Chapter 27
Disclaimer: moi-moi819 does not own Pokémon, or any of their titles therein. This is a nonprofit fan fiction. No copyright infringement was intended.
Moi-Moi: Congratulations to Wolf Zelda, Oh my Batman is that Spitfire, LilShorty0594, bootskitty328, Counting Sinful Stars, OreoNinja, and Optimus Prime's daughter for getting the riddle right! It was Spinda!
?- wanted to fly so badly that it grew wings after triggering the cells in its body
~:~
"Infernape, use Thunder Punch!" I yelled. Infernape ran at Flint's Infernape quickly with her fist sparking wildly. Flint's Infernape waited patiently for her attack. Suddenly, Electivire appeared before Infernape with his hands stretched out to block the attack.
"Pachirisu, Use Electro Ball and Swift!" I yelled. Pachirisu ran quickly with her tail in the air. She charged up an Electro Ball and began moving her tail in a circle. The Swift began to form and swirl around her tail with stray sparks of electricity connecting the stars. With a swing of her tail, The Electro Ball fired at Electivire with the Swift still moving around it.
"Mach Punch!" I yelled. Infernape moved quickly. She punched Electivire away from the attack at the last second. This caused the attack to hit Flint's Infernape directly. "Yes! It worked!"
"Nice strategy, Gabi. Pachirisu looks good," Volkner complimented.
"You're getting there Short-stuff. Maybe one day you'll actually be able to put a scratch on Infernape," Flint bragged. I rolled my eyes at him with a smile.
For the last month, I had been improving on my Pokémon's abilities. Infernape had mastered Thunder Punch a while back and Dragonair had learned Dragon Tail. I had recently taken Pachirisu back from my grandparents only to learn that she now knew Electro Ball. In return, I had sent Vaporeon to them for the remaining month.
"Gabriella! I challenge you to a re-match!"
I sighed. It was Eddie again. He was one of the many Trainers who came to the Gym daily to train under Volkner like me. Most trained to learn how to become Electric type Masters or just to get stronger. I don't think any were here to prep for the Sinnoh League like me. Eddie was one of those Trainers who wanted to get stronger.
"Another re-match, Eddie? If that's what you want. I'll use Luxio," I said to him.
Eddie gripped his electric guitar anxiously with a smirk. His long, blonde hair moved with him as he started playing riffs on his guitar. He wore a tight, grey tee with the sleeves ripped off and tight, leather jeans.
"You're on. Raichu and I will rock!" Eddie said.
I waited for Eddie to make the first move. Luxio was already glaring Raichu down with a heated stare. It was probably Luxio's Ability taking effect. Having the Ability Rivalry, Luxio was feeling the attack boost due to facing off against Eddie's male Raichu.
"Raichu, use Thunderbolt!" Eddie yelled.
"Get your tail up!" I responded. Luxio lifted his tail into the air like a lightening rod. The Thunderbolt hit the star on his tail before moving through his entire body and leaving him with a brilliant spark. "Shock Wave!"
"Raichu, no!" Eddie exclaimed and fell to his knees by his fallen Pokémon. "We'll beat you eventually, Gabriella!"
"Eddie, my name's Gabrielle," I reminded him for the tenth time. He chose not to listen, taking Raichu in his arms and jogging away with his guitar on his back. I sighed at the sight.
I turned back to Luxio to thank him for a job well done, but stopped. He was glowing! As usual, I was thrilled to see one of my Pokémon evolve. It took a few seconds, but once he stopped glowing, I now had a Luxray.
Luxray, the Gleam Eyes Pokémon and the evolved form of Luxio. It's eyes can see through anything. It can even spot its prey hiding in the shadows.
"Luxray, it's so good that you evolved! I'm so proud of you," I praised and went up to him. I tried to place a hand onto his head, but froze when he growled lowly at me and tensed. "Luxray?" I questioned and tried again. This was a mistake, however.
Luxray let out another growl before releasing an attack. I felt the electricity course through my body wildly and knock me onto my back. My body was still spasming in pain from the attack. From where I fell, I could see Infernape stand up to Luxray to defend me.
