Chapter 2: Sigil of Intent
A/N: I didn't notice this when I released the first chapter, but I didn't edit Gray's age. It was supposed to be 17 instead of 15, so I edited it as I was writing this chapter. The reason being is that I needed him being older because of spoiler– background– and common sense. Have a wonderful day! Have a good read, that's all.
0—0
It has been two days since Gray caught his new Pokémon, Magikarp. Gray has been battling trainers across Route 1 since treading towards Viridian City. He utilizes the battles as experience for Elekid. He never wants to see him go wild like that, especially since he is young. He must rip bad habits in the bud while it still hasn't bloomed.
From the first battle to the latest, Gray has seen improvement already. Elekid's rash movements are better, but his violent temperament was still present. He still had to give his Potions to the trainers because of how damaged their Pokémon were after the fight.
Gray smiled in satisfaction, in just two days, Elekid grew, and now he can't wait to see how Magikarp is. Maybe Magikarp will grow as fast as Elekid, and the thought of it made Gray laugh.
While Elekid got most of his attention, he still had Magikarp in mind. Gray wrote down ideas on how to train her after he gets to Viridian City. He just never had the chance to release her as she would be useless in dry land.
Magikarp, who watched them from the inside, saw how strong Elekid is. She saw how Gray strategized the whole fight to give Elekid the edge made her think that her decision was a good one. Sure he wasn't letting her out, but she saw him jotting down notes for later. She was thankful she joined a competent leader.
She even wanted to get out and start training with Gray, but she knew she would only kill herself if she came out without any body of water around so she held herself back.
From the battles she saw, Magikarp acknowledged Gray as her trainer. She didn't want anyone else to train her, she wanted a competent, intelligent trainer, and Gray fits that role well. He was also kind and strict, especially with Elekid.
'Haah… I'm so tired. It's been a week since I've set out, and I've only seen one Pokémon with potential. At this rate, I'll never surpass the last team. Wait… why did I even leave them over? I'm so stupid.'
Gray inwardly said, recalling the week in his mind. This week was actually pretty boring for his standard week. He spent half of it fishing for a Pokémon, which he got. But the half was just walking and fighting inexperienced trainers.
'Hmm, at least I got an amazing Pokémon for my team. It's worth the week.'
Suddenly, the once sunny environment became stormy. Rain hailed like arrows from the heavens. Loud impacts of thunder bursted the ears of many, including Pokémon and Humans. A sudden Pokémon cry echoed through the forest, and an immediate crash of thunder followed.
Almost everyone from the general area was alerted and rushed towards the sound. Even though they do not know the situation, it's still the procedure to give help to other trainers.
"What the… this weather change is abnormal, what kind of Pokémon…" Gray muttered, before running towards the thunderclap.
From his experience, he had never felt a change of weather this quickly. It was too sudden, and he didn't like it whatsoever. It felt like bad news. So he quickly grabbed Elekid's ball and released him. Gray wanted to use Elekid's receptors.
"Kid! Kid?"
Elekid jumped out and roared, he immediately sensed the strong Pokémon emitting this large amount of electricity. He punched his fists together, outbursts of energy running out of his body. He had never felt a source this strong other than his, so he was thrilled to assert his dominance to another electric-type Pokémon.
He wasn't only an electric-type, and his fighting-type side is slightly influencing him. With his young age, his natural instinct took control over his body. One side wanted to absorb the enormous energy he sensed, and the other wanted to dominate whoever produced such energy. Elekid's eyes went white, he roared wildly and blitzed through the forest. A trail of blue electricity followed him.
*Rumble*
*Rumble*
*Boom!*
Seeing Elekid going out of his control, Gray sighed with exaggeration. In a second, his eyes grew serious as his body was slowly covered with this black energy like a smooth river. His eyes glowed silver before he darted towards Elekid.
"Okay, this would cover me for almost 4 minutes tops, that would suffice if I try enough." Gray muttered, as his breath slowly became unstable and fast.
-o-
Elekid ran, ran faster than he'd ever gone. But he sensed a faint semblance he'd recognized. He felt a certain type of energy and looked behind him and saw his father running with a blackish energy around him, almost like a devil. He was far enough to see a face he'd never seen on Gray's face. It was scary.
His instincts crumbled with just Gray's eyes. The stunt of showing his dominance disappeared, and he obeyed Gray's orders. He ran faster towards the Pokémon he sensed. Gray became farther and farther away. When he felt Gray's aura move further and further, his instinct slowly came back.
Elekid felt the Pokémon closer than before and pushed himself to go faster. His electricity flashed blue for a second before returning yellow. After a few seconds, he saw light before him and fields of green welcomed them.
