Pokemon Embracing the Dark - Prologue

The night of terror. People were screaming in fear and running for their lives. Homes destroyed and possessions robbed. The strange assailants would not let anyone leave the village alive.

“Please, not my kids!” One woman screamed as she witnessed the mad murder of her children. She then was killed by the attacker.

“Tch! These people are so easy to kill!” One attacker hissed.

“Let’s rob the place!” Another encouraged.

The two attackers robbed the home and then lit it on fire. More attackers came over to rinse and repeat.

A blue haired man oversaw the attacks and grinned viciously. A red haired man looked in sorrow and had pity for the ones who were slain.

“Why so glum, brother?” The blue haired man asked, with irritation in his eyes.

“I don’t believe this should have happened... These people are innocent!” The red haired man cried.

“But these people! They are a threat to the survival of Cipher! We must act!” The blue haired man hissed.

“Your brother is right.” a short bald man spoke. “They could make rebellions against us and eliminate Cipher.”

The redhead said nothing else but to stare in horror. The village was like an endless hellfire as houses burned and turned to ashes.

In one household, the parents were prepping their daughter to leave the village, hoping that she will be able to live a peaceful life.

“Cindy, you have to leave this place.” The mother commanded. “We are in the middle of a genocide and your dad and I are afraid to lose you...”

“Mom, please! If I have to leave, then you and Dad should!” Cindy quivered, in fear that she will be losing her parents.

“Cindy... Your dad and I cannot leave this place. They will hunt you down if we leave with you. We have prepped Stan and Helen to leave as well. We will ensure your survivals. Here, take these bells with you. It’s a Tidal Bell and a Clear Bell. These are the symbols of our tribes. They’re for good luck.” Her mom comforted Cindy.

“Okay...” Cindy lamented. She took the bells and took her Poké Balls containing her beloved Mareep named Fluffy and her Voltorb named Explosivo.

Her mother wrapped a dark teal scarf around her. Then she gave her one last kiss and told her to run. Cindy ran away as fast as she could, only to hide somewhere first.

The attackers busted into the household and began wrecking the place.

“Okay, woman! Surrender now and your family’s lives will be spared!” The attacker spat.

“You would not be truthful about that. Those words are empty,” The father spoke. “You would go and slay us like Grumpig.”

“Well, you’re not wrong about that! You’re a threat to Cipher! Also, where are your kids?! We saw you send one away!” The attacker barked.

“What are you talking about? I only sent a Pokémon away.” The mother lied calmly.

“Lies! She was in the shape of a human! Gah, I have no time for this! Get ready for judgement day!” The attacker spoke in a harsh manner.

Bang! The parents ended up falling to the floor. Cindy saw this and her eyes widened, tears falling down her face. As she heard fire, she realized that her former house was gonna catch fire and that her parents would be cremated in the most horrifying way. She ran as fast as she could, still sobbing about how she could not save her parents.

~/~

A small girl who resembled Cindy but with glasses ran away but was stopped by the attackers. Instead of attacking her, they kidnapped her.

“Ahhhh! Where are you taking me?!” The girl shrieked.

“Hush. We are not gonna hurt you. In fact, you should join us.” One attacker said.

“Join you? For what?” The girl asked, curiosity sparked in her eyes.

“Research of how to make Pokémon powerful.” The blue haired man spoke, walking as if he took a stroll.

“Powerful? Aren’t Pokémon powerful naturally?” The girl replied, with skepticism.

“Why, yes.” The short bald man spoke. “But we need to draw out their true power! We could help people with this research!”

The girl pondered for a moment, wondering if this would give her a chance to live peacefully. Ultimately, she decided that she would join them, assuming that her family is dead, especially Cindy.

“I will join you. I have nowhere else to be... My family is dead and I feel like I have no one...” The girl frowned.

“Excellent.” The blue haired man smirked. “Do tell us... What is your name?”

“It’s Helen.” The girl replied, gripping her light gray scarf in shyness.

“We will take care of you, Helen. My name is Ardos, and this redhead is my brother, Eldes.” The blue haired man smiled.

“And my name is Greevil.” The bald man introduced himself to Helen.

There was a flying ship above them and Helen stared in awe. When the ship landed, she and the people boarded on it.

~/~

Cindy was far ahead into the desert, though she was shivering badly. Sand blew in her face and grew sad and angry at the same time. Tears fell in her face but she was not ready to give in to the winds.

“Hang in there, Explosivo and Fluffy!” Cindy said. “I will not give up!”

A gang of what appeared to be three guys in red and black saw Cindy. They were concerned that a kid had crossed their territory.

Cindy saw the guys and hoped they would help her. The guys approached her and noticed her ragged clothes.

“Whoa, what happened to you, kid?” One guy asked.

“She doesn’t look all that good...” Another guy commented, concerned about her ragged appearance and filthiness.

“Help... Me.” The girl sobbed quietly.

“Crud, what do we do now?!” The third guy fretted.

“We take her back to our hideout! Even if we are baddies, we are NOT gonna ditch the kid! C’mon, guys!” The first guy commanded. He then turned to the girl.

“Follow us!”

Cindy complied. She followed the guys after hearing that she will be taken to shelter.

“So... Where is this shelter?” Cindy questioned.

“Not far at all! Only a mile!” The first guy replied.

Cindy groaned. She had walked the whole journey away from her village and now she had to walk a little further. She looked down and frowned.

“Hey, cheer up, kid! We will have you stay with us for the night!” The second guy beamed.

Cindy smiled at him and clung onto him.

“Heh, look, Biden, she likes you!” The third guy laughed.

