Chapter 20: Showdown in the Underground Tunnel
"Pikachu, use Iron Tail!" Kyle ordered.
"Pika!" Pikachu shouted with a nod before charging forward, tail glowing bright.
"You use Iron Tail as well," Raptor said.
"Rampardos!" Rampardos roared and whipped around, smashing its large, glowing tail into Pikachu's. It overpowered Pikachu's Iron Tail and kept going, slamming into Pikachu's body and sending him flying back.
"Mime Jr. use Confusion!" Kyle yelled. Mime Jr. raised his arms and his eyes turned blue. Pikachu became outlined in blue and came to a slow stop in mid-air.
"Miiiiiime," Mime Jr. sang as he lowered Pikachu gently.
"Phanpy, use Rollout!" Kyle shouted.
"OOMPAH!" Phanpy trumpeted and rolled forward.
"Flamethrower!" Raptor ordered. Phanpy was engulfed in powerful flames and stopped rolling, letting out a pained cry.
"Phanpy!" Kyle screamed.
"Give it up, kid," Raptor said. He heard a loud smashing sound and looked over to Ptera. Her Bastiodon had charged at Daniel's Gabite, who dodged, and Bastiodon kept going, running into and shattering a large boulder. It seemed unharmed, and it turned around to face Daniel and his Pokemon.
"Totodile, use Water Gun!" Daniel said. Totodile obeyed, shooting a large blast of water from his mouth.
"Iron Defense!" Ptera ordered. The stream of water split, shooting off to either side. "Now use Take Down!" Bastiodon charged, and Daniel yawned, whistled quietly for a moment, and looked at his watch, before nodding.
"Totodile! Dodge now, and use Ice Fang! Gabite, use Rock Smash!" Totodile skidded to one side, sending a pair of icy bolts at Bastiodon. The attack connected and Bastiodon suddenly jerked to a halt, its feet frozen to the ground. Gabite strolled over and wound up, before sending a Rock Smash-powered right cross into Bastiodon's face. The trapped Pokemon rocked back and forth from the impact but was still stuck fast.
"Break free, Bastiodon," Ptera ordered, "and use Iron Head." Bastiodon seemed to shiver, before it shook itself hard, and the ice shattered. Bounding forward, it became surrounded in a white aura and rammed directly into Gabite, knocking him off-balance. "Now use AncientPower!" She shouted. A massive ball of energy formed in front of Bastiodon and it fired the attack, directly at Gabite.
"Totodile, use Ice Fang on the attack!" Daniel ordered. From his position off to one side, Totodile blasted another bolt of icy energy at the attack, knocking it off-course and into the wall.
"Gabite, pull it together!" Daniel shouted. "Totodile, use Ice Fang and hit Bastiodon!" As Gabite struggled to his feet, Totodile blasted off yet another Ice Fang at Bastiodon.
"Bastiodon, use Metal Burst!" Ptera yelled. A large white ball formed in front of Bastiodon's gaping mouth that absorbed the energy and grew bigger. Roaring angrily, Bastiodon fired the ball at Gabite.
"Need to hedge my bets," Daniel muttered. "Gabite, get Rock Smash ready!" Gabite's claws glowed. "Now use Dragon Rage!" Without being ordered, Totodile fired an overpowered Ice Fang that missed, shaking the cave. Gabite stumbled, firing the Dragon Rage accidentally. The attack splashed over his claws, and they glowed light green faintly for a moment before the glow fading. "That's Dragon Claw!" Daniel shouted, amazed. "DO IT AGAIN!"
Claws glowing brightly, Gabite charged, shattering the Metal Burst with a flash.
"Hmph, Impressive," Ptera said with a smile. "It appears Raptor may not be as incompetent as I thought…but either way, your luck runs out here. Say good bye!"
Meanwhile, Candace and Tori had been battling the grunts. Although the grunts were pretty weak, the girls were vastly outnumbered and struggling. Eevee, Pachirisu, Swablu, and Beautifly were panting heavily, but Lapras hadn't been used much.
"Eevee, use Double Team!" Candace shouted as a line of grunts ordered their Pokemon forward. Eevee multiplied to match the number of Cranidos and Shieldon in the approaching line of Pokemon.
"Beautifly use String Shot!" Tori yelled. Beautifly shot a line of silk at the charging Pokémon's feet, stopping them in their tracks.
"Shadow Ball!" Candace ordered. "And Pachirisu, use Discharge on the Shadow Balls," she added. As soon as the Eevee fired their Shadow Balls, Pachirisu charged them up with Discharge. They turned dark black, sparks dancing around them, and then hit the line of enemies. The Pokemon were knocked out immediately and another line stepped forward.
