Ch. 3
Scout blinked awake. Where am I? He was on a soft white hospital bed with pillows and blankets, none of which he knew the names of. Aurora was next to him, with Peppy perched on one of the bedposts. Both were asleep. He looked down at Aurora, and could practically feel the despair that radiated off of her (2). Why is she so sad? Memories of the day before came flooding back. Training, running from the pack of rattata, shielding Aurora from an attack, and blacking out. That's right...they must think I'm dead.
He nudged Aurora, half-tempted to start yelling like she had yesterday.. "...hey. Time to wake up."
Aurora and Peppy jolted awake, looking up at him. They were too choked up to speak; words could not express how happy they were. After lots of tearful hugs and thanking Nurse Joy a thousand times over, they left the Poke Center in high spirits, racing through the town and into the forest.
"Now that you're better, what should we do?" Peppy asked.
"I don't know! I have so much energy! I feel like I could climb that mountain!" Scout pointed to the highest peak in the mountain range that surrounded the valley, called Mt. Chime.
"What, that little hill? Child's play." Aurora laughed. "I've crossed mountains like that all the time (3). But it's much more fun if you explore it from the inside out."
"Well I don't do enclosed spaces, especially caves." Peppy shook her head. "Can I fly to the top and meet you guys there?"
"Sure! And go make some bird friends while you're up there!" Aurora waved, watching Peppy fly off towards the mountain peak. "Well Scout, it's time to start exploring!"
They found a small opening in the base of the mountain, and by the looks of it, led into a cave. Scout was hesitant, not liking unfamiliar places.
"C'mon Scout, don't be afraid." Aurora encouraged. "To be a true explorer, you must be fearless in the face of every obstacle. Besides, there's nothing we can't handle if we're together, right?"Scout nodded, following her through the hole cautiously. In the pitch darkness, Scout struggled to see. He could hear the shuffling and squeaks of Pokemon around them, and he shrank towards Aurora in fear.
"Watch your feet. Don't trip on that rock." Aurora warned.
"How can you see?" Scout asked.
"Like I said, I can slightly control aura. If I close my eyes, I can sort of recognize the shapes of objects. Other people's auras I can see clearly. For example, your aura is a light shade of blue."
He was thoroughly fascinated by this, and was about to ask another question, but then noticed a light in the distance. "Hey, is that the exit?" Scout pointed.
"Let's go check it out." They hurried down the passage, sliding to a halt as they found a chamber filled with lava. Scout stumbled back with a yelp, terrified. He had only heard about the molten rock in stories, and that alone was more than enough to give him nightmares.
"It's alright Scout. It's just a little lava."
"A little? I'm from a forest. Fire and grass don't mix!"
"It will be fine. We'll get through this together." Aurora took him by the hand and brought him to the opening. "Okay, there are a couple flat rocks sticking out that we can land on. Just like stepping stones in a river. Do you trust me?"
Scout gulped. "Yes." I just don't think I can trust myself.
"I'll go first." She jumped, smoothly landing on the first rock and motioning for him to follow.
He backed up, and taking a deep breath, ran forward and jumped, just barely reaching the rock.
"Good, that was great! It will be easier now. We'll go to that rock there, then that one." She traced the path with her hand. Scout understood, but was more concerned with the fact that he was surrounded by lava. Following Aurora's lead, he stuck close to her and shivered as they got farther away from the safety of the ledges.
"You're doing great Scout; we're almost there. Just that last rock, and we're out of here." That sounded better than being around this lava, and Scout, in his eagerness to get out of there, made the first move and jumped to the closest rock. Aurora realized too late that he had made a mistake.
"Scout, jump!" Beneath his feet, the rock began to move. Like being thrown from a horse, he was jerked off, and would've landed head-first into lava if Aurora had not caught him. The rock rose out of the magma, revealing it to be a Torkoal.
Scout's eyes went wide. A fire type! Aurora stood in front of him. "Let us pass! We never did anything to you!"
The lava turtle ignored her plea and roared, sending flames in their direction. Aurora shoved Scout to another rock and ducked to avoid the attack. Aw man, she's right in the line of fire. Literally. Scout thought desperately. Come on coward, you've been training for this.
