Firethroat: Ah… ah… ah… ACHOO!! *Sets the room on fire. *
Me: *Sighs and puts it out, thanks to the almighty powers of an ff.net author. * As you can see, Firethroat's come down with the flu…
Vurso: *Starts coughing, accidentally sending a Hyper Beam at the wall. *
Me: And so has Vurso, which means they can't inspire me until they get better. Sorry for this taking so long to come out, but as you can see, I had a reason. And the next chapter may not come out for a while, as I start my Internship soon, and I have to do a total of 720 hours in 3 months… no pay.
Firethroat: Anyways, we don'v own Pokemonv… *Sneezes again. * Vera, pleave vart the fic, I think I'm gevving worve…
Vurso: *Curling up to sleep. * On wiv tha fic…
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"Come on, Runt! You're still slower than a Slowpoke!" I narrowed my eyes and put on a burst of speed, drawing even with Moonshine. He gave me a contemptuous look from one eye, and easily pulled ahead.
I growled deeply in my throat, and urged my paws to move faster. Unfortunately, my paws never did like listening to me, and I only tripped, my momentum making me slide for quite a few feet before I came to a stop. After a couple seconds of laying there, I felt a shadow over me, and looked up.
"Come on, Runt. Training's not over yet today." I merely groaned as I struggled to my feet, accidentally stumbling against a rock as I did so.
Great… just what I need, another injury… I sighed softly as I bent my head down to lick my slashed paw, cleaning away the blood and dirt, and easing the pain.
"COME ON, RUNT!" I growled softly as I slowly started to trot back with Moonshine, limping slightly. Moonshine glared at me, and muttered something that sounded like, "Toughen up." before sprinting ahead. I groaned as I switched to a lope to follow.
Moonshine had proved to be a good friend, but as a teacher he rivaled Mewtwo himself in temperment. From the stories I'd heard, they were equally stubborn and short-tempered.
Luckily, my training was almost finished. In addition to my running lessons, Moonshine had taken it upon himself to train me in battle. Which was so not fun.
In fact…
I growled and fired a water gun as a warning when Moonshine suddenly doubled back to attack. He growled and shook his fur dry before giving me a slight smile.
"Not bad, runt, but see if you can counter this!" With that, I was presented with multiple copies of the Umbreon as he used Double Team. I merely sighed before using Quick Attack on the nearest one. It wasn't him, of course. I never could figure out which one was really him, and I regretted that once again as I fell to the ground from a tackle. I groaned and breathed deeply, trying to regain the air I lost.
"You've really got to work on your defense, runt." Moonshine said, before kneeling beside me, placing his shoulder against mine, and pushing to help me stand. "Come on. Practice is over for today. Let's get you cleaned up."
I sighed softly as I slowly trotted after my friend. My training hadn't gone to waste, as I was now faster at a trot than I had been at a full run. Though that wasn't exactly saying much.
It was only a quarter of a mile to the stream where Whirlwater was having a swim, but it felt like a thousand times that far to my sore muscles.
As soon as we reached our destination, I flopped down on the bank, groaning. Whirlwater climbed out of the stream, her dense coat sluicing water down as she grabbed a mouthful of berries and plopped them down in front of me. As soon as the berries had left her mouth, she started to chew Moonshine out. I tuned my friends out as I slowly started eating the berries, sighing in relief as more and more wounds slowly closed and the pain abated with each bite.
Once all the berries were gone, I looked up in time to hear Moonshine shakily reply, from his spot where Whirlwater had him cornered where the stream turned, "I wouldn't push her so much if I didn't think she could handle it."
I was surprised to find that it was actually possible for fur to blush. Okay, praise from Moonshine didn't come often, and to hear that… hey, why are you looking at me that way? I DON'T like him… not in that way. Nope. Not one little bit. So what if he's smart… and handsome… and funny… and strong… okay, so maybe I like him a LITTLE… but ONLY a little! I swear!
Hmm… didn't know it was possible for fur to turn purple… or red… STOP GIVING ME THOSE LOOKS! A POKE IS ENTITLED TO ONE CUBHOOD CRUSH!
Did I say crush? I meant… aww, shut up.
A few drops hit my coat, which I didn't notice. I was right next to a stream, I expected to get a little wet. When it suddenly started pouring, though, is when we all bolted for cover. Moonshine and Whirlwater both headed for their pack, while I raced to reach mine before they got in the cave we used during storms, and closed off the entrance.
Water sprayed up around me in sheets as I raced through the newly formed puddles. The now softer ground shifted under my paws, making me slide at corners, and slow my pace to pick my way more carefully. PokeGods, oh how I hate mud.
I eventually spotted the cavern ahead, and growled under my breath as I saw some of the pack slowly pushing the boulder in place. "WAIT!!!" I shouted, loud enough for them to easily hear me, and I knew that they did. They all looked up, and smiled.
And not one of them was a nice smile.
All three of them threw their weight against the boulder, closing the opening faster. I sped up, my legs working as fast as they could go, hoping against hope that I could get there in time.
Did I mention that the Irony Gods hate me?
When I was just two of my body lengths away, the boulder set in place, and I stiffened my forelegs, desperately trying to stop.
