[PKMN FULL] TRAINERS (IC)

QueenNothing · Jan 23, 2020

Gwen found herself in a room that was very similar to her bedroom in her parent's house when she lived in Unova. She was playing one of her favorite games from when she was a kid, Project Pokemon on the PlayStation 3, and for some reason Bruno and Casey were also there.

Project Pokemon was a 3D action game that featured human characters that could transform into Pokemon, and it was a game Gwen played religiously when she lived in Unova. The main playable character was a human named Jack Blaze who would transform into a Blaziken. Gwen was plowing through a level she didn't recognize that was filled with ice type enemies, but she still managed to easily plow through the level like it was nothing.

This continued until she found her way to the boss of the level, a large Alolan Ninetales that was introduced through a pre-rendered cutscenes that made it apparent that you needed to attack its tails to defeat it. She approached it with ease in attempt to aim for its tails, but the boss soon started spamming ice projectiles. There were too many to get in attack in without getting Jack killed leaving Gwen with no other option than to block. The onslaught of projectiles lasted what felt like an hour.

"Come on Gwen, don't just stand there! Do something!" Casey shouted.

"She likes to play it safe" Bruno said followed by him taking a bite out of something that was shaped like a Mime Jr.

Seconds later, Gwen woke up. "Another dream…" She said to herself. She looked around and noticed Casey and Jordan were nowhere to be seen. Bruno was still around, and Gwen noticed some brown haired girl she didn't recognize was sleeping. Gwen shrugged her off since it wasn't abnormal to her for people she didn't know to show up seemingly out of nowhere.

First thing she did when waking up was brush her hair, followed by her putting her hair up in mini-buns. Afterwards she searched her bag to find breakfast.

…

Gwen had set up everything she needed to start breakfast. Today she decided she'd try making something simple, eggs and sausage, and made sure she had enough for her Pokemon except Custard. Gwen had some dry Pokemon food for her since Gwen knew she didn't like meat.

Soon enough breakfast was ready, and Gwen called her Pokemon over. After serving her Pokemon and then herself, she took a few to muse on her last dream she had. Half the time she thought about it she was focused on Bruno saying "She likes to play it safe" and the other half she was focused on what he ate and why did it look like Mime Jr.

Gwen thoughts were interrupted the moment she felt something holding her leg. It was the brown haired girl, still inside her sleeping bag but she somehow moved to where she was.

Gwen jumped out of her seat but still couldn't manage to get the brown haired girl off her leg "WHAT THE FUCK ARE YOU DOING!?" Gwen yelled.

"Talking… Pokémon" she mumbled.

"Wait a minute, you're that bitch who woke me up!" Gwen's shock quickly turned to anger "I was having such a great dream where I was gonna be the Pokemon World Champion but you fucking woke me up!"

"What who are you?" she asked confused "I wanted to ask if you saw a talking Pokémon here… wait!" she opened her eyes after her sudden realization "Oh, oh, oh! You're the talking Pokémon!"

"I don't know what you're talking about because I'm not a fucking Pokemon!" Gwen said clearly trying to hold back her rage "And now you interrupted my breakfast!"

"But your food is still there… wait a minute. Wasn't buoy kid here too?"

Gwen raised an eyebrow "Who?"

"You know, buoy kid. The one with that fire lizard thing."

"Uhh...You mean Casey? I think that was his name anyways." Gwen paused for a second "Wait, that Charmeleon was his, right?"

"Yeah. I thought it looked weird because it had this… lump on the top of its head, but it was because it evolved. Speaking of lumps," the girl looked at Gwen and started laughing at her "Wanda really did hit you hard!"

"Wanda?" Gwen scratched her head "You mean the Exeggcute? I mean yeah, and I'm still pretty pissed about that."

"Yeah! Wanda is the angry one! Jade is the leader! Rosie is the happy one! Violet is the one that looked like that kid over there," she said pointing at Bruno who had just woken up. "Kim is-"

"What's with all that noise? Oh, it's you." he looked at Gwen "Guess you met Deborah."

"It's Debbie!"

"Okay okay, enough!" Gwen stood up and pointed towards Debbie "For giving me hell, I challenge you to a Pokemon battle!"

"Hell will continue even after that." Bruno claimed.

"He's right! Which means that I accept!" she nodded in an exaggerated way.

"Great!" Gwen exclaimed "Just...let me finish my breakfast first. I don't want to rush my meal like I did before I battled…" Gwen had to stop for a moment "Whatever her name was!"

"Bethany." the boy said.

Debbie looked at him confused "I don't know why that name sounds familiar..."

After Gwen and her Pokemon finished eating their food, she jolted up and pointed at Debbie again "Alright Debbie, I challenge you to a Pokemon battle for real this time! Custard, you're up!" After hearing her trainer call her, Custard rushed up to the battlefield.

"Uh… how many Pokémon? I have 3."

"Well to make it fair I'll use 3 too." Gwen smirked "As the sister of Jennifer Alanis I figured it'd only be right of me to handicap myself when I'm at an advantage!"

"I don't know who you're talking about, but okay. As the daughter of the greatest sailor in Vermilion I'm not gonna lose easily!" she said confidently holding a Pokéball in her hand. She threw it and a Pancham let out a war cry just as it entered the battlefield. "Pancho, it's your turn!"

"Of course you don't know who Jenny is." Gwen rolled her eyes. A Pancham huh? No doubt a physical attacker. Gwen thought to herself.

"Custard, use Thunder Wave!" Custard jumped in the air and launched electric rings from her tail that were aimed towards Pancho. The Fighting type cried in pain and had his movement seriously limited after the attack.

"Paralysis again, seriously?" Debbie complained, but her frown changed into a grin once more. "Doesn't matter. Pancho, Circle Throw!" Struggling to move, but still with some success, Pancho managed to grab Custard's leg. He rotated in his spot and threw her away from the battlefield, but not too far away. The attack activated Gwen's Pokéball somehow returning Custard to it.

"Well on the bright side…" Gwen began to herself "I wouldn't have to waste a turn switching her out." Gwen pointed at Tusk and then pointed to the battlefield "Tusk, you're up!" Tusk ran up and eyed Pancho; He knew he had a worthy opponent. He then let out a loud "KEW" and smirked at Pancho who answered with a louder war cry and then grinned showing the leaf between his teeth.

"Tusk, use Leer!" Tusk shot a nasty grin at Pancho, intimidating him enough to lower his guard.

"Uh… this isn't good. Pancho, Taunt!" the Pokémon shot a similar grin at Tusk, and moved his fingers is if saying 'Come on!'

Gwen laughed "Taunt on Axew? No biggie! Tusk, scratch em!" Tusk ran up to Pancho and scratched him across the face, however since he had his defense stat lowered and Tusk had a strong attack stat, this did more damage than any scratch attack.

Debbie grinned. It was strong, but still just a Scratch. Plus, Tusk was closer. "Arm Thrust!" Pancho landed a clean jab on Axew, followed by a second blow on its belly but stopping before the third punch when his paralysis acted up.

"Now's your chance! Bite!" With his opponent in such close range, Axew bit Pancho's hand that would have been used for the third jab. Pancho backed off unable to move after being startled by the attack.

"Scratch em again Tusk!" Tusk followed with another powerful scratch, this time across Pancho's chest.

Pancho tried to endure the hit and grabbed Tusk's arm. "Circle Throw!" doing the same maneuver he did with Custard, the Dragon-type was sent back to his Pokéball too.

"Damnit, Circle Throw again!" Gwen had to think hard about what her next Pokemon would be; Either Pix or Jess. But since she had never used Jess in battle that's what she went with.

"Alright Jess, come on up!" Jess slithered up to the battlefield, and looked Pancho directly into his eyes giving him a look that struck fear in his heart while hissing, lowering his attack.

"Jess, use Wrap!" Jess slithered her way up to Pancho while barely visible in the grass and snuck up on him as she wrapped her body around the Pancham. Pancho was having a hard time moving both because of Jess and the paralysis, and Debbie couldn't return him to his Pokéball either, there was only one thing left to do and that was something both Debbie and the Fighting-type were good at.

"Time to break our way out! Pancho, Arm Thrust!" with a little difficulty getting his arm free from Jess's Wrap, he started hitting Jess repeatedly in a series of unavoidable moves, ultimately loosing up Jess's Wrap. Jess had at least slightly tightened her Wrap, doing at least a minimal amount to damage to Pancho.

"Jess, Acid!" Jess hacked up a pile of sludge onto Pancho, hitting him directly since he was literally within her grasp.

"Circle Throw a-" before she could finish the sentence, the Pancham had fainted.

Gwen smirked. "Heh, one down!" Jess released Pancho, but before Debbie had any chance to return him, Tusk had somehow unleashed himself from his Poke Ball. The Axew walked up to the fainted Pancham, and held out his hand as if he were trying to shake it "Aw, looks like Tusk enjoyed his fight with Pancho!" With the last bit of energy he had left, Pancho shook his hand. Both Pokémon grinned at each other before Debbie returned him to his PokéBall.

"Guess they have some kind of rivalry?" Gwen laughed "Okay but for real Tusk, I'm gonna need you to get off the battlefield; It's Jess' turn to shine, but all three of you guys did a good job!"

"Pancho, you did as great as always. But now…" with another grin she threw her second PokéBall "Dukko, gottem!" A Psyduck jumped outside the PokéBall holding his head and with a lost look. The moment he landed he slipped and fell with his head against the ground.

"Let's start with the obvious! Confusion!" looking at Jess, although still on the ground, the Pokémon's eyes went pink and shot a beam of psychic energy visible only to both Pokémon. The beam struck Jess who started moving on her own and got badly hurt in the process. The type advantage combined with the previous damage done was enough to make her faint, and Gwen returned her to her Poke ball.

"You did a great job for our first battle Jess! But you deserve some rest right now, we'll handle the rest" Gwen said looking at Jess' Poke ball. She grabbed Custard's and sent her out. Custard had taken some damage from Pancho earlier, but she seemed like she'd be fine.

"Custard, Thunder Shock!" Custard unleashed a lightning bolt from her cheeks that targeted Dukko. The Water-type shook on the ground holding his head tight.

"Dukko, Disable!" Dukko's stared at Custard and his eyes flashed a blue light. The move made Custard unable to use Thunder Shock.

"Shit, disable again! If I could just get in one more Thunder Shock! What to do now…" Gwen had to stop and re-evaluate her approach to the battle. Before she could repeat her mistake in her fight against Bethany, she suddenly remembered something.

"Don't just stand there Gwen, do something!"

"Thunder Wave!" Gwen impulsively shouted. Custard again jumped in the air to launch more electric rings from her tail that were headed Dukko's way.

The Pokémon was still laying on the ground, so it didn't seem as if Dukko felt anything, but a look at Debbie's Pokédex could tell that the Pokémon was indeed paralysed, however that didn't stop the Water-type from shooting three rings of water at Custard after his trainer's call.

"If we can't use Thunder Shock it's too risky staying out." Gwen pulled out Custard's Poke Ball. "Custard, return! Tusk, you're up now!"

Tusk heard his trainer's command and made his way up to the battle, puffing up his chest as usual.

"Dukko, Confusion again!" another beam of energy was shot by Dukko. Tusk was affected by it and scratched himself to snap back into his senses.

"Now Tusk, return!" Gwen sent Tusk back to his Poke ball and then sent Custard out. Gwen could only smirk again, feeling her switch-in strategy was more impressive than it really was.

"Thundershock!" Gwen commanded with a cocky grin on her face. The electric attack was strong enough to make Dukko faint. Debbie returned him to his PokéBall and threw her last one.

"Girls? Your turn!" The Exeggcute entered the battlefield and formed a row in front of their trainer. One with a smug smile moved forward, she had Wanda and Rosie at her side. "Jade, Leech Seed!" The smug one gave the order and the rest of the group obeyed, aiming at Custard and shooting a total of five seeds at her, the seeds grew vines around her which started draining her energy.

"Custard, Tail Whip!" While Custard was struggling to move covered in vines, she still was able to turn around and aggressively slap her tail on the ground which lowered the Exeggcute's defense. Custard moaned in pain a bit as her health was drained from her.

"Jade, Reflect!" The Exeggcute changed their formation and formed a circle. They started shaking on their spot creating a dome of blue light around them.

"Tail whip again!" Custard repeated her previous action, again lowering the Exeggcute's defense. She winced as more health was drained from her. It was clear what Gwen's strategy was at this moment.

"Bullet Seed!" They formed a row again and shot multiple seeds at Custard.

"One more time Custard, Tail Whip!" With her remaining energy, Custard turned around and slapped her tail on the ground lowering the Exeggcute's defense a third time. After her energy was drained, she fell to the ground on her back. Gwen returned her back to her Poke Ball "Thanks a bunch Custard! Get as much rest as you need."

"Alright Tusk! Let's do this!" Tusk entered onto the battlefield looking more confident than he was before "Tusk, Bite!" Tusk obeyed, aggressively rushing up to the Grass-type and biting the Exeggcute, making a conscious effort to not eat it since it was shaped like eggs (He already had eggs for breakfast anyways).

That would normally make the entire Jade Squad faint, but Reflect reduced the attack at least enough for Debbie to give her next instruction. "Jade, Hypnosis!" The eyes of the six heads went a pink color. They shot hypnotic waves at Tusk that made him fall asleep on his spot.

"Shit! Come on Tusk, wake up!" Gwen shouted as she was clapping in attempt to wake Tusk up. She noticed the Dragon-type slightly moved in his sleep, but to no avail.

Debbie smirked. "Swap time!" she cheered "Kim, your turn! Use Uproar!" the one making the move now was one of the heads at the extremes of the row. The rest of the Jade Squad started crying the moment 'Kim' did, and all of them bawled at unison. What Debbie didn't count on was that even if Uproar did considerable damage to Tusk, it also woke him up. Tusk got up, but was able to tough out the damage and could stand on his feet.

Gwen grinned at this sight in unison with Tusk "Tusk! Bite again!" The Axew again bit the Exeggcute, this time in a more rough fashion than before and spit them out.

"Gross..." Debbie grimaced looking at the fainted Exeggcute in front of her. She frowned a bit disappointed after losing her battle, but then returned Jade and the rest to their Pokéball with a smile. "That was fun. Did you see that, Bru-? Where did he go?" Bruno left and none of the girls realized until Debbie pointed it out, it was only them at the camp now. Debbie shrugged and started walking in the opposite direction to Rock Tunnel.

"Hell yeah!" Gwen exclaimed as he held her hand out. Tusk jumped up to hi-five her "That was fun! But I guess I should start cleaning my sh-"

Gwen was interrupted by Tusk running up to Debbie. He tugged on her pants and "KEW KEW"'d at her angrily and pointed to Pancho's Poke ball.

Debbie looked at Tusk, understanding absolutely nothing of what he tried to say, but took her PokéBall outside her belt and showed it to him. Tusk sighed realizing Pancho needed to rest and shook the PokeBall in Debbie's hand as if he was shaking Pancho's instead and then returned back to Gwen.

"Well that was weird." she mumbled, but she liked Tusk. She'd go back to Route 25 and catch one too but that'd be a lot of time. "Hey, Talking Pokémon! Let's have another battle someday, 'kay?" she shouted with a giggle.

"Oh, uh...I'd love too! And I think Tusk would even more!" She made an awkward thumbs-up gesture, trying to look confident but not exactly passing

"I was going to drag you into a battle even if you didn't want to. Now I'll see if I can catch a strong Pokémon around here and…" she kept talking as she walked away from the camp that Gwen couldn't hear her finishing her sentence.

Gwen sighed of relief. "I kind of hope I can battle her again soon, that was fun. But now I need to pack up to head out to Rock Tunnel. Since you're out here Tusk help me out." She began cleaning up all her trash left over from breakfast before stopping after realizing something.

"Wait, Talking Pokemon? That little bitch!"

Groc · Jan 29, 2020

Vera Hill, Arianne Chandler
Chapter 4 - Ready to Rock Tunnel
Rock Village, May 23rd

Vera woke up the next morning feeling rested and ready to go. The night had been dark and full of adventure, but sleeping in an actual bed made it all worthwhile. First thing she did was go knock on Arianne's door. "Arianne! You said to wake you up, so that's what I'm doing!" Then she went to shower and get dressed for the day.

The Pokemon Center didn't have much in terms of breakfast, so she had to make do with a bagel and some fresh fruit. She made a note to pick up some food for the road before they left, to avoid having to scavenge for food like… she shook her head, clearing thoughts of the camp from her mind.

The knocking on the door woke up Arianne, but didn't make her actually get up. She just yawned loudly, hugging her soft pillow one more time, trying to dispel her negative feelings about Rock Tunnel. But, eventually, she had to get ready and continue her journey through a new day. Hopefully, no masked trainers were contemplated.

The girl opened up her door and made her way to the breakfast room, happy to see that Vera was still there. "Thanks for waking me up! I knew I'd need it!" she smiled, as she sat next to her friend.

"Of course." Vera offered her a plate and gestured to the modest breakfast options. "What are friends for?

She let Arianne get some food, thinking over her plans. "I want to pick up some supplies, but I think it would be best to head into the tunnel earlier, rather than later. I know we're not in a race or anything, but I don't think it would be ideal for a large group of us to travel at once."

"Supplies are a good idea" commented Arianne as she munched some cookies. "We don't know how long it will take to get through!" The girl was already predicting how Vera would have been her savior in the tunnel, trying to calm her down and encourage her to move forward. Was it too much to expect from her friend?

"Thank you, the idea just came to me." Vera dug through her large hiker's backpack, looking for a map. "And according to the map, the tunnel isn't actually one long path. It's more like a winding road through a bunch of small caves. It should only take us a few hours." She gave up on finding the map, instead using her PokeGear.

Since she was done with breakfast, she went to the PC, depositing Leo's Pokeball into the storage area. She had only recently learned she could do this, and he was going to learn Poison attacks soon, so she figured the Professor could take care of him. Once that was done, she returned to Arianne. "Ready to go?"

Arianne almost froze in place. A few hours only, light from above. A few hours… she kept repeating in her head. "A-alright. But please, don't leave me alone." she sighed. "Caves… let's say caves and I don't get along."

"No need to worry about that." Vera reassured her. "I'm not afraid of a cave. If I could survive that rocky road here, this next part will be simple!"

"O-ok, let's go then!" Arianne replied. She made sure she'd taken all of her items with her, then handed over the room key to the receptionist and walked towards the door that led outside.

Vera followed suit, grabbing her pack on the way out. The village was based almost entirely around the main road, so following the trail up to the mouth of the tunnel was simple. The air was still chilly in the morning light, but there was no breeze, so it was calm and quiet.

As they stood at the entrance, Vera placed a comforting hand on Arianne's shoulder. "Just a short walk down this road, eh? Let's go." And they took their first steps into the cave.

Arianne followed closely Vera into that tunnel. It was dark and narrow, yes, but not nearly as much as she feared. However, that was enough to make Ari think she had no escape route if she'd need one.

There would have been no need to escape from anything, though, especially with her friend's help! This somewhat reassured her as she went deeper underground. "For now at least, I'm doing fine!" she whispered to Vera.

Vera shivered, pulling her coat shut tighter. She smiled at Arianne's confidence, but kept looking around in the dark. "Yeah, it's… it's great down here. Nothing to worry about!"

