Sorry for the wait. Here's the next chapter.
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'What's going on here?' the purple snake asked, turning to each person. 'Where am I?'
Harry only stared, shock written on his face. They expected him to take a snake? He had a bad history with snakes! He even told them that and yet they still gave him one.
Professor Oak saw Harry's look and said, "I'm sorry, Harry, but this is all we have. Ekans here will be an excellent companion for you. You just have to get used to each other."
Ekans heard the comment and turned to Harry. 'I have a trainer at last! I promise to not let you down.'
Harry sighed and, determined to at least give Ekans a chance, said, 'It is nice to meet you.'
Everyone, Ekans included, gapped. "You can speak pokemon?" Ash asked.
"Don't be silly, Ash," Misty scolded. "That was more like hissing than anything."
'You speak and understand me?' Ekans asked, clearly amazed. 'I am very lucky.'
"I don't speak pokemon," Harry said. "I can speak to snakes using Parseltongue. I thought I explained it earlier but must have forgotten. See, I can understand snakes and I guess it goes for snake pokemon as well."
Professor Oak looked like he was about to explode with excitement. "The research we could discover!" he cried. "Just think of all the possibilities!"
Harry, who was more than ready to get out of there, turned to Ekans. 'Let's run for it!'
'I hear you!' Ekans said and slithered after Harry.
Misty and Ash laughed at Oak who was pouting. "No, come back," he kept mumbling.
Ash just grinned. "Now that was interesting."
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
Harry glanced at Ekans. The two hadn't really said anything for the past hour and a half. The purple snake was too enthralled with actually being out in the wilderness and being able to pummel small birds and rats.
Pidgey and Rattata, Harry reminded himself. That's what they were.
Still, it annoyed him that Ekans would not leave them alone. It reminded him of Dudley beating up those who were smaller and weaker than him. He just couldn't stand it anymore.
'Will you stop that?' he hissed at Ekans.
Ekans slithered up to him. 'Were you hoping to capture them? I'm sorry I scared them off.'
'It's not that,' Harry said. 'Look, do you have to keep attacking the random pokemon that shows up?'
'Of course! How else will I get stronger? And it is a lot of fun.'
'How is it fun when you are hurting innocents?' Harry asked just a bit harshly.
'Innocents?' Ekans asked, almost tasting the question. 'If I did not attack them, then they would surely attack me.'
'What makes you so sure?' Harry demanded. 'They would probably leave us alone if you did not bother them.'
'You are a strange trainer,' Ekans commented
'I'm not a trainer.'
Ekans seemed to pause. 'Then why do you own me?'
'I do not own you,' Harry said. 'I own no one. It isn't right for anyone to own someone else.'
Ekans contemplated those words. 'You still have not told me why I am with you.'
Harry sighed. 'Look, this might sound weird, but I'm not from around here. Actually, I'm not even from this world.'
'Ok.'
Harry blinked. 'You believe me?'
'Why should I not? Many strange things happen in this world. You are just one more thing to add to the list.'
"Pid Pdgey!" came a cry from some bushes. Harry sighed and just continued to walk, ignoring the small interruption.
"Pidgeeey!" came a now horrible cry of pain.
Harry turned around. 'What are you doing!?' he hissed furiously. Ekans had the Pidgey pinned to the ground. 'Stop it!'
Ekans let the Pidgey go. 'If I do not train on these weaklings now, I will not be able to beat the larger and stronger opponents in the future.'
'You shouldn't have to do it anyway!'
Ekans hissed angrily. 'You do not seem to understand. If I do not fight now, I can not fight to protect you later.'
'I don't need a protector. What I'm saying is that you shouldn't attack anything at all, even in the future for no reason.'
'But I want to grow stronger! I want to protect you!'
'Why?!' Harry hissed with exasperation. 'Why would you want to protect me? And even if I need to be protected, which won't happen, it's this worlds fault for turning it into a battle zone.'
'That is just the way things are,' Ekans said quietly, trying to get this human to understand.
Harry just turned away and started walking again.
'I will not stop fighting,' Ekans said, causing Harry to stop. 'Why do you not want me to train? You are not the one who gets hurt.'
