Pokémon Mystery Dungeon: Retaliation Corporation

Prologue: Fire in the Rain

A/N: Keeping this brief. If by chance you recognize the title and characters, this is a revamped and rewritten version of the 2017/2019 story. The original version has been completely scrapped.

Previously existing characters (mostly) remain. Some placements have been changed, but they are still there.

- Prologue: Fire in the Rain -

aRooOOO-oOoOoOooOo…

A flock of Spearow scattered from the trees. Sentret disappeared inside their nests hidden in the tall blades of grass. A Deerling blindly leaped across the field, kicking clumps of dirt in its panic.

A thousand howling souls. The chorus of the dead.

RoooOooo-OoOOo…

Panting. Despite the cool air from the heavy evening rain, his lungs were burning. From the moment the Chespin crawled out his den of Hilly Fields, he ran. He didn't look back. There was no reason to look back. All he could do was run.

He didn't know how long he was running. He didn't know how far he ran. He didn't know where he was. There were only vague instructions; to seek a specific landmark beyond the hills. It was impossible to miss. It was supposed to be impossible to miss, but it was nowhere to be seen. No matter how much or how long he ran, there were no signs of the land changing. Lost in the sea of grass, he was mercilessly pelted by rain, hunted like prey.

AaRoOooO-oooOoOOOoo!

On all fours now, Chespin sprinted down the vast hill. His face was assaulted by the rude wet blades. He spat as one slapped him across the mouth. Another stuck to his face. He shook his head, blinking the rain from his eyes.

(Keep running…! You have to keep running…!)

The bone-chilling howls continued to sound. The vibrations on the ground grew stronger. It was beneath his feet.

A guttural bark snapped behind him.

Heat. It blistered his back.

He looked back.

Fire.

Chespin lunged and dove down a hill. A heavy trail of flames missed his clawed foot by a hair. Despite the rain, the flames were still too strong. It left the slightest sting on his foot, stabbing and sharp. It lingered as he fell towards the steep ground. As he tucked his body into a ball, he landed in a roll, zipping through the sea of grass in a frantic blur.

Barking. It increased in volume.

He nicked a loose stone. His rolling body was catapulted in the air. Chespin gasped as he uncoiled his body. A small brown bag slipped free, jingling as it spun above his head. He stretched his paws, trying to reach for it, but he missed it by an inch as gravity sent him back down.

A vine shot out of his shoulder. It snatched the bag and brought it down with him. He held it close to his chest.

A growl rumbled behind him.

A dark canidae figure stood some feet away, outstretching its clawed paws towards him. A bright ball of orange rotated from inside its mouth. It flew out as a heavy stream of flames.

It smelled foul.

Chespin twisted his body, but a second too soon. The edge of the flames grazed his backside. The heat burned through his armor. It scorched him. He screamed.