Chapter 11:
Mining for Trouble
The city of Oreburgh woke that gloomy morning to a vicious downpour. It seemed that the sky had been torn open, and all the water in the world had decided to relocate itself to the mining city. Most of the locals decided to stay home, save for the unlucky ones who had to reach their workplaces on foot, and all the Pokémon had all but vanished from the streets. Scattered groups of miners, grumbling in their drenched raincoats, could had been seen around the city as they tried to repair stuck the canal-locks that guarded their precious mine shafts.
If one cared to pay attention while trying to stay at least somewhat dry while walking the moody streets of Oreburgh, he would have noticed the group of kids running from cover to cover. The blonde girl was obviously irritated and tried to protect herself with her yellow umbrella as much as she could. The older boy, one in his early teens, just tried to keep up with his male companion while happily splashing in every puddle along the way. His rainbow-colored raincoat just served to strengthen the air of childishness around him. The younger boy however, didn't even bother to use the drenched blue umbrella in his hand. The bespectacled trainer just sprinted as fast as he could and allowed himself to stop only after entering one of the city's landmarks- the Oreburgh Gym.
"Kale, you better win it! I don't want all the running in this downpour to have been for nothing!" commented Viviane as soon as she entered the gym. Jed had fallen behind a little to 'smell the rainy roses' as he had put it.
"Don't worry, Viv, I'm gonna earn that badge in no time!" Kale gave his friend a thumbs-up and flashed a smile while trying to get the wet hair out of his eyes.
"That's the spirit! But I'm afraid you ain't gonna win with just optimism and guts," announced a cheery voice from somewhere behind Kale. A young man in a miner's outfit had just come out of the door on the far end of the corridor. "Although you'll have to wait a little. Just got another challenger a few minutes ago."
The bespectacled boy didn't even need to put on the glasses he was currently wiping from all the rain to recognize the clatter of chains. Behind the gym leader had appeared another boy their age- a redhead dressed in mostly black in red and with a thin chain attached to his jeans.
"Nigel, where did you disappear to last night? You just left us at the Center and hightailed it as fast as you could," his rival questioned with a raised eyebrow.
"I went home. No sense in staying at the Center."
"You live here in Oreburgh?" Viviane asked with slight surprise in her voice.
"Well, duh, that's what I said, genius," the boy stated flatly.
"You got Werepsyduck 'round he…" Jed's question was cut off by the gym leader who waved his hands in front of him with an amused expression on his face.
"Now, now, kids, let's not argue," the adult redhead suggested while scratching what part of his head was accessible under the helmet. "Ah, developing rivalries, even after a thousand times it never gets old!"
Kale and Nigel opened their mouths simultaneously but their attempt at disagreeing was swiftly canceled. The chief miner flexed his fingers and announced cheerfully while positioning his helmet:
"My name's Roark, if you don't know it yet, and this is a Rock type gym. All battles are three-on-three. You're allowed to switch Pokémon during the course of the battle, I'm not. The winner is whoever manages to knock out all of their opponent's Pokémon first. Win and you get the Coal Badge- one of the eight needed for participation in the Sinnoh League. Nigel was the first one here so he gets to battle me first. I'll need an hour or two after that to treat my Pokémon. Any questions?"
Kale noticed the look Roark was giving them and after realizing they hadn't introduced themselves and doing it, the trainer shrugged and mentioned:
"Might as well leave it for tomorrow."
Viviane seemed ready to strangle him for making her go to the gym in the downpour for nothing. Jed was busy with counting the floor tiles and even Roark, despite giving strange looks to the boy inspecting his gym's floor thoroughly, looked surprised that a begging trainer would put off a gym battle just like that. Nigel however, for Kale's great displeasure, voiced his opinion.
"You don't have three Pokémon yet, don't you? He just wiped your smile off when he mentioned the three-on-three rule. You've got only two so far, one a Fire type and one- Flying type. And you're planning on challenging a Rock type gym? Pathetic," the redhead finished with a smirk.
Kale's fuse, naturally, went off immediately but Roark defused the situation with the experience acquired in numerous situations like that.
"No need to fight, boys. Relax, Kale, not everyone has three Pokémon when they reach Oreburgh. And types aren't the most important think either. I suggest you go search for a third addition to your team in the mine. There are some Fighting types going there occasionally so they could hone their skills. They would be good for facing me. Or you can check out the outskirts and see whether there are Water types wandering around in the rain," Roark finished with a shrug.
Viviane's bright blue eyes pierced Kale with a meaningful look and the trainer had no choice but to oblige.
"It's better to look somewhere indoors, I guess. We'll check out the mine," the bespectacled boy sighed in defeat.
"But we're taking a taxi this time," the yellow-and-black clad girl announced as she exited through the sliding doors and opened her umbrella. Jed groaned in frustration that his chance of splashing around had been denied.
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"So that's the famous Oreburgh Mine, huh? Look's like any other mine to me," Viviane announced after hastily going in to hide from the never-ending rain. Kale quickly followed, afraid that Jed would decide to include him in the mudsling war the teen had just declared to the certainly not amused Chatot.
Despite what his female companion had said, the mine looked pretty advanced to Kale. The boy was pretty sure ordinary mines didn't have conveyor belts distributing coals to different parts of Oreburgh. Nor did they have a complex system of shafts and tunnels spanning the whole city so they could let in fresh air and let out the dangerous poison gases.
As the trio ventured forward, more and more miners crossed their way. Most of them didn't do more than glance at the kids- Roark had declared the mine a free place to train for the locals so a couple of young trainers wasn't something new to be seen around. The only thing that amazed them was that the kids had come the day the sky was spilling every spare drop of rain it had. None of the locals that frequented the mine had arrived to train that day.
