Pokémon BW: Rise of Clarity (book 3 of the HBoD series)

Prologue: Frozen Monster

IMPORTANT!!!

THIS STORY IS THE 3RD BOOK IN MY HBOD SERIES!!! PLEASE READ "HERO BORN OF DARKNESS" AND "LIFE, DEATH, ORDER, AND CHAOS" BEFORE STARTING "RISE OF CLARITY"!!!

The blonde girl tugged on her cloak tighter as she held out the lantern, illuminating the falling flakes around her. She breathed softly, watching her breath in the cold air. She stood at the edge of the pine forest, staring into its dark depths just outside of Lacunosa Town. She remembered what she had heard that night a year ago. She remembered what she had felt. She knew what she had seen. No one had believed her then, accusing her of frightening the other children with a tale that was clearly not true.

"But it is true," she whispered to no one but the wind and snow. "I know it is." It was an early start to winter this year as cold winds blew in from the North. The snow was already piled several inches thick and didn't look like it would be stopping anytime soon. She was about ready to give into the cold and head home where her parents were probably freaking out when she heard it. Snow crunching under the weight of something heavy.

She stumbled through the snow towards the forest, holding up her lantern. She wrapped her scarf tighter around her neck as it threatened to be blown away. "Hello!? Hello!? Are you there!?"

Nothing. But she could tell something was different with the air. A different kind of cold and the feeling as if she was being watched. She blinked away snow as the flakes came down harder, obscuring her range of vision.

"I know you're there!" she cried out. "Please, I just want to see you!"

The wind picked up, blowing the snowflakes directly towards her. She held up her arm to shield herself as a roaring sound seemed to fill her ears. When it finally died away, she lowered her arm to see the snowflakes no longer falling in front of her. A wall of snow surrounded her in a circle as she stared at the outline of a large creature staring at her from the dark shadows of the trees. Yellow eyes flashed and it lumbered forwards, snow crunching beneath it as the lantern lit it up.

"Oh," the girl murmured as she saw its rugged features, sculpted misshapenly from scales and ice. She reached out with one hand, tears brimming beneath her eyes. Then the monster roared and everything became white.

...

With a gasp, Robert's eyes snapped open. His heart was racing and he struggled to remember what he was dreaming of. He blinked in frustration and sat up, holding his aching head. The sound of waves crashing against the rocky shore seemed to pound into him...

"HOLD UP!" Robert stood abruptly, staring wide-eyed at the ocean before him and the sand beneath his feet. "How the heck-!" He held his head, trying to remember as he scrunched up his face in deep concentration. He had gone to bed on the ship, pondering if Zeno snored or not, then... He straightened. "How did I end up here!?"

Footsteps behind him made him turn. Standing before him was a young woman with long white hair and piercing red eyes. She wore tattered jeans and a stained white sweater. Her eyes seemed distant before she fell forwards, collapsing in the sand at Robert's feet. 

...

"Get in there!" 

A person was shoved roughly into the shipping container, stumbling as he regained his footing. A sudden yelp made him turn around sharply to see the injured Zorua quivering on the floor where he was kicked in. 

"How dare you!" He glared at the people who had kidnapped him and Zorua as he held the Pokemon protectively in his arms. "What you're doing is wrong! You shouldn't treat Pokémon like that!"

"Hah," one of the muscular men covered in tattoos laughed boisterously, kicking him over, making Zorua yelp again. "Keep quiet, freak." He leaned down, removing his cigarette and blowing smoke in his face. "We've heard rumors about you. Boss might like what you have to offer. So keep that green head of yours in check until we can ship you off." He glanced down at the Dark type. "Or else."

He walked away, chuckling as he slammed the shipping container shut and both the young man and Pokémon were left in darkness.

And so it begins!!! Pokémon Black and White: Rise of Clarity is officially underway! And we start off with a girl in the snow, facing a frozen monster. And everyone's favorite character, Robert, is for whatever reason stranded with a mysterious stranger. What could I possibly be planning? Welp, if you all learned anything from HBoD and LDOC is that I'm truly TheUnpredictableFlame! I have so much planned for this book it's actually crazy! I hope you all enjoy this story as I write it! Toodles!