The female Grovyle tended her nest carefully. The one, last egg that had survived to this point was the last hope for her clan, and she would defend it with her life. Her mate, the Alpha male, had been killed by a group of Scyther the day before, and now it was up to her to keep the clan together.
The egg twitched and squeaked, and the Grovyle mother, Reflection, smiled. The Treecko in that small, oblong sphere had the entire band at its claw tips. To be the next Alpha was its future, and perhaps it was not as far off as it seemed.
Suddenly, the egg twitched again and a small crack appeared in the shell. Reflection checked the surrounding area for danger quickly, and found none. She stood protectively next to her clan's hope and growled a warning to anything that might hear.
A chip fell from the shell, and the mother knelt down to try and glimpse her offspring. A flash of color rewarded her attentiveness, but she shot up, puzzled. She briefly considered that her egg had been switched with some other creatures, but knew that it was not possible.
Another crack appeared, and the egg abruptly split apart, revealing fully the young Pokemon within. The Treecko squeaked at her astonished mother and shook her red tail, blinking her golden eyes in the new light. Reflection smiled and bent down to lick her baby's sky blue skin clean.
Under the cover of dense brush, the young male Treecko that was to soon be the clan's next seer sat nearby as his Grovyle mother tended to her patient. The old raptor seer was ill, and would soon die, but she had named the recently hatched Treecko as her successor before becoming unable to speak.
The tiny male watched in fascination as his mother created a salve that would ease the pressure of the old seer's blind eyes. The ancient Grovyle grunted in thanks and shifted her position on the soft bed of leaves.
Suddenly, the seer's body convulsed, and she let loose a wail of pain that seemed to make even the trees around them jump in surprise. The Grovyle opened her milky white eyes and sat up, seeming to have gained new strength. The Treecko and his mother watched in amazement as she spoke.
"Rarest of rare
Child of the Moon
You will wander your life an outcast
Loved only by your enemies
Forgotten by all but one
Traveler, Dark Ocean
Aquamarine"
The Grovyle seer sighed and closed her eyes. She sank down slowly on her bed and died. In a burst of light, her sprit rose from her body; the light hovered over the spot, and suddenly swooped to enter the young male Treecko.
His mother was paralyzed. She repeated the prophecy over and over again in her mind, astonished and frightened by the use of her son's name in the verse. She shuddered, and turned to her offspring.
He looked at her with unnatural intelligence for one so young. She understood that the line of seer knowledge had been passed to him, and sighed. She hadn't asked to have a child with such responsibility weighing on him, but it had happened.
She thought about telling the clan about the prophecy, but somehow she knew that it had been only for her and her son, the new seer; but it still troubled her. All who knew him called her son Dark, but only she knew his full name.
"Dark Ocean."
Two years later...
The female Grovyle sat quietly in the bushes, studying the small herd of Mareep wandering the hillside. Her experienced golden eyes picked out the sheep Pokemon who showed signs of lagging or ill health, such as a limp. She found a perfect target instantly, seeing that an old Mareep had a swollen joint on his front leg.
She waited silently while the herd moved ever closer. The old male raised his head to sniff the air, but could smell nothing in the high wind that was blowing his scent right to the predator. He came closer.
The Grovyle shot out of the bushes. The Mareep bleated in terror and ran, but it was already too late. His swollen joint gave out, and he grunted in pain as he collapsed on the grassy plain.
The predator was upon him in an instant, and she cleanly snapped his neck. The Mareep herd mulled about, sparking occasionally in fear, and the Grovyle decided to find a more peaceful place to enjoy her kill. She gripped the dead Pokemon in her sharp teeth and lifted it easily, trotting to the bushes.
Suddenly, another Grovyle emerged from the foliage and snatched the kill right out of her jaws. He sprinted away a few steps, and turned to smirk at the bristling female.
"Hey, freak, thanks for the meal!" he laughed, picking up the Mareep and running towards a dense crowd of trees.
The female shrieked and followed, anger making her red leaves deepen in color. She caught up to the male and slammed into him, making him drop the kill and fall to the ground.
"That's going to get you in a lot of trouble, freak!" screeched the male.
"My name is Aquamarine, you bastard!" she retorted, baring her teeth and raising the leaves on her body.
The male growled and leapt at the sky blue Grovyle, but she merely sidestepped with an infuriating grin. Aquamarine opened her jaws and nipped the male as he passed, creating a small gash. The male yelped in pain, and swung to face her again.
"You're going to pay for that later, after I crush you into the ground!"
Aquamarine laughed, creating a lovely sound; but the laugh was cold also, and made the male suddenly afraid.
"Well, Streamer, I don't think there's any chance of that happening any time soon!" she answered breezily.
She opened her jaws and lunged at the surprised male, almost reaching his throat before he feinted her blow. She growled in annoyance, and sized up her opponent again.
He was looking terrified, which was good. She had hated him ever since she had laid eyes on his arrogant form a year ago, when his father had ran off her mother in a fight for leadership of the clan. They had left her, as the previous Alpha's daughter, in the woods to die; but she had found her way back and won the fight to enter the clan. She had only been a Treecko then, but she was still bigger and stronger than most of the clan combined.
Streamer lunged for her, mistaking her momentary pause for distraction. She easily dodged his advance and slashed his flank in long, bloody gashes. She had actually meant the blow this time, and smiled as she heard his agonized scream.
