DISCLAIMER: I do not own Pokemon.
MESSAGE TO READERS: Yes, I have decided to restart my earlier project of "A Smeargle's Tale" as I was basically unhappy with the way the first chapter turned out. I thought it was a bit to blunt, but at the same time provided too much story in such a short space of time. Hopefully this time I have cracked it.
This is the back story of Picasso, the Shiny Smeargle that appears in my other story "The League Of Champions." This story is entirely in Picasso's personal POV, unless otherwise stated. Many thanks to tracefan (of "The Darkness Within" and "Dark Eons" fame) for inspiring me with his work to try something like this. Hopefully, you shall all enjoy it. So, go grab a lemonade or something, kick back and enjoy!
A SMEARGLE'S TALE
CHAPTER 1: THE LONG CLIMB HOME
A bead of sweat rolled down the side of my head as I extended my arm further upward. The sweat, combined with the hammering rain trickled off the side of my cheek falling to the rocks below me. I let out an exhausted sigh. It seemed as though I had been climbing for days when in reality it was only a couple of hours. It was strange how one's perception of time could be so easily distorted by exhaustion. But yet the adrenaline of what I was attempting to achieve gave me the drive I needed to ascend higher.
I looked to the skies above. The skies had darkened, grey clouds covering what should be the blue sky. I could see no end in sight to the towering rock formation in front of me, but I knew that I had to keep going. There was certainly no going back now. And even if I did go back it would more than likely result in certain death. Something that I didn't want to happen in my current youthful state. The level of difficult to climb up this monstrous structure was on the scale of a Caterpie trying to defeat a swarm of Beedrill. I supposed it was for this reason that the land above was so secluded.
"There's got to be an easier way of doing this," I panted in slight frustration, pulling myself further up the face of the cliff, almost losing my footing a rocky ledge crumbled under the slightest addition of weight. I used my tail to wipe another ball of sweat from my face. I considered trying to use my tail as extra support, but my tail was particularly delicate. After all, I'm hardly an Aipom or an Ambipom, which would truly have been useful right now. I then had a sudden brainstorm. I grabbed a hold of my tail and thrust it upwards. From the brush-like tip, a long and thick vine shot upwards, wrapping itself around an overhanging rock. I chuckled to myself proudly, using the Vine to reel myself upwards like a fishing line that the humans use.
"I must thank that Bulbasaur for teaching me Vine Whip," I muttered to myself a little cockily, now ascending a lot faster than I had done previously. Upon reaching the overhanging rock, I managed to pull myself up onto it. I was surprised that this particular formation did not crumble like the previous ones. But I wasn't going to hang around to wonder why. I looked up once more, now noticing that the cliff face was at much more of an angle rather than the vertical formation beneath me. I knew that I must be getting closer. To my surprise as well, I could see the figure of a Pokemon not too far from where I was now situated. "Excuse me!" I called, to which I got no response. "You there," I shouted again, sending a second Vine Whip upwards towards where the figure was to wrap it around another rock. The Pokemon warily raised its wings and flapped them to gain more of a distance between us, before settling on another rock, its wings were still raised up as if to warn me off. But I would have none of it.
"What is your business here?" the bird-like Pokemon hooted at me. I gave him a strange look as I reeled myself further up the cliff.
"Who wants to know?" I replied in a cool, calm and collected manner. As I approached further, I could work out that the obstructing creature was a Noctowl. It made sense as the sun beginning to descend from behind the thick blanket of clouds.
"You are approaching sacred land," the Noctowl hooted once again. "Turn back this instant."
"Not a chance," I smiled. "I wish to challenge Vinci, the leader of the Smeargle clan." The Noctowl then suddenly let out a strange laugh, hooting as it chuckled. I said nothing, keeping my attention primarily on the matter of getting up the cliff side. I unravelled my Vine Whip once again. It was now easier to climb by foot, although I may have to crawl in some instances. The Noctowl was still laughing, for reasons I was unsure of. "Do I amuse you, Noctowl?" I asked in another calm tone.
"Not really," the owl Pokemon replied. "It's just that Vinci hasn't been around for a long time. In fact, I think after just two weeks of becoming leader he was defeated by the current leader." I wasn't quite sure how to take this news. It had been such a long time since that incident… but I could not believe that Vinci had lost the leadership so quickly. Particularly since he was a brutal adversary when we faced each other. "You Smeargles are a strange kind," the Noctowl sudden cooed at me. "You fight for leadership of your clan and the loser is evicted until they win leadership in another clan. Why not just remain in the clan you are born in?"
