Author's Note:
Hello all! We've got another chapter of Bonnie's epic Hoenn journey here. Last time, she competed in a Contest and then Torchic joined the group. Now, she's travelling towards Mauville City with her friends. Let's see what's ahead. Hope you enjoy.
Chapter 28: A Zig-Zag Route
Bonnie sighed in contentment as she and her friends made their way along Route 110. It had been a lot of fun travelling by boat with Mr. Briney, and then also on Drake's ship, but it certainly felt nice to finally travel on foot once again. There was nothing quite like feeling the dirt and grass underneath them as they walked underneath the trees and listened to the Pokemon scurrying through the bushes nearby. It was just something that couldn't quite be matched when travelling at sea.
A light breeze blew over the group as some clouds approached them in the distance, dimming the sunlight from above somewhat. This caused Roxanne to look up, and she paused as she faced an open clearing to their left. "What do you guys think about stopping for some lunch? It might be a good idea to eat something now in case those clouds bring some rain."
"Is there a Pokemon Centre nearby?" Clyde asked, looking at the clouds uneasily. "It might be a good idea to find some shelter."
Everyone turned to Rotom as Bonnie hooked up her PokeNav to him, and a moment later, he had scanned through the map. "Zzt! It appears we are quite a distance away from the nearest Pokemon Centre."
"Well, if we have lunch now, we can look for a place afterwards to wait out the rain if it comes," Roxanne said, moving over to the clearing and taking off her backpack. "I got some supplies while you guys were training for the Contest, so we can eat well today!"
"Awesome!" Bonnie said, following her to the clearing. "I'm starving!"
"Nene!" Dedenne said in agreement, hopping down off of her shoulder and scurrying over to where Roxanne was taking out some Pokemon food.
"Come on out, Torchic and Wingull!" Bonnie then called out, throwing her pokeballs into the air as Clyde made his way over with Treecko, letting out his Aron as well, while Roxanne did the same with Onix, Geodude and Nosepass.
"Gull!" Wingull said happily as he emerged, looking to the clouds in the distance. Out of all of them, he would likely be the one to enjoy a storm the most, given his ability. His attention was diverted a moment later, however, as Torchic cried out next to him.
"Torchic tor!" the Chick Pokemon said happily, staring around at all the other Pokemon curiously. "Tor?"
"Wingull?" Wingull said, shuffling over to look at Torchic more closely. "Gull?" he asked, turning to Bonnie.
"Wingull, this is Torchic," Bonnie told the Seagull Pokemon happily. "Torchic entered the Slateport City Contest with me and decided to come along with us on our journey. And Torchic, this is Wingull. We met him while travelling on the way to Dewford Town."
"Wingull!" Wingull then said with a smile, turning back to Torchic and nodding to her. "Wingull!"
"Tor!" Torchic greeted, giving an additional little hop of excitement.
"You already know Treecko," Clyde then said, gesturing to his Pokemon, "but this is my Aron as well. And also, this is my Pokemon Fossil our friend Sawyer gave me, so it'll be a Pokemon one day, too!"
"And these are my Pokemon," Roxanne finished, gesturing to her three rock types. "Onix, Geodude and Nosepass."
All the Pokemon cried out their greetings to Torchic, who looked more than pleased to be greeted in such a friendly manner. "Torchic torrr!" she said, hopping up and down happily. "Tor!"
"Isn't it great to have so many friends, Torchic?" Bonnie asked, amused by Torchic's enthusiasm. It was quite the difference from the Torchic that Professor Birch had described from his lab the past few weeks.
With the greetings done, the group then began arranging things for lunch. Roxanne was getting the people food ready, while Bonnie and Clyde collected the Pokemon food and organized it for everyone, Bonnie was still amazed at how much they needed to put out for Onix, who devoured his bowl in one big gulp. Of course, Dedenne and Wingull were quite the big eaters as well, and based on their size, probably ate more food in comparison.
Once everything was out, the group sat down to enjoy their lunch. Bonnie was glad that they had decided to stop. She hadn't realized how hungry she was until her plate of food was in front of her, and she was pretty sure she ate it faster than Onix had eaten his. Everyone seemed quite hungry, though, and it wasn't long before most of them had finished their food. Bonnie was surprised, however, to see that Torchic was among the slowest eaters.
"Are you not hungry, Torchic?" Bonnie asked the Chick Pokemon, watching her curiously.
"Tor!" Torchic said, looking up. She quickly took some food from her bowl, and ate it, chewing it very slowly, before swallowing. "Tor!" she added, hopping up and down in joy.
"Torchic's just savouring it," Roxanne said in amusement. "I guess you like my fire type recipe, don't you?"
"Torchic tor!" Torchic said, nodding as she leaned down to eat some more.
"Did you learn how to make Pokemon food when you became a teacher?" Bonnie asked, glancing at Roxanne as Clyde pulled out some berries and his watering pail that Natalie and her sisters had given him. They were right next to a patch of good soil next to a stream that appeared good for planting.
"Well, I learned a lot about Pokemon nutrition to become a teacher," Roxanne explained, watching Clyde and Trecko with a smile as they began planting. Rotom was also heading over to observe. "We need to know a variety of topics so that we can introduce students to different ways to live and work with Pokemon."
"What did you need to do for Torchic's food to make her like it so much?" Bonnie asked curiously, watching Torchic finish her food.
"It would've been a Tamato Berry, right?" Clyde asked, glancing back at the Rustboro Gym Leader. "It's spicy, so fire types tend to really enjoy it."
Roxanne nodded, pulling out one of the red, spicy berries from her bag. "Yes, fire types tend to enjoy these very much. I mashed one up and added it to the mixture for Torchic's food once she joined our group."
"Thanks, Roxanne!" Bonnie said gratefully, realizing how quickly Roxanne must've been able to prepare Torchic's food. They had left Slateport City early in the morning after saying their goodbyes to May, Anita and Professor Birch.