"Gabrielle?!"
"Short-stuff?!"
I saw Volkner block my line of sight when he crouched by me. "Flint, don't touch her!" I heard Volkner yell. It was too late. Flint had already touched me and allowed some of the electricity trapped in my body to flow through his. I could hear Flint groaning as I tried to sit up. "Are you alright?" Volkner asked me.
"I'm fine. What about Infernape and Luxray?" I asked.
"No, don't worry Volkner. I'm fine, too," Flint grumbled from him spot on the ground. Volkner sent him an unamused stare.
From what I could see, Luxray had walked away from the confrontation to lay in the corner of the arena. Infernape watched him warily before huffing and moving over to me. I watched Luxray confusedly. Luxray sent me a quick glare before looking away uninterestedly. I frowned. "Why did Luxray attack me?" I questioned with a hurt tone.
"I was afraid this would happen. Luxray are very vicious Pokémon. While they can be very loyal and protective of their Trainers, they have to be tamed as well," Volkner said. "It turns out that your Luxray is a bit more vicious than I had predicted. It's best if you leave Luxray be for now."
"If you say so. I'm going to get cleaned up," I said to him. I stood up and tried to dust off my clothes. I tried not to look Luxray's way as I made my way upstairs. Infernape followed behind me closely while keeping a watchful eye on Luxray.
It hurt. My own Pokémon wanted nothing to do with me simply because that's how he was. I would have to tame him as well as win him over. "I don't know what I'm going to do Infernape. Even though he wants nothing to do with me, Luxray is still my friend," I said to Infernape as we ascended in the elevator. Infernape balked at me. "I know he attacked me, but you've done that too. Even if you were unconscious, you've done it. You've always apologized for it. I know that. It'll just take a bit longer for Luxray to apologize. Do you get what I mean?" I waited. Infernape shrugged at me once in response. I sighed at her and pat her shoulder.
~:~
This was crunch time. I only had a month left to prepare for the Sinnoh League. Recently, I had decided to change up my regimen by facing both Volkner and Flint at the same time. The more I faced them, the more they learned my battle style, and the harder it became to beat them.
"Luxray, use Thunder Fang!" Volkner yelled. I envied him a bit. His Luxray followed his orders and didn't electrocute him for getting too close. I had tried to feed Luxray his food once and had been bed-ridden for the rest of the day because of it. Infernape hadn't taken it well. Infernape had immediately picked a fight with him. She had won, but the two had destroyed Volkner's battlefield and left him unable to accept any challenges until it was fixed. At least now, Luxray only growled when someone came near. I was the only one who made any attempts to get near him.
"Steelix, use Fire Fang!" Flint yelled.
"Kirlia, use Teleport!" I yelled. Leaping gracefully, Kirlia gabbed Riolu by his arms and vanished with him. She reappeared with him behind Steelix. "Riolu, Force Palm!"
"He's behind you, Steelix! Use Iron Tail!" Flint commanded. Steelix swung his glowing tail quickly, striking both Kirlia and Riolu and knocking them out at once. My jaw dropped. Flint grinned and snickered. "Looks like we win again."
"Your Pokémon shouldn't be allowed to battle," I responded in a huff and went to Kirlia and Riolu. Riolu was already rousing and trying to stand, but Kirlia wasn't moving. "I'm going to take them to the Pokémon Center," I said and recalled Kirlia.
I took Riolu into my arms and started to leave. On my way out of the Gym, I noticed Luxray lounging by the door. I froze. Luxray cracked an eye open to stare at me before closing it and going back to his nap. I started moving forward. Just as I did, Luxray began growling lowly and sparking.
I let out a frustrated noise. "You can't sit by the door and get mad when people need to go through it!" I huffed. Luxray moved onto his feet and glared. "If you're going to shock me, go ahead. But, I'm going through that door to get my Pokémon help."
