Staravia and Dodrio

The sky was red before that dawn, leaving an ominous warning to those Pokemon who woke up to it. The air was still, as if nature itself anticipated what was to come. Ever since last night, the field had been empty; the residents had slept elsewhere in fear of what was going to happen. At the edges of the field, there amassed an enormous number of Pokemon, quiet save for the occasional flutter of wings in eager anticipation. They were split up into two sides. On both sides, they were all Staravias. Their gray and black feathers were streaked with yellow and red or green and white today. These markings made by smearing berries or dust on their bodies were the signs of war. The younger Starlies and the older Staraptors had all stayed out of this, either unable to participate or not interested in doing so.

There was one lone Pokemon there that was not a Staravia. She was a Dodrio, and she stood at the entrance of the field on a path that led back to town. In respect to the rules, she had not stepped into the boundaries of the field yet. She wore no signs of war and did not appear nervous at all. Indeed, one of her three heads was still napping while the other two gazed calmly around the area. Often, their looks fell on the center of the field.

In the center of the field, there was a mound of earth that wasn't very large. But it was tall enough to stand over the rest, to make whatever or whoever was there noticeable. At the moment, there was an energy shield sitting on the mound. Its glow flickered occasionally as its time came to an end. Underneath it, barely viewable from where all the Pokemon waited, there was a small instrument. A bamboo flute of two bodies, with a long leather cord attached to it. It was small, but was the reason for all this tension.

This had all started a week ago...

…

"Please, let the Priestess talk!" a Fearow called out into the meeting hall, trying to quell the squabbling between various representatives of the Flying Pokemon in the area. It was a trouble at every such meeting, but one would expect a time of such importance to be respected.

"Thank you," the Altaria said quietly. All of the flocks were allowed to keep their own laws and customs, but the High Priestess to the Sky Dragon was the closest thing the Flying Pokemon had to a person who ruled over all of them. Technically, any of the legendary Pokemon that could fly had to be obeyed. As the spokesbird for one of them, the Priestess could overrule any of the others.

But she was advanced in years and many birds in their prime no longer respected her. "But our issue is more important!" a Staravia called back. He got agreement from his kin, both other Staravias and the Staraptors.

"I doubt it," the Fearow said.

There was a tremendous clatter as a rock struck the metal beams of the open-air meeting hall. "Shut up and let's get this dealt with so we can move this meeting on!" an Aerodactyl shouted.

"We'll get to every issue if there is order," the Priestess Altaria said. "Now, I have come here to announce that I am retiring from my position. It is getting harder for me to fly to the place where I need to perform my duties and keep up with all of you. So I will be passing on the Wind Flute shortly."

"About time!" a Pidgeotto said, getting laughs from those around him.

She lowered her head. "If all of you keep up this attitude, the only thing that will come of it is strife and division. The Wind Flute will be given to the one who can claim it, as it has always been in our tradition. Tonight, I will place it in the Wind Meadow and a protective shield will come around it. The shield will be impenetrable. A week from today, when the sun rises, the shield will weaken, allowing a suitable candidate to pick up the Flute within it. When the candidate takes it to the top of Sky Tower and plays a note on it, that Pokemon will become the next High Priestess to the Sky Dragon. If a Pokemon who is not suitable to the job tries to take the Flute from the shield, they will be repelled. If the Flute is not taken to the Tower within a day, then it will return to its shield. I hope that it does not take long for the next Priestess to appear. I have..."

Before she could continue, one of the Staravias spoke up. "Well you can be assured that the perfect Pokemon for the job will replace you, because it's going to be me!"

"No way!" another Staravia said. She belonged to a different flock; although they were of the same kind, the two flocks rarely got along. "Our Lady will, because she's the wisest and smartest Pokemon ever!"

"She is not better than me in any way," the first Staravia argued. "She doesn't deserve the honor."

"You just want to make your flock the most powerful around, and we're not going to stand for that!"

That triggered a loud argument between the Staravia and the Staraptor representatives. The other Pokemon tried to get them to quit. While none of the others wanted a Staravia Priestess, few of them would dare say it. The Star-birds kept huge flocks including all three levels of their line. Going against one of them could trigger the whole flock to attack or shun the one who offended them. They were already too powerful, for sheer numbers and being one of the stronger birds around.