"Tor!" Torchic added, hopping over to Roxanne.
"My pleasure," the older trainer said. "Anything to keep Pokemon healthy and well fed!" She paused, looking thoughtfully at the berry in her hand, before glancing at Clyde. "Come to think of it, this would be a good berry to plant for people training fire Pokemon that travel around here. Clyde, why don't you plant this with the ones you've got there?"
"That's a great idea!" Clyde said, standing up to get the berry. "Tamato berries can be hard to find since people get scared of how spicy they are and don't plant many." He paused as he looked at the berry, and then back to the patch where he'd been planting. "They need more sun, so we'll need to plant it over there, Treecko," he said, pointing to an area over by some bushes at the edge of the clearing.
"Treecko!" Treecko answered, grabbing the watering pail and running over towards Clyde as he made his way to the new patch.
As Treecko made his way over, Rotom suddenly perked up, stopping in place as he was following the grass type. The PokeNav that was still attached to him lit up as his own screen flashed an image of a familiar furry, brown Pokemon. "Zzt! There is a Pokemon nearby!" he shouted excitedly, bringing everyone's focus on him.
"What is it?" Bonnie asked, getting up to have a better look at his screen. As he answered, she recognized it immediately.
"Zzt! It is a Zigzagoon! We haven't seen one for awhile," Rotom said. "You tried to capture one before we met Pokemon Trainer Clyde."
"Yeah...that didn't go so well," Bonnie muttered, looking at the image with interest. From what May and Professor Birch had told Bonnie, the Mauville City Gym Leader would be quite strong. Considering one of her Pokemon would be weak against the electric types at that gym, she couldn't help but feel that this was an opportunity she couldn't pass up on. A Zigzagoon could really help her chances. And it's really cute, too, she though, smiling at the image. "Where do you think this Zigzagoon is?"
Rotom paused for a moment, the PokeNav flashing, before he turned around and looked towards Clyde. "I believe it is in that direction!"
"Near me?" Clyde asked, staring around in confusion. "I don't think anything is-" His eyes suddenly widened as he turned to his collection of berries next to him, where a brown paw was suddenly darting out of the bushes. "Oh no! Those are some of my Oran berries!"
"Quick, after it!" Bonnie shouted, taking off towards the bushes. She noticed Wingull flapping his wings and soaring over to her to help, looking determined to stop the theft. The thought somewhat amused Bonnie, considering this was how they had met the Seagull Pokemon. She pushed that realization aside, though, instead focusing on pushing her way through the bushes and looking ahead to see the furry Pokemon up ahead, holding a pair of blue berries and looking back with beady, black eyes. It jumped as it noticed Bonnie and Wingull, before turning and taking off once more.
"Bonnie, slow down!" Roxanne called out from behind the bushes, back in the clearing. "It's just a berry, don't worry about it."
"I don't care about the berry!" Bonnie called back, nodding to Wingull and beginning to run again. "I want to catch that Zigzagoon! Come on, let's go!"
With that, she and Wingull were off again, darting down the path that Zigzagoon had disappeared down, ignoring the angry calls from Roxanne and Clyde behind them. Bonnie was sure they would catch up. Besides, she might not get an opportunity like this again before her next gym battle. That Zigzagoon was meant for her.
"Wingull, try using Water Gun as soon as you see any sign of Zigzagoon!" Bonnie ordered, narrowing her eyes as she and her Seagull Pokemon rounded a corner. Bonnie needed to push her way through some bushes, but Wingull was able to stay in the air, better able to see up ahead. Bonnie felt bad that she'd rushed ahead of Dedenne, but she was glad that he would be able to help Torchic out if she needed it.
"Gull!" the water and flying type called out, flapping his wings and moving a little further ahead as Bonnie got through the bushes and continued running. He seemed to have sensed something off to their right, and as he swooped down to pass underneath some branches from a tree, Bonnie followed.
They emerged on a new path, which was a little rockier than those they'd been on since leaving Slateport City. It was nearby a cliffside, and Bonnie could see that the cliffs were quite high up on the right side. There wasn't much time to study the her surroundings, however, because Wingull quickly got her attention, nodding towards the path ahead, where Zigzagoon could be seen running.
"Hey Zigzagoon!" Bonnie yelled, taking off once more. "Wait up!"
Not surprisingly, Zigzagoon continued running, and Bonnie and Wingull were forced to continue chasing after it. Bonnie couldn't help but be impressed by Zigzagoon's speed. Wingull was quite a fast flier, and even he couldn't get close enough to launch a Water Gun attack. Bonnie was starting to feel exhausted as they continued running, too, and didn't know how long she would be able to keep up if Zigzagoon didn't get tired.
Just as Bonnie was considering giving in, noticing the dark clouds approaching from above and thinking she should find her friends, Zigzagoon darted to the side once again. This time, it went back into the trees, and Bonnie had to squeeze through some bushes once again to keep up. When she emerged past the bushes, though, she was surprised to see Zigzagoon had stopped, trapped somewhat, with a fallen tree blocking the path he had likely been looking for, and no quick way to get past it.
"Zagoon..." it muttered, glancing at Bonnie and Wingull uneasily as it turned to look at them. "Zig zigzagoon."
"Wingull!" Wingull called out in response, sounding as though he was challenging Zigzagoon. Bonnie could see that the Tiny Raccoon Pokemon had the berries still dangling from his mouth, held by their stems.
"Zigzagoon," Bonnie said, taking a step forward and smiling, "I'd really like to battle you. I'd be happy to trade those berries for a chance for Wingull and me to take you on!"
Zigzagoon looked suspiciously at her, narrowing his eyes before adjusting his hold on the berries. "Zagoon," he murmured again, sounding a little muffled with the stems in his mouth.
Bonnie realized that it probably didn't seem like a fair trade to Zigzagoon, considering the berries were already in his possession. Well, she thought, I guess it's not fair that he stole those in the first place. With that thought in mind, she raised an arm and pointed. "Wingull, use Water Gun!"
