Chapter 1

Reborn

In the fading light of the evening, a lone Chimchar ran through the dense overgrowth of Shrouded Forest.

"No!" cried the Chimchar. "No, no, NO!"

The Chimchar ran through the forest, crying in anguish. As he ran, he took out his anguish on every passing tree.

"I won't go! I won't!" shouted the Chimchar. "I won't! I won't! I won't!"

The little Pokemon scratched at the tree closest to he as hard as he could, leaving gash after gash in the bark of the tree. The Chimchar continued to run until he reached a clearing he finally stopped running and wiped away the tears that fell from his eyes.

"Arceus why?" asked the Chimchar sorrowfully. "Why would they do it?!"

In a fit of rage, the little Chimchar screamed, releasing several small balls of fire from its mouth.

"I don't care what they say," said the Chimchar, his energy beginning to fade. "I refuse to go. They can't make me! I'll... I'll run away! Yeah, that's it. I'll run away to someplace where they'll never find me!"

Once the little Chimchar finally calmed down and fell to his knees in exhaustion. He held his hands tenderly, trying to dull the pain caused by his continuous attacks on the trees of the forest. He looked back at the path that he had traveled and saw how far he had run and the damage that he had caused to the forest.

As the young Chimchar continued to sit, his rage slowly began to fade, giving way to misery. He knew that deep down he was trapped. There was nothing he could do to defy the fate that was given to him. Everything that he had ever loved would be taken away from him. His parents, his friends, and his free will.

The Chimchar looked up to the sky with a tearful gaze. "Oh, great legends, please answer my prayers," whispered the small Pokemon. "If you can hear me, or if you even exist, please... help me. I don't want to go, so please... do something, anything."

The sun then completely set, bathing the sky in darkness as stars became visible. The Chimchar sighed as it got to his feat and walked towards the path that he had taken.

'No,' he thought, stopping in his tracks. 'I can't go back. There's nothing for me there.' The Chimchar turned and walked in the opposite direction. "I need to find shelter for the night, but where can I go?"

No sooner had he said that when a silvery light appeared deeper in the forest.

The Chimchar shielded his eyes, in a attempt to block out the light that seemed to be increasing in intensity. The just as suddenly as it appeared, the light faded away.

"What was that?" asked the Chimchar himself in wonder "That light came from close by," he said. "Hmm. I might as well investigate."

With his mind set, the little Chimchar ran towards where he saw the light fall.

Nearby Shrouded Forest

"Why are we still out here?"

"Because, Angela said that there was something important here."

Two Pokémon, a Greninja and a Manectric, made there way through Shrouded Forest. The figure in front moved with determination and a since of urgency while its partner followed reluctantly.

"Stride..."

"Just come on!"

The two forged on, losing the little light they had when the sun set. The Manectric was slowly losing his patience with his stubborn partner.

"Stride, it's dark out. We should head back."

"No. Angela had a vision that said there was something of importance was here, so we're going to find it."

"Stride, you don't really believe that kind of stuff do you?"

"She hasn't steered us wrong yet."

The Manectric sighed in exasperation. "There's nothing here but Fletchling and Vivillon. Besides, it's getting late. We should get back to base."

The Greninja ignored the Manectric and continued walking. The Manectric sighed in in exasperation as he followed his partner.

"What if Angela's wrong?" the Manectric asked.

"What if she's right?" countered Stride.

"Ugh! Stride stop being so stubborn and listen to me for once!"

"No you listen!" yelled Stride, shocking the Manectric. "Angela told me that there was something in this forest that could change the tide of the war! If that's not important to you than you can head back, but I'm going to continue!"

"... You think it's the silver soul don't you?"

"..."

The Manectric sighed. "Stride, the silver soul is just a myth. There's no proof that it even exists."

"... I know, but even if there's a small sliver of a chance, I have to check..." said Stride, looking irritated. "What if the silver soul exists and our enemies get it? What happens then?!"

"I know, I know," sighed the Manectric. "Fine. We'll walk a little longer."

The Greninja gave the Manectric a grateful smile. "Thanks Bolt."

The Manectric gave his partner a smile. "Hey, what are partners for?"

