All Alone (BEING EDITED)

Chapter 37: The Beginning of the Storm

"We completely smashed those two!" I exclaim, holding up the newly acquired Mind Badge. I grin happily and put it in my badge case. Chatot chirps excitedly.

"That was so much fun!" he says, still grinning. Paul stands next to me, placing his badge in his own case.

"Of course we did. You had me on your team." he says, stuffing his hands in his pockets. I hold my hands up in defence.

"I know, but I did finish both of them off." I reply, smirking. I did have to finish them off. Solrock's Psychic was holding Honchkrow in place, so I had to step in with my Mightyena. Paul scowls and turns around. He starts walking back to the center, but I quickly grab his arm and pull him the other way.

"Hey! Where are we going?" he growls angrily. I smile sweetly at him and continue walking through the town.

"I need to see a friend of mine." I explain, looking for the correct house. Paul doesn't comment as I finally find the house.

"Here we are." I say, knocking on the door. I let go of Paul's arm and lean against the door frame. Shuffling noises can be heard from inside the house and the door swings open to reveal a smiling Steven. His grin widens when he spots me against the door.

"Dawn! I wasn't expecting you here." he exclaims, slightly surprised at my appearance. I chuckle and stand up straight. Chatot chirps a greeting to Steven and Steven gives him a pat on the head.

"Sorry for the rush, Steven, but can we come in?" I ask politely, ducking under his arm before he can reply.

"We?" he asks, confused about what I mean. I gesture to a bored looking Paul who is still standing in the doorway. Steven smiles when he recognizes him.

"So sorry. You must be Paul, come on in." he apologizes, opening the door for him to enter. Paul mutters his thanks and sits down on the couch next to me. I glance around the small house. Behind me are some glass cases with different types of stones from different regions. To my right is a bed with red sheets covering it. In the center of the room is a wooden table with chairs around it and a counter with a sink and oven are towards the left of the entrance.

Steven pulls up a chair from the table and sits down in front of us. I fiddle with the end of my shirt sheepishly and Chatot stares down at the floor. Steven furrows his eyebrows and glares at me.

"Dawn? What did you do this time?" he asks, already on my case. I try to smile casually and laugh nervously.

"Well...you see..." I explain the whole story to him and by the end both Paul and Chatot are reliving their anger towards Team Magma. Steven closes his eyes in thought and sits quietly for a few moments. He suddenly opens them and he smiles at me.

"You're always getting into trouble, aren't you, Dawn?" he says jokingly. Paul smirks and responds before I have the chance to retort.

"One of the many reasons I call her 'Troublesome'." he says glancing at me. I scowl at him and clench my fists. Chatot quickly glides over to the bed, not wanting to be part of the argument.

"HEY! No one asked you!" I exclaim angrily. Paul just shrugs his shoulders.

"No one had to." he replies, still smirking at me. I glare at him and cross my arms, turning to face the other way. Steven starts laughing quietly and I spin around to glare at him.

"What are you laughing about?" I ask, still seething from earlier. Steven's laughter increases and he has to calm himself down before answering.

"Just the fact that you two are flirting like boyfriend and girlfriend." he says like it's the most obvious thing in the world. My expression changes from hatred to embarrassment in a matter of seconds and I have to look away so Steven doesn't spot the blush rising to my cheeks. I glance at Paul and see a small blush on his cheeks. Need to distract him. Need to distract him. Oh! I snap my fingers and pull my bag over. Everyone stares at me curiously as I shuffle through the contents of my backpack.

"Here it is." I announce, pulling out the white stone I found in the forest yesterday.

"Can you tell me about this stone, Steven?" I ask, handing it over to him. His eyes widen and he jumps up from his chair. He strolls over to a chest of drawers and pulls out a magnifying glass and another one of those bands that Blaziken and Latios wear. He strolls back over to us and starts examining the stone carefully.

"I believe this is a Galladite." he says, turning the stone over in his hands. "This is used to mega evolve a Gallade." He pops the stone into the band and hands it to me. I stare at the band and grin wildly. Chatot flies back over to my shoulder to look at the stone more closely.

"Good thing I have a Gallade!" I exclaim, pulling out said pokemon's pokeball. Steven raises an eyebrow as I throw out the ball. Gallade pops out and glances around the room in confusion.

"Hey, Gallade! Guess what!" I say leaping up to greet him. He looks at me and tilts his head.

" What?" he asks, still confused. I hold up the band to show him.

"I found a Galladite. Now you can mega evolve." I explain, clipping the band around his neck. Gallade smirks and pumps his fist in the air.

"Yes! Now Blaziken will stop bragging about his." he says happily. Chatot looks down at the floor.

"I want a stone too." he whines, feeling left out. I rub his back comfortingly.

"Sorry, Chatot. Maybe we'll find something for you." I say soothingly while returning Gallade. I turn back around and sit back down on the couch. Paul puts his arm over my shoulders and I give him a small smile.

"Where's the next gym?" I ask him, eager to get going. Paul stays silent for a few seconds.

"I think it's in Sootopolis City." he tells me. I smile and lean into him.

"Then that's where we're going next." I say, determination sparkling in my eyes. Steven smirks and opens his mouth to say something, but he gets cut off by a large explosion. I jolt up from my position and race out of the house, Chatot following close behind. I stop abruptly when I see a huge pillar of light appear out of the ocean. What was that? Everyone around me scatters in panic, but Paul manages to get through and stands next to me.

"What was that?" he shouts, repeating my thoughts as another earthquake shakes the land. I cover my ears and Chatot screeches in pain.

"I don't know!" I shout back to him. He grabs my arm and tugs me back into Steven's house. I shake my head to rid myself of the pain and give him a quick hug before turning to Steven.

"Okay, Steven. We need an explanation, now." Paul states, getting straight to the point. Steven sighs and sits back down in his chair.

"It appears that Team Magma has broken the ancient seal. The seal was put in place to keep people and pokemon from awakening the beast inside. Team Magma must have broken through and intend to use Groudon for their own purposes." he explains in a grave tone. I start to shiver when he mentions Team Magma and Paul instinctively puts an arm around me to calm me down.

"Where do you think they are?" he asks Steven, his voice rising in anger. Steven looks at us and sighs again.

"They are in a sea floor cavern beneath Route 128. You need a water-type pokemon to be able to dive down there. Here, take this." he says, handing us two sets of scuba gear.

"You can stay underwater for hours with that equipment. Use them well. I will meet you when I have finished my work here. Farewell and good luck." he says, exiting his house and waiting for us to follow. Chatot looks at my worryingly as I walk out, still speechless from the last few minutes. I have to face them again? What is going to happen this time? Paul must have noticed me acting strangely because he takes my hand.

"It's okay, Dawn. I'll make sure they won't hurt you this time." he says, growling at the memory of our last encounter. I glance up at his determined expression and I smile softly when I see concern in his eyes.

"Thanks, Paul." I say softly. He nods silently and we quickly make our way towards the sea.

Sorry if the quality isn't as good as the others. I'm under some stress right now from homework and school. Hope you like it! :)