Chapter 83

The gang was on their way to the Cinnabar Volcano when an excited cry of a bird resounded in the sky, attracting their attention.

Aizen looked up and saw his Mega Pidgeot circling above them.

"What happened?" Misty curiously asked.

"Aerius has found something interesting and wants to lead me to that place." He informed her.

"Is it dangerous?" Leaf apprehensively looked at Aizen and asked.

"No," The Orayen Prince shook his head, "Let's go."

It took them nearly half an hour to arrive in a meadow, and the girls gasped in awe at what they witnessed.

There were dozens of Rapidash and Pontya cantering about, circling a pair of Rapidash who were lovingly looking at a Pokemon Egg that was blinking. And then there were even more Rapidash and Ponyta in the meadow, spread all around, keeping away any intruders from approaching the centre.

"The birth ritual of Rapidash!" Anira merrily said and then started laughing happily at getting the chance to witness it with her own eyes.

"Yes." Aizen happily smiled and caressed her head.

Some Rapidash were cautiously looking their way, but Aizen conveyed to them their good intentions by using his Aura. He then gestured the girls to follow him.

It would have been rude to approach the herd of Rapidash, no matter how much they wanted to, as it would disturb their ritual. And so, Aizen led the girls to a vantage point, atop a hill, from where they watched the ritual unfold.

He took out a camera from his backpack and started recording the ritual. At the same time, he took out his notebook and started taking notes.

The moment the Egg stopped blinking and started to shine brightly, the herd of Rapidash stopped moving and looked in its direction. And then they all reared, proudly standing on their hind legs, neighing to the sky.

Their voices resounded all around the meadow for a good minute, and when the light subsided and a newly born Ponyta looked at its parents for the first time, all the Rapidash started circling the trio in a happy prancing dance.

Aizen and the girls witnessed it all in awe. They did not speak as the sight was too beautiful, making them fall short of words. It was not something any of them had witnessed with their eyes before, and they wanted to absorb the memory forever in their minds.

Once the new foal had received enough love from its parents, the mares in the herd stepped forward, one by one, and gave some love to the little one as well.

Rapidash expressed their love by brushing their fiery manes with each other, which would dramatically flare at the contact, but surprisingly, they were harmless.

These Fire-Type horses were the only species of Pokemon in the world, barring Legendaries, who could make their ethereal life fire completely harmless to their allies. But to their enemies, it was a nightmare.

"I want one!" Leaf longingly spoke after the event ended, but she knew that she could not catch one today. She did not have the heart to take one away from the herd after witnessing their ritual and how close-knitted they were.

"If you want one, I can take you close to them, and you can ask them if anyone wants to come with you," Aizen suggested.

"No," Leaf shook her head. "I will find myself one another day." The hazel-eyed girl made up her mind and resolutely spoke.

The gang left the meadow in a bright mood, chatting merrily about what they had witnessed, and arrived at the foot of the Cinnabar Volcano right at the sunset.

They found an empty clearing in the woods and decided to make it their campsite for the night. It had been a while since they camped outside, and the girls had no objections against it. The place was really nice, and they could hear the wild Pokemon getting ready for the night. The howling voices of Houndoom and Houndour scared Leaf a little, but she felt at ease when Aerius shot down from the sky and calmly sat down by Anira's side.

The Orayen Princess and Misty stayed back to prepare the dinner and set up their tents while Aizen, Leaf, and Sabrina climbed the volcano to go search for a Magby or Magmar.

It took them an hour to climb up the volcano, and the heat was suffocating for Leaf. She was sweating profusely, but Aizen and Sabrina were not too bothered by it. They calmly stood at the top and used their Powers to scan the volcano.

They found several Magmar and Magby soaking in the lava, relieving the day's fatigue, and surprisingly, there were two Magmortar as well, who seemed to the rulers of this volcano.

Sabrina took her time to make a choice and then called out her Delphox. The bi-pedal fox-like Pokemon received the instructions telepathically and used her Psychic to pull out a Magby from the lava.

The little Pokemon did not seem surprised at the sudden assault and blankly looked at the Delphox that was binding it in the air by its powerful Psychic.

