Chapter 50: The Descent

The Pokemon Professor stepped off the rocking speedboat that brought him to Knot Island, planting bare feet into the crystal-clear water and the sand below. His legs wobbled; the journey from Cinnabar Island was rife with choppy water, and Oak's stomach didn't appreciate the experience either. A bad omen? he wondered, attempting to stabilize himself against the bobbing side of the boat. He looked up at his ultimate destination - Mt. Ember sat like a crumbled cauldron at the northern tail of the island. The dormant volcano appeared to be bleeding. Its coal-colored slopes appeared slashed by the orange soil. Oak knew that at night, the caldera would glow like a cooking pot against the dark sky, and he finally intended to see whether the glow's source was more organic than was once believed. A good omen, he decided.

"Do you intend to visit the summit, Mr. Professor?" asked the boat pilot, a Sevii native with a slightly more tropical accent than those on the Kanto mainland.

"Yes, indeed!" the old man smiled.

"It is beautiful at the top. There is quite a view to be discovered there."

"That's good to hear," Oak laughed, pulling a bag from the floor of the boat onto his back and taking his first step toward the shore. The pudding-like sand sucked at his soles as he tried to lift each foot. "I intend to discover!"

The boater grinned. "You will find One Island town just past the trees. Best travels!"

The Professor thanked his charter and continued trudging toward solid ground. Every step tingled with excitement and Oak felt the rhythmic tug of ocean pull the ache from his joints.

Maybe this is the elixir of youth, he thought, as he crossed the hump of sand out of the water, feeling the ticklish cling of dry pebbles to his soles. Sapphire sea, salt air, and smooth sand.


Victory Road. I can practically hear the trumpets.

My thoughts bubbled sarcastically. They didn't make it brighter, or warmer, or easier to walk. I resented them for it. My feet dragged, scraped, and ached, burdened by my weight and my impetus to move. They'd have grumbled if they could. Instead they insisted on carving new avenues of pain up my legs.

"Victory Road," I said aloud, hoping that speaking my dissatisfaction would be more comforting than just thinking it. The words did nothing but echo, reminding me of the thousands of tons of rock on all sides coated in thick darkness. The little I could see was only because of the light Pikachu produced. His fur crackled of eager static, occasionally skittering up the length of his tail before fizzling out. "What an honor it is to be here, huh?" I said to him. His red cheeks sparked in response. This wasn't normal for a Pikachu, per se. Much more verbal, usually. I figured it was the anxiety.

I shook the negative thoughts out and pushed myself forward with others. There is a challenge waiting for me at the end, the opportunity to prove myself before the best of the best. To become the best of the best of the best. The mantra kept me walking. "The best, of the best, of the best," I'd say, planting one foot before the other with each 'best'. For a brief delusional moment, I imagined I was a train, each 'best' a shovelful of coal pushing fire into my muscles and steam into my head.

My foot fell through air where I hoped to find ground. Arms flailing in the moment of sickening surprise, I finally clasped around...something...no way...handrails? Though poorly adjusted to the darkness, I could still make out the edges of stairs leading down a smooth stone shaft. "Stairs?" I said, looking at Pikachu, slightly puzzled. He returned my gaze and we both looked back down the path. Clinging to the icy handrails on either side, I descended, Pikachu hopping carefully down the steps by my feet.

The ceiling was lower here, the air damper and still bitterly cold. "Stairs," I repeated, wondering. "We entered Victory Road through the badge check building. We'll probably get out at a building too, or near one. Somewhere close to the Indigo Plateau's castle, if not inside it. It makes sense," I reasoned, dodging around a lump of rock in the ceiling. "Victory Road must've been built, at least partially. Carved, maybe. So we know there is a way through. Or was. Our job is just to find it, eh?" Pikachu squeaked in the affirmative, but didn't sound encouraged.

There was a rumble, as it from the belly of the mountain. Several rocks tumbled in front and behind us, miniature landslides shaken loose by the sound and shudder. "What was that?" I asked. Pikachu got down on all fours, preparing to defend us. The rumble sounded again, louder and closer. A swarm of Golbat jetted out of the darkness, scrambling and screeching, flapping blindly with wings like tent flaps before filing out by the stairs Pikachu and I had just taken. Oh, right. Pokemon. We were too close to the entrance to run into any before now. They live deeper in the mountain, away from either end of the cave. My hands went to my belt, ready to summon anybody on the team as soon as the source of the rumbling became clear. Tentatively, I inched forward, and Pikachu followed.

