Chapter 44: Storm Sheltering

"The rain pelted down upon me from all sides, my fur having long since been drenched after the first few seconds the storm began. The heavy downpour obstructed my view, making it impossible to see in front of me save for when the lightning lit the sky on occasion. And with the surrounding darkness all around, it would make easy for one to get lost, which is what I'm sure would happen to me if shelter hadn't provided itself soon.

Raindrops were constantly in my eyes, causing me to rub them despite the fact I was keeping them covered as best I could. The wind wasn't helping much either. Because of my small size, I could feel myself being pushed around, verifying my change in course, even though I tried correcting this. I soon had to stop, realizing that this fruitless effort would only result in me truly getting lost the more I walked forward. I would have to wait until the next time lightning flashed to find a suitable place to take shelter, provided there was one nearby.

I didn't have long to wait as the entire sky lit up for about three seconds. It was enough to quickly look around, but not enough time to find anything as the sky fell dark again. What I at least knew within those three seconds was the fact that I was still close by the cliff wall, despite the wind pushing me away from it. That put some of my worry to rest. Now if I could only find some shelter to get in out of this rain. As if on cue, the sky lit up again, the lightning dancing across the sky for a few seconds longer this time as I looked out what was opposite the cliff wall. And what I did see was nothing but a vast landscape going on for possibly miles, having long since walked past the edge of the woods. Darkness enveloped me again, leaving me to wait once again.

As I waited, I thought about how things were going back at the town. Hopefully Laura and Zack's trainer didn't get in too much trouble with the DCA for what I had done. Come to think of it, it hadn't even crossed my mind what might have happened after I pulled my little stunt. I could only hope that they weren't given their second to third ticket. Not only that, but there was Zack to consider as well. There are certain things that get him riled up if there's a particular person or pokemon he doesn't like. Or if there's something in general he doesn't approve of. Unfortunately, the DCA are the type of people he does get riled up over. And if he just so happened to lose his cool around them, there may be the possibility that my actions caused the group to be disbanded, if not they hadn't received a second ticket for saving the Drowzee.

And speaking of the Drowzee, I could only hope that he had taken cover back in the woods when it first began to rain. But then again, with the sky as dark as it was added with the wall of rain everywhere, there was no telling if he had been smart enough to take shelter or if he was following from behind at a slower pace. I could only hope for the best from the situations and trust that Zack heeded my words.

I looked back at the cliff wall as the sky lit up again, hoping to find anything to take cover from the rain. Luckily, moments before the sky went dark, I spotted an opening in the wall. It didn't look too terribly big, but it was enough for pokemon such as myself to fit into.

I moved slowly towards the opening, being guided by the lit-up sky every few minutes so I wouldn't lose sight of my destination. Upon reaching it, I squeezed myself through, the opening being a tad bit narrow, but nevertheless making my way in and collapsing on the ground. I breathed heavily, the constant wind change having exhausted me. My eyes were heavy from both that and the nonstop pelting of the rain. I brought both my paws to my face and rubbed them to clear the blurriness and what exhaustion I could before moving to get up.

Looking around the small cavern, which I assume was such, there really wasn't much to look at. It wasn't small, but it wasn't big either. At the very most, it was just enough to shelter a small group of pokemon. I looked about the ground, hoping I would find some dry twigs to burn so as to dry my fur. As expected however, there were none to be found.

I let out a sigh and sat down with my back to the wall as I looked out at the storm, watching the rain dance about as the wind whipped it in all directions. It was as if they were the perfect partners in tune with their own style of dancing. I tuned my ears to listen to the pitter pattering of the rain, my eyes drooping to the rhythm until they closed completely and sleep came upon me in an instance.

I'm not entirely sure how long it was I slept. It must not have been very long for I found myself waking with a start to the clap of thunder. Rubbing the sleep out of my eyes, I stood stretching, looking out at the raging storm in the process. Not much had changed since I nodded off. As a matter of fact, it seemed as though it had picked up, what with the wind whipping furiously and the rain pelting the ground as though an onslaught of pebbles were being thrown down at a breakneck speed. The cool air that came flowing in caused a shiver to run down my spine, my damp fur being partially the reason. I could still feel my eyes drooping slightly as I leaned upon the wall and watched leaves and brambles whip by.

