Author's Note: Hello, all! Meganium here with the fourth in my series of Legendary Pokémon pairing one-shots! This time, it's Entei and Suicune, also known as DouseShipping (everything has a name in this fandom! XD). It was a tough decision between pairing Suicune with Entei or Raikou, but I always sort of liked her with Entei a little better, plus my coin-flip was heads, so DouseShipping won. XD
Without further ado, please enjoy the one-shot, and I will love you forever if you review. :)
Catch the Wind
A graceful blue paw delicately touched the surface of the grayed water, creating slowly expanding ripples. The blue creature moved over the lake as if dancing on its surface, her violet mane and ribbon-like tails trailing behind her. As her paws touched the water, the grayness of the water seemed to be cleansed away, returning to a crystalline blue with every ripple that began with the touch of her toes. She leaped across the water's surface and returned every bit of it to its natural state, untainted and pure, until it sparkled and glimmered in the dappled light that filtered through the treetops above.
Her job finished, Suicune stepped onto the bank of the lake and bowed her head, the large crystal on her head glinting in the sunlight as well as she bent to lap from the cleansed water.
"I knew I would find you here," a voice rumbled from her left.
The blue Pokémon jumped and stumbled slightly in a manner which did not match her graceful appearance, and whipped her head in the direction the voice had come from.
"Entei!" she breathed in her smooth voice, though at the moment it sounded a little accusatory. "Do not startle me thus!" She tried to calm her rapidly-beating heart, and glared at the visitor that had caused her such a panic.
"My apologies, Suicune," the large brown Pokémon responded, bowing his head slightly to her even though he did not really sound apologetic.
"What brings you here, Entei?" Suicune asked briskly, regaining her composure with a slight shake of her magnificent mane. It was not common for one of her counterparts to seek her out: mostly the three kept to themselves. The last time she had seen him was in the Burned Tower, when they had been awakened anew and took off racing across Johto. It had been quite a while ago, she thought briefly as her red eyes scanned him over: his red-and-yellow star-like facial spikes, his gray tusks, his billowing, cloudlike mane, and the sharp spikes protruding from his back.
"I come bearing unfortunate news," Entei said in his deep voice, his angular orange eyes taking in Suicune as hers took in him.
"And what would that be?" Suicune asked him curiously, silently padding a bit closer to him. Her mane and tails rippled behind her in a nonexistent breeze (or perhaps a breeze just for her) as they always did.
"There is no easy way to say this..." Entei said solemnly, looking down at the lush grass beneath his massive paws.
"Out with it, Entei," Suicune said with a barely discernible hiss to her voice. She had no time to chat idly— her job was an important one which required constant vigilance. "It is not like you to beat around the bush!"
"Very well," the Volcano Pokémon said with a slight sigh, though there was still a pause before he finally lifted his head and locked his eyes on hers. "Raikou..." he said seriously, "has been Captured."
Suicune gasped, taking a step back. "No..." she breathed, images of the yellow, striped, saber-toothed cat flashing through her mind. "Not Raikou. It cannot be." Entei's and her Electric-type counterpart completed their trio- what would she and Entei be without him?
"I am afraid it is so," Entei reaffirmed grimly. "I saw it happen. It was a young Trainer. He tossed a strange violet ball, and Raikou was sucked inside before he could even strike back."
"Didn't he try to break free?" Suicune pressed, her eyes full of concern that belied her usual composed nature. "Didn't he fight back?"
"The ball wobbled, but he could not break loose," Entei told her. "It is a sad thing, but at least he is uninjured. All we can do now is hope that the human will treat him kindly."
"'All we can do now'!" Suicune tittered disbelievingly. "And what of you? You saw this happen, yet you did nothing to intervene?" Her red eyes flashed angrily. "You simply hid like a coward while our counterpart was enslaved!" she spat.
"What could I have done, Suicune?" he barked, not tolerating her attitude for a moment, his orange eyes just as severe as her crimson ones. "As Pokémon, we all must face the risk of being Captured. Raikou is no different!"
"No different? No different?" Suicune echoed angrily, raising her magnificent head haughtily. "He is one of us! One of Ho-oh's! How can you claim he is no different? You turned your back on him! You could have stepped in and helped him escape!"
"And if I had been captured as well?" Entei said bluntly, and Suicune flinched. The thought had not crossed her mind. "Would you rather I had been captured, too?"
"I..." Suicune began, abashed. "No, of course not, but-"
"There was nothing I could do, North Wind," Entei interrupted sadly. "I mourn our counterpart's loss, Suicune, but he is only Captured, not dead, and we should be grateful for that, if nothing else."
As much as Suicune hated to admit it, he was right. But she could not help but feel sad at the knowledge that Raikou had been captured. It felt like a piece of her had been taken away. "Why do you tell me this, Entei?" she asked, her voice shaking ever so slightly in grief. "Why do you burden me with this sad news?"
He was silent a moment, his keen fire-colored eyes scanning her over. She held his gaze, as if trying to read the answer within his eyes. Finally, he looked away. "I did not want to see the same happen to you," he admitted quietly, sounding slightly ashamed.