"Again, let's not… separate and we'll be fine…"

They passed by another tunnel, where a faint dripping could be heard. Vera paused at the tunnel, peering into it curiously. "Did you hear something? What's down here?" Arianne pulled out a flashlight, shining it down the path.

The light bounced around the tunnel, reflecting of various shiny rocks in the area. It also shone on and subsequently woke up several dozen Zubats and Golbats. The bat Pokemon dropped from the ceiling, rushing to either escape the aggravating light or attack the source.

"Oh no…" Arianne was panicking, struggling to think of how to escape. She ran back towards the entrance tunnel, but was hit by one of the Zubat and fell to the ground. Luckily, once that happened, no more Zubats came flying into her.

Vera, meanwhile, started running as soon as the bats started moving. They swarmed around her, following her even as she ran, covering her head with her arms. She made it back outside, most of the Zubats stopping at the cave entrance and heading back inside.

She paused to catch her breath, which took her a moment, long enough to realize she was missing something. "...Arianne?" She called out for her friend, even taking a step back inside, but the noise startled another Zubat, which flew over her head and outside the tunnel. Vera shrieked with fright and ran back outside, certain that Arianne would catch up with her any second now. She went back to the village, hoping to buy some Repels before meeting back up with Arianne.

The other girl, however, was still lost in the tunnels, with nothing but a broken flashlight in her hands. She got back up again, once all the Bat Pokémon were calming down again, but couldn't remember where she came from. "V-Vera?" her cracking voice echoed through the tunnels...

A joint post between Cyaloom and Godzil.

Juno · Jan 30, 2020

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background art cred

Chapter 4: Plants, Pokemon & Potted Things

Pokédex

Chapter 4: Plants, Pokemon & Potted Things // May 23rd; Morning

Jordan hummed tunelessly as the gang made their way towards the Rock Tunnel entrance. He made a point of checking the map before he packed everything up, so Casey couldn't drag them off onto any more "adventures". Mornings were nice. Back home and at Cape, waking up before anyone else was the only way he could get some peace and quiet, and he found that he did some of his best thinking in the early hours of the day; sometimes he would even deliberately leave his homework until the next morning so he could work undisturbed.

A loud screech behind him pulled him out of his thoughts. He sighed, and turned around. Oh, right. I have "children" now.

It looked like Sage had accidentally - or maybe not accidentally, Jordan really couldn't tell sometimes - kicked Hop as he tried to walk in front of her. The scrappy little bird Pokémon was now trying to Tackle Sage, with Tangles between them trying to break it up. "Okay, settle down, I'm sure she didn't mean it," Jordan scooped up the Pidgey and patted Tangles on her head for her efforts. He shot Sage a look. "Right?"

The Skiddo ignored his question and simply pranced ahead of the group to join Parsley, with Spirit clutching onto her horns trying not to fall off. They appeared to be racing each other, and also the entire group, since they didn't let anyone pass them.

"Wait up! You don't even know where we're going. Oh-" Jordan put his hand on his head. "They're such a headache. I can't tell if yours is the bad influence, or mine."

"It's yours," Casey was quick to declare. "My baby boy is just playful."

"Yeah, yeah - well, call your playful boy back and maybe Sage will follow. We're going this way."

"Parsley!" His ears perked up and he bounded back to Casey. "Aw, good job listening! A treat for you, yes-" Casey fished half a granola bar out of his pocket and grimaced as he let Parsley lick it off his hand.

"Hm." Jordan observed, as Sage finally came bolting back to follow her friend. "Maybe it is mine. Anyway, you seem like you're in a good mood. I'm surprised you're so eager - you remember what's at the end of that tunnel, right?"

Casey didn't quite meet his eyes. "Our first gym challenge!"

"...Yup, that's it." Jordan gave up. He knew his friend was in denial about the types of Pokémon they would soon meet in Lavender Town; might as well just let him enjoy Rock Tunnel.

They followed the Skiddo, this time in the right direction, for another twenty minutes or so before they started to see signs that they were getting close to their destination. A man-made stone path led them to a worn, wooden sign that read "Rock Village →", and before long, they were greeted by the sight of the small village's Pokémon Center. It was surrounded by several other peculiar huts and structures, but the boys decided to prioritize healing up their tired Pokémon, before checking them out.

"I'm taking a shower," Casey all but demanded as they turned over their Pokémon.

"Fine," Jordan replied, as he dropped his heavy bag on the floor with a thud and looked around the exceptionally small Pokémon Center. "Doesn't look like they have a lot of showers here, I'll go after you."

He found an empty booth in the corner and sat down as he waited for both Casey and their Pokémon. Casey popped his head out to beg for a shaving kit about ten minutes later. Jordan scrunched up his face. "What are you shaving?"

"My face, duh. You looked at me today? Also, ew, I would never. … Well… huh." Casey looked contemplative for half a second before shaking his head. "Not with yours, anyway, gimme that."

Jordan narrowed his eyes suspiciously, before pulling out a blue, zipped pouch from his backpack and flinging it Casey's way. Casey caught it with the very tips of his fingers and disappeared back into the bathroom for another ten minutes or so.

The nurse called Jordan up to collect his Pokémon minutes before Casey stepped back out. They clumsily sorted their Poke Balls between them, and Jordan took a quick shower as well. Finally, the group was rested and refreshed, and they turned their attention to the small shops and huts outside.

"Not much here, huh?" Jordan barely heard his friend say, as his attention was drawn towards an odd, little hut practically overflowing with potted plants of varying sizes. Ignoring Casey, he walked off towards it with Tangles in tow.

"Where're you- oh, okay, plants first!"

The shop was very small. Jordan returned most of his Pokémon to their Poke Balls, since he knew, at the very least, Sage was bound to break something. Casey did the same when he caught up, though he left Ginger on his shoulder. Jordan only let Tangles browse with him, as she also had a fondness for flowers and plants.

"What's this one?" Casey asked, picking up a spindly-looking plant in a small terracotta pot and sniffing it.

"Poison."

Casey delicately replaced the plant and dusted off his hands.

"I'm just kidding, I have no idea," Jordan shrugged, as he picked up the same plant. There were a lot of strange plants here even he had never seen before.

"Ah, child, what you are looking at has very powerful revival properties." A voice behind them made them jump. They turned around to see a small, greying woman, wrapped in a purple shawl. "A lot of herbalists like to grow these so they can collect the leaves and make medicines with them."

"Oh," said Casey. "I guess I've just never seen them growing before."

"I'm not surprised, dear," she smiled at them, and the creases around her eyes deepened. "These are peculiar plants, they like to grow in dark, rocky areas. Many of the plants in this corner of the shop actually only grow in places like Rock Tunnel."

"Oh, cool!" Jordan grinned back, as he turned to inspect more of the exotic plants. "Maybe we will see some of these ourselves when we-"

He was cut off by Tangles, who clumsily wandered back towards them, carrying about seven small, potted flowers of varying colors. One by one, she gently placed them in front of Jordan. "What…? No, I'm sorry. We have a pretty long trek ahead of us, who's gonna carry all these pots?! I only have two hands."

In response, the Tangela waved several of her vines in the air, careful not to smack any of the nearby plants, as if to say "but I have many hands". Casey flinched and took a few hasty steps back.

Jordan sighed. "You can have one, okay? Maybe one of the flowering succulents, they're pretty and easy to care for." Tangles drooped slightly in disappointment, but turned to pick out her plant. "Not the cactus though. Someone's definitely gonna get hurt." Jordan added.

Tangles picked out a small, pink plant. She liked the flowers poking out of it, but the lady also explained that if they picked the leaves and crushed them up, they could use it to make a muscle relaxant that neutralizes the effects of certain Pokémon moves, which Jordan thought could come in handy. She was also kind enough to tie a matching pink ribbon around the pot, and the Pokémon skipped out of the shop happily as Jordan paid for it. The boys thanked the lady, and stepped outside. "Alright, where to next?"

"Seems like there's only the diner and the gift shop and I'm not hungry yet so... let's do the gift shop!"

Pokédex

Pokemon on hand:

Tangela // "Tangles"

Ingrain
Constrict
Absorb
Vine Whip
Sleep Powder

Pidgey // Hop

Tackle
Sand Attack
Gust

Cubone // Spirit

Leer
Growl
Bone Club

Skiddo // Sage

Tackle
Growth
Vine Whip
Play Nice

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budube · Jan 30, 2020

Bruno Dillinger
May 23, Thursday

Chapter 4, Part 1: At the Entrance of the Tunnel

Afternoon, Rock Village Ruins Gift Shop, Rock Village

Shir was back inside her PokéBall and Bumblebee was the only Pokémon following him now. The villagers told Bruno he could find hiking gear that could help him going through Rock Tunnel, but he didn't expect to find everything here. It's not as if he had money for much anyways, just enough for some trekking poles. He still had the necessary stuff though, water, his bag, his flashlight and his compass; he also bought some food in the Pokémon Center.

"Good afternoon." he said showing the trekking poles to the bald man behind the counter.

"Lemme guess, a trainer?" the shopkeeper said. He didn't seem amused. It was not as if that many people visited Rock Village only for tourism, anyways.

"Y-yeah… I'm… going through Rock Tunnel now."

"I know that. Y' wouldn't be buyin' trekkin' poles if that weren't the case. Y'takin' that too?" he said pointing at Bumblebee

"Wh- Hey!" he said, taking away an ugly t-shirt he was holding and handing it over to the salesman to put it back where it came from "It's not even made for Pokémon…"

He put the t-shirt behind the counter and sighed "It's P2000." Bruno handed over the money and left the shop. "G'luck, kid. Y're gonna need it." the guy said and let out a chuckle. Bruno didn't realize that another person was behind him the moment he left.

He was staring at the entrance of the Rock Tunnel, holding each pole with a trembling hand, knowing that he didn't want to go there, but he had to. Walking in the dark wasn't something he liked to do.

"The poles weren't really necessary, you know?." a deep, feminine voice said.

Bruno gave a small jump, startled at the voice because he wasn't aware that someone was watching. It was a woman, of around 20 years old with tan skin. She had purple hair, shaved on the sides and was wearing military clothes. Bruno shivered. He had met this woman before.

"Don't look at me that way. I'm not here because of Nugget Bridge." she said. She held a headlamp on her hand, so he guessed that she was planning on going through Rock Tunnel too. "You are coming with me."

"I… I can g-go on my own."

"You sure?" she walked towards Bruno and pushed him weakly with one hand. The boy lost his balance and fell. "Guess you really needed them. You can't even keep your balance with the trekking poles, Cape kid. You won't last an hour inside Rock Tunnel." she laughed.

Bruno got up and tried to run away, but the woman grabbed his arm. She put her arm around his shoulders and pulled him towards her. "Let's make a deal."

"N-no…"

"Didn't ask." she answered, holding him tighter "Look, I need money and you need to get to Lavender Town, right?"

"I-I spent the l-last of m-my--"

"Answer my question!"

"Y-yes!"

"Good." she smiled and let his arm free "I'll help you get there alive after you help me."

"I d-don't want to help y-you…"

"But you will. Now move!" she pushed him inside the cave and walked behind him.If he wanted to run away, she'll catch him, he wasn't fast after all.

QueenNothing · Jan 30, 2020

Thursday, May 23rd, 1:30 pm

Gwen arrived at the Rock Tunnel Pokemon Center finally after 4 hours of trekking. She had grown used to it by now, but it was still hard on her. She knew it'd be a good idea to crash at the Pokemon Center to crash after walking so long and use this time to stock up on supplies, and of course to heal her Pokemon up.

She was lounging around in the Pokemon Center's relatively small cafeteria, enjoying a sandwich and french fries she got. The cafeteria was pretty empty being in a small village built around Rock Tunnel, so only about one or two other people were in there. Perfect for Gwen, since large crowds of strangers was hard on her.

As she was eating she could hear somebody walking into the cafeteria. Gwen didn't think anything of it since she was facing the opposite way of the entrance and the area where the food was being served and she just continued with her meal. That was, until she heard the person who just entered talk.

"Ah'll hae 'at piece, its the most edible lookin'...food...ye hae among this garbage."

Gwen almost choked on her food hearing that voice; She knew exactly who it belonged to, although she couldn't remember her name for some reason. Gwen didn't want to be berated by the Galarian girl again, so she tried to lay low while eating hoping Bethany would just leave. Although her hopes of being undiscovered were dashed a bit when the Galarian trainer sat at the table right in front of Gwen even if she was facing away from her.

Gwen tried to quickly eat her remaining food, which unsurprisingly was harder than she thought it would be. It took her about 10 minutes to choke down her remaining food, but she still managed. However, right as she was about to throw away her garbage and head out, the intercom had made an announcement.

Gwen Alanis, your Pokemon are restored to full health. Please receive your Pokemon, I repeat, Gwen Alanis your Pokemon are restored to full health.

This was it for her.

Gwen froze in place as soon as she heard her name on the intercom. She knew what was coming.

"Gwendolyn!" She flinched as she heard her being called for. Being called "Gwendolyn" was bringing back some memories of Cape College. Gwen slowly turned her head and saw that Bethany was standing right behind her. She didn't look as angry as she normally did and had her hands on her hips "Ah was hopin' tae see ya!"

Gwen scoffed "You? Wanting to see me?"

"As much as ah hate tae ask, aam gonnae need yer assistance fur thes."

"So you're just gonna give me shit and now you want my help? Fuck no."

"Hear me it" Bethany continued as if Gwen didn't turn her down "Ah need tae gie ben Rock Tunnel. Let's coopon it, oan uir ain we'll baith be lost. Ah hae nae sense ay direction, an' ye dornt pay attention tae yer surroondings, ye'll trip oan a Geodude an' die."

As much as Gwen didn't want to admit it, she knew Bethany was right about the latter.

"I dornt loch ye much an' ah know ye feel th' same, but aloyn ah'll probably be lost an' die ay hunger."

This had basically fully convinced Gwen that this was probably necessary. She crossed her arms and let out an exasperated sigh "Fiiiiiiiiiiiine. I hate to say it, but you're right."

"Alright 'en. Make sure yer aw stocked up oan supplies ur whatever else ye need. After we faff around haur we can-"

"Wait!" Gwen interrupted "Battle me first!"

"Battle ye? Ah dornt want tae waste mah time."

"Well in that case, I won't go with you if you don't beat me in battle."

Bethany groaned "Donrt be glaikit. Ye ken we cannae make it ben Rock Tunnel aloyn."

"Fine then. I'm sure I'll make it on my own, and you can get lost all you want."

Bethany rolled her eyes "Ah gie in. There's nae winnin' wi' ye; Except in battle ay coorse!" She followed with an annoying "Ohohoho!"

"Shut up and battle me already!" Gwen snapped, tightening her fist.

"Alright 'en. Let's head ower tae th' battlefield and gie this ower wi'."

Eleanor · Feb 1, 2020

A diamond, encased
🍀🍀🍀
Arianne Chandler
Rock Tunnel - Day 4 - May 23^rd

I try to stand up again. I look around in search of clues. Then I reach for my PokéGear and I remember. The dim light coming from the screen reveals a flashlight at my feet: but it doesn't work at all when I try to turn it on, it's just too damaged.

I point the screen towards myself and something seems odd. I don't know what it is, though. I then see a familiar name somewhere on the PokéGear and call out for that person, to no avail. I only do that because, now that I realize she isn't around anymore, I start to feel desperate.

Oh right, I'm in Rock Tunnel.

♫ - Megadeth - In My Darkest Hour

I came inside only because Vera was standing in front of me, showing me the way. We found a branching tunnel somewhere and I shined this flashlight down that path. I took some steps further, then I saw them and tried to turn around.

I think it was too late anyways, because then I remember falling down as a big, fast thing hit me on the back of my head. All that I heard, an unintelligible mess.

I pick up the flashlight and put it in my backpack. I look at the floor of the tunnel and shudder. I picture myself dressed up in dirty, torn and wet clothes: my body tells me I'm at least halfway right, though the... uhm, hiking shoes seem to be in good conditions, still (even if they're not made specifically for caves). And my rubbery gloves have spared my hands of a couple of cuts, which is nice.

I… I can only hear the drops of water coming from the ceiling. If not for them, the place would be dead silent… no, wait. Only when I try to focus I hear some distant cries. I'm alone for the time being. Alright, time to find a way out.

I turn the corner to finally see the light of electric lamps once again. I get back to the crossroads and can't decide what to do. I stand still, thinking about nothing in particular. I hate caves. They lure you in but never let you go.
Hmm… calm down. Do I even know where to go? Back to the entrance, or further towards Lavender? How do I reunite with Vera if I don't know where she went?

Time itself seems to have stopped as I try to make up my mind. My body remains alert, trying to pick up even the slightest sign of impending danger. But what's the point? There's nowhere to run… let it happen.

A tremor under my feet wakes me up. My instinct tells me to run and I'm surprised by how diligently I obey. I pick a random direction and go: it's either the entrance from before or Lavender. I start thinking about how Vera could have reassured me and told me everything was fine, or even how she could have just called me a crybaby… which was still better than being alone.
And the tremors don't stop. The tunnel doesn't stop. This is the way to Lavender, surely.

I've got to a point where I can see sunlight again. I'm sure of it! It looks different than the light from these lamps. And I wanna get out of here before it all crumbles down.
I… remember small landslides happening all the time on the slopes of Cinnabar's Volcano and on Seafoam Islands, and if these tremors are the prelude to such an event… I don't wanna think about it. Not for a second. Not for less than a second. Destiny will take care of it, and will always have the last word.

Arianne's team:

Eric •

Mulan •

Alice •

Mizar

budube · Feb 2, 2020

Bruno Dillinger
May 23, Thursday

Chapter 4, Part 2: Traps

Afternoon, Rock Tunnel

It was dark. Bruno and the purple haired woman were walking across a path different than the main tunnel. This one wasn't illuminated up by lamps, so their path was lighted by the woman's headlamp and mainly by her Shiinotic's Flash and her Sableye's Will-O-Wisp. Their trek was mainly silent, but it was not the awkward silence as with Katherine back at Route 9; Bruno was actually thankful that she didn't talk much because otherwise he would be too scared to even answer.

"Stop there. Sableye, guard the entrance. If he tries to escape, you know what to do." she said. Sableye nodded and stood still staring at Bruno with a blue flame on the top of his head. She walked slowly with Shiinotic by her side and carefully looked at the walls of the tunnel. Bruno walked behind her, but she stopped him the moment she heard how he stepped on a puddle. "Watch your step, kid. You don't want to be eaten by the remnants of the ancient species that used to live here."

"R-Remnants?"

"Yeah. The idiots at Rock Village say it's magic, but… Shit." she let out a long sigh interrupting her discourse. "Nothing here. Let's move."

They kept walking through the main tunnel and the woman didn't continue her explanation so Bruno asked with fear. "W-what about the m-magic?"

"It's not magic." she said. "Millions of years ago, before the ancient civilizations made this place their own, Rock Tunnel used to be underwater. It was perfect for certain species to grow in, but earthquakes brought the cave to what it is right now. I have the theory that many of those species, instead of going extinct, evolved to be able to live on the most humid places of the cave. The ancient civilizations knew that, so they decided to hide the valuable stuff between these things as traps. Turn to the right."

"B-but why does everyone say this is m-magic?"