Riolu decided to stand up to Luxray even though he was still injured from his last battle. He stood before me and barked angrily at Luxray. Luxray glared down at him. If this turned into a battle, Riolu wouldn't stand a chance. I tried to pull him away. "Riolu, let's go. I need to get you to Nurse Joy," I said.
In the next second, Luxray had pounced. This wasn't Bite that he was using. It looked way too intense to be Bite. He was using Crunch on Riolu's arm. "Riolu, use Force Palm!" I yelled. "Luxray, let him go! What's the matter with you?!"
I ran to Luxray and tried to pry his mouth away from Riolu. Luxray growled at me and I glared back. "You can be upset with me, but don't take it out on the other Pokémon. If you have a problem, you take it up with me. Now, let go."
After several seconds, Luxray dropped Riolu with a bored look. He turned away from us and left to another part of the Gym. I watched Luxray go before looking down at Riolu. Concern filed my eyes. Riolu was gripping his bruised arm in pain as well as gritting his face in agony. "Riolu, please hang in there. I'll take you to Nurse Joy right now," I started. "I'm so sorry Riolu. I should have better control over Luxray. I'm really sorry."
I pulled Riolu to me, but stopped when his body began glowing. I could feel a sort of warming energy coming from him as he glowed. My jaw dropped and I placed him back down. I watched him grow to twice his size with amazed eyes. Once the glowing stopped, my Lucario stared up at me with a smile. "Lucario?" I tested. He let out an affirmative grunt, before pulling himself up into a sitting position. I took out my Pokédex.
Lucario, the Aura Pokémon and the evolved form of Riolu. By sensing the aura of its opponents, Lucario can read their thoughts and movements.
"Lucario, it's so great that you evolved and learned Aura Sphere and Bone Rush. I can't wait to see you in battle, but you really need to get to Nurse Joy," I praised him. Lucario nodded once and let me recall him this time. I really needed to do something about Luxray…
~:~
Lucario was a wonderful addition to my team. Now that he had evolved, Lucario took up the role as mediator/peace maker in our little family. Lucario usually prevented Infernape from flying off the walls, choosing to give her a sparring partner rather than let her take out her anger on one of Volkner's nearby bots. Naturally, Lucario had tried to help soothe the tensions between Luxray and everyone, but that hadn't gone over well. That only left Luxray with a grudge against Lucario after losing to the Fighting type.
"Luxray, stop it! Lucario, don't do that! Don't fight!" I yelled at them. Luxray was attempting to use Crunch on Lucario while he fired back with Bone Rush. If I had to say, Lucario was definitely winning. They were so into their fight, that they didn't listen to a thing I said.
I looked back at Volkner and Flint. Volkner was sipping his coffee quietly and Flint was inspecting his fingernails. "Aren't you two going to do something?!" I yelled at them.
"Why? They are your Pokémon," Flint acknowledged. Volkner hummed in agreement. I rolled my eyes at them with a sigh. They were such a big help.
"Kirlia, use Psychic on them so they don't hurt themselves," I told her. I wasn't about to send Infernape to break them up. That was like sending a lit match into a gasoline warehouse. Dragonair preferred to avoid confrontation when necessary and was sitting back with Volkner and Flint. Pachirisu was probably in the control room playing with the outlets again.
Kirlia focused her powers on them both to stop them mid-attack. The both froze with the same fierce, battle expressions on their face. Luxray didn't take kindly to the interference, however. I could hear his growls increasing in volume before his body began fighting off the Psychic hold. With a loud cry, he was free and bounding right for Kirlia.
"Kirlia, no! Luxray, stop it!"
At seeing Kirlia stuck down, Lucario launched himself at Luxray with a new sense of vengeance. Kirlia pulled herself up from the ground to glare at where Luxray and Lucario were fighting. Once again, she closed her eyes to focus her powers. The only exception was the bright glow coming from her body. I watched Kirlia evolve with stunned eyes. This was the third evolution in a week! When the evolution had stopped, my jaw dropped. She was beautiful.