"Wingull!" the Seagull Pokemon responded, flapping his wings and darting forward. "Guuullll!" he then cried out, opening his beak wide as he prepared to launch his attack.
Before Wingull could attack, however, Zigzagoon suddenly darted forward, putting himself right in Wingull's path. This seemed to surprise the Seagull Pokemon, and he hesitated briefly, just as Zigzagoon looked up at him. Then, just as Wingull was opening his beak again to attack, Bonnie noticed him hesitate once more. Surprised, she glanced at Zizgagoon again, and immediately fell under the same spell as her flying type.
"Awww, it's so cute!" she practically squealed, clapping her hands together as she stared at Zigzagoon looking up at Wingull with its big, wide, shining eyes.
"Gull..." Wingull murmured, hesitating as he also appeared to think Zigzagoon was cute. Too cute to be attacked. Unfortunately, they had both been lulled into a trap.
"Zagoon!" the Tiny Raccoon Pokemon then cried out, leaping up with all the force it could muster and slamming its head into Wingull's chest. "Goon!" Zigzagoon then darted away past a surprised Bonnie, shooting through the bushes as Wingull hit the ground with a thud.
"Wing...gull..." Wingull said shakily, lying on the ground in front of Bonnie, appearing more stunned than hurt.
Bonnie quickly rushed over to the Seagull Pokemon, casting a quick glance back at the bushes as she did so, seeing that Zigzagoon did, indeed, appear to be gone. She ignored that for the moment, though, instead focusing on Wingull. "Are you okay, Wingull?" she asked, kneeling next to him.
"Wingull..." he muttered, managing to rise. He looked okay for the most part, but Bonnie could tell he was irritated about Zigzagoon's successful attack, and the trickery involved in it.
"Don't worry," Bonnie said, giving her flying type a sympathetic smile, "we'll get him back. He won't be able to get too far away. We were running for awhile."
Wingull nodded, appearing a little happier with the thought of another chance at fighting Zigzagoon. He glanced up at the sky for a moment, looking thoughtful. Then, a moment later, he straightened up as something fell and splashed against the top of his head. He seemed refreshed by it, and flexed his wing as another droplet came down.
"It's starting to rain," Bonnie realized, glancing up as more drops began to fall. She turned to Wingull as she stood up, noticing that he was looking quite pleased with the arrival of the rain, given his ability. She, on the other hand, was not looking forward to being drenched, and she was now worried about where her friends might have ended up. "I hope Dedenne and the others are okay."
"Wingull?" Wingull asked, kicking off and flying into the air and hovering in front of Bonnie. "Wingull gull wingull." He was gesturing into the air and circling around.
"You want to look for them?" Bonnie asked, smiling as she watched him. It made sense. She could find some shelter, and then Wingull would be able to search for the others in the rain since he was actually energized by it. "That might be a good-"
BOOM!
"Gull!" Wingull suddenly cried out darting to the ground and hiding behind Bonnie. "Wingull!"
Bonnie stared down in surprise at the Seagull Pokemon, before looking up into the sky as the rain began to fall even harder. It was quite dark now, but she could see the sky lighting up brightly as there was another loud booming sound, which caused Wingull to cry out nervously again. "Don't worry, Wingull," she said, smiling down at him. "We'll find some shelter and wait out the storm. Hopefully Dedenne and the others can find somewhere safe, too. I don't want you out in this."
"Wingull," Wingull murmured gratefully, flapping his wings and flying up onto Bonnie's shoulder. "Gull!"
"Right, let's go find somewhere to get out of this!" Bonnie agreed, turning out of the clearing and heading off in the direction Zigzagoon had gone. She guessed it would've headed back to the cliffside, and that made sense to her as a good place to find some shelter. "Hopefully we can find a cave or something."
And hopefully the others find somewhere safe as well, she thought, as she pushed through the bushes.
Clyde winced as the thunder boomed loudly overhead once again, and lightning continued to light up the sky. It was turning out to be quite the storm. When they had seen the clouds earlier in the day, they certainly hadn't expected this. It only made the anxiety of being separated from Bonnie all the worse as he and Roxanne hid in their makeshift shelter.
After Bonnie had run after the Zigzagoon, it had been a mad scramble for Clyde and Roxanne to gather things up and recall their Pokemon to their pokeballs before they could try to follow after her. Bonnie had taken Torchic's pokeball with her, too, so the Chick Pokemon had needed to follow on foot with them as they'd tried to make their way through the bushes and zigzagging paths. Then, once it had started raining, they'd quickly needed to find shelter to avoid getting her wet.
Fortunately, Rotom had managed to find a fairly roomy cave on a cliffside that they had been able to gather inside of fairly quickly. Torchic had even been very helpful in getting a fire started with her Ember attack, so it hadn't been too long before they were able to dry off and get warm. The mood in the cave was unfortunately not so great, however, as the longer things went with no sign of Bonnie, the more worried they got.
"She must've found somewhere she could rest up," Roxanne said. "It was reckless to chase after that Zigzagoon like that, but I'm sure Bonnie wouldn't continue chasing it in a storm." She sighed, looking out of the entrance to their cave, where only the heavy downpour of rain could be seen in the firelight. "I had hoped she would come across us looking for shelter, though. I hope there's another cave as warm as this somewhere near her."
"Zzt, according to my calculations, this cliffside should have many dens!" Rotom said proudly, floating over to join the conversation, while Torchic and Dedenne watched curiously. Clyde could see that Dedenne was extremely worried. Torchic was as well, but clearly she was excited enough by their own adventure to be sidetracked somewhat.
"Maybe," Roxanne said, glancing up at the PokeDex. "I just hope there aren't any territorial Pokemon in those dens."
"Zzt!" Rotom exclaimed, before a nervous face appeared on his screen. "I didn't think about that..."
"Wingull will be able to fight off any dangerous Pokemon," Clyde said confidently. "And maybe Bonnie caught that Zigzagoon."
