Disclaimer: Pokemon, along with all related ideas, names, etc. belong purely to Gamefreak. I own nothing. Secondly, all lyrics sampled are not mine, and I do not claim ownership to them. Also, I would like to say that I do not own the cover art for this story: I got it from weheartit . com, and all rights go to the artist. No copyright infringement intended.

Summary:When Odile Rella runs away with her best friend, an unforeseen accident forces her to challenge the League: a daunting task, even for the best of trainers. During her travels she faces an alleged murderer and a trigger-happy policeman, and uncovers a dark secret about her world's leaders that sweeps her into a plot of danger and mystery.

Rating: Rated T for violent and romantic themes.

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Preface

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It was incredible how one word could change everything. How one small, long-overdue word could make all the difference in the world.

He stopped in his tracks. "What did you just say to me?"

"I said no." Fighting to be heard over the howling wind, I shouted, "You have to stop this!"

The Griseous Orb flickered in his hand, violet as the portal that roiled behind him. "If you think that you can defy me, then you're sorely mistaken." Above us, lightning spun cobwebs of gold against the night sky.

I gripped dialga's sphere tighter, its pearly glow peeking out from between my fingers. "Haven't enough people already gotten hurt for your insane ideal?" I glanced down at the body at my feet- at the glassy, familiar eyes, the hair matted with blood- and felt grief threaten to swallow my voice. "Haven't enough people already died?"

The portal had begun to expand, tearing a further hole in space. "They aren't truly dead. Once you give me the Adamant Orb they'll all be brought back. Don't you see?" Light blazed out from giratina's sphere, throwing his expression into shadow. "You can bring him back. You can bring them all back, every man and woman and creature that's been killed." He gestured to the other corpses that littered the rocky mountain floor. "Isn't that what you want?"

"Yes." The answer scraped past my teeth. "More than anything." But I can't let you do this. I won't.

"Then give it to me." He extended his free hand, palm-up. "Give me the orb."

Tears blurred my vision as I stepped over the body at my feet. From behind me I could hear someone shouting my name, pleading for me to stop. I ignored it.

"Good choice," he said when I came to a stop in front of him. From this distance I could feel the disturbance the portal was causing, could feel the little ripples in the space-time continuum it was making.

He was relaxed, unguarded. Victory creased his face with lines of satisfaction.

Reaching out past his outstretched hand, I shoved him backwards. Taken by surprise, he lost his footing, and stumbled back towards the dimensional rift.

Disbelief flared in his eyes. "What do you think you're doing?"

In answer I lunged at him. He regained his balance quicker than I expected, and his fist swung up, connecting with my jaw. Pain exploded in the left side of my face.

"You fool!" he spat. "What do you think fighting will accomplish now? I have awakened the gods of time and space, and I have put the Red Chain into play. There is nothing for you to do now other than accept my vision."

Adrenaline thundered through my veins. "That's not true. The legendary trio will stop you-"

"It's true that it takes the three of them to balance either dialga or palkia, but they are incapable of maintaining balance against the two." I charged again, but he stopped me with a blow to my nose. There was a sickening crack, and I screamed, my hands reflexively flying up to cover it. The orb fell from my hand and rolled towards his feet.

"No." Desperate, I reached for the sphere with hands wet from the blood that was dripping from my nose. He brought his foot down, his boot crushing my fingers. I choked back a sob of pain.

"Stupid girl." The lightning bleached the colour from his face, turning it skeletal. "You are only delaying the inevitable."

"I won't let you destroy this world," I croaked. He lifted his foot, only to let it drop back down again, and a scream was ripped from my throat. Someone shouted "Stop hurting her!", but they sounded impossibly far away.

"I thought I had made it clear that I am not destroying this world; I am simply replacing it." He stooped down to pick up dialga's orb. Straightening, he held it up admiringly. "And now I have the final tool I need to do so."

Don't, I tried to say, but the words failed.

His voice rose, cutting through the storm with ease. "Dialga, legend of time, temporal god..." He lifted the sphere up above his head. "With this Adamant Orb, I command you to complete this rift, and bring forth your superior." The orb began to shine, glowing from the inside out. "I command you to bring forth giratina!"

Lightning forked through the sky, blinding in its intensity. The wind rose to a shrieking howl. The portal darkened, its violet hue dropping to black.

So this is it. Defeat washed over me, and I wondered, suddenly, if I would be able to crawl over to lay down next to... to his body. I wondered if that would make dying like this any less frightening, or painful.

Through misty eyes, I watched as a single eye emerged from the swirling darkness of the portal. Another one materialized soon after, red and blinking.

"Giratina," I heard my enemy say.

It rose up like a shadow, twice as large as the pillars that spotted the mountaintop. Its spiked wings were so enormous that they blotted out the sky, and as they unfurled they sent shadows splattering like liquid onto the ground. The darkness it was made of seethed as if with breath.

"Giratina," he said again. He stood proud, a pale shadow against the all-encompassing darkness that was giratina. "Legend of darkness, you will bow to me. I have already harnessed the orbs of dialga and palkia; I have brought the legendary trio to their knees..."

The spikes on its wings were rearranging, lengthening into claws. Still, the Galactic Industries member kept talking.

"With you as my servant, I will replace this ugly world..."

The creature pulled its wings back in preparation for a strike. A crescent of red shone through the dark, and with a wave of nausea I realized that it was a smile. The thing was smiling.

"And my dream will finally be made real!"

With its horrible grin still in place, giratina sprang. Its wings spread farther, enveloping everything, and the last thing I saw before my vision went dark was one of its spikes rushing towards me.

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*Edited

Important A/N: Please Read.

This was started on a whim, and continued on a wish: a wish to complete this story, since it gained such undeserved praise.

Now, this story, though one I hold dear to my heart, is not as much a story as it is a learning experience: I learned and evolved along with my protagonist as she grew into a real original character. I struggled along with her as I built plot, endured flames, and strived to save this fic from ruin.

And I did. I rewrote this story and saved it from nose-diving straight into the ground, all thanks to my reviewers. Because of this, I have dedicated this story to all my wonderful readers: each and every one of you is wonderful, and I thank you all for your criticism, compliments, and endless support.