Gardevoir, the Embrace Pokémon and the evolved form of Kirlia. If Gardevoir's trainer needs protecting, Gardevoir creates a small black hole by using all of its psychic power.
With her newly enhanced powers, Gardevoir put a stop to their fighting with Psychic. Luxray tried to break the hold gain, but was unsuccessful. Once she was sure that Lucario wouldn't attack, Gardevoir released him. I stepped up to Luxray just as Gardevoir released him as well.
"Listen, Luxray. Just because you're feeling angry and upset doesn't mean you can just attack any and everyone in the Gym. If you have a problem, take it up with me. I'm your Trainer. But, I will not allow you to keep this up. Either you start listening to me or else. If being my Pokémon doesn't suit you, I wouldn't want to keep you someplace that you're miserable," I said, finally getting everything off my chest.
Luxray kept quiet through it all and just watched me. After I finished, I waited for a response. For once, Luxray didn't say anything. He turned on his heels and stalked away to another part of the Gym. Even though I had told him that he could leave, I hadn't really meant it. Seeing him walk away caused a break in my heart to form. I sighed sadly before hanging my head. I recalled Lucario and Gardevoir and moved to recall Dragonair as well.
I felt two hands clamp down on my shoulders. Looking up quickly, I spotted Volkner's calm face and Flint's smiling face. They didn't need to say anything, but they were going to. However, another voice cut them off. "Hey! I came for a Gym battle! Where's the Leader of this Gym?!"
Volkner sighed, probably upset that his "big brother moment" was ruined. I hugged him in thanks anyways. When Flint cleared his throat loudly, I rolled my eyes with a smile. I gave him a quick embrace too before turning to face Volkner's newest challenger.
"Barry?" I asked in shock. Barry came barreling into the arena at full speed, but was surprisingly able to stop on his own this time.
"Gabi? Oh yeah! Ash told me that you were here!" Barry exclaimed. "You're training or something. Right? It doesn't matter! I came for my badge!"
"My name is Volkner and I happily accept your challenge," Volkner greeted.
Barry looked ready and determined for his match, but froze. His eyes widened comically before his jaw dropped. "It's Flint from the Elite Four! You're awesome! What are you doing here?!" Barry exclaimed and invaded Flint's personal space. Flint didn't flinch or back away. He just rested his hands on his hips with a small smile.
"He's bumming around my Gym and refuses to leave," Volkner hinted with a casual expression.
Tic marks appeared on Flint's head as he shot a side glare at Volkner. "I'm here to help Gabi train. Isn't that right, Short-stuff? I've been more help than the Voltage King," Flint said with mock anger. Volkner smirked and scoffed once. Flint growled at his casual expression, his fire being stoked.
"You're nicknames never cease to amuse me. There are only so many electricity puns you can come up with," Volkner said. Before Flint could tear him a new one and resort to childlike maturity, Volkner turned to Barry. "Barry was it? I'm ready whenever you are."
"Then let's go right now!" Barry exclaimed. "Watch this Gabi. I'm about to wipe the floor with your brother."
"If you say so, Barry," I shrugged. Flint and I moved to the stands where Infernape was already waiting.
"So you and Barry are friends, huh?" Flint started. I nodded once and kept my eyes on the field. "What will you do if he wins?"
"I don't know. Congratulate him? That's what I did for Ash," I said to him. Flint proceeded to invade my personal space as he gave me a searching look. I scooted away nervously with a laugh. "Are you okay, Flint?"
"Me? I'm fine Short-stuff. Just giving you a word of advice: I wouldn't tell Volkner about it just yet," Flint smirked. Flint lounged back in the stands and put his feet up.
"About what?" I asked. My nerves evaporated and were replaced with curiosity. What was he going on about now?
"About your relationship with Barry. I think it's cute," Flint smiled.
My jaw dropped. "Are you out of your mind?!" I yelled at him. Flint snickered and made no attempt to feel shame for his comment. "What would make you think that?!"
"It's nothing. Don't worry about it…"
~:~
"I told you I'd wipe the floor with him. Didn't I?" Barry bragged. I sent Barry a strange look as he leaned into my side. With a snicker, he quickly pulled away and went back to his ice cream.
