Light's Adventures
Chapter 26: Storms on the Horizon
Light laid under a tree near the Pokemon Center, trying to finally relax. However, he was starting to want something to hit again. He thought about the tree, but decided that destroying it would draw a crowd. Suddenly, his feelings were starting to change again, and he wanting to just be with Cream once more. He put his paws over head as he tried to sort out the assortment of raging feelings inside his head.
He felt a presence nearby and raised his head. He couldn't see anyone nearby, though. However, he didn't think his senses would suddenly start failing him. He closed his eyes and reached out with his consciousness. No one was nearby . . . on the ground.
Light irritably looked up and saw the Milotic from earlier looking down at him. "What do you want?" he asked, wishing he had injured it further so it would take longer for it to heal.
"I noticed that you're depressed and I wanted to help," she said.
Light snorted. "You can't help me, so leave."
"But I can. I have the ability to soothe and calm feelings. I could help, Light," she said.
"How do you know my name?" Light asked.
Nick told me; I can use telepathy, too, he heard in his mind.
"Well, I don't want your help. Goodbye," Light said, waving his tail at her.
A frown appeared on the Milotic's face. "But I want to help. I don't like to see others depressed or angry. Why won't you let me help you?"
"Well for one, I'm positive you can't help," Light slowly said, trying to get it in her head.
"Then let me try," she insisted.
Light sighed and put his head back on his paws. "Fine," he finally relented.
He suddenly heard the song he had before, though it was much stronger. It seemed to melt all his feelings away and leave him in a blissful state. The moment seemed wonderful and perfect . . . until he glanced at his empty side and remembered Cream wasn't there. His grief started anew and the blissfulness left, though the song continued.
The Milotic gasped and the low song ended. "But . . . but . . . what happened? You were supposed to feel better."
Light snorted. "I told you so."
"Why are you so sad?" the Milotic asked.
"I don't want to talk about it. Go and leave me alone," Light said, closing his eyes.
"But you don't understand. You're the first person I haven't been able to cheer up. What saddens you so much that my song doesn't work?" she asked.
"Wait; there is something you can do to make me happier," Light said, looking up and instantly getting her full attention. "You can leave me alone," Light said flatly and without emotion.
The Milotic looked mutinously down at him before finally leaving back to the Pokemon Center. Light sighed with relief as she left and went back to his meditations of Cream. He jerked his head up as he felt the Milotic's mind touch him again.
So that's why you're so sad, he heard her comment.
Light growled. Get out of my mind before I force you, he threatened.
He heard a mental sigh coming from the Milotic before she retreated from his mind. However, she appeared from the Pokemon Center again. Light got ready to blast her with a Dark Pulse.
"Can you not take a hint? Get away," Light demanded.
"No," she said, a new tone of authority in her voice. "Not until I find a way to help you."
Light seriously considered blasting her right then, but finally decided it wasn't worth the lecture from Nick.
"Now, who is the little Eevee?" she asked coiling down next to him.
Light didn't answer and turned his head away.
"Fine, is she one of Nick's Pokemon?" the Milotic asked.
Light hesitated for a second before nodding.
"Then why isn't she with Nick? Can't trainers carry six Pokemon?" Milotic asked.
Light sighed and finally gave in. "She's with a few others back at Nick's home."
"So the problem is that you want to get back to her," she stated. "Well if you're going to see her again, why are you so sad?"
"Because, I won't see her until Nick gets his last badge. That would take about two and a half weeks with no delays. But we can't cross the sea to get to the last badge," Light said.
"Well why didn't you say so? I can cross the sea," she said.
"What do you mean?" Light asked.
"I can use what humans call Surf. I can cross the sea with Nick on my back," she answered. "See? I can help."
Light quickly got up and headed for the Pokemon Center, ready to leave. She had been right. The news that they could leave at any time had seriously lowered his agitation. They wouldn't be delayed anymore.