The two were about to continue their trek when a silvery light appeared further in the forest and disappeared shortly afterward.

"What the hell was that?!" asked Bolt.

"I believe that's what we're here for." said Stride. He then turned to Bolt. "Let's go."

"It must have come from around here..." said the Chimchar as he made his way through the dense forest in search of the source of the light.

The Chimchar had been searching for where the light came from for the past ten minutes and he was becoming increasingly frustrated.

"Ugh! Why am I even doing this! I should just find a place to stay for the- Whoa!"

The Chimchar had walked into a clearing and saw, curled up into a small ball with its head resting on its tail, was a sleeping Riolu.

"Whoa!" said the Chimchar in wonder. "No way. That's a... Riolu! But those things don't live around here. Did it cause that light?"

True to his words, Riolu were very uncommon, especially in Chimchar's corner of the world. The Chimchar had only seen Riolu in books.

The Chimchar approached the sleeping Riolu cautiously, unsure if the Riolu was dangerous. 'I wonder if it's sentient.' he thought. 'Is it... dead? No, it can't be. It's breathing. Should I wake it up?'

As he got closer, he could see that the Riolu was in pain. It looked as if it was suffering from a severe headache. The Chimchar's anxiety got the best of him as he crouched down next to the Riolu and lightly shook it.

"Hey, wake up!" whispered the Chimchar.

The Riolu didn't respond.

"C'mon. Please get up!" pleaded the Chimchar, whispering a little louder.

When the Riolu continued to be unresponsive, the Chimchar became increasingly worried. The Chimchar sighed in frustration and stood up.

"Sorry about this," he said as he shot out a small ball of fire at the Riolu's tail, igniting it.

At first the Riolu didn't react, but then it's nose crinkled as it smelled burning fur. The Riolu opened its eyes and saw its burning tail. It stared at its burning tail for a second, then it registered the pain.

"OWW!" cried the Riolu as it jumped to its feat and ran around, attempting to put out its tail. When it finally managed to put out the fire it gave a sigh of relief.

"Sorry about that." said the Chimchar, sheepishly. "You weren't waking up and you looked like you were in pain, so..."

The Chimchar trailed off when he saw the Riolu clutching his head.

"My head..." muttered the Riolu.

"Did you hit your head or something?" asked the Chimchar.

The Riolu looked at him and his eyes widened. "D-did you just talk?" asked the Riolu.

The Chimchar gave him a curious look. "Yeah?"

"Ahh!" cried out the Riolu as it fell on its rear and scooted away, staring at the Chimchar in fear.

"What?" asked the Chimchar in concern. "What's wrong?"

"Y-you c-can talk?!" asked the shocked Riolu, pointing a finger at the Chimchar.

"Yeah, sooo..."

"But you're a Pokémon!"

The Chimchar gave him a curious look. "So? You're a Pokemon too."

"What?! No I'm not! I'm a human!"

"A human!" yelped the Chimchar in shock. "But you look like a normal Riolu to me. You probable hit your head when you fell."

"Fell?" asked the Riolu.

"There are probably some oran berries around here." said the Chimchar walking towards the trees that surrounded the crater.

"B-but you don't understand." said the Riolu, scrambling to his feat. "I'm a human! I just-"

"Dude, look at yourself." interrupted the Chimchar. "You have paws. You have fur. You have a tail. You are a Riolu."

The Riolu, reluctantly, looked at his hands, or paws and gasped in shock. He then turned and saw a tail, with a slightly burnt tip.

"Y-you're right!" gasped the Riolu. "I've turned into a Riolu! But- but how?!"

"Besides, humans have been extinct for a while," the Chimchar said.

"E-Extinct?"

"Yeah," said the Chimchar, returning with a small blue berry. "Humans died out about one hundred years ago. Here." The Chimchar handed Zero the blue fruit. "This should help you feel better."

The Riolu took the fruit, but did not eat it. "H-how did this happen?" asked the Riolu, still trying to grasp the fact that he was now a Pokémon.

"Just eat the berry," said the Chimchar in an even tone, trying to calm the frantic Riolu. "It should help."

The Riolu looked at the small fruit curiously, before biting into it.

"Feel better?" asked the Chimchar.

"Sorta." replied the Riolu, finishing the fruit. "My headache's gone."

