Hello everybody! New story for you all! And guess what! It's multi-chapter! *exclamations of awe* When I originally got this idea, I'd planned to make it into a CG movie. Unfortunately, seeing as I have no video making program of any kind…yeah. Well, I've been carrying this around for a few months, and then I decided that, more to keep my ideas straight than anything else, I'd make it into a fanfic. Major tribute to LunarEclipse and GalladeXGardevoir, which I have been told is called MedievalStory (I have to check that). Well, enjoy, and for Arceus's sake, REVIEW!

I am not even going to do the disclaimer, because you all know that I don't own Pokemon. …Wait, did I just…DANG IT!

THE WIND AND THE RAINChapter 1: Two Pasts, One Future

The sun shone cheerily from its lofty perch high atop a cloudless blue sky, casting golden rays down on a vast expanse of green splashed liberally with patches of shining gold and white that was a great pasture filled with the first blooms of spring. A gentle gust passed over the field, creating a wide sweeping wave as the flowers bowed in the wind. At that moment, a hand was reaching down to pluck one such flower. A green hand with only two fingers.

The young Gardevoir brought the little yellow flower to her face and inhaled slowly, a look of simple delight and serenity on her face. "So wonderful," she said softly to herself as she knelt amongst other such yellow blossoms. "Indeed," came a new voice, male this time. The Gardevoir slowly turned her head to look behind her and her smile widened even more. "In my opinion, there is only one thing sweeter than the scent of a freshly picked wildflower," the new speaker said, approaching the girl and offering her his hand. She reached up, placing her own in it, and allowed herself to be pulled into a standing position, all the time watching the face of the Gallade who was looking at her with unconcealed adoration. "And that is you, Rain."

"You flatter me too much Zephyr," she replied, glowing happily nonetheless. "I speak only what I feel at all times, as well you know," he replied, before placing an arm around her shoulders. They began to walk across the field, watching as a flock of Butterfree flew among the blossoms chattering excitedly to themselves, and any observer would know at first glance that between them there was a love that would withstand any trial.

"How long has it been?" Zephyr asked at length. Rain considered a little while before answering. "About four months." Zephyr blinked in surprise. "That long already? My, seems barely a week. How time does fly." They continued to walk in silence for a little while when Zephyr spoke again.

"You know," he said. "This may seem a little odd, but I don't think either of us have actually talked about our past much." Rain paused to consider a moment. "You know, you're right. Huh, you'd think something like that would have come up sooner." Zephyr chuckled softly. "Well, why don't you start?"

"Well, there isn't really that much to tell, actually," she said. "I was born in a forest about four...miles, isn't it? about that way. I depended on my mother for about the first year of my life, until I was old enough to find food for myself. It was another two years before I was old enough to start helping out with my pack. I started out as a harvester, and that's what I've been doing ever since. I didn't see my dad all that much until he retired from the warriors, but I knew he still loved my mom and me, and he visited whenever he could. Now we see him whenever we like. And that's how life went for me, until I met you." At this, she turned to him with yet another radiant smile. "Now, how about you? What was your life like?"

Zephyr grinned. "Well, I started out kinda like you, except I was born a lot farther away. I don't even remember exactly where anymore. I always knew I was a little different from the others my age, but at first I didn't really know what. I don't know about your pack, but in mine the young Ralts never really walked or ran. Our parents carried us until we were old enough to Teleport, and that was how we got around after that. Once I evolved, though, I could tell what set me apart. The Kirlia in the pack liked to have footraces, probably to celebrate having legs you could actually walk on. If I was ever in the group, everyone else needed a head start or I'd beat them all for sure."

"It was a pretty sweet life," he went on brightly, but then his face darkened. "Or at least it was." Rain looked at him with a little concern. "What happened?" Zephyr glanced at her, and his face was morose. "Well, like I said I don't really remember where my home ground is, but I remember it was a wetland of some kind. We were a tribe of fishers, so we were dependent on the water, and we always lived near a river. Unfortunately, that area also happened to be home to a rather nasty population of Crawdaunt. Most of the time they weren't much of a problem. The males in our pack were usually able to fend them off. My dad was the leader of the warriors. He was the toughest Gallade you'd find anywhere, and I always wanted to take his place some day and make him proud, but I never got my chance."

"The night of the incident was just like any other night. The mothers and the children were gathered around the fires, roasting the day's catches and playing amongst themselves, while the males stood guard by the edge of the river. The Crawdaunt always came from the water before, and we always expected them to. We thought that they couldn't be very bright being that predictable, but it turns out we were the stupid ones."

"All of a sudden, a claw larger than my head came whipping out of the grass behind the patrol and clamped around my dad's chest. He was already dead before the thing dragged him back into the reeds. I still keep thinking about how unfair that was. My dad, toughest of the tough, got killed by a sneak attack without even getting a chance to fight. Anyway, the other fighters went down pretty quickly, and after that it just turned into a slaughter. The women and children couldn't fight against the Dark-Type advantage, and we were surrounded, so escape wasn't an option. The only reason I'm still alive is because my mom managed to hide me in a hollow tree nearby before they noticed her."

