Sui the Suicune
Running literally alleviates the energy of the body, at least normally. Certainly not the case when I fled from the den that night. In fact, I kept going until I was eventually forced to stop due to my rumbling stomach. There would be no helping the one who thought that I was an easy snack.
The sun had risen an hour ago at the very least, and I could now get a glimpse of my surroundings. Much to my surprise, I was no longer in the wetlands; I had wandered all the way into a grassy plains area.
The flat terrain seemed to sprout grass from near every direction, and the sky brought not a cloud in the sky. The grass could almost conceal me even while I was on fours, and I at least stood a good three feet on fours at this point. As I continued to scan the plains, I noticed glinting in the distance.
Curiosity took over, and I felt compelled to investigate. This time, however, as I stalked through the grass, I found it strangely comforting that whatever it was, it wouldn't be hard to spot. My belly rumbled yet again, and much to my protest, I took in a whiff of the air.
Fire, blood, and what also seemed like the smell of rage. How could you smell rage? Apparently pokémon have an innate ability to smell out emotions, because rage smelled like a musty, rank odor normally associated with fighting.
By the time I got all of this figured out, I realized that I was approaching the sounds of clashing. Metal against metal, claws against metal, and what also sounded like screams and cries, all coming from various sources.
They blended together into a sort of battle music that I found oddly soothing. However, as I finally reached a safe distance, I realize that the two sides had the armored humans, some of them bearing cloths with emblems on them.
The standards of two kingdoms clearly were at stake, one of them wielding a banner resembling the head of a pokémon with a blue background, the other with a different pokémon head and a black background. The various combatants bore the color of the banner's background in shape or form, the most noticeable being the paint splashed in random directions.
Pokémon were within the clash also, mostly doing melee fighting, as they too, garbed in armor, fought each other. It oddly felt familiar, but even I could sense that this was not a battle just beginning.
The black banner fighters were slowly forcing the blue bannered ones into a tight ball. After some figuring, I reasoned that they were trying to trap the blue banners in a circle, and finish the fight that way. Something seemed off, however, as I noticed a missing weapon from this battlefield. There was a distinct lack of arrows.
I had known about arrows for quite the while, being taught about them mostly so I would know how to avoid them. If you were faced with an archer, then distance was your enemy, because they specialized in long range fighting, so getting closer would normally be your best bet. But here, there were no arrows whizzing about.
I scoffed, muttering to myself, "What sort of battle is this?" Darkness suddenly enveloped the ground, and as I wondered what caused it, three extensions pinned my torso to the ground, my legs splayed out around me.
Unable to move, I fought the urge to wail out, as fear crept upon me. "Well what do we have here?" something cackled, "Hard to imagine that they would have a suicune on their side!" "Stand down, the pokémon isn't even armored!" another ordered in a deeper tone, "we don't just randomly attack residents in a foreign kingdom!"
"Soon to be our kingdom," the first voice corrected, " If it's a wild pokémon, we don't want them getting their hands on it! I'll put it out of its misery now!"
I cringed, feeling more helpless than ever before. For once, I hoped that Sister would actually come and save me again, just for old time sakes, and take me back to the warm, safe den. I would apologize for running away and being a pest, then we would have some mashed oran berry with magikarp and fresh springwater. I'd lick her paws till she was satisfied at this point if she liberated me yet again.
The weight was suddenly lifted, and I quickly moved as I stared upwards, scrambling so that I could face whoever attacked me. While this would place my back towards the battle, I found it unlikely that they would find the time to come mess with me. One seemed to resemble an odd sharpedo of sorts, with a red side and a blue side.
It stood on twos, and its two top arms had what looked like extra dorsal fins attached, shaped like imperfect triangles. Its yellow eyes stared me down with a sinister, blood-thirsty gaze that fixed me in place.
The other seemed to be of the same species, but had red stained metal covering its entire body like a sort of armor. It had a hardened gaze as well, but seemed more sympathetic than eager to kill in my opinion.
