Friends to Lovers
Chapter 20: Lost in Granite Cave
As the morning sun rose over the horizon and the start of a new day was slowly becoming visible over Dewford Island, inside a small lodge on the coast, May, Misty and Brock were sound asleep in their beds in the room they shared together, while Jessie, James and Meowth had their own private room, with Ash and May sharing one bed and Brock and Misty having the other. As May was sleeping in her and Ash's bed, she began to sit up as she slowly opened her eyes and let out a yawn before turning her head to the others. "Ah… good morning, guys." An expression of surprise came to her face upon realising that her bed was half empty and she got up from the bed and began looking around the room to find that Ash was gone. "That's strange… Where did Ash go?" As she looked around with an expression of puzzlement wondering where the raven-haired boy could be, she turned to hear Misty yawning as she was sitting up from her and Brock's bed. "Hey, Misty, have you seen where Ash and Pikachu went?" May asked.
Misty showed an expression of surprise at this question and she looked to find that Ash wasn't with May and she tilted her head in puzzlement before turning her glance up to May. "Weren't they sharing a bed with you?" As she and May looked at each other while they were wondering the same thing, Brock took a look at the bed Ash and May were sharing to find their friend was gone.
"Looks like that's a negative." Brock commented, shaking his head. The three then looked at each other in confusion as they began to wonder the same thing: if Ash and Pikachu weren't in the room with them, where could they have gone off to?
Meanwhile in another room that was not too far down the hallway, the ex-Rocket Trio were sound asleep after their long day of work with Jessie and James sharing the bed while Meowth was curled up at their feet. After a few seconds passed, Jessie was the first to wake up as she sat up on the side and let out a yawn as she stretched her arms up, with James having managed to hear her as he opened his eyes and turned his glance to her with a bright smile. "Good morning, Jessie. Did our queen of beauty have a goodnight's sleep?"
After letting out a loud yawn, Jessie turned her head to James and nodded in agreement; if the big smile on her face was any indication, it seemed that she was able to sleep through the night without much trouble. "Mm-hm! That was the best sleep I've had in a long time. It feels great having a comfortable place to rest your head." She then reached over to grab her hairbrush from her bedside table and began to brush her hair to get out any loose hairs that were sticking out, while Meowth crawled over to the two as he was now up.
"You said it, Jess! Perks like this are making travelling with those guys worth our while. I reckon we should thank them later when we find them." Meowth suggested, showing a big smile while he spoke. Once he was finished, Wobbuffet popped up beside them blurting "Wobbuffet!" in agreement. At the same time, Jessie had just finished brushing her hair and she placed her hairbrush back on the bedside table before grabbing her small mirror to look at her reflection. Once she was certain that she didn't have any remaining loose hairs or any hairs that were standing up, she gave a nod in confirmation before turning to her comrades.
"Come on, you two. We need to get ourselves ready for another day of work at that small café. It might not be the best work we could find, but it's all we have for now if we want to make any funds for ourselves. First off, we should head back to the Pokemon Centre and see if they've got any good breakfast options." This idea seemed to sit well with James and Meowth as they both nodded in agreement.
"That sounds like a great plan, Jess! Getting a shift like that sure keeps us busy so we don't get in the others' way." Meowth stated. So without a moment to spare, the three began to make their way to get themselves ready, with Jessie and James going to pick out the wardrobes they wore the previous day for their work shift.
Meanwhile at the Pokemon Centre, in the hallway that was just outside the hospitalization room, Ash and Pikachu were sitting together on one of the chairs just opposite and they were sound asleep with a small blanket placed over each of them. As Ash sat there with his head lowered slightly, the sound of three voices reached his ears. "Hey, Ash!" Upon hearing the three, Ash slowly opened his eyes and raised his head before looking over to see May, Brock and Misty walking over to him.
"Oh! Morning, guys." Ash said, a bright smile crossing his face at the sight of the others having arrived where he was. Pikachu then opened his eyes at the sound of Ash's voice and lifted his head up to notice that the others had arrived as well. "(Good morning!)" Pikachu happily said, showing a bright smile as he raised his paw.
"There you are, Ash. We couldn't find you in our room, so we thought we'd look for you." Brock explained. May nodded in agreement before walking over to sit beside Ash, moving the blanket away so she could have enough space. "How come you came back here?" she asked, raising an eyebrow in surprise.
"I wanted to be close by so I could keep an eye on Treecko, Taillow and Ralts." Ash explained, standing up from the seat as he spoke with Pikachu nodding in agreement with them. As he turned his glance over to the window where he could see Treecko, Taillow and Ralts being treated in the hospitalization room, the smile quickly dropped from his face as he remembered the battle he had with Brawly the previous day and how his Pokemon effortlessly took out Ash's three Pokemon, including Ralts, who he thought would have the best advantage against Brawly's team. He could remember how this happened because he was still feeling confident from his victory against Roxanne in Rustboro City and he felt he'd be able to win this battle easily. Unfortunately, it was only after seeing what his recklessness had caused that he came to realise just how wrong he was, and that he still had a lot of training to do if he wanted to win against Brawly. With the memories of the previous day spinning in his mind, an expression of worry crossed Ash's face and he slowly reached up to place a hand on the glass. "Everyone… please be okay…" he quietly whispered.
As the others watched Ash, they all turned to look at each other with expressions of concern, noticing just how guilty he felt about what happened in the battle against Brawly. There seemed to be nothing but silence as the three stood there, wondering what they could do to help Ash feel better about everything. Finally, May was the first to do something as she walked over to him and gently placed a hand on his shoulder, prompting him to turn his glance to her and notice the comforting smile on her face; despite him having placed one of her Pokemon in serious danger, it was clear that May wasn't mad at him. After a few seconds passed, Ash showed a small smile of gratitude, feeling happy that May was here for him when he needed it most. Just then, the group heard the sound of the door opening and they turned to notice Nurse Joy stepping outside to greet them. "Oh, Nurse Joy, you're here! Is everything okay?" Ash asked.
Nurse Joy showed a joyful smile upon noticing that the rest of the group were here and she gave a wave in greeting. "Good morning, everyone!"
"Morning, Nurse Joy!" May, Misty and Brock replied in unison. The small smile Ash was showing quickly became replaced with an expression of concern as he was still feeling worried about their Pokemon. "Nurse Joy, I'm still worried about Treecko, Taillow and Ralts. Are they going to be alright?" he asked, while May showed an expression of worry as she was wondering how Ralts was feeling.
Fortunately, it seemed that there wasn't a need for them to worry as Nurse Joy gave them a reassuring smile. "Don't worry. All of your Pokemon are feeling much better now!" Ash and May were left silent for a few moments before they showed matching smiles of relief.
"Really? That's great to hear! I'm so glad." Ash replied. May let out a sigh of relief before placing both her hands on her heart, feeling immense relief at the news that Ralts was okay, something that Ash took notice of as he looked over at her. "Oh, thank goodness…" Brock and Misty watched the two before looking at each other with matching bright smiles, feeling just as glad about it as their friends.
A little later, the group stood at the front desk as Nurse Joy showed them a small Pokeball holder with three Pokeballs inside, two of which were Ash's and the third belonging to May. "And here you go, you two: your Pokemon should be feeling good as new."
"Thanks, Nurse Joy." Ash and May replied in unison as they went to grab their respective Pokeballs. Once they had their Pokeballs in hand, Ash and May proceeded to open them up and release their respective Pokemon, with Taillow and Treecko appearing in front of Ash, with Treecko grabbing out his small twig and placing it in his mouth once he was out, and Ralts appearing in front of May. Once the three were now out, Misty showed a smile of joy.
"Wow, you three are looking a lot better now. It's great to see that you're alright." she commented, with Togepi letting out a happy chirp as she was rested comfortably in Misty's arms. As Ash looked down at Taillow and Treecko, his smile of relief quickly faded only to be replaced with an expression of guilt.
