DISCLAIMER: I do not own Pokemon.
A SMEARGLE'S TALE
CHAPTER 2: FRIENDS OF OLD
The Xatu gave me an expressionless, yet somehow welcoming look. It did not blink, nor move at all. It just stood there. But for some reason I could tell that she was quite happy to see me. I had known this Xatu since I was a kit. She had watched over not only her own colony of Xatu and Natu, but also over our clan. There was a moment's silence. Hollow looked over the both of us from his perch on the lip of the knothole. Various Natu chicks peered from behind the great tree itself, along with a couple of tall patches of grass. They seemed a little wary of my presence since some of them had not seen me before, although I could recognise some of them from my time here before… but not by name.
"I sense that your journey has been of great spiritual effect," the elder Xatu spoke once again without any sign of movement. "I can tell. The energy that you possess now is far greater than your previous time here."
"Thank you, Willow," I bowed in acknowledgement of her statement. Hollow suddenly flew down to her side, looking at me intently.
"Will you please refer to her as The Elder, like the rest of us do?" Hollow said with a hint of anger. Willow… The Elder rather, turned her head slightly in Hollow's direction.
"It matters not by what name anyone wishes to address me by," Willow said in a rather stern voice of her own. Hollow quickly fell quiet, before brushing his small beak through her feathers, rustling them as he did so. Whether or not he was doing this out of affection or not was beyond me. "You face a difficult struggle against the new leader of the clan," Willow returned her attention to me. "He is supremely strong. It is only fortunate for us that we can negate most of his attacks."
"You mean he has tried to attack you?" I asked with concern.
"His attempts to intimidate us are infrequent, but the Natu chicks are easily startled by his rash behaviour," Willow replied. "But nonetheless, he is not our primary concern." Willow suddenly stopped as a second Xatu landed just behind me. I turned around to look at it. This one was much more energetic than the elderly Willow. His beak expressed a large smile, his wings were held forward welcomingly. "You might not recognise him. His form has changed where yours has remained the same," Willow stated cryptically. I gazed at the younger Xatu with slight confusion.
"Remind me," I said a little hesitantly.
"You remember Nate, the young Natu that you grew up with when our two groups were united?" Willow began, but needed not continue. I quickly exchanged a friendly hug with the Xatu, who was ecstatic about my sudden arrival.
"How are you, my friend?" Nate said in a much more animated manner than Willow had done.
"I've been better," I admitted. "But all the better to see you are well."
"That I am!" Nate smiled with sheer delight. "There's so much you've missed since you went away. Where do I begin?"
"I suggest that you allow Picasso some time to get his bearings and rest for a while," Willow said to the younger Xatu. "Night is beginning to fall, so you can explain everything in the morning."
"I don't mind," I smiled. "I could do with some cheering up."
"I'll bet your hungry," Nate suddenly said. "What would you like? Some berries? Or I caught a nice plump Pidgey just this morning."
"I'm alright," I declined politely, trying to peer through the small gaps in the branches. Nate hopped over to where I was looking, sticking his head in front of me.
"Hey!" he said excitedly once again. "You've got to tell me about what you did on your travels! I've got a lot of stuff to tell you too!"
"There's one thing I'm curious about," I said slowly, before rethinking the question I was going to ask. There was another Smeargle out there that I really wanted to find, but that would have to wait. Nate's impatience was able to break my concern. I quickly thought of a random question. "So… when did you evolve?" I blurted out.
"About a month ago or so," Nate replied. "There's been this Murkrow that keeps stalking us around here and I just wished I could evolve to try and get rid of the damned thing."
"Watch your language, Nate," Willow said a little sternly once again.
"Sorry," he apologised, lowering his head in shame a little.
"Forgiven," Willow nodded. "Do continue with your story."
"Alright, well I've just learnt how to fly with some help from Hollow," Nate smiled, nodding complimentarily to the Noctowl. "He's been real good to us. He acts as a sentry to watch for any threats that might come close. Psi, the Abra joined us not long ago. He'd been attacked by the Murkrow and The Elder nursed him back to health. He has been so grateful to us that he assists us whenever he can."
"Seems like you have a good life here," I smiled once again.
"We have had some issues rise since your departure," Willow intervened. "We've been under siege by a predatory antagonist. We are unable to determine who or what it is, but some Natu chicks have been disappearing recently. We believe that they are long dead, more than likely devoured by the predator."
