Authors Note: I would like to thank Raichu and Darkon Shadows for their help with editing and characters.

Disclaimer - I do not own Pokémon.

Pokémon: Shadow Rangers pt. #1: Shadow's Wrath:
by Pika 53

Arc #1: Origins

  It was not by chance that this struggle came to be. Throughout history, many have searched for
the meaning of their existence. Dawn and Dusk, Light and Darkness, Life and Death. All of these
are essences of which contrast one another throughout their existence. One cannot exist without
the other yet; one must always lead the way.

  But where there is a period of one the other shall follow thus gaining its dominance over its rival.
This is the way it has been since life began. Although, sometimes, the pendulum's swing can be
disrupted and the equal balance disturbed to the point where chaos will take charge throwing the
fragile equilibrium into darkness.

All is not lost however, as this equilibrium can be re-established by the appearance of sacred beings
who can be the tiny light of hope in the infinite darkness of turmoil and right the wrong of the world.

  This may not take place at one moment, but perhaps across many eras. And now that
time of chaos shall rule again and the light must shine once again through the darkness.
Or life must face its fateful alternative half as the only other means of a solution.

  Bound by fate, parted by time and place, the chosen must rise and stand united
in their new forms to do battle to restore peace's everlasting harmony. However,
such a battle would involve two worlds fighting to save one!

Prologue:

  Sitting on a bench near a small recreational park, a young man gazed at the stars and
reflected on his life as he waited for an old friend to arrive. He didn't have to wait long
as the sound of rustling in the nearby trees brought a smile to the man's face.

“Did you summon me, master?” a voice spoke up from behind.

“I did.” the man replied glancing over his shoulder at the nearby pokémon.

Lucario, you do realize that you don't have to call me that.” he continued amused.

“Of course. Just call it an old habit.” the pokémon answered.

“Why don't you have a seat?”

As the pokémon settled in beside him, the man turned
his gaze back toward the starry night sky once more.

“I'm going under cover in one of the labs.” the man said after a pause.

“The job is a staff position for Cipher's newest project,
 but I don't know how long this assignment will last.”

“Searching for more information on the Jenova project are you?” Lucario asked.

The remark was made as a statement. The man nodded anyway, sighing as he did so.

“Don't worry, I'll make sure things run smoothly
 in your absence. I'll have Jovi accompany you.” the pokémon replied after a pause.

“Jovi? Do you really think I need a chaperone for this job?”

“Jovi should prove a useful ally in distributing any relevant information you uncover.
 After all, I'm certain it will be easier to maintain secrecy if you are not exposed.” Lucario replied.

“Point taken. Just make sure that Mew behaves herself on this one.” the man stated.

The pokémon nodded as silence fell between them.

“Master, do you remember the premonitions I've recently had?” Lucario asked suddenly.

“Yeah, what about them?”

“Be wary. I fear this mission will have a significant impact on events yet to come.”

“If that's the case, we're likely to gain a few new recruits soon.” the man responded.

“When the time comes, I will train the young ones myself.” Lucario said firmly.

“Good.”

“How is the prototype's testing going?” the man asked after a pause.

“The device is still not operating at full power, but I think it’s
 a problem with user integration rather than a hardware problem.” Lucario replied.

The man murmured in reply.

“If the snag machine would only work, then we could put
 an end to Cipher and it's nefarious plans.” he spoke up after a pause.

“Indeed.” the pokémon agreed.

Silence fell between them briefly before the pokémon suddenly rose to its feet.

“Alan...”

“Yes?”

“Don't let your scientific ambitions override your objectivity.”

“I'll be careful old friend.” Alan replied.

With a nod, Lucario turned and left. After the pokémon had disappeared, Alan got up and walked away.

***************

  Gazing out of the control room's forward view port, Samuel Banner anxiously watched
as the newest occupant was admitted to the confines of the cavernous chamber known
formally as Bio Lab #2. As he recalled, the grunts had their own name for the place,
the kennel. The name seemed to fit as he remembered that all the pokémon housed here
were all too unstable to be used in battle.

  Banner sighed with relief as the hatch slid shut on the tank holding the newly admitted
pokémon. If memory served, the tank was like a heavily protected armored truck. The only
difference was, that the walls were reinforced not to keep people out, but the pokémon inside.

  Turning to one of the techs, Banner issued a final series of instructions before making his way
out of the room. As he made his way down the hallway, Banner reflected on the irony of the
current situation. Such a waste, he thought, that the pride of his research had become nothing
more than a useless drone.

  To add insult to injury, the Cipher administrator's were only interested in creating
powerful pokémon. They cared nothing about what dangers were involved in the
production of shadow pokémon, only in results. To make matters worse, the clone
that was the pride of his research had been transformed into a freakish beast.

Stepping into his personal office, Banner sighed again as he
took a seat at his desk. A Gardevoir materialized beside him.

“Welcome doctor.” it greeted.

“Give me a casualty report.” Banner replied.