"Swablu, use Sing!" Candace ordered. Swablu fluttered forward and sang a lullaby to the fossil Pokemon, and most of them fell asleep, but several managed to stay awake and a grunt ordered a Cranidos to use Zen Headbutt. The Cranidos pushed off the ground and hit Swablu from below with its blue, glowing skull. Swablu was sent flying but Candace caught her.
"Bloo…" Swablu said, weakly.
"Thank you, Swablu. You were great, but you need to rest now, before you really get hurt," Candace said and returned Swablu to her ball.
"Use Take Down, now!" a few grunts ordered. Three of the Shieldon who were still awake charged forward and hit Eevee, Pachirisu, and Flaaffy. The three Pokemon took some serious damage, but could have and would have continued to if there wasn't a commotion coming from Kyle's direction. Everyone in that room stopped battling to look. Kyle's Pikachu had used Sweet Kiss and Rampardos was rampaging in Confusion.
"Rampardos! Snap out of it!" Raptor ordered.
"RAAAAAHHHH!" it roared and smashed into a rock. Kyle and his Pokemon ran out of the way to avoid getting stepped on. Rampardos smashed around for a few minutes and the grunts fled in terror. For some reason, Rampardos decided to charge.
"Candace, Tori, watch out!" Daniel yelled. Rampardos was coming right at them, and there wasn't anywhere for them to go.
"We're done for!" the two girls thought to themselves, but suddenly, Larvitar ran out in front of them and started to glow yellow.
"Oh no!" Ptera said. Daniel looked at her and she seemed terrified. She took out her walky-talky and said, "Steggy! We've run into a snag. We've got what we've come for; now get us out of here pronto!"
"You're still in the cave though, aren't you?" a woman on the other end of the walky-talky said. "How am I supposed to –?"
"LOOK FOR THE HYPER BEAM!" Ptera yelled and looked at Bastiodon, who promptly blasted a hole in the ceiling of the cavern.
"Oh! I see it! I'm coming for you, hold tight!" the woman said.
"WHOOPTY DOO! HURRY THE HELL UP!" Ptera ordered as everything began shaking and the ground began to crack. The cracks were glowing yellow like Larvitar.
"LAAAAAAAAAHHHHH!" Larvitar cried, shutting his eyes tight. The ground shook harder and the size of the cracks increased as yellow lava shot out of them. The trainers fell over and hugged their Pokemon for dear life. The walls began to crumble and every boulder in the cavern broke apart. Rampardos was knocked out from this strong ground move and did not succeed in trampling the girls. Team Jurassic called all their Pokemon back and crouched down, covering their heads and praying that they would survive.
"LARVITAR, STOP!" Candace screamed. Larvitar stopped screaming and the ground stopped shaking. The glowing subsided and the lava vanished. The whole cavern was in ruins and the sound of helicopter could be heard from up above. Ladders dropped in through the hole in the roof and Team Jurassic fled quickly, taking Aerodactyl with them. The trainers stoop up, shakily and walked towards the center of the cave to meet up with each other.
"W-was that Earthquake?" Candace asked.
"I don't think so…Earthquake doesn't quite look like that…and it wasn't strong enough anyway," Daniel replied.
"Magnitude then?" she asked.
"No, not that either…neither of those moves involve…lava…I don't really know what that was…" Daniel said.
"Are you all okay?" someone shouted. They gasped and turned around to find all of the train passengers standing with Growlithe and Skarmory.
"We felt the ground shaking so we came to see if you were all alright! Thank you for saving us," a woman said. The trainers smiled.
"Yeah...we're fine," Candace said. The trainers stepped over the rubble and made their way to the passengers. Together, they all left the cavern and made their way back to the main train tracks. When they got to them, Skarmory flew Mime Jr. up to the road and Mime Jr. used Confusion to get everyone else up too. The trainers called their Pokemon back and sat down to rest while the passengers chatted amongst themselves. Kyle looked up at his friends.
"So…I guess we're walking to Cava then?" he asked.
"Yeah, but it's a day or two's walk," a man said. "We would have been there within a couple hours if the train hadn't been hijacked."
"That's good," Candace said before falling back and sprawling out on the ground.
"Well…we'll be seeing you," Daniel said to the passengers as he stood up. "Let's go guys."
"What?" Candace said. Kyle and Tori stood up too.
"C'mon guys, I'm tired! I just got comfortable! WHERE ARE YOU GOING?" she complained as they walked away. Eevee and Larvitar ran after them too.
"Let's goooooo!" Kyle cheered.
"You guys are gonna kill me…" Candace thought to herself but reluctantly got up and joined them. Daniel pulled out his map as they walked, and he looked over it for a minute. Eevee and Mime Jr. jumped up onto their trainers' shoulders because they were a little worried that Larvitar might get hungry and try to eat them.
