Summary: Two hundred years after humanity's fall, Pokémon now live without the presence of humans. After generations of stories and tales being passed down, a small group of explorers decide to try and find out what really happened to humanity, and what the strange exctinct species truly existed for.

Warnings: Violence, some blood and (maybe) gore, profanity, survival, maybe shipping.

Disclaimer: I do not own Pokémon and I don't intend on making any profit from this fan fiction.

A/N: Totally my first fan fiction. Totally. Anyway, this has only been checked and read through by me, so any mistakes are my fault.

Chapter 1: Meeting the Sunlight

Heartfire, cycle 208

Morning slowly crept up on the Sinnoh region. The sun's rays gradually spreading out over the land and waking up the diurnal inhabitants of the region. Bird pokémon took flight into the cool morning air, diving and gliding through the sky as they sung their first songs of the day. Life began emerge in the undisturbed forests; pokémon of all types greeted the morning light as soon as it fell on their den. In ancient towns and cities, pokémon made their way onto the overgrown streets full of wooden stalls they had built together, stocking them up with food and supplies.

In a small forest south of the Hearthome Settlement, one young pokémon in particular was waking up as well. Crawling out of his den and looking somewhat thinner than he was meant to, was a young riolu of five moons by the name of Tyrus. His blue and black fur was patchy, and his body was covered with bruises and scratches. He let out a yawn and stood on his hind legs to stretch. His yawn was interrupted when a golden brown leaf landed on the end of his nose, causing him to frown. Leaves had always been green to him, never this strange colour. He looked around and was shocked to see leaves of the trees were becoming the same. What was once luscious and green and healthy was now wilting and becoming colours of crimson and gold. With a pang of panic, the young riolu realised what was happening.

Autumn was on its way. And if autumn was on its way, then that scary time his mother told him about wasn't far behind.

He had to get food. He had to try and save up enough to last him through the time his mother had warned him about. He couldn't even remember its name, but he could remember the way his mother had described it. The world becomes far more dangerous than it is now. Finding food becomes far more difficult, and the air becomes deathly cold. That's why we need to prepare as soon as autumn comes... But autumn had come and he had barely enough food to feed himself as it was. Ever since his mother had disappeared two moons ago, he had barely managed to make it through the rest of the summer.

No! Tyrus thought with determination, I have to do this. I have to survive! With that resolve, the young riolu set off from his den and into the forest in search of food. Like himself, many other pokémon were searching for food in the forest, and this made it far more difficult. The reason why he hadn't been able to get much food was because of the competition. Almost every time he found a berry bush or a fruit tree, another pokémon or even a group pokémon would appear and chase him away from his prize. On rare occasions he did manage to get food without being chased off, but being young and without a parent, he was far too timid to try and fight back. He didn't know how to fight, only how to run away before getting attacked. That's what made it more difficult for him to survive.

Today was going to be different. Today he was going to successfully find food, and if a pokémon challenged him for it, he was going to successfully chase them off instead. Then he was going to joyfully tuck into his prize, feasting on juicy berries and sweet apples and whatever else he could get his paws on. His fantasising about food was cut short when his body involuntarily shivered. The air felt far cooler than it had in the summer, and it caused another panic-filled moment where the emanation pokémon realised the dangerous time after autumn. He hurried his pace through the forest, his eyes darting around the wilting foliage for any sign of food.

It must have been two or three hours before Tyrus finally came across food. His eyes shone with excitement and hunger when he saw the masses of berries and fruit stored in an old tree stump. Wait...a tree stump? He blinked and looked around, there wasn't any pokémon nearby but something had certainly stored this food here. He started to feel distressed now, his hunger anchoring his instinct to take some food before getting seen. But this was someone else's food, someone had worked hard to forage and store it here. He couldn't just take it, could he? He was so, so hungry, though... He couldn't help but lick his lips at the sight of the food, he needed it. At this rate he was going to starve, and he didn't need to take all of it. Just enough to keep him fed. There would be plenty left for whoever stored it in the first place.

With his mind made up, the riolu shakily stepped out from the bushes and edged his way towards the old stump. His eyes were focused solely on the food, all of his senses were focused on the food. That was his first mistake. The empty, gnawing feeling in his stomach grew as he drew closer before he finally reached the store of food. He remained motionless for a moment, simply staring at the different colours of berries and fruits, their sweet scent overpowering his senses. Eventually, he reached out and grabbed a berry. That was his second mistake.

There was a sharp growl. He flinched so violently he dropped the berry he had picked up before spinning around, trying desperately to see which direction the growl had come from. He heard bushes rustle to his right and instinctively snapped his head around in that direction, his eyes widened in fright at the pokémon before him. The pokémon bared its fangs at him before sauntering into the clearing. It was far larger than him, towering over the canine-like pokémon at six feet. Its claws were sharp and deadly and its eyes glared daggers at the young riolu. An ursaring.

