A Taillow's Plight

Hey everyone! Welcome to my fan-fic thread! This is A Taillow's Plight, a story about a young Taillow who becomes the child of a Blaziken and the sister of a Torchic named Fawkes.

This is my first fan-fic, so it may be a while before I get the hang of things. Thanks to Blue Angel for the 'slow down' suggestion. :laugh:
I am constantly updating and fixing any errors I find in the prologue and chapters below, so, for the most part anyway, grammar and spelling shouldn't be a problem. If you do find an error however, please let me know and I'll fix it right away. For those who care, this fan-fic is rated PG for mild violence and mild suggestive themes.

This story was started before the Sinnoh region came along, so the first part of this story contains no new Sinnoh Pokemon. Chapter Six is when the first new Pokemon is mentioned.

So, enjoy! Reviews, comments, and questions are loved! ;)


Prologue

There was once a young, feisty, overprotective mother Blaziken, who lived high atop a jagged cliff, deep into what were known as the Craggy Mountains. She was guarding her nest, which contained five crimson eggs.

The nest was made out of sharp thorns and twigs, but the thick shell of the eggs kept them safe from any harm. The mother attacked any living thing that came close to her nest, so the eggs were always protected. The mother Blaziken occasionally blew a gentle stream of flames around the eggs, keeping them warm and healthy.

However, on the very same day the eggs were due to hatch, a Rhydon challenged the mother Blaziken, wanting to take over what Blaziken thought of as her piece of land.

The battle was quite a scene, and the Rhydon seemed to be winning. Using Iron Tail, Rhydon sent the mother flying across the plateau where she lived. It was a massive hit, and the mother Blaziken was not prepared for the blow.

Blaziken lay there, silent and unmoving.

The Rhydon moved in, checking to make sure the battle was his. He inched closer, then closer…

Suddenly, out of nowhere, the Blaziken whipped her long talon across the earth, sending a cloud of dust everywhere. Surprised, the Rhydon cried out, trying to shield his face from Sand-Attack. Before his vision was clear again, Blaziken's foot, alight with a scalding fire, whammed him in the chest, hard. Blown back by sheer force, the Rhydon managed to stand up, but just barely.

Fighting for her life and offspring, the mother continued to battle her foe into the heat of the day...

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

An intelligent mother Swellow also lived around the cliff, but in a small cave a few hundred feet away from the mother Blaziken. Unlike the Blaziken, she had laid only one egg, and she had had little success keeping her egg as safe as the other mother.

Her egg was thin-shelled and tiny, and almost every Pokémon that lived on the mountain took that as a snack, even the weak Ratatta.

Her wonderfully built nest had been overrun by a group of angry Stantler, who argued that the land the mother Swellow had built her nest on was their property. All Pokémon were very fierce about where their land started and ended.

As the mother Swellow alighted from her roost and flew across the skies, she grasped her single egg tightly in her talons as she searched for a new and unoccupied place to make a nest. The mother Swellow's long and slightly frazzled tail feathers whipped behind her as she realized - to her utter mortification - that the eerie, distant call of a certain steel bird was getting closer.

Skarmory, the ruler of the skies, the Craggy Mountains, and just about everything his set his hard, golden eyes on, had spotted the Swellow and was furious. He believed that there was a place for every Pokémon in this world, and if they had no place, they should not be here, especially in his mountains. He had told everyone in the Craggy Mountains many times of his rule, and still, he sighed; they refused to follow it.

The unmerciful Skarmory swooped down out of the sky like a silver missile and rammed into the mother Swellow. With a screech, the mother dropped her only egg, and even though she tried desperately to snatch it back, Skarmory simply wouldn't let her go. A tear rolled down Swellow's cheek as her egg tumbled down toward the Earth. While in the skies, Skarmory finished what he thought needed to be done.

There must have been some luck with the mother Swellow that day, because her egg landed squarely in the mother Blaziken's nest while she was fighting off the Rhydon. It bounced once and cracked slightly on a thorn, but landed in the nest, just the same.

After a final strike by the Blaziken, her powerful Blaze Kick, the Rhydon could take no more and fainted. As soon as his heavy metal body crashed to the ground, the mother Blaziken almost flew over to her nest to make sure her prized eggs were safe.

All were, including a strange aqua blue egg with a crack that had mysteriously appeared in her nest. The blue egg was a strange sight, and in extreme contrast with the red and black underbrush that made up Blaziken's nest.

Finally, after thinking a while, the Blaziken decided to wait and see what would hatch from the egg before she did anything with it. If it was an enemy's offspring, she would do what her instincts told her and toss the egg over a cliff. But for now, she would wait.

Bending down slowly, she blew once again on the eggs, and as a result the southernmost egg cracked suddenly and loudly.

The Blaziken stood up proudly and triumphantly as the rest of her eggs cracked and broke open to reveal strong, healthy, and adorable baby Torchics. They were wet and slimy, and Blaziken began to clean them up and dry them.

