Chapter 4

The next couple of days were rather uneventful, with both Brock and Whitney trading places on and off as navigator. Along the rough and oft-washed out paths they cut their treads, with greenery whipping by on both sides of the road. They met few travelers along the way, and that was only along the well-worn Route 35 that led north from Goldenrod.

Soon, they reached the entrance to Johto's National Park, which signaled a turn to the east. When they'd been riding for about an hour, Brock stopped his bike and turned himself around in his seat. "By the way, we're heading straight to Violet City." The term 'City' was a misnomer: the place was a glorified township, and a pretty small one at that.

"What? Why" Whitney knew as well as everyone else that they would have to soon turn north again in order to reach Blackthorn. There was simply no other way, let alone through a cluster of hovels in the middle of nowhere.

Brock allowed himself a small smile. "Like I said, there's a shortcut we can take, and it's right past Violet City's eastern border. A dark cavern resides there and stretches for miles underground, connecting directly to Route 45. From there, we'll be able to reach Blackthorn from the south."

Whitney had her doubts, but the man in front of her radiated so much confidence she couldn't resist. "Alright," she conceded, making another of her snap decisions. "Let's go then."

"Good," he said, obviously relieved by her answer. To be honest, he'd expected her to be a lot harder to convince. That's strange, he thought. Why does she trust me so much?

"We can travel for a few more hours today, and then we'll have to stop. The cave is said to be dangerous, filled with many strong pokémon. I don't want to have to make camp right in its middle."

\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\

"Wow, Brock. This is great," said Whitney, who was currently stuffing her face with a spoonful of Brock's stew. After their pokémon had all been fed and stored safely away, Brock and his newfound companion had set about gathering the materials necessary to make a quick campsite for the night. Up above their heads and about a quarter mile away, the dreary opening to their shortcut led into the mountainside.

The breeder looked up from his own bowl, the flames from the fire casting a warm glow about his features. "Thanks," he beamed. "I always appreciate a good review."

"So," the Gym Leader stated after gulping down the last of her meal, "what is it that you do, Brock? I don't think I'd ever asked the last time you were in the area."

Brock thought she had, but then again, it had been years. "Well, technically, I'm a Trainer just like you. Except I'd prefer not to battle my pokémon."

Usually such comments garnered strange looks from those he'd met, but Whitney merely had a curious look on her face. She begged him to continue. "Go on," she urged. "So why do you even have them?"

"Because I do love pokémon, and I don't really want to see them get hurt. So I decided to become a Breeder to teach myself and others how to care for these incredible creatures," he said with sudden heat to his voice.

Standing up, he began to pick up their empty bowls. "I want to show how they can become stronger, so that if they do ever battle, the risk of injury to themselves and their Trainers is reduced. And someday, I hope to solve some of the problems that certain pokémon have. Genetic deficiencies, allergic reactions; I think I've made some progress with the latter in the past couple of years with my custom pokémon food mixes."

By now, Brock had stood up fully in his speech and was beginning to pace. Realizing how he must look, he quickly sat down and coughed. "Sorry about that. I can get a little carried away," he stuttered. Whitney just giggled.

"So, what about you?" he asked as he busied himself with scrubbing out his pots and utensils.

Whitney idly wondered how the guy fit all of those supplies in one pack before responding. "Well, you know. This and that. Normal Gym Leader-ish stuff."

"No, I don't" he responded lightly. "I've been out of the loop for a long while. Enlighten me. We've got time." He gestured with his soap-covered spoon toward the sky above. "The stars haven't even come out yet."

No response. Whitney merely looked uncomfortable. Brock thought furiously. Oh, I know. Why don't I mention one of her pokémon. One sure way to a girl's heart is through her pokémon. "What about your Miltank? I'm sure she's gotten a lot stronger since that time Ash battled you for his Plain Badge. You still practicing that Rollout maneuver?"

Instead of getting better, Whitney seemed to shrink in front of him.

She merely said shortly, "She died. Last season." Without another word, Goldenrod City's prized Leader walked over to her borrowed sleeping bag and curled up inside it.

Brock could soon hear her breathing become regular, but not before he swore he heard a few stifled sobs.

"Goodnight," he whispered to her, before he tore his sorrowful gaze away from her sleeping form and set about a silent watch.

\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\

It seemed that the clouds had traded places the next morning, with a heavy pre-dawn fog thoroughly set about the surrounding land. And if that wasn't gloomy enough, the cave itself happily obliged to add to the misery.

At least a good night's rest had left one person in a fine mood. Whitney was practically dancing along, following behind Brock at a distance of about three paces and humming a rather lovely tune. It was as if last night's conversation had never even existed. He shook his head, resigning himself to never being able to understand the female species.

