Chapter 12
{This is the LAST chapter}
The chicks are now 15 months old. Since the time they learned to fly, me, Christina, and Jake have
taken them out for daily flights around the area. It's fun to see them fly out of sight and then circle the
entire Saffron City area for a half an hour. Like homing Pidgey, they always come back. It's especially
pretty when they're flying at sunset. Once, Christina took a picture of all of them flying in a beautiful
sunset. The sky was a gorgeous array of orange, pink, fushia, and purple. The silohuettes of the birds
are very clear. We even had it enlarged and framed. It's now hanging on the wall in the lobby.
With them learning to fly, the sad part of it was to prepare them for thier final release into the wild.
We've left them in an aviary for whole days with no supervision. They had to find food on their own.
Also, we had to band them. The breeding center was intrested to keep track of the birds, since this was
the first time they've ever seen a group of extremely rare Pokemon being raised here. On the Articuno,
Zapdos, Moltres, and Ho-Oh, we put a small band on their leg. It had a small transmitter that emitted
inaudible radio waves that could be picked up by a portable detector. With the Lugia, we implanted a
tiny microchip that emitted the same kind of radio waves into one of its tail spikes. It didn't hurt it.
Finally, it was time for them to be let go. We all were distraught, but we knew it had to be done.
The chicks are 15 3/4 months old at release point, FYI. They're at full adult size and plumage.
Putting the chicks in pokeballs, the three of us, along with ten other workers, got into one of the large
vans owned by the breeding center. We searched and searched for the perfect release point. Finally,
we found it.
It was a tiny gra$s topped cliff that ended in the ocean. It was very small and not rocky. Off to the right
was a larger "cliff" (Not even 18 feet tall) with a small tree on it. This was the perfect setting for the
release.
The three of us slowly took out their pokeballs and released them. The chicks thought this was just
another routine daily flight.
"Molt! Res ol! Tres?!"
"Lugi. A lu! LUGIA!"
"Zaap. Dos. Zap!"
"Ho ohoh. Ho-oh!"
"Arrticuno! Ti cuno art."
The regular workers stepped back as we told the birds the shocking news.
"Umm," said Christina. "This isn't one of those routine flights but around a new area. This is the end."
Jake nodded. "Yeah, we're releasing you."
The birds looked at us, shocked. Articuno looked at us with large, red, sad eyes.
"Cun?" it asked.
"Yes," I answered as if I knew exactly what it was saying. (I do know a little Pokemon language, but not
fully.)
As if it spoke human language, Articuno threw back its head and emitted a long, mournful,
"Nooooooooooo!"
The other birds then felt its sympathy. Teary eyed, they slumped down. Moltres's flames were low and
dim. When it's cheerful and happy, the flames are bright, but this was a very upsetting time.
"Moooooolt...."
Zapdos and Ho-Oh couldn't move from where they were standing. They were too sadness-stricken.
"Zap..."
"Ho..."
Lugia, which towered over all of us, lowered its head into the middle of the three of us and let out a
small, sad sound in its throat. We all stroked the giant bird's head as we all felt like crying. The three of
us were trying to hold the tears back.
"Go on," said one of the regular workers.
"Fly away," said another.
Christina, Jake, and I turned toward the birds.
"Go. It's been fun spending time with and raising you, but now you hafta go on your own," I told them.
They seemed to get the message. Slowly turning towards the dropoff, they spread their wings.
The five Legendary Birds that we raised for over a year then took off from the small ledge and were
now flying straight out over the ocean. A distance from shore, we watched as they each turned to their
own direction: Articuno turned left, Zapdos flew up, Moltres turned right, Lugia dropped down and dove
underwater, and Ho-Oh kept flying straight.
When they finally flew out of sight, we turned back and went to the van.
"Well, it was fun," said Jake.
"I miss them already," murmured Christina.
"I'll never forget them," I said.
"Don't worry, kids," said one of the workers. "We put radio transmitters on them. We can find them
again."
When we got back, me, Christina, and Jake were stopped by a worker.
"Go to the cafeteria. We have a surprise for you," she said.
Turning excitedly to the empty cafeteria, we rushed in. On one of the tables was a bundle of a towel.
"We found it in the forest; it was alone. We decided to take it in or else it would most likely die or get
eaten by predators. Since you raised those Legendary Birds, we decided to let you raise it."
We all looked at the towel. Slowly, we unwrapped it and gasped at what was lying in the middle of it.
"Kou!"
A baby Raikou! Holy mackerel!
"Wow!" the three of us shouted.
"Rai," the Raikou playfully snarled.
Happily, we took it into the nursery and took care of it...
THE END