Lance had kindly offered up the guest quarters of the Estate House for Maya and Kadabra to sleep in that night, but Maya politely declined. She knew the next days' mission would require a few extra pieces of wardrobe only found in her closet back in Saffron. So after delivering her back to the city & a good nights rest, she and Kadabra spent the morning packing a supply bag full of gear: Her water-proof tech jacket, her thick rubber Pewter-Power brand boots, gloves and other fleece-lined layers, an extra hair-tie to pull her bronzing hair up and away from her eyes, a small lantern, protein bars & Pecha berry pokepuffs (Kadabra's favorite), a first aid kit, and of course, Kadabra's adorable orange raincoat.
By early afternoon, Lance had arrived on her balcony aboard Dragonite to pick them up, a bulky saddlebag of weather instruments in tow. His usual royal-blue suit was now replaced, by a black gore-tex jacket as thick as the hide of a wild Bouffalant that fit him like a glove, and black cargo bottoms lined with many pockets. His cape was changed out too, now jet black and double-knit with a waterproof sheen and a hood draping over the back. Wouldn't want to mess up his favorite cape while playing in the rain, Maya thought.
And off they went, soaring south out of Saffron down toward the coast.
The weather on the flight down was quite mild, a soothing sun beaming over them as they made their way down south. On the way they passed over a quite a few memorable spots; first came Route 6, right over the bricked path where Kadabra had safely escaped them on the night of their first meeting. And then the bustling sights of Vermilion, the boardwalk trail below filled with trainers and pokémon enjoying the warmth of the day.
Before long they found themselves over the trees of Route 15, the winds growing stronger now as they approached the great Seafoam Sea. There was so much nature here down near the coastline; Maya could see dotting schools of Venonat trailing along the pathways in search of their sweet-tree nectar. And just ahead of them, a soaring flock of Pidgeotto was heading their way, surely escaping north to feast on the delicious berries of the Route.
Soon they found themselves flying over the endless ocean of the Seafoam Sea, at first a gentle current dancing beneath them. But out in the distance, they could already see the thick veil of clouds shrouding over the famous Kantonian islands. The winds grew stronger and stronger as they approached, the sky growing darker now, the miles of ocean below whipping up into a frenzy with the storms.
"Hold on," Lance called back to her, "It might be a bumpy ride. I found a cave on the map where we can set up shop, but we have to get through the winds first."
Maya nodded, gripping a little tighter now onto his waist. The feel of his thick black jacket was comforting to the hands beneath her gloves.
Dragonite began to shake with a bit of turbulence in the new angry gusts, but its heavy body kept them steady on the jetstream as they cut through the first thick curtain of fog that surrounded the island. What started as a drizzle soon became spitting sheets of rain, soaking them fast & leaving Dragonite's body slick and glossy. Maya gripped tighter to the Dragon Master as he held close to his Dragon's neck, steadying his ace, one hand now holding tight to the saddlebag just in case its tether would come loose above the churning sea.
Descending now through a mask of fog, the sandy dunes of the island began to take shape. Harder and harder Dragonite's wings beat, fighting the new gale-force winds as they both peered up and saw them: a series of 6 massive tornados undulating across the island.
Lance gestured down to a cliffside, where he knew the cave would be. The rain beat them harder now as they neared their landing site, Maya's eyes peering up at the closest tornado, which stood no less than a quarter mile down in the wet sandy valley.
"Look at that," Maya pointed down at the tornado, "The lightning."
Lance peered down. The strikes of lightning in this tornado looked very different than the others; it was flashing fast, nearly two strikes per second, blasting flare after flare of light through the cracks of the wind. That was very odd, Lance thought; the other storms on the island felt calm compared to this.
Before long, Dragonite safely swooped them just inside the mouth of the cave. The winds were much quieter from inside, though when Maya's feet finally hit the floor, she noticed it was still covered in wet, heavy sand, distilled from the many days of rainwater accumulating in the island's crust.
She turned to Dragonite and smiled at it in thanks; it had done a wonderful job getting through the winds to get them this far.
They quickly set up shop. Lance unpacked the gear, his high-tech barometers and thermometers & wearable devices, switching them all to life. Maya tossed out Kadabra from its ball, dressing it warmly in its cute orange coat. She pulled the hood over its ears carefully.
"I'm very proud of you, Kadabra," she said to her friend, "But I always have been." She kneeled down to it slowly. "Please, promise me you'll be careful. I know you'll be fine. Because you're the fastest Kadabra in the world. But still... just keep your wits about you. If you don't feel safe, you just jump back to me. Okay? Remember this place. I'll be right here waiting for you."
