Painted Ghouls

Chapter 22

WARNING: violence

A chilling wind buffeted through the area, making the Combusken's feathers fluff out instinctively as she watched the Latios scour the premises, hoping to find at least one berry. The two had been looking around endlessly, but to no avail. All of the trees and bushes have been scraped clean of any type of berry or leaf, and it wasn't like they could ransack a building to find any. After all, every building in Fallabor Town was nothing but a pile of rubble.

Due to such a fact, the duo were forced to sleep out in the open. Athena had originally suggested that they slept in the humid tunnel, but the Latios declined the invitation, mainly due to the fact that he wasn't a fire type. He'd sweat to death in such conditions, should he stay the night in there. Thus, the two had no choice but to sleep out in the open.

Their spot was right behind a heap of rubble, so most of the time the wind did not manage to hit them. A few withered bushes were bordering their sleeping area, but it certainly wasn't enough to keep them sheltered from enemy Pokémon and whatnot. Surprisingly enough, they weren't attacked at all while they were sleeping. Such a fact made the young fowl Pokémon wonder if other creatures even dwelled near this town.

"There are no berries around here," the dragon-and-psychic type informed the female, jolting her from her thoughts. With a flap of his wings, he turned his cranium to look back at her. "Perhaps we should move to a different location."

"Sounds good enough," she piped up, her feathers smoothing out nonchalantly as she scanned her vision over the vicinity. "I don't like this place." With a sigh, she scooped Brendan's cap off of her head, holding it in her claws. The towering volcano above them was one reason why, but the other was mainly due to how lifeless this place appeared to be. When they had entered the town the day prior, there was not a single living organism. There weren't even Pokémon, except for themselves.

Lucas sighed in response, not bothering to say any words as he floated up to the Combusken. He looked exhausted, as if he did not have a good sleep that night. For a few moments the two would sit in a dreadful silence, before the eon Pokémon flatly spoke, "Mauville City should be plentiful in terms of berries."

The female perked up. They had passed by Mauville City when they were flying toward Fallabor Town, but she never got a good enough view of it. All she saw was a blue and gray blur, before it whisked past them. Either way, if it had berries, then it must be a good spot to reside in. Of course, Lucas believed that this town would have been a decent place to rest in as well, but he was horribly wrong.

"Are we flying there today?" she asked, a hopeful tone in her voice. Immediately, the Latios shook his head, dampening her spirits quickly.

"No," he sighed, "we aren't. Today we should at least fly to Pyre Mountain, and make some good out of this place." Eyeing her up and down, he curtly nodded to confirm his statements. "You do need to train."

She had a pinch that he was going to say that. Nodding her head, she glanced up at the intimidating mountain that loomed over the town. Just by its sheer size, she could tell that it would take a while to hike up there. Chances are, the male would just fly them up there, but still. She couldn't help but feel a little bad for the Pokémon that were forced to climb up the steep, rocky sides of the volcano. It must take them ages to do such a thing.

A single Taillow flew past the two, instantly catching her attention. The flying type circled around a heap of debris not too far away from them, before landing on a piece of stone that protruded from the pile. The avian looked pitifully scrawny- contrary to the plump Taillow that lived in the forest Athena once lived in. Such a sight proved that there was little to no food in the area.