The Trouble with the Tunnel

The next couple of days that passed were some of the calmest that the party had experienced in a while. The revelation that Skitty had brought gave them some peace of mind as they travelled as well as being able to watch Porygon Z dart around the map of Hoenn. It hadn't come much closer but it hadn't stayed stationary either, so they at least had confidence that the app worked. Their usual arrangement for this stretch of road had Ray monitoring the Porygon Z but that was usually uneventful so he played with the apps, sometimes tapping into the radio or the television networks for everyone's entertainment. In the meantime, Mari stayed up the front of the group, using her PokéNav simply for navigation.

It was getting incredibly warm under the midmorning sun and they were feeling it now that they'd left the cover of trees behind. Another long grass meadow stretched away ahead and behind them as they mostly followed the trail of the dirt road. In boredom, Tyson broke away from the main group when Ray tuned in to a weather channel and headed up the front. He nudged Mari's arm but she didn't look up from her device.

"Hey, Mar, what's shakin' up front?"

"Nothing…" she murmured, giving a lacklustre shrug.

"Hey, are you okay? You've seemed really down ever since we left Rustboro."

"Just a thing I'm going through, no biggie."

"You're not still hung up about Derryn, are you?" he pressed, leaning forward to get a peek at her expression. Her face screwed up.

"No!"

"Geez! No need to snap. Look, it was one loss and I can see that he's kind of a jerk but you can bounce back from this, no problem."

Mari growled and stomped her foot angrily, making him flinch. "Not about him!"

"I'm pretty sure it's got something to do with him. You're taking a defeat hard, I know the look… and I know the feeling," Tyson admitted, blushing.

"It's not about Derryn or what happened in Rustboro," Mari said slowly, continuing to walk and keep ahead.

Tyson raised an eyebrow, not believing that for a second. "Then is this about Boofy?"

"Boofy? Who is…" Mari looked at him quizzically and then burst out laughing. "Woofy! His name's Woofy! Why can't you ever remember anything? Ahahah!"

Tears started to leak out of the corner of her eyes as she guffawed but that only prompted him to join in anxiously. No telling what those tears were really for. She wiped her eyes and sniffed deeply, taking deep breaths to compose herself before she added:

"Many things… a lot has piled up lately. Just let me deal with it." Mari turned back to her PokéNav for an excuse to look away completely. "Should be careful along here. Weather reports are saying that the weather's been really strange."

"Strange?" Tyson hummed, looking up to the bright blue sky with not a cloud in sight. "It looks perfect to me."

"Says there's an unseasonal heatwave coming through," Mari explained, looking up to scout ahead. "It is getting a bit warm – it's not even midday."

She covered her eyes and squinted at something. Tyson copied her, hoping to see what she'd just found. They were approaching the end of the road where the grass suddenly changed from wild to mown. A rough, rocky escarpment towered over them and next to a well-maintained tunnel entrance was a little cabin tucked into a grove of forest trees.

"Hey, this is that tunnel you told us about, right? The one that goes straight to Turf Town," Tyson said excitedly. He started running towards it.

"Wait!" Mari called, trying to keep up with him. "Get on the road! There's a-"

At the edge of the lawn, Tyson's shin slammed painfully into a metal bar, sending tingles of pain up his entire body. He tripped over it and fell flat on his face. Mari caught up and stepped over the bar-and-post fence that was low enough to be concealed by the long grass.

"Fence…"

"Thanks for the notice," Tyson grumbled.

"You're the one who keeps running off without listening to others!"

Tyson growled as he rubbed his bruising leg. He picked up the egg case that was hanging on his shoulder and had hit the ground just as hard as he had. For a moment he panicked – what if he'd cracked the egg or broken the case? – but upon inspecting it, all was well. The egg had fallen out of place but it was still safe. It was a tough case… and a tough egg too, it seemed.

"Hey!"

They both looked up to see Daichi running towards them, asking what just happened. Their eyes widened and they both shouted: "Daichi, stop!"