"Villagers are foolish. They think making up stories would give something interesting to tell about Rock Village." she answered "They don't realize the tunnel's history would help the place grow outside the hole it is. It makes me sick. That's why I want the money."

"To leave?"

"Turn to the left, I think this tunnel has something. And yes, I want to leave and also investigate this place."

The tunnel they took started as a narrow path and then opened into a small, square room. The purple haired woman smirked and pushed Bruno forward to make her way in. It had five tall pedestals made of stone, each one with shiny, round gemstones of different colors at the top. At the center of the room lied a big stone with some kind of ancient scribbles on it.

"Don't touch anything. The magic part may be a lie, but ancient civilizations putting traps here isn't."

"W-what are you l-looking for here?"

"Whatever can be sold at a high price." she said, looking with a smile at the rock in front of her. "And I think I've hit the jackpot. Come, kid. I need you to help me here. Sableye, the entrance."

Bruno walked towards the rock when both of them suddenly heard something fall at the main path with force. Bruno looked back at the entrance alarmed, Sableye seemed to be interested in the sound too.

"It's just a Pokémon, no need to be--" the same sound, but this time it was closer.

"W-we should g-go." another clank was heard. This time they could listen it inside the very room.

"I told you not to touch anything! Sableye, get back here!" her Sableye jumped to his trainer just in time, the moment a giant boulder fell on the same spot he was guarding, blocking the only exit they had.

"I-I didn't touch a-anything! I s-s-swear!"

"You didn't, but your stupid Pokémon did!"

"Bumblebee!" the Pokémon looked back at his trainer and dropped the red orb he had on his hands. He clumsily tried putting it back on its pedestal, just to make everything worse for everyone in the room. One gap opened at each corner of the ceiling, and water started pouring down. "H-how do we get out of here?"

"I don't know. Let's try doing what we came to do here."

Bruno's Party:

Eleanor · Feb 3, 2020

Crystals?
🍀🍀🍀
Arianne Chandler
Rock Tunnel - Day 4 - May 23^rd

♫ - Pendulum - Girl in the fire
As I keep following the sunlight, I notice that the tremors I was feeling are… changing. The sound I'm hearing is different, and it seems to be coming from the exit somehow. Maybe there's a landslide going on outside?

I don't wanna stay in this tunnel any longer. Once I'm out, all will be ok! And that moment will be about… now!?

This is not the exit, this is all fake. The sunlight coming from above is lighting up what still is, undeniably, a cave, and is passing through what looks like an open wound in the ground. My eyes get used to it quickly and I start to look around.

The tremors have become stronger than ever, but thanks to the sunlight I can see where they come from. And what a view it is.

Behind my shoulders is the last, wooden support of the main tunnel, from which another lamp is hanging. In front of me the path curves and branches out. On one side, there's nothing but a steep rock wall that joins with an overhang above. Large roots are suspended over my head.

I now stare in awe at what's on the other side: a waterfall is pouring down from the opening above into a small, crystalline pond. The water is almost emerald green, unlike anything else I've seen… after all, this is not the open sea.

I take some steps further and get hit by millions of small water drops from the waterfall nearby. That is the source of the noise, for sure! I keep walking past the splashes and find a sheltered place to calm down.

I think I'm starting to like this place. I would have never expected I would need a swimsuit here, and yet part of me is already longing for one, anticipating the moment where the waterfall pours over my body.

But… no, this water is much colder than what I'm used to, and the force of the waterfall is not to be underestimated. And this pond isn't that big anyways… and the current! That is probably the reason why this water looks so clean.

I start to think about the tremors once again. The noise coming from the waterfall must be covering anything else now that I'm so close to it… but the tremors I felt started suddenly and kept going for a while. That excludes landslides, I think. Well, I hope. Anyways, I might know… I might know why that is. I remember something about… a rare, giant Pokémon that digs tunnels through mountains. Onix!

Such a simple, yet striking name for such a simple, yet big and powerful Pokémon. One of them had to be around there! In fact, it could be so close to me, and I wouldn't know, because we'd be separated not by a layer of air, but by a layer of rocks.

In any case, I'm now sitting on top of my partially unfolded sleeping bag, which in turn is protecting me from the cold, wet floor of this cave. And I don't feel any movement of the rocks, unlike before. Onix has stopped its digging, probably.

I've given up on escaping, also because I feel safer in this area of the cave. It's more open, if that makes any sense at all. I feel hungry, so I take out some food (berries, sweets, bread) and start eating. Given the time of the day, which I've just checked on my PokéGear, this all makes sense. Almost midday.

I figure out I can let Eric enjoy some swimming, even if I can't be there with him. I call him out and pleasantly notice him looking at the pond, enthusiastic. When I tell him he can go there and get some rest, he runs inside the water and starts splashing around. Apparently he's met some wild Pokémon and is trying to approach them, playfully, but they don't seem interested. And… I don't think there's much I can do. Mulan hates water for obvious reasons, Alice can end up hurting Eric with her electricity, and Mizar… I'm not sure about him.

I eventually give up to Eric's attitude and call Mizar out. He looks much more restless and worried. "I know we can't try flying here but… what do you say about this place?"
He looks at me weird.
"Would you join Eric in that pond?"
He growls, but eventually tries to get in the water. He looks scared and unsure of what to do.

Eric splashes Mizar with some water, inviting him to play in the pond, but he leers back at the Water type. "Mizar?" I get closer to the lake, while munching a berry. "You don't wanna play?" I shout, trying to be heard. "Maybe you prefer battles?"

In spite of all my predictions he answers yes with a nod of his head and does his best to attempt a battle cry. "Well, try Withdraw, Eric!" The Turtle Pokémon hides underwater and strengthens his shell as he swims. Mizar, realizing his opponent is not playing his game, tries to go for an Ember, but the attack is nearly useless. "Bite!" Eric swims up to Mizar and comes out of the water, ready to hit him, while the Dragon counters with a Rage. More hits are exchanged this way, with Mizar trying to use Leer as Eric approaches and tries to use Bite or Rapid Spin. After all, water attacks aren't very effective on dragons.

At one point, Mizar moves closer to the waterfall, and disappears in the cloud of vapor. I'm not sure why he's doing this, and in fact I'm starting to get quite worried. He seems so reckless in everything he does… even more than me, dare I say. I realize his intentions only when, after a while, I see his glowing eyes through the water. Not the reassuring pink of Eric's Heal Pulse, but the blood red of Rage. He lunges at Eric, determined to land the finishing blow… and here, Squirtle surprises me. Some of the water in the pond starts to morph into a sphere that the Turtle Pokémon launches into the opponent. The sphere gets bigger and bigger before swallowing Mizar whole, knocking him away before breaking into countless water drops. Bagon falls in the deepest area of the pond and, given the heavy armor on his head, struggles to stay afloat.

"You learned Water Pulse!" I yell, as my voice gets lost in the noise of the waterfall. I call back Mizar into his Pokéball, then out again beside me - just a little trick I saw Vera do. "And you've been great too, Mizar. Come on, don't feel ashamed! ...this is where we end the practice battle, though."

I then return to my sleeping bag and finish my… well, lunch with those two Pokémon beside me. One more time I stare at the cave I'm in, amazed by the plants that grow inside, but also trying to find the correct tunnel. My eyes have spotted a small wooden… uhm, bridge, further ahead down the creek which starts to flow out of the pond.

"Time to go!" I announce with a deep breath, calling back my Pokémon and picking up the rest of my stuff.

As I walk further away from the tunnel where I came from, I notice a new entrance beside me, which I didn't seem to have considered at all before. This tunnel goes uphill, and while it has no lamps, I can still see sunlight at the end. Maybe it's a side exit that leads on top of the waterfall… and if that's the case, I'd be up to explore it. I think. Yeah, I think I can manage, it seems reasonably short. And this means I can get back to this pond quite easily, too!

If only… if only this wasn't another trick up Rock Tunnel's sleeve. And one of the worst, too! This place is taunting me, definitely.

Ok, let me explain. As I turn the corner and start following this tunnel (which is somehow bigger in section than the main one) the sunlight starts to move, and get further away from me. I suddenly hear Pokémon cries all around me (near the pond there weren't that many, for some reason), and almost trip on what I believe are roots.

At this point, I keep following what is definitely not sunlight, until it disappears and I'm all alone, in the darkness of the tunnel. That's what I get for playing this game, uh? For rising to the bait every time?

Some sparkles start to appear in various places around me. To be fair they look quite pretty: they fall down slowly, like volcanic ash, before their light is snuffed out. I've never seen something like that, but this light show gives me the feeling I'm not actually alone in here.

Case in point, I start to feel more tired, more drowsy. It's a similar feeling to Eric's Heal Pulse, with the exception that this time, I'm feeling heavier, more tired, and less in control of my body. These… are spores.

I'm at home, laying in bed while reading a book. All is quiet in my room, and the clubs near the sea are too far to be bothersome. I start feeling the house shake, all of a sudden, and try to reach for the door. But it's locked shut, I can't open it. I try the other door, the one that leads to the terrace, but it doesn't budge. How am I supposed to make my escape, like I'm supposed to in these situations? My last option is the window, but no matter how much I pull, it won't open at all. I can't see what's happening outside, but all I feel is more and more heat. Until… I start to melt! My body feels more squishy, as if I had no bones anymore, and I can no longer move or stand up at all. The room spins around me at lightning speed.

Some unusual shrieking brings me back to reality faster than I'd ever imagine. I'm laying down on the wet floor of Rock Tunnel, but my fingertips are - in fact - touching something squishy, that is trying its best to get free. I catch a very subtle, yet pleasant smell coming from it. More spores are sent my way by what could only be Pokémon, but this time I try my best not to fall asleep again. This allows me to see that what I've pinned to the ground is a small mushroom Pokémon.

My mind goes back to the broken flashlight I have in my backpack. This Pokémon could act as a replacement, if anything. And… I've never seen anything like it. Since I got all the way here rather than following the main path, let me at least get something as a reward.

I reach for an empty Pokéball, which apparently causes different reactions in the group of Pokémon. Some walk away immediately, while others start to get out of their hiding spots and a couple of them even crawl onto me. I can feel their movements over my legs and body and I realize, maybe I shouldn't be doing this. After all, I'm just taking a wild Pokémon for myself, separating it from other Pokémon it could see as friends...

The thought of being alone in the darkness of the tunnel is too strong, though. I decide to give it a try, at least. And so, I try to move the Pokéball around until I can feel the plastic on my other hand, the one that's holding the Pokémon. But this is no Mizar… all I need to do is have the Pokéball touch gently the Pokémon I'm trying to catch. Eventually, I get it right!
I hear a surprised "Lulul-" as the little creature under my hand enters the device and stays inside. Then, without letting go of the Pokéball, I try to get up again , once the other Pokémon have walked away.

This cave floor is so cold, dirty, and uncomfortable. It's the second time I've laid down on it and I can't take it anymore. I call out the Pokémon I've just caught. "Sorry for before! I couldn't see anything, and that's why I need your help to show me the way... Lulu!"

Lulu (Morelull) - ♀
Absorb, Astonish, Flash, Moonlight, Confuse Ray, Ingrain

Arianne's team:

Eric •

Mulan •

Alice •

Mizar •

Lulu

WizardOfOdd · Feb 5, 2020

Richard Wolstenholme
Rock Tunnel Entrance, May 23^rd, Early Morning

Chapter 4 - 1
Morning Mayhem

"So this is Rock Tunnel… Shame Keith isn't here, but I can't waste much time either." Richard mumbled, Keith decided to take more time to rest which left Richard alone to continue his journey. It was understandable for Keith to stay in his lodgings, after all, Richard decided to go at very early morning, causing a no-go from Keith.

Richard threw both of his Pokeballs upward in the air, releasing Eileen and Uri out from their respective balls.

"Okay guys, our plan is to--" Richard's conversation was cut off by a sudden Confusion from Uri to Eileen, slamming her to the nearby cliff wall.

"Uri! What the hell have you done!" Richard locked eyes with the angry Uri. Uri had enough of the difference of treatment between him and Eileen, and this time he'll end this for good, he angrily tried to retort against his trainer's complaints.

Feeling that Richard was in trouble, Eileen launched an Electro Ball which hit the focused Uri.

Uri angrily retorted by using Teleport near Eileen and fired a devastating Ice Beam towards her, which was dodged by Eileen using Quick Attack. Eileen and Uri both had enough of each other's attitude and the battle escalated quickly.

"Stop it, you two!" Richard screamed as loud as he could, but both of them were busy fighting each other to even listen to his order. Left with no choice, he moved to the sidelines waiting for the battle to reach the climax so he could resolve the issue when the issue reached its climax.

Eileen launched an attack using her speed from Quick Attack to launch a rapid strike against the Psi Pokemon which was obviously dodged by using Teleport. Uri teleported above Eileen and fired another powerful Ice Beam, Eileen already predicted this and launched Electro Ball to counter the beam. Uri's Ice Beam was too powerful and pushed back the Electro Ball back to Eileen causing an explosion upon impact."

Eileen managed to dodge the blast caused, but Uri teleported behind her and use Confusion once more on her, this time it hit causing Eileen to be lifted from the ground. Feeling confident of his chances, Uri prepared an Ice Beam once more before Eileen shot a Thunder Shock towards the Kadabra, forcing him to loosen his grab towards the Mouse Pokemon.

Uri was furious, he threw away his spoon using psychic power as a distraction against Eileen. The spoon eventually bent due to the effect of Kinesis producing a loud noise that broke Eileen's attention. The opportunity was quickly used by Uri to launch her using Confusion once more towards the cliff wall.

"Uri, you've gone too far!" Richard confronted Uri another time. Uri wasn't going to let the complaint from Richard slide away that easily, he tried to share his piece of mind once more before he got hit by another Electro Ball from Eileen who was hiding inside the dust from the impact before.

Believing that there was no choice to deal with the Mouse Pokemon without getting interrupted by his trainer with this situation, Uri launched himself with psychic powers. Eileen retaliated with Thunder Shock, but Uri powered through to grab her tail. With the entrance in sight, Uri teleported both him and Eileen inside the caves much to the bewilderment of his trainer.

"Uri! Where the hell are you going!? Muk!" Richard chased after both of his Pokemon, only to saw them both disappearing inside the cave.

"Arghh, damn it!" Richard kicked a nearby rock in frustration of losing sight of both of his Pokemon.

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

WizardOfOdd · Feb 7, 2020

Richard Wolstenholme
Rock Tunnel, May 23^rd, Early Morning

Chapter 4 - 2
Enter The Tunnel

"Where could they be?" Richard murmured, the thought about the harm that could be done by Uri and Eileen against each other made his stomach churn. He decided to run as fast as he could while trying to focus inside the cave.

It was a not easy task traversing through this tunnel, but Richard already used to traverse terrains like this during his training back then. Still, wrong stamina management and he'll be dead meat.

He decided to stop and analyze the situation of the tunnel, these unilluminated branching tunnels could be the key to find both Uri and Eileen safely.

Suddenly he could hear a noise coming from somewhere. "Hey, young man. Could you help me, please?" A man's voice was heard from one of the branching tunnels.

"Yes, I'll be right there." Richard ran once more, this time to help the man. Apparently he was having issues trekking while wearing a huge backpack.

The man wheezed as he finally managed to reach the illuminated path. "Finally… I reached… The main road *cough* *cough*"

"You okay, Sir? You don't look that good."

"I'm fine… Probably… I guess this is what happens when you spent too much time inside a lab instead of doing fieldwork." The man sat down on the dirt floor of the cave.

"You're a scientist, Mister?" Richard inquisitively asked.

"No, I'm an archaeologist. Not very well-known, but I still have a reputation among scientific circles. Oh, where are my manners, Gordon Mastiff." Gordon extended his hand towards the standing Richard.

"Richard Wolstenholme, you can call me Richard." Richard accepted the handshake, as much as he wanted to ask more about Gordon's job, he had to be hurry to find his two Pokemon. "Sorry Mister Gordon, I would like to hear more about you and your occupation, but… I have to go now."

"Whoa, whoa, what's the rush?" Gordon was confused.

"Uh, to keep it short. Two of my Pokemons were fighting and they ended up here somewhere."

"How!? It doesn't make sense." Gordon was even more perplexed, what Pokemon did this young man had that they entered this cave while battling.

"One of my Pokemon is a Kadabra, he used Teleport multiple times."

"Ah, I see… Wait, is your other Pokemon a Pikachu?"

"Yes, how do you know!?" Richard was shocked, the light in his eyes grew brighter as he found a lead on finding his Pokemon.

"I saw them fighting back there. Unfortunately, they both disappeared before I managed to find out what was actually happening."

"I see, thank you so much for the information." Richard bowed slightly before turning his back towards the hole once more.

"I'm not finished talking, Richard. Do you have any Pokemon other than those two?"

Richard was silent, unable to respond the question.

"Here's the thing, there's quite a few wild Pokemon there. Sure some are kind enough to let you go scot-free, but what if you face something dangerous along the road? Can you manage to escape without endangering yourself? That's why I have a proposition to make."

It was apparent to Richard that Gordon was serious in his offer. "And what is it, if I may know?"

"Haha, finally I get your attention. So uh… as you can see I'm completely hopeless in physical feats. So I need you to be my porter and carry this heavy backpack with you. In return, I'll be guarding you with my Pokemon. How's that sound? I need to go back there anyway so, yeah."

Richard couldn't pass up this opportunity, who knows what will happen inside the tunnel. With all things considered, he accepted Gordon's offer.

"Great, now I have a question to ask. If, and this is just if okay..."

Richard tilted his head, he had a bad feeling about what was going to be asked by Gordon.

"If I by some means fainted inside the tunnel, would you carry me?" Gordon laughed while saying the question.

Richard laughed nervously, he couldn't discern if the question was a joke or not. But something tells him that this would be a long journey.

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

QueenNothing · Feb 7, 2020

Gwen's battle proposal led to the rivals to the battlefield in the outdoor area of the Pokemon Center. As they made their way to their sides of the battlefield, they both noticed how nobody else was around or how few other battlefields there were.

"Let's gie thes o'er wi'. Ah'd loch tae gie tae La'endar Toon afair midnight." Bethany reached for a pokeball from her purse and tossed it, sending out her Alolan Vulpix.

"Alright, I got this!" Gwen said pumping herself up "Pix, come out!" As Pix entered the battlefield the sun got much brighter due to the Vulpix's ability. "Now Pix, Ember!"

"Again? Ye dornt learn!" Bethany taunted "'Ulpix, Endure!" As with their last battle, the Alolan Vulpix prepared himself for the oncoming Fire-type attack and survived it.

"Now, Ulpix use Hypnosis!" The Alolan Vulpix attempted to make eye contact with her foe.

"Not so fast! Pix, Quick Attack!" Gwen commanded. Pix immediately ran up and tackled the Alolan Vulpix, hitting her opponent within seconds of her activating the attack. This caused the Alolan Vulpix to faint.

Bethany had visible shock on her face but shook it off. "'at was a fluke! Now, yer turn Ee'ee!" Bethany revealed her Eevee, but this one was a little different having fur on the tip of its tail heart-shaped.

"Pix, Ember again!" Pix shout out another Ember that made direct contact with the Eevee. Unlike the Alolan Vulpix, this Eevee seemed to take the hit without much damage.

