This is my first fanfic that I’ve ever shown to anyone. It is a prologue to a series that I plan to extend later. Enjoy! The Boy and the Sea By Lolafeak Emile stood at the screen door, his nose pressed against the wire mesh until it looked flat. He stared intently outside at the gathering thunderclouds in the summer sky, watching the flicking tendrils of lightning as they laced down toward the ground. He grinned excitedly. Running one hand back through his spiky, jet black hair, he began walking back to the main desk in the Pokemon Center. He snatched his Pokeballs off of the tray that Nurse Joy slid over to him, latching them onto his belt and running out the screen door, which shut with a slam behind him. Other trainers, who were seeking refuge from the oncoming storm and flocking toward the Pokemon Center, stared at the 14 year old boy as he ran eagerly out into the path of the storm. One shook his head and laughed. Emile neither noticed nor cared. All he was thinking about was that tonight he would finally get a chance to spot the Pokemon that he knew would be waiting for him. He ran down a small dirt path toward the ocean, where boats had already begun to bob rather violently atop the tumultuous sea. Wingull were flying inward, toward shore, a surefire sign of a really bad storm. At this obvious warning Emile merely grinned wider. He finally reached a dock that reached out into the sea. Running out to the edge, he paused to fumble with the Pokeballs on his belt. Finding the one he needed, he pulled it off and gave it a toss into the ocean. With a white flash of light and a tumultuous roar, the water dragon Pokemon, Gyarados, appeared. Although its fearsome disposition frightened many a strong hearted trainer, Emile was accustomed to handling all sorts of Pokemon, and this one was no different. He leaped out into the sea, landing on the back of his Gyarados. With another grin that was about two sizes too big for his face, he simply stated: “It’s time.” The Gyarados, whose name happened to be Fin, roared in acknowledgement and excited anticipation. It remembered quite clearly what this storm heralded. After all, it was a water Pokemon, an in tune with the sea. “Come on, Fin!” Emile yelled, grasping one of Fin’s scaly fins as the Gyarados whipped its muscular tail back and forth, thus propelling them at an amazing speed out into the dangerously turbulent waters. As they rode, Emile scanned the waters for a sign of what he was seeking. He remembered exactly what the bluish glow had looked like when he had seen it only a week ago, when he had been out surfing with Fin. Finally, with a yell, he spotted it. It was a faint blue glow, far below the surface. Pulsating vibrations seemed to emanate from its source. There was a low, wailing sound coming from beneath the waves. It knew he was coming. At this, Emile was not surprised. He knew full well that this creature was endowed with all the powers of the sea, and therefore it was no wonder that it could sense what had entered its waters. Emile wondered why it had not fled, as it had done last time. It was strange… Suddenly, the light began to grow brighter. Emile’s grin disappeared, and a look of grave seriousness took its place. At this abrupt transformation in the boy’s mood, it became apparent that this look of solemnity had been worn by his face many a time. He stared intently into the sea. There was a low humming sound from below the waves. A large object was floating up toward the boy and his Gyarados. It bobbed to the surface like a cork, sending up a huge wave of water that sprayed Emile, soaking him to the skin. At the sight of it, Emile gasped, in awe of its magnificence. It was a beautiful creature, with a smooth, rounded blue body, two hand-like flippers held out to the sides of it, and a long tail that looked like trailing blue ribbons. On its flippers and across its body were strange red markings that pulsated with light softly. It let out a bellowing cry and stared at the one who had come for it. It blinked. In disbelief, it regarded the thin, rather small teenage boy in front of him. He was only 5 ½ feet tall, and his face was thin and sort of frail looking. It continued to look him over, until it looked into his strange, steely gray eyes. At this it paused. Perhaps its assumptions had been wrong… Swallowing the lump of nervousness in his throat, Emile took a deep breath and called out to it. “Kyogre!” Kyogre continued to stare into his eyes at the strange, ancient wisdom it found there. “I challenge you, Kyogre!” Emile cried. “If I should win, you must join me in my travels! And if I should lose-“At this he paused to take another deep breath. “Then I will permit you to claim me as a victim of the sea.” His small body was shaking in fear, but he was resolved to go through with his challenge. Kyogre considered the boy’s offer. It would not lose to him, of this it was sure. But it still had a little hesitation, like that of a lingering doubt in the back of its mind. This human was well educated in the old ways, the ways of the ancient warriors of the past that had battled it in an effort to capture it and lay claim to its mysterious powers. But he still was a mere child, and surely had no idea of the risks involved with his challenge. And yet- it looked once more into his eyes. Then, as though finding what it had known was there all along, it made up its mind. Kyogre let out a battle cry, and the sea around it churned. Emile knew that it had deemed him worthy. Wasting no time, he yelled “Go, Fin!” Fin charged forward toward the great beast. Despite Fin’s size, Kyogre was still just as big. It slammed into Kyogre, only to be thrown back into the sea. Emile’s neck suffered whiplash as Fin was thrown backward and smashed into the surface of the water. He stood up on Fin’s back, keeping his hand on one fin for support. Kyogre bellowed, and it glowed blue. A large wave reared up behind it, and Kyogre slid up on top of it. “Fin, get into the sky!” Emile yelled frantically. Fin slammed its tail hard into the