Electrike, Manectric, and Gastrodon

A herd of Stantlers were grazing peacefully in the meadow. It was a lazy afternoon, with hot dry air, cloudless skies, and not a hint of a breeze. A pack of Poochenyas lay in the shade of a lone tree, but made no signs that they were on the hunt. The Pokemon sought to move as little as possible, to avoid getting overheated. At least, most avoided motion.

There was a violent ripple in the tall grasses, a straight line shot that was easier to see the result than the cause. The Poochenyas lifted their heads, to see what had caused the shifting. And then a sound hit them, a strong sound that they could feel in their bones.

ZOOM!

The Stantlers panicked and ran away. The Poochenya herd growled, bracing for battle. But the zooming Pokemon was already long gone.

At the start of the grass ripples, an Electrike started his slowdown stride. He dropped to subsonic speed, then dug into the ground to slow himself further. Bursts of sparks started to appear; his fur was already filled out with static energy. There didn't seem to be enough room for his slow down, though, and he ended up crashing into a pond.

The water hissed as his electric charge leaked out into it. Electrike shook himself, sending off another shower of sparks. Then climbed up onto the shore. "That was a great run!" He turned to get a long drink of water.

While he was at it, a Magikarp popped up and splashed him. "I keep telling you, stop doing that! It hurts when you shock the water! And you knocked out three of my cousins because they were too close to you."

He stopped drinking and stuck his tongue out at the fish. "Well bad luck for you if your pond is at the end of my cool down stretch."

"Can't you stop before you crash into the pond?"

"Maaaybe," he replied, toying with Magikarp. "But it's so nice to have a cool dunk in the pond after a run."

"But we live here!"

"So do I."

Magikarp shook a fin in the air. "Well I'm sick of this daily routine. Gastrodon, get him!"

The pond's surfaces gurgled. Then a large slimy Pokemon burst out into the open. He had pink skin with a two-horned helmet. The back of his neck and body were covered in a brown skin that seemed like it should have been armor. Gastrodon snarled, then said, "Rude one, you are to be punished for your indiscretions."

His deep earthy voice was intimidating at first, but Electrike recovered quickly. "Hah! What're you gonna do? Slime me? You can't catch me!" He darted into the tall grass, which grew well above his head. "You won't even be able to find me," he added in a singsong tone.

Gastrodon glowed for a moment, then shot a stream of slick mud into the grass. Electrike easily dodged it. However, that kind of mud would ruin his built up static. So he raced back across the field to the hole where he lived.

For the next week, this afternoon repeated itself. Electrike would race across the field and crash into the pond. Gastrodon would rise up and fight him. The battles never lasted long. Because Electrike was short to the ground, green as the grass, and fast like the lightning, the muddy Pokemon could never hit him.

As much fun as it was, Electrike was tiring of being lectured every day. "He says respect your neighbors," he grumbled one evening. "He says to control my powers. Well who does he think he is to ruin my fun? I shouldn't fight him like this... but if I was bigger, I'd show him who's boss. Yeah."

He went to sleep thinking these thoughts. When he woke up, he was in fact bigger. And blue. And with a large yellow mane that lay across his neck and down his sides.

He saw this all in a small stream next to his hole. Smiling to himself, the new Manectric puffed himself up with pride. "Now that's a handsome face! Let's see that slimy fiend take me on now."

A crackling above his head responded. Looking up, he saw a small gray cloud hovering over him. It was little more than a puff now, vibrating the air so that what little moisture was there appeared. It just amused him.

Later that day, he went on his daily run. He was certain that he was going faster now. And yet, his fur didn't fill up like before. It was building up even more static. His mane hairs began to stand straight up, like a steeple. He changed directions to gather up more static, startling even more Pokemon with this change in routine. In the end, though, he crashed back into the lake to stop.

When he came out to shake himself, all the water drifted up into the little thundercloud. It had grown more solid and darker. Little sparks flashed across it occasionally. Manectric laughed. "Well, I suppose you're a new friend."

The pond surface gurgled as Gastrodon came back out. "I know it's still you, Rude One. You must stop disturbing the fish of this pond."

He lifted his head haughtily, sending a couple of sparks to the ground. "Whatever, slimeball. I'm sure it would only make their day even more boring if I didn't stir things up like I do."

"You injure your innocent neighbors. This is unacceptable." Gastrodon glowed, preparing his mud attack.

Manectric threw a jolt of electricity at him, then darted into the grass as usual. This time, however, his rival nailed him. The mud coated his fur, negating the static charge and making him sticky all over. He howled. "What was that for? How did you do that?"

Gastrodon made a jabbing motion with his helmet horns. "I can see you now from that cloud above your head. In the end, you cannot escape justice."