He hastily stepped back as the ursaring advanced on him before tripping on a tree root and falling on his back. He whimpered when the bear pokémon placed its paws none too gently either side of his body, his breath becoming shallow and panicked as it drew it's face up to his. His eyes were wide and locked on the ursaring's sharp teeth, he could feel its breath on his face. This was it. It was going to tear into him. It was going to kill him.

Tyrus closed his eyes and waited for the inevitable. His whole body was rigid with fear, and yet trembled in terror at the same time. He whimpered again when the ursaring snarled and moved even closer, however its movements froze when a small voice called out.

"Mama?"

He felt the large pokémon's presence shift away from him and dared to open one of his eyes. He blinked when he saw the ursaring had turned its head to look behind, and when he followed its gazed, he understood why. Standing a few meters away with curious expressions were three young teddiursa who must have been roughly the same age as him. The ursaring glanced back at him before snorting and rising to its hind legs. For a few tense moments it stared at him before speaking.

"Get out of here."

The young riolu blinked. Huh.

The mother ursaring bared her teeth. "Didn't you hear me? Go!"

He didn't need to be told a third time. He quickly scrambled to his paws before taking off on all fours into the forest. He didn't know if he passed any food on his panicked dash away from the ursaring's den, the only thing he was focused on was getting to somewhere safe. He was extremely lucky to get out of that situation unharmed.

Soon enough he was following the river back to his den. He dived into his den at full speed, landing right against the dirt wall. He lay there for a few minutes, his chest heaving as he tried to catch his breath. Once he had calmed down, he closed his eyes and curled into a ball. He felt so pathetic. Like so many times before, he had failed to get food, but this time he failed far worse. This time his failure almost got him killed. What was he going to do? How was he going to survive when autumn passed? He could feel tears stinging at his eyes as the reality of his situation weigh down on him. He thought back to those three teddiursa thought about how lucky they were. How lucky they were to still have their mother, to still have the protection she provided and the food she fed them. Why did they have it so easy while he was barely managing to feed himself? It wasn't fair.

Life isn't always fair, Tyrus. The situation you'll be forced into, long-term or short-term, may sometimes be difficult. But you have to stay strong and live through it. Complaining gets you nowhere. His mother's words echoed in his mind again, and he knew complaining wasn't going to get him anywhere. He sat up and wiped the dampness from his eyes; he wasn't going to survive by crying.

He left his den again to search for food. Seeing the river that ran a few meters next to his den made him realise how thirsty he had become from running away from that ursaring's den. He gathered water into his paws and drank, feeling grateful that his mother had made their den so close to the river. Thinking about it made the young riolu remember something his mother had said a few suns before disappearing. Something completely insignificant to him then that wasn't so now.

We'll have to move dens when Heartfire comes.

It was Heartfire now. He frowned and glanced back at the den he had always lived in. Why did they – he – have to move? It was in the perfect spot. A good water supply, near many food sources, and it was somewhat sheltered. What was the problem? And where would he even go to make a new den? He didn't get it.

Shaking his head, he set off into the forest once more. In the distance, dark stormy clouds rolled from Mt. Cornet, bringing the heavy autumn rain.

It came so suddenly. He dashed through the forest once more for cover of his den as the rain pelted down hard. It came so suddenly that he had flinched when it hit his body all at once. His fur was soaked, and rain water kept running into his eyes. The forest floor that was dry and dusty from the summer was now muddy and slippery, causing him to slip into trees and bushes. Other pokémon were also running for cover, trying to escape the harsh rain and get to shelter.

By the time the young riolu made it back to his den he was drenched and covered in mud. That was he least of his worries when he saw the river; it looked strange. It was higher than usual, but the canine-like pokémon soon stopped worrying about the river and dashed into his den. Thankfully it was dry inside, and he wasted no time in trying to shake off his sodden fur. His lip curled in disgust when he saw how muddy his body was, and noted to have a bath in the river when the rain passed.

He sat and waited in his den, watching the rain pour from the sky. He felt a little moody and disappointed because he hadn't managed to get any food before the downpour, and being covered in slimy mud wasn't helping. Being hungry was bad enough, but being hungry, cold and wet was even worse.

He could hear the river roaring louder, but paid no attention to it. He was thinking about what he was going to do when the rain stopped. Maybe try a different area of the forest for food? An area he had never been to before? Maybe he could even venture outside the forest? He immediately regretted that idea and discarded it from his mind. His thoughts were disturbed when he noticed the ground he was sitting on was becoming more and more wet. He looked down to see his den was becoming flooded, and with a yelp of surprise, leapt to his hind legs. He didn't understand what was happening. How was this amount of water seeping into his den? Surely it couldn't be raining that much? He edged his way to the entrance of his den and, with a sinking feeling in the pit of his stomach, saw why. The river was swollen and broken, gushing water out into the nearby fields. This was the reason why his mother said they needed to move dens.