Too late. Daichi's knee met the same fate as Tyson's shin and he also fell face first on the ground. He immediately jumped to his feet in a rage. "What's with this dumb fence?! Why didn't you warn me about it? Ow! My knee…"

He fell back on the ground, clutching his leg just under the sore part. Tyson and Mari sighed.

"We told you to stop," Tyson said. "Why were you running anyway?"

"We saw you guys running and thought there was something up."

They looked up to the rest of the group, running towards them but they slowed down and stopped at a wary distance from the edge of the wild meadow.

"What happened?" Ray asked. "Are you guys okay?"

"I think my knee is broken," Daichi whined.

"No it's not, you're still moving it," Mari told him bluntly. She stood up and turned to the group. "There's a fence behind the grass. Don't trip."

"Oh?" Ray murmured, getting a bit closer and keeping a close eye on the edge of the grass. "So there is."

"Not shown on the PokéNav so you'd only know it if you've been through here before," Mari explained while the rest of the group carefully stepped over the fence.

"It's not really what I expected," Hilary admitted, gazing over the cabin, the tunnel and a small, empty parking lot built out of paving stones. "I thought the road would go through the tunnel. Why does it stop here?"

"Tunnel's too small for most vehicles," Mari answered, putting a hand to her cheek as she thought. "Maybe a motorbike, though… actually, think vehicles are banned in the tunnel."

"Why?"

Mari shrugged. "Doesn't matter anyway, since we're on foot." She checked her PokéNav for the time. "We made some good time. If we stop for an early lunch we could push through to the end of it today, but it'll be dark by the time we get to Verdanturf. Could wait until tomorrow."

"No, let's do it today," Tyson declared.

"Why?" Max asked. "It makes more sense to do it tomorrow. It's not like we need to stress about Porygon Z anymore."

"What are you talking about? Getting to Horyton G is still a priority."

"Porygon Z!" Mari hissed.

"We have to get it to Professor Oak and have him figure out how its power works."

"Why, though?" Max argued.

"I get it," Kai piped up quietly. Heads turned and all eyes were locked on him. "Tyson's right, we don't know how Porygon Z's power works. It could be time travelling, or it could be dilating time or there may be some pattern to its wormholes that we can't figure out yet. There's still a chance that we might be wasting time… only now we don't know how much."

Shocked silence suddenly came over them. Between Hilary and the bladers, Ray appeared the least worried, if only because something like this had crossed his mind several days earlier. Mari looked to each of their faces in a nonplussed manner.

"Um… tunnel it is," she said, turning around and making her way over to the tunnel entrance. She didn't even look back to make sure the others were following; it would be too awkward right now.

She got a step away from entering the tunnel when she heard screaming echoing from inside. She froze mid-step. It was getting closer and then all of a sudden someone charged out of the darkness with a cloud of little blue bats screeching and squeaking around him. Mari cried out in alarm but was too slow to get out of his way. He crashed into her and they both tumbled to the ground. The cloud of bats was a much bigger than they'd anticipated and the entire flock burst out of the cave in a flurry, screaming at the bright sunlight exposure. Hilary and the bladers had to duck and cover their heads.

"Holy crap! What are those?!" Daichi exclaimed. Being much lower to the ground, he was in a much better position to get his Pokédex out and photograph them. It informed him dutifully:

"Zubat, the bat Pokémon. It has no eyes or nose but its ultrasonic cries give it precise echolocation to navigate and find prey. Since its body is sensitive to sunlight, it sleeps during the day, forming large colonies that are often found in caves, deep forests and old buildings."

Irritated by the light, this particular colony quickly retreated into Rusturf Tunnel, leaving the humans breathing heavily and a little shaken. The lilac-haired teenaged boy who'd just collided with Mari looked over his shoulder to make sure all of the Zubats were deep in the tunnel before he sighed deeply and fixed his askew brown-tinted glasses. He stood up and extended a hand to help Mari up before even considering dusting off his dark green biker jacket and khaki three quarter pants.