"Ee'ee, Yawn!" The Eevee stretched out its mouth and let out a very loud yawn. Shortly after, Pix yawned too.

Gwen yawned as well. "Fucking Yawn. Okay Pix, come back!" She said, returning Pix back to her Pokeball.

"Tusk, come on out!" Tusk entered the battlefield looking as cocky as would be expected of the Dragon-type. "Tusk, use Taunt!" The Axew looked at the Eevee and made a "Come here" expression with his hand while giving her the biggest grin. In response the Eevee looked mildly frustrated and wasn't able to use any non-attacking moves.

"Ye 'hink that'll tamper us?" Bethany smirked "Ee'ee, Double Kick!" Rather jarringly the Eeevee jumped up and kicked Tusk in the face with both of her hind legs.

"Two can play at that game! Tusk, Dual Chop!" Tusk scratched the Eevee with more power than a regular Scratch and followed it up by using his other claw.

"Double Kick again!" The Eevee tried repeating it's previous action but was caught off-gaurd by Tusk's next action.

"Tusk, Bite!" Right as Eevee's left foot was about to make contact with Tusk's face, he opened his mouth and bit down on the Normal-type's foot. The Eevee only seemed slightly bothered by this and used her free foot to kick Tusk, freeing her left foot.

"It's been two turns mate; Taunt has worn aff! Ee'ee, Sand Attack!"

Eevee used her front legs to kick up dirt on the battlefield directly into Tusk's eyes, making it harder for him to see.

"Shit! Tusk, use uh...Dual Chop again!" Tusk tried scratching the Eevee twice but only one hit was successful.

"Sand Attack!" Again the Eevee kicked up dirt at Tusk, making it even harder for him to see. Gwen knew if this kept up Tusk wouldn't be able to land any hits.

Gwen sighed as she returned Tusk to his Pokeball. "Jess, get out here!" Jess popped out of her Pokeball and the first thing she did was hissed at Eevee while giving her a nasty look.

"Jess, Wrap!" Jess slithered up to her opponent and wrapped her body around Eevee. She seemed mildly bothered by this.

"Ee'ee, yawn!" The Eevee let out another loud yawn which caused Jess to do the same. The grip Jess had around Eevee grew tighter.

"One more turn an' ye'll be seein' Wooloo!" Bethany taunted "Ee'ee, Double Kick!" Eevee kicked Jess twice but didn't have quite do the same damage as it did to Tusk.

"Jess, Poison Sting!" The Ekans shot a poison dart out of her mouth that hit Eevee in the head. The Eevee started to shake and whimper and Jess' grip around her only tightened.

"Gaahh, Poisoned!" Bethany cried "Doesnae matter, sleep will get yer Ekans ye know!" Right after she said that, Jess stopped moving; Sleep kicked in although you wouldn't be able to tell due to her lack of eyelids. Likewise, Eevee passed out.

Bethany returned Eevee to her Pokeball "Ponyta, yer up!" Bethany sent out a Ponyta, and like her Vulpix, her Pokemon clearly wasn't native to Kanto. This one had a very fluffy mane and tail, and had a horn; Something Kantonian Ponyta only gained on evolution.

"Woah! A Galarian Ponyta!" Gwen exclaimed "I've only seen pictures of it online and in books!" She examined it a bit more and noticed instead of pink in its mane and tail it was a very bright yellow "Holy shit, it's a shiny too!"

"Course ye hae ne'er seen anythin' loch these beauty!" Bethany bragged "Galarian Ponyta ur a Miller family heirloom, said tae be directly descended frae th' first Galarian Ponyta!"

"Sweet, type advantage!" Gwen muttered to herself "It's clearly a Fairy-type, I just need Jess to wake up-"

"Ponyta, Confusion!"

"Wait, what the fuck?"

Ponyta's mane glowed and shot an energy beam at Jess, causing her to unwrap and fall over.

"Well I sure didn't expect a Fairy-type to one hit KO a Poison-type!"

"Fairy-type?" Bethany raised an eyebrow "She's a bloody Psychic-type!"

"What the fuck, I thought she was a Fairy-type!"

"Ah thought ye were a top student at th' College and ye dornt ken whit type Galarian Ponyta is?"

"I, uh, forget stuff y'know…" The truth was Gwen hadn't done extensive research on Galarian Ponyta since so little information on them was available due to their rarity "And besides look at it, it looks like a fucking Fairy-type!"

"Nae so bright, ur we?" Bethany laughed "'main now, send it yer next Pokemon!"

"Well, at least I know she's not a Fairy-type…Come on Tusk!" Tusk came out of his Pokeball and breathed heavily from his nose.

"Tusk bite!" At his trainer's command, Tusk ran up to the Ponyta and bit her on the neck. Ponyta was significantly damaged by this, yelling out a pained neighing noise.

'Ponyta, Fairy 'ind!"

"Oh fuck me."

The Ponyta's main glew up again, and seemingly from nowhere Ponyta managed to blow misty wind at Tusk. The attack did lots of visible damage to Tusk, but he held on.

"Fucking, of course it knows Fairy Wind." Gwen complained "Tusk, Bite again!" Tusk repeated his previous action, doing more damage to the Ponyta but she wouldn't give in just yet.

"Fairy 'ind!" Again Ponyta blew more misty wind towards Tusk. The Fairy-type attack was overwhelming for Tusk to handle and he fainted, and Gwen sent him back to his Pokeball.

"You did great Tusk." After putting Tusk's Pokeball back, she tossed another one "Pix, come on out!"

"Ponyta, Confusion!" Similar to the one she shot at Jess, Ponyta shot an energy beam at Pix. It was strong, but nothing Pix couldn't shake off.

""Pix, Tail Whip!" Pix turned around and slapped her tails on the ground, lowering Ponyta's defense.

"Now use Quick Attack!" Pix dashed up to the Ponyta, the impacting doing enough to knock over the Ponyta on her back. It was clear Ponyta fainted.

"Fuck yeah, that's three of your Pokemon down!" Gwen gloated "Whatever your last one is can't be that tough!"

After she returned Ponyta to her Pokeball, she pulled out her last one and Bethany had the smuggest looking grin on her face "Sure, ah hae one mair left, but dornt ye dare underestimate 'er!"

Bethany grabbed an Ultra Ball, signaling to Gwen that whatever might be in here was a hassle to catch that she had to resort to it as opposed to a regular Pokeball. Bethany tossed it, and onto the battlefield was a dried-up looking fish Pokemon that was hopelessly flopping around on the ground.

"A...Feebas is your last Pokemon…" All Gwen could do was blankly stare at the Feebas, almost feeling sorry the poor thing was being dragged into this. After staring at it for a minute she burst into laughter, laughing so hard she even shed some tears

"Holy shit, normally I'd switch out due to your type advantage but look at it, its a fucking Feebas!"

"Yer loss!" Bethany said confidently.

Gwen wiped a tear out of her eye "Alright, enough of that. Pix, Quick Attack!" Pix jolted up to the Feebas and tackled it, which just barely seemed to affect the Water-type.

"Feebas, Scald!"

"Oh yeah the Feebas is gonna do sooo much dama-" Gwen had to double-take "Wait, Scald?"

Before she knew it, Gwen witnessed the Feebas launch scalding water out of her mouth that had enough pressure to send Pix flying into the chain link fence surrounding the battlefield, knocking Pix unconscious.

"What did ah say abit underestimating 'er?"

"Huh?" Gwen let out with her jaw dropped. Of course she couldn't stay in her state of shock and returned Pix to her Pokeball.

"Ye got one mair, send 'er out!"

Gwen reluctantly sent Custard out to the battlefield. Normally Custard wouldn't be scared of a mere Feebas, but the way this one aggressively flopped against the ground was enough to intimidate her.

"Feebas, Splash!" The Feebas' flopping got even more aggressive and kicked up a cloud of dirt surrounding both Pokemon, making it harder for Custard to see.

"Custard, land a Thundershock and this will be over!" Custard shot out an electric attack from her cheeks, but missed as she was unable to see her opponent.

"Feebas, Mud Shot!" The Feebas shot out blobs of mud at Custard, and unlike the Pikachu, could actually land her attacks. The type-advantage did lots of damage to Custard.

Gwen was freaking out at this "Umm..Umm...What the fuck do I do!?" Gwen anxiously shouted to herself "Fucking, umm, Custard, uhh, Thundershock!" Custard used another Thundershock but was still unable to see the Feebas and missed again.

"Mud Shot!" Feebas shot more mud blobs at Custard, and hit hard enough to knock her out. Bethany had won.

"Ohohohoho!" Bethany obnoxiously laughed "Yeh fuckin' lose mate! Now go get yer bloody Pokemon healed up an' pack yer supplies! We need to get tae Rock Tunnel!"

Gwen moaned loudly "Well a promise is a promise."

Groc · Feb 9, 2020

Vera Hill, Jordan Springs, Casey Holt
Chapter 4 - A Good Time in Store
Rock Village, May 23rd

After the morning's… incident, Vera found her way to the gift shop. She scanned the shelves for anything she deemed useful, growing steadily more disappointed as she did. Ceramic mugs, t-shirts, decorative tapestries? While those were admittedly cool, she doubted anything would actually help in the cave. Maybe one of those blankets, but they were so expensive. How did tourists afford these?

She vaguely took note as the bell on the door jingled and a conversation made its way into the dusty shop, but she recognized the voices almost instantly.

"-not going to buy any clothes until we get to Saffron-"

"Oh, come on, it's not that bad."

Vera ducked behind a nearby postcard stand. It was those two from the camp! Casey and Jordan! She peered out from behind the stand to be sure, hiding again as the door shut behind them.

"The quality of material is vastly inferior. And itchy."

"Not really in a position to be so picky, but whatever."

Casey's unnecessarily heavy sigh tinged with concession preceded a short sneezing fit. "Hey, am I allergic to dust?"

Jordan sounded mildly annoyed. "How would I know… hey, wait a minute..."

Vera slowly moved away from the postcards, looking for a way out. What are those two doing here? She thought to herself, panicking slightly. I thought they were camping! And why does this shop have to be only one room?

"It is Vera! Hi Vera! … hey, why are you pressed against that shelf?" Jordan spotted her first, and started making his way over to her. Casey waved vaguely, navigating the clutter to inspect a rack of shirts.

Now that she had been spotted, the only thing Vera could do was try to save face. Or bolt for the door, but she'd call that "plan B". She pretended to look at the shelf in front of her, grabbing the first thing she could.

"Oh, hello Jordan. I was just getting a better look at these… snow globes?" She was baffled by their very presence, putting it back. "I don't think they're for me. In fact, I haven't found anything that fits me in here, so I should just go." She backed away, almost tripping over a decorative rock.

Casey started giggling from across the store. "Didja see these shirts, though? They're pretty good."

Vera scowled at Casey, taking his giggle personally. "Yes, of course you would like those."

"Yeah! They're cute!" Casey flipped through the selection. "Well, some of them. You don't think so?"

"Well… I…" At a temporary loss for words, she cautiously approached Casey. He didn't seem angry at her. He actually seemed more interested in the shirts. "Some of them aren't bad, I guess…"

In truth, most were rather ugly. And many had absolutely awful puns on them. They were the most kitschy tourist fare she'd ever seen. "They're just… not my style. Do you really like this one?" She pointed at the shirt in his hands.

Casey grinned and murmured, "Nah, not this one. It's going in Jordan's backpack soon as I get a chance." Returning to a normal volume- though a rather dramatic tone- he continued: "Jordan says I need more shirts and who am I to argue with his wisdom, really?"

Vera actually snorted, covering her mouth to restrain her laughter. It was such a childish joke, it could only be Casey and Jordan, still up to their usual tricks. Suddenly, she felt silly for ever being concerned. Casey wasn't mad at her, or he'd forgiven her. Now she regretted hiding from them.

"They're reasonably priced, unlike the shirt you ruined, and… of decent quality, for the cost," Jordan looked through the clothing racks as well, holding up an ugly brown shirt to measure it against Casey's chest. Casey sighed.

"If I have to buy only 'decent' quality clothes, they're at least going to be fun." He inspected what Jordan was holding and read: "'We lost Grandma in Rock Tunnel'?"

"Wow. Dark." Vera quipped, looking at the other options.

"Fine," Jordan put back the grandma shirt and continued browsing. "Hey! We should all get one. To commemorate our time together."

Casey looked absolutely delighted. Vera looked at him like he was crazy.

"Vera! C'mon, let's do it, and then we can all wear 'em today when we go!"

Vera pouted for a solid ten seconds before relenting. "Oh, fine… but I'm not letting you guys pick mine. I have very particular tastes."

"Pick the style and we'll match yours, then! Get one of the glow-in-the-dark ones though, will ya?"

"Ooh, perfect. That way, if one of us falls down a ditch or something, we can still find each other." Jordan joked.

"Yeah, we won't end up like whosever's grandma!"

Vera let them prattle and plead, thinking it was a solid plan. But for someone who usually wore mono-color t-shirts and a comfy jacket, being put in charge of fashion was a daunting task. "Um… I mean… they don't have to be identical, right?"

"It's more fun that way! Here, there's… sky blue with pink letters, light pink with yellow, brown with neon orange..."

"Uh, um… blue!" She made a snap decision, grabbing the blue one from the rack. It had the little "glows in the dark!" sticker, with bright pink letters proclaiming "Rock Tunnel of Love" and little glowing hearts around a picture of the cave entrance.

Casey laughed and grabbed one for himself and for Jordan. "Cute! Y'all got the right sizes?"

Jordan held it up against his torso and looked down. "Yeah, I think so!"

"Um… it's a little big… no, wait, this one works." Vera found one in her size, near the back.

"Cool, give 'em here-" Casey collected their choices and waved them as he went up to the counter. "These four, please!"

As Casey went to pay for their shirts, Jordan and Vera hung back. The boy whistled, seemingly unsure of what to say. "Oh!" he suddenly perked up. "Did you get my text from this morning?"

"Hm?" Vera had been thinking of something else, and had to think for a moment. "Oh, that was from you? I thought it was a wrong number. A Skiddo, after rolling in flowers or something?"

Jordan's ears turned red. "Uh, something like that. Cute, right?"

"It was… nice. They looked happy." Vera didn't have much else to say on the matter. "Hey, how's Spirit doing? I didn't see much of him, but Bonnie seemed to like him."

"Oh!" The boy grinned. "Yeah, they seemed to have really hit it off. I got him right here, with the rest of my Pokémon," he patted his belt. "Thought I should put 'em away for the time being, they probably woulda knocked over all those snow globes if I let them run around the shop."

Casey waved them over as he made his way out the door. "Right," he said as they joined him, handing them their shirts. "Let's put them on!" He dropped his backpack and shucked his jacket in one smooth movement.

Vera turned a little red, realizing Casey intended to change right in the middle of town. She punched him in the arm, like she'd seen Jordan do. "Not right in the street, you dolt! Look, there's a diner right over there, go change in the restroom." She went over that way, wincing and holding her hand. Casey was more solid than she'd expected, and she'd hurt herself punching him.

"Fine," Casey pouted, hefting his things back up in one hand and following along. "Hardly anyone here to see anyway."

"Well, I'm not changing in front of you two." Vera ducked into the bathroom of the diner, leaving the boys to decide amongst themselves who changed first. She removed her jacket and t-shirt, looking at the tacky blue and pink piece of clothing Casey had bought her. It was definitely not something she'd buy herself, but it was rare that someone bought something for her, so she guessed it was okay.

She slid it on, finding it surprisingly comfortable, and folded her other shirt up and put it in her backpack. She put her jacket back on before leaving the restroom, looking for her boys.

They'd chosen a clean but rather ratty booth. Casey was already changed; presumably Jordan was in the bathroom. She caught Casey's eye as he glanced around, sliding into the empty seat across from him as he quickly tucked the other shirt into Jordan's backpack. Casey plucked a menu from the stand to hide his incredibly smug expression as Jordan rejoined them.

"Alright!" He exclaimed, looking around the table. "We're lookin' sharp. Now, what's for lunch?" He snatched the menu from Casey. "Ooh, bacon cheeseburger…"

Vera picked up the breakfast menu. "Not really into cheeseburgers, myself… Ha! They call ham and eggs a 'hamlet'..."

Jordan looked amused. "See, you do like puns. No wonder you like the shirts."

Vera blushed a little at the attention, hiding her face behind the menu. "Well… I appreciate the effort they put into the joke, you know? Puns are hard, and not everyone likes them…"

"I think everyone does! They just pretend they don't." Casey stole the menu from Jordan instead of taking another from the pile. "Quantity over quality today, huh…" He flipped the menu back to Jordan, apparently having decided already.

While they talked, a friendly waitress approached the table. "Hi there! Thanks for coming in, my name's Rachel and I'll be your server today. Anything I can get started for you guys? Some drinks maybe?"

Vera spoke up first. "I'd like some tea. Do you have anything herbal?"

Rachel shook her head, wincing apologetically. "Sorry, all we have is unsweetened iced tea."

Vera slumped in her seat a little, looking disappointed. "Then I'll have an iced tea. But with no ice, please."

"I'll have a chocolate milkshake," Jordan told the waitress. "And I'm having the bacon cheeseburger, too, if you don't mind taking the rest of my order now."

"Sure!" Rachel flipped a pen and paper out of her apron pocket and scribbled it down. "And have either of you decided on food yet?"

Casey nodded, schooling his face into something more appropriate to speaking to strangers than being disgusted at his friend's choices. "The everything omelet with a side of hashbrowns and side of fruit, thanks. And a water, with no ice."

Vera folded the menu and put it on the stand as she ordered. "And I'll have the Southwest hamlet with spinach and peppers."

Rachel quickly wrote everything down, flashing them a smile when she was done. "Alright, I'll be right back with those drinks, and it'll just be a few minutes for your food."

As soon as Rachel was out of earshot, Casey tsked. "Jordan."

"What? Some of us are growing boys in need of a nice, hearty meal."

"And a heart attack?"

"That's years away. Decades, even." Jordan waved a hand dismissively and cut off Casey's retaliation with: "Anyway! How are we feeling about our journey ahead here? Vera, are you scared of the dark? I can provide a strong arm to hold onto if you are."

"What? *pssht* no. I'm not scared. Why would you think… I'm fine." Vera waved off their concerns, more distrustful of the dark than scared, but she didn't want to look scared in front of these two.

"Shouldn't be super dark anyway. There's skylights and stuff, aren't there?"

"It better be. How will our shirts glow otherwise?" Jordan looked down and poked the phosphorescent material on his shirt.

"Oh, yeah. Bet some of the side passages are dark enough! And we're definitely goin' down some of 'em. There's supposed to lots of neat cave formations and stuff!"

"I actually have heard of some cool things there." Vera chimed in. "Crystal caves, ancient ruins, water so pure you can see all the way to the bottom…"

Rachel came by with their drinks. "Your food will be out shortly."

Vera slid her tea over to her. "...anyway, should be fun. If we aren't swarmed by wild Pokémon …"

"That's why we have our own, right? Bu- uh, Ginger needs to work out anyway. And Parsley. Pepper can take a rest day I s'pose; he's still figuring out how being bigger works."

"That's… a good point." Vera thought it over while she sipped her tea. It wasn't very good tea, and she absentmindedly added sugar to it. "I think I'll bring Sapphire out, then. She'll keep us safe."

