1CHAPTER 2

KIND HEALERS... AND FIRST KILL

"Ugh..." Michael groaned as he slowly opened his eyes. He was in a small cave lit by what looked like a campfire. Surrounding him were four women who he didn't recognize, all of them wearing what appeared to be Ursaring skins. Michael blinked in surprise. They was so dark! He had never seen skin as brown as this or hair so black and long before. Where in Mew's name was he?

An uneasy murmuring swept through the group of women. "He is waking up!" one of them said fearfully. "Will he try to kill us?"

"His eyes! Look at his eyes!" That was what the loudest of the women said. "They are green! Not black like ours, but green! This is all wrong!"

"Wh-where am I?" Michael asked weakly.

Three of the women gasped and backed away slowly, except for the youngest of them, a girl who seemed to be around Michael's age. She stood where she was standing before, clearly not afraid of this foreign boy.

"Stranger," the girl said, "you are in our village. We are the healers, and we are here to help you."

"Village?" Michael asked, confounded by these strange women's odd accent. "What village?"

"Oh, do not bother with him, Star," one of the older healers said in exasperation. "This boy would not know left from right."

"Raindrop," Star said to her, "I do not believe he is stupid. He is just not from around here. Remember what Thunder and Leaf said, that they found him in the ocean. He would not know of our ways."

"An ocean boy?" Raindrop spat. "That is downright ridiculous!"

"Please, Raindrop, allow me to ask this boy where he came from. I am sure he can tell us."

Raindrop sighed. "Go on ahead, Star."

"Thank you, Raindrop," Star said, bowing respectfully. She walked over to Michael and kneeled down beside him, kindness in her jet-black eyes. "Hello, strange boy. My name is Star, as you have probably figured out by now. Please tell me, where did you come from?"

Michael blinked again, trying to recall the event from before he was knocked out. There was the battle with Greevil, the argument between Ardos and Eldes, and the explosion of Citadark Isle... he remembered nothing else of the events after Citadark Isle's explosion, except for waking up in this cave.

"I... I come from Orre," he said.

"Orre?" Star asked, interested in this weird boy's origins. "I have never heard of such a place. You see, we have always thought that there was nothing beyond the vast oceans surrounding our island. Up until now, we thought our village were the only humans in existence. That is, until my older brothers Leaf and Thunder found you."

"I see. Orre is a huge continent with a hot climate. There aren't many wild Pokemon there, but there are a lot of Pokemon Trainers."

"Pokemon Trainers?" Star asked again.

"People who capture Pokemon to use for battles," Michael explained.

"You come from an odd place, strange boy. We do not often capture Pokemon here. We use them mostly for food."

"Where I come from, your village would be considered an 'odd place,' you know. Anyway, why's your skin so dark?"

"I was about to ask you a similar question. You see, we have never seen anyone so small and so pale. Your spiky red hair, white skin, and green eyes are strange to us. They are different from our black hair and eyes, and brown skin."

"I'm not really sure why. I was just born like that."

"That is the answer I was about to give you." Star gave a kind smile. "By the way, I do not think I have gotten your name, strange boy. What are you called?"

"My name's Michael."

"Michael?" Star asked confusedly. "I have never heard of a Michael. What is it?""It's just a name. It isn't really anything, I don't think."

Star smiled again. "Well, Michael, it seems we have much to learn from each other. You see, our names are not just names. They have meanings. For example, my name is Star, as in the stars in the night sky."

"I see." With each word that was spoken, Michael became more and more interested in these strange villagers. "And–Aah!" Michael's head began to throb with intense pain, as though his brain was trying to break out of it. He shut his eyes tight and clutched his head with his right hand.

"Be careful, Michael," Star said, moving Michael's small hand away from his head and placing a warm, damp piece of thick Stanler skin on his forehead. "From the looks of that bruise, you took a nasty blow to the head. You must be more careful from now on, at least until you recover."

"Thanks," Michael said as the warmth of the Stanler skin began to ease the pain. "I will. But will I be okay?"

For a moment, Star was uncertain. She turned her head and was about to ask the other healers.

"We do not know," Raindrop said before Star could even open her mouth. "An infection is beginning to creep into your left arm. It looks bad, but we will do everything we can to save you."

"My left arm?" Michael turned his head to look at the arm where his Snag Machine was attached.

Michael gasped in shock. "Oh, my Mew!" The black sleeve of his shirt was torn, showing a long, blood-red gash. The Snag Machine still seemed functional, but the cord that connected the shoulder blade to the glove was twisted. That, however, was the least of his worries. His left arm was badly twisted to a weird angle, making it very hard to move the arm.

