Disclaimer: I do not own Pokemon or anything related to it. If I did, I would write this story without a disclaimer and I'd own a beach resort. So there.

Anyway let me get the author's note out of the way. The character is based off of myself in real life down to personality and I was even gracious enough to give him my name! Aren't I the greatest? This story will be set in the Sinnoh region, starting in Twinleaf Town. But I encountered a bit of a difficulty when I sat down to imagine this chapter... Twinleaf Town just wasn't big enough for the story so I had to expand it by adding on just a few buildings. It's a long way to the next town after all, so what do the poor people do about shopping or education? Also, here's the speech guide.

"Hi." - Normal speech or Pokespeech to humans (Such as "Pika pi chu" for example).

'Hi.' - Pokespeech as understood by Pokemon. (Do not confuse this with sarcasm or quotes; those are unitalicised.)

"Hi." - Thoughts or muffled noises (Such as through a door).

''Hi.''- Pokemon Mind-Speak. (Unique to the psychic types under normal conditions; the tiny quotation marks distinguish this... And it's italicised.)

Anyway, I must warn you, if you don't like long stories, please hit the Back button on your Internet browser (Or whatever equivalent you have) now. This is a long, long story full of chapters, full of fun, full of excitement! Anyway, enjoy if you're gonna stay.

This story is currently rated T for some violence and cursing. If I find due reason to change the rating to M, I'll do so.

Also, please forgive me for the long airsoft war. It was a necessary plot device.

-Skormorak


Fading of the Light


Chapter 1: Massacre


Hey. My name is Chance Hayes. I don't really have much to say about myself... Well, alright, I guess I'll tell you a little bit. I'm pretty much your ordinary, run-of-the-mill, high school student. Nothing special. I'm five-foot-eight, I weigh 180 pounds, I'm broad-shouldered and muscular, and I've done pretty good in school and plan to major in writing in college. Are you really impressed? Currently, though, I'm a Junior at Twinleaf High and I'm preparing myself for the final exams, especially the dreaded Algebra II exam.

Right now I'm seated at the wooden table in my upstairs bedroom with an Algebra book, a notebook, a pen, and wondering how the hell I'm supposed to do quadratic functions. God, I hate you, quadratic functions.

"Ah, this looks promising. A quadratic function is one of the forms f of x is equal to a x squared plus b x plus c where a b and c are numbers with a not equal to zero. I think I can understand that. Pythagorean Theorem and all."

But then when I looked at the example problem...

"Holy shit. Where's the calculator?" I muttered as I shuffled aside my CDs and the Algebra book in hopes of finding the precious tool, but to no avail. The calculator was not on the desk. "Where the hell'd I put it!?"

I then heard a resounding boom on my door. "Open this door, young man!"

Oh, great.

Mom.

I scooted my office chair out from under the desk and opened the door. "Hi, Mom...", I said nonchalantly. I knew what was coming next.

"Don't you 'Hi, Mom' me! You know what we've said about your profanity. One more time and I'm cancelling your weekend!"

"Alright, alright, Mom, I'll quit cursing. But you know how much I struggle with friggin' Algebra!"

"No buts! You're lucky I haven't stopped you earlier or else you'd have more motive to quit; it's Thursday today!"

Great. I just had one little chance, one last chance to quit cursing, or else I wouldn't get to go to the airsoft war this weekend, which I had just signed up for! This would be my first time to join one of these fun little tournaments, and I didn't want to miss out. Everyone else thinks I'm wierd enough as it is anyway because all I do is sit in my room and read books. I don't even have a Pokemon yet and most of the students in my class do!

A Pokemon... The one thing I would crave most.

Almost all of the students still in Twinleaf with Trainer Licenses just stood by the starters that Professor Rowan gave out to newbies. A good number of them went for the local Pokemon such as the Starlies and Bidoofs. And only a few went the extra mile and caught something unique such as a Kadabra or an Onix.

