Glad to be done with the chapter. I sometimes hate fillers, though I do it to help pass the time. She has to travel, and that takes up a lot of space.

It wasn't as boring as I thought; I enjoyed writing as I went on. Dream sequences are somewhat important, too, so it's not all filler. Next chapter, too, will be...I'm not saying it. I'll leave it to your imagination. :P

Chapter 41
Shelter at the Moo Moo Farm

Deep growls rumbled from the sky of the peculiar abyss. The wispy air was shivering cold, and it spread through the blackness under the girl's bare feet. Faint streaks of yellow traveled across the snarling clouds welling with a silent anticipation.

Thunder reached Marina's ears, and at once she opened her eyes to the forlorn scenery. She frowned in sad recognition of it, unconsciously growing used to the fact that she continued to visit the same place in her dreams. She looked across from her, knowing who she would see. There was the solitary girl in the distance, and Marina stepped forward.

"You..." She managed to utter out, though her voice remained so stubbornly soft.

Though Marina could not make out her features, she noticed that her silky hair was of an extremely dark violet. Her bangs were straight and even, as were her twin ponytails tied high on her head. Behind her bangs, locks of hair strutted out and curved inwards near her shoulders. The locks were so similar to that of...

Marina stopped, taken aback. It was some time before she asked as loud as she could, a hint of concern in her barely audible voice.

"Is that...May...?"

The girl tilted her head, not necessarily in recognition of the name. The tears on her cheeks illuminated whenever the lightning flickered from the dark clouds. A flash of crimson caught Marina's eyes, and she grew nauseatingly uneasy as she wondered what could be the cause. Despite this, she forced herself to speak once more.

"Why are you here...?"

She moved closer to her, her every step clicking like clockwork. But as she grew close, Marina coughed as she felt something gag her neck. She moved to touch the black choker with her fingertips. She shivered and the weeds of alarm enveloped her thoughts within seconds; she looked down, fearing yet ready to fight the sensation that had once tried to take over.

However, it did not come, no matter how long she waited. Marina was still herself. She soon struggled to keep a steady, slow flow of air because of the choker and the nauseating, sorrowful feeling Marina had whenever she looked at the girl.

The rose clasp continued to hold fast no matter how many times she pressed it, and soon her hand slipped away in defeat.

What's up with this thing...? Marina wondered, hardly able to hear her fuzzy thoughts through the thunder and heat lightning. Her head lifted and she looked at the familiar girl, and gasped when she saw the illusion behind her. The transparent vision was that of a legendary beast, one she knew well.

Suicune...?!

The Pokémon's figure, however, was definitively unusual; its bright beauty was flawed and devoid of any sort of light. It loomed behind the silent girl like a shadow, sharing her emotionless gaze and stoic movements. The dark Suicune made no acknowledgment to Marina and simply turned its head, the unknown girl mimicking it.

Marina, puzzled, followed their gaze. She jumped, surprised to see something else existing in the abyss. Two other Pokémon watched them with dark glares. They both stayed, waiting, perhaps expecting something, with their upset demeanors. Their eyes shared the same severe, lifeless seethe that caused Marina to lose herself almost twice. Though she could not see the pressure surrounding them, she could certainly feel it, and the unease Marina had only grew. It was familiar, if not the same, as the girl's dark aura that stopped her from getting close...

Lapras...and Tauros, she thought faintly. She felt at a loss, sympathy filling her thoughts as she stared at them.

An instinctual desire sprouted within her heart, its roots spreading to those around her. A bitter heartache grasped Marina's soul, and she could feel herself aching the more she let the three around her remain in such a sad condition.

I want... to save them, she claimed strongly.

Purify them of that aura...!

Marina's head throbbed with drowsiness as she swam from her deep slumber. She opened her eyelids only a little, waiting as her sight overcame the artificial dizziness she experienced in her dream. With a careful breath, she was alleviated as she felt herself able to breathe freely. She slipped her hand from the light sheets covering her, lightly pulling the collar of her shirt and feeling the smooth material that her choker was made out of. Uneasiness stirred inside her.

This choker…There's something not right about it, she concluded. Would it be connected to the dream…? And then Tauros…

Immediately, Marina sat up in a panic. Tauros!

As she looked around, however, she allowed her panic to fall away to confusion.

She was in large, country style living room. At the other end of the room, she could see a breakfast bar that revealed the kitchen. There, a woman that donned an old-fashioned white apron worked busily without a glance at the girl.

Who's that? Where am I?

