Finally finished chapter 4 in between coursework and exams. My first week back from summer and I've already got piles of work to do. Anyways, Read and Review please :)
A crackling noise broke through the silence in her head. She sniffed the air, to smell a familiar scent of burning wood. She could feel heat radiating onto one side of her body, and with a start, opened her eyes in a flurry of blinks. She hastily tried to get up, but to her dismay, collapsed back in a heap on the surprisingly soft floor. Her vision finally came back to her, and she turned her head to see someone had made her a bed out of soft leaves. She raised her head, to see her body wrapped in what appeared to be a light blue blanket.
"Well well, you're finally awake," a voice said from somewhere behind the confused girl. Startled, she tried to get up again, to find the source of the voice, only to tremble and collapse back on the soft bed of leaves with a quiet thud.
"Hey, take it easy. You had a really nasty nock to the head. You're lucky I was there, or you wouldn't even be alive," the strangely familiar voice explained with a boyish chuckle. Where had she heard that voice before? She slowly bent forwards and twisted her torso to look for the person she had been talking to, and to her surprise, was met by the familiar face of Gary Oak. He was sat on a tree stump, grooming a dark, fox-like Pokémon with yellow rings covering its silky body. His lab coat had been thrown off to the side, as he sat in grey shorts with a black shirt. But Dawn didn't take too long to admire his appearance, as she suddenly remembered her over-confident partner.
"Piplup!" she suddenly exclaimed. She desperately scanned the clearing around her to see any hints of the blue penguin. She turned to Gary, pleading with her eyes. He, however, merely smiled at her.
"Don't worry, Piplup is safe. I returned him to his Pokeball to have a rest," he calmly explained, allowing relief to wash over Dawn. She reached for his pokeball. She didn't however; release him from his portable home, so as not to disturb his sleep. Then she put two and two together. She turned back to Gary, who had continued to groom the happy looking fox in front of him.
"Gary, how did you get Piplup's Pokeball?" she questioned him. She kept her Pokeballs on her waist, held in place on her belt that her skirt was concealing. Gary stopped brushing the Pokémon, his face a slightly dark shade of red as a faint blush emerged.
"I took it off your belt. Don't you think you should have that thing just a little bit higher?" Gary said coolly. Dawn folded her arms and looked at Gary.
"Hmph, men," she huffed, rolling her eyes. Gary chuckled, before turning to his Pokémon.
"Alright Umbreon, doesn't that feel a lot better now?" he asked soothingly to the black and yellow Pokémon. Umbreon replied with a smile and a small chirp. Gary smiled, before pulling a pokeball out of his pocket and returning the fox into its portable home.
"So Gary, how did you save me?" Dawn asked, curious to know what happened after she blacked out. Gary turned to her.
"It's a long story," he stated.
"I have a lot of time," Dawn replied, earning a sigh from the young scientist. He knew she wouldn't back down.
"Alright, if you really want to know, I'll start from the beginning," Gary started. Dawn shuffled closer to him, keen to pick up everything that Gary said. He eyed her for a minute, thinking of the best place to start, before he started talking again.
"I was back at the lab with grandpa and all of a sudden, we heard a shriek. I looked up and saw a Charizard flying towards us. At first I thought it was just Ash's Charizard paying us a visit, but as it got closer, I realised it couldn't have been Ash's Charizard. This one was huge. And it looked powerful. Hell, this thing looked like it could make a Rayquaza cry in envy," he chuckled the last part, before glancing at Dawn, who didn't seem too bothered about his joke. Sighing again, he continued his story.
"Anyway, when it arrived, it stopped right in front of me and gave me a pokeball it was holding, with a note attached. It said to trust Charizard and he would lead you," Gary said, straining his memory.
"Then, it grabbed me and flew me to this clearing a couple of days ago. The only Pokémon I had on me was Umbreon here, and as much as I hate to admit it, but Umbreon wouldn't have stood a chance against that thing, so I had no choice but to trust it," Gary spoke sullenly. He once again glanced towards Dawn, who remained silent and intent on hearing the story.
"After a couple of days of waiting in this clearing, it suddenly roared and flew off. The note said to trust it, so I followed it, and that's when I saw you hanging from that branch in the cliff. Talk about a nice place to hang out with your Pokémon," he joked, chuckling lightly to himself. Still, Dawn remained silent, not wanting to miss a single part of the story. He sighed, before continuing.
"Anyway, Charizard swooped down and grabbed you just as you got knocked on the head, then it brought you to me. It grabbed it's pokeball off my belt then flew off, leaving me here with you," he finally finished. Dawn looked bewildered, and the only thing that was uttered out of her mouth was an incoherent babbling which would make a Chatot sweat-drop. Gary glanced at her, hearing her many failed attempts at forming an understandable sentence, and chuckled, which in return snapped Dawn back to reality.
