FSE

Furry search engine

formerly SoFurry search engine

Chapter Text

The next few days dragged on for what felt like forever. At first it wasn't that bad - all of us were banged up at least a little from the hailstorm, and we needed the rest. And there was a lot to learn about humans and the way they did things - a knob they could turn to bring as much water as they wanted, like Sara had used to water the plants; the television that could show movies and scenes from far away, or of things that never actually happened; the phones that let them talk to people they couldn't see. There was a lot to take in and adjust to.

But not being able to go outside took its toll.

The sound of the hailstorm was constant. At some points I was sure I could hear an otherworldly moan through the roar, but I told myself it was just nerves. Kirii spent most of the first two days asleep, so there was nothing to do but wander around the PokeCenter. It had a lot of neat things, but by the third day I was ready to tear my leaves out and eat them.

Fortunately, the gym leader visited on the third day. He wore thick, furry clothing that made him look twice as thick as I remembered, but it seemed to work and keep him safe from the hail. He said a truck had arrived with cold weather supplies and had left them at the gym, and he left several similarly thick outfits with the doctor. He told Sara and John that the source of the storm had been pinpointed - with only one Pokemon affecting the weather now instead of three it was much easier to pinpoint. Plus the source seemed relatively stationary, unlike Kirii, who had travelled a lot while causing the rain. He said the blizzard was coming from a nearby desert, at an angle to the town near the mountain that provided melting snow as runoff for the two lakes near the town. He was preparing to go find the source and deal with it, but was needed in town a while longer to help winter-proof the houses.

He was also very interested in Kirii, and asked John and the doctor about her. He seemed to already know that she had been causing the rain, and demanded a battle with John once Kirii was better.

John agreed, saying it would be a good warmup before leaving to find the source of the hail themselves. The gym leader didn't seem very happy about John or Sara going to find that Pokemon, given how strong it had to be, at which point John bragged that he had already dealt with the Pokemon causing the rain.

I didn't think that was quite the way things had happened, but nobody else seemed to disagree with John, so I didn't either.

The gym leader spent about half the day at the PokeCenter. We helped him out a little as he 'winterized' the PokeCenter - wrapping pipes with heavy towels, turning all the faucets on a little bit so water leaked out of them, getting candles set up around the building in case the lights went out and they needed to be lit in a hurry. Most of it had been done already, but he wanted to make sure everything was set and there wouldn't be any problems at the PokeCenter, in case somebody needed emergency care.

He eventually left, and the rest of the day dragged by. Kirii went back to sleep - the doctor said she had healed from the wounds, which now only showed as fading scars along her scales, but that she would need a bit more rest to fully recover from causing the weeks of rain. I watched television with Opal and Kenth for a bit while Sara and John worked on organizing things and planning out paths they would take. I didn't pay too much attention - it quickly got boring, talking about things I didn't understand and places I didn't know about. So I focused on the television show, and the much more interesting banter between Opal and Kenth.

The day finally ended, and I slept most of the night. I woke up when Sara did, and she brought me back into the Pokeball to protect me during the short trip through the hail to the gym.

When she brought me back out of the Pokeball, Kirii and Kenth were already standing across from the two chipmunk Pokemon I had helped Opal fight. The gym leader was saying something to John, but I ignored them and jumped towards the line on the ground. "Good luck, Kirii!"

The Milotic looked back at me and grinned. Sara giggled behind me, and Opal dashed next to me and yelled a similar cheer for Kenth.

John just rolled his eyes at us - and then the battle began.

"Flame burst, the blue one! Kirii, use Aqua Ring!" Kenth hopped forward and inhaled, the air around him shimmering as it grew hotter and hotter... then a jet of flame flew from the Growlithe. It shot towards the blue electric type that Opal and I had faced earlier... but at the last second, the Pokemon dodged. It wore a smirk on its face, gloating as the fire landed harmlessly behind it...

