Disclaimer: I do not own Pokemon, be it the idea, the creatures, or the world. Some of the characters in this story are my own while others can also be creditted back to the original owners. I take no credit for anything not mine, and thank the creators of Pokemon for giving me inspiration.

Chapter XXI: The Mining City

(Ventus' POV)

When at last someone yanked me – Rather roughly I might add – To my feet, most of the crowd had already dispersed; obviously my lack of an encore performance had struck a nerve. Pokeball still clutched tightly in my hand, as though I subconsciously thought someone was going to steal it; I began to dust myself off before looking at those who remained around me. Riolu, on the other hand, was far more content to plop himself down on the ground and munch away on the mass of berries he had accumulated. "That was quite a show kid." One man commented, still unable to cease his chuckling.

I took a moment to scoop up some of the loose change and look it over, "I hadn't noticed; Are Oreburgh citizens always this starved for entertainment?"

Another laugh from the crowd, the man spoke again; "Unless your thing is mining, there's really not much else to do around here, until a trainer challenges the gym that is."

Sliding the coins into my pocket, I looked up at him; my confused look must've said it all. "Gym battles are public events, so outsiders are always allowed to watch."

Now there was something I didn't know… And in a way, it made me nervous. I didn't expect to be performing – Again, no less – For such a large crowd during my match. If I made a mistake before, it was only Riolu, our opponent and, of course, myself who would know. But in a gym match, if I slipped up? I would NEVER hear the end of it; I could only count my blessings that my match against the hiker had no spectators. "A shame that'll have to wait for tomorrow."

I snapped from my thoughts, "Huh? Why?" How did he know I was going to challenge the gym?

That last question should've been obvious, I realized; what other reason do Pokemon trainers come to Oreburgh city? I couldn't imagine a lot of trainers showing up just to watch the mining procedures; I didn't even know what it entailed and it bored me! "Pokemon gyms close at night; gives both the leader and the challengers time to prepare and rest, or so I'm told." He told me.

What remained of the crowd began to part and stroll away; likely going off to get their own rest, to watch the match tomorrow. Despite sleeping half the day away in Jubilife, I found myself more and more tired as the seconds ticked by; quite strange, but then I had just had a struggle and a half in trying to capture that Ralts. I defiantly needed to get some sleep before I challenged anyone. I looked at Riolu as the man waved and left with the others. His berry pile had vanished, but the evidence of where it had gone was clear on his face. The tiny fighter grinned up at me, showing his of shiny… Blue teeth. I couldn't help but giggle at the sight.

Picking him up from the ground, I at last tucked the Pokeball away in one pocket – Different from where the others were stored, mind you – I still needed to figure out how to tell the difference between them, and until then I certainly didn't want to look the fool for messing up. I looked down at the Pokemon in my arms; despite getting such a late start, this had been a long day. Hiking through the fields, battling that hiker and getting scared half to death. The cave and the playful Diglett. And finally, the mental and physical battle in trying to capture the Ralts. Even if I did look completely silly, it was a totally exhausting effort.

"Should we head to the Pokemon center?" I asked Riolu, who shuffled about in my arms trying to make himself comfortable, "Or should we survey the gym before tomorrow?"

He jabbed his paw in the direction of the large building, signaling his answer; and who said the gap of communications was so wide? I moved around to the front, at last giving the sign a look over; sure enough, what I had assumed to be the gym turned out to be just that. Strangely, the front of the gym had even more windows then the side; what was up with that? I crept up and peeked inside, trying to get a glimpse of… Of something; some arena, no doubt. I recalled the televised gym matches I'd seen – All two of them, but still – And there was always an arena of some variation, usually having to do with the type of gym it was. If the hiker's information was at all reliable, and the leader here did use rock types – Appropriate, given the nature of the city – I'd more then likely have a rocky, stony field to battle upon. 'If Riolu wasn't so quick, that might worry me.' I thought with a small grin.

From my position at the window, I could make out nothing on the inside, almost as if the glass was tinted to prevent such a thing. But then, what would be the point of windows? "Something must be in the way." I told my Pokemon, before moving to another window.

The same result; this was so annoying. With a sigh, I moved from the building and looked around; where the hell WAS the Pokemon center in this city anyway? Between the machinery and the houses, I couldn't see it from where I was, and I certainly didn't relish the though of unrolling that huge map again. Walking around town until I stumbled upon it by chance seemed like a much better idea, defiantly. And it wasn't as though I was on the verge of collapsing anyway; I could even take in the sights… Few as they might be in a place like this.

Aside from the houses, the gym and all the machinery, there was something else that really stood out in Oreburgh; the vents. Series of ventilation systems could found in almost any direction I looked, though it didn't take a genius to figure out why; mining was supposed to be dangerous work, and without fresh air it would be even worse. Maybe it'd make the city look a tad clunky or messy, but it was certainly a lot better then the risk factor for the miners. I moved on from the gym, taking only a moment to look behind it. There was the local Pokemart, though I wasn't in any dire need of supplies just yet. In fact, hadn't Sye said I would need some back in Jubilife? He was totally underestimating me!

Shaking my head, I continued. Beyond a few further houses an even taller building then the gym loomed over much of the city, but at least with this one, I didn't have to wonder what it was. Displayed for all to see were the words "Oreburgh museum" written along the top of the building. 'That could be interesting…' I thought for a moment, before quickly shaking my head; education was certainly not my idea of having fun.

