Prologue:
"These are dark times for a child to come into." a voice whispered through the silence.
"You think I don't know that?" a second voice hissed. "It's getting more dangerous with every passing day. Pokémon are getting corrupted everywhere because of this cursed darkness. And- oh! Look! It's hatching!"
The two Pokémon looked down at the Egg cradled in the mother Sceptile's arms. The father, another Sceptile watched it start to shake with an unreadable expression. His yellow eyes narrowed as thoughts ran through his head. A newborn in this world. It'll never survive. Children are supposed to bring Hope and new life. Not here. Not in a world where the sun no longer rises.
The Egg shook violently and a small crack appeared in the shell. Then another. And another. Small, hard pieces chipped off onto the cold cave ground. Finally, cracks looking like lightning spread over the shell, and it broke into pieces. In its place was a small, green creature.
The green, lizard-like Pokémon opened its huge, yellow eyes. It had a red belly, and four limbs, along with a darker green tail that split in two and curled at the end. A little baby Treecko.
The baby yawned widely and stared up at his mother and father. Tears of joy appeared in the mother's eyes as she looked at her son. The father tilted his head down, and a shadow covered his face.
"Welcome to the world, little one." the mother whispered to her son. The little Treecko looked around at the bleak scene surrounding them with eyes wide open. The three Pokémon were huddled in the corner of a stone cave. The grey stone was part of an old castle where humans used to live. It was ruins now. The humans had left right after the darkness started; hoping to find some other place beyond where time still functioned. It had only been a few years since then.
With the collapse of Temporal Tower, the world turned to chaos. The landscape was dull; grey and black. The Tower governed time itself, and when it fell, time fell with it. The wind never blew. Neither winter nor spring ever came. The sun never rose. It was a world of unrelenting darkness and suffering. Pokémon were scared, and they became corrupt with madness close to hysteria. They attacked whoever came close. Danger was around every corner, and one never knew if it came from an enemy, or someone who you used to call friend.
"It's not much to look at, I know." the mother Sceptile said to her son, when he looked back up at her with new confusion in his eyes. "But we have Hope. There's always Hope, even if you can't see it yet."
"Don't be putting lies into that child's head." the father spat. "All Hope was lost when the Tower crumbled."
"And yet you still believe in our cause." the mother cast him a sideways glance.
"It'll take a bloody miracle to succeed." a shadow reappeared in the father's eyes as he shook his head.
The female Sceptile looked around the cave. Supplies were scattered around the slate floor. There were two tattered Explorer's Bags- from a time when Guilds were still around, of which the two Grass-Types carried. Some various Exploring items were strewn about; some blue glass Orbs, hurling items like Sticks and Iron Thorns, and a couple of lobbing rocks. There were also some old books. They contained knowledge like languages and scripts. But what were actually impressive were the maps. Many rolled-up maps littered the floor, with two spread out in the middle cave, their edges weighted down by stones. The first map showed the Pokémon World as it looked during that time. It was marked with dusty, black charcoal. The Pokémon had written various things on the map: dangerous places, places to find food. Water was scarce because of time-frozen streams. It has to be obtained from Water-Types or found in fruit.
The other map was similar, but also different. It was drawn on wood-colored paper and had drawings of the same World. But this map was from another time. Before the darkness. The Sceptile had dug it out of an old Explorer's Guild's ruins.
The two maps; one colored, the other grey, shared only two things. The World that was drawn, and five marks each.
"We just have to find the Time Traveler." the mother sighed. "Then we can change history for the better."
"A time-traveling Pokémon." the father growled. "I doubt it even exists anymore."
O The five marks on each map stood for Time Gears. The two Grass-Types had spent most of their lives finding their former locations in the dark world. After Temporal Tower's collapse, the Gears had no power. In the past, they were instruments that controlled time in a specific area. If they were taken, time would stop. The two Sceptile had a plan. They mapped the locations of where the Time Gears had been in the past before the darkness because they planned to go back and collect them. If the Time Gears were put in place in the Tower of the past, which would stop it from crumbling, and thus, the future of darkness would cease to exist. They only needed to find the Time Traveler.
