You Teach Me: Chapter 1, The Storm

The storm had come out of nowhere. One moment, the skies had been completely clear, with only a few clouds gracing Rayquaza’s domain, and then bam. The wind had started howling, rain, the sky had darkened to the point where it seemed night had fallen suddenly, and the rain had come crashing down, pounding into the ground with a force that honestly startled him.

Honestly, if Ashes was a more religious Absol, he’d have guessed one of the many legends had sent it for some inane reason or was throwing a mild temper tantrum for one reason or another. Though, in the end, only the all-seeing Arceus knew the answer to that particular question. Either way, and no matter where it had come from, the massive storm cell was making it absolutely impossible to make reasonable progress on his journey, and given the small tree that he’d seen ripped from the ground and thrown into another, showering splinters absolutely everywhere, Ashes had absolutely zero interest in staying out in the open until this monster of a storm decided to go elsewhere, thank you.

Refocusing his wandering mind on the present, the Absol lent his ears towards the conversation his fellow travelers were having, hopes rising as he overheard one particular conversation.

“Sol, have you had any luck divining somewhere for us to shelter?” Luna asked the Delphox, who was busy scanning the surroundings, the fox’s face screwed into the very picture of concentration as he peered into the flickering flame at the end of his wand. Given the sheer intensity of the wind and the deluge of water, it was a testament to the fire-type fox’s skills that the flame hadn’t been completely extinguished, honestly. Ashes lets his estimation of his smart friend’s abilities rise. That kind of skill was rare outside of human-trained Pokemon. After a few moments of silence, as Sol concentrated on his self-appointed task, the Kommo-o finally got her answer.

“No, Luna. Well, nothing more than a vague direction, at least.” Sol admitted, regretfully giving her an apologetic look before turning to the other two members of their ragtag group, question on his lips, “Gale? Hikaru? Any luck with any of your methods?”

As Ashes turned his head to look towards the other two, the Tinkaton and the ghostly Zorark shook their heads, the latter of the pair vocalizing their responses, “Any trail we could have used to identify a local den or borrow we could request shelter in is completely gone. We’ll just have to follow your divinings, Sol.” Pausing, Hikaru practically snarled in frustration before forcing a smile onto his maw, “ Sorry for not being of more help.”

Noting the frustration in his longtime friend’s voice, Ashes decided it was best to cut in before any grumblings among the group could erupt into something more… violent.

“Then we head towards the vague direction that Sol found for us!” Ashes interjected with a hefty dose of cheer into his voice, rallying his friends around him, “He’s never failed us before, and I doubt he’ll start doing so now! Lead the way, Sol!”

The young Absol mentioned none of his own doubts or worries. Negativity wouldn’t help the situation any, after all. Yet, the nature of the storm was rather concerning. It hadn’t triggered his innate senses that warned him of impending disasters despite its frankly absurd magnitude, and at this point, Ashes was feeling more than a little paranoid about that fact. Honestly, it was a relief that none of his friends hadn’t questioned him regarding the storm because he really should have been able to sense it coming.

‘It wasn’t natural, this absolute monster of a storm. There wasn’t any way it could be.’

Once more shaking his head to clear the cobwebs of his wandering thoughts, Ashes refocused himself into reality. Musing about the storm could come later. Right now, he and his friends really needed to get out of the open, especially given how cold it was getting. Another oddity to add. It was the middle of summer for Darkness’ sake.

At some unspoken signal, the five Pokemon began slowly trudging their way towards the burrow that Sol had divined, their everything struggling to ford through the mixture of howling winds, an absolute deluge of rain from the sky, rapidly dropping temperatures, and, of course, the occasional tree or shrub ripped out of the ground by the violent gales and thrown about.

‘Honestly, at this point, it was a miracle none of us had been injured’ Ashes mused to himself as yet another shower of splinters broke across his fur and aura. ‘This storm is insane!’

Finally, after what had felt like an eternity at the storm’s mercy, Sol’s sensitive ears had perked, the Delphox pausing a brief moment, seemingly to confirm something to himself before speaking up with a bit of pep in his voice, “I hear other ‘mons in the area. We’re close to a burrow or den.”

