FYI: There are some themes from another TV show in this chapter. I'm curious if anyone knows what it is.
Disclaimer: I don't own Pokémon.
Piplup POV:
"Think of it this way. You're a unique, useless freak" my brother's venomous voice spoke.
'No, not this dream again!' I thought as I struggled in the filthy, old rope binding me.
"At some point the breeder was going to sell you to some laboratory to be tested and tortured" he continued. "You'd be lucky if one of those tests killed you. But now you can save us worthy Pokémon AND die quickly!" He laughed darkly. "Well, maybe quickly. Depends on how hungry those Ekans are."
He and all the other Piplup abandoned me and disappeared into the trees, as they always did. Even though I knew this was a dream, it still hurt to see. None of them cared about me whatsoever.
"What have weee here?" a voice asked from behind me. I turned around to see that awful Ekans a foot away, with many more behind it. "A niccce, young, juicy Piplup; giftwrapped just for meee." I watched it rear back as it prepared to eat me. "Don't worry little one. I'll make this quick for you."
And with that, everything abruptly turned a foggy white, leaving me standing in the middle of nothing as the nightmare was finally over. I sighed sadly and shook my head. I knew this was all just a dream, but it still hurt as if it were fresh. Hopefully my next dream wouldn't be so bad.
As I glanced around, I noticed a dark shape coming towards me. I couldn't make out what it was through the white fog as it moved closer and closer. Whatever it was, though, it had an aura that felt familiar, and in a good way.
When it came into focus, I realized why the aura felt so familiar. "Articuno" I uttered in surprise. "Is that you?"
"Hello again, Piplup" she greeted. "I told you we'd meet again soon." True, she did say that. But that didn't explain her random appearance.
"Why are you here?" I asked. 'And how?' I wondered.
"You were having a bad dream" she answered with a shrug. "It seemed like a good time to help." Help?
"What do you mean 'help'?" I asked, my curiosity peeked.
"I know about Emolga and the threat she poses with her electricity" Articuno explained, her expression not changing. "She has her own issues, ones that torture her every day. Much like you do." Articuno paused, shaking her head slightly. "Anyways, I'm here because I can help you, Piplup. There's a technique I can teach you to counter Emolga's electric attack." Yeah, that did not seem possible.
"How?" I asked. "Not that I doubt you, but I'm a water type, and water's weak to electricity. Right?" I saw her grin, much to my surprise.
"True, and so are flying types like me" she answered. "But that doesn't mean you can't use electric attacks to your advantage, like in a contest." She continued before I could question her. "I learned how to use Steel Wing to redirect electric attacks, and now I want to teach it to you."
"With Steel Wing?" I asked with concern. "I guess I know it, but it's only a move I've tried using when I'm alone. I don't think I'm any good at it." Articuno shook her head.
"Don't doubt yourself" she encouraged. "I've seen you do it before and it was really good. I know you can do it."
"If you say so" I answered, still feeling unsure. Was it really any good?
"Let me explain how an electric attack works" she began, and I sat down and nodded for her to continue. "There is always a form of energy in the air, a positive and a negative energy." She motioned around her with her wing. "Electric Pokémon have the ability to sense this and take both the positive and negative energy out of the air, creating an imbalance. This disruption is then formed into an electrical move, such as Thunderbolt or Discharge." She folded her wings back in. "Metal conducts electricity, making it naturally attractive. Using Steel Wing lets the electricity pass through your wings without harming you."
"So, in short, you use the opponent's move against them, right?" I asked.
"That's right" she confirmed, and I smiled. I got it right! "Now let's practice the motion." I nodded and stood up. "Stretch your flippers out wide, like this." She spread her large blue wings out to their full length, making her look much larger than before. I did the same, although it was nowhere near as impressive as she was. "Good, now use Steel Wing to harden them as much as you can; like this." Her wings turned a bright silver, unlike the dull grey mine did. I looked down, embarrassed.
"It's alright Piplup, that's actually really good" she encouraged. I looked up to see her smiling. "No two Steel Wings look exactly alike. It's strength, not looks, that make a good Steel Wing." She moved her left wing forward to gently tap mine. A metallic ring sounded as her wing made contact. "And I can tell yours is exceptionally strong." I smiled.
"Thanks" I said appreciatingly. Articuno smiled back before continuing.
"Now use the power of Steel Wing to create a metal path through your wing joints and across your shoulders" she instructed. "Make sure you connect the two paths together. This is important as the electricity won't hurt you as long as there is a metal pathway connecting both of your flippers."
I focused on the energy from Steel Wing and tried to expand it between both of my flippers. It was a strange feeling, like a metal bar was inside my upper body. Heh, actually, there WAS a metal bar inside my upper body, and boy was it heavy! "Okay, I think I got it" I told her.
"Alright, now point one of your flippers at the incoming attack and the other one at where you want to redirect it" she said, moving her left wing to point at me and then her right wing to point away from her. "Make sure the attack hits the tip of your flipper first. The electricity will follow the metal in the Steel Wing and pass out your other flipper, leaving you unharmed." She grinned. "You can also send the electric attack right back where it came from." She moved her right wing forward and pointed it straight at me. "Nobody else, Pokémon or human, has realized the vulnerability of an electric attack. By taking the energy out of the air around them, the user creates a brief energy vacuum. This causes the air around them to be unstable and needing to replace the energy it lost." Articuno paused. "Returning that same energy into the unstable air causes a massive explosion, resulting in devastating damage." Her eyes began to lightly glow. "I'll show you the first time I used it. It was a long time ago when I was fighting for my friends lives." Articuno faded before my eyes as a new landscape formed in front of me.
The landscape finished forming and I found myself floating in the air. Dark clouds above me boomed with pent-up thunder. No rain was falling, at least not yet. Below me was a vast ocean with a sliver of land, presumably an island, in the distance.
I gasped as a huge Flamethrower flew past my shoulder. I looked forward and saw smaller and younger-looking Articuno veer to the side and out of the way. I gasped a second time as I saw a Zapdos fly down out of the black sky behind her and fire a Thunderbolt, which barely missed. Articuno paused, stopping to hover in place. I gasped yet again as a Moltres flew past me and towards Articuno, while the Zapdos also advanced on her.
While the Moltres distracted her with constant Flamethrowers and Fire Blasts, the Zapdos flew closer behind her and fired a Thunderbolt. I watched as both Articuno's wings turned silver as she used Steel Wing. Without hesitation, she turned slightly and raised her right wing to point at the incoming Thunderbolt and pointed her left wing at the Moltres. The electric bolt hit the tip of her right silvery wing, but instead of damaging her, the Thunderbolt passed straight through and exited her left wing. The Moltres, who had no time to dodge even if it wanted to, was struck full force. It screeched loudly and I watched in amazement as it fell out of the sky and down towards the ocean. I looked back up and saw the Zapdos fire another Thunderbolt at Articuno, who was now facing it. Once again, she used Steel Wing, except this time she pointed her left wing at the Zapdos, just like she had done to me. Like it had before, the Thunderbolt passed straight through her right wing and exited her left wing. Just before the Thunderbolt hit the Zapdos, a bright flash filled my vision, quickly followed by an ear-piercing explosion. I saw the Zapdos falling out of a newly formed dark cloud, a trail of black smoke in its wake.
The vision quickly faded, and I was once again surrounded by white fog. I looked around for Articuno, but she was nowhere to be seen. I marveled at the display. Never had I seen a Pokémon with such power, strength, and knowledge.
Just who was this legendary blue bird?
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