11. Cave of madness and alternate ways to catch a Pokémon.
Eventually they reached Union Cave, which they would have to pass through to reach Azalea Town without taking a large detour. It was dark – though not compared to Dark Cave surprisingly enough – and John whipped out his large, beam torches and handed them out.
"Whoah," said a voice.
They turned around to see a tall, robust man with hiking gear on.
"You ought to be careful if you are going to go through there," the man said. "A lot of people have been hurt recently in there."
"How?" John inquired.
"I don't know," the man said, stroking his beard. "Some sort of Pokémon attack."
The group exchanged glances.
"Well, we still have to go to Azalea Town," Kaida said decisively. "Besides, there are four of us and we have our Pokémon. We'll be fine."
The hiker shrugged and gestured to the cave. "Well, go ahead then. Make sure you stick to the lit up path though. It's when people went exploring that the accidents seemed to happen."
"Trust me!" Flo said. "If I have anything to say about it then we'll be in that cave and straight out again as soon as possible."
She shuddered strongly at the thought of ugly cave Pokémon that might jump out and attack her. They would be there in swarms, she thought, disgusted. She certainly wasn't going to go nosing around deeper, darker parts of the cave, even if they hadn't been warned of these attacks. Straight in and straight out…
"What are you talking about?" John demanded. "Caves are fun." His eyes shone. "So much to discover!"
When everyone gave him funny looks he cleared his throat awkwardly.
"Um," he said, coughing. "But this time I guess we'll just have to go straight through."
They thanked the hiker for the advice and entered the cave. The lights on the wall meant they didn't have to use the torches at first but, when they got a little deeper into the cave, they did turn them on. They didn't need them but it was easier to walk that way.
Cyndaquil didn't like the dark, damp cave anymore than Kaida did. While she wasn't freaking out like Flo – who was swinging her torch around erratically and jumping at shadows – she much preferred the open air. In contrast, Nila didn't seem bothered, and John was ecstatic. He looked like he might slope off down other unlit paths a few times but caught himself and forced himself to continue on.
Time seemed to pass strangely inside the cave with the lack of natural light. However, after a while, they were interrupted by a shrill shriek. Kaida looked at Flo. No, it hadn't been her… It was too far away for that.
They heard the shriek again.
"I think it is coming from down here," John said, gesturing to one of the passages leading off to the side.
They peered into the inky darkness.
"We need to go and take a look," Kaida said.
"What?!" Flo said sharply. "No, no, no," she said. "We can't!"
"Someone might be in trouble!" Kaida shot back. "We can't just leave them."
"We can go to the other end of the tunnel and call the police," Flo suggested.
Nila shook her head. "Who knows how long that will take?"
"We need to go now," John said, wielding his torch like a weapon as he marched forward in the direction of the scream. He looked back once to say, "You can stay here."
Flo seemed to consider it but then realised she would be left all by herself. She scurried after the others, complaining all the way.
They reached a ladder. They were more common in caves nowadays as hikers put them in to aid people in their exploration. John tested its strength and then climbed down. Totodile leapt down from the top into his arms. Nila held Chikorita under one arm and managed to navigate down one handed, with the torch in her mouth, and Kaida kept Cyndaquil wrapped up in her coat so she had use of both hands. Flo's Pokémon were all in Pokéballs but this didn't stop her from almost slipping near the bottom. John quickly reached up to steady her.
They heard another scream and John broke into a run. He soon had to stop because the rocks were so slippery. There were pools of water around and it would be extremely dangerous if he slipped and fell. They carried on steadily until they emerged from behind a wall to find a large, dark underground lake. The source of the screaming was revealed as a little girl splashed desperately in the water, fighting to stay afloat.
"Go, Totodile!" John said. "Help that girl out!"
Kaida set Cyndaquil down on the rocks.
"Fire up your back," she ordered. "it will give us some more light."
Nila used Mareep to do the same. It sparked with electricity and provided a strange glow that aided the torches. She then looked to Flo.
"You can help," she prompted.
"Oh, yeah," said Flo.
She sent out two Pokémon. She ordered Wooper to help Totodile and Weepinbell to use its vines to help pull the girl in when she was closer to the shore.
They all dragged the girl out and sat her near Cyndaquil so she could be near the warmth and dry out. The cave was cold and the water on her body would leave her freezing. The last thing the girl needed was to get hypothermia.
"What happened?" Flo asked the girl.
She slipped into a strange motherly figure as she patted the girl's wet hair. She could have been more than eight. She was far too young to be exploring these caves by herself.