"Whatever, freak," he grumbled, then went to run away.

However, the stickiness of the mud made it harder to move. It clumped his fur, preventing any static buildup for now. As it hardened, its weight was a burden. But that wasn't the worst of it. No, the worst was how the other Pokemon saw his state and laughed at him. None offered to help him. In fact, they seemed jolly that someone had gotten the better of him.

By the time Manectric made it back home, he felt miserable.

For a few days, Manectric didn't run across the field to gather static. He ran around his home area instead. He missed having a nice dunk in the pool after his runs. It had always been so refreshing. But he didn't want to mess with Gastrodon.

Then, as he was drinking out of his stream, he heard a familiar gurgle. He looked up to see Gastrodon wading along the stream. Manectric sniffed, but poised himself to run. "You... what do you want?"

Oddly enough, Gastrodon bowed his head politely. "I want your help. We may need your help."

"Why're you asking me? You kept badgering me about not coming into the pond."

"That is because I owed the Magikarp school for letting me stay in there. But the problem that drove me to seek their help now drives me to seek yours." He looked up at the sky.

"Like what kind of problem?"

"This weather. The sun shines brightly on cloudless days, over and over again. The air is dry; the ground is dry. This drought is bad for me. It is becoming bad for other Pokemon as well. Bad for you, even."

He shook his mane, sending a shower of sparks over his body. "How so? It's good for static."

"But you need water to survive, as does most life. The water is drying up."

"This stream is slower and smaller than normal."

"It may stop in days to come. We need more water to come."

"How can I solve that?"

Gastrodon then made a strange gurgling-warbling sound and shifted his body back and forth. The air shimmered and then raindrops began to fall lightly. But he shook his head. "I can make it rain. But these days, my power is weak and it hardly fills the ground's needs. You now have that cloud that hangs over your head."

"Really," he grumbled, recalling how it had betrayed his position.

"And I know that when electricity is strong, the storm will be strong. I thought, perhaps, if we worked together, we could call a rain shower to end the drought and satisfy everyone."

"You want to work with me?"

"I believe that you have learned your lesson. And I am not one to hold grudges, especially in a time of need."

Manectric felt impressed, and further humbled, by Gastrodon's words. Would it be better to be more like him? It used to be just about having fun, but the drought was an important issue. He nodded slowly. "All right, I'll see what I can manage. But you're right, this rain you've called isn't strong."

"I can make it stronger by continuing to call it, but that wears me out. That is why I want you to affect the electricity, to encourage it."

The Electric Pokemon closed his eyes so he could focus on the electric charge of the objects around him. He hadn't paid much attention to this lately, so he was surprised when he could read this energy all the way into the sky. There, he sensed a dead pool of air. It was keeping the weather of the area stagnant. But just beyond this pool, there was a massive dense flow of water and air.

Gastrodon began his gurgle-warble again. The local rain tried to strengthen itself. Manetric felt that if he could break up the dead pool above, it would help. He focused his energy on that area, gathering a charge around himself and in that air. Electricity didn't like to build too much, so the energies sought out paths to opposite charges to release. He felt a touch from the dead pool above and...

KRA-KOW!

The surge of power left him frazzled, but mostly unharmed. The dead pool weakened greatly. With this slid towards atmospheric instability, the water dense air rushed in to fill the gap. Manectric's actions had shifted other charges as well, setting off a chain reaction of lightning bolts disturbing the quick moving black clouds. Wind whipped up sharply, trying to stabilize everything, but it was too late. The storm had been born, and it doused the thirsty plains in rain.

Gastrodon made a pleased gurgle, shaking himself in enjoyment. "Thank goodness it worked. You did well."

"You too..." he paused as he saw a thick curtain of rain approaching them. "Wait, now my home is going to flood!" He rushed back to his hole and began anxiously checking the strength of the dirt walls.

Before long, Gastrodon was at the entrance. "Don't fear, my friend. I can drain any water that would try to invade."

Manectric paused, then came up and sniffed him. "Friend, huh?"

He bowed his head. "If you wish."

Touched, he bowed back. "That would be great, thank you."

…

Sapphire entry: Electrike runs faster than the human eye can follow. The friction from running is converted into electricity, which is then stored in this Pokemon's fur.

Sapphire entry: Manectric discharges strong electricity from its mane. The mane is used for collecting electricity in the atmosphere. This Pokemon creates thunderclouds above its head.

Gastrodon Platinum entry: Long ago, its entire back was shielded with a sturdy shell. There are traces of it left in its cells.

My family is full of weather spotters, so a lot of this kind of information gets thrown about. I like being able to use such random facts in stories.