HAPPY SAINT PATRICK'S DAY, EVERYBODY!
...Er, sorry, am I a little late...? Ah, I need to learn more about being on time.
I am finally back with yet another chapter! This one's probably the longest chapter yet, but I think you'll enjoy it. ;)
Chapter 16: Reaching Dew Island
As Jay hurtled toward the water, one thought stuck in his mind: This was a stupid idea.
He realized an instant after he jumped that Flygon could probably fly down and save Plusle. By him diving, he was risking his life and Plusle's.
The waves grew closer to Jay's face, and the salty air stung his eyes. Time seemed to slow down, and he was only vaguely aware of everything happening around him. Blood rushed in his ears, and his heart raced. He tried to not flail around but found it almost impossible to not.
He realized that even if he could breathe underwater, he would have to survive the fall first. He had jumped from almost twenty feet in the air—he had heard of people getting hurt from falling from lesser heights.
As he grew even closer to the sea, he closed his eyes and willed himself to sit still. Maybe he wouldn't be as injured if he tried to dive feet first. He locked his joints and winced, stiffening himself and bracing his body for impact.
WHOOSH.
Before he knew it, he was underwater, slowly falling down. His eyes were still closed tight and he didn't dare move from his rigor state. He realized quickly that he had barely been hurt—it felt like he had been slapped in many places, but he didn't feel any intense pain or broken bones.
Just as Jay was starting to realize this, he remembered that he wasn't even moving. He was slowly sinking and wasn't even trying to do anything—he was stiff as a board and just as immobile.
Instinct took over. He could feel his mind starting to buzz from lack of oxygen—he hadn't dare inhaled, despite Aria's reassurances that he could indeed breathe underwater. He kicked his legs and pushed his arms up.
He felt himself cut effortlessly through the water, and although he couldn't see his surroundings, he felt as though he was getting closer to the sunlit surface.
But will I make it in time? Jay was growing weaker from his lack of oxygen. He didn't dare open his eyes, but he had a feeling that he was still very far from the surface. He was still scared of breathing underwater, but as his muscles slowly turned to mush, he realized he had no choice but to do just that.
Unable to stand it any longer, Jay opened his maw and gasped.
The water flowed into his lungs like a breath of cool mountain air. He coughed and sputtered a few times, not used to the chill of water in his body. He exhaled and felt water pass out of his lungs.
Jay could breathe underwater.
He took several more giant gasps, and his worries were washed away with the tide. He could feel himself regain strength. His heart slowed to a steady pulse, and he felt the throb in his head ebb away.
He opened his eyes, and instead of the sting of saltwater, he felt no different than opening his eyes abovewater. Sure, the ocean was a bit chilly, but he could see everything with crystal clarity.
He could see Wailord's white underside gliding above him. He could see the sandy ocean floor several yards below him, dotted with rocks and colorful coral. He was mesmerized by the stark beauty of Wavy Sea, but a frantic cry alerted him to more desperate things he had to attend to.
Right… Plusle's still in trouble. Might wanna check that out.
He pushed his arms up, and with a flurry of silver bubbles, he shot through the water to rescue the drowning Pokémon.
Jay broke the surface of the sea right next to Plusle, who was still flailing about. Her cries for help were growing weaker by the minute, and she'd often stop to gurgle and cough. Her stubby arms were barely keeping her afloat.
Jay bobbed over to her and wrapped her arms around her side. Plusle briefly stopped whining and opened her eyes, coughing out a bit of seawater. Her face lit up when she saw Jay holding her up.
"Urk… J-Jay? Is that—is that—?!"
Her sentence was cut off as a wave washed over the duo. Jay kicked his legs to stay afloat, and though Plusle spluttered and gagged, she seemed to still be able to breathe.
Jay glanced up at Wailord and saw several faces peeking over. He couldn't recognize most of them, but he could see Flygon gesturing to the others to back off.
Good, he thought. I don't know how much longer I can hold Plusle up…
The Pokémon, though not very heavy, was starting to weigh him down. She had calmed down a bit and was breathing okay, but her eyes were closed and she still coughed up water on occasion. She looked like she was about to pass out, and Jay's legs were growing more tired than ever.
Flygon leapt off the side of Wailord and plummeted down towards the waves. She looked like she was about to do a nosedive straight into the water, but at the last second, she soared out of her freefall and swooshed up.
