Chapter 2:
Disclaimer: I DO NOT OWN POKEMON!
**********************************
Flint had actually turned out to be a soft caring character, and Usagi suspected
that he was a bit of a hentai for he couldn't keep his eyes off her, much to
Ami and Moonbeam's amusement. However, his pokemon were not something to joke about.
"Onix, bind attack now!" Flint instructed.
Usagi looked at her Clefairy's HP meter. In the yellow range (that means
almost half of HP gone), and only a couple attacks had been exchanged. Not good.
"Moonbeam, metronome." Usagi had to rely on that attack, as she soon
figured out from Ami (a bit too late) that normal attacks were extremely
ineffective against rock types.
As the Clefairy powered up her metronome attack, Usagi crossed her
fingers, praying that it was a good attack. Moonbeam randomly launched a bubble
attack, which was to the point of effective but weak attack-wise. Usagi felt
like laughing and screaming at the same time, seriously beginning to pray.
"Usagi!" Ami yelled, close to her now.
Usagi turned.
"Concentrate with your Clefairy. Otherwise, you will never be able to find
your hidden power." Ami instructed.
Nodding, Usagi turned back to her battle and watched as Moonbeam barely
dodged the Onix's rock throw. Ami's words echoed in her mind. Concentrate with
your Clefairy. Hidden power... concentrate... suddenly she got an idea.
Now thrilled with the sudden realization of her idea, Usagi felt like
there was hope for her battle after all. "Moonbeam, build up a metronome
attack. Don't release until I give the cue."
Curious, her Clefairy agreed. The fairy pokemon glowed a gentle pink aura
as she concentrated on the attack "Metronome", which varied in attack and power,
depending on trainer and pokemon's strength. Usagi closed her eyes, and felt for
the power of her Clefairy. It was there, strong and firm. Immediately, Usagi
felt a strong sensation drawing her towards that power, and she surrendered,
feeling her energy flow into her pokemon's attack, brilliantly blazing with
pearly-white light. It was surreal - but somehow her boost in whatever she had
provided strengthened the power of her pokemon's attack, until it was beyond
maximum level, screaming to be released.
Usagi opened her eyes, now ready. "Now, release it Moonbeam!" Usagi
commanded, fully confident.
Every trainer standing in the gym was curious to see the effect of the
Clefairy's attack, for every metronome attack was both invariable and unexpected.
Moonbeam now gathered all the concentrated energy into one hand until if
formed what seemed to be a glowing white oval discus. With a motion similar to
someone throwing a frisbee, the Clefairy launched the "discus" at Onix, hitting the giant rock snake pokemon in the jaw. Onix roared, and staggered back as a brilliant flash
of light exploded from the discus upon impact.
Usagi blinked as the dirt and rubble cleared, her eyes focusing on the
image of her Clefairy, battered but triumphant over the fallen Onix.
Flint did a double take, for once taking his eyes off Usagi. "I can't
believe it!"
Ami simply nodded and smiled, as if all-knowing. Immediately, Usagi ran
towards Moonbeam, and embraced her pokemon in a gesture of love and triumph. As
she awkwardly fell on the dirt ground, she then noticed how tired she was
herself. "I guess that attack drained some energy out of me too". She muttered
to herself, her words slurring a bit from exhaustion.
"Clefairy?" Her pokemon inquiring with a worrying look.
"Never mind, Moonbeam. We won!" Usagi stated the obvious.
The Clefairy gave yet another impish grin. "Clefairy!"
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
"I can't believe I got this badge." Usagi commented for the nineteenth
time as she helped herself to yet another milkshake.
"You deserved it." Ami simply answered, her reply a monotone reaction.
Usagi turned to Ami, grabbing the blue-haired girl's hands in a gesture of
friendship, oblivious to the look of suppressed disgust in her friend's face as
Ami realized how sticky her hands would be after contact. "Thank you so much
Ami-chan."
Ami quickly let go of Usagi's hands, but subtle enough so that Usagi
didn't notice, and started wiping her hands vigorously under the table. "Uh...
yeah. Well, I knew you could do it Usagi. You see, I believe there's something
special about you. Not every trainer has the ability to use a power like you
did."
Usagi shook her head. "I still don't really understand what I did back
there."
Ami nodded. "You combined your own special energy reserves with your
pokemon and created a new attack from "Metronome". Now, your secret power
will draw that attack instead of the random energy it creates for normal
trainers."
Usagi's eyes widened. "Wow! I have special powers?"
Ami thought of a way to rephrase that, but found no way, and simply
nodded. "Yes, but it only works through the bond with your pokemon, your pokemon
enhancing its ability with your provided power. You're the first other trainer
I've seen with this ability."
"That must mean you have it too." Usagi teased.
Ami blushed, and looked down in embarrassment. "Yes, but that's not
important." She said quickly. "You must remember never to abuse this power, and
since you still have a long way to go, the closer and more experienced you and
your pokemon get, the better and more powerful the attack."
