Chapter 6

The Fallen Hero

(?'s POV)

That boy…the sight of him and his young wife had brought about memories which I thought had been lost forever – that of my long-departed wife and child. It has been too long since last I beheld the sight of such an emotion, that I seem to have forgotten its name. Could it be…?

Happiness…

I can scarcely recall memories of my past life, which seems to be eons past. Memories of one's past life are blurry, by their very nature. And yet, the events of a single day remains forever etched into the deepest recesses of my mind, that it haunts me even to this day, several millennia after. The day my life changed forever, for the worst…

(Flashback, Several millennia ago)

"Julius, darling, wake up! It's morning!" my wife, Celia, woke me from my dreary state with a soothing voice. Looking up, a bright ray of sunlight shone upon her beautiful figure; her skin radiated with a warmth as she stroked my cheek, and her luscious, brown hair glistened against the sun. Her rich lips formed a heavenly smile, accompanied by her brown eyes which sparkled like jewels.

"Of course it's morning, Celia…how else would the sun be blinding my eyes right now as I'm looking at you?" I grinned, caressing the side of her face. Grinning back, she planted a kiss upon my lips, before walking over to tend to our young girl of four years of age, Elysa, who was still sleeping peacefully in her blanket.

"She's such a beautiful child," Celia said softly, resting her head on my arm and smiling as she looked at Elysa. "She is strong in spirit, as well…just like her father."

"Are you sure? Surely that must come from your side of the family!" I smiled, receiving a kiss from her in reply.

After our morning meal together, I set out to collect food for tonight's dinner – an everyday task. Walking to the back garden, I was greeted by my six most trustworthy and loyal Pokémon: Kradus, Terra, Ares, Saturn, Jupiter, and my best companion, Mars. Upon seeing me, Mars, Jupiter and Saturn optimistically flapped their mighty wings, causing the grass and vegetables around us to flutter and shake vehemently. As if to restrain them, Kradus, Terra and Ares each placed their hands on the three dragons' fronts, calming them after some time had passed.

"We're going to go to the mainland to get our food today. Mars, Jupiter, Saturn, come with me. Terra, Ares, Kradus, I want you to stay here and watch over Celia and Elysa. Alright?" I said. The three dragons immediately prepared to fly, whereas the three land-based Pokémon each gave a sigh of dejection. "Don't worry – we'll go searching on the island tomorrow, instead of the mainland. I promise!"

With a sigh, Terra, Ares and Kradus walked sulkily to the front of the house, as I mounted Mars. After taking off, I peered down to see a couple of the townsfolk waving at me, and waved back to them. Our village was a small one, located on an island to the south of the mainland, but our surroundings had enough resources and food for us to live comfortably, as well as arable land for agriculture on the lower grounds.

Looking up at the skies, I suddenly became concerned at the weather; what was a bright, blue morning sky was now replaced by several thick clouds, which looked reminiscent of an imminent storm. "Faster, Mars. The weather seems to be growing worse," I stressed, as we accelerated towards the mainland.

About an hour or so later, just as we finished gathering food for the night and were prepared to return to the island, the clouds all at once intensified into violent rainclouds, rendering the sky a torrid black. Light turned to darkness, my heart plummeting when I finally realized just where the eye of the storm was located; our island. Black smoke rose from almost every house, and the fields glowing with red fire. "Mars, Saturn, Jupiter, hurry! The village is in danger!" I shouted, immediately taking off with Mars while Saturn and Jupiter hastily followed.

The thick spirals of smoke grew only greater as time passed. We would not reach the village in time. Looking more closely through the smoke, I could barely make out the figures of a few Pokemon who were flying in the air, only to my great shock; they were none other than the powerful Pokémon of legend, Rayquaza, Lugia, Ho-oh, and the three Legendary Birds. For a reason which I will never truly know, they were all doing battle against each other, wreaking havoc on the island in the process due to the crossfire. But then, I caught sight of what looked to be an old man hooded and cloaked in white, standing atop of a small spire of rock, at risk of danger. Then, sighting me, he waved his arm outwards, beckoning me to come over to him.

"Sir, what are you doing out here? It's not safe!" I shouted as Mars drew upon and landed on the ground.

"Is your name Julius Aeneas?" he asked.

"How…how do you know my name?" I questioned.

"I am a prophet, sent here by Arceus himself to warn you of this event coming to pass…although I see that I am too late to have prevented it from happening, now," he looked down in shame. "But there is no time – you must listen to me if you are to save your village!" he cried.

"But how? How am I, a mere human, supposed to fight the legendary powers of the likes of Lugia, Ho-oh and Rayquaza? I am powerless compared to them, even with my skills in Aura!"

