Stormbringer

It was a calm day. The sky was clear, the wind gently blowing, the Bird Pokemon singing and calling to each other contently. There was nothing like the early morning calm in the Crystal Region.

"AUGH! JACOB, THAT'S NOT FUNNY!"

Till it got broken, of course.

The 17 year-old's cry echoed around the two story house. A woman with dark brown hair wearing an apron walked from the door that led to the kitchen to the base of the stairs that lead to the second floor.

"Jacob! Quit bothering your sister!" she yelled up. Shaking her head, she turned and walked back to the kitchen. "Come on, you two! Breakfast is ready!"

A 10 year-old boy with hair just as brown as his mothers and wildly dishevelled came down immediatly, but his big sister, Mandy, didn't. She was stuck in the bathroom. Jacob had done one of his worst tricks: he put shaving cream in her jeans.

I'm gonna kill him for this! Mandy thought to herself as she changed from the jeans her mom had picked out - a thing with frilly, pink bows that clashed horribly with her favorite ocean blue t-shirt - to her favorite pair of faded blue jeans. Mandy threw the other pair in the dirty clothes hamper.

Blue is always better. She flipped her blonde, blue tipped hair out of her face and put on a special belt that was made to hold Pokeballs. She clipped two on to the specialy built holders. But in case she was caught, she put her favorite Pokemon in her backpack.

"Come on, Mandy! You'll be late for school!" her mother called.

"I'm coming! Good grief," she muttered. "Give a girl a break." Mandy came out of the bathroom and walked towards the kitchen.

Breakfast consisted of bacon, eggs and toast. Mandy ignored it and went straight to the pantry where her favorite breakfast was: cereal. She grabbed the box.

"Oh, no you don't!" her mom - Karen - said. "You are going to eat a real breakfast, not that cold stuff," she spat.

"Mom, for the last time, it's called cereal."

"You don't need to get snippy with me, and I don't care what it's called. For the last time, no!" Karen yelled.

Mandy was about to argue more when they both heard Jacob yell "Bus!"

Oh, crap. I haven't had breakfast! Mandy got her backpack and ran. As she neared the door, Karen grabbed her shoulder. "Take the belt and put it in your room. You know it's not allowed."

"Okay! Good grief." Mandy added under her breath.

"What was that?"

"Nothing. See you later." Mandy took off the belt, threw it on a nearby chair, and rushed out the door and reached the road just as the bus pulled up. The door opened, and she and Jacob got on. Why the hell am I cursed like this? Mandy thought as she sat down with her best friend, Danielle. As the bus took off, Mandy began to chat with her bud, and soon she forgot all the things that happened that morning. They got stuck on one subject: Pokemon.

"Hey, what's your favorite type of Pokemon, Mandy?" Danielle asked. "Mine's Flying."

"Didn't I already tell you this a hundred times?'

"Remind me?" Danielle giggled, making her blonde friend sigh.

Mandy thought for a few seconds. Then she turned to her brown haired, brown eyed friend. "I'm torn between Dragon and Water types."

"What is your favorite Legendary? Mine's Mew! It's just sooooo adorable!"

"You're not faking just to get me to talk, are you?"

"Mandy!" The brunette looked hurt.

"Oh, all right. My favorite Legendary," Mandy said slowly, flipping her blue-tipped hair back to tease, "is Lugia."

"Lugia? Too cool," Danielle exclaimed. That's when they pulled up at the high school, something that Mandy found pointless when she'd rather be training her Pokemon. It was a huge pity that there wasn't a Trainer's School around.

"I'll see you later, okay? Say hi to Kaitlynn for me!" Mandy called as she descended off the bus.

As the bus pulled away, Mandy scooped out the high school she went to. She walked into the large double doors. The cafeteria was in the center of the school, connected to all halls. At the very back was where the lunch line was. In front of the line a few ways away was where Mandy and her three friends sat every morning, and today was no different.

"Hey, Mandy's here!" one of her friends, a guy who always dressed in a red sweater with brown hair, called out.

"Hey, Jeff." Mandy replied.

"You sure like to take forever to get here." another replied. She had blondish brown hair and glasses and had a sweater that said 'Slitherin' on it. Her name was Ashley.

"Well excuse the bus then, will ya? Lucky car rider," Mandy retorted. She sat down and began to describe her morning to her three friends. They listened intently.

"You fell for the cream in the pants? I thought you were smarter than that!" said the third of her friends when she had finished. He wore black everything and wore glasses.

"Gee thanks, Matt. I feel the love." was the reply. All of them laughed. That's when the bell rang for first block.

"Crap!" Mandy said. "I'll see you guys later." She rushed down the 400 hall to her computer class.

When Mandy finally got out of first block, she was tired. You would be too if you had to get up at 5:30 in the morning just to catch a bus that didn't come till 7.

