Chapter 59 – Island Trek! Cameron and Hunter Alola

Route 2, Melemele Island, Alola Region….

The middle of the night in the Kanto Region meant early morning in the Alola Region. Even though it hadn't quite gone on 7:00am yet, it was common to find the Island Nation inhabitants and their Pokémon bustling and going about their business, while it was still cool, before the heat of the day set in.

Route 2, which lead from Hau'oli city to the northern part of Melemele Island, was a popular training ground for local Trainers. The road followed the coastline, and those that trekked it would enjoy views of the ocean for practically the entire journey.

Not only were the surrounding fields and grass were teaming with various Pokémon; Spearow Alola Rattata, Alola Meowth, Drowzee Smeargle and Yungoos being some of the most frequently encountered. But it was also a good place for the locals to stage battles.

Despite Route 2's popularity, it was pretty much devoid of other humans as Cameron and his bleary eyed Lucario partner made their way along it.

"Come on Lucario," Cameron called up, noticing his partner had fallen a few steps behind. "Keep up." He took a step back and sized a hold of Lucario's paw as if to pull him along a little faster.

Lucario made a sound that was halfway between a groan and a growl. "Ugh. I don't see why we had to get up so early. I swear you're more energetic than Hunter these days."

His trainer sighed and rolled his eyes. "And you're just being lazy. C'mon we got a lot of training to get in before the league starts."

Lucario gave him a dirty look. "Me lazy. You didn't spend all of last night in pain in the Pokémon Centre after fighting that huge dragon type."

"You beat it didn't you."

"Not that point. It still took it out of me. I'd like to see you put your body on the line like that."

Cameron gave him a coy smile and raised his eyebrows. "I think I put my body on the line every night with you."

Lucario put a paw on his shoulder and flashed him an evil grin. "Don't tempt me. If you think that's on the line, you haven't felt anything yet."

"Careful," said Cameron. "You still owe me for Mauville, remember."

Lucario tutted and shook his head. "Don't remind me!"

Their…conversation…was interrupted at that moment by a loud high-pitched voice calling out, "You can't catch me bluey!"

"Hey! Come back here…"

The two looked up from each other just in time to see a bright red creature streaking up the path ahead. Their pup, Hunter the Riolu, was in hot pursuit.

"Stay where I can see you," Cameron shouted after them, but he had a feeling it would fall on death ears. He looked back at his partner. "You'd better go after them." When Lucario coxed his head and placed his paws on his hips, he added. "You're faster than me. You know I can't keep up with those to. The three of you are Pokémon after all."

"You're so going to owe me for this," Lucario as he let out a defeated sighed. "Bet's off."

"No way!"

"Fine. You're still going to owe me," Lucario said before giving chase. "Hunter, get Back here!"

[Pokémon]

Cameron had been busy since he and Ash had parted ways in Alola. With Lucario and Hunter by his side, he had now won nearly all of his Hoenn Gym Badges and caught many new Pokémon, one of whom was racing ahead of Hunter, waving their busy tail at Hunter's face.

"You're mine now," Hunter growled as he took a swipe at the tail.

"Hehehe. Don't think so."

Hunter's paws clutched air as that annoying tail darted just out of reach. No matter what Hunter did, how fast he ran, it always seemed to be the same distance from him. Just beyond his reach.

It was a constant frustration. Not to mention he could feel his strength waning. His heart was thumping, and his lungs burn. His blue coat was drenched with sweat. At the same time, he couldn't help but be amazed at this Pokémon's speed.

Ashachu had been quick, but on the occasions, they had raced, Hunter had usually been able to catch up with him. But Growlithe, was something else entirely….

Growlithe was an orange and cream puppy Pokémon with a round ears and a short muzzle. Cameron had caught him somewhere near Verdanturf Town, with the hope of evolving him into an Arcanine, should they ever come across a fire stone.

A male, strong headed and competitive with a big heart, Hunter and Growlithe had struck up a fast friendship, and now spent most of their days, when not in a gym battle, training and playing together. It had been nice, Hunter felt, to have a Pokémon his own age and size to play with again.

The same could not be said for all of Cameron's new catches…

"Ready to give up yet," Growlithe called back tauntingly to Hunter.

"No…Way," Hunter gasped though he his body seemed to have other ideas. The lactic acid build-up in his legs was becoming noticeable and he was slowing down. Growlithe's tail was getting further and further out of reach.