It was smart enough to know that it could not win against the powerful Delphox. And Sabrina could read its mind. She did not start an unnecessary battle and unceremoniously threw an empty Pokeball at the little Magby. The catching mechanism started and ended without a hitch, and the raven-haired girl called out her new Pokemon and gave it a Cheri Berry.

Magby indifferently accepted the berry and munched on it, and then blankly looked at its Trainer.

Its blank look made it hard for Leaf to suppress her laughter. She found it funny that Sabrina chose a Pokemon that was as indifferent to everything as she was. It was as if they were meant to be for each other. A perfect team.

Sabrina gave it another Cheri Berry before scanning the Pokeball with her Pokedex. It had a decent moveset, with a variety of Poison and Fire moves. And the raven-haired girl approvingly nodded to it before recalling it inside its Pokeball.

"Want to catch one for yourself?" Aizen looked at Leaf and asked.

There were several decent Magby here, and any would be a good addition to Leaf's Team.

"They are not for me." The girl from Pallet Town shook her head. She wanted another Pokemon, and she was not really a fan of the heat that radiated from the Magmortar-line. It was not pleasant to be around.

"We will head to the eastern mountains of the Island in the morning, and see if we can find you a Charmander." He caressed her head and grinned when she bloomed in a bright smile.

"Thank you!"

It took them less time to descend the mountain than they had taken to climb it. The appetising smell of their dinner was spread all around, and it made the hazel-eyed girl salivate. But then they suddenly heard Misty's cries and shouts for help, which made them rush forward into the clearing.

Leaf was really worried, but as soon as she witnessed what was happening, she dropped down to the ground, clutching her belly and laughing madly. Anira was doing the same, and Aizen couldn't help but laugh as well.

The orange-haired girl was holding a dish of food, and she was running around, trying to save it from the cute little Predator that was after it.

"Awoo." The little black puppy barked mischievously, which frightened Misty, but her beloved Blastoise refused to help her, and stayed by Anira's side, laughing at its Trainer.

"Aizen!" Misty called out to him as soon as her eyes caught him. "Help me!"

The Orayen Prince wiped the tears from his eyes and managed to regain control over his laughter.

"Just stop running!" He called out.

"But..."

"Stop running!" He said it again, and Misty took a leap of faith and stopped.

She opened her eyes after a good minute. The ruthless attack she was expecting from the little puppy never came. When she turned around, she saw the little back puppy sitting on its hind legs, looking at her with his eyes that sparkled in the darkness.

"Awoo!" It barked again, but this time Misty was not frightened. She understood that the little one had been playing around with her, and she felt the rage burn up in her lungs. She really wanted to shout at it, but couldn't bring herself to do it, and then she glared at the Orayen Princess, who just stuck her tongue at her.

"Sorry!" Anira mischievously said, and it was clear that she was not sorry at all. "Togepreee!" The cute little fairy Pokemon thanked Misty for the show, and happily waved her hands at her.

"Vee!" Rinko happily yelped as well.

Aizen learned that it was Anira's doing. She had somehow convinced Misty that the little puppy was after their dinner, and they had to save it from its clutches. One thing led to another, and Misty ended up running around with their dinner, trying to save it at first, but then to preserve her life after Houndour started making scary noises and howling, which she thought were the calls to its pack.

He activated his Aura Sight and scanned the surroundings. The pack of the little Houdour was a little away, and not really worried about them hurting it. It was because Anira had been using her Aura Powers to keep them away, and assuring them that the little puppy would not be harmed.

"Hmph..." Misty pouted after Aizen explained to her exactly how she had been played. "How is it not even scared of Aerius and Blue?!" She complained.

"It's a Dark-Type Pokemon, Misty." Leaf pulled her tongue at her. "They are known to be clever, but are fearless, and they love pranking other Pokemon and Humans, just like Ghost-Type Pokémon." She recalled the things she had read in one of the research works she received as her nightly homeworks.

"And this little fellow likes you." Anira crouched down near the Houdour and lovingly scratched the back of its ears.

"Awoo!"

Misty knew what Anira was suggesting, and the more she looked at the little puppy, the more she wanted it.

Everyone stayed silent to let Misty make the decision, and a good minute later, she crouched down and lovingly scratched the back of its ears like Anira had done.

"Want to come with me?" She asked in the hope that it would agree.

"Awoo!" And the little puppy happily agreed.