The sky was back to normal, but the signs of a great battle were visible. But the atmosphere carried enough static that walking through them you will feel your body go numb. Elekid was welcomed with the sight of a flock of dead Spearow. Their feathers were destroyed, skin charred like charcoal, and the smell of burnt flesh invaded their noses.
Elekid halted in astonishment, this output of power was no joke. There are tens, almost a hundred of dead Pokémon present, and they were killed by a single Pokémon. The electric attack lingered in the atmosphere, it stuck on Elekid like glue.
He was exhilarated. Eled quickly absorbed the electric remains in the atmosphere and amped himself up… electricity danced around Elekid as it flashed between yellow and light blue. With a mighty roar he managed to summon a bigger thunder than the previous Pokémon. His power output increased by two, even with such small remains. Elekid changed the weather again, but this time it was a constant thunderstorm.
Laughter ensued, he laughed as he decimated the fields even more. Elekid was devoured by wild instincts again. His body buffed up, his fur spiked, and his claws grew and sharpened. His lightning changed from yellow to blue in an instant.
Within the fields of dead Spearow, the lucky few who managed to stay alive saw the wild Elekid. They panicked and tried to fly away. The sound of a thousand birds scared them.
"U-ugh… H-help me, I-I don't want to die."
The voice of a pitiful, weak Spearow caught the sight of Elekid and he rapidly shot a Thundershock towards them. The lightning cried like a thousand birds, piercing through the Spearow. Immediately, the Spearow's body exploded from the heat of the lightning, their remains scattered everywhere.
More and more Spearow tried to escape, but got shot down and killed by Elekid. The attack was so fast that even a Pokémon known for their aggression and speed was caught off guard and killed. And time passed slowly, with each cry, the Spearow perished.
Each time Elekid shot a Thundershock, sonic booms blasted the bodies and leaves away. It was the incarnation of chaos. However, holding great power caused severe damage to his young body. It was too much as each attack broke something inside him. Whether it was bones, or organs, it caused a great price. The increase of power made the trainers coming on the way in a hurry. Even though almost all of them were far away, they needed to help whoever was doing such attacks.
'Young one, please calm down… my… my children, they are almost dead… most are still alive but please, don't kill them.' A strong voice echoed inside Elekid's mind. The serene voice soothed the influenced mind of Elekid.
White energy flowed like a gentle stream, it weaved around and came towards Elekid. The energy entered his body and he exploded in this white glitter of light.
His eyes fluttered, and the energy became more stable. Finally he roared as he expelled the energy that had influenced him. The energy made a pillar of blue lightning and shot towards the sky, piercing the heavens. The white energy flowed out of him like a waterfall, as if it had done its purpose.
"Haah… haah… haah… w-what, was that?" Elekid gasped for air. He fell on his knee and experienced an extreme amount of pain. His mind was freed from his instinct, but he didn't have time to react as pain insulted him right away.
"Guh! Ah—!" He screamed loudly. The tears on his body stained his fur with crimson red, his muscles were pulled and ripped apart, bones cracked and shattered.
'Do not move… or else you will perish. Let your energy flow, and cover yourself with them. It will slow the injuries. It might save you from your certain death.' The same voice invaded his mind again.
Curious, he wanted to ask who it was, but he wanted to live so he desperately did what the voice instructed of him. White energy flowed out inside him, it covered his whole body like a cocoon. Whatever he did made the flow of blood stop from going outside, it stayed inside and flowed like it always did.
Good… good. You are better than this One expected. This One senses a dense Aura user moving toward your area. It might be a good help to you. Keep up the energy, don't drop it.'
Elekid coughed out blood, as he felt the pain again, but now it was steady. The pain was still present, but it didn't hurt more than it had to.
A few more seconds later, a gust of wind blew across the field. Elekid opened his eyes and saw Gray looking down at him with eyes he'd never seen before. It wasn't domineering, it wasn't out of pity, but out of sadness and pain.
"Elekid…"
-o-
Finally reaching the end of the forest, Gray used the ounce of power he had left and burst through the forest. Warm sunlight welcomed him, but it also came with the stench of death. It made Gray nauseous. He felt his stomach turn upside down, and he experienced a strong headache. The sight of dead Spearow and burnt grassland was like an apocalypse. The atmosphere was at the lowest.
"What the…" He managed to whisper, his words taken out of his mouth.
Snapping out of his stupor, his eyes darted everywhere, trying to find Elekid. He knows he's here because of the wild thunder and lightning a few moments ago. Elekid is the only one who can output that level of power, except the one who attracted Elekid.