"Okay, guys," Kale gestured to his friends to stop and announced his plan "we don't know how deep we'll have to go so we'll stay together. We're looking for rare and strong Pokémon, preferably with advantage over Rock types. Jed, you lead the way 'cause you're a weirdness magnet and the probability to encounter a super-rare Pokémon raises with around 200% when you're leading the charade."
Jed took his mission to heart. He's enormous green backpack was immediately opened and a miner's helmet with a flower design was soon pulled out of it. The helmet was followed by a hooded bright blue cape and a long rope which Jed slung on his shoulder. To all that crazy stuff, Viviane had gotten somewhat used to- but the war paint he applied to his face was too much to bear.
"Sure, let him lead and we'll end up lost, fall through a hole on the floor and then be sacrificed to a forgotten deity by a tribe of Werepsyduck!" the blonde paused in horror when she realized what she had said "SEE?! HE HAS OFFICIALY DRIVEN ME CRAZY!"
The echo soon traveled over the whole cave system and many miners scratched their heads in confusion what unfortunate soul had dared anger such apparently feisty female. One of those who didn't ask himself that was an old chubby man, busy digging a hole just around the tunnel's corner. Poking his balding head to see what was going on, he smiled upon seeing the kids and greeted:
"Well, good day, young ones. Are you maybe here to look for rare artifacts like me?"
"Uhm, no sir," Viviane answered, somewhat embarrassed for her previous outburst. "We're here to look for a Pokémon for my friend's team."
"Ah, but of course!" chimed the old man with a soothing voice "How silly of me not to realize you are a traveling trainer here to challenge to local gym. Well, I don't know about any rare Pokémon that may be of use to you. But beside what I know of the usual cave-dwelling ones, I haven't got much knowledge on the subject of the local fauna. I'm only here with my trusty friend Sandslash to look for historically valuable relics."
When it heard its name mentioned, the Ground type poked its head around the corner and waved before returning to his digging with vigor. Kale was quick to approach it and scan the bulky rodent with his blue Pokédex.
Sandslash, the Mouse Pokémon. The evolved form of Sandshrew. When it runs at full speed, it sends up a thick cloud of sand in order to hide itself.
"You flatter me by being interested in my partner," heartily laughed the archeologist while stroking his wild mustache. "Do you know that clues and legends point out this cave here as a place where an artifact related to a Legendary Pokémon is hidden?"
"I doubt it," Vivi retorted "It's just all that. Clues and old tales. We don't even know if Legendaries exist. They're probably only fairytales that make people waste their life looking for them in vain," she finished with a strange undertone of anger and disgust in her voice.
"But… but I think I've seen one. Back at Lake Verity. I did pass out immediately after that but I'm sure I saw something!" Kale insisted as if in fear that Viviane would laugh at him. The well-mannered old man came to his help.
"But legends say there is a Legendary Pokémon sleeping at the bottom of Lake Verity! Mesprit, one of the Lake Trio, as we archeologists, refer to them. The Pokémon that was said to have created emotions and the one that rules over them. Rumor has it those three are able to project their souls and partially interact with the living world around their habitats. And if you've never heard of it before, that means you can't have imagined it, son! You have seen Mesprit!"
It took some time for the young trainer to process the information. Jed patted him on the back before returning to investigating their own footprints and pondering whether they had been left by a heard of Werepsyduck. Viviane threw a rather skeptical look at the boy and the old man, who was laughing with whole heart at the news that someone had actually required evidence of a Legendary's existence.
"You should be glad, son. It is considered that trainers who see a Legendary at some point in their career are bound to succeed in their quest. I sincerely hope you do."
"But why appear before me?" pondered the black-haired boy while scratching his chin.
"Well, I already told you Mesprit is the being of Emotions. It may appear before people who share those traits. It is closely associated with the elements of passion…"
"Like fire?" the boy suddenly asked.
"Like fire."
Kale unconsciously touched the smooth surface of the sphere attached to his belt and asked himself whether it was just a coincidence that he had picked up the Chimchar not that long ago. The one that he had clicked with from the get-go. Would things have been different now if he's hand had grabbed another poke…
"Enough contemplating our navels! We're here to search for a Pokémon, remember?" Viviane reminded harshly with hands on her hips. Soon the trio left the kind old man and his Sandslash to their digging and picked a tunnel at random.
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"Is this even supposed to be here?" Jed amusedly asked while poking the yellow stem of the creature they had encountered.
Said Pokémon was currently hanging upside-down from the ceiling, its numerous vines wrapped around the beams placed to keep the tunnel from collapsing. The flytrap-like Pokemon's teeth-filled mouth was widely opened- nearly to 180 degrees- and it was blocking the whole tunnel.
Carnivine, the Bug Catcher Pokémon. Carnivine latches onto tress in marshes and lures its prey with its sweet-smelling saliva.
"This is no marsh!" Viviane said in frustration after hearing her yellow Pokédex's entry "It's not even supposed to be hanging here! And does it expect someone to be stupid enough to walk right into its open mouth?!"
"Oooh, I wonder what'll happen if I do that?" Jed wondered with wide eyes and placed his hand in the Carnivine's mouth. Of course, after an audible crunch, his hand was elbow-deep into the Grass type's mouth. Viviane facepalmed herself and Kale quickly tried to pry off his friend's appendage from the carnivore's jaws. The mission, after a lot of pulling and both of them ending up in a heap on the floor, was a success. During the whole process the Carnivine just stared at them passionlessly like nothing was happening.