The young riolu needed to move. If he didn't get out of there soon, the river was going to eat him. As he hesitantly moved out, he looked back at his flooded den and felt a pang of sorrow. He had lived here since he had hatched, this was the last place he had seen his mother. Reluctantly, he moved away from the den, but his eyes were still on it as the water rose. It was coming up to his middle, but still he hesitated. What would he do without the shelter of his den? Where would he go?

In one swift moment, a wave river water smashed into the fighting type. He didn't even have a chance to prepare as the river swept him away. He let out a cry, trying to fight against the currents of the water, but he was too weak. He tried to swim towards solid land, but within minutes the muscles in his limbs began to burn with exhaustion. The river bashed him so hard he went under the surface, swallowing water instead of breathing air. He'd come back up to choke, trying to breathe only to swallow more water. He didn't know how long he spent fighting, it could have been minutes or hours, but eventually his energy faded. He tried to call out for help, but it was lost as he was pulled under again. Instead of fighting to get to the surface like before, he kept on falling deeper as the river pulled him along. He wanted to breathe so desperately his lungs were burning, but the surface was fading further and further. He felt tired and closed his eyes.

His body felt strange. It felt like it was no longer moving, and that there was a strange energy holding him in place. Was it his spirit passing on? Was he finally dead? No...he could still feel the river rushing past him, so what was this feeling? The feeling of energy grew stronger, and it felt like it was pulling him up. Higher and higher it felt like he was rising, until he broke through the water's surface. He coughed weakly as he was levitated through the air, the rain still coming down hard. His body hung limply, and it was difficult to breathe with the amount of water in his lungs. He felt his body being gently laid on the ground, his nose twitching involuntarily when he felt a blade of grass tickle it. He began to cough violently, small amounts of water spluttered from his mouth. He coughed for several minutes before finally having the energy to look up, and despite his blurry vision, he was able to make out a pair of bright violet eyes before blacking out.

Tyrus didn't know how long he was unconscious. When he woke up his sense of hearing and smell came back first. He could faintly hear the breeze rustling the canopies of the trees while the starly called to each other. He could smell the damp, musky scent of the earth and the forest. The next sense that returned to him was feeling. His muscles ached and burned, trying to move his limbs caused them to scream in agony, so he remained still. After a few minutes, he finally attempted to open his eyes. When he managed to flicker his eyes open, he was greeted with bright sunlight and whined before closing his eyes again. The sudden noise was noticed.

"I see you're finally awake," a calm, female voice spoke.

Tyrus froze, remembering the pair of glowing eyes before blacking out and realised someone had rescued him. His saviour took notice of his distress.

"No need to be afraid," she assured, "just rest. Your muscles are still sore from your fight against the river."

He opened his mouth to ask who the stranger was, but found his mouth and throat were incredibly dry. Instead, he croaked for water.

"After what you've been through, I'd have thought you would have had enough water." Regardless of the stranger's joke, Tyrus felt something press against his lips and opened his mouth as soon as he tasted water. He couldn't help but gulp the water down, it was like heaven having the delicious liquid run down in parched throat. He whined before coughing when the water was taken away.

"Slow down, you'll choke."

Feeling somewhat stronger, Tyrus tried to open his eyes again. After wincing and letting his eyes adjust to the light, he came face-to-face with those bright violet eyes again. He blinked and took in the rest of the strange pokémon's form. The feline-like pokémon had light purple fur and large, cat-like ears. There was a small red gem embedded in her forehead, and her tail was long and thin before the ends were naturally split into two. He noticed she wore a dark blue tail band, reaching from the bottom to just before where her tail split. It took Tyrus a moment to remember what pokémon she was.

"Espeon..." he mumbled to himself.

The espeon nodded. "Yes."

Tyrus frowned. "Who are you?"

"My name is Helia."

"Why did you save me?"

Helia didn't reply. Instead, she looked at the object that was levitating beside her, and her eyes glowed blue. Tyrus flinched when the strange object floated over to him. It looked like it was made of some kind of leather, and it had a hole at the top with a cork hanging off it. From the sound of the water slushing in side, this is what the espeon used to quench his thirsty. He glanced back at the espeon.

"Do you not what any more?" she questioned.

Tyrus did, but he wanted to know what the object holding the water was first. "What is it?"

"Hm? This?" Helia looked at it before looking back at Tyrus. "This is called a 'flask'. Have you never seen one before?"

"No," the young riolu replied. "My mother never told me about...flasks... What are they used for?"

