Hello, everyone! I'm back with the new story I promised! I hope you enjoy this, because I spent quite a few days on it. I won't keep you too long, but there's a few things I have to say first.

Avrey Wilson belongs to PhantoMNiGHT321 and I have permission from him to use him, with a few changes from me, of course!

I'd also like to give a shout out to Fire Drastar, who I also requested an OC from, but sorry, it turns out I only need one OC! Sorry for that, but I mentioned you here, so hopefully we're even, and I won't end up waking up dead :D

Finally, I'm amazed I didn't say this in my last story at all but...

Disclaimer: I don't own Pokemon at all!

EDIT: You have a point Nauran, I think I'll introduce an OC into the story gradually.

Prologue

Aura is the life force that exists in all living beings, and when something causes the aura to manifest into different forms, well, something horrible happens. Sometimes the natural aura in the world gets disturbed, be it by evil, or a catastrophe. And when the aura is disturbed, the natural balance of the world is disturbed.

When something, or someone's aura is contaminated and changed, that beings physical form changes, and so does its mind. The being becomes a horrible monster – a dark aura. Dark aura's will attack anything it sees, and has vicious tools to do so, claws, teeth, venom even.

While dark auras are usually caused by an almost undetectable wave of darkness, which contaminates the aura of creatures in its wake, there are exceptions. Dangerous exceptions. However the as-close-to-natural-as-an-unnatural-abomination-of-nature Dark Auras lose their ability to think rationally upon being transformed, resulting in them simply attacking anything they see, and as such only posed a threat to small, undefended villages and towns. If they even tried to attack anything bigger, they'd be cut down in moments.

That's not to say Dark Auras aren't dangerous. Oh no, dark auras are definitely dangerous, but we'll get to that later.

Then, there are aura guardians, the opposite of dark auras, who were formed when a group of peasants were blessed by Arceus with the ability to manifest, control and detect aura, similar to the abilities of Riolu and Lucario. Dark auras showed up on their aura sense like beacons, and they homed in on them, killing hundreds of dark auras and saving hundreds of lives in a matter of weeks.

Knowing the Dark Aura threat would eventually grow, they started searching the continents for people with the locked-up power of aura within them, which had lain dormant throughout their lives.

They formed an empire, stretching across the previously unclaimed continent of Kanto, with an organized military force consisting of Aura Guardians and regular soldiers, who were regularly dispatched to investigate whenever a spike of bad aura was detected in an area, to deal with the inevitable Dark Auras who would appear in the area, ravaging villages and farmland.

The other continents respected them, as they alone could find Dark Auras before they could do much damage. They soon grew wary of the Aura Guardians, however, as their power and influence grew, but for the time being, they wouldn't do anything to stop them, and thus the Aura Guardians were left to grow in peace.

Of course, eventually, something had to go wrong.

Sir Aaron was a normal Aura Guardian for most of his life – He trained as an apprentice, got knighted into the ranks of the Aura Guardians and fought Dark Auras constantly. On the outside, he seemed like a totally normal Aura Guardian, exactly like all the rest.

His aura, however, was different.

Darkness weaved its way through his aura is thin, invisible strands. Whatever being that had planted it had obviously hid it well, as Aaron and all the other Aura Guardians didn't notice his aura being poisoned.

The seeds of the darkness remained dormant for a few years after he was knighted, but then, it gave Aaron the worst possible thing that it could, a thing that could destroy kingdoms, ruin lives, kill millions of people, and in this case, that's exactly what it would do.

It gave him an idea.

'Why are you stopping the Dark Auras?'

Of course, the "Aura Guardian" part of his subconscious reasoned that it was because the Dark Auras were evil, and they were good.

'If you worked with the Dark Auras, you could conquer the world… The aura would rule over everything.'

Of course, he thought nothing of this conversation in his mind, seeing as it happened in his subconscious, and went on with his daily life.

The darkness dug deeper and deeper into his subconsciousness, and of course went undetected. The guardians could detect darkness in auras, but the mind was an entirely different story. Not even the most powerful psychic would be able to penetrate the defences of the powerful darkness rooted in Aaron's brain, though.