"There is one way, my young friend," he said in an unusually calmer tone. "First, you must give me your hand."

"What? How can that possibly do anyth-" I said, before being cut off as a massive SolarBeam attack struck the eastern parts of the island. Shortly afterwards, reply fire was shot back, as I recognized it as Ares' and Terra's combined Hyper Beam. "Where did that come from?"

"That…" the old man replied, his eyes dejected with hopelessness, "was Groudon…"

"Groudon? What on earth is happening here!" I shouted.

"This is of the Deceiver's doing," he said.

"Who?"

"The Deceiver…of course, the average man would never had heard of him…his secret has been kept secret for many thousands of years by a secret sect of prophets such as myself, for fear that some groups may begin to worship him, instead of Arceus himself…you are aware of the story passed down through generations, that Arceus is the sole Creator of the world, correct?"

"Y-yes…"

"In fact, there was not one Creator, but two. This Deceiver played an equal part in the creation of the world, but was of lesser power and majesty compared to Arceus. His secret jealousy and hate for Arceus intensified over the years, and when he discovered how to create the ultimate type of Pokémon through binding them in shadows and removing the presence of any emotion, he carried forth his plan of one day replacing Arceus as the sole superior being of the universe. But the greatest obstacle between him and his ascent to power were of course, the legendary Pokémon – Arceus' stewards on Earth, who had been charged with maintaining the balance of the elements. Combined, their powers would overwhelm him if they knew of his true intent. But divided, they could each be overcome, one by one. And so, the Deceiver turned them against one another through trickery and deceit, of which no-one knows. But come – we have spoken too long, and soon, all will be lost…unless you take what I have to offer you," the mysterious man spoke, extending his right hand towards me.

Looking around, it was clear that the situation was growing worse over time – the fires had intensified, and dangerously close to where our home was located. Ares and Terra's resistance waned, as they grew tired from the endless fighting. I faced the old man once again, peering down at the object held in his hand. "What is it?" I questioned.

"This, my friend, is none other than an artifact of Arceus himself – a portion of his divine power, if you like. It will give you the strength to stop this conflict here and now, and return the world to the peaceful state that once was," he looked up at me, holding the bright, cube-like object closer to me.

Although my suspicions – and also that of Mars, Saturn and Jupiter as they looked warily at the man – held me back at first from accepting his offer, the thought of my wife and child immediately drove me to place my hand upon the object. A terrible mistake, as I was soon about to find out…

My arm jerked about violently, repulsed by the effect that the foreign energy was having on my body – this was no power granted to me by Arceus, but nothing more than a trick. I was slowly losing control of my body and mind, the pain greater than a thousand needles piercing my skin. I looked up at the old man, whose once-fearful expression turned to a sadistic smile. He was not a prophet. His shining white robes vanished, to be replaced by a pitch-dark carapace, with multiple talons sprouting from his back. Mars, Jupiter and Saturn all immediately unleashed a DragonBreath attack, only for it to prove futile as the monster effortlessly flicked them aside like strands of grass.

"I thank you…my servant…" he hissed, "I…am Apothes, the Deceiver…"

No…

"Your village, and all life upon it, is now mine…your Pokémon will make fine minions to me…as will you," he chuckled.

"Jupiter…Saturn…go and save Celia and Elysa…" I spoke through gritted teeth, barely able to stand due to the paralysis and pain. Mars immediately unleashed a great Flamethrower upon the Deceiver, distracting him and allowing Jupiter and Saturn to fly towards the island. "Save them…please…"

"All…too…late…" the dark figure that loomed over me said, as my vision blurred before the world turned to blackness.

(Hours later)

"Wake up, Aeneas…wake up," called a voice, stirring me from my unconscious state. My surroundings were still as black as night, the only difference being that the quality of air around me was close to inhospitable, reeking of blood.

"What…what happened? Where am I?" I hoarsely choked.

"Do you not remember? Well, I may be able to enlighten you," the voice said. I lifted my head to behold the sight of Apothes once again, causing me to seethe in rage. His hand extended to the left, followed by the spark of fire from where he was pointing at. A large, black, scaly body became illuminated by the light, as I scarcely recognized the figure.

"M…Mars?" I whispered, looking into his eyes. The lively light that once encompassed it was now gone, replaced by a soulless gray, and his formerly golden skin a pitch-black hue. The rest of my Pokémon then stepped forward, revealing their terrible new forms to me. "Bastard! What have you done to my friends?" I shouted.

"Come, now…is that any way to call your new master?" the voice teasingly berated.