"It must've wondered in and lost its way," Kale shrugged after getting back on his feet" Let's go back and try another tunn…" just as he had walked past the blonde, Viviane turned around and sucker-punched him with all the strength she could muster.
"HOW DARE YOU, YOU PERVERT!"
"Viviane, what on Earth…" Kale protested while adjusting his glasses but was cut off once again.
"You groped my butt!" the girl accused while furiously pointing at him. Kale groaned at hearing another stupid accusation and was about to retort when he spotted it.
"Uhm, Viv, you might want to…"
"Don't you dare ogle me!" she screamed upon realizing he was pointing at her thighs. The blonde tried to lengthen somewhat her yellow spiky miniskirt- only to realize there was something wrapped around her thigh. She hadn't noticed before because she was infuriated after sensing something touching her bottom- she had thought it had been Kale but…
"Viv, seriously, if you value your pigtails, don't move," Jed advised with his usual cheery smile which the girl found so inappropriate for the current situation. The Carnivine had slithered its vines around the beams without them noticing- and they had crawled across the floor from behind them and had ensnared Viviane.
Kale had just taken hold of Blace's poke ball and Jed had just pulled out a retractable shovel out of from his backpack, when the Bug Catcher Pokémon made its move. The Vine Whips pulled the girl towards it and the blonde shrieked in fear. The coordinator expected large fangs to pierce her flesh but suddenly, she found herself on the ground. The Carnivine had pried off her backpack and was currently rummaging through it. After finding some candy bars and a few cans of Pokémon food, it threw back the bag, swallowed them whole and returned to its passionless stance of hanging upside-down with wide-open mouth.
"Well, that was some luck," Kale sighed in relief and noticed another Vine Whip creeping behind his back. "Okay, okay, take some and go," the boy sighed again, this time in annoyance, and tossed some candy bars to the Grass type.
The Carnivine finally broke its statuesque routine and looked quizzically at the spiky-haired boy. After his affirmative nod, the candy bars were swiftly snatched and eaten. And to show its gratitude, the Grass type lunged at Kale and chomped down on his head. After some hysterical shouts on his side and lot of pulling from Jed and even Viviane, the Carnivine waved them a cheerful goodbye and headed down another tunnel.
And just as the trio thought their misadventures for the day had ended, a series of tremors shook the tunnel and as dust and pebbles rained from the ceiling, the thunderous roar of an explosion echoed around.
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"Come on, old coot, hand over the plate! At your age I bet you know what's good for you," the redhead said in her usual irritating girlish tone. Despite the minor setback of the archeologist's Sandslash digging their way out of the blocked tunnel, the operation was a success. Her contact had been right and indeed, her coveted prize and ticket to her Boss' approval was currently in the hands of one fragile old man. He was cornered from all sides. All they had to do is snatch the plate, dispose of him and hightail it out of the mine before those annoying miners came to check what the whole noise was about. Explosions, in a mine of all places, never went unnoticed.
"I don't know who you or your goons are, Miss, but I'm not giving you this artifact. Its place is in the museum for everyone to see and…" the archeologist's passionate speech was cut of by the snapping of Mars' fingers. Her partner, the pudgy white-and-gray feline known as Purugly, lunged forward with bared claws.
Alas, the vicious slash got intercepted by Sandslash, who was curled in a tight, spiky ball. Purugly hissed and retracted her hurt paw- the Ground type had some razor sharp quills. But even they were not a protection enough for the cat-like Normal type's Hyper Beam. The guy was a scientist, not a battler, and so was his Pokémon, noted the Commander. But despite glancing worriedly at his partner, the old man kept on clutching to the glistening rectangular object in his arms. Mars once again eyed the ruby-colored Plate and pictured herself offering it to Cyrus. His nod of approval, his praise, oh, how she longed for them! And what Mars wanted, she was used to getting it.
"Finish him."
The guy was done for, she just knew it. Pokémon knocked out, his old age, circled from every side by a dozen grunts. All factors that spelled 'death' for him and 'victory' for the young woman. If only they could escape without anyone seeing them, this would have been the easiest mission in her career as a Galactic Commander. Purugly reached the man in a single leap and slashed at him…
Only to find her claw once again stopped. This time by the crossed glowing wings of a brown, angered bird. Despite the surprise, the experienced Normal type just kept on pushing and eventually sent the Flying type staggering back. Just as she was about to lunge at this annoying interference, all hell broke loose.
A rotating fireball smashed into Purugly and sent her sliding back for a few meters as her claws dug in the ground and worked as brakes. A small yellow rodent with a sadistic expression of joy and a regal looking feline appeared out of nowhere and started shooting lightning jolts around. The Zubat and Golbat of the Galactics stated falling down like flies. A chubby green Pokémon joined the mayhem and started ramming into the ground support consisting of various Glameow and Stunky. And above everyone's heads, a colorful Flying type jolted around in circles and kept on shouting for help.
Mars couldn't believe her rotten luck. Who could have arrived so quickly? The miners were supposed to be on the other end of the mine, still pondering where the explosion had happened and evacuating the mines! The redhead's eyes frantically looked around to find the one responsible for the possible ruining of her dreams.
"You!"
"You!"
Both speakers were pointing at their opponent in shock. Mars was the first one to find the words needed to describe her fury.
"You, the same brat from Verity, are here to ruin my plans again?! And you've brought friends this time! Are you stalking me or something?!" the hysterical shout, somewhat funny because of her girlish voice, echoed around the cavern. Then, with a malicious smile and malevolence in her eyes, the redhead cooed. "Well then sweetie, it's time to for some well-deserved payback."
