Pokemon Fan Fiction ❯ The Journey Onward ❯ Chapter Three: The First Step of a Thousand Miles ( Chapter 3 )

Chapter Three: The First Step of a Thousand Miles

 

 

 

“Well?” A suggestion of annoyance hovered in Krissy's voice. “Are we there yet?”

 

Rachel cast a glance at her map, flat and not nearly as detailed as Kathryn's hologram but reliable nonetheless. This was the third time today Krissy had voiced the same question (the number of times she had asked since leaving Professor Oak's was ridiculous, they'd only been traveling for three days now!). Rachel just couldn't figure out why Krissy had agreed to do something she so obviously hated. She hadn't once seen Krissy release her Charmander and her Ponyta was only kept out for travel, being ushered swiftly back to the pokéball when the days ride was done. Kathryn dealt with the brunt of Krissy's anger, though how she did it with a smile made Rachel puzzled. The scathing remarks rolled off Kathryn's back like water off a Golduck!

 

“One more day.” She hoped her voice didn't reveal how relieved her answer made her. “One more day and we should be exiting Viridian Forest and entering Viridian.”

 

Kathryn rode a little straighter after hearing that. Three days and she'd barely seen any Pokémon. She was going through Pokémon (and battle) withdrawal. How was she ever going to help her Pokémon gain experience without challenging other trainers?

 

“Let's camp for the day and finish it all tomorrow.”

 

Krissy's words hissed through the air, her reply that fast. “We should just keep riding!”

 

Kathryn had hoped to avoid this but Rachel hadn't suggested a stop yet. The Ponytas were great for traveling, yes, but they weren't cars or bikes. She could feel Blaze's breath slowly becoming more and more labored as they traveled today. It wasn't right or fair to deny them a rest. Both the human and Pokémon would feel better for it, she felt sure of it.

 

“But I'm hungry, Krissy. It's past lunchtime and we haven't eaten yet!”

 

“So? You should have eaten a bigger breakfast!”

 

Kathryn took a breath and let out a wail. “I'm hungry nowwwwwww!”

 

“Alright! Shut up already!”

 

Kathryn caught the burning, reproachful look that Krissy sent her way but pretended not to notice by squealing gleefully and tossing up her arms. “Food!”

 

Seeing her perfectly good glare was being ignored, Krissy looked away from Kathryn and began to focus on find a spot for lunch because she was hungry, not Kathryn.

 

“Lunch and only lunch,” Krissy grumbled, not knowing that Kathryn was already plotting.

 

 

 

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The forest didn't have much in the way of “fine dining” arrangements. Either the area was swarming with bugs (not the Pokémon kind, Kathryn would have had a field day with that, more like the annoying, mosquito kind), grass that felt the need to show the trees it could be tall too, or funky jungle sweat sock smell (with a hint of death for flavor). It seemed like forever but they finally succeeded in finding a level piece of land by a small creek that wasn't too bad off.

 

Dismounting, Krissy prepared to return Ponyta but Kathryn shook her head.

 

“Leave her out.” Kathryn patted Blaze on the wither before hopping down and releasing Nashley. “They'll act like giant bug zappers.” Her head tilted up to the left a little, her eyes looking towards the canopy of leaves. “In fact, you should take out Charmander too. His tail'll help.”

 

Unable to find a flaw with Kathryn's logic, Krissy reluctantly released Charmander. The little lizard shook his head upon emerging and looked about, clearly surprised by his surroundings. And who wouldn't be? The last he knew, he'd been at the Professor's.

 

Hnnmm? He stretched upward, straining to get his nose as high in the air as he could. Scenting the water from the creek, he turned to look behind him, suddenly realizing his own thirst. Heading toward it, he was brought up short by a yell. Head jerking up, he turned to face the threat only to find a human glowering down at him, hands on hip. Shrinking down, his tail lowered from its typical erect position, causing some of the green grass nearest to it to smolder. This only seemed to elicit even more loud noises from the human.

 

“Krissy!” There was a critical tone in Kathryn's voice as she reprimanded her friend.

