Chapter I: Fourteen Days
All of Sinnoh was silent.
Well, of course, nobody called it by that name anymore. Most people referred to Sinnoh as Hell.
For the most part, everyone living in the region felt this sense of misery after Team Galactic took over. Just as they had threatened to do so, Galactic Scientists used the Red Chain to control both Dialga and Palkia, giving them full power over the elements of space and time. Cyrus decided to sever both of these.
The wind was gone. Water refused to move down the stream. Even the once-beautiful trees and bushes had rotted to ruined pieces. The sun's light was gone, causing everything to loose its color. In the eyes of the people of Sinnoh, Cyrus had taken their lives and crushed them. There was no hope.
It had been two weeks since Lucas was killed in the Distortion World. All expectation to defeat Team Galactic was taken with him to his grave. Nobody dared to oppose Cyrus now; he was the undeniable ruler of Sinnoh.
When returning from the Distortion World, Cyrus announced to the people of Sinnoh that it was Team Galactic's time to rule. Immediately, hundreds of trainers surged to Veilstone City to raid the Galactic Headquarters and defeat Cyrus. However, before they had the chance to do so, Cyrus summoned his secret weapon. He let loose Giratina on the region of Sinnoh. For the past two weeks the Renegade Pokémon had raged its fury upon the towns and cities, searching for rebelling trainers. And Giratina succeeded. All of the trainers were either killed or had gone into hiding.
But Cyrus wasn't taking any chances. In a politically daring maneuver, he deployed a squadron of hundreds of Galactic soldiers. Their mission: to raid all of Sinnoh, find the surviving trainers, and execute them on the spot.
The trainers found only one alternative: release their precious Pokémon and destroy their badges. These were the two forms of identification that the Galactic soldiers could hold against a civilian. Despite the resulting heartbreak, many trainers did just that.
Yet, even so, the people of Sinnoh felt betrayed. Where was the Pokémon League? Where was the organization that was established to protect the region of Sinnoh? Hundreds of people believed that the League could possibly stand a chance against Team Galactic.
But the Pokémon League was in shambles. After Cynthia's death in the Distortion World, the Elite Four held a council to elect a new Champion to lead them into battle. Aaron had voted for himself, while Bertha decided to back him up, as well. Meanwhile, Lucian believed that Flint would be the best bet. Shocked at this, Flint decided to also vote for himself. It was a tie between Aaron and Flint. However, they could not come to an agreement. Flint declared that he should be the Champion because he was #3 in the Elite Four, thus he was stronger. But Aaron refuted, claiming that physical strength had nothing to do with leadership. Flint, being the hot-head he is, stormed out of the League out of frustration. His current whereabouts are unknown, however chatter suggests that he is hiding in Sunnyshore with his brother. After that, everything collapsed.
Lucian packed his things and departed for Half-Moon Island, there he claimed he could find some piece and quiet. He suggested that Aaron and Bertha come with him, and at the island they could begin forming a rebellion. But Bertha, remarkably, wanted nothing to do with fighting. She managed to smuggle herself on a boat and leave Sinnoh for good. She hasn't been seen for days, but there have been rumors that she rejoined Samuel Oak in Kanto.
And so Aaron was self-declared Champion. Knowing that he didn't stand a chance against Team Galactic all by his lonesome, he managed to fall off the radar.
After the crumbling of the Pokémon League, all eyes turned to the Eight Gym leaders of Sinnoh. Would they follow the Elite Four's example and simply disappear, or would they join forces and fight? Nobody knew, but Cyrus decided to make the first move.
In a bold move, he had all local Galactic troopers storm Veilstone gym. They came out escorting Maylene, bruised and beaten. Despite her remarkable skills in a Pokémon battle, she was not strong enough to take on an entire battalion of Galactic grunts.
Taking her to the square, the grunts shoved her to her knees in front of all the locals. One of the troops removed a Poke ball from his belt and activated it. Emerging from the light was a large, hovering Magnezone. As it slowly progressed towards Maylene, its magnets crackled with electricity. Maylene found herself staring at the blank, emotionless eyes as the huge Pokémon neared. Little did she know, they were the last pair of eyes she'd ever see.
Her screams could be heard from Snowpoint City.
After this incident, the Gym leaders decided it'd be best to lay low. One by one they all fell off the radar, slipping through Team Galactic's fingers. In his last speech to the city of Sunnyshore, Volkner announced to the locals that "I am not abandoning the people of Sunnyshore. One day I will fight to free you from Team Galactic's oppression…but not today."
Hope was lost for Sinnoh. With no Pokémon League or Gym Leaders to defend them, the people of Sinnoh felt it was their responsibility to remove Cyrus from his throne and defeat Team Galactic once and for all. But trainers found this task impossible. They could not form a rebellion while Galactic soldiers were storming civilian's houses, looking for Pokémon. They could not fight Cyrus while he had Giratina circling the skies above his headquarters. They could not free themselves from Galactic's firm grip.
At least, nobody was brave enough to try.
But that was where young Pokémon trainer William Harmon came into play.