Then the expression changed to shock as the fire blossomed outwards, washing the Pokemon in a quick wave of fire. The wave swept out on the other side, too, and caught the red Pokemon, though it didn't seem to hurt it as badly.

The red Pokemon was glowing softly, using its 'Helping Hand' ability on its teammate... who glared at Kenth and darted forwards. It looked like the Growlithe was going to be hit by a full body tackle, but the gym leader's Pokemon jumped in the air, using Kenth's face as a springboard... and a loud CRACK filled the air as it hurled electricity at its true target: Kirii.

The Milotic was hit right in the side by the electricity, and I saw blue light snake down her scales before shooting into the ground. She screeched, expression pained... but she didn't flinch or pull away. Her scales started to gleam, especially where the electricity had hit her, and I felt the air around me go dry. I recognized what had happened - when we had needed to water plants further away from the river, Kirii had been able to pull moisture directly from the air to water the ground. She must have done the same thing here, except using it for her Aqua Ring move instead.

The water flowed up Kirii's scales as I watched, catching the light and catching soft rainbows on the ground around her. It was actually quite beautiful, and I heard Opal gasp from behind me.

John stayed focused on the battle, though. "Kenth, Fire Fang, same target! Kirii, use wrap; try and slow down that red one so we can knock out blue!"

The two Pokemon nodded and set themselves, each preparing their respective moves. The gym leader grinned back at John. "Trying to do what I did last time to your friend? Take one out and focus on the other? Good strategy, but let's see how well your Pokemon can actually work together." He whistled, a sharp sound that made both his Pokemon glance towards him, then he made a circling motion in the air with his finger.

The two chipmunk Pokemon grinned and looked back towards Kirii and Kenth... but they seemed to be looking at the entire field, rather than focusing on their opponents.

Fire started to gather in the air around Kenth's mouth, and Kirii straightened herself in preparation... then the red Pokemon took off, darting to one side. Kirii narrowed her eyes and tracked after the red Pokemon, moving towards it. The chipmunk stopped and reversed direction suddenly, moving back towards the far side of the field. Kirii hissed and surged after it, determined to catch it and seize it in a wrap attack...

...but ran into Kenth instead, right as he was dashing towards the blue Pokemon.

Flames exploded outward over Kirii's scales as Kenth was brought to a screeching halt by her larger body. He wobbled back from the collision, shaking his head as if to clear it, and tried to jump over Kirii to hit his target anyways.

Unfortunately, Kirii picked that moment to rise upwards, trying to catch the red Pokemon as it dashed by once more.

The blue Pokemon let out a chittering laugh as John's team collided again, and the gym leader just grinned back at John. "Not very well, from the looks of it."

John glared back at the gym leader, face locked in a scowl. "Kenth, Kirii, try it again; same moves. You just got lucky; that won't happen again!"

It happened again.

This time Kenth narrowly avoided being squashed by Kirii as she dove through his path, the Growlithe losing his footing and sliding across the floor and towards the seats on the side. His flames collapsed around his mouth, smouldering out and instead releasing a cloud of smoke... which the red Pokemon darted back under. Kirii wasn't able to stop in time when she finally noticed it, and yelped as the smoke stung at her eyes. "Gah! Growlithe, watch where you're going!"

Kenth snarled back at the Milotic. "Me?! You watch where you're going; you almost hit me again!"

"Cut it out!" John shouted at the two Pokemon, and they glared back at him. "Focus on the Plusle and Minun, not each other! Now try it again!"

Kirii glared back at John, then glanced at the gym leader. She hissed... then grinned, as if an idea had just occurred to her.

Fire started licking the air around Kenth's mouth again... but instead of preparing to chase down the opposing Pokemon again, a humming noise started to come from her tail. Faint light began glowing through the gaps in the scales on her tail, shifting the rainbow patterns on the ground.

John shook his head and waved his hands in the air. "Milotic, no! Use Wrap, not Dragon Tail; that won't help us here!"

