Legendary

You approach me with sheer confidence in your eyes, by your side a pokémon, your pokémon, trying to convince you to leave this place, and to leave me alone.

Foolish mortal, with one of those specially-made balls in your hands, do you think you’d be able to capture me? Even if you do, mortal, do you think you, a mere human, can make one of the legendary birds fall to your very whim?

Your Charizard is fearful; I praise him. You push your pokémon forward, eager to commence the battle; I can see the greed glowing behind your eyes, like a candle in darkness -- simply amusing, if one of the sins has become the way to guide your path. Simply amusing…

Your Charizard falls -- I am not surprised. Have you forgotten who I am, mortal? The bearer of flames, the legendary flames, the ever-burning phoenix! I am Moltres, Titan of Fire, and I command the embers; I am fire itself. If a Charizard were to beat me, mortal, you would have dreamt it all.

Oh? A Blastoise.

Foolish, foolish mortal; do you really think that I would allow myself to fall to a water pokémon?

There, done. Your Blastoise has fallen. Two down, and four more to go.

Eevee, an under-trained Pikachu -- easily taken down by the flames I breathe upon them, giving an easy way out. You are a trainer, their trainer, but you do not see the fear and regret they hold in their eyes as they follow your commands -- I see the badge you hold, mortal, and I know; I am not afraid.

Four down.

I can see the beginning of a panic attack settling inside your mind -- for the first time since you lay eyes on me, you are afraid. But the greed grips you, strangles you… You have given in too much to resist now, lost too much too retreat now.

You call upon the next one -- a Fearow, who takes a glance at me and sweeps herself into a bow. As you scream yourself hoarse, trying to command her to attack me, she looks me in the eye and admits she is not worthy of my presence. With a simple gust, I send her flying backwards, and catch a look of gratefulness in her face before you recall her, a most annoyed look scrawled across your expressions -- there is still fear, but you are now ruled by anger.

Silly, silly, mortal, letting your emotions run over you like that -- silly, silly mortal.

The last.

Your face grim, you throw out --

…

You are looking for your death, mortal. An Oddish? Against me? Pathetic, simply pathetic. What has happened to your will, mortal? You might as well run and escape, run before I burn your pokémon to ashes for your disrespect.

But no, you stand your ground, as does your mockery of a pokémon.

And I… feel… myself… growing… drowsy…

I will not… forgive you.

…

I stir, to see countless of your mechanical balls lying by my side, efforts wasted -- I feel weak, but it does not matter to me. I rise, beating my wings as I take flight and dodge another ball aimed my way. Fury and anger cloud my judgement, as I summon the strongest flames I can to my beckoning and watch as they descend on your grass pokémon.

You do nothing.

Between us, we watch him burn into completely nothing, strangled cries ignored as you stare me in the eye, and I stare back into yours.

Your fingers curl into a fist, and now, you reach for the seventh pokéball.

I am not surprised -- but who should you call out but…

The traitor.

The clone of one of my closest friends and enemies looks at me, indifference in both expression and stance; I know better.

How dare you. Seven pokémon -- and the seventh has to be him.

Even if I had not been furious at your actions, the fact that you now hold this pokémon -- no, he doesn’t deserve to be one of us, never. He doesn’t even deserve our names -- pokémon. The end result of a failed experiment, a lesson taught to humans that the pokémon genome must not ever be messed with --

But mortals don’t learn, do they?

Mortals don’t learn.

We are different; we legendary pokémon bow and obey no one, unless that person is somebody we choose to trust and protect.

Stories tell of how Suicune has chosen her trainer, and how Entei and Raikou are looking for theirs -- just more examples of how trusting annd gullible you are, human; Suicune has always been, and will always be the only one needing a trainer. She is the youngest, the youngling, the weakest, the…

I have spoken enough.

The traitor summons a giant spoon to his arms, and throws a well-aimed psychic attack my way. He is not willing to follow your orders, but the badge you hold in your fingers compels him against his wishes.

He is angry, but there is nothing he can do.

Stand down, traitor.

He looks confused, turning back to look at you, but you only yell, shouting for him to push on -- he doesn’t know what to do. He knows he is not worthy, but he cannot disobey, yet a part of him, the part of him that you have not overridden -- he understands that I am near to losing control, and when I do…

Even the traitor shows more sense than you do, foolish mortal. Have you not heard of the people who have tried to control Lugia, even Hou-ou? They disappear one day, and never return.

Are you not afraid, mortal?

Are you not afraid to die?

It appears so.

Very well -- you leave me no… choice…

And it is your ashes they find one week later after you never return from your treasure-seeking job on Mt. Ember. Your ashes, along with five pokéballs, with pokémon eager to return to wild, where they will never be forced to battle again.

The traitor has been freed -- even if he is branded one, even he deserves to be away from your clutches.

Perhaps you will be a lesson to other trainer seeking their way to fame and fortune by catching a legendary pokémon.

But I hear footsteps approaching, and I know that day will not come too soon.

owari.

Notes: A friend of mine pointed out what happened after she caught Rayquaza in Emerald -- how it had hated her, and she asked me to write something of legendary pokémon not wanting to be captured, and I was playing Fire Red, chancing upon the legendary Moltres, I tried to imagine how it, or he, as written in this, would have reacted to being attacked by a, well, mere mortal.

Since I was bored, four out of seven pokémon that the in-story trainer holds belong to the in-game trainer that I play. :) And because the idea grows, I am sure that more chapters will be added to this piece of fiction, so keep a look out if you're interested!

(Posted on fanfiction.net 7/25/06)