ShadowedTactician: Well, it looks like I'm back.
Grim: After two years of absence. Tsk, tsk, tsk. Still, I can't really blame you...
ShadowedTactician: For those who don't know who I am, go look at my bio if you want. There's also a complete explanation on the basis for this story if you're interested in less exciting details.
Grim: Yeah. I'm his muse and unfortunate Pokémon companion in this journey, Grim the Duskull.
ShadowTactician: Read, and whatever happens after that, is entirely up to you.
As rain poured on in the Sacaen plains, a young man of around age seventeen wearing a green cloak rushed through the waist-high grass, with a grey object that looked like a floating ball of gas with a skull in front and crossbones at the back fleeing with him against the wind. The raindrops hit them in the faces sharply, but they continued on running frantically. Behind them angry shouts could be heard as a group of brigands chased them. The guy ran into an open plain, when suddenly three dog-like creatures with grey and black fur darted out from different directions and pinned the young man down on the ground by the arms and legs. A larger, meaner-looking wolf tackled down his companion and pinned it to the ground using one paw. By this time, the bandits had arrived.
"That's enough, Poochyena." The lead bandit raised his hand, and the Poochyena leapt off the the young man, who muttered some silent thanks; he could not take the smell of Poochyena breath much longer. The lead bandit stood over him, smiling evilly and brandishing his axe. He had yellow spiky hair and a scar under his left eye. "UNGH!" went the young man as the bandit kicked his face. "For making us run so much," said the brigand. The young man could only whimper in pain as his nose bled profusely. "Now will you give us your gold, or do I have to use my Mightyena on your Duskull?"
"Stop! Don't hurt him!" shouted the young man as the big black wolf pressed down harder on the Duskull. "I... I'll give you all I have." Emptying his pocket, the young man produced two small bags of coins. "Here."
"Many thanks," smirked the bandit as he pocketed the gold. "But as of now, you are of no more use to us." Grabbing his victim by the collar, he brought the young man to a slope, with his Mightyena following and the Duskull between its jaws. "Usually, we just kill our victims with the swift blow of an axe, but since you managed to put up such a run today, we've decided to give you the special treatment. And your Duskull can follow you down as well!" So saying he flung the young man down the hill, along with the Duskull he grabbed from the Bite Pokémon's mouth. As the young man tumbled, he only heard the falling rain about him, along with the maniac laughter of the bandits just before he passed out...
"Are you awake?" A concerned voice asked.
"Urgh... wha... where..." The young man opened his eyes weakly. Suddenly, he shot up from his lying position. "Grim! Where is he?" He looked around frantically.
"Calm down. Your Duskull's fine." The voice said soothingly. The young man stared. The voice belonged to a girl of eighteen years old wearing blue nomadic clothing. She had glittering green eyes and long brown hair which was tied back into a ponytail. He looked around, finding that he had been lying on a bed in a small round house. His Duskull was floating just behind the girl, and a small reptilian creature stood beside her with a green bulb on its back. "I found you and your Duskull unconscious on the plains. Bulbasaur managed to heal your wounds with a bit of herbal medicine," she explained. "I am Lyn, of the Lorca tribe. You're safe now," said the girl as she introduced herself. "Who are you? Can you remember your name?"
"...They call me Shadow."
"Your name is Shadow? What an odd-sounding name... But pay me no mind. It is a good name." Lyn smiled. "I see by your attire you are a traveler. What brings you to the Sacae plains? Would you share your story with me?" Before Shadow could say anything in reply, some battle cries were heard outside. "Hm? What was that noise?" Lyn wondered. "I'll go see what's happening. Shadow, wait here for me." Out went Lyn and her Bulbasaur, then frantically back in a few moments later.
"Bandits!" Lyn cried. "They must have come down from the Bern Mountains! They must be planning on raiding the local villages!" Shadow froze in thought. "Could it be those brigands that attacked me earlier?" he wondered.
"I... I have to stop them!" Lyn said determinedly. She gazed outside, seeing only two bandits. "If that's all of them, I think I can handle them on my own. You'll be safe in here, Shadow." The young man paused for thought. He felt like helping this girl. "Lyn?" he asked. "If it's alright with you, I'd like to help you."
"What? You want to help, Shadow? Can you use a weapon?" asked Lyn. "Well, no... I'm actually a strategist." came the sheepish answer.