“Hey, if she feels comfortable, then I’ll guard her in all her ways!” Biden grinned big.

“Your name... Is Biden?” Cindy looked at him in the eyes.

“Yeah! What’s your name, squirt?” Biden asked, rubbing her hair.

“It’s Cindy. And Biden... I think you’re cool!” Cindy smiled.

Biden felt flattered and blushed. “Thanks! This guy leading us is named Wakin! And this guy is Agrev!”

“Heh, this kid’s cute.” Wakin commented.

“Hmm, I wonder what Boss would say. She looks like she’s only ten years old!” Agrev thought.

“We’ll worry about that later, Agrev!” Wakin hissed.

As they walked into the winds, Cindy kept clinging onto Biden and giggled at the thought of him being her bodyguard. Eventually, they have reached the mile and saw the hideout that Wakin had mentioned.

“Here we are. This is our hideout, Cindy.” Wakin grinned.

“Whoa. I’ve never seen a building in a canyon!” Cindy gasped.

“Ah, yes. This is Eclo Canyon, the place that holds our hideout. We live far from cities and towns because we’re criminals.” Agrev said.

“Criminals? As in baddies?” Cindy asked.

“Yeah. We’re baddies, squirt.” Biden replied, frowning and afraid of what Cindy would now think of him as.

“Baddies or not, you guys saved my life!” Cindy bursted. “I can’t thank you enough...”

“We’re not immoral. We may be criminals but we have hearts.” Wakin smiled sheepishly, a bit reluctant to admit that he and the guys have soft spots.

Cindy and the gang walked in. A tall, burly guy was standing right in front of them.

“Wakin! Biden! Agrev! Where were you?! And who is this kid?! What is she doing here?!” The burly man screamed.

“Whoa there, Boss! Calm down!” Wakin spoke in a somewhat booming voice.

Cindy hid behind Biden, afraid of how tall the man was.

“We found her all ragged up. We didn’t want to leave her in a state like this.” Agrev explained.

The man examined her and then he realized something.

“Boss?” Biden asked.

“I know her.” He spoke. “She’s the daughter of a friend I know.”

“Whoa, you mean to tell us that you know her?!” Wakin said, in shock.

“Heh. Guess I should have told you!” The man laughed.

Wakin took the time to recompose himself. Cindy stopped hiding behind Biden and let the man take a look at her. Agrev and Biden were still shocked at the revelation.

“Hey, Cindy. I know your dad. You don’t remember me but I visited your dad and at times babysat you! I’m Gonzap, boss of Team Snagem!” Gonzap grinned at her.

“Team Snagem? What is Team Snagem?” Cindy asked, puzzled.

“Team Snagem is an organization where we steal stuff.” Wakin answered.

“Steal stuff? Like riches and stuff like that?” Cindy thought.

“Yeah!” Wakin replied.

“What Wakin said! We only do that to survive!” Gonzap responded. “So Cindy... What brings you here?”

“My village... It has been violently destroyed. No one was spared... I fled under my mom’s wish. I... Have nowhere to go...” Cindy frowned, tears in her eyes.

“Aw, geez, so my friend’s been killed!” Gonzap said, enraged at the loss of his friend and the loss of her village. “I’m so sorry to hear that you lost your home...”

A moment of silence lingered until Gonzap finally brought himself to ask Cindy something. Something so important to him.

“Cindy... Would you like to become a member of Team Snagem? We would love to have you as part of the family!” Gonzap offered.

Wakin, Biden, and Agrev were more than happy to have Cindy be part of Team Snagem, especially with the revelation that their boss Gonzap knew her.

Without a thought, Cindy accepted.

“I would be more than happy to be part of Team Snagem!” Cindy smiled.

Gonzap made a hearty laugh. Wakin and the guys were hugging Cindy, telling her how joyous they were to have a new Team Snagem member.

“We’re joyous to have you be part of Team Snagem! This is also embarrassing to tell you this but you’re also the first and only female member!” Gonzap bursted and rubbed his head.

Cindy didn’t mind that comment he made. She was finally happy to have a group of people be her family, even though they were criminals.

“Wakin! You and the guys will show her the uniform right now! Then we will give her food and a bed to sleep in tonight!” Gonzap ordered.

“Yes, sir!” Wakin followed.

~/~

“So this is your uniform! There’s the red vest, the black cargo pants, and the black knee-high boots! The tank top can be either white, gray, or black.” Wakin explained.

Cindy chose the black tank and took the rest of the ensemble. Cindy silently sobbed joyful tears.

“This is so cool!” Cindy hugged Wakin.

Wakin was embarrassed of this but hugged her back. “Glad you like it!”

Cindy proceeded to change out of her rags and discard them. She then dressed herself in the uniform. She stepped out of the changing room and all the guys dropped their jaws. They thought she looked so cool in the uniform.

“Holy sand, you look awesome!” Biden fanboyed.

Agrev gave a thumps up. He was grinning.

“Hot mama, you’re cool!” Wakin grinned like a dork.

“Thanks!” Cindy responded and gave a thumbs up.

“Now, let’s get you dinner! You hungry?” Biden asked.

“Heck, yeah! Let’s eat!” Cindy responded, thinking of food.

Cindy and the gang headed down to the mess hall to get dinner. For once, Cindy had a genuine smile on her face. While she was still saddened about how she couldn’t save her family, she began to view Team Snagem as her family.

~/~

Cindy headed to her room and pulled out her Poké Balls.

“Explosivo. Fluffy. We’re going to be okay.” Cindy spoke to them as if they can hear her.

Before going to bed, she looked out on her window to look at the moon shining down on her. She smirked and fell asleep peacefully, forgetting her worries.