"SWEEEEEELLLLLLOOOOOOOO!!!!" was the loud screech that disrupted the
tranquility of the forest outskirts near Oldale Town.
The purple rat Pokemon, Rattata hopped into the air and bit down on the Swellow's raven black feathers, spurting crimson blood everywhere. The blackbird squawked in pain, before shaking violently and throwing the rodent off of its body. Feathers flying, the two Pokemon clashed over and over again. This was the Swellow's duty; it had to protect this area from any and all intruders. With a hard Wing Attack in the face, the Rattata finally retreated.
Panting, bleeding, and downright sore, the Swellow slowly glided down onto the ground, coughing and hacking. It was an old Pokemon, and streaks of gray could be seen in its sleek black coat. Then, like magic, it perked its head up, hearing a familiar voice.
"Nail! Are you okay?" the shrill young voice of a girl could be heard.
The young girl, who looked like she couldn't be over 9 years of age, could be seen running onto the field. Stroking the fallen Pokemon, she once again spoke to it gently.
"Hey, Nail, wake up!" she cooed.
The Swellow slowly reopened its eyes, smiling at the sight of its precious Lysa. Nail once belonged to a great, and charismatic trainer named Charlie. Charlie was not only a very strong trainer, but he also took up guarding the Jirachi shrine. The Jirachi shrine, located in a small field in the woods outside Oldale, was built in hopes of the legendary Pokemon returning someday.
Around 50 years ago, a huge forest fire erupted, and threatened to swallow the town whole. But when all the citizens prayed for a savior, the golden Pokemon Jirachi made its presence, glowing brightly and putting out all the flames before disappearing without a trace. Since that day, scientists were working around the clock trying to discover the truth behind Jirachi. Meanwhile, one man built a shrine for the legendary fairy. Once he passed on, Charlie inherited the shrine.
Years passed, and Charlie grew very ill. Stricken by pneumonia, but still trying to protect the shrine, it was only a matter of days before he passed away. Thus, the shrine's ownership was passed on to his only daughter, Lysa.
As Lysa petted Nail, she heard a small sound of leaves crunching behind her. Getting up quickly, she turned around and saw Kristen, who had left Littleroot Town earlier that day.
"Um, who are you, and what do you want?" Lysa asked sternly, her eyes narrowing.
"HEEEEELLLLLP MEEEEEEEEE!!!!" Eric screaming, running through the tall grassy fields of Route 101. Behind him, a swarm of bright yellow Beedrills were on the chase, craving to spear him with their stingers. Eric covered his ears as the eardrum-splitting buzz of the insect Pokemon stalked him. Tripping over a log, he tumbled down a small hill and into a shallow stream. The cool water splashed onto his face, making Eric cough and sputter. The Beedrill lowered their stingers in preparation to kill, and dive-bombed. Gasping for breath, Eric tossed the Pokeball attached to his belt, a personal gift from Professor Birch.
"Go Talon!"
The Pokeball burst open, spraying blinding energy everywhere. Talon the Torchic hopped out landing on the ground ready for combat. The Beedrills stopped in mid-air, and turned their focus onto little Talon. Buzzing loudly, the insectoid Pokemon bum-rushed the Torchic, trying to punish him for interfering with their hunt.
"Talon! Fry them with that Ember attack you like so much!" Eric yelled.
Sucking in air, Talon expelled tiny flames from its beak in a spray formation, making sure the blasts hit each and every Beedrill. One by one, the Pokemon plummeted to the ground, twitching slightly as their charred bodies littered the field.
"Man, you're a tough little dude." Eric said, petting Talon.
"Torrr..." it chirped.
The two continued to head up north, eager to get to Oldale Town, and eager to try and locate Kristen.
"Your Swellow is in bad shape." Kristen stated, concerned.
Bending down, she placed a hand on the bird's forehead, but immediately retracted it.
"It's has a fever as well..."
Lysa held Nail the Swellow tightly, she didn't want to lose this friend, just like her father. Tears streaming down her face, Lysa asked Kristen what she should do.
"There's not much you can do, you have to take it to a Pokemon Center, now." Kristen answered.
"B-But, I can't leave the shrine. Who will look after it?" Lysa asked.
"There's no time for that, c'mon let's go." Kristen said, grabbing Lysa's arm.
