Chapter 10: Taking on Mt. Pyre

The next day, the group was getting geared up to face Groudon in the Pokemon Center. "Groudon is a ground-type," Ash thought out loud. "Which means he'll be weak against water."

"Which means I'm going to play a large part in all this," Piplup said confidently.

"Which also means we gotta keep you standing and fighting," Pikachu said.

"Hehe, good point," Piplup said.

Soon, the doors opened up and May came running in with Blaziken following her from behind. "Okay, I got the tickets!" she said.

"They actually have liners that go out to Mt. Pyre?" Ash asked.

"One liner actually," May said. "And it goes out only one time and comes back at one time. We were lucky enough to get these tickets since they are in limited quantity."

"Strange that even now they would still offer trips there of all places," Brock commented.

"It is because no one really knows what is truly going on," Blaziken said. "People observe these disasters as natural."

"It is true, we may be the only ones who know what really is going on," May added. "And if that proves to be wrong, then they aren't saying anything. Telling would most likely cause chaos. Anyway, the ship is leaving around eleven, so we have some time to eat breakfast."

They soon got breakfast and started chatting some more, trying to get know each other better. "Say May, do you have any friends here in Hoenn?" Ash asked.

"Umm…" May said. She could almost feel herself blushing as her thoughts returned to Drew. She couldn't tell them about him yet. It was just look so bad. "Well, I don't know many people in Petalburg City," May continued. "I mostly just spend time with my family or go out and do Pokemon Contests."

"So right now you're taking a break?" Brock asked.

"You could say that," May said. "The next contest isn't for about another month or two. But it greatly helps me train Blaziken new techniques. What about you Ash? What do you and Pikachu do?"

"Well, Pikachu and I train a ton," Ash said, looking to his buddy. "But, we're not quite sure what to do yet."

"We still have plenty of time to decide," Pikachu said.

"And you Brock? You want to be a Pokemon Breeder?" May asked.

"Yeah," Brock said. "Taking care of Pokemon and raising them seems more of my thing than being a gym leader."

"That reminds me," Ash said. "Who's taking over the Pewter City Gym for you?"

"My parents," Brock replied. "My dad had been gone awhile and the responsibility had fallen on me. But, eventually my dad came back and it was that moment I decided to fulfill my dream."

"I know the feeling," May said. "My dad is the gym leader of Petalburg City, so I'm rather well known even if I wasn't a Coordinator." She then finally looked at Piplup. "And it sounds like you're quite the fighter yourself, Piplup."

"Aw, I don't know," Piplup said, blushing slightly. "Dawn tells me that all the time, but it'll be awhile before I become stronger."

"You can always evolve you know," Ash suggested.

Piplup then frowned. "I don't think… I want to do that."

"But why not?" May asked. "Evolving is one of the best ways to get stronger." She then looked to Blaziken. "Blaziken here is a prime example."

"I know that," Piplup said. "I just… worry that if I evolve I won't be the same Pokemon anymore. I don't want that to happen with Dawn."

"I understand," Ash said. "You just want to keep being yourself, and not change. Sounds a lot like Pikachu, since he doesn't want to evolve."

"It's because I think I can be the best and strong even if I'm not Raichu," Pikachu stated.

"What about you Vulpix?" Brock asked with a smile. "Don't you want to evolve into a Ninetales in the future?"

"Perhaps," Vulpix said. "Depending if you find a Fire Stone, that is."

"You know, you all have a point," May said. She then looked at her watch again, seeing it was now ten. "We better get going," she then said. "The liners fill up quickly and like to leave right on the dot."

An hour later, the three of them and their Pokemon found themselves on the liner heading towards Mt. Pyre. "Thank you for choosing Rising Sun Liners," a voice on the intercom said. "We shall be reaching Mt. Pyre in ETA forty-five minutes."

"So what do people do when they reach the mountain?" Ash asked.

"Well, most people to either attempt climbing it or go exploring inside of it," May replied. "But unlike them, we're going underground."

"Underground!?" both Ash and Brock said.

"Well yeah," May said, a confused look on her face. "Groudon is seen as a deity of the Earth, and is said be responsible for the earthquakes we may have, which actually have been more constant than usual."

"And let me guess, Kyogre is the deity of the oceans?" Brock said.

"Yeah," May said. She put a finger to her chin in thought. "I remember Professor Birch telling me years ago how centuries ago Groudon and Kyogre fought for dominance of the Earth. For years, the Earth shifted from having mostly land to mostly water, and vice versa."

"But what happened then?" Pikachu asked.

"Eventually the fighting stopped," May continued. "Most likely due to Rayquaza's intervention. Since Rayquaza most of the time lives up in space, it had to take a lot to get his attention."

"Wow, a Pokemon that loves in space," Piplup said, amazed by the thought. "I wonder how he survives without oxygen…"

"So once we get down there and find Groudon, how are we going to be able to stop him?" Ash asked.

"I don't know, I thought you two would have a plan," May said. "I mean, you were able to defeat Lugia before, so I'm sure you could come up with a similar plan."

Ash and Brock looked at each other, both sweatdropping. "Well…" Ash said. "The thing is…"

"The only strategy we had was to use Lugia's weaknesses against him," Brock said. "Despite that, we couldn't easily say that we would've been able to beat him easily."

"I see," May said. "Hmm… I guess we'll just have to hope for now that this strategy works again."

Soon, they finally reached the mountain, which appeared to be bigger than they had previously thought. "Okay, there's the entrance," Brock said, pointing to a large entryway.

