I'm really sorry about the last two slapdash chapters! The next one will be much more exciting, I promise! I've been looking forward to writing it since the Cerulean City chapter! (I've had it written in my book since then!)

Also, poor Red. He gets injured so much. I should write something other than injuries.

Chapter 13: Selfdestruct

"When Red beat me on the S.S Anne I wasn't disappointed. I probably would have been if my Raticate hadn't been so badly hurt. That's all I could think about, it just looked so helpless lying there on the ground. I felt horrible for it. This feeling was new to me, I'd never really felt bad about anything before. I don't think I was really a human until then," Green laughed bitterly. "I was really nervous the whole trip back to Vermilion,"

Red hadn't been feeling too well after that sprint down to the Pokecentre, so after he'd rushed into the bathroom, he hired out a room and had curled up and fallen asleep instantly. He didn't know how long he slept for, but when he woke up, the sun was high in the sky and he could feel the heat radiating from it into his room. It was well and truly summer, and it was hot. He glanced at the clock on the bedside table, it said 3:17. Oh wow, he'd been asleep for almost twenty-four hours, he must have been exhausted after all. Then again, it was to be expected, he hadn't slept in a proper bed for at least four nights now.

Warily, he propped himself onto his elbows, worried about being sick again. He waited for a few minutes for that familiar stabbing pain, but when it didn't come, and sat up properly and stretched his arms. For the first time in a little while, he didn't feel tired, which was nice. He swung his legs over the side of his bed and reached his his shirt which was sitting on the ground. He pulled it on and ran a hand through his hair, making it stick up in all different directions.

Pikachu was still asleep by the foot of the bed, so silently Red grabbed his bag from the bedside table and made his way out to the showers.

He stood outside the Rock Tunnel, taking in enormity of it. Yes, it was huge and he was daunted by the task of trying to find his way through it, it was a little bit underwhelming. It wasn't as large at Mount Moon was, and not nearly as long, so he felt like he could get through it in a couple of hours. It would be getting dark by seven, and it was four now, and he guessed he could probably get through it by six. He adjusted his hat before taking a step inside.

Just like Mount Moon, as soon as he got inside the cave, the temperature dropped by about five degrees. A shiver went through his body and he pulled his vest tightly around his chest for warmth. Why he didn't have a jacket was beyond him, he just hadn't thought to bring one when he had left home. He told himself he'd buy one when he got to Celadon City.

Red liked to think of himself as a brave person, but he also forgot his fear whenever he was away from whatever it was that was scaring him. He had not remembered how eerie caves were and how his heart beat a little more quickly than usualy when he was inside of one. Of course he'd remembered this five metres into the cave, but instead of turning around and cowering, he curled his fists up and continued walking. He didn't want to be caught in here when it got dark, after all. He peered down at Pikachu, making sure that the little creature was still with him. He wouldn't be able to do this if he was completely alone.

While he could see the entrance, it was fine and he was able to see where he was going. But when he turned the corner, there was suddenly no light. He froze in place, surprised by the sudden darkness. He knew he didn't have a torch or some sort of light on him, yet he felt in his pockets and his bag for one anyway and was disappointed when he came up empty. He reached to the side of him and felt for the wall, if he was able to shimmy along using that as a guide, then he could probably navigate his way. He focused on trying to get somewhere, blocking out the fear that was slowly creeping into his mind. He was in a cave in the dark, alone.

He'd managed to walk for about twenty minutes and not bang into anything yet, when he walked straight into someone. He rubbed his forehead where it was hurting from the bump. There was a loud, booming laugh and it made Red do a double take.

"Sorry about that, kid!" Whoever it was announced. "I can't see anything in this darkness. I always come here to hike, but I never think to bring a torch. That's a bit stupid of me," He couldn't tell who it was, but they sounded like an adult, and a gruff one at that. "We should have a battle, I wonder what it will be like when we can't see anything,"

If there had been light, you would have been able to see Red's face pale. This was a dangerous idea, a really dangerous idea. He wouldn't be able to command his pokemon, so they'd probably just get attacked. Or himself, he wouldn't be able to see the attack and probably get hurt. This was one of the only times Red wanted to be able to speak up, so he could tell the man that this was a terrible idea and that they could both be seriously injured. But no, he couldn't. He just had to stand there, frustrated and wait for the inevitable.

"Geodude," There was a whooshing sort of noise and Red assumed the hiker's pokemon had just been released. "Use Rock Blast," The atmosphere was so tense, he could hardly bear it. He was so frightened of what could happen. It was silent until Pikachu cried out in pain. Instinctively, Red bent down and hunched over Pikachu, protecting it. He couldn't let the little mouse get hurt, his conscience wouldn't let him. He'd felt guilty enough when it had gotten hurt fighting Brock, so if he could defend it this time, he most certainly would. It was his best friend...

He felt a hard smack against his back, and then another. He winced in pain, but held onto Pikachu even tighter. He'd rather himself get hurt than if it did. The hiker growled, seemingly annoyed that no damage was being done to the pokemon.

"Selfdestruct!"

Red cursed in his head, that was a dangerous attack, moreso than anything else a Geodude would know. He scooped Pikachu up in his arms and stood up, preparing to make a run for it. He took a step and a half, when he heard a loud 'boom' noise and felt a massive force his him square between the shoulders. His back felt like it was burning, it hurt so much! He fell over, unable to stand up anymore due to the pressure of the pain. As he hit the ground, the palms of his hands scraped along the gravel. His head was clouded from the pain, that he didn't really noticed when he passed out.

Red wasn't feeling so crash hot when he woke back up and found very little motivation to getting up and continuing to walk through the Rock Tunnel. But it was dark and creepy and he wanted to get out of there as fast as possible. It was strange, when he woke back up he couldn't see anything due to the cave being dark, so when he first opened his eyes, he had a mini freak-out about why he was 'blind'. Pikachu was nuzzling his leg in concern and he petted its head reassuringly.

He pushed himself into standing and felt for the wall again. Once he found it, he shimmied along and managed to eventually get to the end of it without running into anyone else. The path was rather straight forward, but everything was just pitch black. When he saw the opening of the tunnel, he broke into a run again. He was so sick of not being able to see anything, and light was a welcome break. He was almost there...

He burst through the opening and revelled in the fresh air. It was so nice to be out in the open again, he hadn't realised how much he enjoyed it. But his joy was cut short when the realisation of it being around midnight set in. Oh, and the scrapes on his palms, they were a little nasty and painful. He'd been so happy about being out of such a close in area, that he hadn't realised that it wasn't exactly that light out here either. The street lamps of the city provided some light, but not much from where he was standing. He figured that the closer he went to the city, the brighter it would get.

Slowly, he began to move towards the town. Lavender Town, it was, and probably not the best place to be hanging around in the middle of the night. From his spot on the hill, he could see a giant tower looming over the town. He assumed this was the Pokemon Tower, which he'd heard was a graveyard. He'd also heard many stories about this place, things like spirits and ghosts coming out in the middle of the night, and people hearing eerie music coming from the big tower. He didn't believe in any of that supernatural stuff, but couldn't help but feel a little on edge about the place.

His pace quickened as if someone was following him, even though he knew full well there wasn't. He was headed for the Pokecentre. There would be no rooms available at this time of night, but he didn't care. He just wanted to be inside.