Xatu, a prophet chosen by Arceus, sat atop the Hill of Prophecy, staring unblinking into the sky. Suddenly, he received a prophecy.
One young hero, stripped of his evil motives.
Five rambunctious children, in a fateful encounter.
One young hero
and five rambunctious children…
to stop the Shadows.
2000 years later…
A Lucario was talking to his young Riolu son. The Lucario had glowing red eyes, the sign of a Pokémon possessed by the Shadows. "You will go into the forest and kill every wild Pokémon there. They are savages and must be eliminated. Now, whatever you do, do not go into Leafdew Town. You will be hunted down for sure. Do not forget these words, capiche?" "Capiche, Dad!" the Riolu replied, as a Shadows-possesed Pelipper carried him off into the forest. Once he had arrived at the forest, the Riolu looked around for wild Pokémon to slay at the direction of his father.
Not far away, a wild Skwovet was fighting with a Rockruff, also wild, over a pile of Berries. The Skwovet had just obscured the Rockruff's vision with Sand Attack. The Rockruff was planning on launching a full-force Rock Throw attack on the Skwovet, but due to its obscured vision, it missed its target, and the rock flied towards Riolu, bonking him on the head, and making him lose his memory (and maybe a sizable chunk of brain cells too). After the incident, Riolu had completely changed, and now he was living his life as a friendly Pokémon in the woods, going completely unnoticed by the Pokémon of Leafdew Town who went into the forest for a vast array of reasons. Well, not until a few years later…