"It looked more like you barely won. If Raichu hadn't slipped in Empoleon's puddles, you would have lost," I acknowledged with a smirk. I went back to my ice cream as Barry balked.
"But it did! It doesn't matter. I'm still going to be the strongest Trainer in the world. Believe it!" Barry said. I couldn't help it. I had to laugh at his enthusiasm. "Hey! Quit laughing at me!"
"Chill out, Barry. I'm just teasing you. You Pokémon battled really well. I'm proud of you," I said and put my arm through Barry's. I smiled at him, but Barry watched me strangely. My smile fell. "What's wrong?"
"N-nothing! There's nothing wrong!" Barry exclaimed and pulled away from me quickly. I watched him curiously as he started laughing nervously. "Is it just me or is it really hot out here?"
"I feel fine," I replied. Barry started laughing again while waving me off casually. I raised a brow at him dubiously. "Barry, are you alright? Your face is red. Are you sick or something?"
I tried reaching for his face with my free hand, but he pulled away. He was about to yell something with his eyes wide in shock, but he stopped. The stunned expression fell into one of recognition. "Hey. I know him. It's Paul," Barry muttered.
I turned quickly. Just like Barry had said, Paul was stepping out of the Pokémon Center while pulling his bag onto his back. Before I could say anything, Barry had dashed away from me quickly. "Barry, wait up!"
"Paul! Stop right there!" Barry yelled. I ran after him while trying not to drop my vanilla cone. Paul had stopped walking away to watch Barry curiously. Barry was grinning widely, nearly hopping from foot to foot. I stopped next to Barry and Paul set his eyes on me.
"Hey Paul. What are you doing in Sunnyshore City?" I spoke. Barry set wide, astonished eyes on me. He was gaping between Paul and I in comical shock.
"Gabi," Paul greeted. "I'm here for a Gym battle. I hear Volkner's accepting challengers instead of just handing out badges again."
"You bet! I just won my eighth badge from him!" Barry boasted. "Uh…Gabi, how do you know Paul?"
"I met Paul a while back. He's Ash's rival and the two have battled a few times," I informed Barry. Barry nodded once and folded his arms in thought, causing his ice cream to fall off its cone. I quickly moved my foot out of the way in time.
"Where's your Infernape?" Paul questioned me.
"At the Gym. I left her in the middle of a phone call with Ash's Monferno," I informed Paul. Paul raised a brow at this and I smiled at him. "The Sunnyshore Gym is run by my brother, Volkner. I've been with him for the past month training for the Sinnoh League."
Paul smirked. "I see. Have you gotten any stronger?" Paul questioned coolly and slipped his hands into his pockets.
"You bet! My Pokémon are getting stronger by the day. Volkner and Flint have been a huge help!" I said. Paul sent wide eyes my way then, surprise highlighting his every feature. I smirked at him.
"Hold on just a second here! What's going on? Am I missing something?" Barry exclaimed. I blinked curiously at him, but Barry was turning distrustful eyes on Paul. Paul spared Barry a quick glance before looking away with disinterest. I sighed. Boys are so weird. Barry kept eyeing Paul distrustfully as if sizing him up.
"It's getting pretty late guys. I'm gonna head back to the Gym. Barry, thanks for the ice cream. I had fun," I said before turning to leave. The sun was starting to go down and I had to get back before it got dark. Volkner would have a fit if I wasn't inside by the time the sun went down.
When I got back inside Volkner's apartment, I sighed in relief. I made it. Flint was chatting with someone on his Pok Gear while laying down at the kitchen table while Volkner flipped through the television channels. Once the elevator dinged with a close, Volkner turned his eyes onto me. "You're right on time. How'd things go with Barry?" Volkner asked casually.
"Fine. We got ice cream, but he dropped his. I ran into Paul, too. He's come back to Sunnyshore to challenge you," I informed Volkner while pouring myself some juice.
