First of all I want to apologize for updating late, but there was no internet at camp. But man, TOTALLY worth it! Camp was so awesome this year with the laser tag, water obstacle course, see some good ol' friends I only get to see once or twice a year. So all in all, it was worth the delay- for me that is. Plus that double rainbow at the end of the week. DOUBLE RAINBOW ALL THE WAY! *ahem* Anyways, I also had some trouble making this chapter the way I wanted to be, so when I returned from camp, I was up constantly day and night trying to come up with good ideas. An well, this is what I came up with. So without further ado, chapter 7! Here we go, folks.

Before we start, I would like to give a special thanks to my friend Jacob for helping me out with some of the ideas of the Pokémon in this story. Bless your face, Jake!

This story is, again, a Pokeshipping story for all to enjoy. Except for haters. Oh well. Haters gonna hate. But seriously, how can you not think Ash and Misty look cute together? I, and all fellow Pokeshippers, know they are perfect for each other. Eat your heart out, Serena and any other girl who likes Ash!

I don't own Pokémon nor is it possible I will own Pokémon any time soon. If I did, well, Ash Ketchum would be a character people would actually like. He would've matured (and aged) as the show went on, such as going from the immature ten year old to a completely B.A. (as in Badtastically Awesome) Pokémon trainer, or master, at the age of 15. Just saying...

WOBBUFFET!


Chapter 7: The Cavern of Monstrous Pokémon

You know, we didn't spend all our times together fighting with each other on our traveling journeys together. Me and Ash (and Brock of course) had plenty of great adventures together. And even though some of them may have been life-threatening, I wouldn't have had it any other way. One of our first most dangerous experiences we had was when we were shipwrecked aboard the St. Anne. Ash had just received his Thunder Badge when we spotted this luxury cruise ship known as the St. Anne. We couldn't afford it at first until these two ganguro girls, who turned out to be Jessie and James in disguise, gave us tickets to get on board to take part in a Pokémon Trainer party on board. Being the Pokémon lovers we are, we couldn't resist. Little did we know that the party was a ruse to allow Team Rocket to steal the attending Trainers' Pokémon. While onboard, Ash observed a Raticate defeating a Starmie. Ash challenged the Raticate with his Butterfree. Though the Raticate's owner removed his Pokémon before the battle ended, he was impressed with Ash's Butterfree and offered a trade. Ash trades his Butterfree for the Raticate, but soon regretted his decision. (He later traded it back.) While all us Trainers were gathered in one room, the ship's employees revealed themselves to be members of Team Rocket! As they sucked up PokéBalls with vacuum-like devices, we all fought back; all our Pokémon teamed up to multiply their attacks and drove back the bad guys. It was pretty awesome, I have to say. During all the commotion, a tumultuous storm brewed outside. Eventually, the ship rocked violently, and the consensus was to abandon ship. Only we and the Team Rocket Trio were unable to flee, as we were knocked unconscious by the jerking movements of the ship—then the ship flipped over and sunk! When we regained consciousness, we were forced to work together with Team Rocket to get out of the sunken ship. Easier said than done, but together we battled our way through raging fires, storms, and a heard of really ticked Gyarados. The next thing I knew I woke up to a very worried and concerned Ash by my side on an island. (Aww. he was concern about me! X3) We were temporarily separated from our Pokémon until we ran into them while escaping from Godzilla-sized Pokémon. We managed to escape from the giants, which turned out to be robots, and we found an island resort/town called Port Visa on the other side of the island. Excited, Ash, Brock, and I decided to have a well-deserved vacation. And Mew, what a vacation it was! And I could of sworn that during that vacation. Ash was drooling over me while I had my hair down and was wearing a pink kimono with Goldeen on it while we were at the Maiden's Peak Festival. And he was willing to dance with me, though he was very shy about it. Hmm... could it... be? No, girl, you are in way over your head. Ash couldn't have had felt anything towards me like THAT.

Still...

As they continued onward...

Ash and Co. followed the Team Rocket Trio on the trail towards Team Rocket Secret Headquarters. Since Jessie, James, and Meowth were still wanted criminals, despite their stupidity (well that's more towards Jessie and James than Meowth), Ash and the gang had to make sure they weren't caught with outlaws. Of course, the Jessie and James had to be equally as careful not to be caught by other Team Rocket members seeing them helping the Twerps. Either way, both groups would be in serious trouble. Nevertheless, Ash and Co. followed Team Rocket through the entrance towards the secret path towards their headquarters: a really, really deep, dark underground cavern. Jessie and James led the group through the dark cavern with Ash, Pikachu, and Brock right behind them. Following them were the girls Serena (who as close to Ash as she could possibly get without making him feel uncomfortable), May, and Dawn who was accompanied by her Piplup. Gary and Tracey weren't far behind them while Meowth and Max were the caboose.

