Serenade of Water
Prologue
by Kouketsu

A/N: Hello, hello. This is probably my first REAL attempt at a Pokemon fan fiction piece, aside from other disclosed attempts from a while back. I'm hoping to get my feet wet with this story (no pun, whatever) and evolve this into a sort of brainchild that'll grow into one of my biggest projects. Writing isn't a huge strength for me, so I'm hoping I'll get better as I progress. But whatever, you don't want to hear me go on about my own personal problems. This is the prologue to the story I've had floating around my head for a long time, so I hope you'll enjoy it.

Disclaimer: I do not own Pokémon, or anything else by Nintendo. All Original Characters (OCs) are properties of their respective owners.

When I made the cloud the garment thereof, and thick darkness a swaddlingband for it, And brake up for it my decreed place, and set bars and doors, And said, Hitherto shalt thou come, but no further: and here shall thy proud waves be stayed? - Job (ch. XXXVIII, v. 9-11)

---

Three days ago...

Mossdeep City

"I get the chills every time I see it." The young Gym Leader stood over the north side cliff overlooking the waters below Mossdeep. For the past couple of days, he and his twin sister Liza had watched from cliffside the confined storm that lingered over the route north of them, Route 125. "I guess it's not your average storm." The area flickered with what appeared to be lightning before his eyes. Oddly, Mossdeep itself was left oblivious without a cloud in regular sight, the sun beaming glaringly directly above the city.

"You think so, Tate? I'm pretty sure your average storms don't stick around for twelve straight days," Liza mocked, sharing the same blue-eyed gaze at the area as her younger brother.

Tate crossed his arms under the sleeves of his light-blue qipao and turned his head back a little. "You'd think something like that would cause a bigger commotion," Tate commented, an eyebrow raising. "I guess there's more important stuff happening in Hoenn for the news to report weird storm clouds."

The sister twin sighed. Her hand petted the blue strands of hair that framed the side of her face. "I guess since it isn't hurting anyone, there's no real reason to make a big deal out of it," Liza replied with slight disgust. Her eyes then lowered, and her expression and voice soon saddened. "But still..." A small feeling of concern began to simmer inside her. Liza sighed and lowered herself to the ground, swinging her legs over the edge of the cliff. Her eyes trailed amongst the glittered surface of the water in a small daze before gathering the energy to vent. "In any case, it can't be good for the Pokémon there. Isn't anyone going to at least try and see how they're doing?" Liza asked in irritation.

"I don't think they'll ignore it forever." Tate shrugged nonchalantly, and then assumed sitting position right beside her. "Besides, if worse comes to worse, they'll send in the Rangers to sort everything out."

"Yeah, I guess." Liza sighed, throwing into the ocean the loose gravel under her hands.

"Besides," Tate added, "It actually looks pretty cool. In a, y'know, sinister, freaky sort of way."

Liza took a look to her brother, then immediately shook her head at his last comment. Wow, what a weird thing to say... The blue-haired girl brushed off dirt from her uniform with her hand before pulling herself to her feet and cleaning the back, or whatever much she could. "Let's head back to the Gym," she suggested in her regular composure, extending a hand towards her little brother. "We've been out here long enough. This thing isn't going to go away anytime soon."

Tate acknowledged the hand with a small nod before using her to stand. "Yeah, I guess," he complied, wiping off excess dirt from his attire as well. Tate turned his head to the right and took in one last look the darkened Route 125, before leaving the scene after his exiting sister. "You think a Pokémon could be causing all of that over there...? Just a thought..."

Unknowing to the duo was the figure that stood elegantly perched on a thin rock pillar distances away. Wallace stood motionless on the edge, clenching together the ends of his white body-length cape from the inside, as the ocean winds began to pick up. The blue haired Champion had also focused attentively on the sea route for days. "Two weeks..." His voice carried his signature elegance, but still showed heavy signs of concern. His turquoise colored eyes flashed a look of uneasiness everyday he went to observe.

Wallace then turned his head towards the dark patches of rushing water scattered around the route and gnawed uncomfortably at his lip, his eyes peering in no specific area. His attention soon after turned to the shady skies, where his focus on the anomaly disregarded the green figure leaving the proximity of the disturbance.

---

Route 125

A boy stood from the protruding edge of a towering rock formation, observing the boisterous activity that plagued the otherwise inactive sea route north of Mossdeep City.

The sea was restless. Rainfall pounded hard on the surface with winds orchestrating the water violently. Stone walls that once towered over the route like mountains were swallowed and concealed by the abnormally risen tide. Even the route's monumental Shoal Cave was shrouded, sealing the cavern's entrance far underwater in the midst.

"It's like a hurricane out here..." A gentle, sedated mutter came from the boy as he observed the chaos below. No more than ten feet below him were waves slamming uncontrollably against the stone tower, sending surges of water upward against the barrier with each crash. His gaze soon turned to the sky, which was painted with blackened clouds swollen with rain that fell down through the air like arrows. High pitch whistling soon came into play before sending a gale of wind into him and pushing him back against the wall behind. He groaned while gripping closed his unsecured windbreaker by the zipper seam. Shoulder-length brown hair whipped against his face, fluttering unrestrained at the mercy of the wind. Once the winds subsided, he pulled himself away from the wall and once again stepped over to the edge.

