Hail the Shadows

Rated Pg- 12 to 13-ish due to mild language. I guess that sounds right. ^_^

I don't have much to say. This is my first ongoing fanfic, so it may not be so professionally done, but here it is anyway.

Prologue

"Okay, Restel, go ahead and get that disguise on. Those dumb kids will never know what our plan is," said the mysterious man. He handed Restel a suit, and pointed to a dressing room.

"Ah, with Orre under control, and Johto soon to follow, my dream will soon enough become reality," the mysterious man said to himself as Restel left to change into the disguise. He looked out the porthole of the ship to see three children boarding.

"Oh, the pests are coming, by the way!" Restel said as he barged back into the room with the disguise on. The mysterious man looked at him apathetically.

"I know. I invited them," he said. He reached into his pocket, and pulled out a small envelope.

"When the time comes, put this note on the small one's table. He'll gain false hope," he said, chuckling evilly.

Chapter 1: Ride through the Shadows

June 20, 2000

To My Assistant, Professor Elm:

The three detectives are returning to Kanto from Orre on the SS Aqua. It seems that the Shadow Pokemon outbreak was solved by a former Team Snagem member. Team Cipher is disbanded.

However, since the disband of Team Rocket three years ago, I fear that the industrialization of Johto has set them anew. I heard about Team Rocket doing some heinous deeds in Azalea town. As soon as the SS Aqua returns, I will send the three detectives over to you. They will begin their investigation of Team Rocket, and also the case of your stolen Pokemon.

I look forward to hearing more news about the mystery egg that Gold is holding onto.

Your Friend,

Professor Oak.

The heavy rain descended from the near-black skies, pounding the SS Aqua's deck. Lightning cracked down, lighting up the air in uneven intervals. The visibility was terrible, the cold wind blowing the ocean liner left and right. The door to a cabin in the back of the boat opened, and a kid stammered out onto the deck. He wore a long-sleeved shirt with a collar, a belt, and somewhat-baggy pants. The wind was blowing around his already-messy hair. The boy slipped on the deck as the boat lurched forward. He grabbed the door-handle of the cabin next to his, and pulled himself up. He pounded on the door with his right hand, and shielded his eyes from the rain with the other hand.

"Rena, I'm going to the canteen to get some food for the night!" he yelled over the loud noise of the roaring ocean water to notify his friend.

"Eusel?" said a male's voice from inside, "you idiot, this is my room! Zechs! She's a room over!" it yelled.

"Oops? Would you tell her for me, Zechs? Thanks!" he said as he grabbed the handrail and made his way from the back of the boat to the middle section. The canteen door opened, and the roaring of the ocean echoed inside the dark, big room. He slammed the door, and pressed his back up against it, sighing. It was dark and quiet again.

He looked into the eerie darkness of the dining room. He walked past vacant tables and chairs, eventually reaching the front counter. He could smell something being cooked on the mass grill. The cook was turned around, facing the grill. Eusel sat down on a stool, and cleared his throat to get the fat man's attention.

"A-hem--"

"WAAH!" the chef startled in sheer surprise as he jumped and spun around. He looked at and examined Eusel with great difficulty in the dim lighting. He sighed and wiped sweat off of his forehead.

"Whew.. Eusel, you gave me a good scare. What do you need?" he asked as he turned on a lamp that dimly lit up the small area around them. It hardly lit up the canteen.

"I need something to eat. I'm starving, and I haven't eaten since we left Gateon Port..." Eusel answered to him.

"Well, here, I made a burger just now," the fat man said as he handed Eusel the food, "I just don't understand why your father brought you. You're only nine years old."

"Gee, thanks," Eusel replied sarcastically with a mouthful of food.

"No, not that I don't want you here, but were almost attacked by that shadow Poochyena," the cook said, "hey, Eusel, could you do me a favor?"

"Yeah, I guess so. What?" Eusel said.

"Take this here model boat," said the cook, handing Eusel a small bottle with a boat in it, "and return it to the captain. I had to remove the boat and clean it for him. Thanks, Eusel."

