(I do not own Pokemon!)

It was pouring.

The rainstorm seemed to hit you from every direction, lightning flashing across the sky and thunder rattling the windows.

Brendan hissed and attempted to hide under an upside-down box. It didn't work-that was just as damp as the outside. The scruffy brown manx looked down the alleyway. It couldn't hurt to check over there… and it's not like I'm getting any wetter.

He walked down the empty alley, every step cautious. You never knew what you could find in these dark streets-whether it was enemy cats attacking or the ever-unpredictable humans, it was near impossible to relax.

At the very end of the alley, Brendan spotted a large trash bin, with just enough room underneath for a young cat like him to sneak under. He felt a bit like a mouse as he did so, but as long as he was dry, he really didn't care.

Until he realized that he wasn't alone.

There was another cat hiding out under that trash bin! On normal circumstances he would have tried to chase out the other cat (Can't trust anyone), but…

Well, that other cat just looked, well, terrified. While most cats Brendan had seen tried to be all tough and scary, this cat simply wasn't pretending.

"Uhh… hi." Said Brendan. "I'm not going to kick you out… if you were wondering."

The other cat just stared at him. Now that Brendan could get closer, he could size up his acquaintance.

The first thing he noticed was that the other cat was small. Not really, really small, but still a relatively small cat (Kitten? Brendan wasn't fully-grown either). A light gray coat with white marble patterns dripped with water, and a fluffy gray-tipped tail twitched nervously from side to side.

"What's your name?" Asked Brendan, hoping to strike up a conversation. "I'm Brendan, by the way." The kitten looked at him carefully before mumbling "Wally."

"Aw, it's nice to meet you." Said Brendan cheerfully. "So, how did you get stuck under this trash bin? Well, besides the rainstorm."

Wally was quiet for a moment. "G-got kicked out. Of m-my group, I m-mean."

Brendan wanted to know why he got kicked out, but it looked like a sore subject. He didn't want to push. However, Wally explained anyway. "T-too weak and sick for their liking."

Brendan frowned. If this kitten was as weak as he said he was, would he survive the brutal streets? It seemed very unlikely. But what should he do?

In a moment, he made a decision. "Hey, uh… would you like to come with me? Just for now, until we can find you a better place."

Wally's eyes lit up. "R-really?"

"Of course! We'll still have to wait out the storm, but after that, consider us a team for the time being!"

As he sat with Wally under the trash bin, he smiled.

A week later, Wally was still with him. He wondered if he had forgotten about the temporariness of their team-up.

Brendan didn't mind.

So, I'm alive!

I'm really sorry about the hold-up with the second chapter of Take to the sky. I'm working on it, but in the meantime I wanted to upload this new story!

Basically, this story is a cat alternate universe where a bunch of ORAS characters are living on the streets and fighting other cats. I promise the second chapter will be uploaded a lot sooner!