Chapter 15
"NO!"
But it was too late.
The gigaball burst open, and a snarling terranite emerged, eyes bloodshot and muscles bunched for action.
The two pokemon immediately fell into defensive postures, adopting a proper stance. Though alakazam did not translate, Tom had no problems understanding the first word.
"YOU!"
The terranite glared at Tom. **You miserable weakling! You caught me without effort on your part, and as if that is not enough, you have brought one of those here just to spite me. Do not flatter yourself into thinking I will cooperate with you.** She turned away, staring at charizard with revulsion and hatred in her eyes.
*Great start there Tom. Any moment now they will start hugging each other and laugh like old friends...* Tom ignored the traitorous nagging voice at the back of his mind; or at least, he tried to -- how was one to remain impartial to a person that he could not help but listen to?
"STOP IT! BOTH of you. Now terranite, please, just explain to us why you are so pissed off with the rest of the world."
**Pissed off? PISSED OFF?! I'll show you...**
[size=7]**SHUT UP!**[/size] Tom hollered, tired of the whole affair. The pokemon halted in mid-stride, quivering slightly, obviously in the midst of some physical attack.
*Just tell us, please.*
The terranite, slightly shaken, her eyes shooting daggers at Tom, nonetheless began the narration, albeit rather unwillingly.
The Dragon's Tale
My name, as my parents called me, is Shyru, or rather, that's the closest human equivalent. I am a hundred and forty years old, give or take a couple. As far as I can tell, this is young, for a dragon type; kingdras live up to four hundred years.
I hatched in a cave near what is now Blackthorn, and as a young dratini, I learnt various attacks and studied under the guidance of my fellows and parents. It was a decent life, and I knew nothing but bliss.
When I was fifty or so, the first humans ventured into the cave, the first pair being Lance's ancestors. They did not do anything at the start, and being naive and innocent, I trusted them. They came each day, with food and the like, growing closer to us -- the dratini.
And then, the day arrived. One of them attempted to capture me, and sent out a rhydon -- obviously they did not know much about dragons back then. I defeated it with ease, which seemed to shock the person. Scowling, he sent out a pidgeot and a kingler. Both were no match for me, as weak as I was compared to my peers.
And then, he sent out a jynx. I had never before felt such agony, as the snowstorm ripped through me, encasing my entire body in a block of ice. Which is when I evolved, bursting free of the frost. I utilised an attack that few of my seniors even dared to attempt -- outrage. The energy killed the trainer, completely disintegrating him as well as his pokemon, including those still in their pokeballs.
I became an outcast, shunned by the masses, pitied by none. For the ancient code forbade killing except for food or survival. Even though I did have ample reason to feel threatened, the council of dragons decided that I was too powerful for my own good, and eventually banned me from ever returning to my hometown, and it seems even charizards abide to it, fighting me on sight.
After being cast into the merciless world, I wondered around, not knowing what to do, where to go to. Roaming the world, I found many pokemon, challenging each and every one of them, hoping, someday, to be accepted within the dragon community.
I grew stronger with each passing day, but did not evolve, my whole being fighting against the idea of changing once again -- I thought, at that time that my evolving before my peers even though I was weaker than them got me kicked out. I continued like this for a very long time, eventually becoming much larger and obtaining much control over the weather.
A year ago, I stumbled onto an island, where the remnants of Team Rocket -- outcasts of human society. They were not the average grunts or small-time agents, but rather the hardcore, those who held the criminal organisation together even when it was ripped apart by raging internal political warfare. Some of the higher ups, after Gionnavi's departure, made grabs for power. The fight eventually tore the Rockets apart, and they disbanded the "wanna-bes".
The small group, along with a few scientists stayed on the island, carrying on research for weapons that may mean their return to power.
I was captured -- not defeated, mind you, but shot with a tranquilliser. I was kept in a room -- one that seemed to neutralise all my powers, leaving me weak and prone to anything they would have of me. They did things to me -- injections, horrible operations and what not. Everything is foggy in my mind, and I later found that I was kept drugged all the time.
They then left me alone by and large, for a few months, during the time I somehow regained my strength. At the end, I broke out, which was a few months ago. The rockets were in turmoil over some disaster or other that was on going. I escaped then, and continued my roaming, this time with a target in mind -- the destruction of all life.
I triggered volcanic eruptions and avalanches; large-scale earthquakes and blizzards; tornadoes and whirlpools. The natural disasters drew no attention to myself, although many believed that the "natural" disasters were too much in synch with each other, they just wasn't enough evidence for scientists to convince the authorities to launch a full-scale search for the culprit -- me.
