Hey all! This is my first Pokemon fic, and I thought I'd start off with a nice PMD story. I'm still cursed to be without Word (darn you, Notepad!), so if there are any grammatical errors please don't hesitate to let me know! Reviews are appreciated, and, above all else, enjoy!
Disclaimer: I own nothing except the personalities of Eli and Roxanne.
Chapter 1: What Lies in the Dark
Somewhere in the vast, starry sky, there is a world - a world known as "home" to the creatures called Pokemon. In this world, many species of Pokemon, and only Pokemon, live together, cooperating with each other in order to keep this place a paradise where all Pokemon can live in peace. While this is, in fact, true for most Pokemon, things have not exactly been peaceful as of late.
During the past few decades, natural disasters have become more frequent in the Pokemon world. Not only has this caused Pokemon living in the afflicted areas to become hostile, but even those living in decent enviornments have been driven to madness - these poor souls have become feral creatures, nothing short of rabid animals. What's more, unquestionably evil Pokemon have taken the opportunity to spread hatred and malice throughtout the land. A terrible sight to behold indeed. Numerous battles have taken place between feral Pokemon, evil Pokemon, and those who are simply afraid of what the world has become, ready to sacrifice their lives in meaningless combat.
It would be no stretch to say that the world of Pokemon has fallen into a state of total and utter chaos.
Not all hope is lost, however. Deep within the heart of the world lies a small city of dedicated Pokemon, ready to do whatever it takes to return the world to what it once was. The brave Pokemon have banded together to form Revival Teams; these teams have made it their mission to help those poor Pokemon who have fallen victim to the recent chaos.
Two Pokemon hold the key to saving the Pokemon world.
Here, in Sunrise City, is where our heroes reside.
"...li..."
Urrrgh... what?
"...ke...p...li!"
Wuh...?
"ELI!"
"Whoa!" The Charmander known as Eli awoke to the sound of a voice. Rubbing away the blur from his vision, he made out the figure of his early-to-bed, early-to-rise partner and best friend Roxanne. "Of course," Eli stated, all the while glaring daggers at the Chikorita standing before him.
"Sweet Arceus, Eli! Do you have any idea how long I've been trying to wake you up?" Roxanne couldn't help but yell at the lazy bum. Honestly, who did Eli think he was? There was no way Roxanne was going to allow him to sleep in when they have important things to do! No siree, not on her watch!
Eli stifled a yawn before starting, "Well seeing as how I don't own any sort of watch," Eli held up his arm dramatically, "I'm just going to go with 'long enough for you to have to yell.' Does that work?"
WHIP!
"OW!" Eli rubbed the spot where Roxanne's Vine had connected to his skull. "You don't have to go Vine Whipping me to death, you know!"
Roxanne giggled at his surprise - it was the same routine every day: Eli sleeps in, she wakes him up, he makes a snarky remark, she inflicts physical punishment upon his head. "Listen, we have TONS of things to do today, so get up!"
"Pfft! You act as if though I was having the best nap in the world," Eli stated grumpily. "Our rinky-dink, beat-up 'house' doesn't exactly come equipped with comfortable sleeping arrangements." Eli pointed to their beds made of rough twigs and hay to prove his point. It was true; good friends Roxanne and Eli had only recently formed their Revival Team, Team Dawn, so they had little money to work with. Their wooden house was located at the edge of Sunrise City, which, in reality, was also just a city of neatly decorated wooden buildings.
What more could you expect in times of peril?
Roxanne heaved a heavy sigh. She knew that Eli was right, but they had to keep pressing on regardless of their current living situation. They needed to do their part in restoring the world to its former glory, a glory in which the two have only heard of in stories. The duo dreamed of living in a world where the sky was always shining, free from darkness and the evil Pokemon that lurked within the darkness. For this reason, Roxanne would always wake Eli up as early as possible so they, in turn, could start helping others as early as possible. They needed to do whatever they could to help...
Especially for both of their parents' sakes.
"Fine. So what's this ton-of-stuff we have to do today?" The sound of Eli's voice tore Roxanne away from her gloomy thoughts and back to reality.
