One of my Pokémon stories. Yes, I am a Pokémon fan. Please enjoy.
No one may copy this story without my express written permission.
Chapter 1: Flying high, in the sky,
A secret life, with little strife.
"WHA-HOO!!!
Flying was wonderful!
"Whoa, Crobat, careful, I might fall off!"
Crobat looked as best she could at me and grinned.
We had been flying all day and night, and the speed was exhilarating. I might have been scared, had I not trusted Crobat so completely.
"Wow."
With the moonlight shining on us, it looked as though we were skimming the stars.
"OK Crobat," I whispered in her ear,
"let's land now."
As Crobat touched down, I jumped off, then staggered as my knees buckled.
"Oof. Guess I need to get my land legs back."
Crobat grinned at me, having basically no legs of her own, and then took off for her nightly hunt.
I shook my head slowly, then went inside my house.
Charap was there, ready to greet me with a squawk.
The silly Chatot had gotten herself caught in the telephone wire again.
As I untangled her, I reflected on how different Crobat and Charap were.
With Crobat and I, it was love at first sight, with Charap, well.... For the first month, Charap had hated me, and I hated Charap right back.
Upstart, mischievous, and with selective hearing, Charap was enough to make anyone kill the Poke'mon, then commit suicide.
But eventually, I had realized Charap just needed some TLC.
I had gotten her in a trade, and she had felt abandoned. Now Charap was one of my best Poke'mon.
"There you go." I murmured.
"Squawk!" went Charap, which I took to be a sign of thanks. She had obviously been neglecting her human speech skills. I would have to talk to her about that in the morning.
I went up to bed, already in my pajamas.
I left the big window open, so that Crobat could come back in later, and checked on Pigeotto.
He was fine, thankfully, as he was recovering from some mysterious illness.
I got in bed, and eventually closed my eyes.
Chapter 2: Pigeon Stare
I opened my eyes to see Pigeotto standing over me.
"WAA!" I shrieked.
Pigeotto cocked his head at me.
"Glad you're feeling better." I groaned.
It was still early, and flying yesterday had really tired me out, because of how late it was when we stopped.
With a sigh, I rolled out of bed, knowing that Pigeotto would keep me up now.
"Arrggg."
Crobat would be asleep, I knew that much in my fuzzy, sleep-deprived mind.
And Charap would want breakfast. That's likely why Pigeotto woke me up, although he still had no appetite of his own.
Still half asleep, I stumbled downstairs, Pigeotto guiding me, as had become our routine.
Sure enough, Charap was there, waiting for breakfast, although it took a few seconds for that to register in my brain.
You are probably realizing now that I rarely use Pokeballs. In all honesty, I usually only use them for transporting wounded Poke'mon, or if any of my Poke'mon are too big for where we are.
Back to the story.
As we sat down(well, I sat down, and Pigeotto and Charap sort of perched), me with a plate of toast, because I wasn't very hungry yet, and the bird Poke'mon with pokefood(mainly berrys) I cleared my throat and asked Charap to wake up Crobat. Looking mutinously at me, for she had still not eaten, Charap went up the stairs.
When she returned with Crobat(our stairs are extra wide to make room for Crobat), I started speaking.
"I was thinking last evening, that for a trio of bird Poke'mon and a trainer, we don't move around a lot. Here is what I was thinking. We travel a bit, meet new trainers, make new friends, and then go back to our previous life. I mean, I know we already have the Gym Badges, but let's face it, we basically just flew from one Gym to another, never really exploring. Do ya want to try it?"
I looked at my friends, slightly hopeful, slightly apprehensive.
Charap cocked her head first, thinking about it, then let out a trilling noise.
"What was that?" I asked meaningfully.
Charap blinked, then said, "Yep".
Pigeotto put a talon on the table to show he was in favor, and Crobat looked from left to right, then shrugged and bared her teeth.
"All right! Let's go later today, once I get my bag packed."
We had a plan.
Chapter 3:Soaring Bright
I was packed, and we were ready to go.
"All right, who do I ride first?"
My Poke'mon looked at each other, then held a quick conference.
They apparently decided on Pigeotto.
"You feel up to this?" I asked him.
Pigeotto nodded.
"Okay then. Charap, you fly with us. Crobat, you go in the Pokeball. I know you don't like flying by day that much."
Charap flew up, and Crobat dissapeared into her Pokeball.
"We're off!" I shouted.
And so we were.
Late evening had come, but the sky was still blue, not quite black yet. The sun had set, and the Half-Moon was brighter than I ever remembered.
I had switched to riding Crobat, since Pigeotto was tired, and Crobat's night vision was better anyway, not to mention the fact that she had echolocation.