Kale didn't even need to see the Purugly lunging at him with claws glowing blue-black, to realize he was in for it. His short time with Viviane had thought him what happened when angry women talked sweetly. Only Jed didn't seem to get that so important live lesson. Otherwise he wouldn't have asked innocently "Is the nice strangely-dressed lady the one attacked? Maybe we should help her."
But even Viviane didn't find it appropriate to smack him up the head at a time like that. After the initial surprise, the Galatics had quickly regrouped. Munchlax was pinned down with great effort, Pikachu and Jolteon were under Confusion and Blace and Staravia were on the defensive against Purugly.
"You and your friend managed to get me by surprise back in Sandgem. But that's not the case now. I hope you've said your prayers, little children, because we've played enough. Purugly, Shadow Claw!"
Mars' speech, spoken with such euphoria that it was unnatural, seemed to give the feline Pokémon the needed motivation. Her claws glowed blue-black once again and the feline lunged with a vicious growl towards Kale's two partners. Upon his command, Staravia blocked with a crossed Steel Wing- an attack it had apparently learned upon evolving. But the Flying type was obviously outmatched. Purugly was far heavier and with more experience- the Normal type steadily pushed back and was about to brake through the made-up barrier. After some quick thinking on the boy's side, Blace was ordered to jump from behind his 'colleague' and strike with Flamewheel. The tactic worked just fine and the grey-and-white feline was pushed back a little. But she just shrugged off the attack and after getting up on her hind legs, came crashing down upon the rotating fireball. The veil of flames scattered with a burst and the Chimchar was pinned to the hard ground.
With a wide Cheshire smile Purugly started gathering the yellowish energy of a Hyper Beam inside her mouth. Blace struggled in vain but his opponent's physique was too much for him to fight against. Kale could see the fear that crept its way inside his starter's eyes and his legs moved by themselves.
The battle kept on raging around him. Roar of thunder filled the air as Jolteon and Pikachu let out Thunderbolt after Thunderbolt in their forced daze and fought as much against themselves as they did against the Galactics. Munchlax's green body was barely visible under piles of Glameow and Stunky as they had long since given up on trying inflicting damage from afar through his incredibly thick skin. Another explosion appeared in Kale's peripheral vision as the boy run past Jed's partner and a Metronome-induced Selfdestruct nearly blew him away along with the grunt's Pokémon and the Normal type himself.
Staravia let out a battle cry and jolted towards Purugly but Agility failed him for the first time. Just as he had flickered out before appearing behind the feline, she had stretched out her wound whip-like tail. The spring-like attack sent him flying back and the Zubat and Golbat sunk their teeth into his weakened body and started to leach the life out of him. The Hyper Beam was ready. The black-haired boy knew he couldn't make it on time…
"Blace!"
He thought the ceiling had finally shattered after all those explosions. Large chunks for rock came crashing down, each one striking Purugly and bouncing off. The feline hissed in pain and the yellow stream of light went off mark, making a deep scar through the walls and ground. Kale heard Mars' girlish voice shouting curses and just couldn't resist glancing at the Commander.
The young woman's eyes, filled with rage and disappointment, were currently piercing through something just above the place where Blace had been pinned down. A small group of men, armed with pickaxes, shovels and hammers, was standing at the end of one the numerous tunnels that opened up in that particular gallery. They were dressed in grey jumpsuits and despite their angered faces, the way their arms trembled and sweat dripped down their faces showed they were afraid. They were miners after all, not a trained police force.
"So you managed to get here on time," the redhead hissed and gestured with her hand to a nearby grunt "But we have a plan for this situation as well," she coyly winked as the grunt threw a poke ball and a bluish hexagonal Pokémon appeared. The red-and-white sphere's usual light had just disappeared when another, at least a hundred times stronger, erupted like a newborn star. The Flash sent waves of light across the whole gallery and even some unprepared grunts were momentarily blinded.
When the light finally subsided and Kale was able to see through the dark patches seemingly permanently burned into his eyes, he saw that the criminals had all regrouped into a tight circle. Of course, Mars was in the center along with Purugly and two male grunts were holding tightly the nearly-unconscious archeologist next to her. The rectangular artifact with the color of the setting sun was now clutched tightly in her trembling hands. Barely able to restrain the euphoria that was washing over her as she triumphantly held her prize, Mars announced in a voice even more high-pitched than usual:
"We have the old coot. If you want him to live to see the day he can dig junk again, then stay back. Only one of you has to go with us and show us the quickest way out. And don't you even think of getting us lost in those tunnels! And… the boy comes with me."
Kale gulped under the Commander's ferocious gaze. The miners were at a loss at what to do, Jed was just trying to keep the unconscious Munchlax on his feet and Viviane was tightly clenching her just-recalled Pokémon's poke balls. The miners' Geodude, the ones Kale had mistaken for actual rocks when they had rammed into Purugly, were nervously rolling around the no-man's land between the groups and waited for some order. With a low but feral growl, the little fire-monkey jumped on Kale's shoulder and from there to the ground and sent a challenging look to the one that wanted to take his trainer away. The bespectacled boy could just stare speechless at the Chimchar's back and his heart skipped a beat at the thought that the Blaze accident would be repeated all over again. The flames that served as his starter's tail hissed and flickered, reflecting their owner's anger. Another figure joined the silent Fire type- Staravia, despite barely able to even keep himself airborne, took part in his friend's last stand. Viviane prepared to call out her partners once again…
And then he saw it. The thin green-brownish vine was slowly slithering around Mars' leg and gradually making its way up. The woman, still shaking in pleasure as she fantasized about giving the Plate to her Boss, didn't notice it at first. But then, in a sick parody of Viviane's initial reaction when she was in the Commander's shoes, the redhead hissed and dug her nails into the face of the male grunt standing behind her.
