Weathering The Storm... (A Pokemon OC Story)

Chapter 23: Reunion...

The chilly temperature of the hardened mud tunnel sent goosebumps running along Lucas's arms. He had been walking along with Night for a considerable amount of time, the temperature only getting closer as he moved further along. But, he just had to look down at Shroomish taking the same walk along the tunnel to continue on the walk with determination. And, he could always pull out Torchic off its deserved rest in its Pokeball to warm himself up.

Then, there was Ellie standing by his side, feeling not as cold as he was but feeling uneasy about the long trek through the tunnel. She thought that they all would've arrived at wherever Shroomish's family led, but it just seemed to keep on going. She had a thought or two that the boy was simply just trying to lure them so he could try to hurt them with Slaking again. But, she knew that wasn't the case. He'd been so friendly and apologetic ever since Slaking tried to hurt her more than necessary.

And, that cheerful mood continued as Night looked to his left, to some stones implanted into the wall. He suddenly got excitable and said with joy,

"Oh, we've finally arrived! I haven't visited these guys in a while."

Night slowly began to pick up his pace even more through the mud tunnel until they eventually saw a small light illuminating a room in front of them. It was a small campfire, with a flickering light in the middle that looked like it was on the cusp of being put out for good. But, the Shroomish gathered around seemed content, even with their dying fire heating them up from far away.

"Hey guys!", Night called out to them and the Shroomish turned to see Night. A couple of Shroomish greeted him warmly and with a childlike sense of excitement that Night seemed to mirror, while the adult Brelooms and an Everstone holding Shroomish stayed reserved and by the fire, content to just smile happily. They then noticed they had visitors, and while the child Shroomish greeted them warmly and with friendly smiles, the older ones were more cautious around them. That was until Shroomish appeared from behind Lucas's legs.

The timid nature that Shroomish previously had? Gone.

It dashed up to its friends, exchanging cries with each other with excitement that hadn't been heard of from Lucas during his entire adventure alongside Shroomish. And, the Breloom and one Shroomish both gathered around as well, clearly welcoming Shroomish back with open arms. They then turned to Lucas and spoke in their own language, which Lucas couldn't understand a word of. But, Night seemed to understand them perfectly,

"They say thank you for looking after Shroomish."

"You can understand them?"

"Yeah, I can understand almost every Pokémon in this forest. I'd be surprised if anyone couldn't after living here for as long as I have."

"Well, it was no problem taking care of Shroomish.", Lucas said to the Breloom, "He actually helped me save my friends here, so I guess it's just lucky that we managed to find it."

The elder Shroomish then spoke to Night in its normal cries and Night translated it for Lucas and Ellie,

"They say that they sent Shroomish out to find food for them, but then it was gone for two days."

"Do they still need food because we have some here.", Ellie chimed in, throwing her bag to the floor and pulling out a bag of berries. The two younger Shroomish swarmed Ellie, taking a berry each and a pat on the head from Ellie. Then, the elder Shroomish took two, handing one to a fellow Breloom. Then, those that wouldn't go near were tossed a berry each. Then, Lucas noticed the campfire starting to dim even more, and grabbed Torchic's Pokeball.

"Torchic, light up that campfire!"

Torchic leapt out of the Pokeball, taking a second to spot the campfire then using Ember. The campfire suddenly burst with new life, the light illuminating the dirt walls around and warming up the entire room. Torchic then landed without a hint of struggle on Lucas's shoulder.