She skidded to a stop midair and flapped her wings, regaining control of her body. She lowered herself down to the waves, ignoring the ocean spray in her face. Her expression was one of determination.
She lowered herself down so just her legs drifted in the water. "Climb on!" she said, beckoning hastily with her clawed hands.
Keeping one arm tightly wrapped around Plusle, Jay tried his best to swim over to Flygon. It was much harder than he had expected; the waves made his stomach churn, and with one arm around Plusle, he didn't have much control over his strokes.
Eventually, he managed to bob his way over to the Guildmaster.
Flygon extended her tail above the water and winced. "Grab my tail and get Plusle up here. Hurry!" she ordered.
Jay grabbed her tail and pulled himself up, dragging Plusle along with him. With his free arm, he grabbed onto Flygon's neck. He secured his hold on Plusle, and as soon as he was sure she wouldn't slip off, Flygon zoomed upwards again.
The sudden acceleration made Jay's stomach drop. He almost lost his grip on Plusle, but he didn't have to worry about this for long—in no time at all, Flygon had resumed her place on Wailord's back.
Jay slackened his grip on Plusle and slid off Flygon's back, easing the young Pokémon down. There were cheers everywhere, and even Krokorok clapped, albeit a bit grudgingly. Plusle sputtered and coughed, and Magby was at her side instantly.
"Are you okay? Please tell me you're okay…" he said as he cradled her hand.
"Back off, Magby. I appreciate your concern, but she needs attention now," Flygon said.
Magby backed away from Plusle, but he didn't look at all happy about it. His brow creased with worry as Flygon descended upon her, placing two fingers on her throat.
Jay didn't have much time to look at the "operation". Almost as soon as Plusle was on board again, Aria had raced over to congratulate him.
She licked him in the face, apparently out of pure ecstasy, but a moment later, she recoiled. "Ugh… You taste like seaweed!" she gagged.
"I wonder why that is," Jay deadpanned.
"Seriously, though… You had me worried! I knew you could breathe underwater, but I thought you wouldn't even make it to the water!" Aria squealed.
"Relax. It was only a twenty-foot drop!" Jay said smoothly.
"Imagine falling down the two stories in Flygon's Guild. That's how far of a drop that was," Aria said gravely.
"I guess the water cushioned my fall…? Either way, I'm sure falling down the ladders at the guild wouldn't be much of a picnic either," Jay said.
"Stop trying to be all brave and stuff! I heard you as you were falling down—you were screaming!" Aria cried.
"I… was?" Jay asked. He hadn't known he was screaming before, but now his throat felt hoarse, and he figured Aria was telling the truth.
Before the duo could continue their conversation, they were interrupted by Flygon.
"Jay? Can I talk to you for a second?" Though her words seemed friendly enough, there was something about her expression that implied he was in trouble for something… again.
Jay glanced at Aria, who simply shrugged in confusion. He shuffled to the Guildmaster, who was waiting for him near Wailord's tail. He felt sick to his stomach—and it wasn't just the bobbing of the ocean that was making him feel uncertain.
"What is it?" Jay questioned.
Flygon smiled as she noticed the worried look on Jay's face. "Don't worry; you're not in trouble, though I'm sure talking to Krokorok would net you a nice punishment. I just want to tell you a little something…"
Some of the tension melted, but it was still there to an extent. Jay blinked and nodded.
"I just want to tell you… What you did a few minutes ago? That was brave. Very brave." Flygon's face shone with admiration. "You acted before any of us could, despite the risk of running into trouble. You were very brave and spontaneous… but such blind bravery could lead to trouble down the road."
"Are you trying to say that I act before I think?!" Jay cried.
Flygon smiled. "That's exactly why I say that. You can be a bit rash at times, and what you just said there is a fine example of that. You don't think before you act, and while I appreciate that you don't overanalyze things… sometimes, I wish you'd think things through a bit. Do you know what I'm saying?" she said.
Jay sighed. He felt like a little kid being chastised for a simple error. "I-I guess…" he mumbled.
"I'm not trying to downplay your rescue—it was very good, if I do say so myself. But you didn't need to do that… I could've gone down there and picked up Plusle by myself," Flygon added hastily.
Jay should've nodded and just accepted it there, but he wanted to keep going. "So you're saying I shouldn't have done what I joined the guild to do?" he quipped.
