Story Notes:
I will try and keep a chapter word count of around 1,000 but this will fluxuate depending on my mood. I would also like to warn people that I am dyslexic so please ignore any bad grammer or obvious mistakes you see, my spell checker should catch most of them but the most glaring ones have a habit of falling through the netDisclaimer: I do not own pokemon or any of the realted characters however I do own all of my OC's so mitts off unless you have my permissionNote: This story is also posted at Fanfiction.net, do not report this as stolen it is my story I am just posting it in two places to get a larger reader base.I would also like to inform readers that although this story has got several warnings it starts very light maybe Pg13ish but it does however get much darker as the plot progresses
Chapter 21
They quickly cut back through Jubilife city, the Pokemon walked slightly closer to Simon for protection but he didn't notice the subtle difference. The Pokemon relaxed as soon as they exited Jubilife and began their walk down the gentle slopes of Route 202. The group had been walking for about two hours when Holly began complaining that her legs were hurting, "Please stop, my legs" Holly whined as they continued to walk on, their speed reduced to a trudge so Holly could keep up, Simon sighed at this rate it would take two days to reach Sandgem town "Okay then" he conceded "We'll stop but only for five minutes" Holly sunk to her knees gratefully
"Thank you" she said sweetly
"No problem" Simon replied "Just try and keep up we've still got a while to go"
Ember padded over to Simon and nudged him gently with her nose "Huh?" Simon said as he looked down "Vuuul piiix vuuul pix?" Ember asked
Simon smiled and gently rubbed Ember's head "I know she's slow" he replied "but I promised to take her to Sandgem and she hasn't done anything wrong"
Ember snorted at Simon's statement in her mind she had already done enough damage "Vuuul piiix vul" she said changing the subject
"Yeah let's continue the lessons then" Simon smiled and scratched her behind her ear eliciting a happy "vuul"
Ember trotted over to the side of the road looking for an appropriate stick, finding one she picked it up and returned to Simon dropping it at his feet as she thought of a way to show what the word's meant "vuuul piix vuuul: vuul" she said
Simon nodded "Alright go and I'll try and guess"
Ember nodded and quickly drew a crude heart on the floor "vuul" she reiterated pointing at the image with her tails
Simon smiled "Heart?" Ember shook her head "Love then?" Ember smiled and nodded
"Okay then" Simon said "Next word please"
Holly Phoenix and Nuri watched on in interest as Ember scratched a crude stick figure of a dog "piix" she declared sniggering a bit
Simon laughed wincing slightly as he did so "Hmmm lets see" he looked her in the eyes "Well I know it's rude" he smiled as Ember nodded enthusiastically "Hmm rude and a...dog?" he laughed as Ember nodded again "well that's easy then, it means bitch" he laughed as Ember nodded and jumped onto his lap licking his face.
"How did you get that so easily?" Holly asked amazed
Simon stood up with Ember still in his arms "I've know Ember almost as long as I can remember so I can tell what she's thinking in most cases" he replied
"vuuuul pix" Ember said licking his hand
Simon nodded "And Ember here knows how to get her messages across to me"
"Eeeev veeee vee" Nuri spoke up
"Huh? Oh I guess we should get a move on. Thanks" Simon turned and put Ember down gently and gave Nuri a quick pat on the head before straightening up "Let's go"
Holly grumbled slightly as she stood up earning glares from Ember and Phoenix but the group was soon continuing down the route at a reasonable pace "At this rate we should only take two days to get there" Simon said cheerfully, the group passed many people coming in the opposite direction but aside from casual greetings they just passed by silently. After a few more hours Holly began grumbling again but she did so under her breath so as not to annoy Simon; a few minutes later Simon glanced at the sky before announcing "Lunch time" he pulled over to the side of the road and sat down "You guys know what to do, make sure to tell Nuri the idea" he smiled
"Vul piiix" Ember said attempting a salute with one of her tails
Simon laughed along with the Pokemon "Alright then be back soon" Ember and Phoenix nodded and turned to Nuri, after a brief exchange they all disappeared into the undergrowth. Holly was exuberant, she and Simon finally had some alone time, she scooted over closer to him smiling "So Simon" she asked "What do you think of me?"
Simon who was a little preoccupied grinding up some Oran berries for the salad looked up "Huh? Oh, well.." he scratched the back of his head awkwardly "Your okay I guess, I don't have anything to go on really but my girls don't seem to like you much" he smiled "though they are a little overprotective sometimes, you caused some problems when you pushed me into that lake but that's mostly my fault for not letting you know I couldn't swim"
Holly frowned slightly "That's not what I meant; I mean do you 'like' me?"
"Sure. I guess" Simon answered not looking up from his preparation
Holly sighed quietly, he was really clueless, maybe a more direct approach was needed "Ahhh!" she shrieked "A Spinarak! I hate Spinarak" she scampered close to Simon and clutched at him. Simon blushed slightly when Holly clutched him but put it to the back of his mind "Where?" he asked
"Over there" Holly stuttered trying to sound scared as she pulled Simon closer, she pointed over into the bushes
"I don't see it" Simon said confused
"Maybe it's hiding?" Holly offered lamely
Simon smiled "Okay then I'll get rid of it for you" he threw her off and stood up walking into the bushes where she had pointed, Holly heard some loud noises then Simon emerged again "There it's gone" Simon smiled, this usually worked with Ember whenever she thought there was something hiding.