Intense thunder snarled outside, and she looked behind her as she felt its tremors. Rain drizzled heavily on the large windowpanes, impeding vision as lightning flashed outside. Marina watched the storm, wondering if it affected the weather in her dream.

"Ah, you 'wake now?" Turning around, she watched as the older woman set foot into the living room with a towel in hand. "Feelin' alright?"

"Y-Yeah," Marina simply responded with a nod.

"That's good t' see," her accent shamelessly spoke as a smile stretched on her face. "My husband and our children found ya sprawled knocked out on Route 38 when they're gettin' berries. Out for a few hours, ya were."

"Oh. Um, thank you for taking care of me!" Marina hid her baffled look with a grateful bow.

"Not a problem, hon."

"Where am I now?"

"Why, yer at the Moo Moo Farm on Route 39," the housewife responded in a calm tone of pride. "Famous for our delicious Moo Moo Milk."

At this, Marina smiled widely, peeling the light layer of sheets off her legs and sitting up straight. "Really? This is the Moo Moo Farm? I love Moo Moo Milk!"

"Ah, thanks hon. Everyone does; we're darn near famous fer it."

A piercing crack of thunder surprised the two, and they looked at the pattering rain outside. It was a relentless force, pounding the earth without end. The sound it made was strong, but soothing at the same time.

"With that typhoon comin', ya might as well stay with us 'till it passes," the woman said. She returned her gaze to the girl. "Yer a Pokémon Trainer, right? Where were ya headed?"

"Olivine City," Marina answered.

"Not wise t' go there now," the woman mused softly, "The place'll get flooded fer—."

But the woman paused as the lights flickered around them. Marina looked up nervously, grabbing her belt containing her Poké Balls that rested on the coffee table. Faint static could be heard through the random pauses of extinguished light. Yet they switched back on steadily, remaining that way for the time being. The two sighed in relief.

"Will it get worse than this?" Marina asked. She clipped her belt to her waist and counted her Pokémon as she ritually did.

"Probably. We have a lil' generator when the power dies on us. But with the weather this bad, it'll be hard gettin' the berries for our Moo Moo."

"Moo Moo?" she said curiously so as to keep her mind off the storm. Despite this, the thunder deeply snarled as it rolled toward them overhead.

"Yes. See, our prized Miltank, Moo Moo, fell ill not too long ago." As the woman stood and made her way back to the kitchen. "She's been miserable and unable to produce any good milk now. Can't 'ford to have her of all our Miltank get sick."

"Oh..."

"That's why my husband been goin' out and pickin' berries. They've been helpin' Moo Moo get better, but the poor thing's still sick as anythin'. An' we can't export any milk through Olivine or gather berries without facin' that monsoon out there."

For a moment, the Trainer was silent and looked down at her six Poké Balls locked around her waist. "Well," Marina looked up with an optimistic smile, "Maybe I could help."

"My god, girl," the woman sighed, "Yer a Trainer, I know, but are ya willin' to brave that with yer Pokémon every day 'till it passes?"

Before Marina could respond, the lights began to blink again. Another blinding flash of lightning poured into the window. The deep thunder pounded upon the house like a furious colossus, and the two could even feel the house shudder under its potency.

At this, Marina couldn't help but frown. She wasn't afraid of thunderstorms, they excited her even. Yet this was no ordinary one; it was a tropical storm—a hurricane. But she gave herself a smile, knowing that she had felt and been through worse.

The electricity went out for good, ushering them in darkness. A hesitant silence followed, filled with vain hope that they would come back on. They did not.

"Don't worry, we're prepared fer that," the middle aged adult turned to grab candlesticks from a basket. She calmly advanced through the room toward one of the lit candles. As she was about to light one of the spares, two voices screaming in unison tore through the hallway nearby. Marina froze, looking at the two small figures running at them.

"Mooooom!"

"Mom!"

"Mom! Mom! Mom! Mom!"

A pair of twins bounded into the room, yelling as they scrambled to their mother. While one of them successfully pivoted to face the woman, her sister slipped and clumsily fell face-first on the wooden floor.

The sibling who stood straight panted and rambled in one breath, "Mom the power went out! It was really dark even with that candle so Ali got scared and—."

"Mom, we need more candles it was dark an' scary!" The other whined in a similar fashion as she climbed to her knees. "An' I think I scraped my knees!" Yet her sibling whirled around to face her with her hands on her hips.

"Why do ya have to be so clumsy?!"