"Hmmm... an odd profession, but... Very well. We'll go together!" The two exited the house, with Grim and Bulbasaur closely behind. "Stay close to me, Shadow. I'll protect you. Your Duskull shouldn't fight too much after what happened yesterday." Shadow nodded. Lyn ran forward as Shadow, Grim and Bulbasaur followed, when one of the brigands noticed her. "Lyn! That bandit's coming this way!" Shadow shouted a the brigand ran towards Lyn with a cactus creature following. "Right! Shadow, fall back!" Lyn charged, drew her sword, and slashed the bandit across the chest.
"Ack! Cacnea, use Needle Arm!" The bandit yelled an order as he smashed his axe into Lyn's back. The round Grass-type pummeled Bulbasaur with its spiky green arm. Lyn fell back from the blow, then swiftly stabbed the brigand through the navel. Bulbasaur grabbed Cacnea with its vines and threw it afar. Shadow ran forwards to help Lyn up.
"Victory!" Lyn exclaimed as she winced slightly, feeling the blood flow down her back. "Could you get me a vulnerary from my satchel, Shadow?" Shadow nodded and retrieved a healing vial from Lyn's pouch, and scattered the contents over Lyn's wound. "What about your Bulbasaur?" asked Shadow.
"Oh, he can heal himself just fine." Lyn reassured. "Bulbasaur! Synthesis!" The bulb on Bulbasaur's began to glow as it soaked up the sun's rays, and within a minute, it had recovered all of its damage. "Now let's go get that bandit over there by the ger!" yelled Lyn as she ran towards a cylindrical house made of cloth, similar to the one Lyn resided in. As the strategist ran over, he suddenly decelerated, staring at the bandit in front of him. Blond spiky hair, scar under the eye, iron axe... this was the same person who had robbed him and brutally left him to die the day before!
"So... you survived." The brigand smiled as he ran his finger along his axe's blade. Lyn looked at the villain in shock, then at Shadow, and repeated the process several times over. She opened her mouth, but no words came out. "I thought the special treatment'd have finished you. No matter; I can just finish you - and her - right here, right now." He turned his glance towards Lyn, whose sword was poised, ready for action.
"I won't let you ravage these lands any longer!" Lyn snarled through gritted teeth.
"Huh! Who do you think you are?" sneered the man. "You think you can stand up to Batta the Beast?" He motioned to the wolf creature beside him. "Mightyena, GO!" He yelled as he raised his mighty axe.
"Shadow! Take Bulbasaur and fight that Mightyena!" Lyn shouted as she lifted her sword in time to block the bandit's blow. "I'll take care of him!"
"Alright! Grim, Night Shade! Bulbasaur, Leech Seed!" As Shadow shouted orders, the two Pokémon behind him quickly leapt into battle mode. The Duskull shot out two rays of ghostly darkness from its eyeholes, while the Seed Pokémon fired a special brown seed from its back. However, the Mightyena was running around too fast, and easily dodged the assaults. Lyn had managed to slash Batta two times on the chest, but she was still having trouble blocking his attacks.
"Mightyena, use Shadow Ball!" Batta cried as he parried another of Lyn's strikes and raised his weapon. "HAAAAAA!" He let loose a battle cry as the axe was brought down, right on Lyn's arm.
"KYAA!" Lyn screamed in pain as a bloody gash appeared on her sword arm. Meanwhile, Shadow wasn't having much luck either. The Mightyena fired out three balls of dark energy, hitting its three targets straight on. "UNGH!" Shadow grunted as he was thrown back from the powerful blow. Then he remembered. "Lyn!" he shouted.
"Whew... he's tough..." Lyn muttered. "It all comes down to this next blow." She then turned to look at Shadow. "Shadow, if I fall... I want you to flee. With Grim. You must escape!" Shadow wanted to say something, but the look in her eyes made him think otherwise. Bulbasaur now stood in front of Lyn, facing Mightyena and Batta. Closing her eyes, she began to recall her training... her moves, her patterns... everything started to flow back to her...
"Hyaaaa!" Batta charged forwards, axe ready to strike, Mightyena ready to kill... when suddenly, as Batta landed his blow, Lyn wasn't there anymore. Or so it seemed.
"WHAT!" Batta gasped. He had actually missed!
