Shortly after leaving the peaceful and breezy little town named Littleroot, Riven and his team headed back down route 101, in search of the next town. It was fairly quiet, the sun was setting and the forest was peaceful, a gentle draft coming from the west, brushing against the trees. It was a perfect evening. Unfortunately, perfect evenings never lead to anything good. Everything is just swell and you have not suffered quite enough yet?

Surprise! Something wanted to kill you.

Riven knew first hand after all. Every good evening or day for that matter either ended in tragedy, ambush, or misfortune. Sometimes, if God, fate, and whatever legendary bastard that governed luck decided they wanted to watch him squirm, all three.

Mountain side suddenly gave out as you passed under it? Just another day in the life. Sudden snowstorm and no shelter for miles? Typical.

Having nothing happen at all was just wrong. It made him uneasy. Hearing the bushes rustle now and then at odd intervals just seemed to fuel his overcharged nerves. Everywhere he glanced he saw ambushes or something laying in wait, ready to cut his throat.

He could just be paranoid after all. But the life of a soldier was rough and full of surprises. Surprises that were seldom good and more gruesome and horrifying than anything. He flinched, remembering the time when a stray cinder from the campfire ignited a piece of dry brush and then torched their tents to the ground. And three fourths of the forest along with it.

Mistakes were made.

Or maybe that time when a loose boulder had crushed the soldier next to him when they were passing through the mountains while they were maneuvering to flank. That was…unfortunate. Cleaning blood and dust off your boots was never an amusing task to be sure. Alas, he would just have to wait and see what was in store for him today.

Haona and Bib exchanged looks between Riven and each other, scanning his odd behavior of flinching at random intervals. He seemed to be thinking about something unpleasant, which made him flinch. It was a strange sight but it was slightly entertaining. What a quirky human.

"You think he's a bit weird?" Haona asked.

"Psh. All humans are weird, my dear lady." Bib shrugged. "Besides, I guess it's a good thing we didn't get stuck with some dimwit. I'll take jumpy and alert over stupid and cheery any day."

"Yeah. That's true. I've heard of other pokemon getting caught by complete idiots, disobeying them and sometimes even hurting them. Then the humans put them down. It's pretty sad. Oh and by the way, don't call me lady. It sounds wrong coming from a little mischievous sod like you."

"Hey! I happen to be a respectable young boy."

"Sure you are." Haona closed her eyes, giggling at his reaction. Sometimes he could be really fun to tease. It was pretty cute. Silencing her laughter, she turned to him again, this time a bit more seriously. "So what happens now?"

"I guess he's going to go do human things and enter us in battles for shiny metal objects. And flaunt his ego."

"Sure,but something tells me that he isn't interested in that at all. Well maybe the second one is possible, if he can stop acting so surprised at everything he sees."

"Could be. Who knows? It's not like we can read minds right?" Bib said, not realizing the irony in his statement.

Haona scowled at him. Either that was a joke, or Bib's brain failed him for a second.

"What?"He questioned, unsure why his previous comment made her reac- oh that's right. Well, now he felt a bit stupid. "Yeah, I should have thought about it first. Funny thing is, I can't read minds yet. I'm only a Ralts. I can't even pick up four objects without getting winded."

Haona recalled the forest incident the night before and gave another judging glance. Surely he had to remember that. You don't just forget a momentary lapse of immense power. Bib was pretty powerful, he just didn't know it yet.

Bib recognized that look, knowing full well what she implied. He sighed, "Haona, that wasn't me. I couldn't control what I was doing. I don't know how I even did that. Or how I was even able to do it. It feels kinda fuzzy whenever I think about it, like I'm searching for a single Ledyba in the middle of a whole forest full of screaming Tyranitar."

Haona was about to reply but was cut short by Riven, who held up a closed fist and stood perfectly still, listening for sounds. Something was approaching, and fast. It was coming from the east, inside the forest. The leaves of the trees shook furiously as a very loud hum was heard.

What could that be? Riven thought. He had a few ideas of course, one which did not thrill him in the slightest. Either that was a swarm of Beedrill, which meant they were in for a bad time regardless, or something entirely worse. And far worse it was.

It didn't take very long for the three to see the damage the swarm was causing. Trees were falling everywhere, leaves were being shredded like paper and pokemon scurried about in a desperate attempt to escape all of the falling trees. What swarm could possibly cause such destruction?

