Sorry it took longer than expected to get this out, I've been very distracted by Stardew Valley and with how hot it's been getting it's been hard to feel the proper motivation, one huge reason why I'm not a fan of summer… Anyway, I'll try to get most of next chapter written and hopefully posted shortly after the end of the month if possible, but if I'm late on chapters during the summer then blame nature.


Chapter 31: Hiking Hassle

"Thank you for coming to see us." A voice called out as the doors to the police station slid open; Aura, Diamond, and Dan all walking out and waving back to the officer at the desk.

"So, now that the police will deal with the Granbull and hopefully make sure a fire doesn't break out from the fight last night, let's get to the Pokemon Center and check in for the night." Dan suggested.

"Yeah, I wanna get everyone checked on as soon as we can." Aura looked at Diamond, the Braixen having regained most of her energy thanks to the medicine Dan made, although she still seemed a bit drained walking beside them. "Are you sure you don't want me to carry you?" He asked.

Diamond flinched and looked up with a tired smile, "Y-yeah. I'm okay, Aura. Thank you."

Aura doubtfully sighed and looked forward again. Obviously Diamond just didn't want him to worry, but it would have made him feel much better to just carry her instead. He glanced at her again, although she would quietly wince in pain and slightly falter her steps, she had made it to town nonetheless. The trio walked down the narrow cobblestone path to the small Pokemon Center, only being about three stories instead of five and less than a quarter the size of the Center in Cyllage City.

Passing through the automatic doors, they headed up to the counter where a Nurse Joy stood with a smile. "Welcome to the Pokemon Center. How can we help you?"

"We'd like to rent a couple rooms for the night and have our Pokemon looked at, we ran into some trouble with a Granbull last night and they took quite the beating."

Nurse Joy nodded in understanding, "Of course, we'll have them looked at right away. And your rooms?"

"Two single rooms would be perfect." Aura clarified. After quickly scanning their IDs and receiving their keys, a Wigglytuff came around the corner pushing a gurney with a few trays attached. Aura took the four Pokeballs currently occupied from his belt and set them in one of the trays, Dan doing the same with his three while Diamond timidly walked over to the side of the cart after giving Aura her bag and necklace, though keeping her little studs in her ears. "I'll be waiting out here until your done, don't worry." He told her, holding her cheek as she meekly nodded. Diamond may not be as shy as she used to be, nor was she afraid of going with the nurses, she just wasn't too keen on being around others without Aura close by, even if it was only to get herself healed.

As Aura watched Diamond round the corner with Wigglytuff and Nurse Joy, he kept his word and walked over to the waiting area, plopping down on one of the sofas with his and Diamond's bags set on the floor by his feet. After only a couple minutes, Aura heard a soft tune play from a speaker and looked up, he smiled as Nurse Joy rounded the corner with Wigglytuff and Diamond walking at her sides, Wigglytuff pushing a cart with Pokeballs placed within.

The two trainers stood and headed over to retrieve their Pokemon, Diamond picking up her pace towards Aura and looking up at him like a happy child. "Thank you, Nurse Joy." Dan said, him and Aura taking their Pokeballs from the trays.

Nurse Joy bowed politely, "Of course. Have a nice day." She returned to the desk while Wigglytuff retreated into a back room with the tray.

"What are we doing for today?" Diamond asked as they headed upstairs.

Aura smiled. "I kind of want to take look around town for a bit. Not much to do really for the most part, but while Dan and I were waiting for you guys to be healed, I read in a pamphlet that Geosenge Town is known for the rare stones that are found in the area."

Dan chuckled, "Maybe we'd even be lucky enough to find a Mega Stone." Glancing over, he noticed a slightly perplexed look on Aura's face. "You've never heard of Mega Stones?"

Aura shrugged as they reached the top of the stairs, "I've heard of them, even saw some used in tournaments on TV, but I don't think we'd just happen to come across one while in town."

"Couldn't hurt to dream." Dan nudged him with a grin. Aura mearly rolled his eyes and smirked as they came up on their rooms. Parting for a few minutes as they dropped off their belongings in their suites, they all met back in the hallway before returning to the lobby and leaving the Pokemon Center.

On their way out, Aura grabbed one of the small pamphlets that contained a map of the town and a short list of the town's attractions, a small marking in the top left corner caught the trainer's eye, "Check this out, there's a path along the mountain that's supposed to be a good place for finding evolution stones and sometimes even fossils."

Dan leaned over and looked at the spot Aura held his finger, "Sounds cool, and who knows, maybe we will find a Mega Stone."

Aura smirked at his friend, "I kind of doubt it, but only one way to say for sure." He returned his gaze to the map as they walked along the cobblestone road, "Says here there's a shop near the peak where you can get a photo taken and even buy evolution stones people have found and sold to them."

