What the Wind Carries [Pokémon Black and White 2 fanfiction]

31| Traversing Reversal Mountain

"Hi everyone! Thank you for choosing Sand Stream Tours!" the peppy teenage girl announced, flashing us a peace sign. "My name is Suri Greenleaf, and I'll be your guide for this hike!"

It was six sharp the next morning, and we were about to begin our trek across Reversal Mountain. To her word, Suri had arrived right on time and seemed to have consumed enough caffeine to fuel a small coffee shop. She, unlike everyone else in the group, was excited to get going. Due to the early time, the only people in the hiking group was our regular quartet plus Bianca.

"It's nice to meet you, Suri. I'm Bianca Hills," Bianca replied. She then introduced the rest of us to Suri, which I was glad for because I was still half-asleep.

"It looks like some of you aren't fully awake," Suri giggled. "Not for long! There's nothing like a good hike up Reversal Mountain to get the blood pumping. By tonight, I expect us to be halfway up the north face. And if everything goes well, we'll be in Undella Town by next week."

Four days of hiking? Is she serious? I usually wasn't one to complain but her expectations seemed to be placed a little too high.

"That's great, we want to be in Undella before the snows hit," Hilbert said.

"Snow? It never snows out here. It's too dry for that! The worst we'll get is an extra-heavy sandstorm or two." Suri fished a cap from her bag and put it on, threading her long brown Ponyta-tail through the hole in the back. "That's enough chatter, we have some hiking to do! Now, always stay close to me and never leave the group or enter any unauthorized areas. I'll explain the rest of the rules before we begin climbing, capiche?"

We all nodded, ready to get this hike done and over with. Suri nodded back, giving us an even wider smile. She turned around towards the craggy mountain rising up over the small town and told us to follow her.

"Venasaur, use Vine Whip!" Suri's Grass-type starter shot two thick vines at the boulder in the middle of the path. It lifted it with little effort and threw it off the side of the cliff. The boulder tumbled down the steep slope, landing at the bottom with a mighty crash. "Nice job, return!" Suri recalled her Pokémon and continued up the trail, explaining that rockslides were common around this time of the year. I sighed and forced myself to keep walking. We had been climbing for nearly four hours by now, and my legs were ready to give out on me.

"How are you holding up, sis?" Nate asked, just as out-of-breath as I was.

"Well, I haven't collapsed yet, so I guess that's a good sign!"

"Maybe Arceus will be kind and tell Suri to give us a water break?" Nate laughed.

"Okay everyone, we're gonna be taking a twenty minute break! No more, no less!" Suri announced a second later. I looked back at Nate, and he shrugged.

"Praise Arceus, I guess," he said, flopping down on the nearest rock. I nodded and took a seat next to him. A few minutes into our water break, Nate stood up and left, saying he needed to talk to Hilbert. I noticed he was holding Illie's Poké Ball and his face bore a look of resignation. What was he doing?