Kirii just rolled her eyes. A ripple went through her body as she tensed, then moved... and she brought her tail around in a loop to slam it into the side of the Growlithe.

Kenth went flying.

It didn't look like he was hurt much from the move... but he was still thrown clear to the other side of the gym. He probably would have gone even farther if not for the wall stopping his momentum.

Kirii's eyes gleamed in growing excitement as she turned to look... straight at me. "Come on, Che... Sonata. We've worked as a team before; let's show this gym leader how it's done."

The two chipmunk Pokemon hopped backwards towards their trainer, all three of them looking confused... or maybe just waiting to see what would happen.

"It'll be just like watering plants. Hop up; we've got this!" Kirii smiled encouragingly and dove towards me.

I recognized the 'hop up' phrase - Kirii would say that to me when we had needed to travel a bit, like to a tree or berry bush further away from wherever we happened to be, or to help lift me up to be closer to the Hoppips and Skiplooms when they were flying around trees. I hopped towards Kirii once, then again, then gathered myself up for a larger jump...

I landed right on Kirii's head, leaning against the spike there as she turned, moving back to face the opposing team again. I jumped in place when she stopped - unlike before with Opal, I actually felt... excited. I was going to be in a battle, but I was going to be doing it with a friend!

"Those two Pokemon definitely know how to work together. And there's no rules saying both Pokemon have to belong to the same trainer - shall we continue?" The gym leader glanced away from us to look at Sara and John.

"Sure, if my Pokemon will listen to me this time." John glared at Kirii, who just rolled her eyes again. "I'd be happy to, but you have to tell me things that make sense first."

John either didn't hear Kirii's muttered retort, or didn't understand it. "Kirii, use Twister! Try and get them both!"

I looked back and found Sara near the back of the gym, helping Kenth to his feet. She glanced back at the fight and shouted towards me. "Leech seed! Try and sap the red one, so it can't keep helping blue!"

I nodded, while Kirii wiggled her tail up and down in an affirmative motion. And then we were off.

The two chipmunks started dashing in different directions around the field. I hesitated, remembering back to Kenth running into Kirii... but here on her head, I didn't think I'd run into that problem; I just had to be sure not to hit her with anything I did. So I focused on the red Pokemon as it dashed around, bracing myself as Kirii's body moved and she began spinning around.

It was a little dizzying, but I managed to stay focused. Our opponents started rushing together, and it looked like the blue one was going to jump on the red one, and use it as a springboard to get at me with some kind of attack...

But that was ruined when I spat a seed at the red Pokemon, nailing it right in the side and knocking it off balance. It faltered as the vines began growing around it, not much of a misstep... but enough to throw off their coordination. The blue Pokemon jumped in the air, just like I had expected... but without the red Pokemon there to give it a boost, it just fell back down to the ground and kept running.

Or at least, it would have kept running - if Kirii hadn't released the cyclone of air she had been building, and hit them both with it.

They were already off balance from the missed attack, so the twister knocked them backwards. The blue Pokemon managed to stay on its feet, but the red one fell over, tripping over the vines still growing from the seed buried somewhere in its fur. I felt a sudden rush of energy, and I couldn't help but let out a cheer. "Whee!"

"Good job! Follow up with Take Down, whichever one you can hit!" I heard Sara call out to me, sounding closer this time, and heard John call out for an Aqua Tail on the red one. A series of images filled my head, and I recognized the move - I had used it on occasion before to knock berries out of taller bushes, when I didn't want to bother Kirii or a Hoppip. It hurt a little, but nothing too bad. Kirii shifted again, and I felt her scales growing slipperier. I crouched down lower to make sure I didn't fall off, and concentrated on the two opponents.

They were racing around in circles again, and Kirii was tracking the red one to hit with her own attack. I took a deep breath, calming myself and waiting for the right moment. If I jumped just before Kirii attacked, I could hit the red Pokemon with a bit more force, propelled by her movements the same way the chipmunks were doing. I hopped, landing on Kirii's nose and preparing to launch myself forward...