"M…master?" I stammered.

"Indeed. As you can already see, your once-loyal Pokémon are now but a shadow of their former selves, bound to my power. But before I give you my first command, I believe a little recount of the events which occurred after you lost consciousness, is in order," Apothes stated, walking towards me and gripping the top of my head with one of his talons, showing me a vision in my mind as to what happened.

The vision took place shortly after I had first lost consciousness. The sky was still black with murky clouds, and Jupiter and Saturn were long gone on their way back to the island. Mars was still resolutely standing by my side, refusing to let the monstrous being standing before us to harm me, as he unleashed another Flamethrower. But it was to no avail – Apothes' power was far beyond that of any ordinary Pokémon, as he knocked Mars out with a single ball of dark energy from his hand. Standing over my limp body, he stretched out his hand and chanted words which I could not understand. The eerie energy that once shone with a false white light now showed its true nature, forming into a swirling mist of black smoke which enveloped my entire body. Mars twisted and shrieked with pain, as he also began to be affected by Apothes' sorcery, his eyes rapidly switching to and fro between his normal dark brown, to a lifeless gray. Then, after several seconds of inner turmoil and torture, Mars ceased any movement, instead just looking forward with blank eyes. Jupiter and Saturn also twisted about in the air, falling into the sea before rising once again without any emotion. And back on the island, Terra and Ares' Hyper Beam attacks completely subsided into a silent hush.

Looking very content, Apothes levitated over to the island along with my sleeping figure, accompanied by Mars, Saturn and Jupiter, who followed him blindly. Once he came upon my own home, where my wife and daughter lay shaking on the floor as Ares, Terra and Kradus stood in front of them with menacing glares, he cracked a small smile with his lips, before turning his head to me. "They are your family, Julius…why don't you go and greet them? They must have missed you so…" he said gleefully, lifting one of his talons in their direction. Then, to my shock, I could see my soulless body inching towards them, my arm pulling out my hunting blade from behind me. My heart raced at the vision, not being able to bear the sight of what was inevitable. I couldn't have killed them…never by my own hand…My horror was only confirmed, however, as my arm lurched forward once I was standing directly over them, met by their screams of fear, before…darkness…

As the vision concluded, I threw myself backwards, away from the tyrant who threatened me with his very presence. My entire body was sweating and my lungs felt devoid of air, due to the repugnant sight of a deed which I surely could not have committed in my rightful mind. "You…what have you done?" I bellowed at him. "Mars, Jupiter, Saturn, Flamethrower!" I ordered, pointing my finger at him, but to no effect – my Pokémon would not respond at all to my cries.

"It is pointless now, young Julius," he scoffed. "You are mine, and so are your Pokémon. And should you ever seek to free yourself of my influence in any futile manner…" his voice suddenly lowered into a growl as he held out his hand in the shape of a pincer, clenching my throat in a telekinetic grip. "…I will see to it that you are punished, accordingly. And do not even think that death itself will be your salvation from my power. The moment you came into contact with my powers of corruption, I gained complete control over both your life and death. Henceforth, you shall do as I command of you. You shall serve me unquestioningly, as I command of you…you will die as I command of you, but only when I will it."

Then, to my body's relief, he released me from his merciless hold, allowing me to gasp for air on the ground. Once I had recovered enough, I asked him another question. "What…what happened of my village, then? What happened with the battle?"

"Ah…I am glad that you asked, boy," he replied, "This…is your village."

"What? …I don't…understand…"

"In the midst of the battle, I personally saw to it that all life on the island – both human and of Pokémon which I deemed to be too weak to serve me – was utterly annihilated. I saw your island as the perfect target for facilitating my breeding experiment, turning average Pokémon into vastly powerful, perfect shadow variants of themselves – its size was small enough to drag down beneath the depths of the sea, where even Kyogre or Lugia will not be able to find it, but large enough that it will be able to produce a great number of minions in the future. In short, the chamber you are within at this very moment is the inner center of your island, which I have shaped and transformed to fit my designs. With my goal complete and the legendary Pokémon sufficiently worn down due to their battle, I saw it to be no longer necessary to conceal myself, thus making myself visible before all. It truly was amusing to see them growl and roar in anger, after they had realized that they had been fooled all along. In a futile attempt, they tried to defeat me, but to no purpose, for they were all too fatigued to cause me any concern. Arceus chooses such weak-minded servants as his stewards upon this earth, indeed…"

"Are you mad? You could destroy the balance of the earth itself! The quarrels of Pokémon such as Groudon and Kyogre are destructive enough on their own, but to combine it with the powers of the likes of Lugia and Ho-oh?" I yelled.

