The Pokemon World

Zephina trotted heavily as the trio journeyed to the unknown black dot on the horizon.
With each mile, it began to take shape and form into a much larger black dot.
The dot became a mound after a few minutes of riding.

As the team got close enough, Rya could tell what the unknown dot was.
It was a grave.
Well a memorial.

Rya hopped down from Zephina and released her team.
The memorial was a large carven stone. It looked like volcanic rock but Rya couldn't be sure.
It had a message engraved into it.
Well it had many messaged carved into in.

There was one that stood out.

Here he lies.
A warrior. A fighter. The hope of Kanto
With a heart that Blazed brighter than any before.
Life was unfair to take away, Kanto's only true saviour
Blaine

Rya placed her hand upon the stone. Clearly the people of this Island loved this man.
She looked to he base of the stone, it had small tokens of memory placed at the bottom. Though none of these were new. Meaning that no-one had visited the memorial in months, maybe even years.

' Guys, come here. Let's pay our respect before moving on'

Her team came close.
Zephina seemed to understand the situation well but the others just stood silently around her. All except Tai, who began foraging in the tokens people had left for the great leader.

'Tai!' Rya grabbed the Aipom for his hoarding and held him tightly in her arms.
He gripped something tightly in his small hands.
Rya placed him back on the ground and held her hand out to him.
At first Tai refused to give up his prize but Rex managed to get him to give it up.
In Rya's hand he placed a small badge. It was faded but Rya recognised it to be the volcano badge.

She held the badge tight.
All the old Kanto badges were relics now. Rya couldn't believe she was holding one.

Aipom was chuckling away, still rooting around in the shrine.
Rya was at a standstill. She knew that keeping the badge wouldn't be right, so she put it back down.

Rya turned to Zephina:
'You ready to head off. Ryan's probably half way across the Island.'

Zephina chuffed and began lowering herself down so Rya could climb on.

It was at that moment that Leon flew down from the sky.
Rya placed her hand on the birds types head.

'I am guessing Ryan sent you.'

The bird flustered its wings. She assumed he had been sent to lead the way.
Rya quickly returned her team. All except Zephina.

She climbed back on top of the Rapidash as Leon cooed gently. He had certainly cam on a lot since Ryan had caught him. It was nice to see he was getting stronger.
' Lead the way big guy'

The pidgeotto flew into the air, blocking out some of the harsh sun.
Zephina began to gallop along with the bird type. Another example of how both teams were perfectly in sync

Ryan rubbed his hands together nervously, hoping against hope that he would survive this bat-shit crazy plan of his. At his feet lie a yawning Hector. He had to smile through the heavy beating inside his chest. His Shuckle was always so clueless and goofy. He doubted Hector even understood the danger Ryan was about to put himself in. Hector yawned once more and retreated inside his shell.

He carefully stepped on top of Hector's shell. He crouched down and slid his hands into the empty holes on top. This was crazy. Ryan shook his head, he was definitely going to die. He chuckled. Might as well just go for it.

"Let's go bud." Hector slid his arms out and slowly made his way to the edge. As they approached Ryan got a good view over the side. The drop seemed to go on for miles. Ryan swallowed hard and took a deep breath before Hector took one last lazy step over the edge.

It was the single most terrifying moment of his life, crossing over the ledge. All at once the ground below flew to greet him, little rocks bounced up in his face, and the fierce wind made his eyes tear up, but he couldn't afford to close them. He had to steer the hell-sled away from boulders, because Hector was too slow to react. His vision blackened as Hector slid faster and faster. He leaned left and right with all his might, narrowly avoiding rocks that seemed to genuinely want him dead. It was quickly getting out of control and flat ground wasn't getting any closer any faster. He was hardly even halfway down when he jumped a smaller rock, sending him spinning wildly down the mountain. He jammed his eyes shut and gripped the shell with all his might. This was it. He was dead. It was that simple. Hector let out a small grunt and his shell lit up like a light bulb.

And then he was in the air. He and Hector were sent flying high off the side of the mountain. Hector had fallen out of his shell, and his limbs were dangling loosely as the spinning slowed. Hector must have used Bide... on the ground... Ryan's mind was running a thousand miles an hour. As he flew through the air he pulled Hector's ball from his belt and returned him. He sent out Constantine in his place, who was little less than horrified to be falling as they were. Ryan grabbed onto the Pokémon's shoulders and hugged tight.

"Con... Surf!"

Constantine opened his mouth and fired a gigantic plume of water straight at the ground. The column quickly formed into a huge wave, which Constantine and Ryan landed on top of. Ryan returned Constantine and fell inside the wave. He quickly lost himself in the raging waters. He rolled and flailed in the water as it crashed into the ground. The wave dispersed and sent Ryan out of the water, this time tumbling on dry land. He covered his head and rolled without control until he eventually slid to a stop, spread eagle, in a pool of mud and dust.

He finally opened his eyes coughed up some swallowed water and let his head fall. That was... positively... the worst thing ever. He shut his eyes.

He figured a little nap wouldn't hurt... not that he had the energy to do otherwise.