Roxanne smiled at his statement. "Yes, I suppose you're right. I wonder what that Zigzagoon will think after having her chase after it like that. That must've been quite surprising!"
"Bonnie really gets into it when it comes to Pokemon," Clyde said, smiling at the thought of the mad dash his friend had made. "I wish I could get that excited about something."
"You seemed pretty excited about planting those berries with Treecko," Roxanne pointed out, glancing towards the grass type, who was actually currently in the process of sorting their berry supply. "And I used to think I was a big fan of prehistoric Pokemon, but you seem obsessed!"
Clyde laughed a little at that, pulling out the fossil that Sawyer had given him as he did so. "I've always loved learning about prehistoric Pokemon and fossils. I used to go to all kinds of museums when I was little. My mom got me a bunch of toys for the different Pokemon, too."
"That sounds nice," Roxanne said, sitting back as she got more comfortable in front of the fire. "What was your favourite Pokemon?"
"Probably Armaldo," Clyde said, his voice growing a little more excited as he continued talking. "It was really cool seeing Steven actually battling with one. I wonder if my fossil is from an Armaldo."
"I'm sure we can check at Devon Corp. next time we're there," Roxanne pointed out. "They're very good with that kind of thing. And considering their newer technology, you may even be able to have it restored!"
"That would be so cool!" Clyde said, hands shaking as he stared at his fossil. "I even have the Fossil Ball that Mr. Stone gave me so that I can catch it! Professor Birch was telling me that he consulted with Devon Corp. on some of their research for developing it, and it's apparently a really good pokeball."
"I'm sure it is," Roxanne murmured, looking thoughtful. "It's a bit concerning that Team Archaic managed to get their hands on a few, though. I wish we could have gotten them back that day."
Clyde shivered, remembering how he had cowered until the last minute to help Bonnie battle back then. If he had jumped in earlier, maybe they would have been able to get those Fossil Balls back. And the other materials Team Archaic had stolen. Mom would've been so disappointed, he thought. But dad...
"You okay, Clyde?" Roxanne asked, bringing Clyde out of his thoughts. He realized he had been staring at his fossil, shaking his head.
"Huh...I...yeah, I'm fine," he muttered. "Just tired, I guess."
"I guess it's been a bit of a hectic day," Roxanne said, glancing out the entrance to the cave. The storm was still raging outside. "Hopefully things clear up and we can get an early start on looking for Bonnie. I guess we might as well rest up until then."
"Sounds good to me," Clyde said, beginning to pull out his sleeping bag. "She had better catch that Zigzagoon. I want this to be worth it, at least."
Roxanne laughed at that, unrolling her own sleeping bag. "I'm sure Bonnie's bonding with it right now."
Bonnie stumbled into the fourth cave she'd attempted to find shelter in since the storm had begun. It had not been a pleasant experience so far. The first cave had appeared to be nice and roomy, with plenty of space away from the rain splashing into the entrance. Unfortunately, however, a nasty group of Elektrike had been huddled inside, and they hadn't taken kindly to Bonnie appearing out of the blue like she had. And, with Wingull being weak against them, Bonnie had no interest in trying to fight them.
The next cave had been nice enough as well. It wasn't quite as big, but Bonnie had felt she could've at least stayed the night if need be. The problem with this one, though, was the very ominous noises Bonnie and Wingull had been subject to the longer the silence dragged on in there. Bonnie was sure a ghost Pokemon had been in there and that it was simply playing a joke on them, but Wingull had been terrified, and Bonnie didn't want to scare him by staying there. It wasn't going to be easy to sleep there, anyway, so she had been happy to move on herself, too.
The third cave had been the worst of the bunch. Not only was it small and cramped, but water had sprayed in even before her and Wingull arriving in it. Then, while they had been attempting to get dry and warm up, a particularly heavy downpour of rain had blown in and drenched most of the cave. Fortunately, Bonnie had been able to save her sleeping bag, but the remains of her food that she had with her was soaked and soggy afterwards. Even if she'd been willing to eat it, though, a Plusle and Minun had scurried in from where they had been hiding and stolen it.
"I hope we can actually rest here," Bonnie mumbled as she glanced around the new cave. It wasn't like the first cave they'd been to, but there was definitely enough room to avoid the rain. "I wish we had Torchic with us. She could've helped us with a fire."
"Gull," Wingull murmured in agreement, staring around the cave as he searched for potential threats. "Wingull?"
Bonnie looked at him as she heard the surprise in his call, and then followed his gaze. It appeared there was a bundle of leaves and sticks in the corner of the cave. She turned around nervously, wondering if that meant there was someone in there. It didn't seem to be the case, however, and Bonnie simply assumed something had started to make a nest and abandoned the cave.
"We can use those sticks and leaves to make a fire, Wingull," she then realized, smiling as she headed over to gather some of them up. She didn't have Torchic with her, but with some dry materials like these, she would be able to use the Clemontic Gear to help her start a fire. "Let's see," she murmured, clicking a button and extending the Aipom Arm of her backpack, "Clemontic Gear on!"
It was surprisingly quick. The Aipom Arm darted out, taking hold of two sticks. Then, a moment later, it rapidly rubbed them together over a pile of leaves and smaller sticks, before smoke started to billow upwards. Bonnie quickly moved closer at that point, lightly blowing on the the leaves and twigs, before a red glow began to shine brightly. A few seconds later, a small fire had started.
"Yes!" Bonnie cheered, grinning at Wingull, who was staring at the scene in amazement. "My brother is really good at this stuff," she explained. "We'll have to remember to thank him."
"Gull!" Wingull said happily, shuffling forward and settling down close to the fire as Bonnie also made herself comfortable. "Wingull!"
For a few minutes, the two of them simply sat their, taking the chance to finally rest, get warm and dry off. Even Wingull seemed grateful for the opportunity to finally be out of the rain. He seemed quite alert, his ability having been energizing him while in the rain, but he seemed content to get the chance to finally wind down a bit.