Eusel finished the rest of his burger, and set out onto the boat deck. He pushed his way against the wind to the captain's quarter. When he arrived, he entered and slammed the door behind his back. He put his back against the door and sighed. He looked around the room. Only a door was across the hallway. As Eusel opened it, the boat lurched harder than before. Eusel fell to the ground hard, crushing the bottle and model boat in his hand. He got up, a lot of blood dripping from his hand. He looked up from his hand to see the captain getting up from the floor quickly, and struggling with the steering wheel. Eusel ran up to the captain.

"Sir, I brought you your model ship, but when the ship shook, I accidentally crushed it! I'm sorry, but I--" Eusel started to explain, but the captain interrupted him.

"Young boy! It doesn't matter! The sea is way too stormy. We'll have to make a stop to the nearest land. Go to your cabin, and try to stay there. And boy, it's okay about my model ship..." the captain trailed off as he looked out the front windshield.

"Eusine?" he said as he noticed a man jump off the side of the boat.

"Dad!?" Eusel yelled. Both of them looked out the porthole in amazement. The captain murmured something into a small radio on the dashboard, then started to turn the ship.

"What about my dad??" Eusel yelled.

"I was told by Zech's father earlier that they were going to search for something in Johto, and it had to be done at all costs. I don't know what is worth jumping into these waters, but Eusine is a well-respected man. I trust him. Now get back to your cabin this instant," the captain demanded. Eusel slowly started for the door, opening it carefully. As soon as he passed through and closed the door behind him, he ran to his cabin, tears welling up in his eyes.

He got back to his cabin, and slammed the door. On the table, a note was held down by a lit candle. Eusel picked it up, and read it to himself. After a minute, he sat down on his bed.

"Dad's going to be home soon. He's just going to be gone for a while" he reassured himself. Eusel turned on the TV, but only a blue screen appeared.

"Huh, no reception," Eusel thought. He turned off the TV, turned over, and drifted off to sleep to the lullaby of the creaky ship.

July 6, 2000

My colleague, Professor Oak:

The SS aqua never arrived. I noticed that a horrid storm was passing over the route that they were to take. I fear that the worst has happened, but there may be hope. When it comes to Team Rocket, I also fear the worst. Their grip has put the whole region on hold. My radio is broadcasting the same signal on each station, which includes Team Rocket searching for their former leader, Giovanni.

On the other hand, Gold's journey is going well. He handed me a Togepi the other day, which is what hatched from the mystery egg. He already has six badges! His goal is becoming clearer with each passing day.

Until next time,
Professor Elm

PS. The storm that the SS Aqua got hit by is still raging, and has been raging for a week or so now.

June 28, 2000. . .

Eusel woke up, and squinted. He got up to turn the light off, which he forgot to do before he passed out. He could hear still hear the rain unrelentingly pounding the ship. He looked at the alarm clock.

9:00 AM

Eusel looked outside, but it was still dark out. However, the boat wasn't moving. He stepped out of his cabin, and almost slipped on the deck again. Eusel looked around, and saw that they were in a strange town, the ship tied off at the dock. He headed near his cabin, and knocked on the cabin door next to his.

"Rena!" he called. The door opened, and there stood a boy about Eusel's age. He had on the same attire, but he had blond, spiky, long hair that reached his shoulders. Eusel made a weird face upon seeing him.

"I am Zechs. This is my cabin. Nice to meet you," he said sarcastically.

"Oh.." Eusel started.

"How many times do I have to tell you?! Her cabin is right there! She does the same thing when looking for you!" he yelled.

"Well, whatever! Look that way!" Eusel said, and pointed past Zechs's head. Zechs turned, and his jaw dropped.

"What the... Where the heck are we?! We aren't in Vermilion City!!" he stated. Eusel shrugged coolly, his eyes locked on the big, bustling city. The city looked very far advanced from cities in Kanto, Johto, and possibly even Orre. The city stood suspended on a pier over the ocean. The skyscrapers were very few and far apart, but in between them were numerous streets, shops, and houses. One thing that stood out was a large statue of some sort of alien-like Pokemon. It stood in the center of what seemed to be a courtyard near the water, with people sitting at tables and eating around it. The base of the stature had a door and windows that looked like portholes in equal spaces.