"You dare touch me?!"
And then it finally hit her. Mars had just taken a cautious look at the leg she realized she wasn't able to move and the vines spread across her body like forest fire. The redhead could only let out a surprised scream as she was yanked off her feet and slammed backwards into a lonely rock. The vines, that everyone could see were coming from somewhere behind it, tightened even more and the one across Mars' throat threatened to strangle the Galactic Commander. Despite being unable to move and nearly out of breath, she desperately shrieked:
"Purugly, cut them off! Quick…"
The loop around her throat shrunk once again and the silhouette which Kale had expected to see from the beginning hopped onto the rock. The Carnivine didn't even bother preparing to face the assaulting Purugly and just let out a series of calls in its own language. The feline Pokémon was just about to finish it all in one last leap when all Hell seemingly broke lose.
What could only be described as a stampede lunged through one of the side tunnels and washed across the whole gallery. The miner's Geodude were joined by numerous members of their evolution family, Onix roared and cut of escape routes with their enormous bodies and an enormous flock of blue-purple bodies engulfed the Galactics and their Pokémon.
"The Pokémon! They've… they've come to help us!" exclaimed in shock one of the miners.
It was obvious the Galactics had failed and the grunts that still had a battle-capable partner had started to give up seeing how outnumbered they were. But to Mars, giving up was not an option. This demonic brat had stripped her off her well-deserved reward once again. Cyrus had punished her for the near-failure back at Lake Verity. Severely. And she knew she was going to be punished in a far more dreadful way this time. But to live another day, to have another chance to win the praise of the one that had showed her the path the Universe should follow, was her primary concern now. With all the strength she could muster, the lithe woman bent her arm as much as she could and her shaking fingers were barely able to reach the button of the miniature red-and-white sphere.
Another blue mirror-like Pokémon appeared in a flash. Seeing the current position of its trainer, Bronzor spun like a top and, as blue light engulfed its rotating form, rammed into the Carnivine. The Grass type wasn't expecting the attack and was sent flying. Its thick vines finally let out of their vicious hold the young Galactic Commander.
Mars fell on her knees and desperately took several deep breaths of air. Her trembling fists clenched and the redhead bared her teeth before slowly getting up. Some of invading cave-dwellers noticed the Commander and headed in her direction but Bronzor and Purugly swiftly circled their trainer and fended off the attackers. But wave after wave was coming and the two Galactic Pokémon knew they were just borrowing time for their trainer to run. And they were okay with it. Bronzor had changed several trainers among the lower-ranked members of the Team and Mars was just another owner to him, a being he was forced to serve least he got punished. Purugly on the other hand, had known the Commander since before she had become 'Mars'. And the once scrawny and filthy Glameow that had been saved from the streets by the kind red-haired girl wasn't putting her life at stake because of duty. It was because of debt. Mars had given her a new life and Purugly had found a new purpose in it- to be forever by the Commander's side. If that day was the day she had to finally repay her debt- then so be it. The feline Pokémon fought with the vigor of a mother defending her child. Her claws had long since started to bleed but she kept on slashing and scratching. One of her legs was probably broken and it felt like needles were lunged into her spine every time she moved. But the fatigue was gradually making her slower, weaker, more and more vulnerable. And dread filled her heart when she thought that some giant rock tail may put an end to her life before her trainer managed to escape. But Mars just stood there on her wobbly feet and stared at the cornered, defeated and cowering grunts with an empty look. Then her eyes searched for the precious plate but to her horror she found it back in the hands of the archeologist, who had been pulled into the tunnel along with the kids by the miners.
To blazes with it!
The young woman pulled out a small pen-like device with a red button on the top from her pocket and shrieked like a banshee:
"I'm not failing him again! If I can't have this plate, then no one can!"
Click.
For the umpteenth time that day, Viviane felt like an Exploud had shouted into her ear. The sound of explosions echoed around her and as the shockwaves sent tremors across the cracking ground and dust rained from above, one of the miners grabbed her hand and pulled the girl in the opposite direction. The bombs must have been set somewhere far off- otherwise she was sure they would have been all buried by then. The cave Pokémon who had come to their help scattered in different directions, some of them burrowing into the ground or flying through the high-placed and inaccessible for others tunnels. The Galactics ran almost in circles and their panicked shouts nearly drowned the roar of the fleeting Pokémon. The blonde girl managed to glimpse at the Carnivine, who was hopping into some unknown direction. Mars was just standing in the middle of the panicked crowd not far from the Grass type. Viviane felt some strange feeling of regret as she saw how the feline was trying to make her trainer run but was repeatedly ignored. And then boulders came crashing down and sealed the tunnel just seconds after the fleeting group guided by the miners had escaped from the cavern.
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"And that's all that happened, Officer Jenny," Kale finished and took a sip from the herb tea that Nurse Joy had so kindly given them all.
After the accident in the tunnels the miners had insisted to accompany the kids and the aged gentleman to the Pokémon Center where they could be checked for injuries. After a quick call the Oreburgh Officer Jenny had joined them and after letting the Nurse do her duty and act all motherly around them, even when it came to the balding archeologist, had proceeded to interrogate them.