"Come on admit it. There's no way you can catch me."

"Yes, I can," Hunter said through gritted teeth. There was one chance, but it was a slim one. The move he had seen Lucario use only the day before. How had he done. He concentrated hard.

"Come on," he told himself. "Think….YES!" He felt a thrill in his chest when he saw his body had become shrouded in a waving aura of light.

"What the." Growlithe gave a cry of surprise, as the world seemed to slow around him. He suddenly felt as though he was running through molasses, the air around him becoming an impenetrable barrier. He glanced down at his paws and notice a thin pink aura around them. "Hunter. What have you…UGH!"

Something hit him in the back, pinning him into the ground. "Ouff."

"See," He heard Hunter smug voice say in his ear. "I can."

"Hey, no fair," Growlithe whined. "You used a move. We're not supposed to use moves." He tried to get back up to his feet, but Hunter was straddling his back, keeping him pinned down.

"We never agreed to that."

"When did you learn psychic."

"Didn't," said Hunter. "That was copycat. I was copying dad. That was the last move I ever saw him use."

"Hmp, you got lucky," Growlithe pouted.

Hunter licked his lips, as he ran his paws along Growlithe's body, from his neck and down his sides. "Part of the skill of battle is knowing how best to use your resources."

Growlithe felt a shiver run down his spine, and his blood ran cold. "Oh no. Please don't…..Ahahaha!"

In all the battles and games of rough and tumble he and Growlithe had played during their short friendship, Hunter had discovered something about the Puppy Pokémon. He was both very ticklish and couldn't stand to be tickled.

Naturally, tickling had become Hunter's favourite weapon of dominance to use against his friend. With a wide grin on his muzzle, the Riolu quickly got stuck into the fire type, digging the ends of his paws into the points where he knew Growlithe was most ticklish.

Or at least those he could reach. The base of his neck, under the pits of his forearms and his ribs. Within seconds Growlithe was a laughing, panting, breathless mess. He thumped his paws on the ground and begged for mercy – or tried. It was hard to speak when he was laughing so loud.

"Hunter…. Ahahaha…. Sssstop…. Bahahaha…Please…. I-I-I. hahaha…. I give…ahahahaha."

Hunter eventually did stop, but only when he heard a gruff voice from behind him bark, "There you are!"

He jumped to his feet, getting off Growlithe and spinning around to see Lucario running up to him.

"I thought Cameron told you not to go running off."

"Oh. Ughh," Hunter stuttered. He hadn't realised how far the two of them had run.

"It's my fault Mr. Lucario," said Growlithe quickly, getting to his paws. He was still breathing heavily. "I was playing chase with Hunter, and I guess I must have got carried away. I'm sorry."

Lucario sighed. "There's no need to apologise. In future, just stay where Cameron and I can see you. Those Team Skull goons could be anywhere." He looked cautiously around.

Growlithe bit his lip, remembering what had happened, only a few night ago when they had run into those three boys in the skull caps and bandannas outside Hau'oli City. Being cornered in the dark in the alleyway.

The malevolent glint in Sandlit's eyes. The demands that Cameron simply hand him and Hunter over to them, for Arceus knows what purpose. And the irritating way they were always rapping and rhyming everything they said.

Growlithe had thought humans to be friendly creatures who looked after and protected Pokémon. Bond of friendship and trust and all that. He hadn't realised just how cruel and self-serving some could be until then.

Hunter, on the other paw, didn't seem that worried about the possibility of young human thugs going round stealing little Pokémon such as themselves. "Oh Please," he said putting his paws on his hips. "Those last three skull creeps were a joke. We took them down really easily."

"You still need to be careful," Lucario reiterated. "Just because those particular trainers weren't strong, doesn't mean there won't be others who are."

Growlithe nodded. "Yes Mr. Lucario. I understand!"

"Yeah, I get it," said Hunter nodding, though somewhat reluctantly.

Lucario's expression softened, and his muzzle spread into a weak smile. "You know Growlithe, you don't have to keep calling me Mr. Lucario. Lucario or Lu is fine…Now. Where's Cameron?"

[Pokémon]

As the morning wore on, and the sun rose higher into the sky, the weather grew slowly hotter and more humid. Cameron had become so drenched in sweat, that his shirt had started to stick to him. He looked as if he had been on the receiving end of a powerful water gun attack from an angry water type.