"I ain't, you pushed me 'cause you were scared!"

"I didn't push—!"

"How many times have I told 'yall to not run in the house?" retorted their mother fearlessly, her stern voice muffling the twins at once. "An' be quiet now; our guest is 'ere. Behave yerselves."

With a wax candle in hand, she gestured toward Marina. Both girls turned and their ponytails bounced as they bunched together to stare at her with their eyes wide. Put together as they were, it was easier to notice the slight differences between them, such as the direction their side ponytails were tied.

"Oh, I remember you," one of them said softly. She seemed to be a lot calmer now, but her sister remained the energetic.

"Ya better yet? Did ya wake up? I mean, uh—."

"Of course she woke up, she's right there."

Her sister turned to her with a flustered pout. "Obviously ya didn't have to tell me I can see by just lookin' at her so you don't need to—!"

"Girls!" hushed their mother as she walked by with a freshly lit candle in her grasp. The siblings quickly shut their mouths and scampered onto the canary yellow couch. Now slightly flustered herself, their mother placed the candle onto another encased in glass, which sat on the coffee table. As the flames spread onto the wick, she turned to Marina, who was smiling a little at the twins as they quietly argued with each other.

"Ya sure ya'd want to go out there?" she asked her once more.

Marina looked at her, blankly at first. Her hand clutched the PokéGear around her neck, and she nodded.

"There won't be much else I can do for you, right? I know Route 38 pretty well by now, especially where that berry tree is," she said.

For only a second, the housewife gazed with guarded eyes before standing up straight. She gave a light shrug and turned away. "Suit y'self then. I'll get my husband an' tell him. Thank you," she added.

The girls watched as she left the room, and the twins whirled to Marina on the spot.

"Are you really a Trainer?" the calmer one asked.

"Yup, I sure am," Marina answered with a smile and a nod. They began asking questions over each other, not giving her any time to answer any more.

"Where are you from?"

"How many badges do ya have?"

"They're on her jacket, silly. There's four of 'em." She smiled innocently with expectation of her sister's reaction.

"Well how was I gonna see those little things right off the bat I jus' asked without really thinkin' an' they're small too so—."

"Aw, you talk so fast I can't understand you!"

As the girls continued their verbal quarrel, Marina giggled. I can't tell who would be May and who'd be me. Her smile faded a little, looking down at her delicate white and pink PokéGear. Its green screen remained dark even as the lingering lightning flashed through the windowpane.

It was a few days before the roaring tropical storm finally dissipated from the northwestern part of the Johto region, and then a full week passed after that. The skies were a bashful white with patches of azure finally leaking through, bringing with it rays of supple sunshine. Such light poured upon the soaked-through grasslands of Routes 38 and 39. The atmosphere was plentiful and moist, a wintry coolness so desired by any who traveled through the area before the storm.

Riding on the rigid back of her Phany, who had grown into a medium-size, dark-gray elephant Pokémon known as a Donphan, Marina was sure to hold him somewhat tightly in the case that she would lose her balance. Phany trotted with glee through whatever lied in his path, unaffected by the additional weight of the girl.

They soon reached their destination, and Marina settled onto her knees as they approached the berry tree growing near the ledge that overlooked the overgrown meadow.

"Good, it's still standing," the Trainer said with a smile. "Okay, Phany, you can stop here."

Phany obeyed and waited. She carefully stood on his back and searched through the many leaf-filled branches and buds of immature berries. Picking only two larger ones and examining them, she looked down at her Pokémon. "That's enough, so let's go back, okay?"

With a soft, yet gruff, grunt from Phany, he raised his black trunk in acknowledgment. There was a slight pause before he jerked forward, nearly knocking the girl off her balance.

"Geez, Phany!" laughed Marina as she knelt. "I wasn't ready yet."

"Don," Phany replied lightheartedly, though not as adorable as he sounded when he was still a Phanpy.

The girl petted him and held the berries close to her chest as she sat down, shifting a little until she felt secure. She held his rough, black spine and leaned forward in preparation while her Pokémon walked toward the end of the ledge.

"Alright, let's get this over with."

"Donfan!"

In a quick burst of energy, Phany reared and proceeded to down the slightly steep cliff. As they descended, Marina braced herself as her Pokémon's body splashed and slid into the flooded grasses below them. Ignoring the mix of mud and water that sprinkled her clothes, she looked at her Donphan, who again nodded to let her know he could endure the water. He ran, slow at first, through the marshy meadow, causing a deep wake to ripple out around them.

