Author's Note: You read the warning. I'm honestly not kidding – the song at the end had me crying just for writing it down. If anyone's interested, I have the MIDI for 'Wind Beneath My Wings'. It's only 19 kilobytes, so I can e-mail it to you if you want. My address is Darkelf05@yahoo.com It's even sadder if you listen to the music while you read it. ::sigh:: Well, without further adieu, here it is. Enjoy.
It seemed like nothing at first. I hate myself now for not realizing that something was wrong. I was battling Blue for his Earthbadge when I sent Cheerio, my little Umbreon, out against his Alakazam. What I didn't realized was that it knew Submission, but it only got one hit off before Cheerio's Faint Attack took it down. When he sent out his Eggegutor, I left her out. While she was standing there in front of me, I saw that she was cringing. She seemed to be in a great deal of pain, but I couldn't see why. I checked the HP meter on my Pokédex, but it read that she was at greater than half health.
"Hey Chi, are you okay?"
She turned to me and smiled suddenly, the pain seeming to fade in an instant. "Breeee!"
The battle went smoothly after that. I received my Badge and headed to the Pokémon Center. Submission must have done more damage to the tough Dark-type than I had first realized…at least that's what I told myself.
Time passed as I traveled to Pallet, and then to Silver Cave. There, Red was silently training by himself. The greatest trainer in the world was only a few feet away. I could try and challenge him…what would it hurt? So I did. What I didn't realize was the sheer level difference between his Pokémon and mine. I had carefully trained all of mine to level 50, over the course of several months, but his were all over 70. But my Sandslash, Ashram, took down his legendary Pikachu without much trouble. I decided to keep fighting and let my Pokémon try. They deserved the chance.
It was Cheerio against Espeon. The higher level Psychic used Swift several times, but it didn't do much to Chi. She was very tough, and with a spectacular type advantage she had little trouble winning the match. Snorlax, though, took us almost an hour to defeat alone. My Meganium finished the job with a Body Slam, and when he called out Charizard I countered with Suicune. Why he had the dragon use fire attacks, I'll never know. He was never credited for being an intelligent trainer. I sent Meganium out again when his last Pokémon, Blastoise, was chosen. A single Blizzard attack took it down. I was too close to give up now. I sent out Suicune to weaken it as much as I could while I revived the Meganium, Pirotess. She and Cheerio were the only remaining Pokémon I had with me, so I knew I was in trouble. Blastoise knocked out Suicune. With the turtle at half HP and with the ability to use Blizzard, I knew Pirotess couldn't win. So I decided to send out Cheerio again. Chi had been with me since she was an Eevee. She had never let me down, no matter what I sent her against.
"I'm counting on you, Chi," I whispered as I threw the Pokéball. She appeared in a flash of crimson light and stood to face the huge water Pokémon. Several Psychic attacks brought the water Pokémon down quite far. Because the mental assault was relentless, it hadn't been able to fight back much other than to use Rain Dance once. All at once a torrent of snow and icy wind ripped towards Cheerio as it used Blizzard. As the attack hit, I gasped and stood looking anxiously at the blinding cold snow. I couldn't see anything. As it cleared, Cheerio was revealed to be standing tall, facing her enemy. She hit it with a Headbutt attack, and miraculously that took the Pokémon out.
I had won.
It took me several moments to realize it. I had beaten the world's greatest trainer with a team of lower level Pokémon that I had raised all on my own. I had done it!
"Umbree breee!" Cheerio turned to me happily, her dark eyes shining. I was so happy for her. "Great job, Cheerio. I knew you could-"
Her expression suddenly changed to one of agony. She slowly sunk to the floor, shaking and whimpering slightly.
"Chi?!"
The joy of winning was gone. I raced over to my Umbreon and gently picked her up, rushing from the cave to the Pokémon Center that was near its entrance. After hours of waiting, Joy came out and told me that she didn't know what was wrong. She had sent a blood sample to a nearby lab for analysis, but until the results came back it was safe to take Cheerio home. The next few days were anxious ones for me. Chi didn't seem to be in pain at all, but she lacked the energy she usually had. More often than not, she could be found lying on the couch or in my reclining chair, when usually she would have been running around outside or following me around the house. Every time the phone rang, I raced to get it, hoping that it was Joy with the lab analysis. And, one bright and misty morning, it was. In a few moments, though, it seemed that my whole world was shrouded in a deep and foreboding shadow.
