Chapter Zero: A jump to the past

Somewhere, in another galaxy, much alike ours, there's a world where people co-exist with the creatures known as Pokémon.

Many adventures were written, many tales were told. But this tale is different – instead of the humans co-exist with Pokémon, the humans ARE the Pokémon.

This is their Earth, in the long distant future.

Its soil has been corrupted by darkness and is ruled by an evil king.

There have been attempts of rebellion to overthrow his cruel reign, but they all failed. But there was one group of rebels that truly altered the future.

That rebellion existed out of two members, Ryo Nagami and Noah Nighton. They know what's at stake. To survive, they steal from King Kiku's fortresses, and share what they can spare with the poor and elderly.

One day, Noah spotted one of King Kiku's caverns, which holds various treasures. He decided to go in, but was quickly spotted by the henchmen of King Kiku. In an attempt to flee, Noah ran deeper into the dark and murky cave where it became darker and darker, not knowing that he was going towards the treasure.

Suddenly, Noah saw a glowing light in the distance.

"I found it. The Lost Loot is within my reach!" said Noah.

"You! Stop right there!" shouted a voice from behind.

Noah turned and saw a group of henchmen.

"I'll not surrender without a fight!" said Noah steadfast.

"We were hoping you would say that..." said one of the henchmen with a grin and attacked Noah using Dark Pulse.

Noah quickly dodged the attack by jumping up high. He countered with Leaf Sword, but when he attacked, the other five henchmen attacked him from all directions.

Quickly, Noah changes his attack to a combination of Leaf Storm and Leaf Sword. The storm knocked the 5 henchmen out cold.

Noah landed safely on the ground and looked confused.

He thought: "Wait a minute; weren't there six of them...?"

Before he noticed that the last henchman was standing behind him, he was knocked out, leaving him senseless on the floor.

Not much later, Noah regained consciousness.

He tried to moves his hands, but with no success. He seemed to be chained to a lamppost. The light was shining brightly on him.

"Huh?" he said. "Who did this? Let me go!" he shouted as he struggled to get loose.

But when he did, a shadow emerges from the dark.

Footsteps are echoing through the room.

"Who are you?" said Noah calmly.

A seductive female voice emanated and said: "Miss K., my dear."

Noah started to blush. "Wh-what do you want from me? Let me go!" he said lightly angered.

The voice chuckled and said: "So foolish, yet so brave. I don't know what to do: let you live and torture you slowly or to be merciful and grant you a swift one?

Hmm... Decisions, decisions..."

The henchmen's voices echoing saying 'Kill him!'

'Torture him to death!'

"SILENCE!" shouted the female voice.

Suddenly, the light above Noah's head started to falter, then, it fell out.

"Who turned the lights out? Put them back on at once!" she shouted.

By the time the lights turned on, Noah was gone.

"No! It can't be! He escaped! Henchmen. After them!" she shouted.

Meanwhile, outside The Lair, Noah – with a bag over his head – is sitting against a tree.

"What happened? Why is it still dark?" he said while trying to get free.

"Boy, for a smart one, you're not acting smart, are you?" said someone.

"Wait, I know that voice!" said Noah.

The bag on his head was pulled off his head, letting him to see again.

"Ryo!" said Noah relieved.

"Yep, it's me al right!" said Ryo.

"But how did you know where I was? How did you find me?" asked Noah.

"Well, it's easy to see a bunch of henchmen dragging you like a lifeless rag doll into their lair." said Ryo while he freed Noah.

"Oh, by-the-way, Celebi the Wise called us, she said it was important."

"What then?" Noah asked.

"I don't know." answered Ryo.

"She only said it was important."

Not much later, Ryo and Noah reached their destination: Wellness Village, a quiet village near Wellness Lake, hence its name.

They reached an old house. The doors creaked when they entered; some of the windows were broken; the fence was badly damaged.

The mailbox stated: "Celebi the Wise, Road of Health 18".

"This must be the place." said Ryo as they walked inside the house.