But the heat proved to be no deterrent to him as he led his Pokémon partners further along the path. Upon becoming Route 3, the road inclined steeply, curving along the top of a cliff overlooking the sea.

His Pokémon however were less content with it, their fur coats making the heat far worse for them than it was for a human. After all, Lucario and Riolu were not native species to Alola – not to Melemele Island anyway. Wild Growlithe could be found on Route 2 below, but they usually kept to cooler shady areas, and rarely ventured this far up.

All three were panting heavily and feeling less than friendly towards their trainer.

"Cameron, where in the distortion world are you taking us," Lucario growled annoyed after about an hour or so of the trek. "I thought you we were going to train on the beach today."

Cameron waved his hand dismissively at his partner. "Nah, beach is too crowded. I know somewhere even better."

Hunter looked longingly down at the ocean below, blue as the colour of his fur. "A swim would be quite nice right now."

Growlithe pulled a face. "Are you kidding. In that." To him the pale turquoise sea looked less than inviting and more like a never-ending void in which to drown. But then, he was a fire type.

"One of the locals told me about this cave where there's supposed to be this really strong Pokémon," said Cameron. "I want to find it and catch."

Lucario's eyes widened at the suggestion. "Wait. You're telling me we're up here looking for someone's den. And you just want to go wandering inside and pick a fight with whatever Pokémon's there."

Cameron beamed at him. "Pretty much."

Lucario groaned and bowed his head. "I'd ask you if you've lost your mind, but that would imply you had one to start with."

Cameron giggled and gave the Aura Pokémon a friendly push. "Oh, stop it. This teams strong enough to handle anything that comes our way. Right guys!"

"Olu Riolu."

"Groooolithe!"

Hunter punched the air triumphantly at his words while Growlithe howled his approval. Lucario just rolled his eyes and sighed, before the four of them continued on their way. Another half an hour or so, and even Hunter and Growlithe seemed to be losing their patience.

Hunter's fur was damp with sweat by this point and Growlithe was panting rather heavily. They had reached the end of the cliff face. The ground suddenly disappearing, into a gorge with a bubbling river below. There was a large waterfall to the left, and a small rope bridge led to the other side of the gorge.

It was here that Cameron stopped, frowning and muttering, "Wait, he didn't say anything about a waterfall."

Lucario folded his arms and glowered at Cameron. "Face it Cameron, we're lost. You don't have a clue where we're going do you."

"Uhm let me check the map." Cameron reached into his pocket, trying to find his Pokénav. However. "Err…Opps."

"Don't tell me you forgot your Pokénav again!"

"I-I think I put it on charge," Cameron mumbled mareepishly. "And left it on the table."

Lucario let out a loud groan. "Oh, of all the trainers to catch me."

"I thought we were looking for some big Pokémon to fight," whined Hunter. "All we've done is walk around this stupid island. That's not training."

"Well, it's sort of training," Cameron stuttered before trailing off. "Anyway, we're not lost. All we have to do is go back the way we came."

He turned to leave, but at that moment Growlithe suddenly let out a howl and scampered off towards the bridge. Hunter promptly followed….

"Grooolithe!"

"Hey, where are you going? Wait for me!"

"Guys, come back!" Cameron called after them.

The two small Pokémon were fast and had managed to cross the bridge before Cameron or Lucario were even a quarter of the way across. This might not have been such a bad thing, if not for what happened next.

The first warning was the dark shadow that crossed over the gorge temporarily darkening the landscape. Cameron and Lucario looked up to see something large sand scaly soar overhead, before landing with a hard thud on to the ground on the other side of the cliff.

Hunter and Growlithe, who had just reached the other side of the rope bridge, stopped dead in their tracks, their heads turning upwards to take in the sight of the enormous Pokémon who was now blocking their path.

"Whoa," said Hunter, his eyes widening in surprise and awe.

Growlithe on the other paw reacted nervously, backing away from the larger Pokémon, his fluffy tail between his legs, a little whimper of "…lithe…" escaping his maw.

Cameron whipped out his Pokédex and held it to scan the large creature.

"What in the distortion world is that Pokémon."

Drampa, the Placid Pokémon. A Normal and Dragon type. Drampa typically live on tall mountains, and tree Berries are their favourite food. They also enjoy playing with children

"The Placid Pokémon huh," Cameron repeated.

Drampa was a long Serpentine Pokémon resembling a Chinese Dragon. Most of its skin was a bluish-green colour with pale green coating its underbelly and neck. It's appearance was almost comical, with pink eyes, a mop of white hair on its head, rounded ears, a beard, and drapes of white fur covering the lower half of its body and a fuzzy tail.

