(All right, here is the first chapter. This story is a rewrite of my earlier pokemon fanfiction, The Lakaito Chronicles. The story will feature all the same characters, and (hopefully) be much better than the first version. Reviews are hoarded, and will likely inspire me to write further chapters...)

Chapter One-Night of Illusions

Night. The tall grasses outside swayed gently in the wind, and cricket song could be heard clearly. The moon above was gloriously full, and its light shone down and illuminated the landscape brightly. Rolling hills stretched off into infinity in the distance, and the night sky above was unblemished by clouds of any sort. Stars speckled the endless darkness that was the sky, pinpricks of light that gleamed like tiny jewel shards in the blackness.

There was a settlement there, a place that could be called a town or city, nestled in the rolling hills as they leveled out somewhat. Small neighborhoods made up more than half of the city, grassy lawns looking cheery and healthy even in the night. There was a main street there, quaint little shops lining the street. The middle of the town held the regular stores and supermarket. The only oddity of the place was that there was a single large building there, standing at the very outskirts of the place. It seemed old and looked ancient, contrasting fiercely with the rest of the relatively newer looking buildings of the town.

All together, it could be called a sleepy place, though there were many other places like it that were much, much smaller. It was really quite compact for a place of its size, and yet somehow managed to feel airy and roomy at the same time.

Outside the town, the great, rolling emerald fields stretched far to the east and west, peacefully silent and pristine under the night sky. These hills seemed to have an almost mystical feel to them, as though something had happened there long ago and hadn't quite faded away.

To the west of the city, the land started to grow rockier and rockier, until it came out to the ocean, high cliffs towering over rocky shores, waves splashing thunderously below on some nights, peaceful as a sleeping kitten on others.

One had to work to get to the sea if one wanted to go in a direct rout, climbing down the rocky cliffs to the scant beach below. But there was a place further down the road away from the town and into the hills that was perfect for the casual beachgoer. The rocky cliffs there gradually leveled out somewhat, though large boulders flecked with granite still stuck up from the sand around the shore.

It was altogether a little surreal looking in the bright moonlight that illuminated the place, the large boulders looking like testaments to some ancient time, the beach's soft sand seeming almost white in the moonlight. The peaceful sound of the tides seemed to project an aura of other-worldliness, and one who came here at this time might find himself trapped in the spell of the night.

Though the place looked deserted, it seemed there was one here. A soft footfall on the green hills leveling off to the beach sounded faintly in the night, and a great shadow soared overhead, seeming almost ghostly against the night sky.

The man stood on one of the hills, regarding the peaceful sea before him. His eyes ranged from the rocky beach to the serene ocean, as if trying to see something deep in it all, something that could not be seen at first glance.

His long brown hair blew back in the slight wind rolling off the sea, and he leaned back a bit, letting it fill him like one might let cold water fill them on a hot day. Brushing a few stands of unruly hair out of his dark eyes, he began to walk forward, pace slow and unassuming, as if he had no reason to be here other than to enjoy the night's spell.

But he did have a reason to be here, and it glistened in his eyes. He was here for something important, his step fueled by a steadfast determination and will.

And yet his walk was casual as he stepped from the hills and to the beach, never carrying any semblance of hurrying, as if he had all the time in the world. He occasionally paused on his walk up the shoreline, looking closely at the sand, the rocks, and everything about him without really seeming to look too hard. It was almost as if he was searching for something, and his body was tense underneath the relaxed aura he projected, as if ready for action at the least notice.

And yet he did not appear too armed; he was actually very far from it. His clothing was simple, light and cool, not looking as if it could hide any weapons. He carried nothing in either hand. There was a solitary ball clipped onto his pants pocket, but it wasn't holding anything. The only other thing that he carried was a long brown feather twined masterfully into a strand of his similarly colored hair.

That was all there was to him, at least on the outside. His light frame did not mark him as any kind of warrior. He looked more like a dancer, elegant and graceful in even the most simple of movements. This hinted at great agility and speed should the time come. His eyes were gentle looking and relaxed, though they practically crackled with intelligence.

At long last, he paused. The tides sloshed about his ankles as he stepped out to sea, watching the moon glinting across the endless water before him. He stood there for a long while, letting the wind play with his hair. His eyes were closed, and it was as if he was listening for something that was far off, perhaps beneath the waves.

A few moments later, he turned from the ocean and walked back up the beach, continuing his walk along the shoreline. His step was a bit more jaunty than it had been, bouncing a bit as he strode briskly forward. One would almost expect him to start to whistle, but he remained quiet, as he had been before. He made absolutely no sound as he moved on, and he seemed almost ghostly.