"Primal Dialga will get us before we get even close to finding it." the father continued with a scowl. The little baby Treecko had fallen asleep in his mother's arms.
Dialga was a Pokémon that controlled time itself. With the fall of Temporal Tower, Dialga was slowly descending into corruption. The beast only sought self-preservation and it was blind to whoever tried to resist the dark world. Others before the Sceptile had fallen before the governor of time. Taken out by its henchmen. Burned at the stake. Primal Dialga didn't understand that these Pokémon were just trying to help. But none of them had ever been as close as the two Grass-Types were to succeeding.
"I'm sure we're close." the mother said, smiling down at her baby. "The forest near the ruins is the last place we have left to search. I'm sure the Time-Traveler is here."
"If it wasn't caught already." the father muttered.
"Stop being so pessimistic." the mother chided. "We're doing this for a better future. For those who come after us."
The mother gazed down at her baby Treecko again and stroked his smooth, green head. "If we can live a shining life, that will certainly carry on. That's why we have to change the past. It's not about us. It's about everyone else."
The father said nothing in reply. He stalked towards the entrance of the cave to keep watch while his mate slept. The night went on and on.
The father Sceptile shook his mate's shoulder. "We have to go."
"Wh- what?" Mother rubbed her eyes. "What's going on?"
"They've found us." Father said as his eyes narrowed.
I looked around frightened, my yellow eyes wide. I'm a few months old. Maybe more. It's hard to tell with only nights. One thing I do know is that I'm Treecko. My Mother and Father are both Sceptile. They've told me that we live in dark times. I can really see why they're called that. The only color I've seen most of is green. That's just because of mine and my parent's being Grass Types. The rest is all black and grey. Mother says that she and Father are trying to change that, though.
Mother and Father had been teaching me about their cause. What they've been trying to do to change the past so this dark world wouldn't happen. I like it, and I'm not going to forget it, for sure. I might be young, but Father says that Pokémon grow fast. I'm already level three! I will have to get stronger to be able to help my parents save the world.
Mother scooped me up into her arms. She had a brown bag slung over her shoulder, and my father had a matching one. Rolled-up maps were sticking out underneath the closing flaps.
"Where are we going?" I asked. "Who's found us?"
Mother packed a few more things into her bag. "Dialga's henchmen." she huffed. "They're the bad guys that are trying to stop us from changing the past."
"Why don't we go and fight 'em?" I said. "My Pound move is getting really strong!"
"There're too many of them, little one." Mother said as she looked around the cave one more time. Father came back in and laid a claw on her shoulder. "Let's go." he said stiffly.
Mother carried me as she followed Father west down the stone path. Father told me that Sceptile were exceptionally fast Pokémon. I couldn't wait to grow up to be like them!
"Weh-heh-heh!" garbled laughter came from behind us. It sounded close.
"Cut around the corner!" Father shouted back as he ran ahead of us. I watched him disappear around the side of grey stone.
Mother followed him, but then almost ran into his back. Father had stopped running, and Mother noticed it early enough as to not run into him. Why'd he stop?
"Wait," Father held up one claw.
"Weh-heh-heh!" the demonic laughter sounded even closer behind us.
Father took a step forward, and it seemed to trigger an explosion. Dark purple Pokémon, a color I'd never seen before, shot out from everywhere. They exploded out of the nearby trees, from the rocks before us, and the cliffs above us. I had never seen so many Pokémon. They came closer, their sharp claws bared out in front of them and they looked wicked sharp. I could see that they had sparkly rocks for eyes and a horrible fanged grin. They looked scary.
The other dark purple Pokémon that had been chasing us came up from behind. Mother stepped closer to Father and they stood back-to-back, claw-in-claw.
