Alex splashed his face with the salty sea water, scrubbing himself clean. The various cuts that covered his hands stung but the mild pain was worth it. Throughout this journey, his entire body had become filthy and so washing himself freed him of that horrible, dirty feeling. Once he felt properly cleansed, he made his way back to shore. Being out in the open made Alex realise how much the temperature had dropped since the start of the year as a chilly autumn breeze forced him to shiver in his nudity.

With Azelf turning its back, Alex waded out of the ocean and walked across the beach to a palm tree where his clothes were situated. He flung them on, trying his best to ignore the tears and scuff marks on his uniform. Looking at the state of his blazer, his Mum would surely have crucified him. Still, Alex had left civilisation so tatty looking clothes should've really been the least of his worries.

Azelf must have sensed that his need for privacy had passed as the small pixie floated over to him and for about the millionth time, tugged at him, urging him onwards. He wanted to continue. He wanted to find out what was so incredibly important to the lake guardian but his stomach was starting to win this fight. It growled angrily, telling him to stop, rest and get some food as by this point, he was absolutely famished. Even so, he had no food. Eating wasn't an option.

"How much further?" Alex asked the Pokémon. "I don't know how much longer I can keep going." Azelf tilted its head and gave a look of concern. Seeming to understand, it pointed to where the beach turned from sandy to rocky and the small hills became sheer cliff faces. Maybe their destination was nearby.

In any case, Alex wasn't given much of a choice. Azelf set off again, heading for the cliffs and Alex had to follow. He couldn't turn back now. The route suddenly became dangerous as the rocky beach was more of a boulder field and each huge fragment of rock was angular and slippery. Taking his time, Alex slowly made his way across the hazards, taking extreme care not to slip. He looked up for a moment and saw what had to be where they were heading.

The cliff faces held a secret. They weren't just sheer mountains. In amongst them was an opening. They'd arrived at some kind of cave. As Alex got closer, he peered inside. It was pitch black. More enthusiastically than ever, Azelf urged him on, practically ordering him to enter the darkness. Apprehensively, he stepped inside.

His footsteps echoed all around. Even the tiny droplets of water that fell from the ceiling made a loud noise as they struck the floor. Staying as close to the mouth of the cave as possible, Alex edged forwards. His eyes adjusted and soon he could just about make out a figure, sitting down a few metres away from him.

"Who goes there?" said a deep, calm voice. Alex felt he recognised it from somewhere.

"Um, I'm Alex. Alex Murphy." Alex replied. By now, he could see that the man was cloaked. The man raised his head just enough for Alex to see the tip of a shaggy green beard. Alarm bells started ringing in Alex's head.

"The man himself?" the figure said with a tone of surprise. "Zoroark, you've done well."

"Wait-" Alex spun to see Azelf behind him give a devilish grin before the pixie seemed to melt away before his eyes. He shook his head, his eyes surely deceiving him as Azelf morphed into the black, fox-like Pokémon, Zoroark. He tried to run for the exit but now a large boulder revealed itself which Zoroark pushed, blocking the only entrance to the cave as well as the only light source. Illusion or reality, the lack of light completely disorientated Alex, meaning he had no hope of finding the exit.

"I've been waiting for this for a long time."

"You're that Darkness Warrior aren't you?!" Alex cried, his heartbeat beginning to rise as panic started to flow through his body. Now he knew where he recognised the voice from.

"Yes, we've met quite a few times before." the Darkness Warrior replied. "You're skills and willpower impressed me very much last year."

"How did you escape the police? I thought all of your lot got locked away for good."

"Do you really think that somebody who's partner Pokémon is known as the master of illusions can be captured so easily?" They'd never met for longer than ten minutes but this was a man that Alex truly hated. He and his stupid Zoroark were the main reason that any of the lake guardians were captured and they were responsible for Megan's kidnap.

"So are the Darkness Warriors coming back then?" Alex asked. "Did you break all of them out?"

"Of course not." the man calmly replied. "I was never a true part of their organisation. I was merely seeking information about their motives."

"You were a driving force in their plans last year! Without you, they had nothing!" Alex yelled, his temper rising. Despite the immense fear he felt, Alex was getting worked up enough to feel a little bit of fight in him.

"If that were the case, then right now, I'd be seeing you as a threat to my evil plans for world domination and would be looking to eliminate you." Alex began sweating badly at that thought. "In other words, brace yourself for an attack."

"You wouldn't." Alex breathed, not believing his own words. The Darkness Warriors were ruthless. The problem was, Alex had no way to defend himself. He'd sworn never to use his Pokémon again.

"Of course, you defeated Zoroark last year. Defending yourself from this attack should be no problem."

"I... I can't." Alex muttered. He swivelled around, trying to listen for the sound of an ambush or trying to make out shapes in the darkness. It was no use. He was done for.

"What's the matter?" the Darkness Warrior taunted. "Scared to use your own Pokémon?"

"You don't know what I've seen. You don't know what I've been through." Alex shook his head. He felt his hand instinctively move towards his Pokéballs but he fought against it. If this was the end then his friends would never suffer at his hands. The future he saw would never take place.

"Then it's your funeral. Zoroark, attack!"

"No!" Alex cried, grabbing a Pokéball and throwing it into the ground. The flash lit the whole cave up for a brief moment, revealing Garchomp for a split second. Expecting a savage attack, Alex turned and closed his eyes. The anticipated strike never came. He opened his eyes to see that light had refilled the cave, the entrance unblocked and his mighty dragon was standing tall giving him a look of concern.

"So what were you afraid of then?" the Darkness Warrior said. Zoroark hadn't even been close by. They had never planned on attacking.

"Garchomp?"

"Gar." The gruff beast gave a smile at its master, a rare sight indeed. Alex smiled back. The Darkness Warrior stood up and made his way over to Alex, placing a warm hand on his shoulder.

"You need to remember who you are young Murphy." the man said. "That's why I told Zoroark to use the disguise of Azelf. To remind you that last year, you were deemed worthy by a legendary Pokémon to be the being of willpower. Surely that same person couldn't go around sulking because of one loss? Surely that same person wouldn't be scared of his own Pokémon? Surely the being of willpower would not have his spirit broken by a mere nightmare?"

"How do you know about-"

"I've been watching you for a while now Murphy." the man admitted. "There will come a time when the world may need you again and you'll need to be stronger than ever."

"So, I'm not a murderer?" Alex asked, looking at Garchomp. "It was all just an illusion?"

"Yes. A simple trick." the man nodded. "Not one of Zoroark's though. We like to reserve our illusions for times of need; not for the crude sport of mental torture." Alex's mind was spinning slightly. There were so many things he wanted to ask but he still sensed that he couldn't trust this man.

"Now what?"

"You've taken your first steps." the man replied. "But there's still a way to go. For you to truly feel like yourself again, you must reclaim your title of New Moon's number one. You must face your fears and defeat Cooper. For now though, I suggest rest is required."

"Yeah. You couldn't have chosen a creepy cave closer to the academy could you?" Alex joked. His first joke for a long time.

"I can offer you food, water and shelter in my humble cavern. You may not fully trust me, but your body is in no condition to argue over trust."

"Thanks." Alex nodded in appreciation. It was true that he didn't trust the Darkness Warrior. But it was even more true that he was completely exhausted. He could probably sleep for a week.

"Oh and I thought you might appreciate these." the man said, handing over two strange objects. "I think you'll find them useful."

Alex took them and eyed the Darkness Warrior warily. Both objects had the same strange pattern on. "What are these?"

"I think it's best if you find that out for yourself."