Flygon's eyes widened. "Oh, no! That's not what I meant at all. I just meant… if you got hurt down there, I would've been heartbroken!" she cried.
"We get hurt all the time when we're exploring! So why are you getting on my case now? Plus, I didn't get hurt and Plusle's okay—so what's all this fuss about?" Jay asked.
Flygon shook her head with a soft giggle. "Sometimes, I wonder if you should be the Guildmaster… I guess you have a point there. Plus, who knows? If you didn't dive down there and keep her afloat, I may not have reached her in time…"
"So… are you gonna let me off the hook?" Jay asked.
"Yes, I suppose… You never did anything wrong in the first place. I—just disregard this conversation. You did great, Jay. Just… don't be so rash in the future, okay?" Flygon said.
"Yeah, okay." Jay nodded and turned away from the Guildmaster, running back to Aria. His partner looked worried, but he flashed her a smile to reassure her.
"What was that all about?" Aria wondered.
"She was just telling me to be less rash. Nothing big," Jay said indifferently.
"You should take her words to heart. You tend to do a lot more assuming than you do listening," Aria said.
"Excuse me?!" Jay cried.
Aria laughed. "See? That's exactly what I mean."
Another hour passed, and not much happened. Plusle was recovering nicely; she had spent the past hour in the company of Altaria. Altaria had wrapped her fluffy wings around her, leaving only her head poking up. She looked like she was about to fall asleep, and according to Magby, she was feeling a lot better.
After what felt like eternity, Wailord spoke for the first time since they went to sea.
"Land ho! Land ho! I see land!"
There was a stampede to rush to the front of Wailord; everyone was clearly growing tired of the endless ocean. Sure enough, as Jay peered into the distance, he could see the outline of something in the ocean. It was too big to be a Pokémon—not to mention very green.
Flygon squinted to the distance and nodded, flapping her wings in excitement. "Yep! If my calculations are correct, that should be Dew Island. We're almost there, guys!" she announced.
A ripple of unanimous excitement flooded the Pokémon. Everyone leapt up and cheered, leading to a few complaints from Wailord. Jay was particularly excited; he was eager to get to exploring.
"About time! I wanna get out there and kick butt and find treasure!" Aria whooped.
"I'm right there with you," Jay agreed.
"It'll be about half an hour. You guys can hang on until then, can't you?" Wailord asked.
There were some groans, but Jay figured that half an hour wasn't too bad of a wait. The day was still burning bright—a little hotter than he would've liked—and as such, there was surely a long time before they had to turn in for the night.
"We'll survive. But please… hurry up!" Aria said, wagging her tail impatiently.
"Okay, okay," Wailord said. He flipped his flippers in the water and picked up speed, rushing towards Dew Island with the explorers in tow.
XxX
It felt like forever, but after half an hour, the Pokémon had arrived at their destination.
Dew Island was a pretty place. It was surrounded by a shoreline of white sand strewn with seashells. A few yards uphill, the sand turned to grass, and strange trees began to pop up. Jay didn't recognize any of them, but some of them bore fruit. There was a heavy scent of seawater and earth in the air.
The island looked rather small, but as Jay craned his neck, he could see a giant cone peeking out from behind the trees. It was a mountain with a flat top—Jay could see smoke billowing out from the top. He could assume this was Hearth Mountain.
Near the edge of the jungle was a large, tall boulder. It looked vaguely familiar, and as Jay squinted, he could see why—it appeared to be carved into the shape of a life-sized Kangaskhan. He remembered the kind Kangaskhan in Trader's Village and wondered why there was a statue of her on this remote island.
He didn't have time to wonder about the rock: it was time to disembark. Wailord turned around and lowered his tail to the ground, and Jay and the others bounded off. As the Totodile hit the ground, he felt the soft sand push through his toes. He relaxed; it felt good to be on solid ground after several hours of drifting on Wailord's back.
Suddenly, his pleasure faded, and his feet began to sting with pain. The sand was burning hot from the blazing sun. He began to hop on one foot, desperately trying to cool off his other foot. He was only vaguely aware of the snickers he was getting.
He rushed towards the shallow water and sighed in relief as he submerged his feet. The cool water provided welcome relief from the sand. As he looked around, he could see several other Pokémon doing the same—clearly, he wasn't the only one who felt like his feet were being baked.
