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 extinct 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: Hey, look who finally updated! I'll make this quick. I know I said on my profile that my updates would be spontaneous at best, but I'd like to give myself some kind of schedule. I'm going to try and update this at least once a month.

I'd like to thank those who have reviewed, faved and followed this so far. I'm glad people are enjoying it. ^^

Enjoy!

Chapter 2: Meeting the Bickering Pair

Heartfire, cycle 208

Tyrus and Helia had been walking for about twenty minutes or so. The trees were starting to thin out as the rain began to fall again, much to Tyrus' dismay. Their journey so far had been in silence, and not because Tyrus was too shy to say anything, but because he didn't know what to say first. He had so many questions to ask Helia. About the world, about the pokémon living in it, about why Helia herself was exploring it. He didn't know where to start. He was so curious. Eventually, he settled on Helia's ability to levitate things.

"So, how do you do that thing you do?" he asked, and the espeon gave him a look that said she had no idea what he was talking about. "You know, moving things in mid air. That's how you pulled me out of the river, right? Can you teach me?"

"You mean how I levitated the water flask?" Tyrus nodded and Helia gave him a hopeless smile. "I don't think it's possible to teach you how to do it. It's a move called 'Psychic'. Most psychic type pokémon, like myself, are able to learn it. It's quite a useful and powerful move."

"A move?"

"Yes, they're specific techniques pokémon can use in battle. But they can also be used outside of battle as well."

"It's sounds complicated..."

"You'll get the hang of it."

They fell back into silence again. It only lasted a few minutes as Tyrus spoke up again, this time about Helia's appearance.

"That's a nice tail band," he commented as he glanced at it, and Helia flicked her tail in response. "Where did you get it? Did you make it?"

"It was given to me a long time ago," Helia said.

"By who?"

"Someone dear to me."

"Oh." Tyrus glanced up and noticed the espeon had a small notch on the underside of her left ear. "How did you hurt your ear?"

Helia looked at him before twitching her ears. "Sometimes you find yourself in a situation where words no longer have any effect, so you must resort to other measures instead."

"You got into a fight?" he asked with interest.

"Yes, but it happened a long time ago."

Tyrus was about to ask another question when he saw something in the distance. It was slightly taller than the trees, and as they drew closer, there appeared to be more than one. The scenery changed, and trees were dotted about instead of being clustered together. Tyrus' jaw dropped when they finally reached the first of the large structures. It was plagued with weeds and ivy growing through the cracks that had been caused with age. There was broken glass hanging off the rectangular holes in the walls, and some parts of the structure had even broken off. Tyrus backed away from it with his tail between his legs, it felt like it was going to fall on him at any moment.

"Are you okay, Tyrus?" Helia asked with concern.

"H-Helia...what is this?" he whispered. "Why are there so many of them?"

Helia looked up at the structure before speaking. "These are old buildings created by a species called 'humans'. They disappeared over two hundred cycles ago, leaving their old relics behind. Leaving us to wonder what they really were."

"Were they a type of pokémon?" he asked.

"No, they were different from pokémon. From what I found in my studies, they were intelligent and powerful, but they also had a weak side. As far as I know, that weak side is what caused their end."

"Were humans bad or something?"

Helia tilted her head in consideration. "I'm not really sure. Before their end, they had walked side-by-side with pokémon hundreds of cycles prior. But they fell into conflict with themselves, and then eventually disappeared. No one knows what really happened to them, or why they existed in the first place."

Tyrus took note of the hint of excitement in the espeon's voice. "It sounds like you really want to know."

"Yes," she replied, "that's why I started exploring. To find more information on humans. To find out who or what they were, and why their existence suddenly ended."

"My mother never told me of humans," Tyrus admitted.

"I'm not surprised. Not many pokémon really care about humans. Stories and tales float around, but the only ones who really care are pokémon like myself trying to find the truth." Helia looked up as the rain stopped and the clouds began part, the sun was going down. "We need to hurry."