"You don't understand. You could never understand," I said, a little dishearteningly. "I was once the leader of the clan that lives at the top of this cliff. I grew up here. This is my home. I acknowledged the responsibilities and consequences of challenging for leadership, but I was fortunate enough to win."
"So why aren't you still here?" the Noctowl taunted me a little. I shot him a look, but kept my cool.
"I wasn't good enough on the day Vinci made his challenge," I said simply. The Noctowl lowered his wings slowly before hopping towards me, skipping from rock to rock.
"I should warn you," the Noctowl said almost at the volume of a whisper. "The current leader has not been defeated in nearly two years." He then paused suddenly. "Is that really how long you have been gone for?"
"Unfortunately so," I nodded, drifting away from the conversation slightly.
"I see," the bird nodded, before smiling slightly. "My name is Hollow. Nice to meet you," he bowed courteously. "And you must be…"
"…Picasso," I interrupted, stating my name. "The pleasure is mine. So tell me Hollow, do you live here too?"
"Oh, yes," Hollow suddenly pipped up. "I was good friends with The Elder when I was still a Hoothoot," he explained. I nodded, acknowledging who he meant by The Elder.
"How is she?" I asked with great interest.
"She's getting old now," Hollow replied. "But I still hold the utmost respect for her."
"Are you mates?" I asked. Hollow gave me a frightened, almost petrified look. "Just a question," I added coolly, letting out a small grin. The Noctowl soon calmed himself down.
"No," he quickly answered. "Besides, I hardly think that a Noctowl and a Xatu being mates would hardly go down well with the rest of her colony."
"I guess," I shrugged, shaking some of the rain from my fur, which made Hollow look at me with interest. I noticed this before replying. "I know most Smeargle's are beige rather than green, but that's just how I am," I stated a little coldly.
"I wasn't trying to insinuate anything," Hollow replied with a small chuckle. "It's just a strange colour. Even "Shiny" Smeargles are more of a yellow colour. It's just…different."
"Thank you," I replied with the slightest of sarcasm, before showing a much more serious expression. "So… what can you tell me regarding the current leader of the Clan?" I asked, a hint a venom in my tone. Hollow slowly let out a strange grin, before looking back up towards the lip of the cliff.
"His name is Warhol," Hollow began. "He is specially adapted to battling other Smeargles as he has a wide array of Fighting Type moves at his disposal." I let out a small sigh, knowing full well how much Fighting Type moves hurt. "The Elder tells me that his physical attack power surpasses any other Smeargle she has seen in all the time she has lived here, so I suggest you think very carefully about your technique before you challenge him. He's made mincemeat of every challenger thus far, making them Golbat food quite literally."
"Ugh," I shuddered at that thought.
"You'll have to see it to believe it," Hollow said wisely. "You should save your strength if you can. You look rather worn out already and he won't permit you to stay very long."
"That's alright," I grinned. "I have a little technique that will help me heal in no time flat. But first, I need to get to the top of the cliff."
"That should not be too much of a problem," Hollow smiled, before closing his eyes and turning his head one hundred and eighty degrees, which made me shudder a little the way he did it. Within seconds, a small yellow creature appeared in front of me from nowhere, also with its eyes closed. It was sat down, its arm hanging loosely at its sides.
"What is it?" the Abra yawned, looking incredibly tired.
"Psi, please assist my friend and I to The Elder's Tree," Hollow seemed to order the small Abra with a stern voice.
"As you wish," Psi yawned once again. The was a quick flash of white light, before the vision of rocks had vanished. The scenery was much more peaceful now. The rain had stopped. I could see long, thin branches and leaves of a willow tree drooping in front of us like a large curtain that extended right around us. The Abra quickly vanished once again, but Hollow took flight to a large knothole in the tree, perching on the edge of it. Moments later, he stepped to one side before being joined by a second bird-like pokemon. This one had a green head similar to the colour of my fur, along with a long yellow beak. It looked at me for a good two minutes or more, before floating down to the ground without flapping its wings… a strange sight to behold indeed.
"It's been a long time, Picasso," the elder Xatu spoke without moving its beak, giving me yet another chill down my spine.
TO BE CONTINUED