"Hey, guys, I'm really sorry I got so carried away yesterday. I got too reckless and I placed you guys in serious danger. I don't blame you at all if you're mad at me." Ash quietly explained. However, it seemed that wasn't the case as Taillow and Treecko showed matching looks of understanding.
"(It's all right, Ash. Don't worry about it.)" Taillow replied, shaking his head as he spoke. "(That kind of thing could happen to anyone.)" Treecko added, shaking his head as he spoke as well.
Ash felt a grateful smile cross his face hearing that neither of the two were upset at him for his recklessness. "Thanks, you guys." He then looked over to notice May holding Ralts in her arms, making sure that she was feeling better after what she had just been through.
"How are you feeling, Ralts? You feel okay after yesterday?" May asked, looking at her little Pokemon with an expression of concern. Ralts gave a small smile and nodded in confirmation, causing May to show a smile of relief before holding her close to her. "That's great. I'm so happy to hear that!" As Ash watched her with a small smile, he heard one of his Pokeballs suddenly open on its own and he looked down to notice that it was Riolu with an expression of anxiety on his face, apparently still looking worried about Ralts and wanting to know if she was alright. May looked down to spot the Aura Pokemon and she showed a gentle smile before holding her arms out to reveal Ralts. "It's alright, Riolu. Ralts is right here. She's feeling much better now." She then bent down to place Ralts on the floor as Riolu made his way over to her with an expression of relief showing.
"(Ralts, you have no idea how relieved I am that you're alright. When I saw you being tossed around and beaten down on the battlefield, I started to worry about whether or not you would make it. I thought that if something happened to you, I wouldn't be able to forgive for not being there for you… I'm truly sorry for letting you down.)" As Riolu finished his explanation, he lowered his head with an expression of shame as it seemed that he was blaming himself for Ralts getting as badly hurt as she did. Ralts stared at him in surprise for a few moments seeing him like this before she reached forward and placed one hand under his chin to raise his head up, allowing him to see the reassuring smile she was showing him.
"(Riolu… there's no need for you to blame yourself. You had no idea of what would happen to me when I went to help Ash and his friends with his battle, so there was no way you could have stopped it.)" This didn't seem to help matters as Riolu kept his glance down on the floor away from Ralts, but it stopped when he heard what else she had to say. "(But knowing that you were so worried about me… it makes me feel happy beyond words to have you. Thanks, Riolu.)" Riolu slowly turned his glance back up to Ralts noticing her grateful smile and he couldn't help himself showing a small smile back.
While May kept her attention on the two, she was met with a surprise as one of her Pokeballs opened on its own and she looked down to find that Torchic had come out, and she had a smile of joy on her beak upon seeing that Treecko was okay. "(Treecko!)" With no hesitance on her end, Torchic ran over to the gecko Pokemon and began nuzzling her head against him much to his surprise. "(I'm so glad you're okay, Treecko! I was worried sick!)"
Treecko kept his gaze down on Torchic in silence for a few moments before he showed a reassuring smile and wrapped his arms around her. "(Don't worry, Torchic. I don't plan on letting a battle like that bring me down anytime soon.)" Torchic felt her smile grow in size, so she immediately resumed her nuzzling while Treecko held her close.
May let out a giggle as she was watching the two Pokemon couples, noticing how happy they looked with each other. "May?" Just then, her thoughts were stopped at the sound of Ash's voice and she lifted her head up to notice him looking at her with an expression of guilt.
"Yeah, Ash? What's wrong?" May gently asked, an expression of concern showing on her face as she was wondering why he looked so upset. Ash let out a quiet sigh before he walked up to her, with her keeping her glance on him and waiting to hear what he had to say.
"I know I said this last night, but… I'm really sorry for what I did to Ralts. If I hadn't gotten so carried away, she wouldn't have gotten as hurt as she ended up being. And… if you have anything else you need to say to me, you can say it. I won't be upset." After he was finished, he slowly lowered his glance and closed his eyes, clearly not wanting to see the expression of anger May was no doubt shooting in his direction. "(Ash…)" Pikachu quietly said, watching his trainer with worry taking notice of just how truly upset he was about what happened to Ralts and what happened between him and May. After a few seconds passed, May was finally the one to break the silence.
"It's alright, Ash." Ash opened his eyes in shock upon hearing the gentle tone in May's voice and he raised his head to see that she didn't look angry or even upset; instead, she had a comforting smile on her face and she reached over to take one of his hands in hers. "If anything, I'm just glad knowing that Ralts is okay. And… thank you so much for staying with her." Ash could only stare in amazement for a few moments before he felt a bright smile cross his face and he nodded, clearly feeling glad knowing that May was no longer upset with him and she was just happy that he had stayed to check on Ralts. The two kept their eyes on each other for a few moments before slowly wrapping their arms around each other, glad that the ordeal from yesterday had finally passed and now they could start today anew.
After a few seconds, the two let go and Ash looked over at the others with a smile of excitement crossing his face. "Come on, guys. Who's up for some breakfast?" This seemed to bring the mood back up for the others, as they showed matching bright smiles before nodding in agreement. "(That sounds great to me!)" Pikachu cheered.
"I couldn't agree more! What do you think, Togepi?" Misty happily commented, looking down at her partner Pokemon who let out a chirp of excitement. "That sounds good to me too." Brock agreed.
Sometime later, the group were seated together to enjoy breakfast, with Ash and the others enjoying toast with sausages and their Pokemon helping themselves to some bowls of Pokemon food set out for them. As the group seemed to be occupied, Ash was taking another bite out of his toast and then he looked up at the others as he had something to say. "Guys, I think I've figured something out." May, Misty and Brock turned their heads to look over at Ash so they could listen to what he had to say. "The reason my battle with Brawly yesterday didn't go very well was because I thought I could go in there and win on my first try, but we know how well that turned out." An expression of dismay briefly crossed his face as he could still recall how disastrously that battle went, but it was quickly replaced with a confident smile as he continued. "So as of today, I plan on starting my training here on Dewford Island!"
Brock and Misty both showed matching smiles of delight as they heard Ash's idea, but May showed an expression of concern as there was one thing about that plan she was wondering about. "That sounds like a great idea, Ash, but where do you plan on starting?" Ash looked over at her in surprise before turning his glance up to think, since it seemed that he didn't quite plan that far.
"Brawly said that anywhere is good for training on this island, just using nature." Brock replied, with the others turning to him to hear what he had to say. Ash nodded in agreement with this idea, and then he looked down to think over what happened yesterday: the reason Brawly managed to take his Pokemon out effortlessly was because he and his team shared equal balance with each other, something that Ash sorely lacked. It was now clear to him that despite his gained experience, he still had a lot to learn and that was something he planned on doing, just like when he started travelling.
As May kept her attention on the group, a smile of excitement crossed her face as there was something she had to share with them that she had nearly forgotten about. "Hey, guys! Guess what I found out?" The others turned to May in surprise, wondering what it was she had to say. "I went to talk to Nurse Joy earlier and she told me that Steven is here doing secret research on the island."
"Steven?" Ash asked, with him and the others looking at each other in confusion trying to think of who May could mean. Luckily, it took only a few seconds for the name to register in their heads and they began to smile as they knew who she meant. "Oh, you mean Steven Stone?" Brock asked.
May felt her smile grow once she heard that the others knew who she meant and she happily nodded in confirmation. "The very same. Right now, he's at a place called Granite Cave and Nurse Joy said that he's searching for rare stones." During her explanation, the ex-Rocket Trio happened to have taken a seat at a table that was not far from Ash and the others and as they were enjoying their breakfast, the mention of rare stones reached their ears and they turned their heads to listen to what was going on. Fortunately, their silent eavesdropping managed to go unnoticed by the group as they were showing matching expressions of surprise at what May had to say.
"Rare stones? You mean as in stones that could be considered treasure?" Misty asked. The mention of treasure happened to peak the ex-Rocket Trio's interest even further as they started to show expressions of awe at the prospect of treasures being hidden in Granite Cave for them to find.