"When I came out the next morning, the only thing I saw was a lot of dead bodies. I never found my mom, but I wasn't about to kid myself that she was still alive somewhere. My guess is they dragged her off and ate her. Anyway, I knew it was suicide to stay in the marsh, so I left as fast as I could. Since I was a second stage evolution, I was old enough to fend for myself, so I just wandered around, surviving."

Zephyr broke off at this point, and there were tears in his eyes. Rain put a hand on his shoulder, her eyes sad as well. "I'm so sorry," she said. "I had no idea." Zephyr sighed and took a deep breath to regain his composure before turning to look at her with grateful eyes. "Thanks," he said, "but you don't need to be sorry. There was nothing you could do, and anyway it was a long time ago."

"Anyway, I just lived on a day by day basis. I didn't know what the future held, and I didn't really care. I guess I lost the ability to care about much anything except staying alive. I don't know how much of my life passed like that. I can't really remember that time all that well. Everything's a pretty big blur until I met him."

"Zach Edwards, rising Pokemon Trainer and hopeful future league champion. Well, what Trainer isn't? He found me wandering around Eterna Forest, and he took a shine to me. Took me down in about a minute, and caught me like it was nothing at all. However, he wasn't anything like other Trainers. The first thing he did after he caught me was get me healed at a Pokemon Center, and then he brought me right back to where he'd caught me."

"I expected him to introduce himself, welcome me to the team, all the other slave induction rights that other Trainers do when they catch a Pokemon. Trainers say they make friends with their Pokemon, but very few actually do. Most actually just treat them like pets or trained animals, which jump at a command. They give all the orders, and they take all the credit for things their Pokemon do. Humans say that they view Pokemon as equals, but in reality we're just really smart animals to them. I think most of them don't actually believe we're sentient, even though we are."

"But Zach was different. The first words I heard out of his mouth were "Would you like me to set you free?" I realized that he wasn't like the others I had seen. He did view Pokemon as intelligent, and he respected them. I knew he wanted me to stay, but if I didn't want to, he wouldn't make me, even though he could. I think it was that kindness, more than anything else, that made me stay with him. Well, that and the fact that I didn't really have any other prospects."

"My time with him was the best of my life up to then. The first thing I noticed was that he never talked down to me, like I was an animal who had done a trick. When he praised me, it was like he was talking to a friend. Then I noticed that he would ask my opinion on things, which meant that he respected my judgement. I knew he did that with all his Pokemon, but it still made me feel special. For the first time in a long time, I was happy again. And when he would talk to me about his dream of being League Champion, I found myself looking to the future again. I saw myself standing next to Zach on some imagined pedestal, watching him hold some extravagant trophy and knowing that I'd helped him get there, and he knew it and was grateful."

"I responded with devotion and unquestioning obedience. If he had ever said 'jump' I wouldn't have even asked how high, I would have just jumped. Not that he ever did, though. Gradually, our relationship bloomed into one of friendship. He began letting me out of my Pokeball for no particular reason. Sometimes we'd talk, sometimes he'd show me the scenery. A lot of times he would teach me things, share knowledge that humans had gathered that Pokemon wouldn't have, as you know. Every time, right before he put my back, he would ask me if I was happy with him, and I always said yes without any hesitation. One day, he let me out, and he never put me back in again."

"Now, being a male Kirlia, I had a choice to make, as you know I trust. Gardevoir or Gallade? The thing was, Zach had been hoping that I might choose the pure Psychic type. I wanted to make him happy after everything he'd done for me, but I'd always wanted to be like my dad, too, and I didn't know which I should pick. For the longest time, I couldn't choose between what I wanted and what he wanted, which shows how close we'd grown. One day, though, he walked up behind me and tapped me on the head with a stone. The next thing I knew was a blinding white light, and when it was gone there I stood, a Gallade. Lying next to me was a spent Dawn Stone. That, if I had ever needed any more, was the final bit of proof that Zach saw me as an equal, a friend: he was willing to choose what I wanted over what he wanted."

"It wasn't long before we had made a name for ourselves. His skill as a Trainer, as well as my rather unusual quality, quickly built our reputation for us. Eventually I got used to walking into a Pokemon Center and hearing someone shout 'Hey, it's Zach and the Razorwind!' Life was pretty good. Of course, it got better when I met you. You remember that part, right?"

By now the pair was sitting in the shade of a tall oak tree at the edge of the meadow. "Of course I do," Rain replied, before leaning against Zephyr and resting her head on his shoulder. "But I love to hear you tell it anyway." Zephyr gently stroked her hair and smiled, saying nothing for a short while. "All right," he said at last.

-(000)-

Cliff hangeeeeerrrr! Please, read and review. I'd love to know what you think. The first few chapters should come fairly quickly, but please bear with me if (read: when) it starts to slow down.