"W-well first," she began, "We need to make a quick stop at Kecleon Market to pick up some supplies."
"Alright, let's get going then," Eli stated while stretching out his tired muscles. "Oh, Roxanne?"
"Yes?"
"It's not healthy to keep thinking about our families."
As Eli began to walk past her, Roxanne could only wonder how the heck he did that.
Sunrise City was as lively as always, or as lively as it could be given the situation. Various shops and markets lined the city's paths, and small children could be seen playing with each other. As Roxanne looked on, images of her family flashed in her brain. She could see herself playing with her brothers and sisters, with Eli on the sidelines making fun of her for tripping over her own vines.
Roxanne shook the mental images away. Eli was right, thinking about the past wasn't going to solve the problems of the present. Well, he didn't word it exactly like that, but the message was still the same.
"Hey, Kecleon Brothers!" Eli shouted, "Are you in there?" And just like that, the green and purple brothers stepped out of their shop to face the two rookies.
"Ah, Team Dusk!"
"What can we do for you two today?"
"Perhaps some gummis?"
"Or maybe a nice TM or two?"
Geez, Eli thought to himself, do these two ever stop talking?
Luckily for Eli, Roxanne spoke up before he had to rip out his eardrums. "No, none of that today. We're here for Oran Berries today."
"And maybe an Apple or two, if you have any," Eli added.
The Kecleon Brothers turned to each other before turning back to the duo, a look of disappointment plastered on their faces.
"We're so sorry!"
"Truly, truly sorry!"
"But it appears we're out of the items you have requested," the brothers quickly responded.
"How can you be out of items like those in a time like this?" Eli shot back. What kind of market were these numbskulls running here anyway? Out of such helpful items like Apples and Berries? Morons.
"What my charming little lizard here," Roxanne nodded in Eli's direction, "means is: shouldn't you two have ample amounts of these items? Revival Teams rely on items such as these to-"
"Blah blah blah..." Roxanne stared angrily at the smart-mouthed Charmander who cut her off.
"You must understand!"
"These items you request, we had them yesterday!"
"But when we went to check our stock this morning..."
"They were gone!"
"Stolen! Right from underneath our noses! How awfully tragic!"
"Melodrama aside," Eli began, "Are you sure they were stolen?"
"Perhaps you simply... misplaced them?" Roxanne agreed.
"MISPLACED? WHAT DO YOU TAKE US FOR?"
"What my brother means is that we check our stock numerous times throughout the course of the day. We organize everything by color, number, and affect. Something like this has never happened before."
Roxanne and Eli paused to think over what the Kecleon Brothers had told them. A moment of silence passed over before Roxanne began again, "You say that you check your stock numerous times throughout the day, but surely at night you must leave your items unattended, no?"
"Why yes, of course!"
"But we lock away our stock. Only with a key could the items be accessed."
"Not even a Hyper Beam could blast away the steel safe."
"Hey, Roxanne," Eli started, "Maybe we should ask around to see if anyone has seen anything suspicious around the city."
Roxanne nodded in agreement, and the two went on their way.
After a bit of detective work on Team Dawn's part, Roxanne and Eli found out that the Kecleon Brothers were not the only ones robbed of their valuables the previous night: nearly everyone they had spoken to had something "misplaced."
"I'm starting to believe that there's something Qwilfish-y going on here..." Eli stratched his chin in thought.
"Hey, have we spoken to him?" Roxanne pointed a stubby, green arm in the direction of Xatu, the local psychic, or, as Eli liked to call him, "the town cuckoo-Pidgey!"
"Nope," Eli replied, "But we might as well. I mean, what have we got to lose?" Just then, an image of Xatu feasting on his innards crossed Eli's mind, causing him to shiver uncontrollably. "On second thought, maybe we should talk to that Heracross one more time!" Eli flashed Roxanne a nervous smile.
Roxanne reassured Eli that she would do all of the talking, calming him down somewhat.
As the duo approached Xatu, they noticed that he seemed to be gazing off into the distance, unmoving. Roxanne thought about waiting for him to finish his weird gazing, but decided against it. It was still early morning, so if they could talk to Xatu and receive some sort of information, they could be on their way to helping someone in need.