But not me. I had, of course, went out into the wilderness on several occassions in hopes of catching something appealing to me. Something like a Ralts or a Riolu.

And on all of those treks, I had failed. Many times I considered just doing as everyone else did and getting the starter, but it just wouldn't feel as good to me.

It would be a treasured moment when I caught my starter by myself.

I sighed and shoved these wistful thoughts aside and returned to my studying. The seconds turned into minutes, the minutes into hours, and still I garnered no information from the puzzling maze of problems known as the Algebra book, especially since I lacked a calculator. I grew frustrated and slammed the book shut and looked at the clock.

"Holy, it's nine o' clock! I swear I started this at five!"

I shrugged and changed into my boxers and climbed into bed. Tommorow would be another day of the same old nothing. Oh well, at least I had the airsoft war to comfort me. I had recently gone online and ordered an airsoft Kar98k with a scope. When I opened the box, I was amazed to see how realistic it looked and I was surprised how anybody carries these things around in a field without getting arrested.

Heh, that's gonna be so much fun to shoot at people.


The Next Day


The alarm clock was faithful to its set time and awoke me at six thirty with a blaring alarm noise. I groggily ran my hand over to the clock and mashed the button. I sat up straight in my bad and stretched my arms with a yawn.

I stood up and went over to the closet, settling on a black 'Vader For President' shirt and blue jeans, then put on socks and my leather shoes. I ran downstairs, passing Mom who was sitting in a recliner with a cup of coffee. I went into the kitchen, opened the cabinets, and removed the box of Peanut Butter Crunch. I poured it into a bowl and poured milk shortly afterwards, then joined Mom in the kitchen.

"Morning, son. How long did the little scholar stay up studying for?"

Great, the usual derogatory 'little scholar.' I had no choice but to humor her with an answer.

"I stayed up until about nine."

"Oh, son, turn up the TV! This looks important!" Mom exclaimed. I picked up the remote and turned the volume up to about seventy five.

"This just in!" said the balding spokesperson behind the screen. "Team Galactic has opened up a new facility in Eterna City! The new facility is said to focus on converting the potent energy of Pokemon into forms usable by humans. This is an extremely important development but Team Galactic has meant with controversy and rumors lately."

The screen then shifted to a heavily wrinkled, sallow faced man with thin, wispy, grey hair. He appeared to be in his early seventies.

"My friend said to me recently that Team Galactic stole his Pokemon once when he was walking through Eterna Forest! And that's not all! He says he went into the building to protest and the workers just blew him off. And then he saw a wounded Riolu in a cage as he was walking out! We are going to be starting a protest march on the twenty seventh right in front of the Headquarters!"

"More on this at ten," said the spokesperson before the screen shifted to an advertisement for Pokemon food.

I then started to eat my cereal. It had finally begun to get soggy so I devoured it as quickly as possible. "This Galactic steals Pokemon, huh? Is that how they get candidates for research?" I pondered before I realized I had said it aloud.

"Oh, Chance", said Mom after a sip of coffee. "It's probably just another rumor. This sort of thing always happens when people use Pokemon for research. Pokemon Rights Activists... they've always been behind this sort of thing. Some suggest banning Pokeballs and making you earn a wild Pokemon's trust before you can keep it but that would be hard for all these excitable ten year olds. It's never going to happen. Although I wish we had one around here, it's always so boring around the house. And you're such a lonely person; you need more friends!"

There she goes again, subtly hinting at me to get a Pokemon as usual. But like I told you, I don't want an ordinary Bidoof or Kricketot. I want an exciting partner. I want a Pokemon who is fun to be around and one that I can develop a bond with. That's why, on my wilderness treks, I've studied the Pokemon's personality before deciding whether or not to capture it. Suffice to say, nobody's been compatible.

I finished my cereal and put the bowl and spoon in the dishwasher, snatched up my backpack, and ran the relatively short distance to the school. That was one of the advantages of being in a small town; there's always an important building in the vicinity that you don't need a car or bus to get to.

