The Awakening
Vermillion Bay. Even with the scattered white clouds in the sky, the day was incredibly beautiful. The sun shone brightly to keep things warm, and a cool sea breeze blew in that kept things from getting too hot. The city over at the shore bustled with lively activity.
But despite the gorgeous view above, something at the bay floor saw things very differently. To it, there was nothing. No light, no sound... An entirely empty void. It's been that way for far too long. Wait, what was that...? A bubble...
It's getting stronger. Its time was drawing near. The world would then see the kind of destructive power this vile presence possessed. Very soon... A deep blood-red eye opened, and focused.
* * *
After the official closing ceremonies for the Pokémon League, everyone returned to Pallet Town where they were holding a victory party for Ash at Professor Oak's ranch. Many familiar faces were attending the festivities. Richie, Snap, and AJ were seen hanging around, and if one looked close enough, even Gary could be spotted in the area.
Ash, Misty, and Brock had released all their pokémon to enjoy the party also, with the exception of Charizard. Every so often, a gentle post-summer zephyr would blow through.
Ash stood next to the professor and his mother as the professor gave his speil about Ash being the youngest trainer ever to be a Pokémon Master. Ash the Pokémon Master... It had a ring to it. He knew to give due credit to his pokémon of course, and he knew he still had alot to learn, but this victory proved to the everyone just how good a trainer he was.
From high above the ground, Jessie watched the ongoing party from their meowth-shaped balloon. Fortunately for them, they were still far enough away so they weren't seen yet. She spotted Ash and Pikachu as they moved closer. "Look. There they are."
Meowth pulled himself up so he could see over the side of the basket. His smile went ear-to-ear. "Now's are chance."
James was sitting down, eating something out of a bowl. "Chance? For what?"
Jessie looked back at him, along with Meowth. She armed herself with her fan and smacked him over the head with it. James layed bent over on the floor with a big welt on his head. "James, will you use your brain for once?"
Meowth closed his eyes and smirked. "He would, but I dink you both lost 'em as children," he commented, nodding. Ahh, man... Smack! Jessie knocked him to the floor too.
"Why me?" she sighed, rubbing her head with her fingers.
Back down at the party, Professor Oak just finished his speach. Ash took a few steps in preparation to speak to the crowd when, "Prepare for trouble!" they heard Jessie. Everyone viewed the skies above and watched as Jessie and James stood proud and tall.
"And make it double!" James added.
In the basket, Meowth sat down, thinking. He never liked the length of the motto, but the author really wanted to put it in. A light bulb lit. He hooked up a laptop and edited the fic. "To protect the world from devastation. To unite all peoples within our nation. To denounce the evils of truth and love. To extend our reach to the stars above. Jessie! James! Team Rocket blasts off at the speed of light! Surrender now, or prepare to fight! Meowth, that's right!"
Meowth lept up onto the side of the basket, armed with some sort of grappler gun. He took aim at Pikachu, and fired it down... A perfect shot! The claw clamped around its target and began pulling him back.
Ash grabbed the claw as Pikachu slid away. "Hey!" He strained, pulling at the device. "Let go... of... Pikachu!" He kept trying to pry it open.
Eventually, it lifted them both into the air. Ash tried his best to hold on, but his fingers slipped. He fell. But luckily he wasn't too far up, so he hit the ground relatively safely.
Brock ran up with Misty and a few other people. "Ash! Are you okay?" he asked.
"I... think so," he responded with a bit of pain. He looked up to moving balloon and went to grab one of his pokeballs. The movement was interrupted when he spotted something else in the air. "Hey... Look!" He used that same hand to point up by the air-bound vehicle.
Jessie, James, and Meowth, who had been watching Ash, looked in front of themselves to see what caught his attention. Floating right in front of them, was Mewtwo... glaring wickedly. His eyes started glowing a psychic blue. He held his hands out, pointing all six fingers at them, and Team Rocket freaked. Then there was an earsplitting explosion in their balloon.
Now freed, Pikachu rapidly fell towards the ground, head first. "Pikaa...!"
Team Rocket flew back into the air, flipping and twisting. "Looks like Team Rocket's blasting off again!"
"Pikachu!" Ash yelled as he pushed himself up and ran. Just when Pikachu would of hit the ground, Ash dove and caught him, landing face down. He lifted his head. "Are you alright, Pikachu?"
"Pika," he nodded.
They all looked back up just in time to see Mewtwo looking down at the two on the ground. Ash's eyes met his...
Somehow, long dormant thoughts re-awoke in him. That thing... seemed so familiar. Like he had seen it before, but didn't have the ability to remember. A memory that just happened... a long time ago. He was supposed to know what it was, but... What was it...? Why was it so familiar? Then without so much as a twitch, Mewtwo vanished.
A moment passed. Brock was first one to get enough of his composure back to speak. "...what was that?"