With Ash and the others, May shook her head in response to Misty's question. "That, I don't know. Nurse Joy said that she wasn't sure of what he could be looking for either." This didn't seem to bother the others, though, as they turned to each other with bright smiles as they seemed to have their plan for the day set.
"Well, it sounds like he might be looking for more than just granite in Granite Cave, doesn't it?" Brock commented. Ash eagerly nodded in agreement before raising a hand just beside him. "Yeah! And if he's here right now, then I think we should go check it out. Okay, guys?"
Fortunately, it seemed that he didn't need to worry about the others thought of the idea as they nodded in agreement. "Yeah, that sounds like a plan if you ask me." Misty agreed. She then turned her glance up in uncertainty as there was still something to worry about. "But… just one question: where is Granite Cave?"
She, Ash and Brock then looked down to think as that was something they still had to figure out. Luckily, May seemed to have them covered as she opened her bag to grab her PokeNav out, with the others looking over at her. "Not to worry, guys! I'm going to check that right now." Once she had her PokeNav in hand, she pressed the blue button to open it up and reveal the screen, which turned on to show a bird's eye view of Dewford Island. "Let's see… according to the map, Granite Cave is all the way on the other side of the island. If we leave now, we should be able to get there by midday."
The others immediately showed smiles of delight as they now knew exactly where to go and Brock was the first of the group to have a say. "Well, I think it sounds like we have a plan. Let's get our things ready so we can get going."
"Okay!" The others agreed in unison, nodding as they did so. After finishing their breakfast, the group began to get up and make their way over to their room as they could get their things ready for the day. Once they were certain they had left, Jessie, James and Meowth turned to each other to figure out what they were going to do.
"Okay, you both know what we have to do, right? According to them, Granite Cave has rare stones hidden inside it. That means we need to get there before they do, look for those rare stones and sell them so we can make a big profit." Jessie quietly explained.
This plan seemed to sit well with James and Meowth as the trio showed matching smiles of excitement. "And when we do, our low cash reserves will shoot sky-high! We can enjoy the finer things like everyone else!" James happily commented, letting out a cheer of delight over this idea.
"We won't have to worry about going back to work at that café!" Meowth eagerly added. His big smile was quickly replaced with an expression of puzzlement as there was something that didn't quite register to him. "Hold up. Who's this Steven guy they mentioned?"
Jessie showed an expression of annoyance at Meowth's question before shaking her head and placing a finger over her lips to get the two members of her team to stay quiet. "Ssshh! It doesn't matter who Steven is. What does matter is getting to Granite Cave before the others do." She and Meowth then looked over at James. "James, do you have any idea where Granite Cave is?" Out of all the things they heard Ash and the others say, it seemed that the trio hadn't paid attention to where they could find Granite Cave. To answer her question, James grabbed out a small map of Dewford Island and placed it on the table for the three to look over.
"Well, if this map of the island is anything to go by, it looks like the cave we're looking for is all the way on the other side." As the three looked up at each other, James felt an expression of concern cross his face. "How are we supposed to get there first if it's so far?"
Meowth had a closer look down at the map before spotting something. "Hey, I think I see a shortcut!" Jessie and James looked back down at the map to see what Meowth had spotted, and their silent question was answered as Meowth pointed to a path leading down the coast that was just outside of the Pokemon Centre. "If we head down this way, we'll make it there in no time at all!" The three quickly showed matching smiles of delight knowing they had a route to take before turning to each other.
"So then, what are we waiting for? Let's get a move on." Jessie stated. James and Meowth both nodded in agreement, so without a moment to spare, the trio made their way over to the front door of the Pokemon Centre and stepped outside as the door opened to let them out and set off to find their shortcut to Granite Cave. Little did either of the groups realise that someone was watching them, and they were paying close attention to their every move.
Back with Ash, May, Brock and Misty, the four were on their way down the route towards Granite Cave; they had been walking for quite a while, so it seemed that they didn't have much further to go. May was having at a look at her PokeNav as she kept it in hand, watching the map to see how much further they had to walk. After a few seconds, a bright smile crossed her face and she turned to the others. "We're almost there, guys. It shouldn't be too far now."
The others showed smiles of delight at the news before nodding in understanding. "That's great to hear. Thanks, May." Brock replied. As May turned her attention back to the road ahead of her, she felt an expression of amazement cross her face at the view of the ocean they had from the path they were taking.
"Wow… the view up here is amazing! I bet we can see the entire ocean from where we are." May commented, looking out at how far the ocean seemed to span from where they were. Misty turned her glance with a bright smile before nodding in agreement.
"Yeah, you're right. Plus, we can see everything on Dewford Island from here too." Misty agreed. While they were talking, Ash had a look out of the view before them with an awestruck smile on his face; in the midst of his excitement to go for his second badge, he had no idea that this was the kind of wonder he had been missing out on, and he had promised himself he would make the most of his time in Hoenn too. As Ash had his attention focused on the view, he didn't hear the bushes shaking behind him for a few seconds before a figure dashed out from behind them. However, the sound of someone rushing by caught Ash's attention and he turned around to find out what it was, only to find that there was no one there. As he looked around in puzzlement, Pikachu turned his glance to him.
"(Ash, what's wrong?)" Pikachu asked, tilting his head as he was wondering what Ash thought he had seen. After a few seconds, Ash turned his glance to Pikachu.
"Pikachu, do you feel like there's someone watching us?" Ash asked. Pikachu stared at Ash in confusion before he had a look at where Ash had been looking to notice that no one was there, and he turned back to Ash before shaking his head in response. Ash turned his glance down to think it over before looking back. "I guess that means my mind's just playing tricks on me…" Figuring it best not to worry about it, Ash began to run to catch back up with the others.
After spending a bit more time walking, the group found themselves approaching the entrance to a cave. As the four got close to the entrance, Pikachu hopped off Ash's shoulder to have a closer look and it didn't take long for them to see that they had the right stop. "This is it, guys! Here's the entrance to Granite Cave." May stated.
"Woah… it's huge. Just look at that opening!" Ash commented, a smile of amazement crossing his face as he lifted his glance up. The others looked up with him to find that he was right: the entrance to the cave was huge, stretching out high into the air before coming back down to the ground; it almost looked like a stone artefact.
"And somewhere inside must be Steven looking for those rare stones." Misty added. Brock gave a nod in agreement before turning his head to the others, while Ash and May kept their attention on the size of the opening. "Let's go inside and try to find him. Mr. Stone said that Steven would be a great person for us to know."
Ash turned around to face the others and he nodded in agreement with a bright smile. "Yeah, that's right. And since he said that Steven likes to travel, that must mean he's a really strong Trainer."
"That's true. He's also been here for quite a while, so I'll bet that means he knows the best places for training on Dewford Island." Misty added. The group then turned to each other as they had a feeling they knew what their plan was, while May was busy placing her PokeNav back in her bag since she was finished with it for now.
"Well then, let's just go inside and check it out for ourselves." Ash suggested, pointing to the entrance. So with this in mind, the group of four began to make their way towards the entrance so they could step inside Granite Cave and begin their search for Steven. As the group made their way inside, they didn't notice that there was someone watching them from behind the bushes, with the most noticeable feature being a pair of shining ruby red eyes.
Inside Granite Cave, it seemed that Ash and his friends weren't the first ones to arrive: the ex-Rocket Trio had already beaten them there after taking their shortcut down the coast and now they were beginning their hunt for the rare stones they had learnt about. At the moment, the three were standing deep inside a hole they had been digging as they had brought their shovels and were wearing their construction work outfits for the job, and a large pile of dirt had been building up at the top of the hole from their digging efforts. As James was hard at work digging dirt out from the walls, he rested his shovel over his shoulder and let out a weary sigh as he began to wipe his forehead. "How many ridiculous holes does this one make?" he sighed; it seemed that they had been at this for a while now.
