Chapter 1: Scars of Yesterday

In Pyrite Town, a city of thugs, scoundrels, and every other type of villain you could imagine and more, the sight of a teenage girl happily skipping through the streets would be more than a little out of place.

But that was just what everyone in Pyrite was turning their heads to stare at.

Not that Rui could really help herself, of course. She had good reason to be happy. She was going to visit her grandparents! She loved her Grandpa Eagun and Grandma Beluh very much, and this was the first time in about three years she had seen them. She had been waiting for a very long time for this. Her grandparents lived very far from her home in Crysala Town; all the way north in Agate Village, in fact. They were getting old, she knew, and could not make the long, hot journey across the desert to visit her and her father. And her father was disabled, making it impossible for him to take her.

But now, Rui was finally old enough to make the trip alone! Her father had been very unhappy about the whole ordeal, but finally concluded that he couldn't keep her close to home forever, she had to go and see the world herself at some point. And with that, Rui had left her small hometown on what she saw as a great adventure.

She had been lucky so far. A kindly man at an oasis near Crysala had offered to take her as far as Pyrite Town in his truck as he made some deliveries, which had certainly cut her travel time in half. Now she would be at her grandparents' house in no time! Rui had excitedly called them from the police station to let them know she was close, but only after she had exited the police station did she realize she currently had no way to get the rest of the way to Agate.

"What do I do now?" she wondered, pausing at an open square in the middle of the town. "How am I going to get to Agate? Oh… Rui, you're so stupid! Going on a trip without even planning how you were going to get there!" Rui could feel tears of frustration coming to her eyes, and she struggled to hold them in. She knew once she started crying, she wouldn't be able to stop. "But… maybe that nice Police Chief Sherles will help me. He's a policeman, it makes sense."

With that encouraging thought, Rui wiped her eyes and looked around at where she was. In this open area, several trainers were standing around, looking unfriendly and challenging. One or two of them gave Rui scornful glares, but didn't attempt to confront her, which was a relief for her. She turned her head to catch sight of a battle now in progress only several yards away. A trainer—one of those Rider types—was battling a green-haired man with a hat and sunglasses, who currently had a Lotad and Zigzagoon on the field. As Rui watched, the Rider commanded his only remaining Pokémon—a Koffing—to Tackle the Lotad, knocking it out. But the green-haired man, instead of looking worried, instead laughed.

"What's so funny?" demanded the Rider.

The green-haired man grinned as he recalled his Pokémon into its Pokéball. "It's almost a good thing you knocked out my Lotad. Now you can see my ultimate Pokémon."

"Ultimate Pokémon?" echoed the Rider.

Rui saw the green-haired man nod, and take out another Pokéball. He threw it into the arena, and with a flash of light, the Fighting-type Makuhita appeared. It smiled confidently at its opponent. But something was wrong…

Rui gasped. To her surprise, she saw a dark aura suddenly materialize around the Makuhita, and a terrible feeling gripped her mind. She put her hands to her head, almost overwhelmed by this feeling. It was… like darkness itself. Uncertainty and anger surrounded this Pokémon. It was not normal…

And this feeling… Rui had a faint idea that she had felt it before…

She was so dazed by the sight of this black aura that she almost missed the green-haired man's command: "Makuhita, Shadow Rush attack!"

"Maku-hita!" Rui saw the black aura around the Makuhita intensify, and with more speed than could be thought possible, it dashed forward, smashing into Koffing with more force than a sumo wrestler's charge. The Poison-type's HP dipped from full health to zero in an instant, and it collapsed.

The Rider gasped. "My Koffing!"

"Told you my Pokémon was ultimate!" crowed the green-haired man.

The Rider grumbled as he recalled his Pokémon, and angrily threw his wager of money at his opponent's feet before stomping off. The green-haired man laughed and recalled his Pokémon as well, then stooped to pick up the cash he had won. He stood up as he was counting it, and was suddenly aware of Rui staring at him. He glared at her. "What're you looking at?" he snarled.