The automatic doors flew open, surprising the other trainers in the Center lobby. Kristen and Lysa rushed to the front desk, making the young nurse gasp.
"Hurry, it's an emergency, this Swellow could be dying!" Kristen yelled, revealing the injured bird.
"Oh my gosh!" the nurse exclaimed, "hurry, come with me to the emergency room!"
The three ran behind the desk and through another pair of double doors that lead to the back. As they hurried down the corridor, Kristen could see into the other emergency rooms. Flashes of trainers crying over their dying Pokemon haunted her vision, and she quickly turned her head away until they reached their room.
Eric, carrying a very exhausted Torchic, finally arrived in Oldale. He wondered how many wild Pokemon attacked him, and how many Embers Talon had to blast them with. Either way, it was enough Pokemon that Talon could barely move, but luckily they had arrived at a town, where he could get to a Pokemon Center.
Going through the automated doors, Eric welcomed the cool air conditioning that contrasted the blazing heat outside. The first thing Eric realized was that there was no one at the front desk, so he rang the bell on the table. While waiting for the nurse to arrive, Eric glanced around the circular center. Trainers all over were petting their Pokemon, and some were chatting on the computer stations toward the wall, retrieving and depositing Pokeballs. One trainer retrieved a Pokeball and opened it, blasting energy out. Instead of the energy shrinking, like Talon's did, it began to grow until it was bigger than the trainer. The light formed into a huge metallic creature, its large tail smashed onto the ground, and it let out a bellow, frightening all the other trainers.
"Whoa! What the heck is that?!" Eric though to himself.
Suddenly remembering the Pokedex that he received from Birch, Eric pulled it out and scanned the behemoth. The LCD screen on the Dex lit up, and played a little jingle.
Aggron: The Iron Armor Pokemon. Aggrons are massive creatures that live deep within the Earth. Since their bodies are bonded with steel, they are impervious to most attacks. Aggrons are the evolved form of Lairon.
"Excuse me sir! You know letting out fully evolved Pokemon like that is against the rules here!" a voice called out from behind Eric.
The trainer, embarrassed, recalled his Aggron. Eric turned around to see the nurse, as well as Kristen and a young girl next to her.
"Kristen! You're here!" Eric laughed.
"Um, yeah, what are you doing here?" Kristen said, surprised.
"I'm going to travel around collecting Gym Badges. I heard you were going to collect Contest Ribbons so I wanted to travel with you."
"Um, sure, but right now I'm busy. This girl, her name is Lysa,...her Swellow it's dying." Kristen said, frowning.
Upon hearing this, Lysa burst into tears and ran out of the Center, leaving a couple of trainers bewildered. Eric turned back to Kristen.
"I think I missed something." he said.
Kristen filled Eric on all of the details that Lysa had told her. About how she was appointed guardianship of Jirachi's Shrine, and about Nail the Swellow was her only family left.
"The Swellow is very old, it's injured badly, and it contracted the Pokerus disease." The nurse explained.
"Pokerus?" Eric and Kristen asked in unison.
"The Pokerus is a rare virus that can be contracted in some Pokemon. It has different effects depending on the Pokemon. But on Nail here, these effects are hurting it, not helping. I'm afraid that Nail has 3 different ways it can die. Things are not looking good for it."
Eric and Kristen both lowered their heads. Eric saw tears stream down Kristen's cheek. That was something he had never seen before. Kristen was always stern, cool, and collected. He couldn't remember anything getting to her.
That night, the two trainers decided to spend the night at the Center. While Eric was passed out on the couch in the lobby, Kristen was still wide awake. She couldn't stop thinking about Lysa, and how lonely she was going to be without Nail. Getting up slowly, Kristen tip-toed to Nail's emergency room. Creaking the door slowly she approached Nail's still body. At first, Kristen was afraid Nail had died already, but it still had vital signs. Stroking her hand through Nail's black and gray feathers she spoke to it gently.
"Listen Nail, I know you can hear me. You can't die yet. Not now, anyway. Lysa needs you." She whispered.
The next morning, Eric and Kristen quietly approached the Jirachi Shrine. They were going to have to leave Oldale and head for Petalburg soon, and they wanted to give Lysa their condolences. However when they arrived there, they saw a frightening sight. Lysa was swatting at a large, brown, scruffy bird Pokemon with a small broom. Eric immediately pulled out his Pokedex to check the Pokemon.