"Well, it's obvious isn't it?" Helia asked in a matter-of-factly tone. Not really, Tyrus thought. "It's for carrying water. When you travel and explore, you'll end up in lands that have small or next to no water sources. So you have to be prepared and take your own."

"A-amazing..." Tyrus murmured. "Mother and I never had to use those because we were so close to the river, but they sound so useful."

Helia said nothing to that. After a moment, she asked if Tyrus could sit up, and after a small struggle of aches and pains, he managed it.

"Drink," she said, levitating the flask into Tyrus' paws.

"Thank you," Tyrus said gratefully, and brought the flask to his mouth before gulping it again.

"Slow down."

"S-sorry." He began to sip instead.

After a moment of silence, Helia spoke up again. "What were you doing so close to the river in the first place? Don't you know the river is prone to flooding this time of year?"

"Flooding?" Tyrus asked with a puzzled expression.

"Yes, it's when so much rain falls that the river can no longer stay in its banks," Helia explained. "It swells so much it bursts onto land and washes away all in its path. Surely your mother must have told you to stay away from the river?"

Tyrus looked down with a pained expression. There was still so much he didn't know because his mother didn't get to teach him. Helia's ears perked at Tyrus' sudden change of demeanour.

"What's wrong?"

"...my mother...disappeared two moons ago," Tyrus finally said quietly.

Helia looked away and sighed. "I'm sorry."

"There's so much about the world that I don't know about," he continued. "My mother never had the chance to teach me, she probably thought she had time. It's a miracle I've managed to survive this long without her." Tears were gathering in his eyes as he spoke, some were rolling down his cheeks, dampening his fur. "I have no idea what I'm doing. I've barely managed to feed myself. I don't know how to fight or protect myself. I don't know anything outside of this forest... I don't know what to do..."

Tyrus broke into quiet sobs before curling in on himself. Helia looked at him with pity lurking in her eyes before dismissing it. Now was not a time for pity or to be pitied. She could empathise with the young riolu, because she too was once in his situation. Alone and scared, and totally oblivious and ignorant to how the world truly worked. Right now, he didn't need to be pitied, he needed to be taught. She levitated the flask away from him before opening her exploration bag, pulling out apples and berries before laying them out in front of the troubled youngster. If he was to learn, he'd need to be healthy and well fed. A task Helia was more than willing to take on.

Helia waited patiently until Tyrus calmed down. It was fairly amusing to watch his crumpled expression change into a look of excitement as his tail wagged at the prospect of food. She highly doubted he had had this much food to himself in a while. He looked up with expectation, and she nodded immediately; it was then Helia realised how hungry he had been. He grabbed an apple and tore into it, its sweet flavour making him eat faster. At times Helia had to tell him to slow down in case he'd choke. It didn't take long until Tyrus was full. He fell on his back and let out a sigh of content.

At least he's resilient, Helia mused to herself as Tyrus thanked her in a daze. That would help him in the long run.

"You didn't answer my question." The young riolu's voice cut her thoughts short. She blinked at him, not truly understanding what he meant. "Why did you save me?"

Ah. "The reason is not important," was all Helia replied with.

"What? C'mon, you have to give me more than that!" Tyrus whined childishly.

Helia let out a small noise of amusement. "Now, now, isn't there something you haven't told me, yet?"

"Like what?"

"Like your name."

"Oh! R-right, I'm Tyrus," he said hurriedly before adding, "pleased to meet you."

"It's a pleasure to meet you, Tyrus," Helia replied with a smile.

"And, um, thank you for saving my life."

"You're welcome, let's just hope it doesn't become a habit."

Tyrus blinked. "Huh?"

"You want to learn more about this world, yes?" Helia asked, and Tyrus nodded. "You won't learn about it all in this forest. That's why I'd like to invite you to travel with me."

"Y-you mean, like me joining your pack?" he asked hopefully.

"Something like that," the espeon replied.

Tyrus leapt to his feet, his tail swaying back and forth. "Thank you so much! I-I promise I'll do my best!"

"I'm sure you will." Helia rose to all fours, levitating the water flask back into her exploration bag before clipping that onto her back. She turned back to Tyrus who was watching in wonder. "Well then, shall we?"

Tyrus nodded with a look of determination. Helia led them onto a path leading out of the forest, passing the still swollen river and Tyrus' old den. He stopped momentarily to glance back his old home, feeling somewhat wistful. He no longer had a permanent place, he had found a way out of the forest.

"Tyrus? Are you coming?" Helia called to him.

"Yeah," he called back, casting one more glance at the forest before turning to catch up to Helia.

This was just the beginning.

Almost dying twice in just the first chapter. This is going to be a fun character to write.

Feel free to leave a review.

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