I could distinguish who had done the initial attacking, as well as the fact that my fate was in their paws, claws, hands, or whatever they seemed to have. "But Master Gar!" the unarmored one complained, "what if they get their hands on this suicune?"
"I wouldn't want to be the one around when the mother or father decides they miss their kid," Gar barked, "not only that, Chomper, we have priority targets to be addressed to. We are not losing this battle!"
"Well, may I at least capture it?" Chomper inquired, a devilish grin forming, "I think the Generals would be pleased." "I doubt it, Tyra is very aggressive towards kids," Gar informed Chomper, "And the human general Steven doesn't like water type pokémon at all. It would be a death sentence!"
I connected that their leader's aggression towards creatures my age may have been the point of suggesting the idea in the first place. Chomper, having just met me… Well, not met I even, already had it out for me.
"Fine… But we can't just leave him here.." Chomper insisted in a final ditch effort, "We have to take him with us!" "Not on you r lives!" someone shouted in anger. A swampert suddenly appeared, flanked by two large penguins. The penguins were dominantly blue, and their wings had an oddly triangular shape to them.
I couldn't and still can't help but wonder what the thing with triangles is in this crazy age, as they were and are practically everywhere I went and go! The triangle wings were apparently lethal, as the two garchomp dodged the attackers as if the wings could cut through them.
Gar slammed the ground with his foreclaws, causing the ground beneath all of us to shake with a fierce intensity. As the shaking intensified, Chomper, who still seemed to have its balance, exhaled a blue-yellow burst of mist at the attackers, now clumped together.
In response, the empoleons swept their wings in opposite directions as the swampert mirrored Gar's movements, slamming its hands into the ground. It seemed as if a sudden gust of wind was temporarily warding off the mist.
While I still continued to shake for a few moments more, the empoleons seemed to maintain their balance as if the shaking had stopped where they had been. They then pressed their wings together and exhaled a flurry of frost, the very air in the path of the flurry seemingly freezing, including the yellow mist from earlier, and added sharpened ice to the frosty attack as it was re-directed at the two garchomps.
Chomper quickly burrowed beneath the ground, disappearing from view. Gar, however, found that he was, for some reason, stuck. The ground stopped shaking beneath me as it suddenly seemed to change into mud. I slide, and roughly splatted the ground, get mud all into my mane and even my mouth.
As I spat some grime out, I realized that the sudden transformation had probably ended up trapping Gar somehow. When he slammed into the ground, he must have slammed hard enough to imbed his very arms into the ground, the newly formed mud creating a suction cup of sorts that would prevent him from freeing himself with ease.
Either way, the flurry struck him, and I could hear the sound of water suddenly freezing, cracking even. In horror, Chomper, who had re-emerged several feet to the left of his previous position, and myself witnessed as Gar slowly began freezing.
"Run Chomper!" Gar howled to his companion as he managed to free himself from the ground. In a last ditch effort, he leapt into the air, stiffly I might add, and attempted to slam the swampert. Chomper hesitated, likely not wanting to abandon his superior so easily.
The empoleon both once again brandished their left wings, respectively, and lunged towards the descending pokémon in an attempt to protect their teammate. Chomper took this opportunity to slam the ground again, causing the irritating shaking.
I had only just managed to get back to my feet, so my irritation with suddenly being taken back down to the mud convinced me that I had over-stayed my spectatorship, and needed to be back on the move.
The empoleon waved, their balance disrupted by the sudden shaking again. The swampert violently kicked away its defenders as it too leapt from its place. Gar ended up slamming into the ground, full body this time, causing mud to splatter everywhere and the further scattering of the trio.
"Now!" the swampert shouted, the first verbal order I had heard it give. From nigh nowhere, rocks and boulders ranging in size came raining from the sky, launched from various directions, down upon the shaking Gar. Probably seeing what I could see, Gar ordered, "That was an order Chomper!"