Fearow: The Beak Pokemon. This Pokemon has a massive wingspan, as well as an aggressive streak. Approach with extreme caution because they are known to attack humans.
The Fearow squawked and took a few snaps at little Lysa, forcing her to fall over crying. Eric and Kristen quickly sent out Talon and Neptune to attack. The two basic Pokemon rushed at the wild Fearow, but with a beat of its wings, it blew them back.
"Lysa! Don't worry! We'll help you stop this thing!" Kristen yelled. "Neptune! Blast it with the Water Gun!"
"Talon! Follow up with Ember!" Eric ordered.
Both Pokemon fired their projectile attacks at the Fearow, who simply dodged them both by flying into the air. After staying suspended in the sky for a couple of seconds, the bird flew down at the opponents leaving a trail of warped air behind it.
"It's a Quick Attack!" Kristen shouted.
Talon managed to hop out of the way of the attack, but Neptune wasn't as lucky. The Mudkip was slammed hard, the force of the attack knocking it into a nearby tree. Kristen gasped, as though she felt the pain her Pokemon felt. Fearow then made its beak spin rapidly, as it was preparing its Drill Peck attack. The Fearow then charged at the fallen Neptune, but suddenly, a blast of supersonic speed flew by, knocking Fearow back, and blasting all the fallen leaves into the air, creating a small cyclone. Lysa's eyes brightened when she saw her savior within the leaf tornado.
"It's Nail! He's all better!" Lysa exclaimed.
Eric turned around to see the nurse from the Pokemon Center smiling.
"It's miracle," she said, "In all my years of Pokemon care, I've never seen a Pokemon recover from the Pokerus like that. Its injuries are healing nicely too."
"SWEEEEELLLLLLLOW!!!" Nail screeched, ramming into Fearow. The two birds landed onto the ground, tumbling over each other, biting and pecking. Lysa cheered Nail on, but Eric looked concerned.
"Why would a Fearow attack the shrine anyway?" he thought to himself.
Then the answer hit him.
Eric hurried over to the shrine and opened the front doors. He saw all kinds of food inside, most likely used as food offerings to Jirachi (who never showed up to eat them, mind you.)
Upon lifting the food out of the shrine, the Fearow ceased its attack and went for Eric, snatching the morsel out of his hand.
"Y'see Lysa! This is why Pokemon constantly attack this place. You can't leave food lying around!" Eric exclaimed.
"B-But the food was meant as an offering to Jirachi..." Lysa said timidly.
"Look Lysa, I seriously doubt this 'Jirachi' even exists, and even if it does, you can't leave food around like that." Eric said.
The Fearow happily ate all the food, and prepared to lift off, but Kristen stopped it.
"Y'know, Lysa, that Fearow seems to like the food here. You could keep it here to help protect the shrine." Kristen suggested.
Lysa turned to the large bird, who was sniffing around for more food.
"Would you like that, mister Fearow?" she asked.
The Fearow replied with a happy squawk.
While everyone in the group was smiling and laughing, Lysa approached Kristen slowly.
"U-Um, miss Kristen? Do you think you can take Nail with you on your travels?" she asked.
"Huh?! Why would you want me to take your Swellow?" Kristen replied, shocked.
"Well, because Nail is getting old, and he's been here his entire life. I thought it would be nice for him to travel around Hoenn with you."
"That's very thoughtful of you Lysa," Kristen said, reaching down and patting her head, "You're very mature for your age, and I'd be happy to take Nail with me, if it's ok with him, of course."
"Sweeelll!" Nail screeched, happily.
"Well then it's settled," Eric said, his arms folded, "Let's get this show on the road."
The group said their good-byes to Lysa, the nurse, and the new Fearow as they headed onto Route 102. Eric stood on a hill, and squinted onto the horizon, he could just make out Petalburg from here. Eric glanced down at Talon, who was amusing himself by chewing on some grass. Looking back over at Petalburg, he pointed his finger at the horizon.
"Dad, I'm coming."
Meanwhile, high in the sky, a golden light shone. The angelic creature flew over Oldale town, watching over Lysa. A young girl's wish had been granted today. Granted by Jirachi, the Wish Maker.
