This is a rewrite of a story by the name of "Pokemon Mystery Dungeon: World of Shadows." I was unhappy with how the story was turning out, so I decided to delete it, and rewrite it to be more cohesive, and enjoyable. I felt like the previous one had several plot holes, and grammatical errors, so I'll work my hardest to make sure that this one has less of those. Hopefully when I'm finished with this story, I'll be able to look back on it with a smile.

Critique is welcome, and encouraged. I'm always up to improve my writing. You can simply leave a review, or DM me. Don't worry, I don't bite. Anyways, before you dive into this story, I'd like to list some disclaimers. This story is rated T, as it contains violence, blood, and trauma. With that out of the way, I hope you enjoy Nocturne Tides.

Special thanks to one of my friends for making the beautiful cover for this story :)

Chapter 1

Dampened Awakening

It was dark. Ominous gray clouds formed on the horizon, blocking out the sunlight. Rain poured heavily, dampening the area. A lone Eevee heaved himself forward through this thunderous night. He let out pain stricken groans with each step he took. A burning pain surged through his legs. Despite this, he continued onward. He had to keep moving.

Suddenly, he heard a loud whirring noise. He tried to hurl himself to the side to dodge the shadow ball coming straight towards him, but was unable to. The shadow ball hit him in the flank, and sent him flying off the cliff. He screamed out in fear as he slowly plummeted towards the sea below him. He then saw he was plunging head first towards a large, pointed rock in the sea. Hitting that would definitely kill him. "This is the end..." he thought. He closed his eyes, and braced for impact.

But he felt nothing. No collision, nothing, until he crashed straight into the ocean. He didn't hit the rock... It was as if some strange force pulled him away before he slammed straight into it. He counted it as a blessing. However, he now realized he now had a different problem. He was slowly sinking deeper into the sea. His relief was replaced with panic, as he frantically tried swimming back towards the surface.

However, it was futile. His injured legs would do him no good, and even if he wasn't wounded... He couldn't swim. It wasn't long until he came to this realization. He stopped struggling, closed his eyes, and began to let himself sink into the ocean, accepting his fate. Then, a strange celestial voice of unknown origin spoke to him.

"My child... It seems you are in trouble..." the voice was loud, and almost unreal, as if it belonged to some otherworldly presence. "I shall provide thou with my assistance."

He didn't reply. He was too mind-boggled to respond. Then, suddenly, he began to rise to the surface, as if something was carrying him. In a matter of seconds, he was no longer underwater. He coughed out murky seawater, as he frantically waved his paws around in the water to try and stay afloat. Strangely enough, he was buoyant. He knew this wasn't his doing, as he lacked swimming abilities.

As he stood there in the water, the thunder slowly became less frequent, the dark clouds began to clear, and the ocean grew less violent. After a few minutes, the storm subsided altogether. The waves of the sea calmed. Suddenly, he began zooming across the water at high speeds by some unknown force. After a few more minutes, he was tossed out of the ocean.

He hit the sandy floor with a thud. It wasn't a very long drop, but it didn't hurt any less. There he was, cold, wet, and extremely injured on the shore. He simply lied there, too tired to move. Then, his exhaustion began to pull him into a state of unconsciousness. Several thoughts flooded his mind, as he slowly succumbed to his weariness, and entered a torpid state.

"W-What just happened...?"

"W-What was that voice…?"

"Where am I...?"

"Who... Who am I...?"

A young Absol strode back and forth in front of a large building stylized to look like the face of a Simipour. She suddenly stopped her march to take a deep breath. Once finished, she spoke to herself confidently; "Okay, Selena... You can do this... You're not gonna back out like a scaredy-skitty this time... You're gonna walk up there, and become an Explorer!"

She took another breath, before padding forward. She stepped on a wooden plate with square holes standing in front of the building. She stood there expectantly. Whatever she was waiting for didn't come after a few seconds of waiting. Puzzled, she tilted her head to the side. "Uhm... Isn't there gonna-"

"POKEMON DETECTED! POKEMON DETECTED!"