After a few minutes of silence, however, Bonnie's stomach rumbled, and she noticed Wingull staring at her bag that had held the last of her food that had been lost. "I'm sorry we don't have anything to eat, Wingull," Bonnie murmured, leaning back against the wall of the cave, watching the shadows flicker on the wall behind Wingull. "I should've been more careful."
"Wingull gull," Wingull answered, shaking his head. "Gull."
Bonnie couldn't help but smile at him, glad that he didn't blame her. "Don't worry, as soon as we get up tomorrow, we'll find something to eat. Maybe we'll find Clyde and Roxanne pretty quickly and they'll have something we can have. Hopefully they're all doing okay."
"Gull," Wingull agreed, turning his gaze towards the cave entrance, as though wondering where their friends were at this moment. For a few seconds, he continued watching the rain outside, before suddenly stiffening and beginning to unfold his wings. "Wingull!" he said quietly, but urgently, bringing Bonnie's full attention on him.
"What is it?" Bonnie whispered, beginning to shuffle forward to get a better look. It was still pretty dark at the edge of their cave, the small fire unable to brighten up the entire area. "Is something there?"
Wingull nodded, but didn't say anything else. Instead, he positioned himself as though ready to battle, while Bonnie watched nervously, waiting for something dangerous to appear. For a moment, they stayed quiet, but they were unable to hear much beyond the heavy downpour of rain outside, and the booming thunder. Then, very faintly, Bonnie heard a muffled noise.
"Zag zagoon."
Bonnie continued to stare at the entrance, eyes wide, until suddenly, a brown shape made its way forward from the edge, shaking itself and spraying water on the walls. The firelight still didn't quite reach it, and Bonnie realized that the loud sounds of rain and thunder, along with the distraction of its wet fur, had made the Pokemon not notice her and Wingull. It appeared to be tiredly shuffling forward, pushing something ahead, before it froze, finally noticing that it wasn't alone.
"Zagoon!" it cried out, jumping up, just as a flash of lightning outside lit the cave up further.
"It's you!" Bonnie said in surprise, throwing a few more sticks onto the fire and leaning forward to get a better look. She was sure she was right that this was the same Zigzagoon they had chased earlier. It appeared to recognize her and Wingull, and at its feet were what must've been the two Oran berries it had taken from Clyde, along with a couple of apples.
"Zig..." the Tiny Raccoon Pokemon answered nervously, backing up a step. It paused, though, glancing back at the storm outside. "Zagoon..."
"It's okay," Bonnie said quickly, backing up herself, hoping not to scare the Zigzagoon. "We won't attack you. Let's have a truce while the storm is going on, okay?"
"Zigzagoon?" Zigzagoon asked, tilting its head. It glanced at Wingull, who was now relaxing somewhat. "Zig?"
"Wingull!" Wingull said in response, nodding to Bonnie. "Gull wingull gull."
Zigzagoon still hesitated, but after a glance at the storm once again, it took a deep breath and turned back to Wingull and Bonnie. "Zagoon," it murmured, nodding, before turning its gaze to the fire. It shuffled forward a step, looking relieved by the warmth offered by the small flames.
"Feel free to get warm, Zigzagoon," Bonnie said, smiling encouragingly. "It'll help dry you off, too."
"Wingull!" Wingull added, nodding in agreement. He made a point of hopping over to settle down next to Bonnie, shuffling a little closer to the fire after landing. He sighed in contentment as he let the warmth settle over him. "Gull..."
"See, it's nice, Zigzagoon," Bonnie said, grinning at Wingull's demonstration.
Zigzagoon seemed to get the idea that it was much more comfortable by the fire, staring at Wingull in wonder, before glancing at his own fur and shivering. He still seemed a bit nervous about approaching the pair that had chased him earlier, but Bonnie could see that he knew there wasn't likely to be any conflict right now. So, after another moment, the Tiny Raccoon Pokemon finally made his way forward, sitting down across from Bonnie and Wingull and staring at the flames. After another moment, he stretched out a bit more, allowing the warmth to wash over him and begin to dry his wet fur.
"Is it nice, Zigzagoon?" Bonnie asked after a couple of minutes of silence. She felt bad that Zigzagoon had been nervous when spotting her and Wingull. She hadn't realized how her excited chase might've scared it earlier. She was glad that they were able to make it up in some small way with this chance meeting.
Zigzagoon glanced at her, twitching a little nervously at her question, but relaxing a moment later. It appeared to smile then, before nodding in contentment. "Zigzagoon!" it then exclaimed. "Zagoon!"
"That's great!" Bonnie said, exchanging a smile with Wingull. In that moment, however, Bonnie's stomach rumbled again, and Wingull's seemed to echo it. Zigzagoon looked at the two of them in surprise, but Bonnie laughed it off. "Don't worry, Zigzagoon. Our food got taken by a Plusle and Minun earlier. We'll find something once the storm is over."
"Zigzagoon!" Zigzagoon said, looking worriedly at the two of them, before turning around and glancing at something behind him.
"It's all right," Bonnie said, laughing weakly. "Really."
"Zagoon!" Zigzagoon said, turning back around and holding up the two apples and the Oran berries. "Zig zigzagoon!"
Bonnie stared at the Tiny Raccoon Pokemon in surprise. "You...you'd share that with us?"
"Zagoon!" Zigzagoon said with a nod, looking at the fire, and then back at Bonnie. "Zigzagoon!"
"Thanks, Zigzagoon, that's so-" Bonnie started to say, smiling gratefully, before hearing Wingull make a noise of irritation. She glanced at him in surprise, seeing him glaring at Zigzagoon.
"Gull! Wingull!" he snapped, his eyes going to the Oran berries. He then gestured at Bonnie. "Gull!" Bonnie grimaced, realizing he was pointing out that the berries weren't really Zigzagoon's. It wasn't really important to her right now, but apparently Wingull wasn't pleased with them being a "trade" for the fire.
