WARNING: graphic violence
"That storm last night was huge!" Damien exclaimed, wiggling his hindquarters before hopping onto the smooth stone in front of him. The water beneath him babbled eagerly against the rocks, as if it wanted him to fall right in. Looking over to Athena, he would flash a beaming smile at her, his two tail fins wagging excitedly.
Athena nodded in agreement to his exclamation, her legs kicking out from the log she sat on top of. He wasn't lying- the thunderstorm the night prior was ginormous. Large bolts of lightning flashed across the sky, and just moments after the show, ground-shaking thunder rolled through the air. Never before had she witnessed such a large storm; she was lucky to have taken shelter inside of her cave, otherwise she would've been pelted by heavy raindrops and even some hail. Few remnants of the storm were left, such as a few gray clouds that were sauntering lazily through the sky. Allowing her claws to thrum against the wood beneath her, she felt them scrape against Brendan's cap. Using her claws, she would drag it onto her lap, before bringing her attention back toward the water-and-ground type.
He was now on the final rock of the stream and, with a mighty leap, he threw himself onto the silky grass. Blades of the green grass clung onto his skin, and when he lifted himself onto his feet, he looked as if he was a victim to a grass tornado. Shaking the blades off of him, he would release a gleeful giggle as he trampled toward the water, splashing droplets around him. The Combusken had to use her claws to block the water droplets from hitting her.
Lowering her hand, she continued to watch the male hop about the rocks, as if this was the most fun activity he had ever done. A cold wind shifted through the area, causing her to ruffle her feathers. She had a pinch that moving about would be a good attempt to heat herself up. Naturally, she could manually warm herself up, but that was a big waste of energy. Hopping onto her feet, she placed Brendan's cap onto her head, her vision fixated onto Damien.
"Wanna do something else?" she suggested, her voice level slightly raised so the male could hear her above his consistent splashing.
Pausing, the water-and-ground type turned his cranium to look back at her, a smile on his maw as he heaved himself out of the water. "Sure!" he squeaked, coming up to stand in front of her. His entire stature was soaking wet, causing the Combusken to take a step back. "Whatcha wanna do?"
The fire-and-fighting type hesitated, before shrugging in response. She hadn't thought of much ideas- she just wanted to do something instead of sitting around. Lucas would want her to train right about now, but she had a feeling that Damien wouldn't want to do something like that. After all, he was a pacifist of sorts, so he wouldn't want to intentionally harm another Pokémon.
The male would blink, his two tail fins wagging as he hopped once into the air. "Let's play tag!" he suggested, his squeaky voice slightly cracking once he landed back onto the earth.
"Sounds good."
Thankfully, she didn't need a tutorial on how to play such a game. After all, when she and Damien were younger, they had played this game before. The game was pretty simple, anyways, and was hardly even close to complex. It was hard to forget a game as simple as tag. Thus, she was able to play without asking for any rules or directions.
"Tag!" Damien squeaked, poking the Combusken with his paw. With that, he gave one more bounce to the air, before lumbering away. He headed further into the woods and away from the stream as he giggled with excitement. Racing after him, the young fowl Pokémon blinked, noticing how quickly she was catching up to him. It seemed as if his evolution made him slower when compared to his Mudkip form.
In just a matter moments she had caught up to him, and she extended her claws out to poke his shoulder. "Tag," she chirped, before turning heel and heading back toward the stream area. Looking back, she noticed that he was struggling to catch up with her. Thus, she slowed her pace just a little bit, giving him room to prod her with his paw.
This time, however, he did not touch her. Instead, he slowed to a halt, struggling to catch his breath. "You're fast!" he breathed, leaning forward slightly.
Athena shrugged in response, positioning herself beside him. "You're slow." The Marshtomp didn't reply, most likely because he was trying to catch his breath, not lose it. She took this as a chance to gaze at the water, feeling the wind ruffle against her feathers once more.
Autumn was clearly drawing to an end already. Most of the Taillow that dwelled in the forest had disappeared- the ones that remained were out, singing their typical songs. The Wurmple were either burrowing themselves underground, or scaling their way up the trees to hibernate. The rest of the Pokémon were finding their own habitats to rest in for the winter.
"Are you heading south?" Athena piped up, her gaze shifting onto Damien. "For winter?" She couldn't bring herself to imagine why he would, as he seemed to be perfectly fine with the weather. Not only that, but he had never mentioned migration to her before. If he had plans to head south, he would've stated them by now. Either way, she couldn't help but ask.
"No," the water-and-ground type casually responded, much to her relief, "that doesn't sound fun to me." Meeting the Combusken's gaze, he would cock his head at an acute angle. "Are you?"
"I don't think fire types head south," she responded with a shrug. "I'm not really sure." After all, fire types own the ability to heat themselves up if need be. It could drain their energy quickly, but it would at least keep them warm during the bitter days of winter. The mud fish Pokémon nodded, bringing his vision up toward a pair of Taillow that fluttered around above their heads.
The female followed suit, though she chose not to pay attention to them directly. She couldn't help but wonder where she would go if she did migrate- possibly someplace a little south of Littleroot. She wasn't sure how large the region of Hoenn was, let alone how far south down she already was. Before she could dwell on that any longer, however, she flinched as her stomach grumbled. Damien must've heard her, for his pupils were placed onto her.
"I know a place we can eat!" he squeaked, promptly grabbing of the Combusken's hands. Without waiting for any form of verbal communication from her, he would turn around and drag her behind himself, heading towards the forest once more. Instead of going straight like they normally did when heading in this part, however, he turned to his left, bringing her towards some direction she had never been in.