That was how it was for a long while. He gradually traveled farther and farther from the town behind him, a slight smile on his face. His pace remained steady, though it was far from mechanic.

By and by, he came upon a large boulder set out into the ocean a ways. It stuck up far from the water, rearing above everything much like a lighthouse did on a cold stormy night. It looked old, barnacles clinging to its sides, small caverns in it filling with seawater and emptying as the tide swept in and out.

As the man drew level to it, he altered his course so it would take him out into the water. Pausing for a mere moment, he stooped and rolled up his pant legs, taking them up to his knees. Then, he stepped out into deeper water. The surf came right up to his knees as he drew close to the huge boulder and began to climb it, expertly gripping the craggy surface, finding the handholds as if he knew them by heart.

He came to the top of the boulder in a surprisingly quick time, rolling his pant legs down once more as he gained the top. This done, he walked out to the edge of the boulder, seating himself gracefully and staring off into the ocean, obviously prepared to be there for a long time. He shut his eyes a few moments later, meditating.

Time passed as he sat on the boulder, never moving once, to all eyes unaware of his surroundings. It would seem at first glance that everything around him was peaceful and void of life, but that was wrong.

There was something further on up the beach from man and boulder, something that's movements were oddly jerky. It moved furtively, and paused often, as if to sense for something ahead of it.

It was nearing the spot where the man sat peacefully atop the boulder. He did nothing as it moved further down the beach, its dog like form blending with the deeper shadows of the hills. It paused now and again to snuffle in the sand, spitting out little grits of it as it went on, as though it had not found what it wanted. It stopped short as it neared the boulder the man sat on, however. The wind blowing in from the ocean caught his scent perfectly and flung it into the creature's face.

Large eyes blinked, shining luminously in the night. An ear twitched as it turned its head to look out to sea, and those eyes caught sight of both man and boulder. For a moment, it simply stood there, remaining very perfectly still, unnaturally still, as though it was a boulder itself. Then, it moved.

A foul scent came off it as its jerky steps brought it nearer and nearer the boulder, like that of tar and smoke and oil. No pokemon smelled like that except perhaps a grimer or muk. Its slicked back fur was thick with the foul substance, as if it had been born that way. In a way, it had.

The creature came to the water, pausing as its paws splashed into the surf. It looked down at those paws as if it had never seen water before, ears angling loosely downward. Then, as if nothing had happened, it started forward again, swimming awkwardly as the water became too high for it to effectively stand in.

The sound of scrabbling on the bottom of the boulder carried clearly to the man's ears, and yet he did nothing. His hair blew around his face in the night wind as the scrabbling grew louder and louder, the creature moving stumblingly up the boulder and toward the top.

The man remained, to all eyes, unaware of his surroundings as the creature came to the top of the boulder. His eyes were still closed, a peaceful, tranquil look on his serene face.

The creature itself paused as if it did not know exactly what to do. Eventually, it moved a little closer to the man and let out a sharp cry that was rather akin to the sound of someone drawing his nails across the blackboard. Its eyes watched the man for a reaction, any kind of reaction.

The man, however, remained still as he had before, expression never altering. It was as if he was deaf to the world.

The surf moved in and out, the moonlight beaming down on the man and the creature. Both were still now, like two antiques set up on a shelf.

The creature eventually decided that it couldn't stand this anymore. It flexed its jaw a few times in a very odd movement, giving itself a little shake. Its large, luminous eyes shone in the night like headlights, seeming to grow brighter and deeper as it slinked toward the man. It was very close when it stopped again, bunching itself up as if preparing to spring forward. Its leap would carry it right into the meditating man before it.

The man's eyes snapped open as it leaped. He moved to one side, gracefully dodging out of the way as the creature sailed toward him, movements coordinated and practiced. It was as if he had been waiting for just this moment. Something streaked down from the heavens as he twisted out of the way, something large and feathered.

The pidgeot seemed to be diving down impossibly quickly, and yet he hit the creature in mid-leap, knocking it into the sea below with a sharp crack. He pulled effortlessly out of his dive just before colliding with the rock, coming to rest perfectly on the boulder, the powerful wind his wings created blowing the man's long brown hair to the side. A splash below signified the creature reaching the water, though it made no sound of its own.

The man quickly rose from his crouching position on the extreme verge of the boulder. Walking calmly to the edge, he paused to give the pidgeot an absent pat on the crest.

The pokemon itself was an excellent specimen, at least three heads taller than the man, perhaps more. His feathers gleamed with health in the moonlight, sharp eyes bright and raptorial.

