No suggested music for this chapter, but I listened to the HGSS Battle Frontier Brain Music the whole time, and it is seriously catchy.

HGSS: Sinnoh Saga

Season 1

Chapter X: Having a Gruff Mine

Smoke billowed from a large, about four story high, opening that descended diagonally into the ground. Construction workers were hacking and gagging as they fled from the scene, away from the smoke and danger. Some collapsed around the area, and some helped others out.

"What happened here?" Roark exclaimed as the group arrived at the scene. Rubble was flying from the smoke, as miniature explosions were causing a ruckus. "Too dangerous to get too close...What's happening in there?"

Ethan gritted his teeth. "Whatever it is..." Ethan barreled forward, into the smoke without a warning.

"Ethan! No!" Roark shouted after him, darting into the smoke as well. Dawn and Cody were left to watch in agony.

"What in the world? Gah..." Dawn choked. As she turned her head, she saw a figure looming through the rocks and machinery. "Huh?"

As the figure started to escape, Dawn slid in front of it. "Who are you?" She asked, bewildered.

A man stood straight, carrying a bag on his shoulder. "Um...My name is...Uh...I'm..." Dawn took a closer look at his face, wincing and peeking. Suddenly, she realized something and jumped back.

"You're that goon that tried to steal the Pokemon back at Rowan's Lab! You...Turtwig!" Dawn tossed her ball into the air and released the little green creature. "Used Razor Leaf!"

"Gah!" Khoury rolled away from the sharp leaves, however, he dropped his bag in the move. "Oh no..." Skittering across the ground for the bag, Turtwig zipped across the top of the bag, grabbed the handle in its mouth and dashed towards Cody.

Cody caught Turtwig in his line of sight, and in a flash, took the bag out of his hand and took off towards the smoke. Dawn smirked as Turtwig curved back around to the opposite side of Khoury. Khoury laughed.

"Too bad..." He pressed a button on the back of his glove, and suddenly, the bag Cody held released cable and bound him tightly, causing him to fall to the ground and whimper.

Dawn's eyes bulge. Suddenly, out of the blue, something thuds against her head and she falls forward, unconscious.

In the Oreburgh Mine, Roark and Ethan stand, glaring at a man who stood in front of them. He was in the same uniform the man that Dawn had encountered before had donned, except with minor alterations in the outfit and blue hair that inclined on either end. In the man's right hand, he gripped a briefcase.

"I guess you can already guys what this little baby has in it. Yup, fossils!" He laughed. "And we're taking them away from here for Team Galactic's own experiments...So if you'll kindly..." As he took a step forward, Roark called out his Cranidos, who breathed fire into the ceiling, causing rocks to break apart and plummet to the ground between Ethan and Roark. "I see you aren't going to be nice..." The man drew a ball and tossed it, releasing a small purple toad looking creature. "Croagunk, take care of that, Brick Break!"

The frog darted forward with agile movements. It jabbed at Cranidos, and caused a critical hit and tossed Cranidos backwards, skidding across the ground.

"Cranidos!" Roark yelped in distaste.

"Starly, knock 'em out with Aerial Ace!" Ethan tossed his ball into the air and released his bird. Flocking into the air, it darted back down with quick speed and rammed into Croagunk, tossing it across the man's bod, which caught him off balance, resulting in his literal downfall. Starly went flapping back onto Ethan's arm, where it perched itself.

"Heh..." The man on the ground picked himself back up and recalled his toad. "All right then..." The man tossed the briefcase towards Roark and Ethan. It crashed to the ground and brown and gray fossils spilled out of it. Roark stepped forward easily and cautiously, then bent down and picked up the twelve fossils. "Those are all the ones I found in a haste. Oh, by the way..." he pulled out a small orb from his pocket, "my name is Saturn, and I'm a Commander from Team Galactic. Remember me..." The orb dropped to the floor and a cloud of smoke shrouded him, Roark and Ethan. In a moment, he had escaped and there was no evidence of him, besides a barricaded tunnel.