Helia led Tyrus deeper into the labyrinth of crumbling structures. He noticed that the path changed as well. It was firmer, and made of stone that was cracked with weeds growing out. There were more pokémon about as they ventured deeper, standing out in the open with one another. They acted completely different to the pokémon who lived in the forest. It was like the way they acted was...organised. Some of them nodded to Helia who nodded back in acknowledgement. Tyrus wanted to ask her so many questions about the strange place they were in, but was too frightened to speak. He stayed as close as possible to the espeon.

Helia took notice of his distress. "Don't worry. We haven't got much further to go now."

"It's so different to the forest," he said quietly so only Helia could hear. "It's like they're not afraid of predators..."

"That's because the way the pokémon live in these settlements is different to the way pokémon live in the forest." She stopped briefly to look around, settling on a direction to go in before choosing the route through the empty stalls. "Pokémon who live in settlements like these are organised, civilised, while the pokémon who live in the forests and mountains are wild, feral. We live in separate worlds, but that doesn't mean we've cut each other off. If anything, we help each other. There are some pokémon who were born in the forests and mountains that join the pokémon in settlements, while there are some pokémon born in settlements that move into the forests and mountains."

"Has it always been this way? Why live in separate worlds?"

"It's been this way since before I hatched. I guess neither world really mind it."

Their conversation was cut short when a pokémon, who was packing up the last of its stall, saw and called out to Helia. Tyrus yelped and hid behind sun pokémon who stopped and looked in the other pokémon's direction. It had white fur with two brown horizontal lines going across its back, and long arms with two large claws growing out of the end of its paws. Needless to say, Tyrus was intimidated by the stranger.

"Yo, Helia," the vigoroth greeted with a toothy grin, "where've you been?"

"Damek," she said in a pleasant tone, "I've been in the forest."

"Since last sun?" Damek questioned. "What for? Huh? Who's the kid?"

Tyrus hid behind Helia even further when the normal type noticed him. Helia glanced at Tyrus before looking back at Damek. "You were right."

The vigoroth blinked. "About what?"

Helia flicked her tail in irritation. "About seeing a young pokémon alone."

"Oh! So this is him, huh?"

"Yes," she looked back at the young riolu. "It's okay, Tyrus. This is Damek, he's a friend."

Tyrus peered at him from behind Helia's form. "A friend...? Is he part of your pack?"

"Thankfully no," she replied.

"What do you mean 'thankfully'?" Damek demanded to know with an offended tone. He dropped the issue when Helia gave him a sharp look. "W-whatever... What took you so long anyway? You know they're worrying about you, right?"

"We just ran into a little trouble, that's all." Helia inclined her head at Tyrus before moving again. "We'll be off now, Damek."

"Yeah, yeah," he replied before grinning at Tyrus. "See you around, kid."

Tyrus said nothing, but offered a small grin before following close behind Helia. His eyes were everywhere, taking in every detail of the ancient city. Eventually, he commented on his meeting with Damek.

"He was funny," he said as he eyed a small group of aipom that leapt passed.

"Damek is an idiot," Helia replied bluntly before continuing, "but he's useful. He's the best at getting information others usually can't. He's helped me in ways I'll probably always be in debt to."

Those words caused Tyrus to think. He remembered what Helia had said just a few minutes ago, you were right about seeing a young pokémon. Did that mean Helia being in the forest wasn't just a coincidence? Had she really been there to help him? Why? He looked up at the espeon, feeling more and more confused by the moment. Who was she, and why was she helping him?

"Hey, Helia?"

"Yes?"

"Why did you save me from the river?"

Helia stopped and gave him an exasperated look. "Because you would have drowned?"

"That's not what I meant."

The espeon's expression became more sincere. She knew exactly what Tyrus meant, but said nothing in response. The two continued to stare at each other until Tyrus shuffled awkwardly before looking away. He didn't know what to say in the current situation. In the end, neither got a chance to say anything as a female voice rang out.

"Lia!" Out of nowhere, a brown rabbit pokémon lunged at Helia before wrapping her paws around the espeon's neck in a hug. Tyrus yelped and jumped back in surprise. "You're okay! We were so worried!"

"Only you were worrying like an idiot," a male voice said, and Tyrus saw a red lizard pokémon with a flaming tail walk over to the pair. "It was obvious Helia had an important errand to run."