"(Gulp) So this is the s-secret path towards your secret lair?" asked a very trembling May. "Kind of a c-creepy path, don't you think?"

"Hey, if it was a friendly, appealing looking path, everyone would be using it," protested Jessie. "Then it wouldn't be much of a secret then, now would it?"

"Yeah, that's... that's actually a good point and well made." I can't believe I'm saying that to her of all people.

"So, how long is this cavern?" Ash asked.

"Well," answered James, "it's about two and a half miles long at least. Should at least take an hour or so for us to get out of here just as long as we don't run into any (gulp) misfortunes along the way."

"Mis-Misfortunes?!" trembled May once again. "Wha-What do you mean by that?!" Oh Mew, where's Drew when I need him?! she thought, really wanting someone to comfort her right now in her time of just about freaking out.

"Oh, well, "answered Jessie, "let's- let's just say some Pokémon here don't exactly enjoy, um, having guests."

"Wha-what kind of Pokémon?" asked Dawn, joining May on the "Near Freaking Out Squad."

"James and I have only seen them a couple of times but we never saw the full Pokémon. All we know is there are some really big Pokémon around here."

"H-How big approximately?"

"As big as..."

Suddenly, the group heard soft growling from the right wall beside them. They hesitantly turned around to where it was coming from. Using the flashlight James was holding they spotted a nest of sleeping Golem, turtle-like bipedal Pokémon with plated, green rocks as their shells. The thing was, like Jessie explained, these Golem were unusually huge with a height of at least 20 feet tall. Their backs were just barely a few feet under the ceiling of the cavern and that was when they were sleeping.

"Oh," the two coordinators trembled, "Th-th-that b-b-bi-bi-ig."

"Nobody make a sound," whispered Brock. "Everyone remain calm and we'll walk quietly right pass them without disturbing them, got it?"

"Right," whispered Ash, Tracey, and Gary.

"Got it/Pika," whispered Serena, Max, Pikachu.

"I-If y-y-ou sa-say so-o-o," whispered May and Dawn fearfully.

"Aye yi, captain," whispered Team Rocket.

"Wwaabb-auffet."

Unfortunately, the moment Wobbuffet emerged from his Pokéball, he stepped on a stick that snapped at impact. The snap was just enough to wake up the Golem Giants. (which sounds like a football team.) The giants took one look at the frightened group and each let out a ferocious roar. They weren't too happy at the group for waking them up. Jessie took a moment to glare at her Pokémon for his stupidity, causing Wobbuffet to sweatdrop.

"Wobba." (Sorry)

One by one, each Golem Giant rose to its feet and glared daggers down at the group. Ash gulped and Serena clung to his arm for protection. "I think now will be a good time to run for our lives," squealed James with fear. May and Dawn nervously clung to each other and nodded their heads in agreement. At the sound of the roar of the front Golem Giant, which was probably the leader, Ash and Co. took off towards the opposite direction of the Golem Giants into another tunnel. Unforunately, the Golem Giants formed into giant boulders and rolled towards the group in an attempt of crushing them.

Ash and the gang ran as fast as they could to avoid being squashed to death. They managed to jump over what could've been a bottomless pit but no one was willing to take the time to figure it out. Serena almost fell in but was pulled back by her crush, Ash. He's so brave, she thought. They made a sharp turn through a tunnel on the right in hopes of throwing off the Golem Giants, but their hopes were quickly dashed as the Giants made the turn perfectly. They kept running but were getting tired. Just then, Ash spotted a slide-like path and motioned for the group to make their way down. The group had no time to hesitate and quickly slid down the narrow path. Unfortunately, this didn't stop the Golem Giants from continuing the chase. If anything, they sped up closer to their victims. Pretty soon, the group was about to reach the limit of running. Team Rocket had just about given up.

"WE'RE NOT GONNA MAKE IT!" screamed James.

"I'S DON'T WANT TO"S DIE!" screamed Meowth. "IT'S TO'S EARLY IN THIS BOOK FOR US TO DIE! NOT TAT I'M INVITING YOU TO'S KILL US OFF IN THIS STORY, YA DARN AUTHOR!"

"We're not gonna die!" yelled Brock. "We just need to get these guys off our tail! Steelix, Geodude, go!"

Following Brock's lead, Ash and the others, minus May, Dawn, and Team Rocket, spun around and unleashed their Pokémon they knew could help get rid of the Giants.

"Charizard, Pikachu, Snorlax, go for it!" yelled Ash.