Holly nodded a small blush on her face; trust Simon to do the chivalrous thing and try and remove the Spinarak rather than just tell her not to be afraid, a small rustle in the bushes drew her attention. Simon smiled "Don't worry it's Ember not a Spinarak"
Holly smiled at his attempt to comfort her still slightly blushing "How do you know?" she asked
Simon laughed "I just do" and true to his word a light red muzzle soon emerged from the bushes quickly followed by the rest of Ember's body "Hey girl" Simon said, his face lighting up "Where are the others?"
"Vuuul piix vul" Ember replied her voice a little muffled by the berries she was carrying
Simon nodded "Ok then, show me what you've got and we'll wait for them" Ember dropped the berries at Simon's feet and jumped into her usual place on his lap "Hmm lets see" Simon mumbled sorting through the berries Ember had gathered "Leppa, Sitrus and hmm I don't recognise this one" he scrutinised the small blue berry noting the patches of lighter blue that covered it's hard outer skin, taking a small nibble his face puckered "Sour and dry" he declared handing the rest of the berry to Ember who happily gulped it down.
"Vuuul piix vul piix?" Ember asked
Simon smiled and tussled her head "Well I've made some salad" Ember pulled a face at the announcement "Don't worry I added some Oran berries for you guys" Ember nodded satisfied and licked Simon's hand by way of thanks.
It didn't take long for Ember and Nuri to re-emerge back onto the path "Hey!" Simon called out happy to have them back "What did you guys get" Phoenix padded over and dumped a load of berries at Simon's feet with Nuri following suit "Simon smiled as he pulled his metal berry case from his bag, adding the berries Ember had brought he went about sorting the berries Nuri and Phoenix had found "Hmmm" he mumbled as he sorted "Lots of Bluk berries" he smiled and patted Ember on the head "I know how much you like those "a few Orans and some more of that mystery berry Ember had found. Finally sitting up from his task he snapped shut the case and slid it back into his bag "Alright guys time to dig in" he pulled the cover from the bowl of food and dished it out into five roughly even portions handing one to each member of the group. Reaching back into his bag he pulled out a map of the local region it went from Floaroma town down the coast and you could make out the easterly edge of Oreburgh on the far left of the map, spreading it out on the ground he pointed at the first bend in Route 202 with his free hand whilst eating with his other one "We're about here" he explained "and we should make it at least this far before we set up camp for the night" he shifted his hand to the second major bend "It's a good few miles but we should be able to make it if we walk at a constant pace" Ember and Phoenix glared at Holly over their shoulders. They quickly finished off their meal and Simon packed everything up making a mental note to stop and wash up next time they passed a stream or pond "Ok then, I guess we should get a move on we've got a good distance to go before nightfall". The group set off again Holly lagging a little behind plotting another way to try and seduce Simon since her last idea had been useless.
"Thank you" she said sweetly
"No problem" Simon replied "Just try and keep up we've still got a while to go"
Ember padded over to Simon and nudged him gently with her nose "Huh?" Simon said as he looked down "Vuuul piiix vuuul pix?" Ember asked
Simon smiled and gently rubbed Ember's head "I know she's slow" he replied "but I promised to take her to Sandgem and she hasn't done anything wrong"
Ember snorted at Simon's statement in her mind she had already done enough damage "Vuuul piiix vul" she said changing the subject
"Yeah let's continue the lessons then" Simon smiled and scratched her behind her ear eliciting a happy "vuul"
Ember trotted over to the side of the road looking for an appropriate stick, finding one she picked it up and returned to Simon dropping it at his feet as she thought of a way to show what the word's meant "vuuul piix vuuul: vuul" she said
Simon nodded "Alright go and I'll try and guess"
Ember nodded and quickly drew a crude heart on the floor "vuul" she reiterated pointing at the image with her tails
Simon smiled "Heart?" Ember shook her head "Love then?" Ember smiled and nodded
"Okay then" Simon said "Next word please"
Holly Phoenix and Nuri watched on in interest as Ember scratched a crude stick figure of a dog "piix" she declared sniggering a bit
Simon laughed wincing slightly as he did so "Hmmm lets see" he looked her in the eyes "Well I know it's rude" he smiled as Ember nodded enthusiastically "Hmm rude and a...dog?" he laughed as Ember nodded again "well that's easy then, it means bitch" he laughed as Ember nodded and jumped onto his lap licking his face.