Helia returned the buneary's embrace by placing a paw on her back before giving the charmeleon an amused look. "I'm sure you weren't worrying at all."

The charmeleon crossed his arms and looked away. He said nothing in response.

"What took you so long?" the buneary asked as she pulled away, looking both relieved and somewhat upset.

"I had something important to do," Helia replied, and the charmeleon mumbled something that sounded like 'I knew it'. "I'd like you both to meet someone." She turned to Tyrus who flinched and looked nervously at the two strangers. "This is Tyrus."

Tyrus glanced at Helia before looking back at the two pokémon who were giving him looks of curiosity. He gulped before finally speaking. "H-hi..."

They both blinked before speaking at the same time, their impressions of the young riolu were very different.

"He's so cute!"

"What's with the brat?"

The two glared at each other, obviously not liking the other's response.

"Cute? You're calling that runt, 'cute'?" the charmeleon asked incredulously.

"Yes, I am," the buneary said defiantly. "What about you? What right do you have calling him a 'brat' and a 'runt'?"

"I call it how I see it, and I see a bratty runt!"

"Arceus, you're so arrogant sometimes!"

"How is telling the truth arrogant? Brats should only use words they understand."

"Excuse me? You always treat your opinions as facts! You're the brat! An arrogant brat, that is."

Their bickering continued, leaving Tyrus to watch in confusion. He looked up at Helia for an explanation, but the espeon only sighed before her eyes glowed blue. Tyrus' confusion transformed into fascination as the two pokémon stopped moving, their muscles struggling against Helia's psychic power before being risen into the air where they remained suspended. Helia stepped forward, her eyes still glowing. She allowed their heads to move.

"As amusing as your bickering can be sometimes, that's no way to behave in front of a new member of our team," she scolded, causing the two stare in shock.

"Really?" the buneary asked excitedly, seemingly forgetting that she was still suspended in the air.

"Helia, you can't be serious," the charmeleon said incredulously. "He's still just a hatchling at best."

"I-I'm five moons old!" Tyrus exclaimed.

"He's still just a hatchling at best," the charmeleon repeated and Tyrus frowned.

Helia finally set the two pokémon back on the ground carefully before introducing them. "Tyrus, I'd like you to meet your new teammates. This fluff ball of excitement is Vilissa -" said buneary was bouncing on the tips of her hind paws, grinning cheerfully at Tyrus, "- and this reptile full of hot air is Reider." The charmeleon glared at Helia before crossing his arms again and turning his nose up in a prideful manner. Tyrus tilted his head as he stared at the trio, it was odd seeing such different types of pokémon together in a pack. He never saw two different species of pokémon make a pack in the forest, everyone usually kept to their own kind.

Vilissa hopped right in front of the young riolu, causing him to yelp in surprise and fall back on his rump. Vilissa couldn't help but laugh before smiling apologetically, holding out a paw to help him up. After a moment of staring at the buneary with wide eyes, Tyrus hesitantly placed is paw in hers before being pulled to his feet. He noticed that Vilissa's coat and fur was in a far better condition than his. Instead of being patchy, her fur was clean and tidy, and the cream fur growing on the lower half of her body and on the tips of her ears was immaculate and fluffy. Like Helia, Vilissa too wore an accessory; a pink scarf tied around her neck to have a bow at the side. Despite being younger than Vilissa and skinnier than he should be, Tyrus was at least a foot taller than her.

He flinched when she grinned at him. "Sorry for scaring ya. I just got so excited, you know? I mean, a new teammate! Ah! As a proper welcome to the team, you need an official nickname. Everyone here has one – made by me of course. Let's see...oh! I know, how about 'Ty'? Ty sounds like an awesome name, don't you agree, Ty? Of course, you need to address us by our nicknames as well. Mine is Vili -"

"Vilissa..." Reider growled, his eyes narrowing at the buneary.

"Vili," she reinforced, casting a dark look at the charmeleon before continuing cheerfully. "Helia's nickname is Lia, I mean, why wouldn't it be 'Lia'? It suits her!"

"Vilissa."

"And Reider's is Rei. It kinda suits him, but his name is kind of awkward to make a nickname from. Especially when he wouldn't let me call him 'Der-der'."