Next Chapter: The Masquerain Masquerade
The purple rat Pokemon, Rattata hopped into the air and bit down on the Swellow's raven black feathers, spurting crimson blood everywhere. The blackbird squawked in pain, before shaking violently and throwing the rodent off of its body. Feathers flying, the two Pokemon clashed over and over again. This was the Swellow's duty; it had to protect this area from any and all intruders. With a hard Wing Attack in the face, the Rattata finally retreated.
Panting, bleeding, and downright sore, the Swellow slowly glided down onto the ground, coughing and hacking. It was an old Pokemon, and streaks of gray could be seen in its sleek black coat. Then, like magic, it perked its head up, hearing a familiar voice.
"Nail! Are you okay?" the shrill young voice of a girl could be heard.
The young girl, who looked like she couldn't be over 9 years of age, could be seen running onto the field. Stroking the fallen Pokemon, she once again spoke to it gently.
"Hey, Nail, wake up!" she cooed.
The Swellow slowly reopened its eyes, smiling at the sight of its precious Lysa. Nail once belonged to a great, and charismatic trainer named Charlie. Charlie was not only a very strong trainer, but he also took up guarding the Jirachi shrine. The Jirachi shrine, located in a small field in the woods outside Oldale, was built in hopes of the legendary Pokemon returning someday.
Around 50 years ago, a huge forest fire erupted, and threatened to swallow the town whole. But when all the citizens prayed for a savior, the golden Pokemon Jirachi made its presence, glowing brightly and putting out all the flames before disappearing without a trace. Since that day, scientists were working around the clock trying to discover the truth behind Jirachi. Meanwhile, one man built a shrine for the legendary fairy. Once he passed on, Charlie inherited the shrine.
Years passed, and Charlie grew very ill. Stricken by pneumonia, but still trying to protect the shrine, it was only a matter of days before he passed away. Thus, the shrine's ownership was passed on to his only daughter, Lysa.
As Lysa petted Nail, she heard a small sound of leaves crunching behind her. Getting up quickly, she turned around and saw Kristen, who had left Littleroot Town earlier that day.
"Um, who are you, and what do you want?" Lysa asked sternly, her eyes narrowing.
"HEEEEELLLLLP MEEEEEEEEE!!!!" Eric screaming, running through the tall grassy fields of Route 101. Behind him, a swarm of bright yellow Beedrills were on the chase, craving to spear him with their stingers. Eric covered his ears as the eardrum-splitting buzz of the insect Pokemon stalked him. Tripping over a log, he tumbled down a small hill and into a shallow stream. The cool water splashed onto his face, making Eric cough and sputter. The Beedrill lowered their stingers in preparation to kill, and dive-bombed. Gasping for breath, Eric tossed the Pokeball attached to his belt, a personal gift from Professor Birch.
"Go Talon!"
The Pokeball burst open, spraying blinding energy everywhere. Talon the Torchic hopped out landing on the ground ready for combat. The Beedrills stopped in mid-air, and turned their focus onto little Talon. Buzzing loudly, the insectoid Pokemon bum-rushed the Torchic, trying to punish him for interfering with their hunt.
"Talon! Fry them with that Ember attack you like so much!" Eric yelled.
Sucking in air, Talon expelled tiny flames from its beak in a spray formation, making sure the blasts hit each and every Beedrill. One by one, the Pokemon plummeted to the ground, twitching slightly as their charred bodies littered the field.
"Man, you're a tough little dude." Eric said, petting Talon.
"Torrr..." it chirped.
The two continued to head up north, eager to get to Oldale Town, and eager to try and locate Kristen.
"Your Swellow is in bad shape." Kristen stated, concerned.
Bending down, she placed a hand on the bird's forehead, but immediately retracted it.
"It's has a fever as well..."
Lysa held Nail the Swellow tightly, she didn't want to lose this friend, just like her father. Tears streaming down her face, Lysa asked Kristen what she should do.
"There's not much you can do, you have to take it to a Pokemon Center, now." Kristen answered.
"B-But, I can't leave the shrine. Who will look after it?" Lysa asked.
"There's no time for that, c'mon let's go." Kristen said, grabbing Lysa's arm.
