CHAPTER 19:

Journey Through the Fiery Path!

"Well, what are we gonna do now!" Roy yelled at the base of Mount Chimney.

"I DON'T KNOW! You've asked me 115 times!" Melanie roared.

"I counted 116." Roy muttered.

"Oh, sure. Get technical!" (That's my catchphrase!)

"Guys, break it up." Steven sighed, sweat dropping.

You may be wondering what they're arguing about. Well, earlier, they had tried to get by some Magma Grunts on the base of Mt. Chimney, but they wouldn't let them pass or battle with 'em. Therefore, the only reasonable thing to do was to find an alternate path to Lavaridge.

"Hmm… Well, didn't one of those Magma idiots say something about Meteor Falls, or a meteor?" Roy said, recalling how dense they were.

"Yeah! Team Magma must be in Meteor Falls! Near Fallarbor Town!" Melanie agreed, running ahead of the two.

"C'mon, guys! We can go through that cave!"

"The Fiery Path? I dunno…" Roy whined.

"Ah, it's okay Roy! Nothing horrible! Let's go!" Steven shouted.

They all walked up Mt. Chimney's base, and entered a cave. The interior was a red clay composition, with hot gases coming out of cracks. A few big rocks blocked entranceways, and there was only one path to go on. Grimer and Slugma were often seen scampering about.

"Well, guys, it's officially hot in here. I had a portable weather station thing, and it, well… Says it's 90 degrees F." Steven moaned.

"NO! WE'RE DOOM-IFIED!" Roy screamed.

"Doom-ified?" Melanie said, sweat dropping.

"I had to be dramatic."

Just then, a Pokemon that had a clear angry expression on its face walked up. It had a black shell with a few holes in it, and an orange body. Its eyes were closed, and it had a long neck. It had a turtle-like appearance.

"TOR-KOAL!" it roared, blowing black smoke out its top hole like a volcano.

"Hey, it's a Torkoal!" Steven cried, pointing at the Pokemon.

"A… Torkoal?" Roy questioned, taking out his Pokedex, a ruby-red device that flipped open.

"Torkoal: The Coal Pokemon. This Fire Element battles using energy it gets from coal." read the Pokedex voice, who I shall acknowledge by her name: Dextette. "When loosing smoke from its nostrils, it lets off a sound similar to a locomotive's horn."

"Ew!" Melanie cried, thinking that snot came out from its nose too. "GROSS!"

"A Torkoal… I think those are a little rare! I gotta catch it! I choose you, Nosepass!" Roy threw his Poke Ball that contained his Rock Element.

"Nosepass!" it shouted after appearing from white light.

"Ready for this, Nosepass?" Roy asked, getting a nod.

Battle statistics: This is a Wild Pokemon battle. Only the trainer can make substitutions, but the wild Pokemon can't substitute whether ya' figure it 3, 4, or 8 ways to Sunday!

Roy's Nosepass vs. Wild Torkoal

BATTLE COMMENCE!

"Nosepass, Zap Cannon!" Roy ordered.

Nosepass' red nose began glowing blue, and several yellow lightning bolts shot out at Torkoal, which caused a good amount of damage.

The wild Torkoal's mouth flashed yellow and orange, and from inside a burst of red, orange, and yellow fire shot, which was a Flamethrower attack. The Fire-Type attack barely took off a quarter of Nosepass' HP.

"Nosepass, Thunder Wave!"

Again, Nosepass' nose glowed yellow, but a single bolt shot out. It had a good effect on the foe: paralysis.

"All right! Now use Rock Slide!"

Nosepass stomped the red clay earth, causing rocks to fall on Torkoal. The attack nearly KO'd it, leaving it with about three HP.

"Yes!" Roy cheered, when suddenly Torkoal shot out a bright orange fire beam illuminated in white light. The attack took Roy by surprise, halving Nosepass' HP!

"What was that!"

"Overheat, Roy! It's one of the most powerful Fire attack, but it gets less powerful with each use." Melanie shouted from the back.

"Yipes! Better get it while I can. Okay, Great Ball! Go!" Roy yelled, throwing out one of his few Great Balls out of his clutches, which sucked up the weakened tortoise in bluish light. The Blue top Poke Ball twitched, beeping continuously. Eventually it stopped, the deeper beep of the locking mechanism being heard.

"I got it…! I GOT A TORKOAL!" Roy cheered, holding the Great Ball.

- - - - -

After they finally got out of the hot tunnel, Melanie, Roy, and that dumb (No offense. I just don't really like Steven.) Steven Stone kept heading for Fallarbor Town. Since it was close to night, they set up a temporary camp. Later, after a meal of Wailmer (Author: No, no, NO! That stupid announcer dude came back and wrote that! They just had marshmallows and what you modern slang users call some-ores.), they came into their tents, Steven's a steel gray color, and Roy's a shiny platinum color. Author: AHA! So that's why I call this "Pokemon Platinum! Of course, Melanie slept with Roy, which was her only choice other than Steven, which she had been doing since she joined Roy, and plus, she didn't like Steven. (Announcer guy: Like a certain author around here I know… (Gets choked by the author))

Author: Okay, don't flare (It's flame, isn't it?) me cuz' this is a bit of a drag out. Sorry. This Chapter is also short. Sorry again. But, I have a plan to bring Roy and ------- closer together… Evil plans. Ha ha ha ha!