Gray walked around and examined the corpses with disgust. The one who killed these was powerful, they were either too powerful, or indifferent to life. His eyes darken everytime he sees a new body. The thunderstorm added a sense of ugliness and despair to the situation. It was nature crying for help, even so nothing helped it.
"This is disgusting… this better be an accident or an out of option type of attack. If not… Well, we'll have another problem."
"On the other hand, this is a huge waste of opportunity. There were a lot of Spearow that had great potential." Gray's eyes gleamed silver. His eyes flickering to each Spearow.
You see, Gray is an opportunist. He always wants an opportunity, a chance. If he could have a chance of capturing a legend, he would. After he caught Magikarp, he stayed and hoped another Pokémon with a great potential would appear again, but it didn't.
'2, 1, 3, 1, 1, 3… only a handful have great potential… had.' Gray sighed, he pulled out a white bottle and spilled all its contents on the ground. He closed his eyes and recited a quote.
"Life is unforgiving, but may Arceus forgive. Bless thy souls."
A few seconds of mourning, Gray placed the bottle down and broke it with a swift kick. It signified breaking their body to release the confines of their souls. A unique ceremony in a region far away from Kanto. Leaving the corpses behind, he swiftly found Elekid on the ground meditating with a pond of blood around the area. Gray made his way towards Elekid.
"Elekid…"
The Pokémon responded, he opened his eyes with some difficulty. Scrutinizing Elekid, he identified that his body was fairly charred and damaged. It was obvious how the body was smokey and the bone structure was everywhere. A few rib bones were almost poking out, his left arm was turned unnaturally, and his feet were extended too far.
Gray rummaged around his bag before grunting in regret. He remembered every time he gave potions away like toys. "Fuck! I shouldn't have given those potions away, what a waste of resources!"
Elekid grimaced. He, too, was angry. But not at Gray, but to himself. If he only did not succumb to his instincts, they would have potions. But no, he wasted it indirectly and caused this dilemma.
Out of options, Gray gave up. There's nothing he could do. He would have given some Aura— to prolong Elekid's survival— but he no longer had any. The way here drained his power.
Just like a miracle, a bright light dispelled the thunderstorm. A pillar of different colors of light was summoned, it struck Elekid with intensity and warmth. The sudden phenomenon confused him, however with each passing seconds, he saw the injuries of Elekid healing rapidly.
Gray was close enough to feel the warm intent from the beam, and felt the enormous amount of energy it produced. The pillar of light was majestic and was heaven-sent, however it didn't feel domineering.
"W-what the fuck… what the hell is this?"
Letting his intrusive thought win over, he decided to touch the light and a massive pain overtook his body. The light's warmth turned into the hottest thing he'd ever experienced. His right hand burned, and a spiral pattern, almost primal looking sigil formed above his hand. Gray quickly pulled it out but the pain lingered for a moment before going away.
Even though it was painful, Gray saw the expression of Elekid and saw the wounds heal. He shifted his eyes towards his shaking hands and saw it was fine. But after scrutinizing, he saw the small symbol on his hand and noticed something strange.
"Weird… I've never seen this before. Huh? What's this energy, I didn't have this before. Is it because of this pillar of light?"
Investigating Elekid, he also saw the same symbol on Elekid's forehead, however, it wasn't spiral-like, it was almost like a lightning bolt.
'Interesting. You are also an enigma, just like that young one. To get the Sigil of Intent even without This One's permission.' A similar voice invaded Gray's mind. He tensed up and raised his guard.
Out of instinct, his hand went over to his utility belt and tried to summon a Pokémon, but there was nothing there except Magikarp. That stunned him as he forgot he had no one else with him. It was a new experience to him, having no one to rely on in front of possible danger.
'Damn it, what kind of a monster is this? To be able to bypass the mental barrier of Aura…' Gray panicked. It was a universal rule that when a person or Pokémon gets inside your brain, it's over. If they can connect themselves to it, you can die instantly. But Gray didn't care about that, he had other things he was worried about getting leaked.
This too was new for him. Even before he was an official trainer, he had gone on adventures for years, starting when he was left alone at the tender age of 8. By the time he was 10, he had known how to use Aura and its defensiveness. Gray is still learning, he started early, but it was too early. He first learnt how to survive alone, gather food in the wild, and train Pokémon.
He was already 12 years old before he traveled around the world. Being a trainer makes a lot of money, although it was a little illegal as it was earned while being off the records.
'Do not worry, This One bears no ill-intent. Rather, This One bears good news. This One assumes that Pokémon is your partner, correct? He has a pure yet fragile heart. Raise him well.'