It all reached a climax when he was sent on his most important mission ever. There had been little Dark Aura activity lately, and as such the council had been assigning odd jobs to help various continents to the Guardians instead.

Aaron's job was near the tree of beginning, one of the most powerful sources of aura, and a place where many Guardians went to increase their strength.

Two massive armies of Pokémon and Human's had amassed in an area nearby, and were going to start a bloody battle, one in which thousands of Pokémon would be killed. Aaron was sent to channel aura from the tree to implant peaceful thoughts in them, stopping the battle, but to do so would cost him his life.

If he were any other Guardian, he would have done it happily – The Guardians would lay down their life for the greater good, but he was no ordinary Guardian. The darkness in his heart, mind and soul took its chance, making him doubt whether or not sacrificing himself for a bunch of "pathetic barbarians" was right.

And so, as he prepared to channel the aura, his mind was full of doubts and regrets, linked to his mind and aura by strands of dark aura. And as he channelled the aura, a very strange (But terrible) thing happened, that would cause the death of millions.

What happened, you ask? The darkness and doubt that was running through Aaron's mind contaminated the aura energy that flowed through him, and by now you should know what contaminated aura does. It rushed over the two armies, transforming them all into Dark Auras, while Aaron finally snapped, and smiled, seeing the huge army in front of him; an army that would do anything for him, their new master.

And so the first Dark One was created.

In the following weeks, an investigation team was sent when it was discovered that the two armies had disappeared into thin air. There were no signs of a battle in the area that they had been in, and the Council had detected a HUGE spike of dark aura energy emanating from that very same area.

They found nothing, and even after months of searching, they found no evidence to any more dark aura energy, no dark aura outbreaks, no nothing. The case was dismissed and everyone forgot about it.

In the following years, Dark aura outbreaks would almost quadruple in number, but no dark aura were found. It almost seemed as if the dark auras were falling back to somewhere, as soon as they were made.

Aura guardians and apprentices would disappear without a trace. There would be no signs of struggle, no signs that something was mentally wrong with them. They just disappeared, and no one could find them.

The council started getting increasingly worried. What was going on with the dark auras? There had even been reports of large groups of dark aura raiding groups targeting cities, in large numbers. This was unheard of! The dark auras weren't organized and never bothered with strategy, but now it seemed that entire cities were being taken down by them.

Of course, it was only minor, and the other powers of Sinnoh, Johto and Hoenn dismissed it as barbarian raiding.

You probably have guessed by now that this was all caused by Aaron, who had forsaken his name, and was simply known as "Darkness" by those following him. He could literally be seen as the embodiment of darkness. He would, from time to time, kidnap apprentices and Aura Guardians, before implanting the very idea that made him what he was, and most of them would fall before it, following its rule. The ones that didn't he simply killed.

The Dark Ones he recruited, along with himself, would then go to rural areas, channelling dark aura to unleash waves of contaminated auras. They had no power source besides the channeller, so were far weaker than the first, but they served their purpose, creating Dark Auras to serve the Dark Ones.

They were patient, knowing their chance would come. They would do their work quietly and in short bursts. Whenever they thought there was a good chance of any nation or the Council growing too suspicious, they ceased activities, waiting for things to calm down.

And so the years passed, and the Dark Ones grew vastly in strength and number. Now they had the power to oppose all, and were waiting for the chance… the chance to start a threat that would topple and divide empires, wiping across the entire world, killing all in its wake, if not stopped.

The attacks and the kidnappings stopped. In fact, all Dark Aura attacks stopped, and there was no sign of them for decades. It seemed to everyone that the Dark Aura surges had finally stopped. The Aura Guardians could rest in peace, without having to worry about chasing Dark Auras.

The Council grew slack, as did the Aura Guardians. They stopped training as often, believing that it wasn't as necessary, and the Council cut defences everywhere. It was a time of peace and prosperity.

Or so they thought.

