One shopping trip later, Axel found himself approaching Mt. Moon yet again. This time he was armed with Poké Balls aplenty, his Pokémon were all fighting fit and ready to face whatever awaited them within the caves, and Axel himself could hardly wait. Excitedly, he stepped in through the large hole in the side of the mountain, finding himself in a large, spacious cavern. He took a few steps forward to take in the sight better, only to be interrupted by something blue and winged flying right into his face.

"Pika!" Battery cried out.

"Mmph mmph- wah!" Axel cried out as he desperately pried the newcomer off of his face. Finally getting a good look at it, he could tell what it was. "A Zubat!" he exclaimed. In response, the Zubat hissed and dove down at Battery, who responded with a powerful Thunder Shock. Though smoke was now rising from the Zubat's body, it dove down at Battery once more, this time managing to bite the Pikachu and suck some of his blood, the Leech Life healing up a bit of the damage caused by Thunder Shock.

"All right! Go, Poké Ball!" Axel cried out, launching a red-and-white sphere at the Zubat, and before the Poison/Flying-type knew what had happened, the ball fell still upon the ground. "Yes!" Axel exclaimed. "I caught a Zubat!"

"Pi Pikachu!" cheered Battery.

They exited the cave and went to the nearby Pokémon Center, not only to ensure Battery was OK, but also to heal up the injuries that had been inflicted upon Vlad the Zubat during the battle. Once they re-entered the cave, the first thing that happened was a Bug Catcher approaching them, ranting about suspicious men in the cave. Before Axel could assert that he wasn't suspicious (at least, not that he knew of), a Pokémon fight was underway. Kraken was eager to participate, but obviously couldn't- however, Vlad proved to be useful in his first fight- his only move, Leech Life, was a Bug-type move, and the Bug Catcher's Weedle and Kakuna were Poison-types, which gave Vlad a distinct type advantage, and ultimately the victory.

What was more, Vlad proved a valuable asset against the other Zubat they started to encounter. He couldn't dissuade the Zubat from attacking, but he could certainly hold his own against them. Vlad, it seemed, must have been among the stronger Zubat that could appear in the caves, for every time he went up against one of his wild brethren, he came out on top.

Vlad wasn't the only one gaining valuable experience, either- Itchy, Ozone, Needles, and Battery were all getting stronger from the battles Mt. Moon was throwing their way, Itchy even learning a powerful biting technique called Hyper Fang in the process. Even Kraken seemed to be getting stronger, though all of his battle experience thus far mostly consisted of watching his teammates in action. Axel was even finding cool items on the ground- a discarded Potion, a Technical Machine containing Water Gun (which Kraken, despite being a Water-type, could not learn, to general confusion), even a brightly wrapped piece of candy which Axel recognized as a Rare Candy- an uncommon confection said to be highly beneficial to a Pokémon's power levels. He stowed this in his bag, deciding to save it for later.

Eventually, Axel and Battery came across a hole in the floor, with a ladder leading down to an underground level in the cave- a small, narrow tunnel leading to another ladder, which led to a large underground cavern. However, once Axel got off the ladder, a harsh voice caught his attention. "Hey, you!" Axel jumped and turned around- a man in a black outfit, a bright red R on his shirt, was coming his way. "We, Team Rocket, are Pokémon gangsters!" he declared. "And you're butting into our business, punk!"

"What- I was just passing through!" protested Axel.

"No excuses!" roared the Rocket, as he threw a Poké Ball. "Sandshrew!"

In response, Kraken emerged from his Poké Ball, but Axel stopped him. "No, Kraken, not just yet," he said. Ignoring the Rocket's chuckling, Axel threw a Poké Ball of his own. "Go, Itchy!" he shouted.

"Sand Attack!" ordered the Rocket. In response, Sandshrew kicked up dust from the ground, which got right into the Rattata's eyes.

"Itchy! Hyper Fang!" ordered Axel.

"Sandshrew! Scratch!" the Rocket commanded.

The fight was not a long one- even with the sand in his eyes, Itchy still managed to sink his sizable teeth into Sandshrew's scaly hide a few times, which proved too much for the Ground-type.

"Gah!" grunted the Rocket as he withdrew Sandshrew. "OK, you like Rattata? Here's a Rattata for you!" he roared, throwing a second ball, unleashing a Rattata of his own.

"Itchy, come back!" said Axel, holding out his Rattata's ball while throwing another ball. "Needles! Double Kick!"

"Raaaaaan!" bellowed the Nidoran as he charged forward, Before either the Rocket or the Rattata could respond, the Normal-type was sent flying by a pair of powerful kicks from Needles's hind legs. It collapsed in a heap, groaning pitifully. Scowling, the Rocket withdrew Rattata, and threw a third Poké Ball, this one unleashing a Zubat.

"Time to fight fire with fire!" declared Axel as he withdrew his Nidoran. "Go, Vlad!" he exclaimed, throwing another Poké Ball, sending his own Zubat into the fray. "Use Supersonic!"

"Zubat, Zubat," chattered Vlad, as he unleashed a volley of sound waves from his mouth. However, the other Zubat repeated this action, and before Axel knew it, both Zubat were flying erratically.

"Come on, Vlad! Leech Life, go!"ordered Axel.

"You use Leech Life, too!" roared the Rocket.

The battle from there took a while as the Zubat exchanged blows. When either one seemed to shake off their confusion, the other was quick to use Supersonic once more. Sometimes the Zubat would even fly into nearby rocks, hurting themselves in their confusion. Axel actually had to use two Potions on Vlad, but in the end, it was the Rocket's Zubat who fell in defeat. Axel waited, but the Rocket merely scowled- he had no more Pokémon, and he dared not assault Axel directly, it seemed- he was eyeing Axel's Pokémon warily, as though afraid that they would attack him should he try it. He was, of course, right to think this, too. Seeing that this path was a dead end, however, Axel climbed back up the ladders and looked for another path through the cave. This led him to another series of ladders, leading to another underground cavern... and another Rocket.