As Mandy went to her next class, she let her mind wander through memories. Some were good, some where bad, and some where just plain horrible. Then another memory came up. Mandy smiled. This memory was the sweetest of them all. She thought back to the time at the beach, six years ago...

"Mandy! Don't go too far!" Karen called, opening the umbrella, only to almost have it get yanked away by the strong ocean breeze.

"Okay!" Mandy was six years old at the time, wearing a turquoise bathing suit with orange flowers on it. Her family was at the beach on a short vacation. The young girl waved at her mother and father, and then ran down to the clear, blue water.

Mandy loved how the way the water sparkled in the sunshine, and how the sand was soft beneath her little feet. She shivered a little as her toes hit the cool, clear water. After she got used to the water, she started swimming towards a reef that was a few ways away from shore.

Despite being only six years old, Mandy was a strong swimmer and a very good diver. Her strokes were even and propelled her with great speed. Her feet kicked strongly, barely making a ripple behind her.

When she reached the reef, she began to inhale small breathes and exhale them, and after she exhaled, she would take a bigger breath. Her unnoficial swim instructor (otherwise known as her mother) had said that would allow her to stay beneath the waves longer.

After a minute, her lungs were expanded to full size and capable of holding air for a long time. Only then did she dive down into the clear water. At first, she had her eyes closed. But after a few seconds, she opened them a crack, only to have them open up wide in amazement.

'Wow!'

The reef was a malestrom of colors, all blending perfectly together. And the Pokemon were no different. All sorts of small Water Pokemon were on or near the reef, shining all the colors of the rainbow.

A small group of pink heart-shaped Pokemon called Luvdisc swam towards her. One brave one swam right up to her while the others hung back, watching her carefully. Mandy would have giggled if she wasn't underwater. She stretched her hand out and stroked the Luvdisc. Startled, it swam away. But the petting must have felt good, for an instant later, it was back and rubbing her still stretched-out hand. The other Luvdisc saw this and immediately clustered around her, begging to be stroked. But Mandy needed air. She kicked her feet, being careful not to hit the little Pokemon that followed her.

Mandy's head broke the surface of the sea, and she breathed great gulps of the pristine air. Calming down, she looked out to the wide open ocean. She looked away, and then looked back. She could have sworn she saw a flash of pure white feathers out somewhere near… Shrugging, Mandy dove again. She swam down to the base of the reef, unaware that the Luvdisc weren't the only one's watching and following her...

Mandy swam up to a medium sized purple shell and looked over it. Curious, she tapped the shell. The shell opened, and a large, pink tongue came out.

Startled, Mandy pushed off the reef… into the group of Luvdisc. The little Pokemon clustered around her, stopping her backward fall (so to speak). Smiling, Mandy looked back to see what had made her freak. No wonder! It's a Shellder!

The Shellder blinked sleepily at her and the Luvdisc. Grinning, Mandy swam up to it. It looked at her curiously, then pulled its tongue back in and closed its shell. In a few seconds, Mandy could hear some soft snores. If she wasn't underwater, she would have laughed.

Mandy needed air again. Once more she kicked strongly towards the surface. After her head broke through and she took several deep breaths, she realized something was wrong. Mandy looked around and realized that everyone had gotten out of the water. She saw her mother on the beach, searching for her. It was obvious her mother spotted her, because Karen started to wave at her frantically.

Not understanding, Mandy waved back at her. Karen tried yelling, but her daughter was to far away to hear over the sound of the waves. Mandy began to take more breathes to go under again. Since her back was to the open sea, she didn't see the fin that was slowly coming towards her…

When Mandy dove, she looked around, thoroughly confused. Not one Pokemon was in sight. Even the Luvdisc had disappeared. Hovering in the water above the reef, Mandy looked over it. That's when she saw something out of the corner of her eye. Turning to look, she jumped up at least a half foot in the water. Her mouth opened and she screamed, and then shut it when water filled her lungs.

A Sharpedo was speeding straight towards her, going incredibly fast.

Frantically, Mandy looked for somewhere to hide. Finding nowhere to hide, she kept hovering. She balled her hands into fists. She knew the Sharpedo's skin was rough, and it would probably hurt her, but she would go down kicking. But an ache in her chest told her that she would have to breathe soon. Now she was sure she would die.

The Sharpedo, seeing that she had no where to go, and that she would fight, slowed down considerably. Mandy watched in terror as it got closer and closer. The ache in her chest had turned into a burning sensation. And still the Sharpedo came closer, ever closer…

Suddenly, a flash of white appeared in the corner of her eye. Mandy didn't have time to look at it before it was in front of her, blocking her from the Sharpedo.

