Little Tsu: Ok, my stories have practically come ta a crawlin' halt for the last few months and for that, I'm sorry. A lot has happened over time and I also have a job now so I've been workin' really hard with that ta the point where on what few days off I've been gettin', I've mostly slept cause I'm so exhausted. Whoever says workin' at Walmart is easy lies so hard...Seriously...

Anyways, it'll still be very slow goin', but I really hope all of you readers out there will continue ta be patient with me cause I'd really appreciate it if ya did. I WILL try ta get around ta my updates when I'm possibly able and work on 'em a tiny bit here and there. Some will admittedly fall inta a hiatus again till I can get a few more eventually completed before they get picked back up again, but I promise they WILL get updated eventually. Thank you again for all your patience with me over the years and here's the next update of my Nuzlocke.

Enjoy.

Pokemon: 19, Deaths: 4, Badges: 6

Ch: 34

{Mt. Pyre}

A place where spirits wander, Mt Pyre is the very place where pokemon who have died are put to their final rest, whether the cause may be through old age, sickness, or some form of accident.

Or even...fallen in battle...

"Hey...You think you'll be ok, Aya?"

Snapping out of it, Aya rose her head to lock her gaze with the concerned blue grey of Brawly's own. She knew what he meant by his question and also knew that his concern was in the right place, but at the same time, she didn't wish to worry him. Instead, she casted him a faint, but reassuring smile and nodded her head. "Yes...I'll be fine. Once I'm done,...I'll come find you?"

Brawly's brows knitted towards this as he finally reached out and grasped her gloved hand into his own as he stroked the back of it soothingly with his thumb. "Alright...I'll be around, ok? I need to pay a visit to a few graves, myself, but if you need anything at all, you come find me right away, got it?" He then drifted his gaze over towards Vash as he nodded his head lightly. "You keep your trainer safe, fighter dude. I've been countin' on you and the others to protect Aya so don't let me down now."

Narrowing his piercing eyes towards this, Vash growled lightly under his breath before scoffing. ~Who d'ya think I am? I've been tryin' ta keep Aya safe since the very start of our journey. I ain' about ta stop or slack off now like some lazy ass Snorlax or Slakoth.~ When he got an understanding, yet thankful nod from Brawly, the male Blaziken watched as he leaned down and planted a kiss to his trainer's cheek before releasing her hand and walking off to head further into Mt Pyre. A small part of him wondered who it was that the human was going to visit. Shaking his head lightly to clear his thoughts, he made his way to follow after his own trainer as they made their way through the mountain that was practically hollowed out to turn into a cemetery for the lost lives that made a home there.

As they explored though, it came as a slight surprise that they actually ran into some trainers, demanding a battle despite the so called sacred place that they were at. It was something Aya and her pokemon were reluctant to do and they didn't enjoy the stares of those that had come to pay their respects to their own pokemon that had died as well...Thankfully, none of the trainers here wished to lose their own pokemon so none of the battles had been to the death.

Sighing softly to herself as she arrived to about the third floor, or so Aya thought, the teen made a motion to return her Kirlia, Leon after the latest match, but halted suddenly at the voice speaking out. It was Leon as he was staring in mild surprise towards his left.

~"My princess...Look..."~

Upon doing as Leon requested and drifting her gaze towards where he was looking just as Vash had done, an audible gasp escaped her lips at the same time Vash's eyes widened as far as they could go. In fact, she had almost dropped Leon's Premier Ball from her grasp and onto the stone tiled floor at the sight that they saw. Resting in front of them were none other than four marble headstones, but these were different from all the others that filled the cemetery.

Why?

Hesitantly walking over towards the headstones, Aya finally allowed herself to collapse down onto her knees as she gazed at them through tear filled eyes. Staring right back at her on each marble face was a name and a carving.

Rona the Poochyena...

Alucard the Zubat...

Twilight...the Dustox...

And finally...

...Menos...the baby Minun...

Someone had told the owners of Mt Pyre of her fallen pokemon and gave them their own special place there and though she didn't know who it had been, she allowed herself to do something that she hadn't in a while...The young teen broke down and silently cried as her head dropped the tears fell from her delicate cheeks, hitting the floor she sat upon with her legs folded under her since her goggles rested around her forehead for the time being. As she continued to cry all over again for the loss of their precious friends and now for the fact that someone had actually gone out of their way to do this for them without her knowing, she didn't even react to the talons and gentle palms of Vash and Leon comforting her while they too silently mourned, though they didn't cry.

