Ashes of the Devine: Book One - When the World Stood Still

Prologue

All was quiet in the deep depths of Ilex Forest. The branches were occasionally disturbed by the fluttering of a Zubat and Hoothoot, and scuttling of various bug Pokémon could occasionally be heard. The forest was dark and peaceful, but that tranquillity was soon disturbed.

A gang of henchmen made their way through the forest, with little regard for the life around them, with one even kicking a wandering Caterpie out of his way. There were 3 of them, and they were clad in ninja-like dark robes. Two of them wore robes with a silver trim, but their leader wore a robe with a gold trim.

"Sir…the shrine" said one of the henchmen, "We've found it."

The leader of the pack laid his eyes on the shine as it twinkled in the moonlight. His slender face twisted into a dark grin as he brushed his dark gloved hand over his shaven head.

"At last…" he gasped, "the final part of the puzzle. Bring me the GS ball."

"Yes, Lord Terrance!" said one of the henchmen. He reached into his robe and pulled out the gold coloured Pokéball, and handed it to his leader.

"Thank you, Alan."

Terrance looked down at the ball in his hand and gripped it tighter. His destiny was about to be fulfilled.

"Leo?"

The other henchman stood to attention upon hearing his name.

"Yes, Lord?"

"Prepare the containment device. Celebi is not to be underestimated."

"Of course." replied Leo. He dropped a backpack he was carrying and placed three stakes in the ground. He then opened a small laptop computer and took a few minutes to load some programmes.

"All set, boss."

"It is time. Be on your guard."

Terrance slowly approached the shrine and placed the GS ball inside. He stood back, and after a few moments a strange twinkle could be seen in the forest canopy. All three henchmen looked up to see a gentle light lower into the clearing. After coming to a stop, the light faded to reveal the mythical Pokémon Celebi.

Terrance calmly reached into his robes to pull out a Pokéball. He grinned to himself…he knew exactly how this was going to go.

"Go…Zoroark."

He tossed the ball into the air and it bust open, revealing a Zoroark. This one, however, had light coloured fur and looked very menacing. Celebi's eyes widened in shock, it was not expecting to see a Hisuian Pokémon in this time. Terrance laughed to himself.

"Shocked, are you Celebi? I know you've seen one before…you've probably seen the Zoroark that came before this one. What did they look like, I wonder? Soon I will know. Your power will soon be mine. Zoroark, attack!"

Zoroark fired a shadow ball at Celebi. Quickly realising it was in trouble, Celebi gracefully glided out of the path of the blast and fired off a magical leaf, scoring a glancing hit on it's foe.

"Do not attempt to resist," stated Terrance, "there is no escape. My associates in Sinnoh have already acquired the Red Chain, and soon the time and space Pokémon will be in my possession, along with the distortion world beast. Soon, the Black Lotus Syndicate will become unstoppable."

Celebi knew what was coming. A dark time was about to envelope the Pokémon world. Celebi had to warn the others, it did not have the power to stop this threat alone. Celebi attempted to teleport away, but the strange stakes in the ground began to emit a dark red glow, before striking Celebi with some kind of black fire. The blast was intense, and Celebi fell to the ground. Terrance laughed as he ushered his Zoroark to the side, and slowly advanced on Celebi.

"Hard to travel through time when you get hit with a super effective blast every time you try, isn't it?"

Terrance placed the sole of his boot onto Celebi's head, pushing it into the dirt.

"Such immense power contained within this weak shell…pathetic. To think they worshipped you. Pokémon are meant to serve us, they always were…but I am the only one that can see that. You are finally mine, Celebi. Alan! Bring out the containment device and take Celebi away. It is time to see if Professor P. Brazier has completed his research, as for tomorrow, we make for the Paldea region. Our conquest begins today…in the name of the Black Lotus!"

The group then packed up and left Ilex Forest. It then returned to its calm state, but the sereneness was missing…and the Pokémon could feel it. They had lost their guardian, and the Pokémon world was about to lose much more.