I thought we were over a forest, or at least some tree growth, for I could see large, shadowy shapes underneath us. Crobat was enjoying the experience and the view, I could tell. She kept turning her head, to take in all of the scenery, and possibly to help with the ecolocation, I suppose, but I'm almost sure she was using that as an excuse.
"All right, let's bed down for the night," I said.
"we did some good traveling today. I'm proud."
We landed, and I got out the gear.
But as I lay down on my mat, I saw something. It had to be a Poke'mon.
Crobat saw it too, her eyes swiveling.
It was gliding, above the trees, and across the moon. I couldn't quite make it out, although it was glowing as brightly as the moon herself. The funny thing was, although it crossed the moon, I didn't see its shadow. As though it WAS the moon.
With a beautiful cry, it vanished.
I closed my eyes. Maybe I should have felt cautious, but I didn't. Instead, the feeling the Poke'mon brought was welcoming and comforting.
I fell asleep looking at Crobat, and found that I had wonderful dreams that night.
Chapter 4: Gilberto
For the second time in two days, I woke up to someone standing over me.
"WAA!" I shrieked again.
Man, talk about déjà vu.
A boy was there, somewhere around twelve to sixteen by the looks of it.
Charap was sniffing at his pant leg curiously.
"Who-wha?" I asked, blinking the sleep out of my eyes.
"Very communicative." he said, moving slightly closer.
"You can call me Gilberto. But not Gilbert. I saw you last night, and thought it would startle you if I came out of the darkness."
"And that didn't?" I asked dryly.
"Besides, Crobat would have warned me."
"You have a Crobat?" he asked, truly interested now.
I whistled, and Crobat(hanging from a large tree a little ways away) flew up.
"Wow." Gilberto said, staring at her.
"I knew you had a Chatot, of course, and I could have sworn I saw another bird Poke'mon. But a Crobat...." he shook his head.
I smiled. Clever Pigeotto had hidden. The only one of my Poke'mon apparently.
"It takes a lot of friendship to have a Crobat partner." he added.
I nodded. Charap thought he was all right, and I trusted her judgement.
"The other Poke'mon you saw was Pigeotto." I explained.
"Pigeotto probably won't come out until he's sure you're okay."
Gilberto nodded. "I like Pigeottos."
"Good. Now, we must be on our way."
"Oh." Gilberto looked saddened.
"Where are you going?"
"To explore." I told him.
"Who knows, we might even battle the Elite Four. We have the Badges."
"Hmmmm. I'm going to Vunergeda City. You want to travel with me?"
As much as I hated to admit it, Vunergeda WAS on our map. I looked at Charap.
She looked back, seeming to say, Why not? Maybe I would teach her to actually say that sometime.
"All right." I said grudgingly.
"But on one condition. I fly in front, you on the side, one of my Poke'mon on the other side, and one of them in back."
Even though Charap trusted him, I wanted to keep an eye on Gilberto.
He shrugged.
"Whatever."
I called to Pigeotto and hopped on.
Gilberto held out a Pokeball and a Pigeot came out.
I eyed it, wondering when Pigeotto will evolve.
Pigeotto looked admiringly at the Pigeot and took off.
Chapter 5: Flight in the Sky, Sun above,
Poke'mon racing, the Wind we Love
Gilberto called something to me.
"What?!" I shouted.
Pigeotto flew closer.
"I said, is it just me, or is it a beautiful day?"
"It's just you!" I called back, but I winked at him. It WAS a beautiful day, with a few wispy clouds in the sky, which was a nice blue, and the sun was shining brightly. It was perfect for flying.
Suddenly Pigeotto sped up, looking slyly at the Pigeot.
"WHOA!" I shouted.
"Pigeotto, what-?" I looked in his eyes and suddenly knew. He wanted to race the Pigeot.
"Hey, Gilberto! Pigeotto wants to race!"
"Okay!" he yelled back. And Pigeot put on a burst of speed.
"WAA-HHOO!!!! YEAH!"
The two of them racing... It was almost as fast as when Crobat had to escape some Combee.
They swerved, they tried maneuvers. No matter what though, they were nearly equal.
I looked at Gilberto. His hair was flat from the wind, and he was squinting.
I laughed at how he looked, coughing from the wind, then realized that I probably looked the same.
"How about that tree is the end?!" called Gilberto when we were close together.
I looked ahead and saw a large sycamore coming up.
"Sure!" I nodded in case he didn't hear me, and pointed out the sycamore to Pigeotto.
He put on a burst of speed, but I could see he was tiring rapidly.
It was close...Pigeot got there first.
"Good job." I said to Pigeotto.
We landed.
"That was great!"
Gilberto had followed us down.