A booming voice seemingly coming from below the wooden plate shouted. She yelped in surprise; "Eep!"

She leapt off the plate. Her fur bristled in alarm. She stood motionless for a few seconds before relaxing. She heaved out a sigh as her shoulders sunk lower to the ground.

"I knew I wouldn't be able to do it..." She said dishearteningly. "I even brought my locket!"

She discouragingly regressed to a sitting position. She firmly clasped the golden locket that hung around her neck with her paw. She sighed again. "Even with my locket, I'm just a coward... I'm wasting my time just being here. I should just head back to Roxie's place... This is embarrassing..."

And with one last sigh, she stood up, and began walking down the large flight of stone stairs that led to and from the building. Once she finished walking down the staircase, she took a left turn into a pathway that led to the beach of the town.

After a few seconds of walking, the dirt path faded into the sandy landscape. She glared up at the sunset sky. She breathed out an annoyed groan as she threw herself onto the sandy floor. "I'm back here, once again..." she thought to herself. "I'm such a coward… Everyday I pump myself up, but then when I finally get there, I'm not even able to stay on the plate!" she groaned once more, very upset with herself. "Why am I even doing this? Everyday I do the same thing, expecting a different outcome..."

She clutched the locket she wore around her neck. Her gaze shifted towards the ground beneath her. She averted her eyes, as she stood up, and stretched. "Well, I'm doing nothing just standing here... I should head back to Roxie's. I guess I'll try again tomorrow…"

Just as she was about to begin walking, she caught a swathe of brown out the corner of her eye. She turned to get a closer look, but couldn't exactly pinpoint what the blur was. "What in Arceus's name...?" she mumbled. Her sadness was replaced with confusion, as she inched a few steps closer to try and get a better view.

She now saw speckles of lighter brown. Her curiosity of this odd brown object had peaked at an all time high. She began walking towards it at a quicker pace. As she inched closer, she began to notice some small details. "That bushy thing looks like a tail... Are those ears? Brown eyes… Hang on... That's an Eevee!"

Selena came to the realization that what she was looking at was another Pokemon. Her walking progressed into a sprint. She rushed towards the Eevee. Once close, she examined them. They were lying down on they're side. They were sopping wet, as if they had been in the water. They had some pretty nasty wounds. They're bushy tail's cream colored tip had a spike pattern, which signified to Selena that they were a male. This didn't matter to her, though. Her main question was — "Is he okay..?"

"Uhm... Hey!" she called out to the Eevee. She gently nudged him with her paw. "Are you alright?"

No response. Her worry intensified. She then shook him. "Are you alive?!"

Once again, she was left with no answer. She began to panic, as she realized the severity of this situation. The Eevee could be seriously hurt, or even dead.

"O-Oh goodness, what if he's dead?!" she gasped. "I should get him to Roxie's, stat!"

She crouched down, and scooped him up—grasping his scruff with her mouth. She looked up towards the sky. The orange sunset was beginning to fade off into a darker color as nighttime came. "It's getting late... I've got to get home, fast!" she thought to herself.

She then took off, dashing across the sand at a high pace, whilst clutching the unconscious Eevee in her jaws.

It wasn't long until Selena reached her destination. She walked towards a circular, wooden house that stood not too far from the array of buildings of similar appearance. She gently knocked on the door, and after a brief moment, the Pokemon on the receiving end answered. A Furret wearing circular frame glasses stood in the doorway.

"H-Hey Roxie..." Selena stuttered, her voice slightly muffled due to the bundle of fur she held in her mouth. "I-I kind of need your help..."

"Ah..." Roxie paused. When she noticed the wet, unconscious Eevee that dangled from Selena's jaws. She gasped in surprise. "Oh, goodness! What happened to him?!"

