"UP AND AT EM' IT'S MORNING!" Exploud yelled. I woke up with a pounding headache. I looked at Exploud with a harsh glare.
"Today is our day off!" I growled. The bigger pokemon shrugged, turning away with a sly grin.
"Chatot did tell me about that, but it's my JOB to wake everyone up on time!" That didn't have to include us, especially if Chatot had already told you... Exploud let out a loud laugh before stomping down the hall for morning roll call.
"Well," I sighed. "Good morning." I turned to Thunder's nest, expecting him to be just as shaken as I was; however, I saw him gazing out the window with a longing look in his eyes. "Is something wrong?" He flicked his ear in response. "Thunder?"
"I've just been thinking about something all night," he answered, with a brief hooray being heard in the distance.
"What was it?" He turned, laughing quietly, and sent me a smile.
"The storm reminded me of my family, is all." He pushed himself away from the window, walking back to his nest slowly. "I haven't really missed them like I do now."
"O-oh, I'm sorry!" I wouldn't have asked if I had known! I didn't know what he was feeling. I couldn't miss anyone, not if I couldn't remember at least.
"No, it's fine. I've been meaning to tell you about them anyways," he meowed. He rubbed his paws across his face and sighed.
"You don't have to, Thunder. If it's too personal, then just don't tell me. I'll understand." He shook his head.
"No, It's fine. Really it is." I sat down, not at all convinced by his words.
"Alright, if you're sure."
"Our clan is made up of shinx, Luxio, and Luxray. In my clan, only two male luxray are allowed in the clan; the leader and his second in command. Other Luxray are considered a threat and must be eliminated." Eliminated? Do they have to kill their own species? "We are known as the Clan of Thundering Roars; we were granted the name from the legendary pokemon Raikou," he explained.
"You mean you've met a legendary pokemon?" I asked. He shook his head, a small blush appearing on his cheeks. I don't know what that means, but it sounds almost regal. I'll have to ask him about it after.
"N-no, I haven't. This happened years and years ago; we're told this story as kittens." He paused, flicking his tail in thought. "Apparently, our clan fought a great battle with Raikou. I don't know if we won or not, but Raikou was apparently really impressed with our skill. He gave our clan the name The Clan of Thundering Roars as a result." I guess it makes sense. It's just like legends and such, I bet they didn't even meet this Raikou. "Umm... I really don't know what else to say about them. I mean, I already told you why I left."
"What about your family? You haven't said anything about them. Or what about you, what was your life in the clan?"
"I guess I can. Let's see..." he trailed off. "I was born on a stormy night when there was no rain or lightning. Only booming thunder roared, so that's why my father named me Thunder. It was also the name of our first leader, so it was supposed to bring good fortune."
"What do you mean supposed to?" I asked. He thicked his ear, turning his gaze to the floor.
"Well... I already told you that I love mythology and that I love adventure. I mean, our clan moved a lot to our territories, but I grew tired of the same lands. I started getting more and more interested in things like old legends and folklore."
"What's wrong with that?" I asked. That doesn't seem like anything bad.
"Our clan is full of warriors, so to speak. That's what luxray are known for, you know, for being powerful and confident. Err... You know me, I'm a coward. I'm sure you can guess what happened."
"Yeah, I think I do." I do feel bad for him, but what if that's normal for them? I don't know everything about pokemon, I can't remember much I knew from before. "It sounds rough."
"Yeah," he nodded. "It took me a long, long time to decide to leave, though. It wasn't all bad, I had my mother and a few friends, but I finally decided to leave a few months ago. And well, you know what happened after that," he explained. Yeah, he found me on the beach.
"I was planning on going back, but... When I found you on the beach, I thought, for a moment, that you were like me. Someone who left their clan, or pack, to explore the world! But... Well, we're here now. Both of us don't have a clan or such to go back to."
"H-hold on!" I shouted, standing up from my nest. "I've never met "my" pack, Thunder I used to be a human. Everyone keeps saying "where is your pack" or "is your pack nearby?" It's just confusing! I know next to nothing about this world or where I came from! Do you know about my species? Can you explain it to me?" Thunder glanced away in shock.
"O-oh, I'm sorry. I really haven't explained anything to you, I guess... I don't know too much about Zoroark and Zorua; I can only tell what I know from legends," he meowed. I sat down with a sigh, feeling somewhat sorry for my previous outburst.
"That would be nice."
"Alright," he nodded, flicking his tail in agreement.
"I once read an article that said zoroark used to be poached by humans centuries ago. Nearly all of them died, so they learned a move called illusion. Because of that move, they were able to create an illusion in the surrounding area."
