Chapter 11 – There's No Place Like Home
"You're not going to wiiin!" I jeered back to April as I speedily sprinted down a series of luscious green hills.
After exiting out of the darkness of Mount Moon to the rather harsh sunlight of Route Four, April challenged me and my Pokémon to a race against her and her Pokémon.
Each team had to have all of its respective members at the bottom of the hill to claim victory. While Sandshrew and Ditto had a clear lead on everyone, with Ditto imitating Sandshrew's Sandshrew-ball, Mankey was close behind swinging itself through the trees. Next up was me, with April hot on my tail, and then lastly, trailing behind was Slowpoke who seemed oblivious to the whole scenario.
"Wanna bet?" April cried, increasing her speed so we were neck and neck.
"Aha, even if you beat me, –huff- Slowpoke's still ages behind - he'll never catch up!" I said, looking over to the finish line to see three Pokémon already there and then pointing behind me to make my point.
But suddenly I lost focus and consequently my footing as I fell and began rolling uncontrollably down the hill, picking up tremendous speed.
'This could actually work out benefitting me...'I thought until I crashed into a giant rock protruding from the ground, knocking me unconscious for a brief moment, right before the finish line.
As I came to in a crumpled mess, I saw the white tip of Slowpoke's tail just passing the rock that stopped my roll to victory before hearing the happy cries of April and her Pokémon.
"You know what they say…" April said as she perched herself on top of the rock. "Slow and steady wins the race!"
"You're telling me…" I said, holding my aching head.
My vision began to readjust as I rose to my feet with the help of April, but after I did so, something caught my eye.
A few familiar fields, the smell of straw in the air and a rickety old barn; how could I have forgotten? – I was home… but something wasn't right.
"This farm… It's my home." I said.
"Really? How come you didn't say that we had to go past it? You're not supposed to go back there are you?"
"Well I'd completely forgotten that we had to go past it to get to Cerulean, but I dunno… something's not right. I've been gone for over a week now; I would've expected at least a barrage of phone calls asking where I am, I just... need to see if they're okay." I said as I began walking towards the gate.
April did a quick run to catch up to me; "But the professor said-"
"-Ivy said not to tell mum, and I have no intention of even speaking to her; I'll only be quick, I doubt anyone will see me." I said, my ears still ringing from hitting the rock.
As we walked into the farm with our Pokémon following us, I looked around from the old barn, to the field, to the house; each one was as empty as the next and none had even the faintest sign of life.
"Something iswrong, there should be Miltank in the field, Mareep around the barn and at least one person tending to the crops, but there's nothing!"
"Doesn't it seem… darker to you?" April asked.
"Huh? …Yeah it does." I said as we looked around us to see that the sunlight had disappeared from around us and the farm had a shadow cast over it.
"Alex, look up there." April said, pointing to a large cloud in the sky that seemed to be blocking out the sun.
"It's not moving with the wind… but everything else is."
"That's not possible is it?" April asked.
I looked around for some kind of answer, anything that would tell me what was going on until I saw something that made my heart drop.
"Oh no…" I said under my breath.
"..Is it?" April asked again.
"Mum?!" I cried as I ran over to a woman who was strewn across the floor. She had been hidden from view by a fence and her head and tied up brown hair were damp from a tipped over bucket next to her.
"Mum? Mum!? What happened?" I yelled, not knowing what to do.
April stood behind me, she looked frozen with fear. "I-Is she okay?"
"I-I don't know, how do I know?!" I cried, my eyes beginning to well up.
"Look-Look her chest is moving!"
"You're right!" I cried as my heart steadied a bit. "Mum, wake up!" I said as I began to gently shake her.
"Do you hear that?" April asked.
"Hear what? I can't hear anything, why won't she wake up April?" I cried as I suddenly heard the sound of grass being flattened by things falling to the ground.
"April?!" I asked again and I turned around to see April and our Pokémon strewn across the ground just as my mother was.
"Not you too! C'mon everyone, get up!" I cried, not knowing what was going on around me.
April, Ditto, Slowpoke, Sandshrew and my mum had all collapsed onto the ground, but not one of them even stirred as I tried to get them to regain consciousness.
"…Please?" I muttered while my eyes began to glisten as tears filled them to the brim, ready to pour down my cheeks in a heartbeat.
Suddenly the tree next to the barn began shaking vigorously making newly grown leaves fall to the ground much before their time.
Was this it? Was this the thing that was going to make me catatonic like all the others?
I looked up as the tree stopped shaking and a patch of white fur poked over the top of the branches and then swung downwards towards the trunk. I instinctively shut my eyes, but began to reopen them after a few seconds as I felt no immediate presence around me.
As I did so I saw a familiar face dangling from the tree by his tail.
"Mankey! – You're okay!" I cried, running over to the pokemon.