Rya followed Leo across another large stretch of land. The terrain began to adapt and shift, causing Zephina to struggle.
The ground that had once been hard, was now turning into the thick mud.
The team were now getting close to the meeting point but they were losing speed,Rya could see it in both of the Pokemon riding along side her.

She beckoned them both to stop, returning Zephina after she had climbed down into the mud.
It was thick and it climbed up Rya's bear legs. She had not realised it was this deep. In fact, it hadn't been this deep before, not until she had jumped down from Zephina.

Leon fluttered above her, cooing loudly. It seemed like he felt strong enough to continue.
Rya went to walk forward but the mud that stuck so her feet was not allowing it.
Panic struck. How could she have been so stupid?

'Urgh... Leon, can you help?!'

Pidgeotto flew down and gripped tightly around Rya's wrists.
However, no matter how they tried, Rya began to sink deeper and with every swipe of Leon's the dust thickened around Rya.

She was now waste deep in thick mud.
There was only one possible hope... Squishy. Surely a Pokemon who loved the Mud so much, would have ease guiding Rya through it.

With great difficulty, Rya plunged her hand into the thickening mud, grasping onto the belt that held her Pokeballs.
She threw her hand out of the mud. Holding one ball in her hand. She just hoped it was the right one.

His eyes opened to the setting sun. He could not remember where the sun was when he'd fallen asleep, or why he'd fallen asleep. He tried to sit up, but a harsh pounding in his head laid him right back down. He rubbed his forehead sternly and attempted to sit up again, this time bracing himself from the blood-rush that followed. He craned his neck skyward and got a look at the mountain, with a fresh new hole near the summit thanks to him. He then remembered his journey down the cliff. He breathed a short laugh at his idiocy.... it hurt to laugh.

He pulled himself to his feet, his body fighting him every step of the way. He could feel bruises in places he didn't know existed, and was sure he'd broken something, but that was nothing. He'd just conquered a volcano. He was flying high, and there was nothing he felt he couldn't do.

He was stood in a dried-up mud hole, ala Constantine. His clothes were very nearly destroyed, and he feared he wouldn't be able to change them for quite a while. His shirt was brown where it used to be white, and his left sleeve was nearly torn off. His jeans were doing alright for the most part, but he wouldn't hate a change. He was sure his hair was caked in mud, and his body was probably more black and blue than anything anymore, but he was alive.

Rya. He would need to meet up with Rya. She was probably to the city by now. Ryan clapped his hands against his pants, sending brown dust clouds out in all directions. He cradled his head in his hands and set off in the direction he believed led to the City.

Rya threw the ball into the air.
She could not believe her luck when Squishy appeared.

He balanced nicely on the the thick mud. It was amazing how the sludge didn't effect him.

The mud was now almost reaching Rya's neck, with one freehand she was still grasping to Leo.
Miraculously, she didn't have to say a word. Squishy made his way over to her, dissapearing into the sludge below.
Rya felt a tug around her waist, she began to move. Leo began to flap his wings furiously in time with Squishy's gentle pulls.

Eventually, Squishy and Leo brought Rya safely to solid ground.
She collapsed, her whole body now covered in thick mud that had already began drying in the heat.
'Guys.... thank you!'She panted, trying hard not to collapse under the heat.

Squishy sat eagerly next to Rya, whilst Leo stood quietly, catching his breath.
Rya placed her hand back onto her belt. Reaching for Zephina.
She released the fire horse, who seemed well rested after the whole ordeal.
Clearly Zephina was shocked to see Rya in such a state and bent down to allow her to climb on top.

Rather than sitting upright, Rya lay upon the horse, her face engulfed into the fiery mane. She returned Squishy and looked to Leo.
'You deserve a rest for all your hard work. Why don't you perch on my and guide Zephina that way'
The bird obliged and landed on Rya, who was still lying face down. Luckily the mud had hardened on her, so it wasn't rubbing off onto Zephina.

The trio headed off into the direction of the town. They were nearly there.

[/cen ter]

[center] Eya, Zephina and Leo approached the final destination. Rya was still lying upon Zephina's back. She was exhausted, every inch of her body ached.

Ahead an old building could be seen. The three had finally made it. Leo headed off ahead, clearly excited to meet up with his friend and Master. However, Zephina kept at her slow pace, careful not to let Rya fall, who was not really holding on to support herself.

Steadily the pair were finally in view of Ryan who sat against a wall.

Rya and Zephina pulled over next to Ryan. She could tell he had also had a rough time of it. His usually white shirt was now brown and torn. However, he looked as strong as ever. It was one thing that Rya had noticed from the beginning, Ryan was a natural leader and always looked strong... even in this somewhat weakened state.

She began to dismount Zephina, her legs began to burn as her feet touched the ground. Ryan began to speak:

'Looks like it was just as interesting as yours!' She remarked in reply to Ryan's small joke.
He welcomed her to Cinnabar, even in it's wrecked state it seemed to elude beauty.

The pair now reunited and looking worse for wear had to think about their next steps... it was obvious that there was nothing on this Island for them.
'Thanks for sending Leon, he really helped... its likely I would not of survived without him or Squishy!'