Aria was among those. She sighed in relief as she put her tiny paws in the water. She glanced at Jay and grinned. "You looked really stupid there, you know," she smirked.
"Hey!" Jay cried.
Aria laughed. "I'm kidding. Honestly, I'm sure I looked stupid, too."
The other apprentices seemed to be reacting in various ways to the landscape. Altaria and Whimsicott looked very uncomfortable, possibly owing to the heat and their massive furry coats. Plusle clambered out of the ocean, then recoiled as her feet hit the hot sand again. She raced back into the water and soaked her feet once more. Magby sniffed around the Kangaskhan-shaped rock.
Flygon and Krokorok were in deep conversation. Jay caught his eye, and for the first time, he saw something that wasn't loathing or grumpiness—if anything, Krokorok was nervous about something. He was sweating profusely, and Jay had a suspicious feeling it wasn't just because of the heat.
"Don't worry about it. I'll be fine," Krokorok said.
"Are you sure? I don't want you getting sick during our exploration…" Flygon said.
"How many times must I tell you—I will be fine!"
This statement wasn't entirely true, though. Krokorok buckled and clutched his stomach, and the queasy look on his face indicated that he was feeling very sick indeed. But he put on a brave grimace and clenched his fists together. "Who cares if I'm a little seasick? I would never miss out on something as big as this!" he said.
"If you insist…" Flygon said uncertainly.
Jay turned to Aria, who was also looking on at the conversation. "Y'know, I have to admit: Krokorok is pretty hardy. If I was feeling seasick, I'd be out of here in no time!" she said.
"Yeah… I guess that's one of the things you're gonna have to do as an explorer. Stick through the hard things so you can get the treasure…" Jay said absently.
Before the two could finish on their conversation, Flygon
"Apprentices!"
Flygon was hovering a few feet away from Team River Song. Her eyes darted around to make sure that everyone was looking at her. All chatter ceased immediately, and the only sounds that could be heard was the gentle whoosh of the waves.
"I know you all are very excited—for some of you, this is your first exploration." She nodded at Magby, who beamed up at her. "But we need to have some form of order before we charge off into the forest."
Aria yawned. Jay figured she had heard this many times before. He leaned forward, listening as Flygon listed off the procedures.
"We'll all be travelling in small groups, but before I announce who's travelling with who, I should give you some information about the island so you don't get lost. Hearth Mountain is just through the forest—just travel straight and you should be good. Once we get to Hearth Mountain, we'll search the area as a big group. Does that sound good?" Flygon explained.
"Yeah, whatever! Just hurry up!" Aria said impatiently.
Jay couldn't help but agree with her; other than the fiasco with Plusle, the expedition had been rather boring so far.
Flygon seemed to get the hint, and she nodded and began speaking.
"I'll be travelling with Krokorok." She glanced at her companion, who nodded curtly and grunted. He didn't look very happy, but Flygon was oblivious to his growing scowl.
She shook her head and continued her speech: "Plusle, you'll be travelling with Team Fluffy—Whimsicott and Altaria."
Plusle didn't hesitate to run into Altaria's fluffy arms. Altaria hugged her back but winced in discomfort as a tiny electric spark was discharged into her wings.
"Looks like someone's excited to be with them," Jay murmured.
"If I got to travel with two giant balls of fluff, I'd be pretty excited too," Aria replied.
"Jay and Aria, you'll be in charge of Magby," Flygon completed.
Magby waddled over to the group and high-fived Jay. "I'm so excited!" he cried.
"Can we get going already? I wanna find some treasure!" Aria murmured as she pawed the ground impatiently.
"Yes, yes! I'm sorry for keeping you… Anyway, here's to another great day of exploring!" Flygon thrust her fist in the air and grinned, a fiery look in her eyes.
"YAHOO!" The other explorers did the same, leaping in the air and letting out a whoop of excitement. Jay felt excitement flood him for the second time that day—they were finally shoving off!
The groups dispersed, gathering together and discussing their game plans. Excitement was in the air, along with a strange, nervous apprehension, but Jay ignored his nervousness and grinned as he turned to his teammates.
Magby started off by going on a long spiel about how happy he was to be with Jay. After a while, the Totodile tuned him out, and he examined the scene some more.
