Book One: Wrath, Chapter Seven-
A light grows from the darkness. Amidst a blank, white plain stands a house, a man, and a small girl. The man summons upon a stout, snowy, horned seal while the child draws up a violet moth. At the start of the battle, the man mutters some undistinguishable words and sends his monster out. The girl yells out a sharp, clear order, and it follows the decree. Toxic powder is trailed in the wind but flows no where near its target, that is now barking at it fiercely. Another loud direction is given. The moth stops to listen and then heeds the command. During this time, however, the man has uttered a single word, and the seal is already flying through the air at its rival. The two collide and fall to the ground, the seal on top. Again, the girl yells but is drowned out by the shrill yelps from the seal. Annoyed, the moth tosses the beast from it and begins to glow with power. Sadly, before it could be released, a bolt, steaming in the air, from the creature's mouth strikes the insect, chilling it to the core. Still, it drops to the earth.
"No!" cries the daughter in disappointment. "I lost?"
"Don't feel bad," the father explains. "You're battling a very experienced individual." Sniffing, she gazes up at him.
"What did I do wrong? How could I have won?"
"You didn't really do much wrong," he encourages her, rubbing her head. "If you noticed, I barely spoke the entire match, and, if I did, it was very subtle and quick. You, on the other hand, spoke boldly what you wanted to happen. This not only cost you time, but informed me upon your actions." The girl stands pondering and then finally looks up.
"Can I try again?" she asks. The man nods. At that, light leaves, and everything fades away. The dawning sun greets Rei warmly.
The next few days after the chase caused by the Rhyhorn were hard on Rei and her company. During the event, she had no idea where she had wandered to . She did know, however, that she was currently on a road to some important area, due to the well beaten path, and should have been much closer to her destination than she was before, due to the vast amount of running involved in the right direction. Very little happened on her march since the day the beast attacked, yet for the past couple of days, Rei had the feeling of being watched, although she could neither see nor hear anything to prove her suspicions.
One night, when Rei had set up camp for the night, she started a small fire for warmth and light. Again, she had the feeling of a watchful presence upon her. The light did not stretch far, and shadows covered beyond it. With vigilant eyes, she scanned the dark ring around her. All was black. She could see nothing out there, yet something had caught her attention. It seemed very much like a pair of eyes of some wild beast, yet they did not shimmer in the light. Rather, they grew blacker, blacker than the pitch of night.
They stayed set upon her. No mien was about them. They just hung in the night. They mesmerized Rei. She began to reach down for her staff and some food, one for if it was friendly, one for otherwise, but the thing cringed at the sight of her reaching for her weapon. Seeing that fear had now over come it, she only took up the bowl of food. Slowly and carefully, she turned and placed it behind her, near the black ridge of night. Even after she withdrew, the creature stayed in its cowering position. Gradually, it approached the bowl. When the beast reached the dish, it stopped as if it expected Rei to do something. Slowly, again, it lowed its head, and waited on her. After its first bite, it repeated its earlier behavior. It acted as if it should fear Rei.
Upon seeing that it was indeed safe, if ravenously devoured the food. Filled with pity for it, Rei offered it another serving. When it was finished, it stared into the fire as though its mind was lost. It came further into the light and gazed into the licking tongues of flame. Thus, its form was revealed. It was a small, lupine creature, and, although the size of a youth, it looked much older and worn. Its body was shaggy and thin from malnutrition and shivered as it approached the fire. She immediately recognized the monster as an Eevee, even though it had some very awkward characteristics. For one, all of the species usual white spots were jet black. Rei went to sleep while it still stood by the fire. In the middle of the night, it slipped away, and Rei forgot all about it in the morning.
The next morning, as Rei trudged on with Poppy, as the Oddish was dubbed, cradled in her arms absorbing the rising sun's light, a figure came across the horizon. As they drew closer together, she could see that it belonged to a young man well prepared for travel. Although his eyes were blocked by dark shades, his grin gave away the fact that he could not contain his joy upon seeing another person. A wide brimmed hat was upon his crown and a heavy pack to his back. Draped over his shoulder was a band studded with Pokeballs.
The man laughed to himself quietly, "my next victim," but she could still hear. "Perhaps you could assist me, young lady?" he said with a white smile shining out from an otherwise completely shaded face. Rei answered him with the same expression she had on her face since she first saw him, a weary, unchanging, and uninterested face. His grin quickly changed to a look of confusion. He cleared his throat, feeling uneasy. "Yes, well, I, no different then many others and, by chance, you, have set out on a journey to claim fame by winning the badges of the guardians of the towns throughout the countryside." The man used his hands much in explaining and spoke very fluently, almost boastfully, but Rei returned the same half awake look. "And," he cleared his throat again, "I would like to hone my skills against as many people as possible along the way, even though I have already begun. I just claimed victory over the leader in the city behind me and am crossing back to my hometown to inform them upon my triumph and gather supplies for a longer trek."