Jessie stood from a not too far distance and she showed an expression of annoyance as she had her shovel placed in the dirt in front of her while Meowth watched the two as he was sitting on a large rock with his small shovel in hand. "Quit your complaining! If you want to find those rare stones, then just keep digging." Jessie firmly replied. She then showed a cheeky smile and let out a giggle. "No one will suspect a hole in the middle of a cave."
"Even though a cave is one giant hole?" Meowth wondered, turning his glance upwards while he said this before looking to James as the latter turned to face Jessie with an expression of dismay.
"These plans with digging holes always go wrong. Couldn't we just do honest work like we did yesterday?" James asked. Wobbuffet then popped out of his Pokeball and blurted "Wobbuffet!" in agreement. The trio turned to him in annoyance before Jessie grabbed his Pokeball from her belt and held it up.
"First off, I didn't ask you to help with this, so you need to stay in your Pokeball." She then returned Wobbuffet back into the Pokeball and placed it back on her belt before turning to James. "Second, you do know that job was giving us very little funds, right? At that rate, we wouldn't have been able to get anywhere on that small amount. Besides…" She turned her attention back to the dirt in front of her to resume digging. "I'm the one giving the orders. You take orders."
"If we're ordering, I'll take some French fries." Meowth mumbled, shooting an expression of annoyance in Jessie's direction. However, his sarcastic remark didn't go unheard by Jessie as she turned to him with a glare and pointed at him while he nearly jumped off the rock with alarm and lost his grip on his shovel as a result, causing it to drop on the ground. "Just keep digging!" she firmly snapped.
Back with Ash and the others, the group were making their way through the cave and they were looking around taking notice of how vast it seemed to be. "Wow… this cave seems to go on forever." May commented, turning her head back and forth to see how deep it was.
"No kidding. It feels more like a tunnel than it does a cave." Misty agreed, slowly nodding while she said that as she was taking notice of her surroundings as well. Ash had a look around for a few moments before he raised a hand beside his mouth, having not lost track of why they were here in the first place.
"Steven! Are you in this cave?" he called, with Pikachu having climbed up onto his hat to start looking as well. "(Steven? Can you hear us?)" There was no answer for a few moments, which probably meant that Steven couldn't hear them yet, so Ash figured that maybe he should try again and see if he'd get any results.
"Steven!" The only answer he got was the sound of his own voice echoing against the cave's walls. The others began to look around upon hearing the echoes around them and May showed a big smile as she heard the echo before looking over at the others.
"That's so cool. We can hear our own echoes in here! Watch, I'll give it a try." She then turned her head to look ahead of her and she took a deep breath before yelling out. "Steven! Are you there?" She didn't receive any answer, but she could hear her voice echoing through the cave and she let out a cheerful giggle as she listened closely. "I think you guys should try it." The others simply looked at her in amusement after watching her childlike display of fascination.
As the team approached a part of the cave that had a split leading into two different tunnels, Brock ran over to the wall and bent down before opening his bag to grab something out and stick it on the wall: it was a small marker with a dark pink arrow pointing left. Ash was the first to notice as he looked down at the marker in surprise. "What's that you've got on the wall, Brock?" he asked.
After making sure the marker was stuck tightly on the wall, Brock stood up before turning to the others to fill them in on what he had. "It's a marker. If we ever get lost, we just need to follow the arrow and we'll find our way out of here. Plus, it's perfect for a cave because it glows in the dark."
The group listened in silence as Brock was talking before they showed matching bright smiles at the idea. "Hey, good thinking, Brock!" Ash happily complimented. "(I'll say!)" Pikachu agreed, giving a nod while he said that.
"Now that's planning ahead." May commented. Misty turned her glance to her and nodded in agreement before giving her say.
"So that way if we end up getting separated by mistake, we'll know where we need to go so we can find each other again."
Now that they were certain that they had something to look for if they needed to find a way out, Ash turned his head to the tunnel on the right to continue their search. "Steven! Where are you?!" The only answer he received from his call was the sound of his voice echoing, and Misty looked over at him with a look of annoyance.
"Can you yell a little louder, Ash? I don't think the Pokemon hiding in this cave could hear you." Misty bluntly stated. Ash looked over at her in surprise upon hearing her sarcastic remark, and he shot a firm expression in her direction as he gave his reply.
"Sorry, but if we want Steven to hear us…" The group had a look around for a few moments before heading down the tunnel leading to the left to continue their search. Little did they realise that the other tunnel led to just the person they were trying to find.
Inside the tunnel in question, a man with spiked silver-coloured hair, pale green eyes and wearing a long sleeved light brown shirt with a sleeveless dark brown vest on top, light brown pants, black boots and a few silver rings on his fingers with a heavy light blue bag placed on the ground behind him and a small lantern sitting behind his bag to light up the area he was in was busy at work tapping the wall with a small hammer while his partner Pokemon, a small bipedal with a light silver coloured body, black marks on its body, a sharp edge sticking out on its body and light blue eyes was digging on the wall just beside him: the man was none other than Steven Stone. After a few seconds passed, Steven lowered his hammer before looking down at the Pokemon digging against the wall. "Having any luck, Aron?" The small Pokemon, his Aron, turned to him before shaking its head. "Really? You didn't find anything?" Steven asked, an expression of surprise crossing his face that they weren't getting any results in their search. He then let out a sigh, figuring that it couldn't be helped given how rare the stones in question he had learnt about were and how hard it would be to find them, before he bent down to open his bag up. "Well, I think now's the time to take a break." After a few seconds of searching through the bag, he turned to Aron with a bright smile as he held up a container full of Pokemon food. "Hey, look what I brought." Aron quickly showed a smile of excitement upon seeing the Pokemon food since it was his favourite, and as Steven held up a few bits for him in his open palm, Aron proceeded to munch them down before letting out a growl of delight.
Seeing that his little partner was satisfied, Steven turned his glance to have a look at the area outside the tunnel they were in. "Looks like we'll try a different spot later." He then went to open his bag up again before grabbing out a brown scroll that looked a bit old and worn down if the creases in it were any indicator and rolling it open. "I know that mural is supposed to be in the deepest part of this cave. The only problem is figuring out how we get there…"
Back in the part of the cave where Jessie, James and Meowth had been digging their large hole, the three had finished covering it up with the dirt they had excavated during their work and they were looking it over to make sure it had been properly set so it wouldn't be noticed and they could proceed to dig somewhere else. "Jessie, are you sure no one will notice this?" James asked, showing an expression of concern as he was looking down at their attempt at hiding their work; the way he saw it, it seemed to be fairly obvious.
Jessie didn't appear to be as concerned as him, however, as she had a confident smile on her face. "Of course! The way I see it, anyone who comes by here will spot it right away. There's no way they'd miss something this obvious." As James looked back at the covered hole with an expression of uncertainty, the three could suddenly hear Ash's voice echo through the cave.
"Steven!" At the sound of his voice, the three turned their heads in the direction it was coming from as they could see that Ash and the others were on their way to where they were right now.
"That's the others! They're heading this way! Let's scram!" Meowth blurted. Without a moment to spare, the three took cover behind one of the rocks nearby so they wouldn't be spotted and they poked their heads out slightly to see Ash and the others on their way.
As the group in question were walking in the large open area, May looked up to see the large hole in the cave opened up to reveal a view of the sky, a smile of awe crossed her face and she clasped her hands together. "Wow… this place is so beautiful!"
"I'll say. Just look at that skylight up there!" Misty agreed, turning her eyes upwards to have a look at the view of the outside from where they were. As the group continued walking, they didn't seem to notice the pile of spread out dirt that covered the hole that Jessie, James and Meowth had been digging. Brock turned his head up to notice it as well and nodded in agreement.
"Yeah; I've never seen anything like…" Before he could finish his sentence, the group happened to walk over the dirt that covered the hole and the ground gave way under their feet, prompting them to scream in alarm as they dropped down into the hole and landed on the ground. After a few seconds, the four slowly began to sit up as they looked around to find where they had suddenly taken that unexpected plummet. "How did we not see that hole?" Brock groaned, rubbing his back from that hard impact.
