"What would you like to hear tonight, honey?" Joey's grandmother asked.
"Ria!" the Youngster responded immediately.
The old woman smiled. "Alright, Joey. But if you and Rattatta get too scared, then just tell me to stop, okay?"
Joey hugged Rattatta. "We're brave! I battle big Trainers all the time, and Rattatta is in the top percentage of all Rattatta! We don't get scared of anything!"
His grandmother patted their heads. "Sssh now…"
Ria continued through the caverns, her mother's head tucked firmly under her arm. Now and again, she heard the flutter of Zubat and Golbat wings. Whenever she heard them, she would throw herself to the floor of the cavern and curl into a tight ball, desperate to avoid the vicious Pokémon. Sometimes, her small hand would stroke the matted hair on her mother's head.
The small girl grew more and more fatigued as she walked. She felt like her entire body was crusted over with blood, and the bones in her legs seemed on the verge of snapping from overuse. Just as she was about to curl on the ground and sleep, she felt the cave shape change. While before, the ceiling had been relatively low, it now felt like she was walking in a huge chamber. Grasping at the ground, she found a rock, and threw it experimentally. The clattering sound echoed and echoed.
Ria swatted at her back for her pack before remembering that it was lost. She had left it back where the Golbats had swarmed her. She frantically squinted her eyes, desperate to survey the area.
All she could see was blackness.
She plunked to the ground, expecting her knees to hit the rough rock of the cave bottom. Instead, they hit soft, warm sand. Ria blinked in surprise, then swooshed her hands around the floor. Her fingers met nothing but sand and a few rocks. She listened for water, wondering if she was back near the beach, but heard nothing. Eerie nothing.
A huge sigh escaped her lips. She had been holding her breath while listening for the water, and to sigh felt so nice. Quickly, Ria decided that this sand would be a good place to sleep. Her small frame slumped to the ground, cradling her mother's head in her arms. In seconds, she was asleep.
"As you should be," Joey's grandmother reprimanded gently.
"No, no," mumbled Joey, but he was on the verge of sleep. "That wasn't long enough…"
His grandmother ran her withered hand through his hair. Joey's Rattatta was already asleep, squeaking gently in its slumber. "I can tell you more later. Sleep now, sweetheart."
The boy began to protest again, but his grandmother switched off the light and kissed his head. "Goodnight," she whispered.