In the Rift…
“Is that a giant cheese wheel?” The Guardian of Storms wondered aloud.
They were being called on a special mission, a quest. Straight from the depths themselves.
“No, Pharus. Only you would think that. Cheese wheels aren’t cloaked in shadows!” Suieri sighed.
“But what if they were?” Pharus mused.
And at that moment, the sky broke. Splintering shards of jagged lightning erupted into the air, sending the four Guardians flying into the abyss of four separate portals. And then they were gone.
In the Detnahcne Woods
“Fate… Fate!” The Hisuian Zorua shook her friend awake.
“Wh-what?” The shiny Vulpix murmured sleepily.
“Your Orb of Secrets is glowing.” Sakurune said, pointing to the shimmering purple ball.
“You mean… the crystal ball?” Fate blinked, rubbing the sleep from her eyes.
“Yeah, that.” Sakurune shrugged.
Fate walked over to the ball and picked it up, observing it. The purple shifted to an indigo, then glimmered into a sudden orange, then a bright red.
Fate frowned, then sighed. “I have to go.”
“Go where? Secret apprentice duty?” Sakurune asked, “Can I come?”
“Wh- what? N-no! It’s not like that!” Fate shook her head, then thought for a moment, “I don’t know… usually these things are…”
“Dangerous?” Sakurune laughed, “More dangerous than that story about those shadow Lugia clones?”
“Perhaps.” Fate smiled, “You can come if you’re up to it.” It would be nice to have company.
Sakurune eagerly nodded, “Our own journey!”
“Indeed,” Fate replied, “Indeed.”
Meanwhile, on the coast of Rangeview Island
The water shimmered, colors of blues and greens and oranges rippling under the golden setting sun. As wild as fire itself, the waves crashed upon the shore, pulling the sand away from the paws of a lone Shinx.
The Shinx watched the waves with growing interest, then jumped with a startled mew as the water suddenly stopped. Then swirled, faster and faster. And faster still.
The Shinx watched in shock as the sand and water around them was pulled into the whirlpool, strangely leaving them where they were. And then… it stopped. All that remained was a shell-lined path leading towards the center of the vortex which was growing smaller and smaller. The path was fading.
Saiyo dipped a careful toe into the water, curious. They sniffed the path once, twice, three times, then followed it to the hole.
And then they jumped in and became swallowed by the unknown.
And the water stopped, returning to its natural state. It was as if nothing happened.
Meanwhile, in the Backalley
“Heads or tails.” Spades asked, casually tossing the coin in their right paw.
Harleii sighed, “Again?”
Spades nodded, then looked back to the customer, a Salazzle, “So? What will it be?”
The Salazzle rolled her eyes, “Tails, I guess.”
Spades flipped the coin, catching it and putting a paw over it, before revealing it to the Salazzle.
“Knew it.” The Salazzle hissed, then spun the game’s spinner.
“If only we could’ve rolled the dice again instead of all of that.” Harleii sighed, with a bit of a laugh. The Zorua glared at Spades, who gave a chuckle.
“Where’s all the fun in that?” The Eevee smirked.
“Actually playing the game.” Harleii retorted, shaking the repurposed Yahtzee cup. Spades tended to take every game a little too far… even for a simple game of Chutes and Ladders. The Eevee added so many extra things, it was crazy.
But before Harleii could roll, a silver flame erupted around the room, providing a warm, safe glow.
Harleii stepped back in reflex, “What’s going on? Spades? What sorcery is this?”
“None of my own.” Spades frowned, looking at the Salazzle, who shook her head.
“Then wha-” Harleii asked, breaking off as a shadow appeared among the flames.
Listen… a voice broke among the flames, then spoke…
At the Northern Edge
The Guardian shook out their fur, and froze, biting their lip. They shook their head and glared at the air around them, hissing in annoyance. Then they took a step into the shadows.
At the Evening Court
Suieri shook out her fur, and growled to herself. How could she have ben so careless? The Sui dug her claws into the starry ground, shutting her eyes tight, breathed, then opened her eyes again. And then she set off, back the way she was thrown.
At the bottom of the Ysiare Trench
They landed with a graceful plyoop, using the psychic energy in the water to cushion their would-have-been-bad descent into the murky, shadowy depths. Something was here.
Using their wings to help propel themselves forward, they moved farther down, navigating the darkness and unpredictable magical currents with difficulty.
“Aha.”
In a certain place with a certain mouse…
Pharus braced for impact into the seemingly deep water. Ignoring the music playing, they shut their eyes, flexing their toes. And then they landed.
It was only a few feet deep.