And then, I came to pallet town, where I observed Professor Oak and his assistant, Tracey working on some of the pokemon. They touched a part of me that I had buried for a long time. The sight of the duo tending to a wound with gentle loving care shook me to my core, reviving old memories, that of the happier times in the dragon cave.
I landed, and thrust myself into their hands, generally living a contented life... Until something else occurred.
The Professor convinced me that they would not hurt me, and started experiments on me with evolution stones. I was nervous for the first few trials, but nothing came of them; no pain, no changes, so I relaxed, and let them do, as they will.
In all the time, I had always had the urge to evolve; yet I held back, not daring to change. And one day, someone had the bright idea of using all four elemental stones at once. It distracted me, and somehow, I became *this*.
The evolution was horrendous, each moment pure agony as the process wore on; it took two hours for all the changes to stabilise. The horns that you see now felt like they were pulled out of my skull; the wings weren't so bad, but everything else was just too much for me to take. When everything was done, I ran away, destroying everything in my way, and wounding Professor Oak, who sought to stop me.
Some of the flying pokemon who reacted fast enough flew up to me, attempting to convince me. Still feeling the pain from evolution, I summoned a thunderstorm, and flew off in the cover.
They named me after my original evolution, with a twist implemented for my causing the terror.
I heard that they attempted the combined stone evolution on a few others, but nothing happened.
*END*
Shyru paused, and looked at Tom, drained yet somehow challenging him to deny that his life had been hard.
The charizard lowered her head, and whispered, "Sorry. I had no idea."
**Of course you didn't! How could you have!**
She lifted her head again, glowering at Shyru. "Why wouldn't I know what it is like to be alone, huh! You killed my entire family and more besides when you destroyed charisific valley. I had friends, but they are gone, thanks to you..."
The argument would have gone on, but Tom interfered, seeking to stop it before the dispute grew to a level, which he could not handle. "Stop it. Both of you." Tom turned to the charizard. "Especially you. You may have lost your family, and nobody can deny that the grief is still fresh in your mind, but at least you can cherish memories of good times that you shared with them; Shyru cannot. Her family shunned her. As far as I can tell, that is far worse than what you are going through. The fact that she has already bore the anguish for many years does not help; it merely extends the period for which she suffered."
Shyru managed, in the midst of a defiant stare, to shoot charizard a smirk. Tom switched to her. "Don't think that you are not at fault here. I may not be able to fully comprehend what you are going through, but I do know this. Even if you succeed in destroying the whole of humanity, that will only leave you felling empty, more lonely than ever before. Furthermore, revenge is just a way for you to succumb to your own dark desires, to take it out on innocents. Neither does it provide any solace for you to be unaware of just what is responsible for your present condition..."
In a soft voice, Shyru interrupted. *Excuse me, but I do know for a fact what caused this transformation, or at least, I have a very good idea. Over a century of knowledge does have its advantages you know.* Her voice contained just a tint of pride, barely discernable, and Tom would have missed it had she not smiled faintly.
*When the scientists at the Team Rocket base injected me with all those stuff, at least some of them changed my genes to a extent that urged me to evolve. It was strong, but not so much of a challenge to me, since I'd been holding back for years on my nature evolution. I suspect, in fact, that those chemicals were somehow forcing a somewhat unnatural evolution upon me. When the four elemental stones came into contact with me simultaneously, I was unable to hold back any longer, and evolved.*
Tom creased up his brows. "But why?"
*You are aware, of course, that elemental stones are simply stones with radiation.* Shyru waited for a nod before continuing. *The influx of all four stones at once, was apparently enough for me to lose my concentration. Probably any four stones would have done the trick, but that was the "combination" that they chose, which is why those information exist in your pokedex. They probably haven't found out that this would be useless on a normal dragonair.*
"You still want revenge, don't you. Despite all that has been said; despite some of your suffering being eased."
Shyru remained silent, consent evident in her body language.
Tom pondered about it for a short while, and beckoned to Shalla, discussing in whispers. He turned back to the dragon, and spoke in a clear, strong voice. "All right. We will help you with your revenge." Shyru blinked, obviously not expecting such a response.
"But." She offered a sigh of vexation at this.
"But, you will not kill them. We will hand them over to the authorities, and that's all."
*Why?*
"Killing will not achieve..."