Scout turned to Aurora and gave her a look. She nodded and readied an aura sphere. Likewise, Scout made an energy ball, and the two fired them at the same time. The hit was direct, but that didn't stop the turtle. He sneered and jumped, sending lava in their direction. It was unavoidable, and the two were hit with a wave of lava.
Scout fell over in pain, not able to move. He could feel the heat burning him intensely all over his body. I need...to get up...Aurora... He tried to open his eyes, and could just make out Aurora across from him, struggling to stand.
A howl caught his attention. On the cliff above them, there stood a small Vulpix, eyes practically glowing with fire. She jumped down in front of them, growling at the Torkoal.
"What are you doing Butch? Is this what you've come to? Picking on Pokemon smaller than you?" She stepped forward. "Back off, and this won't get ugly." The turtle growled back, but sank into the lava in irritation. Satisfied, the Vulpix turned to face them. "You two okay?"
"Yeah..." Aurora said, blinking in thanks.
Scout tried to stand, but lost his balance. Vulpix caught and steadied him. "Here, come with me. You'll need to rest up after all that." She led them out of the chamber and into a tunnel. "It's right here." She shoved over a boulder to reveal a small burrow. Going inside, they found a room filled with papers and supplies.
"Okay, here, green fella." She handed Scout some leaves. "Rub 'em on those burns. It'll help." Turning to Aurora, she nodded. "You didn't get hit as much, did you? You've got some good reflexes."
"Who...who are you?" Aurora asked.
"Me? My name is Susan. Who are you then, and what brings you here in the depths of Mt. Chime?"
"My name's Aurora, and this is Scout. We're explorers."
"Explorers?" Susan exclaimed. "Me too!" She went over and took a paper off a wall. "I've been spelunking all over this area. There isn't much, which is why I've been preparing to go explore elsewhere." She pointed to a certain place on the map. "Right there in the canyon, there have been rumors of a buried treasure of incredible value. No one has ever found its exact location, and I want to be the first to find it." When she said this, she sighed. "The problem is, I don't have anyone to go with. It's never safe to explore alone, and who ever heard of a one-Pokemon exploration team?"
The two exchanged looks, and Aurora spoke up. "You know, we could use a new member for our team. Would you like to join us?"
At this, Susan's eyes sparkled with excitement. "Really? Oh, I won't let you down, I promise!"
After they had rested and recovered, they headed out to reach the summit with Susan as their guide. The tunnel eventually led out of the cave, and directly out to the snowy slopes. It was quiet and serene, and the trudged on with some difficulty. As they got higher and higher, the air became more thin, and they had to work harder to keep moving.
"Hey!" A voice called from above. Peppy came soaring over, letting the winds carry her. "The winds are so strong! You can fly really fast here!" Susan gave them a questioning glance.
"This is Peppy." Aurora explained. "She's Scout's sister."
They continued on, and when they stopped for a break on a ledge, they were awestruck by what they saw in the distance. They could see the town and the valley that surrounded it, and the forests that stretched on for miles.
"It's brilliant, right?" Peppy said with a sigh.
Scout nodded. The view alone was worth their long trek. If this is what exploring is like, this could be fun!
The snow above them shifted and started to slide. A triggered avalanche could easily sweep them away.
"An avalanche!" Susan exclaimed. "We need to get out of here!"
Sure enough, snow began to break away and slide down the cliffs, engulfing everything in its path. Not even Aurora could run fast enough in the heavy snowdrifts. When it seemed like they would be overtaken, she closed her eyes and braced for impact. Nothing came. "Huh?" When she opened them again, she saw they were riding on a large blue/red bird. "P-peppy?" She gasped. "You evolved!"
"Oh, I guess I did. That was fast!" Peppy laughed. "I didn't really think. One minute I was following you guys, and next I was carrying you." Her wings and body had grown, and now had enough room to carry all three of them on her back comfortably. In celebration, they soared all around the mountains, flying at high speeds and doing cool flip tricks.
2- Riolu Pokedex entry: The aura that emanates from its body intensifies to alert others if it is afraid or sad.
3- (yet another) Riolu Pokedex entry: Its body is little yet powerful. It can crest three mountains and cross two canyons in one night.
Author's Note: I tried to keep this as authentic as possible, so I included the original names to everything. Don't ask why I thought a mountain should be called Mt. Chime. I was a weird child. I believe I named the small town Cherry Town, but I didn't find that necessary to mention. Seriously though, what was I thinking?!