“There were five trainers and fifty-five pokémon killed while
 fifteen trainers and sixty-five pokémon were injured during the rampage.” the Gardevoir answered.

  Banner nodded. On his desk, a small computer flicked to life displaying a
video feed that showed the clone they'd just transported performing some
sort of kata. This was followed by the appearance of the training staff
which had led to the creature's rampage.

“How did HX-1 learn to fight like that?” he asked after a pause.

“Unknown.“”

There was a moment of hesitation from the mirage pokémon causing Banner to turn and cast a glance at it.

“My only conclusion is that Dr. Krane had something to do with it.” Gardevoir replied.

“Sounds like something he'd do although I don't know how he managed.” Banner grumbled bitterly.

“Granted that the Mew line can theoretically learn every possible ability
 known to exist,  it doesn't seem possible that the creature could learn how
 to fight the way it did so quickly.” he continued.

Banner leaned back in his chair and placed a hand across his forehead.
The gesture caused his eyes to close and a weary sigh to escape his lips.

“Is something wrong doctor?”

“I'm fine physically but I don't know how much longer I can continue to do
 this kind of work. Those fools have perverted my research!” Banner replied.

  Silence fell between them. After a few minutes had passed the silence
was broken as Banner realized that the mirage had more to say on the
subject. Opening his eyes, Banner turned and cast a glance in order to
coax the information out of his reluctant assistant.

“Have you considered terminating the project?”

“As much as I'd like to that doesn't seem like a viable option. If I were
 to do such a thing Donovan would have my head.” Banner replied.

“Perhaps there might be someone at the facility you could talk to
 that could help. Someone attached to the Genesis project perhaps.”

Banner nodded thoughtfully at the suggestion.

“It could work I suppose. By the way, what's the status of HX-2?”

“HX-2 is in the final stages of incubation and should awaken soon.” Gardevoir replied.

“Good.”

Banner typed a command on his computer and the video feed was replaced
by a side by side comparison of two separate project specimens.

“So, similar yet so different.” he commented to himself dryly.

“Who do you suggest I talk to?”

“From my own observations I recommend you discuss the issue with Dr. Wesker.”

Banner cocked an eyebrow at the statement.

“What makes you think he'll be any use?” he asked turning toward the mirage.

“Well, according to my observations he seems to act differently then the others or at least his pokémon do.”

“Really?”

  On his computer, the side by side comparison was replaced by a video feed
of a pokémon. This was followed by images of several other pokémon. As he
looked on, Banner noticed that all the pokémon in the photos were surrounded
by a distinctive blue aura.

“As you may already know, over the past six months Dr. Wesker has been seen
 with a variety of different pokémon. However, as you can see here, there seems
 to be an anomaly concerning all of the pokémon in question.” Gardevoir said.

“What sort of anomaly?”

“According to my observations, all the pokémon in question share similar genetic profiles.” Gardevoir replied.

“I believe the pokémon is a shape shifter.”

Banner nodded thoughtfully at the news.

“Who else knows about this?” he asked.

“No one else knows about this.” Gardevoir replied.

“Good. Let's keep it that way.”

“Where is Mr. Wesker now?” he continued after a pause.

  On his computer, the images of pokémon were replaced
by a video feed of a man with dark shades working in
another lab room.

“Dr. Wesker is currently with HX-2 in D-block.”

  Gardevoir suddenly froze up, staring into space.
As his computer screen went dark, Banner cast a
confused glance at the mirage.

“What's the matter?”

“My sensors have just detected a pokémon entering the compound
 with a similar genetic profile to that of all the pokémon in question.”

Banner allowed a small smile cross his face.

“Good. Where was the breach located?”

“The breach occurred near the north end of the compound.”

“I suppose I'd better be going then.” Banner stated rising to his feet.

“I shall await your return, doctor.”

  With that, the Gardevoir vanished as Banner made his way out of the room.
Within minutes Banner had made his way down the hallway and reached a
corridor junction. Taking a left turn at the junction, Banner spotted a Vulpix
standing at the far end of an adjacent hallway.

  The Vulpix appeared to be getting it's bearings but seemed somewhat
familiar with the layout of the facility. As he approached, Banner noticed
several things that made the little creature stand out.

  The first was a brown leather bag that looked out of place on a pokémon.
The second were the creature's eyes. If memory served, the pokémon's
deep blue eyes were similar to that of the mystery pokémon photos he'd
just seen.

“Hello there.” he spoke up softly.

  At the sound of his voice, the little Vulpix froze up. Banner looked
on amused as the Vulpix slowly turned in his direction. The pokémon,
he noted, didn't seem to be frightened of him but somewhat nervous
instead.

“You're perfectly alright. I won't hurt you.”

  The Vulpix continued to stare at him with uncertainty, frozen to the spot as Banner
carefully scrutinized the creature. At the sound of approaching footsteps, both of them
turned to see another man approaching them. Banner allowed another small smile to
cross his face as he recognized the approaching figure.

The figure in question however, seemed surprised to see him.

“Mr. Wesker can I speak to you for a moment in private?” he asked.