The aqua egg, however, did not hatch. The mother Blaziken picked the egg up slowly, thinking that maybe it could be a dud. An egg other then a Torchic egg would hatch almost immediately if fire was blown onto it, because the boost of warmth would 'wake' the baby up and cause it to break open the shell.

She was just about to toss the aqua egg away, when to the mother Blaziken's surprise, with one loud crack, the top of the shell split open and a baby Taillow, fresh out of the shell, cried its name:

"Taillow!"

Chapter One: Off On Their Own

Chapter One
Off On Their Own

If you were a determined hiker in the Craggy Mountains, and you walked up a certain jagged pass, you would come upon a strange scene, one of those scenes that might make you wish you had your camera. There would be a mother Blaziken surrounded by little Torchics, which was perfectly normal, of course, but there would also be, standing there and looking confused, one tiny Taillow.

The mother Blaziken gathered her twenty four-hour old chicks around her. "You chicks are deserving of names," she said, smiling.

One Torchic gave out a tiny little peep. "All right. You will go first, then," Blaziken said, looking down at her tiny baby.

The mother paused for a moment, and then said, "Codac. Your name will be Codac."

Now, Blaziken are known for the strange names they give their babies, but for generations, these Pokémon have also named at least one of their offspring 'Fawkes' in honor of the first Blaziken, who was also named Fawkes.

After a round of odd naming, the mother Blaziken came to the last two chicks - the last Torchic of the bunch, and of course, the baby Taillow.

"You," Blaziken said, pointing to the Torchic, "will be Fawkes."

At this, all the other little Torchics muttered slightly in jealousy, because all of them wanted to be the one with the name of their ancestor. Blaziken hushed her babies and turned her attention back to the Taillow, who was shaking with either cold, fear, or both.

"And you, Taillow, will be…" she paused again, completely unsure what to name her. Finally, after quite a while, Blaziken leaned down and said, "Erin."

At this, all the little Torchics gasped slightly. Such a normal name had never been given to the offspring of a Blaziken before.

"Hush," the mother Blaziken said sternly, turning to her chicks. "How would I know what this young Taillow's mother would want her to be named? I really don't want to have to travel everywhere to look for her mother."

At that, all the little Torchics snapped their beaks shut and kept them that way, for their mama was kind, but also quite strict.

All Blaziken mothers were usually strict, unlike other parents, such as a mother Slaking. Slaking mothers slept almost all of the day and let their children wander. The mothers never forced their baby Slakoth to exercise, and so that's why all Slakoth and Slaking are extremely lazy, and even a bit dim-witted. Blaziken had seen a few Slakoth wandering around her nest before, and she was a bit cross with them coming down to someone else's property, but the Slakoth were quickly chased away by Blaziken's fierce call and feet, which were ablaze. For now, however, only Blaziken and her chicks were present atop the high plateau they called home.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Weeks went by, and the Torchics were taught the ways of the high and noble Blaziken. During these lessons, poor Erin could only stare blankly at her mother and wonder what on Earth she was talking about. Erin was not a Torchic and would never be one, so she didn't need to know things such as how to blow fire or how to make the flame on top of her head flicker. However, Erin was also the smartest of the group, so she figured out things on her own.

She taught herself her own moves, and she basically learned to fend for herself in the way of smarts - brawn was not a strong point of hers. There was only on thing she could not figure out how to do on her own. This skill strictly needed a Swellow mother to show Erin how to complete this task. Erin couldn't figure out how to fly. She tried time and again, but Erin just couldn't seem to grasp the concept of flying. Erin jumped up and flapped her wings, but it never worked. And Erin wasn't about to go throw herself off a cliff to see if it would work that way either. So, in the end, she couldn't teach herself how to take off from the ground.

The mother Blaziken could not fly, and so could not teach Erin how too. Not being able to fly was a huge loss on Erin's part, but she took it without any fuss. She couldn't fly, and that was that. It was difficult, but Erin got by, and since she couldn't go look for her kind of food on her own, she had to endure eating only the extremely spicy berries that her mother picked. Torchics are genetically born to love spicy things, but Erin liked sweet or sour foods most. In fact, she hated spicy things, but it was the only source of food she had, so there was no point in complaining.

In terms of how well Erin got along with her brothers and sisters, that was much different. It seemed everyone stayed away from Erin and whispered behind her back. To them, she was considered an outsider. The only Torchic who didn't seem to gossip about Erin as much or stay completely away from her was Fawkes. He seemed to take an interest in her as if she was a new idea or discovery, just waiting to be dug into and explored deeper. Erin noticed how Fawkes would stare at her for a while, studying her. Erin tried to make herself feel better about this, knowing someone actually wanted - or it seemed so, anyway - to get to know her more.

By the time all the babies were nearing the tender age of one year old, everyone was much stronger. Almost all of the Torchics had gone up at least five levels, which was quite a bit for such a young Pokémon, but Fawkes had gone up an amazing seven. Erin, on the other hand, had gone up only two levels. Her so-called siblings laughed at her behind her back, cruelly pitying her low level.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Then, one hot summer day, Blaziken called over then gathered her chicks around her. They all looked up at her expectantly, not knowing what she was about to release them into.