"Blastoise, Golem, I choose you!" yelled Gary.

"Gyarados, it's your turn!" yelled Tracey.

"Go, Squirtle and Kingler!" yelled Max.

"Greninja, Jolteon, you're up!" yelled Serena.

At that moment, all the called Pokémon, minus Pikachu who was already out, emerged from their Pokéballs and quickly unleashed attacks at the Golem Giants. Steelix, Geodude, Charizard, Snorlax, Gary's Golem, Gyarados, and Blastoise used their brute strength to hold back the rampaging Giants while also slowing them down. Then Blastoise joined Squirtle and Kingler in using Water Gun at the Giants while Greninja used Waterfall on them to help out as well. Then the stronger of the Pokémon stood back as Jolteon sent a massive Thunderbolt followed by a Volt Tackle from Pikachu at the Giants; stopping them completely in their tracks while causing them all to faint.

The group breathed a huge sigh of relief and returned their Pokémon. "Whew. Heh heh, that was close," sighed Ash. Dawn and May gave a nervous laugh in response. However, none of them were out of the woods (Or in this case, cavern) yet. Suddenly the group felt the group under them shaking intensely. They turned their attention to where the Golem Giants were still lying unconscious. That's when they saw the Golem being sucked up by the ground. Suddenly, a group of six feet tall Diglett and Dugtrio came from underneath where the Giants fell underground and were quickly digging towards the group. "RUN!" yelled Ash. No one hesitated to question and quickly followed Ash away from the Diglett and Dugtrio stampede.

"I SWEAR IF WE HAVE TO RUN AWAY FROM EVERY SINGLE LIVING THING IN THIS MEW FORSAKEN CAVERN, I'M GOING TO LOSE IT!" screamed Jessie.

"WOBBUFFET!"

So again the group continued their running, hoping that they were soon out of the cavern. To be honest, none of them were even sure if they were even on the right path. All that mattered to them now was they just wanted to get out of this cavern before things got worst. Then as if by cue while they were running from the stampeding Pokémon, they noticed that the cavern was caving in due to the rumbling caused by the Diglett and Dugtrio. That and the ground was constantly shaking so it was a miracle that anyone stayed on their feet while running. Serena almost fell over and would have become an unfortunate victim of being trampled over by the Pokémon and buried underneath the collapsing cavern if it weren't for the chivalrous Ash Ketchum to once again grab her by her wrist and pull her back just in the nick of time. He picked her up Hero style, causing Serena to blush a bright red, and continued his running. He didn't even take time to notice her blush or how she smiled sweetly at her savior, but now was not the time for that anyway.

Meanwhile, Charizard emerged from his ball and started unleashed multiple Flamthrowers at the stampeding Pokémon, knocking down a few at a time. But what was making this hard on the Fire type was once one Diglett or Dugtrio went down, two more, or six more in the Dugtrio case, took its place. (Hail HYDRA?) As soon as the mighty dragon took out what seemed like 200 Diglett of Dugtrio, Charizard just about fainted from sheer exhaustion just as Ash managed to return him to his Pokéball. (Which was hard enough for him to do while running for dear life without having to carry a girl in your arms in the process.)

By now, everyone knew they were going to faint very soon. Here they all were, being chased first by the Golem Giants, then by a never ending stampede of six foot tall Diglett and Dugtrio who would destroy anything in their path; including the very cavern they were in. Needless to say, they quickly need to do something besides run. That was seriously getting old fast. But if Charizard, one of the strongest Pokémon they had with them, couldn't stop them, then what could else they do?

Then out of the blue, Ash got an idea. "Tracey, release Misty's Gyarados again and have it send a Flamethrower at the stampede!"

"Ash, are you sure that's such a good idea?!"

"There's no time to debate this! Just trust me!"

Tracey nodded and released the mighty water serpent. As soon as it was released it Tracey ordered Gyarados unleash a huge Flamethrower at the stampede which it obliged to do. The Flamethrower was by far superior to Charizard's as the attack knocked out the front lines of the the stampede. The attack caused the rest of the stampede to lose focus and slow down; making them vulnerable.

"Now Brock, release Steelix!"

"Way ahead of ya, big guy! Steetlix, come out and use Iron Tail then on the ground around the Diglett and then on them!"

Steelix nodded and with that the end of it's body started glowing white until it slammed it unto the ground around them multiple times, creating pits surrounding the stampede, causing the stampede to come to a complete stop in their tracks, which also stopped the earthquake. Unfortunately for them, they didn't stop fast enough for most of them to keep from falling into the pits.

"Now Gary, release Blastoise!"