Usagi half-listened and half-ate yet another milkshake. Ami looked like
she was about to be sick. "Uh.. Ami-chan.. Since my metronome attack is different,
can I give Moonbeam's attack a different name?"
Her Clefairy trilled in agreement, holding a milkshake of her own in her
paws.
Ami blinked. "Sure, why not?"
"Did you give your's an attack?" Usagi prompted.
"Uh... yes."
"Then... I will call mine... ummm...." Usagi was at a loss of ideas.
"Clefairy clefairy." Moonbeam chimed in.
"You're right... it does look like a tiara discus. "
"And the way she throws it is like magic." Ami suggested.
"I know! I'll call it Moonbeam's tiara magic." Usagi exclaimed
triumphantly.
Ami sweatdropped.
"Uh... if your Clefairy is attacking, isn't it sort of obvious that
Moonbeam will be doing the attack?" Ami interrupted, ever so logically.
"Well... how about Moon's tiara magic?" Usagi said, totally not catching
Ami's last comment.
Ami shook her head. "Why don't you just drop the possessive."
"Huh?" Usagi had never really excelled in grammar and therefore had no
clue what a possessive was.
"The apostrophe. Drop the apostrophe." Ami re-stated again.
The light finally clicked in. "That's a great idea Ami-chan! Moon tiara
magic! I like that! Don't you, Moonbeam?"
"Cle!" Moonbeam trilled. And even a complete stranger could tell that that
as a definite affirmative.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
It was another beautiful sunny day, and both girls were happily sitting on
a grassy hill, like two renegade picnickers from a nursery tale.
Ami found herself nodding off, despite all the raucous noise Usagi was
making with her pokemon. She shook her head, trying to clear herself from her
fog and focus on the next chapter. After all, she was only 12 chapters ahead in
her apre-calculus textbook and 10 chapters (the horror!) ahead in her
trigonometry II and she needed to do better than that. Calling Ami a genius was
basically summing up what she was. But, behind that genius stature lay a kind
and sweet girl, so striving to figure out her purpose in life and an internal
goal. It was like a cat chasing butterflies - no matter how close she thought
she was to achieving and feeling she was something in life, she could never
truly feel at one and at full confidence with herself. This lead to certain
bouts of low self-esteem, and the fact that she never had had any friends didn't
help. However, ever since she started the journey with Usagi, things had been
different and she was gratified that she could finally perhaps obtain that inner
peace.
Ami scowled in annoyance as a raindrop fell onto the textbook,
splattering the perfect page. Wait a moment - rain? Wasn't it just-
Ami looked up, and her eyes grew very wide. "Usagi, look up!" Ami hissed,
seriously worried now.
Both Usagi and Moonbeam looked up, and they too couldn't believe their
eyes. Stormy grey clouds were covering the clear sky at an unnatural rate,
spreading as fast as a forest fire.
"Wha.. wha.." Usagi managed to splutter.
Her Clefairy hid behind her, visibly shaking, her eyes wide with fear.
"Lets go." Ami had no clue what was going on, but she knew it was no good.
"Something's seriously wrong here."
As both girls started packing up, there was a clap of thunder ahead, and
rain began to pour on them, drenching them almost immediately. Never had Usagi
felt such powerful rain, as globs of water clung to her face and blurred her
vision.
Ami was just relieved that she had saved her textbooks, but now was
searching for her umbrella, a hard task to do, as most of her motions were
oppressed by the onslaught of rain. It was as if someone had dumped an infinitely
gigantic swimming pool on them.
Suddenly, another crackle of thunder, and then a brilliant blue-white arc
of lightning that shot overhead. Usagi whimpered, and clung on harder to her
pokemon. Ami looked around, trying to add logic to where they should go, and
chanced to see two shadowy figures as another lightning bolt streaked down onto
the ground. Her mind then processed what she had just seen. One was a cloaked
figure, unrecognizable, but the other... a pokemon. Snake like, it had a horn on
its head and wing-like ears. Immediately, Ami figured it out - what other
pokemon could control the weather so perfectly?
"Usagi." Ami whispered, once again urgently. "There's a person with a
Dragonair."
"What's a Dragonair?" Usagi whispered back, now using her backpack to
cover herself from most of the rain.
Ami immediately began launching into the textbook explanation, now almost
oblivious to the storm raging above:
"Dragonair is an excessively rare species of
pokemon, respectively evolving from the sought after Dratini, and considered a
legend. Its lithe body allows it to swim and glide freely in air or water with
the greatest of ease. The horn on the Dragonair is the key to its power as that
is what symbolizes its control over atmospheric conditions."
Usagi never had the time to respond with her sarcastic comment as another
flash of terrifying lightning revealed the trainer and Dragonair speeding
towards them. And they didn't look friendly. It took Ami a split second to react
logically.