Zigzagoon actually appeared surprised by the accusation, before suddenly gesturing at the berries and then miming something that Bonnie couldn't understand. "Zig zigzagoon zagoon!" he exclaimed.
"Gull?" Wingull asked, sounding surprised. "Wingull gull!" He glanced at Bonnie and then gestured to the berries. "Wingull!" he said, before pointing his wing at Zigzagoon. "Wingull gull!"
"He's saying he didn't steal the berries?" Bonnie asked in confusion. It seemed like a lousy lie to her, even if she didn't want to focus on the issue at the moment. They had seen Zigzagoon take them. Then, she did try to remember the moment the berries had been taken, and she did think of something that made sense as she looked at Zigzagoon's pleading eyes. "You were just digging around in that bush, weren't you? You didn't actually see that Clyde had put those berries, there. Then you got startled by us and ran."
"Zagoon!" Zigzagoon said, nodding. "Zigzagoon..."
"It's okay!" Bonnie said, shrugging. "It doesn't matter, now. I'm sorry we scared you. Besides, it's just a couple berries, and we can share, right?"
"Zagoon!" Zigzagoon cried out happily, looking at Wingull, who nodded, apparently accepting the story. The Tiny Raccoon Pokemon then looked at the small amount of food in front of him, before raising his paw. "Zig!" he called out as he slashed at one of the apples, cutting it in half. He then pushed a berry and half an apple towards Wingull, keeping one berry and a half apple for himself, before moving the whole apple towards Bonnie. "Zagoon!" he said happily, once things were divided.
Bonnie grinned, staring at her apple longingly. "Was that a Cut attack?" she asked, finally taking a bite and turning back to Zigzagoon briefly. "I have a friend who has a Pokemon that can use Cut. Yours looked really strong!"
"Zig!" Zigzagoon said happily, swallowing his berry and nodding.
"You also had a really strong Headbutt attack earlier," Bonnie remembered, turning to Wingull. "Got us by surprise, huh Wingull?"
Wingull frowned, chewing on his piece of apple. He nodded eventually, though, giving Zigzagoon a thoughtful look. "Wingull," he said, before tilting his head. "Gull wingull?"
"Zagoon?" Zigzagoon looked a little nervous, but seemed somewhat happy as his eyes twinkled in the firelight. "Zigzagoon," he murmured with a shrug.
Bonnie wasn't sure what that exchange was about, but she decided to ignore it for the time being. The three of them were quiet for the next few minutes, watching the flames as they finished their small amount of food. After awhile, though, Bonnie began to feel her eyelids getting heavy. As she looked at the two Pokemon, she could see that they were getting tired, too.
"I think we should probably get some sleep, you two," she said, yawning as she opened her sleeping bag to get in. "We still need to find our friends tomorrow, right Wingull?"
"Gull," Wingull said, yawning as well as he positioned himself at the edge of Bonnie's sleeping bag. His eyes closed quite quickly as he got comfortable.
Zigzagoon meanwhile murmured something that Bonnie assumed to be his version of "goodnight," before he got up and began making his way over to the wall of the cave. As he was approaching it, however, he halted, staring at the few sticks and leaves that were still there from when Bonnie had collected them for the fire. His eyes widened somewhat as he glanced at the flames, before he looked at Bonnie. "Zagoon!" he said accusingly.
Bonnie looked at him in surprise, before putting it all together a moment later as she looked at where he was heading, and where his accusing gaze was directed. "Oh no," she murmured. "That was for your nest, wasn't it?"
"Zig," Zigzagoon said, sighing and shaking his head. He seemed to understand it was a mistake. "Zigzagoon." He started to curl up against the wall, looking uncomfortable. He gave the fire one last glare, before closing his eyes. Bonnie watched him a moment, and couldn't help but notice he was shivering. She decided there was only one way to make up for her mistake.
"Zigzagoon," she said, "why don't you sleep over here? The sleeping bag is nice and warm."
Wingull had opened his eyes and was watching the scene before him. He shuffled over as Bonnie made her invitation, making room for the Tiny Raccoon Pokemon. "Gull," he added, tapping an empty spot with his wing, before getting comfortable once again.
"Zagoon?" Zigzagoon said, looking at the two of them in awe. Bonnie smiled encouragingly at him, patting the spot that Wingull had gestured to a moment before and nodding. "Zigzagoon!" Zigzagoon then cried out happily, making his way over and carefully settling down on the open spot. "Zagoon!" he murmured as he curled up, looking to both Bonnie and Wingull.
"I'm glad you're comfy!" Bonnie said happily. "I'm sorry about your nest, though. We'll help you make a new one tomorrow, okay?"
Zigzagoon didn't answer her, however, already having made himself comfortable, curled up at her feet and warmed by the sleeping bag and the nearby fire. In a few moments, he was breathing heavily, deep in sleep. Wingull was just as deeply asleep, still as a rock except for the telltale sign of his breathing as his head shifted slightly. Bonnie grinned at the two of them, before lying back and closing her own eyes.
Even though the storm raged outside, nothing could have been more peaceful. She let the rhythmic sounds of Wingull and Zigzagoon's breathing lull her to sleep. Before too long, they were all sleeping the hours away, letting the storm fade as they recovered for the next morning.
Bonnie woke with a start the next morning, and the first thing she noticed was the sunlight streaming in from the outside. It appeared as though the storm had ended, and that the skies were clear. It would be good weather for her and Wingull to search for their friends. And hopefully to find some good nest material for Zigzagoon, Bonnie thought, glancing at the fire, and the place where Zigzagoon had prepared his nest.
The thought of the Tiny Raccoon Pokemon made Bonnie look to the end of her sleeping bag in surprise. Wingull was still there, slowly stirring awake, but next to him, where Zigzagoon had settled down for the night, there was nothing there. Bonnie stared around the cave, and she realized that he was nowhere to be seen.