"So sorry! Was a bit hectic back there but that's no excuse for running into you like that," he said, bowing his head several times. He stood up straight and cleared his throat while he fixed his emerald pendant necklace and the cuffs and collar of the black and maroon dress shirt under his jacket. "Allow me to introduce myself: Ryan Aldrich. Pleasure to meet you and sorry about before!" His deeply formal voice turned into a panicked whine towards the end but he caught himself and righted his composure. "If I can make it up to you-"

"I'll be fine," Mari interrupted him before he went too far. A little flustered by his gentlemanly greeting, the only thing she could think to do was introduce herself and the rest of the group in turn. She ended with Kai, since he was way up the back as usual but when Ryan's eyes landed on him they sparkled excitedly.

"Wow! A Togepi? Never seen those in Hoenn and even in the Johto region they're rare," he gushed, making a beeline towards Kai to admire Togepi. Kai leaned away since this was a bit too close for comfort for his tastes. "Mind if I take a look at her?"

Kai glared at him and deliberately held Togepi out of his reach. Ryan's face fell as he got the message.

"Well, nice to meet you and all, Ryan," Tyson said. "We were thinking of heading through this tunnel but… are those bats a problem?"

Ryan turned to Tyson and shook his head. "Absolutely terrible idea! Rusturf Tunnel is not safe for travellers right now!"

"Because of the bats?" Daichi asked.

"Yes. They're the natural residents here, best not disturb them. But something's got them especially agitated—probably because of the heat. Decided to try my luck today but I guess they didn't like my presence."

"They don't like humans encroaching on their territory?" Ray wondered aloud. "It seems a bit unintuitive to build a tunnel through the natural habitat of such an aggressive creature."

"It's not humans that bother them, can't see or smell us, after all. But they're super sensitive to vibration so they're easy to disturb. Actually, a lot of the Pokémon that live in Rusturf Tunnel are sensitive to noise and vibration, that's why motorised vehicles are banned, even the ones that could potentially get through."

"Yeah…" Ray muttered, looking to the sign beside the tunnel entrance. Aside from some graffiti, it was printed with the name of the tunnel, pointing the directions to Rustboro City and Verdanturf Town while also sporting a list of 'do's and 'do not's for the tunnel. "Really unintuitive. Who built this tunnel?"

"It was a government project a couple of decades ago," Ryan explained, "built to give residents of Rustboro City a shorter route to Mauville City via Verdanturf Town since it was previously isolated from other cities on all sides due to the Petalburg Woods, Meteor Falls and these ranges before us here. Also made it difficult to cross the region since there was no direct east-west route. However, when they started digging they didn't expect to find natural caverns that were home to a slew of Pokémon with sound sensitivity. They couldn't finish the tunnel because they kept getting attacked but the tunnel did eventually get connected. Apparently it was a really devoted couple. One lived in Rustboro and the other lived in Verdanturf and they were so excited for this tunnel because it meant that they would be able to visit each other easily. They didn't give up when the project was cancelled, using only their fists and their Pokémon to gently smash and chip away at the rocks until they broke through to meet each other. Such a romantic tale!"

His eyes watered and he clasped his hands together. Incidentally, Hilary was making exactly the same expression. The others stared at them, a little unnerved by their enthusiasm.

"It is~" she sighed dreamily. "Star-crossed lovers: those destined to be separated but they refused to give in to fate's design and made it into each other's arms."

They both sighed simultaneously. Daichi gagged. "Who cares about some stupid love story! We need to get through the tunnel."

"Why don't you show some sensitivity once in a while?" Hilary retorted.

"Do you really want to try?" Ryan said. "It'll be dark by the time you get to Verdanturf, if you get there at all thanks to all the wild Pokémon. Alternatively, take the rest of the day off and go through the tunnel early in the morning before the Zubats come back to roost – they're the biggest problem. Might make it to the other side before the sun even sets."

