Prologue

Salutations, greetings, and many great hellos! Are you all ready for the EPIC sequel to my previous story, "Pokemon Black & White: Tale of a Legend"? Of course you are!

Before we begin, some words about the story in general…

Firstly, this story is going to be exploring some more mature themes. Depending on how far it goes, I might even change the story's rating to M. But that's a long way off – there's going to be a forwards progression in the relationship between Volan and Caitlin, a new rival that has even less empathy for others than Paul of DP fame, exploration of the subject of Pokephilia, and even the death of a major character. I'm just warning you so that you readers are prepared.

Secondly, I do not own the Pokemon franchise. If I did, all of this would be canon and it would have its own anime series.

Thirdly… let's get on with it!

-.-.-.-.-.

Three Thousand Years Ago

The final battle was over, the Kalos War brought to an end. The sky was heavily overcast, with thick black clouds quenching whatever light may have otherwise illuminated the wasteland below. When light did eventually fall upon the dead, lifeless earth, it was blood-red and came from a pair of beating wings as their owner passed through.

Today, Yveltal, Goddess of Death and Destruction, was in a bad mood.

The source of her bad mood, you might ask? Humans. Which seemed to be becoming a trend these past few millennia.

It was bad enough that they always screamed and ran and prayed to Arceus whenever she flew by like she was the next coming of Giratina or something. It was downright insulting whenever their myths and legends passed down through the generations referred to her as male (although she thought it was hilarious that her brother Xerneas tended to be portrayed as female whenever he popped up in their little fictions).

But this war had been way over the line for Yveltal. Causing widespread loss of life and environmental damage was HER job, damnit! Leave it to the humans to consider themselves so far above their station that they started usurping positions usually withheld by Legendary Pokemon.

One of these days, I'm going to have to knock them down a few pegs, Yveltal growled to herself, swooping down to better observe the blackened wasteland that was all that remained of the battle that ended the Kalos War.

The war had lasted a very long time when compared to other wars that Yveltal had heard about. This was the first time she had been awake to witness one, and initially, she had loved it. Massive armies of humans stabbing each other with swords was surprisingly entertaining, and as the Kalos War progressed, she had looked on with fascination as their weapons and tactics became more diverse in their attempt to outdo the opposing side.

However, Yveltal started seeing what an effect the war was having on the environment. Entire forests were cut down to make room for strongholds and fortresses, Pokemon were captured en masse and drafted into the human armies, farmlands were decimated…

As much as Yveltal loved destruction, she had to admit that this was going too far. Nothing good could come out of this if the humans continued fighting amongst themselves.

Fortunately, though, one of the human kings had built a surprisingly elaborate machine – an impressive accomplishment considering the technologically mundane state of the human civilization at this point in time – and used it to wipe out the entire opposing army. If that wasn't a victory, Yveltal didn't know what was.

She descended down to earth and folded her wings when her talons hit the bare soil. Immediately upon being exposed to her presence, those few weeds that had started to grow amidst the desolation withered and crumbled to dust. It was difficult to see in such darkness, as the clouds overhead refused to part, but Yveltal's piercing blue eyes nevertheless saw all. The great Legendary Pokemon stared out at the blackened plain, seeing how weapons and armor and dead bodies still littered its surface. For once in her life, the sight of such destruction made her beak twist into a bitter scowl.

Humans, she thought with disgust.

A flower abruptly bloomed at her feet, and she stomped on it without paying it much attention. But then it popped up again, causing her to take pause and actually glance down at the little eyesore.

"Great," Yveltal muttered aloud in Pokemon-speak. "Like my mood couldn't get any worse. What do you want, Xerneas?"

She turned around to sourly regard the magnificent stag. He was standing in a ray of light that had just happened to break through the cloud cover directly above him, causing his crystalline horns to sparkle blindingly with every color of the rainbow. A lesser Pokemon would've dropped to its knees and bowed down at the sight of the God of Life.

Yveltal, though, thought that she did dramatic entrances much better than him, with a bone-chilling battle cry and lasers of death everywhere.

"No need to be so rude," Xerneas admonished her. "I came for the same reason you did. The war is over and Kalos has paid the price."