'I do not want anyone to get hurt. I don't want you to get hurt.'
Ekans felt a warmth come from inside. Never, never in his entire life did someone say something like that to him. His human actually cared about him.
'I'm ordering you to stop,' Harry said.
Ekans felt his world now crashing down on him. Battling was a pokemon's life. Sure, there were some who didn't battle but that was fine. But, over 90 percent of the population longed to fight. To be able to grow stronger and fight for their human as he or she guided them, it was what they dreamt of.
'But…'
'No,' Harry interrupted coldly. Harry sighed. 'Look, I'm sorry, but I've never had a good experience with snakes before and this is just a bit hard.'
Anger overcame Ekans. 'So you hate us all for what another snake has done for you?'
'What? I…'
'No,' Ekans said coldly. 'You don't give anyone a chance because you have been hurt before. And you know what? I've been hurt as well but I still give others a chance! This is your world now, get used to it!'
Ekans slithered off, leaving a stunned and very guilty Harry behind.
- - - - - - - - - - - - -
"My Lord," Lucius Malfoy said, bowing low. "The take over of this base has been a success. These… muggles await your command."
"Very good, Lucius," Voldemort said quietly. "Bella is having the scientists build the machines I need?"
"Of course, Master."
"Is she torturing those who aren't working fast enough?"
Malfoy smirked. "She loves every minute of it."
"Excellent. You may leave."
Malfoy bowed once more and exited the room.
Once Voldemort was alone, he turned to Nagini. 'Nagini, my sweet. This little change of yours may very well be an improvement.'
'Was I not already perfect, Master?' Nagini teased, swinging her sword like tail. Long red fangs hung out of her mouth, almost ready to take a bite out of anyone. Her scales had gotten much harder and she now had a gold and black crown on her head.
The Team Rocket guards listened nervously as their new leader hissed to an extremely long Seviper. It had to be the largest one in history.
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I remember life right after hatching. It was not a great life and I would be lying if I could say I remembered any sort of happiness. I was the weakest and smallest of my brothers and sisters. The runt of the pack, they called me.
I remember humans coming every so often and collecting the strongest of my hatch mates. The humans, their eyes so full of kindness and wisdom, would help me to grow strong. I remembered waiting each day, hoping to be chosen.
I was not stupid. I learned things rather quickly then the ordinary Ekans. I knew they chose the strongest Ekans first. I trained against my brothers and sisters, hoping to defeat any of them. I had no such luck.
Even against the youngest I was still no match. It just wasn't fair. I remember their laughter and jeers. Why would they not help me? Why would they not train me and encourage me? It was all I ever longed for.
Even my mother, a beautiful golden brown Arbok, never gave me words of wisdom. I remembered the humans always gushing over her. A shiny is what they called her. I did not understand what was so special about a shiny pokemon but, as I said, I was not stupid. I listened and learned from the passing humans.
Shiny pokemon were apparently stronger than most of their species. Even to this day I did not understand why but I knew that my mother was strong. I already knew she was strong, even without the different color. She was my mother, the strongest thing in my life.
I wanted her love and acceptance of me. I still fought my brothers and sisters each day, hoping to grow stronger and slither back to my mother proudly, hoping to see her smile and tell me how proud she was.
It never happened.
I still lost each day. Humans continued to come and take my siblings away. They gave me a few stares very now and then but they knew that I, the smallest, was weak. They never gave me a chance.
Soon I was all alone. It was just me and my disappointed mother. She rarely gave me any attention and I had to fend for myself for a while. The human would give me food occasionally but always left muttering about wasting money. If a human would just choose me and train me it would not matter.
Mother had told my siblings and me of how her human trained her for battles and how she won most of them. If anything, my mother was quite the bragger. She claimed she defeated a Blastoise. I believed her and so did my siblings. Why shouldn't I believe her?
After all, she was mother.
I remembered turning exactly four months old. Pokemon age faster than humans but I was still considered a baby. A baby by length and strength, but definitely not by mind. It was one of the few things mother ever acknowledged.
"You would make a fine strategist in battle if you had the strength," she told me.
