FicWad

It was the late afternoon of a hot summer day. The sky above was a deep shade of blue with a few long bands of wispy clouds that populated the vast sky. The shapes they made looked similar to a gentle ocean wave calmly sweeping through the heavens.

Underneath the sky was a realm unlike no other. This earthly world was inhabited by animals that were known as 'Pokemon.' These were a primitive race of creatures that were scattered throughout this spacious landscape. At first, Pokemon lived in harmony with nature. But as time continued, these creatures slowly evolved; turning their primitive ways in a more current direction.

Settlements were the first signs of modernization as a result of evolution throughout the years. Large groups of Pokemon from all over the planet started moving into these colonies. Some settlements got more popular than others due to their location and population. These settlements became so popular and modernized that they eventually turned into bustling metropolises. Cities were home to millions and millions of Pokemon as well as large glass buildings and skyscrapers that pierced beyond the clouds. Some of these civilizations looked so advanced that started to have a futuristic vibe to them.

Pokemon from all over the planet, says that cities are where most heroes start their adventure. However, this famous heroic story comes from a quaint, little corner of the world; Treasure Town. This is the story of how four unlikely Pokemon stopped the destruction of their universe.

*

Present Day
Sharpedo Bluff

I was casually lazing about underneath a grand, old oak tree that grew atop Sharpedo Bluff. The tree's shade provided maximum protection against the sun's unrelenting heat wave.

'What's taking her so long?' I pondered as a cold breeze swept through the area, ruffling my yellow fur as it swayed in the direction of the summer wind. 'I mean the restaurant is not far this place after all.'

My partner had gone to the lighthouse restaurant not far from where the bluff was. While I was waiting for her to come back, I decided to drink in the marvelous view that this place had to offer.

Off in the distance were large mountain ranges that rose beyond the cloud layer. Forests and plains were dispersed everywhere at the foot of these hills. Streams and lakes were also a part this magnificent masterpiece. Streams wove in all sorts of different directions; carving their way through the landscape to reach a basin. The lakes, however, sparkled vibrantly from the light of the sun reflecting off the water.

"Beautiful!" I looked on, captivated by the view. "I wish Sienna was here to see it!"

"What are you talking about?" Someone tapped me from behind, completely interrupting my mood. "I'm right here you know."

"AHHH!" I jumped back in shock as every hair on my body stood up; giving my tidy fur a more fierce look.

"Did I getcha by surprise?" The voice from behind chuckled in amusement. "Or were you too entranced to notice that I've been standing here for the last two minutes?"

I turned around to see the Pokemon that was responsible for scaring me. I couldn't believe who it was when I saw the culprit. The culprit was my partner, Sienna. A Vulpix was standing there with a cheeky, little grin plastered on her face.

"Very funny Sienna." I gave her a disgusted look as I leaned my back against the hard bark; slowly recovering from the sudden shock. "Very funny."

"Thanks!" She took my sarcasm as a compliment. "To be fair, it was a perfect opportunity to scare you."

I shook my head in disapproval and gave her deep snarl in return.

"Anyways, here's the food I got us." She tilted her head towards the brown satchel that was resting on her neck. "Have you decided on where should we eat today?"

"How about the local beach?" I looked toward the edge of the bluff, "after all, the beach is right underneath this place."

"Alright." Sienna shrugged as she approached the brisk shade of the ancient oak. "So, do you wanna go now?"

"Not yet. We'll go at dusk."

"Why do we have to wait until nightfall?" She whined. "Is there something you need to do that you haven't told me yet?"

"No," I once again glanced toward the edge before shifting my gaze back to her. "There's just this incredible sight that Pokemon from all over Treasure Town have been talking about lately."

"Your point exactly?" Sienna shot me a confused look.

"My point is we can witness this stunning view for ourselves by going down to the local beach at dusk," I explained. "I mean, we can end the day on a high note if you want."

"Sure!" She gave me a small smile in return before asking, "so what are we going to do for the next couple of hours?"

"We can reminisce about how we met."

Sienna giggled a bit as she started cuddling beside me, "alright, alright. You never seem to get bored of retelling the same story over and over do you?"

I ignored her question and wrapped one arm behind her; caressing her in my grip. "As I was saying, we first met exactly nine years ago at the crossroads. Back when I was still a Pichu. It was the early morning..."

*

Nine Years Ago
Crossroads

In the midst of a peaceful morning, the sound of crying can be heard from the ground below. What started off as an uplifting mood, soon turned somber as the sounds of agony continued. A lone Pichu was curled up, mourning over the tragedy that just struck him.

