"Pidgeotto, Fearow, come on out!" I called, tossing the two pokeballs into the air as I did so. And soon the two bird type pokemon were standing before me.
"Geotto!"
"FEAR!"
Fearow immediately spread his wings wide to take up the entire clearing we were standing in, readily displaying his size and might as an alpha compared to the much smaller Pidgeotto.
"Ge..." The smaller flying type clicked his tongue irritably in response.
"Enough of that you two." I chastized them gently while clapping my hands to get their attention. "I called you two out because we're going to do a repeat of what we did in Viridian forest. I want you two to fly around and try to find any pokemon from the air. When you do, come and get me."
"Geo!"
"Fear!"
Saluting me with their wings, the two pokemon then took off before splitting into different directions to find some wild pokemon for me.
"Ready?" May asked as I watched the two of them fly away.
"Yep." I replied while turning to look at our destination, the large volcano that made this island, and now sat at it's center. The same volcano that Blaine ran his Gym from.
From where we were it would only take us about a day or so to get to the Gym, less time if we decided to fly since I could do so on Fearow. However we also had about three days to kill before our fossil pokemon were ready to collect, so we decided to spend the extra time going there and back looking for pokemon for me to catch.
May and I then set out as we started making our way up the slope leading to the base of the volcanic mountain, Celebi darting excitedly around us as we did.
"So how shocked do you think the professor will be when he sees your Slowking?" She asked with a smirk.
"Either a heart or panic attack." I answered after taking a second to think about it.
"Why a panic attack?"
"Because his lab might not be big enough for Slowking to stand in." I told her, and the two of us started laughting.
***
"Hoooound...."
Houndour let out a low growl as she crouched low to the ground, keeping her eyes on the prey ahead of her, the youngest in the herd of Stantler.
Though usually capable of sensing any possible threats through their limited psychic power, the Stantler were completely ignorant of her and her packmates presence as they slowly surrounded the herd, leaving only a small opening for the herd to flee through.
"DOOM!"
A bark from their pack leader finally alerted the Stantler that they were there, and Houndour leapt from the brush as she rushed at them alongside her brothers and sisters.
"STANTLER!"
The buck of the herd bugled in warning as all of them turned and fled from the Houndour surrounding them, fleeing through the only opening the pack had left. The pack however quickly closed the circle before the last of the herd could escape, the young Stantler that they had been eyeing before.
"STANT!" One of them, the mother, called back in distress at her child's impending doom. The bulb in the middle of her antlers began to glow as a psychic type attack assaulted the Houndour, only for them to collectively shrug it off thanks to their dark typing.
Soon, she was forced to flee as well as several of the Houndour peppered her with a series of Ember attacks. And all she could hear as she fled were the cries of her baby as one of the Houndour sank it's teeth into it's throat, bringing it down to feed the entire pack...
"Hound!"
Houndour barked happily as she and her packmates began to dig in to their meal, with Houndoom taking the tastiest portions for himself. Not that any of them minded.
As Houndour ripped off a section of the Stantler's flank, she was too busy eating to notice the shadow that descended upon the small clearing, until the rest of her packmates began to flee. Even Houndoom.
"Dour?" She barked at them curiously, only to finally turn her head back to see a massive shadowy figure descending upon her.
"HOUND!" She barked fearfully as she too tried to flee, only for the hunter to become the hunted.
***
"Pi pi! Geot!"
May and I looked up to see Pidgeotto overhead, crying loudly to get our attention while trying to point his wings in a certain direction.
"Has he found something?" May asked excitedly.
"He says he has!" I replied, hurrying through the brush after Pidgeotto with Celebi and May following behind me. After a few minutes, I finally found what it was that had Pidgeotto so excited.
"Be be be, Magby."
I watched quietly as the pokemon, a Magby that stood barely higher than two feet, plucked some berries from a bush to have for it's meal.
"Bingo~!" I whistled excitedly, already thinking about Magmar and Magmortar.
"Magby?!" It exclaimed in surprise as I stepped out from the brush, dropping it's berries as it seemingly prepared to fight.
