Mt Thunder:
The walk to Mt Thunder proved to rather perilous for Team Dizzy. A gale was blowing and the thunderstorm of its mountainous namesake caused it to rain heavily. With every thunderclap, the cubs between Persian's legs whimpered and cowered closer. For once, the twins weren't bouncing all over the place. Instead, they would lightly spark Izzy whenever they got startled. This hurt, of course, but was no more than a mere annoyance. The cubs were relatively safe underneath Izzy. Dom was protecting Poochyena as they worked step by step towards the shelter of the mountain's caverns.
By the time they reached there, both the adult Pokémon were completely soaked, so they cuddled together for warmth. Plusle and Minun stuck close together naturally, and Poochyena was not yet so proud that he wouldn't join them. Izzy curled around the bundle of all three of them on one side, and Houndoom on the other; the two adult Pokémon's heads touched at one end, and their tails at the other. Both of them found their fronts warmed by their pack while their backs shivered a little.
"This storm came fast," Dominic growled to his mate, trying to keep his voice soft enough for the others not to hear. Poochyena's ears perked, however.
"It doesn't seem… It was fast," Isabelle agreed.
With a sigh, Houndoom looked into the cave. "It will be dry, following these caves up, unless we have to climb on a ledge. I suspect the wind will whistle. Do we take these others, or ask them to…"
Izzy cut him off, more sensible than the hound. "We take them. We can't leave them here!" Dom nodded; it made sense.
They waited a while longer, until their fur was dried out, then moved onward. True to his prediction, many of the main tunnels howled with a wind that cut straight through the mountain, to some distant exit. While it was cold, it would also give them a route out if it came to it. Some of the smaller side tunnels were less bad, however, so the group stuck to these.
The other denizens of the tower had clearly bolted to ground. Apart from the odd noise here or there, a flitter of movement in the shadows, they encountered nobody. It was eerie, with the only noise being the sound of droplets dripping echoing through the hollow caverns.
This suited Persian just fine. Everyone was spooked from the storm, though some tried to hide it. Poochyena kept his head up high, but his tail was slightly between his hind legs. However, nearby Houndoom, he was safe. That meant that Izzy was stuck with the twins, who had warmed up and regained their energy. To give them something to do, she told them to hunt the Weedle that sometimes crept along the cavern floor, sparking them until they could hit every one of them consistently.
This actually kept them busy for quite a while, much to Persian's surprise. Plusle and Minun couldn't hit a single one of them when they started until one, by pure luck, managed to hit a Weedle. After much excited squealing, their aim had improved. No Weedle were harmed in this exercise. The twins were too young to do any damage. They merely gave annoying zaps. However, when a male Nidoran showed up, the cubs got scared and hid between Persian's legs again, who scared Nidoran away with a mere growl. She gathered her cubs and kept going, deeper and higher into the mountain. They needed to get to the peak.
Further up, the weather grew steadily worse and so the Pokémon that lived here were tougher. The Stantler left them alone, but the Electabuzz, the Ampharos, and the Manectric did not, unfortunately. Izzy and Dominic had to fight them all. By the time they were nearly to the top, Persian was trembling on her paws and Houndoom fought against the spasms a paralysing attack had given him. As they came as high as they could, a massive bird could be seen flying circles around the mountain, fuelling the thunderstorm. But they could not access the plateau in front of them; a Growlithe protected it. This Growlithe stood as tall as he could, growling threateningly. His fur was raised to make him look bigger, more like an Arcanine.
"Please, allow me," Poochyena said, stepping forward. Dominic had fought a lot of battles for him, since this place was dangerous. Isabelle was worried for Poochyena. Growlithe was the stronger Pokémon, usually. The fire-type was also a bit bigger and slightly heavier than their cub. However, Poochyena had had a lot of training underneath the two of them. Surely that gave him an advantage over a wild Pokémon?
Growling at each other, the two circled on the plateau, with the others watching from the entrance. Poochyena had been taught to bide his time and so he waited for Growlithe to attack, which he did rather impatiently. Their cub dodged and bit the wild Pokémon rather viciously behind the foreleg. When Growlithe stood up, he seemed to favour his other leg, limping a bit. Because he was unbalanced, Poochyena tackled him swiftly for a critical hit. Grounded, Growlithe spit a fire attack at Poochyena, burning him in a painful manner, but another tackle at full speed knocked the other canine off the plateau. He hit a wall and did not move anymore, unconscious.
Panting, Poochyena stood in the middle of the stone battlefield, occasionally wincing in pain at the burn on his side. It would take a while to heal but if he took it easy, he should be fine. The air crackled with electric energy when a gigantic bird descended from the air. Houndoom and Persian instantly dashed to protect the injured puppy. Plusle and Minun's cheeks sparked in response to Zapdos' awe-inspiring power.
"Why have you intruded upon my lair?" He boomed with a loud voice.
"We seek a friend of ours. Shiftry, a grass-type a bit bigger than us," Isabelle answered, having to nearly shout to make herself heard over the thunderstorms.
"I have this grass-type you speak of, but I will not hand him over! Nature is unbalanced and someone has to be punished!" Furiously, he flapped his wings, amplifying the force of the storm surrounding them. In his rage, he had summoned eternal storms which caused some unbalance of their own.
"Lord Zapdos, you know just as well as I do that Shiftry is not the cause of this. Please let him go. I am Isabelle, and this Houndoom is Dominic. We're investigating what is going on and will do our best to bring nature back into balance."
"Insolent cat. How dare you speak to me like that?! I should strike you where you stand!" Lightning sparked from the tips of his rough plumage, but he seemed to settle just a fraction; a lull, in the storm. "Here, take your worthless friend. He did not last long anyway. You're right; a puny tree like that could never unbalance nature." With a swish of his wing, he revealed the unconscious Pokémon lying there. Poochyena and Houndoom rushed forward to drag him away from Zapdos while Isabelle kept talking to him.
"Your anger is affecting this region, lord Zapdos. It's raining where it should not. Your clouds are blocking the sun. You're known for the magnificent thunderstorms but, please, restrain yourself. Resume your duties and protect your realm. We will speak to your brethren as well, to see whether they're also upset. You three are mighty and your anger can be destructive."
Zapdos regarded her with a mixture of anger and sadness before sighing in a resigned manner. "Very well. Greet my friends for me, when you see them. Also, take good care of Plusle and Minun. All electric types are my kin."
"I will, Lord Zapdos. Take care of yourself and yours. This mountain is a sanctuary for them." Persian bowed her head before retreating down the steps, taking turns dragging Shiftry. Even Plusle and Minun's shocks could not wake the guy. It would be a long road back.