"Earlier today, what looks like a meteor was spotted hurtling through the sky. Turning now to our correspondent at Team Celestial HQ."
"Thanks, Heather. I'm here with a scientist from Team Celestial, a prominent group of researchers, astronomers, and rocket scientists here in Axis City. Dr. Wilson, what is this meteor we saw in the sky today?"
"Well, we're not entirely sure, but we are observing it with our telescopes and monitoring it."
"The big question on everyone's minds is, where is this object headed? And what are the consequences?"
"Well, obviously, there is a scare that it will hit the planet and cause damage somehow, but it's looking like it will be captured by the gravity of our moon first. There's a good chance that whatever it is, it will hit the moon, not the planet. We should be fine."
"Thank you, doctor. Well there you have it. All we can do now is cross our fingers that this spacefaring meteor doesn't crash into our fair planet. Back to you."
Jack walked through the forest, Semy on his back with her claws gripping his shoulders and Ghost Semy floating behind him. Periodically he'd hear the voice in his head, and it would seem to be coming from a certain direction. He didn't really understand how that worked, since he wasn't actually hearing any real sounds. But he continued to follow the voice. Semy knew what berries to eat, and that was enough for Jack for now.
Late in the day, as twilight fell on the forest, Jack heard the voice again, strongly. It pushed him onward. He was tired, but his legs kept moving. The voice called him to a rock wall covered in vines. Other than that, it seemed to be a dead end. The voice spoke loudly.
Secret Power.
"Secret what? What is that?" Jack questioned, but as he did, he noticed that Semy was glowing faintly white. The glowing quickly subsided, but something had obviously happened.
"Uh, Semy...use Secret Power," he ventured, hoping that's what the voice had meant.
His Ninjask flew in front of him, glowing a pulsing green energy. As he did, the vines on the wall began to move. They crawled down and organized themselves into a ladder and in doing so uncovered the entrance to a cave high on the rock wall. Satisfied and curious, he braced himself and started to climb. He struggled up the cliff wall to the opening. He could feel that this was the source of the voice.
Sure enough, when he pulled himself up into the cavity, floating in the middle of a surprisingly large cave he saw a small green pixie. Its round head curved upwards into a point behind it. Its watery blue eyes gazed directly at Jack.
I knew you'd come
"Yes, I'm here. What do you want me to do?"
Take it
In front of him, in between Jack and the fairy, was a shiny black Pokéball.
Protect. Protect the forest.
After imparting this command, the green forest fairy faded away. Jack approached the mysterious Pokéball. He pointed it forward, opening it, and out came a tall, bipedal, prehistoric-looking bug with scythes for its arms. Jack recognized it as a Scyther, although this wasn't Scyther's typical green. It was a dark black color that shone even in the shadows of the cave.
Falcata
The voice drifted in faintly.
"Falcata," Jack repeated. The black Scyther nodded grimly.
Jack left the cave, taking care to remember the surroundings and where the hideout was located. When he descended, Semy used Secret Power again to conceal the entrance. Falcata, his new black Scyther, led the way through the forest. They traveled together, taking seldom used pathways. They could soon see a small hamlet. Jack realized this must be Cobweb Hollow, the other town of Nightshade Forest. It was small and hidden from prying eyes by large spider web stretched between the trees. It was clear those spiderwebs were there for protection, and that protection was being tested.
A group of fierce wild Pokémon were attacking the webs. A massive Drapion was clawing at the webs with its huge mandibles. Beedrills darted furiously at the web, trying to break through. An Arbok was looking for a hole small enough to crawl through. From the other side of the webbed walls, inside the town, some Trainers and their Bug Pokémon were mustered, trying to fend off the attackers. An old man with an Ariados was leading their efforts at defense, and through the melee, Jack could also see a bulky Crustle and a stalwart Heracross. They were holding up admirably, but the pack of wild Pokémon was quickly unraveling the web.
Jack and Falcata looked at each other, and then they leapt forward into the fray. Jack directed Semy and Ghost Semy as Falcata cut his way through the wild Pokémon.
As they were running away, an old man approached the front "gate" with a companion Ariados at his side. The spider climbed up the webbed walls and started repairing what had been damaged in the attack.
Noticing Falcata, the old man addressed Jack. "So...the new Guardian of the Forest has come. Your timing was impeccable. Our web is strong, but it cannot withstand prolonged attacks. Come inside, let us talk at the Gym."
Jack followed the man inside, past the small militia of townspeople and Pokémon, to the Gym in the center of the city. Typical for Jack, none of his Pokémon were in their Pokéballs but were instead clinging to him, floating behind him, or walking next to him. They walked inside, and Jack saw a few Bug Trainers practicing their battling techniques and training with their Pokémon. The old man led Jack around the edge of the gym, to his office in the back.
"Please sit," he said, motioning to a chair as he sat at his desk. "Now, what's your name, son?"
"Jack, sir. I'm Jack."
"You don't like Pokéballs, do you?"
"I use them sometimes, but I like spending time with my Pokémon."
"I see. I see why Celebi chose you."
"Was that...is Celebi the green fairy?"
"Yes, I suppose that would be her. She protects this forest, but she's never been able to do it herself. She chooses someone to help her. And now it would seem that person is you."
"Yes, that sounds right. I want to do what I can to help."
"Good. That's why she gave you Falcata. He is a noble Pokémon, one of a noble heritage. Little is known about them, but it comes from a group of elite guardian Pokémon. Falcata is known as the Shadow of the Forest. He will serve you well, especially if you befriend him as you have your other Pokémon."
"Thank you, sir. So, um...I do have a question. What...do I do?"
"Ha, yes, a good question. Well, Celebi brought you here, so here is where you'll stay, at least for now. I'm the Gym Leader here, as you can see. My name is...you can call me Bauer. You will stay here and train at my Gym. If our town needs you - or if, more importantly, Celebi needs you, you will be ready to help."
"Thank you. That sounds fair. I'm looking forward to learning more about being a Pokémon trainer. And about being the Guardian of the Forest. I feel like I have so much ahead of me…"
"Yes you do, son. Let's get started."