"Spunky little guy, aren't you?" I said, even as flames began to come out of it's mouth with each breath.
"Magby! mag mag, be!" It declared angrily, even as Pidgeotto swooped down beside me.
"Geot!" He cried while taking a ready stance.
"Not this time." I told him while pulling a pokeball from my belt. "I still need your help trying to find more pokemon to catch. But if we're able I will have you battle one of them later when we're getting ready to make camp."
"Geo!"
Pidgeotto saluted in understanding with his wing before taking flight once more, already looking for more pokemon for me to catch.
"As for you..." I said while turning back to the little Magby. "I choose you, Tyrogue!"
"Ty ty!"
Tyrogue declared challengingly as he faced his opponent.
"Tyrogue, use Low Sweep!"
"Ty!"
Tyrogue shot forward at my command, racing at Magby on his powerful legs as the wild pokemon sprayed the area with an Ember attack. But with how nimble Tyrogue was he was able to easily avoid the attacks, before sweeping Magby off of it's feet.
"Now use Brick Break." I follwed up, and Tyrogue pivoted on his foot to drive his heel into the wild Magby, slamming it down into the ground with enough force that a puff of black smoke was forced out of it's mouth.
"Well done!" I praised him, before tossing a pokeball at the downed Magby.
Hitting it dead on, the Magby was sucked inside the pokeball before it began to shake back and forth, and then finally fell still.
"Nice! I got a Magby!" I celebrated as I collected the pokeball, before scanning it.
~~~
Magby- the Live Coal pokemon
Trainers can determine the health of their Magby through the color of the flames they breathe, with yellow showing good health while black smoke can show fatigue or other maladies. It's internal temperature usually rests at around 1,100 degrees F.
~~~
"I look forward to seeing what you can do." I said to the pokeball, before sending it along to the professor's lab. "And you did excellent." I said to Tyrogue.
"Tyrogue!" He declared, basically saying 'of course!'
I smiled at his attitude before recalling him to his pokeball, giving him a chance to rest before we encountered the next pokemon.
"Nice catch." May said as she stepped out from the treeline.
"Bebe~!" Celebi said in agreement.
"Just the first of the day it looks like." I said while looking up to the sky, where Pidgeotto seemed to have already found another pokemon. "Let's go."
***
"Quil, quil, quil."
Cyndaquil stealthily moved through the forest as it searched for something to eat, having finally emerged from his cave after spending the last several days hiding from the humans who wanted to catch him. Why couldn't they just leave him alone?
Cyndaquil was sure that the other pokemon that lived around here weren't being chased everywhere by humans as much as he was. Yet anytime one noticed him they would chase him around and around all through the forest, until either he was able to hide in his cave or he was cornered and forced to fight the pokemon they sent against him. Thankfully he was able to win each time.
"Cynda?"
Cyndaquil stuck his nose in the air as a fragrant scent reached him, drawing him to a bush full of blue berries that were just sitting there waiting to be eaten.
"Quiiiiiiiiiil!"
Cyndaquil quickly began to eat for the first time in days, gorging himself on berries until his belly was bloated. He then rolled over onto his back to bask his belly in the sun, feeling content for the first time in a while.
Of course, it couldn't last.
As Cyndaquil laid there in the grass, enjoying the sun on his body as he started to doze off, the sun suddenly disappeared.
"Quil?" He asked in confusion while opening his eyes, only to see a massive shadowy figure bearing down on him.
"QUIL?!" He exclaimed, trying to run away from the massive pokemon. But All Cyndaquil could do was roll back and forth on his back helplessly before he was picked up by a massive claw, and carried away.
***
"Horsea! I choose you!" I yelled while throwing out a pokeball.
"Horsea!" The little seahorse cried as she appeared in the stream.
"Growl...."
Meanwhile, the Growlithe standing on the other side of the river growled intimidatingly at her without trying to run away. It was the second pokemon that Pidgeotto had led us to so far.
