Stark Mountain – the northernmost point of Sinnoh's Battle Zone. The ash falling from the volcano darkened the sky, giving the place an almost sinister atmosphere. The Battle Zone itself is a popular tourist destination, drawing many spectators to the island's Battle Frontier competitions; however, due to the horribly powerful Pokémon and harsh environment of the mountain, only those who have prevailed over Sinnoh's Champion, Cynthia, are permitted to train in the surrounding areas. One such Trainer was battling in the foothills of Stark Mountain as our story begins…
A mating pair of Rhydon were slowly advancing on the red-jacketed human who had ventured into their territory, growling threateningly at the intruder. He merely smiled in response, unclipping a Poké Ball from each side of his belt.
"Let's go, Typhlosion! Sunflora!" said Gold, hurling the Poké Balls towards the oncoming Rhydon.
The Poké Balls opened in a flash of light, as the two Pokémon were unleashed – the Volcano Pokémon roaring loudly as his back flames burst into life, and the Sun Pokémon smiling as she danced in circles. The Rhydon, angry at the intrusion, charged the two new Pokémon.
"Sunflora, Sunny Day! Typhlosion, buy some time with SmokeScreen!" shouted Gold.
Typhlosion inhaled deeply, before blasting the thick black mixture of ash and smoke from its mouth at the Rhydon. The charging Pokémon skidded to a halt, confused by their sudden blindness. Meanwhile, Sunflora's dance became more vigorous as she jumped and span happily. The ash in the sky above parted, allowing the afternoon sun to glare down onto the rugged field beneath. Both of Gold's Pokémon seemed invigorated by the sudden brightness, almost glistening in the sunlight. Gold himself looked up into the sky, shading his eyes with his hand and smiling.
"Excellent," he said to himself, his attention returning to the battlefield as the cloud around the two wild Pokémon dissipated, their rage renewed as they saw their foes again, "Time to finish this! Typhlosion, Fire Punch! Sunflora, SolarBeam!"
Typhlosion ran headlong at the larger of the two Rhydon, his fist ablaze, and caught it squarely on the cheek. Although the Rhydon felt nothing of the punch's heat through its stony skin, the force of the blow sent it hurtling backwards, knocking its mate to the ground with it. Sunflora smiled brightly, absorbing the sunlight as its petals swelled with stored power. As the Rhydon were knocked to the floor, her face shone with intense light, and a light-green beam of energy erupted from her mouth. The ground beneath the Rhydon exploded as the Pokémon were hit with the full force of the blow, roaring in pain. As the dust subsided, the two defeated Pokémon took the opportunity to flee, disappearing into the ash-coated undergrowth.
"Good job, guys," Gold said, approaching his Pokémon and patting them both on the back, "At this rate we'll be more than a match for all the trainers in Unova."
The three sat down, Gold petting his Pokémon as he reminisced about the past few years. Once he had defeated the strongest trainers of Kanto and Johto, his thoughts had immediately turned to the Pokémon Leagues of other regions. He'd slowly fought his way through the Gym Leaders of Hoenn and Sinnoh, and after several years had succeeded in beating both Wallace and Cynthia. Now, in search of his next challenge, he had resolved to set off for Unova. His ferry ticket from the Fight Area was booked for the next day, so he had decided to do some last minute training before his departure.
"I think you guys have earned a treat," Gold said, getting to his feet, "How about we head to the Ribbon Syndicate and get you a massage?"
Typhlosion and Sunflora both growled happily in agreement as Gold returned them to their Poké Balls. He felt the other Poké Balls in his belt vibrate slightly too; his Pokémon had been fighting hard all day, and were excited at the thought of some well-earned rest and relaxation.
Gold took his scooter from his backpack and unfolded it; the sun had started to disappear behind Stark Mountain, and although the ride back to the Resort Area would involve travelling through the desert in the twilight, he wanted to take in the Sinnoh scenery one last time before he headed off to the distant land of Unova. As he headed back down the mountain, the ash falling from the sky gave way to the perpetual sandstorm of Route 228, forcing him to pull his goggles down over his eyes.
Near the edge of the desert, Gold could just make out the twinkling lights of the Resort Area down the hill. Before he could make his way down through the woods, however, he felt himself falling from his scooter as something heavy slammed into his side. He landed hard on the sand, the wind knocked out of him by the force of the blow, and shakily tried to stand up again. No sooner had he gotten to his feet than another blow hit him in the back, throwing him once again to the ground. Still lying face-down on the sand, Gold reached down to his belt and pressed a button on one of the Poké Balls.
"Togekiss, I need some help here!" he pleaded as the Jubilee Pokémon flew from his Poké Ball, sitting in front of Gold to shield him from the unseen assailant. Gold got slowly and painfully to his feet once again, as both he and Togekiss looked around to see who had attacked him.
"Show yourself!" Gold shouted, his voice echoing against the desert rocks until the sandstorm once again swallowed up the noise. He scowled with a mixture of anger and fear, determined to find the attacker.
"Ugh, that does it!" he said finally, "Togekiss, Aura Sphere!"
A shimmering blue ball of energy flew from Togekiss's mouth into the depths of the sandstorm, striking an object not far from Gold with a resonating bang. When the sand kicked up by the impact settled, Gold saw the large green sphere of Protect fade away, as something approached him through the sandstorm. Upon seeing the dark cloaked figure floating towards him, he thought at first that it was a freakishly large Shuppet. However, this creature had no horn, and instead of the Ghost-type's big eyes, two shining blue lights alone were visible under the hood where Gold assumed its head must be. From the back of the cloak, a long tail was flicking around.
Gold drew his Pokédex from his pocket as the creature slowly advanced. However, the screen only displayed static and the message 'No information'. What are you?, Gold wondered, starting to sweat despite the coldness of the night. He had faced up to many strong foes in the past, even legendary Pokémon, but none of them had inspired such fear within him.
"Togekiss, Aura Sphere again!" Gold ordered, a slight quiver now evident in his voice. The Aura Sphere once again hit its target; however, rather than recoiling in pain, the creature seemed to absorb the attack, shimmering with an eerie light beneath its cloak. Gold thought that he could make out a vaguely humanoid form before a bolt of energy flew from the creature back at Togekiss, knocking him out and throwing him back a few metres. Gold ran to his side and returned his fallen friend to his Poké Ball.
"That was Mirror Coat," Gold said, half to himself and half to the creature still floating before him, "You must be a Pokémon, but the Pokédex doesn't recognise you…"
Gold couldn't understand how his highly-trained Togekiss could be downed in just one hit. His fear and confusion prevented him from moving as the Pokémon slowly advanced towards him. It was a little shorter than him, but as it hovered above the ground it looked him straight in the eye, getting so close that he could feel its warm breath on his face. Over the noise of the worsening sandstorm, he almost thought he could hear the creature's laughter inside his head. Then, as suddenly as it had first appeared, the creature flew up into the sky without warning, and was soon shielded from view by the sand.
Trying his best to stop himself from shaking, Gold staggered back to his scooter and headed as fast as he could in the direction of the Resort Area, desperate to reach the Pokémon Centre. He could hardly remember the last time he had been so terrified.