They shook their head and fur with a brrrrrrrrrrrrrr and leapt up onto the nearest ground. They took in their surroundings, quickly became overwhelmed, and sat down.
It’s a small world after all. It’s a small world after all. It’s a small world after all.
Pharus screamed, jumped back into the water, and tried to speed-pedal to the nearest exit. Then they realized the boat that was coming to them. With another screech, they yeeted themselves back onto the platform and started running.
Meanwhile, at the Seventh Peak
It was a lovely sunset for a picnic.
“Myth! You’ve outdone yourself” Lyra exclaimed, stuffing her mouth full of tiny sandwiches.
“It was nothing, just food.” Myth grinned, then abruptly turning to Fawkes, “Fawkes! These sandwiches do NOT need toasting!”
“But toasty. I like toa-” Fawkes said happily, then looked down at the now-smoking triangle, “Oh… I burnt it.”
“Mhm.” Myth sighed, throwing another sandwich at Fawke’s head.
“Ow! The sandwich was pointy!” Fawkes yelped as the sandwich hit them. Then the Zorua picked the sandwich off the ground, sniffed it, then ate it.
“Pebble! Get out of the tree!” Allegiant grumbled, looking up at the little Aron who had somehow made his way up the apple tree.
“But it’s so far down!” Pebble yelled back, “And Stella’s not here! I don’t even have my Yeehaw Hat!”
“Paynt?” Allegiant facepalmed.
“Already on it.” The Furfrou nodded, putting her front paws on the tree, and proceeded to scoot up the apple tree using just her arms and legs.
Just as Paynt and Aron reached the ground again, the sky erupted into jagged lightning, sparkling every which way and causing Lyra to stick her head in the ground, like an ostrich.
Allegiant leapt to his hind paws, picked up Paynt and threw her over his shoulder, gently snatching Pebble and putting the Aron under his arm like a little football, and started running. As he ran, he snatched up Fawkes, Lyra, and Myth, throwing them over his shoulder in a similar fashion.
He glanced behind him, realizing that the storm was bringing shadows. And so he kept running and running and running and run-
“HI! WELCOME TO CHILIS!” A fluffy white ball of violence leapt out into Allegiant’s path, brandishing a knife. The Manectric screeched to a halt.
“Mochi?” Allegiant asked, nervously prancing in place, “There’s… uh…”
“Shadows? Storms? MYSTERIES?” Mochi asked, somehow magically switching the knife to a glowstick and standing so she was somehow whisper-yelling into Allegiant’s ear. Then the Veevulpix took a step back and sat down. “We know.” She said calmly.
“We?” Myth asked, from way up on top of Lyra’s tail, which was on top of Paynt… who was still being carried by Allegiant.
“Us! Who else? Hello, fancy meeting you all here.” Nimbus said, awkwardly clambering out of the bush he was hiding in. Supposedly the one Mochi had leapt out of too. As the Vulpix untangled himself from the leaves and branches, they were followed by a fluffy Eevee, a clearly not amused splotchy Zorua, and a Salazzle.
The Eevee stepped up and offered Allegiant a paw, which the Manectric shook with some difficulty. “Heya folks, the name’s Spa- wait. I know you, never mind.” They slipped what seemed to be a business card into Paynt’s pockets. The splotchy Zorua facepalmed.
“Hey Harley, did you guys ever get my note about not letting Fawkes play organ pipes in the future?” Myth yelled.
Harleii nodded, “Yep! We’ll make sure they’re flameproof!”
“WHAT? YES? BUT NO?” Myth shouted.
“Awesome…” Fawkes’ eyes grew big.
“HEY GUYS? The shadows!” Lyra leapt onto her feet (still on Paynt’s back) and shook Myth, clinging to her friend. Myth rolled her eyes, smiled, and patted Lyra on the head. Fawkes blinked and turned away.
The Pokemon turned in the direction that Allegiant had come from, taking careful steps back as the shadows grew and turned into different shapes.
Two enormous shapes.
“GREAT STARCLAN AND ARCEUS AND GIRATINA WHAT IS THAT APPLESAUCE?” Lyra screamed.
“Them.” A voice sounded from behind the group. The Pokemon turned as a a purple fox materialized in front of them, shaking a glowing crystal ball so that it morphed back into a pendant.
“Sak, you here?” The newcomer asked, frantically turning around.
“Right here!” A beautiful Hisuian Zorua popped out of the bush that Nimbus and the others had been hiding in.
“Them? You? Huh?” Nimbus was lost now.