Outside, people and Pokemon were sitting around, talking of yesterday's boring (to me) events and just generally gabbing. I noticed my three best friends and went to sit with them. Yes, I only have three best friends. Laugh if you will.

"Hey, Cid, Mark, Phillip!", I called as I went to sit down at the foot of the tree they were sitting at. Cid was a short and stocky boy who wore old style clothing - button-up plaid shirts, blue jeans, and leather boots. Sitting in his lap was a Magnemite, its eyes closed and dreaming of something. Unlike most of the students, Cid did not keep his Pokemon in its ball as was required - the Magnemite was afraid of the interior of the ball so he always slept in Cid's backpack. Mark was the polar opposite of Cid - he wore the newest clothes and had the complete opposite build of him; whereas Cid was short and fat, Mark was tall and lanky. Sitting beside him was a Magikarp who was lying flat on the grass. Magikarp don't do so well outside the water before they become Gyarados. Phillip was of average build and always wore the same outfit - a leather jacket over a t-shirt with blue jeans and had a Pachirisu who was running around the tree.

"Ready for that airsoft war today, Chance?" asked Mark. "I just got my gun yesterday in the mail."

"Heh, sweet," I said. "What kind did you buy?"

"It's an M16. I tested it yesterday and that thing is beast."

Suddenly a bubble of water flew overhead and splattered against the tree. I looked up to see my nemesis, Jacob, about twenty feet away with his Blastoise glaring at me.

"Hey, nerd," he called out to me. I quickly jumped up from the ground.

"What's the meaning of this!?" I shouted. In the four years of our never-relenting hatred of each other, he had never attacked me or had his Pokemon attack me. "You know you can't have your Pokemon use moves up here!"

"You know I've never been one for rules." he replied with a grin. "Ah, and the nerd's nerdy friends come in to help." For at that moment, Cid, Mark, and Philip stood up. Jacob backed up a little but not in fear - it was more of a taunt than anything.

"Ooh, I'm so scared. The weaklings and their weak little Pokemon gonna help the nerd? Blastoise, Tackle!"

"Blastoise!" shouted the Blastoise. He got into a sprinting position and ran straight at us.

"Get down!" I shouted as I dove to the ground. Thankfully Mark and Philip had managed to do so as well but Cid wasn't so quick on his feet. The Blastoise rammed his shell into Cid's gut. I watched in horror as Cid, wide-eyes, spewed blood from his mouth. At this moment, I became painfully aware of all the students watching us and saw a few run inside. Whether to get away from the crazy Blastoise or to get somebody I don't know.

Then I saw a face I normally would hate to see; one that would normally incite the dreaded mental question 'Oh god what have I done?' but in this case allowed me a sigh of relief. Principal Orwell was standing on the front steps of the school, surveying the situation. His eyes widened when he saw Cid on the ground and his Magnemite floating above him in a panic.

"Recall that Blastoise, Jacob!" he shouted. Apparentally he too noticed Jacob's finger pointing at me, most likely to launch yet another attack. Jacob, with a fierce snarl on his face, pulled a yellow Pokeball from his belt and recalled the Blastoise. He then stared around at the hundreds of students in a very loosely knit circle, and motioned over his shoulder.

"What are you still doing here? Go on, get to class, the bell rang like a minute ago!"

The students hastily obeyed, scrambling up bags and recalling Pokemon as they headed into the building. We were the only ones left outside.

"Somebody...", he said tremulously, "Tell me what just happened out here!"

Philip slowly climbed to his feet. After stumbling for half a minute, he dusted himself off and helped Mark to his feet. It was Philip who spoke.

"Sir, we were sitting at the foot of this tree, just talking, when Jacob comes up. You know how he's always acting around us, always making fun of us. He's never normally tried to fight us but his Blastoise had just launched a Bubble Beam overhead. He then told the Blastoise to Tackle us and we dove to the ground, but the Blastoise nailed Cid and caused him to cough up blood."

