Summer beat Brock in a tense battle and won the Boulder Badge. She and her Pokémon said goodbye to Samir, who was ready to start his archaeology internship. Summer runs into a salesman who unsuccessfully tries to sell her a Pokémon. She then enters Mt. Moon, where some suspicious people are wandering around. What are their motives and will Summer be able to stop them?

Chapter 9- Stuck Between a Rock and a Moon Stone

Lightning and I continued on Route 3 after battling several Trainers.

"That was a good workout," I said, panting.

Lightning nodded and said, "Yeah, thanks Summer! Some of those Trainers were weird though."

Thinking back, I sarcastically agreed. "Yeah, especially that kid who really likes shorts. No one likes shorts that much, and I'm from the humid Hoenn Region!" I hoped to never hear someone so enthusiastic about shorts ever again.

After climbing a small hill, we reached the entrance to Mt. Moon and the local Pokémon Center. I should heal everyone before heading into the mountain, I thought. I opened the door of the Pokémon Center and gave my Pokémon to the nurse.

Suddenly, my Pokégear rang and read it was Professor Oak. I took the call and said, "Hi, Professor."

"Hello, Summer!" Professor Oak said enthusiastically. "How's the journey going?"

"It's going well. I just got my first Gym Badge," I said.

"Wonderful!" he cheered. "Where are you now?"

"I'm about to go into Mt. Moon," I said.

"You best be careful, Summer," the Professor warned. "I've been hearing reports that Team Rocket has been seen inside."

I became concerned, but I told him, "Thanks, we'll be careful."

"Oh, I must be going soon," Professor Oak said. "Thanks again for using the Pokémon translation app. When you get to Cerulean City, I would like to look at the data you collected."

"Sure, no problem," I said. "Bye Professor."

"Goodbye, Summer," he said, then he hung up.

After I put my Pokégear away, I got my Pokémon back from the nurse. I thanked her and sent out Lightning, who immediately climbed onto my shoulder.

As we were about to leave, a man wearing a black suit and dark sunglasses called out to me. Curious, I walked over. Although he had a big smile, I felt a little uncomfortable.

He asked me, "Would you be interested in a special Pokémon?"

I politely said, "No thanks."

He then shouted, "This special Pokémon is the best one for any Trainer!"

Lightning whispered, "This guy's creeping me out, Summer. Let's go."

I nodded and said, "Look, I don't want whatever 'best' Pokémon you have." I made quote marks with my hands for emphasis.

The man then showed me a fish tank with a large red fish with yellow whiskers inside. He got down on his knees and begged, "PLEASE! I need to sell this Magikarp! It's for the low price of 500 Pokédollars…"

I was stunned and angrily refused. "Look, Pokémon should never be bought for profit. Treat that Magikarp with the respect he deserves." I stormed out of the Center, leaving him with a scared look.

Lightning was confused by my reaction and asked, "How come you were so mad at him?"

I took a deep breath and said, "Sorry if I scared you, Lightning. Pokémon should never be treated as tools or profit. That's not the reason why Pokémon and humans interact with each other. It's what I learned from living in the Hoenn Region."

"I see," Lightning said, rubbing her cheek against mine. "I'm glad you don't treat us like that, Summer." I petted her head and smiled. I walked into Mt. Moon, not expecting what would happen next.

The cave walls in the mountain were dark blue with shades of gray and filled with an air of cosmic energy. I saw there was a lot of room inside with several ladders towards the back of the cave. After battling the Trainers on the floor, I kept hearing about rumors of a large scary Pokémon by a ladder deep in the mountain.

Something doesn't seem right about this, I thought. I made my way towards a ladder at the far left and found a small shiny black stone along the way.

"What is that, Summer?" Lightning asked.

"It looks like a Moon Stone, but it looks different compared to the ones at the museum," I analyzed. I then put it into my backpack.

As I got to the ladder, I saw a suspicious man climbing up the ladder. Hey, he's wearing a uniform like Boulder and Raven's. I should hide and see what's going on. Lightning and I hid behind some rocks, and we saw more people coming up and waiting by the ladder. As I tried to get a better look, Lightning fell off my shoulder.

The first man saw me and yelled, "Hey! What're you doing here!"

Uhhh… "I was trying to find the bathroom, but it's not in this direction," I quickly said. "So, I'm going to go back to where I started."

I was about to walk away when a woman said, "Wait a minute! That's the girl Boulder and Raven met when they were in the Johto Region! Grab her!"

Not good! I grabbed Lightning and tried to run away when I saw a wall of blue bat Pokémon blocking my way. Aw, great. Darn Zubat… "Lightning!" I commanded. "Use Thundershock on the Zubat!"

As Lightning was charging her attack, the Zubat emitted white rings from their mouths. Lightning was hit by the rings, became confused

"Oh no," I shouted, "Lightning, snap out of it!" Lightning then stared at me blankly and attacked me instead. As the electricity surged through my body, I blacked out and didn't remember much. When I regained consciousness, I saw I was tied up to a boulder and Lightning was tied to a smaller boulder on my left.

"Hey, Lightning…" I groggily said. "You okay?"

Lightning sadly nodded. "Yeah…sorry Summer."

I smiled and said, "It's not your fault. Zubat's Supersonic becomes more accurate when they're in a group."

Lightning asked, "How are we going to get out of here?"

