Overarching Shadows
By Silent Master of Winds
Part One:
Orre's Desolation and a Legend's Revival
Chapter 1: The Untold History
Orre. The famous desert region. Why was it famous, you ask? Because for the last 3,000 years, no wild Pokemon have ever been seen living here. Sure, there were many Pokemon who could live in the desert. Sandile, Trapinch, Sandslash and Hippopotas to name a few. But Orre was no normal wasteland. One could say that Orre was a nuclear wasteland of sorts. Long ago, during a long and bloody international war between regions, Orre was almost completely destroyed by an almighty weapon belonging to the opposing nation of Kalos. Those were dark days for the world. No one knew how it started, and for most, they didn't care. Orre had allied with the regions of Kanto, Johto, and Hoenn, forming the Regional Force of Freedom, or RFF. Kalos had allied with Sinnoh, Unova, Alola, and the emerging region of Ferrum to form the National Coexistence Powers, or NCP.
The RFF believed that mankind should subjugate Pokemon and bend them to their will in order to further their civilization. This was not to say that they didn't care about Pokemon at all. Quite the opposite in fact. They followed the old saying about bonds forged by fire, believing that man and Pokemon could work together to make the world a better place. Of course, their idea of 'working together' involved slavery, with mankind at the top and Pokemon at the bottom. Not to say that's what all of them believed but it was the general opinion, and the propaganda sure made it sound good.
The NCP believed that mankind and Pokemon could coexist peacefully without the need for a social class system. That they could walk down the street together, eat and drink together, and be the best of friends. Almost every person involved with the Powers believed in this possibility, and at first glance it seems perfect. Naturally it's anything but that. While all that sunshine and rainbows eventually became the norm, it came at the cost of relatively honest leadership. Deals made under the table and the subjugation of the mass media by the government was just the beginning. The post-war government was so corrupt that Arceus himself is noted to have said, "I didn't make that."
It all started when the King of Kalos, Aurum Zelanus IV found a small, rectangular box on his doorstep. A year ago, his closest friend, a Floette with a unique coloration and flower wished to join the fight and add her might to the millions of humans and Pokemon that had already done so. Aurum had begged her not to go, believing that he would never see her again. But she was adamant about her decision. After 6 months of personal letters detailing progress and encouraging Aurum not to worry, the letters suddenly stopped. Naturally this nearly drove the King mad with both fear and hope. Had she perished? Or was she merely too busy? Or maybe she was coming home?! These questions haunted the young king night after lonely night. However, as the weeks turned to months he began to despair. That is, until this fateful morning. He had overheard one of the castle maids talking about how an army messenger had dropped something off on the doorstep of the castle. He was quickly filled with excitement! Floette had sent him another letter! He could almost read it now! Aurum opened the door…
It destroyed him completely. He dare not even look at the battle report, detailing in the most uncaring way how his dearest companion fought bravely, before being savagely torn to shreds by an enemy Scizor. How it constantly saved endangered allies to its final breath. He was a broken man. Despite not wanting anything to do with it, Aurum was constantly updated about the war. Casualties, taken cities, captured prisoners, all of it. He didn't care. He didn't want victory, he didn't want coexistence. The king just wanted his best friend back. And he would go to whatever lengths he needed to ensure it.
Three years had passed since then, and the war was beginning to turn in favor of the RFF. Unova had been completely demolished, nothing but smoking ruins now. And the RFF was continuing to march to Kalos, even though they were constantly hounded by Sinnoh's forces. The king, however, didn't care about any of this at the moment. He had finally done it! After three long years of research into life and death with the help of Kalos' legendary Pokemon, Aurum had finally constructed a resurrection machine capable of restoring his dead friend to life. And best of all, it worked! Floette was back and better than ever, thanks to the machine also gifting both her and the King with eternal life. Now they could be friends forever. Just as soon as this war was over.
It was around that time, however, that young Aurum Zelanus began to change. His brown eyes that once shone with light and warmth, were now cold and distant as the moon. His thick black hair, which used to be straight and perfect, was now disheveled and thin. He was unmistakably emaciated and tired. And when it came down to it only his best friend had the courage to ask him what was wrong. At this, the young King would simply smile and say nothing was wrong, before proceeding to go about his business. This continued for a long time until one day, Floette caught him add something else to his usual response under his breath. "Very soon, nothing shall be wrong ever again." Though these words filled her with unease, she didn't act upon hearing them, believing that he would just brush her off again. She truly hoped however, that her young friend wouldn't do anything rash, believing him to be too smart for that.
Oh, how very wrong she was.
Waking in a cold sweat, Floette jumped from her luxurious castle bed and was startled to see everything glowing a light, sky blue. After the glow died down, she quickly felt a sharp pain in her chest. All Pokemon to some extent, are in tune with the world around them. When a disaster strikes an area and hundreds die, all Pokemon feel at least something. For this kind of pain, however? An entire region must have just been wiped out at once. But how? The only legendary Pokemon with this kind of power are Dialga and Palkia, and they promised to remain neutral so how…?
Little Floette received her answer when she looked out her castle window. She gasped. There, outside, was the machine that Aurum had built to revive her, but something was wrong. For starters, it was nearly 100 feet tall, ten times its original size. It was glowing a brilliant sky blue and seemed to be spinning. Floette could also see an energy stream of sorts trailing from the horizon all the way back to the machine itself. With a start, she realized that this machine that had revived her, was the cause of all the destruction she felt mere seconds ago. She also realized that the direction meant only one thing.
Orre had been completely vaporized. Because of the weapon's nature, its power of destruction being drawn from Yveltal itself, Orre would be uninhabitable for Pokemon for a long time. Possibly even forever. The other nations would surely concede at the prospect of such a powerful deterrent. They had won. The NCP was victorious. People and Pokemon could live in perfect harmony. But at what cost…? Floette couldn't handle knowing that the same reason she was alive was the same reason that millions had just died. So she departed the castle and her dearest friend, the King, believing that eventually, he would learn the error of his ways. She floated away to the unknown…
Chapter One: End
Author's note: This was just a kind of precursor chapter to lay out some of the history of this story. Will all of this be important? Maybe. Will all of it come up again in the story? Maybe. For now, just think of this as lore. Obviously Kalos didn't rule the world because not everyone believes what the NCP did, but they did win the war.