I'm back with another chapter. Though I was sick for a while so that slowed my progress. Anyways, I think the prologue was too short and not many details were given. When I wrote this story, at first I made the mistake of going straight to the action so I wrote a new one that gets the plot moving more gradually.

The prologue took place far within the story so don't expect this chapter to continue off where I left it! This chapter starts the story and its plot.

Hopefully, the next chapters I post become longer in length. I'd like to improve on how much detail I can fit into a chapter.

Disclaimer: I do not own Pokemon. (This is already getting annoying)

Chapter 1: The Calm Before the Storm

Pain. That was all he felt. Jolts of electricity coursed through his body, causing his pain receptors to flare. He couldn't move. But he could see.

His best friend, Pikachu, was shocking the life out of him. He was being controlled. In the darkness, he saw the creature responsible for this.

Floating in the darkness was Malamar. It smiled creepily as it watched Pikachu shock his trainer to no end.

"Malamar..." it said as it continued watching in satisfaction.

Pikachu poured more electricity, causing his trainer to scream in agony. The amount of voltage Pikachu was releasing was enough to stop a heart cold.

He was on the verge of losing his life. He tried to reach out to his friend, Pikachu. But it was no use. His body gave out. His eyes started to close on their own. Before he closed them, he said one last word. "...Why?"

Then everything went dark and he felt himself falling. Falling into the endless void.

"AHHH!" Ash screamed as he instantly sat up from his bed in a pokemon center. He was sweating and his heart was beating very fast. Pikachu sprang up in alarm, as did Serena and Clemont. Bonnie, however, continued to sleep.

"What's wrong?!" Serena shouted, panting slightly. Ash's sudden outburst not only woke her up but also frightened her. Her honey-blond hair was tangled and messy but she didn't care about that right now. Her current concern was Ash.

"What's going on?" Clemont asked. He seemed irrittated for having been woken up during the middle of the night.

Ash looked around, his heartbeat slowing as he did so. It was only a dream, he thought. He glanced down on Pikachu who was giving him a curious and concerned glare. He rubbed his head and scratched behind his ears. Pikachu cooed in delight and relief. He turned to Serena and Clemont. "Sorry for waking you guys," he said while scratching the back of his neck. "I just had a nightmare."

"Are you sure you're okay?" Serena asked in concern. Clemont was also concerned but also quite sleepy.

"Yeah, I am," Ash replied. "Let's all go back to sleep."

Clemont went to sleep immidiately, relieved that his friend was okay. Serena seemed unconvinced but went to sleep as well. Ash scratched behind Pikachu's ears once more.

"Don't worry Pikachu, I'm fine." Pikachu nodded and curled up to go to sleep. Ash sat up a while longer, pondering on the dream he just had. It was only a dream, nothing more, he thought. He laid back down and closed his eyes and surrendered to sleep.

Morning came and all but Ash and Clemont were awake. Ash was known to sleep in so this was normal. Bonnie had too much fun with their pokemon the day before so she went out like a dead lightbulb. Suddenly, said dead lightbulb lit up as Clemont woke her up with a mild dose of electricity from his most recent invention which had a ridiculous name. It promptly exploded, leaving both Bonnie and Clemont's hair puffed in such a way that rivaled Froakie's frubbles.

"Clemont!" Bonnie shouted. "I thought I told you to not use your inventions on me! How will I find a wife for you when you can't listen to directions?"

Clemont sweatdropped. "I had to Bonnie," he responded. "I can't let you sleep in all day you know."

Bonnie pouted, then looked at Ash who was still sleeping despite their quarrel and explosion of Clemont's invention. "What about Ash? He's still sleeping! Like I should be!"

Suddenly, Pikachu came over to them. Then he jumped onto Ash. Both Clemont and Bonnie raised their eyebrows.

"What are you doing Pikachu?" Clemont asked the yellow mouse.

Pikachu smirked before...

"Pika-CHUUUUU!"

Suddenly, Ash was lit up like an LED lightbulb by Pikachu's thunderbolt. Clemont and Bonnie watched in shock as Ash flashed with electricity.

"I'M AWAKE! STOP!" Ash yelled. Pikachu stopped, looking satisfied. Ash, on the other hand, was twitching and smoke could be seen coming off of him. Not to mention fully awake with no chance of going back to sleep. Pikachu looked at Clemont and Bonnie and gave them a thumbs up. The siblings sweatdropped.

"Good morning Ash," Clemont said. He decided not to sleep in if this is what happens.

"Yeah, a great morning," Ash replied sarcastically.

"Come on!" Bonnie exclaimed. "Let's go eat breakfast!" Everyone agreed. They all got ready and went to go eat. Serena woke up early so she could prepare breakfast for all of them. The center provided her with the food so she just prepared them while adding some extra flavors and some pokepuffs.