*I meant, why help me.*
"Because you need the help, like it or not. Those, according to you, are the Rocket extremists. They will not balk at just a couple of attacks. By your own statement, they more or less achieved success with you. Most probably, the scientists there would have dozens of other experiments; maybe new pokemon even more powerful than you. The armed forces would be crap against anything like that, and you alone wouldn't do much good. I will help you, because I can, not because of pity."
*You have other reasons as well, no?* Shyru chuckled, a sound strangely akin to that of a dragonite. Tom flushed at the question, but did not bother concealing his motives. Shyru turned to charizard.
*I know Tom's pokemon will help. Will you?*
Charizard hesitated, and nodded. Shyru chortled gently. *Give me some time to think. I will get back to you by midnight.* She flew off, and in seconds, was no more than a speck in the sky.
Tom gazed up, and realised how dangerously easy it would be to become over-reliant on Shyru, if she agreed to the unspoken deal.
He turned to charizard, and grinned. "Want to meet your new team mates?" Her eyes sparkled.
"Come on out then. All of you."
The field itself was brightened for a couple of seconds, as the ivory lights exploded from six different points. Alakazam, magmar, electabuzz, kingdra, rhydon, shadow, and eevee emerged, and Tom felt a pang of regret -- that skarmory was not among them. *He had to do what he had to do. I'll see him again some day.* Tom calmed himself, and introduced the various pokemon, noting with satisfaction, that all... *almost* all the pokemon were rather pleased with their new acquaintances. Magmar seemed worried, anxiety and unease marking his face.
Tom walked over, careful to apply a thin membrane of psychic shielding before laying his hands on his fiery hide. Gently patting his head, Tom whispered so that only magmar could hear. "Don't worry, I'll never replace any of you." Magmar stopped his brooding, and took a peek at his trainer, grateful for the reassurance.
Soon they were all mixing, and for those that could, prancing around in joy.
It was soon nighttime, and Tom let everyone stay outside for the night, some chatting, most honing their skills in mock battles. Tom felt a tentative touch on his shoulder, and smiled, placing his own hand on Shalla's. "Come on, lets go over to somewhere more private." Shalla led the way, and they sat, some distance away from the main group.
She sighed deeply, not of exasperation but of contentment, laying her head on Tom's right shoulder. They sat there, on the sloping ground, side by side, looking up at the night sky.
"Tom?"
"What would you do if... What in the world... what is *that*?"
Tom glanced at where she was pointing, just in time to see a huge form eclipse the moon, and many other constellations. "Oh... that. Looks like I'm getting my answer now."
Shyru landed, hardly making any sound. She observed the small party going on, her eyes a well, reflecting... an emotion... distress? Jealousy? Tom was not too sure.
The duo waited in silence, perking up as the terranite turned to them.
*You have other reasons, don't you.*
Tom wondered at the tone of voice, but he couldn't place it.
*Your reasons for becoming a master. its not just to be the champion, not just to create a better bond with your pokemon. its not even to understand more about pokemon... There's something else.*
Tom waited, unsure if a response was expected... or even, *welcome*.
Lowering her head, speaking as if having great difficulty, Shyru started again. *I... would like to go with you... on your journey.*
Tom beamed, his mouth cracking open in a grin.
*But.*
The single word came, and his mouth closed again.
*I will not go into one of those, unless absolutely necessary...* Shyru indicated Tom's belt, where the pokeballs hung. He nodded.
*I will stay up in the air, and if you need me, just call out. Loud or not, it does not matter; I can sense your intentions. Second condition. Other than what you already promised to do for me, I want you to help me find out why. Why I was banished from my clan, my family.* Tom's mind went numb, but he just replied in a firm tone, "I will do my best."
Shyru nodded, took off for the air once again.
Tom gazed at her rapidly disappearing shadow in the backdrop canopy of stars, and dropped back to the grass, satisfied. "Sorry Shalla, what were you about to say?"
"Nothing..." She blushed, turning aside.
"Come on, tell me." Tom pleaded, stretching over to face her.
"No!"
"Pleeeeeease?"
"No!" Shalla giggled at the pathetic sight Tom made.
"Pretty pleeeease?"
"Nah." Shalla tackled Tom, thrusting him to the ground, both striving for the upper position.
Tom ended up on top, and everything lapsed into silence, even the wild pokemon in the area quieting somewhat. The pair did not notice though; all that was in their world... was each other.
Pulling him closer, Shalla's eyes closed, inclining her head slightly. Tom twisted the other way, and slowly, their lips met.
For one, eternal moment, their shared heartbeats thumped on.