"As you all know," Blaziken said, pulling her babies closer, "You are not tiny helpless Torchics…" she paused for a moment, and then said, "…or Taillows," she added, "Any longer. Some of you smarter ones," she looked over at Fawkes, "May have figured out this day was nearing, and," Blaziken paused again, bending her head down as if to hide her teary eyes from her children. "This is a very sad day for all of us. Today is the day I am releasing you into the wild."

Gasps escaped the mouths of a few Torchics, but after that, only silence.

"The wild," Blaziken continued, "Where you must find a place to live, food to eat, water to drink, and friends to keep by your side. Today is the day you must leave my protection and care and support to venture off into this big open, rocky world on your own. It is the day you are considered wild; free. There are many dangers in this world, my children: trainers, the elements, and others like you. I am trusting you are all strong enough to survive on your own, and so…" Blaziken looked up, and then began again, "Are you ready?"

Codac quivered slightly as if shaken by his mother's words. Then, suddenly, "I am!" he cried. "I am ready to wander the world, and I will face every obstacle in my path to Blazikenhood..." he paused, "or whatever..." snickers were tossed around the group of Torchics. "And take it on!" Codac finished finally.

Blaziken smiled and patted her son on the head. "That's my boy," she cooed, a look of sadness on her face. Then suddenly she stood up, serious again. "Now, remember what I have taught you, and use your knowledge well. Head off into this world, my children! However - Fawkes and Erin, I would like a word with you before you go."

All the other Torchics snickered again, thinking Fawkes and Erin were in trouble, but they headed off down the mountain anyway, looking for a place to live and raise a family.

"Fawkes..." the mother Blaziken began. "I know that you are the strongest of all your siblings, and I know you can survive in these mountains. However, I'm not so sure about Erin..." Blaziken looked sheepishly at her talons, embarrassed. Erin stared at her mother, stunned.

"Ohh, Erin, I'm sorry," Blaziken said. "All I'm asking is that... Fawkes... will you go with her? Aid her on her journey to becoming a Swellow, and until she evolves, keep her safe with you."

Fawkes and Erin both gawked at their mother. Then, almost pitifully, Blaziken mumbled, "Please?"

The two Pokémon would have laughed if they hadn't been in a state of shock.

After a short silence, "Yes, mom." Fawkes said obediently, staring into his mother's eyes, not looking at Erin at all.

Erin's mind swam with thoughts and colors. She couldn't survive without Fawkes, and yet she didn't want to go with him. Erin knew Fawkes didn't want to watch over her; he didn't want her to follow him around. He was angry with her for coming into his family, for appearing out of nowhere, and then getting stuck with him. But she also knew he would never disobey his mother.

Still, Erin hid her face from Fawkes, her eyes brimmed with tears. 'I'm sorry.' she thought, 'I've never meant for this happen, Fawkes. I'm sorry.' Of course, he couldn't hear her or know what she was saying, but Erin was fine with that. She wanted to keep her thoughts to herself. But even before she could wipe the tears away, Fawkes agreed reluctantly, "I will go with Erin. I will keep her safe with me until she is a Swellow."

"Good boy," the mother Blaziken cooed, leaning down and giving Fawkes a gentle burst of fire on his head, which is the way a mother Blaziken gives her a babies a kiss.

"Now you may go." Blaziken sighed.

Erin felt bad for everyone: Blaziken, because she would miss her children as much as Erin missed her real mother, and that was a lot. And Fawkes, who was burdened with making sure Erin was safe until she evolved, and would be a long time from now. And even though Erin tried not to, she felt bad for herself as well. She had a Blaziken for a mother, had to eat food she hated, she couldn't fly, which made small things like walking difficult for her. But, there was nothing Erin could do to change the past, present, or future.

So, Fawkes and Erin walked together slowly down the mountain, although at their own distances.

But before long, a lone mother Blaziken, tears streaming down her face, stood looking at the sun dip below the horizon.

Not that I'm knocking your story at all, but you need to slow down.
5 Chapters on one day? In the course of 22 minutes?
That is a bit of overkill, don't you think?
It makes people want to read it less because there is too much to comprehend all at once.

You need to build this slowly; it's like building a wall. We can follow your work if you pile it on slowly, brick by brick. But if you build it all at once, we can't follow your work because we are surrounded by a wall. It just becomes a blur of bricks.

Kinda cheesy metaphor, but you get the idea.

My advice would be to delete all your posts up until Chapter 1(make sure you have another copy on your computer).
A prologue and chapter 1 can be handled pretty easily.

I'll get back to reviewing this when I have more time, k?

Yeah, Blue Angel's right, you should build up the story so that the suspense and excitement would LINGER upon the readers and they want to read more of it. You're going too fast.

Anyway, review.

This is so exciting! Why, the beginning sounds like is portrayed from "The Ugly Duckling" except that the baby Torchics were not mean to it. What would happen to Erin under Skarmony's care training?