"I'd say we've got a full day of walking ahead of us," Daniel said, looking at his map.
"And we're completely out of food," Candace added.
"No more Poffins?" Tori asked.
"Nope," Candace replied. "This little garbage disposal must have snuck the rest when we weren't looking!"
"Larrr," Larvitar said, patting its tummy.
"You think you're cute, huh?" Candace asked, annoyed. Larvitar nuzzled her leg. "Hey knock it off! You're not coming with us! You'll eat everything we have. We can't afford to feed you!"
Larvitar ignored her and kept following them. Candace tried and tried to shoo him away, but he stuck to her like glue. The others remained silent and tried not to laugh. Soon, Candace got pretty irritated and tried to run ahead, but Larvitar sped up too.
"I said beat it!" she screamed, now in a full-on sprint. She was too focused on Larvitar to notice that there was a Geodude blocking her path, so she tripped over it, and Pachirisu's ball happened to drop to the ground.
"Dude…" it said.
"Urgh, sorry Geodude," she said, rubbing her leg.
"Geo," it said lazily and turned over to sleep.
"Chi pah!" Pachirisu cheered, apparently now out of his ball. He took off in the direction of Cava Town and Candace glared at Larvitar.
"See what you did?" she scolded. "Another reason why you are not coming with us!"
"Are you okay?" Kyle asked, running up to check on his sister. The others were with him and all out of breath from trying to catch up.
"I'm fine, but Pachirisu is loose again," Candace said. Larvitar's stomach grumbled.
"Great," Daniel said. "Where did he go?"
"Towards Cava…Stop it!" she said. Larvitar was pulling at her hoodie, and his stomach grumbled again.
"Lar lar!" he whined.
"We don't have any food," she said. His eyes swelled with tears.
"You hurt your leg," Tori noticed, pointing to the blood cascading down Candace's leg. Larvitar began to cry, but everyone else continued to ignore him.
"It's just a scrape," Candace assured. "I'm fine…Hey…do you feel that?"
"The ground is shaking!" Kyle exclaimed.
"Larvitar is using that move again," Daniel said. The ground cracked and yellow lava began to spew from the cracks. Luckily, Mime Jr. had stashed a Cheri Berry in Kyle's hood, so he grabbed it and shoved it into Larvitar's mouth. The ground immediately stopped shaking and the magma went away. Larvitar wasn't crying anymore either.
"Chiiiiii PAAAAAAAH!" Pachirisu screamed. They all looked and saw Pachirisu running towards them, being chased by a Crobat.
"Man, it's just one nightmare after another today, isn't it?" Kyle muttered.
"Eevee, use Shadow Ball," Candace said. Eevee fired a Shadow Ball at the Crobat and it fled immediately after it was hit. Pachirisu waddled up to Candace, sparks discharging from his cheeks.
"Eh oh," Daniel said.
"Pachirisu, no!" Candace pleaded and closed her eyes, readying herself for the zap. A few seconds passed and there was no zap, so she opened them again and found Larvitar sitting in front of her with a Pachirisu tail sticking out of its mouth.
"Well I guess that's one reason why keeping Larvitar around wouldn't be such a bad idea," Daniel said, smiling.
"Yeah, I guess it would be nice not to be electrocuted everyday…but we can't have him throwing tantrums like that every time he's hungry," Candace reasoned.
"Yea, Serrano would be left in shambles," Daniel said, half-joking.
"I'll think about it," Candace said, returning Pachirisu.
"Think about it?" Kyle objected. "That move he uses is SO AWESOME! If you don't want him then I do!"
"Lar?" Larvitar said, cocking his head.
"I know you wanna come with us so bad, so I'll catch you!" Kyle exclaimed, tapping Larvitar's forehead with a Pokeball. Larvitar immediately broke free and glared at Kyle.
"It's no use, Kyle. I think Larvitar's picked his trainer…Candace," Daniel observed. Larvitar sat down in her lap.
"But I didn't pick Larvitar! Isn't this supposed to be a mutual agreement? Why me?" she complained, looking down, but avoiding eye contact with the Larvitar.
"I don't think Larvitar gives a damn either way; he's pretty set on going with you," Daniel said. Candace picked Larvitar up and set him down next to her before standing up.
"Well?" Daniel asked.
"Well what? I said I was going to think about it," she said, and started walking towards Cava. Larvitar followed at her heels.
"HMPH!" Kyle said and followed after them. Tori and Daniel smiled and joined the others.
"How did I get stuck with the two most problematic, high-maintenance Pokemon?" Candace muttered to herself.
"Do you think she's going to keep Larvitar?" Tori whispered.