Jordan sat quietly for a moment, as if considering his team. "I kinda like travelling with all my Pokémon out. It's gonna be a problem when they start evolving and getting too big to walk around with me," he said. Ignoring the straw in his milkshake, he took a gulp straight from the edge of the glass, and a foamy mustache appeared on his top lip. "I did promise Hop last night we will train the whole way to Lavender Town, so he will definitely be a priority this trip."

"Oh." Casey looked slightly stunned. "They really are gonna be too big soon, aren't they?"

"Parsley and Sage better calm down a bit soon, I am not wrangling a 200-lb Gogoat if she misbehaves." Casey hummed in agreement, though he seemed a bit far away.

Rachel came by with their food. "Here you go, dears! Enjoy!"

"Awesome! Thank you," Jordan smiled warmly at the pretty waitress, and picked up his burger without hesitation.

"Wait, wait, put that down for a second," Casey demanded, pulling out his phone. "And get up, both of you. We're gonna get a nice picture together before you get grease all over that shirt." He shouldered Jordan, urging him out of the booth. The boy gave a frustrated sigh and opened his mouth to respond, but changed his mind. He wiped his face and fingers on a napkin before standing up. "Fine, let's get this over with."

"C'mon, Vera, real quick! And take off that jacket so we get the shirt in."

"Wait, photo?" For some reason, Vera hesitated. She wanted to refuse, like Jordan had, but they both looked so hopeful. "I… guess, fine…" She slipped out of her jacket, feeling oddly exposed. "Uh… where should I stand?"

"Here, go in the middle, 'cause I'm taller but Jordan fluffs his hair up for another inch, so if you're in the middle it's more symmetrical," Casey said, positioning himself on her left. "Jordan, squish in. And smile!"

Vera had several objections to being in the middle, but before she could voice any of them, Jordan rushed in, and Casey lifted the camera. Despite how awkward and nervous she felt, she instinctively smiled. (She looked sad in photos if she didn't smile.) Casey tapped the button three or four times in quick succession and brought it back down for a quick review. "Oh, this one's great!" he said, grin just as wide as it had been for the camera. "We're so cute."

Casey turned the phone to Vera and Jordan. The whole situation made Vera blush as she looked at the picture. "Yeah, it's…" It was actually one of the better pictures of her she'd seen. It looked genuine, an actual snapshot of a moment, not some fabrication. "...nice."

Jordan looked really pleased with the picture as well. "For the record, I do not fluff up my hair to be taller… but yes, this is very cute."

Twin chimes from either side of the table sounded as the three slid back into their seats. Vera checked her phone and saw Casey had sent the picture to her. One corner of her mouth tugged up in a half smile as she looked at it.

A joint post between Aquacorde, Juno, and Godzil.

QueenNothing · Feb 9, 2020

"G'endolyn! Fock are ye goin'?"

Gwen came to her senses and remembered that she was in Rock Tunnel with her rival. How long she had been walking and where she was in the cave, was not known to her.

"Oh right! We're in Rock Tunnel!"

Bethany's expression turned from irritated to infuriated. Her body stiffened up and her face was turning red. She was not happy with Gwen's response.

"FOCK'S SAKE, AH WAS FOLLOWIN' YE!" Bethany shouted at the top of her lungs. She was holding her arms back while doing so, making it appear that her screaming was pushing them back "AH DIDNE EXPECT YE TO FOCKIN' DO TH' HIN' WHERE YE JIST WANDER AFF AND FAFF ABOUT!"

"Hey, you said you were looking for me at the Pokemon Center! You knew this would have happened!"

"AH MEANT ONIE CAPE STUDENT BUT AY COORSE IT WAS YE WHO AH FOUND! WE'RE FOCKIN' LOST!"

"Well maybe if you're sense of direction wasn't so goddamn awful we wouldn't be in this situation!"

"YE FOCKIN' BAMPOT! YE DOBBER! SCROTE! WALLOPER! YE-"

"Oh thank goodness! That screaming we heard was coming from here! Thought we were going crazy!"

Bethany's insult barrage was interrupted by a soft voice that came from behind them. The girls turned around and saw two men were approaching them, likely being the source of the voice.

The man walking on the left was very short and pudgy, approximately 4 feet in height, and had a large, bushy gray mustache. He was carrying a tall backpack that looked ridiculous on him and was wearing a blue hard hat with a light on it. The man on his right was the opposite in shape, being approximately 7 feet and was very thin. He had large gray eyebrows and also had a gray mustache but his was much more tame, and he wore no headwear exposing his balding head. He was carrying a flash-light in his left hand. Both were donning hiking boots and weight jackets.

"What might you two be doing here?" The short man asked the trainers "You certainly don't look prepared for cave exploration!"

"This bitch has no sense of direction."

"This dobber is stuck in 'er ain wee world."

"Oh my, how rude!" The short man gently laughed to himself "Might you perhaps be Pokemon Trainers?"

"I, uh…" Gwen tried working up the courage to talk to the kind stranger, but was too nervous to do so.

"We're students frae Cape College." Bethany bluntly stated.

"Is that a Northern Galarian accent?" The short man asked "What a coincidence! My partner here is from Pottswick. Although speaking of him, I feel I should introduce us. My name is Dr. Albert Freidmann, but everyone calls me Al." Al held out his hand for the girls to shake it. Both girls had to hunch down a little bit to shake his hand.

"And this man to my right is my partner, Dr. Palmer Harris Hamilton."

"Everyone calls me Pal." The tall man said.

"So...Al and Pal?" Gwen chuckled a tad bit at how goofy the combination of names sounded.

"I know it sounds silly, but we've gotten used to it over the years. But now tell me, what are your names?"

"I, uh, it's Gwen Alanis." Gwen looked at the floor while saying her name.

"Alanis? By any chance are you related to Jennifer Alanis?"

Gwen's face lit up. "Yes actually!" Her demeanor changed from nervous to proud "She's my big sister and I'm gonna be a great trainer just like her!"

Al laughed "You sure look up to your sister don't you! Now what's your friend's name here?"

"Mah nam is Bethany. Bethany Miller."

Pal's eyes popped open "Miller? You don't mean the Miller Family, do you?"

"Sure am" Bethany gloated.

"Hoho, well both of you seem to be from families of great battlers!" Al laughed once more "We could always use the strength of some promising Pokemon trainers, as we only have one Pokemon with us. What do you say you both come along with us? We were exploring these ruins and who knows what kind of ancient traps we could run into. I've even heard from a colleague that there are some ancient Pokemon guarding certain parts of these ruins, but surely that's just a rumor!"

Gwen and Bethany both looked at each other as Al mentioned ancient Pokemon, both knowing what that would entail.

"Sign me up!"

"Wi' pleasure!"

"Excellent!" Al looked up towards Pal "Well then Pal, shall we continue our trek?" Pal nodded.

Aquacorde · Feb 10, 2020

Casey Holt & Jordan Springs & Vera Hill

Thursday, 23 May 2019
Midday • Day 4
Rock Tunnel

4-03.
i challenge the mighty titan and his troubadours

Rock Tunnel is actually really cool.

As in, "neat and interesting and different than other caves he's been in before". Also as in "a bit chilly". Their walk isn't strenuous even as they turn off the main path, so Casey's body temperature isn't quite hitting the range it needs to for him to be comfortable without his jacket. He's left it open, though, so the glowing design of his new shirt is still visible as they pass through the darker tunnels and caverns. It really isn't something he would have bought on his own, but then again he probably wouldn't have bought anything at all if Jordan hadn't suggested matching shirts. And Vera's pick was probably the best color combination. The fun of it all outweighs the lackluster thread count, though he's definitely gonna find some fabric softener in the near future.

Once they get out the other side of the tunnel and into Laven-

Rock Tunnel is actually really cool.

There's all kinds of cave formations- speleothems, he tells Vera and Jordan at some point- in all kinds of shapes and sizes. Some of them look like objects or creatures, but most just look like what they are: shimmering mineral deposits. And that's cool and pretty too, but not always so attention-grabbing. He's forgotten the word for the formations that are made by erosion rather than deposits- another speleo-something, he's pretty sure- but there seem to be far more of those than speleothems. Very regular-looking ones, too, which is all the more interesting. Could be perceived as almost unnatural, if you forgot that nature loves a pattern.

There are plants, too! Rock Tunnel's dotted with skylights that create patches of natural light in the most random places, even through little holes and cracks in otherwise solid walls. Some of them are super strange; Casey can't figure out how the light is managing to bend itself all the way through to where it greets them far under the ground. His best guess is that there's some sort of reflective rock embedded at just the right angle. Amazing how frequent the phenomena is. Anyway, that's probably what's allowing plants to grow all through the cave systems. The flora-filled patches completely open to the sky are like something out of a magazine or, as Vera says, a fairy tale. This particular one is littered with boulders piled high against one wall, mostly covering more flowstone- evidence of a long-ago cave-in. The moss is slippery under his feet from an earlier drizzle; he tosses his backpack and walking stick down for better balance and grip.

"What do you think you're doing?!" Vera calls out from below. "Get down from there before you slip and fall!"

Casey laughs and continues to climb. "I'm fine! I wanna see if I can get to the top." He's almost to the top of the rockslide; from there it's a matter of finding handholds in the wall itself. That might be tricky. But it looks like the opening to the overcast sky is only about ten feet above his head. That's doable, he just needs to find a good path…

His hand finds the first good hold as he hears Jordan say to Vera, "If he falls, I claim his walking stick."

Casey tsks. "So little confidence!" He gets about four feet up and can tell he's not going to get further, which is disappointing. The wall is bowing outward, and he isn't equipped to do any of that kind of climbing. He's not about to fall, though. He picks his footing quickly and accurately to land beside Parsley, who greets him enthusiastically. Ginger, lounging on his back, smacks Parsley a bit for moving too much. "Be nice."

Vera merely raises an eyebrow as Casey lands, petting the purring Sapphire in her arms. "Did you enjoy the climb? See anything fun up there?"

"Yeah! There's a few different kinds of moss in there. I thought there'd only be one."

Jordan is sitting on the cave floor, poking at some luminescent plant. "Hm. Well, the flora in here sure hasn't disappointed. The odd plant lady wasn't lying." He peers around. "Wonder where all the fauna is though, we haven't really seen any Pokémon yet."

"Haven't even seen a Zubat yet. Nature magazines make it seem like they're s'posed to be everywhere in caves." Media is a fantasy, perhaps. He heard that somewhere recently.

"Yeah, thought we would be pelted by the darn things as soon as we stepped in." Jordan glances at Vera. She looks a bit pale. More so than usual, even. He frowns. "Hey, are you okay?"

Vera looks suspiciously at a side passage, nervously passing her flashlight from one hand to the other. "I'm fine." She responds tersely. "Maybe the Zubats are just asleep. They're nocturnal, right?"

Casey tilts his head. She doesn't seem fine. Was she scared of bats? She'd been scared of Gospel, right? He's not entirely sure; he'd been... a bit distracted during that event. Was that even relevant? Also, "How can you tell when it's night if you live in a cave?"

Vera rolls her eyes at Casey, pointing to the skylight. "The sun? Or maybe they just have really good internal clocks? My dad has a good clock. He can tell time like that." She snaps her fingers to emphasize her point, flinching at the echo it creates.

"Could be!" Casey's own internal clock is fairly precise, he thinks. He hasn't needed an alarm to wake up since he was ten. Seems reasonable that bats could do that, too. And other cave creatures. Troglophiles? "Hey, what else lives here anyway? I wanna go find somethin'."

Jordan jumps up to his feet. The clock talk seems to have bored him. "Yeah! Let's go down… here." He points down one of the winding tunnels nearby. As her trainer gets up, Tangles moves closer to the plant he was sitting next to and gently uproots it before planting it into the little flower pot she made Jordan buy for her earlier. Casey retrieves his backpack and walking stick.

"Onward! Parsley, no, wait-"

The Skiddo's natural inclination to run is gonna get them in trouble someday. Maybe today, even. Parsley takes a sharp right and pops out into another wide cavern, which he does a quick circle of before trotting back to Casey at the entrance. Ginger releases her death grip on his fur and looks entirely offended that Parsley has done this to her. Casey scratches Parsley absentmindedly and shrugs. "You're the one refusing to use your own legs."

Ginger gestures pointedly at her own feet. "Evolve, then, and your legs won't be so short." She huffs at him.

Vera scoffs as she passes the pair. "She'll never get stronger legs if you coddle her like that." Her carrying Sapphire makes her advice slightly hypocritical.

"She doesn't wanna work; what'm I s'posed to do?" Casey whines. Ginger's general reluctance to actually do anything has been very at odds with his, y'know, lifestyle. It's worrying, when he actually thinks about it. What're you meant to do as a trainer when your Pokémon doesn't want to train? "You should be doin' some work." Ginger turns up her nose at the very idea. Casey sighs.

"Psst, hey guys, come look at this!" Vera whispers from up ahead, looking into one of the side passages. Casey wanders over with Jordan and the Pokémon in tow. They crowd around the opening to witness… something.

A Machoke stands atop a crystalline slab in the middle of a much smaller cave, its head just barely missing the ceiling as it switches from pose to pose for the entertainment of the two Noibat perched on an outcrop. He drops to one knee, flexing his biceps and blowing a kiss to the Noibat, who giggle in response. He easily lifts a boulder with one arm while bouncing his pecs rhythmically. Casey has never considered that a Pokémon could- or would- do this too. Machoke then casually tosses the boulder aside, turning to display his rippling shoulder muscles and glutes as it hits the floor with a resounding crack. Parsley jumps at the sound, hooves clattering on the rocky ground.

Machoke locks eyes with the group.

And comes barrelling down the tunnel.

Parsley bolts first, Ginger clinging to his back and Casey just behind them. Tangles is torn between holding Hop back and keeping her precious flowerpot safe; the Pidgey takes advantage of her distraction and wriggles free of her grasp, darting forward, ignoring his trainer calls. Jordan curses and chases after his Pokémon. Sapphire leaps from Vera's arms, doing a graceful midair somersault and landing on her feet. The Machoke thunders out of the opening and bursts into the main cavern, Noibat friends taking to the high ceiling as Machoke charges a glowing fist at the closest stranger, which happens to be Vera. Casey halts his hasty retreat when he hears her yelp of surprise and turns back to see her dashing past Machoke. His fist leaves a crater in the wall where she had been standing just a second before.

The hair on the back of Casey's neck stands on end.

Sapphire leaps to protect her pet human, slashing at Machoke's face. Her other paw comes up at the last second to create a sharp clap directly in front of Machoke. He turns his head away from the sound, then fixes Sapphire with a disappointed look, wagging one finger at her. Hop huffs frustratedly at the ineffectiveness of the Fake Out before kicking up a cloud of dust at the Machoke. The Noibat make an odd sort of noise resembling laughter, as the Sand Attack barely reaches the Machoke's face. Tangles finally finds a rock safe enough to stash her flowerpot behind, before lumbering over to join Hop.

Vera takes the opportunity to regroup with Casey while Sapphire backs away from the massively muscled 'mon. Jordan catches his breath and mouths a 'what is happening?!' to his friends, as the Noibats chitter and cheer from their new perch and Machoke cracks his knuckles in anticipation. He scoffs at the small Pidgey charging towards him again, but just before he barrels into him, vines shoot out and hoists Hop into the air. Tangles flings the Pidgey into the Machoke, as a steely wing slaps a strong Gust of wind in his direction. The Machoke stumbles back slightly.

Huh.

"Parsley!"

The Skiddo canters back to his trainer, pushing between Casey and Vera to adopt a ready stance in front of the humans. Ginger stands atop his back, little paws gripping his horns as if to steer. Her palpable annoyance is- thankfully- aimed at the wild Pokémon. Sapphire hangs back, behind Parsley but in front of the humans.

"Idea!" Casey says. Ginger and Parsley both swivel an ear in his direction. "Do what they just did. With, uh, with Vine Whip."

Ginger turns to him fully, giving this genuine consideration. Amazing. "Parsley, you get to do some runnin'. Keep outta range, 'cause your job is to catch and throw Ginger. Okay?"

Ginger turns her eyes forward again as they both nod. "Go!"

Parsley shoots forward. Ginger is definitely steering him; they careen across the cavern in a wide arc to get behind the Machoke. Ginger somersaults, loading her ears and springing into a powered kick aimed at the back of Machoke's head. The thunk of her foot connecting with his skull is horribly loud, but the Machoke's only reaction is narrowed eyes and a quick grab to catch her around the middle. He brings his fist around to inspect his struggling prisoner, but she slips through his blocky fingers as Parsley pulls her back to him, not stopping even for a second.

Should've done more'n that, Casey thinks. But we can still- "Ginger! Keep his eyes on you! Vera, what can Sapphire do?" He sees Jordan, a bit further from them, break from a huddle with his Pokémon.

"Keep her distance, hopefully!" Vera called back. "I won't risk a frontal assault, that thing's too strong. We'll keep our distance, maybe slow it down with Icy Wind."

"Icy Wind? That's cool- hah- but aim carefully!"

The Machoke locks on to his targets. Parsley switches direction, Ginger bouncing up to put a foot in the Machoke's eye, springing over his head to get picked up by Parsley darting behind. The Machoke twists, grazes Parsley's tail, and moves to chase the pair. He catches up to them quickly thanks to his muscular legs, but just as he reaches out to grab Ginger-

"Now!" Jordan yells.

Vines lash out and catch the Machoke around his ankles. Caught by surprise, the Pokémon hits the ground with a loud thud, but Tangela Constricts tighter, keeping him down. At the same time, she drops Hop down in front of the Machoke, and this time, the Pidgey successfully aims a Sand Attack at the fallen Machoke.

"Go, Sapphire!" Vera calls out. "Icy Wind before it gets back up!" Sapphire gets in close, exhaling her frigid breath at point blank range. Frost starts to form on Machoke's torso, but he seems otherwise unbothered by the cold.

From their perch, the Noibats cry out in despair for their friend. They swoop toward Tangles, one of them unleashing Supersonic sound waves while the other Screeches. Tangles instantly recoils at the sharp noise, releasing her hold on the Machoke's ankles as her trainer stoops down to check on her. Vera mutters under her breath, "Those two are finally joining in?"

"That's fine! Parsley, Growth!" Parsley pulses with a green light as he speeds toward the rest of the Pokémon. "Grab one!"

Parsley's Growth-strengthened vines whip up, curling around one Noibat and slamming it to the ground. Ginger readies; she knows what Casey wants her to do. It's what she wants to do as well. The Noibat Bites at the vines and Parsley drops the hold, rearing back just after Ginger executes Casey's next command. She arcs above the other Noibat and puts all her weight and momentum into driving a fist into its back. As soon as they hit the ground, Ginger springs back to her post astride Parsley and they circle, looking for the next opening.

"Snap out of it, Tangles…" Jordan mumbles as he cradles the Pokemon. She's so dazed that she gives no reaction to Jordan saying her loathed nickname out loud.

"Sapphire, keep on the big guy!" Vera commands, moving away from the fight itself. Sapphire breathes more Icy Wind at Machoke, coating his legs in frost. As Tangles slowly gets up on her own feet again, Jordan instructs her to help out with the annoying Noibat, and she too reaches out with her vines to pull one out of the air.