Dan shrugged, "Too bad none of our Pokemon evolve with a stone, but it'd still be cool if we found one."

"That it would. But even if we don't find one, it'd probably be nice for everyone else to stretch their legs." Aura folded the brochure and looked down at Diamond, the fox curiously looking around at the many standing boulders while quietly rubbing the gem in her necklace.

Taking their time to walk through the small town, it wasn't long before they reached the start to the mountain trail near the back woods. At once, Aura and Dan held out their Pokeballs and released their Pokemon, briefly explaining what they were doing.

"So, you guys ready for a hike?" Aura asked excitedly, already being one to enjoy outdoor scenery.

Stan squinted and tilt his head, "Why are we hiking? Didn't we just get to town this morning?" The Luxio flinched as he felt a jab against his side, blinking as Tia quietly glared at him for his rudeness with her tail firmly held at his ribs, thankfully her tail was actually quite dull despite it's sword-like appearance.

Their interaction went unnoticed by Aura as he looked over the others and continued to explain. "We're not just doing this for the hike itself, this mountain is actually a really good place to find rare stones as well, so we might find some on our way up."

Although the thought of finding rare stones may not have been as impressive to all of them, they still agreed with their trainers as they were mainly just happy to spend time together. The mountain was in no way the largest in the region, but the path was still rather long and took quite a while before they reached the halfway point of the trail where thankfully the town had set up a fountain to drink from and a few tables to eat at before continuing the trek.

Deciding to stop for a few minutes to make use of the rest stop, Aura and Dan began unpacking a few snacks from their bags while their Pokemon admired the expansive view from high above the town below. Lilly in particular was in absolute awe as she peered over the landscape from under the metal guard rails.

"It's lovely, isn't it." She heard a voice, looking back to see Tia walk over and sit beside the rabbit. "It reminds me a lot of my old home."

"Your old home?" Lilly glanced up at the Absol, who just continued to look off into the distance.

"I've been alone for many moons before meeting Aura. I was miserable, angry, vengeful…" She let out a heavy sigh and lowered her head, "Sorry, I didn't mean to ruin the mood. I'm still getting used to being around others again."

Lilly kindly held her paw against Tia's leg, "It's okay. I won't pry into your private life, but if you want someone to talk to then I'd be more than happy to lend you an ear." She said, wiggling her long ears to emphasize her point. Tia smiled and thanked the rabbit, grateful she had one more friend to help her cope.

"Guys, lunch is ready!" Aura called. The two looked back, glancing at one another for a moment before heading toward the picnic table.

After their short lunch and with their water bottles refilled, the group continued their hike towards the summit of the mountain; however, not long after walking another quarter of the trail, the rough shouts of a man rang from a small opening followed by a terrified shriek as a mass of brown fur tumbled out onto the path.

"That little fuck bit me!" They heard another man shouting.

Without uttering a word, Aura and Dan looked at each other and nodded, Dan running to the Eevee's side while Aura skidded to a halt at the small cave's entrance. "Hey! What the hell's going on?!" He shouted. The cave was dim, but the light from the sun was just enough to see two men in leather jackets and torn jeans standing in front of a cowering little pink-haired girl, her yellow dress covered in mud and partially torn as tears rolled down her face.

The man on the left scowled and reached for his belt, "Get lost, punk! This is none of your business!"

"I beg to differ, now stop harassing that girl or else!" Aura threatened, each of his Pokemon standing by his sides making a sort of barricade along the opening. The little girl sniffled and peaked over her arm, behind the trainer and Pokemon at the mouth of the cave she saw the little Eevee being treated by another trainer.

The man on the right scoffed with a pulse of anger visible on his forehead, "You think we're scared of some punk little brat?! You're a fucking idiot!" Both men quickly threw out a Pokeball each with a Poliwrath appearing on the left and a Shiftry appearing on the right.

Diamond felt herself physically fuming from hearing them insult her mate, this anger passing on to Aura as well with his eyes glowing faintly blue. "You asked for it." Aura scowled.

"Poliwrath! Hydro Pump!"

"Shiftry! Leaf Storm!"

Flexing it's arms, Poliwrath quickly unleashed a massive torrent of condensed water toward them, while Shiftry's fan-like hands shimmered before it swung them around with a huge spiral of leaves blasted alongside the Hydro Pump.

"Diamond, burn up those leaves! Lilly, freeze the water!" Flicking her twig like a wand, Diamond unleashed a blast of fire into the swirling leaves. Next to her, Lilly took in a deep breath with a light blue glow forming in her mouth, firing off the light blue beam of sub-zero energy and completely freezing the water, causing it to suddenly shatter into tiny pieces.