 

Krissy swiveled quickly, turning her back to Charmander. “What?! He's setting the grass on fire!”

 

“Don't yell at him, be nice to him.”

 

Krissy wanted to snap out that she hadn't wanted him to begin with but bit back the retort. Slowly turning, she saw that the lizard was looking at her, brilliant azure eyes wide as it examined her.

 

“Chaaar?” It tilted its head a little, continuing to stare at her.

 

“Don't look at me like that!”

 

“Char…mander?”

 

Great. It didn't understand a bloody word she said. Why did she get the stupid one?

 

“Kathryn! Trade me Pokémon!” Krissy demanded.

 

No answer.

 

“Kathryn?”

 

When she looked, the only ones in the clearing were her, Rachel, the Ponytas, Charmander, and Nashley.

 

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“Stupid bugs.” Kathryn swatted a pesky bloodsucker that had landed on her arm. At least she thought it was a bloodsucker… it was hard to tell now that it was all squished.

 

“Well, now we have to stay longer.” A grin overtook her features. “They can't leave without me.” A look of uncertainty passed over. “Can they?” She gave it a full seconds worth of contemplation before shrugging and continuing deeper into the woods, pausing once in a while to tie a small, brightly colored piece of string on a low branch or twig. It wouldn't do for her to get permanently lost, Krissy was sure to be furious as it was. Well, she had told Rachel where she was going…

 

A small rustling noise caught her attention and she had a pokéball in her hand before the thought even registered to grab one. Out of a bush flapped an exhausted looking Pidgey. It looked so weak, in fact, that she didn't have the heart to catch it.

 

Kathryn held still, not wanting to be on the receiving end of a Gust attack. The Pidgey gave one or two more flaps before collapsing to the ground in a heap of feathers.

 

Moving closer to the bird, she got about a foot away when she heard another rustling sound in the bushes. Gently picking up the Pidgey, she spotted an empty knot in a tree and put the little Pokémon inside it. Instantly afterwards, a young male trainer came bursting through the shrubs.

 

His ebony hair cupped his face in shadows, obscuring his expressions from her. Just as a tingling sensation of fear began to creep along her neck, he looked up at her.

 

He seemed taken aback by her presence, his brows slanting as he openly studied her. She'd guess he was eleven, maybe twelve (if pressed). He was a few inches taller and had the most memorizing bronze eyes… The longer she looked the more she felt reality slip away till she finally had to yank her eyes away to save herself from being lost in them. Suddenly, he smiled, amusement so prominently displayed that she felt for sure it was a front.

 

“Hey, I thought I was the only trainer around here.” He took a step forward, the air seeming to grow still around them.

 

“No way, me too!” Her laugh sounded nervous even to her ears. “Well, cept for Rachel and Krissy, of course!” Then, as though it was for his benefit, she elaborated. “They're traveling with me on my journey. How bout you?”

 

“You could say…I'm on a journey.” Her reaction seemed to entertain him for some reason but she couldn't tell why. “You wouldn't happen to have seen a Pidgey come this way, would you?” He looked off to his right, appearing uninterested in the question but then why would he have asked?

 

“A Pidgey? Is it yours?”

 

“It will be.”

 

His soft voice didn't mesh with the darkness hidden in his eyes. For some reason, she felt that it was in Pidgey's best interests that he didn't get a hold of it.

 

“Hey! Why don't we battle?” Her features became more animated. “I haven't had a trainer battle yet.”

 

“Sure, but if I win, you'll tell me where that Pidgey got to.”

 

Kathryn said nothing, her heart thudding softly in her chest. He was looking her over too intently…

 

“What's your name, first?” He pulled out a Pokéball, his long raven locks casting even more shadows over his features.

 

“Krystal.” The lie slipped out easily enough that she could almost believe it herself. “You?”

 

For an instant, she didn't think he was going to say. “Chad.”

 

“Two on two?”

 

“Fine.” His answer was short. “Let's go.”