"I'm not letting you call me 'Rei', either!" Reider roared, baring his teeth at Vilissa.

She frowned. "Well, of course you are, Rei. Anyway," she turned back Tyrus like there wasn't a red, angry lizard that breathed fire standing right behind her, contemplation whether or not he should just burn the buneary where she stood. "It's pretty simply, right Ty?"

Tyrus blinked at her blankly. Apparently it wasn't as simply as Vilissa had stated.

"W-what's wrong?" she asked worriedly. "What don't you understand? I-I mean, it couldn't be simpler, right?"

"Vilissa," Helia spoke up and stepped towards the two, "even I barely understood what you were talking about. You ramble when you get excited, remember?"

"Oh, yeah," she sighed, her ears drooping slightly, "I do, don't I? Sorry, Ty, I didn't mean to confuse you like that."

Tyrus eyed her for a moment longer before finally giving her a small smile. "It's alright...Vilissa."

Vilissa grinned back before correcting him, "Vili."

"Vili," he repeated and the buneary gasped before hopping on the spot with joy.

"He said it! He said it!" she squealed before turning to Helia and Reider. "Did you hear him? He called me 'Vili'! You two should take a page out of his book."

Helia nodded with a smile while Reider rolled his eyes. "Yes, Vilissa, we heard him."

As Tyrus and Vilissa began to chat, Reider turned to Helia looking very serious. "If this kid is only five moons old, then why the hell isn't he with his mother? And why have you taken on the responsibility of taking care of him?"

Helia glanced at the young riolu before meeting Reider's eyes. "I'm afraid that's for Tyrus himself to tell. As for why I have taken him in, I cannot tell you yet. All I can ask is that you trust my judgement."

"I'm kinda detecting a hint of wisdom being thrown at me here."

Helia let out a short laugh in response. She looked up at the sky when she noticed their surroundings had begun to dim as the sun set, and decided it was time to head back to the resting shelter.

Helia led the small group deeper into the labyrinth of ruins. The tall, clustering structures combined with the streets becoming darker and more shadowed was making Tyrus feel anxious and unnerved. It was very quiet, far more quiet than the forest he lived in. He would usually hear the sounds of bird pokémon singing, and the river's currents flowing past his den. There would always be some kind of noise in the distance, but the only sound here was their footsteps. Occasionally he would hear the call or a cheer of a pokémon from somewhere else in the ruined settlement, but it would die away as soon as it was emitted. Tyrus didn't understand how the others were so at ease.

Vilissa must have noticed Tyrus' unease, because she looked over at him with a concerned expression. He smiled sheepishly and waved a paw, he really didn't want to go and worry his new pack mates.

"Helia?" Tyrus and Vilissa flinched when Reider spoke out of nowhere before realising the espeon had stopped moving. "What's wrong?"

She was stood perfectly still, her eyes were trained on the alleyway to their left. Reider's body became more tensed, ready to counter any attack that could come. Vilissa stood slightly behind the two older pokémon, her ears were rolled up and she looked very nervous. Tyrus gulped and tucked his tail between his legs in fear again, he wasn't enjoying this adventure through the settlement at all.

After a tense moment a pokémon Tyrus recognised emerged from the alleyway. It was the vigoroth he and Helia met earlier, except he didn't look as relaxed as he had before. He kept glancing back anxiously as if something or someone was about to jump out and attack him.

Helia relaxed slightly at the sight of Damek, but kept her guard up. "Damek, are you okay?"

"Y-yeah," he stuttered, looking somewhat relieved to see Helia, "I just hate being out here so late, y'know? I don't wanna be out here when the night hits..."

"What happens at night?" Tyrus asked. Nights had always been dangerous for diurnal pokémon like himself as nocturnal predators would make an easy meal of him if he didn't make it back to his den in time, but the way Damek was afraid felt different.

"Nocturnal gangs come out," Helia explained. "They prey on any pokémon in the streets at night, be it diurnal or nocturnal."

"So, like nocturnal predators in the forest?"

"Kind of. Sometimes they kill their victim, sometimes they don't. The main reason for the attack is to take their possessions."