The blue chipmunk was suddenly there, right in front of me, with electricity sparkling around it. I saw its eyes widen in surprise at seeing me hurling towards it, and I was just as surprised... but it was too late to pull back; I was already in the air. I felt electricity surge through the air and race past me, and heard Kirii cry out... and then I rammed into the chipmunk, far sooner than I had expected.

The extra momentum I had borrowed from Kirii added to the attack, causing me to impact with far more force than I had expected... for better and for worse. The blue Pokemon went flying, almost as hard as Kenth had earlier, but I could tell my attack had hurt a lot more.

And part of the reason I could tell was because of how much it had hurt me.

I landed on the ground and rolled, coming back to my feet... but my side hurt where I had rammed into the opponent. I looked around to see where the blue Pokemon had landed, but was interrupted by the sound of another heavy smack as Kirii's attack landed.

I saw the red Pokemon - fur drenched by the Milotic's watery attack - go flying past me, and turned to look at it. It lay on the ground where it had landed for a second, then started to get back to its feet... but I felt a sudden tingle of energy fill me, and realized the ivy growing around it was still sapping its energy. The chipmunk wobbled... then fell back to the ground.

I looked around for the blue Pokemon too... and finally found it, lying on its back and staring up blankly at the ceiling. I heard it mutter 'Ouuuuch', and then its trainer was there, spraying it with a potion. "Wow! That was great coordination! Okay, okay, you won!"

I slumped down on the floor, suddenly feeling exhausted. Even though Kirii had done most of the moving for us, I was still exhausted from the battle, especially from slamming into the other Pokemon so hard. I couldn't remember the last time I had put that much effort into anything, and both Sara and the opposing Pokemon had pushed me.

But we had won.

That felt good. Not the same happy pride I felt at seeing healthy plants I had helped grow, or the relief I felt when a sick plant began to recover... but it was still a good feeling.

Kirii stretched out on the floor too, sprawling, as the gym leader recalled his Pokemon. He grinned and walked over to Sara and John, shaking their hands and passing over something shiny and round. John took it first and frowned at it, then split it apart - the two pieces seemed to have a jagged edge in the middle, and would form a circle again when they were put back together, but seemed designed to be taken apart around that edge. Sara took one of the pieces and put it in a small case, next to something else that gleamed just as brightly before she closed the case.

"Hang on, I have one more thing for you." The gym leader held up a hand to stop Sara as she started to put the case away, and jogged off to the side of the gym. He ducked down a hallway and disappeared... then came back a few leaf shakes later carrying two other round items. These were much larger than the first, and even shinier on one side. He handed one to each trainer with a grin. "This should be a lot of help to you, if you really are going out into that hailstorm. They came on the winter relief truck yesterday - it's a TM, Sunny Day. I've already tried, and Plusle and Minun can't learn it... but I think Growlithe and Cherubi both can. It should help keep the hail from getting too bad while you're out there, but don't be afraid to use those flares we gave you at the PokeCenter if things get rough, and we'll come get you."

He looked back at Sara and John, then down towards Kirii and myself. "Congratulations, to all of you. And best of luck on the rest of your journey."

The trainers thanked the gym leader. John recalled Kirii to her Pokeball, and Sara recalled Opal, but they left me and Kenth out. Sara scooped me up again and we went to the door, pausing at the exit. "I think I get it now."

John glanced out the door and into the blizzard. "Hm? Get what?"

"All those weird errands Flen had us do. Finding lost stuff, getting mail to the right address after post office mix ups. It was to get Opal and Kenth used to working together."

"Oh - you think he expected us to beat the gym that way? With us fighting as a team, instead of two of our own Pokemon? We didn't even have our first badge at that point though; you think he was already preparing us for our second badge?"