Kadabra nodded as she squeezed her little friend's claw, her blue eyes growing serious. Lance watched from across the cave, admiring the compassionate words of her pep-talk. She must really care about her pokémon, he thought to himself.
Lance then began outfitting Kadabra in the gear; a wrist strap here, a backpack there, a temperature gauge hanging from a necklace around its pauldron-like shoulders. And then the last step, the only piece of gear that Kadabra recognized: a video camera, smaller then the one it was use to at work, but big enough to be mounted over its shoulder.
"Da-Brah!" Kadabra said, pointing the camera around. It was having fun, and Maya was relieved that her friend was always up for a new challenge. Kadabra had always been like this... a daring boldness and bravery beneath a calm, honest face.
Lance withdrew a small handheld monitor from his bag and switched it on. It immediately began wirelessly broadcasting the live video from Kadabra's camera. He and Maya peered down to it as Kadabra aimed the camera over to them, and for the first time, they gazed upon each other in a new perspective; as if watching themselves stand together in one of her ace's memories.
Maya smiled; they looked quite good together.
The tornado raged on, the lightning still flashing wildly as they all watched from just inside the mouth of the cave. They were all ready to go.
"As soon as you jump, the clock will start," Lance began, "I only need 30 seconds of the readings, that's all. Anything more is just a bonus." He adjusted one of the straps on Kadabra's arm. "The machines will do all the work. All you have to do is keep yourself safe, and get some footage of the storm."
"Dabra." It said confidently with a nod. Maya knelt down, placing Kadabra's headset over its ears. It was the same one they would always use at work, to keep in constant contact over the microphone during the matches.
"I brought this, just in case," Maya began, "The signal may not be too great, but it's worth a shot. And remember. The second you feel unsafe, just jump back. Better safe than sorry, okay buddy?"
"Dabra, Dabra." It nodded with its master's word.
Lance stood back up tall, glancing over to Maya.
"Whenever you're ready." His voice was lined with confidence. Maya would have to give the command.
She nodded, drawing in a deep breath.
Her and Kadabra peered out from the mouth of the cave to the raging storm below. Their eyes found the whipping winds of the tornado; it's bright, violent flashes emanating up at them, the whipping rain attempting to jump inside the cavern. Kadabra took its floating lotus position. Maya placed a hand on its shoulder.
They both sealed their eyes closed.
Lance watched curiously; with a few deep, connected breaths, they began meditating together. Breathing in. Breathing out.
Their eyes opened again, together, both focusing on the storm below.
It was exceedingly difficult for Kadabra to teleport to a place where it had never been before; it took a great deal of concentration and focus for it to picture the space in which it wanted to be in, to imagine its sights and its sounds, to see itself appearing there, living there, breathing in an unseen air.
"Feel the wind," Maya whispered, "Its strangely calm. The air, so cold. The pressure... your ears, can they feel it? Inside the eye."
Lance gazed on in wonder now; it was amazing, to watch them connect.
"Be careful, my friend," Maya's whisper grew serious, "Please, be careful."
"Da...Brah." Kadabra whispered. "Da...Brah!"
A blinding FLASH overtook it in an instant,
And Kadabra was gone.
After a moment, Maya back peered over to Lance, who was still staring in a quiet astonishment. He suddenly peered down at the monitor as it flashed in the blinding white light as well, the camera transmitting the teleport's flicker. Maya rose to her feet and eagerly walked over to meet his position, peering down over Lance's shoulder now at the monitor, anxiously awaiting any sign that Kadabra had made it.
"Dabra!"
From out of a FLASH of light, Kadabra re-appeared.
The first thing it saw was the wet dunes of sand beneath its floating feet, kicking up in stinging waves of brutal gusts. Kadabra shielded its face and braced itself in the air, fighting the currents as it turned around to find: An enormous wall of swirling violent wind, humming with a strange radiant ring as it encircled this sandy lot of the valley.
Kadabra had done it; it was inside the eye wall of the tornado.
The inside was much smaller than Kadabra had pictured; about the same size of the main conference room at the Times, and much quieter as well. It was true, that the eye of the storm brought forth a bit of calm.
"Kadabra," Maya's voice rung in its furry ear through the headset, "Kadabra, are you there? We see your camera feed, it's working."
Kadabra adjusted the camera over its shoulder and began filming, first grabbing a shot of the enormous wall of wind around the eye.
Back at the cave, Lance and Maya had their eyes glued to the monitor. The massive wall of wind came into view, shaking and violent and grey.
"Doing great, Kadabra," Lance said, "I'm getting great readings, 25 more seconds to go."