When arriving back onto the muddy path, the Donphan traveled strongly, stepping on pine needles and broken branches without trouble. Marina smiled and relaxed a little, her eyes catching the old wreckage in the white fence to her left.

"It's... really calm today, isn't it?" was all she asked her Pokémon thoughtfully. She shook her head from the scene that now lurked behind her, looking ahead at the storm-battered area that so silently allowed her to pass uninterrupted.

"Don," Phany replied after a moment. He switched to a slightly faster gait as they passed the leaning wooden sign that rested on the border of Route 38 and 39.

As soon as the pair walked through the entrance of the Moo Moo Farm, cluttered with countless sticks brought about by the storm, Marina leapt off and turned to Phany. She leaned and patted his muscular trunk, which rose while Phany smiled behind his great white tusks.

"Thank you, Phany," Marina praised, "We'll probably be able to set off for Olivine City today, so stay right there. I'll be right back!"

"Donfan don!" he said, his perky attitude uplifting hers. She smiled and turned heading for the barn.

Rushing to open the large wooden door, Marina was greeted by the twins, who came running up to her. Behind them, a resting Miltank raised its head, causing the cowbell on its neck to jingle.

"Hurry up, where are the berries?"

"She has 'em in her hand, right there. Don't you see that?"

"Yes I could I jus' thought that ya were too shy to ask that yerself because ya couldn't see 'em!"

"I saw 'em first."

"Don't act like such a—."

"Here you go, one for each of you," Marina interjected. She dropped a berry into the girls' hands and watched as they stampeded toward the Miltank. The cow looked at them unsurprised with a warm strength that had filled its eyes again.

"We're feeding Moo Moo! We're feeding Moo Moo!" the twins chanted energetically.

Smiling fondly at them, Marina waved and shut the barn door best she could. She sighed after a while.

"Back already, hon?"

Marina turned around and nodded. "Yup. The weather is so calm that it was a breeze. Our fastest trip yet!"

"Weather's fine indeed." The middle-age woman agreed with a nod, folding her arms over her apron. She walked with Marina as they entered the house and into the living room that was still lit with candles. "But whew, I'm surprised. Once ya got the hang of those trips, ya started goin' on yer own."

With a giggle, Marina strode to the kitchen counter, where a bottle of milk awaited her. She picked it up and removed the cap before taking a sip.

"My Pokémon helped me a lot," she said. "I'd take a lot longer if it wasn't for my Donphan." She glanced out the window and placed the bottle to her lips again, draining nearly half of it and sighing afterwards, content.

"Ya got a milk mustache there, hon," the woman told her with a laugh.

"...Oh!" Giggling, Marina reached for a napkin.

"My husband got back from Olivine not long after ya left," she mentioned and added amused, "Sleepin' now."

"What'd he say about Olivine City?" Marina asked as she leaned against the counter, carefully drinking more milk from her glass.

"Said it was good. Power's up there now, too. So ya can leave whenever you want."

"Great!" The girl jumped up, though she quickly regained her composure. "What about Moo Moo? Is she okay?"

"Moo Moo'll be jus' fine, hon. Thanks to yer help, really. We can't thank ya enough."

"It's no problem." Marina bowed a little, smiling as she placed the empty bottle on the counter and made her way to the coffee table in the living room. Her pink backpack leaned against it while her PokéGear rested on top, and Marina took them both to put them on. She grasped the PokéGear in her hand, however, and sighed in encouragement.

"Ya leavin' already, hon?"

"Yup, sooner the better," Marina responded, "I've already stayed so long, I even stuck around for Thanksgiving dinner with you all. I really have to get going to get my next badge."

"We didn't mind yer company, it was nice havin' ya around," the woman admitted with a hint of friendliness. "If ya want, when ya come back from Olivine, visit us, won't ya?"

Marina smiled at her as she turned to head for the door. "I'll try my best."

"We'll give ya some Moo Moo Milk, free of charge," she offered almost jokingly.

"I'm definitely coming back!" exclaimed Marina, laughing freely.

"Lookin' forward to it."

Marina felt herself smile again as she saw the woman doing the same. High in optimistic spirits, she nodded and waved, opening the door where her Phany waited outside.

"Bye!"

To be honest, I almost forgot Marina likes milk. It's been forever since the fourth chapter.

I find it easier to write about the thunderstorms. There's been so many severe thunderstorms around here lately. I'd love them if I didn't freak out over tornadoes or loss of power. Oi.

See you later, dear readers!