The Dark Ones had waited – waited for the day when the foolish Aura Guardians would grow slack. Their chance was now, while their opponent had their guard down. They had been waiting and building up for decades… This was their times. They would bring in a golden age. An age, where they ruled SUPREME.

Just to show their sheer strength, they swept across Johto, decimating it in a matter of months. Tens of thousands were killed – The only ones spared were the healthy men, who were sent to work as slaves, never to be seen again. They slaughtered children, women and elderly alike, not even flinching when they hacked down crying children, or grandparents who were on their knees, begging as they were decapitated. After all, they had no emotions. They had one purpose – to kill.

The Johto Royal Family was slaughtered in the eye of the remaining public, killed one by one, in disgustingly terrible ways, yet no one could look away. The sight had a strange fascination to it. It was revolting and made you want to throw up, but it you just couldn't look away from.

By the time news of this reached Kanto, it was too late. The Dark Aura swept through the poorly defended region, destroying cities and taking more slaves, killing many brave Aura Guardians, who were easily overwhelmed through sheer numbers, though each took hundreds of Dark Aura with them, before they finally fell.

But the hordes kept on coming, tens of thousands of them at once, and it seemed all was lost. The remaining Aura Guardians and soldiers grouped up in the capital of Kanto, Fort Aurelia (Which, by the way, is pronounced, Or-Ay-Lee-Ar). It would be the last stand of the Guardians, the last battle, the last day.

"Men, this may be the last hour of the Guardians, and so it is fitting we make our last stand here, in the birth place of the spark of the Aura Guardians, the centre of our empire! The enemies outside our walls outnumber us at least one hundred to one, but quality matters far more in a battle than numbers, and I think we have the advantage in that regard! If these fiends are going to take us down, we're going to make it damn hard for them! Prepare yourselves men, for the final battle of the legendary Aura Guardians, and let us make it a battle for the legends indeed!"

The fort doors slammed open, and the first wave of Dark Aura swarmed in. A few men recoiled slightly from the horrid sight, but the rest looked solemnly at them, not even flinching as they charged towards their line.

The first line was wiped out by a volley of arrows, but more just swarmed back in. They crashed against the shield wall of the Guardians, and a fierce battle begun. It seemed the Guardians had the advantage – the Knights killed hundreds of Dark Aura, and the rest of the troops killed many as well.

But soon it became apparent that they were losing this battle. While the Guardians were tiring, and their numbers were falling, the Dark Aura swarm seemed to be endless. For every one killed, three seemed to take its place, again and again. For every way they wiped out, another simply took its place.

And yet they fought on regardless, not caring whether or not they died, for what is death to a man who has already resigned to death? These men knew they would not be leaving this fort alive, but they were damn well going to take down as many Dark Auras as possible, before they met their inevitable end.

Close by, an army was stirring. An army of peasants, all armed with weapons and cheap armour. The group consisted of men and women of all ages – Adults, young adults, teenagers, even! And at the head of the army was a man who seemed no more than 16 years old himself, but had the look of a champion, a man who could lead any unorganized rabble into an army.

He looked upon his army, seeing the determined faces of the men and the women. These people had given up everything to fight the menace. They knew that many of them would die, but they knew they would die anyways.

The numbers were huge – they seemed to have numbers that could rival even the Dark Aura. Everyone was armed with some sort of weapon – the nobles were armed with beautifully crafted weapons, while the poor were armed with anything from a spear to a mere sharpened stick.

They were all armed with a different kind of weapon however – The kind of weapon that couldn't be broken, couldn't be matched. They were all fighting to save their families, their friends, their country.

And so, towards Fort Aurelia they marched. They followed the trail of destruction – the ruined villages, the burning forests, the trail of smoke in the horizon, marching day and night, and ready to fight always, reaching Fort Aurelia just in time to see the huge horde outside it, swarming into the fort with everlasting numbers.

Looking behind himself, the boy saw thousands of villagers, all ready to fight, and to die. He didn't reassure them of victory – They all knew defeat was a very possible possibility. He didn't reassure them of returning home, champions – Most of these people had already had their homes burned and their families killed, or taken away as slaves. These people had nothing left to live for, which was good, for many would die this day.