"How long is this tunnel?" Max asked incredulously, staring at the entrance worriedly. Ryan laughed politely but didn't give him an answer.

"Then I guess we're camping around here tonight," Ray guessed, looking around the lawn.

"Camp? Why?" Mari replied. "Just stay in the cabin, it'll be more comfortable."

"Oh? That's a visitor's cabin?"

"Course. What did you think it was for?"

"Used to be the worker's cabin for the project," Ryan added, "but after the project was completed, rather than demolish it they kept it around as a rest stop for travellers. I'll warn you, it's a bit crowded right now."

"Let's go inside and check our prospects, then," Ray suggested. "I think it'll be nice to have a decent break after all of the hiking we've done."

"You're still sore from chasing Skitty the other night, aren't you?" Hilary snickered. Ray blushed.

Everyone else acquiesced and entered the cabin to take a look around. The structures were basic and all of the supporting beams and crossbeams were exposed – clearly this building had been intended as a temporary residence but it was still standing twenty years on. A small kitchenette in the corner had a stovetop and an oven and some cabinets that seamlessly melded with the cupboards beside them. That entire right-hand wall was cupboards with the only interruption being the window with the computer desk in front of it. On the other side of the room were bunk beds but only enough for four people. The middle of the one-room building was covered with tatami mats and a table right in the centre that was already occupied by two teenagers and a little girl drinking tea together. They all looked up when the large group walked in and raked their gazes over all of the new faces but they all ended up fixated on Hilary. The little girl suddenly stood and her eyes lit up.

"Hey! You again!" she exclaimed excitedly.

Hilary blinked in confusion as all eyes suddenly turned to her, even her teammates who were a bit puzzled by this turn of events. The girl did look familiar but it didn't come together until she spied the huge, purple scorpion sitting on the cushion next to hers. "Oh! You were in the normal rank Contest. Shido, right?"

"Shido Sanders, that's my name. You remembered. What about Skorupi?" she asked and her Pokémon clicked his mandibles and pincers. "He says he hopes you would remember him too."

"I do remember. Your Pokémon had the confetti and the cute mittens."

Shido gasped happily and slapped her hands to her cheeks. "Even remembered the mittens? Ralts had such a cute dress too." She crossed the mats and took one of Hilary's hands in both of hers. "So glad we got to meet again like this. Usually when I'm travelling with my brothers I don't get to meet many of the people I do Contests with. Would you like to have tea with us?"

"Sure, just let me get my shoes off."

"Ought to make more tea, then," said one of the boys at the table as he stood up and picked up the teapot. He was dressed smartly but casually in a white shirt and tank top with washed-out jeans.

His brother whistled as the group gathered around the table. They barely fit so many people around it. "Getting crowded in here. Hope you guys have your own sleeping gear or you'll have to get out the futons." He whispered behind his hand: "Some of them have weird stains."

He winked and ran a hand through his black hair, dragging it more to the left than it already was. His black shirt and cargo pants made him come across as more of a punk than his brother but for some reason that contrast only made the difference between the brothers eerie. It wasn't until the other came back with a freshly boiled pot that anybody was able to spot it. Their faces were identical. If it wasn't for the clothes, the different directions they trained their hair or the respectively purple and yellow highlights on their bangs they would look like clones.

"Heeey…" Tyson muttered, squinting and pointing at them. "Are you guys twins?"

"So you could tell?" the twin with the yellow highlight said with an amused lilt in his voice. "If you're friends with Ms Tachibana then you would have seen Shido at the Contest as well. In that case, we seem to be the only ones who need an introduction. I'm Angelo and this is Devlin."

"People always tell us we look like twins but don't act like them," the purple-highlighted twin in black added with a grin.

"Can't even get them to wear matching shirts," Shido pouted, turning to Hilary as the most likely human source of sympathy. "Even if I make them a cute matching set, they say thanks but they never wear them."

"Only because they're too special to wear," Devlin said hastily. "You know we love the gifts we get from our little princess." He rubbed the top of her head and Shido smiled broadly at the fawning.

