Chapter 14 – Into the North, Route 113

I craned my neck upwards. Mt. Chimney loomed over us, a dark streak jutting into the sky. Unfortunately, the summit was covered in what appeared to be a cloud, so it was impossible to see where the mountain ended. The countless hills ahead were colored a reddish-brown and spotted with dark evergreen trees here and there. Like with the desert route, the scenery was rapidly changing. I absently wondered what kind of Pokemon I'd be able to find out there.

"'Mt. Chimney,'" I read. "'For Lavaridge Town or the Summit, please take the Cable Car located just ahead.' That sounds promising, doesn't it, Combusken? We won't have to climb the mountain!"

The Pokemon sighed in relief, wiping its forehead.

We marched onwards with new determination. The path from Mauville had been tough, sure, but now, Lavaridge was just around the corner, and we were going to get a free ride there! …Or, at least, I hope it's free.

Carved into the mountainside were rough, lopsided stairs, covered in reddish, dried up pine needles and some kind of dust. They seemed to go on forever, and as we hiked, the air got thinner and I was forced to take more rests. But looking back over Route 112 and Route 111 was enough to get me going again - the rolling hills seemed so compact, now, and the path weaving towards Mt. Chimney was almost completely obscured by the rock faces decorating the routes.

Eventually I spotted a small, beat-up building in the distance, with two large, black cables extending out of its wall, up the cliffside, and into the clouds. That's it…! Grabbing Combusken, I bounded forward, anticipation driving each step, when suddenly…

Them.

I skidded to a stop just a few yards from the entrance; lurking outside the building were a handful of men in very familiar outfits.

"Team… Aqua?" I murmured quietly, sliding into the shadows of a nearby pine. "What are they doing here?"

Combusken shrugged, and shot a little flame from its beak as though indicating that it was ready to fight.

But I shook my head. "We shouldn't, Combusken. We don't know how many there are. "

It looked at me incredulously.

"I know, I know…! I don't think checking it out and seeing what they're up to would hurt, though…"

I called the rowdy Pokemon back into its ball in fear that it might deliberately blow my cover, and snuck closer to the perimeter of the building, hiding amongst the heavy evergreen branches. All sorts of twigs and thorns brushed against my legs – it was hard to stay still.

"…Uhg, what a pain. I can't believe we got stuck with guarding this place."

"Shut up. It's this, or hiking all the way over to Fallarbor Town."

The first grunt sighed. "Yeah, whatever. I don't know what's taking them so long, though. I really wanna try out that cable car."

"Tell me about it."

I scowled. Fallarbor Town? Is Team Aqua there, now?

Crunch.

Oh, shit…

I turned around, eyes wide. A pinecone – I'd stepped on a pinecone. The two grunts glanced over in my direction.

"What the hell was that?"

"…I dunno. A Pokemon? Imagine that."

"Maybe it's that girl who pissed Archie off at Slateport," commented another.

They started to argue in rough, loud voices, and I took this as my chance to scurry off.

Eventually, I was out of sight of the Aqua grunts, and nearly collapsed on the ground. T-that was too close…

Combusken emerged from its Pokeball on its own and shook my leg in protest. "Busken!"

"No!" I told it. "We're not attacking them. That's a horrible idea!... But, we could…"

The Pokemon straightened.

"…Maybe… if we could get to Fallarbor, somehow, we could see just what it is they're doing… Plus, we'll need to explore that area, anyways, sooner or later… and we'll never get to Lavaridge at this rate. There's no way we're going back to Mauville… Hmm…"

The Pokemon squawked and began pacing in anticipation.

I whipped out the Pokenav and began scrolling through the menu – I was so used to finding the map that my hand seemed to move on its own. Mt. Chimney… Fallarbor… There was one alternative route, aside from through the impassible desert, which was somehow still considered a route despite how harsh the conditions were. It was a short, but narrow, pass, through the heart of the mountain, titled "Fiery Path."

I hope it doesn't involve intense heat, or lava, or anything, I thought as I approached a nearby signpost. Fiery Path. It seemed to be referring to a crevice in the side of the mountain's face just little ways ahead, barely wide enough for someone to slip through. It looks like we don't have any other options…

With a nod to my Pokemon, I stumbled inside.

Thankfully, 'Fiery Path' was well-lit and didn't require Flash – Sableye was still in the Pokemon Daycare, so that would have been a lost cause, anyways. The cavern was full of unfamiliar Pokemon – Numel, Machop, and even a Torkoal were all over the place. They were passive, though, so I didn't bother battling them or trying to catch them. Combusken would've been jealous, if I did. They seemed to be at peace, too, curled up in groups, sleeping, or biting into patches of a pink igneous rock sticking out of the maroon stone that the cave was formed from. I smiled as I moved onward. The home the Pokemon had managed to find here was amazing.

After walking for some time, with no exit in sight, I stopped for a drink of water. As expected, the water – and the bottle itself – was warm. The temperature must've risen at least 15 degrees from the entrance. Isn't it supposed to get cooler, the further you go underground? I couldn't hear any outside sounds – not the whipping, upper-altitude wind, or the voices of hikers, or anything at all, aside from the scuffling of wild Pokemon and a very distant hum coming beneath the ground.

We stepped outside a few minutes later, back into the daylight, though it was now overcast and the sun wasn't peeking through anywhere. Good riddance, I thought, stretching. It's hot enough already.