The tunnel ended abruptly in a wide chamber. A high ceiling, supported by jagged spine-like columns, formed a large dome. The vertebrae of the cave seemed to shiver in the cold, making ominous creaking sounds as if they were trees in a windy forest. Rivulets of water trickled down the dark glass-like surface of the walls, dotted with phosphorescent crystals, creating glowing veins of pale blue. Tunnels, like the one we emerged from, were bored in several points along the dome wall, like those of a hive. Was this carved too? Almost certainly, but not by people...

The rumbling came to a painful forte. Then, streams of boulders poured out of three of the dome-wall tunnels. The boulders collected in piles with a ceaseless cacophony of thuds. All at once, the drumming stopped. There was no sound but the faint babble of water. Then the rock piles stirred into movement. Pikachu realized the threat before I did.

"Pika!" he yelled, firing a bolt from his tail at the nearest assembly. There was a sound of blasting rock and several grunts, pained and angry. The boulders shuffled more frantically, now moving towards us. Some were unfolding arms.

"Snare, get out here!" I yelled, summoning the Venusaur. "Razor Leaf!"

The horde of Graveler was a stone's throw away when Snare attacked. Sharp whistles cut the air as the attack sliced mercilessly through their earthen skin. Only the front lines toppled, while the rest of the crowd continued to press in, bulldozing over their fallen brothers. A boulder launched from the center of the mob arched high against the ceiling, careening like an asteroid straight for us. In the instant I expected to be crushed, Snare lashed out with two vines, making an X-shaped cut in the rock and letting it drop in quarters around us. The earth quaked, and dust rose like an aggressive shroud in the already-dim cave. I coughed as the chalky flavor of the dirt filled my mouth.

This isn't working, I thought, desperately trying to think of a plan. With no way to know how many Graveler we were facing, nor how to get out of the cave, the only option was brute force, and the ever-wavering stability of the stalagmites warned me of the danger of such a graceless plan. Two more Pokemon appeared at my command; Ali and Charon rose side-by-side, the energy of their Pokeballs briefly blinding me and the Graveler in the dark.

"Clear a path!" I ordered.

A torrent of water blasted down the center of the horde. The front-most Graveler dissolved in the stream, while several behind it were knocked aside by the force of the blast. A second torrent recreated the effects, and a pathway began to appear. Several of the Graveler attempted to retreat, but most continued to swarm with unprecedented ferocity. Ali rushed the flanks as we moved into the formed space, firing punches with vengeance and gross prejudice, shattering several chestplates and arms. Pikachu's weight appeared on my shoulder, a living lamp, giving his teammates light to fight by. Its electricity was no good against the enemy, especially in such numbers. Snare's leaves and vines kept a perimeter around the rest of us. The thick green cords slapped away the berserker Graveler with ease, but the exhaustion was taking its toll, and the numbers were not in our favor. The black mirror-like surface of the cave glittered maliciously in the light of sparks and crystals.

A sound like a bomb went off, and a section of cave wall exploded, sending shards of crystal through the air like shrapnel. A sting in my elbow told me I was hit, and with a quick glance at Pikachu on my shoulder, I noted streaks of red in the luminous yellow fur. I turned toward the source of the detonation, and felt my gut sink. An Onix, undoubtedly roused by the fighting, had crashed out of the wall and joined the fray, sending Graveler and bits of rock soaring. It gave an agitated screech that raised my hair on end. Ali rammed toward it, eager to take on such a large and imposing foe. There was a blind smack from the Onix's tail that sent the Fighting Pokemon crashing against the opposite wall, soaring over Charon's head. Concussed, Ali slumped and was still.

Charon gave a frustrated cry. Water summoned from the walls of the cave and from the air solidified around the rocky serpent. The Onix struggled, breaking the ice as it formed over its length, thrashing away at the cave and sowing chaos. The mass of Graveler fled in panic from the toppling colossus. In its rampage, the Onix collided with the side of the cave, unleashing a rain of stalagmites. Snare shoved me out of the way of an impending spike, sustaining the damage with his scaly shoulder. Charon was not as lucky, taking a full avalanche of rock onto her shell, flailing under the weight, shattering the focus of her ice attack. The Onix, now unimpeded, moved towards its pinned prey, clamping a stone jaw around her neck.