"Zigzagoon?" she called out, wondering if he had just wandered outside for a moment. There was no answer, however. Wingull had woken up at this point, and he was looking around in confusion. He and Bonnie locked eyes, seeing the disappointment in one another. "I guess he left..." Bonnie murmured. "I wanted to help him make a new nest, but I guess he just wanted to do it himself."
"Gull..." Wingull said, looking down. Bonnie could see that her Seagull Pokemon had likely been wondering the same thing as her in the back of his mind.
"Well," Bonnie said, "it's Zigzagoon's choice. "We should get going to find our friends."
Wingull nodded, still clearly disappointed. Bonnie was pretty sure he felt bad, perhaps thinking it was their fault for ruining the nest, or maybe he thought it was because he'd accused Zigzagoon of stealing. She didn't want him to think it was his fault, though, and tried to encourage him as they cleaned up and she gathered their things.
As they emerged from the cave, Bonnie took a look at their surroundings. It was much easier to see now with the storm having finished. The cave was actually a little above the trees, and Bonnie was pretty sure she could see the main route beyond the treeline. She decided that would be the best place to look for the others. If they were looking for each other over the entire area, it would be difficult, so it would make sense to stick to the path they would be travelling on.
"Wingull, do you think you could fly above and keep an eye out for them and then we'll try to stick to Route 110 as we look?" Bonnie asked her Seagull Pokemon.
"Wingull!" he said with a nod, flapping his wings as he took off into the sky. He circled above her, looking focused as he waited for her to descend from the cliffside.
When they reached Route 110, Bonnie paused as she looked around, wondering what way would make the most sense to go. She knew that she could continue north towards Mauville City, but if her friends hadn't done so, she wouldn't find them. Not quickly, anyway. If they were still south, it wouldn't be too long, but she couldn't be sure they were that way, either.
"Wingull, do you think you can scout that way a bit?" Bonnie called up to her flying type, watching him circling above as he searched the surrounding area. He nodded, taking off towards the north, where she had pointed. "I'll look around this way. Meet me back here in a few minutes," Bonnie called out as she turned the other way, getting a cry of agreement in return. She felt it would make sense for them to look in two different directions. If their friends hadn't gone far, they would hopefully find them reasonably fast this way.
Bonnie wondered what she was going to say to her friends when she did find them. She felt bad about running off, and she hoped that Dedenne and Torchic hadn't been too worried. The thought of her friends' faces when she'd taken off did amuse her somewhat, though. It was the kind of thing Ash might've done in her situation. She supposed that after Beautifly had left, the desire to catch more Pokemon had just taken hold of her. Torchic joining her had only made her more motivated to find another. It wasn't that she was trying to replace Beautifly, of course. It was more that she wanted to find another friend to grow together with.
That brought her mind to Zigzagoon once more. Why had the Tiny Raccoon Pokemon left? It had seemed okay with the idea of Bonnie helping find new materials for its nest when she'd offered. And it had seemed happy and comfortable sharing the sleeping bag with her and Wingull. She couldn't think why it would've left, especially without saying anything.
"Bonnie!"
She jumped at the sudden call, looking around blankly, before her eyes focused on the path ahead. Her eyes widened as she noticed the shapes of her friends in the distance. Clyde was in the lead, with Roxanne shortly behind him. Rotom was floating above, appearing as though he had been scouting from the air, while Dedenne, Torchic and Treecko were strolling next to the two trainers. The sight of them filled Bonnie with relief, and after a moment of staring at them, she took off running.
"NENE!"
"DEDENNE!"
The Antenna Pokemon was the first to reach her, and Bonnie hugged him tightly, more relieved than she thought she would've been. She supposed she had bottled up her worry so that she could focus on the problems she'd been dealing with. Dedenne seemed just as relieved, though, looking into her eyes as she held him out in her arms a moment later. Nothing more needed to be said. They each knew what the other was thinking.
"Tor!" Torchic then called out, bringing Bonnie's attention to her. She knelt down, Dedenne scurrying up to her shoulder as she held her arms out to the Chick Pokemon. As Torchic jumped into her arms, Bonnie felt the telltale warmth of the fire type, and hugged her closely, more relieved by the fire inside the Chick Pokemon than the one she'd started in the cave the night before.
"I'm so glad to see you guys again!" Bonnie said, finally letting go of Torchic, who hopped back a step, looking up and tilting her head in the way that made Bonnie want to scream in delight. "I'm sorry I took off like I did," she added, before looking to Clyde and Roxanne.
Roxanne sighed, but she simply shook her head with an amused expression on her face. "You saw a cute Pokemon. What else were you going to do?"
"Did you at least catch that Zigzagoon?" Clyde asked, laughing along with Bonnie and Roxanne.
"Zzt! If you did, I would very much like to analyze it!" Rotom said, floating over in excitement. "I have not yet been able to analyze a Zigzagoon from this area of Hoenn yet."
"I...well..." Bonnie scratched her head sheepishly. "Me and Wingull caught up to it after we ran off after it, but it managed to surprise us and get away just when the storm started. But..." After that, she explained about the different caves they'd gone to, before finally ending up at the last one, which led to the meeting with Zigzagoon, and what occurred afterwards. "I'm not sure why he left in the morning," Bonnie finished, looking down sadly.
"Wild Pokemon do have to do things a little differently, I guess," Roxanne said, giving Bonnie a sympathetic pat on the back as the group began to walk together, back towards where Wingull would be meeting up with them. "Maybe it just needed to get an earlier start on the day and didn't want to disturb you guys."
"Too bad, though," Clyde murmured. "It sounded like you guys were really bonding. Would've been a cool Pokemon to have for your next gym battle."
Bonnie was about to answer when she noticed Rotom floating forward excitedly, his screen suddenly lighting up. She hadn't realized it before, but he was still connected to her PokeNav, and it seemed to be activated. "Zzt! A wild Pokemon is nearby!" he said excitedly. "Zzt! I believe it is a Z-"
"Wingull! Gull wingull!"