"I'll explain later..." Selena groaned. "Do you think you can help him?"

"Well... I think I can." Roxie answered. "Could you hand him to me, darling?"

"Okay."

Roxie formed a half crouch to get to Selena's level. She reached out her stubby paws. Selena gently dropped the Eevee into Roxie's arms. Selena then turned to the right, and spat out some excess fur that she had gotten in her mouth from the Eevee's scruff. "Bleh..." she gagged.

She looked back towards Roxie, and found her no longer in the doorway. It seemed like she already went inside. Selena entered as well, and shut the door behind her. Roxie's house was small, but it was home. It had an overall cozy aesthetic. Entering this place always brought Selena comfort. She momentarily slipped into a daydreaming state. She was snapped out of her daze from Roxie calling her from another room; "Sweetie, could you come here?"

"Huh...? Oh, yeah! I'm on my way!" Selena answered.

Selena padded forward and bounded around a corner, entering the living room. She then walked towards a closed door leading to another room. She twisted the doorknob, causing the door to creak open. This was her own room. Standing next to her small, soft, blanket covered bed was Roxie, and laying on it was the Eevee. "Roxie! You put that wet Eevee on my bed?!"

"Relax! There's a towel beneath him. Your bed won't get dirty."

"Oh... Whew..." she sighed in relief. "I made the bed this morning..."

"These wounds... Specifically his scars... They look like they only stopped bleeding recently." Roxie pointed out. "There are already some scabs forming. I bandaged them, and applied hydrogen peroxide to them to prevent infection. What's puzzling me is the fact that he's soaking wet... Where did you find him?"

"I found him on the beach, washed up on the shore." Selena explained. "He must have been in the water for quite some time to get this wet... My question is why was he in the water to begin with? Eevee's aren't Pokemon that tend to swim very much, unless he's trying to get a head start to become a Vaporeon. I feel like it has something to do with the storm that appeared a few days ago."

"I'm not sure. Maybe he'll provide us with some answers when he wakes up." Roxie turned away from him, and began to walk out the door. "I'm gonna get started with dinner. Vegetable stew?"

"Oh, yeah!" Selena smiled. "My favorite!"

Roxie chuckled. She then left the room, and shut the door. Then, Selena remembered the events that transpired before she encountered the Eevee. "I failed to become an Explorer... Again..." she was dejected. She trudged towards the nightstand placed next to her bed, her emotions slowing her walking place. She took off her locket, and placed it on the nightstand.

She sighed. "When will I ever be able to do it?! Maybe Roxie was right... I should just become a merchant like her and stop wasting my time-"

"Ughhhh..."

She was interrupted by a sudden groan seemingly coming from behind her. She yelped, and leapt back in surprise, tail raised up, and fur standing on end. She then saw that it was just the Eevee, who was stirring awake. His eyes fluttered open. He glanced around wearily. It wasn't long until he asked a question that Selena expected him to; "Where am I...?"

"Uhm... Hello!" greeted Selena.

"Ah!" the Eevee cried out in surprise. He made an attempt at scurrying to the other side of the bed, but just ended up falling off. It was a brief moment before Selena saw him again. He poked his head out from behind the bed, looking at her with a fearful expression. "W-Who are you...?"

"I-I'm Selena!" she stuttered. "Don't worry... I-I'm not going to hurt you.."

He still looked fearful, as if uncertain if Selena truly meant well. After a few seconds, his expression relaxed, and he climbed back onto the bed. He asked the question again; "Where am I?"

"You're at my house!" Selena answered. "Well... It's not my house. It belongs to Roxie, but I just live here."

"Roxie?" he dittoed.

"She's my mom- friend… She's a friend."

"Oh."

The Eevee held his forehead with his paw, a grimace of pain on his face. "Ow... My head hurts..."

"I bet. You were unconscious on the shore for who knows how long.." Selena leapt onto her bed, and sat down next to him.

"I... I was?"

