The Road to Rayquaza

It was so sudden. So sudden that I could never have seen it no matter how much psychic training I've undergone. My shock rendered me senseless, and I couldn't hear what the others were screaming at me. My body refused to move despite my desperate pleas. I wanted badly to take another step, but my mind could only focus on one thing: I just picked a fight with a legendary Pokémon. That single realization weighed me down with the force of ten Wailords.

I wasn't even remotely strong enough to fight Rayquaza! It wasn't until I was nearly frozen solid by an Ice Beam before I could get a grasp on myself. I picked myself up from the ground to see everyone standing over me and Stream, Michael's partnered Vaporeon recoiling from his attack. They all looked worried at my pitiful body, but I stood up and walked on to ignore their sympathy. There were far more important things ahead. "Forgive me", I simply apologized without explanation. I had to keep us moving; my freeze up wasted enough time already. Rayquaza was probably already halfway to Stalagmite Trench and we were barely making headway there. At that point I was glad I thought ahead and set up the ambush early.

Whatever any of my friends were saying to me barely registered in my head. I had to keep my thoughts on my strategy for the fight. Nothing else, not them, not what lead to this, not even Diamond. I stopped for the second time. Diamond. The Pokémon who got closest to me. For her sake I had to come out alive. If there was no other reason I had to live for her.

"SHADE!" May screamed at me.

I cringed. Her high-pitched, human voice was enough to almost blow out my eardrums. Looking back to acknowledge her, I saw Michael and Brendan holding their ears in shock. She smiled proudly.

"There", she said, "I think I got his attention."

"Shade", Michael said when he recovered, "Are you okay?"

I nodded.

"Are you going to be okay enough to fight?"

Another nod.

"Okay, let's get moving."

I heard him whistle loudly behind me. So loudly that it echoed in the distance for several seconds. I didn't understand the point of such a loud outburst, until the wind picked up. It was only moments before it nearly ripped the trees from the ground. I looked up and saw Lugia descending into the forest. Relief washed over me. I forgot completely about him. Seeing his winged form gracefully land not even ten feet away gave me hope. With a legendary on our side, we had a chance. My confidence growing, I was the first on his back.

"Rayquaza won't know what hit'em!" Brendan cheered when Lugia took off.

I barely heard him over the wind in my ears, but it was just enough to raise my spirits far more than I could have thought possible. We were hundreds of feet above the Orre Region in mere minutes, soaring at blinding speeds to the place we would finally put my past behind me. The wind rushed through my fur, whistled in my ears, and fueled my excitement. Never in my life had I ever felt so alive! I wondered if that was how Diamond felt: free and happy. Even though the sun shone down on us from beyond the clear sky, I felt my heart floating throughout chest in a pool of adrenaline. It was dangerous for me to feel so good, but the air of invincibility around me was too thick to escape. In the back of my mind I knew being so optimistic could kill me, and I tried my best to listen because I would need every ounce of focus I could muster for the upcoming altercation.

My thoughts were interrupted by Brendan behind me. "When we get to the trench, what do you want us to do in case it gets dangerous?"

I thought over his question in silence. I forgot to plan for that. Should Rayquaza become too violent, he could target them as well. "If it comes to that…I want you to take everyone at the trench and evacuate. I won't let you pay for my mistakes. Whatever happens to me will happen…"

"You want us to leave you for dead?!" Michael shifted forward. Something told me he didn't like the idea of leaving Silver without a brother.

"My decision is my own", I stated solidly, "I'm sorry for Silver, I hope he'll understand in the future."

"But—"

Suddenly the rushing air got profoundly colder. "I'm not debating this", I told May coldly.

What was only a few seconds ago an enjoyable ride became a quiet interlude of waiting game until we had to get off Lugia. Not even he seemed to argue this decision, even if he was part of the reason I lived to ride him to what could have easily been my final resting place. My thoughts eventually drifted back to Diamond. Dying was merely a final resort; I didn't want to leave Diamond in any way. However, if the safety of the Orre Region could be assured by my death, then so be it. In the long run my decision might even save Diamond's life.

The air loosened as the tension faded, and soon enough we were relaxed again. If only it could have stayed that way. In one thousandth of a second something hit Lugia hard, sending all of us from his back into the vast sky. The initial shock dazed and rendered me unable to react. In the distance above I see in my blurred vision Lugia flying straight towards me followed by an odd green shape at near sonic speeds.

I fought myself out of the shock and screamed, "NO! GET EVERYONE OUT OF HERE! LEAVE ME!" My body twisted around and now I was faced with the fast-approaching ground. I prepared myself for the landing by readying a Hyper Beam. When I fell even with the tops of the trees I fired it straight down. The force of the attack countered my downward force, bringing me to a gentle landing on the forest floor. Exhaustion hit me with full force. I looked around for a place to hide. Unfortunately there wasn't a place to be seen, but my luck did turn around. No more than twenty yards away I saw Stalagmite Trench. Ignoring the roars behind me I dragged myself to the final showdown with my past.

Cliffhanger squared I suppose now. Thank you all for being so patient for these updates. College is really taking a lot of time out of my schedule, but hopefully I can get something done with it in the future.