I have no idea if you're reading this on a Wednesday or a Thursday. I'm writing this on Wednesday because I'm bored at work and am looking forward to writing an upcoming part of this volume. But, there's always the chance that I will stop writing this and pick up on Thursday, I really have no idea. But if it is Wednesday when you read this then don't worry, I will still be uploading a chapter on Thursday, as well as today. Now, the first part of this chapter was supposed to happen at the end of the previous one, but I completely ran out of steam. So, I'm going to gloss over it here, and then quickly move on to the bread and butter of the chapter. Enjoy.
Chapter 33:
A Shiftry Situation
When Max and Kenny reunite with the rest of Max's friends, Bonnie immediately tackles him in a celebratory hug. Then, she lets him go and rounds on her brother, telling him that if he took a picture and sent it to their father, she'd personally make sure that every invention he builds blows up. Clemont assures her that he did no such thing, then immediately declares that they're going to celebrate Max's success. He politely declines, saying that he doesn't deserve it, but Clemont won't hear of it and insists. So, the company head for the nearest restaurant. While there, they discuss their plans. Since there's a bit of time before the next contest, Shauna wants to go and see Dewford Island, so Tierno is going with her. Now that Clemont and Korrina have seen Max's contest, they're planning on staying in Fallarbor for a few more days, then head off somewhere else. As for Kenny, he explains that he wants to travel to the Volcano to catch a fire type.
Bonnie's eyes light up at this. "This region has a volcano!?" she asks. Max nods, laughing slightly. "Oh, we're so going to see that!" she exclaims. "Max, let's go!" Max and Kenny look at each other and grin. "Well," says Max, "I guess we'll be travelling with you for a bit." "Seems like it," Kenny agrees. "But don't count on learning any strategies from me." The two boys laugh, then high-five. Once their celebration is finished, everyone heads back to the pokémon centre and into their various rooms for the night. Then, the next morning, they say their goodbyes, and go their separate ways, but not before Clemont asks Max to take care of his little sister, much to his and her embarrassment.
A few days go by without much happening. Kenny and Max catch each other up on the goings-on in their lives while Bonnie trains. Or at least, she tries to. Max can definitely tell now that something is bothering his best friend, and he has the feeling it's got more to do with Trixie than just losing to her. But he doesn't quite know how to approach the topic with her, as she brushes him off everytime he asks if she's alright. So, he decides to leave her alone for now. If this continues in Lavaridge, then he'll find out what's happening, even if he has to stage an intervention with their pokémon. For now, he's content with the three of them travelling together along the route to the Volcano.
After another few days, they finally reach it. Only to be met with a strange sight. The cable car up to the Volcano isn't moving. There seems to be some security guards standing at the entrance to them, looking quite serious. Curious, Max approaches. Immediately, one of the guards spots him and stops him. "I'm sorry," he says. "But the Volcano is off limits right now." "What?" Kenny asks. "Why?" "Champion's orders," the guard explains. "It seems like the Volcano has started to become active once again. We've closed it off to the public until the threat has been properly assessed." For some reason, Max finds this a bit hard to believe. Bit he just nods and leads the others away from the cable car. "That doesn't seem right," Kenny comments as they walk away. "That Volcano has been dormant for over 50 years. How can it be active now?" "I don't know," Max replies. "But I'm suspicious. No way Brendan would make an order like that and not tell the public about it!" "Maybe he did while we were in Kalos?" Bonnie asks. Kenny shakes his head. "Nope," he says. "I haven't left Hoenn before, so I'd know. He never made an announcement like that."
Now, the three of them are getting very suspicious. So, they agree to go back and see if they can climb the mountain themselves. But as they turn around, they hear the sound of an aeroplane in the air. Immediately, Max and Bonnie are on edge, while Kenny is confused. "What's wrong?" he asks. "It's just an aeroplane." "That's not what we're worried about," Bonnie tells him. "It's who's piloting it that could he a problem." Kenny is about to ask what she means, when the plane comes into view. Sure enough, it has a big green T on the sides if it. Kenny doesn't need that explained to know how bad the situation is. "We need to run," says Max. "Now!" The others follow him without a word of argument. But it's already too late. The plane swoops down on them and launches ropes. "Oh, not again!" Max complains. He shoves Kenny out of the way and dodges the ropes. The plane flies overhead, then swoops back round and goes in for another attack. This gives Bonnie a dangerous, and very bad idea.