Rui backed away. "What… what was wrong with your Pokémon?" she asked, desperate to unlock the secrets of this dark Pokémon, despite her fear.

"What? What do you mean, what was wrong with it? It was fine!"

"No… that black aura… Where did it come from?"

"Black aura?"

"Didn't you see it?" Rui questioned.

The man blinked at her in confusion for several moments, before realization dawned on his face. "You… you can see the aura of the Shadow Pokémon?"

"Shadow…?" Rui was about to ask further, but became aware of the dangerous glint in his eye. Her fear returned, and she backed away. "I… never mind. I have to go now." She turned around, and ran smack into another man with sunglasses, this one with blond hair.

"Where are you going?" he asked, grabbing her arm. Wide-eyed, Rui opened her mouth to scream, but the green-haired man was now beside her, clapping his hand over her mouth.

"Sorry little girl," he sneered, and Rui could feel her hands being tied behind her back as he spoke. "But I think you're that girl Team Snagem's been after for a while. The one who can see Shadow Pokémon. Well… Miror B. would sure love to meet you!"

Pain exploded through him as he felt the fist connect with his cheek, and he heard himself scream, falling face-first to the cold floor. Warm blood trickled down his face as he shuddered in pain and fear. He felt a rough hand grab his collar, jerking him to his feet. He couldn't see the man before him; he couldn't see anything. But he could feel his hot breath as he roared in his face; could feel the hand holding him tightly…

"It's been four years since I took you in, Wes! You know exactly how Team Snagem works! What's the matter with you? How could you blow such a simple mission?"

"I'm sorry…" he sobbed. "I tried my best…"

"You liar!" The man's voice was merciless. "Your teammates told me exactly what you did. She was right in your grasp! You had every chance to kill her just as we planned; yet, you let her go! Why?"

"I… I don't know…" he whispered. "Please believe me, I was going to do as you ordered me to… But… I couldn't… I couldn't… She didn't do anything wrong; she doesn't know anything! She was innocent…"

"Shut up!" The man slapped his face, dropping him cruelly to the floor again. He could feel blood trickling out of his nose, and he whimpered as the man kicked him. "You haven't the right to just ignore my orders as you please, just because you thought she was 'innocent'. You're only 9-years old, Wes. You know nothing!"

"Please… I'm sorry, Gonzap sir… Please forgive me… I won't fail again, I swear…"

"You'd better not, Wes. Otherwise, I won't be so kind next time. Regardless of how young you are, your life belongs to me… You owe it to me."

"I owe my life to you…"

Wes's eyes snapped open, and with a gasp, he sat up, looking around in horror. From next to him, the two warm, soft forms of Espeon and Umbreon stirred and looked up at their trainer, purring with concern. Wes smiled, and petted their heads.

"Sorry, guys," he apologized, getting to his feet. "Just a bad dream."

Wes took a moment for his eyes to adjust to the dark, and shivered slightly at the coldness of the desert night. After an hour or so after his escape from the Team Snagem Hideout, he had set up camp in a sheltered cave within the many rock formations dotted through the desert to spend the night. But no matter where Wes slept, those dreams always came back…

He crossed to the entrance of the cave and looked up, at the brightness of the moon. A million stars sprinkled the sky, and Wes couldn't help but grin at the astounding beauty of it all. He had enjoyed the night sky's lights many times before, but never as a freeman from Team Snagem, not that he could remember. It was beautiful, he thought, and was relieved to find that his time with the sinister team had not dimmed his appreciation of it.