Have I mentioned yet that I hate mud?
Unfortunately, I was going too fast, and the ground was too slick. I slammed right into the boulder, letting out a single yelp of pain. Hey, you try running headfirst into a rock at full speed and you see how you feel. Too bad there wasn't a Pokemon version of Aspirin… (A/N: You will see later in the story why Stormchaser sometimes makes human references. There is a reason.)
After standing, rubbing my aching head with a paw, and growling a few choice words at the boulder; I turned and slowly started walking away. I stopped after a few steps to shake, sending water flying everywhere from my drenched coat, but it didn't do much good. I was just soaking again a couple seconds later. I finally just gave it up as a lost cause, and slowly started walking again.
I curled my lip up in disgust as the mud impaired my paws, having to pull hard to free them from the soggy ground. Lightning flashed overhead, and I scolded myself mentally for flinching. I sighed softly and kept walking.
The rain pounding on my coat was actually very refreshing, now that I thought about it. It was soothing, and it seemed to just wash away all the sad and lonely feelings that had been brought to the surface by the shunning of my own pack. I sighed softly and looked up at the roiling sky.
Did you know that the cloud patterns of a storm are actually quite interesting? In fact, I focused on one part, that if you just shifted that bit of cloud here, and a little there, would look just like a Pidgeot in full flight.
I gasped, and my eyes widened as the pieces of cloud shifted, forming into the exact same picture I had in my mind. "Whoa… cool coincidence."
I turned to look at the other formations around me, and saw another one that, if it had a tail, would look just like a hissing Espeon. I gulped nervously as a piece of cloud detached itself, and, going AGAINST the wind, floated over to the formation, forming into the forked tail of an Espeon.
"This is way too weird…" I muttered to myself. Time to find out this was coincidence or not.
I looked up, searching until I found the perfect cloud. The only Pokemon it resembled was a ditto, which was why I had chosen it. There would be no chance for coincidence with this. Now… what Pokemon to choose…
I ran through all the different species I knew, and none of them seemed to fit. I needed something complex enough that there would be no way chance could do it.
I looked down, and found myself staring at my reflection in a puddle. A smile slowly found its way to my face. Why not?
I slowly raised my head, and concentrated on myself. Every little detail, I formed in my mind, then concentrated on the cloud, keeping the image in my mind.
For a moment, nothing happened, and I was starting to wonder if it was after all just coincidence, when the cloud shuddered, and started to change.
Slowly, bit by bit, it formed the general shape of a four legged Pokemon. Then, ever so slowly, details started to form…
Ten minutes later, I was looking at an exact replica of myself in the clouds. It looked exactly like me… even down to my tail ribbons, which were now snapping in the wind.
Slowly, the cloud-me opened its eyes, and looked down at me. A slow smile found its way over its face, and I found myself smiling back.
Suddenly, the cloud whirled, and dashed off. And I found myself following.
Slowly, as I ran, I felt something strange happening. It is hard to describe it to someone that has never experienced it, but I will try.
Something seemed to slowly filter into me… it was powerful… it made my blood sing. I was filled with a wildness… a fierceness… and I suddenly found that I was a part of the storm… a part of that raging force above my head…
The wind urged me on, and I found myself going faster… faster… faster than Moonshine… faster than a Rapidash…
Faster than a Pidgeot at full speed.
No one believed me when I told them this later, but I was part of the storm.
The cloud-me still bounded ahead, gleefully bounding from one outstretch of cloud to another. It sometimes stopped to look over its shoulder, to see if I was still following.
And I knew where it was taking me…
Suddenly, we were there. After finding a place to stand on a large pile of rocks, I looked up into the boiling center, where the cloud-me calmly sat, as I would on a gentle spring day. Our eyes met, and the cloud-me silently mouthed something.
And I knew what it said.
I closed my eyes, feeling the amazing power singing through my veins…
My eyes snapped open, and I raised my head to the heavens. And I only spoke three words.
"I… AM… STORMCHASER!!!!!!!!" My voice ended in a wild howl, and, unnoticed by me, a strong wind blasted outward, nearly flattening the trees around the rock pile.
I didn't know this, but all around the world, Pokemon stopped whatever they were doing. Whether they were battling, eating, sleeping, they all stopped and shuddered at the feeling of raw, snapping power that flashed through them.
***
Far underground, eighteen eyes snapped open, all at the same time. Eighteen heads raised to look at the rock ceiling above, and their leader, a cat-like pokemon with purplish-white skin, and a dark purple underbelly, voiced what they were all thinking.
"What the hell was that?"
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Me: *Sighs. * As you can see, I'm having problems updating, and it was killer writing this. I would start, stop, and come back to it later. I did it so many times I was afraid I would never get it done.
Firethroat: Vo, pleave review, and gev well cardv and flowerv are welcome.
Me: That's it, back to bed with you.
Vurso: Gladly… *Both shuffle slowly back to bed, exhausted. *
Me: *Sighs. * Please review, now I gotta go take care of my muses… they may be annoying, but after them being around so long, they're like family.
Firethroat: Aww… we didn't know you cared…
Me: BACK TO BED!!! *Goes to go make sure they stay this time. *
Vurso: Pleave review…