"I did it! I did it! I helped someone again!" the Milotic answered, darting around giddily behind Light.
Light entered the Pokemon Center, the automatic doors allowing him entrance. Light went on back to the room they stayed in and saw that the others were lounging around. Ace and Nick glanced over as Light entered, but Blaze didn't even twitch an ear from his place in the corner.
Nick, we have a way to Cinnabar Island. Come on, Light thought to everyone.
"What do you mean?" Nick asked.
You still haven't checked . . . the Milotic's moves have you? Light asked.
"You mean Azul? No," Nick said. He pulled out his Pokedex and pointed it at the Milotic that was at the window of the room. "Hmm . . . Water Pulse, Aqua Ring, Ice Beam, and Surf . . . Surf . . . HEY! We can cross with Azul using Surf!" Nick exclaimed, after a few moments of thought.
Light sighed at his strange trainer and waited as Nick dashed about to pack. Blaze got slowly up and sat next to Light. Ace flew out the window after Azul moved for a second. Azul was looking extremely pleased at what she had accomplished.
Nick finally finished packing and brought out his Pokeballs. "Okay, in you go," Nick said, returning Blaze. He brought up Light's Pokeball, but stopped with Light's stare. "Err, Azul? Could you carry Light along with me?" he asked.
I think I should be able to handle that, yes, Azul mentally answered.
Nick let out a low sigh, but Light still noticed. He didn't care as long as he didn't get put in the Pokeball. Light followed Nick out the Pokemon Center where Azul and Ace met up with them. Nick led them down to the beach where several people stopped to stare at Azul. Light waited impatiently as Azul went over to settle a dispute between a couple.
Finally, they reached the water. Azul slid gracefully into the water. She let part of her long body rise above the water. Nick swam over and got on the hump, getting prepared for their journey. Light jumped onto the back of the Milotic and sat down in front of Nick, who seemed to be having a great time already. Azul hummed happily as she started south, toward Cinnabar Island. Ace flew overhead, surrounded by several Wingull that cawed noisily. Ace's flying form brought a question to Light's mind.
Why didn't we just ride Ace over to Cinnabar Island? Light asked Nick.
Nick paused in his cheering. He slapped himself in the face. "Whoops," he said, laughing a little.
Light turned forward and waited as Azul slowly gained speed. The air ruffled Light's fur as they moved gracefully through the water. The sea sent a little spray up, refreshing him. The ocean made a soothing sound once away from the mainland. Light's tail started to wag as he enjoyed the new experience. He hadn't felt this good since . . . his posture fell as he remembered Cream wasn't there. Azul looked back worriedly as she traveled, but she didn't comment, much to his relief.
They slowly crossed the sea. Once the mainland was out of sight, they seemed to just be sitting still, the scenery never changing. Ace flapped overhead, the Wingull slowly dispersing. Soon, the only sound was the occasional flap of Ace's wings and the waves around them. If Ace wasn't there, he would have been positive they weren't moving. As it was, he was in doubt.
After several hours stuck on Azul's back, Ace let out a caw overhead. Light glanced at the horizon, but didn't see anything. What is it?Light asked.
I see land, Ace answered.
Light became excited at the news and translated to Azul and Nick in response to their questioning looks. Nick became excited, also, while Azul put on an extra burst of speed, also in a happier mood now that Light wasn't so sad. Ace easily kept up above them. The land in the distance slowly came closer and Light could start to make out buildings on the island.
Azul came up to a pier and let Light and Nick off onto the planking. Nick glanced once at the crowded streets of the city and returned Azul. He let Blaze out and headed into the city. Nick led them to the gym. However, the gym leader, Blaine, was not there.
Light followed Nick impatiently as he searched for the elusive gym leader. No one seemed to know where the gym leader had gone or when he would be back. After a while of searching, Nick went to the Pokemon Center to rest.
