Chapter 1: Darkness in Light

"Come on guys, hurry up! We're almost there," a young Mudkip called over his shoulder as he dashed through the field. It was a nice, cool early spring day; like every other day, it was calm and peaceful with little to do but live.

"We're coming Skip," a Treecko called as he ran on all fours to catch up. "Kenny's being slow today and I got stuck behind him!"

Lagging behind was a small Torchic who was scurrying after them. "Groove! It's not my fault I have tiny legs!" The three lived in a small community of Pokemon, a village of sorts, where Pokemon of several different species lived together in makeshift dens surrounded only by a wall of bushes. Outside of the community was a large open field with a few bushes here and there and very few trees.

Skip suddenly came to a stop by a tree with golden leaves and looked up excitedly at it. He turned to face his friends as they caught up. "See! I told you I found a real Oran Berry tree!"

Groove leapt nimbly over the Mudkip while Kenny plopped against the tree. "Wow," the Treecko inspected the tree. "These trees are rare, well, trees in general are rare around here."

Leaning his head back against the bark, Kenny stared up at the blue berries within the leaves. "Hey Groove, think you can climb up and get some of those berries?"

The gecko Pokemon was already sticking his hands and feet to the bark. "Think? Don't make me laugh Kenny."

They watched him crawl up the tree and disappear into the leaves. "Get one for Zero, too!" Skip called. A few moments later four Oran Berries fell one after the other from the tree. Skip and Kenny exchanged gleeful looks.

Several Pokemon greeted the children as they made their way through the community to a den at the far side of the area. "Zero," Kenny called in the entranceway. "We found Oran Berries!"

Seconds later an adult Raichu appeared from the den. "Hey guys! So you found that mythical tree?" He chuckled as Groove handed him a berry. He took a big bite. "Mmm, that's great!"

"Hey Zero," Groove said. "When are you going to take us to see the crystal?"

Kenny fluffed his feathers. "Yeah! You promised!"

"Okay, okay," Zero finished his snack. "We can go now if you want."

"Yes!" the three shouted in unison.

Heading east from their home, they followed a trail forged into the ground by many years of Pokemon walking the same path. Soon they came to a small area surrounded by bushes lined neatly in a perfect circle. In the center was a large cluster of crystals surrounded by wildflowers. The crystals were a pale-gray color with specks of green that sparkled in the sunlight. In the center of the largest crystal was a strange glowering star shaped object.

Zero walked them over to the crystal. "They say that a long time ago, the Time Star fell from the heavens and landed right in this spot. As it touched the life of the nature surrounding it, these crystals began to grow around it and they grow more and more every year as a sign of the life energy here."

"What exactly is the Time Star?" Groove circled around the crystals, his eyes fixed on the object within them.

Zero thought for a moment. "Hm, well legends say that the Time Star is like a key. What it unlocks and where it goes is left only to speculation. Some say it's the key to another dimension, one where a legendary Pokemon lives."

"Wow!" Kenny gasped. "Why is it here?"

Zero shrugged. "No one knows, but we protect it anyway. It's an ancient relic that is revered by the Pokemon in this area. They protect it because they believe it is important and that one day it will bring peace to our world when its owner comes to retrieve it."

"Then, who is the owner?" Skip asked.

"Most believe that it's connected to the legendary Dialga, the ruler of time."

"Oh, how right they are," a low growl sounded from the bushes behind them.

Zero got down on all fours with a serious expression on his face. "Who's there?! Come out and show yourself!"

A huge Luxray stepped out from the bushes and crouched into a pouncing position. "Step aside," he growled. His voice was low and deep and his expression was unwaveringly serious. Skip had never met a Luxray before, he had only heard about them from Zero, but this Luxray was much more menacing than he imagined them to be.

"Who are you? What do you want?!" Zero growled, sparks flying from his yellow cheeks.

The Luxray stared at them with his yellow and red eyes, eyes that sent shivers down Skip's spine. He remembered that a Luxray's eyes could see through most anything, he wondered if they could see through him, too. "If you must know," the lion-like Pokemon began, "my name is ThunderFoot, and I'm here for the Time Star. Now, step aside. Playtime is over."

"I won't let you!" Zero stood up boldly, blue electricity sparking wildly from his cheeks. "Skip, Kenny, Groove, stay back!"