I had glowed at that and fought to get stronger and prove to her I was strong. I remember accompanying her on a slither through the forest. She ignored me as usual. I followed behind and admired the way she slithered with quiet grace and strength.
I also remember falling behind. I was scared, having never gone into the forest before. I curled up and prayed that mother would come. She did, but she was the second to do so. A Zangoose came up to me. It had to be at least as old as me.
"Not a Seviper but at least an easy defeat," it had said at me.
That had been the most painful thing I had ever experienced. I was so bruised up I couldn't believe I was still conscious. This just made the Zangoose happy. More time to play with its prey, it told me. My cries had not gone unanswered, though.
Mother had come back. I had never seem her so angry. Power just radiated off of her as she defeated the young Zangoose with only two slams. The mother was not so easy. The mother Zangoose fought against my mother using her sharp claws and speed.
I could do nothing but watch as my mother got wound after wound. Still she battled, acting as if her bruises meant nothing. She had defeated the mother Zangoose with a Rock Tomb attack her human had taught her.
I had never felt happier. My mother had protected me. I knew right then and there she loved me no matter how weak I was. I had slithered weakly up to her.
How wrong I had been.
She gave a cold glance and whacked me away. "How could one of my children be so weak? Get out of my sight." I never saw her again, her words still hurting me to this very day.
It wasn't long after that that Professor Oak captured me, planning to give me to a starting trainer. I was so emotionally distraught that the first five try's no one wanted me. I was soon just a left over pokemon. I didn't want that. I wanted to grow strong, and the only way that could happen is if a human trained me.
And so I waited.
The first time I was actually accepted it was a young boy with blond hair and brown eyes. He smiled at me encouragingly. He helped me defeat my first opponent. I was also the one who helped him capture his first pokemon. He loved me and I loved him.
Or so I thought.
We had reached the next city when a wild Growlithe jumped out at us. Don't ask how one was living in the wild so close to Pallet, it just was. My trainer got excited at this rare sight. He sent me out, saying I was his strongest. This brought a strange warmth to me.
I fought the fire dog with all I had. I truly fought as hard I could. All it took was one ember attack and I was down. After that I remember waking up in the pokemon center. My trainer, who I have long forgotten his name, said that he would send me back to Oaks.
He had successfully captured the Growlithe but had used his newly captured Pidgey. He said that if an untrained Pidgey could capture a pokemon such as Growlithe and I, a trained pokemon, could not I was no longer useful.
My world had crashed on me once more.
I was back inside a pokeball. This wait was so much longer. It was so long I truly thought no one would ever choose me. But then the old Professor carried my ball to a new person. This person was older than he looked.
He must've been the runt of his own litter and I thought we would have a connection right away just because of it. I was so anxious to leave that I asked if he was my new trainer even though they could not understand me.
But the human spoke to me. In a language of the snakes as well! I was so happy that I promised myself I would never lose for him, even if I was on the verge of death.
This human was strange, though. We passed many pokemon and yet he did not order me to attack. Perhaps he thought I was too strong for them? Although I was happy with the thought, I still knew I would need to still defeat them, knowing how weak I truly was.
The human, Harry I learned, had gotten angry. Well, what did he expect? I needed to get stronger. I explained and yet he did not understand. He did not want me to fight at all. How could I listen to that kind of order? That was all I ever wanted. That was what all pokemon wanted.
He had gotten angry at me. I suppose it was only natural. I had yelled back and ran off. I could not stay with a human who would not help me. Perhaps I was not strong enough for him. I do not know. What I do know is that I would prove him wrong.
I would show him even though a part of me didn't want him to come after me. The other half was unsure. As I slithered as fast as I could through the grass and into the small forest like area, I stiffened as I reached unknown territory. But I still wanted him to come after me.
Because I liked him.
Yes, I liked him. His scent was the best thing I had ever smelled. It was even better than mothers. Something about him I liked. He had had a bad past that much I could tell. I had hoped he would tell me about his and I would share mine with him and he would support me.
But as I stare into the angry eyes of a Spearow, I no longer know what to think.
