I'm so sorry this took so long, I had school, and then it was hard to get this to the point where i felt satisfied with it, since its an important chapter. Next may take a while as well, but hopefully not as long. I'll try to get it out as soon as I can.
Disclaimer: I don't own Pokemon.
The group finally arrived in Ember city. Tobi looked around, recognizing many of the buildings and landmarks. It may have been many years since he was adopted from this city, but it still felt so familiar to him.
Glancing back at the others in his group, Tobi noticed Dawn looking around frantically, eyes wide, biting her lips.
"Dawn? Are you ok?"
Dawn paused her frantic actions and forced a smile. "I'm fine, Tobi, its just, uh, this city is so large, it sets me on edge a little, that's all."
Tobi raised an eyebrow, but before he could ask her more, Kuna spoke up, nodding in understanding with her. "I understand that feeling. Big cities make me uneasy too."
"Come on guys, lets get something to eat! according to this, there's a restaurant nearby!", Kit told everyone, pointing to a symbol of a knife and fork on the town directory.
Kuna's stomach growled in response, and Tobi let out a laugh. "I think we all could use a good meal right about now."
Everyone nodded in agreement with Tobi's statement, and followed Kit to the restaurant.
Bellies full of french fries, the group walked over to Ember Cities gym. Once they were in viewing distance, they gasped when they saw the "closed" sign on the door.
Nearby, Kit spotted someone she recognized from the uniform as a gym trainee, and called him over.
"Excuse me? Do you know why the gym is closed? Is everything OK?"
The gym trainee nodded. "Oh, everything's fine. Gym leader Dia likes to "mix things up" by switching between the gym here and the one she built on Mount Ember. She'll come back down once a trainer has defeated her. It might be a while though, since most prefer to wait."
Kit thanked him, then turned back towards the others. "So, you guys wanna wait then? I'm sure we can find things to do until she comes back, I really don't want to climb any mountains if we don't have to."
Tobi knew what Kit meant; his last experience on a mountain had been very unnerving, after all. But, there was this strange feeling in his gut, telling him to GO.
"I think I should go, Kit. I'm getting this strange feeling, and I think its important."
Kuna must have been getting similar vibes, because he nodded in agreement with Tobi.
Kit bit her lips. "You 2 sure?" They nodded firmly. "Then I'll come with you."
Tobi knew that Kit was perfectly capable of taking care of herself. But he also knew that Kits last pokemon journey had ended abruptly. He didn't think it be fair for it to end as such again, if something happened.
"Thanks Kit, but I think you should stay here. You need to call your dad once a day right? And if we leave now, we'll be gone most of the day. Also, someone needs to withdraw the Eevees from your house later today. And, well, I would feel much safer if someone was here to call for help if we go missing. You can call for help if we're not back by tomorrow."
Kit frowned. Those were all good points, but still...
Tobi noticed her frown. "Kit, we'll be OK. I'll bring a map so we can't take a wrong turn. Besides, this time me and Kuna will be working together instead of fighting."
Kit felt just a little better. Tobi turned toward Dawn. "Dawn? Do you want to stay with Kit? You don't have to come if it makes you nervous, and your not fighting the gym anyway."
Dawn looked conflicted, glancing at the mountain and then back at Tobi, before taking a deep breath and seeming to come to a decision.
"Actually, I'd like to come with you. I, uh, would like a break from all this city."
"Bye Kit! We'll be back soon!", Tobi called as he, Kuna, and Dawn set off for Mount Ember, backpacks full of the necessary supplies.
"Good luck you 3! Stay safe!", Kit called back.
It was a beautiful, sunny day, and Kuna sent out some of his pokemon to enjoy the sunlight.
Tobi smiled. It was the perfect day for a hike.
They had been walking most of the day when they finally spotted a building labeled "Gym" of in the distance. They started walking faster, glad to finally have reached their destination and for the chance to rest.
They reached the gym, and walked inside. They were immediately greeted by the gym leader, Dia.
"Welcome trainers! You've proven your dedication as trainers by making the long hike up here, and now its time for you to prove your skills in battle! Whoever is ready to go first, just step forward!"
Tobi stepped forward, and began the battle by sending out Gyradose.
Though Dia's pokemon were at a type disadvantage, they still put up quite the fight against Tobi. Eventually, however, Gyradose manged to KO her last pokemon.
Tobi beamed as he received his Kindling badge and the TM for flamethrower.
Dia healed up in a nearby machine she kept in the gym, then walked in the direction of Dawn and Kuna. "Which one of you is next?" She glanced in Dawns direction. "How about you?"
