HUGE THANKS to natsuko-aya and AnoymousZzzZz for reviewing!
Alright guys. Last chapter! I hope you all enjoyed the fic, and thanks for reading!
Disclaimer: I don't own Pokémon. Wish I did, but alas...
Arashi: Japanese, meaning "storm"
Gold opened his eyes. A haze of sand and debris and choking dust filled his vision, great clouds of it filling up the air like an artificial fogbank. His ears were ringing from the blasts, a static-like buzz that blocked his ears and threw off his balance. What had just-?
Thick, coarse fur blocked everything out, the scent of ashes and fire hitting his nose. Gold abruptly realized that Typhlosion had wrapped around him in a protective embrace, the starter pokémon holding him tight like a parent with their cub. Rocks and grit were digging into his side where it was pressed into the ground, the sensation oddly numbed as adrenaline blocked out the pain.
Gold shifted, the ringing already beginning to subside as he tried to collect his shattered thoughts. One moment he'd been walking along the beach, quietly as you please, and the next-
Smoke and explosions, artificial geysers of sand and surf spewing high into the air. The initial wave had knocked him off his feet, he remembered hearing Typhlosion's startled roar and Togekiss's cry of shock-
"Togekiss," he gasped, eyes wide but senses returning even as he began to squirm out of Typhlosion's grip. "Togekiss, I gotta- is he okay? Where is he?!"
Typhlosion growled, the rumbling noise filtering through the buzz with increasing volume every second, and tightened his grip. "Phlosion!" he barked, sharp and commanding.
Gold tried to struggle free, panic for Togekiss flooding his heart. Those blasts, they had come from farther inland, but fell from the sky in high-powered spheres of destruction. Launched, perhaps from some sort of machine? No, that didn't matter. Gold had to find his friend. What if Togekiss was hurt? What if he had been shot down, what if he hadn't been able to avoid the attack? What if, what if, what if-
A worried trill as a dark shape swooped through the clouds of grit, landing with barely a skid on the gravel. Gold's eyes flicked up, as Togekiss looked down at him from a sideways perspective, feathers coated in a layer of brown and grime but thanks Arceus he was alright. Oh, thank Arceus.
"Togekiss! You're safe!" he exclaimed, voice suffused with relief. Turning to his starter, Gold murmured, "Thank you," as Typhlosion huffed and finally consented to let him up. "You shielded me."
The Fire-type shook out his fur, worry lingering in his gaze as he scrutinized his trainer for injuries. After a moment, he made a satisfied noise and stood, turning his attention to the slowly dissipating haze of debris.
Gold inhaled and coughed, eyes watering as he squinted in the direction he thought the attack might have come from. "What the heck was that?" he muttered to himself, trying to pinpoint something- anything- besides dirt and sand and endless tones of brown. "Togekiss, can you clear it up?"
Togekiss chirped an affirmative and took to the skies, air currents swirling around him as he blew it all into nothing. Gold squinted, holding back another cough. Then, he saw the perpetrators behind the explosions- and promptly swore. Loudly and heavily.
"Team Rocket," he growled. "I should've known. Cockroaches, all of you. Just don't know when to give up, huh?"
Behind him, Typhlosion let out a menacing snarl, mane flaring up in a banner of crimson-gold as he prepared for a fight. Togekiss swooped down to join him as Gold released the rest of his pokémon, all six of them instantly fanning out in battle formation.
One of the Rocket members stepped forwards, probably their leader. "You may have forced Archer to disband us, but Team Rocket lives on! We will never be defeated!" she yelled, face twisted with hate. "When we find Giovanni-"
Gold rolled his eyes and scoffed. "Giovanni abandoned Team Rocket. He didn't come when you tried to message him from Goldenrod, he didn't come to help when I demolished the rest of your organization, and he didn't so much as poke his head out of whatever hole he'd crawled into when Archer did the smart thing and followed in his footsteps. What makes you think he's going to do anything, even if you find him?" the younger trainer interrupted.
Meanwhile, he subtly gestured to Politoed, signaling the amphibious pokémon to use Hypnosis and knock out their attackers. Unfortunately, they seemed to have thought of that, as a full pack of houndoom with the odd mightyena was released to ward of Psychics.
"Nice try, but we've researched your pokémon thoroughly. We knew exactly how to counter each and every one of them," the leader gloated. Then, without wasting more time monologuing, she raised her arm, pointed imperiously at Gold, and cried, "Attack!"