His words brought relief and renewed determination to Ashes, and he could see the rest of his comrades and fellow travelers visibly perk up in relief. Double timing it in hopes of getting out of the rain faster, the menagerie of Pokemon following the surprisingly swift Delphox as he deftly led them towards the base of a small hill, the fire-type gently displacing some cleverly placed grass as they arrived to reveal a-

Severely overcrowded burrow. From his position behind Sol, Ashes could already tell that there wouldn’t be any room for them in there, especially not with a Kommo-o and Delphox. Packed as far as his eyes could see, the small, well made tunnel built into the hillside wouldn’t be somewhere they could take shelter in.

Gritting his teeth, Ashes forced the negative thoughts aside and took the lead before one of his more mercurial friends could start grumbling or, worse, get any violent ideas. “I can see that there isn’t any room in this den.” He said loudly, in an effort to be heard over the absurd din of the storm, “Is there any nearby that would have space for five travelers? Including some rather large mon?”

The crowd of Pokemon simply stared back silently, obviously nervous at the appearance of such large Pokemon, strangers at that, until finally, one of the Pokemon, an old Pikachu with graying fur, spoke up, “You could try the odd one’s burrow.” He rasped, tail and ears twitching nervously, “She’s probably got more than enough room in her den. Given how obsessed she is with building things, at least.” He continued, his aching voice failing him near the end.

Deciding to wait a moment to see if the local mon would continue once he recovered his voice, Ashes sighed in disappointment and ground out in an obviously annoyed growl, “I need a direction, mons. We aren’t from around here.”

“Keep going over this hill. There are a few stumps nearby from when the odd one started chopping trees down for some reason that you can see from the top.” A different Pokemon, a Rattata, offered shrilly, terror filling her eyes at his annoyance. Ashes didn’t let the flash of guilt running through him gain any ground. They had needed the information, and it had been clear none of them were going to offer it. He ignored the small voice telling him that he should care. It hadn’t ever helped before.

“Thank you.” He replied curtly, before allowing some kindness into his voice, “Best of luck with this storm.” With the communication finished, the grim-faced Absol nodded to Sol before losing himself in his thoughts again. As Sol replaced the grass surrounding the rather large burrow, Ashes rapidly ran through what he’d learned.

‘There’s an ‘odd one’ around here who’s got a den large enough to house all of us. Said ‘odd one’ has been cutting down trees, likely to make a home for themselves, something that most wilds never really end up doing, either through a lack of time or tradition among their families. That and the fact it’s frankly easier to reuse a den than build a completely new one.’ He mused, sighing in annoyance as Sol pulled out his wand once more, flames flickering at the end of the stick as the Delphox focused his divination on what they’d learned. ‘Well, at least given what they said the odd one is close by. Now we just have to slog through this absolute monster of a storm.’

Forcing himself out of his thoughts, Ashes turned to the rest of his friends as Sol gave a cry of triumph, nodding firmly towards him. Good, it seemed their information was accurate. With a smile, the young Absol spoke, “We’re supposed to crest this hill. There’s an ‘odd one’ that has a large den that’s mostly unoccupied nearby.”

“... Strange. If this odd one has so much space, I wonder why this den is so overcrowded.” Hikaru mused aloud, the Ghostly Zorark very clearly already quite suspicious of this odd one. Once more, Ashes sighed internally. While Hikaru was a fantastic friend, he was very much a wildborne Pokemon, with the mentality to match. And sometimes, Ashes got sick of looking at the world that way. Then again, it wasn’t as if the world ever went out of its way to prove Hikaru wrong. Yet before he could get lost in those dark thoughts, one of his other friends objected to his suspicious friend’s mutterings.

“It could just be that the locals don’t like her.” Gale countered strongly, the heat in the oft silent Tinkaton’s voice surprising Ashes. She was usually so quiet and demure. “You know how small communities tend to get, Hikaru. They ignore those they don’t like, and forget they exist even when it’d be convenient to remember.” She continued, eyes flashing, as if memories were playing out before her eyes.

“Enough.” Their draconic friend cut across the building argument as yet another tree was ripped skyward, “We’ve already wasted enough time talking. The rain isn’t letting up, nor is the wind.” Luna barked, quite obviously done with this discussion in general, evidenced by the more than moderately annoyed edge to her flanging voice, “Ashes, you lead the way. Your skills with chance dancing give us the best chance of responding if this odd one isn’t being ignored because the locals don’t like her for no reason.”