Dawn seemed startled, but hid it behind a smile, and shook her head. "N-no, I'm not here to fight or earn any badges. It's just those two." Dawn responded nervously, pointed in Tobi and Kuna's directions.
Dia turned toward Kuna, and sent out a charizard. Kuna responded by sending out Luxio.
Eventully, Kuna manged to defeat Dia. He grinned as he took his badge and TM from her.
The group was ready to leave when Dia called for them to wait.
"Before you two leave, let me heal your pokemon. I't wouldn't do to walk around with unhealed pokemon. Ill put them in my machine.
Tobi and Kuna were surprised by the offer, since most gym leaders didn't share their healing machines with trainers, but figured she wanted them to be safe on the hike home, and handed her their pokeballs.
A few minutes later, she walked back out of the gym and handed the trainers their pokeballs. Then, without giving them a second glance, Dia sent out her charizard and jumped on his back, flying off.
"Well, we should start heading down. It'll get dark soon, and we should find a place to set up camp for tonight.", Tobi told Dawn and Kuna, who nodded in agreement. Dawn commented that she wanted to get off the mountain as soon as possible.
They walked along the trail. Tobi was carefully examining the map, to make sure they didn't get lost, and Kuna was sending out the pokemon he had fought against Dia with, one by one, and praising them for their help against the tough gym leader.
With a large smile, Kuna reached for luxio's pokeball. However, when he tried to send her out, the ball was empty.
"Luxio?" Kuna stared at the empty pokeball, feeling panic rise up inside of him. Where was Luxio? Was she OK? Was she lost somewhere?
Feeling the panic burn up inside of him, Kuna suddenly raced up the trail. Maybe he had released her along the path by accident?
"Kuna! Wait! Where are you going?", Tobi shouted.
Instead of answering, Kuna continued sprinting up the trail, and Dawn and Tobi rushed to keep up with him. Not one of them noticed when they stepped off the trail.
Finally, Kuna's energy ran out, and Kuna slowed down until he stopped. Tobi and Dawn left out relived gasps, glad to finally be able to catch their breaths.
While he rested, Kuna took a second to take in his surroundings, and realized with a jolt that the sun was setting.
"Oh no! Its gonna be dark soon, how am i supposed to find Luxio in the dark?"
Tobi put a comforting hand on Kuna's shoulder. "I'ts OK. We'll just set up camp for the night, and look for her in the morning."
Before Kuna could argue with Tobi that he wasn't going to leave Luxio out alone all night, Dawn spoke up.
"Um, guys? Wheres the trail?"
Tobi suddenly realized that they were lost, and shot a glare in Kuna's direction.
"Kuna! You got us lost! Wha-" Tobi cut off his scolding, seeing a pair of red eyes off in the distance.
Dawn followed his gaze, then started when she spied the absol Tobi was looking at. Both trainers back away slowly.
Kuna turned around, wanting to see what had his companions so startled. Then he turned back to Tobi and Dawn, giving them an annoyed look.
"What, don't tell me you two are superstitious about absols?" They didn't comment. Kuna began walking toward the pokemon.
"Kuna, wait! What are you doing? What if the absol causes a disaster?"
Kuna raised an eyebrow. "If he wanted to hurt us, I'm sure he'd have done it by now, Tobi." He stepped a little closer to the absol, a little surprised that he didn't flinch away from him. "Have you seen a luxio around here by any chance? My friend is missing."
The absol shook his head, and then turned around, gesturing with his tail for Kuna to follow him. Kuna began walking, hoping that if the absol hadn't seen Luxio, at least he knew something that could help him.
Tobi and Dawn exchanged glances, then sighed and followed after him.
They walked deep into the night. Eventually, they walked into what seemed to be a small town. Tobi was confused. There weren't any towns on his map.
The absol stopped as a young child walked toward the group.
"Who are you three?"
"My name is Tobi. These are Kuna and Dawn. We are trainers, but we got a little lost. What is this place? Why isn't it on my map?"
"Isola is a small village, and not a lot of outsiders come here. I suppose it wouldn't be on many maps." The child place a hand on Absol's shoulder, and began walking in the direction of a tiny building.
"Come on, It's not safe. We need to get you 3 and Haku hidden away before sunrise." The child gestured at the trainers, who followed.
They were led inside, and the kid opened a trapdoor, which the absol climbed inside. "Grandma Chandra can explain whats going on when you wake up. Please hurry."
The trainers crawled inside the small room, and curled up in some blankets, suddenly aware of how tired they were.
As Tobi drifted off to sleep, he vowed to get some answers when he woke up.
To be continued...
For the record, don't just go into some random persons house. the only reason these 3 did it was because they were too sleep-deprived to think clearly.
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