"What do you mean?" I asked. I wasn't aware that a pokemon could create illusions.
"Illusions, at first, allowed them to create an illusion of well...anything really; a forest, a cave, or even a dungeon. Anything along the lines of those so that they could fool the humans into not killing them." ...Were humans really like that?
"You said at first, what does that mean?"
"Well, both zoroark and zorua had to use illusion so much that it became a part of them. It's kinda like the move Transform, now that I think about it, but they don't need to actually see the pokemon like ditto. That's what my mother told me, at least. " He sat up, running his paw across his face.
"After humans went extinct, zoroark and zorua were still afraid of them. When pokemon started exploring new lands and such, zoroark and zorua decided to stay secluded. Everyone says that there is only one pack left in the world, so only a few pokemon have laid eyes on them. Actually, there's a lot of pokemon who don't even believe they exsist...that you exist." Really? We're that rare?
"Hold on," I asked, flicking my ear impatiently. "That doesn't explain why almost every pokemon acts so...fond of me. Is your pack nearby? Oh, a zorua! How cute! It's starting to creep me out."
"Oh," he paused, tilting his head in thought. "Well, some pokemon, like the kecleon brothers, think of it as an honor, or a polite gesture. I've been told that zoroark, because of their great fear of humans, are extremely protective of their offspring. That's why, even if you're around, pokemon tend to put you on a pedestal. I heard somewhere that they've even killed pokemon over it." Oh...
"Well, is there anything else you can tell me?" I asked.
"Sorry Nate," he meowed. "There isn't much information about your species. Besides, I only know what I've been told or read. If I could... Are you alright?"
"...I don't know," I admitted. "I'm grateful for this, but I still have a lot of questions." I still wasn't used to being a pokemon, and I was hoping that this would shed some light on my situation. If anything, it made me feel more lost. "I just want to feel, um... Err..."
"I didn't mean to make you feel like this, Nate. This must be too confusing-"
"That's not it," I interrupted. "It's just, this isn't like me. I mean, I...do not know who I used to be, but how I'm feeling now, it just doesn't seem right. It feels like I'm missing something." That's just making me feel worse than before, but what is it? It must be a memory that's blocked.
"Do you want to talk about it?" I shook my head. Not yet, I'm not ready. "Well, then I guess there's no need to dwell on it. Let's go see if there's anything we can do around the guild." I watched as Thunder walked away, talking to me, but not noticing that I wasn't following him. I was too caught up in my thought to even think about following him.
I'm a human. I'm a human. I am a human. I am a human. I shook my head and stumbled into the hallway. What if Thunder's right? What if I really am a zorua? ...No. That can't be right, I know I was a human. "Nate! C'mon!"
"S-sorry, I'm on my way!" With a sigh, I pushed my thoughts away and ran after Thunder.
"So...you've come home."
A large black pokemon with a blue underbelly and pink highlights stood above the crowd, the orange glow from the lava and the heat radiating from it made her appear very intimidating.
"I have," the younger female pokemon replied.
She glanced around, noticing the abundance of, purple, eyes swarming around the cavern. "I know I'm not welcome-" she started.
"You're not." The leader stood up high, stretching her legs as far as they would go.
"...You see, I being news." She stood up on her hind legs, lowering her head to the leader. "Back where I'm from, Treasure Town, there's a zorua-"
"They've died out, just recently too." She looked around, gesturing their family and friends to come forward. "Or moved on the very least. It's been years since I've heard from that sorry old pack," she hissed.
"I...would not have come back if it were not true." She nodded to herself, looking her former leader in the eye. "He's not right, I tell you. Thinks he's a human, he thinks I couldn't hear him talking!"
"Hold on." The leader closed her eyes in thought. "If I remember correctly, they were missing..." She glanced down at the younger pokemon and let out a long hiss.
"He calls himself Nate, you see. And-"
"I was going to kill you."
The younger pokemon noticed that all of the other pokemon sat calmly around her. She even noticed her father among them. "But I've decided to spare you, for now." She crouched down, leaning ever so close to the younger pokemon's snout. "Bring me this zorua, go, gain his trust and bring him back alive."
The younger pokemon nodded swiftly, not even needing another order. She scurried off, not even looking back on the group.
...
"Madam." The leader glanced gown on one of her other offspring.
"What?" she growled, still angry that her daughter had the audacity to return home.
"I... Why send her after the zorua? I thought that pack died off." The leader sighed, glancing at the flowing lava beside them.
"We can't take that risk, you fool! If I can get ahead of them, then we'll never be bothered by them again. I want that pack dead, and I don't know if they are already. If that zorua is alive, then that pack is definitely still alive."
"I will not let them live!"