"NO!"
But it was too late.
The gigaball burst open, and a snarling terranite emerged, eyes bloodshot and muscles bunched for action.
The two pokemon immediately fell into defensive postures, adopting a proper stance. Though alakazam did not translate, Tom had no problems understanding the first word.
"YOU!"
The terranite glared at Tom. **You miserable weakling! You caught me without effort on your part, and as if that is not enough, you have brought one of those here just to spite me. Do not flatter yourself into thinking I will cooperate with you.** She turned away, staring at charizard with revulsion and hatred in her eyes.
*Great start there Tom. Any moment now they will start hugging each other and laugh like old friends...* Tom ignored the traitorous nagging voice at the back of his mind; or at least, he tried to -- how was one to remain impartial to a person that he could not help but listen to?
"STOP IT! BOTH of you. Now terranite, please, just explain to us why you are so pissed off with the rest of the world."
**Pissed off? PISSED OFF?! I'll show you...**
[size=7]**SHUT UP!**[/size] Tom hollered, tired of the whole affair. The pokemon halted in mid-stride, quivering slightly, obviously in the midst of some physical attack.
*Just tell us, please.*
The terranite, slightly shaken, her eyes shooting daggers at Tom, nonetheless began the narration, albeit rather unwillingly.
The Dragon's Tale
My name, as my parents called me, is Shyru, or rather, that's the closest human equivalent. I am a hundred and forty years old, give or take a couple. As far as I can tell, this is young, for a dragon type; kingdras live up to four hundred years.
I hatched in a cave near what is now Blackthorn, and as a young dratini, I learnt various attacks and studied under the guidance of my fellows and parents. It was a decent life, and I knew nothing but bliss.
When I was fifty or so, the first humans ventured into the cave, the first pair being Lance's ancestors. They did not do anything at the start, and being naive and innocent, I trusted them. They came each day, with food and the like, growing closer to us -- the dratini.
And then, the day arrived. One of them attempted to capture me, and sent out a rhydon -- obviously they did not know much about dragons back then. I defeated it with ease, which seemed to shock the person. Scowling, he sent out a pidgeot and a kingler. Both were no match for me, as weak as I was compared to my peers.
And then, he sent out a jynx. I had never before felt such agony, as the snowstorm ripped through me, encasing my entire body in a block of ice. Which is when I evolved, bursting free of the frost. I utilised an attack that few of my seniors even dared to attempt -- outrage. The energy killed the trainer, completely disintegrating him as well as his pokemon, including those still in their pokeballs.
I became an outcast, shunned by the masses, pitied by none. For the ancient code forbade killing except for food or survival. Even though I did have ample reason to feel threatened, the council of dragons decided that I was too powerful for my own good, and eventually banned me from ever returning to my hometown, and it seems even charizards abide to it, fighting me on sight.
After being cast into the merciless world, I wondered around, not knowing what to do, where to go to. Roaming the world, I found many pokemon, challenging each and every one of them, hoping, someday, to be accepted within the dragon community.
I grew stronger with each passing day, but did not evolve, my whole being fighting against the idea of changing once again -- I thought, at that time that my evolving before my peers even though I was weaker than them got me kicked out. I continued like this for a very long time, eventually becoming much larger and obtaining much control over the weather.
A year ago, I stumbled onto an island, where the remnants of Team Rocket -- outcasts of human society. They were not the average grunts or small-time agents, but rather the hardcore, those who held the criminal organisation together even when it was ripped apart by raging internal political warfare. Some of the higher ups, after Gionnavi's departure, made grabs for power. The fight eventually tore the Rockets apart, and they disbanded the "wanna-bes".
The small group, along with a few scientists stayed on the island, carrying on research for weapons that may mean their return to power.
I was captured -- not defeated, mind you, but shot with a tranquilliser. I was kept in a room -- one that seemed to neutralise all my powers, leaving me weak and prone to anything they would have of me. They did things to me -- injections, horrible operations and what not. Everything is foggy in my mind, and I later found that I was kept drugged all the time.
They then left me alone by and large, for a few months, during the time I somehow regained my strength. At the end, I broke out, which was a few months ago. The rockets were in turmoil over some disaster or other that was on going. I escaped then, and continued my roaming, this time with a target in mind -- the destruction of all life.
I triggered volcanic eruptions and avalanches; large-scale earthquakes and blizzards; tornadoes and whirlpools. The natural disasters drew no attention to myself, although many believed that the "natural" disasters were too much in synch with each other, they just wasn't enough evidence for scientists to convince the authorities to launch a full-scale search for the culprit -- me.