Sensing truthfulness, Gray gained his senses back. Hearing the voice inside his mind, he picked up the tone more clearly and saw no evil intentions behind them. Having a conversation inside the mind, his senses were off the charts. It was sensitive and picked up every intention behind every word.
Suddenly, a flash of images was imprinted inside his mind. Gray saw the sight of a majestic phoenix. The feathers gleamed with gold, red, and green, white fur in contrast was like beautiful clouds. It floated with a prideful stance, almost like a God. When he saw the Pokémon, Gray became perplexed.
"Ho-Oh? Why did you come to see me– us? You don't seem the type to visit people like me?" Gray questioned with a hint of confusion.
Ho-Oh is a Legendary Pokémon that symbolizes the sun and the sky. Historians usually depict them as the Guardian of the Skies and can bring the dead back to life. They can be seen as a sign of eternal happiness and hope. They show themselves to people with kind and pure hearts.
Ho-Oh chuckled, it spread its wings as scenes unfolded within them. A young boy protecting a single Pokémon with his life, as a flutter of Spearow and Fearow flew towards them with malicious intent. The boy tried to recall the small rat-like Pokémon, however the Pokémon hopped out of his arms and summoned a huge thunderstorm. To summarize, it was the cause of the thunderstorm around Route 1.
The powerful attack damaged everything in its path. Gray saw that and saw the boy get striked by lightning, and somehow the boy managed to survive.
"This doesn't make any sense… that kid should be dead, there's no way he could endure that much damage up close. That was at least 100,000 volts of energy!"
Gray was perplexed. How could such a small Pokémon cause a shift in the weather, even Elekid can't do that, at least without being amped. And that boy survived such an attack!
"This One came to see a kid with a dream to go on an adventure forever. This One merely wanted to make it come true. However, This One saw a unique Pokémon killing This One's kind. It tainted the pure heart he had, and This One didn't like that, so This One intervened." Gray wanted to hear more, but it was enough of an answer.
"So you helped him stabilize? Thank you. To be honest, I would have killed him myself, it was painful enough to see him slowly suffer." Shaking his head, the thoughts disappeared within his mind. It was rather intrusive, but it was the only way he had thought of. It was either to suffer before dying, or to be killed quickly.
"This One senses good intentions in your words, but it is immoral in any sense. To kill, is to kill, even with good intentions."
Ho-Oh criticized Gray's ideology. Gray agreed to his words, however that was the way he was raised. If he needed to dirty his hands, he would. For the better good. Ho-Oh shook his head before he changed the scenes. It flashed black and white. It showed the boy waking up, he saw the battlefield and threw up. He recalled the knocked rat Pokémon into the ball and walked along the path.
"Strange, I didn't see him when I came here, even with Aura. I think I'm going blind."
When Gray used his Aura, his senses multiplied by 5 times. The first time he experienced it, he had difficulty getting the hang of it. The smell of the forest was pungent and scummy. The course dirt and grains were grimy and dirty. And his eyesight was the worst, he could see from miles away and when he went back, he got extreme migraines. Few sets back of Aura users are how long it takes to develop and to wield it efficiently.
"He already woke up and left when the young one arrived at the wasteland. And you were still in the forest navigating through it." It made sense, as the way from the forest to the wasteland was far, it took him 4-ish minutes to arrive at the scene. It took Elekid 2 minutes to arrive, faster than him with Aura. Suddenly, the scenes glitched before Ho-Oh warned Gray.
"This One's time is almost up, This One hopes your journey's epilogue will be reached. That Sigil of Intent will help you with the course of your adventure. Also, This One graciously offers This One's feather. It grants happiness and luck to its bearers. The time will come, This One will see you again…"
The connection between Gray and Ho-Oh was cut briefly. He heard everything in detail and gazed above. The majestic rainbow light signified the Legendary Pokémon, as a shimmering feather fell down with grace. It landed on Gray's hand before wrapping around his wrist.
"Ho-Oh… I sincerely thank you. For saving Elekid, and giving me a chance to encounter a Legend.".
The End of Chapter 2: Thunderclap
Author's Corner:
The story has definitely gone off course with the original. It's basically a rewrite at this point. Even the title is different lol. The original went along the lines of… Gray and Elekid see thunder… Elekid got there first and exchanged words with a dying Spearow… Gray gets there and sees Elekid… Elekid pointed at the Spearow and Gray had potions that time and healed it after capturing it… That's it lol. Plus the Ho-Oh part wasn't even in the story, even the Sigil. Well, good night!