The wind whipping at its whiskers, Kadabra pulled up the orange hood of its raincoat tighter around its ears as it pointed the camera up now toward the middle of the storm, spying flying bits of rocky debris and driftwood coasting along in a current. Higher and higher it pointed, up toward the tornado's opening that lead out into the open grey sky. The bursts of lightning were stemming from the very top, shooting down and around the length of the eye wall.
In a FLASH, Kadabra teleported to the opposite end of the sandbar, still aiming the camera high to get a new view of the top of the tornado.
Kadabra's eyes grew wide;
There was something up there,
Near the open mouth of the storm, winding and winding in some kind of strange, dim, orange glow.
"What is that?" Maya pointed to the monitor, tracing over the orange blur as Kadabra tried to keep up with it. It shot back and forth across the eye of the storm, still too high up to get a solid look.
Lance leaned in closely; It looked quite familiar.
"Can you get closer to it?" Maya asked over the mic.
"Just 15 more seconds." Lance chimed in.
Back in the sand, Kadabra continued to fight against the winds. It began to cast a glow of telekinesis over itself now, using its psychic ability to hold steady in the current.
Its eyes then flashed with an idea; it carefully lifted the camera off of its shoulder, allowing its telekinetic glow to encompass around it. With the slight lift of its little claw, Kadabra sent the camera flying up into the heights of the sky, aiming it closer and closer to the zipping orange blur.
Maya and Lance held their breath as they watched over the monitor, the camera's perspective lifting up and up into the thickening winds of the storm. Bands of rain and hail began drizzling over it, before cutting through a new layer of fog to finally reach the mysterious object.
Before finally came into view:
Flying in the eye of the storm was a haggard, wild Dragonite!
It's wings beat heavily against the currents of the storm, the water from the rain glistening over its dull orange scales. It was bruised and tired, but its face was lined with pure rage, its teeth grinding, it's eyes furious with an unhinged ire that matched the angry whim of the storm that swirled around it.
"A Dragonite!" Maya said aloud, "Could a Dragonite be causing the storms?"
She turned to Lance, only to find his face frozen in concern.
"Tell Kadabra to get out of there, now." He said to her quickly. Her face furrowed with confusion. "Now!"
"Kadabra, did you hear that? Kadabra?"
As they watched the monitor, the enormous Dragonite suddenly LUNGED forward with a SWIPE,
and the video feed went dead.
Maya's heart dropped into her stomach.
She called for her friend again over the mic:
"Kadabra! Kadabra get out of there!"
Back in the sand, Kadabra peered around with its eyes on the sky. Its claw shielded up over its face in an effort to spot the cameras whereabouts, the whipping wind and sand making it more and more difficult to hear or see anything.
But then,
with a deafening ROAR,
Kadabra saw the orange blur SHOOT downward in its direction, cutting through the wind and the rain, roaring even louder than the wall of vicious gales that surrounded them, falling like a shooting star and aiming right for Kadabra.
FLASH!
...FLASH!
From behind a new veil of light, Kadabra suddenly appeared back in the cave near the entrance. Its fur was soaked and wild, its raincoat covered in dirt and dusty trails of sand. It peered up just as Maya tackled it into a hug.
"Kadabra!" She collapsed into its fur, the terror lined in her voice, "Kadabra. I couldn't hear you. I couldn't see you..."
"Dabra, Dabra!" Kadabra hugged back, shaking off some of the water. It had gotten out without a moment to spare.
She sighed a huge breath of relief.
"Did it attack you?" She asked her friend. It nodded.
She peered back over to Lance, who walked past them toward the mouth of the cave to gaze down to the raging tornado below. His face was painted in a cold, horrific expression now as he attempted to calm his racing thoughts.
"Is that Dragonite causing all of this?" Maya asked slowly. She eyed the dreadful look on his face with a new confusion; he looked positively sick, still staring down at the storm below.
"No," he said softly, his gaze unbroken from the storm, "That Dragonite isn't causing this violent storm. It's the other way around."
Maya took a few careful steps toward him, joining him in peering down over the rains.
"I don't understand." She whispered.
His eyes met the ground. She had never seen him look so pale; so nauseous.
He took in a slow breath, looking back out to the tornado below.
"That storm down there isn't just a twister anymore," he began softly, "It's a Dragonite ritual. A courtship ritual. And it's very rare. In all my years of studying dragons, I've never even come close to seeing one."
Maya's brow furrowed with the idea. "A courtship ritual?"
Lance nodded, the serious expression still painted over his face.