As strong as he is, Machoke has been just toying with the Trainers until now. With his little buddies under attack, he forces himself to his feet, fighting through the frost and posing dramatically in Ginger and Parsley's direction. The shadows on his face and the gleam of his eyes combine into a Scary Face. Parsley skids to a stop and takes halting steps backward on suddenly shaky legs. Ginger takes initiative in the form of a flying kick and bounces off the Machoke's bulging pecs, falling to the ground in front of him.

He Leers down at her.

Ginger stomps on his foot.

Machoke seems to laugh and flicks his foot to flip her upward and upside-down- she has nothing to grab or bounce off of- Casey rushes forward- Machoke grins maliciously when Ginger comes to eye level and begins to fall again, his glowing fist jabbing out…

...only to miss as Ginger is snatched out of the air by thick vines. She's been saved, but Tangela's attention is quickly divided as the Noibat circle back to lunge at her. They dive down one by one, and she tosses the Buneary behind her to focus on her opponents instead. Taking twelve pounds of agitated bunny to the stomach knocks the wind out of Casey but he manages to catch Ginger even as he doubles over, gasping for breath.

One of the Noibat Bite at Tangles, while the other Tackles into her - she seems a little overwhelmed, and they're not landing close enough for Hop to help, but that doesn't stop him from jumping up and down to try. Jordan watches, distraught. "Ingrain!" he calls out. "That'll stop them from chipping away at your energy!"

Since it doesn't seem like she is going to be able to move away from their relentless line of attack, Tangles stands her ground and roots herself into the earthy cave soil. She emits a faint glow as she draws the nutrients that sustain all the other strange plants they had passed by earlier. "Now, Vine Whip!" With more energy to work with now, Tangles reaches out with more precision and drags one of the Noibat to the ground. It lets out a surprised squeak as Jordan sends Hop into it with a Tackle. Seeing it in trouble, the other Noibat plunges down and barrels into the Pidgey, releasing its friend. They both scramble back to the Machoke and circle near him.

"Fake him out, Sapphire! Give Casey some space!" Sapphire jumps up in Machoke's face again, clapping her paws in front of him, but he's too focused on Ginger, completely ignoring the dark Meowth. Vera is surprised. "It didn't work?" The Noibats jeer and laugh as they flap in place, watching from above as Machoke confidently approaches Casey.

Oh, shit, he's realizing he's way closer to the active battlefield than he should be and he's weak and bit shaky from being winded, which means he's not gonna be able to move as quickly as he should, and the Machoke is still locked onto Ginger who is glaring defiantly from Casey's right shoulder and making "bring it on" motions. He'd told her to keep Machoke's eyes on her and she'd listened, but now-

Bring it on he does and Casey's just not quick enough, backpack and Pokémon and walking stick and residual dizziness all compromising balance and speed. The Machoke gets a hand on Ginger, hooks a leg around Casey's left, and pushes them sideways. The walking stick in Casey's right hand smacks Machoke upside the head as they topple. He drops it on contact and twists to hit the ground forearms-first, Ginger curling in on herself to roll as she's thrown from his shoulder.

Casey knows the Machoke isn't focused on Ginger anymore.

Jordan rushes forward to get to his friend, but he gets as far as where Vera is standing, before vines shoot out ahead of him. He turns around. "Tangela…?"

Casey's heart lurches as vines wind their way around his torso, but Parsley yanks, dumps him near Vera, and lets go before the panic truly sets in. He still has to remember to breathe for a second. Parsley picks up some momentum and dashes past to return to the fray. From his back, Ginger yells at the Machoke, bringing its attention back to her while Hop grips Parsley's horns to counterbalance his one-winged Gusts.

Vera changes tactics unexpectedly. "They're grouped up! Icy Wind on them both!" Sapphire breathes her cold breath on the Noibats, who weren't paying attention to her. A layer of frost forms on their wings, and they are suddenly too heavy to fly, crashing into each other.

"Go in for a Bite." Vera grins as they fall to the ground, squeaking weakly. The sound draws Machoke's attention, and his eyes widen as Sapphire prowls closer to the downed bats.

Machoke turns and sprints toward his friends, leaving his assailants in the dust and catching Vera with a backhand as he passes. She is hit in the chest, driving the breath from her lungs as she is knocked backwards. Sapphire bolts for safety as Machoke bears down on her, but his attention is focused on the Noibats.

Jordan swings in to pull Vera out of the Machoke's warpath before she falls, but he fails to catch her and they both tumble to the ground. At least he breaks Vera's fall. She leans into him as they both look up at the Machoke. He considers them for a moment, but luckily for them, he simply grunts and makes his way towards the Noibat, gently scooping them up and cradling them in his firm yet gentle arms. They chitter at him weakly, and he shoots one last Scary Face at the humans before setting off at a jog and disappearing down a tunnel.

Parsley trots over, carrying Hop, Ginger, and now Tangles as well who is in turn carrying Casey's walking stick. She lowers herself carefully and prods Casey with a vine. Nice of her to pick that up, he thinks, a bit distantly, as she gives him the stick and lumbers over to retrieve her flowerpot from behind the rock. Surprisingly, the little pot is still intact.

Jordan suddenly realizes he's still holding Vera. Blushing, he draws his arms back and awkwardly places them across his lap instead. "Are… we all good?"

Vera lets out a breath she'd been holding. "Yeah… I think so." She realizes she's still sitting on Jordan and quickly gets up, looking a little flustered. Sapphire walks over and looks up at her, smiling. "What are you looking at?"

Casey hops to his feet. It's surprising, but he managed to swing all his landings to avoid his bruised shoulder. He's scraped up his palms a bit, and there's a weird tingling across his ribs suggesting more than a few broken blood vessels, but that's all the harm he's suffered. Parsley and Ginger look alright; they did well staying out of range. His backpack's stayed closed, which means he still has everything. Well...

"What's next?"

Casey's Party

Pepper Bomb lv17 • Ginger lv9 • Parsley lv9

Other Things

Anna's Additional Characters

Eleanor · Feb 11, 2020

A trail of Crystals
🍀🍀🍀
Arianne Chandler
Rock Tunnel - Day 4 - May 23^rd

♫ - Avantasia - Moonglow
"Lul?" … "Lul!"

My eyes are struggling to adapt to the three lights that have suddenly appeared. In front of me, the small Pokémon I've just caught looks up at me, seemingly quite interested: I can't help but look back at her with the same expression, and I finally recognize what look like three luminous mushrooms growing on top of a small, white body, with a single strong root below.

Lulu, as I've nicknamed her, could easily fit in my hand or stay on my shoulder, which makes me feel even worse about keeping her pinned down to the ground. And yet, I still make an attempt: I get my hand closer to her and I think I see her shudder. "I don't wanna hurt you! I never did."

I think she understood. I pick Lulu up and hold her in my arms as if she was a child, until she gets more comfortable, and her light reveals once again my dirty jacket. The Morelull, in the meantime, starts to look around restlessly, shining what I believe is her Flash onto the tunnel walls. This way, I finally notice various plants, of many shapes and sizes, growing… without sunlight.

The Grass type tries her best to direct my attention on them, before clumsily jumping off from my arms and crawling next to a large vine, sprouting from the floor. She then latches onto it with her root, and looks at me proudly. But I'm puzzled. I can't quite understand what Lulu is doing, until I start to notice how touching that vine seems to have made her more relaxed.

The lights coming from her three mushrooms on her head are what really mesmerizes me at this point, though. They start changing both in intensity and in color, going from a dim white to a more soothing purple, to a more intense pink: some of my favorites!

But once again, I'm interrupted.

Just like before, I feel shaking. I hear a distant crumbling sound and I have to run. "Lulu please let's leave" I mutter, as I'm met with a baffled look from those two small, black eyes. "Please!"

I try to kneel down and grab Lulu, knowing that returning her into her Pokéball would only take away my only light source. But she's hooked up to the vine and won't let go. Maybe… she's used to all this, and is trying to tell me there's nothing to be worried about. But it doesn't work with me. I wanna leave. I pull just a bit harder.
"Lulullllll-"

I made Lulu cry. She's wriggling and bustling in my arms, leaving behind a trail of spores as I run towards the pond. Thanks to the Morelull's light, I can at least see what I'm standing on and what lies ahead of me, but I never feel as I'm going fast enough! At least, if I don't stop moving, the spores won't affect me enough to make me drowsy, like before.

I start hearing the waterfall again and, as I turn one last corner, recognize the pond I've stopped by previously. My theory of the rogue Onix starts to become more and more plausible at this point - and this doesn't help me in the slightest, with my fear of Rock Tunnel - but the sight of the water and sunlight, still creeping from above, are just enough to calm me down.

I look down at Lulu, who has toned down her Flash to match with the new ambient light, but is still pouting at me. And again, I feel so bad for her. She's right to be upset. I bow slightly, closer to her, as if I was hugging someone much smaller than me, and whisper. "I'm so sorry, Lulu! This place still scares me."

Arianne's team:

Eric •

Mulan •

Alice •

Mizar •

Lulu

Groc · Feb 14, 2020

Vera Hill, Casey Holt, Jordan Springs
Chapter 4 - Up to Bat
Rock Tunnel, May 23rd

Taking note of the tunnel that Machoke went down, Vera decides to go the other way. "Let's find some adventure a little more on our level, shall we? Fun as that was, we got lucky." She scoops up Sapphire, heading back toward the main path.

"Where're you going? There's more tunnels this way!"

Vera looks back, seeing Casey looking into the tunnels. To her, they don't look very inviting, but she'd rather not go without her new friends. "I suppose… but there are also tunnels up ahead! Why go down these, like everyone else, when we can see what cool things are up further ahead?"

Casey hovers around one of them for a moment, then abruptly strides toward the main tunnel. "C'mon, then!"

Vera is surprised that that worked, but then remembers how awesome she is. She follows after Casey, confidently running a hand through her hair. "Right! Hopefully we'll avoid any more big Machoke. I wouldn't mind seeing more Noibats, though. They were kinda cute!"

Casey's Skiddo prances around Jordan, before running off towards a different tunnel. "That's great, guys, but wait- no, Parsley? Parsley!" Jordan unsuccessfully attempts to wave down the Pokémon with one hand while cradling Hop in the other.

"Parsley!" Parsley bolts to Casey and shoves his snout into Casey's face. "Good boy!" he manages, redirecting Parsley's tongue to the granola bar in his hand. Jordan catches up with the rest of them. "They do this to me on purpose, don't they?" he says, eyeing the Skiddo suspiciously.

"It's 'cause they know you're a pushover," Casey says, getting more snacks out for his Pokémon.

"Tch. At least you still listen to me." Jordan walks past him with Tangles on his heels. He reaches down and gives her a pat on the head. Suddenly, she lumbers forward and bursts into a connecting cavern up ahead. "Oh, not you, too…"

The group follows her into the cavern, which is much larger than they expected. And brighter. Sunlight is pouring in through uneven gaps in the ceiling, giving life to large roots and other strange plants clustering directly under the spots where the lights hit. A Noibat flutters by, and an Aron can be seen drinking from a pool of water. Vera stops when she enters the cave, awestruck at the beauty and majesty of the cave.

Casey makes a beeline for the stunning centerpiece of the place- the roaring waterfall. "Hey, the water can't actually be green, right?"

"Probably not." Vera chimes in, looking around the cavern. "Probably algae or some other plant life, or maybe it's the color of the rocks themselves." Casey yells across the roar of the water to tell her yeah, it's the plants- and they're all really different, he says. He waves Jordan over to inspect them but their chatter is lost to Vera's ears as they move closer together. Sapphire seems uneasy near the waterfall, so Vera sets her down while she looks around the area.

Tucked into a corner of the cave is a smaller, darker tunnel, partially obscured by stalagmites and stalactites. It reminds Vera of the tunnel she looked into earlier in the day, and it gives off a menacing vibe. "Hey, let's look elsewhere. I don't like the look of this place…"

"But it's so pretty!" is apparently all Casey's concerned about.

Jordan peers down the tunnel from behind Casey. "Maybe, but if the lady doesn't want to go…"

Casey shrugs. "You choose, then. Just don't pick a boring one."

"Well, then, how about-" Whatever Vera was about to suggest is interrupted by a frantic Noibat swooping past her, Sapphire in hot pursuit. The bat and cat rush down the dark tunnel Vera is so leery of, apparently unfazed by the low light. "Sapphire, wait!"

Vera tries to catch Sapphire, but isn't fast enough. She halts at the mouth of the tunnel, the panicked squeaks of Noibat echoing off the wet cavern walls. Vera pulls out her flashlight, nervously shining it down the tunnel. "Sapphire, get back here!"

Vera reluctantly moves further in, the boys and their Pokémon half a step behind. They follow the tunnel around a corner, having to duck to avoid a low ceiling before ending up in another cave. Sapphire sits in the middle of the room, her eyes darting as she keeps track of the flittering Noibat. There is enough light here to make out the area, and the three bats that Sapphire has disturbed.

One Noibat and two Zubats.

Vera freezes at the sight of Zubat, blindly grabbing for support, getting a grip on Jordan's shoulder. "Wait. Wait, no. S-Sapphire, come here!"

"This cave isn't bad." Casey says, nudging past Vera to get a better look. "There's another gap over there; we can prob'ly just go that way."

Sapphire glances back at Casey as he approaches, and Noibat swoops over his head, past Jordan and Vera and out the tunnel. She watches it go, then glares at Casey as if blaming him for scaring it off. One of the Zubat flits down to get a closer look.

Vera doesn't respond well, throwing her flashlight at Zubat in frightful instinct. She misses, and the flashlight bounces off the floor, spinning and rolling before coming to rest at the back of the cave, the beam illuminating the floor of another tunnel. Casey's curious expression is illuminated by the diffused light of his lantern. "Hey, what was that?"

Vera is pale, but a little red returns to her cheeks at the confrontation. "I... I don't like the bats. They can just stay over there!"

Casey hums. "Prob'ly shoulda kept your flashlight, then. Zubats stay away from light mostly." He makes his way further into the cave. Parsley (and therefore Ginger as well) sticks with him as they pick their way across the stalagmite-riddled floor.

Jordan shrugs as he makes his way down towards Vera's flashlight. His shadow bounces along the cave walls as they hear his voice echoing. "You seemed alright with the Noibat earlier, though."

"Yeah, didn't you say they were cute? What's the difference?"

Vera stays at the entrance, refusing to go closer even to grab Sapphire. "Noibat are cute. These are scary and toxic and evil! And I don't like them!" Her words echo in the cave.

The two Zubat seem almost offended at her words, flapping about the cave more erratically as Jordan approaches. The flapping sound starts to get louder, and several squeaks and chitters join it. As Jordan reaches the flashlight, the tunnel it's pointing down suddenly erupts with Zubat, dozens of them flying out of the tunnel and heading for the outside.

Taking them right past Vera.

Jordan is obscured from her sight immediately; Vera sees Casey duck, one hand holding Parsley firmly in place, before he and the Pokémon disappear behind a veil of horrible, squealing bats. Alone and vastly outnumbered, Vera turns to run. She remembers the low ceiling, preventing her from simply running back the way she came in, but by then the swarm is upon her. She can't tell if the displaced air from all that flapping is moving her hair, or if a Zubat is caught in it. Now afraid for her very life, she runs toward the nearest tunnel, heedless of how dark it may be.

Surprisingly, the dark tunnel has a light at the end. Vera is out of breath by the time she reaches the light, but she hasn't gone far. The tunnel abruptly ends, with a hole in the ceiling allowing light to shine down upon a pool of clear water. Vera has no idea how deep it is, but the sound of the Zubats is faint, and she doubts any are following her now.

She falls to her knees by the water, trying to catch her breath. She shudders as she remembers being in the middle of a cloud of bats, nervously reaching for her hair. Luckily, there are no Zubat caught there, but she can't help but feel uncomfortable. She dips her hand into the water, finding it surprisingly warm despite how cold the cave has been. She leans in closer to the water, trying to wash the Zubat out of her hair with the cave water. "Ew, ew, ew…"

Movement at the entrance to her refuge has her heart jumping into her throat. Casey sidles around the corner with Ginger on his shoulder, back plastered to the wall and wary gaze still focused on the larger cave. Parsley gets dragged in behind him, the lantern hooked on one horn and Jordan's Pokémon on his back. Sapphire walks in behind them, going straight over to her human and rubbing up against her. Vera jumps at the unexpected contact, sighing in relief when she sees who it is.

"Sapphire! You scared me." She grabs the Meowth, hugging her close for a second. Then she scowls at the cat. "Why did you run off like that? You come back when I call you!" Sapphire just purrs.

"Oh, Vera. Good." Casey ushers the rest of the group toward the pool. "Why's your hair wet?"

"Wha- Casey! I…" She gestures to the pool. "I, uh… thought there was a Zubat in my hair. I tried to fix it. With this… warm, pond… thing." She doesn't understand how he can be so calm and unfazed after all that. "Is it...you know, safe? To go back?"

Casey tilts his head. "You thought it was dangerous?"

Vera huffs out a breath in frustration. "Are the Zubats gone or not?"

"Uh-" Casey jogs back over to the entrance. "Most've 'em got out. There's a few stragglers."

He leans against the wall, watching. "I think the stalactites tripped 'em up. Too many tryna get through at once." He lets out a quiet giggle. "Hey, did you know that everybody used to think Zubats were so amazing at echolocatin' and flyin' that they never ran into each other? But then scientists started usin' high-speed cameras and it turns out they run into each other all the time."

Vera shudders, rising to join Casey. That knowledge just makes her more sure than ever that Zubats had flown into her. "I'm cutting my hair off. All of it. Zubats are so gross…" She peeks out from the tunnel, noticing five Zubat still clumsily flying around the room.

"Nah, leave it. Long hair looks good on you." Before Vera can muster a reply, he continues, "If it's gross just wash it. You don't amputate your hand every time you use the bathroom, do ya?"

"I don't know, you tell me." Vera holds up one arm, the sleeve of her jacket hanging limply off the end. She gasps as she pops her hand back out, swatting Casey across the back of his head. He makes noises of faux distress. "Get rid of those Zubat, will you?"

"You do it. Your cat didn't wanna listen to me when I told her to earlier." Sapphire gives Casey a look which, were it on a human, certainly would have been accompanied by a middle finger. "Don't think she likes me much."

"She wouldn't. The guy at the shelter said she only likes women." Vera scratches Sapphire behind the ears, earning a soft purr for her efforts. She takes a deep breath, letting it out with a slight whimper. "Fine… I'll go out there."

She cautiously takes a step out, then another, ducking when a Zubat flies overhead. She steps back, running into Casey. "Sapphire, hit it with Icy Wind!" Sapphire happily complies, exhaling freezing fog at the bat. Zubat squeaks in annoyance, flying out the tunnel.

Casey grins and pats her shoulder. "There ya go! See, she can deal with 'em for you way before they get in your hair." He taps Parsley and the Skiddo puts a vine in his right hand. His left takes Vera's. "C'mon, let's go find Jordan."

Vera looks at her hand in shock, surprised that Casey would grab it. Then he pulls her along, snapping her out of her surprise. "Huh? Wait. Where is Jordan?"

A joint post between Godzil, Aquacorde, and Juno.

moon · Feb 19, 2020

Ralph

Route 9, Wednesday May 23nd, morning

The breakfast was… Lovely. Ralph had to admit, as far as eating meals while being on the road went, this was her best meal so far. It seemed like Joseph was keen on proper nutrition and great flavor, even if it was just breakfast. Not a meal Ralph had particularly cared much for in the past.