"RUN!" The blue-haired girl screamed, grabbing Usagi's hand and sprinting the opposite direction AWAY from the two imposing figures.
Usagi's brain finally clicked in, and both girls and pokemon began to run
as fast as their legs could carry them.
Crack! Another flash of lightning, and the Dragonair pointed its horn
towards the lightning as the bolt arced and changed direction under the dragon
pokemon's command.
Just by sheer dumb UNluck, Usagi tripped on a rock, falling ungainly into the
mud, splattering everyone with it. Cold, dirty, tired and wet, the trio struggled
to regain their flight. Suddenly, Ami turned around and saw
too late the streak of lightning heading towards them. Nearby, Usagi had also
noticed the electric arc, and began to wail uncontrollably. Ami tried to pull
Usagi up, to get them out of the way, but Usagi wouldn't budge - she was too
scared. It was coming closer and crackled with what could be seen as a
malevolent type of electric laughter. Both girls closed their eyes, expecting
the end...
Suddenly, Usagi's Clefairy leapt between the lightning and the girls,
determined. In that single split second, she lifted her index finger,
concentrating. Just when the lighting was about to strike and send the trio into
deep pain, it hit a solid and invisible barrier, swerving off course.
"Clefairy's barrier attack!" Ami whispered, amazed.
But the lightning was still channeling its electricity, and the weakened
Clefairy strained to keep her barrier up, fighting a losing battle.
Tears lit up in Usagi's eyes. "Moonbeam... you're so brave..."
"Usagi, lets go while we can!" Ami ran for it, dashing away from the
lightning's direction.
"Clefairy fairy!" Moonbeam also urged Usagi to run, but her trainer
refused.
"I'm not leaving without you!" Usagi screamed, rushing to her pokemon's
side in a rare gesture of bravery and one of true compassion. And, as the
barrier broke, Ami could only scream silently as the lighting finally opened its
horrendous jaw of crackling electricity, as if to swallow its quarry in its
jagged, blinding light.
"Mars fire ignite!" Someone was screaming an attack, and it wasn't Usagi.
Suddenly, a ball of fire twisted and impacted with the thunderbolt, causing a
small explosion. Usagi, hugging her Clefairy tight, skidded on her back
painfully through the mud from the impact, but otherwise seemed okay. Ami looked
around to see their savior, and saw... no one. She quickly rushed to her
friend.
"Usagi! Can you get up?" She whispered urgently. The rain had stopped now,
but in the distance, she could see the Dragonair powering up another attack.
Usagi moaned a bit, but struggled to get up. Ami supported her, as Usagi
finally stood, shakily, with her Clefairy in one arm. Suddenly, a voice.
"Over here!"
Ami jerked her head towards the sound. Some few meters away, a bush was
moving, waving madly. Taking her chances, she hauled Usagi and herself to the
bushes, jumping into whatever or whoever lay there before blacking out.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
The girl frowned in annoyance as she realized that the casualties were no
longer conscious. Pushing back her long ebony-black hair, she sighed and tried
to decide what to do. The two girls looked to be no older than she herself, and the
Clefairy was in a critical condition. She was just glad that the rain and storm had
cleared, a sign that the attacker and his/her Dragonair must have given up their
persuit. She frowned. That was strange... why would they be after those two
girls? Their pokemon didn't seem that strong either.
The blue-haired girl was waking up, and she greeted them, ignoring the
girl's half-moans.
"Ohh... where am I?" The blue-haired girl exclaimed, one hand to her forehead.
"Oh!" The girl's eyes grew round as she noticed the new girl for the first time. "You're
the one who saved me, right?"
In response, the 'new girl' pushed back another long strand of errant hair, and nodded. "You could say that." Her eyes narrowed as she noticed the blue-haired girl now looking at her warily.
"Look, I'm not going to bite your head off." She snapped, a bit too angrily.
The shy girl blushed and looked to the group, her short hair bobbing
furiously. "Uh... no, I didn't mean it that way... It's just that... never
mind." With a resolute expression on her face, the girl looked up again, her
composure regained.
"My name's Ami, and thanks for rescuing us." The blue-haired youth smiled.
Her own slanted black eyes widened at the generosity and she too gave a
strained smile. "You can call me Rei."
"This is Usagi, and her Clefairy, Moonbeam." Ami pointed to the other two
unconscious figures and frowned. "I sure hope they're okay..."
"Nothing to it, they just passed out." Rei remarked airily. "Come on,
lets get you to my temple. You probably need a change of clothes."
Ami paused. "If that's all right with you." She answered slowly.
"Of come off it." Rei waved a dismissing hand before taking out her
pokeball. "Lets get them to the temple, Hestia."
Upon being released, the pokemon, a lively fire horse Ponyta, quickly
summed up Rei's orders and let her and Ami strap Usagi on its back. Then, the
pokemon pawed its hoof, giving its master a look of readiness. Rei nodded, and she, Ami
and Usagi were off. Ami had chosen to carry the quite tattered looking Clefairy
in one hand, since the Ponyta already had enough to carry - or balance, by the
way Usagi was positioned.