"Probably because we were distracted by the skylight?" Misty suggested. An expression of surprise quickly crossed her face and she looked around to find that there was one less Pokemon in the hole with them. "Wait… where did Togepi go?" At the sound of a chirp above them, the group looked up to spot Togepi standing at the edge and looking down into the hole at them; it seemed that during their drop, Misty had accidently lost her grip on Togepi and tossed her up to safety by mistake. Upon spotting her small Pokemon, Misty cupped a hand beside her mouth with an expression of concern. "Togepi, are you okay up there? Stay right there! We're on our way to get you."
"(Okay, Mum.)" Togepi replied, nodding in understanding. Once she was certain that Togepi didn't have any need to worry about them, the group looked back at each other as there was something they still couldn't make sense of.
"How could a hole be in a place like this?" Ash asked. The group were met with their answer as they heard three laughs above them and they looked up to find Jessie, James and Meowth poking their heads in to spot them and they quickly showed expressions of anger. "You guys?!" Ash snapped; he had a feeling they would be behind this. This had to be a trap they were setting up this whole time.
Obviously, the trio didn't seem to have the same idea as they looked quite surprised to see Ash and the others here. "Well, look who we have here! We weren't expecting you to drop in." Jessie commented.
"We were hoping our handiwork would go unnoticed, but it seems we were sorely mistaken." James added.
"Looks like you all fell for it!" Meowth cheekily finished, letting out a cheeky laugh after he said this. Just then, the ground underneath their feet began to open up, causing the three to look down in surprise as they were starting to wonder what could be causing that.
They weren't the only ones, though, as Ash and the others could hear the rumbling underneath them as well. "What's that sound?" Ash asked, an expression of surprise coming to his and the others' face. His question was answered as the ground collapsed from under him and the others, causing them to drop deeper down the hole. Back up top, the ground collapsed from under the ex-Rocket Trio's feet, causing them to drop down along with the others, the entire group screaming in panic in the process. The large cloud of dirt kicked up from the whole ground collapsing shot up into the air and flew out of the skylight, with the whole cave beginning to shake.
From inside the tunnel where he was standing, Steven could hear a loud rumble and he stood up with an expression of alarm before looking down at Aron. "Aron, did you hear that?" Aron gave a nod in confirmation to say that he heard all of that ruckus as well, and Steven looked up as he had a feeling he knew where it came from; judging from the distance, it had to have come from the area in the cave where the tunnels split into two different directions. "There's something going on out there!" With a firm expression crossing his face, Steven turned his glance down to Aron as there was only one thing to do. "Come on, Aron. Let's check it out!" Without a moment to spare, Steven bent down, grabbed his bag and hoisted it over his shoulder before rushing towards the open area while Aron followed.
Back with Ash and the others, they were all plummeting into the deeper areas of the caves where it began to split into multiple tunnels, the whole team screaming in panic during their fall. As they approached a level leading into three different tunnels, they were all split into groups with Ash, Brock and James going down one tunnel, May, Pikachu and Meowth into another and Misty and Jessie dropping into the third one, all three going in different directions.
At the same time, it didn't take Steven long to arrive at the entrance of the tunnel and step into the open area of the cave. As he looked around, an expression of surprise came to his face when he spotted the large hole that the whole group had fallen into. "What's that?" With Aron following behind him, Steven ran over to the hole and had a look down into it, taking notice of how deep it seemed to go. "Someone must have fallen down here into the tunnels!" Aron looked down at the hole for a few moments before looking up at Steven and letting out a growl to get his attention, which worked as Steven turned his glance down to him. "What is it, Aron?" Aron turned his head back to the hole and looked down into it, as if he was trying to say that they should head down themselves and find out what happened. Steven managed to get the message as he was silent for a few moments before nodding in understanding. "You're right. Something's going on down there. Okay, let's find out!" With no hesitance, Steven leapt into the hole with Aron following just behind him, taking the tunnel in the centre on his way down.
Meanwhile, down at the very bottom of the cave, a large pile of dirt landed on the cave floor. After a few moments, a twitching movement can be seen from the left end of the dirt pile before May poked her head out, shaking her head rapidly to get any remaining dirt bits off her bandana before she stopped and lowered her head with an expression of dismay. "Well, that wasn't fun." If there was one thing she wasn't expecting during her visit to Granite Cave, it was something like this. However, an expression of alarm crossed her face once she realised something. "Wait a minute… where is everyone?" Sure enough, as she looked around, she could see that no one but her appeared to be down here. Upon realising this, an expression of panic showed on her face and she turned her head to start calling. "Ash! Misty! Brock! Where are you guys? Can you hear me?!" She received no answer to her cries, but while she was occupied with that, another person who happened to fall down with her poked their head out from the dirt: it was Pikachu. When May turned her glance to spot the electric mouse Pokemon, she showed a smile of relief. "Pikachu! Oh, I'm so glad to see you!"
Pikachu turned his head to spot the brunette before a bright smile came to his face. "(Hey there, May!)" Just then, the last person to take the drop with them poked their head out from the dirt pile, to which May and Pikachu turned their heads to notice that it was Meowth. "Does that mean you ain't glad to see me?" Meowth asked.
"Well, I guess you could say that…" May replied. The three turned their heads to each other, silently wondering how this could have happened, before they looked up to notice the large hole above their heads. "We must have fallen through the roof up there." Meowth commented, tilting his head as he was looking at how big it was.
May stared at the hole for a few moments before she nodded in agreement. "Yeah, it looks like it. Digging that hole must have weakened the ground so much that it gave way and now we're all the way down here. I guess this cave goes deeper than I thought."
"It's sickening just how careless some people can be." Meowth sighed, lowering his head with an expression of dismay. May and Pikachu both stared at him in disbelief before matching expressions of annoyance came to their faces as they knew the cause of this.
"What do you mean?! You guys were the ones digging that hole in the first place!" May retorted. "(That's right! What were you guys even doing?)" Pikachu agreed, nodding while he said this. Meowth felt his face turn red and a nervous smile as he seemed to realise they were right; he knew there was no chance of him successfully squirming his way out of the mess he, Jessie and James had created. But right now, he knew he could make the most of this situation.
"Well… it's a long story and I'll explain on the way. In the meantime, what do you say we focus on getting back to where we started from?" This idea seemed to work well for May and Pikachu as they both nodded in agreement.
"Yeah, I guess that's true." Once she was certain they had a plan in mind, May began to stand up from being buried in the dirt pile, bending down to brush off any dirt that was still on her legs while Pikachu climbed up and made his way down the pile onto the ground, before she began to look around with an expression of concern as there was still something to figure out. "But where do we start on getting back to where we started?" As she was looking at their surroundings to try and find a way out, Pikachu happened to spot something and pointed just in front of them.
"(Guys, look at this!)" At the sound of Pikachu's call, May walked over to see what he had discovered while Meowth jumped up on his feet and slid down the dirt pile to have a look with them. "What's that? Is that a tunnel?" Meowth asked, watching in surprise.
May stared at the path leading out from they were standing and a smile of excitement crossed her face; if they followed that tunnel, maybe they could find a way to get to the higher levels and figure out where everyone else ended up. "It looks like it! If we went through there, maybe we could find a way to the higher levels." With a nod, May looked down at the two Pokemon she had coming along with her. "Come on, let's head through there and find out!" Just as they were about to start walking, they could hear a yell coming from the hole above and they turned to look up in surprise. "Huh? What's that?" May asked, her, Pikachu and Meowth looking on.
After a few seconds passed, the sound of someone falling through the tunnel could be heard before they dropped through the hole and landed on the dirt pile: it was Steven, with Aron just behind him. Once they landed safely, Steven turned his glance down to Aron. "Aron, are you okay?" Aron looked up at Steven and gave a small roar in confirmation, to which Steven showed a smile of relief before he turned his head to May, Pikachu and Meowth with a look of concern. "Is everyone alright over here?"