"Key-Key!"He cried, as he swung himself off of the tree and onto my shoulder.
As I tussled his fur, I began to think.
'Why is it that Mankey and I remain unharmed while the others dropped to the ground like flies?'
I didn't have much time to dwell on it however, as Mankey jumped off of my shoulder and started to run off towards the far side of the barn.
"Mankey wait! Where are you going?!" I yelled, running after him, leaving the others behind.
Mankey was definitely showing me something important, but as I ran past the opened door of the barn, I had to double-take as something caught my eye.
I took a few steps back and went inside barn; all of the Mareep were in the same state on the floor as the others were, but that wasn't what caught my eye. In the middle of all of the Mareep was a scruffy pile of brown that looked to be made up of a feathery substance.
'This is definitely not part of the barn…'I thought as I slowly reached out my hand to touch it.
As my hand touched a light brown portion of the pile, it seemed to twitch and before I knew it, the pile transformed into several Hoothoot and Noctowl flying away in all different directions. I immediately dropped to the floor and covered my head only to become covered in feathers; so much so that a Noctowl would probably mistake me for one of its own.
I uncovered my head and began brushing myself down as I returned to my feet and saw that something had been under the pile of pokemon. And that something had been someone – my dad!
"Dad… You as well?" I said to myself, kneeling back down beside him. My dad was the typical farmer type – big boots, checkered shirt, jeans and light brown hair. He wasn't frail by any means, but he was getting on a bit and wasn't as strong as he would make himself out to be.
I looked up to the roof of the barn and saw the Hoothoot and Noctowl perched on the beams looking down at us and a realization hit me.
"You were… keeping him warm weren't you?" I said to them.
A single Noctowl tilted its head as if to agree.
"Thank you…" I said as Mankey appeared at the door screaming; "Man! Mankey!"
I quickly rose to my feet again as I rushed to the door. "I'll be back soon, dad!"
As I ran back outside, I saw the cloud in the sky from earlier but it seemed to have doubled in size. I stopped in my tracks, gob smacked.
'What is happening?' I thought as I continued following Mankey around the barn, hoping that he had an answer.
Once we got to the back of the barn, Mankey stood still and began pointing at a stack of old wooden boxes and barrels.
"Mankey, there's nothing here - we don't have time for this!" I said as I turned around, not believing him.
"KEY!"Mankey insisted, still pointing.
I figured that Mankey must've seen something to insist like that so I hoisted myself up onto one of the big boxes and saw that there was something behind it.
"What are they?.." I asked as I reached for my PokeDex.
'Swablu, the cotton bird Pokémon. This Pokémon that has wings like cottony clouds which it uses to clean any unclean surface including people of which it is not afraid of. After enduring winter, in which little food is available, Swablu flocks move closer to towns in the spring.'
The tiny Swablu had sky blue bodies with two long feathers upon their heads with two lengthy wings that looked like cotton buds. However one had a bruised and bent wing, whereas the other looked fine but was clearly concerned for the injured one as it lovingly nestled its beak up against it.
"Oh no… Hey there little guy." I said, carefully reaching over to pick up the injured Swablu. "I'm gonna help you out."
I reached into my backpack as I lay the injured Swablu on my lap, to get a phial of red liquid. I dabbed some of it on a spare piece of cloth and gently rubbed the little Pokémon's wing with it.
The second Swablu flew up from behind me and landed on my head and began nestling itself there.
I simply said; "Well… Okay." And carried on.
The injured Swablu cried out as I rubbed the cloth but I knew that I was doing some good so I carried on until it looked slightly better and became slightly whiter.
"You know your wings do look alot like... clouds." I said to the Swablu as I returned my things to my backpack.
Suddenly the sky became much darker as the ominous cloud looked as if it was about to crash into the farm. I could hear a faint eerie noise, but I couldn't work out what it was.
"Oh no…" I said, putting two and two together and running around the barn to hide inside, carrying the two Swablu with me.
The cloud seemed to be reaching out to the ground in front of us as just before I got to the barn, a giant blue behemoth appeared in front of me from it, crashing to the floor, making me lose my balance and fall to the ground.
As I fell to the ground, so did my PokeDex; making the screen light up and the bell chime.
'Altaria; the humming Pokémon, and the evolved form of Swablu. As Altaria fly across the sky they resemble small clouds and are known for their beautiful high-pitched song. They are very protective of their young and are capable of unleashing intensely hot fireballs from their mouths if provoked.'
"…Uh oh."
My arms quivered in fear as I held the injured Swablu in my arms, staring up at the intimidating presence of the Altaria. Its four front claws along with its back ones were firmly rooted to the ground as its long neck stretched out towards me placing its face inches away from my own. The Altaria hissed through its gleaming white beak as its eyes stared straight into my own, unnerving me to my core.
