The Mechanics of Hidden Machines
Chapter 7: A Smashing Experience
May and Drew were rushing through the darkness of the cave as they were trying to escape from the swarm of Zubat following them. The two of them had lost track of how long they had been running for; all they knew for certain was that they had to find a way to avoid getting attacked by the Zubat. As the two were running away, Drew turned his head to notice the Zubat swarm chasing after them. "May, they're gaining on us! We have to find a way to get them off our backs." Drew called, showing an expression of worry that the Zubat were going to catch up to him and May sooner or later. As May turned her head to take notice of this, she turned back and started to look around to see if there was somewhere she and Drew could run to, her glance quickly fell on a ladder leading downwards nearby.
"Drew, this way! Follow me!" May stated, pointing in the direction of the ladder. Without a moment to spare, she turned to rush over to the ladder while Drew followed not far behind her and the two quickly scattered down the ladder towards the lower floor while the flock of Zubat flew right over the ladder, seemingly unaware that the two were gone. As they were sitting on the ground, May and Drew had stopped to catch their breath for a few moments.
"Do you… do you think we lost them?" Drew gasped, struggling to catch his breath from how long he and May had been running. Once she was certain that she would be able to stand properly, May slowly made her way up the ladder while Drew waited for her, and she poked her head up and slowly had a look around the area to find that the horde of Zubat was no longer anywhere in sight. Once she was certain that the coast was clear, she made her way back down to the ladder and turned to Drew, nodding in confirmation.
"Yep, they're gone. I think we're safe for the time being." May replied. Drew let out a sigh of relief once he heard this before standing up, since he was certain that he was feeling alright now. "Come on, we better get out of here before another horde comes chasing after us down here." May suggested. If there was one thing she knew for sure, it was that she didn't want to stick around long enough to have another horde of Zubat come after them. Drew seemed to feel the same way as he nodded in agreement.
"That sounds like a plan to me." Drew agreed. So with this in mind, the two made their way up the ladder to the floor they started from and started to look around to see if they could find a way out of this cave. "So which way were we headed before the Zubat found us?" Drew asked, turning his head to May; since she was the one who said they should come here in the first place, he figured that maybe she could be the one to find a way out.
"Hmmm… let's see…" May murmured to herself, turning her head back and forth to try and figure out which way they were going. After a few seconds passed, she showed a bright smile and pointed to the right. "It was this way! Let's go!" May stated. So without a moment to spare, the two started to set off to look for a way out. However, it seemed that May wasn't exactly the best at finding her way around odd places like this because it seemed that the more they walked, the further away they were getting from finding the exit. May didn't seem to realise that there was a problem as she was walking, though, but Drew was quick to take notice as he stopped in his tracks and looked around in confusion before turning his head to May.
"May? Are you sure we're headed the right away?" Drew asked. May stopped in her tracks and turned to face Drew with an expression of surprise, wondering what he meant. "It doesn't look like we're getting anywhere in this cave." Drew added, as May walked over to where he was standing. May had a look around at their surroundings before she waved her hand in a dismissive motion with a confident smile on her face.
"Oh, you're worrying too much, Drew! I'm pretty sure I know exactly where we're going. We'll be out of here in no time!" May replied. Drew simply showed a raised eyebrow in response, showing that May wasn't exactly the most convincing or the most reassuring person in the world at the moment. May's smile slowly dropped upon seeing Drew's face; she could tell that he wasn't too convinced by what she was saying. "Okay… maybe I'm not completely sure of where we're going…" May nervously added, rubbing the back of her head. Drew promptly crossed his arms in response.
"What gave that away?" Drew bluntly asked, showing an expression of annoyance at May's lack of awareness of where they were. May didn't take long to notice this, fortunately, as she let out a sigh of dismay before sitting on the ground and placing her arms on top of her knees, much to Drew's surprise; he didn't expect to see her get upset over this minor issue.
"Well, this is just great. Not only did I get us chased by wild Zubat, but I've also gotten us completely lost with no idea of how to find our way out. I guess this just hasn't been my day…" May sighed, lowering her head in dismay over the situation they were in. Drew could only watch her in surprise before turning his glance down in concern, seeing just how upset she was about what was happening. As he was trying to think of what he could do to help May feel better, his glance fell on a few stray small boulders that were scattered around the cave, and a smile slowly came to his face as he had an idea. So with this, he turned his head back to May and bent down to sit next to her and place a hand on her shoulder to get her attention.
"Hey, May? I think I might have found something." Drew said. May lifted her head up in surprise and turned to Drew to hear what he had found, and he simply pointed over to where the boulders were, which May turned her glance to take notice of. "I have a feeling this may be a perfect time to continue with those tests of ours. Don't you think so?" Drew asked, showing a confident smile as he was certain that would help May out. Sure enough, when May caught notice of the boulders just nearby, a bright smile slowly came to her face and she jumped up on her feet in excitement.
"Oh, of course! This is the perfect place to try out our test for Rock Smash. And I have just the Pokemon to do so!" May stated. She then grabbed out one of her Pokeballs from her bag and threw it up into the air. "All right, Eevee, let's go!" she called. As the Pokeball opened, it released Eevee who shook her head rapidly to even out her fur and she turned around to notice the small boulders. "Eevee, slam your tail against those small boulders!" May called. With this, Eevee charged forward towards the boulders and jumped up into the air, before spinning in the air rapidly and slamming her tail against one of the boulders, causing it to crack before shattering into small pieces. As soon as May saw this, she showed a smile of excitement before jumping up into the air with one fist facing upwards.
"All right! The Rock Smash test was a success!" May cheered. Eevee turned around to face May showing a bright smile, just as thrilled by this success as her Trainer was. As Drew walked over to her, May quickly turned around to face him. "How did you where to look for this?" she asked. Drew simply showed a confident smile in response before brushing a few loose strands of his hair back.
"Well, since we came to this face to take care of that test in the first place, I figured I'd give you a reminder so you wouldn't forget about it. You know, to take your mind off us being lost." Drew replied. May simply showed a bright smile before walking over to him while he watched in surprise.
"Well, I think it's safe to say that it worked. Thanks so much, Drew. I guess it's a good thing that I made you my assistant." May commented, showing a cheeky smile and giving a wink during this last statement. Drew could only stare in silence for a few moments before he showed a bright smile and nodded in agreement, since by this point, he had decided to stop arguing against it and just enjoy it. After all, this day had certainty been an adventure for him so far. While this was happening, Eevee started looking around while sniffing the air, while May and Drew both turned to her in surprise. "Eevee? What's up?" May asked. After a few seconds, Eevee turned her head to May and Drew before rushing off ahead. "Eevee! Where are you calling?" May called. However, her call fell on deaf ears as Eevee was already running off ahead, leaving the two Coordinators standing there in silence.
"Looks like Eevee has an idea of where she's going." Drew commented. He then turned his head to May as he added "We better follow before she gets lost like we are." May turned her head to him in surprise before she nodded in agreement, so without a moment to spare, the two started to give chase after the small Pokemon to catch up with her and find out where she was heading off to.