"It doesn't look so placid to me," Lucario cried urgently.

Drampa's features distorted into, making it suddenly appeared more terrifying than comical, It's eyes flashed, it's muzzle contorted into a snarl and its mouth opened to reveal long sharp fangs.

Hunter started to feel a little unnerved. Those fangs were nearly as long as his tail. In spite of this though, he chose to stand his ground, staring right back at the creature, trying not to look afraid. Growlithe however was trembling, his maw wide open.

"Uh hello mister dragon," Hunter started, as firmly as he could, though before he could finish his sentence the Drampa cut him off. "Uhm we were walking here, so would you mind moving out the…"

"Hehehe. You want me to move out of your way. I'm afraid I can't do that. You see it's been an awful long while since I've had a nice juicy Riolu to eat."

If Hunter had been previously apprehensive, now he was scarred. This creature didn't really want to eat him did it.

"Uhm. Did you just say eat…"

The Drampa extended a long tongue from its mouth and licked it's scaly lips. "Yes, you look very tasty."

"Okay, you do." Hunter took a tentative step backwards, holding up his paws. "You-You don't want to eat me. I-I wouldn't taste good! I."

"GROOOWWW!"

It was at that point that Growlithe's terror finally overcame him, and he tried to flee, turning tail and running back toward the bridge. But Drampa had other plans.

"Going somewhere!"

It raised its head and breathed a jet of flame, not at Growlithe, but over his head, hitting the rope bridge. The Puppy Pokémon's escape route had become a fiery inferno, forcing him to stop dead in his tracks.

"Look out!"

"Get off the bridge!"

Cameron and Lucario likewise scrambled backward, rushing to get off the bridge and back onto the safety of the cliff before the entire thing went up in flames. Only trouble was, that left a giant gorge separating them from their offspring.

"HUNTER!," Cameron shouted, before turning to Lucario and asking wildly, "What's going on!"

"Like I said, that things not friendly," Lucario growled. "Hunter's in trouble. We need to stop that Pokémon!"

Cameron nodded, as he removed a Pokéball from his belt. "On it."

"Oh no, oh no, this isn't good," Growlithe whined as he skidded to a halt just before the edge of the cliff and the burning bridge. His breathing came fast and sharp and his body shook terribly. He was hyperventilating, and Hunter realised that he'd be little assistance in battle.

'My parents are trapped on the other side of the gorge,' the Riolu thought to himself. 'They won't be able to help. Looks like it's up to me!'

He forced his muzzle into a snarl and let out a sound that he hoped sounded like an intimidating growl, though it probably came out like more of a yip. "Oluo…Mi-Mister Dragon. W-We mean you no harm. B-But if you attack me or my friend, I'll…I'll defend myself."

It did not have the effect that Hunter had been hoping for. Drampa laughed, opening its maw wide and throwing its head back and saying in mocking tone, "Hee-hee. Was that supposed to be threatening, little Riolu. Hehe…Go on then, try fighting me. A meal is always more satisfying when its feisty."

The dragon's words sent a chill down Hunter's spine. He could only recall a few occasions in his life when he had been this scared. But he wasn't going down without a fight. He held out his paws before him and summoned his strength.

"FOCUS BLAST….." He fired a blue orb of energy at the dragon, sending it spinning towards its head.

Drampa didn't seemed perturbed by the attack, instead letting out another howl of laugher. "Aww this is cute. You think you have a chance. Light screen…" A pink forcefield appeared in front of Drampa into which the focus blast hit, breaking apart into a shower of blue sparks.

Hunter felt his heart sink. "Oh crap!"

A malevolent grin spread across the Drampa's face as the screen disappeared. "You call that an attack, little Riolu. What is your trainer, as school boy. Allow me to demonstrate what a real attack looks like."

Drampa reared his head and shot of jet of flames at Hunter. Hunter managed to leap to the side, dropping and rolling to the side. He wasn't quite able get clear, and the flames flew over the end of his tail.

"Yahl." Hunter let out a squeal of agony and jumped from side to side, the searing pain in his tail brining tears to his eyes. He wrapped his tail around his body taking hold of it in his paws to examine the injury. An angry red burn covered the end. There was no question about it – it the attack had hit him straight on, he would have fainted. "How strong is this thing?"

