bloogum

We were out on the back lawn, four times bigger than Sapphire's training ground, for the battle of a lifetime. Obviously I was the one to battle, but the man would have thought Glacier was, since he had a tail, so we all stood together in a group and waited to see which Pokémon he would send up against me.

He emerged from the house with the small red and white ball in his hand, which held the fate of my baby.

"Believe it or not, little missy, you aren't the only one who can talk with the gods," he sniggered, "Here in this ball I hold another god." I instantly got a flash of Inferno in my mind, but thankfully that thought disappeared at his next words. "You have the God of Ice and Snow. I have the God of Thunder and Lightning." The flash of white light revealed none other than a Zapdos.

I heard Glacier gasp a word, but I couldn't quite hear it. Then the Zapdos spoke. "Glace? Is that you? It is! Glacier, ma man! Oh wow! I haven't seen you for yonks! Wow! How did you get here? And who's the chick?"

Glacier cleared his throat to explain. "Thunder, this is Snowfall, my mate," indicating the other two, he introduced them to the great yellow bird. "Guys? This is my best bud, Thunder."

"Good to meet you, Thunder," I said, rubbing beaks in the customary bird way. "There's just a slight problem. We're supposed to battle."

The Zapdos rubbed his long bill with a wing. "Yes, now that would present a problem," he turned to his trainer. "Ray, we have a slight problem," he was speaking in human tongue, "The bird you plan on battling is the mate of my best bud. Soz, but I ain't gonna battle her. Pick someone else if you must, but not me."

Ray looked exasperated. He ran a hand through his thick black hair and sighed. "Thunder, you're the best I've got. Please?" he pleaded with the bird.

"Nuh, not gonna do it," said Thunder, shaking his head, "Pick, uh, I dunno, pick Shadow. I can't battle the mate of a mate, mate." And with that, he put a wing around Glacier and the two walked off to talk about guy stuff, and maybe what we were doing here.

Sapphire turned to her opponent. "So do I win by forfeit?" she enquired.

"Not on your life," muttered Ray. He stomped back to the house and re-emerged with another ball. The flash this time revealed a black Pokémon with fierce, red eyes. The black looked slightly purple and almost smokey, I swear I could see straight through it in some places.

"What's that?" I whispered to Sapphire.

"A Gengar, a ghost Pokémon. Could be tough," she whispered back.

"You go, girl!" whispered Shelly.

As we took our battle positions, the guys strolled over and decided to join us. Both stood with Sapphire. A tiny breeze puffed at my crest and chest feathers as I awaited instructions.

There was not a movement among us as a man walked out of the house, I suppose to act as our judge, and stood to the side. "Let the battle commence!" he yelled.

Suddenly Ray came to life. "Night shade!" he screamed at the Gengar. It stuck its arms out at me. The air around me shimmered. This seemed like a psychic attack, but then it turned completely black. I couldn't see my beak in front of my face it was so black. Then the pain started. It was horrible. I couldn't see and my head was aching worse than any psychic. I clenched my eyes and screamed out loud.

I tried to get a hold of myself. I opened my eyes, even though I couldn't see, and clenched my beak shut. I hoped I knew the general direction of the Gengar and blasted out a blizzard more powerful than I thought I was capable of. I could have covered those stumps in one flap with that blizzard.

I must have hit because the pain in my head was reduced to a small headache and my vision was filled with light. I saw the Gengar battling with the torrent of snow, slowly being buried. I changed from snow to tiny specks of ice, confusing the Gengar with the mist.

Still shrouding it in mist, I started glowing a fiery orange. But during the split second when I stopped my mist and drew to full power, my vision went black again. I ignored it. I pelted forward at full speed. The blackness disappeared and my vision cleared once more, just in time for it to be filled again with black of a different kind. The misty black of the Gengar.

I felt absolutely nothing. It just felt like a cloud of fog, but the Gengar was screaming and holding its stubby hands to its chest, red eyes scrunched closed.

"Come on, Shadow! Confuse ray!" screamed Ray.

Shadow opened his eyes and turned to me. Glaring steadily at me, his eyes glowed blue and a blue beam, so pale it was almost invisible, streaked at me. Dodging aurora beams prepared me for this. I opened my wings and flew straight up, then shot a sprayed ice beam at the Gengar.

And missed.

It completely disappeared. I had no idea where it had gone. Then I knew. I rolled over on my back, doing the most challenging aerobatics any bird had ever done, trying to shake the thing from my back.

Then I felt a strange sensation in my head. I was feeling faint, like I was drifting in and out of sleep. Soon enough I arrived in dream world; completely emerged in sleep. I didn't feel myself hit the ground, but I know I must have. It felt like something was sucking my brain. I screamed out in my dream at the pain of the sucking. Then it stopped and I resumed my sleep.

Twenty-Two | Twenty-Four