“Of course.” And that was that. One, after all, did not simply argue with a dragon when they gave orders, especially one that was oft content to let her friends lead. The quintet of Pokemon began working their way up the steep, yet easily traversable hill with ease. Cresting the sparsely wooded summit as fast as possible to escape the furious gale, Ashes sighed for what had to be the tenth time this afternoon in annoyance. The rain was making it utterly impossible to see beyond a tree immediately in his face! There was no way he’d be able to make out stumps in the forest below!

Yet just as he was about to scream his frustration to the uncaring skies, an unfamiliar, snark filled voice rapidly derailed that specific train of thought.

“Rather horrible weather to be traveling in, eh?”

Whirling around, and blinking in an effort to identify the silhouette of the Pokemon that had snuck up behind him, and finding none that quite matched, Ashes could only just barely avoid gasping in surprise as an Eevee covered in what had to be a cloak, albeit made completely out of leaves and hide stepped into his limited field of vision.

‘No wonder they call her odd. I haven’t met a mon besides the Leavanny line that actually voluntarily wears clothing like the hairless apes do.’ He mused, eyes sharpening as he took in the fox-cat.

Her ears were just barely visible beneath the cowl of her hood, pulled back against the crown of her scalp and pressed down against her head. The cloak was obviously well made, but not by human hands. The stitches and style spoke of one made by a Leavanny, though why an Eevee of all Pokemon would be able to secure their services was beyond Ashes, especially given how close it was to egg season for the bugs. And yet, that was not the most shocking portion of the Pokemon’s appearance. She was shiny, practically sparkling in the dim light of the storm, something most Pokemon and Humans were lucky enough to see at most once within their lifetime. Honestly, it couldn’t be overstated how rare shiny Pokemon were.

“Yes, I know I’m shiny and look strange, wearing clothing of all things.” The Eevee remarked, the amusement in her soft, soprano voice palpable in the air as both he and his friends stared at her in a state of absolute shock, “But all of you lot are going to catch a rather nasty cold or worse if you stay out here in this absolute deluge, and I have shelter. Follow me.”

As always, Hikaru was the first of them to voice their doubts, “How do we-”

But he was cut off by the suddenly irate Eevee before he could even finish the thought, “Know we can trust you?” At the Zoroark’s obviously annoyed look, the mon rolled her eyes, “You don’t. But my den-slash-cave-slash-burrow is the only place in the area that will be able to house a Kommo-o or Delphox like your friends that isn’t already packed to capacity. So your choices at the moment are, in no particular order: freeze and starve, cope and seethe, try to find another den or cave, or, you know, trust me, get warm, and get fed.”

Hikaru’s maw snapped closed with a rather satisfying click, Gale doing her level best to conceal her chuckling in vain. Once more understanding that his friends weren’t going to go anywhere without his input, and quite tired of being in the rain, Ashes sighed and nodded towards Eevee, “Lead the way.”

Moments later, he realized that Luna had said the exact same thing the moment he had. Well, that was mildly embarrassing. He’d assumed she wouldn’t speak up.

“Glad that at least one of you has some sense.” Said Eevee snarked; unknowing that she’d pulled him out of his thoughts again, before turning on a dime and flicking her covered tail in what had to be an annoyance. That or amusement. Ashes could easily admit he wasn’t exactly the best at recognizing the Eevee line’s body language. “We’re not far from my home. I would appreciate it if you stayed on my tail. Don’t try and get on my flanks, or I can and will abandon you to this rain, and given how hard it’s pouring, I doubt you’ll be able to track me.” She continued more gruffly, “I’ve had travelers try and jump me before, don’t be one of them.”

No, definitely not amusement. She’d obviously been burned before, especially given the dark undertone her statement contained. It was also very clearly an unstated threat: Fuck with me, and I will leave you out here to die.

Silently, Ashes complied, seeing no reason to risk a confrontation even if he had wanted to take advantage of her kindness. Thankfully, his friends also had enough sense to not spurn a mystery gift, though he could tell Hikaru was still suspicious, the absolute prat. Resolving to keep a beady eye on his ghostly friend, Ashes dropped back from the front of the formation, coming alongside the Zoroark.