Eusel turned around and started to knock on the cabin door next to his. Before he did, Zechs gave Eusel an almost-evil look. Eusel scratched the back of his head, laughed uneasily, and went a door down. He knocked hastily.

The door opened, revealing a young girl that was about Eusel and Zechs's age. She wore a long-sleeve shirt, a belt, and normal pants with knee-high boots. She had blue hair that reached the top of her back, and winged outward.

"Rena, look!" Eusel said hurriedly, pointing past her. She turned and was awestruck. The three stood there for a minute before Zechs spoke up.

"Look, here comes the captain! Eusel, ask him where we are," Zechs said in a low, quiet, and hasty tone. He shoved Eusel toward the approaching man. Eusel instantly recognized him from yesterday.

"What!? Why me?" Eusel yelled back at Zechs, but turned around to meet the gaze of the captain. Eusel gave an awkward laugh and scratched the back of his head again.

"Eh-heh-heh.. Hi, uh.. Can you tell us where we are? It's very important that we get to Vermilion City as soon as possible--" Eusel started before Zechs kicked the back of his knee.

"The storm forced us to dock at the nearest land, and so it was here. I'm not sure where exactly we are, because my radar isn't working. Why don't you kids go and find out for me where we are, okay? And take these Pokemon just in case," he explained, handing them a Pokeball each. Rena grabbed one first, then Zechs. Eusel reached out, pulled his hand back, and hesitantly grabbed one. They each hooked it to a Pokeball holder on their belts, as the captain continued, "Here, I'll send a crew mate to kill--err--accompany you, since you're all so young. Restel! Accompany these three, okay?" he finished. The tall, slender crewman simply nodded. The four got off the ship, the the crewman named Restel somewhat fare behind the three younger ones to keep an eye on them.

As they walked down a road, Zechs leaned over to Eusel and whispered, "I don't trust this sailor guy for some reason. I just get this bad feeling.." he trailed off before the three jumped to a large, deafening, cracking sound. Even townspeople stopped what they were doing to see what the disrupting sound was. Eusel whirled around to see Restel behind a Pokemon, as if commanding it. The Pokemon was a Rhyhorn, a large Pokemon made of rocky scales, resembling some kind of rhino. It roared, saw them, and ran toward them charging. As he saw his father do numerous times before, Eusel instinctively grabbed the Pokeball attached to his belt, and tossed it. In a flash of light, a male Nidoran stood in the way of the gargantuan beast. The Rhyhorn simply ran through it, tossing the small purple Pokemon over its shoulder. The Rhyhorn smashed into Zechs, sending him flying. It then stomped on the ground with its overwhelming weight, causing the concrete underneath it to buckle. The ground opened up, and Eusel started to fall in. As he free fell, he hit a pipe before he hit the water underneath the city. He saw the Rhyhorn falling too, but it disappeared into a white light, obviously have been recalled back into its Pokeball.

He looked past where the Rhyhorn was to see Restel standing at the mouth of the gaping hole. He could hear fire alarms ringing in the city above him.

"Mu-heh-heh," he could hear Restel's voice echoing, "it seems you're going to die the same way your father did yesterday!"

"No! He wrote that he jumped off the boat on purpose!" Eusel yelled back up. Restel lowered and shook his head, laughing evilly.

"Yes, but I was the one who wrote that message--Augh!" Restel cried aloud as if in pain. Eusel could see his knees buckle out from underneath him. Restel fell down the gaping hole, but wasn't as lucky as Eusel to land on something. The roaring water below engulfed Restel, and left no traces of his existence.

"You okay down in that hole?" yelled the voice of an elderly man. Eusel looked down into the depths, then looked back up.