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Harry kicked at a rock angrily. How stupid he had been! All that Ash had told him went right out the drain as he had that stupid fight with Ekans. It wasn't fair of him to yell at the poor snake like that.
Ekans had been right. Because he had a bad past with snakes did not mean he had any right to take it out on the rest. But still, he was so angry that Ekans attacked those pokemon for no reason. He had thought that they would leave him alone if he did nothing to bother them.
How wrong he had been.
Pidgey and the random worm attacked him. His pokedex had informed him those worms were called Weedil. They were poisonous and could cause serious damage if not careful.
Even before that he had wanted to apologize. Still, those attacks had helped. The little voice in his head also told him he had been wrong and told him he better get used to this life. Now all he had to do was look for Ekans.
He managed to make his way back to the spot Ekans had left him. Guilt flooded him as he followed a small trail. It really wasn't a trail so much as twigs and grass being pushed down my Ekans slithering away.
"I am such an idiot," Harry said to himself. "Where is he?" His eyes traveled across the grass and over to a small forest area. Perhaps Ekans had gone in there.
I loud hiss of pain coming from right inside the trees confirmed it to Harry and he rushed toward the source.
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Ekans snarled warningly as more Spearow's surrounded him. He arched his back, exposing poisonous fangs. The birds just laughed at him, three hitting him from all sides. Spearow's were known for playing unfair and to be able to attack one of their biggest enemies was a rare gift.
"Look at the small little worm," one cawed.
"Why don't you just go slither under a fungi infested rock with all the other weaklings."
"It isn't even worth the trouble of flying down at it."
"Maybe its trainer abandoned it?"
Ekans curled up into a ball as the pecks and insults rained down at him. He didn't know what hurt more. He just knew that he was wounded both physically and mentally. How could he ever amount to anything if he couldn't even defeat these annoying birds?
Even an Oddish could do better, Ekans thought sadly.
"Ekans!"
Great, now he was even starting to hear things.
"Ekans!"
Couldn't they just leave him alone?
'Ekans!'
Wait, he wasn't hearing things. It was really…
'Harry!'
'Get away from him!' Harry hissed at the Spearow, throwing rocks and small twigs at them. Harry knelt by Ekans, picking him up carefully. 'I'm so sorry,' Harry whispered, cradling Ekans like a newborn.
'It's alright,' Ekans said weakly.
"Human! Human!" the Spearow cawed. "Get the human!"
Harry backed away slowly. 'What are they saying?'
'It means it's time to go!' Ekans said, hanging limply in Harry's hold.
"Human! Human! Get the human!"
It had become a chant as the birds rained down on Harry, cutting his arms and scratching at his face. Harry couldn't understand what they were saying but had a pretty good guess as they sang, "Spear! Spear! Spe ow Spear!"
'Harry,' Ekans said weakly, looking up at his human.
'Don't try to talk,' Harry said just as weakly, using his body to shield the purple snake from harm.
'But…'
'I promise I'll get you out of here,' Harry said strongly. He continued to run until he was at the edge of a rather steep cliff with a river and waterfall right next to him. Harry tried to run the other way but only managed to get hit in the head by a particularly strong Spearow that effectively knocked him off the cliff and into the raging river.
Harry gagged as water rushed inside of him as he struggled to the surface, knowing that Ekans was probably in more pain that he was. In all reality, an hour rest would fix him up, but all those scratches and beatings built up. Harry knew from personal experience with his uncle that no matter how small a beating, it always left you tired and feeling weak as well as pitiful.
Merlin, why did he have to be so thickheaded and weak?
After what felt like forever, Harry managed to swim to the surface, allowing the current to push him along before he swam to land, clutching Ekans to his chest. It got even worse as the sky darkened and began to rain.
Harry panted, lying down on the grassy field. Ekans breathed just as deeply, watching Harry with one eye as the other was too puffy and hurt to open. 'Why…' Harry whispered quietly, hearing the Spearow catch up to him.
Ekans tensed, knowing what was to be said. Why was he so weak? Why had he gotten himself hurt in the stupidest situation possible and then allow his trainer to be hurt? He deserved to be chastised. He had made a promise to grow strong and he had failed.