"What's got your antlers in a twist?" she snorted. "Oh, right, you're just sore that you have to work double-time to regrow everything from the ground up."

"It's my duty to do so when the balance tips too far in your favor," snapped Xerneas.

"Yeah, and it's mine to blast everything in sight when the opposite happens," Yveltal smirked, enjoying the sight of his irritation. "At least my job is occasionally fun. It must be horribly boring to spend all of eternity gardening. No wonder you're always so cranky."

Xerneas lifted an elegant leg to take a challenging step closer to his sister Legendary, but froze when a high-pitched sound interrupted his snappy retort.

"Wululululululu!"

A small green thing wiggled out from behind a nearby rock and hopped into a position directly between the Pokemon of Life and Death. Upon sighting it, Xerneas reflexively pulled his leg back as if it had been burned. Yveltal, too, reacted adversely, backing away from the green thing like it was carrying a dangerous plague.

Stop bickering, the two of you! the creature scolded through the use of telepathy. We are unimpressed with your childish behavior!

"What are you doing here?" inquired Yveltal, hoping the thing would just go away.

To tell you what to do, of course! it said bitingly. The humans have destroyed the balance we have worked so hard to protect. Xerneas, you will tend to Kalos until it has fully healed. Yveltal, away with you. We order you to find a secluded spot in which to hibernate, so that we are sure you will not bring any further destruction.

The look in Yveltal's eyes could have melted iron. "It's just one thing after another today," she muttered. "I haven't felt this mad since Xerneas told me I slept through the K/T event."

Off to the side, the corners of Xerneas' mouth twitched upwards.

Ignoring him, Yveltal opened her wings, causing an invisible wave of death that destroyed the flowers that were blooming around Xerneas. She took off powerfully, soon leaving the wasteland behind as she headed toward the mountains where her favorite hibernation spot was. It was a bit early to sleep, as her life span still had a few hundred years left to go, but it wasn't like she could disobey a direct order from a being literally called "the Order Pokemon".

Down on the ground, Xerneas and the green thing watched silently as the red glow of their avian companion disappeared over the horizon. Slowly, the flowers that she had destroyed began to sprout anew, exposed once more to his life-giving aura.

"I am glad you sent her away," the God of Life admitted. "My work will be easier now that I do not have to proverbially look over my shoulder to ensure she is not causing chaos elsewhere."

The little speck of green at his feet glared up at him with its single, piercing eye. Are you still here? We have ordered you to restore balance to Kalos, a task that will most likely take you several thousand years, so you had best get started right away! Hop to it!

Somewhat miffed, Xerneas wrinkled his snout and bounded away, almost seeming to float gracefully through the air with every leap. The ray of light he had been standing in faded away until there was no light left, although the colorful patch of flowers remained.

Now alone, the tiny creature lifted its head and closed its eyes, willing its mind to travel vast distances until it had reached the one with which it desired to communicate.

We have seen to it that the rebirth of this land is in progress, it mentally reported. We will repair the parts that are in most dire need, but will leave the rest to Xerneas.

After a second, a new voice replied from many miles away. Was this not the disaster spoken of in prophecy?

No, the creature denied. The Crisis has yet to come. We will carefully monitor the state of things until it becomes clear that The Crisis is upon us. Then, and only then, will we see to it that the prophecy is fulfilled.

Reassured, the second voice started to fade. Remember the Chosen Three it speaks of…

Yes, Zygarde, Pokemon of Order, replied. We will not forget.

-.-.-.-.-.

Yes, Xerneas is male and Yveltal is female in this story. I know it's an unpopular interpretation, but that's what I've always seen them as, and my opinion won't be changing any time soon. So… just deal with it, I guess.

This fic is going to be BIG. We're not even on Chapter 1 and already we're seeing stuff like "The Crisis" and "Chosen Three" and more prophecies. I'm sure you're all wondering what this means, and trust me, you're going to be getting the answers to your questions soon enough – as well as answers to questions you haven't even asked yet.

Readers, please send your reviews! Let me know how hyped you are to see the new adventure finally beginning!

~ Cottonmouth25