Thanks!

Thanks for the suggestion. I deleted the posts so only the Prologue and Chapter One are left. I'll go slower this time.

The reason I had so many chapters is because I had that many done already, so I just figured, 'Why not put them up now?' but I see what you mean. Thanks! :)

Skarmory

SoraNoHana said:

What would happen to Erin under Skarmony's care training?

Click to expand...

What do you mean? Like, if he had taken her in and raised her instead of Blaziken?

Well, if that's what you mean, that simply wouldn't happen. Skarmory would think of a Taillow as useless for a minion (or something like that). He didn't know where the egg had been dropped, and he didn't really care. Plus, there's no way Skarmory would be that nice. :\

Oh?

LugiaFreak said:

What do you mean? Like, if he had taken her in and raised her instead of Blaziken?

Well, if that's what you mean, that simply wouldn't happen. Skarmory would think of a Taillow as useless for a minion (or something like that). He didn't know where the egg had been dropped, and he didn't really care. Plus, there's no way Skarmory would be that nice. :\

Click to expand...

No? Oh, I just thought it WOULD be. I am a loser in reading and comprehension.

OK, I'll keep my mouth shut, as so not to spoil the fun for the others.

-sticks Psyduck tape on my mouth-

My First Fic

SoraNoHana said:

OK, I'll keep my mouth shut, as so not to spoil the fun for the others.

-sticks Psyduck tape on my mouth-

Click to expand...

Thanks. :laugh: Sorry about the super-preview. This is only my first fic, so bear with me. :)

Loved it! Keep it up! I hope the next chapter will be posted soon!

Thank You!

Dark_Aero said:

Loved it! Keep it up! I hope the next chapter will be posted soon!

Click to expand...

Thanks! I'll have the next chapter up by either late tonight or tomorrow. I'm glad you like it! :)

I am glad to say that I didn't see many grammar errors, which makes it a lot easier on me ^^

Please fix all grammar errors (the first correction is a suggestion)

This is the prologue, btw.

LugiaFreak said:

[FONT=&quot]There was once a young, feisty, overprotective mother Blaziken, who lived high atop a jagged cliff, deep into what were known as the Craggy Mountains. She was guarding her nest, which contained five crimson[/FONT]-colored[FONT=&quot] eggs.[/FONT]

Click to expand...

It sounds a little awkward to use colored. I realize some of the younger readers may not understand that crimson is a red color, but I think it would be best to get rid of it.

LugiaFreak said:

[FONT=&quot] The nest was made out of sharp thorns and twigs, but the thick shell of the eggs kept them safe from any harm. The mother [/FONT]also[FONT=&quot] attacked any living thing that came close to her nest, [/FONT]and[FONT=&quot] so the eggs were always protected. The mother Blaziken occasionally blew a gentle stream of flames around the eggs, keeping them warm and healthy.[/FONT]

Click to expand...

These two words are unnecessary. "Also" is more of an essay type word. Not so much a story telling word. If you are making a list of actions, I don't encourage the use of "also." It disrupts the flow of the sentence.

Now if you are making a list of people and then you add someone to the end, "also" fits a little better.

LugiaFreak said:

[FONT=&quot]However, on the very same day the eggs were due to hatch, a Rydon challenged the mother Blaziken, wanting to take over what Blaziken thought of as her piece of land.

The battle was quite a scene, and the Rhydon seemed to be winning. He used his long, powerful tail to whip around and send the mother flying across the plateau where she lived. It was a massive hit, and the mother Blaziken was not prepared for the blow.

Blaziken lay there, silent and unmoving.

The Rhydon moved in, checking to make sure the battle was his. He inched closer, then closer…

Suddenly, out of nowhere, the Blaziken whipped her long talon across the earth, sending a cloud of dust everywhere. Surprised, the Rhydon cried out, trying to shield his face from the blinding dirt. Before his vision was clear again, Blaziken's foot, alight with a scalding fire, whammed him in the chest, hard. Blown back by sheer force, the Rhydon managed to stand up, but just barely.

Fighting for her life and offspring, the mother continued to battle her foe into the heat of the day...[/FONT]

Click to expand...

I'll admit that the battle has some action, but I don't think it is quite enough like a Pokemon battle. I know, it's hard to make the moves clearly known without having a trainer yelling them out. Just try to expand on it a little more. It's a good start though.
[FONT=&quot]
[/FONT]

LugiaFreak said:

[FONT=&quot]
Her egg was thin-shelled and tiny, and almost every Pokémon that lived on the mountain took that as a snack, even the weak Ratatta. [/FONT]

Click to expand...

Were you talking about the egg? If so, you need to add "that" into the sentence because it doesn't have a subject(that the "taking as a snack" is being done to).
[FONT=&quot]

[/FONT]

LugiaFreak said:

[FONT=&quot] As the mother Swellow alighted from her roost and flew across the skies, she grasped her single egg tightly in her talons as she searched for a new and unoccupied place to make a nest. The mother Swellow's long [/FONT]([FONT=&quot]and slightly frazzled[/FONT])[FONT=&quot] tail feathers whipped behind her as she realized - to her utter mortification - that the eerie, distant call of a certain steel bird was getting closer.[/FONT]

Click to expand...