"Who's Paul?" Volkner and Flint asked at the same time. Flint looked amused as he smirked at me, but Volkner looked serious under his expressionless mask. I was going to answer them when I heard Rhonda speak on the television. I turned to it quickly with wide eyes.
"And here's our latest Contest winner, Dawn! She's won the Daybreak Ribbon at our Daybreak Contest," Rhonda said. I quickly snatched the remote away from Volkner to turn the volume up. "Using her Mamoswine and Cyndaquil, Dawn was able to pull an amazing come from behind win against Ursula and her Plusle and Minun! What an amazing job! Kudos to Dawn!
"I have the latest news that the Grand Festival is going to be held on the shores of Lake Valor, folks. Get this: if you haven't won five ribbons yet like Dawn, there's still seven more Contests until the Gran Festival. The next Contest is being held in Sunnyshore City so hurry up and make your mark on the Contest stage! Until next time, this is Rhonda from Sinnoh Now!"
They were playing highlights from the match. Cyndaquil had attacked Plusle and Minun while its Flame Wheel was covered in ice. I smiled. Dawn had taken our one-time move and perfected it into a Contest move. I was so proud of her!
"Your friend's got talent. I've never seen fire and ice do that," Volkner complimented.
"This is why fire is the future! The possibilities are endless! That's the future right before our very eyes, Volkner! Can't you see it?!" Flint enthused. Flint was yelling into Volkner's face, but Volkner didn't reply. The phone started ringing just as Flint continued on. With a fond smile, I moved to answer it.
"Hello?" I asked.
"Gabi! I got you!" Ash exclaimed with a smile. Pikachu was waving with a smile from Ash's shoulder. I waved back with a smile, happy to see them both.
"Hey Ash and Pikachu. It's great to see you. I just heard about Dawn's win in Daybreak. That's so great! Cyndaquil and Mamoswine were amazing!"
"Yeah. They really mastered Flame-Ice in the nick of time," Ash said. So Dawn was calling it "Flame-Ice"… "So, much has happened, Gabi. I got a Gible! And Buizel learned Ice Punch! Gliscor isn't with me though. He's off training to get stronger."
"A lot has happened with me too, Ash. Riolu and Kirlia evolved. I even have a Luxray now! Well… things aren't that great with Luxray," I shrugged.
"Huh? Why not?"
"Luxray was just fine as a Luxio. But ever since he evolved, he won't listen to a thing I say. Volkner says to give it time, but I'm getting kind of fed up. Luxray just growls at anyone who gets near him and shocks them for getting too close. He even bites!" I complained.
"I agree with Volkner. Just give it some time. Luxray will come around. It reminds me of my Charizard. When he was a Charmander, he would listen to me. But, as soon as he evolved into a Charmeleon, he stopped listenin'. Let me tell ya. It didn't get better after evolvin' into a Charizard neither. But, things got better after I earned Charizard's respect and trust. I guess what I'm tryin' to say is: you gotta give it some time. Ya' know?"
"Yeah. I got you, Ash. Oh! Get this: Barry just beat Volkner today. He's got his badge and everything. That's number eight," I informed with a smile.
"Really? That's great! It's about time."
"And Paul's here too. He came to challenge Volkner so I imagine that he'll be here at the Gym tomorrow," I went on. Ash frowned at this. "Perk up! You've already got your eighth badge. This time, Paul needs to catch up to you."
"Yeah, I guess…"
"I just heard that the Grand Festival will be held at Lake Valor at the end of the month. You guys should head that way next. I'm going to head over there to cheer Dawn on as well, but don't tell her. It'll be a surprise," I said with a wink. Ash nodded once in acceptance with a smile. "After that, we can head to the Sinnoh League together."
"Sounds good, Gabi. We'll see you then! I hope you're as strong as you say you are. I'll be looking forward to a good battle!" Ash said with a smirk. I was about to say something challenging, but stopped when Ash cried out. I raised a brow at the sight of Ash crying out and flailing wildly. Was that a Gible on his head? "Gible! Cut it out! I like you too Gible, but not now! Wahh!"