"What's so funny?" she huffed, folding her arms. Gary shook his head at the blunette.
"Nothing. Do you by any chance know where we are?" Gary asked. The coordinator cocked her head, deep in thought, before replying.
"I think we're inside the forest on the outskirts of Silver town," she slowly said. Gary thought about where he was briefly, before replying.
"So, do you know the way back?" he asked, hopeful. Dawn thought for a moment once more, before replying.
"I think so. Follow me, I'll get us out of here," she winked at him, causing Gary to smirk. She reminded him of the other Pallet town trainer that was his long-time rival. They are both so head-strong. He chuckled to himself once more, before following the blunette through the trees into the dark shrubbery once more.
"Hey Dawn, how'd you end up out here anyway?" Gary asked, but the blunette ploughing on ahead didn't seem to hear him. He shook his head, before following the coordinator through the thick canopy of trees. However, unknown to both of them, a pair of crystal blue eyes were watching their every movement from within the shadows…
He walked for hours, through the endless maze of buildings and canals, until he finally reached his destination. Now, if you'd have been with him, you'd have wondered why he was here. Ash however, knew perfectly well why he was here. He looked at the solid brick wall in front of him, concealed in the shadows of the eerie moon sinking slowly behind the many buildings occupying the city. He quickly glanced around, making sure he was alone, nothing. There was nobody around. No sounds could be heard except from the soothing trickle of the water in the many canals littering the city like the veins of a human. Perfect, he was alone. He turned back towards the wall, or what he could see of it in the dim moonlight. Without hesitation, he stepped towards the wall at the end of the alley and held a hand out in front of him. Closer he came to the wall, until somehow, his hand was absorbed through the wall like a Magmar absorbs heat. Still, this didn't stop him, as he pressed further on into the mystery wall. Inch by inch was absorbed, until, there was no trace of Ash anywhere. From anyone else's perspective, it looked like Ash had vanished into thin air.
"How much further do we have to go?" Dawn moaned for what must've been the tenth time in the past half hour. Gary chuckled to himself, before turning to the tired blunette behind him.
"I thought you were supposed to be leading me out of here," he said with a wide grin etched on his face. Dawn sighed. She knew Gary was right. But as much as she hated to admit it, she got them well and truly lost.
"Just keep walking. If we keep heading in one direction, we have to reach the end at some point," Dawn explained tiredly, as she trudged behind the young scientist.
"I guess so," he replied plainly, not bothering to turn around. He was tired too, but he wouldn't dare admit it to Dawn. She sighed, following him like a stray Poochyena. She had her head held low, so she didn't even notice the scientist stop in front of her, and as a result, ploughed into the back of him.
"Ow, Gary, why'd you stop," she whined, holding her head in pain from the collision. Gary held a hand up, signalling her to be quiet. Fear creeping into her mind, she shuffled closer to the scientist, hoping to end her unease. After several minutes of agonising silence, Gary finally spoke.
"We're being followed," he whispered to the blunette. A deep chill ran through her body, invading every cell inside her, as she heard Gary speak.
"B-by w-who?" she stuttered. Gary remained silent, and Dawn noticed his hand reach slowly for the lone pokeball on his belt. And, with one quick motion, threw the ball into the bushes to the side, making contact with something soft. A bright red light could be seen as a popping sound filled the eerily quiet forest, and moments later, a deep growl could be heard from the black and yellow fox as it sensed its opponent. A few seconds later, a large explosion rocketed its way towards the two humans, lighting the dark forest with a blinding light, and being carried in its destructive force was a rather beat up looking Umbreon. Gary tacked Dawn to the ground to protect her from the amazing force of the explosion, as it tore its way through the shrubbery like a Luvdisc swims through water. After a few minutes had past, the blindingly bright light died down, and Gary slowly made his way to his feat. He stumbled, but pressed on forwards, limping towards the body of the black Pokémon lying weekly against a tree. Dawn, still on the floor from where Gary tackled her, raised her head. Another rustling in the bushes, or to be more precise, the bushes right next to the young scientist. She snapped her head to the sound and saw what appeared to be white flames billowing out from behind the bush, followed by a small head covered in the white flame-like fur. A solitary blue eye could be seen from the canopy of white atop its head, which chilled Dawn to the bone. The blood red collar was next to rise from the thick shrubbery. Dawn was stunned at the sight of this unknown Pokémon rising from nowhere, but quickly regained her senses. She snapped her eyes towards Gary, who was limping towards his Pokémon companion. She knew she had to do something, but what? She panicked, looking for anything that could be used as a weapon against the deadly visitor from the shadows, but found nothing but twigs and sticks from the many trees littering the grassland in the formation of the forest. However, there was one thing she could do.
"Gary, look out!" she screamed as loud as her voice could go, just as the shadowy Pokémon launched its attack.