"We'll have to fight our way out." Father said gruffly, and Mother nodded. I was confused at this, but even more so at what Mother did next. She carried me out of the crook of her elbow and started putting me into Father's bag. I was small enough to fit, but it was still strange. Why couldn't I fight?
"Stay in there." Mother told me. I'd never seen her look more serious. She was almost always smiling, despite the darkness of the world. Always a ray of Hope through the clouds.
"But Mother-" I started, but it was no use. Mother closed the bag, and I was thrust into blackness. I felt that I was being moved towards the ground; Father had put the bag on the ground in between him and Mother. It was for protection.
I suddenly heard the SHHIIIING of claws cutting the air. The battle had started. I felt the ground shake as Mother and Father turned to face their attackers. I heard the softer WHIEEK one of Father's moves coming into contact. Leaf Blade. That was the coolest move ever! I had seen Father practice attacking a few times, but I just had to see it in action.
I lifted the flap covering the bag and looked outside. I could only see a bit of the fight, but it was enough. Some of the dark purple Pokémon were lying on the ground. Mother or Father must have taken them out! I saw a burst of green as Father entered my field of vision.
He was grappling with one of the sparkly-eyed purple Pokémon. Their claws were locked together and they stepped back and forth, trying to overpower the other. Father opened his mouth and launched a Bullet Seed attack into the other Pokémon's face that sent it flying.
Father suddenly turned around. I wasn't expecting it, and had no time to hide. His eyes narrowed, and he started to open his mouth to say something, but he never got the chance.
Another one of those clawed Pokémon jumped down from the cliff onto my father. It had one arm around his neck in a headlock, while the other was used to rake claws down Father's face.
"FATHER!" I started to scream, but the word never left my lips. The Pokémon curled its claws in a fist and brought it down on the back of my father's head. Father's eyes went unfocused and his mouth opened as he dropped to the ground, unconscious.
I heard a similar THUD behind me. Was that Mother? No! It's not possible! These horrible Pokémon couldn't have taken down my parents!
Not knowing what else to do, I turned back into the bag and burrowed deep inside it. There were words exchanged outside, but I couldn't hear them clearly. I suddenly felt myself being lifted into the air. Someone was taking me someplace. But where?
"TAKE OFF THE BLINDFOLDS." A voice I'd never heard before roared me awake.
I found myself in complete darkness. It took me a second to remember what happened. That's right! How could I forget! Mother and Father were taken by those Pokémon! So where was I now?
I opened the bag and crawled out of it. It seemed to be on the bottom of a pile of the rest of the things my parents owned. All the maps, books, and other items were all laid in a heap on the ground.
I crawled off of the pile and hid up against a wall. It was made of dark grey stone, as was the rest of the place. I looked around, but I couldn't see much. We appeared to be on a cliff somewhere. With the sparse light from the deep grey sky, I could see three figures, but only the faint outline through the darkness. There were two tall objects that got large and round in the middle and then thinned out again. I had no idea what those could be. The other was the largest Pokémon I had ever seen. It appeared to be slightly off to the side of the other two figures. It stood on four legs and even one of them was taller than my Mother and Father combined! It glowed orange-yellow along its head and other parts of its body as well. What in the world was going on? Who was that giant Pokémon? And where were my parents?
All of a sudden, I found all these questions answered.
A light appeared from somewhere on top of the wall I was crouched against. It shined onto the scene in front of me, and I could see it all now.
The giant Pokémon stood looming over the other figures. It was dark blue and had slate-grey knives of metal sticking out all over its body. A huge fan extended out of its back and I could see a huge, red diamond in its chest. It had staring, blood-red eyes. Could this be Primal Dialga? The Pokémon that controls time? The one Mother and Father were always talking about? But this monstrous Pokémon wasn't even scary compared to what stood next to it. I saw something at that moment that would haunt me for the rest of my life.
The two objects turned out to be pillars. Black ropes were bound tightly around the middle. A body was tied up against each pillar. I stifled a gasp when I saw who they were.
Mother and Father.
I stared, wide-eyed at what was in front of me. What had happened with the battle? Why were Mother and Father tied up? What did they do wrong?
