Chapter Three: Whiteflame
"Charmander, the lizard Pokémon. The flame that burns at the tip of its tail is an indication of its emotions. The flame wavers when Charmander is enjoying itself. If the Pokémon becomes enraged, the flame burns fiercely."
Sayo sighed and rubbed her face, still trying to drive sleep out of her eyes. She wasn't in the mood to hold a pleasant conversation with the irritating mechanical voice. She shook her Pokedex irritably. "Ok, great, but what attacks can he use?"
The little red machine whirred slightly, before showing several tables and charts on its screen. Sayo studied it carefully, ignoring her companion who was beginning to huff with impatience. "Ok, so it looks like right now you can use Scratch, Ember, and Smokescreen." She glanced down at her friend, smirking. "Not so very impressive."
Charmander growled and let out a jet of smoke from his nostrils. As far as he was concerned, attacks were her responsibility, not his.
Sayo laughed at his outrage. "Calm down buddy, I'm only joking! Isn't that what this journey is for, to learn new things? Come; let's see what we can do with your fire attacks."
He followed her, still disgruntled, but exited to start the training. She led him around the edge of the lake, keeping to the very edge of the banks. He noticed that she had left her shoes behind at the camp, and was springing happily through the soft grass in bare feet. Charmander sighed to himself; old habits are hard to break.
He did not notice when she stopped abruptly, and ran right into her legs. The little Pokémon tumbled backwards with a cry of indignation, and bumped right into a large boulder. Sayo turned to see her friend rubbing his head with one claw, glaring at her. "Sorry!" She cried, rushing over. "Did you hurt yourself?" Charmander simply blew a puff of smoke into her face, and rolled back chuckling.
Grinning, Sayo rubbed the soot away from her eyes and stood up, determination flashing across her face. "Ok, Charmander, let's see your ember attack!"
"Char!" The little Pokémon said as flames flew from its mouth. They flew every which way, lighting up the sky like an exploding firework. Sayo was forced to duck for cover as the fire flew uncontrollably right where she had been a second before.
"Ok, Charmander, stop!" She cried, peering from around the boulder. The little fire type ceased his attack, and looked around puzzled. "We'd better work on your control first." Sayo panted as she emerged. "You have an insane amount of power, that's for sure. Let's see…" She paced back and forth, thinking. "What we need is something you can use to focus all of that energy, but it'll have to be something big, and resistant to fire."
Charmander suddenly jumped up and down, pointing at the big rock Sayo had used as a bomb shelter. He positioned himself in front of it and let loose his ember attack again. This time, the dispersal was not as wide. Sayo looked on as her friend began to focus his power, the ember's path narrowing gradually every second. The rock began to tremble with the heat, glowing a dull red which intensified to a bright crimson.
After a time, the little Pokémon ceased its attack and slumped down, panting. Sayo crouched next to him and hugged him tightly, laughing with delight. "You are by far the smartest Pokémon I have ever met! That's a brilliant idea. You have already managed to focus your attack by an incredible amount, I can't believe it! Are you ready to try again?"
Charmander nodded, and faced the rock which had turned back to a grim grey. "Focus your ember Charmander, remember." Sayo said, watching the boulder eagerly. "Go!"
A thin stream of sparks shot from his mouth, hurtling towards the large rock. They pounded against its surface, getting closer and closer together all the time. Suddenly, they merged altogether, and intensified. A steady stream of flame now enveloped the rock, getting hotter and hotter. Sayo gasped and stepped back, unable to withstand the intense heat. She looked at her friend who had his eyes closed, seemingly unaware of the change. The heat was still building, now so high that steam was beginning to rise from the lake nearby.
"Stop, Charmander!" Sayo yelled, shielding her eyes and retreating backward several steps. "That's enough!"
Her words were drowned by the roar of the fire which wavered for a brief second. Then, without warning the crimson flames turned a pure white, and danced around the beach like a silken robe. Stunned, Sayo watched the flames swirl rapidly around the boulder filling the entire space with heat. However, the fire lasted but a moment. They fluttered once again, and then died down, leaving a molten puddle where the rock had been a second before.
Charmander opened its eyes, and looked eagerly in the direction of its target. The look of intense disbelief on his face would have been almost comical in another situation. The hilarity of the moment was lost on Sayo however, as she sank to the ground, staring at her Pokémon in wonder. "Was…was that a flamethrower Charmander?" She managed to say. "You aren't nearly experienced enough to learn that attack, and why was it white?"
Her friend for once didn't have a reply. He simply shuffled over to where she sat and put his front paws on her lap. They looked into each other's eyes for a brief moment, not knowing what to say. Surprisingly, Sayo didn't ask any more questions. She just smiled and picked him up, placing him on her knees. "It was beautiful, Charmander." She said, looking up at the sky. "Flames of the purest white. If we could learn how to control it, imagine what surprises we could give to other trainers."
She stood up and placed her friend back down. He still looked shaken, but proud. "You are a mystery, Charmander my friend." Sayo said with a laugh. "Let's pack up camp and hit the road. Poor Professor Oak must think we've died by now."
Suddenly, there was a ripple from behind them and then a burst of spray. A cascade of water poured on top of their heads, and Charmander retreated quickly, sheltering the small flame on its tail. Out of the lake erupted a huge shadow larger than anything Sayo had ever seen. A vicious roar tore through the air, accompanied by a terrible smell. Sayo wiped the water out of her eyes, gasping. She knew that she had to turn around and see what it was. So she gathered her wits and looked slowly upwards. "Oh, shit." She whispered.
Note from the Author:
Hey guys!
Sorry this chapter is so short. I was having trouble finding inspiration today. Thanks for reading this latest installment of Legende; it really makes me happy when people take interest in my work. Please review it so that I can do better next time. If you want, you are welcome to submit ideas of what you might want to happen. I will take them into consideration. Have fun reading!
----Althea Di Aerandaria