"W-Why? Why di-did you l-leave me be-behind?" The Pichu desperately called out while pounding his fists on the hard dirt with all of his might. "What did I-I do t-to deserve th-this?!" Unfortunately, no one was in the vicinity to hear his call. Thus, making his questions dissipate into the atmosphere.

He lived a rather carefree life in his early childhood. But that happiness was quickly stripped away from him ever since he heard the news of what happened to his parents. His fragile heart couldn't handle the loss and shattered into hundreds of pieces. He tried sewing the fragments back together in a last-ditch effort to attempt to continue living a cheerful lifestyle. But as everyone knows, things will never be the same again once you break something. And this was no different. Little did he know, that his fate was about to change.

*

Treasure Town

A small Vulpix was wandering through the early morning streets of Treasure Town. Almost no one in this lively town seemed to be the 'early bird' type. Stores and houses were closed tightly with their windows still concealed by blinds. Apart from the occasional traveler roaming through; looking to for a place to stay, the dusty streets of the town remained sparsely populated.

"Today's the day!" The Vulpix muttered to herself as she was heading to the guild district. "Time to muster my courage and finally join!"

Sienna was always the adventurous type; wanting to explore and venture off into the unknown. Ever since Wigglytuff's Guild became famous, it was her lifelong dream to one day be a proud member of this guild. She could feel that today was the day where her dream becomes a reality.

There was one thing that worried her the most about joining. The thing that gave her butterflies in her stomach was the strict rules and regulations of the guild. She heard stories of Pokemon quitting due to the amount of rigorous training all apprentices have to undergo. Despite this, she wasn't going to let this rumor stop her from making her dream come true. She would do whatever it takes to achieve and live her dream.

Sienna was so focused on this thought that she accidentally bumped into another Pokemon. The collision sent Sienna back a few paces; instantly snapping her out of her dazed state.

"I'm sorry! I'm sorry!" Sienna said to the Pokemon while she was scrambling to recollect her thoughts. "I didn't mean to bump into you!"

"Sienna?" The Pokemon said her name, causing her to look up and see who it was. As soon as she looked up, she already knew from a quick glance that it was her friend, Jewel.

"Jewel? What are you doing up so early in the morning?" She asked the Squirtle.

"I was just making my way to the bookstore. You?" Jewel said as she was wiping the dust off her shell from the impact.

"I was just heading over toward the guild district." Sienna looked ahead toward the crossroads eagerly before returning to the conversation, "I'm going to join Wigglytuff's Guild today!"

"Awesome! I'm glad you're following your dreams!" Jewel ecstatically smiled at her friend. "I hope you get accepted in!"

"Thanks!"

"So when you join..." the turtle's lighthearted expression quickly faded and was replaced with a more concerning look. "...will you still be able to hang out with me?"

"Uhh... I can't guarantee it." Sienna slowly shook her head as the warm feelings her friend gave earlier, have begun to vanish. "You know how much I hate making false promises."

Jewel let out a disappointing sigh; drooping her shoulders to indicate sadness. "Oh, I see."

"Don't feel so down in the dumps," Sienna optimistically looked at her, hoping to revert the turtle's depressing mood, "we can still keep in touch."

"It's just not the same, though." She had glanced at her friend in a disheartening manner before she started walking towards the bookstore; slanting her head downwards. "Listen; I gotta go... Just drop by my place when you have the chance, alright?"

"Alright." Sienna turned to watch Jewel as she walked down the street; waving goodbye until she was no longer in view. Sienna paused a bit to reflect on the conversation she just had. After a few minutes of deeply mulling and sorting her thoughts, she turned back around and continued walking towards her destination.

"What could I have said differently to her?" She asked herself; not expecting an answer. Sienna quickly discarded this thought and refocused on what she was thinking earlier. Sadly, the fate of this ambitious individual was about to change.

*

As she approached the crossroads, cries of despair reached the small fox's ears. Sienna completely froze in response to the saddening cries. All the emotion she was feeling earlier was gone and replaced by an unnerving dread. Never in her life has she felt an emotion that was filled to brim with sorrow. This feeling alone was enough to make a chill go down her back. When Sienna finally recovered from the shock, she investigated the area in an attempt to pinpoint the source.

After a couple of minutes of the scouring the area, she'd finally found the source. The cause of the cries came from a small, yellow mouse-like creature hidden behind a rock.

"Hey, are you alright?" Sienna rushed over to the downed Pokemon's side. "What happened?"

"T-They're go-gone..." The Pichu whimpered as its body shook subtly.

"Who's gone?" She carefully patted the fragile creature. "It's ok; you can tell me."

"M-My entire fa-family is g-gone..." The Pichu teared up even more upon uttering those words; shivering more and more with every word he spoke. "...I do-don't k-know what t-to do an-anymore..."