Soon after Jenny had excused herself and returned to the station so she could start the investigation. The miners had left as well after a concerned Roark had stormed into the Center to check whether the kids and his subordinates had been injured. The young man immediately praised his men for their courage and urged them to go home and rest.
And just as only the trio and the archeologist were left in the Center's lobby, it finally dawned on Kale that he had completely forgotten why he had went to Oreburgh Mine in the first place.
"Aww, man! I couldn't catch a single Pokémon! How am I going to face Roark tomorrow?!"
"Relax, Kale," surprisingly it was Viviane who tried to comfort him "My Pokémon won't do you any good but you can use Jed's Munchlax. Right, Jed?" she fixed the teen with a glare.
"Of course!" cheerfully announced the eccentric boy "I'd be careful with Metronome though, we don't want a repeat of today's accident."
"Thanks, you guys! But still, I have to catch one soon. Training is my responsibility and I can't expect to win at Gyms by just using a Pokémon I just caught. Sooner or later, I'll need a stable team," Kale sighed while daydreaming about the possible members of his little squad. Blace just pulled some of his hair this time- it seemed the little fire monkey was finally learning how much pain his trainer could bear.
"Young man, I feel indebted to you and your companions after you helped me and Sandslash today," announced the balding gentleman as he stood up and dusted off his traveling clothes. "Thanks to you I am alive and well and I have managed to keep this precious Plate. So in gratitude of your help, I'd like to give you this. A Skull Fossil!"
"Whoa, thank you!" Kale exclaimed as he and Blace, who was currently on top the trainer's head, loomed over the dome-shaped piece of rock in the archeologist's hands. "Uhm, what's exactly does it do?"
"Well, the fossil by itself is just a rare and beautiful piece of history," heartily laughed the man "But recently they had developed a machine here in Oreburgh that can bring ancient Pokémon back to life using DNA gathered from the fossils! You just take it to the Oreburgh Museum and after some time it will be resurrected and you will have a rare addition to your team!"
The bespectacled boy couldn't find words to express his gratitude to the aging archeologist.
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"'Coal mining and you!" Jed announced as he read out loud the sign at the entrance of the Oreburgh Mining Museum. "I wonder if they have those thingies where you sit on a chair and they spin it and it keeps on spinning and spinning and spin…"
"Enough already!" ordered Vivi and 'playfully' punched her companion's shoulder "That's a mining museum not a space center!"
"But didn't space centers have those Wailords that jumped out of the pool and ate from your outstretched hand?" the teen mused with an innocent look as they entered thought the glass doors. Viviane somehow managed to resist the urge of strangling him. Kale just facepalmed.
"What'd 'ya kids want?" grumbled the grumpy old man in a lab coat behind the information counter. Kale was just about to answer when the man leaned on the counter angrily and exclaimed "Oh, for the love of ancient stone carvings! I'm ole' 'ya know, I don't have time to wait for 'ya all day long!"
Blace hid behind his trainer's shoulder and the spiky-haired boy slowly raised his finger and, with a surprised look at the informant's reaction, tried ask nicely. The old coot cut him off again. While spitting like a sneezing Water type. Viviane swiftly hid behind Jed to protect herself from the liquid onslaught.
"Don't 'ya dare wag that finger at me, pup! I've been digging fossils and making science discoveries for 55 years! Before your own parents were born! I deserve some respect! Now scram before I call security!"
"Edgar! How many times do I have to tell you not to scare the guests?"
The speaker was a woman with long fiery red hair in a lab coat like the one the old man was wearing. She had just come out from a door behind Edgar that probably led to the museum laboratory. The old researcher scoffed and grumbled before storming out with all the speed an angered senior citizen could muster.
"I'm sorry kids, he's always like that. Besides, he's furious that he's stuck at the info counter today because the girl's sick today. Sadly, he was the only one we could spare," sighed the woman and plopped her elbows on the counter. "So, how can I help you?"
The trio was glad that they were finally going to be heard out but just as Viviane tried to speak this time, a man with dark red hair peered out of the back room and shouted:
"Hey, does Dr Tyler remember by any chance that she promised she would double-check the charts before the end of the work day?"
"Silly me," the Doctor laughed "I'm sorry, kids, but my husband is right. I've important work to do. Dear, come here and see what these kids want!" shouted Tyler before storming off.
"Kids? What kids?" asked the other Dr Tyler with a surprised expression and peered out again. After noticing the trio he exited the back room somewhat clumsily, tripping over his shoes and spilling coffee on his lab coat along the short trip to the counter.
"I'd say 'good day' but it certainly isn't good with all that rain. So, are you kids the group from the Jubilife Trainers School?"
"No. We…" Kale tried to explain but was cut off for the umpteenth time.
"Ah, yes, you must be the local Scouts Committee!"
"No, we…" Viviane blurted with an agitated voice.
"Oh yes! Don't tell me, you are the… kids we hired to give out leaflets around town! Am I right or am I right?"
"FOR THE SAKE OF THE GUY WHO INVENTED FRENCH FRIES, NO! WE'RE HERE TO GIVE YOU A…" Jed finally snapped but was cut off by a certain other redhead's sarcastic comment.
"Oh, yeah, invite crazy people to shout in museum so you could bring more people in. That's just genius, Dad."
"Nigel, what are you doing here?!"
"Dad?!"
"I don't get it. Who's crazy- Viv or Kale?"
"Nigel?" came out the woman's voice from behind. "Nigel, you're finally back sweetie!"
The red-haired doctor swiftly rushed to her son and embraced him. Nigel's cheeks flushed but he just stood there, not knowing how to react in a situation like this. Kale forgot entirely about the fossil and sniggered.
