In a world ravaged by a war of hate
Only one will be so bold
And all will rely on the hero's fate
By the prophecy Xatu foretold
And when the darkness rises high
The stars fall from the heaven's above
The silver moon meets crimson sky
The promise of undying love
The hero's will rise from the dust
and they will win, the guardians trust.
Vaporeon smiled down at the four Eevee's staring brightly back up at her. "that's enough story telling for today." She said in a soft voice. "It's time for us all to go to sleep."
"Do we have to." A playful and bright Eevee named Strike protested. "We didn't even get to the good part."
Vaporeon sighed patiently, her fishlike tail flicking back and forth in a subtle sign of annoyance. "I just thought we would save the rest for tomorrow, when your brother and sister will leave for their apprenticeships." As she finished saying this two Eevees, one, whose name was shadow, was a quite handsome young male Eevee with a thick mess of neck fur ,and the other named Singe, an intelligent well groomed female who held herself quite proudly, both sat up straighter beaming with an excited glow in the black and brown eyes.
Vaporeon looked on at her two older children in pleasure. They had grown so much more mature, and in just a few more hours they would be going through the special ceremony young Eevees went through when choosing their passage of evolution. Here at this one event would determine the rest of their lives. The leader of all the Eeveelutions the mighty Umbreon and his mate Espeon would decide where each of the Eevees that had come of age would be continuing their education and furthering their skills in survival. The warm den the five Pokémon were snuggled in, was so small compared to the wide expanse of a world around them and now, Vaporeon realized, her own children would even travel beyond the confines of the forest of time and venture into unknown lands. The thought that she could not protect her children anymore did make Vaporeon a bit uncomfortable and uneasy but she knew they would be fine as long as they listened to their mentors.
"Mom" a small voice asked
Vaporeon looked down at the tiny frame of her smallest kitten. Little Swift was the runt of the litter and in comparison to her two brothers and her sister was quite miniscule. She being shy was quite quiet and often overlooked but she had a noble heart and held dearly onto her dream of becoming a member of an explorer team member. Vaporeon worried about Swift the most knowing deep inside that Swift would never be strong enough to train the rigorous style of the guilds let alone training at all.
"Yes, what is it dear." Vaporeon answered.
"please, mom can you just tell us about Arcanine" Swift pleaded her brother Strike seizing the opportunity joined in the begging. Vaporeon could only grin at her younger children's enthusiasm, and finally she gave in "Fine maybe just one more but then you have to go to bed." Vaporeon said playfully the white fins on her face flexing back and forth as she spoke.
She cleared her voice before she began telling the heroic and courageous story of the great explorer Arcanine. Her speech was like a smooth and peaceful song as the story soothed the ears and hearts of the little kittens around her. She couldn't help but realize this was the last time she would ever be with her whole family again. Small tears pricked at Vaporeon's eyes but she quickly blinked them away not wanting her kittens to see her so sad.
"Arcanine ran through the forest, his fur shimmering in the mornings first beams of brightness. The flame he carried within him seemed to radiate the striking regal pose that he portrayed as he lithely leaped and bounded across the worlds still and well trodden ground." The small family found themselves falling gently into a deep sleep as their mothers voice filled the den with a fond familiarity and patient tenderness.
…..
A small and fearful looking Riolu hid in the cool blue rugged mountain grass, a cold breeze was blowing from the northern lands but an intense burning fire, to Riolu's horror warmed the chiseled and worn mountainous pass that Riolu had trained in, knowing it as well as he would his own fighting abilities. He jumped as he could sense the presence of another being slip next to him unexpectedly. A powerful sphere of blue energy forming in his small black hands, and a new fierce expression covering his black masked face.
"no worries Riolu, it's just me." A fire fox Pokémon with six tails called vulpix sat next to him her eyes brimming with tears of fear and shock.
Riolu's power slowly dissolved back into the palms of his hands and he naturally followed vulpix's gaze toward the roaring center of the fire. In which was engulfed the burning guild, Riolu and Vulpix's home where they had grown together training under the great Lucario's instruction. It would soon only be rubble and the burnt frame of a once strong and great building. The chilling howl of a houndoom resonated around the mountain walls, an angry tone stricken in his spooky voice. Riolu squinted his eyes in anger sensing the darkness of the Pokémon's aura. Numerous other howls followed, the rest of Houndoom's pack answering his dark and evil call. Riolu shivered at the thought of the raging houndours, remembering the fury and hate in their eyes as they forced their way into the guild and terrorized the residents within. The image of his father Lucario struggling against the dreadful houndoom leader, as the intense fire of Houndoom's breath scorched the air around him. Houndoom's dreadful scar and merciless power rung in Riolu's mind a constant reminder of the danger Riolu and his guild mates were in.