Prof. Oak tried his best to answer the question, but his mind had gone one-hundred percent blank. He blinked. "I... I don't know..."
* * *
Time went on. Things calmed down as the party continued, but now most of the talk was about what the strange creature was. Professor Oak had gone inside his lab to maybe find something out, while Mrs. Ketchum became oddly reclusive, not talking much to anyone. Also, as some people noticed, the gentle breeze was replaced with actual wind, which at times, gusted quite strongly.
Somewhere in the party, a familiar-looking blue haired girl searched around. She had to find him. It was imparative that she did, but she hadn't had any luck yet. She spotted Misty and Brock, picking at some snacks. She recognized the two, but no, not them. She turned her head the other direction. There he was... Ash. He was talking with Richie, Snap, and AJ.
She walked over to him. "Excuse me," she grabbed the guys' attention.
Ash didn't need to think twice about her name. "Annie?" One side of his mouth tried raising itself into a smile.
She straightened up before responding. "Hey, Ash."
"W-what are you doing here?" he stuttered. Now that was rude... A girl he barely knew greets him, and he asked that? He smiled meakly. "I mean, umm... Hi." The air temperature seemed to rise quite drasticly, though Ash's face kept from changing colors.
She giggled a bit and smiled. "Actually, I came here to talk to you."
She didn't show any signs of worry or distress, but something made Ash lose his smile. There... Was there something important she had to say? "About what?"
"I really think we should go somewhere private." Now she lost her smile as well.
"...o- okay." Ash took a step to his side, letting her lead the way.
* * *
Ash was taken over to a fence where nobody else seemed to be. Still waiting for some explanation, he looked at Annie. However, she didn't look back. She leaned on the fence, watching the horizon, then gazed down at the grass. A sigh escaped.
"I... I don't really know how to say this, but..." She forced herself to look at him. "My family and I have psychic powers." Ash's interest peaked.
Annie grabbed her elbows as if she was chilled, but it didn't feel too cold out... to Ash, anyway. Her head turned away toward the ground. "And, ever since you've won at the Pokémon League, we've felt something bad happening." His concern grew as she continued. "We don't know what it is, or what's going to happen, but we do know that you're somehow involved. We can sense it."
She looked at him again. "My mother really wants to meet you, but I-" she lowered her head in shame, her under-eyes lining red, "we understand if you don't want to."
Come to think of it, it was a bit chilly.
* * *
Back in Vermillion Bay, the water's surface quickly progressed from tranquil to violent. The sky started covering itself with very thick, dark clouds. Lightning flashed, followed by a loud shot of thunder. It was happening... All traces of the beautiful day were gone. A wave lifted up and splashed down hard.
Standing outside of the Saffron Gym, Sabrina observed the black clouds in the distance. She let the wind will her clothes and hair around as she felt... it. Something... A presence, stirring after centuries of dormancy, was now awakening. The thing's power controlled only by the anger in its heart. And what power it had... "It's here."
The bay's condition had since become worse. Waves were thrown up only to collide with others, each one bigger than the previous. Another lighting flash was accompanied by the rumble of thunder. Suddenly, a tower of water shot up into the air. A shadowed phantom flew up the center of it, snaking its way towards the top. Then, as it neared the peak, the pillar shattered.
A huge bird-like creature, covered in pure black feathers on its outspread wings and back, and dark gray feathers on its head and body, seemingly floated in mid-air. Its open eyes exposed a deep blood-red color as it crackled with black electrical energy. The screech it released was nothing short of horrifying.
Now everyone would feel its wrath. But something else would take priority... At that point, it flew off as quickly as it appeared, towards the Orange Islands.
* * *
Back at the ranch, something ripped straight through Annie's mind. She grasped the sides of her head and gasped, stumbling over. Ash grabbed her, holding her up. He looked at her face and saw nothing but terror. "No...!" she exclaimed somewhat quietly. "No!" her voice got louder.
"What's wrong?!" he asked, shocked at the sudden change in emotion.
"It... it's awake!" Tears pulled themselves out of her eyes.
"What is?" he grew more concerned by the second.
"I don't know!"
At that moment, Brock and Misty ran up to the comparatively small commotion. "Ash, what's wrong?" Brock asked, making Ash turn his head.
"I don't know...!" he answered before looking back at the girl. He finally got her standing back up.
Brock calmly set his hands on her shoulders and stared at her unfocused eyes with a stern face. "It's okay, calm down..." She got her eyes to focus on the three people around her. She calmed a little, but she was still obviously shaken. "Now, what's wrong?"
"I... I'm not sure." She stumbled with her words. "But, something's happened. I- I've got to get home." She looked up to Ash, her eyes pleading him. "Ash, I think you should come with me."
Ash smiled reassuringly and nodded. "Alright."
"Then I'll go too," Brock said.