"Nigel, but shouldn't you go and get you starter from Professor Rowan?" suddenly asked the female Doctor.
"Mum, I already did a week ago. I got home yesterday, remember? We talked over the phone but you and Dad had to work 'till early morning in the lab."
"But, son, then you should go and challenge Roark! You're collecting badges, right? Or were you a coordinator?" asked the redhead's father.
"I did that already, Dad. I told you I'm challenging him this morning. You even said you'd come watch me but I guess you were too busy here," Nigel sighed and showed everyone the brown-and-silver helmet-like badge pinned on the inside of his black jacket. The Coal Badge glistened under the museum's artificial light.
"Oh, we're so sorry, dear, we completely forgot!" exclaimed the boy's mother and covered her mouth in shame "Dr Kenzo is visiting the Pewter Museum to check out how their machine works so we've been fine-tuning the Fossil Resurrector all day long. But you know, since you have earned your first badge, I guess we should celebrate it as family! We haven't had a diner together for a long time."
Her husband immediately agreed and they were just about to leave their lab coats and go when Kale remembered why he had gone to the museum in the first place.
"I have a Skull Fossil right here! The archeologist said that you can revive it for me."
Not more than a second later, Nigel's parents had flanked Kale on both sides and were ecstatically questioning him about the fossil. After realizing he didn't know a thing and was just given the fossil, the Tylers snatched it from his hands and asked him to come back the next morning so they could tell him when to expect his resurrected Pokémon. Just as they were about to go into the lab again, Nigel's mother gave her son a peck on the cheek and apologized.
"I'm sorry, dear, fossils are hard to come by these past few months so we have to take the opportunity when it is presented to us. That's our golden chance to check out the new upgrades even before Kenzo comes back. Maybe we'll have dinner together some other time."
The glare that Nigel shot at his rival made Kale realize that for the first time in his life, one of his peers was looking at him the way Mars had earlier.
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"I can't believe it's still raining outside," Viviane moaned as they walked by one of the windows along the Pokémon Center's corridor. "I feel drained. I'm skipping dinner and I'm going straight to bed," the blonde yawned and unlocked the door to the trio's room.
"I've a load of my favorite potato sweet bombs, I don't need to visit the cafeteria anyway," Jed shrugged and Kale added with a tired voice "Besides, you barely eat anything, Viv, it's just not healthy. And lucky you, I have to stay up late and think of some strategy for tomorrow. And I can only guess what Pokémon Roark has!"
"I'm sure you're gonna pull it off, brainiac, just don't leave the lights o…"
The blonde didn't even manage to finish her sentence as a pair of vines wrapped around her body and hoisted her up. The boys rushed inside to see what was happening but just as Kale tried to look up a swift kick connected to the side of his head. He could only see stars and explosions of light so the boy left his other senses to sort it out for him.
"Don't look up, idiots, I'm wearing a skirt!" Viviane's shrieked while trying to pull down said clothing article. Quite a feat, considering her arms and legs were in the firm hold of the vines.
"How on Earth has Carnivine gotten here?" the black-haired boy heard his male companion ponder.
"I guess it has followed our scent or something. It probably has no home now after the explosions and we did give it food so it thinks it can stay with us," Kale suggested and scratched his chin.
"SOMEBODY DO SOMETHING!" Viviane screamed as the Grass type that had somehow attached itself to the ceiling started gnawing on her head.
After a long time of planning, trying to reason with the Bug Catcher Pokemon and luring it with candy, Viv was finally freed. But the Grass type seemed keen on staying with them and just kept rummaging through their stuff and trying to eat the pillows. A sudden idea came to Kale's mind.
"Hey, Carnivine, how about you join my team? We'll go to every place in Sinnoh, have battles and that'll give you the opportunity to gnaw on many heads as we win badges and eventually even the League itself!"
The green flytrap-like Pokémon spitted out the torn pillow and scratched its chin with one of its leafy arms. Seemingly in deep thought, the Grass type mumbled to itself before finally grinning very widely and nodding. Kale cheerfully pulled out a poke ball and was about to tap Carnivine's head with it.
"Okay, boy, ready?"
The Grass type shook its head no.
"What? Didn't you say you agreed?" Kale questioned when he noticed that Carnivine was blinking rapidly, in a way that somehow resembled bathing one's eyelashes. "Girl?"
She cheerfully nodded and chomped onto the boy's outstretched hand. Kale was so surprised by his arm disappearing in a jawed mouth that he could only stare as red light engulfed Carnivine from within and the poke ball snapped shut and pinged after trembling several times. Then Carnivine was immediately out in a flash and after tackling her new trainer and nearly crushing him with her vines, she affectionately gnawed his head.
"Something tells me that training this one isn't going to be easy."
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The bright light pierced her eyelids. A soft, humming sound was all she could hear. The woman realized she was lying- on something warm and comfortable. Her bed maybe? Was it time to get up? But no, something in the back of her mind told her she wasn't in her room. Then where was she? How had she gotten there? All she wanted to do is find a comfortable position and just lie there for hours and hours. As her mind awoke nearly completely, the distant dull pain and fatigue returned to her joints. Groaning, she mustered all her willpower and opened her eyes, only to be blinded by the lamp positioned just above her head.
"Had any good dreams, Sleeping Beauty?"
The passionless voice snapped her out of her daze completely. Mars' neck cracked as she jerked her head and hissed at the man with long blue hair, who was sitting next to her bed.
"You've better not tried anything funny, Prince Charming!"