Light decided to go out on his own and walked along the busy streets. It was almost sunset, but the streets were still extremely busy. Several children walked along with their parents and let out excited cries as they saw him. Only their innocence and the way they reminded him of Rose prevented him from snapping at them. Instead, he let them pet him and exclaim about him. However, even the children's playfulness didn't rub off onto him.
Seeing no peace on the streets, Light headed through an alley and appeared at a cliff. Light headed along the cliff and finally left the city behind a little bit. The cliff ended with a narrow point. A man was lounging on a chair, facing the edge of the cliff and toward the sunset. Light didn't want company, but felt drawn toward the human for some reason. Seeing no reason to leave, Light walked past the human and sat at the edge of the cliff.
"You might not want to sit that close to the edge or you might fall," the old man warned. Light glanced back at the man and took in his appearance. He was wearing a red spotted shirt with a white background. He had black glasses on and had no hair. He seemed extremely old, yet still fit. He had a small, snow white mustache.
I don't care, Light answered, though with some respect to the elder.
"Ah, a telepathy user. I don't see many Pokemon like that away from their trainers. Where's yours?" the old man asked.
The Pokemon Center, Light told him.
"Does that mean he's a trainer? Has he fought the gym leader yet?" he asked.
Light shook his head. No, the stupid man has disappeared for now, Light thought to him.
"Why the verbal, err, mental assault against the man?" he asked.
He's delaying me from getting home, Light answered, opening up quickly to the man.
"So you're in a hurry? I always thought it was the trainers who wanted to rush. . . . I could possible tell you where the gym leader is," he said after a moment of hesitation.
Oh? Light replied.
"Yes, but I want you to solve a riddle first. If you can answer correctly, I'll tell you where the gym leader is," the man explained.
Okay, tell me, he said.
"Here it is: I'm white as snow, yet dark as the shadows. I can tell all of bad things to come, yet all run in fear of me. What am I?" the man said.
Light thought about it for a few seconds before snorting. Easy, the answer is an Absol, he answered.
"You're good. You're actually the first to figure that riddle out," the man said.
So, where's the gym leader? Light asked, already reaching for Nick's consciousness.
"You're looking at him," he said. "I'm Blaine, gym leader of Cinnabar Island Gym."
Light was slightly surprised, but found Nick's mind quickly. Lowering the channel with Blaine, Light contacted Nick. I've found Blaine. Bring them to the gym. He switched to Blaine and said, My trainer would like to challenge you. Will you come back to the gym and fight?
"Hmm, okay," Blaine said, getting up. He folded the chair up and carried it along, heading toward the city.
Light followed alongside him, and they soon arrived at the gym. Ace was already perched on the roof and nodded in greeting. Light looked down the street and saw Nick rushing toward them, Blaze beside him. Blaine opened the gym and went in.
Nick came up to the gym, panting. He stopped to catch his breath and Ace came down to land next to him, though slightly awkward with the solid, flat ground under him. They headed inside and saw an announcer rush past them. They soon entered the challenging area and found it was outside. The actual arena was in the backyard of the gym. The referee looked tired, but quickly took his place. Blaine was already at the other side of the arena, waiting.
"He has to be at least a hundred years old, but is still the gym leader," Nick muttered.
"Challenger, you have challenged Blaine, gym leader of Cinnabar Island Gym, for the Volcano Badge. . . . It will be a one-on-one battle between three Pokemon. The Challenger may at any time switch Pokemon . . . but may use only a total of three Pokemon. The gym leader may not switch his Pokemon at any time. Ready? Begin!" the announcer said in between pants, starting the match.
Light was about to jump in the arena when Ace flew in. Blaine threw a Pokeball and a small creature that seemed to be made of lava appeared. It had a large, dark shell on its back. Nick pulled out his Pokedex and Light heard him say, "Magcargo."
The Magcargo immediately started the battle. As it most likely didn't know telepathy, Light figured it was an experienced battler. It opened its mouth and a small, orange sphere appeared for a half second before shooting toward Ace in a torrent of flames. Ace dived under the blast, waiting for a command.