And then, I came to pallet town, where I observed Professor Oak and his assistant, Tracey working on some of the pokemon. They touched a part of me that I had buried for a long time. The sight of the duo tending to a wound with gentle loving care shook me to my core, reviving old memories, that of the happier times in the dragon cave.
I landed, and thrust myself into their hands, generally living a contented life... Until something else occurred.
The Professor convinced me that they would not hurt me, and started experiments on me with evolution stones. I was nervous for the first few trials, but nothing came of them; no pain, no changes, so I relaxed, and let them do, as they will.
In all the time, I had always had the urge to evolve; yet I held back, not daring to change. And one day, someone had the bright idea of using all four elemental stones at once. It distracted me, and somehow, I became *this*.
The evolution was horrendous, each moment pure agony as the process wore on; it took two hours for all the changes to stabilise. The horns that you see now felt like they were pulled out of my skull; the wings weren't so bad, but everything else was just too much for me to take. When everything was done, I ran away, destroying everything in my way, and wounding Professor Oak, who sought to stop me.
Some of the flying pokemon who reacted fast enough flew up to me, attempting to convince me. Still feeling the pain from evolution, I summoned a thunderstorm, and flew off in the cover.
They named me after my original evolution, with a twist implemented for my causing the terror.
I heard that they attempted the combined stone evolution on a few others, but nothing happened.
*END*
Shyru paused, and looked at Tom, drained yet somehow challenging him to deny that his life had been hard.
The charizard lowered her head, and whispered, "Sorry. I had no idea."
**Of course you didn't! How could you have!**
She lifted her head again, glowering at Shyru. "Why wouldn't I know what it is like to be alone, huh! You killed my entire family and more besides when you destroyed charisific valley. I had friends, but they are gone, thanks to you..."
The argument would have gone on, but Tom interfered, seeking to stop it before the dispute grew to a level, which he could not handle. "Stop it. Both of you." Tom turned to the charizard. "Especially you. You may have lost your family, and nobody can deny that the grief is still fresh in your mind, but at least you can cherish memories of good times that you shared with them; Shyru cannot. Her family shunned her. As far as I can tell, that is far worse than what you are going through. The fact that she has already bore the anguish for many years does not help; it merely extends the period for which she suffered."
Shyru managed, in the midst of a defiant stare, to shoot charizard a smirk. Tom switched to her. "Don't think that you are not at fault here. I may not be able to fully comprehend what you are going through, but I do know this. Even if you succeed in destroying the whole of humanity, that will only leave you felling empty, more lonely than ever before. Furthermore, revenge is just a way for you to succumb to your own dark desires, to take it out on innocents. Neither does it provide any solace for you to be unaware of just what is responsible for your present condition..."
In a soft voice, Shyru interrupted. *Excuse me, but I do know for a fact what caused this transformation, or at least, I have a very good idea. Over a century of knowledge does have its advantages you know.* Her voice contained just a tint of pride, barely discernable, and Tom would have missed it had she not smiled faintly.
*When the scientists at the Team Rocket base injected me with all those stuff, at least some of them changed my genes to a extent that urged me to evolve. It was strong, but not so much of a challenge to me, since I'd been holding back for years on my nature evolution. I suspect, in fact, that those chemicals were somehow forcing a somewhat unnatural evolution upon me. When the four elemental stones came into contact with me simultaneously, I was unable to hold back any longer, and evolved.*
Tom creased up his brows. "But why?"
*You are aware, of course, that elemental stones are simply stones with radiation.* Shyru waited for a nod before continuing. *The influx of all four stones at once, was apparently enough for me to lose my concentration. Probably any four stones would have done the trick, but that was the "combination" that they chose, which is why those information exist in your pokedex. They probably haven't found out that this would be useless on a normal dragonair.*
"You still want revenge, don't you. Despite all that has been said; despite some of your suffering being eased."
Shyru remained silent, consent evident in her body language.
Tom pondered about it for a short while, and beckoned to Shalla, discussing in whispers. He turned back to the dragon, and spoke in a clear, strong voice. "All right. We will help you with your revenge." Shyru blinked, obviously not expecting such a response.
"But." She offered a sigh of vexation at this.
"But, you will not kill them. We will hand them over to the authorities, and that's all."
*Why?*
"Killing will not achieve..."