"Yeah? Do you not remember? I feel like that's something you'd definitely remember."

"I remember there being a terrible storm... But that's it." he groaned. "My mind is hazy... I can't remember a thing..."

"Not a thing?!" she gasped.

"Nope."

"Oh, that's horrible! Wait… I think I can try and connect the dots here." Selena began. "There was a pretty bad storm a few hours ago, and since I found you on the beach, you could have been in the water."

The Eevee shuddered. "I do remember being in the ocean...! I-It was terrifying... I almost drowned!"

"Ah, so I was right..." Selena muttered aside.

"I fell in the water due to something... I almost hit a rock, but I fell into the sea. T-The thunder was so loud... It was so dark… I almost died! It was so scary...!" he wept softly.

"Hey, it's okay!" Selena crooned. "You're not in the water anymore, and you survived... That's all that matters! Everything is going to be okay."

"A-Are you sure?" he sniffled.

"Sure, I'm sure!" she reassured him.

"Alright..." his gaze shifted towards the ground. He looked somewhat unsure.

"Say, what's your name? I never got it." Selena questioned.

"My name? Hmm..." he closed his eyes. and silently pondered for a few seconds, before answering. "I-I don't remember that either.."

"Not even your own name?! At all?!" she said, perplexed.

He shook his head no.

"Well... How about I give you a name, for now?" Selena asked. "I don't want to just call you Eevee... I think that'd be a bit rude."

"Sure, I think I'd like that." he answered, a small smile growing on his face.

"Alright... Hmm... Let's see... What to call you..." Selena puzzled, averting her eyes, and looking towards the ground. She thought for a brief moment, before answering. "How about Paul? I think that's a nice name."

"Ehh... No..." he answered. "How about something else?"

"Okay. How about Fluffy? It's a cute name, and Eevees are fluffy!"

"No! Something else, please!"

"Aero?"

"No."

"Sterling?"

"Nah."

"Sugar?"

"No!"

"Jasper?!"

"No!" he said for the sixth time.

"Ughhhh..." Selena groaned, beginning to get annoyed. She began to ponder again. After a few seconds, a lightbulb flicked in her head. "Ooh! Ooh! I've got the perfect name! How about... Azriel!"

"Azriel..." he repeated. Selena really hoped he liked this name, because that was the last idea she could grab. Soon, he answered; "I like it! Has a nice ring to it."

"Then it's settled! From now on, you'll go by Azriel!" Selena beamed. "And your nickname will be Azzie!"

"Azzie?! Nickname?! I don't like it. It's too... cute..." Azriel blushed.

"I picked the name, I can do whatever I want with it!" her tail wagged. "And the entire purpose of the nickname is that it's cute."

"Whatever…"

"Selena! Dinner is ready!"

Roxie called out to her from the kitchen. Selena smiled big, as leapt off the bed. "It's time to eat! C'mon, Azriel! You're about to try Roxie's homemade veggie stew!"

"Uhm... Okay." Azriel replied. "Just let me dry off a bit, first. I'm still wet..."

"Okay! There are some towels in the bathroom. It's the room right next to this one." Selena opened the door. "I'll see ya' in the kitchen!"

Azriel nodded. Both Pokemon walked out the door, and went off in different directions.

While Selena went towards the kitchen, Azriel made his way into the room next to Selena's. Closing the door behind him, he glanced around. The walls were painted white, and the floor was tiled gray and black. "Okay... How to clean myself off…" He soon noticed that behind the pink and blue shower curtain was a fiberglass bathtub. "That should do the trick..."

He padded forward and pushed the curtain aside. With the curtain now out of his way, he could enter the bathtub. He did so. He looked to his left to see the metal faucet that seemingly turned the water on. After fidgeting with a few buttons on it, he eventually figured out how to turn it to shower mode. He cleaned himself off with the water, and used a soap bar he found to scrub the dirt, grime, sand, and murky water off of his fur.