I've never seen wild Pokemon be this aggressive...is this really Victory Road? Or something else?

Cold fear clutched my body as I waited to hear the sound of the fatal injury, but Snare aimed a full-power Take Down at the massive Pokemon. Charon's neck was released, and the Lapras dropped unconscious to the ground. The Venusaur and Onix did battle, trading blows and catching each other's projectiles. Each hit echoed the hammering of my heart against the root of my neck. There were no commands I could give that Snare didn't already know. A decisive blow came in the form of a Vine Whip that left a scar in the Onix's face. The crest fell over, landing with a thud in the loose gravel that the cave floor had become. The Onix gave a final shriek of frustration, then bored like a massive worm into the cave wall. The noise of its tunneling rumbled away, rushing into the gut of the mountain. The sound faded, and I was left with just the pounding in my ears. Snare and I made eye contact as the silence settled. Then his eyes rolled up, revealing their whites, and he collapsed into the dirt.

Pikachu slid off my shoulder. "Guys?" I croaked into the darkness. Ali's form was still unmoving against the wall. By Pikachu's fading light, I saw that his gloves were shredded, revealing flesh and muscle and bone. The only evidence of Charon's breathing was the swirling of dust by her nostrils. Snare made an odd gurgling sound, and a glob of bloody sputum dropped out of his mouth and onto the cave floor.

"Stay with me, guys!" I began to panic. Pikachu gave a hacking cough, causing his light to flicker. For a brief moment, it was pitch black.

"Stay with me!"


Professor Oak settled into his comfortable bed at the beachside resort, comfortable and humming with excitement. The expedition to Mt. Ember would leave early. Very early. He hired a guide in town just earlier in the day, and confiding in her what he hoped to discover, she suggested reaching the summit before dawn was the most advisable. After an early breakfast, Oak would meet the guide just outside the resort, packed and ready to go. They'd hit the slope immediately. Sleep did not come easily to the esteemed Pokemon Professor that night. As excited as he was, as necessary as it was, he couldn't shake the creeping feeling that he would find nothing on the mountain tomorrow.


The cold crept into my lungs, my heart, my bones. The only sound was the drip of water, the scrabble of my limbs over the rock, desperate for purchase. The only sight was black. My teeth chattered, but I could not tell if from fear or from freezing. I clutched to my chest, under my shirt, the Pokeballs containing my friends, their metallic surfaces pressing circles of ice into my chest. Snare, Ali, and Charon were gravely wounded. Pikachu was exhausted. Midas and Jupiter were still in some shape to fight if need be, but I was growing too afraid to release them. Who knew how much more vicious the creatures here in the subterranean blackness were than their surface-dwelling relatives. Maybe going deeper was a mistake. Maybe it was worse than a mistake...maybe it's a death sentence.

A sickening lurch. My foot slipped and suddenly sped away from me. My leg followed, dragging my body behind it. I had lost enough sensation in my legs to almost believe they belonged to someone else.

I fell, and slid. The rocks cut at my neck as I rolled passed them. An impact with the floor pressed the Pokeballs deeper into my chest, bruising it. A rib cracked and I yelled out. The sound felt like it shattered the world of cold and darkness for an instant, and just as quickly, the senses disappeared into deprivation. I wondered if my scream would ever reach the surface, even faintly. I wondered if it would be the last sound I ever made.

Eventually I stopped sliding and rolling. I lay where I had stopped before I realized that I was wet. It was too cold to tell the difference, but my cap and head and scalp were laying an inch of water. A puddle? A pool? I didn't care. I had already accepted it as my grave.

There's no food, no sun, and hundreds of thousands of creatures who want to kill me and my last friends. I'm going to die here.

I thought of Leaf. Then the ice began to creep into my brain, and I faded.


It's good to be back. I wanted to rewrite the last chapter because there was some fixes need here, some extra details there, and just to get myself "warmed up" for what is hopefully the final stretch of this story.

Thanks for waiting for me. Life has been insane since the last time I was writing this story, but I'm finally at a point in my life where I have some time to work on this. As promised, it will be finished. Thank you to everyone for their patience, understanding, support, and readership, as always.

Let's finish this wild ride.

Best,
- Curse