"Yup! And she knows it too. She's known ever since she pried Pachi from his mouth on the train," Daniel said.
"OW! DAMNIT, LARVITAR!" Candace shouted, flailing her leg. Larvitar had clamped onto her foot and had no intention of releasing. "That hurts! Stop it! Let go!" she shouted.
"Larvitar, no. You can't eat her. She'll give you indigestion," Daniel called then turned back to Tori and said with a smile, "Awful attached to her, isn't he?"
Starving, the trainers kept walking in the direction of Cava Town. All they had eaten that day was lunch and it was probably nearing dinner time now. They ran into several trainers and hikers who were resting at this point because it had been a long hike and they were exhausted from pushing themselves. The trainers engaged in a few battles with these other travelers and were all victorious. The four trainers concluded that they'd spend all of the money they earned from these battles on food when they got to Cava. Larvitar's eyes lit up at this statement, but Candace reassured him that he wouldn't be getting any because he wasn't coming with them. Larvitar simply ignored her.
"Oh God…What the hell is that?" Candace asked, as they approached a giant, snakelike Pokemon coiled up and sleeping down by the tracks. Mime Jr. got close to the edge and peered over, hoping to get an even better view.
"Mime Jr. be careful!" Kyle warned. Candace pointed her dex at it.
"Steelix: the Iron Snake Pokemon. Its body is compressed deep underground, so it is harder than any metal. This Pokemon can chew its way through boulders with its powerful jaws," the dex informed.
"That thing is huge," Candace observed. Mime Jr. slipped and knocked a rock loose. Kyle grabbed him so he wouldn't fall, but the rock did, and it hit Steelix on the forehead. The Steelix opened his eyes sleepily and then let out a grumpy screech. Daniel gathered the other three trainers and pushed them forward.
"WALK! WALK! WALK!" he ordered, nervously. The trainers power-walked, so they wouldn't show any signs of fear, but then broke into full sprint and got as far away as they could, as quickly as they could. When they got tired enough, they slowed and looked behind them, letting out a sigh of relief when they saw that nothing was chasing them.
The trainers got pretty far before they came across yet another obstacle. There was a whole group of blue-eyed Pokemon that appeared to be encased in steel armor, and they were all blocking the road.
"Whoa, what are those?" Kyle asked. He took out his Pokedex and pointed it at the group.
"Aron: the Iron Armor Pokemon. This Pokemon lives deep in the mountains, but will occasionally come out to eat railroad tracks and cars. When it evolves, it sheds the steel that covers its body and develops new armor," the dex informed. Larvitar was salivating from the thought of eating railroad tracks.
"Oh come on!" Candace complained. The group of Aron noticed the trainers and were a little spooked by them so they burrowed underground to escape. There was a single Aron left, staring blankly at a wall.
"I really, really want one!" Kyle exclaimed.
"Well one stayed behind, why don't you battle it?" Candace suggested.
"Definitely!" Kyle cheered and sent out his Phanpy.
"Mime!" Mime Jr. complained. He seemed a bit disappointed by this choice but Kyle promised to battle with him next time.
"Phanpy, use Take Down!" Kyle shouted.
"Don't-" Daniel started, but it was too late. As Phanpy charged, the Aron noticed the incoming Pokemon and tensed its body. Phanpy collided with Aron at full speed, but the Iron Armor Pokemon didn't budge. Phanpy, however, bounced off and then ricocheted off two walls before skidding to a stop, shaking its head. "…do that," the older boy finished slowly. "Aron can stop trucks. They have a solid suit of iron armor."
"Now what?" Kyle said.
"Knock it off balance, Kyle," Candace said.
"Then hit it fast and keep hitting it until it goes down," Daniel added.
"Right," Kyle said. "Phanpy, use Dig!" Phanpy quickly burrowed underground. Aron made no response, looking at Kyle expectantly and yawning widely. "Now hit him from directly underneath, and then use Headbutt!"
There was a rumble, and the ground directly underneath Aron erupted, sending the Pokemon flying into the air. As Aron was coming down, Phanpy jumped, headbutting the Steel-type from beneath.
"Hit him again with Headbutt, Phanpy," Kyle said. Phanpy jumped, headbutting Aron again and sending him bouncing to the ground.
"Now use…hey, where are you going?" Kyle asked. Aron had gotten to its feet and had begun walking down the tunnel, away from the trainers. "Come back here!" The Aron stopped, turned, looked at Kyle for a moment, and turned back, continuing in the way that it had been going. "Oh-kay then…" Kyle said. "Phanpy, use Rollout!" Phanpy curled into a ball and rolled past Aron, before reversing and rolling directly into Aron, knocking it back.
