If there is one thing that I like about the rain, other than the consistent drumming, the alluring sound of the water droplets crashing on top of the roof of your house, it would have to be the fact that no one could ever tell that you are crying. The rain just sweeps away the tears and they blend in with the downpour and the rain is all that is left. This is the only time I cry.

Silver

The Rain of Tears

Chapter 1

The rain was crashing down from the sky as if even god was crying over this mournful day. The clouds had blocked out the sun along with its heat and sunshine. There was no light. The rain drops had already covered the ground and left puddles along the sidewalk, dispersed and varied. Some big puddles and smaller ones were left in their wake.

One red headed boy stepped from a church to meet this downpour outside. He wasn't expecting it, but again, he didn't really care much about it. He was wearing a black shirt along with his worn-in jeans. He usually wore a navy sweatshirt, but he left it back at the Pokémon Center, where he was staying for the night. He was in Viridian, the home of his father's gym.

The boy looked up to the rain clouds, trying to find something, something that was lost with rain. He couldn't hear anything except for the pounding of the rain atop his head. The rain drops pelted his eyes as they begun to blur, thus rendered as useless as his hearing. His thoughts were washed away too as he found himself simply staring mindlessly at the clouds overhead. Not trying to find meaning anymore, but in an attempt to be swept away with the storm; whirled away with the winds to heaven and maybe, just maybe he might find the something he was looking for. His lost self.

After waiting there for, ten minutes, give or take, he met with the crowd of people exiting the church. He was washed away, not with the rain, but with the mass of bodies. As they scattered, he still found himself standing there. It was as if no one had noticed him, no one found it strange that this boy standing on the second step of the church stairs was simply looking at the rain clouds, doing nothing, simply staring.

Strangely enough, within all of this confusion was a lone girl. She stood by his side, and with a simple gesture of placing an umbrella above his head, she had snapped him out of his confusion and again, brought him back to reality. He turned to face this creature, who gave him a smile in exchange for his blank, emotionless face. He thought it unfair that his girl had to always wear a smile, when he always gave her nothing in return. He always told himself that someday, he would return to her everything she had done for him and give her a smile as well, but he couldn't right now. Not on this dreary day.

"Hello Silver," she said it so near perfect that it must have been practiced, he thought in the back crevice of his mind, his near subconscious. "Nice weather, isn't it?" She also, almost always, began any conversation, no matter how pointless or small the talk. No matter what she was thinking or how she felt, she almost always talked first. She giggled a bit, finally looking away and out into the street where cars were whizzing by, beeping their horns and flashing their lights, casting some color onto this gray and bleak day.

"It's raining…" Silver stated, in a monotone. Again, it was her carrying the conversation along. She was the one who governed their relationship. He too looked out into the street that was congested with cars and trucks and some motorcycles. He couldn't see what was making her look out into this mess, but he would try, at least for her sake, to find out, to see through her eyes.

"Want to battle?" She asked, changing the subject completely. This was her strong point, changing subjects in a second without the other's consent. Silver could tell that she was staring at him, he could feel the laser beams from her eyes boring into the side of his head, but didn't meet her eyes with his own, fearing that he would be melted by the sunshine in her eyes, the special glint she held in them.

"No thanks." Silver replied quickly and without substance.

"Please?" she grabbed Silver's arms and brought them together, emitting a sound from them that could be considered as a clap of some sort. He wasn't exactly sure was he was drawn in by, if it was the innocence she carried with her or the joyfulness of her presence with him. Either or, he was still confused not only about how she was able to break down his arrogant demeanor which he kept up with everyone else, but about how easily she was able to do it.

"Ugh…fine," Silver stated as he followed her as she bounced happily out of the town and into the forest.

It was still raining, but not as much as before. Now it was simply drizzle. The forest ground was moist and sloshy. The ground was coated with the rain, creating a massive puddle along the forest floor.

"Alright," the girl began. "It'll be a one on one match. Each of us can only use one Pokémon, and no substitutions, kay'?" She smiled in his direction. Silver merely flicked his drenched hair out of his face and nodded, causing the hair to fall in front of his face again. She grabbed a pokéball form her belt as he did the same. They both enlarged their respective pokéball and tossed them in the air causing them to release their creatures from within the capsules.

From Silver's ball came a small, humanoid creature with a feather on its head and black skin. Its skin was sleek, so the rain simply glided off of the creature and gave its body with a glistening. Its hands held claws, two large claws and one smaller one, which acted as a thumb. Its feet were also claws.

From the other trainer's ball came another strange creature. It was green with two antennae sprouting from its head. Around its neck were six petals, each one was pink with white tips. Its feet were three toed; each toe was covered with a white nail. It was large, not that much more than its trainer, yet twice as large as its opponent.

The girl said, "I guess I'll begin…go Meganium, Razor Leaf!" The green creature gave out a cry as its petals began glowing green. From them materialized multiple leaves, which were also cloaked in this greenish light. The Pokémon then proceeded to whirl its head around in a circle which set the leaves spiraling at the opponent.

