Disclaimer: I don't own pokemon

(RE)EDITED

Rain started to fall as Growlie looked for Espeon. At first it was a drizzle, but it was getting harder by the second.

"Growlie!" shouted Espeon happily as the puppy barreled around the corner.

Umbreon, who had been alarmed when he saw a pokemon coming straight at them, relaxed as Espeon greeted him.

"Who's he?" asked Umbreon.

"Umbreon, meet Growlie. He's my friend," said Espeon introducing Growlie.

"Hi!" barked Growlie happily.

"Hi," said Umbreon warily.

"Come on," said Espeon, starting to run in there escape again, "Where were you Growlie? Do you know the way out?"

"Growlie was with Maddy and Danny," the puppy reported dutifully.

"Can you take me to them?" she asked, then turned to Umbreon, "Are you coming?"

Okay… He refers to himself in third person, Umbreon thought absently. At the sound of Espeon's voice Umbreon shook himself out of his own world.

"Of course!" he said.

The three reached where Maddy, Danny, and Silver had previously been. Growlie sniffed around the area, trying to follow the other's scent so they could catch up. Espeon looked uneasily at the vast expanse of water surrounding Agate.

"What's wrong?" asked Umbreon.

"Are we... going to have to swim that?" she asked uneasily.

"No. Why? You don't like water?" he asked casually.

"Not really, but I just wouldn't prefer to swim all of that way…" Espeon explained.

"Believe me, if we had to swim all of that way just to get here, then we wouldn't come as often," said Umbreon, getting kind of bored. He heard shouts from what seemed like not that far of a distance.

"Any progress with the search, Growlie?" he asked a little impatiently. Growlie made his answer very clear.

"Stupid rain," he said, sitting down.

"Time to go," said Umbreon.

"But what about our friends?" asked Espeon, in a worried voice.

"No one would do any good to them in a cage like the one you were in. Come on, I know the way out. We'll come back for your friends, I promise." Espeon still looked unsure.

"Okay," she said quietly. Umbreon gave her a sympathetic look.

"Come on," he said.

Espeon and Growlie followed Umbreon across a steel bridge, and as they crossed, Espeon noticed what looked like the remains of a previous wooden bridge. She wondered how old this place was. Umbreon led them down a steep hill and they entered yet another cave, although it was a lot tougher to get into this one than the other. Years of boulders, brambles, and vines must have blocked the entrance. Near the entrance, Umbreon led them down a further tunnel. Espeon stared down the cave path that led onward.

"What's down here?" she asked in wonder. Umbreon stuck his head out of the hole in the ground he had jumped into. He smiled a little.

"A beautiful place. I could show you another time. I'm sure you'd like it," he said.

"Can Growlie come to?" the little pup asked excitedly.

"Um… I guess." Said Umbreon, obviously not really meaning it. He was kind of bad at saying no to those around Growlie's age.

Espeon tore her gaze from the path and followed Umbreon down the hatch. Once everyone was down, Umbreon went over to the dirt- covered door to the place. It was tilted and leaned against the wall, so he squeezed under it and pushed upward. With some help from Espeon, he was able to lift the trap door, and a metallic click signified that the door was securely in place. Espeon was a little worried.

"Are you sure my friends will be able to find this place?" she asked.

"Don't worry," said Umbreon, "They might have found Silver, my partner, and if they didn't, then we'll come back and tell them where it is."

"How are we supposed to see down here?" asked Espeon.

"Just a second…" Umbreon felt along the floor, "I know they're here somewhere… Ahah!" A beam of light lit up the room. Umbreon held something awkwardly in his mouth for a few seconds, right before dropping it.

"Darn it!" he cried, leaning down to pick it up again. It was no use. The flashlight wouldn't fit securely in his mouth.

"Why don't you try holding it side ways, instead of having it poke straight down your throat?" suggested Espeon. Umbreon tried this method, and it worked somewhat better. He did have to walk at a strange angle so the beam shot forward.

"Thanks," was what he tried to say, but he paused in the middle when the flashlight fell out of his mouth again. Espeon laughed slightly.

"Does Silver usually carry the flashlight?" she asked.

"Yeah. It must be easier with thumbs," said Umbreon.

"So, he's human?" commented Espeon.

"Silver? Yeah. We've been friends for who knows how long," Umbreon informed her.

Umbreon picked up his flashlight again, the beam waving every which way. Espeon looked down the tunnel beyond them. That was what it was. A simple dirt covered tunnel. A particularly tall human might have to crouch down, but other than that, it seemed a comfortable size.

"Of course!" shouted Espeon, startling Umbreon into almost dropping their light source again. This time, he wisely stayed quiet. Espeon understood and went on.

"I didn't see how this place could withstand so much water pressure, but there's a layer of steel above the dirt," she said.

"They were here!" barked Growlie in an excited tone with a wagging tail as he lifted his nose off of the ground. He gave out a happy bark and leaped down the path.

"Come on!" Espeon shouted to Umbreon, who still hadn't moved. Umbreon started to follow.

Weird, he thought, she notices something in five minutes, and I haven't even bothered to think about that the five million times I've been down here. It didn't really bother him, though. After all, he had never really gotten to know anyone besides Silver and a few others. Maybe this would be interesting.