"Fighting fair, are we?" Daniel snarked. Kyle grinned.
"You advocate cheating, Daniel?" Candace asked with a heaping teaspoon of sarcasm as Phanpy battered Aron with blow after blow, knocking the armored Pokemon back farther and farther. It wasn't taking much damage each time, but Phanpy was hitting it relentlessly.
"Fair is I get what's due to me and screw everyone else," Daniel retorted. "But no, I don't believe in cheating."
"Phanpy, use Take Down, but go into a Defense Curl right before you hit!" Kyle shouted. Phanpy charged, curling into a ball moments before impact. The resulting crunch was powerful enough to knock Aron clean off its feet and blast it into the wall, where it slid to the ground. Phanpy staggered, dazed from the impact. The steel Pokemon stood for a minute and just stared at the trainers.
"Phanpy, you alright?" Kyle asked. Phanpy wobbled for a few more seconds, before shaking itself and standing up straight. "Good boy. Now, him again with Rollout!" Phanpy rolled forward, bouncing Aron off two walls and hitting him again as the Steel-type came down.
"Kyle, easy. Don't be too vicious with him," Daniel warned. "Steel-types can take a lot of damage, but this is getting out of hand."
"I know what I'm doing," Kyle shot back. "Phanpy, one more Take Down! Let's finish this!" Phanpy charged, and Aron cocked its head at the charging Pokemon, before jumping over the Ground-type and slashing at it, its feet glowing white. The unexpected attack knocked Phanpy off-balance, sending it bouncing across the tunnel.
"What the…what was that?" Kyle asked.
"Metal Claw," Daniel said. "I think Aron has had enough of being knocked around."
"Phanpy, hit him with Take Down, but keep an eye out!" Kyle ordered. Phanpy rolled to its feet, trumpeting angrily and charging. Aron yawned widely again and charged as well, slamming its head into Phanpy as Phanpy collided with it.
"Headbutt," Candace said. "That had to hurt." The two Pokemon were weaving unsteadily around the tunnel, stunned.
"Snap out of it, Phanpy," Kyle said. "Give me one more Headbutt!" Phanpy shrugged it off and charged, nailing the still-dazed Aron directly in the face. Aron was thrown back by the impact, landing in an unmoving heap.
Kyle patted down his pockets, searching for a Pokeball. "Where'd all my Pokeballs go?" the boy asked. Larvitar burped, and Kyle glared at him. "Did you eat my Pokeballs, you little monster?"
"Don't blame him for being hungry," Daniel said. "Remember, he saved our butts back there." Kyle growled, and Daniel rolled his eyes, fishing around in his jacket. "Here," the older boy said exasperatedly, handing Kyle a Great Ball. "Use this. I'll buy you new ones when we get to Cava, alright?" Kyle nodded, taking the advanced Pokeball and enlarging it. Chucking it at the Steel-type, the ball rocked twice, before popping open and releasing the Aron.
"What the…" Kyle said. "Why didn't it catch it?"
"He's still fighting," Daniel said, amazed.
"He took all those hits and he's still not knocked out?" Tori asked. "How's that possible?"
"Steel-types are really tough," Daniel said. "But this is ridiculous."
"Phanpy, hit him with one more Headbutt!" Phanpy charged, knocking the weakened Pokemon back. Kyle threw the Great Ball again, and this time, the ball rocked three times before the red glow faded, signifying a successful capture. Kyle grabbed the Pokeball off the ground. "Awesome! I caught him!" Kyle shouted victoriously.
"Well done," Daniel said. "Now send him out."
"Why?" Tori asked.
"Both he and Phanpy need medical attention, bad," Daniel began, "and we're still pretty far away from Cava."
Wordlessly, Kyle sent out the Aron, who looked up at the assembled trainers. Daniel held out a handful of Berries each to Aron and Phanpy, making sure each of them ate all of the medicinal fruit. When they were finished, Kyle returned the two Pokemon to their balls, and the trainers continued down the tunnel.
"So, what are a Steel-type's strengths?" Kyle asked nobody in particular.
"Well, as you probably saw, they are incredibly tough," Daniel answered. "They are also very heavy and solid, which gives moves like Headbutt, Take Down, and Slam a lot more power. They aren't the fastest Pokemon, but it's very difficult to harm them. I met a guy with a Metagross so tough that it could submerge entirely in molten lava and come out without a scratch."
"Wow. Does Aron evolve?" Candace asked.
Daniel nodded. "Twice. First into a Lairon, and then into an Aggron. They're all Steel- and Rock-types, so they're very tough, and very powerful."