The forest became significantly darker the farther they traveled. Every now and then they would tread through thick mud puddles, or hop over fallen branches and twigs. The songs the birds normally sang have faded away, and nothing but the slithering sound of a nearby Wurmple could be heard. Athena was about to question where they were headed, until Damien began to pick up his pace, clearing growing more ecstatic.
"We're here!" he exclaimed, dragging the female into the light in front of them. They were in a grove of sorts- berry bushes and trees were scattered all over the area, providing more than enough of food for both of them. Dropping her claws, the mud fish Pokémon raced to a tree to their right, excitement clearly rippling through him as he did so.
Blinking, the Combusken would take a few tentative steps forward, making sure there were no more mud puddles to go through. Thankfully, there weren't any. With relief pouring through her, she would head towards a bush to her left, her stomach growling once more as she caught sight of the berries. Tiny dots representing oran berries and cheri berries were clinging onto the branches of the bush, along with a few yellow and even purple berries here and there.
Of course, she chose to skip the unidentifiable berries and head straight towards the red berries. Picking one of them off of a branch, she plopped it into her beak, enjoying the spicy taste that exploded across her tongue. Along with that spiciness, however, came a rather stale taste. Swallowing the berry whole, she yanked another one cheri berry off of the bush, surveying it. It seemed rather pale in color, compared to their typical vibrant hue. It seemed as if the coming of winter also affected the berries that grew in the forest.
Finishing the berry, she would look upwards at the canopy of trees, freezing as she did so. The clouds from the storm had long parted, and it appeared as if the sun was setting, judging by the orange and pink colors that were splashed across the night sky canvas. Lucas would certainly want her home soon, that was for sure. That was not what made her hesitate, however.
High up in the branches of the trees laid an army of white, ovular shapes. Spikes protruded out of their bodies, and it looked as if they had tufts of fur here and there. Or was it silk? She couldn't tell. They seemed lifeless, as she wasn't able to see any breathing patterns evident in their stature. Despite that, two red, gleaming eyes were placed on the creature, one on each side of it. All of the pupils on every creature seemed locked forward, their point of view unwavering.
"Are those dead?" she asked uncertainly, her attention not leaving the army. The water-and-ground type casted a confused look at her, before following her gaze up to stare up at the white shapes.
"No!" he laughed, right after finishing his feast. "Those are Cascoon! They've been there for so long, soon they'll evolve into Dustox!"
"Oh." Athena nodded, taking a single step back. She knew such Pokémon existed, but she never knew that they could seem so lifeless. Were all of them like this? Looking back at the sky, she hesitated. Lucas would be angry with her, should she not start heading home at that very moment. "I should probably-"
As if on cue, a bright light erupted from one of the Cascoon. The body of the creature ripped open, and out flew a winged, magenta Pokémon. Its yellow, beady eyes shown brightly, casting yellow highlights on the branch- and its former shell- beneath it. With a flap of its large, green wings, it placed its vision onto the duo. It did not seem happy.
"Hello!" Damien eagerly greeted, bouncing over to stand beside the Combusken. "I'm Damien! Who are yo-" Letting out a shrill battle cry, the poison moth Pokémon released a jet of purple goop at the blue Pokémon, hitting him square in the chest. The blow managed to knock him onto his back.
Quickly, Athena reached down to help her friend up, adrenaline pumping through her veins. Gazing back towards the Dustox, she fired a quick ember in an attempt to fend it off. Relying on its speed, the opponent swiftly dodged the attack, before heading straight toward the young fowl Pokémon. The stray ember hit a Cascoon resting on a branch, causing it to crash toward the ground. The body of the white creature cracked open, and out of it plopped a frail corpse of another Dustox. This time it didn't move. It was killed by the impact.
The living Dustox collided right into the fire and fighting type's chest, causing her to fall back right next to Damien. The Marshtomp hopped onto his feet, quickly firing a stream of water at the opponent. The Dustox reared back, spitting out strange noises as it tried to shake water off of its body. Athena took this as a chance to fire a quick ember as she lifted herself to her feet. The fire attack hit the bug-and-poison type right on its right wing. Emitting a high-pitched screech, it frantically flapped its wings, watching with horror as the green wing began to burn away. Unable to stay in the air, it fell to the ground, struggling desperately as its wing turned into nothing but ash.
"We should leave it," Damien panted, looking at Athena with a pitiful look. "It's in enough pain." The female didn't listen. Instead, she brushed past him, heading toward her foe. Placing her taloned foot onto its magenta stomach, she gazed down at it. Desperately, the poison moth attempted to stir up a gust attack by flapping its remaining wing, but to no avail. The move failed. "Athena," the Marshtomp spoke, his voice containing hints of nervousness, "what are you-"
The fire-and-fighting type drowned out the rest of his words. She couldn't help but feel a stab of pity for the creature beneath her feet- it must be in severe pain. Burnt marks of where the wing once was attached to it were evident on its right side. Raising her claws, she would close her eyes shut, before quickly stabbing them into the Dustox's throat.
"Athena!" Blood splattered onto the young fowl Pokémon's feathers. The bug-and-poison type let out a gurgling noise as it struggled to breathe, despite the blood pouring out of its wound. For what felt like centuries did it frantically squirm, fear colored perfectly in its yellow eyes. Finally, it stopped, the life draining out of it. Lifting her claws out of the corpse, the female hopped off of the Dustox, strolling away from the scene.