"YAAAAAAAA!" Lyn yelled as she suddenly became three, as did her Bulbasaur. Shadow could only stare as the images of Lyn made three slashes around Batta, as Bulbasaur released a tornado of sharp crescent leaves. Batta only managed a "What?... How... How did you -", as his body began to slide into four parts and collapse in a bloody heap. Bulbasaur's strike managed to cut a vital blood vessel in the Mightyena's neck, and it dropped dead besides its master. Lyn was breathing heavily as she resheathed her sword, one knee bent.
"Whew... that was close." She gazed up to see Shadow and Grim, with concerned looks on their faces. "I sorely underestimated him. Sorry if I worried you." Shakingly, she managed to stand. "I'll need to be stronger if I'm going to survive... Strong enough that no one can defeat me." Looking back down at the fallen bodies, she said, "Let's go home." Shadow nodded in silent agreement, as he placed Lyn's arm over his shoulder and helped her trudge back to her ger - Grim and Bulbasaur slowly following behind.
When morning arrived, Shadow was awakened from his sleep with the bright sound of Lyn's voice. Somewhat relunctantly he sat up in bed, scratching his neck.
"That fight yesterday must've taken a lot out of you, Shadow," Lyn commented. "Say, Shadow... I want to talk with you about something." The plainsgirl suddenly looked serious. "You have some experience in the ways of war, I see." she continued. "Would you... allow me to travel with you?" Shadow stared, surprised at her sudden request. "Well... er... is it okay with your parents?" he slowly asked. Certainly he could not take this girl on such a dangerous journey where no one could predict what might come.
"Wh... what? My... parents?" Lyn took a few steps back, apparently shocked. She held her fist to her chest, trembling. "Lyn?" Shadow could sense something was not right.
"My mother and my father... died six months ago." Lyn said in a shaking voice. "My people - the Lorca - they don't... I'm the last of my tribe. Bandits attacked, you see, and... they killed so many people." She paused, seemingly for breath, but Shadow could tell she was trying her best not to let any tears fall down her face.
"The tribe was scattered," she continued, though her voice hadn't changed. "My father was our chieftain, and I wanted to protect our people... But I'm so young, and our people were old-fashioned. They wouldn't follow a woman. No one would follow me." The nomad girl suddenly fell back, grabbing a nearby table for support, fist still clenched over her chest as she gritted her teeth, finally letting a few tears cascade down her cheeks. Her Bulbasaur gazed at the floor, looking downcast.
"I'm sorry..." she sniffed. "I've been alone for so long..." She continued to sniffle for a few minutes, then stood up and wiped her face, eyes closed in resolution. Her Bulbasaur ran over to her, looking up at its owner.
"No. No more. I will shed no more tears." Lyn muttered to herself in a determined voice. She opened her eyes, smiling at Shadow. "Thank you, Shadow. I'm better now." She hesitated for a moment, then went on to speak further.
"Shadow, I want - I must become stronger, so that I may avenge my father's death! Yesterday's battle taught me something. I won't become stronger by sitting here alone. Shadow - tell me you'll train me, that you'll let me travel with you!" She put her hands on Shadow's shoulders, looking imploringly into his eyes.
"Bulba! Bulbasaur!" Bulbasaur leapt onto the bed and made a similar gaze at the tactician. Shadow shifted his eyes from Lyn to Bulbasaur, then at Grim, who was giving him a look that Shadow knew all too well.
"Well... after hearing your story, how can I say no?" he smiled.
"You will? That's wonderful!" Lyn pulled Shadow into a hug. "Thank you! Oh, thank you! We'll be better off working together, I know it!"
"The pleasure's all mine..." Shadow gasped from Lyn's outburst and her embrace. "But I'd like my breath back!" "BULBA! SAUR!" The Seed Pokémon grunted as it was sandwiched between the two people.
The two of them left that very afternoon. Lyn packed her sword, a couple of vulneraries, and departed her ger, saying that they could easily stock up further supplies at Bulgar, the commercial centre of Sacae. She took a final look at the home she had for six months, then shut the door. Gazing at Shadow, his Duskull and her energetic Bulbasaur, she somehow knew that no matter how difficult her quest would be - she would see it through, with the help of her partner and new-found friends. Flashing a smile of confidence and happiness, she broke into a run, into a journey that would change her life forever.
To be continued...
ShadowedTactician: Well... that's done it.
Grim: I'm still aching from that tumbledown the hill, you know.
ShadowedTactician: You're welcome. People, please read and review. Flames will be used to... er... to just occupy some space while I can think of what to do with them...
Grim: How about using them to heat up a tub of water so I can soak myself in it...