Pride, envy, avarice - these are the traits that have set fire to the hearts of men and Pokémon alike. And in the end, pride is at the bottom of all great mistakes...

Yes, yes, I'm writing a PMD story :3 Aren't I original? *sarcasm-five*

Anyway, I've always liked these games and blah blah, I'll get onto the story now :'D

Enjoy!

Rolling waves.

The sound echoed, distorted and faint in the back of my mind as I lay where I did in a damp pit of sand. The air was hot and stale, but a cool breeze carried occasionally and eased my comfort a bit as I lay there, accompanied only by my vague thoughts and listless muscles.

Or so I'd thought.

"Get up, you. You know how dangerous it is to be napping out here at this time?"

"…You think she might've… croaked?"

"Don't be a fool. She's obviously still breathing."

… Are they talking about me?

The thought hammered into the back of my skull, a piercing headache keeping my mind from drifting into another nap, eyes sealed shut as if by a swath of molasses. I voiced a groan to show my displeasure, hoping they'd get the picture and leave me to my thoughts, but soon after I felt a round, heavy paw prod against my side.

"Get up, mate. It's not safe to be around town this late, let alone the beach. Move it."

"Cool it, man; she might have been hurt." There was something in the second voice that I found odd. Worry? What was wrong with sleeping on a beach?

Come to think of it… why was I sleeping on a beach? Thinking about it sent another pulse through my head and I instinctively groaned again, pain on my features more evident as my face contorted to a scowl.

"See? Let's take her back to the guild. Maybe Fleck could help her?"

"Fleck?" There was a third voiced now, heavy with authority, yet laced with a hint of disdain. "All he's good for is a few oran berries. I can do that myself. Here-"

Next there was a shuffling sound, brief and subtle, then I felt something small and round slip between my lips. I tried to expel the object from my mouth, but a pair of paws held my jaw in place, ensuring that I'd chew this... fruit, whatever it was. I wanted to retch as the tangy berry found its way down my throat, the nerves along my body lighting up and tingling, eliciting a brief gasp of surprise from me. My eyes snapped open in that instant, growing wide as I took note of the trio of Pokémon standing over me, searching me over with suspicious eyes.

The first to speak was a large Donphan, his tusks covered in a mess of nicks and scars. He had steely amber eyes, and every inch of his body was as rugged as a gnarled paw-pad. He cocked his head to one side and smirked, features lighting with traces of amusement in my awkward situation. "Déjà vu, anyone?"

The Sandslash at his side responded to the shady comment with an eye-roll, crossing his arms with equal hints of disinterest. "Shut up, man." Although his tone was contemptuous, the Sandslash shot me a sideways glance, inquisitiveness etched into his features, and I could tell he was silently weighing the possibility in his head.

Standing to the far left was a rigid-looking Luxray who eyed me stoically, a thoughtful crease carved into the furrow of his brow. His vibrant yellow eyes reminded me somewhat of crackling thunder, and the tip of his muzzle was wrinkled as if he'd been accustomed to a permanent scowl.

"Hey, I'm just sayin'," the Donphan countered casually. "We've all seen this before." He quirked an eyebrow at me. "Same species an' everything."

"Species?" I found myself asking, then winced as a trickle of pain rained over my head like bombshells. Come to think of it, I wasn't really sure I knew what species I was. Or maybe... I wasn't aware? My head hurt too much to think about it.

Rather than answering my question, the Donphan gave the other two Pokémon an exasperated look, making a dramatic motion over my form with his trunk. "See what I mean?"

"That doesn't mean anything," the taut Luxray grunted, but I could tell that he didn't believe that himself. He glanced over at me next, and the intensity in his hard eyes made me want to sink into the sand and disappear from sight. "What's your name anyway?"

"My name?" I found myself asking. In all truth, I hadn't thought of it… or… I couldn't remember? The whole ordeal had caught me off-guard, and before I could recover the rigid-looking, lion-like Pokémon strutted past me, his right ear twitching before he muttered, "You're coming with us."

I blinked. "Me?"

"You ask a lot of questions, don't you?" he grunted back.

My brow furrowed at his response, but before I could snap back with a retort the Sandslash cut in. "Don't mind Lex," he said, helping me to my paws. "He can be a bit… moody."

I let my ears fall against my head then, watching the Luxray march away with a sniff of disdain before grunting back. "Clearly."

As I made a move to step forward, my legs gave out like jelly beneath me, and I swayed on my paws before the Donphan from before was at my side, supporting my shoulder with his own. "Easy there," he said, then shot a sideways glance my way. "Not used to walking on all fours now, are ya?"