Right on cue, the rest of the Rockets released all their pokémon at once, and Gold realized that he was in serious trouble. There were around ten Rocket trainers with at least two or three pokémon each, and, like the woman had said, they seemed tailored specifically for his team. Gold wondered offhandedly how long it must've taken them to organize everything, but then a blaze of fire roared past his head- and the beach dissolved into a chaotic, free-for-all battle.
Gold panted for breath, trying not to slip on the water-slick rocks. He wasn't stupid, and the Rockets had gotten him surrounded. So he'd bolted at the first opportunity, recalling his friends and heading for the safety of the Tohjo Falls. There was a hidden cave behind them, Gold knew, and he could take shelter in there while he regrouped and called for backup. A brilliant trainer he may have been, but even he knew when to retreat in the face of much greater opposition.
Besides, it wasn't like he was running away. He planned to fight the Rockets, just... on his own terms. From a strategic location where he could ambush them, instead of the other way around.
Gold cursed as he nearly overbalanced, managing to duck behind the waterfalls just before the Rockets burst into the cavern. He could see their distorted images through the pounding curtain of water, wavering and dark. However, that meant that there was a chance of them seeing him, so he dashed into the hidden cave as soon as he could.
Turned out, though... it was already occupied.
Gold skidded to a halt, sneakers nearly flying out from under him as he almost slipped on a particularly wet patch of mud. "Silver?" he asked, eyes wide and chest heaving as his heart pounded in his chest. "What are you doing here?"
Silver's head snapped around to stare at him, his expression startled. "Gold? What are you doing here?"
Gold huffed a breathless laugh as he leaned against the wall, brushing some of the dirt off of his clothes. "Oh, you know. The usual," he replied flippantly. "Surviving explosions, fighting Team Rocket, being stupid enough to walk right into one of their traps... nothing major."
Silver was in front of him in a flash, letting Gold lean on him a bit as Silver helped him into the cave. "Team Rocket? But Archer disbanded them!"
"Yeah, well," Gold flinched as a cut on his ankle from a stray Razor Leaf twinged in warning, "turns out that not everybody agreed."
"No kidding," Silver agreed as he pushed Gold down into a chair. "Hold still, I'll grab bandages. Are your pokémon okay?"
"Superficial wounds only, both me and them," Gold assured his friend as he released his team. "Typhlosion shielded me from the explosions, though, and I'm worried there might be some shrapnel damage. Togekiss too; the beach was pretty rocky."
Alakazam appeared in a flash of light as he checked over Gold's companions, eyes glowing with psychic power. After a moment, he nodded at the two humans and telepathically told them, They are fine. You are correct; superficial wounds only.
Gold sighed in relief. "Oh, good. I was worried."
Ambipom chittered and hopped up to him, normally grinning face pinched with concern. "Ambipom!" he insisted, one of his hand-tails hovering over his trainer's ribs.
Silver's head snapped around from where he had been rummaging through his bag. "Gold, you said you weren't hurt!"
"I'm not!" he insisted, hastily covering up the long but shallow cut. "Seriously, relax. Besides, we got bigger things to worry about. Like the angry ex-Rockets who really, really want revenge?"
A scoff. "Them? They're nothing. I'll take care of it. Now, sleep."
Gold tried to protest, but then Alakazam's eyes flashed white for just the briefest moment- and Gold sank deep into unconsciousness.
The last thing he saw was Silver, face a mask of ice-calm fury as he strode purposefully out of the cave.
"Poli, politoed!"
SLAP!
"Agh! What the-!"
Gold startled awake, sputtering in confusion. He blinked up at the amphibious pokémon, who was bouncing slightly on his chest. "What the heck...?"
Looking around, Gold saw that he was laid out on what looked like Silver's sleeping bag, still in the cave behind Tohjo Falls. Muffling roars and crashes could be heard from outside, as humans and pokémon alike screamed in terror. The sound jolted Gold to full awareness like nothing else as he scrambled to his feet, fumbling for his pokéballs. Politoed leapt off and pointed urgently at the exit, seeming awed and fearful at the same time.
Gold paused briefly, confused at the odd signals that Politoed to sending out. Awed? By what? And... fearful? Again, of what?
Hopefully Silver's alright, he thought to himself as he all but ran out of the cave. Taking on all those Rockets by himself- and he calls me an idiot-!
A blast, an explosion as the world shook and bits of rubble and water rained from the ceiling. A series of dirt chunks bounced off of Gold's hat as he ducked behind the waterfall, Typhlosion's pokéball already in hand-
And then his brain stopped short, as he came face-to-back with frikin' Lugia.