Principal Orwell knelt down by Cid and examined him. He then hoisted Cid up and onto his feet.

"You'll be ok, son. Get yourself to the nurse's office and get cleaned up and go to class when you feel ready to."

Cid went into the building, leaving us standing outside. We could see the outrage on Jacob's face and that was clue enough that we should leave him alone for a while. Principal Orwell escorted Jacob to his office and dismissed us to class.

The rest of the day, everything else proceeded as normal. Cid was back about twenty minutes in first period History. He would have to wear a splint around his ribs until they recovered from the Blastoise. The only thing that was different was that everybody was talking about this morning's encounter; the Blastoise attack was now the subject of gossip. Jacob would not be back in school for ten days as he had been suspended, which was good news to me. And Mark, who was a really good artist, drew an epic picture of me facing down the Blastoise. I had to admit, he did a really good job and I pocketed the picture immediately. All in all it was a good day, even up to lunch.

We ordered hamburgers from the line and decided to sit outside on the steps in front of the school. As we were talking about our plans for this evening, a girl came up to us. I noticed she looked extremely shy and out of place; her pale skin suggested she was from a place with little sunlight. I guessed she was from Snowpoint as the constant blizzards almost always ensured little sunlight touched. She had beautiful green hair which was well combed and she wore a white beanie hat with a Pikachu head on it. Her outfit consisted of a white blouse with a blue vest over it and blue jeans with those really tall boots that come above the knee. I can't remember the name; I don't care what they're called, really.

"Umm, hi..." she said nervously as she approached. "Can I sit with you guys? Nobody inside seems to really want me at their table."

"I know the feeling. Come on, sit down. My name is Chance Hayes," I said as I extended my hand towards my friends. "... and this is Cid, Philip, and Mark."

She looked at Cid for a moment before an expression of recognition appeared on her face. "Oh! Weren't you the one mauled by the Blastoise this morning?"

Cid had a sheepish look on his face as he replied "Yes."

"I hate bullies. That guy who owned the Blastoise, he looked like a real jerk. It's the reason I moved from Snowpoint. This one guy kept on beating me up so we packed up and moved to Twinleaf."

"Yeah, me too," I said politely, "That guy's been giving me misery for four years. If I had a Pokemon and it were strong enough, I'd have beaten him and that stupid, ugly turtle of his years ago."

We ate for the rest of the alloted twenty minutes of lunch. I could not help but notice that she was almost like me. She, too, had problems with people rejecting her; be it because she, too, was odd or not is of no concern. There was a fire in her eyes when she told me of why she moved, as though she also wished she could put an end to wicked people. However, when the bell rang, I came to a realization.

"I never even asked for her name..."


After School...


I was at home, getting ready for the airsoft war. I had put on many layers of t-shirts and a heavy, thick coat and many layers of underpants as well as two layers of blue jeans. I had on two layers of gloves and three layers of socks complete with thick leather boots. In an airsoft war, getting shot with little plastic pellets hurts. Getting shot with many plastic pellets hurts. Getting shot like fifty times with an AK-47 airsoft gun really hurts. So I needed as much protection as possible.

The Kar98k was on my bed, ready for action. I had tested the firing mechanism to make sure it worked perfectly. It did, so I was ready. Only one thing was lacking; head protection. I put on two wool hats one on top of the other then topped it all off with a face mask. I was ready.

The war would be taking place at Lake Verity, which was right outside of Twinleaf Town. It was a pleasant spot normally used for getaways in the summer or romantic dates year round. This time, it would be used for a fun little war.

After telling Mom good-bye, I set out the door and up the road which would take me out of town. The trees were really nice this time of year with leaves adorned with such pleasant shades of green it was as if the woods themselves were rejoicing. It was a nice and calming, if rather short, walk to Lake Verity. I was then there.

Lake Verity was in sight.