I highly discourage the use of parenthesis in a story, unless it is in the author's note at the beginning or the end. Since what is in the parenthesis is still describing the Swellow's tail, I say you just get rid of the parenthesis and move on. Parenthesis tend to break up a sentence's flow and confuse the reader.
[FONT=&quot]
[/FONT]

LugiaFreak said:

[FONT=&quot]Skarmory, the ruler of the skies, the Craggy Mountains, and just about everything his set his hard, golden eyes on, had spotted the Swellow and was furious. He believed that there was a place for every Pokémon in this world, and if they had no place, they should not be here, especially in HIS mountains. He had told everyone in the Craggy Mountains many times of his rule, and still, he sighed; they refused to follow it. [/FONT]

Click to expand...

I realize what you are trying to do, by putting "HIS" in Caps. You are trying to put possesion and emphasis on the word. Try using the Italics button instead, because full caps can be considered as yelling, isntead of emphasis. The last part was a run-on sentence, so I stuck a semi-colon in there to allow the run-on to flow. [FONT=&quot]



[/FONT]

LugiaFreak said:

[FONT=&quot] The unmerciful Skarmory swooped down out of the sky like a silver missile and rammed into the mother Swellow. With a screech, the mother dropped her only egg, and even though she tried desperately to snatch it back, Skarmory simply wouldn't let her go. A [/FONT]single[FONT=&quot] tear rolled down Swellow's cheek as her egg tumbled down toward the Earth. While in the skies, Skarmory finished what he thought needed to be done.[/FONT]

Click to expand...

The first part "the unmerciful skarmory" was my embellishment - Most of the bolds are :P. It helps with the flow and makes the beginning less awkward.

"A single tear" is used too much by the authors here, so it has started to become a cliche. Just get rid of "single" and you won't be cliche ;)

Your last sentence needed to be split, so it would make sense and not be a run-on.

[FONT=&quot]
[/FONT]

LugiaFreak said:

[FONT=&quot]There must have been [/FONT]at least[FONT=&quot] some luck with the mother Swellow that day, because her egg landed squarely in the mother Blaziken's nest while she was fighting off the Rydon. It bounced once and cracked slightly on a thorn, but landed in the nest, just the same.

After a final strike by the Blaziken, her powerful Blaze Kick, the Rydon could take no more and fainted. As soon as his heavy metal body crashed to the ground, the mother Blaziken almost flew over to her nest to make sure her prized eggs were safe. [/FONT]

Click to expand...

"At least" is unnecessary. You identified a move - good idea.

There we go. Just a couple of errors.
If I see a huge amount in the future, I'll just do the whole thing in quotes and bold my changes.

Pokemon Battles

Blue Angel said:

I'll admit that the battle has some action, but I don't think it is quite enough like a Pokemon battle. I know, it's hard to make the moves clearly known without having a trainer yelling them out. Just try to expand on it a little more. It's a good start though.

Click to expand...

I know, but the battle wasn't supposed to be very long anyway. When I first wrote the rough draft of this, there wasn't a battle scene at all. :\ It's a good thing I fixed it.

But thanks for the suggestions. I'll work on my Pokemon battles more in the upcoming chapters. If you think it might be helpful, I could have the 'dust move' be Sand-Attack and part where Rydon smacks her with his tail Body Slam or something.

Edit: However, I have written Chapter Three (as you already knew 0_o') and it has a big Pokemon battle in it. So, you can see what you think of that when I post it. :)

LugiaFreak said:

I know, but the battle wasn't supposed to be very long anyway. When I first wrote the rough draft of this, there wasn't a battle scene at all. :\ It's a good thing I fixed it.

But thanks for the suggestions. I'll work on my Pokemon battles more in the upcoming chapters. If you think it might be helpful, I could have the 'dust move' be Sand-Attack and part where Rydon smacks her with his tail Body Slam or something.

Edit: However, I have written Chapter Three (as you already knew 0_o') and it has a big Pokemon battle in it. So, you can see what you think of that when I post it. :)

Click to expand...

I get what you mean. It was a Prologue - you didn't want to make it too long.

I think Sand-attack works, and I think Iron Tail should be the second attack.

I'll get to see what you mean soon enough. Good Luck.

Iron Tail

Blue Angel said:

I get what you mean. It was a Prologue - you didn't want to make it too long.

I think Sand-attack works, and I think Iron Tail should be the second attack.

I'll get to see what you mean soon enough. Good Luck.

Click to expand...

Oh, Iron Tail. I forgot about that one. :) Thanks.

Chapter Two: An Unexpected Visitor

Alright, here it is! Chapter two! Enjoy! :)

Chapter Two
An Unexpected Visitor

[FONT=&quot]Erin the Taillow and Fawkes the Torchic made their way slowly down the mountain, both silent the whole way.