"Maybe. That's part of being a trainer, isn't it? Always thinking about the next challenges ahead, and getting ready for them? And speaking of preparing..." Sara fiddled with the item the gym leader had given her - the TM - and finally pressed a button it. The surface glittered, and shapes appeared in the air above it, growing brighter as Sara angled it towards me... then new shapes appeared, these an angry red color.

She looked over at John, who had just finished doing the same thing to Kenth. The Growlithe was blinking and shaking his head, like he had just had a bright light shined right in his eyes. Sara tried pressing the button again, but the disc just went through the same process - glittering, bright shapes in the air... then the angry red shapes when she pointed it at me.

"Mine's not working. What does 'Error Seven' mean?"

John looked over at us, then at the red shapes still in the air above the glittering disc. "Oh - that means Cherubi already knows the move, and can't learn it again. Did you already use it on her?"

Sara frowned and shook her head. "Yes, but this came up both times I tried. Huh. It wasn't in the PokeDex as a move Cherubis naturally learned when I looked through it; I would have noticed that. Maybe the entry on Cherubis is incomplete?"

"Or she belonged to another trainer before, like Kirii?"

Sara shook her head, then pushed the button on the disc again. The glittering stopped and she slid the disc into her bag. "The doctor didn't say anything about her already being in the system. No, I think we've discovered something new the PokeDex developers didn't know about; we'll get to send in an update! Maybe even visit researchers, if nobody knew. Let's find out!" She leaned on the door to open it a little, then held me towards the outside world.

The sound of the roaring blizzard became louder, but it wasn't able to drown out Sara's words. "Go on, Sonata. Sunny Day!"

I was tired from the fight. I was growing colder by the second with the door open and the hailstorm only a few jumps away from me. And I wasn't sure what the words meant, exactly.

But just like all the other moves Sara had directed me through, the images were there in my head, showing me exactly what I needed to do. I felt a tingling over my skin, felt my stem and leaves straighten, felt them angle upwards as I leaned towards the sky above me and shouted, crying out as loudly as I could.

"CHERUBIIII!!!"

The sound of the hail vanished along with the last of my breath. I leaned down, panting for breath, wondering what I had just done, especially with the startled gasps from John and Sara behind me...

I felt warmth and light pouring down onto me, natural and delicious. It was real, actual sunlight, the first time I had felt it in... in.. I couldn't remember how long it had been.

I looked up to embrace the warmth, barely able to stop myself from jumping out of Sara's arms to get closer to the sunlight, to make sure there was nothing between me and the sun... but there was no need. Sara stepped out of the gym, letting the door swing shut behind John as he and Kenth followed her.

The storms were done. Water and ice scattered the ground... but there wasn't a single cloud left to be seen in the sky.

---

The Flygon panted heavily as he flapped his wings. A terrible feeling was building in him. It was worse than the burning in his lungs, or the screaming in the muscles that had been furiously working for longer than he could remember to keep the sandstorm going.

The feeling that despite all his effort... he had failed.

He could still feel them. The powerful rainstorm, threatening to blow in at the slightest opening and drown the land around him in cold floods. The implacable hail waiting for the barest excuse to tear over the desert, and leave his beloved warm dunes a frozen wasteland. They were out there, kept at bay only by his wings, beating furiously downwards to throw the sand further and further in the air, farther and farther away, forming a protective barrier of howling wind and dirt that kept the power of the other Pokemon at bay.

But his wings were failing.

He had fallen to the ground some time ago. One day? Two? He couldn't tell. It was impossible to keep track of time without any view of the sun. Everything was just dull brown, all around him. He only knew his wings had ceased to be strong enough to hold him aloft any longer, and he had simply collapsed into the dune. He kept beating his wings, kept the sandstorm raging... but he knew he wouldn't be able to for much longer.

And then the cold would rush in. It would sweep over his home, and with it...