"Me too," Misty added firmly.
A huge gust of wind blew threw, almost bowling them all over. Brock looked up and noticed the black clouds looming over the mountains. He was positive they weren't there before. "Then, I think we should get going. It looks like the weather's going to get pretty bad."
* * *
Inside the professor's lab, Professor Oak was still researching the previous incident. He obviously didn't have much to go on, save for what he saw. He continued typing away until the phone rang. He brought it up in a window on his monitor and saw the resident Orange Islands professor, Felina Ivy.
"Ah, Professor Ivy," he greeted. Had he paid attention, he would've noticed her expression was not her usual, cheerful one. "I've been meaning to call you. I think I know someone that can-"
"I'm afraid that'll have to wait, Professor," she cut him off. Her voice was extremely severe, for her anyway.
Her counter-part took notice. "Oh? What's wrong?"
"Have a look at this..." Her picture was replaced with another one, a still photograph that made the professor's mouth hang open.
It was a picture of the creature, flying towards the Orange Islands. The sky above it showed no evidence of the blue sky that the archipelago was famous for. If a picture was a thousand words, this one just repeated the same one over and over again... Evil.
"This picture was taken from the north edge of Hamlin Island and nobody is quite sure of what it is," she explained. "Reports say it's being very destructive, and they fear it may be headed here." Professor Ivy reappeared in place of the picture. Her expression had not changed whatsoever.
Two words managed to leave Professor Oak's mouth. "Oh my..." A rumble of thunder echoed, though neither were sure if it was from their end or other, or both.
Professor Ivy continued, "If it's okay with you, I'd like to head over to your laboratory. Unfortunately, there isn't any other place secure enough that'll have room for all the pokémon here, and I could really use your help in figuring out what this is."
"Of course," he nodded. "I'm quite curious about this myself."
"Then I'll start transporting the pokémon as soon as I can." she began typing. "I'll leave when they're all moved."
"Alright, be careful on your way here."
"I will. Thank you for your hospitality, Professor. Good-bye."
"You're welcome. Good-bye." They both hung-up, the window she was in disappeared. With a few keypresses, Prof. Oak brought the picture of the creature back up on the monitor, full-screen this time...
* * *
It didn't take long at all for Ash and his friends to reach Annie's house. A modest, single level, rectangular building... Nothing too uncommon for the outside edge of Pallet Town. They followed Annie, who opened the door and walked into the well-lit place.
Inside the entrance and to the right, was the obvious living room. A white-ish/bage carpet, that had an L-shaped couch setup with a conviently placed coffee table in the corner, decored that room. There were also two doors on the opposite side... Bedrooms most likely. A view to the left had a wall that lined up nicely with a doorway. Beyond that was a kitchen. The place was very quaint, to say the least.
The quick glance back and forth revealed no one else. "Mom? Sis?" Annie called out. "I'm home!"
A small girl, no older than eight, joyfully came running from the kitchen and hugged Annie. "Annie! You're back!" Ash noticed that she didn't look to different from her older sister, though her hair was shorter and she wore a more typical dress.
"Hey, you knuckle head," Annie said, ruffling her hair. "Where's Mom?"
She looked back to the kitchen. "She's-"
"I'm right here." A woman walked out to them from the kitchen, drying her hands on a small towel. To say she was tall was a gross understatement. It was amazing she could walk about the house with ducking. Her straight black hair barely touched the small of her back, and her sleek, purple-ish eyes... Hey, she looked familiar. But her cheerfulness seemed unbecoming that face.
Her sister let go and Annie went the rest of the way to her mother. "Did you feel that before?" she asked, concerned. "Did you feel what happened?"
Annie's mother knelt down and nodded. "Yes, I did," she said in a very calm voice, without dropping her small smile. She glanced up at Ash, who was still trying to figure out who she looked like. "So, I see you brought him."
"Oh, yeah." Annie's manners snapped to her. She walked over to Ash as her mother stood up. She turned back to introduce him. "Mom, this is Ash Ketchum. Ash, this is my mother, Melinda."
"Hi," Melinda held a dry hand out.
"Uh, hi," he responded as they shook hands. He stared at her, but... It was killing him. Who was she? "Umm, do... I- I know you?"
She giggled before responding. "I look familiar to you, don't I?" She tilted her head. "My brother in Saffron City says that someone there looks a lot like me. Someone you might know..." She looked him straight in the eyes. "My niece, Sabrina."
A collective gasp. "You're related to Sabrina?" Misty asked, utterly breathless along with her other two friends and the pokémon. Melinda confirmed that with a nod.
Eventually, Annie realized no one was talking. She stepped over to her mother, her worry showing again. She hadn't been able to completely shake that feeling from earlier. "What happened before, Mom?" Her mother's view centered on her. "What did I... feel?" Her fear resurfaced mid-sentence.
