Determined to start on their search, the Buizel and Pachirisu began taking their first steps into the cave. They would feel a decrease in the temperature as they went further in. The light from the outside would begin to dim as they progressed, though things wouldn't go completely dark as there were lit torches along the wall just enough to light the way ahead of them. All the rocks they would pass all had a color palette from a tan to brown to gray, similar to the walls of the cave. Just as the Crawdaunt had said; it really wouldn't be hard to spot a strange-colored rock if the entire cave is like this. A ways into the cave, the two would observe their surroundings. As they passed by, they would see pickaxes, an abandoned wheelbarrow here and there, rope, and even wooden supports along the walls as well.
"Huh… it looks like there was a good bit of mining being done here before.", Colin noted.
"Yeah…", Karen replied, then after a bit she would come across a skull and a few bones on the ground, making her shriek.
Colin turned quickly, "What's wrong!?"
The Pachirisu was terrified as she pointed the bones out, "Th-th-there's bones!"
Gazing upon the remains unsettled Colin, "Oh dear… it looks like some Pokemon didn't make it…"
"This place is scaaary! Why did it have to be like this!?", Karen complained out loud.
With a bit of a rattle in his voice, the Buizel spoke, "W-well, this is a taste of exploring… if we're going to be explorers… we might have to get used to stuff like this."
Karen wasn't thrilled, but understood nonetheless. "I guess you're right… uggghhhh, I hope that rock shows up soon!"
The two would go on further. The sightings of the bones and evidence of mining would be more often encountered. It really did seem like a full-on mining operation was done here in the past. The thought of this was showing up in the twos' minds.
"Man, all this mining stuff… there's even more the deeper we go…", Colin observed.
"Yeah… you think there was more of that rock Mr. Hey is looking for here a long time ago?", Karen asked.
The Buizel would think, then came to a demoralizing realization. "What if… what if they mined it all? What if there really is no more of it left and this would've all been for nothing...?"
Karen didn't wanna think about that, as likely as it may seem. "H-hey! We won't know 'til we look! We can't give up, Collie!"
After a few moments of thought, this seemed to assure Colin. "Heh, you're right… We can't give up! That's why we're here! Even if we don't find it… that counts toward a report!" This was enough to motivate the two to going deeper in.
By now, they were quite deep into the cave. Ahead of the explorers-to-be at the end of the rocky corridor they were in stood a rock on a flat-topped broken stalagmite, as if on a pedestal. This rock certainly looked different from all the rest with its purple color, as well as being translucent like a crystal.
"Is that it…?", Colin wondered as he saw it from a distance.
"That must be it! It certainly sticks out like a sore thumb from the rest!", Karen answered with a bit of excitement in her voice.
The two ran toward it before they were met with a sudden voice yelling "STOP!"
Colin and Karen jumped and suddenly turned around as the voice seemed to come from behind them. Sure enough, three Pokemon had approached them swiftly. There was a Kabutops that was accompanied by two Kabuto. The Kabutops seemed to be the leader and neither of the Pokemon seemed all that happy.
"What do you think you're doing!?", the Kabutops yelled at the two.
This startled Colin and Karen. They didn't expect there to be other Pokemon, much less being yelled at by them. "W-we're here for that rock over there", Colin said as he pointed toward the rock at the end of the corridor.
"WHAT!?", the Kabutops roared, "YOU CAN'T HAVE OUR MOST SACRED OF ORES!"
Shocked at this revelation, Karen replied, "But we need this rock! Maybe we can make a de-"
"NOOO!", the agitated brown Pokemon would yell before starting to run toward them in a rage, "YOU CANNOT HAVE IT. YOU'RE GOING TO PAY FOR YOUR GREED!"
The two swiftly dodged the raging Pokemon. "We don't wanna steal it! We can work something out!", Colin pleaded.
The Kabutops turned around to face the two Pokemon again after his fit of rage. "If you really must have it… YOU MUST FIGHT!", it said before running at Colin, lunging his right scythe arm for a swipe at him. Colin swiftly dodged by jumping off to the side, but just as he would recover from the dodge, one of the Kabuto tackled into him to send him flying back a few feet.
"Hey, that's dirty!", Karen yelled out as she started to build a charge of electricity. After a second or two, she charged straight for the Kabuto and bashed into it with a full-force Spark, sending it flying several feet away. As she caught her breath, she seemed surprised at her own strength. She didn't think too much about that though as she was more concerned about Colin, "Don't you dare hurt Collie!"
This caught the Kabutops' attention as it would turn toward and run to the Kabuto that Karen just ran into's side.
Colin got up from the ground and saw what just happened. He was surprised and a bit proud of his friend, then he started to realize that the Kabuto wasn't immediately getting up. In fact, it seemed to be zonked out from that attack. Looks like she really did a number on it..., he would think, she charged up her electricity beforehand... could that be why?
"Collie, are you alright!?", Karen ran to Colin, "Hold on, I'll heal you!"