"Whew! And guess what? That race did more than exercise our Poke'mon! Look at this!"
He pulled out a map and pointed out a spot to me, about halfway to where we were going.
"If we keep this up, we'll be there in no time!"
"Okay," I nodded.
"but Pigeotto needs to rest. Crobat could do it though."
Why don't we rest for the night?" he suggested.
"Pigeot is tired too."
So we stayed there.
Maybe Gilberto wasn't so bad after all.
Chapter 6: Bird Keeper. Or not.
The next morning we were fresh and ready to go.
"Wait for it... You have to be at the right angle...YES!"
I looked to see what was going on.
Gilberto was in a tree, shouting commands to Pigeot, who was doing some fancy maneuvers, and Pigeotto was trying to copy Pigeot.
Suddenly Pigeot curved and did a steep dive. Pigeotto, not expecting it, had to avoid Pigeot, and as a result went into a spiral that nearly resulted in Pigeotto hitting the tree next to one Gilberto was in.
I laughed, glad Pigeotto was feeling better, and of course, laughing at what happened.
The sight of Gilberto literally jumping in fright out of the tree had made my day.
"Hey, come here, I want to show you something." he beckoned to me.
I walked over.
"Check out what Pigeot can do."
Pigeot turned, flew up, and flipped backwards in midair, his crest streaming behind him.
I watched in awe, until I realized Gilberto was staring at me.
"What?"
"Are you a bird keeper?"
The question caught me off guard. I mean, talk about a change of subject.
"I mean," he shifted.
"Do you only catch bird Poke'mon?"
"In case you haven't noticed," I began hotly,
"Crobat is not a bird."
I stared at my feet.
"I used to have more Poke'mon. Different Types."
"What happened to them?"
"Just don't ask, OK?"
I didn't want to talk about this now.
Why had I even told him that I used to have more? Was it because I had kept my secret so long, I needed to share it?
"Okay."
He looked mystified, but didn't pry.
"I guess you could say that Flying Types tend to be some of my strongest." I said finally.
He nodded, apparently still wondering.
Well, let him wonder. What happened-no, I wasn't going to talk about it. Not yet.
"We should go." I said, standing up and brushing off my pants.
"If we want to be be in the city by tommorow, we have to leave." I said, trying to keep my voice steady. Memories.... Man, can they be painful.
I called Crobat and we took off.
Chapter 7: Them
Well, the day had finally arrived. Today we were going to arrive in Vunergeda City. And Gilberto and I(not to mention our Poke'mon), would part.
Yesterday's flight was rather uneventful, so I won't tell you about it. I was quiet, and so was Gilberto.
Today, as we were flying, I was even quieter. I was thinking about what would happen when we got to Vunergeda City, and the more I thought about it, the less sure I was that I really did want to part with Gilberto. It would cause so many problems. So wrapped up in my thoughts was I that I didn't realize that Gilberto was shouting at me for some time. Pigeotto jerked me.
"Hey!"
He had never done that before.
I suddenly realized Pigeot had pulled up beside us.
"Stoneears!" Gilberto was saying impatiently.
"I said that Vunergeda is right below us."
I looked down and saw Vunergeda. It wasn't really a proper city,with buildings and bustling streets. It was more of a large town.
"Okay, then, let's go." I said, trying to cover up my embarrassment.
We landed, and Gilberto and I jumped off and stood facing each other.
"Well," I said.
"this is it."
He nodded.
"Yep. Bye."
My mind was racing. I couldn't ignore three facts.
We were safer with Gilberto.
He was good company, and I needed human contact.( I had lived in a rather secluded area. )
My Poke'mon would be sad if Gilberto and Pigeot left, Pigeotto especially. Come to think of it, I would miss them too. As I said, he was good company.
"Would you like to keep traveling together? I mean, with us?" I blurted out.
Shoot. I could hardly believe I did that.
"All right." said Gilberto. He didn't look surprised.
"On one condition though," I said hastily.
He smiled.
"You sure like conditions, don't you?"
"Yeah, well, they make sure I don't promise too much. You're trying to distract me! The condition is: if we are going to travel together, we go our separate ways while in cities and towns, but, especially in this town, we stay close enough to each other so that we can help each other if trouble comes."
"What? Why especially in this town? It's friendly."
He looked around.
I wasn't sure though. The place had a different feel from last time I was here, although that could have been memories from what happened. That day.....
"Okay, we'll go now. Pigeot and I."
He walked off.
I explored the town a bit, visiting the shops and checking out stuff like the statues out front, when I saw them.
Those people I had been hoping never to see again.
They looked just like last time, garbed in dark, but not quite black clothes.
Pigeotto tensed, made a low hissing sound I had never heard before, and flew at them, screeching and swiping.
