By Alexandria Francetic
All rights and credit belong to Game Freak, The Pokemon Company, and Nintendo.
Chapter One: Action, Start!
A soft, gentle breeze wafted through the fresh spring air as Ash, Dawn, Brock, and their Pokemon, Pikachu and Piplup, raced past a row of cherry trees, blowing away the pink blossoms in their wake. "Oh, isn`t that great?" Dawn asked, taking a huge breath of air. "I love it when the cherry trees blossom!" Ash turned to look at her. "Come on, Dawn, the Pokemon Center`s up ahead!" he yelled. "We`ll miss the Pokemon Baccer competition!"
Dawn puffed out her cheeks and reluctantly followed the two boys in front of her. She clutched her Piplup tight to her chest. "Those guys have no appreciation," she pouted. "Pip..." Piplup added. After about five minutes of arguing about what they should do next, the trio finally rushed into the Pokemon Center.
It was small, quaint, and had the scent of wood. It felt more like a cabin than a Pokemon hospital. The three kids had their eyes glued to the TV as they sat down. They watched intently as a team of Pokemon rushed frantically around a grassy arena, smacking a small spinning top-like object back and forth, aiming for a diamond-shaped goal hovering around above them.
An Electivire pushed away a Beldum and Metang, while its teammate Electabuzz leapt up and gave the top a sharp kick, sending it flying right into a Metagross`s face. The top bounced right off, and with one quick leap, an Elekid soared across the battlefield and smacked the top, flinging it right into the diamond-like goal. The kids erupted into a storm of cheers.
"Oh, yeah!" Ash cheered, jumping up from his seat. "Man, it`ll be so great when we see this in person!"
"Pika!" Pikachu agreed. Nurse Joy strolled up. "You know, the Pokemon Baccer Championship is taking place in Crown City," she said. Dawn nodded. "That`s where we`re heading now," she replied. Nurse Joy continued, "There`s also going to be a special competitor this year, with a very powerful team. Just take a look."
The kids turned their eyes back to the TV. "And," the announcer boomed, "our very special guest this year is none other than the mogul of all Pokemon media, Grings Kodai!" A spotlight shined down on a tall, self-important-looking man dressed in a snow-white business suit decorated with a gray arrow-shaped pattern. He wore slightly spiked dark purple hair, adorned with a star-shaped flash of yellow. Speaking of yellow, his sharp, cat-like eyes gleamed a bright gold, like a Luxray`s. "Action, start!" he proclaimed. The announcer continued, "And he will be participating with the so-called 'Nimbasa Legends,' Raikou, Entei, and Suicune!"
The screen quickly flashed to a scene of the three Legendary Beasts leaping and bounding around a darkened stadium, batting a spinning top back and forth to each other. the Pokemon flew across the battlefield. "Man, that`s so awesome!" Ash cheered. "I wonder if I`ll get to battle him!"
"Well, then let`s hurry it up and get to Crown City," Brock chimed in.
Meanwhile, high up in the starry skies above Crown City, a massive, six-engined jet soared by, concealing a dark secret. Deep inside a cold, dark, steel-walled chamber, a huge werewolf-like Pokemon with a long, ponytailed mop of red hair sat curled up against the wall, its fur bristling with a mix of anger and fear. A tiny black fox-like Pokemon crawled out of the big Pokemon`s fur, curiously twitching its pointed ears.
Suddenly, the steel door in front of the door slowly began to creak open, letting in thin rays of blindingly bright light. The two Pokemon instantly snapped to attention, jumping into a fighting stance. The darkened figures of Raikou, Entei, and Suicune stood before them. In the distance, the silhouette of Grings Kodai and a short, pigtailed assistant stood behind a pane of glass, observing the two Pokemon. "So, Zoroark, is Zorua that important to you?" he snickered, glaring evilly at the tiny fox Pokemon. Zoroark snarled at him and snatched up her Zorua, stuffing the little Pokemon in her long hair. "Action, start!" Kodai announced.