Tyrus looked shocked. "Why would they do that?"

"It's called 'survival', kid," Reider snarled, glaring at the young riolu. "It's what they do. It's how it's always been, that's why we need to get moving. Right, Helia?"

"Yes," she replied with a nod before looking back at Damek, "would you like to join us to the resting shelter?"

"Yeah, thanks Helia," Damek said gratefully, looking very relieved.

The five resumed their trek to the resting shelter. Their pace was more hurried than before as the sun was setting faster, and Tyrus noticed more pokémon were heading the same way they were. It made him think about what Helia and Reider said about the nocturnal pokémon that appeared to prey on others for their possessions. It sent a chill up his spine and he tried to stay as close as possible to Helia in case something reached out from the alleys to snatch him into the shadows.

Eventually they arrived at the resting shelter. It was shorter than most of the other structures in the settlement, but wider. Its roof was red with a crumbled arch and had a faded symbol in the shape of a ball with a smaller ball inside. The windows had long been smashed and were now boarded up with pieces of wood. The doorway was blocked with wood as well, and pokémon were beginning to line up in front of it, looking anxiously around as the last rays of the sun were being swallowed by the horizon. It wasn't long before the entrance was unblocked, and pokémon were allowed inside. Tyrus glanced nervously at the two large pokémon standing at the entrance, ready to fight anybody that thought about causing trouble. He felt someone nudge his side and looked up at Helia to see her beckon him to follow.

Once they were inside the atmosphere changed drastically. The tension created by anxiety that blanketed everyone outside was immediately lifted when everyone knew they were safe for the night. Tyrus watched in wonder as the began to relax and chat with each other, finding their places to sleep. Damek stretched and bid them a 'good night' before heading off down a corridor. Like the exterior of the resting shelter, the interior was also cracked with weeds growing through the concrete. Fires were built to create light and warm up the building. There were two pink and tanned pokémon standing behind what looked like a counter, talking to a small group of pokémon before sending them on their way with gentle smiles. If Tyrus remembered correctly, they were audino.

"Irena, Lana," Helia greeted as she walked over to the counter.

"Hello, Helia," the audino on the right, Irena, replied.

"How have you been?" the audino on the left, Lana, asked.

"We've been surviving."

Both audino glanced behind the espeon at Tyrus before speaking in unison. "We can see you have a new member to your team."

"This is Tyrus," Helia introduced, moving aside before the young riolu could hide. He gave the two a nervous look before Vilissa grabbed his paw and waved it at them. She gave the two hearing pokémon a large grin, looking expectantly at Tyrus to do the same. After a moment of awkward glances between Helia, Vilissa and the audino, Tyrus gave a sigh of defeat and smiled somewhat timidly at Irena and Lana.

"He's cute," Irena commented.

"Very cute," Lana added with a nod.

No one noticed the small snort Reider let out as he crossed his arms and turned his head.

"So will it be the usual place today?" Lana asked.

"I'm sure it's free, the others usually know it's yours," Irena said.

"Not today."

"Huh? If not the usual place, then where are we sleeping?" Vilissa demanded to know.

"We'd like to rent a private room," Helia requested, much to the surprise of Reider and Vilissa.

Both audino nodded before speaking in unison. "That will be four red shards, please."

Helia was in the process of opening their exploration bag to pull out their currency pouch when Reider interrupted. "Hold on, Helia. We can't go wasting money like this."

"It's for Tyrus' benefit as well as ours," Helia said before her eyes glowed blue. She levitated out four red shards out of the small pouch, all of equal size and shape, before placing them on the counter in front of Irena and Lana.

Irena quickly gathered the shards up while Lana smiled and walked around the counter. "I'll show you to where you will be sleeping."

"I have something to do first," Helia said as she closed the exploration bag. "You three go ahead."

"Wait, I have to go talk to someone," Vilissa said quickly before grinning apologetically at Tyrus. "Sorry, Ty, I'm gonna have to leave you with grumpy Rei over here."

"Vilissa, I swear to Arceus..."

"Just look after Ty while we're gone. No burning him or biting him or scratching him."

"I'm not a houndoom, Vilissa," Reider grumbled before turning to the emanation pokémon. "Let's go, kid."