 

He threw his out first, a Sneasel emerging with a wicked little smile as it shifted its shoulders, nose flaring. It ran a claw through the dirt, easily parting soil and roots as it waited.

 

Ice and Dark…Nashley would have been a good match. Her fingers played over her choices. Heck, even Ponyta would have worked out well. So much for that…

 

“Let's go, Urusaiwan!”

 

Throwing forth the pokéball, the Meowth appeared, back arched and hissing. The two Pokémon went at each other before their trainers even issued a command, clashing together and tumbling about, trying to sink their claws into the other.

 

“Urusaiwan, Bite!”

 

Chad didn't say a word, just folded his arms and watched the battle. When Kathryn glanced at him, expecting him to issue some kind of command, he just kept watching.

 

Urusaiwan managed to sink her fangs into the Sneasel's tail feathers and pulled hard. The Sneasel yowled and swung wildly with its paw, attempting to Slash at Urusaiwan but the Meowth had already let go and dodged the swipe.

 

“Icy Wind.”

 

Sneasel jumped back, sucking a gulp of air before letting it all out in a whoosh, snow and ice mingling with the breathe as it blew into Urusaiwan.

 

“Ice Punch.”

 

Sneasel rushed forward, pulling back her right claw, a white hue glowing around her paw.

 

“Growl!”

 

At Kathryn's command, Urusaiwan let out a huge rumble, standing her ground. Sneasel faltered in her attack and just missed a critical hit, instead just brushing by Urusaiwan's shoulder, ice crystals forming.

 

“Screech!”

 

The ear piercing noise made Sneasel jerk back, her defenses decreasing, and Kathryn quickly pursued the advantage.

 

“Now, Fury Swipes!”

 

The Meowth eagerly followed the order, leaping at the Sneasel who barely had time to throw up its hands in defense. Meowth got in four good swipes before Sneasel kicked her off.

 

“Headbutt.”

 

Sneasel landed a blow that left Urusaiwan with the wind knocked out of her and helpless. Rather than press his attack, he just stood there and continued to watch with something akin to boredom. His Sneasel didn't seem to care and pursued to attack with a Fury Cutter that missed but still managed to shear some of Urusaiwan's fur off.

 

“Urusaiwan, Fury Swipes!”

 

The Meowth once again leapt at the Sneasel but this time, Sneasel evaded by using Agility and zipped easily out of the way.

 

“Bite!”

 

Urusaiwan growled softly, watching the Sneasel who was just grinning at her, waiting. So she was a little rusty, so what?! Making half a leap, she watched as Sneasel almost seemed to vanish in thin air. Almost because the Meowth had long ago figured out the trick to Agility. Yes, it was handy for evading your opponents, however, there was a small window of opportunity that she had to attack. She'd long ago figured out how Agility worked.

 

You see, when a Pokémon used that particular ability, they expelled many bursts of energy in a small amount of time (thus, the unique blurring of near invisibility as an after effect). Beyond the fact that it was draining after continual usage (as most abilities or attacks were), there was a split second that the ability needed to “recharge” before using another burst (the moment was marked by the “solidifying” of a Pokémon when they stopped moving). Now, by making a feint for the Sneasel…

 

Ha!

 

As soon as she landed from her little jump, she leapt at the exact spot where Sneasel seemed to re-appear. The look on its face was priceless! The eyes widened and its mouth gaped open as Urusaiwan's claws stretched out and she widened her mouth. Time stilled for a brief instant before fast-forwarding, her body plowing the Sneasel to the ground as her fangs dug into the tender flesh between the shoulder and the neck. It may have tried to scream but its holler was chocked as her grip tightened…

 

And suddenly it was gone.

 

Urusaiwan was as surprised as Kathryn by the sudden retrieval of Sneasel. Following suit, she returned Urusaiwan just as Chad threw out his secondary Pokémon, a rather large Murkrow that opened its yellow beak once before clicking it shut. Its eyes rolled back to look at its trainer before looking forward as Kathryn sent out Chomper.