Riven had no clue whatsoever. Haona and Bib, on the other hand, knew exactly what. Their fears were confirmed when they caught a dash of bright green. Eyes widening as wide as the moon, both pokemon sped on ahead, running for their lives. Riven stood there dumbfounded, unable to realize that things were about to get worse.

He stood motionless when a flash of green emerged from the forest, followed by hundreds of bright green figures. "Huh." Flipping out his pokedex, he pointed it at the pokemon, which instead of displaying its information, the screen only read; Run. NOW.

Looking at the razor sharp scythes on each of its arms, then looking at the extremely irritated mob behind it, Riven quickly heeded the pokedex's advice. He kicked off the ground running as fast as he could, trying to catch up to his two pokemon who were a little bit a ways away from him. The unfortunate part about humans? Not fast. Riven was fast, for a human.

Compared to a pokemon with wings? He was a Torkoal—without a shell. Sprinting away, he could hear the furious buzzing of the Scyther swarm behind him. They were going to catch up very soon and they looked famished. Which meant one of two things, either hold your ground and attempt to fight your way out, or keep running and eventually get slashed to the ground. Hungry pokemon didn't stop very often, especially with how famished the Scyther looked. The swarm must have not had enough to eat, judging by the sheer number of bug pokemon behind him.

Damn those pokemon are fast. Running might be a little pointless. They can bloody fly! Angry creatures that want my head on a plate. Nothing like good old times. I guess some things never change, even in the future pokemon want to eat my face.

Now running alongside Mischief and White Queen, he eyed the entrance to some neck length grass. Usually it wasn't a good idea to jump into tall grass, but this was an exception. It was either death by unexpected mauling or death by Scyther. Neither was preferable of course, but the tall grass just might not have things that could potentially maul you. Taking a chance, Riven motioned to both pokemon to follow him into the grass, hopefully to shake the rapidly approaching swarm of Scyther bound in their direction.

Diving into the tall grass, Riven and his pokemon dared not move or even breathe, laying low to the floor to reduce body image. With luck, the bugs would have trouble finding them. But as these things always went with Riven, his luck had other plans. Scythes slashed through the grass like a blade through butter, the once tall grass now cut short just above their heads. The Scyther flew past until one of them managed to spot Haona's white fur, and then all of them.

"Scythe!" It called out, pointing its blades in Riven's direction. The whole swarm then turned 180 degrees in the other direction. Now facing them.

"Uh, shit," Riven swore, now slowly rising, placing Mischief into his pack. White Queen also rose slightly, noting the menacing array of sharp chitin pointing in their direction.

Death by Scyther it is. Riven snorted, admiring the irony of it all. I survived through all of that hellish war to die to a bunch of bugs? Universe, how gracious of you.

Locking eyes with the White Queen, he conveyed a message by shifting looks between her, the swarm, and the trail outside of the tall grass. On my signal, we run. If we fight in the tall grass, we are dead.

Haona, understanding the gist of the message, prepared her legs, waiting for the signal. Riven then slowly lifted one finger in the air, then two and then- RUN!

Riven and White Queen darted back towards the trail, leaving the thick brush and heading out onto open ground. The grass would slow them down and because they couldn't fly, the Scyther would destroy them. Not that it would make much of a difference anyway but at least they could take some down with them.

Now standing in the clearing, the youth brought out his pokeball and released the pokemon inside. An orange chick emerged from the pokeball and chirped in happiness. Then it turned around and froze. Seeing all of the angry Scyther approaching, the Torchic ran back towards its trainer, trying to click the button on its pokeball to get sucked back inside. No way was it going to fight all of that.

The professor just had to stick me with a trainer with tendencies for bad situations. She gulped, thinking about what she could have experienced had she not been with someone so disaster prone. Well, he does have an Absol. It makes sense. Accepting her miserable fate, the Torchic stood by her trainer's feet, slightly grumbling about how unfair life was and how she wished that smug bastard Mudkip would be here instead.

She was cut off by a sharp snap from her trainer's fingers. "Focus," he said. "Get in the pack with Ralts. I want you to drive off any Scyther that come close with your ember. The fire should deter them or drive them away. Bugs hate fire as much as I hate my luck, this should work. Theoretically at least. There is a high chance we might end up as pieces by the end of the day. All is well with the world."

Theoretically?! Great. The Torchic felt no sense of encouragement from her trainer's amused bleakness. Why not? I'm already dead.