I saw one of them pull out that THING. The one from last time.
It looks like a cross between a small cannon, a gun, and a electronic device.
"NOOO!!!" I screamed, running toward them, hoping upon hoping that Gilberto and Pigeot would come to help in time.
Chapter 8: Save the day, save the night,
To Save them all, we must Fight.
Stars breaking, trees shaking,
Save the all to tonight.
Save them all today
I didn't know what it was. I just called it the thing. When They used it, Poke'mon dissapeared into it. I don't know what happens to them afterward. But that is what happened to my other Poke'mon. The thing was like a Pokeball, but more sinister. Another reason why I don't use Pokeballs much. They remind my Poke'mon and I of bad memories.
It was like watching a tape I knew well in slow motion.
The person, if you can call them people, pointed the thing at Pigeotto.
I shouted desperately at Crobat, who had been flying overhead looking for a place to rest, and had already homed in on them, and to Charap, who was by the Poke'mart.
As Pigeotto slashed and stabbed, one of Them fell, with a gash in the shoulder that looked like it hurt a lot, but was superficial.
They drew swords. Swords? I didn't remember swords.
Crobat flew in, and felled two. Two more to go.
But the one with the thing pressed something on it, that button that would cause it to suck in Pigeotto.
And as he pressed it, Crobat flew in the way.
I don't think she knew that the thing was there.
She was trying to get at Them, and swooped in at the same time the one pressed the button.
But she was gone, trapped in it.
I couldn't speak, just gazed in horror, knowing that I couldn't help.
Gilberto appeared, and shouted something.
And a Poke'mon appeared.
I could see it now, I knew it was the one we saw the night before meeting Gilberto.
And I knew it was the Lunar Poke'mon.
It glided, graceful but deadly, and hit the one with the thing in the chest.
I looked and saw Charap, a look of horror on her face that turned to determination.
She flew in low, biting at the other one's ankles.
As that one fell, though, the other one aimed the thing at the Lunar Poke'mon, and it was forced to retreat, giving him time to get away with inhuman speed.
I looked at Pigeotto. He was covered in sword cuts, but we each knew that the other would die trying to save Crobat.
Sensing our intent, Gilberto put a hand on my shoulder.
"We can't go after them like this. Cressilia can follow them at night and track them."
"Cr-Cressilia. You h-have Cressilia as a partner."
"It's a long story and we don't have the time." he said firmly.
"We need to get Pigeotto to the Poke'mon Center and then go after them."
He was right, of course.
After a quick trip to the Poke'mon Center with an annoyingly cheerful nurse, we were ready.
I hopped on Pigeotto.
We were out for blood.
Chapter 9: The Revenge Master
I stared at Pigotto's feathers beneath me.
He would be hurting inside. Like me.
I hoped Pigeotto didn't blame himself.
Like I blamed myself.
A while ago, my Poke'mon and I pledged to protect each other as much as possible.
I had failed to do that.
I could have helped. I should have leaped into battle, swords or no swords.
But I didn't. In retrospect, that was the worst betrayal ever.
And I betrayed them.
And now, we were going to who knows where.
That was one of the problems.
I didn't know where to head.
All right, enough with the self-blame, I thought.
Even in my head it didn't sound like something I would obey.
"Hey," sad Gilberto. And he didn't go farther than that.
"Hey what?" I finally asked miserably.
"Let's," he hesitated ever so slightly. Maybe I imagined it.
"let's stop at Neredx town. Maybe someone will have seen...them."
I hadn't yet told him about what happened...... The first time.
I now poured EVERYTHING out to him.
"Those...people. They stole my Poke'mon long ago."
He nodded.
"I looked for them. But couldn't find a trace. And I'm afraid that might happen this time. I had many, and they took all of them, and I don't know what happened. Next, I mean.
They are evil, corrupted.
And I want to kill them.
And then I think, I'm not gonna find them.
And THEN I think, yes you will.
And it's all one big mess, and I don't know what to do, and none of this is saving them."
I gasped for breath.
"And that device, it's-well, I don't understand it. I don't know if it might hurt them."
Gilberto sighed and glanced down at the town below us.
Pigeotto and Pigeot started angling down, but I could tell they were listening.
"Sometimes sadness and fear are our worst enemies, because they corrupt us from the inside." said Gilberto.
We jumped off at the town's center square.
We walked around, asked as casually as we could if dark garbed people had been there. Nothing particularly helpful, although some of the towns people were quite talkative, and I got a fair bit of gossip before I politely excused myself.
As we were turning to walk to the square again and leave, a man rushed up to us.
"Hey! Wait up!"
We slowed to let him catch up.
"Thanks." he puffed.