Every train of thought just stalled. Gold stared, eyes wide, unable to comprehend it as the Diving Pokémon reared its head back and let loose a raging Aeroblast. Even though he was standing behind it, the sheer power packed into the Legendary's signature attack made the ground shake and the cavern echo with the remnants of the blast.
Feet moving hardly before he even realized it, Gold ducked back behind the waterfall and pressed himself up against the wall. Politoed, who still hung back at the mouth of the hidden cave, dashed up to join him.
"Holy s***," Gold breathed, heart like a stampeding herd of rapidash in his chest. "Holy s***."
Politoed croaked in hoarse agreement.
Lugia's eyes narrowed, jaws open in a jagged snarl as it watched the Rockets flee. Their pokémon lay in scattered heaps across the ground, beaten and either unconscious or whimpering in pain. Before a single one reached safety, however, they were blocked... by Silver's pokémon. Who were very fearsome, very angry, and conspicuously lacking their trainer.
Feraligatr let loose a low, rumbling growl as he physically blocked the exit, spitting out Hydro Pumps to dissuade anyone who drew near. Crobat harried them from above as Sneasel dashed from Rocket to Rocket, sharp claws raking bloody gashes while Gengar and Magneton finished them off with paralyzing effect attacks. Alakazam knocked them out right after that, briefly touching the foreheads of each one for some unknown reason after he did so.
Once all the Rockets had been taken care of, Lugia finally seemed to subside as it closed its jaws and folded its hand-like wings back. A strangely familiar sigh was quietly exhaled and its neck stretched forwards, critically scrutinizing each unconscious Rocket member. After a moment, Lugia gave what appeared to be a satisfied nod, and Alakazam nodded back before lifting the fallen humans with Psychic and Teleporting away to parts unknown.
What followed, however, was even more strange. Silver's pokémon, instead of waiting for their trainer, congregated around the Legendary and started... well, for lack of a better word, Gold would have had to describe it as fussing. Silver's team was fussing over Lugia, fluttering around to check for injuries and barking out things in almost chiding or worried tones. For Arceus's sake, Crobat and Sneasel had somehow ended up on top of Lugia's head and back and were attempting to groom it!
Gold blinked owlishly at the spectacle, as stunned as if he'd run headfirst into a brick wall. What...? The sight simply wouldn't compute for him, like if he'd walked out one day and noticed that the sky was hot pink and the grass was neon orange.
Seriously. What.
...And where the heck was Silver?!
Just then, a shudder rippled through Lugia's entire body. Its neck dropped and its shoulders rolled back, light flashing in a corona over sleek starlight feathers. Gold watched, confused by this turn of events. What was happening? Worry gathered in the pit of his stomach as another shudder wracked Lugia's body, starting from the head and working its way all the way down to the Legendary's tail.
Light pulsed out in flashing rings, a particularly bright glow emanating from a single spot in the center of Lugia's chest. The Diving Pokémon growled harshly, glowing brighter and brighter and-
Wait. Was Lugia shrinking?
Gold didn't even realize he had been holding his breath until he let it out, the sound of his exhale buried underneath the overlying roar of the waterfalls. Before his very eyes Lugia shrank down farther and farther, shape changing and morphing into a vague outline of blinding white in human form. It was like watching an evolution in reverse, as Lugia became smaller and slimmer than its great, awe-inspiring previous form. But Legendaries didn't evolve... did they?
Then all became clear only seconds later as the light faded, the disguising effulgence curled in on itself and disappeared.
But in its wake, a very different figure from before was left sprawled out on the ground. One with long red hair, overly pale skin, a far bigger secret than even his best friend had realized.
Silver coughed and groaned, pushing himself to his feet as he doubled over and tried to hack out his lungs. "Ugh," he muttered, the words barely discernible as Gold strained to hear. "Note to self; that many Aeroblasts in a row is a bad idea."
Naturally, it was right at that moment that Gold rediscovered his voice and yelped, "Sweet mother of Arceus, Silver is Lugia!"
Apparently, the sound of a million gallons of rushing water wasn't quite loud enough to cover that up, given that Silver audibly gasped and whirled around... meeting his friend's gaze squarely across the cavern. Then he took one stumbling step back, nearly tripping over Sneasel- before he whipped around and bolted, streaking out of the cavern before Gold could react.
Silver's team immediately leapt after him, and within a minute, Gold was left reeling in the cave of the Tohjo Falls.
Gold didn't see Silver again for almost a month.
Not that he didn't look, of course, but it was fruitless. The other teen had completely vanished, and no amount of calls to his pokégear (which always went to voicemail) or days of searching could find him. Gold even became desperate enough to try sending out a messenger pidgey, but even that returned a week later with the letter untouched.