"Yeah, I'm fine. I just want to get out of here," Eusel answered. At those words, a rope was flung down, and landed at Eusel's hands. He tugged at it it, making sure it was secure to climb up. After he tested it, he grabbed it with his other hand, and started to climb up. As he neared the top, he started to sweat. With a grunt, he pulled himself up, and what appeared to be two firefighters grabbed either arm an assisted him up. He was met by Rena, Zechs, and an old, short man with a white beard. Eusel looked at him funny.

"Hey there, boy! Did you see the action I pulled off? Boy, did the back of his knees feel the wrath of my Makuhita's Arm Thrust or what? Wa-ha-ha! And I even had an escape rope! That's telling you that I let no one mess with my town!" the old man started to ramble. Eusel was still looking at him funny as the firefighters carried an injured Zechs away on a stretcher. Rena gave Eusel a careful look, and followed the firefighters and Zechs.

"Oh, I'm sorry! I must introduce myself! I am Govash, mayor of this town known as Docklynn! You must be Eusel, the one that the lovely Rena was telling me about!" Govash said, "I must ask you, how did you get here? There are no boats of any sort on the piers." Eusel dropped his odd look with a surprised one. He whirled around, and saw that what Govash had said was true. There were no ships on the piers. But as he scanned, he noticed something on the horizon.

"Actually, it's that thing how we got here," Eusel said solemnly, pointing to the SS Aqua as it disappeared into the stormy waters.

"I daresay, Eusel," Govash said in awe, "I think they left you here! And what crazy loonies would travel in that storm?! That's going to be a ride through the shadows!"

Chapter 2: A Little Water Won't Kill You

October 8th, 2008

The sun gleamed down from the bright, blue sky, reflecting off of the gray water. On the horizon, dark clouds spiraled and water spouts raged. Though surrounded by eternal storms, Docklynn was experiencing some notably nice weather for this time of year. Regardless of the nice weather, a town meeting was taking place in the base of the alien-like structure. Inside, at a huge table, sat a bunch of the town's representatives. At the head of the table was Govash, and on either side of him were Rena and Eusel. Zechs was next to Eusel. While the older people were discussing plans about Docklynn, Eusel had his elbow on the table, holding his head up and trying to stay awake. He shut his eyes briefly before Zechs elbowed him.

"C'mon, it's almost done," he whispered. Eusel shifted in his chair, and looked at the clock. There was only five minutes left until the eight hour meeting was done. Eusel started to twiddle his thumbs until he heard Govash's relenting words: "Okay, meeting dismissed." Eusel jumped up, and ran out of the room, followed by Zechs and Rena, who were desperately trying to catch up with Eusel. Unlike him, Zechs and Rena were trying not to look hurried. As they got outside, Zechs yelled to Eusel.

"Eusel! Don't you remember that Govash wanted us after the meeting?!" he yelled. Eusel stopped running and came back to the two. He scratched the back of his head. In the next instant, the three were inside the now-empty meeting room, talking to Govash.

"You three have grown much sine your arrival here in 2000. Now that you're going to be 18 soon, I need you three to take your Pokemon training to the next level. If any of you had actually listened to what I was saying, we're establishing trade routes between here and Sulap town. I want you to run this letter to Jac k there. He owns the Aerial delivery service. I could bery well radio him, but the signals have been messed up for years, and just recently stopped working altogether," Govash explained. The three of them nodded, and Govash game the letter to Zechs.

Now that they were 17, Zechs, Rena, and Eusel were gaining diverse physical traits. Eusel looked pretty normal, with his trademark laid-back expression on his face. His brown, spiky hair was always messy. He wore a sleek jacket with a collar and black pants that matched it.

Zechs sported blond, downward-spiking long hair. He had on a jacket like Eusel's, but it was red and black instead of brown and gray. His pants were of the same colors.

Rena wore a skin-tight body suit with what looked like wires embedded into it, along with knee-high boots. She had blue hair that reached the top of her back, winging outward. Govash looked at the three endearingly, noticing how much they had changed.

