Sunlight

Sunlight. Something Humanity had always taken for granted. Now Ash knew this. His world had fallen into the darkness years ago. The rest of humanity had either died, or been killed by the Sableye and Dusknoir. Ash shuddered at the name. He was the reason his friends, his family and Misty had been taken away to be killed. 'Misty…' Ash thought. 'Will I see you again? No matter. I and Grovyle will go back. We must. So that others never have to live this life again. For the future, we will die. But it will be worth it, if I see you once more before I die…' Ash finished his musings as he walked into the clearing. "Celebi! Come out! The day has come at last! I am ready!" Ash spoke out to the clearing. Nothing happened. 'Am I too late?' Ash wondered. 'Is Celebi… gone?' A single point appeared on the ground. A single ray of light. And it grew into a flower of pure light. "Heeheehee! Did you really think that Dusknoir could catch me?" Ash sighed in relief. "It is good to see you well, Celebi. The day has finally come at last. I am ready. Now, to the Passage of Time. Me and Grovyle are ready to lay down our lives for this cause." "Ooh, I can feel it in the air… well, I would if the air was not frozen, but that is beside the point." They walked in silence for minutes, each thinking of the past and the sun. "Look, we are here now. Now, my dear Grovyle and my dear Ash! Are you ready?" Celebi announced. Ash and Grovyle both nodded in response. "Good! Well, off you two go! I too, am ready to lay down my life for this cause. Farewell and good luck." Celebi said. Ash and Grovyle looked at each other, and then jumped into the Passage of Time. There was Light. The tunnel was a funnel of light with the ability to send those who entered it back to the past, or to the future. As Ash and Grovyle stood in the tunnel, they looked around in awe. "Forward, I guess" said Grovyle. It was the first thing he had said this day. By his nature, Grovyle was a hardened individual, being the only member of my team who had survived Dusknoir's assault. Ash remembered that day. Charizard falling to the ground with a thud, taken out by the Sableye. Pikachu, slain by Dusknoir himself. And Larvitar… Ash didn't think about him for a reason. The bravest of them all, he mused. Standing up to Dusknoir, a child at best, allowing them to escape, sacrificing himself. He was snapped out of his musings, again, by Grovyle. "Two ways. Left or Right?" asked Grovyle. "Left" Ash said confidently. "Left is the way back, right is forward. Remember what Celebi taught us." Grovyle mentally smacked himself over the head. How he had forgotten was beyond him, Celebi herself had taught them this. He looked up to see Ash ahead in the tunnel. "Come on! We don't have all the time in the world, as Celebi is fuelling this herself. Hurry!" Ash shouted down the tunnel. Grovyle smirked. For all that Ash was trying to be happy; Grovyle knew he shouldn't begrudge him this. He hopefully wouldn't notice that he had prepared a small Quick Attack in his legs, so when Ash turned around Grovyle was behind him already. "Gah!" Ash shouted, surprised. He then sighed. "You used Quick Attack again, didn't you?" "Sure did, boss." Grovyle smirked. Ash sighed once more in an overly melodramatic way. Then he looked up. "Look! The end of the Passage of Time!" Ash all but shouted. "I can see it boss!" shouted Grovyle back. "Hurry! The walls are flickering!" Ash shouted. "I'm coming boss!" said Grovyle. Just as the walls burst, Ash and Grovyle cleared the Passage of Time… and all faded to black just as Ash and Grovyle felt a shockwave hit their back.


A meeting was in process as the scanners showed an unusual energy around the beach. Professor Rowan was extremely confused. At first he dismissed it as the sensors acting up, but then seconds after the first, another, smaller hit was felt by the sensors. Then, all of a sudden, a massive shockwave hit. The sensors went crazy, and all the Professors from around the world felt confused. "Was that an out of control Gyarados or something else Rowan?" Elm shouted as he was hit by the waves of energy. "I have no idea…" Rowan muttered as he held onto the machine for safety. "I'm sorry, could you shout louder!" Oak shouted from underneath the table. "I said; I have no idea!" Rowan screamed from the scanner. Juniper screamed "Would someone explain what is going on right now?" Then, all of a sudden, the energy waves stopped buffeting them. The professors slid down to the floor. "We should go to the beach" they all said. Meanwhile, Dawn, a new trainer, felt the energy surge just as badly as anyone else in Sandgem did. As in, she flew against the wall and was pinned there for a good minute. As the storm of energy let up, she did not slide down the wall as a few professors did in a nearby building. Instead, Dawn ran towards the beach. She ran past houses which within all movement had ceased, she ran down past the cliffs, she ran past the cave, and there she came face to face with the most extraordinary sight.


Ash lay on the beach, soft sand arrayed in a spiralling flower pattern around him, the sea rushing up to meet him, he subconsciously moved his arm and recalled Grovyle, who was still falling from the sky. He felt pain from all over and did not want to see it, so he kept his eyes closed. He heard the sea lapping at his feet, heard the Wingull crying over the sound of the sea. He smelt the sea air wafting over him, feeling a breeze for the first time in years. Uhh… was the only sound which escaped his lips at this point. He needed water, and for the first time in four, long years, he was going to get some proper water in his body. Maybe proper food, he mused. Although Ash was used to the taste of stale bread and sour milk, and whenever he was lucky, some rancid meat, he still preserved his mother's last bun. Untouched by time, it had never gone off. He was going to eat it for his final meal, but that depended on if he could get the Time Gears, mysterious artefacts of a forgotten age which could restore balance to even Dialga's mind, and take them to Temporal Tower's pinnacle, and place them into the shrine, Dialga would be safe from the darker side of his mind, which would come out when Temporal Tower was attacked. In his timeline, Dialga had fallen to the darkness, and killed anyone who thought to go near his tower. The only reason Ash had seen the inside and lived was because of all of his Pokémon sacrificed themselves, so Ash could escape with the knowledge of the shrine. Ash would never forget them. 'No more' Ash recalled. No more deaths. No more sorrow. No more darkness. Suddenly Ash heard a voice through the darkness. It sounded familiar, if only a little. As Ash opened his eyes, he saw blue orbs looking down into his with a look of… 'What was it now…' Ash mused. 'Ah, yes, concern. Such a long time since I have seen that. Wait, blue eyes! It can't be…' "Misty…" Ash croaked. Dawn rapidly asked questions, like was he okay, where was he from, and how does he feel. The last words Ash uttered before he fell unconscious were:

"Misty… But I see it now…"

"Sunlight"