Ash woke up when his Poke-Dex started sounding off in his satchel. He took it out and examined it. It was 8 in the morning and Ash decided that it was time for Misty and him to leave Mt. Moon.
As Ash got up, his bones cracked and he instantly cramped up due to his uncomfortable sleeping position from the night before. After stretching a bit to relieve the stress on his body, Ash examined his surroundings.
Misty and her Staryu were still curled up on his cloak, Mael was floating back towards them, seemingly had visited a nearby, underground lake, seeing his scales gleam as he floated back towards them. Smaug and Tyrunt were curled around the smoldering fire, vying for its dying warmth. Already they were stirring from their sleep, because of the lack of heat.
The camp fire that Smaug made the night before, was dying down to a pile of glowing cinders. Smaug did a good job of having the fire stoked through the night and keeping its comforting heat that bathed Ash's pokemon, Misty, and him warm and toasty through the cold night.
After Ash returned all his pokemon, he gently roused Misty. She was unresponsive at first, but her futile swipes to ward him off and her small groans of protest told him she was awakening. Misty slowly sat up and yawned before looking at Ash and gesturing with her hands to be carried.
Sighing, Ash allowed the drowsy little girl to clamber on his back. Once he was sure she had a good grip, he grabbed his cloak and wrapped it around them, protecting them from the morning chills. It also brought a sigh of relief from Misty, who welcomed the source of warmth lovingly.
"Thanks, big brother..." she said as she fell asleep on his back. Ash felt his heart clench as he heard he name for him, but kept it to himself. Love was an emotion still new to him, he thought as he grabbed a piece of wood with a small fire at the end of it. Ash shook his head of the thought as he continued his journey through the cave, torch in hand. Staryu followed, its red orb also providing some light in the cave's darkness.
In truth the pace Ash had planned was a little slow for his liking, but the thought of dropping Misty on the hard and sharp rocks of the cave was...unsettling. So he chose to be cautious with his pace and way of route through the dangerous tunnel.
The cave began showing more signs of life in its eternal darkness. Zubats, Golbats, and the occasional Crobat fluttered above Ash's head, perturbed by his torch's light. Geodudes rolled away from his foot prints as his steps splashed puddles of water in their direction.
In truth there were two other routes to pass Mt. Moon, but both were extremely dangerous and risky to even tread upon for experienced trainers.
The first route was around the mountain, but it was plagued by dozens of notorious thieves. There were many cases of rookie trainers being robbed of their belongings and their pokemons and were left for dead in the middle of the forest. Despite interference from the League and the local police force, the forest was still infested with those scum.
However, young trainers found a loophole to travel through the forest. To stay in groups larger than three, thieves avoided them unless they got separated or they were just plain stupid and careless.
The other route was to go over the mountain, which was a death trap to any, but veteran trainers. The route was battered by the mountains unforgivable winds, blizzards, storms, avalanches, and the rare but deadly lighting strike.
But at the very top of the mountain, inside a massive crater was a mineral that gave the mountain its name. Moon Stone. A material not found on Earth, only in the stars. Scientist knew very little of the extraterrestrial mineral, but through all the research they have they know that certain species of pokemon evolved within their presence.
In fact those evolved pokemon were the reason they knew so little on the Moon Stone. They guarded it with their lives and any intruders were attacked on sight. The most notable were the giant Nidokings, and Nidoqueens, the Lunatone that floated around mindlessly, and the mysterious, yet powerful Clefairy that even the Elite Four had trouble combating because of their raw strength energized by the stone's radiant power. They were the sentinels of the stone and would be its protector as long as it gave them power.
Finally Ash and Misty broke out of the darkness of Mt. Moon. After about two hours of traversing the final part of the endless tunnel they were finally greeted by the welcomed sight of marvelous sunlight. The opening was draped in hundreds of Zubats, Golbats, and the intimidating Crobat. Their four, large wings concealed their bodies as they hung from outcrops and the ceiling.
Ash and Misty had to be cautious about their footing, just one disturbing noise could upset them and a horde of predatory, flying bats would swarm them. They wouldn't kill them, but they would leave them battered and with a few broken bones, especially the giant Crobats.