They were looking for a place to sleep before nightfall, which wasn't an easy thing to do. Even though the Craggy Mountains was dotted with hundreds upon thousands of caves, an estimated two nests of babies were released into the wild every day, and it all depended on who got to a cave first, and who didn't.

Both Fawkes and Erin were thinking hard, staring at their feet in a deep void of thought. It was an hour before anyone said anything, but Erin was the one to speak first, which, if you think about it, wasn't really a surprise.

"Fawkes..." she began, but he cut her off.

"Listen," Fawkes said, stopping on the rocks to talk. "I know what you're going to say. You're apologizing for needing to come with, and making me watch over you all the time."

Erin blushed slightly. Was it really that obvious what she was thinking?

"Anyway," Fawkes said as he hopped from one rock to another, turning sharply to avoid a large cliff face, "That doesn't matter now. Right now we need to focus on where to look for a place to sleep. Oh, here we go."

As if on cue, a medium-sized cave mouth loomed over the two of them when Fawkes and Erin turned the corner.

Stepping in gingerly, Fawkes looked around, and then motioned Erin to come inside.

"It looks promising," he said, peering down deeper into the cave. "It's a bit too large, if you know what I mean. Sleeping here on the floor, we'd be vulnerable to Pokémon as large as, say, Heracross. But, on the other hand, we might as well take it."

He paused and took a moment to shoo away some nearby Zubat roosting on the ceiling.

"Alright, you can start collecting dry grass for the fire while I collect firewood."

As Fawkes began to collect leaves and twigs right around the mouth of the cave, Erin cocked her head slightly. She strained all her senses to see if she had really heard what she thought or if her ears were playing tricks on her.

Taillows have very acute hearing, and can hear a pin drop around fifty feet away. Erin did not hear a pin, however, but a strange, low sound.

Somewhere, deep inside the cave, a faint rumbling noise could be heard. Erin listened a while longer, trying to block out every other sound, but still she heard nothing.

Thinking it was just her imagination, Erin turned back to look at Fawkes, who was propping the sticks he had gathered up against each other.

"Ok," he said. "Where's the dry grass?"

Erin blushed, embarrassed that she wasn't paying attention very well. Erin wandered out and quickly gathered grass for the fire.

After spreading dry grass and leaves around it, Fawkes blew a small flame on the sticks, setting them alight.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Later that night, Erin and Fawkes sat around the fire, staring into it. They had no expression, and they were both motionless.

They were both thinking, but about what was hard to tell.

Erin was thinking about that strange sound she heard – or maybe just thought she heard – in the back of the cave. Was it real? What was it?

Eventually Erin gave up on these thoughts and looked away from the bright fire. She sighed, because there was on other thing that she had been thinking about, and it had been bugging her for a while now.

Erin knew she had to get the thought out of the way, so she brought it up now, even though she didn't really want to.

Speaking softly and quietly, and not looking Fawkes in the eye when she said it, Erin sighed, "I'll leave."

Fawkes stared at her, dumbstruck.

"What?!" he cried.

Erin turned toward him, and he could see her eyes were brimmed with tears, so close to overflowing and streaming down her face Fawkes that couldn't take his eyes away.

"I'll go." Erin continued. "And find a place on my own. I know you don't want me here. The only reason you haven't left me is because your mom told you to watch over me, and you know she would be ashamed if you left me to die."

Staring at Erin in utter disbelief, Fawkes stuttered, as he said, "No! Don't leave! I want you to stay—"

"Only because your mom told you to," Erin interrupted.

"No." Fawkes said sternly. "I want you to stay. Protecting you gives me a challenge. Something other than doing the same thing – getting food, water, exploring - day in and day out. I want you here. Plus, you can do stuff I can't. You can see better then I can. Hear better. You have different moves. You know Whirlwind, which is a move I can never learn. Stay, please. It's better for both of us."

Erin looked at him then sighed deeply. "Ok, fine. I'll stay. But only if you want me to."

"Good," Fawkes said, relieved. "Now let's get some rest."

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

[/FONT][FONT=&quot]Erin awoke in the middle of the night, when the night sky still surrendered only to the pale light of the moon.

She blinked several times, waiting for her eyes to adjust to the dim light. Erin yawned, her dull beak opening wide. She stretched her wings and talons, and then walked over to the mouth of the cave and sat in the light of the moon.

Erin stared into the moon and thought about the other Pokémon around here that, when, the time came, she could battle.

Erin thought about the night Pokémon, and how difficult each was to defeat; easy Pokémon of the night included Zubat, Hoothoot, and Teddiursa. Other tougher Pokémon included Heracross, Umbreon, and Ursaring.

She sighed, thinking of how nice it would be when she could be a Swellow, and how powerful she would become after evolution.

...

Suddenly, Erin was aware of a presence behind her. A rather large presence, to be exact.

Erin turned slowly and her eyes bugged out at the sight that was behind her. She gave out a rasp squawk, her voice dry from fright.

Fawkes was resting quietly on the floor of the cave, snoring slightly.