As May had a close look at Steven, she was silent for a few moments before her eyes went wide and a silent gasp escaped her lips. 'Is… is that…?' Figuring it best to find out for herself, May slowly walked over to him while Pikachu and Meowth watched her in surprise and stopped once she was standing just in front of him, looking him in the eyes while he watched silently. After a few seconds passed, May pointed up at Steven. "Are you Steven, by any chance?" she asked.
Steven showed an expression of surprise at this question before he nodded in confirmation. "Yes, I am. And you are?"
May was left silent for a few moments before a big smile of joy crossed her face; she had managed to find the person she and her friends came to look for without really trying. After a few seconds, with Steven watching her and wondering if she was alright, May raised a fist into the air in excitement. "All right! After going through that trouble, I managed to find you!" As Pikachu and Meowth were looking on, they both showed big smiles upon seeing Steven.
Steven stared at May's display of excitement for a few moments before a smile of amusement came to his face and he placed a hand against his hip. "I take it this means you've been looking for me?"
May turned her head to him and nodded in confirmation. "Yes! My name's May. My friends and I heard that you were down here, so we decided to come look for you." The smile of delight on her face then faded as she remembered what happened after they arrived. "Unfortunately, we fell into the tunnels while searching for you. I don't know where the others went, so we must have gotten separated." She then turned to Meowth with a glare as she continued. "No thanks to a certain Pokemon and his friends who thought it'd be a good idea."
Pikachu proceeded to send an expression of irritation in Meowth's direction, causing the latter to flinch in surprise before showing a nervous smile, since he thought he already made it clear that he'd explain what happened. Steven turned his glance down to think over what May said before he gave a nod in understanding. "I think I know what happened." May, Pikachu and Meowth turned to him in surprise to hear what his theory was. "You see, Granite Cave is made of multiple levels and tunnels, with each going deeper underground."
May felt an expression of fascination cross her face once she heard this; it certainly would explain how she and the others fell so far down. Meowth let out a sigh of dismay before he began to rub his back. "And judging from my bruises, I'd say we fell to the bottom."
Steven showed an expression of surprise at Meowth's comment and turned his head to him. "Your Meowth can talk? That's something I've never heard of being possible." Meowth gave a shy smile as he let out a chuckle while rubbing the back of his head. "It's a gift."
Steven stared silently for a few moments before he nodded in understanding, after which May turned her head back to him with an expression of worry crossing her face. "So, Steven, since you seem to know this cave better than we do, would you be able to help us find where the others are? They're probably lost in these tunnels too." She then clasped her hands in worry to show how serious this was while Pikachu nodded in agreement. "(Yeah, can you help us?)"
There didn't seem to be a wait for an answer, though, as Steven showed a bright smile and nodded. "Of course. I've been exploring these tunnels for a long time so I happen to know them inside out. At any rate, we'll find your friends in no time."
May quickly felt a smile of excitement cross her face at the fact that Steven had agreed to help them before she clenched her hands tightly in joy. "Wow, thank you, Steven!" As Pikachu let out a cheer of excitement, May's glance turned down to notice Aron standing beside Steven the whole time and she bent down to look at him in curiosity. "Who's this little Pokemon next to you?" she asked.
Steven looked down at Aron before looking back at May to answer her question. "This is one of my Pokemon, Aron." Aron showed a big smile before letting out a cheerful growl in greeting.
"Aron?" May reached over to grab her Pokedex from out of her bag and opened it up to find out more about this little stranger.
"Aron, the Iron Armor Pokemon. Aron has an impressive defence power and eats raw metal in order to build up iron in its body."
May stared at the Pokedex in silence before she turned to Aron with a smile of amazement. "Wow… you sure are a sturdy Pokemon, huh?" Aron happily growled in agreement, so May placed her Pokedex back in her bag before standing up to look at Steven. "Well, what are we waiting for? Let's get going so we can find the others."
Steven promptly nodded in agreement with this suggestion. "Right. Everyone, follow my lead." With this, he and Aron began to walk off into the tunnel while May and Pikachu followed close behind them. Meowth stood there silently for a few moments before running after them. "Hey, fellas! Wait for Meowth!"
At a different part of the cave, a small dirt pile lay on the ground after the whole collapse back up top. After a few seconds, Misty popped up and she let out a sigh as she started to rub her head. "Well… I can't say I saw this coming." Once she was certain that she was more or less intact, she started looking around to find that the others were nowhere in sight. "Guys? Guys, where are you?" A few seconds passed and she was met with no answer, to which she crossed her arms and lowered her head to think. "If they're not answering, that must mean they fell into different tunnels." She then turned her glance up with a firm expression as she knew that could only mean one thing. "I guess that means it's up to me to find them." An expression of worry then came to her face as she realised that there was someone they had left behind during their plummet. "And find out where Togepi is. She must be feeling so scared by herself…"
Just then, a sound of a loud scream reached her ears and she looked up to find that someone was coming down the tunnel toward her. Without a moment to spare, she rushed out of the way and down came Jessie, landing hard into the dirt pile. Once she landed, Jessie let out a groan of dismay. "Ow… I never get a soft landing!"
After recovering from the shock of seeing her suddenly drop in, Misty showed an expression of annoyance. "Well, sorry, but I'd consider that to be the least of my worries right now."
Jessie turned her head to notice Misty looking at her and she jumped back from alarm. "Ah! It's you!" she gasped, pointing at Misty.
Misty showed a frown at this and she climbed back up towards Jessie before pointing accusingly at her. "This is your fault! Thanks to that dumb hole of yours, we're stuck down here and separated from the others."
Jessie stared in disbelief before she showed a glare on her face and crossed her arms in response. "Well, there's no need to point fingers at me. Maybe if you weren't so heavy…"
Misty felt her frown increase immensely as she felt close to losing it right now. "Who are you calling heavy?! You three were the ones who dug that hole!" She then let out a heavy sigh as her frown faded, as there was no point in losing her temper right now. "Well, getting angry about it isn't going to help matters much, anyway…"
As Jessie watched her, she looked up to notice the hole just above their heads and a bright smile came to her face as she clasped her hands together. "Thank goodness for my ingenuity and brain power." She then stood up to start trying to climb through the hole while Misty watched in surprise. "We can just climb out through here!"
Elsewhere, it seemed that Misty wasn't the only one with grievances over their situation; Ash had his attention directed at James and it was clear that his eyebrows were furrowed in anger. "We have to find our way back to the others. And it's all thanks to you!"
James flinched with an expression of shock since he knew for certain that he wasn't to blame for this. "Don't look at me! Jessie was the one insisting that we come down here to look for those rare stones."
Ash didn't seem to look convinced as his glare was aimed directly at James while he spoke. "I had a feeling you guys would be up to something behind our backs! Why can't you just leave us alone?"
James quickly felt a firm expression cross his face as he wasn't going to stand for being falsely accused like this. "Hey, I'm the one who wanted to do honest work here. It's Jessie and Meowth who keep coming up with these elaborate schemes!"
Ash felt his glare grow in intensity as he was quick to fire back. "Well, I'll be sure to give them the message after we find them and send you guys blasting off clear out of Hoenn!"
"Not if I have anything to say about it!" James sharply retorted. The two proceeded to glare at each other with fire seemingly burning in their eyes, before Brock was finally able to have a say in the matter.
"Perhaps we should first deal with the fact that we're trapped with no hope of escape." Ash and James felt their eyes go wide in alarm upon realising that Brock was right: the three of them were stuck in this tunnel and they had no clue on where to start looking for the others. Right now, their first order of business was getting out of this pile of dirt they were currently stuck in. The three began struggling to pull themselves out, but got no results as they were stuck tight. They then tried again, but still had no results. James then let out a sigh of dismay at the seeming hopelessness of their situation.
