. Pikachu laughed and followed Dawn into the lake, splashing her as he darted past her. Ash frowned for a moment before realizing that Dawn was simply making a joke.
"We probably should wait. We would not to become so tired that we get lost in the cave. Plus, I am getting kind of hungry," Brock answered as he pulled out a few of their food supplies from the bag. Ash grumbled in annoyance and watched Dawn release her pokémon so that they could enjoy being at the lake.
"Come on! The water is really nice!" Dawn yelled, waving her arms. Brock grinned as he released his own pokémon.
"Why are we here, anyways? What was it that Nurse Joy had said?" Brock asked as Ash reached down and allowed the rest of his pokémon to go and play in the water.
"She said that there was a strange pokémon deep inside the cave. Whenever people went into the cave to try and find it, they would end up back at the beginning of the cave," Ash replied as he watched his Buziel run towards the water and dive in, catching up to Dawn's Piplup.
"So, you just want to find it?" Brock asked.
"No, I am going to catch it! With Pikachu, we can take down anything!" Ash cheered.
"Oh, really?" Brock replied with a laugh.
Giratina growled low in its throat as it heard the child's prideful boast. Many humans have attempted to gain it's favor and add it to their team, but all of their plans ended in failure. What made this naive human think it could capture it?
As it continued to listen to their conversation, it's anger only seemed to strengthen. The child was boastful and brimming with selfish pride, traits it disliked with a deep passion. Soon, it decided it had to do something. The child needed to be taught a lesson.
It was Dawn who first noticed the sky darkening above them. She looked up in curiosity, seeing a strange cloud forming above them.
"Ash!" She yelled as she stumbled backwards. The two boys looked up to see what Dawn was yelling at them about and noticed the cloud.
"It must be the pokémon Nurse Joy talked about! We've found it!" Ash yelled in excitement, jumping to his feet.
"Pika!" Pikachu yelled to answer him, sparks flying from its cheeks as it glared upwards. The cloud-like masses condensed to form an enormous pokémon. Black wings with red spikes billowed from behind it's massive gray and gold frame and red eyes glared downwards towards them.
"What is that?" Dawn asked in fright, her voice tiny in fear. The creature glared, and then roared. The roar shook the ground beneath their feet. They covered their ears to block out the noise, squeezing their eyes as the roar thundered through their hands and made their heads ache. When the roar diminished, the ground did not stop shaking.
"What did it do?" Brock yell. The ground kept shaking and opened up beneath them, revealing a dark swirling abyss beneath. Dawn shrieked in terror, but the boys remained silent as suddenly they were cast down into the abyss.
Giratina watched as the three children plunged into the rift it had created, swallowing them before the land returned to its natural state. The trainer's pokémon stood in shock before babbling their outrage upwards towards Giratina.
"Where did you send Master and her friends?" The Piplup shrieked, flapping its arms in agitation. Giratina watched them silently, regarding them with faint annoyance.
"Bring them back! Bring them back or else!" A Pikachu threatened as sparks flew from the red pouches on its cheeks.
"Silence," Giratina growled. All the pokémon stopped talking, glaring up at the legendary pokémon.
"Your naïve masters will return in a week, after they learn not to bother my sleep and a good dose of humility," Giratina stated. The pokémon stared up at Giratina with accusing eyes. It ignored their stares and returned to its original resting place. It settled into the chaotic rhythm of the currents linking the world with the Distortion Realm. In minutes, it no longer cared where it sent the trainers, just that it had sent them away.