Rei walked a bit, one hand on her Ponyta's muzzle, steadying her pokemon.
"Um... your pokemon's really beautiful." Ami commented.
Rei flashed a smile. "My Ponyta's one of a kind."
"Oh..." Ami paused for a moment. "Is that the one that saved us with
that... uh... neat attack?" Ami questioned tremulously.
"Huh?" Rei was surprised that the girl even knew it was a specially
powered secret attack that she had developed herself. "Nah. Hestia here is great when it comes to speed, but its still a bit shaky experience wise. That attack was done by Mars."
"And Mars is...?" Ami prompted.
"... My Vulpix." Rei had caught on. "She's my first, you know, and very
special. "
"You're special too."
Rei jerked at that comment. "What did you say?" The tone was challenging.
Ami looked uncomfortable. "I mean... you must have a certain power to, to
be able to create a different attack for the pokemon you love. My guess would be
that your ability to enhance pokemon from your powers lie in fire type pokemon."
:So, this girl knows about it too...: Raye thought to herself. But how?
"Yeah that's right. I guess you could say that Mars and I share a special power
with each other."
The blue haired girl only nodded. "Usagi does too. Her and her Clefairy."
Rei looked sharply at the girl, her face so serene as she lay quite
unmoving on Ponyta's back. "Hmmm... I should have known. I suppose you also have
this gift?" She accused.
"I guess you could say that." Ami tried to make it sound unimportant, but
Rei took note.
:This is where it gets quite interesting:...
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
"So after the boss of the Rockets, Giovanni, somehow just disappeared, a
new leader took place over the organization of Team Rocket, and they therefore
they are still dedicated to corrupting the world and causing evil, using pokemon
of course." Rei concluded.
They were now at her house, or rather, temple, and Usagi had finally woken
out of her coma, although she was still in quite a daze right now. She only
caught a few words of what Rei had said, as her brain still wasn't functioning
properly. Ami had told her she suffered from a minor concussion, but Usagi had
no clue what a concussion was. All she knew was that her head hurt. A lot.
Ami frowned. "Why doesn't anyone stop them?"
Immediately, Rei shook her head. "Its too dangerous. Team Rocket has a lot
of state-of-the-art technology, and a multitude of secret connections, hiding in
unknown places. Not many people like to talk about them."
Usagi stood up, ignoring the sudden lightheadedness. "I think we should at
least try to stop them. Who's in with me?"
Rei stared at Usagi as if she had suddenly grown donkey ears. Ami thought
for a moment that Rei was about to explode.
"Its too DANGEROUS! Are you out of your mind?" Rei did the predictable.
Usagi, determined, shook her head. "You don't understand! Lots of innocent
people and pokemon are probably getting hurt and if I can make a difference and
save innocent lives, then I will."
Clefairy trilled, agreeing.
"They can NEUTRALISE ANY pokemon's attacks!" Rei was still
hyperventilating.
Usagi was at a loss of words for that, but Ami cut in. "Rei, can they
neutralize attacks that are powered by a trainer's own energy?"
Rei paused, giving the longest most unbelievable stare at Ami.
"Ami... you're a genius!" The raven-haired girl suddenly shouted,
ecstatic. "Of course! Why didn't I think so before..."
Usagi simply scratched her head, confused. "Whaddya mean?"
"Duh, ODANGO ATAMA, anyone would have figured out by now that the only
reason that Team Rocket member chased after you was because they probably used
their pokemon to Foresee your potential in causing their downfall." Rei said, as
if it was the most obvious thing in the world.
Usagi's eyes bugged out. "I AM NOT an ODANGO ATAMA!!" She screeched,
indignantly and furiously tring to pummel Rei, who was easily to fast for her.
Rei, much to Usagi's surprise and chagrin, stuck out her tongue, but not
before shouting. "You're right - you're a ODANGO _AND_ MEATBALL HEAD!"
That was too much for Usagi, and she sat there blowing steam while her
Clefairy tried to calm her down. Finally Usagi decided she better do what was
best for her....
... and stuck her tongue out at Rei. Thus began a tongue fight.
Ami shook her head and sighed while Moonbeam decided that perhaps Ami
would be the better company. Both had large sweatdrops rolling down their heads as they watched the battle of the tongues. Ami smiled, to no one in particular.
"We're gonna make a great team!" She whispered to the Clefairy.
"Cle!" Clefairy answered, in emphasis.
************************************
Clefairy says:
Clefairy clefairy fairy cle fairy fairy!
Rei: (aside) Uh... what happened to Zoo?
Usagi: (aside) She knocked herself out by reading too many fanfics.
Rei: By the way, what the heck is your Clefairy saying?
Usagi: That broken umbrellas and chairs taste very good on your flashlight!
Rei: (sweatdrops) Suuuuuuuure.....
