Chapter Six: The Haunting Eterna Forest!
A chilly breeze cooled the air as Andrew and Dawn walked into the Eterna Forest. It was a natural maze due to the thick strands of trees weaved throughout the ground.
A thick layer of mist clouded the vision of all of the travelers in Eterna Forest. Fortunately, Andrew and Dawn were able to see ahead of them with no problem.
A young woman, about eighteen years old, with her green hair tied back, looked at Andrew and Dawn with relief.
"Hello," she walked over to them, "my name is Cheryl. May I ask the two of you a big favor?"
"Sure," Andrew said.
"Would it be alright if I traveled with the two of you?"
"Of course," Dawn told her. "My name is Dawn, and this is Andrew."
"Thank you so much!" Cheryl beamed. "I'm not really one for battling, but my Chansey can heal your Pokemon if necessary."
Andrew and Dawn walked through the tall grass and battled with wild Pokemon. Dawn caught Silcoon, Cascoon, Dustox,and Beautifly, while Andrew took out the bug type Pokemon with his Monferno.
Then two wild Buneary jumped out!
"It's startling to see two wild Pokemon appear at the same time!" Cheryl exclaimed.
"Buneary is really cute. I think I'll use it," Andrew said.
"I can't argue with the cuteness factor," Dawn agreed.
Monferno used Mach Punch, severely weakening the female Buneary. Andrew threw a Poke Ball, and it rolled three times.
"Here, this will make you feel better," he healed his Buneary with a potion.
Dawn managed to catch the other Buneary.
"Huh, according to the Pokedex, this Buneary is a male," she said.
"I didn't know that Buneary could be males."
"Yeah, it's weird that some Pokemon look a specific gender, but they could be either one," Dawn told him.
As Andrew, Dawn, and Cheryl traveled through the Eterna Forest, they battled numerous trainers.
Andrew and Dawn defeated bug catcher Jack and lass Briana's Wurmple, Silcoon, Cascoon, and Pachirisu with their Staravia and Shellos. They took down the psychics Abra with Buizel and Budew. Staravia's flying type attacks and Piplup's peck took down the bug catcher's bug types, and Buizel's Faint Attack took down psychic Kody's Meditite, while Budew's absorb made quick work of psychic Rachael's Psyduck.
The further that they got into the Eterna Forest, the greater the fog grew.
It finally began to part when they reached a decrepit house. However, as soon as the fog parted, storm clouds appeared in the sky and a light rain began to fall.
"What's that?" Andrew asked.
"I've heard of this place," Cheryl said. "It's called the Old Chateu. Rumor has it that it's haunted."
"Haunted, pft," Andrew scoffed.
"Let's stay here until the storm passes," Dawn suggested.
They opened the door and walked into the foyer. It had two flights of stairs both leading to the first floor. Between the foyer's staircases was a door to the dining hall, where a long wooden table dominated the room. The kitchen area could be accessed on the left side of the table. On the first floor, left and right of the main room extends a library, where old books are crammed into bookshelves.
Just outside of the dining room stood a strange statue with an ominous aura; the statue appeared as if it were glaring at them.
Four bedrooms were accessible up the stairs to the second floor.
"It feels kind of weird staying in an abandoned house," Andrew said.
"Do you want to stay out in the rain?" Dawn asked.
"No," Andrew shook his head.
The three parted into separate bedrooms.
Andrew tried to go to sleep, but just kept on tossing and turning in the bed.
Dawn managed to get to sleep, but was writhing under the covers. She appeared to be trapped in a nightmare.
Dawn was surrounded by flames, and she could make out the figure of a demonic dog through the smoke.
Dawn shot awake, eyes wide and gasping. The howling wind splattered rain against the window. Dawn made sure that the old window was closed.
She sat down on the bed and decided to go over all of the Pokemon that she had caught so far in her Pokedex.
Something was clacking against the window. Dawn looked up, and saw a Murkrow pecking at it.
Dawn quickly opened the window, letting the black bird Pokemon inside.
"What were you doing out there?" Dawn asked it.
The Murkrow flew around the room, and then landed at the door.
"Do you want me to follow you?" The Murkrow nodded.
The Murkrow led Dawn downstairs.
Andrew rolled over in his bed. He got up and sighed. The howling wind was too annoying, he would never get to sleep. Besides, this place gave him the creeps, although he wasn't exactly sure why.
Andrew let out his Pokemon from their Poke Balls for comfort.
Monferno, Staravia, Buizel, and Buneary all huddled around him.
"Thanks guys," Andrew smiled at them. Maybe this place wasn't so creepy after all…
Then he saw her.
"Who are you!" Andrew asked the little girl at the foot of the bed.
She shook her head, then walked- no, floated- out the door.
Andrew jumped up, completely freaked out.
Dawn followed the Murkrow to the ominous looking statue. It's eyes flashed purple and a smog filled the room.
Dawn choked on the smog, fell to the floor, and screamed.
She remembered the last time she had been in a room filled with smoke. Flashes of fire danced before her eyes. Dawn was unsure if they were flashbacks or if they were really there.
"Dawn!" Andrew raced through the smog.
Dawn looked at him, with tears streaming down her cheeks.
"Hey, hey, everything is alright," Andrew tried to soothe her. Dawn sobbed into his chest.
All of Andrew's Pokemon hugged the two of them.
"What happened to you?" Andrew asked after Dawn calmed down.
"The Murkrow led me here…and then the room was filled with smog," Dawn said. "I freaked out because…I thought I was going to inhale toxic gas."
Andrew raised his eyebrows, but did not voice his suspicions. He knew that Dawn would decide to tell him eventually.
"Andrew, Dawn, listen!" Cheryl called. "The storm stopped!"
The three went outside. The sky had opened up to a sunrise, and the most had parted. The exit towards Eterna City was just up ahead.
A Misdreavous appeared from behind the ominous statue that was guarded by Ghastly. She decided to leave Ghastly and Murkrow and follow Dawn. When they connected, Misdreavous had felt the pain that Dawn had gone through. They were perfect for each other, both broken souls.
"Thank you so much for accompanying me," Cheryl smiled at them. "I'm so relieved, I never would have been able to get through this on my own. I don't know what I would have done if I ran in to Team Galactic by myself."
"It was nice to meet you Cheryl," Dawn told her.
"Hopefully we meet again," Andrew said.
"Oh, I'm sure we'll meet again somewhere!" Cheryl said. "Bye for now!"
The two waved at her, and walked out of the Eterna Forest.
Cheryl pulled a PokeGear out of the pocket of her dress and made a call.
"Everything is going according to plan. They're on their way to the Bringer of Lightning."