Terrell sat in his room in the Guild, listening to the rain pattering on the carved rock. Lightning flashed in the distance, and the thunder followed closely behind. Terrell loved the thunder, and the power and majesty of pure energy. Energy that cannot be seen, but is heard and recognised by everyone. He could see the fires in the distance. Fires of burning villages and flaming forests, needlessly destroyed. Fires started by Nova.
It had all started with the corruption of Palkia
Terrell remembered when life had been simple. He had gone everywhere with a feisty Buizel - Kitt; his best friend. The two of them became infamous amongst the villagers for being mischievous: a notorious Luxio and Buizel pair. Life was ordinary, and Treasure Town was its usual busy self.
It had all changed when Palkia went mad.
Bent on power, Palkia assembled a following of evil and unsavoury characters from all over the place. They called themselves The New Era Fighters – Nova – and were led by the most notorious villain of them all: Dusknoir. Some say he is responsible for the corruption of Palkia, and that it was his plan all along, but nobody knows for sure. All they know is it changed life forever.
Villages were burnt down, forests demolished and many lost their lives trying to escape. Dusknoir and Palkia claimed they were beginning a new era of 'liberation and salvation', but all they brought was death and destruction. Treasure Town's guild was converted into a fort of sorts, a base for the organised resistance against Nova, but Palkia seemed unstoppable. Then, when all seemed lost, a ray of hope shone through the dark clouds of despair; Kitt.
The Town Elder – a quiet old Alakazam – claimed he had seen the future. He said that one Pokémon will rise up against Palkia, and, with the help of another, Palkia would be defeated and order would be restored. That Pokémon, the Elder had said, was Kitt. However – the Elder had warned – if he tried to stop Palkia on his own, he would be defeated, but there will be a second chance.
The pressure on Kitt was immense. Terrell remembered watching the spark in his eyes slowly die, as he tried to carry the burden of being the people's saviour. He lost his personality, and became a shadow of his former self. He began to worry constantly, and nearly suffered a nervous breakdown.
When Palkia heard of the prophecy, he acted immediately, confronting Kitt in the heart of Treasure Town. Kitt fought bravely and managed to weaken Palkia, but Kitt grew wearier as the battle drew on, and eventually he was unable to fight any longer. Terrell remembered the day like it was yesterday, as he watched his best friend die, too scared to help. He blames himself for what happened that day, certain that if he hadn't been such a coward, things would be different.
Palkia, in his weakened state, didn't have the energy to kill Kitt, so instead, he sent Kitt to another dimension; another world, isolated from this one with no way back.
Another roll of thunder shook the air outside. Terrell continued staring out the window, blank. There was no-one on the streets outside, nor on the beach. The people had disappeared long ago. All that remained in Treasure Town was the Resistance, and the painful memories of the past.
More thunder crashed in the distance, mixing with the sound of the black waves collapsing on the shore. Terrell had always thought of the undying call of the thunder as a reminder of the final part of the prophecy.
"…There will be a second chance…"
He had held onto the prophecy with every part of his being for every minute of the five years without Kitt. It was the only thing that kept him going.
He decided to leave the Guild and go down to the beach. He didn't care that it was raining; he just wanted to clear his head. He left his room, and made his way into the Master's room. The Head of the Resistance, Chatot, was perched at the far end of the room, on a wooden beam.
Chatot had taken over as Guildmaster after the death of Wigglytuff in the early days of the New Era.
"Ah!" he exclaimed, fluttering down from his perch. "Terrell. How can I help you?"
"I'm going outside" Terrell replied. It was in the Resistance regulations that the Master is to be notified of any departures from the Guild.
"You know the rule" said Chatot, turning his head sideways. "You must travel in pairs outside. Besides, it's raining. Why would you want to go out there anyway? There's nothing out there".
"I just want to clear my head. You know I can fend for myself anyway."
Chatot sighed. "Fine, but just this once, Terrell" he said, returning to his perch on the beam.
The rain was colder than Terrell expected, and the wind bit into his fur. Still, he didn't want to go back inside the Guild, so he decided to go down to the beach.
The beach was as grey as the rest of the Town, dead and deserted, it had lost all of its former beauty when the New Era had begun, and no water-types swam there anymore. Terrell looked out across the bay. He remembered when he and Kitt used to splash each other here, and watch the Krabby blow bubbles from the cliff, the rainbow orbs floating across the bay, glistening in the sun. Those days had ended.
As Terrell wandered aimlessly along the shore, he caught a glimpse of something on the edge of the water. Something that shouldn't have been there.
"Could it…? No. Surely not…" Terrell said to himself. He felt his heart pounding harder in his chest as he ran towards the strange silhouette.
"Surely not…" he said again.
But it was.
Lying on the sand, on the edge of the water, was the beaten, broken and unconscious body of a Buizel. One that Terrell would have recognised anywhere, even if it had been five years.
It was Kitt. The prophecy had come true.
Terrell couldn't hold the tears back.
"You came…" he cried. "I let you down, but you came back!"
He turned to the Guild, and cried out.
"Hey!" he yelled, choking back tears. "Get me some help! I need a doctor!"
He turned back to Kitt. He was beaten and bloody, but he was Kitt all the same.
He had returned.