Chapter One.
The orange sky of twilight looked so peaceful as it engulfed the thick forest like a blanket, flocks of Pidgey took flight and a group of Bunnelby retreated to their dens for the day. Even in the peacefulness far from the chaos of the city there was suffering deep within, a darkness all would face but many did their best to hide from. Deep within the forest just at the edge of a small cliff side was where a living being was about to take their last breath. Where their life would end and their story would come to a close. Their body would slowly disappear into the soil below, some would come to forget them while others would pass omn their story for many generations. Death was not a comforting thing, but a terrifying event that many feared from a young age. Dying was part of life, but no one wished to die alone.
No one deserved to die alone.
"How did this happen?" Wyatt Summers groaned in pain, the nineteen year old clutched his left side just above his hip. His shirt was covered in blood and the soil beneath him quickly soaked it up like a sponge in water. Pain surged through his whole body as he could feel his chest bruised and his legs felt as if they were broken in several different places. He was in so much pain and yet the pain felt so faint as the looming thought of death tainted his focus. As his mind drifted between the numbness of death and the overwhelming sensation that every single part of his body wanted to scream out in pain. His light brown eyes glared up into the sky weakly, the orange glow was so welcoming and calming. That's when he felt it, for the first time in a long time he felt a tear roll down his face. His body shook as he struggled to hold back his tears, even with no one around he refused to allow himself to cry until death finally took him. Yet, no matter how much fighting he did his body was weak and tired. The tears streamed from his eyes like a leak and his body shook. He had never felt so weak before.
"My Pokémon." Wyatt groaned as he shifted his face towards his left, lying several feet from him was his backpack. His only hope of survival was is loyal traveling companions, trapped in their Poke Balls they had no idea what had happened to him. Struggling to roll onto his stomach so he could crawl towards his pack he was only greeted with more pain. This time it overcame his sense of survival. Pain ripped him apart from the inside as if it was trying to get out, his legs throbbed violently and several broken ribs jabbed into his side with such force. Tears still flowing down his face he shook his head in defeat, his Pokémon would be fine in their capsules as the device provided a life-support system and they could go on for years in its safety. Wyatt knew that in due time his lack of phone calls back home would raise alarms and search teams would come looking. By that point he'd be a hollow husk of what he once was, but his Pokémon would be found and saved. Wincing pain he forced a few words out, "Take care of my family guys."
The pain caused his brain to go into panic mode and his heart rate started to increase, more blood flow meant more blood loss. The reality that he'd be leaving his father, grandfather, and brother all alone made him panic. He didn't want to think about it but he couldn't help it. His breathing increased rapidly as his body was about to enter shock. Wyatt groaned angrily as he realize he had to get a grip if he wanted to stay alive just a bit longer. Tugging at the back of his mind though he questioned what the point of this all was. Why delay the end? His eyes began to water once again as his mind drifted from his family and onto all the friends he made on his journey. Some were friends he thought he'd cherish for many years and others were friends that would go separate ways, but the memories they shared would stay. Wyatt never imagined for a second that their friendship would end this early. There was so much more he wanted to tell some of them and more memories he wanted to share. Feelings he wished he had expressed earlier on, relationships that could of developed.
"I never thought dying alone would feel like this." Wyatt admitted, the lack of family and friends crying over his slow advance towards death made him feel so empty. Dying all alone while his family and friends enjoyed their afternoon felt weird. It felt as if no one cared about him, even though he knew that was lie. He knew that even if his old rival would stick by his side if he was here. It was weird how all his petty arguments he had in his past didn't matter anymore. He held no grudges and wished no wrong on anyone, he just hoped that none would have to die alone like he was.
"Cel?" A low whisper echoed in the back of his head. Wyatt's heart nearly skipped a beat and he winced in pain from the sudden movement, gripping his side even tighter he looked around. There was no one around, not a single soul in sight. The piercing feeling of eyes on him however made him believe otherwise. Looking to his left and than his right he saw nothing, his vision was slowly beginning to darken. At first he thought the sun was now setting beyond the tree tops, but it wasn't that. His focus was fading and like a weakened grasp his life was slipping away.
"Stay awake, don't fall asleep." Wyatt reminded himself his voice broken and desperate, "Not yet."
Death would claim yet another victim.
"Celebi!" A voice chirped out loudly, as Wyatt looked down at his feet and he nearly cried out at the sight of the mysterious Pokémon from legend. The small mythical creature buzzed through the sky, doing several flips before landing gently on Wyatt's chest. The Pokémon felt weightless as it just stood on his slowly rising chest, it's large eyes starring at him with sorrow. He couldn't believe it was Celebi.