Suicune was taken aback. "You went to all the trouble of locating me simply to warn me?" she asked, both bemused and oddly flattered.
"It was no difficult task to find you," Entei dismissed mildly, though the way he shuffled his feet indicated that he was embarrassed. "Wherever tainted water is, there are you also."
Despite his claim, Suicune was pleased, as well as puzzled, at his concern for her. "You say we are no different from any other Pokémon; that we all have an equal chance of being Captured," she pressed. "Yet you sought me out to warn me. Why?" She padded even closer to him, her footfalls making no sound on the soft green grass. She stood face-to-face with him now.
Entei stepped a hind foot back, uncomfortable at their proximity. "I do not want to be the only one of my trio left in the Wild," he said, unconvincingly. "I warn you for selfish reasons."
Suicune could not help the sly smirk that crept across her muzzle. "You lie," she sang. "You have come to me out of concern."
"Of course I am concerned," Entei said grumpily, tossing his regal head in a gesture of annoyance. "We are counterparts. We must look after one another as much as we are able."
Suicune tilted her head upward to they stood eye-to-eye. "You do not warn me out of duty," she said boldly. "You warn me out of affection for me."
Entei made a disgruntled noise halfway between a snort and a bark. "You imply that I hold no affection for Raikou?" he asked flatly, his orange eyes gazing down at her with disapproval.
"I merely imply that perhaps you feel a bit more protective of me than Raikou," she said smoothly, her eyes flickering from his eyes to the crown-like spikes on his forehead.
"Well, you are a female," Entei growled brashly. "Perhaps I feel that you are less capable of defending yourself." It was as if he were attempting to offend her to throw her off-course.
Suicune's eyes narrowed and her smirk disappeared. "You know as well as I that we are all three equal in strength," she growled sharply.
Entei chuckled lightly, his diversion technique having been effective. "I suppose so," he conceded.
Mollified at his agreement, Suicune leaped back on the previous subject. "So why did you choose to seek me out, Entei?" she pressed again.
The Volcano Pokémon sighed. Suicune was quite persistent. "I do not know," he said, his eyes searching the ground as he ducked his head a bit. "I merely wanted to find you."
"Were you worried for me, Entei?" Suicune asked, her voice softer now as she lowered her head slightly and tried to meet his eyes. "Were you afraid that I had been Captured as well?"
He lifted his head again, and she mirrored him, their eyes meeting again. A brief silence passed between them, then Entei heaved another sigh, darting his eyes away again. "Terrified," he admitted at last.
Suicune tried very hard not to let a grin spread across her muzzle. "Really?" she asked, her eyes sparkling in amusement. "The great and noble Beast of Fire, terrified?"
Entei glared at her. She was not as good at hiding her expressions as she thought she was. He was done dodging questions, however. "I do not want to lose you, Suicune," he told her with as much dignity as he could muster.
Suicune's grin slid off her face as her eyes widened slightly, surprised at the regal Pokémon's words. She looked him over, trying to detect any hint that would tell her that he was teasing her. She found none. "Entei..." she started, touched.
"I will protect you, Suicune," Entei asserted, standing straight and proud, lion-like. "You will not be Captured as well. I will make sure of it."
For once, the North Wind was without words. "Entei..." she repeated, though this time sounded a little more choked with emotion. Her own voiced startled her a little— such a small thing had made her this emotional? She shook herself mentally and swallowed the lump in her throat. "You needn't guard me, Entei," she said, pretending to be as dignified as Entei pretended to be. "I will not be Captured. Just avoid being Captured yourself. I would be quite upset if I were the only one of Ho-oh's Beasts left."
A slight smile pulled at Entei's mouth at her words. "I will avoid it at all costs," he assured her.
Suicune returned his smile. Briefly, she allowed herself to be sincere. "Take care of yourself, Entei," she said. "Show them that anyone trying to Capture Fire will only get burned."
His fire-colored eyes glinted with appreciation. "I will, Suicune," he said, turning to leave her. After a few steps, he stopped, and Suicune heard the distinct rumbling sound of Entei's laughter.
"What?" she asked defensively, afraid he was laughing at her.
"I was just realizing how silly it was to think you needed my protection," he explained, and he turned over his shoulder to look at her. "After all, one cannot catch the Wind."
She smiled at him as he suddenly leaped away, leaving her in solitude once more.
Author's Note: So? How was it? Not too bad, I hope. I'm writing this at 1:23. XD Anyway, if you read and enjoyed, please leave me a review so you can let me know what you liked (or didn't like)! It really means a lot to an aspiring author.
I have been resisting doing a Lugia/Ho-oh fic, since those two seem almost too "godly" to mess with, but a reviewer once told me that I could pull it off. I'm still not too sure...XD If my muse hits me over the head with a Pokéball of inspiration (what does that even mean?), perhaps I will someday... otherwise, I'm thinking of doing a Celebi x Jirachi one. The only problem is, how will I explain them even interacting with one another?... XD I guess I'll have to figure that one out.
Anywhoo, I'm rambling. Um, review please! That is all. :D