It was a sprawling body of water that went as far as the eye could see. The water gave off a cooling royal blue hue that spoke of how long it had been here, how royal and impressive it was, and how humanity should respect the creatures and Pokemon of the sea.

And on top of the hill overlooking the lake was like fifty people. I saw Mark, Philip, and Cid. Mark had his M16 ready, Philip had an M60, and Cid had a Barrett M82 rifle. The field was set up with sandbags as walls on each side and we each got two 'medic' areas where players who were out would have to wait until the next round. We then split up into two teams of twenty five and scattered throughout the field and the woods. I hid in a bush just inside the tree line and watched through my scope.

A horn was soon sounded and of the other team, only about fifteen ran out. That meant there would be ten snipers. I raised the rifle to my shoulder and took aim at one guy with a PPSH-41 replica and fired. Because of his poor attire, he quickly fell down. However, I did not count on him raising it up and firing it at me with one hand! The pellets peppered my jacket in numbers. It stung like hell. I would be out for the round and would have to be returned to the medic area.

"I'm hit!" I shouted as I fell to the ground. Yeah, the rules stated somebody would have to drag me to the medic area. Good idea, because some idiot would probably try to shoot at me as I was running. Soon, a weedy looking boy had me by the arms and was pulling me away. I kept a tight hold on my rifle as I soon was dropped in the medic area. Mark soon joined me.

"They got you too? What happened?" I asked.

"I was hiding behind the sandbag wall and this guy sneaks up behind me and taps me with his bayonet."

"Wow, so cheap."

"Yep."

The round soon ended. Somehow, our team had won this round despite three fourths of our guys being down. This match would be Capture the Flag, in which a big flag would be placed in the center of the field. However, the person with the flag would not be able to shoot his gun, so teammates would need to protect the capturer.

We all got into position. I got back into the woods and hid behind a very thick bush. It would be impossible for somebody to get me unless they had seen me and knew what I would do. I pulled the bolt back to reload and waited for somebody. A young boy of about twelve ran out with a replica revolver and was firing at somebody that I couldn't see. I looked through the scope and aimed for his torso. I then held my breath in and fired at the boy, pumping my arm down in triumph as he fell down. He was not the only one. I shot the guy who ran out to drag him back to cover.

Gradually, the battlefield leveled out as more and more players were downed and our team judged it safe enough to move out and get the flag. I moved up and took cover behind a sandbag wall and crouched down, waiting for the enemy team. One of our guys picked up the flag and began to run back to our base. The others who were with him began to run, firing their airsofts behind them whenever they could. However, it was not without losses. The flag carrier was downed and Cid picked up the flag, running as fast as he could. I fired my rifle and hit one guy in the leg. He fell down, leaving only two on the other team's side. Cid ran to the base and planted the flag, then raised his fist in the air with a resounding "Yeah!"

The next match was just a generic 'storm the bunker' match in which we would have to go in and get their flag while defending our own. My rifle wouldn't be much good for going in and storming, but I could just stay where I was and defend our base.

However, as I stayed in my spot and was watching the field, I noticed something off in the distance, just out of the corner of my eye. It was a large blur of grey and silver. I turned my attention towards them and noticed it was a large army of people with grey and silver bodysuits. On the center of their torso was a large, gold badge adorned with a capital 'G'. They all had the same type of gun, all M16s and Pokeballs at their wrist. At first it was a bit wierd but then I thought it might just be a large airsoft clan from another town, probably hearing about the potential of this spot. But Pokemon weren't allowed here; we weren't going to be allowing them to go around tapping people and knocking them out of the match. I shrugged my shoulders and steadied my aim on a guy passing. I got my finger on the trigger when...

Poke

I turned around to see a female Gardevoir. What was strange was that she was in an obvious sort of fear. I could not fathom why; there was no true violence going on here and she could read my mine to see such. But she motioned me as though I would surely die if I stayed there.

"What is it?"