Right beneath the rocky outcrop where they stood, a beautiful lake stretched for miles. Its surface, a barrage of colors dancing upon its surface, stood rippling with all of the commotion within its depths. Various types of water-type pokemon jumped out of the water, winged flying-types flew over head. Their screeches and cries coursed through the air signaling their presence to all below.
The lake shores were covered in dozens of trees providing a shaded area over the lake's bank. Their leaf-tipped branches swayed in the wind almost hypnotically. The sun was almost in the center of the sky, meaning it was nearing noon.
"We better get down there. I think we need a nap." Ash said while ruffling Misty's hair. She nodded excitedly, Ash could see that she was eager to get closer to the diversity of water pokemon.
Ash gripped her hand as they made their way down the rocky slope, ignoring the paved path made by the League. They were too focused on the beautiful sight in front of them.
After Ash led Misty down the rocky slope, making sure she was safe, they walked over to the shaded banks of the lake. Once they were there Ash released his pokemon, before collapsing onto the grass, face first.
"Mael watch Misty." Ash said, his voice muffled by the ground. Ash turned his head to see Mael nod in understanding, before he floated off to Misty, who was by the water's edge, marveling at all the water pokemon.
Tyrunt and Smaug were exploring the nearby forest, Smaug already carrying an armful of various berries. Tyrunt was just like Misty. He was completely marveled by all the trees and surrounding water. It seemed he didn't explore much in Kalos or Pewter.
"You guys be careful. I'm going take a nap" Ash said while laying back against a tree. Smaug and Tyrunt nodded before Ash began settling down and closing his eyes.
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Ash groggily began waking when a gentle nudging began to annoy him. He slowly opened his eye lid and saw that Misty was gently pushing him.
"What do you want Misty?" Ash said while turning on his side.
"Big Brother, I'm getting hungry and its getting dark and scary." Misty said, fear and worry evident in her voice.
Ash's eyes snapped opened and he instantly sat up. It was indeed getting dark, the sun was already set and only its lingering shreds of light could be seen.
Misty curled up next to Ash, hoping to escape the darkness that lingered towards her. She then was surprised to be picked up by Ash and then placed down on his cloak. Already Ash was piling large branches of wood into a heap and picking several armfuls of berries before being placed in a pile beside her.
"Smaug, Mael, Tyrunt! Get back to camp right now!" Ash yelled, his voice echoing through the forest and the lake.
After several moments, Smaug and Tyrunt burst from the foliage, the surrounding darkness chased away by Smaug's tail fire. Then the water by them began churning and rippling before Mael floated out, his distinct rumble signaling them he was there.
"Smaug, please light the fire." Ash said pointing at the heap of wood. Smaug nodded before a small stream of fire flew from his mouth to the fire, effectively lighting a camp fire.
Ash sat on the ground beside Misty, and began boiling the berries in a pot over the fire the same meal they had in Mt. Moon. Once it was at its mushy goodness, Ash split it evenly between all the pokemon before settling down beside Misty. While they were enjoying Ash's cooking, Misty suddenly spoke out.
"Why do you always make this?" Misty said while eating another spoonful of berry mush.
"You don't like it?" Ash said, his eyebrow rising beneath his helmet.
"No! No! I was just wondering why you do?" Misty sad, frantically waving her hands.
"Well when you have a particular starter that is addicted to this stuff, you learn how to comply with his needs." Ash said, his eyes motioning towards Smaug. Smaug gave a playful, disdain look before looking away. Ash wrapped his arm around Smaug and began rubbing his head with his knuckles playfully.
"Ahhh, You know I still love you." Ash tease while Smaug pushed his arms away. Smaug snorted and moved away from him.
"Ohhh someones angry." Ash continued to tease. Smaug gave a snort and pushed the berries towards Ash.
"You know if you stop eating berries you won't evolve soon. I can already see the crimson leave your scales." Ash said pointing at Smaug's scales. Smaug's eyes widened before he began wolfing down the berries. Ash smiled and winked at Misty, who laughed at their antics.
Lordofire here sorry for long wait, but I internet issues and sometimes Fafiction servers just plain suck. Anyway just wondering if you guys approve of the idea for pokemon talk, where i write segments where the pokemon speak in their language. And thanks to all of you I have reached new levels that I thought I wouldn't reach and its all thanks to you guys. Thanks for the support.