I shifted uneasily. "What's that supposed to mean?"

Instead of answering, he eased into a step, leading my body. Then, as if suddenly covered in a sheet of ice, his muscles tensed, baffling me infinitely. Finally, it was the Sandslash who'd answered me. "Don't worry about it," he said, "let's just get you back to the guild."

"Guild?" I parroted, confused.

"You'll see," the Donphan said with an amused chuckle, turning to his partner. "Chatot's gonna love this."

I cocked my head to one side, confused by his sudden change in attitude. Just a second ago he'd gone all rigid. Though, thinking about it only reminded me of the dull pain that still seared in my head; I'd just have to put the matter to the back of my mind for now, and hope that wherever these Pokémon were taking me was friendlier than that Luxray had been.

The thought stayed in my mind for a moment. Shouldn't I be afraid of these strangers? These Pokémon whom I've just met, who plan to take me to this "Chatot"? I thought about it for a long moment before I came to a resolve.

I trust them.

I may not like them, but I trust them.

…

"What do you mean, 'human'?" The large, brightly-feathered avian squawked, his eyes narrowed as he scrutinized my form. "She looks like a perfectly normal Umbreon to me."

When the Donphan and the Sandslash had led me to this guild, I'd been sort of spaced out, eyeing the underground base with a sense of awe. I mean, it wasn't the most impressing place, but it was amply interesting. Like fact that this guild was built into the side of a cliff—a cliff. You have to admit – that's pretty freaking cool.

When we got to the guild, the Donphan and the Sandslash just ended up dropping me off at the entrance. I thought they'd expected me to go inside on my own, but lucky me, that grumpy Luxray was waiting right inside the tent to lead me the rest of the way.

Though, when Chatot had mentioned the word Umbreon, it seemed to have just… set of something in my mind, 'cause it clicked, just like that. "Huh," I mused aloud, tilting my head at an odd angle to look over my form, "so I'm an Umbreon…"

At my statement, the Luxray—Lex—had given the stout Pokémon an exasperated look, raising his eyebrows and gesturing in front of him – toward me – with his paw. "What Pokémon can't even tell which species they are?"

I swiveled my head back at him indignantly. "In my defense, I don't even remember what my own name is."

"My point exactly."

The other two were friendlier, I thought with a pout, and shot the Pokémon a resentful look, doubling over in distress with a paw on my head as a burst of pain beat into my skull. "Ugh, whatever… can I go now?"

Ignoring my question, the Chatot turned back to Lex. "Where did you find her?"

"The beach," Lex grunted, "nearly at dusk."

"You mean like dusk," the Pokémon offered, his tone suspicious.

"…I know what I said, bird."

Chatot's feathers became ruffled at the sharp response, but he said nothing else, as if to acknowledge where he'd misspoke. There was a cold edge to the Luxray's voice just then; it gave me chills. Yet, despite myself, I still felt the need to voice my confusion. "Like dusk'? What's that mean?"

"Nothing you're concerned with right now," the Chatot squawked, which I found to be inaccurate, because I was pretty concerned about all the stuff I didn't know. "Go and see Fleck," he continued, "he can help you with that headache of yours."

I opened my mouth to protest, but the colorful avian merely dismissed my presence with a wing. "Lex will show you the way."

I sighed, dreading having to spend another minute with Tall, Dark and Gloomy, and meeting his gaze I could tell he'd have no more enjoyment from this last trip than I would.

"Come on," he rumbled in a deep baritone, traipsing down a long hallway to my right and disappearing into what seemed like a room on the left. I'd have been more inclined to follow, had it not been for the nervous itch I felt crawl up my spine, like a sense of foreboding that wrapped itself around my innards and squeezed my insides up.

I felt a shiver ruffle my fur, the rings adorning my pelt leaving a ghostly blue glow where I sat. Huh. Blue rings… that's a new one.

I twisted my paw to admire the pale blue radiance that was my left shoulder, then shook my head quickly as I realized how easily my attention could shift. I need to focus, I told myself, I need to—

"Hey, are you coming?" Lex had snapped from the opening of the room, bringing me from my reverie. "Or do you need me to hold your paw?"

That last part had been bitten out so caustically that it was a wonder how I managed not to bite him. "I'm coming," I said exasperatedly, trotting after him down the hall and to the left.

In retrospect, I should have stuck to my gut and at least held on to the thought that something bad was about to happen. Maybe then I wouldn't have been so surprised when it did.

What's worse than an overly-cliché fanfiction prologue? :D A short one!

Yeah, bear with me, people T.T I promise it'll get better.

In the meantime, review? o3o