Riven then spoke to Mischief and the White Queen. "Mischief, I need you to support me with your psychic abilities. I know they are not the strongest nor can you handle multiple targets but I want you to use confusion on any Scyther that come close, and slow any blades that come close to me. White Queen, I need you stay close and sucker punch any of the ones that I am occupied with. You know ice beam so it will be our best weapon against them. Freeze their wings to immobilize them. Then kill them with your horn if needed. Remember not to stray too far."

Haona and Bib were surprised. Their human was actually rather intelligent, speaking like a semi-decent trainer.

Muscles tensing, and fresh adrenaline creeping into their bloodstreams, the gang waited for the bugs, gulping.

Smirking, Riven drew his blades, recognizing he was probably screwed regardless.

Professor Birch sat in his lab, uneasiness welling up in his stomach. It wasn't his lunch, but the young man he sent off a couple hours ago. His entire presence just shook Birch in a way that was unnatural. His demeanor and baffling lack of common knowledge struck him as very strange. He'd dealt with interesting characters before, but never did he have to explain what the concept of police was, or what a television was, or even how a toilet functioned.

That had been one awkward conversation.

And then there was the armor and weapons. If Birch didn't know any better, he'd say that the kid was reenacting some kind of play, but no actors were in town for that. The leather was thick, reinforced at the knees and elbows with bits and pieces of hardened metal underneath that protected the forearms, legs, and chest. It also had noticeable damage and slash marks. It looked stained with something dark, possibly blood?

Just what has that boy gotten himself into? Birch wondered, trying to think of different scenarios that he could have lived through. Could have been a bunch of wild pokemon with sharp blades. Maybe even Scyther. How he could live through an attack by a Scyther swarm was beyond Birch. Hardly anyone unlucky enough to get caught by their attacks survived, the few that did were not unscathed. Why would a person be wearing leather in times like these? And in this heat? It made no sense.

There was also that strange insignia that was emblazoned on the shoulder pads. He'd never seen the symbol before in his life. Who was that boy?

Strange. Very strange.

Tired of pondering the subject by himself, he took out his holo caster and dialed up his friend and colleague.

"Ah, Professor Birch. Good to see you."

"It's good to see you too, Steven. How's work?" Birch inquired, noticing the large bags under Steven's eyes.

"Nerve-wracking to say the least. We found new rock specimens in a cave near Lilycove and we haven't slept at all. The patterns and molecular structure of the rocks are superb. I've never seen anything like it before." Steven responded with a cheerful tone. "So, professor, why the sudden call?"

"Well a trainer appeared at my lab a few hours ago and I sent him to Rustboro to go pick up a holo caster and his pokenav. The bill was already sent so he can just pick them up. They are registered under Riven," Birch explained. "Huh, I forgot to ask for a last name. Must have slipped my mind."

"Really, Birch?"

"Well, I thought his name was Dan Jennings at first, but I guess not, whoops!"

Steven frowned. "Is that all? I have a feeling that isn't important enough to make such a sudden call. I'm fairly busy."

"No. That isn't it. I'm not sure if it's just me but this boy… He just doesn't add up."

"What do you mean?".

"He registered for the pokemon league and didn't even know what a pokemon was. He also asked what a television screen was. When I released a Torchic from its ball, the boy's mind nearly exploded. He sat down in a chair looking bewildered for thirty minutes. I had to use a Chansey and a lot of tea to slap him back into reality. I had to explain to him how pokeballs and the pokemon league worked." Birch drew a breath, "He also claimed he was from this strange sounding place and that the metal signs on the routes were a waste of resources and skilled craftsmanship. Bizarre boy."

Steven looked equally perplexed and skeptical. "What did he live under a Geodude his whole life? How can he sign up for the pokemon league and not know what a pokemon is?"

"I asked the same thing! Apparently sarcasm is lost on him. He called his pokemon, an Absol and Ralts, creatures."

"That's a bit strange."

"It is but that isn't the strangest part. He's dressed like a soldier from one of those weird post-apocalyptic shows. He's wearing leather armor and greaves, with shoulder pads that bear this insignia." Birch showed Steven the crude drawing of the insignia he saw on Riven's shoulder pads. "It's damaged substantially and has slashes and burn marks all over it. This boy has been in serious tussles. With big pokemon."

Steven analyzed the drawing, trying to see if he'd seen it anywhere, on glyphs or on the internet. He recalled nothing and said,"I've never seen it before. What could it be?"

"I don't know. He carries a strange glowing stone around his neck on a necklace."