"I wanted to know if you had seen any strange people with dark robes. I can see you're just visiting." he nodded at our Poke'mon, a little ahead if us.
Giberto and I exchanged a look.
"We have." Gilberto said coolly.
"Do you know where they were going?"
We glanced at each other again.
This time, the man noticed, and he opened his mouth, to ask a question, probably.
"We don't know much about them." I cut him off.
"Er, we are looking too." added Gilberto.
I stepped on his foot.
He grimaced.
The man gazed at Pigeotto and Pigeot.
"Can I travel with you?" he asked suddenly.
As we stared at him, mouths agape, he added hastily,
"I have score to settle with them, along with many others."
I knew better than to ask what the score was.
"It's bring your own flying Poke'mon." said Gilberto, eying the single Pokeball in a belt around the man's waist.
"Please?" he pleaded.
This time Gilberto and I looked at each other, hard. Then we moved our gazes to the guy. He looked trustworthy, I decided.
Apparently Gilberto decided that too.
"All right."
The man dipped his head, looking like he wanted to say something important. His expression changed, though.
"My name is Mike." Mike said.
"And I'm not afraid to admit I am a Master of sorts."
Chapter 10: Rising up, through the clouds.
A song awaits, a crowd aloud sighs.
I sighed inwardly.
I was politely admiring Mike's Darmanitan, which he had insisted on my and Gilberto's seeing.
Gilberto had muttered an excuse and left, while I was stuck looking at a Poke'mon.
It wasn't that Damanitan is not an admirable Poke'mon. It has a lot of strength. The problem was that I was bored, and I was itching to go.
Mike was obviously very proud of his only Poke'mon.
Finally, Gilberto pulled me aside.
"We have to go, and I have something to tell you!" he hissed near my ear.
Tell me about it. I thought.
We REALLY need to go.
"Listen, I'm sorry I didn't tell you sooner there wasn't time." he said, and the hairs on the back of my neck prickled. His tone was urgent.
"There is something going on with the flying Legendary Poke'mon."
"What?" I asked, confused.
"Most of the Legendary Poke'mon, the ones that fly, they know something is happening.
They are partnering up with people. Cressilia chose me. The rest of the Legendary/people teams, we need to find. I don't know what is going on. I suspect one of them has chosen the Poke'mon Champion, the obvious choice for a strong teammate.
They are all rising. The flying ones. No pun intended.
Cressilia,"
"Arcticuno, Zapdos, Moltres," my tongue moved of its own accord.
"Latias and Latios." sad Gilberto.
I looked at him.
"Rayquaza?"
"Yes."
"What about Giratina? Does it count?"
"We don't think Giratina, as part of the world parallel to ours, even knows what is going on."
"Who is we?"
"Cressilia and I. I think I am forgetting some. Shaymin. It is joining us in its Sky Form."
"What about the Guardians of the Lakes?"
"Uxie, Atzelf, and Mesprit may have been captured by the ones with the Thing. No one has seen them for a while, and it has happened before."
I racked my brains.
"Probably not Jirachi, since it only awakens every thousand years, right? It wouldn't be involved."
"Correct. At least as far I know. I don't presume to speak for Cressilia, but I have no idea how long we have to wait for it to wake up again."
I nodded.
"Right. Besides, it's a Wish grantor, right?"
He nodded.
"Although it is possible that those strange characters will want to capture it. "
As he finished saying that, I heard Mike call.
"Hey, you guys, aren't we going?"
"Like he can talk." I muttered.
Gilberto gve me a weak smile, and I could see he looked tired. I could tell he was regretting allowing Mike to join us, too.
I hoped he would pay off by helping us. He did seem like a guy we could use in our hunt for Them.
As planned earlier, Mike got on Pigeot and rode with Gilberto, after storing Darmanitan away in its Pokeball.
Pokeballs. Hiss. Still didn't like 'em.
Chapter 11: Trails and Sunlit Town
After a lengthy flight trip, we stopped about 4 miles from the nearest town. Gilberto had wanted to keep going, but my head was buzzing. I needed to talk to him, to find out what else was going on.
"We missed some." said Gilberto immediately after we were out of earshot of Mike.
"Which ones?" I knew he was talking about the flying Legendary Poke'mon.
"Zekrom, Reshiram, and Kyurem."
"Oh.....ooh." somehow it seemed bad that The Dragon Trio was involved.
"I know, right?" he nodded like he had guessed my thoughts.
"Has Kyrem Fused with either recently?" I asked. I wasn't sure if Kyrem was the type to take a human partner. It seemed to prefer seclusion.
"I do not think so. However, if it does, and it causes trouble...." he trailed off.
"It took a long time for it to be Defused last time...."
I let his words hang in the air a while before responding, taking the time to think before answering.
