A/N Part two, not much else to say aside from my usual shpeal.
Friendly request to please review and all that jaz. I write for the fun of it, but hearing ways to improve is definitely a selling point.
So, until next time~
It was curious. Suicune would rarely ever meet the same human twice, bar ones she specifically sought out like the Elite Four or the Kimono Girls of Ecruteak. Yet, here he was again.
He had seemed just as surprised as she when he wandered into the out-of-the-way groove late in the evening. Suicune had been taking a break at the time, as she'd been dashing around the Kanto-Johto continent on errands for Father. Normally that wouldn't have been much effort, but she'd had an encounter with a particularly prickly Zapdos. Least to say, she was tired. Having finished her duties, she decided to simply sleep there in the forest.
It wasn't uncommon for the siblings to sleep away from each other. They each had duties usually specific to them - Raikou carried messages continents over, Entei helped handle natural disasters and Suicune gathered information from the humans - which carried them far apart. Those duties often overlapped, but generally that's what they did. But they always preferred to be together, be it from familiarity or otherwise.
After asking the local Pokemon if she could stay and requesting they alert her if any humans strayed near, as unlikely as that was, she settled down to wait for sleep. A few younger Pokemon scurried about the edge of the clearing, obviously curious yet too shy to approach.
Then the local Spearow started raising an uproar, flapping wildly about and cawing loudly. Suicune bolted upright, startled more by the cause than the actual ruckus. She was gathering wind around her limbs in preparation for as fast a sprint as she needed when the voice of the human came through the various birds.
"Flash, Umbreon!"
A blinding light, well, flashed through the trees, dazing the closest Spearow so badly they fell from their perches. Others were simply startled enough they stopped crowing. Suicune froze as well, though for a different reason.
"Jeez, why did that happen?" Ethan's voice floated through the undergrowth, along with the deadpanned meows of his umbreon answering, not that he could understand the exact meaning. That shook the remaining conscious Spearow back to reality, prompting them to continue assaulting any near eardrums. Suicune barked to quiet them down, only for it to turn into a low-powered Roar.
It certainly made the bird Pokemon stop, scattering them and all the other nearby wild Pokemon. There was a distinctive pop as the umbreon escaped from the sound by returning itself. Ethan stumbled into the clearing, shaking his head as staggered footsteps carried him forward.
Suicune padded forwards automatically, letting Ethan lean against her as he recovered equilibrium and hearing.
One of the Pokeballs on his belt opened of its own accord, the light fading to reveal the Dark-typed Eeveelution. The female umbreon looked up at her, blinked, then spoke.
"I guess that explains it, then," It was at that point Ethan seemed to recover.
"We should really stop meeting like this," That made the Legendary chuckle softly, simultaneously making her aware that Ethan was, in fact, touching her again. She decided to let him.
"What're you doing h- no wait, stupid question," Ethan cut himself off. Suicune tilted her head, attempting to ask the same of him. Thankfully, he seemed to understand.
Sitting down, he talked as he unpacked his rather large backpack.
"I was planning on trekking through the caves to get to Blackthorn, but it's too late to get started now." Even with the bias of waterwalking, she knew that the route over the river was generally easier to travel, at least for Trainers with Pokemon who could swim.
Suicune then had to step back as Ethan pulled out a sleeping bag. Swiping a hand over his forehead, he touched each of the Pokeballs on his belt in turn, bar the last. He hesitated at that one, then seemed to decide against it.
Three more Pokemon appeared, the flashes a bit harsh in the evening light. There stood a typhlosion, low flames licking at his neck, a togekiss, and the shuckle she had seen previously.
"You can watch, if you want." Ethan offered Suicune, before turning back. "Alright, here's the plan," He addressed his pokemon. Suicune leaned in, her curiosity getting the better of her. She hadn't had the chance to see a training session like this up close.
"Typhlosion, you've been relying pretty heavily on your superior firepower since you evolved, so you should start trying to train your speed again. Togekiss, since you recently evolved you need to get used to your new body. Typhlosion, you need to tag Togekiss without using any Fire attacks. Togekiss, you need to dodge." The two pokemon nodded, going off to practise as Ethan turned to his other two.
"Shuckie, you need to work more on controlling your speed after Rock Polish. Umbreon, you need more practise with using Protect, Reflect and Light Screen on short notice. So Shuckie, you chase Umbreon, who will only use one of those three moves. Be careful not to hurt each other." With that, Ethan took the last Pokeball from his belt with a click. Suicune sat down, watching Typhlosion and Togekiss playing what was essentially tag, but cocked one ear back so she could hear.
The human took a deep breath, then opened the 'ball.
Even turned away, she could see the light inside solidify into a large creature, easily towering over everyone there. A Gyarados formed, his scales an unusual red, who then backed away to give himself more room and scowled down at his trainer. Ethan sighed, evidently having expected this reaction.