Steven hummed, "Stone? Luminescent? I'd very much like to see it."

"Well, it's black and seems to flash blue across its surface at random intervals. It was very peculiar. And well... that comes to another, uh... caveat." Birch paused, gathering his thoughts."He carries around two long slightly curved blades. They are extremely sharp and he demonstrated impressive skill with them both. He cut through one of my tables right in half!"

Steven's heart lurched. "Blades?! What would a kid be doing with those? Wait, did you honestly let him become a trainer when he walked into your lab with SWORDS? And cut a table in HALF? Are you insane?!"

"It really was like those history channel shows," the professor chuckled mirthfully. "Very impressive."

"Oh dear god. Birch... We talked about this. It is NOT okay to let teenagers with dangerous weapons sign up to become trainers because you thought they had potential. Nor is it funny, or otherwise slightly amusing. For ANYONE. One kid you registered a few years back, Lu Lee Kuo, almost shot a trained pokemon with an arrow when he first started training, and now this?"

"Hmmm, I distinctly recall Lu Lee making it to the Elite Four last I checked. Utterly trounced poor Sydney. Still has that bow, too! Or am I wrong, Stevey?"

"Don't call me that," the younger man grumbled. Birch, while initially passed over as an airy idiot with his head in the clouds, was rather keen with the trainers he cleared. Many made it quite far in their careers, and Steven had fought many of his trainers as Champion. He didn't want to admit it, but the man produced results. "And yes, he might've... made it farther than most. But the point still stands!"

"Okay, no more kids with pointy sticks! Got it. Buuuuuut, that's precisely why I want you to watch him!" Birch added cheerily. "Steven, I need you to keep an eye on him for a while. Show him around and get him fixed up with some new clothes. I have a feeling he's going to wade into a dangerous situation if left unsupervised. That and I don't want him to murder someone, you've seen the things that have been happening lately."

The former champion shook his head and conceded.

"Fine, but more so because we can't have a loose cannon running around in these times. I'll try. But I can't do this every time you encounter a new trainer that defies the norm. He better be a special case. I'm more interested in the stone than him." Steven admitted, unsure of what he would encounter.

"One last thing Steven. I checked medical records and residencies in every directory in Hoenn." Face darkening, Birch continued. "He was basically a ghost up until yesterday. It was like he never existed. I'd rather a way for us to track him than have him disappear into the night and he commit some act of terrorism, right?"

Hearing this, Steven looked warily at Birch, concern filled his eyes. Silent, he nodded his head, pondering over the thought of this.

No one in this day and age isn't listed in a record. Either he was a serious criminal or this guy is something else. This is far from disturbing, it's downright terrifying. Armed, dangerous, and young. That's just asking for trouble. Hopefully he makes it in one piece.

"Any other easily identifiable marks? A lot of trainers come in for their pokenavs."

Birch grinned. "Oh yes, quite identifiable. He has heterochromia. One blue and one brown, shaggy black hair and an absolute nasty scowl. Can't miss him."

"Right."

Ending the call with Birch, Steven paced around his desk, and stopped at the window of his Devon office. Looking towards the direction of Littleroot town, the same feeling of uneasiness welled up in him too.

I hope you're still alive when you get here, Riven. Whoever you are. I better not be wasting my time.

His chances of survival were dwindling fairly rapidly. The Scyther had attacked. Three were brought down in the first wave, two by Riven's blades and the other by an ice beam. Good thing Birch had explained to him what moves his pokemon already had and given him a quick rundown of how to command pokemon.

Parrying a scythe, Riven turned around, thrusting his blade into another bug's abdomen, releasing a gush of blood and fluid. A scythe came down, aiming for his head, before it was stopped by a psychic force. Taking advantage of the moment, Riven flipped the blade in his hand and thrust it upward, impaling the Scyther through the bottom of the chin, where the blade emerged out of the flying bug's skull.

His Torchic threw off two other Scyther attempting to X scissor him from behind with a steady stream of ember, their thoraxes burning away, making the bugs gasp in pain. Riven was slicing through them with Bib's help, who was stopping the sharp chitin from reaching his trainer and confusing bugs farther away, prompting them to attack their own kind. The tiny psychic was trying his best, clearly straining his feeble psychic powers to their fullest.

Bug after bug fell but another took its place, fresh and ready to fight. Haona tried her best, freezing wings and immobilizing the bugs, allowing her to easily tear into them with her horn. She was beginning to tire, as was the Torchic, Ralts, and Riven.

