Painted Ghouls

Chapter 31

Athena nearly almost toppled over when the dragon revealed his name. "B-But you.." the Blaziken stuttered, at a complete loss for words as she stared, beak gaping open, at the creature. She couldn't bring herself to believe that this creature was Rayquaza- he looked royalty, for certain, but she never knew that she would find herself face-to-face with him one day. After all, Lucas had praised the legendary so many times when he was alive.

The legendary simply stared at her. For a few moments she stood there, in a daze, until she realized what he wanted. "Oh!" she exclaimed, straightening her posture just a tad. "I-I'm Athena." At least, she assumed that he wanted her to introduce herself. After all, he did state his name.

Rayquaza only chuckled at her, lashing his tail casually as he scanned his yellow irises over the burning forest around them. With a swift lash of his tail, he would extinguish the flames that roared throughout the area. For a few moments the dragon would remain silent, before he lowered himself closer to the blaze Pokémon, stretching out his claws.

"Come," he began, "the acrid smell of the smoke does weary me a tad. Climb onto my hand, and I shall lead you out of this burnt forest." Athena hesitated. Gazing up at the dragon-and-flying type, the female simply gulped, still at a complete loss for words as she stared at the creature, crouching down to scoop up Brendan's cap. Tentatively, she would reach out and place herself onto the male's large claws, gripping tightly onto one of his fingers. The scales beneath her were rough, and the large dragon reeked of a strange smell.

Rayquaza would emit a curt snort as he lifted himself from the forest, ascending higher and higher into the sky. After a few, short seconds, the Blaziken shakily gazed down at the land below as the sky high Pokémon began to fly horizontally at a much faster speed than Lucas. Not only was the jet black dragon flying at a faster pace, but he was also in a much higher altitude than the Latios. As the cold wind whipped against her feathers, the fire-and-fighting type shifted around uncomfortably, watching the world whizz by in a blur before glancing down at the knit cap she held on to.

"We have arrived at our destination," Rayquaza suddenly spoke, his voice raspy as he lowered himself to the sandy earth. A salty tang wafted through the air, and flocks of Wingull cawed from above. Waves could be heard lapping at the shore of a nearby beach, which was located not too far away from the two. Sliding off of the dragon's claw, the blaze Pokémon scanned the surrounding vicinity, blinking her eyes rapidly. "We are in.." The sky high Pokémon would stop, as if searching for words as he looked at the setting around them. Athena expectantly waited for whatever information he was going to spit out. "Well, that's not important. Follow me."

Blinking, she narrowed her eyes. Lucas had said that Rayquaza was a smart Pokémon that knew basically everything about the region- why couldn't he name their location? Turning, the jet black dragon would fly toward a small, rural town, which also seemed to have been a victim to the large beam. As the dragon-and-flying type swerved around a the rubble of a red and white building, he merely poked at a piece of wood, causing it to move ever so slightly. Silently, Athena followed the male, irises grazing over the burnt and battered town. A few houses were notably destroyed, with large burnt marks in their features, or completely gone, except for a small bit of its frame. A large trail of burnt sand etched across the area, with blood stains splattered across a few of the leveled buildings.

With little to no contact whatsoever, Rayquaza led the Blaziken to a small cave, yellow irises fixating onto the female idly. "I want you to go inside and investigate this cavern," the dragon began, his voice raspy. "In there you shall learn about the Hoenn region's dark history, and a little more about myself."