"This is horrible...but at least we got the fossils back. I suppose I can take these to the Museum, while we clean this tunnel up..." Roark mumbled to himself. Ethan recalled his Starly, and turned to leave the tunnel.

Outside, he noticed Cody.

"Cody! What the..." Ethan knelt down and started to untie Cody. He glanced up and saw Dawn laying on the ground, Turtwig biting on her hat. "GAH!"

A few minutes Later, Ethan was sitting with Dawn, Roark and Cody on a rock wall, watching as some construction workers started getting machinery back to working order. Smoke was just clearing from the area, as all the commotion died down, and started again with lively fossil mining.

"Dawn, I'm sorry but we need to postpone our challenge for awhile. For one, you need another Pokemon, and two, I need to help everyone get the Oreburgh Mine back in running condition. Sorry," Roark explained.

Dawn nodded. "I understand...Ethan, I'll just stay in Oreburgh until my team gets trained and we add another member. I'll catch up wherever you and Jim are...Eh, speaking of the ditcher, where is he?"

Ethan glanced around. "That's right! Where is Jim? He said he was here, but he wasn't anywhere around this whole..." As Ethan was about to finish, the aforementioned boy appeared in front of them, sipping a drink and staring nonchalantly at the mine.

"Hey all! What'd I miss?"

For a moment, there was no chatter, then Dawn sprang up from her seat and started chasing Jim.

"You nincompoop! First you ditch the battle that I was going to have, then you aren't here when an ambush is going on, and you have the nerve to show up now!" Dawn shrieked as she tackled him and started hitting him on the head.

"I'm...sor...ry!" Jim said through punches to the hat.

"This is how it's going to be the entire journey...Oi..." Ethan mumbled to himself.

Cody stood up and glanced at Roark. "What did you want to show me, by the way, big bro?"

Roark snapped his fingers. "Oh yes..." Roark darted away from the group, and behind some boulders. After a minute or two, he came back out. "This is a fossil we brought back to life, and I wanted to let it go so you could try and catch it!" Roark showed his hands and a small, shelled Pokemon with piercing red eyes and sharp feet sat in them. It had a cheery aura, and Roark let it go to the ground. He tossed Cody a Pokeball.

Cody stepped back. "Intense..." He expanded the Pokeball and lobbed it at the timid Pokemon. "Go!" The Pokeball clanked on it, and withdrew it in a large red light. The ball clattered to the ground and it shook three times, finally closing and sparkling. "Whoa...I caught a Pokemon!" Cody stepped forward and released it. The Pokemon, who Roark revealed to be a Kabuto, sat on his head. Cody scratched it and smiled.

Ethan grinned. "At least you caught it on your own..." Ethan said, checking his Poketch. "Hey, Dawn, if you're done, Jim and I need to hit the road..."

Dawn stood up and wiped herself off. "Yup. He's all set...with three bruises and multiple lacerations to boot!" Dawn smirked and held out two fingers.

Ethan grunted and helped Jim up. "Thanks..." Ethan said to Dawn.

Jim held his head and started weeping. "Ow...Dawn! Did you at least win the Gym Battle?"

"Nope. Didn't have enough Pokemon. Brandon duped me..." She replied disappointingly.

"Not hard to..." He recoiled as Dawn growled. "Sorry..."

"She's not coming with us, because she wants to train and battle Roark some other time. She'll catch up when she's finished here...But you and I-" Ethan was cut off.

"May I come with you guys! I've always wanted to travel and become a trainer...and a breeder, to tell the truth!" Cody said cheerily.

Ethan exchanged glances with Jim.

Jim shrugged. "I don't know the kid, but if he wants to come, I'm fine with it..."

Ethan nodded and held up a thumb. "Sure thing, Cody..."

Cody peered back at Roark, who nodded in agreement.

Cody cheered and Kabuto jumped off his head and into his arms.

"Yes! Looks I'll become a...Pokemon Trainer!"