"Hmph, pathetic mouse." ThunderFoot lunged forward so fast that Skip thought he blinked and missed it. His outstretched claws glowed white and expanded; the Slash attack dug into Zero's side and, with one quick motion, ThunderFoot sent the Raichu sprawling over the wildflowers, painting them red.

The three children were shocked. They had never seen such a cruel attack, even in serious battles. They had only seen blood from the prey some Pokemon brought back to eat or from simple injuries acquired through roughhousing. They stood, immobilized by fear, and watched helplessly.

ThunderFoot twitched his nose disdainfully and turned away from Zero. "Pathetic, ignorant mouse!" He approached the cluster of crystals and swung at them with his Slash attack. Skip's heart thumped so hard it almost hurt, and time felt as if it was moving in slow motion all of a sudden as the shattered pieces of crystal glittered through the air like a splash of water in sunlight. Suddenly, everything started to speed up and he realized that he was holding his breath. ThunderFoot hooked the Time Star with his claws and slowly turned his gaze upon the children. For a heart-stopping moment his eyes locked with Skip's. "Better run home," he said menacingly, his expression never changing but his eyes portraying wickedness. With that, the Luxray bounded away, taking the relic with him.

Skip and Kenny were still in shock while Groove ran to help Zero. "Zero," he cried.

"I'm…fine," Zero allowed Groove to help him stand up. He winced and looked at the cut in his right side. "It's not that deep…"

"We need to get you to the medics right away!" Groove supported the Raichu as he began to walk towards their home.

Zero nodded. "We have to tell the others what happened… Kenny, Skip!" They stopped and looked back at the two. "We can't stay here, let's go!" Shaking his head, Skip nudged Kenny forward and the two shakily followed after them.

Skip was standing at the edge of a scene of horror. Pokemon, friends and family they had just seen and hour ago, were laying lifeless and scattered about their home. The dens were destroyed and he dared not look the dead in their eyes. He heard Kenny throwing up somewhere behind him and he tried to look at the grass, the flowers, something but they were all flecked with blood. Zero was standing there with an expression that Skip couldn't tell was shock or nothingness.

Groove clenched his fists then suddenly took off towards one of the dens. Before anyone could protest he called out, "there has to be something left over!" Skip realized he was heading for what used to be the infirmary.

While they waited for Groove to return, Zero had corralled Skip and Kenny away from the scene. Zero didn't like the idea of Groove going through that display alone, but he couldn't leave Skip and Kenny and he had to move them away from that place. He tried to reassure himself, Groove was the oldest of the three, no, he was still a kid. He was about to go look for him when the Treecko appeared with a woven bag and emptied it out before them. "I…didn't know what to get," he said quietly, "so I brought all of it."

It wasn't much but Zero was able to pick out a few herbs and solutions that would suffice. He flinched as he applied something to prevent infection. Groove had brought him some soft leaves to wrap the cut with. "Thanks," Zero sighed as he sat down.

"What now?" Skip asked.

"We need to get to Mystical Forest," Zero said.

"That's on the other side of the plains, right? Why?" Groove tilted his head.

"Well," Zero sighed. "We can't stay here. It would be best if we went to the forest where there is another community of Pokemon like… like ours. The one in Mythical Forest is much bigger, though. It's safer there and there a three very strong Pokemon there who look after it." The children were silent and Zero sighed. "Look guys, I know it's hard…it only just happened. But you're still here, we're still here. Nothing can replace what we've lost now, our homes, friends, family…but we…we need to be strong. We don't have to stay in Mythical Forest, but we should at least warn them. They have a relic similar to the Time Star, the Space Stone."

"So that Luxray will probably go for them, too." Groove narrowed his eyes.

Skip glanced at the others and smiled. His smile surprised them. "We're gonna stop that Luxray! And when we do, we'll take back that Time Star and bring it to Dialga!"

"What?" Groove flinched. "What are you going on about? How would we bring it to Dialga? Dialga lives in a whole other dimension!"

"ThunderFoot wants it for a reason," Skip replied. "He must know something? Besides, if Dialga has the Time Star, then no one can try to take it again."

Kenny suddenly perked up. "Dialga is the legendary Pokemon of time… maybe he can fix this!"

Zero and Groove exchanged glances. "Maybe," Zero said. "First, we need to get some rest. Tomorrow, we're crossing the plains and heading for Mythical Forest." They all nodded their approval.

To be continued…