The night air was thick with fog as Torchic walked up the long path toward the home of the sage. She shivered, even though it was fall the night still felt chilly, and food had been scarce for some time. Her inner flame withered in this weather, the humidity making her feel powerless. It was all the more reason for her to try to reach the sage quickly. Her claws dug into the ground slightly with each step, trying to reach her destination with a weary trod.
'How much longer? We can't keep going like this? Why can't we get started now?' Were all questions she kept asking herself as she ran messages from the sage to wherever he needed. There were so many questions she had, but she knew to trust the sage. The one time she didn't-
She shuddered noticeably as she recalled the event. She was told to meet with a Seviper, but to take a very specific path. It was long and roundabout, it didn't make sense, so she tried to approach the point directly, only to be stopped by an Arboc that was very interested in where she was going. It even tried to point her in the 'right' direction, only to trap her and try to make her into a meal.
She shuddered again as she remembered the wide open fangs that tried to engulf her while the body of the snake tried to wrest away the life in her. It was only by sheer luck that she had enough flame still within her chest to singe its tongue and buy herself some time as Seviper came to receive his message.
She watched the path at her claws, it was easier than trying to make things out in the fog. It seemed like another hour but at last, she reached the sage's cabin. She knocked on the door with her beak, more due to absentmindedness than intentionally since she fell back onto her tail after walking into the door.
The door opened soundlessly to a wood cabin, which would have seemed old fashioned to a normal human, but as she stood up and preened her feathers back into place, she was no human either.
"Come in. It's time." The sage's voice said in her head. A trapdoor opened in the far corner, exceedingly well hidden, though the sage's psychic power may have helped with its concealment.
Those two words at the end rang in her mind, though from her excitement and not because he repeated them. It's time! She tried very hard not to chirp repeatedly as the day she had long awaited had come.
"Calm yourself chick." The voice said as she walked to the trapdoor and hopped down the stairs. "Making a racket won't make it happen any sooner."
"But, but, this is the best thing to ever happen!" She protested as she reached the last step and faced the Alakazam expectantly, shaking her body a few times and fluffing out her feathers in happiness.
"Of course," he replied, still in her mind as his throat never recovered from his horrible injury. "Even so, we must act carefully." The alakazam continued to watch the monitors of his sophisticated equipment, but Torchic knew she had his attention. He never needed to 'see' someone in order to work.
"Why? When you finally say the word, we can-"
"NO!" He said loudly in her mind, even turning to face her part way, then calmed himself and said a more soothing, "No, I'm sorry, but trying to take over by force never works. The humans, in all their ignorant ways, can at least have taught us this. We have acted subtly, yes, and now we can act more in the open, but we will NOT," he paused, emphasizing the word in her mind and showing her images of what would happen, "take over by force. The moment we do, all the humans, and even the pokemon who are too misguided to see clearly, will fight us, and the humans will seek to wipe us from the face of the Earth."
Torchic shrunk at the force of what he said, and even moreso at the images he projected. As much as Alakazam only imagined what could happen, she only understood that this is what would happen should she deviate from his plan this time. What could be more horrible than the world consumed by fire? Is this how bad it really would be? Yet she knew she must avoid this catastrophe, or there would be no home for her to make a nest or find a mate.
"Go, tell all the pokemon who you've met so far that it's time. They'll know what to do." He projected, turning back to face the screens.
"O-of course. Right away!" She said, hopping quickly enough she flapped her wings to keep stable as she rushed up the stairs and out to the already lifting fog.
Alakazam smirked to himself as he saw all the charts, maps, graphs, and streams of information which told him one thing as he projected the message to his contacts around the world, "Yes! It IS time!"