"As future Pokemon Mercenaries, this will be good training for you," Govash finished, "for many fun battles will take place on the road. Good luck to you all." He turned around and entered his office at the end of the room, closing the door behind him. Rena and Eusel looked at Zechs holding the letter. Without a word, they left the meeting room and headed toward land. The three had never been outside of Docklynn since their arrival, so all three were excited to get off of the pier city and get onto real land. As they got to the exit of Docklynn, Eusel, Zechs, and Rena all stopped to look at the breathtaking view. Like a scene from an old film, huge rolling hills spanned over fields, with mountains surrounded by a forest in the middle of it all. Rena looked at Zechs and Eusel.

"Uh. . C'mon. Let's get going! No sense standing here looking around!" she urged. Zechs and Eusel looked briefly at her, then at each other. The three headed down the road with the sign that read "Sulap Town, this way."

As they walked, the gentle, rolling plains soon turned rocky and bumpy. The smooth path started to wind around huge rock formations. Eventually, they came to a cliff with a ravine at the bottom, forming a valley. Winded, Eusel sat down heavily on a rock near a small patch of grass.

"Ow, ow, ow. . . My feet!" he exclaimed as he pulled off his shoe and emptied three small stones out of it. "What's the point of this--" he started before he was cut off.

"--Shut up and let's go. The longer you whine and gripe, the longer you'll be on your feet," Zechs snapped. He motioned Rena over to him, and forcefully grabbed Eusel's arm, and tugged him over. He pointed to the ledge.

"Look, someone was kind enough to leave us a rope ladder to get down this cursed cliff," he said, then ran his pointed finger along an invisible path, "hopefully if this ravine isn't deeper than waist-high, we can walk through it. That will lead us to the forest, there. I think that will lead us to Sulap. . ." he trailed off, suddenly deep in thought.

"Oh, I don't want to get wet, though!" Eusel moaned. Before Zechs retorted, Rena spoke up.

"Eusel, come on! I don't feel like being here all day. A little water won't kill you!" she stated.

"But, you have a water proof suit--"

"Eusel" she said, cutting him off.

"Fine. . ." Eusel said, finally giving in. The trio started to descend the rope ladder. After much strife (and griping from Eusel), they reached the bottom.. There they stood, on the only dry patch of land in the river. All of the other parts of the river were right up to the wall of the canyon. Zechs waded in a few steps, dipped his hands in the water, and smelled it.

"It's all good to go. Let's keep it up," he confirmed. Rena waded in without second thoughts. Eusel started in, but jumped out.

"Whoa! That's cold!" he shouted. Rena turned and glared at him. Though she was quite far away, Eusel recoiled, then slowly waded in, shivering. Rena and Zechs were ahead of Eusel. As they entered the forest, the three ignored a sign that read, "Bring no food." There were still no traces of solid land. Even the trees grew right from the water. Zechs turned to Rena and Eusel.

"You two aren't cold at all, are you? Because hypothermia is something we want to avoid. It's been cooling down, and no sunlight can penetrate the trees' cover," Zechs asked them concernedly. Rena shook her head, and Eusel yelled no from behind. They continued.

"Hey, I have a question!" Eusel shouted from behind to them, "is this water supposed to be red?"

"What? It's not. . . red?" Zechs yelled back, noticing that the water was, indeed, red.

"It's moving underneath us!" Rena noted to the other two. At those words, all of the water erupted. Eusel and Rena were sent into the air. Eusel lost sight of Zechs beneath the explosion of water. After they landed back into the water, the water vapor was clouding Eusel's vision. Slowly, Eusel realized that they were surrounded by Octillery, a red colored octopus Pokemon with a round mouth to shoot projectiles. Rena yelled.

"Octillery! Zechs, where are you?!" she called out. Eusel looked around as Rena yelled. The Octillery were closing in on them, and with only one Pokemon each, it would be pointless to battle the countless Octillery. One wrapped its arms around Eusel. Then one wrapped around Rena. Struggling in vain to get them off, more and more Octillery wrapped around them, dragging them underwater. Just as Eusel was about to inhale a lungful of water, a wall of loud, screeching noise hit them all like a rock. Instantly, the Octillery slithered away. Eusel flailed to get back to the surface, where he gasped for air as he made it. He noticed Rena and Zechs also gasping for air. Next to Zechs, floating in the water, was the purple, rabbit-like Pokemon Whismur. Zech's looked at the two apologetically.