"Garde! Gardevoir gar gardev!" she shouted and pulled me by the arm. I sighed and strapped my Kar98k over my shoulder and ran into the woods with her. She led me into a clearing with a Kirlia, whom she briefly conversed with and then we all ran together.

"Where are you taking me!?" I shouted as we went deeper and deeper. We were getting further and further from the airsoft war and I could not fathom why. We soon stopped in front of a cave. It was furnished with two mats and a stash of nuts and berries against the wall. On the wall was a torch resting in a small groove, somehow lit despite there being no matches or lighters or anything around that could start a fire. I went in with the Gardevoir and Kirlia, who both sat down against the wall. I just stood there until the Gardevoir's red eyes glowed an eerie blue and knocked me down to the ground. She had just used Psychic against me, if only to put me down against the wall. I really wanted to get out of here, but some part of me told me it would be in my best interests to stay in the cave.

"Tell me what the hell's going on! You just abducted me from a game that I had been waiting a week to play and you send me on this trek through the woods."

The Kirlia looked frightened and hid behind her mother. She turned her eerie gaze upon me as though she was just recognizing me for the first time. "Gardev! Gar voir de gardevoir! Gardev!"

"I can't understand yo-" I started to say but then I heard an explosion from far away, followed by gunshots and the sound of... screaming? I jumped up and started to run but was hurled against the wall by her Psychic again.

"What's the meaning of this? Something's going on back there and I need to get out of here!"

The Gardevoir looked angrily at me and began shouting in her strange, alien language. "Gar! Gardev voir dev garde! Gardevoir!"

"Ok, I think I can interpret that. Does she mean that she was saving my life? How could she have known? Do those guys in the grey suits have something to do with this? Damn! I can't stand here just waiting and not knowing! My friends are in danger and there's nothing I can do from here!"

"Gardev," said the Gardevoir. "Dev gar voir gardevoir."

I could not understand the meaning of her words but then suddenly I could remember... something that was not my own memory? I saw the field we were playing airsoft at, but those people in the grey and silver suits were firing their guns at anybody in sight. And they were opening their Pokeballs and releasing their partners. Why? There would be no need for Pokemon at the airsoft war. I was just about to open my eyes and curse the Gardevoir for taking me away like this. But then I noticed something about the weaponry of the men and women in the grey and silver bodysuits.

They were not airsoft guns.

Those were not plastic pellets coming out of the chamber.

These were real, authentic machine guns, firing high caliber rounds at anybody in sight.

It was utter horror and chaos. The bullets fired from these grunts lodged themselves deeply into any they hit, making no distinction, stopping for no plea of mercy. And the Pokemon of these men ruthlessly turned themselves against any human they saw. Many of the people I knew were falling, no... dying before my eyes. And the Pokemon of these people either ran away into the forest or stayed to defend their partners of life, their Trainers... These Pokemon were captured by strange steel nets that were fired from the bottom of the guns these men and women had. And it was all falling around me... I stood horrorstruck before the chaos, witnessing the destruction of the world I had known.

When I opened my eyes, I realized I was crying. The Gardevoir put an arm around me and comforted me.

I made no mood to return her affection.

For several minutes, we sat in the cave, just staring at each other hopelessly. Yet behind the somber expression on the Gardevoir's face, I could see that she seemed... happy I was here? It looked as though... oh how do I explain this? It looked as though I was a long lost person from her past and she was just now meeting me again. But I'd remember a Gardevoir... wouldn't I? Nobody at the school owned a Gardevoir and I had never seen one in person anyway.

Eventually she handed out some Belue Berries. I could not understand why she thought a human would like these. We have our own berries like blackberries and strawberries but these sorts of berries were the things only a Pokemon could possibly eat and enjoy. Humans have been foolish enough to try Pokeberries as they are commonly called, and often spit them out right away except for those few weird types you always get. Still, I was hungry and had not eaten since lunch which was like five hours ago, so I accepted the berries and quickly popped them into my mouth. They were very soft, but really sweet with a hint of spicyness. I could not understand how I just ate those but I did.

