It was a cold Winter's morning and the week before Christmas. Snow filled winds blew through the air and the fire was blazing at full heat. Sat together in the living room of their house, Patchy the Pachirisu (M) and Dimples the Piplup (F) were warming up in front of the roaring fire.
"I've been having those dreams again..." Said Patchy.
"What happened in them this time?" Dimples replied curiously.
As the two sat together discussing the topic, they both knew what was happening and what had to be done. Patchy yawned, cuddling into his tail to fall asleep on, but Dimple couldn't have been any more awake after hearing what Patchy had been dreaming about. They closed their eyes simultaneously...
Patchy fell asleep at once but Dimples was troubled. She knew what Patchy was dreaming about and it bothered her. Even while awake she saw the images behind her eyes as she was having the same dreams: The Shadow Pokémon.
It appeared as a dark shape, emitting purple light in rays from its body and causing Dimples to be afraid to go to sleep. Patchy wasn't worried; he found the dreams exciting and seemed each night to be more and more eager to return to those visions. They had started off as an odd dream, a one off, which spooked Dimples and Patchy as they recounted the dream to each other and realized they had shared the same one. Patchy put it down to the huge amount of Oran berries they had eaten that evening, and they laughed about it. When the dreams returned with increasing frequency, it stopped being a joke and started worrying Dimples. She became jumpy whenever the Shadow Pokémon was mentioned, but she knew she could not ignore it.
That night they had discussed what the dreams could mean. Patchy's electric attacks had been getting more powerful lately, and he thought the dreams were helping him become stronger, and was annoyed that Dimples would not let the Shadow help her. She resisted its influence, and worried about Patchy. He was getting irritable and defensive. As she thought about this she joined him in sleep…
It was dark. A faint purple light appeared in front of Patchy and Dimples, who turned to each other, knowing they were sharing the same dream. Patchy seemed transfixed by the Shadow as he walked into its purple light; Dimples tried to pull him back but he shook her off. As he got closer his white and blue fur darkened, he grew larger and held out a glowing purple paw to Dimples.
"Join me," he said.
"No," said Dimples, "look at yourself, look what has happened. I don't like it."
"There is nothing to be afraid of," said Patchy, and then added in a deep, strangled voice, "YOU DIM-WITTED PIPLUP!"
"Patchy…" Dimples cried.
"I'm sorry, I didn't mean…" Patchy started, then again in that strange voice, "IF YOU WON'T JOIN US, THEN YOU ARE AGAINST US" electric jolts shot from Patchy's cheeks and stunned Piplup. "Dimples! I'm so sorry…"
The next day Dimples would not wake up. Patchy held her fragile body in his arms, listening to her faint breathing. He was scared. His fur was almost black and purple now, and he knew that what he had done to Dimples in the dream had really happened. He felt so ashamed.
"KEKEKEKEKEE…." Laughed a dark shape in the corner of the room, as strong gusts of wind blew the curtains open and the fire went out. The room felt very cold. "WELL DONE LITTLE ONE." It could be no other. It was the Shadow.
"NO!" Shouted Patchy, "What have you done?!"
"KEKEKEKEKEE…" It laughed, "DON'T YOU MEAN, WHAT HAVE YOU DONE? KEKEKEKEKEEEE…" It came closer now, its purple claws, detached from its body, snatching at the air, its cold white snake-like eyes shining in the dark. "YOU DID THIS. I TAUGHT YOU. I GAVE YOU POWER. LITTLE ONE. LOOK AT YOURSELF. LOOK HOW STRONG YOU ARE."
"I don't want to be strong!" Patchy cried, then in a voice he did not recognize but could only be coming from himself, "MASTER… THANK YOU. TOGETHER WE WILL DESTROY THE WEAK AND GIVE GLORY TO THE GREAT." As he said this he knew it to be true, and felt a place in his chest growing cold, freezing, breaking, a useless part of him, that part that stood in the way of true power, closing off from the world. He felt its faint voice, pleading with him as it faded into the darkness. "KEKEKEKEKEEE…" Patchy laughed.
Dimples began to wake, still held by Patchy. Not the Patchy she knew – this one was cold and dark. Still, he held her as her lost friend had done; an embrace left over from that other life. She was too scared to open her eyes. But she knew she must do something.
"Patchy," she said weakly, "please don't do this. I can still feel your heart, I know my friend is still in there somewhere." Her voice made Patchy drop her in surprise. "Dimples?" he said, as his heart began to warm.
"LITTLE ONE," said the Shadow, "I HAVE CHANGED YOU AND YOU ARE NO LONGER WHO YOU ONCE WERE. YOU DO NOT NEED THIS POKEMON. DESTROY HER."
"Dimples," Patchy cried as he felt the power flowing from him, "I cannot control my power and I am scared. Please run away from me, I don't want to hurt you." Dimples would not run. She would not leave her friend to face the Shadow on his own.
"No," she said, "no matter what you do to me, I will not let you go through this alone. I know it is not you, but the Shadow."
"SILENCE, FOOL!" Yelled the Shadow, and then, to Patchy, "DO AS I SAY, LITTLE ONE!" and Patchy let loose a full electric shock into Dimples. Electricity was her weakness and she struggled against the powerful attack.
"Patchy," she cried, "remember who you are." Patchy resisted his power, still yelling at Dimples to run although he knew she would not. He could not stop the attack, but instead turned to face the Shadow. He knew that destroying the Shadow was the only way to save Dimples, but that in doing so he would also destroy himself. He had no choice; he could not kill his best friend.
"PARICHISU!!!!!!!!!!!" He shouted, and let the full force of his attack become absorbed by the Shadow.
"WHAT ARE YOU DOING?" Screamed the Shadow, and faded back into the nightmare-world where it belonged. Dimples knew he had been banished forever and he would not disturb them any longer.
"Patchy," she whispered, "it's over." Patchy would not respond. She started crying, and he flickered his eyes open.
"Dimples," he whispered back, "you stayed," and fell asleep. Patchy was safe. His 'sacrifice' had saved him, and he had not disappeared with the Shadow. Dimples waited by his side until he awoke, though she was exhausted from the attacks. When he woke up they looked into each other's eyes and held each other for a long time. Their love and friendship was unbreakable.