"Not much of a fighter are you," Drampa taunted. "I barely hit you and you're already in tears. Why don't you give up now and I'll make your death painless? Just one bite and I could snap your little Riolu neck. Continue to fight and I'll make you suffer."

Hunter glanced across the bridge. Through the fire and smoke he was unable to his parents on the other side. Pieces of the bridge were falling into the waters below, like small meteorites. A feeling of being alone filled his heart as the gravity of the situation caught up with him.

He was trapped here, away from his family facing a foe ten times bigger than him and one hundred times stronger. And then there was Growlithe. A quick look at him, told him that he wasn't going to be much help at all.

The Puppy Pokémon was cowering on the ground, his paws over his eyes whimpering over and over again, "This is not happening, this is not happening." To make matters worse, Hunter wasn't the only one who had noticed this.

"Your friend here's certainly coward," said Drampa. "Pretending that I'm not here isn't going to make me go away. I don't much like the taste of Growlithe." His muzzle twisted into a smile. "Though I have a friend who certainly does!"

And that was when something in Hunter snapped. No way was he going to let this creature hurt his friend. He moved to position himself between Growlithe and Drampa, putting himself into a battle-ready position.

"No way, You're not having Growlithe."

Drampa licked its lips excitedly. "There's that feisty spirt."

"Force palm."

"Dragon claw."

Hunter charged at Drampa, raising his paw like a fist. At the same time Drampa lifted his right hairy wing, reveal a set to talons underneath, and swiped at Hunter. Hunter quickly realised that he never stood a chance.

The claws slapped him hard across the face and chest, knocking him flat on his back, and sending him skidding through the dirt until he landed beside Growlithe. He lifted his head slowly; he was seeing double. It was all he could do, to stop himself passing out. He didn't have the strength to stand up.

"I must say," said Drampa. "For one so feisty, you certainly haven't been able to put up much of a fight. I think there is a human saying, about dogs having bites that are worse than their barks. Hahaha." The dragon laughed at its own joke. "Now then, any last words?"

It spilled out of Hunter's mouth before he could stop himself. Without really giving it much thought at all. "Ashachu…I love you." The biggest regret of his life…That the yellow rodent was no longer part of it.

And now he was about to die and would never see Ashachu again. Knowing that hurt more than his tail, or face or any injury this Drampa could inflict on him. Tears started to spill from his eyes, running diagonally down the side of his muzzle and onto his lower jaw.

"This is not happening, this is not happening," Growlithe continued to whine. "This is nooot happening."

"Goodbye then, little Riolu. See you in the distortion world."

"GOO DRAAA!"

Hunter's vision had started to fade. The clear images of Drampa and Growlithe beside him. The earth, trees and the sky. They were all fading from view, replaced by a swirl of colours. And then something purple filled his vision and he heard a loud thud.

Momentarily strengthened by his sudden curiosity, he forced himself into a sitting position, and saw, though blurring eyes, a large purple Pokémon standing between him, Growlithe and Drampa. Its arms outstretched protectively.

"Oh great," he mumbled to himself. "Goodra." He felt a mix of emotions. Relief coupled with annoyance. Why, oh why did it have to be HIM Cameron sent out.

"Goo Goodra Goo…"

"Dram Drampa PAAA!"

Goodra launched it's at Drampa, and the two disappeared into a flash of dust, smoke and talons. The air became loud with shrieks, bangs, growls and howls. Flashes of purple and yellow light and pillars of flame. Hunter turned away, putting a paw over his face to shield himself.

The Riolu wasn't entirely sure whether he'd passed out or not. Next thing he knew, he was being cradled in Cameron's arms. A light mist fell onto his face, soaking into his fur. At first, he thought it was raining, but then he noticed the full restore bottle clutched in Cameron's had.

"Hunter," Cameron cried with relief, a wide smile spreading across his face as he saw the Riolu opening his eyes. "You're awake. By Zekrom thunder. Lucario and I thought we'd lost you!"

"I did warn you, not to go running off."

Hunter titled his head to see Lucario crouched beside him on his other side. His voice sounded a little stern, but there was a smile on his muzzle and his eye showed, like Cameron's, warm relief.

"How are you feeling. Better?"

Each spray of the full restore onto Hunter's skin made him feel more alive. The pain had faded, his vision had come back and his strength was slowly returning. The bottle wasn't quite empty, when he felt strong enough to clamber out of Cameron's arms and back to his paws, much to Cameron's chagrin.