The three Legendary Pokemon standing before Zoroark let out loud, booming roars, appearing ready to attack her. Zoroark screeched at them and began to shine in a bright light. Once the light faded, Zoroark was gone, instead replaced by a snarling Raikou. It roared loudly as a spinning, dark cloud crackling with lightning surrounded the creature and filled the entire chamber. Kodai`s pigtailed assistant backed up, quivering with fear. "Relax, Rowena," Kodai sneered, pulling up his sleeve and revealing a metal cuff-like object clamped to his wrist.
A tiny red dot of light shined through the middle, and the raging storm vanished within seconds. Rowena took a deep sigh of relief, looking down at her down bracelet. "Oh, I forgot I had my Illusion Canceler on," she chuckled nervously. "Sorry, Mr. Kodai." He didn`t respond, looking up at a screen above. It displayed the same storm as before, roaring through the chamber. It fooled the cameras, he thought. This is perfect.
Raikou`s body started to glow with bright light, revealing a Zoroark once again. Right before Zoroark`s eyes, the Legendary Trio disintegrated into a cloud of pink, sparkling dust before finally vanishing. "Excellent, Zoroark," Kodai announced. "Your powers have indeed grown." Just then, Zorua leapt out of Zoroark`s hair, glaring right into Kodai`s shiny yellow eyes. A Ninjask swooped down from the ceiling and snatched up the tiny Pokemon. Zorua screamed and flailed in the Bug-Type Pokemon`s grasp. Zoroark reached out for her child, only to be zapped by a crackling web of electricity.
The Pokemon screeched in agony, watching as Ninjask carried away Zorua into a gaping hole above. Zoroark collapsed to her knees, tears soaking her thick fur. "Don`t worry," Kodai reassured her. "Zorua will be fine with me, for now. Disobey my orders, however, and well, he will be put to sleep!" Zoroark`s eyes widened, and she let out a scream of sheer terror.
The buzzing of wings rang in Zorua`s ears as Ninjask dragged him through the pitch-black tunnels of some kind of ventilation system, squirming in the Pokemon`s grasp. He finally wrestled free of Ninjask`s grip and slammed himself into the side of the wall, desprate to break free. I have to get out of here, he thought. Kodai...if he catches me, will he...put me to sleep?
Zorua gulped down hard at the thought as he broke the side of the vent, falling through the wall into a narrow, cramped hallway. The walls flickered with dim lights. A Scizor leapt out in front of him and slammed down its crab-like claws inches away from Zorua`s feet. Zorua jolted back, its body shining with pink light as he transformed into a complete mirror-image of the Scizor in front of him. Zorua giggled mischeviously, and Scizor stared in confusion, shaking its head at the spectacle. The Zorua-Scizor jumped over the real Scizor`s head, smacking it from behind as he transformed back into a tiny black fox.
He dashed through the narrow corridors, his tiny legs flying as he navigated through the maze of pitch-black tunnels. At the same time, a black-suited man watched Zorua scampering through the camera`s eyes. He gaped at the sight, a ripple of shivers running down his back. Rowena and Kodai stepped in. "Umm, Kodai, Zorua has escaped," he said shakily, tugging at his shirt collar. Kodai`s eyes narrowed. "Goone, do you have Zorua`s visual data?" he asked. Goone nodded. "Then that will be good enough," Kodai replied. "That little creature is of no use to me. I was only trying to scare Zoroark into submission."
"Sir, we`ve headed into Crown City airspace," Rowena announced. "Finally," Kodai sighed, gazing into the distance through the windshield, misted with a light fog. A tiny, warmly lit city spread below. The Time Ripple... he thought. It appears before the day of the Pokemon Baccer Championship...I must find it, before it disappears forever.
Zorua silently slipped through the vents, stopping at a single metal panel. A cold breeze leaked through the cracks. The buzzing of a Ninjask echoed ahead. Thinking fast, Zorua slammed himself into the leaky panel. It broke open, and the little Pokemon leapt through, only to be met by a blast of cold air. Fear took over his mind as he realized he was right on top of the gargantuan airship. His tiny feet slid across the freezing, slippery metal.
His heart pounded, and he clutched hard onto a metal bar, gripping it with his teeth. He felt like he was being torn apart, his fur flailing in the howling wind.
The steel bar snapped off, and Zorua was sent flying across the night sky, right into a swarm of Skiploom. He bounced off one of their heads and transformed into a Skiploom in a flash, slowly drifting down to the forest below.