"Well, this is just a fine thing… We're lost and stuck. I don't see this getting any better." Ash looked down to think for a few moments before a bright smile crossed his face as he had an idea.
"Wait a minute! I think I know how we can get out." As Brock and James turned their heads to him, Ash struggled for a few moments before managed to pull one of his arms out from under the dirt and he reached over to his bag and grabbed one of his Pokeballs out before opening it and releasing Larvitar, who appeared on the ground beside the dirt pile before turning around to face them. After ensuring that Larvitar was out, Ash looked down at him. "Larvitar, do you think you could dig us out of here?"
Lavitar gave a big smile before nodding in reply. "(Leave it to me!)" With no hesitance, Larvitar charged towards the dirt pile and began spinning his arms rapidly like propeller blades, digging through the dirt and causing it to fall apart, allowing Ash, Brock and James to step out of it. Once they were free, Ash looked over at Larvitar with a grateful smile as the little Pokemon ran back over, holding his Pokeball in hand. "Thanks, Larvitar." He then returned Larvitar back into his Pokeball and placed it back inside his bag before turning to Brock and James to figure out their next step. "All right, all we need to do now is find where the others are in here."
Brock crossed his arms with a frown as he lowered his head to think; from the looks of it, that appeared to be much easier said than done. "Where do we start looking, though? This cave looks like it goes pretty deep and they could be anywhere as far as we know."
"Oh yeah, that's right…" Ash quietly replied, an expression of dismay crossing his face as he was starting to realise that Brock was right about that; with how vast and deep Granite Cave seemed to be, how would they know where to start with their search? As silence filled the air, an idea suddenly went off in Ash's mind and he looked up to Brock and James to let them know. "Wait a second… I think I know how we can find them! I can use my aura power to locate their area!" As Brock and James turned to Ash in surprise at this idea, James felt an expression of confusion cross his face as he had no clue what Ash was going on about. "Wait, what's he talking about?"
"It's Ash's special power." James turned his head to Brock in surprise at this reply and Brock looked over at him so he could explain. "While we were in Petalburg Woods, we found out that Ash has these abilities that are connected to his aura. That means he can do things like locate people or Pokemon even from far distances, and I think that's only the start of it."
James stared in silence while he was listening before a smile of awe crossed his face and he turned to Ash. "Really? That's amazing! If you can do that, we'd know where the others are in this cave!"
Ash gave a small smile before nodding in agreement. "All right then, I'll give it a shot." With this, he turned his attention to the tunnel in front of him, Brock and James and he remained silent so he could focus. 'All right… this should be just like what happened in Petalburg Woods. I managed to do it once, so it should work again.' With this thought in his head, Ash quietly took a deep breath and closed his eyes to focus, the only thought in his mind being wanting to know where the others were. While he stood there, Brock and James both watched him silently waiting to hear what he would say. After a few seconds, an image appeared in Ash's mind: he could see May walking through a tunnel with Pikachu and Meowth beside her and Steven leading the way, and then another image flashed into view to show Misty and Jessie still stuck with Jessie attempting to climb up the hole while Misty sat there, waiting impatiently. The image then suddenly disappeared and Ash opened his eyes quickly upon realising that he now knew where they were before turning to Brock and James while they were waiting. "I know where the others are!"
That reply seemed to be exactly what Brock and James needed as they showed matching smiles of delight. "That's great, Ash!" Brock happily commented. "So, where are they?" James rapidly asked, wanting to know their whereabouts as quickly as possible.
Ash showed a smile of amusement before he was ready to explain. "May has Pikachu and Meowth with her and there was someone else walking through a tunnel with them. I think it might be Steven."
Brock and James showed matching expressions of amazement upon hearing that May had managed to find Steven first before they figured it best to stay on track for the time being. "What about Misty and Jessie?" Brock asked.
"They're both still stuck in the hole they fell through." Once he finished, Ash turned around to look at the tunnel ahead of them with an expression of determination showing on his face as he now knew what they had to do. "Now that we know where they are, we just have to figure out how to get to them."
Meanwhile with May, Steven, Pikachu and Meowth, the four were continuing their trek through the tunnel they were taking and Steven was telling May about the collection of rocks he had discovered. As May was paying attention to the explanation, a smile of fascination crossed her face upon learning about how many rocks Steven had found. "Wow, Steven. You've really found that many?"
Steven nodded in confirmation as he was enjoying sharing this with May since she looked so interested to hear it. "That's right. I like to collect samples so I know what types of rocks they are and where I find them. Believe it or not, I have an entire collection from each region stored at my house in Mossdeep City. It's so fascinating to me learning about the types of stones that can be found across the regions." May showed a smile of awe with a silent gasp escaping her lips; it was clear to her that Steven had been doing this for a long time. "I like visiting Granite Cave so often because there's always something new for me to discover without me even realising it."
As Pikachu and Meowth were following behind the two, Meowth showed an expression of puzzlement as something didn't make sense to him. "Okay, I get that this kind of thing sounds great to you, but what are you doing digging in a cave if you're supposed to be the son of the president of the Devon Corporation? Doesn't make much sense, if you ask me." Pikachu looked over at Meowth in surprise while he was talking, but Steven was more than glad to fill them in.
"Yes, I suppose that is true when you put it like that. My father did always expect that I'd take over as head of the Devon Corporation from him, but I've always been more interested in travelling the world and getting to see how many Trainers I could meet on the way, and that's something he's always understood. I guess he knows that this is something I personally love to do." Steven explained. May felt a bright smile cross her face while she was listening, as this was something that made a lot of sense to her.
"I know what you mean, Steven. Right now, I'm training to become a Pokemon Coordinator because it's something I know I want to do. My dad always hoped I would follow in his footsteps and become a great trainer like him, but as soon as he learnt about what I wanted to do, he was ready to support me all the way. I was actually really afraid that he'd be disappointed when he found out, but now I feel so glad to be proven wrong." May let out a happy sigh as she could remember the phone call she had with her parents in Rustboro City and how she told them about the dream she wanted to pursue. Steven showed a bright smile while he listened to May's story and he turned his glance down to her before he spoke.
"I suppose this is something we have in common, May." May looked up at him in surprise as she wondered what he meant, but she got her answer once he continued. "We both have parents who support us with our dreams even though they're different from what they expected from us. It's amazing how you can share something with someone you never expected to. Wouldn't you agree?"
May showed a bright smile as she understood what Steven was saying before she nodded in agreement. "Yeah… you're right!"
As the two were lost in their conversation, Meowth crossed his arms and turned his head up to think over what he was hearing. "Hmm… so the second in line of a big company like Devon is stuck digging in a cave?" A smile of amusement crossed his face as he could only imagine how far from the apple tree Steven had to have fallen for this to be a reality. "Something must have went wrong somewhere."
May and Steven looked down at him in surprise before May showed a nervous smile and reached out to scratch one of her fingers against her cheek. "I… don't think that's the right idea, Meowth…" She then let out a giggle with Pikachu following suit while Meowth let out a groan of annoyance at them finding this funny. After she was done, May turned her attention back to Steven. "So, what exactly are you looking for this time? Nurse Joy let me know that you were searching for something down here."
Steven nodded in confirmation as a firm expression came to his face. "Yes, that's right. I'm actually looking for something that I haven't been able to find yet." He then removed his bag from his shoulders and placed it down on the ground to open it up and find the item he was looking for, while May, Pikachu and Meowth watched in surprise, turning to each other as they were starting to wonder what Steven had to show them, and then they looked back at him as he stood up holding what looked like a scroll in his hand. "Have a look at this." He showed it to May, who stared in silence before taking the scroll and rolling it open to find there was a picture printed on it. May looked at the picture in awe before looking up at Steven.
"What's this?" she asked, pointing down at the picture before she looked back down at it while Steven bent down to look with her.
"It's a recreation of a mural that's said to be located in the deepest part of this cave. I've been on the hunt for where it could be hidden for a while, but I haven't had any success yet. I was hoping I'd be able to find it on this excursion, but it seems that might not be the case."