Tyrus glanced back at Helia and Vilissa before following Reider and Lana up a flight of stairs. As they turned a corner, Lana stopped in front of a large red and blue dragon. Tyrus had never seen such an intimidating pokémon before. Its entire body looked ridged and spiky, and its eyes were a piercing yellow. Tyrus gulped and retreated behind Reider, much to the charmeleon's irritation. The druddigon sized them both up before looking at Lana.

"They paid?" he asked in a deep, growling voice.

"In full," Lana replied cheerfully, and the druddigon stepped aside. "Thank you."

Lana led the two to a room a little further down the corridor the druddigon was guarding. She opened the rusting door and revealed a medium sized room with four sleeping spaces made of different kinds of soft material, and an unlit stone fire pit in the middle. Against the wall next to a boarded up window was an old-looking bookcase with several books stacked on the shelves. Besides the sleeping spaces, the fire pit and the bookcase, the room was quite bare. Tyrus had never slept in such a place before.

"I hope you in enjoy your stay," Lana said to them with a smile before bowing. "If you need anything, don't hesitate to ask. Rest well."

"Thanks," was Reider's only response.

"Ah, th-thank you," Tyrus said hurriedly.

Lana bowed again and left the room. Reider strode across the room to the fire pit, and took a deep breath. When Tyrus peered over to see what the charmeleon, he gaped in surprise when the other spat out a hot flame as he exhaled, igniting the fire pit and causing the room to light up. Reider chose a sleeping place and sat down in it, careful to keep his tail from setting it alight. When Tyrus hadn't moved from his spot by the door, he growled out a "well sit down, then". Tyrus sighed and complied to the charmeleon's order, taking notice of his attitude.

He really doesn't like me, he thought dejectedly as he watched the fire dance and burn. He allowed himself to glance at Reider from time-to-time, taking in the older pokémon's appearance. Reider was at least a foot taller than Tyrus, if not a few inches taller. Despite his fire aspect, his eyes were a cold, dark blue, and he seemed to to have a permanent frown on his lips. The light from the fire danced on his red scales, almost making it look like he was also on fire. Like Helia and Vilissa, he too wore an accessory; on both of his wrists was a black wrist band that seemed to fit perfectly. Tyrus realised he had been staring for too long and looked away, but it was too late. Reider had noticed.

"What?"

Tyrus shook his head. "Nothing..."

Reider narrowed his eyes at the riolu but said nothing. He looked away, apparently lost in his own thoughts. It wasn't long before Helia and Vilissa arrived.

"You got the fire going!" Vilissa squealed in excitement, sitting down right next to Tyrus. He didn't say anything in response, but appreciated the buneary's friendliness.

"You don't need to be so loud," Reider complained.

"Don't be such a grump, we never get to sleep in private rooms."

"This won't be a common occurrence, Vilissa," Helia said, taking her sleeping spot. "It's just for tonight."

"Oh yeah, why are we sleeping in a private room tonight?" the buneary questioned.

"To introduce Tyrus to what we're exploring for." Helia opened the exploration bag again and levitated out the largest book Tyrus had ever seen. She placed the book carefully in front of her, and Tyrus could just make out the shape of some kind of gear on the front cover. "I obtained this book when Reider and I were in a land called 'Hoenn'. We didn't have much on the existence of humans prior to this; only the knowledge of them actually existing and somehow becoming extinct. Before obtaining this book, our search for information about humanity was purely down to curiosity and simply not having a major goal to accomplish. That changed when we read this book. It revealed information about humans that gripped us. We wanted to know more, so when the book mentioned that there could be vital information in Sinnoh, we came here as soon as we were able to.

"We have only been here for about eight moons, and in that time we haven't found much information regarding humans. But a moon ago, we received a tip that there would be more information in the Canalave Settlement. So that has become our current destination."

"If you got the tip a moon ago, how come you aren't already there?" Tyrus asked.

"To get to Canalave, we have to cross water." Helia looked over at Reider. "As you can see, we can't swim. So we're waiting for a water pokémon large enough to carry all of us."