As tired as I was however, an unsettling feeling set in as I watched the weather from within. I couldn't quite place a paw exactly on what it was. All that I could tell was that something felt off balance with said weather, like a shift in the natural environment had been tampered with. It was perplexing to think about, but was quickly dismissed as the sky lit up again, a silhouette form of a pokemon being seen about a yard or so from the cliff's opening. Normally I'd be questioning as to why a pokemon was out braving a storm like this, but from the few seconds I saw the form of the pokemon to the lightning confirming my assumptions the sky next lit up, wonder and curiosity had taken place.

If I were being honest with myself, there was barely anything about this pokemon I knew. From how stand offish his personality was, one would have figured he'd find some place to wait out the storm until it had subsided. With that thought in mind, I squeezed through the gap back out into the fray, aiming to lead him to the shelter. A storm like this was bound to fatigue him, seeing as how he struggled against it, which is what happened to me no sooner had I stepped outside. I felt the strength of the wind pushing me back, forcing me to bend down and firmly plant my paws upon the ground. My fur was instantly drenched with rain as my vision was blinded by the mixture of water and darkness. Thankfully, I had the lightning to aid me as I scanned for the pokemon, instantly spotting him before it went dark.

Tensing my body, I slowly stood up, fighting the wind for control of movement. When I was certain I was more stable, I began to move in the direction where the pokemon was, stopping every few seconds until the sky lit up. When it did, I looked for the pokemon on the off chance I was going too far. Thankfully, I hadn't and was mere feet from him when, upon the next flash of lightning, he suddenly collapsed. Figuring that his fatigue had been the cause of it, I took my last few steps towards him, crouching down as I picked up his left arm and looped it over my head. "Come on!" I yelled out to him, hoping he could hear me. "There's shelter not too far from here!"

I tried my best to hoist him up, but found that his body weighed plenty more than mine did. Nevertheless, I placed all my energy into lifting him up, managing to get the side of him I had up off the ground while the other half of him hung limply on the ground. I breathed heavily as I proceeded to get us back to the cave as quickly as possible. My muscles burned with each step I took, threatening to drop the pokemon so I could rest. And yet, I endured, panting heavily as I dragged the pokemon all the way back to the cave.

As I neared the opening, the pokemon stirred, my ears catching the faintest mumbling. "What's going on?" he asked, looking to his right at his dropped half before turning to look right at me, his droopy nose blowing in the wind. I wasn't sure if he recognized me right away, but didn't make any indication of getting away or telling me off, which was a good thing… for the moment anyway.

Taking the opportunity, using what strength I had left, I hoisted him up to the opening in the cliff, having lost it on my way back for several minutes resulting in me stopping to wait for the lightning to find it again, I said to him, "Get in. There's shelter inside."

The Drowzee stared at me with tired eyes for several seconds before turning to look at the opening, staring blankly at it for a time before slowly standing upon his own two feet and entering the crack, but getting stuck due to his water weight hips. I pushed from behind, helping shove him through until we both made it inside, collapsing on the ground cold, wet, and exhausted. After a bit of silence, I slid my head back to look at him and asked, "You ok there bro?"

I watched as the Drowzee's body stiffened, his head rising up to look back at me. "Great!" he said with annoyance. "It's you. Why did you bring me here?"

"I saw you collapse," I told him. "I figured it'd be best to bring you in to wait it out."

"I didn't need your help!" the Drowzee yelled. "Why the hell do you keep bothering me? I would have made it back."

"Better safe than sorry," I said, my claws scraping the ground as I flexed them.

"Whatever," the Drowzee said as he got up and walked over to one side of the cavern. "You just stay over there, away from me."

I sighed as I watched the Drowzee try to get comfortable, moving about to find a spot he could rest his back upon as I found myself tapping a claw on the ground. I initially got up and walked to the other side, watching the Drowzee as he continued trying to find a spot to rest upon. As I watched him, I figured that now would have been a good as time as ever to try and smooth things over with him; find some common ground to open up the pathway to eventually becoming chums.

"So I've noticed," I said. "You seem to know your way around the town pretty well. I take it you know all the escape paths to take?" The Drowzee said nothing as he continued trying to find a spot that would suit him. "So what got you into stealing in the first place? Did some traumatizing, life-changing experience occur?" Still the Drowzee said nothing, clearly not in the mood to talk. However, letting an opportunity such as this pass by wouldn't settle with me well, especially if I wasn't able to make any headway with him. I had to find some sort of subject that would get him to open up. Perhaps I had to take a different approach to this. "Look, about before," I began, only to get cut off.

"Oh for Giratina's sake! Would you shut the hell up?"

"Pardon?" I asked, startled by his outburst.