I had decided to hang up and leave Ash and Gible alone. Gible sure had an active personality. I left the phone and went back over to Flint and Volkner. That's when I noticed the bowl of Pokémon food sitting on the counter with a note written in messy script at the bottom. I could tell that it was Flint's. 'For Luxray'. I didn't need to be told that it meant my Luxray. Since Volkner and Flint were in the middle of a discussion on the necessities of Pokéballs during battle, I took the dish into my hands.
"I wouldn't need Pokéballs if I could summon my Pokémon from my afro!"
"Flint, you're afro isn't big enough to hold your Pokémon…nor is it fireproof…"
If I knew Luxray, he would be by the generator. Many of the Electric types hung out by the generator when Luxray wasn't around. This time, when I approached the generator out back, it was crowded with Electric types. They were all siphoning off electricity and refilling it happily. They were even shocking each other.
"Have any of you seen Luxray?" I questioned them. Some shook their heads in the negative, but a few nodded. Those that nodded pointed upwards. "He's upstairs in the apartment?" I asked. More shakes of 'no'. They pointed to the roof. I sighed.
There was a passage from the hallway that connected the bedrooms that led to the roof. I pushed the latch open before pulling myself up and onto the roof. I pulled my sweater closer to me as a breeze picked up. I looked around. "Luxray! It's dinner time! Where are you?!" I called.
I looked around again with a sigh. I pushed a piece of stray hair behind my ear then. Just as I did this, I heard a low growl. I turned quickly to see Luxray glaring at me. I waited patiently for him to stop growling. Eventually, he did stop growling and waited for me.
"Why are you on the roof, Luxray? It's cold up here. You should come inside," I admonished and approached him. Luxray just watched me warily while sitting on his haunches. Tonight, I decided to be bold and move a bit closer than normal. I moved slowly with Luxray's penetrating eyes on me. Finally, I placed his bowl directly in front of him. I stepped back and waited. Luxray slowly began eating without a word.
After a few seconds, Luxray had finished his food and was rising to leave. I bent to pick up the empty bowl before turning to leave. I sighed. I guess a small part of me was hoping that I had touched a small part of Luxray today, but that wasn't so. Just as I started walking back to the door, I took a misstep. I must have been closer to the edge than I thought. My body reacted quickly, causing a scream to rise up before my other leg had even slipped off the roof. I tried to reach out and grab something, but my fingers felt nothing but air. I couldn't even get my wide eyes to shut.
Suddenly, I felt a jerk on my shirt and sweater. Something was tugging on my clothes, pulling me backwards and away from the edge. I could hear Luxray's growls over my shoulder. My heart was beating so loudly and rapidly, that I was having a hard time processing anything. I was shaking with my jaw hanging open. Turning my head, I saw Luxray watching me curiously. "Luxray?" my small voice asked.
Luxray let out a low growl before bumping his nose into the side of my face several times. He kept this up before licking the side of my face once. That snapped me out of my shock. I wrapped both arms around him tightly as grateful tears gathered in my eyes. "Luxray, thank you so much. You saved my life," I said into his static-charged fur. Luxray let out a low growl before bumping his head into my shoulder. "Let's go in now."
When we got inside, Flint and Volkner were no longer arguing about Pokéballs. They sent curious eyes on me before their eyes went wide at the sight of Luxray. "Don't worry. Luxray and I are cool now. Aren't we, Luxray?" I asked and scratched behind his ear. Luxray purred and bumped his head into my leg playfully. I giggled happily with a smile.
"I knew he'd come around eventually. Isn't that right, Luxray?" Flint said and got up. He reached down to pet Luxray as well, but Luxray sent him a sharp glare. Before any of us saw it coming, Luxray had used Shock Wave on Flint to bowl him over. Flint twitched on the floor with his afro sparking.
"Come to think of it, I suppose your afro is big enough to hold your Pokémon now…" Volkner said with a smirk.
~:~
Moi-Moi: Lol.
Next Time: …?
Edited: 11/11/13