"Um, when we go down there is there going to be like lava and stuff?" Ash asked. If so, it was going to be really hot down there.

"I don't think so," May said, thinking about it. "But it might still be hot though."

"Damn it," Ash thought.

"Well," Piplup said proudly, his eyes closed. "It's a good thing you have me. I can easily keep the temperature down."

"That's a great idea!" Ash said. "Good thinking Piplup!"

"You sure it'll work?" Pikachu said. "Won't the water evaporate?"

"Oh no no," Piplup said confidently. "It won't, since my body temperature is much, much colder than any human or Pokemon. (A/N: He's a penguin for crying out loud.) It'll be like rain in the summer time."

"Let's just hope at least we'll make it through the heat," Brock said as they entered the mountain.

(A/N: Alright, we finally have ourselves a song here. The name of this song is "Pokémon Ruby and Sapphire Complete Symphonic Score - Mt. Pyre" by "GRonnoc.")

*Upon entering, it became rather dark but luckily Brock had a flashlight with him. Immediately, they saw many graves of Pokemon that had passed on. "Wow, I've never seen so many graves before," Ash said.

"Yes, this area is dedicated to all of those who have moved on," May said. "Let's be careful not to disturb them."

Conveniently for them, they came across a stairway that went downwards. "I wonder how far this will take us down?" Brock said as they went downwards.

"As long as we keep going down, we'll hopefully get close to where Groudon lurks," May replied. As it turned out, the staircase was a rather long one, and it kept going deeper and deeper. But on the Brightside, the cave was starting to get lighter and brighter.

"I wonder why it's getting brighter?" Piplup asked, as they finally reached flat, solid ground.

"It is because right underneath us, lava is flowing," Blaziken said. "We are at the very base of the mountain."

"Which means Groudon must be nearby," Ash said. As they continued on, it was starting to get warmer and warmer.

"Well, it's starting to get warmer now," Pikachu said.

"Well then, I'll just try out my little trick using BubbleBeam," Piplup said. As he we was about to shoot, Pikachu quickly realized how bad an idea it was and lunged at him.

However, he wasn't quick enough as at least one bubble left Piplup before he got tackled to the ground. It hit the wall, but luckily nothing happened. "Don't. Do that. Again," Pikachu said sternly to Piplup.

Piplup sweatdropped and smiled while rubbing the back of his head. "Hehe, my mistake."

However, their actions apparently didn't go unnoticed. "Hey! Who's there!?" a deep voice then said.

"Who was that?" May then said.

There then came the rumbling of footsteps and before them came a Rhyperior flanked by two Rhydon. "Humans?" the Rhyperior then said. "What are you doing here? You have no right to be here."

"We're here to see and help Groudon," Ash said, stepping forward.

"Lord Groudon does not wish to be disturbed," Rhyperior said. "Nor would he want to see meddling humans such as yourselves. I would turn back if I were you."

"We can't do that," Ash said.

"Please, we're here to help Groudon," May said. "We know something happened to him."

"You know nothing!" Rhyperior said angrily. "This is none of your concern. I will not repeat myself again…"

"We aren't leaving until we help save Groudon!" Ash said angrily as well. "We can save him."

(A/N: Okay, this will be the last song of the chapter. The name of this song is "Wild Pokemon Battle" from the same person as above.)

*"Fine, if you're going to be so persistent, you leave us no choice," Rhyperior said. "Let 'em have it boys!" They then attacked with Rhyperior using Rock Wrecker and both Rhydon using Stone Edge.

"Eat this!" Piplup said, using BubbleBeam, which neutralized the attacks.

"You ready Pikachu?" Ash asked.

"Hold on Ash."

"Huh?" Ash said. He then looked to May and saw she had a smile on her face.

"Blaziken will take care of these three!" May said confidently. "Let them have it!"

Blaziken then launched forward. "Mega Kick!" he yelled, kicking both of the Rhydon to the ground and against the wall easily. He then charged forward towards Rhyperior. "Sky Uppercut!" He then went under and punched Rhyperior straight in the face, knocking him upwards. And then finally, "Blaze Kick!" He then sent Rhyperior flying backwards and crashed into the ground.

"Wow," everyone but May said.

"Good thing he's on our side," Ash said.

Blaziken then walked up towards the fallen Pokemon. "Wait, what do you want from us!?" Rhyperior said, almost begging.

"We just want to help you," May said. "We know something happened to Groudon and we need to set him right."

"I suppose… you're right," Rhyperior said as he and his henchmen got up. "It didn't happen too long ago. A human like yourselves came down here to see Groudon. There was something about him we didn't like, but it was too late at the time. We don't know what happened, but the man left as if nothing, and it was then when Lord Groudon started acting strange."

"There have been more earthquakes than usual," one of the Rhydon said. "It seemed like Groudon was in some sort of rage."

"He's probably suffering," Brock said.

"Maybe so," Rhyperior said. "You won't be able to get to him without fighting him. If you really believe you can beat him, be my guest. Otherwise, I see you all walking to your deaths."

"Can you lead us to him?" Pikachu asked.

"Yes, right this way," Rhyperior said, and they turned around. Looking at one another, Ash, May, and Brock followed them quickly.

(A/N: Wow, I finally got this done! I apologize for the long wait. I have been so busy lately and it's been hard to write. But, it's done finally. Anyway, hope you enjoyed the chapter and remember, don't be a fool, wrap your tool!)

FoxMcCloud7921