"Okay now think. What's the last thing you remember?"

"I... I can't remember anything!" cried the Riolu. "Why can't I remember anything?!"

"Okay, okay. Just calm down." said the Chimchar, trying to keep the Riolu from freaking out again. "Just try to remember something small. What's your name?"

"My name..." said the Riolu as he racked his brain. "I can't remember." His eyes widened. "I can't remember! I can't even remember my own name!"

"Just calm down." said the Chimchar, putting his hands up in a placating manner. "Now, are you sure that you don't remember anything?"

"I can't remember anything!" said the Riolu as he put his paws on his head, as if that would help him remember. "I try to remember, but I keep drawing a blank!"

"It's okay," said the Chimchar, placing a reassuring hand on the Riolu's back. "It'll be okay."

"But I can't remember anything," said the Riolu depressingly as tears began to form in his eyes. "What am I supposed to do now? I'm a human stuck as a Pokémon, in a place I don't know! What do I do?!"

The Chimchar looked at the Riolu's pained expression and felt for him.. "Well for now, how about I call you Zero?"

"Zero?" asked the Riolu, looking up.

"Yeah. Because you have zero memory. It's perfect!" said the Chimchar in an attempt to lighten the mood.

The Riolu just gave him a blank look that clearly said, "Really?".

The Chimchar gave him a sheepish look. "Anyway, my name's Furno," said the Chimchar, extending a hand. "Nice to meet you."

The Riolu looked at Furno's extended hand for a second before grasping his hand with his paw. "Nice to meet you too." said the Riolu with a smile. "So, where are we exactly?"

"We're in a place called Shrouded Forest.," responded Furno. "We're actually close to my house."

"You're house? You mean you live alone?"

"No. I live with... I mean I lived with my parents."

"Lived?" asked the Riolu curiously. "Did something happen to them?"

"No," said Furno bitterly. "I ran away..."

"Why?" asked the Riolu. Seeing the look on Furno's face he spoke again. "You don't have to tell me if you don't want to."

"No it's fine," said Furno. "They wanted me to-"

The Riolu looked at Furno, curious of why he stopped talking.

"Why'd you-"

"Shh!" whispered Furno. "I thought I heard something."

The Riolu fell silent as he too began to listen. After a few seconds he heard the sound of breaking twigs.

"I heard it too!" whispered the Riolu.

"Come on!" said Furno, grabbing the Riolu's paw and dragged him into the forest and hid behind a tree.

The two hid in silence as they waited. After a few more minutes they both heard the sound of footsteps and two whispering voices.

"... I'm sure it came from around here."

"You said that in the last clearing we went to."

"We need to get out of here," whispered Furno to the Riolu as he began to slowly back up. "Move quietly."

The Riolu nodded and followed him. They had made it a few feet when the Riolu accidentally stepped on a twig, alerting the two that were in the clearing.

"What was that?" said one of the voices. "Who's there?!"

"Zero, RUN!" shouted Furno, grabbing the Riolu's paw and running through the forest.

"Stop!" shouted the voice.

"Who are they?!" shouted the Riolu as he followed the Chimchar, too shocked to mention the fact that Furno kept calling him Zero.

"They're the Emperor's forces!" said Furno, fear laced in his voice. "If we don't get away, they'll kidnap us!"

"W-what?" stuttered the Riolu as he continued to run.

"They went this way!" shouted one of the voices.

"They're gaining on us!" shouted Furno, as he picked up the pace. "If we don't get away..."

Furno gained a pensive look. "... I know a place that we can go, but it's risky," he then turned to the Riolu. "You're gonna have to trust me."

"O-okay."

"Then come on!" shouted Furno as he pulled the Riolu in a different direction.

The two ran for a few more minutes before they came upon a cave.

"This is it." said Furno stopping in front of the mouth of the cave.

"What is this place?" asked the Riolu.

"This place..." said Furno solemnly. "Is a mystery dungeon."

"A mystery dungeon?" asked the Riolu.

Before Furno could respond, shouts of the Pokémon that were pursuing them came from behind. "Stop right there!"

"Ugh. C'mon Zero!" said Furno as he pulled the Riolu into the cave.