Seconds later a rather large boulder landed upon his back, causing the pokémon to howl in pain. It coughed as it was buried in a tomb of rocks, a distinct smile seen as it disappeared from view. "Gar!" Chomper howled in emotional pain, reaching out vainly, only to suddenly be flanked by the empoleon.
Prepared to end things, they made slashing movements with their left wings until one vanished beneath the ground. The other stopped mid-attack, confused by the disappearance of its comrade, until a detached wing impaled the empoleon from beneath.
As it fell, a large, rocky looking creature emerged from the ground, the area near its jaws covered in blood. For the most part, it was completely covered in metal armor, but how it was able to move from one side of the garchomp to the other so quickly would be the question, since the pokémon even had a helmet to compliment the entire suit of metal armor.
"Chomper, Gar gave you his last order; if you want to live, you had best follow it!" the beast roared, sending its opponents scurrying for cover.
With a visible and audible pang of regret, Chomper said, "Yes… General Tyra." The two then disappeared beneath the ground; leaving me wonder why I too hadn't made my get-away while everyone was distracted.
The rock throwers slowly approached the area, many of them being living boulders themselves, and convinced the swampert with their movements that instinct had gotten the better of it. I looked around, realizing that the battle was over.
The blue banners still stood; however, a new banner joined them in a sort of companionship. One with a tan and brown banner with the symbol of yet again a single pokémon head. Seems help had arrived not a moment too soon for them.
"Hey, a baby suicune!" someone shouted, bringing my attention back to the matter at hand as my head turned back towards the battlefield I had been near. Some muttering, then they slowly began to approach me.
I growled at them, but it seemed to make them go "awww" instead of take it as a warning sign. I listened to my own growl, and realized painfully that I didn't sound threatening in the least bit. Heck, I sounded more like a kitten than a legendary creature worth fearing.
"Let's take it back to Fontaine!" one of the golems suggested, "maybe someone there can befriend it." "That's asking for trouble!" another golem argued, "what if the relatives of it show up?" My stomach rumbled again, rather loudly.
As the golems were arguing, I sniffed the air, far more intent on finding something to eat. I still could only smell battle. Disheartened, I looked dismally towards the rocky tomb that had served as the final resting place of Gar.
Why were they even fighting in the first place? Were those garchomps related? How was Sister and Mother? More importantly, were they even worried about me? Did they miss me? I certainly missed them.
My mouth started watering, however, as unwittingly I caught a hold of a scent that was familiar, yet unfamiliar to me, my head turned towards the aroma. With renewed strength, I sprinted away from the chatter and the arguing.
They didn't give chase thankfully, and with the wind in my mane and ears, I couldn't help but feel at home. Just running, wherever I pleased, whenever… Oh who was I kidding, I was following my nose at that point! The smell of frying magikarp attracted me, and as I slowly approached a high set of walls, I glared at the top.
A steep slope of water flowed downward, powerfully into a turning wheel, which then dropped the water to ground level. The walls seemed to be made out of solid rock, meaning that even if I were on full strength, it was unlikely that I'd be able to cut through it without attracting attention.
Not to mention that water erosion was apparently having little effect at the top of the wall, where portions of it dropped the water down towards the wheel. Almost a perfect square, the impressive barrier proved troublesome in the pursuit of food, although I could still easily see that there was a large tower sort of building within, towering even over the walls of the city.
My paws continued to carry me forward, despite the obvious danger of approaching strange walls. Without thinking, I leapt atop the water, running along the wheel until I managed to clear it, running up the steep incline as if it were flat terrain, using the water as my guide as the scent got stronger.
When I finally got to the top of the wall, a startled cry sounded from nesting wingull, who cawed my ears all the way down as I used the ramp-like slope to descend into the centerpiece. An over-sized fountain spewed water in nigh every direction, the water a gritty, somewhat tinted color. I found, just sitting there in the open, an abandoned magikarp, fully cooked.
It had probably been left by one of those fighters. "Ah well, they probably won't miss it!" I reasoned as I began chowing down on it with a ravenous determination. A few minutes later and I was licking the stone where the fish had been at, tasting remnants of it. Something else had been in it, a spice of sorts, as Sister called it.