"I don't know why you don't like me, Gyarados," he admitted carefully, as though the lines were somewhat practised. "But I would like to, to get to know you as I have my other friends." The Shiny snorted, as if the mere idea was insulting.
"It took your entire team just to catch me. What good are you for?" Ah ha! The root of the problem. Ethan, however, couldn't understand.
Suicune stood, approaching the gyarados without the fear most Pokemon would show. To his credit, he didn't jump when he saw her. His eyes went wide as he looked down, seemingly humbled in front of her. It was a bit funny, given he was more than twice her height.
"Follow me," it was more of a request, but Gyarados acted as though it was a direct order. She padded to the edge of the clearing, in the direction of the river. The idea was that the burbling of the water would cover their voices somewhat. Gyarados's red scales glistened as he moved, a good indication of health.
"Why do you dislike your trainer?" she asked softly. He answered almost immediately.
"He is young, inexperienced. I would be wasted on him,"
"And how long has he been your Trainer?"
"Nearly a month," he answered slower, as if a little unsure of the answer.
"I see," she said simply, taking a moment to process the information.
"Pardon, but why would you care, great Suicune?" He asked tentatively, as though he were almost afraid of the answer.
"Most Trainers would have given up on you by now," she observed neutrally, choosing to momentarily ignore his question.
"Most Trainers who would dare catch me would be strong," Gyarados countered firmly, seeming to not understand what she was getting at.
"Maybe, but all Trainers have to start somewhere. Including the great ones," Suicune pointed out mildly. "It could be that you are the one who is not good enough for Ethan, by not giving him a chance to prove himself to you."
He seemed to take in her two Poke, then nodded.
"Very well," he agreed, if not a little begrudgingly. "I will try. If you do see something in him I can't, it'll be worth it."
Both their attentions were caught as Ethan shouted something over the general din.
"Dinner!"
All the Pokemon were set into what was apparently their routine. Togekiss flew off towards the river, Shuckie made his way towards the nearest tree, picking up sticks along the way, while Typhlosion carefully burned away a section of grass, making sure it wasn't spreading. Gyarados worked slower, seemingly less sure of his tasks than the others.
Suicune stood a little ways away, observing as the trainer and his Pokemon worked together to set up the campsite. The shuckle came back with a bundle of firewood in one appendage, setting it just to the side of the blackened ground. He then spit out a few carefully placed rocks, which formed a fire ring. The Bug put some of the dead branches into that as Typhlosion lumbered back over holding a pot.
Togekiss appeared back over the treeline, flying significantly slower than before. It became clear as to why when a bubble of water followed, surrounded by the faint glow of Extrasensory. As she deposited the water into the pot, Typhlosion lit the campfire.
It was almost hypnotising how they worked in tandem, everything running like clockwork. Within half an hour everything was set up, from the pot, which turned out to be soup, bubbling merrily over the fire, several fish cooking on skewers, potatoes in tin foil baking on the hot rocks, and finally the friends - as it was evident that was what they were - sitting about the fire. Ethan turned his head, looking about.
"Would you like something to eat, Suicune?" he asked, holding up a metal bowl filled with soup. She was about to shake her head, but her stomach decided otherwise. A loud rumble of hunger sounded out.
Suicune decided that her paws were suddenly very interesting.
There were a few quiet chuckles, but most everyone stayed silent, probably because they didn't feel it wise to laugh at something as powerful as she.
It gave her a twinge of loneliness. Most Pokemon reacted that way, other Legendaries notwithstanding. Ethan, however, apparently had no such fear.
"Come here, then," he scooted over the ground a few feet, making room for her in their ring around the fire. Hesitantly, she moved forward, settling into the spot he had motioned, and he set the dish in front of her. The Pokemon on her other side, Shuckie, nervously shifted away from her.
It was quite enjoyable, all things considered. Ethan turned out to be a decently good cook, though perhaps that was because his occupation demanded it. After a while of awkwardness, the silence was broken by one of the Pokemon asking her a question. Then another, and others joined in, seemingly cured of nervousness. By the time they had fallen asleep, Suicune had come to a decision.
She was gone by dawn.
"Father?" the call echoed around the Burned Tower, conveniently empty aside from the owner. A great flame burst to life in space where the first story floor would have been. A rush of wind picked up, distorted by the heat of the fire. As it faded away, a rich voice answered.
"Yes, Suicune?" Ho-Oh addressed his effective daughter.
"I have encountered a human recently… one who understands the core of being a great trainer," she started nervously. She had occasionally pondered the question before, but she had never truly wanted to know the answer. Now, though, she wanted to find out. Ho-Oh took in her words, unreadable as always. She decided to cut to the chase.
"I wish for your blessing to be caught,"
There was a long pause, in which she simultaneously prepared for her Father's wrath and hoped to Arceus above he would allow it.