"Copy that! Blastoise, I choose you! Use Water Gun followed by Rapid Spin!"

Blastoise obeyed and shot huge gusts of water out of his water cannons on its shell at the stampede. Pulling its head, arms, legs and cannons into its shell, it then started spinning like a disc into the Diglett and Dugtrio, knocking them out one by one into the pits.

"Perfect! Right where I want them! Alright Pikachu, now use your Iron Tail on the ceiling above them!"

Pikachu's tail then became surrounded in white-hot sparks until it was completely surrounded in a white outline. His tail then turned into iron and slammed it against the ceiling of the cavern, causing rocks and bolders to fall on top of the Diglett and Dugtrio, burying them underground.

As the most recent threat lay unconscious, because Diglett and Dugtrio can survive underground, the group all sat down and all breathed a huge sigh of relief. Some of them, Dawn and May specifically, started laughing nervously, but were just glad it was all over.

Team Rocket then all fell on their back simultaneously. "That's enough excitement for one day," sighed Jessie. "A girl can only take so much."

"You said it," agreed May, though she was seriously starting to get annoyed at herself for agreeing with the enemy. Mew, if this becomes frequent, I'm blasting them off myself.

Through all the excitement, Serena forgot to notice that she was still holding on to Ash, who was still holding her Hero style. Blushing intensely, she let go of Ash and moved off of him and looked away, hiding her red face. "Sorry about that, Ash."

"OH, uh, no-no problem," Ash stated nervously.

"Hey guys! Look!" exclaimed Dawn, pointing to the ceiling above the buried Diglett and Dugtrio.

Or at least, where the ceiling used to be.

"Amazing," acknowledged Brock, Pikachu's Iron Tail was so effective, it took down the whole cavern ceiling above the Pokémon stampede."

"Hey yeah! Way to go, Pikachu!" Ash congratulated his first Pokémon ever companion.

Pikachu rubbed the back of his neck in embarrassment. "Pi, Pika Pikachu Chu." (Aw, it was nothing.)

After that, the group got on top of Gyarados's head one by one so it could lift each and every one of them out onto the top where they were now officially out of the cavern. THANK GOD! thought both May and Dawn. After they all got out, James turned and noticed that they indeed were way past where they needed to get out of the cavern. Nonetheless, the Team Rocket trio had been through this area many times so it wasn't gonna be hard finding their way back on the path toward Team Rocket HQ. As they continued on, Ash pondered in his mind what was happening to Misty right now.

Needless to say, he was worried.

VERY worried.

Meanwhile, somewhere far far away...

Her consciousness was slowly returning to her as she was starting to feel the constant pain she only received three days back. She could feel her head throbbing with pain like she never experienced before (physically that is). Where... am I? What's... happening... to me? she thought morosely. She would've said it aloud but was in enough pain already to make talking just another bother. She could barely open her eyes as it was. She had numerous cuts all over her. A huge gash of dried blood was on the back of her head staining her already red hair. She had a small cut on both her lip and a respectively large bruise on her forehead. Her clothes were torn and she could barely feel her legs or arms other than the tingling of pain from the glass cuts she received shortly after her Gym was attacked. She just laid there in a dark and cold cell somewhere out there in the Pokémon World. For once in her life, she felt absolutely vulnerable. For once in her life, she felt no courage, but only fear. For once in her life, she was scared of dying right then and there. For the first time in her life, she wanted help. For the first time in her life, she admitted that she needed help.

Someone... please... help... me...

A tear made its way down her face.

"The prisoner has somewhat regained consciousness, sir."

"Excellent. She for sure wouldn't want to miss the show. How many more Gyms have we to (hee hee) 'visit'?"

"Twenty three I believe, my lord."

"Perfect. Make sure you inform the boss know that we are almost to awakening the Pokémon."

"Yes sir. But if I may, why have we only captured this Gym Leader and not the others when we attacked their gyms?"

"Patience. Soon he will arrive for her and then you will see why she is of use."

"... Yes sir."

"Everything is perfectly going according to plan. Eh ha ha ha ha ha ha ha!"


Well finally, after long, long, LONG hours of getting this written, its finally done! Chapter 7! Hope you guys enjoy and for crying out loud people, don't be shy to review! I notice I'm starting to lack in those! Come on guys. I like hearing your feedback. Here, how is this: post in the review and tell me what Pokémon should the group go up against next in their quest. And by the way, Ash and Serena will NOT be getting together in this story. Just so you know. And guess what? I will soon have Ash reveal what happened in that last argument between him and Misty. Anyways, review, favorite, and follow while I soon get started on chapter 8. Well, I gotta split. See ya next time.