Sienna was at a loss for words for how she would respond to an answer like that. She never experienced losing a loved one before. She didn't know how heavy the burden was. So, what could she do to make this situation a little better? A few minutes of silence passed by as she sat and pondered, thinking her next course of action. Suddenly, an idea clicked in her head that just might work.

"Hey, if you want, you can stay at my place," Sienna suggested, staring at the poor creature intently to see if it would show its face.

The Pichu nodded as he slowly stood up, wiping away some tears before taking a glance at her. Sienna gave a tender smile in return as she signaled him to start walking with her home. As they were walking back to Sienna's house, the once scarcely populated streets became dense and lively as rush hour approached. Entering back into the streets, they struggled to plow their way through the crowded sea of energetic civilians.

Sienna had to watch on the Pichu so that the two wouldn't lose sight of each other. What made this task difficult was the fact that a lot of Pokemon from the crowd looked similar to Pichu and since the streets were so dense, they bumped into a ton of civilians.

When they finally reached their destination, the two paused and took a quick breather for a bit before strolling down the house's overgrown cobblestone path.

"By the way, what's your name?" She asked the Pichu as they arrived at the front door of the stone building.

Hesitant to say his name, he just glared at her awkwardly for a while before succumbing to her question.

"Lukan." The Pichu said timidly, covering his face with both of his hands to hide his embarrassment.

"Aw, there's no need to be shy. It's al-" Sienna was interrupted when a loud creaking sound came from the worn-out mahogany door. Sienna's mother, a Ninetales, greeted the two as she let them inside; carefully closing the door behind them.

"Darling," Sienna's mother addressed her as she escorted the two to the main foyer, "I thought you were going to join the guild today."

"I was making my way over there until some more important stuff got in the way." Sienna tilted her head toward Lukan. "Is it okay if he stays with us? He's been through a lot of rough patches lately."

"Of course Sienna." Her mother happily obliged as she embraced her daughter, kissing her once on the forehead before letting her go. "He can stay for as long as he wishes."

"Thanks, mom!" Sienna said as she and Lukan started walking upstairs; escorting the small mouse to her room.

"No problem honey," her mother shouted from downstairs, flashing Sienna a jaunty smile. "just be sure to come down for lunch okay?"

"Alright." And with that being said, the two went into her room. As they entered the room, the duo was welcomed by a chilling darkness. Sienna hustled over towards the window to open the blinds. Upon opening them, sunlight quickly streamed into the chamber; dispelling the cold darkness away into the corners of the room.

Sienna's room was comprised of dusty bookshelves that covered the left wall entirely, an ordinary hay bed adjacent to the wall of books, and an old-timey grandfather clock beside the bed that ticked quietly in the background. Other than those three main features, the room didn't have anything interesting.

"Sienna?" Lukan pointed at one of the wooden bookshelves, "what kind of books do you own?"

"Mostly adventure and fantasy books." Sienna headed to one of the shelves and took out a teal-colored book labeled Finding Fate." I like reading this one the most, though! It's based on a true adventure story that happened many decades back. A newly formed group of explorers venture off into all sorts of different and dangerous places in search of treasure. While they're doing this, each member is trying to discover what their real motives are and-"

"And what?" Lukan ears perked up with excitement, anticipating what she would say next.

"Well... I really can't tell you any more without spoiling a huge portion of the book." Sienna handed him the book." I suggest you give it a read if you want to know what happens. Who knows, maybe you'll like it."

As soon as she handed it over, Lukan immediately sat down on the bed and instantly started reading. Surprised, but not taken aback, Sienna watched in awe as she saw how engaged he was in reading the book. She could tell that from this point onwards; they would be the best of friends.

*

Present Day
Sharpedo Bluff

"Ahh..." Lukan sighed as a wave of nostalgia flowed through him. "...those were the days."

Sienna nodded, giving her partner a warm smile before standing up, "Agreed."

The duo noticed that the sun was inching closer and closer towards the horizon and decided to start making their way towards the beach. As they stood up, the two stretched briefly; exchanging a few yawns before heading through Treasure Town. Walking at an unhurried pace, they went back to town, meeting and talking to some old friends along the way.

After catching up with some old friends, the duo had approached the crossroads and proceeded to take the southern path. The dusty road turned more and more grassy as they neared their destination. Trees on both sides of the road gradually increased until it was almost impossible to see through the dense undergrowth.

As they got closer to the beach, the duo began to smell the fresh sea air that was soon to be accompanied by the ambiance of ocean waves. The sky above was now a heavenly orange-yellow with no clouds in sight. The tranquility in the air became more apparent with each step they took until they arrived at the beach. The two expected that the mood would stay calm and peaceful for the rest of the day.

They were wrong.