Not an overly exciting chapter, which is why it took a few days for me to post. Kept trying to figure out how to make it interesting when its really just a traveling chapter XD Next chapter will be up soon, hope you all enjoy 3
The group eventually emerged onto route 33, and were very happy to see the sky once more. Even if it was filled with dark storm clouds. Chance pulled the light blue hood of his hoodie up over his head the moment he saw the rains before them. As they set forth into the rain, they tried to stick to the tree line near the path towards Azalea Town, or the rocky outcroppings of the hilly terrain when it was available.
"So, how far until we reach Azalea Town?" Chance questioned his friend. Snivy poked her nose out from within the warmth of her trainer's hood and let out a sigh.
"From Union Cave it is only about a day and a half. Unfortunately, that means we are sleeping in this tonight." Adrian replied, wiping a strand of wet blonde from his face. He frowned at the redhead as he spoke. Both boys had prepared for rainy weather during their trip, but Chance's hoodie was handling the wind much better than the poncho he had purchased. The wind continually whipped past him, and each time a new gust came through it would pull the thin, plastic hood off him.
"That doesn't sound fun…" Chance moaned. "If it gets much worse out here we won't even be able to travel. How are we possibly going to sleep in this?" His teeth chattered a bit as he spoke. His soaked hoodie drawing the warmth from his body.
"I am sure we can find an alcove or a cave or something in these hills." The blonde responded sullenly. "We might want to keep an eye out for one. If we can spot one we will stop early and try to get dry."
The boys continued trudging forward through the terrible weather for another hour and a half before they spotted an opening within the rocky hillside. Adrian grabbed his friend's arm and dragged him towards it the moment he noticed it.
The group had found themselves in luck. The opening was the entrance to a cave that went about 15 feet into the hillside, giving them plenty of room to set up a small campsite for the evening.
Adrian used his cyndaquil to make a small fire within the cave, as Chance rolled out their sleeping bags to dry. Once the fire was going Adrian began to rummage through his pack.
Chance sat close to the fire with snivy and watched his friend slowly empty his pack. "What are you looking for?"
"Well, I know I have a line in here some- Got it." He smiled as he turned around and stretched out a small clothes line. He tied the string up near the fire and pulled his shirt off, tossing it over the fire so it could dry.
The moment the blonde removed his shirt, Chance took to staring at Snivy, who was curled up on his lap. His companion noticed his lack of movement and spoke up.
"If you stay in those clothes you will catch a cold, ya know." The redhead's cheeks tinged pink at his friend's words.
"Yeah, I know." He mumbled. Chance put his starter on the ground as he stood and pulled the hoodie over his head. He tossed it to his friend, who placed it over the string to dry. The boys changed into dry clothes and hung their waterlogged clothing near the fire, the awkward blush never leaving Chance's face.
The heat of the fire slowly warmed the extremities of the boys, as they listened to the pattering of the rainfall. Chance released his hoothoot to curl up with him to try and warm his body. Adrian pulled his cyndaquil into his arms, following the example of his friend. Over the next few minutes, Adrian slowly shifted over to rest his shoulder against his traveling companion, hoping to share a bit of warmth. The redhead kept his eyes trained on his two pokemon, trying to hide the awkward blush that tinged his cheeks a light pink. They sat in relative silence for a few hours, waiting for their sleeping bags to dry enough to sleep in.
Neither boy was excited for another day of walking through the gloomy weather. Eventually, the boys and their pokemon were able to cuddle up in their now mostly dry sleeping bags, and allowed the falling rain to lull them to sleep.
The following morning the group set forth once again into the perpetual storm. They set a quick pace, hoping to escape the rain soon. They kept their brisk pace for the majority of the day, eventually breaking free from the rain during the early evening hours.
Once they emerged from the storm, another hour of walking brought them to the top of a hill, from which they could see smoke rising from the chimneys of Azalea Town. The sight gave the group a much needed moral boost after spending over a day being cold and wet. Even Snivy, who didn't mind the rain as much as her human companions, climbed to the top of her trainer's head to get a better view of the not so distant town.
"About damn time…" Adrian sighed as he stretched.