 

She wasn't really sure what kind of match this would be, Water vs. Dark. She once again wished for one of her Fire types but quickly turned her attention to the battle at hand as Murkrow took to the air.

 

“Chomper, Water Gun!”

 

He sent out several spurts of water at the Murkrow but it evaded them rather easily with a simple flap of its wings.

 

“Astonish.”

 

Once again, Chad issued a simple command without much enthusiasm. Murkrow swooped down on Chomper, waiting a split second before crashing into him before pulling up and spreading its wings out, a loud “CAW!” causing Chomper to flinch away.

 

“Nightshade.”

 

The area around Murkrow seemed to darken, its crimson eyes and pale beak gleaming in stark contrast as the aura lashed out and rammed into Chomper, toppling him over with a startled squeak.

 

Pulling himself up, Chomper shook his head and sent a nasty look at the foul bird who had already taken to the safety of the air. Turning his head a little, he managed to keep the bird in his sight while catching sight of his trainer out of the corner of his eye. She didn't seem worried and he took comfort in that, turning his attention back to the fight at hand.

 

“Chomper, use Leer!”

 

“Dile!”

 

Murkrow opened its beak and clicked it shut again, seemingly unaffected by the impressive Leer being sent its way. Chomper tried even harder but it just gave a jeering laugh.

 

“Steel Wing.”

 

Circling around, the Murkrow sneered before diving once again at the Totodile. There was a metallic sound as its wings gleamed silver, stiffening.

 

“WATER GUN!”

 

Startled by the shout, Chomper didn't hesitate to obey but sent the largest spray he could.

 

One moment Murkrow was dive-bombing its opponent. The next, it was sputtering water, desperately trying to flap its wings. Unfortunately for it, Steel Wing had temporarily hardened its wings so it could carry out its attack and it didn't have the strength to pull up. Chomper had to hastily dive out of the way as Murkrow got a face full of dirt, leaving a small trench behind it. Little spirals took the place of its eyes and Kathryn was slightly disappointed by the shortness of the battle. She returned Chomper, not even noticing Chad had returned his. When she looked up from putting Chomper's pokéball back on her belt, Chad was suddenly upon her.

 

She had been worried before by her inability to read him. Now, it was as though he'd stripped away the barrier dividing his emotions from her view and unleashed them directly at her. She had never seen such pure, undiluted loathing and hatred before. It tore the breath from her lungs and made her feel dizzy.

 

“Where did the Pidgey go?” His voice cut through her thoughts and rung inside her head, making her want to clutch her ears against the harsh sounds but she couldn't move her hands. “Tell me!”

 

She felt her body sway and steadied herself, forcing her eyes to look into his. They'd seemed to have gone from the color of bronze to a solid black, the same color as his hair. But that wasn't possible!

 

“I don't know.”

 

He moved toward her, the smile on his face making her pulse race. He placed a hand under her chin, tilting it up to make her look up at him. “Come on now.” The soft laugh in his voice made her feel odd. “It's just a Pidgey.” His voice twined around her, made her feel lightheaded. “Where did it go?”

 

His hand lightly stroked her cheek, a soft sigh escaping his lips as he watched her eyes become even cloudier. He leaned his head in closer, brushing his lips against her ear. “Tell me…” he whispered, breath warm on her skin, “where is it… Krystal.”

 

Her head jerked back at the false name, her eyes instantly clearing. “I don't know.” She backed away from him, shaking her head to remove the stupor from it. “I don't know!”

 

The confusion in her eyes annoyed him but he finally accepted that she really didn't know. His master would not be pleased with this development.

 

“Well, thanks for the battle.”

 

He was gone before Kathryn could figure out what had happened, taking away the memory that they had ever met.

 

She slid slowly to forest floor, feeling as though she had awaken from some kind of trance. She blinked a few times, rubbed at her eyes, and looked to the sky, wondering if she was awake.

 

“Prrriii?”

 

At the odd sounding chirp, Kathryn looked up from the ground to find the Pidgey poking its head out of the hollow in the tree.

 

“You okay?”