Vulpix was trembling now her usual brave spirit crushed in the perilous wave of defeat that had clouded over the once carefree and joyful scene.
"Riolu" Riolu didn't answer concentrating on the scene that lay before him, so Vulpix continued understanding the catharsis Riolu was struggling to fight through.
"Riolu we've got to get to the safe house the other guild members are waiting for us there." Riolu flashed Vulpix a shocked expression suddenly breaking his strict concentration to react to Vulpix's message.
"What about Lucario, we can't just leave him here, no, I'm staying until he returns. I will not abandon our leader no matter the circumstance."
"But Rio…" Riolu interrupted immediately cold painful tears of anger swelling up in his maroon eyes.
"I will not leave!" His voice was defiant but brimming with confusion and loss. Vulpix couldn't bear to see her friend be hurt like this but she knew that if he stayed danger awaited him.
"Riolu!" Vulpix demanded "It's too late for your father, he was already taken away by Houndoom's pack and the other outlaws. Right now you have a mission to protect the weaker members of the guild and to step up and take your fathers place as protector. Now follow me."
Riolu hadn't heard Lucario be called his father for a long time, for titles like this were strictly forbidden. But Vulpix's words stirred the realization that he was truly now in command, and all of the guild was going to be destroyed if he didn't do something to preserve the remnant of hope left, the actual members of the guild.
Vulpix was already disappearing into the lugubrious billows of smoke and ash that were clouding the area in a most dreadful way. Riolu followed, determined and ready to fight, yet regretting his choice to leave the last place his father had stood.
The safe house was merely a hole dug in the ground by Sandslash (a porcupine like Pokémon that was a member of the guild.) The only cover was some branches hurriedly thrown over the gaping hole. As Riolu and Vulpix entered only three of Riolu's guild mates were there.
"Sandslash, Heracross, Pineco where is everyone?" Vulpix asked with concern in her voice.
Heracross, a blue beetle Pokémon answered, his yellow eyes shifting back and forth nervously. "they wennnt out to finnnnd the other membersss."
Pineco's pinecone like bristles shook in rage "When this is all over I'm goen to hunt down houndoom and his lot and knock 'm inta next week."
Sandslash shook her head in agreement. "Don't worry Pineco we'll get our chance all righ…"
Suddenly the ground began to shake with a small tremor driving all of the guild members into utter silence, the earth above them sending a spray of dust on their heads and backs. No one dare to utter the first word forcing the small group of Pokémon into silent awe. Only after a couple of moments had passed did Riolu dare to speak up for the fearful group.
"I'll go and make sure that the coast is clear." He murmured more to himself than to anyone else. He lithely pulled himself up out of the dark hole and looked around. Cold drops of rain hit Riolu's arms and head. The smell was fresh and clean, seemingly quenching the vicarious scent of smoke.
Riolu closed his eyes taking deep meditative breaths letting the world become one with his senses. Though his eyes were closed Riolu could see everything around him using his keen sixth sense of Aura. Details of the world around him were easier to spy when his eyes were shut allowing his body to flow with the nature around him. As he turned his head slowly his ears began to tingle and raise a flash of blue charged rapidly toward him. Before he could return to a normal state of thinking he was shoved back into the hole whence he came, talons wrapped around his forearms. Riolu hit the ground hard but quickly wriggled loose of the powerful grip.
"What do you think you're doing going out there." A stern voice chided.
Riolu blinked a couple of times in confusion but soon realized his attacker was Pidgeotto, a member of the guild who had reached a high enough rank to become a part of a famed rescue team. His red and brown feathers which were once sleek and shining in health were now course and rugged from obvious signs of battle, the wing tips slightly scorched.
Pidgeotto continued speaking not hearing a reply from Riolu. "It's no matter now I have to get you out of here they are onto your location."
The guild members looked on in shock not expecting the pack of outlaws to track them down once they had subdued Lucario. "Riolu." Pidgeotto said in a serious tone. "The reason they are here, is for you, and so Lucario has sent me here to fly you to safety."
Riolu surprised looked at his friends. "What about everyone else they need to be safe as well."
Pidgeotto jumped in quickly looking nervously back up the hole into the moonlit night. "You are the one they want because of your ability to use aura sphere so early on. I'm sure your friends will be more than happy to protect you."
Vulpix began speaking her soft and tender voice touching Riolu's stubborn ears like they had done so many times in the past, her chocolate brown eyes portraying the truth in her warm tone. "Riolu, we will stay and protect you, get out of here so that one day you can fulfill the prophecy you were chosen to fulfill, the prophecy that will one day save us all."
