Ah...the "joys" of using Doc Manager on a mobile device. Since I'm having such trouble getting italics to work, I will be using the "*" to indicate any thoughts going through a character's mind. Hope you guys don't find this to be too annoying.
Long, eerie howls ripped through the sunset darkened forest, announcing the savage song of hunters on the trail of their prey. Terrified, hordes of small pokémon desperately fled to hide. Pachirisu previously intent on gathering up berries abandoned their provisions to scamper up any nearby tree. Rattata scurried into the dark recesses of any holes or burrows that they could find. Pidgey and Taillow flapped up and took refuge in the darkening sky. The unlucky ones that were unable to use any of the previous escape methods were forced to run away as fast as they could and hope they wouldn't get caught.
The howls intensified as the predators found the trail of their long pursued prey. "FASTER!" an authoritative voice bellowed, "If you lot lose him I'll have your hide between my teeth!"
"Yes, Alpha!" a chorus of barks answered. With lolling tongues and glowing red eyes, the pack of dark doberman-like pokémon noisily crashed through the undergrowth.
Too far ahead to be seen by its savage followers, a lone figure with resemblance to a saber toothed tiger streaked across the forest ground. The creature's long, mane ran down from the length its neck to its back, rippling in the wind. A tail the shape of lightning bounced with the rhythm of the strong, striped, churning legs. It was a Raikou, but a closer look at the fleeing pokémon would have revealed that this one's appearance was different than the ordinary. Gone was the bright, yellow fur color; instead it was replaced with a dark, ash-gray shade. The tail and whiskers were also a different color, a silvery sheen instead of light blue. But the mane was considerably noticeable; instead of being purple and magnificently curled, it was dark red with the ends frayed like a torn cape.
An annoyed growl rumbled in Raiken's throat. He hated running from such noisy, overconfident brutes. Normally, he would just fry them all with a good blast of electricity and be done with it, but he couldn't afford to stay in one place with this much ruckus going on—he was much too sought out for that.
*You honestly think you scare me? Think again, you mangy mutts!* The story of Houndoom being capable of inflicting a burn that hurts forever was just laughable. Couldn't anyone else see through that ruse?
The Raikou wrinkled his muzzle. *Although their breath's so foul it might be enough to make my nose sting forever.* Still, they were relentless, and it was about time that he shook them off his trail...
Up ahead, the Raikou could see open, tall grassland just past the forest tree line. He surged towards it, swiftly weaving past thick tree trunks. Faster and faster, he pelted on until he burst out from the forest's edge and entered the tall grassed field. Raiken, now that the open space freed him to race even faster, thundered across the grassy turf casting up small puffs of dust. He felt a small twinge of satisfaction as the howls started to grow fainter as the distance between them increased. Then again...it was only a matter of time before the Houndoom reached the field as well.
Suddenly, a hideous space of nothingness loomed in front of the sabertooth. With a shocked hiss, Raiken desperately dug his long white claws into the ground. Leaving gouges in the earth, the dark pelted Raikou slid across the ground and slid to an stop just a few steps ahead of the cliff's drop.
Raiken lay panting on the ground for a few heartbeats, but quickly jumped up to his paws again; he didn't have the leisure of lying there and considering what could have happened. The howls were coming closer.
Cautiously, the Raikou pricked his way to the cliff's edge and peered down. The drop down wasn't extremely far, but a marsh smelling even more foul than the Houndoom oozed beneath it. Ugly, drooping reeds jutted out from the water and an assortment of clumpy plants and peat floated on top of the water. A sickly looking, green-brown layer of scum coated the water's surface, resembling a gross form of skin. The Raikou curled up his lip in disgust at the rank sight.
An idea suddenly formed into his head, and the electric tiger grimaced at what his mind had conjured up. There was no way he would ever want to even go near such a stinking place...but he had to do something to throw the Houndoom off his trail. Their loud noise was bound to attract unwanted attention towards him eventually, and at least the stench would definitely camouflage his scent. *I am NOT looking forward to this...*
With a bitter feeling in his gut, the sabertooth took a deep breath, bunched up his muscles, and leaped down. For a moment he seemed to be falling slowly at a dizzying pace, and the next gravity took over and he was plummeting downward at a much faster speed than he wanted to. The Raikou slammed into the water, the force of the impact painfully slapping against his chest and knocking the breath out of him. Raiken felt light headed and disoriented as he sank down in the dark, warm, fluid. Long, narrow underwater plants snaked around his legs, as if they were trying to drag the electric type down into the murky depths. A sickening taste enveloped in his mouth as the thick, warm, disgusting liquid flooded into his jaws. Raiken stifled a gag at the rancid taste, and then frantically began pumping his legs. Using powerful leg strokes, he tore free from the water weed's grasp and swam upward.
Finally, his head broke the murky surface and water spewed from his mouth. Blinking the grime from his eyes, Raiken glanced around and decided to head for the opposite shore. The bank looked very muddy and generally unappealing, but the dark forest beyond it looked overgrown and enticingly concealed enough. As swiftly and as quietly possible, the electric type paddled towards land.
Eventually, his paws found solid footing beneath the water, albeit feeling sticky and gunky. Suddenly, a muffled hiss and deep, guttural groan sounded from behind the the saber. Swiveling his head, Raiken turned to see a long line of rising bubbles trailing after a large, submerged form heading right towards him.