"Your left arm is badly twisted, but I am sure you have noticed that already," Star explained. "Believe me, we have done everything to try and untwist it, but I am afraid you'll never be able to move that arm properly again."

Michael sighed glumly. Star began to kindly stroke the side of his head with a gentle tan hand. "You poor boy. You have been through much. But I am sure you will be fine." Star tried to smile for him, but he could still see the uncertainty in her expression.

"I know you're doing whatever you can," Michael said. "I just hope my family's okay... Mom... Professor Krane... Jovi..." Michael's leaf-green eyes began to flood with worry.

"You have a family, you say?" Star asked, a bit startled.

"Yeah. I grew up in a lab, a place where we study about things, such as Pokemon. My dad died five years ago. My mom's a scientist, and she's dating Prof. Krane, the Director of the Pokemon Headquarters Lab."

Star had no idea what Michael was talking about, and neither did the other healers, but they did not ask questions about what he meant, for they didn't want to upset the boy too much. They just listened as he told them about his family from what he called the Pokemon Headquarters Lab. He told about his sister named Jovi, and about an evil organization he called Cipher. He talked of their evil plans to rule the world.

"They're led by a man named Greevil," he said. "He seems harmless at first, but he's vicious. I battled him, so I know from experience."

The healers gasped. "You fought him?!" Star exclaimed. "On your own?"

"Well, not really. In Orre, we solve all our problems with Pokemon battles, which is when two Pokemon Trainers make their Pokemon battle each other. If all of your Pokemon faint before the other guy's Pokemon, you lose the battle."

"To be honest," Star said, "that sounds a bit foolish."

"I never really understood it, myself. But that's how things work in Orre."

This boy is stranger than we figured, Star thought. "I see. And this cruel Cipher...?"

Michael nodded. "I battled Greevil. I won, but one of his Admins, Ardos, tried to kill me by suggesting to Greevil that they blow up Citadark Isle. But Ardos's brother Eldes, another Cipher Admin, betrayed Cipher and tried to tell Greevil not to do it. Eventually, I learned that Eldes and Ardos are Greevil's sons. But anyway, Greevil decided to blow up Citadark Isle. I don't really remember anything after that, but I think I escaped somehow."

"Leaf and Thunder found you unconscious inside of a Kyogre-like piece of metal during one of their hunting trips last sundown," an elderly healer explained. "It drifted onto our island with a red cloud-like object keeping it afloat. Then they took you back to the village. Our chief and some of his higher-ranking men talked it over, and they have decided to let us care for you until you are well enough to leave our village."

"Thanks. And that Kyogre-like object is the Robo Kyogre. It lets me travel across water."

"Travel across water!" the old healer exclaimed. "How can that be?"

"In Orre, we have many kinds of gadgets that can do all kinds of things."

"Ah. But you can tell us about it later. You need to rest while we try to heal your arm."

"Thanks," Michael said again.

As the healers placed strange herbs on his crippled arm, Michael let his thoughts drift. One of his first thoughts was of his family at the Pokemon HQ Lab. He wondered if Cipher had attacked them already. I really hope Cipher doesn't hurt them, he thought with despair. Mew forbid anything should happen to Jovi... I don't think I'll be able to live with myself.

Then he thought of Eldes, and how he betrayed Cipher in a vain attempt to save Michael. When he had last seen Greevil's son, he had been in sadness. Eldes had probably thought that in failing to save Michael, he had failed to save Orre. Who knew what he was doing now, and how he was getting on now that he had betrayed his own father?

Michael then thought about the rest of Orre, and how they were doing. Had Greevil launched an attack on them already? Did they even know Citadark blew up? Did they see the explosion? Did they think Michael was dead? His head swam with these questions that could not yet be answered.

Eldes sat in his cold, metal chair, his chin resting on his hand and his fingers drumming on the hard surface of the steel table. His father, Greevil, sat next to Eldes, and next to Greevil was Ardos, both of their expressions unreadable.

"So," Greevil said coldly to the thin, black-haired woman who stood on the opposite side of the table. "It is your wish to join Cipher, am I correct?"

"Yes it is, Greevil," the beautiful woman said in a graceful voice. "It has always been my dream to strike terror throughout the world. Especially after..." She looked down at the dark floor, a shadow crossing over her beautiful face.

"Good, good," Greevil hissed. "Now, may we have your name?"

The woman looked up again and said, "My name is Carey Adamantine."

"Good. Now, why is it you wish to join Cipher?"