Disclaimer: I DO NOT OWN POKEMON!
**********************************
Flint had actually turned out to be a soft caring character, and Usagi suspected
that he was a bit of a hentai for he couldn't keep his eyes off her, much to
Ami and Moonbeam's amusement. However, his pokemon were not something to joke about.
"Onix, bind attack now!" Flint instructed.
Usagi looked at her Clefairy's HP meter. In the yellow range (that means
almost half of HP gone), and only a couple attacks had been exchanged. Not good.
"Moonbeam, metronome." Usagi had to rely on that attack, as she soon
figured out from Ami (a bit too late) that normal attacks were extremely
ineffective against rock types.
As the Clefairy powered up her metronome attack, Usagi crossed her
fingers, praying that it was a good attack. Moonbeam randomly launched a bubble
attack, which was to the point of effective but weak attack-wise. Usagi felt
like laughing and screaming at the same time, seriously beginning to pray.
"Usagi!" Ami yelled, close to her now.
Usagi turned.
"Concentrate with your Clefairy. Otherwise, you will never be able to find
your hidden power." Ami instructed.
Nodding, Usagi turned back to her battle and watched as Moonbeam barely
dodged the Onix's rock throw. Ami's words echoed in her mind. Concentrate with
your Clefairy. Hidden power... concentrate... suddenly she got an idea.
Now thrilled with the sudden realization of her idea, Usagi felt like
there was hope for her battle after all. "Moonbeam, build up a metronome
attack. Don't release until I give the cue."
Curious, her Clefairy agreed. The fairy pokemon glowed a gentle pink aura
as she concentrated on the attack "Metronome", which varied in attack and power,
depending on trainer and pokemon's strength. Usagi closed her eyes, and felt for
the power of her Clefairy. It was there, strong and firm. Immediately, Usagi
felt a strong sensation drawing her towards that power, and she surrendered,
feeling her energy flow into her pokemon's attack, brilliantly blazing with
pearly-white light. It was surreal - but somehow her boost in whatever she had
provided strengthened the power of her pokemon's attack, until it was beyond
maximum level, screaming to be released.
Usagi opened her eyes, now ready. "Now, release it Moonbeam!" Usagi
commanded, fully confident.
Every trainer standing in the gym was curious to see the effect of the
Clefairy's attack, for every metronome attack was both invariable and unexpected.
Moonbeam now gathered all the concentrated energy into one hand until if
formed what seemed to be a glowing white oval discus. With a motion similar to
someone throwing a frisbee, the Clefairy launched the "discus" at Onix, hitting the giant rock snake pokemon in the jaw. Onix roared, and staggered back as a brilliant flash
of light exploded from the discus upon impact.
Usagi blinked as the dirt and rubble cleared, her eyes focusing on the
image of her Clefairy, battered but triumphant over the fallen Onix.
Flint did a double take, for once taking his eyes off Usagi. "I can't
believe it!"
Ami simply nodded and smiled, as if all-knowing. Immediately, Usagi ran
towards Moonbeam, and embraced her pokemon in a gesture of love and triumph. As
she awkwardly fell on the dirt ground, she then noticed how tired she was
herself. "I guess that attack drained some energy out of me too". She muttered
to herself, her words slurring a bit from exhaustion.
"Clefairy?" Her pokemon inquiring with a worrying look.
"Never mind, Moonbeam. We won!" Usagi stated the obvious.
The Clefairy gave yet another impish grin. "Clefairy!"
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
"I can't believe I got this badge." Usagi commented for the nineteenth
time as she helped herself to yet another milkshake.
"You deserved it." Ami simply answered, her reply a monotone reaction.
Usagi turned to Ami, grabbing the blue-haired girl's hands in a gesture of
friendship, oblivious to the look of suppressed disgust in her friend's face as
Ami realized how sticky her hands would be after contact. "Thank you so much
Ami-chan."
Ami quickly let go of Usagi's hands, but subtle enough so that Usagi
didn't notice, and started wiping her hands vigorously under the table. "Uh...
yeah. Well, I knew you could do it Usagi. You see, I believe there's something
special about you. Not every trainer has the ability to use a power like you
did."
Usagi shook her head. "I still don't really understand what I did back
there."
Ami nodded. "You combined your own special energy reserves with your
pokemon and created a new attack from "Metronome". Now, your secret power
will draw that attack instead of the random energy it creates for normal
trainers."
Usagi's eyes widened. "Wow! I have special powers?"
Ami thought of a way to rephrase that, but found no way, and simply
nodded. "Yes, but it only works through the bond with your pokemon, your pokemon
enhancing its ability with your provided power. You're the first other trainer
I've seen with this ability."
"That must mean you have it too." Usagi teased.
Ami blushed, and looked down in embarrassment. "Yes, but that's not
important." She said quickly. "You must remember never to abuse this power, and
since you still have a long way to go, the closer and more experienced you and
your pokemon get, the better and more powerful the attack."