"Ace, use Agility and then Fly!" Nick shouted.
Ace increased his speed drastically and flew high into the air. The Magcargo release a black cloud of smoke, hiding him from view. Ace paused over the cloud, no clear target anymore. A fireball came out of the cloud and hit Ace before he could react. Light could tell the attack was a powerful one.
"Ace, use Gust to blow it away and then use Arial Ace repeatedly!" Nick directed.
Ace flapped his wings rapidly, quickly removing the smoke. Magcargo could soon be seen again, struggling not to be pushed back. Ace flew at the Magcargo again, his speed still affected by Agility. When he activated Arial Ace, he disappeared from sight. Normally, he would temporarily appear by the Magcargo, but his increased speed allowed him to move even faster. Without being seen, the Magcargo jerked to either side in sudden motions, taking hits from either side. Ace finally hit the Magcargo one last time and it fainted from the repeated attacks.
"Magcargo is defeated," the announcer said, raising a green flag.
Blaine returned his Magcargo and retrieved another Pokeball. He threw it and a flaming Pokemon appeared. It seemed to be made of yellow and red flames. It had two arms that ended in cannons. It had black bands on the neck and each of its limbs. Nick pulled out his Pokedex again and muttered, "Magmortar."
This Pokemon also started without a command. It raised an arm and a small sphere of flames appeared at the end of the cannon. It shot the fireball at Ace, who was hovering at the other side of the arena. Ace dived out of the way, its speed back to normal.
"Ace, use Wing Attack!" Nick called out.
Ace dived at the Magmortar. The Magmortar raised both arms and cloud clouds quickly billowed out of the ends. Visibility was quickly reduced to almost nothing except for Light, who could see some of the battle.
Ace stopped inside the cloud, unsure of what to do. Magmortar moved from its previous position and started to shoot fireballs at the blinded Pidgeot. Ace didn't see the onslaught of attacks until they started to hit Ace. Ace quickly headed up until he was high above the smokescreen. The fireballs continued, but Ace was able to dodge them once he could see them coming.
However, the previous fireballs had done the trick. Ace looked exhausted and Light realized that he had been burned by the attack from the Magcargo from earlier. He had been taking damage all this time. Before it wasn't that bad, but in his state, the burn would be a deal breaker. Ace wouldn't be able to continue long in his condition.
"Ace, return," Nick said, pressing a button on his Pokeball. A red light hit Ace and he disappeared to rest inside the small container. "Okay, Blaze, you're up," Nick said quickly, before Light could jump in.
Light snorted as Blaze stepped into the arena and got ready to battle. If you won't use me, than why not use Azul, who has a type advantage? Light asked.
Blaze has his ability to help along with Dig, Nick explained.
Light was impressed that Nick had come up with the strategy, even if it was a small one. Nick didn't come up with any strategy easily. Just something else to put on the strange list for Nick.
"Blaze, use Double Team and then Dig!" Nick yelled.
Blaze split into eight forms and they separated. The Magmortar raised a fist and launched two fireballs at the Flareon. Three Flareon disappeared on contact, but the rest managed to get underground in time. The Magmortar looked around in confusion, but didn't react otherwise.
Two Flareon burst out of the ground in front of it and it whacked each of them with an arm. They both disappeared. But right before the arms hit them, two more Flareon sprung up from behind and hit it. One, however, backed away and didn't make contact.
After hitting the two Flareon, it turned to face the two new ones. One was the real, but it didn't know which had hit it. Finally, it raised both arms and shot a fireball at each. One disappeared while the other simply took the hit and seemed to gain energy. The Flareon that took the hit dived underground.
Another two Flareon came up and Magmortar countered them. This time, it swiveled around, ready for another blow to the back. Blaze shot out of the ground where the previous two had, where Magmortar had just turned its back to. Blaze rammed the Magmortar and dived underground again.
