Sapphire Storms Prologue The smell of fresh rain lingered in the air, and droplets of water crystals decorated the branches of the ancient willow, which stood, tall and proud beside the old three story Chinese house. It too dripped water from the roof gutters, which fell to rejoin mother earth far below amongst the moist blades of crisp green grass. The sky was covered with steel grey clouds, and the wind howled mournfully as it twirled and spun in the air, bringing with it the scent of the restless ocean. These were the last remnants of the previous night's storm, which had caused many trees to topple and crash into power lines around the region, creating the long blackout throughout the lonely night. Standing in front of one of the large ground level windows of the Chinese mansion, a black haired china man stared out over the cliff face on which the old house stood, looking over the deep expanse of the sea, whose waves crashed mercilessly upon the jagged rocks which loomed at the very bottom of cliff face. The sound the wind made, reminded Shao Loa Lou of the tales his grandmother used to tell him at night, beside the old crackling hearth where she always had Taja, her Persian, in her lap. The tales she had spun had captured his young imagination, and had sent him on journeys alongside ghosts, ancestors, feared warriors and mighty kings on quests of endless possibilities full of magic, pokemon and heroic deeds. Shao Lou could remember going to bed full of energy and excitement, reenacting the latest story he had been told exactly as he had heard it, except that then he would be the warrior, and he would complete the task and save the maiden fair. Staring out at the sea, the man chuckled sadly at the memory. What a dear old lady his grandmother had been! But one story had been etched upon his memory, to never be forgotten. It was the story his grandmother had told him on her deathbed, sick and weak as she was, the amazing old woman had summoned her remaining strength to tell him the story of the Journey of a Thousand Souls. Taja of course, had been with her, as she had been with the old woman for most of her life. The tale his Grandmother had weaved for him was an ancient one, about an army of restless spirits wandering the land in search of paradise, and now, the sound of the wind, as it howled through the skies, was exactly as he had imagined the Army of Souls to sound like. He heard them whispering and screaming and shouting all at once, as they were carried upon the wind's back. He shivered, he was not a cowardly man, quite the opposite, but he was superstitious. Shao Lou wondered if his beloved Grandmother was amongst them. She had died with a content sigh at the end of her tale, and Shao Lou, at thirteen years of age, had wept brokenly into Taja's soft fur, until his parents had dragged him away. Now, almost twenty years later, with a beautiful wife and a seven and a half year old daughter whom he had begun to teach Kung Fu to over the past two years. He had never forgotten the amazing old lady, and her stories, and he knew he never would. Taja sat at the window beside the man, nuzzling his leg and purring softly. She was almost one hundred years old now, but without closer inspection, one would never be able to tell. She wasn't as quick or as fast as she used to be, but she carried herself with an air of wisdom, which more than made up for her lack of dexterity. Before her faithful friend had died, she had promised the old woman that she would look after her beloved Grandson. And she had. Accompanying him wherever he went, a protective figure always by his side. Taja was with him when he began his pokemon training, which was one of his greatest passions, apart from Kung Fu. She was there when he had caught a Hitmonchan and had won the Pokemon Regional Championships. She had been with him the day he had turned twenty-one, and had opened up LoaLou's Dojo, The Martial Arts School of Kung Fu. She had watched as he had steadily grown richer from the money his small school earned, where he taught anyone who had wanted to learn. She had been by his side as he had married Ceres, watching proudly as she was Lady in Waiting. Taja was there in the Dojo, when Ceres had given birth to Katiral, their beautiful daughter upon the polished wooden floor of the building, the old pokemon had acted as midwife and had helped the frantic couple through the birth, by the time the ambulance had arrived, it had all been done and finished, a healthy suckling baby in the arms of her Mother, a proud and joyous father, and a satisfied Persian. And she was with him still. Older, but still by her master's side. He reached down and stroked her head. "I love it when it rains, it always smells so crisp and clean afterwards," "Perrrr Perrr" He stood in his personal training hall, behind him he could hear the concentrated grunts of his young daughter as she struggled with pushups he had instructed her to do. "Eighteen... fiffy... two... free...uh... Twenty," He heard her scramble to her feet and announce in a joyous piping voice that she was finished. He grinned, no doubt she had cheated when