Usagi half-listened and half-ate yet another milkshake. Ami looked like
she was about to be sick. "Uh.. Ami-chan.. Since my metronome attack is different,
can I give Moonbeam's attack a different name?"
Her Clefairy trilled in agreement, holding a milkshake of her own in her
paws.
Ami blinked. "Sure, why not?"
"Did you give your's an attack?" Usagi prompted.
"Uh... yes."
"Then... I will call mine... ummm...." Usagi was at a loss of ideas.
"Clefairy clefairy." Moonbeam chimed in.
"You're right... it does look like a tiara discus. "
"And the way she throws it is like magic." Ami suggested.
"I know! I'll call it Moonbeam's tiara magic." Usagi exclaimed
triumphantly.
Ami sweatdropped.
"Uh... if your Clefairy is attacking, isn't it sort of obvious that
Moonbeam will be doing the attack?" Ami interrupted, ever so logically.
"Well... how about Moon's tiara magic?" Usagi said, totally not catching
Ami's last comment.
Ami shook her head. "Why don't you just drop the possessive."
"Huh?" Usagi had never really excelled in grammar and therefore had no
clue what a possessive was.
"The apostrophe. Drop the apostrophe." Ami re-stated again.
The light finally clicked in. "That's a great idea Ami-chan! Moon tiara
magic! I like that! Don't you, Moonbeam?"
"Cle!" Moonbeam trilled. And even a complete stranger could tell that that
as a definite affirmative.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
It was another beautiful sunny day, and both girls were happily sitting on
a grassy hill, like two renegade picnickers from a nursery tale.
Ami found herself nodding off, despite all the raucous noise Usagi was
making with her pokemon. She shook her head, trying to clear herself from her
fog and focus on the next chapter. After all, she was only 12 chapters ahead in
her apre-calculus textbook and 10 chapters (the horror!) ahead in her
trigonometry II and she needed to do better than that. Calling Ami a genius was
basically summing up what she was. But, behind that genius stature lay a kind
and sweet girl, so striving to figure out her purpose in life and an internal
goal. It was like a cat chasing butterflies - no matter how close she thought
she was to achieving and feeling she was something in life, she could never
truly feel at one and at full confidence with herself. This lead to certain
bouts of low self-esteem, and the fact that she never had had any friends didn't
help. However, ever since she started the journey with Usagi, things had been
different and she was gratified that she could finally perhaps obtain that inner
peace.
Ami scowled in annoyance as a raindrop fell onto the textbook,
splattering the perfect page. Wait a moment - rain? Wasn't it just-
Ami looked up, and her eyes grew very wide. "Usagi, look up!" Ami hissed,
seriously worried now.
Both Usagi and Moonbeam looked up, and they too couldn't believe their
eyes. Stormy grey clouds were covering the clear sky at an unnatural rate,
spreading as fast as a forest fire.
"Wha.. wha.." Usagi managed to splutter.
Her Clefairy hid behind her, visibly shaking, her eyes wide with fear.
"Lets go." Ami had no clue what was going on, but she knew it was no good.
"Something's seriously wrong here."
As both girls started packing up, there was a clap of thunder ahead, and
rain began to pour on them, drenching them almost immediately. Never had Usagi
felt such powerful rain, as globs of water clung to her face and blurred her
vision.
Ami was just relieved that she had saved her textbooks, but now was
searching for her umbrella, a hard task to do, as most of her motions were
oppressed by the onslaught of rain. It was as if someone had dumped an infinitely
gigantic swimming pool on them.
Suddenly, another crackle of thunder, and then a brilliant blue-white arc
of lightning that shot overhead. Usagi whimpered, and clung on harder to her
pokemon. Ami looked around, trying to add logic to where they should go, and
chanced to see two shadowy figures as another lightning bolt streaked down onto
the ground. Her mind then processed what she had just seen. One was a cloaked
figure, unrecognizable, but the other... a pokemon. Snake like, it had a horn on
its head and wing-like ears. Immediately, Ami figured it out - what other
pokemon could control the weather so perfectly?
"Usagi." Ami whispered, once again urgently. "There's a person with a
Dragonair."
"What's a Dragonair?" Usagi whispered back, now using her backpack to
cover herself from most of the rain.
Ami immediately began launching into the textbook explanation, now almost
oblivious to the storm raging above:
"Dragonair is an excessively rare species of
pokemon, respectively evolving from the sought after Dratini, and considered a
legend. Its lithe body allows it to swim and glide freely in air or water with
the greatest of ease. The horn on the Dragonair is the key to its power as that
is what symbolizes its control over atmospheric conditions."
Usagi never had the time to respond with her sarcastic comment as another
flash of terrifying lightning revealed the trainer and Dragonair speeding
towards them. And they didn't look friendly. It took Ami a split second to react
logically.
"RUN!" The blue-haired girl screamed, grabbing Usagi's hand and sprinting the opposite direction AWAY from the two imposing figures.