But, in the shadows behind him, an Ursaring loomed out of the darkness, its lips raised to show its teeth. Erin stood and stared, gaping.

Finally, she came to her senses and cried out to Fawkes.

"FAWKES! FAWKES, WAKE UP!"

Blinking, Fawkes yawned and looked at her sleepily. "What? What's wrong?"

By Erin's expression, he could tell she was staring at something behind him. He sighed, expecting it to be a frightening shadow, only to find that quite suddenly, a large brown paw was swiping at his head.

Torchics have quick reflexes, which came in handy when avoiding large terrifying Pokemon.

Fawkes moved out of the way in the nick of time, as the Ursaring's paw cracked painfully against the hard stone. He roared in protest, and the throbbing in his paw only made him angrier.

Fawkes was suddenly beside Erin, babbling out what seemed to be orders.

"Erin," he panted, "I need you to get away, NOW. Get out of the cave. Wait outside, and I'll come for you later."

"No!" Erin cried. "I can't just leave you here! I'm staying." Erin sat on her haunches stubbornly, refusing to move.

With the Ursaring getting dangerously closer with each word either of them spoke, Fawkes only had time to groan in frustration, "Erriinnn..."

The Ursaring swung his paw at the both of them again, and Fawkes slipped out of the way as Erin squawked with shock as a clawed paw nearly took her wing off.

She hopped away as the Ursaring turned its attention back to Fawkes. He used Ember over and over, but the great Pokémon's fur was so thick and bristly, and the creature's huge paws batted out the flames easily.

Fawkes kept trying, using all the moves he knew until he was so out of breath that one more move would surly make him faint.

With Fawkes so tired, the Ursaring raised its paw for what would be the final blow to Erin's only protection from the giant bear Pokémon.[/FONT]

ooh suspense! lol I loved it! And I love how you cut off as the Ursaring was about to take its final blow at Erin! I love when authors do that!

I Love Suspense! Lol

Dark_Aero said:

ooh suspense! lol I loved it! And I love how you cut off as the Ursaring was about to take its final blow at Erin! I love when authors do that!

Click to expand...

I love doing that too. It will happen a lot in this story. :badsmile:

lol cool. I can't wait for chapter 3

Awesome story, I like it. Keep it going!

Chapter Three: Ursaring Attack

Enjoy~! :)

Chapter Three
Ursaring Attack

With it?s paw raised, Ursaring thwacked Fawkes across the head, sending him flying across the opening of the cave, and making him faint instantly.

He slumped pitifully against the wall, a gash in his head from the wickedly sharp claws of Ursaring.

Erin cringed, and so much of so many different emotions rose up inside her that she didn?t know what to do. Erin felt fear, and a lot of it too ? but she also felt sadness, as well as anger. The Ursaring had harmed Fawkes, and she was angry, and the gash on his head brought tears of sadness and frustration to Erin?s eyes.

With the so-called threat out of the way, the Usaring turned its attention on Erin, and the giant creature shook the cave with a tremendous roar.

Erin knew she had to hold off the Ursaring for long enough so that Fawkes had time to revive.

She dodged the Ursaring?s attacks, but she grew tired and wary, and her feet burned.


Eventually, Erin was able to distract the monster by tossing a rock into the back of the cave, which, for some reason, sent the Ursaring charging back there, as if something valuable was stashed where the rock had been thrown.

During this precious time when the Ursaring was preoccupied, Erin rushed over to Fawkes and shook him mercilessly.

?Fawkes! Fawkes! Wake UP!? Erin was practically shaking Fawkes out of his skin.

With relief, Erin saw that Fawkes was slowly, slowly coming to. Suddenly, a large, sickeningly recognizable brown paw missed Erin my mere millimeters. She screamed, and that was the jolt Fawkes needed to fully wake him up.

He sprang to his feet, his head spinning, as he looked around dizzily.

?Erin?? he cried. ?Are you okay??

?Yeah, I?m fine!? Erin yelled across the cave to Fawkes, for she had gotten out of the way before she was flattened. ?But, you might want to MOV-?

Ursaring swiped at Fawkes?s head again, and another large gash appeared, but it wasn?t nearly as large as the previous one. Fawkes stumbled, dazed, but he was just barely able to get out of the way before he took another blow to the head.

He made his way over to Erin.

?Erin,? he panted, ?Use? Whirlwind?? Fawkes groaned as he hung his head in pain.

Erin reached out to Fawkes... his injuries were so bad?

?Do it!? Fawkes suddenly whipped up his head, flicking a small spray of blood onto the wall. Erin jumped at his reaction, but did as she was told.

With tears in her eyes again, Erin began beating her wings with all the power she had, and a howling wind filled the cave.

Erin turned her head just enough to see Fawkes leaned against the cave wall, blood slowly trickling down his forehead. Erin eyes widened as Fawkes shifted slightly from side to side, groaning and scrunching up his face in pain.