What Cheerio had was Pokérus. At first, I was a bit confused by the statement. Pokérus was harmless – as a matter of fact, it was helpful. At least, it had been a few months ago. When exposed to human DNA, the virus had mutated and become deadly. It was like a kind of cancer that slowly spread. The symptoms were so subtle at first that it was hard to notice, but a handful of Pokémon had recently been infected. And at the moment, there was no cure. I hung up the phone and numbly walked over to the couch where she lay sleeping, sitting down next to her and looking at her still, dark form as she dreamed peacefully. All the Pokémon I had ever trained, even my Chikorita, had at one point let me down. But not her. She had taken out the fighting Gym all on her own as an Eevee, just hardly more than a hatchling. It was a close battle, but she had somehow pulled it off. If it weren't for her, I would not have made it through the Pokémon League. I wouldn't have beaten Janine or Sabrina for their badges. I owed my title as a trainer to her. My eyes blurred over with tears as I leaned down and hugged my little Umbreon. She awoke and looked questioningly into my eyes, and after a few minutes I managed to tell her what was wrong. A kind of grim acceptance came over her as she looked up at me again, wanting me to be strong, too. But I couldn't.
The next few months were hard for me. I had to defend my title as Champion, but my heart was not in it. Cheerio lay by my side and watched the battles, a growing anxiousness in her eyes as every challenger was defeated. Then, I ran into a stroke of bad luck against one. His Xatu took down my Meganium, and I grimly noted to myself that, like so many times before, the grass type had let me down. All I had left was Nidoking. I looked at the Pokéball in my hand and then to the bird standing across the way.
"Eee…" I turned to look as Cheerio struggled to her feet and stumbled towards the arena floor.
"Chi, no! You can't!" I grabbed her around the chest and held her back. Cheerio couldn't fight, and we both knew that.
"Umbree!" She practically screamed at me, struggling to
break free. No, not a scream – it
"Cheerio…" She looked up, "I…..I choose you."
"Eeeeon?" Her head snapped up immediately as her beautiful crimson eyes met mine. In that moment, I saw more joy and vitality in her than I had in weeks. She stood and stepped into the ring to face the other Pokémon. Before I could give a command, she lunged into action and disappeared, then re-appeared to strike the Xatu with a powerful Faint Attack. The bird Pokémon went down, and the trainer's last Pokémon was Muk. Cheerio preformed beautifully, taking only a single Pound attack before knocking her opponent out with Psychic. Defeated, the young trainer slowly walked away.
"Br…eee…" Cheerio whimpered and suddenly fell, slumping motionless to the ground. I rushed over to her, and to my relief she was only unconscious. A nearby man who was watching the battle graciously had his Abra teleport us to a nearby Pokémon Center, but I knew they could do nothing to help. The cure had not been found.
I was at home again a few days later. Cheerio's condition
had dramatically worsened, and I spent every conscious moment torturing myself
for having let her fight. Chi was usually awake during the day, and I spent
every minute I could with her. I resigned from my place as Champion and gave my
other Pokémon a well-deserved retirement in a nearby Pokémon reserve. I
couldn't defend my title and care for her at the same time, and being Champion
just wasn't important to me anymore.
One night while I was sitting on the couch, Cheerio managed to make her way across the living room to me. I gently picked her up and set her on my lap, where she lay for quite some time. I could tell that it was painful for her even to breathe, now. After a while, she looked up at me with tears in her eyes. But I knew it wasn't because of the pain. All her life, Cheerio had always come through for me. But now, it seemed that she had failed me. There was nothing she could do, and she knew that soon her life would be over, and that she would have to leave me.
"Chi…please don't," I choked.
"Umbreon…umbre bree," she leaned her head against me as the tears streamed down her face.
"You've never failed me, Chi. Not now, not ever. I'm so sorry…I…I can't save you. It's all my fault…"
"Eon, bree," Cheerio shook her head and looked up at me again, but she didn't look so sad anymore. The pain was gone from her eyes, replaced by a kind of peace. She smiled at me one last time, that innocent and loving smile, and lay her head down, going utterly still.
***
I stood in front of a small but beautifully made black granite tombstone. Carved into it was Cheerio's name, surrounded by roses shrouded in moonlight. Though she had fought so bravely all her life, Chi had lost her battle with the Pokérus, only a few short days before the cure was found. Maybe if I had not let her battle, if I had noticed something was wrong from the start…maybe then she would still be alive. I could not stop thinking about the hundreds of mistakes I had possibly made, mistakes that had lead up to this.
I wasn't even listening to what the man was saying who was addressing my friends and family that had showed up. I didn't need to listen. However, when they played the song I had picked for her funeral, there was not a sound from anyone standing there. And by the time they departed, not a single eye was dry.
It must have been cold there in my shadow,
To never have sunlight on your face.
You were content to let me shine – that's your way.
You always walked a step behind.
So I was the one with all the glory,
While you were the one with all the strain.
A beautiful face without a name, for so long.
A beautiful smile to hide the pain.
Did you ever know that you're my hero?
And everything I would like to be?
I can fly higher than an eagle,
For you are the wind beneath my wings.
It might have appeared to go unnoticed,
But I've got it all here in my heart.
I want you to know I know the truth, of course I know it.
I would be nothing without you.
Did you ever know that you're my hero?
You're everything I wish I could be?
And I could fly higher than an eagle,
With you as the wind beneath my wings.