How Wonderful (Pokemon) (2015 PKMN Watty Awards)

Chapter 24- "Misplaced"

Brooke's Aerodactyl swoops down low and lands gracefully on the rocks. From the back of the large Pokemon, I can clearly hear commotion arising from the peak of Mt. Chimney.

The peak is cloaked with a large coat of clouds and ash. However, the lava looming in the volcano leaves its red finger prints all through the clouds exterior.

Then suddenly, an unnerving scream echoes from above. All three of us jump back and take a moment. "What was that?" Isabella inquires.

"I don't know, but it sounded like the cry of a Pokemon," I suggest.

"Only one way to find out," Brooke says. She lifts up her Pokeball and faces towards Aerodactyl. "Aerodactyl, return!" The ball pops open and a red light bursts out. It grabs the large Pokemon and drags it back into the Pokeball with it. Brooke looks at both Isabella and I and nods. She turns around and starts running through the rocks then begins to climb a trail left for tourists.

Isabella and I share a look. "Let's go," I say, following the footsteps of Brooke.

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The sudden heat lays its warm fingers on my skin as we run higher and higher. The cries and shrieks from above grow louder as we get closer. "We're almost there!" Brooke shouts to us.

Only a few more steps and we reach a sudden stop. The area surrounding us looms with a light smog. It was almost like a field of pure stone but a sudden drop-off in the center, where hot, thick lava lays, waiting for its next victim.

There sits a small, metal walkway that stretches out over the lava. Out on the walkway sits a bright, flashing green light, but the object itself could not be seen through all the smog.

"What do you think that is?" I ask. But my question soon vanishes when I realize something: all the cries and shrieking that we previously heard has suddenly disappeared.

And suddenly, a red flash bursts before my eyes and I hear Isabella shout at the back of my ear, "Look out!" Her Granbull shockingly appears before me, looking determined as ever. And, out of nowhere, a boulder falls from the sky, heading straight for us. However, Granbull grabs it straight from the air and clutches it in its palms. With a slight growl, the Fairy Pokemon crushes the boulder between its fingers. Never before have I seen Isabella's Pokemon's strength until now. My jaw drops at the sight.

No wonder this was Isabella's best Pokemon.

Granbull drops the crumbs of the boulder from its finger tips and holds itself at a fighting stance.

I stand up straight and look onward to where the boulder flew. In the smog sits two shadows. One is a large creature with a long tail and a horn protruding from its nose. The other was obviously a man, a man with broad shoulders and a strong physique. "Rhydon, use Rock Blast!" the man shouts.

The Pokemon emerges from the smog. It had skin as rough as a rock and a horn made of some metallic element I can't name. Its eyes were sharp enough to kill and its teeth were as cusped as a blade.

The "Rhydon" stomps its feet on the floor and three rocks jump from the earth. They float in the air for a few short moments, then the Pokemon flings its arms forward and the rocks follow.

Isabella wastes no time. "Dodge them, Granbull!" Granbull leaps forward and hurls itself above the three rocks. "Good job, now use Play Rough!" Isabella's Pokemon launches forward, landing on top of the Rhydon and beating it senselessly.

From where I stand, I can see the man grit his teeth. He steps forward, revealing himself. He wears a red hood with the signature 'M', signaling his from Team Magma. His skin was light, but his eyes were dark. His hood was connected to a long, flowing cape the went down to his lower back. He looks back and shouts into the smog. "Jacob, Jezebel! Go retrieve the Red Orb! I'll handle this bitch here!"