*I meant, why help me.*
"Because you need the help, like it or not. Those, according to you, are the Rocket extremists. They will not balk at just a couple of attacks. By your own statement, they more or less achieved success with you. Most probably, the scientists there would have dozens of other experiments; maybe new pokemon even more powerful than you. The armed forces would be crap against anything like that, and you alone wouldn't do much good. I will help you, because I can, not because of pity."
*You have other reasons as well, no?* Shyru chuckled, a sound strangely akin to that of a dragonite. Tom flushed at the question, but did not bother concealing his motives. Shyru turned to charizard.
*I know Tom's pokemon will help. Will you?*
Charizard hesitated, and nodded. Shyru chortled gently. *Give me some time to think. I will get back to you by midnight.* She flew off, and in seconds, was no more than a speck in the sky.
Tom gazed up, and realised how dangerously easy it would be to become over-reliant on Shyru, if she agreed to the unspoken deal.
He turned to charizard, and grinned. "Want to meet your new team mates?" Her eyes sparkled.
"Come on out then. All of you."
The field itself was brightened for a couple of seconds, as the ivory lights exploded from six different points. Alakazam, magmar, electabuzz, kingdra, rhydon, shadow, and eevee emerged, and Tom felt a pang of regret -- that skarmory was not among them. *He had to do what he had to do. I'll see him again some day.* Tom calmed himself, and introduced the various pokemon, noting with satisfaction, that all... *almost* all the pokemon were rather pleased with their new acquaintances. Magmar seemed worried, anxiety and unease marking his face.
Tom walked over, careful to apply a thin membrane of psychic shielding before laying his hands on his fiery hide. Gently patting his head, Tom whispered so that only magmar could hear. "Don't worry, I'll never replace any of you." Magmar stopped his brooding, and took a peek at his trainer, grateful for the reassurance.
Soon they were all mixing, and for those that could, prancing around in joy.
It was soon nighttime, and Tom let everyone stay outside for the night, some chatting, most honing their skills in mock battles. Tom felt a tentative touch on his shoulder, and smiled, placing his own hand on Shalla's. "Come on, lets go over to somewhere more private." Shalla led the way, and they sat, some distance away from the main group.
She sighed deeply, not of exasperation but of contentment, laying her head on Tom's right shoulder. They sat there, on the sloping ground, side by side, looking up at the night sky.
"Tom?"
"What would you do if... What in the world... what is *that*?"
Tom glanced at where she was pointing, just in time to see a huge form eclipse the moon, and many other constellations. "Oh... that. Looks like I'm getting my answer now."
Shyru landed, hardly making any sound. She observed the small party going on, her eyes a well, reflecting... an emotion... distress? Jealousy? Tom was not too sure.
The duo waited in silence, perking up as the terranite turned to them.
*You have other reasons, don't you.*
Tom wondered at the tone of voice, but he couldn't place it.
*Your reasons for becoming a master. its not just to be the champion, not just to create a better bond with your pokemon. its not even to understand more about pokemon... There's something else.*
Tom waited, unsure if a response was expected... or even, *welcome*.
Lowering her head, speaking as if having great difficulty, Shyru started again. *I... would like to go with you... on your journey.*
Tom beamed, his mouth cracking open in a grin.
*But.*
The single word came, and his mouth closed again.
*I will not go into one of those, unless absolutely necessary...* Shyru indicated Tom's belt, where the pokeballs hung. He nodded.
*I will stay up in the air, and if you need me, just call out. Loud or not, it does not matter; I can sense your intentions. Second condition. Other than what you already promised to do for me, I want you to help me find out why. Why I was banished from my clan, my family.* Tom's mind went numb, but he just replied in a firm tone, "I will do my best."
Shyru nodded, took off for the air once again.
Tom gazed at her rapidly disappearing shadow in the backdrop canopy of stars, and dropped back to the grass, satisfied. "Sorry Shalla, what were you about to say?"
"Nothing..." She blushed, turning aside.
"Come on, tell me." Tom pleaded, stretching over to face her.
"No!"
"Pleeeeeease?"
"No!" Shalla giggled at the pathetic sight Tom made.
"Pretty pleeeease?"
"Nah." Shalla tackled Tom, thrusting him to the ground, both striving for the upper position.
Tom ended up on top, and everything lapsed into silence, even the wild pokemon in the area quieting somewhat. The pair did not notice though; all that was in their world... was each other.
Pulling him closer, Shalla's eyes closed, inclining her head slightly. Tom twisted the other way, and slowly, their lips met.
For one, eternal moment, their shared heartbeats thumped on.