Chapter 1
The date is September 1, 1799, and the time is roughly 6:32 AM. A single day has passed since Lord Darach Hirokazu Konokama and Lady Caitlyn Harada became a married couple, and inherited the thrones at Kokuran Palace, located north of Mahogany Town. While Darach is still asleep, Caitlyn is dressed for the day.
"Ah, what a beautiful morning, right Darach?" Caitlyn spoke as she pulled back the balcony curtains.
All Darach could do in response was reorient himself while remaining asleep.
"Hmm, still not awake yet?" Caitlyn asked. "I have just the thing for that. Moro, come wake up your master at once!"
At that point, the Ninetales jumped up onto the bed and started playfully licking Darach's face.
"Okay! I'm awake! You can stop now, Moro!" Darach laughed.
"Well, good morning, Sir Konokama," Caitlyn began.
"Good morning, Caitlyn," Darach replied."Did you sleep well?"
"Indeed I have," Caitlyn responded. "By the way, today is the day that Ecruteak City holds its annual Festival of Ho-Oh, and it starts at approximately 9:00. What do you say we go there after breakfast?"
"There are no objections on my behalf," Darach replied. "I absolutely love to attend festivals."
Once they were finished with breakfast, Darach and Caitlyn made off toward Ecruteak City. Darach rode on the back of his Arcanine named Byrne, while Caitlyn rode on Moro's back. For the first part of the trek, there was nothing but farm land as far as the eye could see. On a whim, Darach decided to take a slight detour through the forest, and Caitlyn went right along with him. Up ahead was a very familiar location to both of them: the tall, grassy area that they had spent countless afternoons together as children.
"There's no mistake that we're getting awfully close," Caitlyn pointed out.
"Yes, indeed," Darach replied. "The scent of Sakura is getting ever stronger."
Darach and Caitlyn arrived at the festival with five minutes to spare. Just as he was about to dismount from Byrne, Darach felt someone place their hand on his shoulder.
"Fancy I'd meet you guys here..." the mysterious voice said.
Darach knew immediately who this voice belonged to by just listening to the person. It turns out that it was Kono Kama, the world-renowned traveling samurai, and Darach's very own father.
"And fancy we'd do the same, Kono," Darach said. "Have you been keeping well, now that your son is the king of Johto?"
"Oh, yes indeed," Kono replied. "It is of great honor to finally become part of the Royal Family... and it is most pleasurable to see you as well, Lady Caitlyn."
"Good morrow, m'lord," Caitlyn spoke respectfully. "Beautiful September morning, yes?"
"Very beautiful indeed," Kono responded. "Are you guys ready for some fun times? Because the festival begins in approximately three minutes. And having said that, I shall see you around."
"All right," Darach said. "See you later, Kono."
"See you later, Lord Kono!" Caitlyn replied.
After this point, Darach dismounted from Byrne and put the Arcanine away in his miniature Aura Staff, while Caitlyn did likewise with Moro. As soon as they finished, the gates had opened for the festival. Darach and Caitlyn toured the grounds in counterclockwise order, starting at the "Strongest Man of Johto" competition, an event where, with a sledgehammer, Darach succeeded at pounding in an iron stake within four seconds, while everyone else finished within ten. As a result of winning the competition, Darach received one-thousand PokéDollars as his award.
The next stop was a jewelry stand at which Caitlyn wanted to have a quick look. After much negotiation with the merchant, Darach ended up paying only 100 PokéDollars for everything Caitlyn wanted. The next stop for Darach was the weapons stand, where he found and bought various staffs, swords, and firearms for a very low price. An hour had passed, and Ho-Oh had officially made his appearance before Darach and Caitlyn, offering a free ride above the clouds, an offer they couldn't refuse.
"What a beautiful view of the Johto Region," Caitlyn commented. "Until now, I've never actually gotten a chance to see Johto from a... bird's eye perspective."
"You couldn't have said it better, Lady Caitlyn," Ho-Oh replied. "This is why I absolutely love to give people a lift, if you will."
"Amazing," Darach thought. "I can actually see Father Kono's house from here. Awesome!"
"Ah, yes! I see it too," Caitlyn exclaimed.
"I am afraid I'm not too keen about Mahogany Town," Ho-Oh declared. "Isn't Kono's house the one that's right there in the middle of town?"
"That's the one," Darach replied.
"Yes, indeed. By the way, isn't that the Kanto region in the distance?" Caitlyn questioned.
"You've got a very keen eye, m'lady," Ho-Oh answered. "Indeed it is Kanto. Well, I've got other people waiting for me in Ecruteak, so what do you say we head on back?"
"Yeah, we've got a number of things to accomplish this afternoon, so I think it would be best that we return," Caitlyn replied.
As soon as Darach, Caitlyn, and Ho-Oh landed from their flight above the clouds, everything became suddenly dark all around them. Darach and Caitlyn met up with Kono Kama, and from thence, all three made haste back to Kokuran Palace. Almost immediately after their arrival, Caitlyn began to feel faint, and moments before crashing to the ground, Darach and Kono caught Caitlyn and laid her to rest on their bed. Ryu, Kono's Lucario, promptly arrived at Kono's side.
"Sir Kama," Ryu began, "what happened to Lady Caitlyn?"
"I sense that she has fallen into catatonic sleep, but how that came to be, I am very uncertain about it," Kono replied.
"Whoever did this to fair Lady Caitlyn will pay with their life!" Ryu said angrily.
"Ryu!" Darach said sternly, "Take it easy. There's a time and place for anger, but now is neither that time nor place."
"My son," Kono began, "I would like to accompany you on the quest, but unfortunately, I cannot go with you, as I have vowed to remain at Her Majesty's side. However, that isn't to say I'll be with you through the trials you have yet to face. Here, I want you to have my blade for your protection. Go ahead, take it. I hold no objections. And Ryu, please assist my son on his quest."
"As you wish, my liege," Ryu acknowledged. "Come along then, Darach. We have no time to dilly-dally."