"You give yourself too much credit, Mars. You know I would never do anything like that. Your pretty face doesn't work on me the same way it works on those buffoons that are the target of your 'special' missions," her fellow Commander explained calmly and cupped her cheek for several seconds before retracting his hand with a mocking laugh.
"Let's cut it straight to business, shall we?" Neptune suggested and crossed his feet. "Our leader is very disappointed in you, Mars. It's not like you to fail missions. You haven't been yourself lately. I'm concerned," finished the man with a false look of worry on his face. The redhead tried to cut him off but he just resumed his speech.
"I admit it must have been some fire show, but your performance at the Oreburgh Mine cost us resources, manpower and most importantly, the Plate. It's not me that you should be telling what exactly happened, I don't even want to know. I'm just here because our leader burdened me with the distinctive pleasure of waiting for you to wake up so I could brief you."
"Then quit your theatrical displays, you drama queen, and do it!" Mars ordered with a smug smile at the thought of Neptune being stuck for hours because of her.
"As you know, I, too, had a mission in the area near Oreburgh. One I, unlike you, completed. Around 5 o'clock in the afternoon I got a call from your transmitter. I was surprised as to what our local princess would want with a humble peasant like me, but I picked up nonetheless. Hearing meowing and hissing on the other side of the line took me aback, I'll give you that. Enough to personally arrive at your location. Imagine my surprise when I saw you lying hidden in some bushes, unconscious, and guarded by a half-death Purugly."
Mars just stared and nodded as her mind tried to figure out how did she and her companion escape the crumbling tunnels. Neptune paused for effect before continuing.
"From what I gathered from the other survivors, you flipped after realizing you have failed your mission. Shouting something about 'not failing him again' you blew up nearly half the tunnels in the mine with the explosives that you were supposed to use after escaping so you could just divert the attention of potential pursuers. And you have apparently gotten suicidal, Mars. What grunts survived from your squad told me you just stood there as they tried to find an exit and Purugly was trying to make you move. Eventually, after realizing you were too stubborn to live, she had to knock you out. And since the last grunt had escaped by then, Purugly must have dragged your body across the crumbling tunnels to safety. And then, despite being on the brink of passing out herself, she had enough brains to try and signal us somehow. While watching over you until we arrived."
Mars could just nod. Now that she thought about it, her reaction seemed utterly stupid. She had never thought for her partner when she pressed the button. And yet, Purugly had risked her life to get her to safety. Her colleague let her assimilate the information before adding:
"She has been treated and you can probably see her if she isn't taken away from you. You have an hour to rest and then you are to visit our leader and explain your actions. And face the consequences as well. But as a good colleague, I have left out the suicidal part out of my report and taken care of our own witnesses. After blowing up the mine in hysterics, you escaped on your own after your cowardly squad had left you for dead."
"Gee, that's so sweet of you," Mars hissed with a fake smile on her face. On the inside, her heart raced at the thought of possibly losing her partner and the fear of Cyrus' possible punishment.
"Seriously, Mars, you're getting careless," Neptune pointed out with a stern voice "Uncontrolled emotions are a weakness, a dent in your defenses that can be exploited by someone who knows you well. They are shackles chaining us to a ship ready to sink any minute. You of all people should not forget his words. Keep your emotions under control and eventually overcome them. You will end up dead soon if you keep that up. Honestly, I don't know how Cyrus still keeps you around with your lousy temper. You'll probably be the death of this organization."
"Are you accusing me of possible betrayal?!" hissed the female Commander with cheeks flushed from both anger and embarrassment.
"Betrayal? Never! You, of all us Commanders, are the most loyal to our leader. I'm sure you would give your life for his any day of the month. But your vigorous loyalty is a weakness you must overcome. It makes you far too easier for him to manipulate you. And once he sees your will is weak, you will have to go."
"He would never!" protested Mars with clenched fists "He was the one that brought me here, he was the one that brought all of us here! A new world with us as its rulers, to shape it in anyway we see fit. He was and is willing to share his dream with us! Have you forgotten that already? Maybe you're the potential betrayer, not me!"
"Have you forgotten with who you are speaking? Betrayer? I, who have paid the price of following our path, who never even disobeyed a single order when it happened? I have earned my place in the new world, unlike you," Neptune finally calmed down but his cheeks stayed flushed with anger "But you are so blinded by the image you have chosen to see that you do not recognize reality anymore. Cyrus has helped all of us, offered us the chance of being literal gods in a world of our own! He allows us to choose our appearance, change the design of our uniforms and countless little things that define our place in the food chain of this organization. But don't we ourselves offer strength and rare Pokémon to newcomers? Don't we seduce potential members with promises of fortune? And when they finally join and reality hits them hard, don't we make a 'good' name for ourselves by assigning them to good positions or sending our favorites on mission with a high success rate?"
Neptune paused and made sure Mars was all ears before continuing.
"We throw them bones to gnaw on. And when we finally don't need them anymore, we throw them away and find a new toy to play with. What keeps Cyrus from doing the same to us when he openly tolerates us doing it to them? What are we to our leader? I'm telling you this because I know that when you go up in his office after less then an hour, and he tells you to jump out of the window, you won't ask 'why'. You will ask 'where should I fall'."
The redhead's piercing glare was met without hesitation by the blue-haired man.
"Make no mistake, I will follow him to the end. But that doesn't mean I'm going to be a thoughtless pawn like you."
"Hah, like you are something more than me!"
Neptune's long hair hid the woman's face as he leaned forward and whispered into her ear before leaving:
"I'm a puppet in his hands just like you, Mars. But I'm a puppet that can see the strings."