Author's Note:

Why, hello, readers! I thank you for your generosity in sparing your time to read this story, and strive to make up that lost time with amusement and entertainment!

… Formal and somewhat cliché introductory words aside, however, I've been having the concept of this story in my head for a long, long time. As in, three to four years kind of long.

So, as someone who has already had a bit of tentative practice in the fields of fan fiction writing, I figured, 'Why not let the creative thoughts finally flow?'

So, here I am, first chapter up and out for you fellow Pokémon fans to read.

As for the update schedule, it will likely change and fluctuate a bit as it goes on. The next chapter will probably be up in just a couple of days, I think, but a month from now, it just might be once a week. Don't hold me to that thought, by the way!

So, without further ado (besides the titles and that pesky disclaimer), I present to you the first chapter of Of Children, Men, and Monsters!

Disclaimer:

Pokémon and any other referential materials found in this story do not belong to me. They belong to their respective owners and subsidiaries, and I claim no ownership of them.

Of Children, Men, and Monsters

Prologue: Potential Problems

Cue music – Xenoblade Chronicles soundtrack – Tension

T'was very silent in the realm that Arceus inhabited. Nothing but the quiet turbulence of the rainbow-colored energies could be heard in its realm as it rested, patiently awaiting the time at which he could finally escape.

'The irony of being trapped in my own home has long since worn thin,' it thought, bored to an excruciating degree. It was incapable of leaving the dimension it was currently bound in, due to those overly paranoid acts of those humans from…

'Oh, my… How long has it been since I was first imprisoned? Troubling, especially if even I have been here so long as to lose track of time…'

It hummed a bit, thinking pensively, idly manipulating the prismatic energies around itself as it did so. Quite suddenly, however, a rip in time opened, allowing a primarily blue quadrupedal being through.

"Milord Arceus. I bring dire news. I have had another vision." Arceus once again hummed, interested. Its second child (if only a few milliseconds behind her twin, Palkia) always was the responsible one of its first set of creations.

"What might this one depict, Dialga?" it asked of her, voice echoing slightly.

"A multitude of civilizations – human and Pokémon – have been laid to waste. They lie in ruin, burning and broken. I saw a man in black with a large red "R" embalmed on his clothes causing all of this destruction."

"And what manner of weapon – or, dare I say it, Pokémon – had he used to cause this?"

The Deity of Time took a slight breath, as if to calm herself. "That is what a find most disturbing… He used but a single Pokémon - I cannot tell which, as you know that these visions can be vague at times - to cause this monstrosity."

Arcues let out a hum for the third time. "Could you discern anything notable of this Pokémon's features?"

Dialga sighed. She hated not being fully capable of pleasing her creator. "From what little I could ascertain, it was fairly large; roughly the size of a Pokémon such as Dragonite or Garchomp. It had spines running along its head and back, and possessed a fairly large tail. The eyes – both sets of them - were a glaring red. I almost could swear that they were glowing. It was practically as if it had a second face on its front side, as well…"

"And when do you think that this shall happen?"

"I am not entirely certain… The larger cities of the humans appeared ever so slightly larger than they do now, so I suppose that all that I can predict is that it shall occur in but a few short years."

Arceus thought for a few moments. This Pokémon escaped his thoughts, as if his mind was intentionally keeping the answer just out of reach. Usually, all that it took were a few features such as the ones that his child had listed to figure out, however vague they were.

"Did a Pokémon that underwent Mega Evolution accompany this man? They were the sole things that I have not personally created. I know that they exist, as well as the Mega Stones and Key Stones. What specific Pokémon the former were for, however, I left up to whatever fates I am not already in charge of. I must leave something as an unknown, you see."

It chuckled softly.

"I find myself regretting that specific flight of whimsy now," the Alpha Pokémon sighed, while the Temporal Pokémon merely raised a brow at her father-mother's strange tendencies.

"Well, no matter. We have found ways to avert these major catastrophes, and we shall do so again. How, though… That is the question."

The creator of the Pokémon World closed his eyes, thinking deeply.

"Dialga. Might I request that you bring your sibling over to this dimension? We shall be needing his aid, I believe."

Dialga pouted. She hated her brother almost as much as not pleasing her master. "Are you entirely certain that we will be needing Palkia's help?"

"Now, now, my child. I know that you don't exactly harbor the best of feelings for your counterpart, but you must trust my word on this one."

Dialga exhaled, frustrated. "Fine, fine. Can't promise that we won't fight on the way back, however."

"Do be sure that it doesn't stretch beyond your home dimensions like it did last time, then." There was an edge to its voice this time. A very slight edge, but it was more than sufficient in getting its point across.

Dialga gulped. Her father-mother had dealt a harsh penance for their previous spate, despite its powers generally being restricted at the moment, and she definitely did not want that happening again. She hastily re-opened the portal and leapt through, and it promptly closed not a second afterwards. If there was a solid surface beneath it, Arceus would likely be tapping a hoof-like appendage to it as it waited.

It took nearly an hour (as far as the god-like Pokémon had counted, at least), but Dialga eventually returned, sibling in tow.

"Arceus," spoke the Space Pokémon, "what might you have brought me here for?"

He pointedly ignored bringing up the fact that it was Dialga who had physically brought him here, and Arceus sighed in aggravation at each siblings' pragmatism towards the other. He brushed the issue aside for the moment, saying: "Dialga has received another vision. Many a place had been burned to the ground in the future, with a man and a sole, unknown Pokémon causing this series of catastrophes. What I intend to do - as is always - is to stop the problem before it begins. Also as always, I shall be needing the aid of both of you." They nodded, already familiar with these scenarios.

"What do you propose that we do, then?" Dialga inquired, genuinely curious.

The Spatial Pokémon spoke up: "Perhaps the Pokémon of this human has not yet been born. Mayhaps we could steal it away from them before this man has the chance to raise it? All children are born innocent, after all…"

Arceus, if it had the flexibility necessary to do so, would have tapped the point of a front appendage to its chin.

"That… is decidedly not a terrible idea. Brilliant thinking on your part, Palkia." He raised his head haughtily, looking pointedly at his sibling. She growled at him in response, and took an aggressive step toward him. The Alpha Pokémon sighed yet again.

"Children. Now is not the time for your little rivalry. You can settle this dispute later if you will it to be; however, we've significantly more important objectives to accomplish at the moment. Potentially saving the world, for one." Dialga backed off, with Palkia doing the same a moment after. "Good. Now, the first thing that we must do is either locate where the egg of this Pokémon is, where it will hatch, or where whatever Pokémon this egg will hatch into is at the moment…"