DPA: Rivals

Chapter 10: The Curious Incident Of The Poliwag In the Night Time Part 1

Daryon stared at the half moon that provided light for him and his friends, peeking in through the thick foliage that acted as a roof of sorts for the camp they had pitched. They had found a grove just to the side of Viridian Forest's entrance, complete with a small pond.

Cameron had created a small campfire, around which he, Skye, and Max were telling scary stories. The light of the fire caused enormous shadows to form around the trio, which danced in the moonlight and enhanced the spookiness of the tales they told.

Daryon sat beside the pond, filling up water bottles for the long trek into the forest that would begin the next day. Looking at his reflection, he noticed little changes. His dark complexion did little to hide the dark circles forming around his eyes. What had been combed, smooth ebony hair was now a jet black mess of cowlicks and knots. He had only been gone from home for a day, and already he found the world was taking a toll on him.

He glanced over at Cameron. His best friend, who had been white as the pelt of a Dewgong, began to show signs of mild sunburn, and his hair, mocha brown, also showed the signs of a 10 year old running through the wind (and being hit by a Pidgey's Sand Attack). Cameron had draped a blanket across his legs, to cover the bare skin exposed by someone who chose to wear shorts on an adventure.

Having filled up the canteens, Daryon got up from the ground, joining his friends around the burning wood. Pine, it smelled like.

Skye smiled, pushing a lock of her light brunette hair away from her eye. Cameron let out a slight gasp. "What?" Skye snapped, defensive.

"Y-your e-e-e-eyes..." Cameron stuttered, embarrassed. "They're really blue."

Skye blushed, before turning to Max. "Why don't you get dressed for bed?" Skye instructed. "Take Poliwag with you."

"But I'm not..." Max began, before letting out a massive yawn. "...tired."

"Don't make me ask you again," Skye replied sternly.

"Okay," Max muttered, getting up from the log he had been sitting on and stumbling over the tent, Poliwag trailing shortly behind him.

After watching to make sure Max was in his tent, Skye turned to the boys. "What's our plan for tomorrow?"

"Well, if we pack up and start moving when the sun comes up, it should be about a three day walk through Viridian Forest. I made sure to bring several antidotes with me, as there are a lot of Poison types roaming the forest. We do have to be very careful to stay on the main path. The further off the path you go, the more dangerous the Pokémon . I think Mom even mentioned that a Nidoking had been sighted last week."

"Yikes," Skye said, buttoning up her coat all the way. "Didn't Champion Red use one of those in his battle against Blue's Arcanine in that one battle?"

"Yeah!" Daryon shouted, a little too loud. His voice echoed throughout the forest. Cringing, Daryon lowered his voice. "That's why I'm gonna catch one. Red is the best, and he had one, so if I want to be the best, I wanna have one too."

"Just be careful not to do anything rash," Cameron retorted.

"Since when have I ever been rash?"