"Um, excuse me. Mr. Xatu?" Roxanne called out to him, but he didn't stop his gazing. He didn't even acknowledge the pair's presence. "Er, hello? Xatu!" Roxanne called out again, but to no avail. This bird was very, very into his gazing.
"Ugh, forget this!" Eli pushed past Roxanne and positioned himself directly in Xatu's line of sight, unintentionally engaging himself in a battle of wills against Xatu.
Barely a minute passed before Roxanne heard Eli mumble something. "What was that?" She asked.
"This guy... He... doesn't blink..." Eli stated, mesmerized by Xatu. He leaned closer and closer to Xatu... closer... closer... closer...
"I blink you fool!"
"GAH!" Eli jumped back, surprised at Xatu's sudden outburst. "W-why didn't you s-say anything when she called your name?"
Xatu closed his eyes before responding, "Forgive me but I was in deep meditation. I sensed a strange presence last night in the city and I believe I have discerned the identity of our intruders."
Roxanne walked up to Xatu so she could speak to him. "That's actually what we came to talk to you about!" She stated, excited that they were finally getting somewhere in their investigation.
"Wait, wait, wait," Eli interjected, "What do you mean 'intruders'? So you're saying that there's more than one thief?"
"Indeed so, young ones," Xatu answered solemnly.
"Xatu," Roxanne began, "You said that you know the identity of the thieves. Can you tell us who they are?"
"Spirits."
"Spirits?" Eli repeated. "You mean like Ghost types?"
Xatu nodded, "Precisely."
A light bulb went off in Roxanne's head at that moment. "Eli! That's how they were able to get into the Kecleon Brothers' safe!"
"Ahhhh... Uh... how, exactly?"
Roxanne sighed; sometimes Eli was just too much. "Because they can fade through walls... because they're Ghost types...?"
"O-oh... right, I knew that!"
Roxanne had to giggle at Eli's cluelessness. Classic Eli, she thought. "Oh wait, Xatu. Do you happen to know where the Ghost Pokemon went?"
"I am sorry, but I cannot tell you."
Roxanne frowned, "So you don't know?"
"No," Xatu replied, "I do know their whereabouts. I just will not tell you."
"Oh, yes you will, or else we're having Roasted Xatu for breakfast!"
"Eli!" Roxanne whispered.
"What?"
"Ugh... you can't give the one person who knows the information we need ultimatum!" Roxanne reasoned.
"You two seem very determined to catch these thieves. Very well then, I shall tell you their location!"
Talk about a quick change of heart. Roxanne's mouth formed into a huge smile. "Really? Thanks, Xatu!"
"Wait, why not tell everyone else too?" Eli asked.
"Perhaps I could, but even if I did," Xatu replied, "no one would dare go after them, for the intruders dwell deep within the Forbidden Forest."
The Forbidden Forest? Of the few Mystery Dungeons the two had ventured off to, none have had a name so menacing as the 'Forbidden Forest.' Eli smirked - this could possibly be fun. Roxanne, on the other hand, was shaking with fear. She had heard stories of the Forbidden Forest, stories filled with demons and monsters residing within the forest.
"What's so bad about some Forbidden Forest?" Eli asked, interested in how a forest could receive a title such as that.
"The legend is that a ferocious monster lives in the deepest part of the forest," Xatu answered.
"B-but it's just a legend r-right?"
Eli laughed at Roxanne's naivety. "C'mon, Roxy! There's no way a monster could live in a fo-"
"The legend, I'm afraid, is true," Xatu replied. "Will you still go?"
Words couldn't even describe how Roxanne was feeling at that moment. She wanted to politely thank Xatu, leave the area, and forget about the Sunrise City thieves. Roxanne tried to swallow the lump in her throat in order to speak, but no such luck. At least she had Eli; he would always have her best interests at heart. You know, sometimes Eli was the perfect partner. Sure, he was loudmouthed and annoying at times, but Roxanne felt as though they knew exactly what the other was thinking at all times. Surely he would know to tell Xatu that they wouldn't be going to the Forbidden Forest.
"It sounds like fun! Of course we're going!"
And sometimes, she hated that overgrown lizard.