 

The Pidgey cheeped again before fluttering down out of the tree while Kathryn struggled to rise.

 

“Well, whatever was chasing you seems to have gone now.” She smiled. “Why don't you come to the campsite with me? We can get you some food.”

 

Pidgey shook its head and landed, hopping a ways off before looking back at her expectantly. Standing, Kathryn looked at it before glancing up at the sky. It seemed darker than she had thought… but she still had time before night.

 

“Sure, lead the way.”

 

And so, Kathryn followed Pidgey deeper into the forest, all memories of Chad no more than fragments of a shattered dream.

 

 

 

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“What do you think Kathryn is doing?”

 

“Finding more Spinaraks to torture me with,” Krissy replied humorlessly, sitting cross-legged on her sleeping bag. She made Charmander stay a good distance away, not wanting to have her sleeping bag go up in smoke. That stupid lizard's tail was going to set something on fire…

 

Nashley gave a bark that sounded suspiciously like a chuckle.

 

“Glad you find it funny.”

 

Glancing at Rachel, Krissy noticed her writing something in a notebook.

 

“What's that?”

 

“A journal, kind of. I'm writing down notes and things for my younger sister, she's starting her journey next year.”

 

“That's a good idea, I guess. Why not take pictures though?”

 

“Who says I haven't?” Rachel sent a grin her way that made her hairs stand on end.

 

“None of those pictures better be of me!”

 

 

 

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While Krissy tried to get Rachel to tell her of the pictures, Kathryn kept walking and following Pidgey.

 

“Where are we going?”

 

Pidgey cheeped and kept hoping along, pausing for just a moment while Kathryn tied another piece of string.

 

“No offense, but I didn't understand a word of that.”

 

Her feet were getting sore and she was beginning to wonder how much longer they had to walk. Given a choice, she would have rode but there was no path and even if Blaze were with her the Ponyta wouldn't have been able to fit through.

 

“Hey! Wait up!”

 

Pidgey had hopped through some bushes and Kathryn could see no visible way around them. Making a face, she pushed her way through, receiving many little scratches and scrapes for her trouble.

 

Giving a small moan, Kathryn climbed out of the bush to see where Pidgey had gone next and was struck dumb by what was before her. All around them, huge trees loomed close together and vines twined upward, encasing the area. Had she not been shown the way through the brush by Pidgey, Kathryn would have never found this place.

 

A huge stone stood before her, green moss clinging to it. Pidgey flew at it, hovering in the air as it scratched at the moss with its claws. Taking a hint, Kathryn approached the rock and reached up to tear off a piece, exposing odd markings and symbols on the stone. An image brushed at her mind and she thought she'd seen these markings before… but where? When?

 

Pidgey flew to alight on top of the stone, peering down at it and continuing to peck and pull at the moss.

 

“Do you… want me to read it?”

 

The bob was all the affirmation she needed as she pulled and struggled to remove the rest of the moss.

 

 

 

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“Shouldn't we look for her?” Rachel ran her fingers along Chikorita's back, the little Pokémon waving its giant leaf happily in the air, a Sweet Scent wafting upward.

 

“She's probably caught up looking for imaginary Pokémon.” Krissy shook her head, casually jesting. “Who knows, maybe she did catch one.”

 

“Still Krissy…”

 

“Hey, it's only five right now. At six or seven we can go look for her.” Krissy waved her hand dismissively. “I bet Nashley can track her down.”

 

Nashley barked a confirmation.

 

“See?”

 

“I guess…” Rachel kept petting along Chikorita's back, the scent relaxing her more than she thought.

 

 

 

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“These symbols look sort of like letters.” Kathryn brought up her Pokégear and aimed the small camera on it at the stone, slowly starting at the top and recording till she reached the bottom. Saving the file, she focused more on trying to read the stone. It was hard to explain but the longer she looked at it, the easier it became to decipher.

 

 

 

`An unholy joining of Darkness and Light wrought destruction the first time around. The Darkness betrayed the Light when it went astray and thus the Light was lost. The Darkness was sealed, its Spawn divided and the Children tainted beyond repair. Now where one should stand, two remain, byproducts of the joining.