"I was just playing explorers," the girl sobbed. "Then I heard this strange noise and came down here and a big, mean Pokémon pulled me in the water."
"What kind of Pokémon?" Kaida asked curiously.
"It was big and blue and had a long neck and a shell thing on its back."
Kaida pulled out her Pokédex and flicked through it. She eventually landed on a Lapras and held the Pokédex up to the girl to check.
"Was this it?" she asked.
It best fitted the vague description.
"Yeah," the girl sniffed. "I think so."
"What is a Lapras doing in a cave?" Kaida wondered.
"I don't know," Nila said, "but it really should be in the sea."
"Someone has to move it," Kaida agreed.
John nodded in agreement but pointed to the little girl.
"We need to get her out of here first," he said. "The Lapras can be dealt with later."
At that point the water began to move quite rapidly and they all stepped backwards as the lake swelled towards them. A large body emerged from the water. It was the Lapras and it had a frenzied look in its eyes. It was practically frothing at the mouth.
"Aaw," Flo said. "It's so cute!"
"Not the time, Flo," Kaida warned. "Really, really not the time."
"Maybe we should run," John suggested.
They all staggered backwards. John tucked the little girl under his arm. They were about to turn when the Lapras opened its mouth, someone yelled to get down, and an Ice Beam attack was shot over their heads.
Nila swore.
"Chikorita!" she ordered. "Razor Leaf!"
This bought them some time as they continued to move towards the wall. From there they could reach the ladder and get up the stairs. However, the Lapras fired another Ice Beam, blocking their way.
"Totodile, Water Gun!" John ordered.
"You too, Wooper," Flo said.
That blasted the Lapras backwards and they skidded over the ice that had formed on the floor due to the attack and hid under the wall. Flo returned Weepinbell and Wooper to their Pokéballs after a quick, "Good Work."
Nila poked her head around the wall. The Lapras had dived back under the water.
"OK, let's go," Kaida said.
They made their way back towards the ladder. They had almost reached it when the pool of water near it began to ripple. Then, abruptly, Lapras burst from it. Apparently all the pools of water were connected.
"Dodge!" Kaida yelped.
They jumped out of the way of another powerful Ice Beam attack.
"Cyndaquil, Flame Wheel!" Kaida ordered.
It wasn't very effective but it managed to clear up some of the ice that was blocking their way.
"Can't you electrocute it with Mareep?" Flo asked Nila desperately. "It is weak against that."
"There is water everywhere in this cave," Nila retorted. "We'd all be shocked." She looked at Chikorita. "Chikorita, use Razor Leaf again."
"Water Gun!" John ordered.
Flo took the whimpering girl under her arm and attempted to shield her while the others fought against the Lapras, which then sent a jet of water flying from its mouth.
"This thing is insane," Kaida yelled. "Stupid water Pokémon."
Totodile chattered crossly at that. He performed a mini dance of rage before shooting another Water Gun at the Lapras. Despite all the attacks, however, Lapras seemed unaffected. It dove back under water again and sent a wave of water towards them. They all stumbled backwards.
"Go, Gastly," Kaida said. An idea entered her head. "Gastly, use Hypnosis."
Gastly's eyes swirled and Lapras was caught in its gaze. A minute later it was snoozing.
"What do we do now?" John asked. "We can't just leave it here. It is terrorising the cave."
"It needs to be in the sea," Kaida said.
"Someone should catch it. We can release it later," Nila suggested.
"OK," Kaida said, checking for spare Pokéballs.
She found one and threw it at the Lapras. They all crossed their fingers. If this didn't work then Lapras would probably wake up and go on another rampage. How it had got down in the cave was beyond them. Someone had to have released it there, which was an act of extreme cruelty. Who could tell how long it had been stuck down there?
Then the ball stopped flashing. Lapras was caught. Kaida collected the Pokéball and they walked towards the ladder, avoiding the slippery ice. John helped the little girl climb up the ladder and then they all climbed up into the ground level of the cave.
The girl was shivering so John wrapped his jacket around her and they walked back to the lit path.
"I'm scared," she said weakly.
"It's fine now," Flo said reassuringly. "We'll get you home. What's your name?"
"Holly," the girl said.
"That's a nice name," Flo said comfortingly. "We'll get you home. Don't worry."
"OK," the girl said in a small, cute voice.
They walked with quicker pace down the rest of the tunnel towards Azalea Town. At the end of the tunnel they heard voices and shouts and they came face to face with several police officers who shone their torches into their eyes irritatingly.
"Is that Holly?" one of the police officers asked.
"It is," another confirmed.
A police woman with blue hair stepped forward and held a hand out to the girl.