"I don't think it will be trouble. However, whether it will choose a human partner or not, I cannot say."
"Mmph. We had better get going again." Gilberto said.
"Also," he added in an undertone as we walked back.
"I'm going to challenge him to battle soon. Let's see how Darmanitan does against Pigeot. Mike claims to be a master, but I'll be the head judge of that."
I didn't know how to reply to that.
"Good luck." I said.
"To you and Pigeot." I added.
"Thanks." he stared ahead grimly.
"If our our opponent is as good as he says, and Poke'mon is equally good, we'll need it.
We'll also need it before this adventure is over."
And on that happy note, we came back to find Mike snoring on the ground, Pigeot, Pigeotto, and Charap looking as though they didn't know what to do with him.
I knew exactly how they felt.
********************************************************
Staying in the town seemed dreary and energizing at the same time. On one hand, the small houses lokked gloomy at first glance, and in the twilight seemed to be shades of gray.
On the other hand, the sky itself looked beautiful, blue, rustic gold, bronze, purple, and a rusty red.
Stopping there seemed to ease anxiety somewhat.
This town was somewhat appropriately named Sunlit Town.
Plus, according to cheerful Gilberto and his trusty map, we were on our way to the big cities soon.
I wasn't sure if that was good or bad news. On one hand, we weren't getting much info in secluded areas.
On the other hand, They might be sticking to such secluded areas purposely, for concealment reasons.
Then again, at that they had failed, considering how Mike caught on without his Poke'mon being stolen.
I admit I was more comfortable, in a way, in the quiet places. Having lived in such a place myself, I like to think I understand their charm. But I wasn't going to let my normal tendecies get the better of me if going to largely populated areas was nessesary for saving Crobat and the others.
Absorbed in such thoughts, and enjoying the sunset, I almost didn't notice in time that Gilberto was speaking to me. Mike was hovering a respectful distance away.
"Hmm?"
"Um, well....." he took a deep breath.
"I'm sorry, you look happy, well, content actually, and I don't want to burst your bubble but... I just don't see how we are supposed to find your Poke'mon. We aren't getting any leads."
Well, bringing me to our present problems again sure did burst my bubble.
"I know." My voice caught, and I added, just loud enough for him to hear, but not Mike,
"But we have to try."
I wanted to tell him that I appreciated his friendship, and the fact that he was staying with us through all this was nearly non-repayable, but I couldn't. I hoped he knew anyway.
Chapter 12: Crobat's perspective
Crobat stared worriedly. She was in danger.
And her wings were being bound.
Oh why, oh WHY did she let them catch her? It was her fault, she told herself miserably. Feeling guilty, she returned her thoughts back to the present for the time being.
She was in a dark, cavern-type place. Even with her excellent night-vision, Crobat could hardly make out any features, and what she did see was confusing.
Strange shapes.
Weird contours in faces.
(Black?) Cloaks.
Well, reflected Crobat, at least she wasn't in that THING anymore. Being inside the thing had been the worst time of her life. Penetrating fear aside, it was terrible.
Imaginebeing locked in a small compartment for an unknown amount of time, while wondering what was going on with your friends, if they were okay. Now you understand what poor Crobat was going through.
Would her friends come for her?
Crobat saw someone slip a cover over her face.
Chapter 13: Wha-a! Pack your storm gear
Sigh. In the next town.
No leads.
Well, I thought, another disappointment.
Then I chastned myself. Gotta think positive.
Right. Positive.
I was kidding myself, wasn't I?
No, no.
I've got to believe.
"LLOOOOKK!!!!"
Gilberto's searing yell pierced my eardrums.
"WHHHAAATTT?!?!!!?" I yelled back.
We had split up, and having found nothing out, I was currently failing at psyching myself up for another turn at talking to villagers.
This town wasn't exactly a town. It was somewhere in between a Village, a town, and a city. Strange, simple houses. But a good-sized community. And to top it off, some very tall structures rather like that in a very large city.
"We-we..." Gilberto panted for breath, a villager(let's call them that) behind him, looking vaugely puzzled.
Gilberto walked up to me and stood in front of me deliberately, smiling with some emotion I couldn't figure out. He seemed...happy. Excited.
He leaned forward and whispered in my ear,
"We have our lead."
{****************************************************}
Rain. Pouring, pounding rain. The kind that seems to exist to soak you, hit you harder than normal, and keep coming.
We were flying towards Stlighteriao City. That was the place Gilberto had been told They were last seen. At first, fueled by the prospect of catching up to Them, we had made good tracks. Suddenly, however, this unseasonable rain had started. And the Poke'mon hated it.
