Poképocalypse

So Close, Yet So Far

"We should try to cut across some of the routes."

"Oh yeah, why?"

"There's nothing saying we have to stay on the path," Jordan explained. "Wouldn't we just be able to go off the path and cut across to the next route that way?"

"Jordan...I know you know that's a bad idea."

Jordan looked away. She knew it was foolish to go and stray off the path—that was where all of the stronger pokémon resided after all. They would only be marching straight to their deaths. "I don't like taking the long way around."

"If you're reckless, you're gonna get us both killed, and I'm not in the mood to die today."

"I'm not reckless."

"Oh really? That's why you just suggested to go into the most dangerous part of the wild."

Jordan sighed and looked forward. The route was clear, and there weren't any roaming pokémon. They had been lucky so far; no pokémon had attacked them. It seemed like they were getting a little too lucky recently. Ever since they left the cave, they hadn't come across anything life-threatening. The last pokémon they had come across was that ponyta they cooked for dinner.

The route was green, very different from the white all around Snowpoint. The world didn't look like a blank canvas waiting to be painted with red. The sun was shining down on them, but it still wasn't enough to make the two ex-trainers take off their jackets. Sinnoh didn't get extremely warm like other regions. It would be a waste to get rid of their jackets—they would return to Snowpoint eventually, and their clothes weren't ripped to the point of being useless.

"Ah! I think I see something in the distance!" Axel pointed up ahead. There was an area with three high walls and many broken down buildings. The people in Eterna were in the middle of trying to raise one last wall before their camp could be fully protected. That was when the fighting started. It halted all progress on their wall, and more people fell to pokémon. How long had the fighting been going on?

What would the camp be like? Neither Jordan nor Axel knew. There could be nonstop fighting, or there could be a pause to continue construction on their last wall. The walls were more like wooden gates, taken from the trees in the area. Jordan frowned. "How's that supposed to stand up against fire-type pokémon?"

"You're forgetting that Snowpoint uses wood as our gate." Axel said as he looked at Jordan.

"Yeah, but fire-type pokémon don't show up near Snowpoint."

"Touché. So," Axel crossed his arms, "do we march up to their gate, or do we try to circle around to find Sasha and Kane?"

Jordan crossed her arms. She opened her mouth to say something, but instead pushed Axel down to a bush and crouched down.

"Hey! What was that for!"

"Nothing. It'd be better not to stand out in the open; they might see us."

"But was that really a reason to push me down like that? I thought we were in danger!"

"Sh!"

"Don't shush me!"

"Their wall isn't finished. They might have people scouting the area to make sure there aren't any pokémon close by."

"And if they find us, it'll mean trouble."

Jordan nodded and continued to look around. There didn't seem to be any people patrolling the area at the moment, but they couldn't be too careful. There weren't any pokémon sneaking up on them, so why did Jordan feel like she was being watched? She didn't see anything out of the ordinary, or was that the point?