She said it was rare to get it, since it was produced through human means, but when applied to anything we ate, it gave it a taste unlike any other. Sometimes for the better, sometimes not so much, just like any flavor enhancements.
I had to agree that so far, this was definitely for the better. Another magikarp was placed at my feet. I looked up towards the placer. It was a human of sorts with brown, spikey hair, a tan coloring, and deep, brown eyes that invited the soul.
It was male, but he seemed rather curious as in fact intrigued at my presence. Heck, I could presume that this was merely a child among their groupings. My invitation was declined, however, as I practically went face-first into the fish.
The human cautiously reached out his hand. Pretending I hadn't noticed, I continued eating. The human stroked my still dirty mane gently, eventually rubbing my back as I licked up that morsel as well. I licked my lips, somewhat satisfied, and took a lap at the water.
I immediately spat it out in disgust. It definitely wasn't spring water, and hadn't been graced in any sort of way by a filter, because I could taste every mineral it had passed through on its way to my tongue.
I took a deep breath, and then whispered a quick prayer of sorts, which we always did before we took any extended drinks from water sources, placed one forepaw over the water, and then began lapping at the water. It was fresh now, as if it had come straight from an unpolluted sky.
As I took my fill of water to wash down the magikarp, I finally noticed a sort of gathering of humans and pokémon alike around the fountain. The water emitting from it was much clearer, almost like a crystal, and the people were marveling at it. I began sensing that, for some odd reason, they were thinking that I had actually done it.
As Sister once put it, humans were quite the confused creatures when coincidence presented itself. I took a few more looks around before lapping more at the water, still rather thirsty.
It wasn't until you got those first gulps that your mouth decides to store up for the next running session and thus causes you to long even more for something to assuage your thirst. I continued to drink, even as the gathering began drawing the water and screeching into the air.
The only word I caught was Fontaine, as I had already heard it before, and it dawned on me that this was probably the establishment that those blue banner pokémon and humans originated from.
After a few further minutes of drinking my fill, my head cleared, allowing me to think more clearly. As I thought about it, it dawned on me that I was in a strange place surrounded by strange people.
I stepped away from the fountain, only to end up backing into a rather sturdy barrier. I whirled around, only to see a giant turtle with what looked like canons emerging from its shell. The creature inquired, "Why are you in Fontaine?"
Obviously I was not here to sight-see. "I was hungry and thirsty," I explained, "My nose and paws took me here." "I see," the blastoise replied, "so you managed to get past our walls then, because I was guarding the front gate, and I did not notice your entry."
I could presume that he had at least noticed my very brief walkthrough of the outside. However, the way he spoke, it could mean that he found it suspiciously odd that I managed to get around his security.
"Well, maybe you just were not paying attention," I suggested, noticing that the crowd was dispersing now that my attention was on the blastoise.
"Captain Blast is the name, and defense of Fontaine is my job," the blastoise announced, offering a forepaw in greeting. "I don't really have much of a name," I complied as I shook his left forepaw with my own, "whenever I am called, I tend to know that it is me who is being referred."
"Well that will do no good," Blast scoffed, "especially if you plan on staying here for your next meals."
Now he was beginning to make presumptions that I would stay here in Fontaine. We both brought back our paws, our paw shake of sorts probably rather odd, with my paws being covered and almost coated in mud, his being relatively spotless.
"I would actually rather be on my way…" I started as my eyes searched for a quick way out. The crowd had dispersed, but oddly enough, there were more pokémon about, water types for the most part, who seemed to be indirectly backing Blast in case I tried to put up a fight.
Instincts were not kicking in, so I guess it was time to rely on my own mind. "Listen, how does Sui sound for a name?" Blast suggested, "and what sort of skills do you have?"
"I cannot shake the feeling that you are insisting that I stay here," I bluntly growled, "As a commitment of sorts." "Well, you did just eat my dinner," Blast growled in response, clearly showing to me that he was willing to force me to stay.