"I don't get it," Gold exclaimed as he paced. "Where in the world could he be?!"
Typhlosion watched from his spot beside the campfire, expression mournful. Gold wasn't the only one who had been missing a friend, after all. Togekiss, too, seemed less cheery than normal, and the rest of the team were in similarly despondent states.
"I've checked everywhere!" Gold all but yelled, hands gesticulating wildly as he brandished a map. "The Whirl Islands, Shamouti, Blackthorn, Tohjo Falls, Goldenrod, even the stupid Indigo Plateau! Seriously, where the f***-"
WHOOSH-CRACK-SLAM!
And don't come back until you've stopped sulking! Lugia barked, telepathic voice filled with exasperated authority. Except- this Legendary was significantly larger than Silver, and its voice was also a great deal deeper. Wait, there was more than one of Lugia?!
Gold's jaw dropped as Silver-Lugia landed gracelessly in the dirt, sending clods of dirt flying from the impact. Father! he protested, and oh, yep, that was definitely Silver. Voice was a bit deeper, a bit more echoey, but no doubt the same.
No! Big-Lugia (Silver's father holy s***, but wait a minute if Big-Lugia was Silver's dad then what about Giovanni?) snapped. No excuses! You have been moping around for weeks now, and I'm tired of it! If your friend is truly as great a friend as you say, then he will understand. Now, he drew himself up and glared at Silver, you are no longer a child. It's high time you stopped running away from your problems.
With that, Big-Lugia spread his wings and took off, the wind from his passage nearly toppling every tree in the forest. Within seconds he had wheeled around and vanished, a rapidly fading white speck in the distance.
Silver growled and shook himself off, towering over Gold as he stood at his full height. For a moment, neither one moved, only stared at each other across the clearing.
Gold broke the silence. "So," he started, "you're a pokémon."
Silver nodded. Yes.
Gold crossed his arms, a frown stretching across his face. "And you didn't tell me because...?"
His best friend huffed. It's not exactly something I like to spread around, the Legendary pointed out. Then he paused, tentatively venturing, You don't seem that, ah...
"Angry? Shocked? Confused? Extremely annoyed at you for not telling me and then running off for a month?" Gold finished, voice tight. "Because yeah, I was all that. It took me a while to calm down. You just weren't around to see it."
Silver winced at the not-so-subtle barb, his contrite expression strange to see as it was so at odds with his normal personality. Sorry, he muttered, head actually drooping a bit.
Gold sighed and fidgeted with the edge of his jacket. "It's okay. I'm fine now... I think."
Silver cast him a glance, hope hidden behind a wary facade. You don't mind that I'm half pokémon?
"No, not really. It's just kinda weird. I mean, I thought there was only one of each Legendary, but I guess there's more? And- wait, half pokémon?" Gold asked, startled. "Half, pokémon, half what?"
Half human, Silver replied. My mother was human. My father, as you just saw, is Lugia.
Gold blinked and sputtered. "Wait, how does that even work? I mean, Lugia is, like, y'know... Lugia. That doesn't- no, that can't be physically possible, what?"
Silver rolled his eyes, a familiar motion that eased something tight in Gold's chest that he hadn't even realized was there. Well, it is, the other teen told him. Sit down. I'll explain.
"So... your father is one of three full-blooded lugias currently in existence. You have a younger half brother named Sterling, but he insists on calling himself Silver to imitate you. Giovanni is actually your uncle on your mother's side, not your father. Legendaries can take human form, though interspecies relationships are rare. You can transform into a lugia. And you're currently pretending to be a full human because you wanted to follow in your mother's footsteps and become a pokémon trainer. You never actually abused or mistreated your pokémon, just trained them hard because that was how you were trained by both Giovanni and your father," Gold summed up after nearly an hour of talking. "That pretty much cover everything?"
Essentially, Silver confirmed. Any other questions?
Gold pondered for a moment before shaking his head. "Nah, I think that's it for now. Great Arceus, though. I feel like my life just got so much more surreal..." He rubbed his eyes, convinced he was going to get a migraine from all the new revelations. After a moment, he added, "I'm glad we're still friends, though."
Silver looked immensely satisfied and just a little bit relieved. Yes.
Gold smiled. Then a thought occurred to him, as a mischievous grin spread across his face. "Hey," he started, "so, I told my mom I would meet her in Goldenrod to help her with some errand for Professor Elm, but that's nearly all the way on the other side of the region. And you can fly, right? So... mind giving me a lift?"
He received a growl in response and was promptly cuffed over the head by a very large, very heavy wing. Oh. Guess that meant no, then.
Darn.