"You little- Shiftry, Leaf Blade!" The grass-type crossed it's arms in front of it's face with the leaves suddenly flashing white and forming into long blades, it let out a cry as it sped forward with it's feet clacking against the stone floor.

"Prince, counter it with Blaze Kick! Tia, back him up with Slash!" The appendages on the Riolu's head momentarily lifted while a raging fire engulfed his leg, he sprinted forward as Tia hurried behind him with her horn glowing white. Pushing off the ground, Prince twirled in the air before delivering a skillful back kick to the Shiftry, breaking his defenses and allowing Tia to land a finishing strike to the grass-type.

The man on the left glared at the one on the right, "You fucking dumb-ass! Can't you ever do anything right?!" The man on the right was about to argue, but the other man paid no mind as he ordered his Poliwrath to attack with another Hydro Pump.

"Intercept it with Spark!" Stan's body began to crackle and flicker with electricity, and once he was completely enveloped by the intense voltage, the Luxio dove toward the stream of water and braced himself. Immediately, massive bolts traveled across the conductive water and surged throughout the tadpole's whole body as it cried in agony, soon falling on it's back with small sparks jumping across it's skin.

The man was frozen in disbelief. "Gah! This isn't over fucker!" He shouted. Reaching into his jacket pocket, the man swiftly pulled out a switch blade and charged forward. Aura's eyes flashed momentarily as he watched the man approach. He calmly planted his right foot forward and just as the man was in reach, Aura skillfully grabbed his arm, twisted it, and lifted the man over his head, slamming him down on his back against the solid floor and eliciting a painful shout followed by quiet groaning from the thug.

Aura glared at the man with his eyes returning to normal, "You've made a huge mistake." He turned back to the inside of the cave to see the other man kneeling by his Shiftry and staring at Aura with fearful eyes. "Are you gonna try something too? Or are you gonna be good and wait for police to arrive?"

The man gulped, looking down at his Shiftry with a sigh, he returned it and calmly stayed on his knees in the middle of the cave. "I don't care anymore, my Shiftry deserves a better life anyways."

Aura blinked a bit surprised. Was this crook really giving up so easily? He shook his head and walked forward, Diamond reached out worried and grabbed his shirt, "What are you going to do?"

He looked down at her, then over to the small girl who had stopped crying and just silently stared at him. "Don't worry," was all he said as he just continued walking, Diamond followed close, but stepped a bit further away as they passed the defeated crook on the ground. Stopping in front of the girl, Aura kneeled down and held out his hand, "It's going to be alright. Now let's get you to your Eevee." The girl widened her eyes for a second and nodded, sniffling as she took Aura's hand and let him lead her out to the cave entrance. "How's the Eevee doing?" He asked as they approached Dan.

The trainer looked over and smiled, "She'll be perfectly fine, just a few bruises and a fractured ankle, but since she's a Pokemon it will only take about a week at the latest to fully recover, a few days even if she gets the proper attention." Dan looked at the girl who continued to stare at the Eevee. He smiled and scooted over, "Come on, sit here while Aura calls someone to deal with those guys." The little girl looked up at Aura then crouched down next to the brown fox.

After instructing his Pokemon to keep watch over the two men, Aura did as Dan said and pulled out his phone, tapping the emergency icon and connecting with the nearest police office. With a short explanation of their location and the emergency to be dealt with, Aura thanked the person and hung up. "Alright, police should be here in a few minutes, but they asked if we could stay put until they arrive. Until then," Aura slipped off his bag and pulled out a sandwich wrapped in plastic, holding it out to the little girl with a smile, "want something to eat?"

She glanced between him and the sandwich for a second, soon taking the food and holding it, "Thank you… Thank you for saving me." She said, looking up to Aura with a few tears in her eyes.

"No problem, we weren't going to just let those jerks do what they wanted." He looked over to Prince, Stan, and Tia standing around the two men at the cave's entrance. "I'm glad we decided to go on this walk."

A short time later, they heard the sounds of approaching vehicles, seeing a single police cruiser slow to a stop a little ways away with a woman in blue stepping from the driver's side. "Are you the ones who called?" She asked, slamming the door shut after a Manectric jumped out behind her.

"Yes, thank you for coming so soon, Officer Jenny." Aura stood up and approached her, explaining what happened before helping her get the crooks to the car.

"Thank you for your help today, you're a good kid for doing this," she praised. Jenny glanced to the little girl who now held her Eevee in her lap. "Can I trust you to get Amelia home to her father."

Aura turned and blinked, "You know that little girl?" He asked.

Jenny chuckled, "Yes, her father is a well known photographer and geologist who lives near the summit of this mountain. I assume you were hiking to his shop, correct?" Aura shrugged. "Don't worry, it's not too far away. I've got to get these crooks down to the station, but thank you again for the call." With a polite bow, Jenny returned to her cruiser with her Manectric and headed back down the mountain.