When Mandy looked closer, she saw it was a Pokemon. Its body was covered in pure white feathers that shone in the sunlight that dappled the water. There were dark blue rectangular things where on its back, lying flat. Two dark blue things sprouted out from either side of its head. The head itself was on a long slender neck. Two wings were spread out, making the young Pokemon look bigger. At the end of the wings, what appeared to be fingers where spread out.

The little Pokemon opened its mouth, revealing two sharp fangs on its top jaw. It gave a miniature roar that stopped the Sharpedo dead. Fear flashed in the predators eyes. Why does it looked so scared? Mandy wondered, barely conscious. Her lungs felt like they were on fire. The Sharpedo looked positively terrified. It began to back away…

WHAM!

Too late. A large head butted the Sharpedo away from where it was. It looked like the head of the young Pokemon in front of Mandy, except it was much bigger, and the blue things on its head were more pointed and sharper looking.

Terror flashed in the Sharpedo's eyes as it tried to speed away. The larger Pokemon nodded to its offspring and gave chase, giving out a tremendous roar that shook the whole reef.

Mandy's lungs felt like they were locked in a vice-like grip. She saw black on the edge of her vision. She needed air desperately, but found she was unable to move. The young Pokemon turned towards her. Mandy saw its eyes: a deep, unending blackness full of concern.

The Pokemon swam underneath her. Surprisingly, it spoke.

'Hang onto my neck. I'll get you back to shore.' Its voice sounded like a little girls voice. Like Mandy's voice.

Mandy wrapped her arms around the young Pokemon and squeezed tight. Something told her…She didn't have time to finish the thought; the young Pokemon swam so fast she couldn't think at all. She couldn't hold her breath any longer. She opened her mouth…and found she and the young Pokemon where on the beach, hovering slightly in the air.

The Pokemon landed on the beach. Gasping, Mandy slid off its back and collapsed on the ground, coughing up water. The Pokemon crouched beside her, rubbing its wing on her belly, trying to comfort her.

'Are you alright?' it asked.

Mandy looked up at the Pokemon. Now that she was out of the water, she could see that this Pokemon was indeed a girl. She didn't know how, but somehow she could tell. "I-I'm fine. I think."

'You think or you know?'

Mandy's head went up in surprise. The Pokemon's eyes had a hint of humor in them. She smiled. "I know."

'That's good. I was afraid you might-hey!' Mandy had tried to rise, but her legs were too weak; she slumped against the Pokemon, exhausted. Sighing, the Pokemon bent her head down and nuzzled her gently.

'Would you like me to sing you a song?' Sleepily, Mandy nodded. Taking a deep breath, the Pokemon began to sing.

Her voice was sounded like the sweetest flute, slipping over the notes with ease. The song she sang made Mandy want to laugh and cry, jump up and down yet stay still, all at once. Silently, Mandy listened, entranced.

The blackness on the edge of Mandy's vision was growing. She willed it to stay back, not wanting to miss any of the song that was so achingly beautiful.

Soon the Pokemon's song faded. Mandy was in front of her, lying on her side, too tired to get up. She dimly heard the sound of pounding feet headed straight towards them. The Pokemon craned her graceful white neck to look. Alarm flashed in her eyes. She bent her head down and plucked one of her white feathers from her wing. She put it in Mandy's outstretched hand and spoke quickly.

'I have to go now. I hope you'll be okay.' She turned to go.

"Wait!" Mandy called. The Pokemon looked back. "What's your name?"

The Pokemon looked at her for a long moment, her eyes filled with conflicted feelings. Finally, she spoke one word.

'Waverunner.' The Pokemon turned her head back, walked the last couple of steps to get to the edge of the sea, and dove into the crystal waters, disappearing into the dark depths.

Mandy watched her go, and then lay her head on the sand, letting the blackness fill her vision. The pounding of feet grew so loud she could hardly stand it. Then she heard one word that made her more tired then ever.

"MANDY!" Karen swooped down on her daughter with the entire beach at her heels. People began to cluster around them. Mandy didn't care. The darkness was inviting her in, promising sleep. She clutched the feather tightly to her heart. She spoke one word.

"Waverunner." she whispered.

Mandy heard one note, pure and clear as an answer, then all became black and silent.

"Miss Mandy, will you stop daydreaming and get your formula's written down?"

Startled out of her trance, the teenager jumped, almost causing herself to fall out of her desk, much to her embaressment and the class amusement. "S-sorry, Mr. Mauk! I'll get right on it!"

"See that you do." Her Geometry teacher sighed, and turned back to the board, writing out how to put trigonomic functions to use in a right triangle.

I'mma back! I'mma back! :D :D :D Whoot! I've decided to go over and get this story back up and running. Though I'm more interested in Naruto nowadays, I just can't abandoned this story when I haven't finished it! And good grief, does it need updating. My writing is WAY better now! Dx So expect the good stuff from now on!