'Why am I so weak?!' Harry shouted, shocking Ekans. He had never been anything special, and Harry knew that. And yet, he always managed to get out of all the trouble he had gotten himself into. He would not lose to these birds. Harry stood up, facing the Spearow boldly, his eyes dark. "Spawo!" Harry shouted.
'Spearow,' Ekans corrected, trying to raise himself up but failing miserably.
"Spearow," Harry repeated. "Spearow!" he shouted, glaring up at the birds. "I swore to myself earlier this year that nothing would put me down, nothing would defeat me and I could get stronger to save those who I love. And you know what?" Harry asked, his voice loud as he stood protectively over Ekans.
"I lost sight of that goal and let myself be beaten. But never again!" Harry shouted even louder than before, power starting to radiate off of his body. "I won't let anything get in my way from protecting my friends, and that means you too!"
The Spearow cawed in anger, flying in frustrated circles until they could stand it no more and flew down to the pitiful human that dared to speak to them that way. And as they rushed at Harry, Ekans could have sworn Harry whispered, "I'll protect you."
At that moment, just as the rainy sky and let off a bolt of lightning and the Spearow were just inches away from Harry, two voices shouted throughout the battle, both who were determined to protect the other no matter what the cost.
"Incendio!"
'Acid!'
The poisonous liquid hit the fire just as it touched the first Spearow, causing a large explosion not just by the two elements, but by the power itself, and blew Harry backwards, knocking him out effectively.
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
Harry blinked, raising his head painfully as he felt a killer headache start. He looked around, confused by his surroundings. He was in a dense forest. Trees of every kind surrounded him and the sun shone brightly above him. The only problem with it all was that there wasn't a single sound.
There was no life.
"Hello?" Harry called out nervously. When there was no answer for three minutes, Harry sighed. It looked like he was alone.
He started walking, ignoring the groans coming from his bones and the aches from his muscle. It would do no good to sit around and do nothing. He had made a promise and intended to keep it.
As soon as he was on his feet, a deep voice made Harry jump about a foot in the air. "Up, are you? Perhaps you are worthy."
Harry spun around and his eyes widened in surprise as he saw a large animal walk gracefully toward him. What it was, Harry couldn't tell. The entire body was black, almost wrapped in shadows. Not even its eyes could be seen but Harry could tell this being was related to the cat family from the way it walked.
"Who are you?" Harry asked nervously.
The large creature stared at him, or at least Harry assumed it did because its head was facing him.
"Just another life in a world full of many other lives."
"That doesn't tell me anything," Harry said, folding his arms stubbornly.
"It doesn't? It should, there is great wisdom in those words. I am just another life, just as you are as well. What we choose to do with our lives makes us who we are and what we can be."
Harry stayed silent.
The stranger turned away from Harry and started to walk away, only pausing to say, "You have awakened me, but it is up to you awaken your power," before Harry's vision faded and he soon found himself staring at Ekans.
'Ekans?' Harry asked weakly, feeling even worse than he did only moments ago.
Ekans didn't say anything but did open his good eye and looked at Harry, happiness and pain shining in his eye. Harry pulled himself up, cradling Ekans carefully. Harry looked up into the sky, noticing a rainbow just over a city only minutes away.
"A city," Harry breathed with relief. He was about to say more but a large bird caught his eyes as he continued to stare up at the sky. It had to be the largest bird he had ever seen, its rainbow colored feathers and golden wings sparkling in the sun.
Harry watched amazed as it flew directly through the rainbow and out of sight, giving Harry a sense of hope. He could feel Ekans wrap around his arms weakly and started walking toward the city, his eyes burning with questions and hope. He would never be weak again.
He and Ekans both.
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Hmmm. I actually made a second chapter. To tell the truth, if I hadn't watched the first episode I don't think I would have done so well. Actually, watching the first episode really brought back memories from when I was in elementary school. It reminded me of why I liked the show.
It was dramatic, had some deep, serious stuff, and could really teach you stuff. Ok, so I'm rambling. And don't tease me for having the original 1st episode on VHS! I got it when I was in third grade like eight years ago.
Neh. Please review!