"It's a… desert," said Danny, coming out of the tunnel and into the sunshine. It obviously wasn't raining out here.

"Yup, it's a desert," said Silver, emerging by his side.

"Okay," said Maddy slowly, scanning the horizon. Silver looked at the dumbfounded expressions on their faces.

"Maybe we should get moving now?" he suggested.

"Right," said Maddy.

"So, you live in the middle of the desert?" asked Danny.

"Not exactly," answered Silver.

"What do you mean "not exactly"? And why are you showing us when you've just met us?" Danny asked curiously.

"Bad idea, Danny," said Maddy, "You're not supposed to openly tell him."

Silver gave them a sly smile.

"Because," he said, answering Danny, "You wont be able to find your way back without me."

"He makes a good point," said Maddy.

"So, you've memorized your way from here to your home?" Danny, of course.

"Yup," said Silver, "Are you coming?"

"What about Espeon and Growlie?" asked Maddy, in a scolding tone.

"Umbreon will lead them here," said Silver.

"Who's Umbreon?" asked Danny.

"My partner," said Silver in absolute certainty, "The only reason he wouldn't be here now is because he got held up with your friends." He started walking through the sand. Danny and Maddy rushed to keep up.

"You're sure?" asked Maddy.

"Positive," replied Silver confidently.

"So exactly how can you live in the middle of a scorching hot desert?" asked Danny.

"I told you," Silver answered, "We don't exactly live in the middle of the desert."

"Then where…" Maddy stopped and stared. To their left, in what looked like a small city squeezed in a short canyon. A long abandoned city. The buildings were barely standing. They looked like they could fall over if you breathed on them. Unlike the previous city, there wasn't a single piece of greenery. It was all paved, and the buildings were steel and rusted.

"You live here?" asked Maddy, not taking her eyes off of it.

"Are you two coming?" Silver's voice came from a distance. He was standing a ways away, waiting for them to catch up. Maddy and Danny quickly ran to catch up.

"We're here," said Silver. They had arrived at a small paved path in the middle of the desert. There were red steel bars and fence on either side of them, and at the end there was what looked like the entrance to a tunnel of some sort. It ran in to the edge of a cliff. Danny looked down the whole.

"You live down there?" he asked.

"It's bigger than it looks," Silver said, clapping Danny's shoulder, "Come on." He turned around and put his feet over the edge.

"Wait," said Maddy, "We're climbing down there?"

"There used to be an elevator, but it broke years ago," Silver shrugged, "Besides, this isn't that hard. It's pretty shallow, the worst a fall could give you is a broken arm."

"Yeah, that's pretty safe," said Maddy sarcastically.

"Fine then, I'll go down first," he said. He started climbing downward, and a few minutes later he shouted up, "See? It's not so hard!" He voice wasn't echoing, but he obviously wasn't that far away.

"Do you want me to go next?" asked Danny.

"Nope," said Maddy, starting downward, with Danny close behind.

Although it wasn't that long, the trip was extremely dark. It wasn't that hard to find handholds, though. Silver had gone up and down here a lot.

When they reached the bottom, Silver greeted them by saying,

"Now was that so hard?"

Maddy rolled her eyes, the question directed at her.

"So, what is this place?" Danny asked. The room looked like a lobby. The floor was tile and the walls and ceiling were painted green, though the paint was chipped. There were chairs and a table a little ways away. Behind those were what could have been stairs, but they were now rusted and were defiantly not safe to walk on.

"This place looks really old," said Danny, "But the lights still work…"

"I snatched some light bulbs from Team Snagem. They've got thousands," replied Silver, "It did take me a while to get them hooked up to the electric system in here. It's pretty old, even by Orre standards."

To Maddy's surprise, Danny didn't ask about what Orre was, so she decided to ask for him, but before she could say anything, Silver continued.

"You guys want to see something really amazing?" he asked eagerly. Without waiting for an answer, he headed to the building's door. They were greeted by darkness, but then the place was flooded with light. Maddy and Danny couldn't help it, they gasped.

"A city?" asked Danny.

"Welcome to the Under," said Silver. Before them was a steep drop, and beyond that was a city. The whole place was floored with concrete. And there were buildings everywhere lit up with neon lights. You could easily see why the place was called the Under, the entire place was underground. The building they had previously been in was behind them, and it was bigger than it had looked. Silver seemed to be enjoying their shocked expressions.

"This place is amazing. I'll give you the grand tour," he started walking, waiting for them to follow. Danny grasped Maddy's arm and held her back.

"This is it," he said.

"What?" asked Maddy.

"This place, it was marked with a star on the map, see?" he held it up to show her.

"You still have that thing? I thought Snagem took it away from you," she then stopped. She wondered if the ragged Team Snagem had even bothered to search her friend.

"I kept it in my sock," said Danny, "But don't you see? The Under, in the Orre region, is marked with one of the stars. This place must be important."

"You still haven't gotten over that?" Maddy groaned.

"Nope, and I won't. Not until I get some answers," Danny said, a determined glint in his eye.