"That's why we've been staying in the Hearthome Settlement for a moon," Vilissa added. "It's the closest settlement to Canalave, and also very useful for trading."

"But it's also very dangerous," Reider said, glaring at the door. "The pokémon that come out at night will do anything to get your possessions, even if that means killing you."

"That's why we're taking precautions," Helia assured Tyrus, giving Reider a sharp look. "We've been staying in this resting shelter during the night. We trade, we exchange information, and we study this book in case we've missed something."

Tyrus looked down at the book again and his curiosity ignited. "What does the book say about humans?"

"All kinds of things." Helia opened it and turned to the first page, revealing writing Tyrus had never seen before. "The first page is written in a different language. No translator I have taken this to has ever been able to decipher it. For now, this remains a mystery to us." Helia turned the page again, and this time Tyrus saw writing he recognised. It was written in runes, and while he couldn't read runes very well, he recognised some of the symbols. Not enough to understand what was written, however. "The book doesn't go into great detail about how humans perished, and what they existed for. But it tells us about their relationship with pokémon. It tells us that they were powerful and intelligent, like I said before. It also explained their weakness."

"What was their weakness?" Tyrus asked curiously, his eyes shining.

Helia hummed and looked at the book. "Their weakness is too complicated for me to really explain right now. It wasn't just one weakness, but many that contributed. The humans were superior in many ways, but for every strength you have, a weakness is likely to follow."

Tyrus frowned but said nothing. He wished he could read runes fluently like Helia. That's when an idea sparked in his head. "Can you teach me?"

"Teach you?" Helia repeated in puzzlement.

"Can you teach me how to read runes? Then you wouldn't have to explain it to me, I'd be able to read it myself."

"I was already going to teach you how to read runes, anyway," the espeon said as she closed the book, much to Tyrus' disappointment.

"Aw, not yet!" he whined. "Just a little longer? I wanna learn more about the humans."

Helia and Vilissa laughed while Reider rolled his eyes before lying down. Helia spoke as she returned the book to their exploration bag. "It's getting late, and a certain young riolu needs his sleep."

"No I don't, I'm fi-aaaaawnn..." His sentence ended with an unintentional yawn.

"I think you do, Ty," Vilissa teased with a grin.

"So do you, Vilissa," Reider grunted from his sleeping space.

Before Vilissa could retort, Helia spoke first. "I think we all need to sleep."

Tyrus and Vilissa agreed with that. They settled down in their sleeping spaces as the fire began to die down. It was a strange, exciting feeling for Tyrus. He had never slept with anyone other than his mother before. As he curled up, he couldn't help but think how quickly his situation had changed. Last sun, he had been alone and starving without a parent to depend on. Now he had found a new pack with a new goal to accomplish. His heart began to race when he thought about all of the adventures he was going to have. He lay there for a couple of hours, just thinking about what the future would hold when he heard a voice.

"...Ty...are you still awake...?" Vilissa whispered to him.

"...yeah..." he whispered back, peering into the dark in Vilissa's direction.

"...I can't sleep..." He heard her giggle quietly. "I'm too excited..."

"...me neither... What do you think is going to happen tomorrow...?"

"Anything could happen..." Vilissa paused, probably listening out for any indication that Helia or Reider might be awake. "...are you glad you joined...?"

Tyrus thought about that. He was glad, and very grateful. Helia didn't have to save him, but she did. She didn't have to take him in and let him join their pack, but she did. He had known this pack for less that twenty-four hours, and already he was extremely grateful to them.

"...Ty...?"

"Yeah."

"Huh?"

"Yeah...I am glad I joined..."

"Ah...I'm glad you joined us, too..." Tyrus could hear the smile in Vilissa's voice.

"I'm glad Tyrus has joined us as well, but some of us are trying to sleep." Tyrus and Vilissa froze at the sound of Helia's voice before apologising together.

"We're sorry!"

"Damn kids, go to sleep..." Reider grumbled tiredly from his sleeping place.

Tyrus couldn't help but grin to himself. For the first time in moons, he fell asleep with a smile on his face.

And there we are. All four main characters have been introduced. There may be new members to the team in the future, but only time will tell.

Feel free to leave a review.

AD.