Love in the Time of Tenacity

Chapter 8: A Despair

Shorter chapters, but hugely important chapters! From the title alone you'll understand (and be able to guess the next title). That said, my lag in responses will still be in effect today, and should hopefully ease up soon. Now, on to Chapter 8!

Chapter 8

A Despair

"Pikachu! Decidueye! Lycanroc! Guys...?" Ash's voice echoed back at him with no returning words from the others. He sighed loudly, hoping that maybe they would even hear that, but it proved to be relatively pointless. There were no other sounds in the canyon, and if it hadn't been for the powerful seal laid over the place, Ash would have wondered if this even was a trial site in the first place. For whatever looking he was doing, there was no sign of the Totem Pokémon or any other Pokémon anywhere.

"Guess I gotta do it on my own..." he sighed out once more. Realizing he was on top of a small outcropping of rock to make yet another call for his teammates, he leapt down, his feet kicking up dust on the canyon floor. Up above, the stars were drawn close, and the moon provided scant illumination for his journey through the maze of stone. Ash shivered a bit, reaching up to rub at his arms. "Cold..."

If he was honest, he had no idea how long it had been since he'd started the trial. It seemed like such a short time, but the position of the moon spoke differently and indicated that he had been here and separated from his Pokémon for at least an hour or so. Removing his hands, he shoved them in his pockets and decided to continue walking along the very cold canyon floor. There was no real distinction for any landmarks or where to go as he walked along, so he felt like he was just on some random, aimless journey.

Maybe I've always been on one, he couldn't help but think rather savagely to himself. Ash shook his head, banishing those kinds of demeaning thoughts. His foot suddenly tripped on a stone and he pitched against a wall. The rock felt cold on his skin and he began sliding down it rapidly, feeling a keen sense of exhaustion now settling itself into his bones. His stomach was grumbling, crying out for food; something he decided to satisfy by pulling out a small collection of remaining Oran Berries. It wasn't much, but he knew he'd have to ration it, as much as he wanted to gobble it down. He took one and threw it into his mouth, chewing slowly.

"Still hungry, though..." he grumbled out upon finishing it. Now, he felt rather thirsty, too. Of course, he'd been feeling very thirsty ever since he'd been in that weird mist, like it was some sort of energy sapper or something. Part of Ash wondered if it was produced by a Pokémon to make others thirsty, or that maybe it was just some weird natural phenomenon which came as part and parcel of the trial. Either way, Ash was certain that he'd want Clemont to examine it, or himself, later (just in case there were adverse effects, of course). Then there was the part that didn't care and just wanted to find his Pokémon and complete the trial. That was the part of him that pushed him to get up once more and walk forward through the night-laced canyon.

His gaze consistently swiveled around, looking for any forks in the canyon path that could lead him somewhere different, but he wasn't able to see much of anything. For a second, he stopped and stared up at the sheer cliff face that was before him. He had to wonder if, maybe, he could climb up the walls to the top and survey the entire area. Shrugging to himself, he figured that it couldn't hurt; he wasn't the human Aipom for nothing.

Setting a foot sturdily on the wall, Ash's hands dug for purchase in the rocks and began to lift himself upwards. His other hand reached forward, too, grabbing another edge and continuing to pull up. The issue came at the step upward. As if the canyon wall had a mind of its own, the rock for his foot to hold upon suddenly broke off and sent him tumbling. Naturally, the good thing was that he wasn't too high up, and only his butt managed to absorb the blow from the fall. It still stung, but Ash figured that it was absolutely better than his head or something. Grimacing a little, he reasoned that climbing up was a definite no-go.