Several days following the incident at Mount Coronet a meeting of the officials of Sinnoh was held. The room was designed to be longer than it was wide as to hold a long table that stretched across the room with several chairs, many of which at this point were filled.

A man dressed in a full suit and tie sat at the head of the table opposite the door. He spoke, "The issue still stands as to what has to be done. The incident involving the legendary Regice has greatly affected our humble region and has left a majority of the population questioning trainers of Pokemon and Pokemon themselves. What do we do about this?"

Another man dressed in a similar way, spoke up. "Nothing has to be done. Pokemon have stood by mankind since before recorded history and there is no reason for that to be changed now."

This time, a man that stood out from the others not in dress, but that his hair was very unusual in color, allowed himself to bring up his point. "That may be true, but if you think about it everything is constantly changing. If it is for the sake of the people and their safety, then that may be the best reason to go through with restricting the training of Pokemon."

The man at the head of the table nodded approvingly. "Once again you prove that the decision to add you into our order was no mistake, my friend. I can already see the people of Sinnoh admire you and your ideals that you have presented..." He paused. "My apologies, I have forgotten your name yet again."

The man with the unusual hair chuckled. "Think nothing of it, you are not the first. My name is Ghetsis."

The Pokemon Center of Eterna City was calm. Nobody spoke. Nobody was around to speak. Except for one raven-haired boy with his head hung low in the corner chair of the waiting area. The nurse had excused herself earlier to check on what little amount of Pokemon she had been taking care of.

"I-I don't understand..." the boy said to himself, nearly coughing it out. "Why did this happen? Why did they have to go this way?" He clenched his eyes shut as tears began to form, preventing them from flooding out. Suddenly the door swung open, allowing a girl that seemed older by a few years to enter. Her eyes widened upon seeing the young boy.

"Luke! Are you okay?" She asked, horrified. She dashed up to him, causing her long black hair to carry itself behind her then fall back down to her midback when she stood still again. She cleched her lime green long-sleeved shirt worriedly as she looked down at him.

Luke looked up slowly, realizing who it was that had come to see him. "Valerie? What are you doing here?"

"I came here to find you, of course. Do you seriously think that your own sister wouldn't check on you after what happened to you?" Valerie questioned rhetorically yet sweetly.

Luke sighed. "I know, but... look I just need some time alone. After what happened..." He lowered his head once more to gaze intently at the tile floor.

They were silent for a short time, neither moving an inch.

Finally, Valerie softened her expression and smiled sympathetically. "Sure. But at least let me take you somewhere else... your Pokemon are already healed, right?" He nodded. "Good. Now, let's go."

Luke slowly stood up and agreed to follow his sister through town.

Eterna was just like it had been several years before - tall office buildings that somehow allowed constant sunlight throughout the city. People still walked through the streets carefree and joyous even as they had before the recent happenings. This had most likely been due to the fact that Eterna represented the balance of humanity and nature, being a mix of city-life and Pokemon, especially Grass-types. Eterna City remained heavily reliant on the partnership of people and Pokemon.

"Did you want something to eat?" Valerie questioned as they approached an upcoming restaurant. He shook his head. She sighed. "I'm only trying to help, Luke. You know that I-"

"I get it, okay?" Luke shouted. "I know you want to help me but I said that I want to be alone for a while!"

Valerie flinched. She understood why her younger brother had felt this way, but at some point the feelings that Luke had been experiencing could damage him psychologically. She finally dipped her head. "Sorry."

The pair continued to walk. They stopped in a park found in the northeastern corner of the city. Children played with their Pokemon friends. Somewhat experienced trainers practiced attacks with their own Pokemon to train them. Several people without Pokemon simply rested in the lush viridian grass or strolled along the sidewalk. It was peaceful, despite the serious matters that befell the world around it.

"It's great here, isn't it?" Valerie smiled as she asked the question, only to get a hesitant nod from her brother. She stared intently at a statue that stood above everything else in the park area and pondered. Should she reach out further to him?

"I-I'm sorry about Phil and Frida-"

"You don't need to say anything, all right?" Luke blurted, yet not as loud as before. Only a pair of joggers had turned their heads in their direction, then quickly looked away.