his back had been turned, no seven year old could complete twenty pushups that quick. He suspected she had simply lain on the ground faking grunts and hard breathing when he wasn't looking. He turned towards her, laughing merrily, "Come here sweetcakes, Daddy knows you've been cheating," She ran towards his outstretched arms, declaring rather hotly, "I did not!" Katiral saw her father roll his eyes heavenward, still grinning, as his large muscled arms swept her off her feet and onto his big shoulder. Everything about Daddy was big, he had big arms, big legs, big feet (Which smelled really bad after training) and most of all, a big head. Taja, her best friend and protector, had told her that Daddy was actually a small man by grown-up standards, and that he only seemed big because Katiral was small. But the little girl knew that the persian was making it up because everyone had said that she was a 'Big Girl Now', maybe not as big as Mommy or Daddy, but 'big' nevertheless. So she never quite understood what Taja had been talking about. Daddy set her upon one of his shoulders and carried her across the room. The persian softly padding beside them. "Now Fearow, let's get some work done. Have you been practicing with your staff?" Katiral groaned, "Daddy! I don't want to!" Shao grinned, "Fearow, my sweet, you have to... Or you get the tickle claw!" With a happy little growl he dug his hand under her armpits and wriggled his fingers, tickling her. His daughter squealed with laughter, "Daddy!" "Perrrrr" "Heh heh, you are all doomed by the tickle!" "Haha, daddy haha!" "Perr perr perr!" Ceres grinned triumphantly, "I got her the best pokemon ever! Strong, fast, loyal!" Stars were practically shinning out of her eyes, "He's supposed to be really smart too! Anyway, that's what the lady said, that's why it was so expensive!" "So what is it?" A gasp of delight caused their heads to turn to Katiral, her back was turned, preventing them to see what she held in her arms, "Oh! He's soooo cuuute!" "Perrr perrr?" He nodded, "I'm sick of waiting. Let's go," Climbing down, his shirt sleeve caught onto a protruding branch, tearing the material. He cursed, reached up and grabbed the piece of black cloth with his gloved hand. He hated leaving evidence behind, big or small, it didn't matter, he considered it sloppy work. Placing the torn cloth in the bag he carried, he reached the base of the tree and looked around, although he didn't need to, he could already hear that no one was watching. Ditto began to morph into another pokemon. Bending down, the man opened the bag and pulled out some ordinary clothes, changing, he put his Rocket uniform into the sports bag, then, as if he were standing in front of a mirror, he self consciously fixed himself up. To his morphed ditto, he said, "Almost done," Then, his face melted. It changed skin colour and his hair matted, then turned a dark violet. When the transformation was complete, he looked at his pokemon with his new green eyes and grinned wickedly, "Let's get the show on the road," * * * ".......Magikarp!" "Magikarp!" It said proudly. Shao and Taja fell down, anime style. Ceres grinned and clapped, triumphantly, "See? I told you! He's absolutely perfect!" "I thought you said LOYAL, STRONG, FAST!?" Shao said, getting up. "Perrr, perrr," "What's wrong with it?" Ceres asked, confused, looking at the two of them as if they were idiots, "I mean, it knows lots of attacks!" "Yeah, whenever we want a puddle, we'll just ask for it's Splash attack," the little man agreed drily, "Hon, I think you were ripped off pretty bad. How much did you say it cost?" "One hundred and twenty-five dollars and um, seventy-two cents......" Shao choked and collapsed as heap onto the ground at her feet, "W-what was that?" He asked weakly. "One twenty-five and seventy-two cents," The Little Martial Artist promptly fainted. "Perr, perrr," Katiral laughed happily and ran down the corridor and up the stairs towards her room, "Thanks Mommy! I LOVE it!" "Well, at least someone like's it," her mother muttered. Propping her husband against the wall. As she got up, there was a sharp rap against the front door. Checking her watch, she remembered the exchange student from The Orange Islands that was supposed to arrive. "Taja dearest, please look after my husband while I greet our guest," The old cat nodded. Walking towards the door, Ceres opened it to find a young man standing in the doorway. His hair was long, the colour of deep purple, and his green eyes twinkled. She stood, surprised, she hadn't known that the exchange student was going to be this handsome! He grinned, the youth wore a pair of baggy navy jeans and a casual light green button front shirt. On his shoulder sat a spinarak, its short legs gripping the shirt tightly so it wouldn't fall off. Extending his hand, the young man introduced himself with a charming smile, "Hi Mrs Lou! I'm Jake, your exchange student from the Orange islands. This is Acko, my Spinarak, we're both nice to meet you, and grateful to you guys for taking us in!" "Sssspp," Ceres smiled warmly, "Nice to meet you Jake, Acko. Come in and meet the family,"