She watched him, as subtly as she could, while he helped himself to some more beans and sausages over the portable stove, a second serving of egg already on his plate. He was humming. Ralph didn't know anyone else who hummed, at least not in front of others. The little Zorua didn't seem to be an early riser, as it had only begrudgingly accepted some pokéfood for breakfast, along with a small sausage, before it started snoring next to Joseph's backpack again. His other pokémon were tucked away for now, already fed and stretched. They would appreciate more rest, after what they had been up to last night.

The beans were swimming around on Ralph's plate, more because of her tiredness than because of the sauce. She still wasn't entirely sure of what had happened - and the shifty Lycanroc group and tricksy Zorua illusions hadn't helped either. But here they were now, fine and healthy enough. She glanced to her side, where her own team of pokémon were having their breakfast.

Sandsy seemed to have been able to sleep well, and looked content. Coldy seemed a bit grumpy on the other hand; not too dissimilar from Ralph herself. Edgy was sharing his bowl with an overjoyed Softy, and both of them looked happy enough. But the small Rattata looked like she wanted to join the Zorua rather than finish her own bowl.

Ralph put away her own plate for a while and scooted over to the rat. Greeneyes blinked happily up at her with a smile that only widened when she realized that Ralph was about to pick her up into her arms. Once settled on her lap, it must have only taken seconds before the Rattata was asleep, making the tiniest snoring noises into her hoodie that Ralph had ever heard. The trainer gingerly picked her plate back up and resumed eating, with some difficulty since she tried to not move her left arm too much near the rat.

Suddenly, she became aware of that she was the one being watched now. Looking up, she met Joseph's eyes, and a soft smile there as well.

"I'm happy you caught her," he said, rather quietly, although Ralph doubted any of the sleeping pokémon would have awakened from that. His voice was quite smooth, not really a disturbing noise.

"I'm happy you caught your thief," Ralph replied.

"Hah," Joseph sighed and shoved the last sausage into his mouth, chewing it down before he spoke again. "We'll see what becomes of that. I bet she's not too keen on actually fighting for me for a while."

"You're a trainer. You'll train her, right?" Ralph said, almost as a challenge.

"We'll see," Joseph repeated, not taking the bait. The corners of his mouth were turned up still though. "Sorry for ruining your night."

"You didn't," Ralph said, and heard a tone of sincerity in her own voice that she hadn't expected. "Really. Without you, I'd probably have stumbled around all night. Getting eaten by those Lycanroc eventually."

"They don't actually eat people."

"Whatever. What I'm trying to say is… Thanks for the tent spot. And breakfast. It's really good."

"No problem! I'll re-stock in Rock Village. They have some weird stuff, but it's fun to cook weird stuff once in a while."

She glanced up at him somewhat subtly again, now that he was looking away from her finally. He seemed happy. And he had strong pokémon. And a tent. And he cooked good food, if this was any indication.

"You don't have to come with me," she said, somewhat slowly. "I bet it counts as cheating, if Palm finds out."

"It's cheating to have a family member accompany you, or to pay a licensed trainer to do it," Joseph said, starting to pack away the cooking ware and not facing her. "Have I asked for payment?"

Ralph didn't answer. It still felt weird. But not unwelcome. Well… If she would run into Casey or Aberdeen, or even Arianne… Would they think she was cheating? Having an older trainer journey together with her. It wasn't as if she couldn't take care of herself, and she hated the thought of any of the others thinking that was the case.

Although, the shameful truth surfaced even though she tried to fight it off: she hadn't managed on her own. She could have been really badly off last night, alone in the dark with wild pokémon everywhere around her. But she stumbled upon his camp, and after they had completed his mission, he had decided to quit his job as a farm protector in order to travel the region again.

It would be pretty stupid to say no to such a companion, right?

"Besides," Joseph said as he lifted Zorua up and mirrored Ralph and Rattata by the cold fire. "Palm Junior doesn't need to find out!"

Or maybe it would be pretty stupid to say yes.

Juno · Feb 19, 2020

[a id]menu11[/a id]

background art cred

Chapter

Pokédex

Chapter 4: Rock Bottom // May 23rd
ft. Vera Hill & Casey Holt

"Noibat are cute. These are scary and toxic and evil! And I don't like them!"

Jordan quietly chuckles to himself, shaking his head as he reaches for the flashlight. "Ah! God damn—" a Zubat pelts him in the head on its way out of the tunnel, and the unrest in the cavern grows louder. As he stands back up, Jordan shines the light down the tunnel the Zubat came from, frowning. His scowl quickly turns to horror as dozens of bats follow the other one out, creating a cacophony of screeches. A few of them try to avoid Jordan, but most of the Zubat pay him no mind, smacking him in the head with their wings as they fly out.

"Wha— I—" Jordan's confused mumbles fall on deaf ears as he closes his eyes and tries to press himself against a wall, doing his best to stay out of the horde's way. He stands there for what seems to be an immeasurably long period of time, as leathery wings brush against his face. It almost feels like the wall behind him is falling away.

Wait. The wall behind him is falling away.

A cracking and crumbling sound behind him, and the sensation of gravel and dirt falling on his nose cause him to open his eyes. As he leans back, shining the flashlight up and down the now bat-free tunnel, the wall behind him completely gives way. He tries to scream, but what was previously the tunnel's ceiling is also crumbling, bits of rocks and gravel from above falling into his open mouth. He coughs instead, spluttering as he tries to spit out the dirt in his mouth. The tunnel completely collapses within seconds, and Jordan now finds himself several feet under the cavern his friends were in, wedged tightly between the larger debris that had fallen down with him.

The loose rocks around him seem to have settled for now, giving Jordan a moment to catch his breath. He can still hear the screeching of the bats above, but they sound quite far away now, just like the faint echoing of his friends' voices.

My friends'... voices.

"Hey! H-help!" Jordan calls out, weakly at first, but he tries again a little louder. "HELP! Casey! Vera!"

The voices turn inquisitive before getting louder, but individual words are still incomprehensible.

Can they even hear me? Jordan calls for them again and listens intently, but the voices sound slightly further away again. He wasn't sure if he should keep yelling. Maybe… I should save my breath…? I've heard stories of people losing oxygen when they're stuck in caves…

His mind instantly springs to other dark tales he had read about on caving expeditions gone wrong, but he quickly shakes his head and tries to think about something else. This isn't helping. Focus on… your breathing. Deep breaths. He concentrates hard on his breathing, but maybe a bit too much, and starts hyperventilating instead. Oh, no. Oh, god. I can't breathe. This is how I die.

"...flashlight went… after you threw... ...must have it? 'Cause ... ?"

Casey's talking. A lot. And quickly. Jordan can't catch more than a few words from each sentence but it's enough to snap him out of his wallowing long enough to try calling out for help again. "C-Casey?" he squeaks between panicked breaths.

"Jordan!" Footsteps quicken and move toward him, then stop abruptly. "Wh- this is a wall. Where are you?"

He hears a happy bark, close by, followed by scratching at the ground. "Damm it, Iggy, if this is another Geodude I swear I'm getting rid of you!" It's Vera's voice, but she sounds more afraid than angry.

"I'm here! Down." The relief of hearing his friends close by turns to apprehension, and he quickly continues. "Careful, guys - the tunnel just k-kinda collapsed and I don't know how… crumbly the rest of the cavern up there is."

Casey falls silent for a moment. Jordan whimpers quietly at the lack of noise above him, but his friend speaks up again. "You're stuck." It's really not a question.

"I- I can't really move all that much, no." Jordan replies hoarsely.

"Vera, move," is all Casey says before things start hitting the tunnel floor above. Dislodged gravel falls into Jordan's hair. The clatter of smaller rocks being thrown gives way to heavier thuds and soon enough a diffused light breaks through, some ways above Jordan's head. Casey sticks his flushed face through a hole not quite large enough for his shoulders and surveys him.

"Okay," he says, "we gotta move all of it." He pulls his head back for half a second before popping in again with a grin. "Your shirt's glowing."

Jordan tsks, but looks down. He had been a bit too preoccupied to notice this, but Casey was right. What did I say earlier? 'That way, if one of us falls down a ditch or something, we can still find each other'? He purses his lips together. It's almost funny. Maybe they can laugh about it later. If I ever get out of this hole.

Casey gets back to work, not really able to talk while he does. Jordan's breathing starts slowing down to a more reasonable pace. The lantern's light slowly brightens as it finds more openings to spill through. He remembers making fun of the clunky and less efficient light source Casey insists on carrying, instead of, say, a flashlight or something like a normal person, but right now, the yellowy-orange light is very comforting. The thudding of rocks moving away from him is somewhat placating as well, but ten minutes still feels like an eternity.

Finally, Casey returns to his field of vision. "Okay, now I can…" He lays himself flat and leans as much of his body over the edge as he can. Their fingertips brush.

It's not enough.

"I can't reach you," Casey says, and his voice cracks. "Jordan, I can't reach you," he says again, sounding a bit lost. "What do I do?"

The desperation in his friend's voice is not very reassuring, and he starts breathing faster again. "I- I don't know," he looks up at the concerned faces peering down at him. Just over the edge of the rocks, he barely makes out the top of a short, blue creature, and a vine extending up to hold Vera's hand. "Oh! Tangles!" at the sound of her name, she almost bowls over the edge herself, trying to look her trainer in the eyes. "Do you think you can try to pull me out of here with Constrict?"

Obediently, Tangles steps back and Jordan sees several blue vines creeping down towards him. She can't directly look down while trying to grab him, so it takes a little trial and error, and he gets smacked around a few times, but moments later, he is securely bound just under his armpits. "Okay, try now…"

It takes some effort. He feels some of the loose rubble around him fall away as Tangles pulls, but suddenly-

"Ow!"

"Stop, Tangles, stop- what is it?"

"My foot. It's stuck, like really stuck."

Casey sticks most of his body back into the hole, as if he'll be able to see what's happening to Jordan's foot. "Can we- stuck how?"

"Casey, get out of there before you get stuck too!" Vera snaps, the soft pop of a Pokeball following. "Bonnie, can you slide in there with Jordan? We need some light."

The little Cubone shimmies her way past Casey and into the chasm, the green blade of her club providing dim light to see by. Jordan is surrounded by big rocks, but is mostly on top of them, except for one rock a mere fraction of an inch above his shin.

"We can't just pull him, or that rock could slip and crush his leg." "Crush his leg?!" Casey says faintly. Vera talks over him. "We have to move it first. I don't know if Tangles can do it by herself, though." Vera steps away, thinking, but peers back down. "Jordan? You okay for a moment?"

"Y-yeah?" Jordan's voice cracks, and his response comes out more like a question than an answer. Truthfully, nothing is very 'okay' about this situation and he still feels like he can't breathe. But he wants to project what little bravery he still can, even though he's dying on the inside. And maybe on the outside, too, if that rock really 'crushes my leg'. He tries not to look down at it. Vera disappears for a moment, but Jordan can hear her talking.

Casey has pulled back but left his head peeking over the ledge. "Hey, my eyes are up here," he says with a breath of nervous laughter. Jordan's head snaps back up, giving Casey a shaky smile. Soon after, Tangles' vines slide off of Jordan, and another set snake their way into the hole. Parsley and Tangles grab onto the rock with their vines, and Vera reappears next to Casey. The two Grass types try moving the rock with little success.

Vera puts her hand to her chin as she contemplates. "Okay, new plan. Bonnie, hit it with Bone Club, see if you can break it up a bit. You two be ready to lift. Jordan, if you think you have an opening, try to squirm free."

"Yes, chief." He knows she doesn't mean now, but Jordan can't help trying to wiggle his foot a little, to no success.

Bonnie hits the rock as hard as she can, which succeeds in breaking small pieces of it off, but also shifts the weight slightly, and the rock slides back and pins Jordan's leg. Tangles is almost pulled into the crevasse with her Trainer, but Casey drags her back and the vines manage to keep the rock stable enough to not fall onto Jordan. Vera disappears again, and all Jordan can hear from her is a frightened squeak and panicked noises. Bracing Tangles means Casey can't see Jordan anymore and he calls for him somewhat frantically.

"Still here! Leg is snug, but uncrushed!" he reports.

Vera returns, looking shaken but trying to stay calm. "Sorry! I'll think of a better plan!"

Jordan feels something brush against his leg, and what feels like a tiny hand grab his ankle. He shakes his head. I'm losing my damn mind down here. Stop it. He tries to ignore the sensation, but something is definitely grabbing at him. He lets out a small scream this time, as the grip tightens around his ankle.

"Jordan?!"

"Something's grabbing on to me!" Jordan yells out hoarsely. "It feels like a hand, like a little demon hand. Oh my god, they're coming to get me, this is it—"

"No, no, not gonna let that happen. Just- just hold on, I'm gonna uh- I don't- I-"

"Both of you, settle down!" Vera snaps, but she sounds pretty rattled herself. "It's not a demon, it's probably a Pokemon! Like, uh, a Machop, or, uh…"

Stones rattle and crash as several stony figures appear, some inside the crevasse and some appearing at the top. They look like boulders, but with faces, arms, and hands.

"...or Geodude. Yeah, okay." Iggy barks happily at the Geodude until the sound of a PokéBall's return mechanism cuts him off.

Jordan isn't sure if he's relieved or not, but… they seem friendly. The Geodude survey the area, one of them stopping to talk to Bonnie. Its voice is rough and deep, like gravel, and it seems knowledgeable of the area. Several of them gather around Jordan and the rock pinning him in place, bracing against the walls and supporting the rock's weight with their strong earthen arms. One directs its gruff orders upward to Parsley and Tangles. Several more keep an eye on the rubble, and the tiny hand gripping Jordan.

"I… think they have a plan?" Vera sounds uncertain, unable to understand what they're saying. "Bonnie, follow their advice, I guess."

Casey rushes to peer over the edge again as the vines unwind themselves from the rock. "The- the Geodude are doin' something," he says. One looks up at Casey, then reaches out and tugs his hand down toward Jordan, forcing Casey to lay flat again. "Uh- okay." Tangles re-creates the vine harness around Jordan while Vera holds her for support.

With several Geodude holding the rock, Bonnie readies her Leaf Blade. She makes several quick, precise cuts, missing Jordan with each strike. After a moment, the rock splits into sections, which the Geodude catch and daisy chain up the crevasse. Tangles struggles to pull Jordan up, but she only needs to get him a few feet for Casey to grasp his hands properly and help him climb the rest of the way. Parsley's vines slip past as Casey pulls Jordan into him.

Jordan gasps for air, both from finally being out of the small, dark hole, and the tight hold Casey has him in now. "I'm alive, I'm gonna be okay." he wheezes. He sounds like he is trying to reassure his friends, but he's mostly saying it to himself. Casey nods into his shoulder. Vera falls to her knees in relief, putting a comforting hand on Jordan's other shoulder. Casey reaches out blindly and pulls her in as well, forcing her shoulder pat to become a full-on hug.

Their moment of solace is interrupted by a cry of relief from the Geodudes. As one, the three turn and look toward the Pokémon, seeing Parsley pass a tiny Geodude toward the Geodude that had helped them earlier. A baby, the tiny hand that had grabbed Jordan's ankle.

"Oh," Casey says vaguely. "Good job, Parsley."

"We should go, give them a moment." Vera suggests. "How's the leg? Can you walk?"

Jordan's attention snaps back to their own group as the Geodude continue to celebrate amongst themselves. "I guess you were right, definitely not a demon." He grins. He tests his weight a little on his leg and grimaces slightly. "It's been better, but I can walk fine, I think."

"Okay, then let's get out of this tunnel." Vera pulls out of the hug. Casey reluctantly drops his arms back to his own sides as Parsley noses his way into the group. He absentmindedly pats the Skiddo, looking like he doesn't quite know what to do with himself. Vera returns Bonnie to her ball before heading toward the main path. "Let's follow the lights for a bit, make sure there aren't any more pitfalls. Come on, boys."

Pokédex

Pokemon on hand:

Tangela // "Tangles"

Ingrain
Constrict
Absorb
Vine Whip
Sleep Powder

Pidgey // Hop

Tackle
Sand Attack
Gust

Cubone // Spirit

Leer
Growl
Bone Club

Skiddo // Sage

Tackle
Growth
Vine Whip
Play Nice

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Ninetales · Feb 19, 2020

Coralie Summers
Hometown: Cerulean City
Age: 13
Gender: Female
Pokémon: Florian the Bulbasaur
Theme:

Coralie stepped into the cave, observantly glancing at a worn, paper road map in front of her. It belonged to her father, he apparently did a lot of travelling around the Kanto region as a child, and thus the map was full of dots, circles, and unrecognizable symbols intended to designate specific locations. "This map's completely useless." Coralie mumbled before folding the map up and slipping into her sleek black satchel. Kicking a nearby pebble and watching as it cascaded into the dark depths of the cave, Coraline briefly considered her options before briskly turning to her trusted partner pokemon.

"Well, Florian, I guess we'll just have to find our own way through the tunnel. That map makes no sense whatsoever!"

The Bulbasaur seemed initially reluctant, as it chirped unenthusiastically. Coraline kneeled beside the plant-type pokemon, gingerly placing a hand on its head. "Don't worry, we'll make it! Besides, it'll be fun. This is a grand opportunity for adventure, as Ellie would say." She beamed brightly at her timid companion, hoping to lift his fallen spirits. Florian smiled in response to his trainer's words of encouragement and seemed to become slightly more sure of himself. Coralie giggled in excitement. She had gone on a multitude of expeditions with Elliott and Amika previously, however, this one felt different, it felt special somehow. Perhaps it was because she had a pokemon by her side and not one that belonged to her mother. Regardless, Coralie was optimistic for her excursion.

"Alright! Let's go!"
"Bulba-saur!"

~

After what felt like an eternity of travelling, Coralie stumbled upon a stretch of colourful bazaars, lively shops, and bustling businesses. There were a multitude of trainers, explorers, and hikers strolling about, curious as to what each individual store had to offer them. Coralie turned to face Florian, who appeared to be as shocked as she was.

"I never realized there were so many shops in this tunnel! Well, Florian, what do you say we have a quick look around?"

"Bulba! Bulbasaur!" Her companion squealed in reply.

The two of them proceeded to browse around some of the shops but were unable to locate anything worth purchasing. Finally, when they neared the end of the cluster of businesses, they spotted a tent distance down the tunnel, completely isolated from the others. Curious as to what this particular bazaar was, Coralie headed towards it without a thought, Florian in toe.

As they neared the tent, Coralie noticed how miniscule it was compared to the others. It appeared to be rather tattered and ragged, or well loved, as her mother would say. She now stood in front of it, sizing it up and attempting to decide if it was worth her time. Florian seemed rather unsure. As Coralie was about to enter the tent, she noticed that Florian hadn't followed suit and was planted in one spot, cautiously gazing at the tent before them.

Coralie flashed the Bulbasaur a reassuring grin, beckoning him to follow her. Hesitantly, he complied. Upon entering the bazaar, Coralie's attention was drawn to a man who was slouched over in an old wooden chair. He was asleep. The man had on a straw hat and wore a touristy shirt that was unbuttoned and revealed his tanned midriff. He wore cargo shorts and old, weathered sandals that appeared to be falling apart at the seams. The man's hands were covered in dirt and at a closer glance, Coralie realized that he couldn't have been much older than her, despite his appearance. In an instant, the man shot up out of his seat, startling Florian.