"Hey!" the Rocket roared. "We're pulling a big job here! Get lost, kid! Zubat!" he exclaimed, throwing a Poké Ball. Before anything could happen, however, Battery's cheeks began to spark.

"Piiikaaaaaa... CHUUUUUUUU!" bellowed Battery, zapping the Zubat with a Thunder Shock. Zubat fell to the ground, and the Rocket withdrew it angrily, sending out a long purple serpent in its place- an Ekans. Axel had faced one previously on Route 3, and while Battery was looking ready to go, Axel threw a Poké Ball.

"Vlad! Supersonic!" Axel ordered.

"Poison Sting!" roared the Rocket, but before Ekans could attack, the high-frequency sound waves were already screwing with its mind. Indeed, Ekans seemed much more interested in twisting itself into a purple, poisonous pretzel.

"Now! Use Leech Life!" grinned Axel.

"Zubat bat!" chittered Vlad as he dove down at the writhing, confused Ekans.

The rest of the fight went without much incident- Ekans was able to attack with Wrap at one point, but was for the most part too disoriented to attack, allowing Vlad's repeated super effective strikes to get the job done.

The Rocket backed off, giving Axel a resentful glare. "If you find a fossil, give it to me and scram!" he said, trying to sound intimidating even as he warily eyed Battery.

"Yeah, nothing doing," smirked Axel. He saw a few cool objects lying around the cave floor, so he picked them up before going back up the ladders- this was another dead end.

Further in the cave, Axel made a remarkable discovery- a glass-like black stone. Needles found it highly fascinating in particular. The Pokédex identified it as a chunk of Moon Stone, a mysterious mineral said to be integral in the evolution of certain Pokémon. Not far from there stood a big and bulky Hiker, who came at Axel with two Geodude and an Onix, albeit not nearly as well trained as what Brock had used- Needles had no trouble defeating them. Not far after that, another tunnel, connecting the main cavern with an underground cavern with the aid of a series of ladders, and this time, when Axel came out in the underground cavern, he had a feeling that this was no dead end. Another Rocket made to bar Axel's way, but his Rattata and Zubat didn't put up much of a fight. And from there, the cavern was a large, spacious corridor made of rock, which twisted and curved all around. Nothing short of a few wild Zubat bothered them in this corridor, which Battery was able to take out with no trouble. What was more, Axel managed to discover another Moon Stone concealed in a small hole in the wall. And then, Axel and Battery came to a nerdy sort of man guarding what appeared to be a pair of rocks- one had a spiral pattern, while the other was quite smooth.

"Hey!" the Super Nerd exclaimed upon noticing Axel. "Stop! I found these fossils! They're both mine! Grimer!" he exclaimed, throwing a Poké Ball, which unleashed what appeared to be a sentient pile of putrid sludge. Sighing at how easily provoked some Trainers could be, Axel threw Vlad's Poké Ball into the air.

The fight that followed was nothing spectacular- Grimer proved resilient, yet ultimately underwhelming in terms of power- Vlad was able to defeat it with no trouble. It took him a while, but he got it done. Next, the Super Nerd sent in a Voltorb, an Electric-type that didn't actually know any Electric attacks, which meant Ozone was able to take it on with no problems. Finally came Koffing, another Poison-type for Vlad to tackle.

"Oh! Koffing!" exclaimed the Super Nerd as the gas-spewing Poison-type fell to the ground. "All right, all right, I'll share!" he added to Axel. "Let's each take one, OK?"

Axel shrugged. "OK," he agreed.

"OK- that one's the Dome Fossil, and this one... ohhhh... a Helix Fossil," the Super Nerd explained, his tone reaching something like reverence as he mentioned the second of the two fossils, indicating the spiral-shaped one.

Axel sighed, though gave a small grin- this Super Nerd clearly seemed to want the Helix Fossil, even seemed to revere it, strange as that sounded. Therefore, he picked up the Dome Fossil and carefully packed it into his bag, vaguely marveling at how much it was able to hold.

"Thanks," grinned the Super Nerd. "I was kinda hoping you'd take the Dome Fossil, to be honest- I kinda wanted to keep Lord Helix here."

Axel raised an eyebrow. "Lord Helix?" he repeated.

"Never you mind," snapped the Super Nerd. "It's a reference to something. You oughta heal your Pokémon, though- there's some shady guys hanging around this area on the lookout for fossils. Mistook you for one of them, which is kinda why I fought you- sorry about that."

"No problem," replied Axel as he dug into his bag, retrieving a coil of rope from within. As if by magic, the rope rose into the air, forming one very large loop. Through this loop, Axel could see what appeared to be Route 4's Pokémon Center, and so he stepped through the loop formed by the Escape Rope, instantly finding himself back outside Mt. Moon's entrance.

"Pika!" Battery exclaimed in surprise as he too stepped through the loop. Axel looked behind him, but only saw the entrance to Mt. Moon- the used Escape Rope had already vanished.

One quick trip to the Pokémon Center later, Axel and Battery ventured back into Mt. Moon. This time, the journey took no time at all, partly because they now knew the way, and partly because only the occasional wild Zubat, Geodude, and Sandshrew got in their way, as opposed to any Trainers. Very quickly they found themselves walking past the Super Nerd, and then, as they rounded a corner, Axel could see a shaft of light coming from a hole in the ceiling which a ladder led to. It surely had to be the exit-

"Stop right there!"