Note: The prologue has been removed due to being almost entirely exposition. I kept a backup of it for any later references. Sorry to make this feel too "in media res" but I feel it is what I have to do for now. The story and characters must come before the background information, not the other way around. Perhaps when I attempt another draft of the entire story, I will be able to amend this.

Only original characters and original settings here. The premise is spiritually similar to Pokémon Mystery Dungeon, but very loosely; only Pokémon, no humans. I am willing to consider using your OCs in this story, but please send a private message to me about it instead of posting a review. Look on my profile for more details. Do not submit any OCs if you have not read a good amount of the story.

Another quiet morning. Why am I not surprised? I scoffed to myself. Of course. Now why would I be surprised, knowing that this miserable little world I lived in was stuck in the eye of peril for quite a while? There seemed to be a dearth of any "new" news lately…

Before me the decrepit woods lied silently in their former glory; there was no other sound except for the crinkling made by brown gnarled leaves blowing away. I gazed at the blackened morning sky, the sun's beauty corrupted by hazy storm clouds. A bolt of lightning penetrated the darkness with a mild flash, followed by a tremendous explosion of thunder. Through the heavy wind I sniffed the air and listened carefully to my surroundings. Sadly, the woods offered me no assurance of life; no shrieks of terror in response to the thunder, no muttering in angst, not a single peep. Traces of Shadow Energy littered about in isolation accompanied by scratch marks on the trees. True to my intuition, there was no one left here… not anymore.

'Twas a typical overgrown forest with leaves and vines blocking my path; at least that might have been how an older timer would put it. Walking through this place somehow felt familiar oddly enough, though I assured myself that I had not ventured to this particular area before. This forest shouldn't even be so much a reminder to me, and yet this deep yearning inside me seemed to grow in size. What a bother.

In a grand forest such as this, I would have hoped to see one insect at least… The other thing I noticed something awry here was that I had yet to even see a body, but this rotting scent was fixed. When I turned to walk over to an empty path, I noticed something on the road. It was a sickly green object shaped like a crescent moon. By then, I realized this odor was being emitted from this thing. It held a rather thick but flaky texture, there were holes on the sides as if they designated where eyes were supposed to be, there were claw marks around it peeling off part of the skin and there was a big gaping hole in the middle. It used to be a Metapod. The hole held some thick, sludge-like fluids inside, suggesting to me that someone had plucked the poor thing off clear from its shell… and not too long ago too. I scratched the surface of it with my claws, finding that it was as hard as stone. "You must have been desperate to live," I whispered into thin air. "No one was here to move you to someplace safe and you were at the mercy of the one who did this to you… Sleep now." Feeling uncomfortable and disgusted, I left it behind and continued my serene walk across the forest.

The trees seemed to be getting darker with the leaves curling up more acutely as I traveled. I suspected that it was only a matter of time before everything, including the trees here, would dissolve away. What does it matter anyway? I thought to myself. It is inevitable for this place to be annihilated sooner or later. Even the Blackclaw Dragoons don't give two flying shits about it and will just burn down this place for fun. After a disturbing trek, I finally found an exit to this place. I followed where dim rays of the sun were shining and came across another dead field. The grass itself was a sludge-like brown color and emanated a disgusting scent. Ugh... this place REEKS of death. I scanned the ubiquitous fields of brown plain, hoping to find some directive.

Suddenly, I heard a moan from a distance. I walked over to the source and spotted an injured Pokémon: round body covered in vanilla-colored fur, sets of two hands and two feet, and a snout on its face that seemed to be out of place. A Mankey. I advanced in closely.

"Speak to me," I pleaded. "What did this to you?"

I seemed to have startled him, judging by his light gasp. "R-run… away…" he said. He gestured his hand as if he didn't want me to come any closer. At a short inspection, I noticed that his open, bloody wounds were emitting traces of dark fog. "T-they… came… neighbors… ran…"

"Who came? The Shadow Pokémon?" I queried.

The fallen primate struggled to nod his head. "Y-yes… but you must go… now!"

"I'm afraid I cannot do that. I'm not leaving you here to become one of them. I'm taking you elsewhere myself."

"But… my h-h-home…" He started to sob lightly but I paid little mind to it.

"Your home is destroyed. Get up."

"No…"

"Get up or I will end your pain here."

"No…! Leave me alone!"

"Not unless you let go of your worry. There is no one here besides the two of us, but I can guarantee you that moving away from here will save your life."

"It's too late… leave me… go… before… AGH!"

Black smoke suddenly shot out of his wounds. A black aura devoured the warrior and raged like an inferno. Mankey's cries were agonizing to the ears and traumatizing to the heart. The area seemed to distort around me. In the depths of my mind, I could hear a child's scream synchronizing with his and then I found myself screaming as well. Damn it, make it stop… When the screaming did stop, he stood up and glared at me. His wounds just vanished and left behind visible scars. The creature cackled madly and grunted dully.