"Since the moment you showed up, you dragged me away from my home, almost caused me to drown, stalked me, and on top of it all, just keep talking on and on with this annoying bro stuff. I mean seriously! What does it take for you to shut up? You must enjoy hearing yourself talk. I'm not interested so just stay there and say NOTHING to me! Ok?"

"Fine," I said blandly, giving him a most disapproving look. It was upsetting the fact that he had zero interest in making small talk, which would bother me in knowing the fact that all my attempts to reach out to him would be met with rejected results. With nothing left to do or say, I shut my eyes once more and let sleep consume me.

My mind was hazy when I awoke again, taking note on how quiet everything was. As I took a look around, my mind cleared as I took note on a few things prior to how quiet it was. The sounds of the whistling wind and the pelting rain had ceased, the storm clearly having ended sometime during my slumber. The next thing I took notice of was how lighter the cavern was, the signs of sunlight pouring in through the opening. The third thing I took notice of was the fact that the Drowzee was gone. I couldn't say that I didn't see this coming. It's not like I tried not to make the attempt. Some pokemon just weren't willing to make the best of a given opportunity when presented as frustrating as it was. Regardless of that fact, I got up to resume my journey back to the town when an odd sound caused me to stop.

I looked around, unsure of where the sound was originating from when a thought had occurred to me. Walking towards the opening, I stopped and leaned against the wall, crossing my arms as I watched a struggling Drowzee attempt to free himself. I had forgotten about his water weight hips getting him stuck from last night. I should have known there would have been no way for him to get out on his own without a bit of help. Amused by this turn of events I said to him, "Looks like you could use some help."

"Why don't you bugger off?" the Drowzee irritably said. "I got this."

"Sort of hard to do seeing as how I'm in an enclosed area," I said back to him. He ignored my comment though as he continued to struggle to get free. I remained where I was, watching him for several more minutes before going to help him out.

"Hey!" he said as I began pushing. "I told you I got it! I don't need your help so lay off."

"We'd be here all day if I didn't help," I said matter-of-factly as I managed to push him through. "Besides, it'll help you in the long run to get home and me back to my friends."

"As long as it gets you away from me," the Drowzee said.

"Shall we then?" I offered as I extended a paw towards the direction we were traveling.

"Hmph!" the Drowzee grunted, crossing his arms and turning his head away from me.

"Suit yourself," I said with a shrug as I began walking again, getting about a yard's distance from the Drowzee before I heard the sound of shuffling feet from behind. I didn't need to turn around to tell that he was following. This, I viewed, provided me with one last attempt to reach out to him, to start over and make things new as best I could.

"It turned out to be a pretty exquisite day, wouldn't you agree?" I asked, knowing I wouldn't get a response right away. "Of course, that storm we had is merely a result of such. Come to think of it though, that storm we had last night was a bit odd. I can't quite place my paw on what it was, but it just felt unlike any other storm I've experienced. I can't be sure if you felt it, but it's almost like-"

I stopped mid-sentence suddenly, rubbing the back of my head as something hard hit the back of it. It wasn't too hard, but from the force it was thrown, it still left some pain to be registered. "You know," I said as I turned around, glancing at the pebble that was before my feet. "I've done nothing but try to be kind, to try and make the attempt to befriend you and am finding my patience wearing a little thin."

"Maybe shutting that mouth of yours would help," the Drowzee retorted. "I don't care about making friends. I just want to live my life the way I want to. Just get the hell out of my life."

"And what makes you think-" I began, only to get cut off once more.

"Oh would you please just shut up? I've had enough listening to you. If you're not going to shut up, I'm going to-"

"Going to what?" I questioned. "Fight me?"

"Hey! Best idea you had all day! I'll beat you so bad you won't remember how to speak once I've finished."

"Like you can try," I said as I crouched down, shooting forward in the next instance. The Drowzee was taken by surprise by my speed that he had no time to defend against my onslaught of Fury Swipes. All he could do was back himself up in response as I advanced on him, never letting up for a second, at least until he fell back suddenly, grabbing my arm in the process and pulling me down with him. Just as he hit the ground, he pivoted his body slightly, sending me falling off to the right, causing me to fall on my side next to him rather than on him, thankfully.

I grimaced upon contact, but quickly recovered, locking eyes with the Drowzee briefly before jumping to my feet, only to be knocked back by a blow to the gut. I barely had any time to recover from it before being knocked back down by an unseen attack. My head felt woozy as I lied there, unable to grasp what had just happened. I barely had any time to register what was happening when I felt myself being spun around several times before being released, spinning through the air before crashing into the cliff wall and onto the ground below.