Usagi's brain finally clicked in, and both girls and pokemon began to run
as fast as their legs could carry them.
Crack! Another flash of lightning, and the Dragonair pointed its horn
towards the lightning as the bolt arced and changed direction under the dragon
pokemon's command.
Just by sheer dumb UNluck, Usagi tripped on a rock, falling ungainly into the
mud, splattering everyone with it. Cold, dirty, tired and wet, the trio struggled
to regain their flight. Suddenly, Ami turned around and saw
too late the streak of lightning heading towards them. Nearby, Usagi had also
noticed the electric arc, and began to wail uncontrollably. Ami tried to pull
Usagi up, to get them out of the way, but Usagi wouldn't budge - she was too
scared. It was coming closer and crackled with what could be seen as a
malevolent type of electric laughter. Both girls closed their eyes, expecting
the end...
Suddenly, Usagi's Clefairy leapt between the lightning and the girls,
determined. In that single split second, she lifted her index finger,
concentrating. Just when the lighting was about to strike and send the trio into
deep pain, it hit a solid and invisible barrier, swerving off course.
"Clefairy's barrier attack!" Ami whispered, amazed.
But the lightning was still channeling its electricity, and the weakened
Clefairy strained to keep her barrier up, fighting a losing battle.
Tears lit up in Usagi's eyes. "Moonbeam... you're so brave..."
"Usagi, lets go while we can!" Ami ran for it, dashing away from the
lightning's direction.
"Clefairy fairy!" Moonbeam also urged Usagi to run, but her trainer
refused.
"I'm not leaving without you!" Usagi screamed, rushing to her pokemon's
side in a rare gesture of bravery and one of true compassion. And, as the
barrier broke, Ami could only scream silently as the lighting finally opened its
horrendous jaw of crackling electricity, as if to swallow its quarry in its
jagged, blinding light.
"Mars fire ignite!" Someone was screaming an attack, and it wasn't Usagi.
Suddenly, a ball of fire twisted and impacted with the thunderbolt, causing a
small explosion. Usagi, hugging her Clefairy tight, skidded on her back
painfully through the mud from the impact, but otherwise seemed okay. Ami looked
around to see their savior, and saw... no one. She quickly rushed to her
friend.
"Usagi! Can you get up?" She whispered urgently. The rain had stopped now,
but in the distance, she could see the Dragonair powering up another attack.
Usagi moaned a bit, but struggled to get up. Ami supported her, as Usagi
finally stood, shakily, with her Clefairy in one arm. Suddenly, a voice.
"Over here!"
Ami jerked her head towards the sound. Some few meters away, a bush was
moving, waving madly. Taking her chances, she hauled Usagi and herself to the
bushes, jumping into whatever or whoever lay there before blacking out.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
The girl frowned in annoyance as she realized that the casualties were no
longer conscious. Pushing back her long ebony-black hair, she sighed and tried
to decide what to do. The two girls looked to be no older than she herself, and the
Clefairy was in a critical condition. She was just glad that the rain and storm had
cleared, a sign that the attacker and his/her Dragonair must have given up their
persuit. She frowned. That was strange... why would they be after those two
girls? Their pokemon didn't seem that strong either.
The blue-haired girl was waking up, and she greeted them, ignoring the
girl's half-moans.
"Ohh... where am I?" The blue-haired girl exclaimed, one hand to her forehead.
"Oh!" The girl's eyes grew round as she noticed the new girl for the first time. "You're
the one who saved me, right?"
In response, the 'new girl' pushed back another long strand of errant hair, and nodded. "You could say that." Her eyes narrowed as she noticed the blue-haired girl now looking at her warily.
"Look, I'm not going to bite your head off." She snapped, a bit too angrily.
The shy girl blushed and looked to the group, her short hair bobbing
furiously. "Uh... no, I didn't mean it that way... It's just that... never
mind." With a resolute expression on her face, the girl looked up again, her
composure regained.
"My name's Ami, and thanks for rescuing us." The blue-haired youth smiled.
Her own slanted black eyes widened at the generosity and she too gave a
strained smile. "You can call me Rei."
"This is Usagi, and her Clefairy, Moonbeam." Ami pointed to the other two
unconscious figures and frowned. "I sure hope they're okay..."
"Nothing to it, they just passed out." Rei remarked airily. "Come on,
lets get you to my temple. You probably need a change of clothes."
Ami paused. "If that's all right with you." She answered slowly.
"Of come off it." Rei waved a dismissing hand before taking out her
pokeball. "Lets get them to the temple, Hestia."
Upon being released, the pokemon, a lively fire horse Ponyta, quickly
summed up Rei's orders and let her and Ami strap Usagi on its back. Then, the
pokemon pawed its hoof, giving its master a look of readiness. Rei nodded, and she, Ami
and Usagi were off. Ami had chosen to carry the quite tattered looking Clefairy
in one hand, since the Ponyta already had enough to carry - or balance, by the
way Usagi was positioned.