I felt a sudden, desperate raging sensation bubble up inside my body. I had to help them! I was about to rush out, but something came near before I was even out of the shadow of the wall. A few of the dark purple Pokémon assembled around the pile of items.
"YOU HAVE COMMITTED A HORRIBLE CRIME." I realized the roaring I had heard earlier came from the huge Pokémon. "THE RECORDS OF WHAT YOU DID WILL NEVER BE FOUND."
It seemed to move its head in a huge nod, and a Pokémon came out from the shadows. I was immediately filled with some sort of irrational fright when I looked at it. The Pokémon was only a bit bigger than me. It floated in thin air, right above the ground. I could see from the light above the wall that it was grey colored. It had a white face and two white stripes on its back. But the scariest part was its eyes. The Pokémon had none. Just empty sockets. A small, red flame seemed to dance around inside the Pokémon's head.
I pressed closer to the wall as one of the purple Pokémon that had come close earlier started to move. More came over and they all pushed the pile of items to the center in front of the huge Pokémon. The floating Pokémon came up. All of a sudden, purple-blue flames appeared above the Pokémon's hands. He sent the odd-colored embers towards the heap, and as soon as they made contact- FWOOOMSH! It all burst into flame.
Though I was far away, I could see my mother's eyes widen. All my parents work was destroyed. How would they continue their mission now? What if they didn't-?
More of the dark purple Pokémon gathered up. They lined up in a half-circle around the pillars. The huge Pokémon stepped back and nodded again. The purple Pokémon unsheathed their claws.
NO! I thought desperately. They were going to hurt Mother and Father while they were tied up! They couldn't even fight back! I was too shocked to move, paralyzed by fear. Not fear for myself, but for them.
I found that I was unable to look away. The sparkly-eyed Pokémon raised their claws. They all brought them down at once.
I saw my parents wince in pain. Father's teeth were clenched tightly together, and I could see tears rolling down my mother's face. And I was powerless to stop any of it.
The ropes began to become frayed with each slash of claws. There was soon a large gap in the black material.
YOU CAN GET OUT! I wanted to scream. ATTACK! PLEASE!
I knew they couldn't hear me. I was foolish to think that they could. My mother and father's eyes stayed closed, unaware of the escape route right in front of them.
Deep red scratches appeared on my parents' skin. The blood stood out against their green coloring. I could tell they were losing this fight. They couldn't endure it much longer. I saw my mother's head droop, and then my father's, but their eyes were still opened.
The huge Pokémon seemed to give another order and the onslaught of claws stopped. The purple Pokémon stepped back. They sped away into the shadows.
Suddenly, everything that was happening hit me like a tidal wave. This Pokémon was killing my parents.
Tears blurred my vision, but I couldn't turn away. I saw the blurry form of that floating Pokémon come up again. What was he doing? A purple glow appeared.
NO.
The ropes going up in flames was the last thing I saw before I finally clenched my eyes shut.
There was no screaming. Nothing but the crackling of flames. My shoulders were shaking as I willed myself to keep quiet.
And then... -Silence.
I finally forced one eye open, but I didn't look towards the pillars, afraid of what I would see.
The place was barren. The other Pokémon were gone. I was alone.
And that's when something broke inside me.
A wail escaped my lips. I could feel hot tears sliding down my cheeks. My breathing was heavy and came in short gasps. Images of fire and claws replayed in my mind.
I came out from the shadow of the wall and came towards the center of the area. I forced my head to stay down. No. I would never look at the burned pillars. I wouldn't be able to bear it.
Something crunched under my foot. I picked it up and saw that it was a charred piece of paper. Strangely, it wasn't all the way burnt. I unfolded the paper, and saw it was a picture.
It was a drawing of a Time Gear.
That was when I decided what to do. I would continue my parent's quest. I would find the Time Traveler. I would find the Time Gears in the past. I would stop Temporal Tower's crumbling.
I would save the world.