Suddenly the ominous cloud looming above us seemed to burst into a flurry of Swablu that began to circle overhead while others perched themselves on telephone lines, on top of the barn, the house, all around me as if to tell me there would be no escape should I run.
With the disappearance of the 'cloud', the sun again began to shine on the farm and was welcomed against my skin, but it was nothing against Altaria's fiery breath that I could feel floating around my cheeks.
The Altaria looked up towards the Swablu flock as if to issue an order and immediately after they began to sway oddly from side to side in unison chirping something that I couldn't quite make out. The Altaria looked back at me as if it was confused and wanted something.
So, without making any sudden movements I slowly moved my hands over to pick up the injured Swablu from my lap, but as I wasn't looking I accidently touched its injured wing making it cry out in pain, which subsequently caused Altaria to let out an ear-shattering roar that made my ears pop.
The ringing that had plagued my ears since I hit my head had stopped – I could hear again! The sounds of the fields of corn swaying in breeze, and a strange melodic chirping from the Swablu, it seemed almost… peaceful. But I wasn't about to celebrate as I again reached for the injured Swablu in my lap and gently picked it up in my arms and held it forward as a peace offering.
"I-I didn't hurt it… I found it like this and… and…" I said as my eyes suddenly became heavy and kept shutting as I was speaking, forcing me to open them again. "I help…" I continued, but only for my eyes to completely shut and before I knew it; I was asleep after falling forwards to the floor.
As I began to wake up I experienced a strange, yet warm feeling of every muscle in my body relaxing; my eyelids no longer felt as if they were weighed down by a Snorlax and my drowsiness had vanished entirely. I didn't want to open my eyes to break free from this state of serenity until I heard cries of "Swablu, Swablu!"followed by a sharp prodding of something tapping my head and memories of the scenario I was in the middle of came flooding back to me.
I opened my eyes to find that I was coated in a pure white aura that seemed to be flowing outwards from the uninjured Swablu perched on my head and waved over my body like a soft sheet of silk.
As I began to make sense of the environment around me again, I could hear Mankey and the Injured Swablu frantically crying and chirping their respective names along with the rest of the flock towards the Altaria who seemed less hostile than before. It seemed as if they were pleading with the Altaria see the truth.
Whilst I rose to my feet, Altaria bent its long neck downwards so it's head was level with the Swablu's and gently nuzzled its beak against it, almost as a sign of apology.
I walked towards them, but as the grass crunched under me, Altaria's gaze sharply averted in my direction, and I was unsure of how to go on. So I began to talk to see if it would understand me, people always said Pokémon understand human speech.
"Please… your friend, the little Swablu… I found him already injured with his friend behind my barn, so I bandaged him up and helped him; but my friends, they're all still asleep, so please can you help them for me?"
Altaria lifted its head up and its expression completely changed from hostility to compassion, the brown of its eyes seemed to become less intense and its eyebrows lifted.
'Has it worked?'I thought as Altaria suddenly opened its wings to show its full wingspan in all its glory. And with that, my PokeDex lit up again from the floor and uttered:
'If an Altaria bonds with a person, it will gently envelop the friend with its soft wings.'
I cautiously stepped forward, still skeptical of how quickly this blue behemoth had become friendly, but as I drew closer, Altaria closed its enormous wings and pulled me in. At first I squirmed but Altaria's wings didn't just look like clouds they felt as soft as you'd think clouds would be against my skin. My face was immediately warmed by the heat emanating from its furry chest and the metronomic beat of its heart was relaxing as I hugged the Pokémon back.
As I hugged Altaria I felt its chest begin to gently vibrate against me as its gentle soprano voice began to echo throughout the farm, humming something that sounded similar to Ave Maria. Soon after the Swablu all began to join in creating a very rich harmony. As the cloudy Pokémon sang their song, a flowing white aura began stretching out from each one of them, similar to the one I'd seen not too long ago, covering the ground as far as I could see. It was almost too bright to look at.
The same feeling of serenity and purity rushed over me as the song came to an end and the light dissipated. Suddenly I heard sounds of stirring from different directions followed by mooing from the Miltank and cries of "Mareeeeep!" from inside the barn. As I was released from the hug by the Altaria, I could see that behind it, my Mum, April and the Pokémon all began to stir.
"Thank you." I said as I smiled up to Altaria who, in response, gave a short bow to me before picking up the injured Swablu and beginning to flap its wings, creating a very powerful gust that almost unraveled my scarf, before hoisting itself into the air.
I ran towards April and my mother as the Altaria let out an elegant cry that caused the Sawblu flock to take off into the air and join it before flying further into the sky up and over me. I waved goodbye as they neared the distance and I heard the injured Swablu cry out one last time as if to say goodbye.
I leant down in the middle of April and my mum and putting their heads on my lap as April's eyes began to open.
"Hey there you." I said as I smiled down at her.
"Hi… Why are there bird-clouds in the sky?"