Shadow of Beginnings
Shadow of Intent
The sounds of the forest hardly moved the pokemon sitting in the grass. Blazing crimson and chilling silver eyes stared out of the foliage, and hard ivory-colored claws dug into the loamy soil. He stayed absolutely still, intent on what was before him. What was before him was a Rattatta, fat from recent scavagings. Licking his lips, the fox-like poke-hunter took a silent step forward. The Rattatta stood on it's back legs, ears twitching, eyes wide and searching. The hunter paused, waiting until the rat-like pokemon felt it was safe. The moment it lowered it's guard, he struck. Leaping forward, he struck the pokemon hard at the base of the skull. It fell limp without a sound. Smiling, the hunter hunkered down to eat...
The Vulpix licked the blood from his muzzle, his differently-colored eyes glittering with the pleasure of the kill. Yawning, he rolled onto his belly, looking into the sky. What a world this was. ((Food to catch, eternity to explore, eternity to explore it.))(-? Worded poorly, clueless as to what your saying) Stretching, he rolled back onto his feet and stood. The scent of another Vulpix brought him spinning, his body lowered close to the ground. No sound, except the birds. No sight, except nature. He blinked, wondering if he'd caught a scent from a long way away. But, no, impossibly. It was fresh and strong. Maybe whoe--- "GAK!" He yelped as a weight thudded into his side. The two of them, attacker and attackee, flew three fleet to the side, thudding to the ground. A paw placed itself warningly on his windpipe, warning him that struggling would not end well for him. A muzzle next to his ear, warm breath tickling his ear. "Gotcha, o mighty hunter!"
All at once the air of fear surrounding him shattered. Growling, he pushed himself onto his feet. "Celes! What was THAT all about?!" He spun on the crystal-eyed Vulpix vixen that was now standing beside him. "I mean, what did I do to deserve being tackled?!" And tackled hard. She really trained that up, didn't she? He added to himself. Shaking the dust from his fur, he cast a glare at the vixen.
She giggled, poking him with her right forpaw. "You were asking for it! If I had been a trainer, I'd have caught you before you ever got hold of that Rattatta." The vizen said tauntingly, the male shuddered at the mention of trainers. As far as he knew, from pokemon dying from abuse, left to die by their 'Partners', they were vicious, cold blooded creatures that could care less about their slaves, as he felt trainers saw their pokemon. Few trainers showed there Pokemon respect. She giggled again, nudging hs side again with her muzzle. "Oh, come on, Shadow. It's not a big deal. You know I'll always have your back."Celes said in a cool joking way, Shadow nodded, a smile appeared on his muzzle.
"I know you do, Celestia. Why do you think I'm always so relaxed?" He laughed, swatting at her playfully. She lept back, sticking her tongue out at him, then turned and ran. He lept after her. "You little Aipom! Get back here!" They ran together, through the forest, the thickets, brambles, and fallen leaves, their laughter echoing through the trunks. Then... Then it all went south.
Shadow saw Celes take a turn into a clearing ahead of him. With a grunt and a burst of speed, he leapt forward, coming into the clearing an instant too late. As soon as he broke cover, he saw the red-and-white orb flying through the air. Saw Celes skid to a stop, turn, try to run. He say the signs of slavery, the 'Poke ball' strike her shoulder. Saw her turn into red her turn into nothing more than a red glowing light which became small and soon nothing as it was drawn into the ball. He saw the ball snap shut, fall to the ground, the button go from red to white repeatedly, and watched it stop shaking. Grief immediately clung to his heart, driving it far down into the ground empty spots inside started to show and one a will heart was an empty vessel. "No.... NO! NOOOO!" He turned and ran, delving into the wild again. His eyes were wide, his mind numb. How could this have happened?! How?! HOW?!?! The last thing he remembered was whirling fire, then everything was black...
It had been almost a year since that day.Things had changed. Shadow now stood on a ledge overlooking a mountain pass. His crimson-and-silver eyes watched it, ready to pounce. He felt no exhileration, did not leap even when a large, wounded Raticate stumbled by not ten feet under him. His hunt was for something different. His ears perked at the sound of voices. Human voices. A mad grin split his harsh, haggard features. He'd neglected food until it was absolutely neccessary, and his body had suffered the results. His bones were visible through his ragged pelt, and his once sharply-defined muscles had deteriorated into overused strings. His eyes had sunken into his skull. It was like looking at the living dead when you saw him. Seeing his prey, all of this fell away. Once again he was in the hollow, watching his closest friend being taken from him. The pain, the horrer, and the burning anger all returned in a flash. He watched as two trainers walked into the pass, talking to eachother as if they weren't afraid of anything. 'Oh, they will be.' Shadow thought, his twisted grin darkening all the more.