"Growlithe!" It barked suddenly, fire filling it's mouth as it unleashed a stream of it at Horsea.
"Sea!"
Horsea dove under the water to avoid the flames as they danced on the surface, before resurfacing just long enough to spray it with a Water Gun attack. Then, she would dive once more as Growlithe would try to attack only to resurface a second later to attack again. And being weak to water, the Growlithe was unable to actually try and do more against Horsea than spray fire at her.
They played this game of Meowth and Rattata for a few minutes, with Horsea slowly wearing the Growlithe down, and the Growlithe being too stubborn to even think of running away from the fight despite losing. Eventually, Horsea shot up one last time and sprayed the Growlithe with a stream of pressurized bubbles, dealing enough damage that it finally dropped.
"Good job Horsea!" I praised her while quickly jumping over the river, and tapping a pokeball to Growlithe's body, sucking it inside. And since it was already unconscious, it was unable to put up much of a fight before the pokeball dinged to signal a successful capture.
~~~
Growlithe- the Puppy pokemon
Growlithe have a strong sense of loyaltytowards their trainers, and will defend them and their territories fiercely. They also have a superb sense of smell, to the point that they can track nearly anything once they can catch the scent.
~~~
I couldn't help but smile as I read Growlithe's information, before sending the pokeball back to the lab like I had Magby earlier. Then I immediately placed an order for a Fire Stone to be delivered to the Cinnabar island Pokemon Center that I could pick up when we finished our business with Blaine.
"A Fire Stone? Already?" May asked as she glanced at my phone.
"I won't evolve it right away, but it will be nice to have on hand for when I need it." I explained, already imaginging having my own Arcanine.
When my order was placed I readily returned my phone to my pocket before glancing up at the sky. The sun was beginning to set, and we would need to find a place to set up camp soon.
"Pidgeotto!" I called up to him.
"Geot?" He asked while diving so that he was hovering above the ground right in front of me.
"It's getting late. Want to try and find a spot for camp tonight?" I asked him.
"Ge geot!" He declared, and flew off to do just that.
***
"Vee vee veeee~! Vee vee veeee~!"
"Flareon~!"
"Vee vee veeee~!"
Eevee was in a good mood since she had managed to get her big brother to give her the juciest berry thanks to her newly learned move, Baby-Doll Eyes. Now the two of them were taking a leisurely stroll through the woods before they returned to their cave for the night.
The evening was Eevee's favorite time of day since the island started cooling down, and she wouldn't have to suffer as much with her thick fur in the sun and heat. Her brother also had really thick fur, but was a lot more comfortable in the heat due to being a Flareon. Something Eevee grumbled about every chance she got.
She couldn't wait to evolve as well!
Just as Eevee was wondering when she would be able to become a Flareon like her brother, the sky suddenly went completely dark.
"Vee?" She asked while looking around curiously.
"FLARE!" Flareon suddenly yelled, making Eevee look up to see a massive shadow swooping down at the two of them.
"Eevee?!" She exclaimed fearfully, immediately taking cover behind her brother as he began to gather flames.
"FLAAAAAAAAAAAAREON!" He cried as the shadow got closer, shooting flames at it in a attempt to try to drive whatever it was away. But with a single flap of it's powerful wings, the flames were blown back at them to harmlessly tickle Flareon's fur, while Eevee was protected from them by her brother.
The last thing Eeevee saw was the shadow's claws reaching for her and her brother, before she lost consciousness.
***
"Dinners ready~!" May called as I finished setting up the tent.
"Just in time." I replied as I went to take a seat around the fire we had gotten going as soon as we found a decent spot to camp. A ledge that overlooked the southern coast of the island where we could just barely see the glow of the lights in the city to the north, and the smoke coming from the volcano on One island to the south.
"I made this with the seasonings I got in town while you were picking up Lapras." May said as she handed me my plate, which smelled amazing. "Fire fried Stantler steaks seasoned with a local blend, and served with a side of Tamato berry sauce."
"It smells delicious." I said while picking up a piece of the steak with my fork, dipping it into the sauce and sampling it. Only for unbearable heat to fill my mouth.