However, one Pokemon did dare speak up against them. One member of the Dodrio representatives, usually a quiet faction, stepped into an open area and spoke above the clamor. "Neither your nor this Lady are suitable for the role of Priestess!" she said, making her voice rise above the crowd by speaking with all three of her heads. Once the noise lowered, she continued with only two. "I will attempt to claim the Wind Flute, for the honor of Rayquaza."

After a moment of silence, the Staravia and the Staraptor representatives burst into laughter, from both flocks. "You? I hardly see your kind fly! You don't have a chance of getting to the top of Sky Tower. How are you supposed to be worthy of becoming the High Priestess?"

One of the Dodrio's heads observed the crowd of bird Pokemon there, partly looking for trouble. But her other two heads became busy with thoughts of how the High Priestess was chosen. She hadn't come here intent on making herself seen. She knew it was hard to make any one voice heard here. But, she knew that if one of the Star-bird flocks gained a Priestess, then they would become absolutely intolerable. She doubted any of them could touch the Wind Flute when it had its shield around it. But she might want to be prepared.

Unfortunately, she became so wrapped up in thought, even with two minds busily working out what could be said, recalling what had been written about the position, figuring out if she really wanted to disrupt her life by taking the position, and many more things, that she couldn't respond to the Staravia's question for a good fifteen minutes. She hardly moved, saved for eye movements and occasional slight head turns from her alert head. The Staravias laughed at her again, taunting and teasing her. In the meantime, the others tried to get the meeting back on track and quiet the Staravias from their insults and later more arguing.

After the fifteen minutes, one of her peers finally acted on his thoughts to pull her back to their area. It took another ten minutes for him to get her attention enough to advise her to slip out the side before the meeting ended and the Staravias came after her. But instead of leaving as he wanted, she put herself in the back area where the organizers of the meeting gathered.

She waited until the elderly Altaria came back there in order to leave before everyone else, to avoid squabbles and hassles. "Excuse me," the Dodrio said in one voice, "but may I ask you a few questions? I may have spoken up too soon, but since I did, I wish to know more before I attempt this."

The old Priestess cooed, pleased at that. "Of course. Let's head out to somewhere quieter, though. I'm sure your fellows will inform you of what else was discussed."

…

Now, the day had come. Many eyes were on the eastern horizon, while other eyes were on the shield on the mound. The two Star-bird flocks had bickered about this all week, even come to blows already. But they were saving their biggest efforts for this morning. All of their Staravias were in the trees, waiting for the sign from the sun to begin. They were thinking of power and glory.

But that was not what would win the Wind Flute.

Then, a brilliant line of golden-red light appeared on the horizon. The sun was rising, and for the moment its power wasn't enough to blind one looking at it. The shield on the mound began to flicker with more intensity until, once the first ray of the sun fell upon it, its visual appearance faded to a mere distortion of air.

And the trees erupted as the Staravias took to the air and flew right for their opponents. They screamed threats at each other and collided into battles of beaks and feathers. Before long, it was hard to tell any one of them from another. They fought in the air and on the ground. Even the two females picked as the flock's preferred candidate for High Priestess were fighting, ignoring the Wind Flute in favor of defeating their enemies.

The Dodrio walked calmly along the path through the field. As she wasn't a Staravia, the Pokemon around ignored her as she was not a rival. Her two outer heads kept eyes on the battle around her, watching for signs of danger or of being noticed. Her central head looked straight ahead at the mound, watching the shield and seeing if one of the others dared come down to get it. None did.

At the mound, she observed the shield a moment. While she had learned much from the former Priestess, she wanted to be sure. Her three minds soon agreed that it was fine. Her central head then dropped down past the shield and picked up the flute's cord in her beak. After flipping it to rest on her central neck, she turned around and walked back out of the battlefield. Once she was past it, she broke into a run heading directly for Sky Tower. She could fly, but was much faster and more graceful when on her two feet.

By the twilight of that day, she was blessed by Rayquaza as the new High Priestess and the Staravias finally realized that the object they had been fighting over was long gone.

…

Dodrio Heart Gold entry: It collects data and plans three times as wisely, but it may think too much and fall into a state of immobility.

Staravia HG/SS entry: They maintain huge flocks, although fierce scuffles break out between various flocks.

Bit of a morality story this time, but those can be fun too.