Bonnie and her friends all turned to face the path ahead once more, noticing the Seagull Pokemon flying towards them. Bonnie was surprised to see how happy he looked, circling around and darting up and down as though celebrating something. She supposed it was likely because he was happy to see her with their friends, although she hadn't expected such a reaction from him. He wasn't usually like that.
"He's pretty excited, huh?" Clyde noted, laughing at the sight. "Must be expecting some sandwiches."
Bonnie laughed, thinking that made the most sense. Wingull probably was pretty hungry. She glanced at Roxanne, about to ask her if they did have some extra food since she and Wingull hadn't eaten much. However, the Rustboro Gym Leader was looking ahead, squinting.
"Bonnie," she murmured, slowly raising a hand and pointing, "what's that underneath Wingull?"
Bonnie followed her gaze, squinting as well as she noticed something on the path underneath Wingull. It appeared to be moving, and moving fairly quickly at that. In fact, it was moving towards her and the others. From what she could see, though, Wingull wasn't concerned. It actually appeared as though this was what he was excited about, as a moment later, he lowered himself to fly closer to the thing running to them. That was when Bonnie realized what it was.
"Zigzagoon!" she yelled, smiling widely, before running ahead.
"Zagoon! Zagoon!" the Tiny Raccoon Pokemon cried out happily, now easily in view up ahead. He closed the gap between them fairly quickly, running into Bonnie's arms as she knelt down in front of him. "Zig zig zigzagoon!" he said happily, wagging his bushy tail. His eyes went to Dedenne, Torchic and the others. "Zagoon!' he greeted, before his eyes locked onto Clyde. "Zigzagoon?" he asked, glancing at Bonnie.
Somehow, Bonnie understood what Zigzagoon was trying to ask. "Yeah, that's Clyde. He's the one that had the berries," she said with a laugh.
"Zagoon!" Zigzagoon said excitedly, looking up to Wingull. "Zig!"
Wingull nodded, quickly flying over to Clyde and hovering in front of him a moment, before dropping something which Clyde caught. He gasped in surprise, staring at what was in his hands, before laughing and looking at Zigzagoon.
"You brought me my Oran berries back! And even a few extras?" he said, grinning at the Tiny Raccoon Pokemon.
"Zagoon!" Zigzagoon said with a nod, turning back to Bonnie. "Zigzagoon!"
Bonnie's eyes widened in realization. "That's why you weren't there when we got up. You wanted to find berries to make up for the ones you took from Clyde."
"You didn't need to do that, Zigzagoon," Clyde said. "They're just berries. I'm happy to share."
Zigzagoon looked a little embarrassed, but smiled up towards Bonnie. "Zigzagoon zig zigzagoon," he said, backing up a step and sitting down."Zagoon!"
"Wingull!" Wingull added, landing next to the Tiny Raccoon Pokemon. "Gull wingull!"
"What is it?" Bonnie asked, looking at the two in confusion.
Roxanne stepped up next to Bonnie, smiling in amusement at the two Pokemon. "I think Zigzagoon wants to join you, Bonnie. And Wingull seems to be trying to say he approves!"
Bonnie looked at the Tiny Raccoon Pokemon in surprise. "Are you serious, Zigzagoon? Even after we chased you yesterday and ruined your nest?"
"Zagoon zigzagoon!" Zigzagoon said, making a dismissive gesture, before looking to Wingull. "Zigzagoon!"
"Gull wingull," Wingull said, smiling up towards Bonnie.
"Zzt! I believe Zigzagoon is trying to say it learned that you are kind when it spent the night with you in the cave," Rotom said, hovering behind Zigzagoon and doing some kind of scan. "And it seems inspired by the loyalty that Wingull has shown to you."
Bonnie glanced at Zigzagoon in surprise. Did she really earn its trust in the cave the night before? All she'd done was share their fire and sleeping bag. Her eyes then went to Wingull, and she noted what Rotom had said about Zigzagoon being inspired by his loyalty. Wingull had been a wild Pokemon that had struggled to find food as well, and ended up stealing from humans. Of course Zigzagoon would be impressed by Wingull. His own theft had been a mistake, but their struggles had been similar. Perhaps with Bonnie and Wingull, he would be able to grow stronger and braver as well.
"So, Zigzagoon," Bonnie said, grinning and pulling out a pokeball. "Do you want to come with us?"
"Zagoon!" the Tiny Raccoon Pokemon cried out, rushing forward and pressing a paw to the pokeball. Immediately, a red light enveloped him, and a moment later, the energy went inside the capture device. It shook three times, before a soft ding was heard.
"All right!" Bonnie shouted, standing up and holding up the pokeball. "We got a Zigzagoon!"
"Nenene!"
"Tor!'
"Gull!"
Bonnie quickly let out her newest Pokemon, who quickly turned to face her, alongside the newest members of his family. "Are you ready to join us as we take on the Hoenn League, Zigzagoon! With you, and Dedenne, and Torchic and Wingull, and whoever else may join us, I think we've got a real shot!"
"Zagoon!" Zigzagoon said happily, the others cheering alongside him.
"Then let's rumble!" Bonnie said, taking the next step on the path. The next step towards Mauville City and her next gym battle. "Let's go win our next badge together!"
Author's Note:
And there's that! Bonnie gets a new Pokemon in back to back chapters! I realize that might be a bit quick after so long with only just Wingull and Beautifly being catches, but Torchic was somewhat destined after the early appearance, and two catches after a release kind of feels right. Bonnie needs her team to grow more than decrease after all.
Anyway, hopefully you like the addition of Zigzagoon. It might not be a flashy Pokemon, but I think it fits Bonnie perfectly, and I think this little guy will prove to be a solid addition. Hopefully it works out.
Also, there will be a slight pause on this story as I work on a small two-part story centred around Ash and Bea, one of the Galar gym leaders. That will hopefully come out in a couple weeks. Other than that, this will resume shortly after that. See you then.