Pokemon: A Burning Passion - A Fakemon Story

Chapter 4

Savannah didn't want to stop hugging her mother. She was scared. The sun was rising, and Eleflow was at her side. She wasn't ready to go, but now there wasn't any reason to wait any longer. 

Just think of it as an adventure. She told herself. 

"Bye mom," she whimpered as she stepped away, turned, and followed her cousin into the open grasslands.

Jason and Cheeted got a head start, but were waiting a distance away for Savannah to catch up. They walked side-by-side. Savannah's gaze focused on the ground, she dared not to look back. They walked like that for about ten minutes; silent. 

"Hey, Savannah, look at this!" Jason nudged his cousin's arm.

"Hm?" Savannah lifted her head. Jason was pointing out at a few trees in the distance.

Taking time in the shade was a small herd of gray and orange Smokapi. Their dark cloudy manes blew gently in the morning wind. Savannah pulled out her pokedex to learn more about them.

"Smokapi, the Smoke Cloud pokemon. A fire type. The plants this pokemon eat are believed to be burned up in its body for energy. The smoke this produces is expelled through the pokemon's pipe-like horns on its head."

Savannah looked up at the Smokapi again, trying to spot the horns the pokedex mentioned. They were too far to get a clear view, especially with the smokey main swirling around their heads. Savannah decided to approach to get a better look, slowly, as to not startle them. She had heard many times that a panicked Smokapi could cause serious harm.

The dark gray pokemon noticed her quickly, but they didn't seem nervous. One lifted its head and watched Savannah, and eventually approached her with curiosity. Its mane of smoke was low and calm, and as she got closer, Savannah could clearly see the short round horns the smoke was coming from. The Smokapi seemed to have quite a lot of control over where its smoke went, because despite the fact that the wind was blowing towards Savannah, the Smokapi's mane stayed behind its head. 

The Smokapi let out a curious bray and lowered its head down towards Savannah. Slowly, she reached out to stroke its snout, and the Smokapi seemed to have no problem with it. Savannah smiled, distracted from her earlier worries.

Suddenly, the Smokapi lifted its head up and gazed off to the side. Its pointed ears twitched, seeming to search for a sound. The whole herd seemed to be on edge. Savannah wondered what had caught their attention. She tried to listen, and look in the direction they were looking too. The sky was clear, yet Savannah could still make out the faint sound of rumbling thunder. After the sound was made, the Smokapi took off running in the opposite direction, leaving Savannah behind.

"What do you think that was about?" Savannah asked as she turned back towards Jason. "Did you hear the thunder too?"

Jason nodded. "Maybe we should keep moving. It seemed to be coming from further down the road."

Savannah and Jason picked up the pace. They didn't know how far they'd have to travel, or if whatever made the sound would stick around. A few minutes later, the two froze as they came across a dark van on the side of the road, with a familiar symbol of a white netted P on the side. Team Poach was nearby.

Luckily, the van seemed to be empty. Still, Savannah and Jason were cautious, sticking close to the long grass to hide in if they spotted anyone. They tried to get a better look at the van, to make sure no one was inside, but didn't dare get close.

More thunder, much closer, caught their attention. Savannah turned back towards the grasslands. Her eyes widened as she saw about a dozen yellow pokemon, which she recognized as Galvazelle, being chased by several Capowl, a brown, red, and black canine pokemon. Just a bit behind them were three people in Team Poach uniforms, each riding a Mudsdale. Savannah would have run out after them instantly if Jason didn't grab her hand.