"Calm yourself, Aeneas," Apothes said, "Rest assured, they will not cause so much havoc as you so claim. Pokémon such as Groudon and Kyogre cause much destruction with their powers, yes, but even they must adhere to the will of Arceus, their Creator. Following the battle, all of the legendary Pokémon returned to their respective regions peacefully, albeit with great shame due to the misdeed they had committed. And indeed, Groudon and Kyogre will one day do combat again, but it is not today. Did you really think that they would continue to fight due to their individual quarrels, even after bringing shame upon themselves by failing to carry out their most important duty and the will of Arceus – to safeguard the world from my influence?"

"You spoke before of your 'goal'…but what is it, truly?" I questioned.

"Domination. Plain, simple and straightforward domination over all life, both of that on this planet, and when the time comes, eventually all of existence itself. Though I am not currently in a position to do so, given our…minuscule forces at present. But that itself will eventually change – one day, I shall have an army of shadow Pokémon, bred from this very fortress under the sea floor. Ultimately, it shall grow great enough, that I will be able assimilate all of existence under my rule, and overthrow Arceus himself as the supreme being of the universe by force," he said. "But for now, your servitude begins…you are now charged with the gathering of specimens of every single Pokémon in existence, as well as the breeding of my future army. And remember – I will not tolerate any form of weakness…if any of the captured Pokémon are pathetic species which will not eventually evolve into fierce fighters…kill them."

As the tyrannical figure departed the chamber, my eyes narrowed into a scornful glare. Although his back was turned to me, Apothes seemed to know exactly what I was doing, tilting his head briefly to the side before walking away and disappearing from my view. My life destroyed and my resolve finally broken, I stood up and walked sullenly towards the stone seat located at the back of the chamber, there to begin my new existence of what would be eternal servitude.

(End Flashback)

Those days are now far behind me, no more than a distant memory. I am what I am, now. My life belongs to him, and I must serve him till the end. My heart no longer knows or recognizes love, compassion, or any measure of comfort, instead chained and imprisoned by his influence. There is but one thing that I have yearned for, ever since that fateful day, and that is death. Death, so that my soul may be free once more, and be reunited with my family and remain with them in peace. But for that dream to come to fruition, the Prophecy of Arceus must be fulfilled as well: passed down for centuries by the true prophets of Arceus, it states that only the Chosen One's strength, combined with the power of Arceus himself, will be able to put an end to Apothes' power once and for all, but only after he is made to prove himself worthy of fulfilling the prophecy, by persevering through a trial of great hardship. And should he fail, the world will be turned to darkness. But what exactly this 'trial' consists of, no-one knows, as the scriptures of the old prophets have all been lost to the passage of time, and no prophet remains today.

Enjoy your time with your loving wife, Chosen One…for everything you know, love and cherish will soon be taken away from you, once my master's plan sets in motion. It will all begin…soon…

(Seafoam Islands, night)

(Ash's POV)

"Man, I'm tired!" I yawned, collapsing into a beach chair on the outer deck of the second storey of our house. Our new house was exactly the kind that Misty would surely love: it was right next to the beach, with the sound of waves softly rolling into the shore audible in the distance at night-time. Misty and Brock also strewed themselves on a beach chair each, exhausted from all the work we did today. Although we were helped by the Machoke and Machamps of the furniture dealers as well as some of our own Pokémon while moving all our furniture into place, it still took a lot out of us by the end of the day.

"Pikapi…" Pikachu sighed, walking up my chair and lying down on top of my chest in an exhausted heap.

"We're all tired, honey. Stop complaining," Misty moaned. Brock took a heavy sigh as well, as Croagunk surprisingly went over to his side not to give him one of his trademark Poison Jabs, but began to give his trainer what appeared to be some sort of massage, gently pressing upon his shoulders.

"It's about time you did something nice to me with those hands of yours, bud," Brock smiled. We all laughed softly before falling silent again, looking up at the star-filled night sky above.

"You know," I began, "This brings back a lot of memories of the times when we traveled together. We'd always use to just lay down together and look at the stars for ages. Do you guys remember?" I said.

"Yeah, I remember," Brock smiled, "Good times…"

"Hey, look!" Misty pointed up at the sky, "It's the North Star!"

"Hmm? Which one are you talking about?" I asked.

"Over there! Can't you see it?" she cried.

"Nope. Sorry. I'm hopeless with these kinda things," I said.

Misty sighed, placing her hand over her forehead. "Honey, do you know anything other than Pokémon training and pigging yourself out crazy with food?" I poked her arm. "Ow!"