Coral Jungle towered above them, looking rather sinister. Listening closely, Jay could hear sounds coming from the forest—chirps, rustles of leaves, roars of some strange, unknown Pokémon. The sea was the exact opposite of that. It was calm and unassuming, with only the tall shadow of Wailord looming over them.
Jay knew at once that he preferred the ocean. The jungle held a heavy air of mystery, and even at a distance, he found it was hard to breathe. The ominous sounds of other Pokémon didn't help much either. He shivered despite the warmth and instinctively inched closer to Aria.
He caught a glimpse of Krokorok and Flygon examined the Kangaskhan-shaped rock. Flygon circled around to the back, and as Jay watched, he could see the green dragon pull out a red apple from a hidden latch.
"Hmm… What's that?" he wondered aloud.
"I keep forgetting how much you don't know… Anyway, that's a Kangaskhan Rock. It's a strange thing—no one knows where they come from, and no one knows how they work. But if you open up a little hatch on the backside, you can access all the items you left at the Kangaskhan Storage," Aria explained.
"That's cool… and a little freaky," Jay said, still examining Flygon. She took out a pink bandana and handed it to Krokorok, who tied it around his neck with a sour look on his face. He couldn't help but snicker as Krokorok sighed. "But that's hilarious."
Aria took one look at Krokorok and burst into laughter, not even trying to ignore his piercing eyes. While Krokorok was looking away, Flygon snickered silently as well.
Finally, the Skitty got ahold of herself, and with one last teasing snort, she turned back to her companions. "Do you guys need anything from the Kangaskhan Rock?" she asked.
"Nope. I think we're good," Jay replied as he rifled through his Explorer Bag.
"Great!" Aria said. "I didn't want to have to wait for you guys, either… Let's get going!"
Aria was the first to enter the forest. Right as she finished this sentence, she bounded across the beach in three large strides, and without stopping, she plunged into the jungle with the rustle of leaves.
"No! Wait for us! We're supposed to stick together!" Jay cried.
He put one hand on his bulging Explorer Bag and waddled after Aria as fast as he could. Magby ran to keep up pace, his own Explorer Bag swinging emptily at his side.
His entrance into the woods was nowhere near as stealthy as Aria, however, as he quickly found himself on the ground after tripping over a low-lying shrub.
Jay moaned and got to his knees, gingerly rubbing his head. Magby and Aria were standing right next to him with looks of concern on their faces. Once his head stopped spinning, Jay could finally see his surroundings.
All around him, there was green. Green trees, green vines, green shrubs, green weeds. Dull brown trunks and bright red flowers clashed with the sea of green. He couldn't see the beach where the others were when he looked behind—it was like the jungle had swallowed him up.
The foreign noises were louder than ever; indeed, it felt like there was a wild Pokémon right next to him, squawking up a storm. The air was even heavier here, and even breathing in was a difficult task. It felt like there was someone smothering him…
"Urgh, it smells like dung in here," Aria mumbled.
"I know, right?" Jay said quietly.
"Let's get going… I'm kinda freaked out right now," Magby said tremulously.
"Yeah." Aria turned around and looked into the jungle. Without looking back, she said: "Phase one of the Hearth Mountain expedition is complete: now, we're on to phase two. Hope you aren't afraid of getting your paws dirty."
"I'm not," Jay said. He glanced down at his feet and discovered (to no one's surprise) that they were caked in sand and mud. He shrugged it off, not caring much about the state of his feet.
Without any further ado, Jay took the lead, making sure everyone was ready. He began to walk forward, pushing through the dense shrubbery, and Team River Song's trek through Coral Jungle had begun.
Jay had a very difficult time in the jungle. The terrain was difficult to navigate, with sudden slopes and descents. They tried to follow a linear pattern to make it to Hearth Mountain faster, but after a few twists and turns, they found themselves hopelessly lost.
The flora was difficult to navigate as well; once, Magby found himself completely tangled up in vines. Jay and Aria tried to free him, but they ended up getting tangled as well. Aria somehow ended up dangling several feet off the ground, held up by her hopelessly snared tail.
Eventually, Magby managed to free himself and the others by breathing tiny embers at the vines. Unfortunately, his "plan" involved a few sacrifices on Jay's part.
"Agh… I thought there was no friendly fire when we're on the same team!" Jay cried, rubbing his burned snout gingerly.
"Sorry… I just wanted to get us out," Magby apologized sheepishly.
