POKEMON - THE GALES OF DARKNESS

CHAPTER 6 - A MOMENT OF HAPPINESS

Ash, Pikachu, Serena, Rotom, Delia, Prof. Krane and Lucario made their way through the dense woods until they found a clearing. By the time they found it, the sun was beginning to set.

"It's gonna get dark soon..." Delia said in a hushed tone.

"She's right... We should set up camp here..." Prof. Krane replied.

We're close to Gateon Port... Lucario said through his Aura link with the others. We'll be safer there... He continued.

"I don't think it's a good idea..." Rotom said. "By my calculations, it will take us approximately two hours to get to Gateon Port, and by then everything will be closed..." Rotom stopped for a moment while calculating something. "Except for a... 24 hour carnival? Seriously? Who opens a carnival for 24 hours?" He said.

Lucario sighed. Fine... Let's set up camp for the night... He spoke before sitting down, followed by the rest of our heroes (except for Rotom, since he was floating).

"We're gonna need to light up a fire..." Serena reminded everybody.

"No problem..." Ash said as he stood up and drew out a Poke-Ball. "We both have Fire Pokémon now don't we?" Ash said. "Houndour, I choose you!" He exclaimed as he threw the Poke-Ball high in the air, releasing the first Shadow Pokémon he caught and purified, Houndour.

Houndour barked happily and wiggled its tail. "I'm gonna go find some wood to light the fire..." Ash said as him, Pikachu and Houndour walked into the woods.

"I wanna go with you!" Serena suddenly blurted out as she stood up, her cheeks a hint of pink. "Y-you... You can't go there alone..." She continued.

Ash simply smiled. "Sure thing, just be careful, okay?" He said, the second part with a serious tone.

Serena simply nodded and followed Ash into the forest.

You know what? I'm going too... Lucario said. The more hands you have, the more sticks you can carry...

Ash nodded again as the five of them walked into the forest.

After a few minutes, when the kids and their Pokémon were already out of sight, Prof. Krane remembered something. "Hey, Delia..." He said, catching Delia's attention. "Doesn't Mimey know Teleport?" He asked.

Delia's eyes widened in realization. "WHY DIDN'T YOU REMIND ME OF THIS EARLIER?!" She yelled, causing the nearby flying Pokémon to be scared and fly away.

Meanwhile in the forest, Ash, Serena, Lucario, Pikachu and Houndour had found bundles of sticks and were heading back to their campsite. "Did you hear something?" Serena asked.

"Not really..." Ash said, only half paying attention to her, seeing how he was too busy asking Lucario question after question about literally anything he could answer. You'd think that someone who has died and been resurrected at least three different times wouldn't be that surprised when they saw a Pokémon who died come back to life, but you'd be wrong, apparently. "So, how much Shadow Pokémon can you purify?" Ash asked.

Huh? Lucario turned to look at Ash, a puzzled expression on his face.

"You know! Back at the tree of beginning I was able to use the Aura power to try and heal Mew!" Ash exclaimed. "And now I'm using those same powers to detect and purify the Shadow Pokémon, right? So, how many can you purify?" He asked again.