water, thrusting it upward and into the air. Its fins rose out from its body and extended to their full length, as Fin continued to beat its tail, but through the air now as it flew. Unperplexed, Kyogre let out a hum. The clouds above it began to swirl as though they were being sucked in by a giant’s breath. And then a whirling cyclone appeared from the clouds, touching down on the ocean. Massive amounts of water were sucked up into the cyclone, increasingly its potency. It surged toward Fin, and the strong winds began to pull the dragon toward it. “Use Dragon Rage!” Emile cried to Fin. A primal power seemed to take hold of Fin. It was a power born into all Gyarados, the power that has earned them the legendary tales of sailors. At the sound of the command for Dragon Rage, Fin roared as loud as it could, and generated a bright blue, glowing ball of energy in its mouth, which it fired at the cyclone. The cyclone sucked it up, turning it an otherwordly fluorescent blue. Fin grinned. It was now in control of the cyclone. Roaring again, Fin sent the cyclone back towards Kyogre. Kyogre was picked up into the air, but before it could suffer any significant damage from the attack, it glowed blue again and the cyclone ascended back in to the clouds. Frustrated, Emile tried to think of a way to hit Kyogre. “Fin, try a Thunderbolt attack!” Fin once again opened its mouth, this time generating a ball of lightning there. Once it had grown too large and powerful for Fin to handle, it released it straight at Kyogre. Kyogre let out a cry as the lightning hit it. Growing in power due to Kyogre’s slick, wet skin, the lightning caused it much pain as it raced along its body. Finally, the lightning disappated. Watching incredulously, Emile saw Kyogre sink below the waves. He frantically reached back into his backpack until he found what he needed: a Pokeball. He stood up, hefted it and aimed at the spot where Kyogre had sunk. It was here that he made his mistake. Emile had stood up on Fin without any means of support. And he had also made the mistake of assuming that Kyogre was defeated, which it wasn’t by any means. At the very moment that Emile cocked his arm to throw the Pokeball, Kyogre leapt from the ocean, glowing intensely. Emile felt an odd tingling on the back of his neck, and it took him a moment to realize what it was. By then, it was too late. The swirling clouds above them let loose a jagged fork of lightning that hit Fin directly. The lightning traveled down its body as it roared in pain. Emile was zapped, and stunned in the process. Loosing his balance, he toppled off of Fin toward the treacherous sea below, still gripping the Pokeball in his hand. The water seemed to be as hard as cement when he hit it. All of the air in his lungs was driven out, and he found himself clutching at the water, trying to move his legs to swim, but he couldn’t seem to move right. Falling down deeper, he lost track of which way was up. His lungs ached for air, and it wouldn’t be much longer until he took in a lungful of water and drowned. At this moment, he would have cursed himself for his stupidity, his overconfidence in challenging Kyogre. But all his mind could process was that he wanted to breathe… …………………………………………………………………………………………….. High up in the sky, amidst its pain, Fin watched helplessly as its trainer fell down into the water. Exhausted, it fell down into the water itself, and floated weakly on the surface. It let out cries of rage as it tried as hard as it could to swim to where Emile had fallen. But its energy was depleted, and it cried in self-hate at its inability to save his friend. Kyogre remained floating on the sea. Sparks still danced on its skin from the powerful Thunderbolt that Fin had fired at it. It watched in pity as the Gyarados writhed in anger and sorrow. Remembering what it had seen in the eyes of the boy, it realized that he was not meant to die this way. He was intended for a much greater purpose. And it also felt that what it had done was wrong. It plunged under the sea. The boy was floating down, deep in the darkness. He was losing consciousness quickly, and as soon as he blacked out and took a gulp of water, it would be over for him. Staring blearily up through the gloom, Emile saw a vast shape approaching him. It was glowing softly, and hummed a vibrating chord as it neared him. It dipped underneath him, and he rolled over onto it and tried to hold on. As it rose up to the surface, Emile’s chest burned, longing to breathe. He could now see the shadows of the ripples and waves on the surface, and prayed that he would make it. Kyogre broke the surface, and Emile choked and gasped for air. He lay limp on Kyogre’s back, drinking in the oxygen thirstily, as though he could not seem to get enough. Fin floated over to him, overjoyed at his return. After catching his breath, Emile stared in wonder at Kyogre. It had saved his life, and with no obligation to do so. “Kyogre- why?” Kyogre merely closed its eyes and hummed. As though understanding it, Emile nodded. “You are a fine and honorable creature,” he said to it. Looking at the Pokeball in his hand, he spoke again. “You choose what you want for yourself.” Kyogre looked at the Pokeball. It blinked slowly, and the blue glow around it went away. Immediately, the sea grew calm, and the clouds dissipated to reveal a beautiful starry night sky. Emile couldn’t stop a tear from escaping the corner of his eye as he held out the Pokeball. For now his dream had been realized. A red light escaped the Pokeball and enveloped Kyogre as it vanished inside the sphere. Emile plopped down into the sea, with nothing underneath him for support. He treaded water slowly, thoughtfully gazing at the Pokeball. Fin stared at it too, wondering what its trainer was thinking. In truth, Emile was thinking about all of the hardships he had endured to seize this moment. And he was thinking of all the hardships to come. He thought of the sea, and nature, as well as his place in it. At least the sea could rest easy. Kyogre was in good hands.