"When will she dump this place and move to a better house?" said Noah while looking around.

"I find this place pretty good, thank you very much." said Celebi the Wise.

Noah turned and was surprised to see who was behind him.

"Hello there." she said. "I have been waiting for you two."

"Yeah, sorry Celebi, Noah here was so smart that he got himself kidnapped." said Ryo.

"Okay, I think she knows."

"That seems logical, isn't it?"

"How about teaching you what's log-"

"HEY!" interrupted Celebi. "We don't have enough time for this. Just follow me. We have things to discuss."

"Like what?" asked Ryo.

"Just follow me." said Celebi.

In the meantime while Ryo and Noah were following Celebi, one of the henchmen was looking through his spyglass.

Then he ran as quickly as he could, back to the lair, to report what he has seen.

"Miss!" he shouted as he knelt down. "I found the rebel, but he's not alone – Celebi the Wise and another rebel are there too!"

"Okay then…" she mumbles.

"What are your orders?" he asked.

"Keep an eye on those three. Get more… 'intel' about them." she said sinisterly.

"Miss!" shouted the henchmen as he saluted her and ran away.

"What are those up to…?" She wondered quietly.

Back at Celebi's house, Celebi, Ryo and Noah are discussing matters.

"As you know, I have the ability to travel trough time, and I think it's the only way to end this tyranny." said Celebi.

"Then why didn't you stop him?" said Ryo.

"The ability wasn't useful on that moment. King Kiku should track me down anywhere, every time I travel."

"Didn't you try later?" asked Noah.

"It wouldn't have been of any use. Kiku controls time, and therefore also controls my travelling. You see, everywhere I go, Kiku immediately knows where I was, or where I went to." said Celebi.

For a moment, it was quiet.

"Wait a minute, you said that King Kiku only knows where you went, right?" said Ryo.

"Yes, that what I've said." said Celebi.

"What if we went through your portal?" asked Ryo.

"As in travelling through time?"

"Yes! We're going through your time portal and we will restore the future!"

"That's not a bad idea. Do you think it will work?" asked Noah.

"I'm sure." said Ryo.

"Okay. I'll give it a try. But I have to act fast. And since I have stopped travelling, I do not know if I can pull this off.

Plus, I'm getting older." she explains.

Ryo and Noah looked at each other with the impression of 'Can't argue with that (!)'

"Okay. I'll do it." she said. "Meet me in the clearing of Dark Forest in two hours. I'll prepare a portal for you."

"But wouldn't that be dangerous? There are some pretty bad figures out there. And, King Kiku also knows when you open a time portal." said Ryo.

"The forest around the portal gives me some time before he notice the time/space rupture. By the time he finds out, you two will be already gone." she said.

Meanwhile, back at the Lair…

"…Miss! I have valuable information about the rebels and the Wise." he said.

"Spill it." she said.

"The rebels and the Wise are meeting each other again in the Dark Forest. The rebels are going through a time portal to destroy King Kiku's future of ruling the kingdom."

"WHAT?" she shouted.

"The rebels are going through a time portal to destroy King Kiku's future of ruling the kingdom, Miss."

"I've heard enough. Get the others, I will go to King Kiku." she said angered.

"Miss." he said. He bowed and turned away.

Miss K. ran to the Time Fortress, a fortress that doesn't age by time. Inside the Fortress lives King Kiku. This king used to be a good guy, but during an apocalypse, turned evil.

"My lord," she said. "Some rebels and Celebi the Wise are preparing a time jump in the Dark Forest. I have told the henchmen to wait there to prepare an ambush."

"Katharine." said the dark voice. "Did you just say 'Celebi'?"

"Yes, my lord." she said doubtfully.

"And she is preparing a time jump?" he asked.

"Yes,-"

Before she could continue her sentence, King Kiku stood before her.

"I have heard enough. We are putting an end to their lives, once and for all." he growled.

Two hours have passed, and Ryo and Noah were waiting in the Forest.