"Hey, I see it as well, Misty!" Brock said.

"…I still don't get it…" I murmured, scratching my head.

"…scoot over…" Misty exhaled in frustration, before coming over to my chair.

"Hey, what the-? There's not enough room here for two, y'know!" I complained, as Misty suddenly forced me to move sideways and make room for her to lie down. But after seeing that there was indeed no room, she instead resorted to picking Pikachu up and placing him on her lap, as she laid herself down on top of me, resting her head on my chest.

"Give me your hand," she said, taking up my right arm which hung loose over the arm of my chair.

"It's not like you gave me much choice, is it?" I commented, causing her to grin. She then raised my hand up with hers, lifting it upwards and pointing it towards a specific section of the sky.

"See it over there? That one star that's bigger and shining brighter than any other that's next to it?" she asked.

"That? That one there?" I said.

"Yup, that's the one. The North Star. I remember my mom would always tell me heart-warming stories about it. She'd always say that if you make a pure-hearted wish on it, it would eventually come true," she said.

"Oh, I see…and just what did you wish for?" I smiled.

"…none of your business!" she grinned, turning her head and giving me a kiss on the lips. "But you're welcome to have a guess as to what it may be." Her smile then slowly turned into a sullen frown, as a teardrop started to form in the corner of her eye. "I miss her…"

"Your mom?" I whispered into her ear, receiving a slow nod from her in reply. "Y'know, you never really told me what happened with your parents. Daisy once told me that both your parents passed away when you were very young, but that was about all I knew."

"I…don't have the energy to talk about it right now, Ash, I'm sorry…it's all too much for me at the moment," she whimpered.

"That's alright, Mist. Perhaps another t-" I comforted her, before stopping as something came to my mind.

"What's wrong, Ash?" Misty looked up at me.

"I just remembered that…" I spoke in a low whisper, "today, years ago, was the day that my dad…passed away."

"What? What do you mean?" she asked in a shocked tone.

I looked at her in the eyes. "It was a real shock to me as well, when I heard it. My mom told me how he died to save her many years ago, in a sea cruise disaster. She was pregnant with me back then. When I was young, she'd always use to tell me that he was also a trainer on his own adventure in a faraway place, and that he would come back to us someday. It wasn't until two years ago that she told me the truth."

"Ash…" Misty said softly.

"Do you remember two years ago, when I was about to go back to Cerulean with you, a week after the party celebrating my rise to the rank of Pokémon Master?" I asked.

She nodded. "Yeah. I remember that, just before we were about to leave, she called you back inside the house for a minute, saying that she had something to say to you. Was that conversation…about your father?"

"Yes," I answered, "What she told me, was one of the key reasons behind my decision to give up my title to live with you. But before I go on, could you do me a small favor?"

"Sure, Ash. What is it?" she said, caressing my cheek.

"Could you…move your leg off my right leg? It's been trapped between you and the chair for a while, and it feels quite numb due to the lack of blood flow," I whimpered.

"Oh…sorry, honey," she said, moving her leg away and giving my right leg some much-needed space for circulation. "Now could you please tell me…what happened with your dad, all those years ago?" she spoke again, her eyes reflecting the moonlight as she looked into mine.

I looked at her and then towards Brock, who was now soundly asleep in comfort on his beach chair. Then again, he'd usually be the first one to fall asleep during our travels together, regardless of whether we were with Misty, May and Max, or Dawn. Turning my attention back to Misty, I decided to tell her the truth about my father, whose face I never had the chance to know.

"Well, alright…" I sighed, "…here goes…"

(End of Chapter 6)

A/N: That's Chapter 6 finished, at last... I worked hard on it this week, so I could get it uploaded by this weekend. After my final exam on the 15th of November, I'll start right away on the next chapter. I was originally clueless as to what I could add to the last section of this chapter where they're star-seeing at night, but after happening to watch The Patriot one day, and a particular scene where they make comments regarding the North Star, I thought, 'hey, that's a good idea to put in.' ^^

I was really tempted to make the villain's last name an anagram of Iscariot (the last name of Judas), but decided to go with an Ancient Greek-type of name, as it's more fitting in my opinion in terms of era. I also decided not to give the species-names for Julius' Pokémon, as people back then wouldn't have given a specific name for each species. But Mars is a Dragonite, Jupiter a Salamence, Saturn a Garchomp, Ares a Tyranitar, Terra a Nidoking, and Kradus a Scizor. They definitely didn't have Pokéball technology back then, so I made it that a trainer's Pokémon form bonds with them purely through interaction, spending time together, and earning each other's trust, to make it more realistic.

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