Man and bird moved their gazes simultaneously to the dark ocean water below, as if trying to pierce its depths. The man appeared remarkably unshaken, and not a feather of the pokemon beside him's glossy plumage was out of place. They continued to peer into the dark water together, both with the air of a patient predator waiting for his prey to show itself.

A shadowy movement behind them went unnoticed. The creature limped up onto the beach, staggering a bit. Its side was ripped open, and several ribs were broken, along with its right front leg. It staggered up the shore from the water mechanically, though it made no sound of pain, and never once turned back to face its persecutors. Instead, it began to move swiftly down the beach. The limp was there, yes, and the blood it leaked thick and black looking. Despite this, though, it never acted as though it was in pain. It was as if the injuries were only a setback, and no more than that; something annoying, yes, but nothing that really bothered it.

The man whirled around just as it seemed the creature might escape. Without a sound, he leapt deftly down the boulder, skillful feet finding the exact places to stand, nimble as a mountain goat. The pidgeot took flight behind him, soaring over his head and into the night sky as he splashed into the water, not bothering to hem up his pant legs this time.

The creature was running now, its broken leg held up tightly against its chest. Its hind legs seemed to be slightly longer than its front ones, and it used this to its advantage, leaping over the sand, barely leaving any tracks at all.

The man reached the beach behind it, and, never missing a beat, tore after it. His step was light and he seemed to almost skim over the sand, his poise excellent. He sprinted forward on his toes, never making a sound, breathing soft despite the great pace he was maintaining.

The pidgeot was ahead of the man now, his powerful flight taking him closer and closer to the fleeing shadow that was the creature. He angled his talons downward as his flight brought him over the fleeing thing below, and then dove.

The creature below barely managed to get out of the way in time. The sand flew around it and the pidgeot in a miniature chaotic storm as it dodged out of the way, leaping off in the direction of the sea and vanishing behind several nearby boulders.

The pidgeot voiced his frustration in sharp, angry cries, peering around himself as though trying to see where the creature had gotten off to. Alas, there was nothing there anymore. The surf lapped calmly against the shore, the moon beaming peacefully down on the vast ocean, as it had been before.

The man presently came running up beside his pokemon, not looking winded at all. He gave the pidgeot a questioning look. The bird only glared angrily, though the anger was not directed toward him, and he knew it.

It was as if the creature had vanished, the only sign of it being its light prints in the sand. The man followed these prints, step slow and light, ready to leap backward should the creature come running out from the nearby rocky boulders and attack. He followed the prints past one of the large boulders, his path gradually taking him down to the sea, where the tracks disappeared into the surf.

The pidgeot remained standing some ways behind him, preening jerkily, a sign of aggravation. His eyes gleamed fiercely, a raptor who had missed his kill and who's pride would not let him forget it easily.

The man simply stood down by the shoreline, the water lapping about his feet. The night was calm and quiet, peaceful really. The blood and scuffed sand marking the short chase seemed dreadfully out of place in this ethereal landscape. The pure white glow of the moonlight made everything oddly softer, blurring harsh reality into something different, something not quite of this world…something out of a dream, an illusion.

After what could have been seconds or ages, the man turned and strode back to his pidgeot, a light, calm smile across his face, features showing no frustration. "We lost it, Azre." His voice was soft and gentle, much like the rest of him. "It got away somehow. Tracks disappear at the water's edge…"

Azre gave a sound of frustration, ruffling out his feathers once more. His head crest bristled up as the man stroked it. Adrian chuckled to himself, seeing no need for silence now as he tried to calm his long time companion. He had lost what he had come to find, but if things kept going the way they were, he had no doubt that he'd get a second chance.

Azre cooed softly as the man's slender, graceful fingers ran through his head crest, calming him as they never failed to do. He ruffled his wings out a bit, enjoying the simple feeling of being with the young man beside him.

"Come on. Let's be heading back, lest we become caught in the night's spell. We'll get another shot at this mystery, don't worry." The man stepped back as the huge raptor before him leaned down ever so slightly, then deftly climbed onto his back, twining his hands in the pokemon's long feathers. He could have mounted even if Azre had been standing, but it was common courtesy between them for the pokemon to kneel down, thus giving him permission to mount.

The pidgeot flapped his great wings in the still night air, creating a miniature sandstorm about him and Adrian. He forcefully lifted himself and the man into the air, catching a strong wind as he gained altitude and soaring off into the night, back in the direction of the town, becoming a mere dot against the night sky and then winking out altogether.

Back at the beach, the marks of the recent chase had disappeared, the sand unmarred and serene as ever. The night went on as it had before it was so rudely interrupted, as though the scene that had happened such a short time ago had been nothing but an illusion…