Lets start off by, as per normal for my stories, giving a back of a backdrop to set the scene.
Some people would say that the Bayhill family possibly had it coming, living so close to the border with the Orre region in a house which they had built from scratch. Others say that they were just unlucky, being in the wrong place at the wrong time without any strong Pokémon to protect them. However, for a certain Admin, the Bayhill family was a threat which needed to be dealt with, mainly as the father was once a renowned Pokémon Trainer who came in second in his Indigo Conference challenge, having been defeated by none other than Samuel Oak in the finals, who, while officially retired from Pokémon Training, still did his part to stop any evil plans which might threaten Kanto. Besides, Snattle noted to himself, if he could take them out, then surely Greevil would allow him to take over Evice's role should the latter end up failing badly, and with how things were looking so far, that might be the case.
Even though he didn't have any Shadow Pokémon on him – mainly as Greevil was letting Evice run Cipher, and the latter didn't think that he could be trusted with a major Shadow Pokémon for now, even though he had given that dancing loony a Shadow Sudowoodo, for Arceus' sake! – Snattle was confident that his Metang and Quagsire, along with the Cipher Peons he had under his command, would be able to take care of the Bayhills once and for all.
But, unknown to them, they wasn't the only one watching the Bayhills. In fact, a Ninetales was also nearby, her red eyes gazing on the residence. There was something about this place which made the Ninetales curious, although she couldn't put a tail on it just yet. All she knew is that somehow, something was about to go down, and she may need to do something about it.
And then, the door to the house opened, and out came three… no, four humans. The eldest was, of course, the runner-up himself, who was watching as his daughter and her partner looked after a child who only looked about two, maybe three years old. Snattle looked harder from his hiding place, and noticed that, barring a Jolteon which was running around, being chased by the child, none of the others had any Pokémon on them at all. Grinning, he motioned for two of the Peons to move in, ready to attack at a moment's notice. They knew that they had to make sure that the Bayhills would be unable to ever put a wrench in Cipher's plans, even if it meant killing them.
And then, with a wordless signal, the Peons launched their assault on the Bayhills. Even though the group had no Shadow Pokémon amongst themselves, they did have some Pokémon which made up for it, including a Kadabra and an Arbok.
The resulting battle was bloody, but in the end, even though three of the Peons and five of their Pokemon had died thanks to the adults defending themselves with what they had at the time, the daughter and her partner both met their end thanks to Cipher's Pokémon, the Jolteon was mortally wounded from trying to protect the child, and the legendary Trainer was slowly being crushed by the Metang's grip.
"Hey, what do you want us to do with that child?" a Peon asked, his lust for bloodshed not quite fulfilled.
"Leave him alone – without anyone else to protect him, he's nothing more than Fearow food," Snattle noted, believing that the child wouldn't be able to survive longer than a few nights. This caused the Ninetales to growl, but she did it quietly so that the Cipher goons didn't hear her. The last thing she needed was for them to try and kill or capture her.
"Well, I hope that after this, I get a promotion… and a Shadow Pokémon of my own," the Peon noted, kicking the Jolteon to one side and ignoring the fact that the child rushed to the Pokémon's side, trying to tell him to wake up even though he was as good as gone. He then casually ordered his Charmander to set the house on fire, hoping that it would burn away the evidence that they were ever there as they left.
"Jet, wake up," the child cried, shaking the Jolteon's body. "Plz Jet…"
/He won't be waking up anymore,/ a soothing female voice replied inside of the boy's head. /And neither will your parents…/
"Eh? Who r u, an wot u meen?" the boy asked, not knowing fully how to speak.
/I am Nine-Tipped Flaming Kitsune, but you can call me by my species name, Ninetales, for now,/ the Ninetales noted as she jumped out of her hiding place, almost . /And… well, they have passed on from this world. Anyway, what are you called?/
"Um… Ma told me not to tell stranger ma maim," the boy replied.
/I can understand that, but she's no longer here, so do you mind bending that just this once?/
"Um… well, ma maim's Adam Bayhill," the boy responded.
/Adam… Well, if you want to stay alive, I suggest you come with me,/ the Ninetales noted. /It would be in both of our interests, anyway./
"Okay," Adam admitted.
/Good. Now climb onto my back – and be careful with my tails./
"Why?" he asked, as he gently climbed onto the Ninetales' back.
/Because otherwise bad things will happen to you,/ the Ninetales responded. /Now, let's go and see where you'll be living from now on. Oh, and make sure to hold on tight, but not too tight,/ she added, before she bounded off back into the forest, leaving the burning house for Nature to reclaim.
I know that Adam's not pronouncing his words correctly, but he's only three years old, for Arceus' sake - he's not that skilled with English. At least he knows enough for the Ninetales to understand him.