"Something you must understand," he began again, his voice low and hushed, "About all Dragon-type pokémon. Is that it's very... difficult, for them to find... companionship. It's part of the reason why Dragons are so rare. They're the top of their own food chain, so they rarely encounter one another in the wild. And when they do, they usually don't get along."
He peered out further to the grey, sandy valley below.
"But when they find the one. When they connect," he continued, "It's... electric."
The words rung through Maya's ears and shot down her spine with a chill.
"Only once a year, during the rainy season, bonded Dragonite perform this courtship ritual," he went on, "It's said that when the two come together, they wait for a big thunderstorm, and then form great twisters inside of them. That they wind themselves up with Dragon Dance, and put all their moves on display, to prove their dominance over the other pokémon. And win the heart of their partner."
"Sounds romantic." Maya said playfully, attempting to diffuse his cold distress. It did not work; he shook his head.
"Please understand," he hushed out, "This only happens once per year. And only during the rainy season. For the rest of the year, the two Dragonite go their separate ways. Back to their own separate lakes, their own territories. Sometimes they spend the rest of the year in entirely different regions of the planet."
The idea fell over Maya slowly;
They don't stay together?
"But when the time comes," he continued, "Whenever the rainy season starts again, both dragons feel the instinct to return to each other. It's in their nature; they're pulled back together to dance in one more storm. It's said to be a very special time for them, when they finally break the period of longing and meet after all those days apart."
He cast his eyes back down to the tornado.
"That Dragonite. It thinks that the rainy season has started already. Whatever is causing these storms around Kanto, has made it believe that its partner will show up at any moment." His voice grew sharper with his words, "It's been waiting all year to see its mate. But it hasn't shown up. And if its partner isn't from Kanto, then it hasn't been experiencing this weather, and it won't feel the call until the true start of the rainy season."
He thinks back to the anger painted across the Dragonite's face on the monitor, his voice falling lower.
"Did you see its eyes? It's in immense pain. It thinks its been abandoned."
Maya's eyes fell at the thought of this; it was heartbroken, waiting out in the rain for a lover who never got the message to come.
Lance turned and marched toward his gear setup near the back of the cavern, flipping his cape's black hood over his head.
"I need to go talk to it," he stated, "Maybe I can get through to it, explain that now isn't the right time."
"No, you can't," Maya protested, "It's too dangerous out there, Kadabra almost got seriously hurt."
"I need to," he said, his voice lined with resolve, "I can't just let it stay out there alone, in anguish. I can't let this go on."
"Can't we just teleport your Dragonite in to go talk to it?" Maya protested again, unwilling to see this situation unfold for a second time.
"No," he stated, "It'll see my Dragonite as a challenger, and attack. I bet it only attacked Kadabra because of its orange coat. It thought it was another Dragonite, and rushed to stand its ground."
She peered over to Kadabra, who suddenly removed its orange raincoat and tossed it near their pile of gear, floating over to Lance's side.
"Da-Brah, Kadabra." It confidently nodded at Lance, placing a hand on his shoulder in agreement. They stared back at Maya together.
His steely, silver eyes had never looked so serious; so full of determination.
I won't be able to change his mind, Maya thought.
"Please," his voice fell to a gruff whisper, "You must let me go."
The rain was picking up outside; the storm was raging on.
Her eyes met the floor again, before slowly nodding her head.
Her gaze then locked onto Kadabra's, a single thought now broadcasting over to it through her mind:
"Please,
come back safe."
Kadabra nodded wisely.
Raising its spoon into the air, Lance and Kadabra were enveloped inside the beam of its teleporting light in another FLASH!
...FLASH!
Lance found his footing on the thick wet sand, his eyes immediately stinging with the burn of its whipping winds. The wall of the storm raged around them, shards of lightning crackling through the grey howls of the wind.
He put his hand up to his face on guard, holding his hood down over his ears tightly, his cape billowing wildly as he attempted to peer around the heart of the storm. Way up near the top of the cone of the tornado, he spotted the orange blur again.
"Dragonite!" Lance shouted over the winds, "Please hear me, Dragonite!"
There was no use; his voice would not carry over the screaming of the storm.
He looked at Kadabra, who was now getting drenched in the falling rain.
His mind raced; If only there was a way I could get its attention.
"Da-Brah," Kadabra read his thought clearly: It floated further out to the center of the storm, finding a small boulder half-penetrated into the sand.
"Ka-Da-Bra!" Activating its psychic powers again, Kadabra used its telekinetic ability to envelop the boulder in its psychic aura, before lifting it out from the wet layers of packed sand and up slowly into the winds of the storm.
