All Alone (BEING EDITED)

Chapter 27: Flying High

I breathe deeply as I stare up at the trees around me. Fortree City is interesting. The houses are mounted in the trees and the gym is in a clearing in the center. Good thing Latios knows Thunderbolt or else this gym will be quite a challenge. Paul and I already checked into the pokemon center. Right now we're outside.

"I'll meet you at the gym, K? I want to check something out." I say, turning to look at him. He grunts.

"Yea, I'll be at the gym." I smile and dash towards the first tree. I grasp the first rung of the ladder and scale the 30-foot tall tree in a matter of seconds. Chatot flies up and lands on my shoulder. I glance down at Paul, who is still at the base of the tree.

"Show-off." I hear him mutter. I giggle and continue my race along the bridge. Chatot glides beside me as I run past the four trees on the bridge. This feeling is something I haven't had in a long time. A feeling of freedom, a feeling that nothing can go wrong. I reach the last ladder and grip it, sliding down. I land on the ground with a resounding thump and walk off towards Route 120. I heard they have a nice, small lake here that is just perfect for Milotic.

The Taillows chirp in the trees and the grass rustles as Zigzagoons make their way through it, searching for their next meal. A peaceful smile grows on my face and I let the wind play with my hair as I stroll down the path.

I reach a wooden bridge with a small lake underneath it. I let out Milotic and she happily slithers into the water, enjoying the refreshing swim. I settle myself on the edge of the bridge, my legs dangling over the side and watch Chatot glide on the wind currants above me.

I close my eyes and relax my body, soaking in the warm sunlight. A shadow falls over me and I open one of my eyes to see what it is. A familiar face is smiling down at me.

"Steven!" I exclaim, standing up to greet him. He smiles back at me.

"Hi, Dawn. How are you?" he asks kindly. I grin at him.

"I'm fine." I reply happily. I glance up at Chatot and let out a short whistle. He looks down at me and spots Steven. He dives down and lands on my shoulder, giving a short chirp as a greeting. Steven smiles and rubs his head. He turns back to me.

"I found something that may be of use to you." he says, fishing around in his pocket. He finds what he's searching for and pulls out a band with a white stone attached to it. The stone has a read and black curving stripe going down the center. I gently take it from Steven and weigh it in my hand.

"This looks like the band Latios is wearing." I say softly, still examining the band. Steven nods.

"It is indeed similar. The stone happens to be a blazikenite. Use this to mega evolve Blaziken." he explains. I grin wildly and look back up at Steven.

"Thanks so much, Steven." I say excitedly. Chatot grins as well and Milotic swims up to me, nudging my hand gently. I smile at her and gently pat her head.

"Well, I must be going now. I know you will put that stone to good use. See you later, Dawn." Steven says, walking away. I give a small wave, which he returns, and turn back to my pokemon.

"Time for our next gym battle." I say, a determined expression passing over my face.

"Yea! Let's do this!" Chatot and Milotic shout enthusiastically. I grin and return Milotic before taking off back to the city. Hopefully I can catch the last few moments of Paul's gym battle.

I burst into the gym, panting from sprinting across the trees. My breath comes back as I walk to the bleachers at the side of the gym. I look out at the battlefield and see Paul standing at one end with his Electivire and the gym leader, Winona, standing at the other end with a Pelipper. The Pelipper looks absolutely exhausted and can barely keep itself in the air. Winona appears to be panicking slightly, while Paul just stands there with his arms crossed.