"G-go… away!"

He zipped towards me and smashed his open hand against my ribs. I yelped out, but soon he prepared another Karate Chop with his other hand. I backed away quickly to dodge it, resulting in the Mankey sinking into a tantrum. Another innocent life consumed by the tainted darkness, I thought. He had his chance. I'll end his misery. I watched carefully as he circled me with his hands seemingly to be grasping nothing but air.

"Y-you… must DIE!" the Mankey screamed. He swiped at me again, this time with his claws, but I blocked the attack with my horn. He flinched and screamed like a lunatic, holding out his bleeding hand. He roared, seething in pain.

"I WILL KILL YOU!"

I said, "Heh. You're making a big mistake, friend. I fought your kind countless times and frankly, I'm not impressed. A Shadow will not take my life easily. The corrupt darkness can only do so much to a demon like me. Sorry, but I say you have overstayed your welcome in this world."

"T-tough t-talk… w-weakling…" He shook his hand and splattered blood all over the ground.

"Hahaha… look at you. You can barely form a sentence. You've lost your mind."

"Grah… GRAH!"

"I had enough of this. I live to see another day to see this war through, and today you are destined to be among the innocent casualties."

As his body was flinching erratically, I took the opportunity to attack. I slashed at his belly area, leaving a deep gash behind, and backed away quickly in anticipation of a counterattack. He just took the attack head on, and laughed insanely.

"What the hell is so damn funny?" I asked.

"Hehehe… hahaha! T-that is a lur…lame excusssse of an at-tah-hah-ack!" He trembled violently with a crazed look in his eyes, all bloodshot and twitchy. I was getting annoyed. Fine. That's enough screwing around.

"Not good enough for you, huh? You asked for it. Swords Dance."

I circled my neck around and concentrated stored energy into my horn, which began to expel a faint glow. A burning sensation reached through my head, and just like that I felt ready to deliver the finishing blow.

"O-oh-ho-ho no you d-don't!" the Mankey screamed.

He crossed his arms together and took speed towards me, babbling incoherently. I grinded my teeth and gave an assuring grin to my target. Then, I moved back as he diverged his arms in a cross-like pattern, hitting nothing but air.

"Begone!"

I showed him no mercy. I rammed straight into him and delivered a Megahorn attack, a clean hit straight through the gut. "Urgh…" He groaned and shook violently, his body feeling stiffer. I held my breath, suppressing the thought of letting him live… but I knew I couldn't. I then pulled the blade out from his body. He collapsed to the ground as his black blood poured out from the hole in his stomach…

"AGGGGHH! OWAAAGH!"

Mankey's body flailed about as his dark aura grew in size. Slowly, his fingers turned into gray ash and flickered off his body. Slowly, his whole body was changing into pale gray and waned. His screams died out into a faint echo as the dark aura reached its climax, the ashes scattering about followed by a sound of an air rush. Finally, there was nothing but blood stains on the grass… the only proof of his existence. Farewell.

It was a pitiful moment. I should be rejoicing to be doing such a favor to cleanse the world, but the Mankey simply looked too young to face such an end. Many like him didn't deserve such a fate. The victims of this "Shadow Energy"… they were bound to madness and evil. When defeated as a Shadow Pokémon, they would reach the end of their existence. Their own darkness would tear away at their carcasses, leaving dust flowing in the wind. Such a cruel demise, but it was all necessary. Fairness, in general, had abandoned this dying world. Why should we live to suffer in this forsaken land, where violence was the answer?

"Kukukugrah!" A harsh call penetrating the brief silence made my heart burst. I could sense several concentrations of Shadow Energy converging towards my location. My eyes flickered towards the sky as a black bird swooped down under the intention of tackling me. I stepped aside where it only managed to zoom past me, leaving behind afterimages of dark hazy energy. Of course, the common yet infamous Shadow Rush attack. If Shadow Pokémon weren't so predictable, it would be over for me now.

The Murkrow sharply turned back to again deliver another shoddy tackle. This time, I was ready to counterattack. Just as it was about to make its mark, I swiped downward with my horn. Blood stained my fur, ebony feathers scattered. The languished body parts thud against the ground with an unpleasant squishing sound, where the lingering dark aura quickly cremated their remains. Though I had just slain two Shadow Pokémon, the affray had only begun.