Normally on rainy days Crobat would be silently miserable, staring out at the rain like she was angry at it, hunched over a bit.
Charap would hide, not liking having wet feathers, and Pigeotto would fly through it for a bit, trying to catch raindrops on the fly. But today, Pigeotto and I just wanted to find some cover.
By doing his best to hold his crest over me, Pigeotto had managed to keep parts of him and I mostly dry. But the wind made this difficult, and caused the rain to come in from all sides.
Charap and Darmanitan were in their Pokeballs.
I could barely even see Gilberto and Mike on Pigeot's back, so I concentrated on my and Pigeotto's part of the wet group. I could just hear the dripping of rain coming off Pigeotto's crest and falling down towards my ear over the rain. Everything was soaked to the point of seeming as though we had gone swimming in our clothes(er, feathers in the bird Poke'mon's case). I saw a quick flash of lightning, and I started humming the tune to a song I had once heard, about thunderstorms. Praying to Arceus we weren't going to get killed, I asked Pigeotto to land, hoping that Pigeot or Gilberto would see and follow suit. After my asking several times, Pigeotto finally heard me, and landed by a fairly large rock. Thankfully, Pigeotto did follow, and soon we were all standing out in the rain, minus Charap and Darmanitan.
A large clap of thunder made me jump.
"Right," I said hurriedly,
"What are we going to do?"
"Well," said Gilberto, raising his voice a little over the rain.
"we have two options. One is that we can keep going, hoping our Poke'mon can navigate around the storm. Two is that we could hope to find a bit of shelter from the wind, and set up camp, and then hope not to get hit by lightning."
"You forget that we could always turn back until the storm blows over." Mike chimed in.
"True, but then, how miles have we gone? This storm stretches far, and if I didn't know any better, I'd say this thing was following us." said Gilberto, turning in almost-full circle.
"And this doesn't seem like it'll pass by quickly." I added.
"The best we can hope for is to stay here for now, and not catch Pneumonia.
The storm appears to be too big to pass around and still be heading in a reasonable direction."
We all fell silent at that. Huddled together, upon Mike's suggestion we sat/crouched by the side of the rock that was away from the wind. Why hadn't I thought of that? But it soon became clear that the wind was changing to much for the action to be reliable.
Gilberto's right, I thought.
This storm DOES seem to be following us.
I caught my breath and gabbed Gilberto's jacket's shoulder, making furious, quiet noises, trying to get his attention.
"Wha? Get off." he mumbled, shaking his arm in an attempt to make me let go.
"M-Mm, m-mm." I started shaking my head furiously, trying convey that he needed to be quiet. I was keeping my head and voice low, despite the noise of the rain, which was even louder when it was plunking away at the stone.
Mike looked over curiously; he made a noise like he was beginning to ask what was the matter.
Gilberto finally followed my gaze, and they both let out a gasp of shock as a bolt of lightning flashed, showing the outline of a terrifying-looking Poke'mon.
Chapter 14: The pair of thrones
The Poke'mon floated there, huge and menacing. The storm seemed to center itself around the Poke'mon, and even as we watched, lightning crashed around it. The Poke'mon appeared to be unharmed.
"Thunderus." I breathed.
A clap of thunder bellowed, and I scurried back against the rock. My fright was embarassing, but I'll be the first to admit, that thing was SCARY. Beyond scary. Up close, and personal, the Poke'mon radiated what could only be described as evil, and I knew that even far away it would be terrifing.
It was just ...floating there. It seemed to want to stay for a while, like it had all the time in the world.
Time.
Something then clicked in my brain, somewhere near the subconcious part. There was something about here. Right here, right now. There was a ... Lost it again. The thread of thought I was trying to grasp.
I looked over at my companions. Gilberto was staring, his eyes as wide as saucers. Mike I couldn't see clearly, because of the rock. I saw Pigeotto now in between myself and Gilberto. He cocked his head. I was getting a weird feeling now. Pigeotto gave a squawk, then looked sheepishly at me after checking to see if Thunderus had heard. He uttered a lower cawk.
"What?" I asked stupidly.
He looked at me. I mean, gave me a LOOK.
"Oh, right." I said.
"Um, wait, WHAT?"
"What did he say?" asked Gilberto.
"I think he just said he can hear music."
Over to my right Pigeotto gave a self-satisfied nod of approval.
"But..how?" Gilberto voiced the thoughts of all of us but Pigeotto.
"I don't....know." suddenly I almost stopped thinking consciously and mused over what I knew.
I felt it was close.
We strained all our ears.
I caught a little music note, sweet.
And Gilberto said, "I can hear it!" at the same time as Mike.
"Beautiful." I don't even know who said that. All I was doing, all I knew was that I just needed to catch more of the music, so soft and sweet. And alluring.