“My name is Fate. And this is my friend, Sakurune.” The purple fox said with a nod. Despite her small size, her authoritative tone carried throughout the whole group. Even Fawkes was silent. “And that… them… they are the Misguided. Shadows that were lost in the Rift and corrupted. They are Yveltal and Darkrai.”
“Yveltal and Darkrai, huh.” Allegiant frowned, setting his friends down. He tapped his chin thoughtfully, “Dark types. With Yveltal also part flying type. So… electric, ice, rock, fairy… fighting won’t do too much to Yveltal… but to Darkrai…” He murmured.
“How about friendly violence?” Mochi asked, brandishing her knife again.
“NO.” Nimbus shouted, immediately throwing himself onto his sister’s back.
“Friendly deals?” Spades offered.
Fate shook her head, “We have to fight.”
“Told you!” Mochi yelled, muffled under Nimbus’ fur.
“How are we supposed to fight, though? We can’t just electric them into oblivion like we did with the Shadow Lugia clone!” Myth yelled.
“Ah. That’s where… they come in…” Fate replied, pointing towards three figures walking across the sky to the now fully formed shadowy figures of a Yveltal and Darkrai.
The first, a light blue Suicune-like creature, was leading the group, charging towards the shadows. Following her, a young and majestic multi-tailed fox was bounding through the sky, though not directly towards the Yveltal and Darkrai. The last was a dark blue and gold Absol, covered in a sort of cartoony mouse themed accessories, with a churro in hand. A pair of mouse ears was on their head. The Absol looked slightly shaken, as if they had just come from a land of chaos.
“Suieri, Guardian of the Springs. She watches the rivers and lakes… primarily bodies of fresh water actually. To quote her, ‘Springs sound cooler than rivers.’ I didn’t tell you that though. Suieri is an ancient Suicune, also known as a Sui.” Fate motioned towards the light blue creature, “She primarily stays around Sahto in her free time, near the Wayward Stream, close to where it empties into the Shadows of the Sunian Ruins, Sahto’s myth-filled sea. She also can typically be found among the Azure Brook, opposite of the Wayward Stream.”
Fate tilted her head towards the fox, “That’s Astra, Guardian of the Divide. Well, full title: Guardian of the Divide and the Stars, or DS. Either of those. She’s a bit everywhere, but usually in Galar, Kanto, or perhaps some other universe.” Fawkes blinked.
“The Absol,” Fate continued (“Fate’s mentor.” Sakurune interrupted, before Fate gave her a friendly whack on the neck ruff.), “is Pharus, Guardian of Storms. Usually they’re a bit serious… not sure what’s happening there.” The shiny Vulpix shrugged, “Usually there’s one more… but I don’t see them. Maybe they’re still getting back from the Great Yeetening.”
“Great Yeet- never mind.” Myth shook their head, “So… what do we do about this? Help them? We shou-”
“No!” Fate cried, frantically jumping up and pacing around the group, “We shouldn’t do anything until they ask us too! They probably have a super secret trick up the-”
“WE DO NOT. ONLY MICKEY MOUSE.” Pharus yelled from up in the air, “AND THAT WAS ONLY ANNOYI-” The Absol broke off as shadows surrounded them and their fellow Guardians. The shadows, like snakes, wrapped around each of the three, trapping them.
“Help it is.” Myth nodded towards Allegiant, who nodded back. The Sylveon and the Manectric launched themselves into the air, propelled by their own fairy and electric powers. Electricity crackled around Allegiant’s mouth, growing larger and stronger, until the Manectric tilted their head back, launching an Electro Ball at the closest shadow, the shadow of Yveltal.
Meanwhile, Myth raced around the forest, dashing to the side, building up their own magic, before letting loose a beam of light, blasting the Darkrai with a love-filled Moonblast. The Sylveon caught a certain Alolan Vulpix running towards them out of the corner of their eye.
“Myth!” Lyra yelled, before shooting a sudden, yet direct and effective Ice Beam over Myth’s head. Myth ducked with a yelp as the Ice Beam found its mark, a dark void creature that was being formed by Darkrai.
Lyra tackled Myth into a hug.
Shrugging, Mochi ran towards the Alolan Vulpix and Sylveon, waving her knife in the air. She leapt at a second dark void creature, this one forming above Myth and Lyra, who both yelped and rolled out of the way.
Mochi yelled, releasing her claws, drawing the knife back. The creature screamed and disappeared. Mochi’s eyes gleamed, “That always works!”
Spades was busy laying out playing cards, placing them strategically around the area. Before doing a little dance. Immediately, each one of the cards turned into a different creature, a shadow similar to Darkrai’s, but these launched themselves towards the Yveltal.
“Go, chaos, go!” Spades yelled after them.