"Wow! Serena, these look great!" Ash complimented when he saw her pokepuffs. Clemont and Bonnie both nodded in agreement. Pikachu, Dedenne, Bunnelby, Froakie, Fletchling, and Fennekin happily ate their pokefood.

"Oh, it's no big deal," Serena replied, blushing. "Let's eat!"

After eating breakfast (which Ash ate almost everything), the group was on their way to Cyllage City for Ash's next gym battle. Normally, Ash would be overly excited to train for his next gym badge, but his recent dream took over his mind.

Malamar sure is one scary pokemon...If I wasn't able to reach Pikachu... Ash thought, oblivious to his surroundings. Bonnie was trying to get his attention.

"Ash? Hey Ash? You there? Hello?" Bonnie's voice snapped Ash out of his trance.

"Huh? Oh, hey Bonnie," Ash said. He looked at Serena and Clemont, who were also looking at him in concern. "Sorry, just a lot on my mind."

"Was it your dream?" Clemont asked. Straight to the heart of the problem.

"Yeah..." he replied in a low tone. "But my next gym battle awaits!" He knew better than to let his emotions get the better of him. He needed to focus on his dream of becoming a pokemon master!

"If you say so," Clemont said, shrugging. They all continued on the road to Cyllage City. Serena and Pikachu were slightly worried for Ash. He wasn't fully himself after the dream of his.

His dream must have made a bigger impact on him than we thought, Serena thought. She stared at her crush with concern. Even more so when she remembered what he told her after the incident with Malamar.

[Flashback]

They were all walking towards the nearest pokemon center so that they could heal their pokemon and rest. While walking, Serena noticed that Ash was limping slightly. Looking closer, she noticed that he had numerous scratches, burns, and other injuries. She gasped quietly. How could she have not noticed them? She walked closer to Ash.

"Ash, are you okay?" she asked. The way he was limping told her that he wasn't okay.

"I'm fine, Serena," Ash replied with a tired smile. "Man, what a day..."

"What happened back there while we were controlled?"

Ash hesitated. The pain he experienced then was almost too much for him to handle. But it took just one look at Serena for Ash to answer her question.

"Well, Pikachu was also controlled by Madam X and she ordered him to use thunderbolt on me." Serena gasped. "Not only that but she also ordered Iron Tail and another Thunderbolt. The pain was almost too much. I reached out to Pikachu because I knee our bond was stronger. If I hadn't reached out to him..." Suddenly, he felt two arms tighten around him into a hug. He noticed Serena's honey-blond hair swaying in the wind just inches from his face, which was turning slightly red. Sure, he'd been hugged before but this hug was slightly different. It gave him an extra feeling, a warm feeling. He didn't know what it was but he seemed to like it.

"Ash," Serena whispered. She didn't pull away. Her face was also slightly red. "Please promise me you won't go away. Promise me that we'll stay together," she said, almost crying. She had realized that Ash could have lost his life during that incident.

Ash was confused at first but soon put two and two together. He realized that he could have died back then. If he had...No! He couldn't think about that! Don't give up till it's over!

"I promise," he replied, hugging Serena back. They broke apart and smiled at each other, not noticing the blush on their cheeks.

"Hey! There's the pokemon center!" Bonnie shouted, pointing to the said building in the distance.

"What are we waiting for? Let's go!" Clemont exclaimed. They hurried to the center while Serena supported Ash along the way. He smiled gratefully at Serena who blushed in response.

[Flashback End]

Serena smiled at the memory of Ash and her hugging. It was, after all, a step closer for Serena to tell him how she felt about him. She blushed slightly.

Ash was starting to get worried. His dream would not leave his mind. It was starting to scramble his mind like scrambled eggs. He needed to train! He couldn't let a single nightmare dominate his thoughts! Burying the dream to the deepest part of his mind, he continued his journey with his friends. He was going to win his second gym badge and be one step closer to his goal of becoming a pokemon master.

A shadow lurked in the surrounding dense forest near Ash, Serena, Clemont, and Bonnie. All the wild pokemon nearby scurried in fear. In an instant, the shadow disappeared, leaving the forest dead silent. The shadow had something planned...Something dark and evil.

And there's the first chapter! Hopefully it started the story in an okay manner.

Looks like someone had a nightmare! Will it be of any importance? And what is the shadow? What did it plan?

A little touching moment between Ash and Serena during the flashback. Truth to be told, I'm not good at romance because I just started but I think I can manage well enough.

I'm not sure when I'll update again. My life is pretty hectic (as is everyone else's) so I might update at random times. Hopefully this chapter came out good for you guys and girls!

AlphaAura is out! See you next chapter!