"That's awful," I said sincerely.
"That's another reason why I evolved!" Nate said with high volume, almost boasting about his feat.
"Surely you can use your Psychic techniques to figure out where the attacker is coming from?" I suggested.
"The only one of us capable of doing something like that is The Elder," Nate stated. "She has the most honed Psychic powers out of all of us, but she does not us them for things such as mind reading."
"I do not believe in invading one's mind without their consent, whether it is for friend or foe," the wise old Xatu remarked.
"That's a very noble statement," I nodded. "But surely if your own kind are dying at the hands of this creature then it would be worth investigating."
"Of course," Willow replied. "But I would rather choose to do so through other methods."
"I understand," I bowed in acknowledgement. "I will help you in anyway I can."
"You don't have to do that," Willow replied.
"But I want to," I stated. "For everything that have been through in the past, you have welcomed me home in ways that I would have never imagined. I want to thank you somehow." Everyone fell silent for just one moment, before Willow slowly raised her wings and ascended back up to the lip of the knothole. How on earth she did it I could guess was due to her high level of psychic power.
"It is too much of a gesture of thanks for a simple welcoming," The Elder said loudly enough for the rest of her colony to hear. "In return for your noble act, you are welcome to stay here for as long as you wish." I looked up at the older Xatu, then to Nate, who looked delighted by this proposal. I nodded my head slowly, signalling my agreement.
"Alright then," I smiled. "It's a deal." The Natu chicks chirped in delight. Nate hugged me again happily.
"We can be like we were before! The best of friends!" he cawed in ecstasy. "So, what's you plan? Can I help you?"
"Of course you can help," I smiled. "I'll need to sleep on it before I come up with any grand plans as it were."
"Correct," Willow smiled. "Nate, the best thing you can do for Picasso right now would be to prepare somewhere nice for him to sleep. Do you have anything in mind regarding where you sleep?" Willow then asked me.
"I don't mind. I tended to sleep in bushes or corners of caves," I stated. "I really don't mind sleeping in a patch of grass somewhere."
"Nonsense," Hollow hooted. "I'll help Nate gather some leaves and we'll make a thick mattress for you to sleep on. I am on guard tonight, so you will be safe on the ground."
"That's kind of you," I smiled. "Thank you, Hollow." With that, Nate and Hollow took flight around the large willow tree, picking off specific branches with long leaves on them before resting them on the ground at the very base of the tree in a circular shape. Even some of the Natu chicks had picked up some small leaves and were hopping over to donate their contributions. In no time at all, a makeshift bed had been created. Nate suddenly landed next to me, holding a Caterpie by the tail. He quickly gobbled up the helpless little bug, but didn't show any sign of being bothered. After all, you eat to survive.
"Needed a bit of salt," Nate chuckled.
"Charming," I turned away, a little disgusted by Nate's method of consumption. But still, I wasn't beyond eating bugs… although only in extreme circumstances.
"Well? Try the bed out!" Nate jumped up and down excitedly. I walked over to where the thick layers of leaves were now laying. I pressed my paw lightly against the leaves, which sank under the pressure before bouncing back up like a springy mattress. I smiled and nodded simultaneously.
"That's perfect. Thank you very much," I said gratefully.
"Not a problem, my friend!" Nate said cheerfully as I walked back over to where we were stood before.
"I'll get a good nights sleep for sure," I grinned. "And tomorrow I'll be back to full strength before I help you catch the predator. And then I'll challenge Warhol." There was a sudden gasp by everyone around, with the exception of Willow and Hollow, the latter had now rejoined The Elder at the knothole. I wondered why everyone was so concerned by this, before I noticed the younger Natu had scuttled away from me, as if scared. Only Nate remained by my side. I turned around and saw another Smeargle stood just in front of the willow tree's leafy curtain. This Smeargle was like no other I had seen. His muscles were huge, as if he had taken them from a Machoke. He stood quite a lot taller than me, possibly due to the muscle swell. Smeargle are usually just under four feet tall in height. This particular one was about a foot taller than me, maybe even more so. It was glaring at me with pure venom, something that made me scowl a little.
"Before you what?" he growled in a deep, low voice as he flexed his bulging muscles at me…
TO BE CONTINUED