Rei walked a bit, one hand on her Ponyta's muzzle, steadying her pokemon.
"Um... your pokemon's really beautiful." Ami commented.
Rei flashed a smile. "My Ponyta's one of a kind."
"Oh..." Ami paused for a moment. "Is that the one that saved us with
that... uh... neat attack?" Ami questioned tremulously.
"Huh?" Rei was surprised that the girl even knew it was a specially
powered secret attack that she had developed herself. "Nah. Hestia here is great when it comes to speed, but its still a bit shaky experience wise. That attack was done by Mars."
"And Mars is...?" Ami prompted.
"... My Vulpix." Rei had caught on. "She's my first, you know, and very
special. "
"You're special too."
Rei jerked at that comment. "What did you say?" The tone was challenging.
Ami looked uncomfortable. "I mean... you must have a certain power to, to
be able to create a different attack for the pokemon you love. My guess would be
that your ability to enhance pokemon from your powers lie in fire type pokemon."
:So, this girl knows about it too...: Raye thought to herself. But how?
"Yeah that's right. I guess you could say that Mars and I share a special power
with each other."
The blue haired girl only nodded. "Usagi does too. Her and her Clefairy."
Rei looked sharply at the girl, her face so serene as she lay quite
unmoving on Ponyta's back. "Hmmm... I should have known. I suppose you also have
this gift?" She accused.
"I guess you could say that." Ami tried to make it sound unimportant, but
Rei took note.
:This is where it gets quite interesting:...
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
"So after the boss of the Rockets, Giovanni, somehow just disappeared, a
new leader took place over the organization of Team Rocket, and they therefore
they are still dedicated to corrupting the world and causing evil, using pokemon
of course." Rei concluded.
They were now at her house, or rather, temple, and Usagi had finally woken
out of her coma, although she was still in quite a daze right now. She only
caught a few words of what Rei had said, as her brain still wasn't functioning
properly. Ami had told her she suffered from a minor concussion, but Usagi had
no clue what a concussion was. All she knew was that her head hurt. A lot.
Ami frowned. "Why doesn't anyone stop them?"
Immediately, Rei shook her head. "Its too dangerous. Team Rocket has a lot
of state-of-the-art technology, and a multitude of secret connections, hiding in
unknown places. Not many people like to talk about them."
Usagi stood up, ignoring the sudden lightheadedness. "I think we should at
least try to stop them. Who's in with me?"
Rei stared at Usagi as if she had suddenly grown donkey ears. Ami thought
for a moment that Rei was about to explode.
"Its too DANGEROUS! Are you out of your mind?" Rei did the predictable.
Usagi, determined, shook her head. "You don't understand! Lots of innocent
people and pokemon are probably getting hurt and if I can make a difference and
save innocent lives, then I will."
Clefairy trilled, agreeing.
"They can NEUTRALISE ANY pokemon's attacks!" Rei was still
hyperventilating.
Usagi was at a loss of words for that, but Ami cut in. "Rei, can they
neutralize attacks that are powered by a trainer's own energy?"
Rei paused, giving the longest most unbelievable stare at Ami.
"Ami... you're a genius!" The raven-haired girl suddenly shouted,
ecstatic. "Of course! Why didn't I think so before..."
Usagi simply scratched her head, confused. "Whaddya mean?"
"Duh, ODANGO ATAMA, anyone would have figured out by now that the only
reason that Team Rocket member chased after you was because they probably used
their pokemon to Foresee your potential in causing their downfall." Rei said, as
if it was the most obvious thing in the world.
Usagi's eyes bugged out. "I AM NOT an ODANGO ATAMA!!" She screeched,
indignantly and furiously tring to pummel Rei, who was easily to fast for her.
Rei, much to Usagi's surprise and chagrin, stuck out her tongue, but not
before shouting. "You're right - you're a ODANGO _AND_ MEATBALL HEAD!"
That was too much for Usagi, and she sat there blowing steam while her
Clefairy tried to calm her down. Finally Usagi decided she better do what was
best for her....
... and stuck her tongue out at Rei. Thus began a tongue fight.
Ami shook her head and sighed while Moonbeam decided that perhaps Ami
would be the better company. Both had large sweatdrops rolling down their heads as they watched the battle of the tongues. Ami smiled, to no one in particular.
"We're gonna make a great team!" She whispered to the Clefairy.
"Cle!" Clefairy answered, in emphasis.
************************************
Clefairy says:
Clefairy clefairy fairy cle fairy fairy!
Rei: (aside) Uh... what happened to Zoo?
Usagi: (aside) She knocked herself out by reading too many fanfics.
Rei: By the way, what the heck is your Clefairy saying?
Usagi: That broken umbrellas and chairs taste very good on your flashlight!
Rei: (sweatdrops) Suuuuuuuure.....