Aria snapped her tail back and forth. "Well, you did get us down… so I can't really complain. So thanks!" she said.
Magby smiled and looked at the ground, trying to look bashful. "Aw, you're embarrassing me!" he said, but it was obvious from the look in his eyes that he enjoyed the attention.
A few minutes after that incident, they ran into their first Pokémon—an Exeggutor.
It was an odd Pokémon indeed; it looked like a palm tree with legs. It had many "coconuts" growing under its leafy branches, and each "coconut" had a face, each one with a different expression. It walked slowly and seemed to be ready to fall down at any moment.
Jay tried to use his Water Gun attack, but the Exeggutor was only enraged. Aria quickly followed up with a Tackle, and she managed to knock the Pokémon off its feet.
Magby was trembling as he watched the explorers duke it out, but when he saw the palm tree fall down, he saw his chance. He rushed in and coughed up a stream of embers at its face. The Exeggutor wailed and rolled around as the embers hit its face, but it was still far from defeat.
It swung its head forward and knocked Aria off its chest, and with a bit of struggle, it got to its feet again. It turned to Jay and leered at him, and the Totodile cowered, feeling like a puny ant beneath a fast-falling foot.
Before he could react, Exeggutor rammed his head into the tiny crocodile. It was surprisingly painful, and Jay caught a whiff of wet grass as he fell to the ground. He felt like his skull had been cracked.
Exeggutor backed up and reared its head again, preparing for another dishing of pain, but Jay rolled out of the way. He rolled right into a bush, and when he opened his eyes, he found that the leafy shrub was all around him. Peering out at the Pokémon, he could see Exeggutor looking around for him in confusion… and then Aria struck.
Her last attack did it in—it fell to the ground with a thump and a roar. Jay could barely see the scene; his head was still spinning and his eyes were crossed. He could see a pink figure approaching him and grabbing his arm—Aria, leading him out of the bush.
"Are you okay?! That Wood Hammer hit ya pretty hard!" Aria cried.
"I'm fine… Let's get the thing over with!" Jay mumbled woozily.
He turned around in a full circle and walked forward, accidentally running over Magby. "Eh, sorry…" he murmured.
"Yeah… you're not okay. You're anything but okay," Aria said.
"Let's sit down for a while. I'm tired and hungry, and I'm sure you need the rest," Magby said as he rubbed his arm.
Jay plopped down on his bum and mumbled something as he tried to make sense of his surroundings. Everything was foggy, and he felt like he was about to throw up—was Exeggutor's attack enough to give him a concussion?
"Here. Take this," Aria said, handing him an Oran berry.
Jay groped around, trying to grab the tiny berry from her paw, and when he finally did, he shoved it into his cheek instead of his mouth.
"Well, this is great. We've got a drunk on our team…" Aria mumbled.
"I-I'll be fine! Just… give me… a second…" Jay tried unsuccessfully to put the berry in his mouth.
"Yeah… You might wanna get comfortable, Magby, 'cause we're gonna be here for a while," Aria said, reclining up against a tree.
XxX
Flygon fluttered through the trees with difficulty. She didn't have much room to move around, and even if she could fly free, she wouldn't—Krokorok was struggling.
Ever since they had gotten off Wailord, Krokorok was queasy and seemed to be showing signs of seasickness. He was constantly out of breath and had to stop many times to retch. Despite his condition, he insisted he was okay.
Flygon furrowed her brow, worrying for her partner's safety. She had tried not to give him berries for fear that it would upset his stomach, but eventually, she gave in and handed him a blue berry. Just as she had feared, it made his condition worse; it felt like Krokorok was about to throw up now.
"Seriously, you need a break. I think the jungle air's getting to your head…" Flygon said as Krokorok gagged for the umpteenth time.
"How many times must I tell you: I'm… fine!" Krokorok grumbled.
"No you aren't. You haven't been feeling right since we got off Wailord." Flygon cradled her head in her hands, cursing her foolishness. "Agh, we should've stayed back there… I never should've agreed to let you come here," she said.
"Trust me. I will be fine. I've endured worse than this…" Krokorok said.
"If you say so…" Flygon said uncertainly. She was still uncertain about Krokorok's condition, and for good reason, too—she had no idea what was about to happen.
A few moments later, there was a gasp and a sudden rustle of leaves. There was a dull thump and a painful moan, and then everything went quiet.