I looked at our surroundings. It looked like we were in another room of the mountain. It was darker than the first floor, which made me think we were at a lower floor. I tried to grab a Pokéball, but I could barely move my hands. "I'm not sure, Lightning," I said, a little worried. "But I'm sure this can't get any worse."

Just after I said that, I heard an unmistakable voice to my right. "Oh, great. You got captured too!"

It got worse… "What are you doing here, Weldon?" I annoying asked. He was also tied to another boulder. Then, I heard footsteps climbing down a ladder. Boulder and Raven came towards us, blinding us with their flashlights. They looked more arrogant than usual.

"Well, well, well…" Raven slowly said. She smiled and sarcastically said, "Fancy meeting you here, sweetie."

Now it just got even worse! I shouted, "What are you guys doing here?! I thought you two were in Johto."

Boulder cracked his knuckles and said, "Project P's on hold. So we got a new assignment."

Raven said, "Team Rocket doesn't need any more distractions from useless kids. You're not going to stop us!" She and Boulder laughed and went back upstairs.

After they left, I tried to reach my Pokéballs again but couldn't.

"Really, Summer?" Weldon said, annoyed by my movement. "You tried that earlier, and the result's still the same."

I stopped moving and snapped, "I'm trying to get us out of here! Besides, you didn't answer my question."

"What did you think I was doing?!" Weldon retorted.

"I don't know…" I angrily said. "Training?"

Weldon scoffed and said, "You don't have to be so hostile. I was, when I into those idiots. I tried to battle them, but they knocked me out. Wait…how do you know those two?"

I sighed and said, "Long story short, Samir and I defeated them when I was in Johto. They wanted to steal a valuable item we were delivering."

Weldon slammed his left fist against the boulder, and it startled me. "Those jerks will pay for that! They're horrible thieves!"

I was shocked and asked, "Why are you angry at them? You two treat your Pokémon harshly."

Although it was dark, I saw Weldon's face filled with anger. He angrily said, "I train them harshly to make them stronger. Don't you want to make your Pokémon stronger and keep winning?"

I paused as his words. After a few seconds, I confidently said, "Training Pokémon shouldn't just be about making them stronger. You should also get to know them by talking to them and treating them nicely."

Weldon scoffed, "You don't know anything…" But he stopped talking, noting the change in my tone.

Thinking I had the upper hand, I asked, "Have any ideas on how to get us free?"

Weldon said, "I can do it myself. I don't need your help."

"Look, Weldon," I said. "We need to work together. It'll make things easier and faster." Weldon ignored me and tried to find something within reach to break the ropes. I really can't stand him! Then I felt a tap on my left shoulder. I saw Lightning sitting there. I figured she bit through her ropes during our conversation.

"Great job, Lightning!" I cheered.

"Thanks, Summer," she said, slightly blushing. "Should I bite the ropes?"

"Hmm…" I said to myself. I then told Lightning, "Why don't you just use Iron Tail? I think that'll be faster."

Lightning smiled and her tail turned silver. "Sure thing, Summer." She swung her tail at the ropes, cutting through them easily. The ropes fell down, and I was able to move again. After some light stretching, I thanked Lightning.

As I was putting on my backpack, Weldon yelled, "Hey! You can't just leave me here! If you let me go, I can help you stop Team Rocket."

Darn…I really want to leave him here, but I know I need his help. "Fine," I said reluctantly. "Lightning, use Iron Tail on Weldon's ropes." She nodded and cut Weldon free.

Weldon didn't thank me but said, "Now to get rid of Team Rocket!" He started to climb the ladder.

"Hey!" I yelled. "What about us?"

Weldon looked at me and smiled. "Why don't you go on to the next Gym? I got this."

What?! That liar… "No," I said. "We are both stopping Team Rocket, no matter what you say."

Weldon's face became angry. He yelled, "This is my fight! And mine alone!"

I was surprised by his sharp reaction. Why does he want to beat Team Rocket so badly? Knowing there was no way to convince him anymore, I said, "Fine, go ahead."

He gave a serious expression, with a little sadness, I thought. He climbed the ladder, and I heard some commotion from above. Lightning climbed onto my shoulder, and I climbed upstairs. We peeked at the top of the ladder, which led to a corridor. Weldon was battling some Team Rockets Grunts with his Bulbasaur and most likely his new Geodude. I noticed how aggressive Weldon was and felt Weldon's animosity towards them was personal. Weldon defeated all the Grunts and headed back up to the first floor, not noticing I was watching. After waiting a while, I climbed up the ladder back to the main floor.

Once I climbed up, I noticed a change inside the mountain. It felt cool and tingly with energy. I checked my Pokégear and saw it was nighttime. That's strange, I wonder what's giving off the blue light. After some walking, I found two unguarded ladders in the middle of the floor. I was about to go down the closer one when I heard Weldon battling more Team Rocket Grunts. Wanting to avoid him for now, I went down the farther ladder.

Pokémon: Blaze (Torchic): Brave Nature, moves: Scratch, Growl, Ember, Focus Energy

Errol (Hoothoot): Rash Nature, moves: Tackle, Growl

Swirls (Poliwag): Relaxed Nature, moves: Bubble, Hypnosis, Water Gun

Lightning (Pichu): Adamant Nature, moves: Thundershock, Charm, Iron Tail, Sweet Kiss

Questions for the Chapter:

Why does Weldon have a grudge against Team Rocket?

Would Summer and Weldon ever work together?