I assumed this was the upper section Route 111, past the long desert-area, which would mean Fallarbor Town was northward. We started off, and I initially kept Combusken by my side, but as we moved deeper into the Route, the air became thicker and hazier and I called it back in its Pokeball for the sake of safety. Just what is this stuff…? I thought, stopping under a large tree that was also coated with the substance. It can't be snow… but the texture and the way it's falling from the sky…

The sky was a dusty tan color, now, and the weird substance didn't let up as I waited beneath the tree. With a sigh, I pulled off my bandana and brushed it, along with my hair, off, - the stuff was unfortunately sticky. Curious, I took off one of my gloves and stuck my hand out from under the tree's covering. A few flakes of the substance landed on it. It's… warm? How? I rolled it around between my fingers; it was too gritty to be a snowflake, but did leave behind residue. There's no way this is natural! Maybe it's Team Aqua's fault…

With a frown, I pulled out the Pokenav and scrolled over to Professor Birch's name, figuring he might know something about this weird phenomena. The fact that the thing even had service out here was astounding. There were no buildings, or, even, trainers, in sight. Just trees, winding cliffs, tall grass, and silence.

"Hello!" came the jolly voice from the other end.

"Professor Birch…?" I replied. "This is May."

"Oh! May! How is your Pokedex coming? Do you need it checked?"

Might as well, I thought, and listened to his evaluation. He pointed out that Water-types would be useful, and that Brendan was actually way ahead of me. I scoffed.

"Well, I don't think I'll be seeing many Water-types where I am, Professor," I told him. "The reason I called, was that… Route 113 is coated in this weird, thick, tan, snow-ish stuff. And it keeps falling. Is that… um… normal?"

There was a long pause, and then a hearty laugh came from the other side of the line. "Of course, May! You and your father both – such jokers! Haven't you ever seen ash before?"

I frowned. Joker? Wait, what?

"Route 113 is right next to Mt. Chimney, and downwind from the peak. It's always like that, around there, so relax! It's perfectly normal! I am interested in how the Pokemon there have adapted to the conditions, though, so make sure you keep your Pokedex handy and take lots of notes!"

"…Ash…?" I muttered. "…Ash! This stuff is ash?! Of course…! But… W-wait, why is it… coming from Mt. Chimney?" This isn't some weird Hoenn phenomenon no one's told me about, is it?!

There was another pause, and then, Birch, in a somewhat-worried tone, responded, "Well, Mt. Chimney is an active volcano. Typically, volcanoes tend to release smoke and ash and all sorts of fumes from their peaks, you see… This can sometimes cause problems, such as acid rain, and-"

"A volcano?!" I muttered to myself again, covering my mouth. "Holy crap…! An active volcano…?!"

I ran back into the open and turned around, covering my forehead with one hand so as to shield my eyes from the falling ash as I gawked.

Sure enough, through the thick cloud covering – ash, it was ash! – the silhouette of Mt. Chimney could be seen. I hadn't even noticed it since I'd left Fiery Path, and felt somewhat dumb as I stood there gaping at the huge formation. So that's where it took me. Literally right to the other side of the mountain – err, volcano.

"May? Hello?"

"Oh!" I brought the phone back to my ear. "Um, thanks, Professor. Well, I should get going."

"Righto! Best of luck, then! Don't get lost!"

I stuffed away the Pokenav and found my way back over to the path. Ash. Imagine that. It looked so much like snow, though darker, and it stuck to my shoes in the same way. Combusken popped back out of its Pokeball and strutted alongside me, leaving weird four-toed footprints in the soft, ash-coated grass. I was, once again, amazed by how exotic Hoenn really was.

We trudged onwards for what could've been hours – time was almost nonexistent here. I scanned the landscape, marveling at all the new sights there were to be seen; strange, scrawny trees, with gnarled branches and dry, circular leaves, with a thick coating of ash that reminded me of Mightyena's fur coat, and hillsides blanketed in pure, untouched ash, and clumps of grass that, when rustled, would shed the grayish substance like a snake would with its skin, and even ninja Pokemon trainers leaping from the underbrush to surprise-attack me. Far up above us, there was a lighter blotch in the sea of tan – the sun – and, though just barely noticeable, silhouettes of some huge Flying-type Pokemon would occasionally circle around us and then quietly disappear off into the distance. There was also an abundance of a bizarre Pokemon called Spinda, according to the Pokedex, and I captured one of them, planning to send it over to Birch for research once we arrived at Fallarbor.

Gradually, the ash cleared, revealing a beautiful indigo sky spotted with dozens upon dozens of stars. A full moon illuminated the remainder of the route ahead of us; the ashen grasslands quickly gave way to rolling, maroon hills and a couple farms, though the crops didn't seem to be doing very well. I could see why. Even further out, on the horizon, was a shimmering body of water and more rock formations.

Fallarbor Town snuck up on us, revealing itself as we reached the crest of one of the dusty hills. The land lowered back down, further and further, and at the foot of this descent was a cluster of buildings. It's tiny, I thought, compared to Mauville… Heck, it's probably even smaller than Verdanturf… I was sure that it was Fallarbor, though, due to the shiny red roof of a Pokemon Center.

Team Aqua… what are they up to, now…? "Let's hurry, Combusken!"

A/N: I like to imagine northern Hoenn as being really rural and calm. Also, if anyone wants to respond to this, do you think May should get Salamence, Flygon, or neither? And Cradily or Armaldo? I'm having a pretty hard time deciding and it'd be great to get some input on this!