Wyatt coughed weakly, "Are you hear to guide me to the after life or something?"
Celebi shook its head.
"Guardian of the forest didn't wanna see me die alone?" Wyatt offered the idea, he wasn't sure why a legendary Pokémon like Celebi would visit him at death's doorstep.
Celebi shook its head and gently touched where his heart was. A surge of warmth rushed through Wyatt's body and his eyes became wide. It was as if Celebi had just slapped him awake, his vision returned to normal and an unusual sensation wrapped around his heart like the comforting arms of a parent. Looking down he saw that his wound was still gushing out blood and his bones were still broke, Celebi couldn't heal him but it could calm him. Wyatt whimpered weakly, "You're here to sooth my suffering."
Surprisingly Celebi shook its head.
Wyatt was getting slightly annoyed, it was probably the mixed feelings of dying and the reality that Celebi couldn't save him. Tightening up his muscles he coughed heavily, "Why are you here then?"
Celebi smiled as it gently placed its hand on Wyatt's forehead, "You are not destined to die here."
Wyatt nearly lost all sense of control when he heard this voice, "Wh-what are you talking about?"
"The fall you took off that cliff was not by chance, it was orchestrated from the shadows."
"What do you mean?" Wyatt asked, the calming touch of Celebi made his mind nearly forget about the pain he was in. Celebi was like a pain killer. His eyes drifted up towards the cliff side above, "You're telling me someone purposely killed me?"
"You're destined for something great, but it seems down the road you took you took a wrong turn. Instead of facing your destiny you passed by it and the people you were destined to defeat seized this opportunity to prevent you from ever completing it."
"Destined for something great?" Wyatt would of laughed at that comment if he hadn't been dying. His whole life he was just average at basically everything he attempted to do. As a kid he was always an average student, never the smartest or strongest among his classmates. When he left for his journey he succeeded just as many times as he failed, not once did he ever feel a sense of worth and that's why he had finally decided to give up and return home. Turn in his trainer license and live the rest of his life in his small hometown. He had failed at becoming something great.
"The world is in danger with you gone. That is why I will grant you one last attempt at saving it."
"You're gonna save me?" Wyatt gasped, he couldn't believe what he was hearing.
"I will set back time to when this all started, the moment their plans began to formulate and the moment you started this path towards greatness."
Wyatt had heard the stories that Celebi was the master of time, fairy tales of the Pokémon traveling through time countless times to help save the world. His mind began to spin rapidly as he had a million questions to ask Celebi, "Before you do please tell me everything you know? I'll need to know who tried to kill me and what I need to fix in my life so I don't end up here!"
"I cannot do that, please understand. My part in all of this isn't being your guide, that is something you must figure out yourself. All I can do is use the last of my power to save the world from a dark future, that means granting you this single opportunity."
"How am I suppose to know what to fix?" Wyatt cried out, panic began to take over as he felt his body becoming warmer and Celebi began to glow brightly. Squirming in place he did his best to try and reach out to Celebi, "You can't just send me back without telling me what I need to do! Please I can't end up like this again!"
"All I can do is pass on some words of wisdom. This time have some faith in yourself and all will become clear."
"Have some faith in myself?" Wyatt muttered lowly, just as he was about to ask Celebi another question he was engulfed in the bright light. His whole body felt as if a rush of cold water was running across his skin, his vision was blinded by the light and his hearing rung loudly. Memories played back in his mind like a movie in rewind, he could feel tears streaming down his face as the sensation of seeing his life fly past him overwhelmed him. Mistakes he had made and regrets he still carried flashed before him, things that he could maybe change now. Then everything stopped. The ringing in his ear stopped and the light died, he was surrounded by darkness. The sensation of floating endlessly was the only thing he could feel, he felt weightless and yet the weight of his destiny pulled him down. He couldn't see Celebi or hear it, yet he could feel its gazing eyes and soft touch on his chest. Looking down he couldn't even see his own body as if he was invisible. Opening his mouth he could feel himself formulating the words, but nothing came out.
Did Celebi fail in sending him back and this was death?
Was this the end for Wyatt Summers?
"Wyatt wake up!"
These words made the darkness unsettled and a booming echo ripped through the air. A beaming light cut through the endless darkness and just like a pair of eyelids opening up he was greeted by the younger face of his brother. Wyatt shot up in bed his heart about to burst through his chest as he looked around to see his old bedroom at his father's ranch back home. His mind spun as he looked at his brother who oddly enough looked younger. His younger brother tilting his head in confusion by his brother's odd behavior, Wyatt was not the type to wake up dazed. His brother smirked and shrugged, "Dad wants you downstairs for breakfast in a few minutes!"