She pulls out Nuzleaf and orders him to use Vine Whip to attach them together. Then, she orders him to attach them to the underside of the plane. Nuzleaf looks at her sceptically, but does that. Max has just enough time to hear this and spin around before she's already in the air. "Bonnie, what are you doing!?" he calls. "Taking a look at the Volcano!" she calls back. "Keep running, I'll be back!" Max wants to pull Wingull out to cut her free, but he knows that she'll just reattach herself to the plane. So, he runs out in front of the plane, trying to get it to swoop near enough to the Volcano so Bonnie can see what the problem is. This plan works. The plane fires more ropes out at him and Kenny, but both boys manage to dodge them. So, it swoops around, giving Bonnie a good look at the Volcano. Unfortunately, they seem to also notice that someone has stowed away on board, as they begin to spiral around and do loop-de-loops, trying to throw her off. Max releases Wingull, but before he can order her to do anything, Bonnie and Nuzleaf come free and begin to fall. As they fall a rope comes out of the bottom of the plane and ensnares her. "Wingull, use Gust!" Max shouts. "Cut her free!" Wingull salutes, then flies up and slices through the rope.
Bonnie and Nuzleaf begin to fall again, and Bonnie holds onto him tightly, hoping to protect him from the fall. But Nuzleaf doesn't want that. He wants to protect her. He will protect her. As he decides this, he begins to glow. The small leaf on his head grows to cover most of his body, and he becomes bigger. With his increased size and strength, he controls the trees slightly, enough to catch the two of them and have them land safely. When Bonnie stares at her Nuzleaf, she sees that he has now evolved into a Shiftry. Shiftry cries out in triumph, then uses the trees and some vines to pull Team Terra's plane out of the air. Luckily for the passengers on board, the plane was close to the ground, meaning they're able to get out of the vehicle without too much damage to them. But they're still livid however. To Max and Bonnie's annoyance, it's Debbie and Cooper who step out of the plane. "I swear to Arceus if one more person knock us our of the sky," says Debbie angrily, "I will kamikaze right into them!" Cooper nods in agreement, massaging his jaw. "We crashed your plane," Bonnie shouts. "So can you kindly sod off!" Both agents grin to each other. "I'm afraid we cannot do that," says Cooper. "Because you see, we have a mission to complete. And a bit if payback to give!" Then, they send out their pokémon.
The two agents are left stunned, while the 3 kids struggle not to laugh at the sight before them. "Well now," Max chuckles. "It appears the crash has knocked your pokémon out." Kenny bursts out laughing at this, before releasing his Polliwhirl. "Meanwhile," he says, "we still have all of ours!" Debbie and Cooper stare at them, then at their pokémon. Then, they return them and make a quick getaway. "You may have won this round!" they call back. "But we'll get you! One if these days!" Then, they're gone. The three kids laugh at their retreating forms, before the boys turn to look at Bonnie. "What did you see?" Kenny asks. "Nothing," Bonnie replies. They look disappointed by this. "No, I mean literally nothing," Bonnie continues. "No smoke, no bubbling lava, not even a glow. There was absolutely no sign of an imminent eruption." Max thinks about this. "That is strange," he says. "Them there's no doubt about it, something is definitely going on at the Volcano." "So, why don't we go back and see if we can find out what?" Max shakes his head. "With Team Terra patrolling around here, it would be too dangerous," he says. "I'll question brendan about it the next time I see him. He's a friend of May's." Both Kenny and Bonnie stare at him with shock. "You know the Hoenn Champion!?" they both ask. "You know the Kalos Champion," Max points out to Bonnie. "And both of you know or have met the current Monarch. It's not that impressive." Both of them shrug, understanding his point.
As thry head to the nearest Pokémon Centre for the night, the three of them speculate on exactly what could be going on at the Volcano. While they each have differing ideas on what thst is, they all agree that, most likely, Brendan knows nothing about this. Max tries to call him to ask, but he keeps getting sent straight to voicemail, so he decides to just ask him in person. After a bit more travelling, they reach the Pokémon Centre in question. Once they've got their pokémon healed, they sit down to discuss their next move. Kenny informs them that he's planning on sticking around the area a bit linger to find a fire type for his contests, while Max and Bonnie are planning to continue on their way to Lavaridge. Once that's decided, Kenny stands up. "Well," he says, "if I want to catch a Fire type before my next contest, I'd better get a move on." "You're leaving?" Max asks. Kenny nods. "I want to get one as soon as possible. Plus, no offence meant, but travelling with you seems much too dangerous." The three kids laugh, before Kenny asks what they're going to be doing. "We're going to stay hear until tomorrow," says Max. "Then we're off to Lavaridge." Kenny nods at this, then holds his hand out. "Well, it was dun travelling with you, even if it was just for a few days." Max nods and shakes his hand, as does Bonnie. "See you around Kenny," Max tells him. Kenny nods, then heads out of the Pokémon Centre, and back towards the Volcano.
So, I actually managed to get this out on Wednesday, go me! I'm sure you're all curious about what's going on on the Volcano, but you're going to have to wait and see. Now, as for why I've capitalised Volcano, I'm writing this on my phone, and for some reason the autocorrect keeps capitalising it. But anyway, with that, I'll see you tomorrow with the next chapter, and don't worry, it's one that I've been planning for a while.