Far away an egg was just hatching. The Pokémon huddled around it were nervous and a little jumpy, flinching each time it moved. They had finally received the sign. An egg was laid with the insignia of a sun over a shadowed plain emblazoned on its side. The sign was unmistakable, sent by the elemental of light. This new born babe would be the companion and helper of the newly human elemental.

The egg started to shake rapidly, cracks spider webbing their way across its surface. It shone blinding white, and with a huge crack, it split. The mother, a female Lucario missing her chest spike, stepped forward to hold her babe. It was a beautiful baby Riolu, but something was different about it. For one thing, it didn't cry. It didn't even make a sound. When it looked up into its mother's eyes, its own were seen clearly. That's when her mother panicked. They were off-white with a slight purplish hue and had no pupils. Her baby was blind.

*Chris*

I woke up feeling like I had just gotten the snot beaten out of me. I slowly raised myself to a sitting position, and then it hit me. Darkrai! I quickly formed an aura sphere, my head on a swivel. It was then that I noticed that I was in a hospital room. I let the sphere fade and started to lie back down. I must have missed the whole thing. I remembered seeing Brander die, but then nothing else. Right about then I felt I was going to be sick. There was a sharp pain in the pit of my stomach, I guess it was grief. That wasn't all it was though, because right then my stomach growled. At the same time I felt a furry face nuzzle the back of my neck.

"Morning sleepy head," I heard Rena say from behind me. She must have been sleeping at the wooden stand at the head of the hospital bed. "You had me worried; you've been out for five days. At least your stomach is okay though. Want me to call the nurse? She can get you something to eat."

Instead of responding, I turned around and brought Rena in close. She gave a surprised yelp, but when she realized what I was doing and that I was crying into her shoulder, she just nuzzled me back. We were like that for a long time.

*Neo*

I was woken by the resident Nurse Joy running past my chair in the waiting room. "What's wrong Nurse Joy?" I inquired of her before she could get too far away.

"Oh, it's you Neo. Come quickly. I was watching the monitors and your trainer is awake."

That got my ears to perk up a bit. Chris had been asleep for five days by now. I was worried he would never wake up. I had been the first to discover where he was along with Rena and Dylan. Dylan had helped us to find him using his supersonic attack. We found Kyle and him in a secret back room and broke through a wall to get to them.

Rena and I carried Chris out, while Dylan supported a dazed Agent Tappainer out of the room with one of his wings. After we got them both to the infirmary we waited three whole days with nothing. At that point Kyle had recovered and recounted the events, as unbelievable as they were. When that was said Rena started sleeping at the head of Chris's bed, trying to keep him as comfortable as possible. Now that he was awake I was sure that we were going to walk in on something awkward, but right then I didn't care. I just wanted to see Chris. On the way I ran past where Dylan was sleeping and got him up. I explained the situation and he hurriedly followed me. He didn't admit it, but he probably missed Chris more than me, and that's saying something.

We reached Chris's room and opened the door, sure enough, the two lovebirds were holding each other close, but it seemed sweet instead of awkward. Nurse Joy let herwelf out, leaving us with Chris alone.

*Agent Johnathan 'Kyle' Tappainer*


It was two days after I first woke up, and Doctor Maynard already had me in his office.

"So you're saying Darkrai killed Brander? This is troubling news indeed. I knew he was on the loose, but I didn't know he was so close. This could become a serious problem if left unchecked. How did you drive it off anyway? Or was it the boy?"

"It was Chris. When he saw Brander die, he started glowing. He got so bright I couldn't look at him. When the light dimmed Darkrai was gone. After that I blacked out. I woke up to find Chris's team rescuing us."

"And that's all you know." Dr. Maynard inquired.

"Yes, if I knew more I would have told you." It was strange, almost like The Doctor didn't believe me. He never acted like this. I had never lied to him before, so why would I do that now? Ah well, an agent's duty to The Order was to follow orders and not to question leadership. I would just have to keep my questions to myself.

*Dylan*

I waited patiently off to the side for Rena and Neo to get their time in with Chris. When they finally backed off a bit, I decided to approach. "How are you feeling Chris?" I asked quietly. I wasn't, and to this day am still not, a people person. You can imagine then how weird this felt to me. Chris had become my first real friend and now that he was hurt, I had a little trouble speaking. But anyway, I digress.

"I've been better," he said with a small chuckle, "but I'm sure glad you guys are here. I really appreciate you being here for me."

"That's good to hear." An awkward silence followed. He was the first one to break it.

"So, I hear you were the one who found me," he said gratefully.

"Aw, it was nothing," I replied, looking down to my feet as I blushed. Right then I was really glad I had thick fur.

"I wanted to thank you. If it wasn't for you who knows how long I would have been down there. I want you to know that despite how you try to act so distant, your still part of the team. I trust you with my life, and I'm glad to have you on board, thanks."

Right then I felt just about as great as I possibly could. I never expected anyone to feel that way about me. Heck, I was practically glowing with happiness. Wait, glowing? I was glowing!