Just too many. Haona thought, when she felt a sharp agonizing pain in her side. A chitin blade had slashed her side, not deep enough to slice through bone but deep enough to leave a horrible, bleeding gash in its place. Raising its other appendage to finish her off, a blade suddenly emerged through its throat, spraying blood in front of it.

Kicking the Scyther off his blade, Riven noticed the wound on the Absol's side. It was large and a considerable amount of blood continually seeped out of it. A puddle began to collect at her feet. He needed to get her help. And soon. Standing over her, he stood his ground waiting for more bugs to charge them. Slashing and stabbing through carapaces and thoraxes, Riven was left a bloody mess, cut up by their sharp appendages and covered in blood. His armor was an absolute mess. Bib was visibly exhausted, exerting himself to stop blades from killing their trainer. The Torchic was running out of steam, her embers growing weaker and weaker, driving the Scyther back less and less.

As Riven was occupied with two other bugs, another one descended behind him, raising its glowing scythe, ready to kill her trainer with a charged x scissor. Feeling a sudden and intense urge to protect her friends, her horn glowed a light green and extended , becoming a large green blade the size of her body.

The furry faced human, Birch, had explained that she knew it, but she never bothered to use it. He'd given her some pointers in the lab, and within the hour, she'd managed it. That knowledge had literally just saved their lives. Jumping to her feet, and with the last of her strength, she swung her head viciously, horn now a large blade, slicing cleanly through the Scyther. It fell onto the floor, now a bleeding, disgusting mess. Too tired to continue, Haona blacked out from fatigue and blood loss.

Seeing his friend fall unconscious, Bib felt furious. He did not want to lose another friend. No. He would not lose his family like he had before. This time he would fight. Resolve coursed through him, as strong as well made steel, and his body began to glow white as he pushed himself further.

The Scyther stopped their assault, momentarily reveling in the brilliant display. Bib's body changed into that of a small lithe figure, resembling a little girl. Now filled with more psychic power, Bib lifted his hands, causing the Scyther's blades to move according to his will. Raising their blades with psychic power, he placed them at their throats and swung his hand horizontally. Nearly fifteen Scyther fell to the floor, profusely bleeding from the throat, killing themselves with their own blades.

The Scyther swarm, now only harboring a few bugs, began to retreat, knowing that this prey was too difficult to kill. Flying away, Bib fainted, having used up too much psychic power in such a short time. Torchic was also barely hanging on, feathers now stained red with blood.

Riven was shaking, bleeding from his arms, legs and face. A large cut ran down from his right pectoral to his hip, bleeding profusely but not deep enough to cause major damage to his internal organs. He had lost a vast amount of blood and felt weak, but his only concern was for his pokemon. Looking at Haona's rapidly deteriorating state, he fed her a sitrus berry to keep her awake and help stagnate the bleeding.

Picking her up in his arms, he started to run forward, staggering and panting in exhaustion and blood deficiency. He ran like the wind, not stopping for a second.

I will not let her die. I will not let her die. Do not die on me now, White Queen.

Seeing the mid sized town ahead, his legs began to quiver and ache. His vision was darkening. Too exhausted, too much blood lost. Arriving in the town, he set the Absol down and dropped to his knees, shouting for help at the top of his lungs. The shout used up the last of his remaining energy and he collapsed, a bloody stained mess on the town's concrete foundation.

Townspeople rushed toward the sound of the scream, noticing a man and a badly wounded Absol on the floor, bleeding significantly. A sad looking Torchic chirped at them, asking for help. Horrified, the citizens called the hospital and the pokemon center, calling for a serious emergency.

The paramedics arrived and cursed at what they saw. Gruesome couldn't even begin to describe the extent of the Absol and its trainer's wounds. Loading them onto the truck and inserting IV's and medicine into their veins, they carried them off to the hospital. They needed immediate attention, their time was ticking.

In the hospital, the doctors tore off the young man's armor and began surgery. The fact he was still alive was a miracle.

Any normal person would have already been dead. Whatever did this to him nearly killed him. He barely got away with his life. The doctor grimaced. Let's just hope he survives the night.

At the pokemon center, nurse Joy and other doctors were desperately trying to save the Absol's life. The gash was massive and she had suffered numerous other cuts along her body. Her blood loss was substantial and was now at critical levels.

Suddenly, the sound they all dreaded came, she was flat lining.

Her heart had stopped.

Nurse Joy screamed, "Get me the defibrillator!"