Paragon

Hisui Incursion [22]

As always, the chapter was delayed because I was playing games tehehehe

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PARAGON

Hisui Incursion Arc [22]

Chapter 74 : The Platinum Clan

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Hisui Region - Coronet Highlands

Weeds and drab flowers grew from between cracks in the harsh gray rock of the mountains. The air ran thin yet held a thick fog that lay over the distant hills like a blanket. Each step sent rivers of gravel coursing down the steep mountainside. Waterfalls roared around them, yet could not be seen through the fog.

Laventon panted as he pulled himself up the stony ridge. His throat was damp from the fog but thirst gnawed at him. He paused to suck in several breaths, leaning on his knee.

Just beside him, the cliffside dropped off into a gorge where rivers rushed far below, and he tried to ignore how close he was to death if he took one wrong step.

The air stubbornly refused to fill his lungs, so he pressed onward again.

Like his master, Pikachu appeared to maintain a depthless amount of energy, and stayed ahead of Laventon the entire way, always sniffing something out or investigating something off in the distance. Every now and then he glanced back at Laventon, but the professor did not want the mouse to worry about him so he kept up a front of strength whenever he did.

As expected, Decidueye kept to the skies above them. Laventon was surprised he hadn't just flown off completely, but even he did not seem to want to incur their guide's wrath. His silhouette circled them throughout the day and he only came down at nightfall, though he kept his distance from the rest.

As for the strange pink pokémon, it hovered ahead of both of them, moving at a consistent speed, effortlessly gliding over the steep mountain path without a care. Unlike Pikachu, it never turned around, but whenever Laventon slowed, it did too, so it always stayed the same distance away from him.

This was how it'd gone over the past week. After commanding them to follow it, the pokémon hadn't said another word. So, wordlessly, Laventon and Pikachu followed the creature. It led them off the beach, through the muggy swamps of Hisui's easterlands, and finally up into the rocky slopes of the Coronet Highlands.

Somehow, whenever Laventon's hunger or thirst was about to get the better of him, they'd happen upon a grove of berries or a freshwater stream. For the first few days, he chalked it up to luck, but it soon became clear that the pink pokémon was responsible. For the same reason, Laventon suspected, they did not encounter a single wild pokémon throughout their entire journey. It wasn't just that none attacked them. Not a single one even appeared to them. It was as if their mere presence caused the land to turn utterly barren.

Laventon coughed and his tongue hung out of his mouth. "Water..." he groaned.

Pikachu stopped and looked back at him with worry, but there was nothing he could do, so his ears drooped.

"Water...," Laventon repeated. "H-Hello...? Please..." He waved his hand ahead.

Far ahead, between the cliffs, the pink pokémon waited just before the fog.

"Please, I need water!" Laventon called, speeding up to try and catch up. He could see black spots dancing at the edge of his vision; the climb up this mountain had not been kind to him, even without the danger of wild pokémon. After a week of travel, he was malnourished and dehydrated.