Typhoon

Hu Yang said goodbye to Goodra and returned to his hotel in Shalour City.

The gloomy, overcast weather made it hard to feel energetic.

Gengar and the others played outside for a while, then sprawled across the room and fell fast asleep.

The room grew quiet. Sitting beside his sleeping Pokémon, Hu Yang turned on the TV and lowered the volume. The weather forecast told him exactly when the storm would arrive.

"A typhoon is approaching the waters off Shalour City. It is expected to arrive at around eight tomorrow evening and will bring torrential rain and a tsunami. Residents and visitors, please stay indoors. Do not go to the coast, and wait for the typhoon to pass."

That evening, the wind began to pick up.

It howled past the window with a mournful sound that felt strangely unsettling.

Perhaps as a sign of the approaching typhoon, rain began to fall again, harder than it had during the day.

Raindrops rattled against the window.

Hu Yang looked out. Darkness had swallowed Shalour City. Not a glimmer shone in the sky, and the only lights on the broad streets came from streetlamps standing in the downpour, casting a sickly white glow.

"Pip, Piplup..."

"Tyrunt..."

Piplup and Tyrunt crowded together at the window, fear showing on both their faces.

The world outside looked terrifying, as if the end of the world had come.

Piplup imagined itself drifting alone like a scrap of duckweed on a dark, storm-tossed sea and shivered.

"Is it really that scary?" Hu Yang asked.

"Piplup!"

Piplup nodded solemnly.

Tyrunt caught its fear and pressed its big head against Hu Yang.

Hu Yang stroked Tyrunt's head helplessly, then drew the curtains. "If it scares you, don't look."

Once the curtains were closed, the sharp sound of the rain seemed