Sky's the limit

Chapter 14

I probably should have mentioned this before, even if it was obvious, but I do not own Pokemon. Pokemon belongs to Game Freak, so...yeah.

"Hey hey, what are we standing around waiting for?" Corphish said. "I'll go back and let everyone in the guild know what happened!" Turning to Amber and Jasper, he added, "You two should come with me, too!"

"Wait, hold up a second!" Amber tried to protest. Corphish ignored her and was already scuttling off, Jasper sprinting after him. Amber groaned. "Don't I get any say in this?" she grumbled as she ran after them. Amber turned to yell over her shoulder, "You guys better not leave without us!"

Gina and Soren exchanged a glance. "I wonder why Corphish wanted them to go with him?" Gina said.

"He'd have had to go through Foggy Forest again," Soren pointed out. "He probably wanted Amber and Jasper so he wouldn't have as much trouble getting through."

Gina nodded, then walked over to the slope that led to the plateau. "Well, come on, we've got no time to waste! Let's get to Fogbound Lake already!"

"But Amber said we should wait for them to get back."

"That'll take too long. Besides, who cares what Amber says? They'll catch up, right?"

Soren rolled his eyes. "Okay, fine. Let's go."

As they began to make their way to the slope, a sharp voice froze them in their tracks.

"Hold it!"

Gina and Soren whirled around, and their eyes widened in shock and frustration when Team Skull raced towards them. Skuntank, Koffing, and Zubat all wore similar cruel smirks on their faces.

"Well, well, where do you kids think you're going?" Skuntank sneered.

"We're going to Fogbound Lake," Gina said, her voice carrying a slight edge to it. "We found a way to lift the fog!"

Koffing chuckled hoarsely. "Well, good for you! You kiddos finally solved the mystery. You're no longer of use to us!"

"Heh heh! Thanks to you, we'll be the ones going to the lake and swiping the treasure!" Zubat added.

Soren stepped forward to stand at Gina's side. "Is that why you idiots joined the expedition? So you could betray everyone in the end? Is that what you've been planning all along?"

"No, we came to discover the wonders and magic of friendship!" Skuntank said sarcastically. "Did you really expect anything less of us?" He laughed darkly. "I'm sorry to say it, actually I couldn't care less, but we're going to get rid of you here right now."

"Well, bring it on then!" Gina shot back. "You really think we're scared of a bunch of cowards like you?"

"You won't get past us," Soren put in. "There's no way we're letting you jerks get to Fogbound Lake!"

The three members of Team Skull laughed. "Looks like someone's feeling optimistic today!" Koffing jeered. "Look at 'em! Thinking they're so strong!"

"They must have forgotten how our last battle ended," Skuntank said. His eyes narrowed, and his lips curled into an even crueler smile than before. A row of sharp fangs was now showing. "Let me remind them how they lost to us the first time."

He and Koffing came towards them, and Gina and Soren backed up warily. Gina indeed remembered how they lost the last battle again Team Skull, and she didn't want to have to go through something like that again.

"You were defeated by our noxious gas combo, weren't you?" Skuntank asked. When they didn't respond, his fur raised on end and he asked, harder this time, "Didn't you?!"