At that moment, Larvitar decided to eat Eevee. Shortly after, when Shadow Balls and dirt were flying everywhere, he realized that that was a very poor choice. Pachirisu, as if sensing the excitement, chose that chaotic moment to pop out of his Pokeball and whirled around the trainers. He snatched all of their Pokeballs without them noticing and sent out every single Pokemon. Aron immediately decided to go for a stroll and took off towards Cava, Totodile looked up at his trainer and shot a Water Gun in his face, Eevee and Larvitar were still scuffling, and Pachirisu zapped every one of them and took off. Tori screamed from the pain of the zap, and Beautifly, only trying to comfort her trainer, accidentally sprinkled Sleep Powder over her. Tori fell over and passed out on the ground. Everyone stared at her for a minute before Larvitar waddled over and began chewing on her hair.
"What the hell have we gotten ourselves into?" Candace asked.
"Parenthood," Daniel said flatly, wiping his face. Glaring at his own problem child, he continued, "And was that really necessary?" Totodile nodded, a wide smile on his face. He was still nodding when Daniel returned him and Skarmory to their Pokeballs. Candace grabbed Tori's Pokeballs from the pile where Pachirisu had dumped them and returned her Pokemon as Kyle did the same for his. "Gabite," Daniel said, "would you mind carrying Tori?" Gabite gave him a long look, as if to say, 'can't you four stay out of trouble for five minutes?' before hefting the unconscious girl over his shoulder and walking alongside them.
"Maybe we should just set up camp for the night," Candace said. "I mean we're still hours away, Tori's out cold, and I'm exhausted…"
"But we have no food," Daniel said.
"And something might try to eat us. This cave is insane…" Kyle said.
"I know but…do you smell that?" she asked. A delicious aroma filled the air and the trainers kept walking. The road opened up into a large room and several groups of travelers had set up camp here and were cooking dinner.
"Lar!" Larvitar said, drooling and set off towards the nearest camper.
"Mooch," Candace muttered.
"Do you think anyone would feed us if we paid them?" Kyle said, also drooling. "If not, then I think I'll do what Larvitar's doing…"
"That's so rude though…" Candace said and her stomach growled in disagreement. "Ugg…"
"AHHHHHHHHHH!" a voice screamed. Tori woke up.
"Jeez, what now?" Kyle asked, turning around. Chucky was standing behind them, cowering and holding onto an Abra for dear life.
"How'd you get here so fast? You left when we left and we took a train…and uh…any reason why you're screaming?" Candace asked. Chucky opened his eyes and looked around the room.
"Wha…how'd I get here?" he asked.
"Uh…I don't know, you tell me," Candace said. Chucky looked at the Abra.
"ABRA!" he said.
"Why yes, it is," Daniel said.
"I know what happened!" Chucky exclaimed. "So there were all these Abra! And I wanted one! But they kept teleporting away! Then they started playing games with me and would use Teleport but appear in the same area, so I chased them all over the tunnel and then I tripped over this big rock thing…only it wasn't a rock, it was a Golem, a very cranky Golem who didn't like to be tripped over. I screamed and started running and he used Rollout to chase after me. I knew there was no way I could out-run him and then I tripped over a rock and then I fell down hard and one of the Abra who had used Teleport happened to appear under me and I landed on him so he must of Teleported me here…"
"How convenient," Kyle said. Chucky seemed like he was about to have a heart attack.
"Hey take it easy, kid…" Daniel said.
"And that is why we didn't take a two to three week hike through an underground tunnel," Candace said, crossing her arms proudly in an 'I toldja so' manner.
"I've caught ten species of Pokemon in this cave," Chucky said.
"And that is why I wanted to take a two to three week hike through an underground tunnel," Kyle complained.
"But Kyle," Tori began, "if we hadn't taken the train, what would have became of those passengers? Who knows what Team –"
"What?" Chucky asked. Candace had her hands wrapped around Tori's mouth.
"Oh nothing," Candace said. "She just woke up and probably had a nightmare or something."
"No need to scare the poor kid by bringing up Team Jurassic," Daniel whispered into Tori's ear.
"Larvitar!" Larvitar said, returning with a giant turkey leg.
"Who brings an entire turkey with them when they go camping?" Kyle asked.
"Oh Chucky!" Candace said, scooting Larvitar towards him. "I've found the perfect Pokemon for you! He's friendly, helpful, and you probably have a lot in common, like your appetite."
"Thanks, but no thanks," Chucky said.
"WHAT?" Candace demanded.
"There's gotta be some reason why you'd be trying to pawn off such a rare Pokemon…and I don't want to inconvenience Professor Maple in any way. Nice try…" Chucky said.
"Nooo," Candace said, pouting. Larvitar cheered happily.