The other guild members nodded in agreement but were obviously afraid, knowing that tonight would probably be their last night of being together. Pidgeotto spread his wide and elegant wings signaling to Riolu that they needed to go but not wanting to disrupt the touching scene that was being displayed before him.
Rioluturned his attention to Pidgeotto and climbed up on his slender back looking at his strong friend who stood boldly before him, ready to sacrifice her own life for his.
"Until we meet again." Vulpix said "and until we can create our own rescue team." Something that Riolu and Vulpix had always hoped to achieve.
Suddenly Pidgeotto's wings began to flap, his and Riolu's body lifting strongly into the air. Riolu was holding onto Pidgeotto's blue rescue team scarf that he had obtained when becoming a member of a rescue team. Vulpix got smaller and smaller as the two Pokémon rose into the starry sky above, her image suddenly blurry from the last of Riolu's tears. His best friend was going to put herself into the fangs and claws of demon like monsters just to save him, her best friend.
Riolu could no longer see Vulpix the smoke making the ground below covered in its midst like quality, obscuring any plausible image. "Are you holding on tight." Pidgeotto asked. Riolu answered back with an affirmative "yes sir." And then sat quietly once more, looking at the world from such a height was breathtaking. The guild had not been completely destroyed to Riolu's relief. The droplets of rain falling from the sky were heaven sent. The sight was a sign of hope for Riolu, a sign that maybe everything would be ok , and in just a couple of day's Pidgeotto would be coming to get him and bring him back here so he could live out how he lived before this whole fiasco.
The silver moon beams hit Riolu and Pidgeotto's back casting a reflected glow. Though it was raining Pidgeotto flew perfectly to Riolu's wonder. As Riolu looked down, a sudden fear gripped him as terror seized his heart a metallic looking bird suddenly burst through the black smoke. His yellow eyes cast a ferocious glow and an intimidating screech sounded from its long metallic beak.
"Halt." He shouted in a demanding tone. His silver and red wings seemed to slice through the thin air around them projecting him like a powerful bullet. Pidgeotto swiveled his head around in surprise flapping faster. The ground below them had turned into a huge expanse of trees, trees Riolu had never even known existed, for he had never gone far enough into the world he knew. Riolu shuttered as another screech splintered the air. He wrapped Pidgeotto's blue scarf around his wrist fearing the perilous fall.
"What is that thing?" Riolu gasped aloud to Pidgeotto while continuing to watch the opposing bird Pokémon's aerial dangerous display.
"It's called Skarmory a ferocious bully of the air. It seems as if he's chosen to take to Houndoom's side as well, so you best hold on."
As Skarmory began to close in Pidgeotto folded its wings close to his side's the air around Riolu and him grew still the once roaring wind quieting into a murmur as time seemed to pause for a mere few seconds, and suddenly in a bat of an eyelash the two Pokémon found themselves plummeting towards the forestry land below Pidgeotto acting much like a missile hurtling towards the ground. Riolu's heart skipped a beat as the trees and rocks rushed rapidly toward him, as they neared the very top of a tall pine tree Pidgeotto's wings spread out once again and he glided hurriedly over the looming branches. Skimming the very tips with his talons occasionally.
But even this maneuver didn't discourage Skarmory and he easily forced his way towards the two struggling Pokémon. Surprisingly a black bandanna was whipping in the wind tied around his long shining neck. Riolu had to look a few times to verify what he was seeing but as sure as could be, Skarmory bore the sign of an exploration team. He opened his beak once again another ear splitting stentorian resounding off of the hollowed trunks below. He was now just right over them preparing to deal out his arsenal of heavy moves. His steel talons suddenly spread and he shot down towards them, aimed at Riolu.
Riolu quickly reacted, the long, slender, white bone of his attack bone rush appearing in his hand, he grasped firmly onto Pidgeotto's bandanna and swung the bone towards Skarmory's under feathers. As he did so Skarmory seemed to give a taunting smile the bone just rebounding off the plate like feathers easily with just a small clink. Riolu opened his mouth in shock but it was already too late. The crushing blow of Skarmory's body hit hard and Riolu found himself falling in midair Pidgeotto's bandanna still clutched in his hand had come undone in the commotion. Pidgeotto noticing Riolu had fallen, quickly turned to his aid but was met by a powerful dark jolt of Skarmory's nightshade. Skarmory now turning to pluck Riolu from the air diving towards him as Riolu was about to fall into the trees and out of reach. But just before his talons could clasp around Riolu's feet Pidgeotto slammed into Skarmory using the last bit of might he could muster. So Riolu slipped into the leaves and shadows of the forest his body being beaten and bruised as he hit the strong branches and needles which were slowing his decent. Riolu suddenly felt a huge pain course through his skull and shiver down his spine. The world grew suddenly black and Riolu found himself quickly slipping into an unconscious state.