Chapter 28:The City in the Trees

"Note to self:Buy an umbrella,"I said dryly, staring up at the cloudy sky through the canopy of trees above us, rain pouring down on our heads. It was also really windy for some reason. In case you couldn't guess, we were now in Fortree City, having just arrived here moments ago, only to find the place in the middle of a downpour/windstorm. Several treehouses were above our heads, connected by bridges blowing in the harsh wind and lead up to by ladders slicked by the rain.

"Jeez, my fur's getting soaked!"Anubis remarked almost cheerfully.

"You're not the only one,"Zaps grumbled, trying to shield himself with his large arms.

"At least you guys don't have a weakness to water!"Fang complained."This isn't very nice for me, either!"

"As a fire type, I can sympathize with you,"Krysta muttered, looking back at her drooping tails in irritation."Not to mention, my fur is getting drenched as well. I can barely hold my tails up."I glanced at Psyche, who shook his head in amusement, then closed his eyes in concentration.

"Again, we are glad we are but spirits,"Wrath said calmly."It makes everything so much easier and simpler."

"Good thing we're water-proof!"Zephyr stated happily, spinning around and throwing water on the rest of us, causing most of us to flinch away from him.

"Hey!"Serenity laughed, holding up her arms to block the spray.

"Watch it, ya little computer virus!"Zaps snapped in annoyance."Just because you're water-proof, it doesn't mean-"He stopped, blinking in confusion as barriers of psychic energy formed over him, Anubis, Fang, and Psyche, the Alakazam himself opening his now glowing eyes with a smile.

"There we are,"the Psychic said calmly.

"Whew. Thanks Psyche,"Fang said in relief.

"Hey, what about the rest of us?"Serenity asked with a frown.

"Do we not warrant your aid?"Krysta asked in annoyance.

Psyche glanced at them calmly."Why would you need my help? Can't you both use Safeguard?"

The two blinked, then flushed in embarrassment."Oh, right. Guess we forgot about that,"Serenity said Mareepishly. The two concentrated for a moment, then blue fields of energy formed over them both, shielding them from the rain, and they both smiled. Afterwards, most of them looked at me, but I merely shrugged.

"One of the few advantages of being human, we wear clothes,"I remarked, pulling on the flaps of my jacket for emphasis."Still, we should find the Pokemon Center. I'm not all too fond of standing in the rain for prolonged periods. Too cold for my tastes."

"Why, thank you, Ken. It's always nice to know someone appreciates my work,"a female voice sarcastically said from nearby. Blinking, we all looked towards the source of the voice to see a beautiful yet somewhat pale woman that appeared to be in her mid 30s standing under a short tree, a light blue umbrella in her hand. The woman had long, flowing blue hair and deep blue eyes. She was wearing a light blue blouse and blue jeans, as well as raindrop shaped earrings on either ear. I frowned thoughtfully as I approached, the team following, then I noticed that her earrings were actually a pair of Mystic Water jewels, very rare items that boosted the power of water type moves. That alone was enough to tell me who this really was. It certainly explained the rain, but not the harsh winds.

"What are you doing here...Kylie?"I guessed at her human name.

She smiled."It never ceases to amaze me how brilliant you can be. You guessed it on the first try. As for your question, I was just passing through the town. Didn't know you were coming through here already. You and your team are making pretty good progress."

"Well, they're the ones doing all the actual work. I'm just the guy flapping his lips,"I admitted honestly, gesturing to them.

The disguised legendary smirked."Always ready to crack a joke, aren't you? Your adventures haven't improved your attitude any, have they?"

"If anything, they've only made him worse,"Anubis remarked. I nodded in agreement, unable to argue with his sentiment.

"I'm more pessimistic than ever, really!"I said with mock cheerfulness. "Kylie" simply chuckled, shaking her head in amusement."Do you know where the pokemon center is? No offense, but like I said, I'd prefer not to get a cold if I can help it."

She rolled her eyes."Well, sooooorrry! It's not like I can just turn it off."She turned and began walking off into the city, motioning for us to follow with her free hand."Come on, the pokemon center's this way."At this, we followed after her, walking through, or rather, under, the city's buildings, looking around with interest. As we walked, Krysta walked up next to me, looking up at me with a curious expression.

"Ken, if I may ask, how exactly do you and the others know this human?"she asked.

I smirked."Well, for one thing, she's not exactly a human."

"What?"Krysta asked, looking understandably confused and skeptical."She certainly looks like a human to me."

"Looks aren't everything,"I replied."Do you know of any pokemon that causes rainstorms wherever they go without even doing anything?"

The Ninetales frowned at this, looking down thoughtfully."Well, aside from special Politoed, the only one I can think of...is..."Her eyes went wide, then she looked at the blue haired woman in shock before looking back at me."You...you mean she's actually...?"

"Yep,"I nodded. I frowned as I was forced to grab my hood to keep it from being blown off my head."Though I don't know what's going on with this crazy wind. I'll have to ask her once we get inside the center."Speaking of said building, I could now see it in front of dense bunch of trees. Most of the others made a Combeeline for it, sans me, Psyche, Serenity, ZC, and Kyogre herself; we didn't really mind it, and Zephyr was obviously enjoying it, which Kyogre took note of with a smile.

"It really is nice to know some people really enjoy the rain,"she remarked."Or pokemon, in this case."

"Well, if it makes you better, I would probably like the rain myself if it weren't so cold,"I told her.

"...Thanks?"Kyogre said hesitantly. I just smiled awkwardly, shrugging."Why do you hate the cold so much, anyway?"

I blinked at her question."...I really don't know actually,"I said, frowning in thought once more."I just...can't stand the cold. That's all there is to it, really."

"Hm,"Kyogre hummed as we walked inside the center to see the others stretching and drying off, looking happy to be out of the rain.

"By the way, do you know why the wind's so crazy outside?"I asked as we sat down near a table, the others sitting around us."Or are you causing that?"

She shook her head."No, rain and water are my thing. I can't make windstorms. But from what I've heard, there's a large flock of flying type pokemon who have roosted in the nearby forest and have been harassing the town for a few weeks."I frowned deeply at this, a bad memory starting to stir in my mind. I barely noticed Anubis, Serenity, Psyche, and even Wrath looking at me in concern, probably sensing my developing emotions.

"And...?"I prompted reluctantly."Has anyone been trying to do something about it?"

She nodded."The resident gym leader, Winona, is a pro when it comes to flying type pokemon. She's been trying to convince the birds to stop, but she hasn't had much luck."I sighed deeply, burying my face in my hands and rubbing my forehead with my fingers, trying to soothe a headache I felt coming on."Ken? What's wrong?"I could hear the concerned tone in her voice.

"Just...a bad memory, is all,"I murmured.

"What do you mean?"I heard Serenity ask, also sounding concerned.

"Ooooh,"Anubis grimaced, gaining everyone's attention."It's that one thing that happened when you were a kid, isn't it?"I nodded silently.

"What thing? What're you talkin' about?"Fang asked.

"It was...when I found out I was the only human in the world who could understand Pokemon,"I sighed, taking an unwanted trip down memory lane...

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End of Chapter

FINALLY! After a five month hiatus with no computer, I'm back to writing! Hopefully, my writing skills haven't deteriorated too much during my FAR too long break.