"I caught this vulpix about a year ago." One was saying. A girl. "But she never commits. It's like she's missing something. Michael says I should put her down, but I think she needs company. Thing is, every vulpix I've put her with just makes things worse. I don't know what to---"
Shadow struck at that moment. He lept down, claws out. Both trainers screamed as he landed in their midst, a whirlwind of claws and fangs. He heard the pokeball open, releasing the pokemon inside. He spun, expecting some water type. A golduck, croconaw, maybe a gyarados. What he saw instead was a vulpix, her crystal eyes wide and staring. Something stirred, but he shoved it aside. Breathing in, he lept into the air, releasing a harsh arial Flamethrower. The vulpix took the hit, then flung herself forward at her trainer's command. "TACKLE!" The vulpix built up speed, slamming hard into shadow as he landed.
He yelped, a harsh, cracked sound. He was flung against a wall, hearing it crack. Or maybe it was his bones? He fell, landing on his side. With a force of will that comes from sheer hatred, he forced himself to his paws. A snarl was building in his throat, but he replaced it with another destructive flamethrower. This one hit with much more force than the last, making the other vulpix yelp in pain. All at once he knew what that twinge was. Moreover, he knew who the other vulpix was.
"Celestia!" He gasped, unable to say more due to his throat's unwillingness to respond. The vixen struggled to her feet, looking at him.
She blinked, then said, in a low voice, "S-Shadow? Is that you?!" Her body tensed as her trainer ordered another tackle. But, instead of attacking, she walked slowly forward. She took in his ragged condition as he took in her well-kept one. Her fur was sleek, and she was well-fed, though by no means overweight. Her trainer obviously brushed her fur every day, and a pink bow attached at the base of her right ear made him wonder how he had managed to lose someone so adorable. At that moment, however, his strength gave out. With a soft sigh he fell on his side. Celestia was there in a second. She crouched by his side, nuzzling him the same way she used to when she was trying to wake him up. "You look horrible! What have you been doing?!" As she spoke, her trainer spoke as well.
"Pexy, get away from that mongrel! What if it has rabies or something?" The sound of her voice stirred the anger lingering in Shadow's heart. Standing shakily, he growled.
"You're the one that took her from me! I'll... I'll kill you!" If the trainer had understood, she might have understood better. As it was, she only heard the growl and "Vulpix pix vulpix vul... vulpix!"
"Pexy, tackle!" Celestia shook her head slowly, pressing herself against Shadow, as much to keep him from falling as to show she wouldn't attack this pokemon.
"Alice," Said the other trainer, a slightly older female. "Isn't this about where you caught Pexy? Maybe that's her brother, or mate or something. Maybe he's why Pexy hasn't been commiting."
"That ragged thing? What could Pexy see in it?!"
"Maybe he stopped eating. I mean, Pexy never really obeyed you. Maybe she wanted to be with him. Besides, look at them! She won't leave him or attack him!"
The other trainer paused, thinking about this logic. "You know..." She said, pausing. "Maybe you're right. It couldn't hurt to catch him, anyway. Help him out. If he isn't the reason why, we could always release him, or trade him." As she spoke she drew a pokeball from her bag.
Shadow saw the ball. He knew what it meant. At least, he thought he knew. It meant imprisonment to him. Torture worse than he'd inflicted on himself. As it soared through the air, right at him, he made a last-ditch effort. With a shallow in-breath, he fired one last flamethrower. It knocked the ball high into the air over them. "Shadow," Celestia said, "They're not that bad. They'll help you. And if you let them capture you, you can be with me..." Shadow blinked slowly. His exhausted state was affecting everything about him.
He paused, then sighed. As he sighed, the pokeball landed a few feet from him.
"I am Shadow" He said, his voice stronger than before. "If I die here today, then that is who I will always be. If I die years from now, this is who I will be." He looked at Celes, then sighed, closing his eyes and shaking his head. "I'm sorry..." His decision was made. He took one pawstep toward his future...
((The next chapter won't be what you expect. XD Sorry Robert, but I got help from an.... Unexpected sorce. XD But I'll let you proofread the next episode, whichever it is. XD But anyway, my first poke-centered story. Vulpix fans, plz don't kill me when you see my next installment. :( ))