“She’s not got any ill intentions I can sense, Hikaru.” Ashes stated soothingly, butting his head against his friend’s midsection; a show of affection, “You know I’m good at using my innate abilities to chance dance. Trust me on this.”

“... That’s fair. You haven’t really ever led us astray, Ashes.” The ghost type acknowledged with a grunt, his gaze still locked on Eevee despite his words, “But you know I don’t exactly trust anyone outside our friend group easily anymore.”

“Yeah.” He replied softly, falling silent. Hikaru wouldn’t be saying any more on the topic, but at least Ashes could keep him company.

It was the least he could do, after all. The Absol let his attention drift as their journey continued, letting his thoughts wander freely to escape from the chilling discomfort of being soaked to the bone and uncomfortably cold.

“We’re here.” Eevee’s sudden, soft declaration was all he needed to snap himself out of the roiling storm of his own thoughts. Looking up, Ashes blinked in surprise. They were in a small structure, obviously built out of wood, likely taken from the logs the other Pokemon had stated Eevee was chopping down. They were under it at the moment, and though it wasn’t completely protecting them from the water; given how hard the wind was howling that wasn’t exactly surprising, it was doing a rather stellar job of keeping the wind out. Looking forward, he blinked again. There was a well-lit cave before him, lit by a series of glowing crystals anchored strategically to the walls. And within it, he could see the various small things the fox had done to make her den feel more like a home than a shelter.

There was a mat of dried grass just a bit inside the cave, caked in mud, and obviously intended to get dirty so the rest of the well-kept cave did not. There was a small firepit within the cave as well, likely for the winter when it might be needed to keep her shelter warm. Off to the side of the cave, there was a pile of logs, chopped into pieces suitable for a fire. All in all, it was no wonder the other mons had thought Eevee was weird. She’d made a rather comfortable home for herself through innovation, something most wilds attributed to humans and humans alone.

“... No wonder they call you odd one.” This time, it was Sol that spoke up first, the Delphox voicing Ashes’ unspoken thoughts, “I haven’t seen a wild build a home for themself like this in a very long time.” He continued, the poorly concealed awe in his voice sending a smile through their host’s face.

“Thank you.” Eevee remarked as gently taking off her coat in an oddly impressive combination of her maw, general acrobatic ability, and tail, “Now, I expect you all to be good guests and not ruin it.” Her next remark was less gentle.

“We won’t, Eevee.” Ashes’ assurance was blurted out before any of his other friends had time to react again, the Absol blushing mildly in embarrassment. Arceus above, he’d not even waited for her to fully finish her thought, “It would be disrespectful of the time and effort you’ve clearly put into building your home.”

“You’ll forgive me if I don’t believe the words of travelers I’m unfamiliar with, even if one of them is an Absol.” Eevee retorted dryly, sighing as she padded away from them, stopping within her cave, silver fur almost sparkling within the crystal light, “I’m going to need assurances that you won’t ruin my home, steal my stored food, or in general make nuisances of yourself while this storm cell works itself out, or the Legendary who caused it gets bored and dispels it.”

“You know that this storm was Legendary created for a fact?” Luna’s flanging voice rang out, the dragon suddenly very interested in the small normal type, one that met the dragon’s gaze without so much of a flinch.

“Yes. A Zapdos nests within the mountains about a day’s travel from here, and I heard the more divination-inclined psychic types muttering about “Damn Legendaries throwing temper tantrums” while I was foraging three days before the storm hit.” Eevee sighed, throwing the Kommo-o a dry look, “Regardless, I need my assurances before I let you all step any further into my den.”

“We shall abide by the rules of hospitality, Host Eevee. We swear it on the Hundred Handed One.” Gale bowed, the old ritual flowing from the Tinkaton’s mouth, echoed only moments later by all other members of Ashes’ small group. Eevee nodded in thanks.

“Then be welcome in my home.” She intoned, stepping aside in an almost ritualistic fashion.

‘Hopefully,’ Ashes mused to himself as he stepped into the normal type’s den, ‘This storm won’t last all that long. After all, my premonition of impending disaster wasn’t from around here. We still have so much further to go before we reach the source.’