"For real." Chance reach up and scratched Snivy's chin. "I am so ready to have the sun shining again. Maybe now I can get some training in with Onix before we get to the gym…"
The boys continued their walk for a couple hours before stopping for a late lunch. Adrian volunteered to cook their meal, giving Chance an opportunity to start working with his new onix.
The large pokemon had healed nicely from the wounds given to him from his earlier assault. His trainer was very pleased to see how much energy he now had. Onix showed off its abilities to its trainer over the next half hour. It had a massive amount of power combined with a truly surprising amount of speed. Chance had it work with its rock throw attack, while Snivy trained by dodging the boulders thrown her way.
Once the meal was prepared the redhead sat down next to his traveling companion.
"Well, looks like your new friend will be a huge benefit to your team." The blonde grinned. "I'm sure the gym leader of Azalea Town won't be happy to see an onix come out."
"Why is that? What kind of gym is it?" Chance asked as he took another bite of his lunch.
"Bugsy is the leader we will be up against next. He uses bug-types. He is known to be one of the harder gym leaders in Johto." Adrian explained.
"Bug-types, huh? Well, with Onix and Hoothoot I shouldn't have too much of an issue." He rested his hand on Snivy. "You might have a bit of trouble though." He said to the grass snake pokemon. Snivy responded by pouting and looking away from her trainer, earning a laugh from both of the trainers.
The remainder of the evening was rather uneventful as the group made their way towards the town ahead. They entered the small town shortly after nightfall, heading straight for the pokemon center to rest for the night.
The next morning the group headed out of the pokemon center to explore the unfamiliar town. It was a small, simple looking town. The houses looked much more plain than the boys were used to seeing. The northern part of Violet City had looked like it stuck to traditional architecture, but it didn't really compare to Azalea Town. Everything appeared to be much more rustic in the forest town.
As the boys explored the town they saw many bug pokemon, as well as a large population of slowpoke. They were also shocked at how friendly the people of the town were. Several residents of the town stopped them and asked if they could give them any directions or if they needed anything. The quaint town made both of the boys smile, as the feel of the joyful aura spread through them.
The gym was easily found near the southern edge of the town, but the boys decided to do a bit more exploring before they took on the gym. The only other parts of the town that really caught the attention of the boys was the slowpoke well, and the pokeball maker, Kurt.
The group decided to stop in at Kurt's small shop and see the different kinds of pokeballs that were being produced. As they entered they saw an old man sorting through a basket of apricorns. The man looked up when he heard the door open and smiled warmly at the travelers that entered.
"Why hello there!" The man greeted joyfully. "How are you boys doing on this fine, sunny day?"
"Hello, sir. We are doing well. How about you?" Chance replied to the kind man.
"I am doing quite well. Thank you, my boy. Is there anything I can help you with today?"
Adrian spoke up this time. "Well, we heard that the famous pokeball maker, Kurt, owned this shop. We were hoping to see what kinds of pokeballs were for sale."
"Well, you are certainly in the right place then." The old man smiled. "I am the man you seek. My name is Kurt, what are your names, boys?"
The boys introduced themselves and chatted with the old man for a few moments. After exchanging pleasantries and telling the man a bit about their journey so far, Kurt pulled three medium sized boxes out from below the shop counter.
"These are the balls that I have ready at the moment." He smiled happily as he opened the three boxes revealing a large variety of pokeballs. He gave a brief explanation of each of the unique balls within. Chance purchased a lure ball and a friend ball, while Adrian chose a lure ball and a fast ball.
"So, you boys plan to take on Bugsy, eh?" The old man asked while handing the selected balls to the young trainers. The boys nodded in response. "It will be quite the challenge. He is certainly no push over. Many trainers underestimate bug-types, but he keeps his in top form. You better be ready for a real fight before you go take him on."
The boys looked at each other for a moment. "We are ready." Adrian said with confidence. "We don't plan on losing yet." The boys smiling brightly at the man who nodded in response.
"I believe you. I have faith that you two will go far. I will be keeping an eye out for you boys when the Silver Conference comes around again. Don't let me down." Kurt smiled once more at the boys. They thanked him once more before exiting the shop and heading south towards the gym.
"Well." The blonde started. "We keep hearing that this guy is strong. I guess it's time we check him out for ourselves." His bright blue eyes shone with confidence as they approached the entrance to the gym.
"Yeah!" His redheaded companion smiled. "Let's do this."