"Well, I guess it's time we get going then," he looked down at Amelia and grinned, squatting down to scratch Eevee's head, "Your dad must be worried, let's get you back as soon as we can." He told her. Nodding happily, Amelia and Eevee smiled at each other and stood up while Aura and Dan quickly packed their things.

Approaching the end of the trail, they could see a small rustic shop near the back of the wide plateau. Sitting at a small table on the shop's deck, a bulky man in a white t-shirt quietly fiddled with pieces of a camera.

"Daddy!" Amelia called. The man looked up from his camera and froze wide eyed as his daughter hurried over with Eevee in her arms.

"Amelia!" Her father cried, standing from his seat and kneeling down as his daughter ran toward him. He embraced her and Eevee as the young girl started to happily cry. "You know better than to run off down the mountain alone!

She pulled back and wiped her eyes, "I'm okay, Daddy. These people helped me!" She turned around and pointed toward the approaching trainers.

"So you were the ones who helped my daughter?" The man asked, standing up as Aura politely smiled.

"Yeah. She was in a bit of a bind when we came along, but we dealt with the situation." He held out his hand and introduced himself and his Pokemon, Dan doing the same right after.

The man took Aura's hand and smiled, "It's a pleasure to meet you all, my name is Gerard. Officer Jenny called me earlier and told me everything." Gerard pulled his daughter close and smiled, "I can't thank you enough for saving Amelia, since we buy and sell a lot of rare stones up here, we also get some less-than-friendly people in the area. Is there any way I can repay you for this? Perhaps a free stone from my shop?"

Aura laughed and pulled Diamond close to his side as well, making the fox let out a quiet "eep" and blush. "Truth be told, we came on this hike just to see the view and to relax a bit."

"Don't forget the evolution stones." Dan chimed in with a grin.

Aura just rolled his eyes, "That too. But it was mostly for the scenery." He looked off into the distance, "So there's no need to repay us, we're just glad we could help."

Gerard rubbed his chin, "Well since you came all this way for the scenery, why not at least take a photo to remember it? I assume you've read about the service in that pamphlet in your pocket." Aura blinked and looked at his side, seeing the pamphlet sticking halfway out of his pocket, only now realizing the photo on the cover was of this very shop.

"I don't see why not. It'd be nice to have a way to remember this by." Dan said.

Gerard laughed and turned to his table, "Alright then, let me just get my camera ready and we'll get started."

As her father quickly reassembled his camera, Amelia looked down at her Eevee for a moment and walked up to Aura shyly. "Um… Excuse me?" Aura looked down at her and tilted his head, kindly asking her what she wanted. "Could we be in the picture too?" She asked.

Aura blinked and smiled at the little girl. He kneeled down and happily nodded his head, "If you want to, then we'd be happy to have you in it. This way we can remember more than just the view. Right guys?" Aura turned to his Pokemon and received a nod from each of them.

Amelia smiled with a tear in her eye. "Thank you. When I grow up, I wanna be a strong trainer like you!" She exclaimed, looking down at Eevee who happily let out a cry of approval.

"Alright, camera's ready so let's get started." Gerard stepped up to them and gestured over to a section of the cliff where a few stools, chairs, and benches were all clustered together. "Let's head over to that spot and get everyone set up, yeah?"

Nodding in agreement, everyone followed Gerard to the cliff and helped him set out a few stools and benches, one right in the center for his daughter after learning she would be in the photo as well.

"Everyone ready?" Gerard asked, his camera set up on a tripod a few meters away with a printer-like machine set up next to it. With a collective "ready!" from everyone, Gerard began to count down and take the picture. A mechanical sound came from the machine as it began to print three copies of the photo, Gerard quickly taking them as soon as they were ready and walking over to the others.

"This looks great." Dan said after receiving his copy, Gerard handing one to Aura as well.

"Thanks for these, Gerard." Aura said, holding his copy down so his Pokemon could see it too.

Gerard rubbed his head, "It's nothing, really. The least I could do after you saved my Daughter is make sure you get some high quality photos."

After putting their pictures into special casing to keep them from bending, Aura, Dan, and their Pokemon started making their way down the trail, looking back to Gerard and Amelia and waving goodbye. Once the group was no longer visible, Amelia looked down at her picture with a large smile, hoping that one day she will meet her heroes again.


Okay, I realize the ending sucks, but it pretty much gets the point across of what I wanted to do and I was rushing to get it done since it's been taking way too long. Anywho, I need to get this edited and posted as soon as I can so I'll just leave it at this.

Thanks for reading, and hopefully you enjoyed the chapter and the story thus far. I appreciate helpful feedback and seeing what you all think of the story. I make sure to read reviews and respond to them if possible.

Until next time. ~Aura