Atop a tree branch, the legendary dragon was resting peacefully; its red fur glistening in the moonlight as it cast a haunting glow to surround the area. Everything was peaceful, or so she thought. Her dreams faded away back into the deepest part of her imagination as a cold chill blew across the secret garden, being almost invisible, if not for the grass blades blowing as the wind tore through them. She fluttered her eyes open, as a shiver invaded her dragon-type body. Naturally, she hated the cold, being a legendary dragon. She craned her neck skywards, as if looking for the source of the sudden freak wind that ripped a path through the garden. Ever since that night oh so many years ago, she was weary of anything unusual; and this wind was certainly one of those times where she felt unease. She glanced around, past the beautiful sapphire blue water of the pool next to the tree she was currently residing in. With a slow, tired stutter, she began to levitate, and within seconds, she was already high in the sky, doing a sweep of the area to rest her unease. And there it was. The source of her nervousness was walking slowly through the hidden passage, arm raised in front. The cap on his head concealed his face, but she could tell it was only a young boy. Quickly using the dew surrounding her body, she suddenly became invisible, blending into the background, before she flew near the boy. He seemed familiar, yet so much like a complete stranger. The boy lowered his arm once he cleared the passage and raised his head to look across the beautiful moonlit garden he visited years ago. He looked down the path, admiring the beauty of the pool under the glistening moonlight, before slowly stepping forward. He took his cap off, allowing his black hair to explode into view. That's when the dragon realised who he was. She flew nearer to the boy, wanting a better look at his face to prove her thoughts right. She knew him; there was no doubt about that. She emerged closer and closer, curiosity peaking, when the boy suddenly stopped. He turned his head in her direction, and for the first time in years, the legendary dragon stared into the raven haired boy's eyes. She continued to look, and it appeared as if he was doing the same to her. His eyes were always so calming and soothing. The auburn orbs usually radiated kindness and compassion, but the orbs she met a long time ago were different. They didn't harbour any of the kindness they once had. The warmth and compassion was gone; replaced by anger and hatred. But somehow, she knew it was him. The trainer she met a long time ago was still present in the dark eyes she chillingly admired. It was him; Ash.
"Latias, you don't have to hide, it's me," Ash slowly said, a smile working its way onto his face. Latias calmed a little. Even if his eyes were cold, his smile was still warm and caring. She flew next to him and revealed herself in a glistening blue light that twinkled throughout the garden. Her red and white body stretched out, revealing a legendary dragon. Latias edged closer to the boy, and he raised his hand that was holding his hat. Latias glanced down, before ducking her head towards the hat and swiping it away from his hand, and placing it gently on top of her head using her dragon-like claws. Ash chuckled; something he hadn't done since…that night. He reached down to his belt, and plucked a red and white ball from it. Then, he held it out in front of him, as if offering it to Latias. The Eon dragon looked at it confused, wondering what Ash was going to do. Maybe he wanted to play catch? Her hopeful thoughts were shattered however, as the boy spoke through the chilling night breeze.
"Latias, would you like to come along with me?"
He stood atop the mountain, the icy winds whipping through his red jacket, covering it in a thick coat of snow. He looked out across the mountain range, past the fierce winds and snow attempting to blind him. It was really a beautiful sight. But no matter how beautiful the scenery was, he would always be haunted by that terribly grim day, all those many years ago. He wordlessly plucked a pokeball from his belt and threw it on the ground just behind him. The ball exploded into a blinding red light, revealing a large orange dragon. It raised its head and threw a ball of fire in the air, illuminating his presence as the ball of fire flew higher, cutting through the snow like a hot knife through butter. The dragon turned to its silent trainer, who was continuing to admire the mountain range ahead of him. A few seconds passed, until the dragon nodded to its trainer, before taking off towards the forest on the other side of the mountain. Once its flame-lit tail was out of sight, the trainer picked up his pokeball from the snow behind him, and clipped it on his belt, before returning to his perch at the peak of the mountain. He never wanted things to go this far. But there was no turning back; not after what he suffered. Anyone who challenged him should feel the pain he felt. But, something about his latest challenger stuck with him, and for the first time in years, brought happiness to him. The way he cared for his Pokemon's well being. He gave a silent sigh, hoping that he hadn't gone too far. He didn't want the boy with the Pikachu to turn out like him. That was a mistake he made many years ago, that he never could go back on.
Well, it's finally finished. I had to drag myself to my laptop at about 2am last night to get this finished, so hopefully my hard work will show.
A review I received from a guest led me to believe I've made Red a little too harsh. Yep, for those of you who haven't guessed it, the mysterious trainer is Red. Kinda let the Glameow out of the bag there didn't I? Well, there is a reason for everything in the story so far, so you'll just have to keep reading to find out.
Please Read and Review. Every review is greatly appreciated :)