All Alone (BEING EDITED)

Chapter 25: Thunder and Rain

Silence fills the air as Paul and I reach Route 119. I'm completely fine with it since Chatot is usually the only company I have. He usually teases me about certain subjects and that gets extremely annoying.

I sigh and glance around at the scenery. Trees line both sides of the route and a sweet aroma travels through the air. A soft breeze gently blows through my hair and I smile at the peaceful setting. I close my eyes for a few moments, relaxing my muscles and mind.

Chatot suddenly stiffens and I peer at him curiously. He looks at the sky frantically and I follow his gaze. Huge, black, ominous clouds are rolling in from the east, a sheet of rain following it. I see why Chatot is so nervous now. I tilt my head back down and turn my attention to Paul.

"A storm is coming. We might want to search for shelter." I say to him. He grunts in response and shrugs his shoulders. I exhale slowly and pick up my pace. The sound of a river echoes in the distance and I quickly jog towards the noise.

I round a bend and encounter a thundering waterfall. I glance at the cliffs and see a small cave near the falls. I nudge Chatot with my finger.

"Found a cave." I say, pointing it out to him. He narrows his eyes and flies off into the cave. I sense Paul's presence behind me and turn to face him. He stares at the cave.

"What is your parrot doing now?" he asks, frowning. I groan and pinch the bridge of my nose. First the 'penguin' title and now 'parrot'.

"You don't want to be mauled in your sleep now, do you?" I retort. He glares at me, but I ignore it.

"It's safe!" A chirp calls from the cave. Chatot pokes his head out and nods. I smile and stroll over to the cave. I'm about to enter when thunder booms above my head and the torrent of rain is unleashed. I growl in annoyance and quickly enter the cave. Paul follows, his hair already soaked. I have to admit he does look cute with wet hair...I mentally punch myself. No time for that now, Dawn.

I settle myself on one side of the cave and pull my backpack off my shoulders. I carefully pull out a small stack of kindling I had picked up in the last town. I set to work building a fire while Paul dries his hair. After the stack is set up I grab Combusken's pokeball and let him out.

"Small flamethrower, okay Combusken?" I ask him politely. He sees the pile of wood and immediately understands.

"Sure!" he exclaims. He blows a gentle flamethrower and lights the wood. The flame slowly spreads and soon I have a whole fire going. I grab the rest of my pokeballs and let out Mightyena and Kirlia. They smile gratefully at me and stretch their limbs before settling down.

Mightyena suddenly notices Paul and starts to growl. This alerts everyone else and they soon spot Paul sitting against the opposite wall with his eyes closed.

"Guys just calm down. He's travelling with us." I say soothingly. Everyone looks at me with confusion written all over their faces.

"Why?" Kirlia asks cautiously. The others nod, wanting an answer.

"He is travelling with us because Giovanni is going to be after him now. We need to protect him, also two is better than one." I explain quietly. Their faces flood with understanding and Mightyena speaks up.

"How long is he going to stay with us?" I shrug my shoulders, not knowing the answer. They don't press further and all gather around the fire. I lean back against the walls and cross my arms.

My eyes slowly close and I'm about to drift off when a small noise echoes in the darkness. My eyes fly open and I look around curiously. The only noise is the rain pounding the ground outside and the occasional thunder. I settle back down. It's only your imagination, Dawn. Nothing to worry about. I close my eyes again, but another sound breaks my trance. Okay...it's not my imagination. The others watch me as I stand up.