Man, if any human saw this they would be laughing.

"Arceus, am I a freakin' Pokemon in a human body?" I muttered to myself. The Gardevoir just merely laughed.

The minutes turned into hours and the sun slowly set across the sky. The gunshots and explosions and noises of battle had ceased a while ago and I worried... I worried for the safety of my friends. I worried for my mother, the last and only parent I had. I worried for the poor Pokemon of the people and hoped that some managed to escape. I thanked Arceus for my narrow escape and that Gardevoir was there at just the right time. I unshouldered the airsoft Kar98k and put it up against the wall.

All of a sudden, I could hear voices from outside. Gardevoir, Kirlia, and I all uprighted and stared outside. I did not know whether this was the soldiers or people coming to search for survivors, but I knew I was never less welcoming of human company.

"Dammit, Sargeant, what's the point of us coming out into the woods? We got all the good Pokemon back in the field; there's no need of us coming into this waste of space!"

"Kirlia?" questioned the Kirlia. She was scared of the human with the deep, throaty voice and tugged at her mother's dress. "Kirlia?"

"Gardevoir." said the Gardevoir as she moved the Kirlia's hand from her dress. She got up from the ground and stood proud. I marveled at the sheer beauty of her form; she was graceful but terrifying to behold in her anger. Kinda like a warrior queen...

"You know how many Pokemon wandered off into the woods! If we find any of the rarer ones like a Riolu or a Dratini, we'll get a good paycheck! And that's not all! If we let this opportunity get away, our experiments will be rendered useless! It takes a lot of Pokemon for this sort of thing!"

"But Sargeant, I think Galactic's policies..."

"Screw the policies! I am your superior, in rank and ability! You will obey me or it's back to PFC for you, understand me, Johnson?"

"Galactic?" I questioned myself softly and tremulously. "They're the ones responsible for this?"

Now I knew. The old man on the news was right. Galactic was an evil and terrible organization who would use any means necessary to steal Pokemon, even if it involved spilling innocent blood!

And then a terrible rage boiled in my heart. I made an oath to myself on that moment, that if I could, I would avenge this massacre. I would avenge the lives of the people killed at Lake Verity and would rescue any Pokemon being held by Galactic. What does anything matter now when I may be next? Nothing! I have to do something!

"Sir, let's look in this cave. Maybe there's one or two in here?"

The Gardevoir and Kirlia both froze on the spot. But I, on the other hand, had a different reaction. I picked up my airsoft rifle by the barrel, ready to use it as a club. I was ready to defend myself.

I was ready to kill.

But then Gardevoir held out an arm.

"Gar."

Two of the Galactic soldiers walked into the caves, their rifles pointed forward.

"Well, well, well, look what we've got here. A teenager and his Pokemon, hiding in a cave. I've got to admit, you survived longer than the others. But nobody escapes Team Galactic.", said the Sargeant.

"Get away...", I said throatily. "You're nothing but a murderer... You fiends!"

"Hah! Fiends! Do you hear that, Johnson? He thinks we're fiends!"

And then both the Sargeant and his underling began to laugh. That alone enraged me. Gardevoir held out my arm, sensing my anger like all members of the Ralts line do, but then I did something I never thought I would do in my life.

I ran forward and swung the airsoft rifle and smashed it against Johnson's neck. As his vertebrae snapped, the last thing he saw was the inhuman anger on my face.

Never in my life would I forget the horror on the man's face. He wasn't much older than I am now. He was probably only twenty, twenty two at the most.

And I was the one who extinguished the flame of his life. I felt a mixture of remorse, pity, and anger... Is this how people who have been forced to kill normally feel?

"I regret it."

"Oh, Arceus!", shouted Sargeant Trey as he knelt over to examine his dead underling. "You bastard! Nobody kills a Galactic and gets away with it!"

Then he held up his rifle... and pointed it at my chest.

And then he pulled the trigger.