"CHUCKY, FEED US!" Kyle demanded all of a sudden. "WE HAVE NO FOOD! WE'LL PAY YOU!"
"Hey don't worry about it," Chucky said. The trainers set up camp and Chucky prepared dinner. Tori had to help him because he obviously didn't know what he was doing. The trainers let out all their Pokemon to run around and play. Candace, Kyle, and Daniel sat back and relaxed. Because Chucky wasn't around, they discussed the events that had taken place that day and wondered about Team Jurassic. There was nothing they could do about it really, so there was no reason to dwell over it. Daniel didn't really want to discuss the subject anyway. The trainers feasted that night and passed out immediately afterwards, without even bothering to get into their tents. The next morning, they packed up and got ready to hit the road, but Chucky decided to stay behind. He had expected to be in the cave for several weeks and catch all the Pokemon he met, so he wanted to stick around and find more Pokemon. The trainers said good bye and parted ways. Candace, Kyle, Tori and Daniel continued on their way to Cava.
The rest of the hike went pretty smoothly. Candace gave up trying to get Larvitar to leave them alone, but still refused to capture him. Not so much because she didn't want him, but because she was stubborn, but Larvitar was persistent and didn't give up.
They eventually found themselves overlooking an unusually large cavern, lined with several rows of bright lanterns hanging from sturdy hooks embedded into the cave walls. These lanterns illuminated the cavern with a flickering light that cast deep shadows. The trainers gazed around the cavern and saw various buildings and structures scattered around it.
"Is this the town?" Candace wondered out loud.
"Yes, this is Cava Town," Daniel said. "Now, if you guys will pardon the pun, I'm a little in the dark on this city. If I remember correctly, they've done some renovations since I was last here."
"The town is underground? THAT IS SO COOL!" Kyle said excitedly. "How did they build it?"
"Dynamite," a gruff voice said. "Lots and lots of dynamite." They turned, finding a very tall, very broad, very bearded man wearing khaki cargo shorts, dark brown boots more weathered than Daniel's, and a white t-shirt with a brown vest over it that had enough pockets on it to hide a small city in. He had worm brown eyes, mud-brown hair, and skin that seemed oddly tanned for a man who had spent so much time underground. There was a brawny-looking Marowak standing next to him, holding a long bone over its shoulders like a quarterstaff. While Marowak barely came up to the man's knee, it was far more imposing.
"Quake, how you doing?" Daniel asked, extending a hand. Quake grinned and shook his hand. Daniel turned to the Marowak. "And how are you doing, big guy?" Marowak snuffled and shrugged, as if to say 'so-so'. "Candace, Kyle, Tori, this is Quake, the Cava Town Gym Leader. Quake, these are my friends, traveling companions, and partners in mayhem, Candace, her brother Kyle, and Tori." Quake shook hands with each one.
"Pleased to meet you," the massive man said, grinning behind his beard. The group began walking down the path to the city. "You three wouldn't happen to know any reason for there to be problems in the caves, wouldya?"
"As a matter of fact, we would," Candace said. "Some people from Team Jurassic hijacked a train and tried to take us hostage."
"Tried?" The man echoed. "I take it they were unsuccessful."
"Very," Kyle piped up. "We got the other hostages off the train and broke up their operation, but not before they got what they came for."
"What were they there for?" Quake asked.
"That's something I've been meaning to talk to you about," Daniel said quietly. "They dug up and resurrected an Aerodactyl, before blowing open the cavern they were in and escaping. That probably caused a bit of a disturbance in the tunnels."
"Did you…?" Quake left the rest unsaid.
"No, they got away," Daniel growled. "But it wasn't for lack of trying."
"Too bad," Quake said as they entered the city. "Oh well. On to happier things. Welcome to Cava Town, after the remodel. Daniel, I know you weren't here for the changes. We remodeled most of the town, and the Gym as well."
"Oh good. You'll have to repair it after we're done, though," Daniel said offhandedly.
"You're going to challenge me this time?" Quake asked, hopefully.
"Not just him," Candace broke in. "I will too, and so will Kyle."
"And we'll beat you!" the boy said, confidently. Marowak stopped short, and Daniel winced. The Bone Keeper Pokemon stepped closer to Kyle, invading his personal space.
"Kyle," Candace said slowly, "I think you should take that back before Marowak gets upset."
"What's he going to do?" Kyle asked.
"Twist your head off, maybe," Daniel said. Kyle paled and rapidly apologized, and the group got underway again.
"Would he really twist my head off?" Kyle asked Quake, quietly. The big man shrugged.
"Here's the Pokemon Center," Quake said, pointing to a building with a red roof. "Do you need to stop by?"
"Uh, we will, but finish your tour first," Candace said.
"Okay then," Quake said, handing Daniel a map. "There, just in case you forget."