"I could not stop you if I wanted, though I appreciate you asking beforehand," The Legendary fluttered to the ground light as a leaf, quite contrary to what his size bade you expect.
"I trust your judgment in this matter. If you believe in this human, so do I," Suicune could feel relief flooding through her veins.
"Thank you, Father,"
"Do not thank me yet," the words were ominous, but he spoke them with a chuckle. "There are tasks to be done before you can be free to pursue your wishes." Suicune immediately thought of her duties, which would not easily be taken care of in her absence.
"Of course, Father."
"I will see what I can do," he adjusted his wings slightly in preparation of takeoff. "Be prepared to heed my call in the next few months," Ho-Oh advised her, then took to the air, great wings beating a few times before he rose. A flame similar to the one he had arrived in flared to life, dying after a few moments to reveal nothing but empty air.
He always had been a bit of a show-off.
Suicune leaped, flying over entire hills, and landed on the water's surface. Her paws gripped it as if it were dry land, then burst off again, the wind curling behind as she bent the air. Father had summoned her, as he said he would, and she was duty-bound to answer the call. That and she was at least a little eager to be free to be a caught Pokemon, contradictory as it sounded.
She soon arrived at her destination, slowing down to a quick trot as she approached. It… certainly wasn't what she had expected. Smoke rose in billowing plumes of black against the dusk sky, blotting out huge swaths of it. Patches of glowing embers were the only remains of the forest fire, but the damage had been done. A great chunk of Ilex Forest had been lost, to natural or artificial means only Arceus knew.
Lowering her body against the water's surface, Suicune slipped into the apparent heart of the former blaze, what once was the tallest tree in the area. A trunk thick as an Aggron, it had burned to less than half its original size. The entire area was blackened, the ground hardened by heat. Ho-Oh was waiting for her beneath the once-great oak.
"What has happened here?" was the first question. She had the passing thought that Father was the cause, but dismissed it immediately. He valued all life, knew what it felt like to die. He had described the experience to the siblings once, to teach them that lesson. The three, including Entei, had been jumpy around fire for at least a month afterwards.
"A lightning strike, fueled by untimely winds," he dipped his beak in sorrow. "I arrived too late to dissipate the thunderheads, but not all is lost."
Stooping forwards, Ho-Oh shifted some of the debris around the base of the tree. Three small bodies were hidden under the roots, with barely sooted coats, protected from the worst of the blaze by chance.
"From smoke inhalation," he confirmed. "They were lucky, having gone in their sleep." He carefully picked them up one-by-one. A Vaporeon, Jolteon and Flareon, looking as peaceful as if they were simply sleeping. Suicune felt her chest ache as she realized what was happening.
Of course, the siblings had worked out their origins, but it was just one of those subjects they didn't speak of. As if that would make it less prevalent.
"We were… we used to be like them." It wasn't really a question. Father gazed at her with sadness, as though he never meant for her to have to confront this directly.
"Please… do not speak of this to your brothers…" his voice was pained, the same pain she had heard when he told them of his resurrection ability.
Taking as deep a breath as she dared, Suicune sat at her Father's side, against his leg. He momentarily put a wing around her in thanks, then returned to his task.
He breathed in, a strangely familiar heat building in the back of his throat, before a rose-gold flame spilled out of his beak onto the bodies. The Sacred Fire pooled around them as if in an invisible container, splashing into itself before starting to spin, faster and faster. Then the glow brightened as the ball of flames shrunk, smaller and smaller until it became clear it had separated into three, one over each Eeveelution.
The lights shrunk until they were the size of berries, then splashed into the pelts of each. It was absorbed, the light fading for a moment before it rekindled. This time the bodies were glowing, each tinged with the color of their type. It brightened, until it shone akin to that of evolution. The correlation to evolution grew stronger as they slowly began changing, growing in size.
Then they started breathing, weakly at first, but stronger every second, even as they grew. When the light faded, there were three completely new Pokemon lying on the blackened earth. But, most importantly, they were alive.
The recently former Flareon stirred, moving jerkily as though it was almost more puppet than beast. And a Beast it was. Suicune was staring at a near mirror image of her brother, though in the growing dark it was difficult to tell.
Father hovered into the air, carefully lifting the still-unconscious former Vaporeon and former Jolteon in a taloned foot each.
"Carry him," A simple command, yet not as easily done. It took some maneuvering, but eventually she managed to lift it - him - onto her back. He was smaller than she, maybe about two-thirds her size, which helped a bit.
"To Ecruteak, my child,"
A/N Here's where I definitely start curving away from the games, into my own little universe. In this world, the Beasts of Ecruteak were once the three first Eeveelutions (as fanon commonly demands), Ho-Oh resurrects when he dies (because phoenix motif and all that), and Suicune has taken a shine to Ethan because of Main Protagonist qualities.
Hope it all at least makes some sense.