Harleii was busy bringing juice boxes to everyone, aided by Pebble. “YEEHAW!” Pebble yelled, waving a juice box around, accidentally smacking one of the Darkrai creatures in the face with it. “Ooooooh.” Pebble looked down at the shadow that was once a creature, as it disappeared.
The Salazzle hissed at the shadows surrounding her and Nimbus, as she powered up a poison jab, stabbing it at the dark opponents. Nimbus leapt up and let loose an icy wind, being careful to not hit the Salazzle.
A few feet away, Paynt was panicking, resorting to stomping around, not being able to exactly see with the shadows and her hair. Luckily, it was effective and the shadows dispersed under her paws.
In the middle of the chaos, a large wave appeared, nearly sweeping Allegiant away, who darted to the side just in time. As the water ran off, a lone Shinx was left in the middle of the battle. They blinked.
Saiyo looked around, eyes widening, and screamed.
Sakurune and Fate looked at the newcomer and screamed too.
Saiyo mewled and rolled on their back, dodging a dark pulse sent by Yveltal. The Shinx yowled and darted in the direction that the attack came from, charging up electricity by the pawstep. Allegiant stopped in his tracks, baffled by the tiny ball of Shinxy fury yelling at the giant legendary in the sky, but shrugged. The Manectric offered a paw up to the Shinx, who didn’t hesitate.
“Hang on.” Allegiant nodded, as the Shinx ran up his arm. Allegiant drew his arm back, then proceeded to throw the Shinx towards Yveltal, just like a football.
Saiyo hit their mark and yowled, crashing into the giant bird of death with a mighty Wild Charge. Yveltal shrieked, then began falling out of the sky.
With a sudden roar, one of the trapped Guardians freed themselves, lashing out at the shadowy tendrils around them. The shadows struggled, fighting against the glowing, rippling light blue energy struggling inside of them. Then they exploded.
With a similar roar, Suieri directed her power to also blast the shadows around Astra and Pharus. Then with a shared nod, the three Guardians raced towards the falling Yveltal, circling it and catching it with a web of combined energy. Then, Pharus nodded towards Fate.
“Want to be yeeted like that Shinx?” Sakurune asked. Fate nodded.
As she was soaring through the sky, Fate launched her orb at the Yveltal, who upon being hit, glimmered, faded, then disappeared. Sent back to the place it was trying to find, the land it called home.
Suieri sent a current of water, catching Saiyo, and sweeping both them and Allegiant towards Harleii and Pebble, who gave them both juice boxes.
On the other side of the area, the Darkrai sent out spiraling pools of darkness towards the tag-teaming duo of Lyra and Myth, who were launching Moonblast after Moonblast at the creature. Unfortunately, both were getting tired, even with Myth using Heal Bell.
Eventually, Mochi screeched, launching herself at the Darkrai, followed by Nimbus who was hanging onto his sister’s tail with his mouth. Together, the twins took down the Darkrai, causing it to vanish.
But the clouds still stayed. The Darkrai and the Yveltal were only shadows. Shadows cast by another Pokémon. Much like the cloud clones the Shadow Lugia had cast.
This wasn’t over. A screech rang out, reaching every Pokémon’s ears. And the true opponent emerged from the sky.
A fusion.
A Yveltal x Darkrai.
It flung a bolt of bright blue light, aiming for the whole area, intent on obliterating it.
An Eevee smiled, smirking to themselves.
The cards were all on the table. Spades yelled out, becoming surrounded by symbols and fire. The Eevee smirked, growled, and pointed towards the Darkrai.
The symbols flared. The ace up Spade’s sleeve was revealed.
The symbols turned into creatures, the same ones as before, but much more powerful. The creatures merged, flared, and surrounded the fusion. The mythical glimmered, then vanished, in the same pattern as its shadows did. The shadows charged at Darkrai Yveltal, corrupting everything in its path, even emerging from Darkrai Yveltal dark voids - turning the fusion’s own power against them.
Pharus nodded towards Astra, who followed the fusion, making sure it made its way home safe and sound.
The Absol lowered themselves to the ground, beckoning Fate closer. The Vulpix tilted her head and walked over towards Pharus, who immediately began a deep conversation.
The rest of the group stared at Spades in disbelief and confusion. The Eevee dusted themselves off, pausing when they felt the gazes upon them. They looked up and shrugged, “What? It took a while to charge up.”
Still on Harleii’s back, Pebble stood up, brandishing their new juice-box-straw-wrapper cowboy hat that was so small it barely fit his own head, “WHO WANTS JUICE AND SANDWICH?”
[3201 words]