She was tired of fighting this idiot male, and was done with playing. Aquamarine darted in low, and slashed with long claws and teeth at Streamer's exposed underbelly. He shrieked and staggered away, blood dripping from numerous wounds. He glared, but Aquamarine growled and he sped off.
She sighed and picked up the kill, which was already cold by this time. She dragged it into the dense brush and ate the entire animal, leaving only the indigestible parts and a few, scattered bones. Her hunting wasn't as good as she would like for her skill, and it was all because of her light color.
In all her life, she had been the only Grovyle that was blue. She considered herself beautiful, but the others shunned her, calling her a freak and worse. She had quickly learned to fight for herself and hunt, proving that she was better than all of them, but nothing worked to make the clan accept her.
Sometimes, her beautiful pelt would give off a sparkling radiance when she moved jerkily or jumped, which made it even harder to chase prey, but she didn't mind. She could get over all her problems in the clan but one, Streamer's father, the Alpha male.
Image shunned her and would not let her hunt large prey with the clan, making her a recognized outcast. He was lean and shadowy, making him seem like a mysterious presence. Aquamarine was not fooled by his nature, however, or the way that he presented himself as doing an action for the good of the clan; like when he had banished the clan's Beta's. He was a Mightyena in Mareep skin, that was for sure, and his silky tongue helped him to achieve his power hungry ends.
She sighed and rose from her spot, shaking off the moist dirt that had stuck to her skin. She thought about returning to the clan, but staring at the beauty of the forest around her made her pause in wonder.
The sun was just reaching its peak, and the clan should be resting in the grove of trees that marked the center of their territory. Even though Aquamarine knew that she wouldn't be allowed near the main part of the clan, she loped in its direction.
Image growled at his whimpering son, who was receiving treatment from one of the nurses of the clan. The Alpha Grovyle was no weakling, but that infuriating female was a constant bother to him and his plans. This development may have given him just the edge that he would need to run her out for good.
He called his guards, two rather menacing looking males, and outlined his plan to them. The larger, Combine, smiled in anticipation, while the younger and smaller of the two, Lemon, looked nervous. Image shook his head in annoyance and nipped Lemon for good measure, and then set off to find the sky blue bitch.
Aquamarine jumped the stream bubbling through the forest; reveling in the cool water that dusted her flanks as she passed. She looked up and watched the Taillow and Pidgey flit from tree to tree in a marvelous dance, loving every second away from the clan.
Suddenly, the birds went quiet. Aquamarine looked around, confused at the stillness, but understood when Image and two of his toughest bodyguards emerged from the brush. She snarled, low and dangerously, but the three males showed no sign of hearing.
"Well, if it isn't the sky blue bitch. You can't come any closer, freak," growled Image.
Aquamarine bristled, raising the leaves on her head and arms till the razor sharp edges gleamed in the sunlight. She bared her teeth and took up a fighting stance.
"That little stunt you did today was dangerous, outsider. I'm banishing you from the clan."
"You have to fight me first, treacherous scum!"
"That will be no problem. If you refuse to leave, I'll be forced to have my friends here make it hard for you to stay, if you know what I mean." said Image, smirking at the female triumphantly.
The Alpha chirped, and the two menacing males bared their teeth and advanced upon Aquamarine, their intent on harming her clear. She dodged the larger of the two and slashed at the other. She knew she had contacted flesh when she heard a scream of pain.
The larger male slashed at her with his claws, catching the side of her neck. She gasped in pain as she felt hot blood running down her chest, but snapped out with her sharp beak and ripped the sinews of the large male's leg, making him fall to the ground with a surprised look on his face.
The younger male who had fallen earlier got to his feet. Aquamarine saw the long gash running down his side, and knew it must be painful for the male to move. He lurched toward her anyway, baring sharp teeth and leaves. She sidestepped with the grace of a Persian and used both her feet and claws to tear into his already wounded side. He screeched in agony, falling to the ground and writhing as the pain took over his body.
Suddenly, Aquamarine was bowled over by a force leaping at her. She looked up to see the large male had leapt for her with his one good leg. She snarled as he bit into her shoulder, and slashed upwards with her claws. The blow was true, and caught his eyes.
The male shot backwards, clawing at his blood filled eyes as he tried to clear them, and Aquamarine staggered to her feet. She was beginning to tire, and knew that she might be forced to retreat if this kept going.
She heard Image growl in anger and impatience, and suddenly he was before her. She snarled and leapt at him, but he feinted and kicked her with a sharply clawed foot. Aquamarine howled in hatred and pain, and whirled, slashing him with her tail blades.
When she turned to look at him, she saw that he had two slashes down his flank; hardly enough to defeat him. He smiled and leapt at her, feet ready to rip into her flesh.
Aquamarine tried to dodge, but the branches of a dead tree blocked her way. She suddenly realized that Image had meant to back her into this spot all along, and she snarled as his crushing weight dropped down on top of her.
Image slashed with all of his limbs, creating deep gashes in Aquamarine's skin. She felt a particularly nasty blow strike one of her legs, cutting into the muscle. She roared and used Mega Drain, sapping Image of enough strength for her to leap free.
She was very tired now, for her injured leg was beginning to go lame and she was at the end of her strength. Image knew it, and smirked at her as her legs trembled with the effort of standing.
"Give up, freak?" he asked.
"I never will, asshole. I'll come back someday, and then you will die," stated Aquamarine as she disappeared, limping yet swift, into the deep brush.
Image grinned and went to look at the wounds of his bodyguards. Soon, his plans would be in motion, and the blue bitch wouldn't be there to stop them.