"How did you get that so easily?" Holly asked amazed
Simon stood up with Ember still in his arms "I've know Ember almost as long as I can remember so I can tell what she's thinking in most cases" he replied
"vuuuul pix" Ember said licking his hand
Simon nodded "And Ember here knows how to get her messages across to me"
"Eeeev veeee vee" Nuri spoke up
"Huh? Oh I guess we should get a move on. Thanks" Simon turned and put Ember down gently and gave Nuri a quick pat on the head before straightening up "Let's go"
Holly grumbled slightly as she stood up earning glares from Ember and Phoenix but the group was soon continuing down the route at a reasonable pace "At this rate we should only take two days to get there" Simon said cheerfully, the group passed many people coming in the opposite direction but aside from casual greetings they just passed by silently. After a few more hours Holly began grumbling again but she did so under her breath so as not to annoy Simon; a few minutes later Simon glanced at the sky before announcing "Lunch time" he pulled over to the side of the road and sat down "You guys know what to do, make sure to tell Nuri the idea" he smiled
"Vul piiix" Ember said attempting a salute with one of her tails
Simon laughed along with the Pokemon "Alright then be back soon" Ember and Phoenix nodded and turned to Nuri, after a brief exchange they all disappeared into the undergrowth. Holly was exuberant, she and Simon finally had some alone time, she scooted over closer to him smiling "So Simon" she asked "What do you think of me?"
Simon who was a little preoccupied grinding up some Oran berries for the salad looked up "Huh? Oh, well.." he scratched the back of his head awkwardly "Your okay I guess, I don't have anything to go on really but my girls don't seem to like you much" he smiled "though they are a little overprotective sometimes, you caused some problems when you pushed me into that lake but that's mostly my fault for not letting you know I couldn't swim"
Holly frowned slightly "That's not what I meant; I mean do you 'like' me?"
"Sure. I guess" Simon answered not looking up from his preparation
Holly sighed quietly, he was really clueless, maybe a more direct approach was needed "Ahhh!" she shrieked "A Spinarak! I hate Spinarak" she scampered close to Simon and clutched at him. Simon blushed slightly when Holly clutched him but put it to the back of his mind "Where?" he asked
"Over there" Holly stuttered trying to sound scared as she pulled Simon closer, she pointed over into the bushes
"I don't see it" Simon said confused
"Maybe it's hiding?" Holly offered lamely
Simon smiled "Okay then I'll get rid of it for you" he threw her off and stood up walking into the bushes where she had pointed, Holly heard some loud noises then Simon emerged again "There it's gone" Simon smiled, this usually worked with Ember whenever she thought there was something hiding.
Holly nodded a small blush on her face; trust Simon to do the chivalrous thing and try and remove the Spinarak rather than just tell her not to be afraid, a small rustle in the bushes drew her attention. Simon smiled "Don't worry it's Ember not a Spinarak"
Holly smiled at his attempt to comfort her still slightly blushing "How do you know?" she asked
Simon laughed "I just do" and true to his word a light red muzzle soon emerged from the bushes quickly followed by the rest of Ember's body "Hey girl" Simon said, his face lighting up "Where are the others?"
"Vuuul piix vul" Ember replied her voice a little muffled by the berries she was carrying
Simon nodded "Ok then, show me what you've got and we'll wait for them" Ember dropped the berries at Simon's feet and jumped into her usual place on his lap "Hmm lets see" Simon mumbled sorting through the berries Ember had gathered "Leppa, Sitrus and hmm I don't recognise this one" he scrutinised the small blue berry noting the patches of lighter blue that covered it's hard outer skin, taking a small nibble his face puckered "Sour and dry" he declared handing the rest of the berry to Ember who happily gulped it down.
"Vuuul piix vul piix?" Ember asked
Simon smiled and tussled her head "Well I've made some salad" Ember pulled a face at the announcement "Don't worry I added some Oran berries for you guys" Ember nodded satisfied and licked Simon's hand by way of thanks.
It didn't take long for Ember and Nuri to re-emerge back onto the path "Hey!" Simon called out happy to have them back "What did you guys get" Phoenix padded over and dumped a load of berries at Simon's feet with Nuri following suit "Simon smiled as he pulled his metal berry case from his bag, adding the berries Ember had brought he went about sorting the berries Nuri and Phoenix had found "Hmmm" he mumbled as he sorted "Lots of Bluk berries" he smiled and patted Ember on the head "I know how much you like those "a few Orans and some more of that mystery berry Ember had found. Finally sitting up from his task he snapped shut the case and slid it back into his bag "Alright guys time to dig in" he pulled the cover from the bowl of food and dished it out into five roughly even portions handing one to each member of the group. Reaching back into his bag he pulled out a map of the local region it went from Floaroma town down the coast and you could make out the easterly edge of Oreburgh on the far left of the map, spreading it out on the ground he pointed at the first bend in Route 202 with his free hand whilst eating with his other one "We're about here" he explained "and we should make it at least this far before we set up camp for the night" he shifted his hand to the second major bend "It's a good few miles but we should be able to make it if we walk at a constant pace" Ember and Phoenix glared at Holly over their shoulders. They quickly finished off their meal and Simon packed everything up making a mental note to stop and wash up next time they passed a stream or pond "Ok then, I guess we should get a move on we've got a good distance to go before nightfall". The group set off again Holly lagging a little behind plotting another way to try and seduce Simon since her last idea had been useless.