Once he finished cleaning himself, he turned the water off, and leapt out of the tub. He used a soft, white towel he found hung on the wall on a towel rack to dry himself off. He smelt his fur. "Much better..." he murmured. Satisfied, he walked out of the bathroom and made his way towards the kitchen.

Azriel entered the kitchen and walked towards the circular wooden table. Seated at it were Selena, and a Furret. "That must be Roxie…" he thought.

"Oh, hey Azzie!" greeted Selena.

"Azzie? Is that his name?" Roxie asked.

"For now..." he replied. He sat down at the only log-chair that wasn't taken. "I don't remember my actual name. Selena gave me the name Azriel, and I guess I'll be using that until I remember my old one... On the topic of that, please stop calling me Azzie!"

"It's a cute nickname!" Selena pouted. "And as I said before — I picked the name, so I can do whatever I want with it!"

"O-Oh whatever..." Azriel scoffed.

"What do you mean you don't remember your actual name...?" Roxie questioned. "That's a bit concerning, dear..."

"Well..." Azriel began. "From what I can recall, I fell into the ocean during the really bad storm that happened today. Something caused me to fall in, but I don't know what. I was about to hit a giant rock in the ocean, but something pushed me out of the way. Was it the wind? Was it some supernatural force? No idea. Then I got washed up on the shore. Everything else is blank, though... I don't remember anything else from that point. Don't know who I am, nothing. My mind is basically a blank slate."

"Oh, that's horrible, darling!" Roxie gasped. "Surviving in the sea during the storm is quite the feat... The only way I'd imagine someone being able to survive that is through some... Divine intervention!"

"Divine intervention..." Azriel repeated.

He slipped into a momentary state of subconsciousness. In that timespan, an odd phrase played in his head.

"My child... It seems you are in trouble... I shall provide thou with my assistance."

It was weird, even stranger that it seemed familiar to him. It was as if he heard someone say this before, but he didn't know who. At that moment, he snapped back to reality. He pushed the thought aside. "Well... I'm not sure what I'll do from here. I've got amnesia..."

"That is quite the dilemma, dearie." Roxie said. "But I'm sure it'll all be sorted soon! For now, you can stay at my place."

"How can she be so certain?" he thought. "W-Well... Thanks. That means a lot to me."

"You're welcome! I can't help but assist a Pokemon in they're hour of need." Roxie smiled. She stood up, and walked towards the other corner of the room. This seemed to be the main cooking area, as there were several kitchen appliances on the table. On the stovetop was a large pot, which gave off a delicious scent. "You must be hungry. I've made some vegetable stew for all three of us."

From the top cabinet, she took out three wooden bowls, and a ladle. She used the ladle to scoop up some stew, and pour it into the bowls. She walked back over to the kitchen table, and sat down. She slid two bowls towards Selena and Azriel, and kept the other to herself. She then tossed over some spoons. Selena caught the one given to her with precise accuracy, while Azriel's form was sloppy. He still caught it, though. Then, Roxie spoke; "Tuck in!"

"Thank you very much!" Selena's words prefaced her picking up her spoon, and using it to scoop up some stew from her bowl. She slurped it up. "You make good food as always, Roxie!"

"I don't think I should spend my current time worrying. I've got two new friends that are providing me with a home... Roxie's right, I'm sure this amnesia thing will get sorted out eventually." Azriel thought. He took a spoonful of stew. and slurped it up. The combination of carrots, corn, lettuce, onions, mushroom, and the creamy broth left Azriel with a taste that could only be described as heavenly. "Say, this is really good!"

"I'm glad you like it, dearie! I've spent a good majority of my days perfecting this recipe." Roxie said warmly. "Eat as much as you'd like, both of you."

Azriel spent the next few minutes devouring his meal, and engaging in small talk with both Selena, and Roxie. Soon, he had finished his bowl. He was too full to consume a second portion. Selena on the other hand had eaten at least three bowls. He found her appetite amusing.

