CHAPTER TWENTY-NINE:
ON THE TRAIL
-Aura-
It'd been almost a week of traveling and we still couldn't find Udon.
Throughout our journey, we had already stopped at 3 different towns, and no one had given us any information. We were starting to lose hope.
"Admit it," Amp said. "We're never gonna find him. We're running out of food and water, we've been on our feet for days, and we're not getting any closer. I say, we turn back."
"No," I replied. "Not yet. There's still a chance."
"I'm with Amp on this one," Loom said. "We have to face facts, Udon may be gone forever."
I didn't want to give up. We were just arriving at our next stop, Bliburn. I knew, in my heart, that this place would give us answers.
"Let's just stop here for a little bit," I said. "We'll ask some questions and search around. If there's nothing here, we reevaluate."
After exploring for a while and questioning almost every Pokémon we passed, we stopped for a bite to eat at a small café. The three of us still knew nothing.
"Well, things aren't looking good," I stated, before taking a bite of a croissant.
"I'm sorry, Aura," Loom said. "I know you really wanted to find him."
I nodded. It was time I come to terms with the truth.
But then, as I was about to lose hope, I heard something from another table.
"Did you hear about the Dragonite?"
My ears perked up. I couldn't help but turn around. Two Pokémon were having lunch together. They had to be talking about Udon, right?
"You mean, the one that attacked the sky?" I heard the other Pokémon say.
"Yeah, he was weird," the first one said. "I swear, his paw was emitting some kind of energy. Like electricity or something."
Yup, they were definitely talking about him.
"Excuse me," I interrupted. "I couldn't help but overhear. Did, by any chance, this Dragonite have a bag with him?"
The two Pokémon turned to face us.
"Looked like it," one of them said. "Why? Did you see him too?"
"Yeah, Strange guy," I lied. "Now, this is gonna sound weird, but did you know where he ran off to?"
They seemed confused. I guess my question put them off a little.
"I think he went to the Violet Inn down the road," the other one said. "Why do you want to know?"
"Just curious," I said. "Thank you for the information."
I turned back around to face Loom and Amp. A smile grazed my face.
"No freaking way," Amp exclaimed.
"Yes freaking way!" I said, excitedly. "I told you we would find out something. Now, come on, let's get a move on."
"Uh…can we finish our food first?" Loom asked as I stood up to leave.
"Oh…" I said, sitting back down. "Yeah, of course."
After we finished eating, we made our way towards the place where we would, hopefully, find Udon. The Violet Inn.
The inn was pretty kept-up with on the inside and out. But we weren't there to stay, we were there to find our friend.
At the front desk was a large Pokémon with a hefty bulb on its back that blossomed into a flower. A Venusaur.
"Hello, how may I help you?" she asked, kindly.
"Hi, we're looking for a Pokémon that might've checked in here," I said. "Have you seen a Dragonite by the name of Udon?"
"Oh, yes, I remember him," the Venusaur said. "Very low-spirited. Kinda disjointed. Seemed physically drained."
Listening to her talk about him was sad. Udon used to be such a kind and fun soul. The way she described him made him seem like the exact opposite.
"He checked out this morning," she continued.
My heart sank. We were too late.
"Did he say where he was off to?" I asked, hoping for good news.
"No," she answered. "He didn't really talk too much at all."
This was the worst thing we could've heard. Now, we had nothing again. Back to square one.
"Well, thanks anyways," I said, turning away.
As we exited the building, a few tears rolled down my face. We were never going to see Udon again.
"Are you okay?" Loom asked.
"I'm fine," I said, drying my eyes with my paw. "It's just… I really wish we could've done something. I don't want to lose any more friends."
"There is one more place we could look," Amp said, showing off a flyer he found.
The flyer was for a museum in Cinnabar, exploring the creation of a certain Pokémon we had, unfortunately, had background with.
Mewtwo.
"Maybe he saw this and he's on his way there," Amp continued. "Wouldn't surprise me. I mean, he does have a vendetta against Mewtwo."
"Wouldn't hurt to look," I said. "Is that okay with everyone?"
Amp and Loom nodded.
"We don't wanna lose any friends either," Loom said.
So, it was settled. We would begin traveling to Cinnabar in hopes that Udon would be there.
It was a long shot, but we had no other choice.