Carey's steel-gray gaze bore into Greevil's amber eyes, her expression cold and hard as ice. "I want revenge."

Revenge on who... or what? Eldes wondered, but he didn't dare ask this out loud.

"Congratulations, Ms. Adamantine," Greevil said. "You're hired."

He and Carey shook hands. Like he did every other job interview for Cipher, Eldes reflected on how strange it was. No resume, barely any interview, almost nothing. You just tell Greevil your name and reason for joining Cipher, and you were in.

"You start tomorrow. Here's your uniform. Ardos?"

"Yes, Master Greevil," Ardos said as he handed Carey her bright white Cipher peon uniform, which clashed with her dark black outfit.

"Now, you start out as a peon, which is the lowest rank," Greevil said. "If you prove yourself worthy, you may move on to commander and then to Admin."

"Also," Ardos said, "it is worth mentioning that you are the first to join us since the rest of Cipher was killed. Fortunately, that foolish little boy Michael died with them, so we do not have to worry about him anymore."

Eldes knew that half of what Ardos said was incorrect. While Ardos and Greevil were busy with their plans for future attacks on Orre once they got enough members, Eldes saw Michael escape from Citadark just before it exploded. He wasn't sure where the boy was headed, but because the rest of Orre thought Michael was either dead or captured by Greevil, he certainly didn't make it back home.

But Eldes had a strong feeling that Michael was alive. Eldes knew that if peace was to be restored in Orre, he had to find the boy who would save them. And he decided that, as soon as he got the chance, Eldes would find the boy–

"Eldes?" Greevil asked, breaking him out of his thoughts.

"Huh, wha...? O-Oh, yes. Welcome to Cipher, Ms. Adamantine," Eldes said quickly as he began to sit up straight.

Greevil shot him a short, undisguised glare and Carey gave him a weird look with her attractive gray eyes. Ardos shook his head in acute embarrassment but said nothing.

My brother is an embarrassment to us all, Ardos thought. We should have left him to die on Citadark Isle with that brat. Why, if I were the head of Cipher, I'd kill him right now!

"As I said," Greevil continued, "You begin tomorrow morning at... oh, why am I bothering to explain this to you myself? Here is your schedule." Greevil handed Carey a small piece fo paper. "Read it over carefully tonight, and be here at exactly eight o'clock, no earlier, no later. Welcome to Cipher, Carey Adamantine."

Eldes clenched his fists. No! he wanted to scream to the young woman. Leave now, while you still can! Greevil is an vicious beast, don't join Cipher! But he didn't dare utter a single word with Greevil sitting right next to him and Ardos glaring at Eldes with a fiery gaze hidden behind dark shades.

Carey took a short bow of respect for her new master. "Yes, Gree... I mean, Master Greevil."

"Good, good. You are dismissed. Tomorrow you will receive your first Shadow Pokemon."

Shadow Pokemon? Carey thought. Didn't Michael shut the Shadow Pokemon Factory down last week? Out loud, however, she simply said, "Yes, Master Greevil." and left the dark room.

Eldes was wondering the same thing Carey was. "Master Greevil," he said to his father, "I thought Michael shut the Shadow Pokemon Factory down several days ago. How are you getting more Shadow Pokemon?"

"Yesterday, Ardos and I hacked into Michael's Pokemon Storage System account," Greevil said, his emotions unreadable. "It turns out he had rescued more Shadow Pokemon than we had thought. So we simply stole them back."Greevil's mouth formed into a long, evil grin.

Eldes gritted his teeth in anger, though he did his best not to show it. This meant that Michael's efforts to save those poor Pokemon... were all in vain.

"Hold it! You are all under arrest!" a voice called from outside of the dark room.

Eldes, Ardos, and Greevil turned their eyes to the door in the front of the room.

BANG! BANG! BANG!

Whoever was at the door began to bang on it violently.

"Let me in! This is the Pyrite Police! Let me in!"

BANG! BANG! BANG!

Greevil sighed. He recognized that voice. It was none other than Officer Johnson, an obnoxious spaz who somehow managed to keep his job as a Pyrite Officer.

BANG! BANG! BANG!

"Oh, Jirachi," Ardos muttered in exasperation.

The door slid open, revealing an ridiculous-looking man in a police uniform and wearing a tall blue hat, trying to look respectable but failing miserably.

He only just realized that he could have opened to door? Ardos thought. This man is perhaps even worse than Eldes!

"By my authority as Pyrite's Officer, I hereby declare you..." Officer Johnson stuck his nose high up in the air, "...under arrest!"