Suddenly, Erin was so filled with anger that she was sure that she would burst. With a roar, she whipped her head back around and beat her wings harder and faster. Erin sent huge gusts of wind everywhere, and the Ursaring backed up, trying desperately to shield his face from the blinding wind.

Erin's chest was heaving with all the power and strength she was using. She knew that if she didn?t stop Whirlwind soon, she was going to faint, and Fawkes would be in big trouble.

Sweat poured down her face as the world began to fade into black?

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Erin?s eyes began to open slowly, but when a flash of hot fire licked her feathers, she hopped up with a squawk.

Dazed, Erin closed her eyes for a moment so she would stop seeing double. After a while, her vision was clear again, and Erin surveyed her surroundings.

Fawkes was still battling the Ursaring, but to Erin?s horrification, he seemed to be losing.

The Ursaring was continuously swiping at Fawkes, and he was trying to force Fawkes out of the mouth of the cave and over the edge of a nearby cliff.

Erin looked around in a panic, trying to find something to distract the bear. She hopped over to a pile of small rocks and picked one up, hoping that maybe she could catch the Ursaring off guard and give Fawkes a chance to escape to a different part of the cave.

Grasping the rock tightly, Erin hurled it at the Ursaring, but the small rock only bounced off the Pok?mon?s head.

Ursaring turned toward Erin, and then got down on all fours and rumbled toward her.

Screeching with shock and fright, Erin just managed to move before she was crushed.

The monster tried to stop, but rammed into the wall with a thunderous crash. Dazed, the Ursaring stumbled around clutching it?s head.

Erin panted slightly, exhausted. She racked her brain desperately for ideas on how to get away from the monster. She hopped over to Fawkes, who was coughing sickeningly and unhealthily.

?Let?s leave now,? Erin whispered, ?While it?s dazed. We can get away if we run.?

Fawkes looked at her with tired eyes. ?But if we defeat it, we?ll get to keep the cave-? He broke into a coughing fit.

Erin sighed, and then froze. She stood there, her head down, deep in thought.

Suddenly, she whipped her head up and looked wildly at Fawkes.

?Fawkes,? she panted breathlessly, ?Use Ember on me.?

?What?!? Fawkes choked. ?Are you crazy??

?Do it. Use Ember on me.? Erin said. She saw the Ursaring getting closer and closer, and if Fawkes didn?t hurry, they were both dead meat.

Erin hopped over to a corner of the cave and jumped up and down.

?Do it! Do it now! FAWKES!? Fawkes looked up, knowing he had to trust Erin. With his last ounce of strength, he inhaled deeply and released a scalding column of flames.

The fire rushed toward Erin, and with a determined look in her eyes, she released a wave of wind.

The fire rose up into a tornado, and a look of joy filled Erin?s eyes. As she continued to supply the tornado with wind, Fawkes sat in the corner and stared at his companion?s power.

The Ursaring cried out in alarm and tried to shield it?s face with its paws, but its attempts were faltered and the wind and flames engulfed him. Erin continued to supply the tornado with gales of wind, but before long, she could take no more and fell to the ground, breathing heavily.
When all the wind and ashes cleared, the Ursaring lay fainted on the ground.

?You did it, Erin! Fawkes cried, before coughing slightly. He smiled as Erin slowly got off of the ground and brushed herself off.

?Alright,? Fawkes panted, ?Let?s drag this thing out of the cave before it wakes up, and then we can have this whole place to ourselves.?

Erin nodded her head, for she was too tired to speak. Fawkes hobbled over to the Ursaring and grabbed its feet. He began pulling, and slowly but surely, the creature slid across the hard stone cave floor.

Erin stretched, and then turned toward the back of the cave. She gasped.

There, in the darkness, two little baby Teddiursa slowly crawled out from behind some rocks.

They looked sadly at their mother, getting dragged across the floor of their home, and they cried for her.

Erin turned to Fawkes and rasped, ?Fawkes. Don?t.?

Fawkes looked up at her and had a puzzled look on his face.

?Why?? he asked, and then saw the little Pok?mon hiding in the darkness. ?Oh?? he sighed, not wanting to give up the cave. ?All right. I guess this cave already belongs to someone. Let?s go before she wakes up.? Fawkes said, looking at the mother Ursaring.

He smiled at the two babies, and then motioned Erin to the entrance. ?Let?s go.?

Erin said, ?She was only trying to protect her babies.? With that, the pair of them left to the babies to awake their mother.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

The next morning, Erin and Fawkes slipped and slid down a steep slope coated in rocks, before they took a rest on a cliff.

The weather was nice, and Fawkes thought it was the perfect time to bring up and important subject.

?Er, Erin.? Fawkes said uneasily. ?You know, I?ve been meaning to tell you something.?

?Mmm hmm?? Erin mumbled, scratching at the ground.

?Well,? Fawkes paused. He looked nervous as he continued, ?Mother said that there were a lot of dangers out here in the wilderness, like trainers, other Pok?mon, the elements, and stuff like that, but she, uh, may have forgot one little thing.?

?What?s that?? Erin said, turning towards him.

?Skarmory.?