"Sorry it took so long to get to Chakujitsu," he said, calling Whismur by its nickname, "but I was kinda busy with some Octillery," he finished. Eusel smiled, and wrapped his arm around Zechs's neck, dunking him underwater.

"You dirty dog, you! Way to save us!" Eusel said, laughing. Zechs struggled to get Eusel off, coughing up water in the process.

"Get the hell off of me, you moron!" he yelled. He whipped around, continuing down the river. Rena and Eusel looked at each other with odd expressions on their faces.

After quietly following Zechs for a short while, the three made it to the end of the forest and onto a bank. Zechs looked up, noting the sky's change from bright blue to a dull gray. It was also starting to sprinkle. They followed Zechs again, reaching the entrance to Sulap town. Eusel looked at the sign for a minute, and sighed, relieved. Zechs and Rena watched as he marched majestically to Sulap. He was stopped short when he tripped though. A rope was wrapped around his foot, and pulled down a huge boulder from the tree above him. It just missed him, sending a shock wave and blasting Eusel back. If it weren't for the shock wave, he would've been stuck by a spike that whizzed by his head. He stood up quickly as three kids younger than Eusel, Rena, and Zechs emerged from the surrounding shrubs.

The two surrounding the obvious leader of this band looked around ten years old, while the kid in the middle looked slightly older, perhaps 13 or so.

"Hey, this is our turf!" said the leader. He wore a green t-shirt, blue shorts, and a green, backward cap. The other two were wearing the same attire, but the one to the leader's right wore blue, and the one to his left wore red. The one to his left was notably chubby, had red, curly hair, and had freckles.

"You can't get to Sulap Town!" said the one in blue.

"You're going to die!" said the one in red in a hasty manner. Zechs looked at Eusel, and spoke indirectly to the children.

"Looks like the kids want to play!" he chuckled. Eusel nodded as he was spoken to. Without waiting for a reply, the leader huffed, and the three kids sent out their Pokemon. Int a flash of light, stood three Pokemon. A Taillow, a small bird Pokemon, a Zigzagoon, a raccoon Pokemon, and Lotad, a small Pokemon with a round blue body, and a lily pad on the top of its head. The Taillow instantly few toward Eusel's head without command, but he ducked and dodged it.

"Go, Nixo!" Eusel yelled, tossing his Pokeball. There stood that same Nidoran from that very first day in Docklynn.

"Chakujitsu, teach these kids to mess with people their size!" Zechs retorted to the kids' comments as he called on Whismur. It stood there, its feet pointed inward as if it were scared. It looked around, and felt reassured to see Nixo as an ally.

"Help them out, Nina!" Rena commanded as she called upon her Pokemon. Rena's Pokemon was like Eusel's, a Nidoran, but her's was in the female version. It was a lighter blue than Nixo, and had smaller horns. It reared and readied for attack.

The awfully non orderly battle began. The six Pokemon charged into a midpoint, launching attacks at each other. The first to attack was Nixo, landing a Poison Sting on Lotad. As it leaped over Lotad to dodge a Tackle, it landed on Lotad's leaf, and launched off of it. However, it was struck unexpectedly by Taillow, which was flying through the air. As Nixo hit the ground, Taillow landed on it and started to bash it with its beak. Nina smashed its small horn into Taillow from a leaping jump, knocking it back with considerable force. Zigzagoon ran at surprising speed, hitting the already-weakened Nixo. Lotad tackled Nina, making it unable to help Nixo. Chakujitsu sent a devastating wave of sound in the form of Uproar to knock Lotad and Zigzagoon off their feet. Nixo and Nina returned to their trainers' feet.

"Seems like this is going to be too self-destructive to rush into battle like this," Rena observed.

"These Pokemon aren't half bad. . ." Eusel said, starting to become worried.

"Looks like this is going to require some strategy," Zechs said to Eusel and Rena.