Paul and Dawn: First Light

Chapter 6: Deeper In

Chapter 6: Deeper In  

"How much farther?" Dawn asked. 

I sighed. "I've never been this far in before, Dawn, I wouldn't know."  

We'd entered a new chamber and I had to strain my eyes to see in the new darkness. I couldn't tell what color the walls were anymore and had to rely more on my hearing than eye sight to move forward. 

"Ow!" I heard Dawn's feet move around. 

"What?" 

"I kicked a... stalag..mite?" she guessed. 

"Correct." 

"It still hurts." 

I smiled, glad she couldn't see. 

"I can't see anything." 

"Then I suggest you do something about it and stop complaining." I was thinking we'd never find a Bagon at this rate. 

I heard her fumble with her bag. "Quilava, come on out!" 

A burst of light from the Poke Ball illuminated the cave momentarily and I saw the sleek, furry body of her Pokemon appear. 

"Light up this cave, please." Quilava's fiery quills shot out. I turned to avoid the worst of my eyes adjusting, but I heard Dawn make a noise as the intense light burned her retinas. I shook my head. Would she ever learn? 

I began walking again, tired of waiting for her. 

"Wait up!" she called, her Quilava running next to her, lighting the way. "Can't you ever slow down?" 

"I've been slowing down, Dawn. I probably would be out of this cave with the best Bagon I could find by now if it weren't for you." 

"You're the one who hurt himself, not me." 

"You've been slowing me down by asking questions and bumping into things like a dunderhead all day." I peered ahead, aware that we'd finally made it to the end of the passage. "We're almost there." 

"Wait, what about the river? It flows through there. What if that's where the Bagon live?" Dawn pointed towards the river which did indeed run a different direction. 

"Zubat, Golbat, Lunatone, and Solrock live through there." I ducked to avoid hitting my head on a stalactite. "Bagon live in this next chamber because it has an opening to the sky." 

"Why would they care about the sky?" 

"Because their greatest ambition is to evolve into Salamence and fly." It really was sad how much she didn't know about Pokemon. "And the chamber contains high places to jump off of so they can get the sensation of flying." 

"That's crazy! They could hurt themselves." 

I gave her a look of disapproval. Out of all the Dragon Pokemon I researched, Bagon seemed to be the strongest. Their perseverance and desire to evolve and become the best was exactly why I admired them.  

"They're not afraid to give everything they have to get stronger and stop being weak, unlike you." 

"I'm not going to jump off a cliff to prove that I'm better than anyone else," Dawn huffed. 

"But you'll push someone else off?" I rolled my eyes. She opened her mouth angrily, but I held up a hand and said, "We're here." 

The chamber was yet again bright- more open to the sky than I'd thought it would be. It was like being in the middle of a mini volcano.  

As I studied the broken stalagmites, no doubt crushed by Headbutt attacks, something felt off. 

"Where are all the Bagon?" Dawn whispered to me. 

Instead of answering, I walked further in, kneeling to find egg fragments. They looked old and were covered in a layer of grounded up rock. I crushed a sliver in my hand. "They've been gone a long time."  

"Wait, look." 

I stood up and looked at Dawn who was crouched by the farthest wall, her Quilava sniffing at something. I made my way over to her and kneeled down again, staring at a Pokemon egg. Most of it was light blue, but the top had a grey tinge. It, too, looked old and forgotten. 

"Interesting." I touched the egg gently with my hand, brushing off as much cave residue as I could. 

"Do you think it could still hatch?" Dawn asked worriedly. "I mean, it's really old. It could be too late." 

I shook my head. "Dragon eggs are different. Sometimes Dragon Pokemon can survive for years inside an egg and hatch only when there are large supplies of food or during a certain season. They're very instinctive, even before they hatch." My hand pressed against the shell and I felt warmth. "It's still alive." 

"That's great news!" Dawn patted my back. I tensed up at her touch. "Now we can leave." 

I hesitated. What I'd really wanted was a Bagon with experience that showed raw power and speed, not to mention experience and certain moves. If I were to take this egg, I'd be raising a newborn Pokemon that might amount to nothing. But then again, I had no idea if there was any way I could ever find a Bagon again. They weren't exactly plentiful. 

Still, if I was going to raise a Pokemon, it would have to be the best. "I don't want it." 

"What?" Dawn gaped at me. 

"I don't want it." 

"But we came all the way up here and you finally can have a Bagon. I mean, seriously Paul?" Dawn continued to look at me like I had just killed someone. "Since when do you give up so easily?" 

"I didn't give up. If I can't have a strong Bagon, then I won't have one at all."

"But you haven't even given this Bagon a chance!" Dawn held up the egg and thrusted it into my hands. 

"I. Don't. Want it," I repeated, giving it back to her. 

She let out a frustrated, high pitched grunt. "You're taking this egg." 

"Nope." 

"It might sit here forever, abandoned, if you don't!" She gave the egg back to me. 

"I don't care."  

"Paul, I swear-" Dawn stopped talking and noticed that the egg was glowing and pushed it back into my hands as if afraid the egg would attack her. "What's happening?" 

"It's hatching." My excitement distracted me from yelling at Dawn. The egg shook in my hands, making them tremble. The shell glowed white, and the brightness almost blinded me. The egg stopped vibrating and began changing its shape, expanding and becoming larger. The body of the egg flowed to for a curvier looking Pokemon. 

Suddenly, the brightness increased tenfold before blinking out in a flash. In my hands, staring straight up at me with small, black eyes, was a Bagon.