"It's a little hot though." I told her as my eyes began to water.
"Really? It tastes fine to me." May said as she took a big bite, seeming entirely unfazed by how hot the sauce was.
"..."
I just shook my head wryly and continued eating, but only tasting the sauce in small amounts to keep it from being overwhelming. Just as I was about to finish eating, my phone chimed to alert me to a new message.
"Oh? Just who are you talking to?" May asked teasingly as I pulled it out.
"Gary." I replied, before showing her the picture Gary posted to our groupchat of all the new pokemon he'd caught recently. In it was a Farfetch'd, Tauros, Nidorino, Nidorina, and Ponyta.
"He's been busy." May said as she looked at the picture.
"He's not the only one." I replied, before posting several pictures from the last few days to the chatroom, each one featuring the new pokemon I had captured. Especially Slowking.
I then set my phone to the side as I finished eating, ignoring the sudden influx of messages I started getting just a few seconds after posting.
"You're terrible." May said with a smirk as my phone kept going off.
"Blame Gary for not even trying to remove that stick he has up his ass." I told her wryly, making May giggle.
The two of us quickly finished our meal before cleaning up for the night, during which I glanced around worriedly.
"What's up?" May asked as she seemingly noticed my concern.
"Fearow hasn't come back yet." I told her, and May frowned as she too started looking skyward.
"That's right... Should I send Altaria and Beautifly out to look for him?" She offered.
"Maybe..... wait." I said as I noticed something flying towards us. Something big.
May and I watched as Fearow swooped down towards us out of the sky, carrying several somethings in his talons that he dropped on the ground right in front of me. A Houndour. A Cyndaquil. A Flareon. And an Eevee.
"Fearow, row!" Fearow delcared as he landed gracefully and stuck his chest out with pride at his work.
"What is this?" I asked in a dull voice while pointing to the pile of unconscious pokemon before me.
"Fearow, row row, Fearow!" He declared proudly.
"So instead of leading me to the pokemon like I asked, you just decided to beat them up yourself and bring them to me?"
"Row!"
"Moron." I told him bluntly, and the bird deflated when he realized that I wasn't praising him.
"While I do appreciate the thought, being a pokemon trainer isn't just about efficiency. I like to battle and beat them myself." I tried to explain to him.
"Row?"
Naturally, Fearow didn't understand.
"Haaa... Whatever." I said while pulling out some empty pokeballs, and tapping them to each of the pokemon Fearow brought me anyways. No reason not to when he already went through the trouble. Especially since one of them was a Cyndaquil.
~~~
Eevee- the Evolution pokemon
Eevee has the most unstable genetic makeup of any known pokemon, resulting in them being able to evolve into any one of eight known forms depending on their environment. Because of this, finding this pokemon specifically in the wild before it evolves is quite rare.
~~~
Flareon- the Flame pokemon
The fur of Flareon also releases heat to properly manage this pokemon's body tempurature, which can reach a maximum of 1,650 degrees Fahrenheit. The fire it exhales though can reach up to 3,000 degrees.
~~~
Cyndaquil- the Fire Mouse pokemon
This pokemon emits flames on it's back to protect itself from possible predators, with the flames themselves burning quite vigorously when it is angry. When it is tired though, they sputter while losing intensity.
~~~
Houndour- the Dark pokemon
Houndour hunt in a coordinated pack, usually at the command of a Houndoom. They will use their cries to communicate while on the hunt, and have some of the most flawless teamwork seen amongst wild pokemon.
~~~
Despite how exasperated he left me, I couldn't help but to smile as I admired the new entrees in my Pokedex, as well as the money that entered my account after I registered them and sent them to professor Oak's lab. Then there were the pokemon themselves.
Cyndaquil was one of the starters for the Johto region, and was pretty rare to find in the wild. Meanwhile Eevee was versatile in possible evolutions for the future. I also already had a Flareon, but Eevee could be evolved into any other seven possible forms, Jolteon, Vaporeon, Espeon, Umbreon, Leafeon, Glaceon and Sylveon.