"I'm finished. You're a great chef, Roxie!" Azriel complimented Roxie.

"Thank you!" she smiled. "I'll take both of your dishes."

As Roxie took all the bowls, and utensils off the table, Selena yawned. "Man... All that food made me tired. It's getting quite late... We should head to bed."

"Yeah." Azriel agreed. He got out of his chair. "You've got an extra room, right?"

Selena didn't reply, so he assumed the answer was no. "Where the heck am I going to sleep, then?"

"My, that's quite the problem..." Roxie said, as she was washing the dishes in the sink. "I'm afraid you'll have to share Selena's bed for now..."

"W-Wait, what?! W-What do you mean?!" Selena stammered out a slur of words. A bright red blush formed on her face. "I-I'm not gonna share a bed! T-That's embarrassing!"

"I'm not gonna share a bed with anyone...!" Azriel added on. His face was also red.

"I'm afraid that's the only choice you have... Unless you want to sleep on the floor."

"W-Well! I... Uhm..." Azriel tried to find a response, but couldn't. He didn't like the idea of sleeping on the cold hard ground. "I-I guess you're right..."

"I-I don't want to share a bed, yucky!" Selena gagged.

"I don't want to either, but I feel like that is better than sleeping on the floor... I'm an Eevee that needs they're beauty sleep, especially after literally almost dying!"

"Whatever... No guarantees I won't push you off the bed, though. Accident or not." Selena scoffed, before huffing to her room.

"Guess I'll go as well..." Azriel mumbled, before going off in the same direction Selena went.

When Azriel entered the room, he saw that Selena was already laying down in the bed. Half of her body was covered by her soft, pink blanket. Azriel was about to say something, but was unable to get a single word out before Selena spoke. "Y-You go to the other side of the bed..."

He took one look at the little space on the bed he had, and immediately complained; "There's barely even any room for me to sleep, that bed is very obviously designed for a singular person!"

"My room, my rules!"

"Ugh..." Azriel groaned.

He begrudgingly obliged. He was too exhausted to deal with this. He heaved himself towards the bed, and attempted to make himself comfortable with the little space he had. His paws were slightly dangling off the bed. He sighed. "Do you at least have another pillow?"

"No."

"Darn!"

"Goodnight..." Selena spoke. "Could you get the light?"

"Yes..." Azriel replied. He stood up, and only took a few seconds to locate the light switch on the wall. He flicked it off, causing the room to regress to darkness. He climbed back into the bed. "...Night."

In a few minutes, Selena had seemingly gone asleep, as Azriel heard no more words from her. He lightly breathed out a sigh. As time passed, he found himself unable to sleep. Several thoughts jogged his mind, but almost all of them had something to do with the actuality he was facing; he had amnesia, to the point where he couldn't even remember his own name. "This is horrible... What am I going to do? Sure, I seem to have a few Pokemon willing to help me... But what about my life before this? Where are my parents? My friends? What caused me to fall off the ocean? Never in a million years would I try to swim in any circumstance, mainly because I can't!"

All of these questions were left with no answer. Azriel was deeply troubled. "I don't even remember my actual name!... I should get some sleep... Roxie said this'll all be sorted out, but I feel like that's easier said than done. Whatever... I'll worry about it in the morning."

And with that, Azriel decided to get some rest. This time, he found himself slipping into unconsciousness much easier this time.

Azriel was awoken by a warm, soft feeling clinging to his body. "What the..."

He caught a swathe of white out the corner of his eye. When he looked up, he saw Selena, who was way too close for comfort. It seemed that she was holding onto him, hugging him like he was some sort of plushie. Why? Azriel didn't know, but he assumed this was an action she had accidentally done in her sleep. "I would move away, but I just want to go back to sleep... Besides, she's pretty soft."

Azriel found himself blushing slightly. He closed his eyes. It wasn't long until he drifted to sleep once more.