"We've been looking for you," she said. "Your brother is extremely worried."
"I'm sorry," the girl said weakly. Then she burst into tears.
Flo hugged her tightly.
"She needs to go somewhere she can dry up," Nila said.
"Well I have a police car outside," the blue haired woman offered. "It isn't big enough for all of you. Are any of you hurt?"
"No, we're fine. We can walk," John said.
"You won't get to Azalea in one day that way," the woman said. "Holly ran off on a camping trip and we got called out…"
"I wanted to find some cool Pokémon," Holly said, sniffling. "I'm sorry!"
"Well you shouldn't have run off," Flo admonished. "But I think you need to go with them and find your brother now. He'll be extremely worried about you."
They went outside the cave to find the police car waiting with its sirens flashing but silent.
"We'll need you to come and make a statement at the police station in Azalea Town," the woman police officer said. "Is there anything urgent that I need to know now?"
"Um, there was a Lapras terrorising people in the lower levels of the cave but we knocked it out and I caught it," Kaida said.
"It probably just wanted to get out but couldn't," Nila said. "That would drive anyone insane."
"How did it get down there?" the police officer asked. She paused and answered her own question. "Someone must have released it down there. The cruelty of people. They should be punished."
They all nodded in agreement.
The male police officers had wrapped a towel around Holly and she waved goodbye as they drove away. Flo sniffed. Apparently her sudden maternal urges had left her feeling miserable now the child was gone.
"I'm exhausted," Nila said. "And hungry."
"When aren't you hungry?" Kaida wondered aloud.
"I could say the same to you," Nila sniped.
They made camp shortly from the cave. Kaida patted the Pokéball with Lapras in. It would not be wise to release Lapras here but she didn't want to leave it in there for too long. Nila was right. The poor creature had been treated horribly. Stuck in the horrible, dank caves with no sunlight. It needed to be free on the sea. Until they could reach this sea she supposed ponds and lakes and rivers would do. It might react angrily in its confusion at first, but they had to help it.
But she could think about all of that depressing stuff a little later. John was making an impressive array of foods including hot dogs. Yum. She had to get to them before Flo did.
-
John still wanted to explore more of the cave before they went to Azalea Town. Flo, however, insisted she would stay by the camp and Kaida decided to stay with her. She suggested a casual Pokémon battle so they could train their Pokémon up a bit while Nila and John went back to Union Cave.
"I don't know," Flo said hesitantly. "You've done more training stuff than me."
"Which is exactly why we should have a battle," Kaida insisted. "How about you use Wooper and I'll use Cyndaquil? Then you'll have the type advantage. Wooper knows Mud Shot and Water Gun."
"Fine," Flo sighed.
She released Wooper. Kaida sent Cyndaquil forward. She was looking forward to testing Cyndaquil's speed and evasion against something it was weak against.
"Cyndaquil, be ready to dodge," Kaida said.
Cyndaquil nodded its head as the flames burst onto its back.
Wooper looked around, slightly confused, and then opened his mouth and sent out a Water Gun attack on Flo's command. Cyndaquil leapt in the air. It landed several feet away and quickly dodged another Water Gun.
"Your Wooper is pretty tough," Kaida commented.
It was sending out Water Gun without tiring. However, Kaida was confident that her Cyndaquil was stronger. It was dodging without tiring too.
"Cyndaquil, use Quick Attack!" she instructed.
Cyndaquil was close to Wooper and was able to whip in and send it tumbling backwards. Cyndaquil then darted away to avoid Wooper's retaliation.
"Wooper, Water Gun then Mud Shot," Flo ordered.
Cyndaquil jumped above the first Water Gun but the second attack hit it and it went flying backwards. Kaida winced. The attack was super effective. But Cyndaquil was strong and it got up straight away and dodged the next Water Gun. Now Wooper was looking like it was tiring – even if it was only by a little – and Kaida felt triumph. They could outlast Wooper. Definitely.
"Quick Attack again!"
Cyndaquil hit into Wooper but this time Wooper responded with its own attack. It slammed into Cyndaquil at the same time and they both went flying backwards.
"What was that?" Flo asked.
"I think that was Slam," Kaida mused. Then her mind snapped back to the battle. "Cyndaquil, use Flame Wheel on the ground around Wooper."
Cyndaquil set a blaze of fire spinning around Flo's Pokémon. Wooper turned around, confused.
"Water Gun it out," Flo ordered.
"Quick Attack now!"