I might just end up letting it evolve on it's own when it was ready, but just in case I added a Water Stone, Thunder Stone, Sun Stone, Dusk Stone, Ice Stone and Leaf Stone to my list to be delivered with my Fire Stone. Even if Eevee didn't use any of them, I was more likely than not to use them at some point in the future regardless.
(A.N. I'm making it to where Umbreon and Espeon can be obtained with Dusk and Sun Stones since friendship evolution doesn't really make sense outside of specific examples, like Sylveon for one. Also, comment which form you'd like to see Noah's first Eevee take!)
I then opened the group chat to see the long string of messages posted by Gary and Ash, mostly amazement from the latter and indignation from the former. But instead of replying to either of them, I instead posted another update to include the four pokemon Fearow just brought me, bringing the day's total to eight new pokemon.
While I was doing all of that, May came out of the tent with what looked like a picnic blanket that she laid out on the ground by the ledge.
"What's that for?" I asked as she laid down on it, and I made to join her as we both stared up at the darkening sky.
"I just thought we'd do some star gazing." May replied coyly.
"Come on, tell me." I pressed, lightly poking her side where I knew she was ticklish.
"No~." She stated in a brat-like tone.
"Tell me, or I might have to get rough with you little missy~!" I threatened while doing a rouge-like impression, lightly poking her side once again.
"Oh dear me, whatever will I do?" May sighed dramatically, and then I pounced.
May's screams echoed throughout the wilderness around us as I relentlessly tickled her in every one of her ticklish spots, and May desperately tried to get away while also trying to return the favor. We rolled around on the blanket for several minutes as we roughhoused, ending with her pinned under me while I planted my hands on either side of her head and May panted tiredly.
We then stared into each other's eyes, my emerald green focused completely on her sapphire blues, even as complete darkness swallowed us. Just as I was about to lean in a give her a tender kiss, suddenly May's face was lit up with eerie red lights.
"What the-?" I muttered, before May rolled me off of her to see the night sky above us, filled with swirling waves of reds and purples that danced throughout the skies.
"Woah..." I uttered in awe of the display.
"Surprise." May said beside me, drawing my attention back to her as she laid on her side to look at me. "I read about these aurora's while I was at the store earlier, and thought it would be nice to camp out and watch them together."
"They're beautiful." I told her honestly, my hand finding hers to hold as she rolled onto her back to watch them as well.
"Does anyone know what causes them?" I asked curiously.
"No one knows exactly. According to local legend, a meteor fell to earth somewhere around the Sevii Islands over a hundred years ago, and the aurora have been a near nightly phenomenon ever since. All scientists know for sure is that they aren't formed the same way as the lights found in the north and south poles." May explained in a soft voice.
"A meteor..." I murmured as a thought occured to me. One that both excited and terrified me.
"Noah?" May asked worriedly.
"It's nothing, for now at least." I said to placate her. After all, even if I was right, there was no way in hell I would be able to confirm it just yet with how weak my pokemon still were. Even Celebi was still basically a newborn. A powerful newborn. But a newborn all the same.
May and I laid here for what felt like hours watching the aurora dancing through the sky above us, punctuated by the occassional shooting star. And just when I was starting to think that we would even sleep out here under the lights like this, May began to move as she rolled back on top of me before pressing her lips against my own.
The kiss was gentle, with undercurrents of yearning mixed in as May slid her hands under my shirt, and my hands made their way to her hips.
The removal of our clothes was slow and sensual, almost ritualistic as we both became increasingly naked under the night sky, and May continued peppering me with her kisses while I continued my caresses. And then, once we were both naked, she sheathed me inside her.
I know it may not mean much coming from a guy who's entire life experience spanned only a matter of weeks instead of years, but trust me when I tell you that the glow of the aurora that illuminated May's bare skin as she rode me was the most beautiful thing I had ever seen.
And I could only assume it was the same from her as we made slow and sensuous love under the light that danced through the starry sky.