The glow started to fade and everyone was watching me. "What happened?" I asked. "I feel great!"

Chris was looking at me with aw. "Dylan, you just evolved! Congratulations, you're a Crobat!"

I was speechless. This was the last thing I was expecting.

*Chris*

The next few months went by without incident. Dylan excelled in battle and we gained an even closer bond, although still not of close as Rena and I were of course. Neo was overly friendly and we hung out as much as possible when I wasn't being trained in combat or gadgetry by Agent Tappainer. Since Doctor Brander was gone, Kyle also covered my energy manipulation training as well. He didn't know how to do it himself of course, but I showed him what the Doctor had done with the machines he had used and soon I was able to practice like before. While all this was going on, a very special Riolu was slowly being prepared for the day she would meet me. Of course I didn't know this at the time.

*Riolu*

During the first few weeks of my life, my world was dark in the isolated region where my mother and I lived. Like all Riolu, I developed fast and learned to talk within days, but my blindness worried my mother. Still, she was good to me and raised me to the best of her ability. After the first month we had a great surprise, I could sense something, almost like a glow, coming from my mother. When I described it and asked her what it was, she told me it was her aura. She got really excited when she explained it to me.

"Aura is the energy found in all living things. It can only be read by a rare few beings, mainly Lucario and Riolu like us. Even amongst us it is rare though. Do you realize what this means honey? You'll be able to see!" Her voice was so filled with joy I couldn't help but be splashed with the overflow. I was really excited when she told me this as well.

"You mean it mom, I'll be able to see?" I said with wonder.

"Well, not like I do, but yes. You will be able to see right into the core of a person. Aura is a beautiful thing. It doesn't lie; it always shows the true nature of a person."

"Is that why yours is so bright?" I asked, trying to see if she knew how to interpret it.

"Yes, I suppose it is. Aura is usually some shade of blue, the brighter it is, the purer the person. The opposite goes for the darker. If the aura is dark, the person is corrupt or evil. No one's aura is perfect of course. We each have our dark patches here and there, but that's normal. If you get good at reading aura, you'll never have to worry about whether or not you can trust someone. You'll already know, but that's not the best part. If you work on it, you'll be able to see the aura of all the miniscule creatures that coat the walls, rocks, trees, and well, everything. In essence, you'll be able to see shapes and things just as anyone else."

This was a lot to think about at the time. If this was true, then maybe the human I was supposed to serve would be able to find some use in me after all. I sure hoped he would. I knew of him, but I didn't know what a blind Riolu could do to help.

Now I had a purpose. Each day, I would get up early in the morning. My mom would give me some of my favorite berries, Cheri berries, for breakfast. I know; who likes spicy berries, right? I don't know why I do, I just do.

Anyway, after that, I would focus on seeing the aura around me. My first few attempts frustrated me, but I found that if I concentrated really hard, I could see a small patch of it. It was a general sphere around me about three feet in diameter. I could see with it in all directions, but not very far. Still, what I found amazed me. I no longer needed the guide rails my mother had so carefully placed for me. I could just keep them within my aura bubble and be just fine.

This continued on for quite a few months, and I quickly got better and better. It got to a point that if I stood real still and concentrated hard, my sphere could stretch for a whole mile. This, apparently, was a unheard of feat; it made my mother very proud. One day, after I practiced a little more, my mother called me inside to our small living room, well cave really, but it wasn't musty or anything. It was well kept and had a nice skylight with a big tree growing through it.

Anyway, when I got inside, I immediately knew something was up. From my mother's diminished aura I could tell she was upset. The first thing she did was hold me close. She smiled down at me and began to speak to me in her caring, motherly voice. "Sweetie, you've grown so much over such a short time. I love you more than anything, and I only want what's best for you, but you are ready now. It's time to take you to your new trainer. I've held onto you for as long as I can, but the Council of Elders has made it quite clear that it is time. They say you have to leave tomorrow." When she finished, she had tears in her eyes. I felt like crying to when she told me, but I knew it would only make it worse. Instead, I just hugged her tighter, and tried my best to make her feel like it wasn't all that bad.

That night, I fell into an uneasy sleep, and morning came way too soon. The head Elder showed up right at sunrise to take me away, but my mother insisted on taking me herself. We began to walk, holding each other close the whole time. Even though this would be goodbye, I couldn't help but think that this wasn't the end, and that things were going to work themselves out eventually. For now though, I just hoped that my mother could wait for me, so that I could know someone cared for me no matter what. We came across the building all too soon. It was a huge complex, larger than any cave. My mother held my paw all the tighter, then we walked up to the front entrance. For my mother, this was goodbye, but for me, this was to be a new beginning. I took a deep breath, and then stepped inside.Chapter End Notes:Wow, this chapter was harder to write tha I thought it would be. After many re-typings and edits (actually just two), I am finally happy with what I posted. Please leave your comments in the reviews section. By the way, I hope to get the next chapter up much sooner