"W-where am-OH! Look at that, a customer! Howdy, miss." He greeted, extending a hand out to Coralie who smiled politely. She took his hand and he shook it vigorously.

Coralie gazed around the shop, observing the plethora of plants and herbs that were scattered about shelves, the prices listed beside each item.

"I'm Buckley, nice to meet ya. I'm the owner of Buck's Bazaar of Herb Plants! I sell the best herbs this side of Kanto, I reckon!" He chuckled, urging Coralie to look about.

Florian seemed quite intrigued as he sniffed a nearby plant only to gag at the foul aroma. Meanwhile, Coralie admired a small elderflower plant in a pot.

Buck appeared behind her. "Oh, that there is the elderflower.' It's one of our best sellers, I reckon.' They grow deep within Rock Tunnel, I harvest em' myself."

Coralie nodded, before observing another plant.

"That there is called the boobalabaa plant. Legend says that the leaves were sacred to an ancient tribe that lived in this here tunnel thousands of years ago. The tribe used the boobalabaa leaves to cure many illnesses and the plant was considered a gift from above. The boobalaba plant grows on the north part of Rock tunnel and is very hard to find. Of course, good ole' Buck knows where to find 'em. Yup I do!"

"That's so neat. Is the legend true?"

Buckley considered this for a moment, rubbing his scruffy chin. "Well, I don't know, I ain't use them leaves before, no ma'am. S'pose you'll have to try and find out for yerself, I reckon."

Coralie thought about it for a second, looking to Florian to gage his opinion, although he was too distracted by all of the herbs to notice her.

"I'll take a few leaves, why not!"

Buck smiled at her, revealing a toothy grin. She now knew where he got his name from.

"Yippee! Alright, miss. I reckon' you've made a good decision, yup!" He grabbed a few verdant leaves from the plant and placed them into a plastic bag. "That'll be 3 pokedollars."

Coralie fumbled about her purse before handing the Buckley the exact change.

"Thank you." Coralie slipped the minuscule bag of the medicinal leaves into her bag before closing it. "Alright, Florian, are you ready to head out? Lavender town awaits!"

"Lavender town, ya say? I reckon' yer one of those pokemon trainers, eh?" Buckley asked, raising a brow at her.

"Well, I recently graduated from Cape College, actually. I just started my journey with my partner."

"Cape College, hmm, that's some fancy school ain't it? I reckon it musta been hard to get in. My parents wanted me to go somewhere like that but it wasn't for me. Sellin' herbs is what I wanted to do. I travel around Kanto and set up shop all over the countryside, yup, I do."

"As long as you're happy. That's the most important thing."

Buck nodded. "Yer right. Anyways, if yer a pokemon trainer, I reckon' that we should have a battle, whaddya say? I may not be a trainer but I do know a thing or two about pokemon."

Coralie was taken aback by Buck's suggestion initially. However, she knew that this would be the perfect opportunity for her to grow as a trainer. She needed practice after all.

"Why not?"

Buck smiled and abandoned his position at the front of the shop, heading outside. Coralie followed him. Florian, who had begun to munch on one of the plants noticed his trainer's disappearance and left the tent in order to locate her.

Buckley positioned himself at the opposite side of the path, against a backdrop of stones and the tunnel's encompassing walls. He tossed a pokeball in his hand and grinned at his opponent who stood across from him. "Alright, missy. I challenge you here to a battle. Now for you to meet my partner in crime."

He launched a pokeball into the air and a rock type appeared in a beam of light. A Graveler.

Coraline smiled. "By the way, my name isn't missy. It's Coralie!"

Buck profusely apologized and Coralie waved it off with a giggle.

"Alright, Florian, let's have some fun! We'll show Buck and his Graveler who's boss!" She beamed, spotting her pokemon who seemed confused as to what was occurring.

Florian seemed a tad nervous and it gazed at Coralie for reassurance. "Don't be shy, Florian! It'll be okay! I'm here, just follow my lead and we won't lose."

A crowd had now gathered around the two, sensing that a vivacious battle was about to ensue. Coralie felt herself to grow rather nervous. This was her first battle and she now had spectators that would be observing her every move. There was a lot of pressure.

"I'll make the first move." Buck declared.

Coralie could feel her heart thumping in her chest in anticipation of the dual-type pokemon's first attack. She drew in a deep breath and concentrated. If she lost her focus, the battle would be impossible to win.

"Rollout! Full speed ahead!" The Graveler swiftly rolled towards Florian at the sound of Buck's voice. Coralie had mere seconds to act.

"Dodge, Florian!" She commanded. Luckily, Florian managed to dart out of the way just in time. "Yes! Wonderful! Now, hit it with a vine whip!"

The Bulbasaur compiled and whipped a green vine at the rock-type, hitting it dead-on.

"That was super effective! Well done, Florian." Coralie congratulated, evidently proud of her partner.

Buckley chuckled. "Nice hit, but don't get too excited, missy. I'm not finished yet! Rollout again."

"Dodge."

The Bulbasaur successfully avoided the attack once again.

"Keep going, Graveler, circle back around. Tire it out."

"Don't let it hit you, Florian!"

The Graveler kept using rollout on Florian, as it continually dodged each and every attack with precision and ease. Although, the Graveler showed no sign of stopping and seemed to increase its velocity with every failed attack. Finally, as Florian was now fatigued, the Graveler was able to connect with the grass-type, sending it reeling backwards.

"Keep going, Graveler! Rollout! Don't let it recover, ya hear?"

The Graveler continued to pummel the Bulbasaur, much to Coralie's horror.

"Oh no! Florian, stay strong! Strike back with vine whip!"

The Bulbasaur swung vines at the Graveler in an attempt to weaken it but to no avail. The Graveler crashed into Florian yet again, sending him flying.

"Finish it with rock throw!"

"Florian, get up, please! I know you're strong, I believe in you." Coralie called out, tears forming in her eyes at the sight of her wounded partner. Things were not going according to plan. Coralie dabbed at her eyes. She knew that if she displayed a lack of confidence, Florian would emulate that as well and all would be lost. She had to pull herself together in order to secure victory.

"You put up a good fight, Coralie. I reckon' it all ends here!" Buck declared as Graveler hurled a rock in the direction of Florian.

"Dodge it!"

"Keep hurling rocks, it's tuckered out."

Florian avoided the rocks, mustering up the little strength that it had left.

"Now, Florian, focus on a rock and grab it with your vine whip!" The Bulbasaur obeyed the commands of Coralie as it grasped onto a rock mid-air with its vines.

"Wonderful! Now give that lousy Graveler a taste of its own medicine! Hit it with that rock. Use all your might!"

"Hey! Who you callin' lousy! Graveler! Finish it with Rollout!"

The Graveler lumbered towards Florian as Florian hurled the stone straight at Graveler. It connected and stopped the Graveler in its tracks.

"Don't let that Graveler recuperate, Florian! Let's end this with another vine whip!"

At Coralie's command, the Bulbasaur sprung into action, decimating his opponent with repeated vine whips. The action caused a cloud of dust to conceal the tunnel momentarily. Coralie and Buck both covered their mouths as the cloud dissipated.

Graveler lay unconscious while Bulbasaur stood in front of it, heaving in exhaustion.

Coralie was victorious.

Coralie raced towards her pokemon, scooping it up in her arms and planting kisses on its bulb. "Florian, I'm so proud of you! You're incredible! We did it, we won!" She cheered.

Buckley returned Graveler to its pokeball and approached Coralie. He held his hand out to Coralie as a congratulatory gesture. "Well done, Coralie."

"You finally got my name right, huh?" She giggled, taking his hand and shaking it. "That was so much fun. You put up a good fight! Your Graveler is incredibly strong."

Buckley put his hands in the pockets of his shorts and grinned. "Golly, thanks. I s'pose all that diggin' for roots and herbs has toughened 'im up." He guffawed. "Anyways, I reckon' it'd be a good idea to treat yer pokemon with some medicinal herbs. 'Ere, I'll grab a potion, save your boobalabaa leaves for later." With that, Buckley scurried into his tent. Coralie listened as he rummaged about the place. She held Florian tightly against her chest, afraid that if she loosened her grip he'd crumble to pieces.

In a moment's time, Buckley reappeared with a tiny bottle of medicine. "'Ere, I'll spray some on your pokemon's wounds." Coralie handed her precious companion to the older boy, who gingerly held the tired Bulbasaur, before carefully treating his injuries.

Florian perked up almost immediately, much to the joy of Coraline. Buckley handed Florian back to Coraline who squeezed Florian tightly, relieved that he was ok. "Ohhh, Florian! I was so worried about you!"

"Uh, miss, I think yer pokemon can't breathe. Yer holding 'him too tightly."

Coralie let go of her companion. "Oh! I'm sorry, Florian. I got a little carried away."

She turned to Buckley, then. "Thank you for treating Florian. I didn't realize you knew so much about medicine."

He chuckled. "Well, my pop's a doctor so he taught me the basics. Anyways, you can take this with you. I ain't got use for it." Buckley handed the potion to Coralie who examined it curiously, before returning her gaze to the sun-kissed boy who towered over her.

"Are you sure, Buckley?"

He nodded and she thanked him before placing the potion in her satchel.

"Alright, I guess I should be going. I still have quite a ways to go through the tunnel before I reach Lavender town." She exclaimed, glancing at the winding path that loomed ahead.

Buckely nodded, as if he anticipated her to say so. "I reckon' I oughta get back to the shop, I don't want no tourist goin' in there and snatchin' up my herbs while I'm not payin' attention." He muttered, glaring skeptically at an elderly couple who were chatting with another shop owner.
Coralie giggled and smiled at her new found friend. "Alright, well, it was nice meeting you, Buckley. Thanks for the fabulous battle."

He grinned at her. He was cute, Coralie thought. Despite his impressive height, and scruff, he had somewhat of a baby face.

"Alright, y'all take care. I'll be seein' ya. If ya see my shop, come stop by and we can battle again."

"Sure thing!" With that Coralie trotted forward, a spring in her step.

She was glad to have stopped at Buckley's tent.

moon · Feb 20, 2020

Aberdeen Montany & Arianne Chandler
Rock tunnel
joint post between skywalker and Cyaloom

So tired. Why had I thought it was a good idea to go off alone after Route 9? Well, it hadn'treally been a bad idea. Some good had come from it. But also some bad. And now I was longing for a brunch or a shower. Or a couch.

Sadly, caves have no couches, only rocks. That was fine though, I wasn't too picky. I saw some light up ahead and a suitable rock at the end of the small tunnel I was currently in. But as I made my way over there, the mountain opened up into something much more interesting than a small couch-replacement.

A big pond, almost green and probably super deep. There was a waterfall here too, and an opening in the rocky ceiling to reveal a cloudy sky above. Despite the lack of sunshine, it was all very scenic. Usually I would roll my eyes and try to leave such a boring calm place as soon as possible. But right now? An ache in my shoulder, a cut in my leg and lots of dirt and dust on exactly all of my clothes begged for me to accept this place as a stop on the journey. So I did.

I almost didn't spot the person crouching near the water, didn't see her until I was almost as close myself. I blamed my soreness. Even though she was curled up, holding an unfamiliar pokémon in her arms, I recognized her, and smiled instantly.

"Not a cave person, Arianne?"

The girl looked at me, surprised. Her eyes moved from my leg, to my torso, then fixed on my own eyes. "Oh… Deen! It's been a while, right?" I heard her say, as she put one of her hands in her hair. "Yeah, I'm afraid of this place…" she whispered shortly after, and focused on her Pokémon once again.

"Been a couple of days, but sure feels like weeks," I said with emphasis and promptly slumped down at her side on the cave floor. My leg protested and I winced momentarily but tried to wave it off. "Afraid? I thought you liked water," I smiled at her and then glanced down into the pond.

"This is the only part of Rock Tunnel I've come to appreciate, ok?" she chuckled. "But I can't even swim here…" she sighed afterwards, now looking at the pond. She still held her Pokémon in her arms, careful not to let it fall.

I looked between her and the pond, frowning. "Why not? That sounds like a great idea! I feel so dirty I could swim ten times over and still need a bath afterwards!"

The girl's eyes now moved towards her large backpack, which she'd just took off and placed on the ground beside her. "Actually I could-" she said hastily. "No, the water is cold, there's a waterfall right there, I don't have any swimsuit, towel, or anything… and I'd better stay aware while I'm here."

I considered the things she said for a moment. Swimming near a waterfall sounded awesome to me. I hadn't really thought about that being a negative thing. The cold? Yeah, maybe not so nice after all. I hadn't even thought about swimming wear. I shrugged.

"You're right, I'll stay dirty, you'll stay warm," I said. Without looking down, I shifted my position slightly, so as to not sit on my damaged leg. "You know, I was gonna go through these caves on my own. No reason really, I hung out with some other people on Route 9 but we figured we'd tackle this part alone to get stronger or something. You know, Frida and George? The guys we stayed the night together with at Darling's farm? Yeah, them. They're nice."

I turned to face her more properly, sitting mere inches away. Her small pokémon seemed insistent on staying close to its trainer. Kinda cute.

"But you, Arianne? If you don't like the caves, why are you here alone? You could have called me if you wanted an escort, you know," I just had to add, with a smile, to try to lighten her mood.

"I… was with someone, at first" Arianne shrugged. "But we were separated. And once you're in here, the phone is unusable!" A slight smile appeared on her face. "But thanks for the offer," she said.

"Aha, I forgive you then!" I said, happy that it seemed to have worked. "So, uh. No swimming. Do you have a band-aid? I kinda got a scrape when stuff went down just earlier."

It was more than a scrape, just below my left knee, but it wasn't like it was life threatening.

"Oh right!" the girl yelped, finally letting go of her Pokémon before runmaging through her backpack. "I should have one here… no here…" I could hear her mumbling. Until… "Found it!" She took a medium sized plaster out of a pocket and handed it to me, before pulling out a Pokéball as well. From it, Arianne called out a Squirtle and whispered something to it: soon after, the Water type's eyes were fixed onto me and glowing pink.

"Hey hey, water dude!" I exclaim and reach out to pet him on the head. "What's with the eyes? He looks pretty special. Literally pretty."

Just as I said that, it struck me that I had reached out with my bad arm, but it wasn't feeling bad anymore. I rolled the shoulder carefully. Still sore, but not as agonizing as before. I blinked and looked back at the Squirtle, who kept its glowing eyes on me intently.

"Oh. It's a move, isn't it! I'm liking you more and more," I had to say, and bent down to stare back into his eyes happily, already forgetting the band-aid that was still just sitting in my hand. "I bet this comes in handy. Why couldn't Pikachu have come with something like this?"

"You know, Heal Pulse is mostly for pain relief… so you'll still need to use the band-aid" the girl chuckled.

"Right," I said, remembering and starting to clean the small wound a bit before putting the band-aid on.

Ari continued. "And really, I… I don't know. But I guess you can catch Pokémon that know this move by yourself!"

"I'll look for them!" I grinned. "Thanks. And thanks, Squirtle. Actually, now I'm feeling so much better." I scouted the walls of the area we were in, for openings. "Wanna go explore some more? I already caught one pokémon, but maybe there are some other cool things down here too!"

"I'm sure there are…" Arianne replied. "But as I said, I'm afraid of this place. I just wanna reach the next city at this point" she sighed, looking down at the ground. Her Pokémon in the meantime seemed to have planted a root on a neighboring plant, not too far away from where I was standing.

"Okay," I said, thinking as I speak. "Is it… The darkness? That little plant cutie seems pretty bright. I think I saw more of them lighting up a tunnel I went through earlier!"

"Now that I have her, darkness shouldn't be a problem anymore!" declared Arianne, one eye still following her Pokémon. "But there's more to it. I can get lost, I feel the ground shaking, the ceiling can crumble, and I'm caged without any escape route…" Arianne talked very fast, almost mumbled those words, and appeared to be shuddering.

My thinking clicked. The way she curled up instinctively, the way her eyes darted around in the area maybe without her even thinking about it…

"You're claustrophobic," I thought out loud. "Oh, that's terrible."

I put a hand on her shoulder, hoping it seemed comforting. "Hey, I know what it's like to be scared of something, okay? I'm…" I shuddered even as I tried to say it, "I'm afraid of ghosts. And I mean. Ghost types. I know they're just pokémon, but. Are they though? I mean, who really knows? Nobody. So. Yeah."

I realized my shivering hand probably made things worse rather than comfort her, and could actually feel myself curling up slightly too from speaking about this, so I quickly retracted my hand from Arianne again and just cleared my throat.

"You know, I guess it's alright to be scared sometimes. That's why we need to help each other out, right?" the girl whispered, trying to come closer to me.

I realized later than I maybe should have, that she was attempting to hug me. I guess I had to hug back? Sitting next to each other, her arms began to fold around me, not hastily but not awkwardly slowly either. I, more awkwardly, reached up and over her shoulder with one of my arms, and let the other one kind of wrap around her elbow. It felt a bit tangled, and the parallel seating made our heads get kind of weirdly close also. I was sure I was blushing, and that made me blush even more. Weird. We still stayed like that for a moment, or several, I didn't really know because I couldn't really think, until suddenly her arms and face were gone and my hand had released her elbow. She was back to looking at her mushroom pokémon on the ground, but did look more at ease. I wasn't at ease at all, for some reason, but I guess it had helped her then?

It took several more seconds before I remembered that she had actually spoken words too.

"Yeah, exactly, help each other out," I echoed uselessly. "Are you feeling better?"

"Yeah, thanks… if we stay close, we can do this!" Arianne reassured me.

"Close, right," I repeated like a drone, but I stood up and came back to my senses. "Right! So what do you say, wanna brave the tunnels together after all?"

For extra emphasis, I actually reached out my open hand for her to take if she wants to.

And she did!

"I told you before, I feel better already when I'm with someone," she told me, before turning to her Pokémon, and bowing down to reach her. She carefully picked the plant-looking creature up from the ground and held her in her arms once again. "We're ready!" she then declared, her voice followed by a feeble, eerie Pokémon cry.

I nodded with excitement then. Squirtle's power soothed my aches, and Arianne's cheerful turn motivated me. Only good adventures lay ahead!

Still with her hand in mine, I led her and the pokemon onwards. Within only a few minutes, we saw the light from the lamps ahead. The lamps that would steadily and reliably light up the main path through the mountainous landscape.

"You're doing great!" I told Ari. "Almost there now."

"Y-yes!" I heard Arianne reply. Her plant Pokémon lit up the cave, still comfortably perched on her trainer's free arm. Just a couple more steps, however, and the girl's grip on my hand started to feel stronger and stronger. "I feel shaking…" she muttered.

"It happens to the best of us!" I joked.

But the pinkish light coming from her Pokémon lit up her face from below, revealing a visibly worried Arianne, just as I felt her nails on my hand as well.

"This is not the waterfall, this is something different! What do we do-" she quickly got those words out of her mouth as the sound of crumbling rocks echoed from somewhere nearbyz

"I recognize that rumble..." I thought out loud, just as the rock wall next to us burst apart.

[PKMN FULL] TRAINERS (IC)

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