All Alone (BEING EDITED)

Chapter 17: Burning Desires

Paul walks up to me and glares at me before looking at Prof. Cozmo who I'm still dragging behind me. He turns back to me.

"What happened to him?" he asks, pointing a finger at the limp professor. I don't know if I should tell him. It might make matters worse. I shrug.

"Got scared by a horde of Zubats." I say calmly. He crosses his arms and gives me a disbelieving look.

"Sure he did. I just saw some guys in red and blue run past me. I want to know what's going on and don't lie to me this time." He scowls at me. I sigh and pinch the bridge of my nose in annoyance. Curse his intellect.

"I'll give it to you straight. There are two teams here in Hoenn. One is Team Magma and the other is Team Aqua. You can figure out which is which. They're rivals and apparently Team Magma has this crazy speculation that they can expand the land. They scared Prof. Cozmo and snatched a meteorite from him that is essential for their plans to succeed. Now they are heading to Mt. Chimney and I need to stop them from causing destruction for this region and possibly the world. Now if you excuse me I need to get going." I snap at him. I grab the professor's arm and shove Paul aside.

I stomp down the path, pulling the confused professor along the rocky road. I don't stop to turn around or wave goodbye. I just keep going, letting my anger slowly burn out. Chatot sits on my shoulder silently, waiting for me to calm down. Why can't Paul just leave me alone? If I keep bumping into him it won't be long until something bad happens. Does he suspect me of something? Why is he interested in me? A scowl plants itself on my face as I drag Prof. Cozmo up to the door of his lab. I knock on the door and that same woman from before answers.

"You found him! Thank you so much! I'll take it from here." she exclaims happily. She gently grabs the professor's hand and leads him inside. She shuts the door and I walk back to the center. I hand Chatot and my pokemon over to Nurse Joy and stomp over to the lounge. I sit down on a couch and cross my arms over my chest. Chatot flies out of the back door, fully healed, and lands on my knees. He glances up at me and sighs.

"You can't stop him you know." he says.

"I can try, can't I?" I huff. Chatot sadly shakes his head.

"He's just curious. There is something about you that perks his interest."

"What is it about me though?" I ask, finally calming down. Chatot looks out the window thoughtfully.

"Maybe he's trying to find you." he suggests. My thoughts suddenly freeze. Is he trying to find me? Is that why he's been following me? Why does he want to find me? No one else has tried, so why is he? All of these questions swim through my head. I blink slowly, trying to sort everything out.

"I am a strong trainer. Maybe that's the reason." I say doubtfully. Chatot turns back to me.

"I don't think so. If that was the reason he would have challenged you by now." Chatot lights up with an idea.

"Did you notice he is always the one to approach you? Every time we run into him he is the one who asks a question." That's true. At the gym he asked me to battle him and at the museum in Slateport he asked me what happened on the second floor. Just now he asked me what happened to Prof. Cozmo. I stroke Chatot's back and he purrs happily. I give him a small smile and stand up. He jumps off and lands on my shoulder.

"Maybe you're right, but I need more information. I want to know why he wants to find me." I mutter. Chatot nods and I grab my pokeballs off the counter.

"For now let's head to Mt. Chimney." I say, determination gripping my heart. I rush out the center and down Route 113.

I step gingerly out of the cable car. The stewardess leads me to the doors and bows her head respectively. She goes back to her station and I push open the doors. Warm air greets me as I step out onto the mountain. I see a staircase off to my right and immediately begin climbing it.

When I reach the top I glance around to check my surroundings. About ten Team Magma grunts are scattered across the ledge in front of me. Each one has a Team Aqua grunt facing them. All of them have Poochyenas and look like they are about to engage in battle. At least they're distracted and don't notice me standing here. I slip past undetected and continue my route along the path. I notice Archie facing off against three grunts. It looks like he has the situation under control, so I walk past, ignoring them. My mind is set on one goal: Stop Team Magma before they destroy this region. A glass platform stretches out across the volcano's crater and I carefully make my way towards it. I see a man down at the end in front of a machine. The machine contains the meteorite and the man seems to be observing it, taking note of every little change. I want to confront him, but a hand stops me before I can make a move. I look behind me and see Tabitha frowning at me. I growl, remembering our last encounter.

"You are a really, really, really, obnoxious child." he says, irritated. My hand twitches and I curl it into a fist, ready to punch the living daylights out of him.

"I don't have time for this, Tabitha and I'm not in the mood for a battle. We both know who the winner will be." I snap at him. He growls at me and holds up two pokeballs. A Koffing and a Numel appear in front of me.

"Oh don't worry. This will be quick since we both know that I am going to crush you." he snarls. His eyes open and he glares at me. They are blood-red and a shiver runs up my spine as he stares me down. I grab Kirlia's pokeball and release him.

"Okay guys. Let's finish this quickly. Kirlia use Psychic on both and Chatot use Aerial Ace." I say menacingly. Kirlia's eyes glow blue and he lifts them up into the air. Chatot shoots past me, glowing white because of Aerial Ace, and slams them into the ground. Koffing faints, but Numel manages to get up. Tabitha smirks at me, his eyes still staring at me. I cringe slightly.

"Numel use Lava Plume." Numel releases a pillar of fire that pushes Kirlia backwards. Chatot tries to maintain flight, but gets slammed into the ground.

"Chatot!" I yell anxiously. I look around nervously and spot him in the cloud of dust. He smirks at me. I smile and nod. He takes off from the ground and hovers in the air.

"Okay, Chatot. Finish this up with a powerful Furry Swipe. His claws glow red and he dashes towards Numel. He slashes furiously before returning to my shoulder. Numel sways and faints at Tabitha's feet. I quietly return Kirlia, thanking him before glaring at Tabitha.

"How is this possible?" he exclaims furiously. "I lost to a child! I lost to a mere child!" He backs off a few steps and shakes his head in disbelief. I growl at him.

"Don't mess with me." I hiss, my voice dripping with anger. I spin around and stalk towards the man on the bridge. My foot steps echo off the glass and the man snaps out of his daze. He turns the glow from the volcano highlighting his face.

"Seems like we have an unwelcome visitor." he smirks. Chatot growls and I scowl at the man.

"Long time no see, Maxie." I snarl.