Quake showed the trainers around the town, pointing out main buildings such as the Pokemart, Contest Hall, hotel, and gym. When the tour was over, the four trainers thanked Quake and he returned to his Gym. They headed over to the hotel first so they could drop off all their stuff.
"Hey Tori, check it out," Candace said as they entered the lobby. There was a vending machine up against the wall next to the front desk.
"What about it?" Tori asked.
"Look what's in it," Candace said.
"Ball capsules and seals?" Tori asked. "What a strange thing to put into a vending machine…"
"Yeah," Candace said laughing and the two girls walked over to it and bought a few things from it. There were many seals in it that they had never seen before, so they were curious to see what their effects were.
"We'd like a suite for four, please," Daniel said to the receptionist at the front desk. She checked something on her computer, grabbed a key and handed it to Daniel. He thanked her, handing her a wad of cash and she smiled, handing him his change.
"Ready?" Kyle asked.
"Yup," the girls said, arms filled with packs of seals. They walked up to their room, dropped off everything they didn't need, and headed over to the Pokemon Center. They left all their Pokemon with Nurse Joy for the rest of the day, planning to pick them up in the morning. Then they headed over to the contest hall to get a better look.
"Tori, what's that?" Candace asked, pointing to the contest hall up ahead. It was a clear, glass dome with a stadium and scoreboard inside. It was lit up inside, but no one was in there. There was a sandwich board out front with some people gathered around it, and that was apparently what Candace was referring to. She and Tori rushed to it.
"It's probably advertising an upcoming contest or something. I bet we're going to be waiting here for weeks just so they can enter it," Daniel said, rolling his eyes.
"Gee, they sure do have contests frequently in Serrano," Kyle said.
"Well think about it," Daniel said. "Once a year, one Grand Festival is held and each coordinator needs five ribbons to compete. Let's say there are fifty competitors. That means two-hundred fifty ribbons had to be given out," Daniel explained.
"Oh! Don't forget the Aqua Ribbon! Anyone who has that can compete with it again!" Kyle remembered.
"Actually," a familiar voice said. They turned around and saw Lacey standing behind them. She was wearing designer clothes: nice jeans, a white blouse with frills, and short black high heels. She also had a pair of sunglasses resting on her head. She continued, "All ribbons can be used again. Most people don't acquire all five ribbons in one year. It usually takes several years for most coordinators to acquire them all, and those that obtain five ribbons can re-enter the Grand Festival every year with those same five." She stopped to take out a large purple case and popped it open, revealing seven regular-sized ribbons and one large one. "These are all the ribbons I have won in Serrano. I only need these first five to compete in the Grand Festival."
"Then why are you still competing?" Kyle asked.
"Same reason you battle as many trainers as you can," she said. "To stay in practice."
"So what was so special about the Aqua Ribbon?" Daniel asked.
"In order to participate in the Grand Festival, you need five ribbons of that region. There is a Grand Festival every year in every region, so you need five ribbons from each region to participate in them all. You can't enter the Serrano Grand Festival with, say, four Serrano ribbons and a Kanto ribbon. If, however, you obtain an Aqua Ribbon, it counts towards your five in any region," she explained.
"Gotcha," Daniel said.
"I'm not participating in the Cava contest, by the way. I'm just here to…observe. Can you do me a favor in exchange for the contests lesson?" Lacey asked.
"I suppose," Daniel said.
"Please don't tell Tori I'm here," she said.
"What is your relation to Tori, anyway?" Kyle demanded.
"I'll tell you later," she said. "Teleport!"
"Kiiiir," her Kirlia said, twirling out from behind her trainer, and they both vanished. Daniel and Kyle turned around and saw that the girls were coming back.
"The contest is in four days and it's an R-one contest," Candace reported.
"R-one? Lacey never mentioned that term…what does that mean?" Kyle wondered to himself.
Candace, noticing the boys' puzzled looks, clarified: "R stands for ribbon. R-one means ribbon-one, which means you need at least one ribbon to enter."
"So you can both enter!" Kyle exclaimed.
"Yup," Tori said.
"We already did," Candace said.
"That quick?" Daniel asked.
"Of course! It's not a dragged out process. You just show them your contest pass and a ribbon and they put you into the computer," Candace explained.
"Well we better head back to the hotel. We've got a big day ahead of us tomorrow. Ready for your fourth gym badge, guys?" Daniel asked.
"You bet!" Candace and Kyle cheered.
~_~_~
Author Notes:
Read and review please. Aron's personality is actually based on my cat - really laid-back, does whatever he wants, not very bright, and pretty lazy. Both he and Larvitar are really fun to write about xD Hope you like the new characters!