"Indeed," she interrupted suddenly, startling him since it was the first she had spoken, although it had barely seemed like she did. The man remained silent for a short while.
"If you are interested, I am willing to put a handsome wager on the match." At these words, Rei's sack dropped to the ground. She turned and took a few steps away before turning again, tossing in her hand a Pokeball. He knew that she had accepted. He, too, took a couple steps back and pulled a globe from his belt. As he did this, Rei hoped that she had made the right decision. Although he seemed full of hot air, he could be good, but she only cared about the money, for she didn't bring much with her.
The battle began. From Rei's side rose Wrath, the poison bee, and a Kancer, as its name was found out to be, the river crab, from the other side. The man wasted no time in shouting orders while Rei simply gave but one word. The Beedrill danced around its opponent gracefully, who was having a harder time trying to hit the bee. Again and again, the trainer bellow commands. The cries of battle had awakened the Oddish, still clutched to Rei, who had dozed off some time ago. It eagerly took in the action with its small beady eyes.
Wrath still spun around the Krabby, never even attempting to harm it. The trainer continued to yell for his creature to strike, but every blow seemed to sink straight through. The trainer grew furious, but he could not see what Kancer did: its foe had multiplied. The swift capering was actually three Beedrills spinning in perfect unison. Tired of its master's sharp cries and dizzy from the spinning, it crouched and put its pincers over its head. Its dull shell began to glisten as it grew in both thickness and density, but as Kancer did that, the mirages of Wrath began to spin even faster and lifted from the ground. Their lanced arms were held straight out as they backed away but then closed in on the foe, angling the spinning points at it.
The three came down and thrashed mercilessly on Kancer, but since only one was real, it now knew which was its true enemy. The barb wore and broke much of the newly formed armor, but it held up enough for its purpose. The Krabby quickly swung around its massive pincer, clamping onto the Beedrill. Before the true one could escape, Kancer launched a thick froth from its mouth. The sticky substance clung to its body, but its body alone, for the illusions did not bear the foam. In rage, Wrath canceled its clones and charged the Krabby, but it simply grabbed the diminutive bee in its massive claw and slammed the Beedrill into the earth hard. It had landed some distance off, and Kancer had to scuttle over to continue attacking. Wrath tried arduously to stand up before the crab was upon it.
At that moment, the man thought he heard Rei cry out something, although he could not comprehend her speech for his attention was on the brawl. Wrath was now standing and Kancer was still some distance away. Quite comically, the Beedrill started to walk around in circles. It did not seem as if it knew what it was doing, but soon it got faster and it path was closer knit. Soon, it was whirling at such speeds, that the bubbles that had hampered its mobility were cast off. One clump which had been thrown from it had struck the trainer square in the face. As he wiped it off his shades, he commanded Kancer to hurry and finish the battle, but, as his vision returned to the battlefield, the battle was not to his favor. Still gyrating, Wrath had leapt into the air, straight above the Krabby, and dived with the venomous stingers on its appendages aimed downward. Like a clash of thunder, the bee came down upon the crab, drilling its needles deep into its shell. Kancer was pinned hard to the ground from the plummet, yet Wrath still bored down upon it with an vertical body. As the Krabby stopped squealing, the Beedrill stopped moving and, flipping off its fallen adversary, floated to Rei.
The man stood with his jaw hanging. "K-kancer?" he called, not knowing if it still was alive. Its arm twitched a little in response. Before even the feeling of relief could fill him, let along his face, Wrath cocked his stinger forward and let loose a barrage of poison pins, knocking the Krabby around before finally rolling back to its master. He was even more dumbfounded than before.
"Sorry about that," Rei said suddenly, "but we had to finish the match. Rules are rules, after all." He gave his monster an indescribable look. "And, don't worry. It'll be fine. Wrath could barely pierce that thing's shell. It's more tired than it is wounded. That's one fine beast you got there." Her comment was scoffed at.
"You think this beast is worth anything? Ha!" Rei know realized that his expression was one of grave disappointment. "You're no different than that mangy fur ball," he told his unconscious monster as he swiftly recalled it, "and you know the price for losing." His glance was now upon Rei, who was petting her champion. The cheering Oddish in her arm seemed to be congratulating its comrade. Anger seized him. "Do you think we're done, lass?" His fluent and kind speech had left him since when they first met. Now he used a harsh voice and a cruel tongue.
She smiled and retorted, "Oh, of course not. I wouldn't think about giving you a break at all." The man obviously did not appreciate smart remarks and prepared for the next bout.
Last Modified - 7/25/01
Established 7/25/01
Pokemon and Pokemon characters are property of Game Freaks, Creatures, and Nintendo. I did not make them nor do I take credit for them. However, most characters and various other things included in this fanatic fiction are of my creation, so hands off!