"Nah, I'm fine! It wasn't that bad!", Colin assured.
"Aww, if you say so!", Karen replied after she seen that Colin didn't seem to be seriously hurt.
Colin shifted his look at the Kabutops that was beginning to turn toward them. "I think they might be weak to your electricity, Karen."
"Really?", Karen was a bit surprised at this.
"I'm not entirely sure, but that Pokemon you attacked isn't getting back up. It looks like it's really out for the count.", Colin explained.
"Ah, I see!", she was a bit proud but more excited. She looked toward the other Kabuto with a determined look, from which it responded with a seemingly anxious look. "I know where this is going!", she muttered before she was charging up her electricity and running toward it.
The Kabutops noticed that she was about to go for its other Kabuto, "NOT SO FAST, YOU!"
Colin was running just behind Karen to cover her. Just as the Kabutops began to zoom towards Karen, the Buizel quickly turned to the brown Pokemon and stopped its scythe arm with his Buizuken that he had formed just before turning to meet this clash. "That's my line!"
After the clash of blades, the two would jump back before initiating an exchange of swipes and clashes.
Karen was still going for the Kabuto. Before it could move away, it was too slow and the Pachirisu rammed into it with her Spark attack. Just like the other one, it went down immediately.
Colin and the Kabutops were really into their clash match. After a few more clashes, they would jump back from their latest clash to catch their breath. Karen ran up to Colin's side following her one-sided victory against the Kabuto.
"Karen, I think I'm going to need your help here…", Colin said as he was panting, noticeably exhausted from both the fight and his Buizuken being out.
She gave him a nod with an affirmative "Right!"; she knew exactly what to do.
"Impressive, you two!", the Kabutops announced, "But this isn't over yet!" He started to charge for Colin.
Colin charged for him too, going into what seemed like another exchange of swipes and clashes. At the last possible moment, Colin sported a smirk and immediately shot a stream of water out his mouth at the Kabutops, catching it completely off guard with his Water Gun. Before it could shake off the water it was shot with, Karen was already prepared with her body charged with electricity. With a determined grin on her face, she rammed straight into the off-guard brown Pokemon. What was already a strong shocking blow was only magnified by the water it was covered with. It flew back a ways and stayed down for quite a bit; it was over.
Karen ran to Colin, "We did it!" she cheered excitedly.
"That we did, Karen!", Colin joined with a thumbs up.
"Ugh… you two are strong indeed…", the Kabutops muttered as it slowly got up. The Kabuto had gotten up as well and crawled to the Kabutops' side before facing Colin and Karen.
"You've proven yourselves… you may get that rock. However, will you be able to get out of here with it... alive…?", the Kabutops said before he and his two Kabuto ran away.
The two Pokemon, unsure of what to make of that last sentence, went toward the rock and Colin then picked it up.
"We finally got it!", Colin announced in accomplishment.
"Uh, Collie… what do you think that Pokemon meant by that…?", Karen questioned, kinda spooked by the words the Kabutops spoke before leaving.
"I'm not sure… but we're going back!", he would reply.
Just then, the ground would shake a bit. "W-what was that…?", Colin fearfully questioned.
Then the ground shook even more, not really stopping this time like the previous shake had.
"I-it's an earthquake!", Karen yelled.
Colin would look around and had come to a rather fearful conclusion as small rocks would rain down from the ceiling in all this shaking, "It looks like this cave is going to give out! We have to get out of here!", Colin exclaimed as the two started to run for the entrance.
The whole cave shook as bits of rock were falling from the ceiling. The torches lining the way would stay and thankfully so as this would allow their escape to be all the swifter. Colin and Karen would speed their way toward the entrance. After quite a bit of running, they could finally see the light of the outside world in front of them. As they were about to run out, a bit of a more violent shaking took place. Getting the instinct that this would be close, they jumped out of the cave. Just as they were greeted by the grass and sun, the entrance had caved in behind them. As the two would pick themselves up and look back at the now-inaccessable entrance of Derecha Cave, they let out a collective sigh of relief.
"Phew, that was really close!", Colin said.
"You said it!", Karen joined, rather distraught at nearly being crushed.
"Dang, that was crazy!", Colin exclaimed.
"We could've been killed!", Karen continued.
"Oh man… is exploring always this dangerous…?", Colin questioned, a bit intimidated by the thought.
"Oh my…", Karen would say as she thought about that too.
"Well… we got out alive… Let's get this rock to Mr. Hey.", the Buizel resolved.
"Yeah…", Karen answered, still out of it from the whole experience. The two would then start to head back to Derecha Town.
Colin and Karen, a Buizel and a Pachirisu that are determined to find answers about who attacked their hometown 5 years prior, had just overcome a trial that seemed to test them for real exploring. Now they go on back to Derecha Town, where they aim to finish their task by giving a Crawdaunt claiming to work at the Wigglytuff Guild a rock that he had assigned them to fetch him. A trip to the Wigglytuff Guild awaits the two as their journey continues!