 

 

 

When Light returns so shall Dark. When Dark returns so shall Light. Drawn together by Love but divided by Hate.'

 

 

 

Kathryn mulled over the words in her head but nothing familiar surfaced. She reached out a hand to trace one of the funny squiggle letters and could only wonder about the deeper meaning behind the message.

 

 

 

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Krissy listened to the stirring of the leaves as a sudden wind swooshed through the branches. Charmander cried out but she pretended not to hear it, her thoughts preoccupied.

 

“Rachel, let's go.”

 

“Hmm?”

 

“It's been too long, let's go find Kathryn.”

 

Rachel gave Krissy a funny look. “If you say so.”

 

Rachel left the Ponytas with orders to watch camp while Krissy started on a little ways with Nashley leading the way. The lizard was trying to follow after her but she gave it a firm glance.

 

“Stay here.”

 

“Char…” It's big eyes crumpled up a little as it turned back toward camp, tail low.

 

“Good riddance.” Krissy turned her focus back to Nashley, the canine already way ahead of her.

 

 

 

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“Who wrote this?” Kathryn kept tracing her fingers in the letters, brows furrowing as she thought. “What is it doing here?”

 

Pidgey tilted its head and chirped, making Kathryn smile.

 

“You must think I'm crazy…” She took a step away from the tablet, strangely reluctant. “Well, thanks Pidgey. Is there anything I can do for you?” She tore her attention away from the letters and onto the bird, who shook its head.

 

“Would you like to come with me?”

 

Another no.

 

“I better get back to camp, my friends are probably worried by now.” Before heading back out the way she came, she sent one more look around. An odd plant was growing at the side of the stone, twining up a little ways. A single berry hung from the top of it, weighing it down. The berry looked a lot like a bloated raspberry but was the same size (if not bigger) than a strawberry. All most all of the modules (about the size of peas) were white, save for one blue and one black one that stuck out amongst the pale white.

 

She touched it, gently pulling it from the vine and turned to show it to Pidgey.

 

“Hey, can I eat this?” A bob of the head and Kathryn popped the whole thing into her mouth, flavor bursting as she bit down.

 

It was unlike anything she'd ever tried before, such sweetness one instant and tartness the next. A sudden coldness, like ice, followed by warmth.

 

She touched her fingertips against her lips, eyes wide as she swallowed the last of the berry, the taste still lingering in her mouth. Pidgey twittered once, startling her from her thoughts.

 

“Oh.” A sheepish grin. “Thanks.”

 

Pidgey cooed once to Kathryn's retreating form and, when it was sure she had left the grove completely, let out a sharp note. From the ground, a tree erupted upward, sealing the small gap of time and space from the outside world once more. The Pidgey shimmered once, twice, then showed its true form.

 

[I hope… she will be alright.] The small form gave a flick of its wings and floated to stare at the tablet, lightly touching its small hand against one of the words. [Was it wrong of me, Father, to help her? That berry will not be found for many more eons…] Worriedly, it flew away from the tablet and circled higher and higher till it breached the canopy. [The power is great, the price is high. She is strong of heart… but is she strong enough?]

 

Shooting straight up into the sky, the air around her glowed brightly as it dived back into the time stream, making a mental note to speak to Mew and thank the Pokémon for teaching it how to transform.

 

 

 

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“How far did she walk anyway?” Rachel tugged on a piece of red string attached to a tree branch. She'd spotted several different colors along the way and was amused by Kathryn's ingenuity.

 

“For her sake, this had better be one really rare Pokémon.” Krissy used the stick she'd picked up along the way to smash at bush, startling herself when a Spearow flew out, cawing. “Shit! What's that?”

 

The Spearow turned around and attempted to dive-bomb Krissy's head. She ducked, feeling the claws rake through her hair. “Shoo!”

 

“Speeaaaroooow!” It came back for another round, this time flapping up close and swiping its claws at Krissy. She tried to bat the thing away and swung her stick at it but the Spearow effectively dodged.