"Sneasel, jump and then proceed with an Ice Claw." The little dark grey creature turned its head to its master and nodded its head. Right as the leaves were about to hit it, the Pokémon jumped high into the air. One of the leaves found its target, just barely grazing its leg, but enough to draw blood. Both of its claws began to glow with a light bluish light as it descended upon its target.

"Meganium, use Dig!" The green creature didn't miss a beat. It hurriedly dug its way underground, just as the other creature landed outside of the hole. The smaller creature looked around frantically, for it didn't know where its opponent was.

"Sneasel, don't just stand there! Use Double Team." Silver shouted at the small Pokémon. The Sneasel then appeared to have created multiple copies of its self, because it was moving so fast. The other trainer bit her thumb, but then smirked.

"Meganium, pop out and use Petal Dance." The green Pokémon popped out into the middle of the mass of Sneasels and began to twirl its head around. Suddenly, pink petals started to enter the battle field. The red haired trainer's eyes grew wide.

"Sneasel, get out of there!" But it was too late. All of the Sneasels were caught up in a whirlwind of petals. The petals cut through the apparitions, leaving none left except for the original. The storm of petals subsided as the trainers could see what was left after the attack. It was covered in scratch marks from the petals that cut into it. The Sneasel was knocked unconscious, and the girl was victorious.

"Ugh…" the red headed trainer walked over to its Sneasel as it looked up at him with a defeated look it its eyes. "Sneasel-Sneas!" the Pokémon cried out as the boy dropped down to his knees and picked up the Pokémon. Before, he would have simply kicked the Pokémon for making him lose the fight not even thinking about how the Pokémon felt, but now he knew that was what his father did and he had to make sure he wasn't like him at all; that thing which was his enemy .He hated that man, but still loved him as a father. It brought tears to his eyes once again.

He took out his Pokémon's pokéball and tapped its head, returning it to its pokéball. He turned his head back to the sky to stare at it once again. His face being cleansed by the pour of rain drops, tears from the heavens. Why was he sad about this? Why did he care so much? It felt as though something had been torn out of him, something important. He had finally defeated his father, but this wasn't what he was expecting to feel. He was expecting to feel relieved, but no; he should have been happy that his father died. His enemy was now defeated, but nothing seemed to have changed. Was this what he was planning on happening? Was this what he was longing for this whole time, this feeling of emptiness?

The girl trainer was now behind him and locked him in an embrace. He could feel her but he was still cold, cold as a stone. She was always here for him, by his side. It was … strange because all he ever did was shove her off him and his problems whenever she asked, but whenever he was curious about something in her past, she smiled and told whatever she could tell him about it. It almost wasn't fair. Before, he didn't really listen, for he expected a yes or a no, or a simple explanation, but she always explained whatever it was in explicit detail. She was an open book, while he was a closed vault.

"Silver…" The girl behind him mumbled into his back, now drenched and cold from being exposed to the rain. She tightened her grip around him, pulling herself even closer to him. She turned her head sideways, her ear now pressed against him. He felt something leave him as she turned his head. He no longer felt her nose pressing into his back. It was the same feeling that you got when you removed a splinter from your hand. At the moment when the wood chip was in your hand, you instantly thought it unbearable, but then when you remove it, you realize that it actually didn't hurt as bad as you thought; all of that whining seemed so childish after words.

"I'm sorry about your father…" The girl spoke quietly, her words almost inaudible to the boy she held on to for dear life. She squeezed a bit tighter. Silver was crying again. Again, he still didn't know why, why he was crying for something that didn't matter that much to him at all. Yet, the reason he was crying was because he cared.

"What are you doing?" He asked. She quickly backed off of him and shyly stared at the ground. She kicked at the mud a little bit. Silver turned around and faced her averted eyes. This person, standing here, he thought, has been though everything with me. And I still have yet to fulfill my end of the bargain.

"Sorry…I…uh…thought you might need some…support…" She stumbled over her words as they wriggled their way off of her tongue and out of her mouth. Her face was flushed. She still anchored her gaze to the ground. Weird, he thought, she had the courage to hug me, but now she can't even look me in the eye. What a strange girl…

Silver advanced towards the girl standing in front of him. The girl had just enough time to look up at him before he clutched in a tight embrace. She was surprised by the closeness that they held at the moment.

"Silver!" She gasped. She waited a moment before taking any action, unsure of what to do. She wrapped her own arms around his torso. It was cold, but Silver could feel his body warm up from her touch. Her fragile, delicate body pressed so close to his. His stone, cold body was beginning to warm up a bit. He felt the ember in his heart grow a bit from her touch as well. He now had a new reason for living, her.

"Thank you," was all he said before he broke the embrace. He whispered it into her ear, tickling it a bit. He felt as though something was torn from him as they separated. They stared into each other's eyes. He felt the warmth, even though their only contact was holding hands. He couldn't live like this forever, this guilt. He was too reliant on her. What had he done that could amount to what she had done for him?

Nothing.

With another simple gesture of turning his back, he became even colder since the heat between them had subsided. She didn't call his name, but instead, shed some tears. She watched him as he walked further and further away from her. The trees soon prevented her from seeing him. The darkness crept over him again, pulling him away from her.

"Bye, Silver." she said to no one in particular as she turned around and found her way back to the Pokémon Center.