His brother raced out of the room laughing happily, just as if everything was normal. As if Wyatt hadn't been at death's door step just minutes ago, his heart jumped as he threw his bed sheets off and lifted his old white t-shirt. Glaring at his side he saw no wound or scar, wiggling his toes he didn't feel any broken bones. Inhaling deeply he grinned as he felt no broken ribs digging into his sides. Looking around he was greeted with the small bedroom he had spent his youth in. His bed was just as soft as he remembered it and even when he returned home for breaks in his journey he always welcomed it like an old friend. His room had three walls with the fourth being a large window, the view overlooked the whole town and the grassy hills beyond. Nearby the window was his desk with his old beat up computer, his father had passed it onto him after he had upgraded to the newer model. Even if his father called him constantly asking questions how it worked. However, the one thing that really grabbed his attention was the small creature that sat at the end of his bed undisturbed by the commotion of the morning.
"Houn?" Houndour yawned weakly, the small dark and fire type canine slapped his lips as he lazily sat up. Wyatt couldn't hold back his emotion as between seeing his brother and his oldest partner made him pull the canine Pokémon in for a tight hug. If his brother hadn't raced out of the room while he was in his dazed state he probably would of done the same thing to him.
"Houndour I've missed you so much!" Wyatt cried out, burying his face in the rough fur of the canine. Houndour struggled to escape the unusual morning greeting, but after realizing the death grip he had been pulled into he gave in. Houndour had known Wyatt for years and had never seen his master act in such a way, he simply assumed the trainer had some sort of horrible dream or something. Wyatt however was just happy to see his most trusted friend again, even if he was much smaller than the last time he saw him. Placing the confused and still tired Pokémon down on the bed Wyatt slowly approached his bedroom mirror.
"I look a little bit younger." Wyatt admitted, it wasn't a crazy difference from before but he could tell his face was missing some of the maturity it had before. His face looked less worn out and tired from his time on the road, instead he looked more innocent and joyful. His hair was the same at the moment it was messy, but he usually had his dark brown hair in a slicked back fashion with a few loose strands here and there. Muscle wise he did seemed skinnier, but he could tell he still had his runners body. A traide from his youth as his dad forced him onto the track team, saying exercise was important and it would prepare him for his journey. His skin was lightly tanned a trait he got from his dad, his nose slightly larger than he'd like yet another signature trait of the men in his family. His facial features were a balance mixture of both strong and soft, his trademark grin was something that his mother use to gush over. For years he had always wished he would of inherited a single physical trait from his mother, something that he could look in the mirror and be reminded of her. However, as he was told a thousands times as a kid he was a Summer man all the way through. Just like his physical appearance and everything he did in life, Wyatt saw him as nothing special but just average.
"This time have some faith in yourself and all will become clear."
Wyatt shook his head, "I'm obviously not average if I got brought back for something."
"Houn?" Houndour tilted his head in confusion.
Wyatt chuckled lightly unsure how to explain everything, "Oh nothing boy."
Glaring out the window he admired the endless sea of grass he once played in as a child, smiling weakly his eyes drifted to his left and upon the computer. Realizing he could check the date on it he raced over to it, shaking the mouse violently the computer lit to life. His eyes fell upon the bottom corner and he stumbled back, "Two years."
Two years ago Wyatt was seventeen and he had just returned home after exploring Johto, his home region. He had graduated trainer school at ten years old, but like most students under the wisdom of their parents they completed their optional three extra years of additional education something their brother region didn't offer. At the age of thirteen most kids left home for their journey, but Wyatt stayed home to help his dad and grandfather on the ranch. Once he turned fifteen Wyatt was forced onto a journey, his dad not wanting him to regret his youth he told his son to explore Johto at least and see if he could find a trade he'd want to follow with. His dad always knew that the rancher life wasn't something he wished for his sons, the pay was rough and the work rougher. Wyatt did as he was told and traveled Johto, holding several odd jobs ranging from waiting tables to working on a fishing boat. In the end, after entering a small battle tournament he found some type of thrill for the first time in his life. It wasn't a passionate thrill, but enough to wake him up from his steady life of working odd jobs. Wyatt smirked at the memory of getting knocked out of the tournament, it was by a trainer from the foreign region of Kalos. His eyes became wide and his heart skipped a beat, "After that tournament I returned home to prepare for my journey to Kalos."
"Houndour!" The canine yelped happily, obviously excited about their upcoming plans and only catching the last part of the sentence.
Wyatt fell back into his chair, "I die in Kalos."