The Flygon felt an incredible pain suddenly radiate through his back, and he heard a loud 'SNAP' from behind him. He couldn't tell what had happened - it was too much effort to lift his head up from the sand, and his eyes were pointed the wrong way - but he could tell his wings had stopped beating. His breathing was suddenly incredibly difficult, too, but that didn't matter. He had to keep moving his wings! He had to keep the sandstorm going, he had...

A strangled, barely audible cry escaped him as the sand fell back to the ground around him. There was a half-second of peacefulness, of dark clouds overhead but an otherwise beautiful landscape.

He knew it wouldn't last. He struggled to move his wings again, struggled to take in a breath... but it didn't come. His wings didn't move.

The world grew dim as he felt wetness on his cheek. He wasn't sure if it was from rain, or his own tears.

He struggled against the spreading darkness, struggled to get air, struggled to do anything that would let him keep fighting... and... to his amazement, the world around him grew brighter. It was an odd feeling, like he was surrounded by a small halo of light in the center of a storm. He could definitely see rain just beyond the circle of light, and could hear the pitter patter growing steadily stronger and louder... but... it didn't seem to touch him, or the ground he lay on.

He tried to raise his head, tried to move his tail, anything to learn what was going on. "Wha..."

"Shh. It's okay." The beautiful voice came from nowhere, and from everywhere, and then all at once a Ninetales was just there, right in front of him. He had seen examples of the fox-type Pokemon before - they were incredibly rare, but he was the Desert Spirit, and any who came through his lands caught his attention. But he had never seen one who looked like her. Her fur was silvery and regal, almost glowing with a cool radiance, and her fur hinted at an incredible softness he could only dream of.

"It... is? I can't... stop..."

"Don't worry. I'll take over for you."

"Who.. ar yu..." The Flygon croaked out the words, trying once more to move but still finding himself unable to.

"My name is Sinori. I'm sorry I couldn't come sooner. I've wanted to meet you for a very, very long time." The Ninetales smiled softly and lowered herself to the ground, stretching out beside the Flygon. Her tails curled around him, proving to be even softer than he had imagined.

"Why...are you...?" His mouth felt so dry...

The fox just smiled, a sad expression full of heavy wisdom. "For a friend. For your child."

"Then... they're... still alive?" The Flygon looked up at the Ninetales, desperation in his question... and he felt his heart break at the sorrow suddenly in her eyes, filling him with a pain deeper than the one from his back.

"I'm sorry... no. What you did was heroic, it was incredible, but... without the sun... the ground was just too cold. Your eggs..." She looked down at the ground beneath them, where the Flygon had gathered his eggs and buried them to protect from the storms. "Only one still lives."

The Flygon felt his gaze drop, falling to the ground before him. Then... it had all been for nothing. His children would never hatch, would never experience life in the desert home he had kept safe for them...

No.

No, one still lived.

He looked back up at the Ninetales. "One?"

She nodded slowly, a smile returning to her expression. "Yes. A great one." She looked away, out towards the horizon, as if at something only she could see. "He will find a home with a great trainer, and grow up to be strong. Humans and Pokemon all across the land will know of him - and just by hearing his name, they will know of your efforts here. Of what you did."

The Flygon felt pride swell in him, the feeling even dulling the pain from his back. If what she said was true... though... "How..."

"Shh. It's okay. Rest, now. You've earned it. I will stay, and keep it warm until she arrives."

The Flygon wondered once again how the Ninetales knew the things she said... but he had no more energy left to ask. His body had been pushed far beyond its limit, and he was so tired, and in pain.

But his child was safe.

The light shone down on the dune, long after the Flygon's breathing slowed. Long after it stopped. The rain flooded the desert, turning sand and dirt to mud, and reshaping the land into a treacherous quagmire. Then the rain ended, and a raging blizzard took its place, freezing the pools of standing water and hardening the soft mud to cold hard clay...

But the Ninetales' soft light and her gentle warmth continued through it all.