It was then I remembered that the Drowzee had Confusion for an attack, which is why my vision spun briefly. I staggered as I got up, quickly glancing up to see the Drowzee charging me; a fist reeled back ready to strike. I remained in my current position, waiting until he got close before hitting him with Swift. The sudden attack caused him to stop and shield himself, giving me the opportunity to charge him. My claws sharpened as I scratched him directly across the face, causing him to cry in pain. I then began attacking him with Fury Swipes again before he could recover, only to stop short as a foot got stuck suddenly.

I looked down to see what had stopped me, now noticing the puddle of mud that the storm had created. I struggled to get my foot free, but the mud appeared to be pretty thick as my foot refused to budge. I quickly looked back at the Drowzee in time to see a tint of pink enveloping his eyes. My mind quickly registered what he was doing as my eyes began to droop. I had to break free of the Hypnosis before I fell victim to it and managed to do so, tearing my gaze from him, only to land my eyes upon something even worst.

I didn't recognize them at first due to my clouded mind. Once it cleared though, I realized just how screwed the situation had become. Several feet away were two humans dressed in white with a vehicle matching their clothing. I was so caught up in fighting the Drowzee that I had failed to notice their arrival. And already they were setting up the same contraption they were attempting to use on the Drowzee before. Unfortunately, I wasn't able to think of anything else as I suddenly found myself knocked out of the mud, flying through the air as my vision blackened. My mind blanked temporarily as it tried catching up to what had just happened. By the time it did, it found the Drowzee on top of me wailing away with nonstop punches, threatening to black my vision out entirely.

Instinctively, I let loose another volley of Swift, knocking him off of me in the process. I groaned as I slowly got up, fighting to stay awake. One more direct hit from the Drowzee just might do that if I gave him an edge. To my dismay, however, I wasn't able to think properly what with the massive headache to top everything off. I looked up to see that the Drowzee looked a little worse for wear himself, but not as bad as me. I must have been so out of it that I could have sworn I heard my name being called out in the process.

I shook my head to try and clear the incoming blackness and focused all energy to my ears to confirm I wasn't just hearing things. "Ted!" I heard a familiar voice yell out, giving me hope that everything was going to be all right. Coming up from behind the Drowzee, I could see Laura and Zack's master running towards us, but were still a good distance from where we were. They were at least a yard away if I had to assume.

"Damn it!" I heard the Drowzee say, prompting me to look back at him, only to find him giving me the nastiest glare he could ever give me. "All I wanted to do was go home and you had to go and ruin everything. If I can't go home, I'll make sure you can't either." With that, he began to charge at me, balling up a paw in the process. I, on the other hand, had had just about enough of this Drowzee's attitude. Everything I tried to give to him he refused it and blamed me for everything that has happened to him since.

"You know," I said as he closed in. "A pokemon like you who blames others for their mishappenings only prove that they live such lonely lives, regardless of how content they may feel."

"Just. Shut. UP!" the Drowzeee yelled as he swung his fist out at me.

Acting quickly, I used my Feint Attack to dodge his attack and move right behind him. "Why don't you do me a favor?" I said as I clenched my paw. The Drowzee turned as I uppercut him with a Mega Punch yelling, "Learn some responsibility!"

As the Drowzee flew into the air, I quickly realized my mistake and looked down at the men from the D.C.A. as I heard them say, "Target is locked on sight. Fire!"

I watched as a flat, white disc shot forth from the contraption they set up, aimed right at the Drowzee who was unaware of the danger he was about to be in. However, at the same time the contraption was fired, I heard Laura yell out, "Go, Pokeball!"

I turned, seeing a ball of red and white being tossed into the air with Zack following closely behind. "Hey batter, batter! Suh-wing!" he said as he leapt up and batted the pokeball with his tail. My eyes followed the pokeball as it was increased in speed and made contact with the Drowzee first, bouncing off his head and spun just a few inches above it.

The Drowzee opened his eyes in surprise as the ball bounced off him, adding a, "What the-?" before turning into a beam of red light and being absorbed into the pokeball as it opened and closed just as the white disc flew by where the Drowzee's head was moments before. The pokeball then fell to the ground and shook several times as we all stood there staring at it before it clicked. Even then we all remained standing there in silence, unable to grasp what had just occurred until I was the first to break the silence.

"What… just happened?"