Violet eyes glanced through his hair at what he saw next: a family of Spheal, Sealeo and Walrein drifting frantically near the base of a rock wall. The Walrein led the pack away from Shoal Cave while the Sealeo used their noses to guide and steer the helpless Spheal across the waters, bobbing up and down against the current. Something inside made him feel woeful towards the sight of the fleeing herd as they trekked away from their home to find another stable haven. He wanted to act on his impulses, to lend the group of Pokémon a hand, help guide them to another area until the storm dies down. But how exactly could he do that? Many more Pokémon before them had to brave the storm and leave their nests, their homes, and there would more than likely be more after these. He couldn't help all of them.

His head lifted to the darkened sky, perplexed to how something like this happened. He turned his head in the direction of Mossdeep and noticed that the storm clouds ended abruptly and the seas calmed right where the route started. I've come to this place for the past couple of days, he began thinking to himself. In his hand now was a small device with a lens on the side and several small buttons. But I still have no idea why this storm is concentrated only in this area. His thumb flicked a button on the side, and the device flipped out a small LCD screen from the side, relaying wherever the camera had in sight.

"August 16th, log nine," He began logging, holding the camera out in front of him. His eyes watched the screen as he maneuvered it around. "Route 125 is still showing signs of unrest." He held the camera down at an angle to view the water. "The sea is still showing dangerous currents. Tides have risen by at least... forty percent in the past four days," he commentated amateurishly, his voice starting to sound strained. He then lowered his head and coughed a couple of times before getting himself back together. The cold weather was beginning to get to him.

"...Rainfall has gotten worse, to the point that Shoal Cave has finally been pulled underwater." He pointed to the general area where the entrance once was. Another gust of wind soon afterwards cut through the boy and send heavy shivers up his body. His hand pulled up the hood on the windbreaker, then gripped together the zipper seam once more.

"Several habitats have been altered due to the storms. In the past couple of days, Walrein, Tentacool, um, and Wailmer have all migrated to different waters," he continued, looking around for the family of Walrein. Luckily, they were spotted perched upon an elevated strip of land, with the Walrein tending to and calming their juniors. He pointed the camera to the ice Pokémon and continued rolling. "Uhh, this herd of Walrein just recently relocated from their home in Shoal Cave. There may be more that'll migrate soon after. Will keep posted..." And with that, the boy clapped the screen back into place, and returned the camera to its position on his belt clip. A flash of thunder illuminated the area and shook the foundation the boy stood on with a booming roar of thunder.

That last show was enough to make the brown-haired boy jump. With a short wince, the trainer took in the surroundings one last time with a quick scan around. His fingertips then trailed along the assembly of Pokéballs propped his belt, and stopped on the last one down the row. Tossing the Pokéball out into the air, the capsule elevated a good couple of feet until it reached its maximum height, and then released a burst of light above the trainer. A shrilling cry sounded from the emission while its white tint faded with a digital gargling of sorts. The figure that hovered overhead as the shine formed and faded revealed a green dragon with red semi-transparent hoods over its eyes, blocking the rainfall overhead the trainer like an umbrella. Briefly after, it descended beside the rock ledge. Inhaling, the trainer took a small step then jumped, mounting around the dragonfly creature's neck securely and gripped the makeshift bungee rein that rested around the sides. "Flygon, let's head back to Mossdeep," he commanded with haste.

The Pokémon complied with a light hum and revved up its rhombus-shaped wings with powerful flaps until it lifted the two to its desired altitude. The two soon after took flight and off into the darkness of the storm.

---

Area Unknown

A young, astute-looking woman sat in front of a colossal monitor whispered to herself, her voice filled with bewilderment as her eyes skimmed the information presented to her. Three-dimensional models of the Hoenn region fluctuated on the screen, accompanied by various descriptions and obscure data dumps that flickered down the side. She took a sip from the mug beside her and attempted to process the reports and reading shown. "Rainfall has increased by twelve percent in the last six minutes. ...these anomalies are insane." The monitor continued to feed data of the changes on the bottom-right, as a new chart labeled WEATHER blinked in the middle. The girl pressed the glasses she wore against her face securely, turning her attention there.

The sounds of footsteps approached from behind. "Locations," A male voice boomed with heavy bass.

She began typing on a keyboard, her eyes roaming amongst the sea of information. "If you meant the rainfall, then the most common area would be eastern Hoenn." Her hand moved up and pointed to a region of the map covered in green-to-red pixels. "Most of the reports are coming in from the sea routes, but scattered rainfall is being recorded extending from Route 121, all the way over to 124."

Sounds of a contemplative hum followed. "And the area over there?" His gloved finger pointed to a densely colored cluster on the monitor.

The woman ceased typing. She paused, took a sip from her mug and shook her head. "...Route 125, contains the highest concentration of rain, lightning and winds. Also, sir," she paused, her tone signifying subtle importance. "I thought you might be interested in seeing this..." Another tapping at the keyboard, and the monitor instantly revealed what appeared to be feed from an underwater surveillance camera.

The figure said nothing, his yellow eyes glinting towards the screen from the shadows.

To be continued.