"Hey, sit back down. I'm not finished."

Cameron sprayed the rest of the bottle onto the top of Hunter's head, though the Riolu barely noticed or cared. He examined his surroundings. They were still by the edge of the cliff on the other side of the gorge. The rope bridge was gone – it must have burned away and fallen into the waters below.

Hydreigon was floating a little behind Cameron, answering the question as to how they got across. There was also two other Pokémon present. Growlithe, who upon seeing Hunter had recovered, bounded over to him.

"Hunter! Y-you're alright."

Growlithe tackled Hunter to the ground, pinning him down with a pair of furry paws on his chest, while he assaulted his muzzle and face with his tongue. Lick, lick, lick, lick….

"G-Growlithe," Hunter giggled. "Stop it."

"Never," barked the puppy Pokémon in reply, as he continued to coat Hunter's fur in saliva.

The other Pokémon present made a sound somewhere between a laugh and an indigent snort. Hunter put up a paw and managed to stop Growlithe licking him long enough to catch sight of Goodra, arms folded and wearing a scowl. His eyes narrowed.

"Do you have something to say?"

Goodra was a tall, human shaped dragon Pokémon, with a stubby tail and long antennae protruding from its head. It had purple skin, a pointed muzzle and seemed to be covered head to foot to tail in slime. Great green globs of the stuff oozed from orifices on arms, tail and under its chin.

"Oh nothing," the Goodra said coolly.

Goodra was male, though he spoke in a somewhat high-pitched feminine voice, that made him sound almost female. The most distinctive feature, whenever he spoke however, was that there was always a note of confidence and arrogance to it… Or at least Hunter thought so.

"I was just thinking that perhaps if you and your boyfriend didn't spend so much time messing around, and actually took your training seriously, you might be able to hold your own in battle… And not need Lucario, Hydreigon or I to bail you out."

"We're not boyfriends Floatzel face," Hunter snapped back, his fur bristling with anger. He pushed Growlithe off him and jumped to his paws. Why did this Goodra have a way of getting under his skin. "And I'm perfectly capable of holding my own in battle."

"And that's what you were doing against Drampa…."

"Shut up." Hunter growled, shaking his paw at the slimly dragon type. Oh, how he would love to focus blast the smirk off that Pokémon's face.

Growlithe, who had fallen on his stomach when Hunter pushed him, clambered back to his paws, and looked worrying between Hunter and Goodra. "Please, we're all friend here," he whined.

"Alright, knock it off you two," said Cameron sternly, seeing that a fight was possibly about to break out, and being determined to stop it.

"He started it," groaned Hunter, turning to pout at Cameron.

Cameron was not perturbed. "And I'm finishing it. No fighting or it's Pokéballs for both of you!"

Lucario let out a low growl, folding his arms and nodding his approval at Cameron's words. Hunter sighed and bowed his head. "Okay."

"Wise move," whispered Goodra. "You can talk tough all you like Riolu-boi. We both know you wouldn't last one attack turn against me…"

[Pokémon]

"Jerk, Jerk, Jerk," Hunter muttered to himself as they continued down the path, later that morning.

"He's not that bad," said Growlithe, thoughtfully. "He did save us."

Hunter folded his arms and kicked at the ground. A little swirl of dust rose around him. "Didn't have to be a jerk about it."

"You know I think he likes you!"

Hunter's eyes widened in a combination of shock and horror, causing Growlithe to give him a wide muzzled grin.

"Maybe that's why he's a jerk. He has a crush on you. It's unresolved sexual tension."

Hunter glowered at him. "Get your mind out the gutter, Growlithe."

Growlithe's smile widened, "You two should make up and start dating. Then you won't have to fight anymore." He poked Hunter playfully in the ribs with his nose giggling. That was until the Riolu grabbed a hold of his head. "What the, hey!"

"You keep talking Growlie, and I'm going to tickle you silly."

Growlithe glanced up at Hunter's face to see it was the Riolu grinning now. "Hehehe. Unresolved sexual tension…whoa."

In a flash Growlite found himself on the ground, with Hunter pinning him down. By the look of glee on Hunter's face, he knew he was screwed. "Uhhh."

"Unresolved sexual tension, huh," said Hunter.

"Err no…I was only…. heheheheehe. N-no no I was Bahahaha." Growlite broke out in a fit of laughter as Hunter mercilessly tickled his chest and stomach…