 

Nashley pulled up from scenting Kathryn to watch the Spearow go after Krissy. She cocked her head, trying to figure out why Krissy persisted in letting the bird get away with it but did nothing. Spearows were nasty things and unless she got a direct order from Kathryn, she wasn't going near the thing.

 

“Charrrr!”

 

The Spearow pulled away from Krissy, catching sight of Charmander. The little Pokémon was still a ways off, having been trailing behind them the whole time. Whatever he said to the Spearow, it pulled away and began an attack on Charmander.

 

“Hey! Leave him alone you stupid thing!”

 

Spearow landed a hard Peck on Charmander, making him cry out in pain.

 

“Krissy! Give Charmander an order, don't make him just stand there!”

 

Krissy cast Rachel a “huh?” look before withdrawing her Pokédex and aiming it at Charmander. With a bleep, stats and attacks came up.

 

“Charmander, Ember!”

 

Whirling around, Charmander dropped to the ground, covering his head with his paws as he wagged his tail, hot Embers flaring outward towards the Spearow. The bird squawked and pulled back in time to avoid getting too badly singed but persisted in circling the Charmander from a higher vantage point.

 

Krissy skimmed through the list quickly but persisted in trying Ember again. When Charmander realized he wasn't being directly attacked any more he began to wag his tail harder, sending even more flames up, forcing the Spearow back further.

 

“Krissy, watch it!”

 

At Rachel's shout, Krissy finally noticed that some of the leaves and twigs around Charmander had begun to smolder and smoke from the Embers that managed to hit the ground. The Spearow cawed and swooped down to attack, the Embers striking it as it got in close to use Peck again. This time, the Ember managed to strike it heavily enough that its tail feathers caught on fire. Realizing its more pressing danger, the Spearow began frantically squawking and flapping, landing to try and put itself out. Finally, it wore itself down and fainted before it could summon any of its brethren.

 

Krissy turned her gaze to Charmander. He had stood up and was casting her a wary gaze. Really, she should be mad at him for following, she'd told him to stay at camp… but he had proven himself useful.

 

Krissy sighed and ran her hand through her hair. “Geez, you're such a pyro…”

 

It smiled brightly at her and gave a loud, “Char!”

 

“Pyro, that's a good name.”

 

Nashley rushed over to Kathryn, barking excitedly. Kathryn grinned and released Chomper. With a quick order, the blue skinned Pokémon lightly sprayed the area down with water, putting out any possible fires.

 

“Well, are you going to catch it?”

 

Krissy had been about to ask where Kathryn had been and was thrown off track. “Catch it?”

 

Kathryn gave a nod, the kind that seemed to indicate she thought Krissy might be a little slow. She gestured to the Spearow, still dead in a faint.

 

“What do I want that thing for?” Krissy made a face and shook her head.

 

“You're going to need lots of strong Pokémon if you want to catch a Fighting kind,” Kathryn tried to point out gently.

 

“Fine.” Krissy haphazardly tossed the ball. Spearow was sucked inside, the ball falling and rocking once or twice before pinging. “Now…” Krissy whirled on Kathryn. “Where have you been?!”

 

“I rescued a Pidgey.”

 

Leaving that as her only explanation, she headed back towards camp, Nashley eagerly bounding after her. Krissy just stared at her, slack jawed. Lucky for Kathryn, Rachel restrained Krissy before the girl could attack.

 

“Please, let me go so I can kill her.”

 

Rachel laughed and loosened her grip a little, replying, “But Krissy, there are a whole lot of things worse than death.”

 

When the two girls looked up to see how Kathryn was reacting to their words, they saw that she was almost out of view.

 

“Maybe she bumped her head…” Rachel whispered.

 

“Really? I always assumed her mother dropped her too many times as a child.” Krissy tilted her head. “That, or she's permanently insane.”

 

Both girls stared at each other solemnly for all of about ten seconds before cracking up. Still laughing, they followed after Kathryn and Nashley.