"Where is she?" asked Noah. "She said that we had to meet up here!"

"I'm right behind you!" said a voice behind his back.

Noah turned around to see what's behind him and fell.

"How do you do that?" asked Ryo.

"I might be old, but I still got some tricks up my sleeve!" said Celebi as she chuckled.

"So here's the portal, right?"

"Yes, and you better hurry up, I sense danger coming our way."

Ryo and Noah looked around, but couldn't see anyone accept some leafs flying around, blown by the wind.

"What 'danger'?" said Ryo.

"Celebi senses space/time raptures, and since King Kiku and her are the only people that can time travel, she feels him walking towards us. Isn't that right?" answers Noah.

Celebi nodded.

All of the sudden, the wind stopped, no leafs were flying around, and if there was, they were motionless. Like they were frozen in time.

A horrid sound was emanated from the deepest of the forest and the shadow of King Kiku, Miss Katherine and a group of henchmen appeared.

"King Kiku," said Noah.

"And his henchmen." said Ryo.

King Kiku started to chuckle and said: "You are so naïve, Celebi. You don't even deserve the title 'the Wise' if you think you can do something that foolish. Do you really think you could open a portal and get away with it?"

"That's pretty much the idea, smarty-pants!" said Ryo fierce.

Noah gave Ryo a quick poke in his side.

"What? It's true!"

"You don't simply insult him! You want to die or something?!" shouted Noah at him.

"How awful it might be, he's right." said Celebi.

"ENOUGH WITH THE CHIT CHAT!" yelled King Kiku.

His screaming echoed through the forest for a moment, and then there was only silence.

King Kiku stepped forward and made an offer.

"Please stop your tomfoolery. Come work for me." he said with a calm voice.

"And kill thousands of innocent lives for being your slave?" replied Ryo enraged. "NEVER!" he shouted.

"Very well, then." said King Kiku saddened. "You may go down along with your last words."

He turned around and walked towards Miss Katherine and her henchmen.

"Kill them, but let the wise one live. And if you ever try to hurt her, I will personally kill you and your family, understood?"

"My King." said Miss Katherine intimidated.

King Kiku left the area, as he did, the time resumed. The gust came back.

"Henchmen," said Miss. "attack!"

And so did the henchmen by using various attacks.

"Prepare yourself!" said Noah and got ready for battle.

But before he could launch an attack, Celebi said: "You two go, I'll hold them off! That includes Miss K.!"

"But she's too powerful!" said Ryo. "She might kill you!"

"That might be true, but I can hold them long enough to buy you some time to enter the portal!" she shouted. "Now go!"

Ryo and Noah ran towards the portal, but got held up by some henchmen that were guarding the portal. Luckily for them, the henchmen got knocked out by Celebi's Psywave.

"No!" said Miss Katherine. "They may not enter the portal!"

Katherine started to charge an attack.

As soon the boys ran into the portal, Miss Katherine started to fire her Aurora Beam.

Celebi ran as quickly as she could to block the beam with her cane, but broke the cane and Celebi got hit by Miss Katherine's Beam.

The Beam hits the portal.

"Wh-what's happening?" said Noah frightened.

"I don't know, but I have a bad feeling about this." answered Ryo threatened.

Sadly Ryo's feelings were right. The path between the time lines started to quake. Suddenly there was a sharp shriek that generated heavy psywaves that separates Noah and Ryo.

"Try grabbing my hand!" screamed Noah as he reached out.

"I'm trying!" Ryo reached over, but the waves were too powerful.

"NOAAH!" screamed Ryo as he fell out a random portal.

"BROTHER! NOOO!" screamed Noah as he fell out another random portal.

Outside stood Katherine, watching to see the portal break into pieces.

She looked at Celebi, who was laying there breathless.

Then, she realised that she is going to be killed by his Master…

A mysterious shadow started to lurk over Katherine.

"Sorry Lord Kiku. But I have to…" she sobbed softly.