And so, wordlessly, he started running towards the back of the enemy lines with a roar, the roar of thousands behind him.

The Guardians were at breaking point now – a bit longer and their lines would break, leaving the Dark Auras to swarm into the fort, splitting the army in half.

By now, the archers had used their last arrows, and grabbed daggers, rushing into the battle to help.

The end was nigh, and everyone knew it.

But then – A sound was heard. It started with a single, faint roar, and slowly, a louder sound was heard, the sound of an army. But to the Guardians, the sound was one thing, a sound they rejoiced at upon hearing. It was the sound of hope.

And so the ragtag army of peasants smashed into the back of the Dark Aura lines, swarming forwards, slaughtering many. The Dark Aura were now trapped between the hammer of the new rabble, and the anvil of the Guardians.

The hero (Remember, the 16 year old guy who was leading the peasant "army"?) himself swept through the Dark Auras like they were nothing, and even used aura powers to compliment his skill.

Finally, he fought his way to the Dark Aura command centre, where he fought "Aaron" (If he still could be called that) of the Dark Ones, defeating him, causing the Dark Ones to retreat from Kanto, along with their army.

It took many decades for Kanto and Johto to recover from the devastating destruction that the Dark Ones caused. A group of rebels emerged from Kanto, and took control of the continent from the Guardians, believing that the Guardians could not be trusted with the safety of Kanto, and thus the Guardians were exiled to a single corner of the continent, left to watch as the new people of Kanto's empire was restored.

Without the Guardians, however, Dark Aura attacks in all regions increased, with small groups attack towns and villages. It was a dark time for everyone, and still is, with fear of attacks running rampant through kingdoms.

All Guardians were recalled from the regions to Fort Aurelia, where they stayed, training always. The area seemed to be a hotspot for Dark Aura, and so they were kept busy, while the Dark Ones lay in wait, waiting for now, but waiting for a moment of weakness.

The hero had simply vanished after the battle, and he was hailed as a legendary hero in the newly formed Kanto Empire. He was their icon, the one boy who had brought salvation to Kanto, and quite possibly the world. He was the one that gave the people the courage to fight back.

And he was gone.

Or was he…?

"C'mon Ash, wake up, or we're going to be late!"

"PikaPi, Chu Pi!"

'Ash' was a boy of 15, with raven black hair and warm, friendly brown eyes. He was quite strong – but wasn't muscular, rather, he was lithe and wiry. He was currently in a simple bed, in an even simpler stone room.

He groaned in his sleep, shuffling around in the bed, and swung his arm to the side, saying, "No… Go away, just ten more minutes…" Unluckily for him, however, he hit the Pikachu that was standing on his bedside table, knocking the poor Pokémon onto the floor.

"Pikaaaaaa" came the cry, and before Ash knew it, he was hit with a watered-down (But still painful) thundershock, jolting him awake. In front of him was his faithful partner, looking understandably grumpy, having just been knocked off a table.

"Pikachu Pi, Pika Chu Pi Kachu, Pikachu Pi Chu Ka, Chu Pi PikaPi, Pikachu Chu Pi!" Pikachu said, while Ash just stared blankly at the Pokémon, not knowing that the heck it had just said.

Pikachu face palmed, pointing to Ash's weapons, armour, and anything else he could find related to his Aura Guardian entry ceremony, which was going to happen in about an hour.

Ash jolted up in his bed as his realised what his old friend was trying to tell him, his eyes instantly snapping back to reality from the drowsy land of dreams he had just returned from.

"Oh crap! I'm going to be late!"

I'm not sure when I'll be able to get the next chapter up, but it may take 1-3 weeks. School just started so I'm quite busy, but I'll make sure to write in my free time. Anyways, this is just the back story, mainly, and the very start of the actual story, which will start next chapter. If you're curious, I will be writing a more detailed account of the battle of Fort Aurelia in a flashback later on in the story.

If you have any questions, comments, constructive criticism or just want to tell me your favourite flavour of ice-cream, go ahead and do so in a review!

Bye for now!