Greevil sighed, getting very annoyed. "Ardos," Greevil ordered, "deal with him. Now, please."

"Yes, Master Greevil." Ardos got up out of his seat and walked coldly over to Officer Johnson.

"AHA!" Officer Johnson exclaimed happily. "So, I guess you were so intimidated by my awesome power and authority that you are surrendering to me! Pow!"

Ardos shook his head in extreme annoyance. "Let's get this over with, already."

Cipher Admin Ardos-------Pyrite Officer Johnson

(-)(-)(-)(-)(-)(-)-----------------------(-)(-)(x)(x)(x)(x)

Officer Johnson threw two Poke Balls, sending out two Growlithe in an explosion of brilliant white light.

"GROOOWL!" they howled together.

"This shouldn't be too hard," Ardos grumbled as he threw his own two Poke Balls. "Go, Alakazam and Swellow!"

Eldes's eyes widened as the Poke Ball exploded in a flash of white light. Wasn't that the same Shadow Swellow that Michael Snagged? Ardos must have stolen it back when he hacked into Michael's Storage System account, Eldes decided.

"Growlithe!" Officer Johnson hollered, pointing at his Growlithe dramatically. "Use Ember!"

The Growlithe that was northwest of Officer Johnson looked back at his trainer. "Grow?" he asked inquisitively, wondering which of Ardos's Pokemon to attack.

"Oh, Jirachi. Swellow, use Shadow Break on the one to your right," Ardos said, sounding quite bored.

"SWEELL!" Swellow cawed aggressively as it dive-bombed one of the Officer's Growlithe while dark energy formed rapidly around him.

"Uh... uh..." Officer Johnson could not order his Growlithe to attack in time. The dark, powerful Shadow Swellow was already dive-bombing the poor little Growlithe, vicious talons extended, evil eyes gleaming with the thrill of the fight.

Officer Johnson and his other Growlithe could only watch in shocked horror. Swellow raked his talons across Growlithe's puppy-like face, changing its color from fiery orange to blood-red. Growlithe howled in agony as his small eyes were torn right out of his head.

"No!" Officer Johnson cried.

"Finish it," Ardos hissed.

Swellow let out a huge, awful screech of pleasure. He raked the small Pokemon's throat with its deadly claws and then quickly flew back to his Trainer, all in what seemed like the blink of an eye.

All Officer Johnson and his other Growlithe could do was stare in shocked horror as a few small shudders passed through the bloody Pokemon's body. He let out a tiny, gurgling cry before he lay completely still.

"No..." Officer Johnson said in horror. "My... my Growlithe..."

"Alakazam!" Ardos commanded. "Use Psychic! Now!""Ala-KAZAM!" Alakazam closed his eyes tightly in concentration and tightened the grip on his two silver spoons. A blue glow formed around him, and the air seemed to shimmer as the Officer's other Growlithe was lifted off her paws. She thrashed her dog-like legs in an attempt to break free from Alakazam's attack, but her efforts were in vain. When she was ten feet in the air, Alakazam opened his eyes and bent his spoons sharply using his psychic abilities, sending the female Growlithe plummeting to the dark gray floor. Landing with a hard thud, she was instantly knocked out.

Officer Johnson just stared wide-eyed at Ardos, who was smirking wickedly.

"My Growlithe!"

"You... you killed my Growlithe!" Officer Johnson pointed dramatically at his dead, still-bleeding Growlithe as he recalled his female Growlithe.

"Yes," Ardos said wickedly, "and now, I kill you! Swellow, use Shadow Break!"

"SWEEEELOW!" Swellow seemed to shimmer with dark power as he swiftly flew upwards, ready to dive-bomb the Officer.

"Don't you dare kill me! I am Offi–"

Officer Johnson was unable to finish speaking, as Swellow's beak was already beginning to rip out his throat. The poor Officer screamed in pain as he saw his blood splatter in every direction.

Like his Growlithe, shudders ran through Officer Johnson's body as he fell to the ground. Swellow flew back to Ardos, his beak and talons caked in blood. They both watched in diabolical satisfaction as the Officer took his last, desperate breath.

Ardos smirked. "Well," he said, "now that we have gotten rid of that idiot, shall I take his remaining Growlithe, Master Greevil?"

"Very well," Greevil said.

Ardos walked over to the dead Officer Johnson in a most wicked manner and leaned down beside him, ignoring the blood that soaked his gray and blue robes. He grabbed the dead Officer's Poke Ball from his belt and left the body to bleed some more.

And Eldes had a horrifying feeling that the poor Officer was only the first of many to be killed for his Pokemon.