"Now that we are on the same page," Blast sang in a friendly tone again, "perhaps you can go ahead and outline your specialties." "Running," I groaned, surrendering at last, "that is the only specialty that I can think of."
"How fast are you?" Blast inquired, circling me as he looked me over. "Fast enough?" I suggested, not really knowing how to answer the question.
"That's not very specific," Blast shouted, "How fast?!" At this point he was in the large fountain, roughly behind me, and the sudden increase in volume startled me. Blast smiled, leaned over, and pointed his two canons at me. "Alright, since you don't know, I'll be the judge of how fast you are," Blast snickered, "Ready?"
I didn't bother giving a verbal response as I took off, my energy renewed by the rather bold approach. Pokémon cleared out of my way as I hauled my ass across the town square.
As I attempted to find a place to hide, I found doors and windows alike being boarded up or guarded by pokémon, meaning that this was a trial of sorts that had probably been planned.
Jets of water destroyed pottery and baskets that I passed by. I could not judge how many times I went around the circle, but eventually I closed in on the blastoise.
Remembering how my sister had defeated the lapras, I found my way to his back and pounced. Unlike the lapras, however, the blastoise was ready for me, firing both cannons practically into my face.
I was flung high into the air as the powerful force knocked the breath from me, seeing magikarp as I spiraled downward. When I hit what felt like the ground, I immediately returned to my feet, by this point not even guided by my own thoughts.
I started running again as a blast of water literally gorged out the rock where I had been moments before, and much faster than I had anticipated, I was at the back of the blastoise again.
I had no idea what had come over me, but I enjoyed the thought that maybe finally my instincts or whatever were kicking in. I pounce upon his back, finding that I had little to no grip on the smooth shell armor. He spun rapidly, sending me once again into the air. However, a surge of energy churned in my belly as I landed, this time on my feet.
Breathing hard, eyes likely widened, and claws extended, I howled into the air, an animalistic, beastly presence over-shadowing self-awareness. I shot forward as Blast stopped spinning, facing me as I came towards him. Almost manipulating the water around him, he made an effort to swarm me with a large torrent of water from the fountain.
I howled yet again, exhaling my breath almost in the same time as I made contact. However, rather than splashing through water, I broke through ice. Reacting quickly, Blast made a move to pin me with his body.
Swiftly I maneuvered around the body slam, and began circling Blast, stirring up the water as I did so. The vortex of water, very soon, took a life of its own, the water forming a sort of whirlpool.
Apparently the force of it was greater than I had anticipated, because by the time I stopped spinning and skidded to a halt back to my starting place, Blast was hurled into the air, withdrawn into his shell.
As he re-emerged, seemingly unharmed by the whirlpool, he fired from his mouth a thick stream of water. I dodged yet again, and then prepared to leap into the air in continued pursuit when my back paws were caught.
As I went to the ground, fully restrained, Blast landed in the fountain, destroying the previously ornate structure and creating a large spout of water. Despite my best efforts, eventually I was restrained by a small army of smaller turtles with wing ornaments on their heads.
Blast huffed and commented, "I suppose I took that a little farther than I should have. You're fast when you need to be." I could only muffle my response, which was something along the lines of a "you think?", sarcastic statement of irritation.
"Release him," Blast commanded, to which the small turtles retreated from their restraint efforts. "I stood up, still breathing hard, demanding, "I want out of this place!"
Blast chuckled, and then suddenly became stern. "From here on forth you will be our newest runner, presuming the human military leader and General Wishcashah agree to such a thing," he once again commanded, "any attempts at leaving will be met with resistance, and you shall be watched till you are formally initiated."
Deep down, I hoped that disapproval wrote itself all over me as the group laughed, life apparently returning to normal within the city. Had I known that this situation punished me for entering when clearly I was not welcome, then I should have killed my hunger before it got me into this mess.
Instincts… So far, it has gotten me into trouble, and almost killed for that matter.