~"They your friends?"~

The new voice that didn't belong to none that she knew, had Aya tensing up slightly before she hesitantly raised her head to bring her glistening amethyst gaze to lock onto the head cocking of a curious gaze. Floating there before her was a little Shuppet as they continued to float about and keep their cocked head tilted just so to give them a sense of innocence. "W-Who-?"

~"I was watching you since you came in here with that other human. You seem really sad though. Sadder than most that come here to visit, actually."~ Shifting a bit in the air to straighten himself up, the Shuppet floated over to the headstones that Aya was knelt in front of and gazed curiously at the names and the picture carvings of which pokemon each one was under said name. ~"So these were friends? Is that why you're crying? I don't really get it though cause other silly humans lost theirs too, but they don't seem as broken as you...You, you're scarred..."~ Turning around a bit, he locked his multi-colored gaze back with the human female before him that looked as if she'd suddenly been struck. Had he said something wrong? Hmm... ~"So what happened to them, huh?"~

"...They were killed...I'm a trainer..."

~"Ohhh, that explains everything then!...Oh wait, no it doesn't."~ Shaking his head at this, the Shuppet drifted around the girl's head in a levitating circle, completely ignoring the glares and protective stances of the two pokemon that were out with her. They didn't matter to him at all. Only this strange human did and that was a rarity all itself! ~"Most human trainers don't care about their pokemon and if they die. They don't even bother to bury them or anything! So what makes you so different, huh?"~

"...They were my friends...I loved them..."

~"Hmm..."~ Knitting his features up in concentrated thought towards her response, the male ghost type seemed to be contemplating something when he finally nodded his head as if he made some kind of decision for all of them. ~"Alright then! I've decided that I'm gonna come with you. After all, you look like you could use some looking after anyways and I'm already dead so it's not like I could die again, right?"~ Before Aya or her starter and Kirlia could even attempt to stop the pokemon, the Shuppet quickly dove down to her pack and tapped the button of an Ultra Ball as he vanished inside with a few shakes and then a ping.

{Shuppet/Tamlen, Gender: Male, Nature/Characteristic: Quirky/Somewhat vain, Place: Mt Pyre}

Staring down at the Ultra Ball that didn't vanish, given she had decided to temporarily box Whippa so she could properly heal more after straining herself more than she should have with flying her around earlier, Aya sighed softly and shook her head. She couldn't help but wonder what kind of pokemon Tamlen was gonna turn out to be and if she should actually have him in her party or not...Well, maybe she could train him a bit and see how he did. She only hoped that if she ever did decide to have him in her party, the reason wouldn't be that she had lost yet another friend...

Aya wasn't sure if she could handle that...

As they finished up with exploring inside, Aya stared at an opening on the other side of the floor she was on that seemed to lead outside, yet they weren't on the first floor. As she was about to turn around and leave rather than sate the faint curiosity that she had in wondering where it lead, she seemed to freeze in her tracks as she spotted the edge of a dark red outfit just outside of the opening as it disappeared around the corner. There was no way...It was just a coincidence, right? Then she remembered having spotted a few people talking near the Safari Zone while Brawly had been busy making them some lunch earlier the other day and caught a bit of what they had been saying before they walked off. As much as Aya didn't wish for it to be true, she knew she saw correctly.

...Team Magma was here at Mt Pyre...

To be continued.

Little Tsu: Ok, I know this was kinda short and I'm sorry for that, but I'll do my best ta get the next chap up sometime tonight or later today. I jus' felt like that was a good spot ta halt the chapter and though I'm updating as I play, thus, I dunno what the future of my team holds, I still couldn' help but leave a bit of a forebodin' feel ta it. For some reason, I can't help but feel like somethin's gonna happen. I mean, yeah, I've been workin' hard with my team and ta make sure they were strong and lvled pretty high for where we currently are, but...6 badges and I've only lost 4 pokemon so far...Somethin's bound ta end up happenin' with my luck somewhere, right?

Hate sayin' this so much, but if ya had ta guess and somethin' DID happen,...who d'ya think Aya would lose next? Review your thoughts. I really like ta know what ya think.