Valerie took a deep breath. "I know. But... I hate seeing you this way. I know it's been hard on you. First Mom and Dad, and now this..."

Luke opened his mouth to speak but no sound was expelled. A sudden explosion caught his and everyone else's attention as he looked up to see what had interrupted him. A tall building was seen crashing down into the pavement. Screams shattered his and Valerie's ears, causing them to cover them with their palms.

"Re-e-ejiokku!"

Luke's eyes snapped open and he looked up to find the one who made the strange cry. What did this remind him of?

"Look out!" A bystander called out. Luke and Valerie looked: the stony figure slammed its arms onto the ground, sending shockwaves in all directions. People and Pokemon scattered. Some were unfortunate enough to be hit by the shockwave and trip, colliding with debris as they fell toward the ground.

"L-Luke... do something! Help them! Use your Pokemon!" Valerie turned to face her brother and her eyes widened. He looked scared. "...Luke?"

He stared at the figure with wide eyes and shook. "What's going on here... why is that thing here?"

The golem turned its body in Luke's and Valerie's direction. Its entire body was made of large stones, mostly between a light tan or orange color. Its long arms dangled to the sides. Seven red dots forming the shape of an H lit up individually as a sphere of bright energy formed between the ends of its raised arms.

"Is that... Hyper Beam?" Valerie shrieked. Once the sphere seemed to reach its maximum size, the sphere converted and expanded itself into an energy beam, leaving behind a small valley in its path. The two siblings were blinded by a flash of white light as the attack approached them.

The light subsided. They were unharmed. Luke opened his eyes to see that his Gallade was standing in a defensive position just where the small valley had stopped.

"Are you all right?" It asked telepathically. Luke stood in shock. His Pokemon had saved his life.

Atop a building that stood a fair distance from the chaos, yet still close enough to provide a fair view, sat a woman who looked to be in her mid to late teens. She smiled down at the destruction in an almost innocent way, like a child would.

"This is just perfect," she said as she flipped her head back haughtily, long blonde hair flowing in the breeze. "Oh, I wish I had some popcorn right about now." Her clothing consisted of a short blue skirt and a gray short-sleeved top. She also wore knee-high boots.

A communication device that resembled a walkie-talkie on her hip began to project sound, a voice. She unhooked it and held it up to her face. "Clarissa here, how may I help you?" she asked with a bored sigh.

"I heard there's a mess in Eterna. You wouldn't be causing that, would you?" The voice questioned, sounding considerably deeper than the woman's voice.

She shrugged, although the man on the other end could not see. "I just wanted to have a little fun is all."

"Well you need to come back to base. Your mission was to secure Regirock and that's it."

"Fine, fine. You're just jealous because I got to capture one of these bad-boys and you didn't."

"Whatever you say," the voice said with detectable sarcasm.

"I'll head back to base, but don't act like you're in charge of me. You're lucky you're even a part of us... I don't know what our leader sees in you anyway." She reattached the communicator to her hip without waiting for a response and stood back up, then glanced down toward the park that was currently being destroyed. She smiled once more.

"...Five more minutes."

The air was dry and provided a faint smell of smoke. There was no sign of life anywhere. Houses were burned down and the land around them was littered with debris. A boy of sixteen years walked along the sidewalk with his hands in the pockets of the red jacket he wore, avoiding stepping on any planks that stood in his path while a Raichu ambled alongside him.

"So this place used to be Solaceon Town..." he said as he glanced around solemnly. His black hair spiked in all directions, primarily downward and backward, moving slightly with each step he took. He wore a plain black short-sleeved shirt under his jacket, which was tucked into his dark-blue jeans.

After a certain amount of time the boy stopped suddenly and knelt down. "It looks like the damage hasn't been limited to just property destruction..." The body of a deceased man lie in front of the kneeling trainer. Several burned areas spotted the corpse; no other injury was to be found. "There was a fire that spread through here, but I don't know how it could have started. Solaceon is dead in the middle of a commonly rainy region of Sinnoh so it must have been intentional." The Raichu accompanying the trainer nodded.

The trainer remained silent for several moments, then stood slowly. "We had better keep moving."

Hope you guys are enjoying the story so far. Reviews are very much appreciated so leave one if you have the time.