"It's nice to meet you," Ray said, following that with their second round of introductions that day. "I'm guessing the three of you are also stuck here."

"Yeah, 'cause of the Zubats," Devlin grumbled. His facial expression went sour. "Whismur, too. Freaking out and causing an uproar all over the place."

"If this doesn't let up soon," Angelo added, "we may all have no choice but to go back to Rustboro and take the long route via the woods."

"Aw man!" Tyson whined. Kai couldn't quite suppress his shudder.

Shido sighed disappointedly. "Wanted to go to a Contest in Verdanturf. Heard it's really pretty there."

"Don't worry, we'll take you to a Contest in Verdanturf one day," Angelo assured her.

"But you're also going to be late for your job, aren't you?" Ryan piped up. "Shido was telling me yesterday about how you had a very important job to do in Mauville City."

The twins both tensed and their right eyebrows twitched.

"Job in Mauville, huh?" Mari remarked with an impressed tone. "Ritzy. What do you do?"

"That's-" Angelo began but Shido interrupted:

"They're really great! They help people find Pokémon that get lost or stolen. And then the trainers get to be really happy that their Pokémon are back."

"That so?" Mari said, even more interested now.

"Y-yeah, that about covers all of it," Devlin said. "Were hoping to be early to this latest job and let Shido do a Contest on the way but at this rate we're going to have to turn around."

"What about you, Ryan?" Ray asked, turning to him. "You seemed pretty desperate to get through the tunnel."

He blushed. "D-desperate? Well, needed to get to the other side for my work too but don't think it's quite as urgent. I'm just running an errand for my bosses and I just didn't want them to wait too long. Thought I might be good enough at Pokémon handling to deal with the Zubats."

"Isn't there anything we can do?" Hilary wondered.

"Called some rangers from Verdanturf already," Angelo replied, "but they've been unsuccessful at solving the problem so far. Best bet is just to wait and see if the issue dies down on its own."

"At least now we get the lovely company of a couple of beautiful ladies," Devlin said, winking at Hilary and Mari, which flustered them.

"You had my company, didn't you?" Shido said with a pout. Skorupi clicked. "Skorupi thinks my company is lovely."

"And it totally is! You're still the number 1 princess here."

Max sighed, folded his arms on the table and leaned on them. He looked around to gauge everyone else's reactions. The overall mood was grim but he noticed Kai's nonplussed expression as he leaned on his hand, looking into his teacup thoughtfully.

"Got any ideas, Kai?" he asked. Kai glanced at him and shrugged. "Man, just as things were looking up for us…"

Suddenly Tyson stood up. "Well, I don't know about everyone else but I'm not going to take this lying down. Let's see if there's another way over these ranges."

"Yeah!" Daichi exclaimed, getting up too. "That sounds like a great idea!"

"Er, no," Ryan said quickly. "Sounds inadvisable. Never heard of anyone who has actually climbed those ranges."

"They didn't look that tall," Tyson argued.

"Even if they aren't tall they could still be treacherous," Ray pointed out.

"But you gotta admit that it doesn't hurt to take a look."

"No, I guess not."

"Then that settles it! Fan out, team! We're going to climb a mountain."

Tyson bolted for the door with Daichi hot on his heels. He got as far as throwing it open before Max called after them: "Don't you want to eat first?"

They both paused, both with a foot out the door. Then they doubled back and sat down again.

"Yeah, lunch would be good," Tyson said. Daichi nodded.

A/N: Unfortunately, nothing much goin' in this chapter because all of our time was taken up by meeting new characters. Ryan and the twins were all sent in by Hellhound2608 and they are going to be fun. Especially Devlin and Angelo. I'll also take this moment to remind everyone that you can feel free to send me an OC whenever. I usually insert them in as minor characters in a side-plot. You don't know it because you're not in my head but this story has a lot of scope for the world/plot to be populated by a lot of interesting people.

Next time, Tyson's gonna start shit by climbing this mountain. This can only go well, right?