OOC// Okay… I have been swamped with so much that some of the characters in the story have been sadly neglected… Also, due to some confusion, I would like to say that indeed that is Lugia's feather. Now… on with the show.
Flashes of the Past
The sun has risen and was poking through the curtains in front of the window shining in beams onto the bed of where Matthew Vixen was sleeping; around the floor and on the chairs of the room, all of his team mates were sleeping soundly, Matt, Firestorm, Flare, Stripes, and Sir Thief. All of them then were slowly waking up and soon had gathered around a circle and looking out the window, that Stripes had opened the curtains and now was looking outside with happy Furret like smile. While both Matt and Firestorm were basking in the sunlight feeling their inner fires grow in the warmth of the sunlight. Sir Thief was poking around in the corners looking for something left that could be eaten. However Flare was sitting on a chair looking out the window a far away look in his eyes.
Suddenly Stripes gave a bark like laugh as he got an idea, Matthew was still sleeping soundly, as a sleep powder accident had made sure of that, a slightly upset Oddish that got into their room and set off a sleep powder before being recaptured, he would be out until later this morning. Stripes after finishing his laughing begin speaking, "Hey, since we all are out here, maybe we could all tell a little about each other, you know, to make us closer? A better team even?" The other Pokemon stare at him strangely, he was so far the only one it seemed to have normal training life, the other three were once wild, and the forth had once been part of Team Magma. So it was natural that all of them stare at one another wondering what the other thought.
"Well," Sir Thief stated seeming to be the first to speak, "I love apples, but the reason being is that they are so tasty, and they can in certain times, like in a human's camp, or underneath the noise of a canine, a wonderful show of skill and fearlessness in my family." Sir Thief then went back to looking for something then a squeak of happiness sounded and soon the nibbling of Sir Thief was heard signaling that he had found something edible.
Stripes smiled but before he could open his mouth Flare cleared his own throat and spoke a look of pain first as he tried to say a word a few times, but then the steely look of determination crossed his face and he spoke speaking of his past, which besides a few strange attacks and that he was from Hoenn, and once served under Team Magma was all that they knew really about him so they all stopped what they were doing and listened to what he would have to say.
"I was a young Eevee Cub born into captivity to a kind Jolteon, but alas my happy times would soon end, my mother who was aging, sadly died in a fight to protect us from a Scarmary that got into the grounds looking for an easy meal, she drove off the bird but her wounds were too severe, or so they told me later, a few days later, a man dressed in a strange suit, the jacket was red, but that was the only thing strange came to the compound and soon was looking at all of us, he then saw me still moping about for the loss of my mother, I was still looking for her when the man picked me up and carted me away." Flare stopped and seemed to be unable to continue because of the anger.
"I think I would like to go, that way you could have more time to collect your thoughts Flare." Firestorm said with a smile, Flare grateful for the time to collect and gel his thoughts allowed her to continue. "I will speak of things that not even my little prince knows about, it is time to tell even he as to why I showed up in the national forest only when I was three tails old that was two tails ago to be honest." Firestorm then sat down, Matt curious as to what his little princess as he call her was talking about, so he trotted up to sit next to her and he looked at her with a look that said he would listen to every word she would speak.
"I was only three tails and hating the place that I lived, every time I tried to explore or poke my little noise into something, big hands and a female voice would fret about me, worrying about my poor little frame and that I would hurt myself. She annoyed me to no end, I was forced to wear things that made sure I couldn't explore and every once in a while I would take a trip in a long black car and end up sitting in front of all of these people as three looked over me and others." Firestorm looked like this memory was something sour and not too happy in her mouth. But she still continued. "I learned from the others at those shows that it was a beauty contest, they were mean and I think the word is stuck up, I learned more from Matt and Matthew then from all the time threr."
Firestorm then smiled as if she was pulling a great trick to make any Ninetales or Vulpix proud. "Then came the proposal mess ups, but alas they only made me look cuter, or more feared, I heard of other contest that appealed to me, like strength, or fierceness, but I only got to do the same thing, beauty contests. Then came my change, my prison keeper had decide to take a trip into the mountains. We went to the forest and I heard some fighting, I went to investigate and saw Matt being bullied by a bigger Vulpix, and without thinking I stepped forward to challenge the Vulpix. The male seeing me, got scared and run off, as soon as he was gone I went over to Matt and helped him to his feet, but at that moment both of us heard the human, I was torn, but for a moment, Matt nudged me to follow him and so I did, leaving my past behind," Firestorm only smiled, "I haven't regretted it since, I have enjoyed every moment in the wild, the new smells, the mistakes that happened, along with Matt having a partner in defending himself or in his exploring nature, however I soon learned to be more of the sound voice of reason, while Matt was the one to rush off to see every new sound and smell."
Matt at this bowed his head and put one paw over his muzzle, a sign of embarrassment. "SO, Matt, how did you meet up with you trainer?" Flare asked, having listened intently and wondered how someone who was fearful of humans would have joined up with Matthew Vixen, even before the change.