The automatic doors flew open, surprising the other trainers in the Center lobby. Kristen and Lysa rushed to the front desk, making the young nurse gasp.
"Hurry, it's an emergency, this Swellow could be dying!" Kristen yelled, revealing the injured bird.
"Oh my gosh!" the nurse exclaimed, "hurry, come with me to the emergency room!"
The three ran behind the desk and through another pair of double doors that lead to the back. As they hurried down the corridor, Kristen could see into the other emergency rooms. Flashes of trainers crying over their dying Pokemon haunted her vision, and she quickly turned her head away until they reached their room.
Eric, carrying a very exhausted Torchic, finally arrived in Oldale. He wondered how many wild Pokemon attacked him, and how many Embers Talon had to blast them with. Either way, it was enough Pokemon that Talon could barely move, but luckily they had arrived at a town, where he could get to a Pokemon Center.
Going through the automated doors, Eric welcomed the cool air conditioning that contrasted the blazing heat outside. The first thing Eric realized was that there was no one at the front desk, so he rang the bell on the table. While waiting for the nurse to arrive, Eric glanced around the circular center. Trainers all over were petting their Pokemon, and some were chatting on the computer stations toward the wall, retrieving and depositing Pokeballs. One trainer retrieved a Pokeball and opened it, blasting energy out. Instead of the energy shrinking, like Talon's did, it began to grow until it was bigger than the trainer. The light formed into a huge metallic creature, its large tail smashed onto the ground, and it let out a bellow, frightening all the other trainers.
"Whoa! What the heck is that?!" Eric though to himself.
Suddenly remembering the Pokedex that he received from Birch, Eric pulled it out and scanned the behemoth. The LCD screen on the Dex lit up, and played a little jingle.
Aggron: The Iron Armor Pokemon. Aggrons are massive creatures that live deep within the Earth. Since their bodies are bonded with steel, they are impervious to most attacks. Aggrons are the evolved form of Lairon.
"Excuse me sir! You know letting out fully evolved Pokemon like that is against the rules here!" a voice called out from behind Eric.
The trainer, embarrassed, recalled his Aggron. Eric turned around to see the nurse, as well as Kristen and a young girl next to her.
"Kristen! You're here!" Eric laughed.
"Um, yeah, what are you doing here?" Kristen said, surprised.
"I'm going to travel around collecting Gym Badges. I heard you were going to collect Contest Ribbons so I wanted to travel with you."
"Um, sure, but right now I'm busy. This girl, her name is Lysa,...her Swellow it's dying." Kristen said, frowning.
Upon hearing this, Lysa burst into tears and ran out of the Center, leaving a couple of trainers bewildered. Eric turned back to Kristen.
"I think I missed something." he said.
Kristen filled Eric on all of the details that Lysa had told her. About how she was appointed guardianship of Jirachi's Shrine, and about Nail the Swellow was her only family left.
"The Swellow is very old, it's injured badly, and it contracted the Pokerus disease." The nurse explained.
"Pokerus?" Eric and Kristen asked in unison.
"The Pokerus is a rare virus that can be contracted in some Pokemon. It has different effects depending on the Pokemon. But on Nail here, these effects are hurting it, not helping. I'm afraid that Nail has 3 different ways it can die. Things are not looking good for it."
Eric and Kristen both lowered their heads. Eric saw tears stream down Kristen's cheek. That was something he had never seen before. Kristen was always stern, cool, and collected. He couldn't remember anything getting to her.
That night, the two trainers decided to spend the night at the Center. While Eric was passed out on the couch in the lobby, Kristen was still wide awake. She couldn't stop thinking about Lysa, and how lonely she was going to be without Nail. Getting up slowly, Kristen tip-toed to Nail's emergency room. Creaking the door slowly she approached Nail's still body. At first, Kristen was afraid Nail had died already, but it still had vital signs. Stroking her hand through Nail's black and gray feathers she spoke to it gently.
"Listen Nail, I know you can hear me. You can't die yet. Not now, anyway. Lysa needs you." She whispered.
The next morning, Eric and Kristen quietly approached the Jirachi Shrine. They were going to have to leave Oldale and head for Petalburg soon, and they wanted to give Lysa their condolences. However when they arrived there, they saw a frightening sight. Lysa was swatting at a large, brown, scruffy bird Pokemon with a small broom. Eric immediately pulled out his Pokedex to check the Pokemon.