Flygon whirled around, knowing immediately that something was wrong with Krokorok. Sure enough, the unconscious body of her crocodilian friend was lying in the undergrowth, barely breathing. His eyes were closed.
"Oh, you little… I told you this was a bad idea!" she murmured to herself.
Krokorok didn't respond—he didn't even groan in protest. He was out cold.
Her heart began to race. She could feel the heat of the jungle start to overwhelm her. She glanced nervously around, scanning for any Pokémon that may attack. She wondered what she could do—if they went back, her apprentices would be all alone. If she left Krokorok behind, he'd have to face the wrath of Coral Jungle all on his own.
I guess I'm going to have to do some improvisation here, Flygon thought, gritting her teeth.
She placed a hand on his forehead, but instead of feeling burning hot or freezing cold, she realized quickly that Krokorok's temperature was completely normal. He didn't even appear to be sweating, even in the jungle heat.
She found this odd, but not strange enough to alert her.
She put her ear over his chest and she could hear his heart beating strong. His stomach didn't gurgle or whine, which she found very odd. He had been complaining about stomach pains, and he had constantly acted like he was about to throw up. Surely his stomach would be rumbling like an earthquake if he was sick…
"What the heck is wrong with you, Krokorok?" she mumbled. "Are you feverish, or are you just seasick? Honestly, if it wasn't for your constant moaning, I'd swear you aren't even sick at all…"
Krokorok snapped up and clawed her across the face, his eyes wide and full of manic energy. His attack was so surprising that she didn't have time to react. She quickly stepped back and clutched her face. She could already feel her hand going for her Explorer Bag, reaching for an Oran berry to heal her wounds.
Adrenaline pumped in Flygon's heart. She glared at Krokorok, who was standing a few feet away and panting heavily. He didn't look the least bit sorry that he had clawed her face. He looked ready to fight.
"Oh, you just messed with the wrong Pokémon… I may be your superior, but if you attack me like that again, I won't even hesitate to retaliate!" Flygon growled.
Suddenly, his harsh eyes relaxed as he realized who he had hurt. His mouth twisted into a frown and his arms dropped to his side. "I'm sorry, Flygon… I thought you were a Pokémon trying to attack me," he apologized.
"Yeah, right! I'm not falling for that again. What the heck happened with you? Why'd ya fall down?" Flygon barked.
"I was overwhelmed by my sickness… I'm sorry, I didn't mean to hold you up…" Krokorok apologized smoothly.
"I don't wanna hear you grovel and apologize. I want an explanation! Why did you suddenly collapse there?" Flygon grilled.
"I was really tired… urgh, my stomach hurts like nuts," Krokorok said, clutching his stomach and buckling forward. "C-can we just go back?"
"Ugh… This is what we were talking about earlier! I was telling you… We should've stopped and taken a break. This wouldn't have happened if you weren't so insistent on continuing!" Flygon cried.
"But I…"
Before he could finish his sentence, Krokorok's head lulled forward, and his eyes rolled up into his head. He began to teeter back and forth, letting out a small moan as he did so.
"Oh, and now you're fainting again. Real classic," Flygon grumbled.
Gravity finally gave way, and Krokorok fell to the ground, cracking his head on a tree. He was out cold—again.
Flygon sighed and fluttered over to his unconscious body. She weighed her options against their consequences as she collected him in her arms.
There's really no way we can win… If we return to the beach, we'll be leaving the others without a guide. If we go to the mountain, we'll have one less Pokémon to help us… plus, volcanic ash isn't the best thing for you to breathe when you're sick… and if I leave you alone… who knows what'll happen?
Flygon sighed. "I hope you like volcanic ash, because in a few hours' time, we'll be at Hearth Mountain…"
Peering up into the thick canopy of trees, Flygon stretched her wings. She tightened her grip on her partner's unconscious body and leapt off the ground, and in a moment, she was soaring through Coral Jungle once more.
XxX
Whew, that was a LOOOOOOOOOONG read. But all in a day's work, huh?
Ooh, magical cliffie again! Sort of... Hah, I hope I didn't make this too melodramatic. I'm trying my best to write this thing, but please be sure to let me know if there are some things you think I can improve on. I love to get criticism and I won't take it too seriously. :)
Anyway, I hope you enjoyed this chapter. Don't forget to review!