I looked in horror as the bullet traveled at an inhuman speed and lodged itsself in my torso. Blood spurted from the wound in far greater quantities than those of Cid. And the cave... The sky... The grunts...

All fading to black... My life was slowly ending.

"Gardevoir!" screamed Gardevoir, as she supported me in her lap with my head raised. "Garde!"

"Please... You've got to get out of here...", I said with my dying breath. "Don't... don't let them get you and your little Kirlia."

"Gardevoir!" she said, shaking her head.

"Hah!" shouted Sargeant Trey, "They're not going anywhere but to Galactic HQ!"

He then fired a steel net which entangled the Gardevoir and Kirlia. And I swear I saw a tear shed on the young Gardevoir's face. She was going to a place of no return; a place which would be as good as the Galactic men were ruthless. It was strange; this Gardevoir and her little one felt like a family to me, however brief my stay was. I felt like I belonged with the two Pokemon, however different we were.

Through the narrow slits of my partially closed eyes, I could see him drag off the net that carried Gardevoir and Kirlia.

"And as for you...", said the Sargeant with an inhuman rage in his voice as he looked back at me. "You die here, as a warning to all who oppose Galactic."

So this is it, huh?

I never thought I would be called to die early...

But I felt a sense of pride that it was I... I, Chance Hayes, made the first blow against this evil organization! And others would come forward and fight.

But what would become of Gardevoir and Kirlia? They said it was 'experiments' going on at Galactic HQ. If these men are ruthless enough to kill, they couldn't possibly care for the safety of the Pokemon they steal.

Arceus, let Gardevoir and Kirlia survive where they are going...

Please...

Then I finally shut my eyes for the last time. But just as I was leaving my body and flying upwards, I was stopped!

"What's going on? Why am I not going anywhere?"

"Little one, it is not yet your time. For your true destiny has not yet been realized and you have so much to accomplish!"

"Arceus?"

"Not in my physical manifestation, but yes. You are such a brave young man and you must live. The fate of all dimensions depends upon you."

"But... I'm already dead."

"Not quite. Look upon your body, and return to it. For I, Arceus, Guardian of Pokemon, grant you the ability to return to your earthly life this once."

I then felt myself being sucked back into my body. My dying organs then restarted themself as they were pumped full of blood. I quickly bolted upright with a jerky motion. The bullet had somehow dislodged itsself from my chest and was on the ground soaked in blood.

And miraculously, inside the hole I could see muscle tissues stringing back together as skin grew from skin and sealed itsself back together.

But that was not all... My skin was turning whiter and whiter by the second. And everything around me seemed to be getting larger and larger.

"What's going on!?" I asked myself. "Why's the room getting bigger? And what's happening to my skin!?"

Then I could feel my internal organs and bones reshuffle and reshape themselves. The organs for the most part stayed the same but the bones shrank and rearranged themselves. Out of my head came two horn-like projections. I reached up and felt them.

Then my hair began to extend, growing down to beneath my eyes... and turning green?

"Oh no... No, no, no! I can't be turning into... that!?!"

My eyes suddenly grew wider; not only from fear but from the rebuilding of my body. My hands changed, too, as the fingers shot back into the now stubby and noodle-like arms I now had. The toes on my feet shot inwards and 'projections'...I say this for lack of a better word... shot backwards from my feet. The last change was my voicebox. I could feel it deep inside me as it took on its new shape.

The change was complete. I slowly stood up and examined myself in the red puddle of Johnson's blood.

"Ralts!?" I shouted before I passed out.


Ooh, interesting plot development, eh? Do tell me what you think with a review! I worked really hard with this and pushed my literary abilities to their limit. I hope it satisfied you and don't worry; every chance I get I will update this! I've been planning this for months and am NOT letting a good opportunity go to waste. Please do not hesitate to email me at if you find an accident or a typo or if you really just want to give me in-depth critique! I do plan to be a writer someday and knowing what the people think is utterly important!

-Skormorak