Melinda sighed and ran her fingers through her daughter's hair. The young one closed her eyes, trying to keep calm. Poor thing... "It must be tough for you, at this age. You're really scared."
Annie looked back at her mother, her eyes starting to tear again. "Mom... What was it?" Melinda saddened, her smile only apparent now to those who knew to look for it. She concentrated on Ash and Pikachu.
She attempted another smile to lighten the mood. "Why don't we go get some tea?"
* * *
Soon, everyone was walking into the living room with their very own cup of tea. Even Pikachu, who licked at it before the others sat down. Melinda sat at the short end of the couch with everyone else lined up on the longer side. She took a sip before setting her cup on the table. The youngest daughter was sent into her room and told to close the door.
"Before I start," Melinda began with her smile intact. "I really must thank you for helping my neice, Ash. You were very brave for helping her when no one else in our family would. Thank you." She nodded. He nodded back.
She took a deep breath, gathering the energy to tell them what needed to be said. Where to start...
"Mom..." Annie anxiously broke in. "Please..."
She reinforced her soothing smile. She sighed. "Before you can understand, you need to know how this world came about..."
* * *
The earth was nothing more than a chunk of rock. High peaks jutted out towards the light-less sky, with low trenches mirroring them. There were no clouds or fog, and neither humans nor pokémon existed. Nothing lived, nothing was.
Then, something sped across the sky. A visitor to this land, one that saw this as a perfect place to start life anew. A majestic, blue bird with the ability to create ice from thought. Articuno. It was a bit sloppy, but yes... This place would work perfectly.
Another entity followed him. A red being that could produce fire. Moltres. It too saw the potential in the ground below. Directly behind, a third one flew. The electricity this one contained would complete what the other two needed. Zapdos.
It was agreed upon. Life would start here. The Ice God started freezing the deep trenches. Its blue ice covered the rock, turning the world into viable frozen desert. The Fire God flamed the azure beauty, flooding the crevises with water. Step one was complete.
The Lightning God soared over the newly created oceans. The other's job was done well... It would work. Zapdos let a warning cry, heading toward the highest peak the world had to offer. It perched up, looking over what was now its new home. It screeched. Lightning flew from its body, reaching every point across the entire planet.
Life began. Small at first, but that would change with time. The three gods reconviened, joined now by two more. A creature of the water element looked in awe at the cerulean splendor. Lugia. He agreed to use his powers to watch over the waterlife. If their existence was in peril, he'd protect them. The other, another of the fire element, agreed for the other. Ho-Oh. It would use its abilities to gaurd the airborne. They would share the responsibility for the earth-bound.
Before the two departed, the three originals declared... Should the life they created turn on them, they would purge the whole planet of what they had done. They'd destroy all that they had made, including life itself, before abandoning this place. The gaurdians could do as they wish if that situation arose.
Throughout all of this, one creature opposed the entire plan. It was one like them, a god, who would control the impulses of the this new life. The Dark God, as it's known as today to those who believe in its existence, was extremely powerful. After attaining the power it wanted, it decreed it would let the evil impulses run rampant, effectively making life destroy itself.
This started a fierce battle between the four. Since the life the gaurdians said they would protect was not in any immediate danger, they had no choice but to stay out of it. Moltres, Zapdos, and Articuno were on their own.
The battle was grueling. They grossly underestimated its power. The Dark God, on more than one occasion, had them near defeat. Luckily, it itself underestimated their resolve to let life live. Their efforts redoubled and the battle intensified.
The three won, with the defeated splashing down into its watery bed. They decided it would be best to let life control its own impulses. The Dark God would no longer hold that power over them. But the three knew that, being a god, it would come back, to do what it set out to do in the first place.
* * *
"And that time is now," Melinda stated, her smile gone. "The Dark God is awake and it will not rest until all life is eliminated."
Everyone was speechless, including Annie. Their minds were either filled to capacity with questions or utterly empty.
Melinda reached into her pocket and pulled out a blue gem, attatched to a thin, silver necklace. "Right now, the Dark God is weak, but the more time passes, the stronger it'll become." She held it out towards Ash.
"Huh?" He stared at it.
"Take this Ash... If the other gods are awakened before the Dark God reaches full strength, it may give them a chance to take it down once again." Ash reached out and lifted the gem in his palm.
Almost immediately, the thing reacted. A bright blue wave of light blasted through the living room, startling everyone except Melinda. The light dimed, but the the area stayed colored. The energy released from the pendant had an uplifting effect on the loose garments and hair of the people witnessing it. Melinda removed her grip, letting the chain float in midair, right in front of everyone's eyes.
It stopped and gravity returned to normal, though no one changed expressions.
"Ash... You must go to Ice Island with that pendant and awaken Articuno."
Ash had trouble understanding her. Articuno...? Ice Island...? Him...?
"Yes, you."