Thunderlight

Prologue: Enter, Our Heroes

In any one town, a number of things can go wrong. These range on a scale from mild inconvenience to horrific atrocity. Right now, the little town nestled at the foot of a large mountain is undergoing what most would call a mild inconvenience. But the townsfolk seem pretty obstinant on treating it like a horrific atrocity.

"Bandits!" An old mienfoo screams, waving her cane at one of the thugs in a vain attempt to ward them off her property. The bandit ducks from her vicious swing, uprooting her entire mailbox before making a swift getaway. "Someone, stop them!"

Civilians yelp and leap aside from the bandits like they're contaminated with the plague. There's three of them in total, grabbing whatever they can get their grimy little paws on and stuffing it in their arms. Greedily, they've already grabbed more than they can handle, barely able to waddle down the road with all their loot. If one of the townsfolk simply stuck out a foot, they could trip all three vagrants and capture them in one go.

But they don't. As easy as getting the mail, the three bandits hobble down the street, jeering and guffawing at their success. One of them drops a painted rock they picked up from someone's yard. The crook looks down at the fallen rock, then up at the massive stack of junk in their hands. Crouching, slowly and with great difficulty, they strain to pick it up. They stretch their fingers and cuss the rock out like it will get the pebble to hop back into their hand. A newspaper on top of their pile wobbles precariously.

Just as the bandit snatches the rock up with a cry of triumph, the newspaper falls and hits their head. They shout a few quick curses, bending to try and pick it up. In the depths of their immense concentration, they fail to notice the sound of roaring waves rolling ever closer. The other two robbers hear it, though, and turn. Their eyes widen comically in fright at the flood rushing through the street.

Unwilling to release their treasures, they simply waddle faster. In no time at all, the wave catches up with them, crashing into them and sending their loot flying into the air. Before their findings plummet into the water, a strong silky thread shoots through the air and wraps around the goods, catching them. With the combination of fearsome water and the use of String Shot, the civilians immediately know who's come to their rescue.

"It's them!" The old mienfoo cries, thrilled as the two heroes leap over her home, their shadows covering her. "Unova's Paladins!"

The heroes land in the street, the samurott calming the water until it sinks back into the earth, and the leavanny catching the stolen items wrapped in silk. Throughout the street, citizens cheer as if they've been rescued from the apocalypse. The samurott basks in the praise while his partner smiles bashfully.

Spitting water and spite, the thugs push themselves to their feet. Covered in mud and soaked to the bone, whatever intimidating front they had on has long since washed away. Their knees knock together as they stare their foes in the eye. Anyone with two brain cells knows how this battle ends: Unova's Paladins never lose.

That's why it's not much of a surprise that the bandits immediately turn tail and run.

The leavanny quickly sets the recovered items aside, dashing after the thieves. His speed is blinding, almost like a strike of lighting. With ease, he catches up to the crooks, leaping onto a building wall above them to cut off their path. Flailing, the three outlaws spin around to turn back. The samurott, large and imposing, blocks their escape.

From windows and rooftops, citizens watch with eager attention. No one wants to miss a second of the fight, not when they have the opportunity to watch the one and only Unova's Paladins take down some bad guys!

The crooks back into each other, unaware of the spectacle they've become. They're far too busy trying not to get captured. But with both heroes on either end of the street, their chances are looking slim. Cornered, the looters have no other choice. They fight back.

All at once, they charge the leavanny, hoping to bulldoze past his thin frame. They don't get very far before a jet of water slams into their backs, forcing them into the dirt. They flounder and kick and thrash, trying to break free. The samurott keeps the pressure on them as he casually saunters over and presses his front paws on their backs. Holding them down, he lets up with the water. In a flash, the leavanny spins around them and strings them all up in strong, white fiber. As easily as that, the bandits are captured.

The onlooking civilians cheer, hooting and hollering with rip-roaring excitement. Some even cry. The leavanny looks incredibly flattered and slightly embarrassed by this. The samurott soaks it all in. With unbounding enthusiasm, the locals rush in to greet and thank their saviors.

"Montgomery and Lenny, is it?" The old mienfoo asks as she approaches Unova's Paladins. "It's an honor to meet the both of you."

"Please, call me Mott," the samurott, Montgomery, says with a dashing smile. Nodding to the trussed up thieves, he adds, "These bandits won't be giving you guys trouble for a long time now."

The outlaws grumble forlornly to themselves. One of them tries to kick a pebble, but it only goes about an inch.

"Everyone's stuff is over here!" Lenny the leavanny calls, waving the townspeople over. "As soon as I get this darn silk off it, I'll help everyone find what they're missing."

A group of kids race over, jumping wildly in hopes to be noticed by their heroes. "Sirs? Sirs!"

Lenny smiles and kneels down to their level. "Howdy there. Something I can help you with?"

Suddenly, the group grows shy. They all shuffle and hide their faces. Some giggle awkwardly. But eventually, the bravest of them steps forward: a young patrat girl, with a bandage on her nose.

Finding her courage and her voice, she asks, "Sirs, will you tell us how you got to be so cool?"

The kids leap up in excitement, clamouring for all the details. Lenny stands, laughing lightly and dusting himself off. He replies, "Well now, I don't think we're all that special."

Mott frowns. "I do."

"We're just like any of you," Lenny insists. "As long as y'all look out for each other and lend a hand when your neighbor is in need, there's no difference between us and you."

"That's cheesy bullshit and you know it," the girl complains. Somewhere in the crowd, her parents gasp in horror, whether for her language or her blunt attitude toward such revered heroes, no one can say. Perhaps both. But neither of them seem bothered by her address, in fact, Mott's grin grows. "You guys are Unova's most powerful, indestructible, kickass team! How did you get to be so strong?"

Lenny shifts uncertainly for a moment, as if trying to scrounge up some lesson to pass on to the girl. "Because we ate our veggies every day?"

"Okay, this is painful," Mott interrupts, scoffing as he affectionately nudges Lenny out of the way. Looking down at the girl, he asks, "What's your name?"

She puffs her chest proudly. "Alice!"

"Well, Alice: do you want to hear the real story of how we became the most unstoppable team in the world?"

The kids practically shoot into the air with excitement, all screaming variations of incredibly emphatic 'yes's. The adults chuckle from the sidelines, endeared, but lean forward just slightly, eager to hear what he has to say.

Mott smiles knowingly as he begins his tale.

"Well, this whole story starts with me being an arrogant asshole, which is a pretty common theme..."