Cyndaquil hit Wooper as it started its Water Gun attack. Wooper went tumbling into the flames. This fire wasn't very effective but it still hurt Wooper. The small, blue Pokémon stood up again and staggered around. The flames were still burning. It couldn't see Cyndaquil anymore, since Cyndaquil could pass through the flames more easily and had jumped over and outside of them.
"Keep attacking with Quick Attack," Kaida said.
Cyndaquil would jump in and out and catch Wooper unaware. One time it narrowly avoided a Water Gun but, for the most part, the plan was a success. Cyndaquil was so quick that Wooper didn't have a chance to put out the flames and it couldn't see where Cyndaquil was coming from. Flo looked stumped. Wooper looked weakened.
"Maybe we should stop now," Kaida suggested.
"Yeah," Flo said.
They let the flames die out and Flo hugged the slightly charred Wooper to her. She praised it for its battling while Kaida did the same to Cyndaquil. It lapped up the attention and snuggled in her lap.
Meanwhile, in the caves, Nila was regretting the decision to walk around with John. He had his tool kit out and was examining the walls. He kept telling her about the different properties of the rock and how the caves were formed when different rocks were there since someone were more resistant to the corroding of water. Nila knew most of this already but it did not mean she was at all interested in it. Or, at least, not when it was John who was talking about it anyway…
"I'm going to look around by myself," Nila told him. "You have fun with your rock."
She left John tapping away at the wall with Totodile prancing around behind him. Chikorita trailed behind Nila. It did not look impressed with the cave. It was dark and gloomy and Nila supposed she couldn't blame a grass type Pokémon for feeling that way.
Chikorita warded away a few Zubat and Geodude as they walked by using its Razor Leaf attack. However, when Nila offered Chikorita some food, they seemed to attack even more Pokémon, which tended to be more stubborn. One particular Sandshrew was refusing to leave, no matter how many times it was hit by Chikorita's Razor Leaf. It was apparently ravenous.
"Go away," Nila said, waving her arms. "Chikorita, try tackling it."
Chikorita obeyed and Sandshrew responded by a strange dark glowing slashing attack. Nila's eyes widened fractionally.
"Was that?"
Chikorita attempted the Tackle attack again and was rebuffed by the glowing claws.
"Night Slash!" Nila said, recognising the dark move.
She hadn't realised Sandshrew could learn this move normally. How had this Sandshrew managed to learn it? She didn't know and she wasn't sure she cared at that precise moment. Now she knew that she had to catch it.
"OK. We want to catch this one now," Nila told Chikorita. "Razor Leaf!"
Chikorita sent leaves flying. Sandshrew managed to knock a few down using Night Slash but most hit it.
"I'll feed you a lot if I catch you," Nila whispered, hoping that would tempt the Pokémon.
She was seemingly ignored as Sandshrew used Swift and Chikorita was struck by the flying stars. It would have been impossible to dodge that attack.
"Come on, Chikorita," Nila encouraged. "Another Razor Leaf."
That Razor Leaf seemed to do it. Sandshrew struggled around, dazed, and Nila took the opportunity to throw a Pokéball at it. It flashed several times before stopping. Nila walked over and picked it up. A Sandshrew with a dark move. The trip to the caves with John droning on had been worth it after all.
She returned to find John now tapping at another piece of rock. Thankfully he agreed it was time to leave the cave and go back to the camp. They had to make a start on reaching Azalea Town so they could talk to the police officer about the incident in the cave. They couldn't dawdle too much.
They found Flo and Kaida packing away the camp when they got back. Flo had got caught in one of the tents and was hopping around on one leg, attempting to extract herself and failing miserably. Kaida was laughing too hard to be of much use. Nila snickered. John had to jump to the rescue again.
"Fun trip?" Kaida asked Nila.
Kaida smiled at the thought of John nattering on to a very unimpressed Nila.
"I caught a Sandshrew," Nila replied. "It has a dark move."
"That was the only reason you caught it, wasn't it?"
"It might have been," Nila said evasively.
She released the Pokémon. Sandshrew stood before them, looking a little confused.
"We work together and I feed you," Nila said succinctly.
Sandshrew paused a moment and then nodded its head.
Kaida laughed at the interaction. It looked like Nila and her Sandshrew already shared a lot in common. This observation was furthered when Nila scowled at Sandshrew for trying to steal her cheese and pickle sandwich. She gave it a muffin instead and they both calmed down.
Then Kaida realised that Nila had given Sandshrew her muffin and things were decidedly not calm after that. Unfortunately, Nila was taller and had longer legs, which meant she was faster. She managed to get away. But Kaida swore that Nila would buy her a muffin in Azalea Town or revenge would be swift.