Fearow: The Beak Pokemon. This Pokemon has a massive wingspan, as well as an aggressive streak. Approach with extreme caution because they are known to attack humans.
The Fearow squawked and took a few snaps at little Lysa, forcing her to fall over crying. Eric and Kristen quickly sent out Talon and Neptune to attack. The two basic Pokemon rushed at the wild Fearow, but with a beat of its wings, it blew them back.
"Lysa! Don't worry! We'll help you stop this thing!" Kristen yelled. "Neptune! Blast it with the Water Gun!"
"Talon! Follow up with Ember!" Eric ordered.
Both Pokemon fired their projectile attacks at the Fearow, who simply dodged them both by flying into the air. After staying suspended in the sky for a couple of seconds, the bird flew down at the opponents leaving a trail of warped air behind it.
"It's a Quick Attack!" Kristen shouted.
Talon managed to hop out of the way of the attack, but Neptune wasn't as lucky. The Mudkip was slammed hard, the force of the attack knocking it into a nearby tree. Kristen gasped, as though she felt the pain her Pokemon felt. Fearow then made its beak spin rapidly, as it was preparing its Drill Peck attack. The Fearow then charged at the fallen Neptune, but suddenly, a blast of supersonic speed flew by, knocking Fearow back, and blasting all the fallen leaves into the air, creating a small cyclone. Lysa's eyes brightened when she saw her savior within the leaf tornado.
"It's Nail! He's all better!" Lysa exclaimed.
Eric turned around to see the nurse from the Pokemon Center smiling.
"It's miracle," she said, "In all my years of Pokemon care, I've never seen a Pokemon recover from the Pokerus like that. Its injuries are healing nicely too."
"SWEEEEELLLLLLLOW!!!" Nail screeched, ramming into Fearow. The two birds landed onto the ground, tumbling over each other, biting and pecking. Lysa cheered Nail on, but Eric looked concerned.
"Why would a Fearow attack the shrine anyway?" he thought to himself.
Then the answer hit him.
Eric hurried over to the shrine and opened the front doors. He saw all kinds of food inside, most likely used as food offerings to Jirachi (who never showed up to eat them, mind you.)
Upon lifting the food out of the shrine, the Fearow ceased its attack and went for Eric, snatching the morsel out of his hand.
"Y'see Lysa! This is why Pokemon constantly attack this place. You can't leave food lying around!" Eric exclaimed.
"B-But the food was meant as an offering to Jirachi..." Lysa said timidly.
"Look Lysa, I seriously doubt this 'Jirachi' even exists, and even if it does, you can't leave food around like that." Eric said.
The Fearow happily ate all the food, and prepared to lift off, but Kristen stopped it.
"Y'know, Lysa, that Fearow seems to like the food here. You could keep it here to help protect the shrine." Kristen suggested.
Lysa turned to the large bird, who was sniffing around for more food.
"Would you like that, mister Fearow?" she asked.
The Fearow replied with a happy squawk.
While everyone in the group was smiling and laughing, Lysa approached Kristen slowly.
"U-Um, miss Kristen? Do you think you can take Nail with you on your travels?" she asked.
"Huh?! Why would you want me to take your Swellow?" Kristen replied, shocked.
"Well, because Nail is getting old, and he's been here his entire life. I thought it would be nice for him to travel around Hoenn with you."
"That's very thoughtful of you Lysa," Kristen said, reaching down and patting her head, "You're very mature for your age, and I'd be happy to take Nail with me, if it's ok with him, of course."
"Sweeelll!" Nail screeched, happily.
"Well then it's settled," Eric said, his arms folded, "Let's get this show on the road."
The group said their good-byes to Lysa, the nurse, and the new Fearow as they headed onto Route 102. Eric stood on a hill, and squinted onto the horizon, he could just make out Petalburg from here. Eric glanced down at Talon, who was amusing himself by chewing on some grass. Looking back over at Petalburg, he pointed his finger at the horizon.
"Dad, I'm coming."
Meanwhile, high in the sky, a golden light shone. The angelic creature flew over Oldale town, watching over Lysa. A young girl's wish had been granted today. Granted by Jirachi, the Wish Maker.
Next Chapter: The Masquerain Masquerade