The Alfronda Cavern has three entrances.
One to Alfronda itself.
One to a road leading north, towards Cortondo and the Windmill Hills.
And One leading to a scenic walkway overlooking the western edge of the South Sea.
For our trip to Cascarrafa, I chose to take the scenic route by the cliffs.
"Salandit Sal!" Fanny slapped my back with her tail as she pointed a clawed finger at a Crane-looking Pokemon in the distance. A Bombirdier.
"Yep, Better stay away from that one," I scratched her on the back of the neck, feeling the Salandit purr into my touch before I turned around to check on Dendra.
"Yosh! Let's Go to the beach!" Dendra pumped her fist in the air, her enthusiasm almost infecting me.
Almost.
"No can do Dendra, We need to reach the Pokemon Center at the Cortondo Crossroads before sundown so can still have time to make camp and eat dinner," I told the Fighting-Type specialist.
"Awww," She slumped over for a moment before jumping back up to full height, "Yosh! So next time we get time off, We'll go to the beach!"
"Maybe not next time," I smiled at her, "How about when the Academy is on summer break and Trainers stop coming to challenge the gym," Also, I don't have a swimsuit.
"Yosh! Already planning a date for the future? Wow, I really got this whole Girlfriend thing down spat!" Dendra smiled brightly, her fists on her hips as she struck a confident pose.
I didn't have the heart to tell her that it's "Down Pat" and not "Down Spat"
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Making our way down the cliff-side road wasn't as stressful as I first imagined.
There were handrails to stop tourists from falling, there were small balconies with binoculars and benches for people to stop at, and there were even signs giving some fun facts about the local Pokemon population.
Did you know that the lack of their usual prey caused the local Gumshoos population to adapt to eating Water-type Pokemon? There's apparently a rivalry going on with the local Gumshoos and Floatzel populations that has been ongoing for a few decades by now.
"Dishon, I'm hungry!" Dendra groaned as she lay on a nearby bench while I read the sign on the local Gumshoos.
"We can stop for lunch If you want," I told her, hearing Dendra give a groan of acceptance as she rolled off the bench, landed in a push-up position, and jumped back up to her feet with a quick burpee.
"What food did you make?" She leaned on me, her chin resting on my shoulder as her eyes bore into mine.
"I made some sandwiches, a leaf and vegetable salad, and some cooked vegetables," I told her as I pushed her chin off my shoulder and took off my new Silph-Co Travel bag.
"That's all?" She asked as she walked around me and placed her chin on my other shoulder.
"Yep, I made sure to make enough food for us to last five days," Thanks to space-bending technology, Silph-Co bags can store a shipping container's worth of items and keep them in good condition thanks to technology that I really don't understand.
Did you know this story is from Royal Road? Read the official version for free and support the author.
I understand software engineering, not physics-defying technology. But it's enough to say that our food will not go bad.
Taking out the Pokemon food first, Dendra released her team so they could start eating and stretch their legs.
"Falinks! Links links!"
"Hariyama!"
"Taur..."
"Medi..."
Dendra's Pokemon cheered at being let out of their balls, Tauros and Medicham sitting down on the ground and tasting the food while Hariyama and the Falinks ran over to the edge of the cliff, holding on to the fence as they looked at the waves crashing far below them.
"Yama..." Dendra's starter looked to be especially awed by the view.
"Salandit Sal!" Fanny slapped me weakly again, pulling my attention to her so I could see her point at her stomach, place her claw over it, and mimic rubbing her belly, "Sal!"
I smiled at her and pulled out a special sandwich I made just for her, with Swanna Liver, Dried Scatterbug, Tomato slices and Lettuce leaves.
"Landit!" Fanny smiled and licked my face, leaving a spot of red where my skin was slightly burnt by her tongue, before she grabbed the sandwich, took off the top layer of bread, and started to take the Scatterbugs out to save for later.
For how needy Fanny is sometimes, She's still my adorable little princess.
"Here, Dendra, Catch," I take out two more Sandwiches, these with Vegetables and an egg omelet, and toss one over to Dendra, "The egg should still be somewhat warm thanks to Silph-Co technology," I told her before taking a bite from my food.
"Yosh! Let's eat!" Dendra caught the Sandwich with one hand, peeled the napkin I wrapped around it off, took a large bite, and then froze.
I paused from my own bite, swallowing the bread in my mouth, and turned to look at Dendra, wondering if something was wrong.
"Tauros?" The Fighting/Water type turned his head to look at his trainer in worry.
"Hariyama?" The Sumo fighter turned away from looking at the view and also stared at his trainer.
"Medi?" Medicham daintily swallowed the food in her mouth before turning to look at her trainer also, showing a bit more class than her teammates.
And as every one of us looked at Dendra, she slowly swallowed the food in her mouth.
"Dishon?" She asked, her eyes slowly turning to look my way.
"Yes, Dendra?" I ask slowly, worried if my cooking was somehow bad. Something that by all means should be impossible seeing how Hernan is her father and he can't cook real food.
I still think he tried to poison me with that Gazpacho, there was no other explanation for how bad it was.
"This food..." She closed her eyes and took a deep breath, And we all waited with bated breath to see where she was going.
"Links?" The lead Falinks waddled up to her and rested his head on her legs in an attempt to comfort her somehow.
An action that was unnecessary as Dendra immediately opened her eyes, two orange orbs burning with Passion as she yelled out "This is the tastiest food in the world! Yosh!" Before quickly taking several more bites, like a hungry Mightyena feasting on a Linoone, Dendra devoured the sandwich I made for her in less than a minute.
"Dishon! You need to make me lunch every day from now on! It's your new duty as my Boyfriend!" Dendra yelled the moment she swallowed the last bite of her sandwich, pointing her finger at me, not even bothering to wipe her mouth with the napkin.
"I don't think I can make your lunch every day, But once the Hotel is back and running, I can try and do once a week," I smiled weakly, unable to contest the intensity displayed by my Girlfriend.
And isn't that a weird word to use, "My Girlfriend," I'm going to have to get used to using that word a lot more.
"Yosh! So it's settled! Now toss me another sandwich!" I chuckled at Dendra's enthusiasm as I tossed her a Lechonk ham and Gogoat cheese sandwich.
And seeing nothing was wrong, the Pokemon simply chuckled and returned to eating.
"Sal!" Only for us all to turn to see Fanny in a tug-of-war match with a wild Wattrel, The small Flying-type trying to snatch one of her Dried Scatterbug.
"Fanny! Hit him with a Smog!" I yelled at my starter, watching her smirk as she opened her mouth and spat a cloud of acrid smoke at the Wild Pokemon, who let go of the Scatterbug, coughing to himself as he flew away.
"Landit Sal!" Fanny cheered, waving the Scatterbug above her head in victory, only to let out a loud yelp as the Scatterbug was snatched out of her hand by another Wattrel.
"Lan..." Fanny hissed sadly as she crawled back over to me, climbing onto my lap and laying there sadly.
I merely grabbed another dried Scatterbug and held it in front of her mouth, letting my Partner open her mouth and allowing me to place the Bug on her tongue, letting Fanny close her mouth and chew her food as I slowly finished my own sandwich, occasionally feeding my Partner more bugs.
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Once we finished eating, We took a group selfie with the sea behind us, packed up our bags, and resumed our walk.
The cliff walkway continued on for another thirty minutes before we reached the grassy ground, the Ocean now behind us, and the road leading up to Cortondo ahead of us.
It's time for the final stretch of walking for our first day.
"Yosh! Let's go!"