Chaser and the Rising Mountain

Chaser and Pursuit

 The first sensation he felt upon his consciousness returning to him was that of a cool breeze gently wafting around him. As his mind began to fire into gear, Goh began connecting the events he had experienced to that in his memories. He remembered the mountains, and encountering Team Rocket, but the warm softness beneath him attempted to draw him back beneath the waves of slumber.

It was remembering Chloe's voice shouting his name that made his eyes snap open.

He sat up, looking around. "W..Where am I?" Before that could be answered, though, another question quickly presented itself.

He was currently on the back of some sort of Pokemon, one with light blue fur patterned with white diamond shapes. From the head of this creature flowed a beautiful mane of purple hair, crowned with a large, crystalline horn. Noticing Goh stirring, the creature turned their head to face him, their red eyes meeting Goh's and flooding the boy with familiarity.

"Suicune..."

The Legendary Pokemon nodded, lying calmly on the ground. Goh slipped off of Suicune's back and tried to gather his bearings.

Looking up, Goh saw the Raizen Mountains and the trees of the forest surrounding them looming over his head. He couldn't even pick the place he had fallen from at this point. He was practically back where he started, if he wasn't completely lost. At least he had his life, and his Pokemon.

"...!"

Goh began searching his person for his Poke Balls. He pulled out only three and his heart began to pound. "Wait... I had Cinderace in my hand just as we fell...!"

He heard Suicune smack something with one of their paws, and a red and white ball rolled towards where he was standing. It stopped part way before snapping open, and in a flash of light, Goh's first Pokemon stood, shaking off the cramped feeling of being inside the ball. "Cinderace," he said, looking around before seeing Suicune and taking a step back."Cinderace?!"

Goh put his arms around his Pokemon's shoulders, hugging him tightly. "You're alright...!" Tears pooled at the corners of his eyes.

Cinderace smiled, patting Goh on the back with his own hug. "Cin der!"

Goh wiped his tears off on Cinderace's arms before looking back at Suicune. "Thank you for saving us, Suicune. But what are you doing here? I thought you'd be off purifying water around the world?"

Suicune stood up and approached Goh, their red eyes intensely focused on the boy. The twin, ribbon-like tails on Suicune's back that normally waved in an even rhythm twisted and zigzagged, like a lightning bolt.

"Raikou..." Goh muttered, reaching the conclusion being presented before him. "So wait, you sensed what was happening with these shrines, and you came to help?"

Suicune nodded, keeping their glare on Goh

"I guess the reason you were that close was because Team Rocket wrecked the Aether Shrine, the one to you..." he said, frowning. "And then..."

They took Chloe and the feather, and then tried to kill him.

Goh felt his shoulders slump, and he found his gaze locked on the ground. He couldn't meet the intensity in Suicune's eyes.

"...so what, you're saying you want to fight them?" he asked.

"Grtch," Suicune uttered, more of a growl than anything else, though Goh understood that it was saying 'Yes'.

"But Suicune," he said, looking up at the Pokémon, "those guys are on another level! Their leader took out Ash, and Ash's like so strong, he's like the 36th strongest guy in the World Coronation Series!"