Passing on whatever sights the museum might've offered, I continued to survey the city, offering small, quick waves to anyone who greeted me, but otherwise keeping to myself. With my kind of luck, my little stunt near the gym had already granted me a reputation, and I was none to thrilled about having to give a repeat performance should someone ask.

"Didja hear 'bout the mine? It'll be reopened again tomorrow mornin'." A voice asked, coming off from my right.

Naturally, I turned, but found that the speaker was not talking to me, rather men dressed in the same manner as he; classic miner gear, straight out of the movies. How unoriginal, they even had the flashlight hats. "Already? What about them wild Pokemon down there? Even Hank here couldn't do nothin' about them." Spoke another, gesturing at the largest of the trio.

The one known as Hank spit through his teeth, off to the side, crossing his arms, "All about the numbers, and I'm only one man against the lot of'em."

The first rolled his eyes, "So was Roark, didn't stop him though did it?"

Hank tapped his chest with a closed fist, eyes narrowing at the speaker, "Do I look like a gym leader to you? 'Course he's gonna be able to do what us regular folk can't."

"At any rate, at least we'll be able to go back to work tomorrow."

Sneering Hank shook his head lightly, looking up at the sky, "If the mine gets anymore automated, there won't be any work left for us to do, Stan."

Stan quickly shook his head, waving his hands before himself, "That'll never happen, the boss wouldn't shaft us like that." He assured them.

The still unnamed man nodded his agreement, "Long as he's got his gym to run, he'll need us fellas to keep an eye on the mechanical whoozits while he's off giving those newbies what for. You worry too much Hank."

But Hank had no response, for he was staring rather coldly at me. I hadn't realized it, but in stopping to listen to their conversation I had simply been staring at the three of them, quite vacantly at that. Riolu stared up at me, while the men murmured to one another. "You want something kid?" The nameless one finally asked.

I shook my head, "Just… Passing through; which was is the Pokemon center?" I managed, growing somewhat unnerved by the large man's glare.

All three pointed at once, just down the road. Giving a quick nod, I hurried along, eager to be away from the rather tense situation. 'This Roark person sounds like quite a guy; runs both the Pokemon gym and the mine here.' I thought to myself as the center came into view, 'I wonder what they were talking about though, with those Pokemon in the mine…' Maybe I could ask someone?

If memory served, though it seldom did, the nurse in Jubilife had said each Pokemon center was run by a sister of hers; a twin sister, no less. If the one here was as kind as the others, then maybe I could get some information out of her? It was certainly worth a shot. "What do you think?" I asked Riolu who, naturally, just looked back at me.

I really needed to stop having conversations that started in my head.

Coming to a stop just outside of the Pokemon center, I looked off to my right, the source of an ever increasing commotion. Machinery whirled, whizzed, buzzed and made a number of other such like noises a short distance away, all of them stationed just before a great opening in the rock face – One far larger then the Oreburgh gate. For a moment, I stopped to watch, as every now and them a few people stepped up to inspect the equipment, before carrying on with something else; all of which wore the same miner's attire as the trio from before. "Guess that's the mine."

I started to turn, but something else caught my attention; a very BIG something. Stored off to the side of all the mechanical works as a gargantuan pile of dust, ash, sand, and whatever else fell into such a category. More then four times taller then I was, I could only wonder what they were planning to do with it all. "If I was a kid with a sled…" I thought aloud, smirking at the thought.

Riolu yawned in my arms, bringing me back to reality; the Pokemon center, right. I turned and headed in, surprised to see that, for once, there were other trainers here besides me. Some sat on the provided seats and benches with their Pokemon, chatting with them or muttering to themselves while others spoke to each other; some conversations looked rather pleasant while others I knew immediately to avoid.

Thankfully, Nurse Joy number three could be found just behind the counter, watching me, the newest arrival to the center. A few other trainers too, looked over in my direction, some focusing on Riolu while others simply shot me confused glances. 'Probably because he's not in his Pokeball.' I told myself, before glancing down.

… Or maybe it was because I was covering in grass and dirt? 'Between the Diglett and the Ralts I'm a mess!'

When a few laughs arose, I decided it had to be the latter. With a small frown, I approached the counter, and placed Riolu atop it. "Can you do a checkup on Riolu for me?" I asked, eyes widening slightly as I remembered something.

Reaching into my pocket, I placed a certain Pokeball on the counter beside the fighter, "And Ralts too, please." I hadn't the foggiest if the latter even needed healing, but I was never one to take outwardly stupid chances.

True, my capture of it had involved no actual battling against it, but who was to say it hadn't fought or been hurt before that? 'Better safe then sorry.'

Smiling kindly, the nurse nodded her head, "Of course, just wait here." With that, she vanished into the back room with my Pokemon.

For a moment, I leaned forward, trying to see what exactly was back there, but when it became obvious that some things were best left unknown – And I realized I couldn't see through the door – I looked back at the room. "Man, Roark sure is tough…" One trainer whined, his arms swaying pitifully from his sides.

His friend clapped him on the back, "You'll get him next time."

'So trainers get multiple attempts at a gym, huh? That's interesting…' I mentally noted.

With no one to talk to, I pulled free my Pokedex and began clicking through it, looking over Riolu's information once again. If I was going to challenge the gym leader tomorrow, I needed to be prepared. If he was going to use rock types, I had to be ready. If he was as powerful as everyone was making him out to be…

I had to have a plan.