Brock himself was rather grumpy, if only for the fact that he'd have to leave his brand new bike behind. Even if the cave's passages were wide enough to allow them, the entrance itself was only accessible by way of a steep series of switchbacks. There would be no way for either himself or his partner to carry their transportation to the top. Whitney didn't mind, of course; she'd never had to pay for hers.

Upon entering the mountain, though, the young girl began to look apprehensive. "It's rather dark in here, isn't it? Oh, I know!" She reached behind her belt and expanded a pokéball. "Come on out, Jigglypuff!"

"Jiggly!" cried the pink ball of fluff as she was released in a bright flash of red. The pokémon turned to look at its master, waiting for a command.

"Sweetie, would you mind using Flash to light up the cave for us and lead the way?"

The rotund pokémon nodded assent, and began to hum its name quietly for a few seconds as it built up enough energy, finally releasing it in the form of a bright white orb around its head. Strutting off ahead, the pokémon turned around to the rest of the group and beckoned them onward with its stubby arms.

"Spunky little thing, isn't it?" Brock commented. Whitney just winked at him.

"Of course. A pokémon always begins to take after its Trainer." And with that, they moved on.

Half an hour had passed in silence, until Brock bent down and began tracing his fingers strangely along the floor, inspecting its surface with a frown of concern.

Curious as to what he was doing, Whitney signaled her Jigglypuff to halt, and then went over to bend over Brock's shoulder. "What's going on? Found some answer from the great beyond?"

Brock didn't take the joke. "For awhile now, I've been looking around us, trying to decide how these passages have been made," he explained. "At first, I'd noticed that the walls were worn down and undulating, meaning they were naturally formed from water runoff and the like. Later though, I noticed that these walls were formed artificially. By pokémon."

He stood up and let Whitney run her sight along his finger. "See that?" he asked. "Those parallel cuts in the floor, in groups of three? Those came from a Dugtrio, a higher level Ground-type. We don't really need to worry about those. From all indications, they're pretty shy towards humans. But these," He said gravely. "These aren't from a Dugtrio."

The marks he was referring to sliced deeply into the floor and ceiling.

"Well, what are they from?" Whitney was beginning to get nervous. She knew that Brock hailed from a Rock-type Gym, and therefore could be trusted when it came to pokémon that dwelled underground.

The chiseled features of the man's face darkened. "It's a Steelix," he spat. Steelix were massive snake-like pokémon whose segmented bodies were impregnated with naturally occurring metallic elements. They weighed several tons.

"But this doesn't make any sense at all," he continued. "Steelix shouldn't be residing in this area. Unless…"

Brock suddenly grabbed her hand and pushed her pokémon back the way they had come. "We have to get out of here! Right now! Go! Go!"

"But why?" gasped Whitney. Her hand was beginning to hurt from Brock's death-grip. "I thought you wanted to take this shortcut!"

"Not anymore!" he shouted back. The rest of his reply was cut off by a deep rumbling sound that came up from the earth and shook them all right off their feet. Chips of rock began to fly from the ceiling and pelted them with cuts and grime.

"What now?" Whitney shouted, fear readily apparent in her voice. Poor Jigglypuff was beginning to run around in panic.

"The cave is collapsing! That Steelix is doing it!"

"How do you know?"

"Just trust me! I know!" Struggling to rise, the Breeder gave up the effort when the ground began to part at his feet, instead dragging the Gym Leader with him away from the entrance.

With a final churning and a guttural roar from the deep, a shape akin to an oversized shovel burst from the ground, sending a haze of what used to be solid rock throughout the area. Covering their mouths from the caking dust, the group stared up in horror at pale yellow eyes that glimmered in the near-darkness.

Whitney's mind locked up. She couldn't move. All she could do was grip Brock tighter and hope that the end wouldn't be as painful as she'd always imagined it could be.

But then she heard a high-pitched wailing a few feet away from her.

It was her Jigglypuff, its arms spread out protectively and standing between her and this dark demon that was sniffing the air attentively, taking in their scent and stiffening its body for a lunge.

Seeing her partner and friend stand up to this monster gave Whitney courage she never knew she had. In a calm voice that surprised her and her pokémon, she commanded, "Jigglypuff, use Flash at maximum power!"

Whether it was fuelled by fear or utter determination, the little ball-like creature launched a searing beam of light right at the Steelix's face. The snake pokémon recoiled, groaning and chuffing in agony, its eyes unused to such exposure.

While they were fortunate that the Flash attack had stunned the beast, it did not stop it from causing any more harm to the environment. With the pain from the attack driving it mad, the Steelix began to shudder and beat itself against the rocky walls, causing an avalanche.

"Run!" Brock shouted, regaining his senses. He made to pick Whitney up off the floor when a sudden and tearing pain vibrated throughout his skull. Within seconds, he'd blacked out.