Chapter Three
…Mirage? Mirage… Mirage! The word spoke clearly to her. My new name is Mirage! Her heart sang. I found my name, she thought with glee.
"My name is Mirage," she said in almost a whisper. "What is your name?"
The human nodded. "Mirage, is it? My name is Ruth. I am a dragon type trainer."
Mirage tilted her head in wonder. "What do you mean, a dragon type trainer?"
"I am a person who trains dragon type Pokémon." Ruth once again regarded her with an arched eyebrow. "Are you new here?"
"Yes, I am…"
"Where from?" He asked. Mirage paused, trying to think of what to say without making him suspicious. "North… near the jungle, where I found my partner, Chronepsis."
Ruth glanced at the Flygon. "He is a fine dragon type. He must have been hard to capture."
"Capture?" Mirage blurted out.
"He is yours, isn't he?" Ruth eyed her suspiciously.
"Yes—I mean, no, not exactly, but… we're just friends." Chronepsis confirmed it with a yes that sounded like a "Fly-flyy" to human ears. Ruth smiled, cleared of suspicion and doubt.
"That is good. I have heard of evil people stealing powerful and well trained Pokémon." He glanced at his Dragonair, who was gazing at Chronepsis with interest. He seemed surprised. "Is… your Flygon still wild?"
A slow nod, for she did not capture him with a Pokéball.
Ruth blinked. "You need to capture your Flygon to not have him be captured by another person. A Pokémon's loyalties lie with the trainer who captures it."
Mirage hesitated and leaned over to Chronepsis. "Should I… should I capture you? I mean… you would be taken from your home in the jungle. Taken from the wild. You would be forced to stay with me," She muttered softly to Chronepsis in Flygon-Language. Chronepsis nodded his scaled head. "It should be done."
Mirage peered at the counter, where the shopkeeper peered at them curiously. "I-I'll go get a Pokéball." With a quick glance back at Chronepsis, she hurried over to the counter. Ruth gave her 200$ to pay for the Pokéball. "Is that all sir—I mean, ma'am?" Asked the shopkeeper hastily. "Yes," Mirage said.
Why is Chronepsis giving up his freedom? Does he know he cannot return to the wild if he stays inside the ball? The most worrying thought in her head was, Will I be a good enough trainer for him if he decides to stay?
Ruth suggested that they all go outside to capture. Mirage, Chronepsis, Dragonair, and Ruth stepped out into the fresh, cool air. The golden sun glistened through the leaves in the trees, bathing things everywhere in sunlight. People gathered and gaped at Mirage, as if in wonder about her godlike appearance. "Who is it?" She heard inquisitive children asked. Their parents would answer with, "We don't know. Shush now, hon."
"Are you ready?" Mirage whispered to Chronepsis. "If you are," he replied. Admiration and pride gleamed in his red eyes. Mirage smiled, now suddenly confident.
Mirage took the ball in her hands. It grew in size somewhat as she pressed the white button in the middle of the ball. She took a deep breath and got ready to throw it—
Swoosh! Something swooped down and scooped up Chronepsis. It looked like some sort of metal jet with extended grippers, the Flygon struggling in one of the gripper's clasps.
Mirage gasped, the crowd screamed, Ruth scowled. "It's Team Nova, the Pokémon thieves!" He summoned his Dragonair to him, preparing to fight. "They must have been watching us," roared Mirage.
"Ice beam," Ruth commanded his Dragonair. From the jewel atop the Dragonair's head, a beam of ice shot out and onto the metal aircraft. It deflected off of the ship's shiny metal, hitting the ground and covering a patch of it with a layer of ice.
"Impossible," Ruth growled.
"Leave it to me!" Mirage's wings came out of her back once again. She shot into the air like a lit firecracker after the speeding ship. Ruth stepped back, amazed… and possibly, fearful?
She sped up to the ship, spreading her draconic wings to the fullest. She could see humans through the windows of the ship, only two. They were both dressed with black cloth on every single square inch of their bodies, except for their eyes, giving them the appearance of mummies.
She landed on the metal part attached to the free gripper. "Chronepsis," she cried.
"Mirage! You must fly! These humans will capture you too," Chronepsis shouted to her desperately.
Suddenly, the free gripper wrapped its metallic hand around her. She struggled in the tight grasp. A person's voice purred, "Ah, an interloper. Perhaps its futile attempts to fly to the rescue have caused its own downfall." The voice was smooth and smug sounding. It reminded Mirage of a snake, swaying from side to side, finding the perfect angle to strike.
A metal hatch opened on the top of the ship and one of the mummy-looking humans leaped out with a flip and landed on the long piece of metal attached to Mirage's gripper.
"Now, what a curious creature you are," he purred. "Are you a Pokémon? Perhaps you will do your part of destruction with the other captured ones." His brown eyes gleamed in triumph. She struggled fruitlessly and shrieked in pain as she felt a surge of weakening electricity. Mirage glanced at Chronepsis, who hung limply in his gripper.
"Chronepsis…?" She whispered. He raised his head slowly, as if painful to do so. He blinked sadly.
The Team Nova human strode forwards on the metal towards Mirage. With effort, Chronepsis growled at him warningly. Mirage stared at the human in defiance.
"You're a unique one, all right. Our master will be pleased," he gazed down at Mirage with narrowed eyes.
"You will not touch her," Chronepsis barked at him, which only sounded like a "Flygon Flygon fly" to the human. But the human, who may not have understood the words, did understand the meaning.
"You do not wish to be a part of the greater good?" His voice was smooth and smug, but he was a viper with his fangs bared. His eyes, the only part of him visible with all the cloth on his body, were flaming with anger. "Perhaps this will give you a change of heart." He took a remote from a pocket in his full-body clothing. He pressed a large button and a current of electricity surged through the gripper, shocking Chronepsis. He gave an agonizing cry of pain and fell limp again.
"Now, let's get a closer look at you." The Team Nova member strode closer to Mirage along the metal. He did not see the anger in her eyes, burning white hot and scorching her control.
"Perhaps you should be thrown off first," Mirage said icily.
"You… can speak?" Asked the human, stepping back in surprise.
"Much more than you would when I'm finished," growled Mirage. She let the anger take her, consuming her, feeding her strength and power. Chronepsis opened one eye, gazing at her in awe.
Mirage lifted her helmeted head to the sky and roared. The sky shook. The earth quaked. The seas rippled. Pokémon everywhere gazed around in fear. When finally the roar ended, the ship split slowly in half, the metal cracking. The grippers imprisoning Mirage and Chronepsis shattered and they ship veered, falling, bringing Mirage and Chronepsis down in the air. Mirage could not open her wings, her power was recharging still. She could only fall through the air helplessly.
Suddenly, she felt something grabbing her. Mirage opened her eyes to see Chronepsis. He was weak and badly bruised, but holding onto her as they both fell. "If we die," He said weakly, "We will die as companions. As a team."
It seemed like hours until they hit the ground and fell out of consciousness.