Matt looked up and smiled, "It was my love of seeing new things, I saw something that caught my eye and noise, I thought it was a berry, which I was right, it was in the middle of a clearing and looking left and right, I knew their were humans about, but I could smell their meal, so they were eating, so I went forward, reached the berry and next thing I knew, the berry is in my mouth and I was in the air falling, falling and hit the bottom of a pit, the jolt made me bit down on the berry, it was a Rawest berry, my favorite. Still I looked around and got to my paws when a hand reached down and picked me up, they spoke strong words that I could feel were demeaning of someone of my class, I was the cub of the leaders of my pack. But still the words most likely would have been degrading to any Vulpix. So I use an Ember upon the person holding me. She dropped me and while the other let out a Beedrill and had it poison sting me, I could feel the poison flowing now in my veins and I rushed out of the clearing and into the side leg of another trainer, who after picking himself up saw who and what I was, but then he did something that surprised me. He checked me out, he saw that I was poisoned and right away wrapped me up in on of the humans fur layers trying in vain to keep his scent off me, then got up, and with pain started towards a place that my mother had told me was a safe human place. In the end he is knocked down and pushes me away making me jerk, but he didn't fall on me, he stood up and started swinging a branch around, but he got hurt even more, even poisoned. Then I could smell her, my mother was nearby, the boy falls from the influences of the poison and my mother right away jumps into the fry and sends them flying. With her help, we saved his life until the humans could do better. I followed and soon, after listening to the human tongue I kept hearing them say their version of my name, confusing me until I realized that the boy was responding as well. As I sat their all night beneath that window, I realized that I wanted to see what he lived like, to learn from him, he seemed more wise then others, along with a hidden feeling as if something was asleep in him. Now I know it was also why I felt so safe, he had a Ninetales mind in his head, but that is hindsight, my mother and I had a fight, but not before he saw Firestorm and I battle a little. Then we did something that none of us will let others forget, we attacked his own pack and took those balls that Firestorm said would allow us to travel with him, but then she surprised me, she was going to come with me, however during the fighting we had, he had picked up all the Pokeballs except for the one in the middle of us and we both looked at each other, Firestorm said she got a plan, knocked out of his arms all the Pokeballs and we caught ourselves, we later learned how to release ourselves which caused a headache for the trainer, and that I how I and Firestorm came to be his starters."
Stripes looked pleased at hearing this. But then Flare spoke again, finally getting up the courage. "After I was taken by the man I was right away put into a small cage and then they tossed in a Firestone at me, I knew what it was, but I didn't want to evolve at that time, however, one in thick gloves held me down as another picked up the stone that missed me and pressed it into my side, evolving me into a Flareon, then came the tests, the experiments and everything else, they forced me to fight others so they would become part of Team Magma as well, this I hated, hated with a passion, then, then a kinder member of Team Magma was assigned to my case, he taught me technique after technique for me to use, then came the plasma months. THEY nearly killed me, the Plasma Beam tests drained me of all my energy, leaving me helpless. I once destroyed the test lab due to the Plasma Beam's unbearable heat energy, it was after that, that they determined me unstable so they released me into the wild and with no survival training I was left to die but, if it wasn't for a kind female trainer I would have died out their in the wild, she took me into her care and then we left to here, Kanto, but the ship ride was amazing I was exploring places that sometimes got me shooed out of, but still it was fun. Then came the first night in Kanto, we were walking down a path and then we were ambushed by Team Rocket members, I got separated from her, and I would have gone back, but she cried for me to run, and so I ran, I after a month or so ended up at Masters… Err… I mean Matthew's home and the rest as you know is history." Flare then returned to watching out the window and looked calm and at peace.
Stripes then sighed and stood up taller then he had been, "I have a confession to make, you see, my trainer before me was not a very good one, I was once accomplish in crime, stealing mainly rare Pokemon for my trainer to train and collect." The others gasp and look at Stripes with a look of shook and horror. "Before you start making conclusions, I want to tell you that I was able to escape him in a flight and double track to the trainer that we stole from, he tried to take the trainers Wartortle. But he saw me as a worthless Pokemon, and he treated me as such, pitting me up against tough opponents, just so that I would weaken them first. But then he saw the two Vulpix and I sense the same greed as before, I was so glade that we haven't meet him again, it would be very bad for him, because I have finally meet a team and trainer that I can truly call home and friends." Everyone stared at Stripes, he had until this morning seemed the most normal and most average Pokemon that you could find, but they are realized something, besides Sir Thief, most of them have been in one way or another declared the underdog or were unable to truly exercises the freedom of what they wanted, yet here, they seemed to have that freedom, they could even walk out if they wanted, but as they looked around at each other they felt that they had been all given second chances to show the world that they were not to be underdogs, but had the potential to be even more.
Outside, leaning against one of the lamp posts stands the man that had given the Ocarina to Ethan a look of being content on his face, he smiled and nodded to a few five year olds as they raced towards a playground to play on what looked to be a promising day, he subconsciously rubs a spot on his arm as if it was stinging a small bit. However he was looking at his own instrument, feathers hanging from the mouth piece, all of them the same kind, a scaly blue that was in the shape of a wing. It was the feather of Lugia and they looked like the same feather that was now hanging from Ethan's. He looked up as another joined him at his side. "Luke, did you?" The female asked, she being dressed in the colors of the rainbow.
"Yes, he proved himself worthy, I believe we have found the song bearer, he has the head and mind for it, but he is still very young. I am worried Holly." Luke responded.
"Oh?" Holly said with mock distain, "So, having an eleven year old is something totally different?" The look on Luke's face was something that was close to being one of a kid being shown his mistakes, "Touché Holly, touché. I see your point, but still, he is having dark elements in him."
"But he has two wise minds around him, in fact if he wasn't their last night, we might have lost before the fight had began." Holly said with a smile. But she looked back, "He's here, in the shadows, I still can't believe that he broke out of our seals."
"I know, But he is out and hunting for those that would be able to help us defeat him again, but we will succeed again, we always have and always will." Luke said and with that the two began to walk away and as they thought would happen the shadow of a Ninetales began to follow them as well, most likely trying to find the best time to attack them while they were weak.