Aiming up toward the orange blur with the rain stinging at its eyes, Kadabra shot its arm forward, sending the boulder LAUNCHING through the winds.
A perfect throw! It WHIZZED right by the Dragonite's face.
It angrily peered down to them, crying out a furious ROAR as it raced to descend to the surface.
Lance and Kadabra stood back, watching the dragon's body fall like a crashing sun through the currents of the storm, aiming right for their position near the raging eye-wall of wind.
SLAM!
The dragon pounded into the sand feet-first, only a stones-throw away from them now, where Lance finally got a look up close at the terrifying beast: Its scales were worn and dirty, caked in a layer of blonde Seafoam sand, its wings curled and exhausted from what must have been many weeks-worth of flying through this storm alone. It's teeth snarled at the Dragon Master, it's growl lined with a white-hot anger; with a haunting, heartbroken rage.
And Lance now spotted something else: A deep purple rash spread across its orange nose, the stain of a serious poisoning.
"Dragonite," Lance called to it again over the whistling winds, "Please listen to me! Now is not the right time. Your partner will not be coming yet, but it's not your fault!"
It's face curled into another snarl as it LUNGED toward them, it's massive paws SWINGING.
FLASH!
With a blinding white flare before his eyes, Lance suddenly found himself standing behind the angry dragon now. Kadabra had teleported them behind the beast as fast as the blinking lightning on the winds.
"ROARRR!" it cried out to them, whipping back around to stomp in their new direction. It was certainly an enormous wild Dragonite; nearly as big as Lance's ace, but without the wit and discipline.
But Lance could never judge this beast; its heartbreak was inconsolable.
"Please Dragonite! Listen to me!" Lance cried, the bargaining now layered in his voice, "She will come for you one day. I promise, she will! But not now! The time is not right! These storms, they're a deception!"
"ROAAAAR!"
With the spinning WHIP of its body, the Dragonite dove toward them again, its massive tail now glowing beneath the beating rain.
"Dabra!"
With the rise of its spoon up high, Kadabra lunged forward to meet the attack like the brave golden soldier that it was, casting out a towering rainbow Reflect shield right in front of it & Lance's body.
CLANGGGG!
Lance's eyes grew wide at the immense iridescent shield, a protective invisible pane of glass between it and the raging beast. The Dragon's Tail had crashed into the screen with a sparkling, solid block, but the glow of the hit still managed to break through, now striking Kadabra square in the chest. It stumbled back a few feet to fall in Lance's position.
"ROARRR! ROARRR! ROAR!" The beast thrashed about in a tantrum, stomping in the sand and spitting its bitter anger up into the rain.
Lance helped Kadabra to its feet, his eyes still glued to the rampaging creature. A tiny wave of nausea washed over him, drying out his mouth; he wasn't sure why.
"Stay here," Lance ordered Kadabra, "I don't want it to feel threatened. It'll be okay... just let me handle it."
Kadabra eyed him nervously at his words, watching him now take a few steps out in front toward the angry dragon, the winds continuing to howl furiously around the trio in the storm.
"Dragonite," he began, his steps slow, his shoulders squaring as he remembered his training. Any break in his resolve would be felt by this poor beast, who was already in such a vulnerable state, "I know you've been waiting. I know you've been alone for so long now."
The dragon's eyes found his silver gaze, its breathing wild and heavy as it watched the strange man approach. Lance took another few careful steps, the rain falling heavier now, the wind peeling through his wet, crimson locks of hair.
"It's not easy," Lance continued, his voice hushing lower, "to do anything alone. I know what that's like."
The Dragon's face began to soften at this, but its brow remained furrowed, its wings still beating away the rain.
Kadabra's face too softened at these words. He watched Lance take another step, passing right through the boundary's glow of the iridescent Reflect, now only an arms-length away from the beast & duly defenseless.
"But you have something, that I never did," His voice fell softer now, a panging in his chest growing deeper with every word, "A bonded partner. She is in spirit with you always. She feels your anguish. She feels your pain. But she does not feel the call of these rains. Not yet. Soon, but not now."
With the rolling BOOM of thunder calling from high above them, the lightning still flickering about on the wall of the eye, the Dragon looked around itself at the storm for a quiet little moment of reflection...
Before its face twisted up again,
even angrier now,
bearing its enormous and jagged teeth in a wickedly horrible snarl, winding itself back up in its blistering rage!
Without warning it THREW its paws out to the black of the air, before winding them back in a wrathful swing, revealing a razor-sharp set of long, glowing green talons over its claws.
Kadabra FLASHED over,
but it was too late.
"ROAARRRR!"