The Magmortar stumbled under the blow, but got up and started to check the area around it. The last of the Flareon shot up, surrounding the Magmortar at each cardinal direction. It waved its arms at its sides and managed to hit the Flareon on either side and behind it. However, they disappeared; meaning the Flareon in front of it was Blaze. Blaze hit him and jumped back.
Before the Magmortar could do anything, Blaze's body was aflame as he ran at the Pokemon again. Blaze hit Magmortar and it fell on its back. Blaze attempted to hit it again, but it grabbed Blaze. It stood up, not letting go of Blaze. Once up, he threw Blaze against the ground and then put his arms together. He aimed at Blaze and a small white sphere formed at the end. He was preparing a Hyper Beam.
Blaze tried to move, but was too stunned. The Magmortar fired the attack and the white beam hit Blaze, destroying much of the ground near him while doing massive damage. Blaze coughed as the attack ended, but didn't allow the Magmortar to recharge after the attack. Blaze shot up and hit it with one more of his enhanced Flame Wheel. The Magmortar fell back and fainted.
"M-Magmortar has fainted," the announcer said, a little bit of disbelief in his voice.
Blaine returned his Pokemon and threw another Pokeball. In the signature red flash, a large horse like creature appeared. It had a large mane made of fire, with a tail to match. It had a pointed horn and looked extremely dangerous. It was a Rapidash.
The Rapidash rushed at Blaze, almost as fast as Ace while using Agility. Blaze was hit by the horn as it rushed by, sweeping its head low to make contact. Blaze fell onto his back after flying a few feet. The Rapidash turned after going a little and leapt into the air. It went higher than Ace usually flew, making Light sure it was using a flying type move.
The Rapidash came down on Blaze, dealing a high amount of damage. Its move seemed to do extra damage, also, removing any doubt that it wasn't a flying type move. Blaze started to gasp for air, but stayed conscious.
"Come back, Blaze," Nick ordered. He reached back, rushing a little, as Blaze limped back over to the edge of the arena. Light realized too late that he was pulling another Pokeball out. He tried to move into the arena, but Nick threw the Pokeball, yelling, "Go, Azul."
Light muttered under his breath as the Milotic appeared, tossing her hair and making a sparkling entrance. Light was almost tempted to jump in anyway, but didn't want to disrespect Blaine by refusing to listen to the rules. Light clawed the ground, wanting something to hit.
Nick furrowed his brow and Light realized he was giving orders through telepathy. Azul opened her mouth and formed a small, watery sphere appeared. It grew and then expanded into a disc before separated into three rings.
The Rapidash started to run around the Milotic, trying to dodge the move. However, the Milotic aimed perfectly at the rushing Rapidash and it made a direct hit. The Rapidash became confused as Light had on their first encounter. It shook its head, trying to gain its sense again.
Azul flipped its tail and water erupted from the ground and whirled around her. It formed the water and then hit the Rapidash with its Surf attack. The Rapidash fell down, exhausted from the battle. Blaine waved an arm and the announcer shouted, "Stop! Blaine has forfeited the battle. Rapidash has been defeated. The challenger wins."
Nick jumped up in victory and started his dance. Azul joined him, seeming to know the exact dance and Light realized they were a perfect pair. Not wanting to look at the celebrators, Light looked away. He noticed there were a few dark looking clouds on the horizon, but didn't care.
Suddenly, the back of the fur on Light's neck rose menacingly, as though some great predator was nearby. A sense of dread came over Light. Light realized that he could detect where it was coming from and pinpointed it. The feeling seemed to come from the clouds that he had noticed, as though something more sinister hid inside them.
Light dismissed it, but couldn't get the feeling to leave or his fur to lie flat. Light looked over at the others and stopped. Blaze seemed to be frozen to the spot, and his face sent just as much a dreading as the mysterious feeling. On Blaze's face was a picture of pure panic and fear. And it was directed at him.