But those dreams… Wes shuddered again at the thought. Lately, the dreams had begun to plague him more often, more insistently, and more vividly than ever before. And now, instead of being about random events from his past, they all centered on that one day… When Wes had been only 9-years old, he had been ordered by Gonzap to murder a girl hardly older than he was… It would be a lot easier to sneak an innocent-looking kid in while the other team members made a commotion, was Gonzap's reasoning behind it. Wes had went along with it fine, but that night… when he and the other troop of Team Snagem members had attacked that house…

Wes closed his eyes, trying to forget, but failing. He couldn't forget. He couldn't forget the screams of the family members within the house… the gunshots… and the sobs of the girl as he stood over her with a pistol cocked in his little hand, ready to finish her off as ordered… Thank Lugia he hadn't. Thank every Legendary Pokémon in existence he couldn't bring himself to pull the trigger… Wes couldn't bear to think of how much more his dreams would plague him, how much more emotionally scarred he would be now if he had killed her…

"What am I?" Wes whispered, looking deep within the sky's eternal blackness, decorated with the countless stars that he must have wished a million times on each ever since he was taken in by Team Snagem. "I have no past, and no future. I never thought twice about Snagging the Pokémon of others, of hurting and stealing in order to survive… until now. Why, Wes? Why now do you begin to regret your life? Why are you ashamed of what you've become?"

He sank to his knees, but he willed himself not to cry. Wes never cried; it was an unwritten law in Orre that to truly survive the trials of this region, you could not be softhearted… But he still despaired, deep within. For the life of him, he still could not fully explain to himself why he had given up everything he had… why he now opposed the way of life he once called his own…

"Why now…" he whispered, feeling his face growing hot with emotion, "… do you suddenly seek redemption…?"

There were many different types of criminals in the world. But in this day and age, none were so rare, so cunning, and so versatile as the traditional mercenary; those who were skilled with a sword as sharp as their wits.

Alexander Tokaru was one of these few elite.

At 18-years old, the young swordfighter had been in the criminal business since he was 10, making him one of the most cunning and dangerous mercenaries around. He carried a constant air of calmness about him, but those who faced him knew well it was a ruse. Alexander definitely wasn't as gentle and kind as he looked and acted. He had a near-flawless record of winning all swordfights he got himself into, and a perfect one of never failing any job given to him.

Alexander, however, was definitely the one for looks and charms, no doubt about it. He had long, aqua-green hair that came all the way down to his waist, which was clipped into a ponytail at the end by a gold hairpiece; and beautifully brilliant azure eyes that made anyone who looked at them continue to look despite themselves. He was most often seen wearing a sleeveless black shirt (which showed off his fine physique in the process), blue jeans, and brown boots. He also wore two belts; one for his Pokéballs, and the other to hold his sword sheath. Alexander was very skilled and potent with his longsword, which was dubbed the Aquatic Night for the lovely sapphire in its hilt.

Ignoring Alexander's criminal record, the one thing that stood out in the minds of the few people who knew him was his chronic habit of flirting with the ladies. He could never resist charming every cute girl he saw by flattering them to death, and he had stolen more than his fair share of kisses from many of them. Yet, Alexander didn't flirt to gain a girlfriend; he flirted to disappoint. He would lead them as if on a leash, then suddenly disappear and leave them heartbroken. It was a terrible habit that Alexander knew he shouldn't do; yet he continued regardless.

For all of his strengths and faults, however, Alexander was a troubled young man. He hid it well, but deep within him was a fear; a fear of the past he would sooner take to the grave than reveal to anyone else. For he knew he eventually had to face his past. He knew he would one day have to fulfill the vow he had made to himself years ago.

Which was why, at this exact moment in time, the dubbed "pirate prince of Johto" was no longer frequenting the beautiful Johto region anymore.

Alexander Tokaru had come to Orre.

Notes: Alexander Tokaru is my own original character, and has been previously introduced in another one of my fanfics, Bound to the Dragon's Heart. Please do not use him without permission, or derive ideas from him for use in your own characters.

Due to heavy rewrites, a lot of Alexander's characterization in this story is no longer accurate. Ages of all characters in this story are also no longer canon due to planned rewrites.

Crysala Town is an original location I have created for this fanfiction and does not appear in any of the games.