A dog and a big-mouthed creature entered the scene, Growlithe and Loudred respectively, both of which not wasting a single second to stand and gawk at their prey. The orange dog Pokémon surrounded itself in a fiery blue aura before hurling itself at me as the purple beast came charging at me screaming its stout heart out. I used a similar tactic as I had done so with the Murkrow, and allowed these two to move past me. The Ferals were not that intelligent to begin with, so it allegedly worked again. Under such an auspicious moment, I had to finish them off quickly; so I exhaled out some dark energy of my own, formed it into an orb and launched it at the confused Growlithe. The poor canine did not see the Shadow Ball coming and was quickly caught in a small explosion. The Loudred quickly turned back towards me where it would approach a special surprise…

SCHIIIIK! I forced the horn into its gut and quickly kicked the body away with my paw, the carcass likewise evanescing away just as its allies had.

GRAAAAAWR! An enormous rock beast pounded the ground from a hill nearby; from which it took to the air and crashed onto the ground next to me. Before I could react, the dizzying shockwaves knocked me out of balance! The creature, a Rhydon, looked down on me and pressed its jagged foot against my spindly body.

"Grrr…! Agggghhh!" That hurts, you son of a bitch! While seething in pain, I decided to pay the Rhydon back by knifing at its leg. With each successive stab, the monster howled in pain until it finally lifted its foot in which I managed to flee from its grasp. With my scythe raised, I watched as the Rhydon's pained yells subside. It glared at me with an unsettling hatred, a hatred intense enough to manifest into its next move. Crevices formed on the ground as large stones forced their way up to the surface, to momentarily levitate off the ground before the beast willed them to be thrown at me! Through painstaking and well-timed dodges I furiously moved around as each little boulder missed its target and burst apart into smaller rocks.

My expression broke off into a little moue while staring at the Rhydon's avarice-filled eyes, from there where I proceeded to taunt it, "Ha! I thought your species is supposed to be fearsome! All I see is a big pansy who constantly falls back on his fat ass! Come here, I'll tear away your pride!"

Ooh, that certainly pissed it off. As a response to the easily provocative comment, the Shadow Rhydon unleashed a shrill howl and made its way towards its foe under an enormous black aura. I readied myself to move away again, but soon I regretted my situation; the creature instead came to a stop and aimed a heavy punch where my ribs were!

CRUNCH! "Agggggh…! F-f-fuck…!" This one attack sent me shuffling across the ground with what I assumed to be a broken rib or two. Argh, no… I cannot die today… When I tried to stand back up, I could feel something burning and moving where my injury was. It was no good. If I moved too much now, I would be hurled into a new world of agony! Footstep after booming footstep, the Rhydon (now with a satisfied look on its face) was poised to finish me. If I could no longer run to evade my foe now, there was one method left…

Wasting no more time I began to charge a Shadow Ball in my maw. Thankfully, the Rhydon did not seem to consider this to be any danger to it. Still, even as a low-class Feral Shadow it was stupid of me to underestimate this foe… and now my life was being gambled. My breath grew more labored as I drew in whatever dark energy I still managed to contain, and unleashed the diabolical sphere at the Rhydon's face.

The creature was stunned by the attack, now covering its face. It ambled along clumsily until it made a sloppy impact towards the ground. "Now…" I whispered. I struggled to come to the thrashing beast as my ribs stabbed and forked my insides… with one final exertion, I cut through the monster's craggy body and impaled its heart. Its uproar was abruptly interrupted as gore overflowed its jaws, soon giving out to the end. The Shadow Rhydon's limbs came to a stop and a hefty exhalation escaped through the tunnel of blood within its body. The fury in its eyes no longer existed, its body blanketed by the dark aura amazingly devouring its body piece by piece…

Fuck… there are still more of them here. For now, I could consider myself having amazing luck. I limped towards the nearest bush and drilled through its thick stinking branches where I could hopefully keep myself out of view from the approaching Shadow Pokémon. I carefully lied down on the opposite side of my body so that I would not be resting on my impacted ribs. Time and time again, I would see a small Shadow Pokémon prancing through the battle site unable to find the source of the commotion. Damn it all… I fucked up… I left myself vulnerable and now I am getting that much closer to death…

I slowly shifted my body to a more comfortable position, waiting for the storm to begin. The sun was finally obscured and rain poured down in light drops. Even the rain felt as if it was lifeless, so chilling. Another morning of the search ended… another cluster of lives taken… another day of my life thrown into peril. I couldn't take anymore for today. I stared at the lifeless plains, which quickly began to form small puddles. I was at a loss; would staying alive at this point eventually bear fruit? I could only hope that there was no other monster out there to finish me while I was at rest. But would it matter now? My body was now crippled, useless… very soon… my tale would come to an end…

Ahh… peace… As I lied there, the migraine settled in and my vision grew weaker. A sudden darkness blinded me… blurring my sight, supported by the heavy rain… the field started to distort… The last thing I remembered… a loud thunder sounded, and the world faded away… at that moment I was dead to the world.

If you have questions about the story, you may PM me. You may also look up the Stray wiki link on my author page for more info on characters and locations.