We all started up at once, to the surprise of the Poke'mon.
(Thunderus must know we're here.) Said a voice in my head, a voice softer than silk, and yet like wind chimes. The voice was not mine. I knew with certainty.
And that was the time to act! But wait. My comrades...they were being taken.. Their minds pulled away towards the new noise I now heard. Gilberto and Mike began walking towards the Poke'mon Thunderus, and I felt their minds. I really felt them. They wanted nothing more than to go to the center the the storm.
(Well, well.) The voice in my head spoke again. I(t seems it is time to act as one now.)
[Yes, shall we?] Asked another voice in my head, although I felt it wasn't really a question.
(Hmm..little one, are you ready to go save your friends? We would like your help in chasing away that traitor, and I'm sure you would like your friends to have their minds right again.) The voice was addressing me.
{Okay.} I thought tentatively.
(Well, then. Now, on the count of three, we shall pour all our energy together. Can you do that for us?)
{Um, okay.}
{I'll try.} I added.
(One...two...three!)
I focused, hard. This is the time that I truly got a sense of the power of the beings in my mind. They were..amazing beyond words. The power was of a feel unknown to me.
Thunderus turned, and with a roar it charged at us with electrical spears that made my hairs stand on end. The back of my neck prickled, and I later realized dimly that I was so focused on what I-no, what WE were doing that it didn't even register with me how terrifying the experiance was.
A flash. A circle of light. Celebi. Celebi floated for just a moment in the center of the blue light, but the moment seemed to last an eternity. I had just enough time to study its features before it flew at Thunderus.
(Keep focused!) It told me while I was gaping.
I returned to pouring my power in, and out of the woods charged a face I thought I would only ever see in storybooks.
Zorua leaped into the air, pulled back its head, and emitted a roar that looked black as night at one time, a pulsating red-darkness the next.
This was amazing beyond words and Thunderus let out a scream when it saw the two forms of light colliding and coming for it.
Just before is dissapeared unexplicibly, it fixed its eyes on mine. I gasped at the connection, the hatred in the look it gave me. I was locked in that stare, and even after it was gone I felt shaky.
Celebi assured me that I would be fine, I was just a little tired from pouring out some of my energy. Then a beam, a flash of light, and I was pulled into another dimension in which I couldn't see clearly, yet I knew I was fine.
Boom! A sharp noise, maybe a shout(from me?), and then it was all over.
I was in grass, it was sunny, and that's all I registered before I fell to my knees and blacked out.
When I awoke, Gilberto was standing over me, and I admit I let out a quick shriek. I gotta stop doing that.
"Just like old times, huh?" Gilberto grinned at me.
We were in the same clearing, but it was brighter, the sky much more clear.
"Arrgg.." I groaned, hoping that the last late afternoon I remembered had been a dream.
I looked over at where I thought Mike probably was and saw Celebi and Zorua.
No such luck, huh?
(Thank you.) Celebi flew closer, -her?-wings fluttering.
(You have helped save our forest, and us.)
{"No- no problem."} I said both telepathically and aloud.
Zorua didn't budge, but said from her spot,
[We are in your debt. If you are ever in great need of a disguise,]
(Or a quick time travel. Get it? Quick?) Added Celebi.
[You can just call us with all your heart and mind, and we will hear you.] Finished Zorua.
{Thanks, thanks you, both of you,}
(Good bye! Oh, and we did you a little favor! Check the time!) Called Celebi, and then they were gone.
We watched the spot where they had been for a little while.
"Do you get the feeling we will never see them again? Not unless you take them up on their offer?" asked Gilberto.
"I think it was more like a gift, and yeah." I said, still thinking things over.
"What did she mean, check the time?" asked me, Gilberto, and Mike all at once.
Gilberto checked his watch.
"Whoa! What day is it? Let's ask at the next town."
"What, why?"
"Because.." he swallowed.
"It is just a little-I mean, about an hour-before all that happened. She..did she?"
With the weather clear, we could all see farther than we could before. But it took a report from Pigeotto before I realized just how close we were to the nearest town.
"Hey, Pigeotto says-" I started
"I know! Pigeot told me we're only a mile away!" he interrupted me excitedly.
"Hey, so.." Mike started.
"Are we going to spend the night at this place or what?"
"Sure!" I called back.
"We could use some rest!"
Back at the town, which we later remembered was called Stlighteriao City, we recuperated for a while. Then, we asked someone who knew what day it was.
The answer othat we got proved that it was the same day that we had left for the city. Thus, the only explanation was that Celebi, possibly with the help of Zorua, had brought us back through time. She had basically given us time to find Them. I considered their debt to me already repaid.
Chapter 15 coming soon.
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