May had a close look at the drawing to find that there were two large figures, presumably supposed to be Pokemon, with two different symbols printed on each of their arms, while what was meant to be a depiction of erupting volcanoes and scorched earth was on one side while harsh rains and raging waves were shown on the other side, along with old text written in Unown language visible near the bottom. 'Woah… this whole thing looks incredible. It looks like a clash between two ancient Pokemon while all this chaos happens around them…' May turned her glance down to think for a few moments before an idea clicked in her head and she turned to Steven with a big smile.
"Hey, Steven?" Steven turned his head to her to notice the smile she was showing as she held the scroll tightly in her hand. "After we find the others, maybe we could help you look for this mural. I don't know if you know this yet, but me and my friends are travelling together and they've been at this longer than I have. If I know them well enough, I'm sure they'll have an idea of where to find it." She then turned to Pikachu and Meowth to hear what they had to say.
"(That's right! Just leave it to us.)" Pikachu happily replied, nodding in agreement. "We have a habit of finding rare stuff. Most of the time, it somehow finds its way to us." Meowth explained.
Steven was silent for a few moments before he showed a grateful smile. "Thank you, May. I find it reassuring knowing that I'm helping someone who's as resourceful as you."
May blinked in surprise at the compliment before she felt a shy smile cross her face. "Well… I don't know if I'd put it like that…" At the same time, Pikachu had stopped in his tracks and began looking around while the others stopped to notice. "What is it, Pikachu?" May asked, bending down to him to find out what he had spotted. Pikachu took a few steps forward before he started to sniff the air while the others looked on in surprise. "Can you smell something?"
Meowth began to sniff the air as well and it seemed he had picked up the same scent as Pikachu. "It smells like fresh air!" he said, turning his head up to May and Steven while he was talking.
"Really?" May's eyebrows went up in surprise upon hearing this and she began to sniff the air only to find that she couldn't smell the same thing that Pikachu and Meowth could, to which an expression of confusion crossed her face. "That's strange. I can't smell anything…"
Meowth was approaching a turning corner as he continued sniffing before turning his head to May. "That's because it's too subtle for them human noses." At the same time, Pikachu rushed over to the turn in the cave and had a look through it before he pointed ahead.
"(Guys, it's this way! Follow me!)" Pikachu then took off ahead while Meowth watched him before figuring out what was going on. "It's coming from this way. Let's move!" Without a moment to spare, Meowth began to hurry after Pikachu while May and Steven looked on in surprise before May reached a hand out.
"Hey, Meowth, Pikachu, wait up!" Her call fell on deaf ears, however, as the two had already left and she turned to Steven. "Come on, Steven. I think those two know where they're leading us. We better catch up with them quick!" She then began to make her way after the two Pokemon while Steven watched in disbelief.
"Huh? May, wait!" His call went unanswered as May was already on her way to catch up with Meowth and Pikachu and he stared in stunned silence for a few moments before he showed an amused smile. "And here I thought I was the one who knew this cave well enough. I guess there is such a thing as being proven wrong." With this in mind, he bent down to grab his bag and hoisted it over his shoulder before making his way after the rest of the group.
Back with Ash, Brock and James, the three were making their way through their tunnel to try and find the others; Ash and Brock were keeping a lookout while James slowly dawdled behind them. "Hey, May! Pikachu! Where are you?" Ash called out, turning his head back and forth while he was calling to try and hear for any answer.
"Misty! Are you there?" Brock asked, looking around as well.
As James slowly followed behind them, he raised his head slightly to give out a weak call. "Jessie? Meowth?"
"They won't hear you if you don't raise your voice, James." Ash commented, turning his glance to James while he said that. James let out a quiet sigh before lowering his head as he gave his reply. "Who cares? They're a bad influence on me, anyway."
Ash and Brock both stopped in their tracks and turned to James in surprise at this statement; they always figured that the three of them together were a bad influence, but having one member of their team be a victim to their schemes was something they didn't expect. "Then why don't you just stay away from them?" Brock suggested.
"I guess the real problem is that they're just so stubborn." James softly replied. He then raised his head as a frown showed on his face and he crossed his arms, closing his eyes as he did so. "But now that you mention it, why should I always do whatever they say? You know I deserve the right to get all worked up and angry too." He gave a nod in confirmation before clenching his fists tightly with an expression of anger showing while Ash and Brock watched in stunned silence, wondering where he was going with this. "I should stick up for myself a lot more! I'm getting angry just thinking about it!" With the patience he had seeming to have finally burnt up, James charged forward while Ash and Brock watched in surprise before stopping once he was a fair distance ahead and raised his head to look up to the roof of the tunnel and let out his long pent up frustrations. "Jessie's an idiot! Meowth's a loser! I don't need them!"
Just then, the sound of a loud thud on the ground reached the three's ears and they looked over to notice the source. "Is the floor breaking apart again?" Ash asked.
"I don't think so…" Brock replied, slowly shaking his head in response. As the three looked closer, a wild Aron slowly walked out from the shadows with a glare on its face. While James was looking down at the small metal Pokemon, Ash and Brock walked over to have a closer look for themselves.
"What is that?" Ash asked, reaching over to grab his Pokedex out from his bag to find out for himself.
"Aron, the Iron Armor Pokemon. Aron has an impressive defence power and eats raw metal in order to build up iron in its body."
As the Aron stood there glaring at the three with only its head sticking out from behind the shadows, James walked over before bending down to look at it with his eyebrows furrowed. "Hey! What do you want? And quit staring at me like that." Balling a fist, James reached over before rubbing it firmly against Aron's head, which only seemed to make it angrier if the glare it was showing was any indication. "You're not scaring anyone with that head armour!"
"James, knock it off!" Brock warned. His warning proved to be for nothing as the Aron let out a loud roar that seemed to echo on the tunnel's walls. The three looked around in alarm upon hearing the roar before they asked the same question in unison. "Ah! What now?" They were quickly met with their answer as a large pack of Aron dropped down from the ceiling, all of them glaring at the trio and looking none too happy about having their sleep disturbed.
"Aaahhh! A whole pack of Aron!" Ash cried, jumping back in alarm.
"Scary enough for you now, James?!" Brock blurted, obviously looking not too thrilled about this situation like Ash was.
The only response James could give was letting out a loud scream of panic as he clutched both sides of his head with his hair standing up on end. The Aron then began to charge forward, prompting the three to make a run for it with the Aron pack in hot pursuit. As the three were running, Ash stopped in his tracks and turned to face the pack as he had an idea. "Wait a minute, guys! I think we can take them on!" With this, he grabbed out one of his Pokeballs and threw it out. "Larvitar, I choose you!" The Pokeball then opened, releasing Larvitar as he looked ready for battle. "Larvitar, use Screech!" As Larvitar landed on the ground, he opened his mouth before letting out a loud scream that emanated from his mouth in blue soundwaves. The sound travelled towards the Aron pack before reaching them, causing them to stop in their tracks from the loud sound. Once they had been stopped, Brock was up to make a move.
"Go, Sharpedo! Use Headbutt!" Brock called, grabbing out his Pokeball before throwing it, causing it to open and release Sharpedo. Once he was out, Sharpedo's body began to glow white before he charged towards the Aron pack, slamming into them directly and sending them flying into the air before they landed on the ground. Seeing that the pack were knocked out for now, Ash and Brock turned their heads to their Pokemon as they were returning from their attacks.
"Thanks, guys!" Ash said. He and Brock then held up their Pokeballs to return their respective Pokemon inside and placed them back in their bags before turning to each other. "Come on, let's get out of here before they get back up!" Ash stated. Brock and James both nodded in agreement, so the three began to rush off through the tunnel. However, it seemed they didn't have to wait too long as the Aron pack were regaining their footing feeling ready for more before they continued to speed down the tunnel, pursuing after the three.
Back up top, the open area where all the craziness began seemed to be empty, but after a few seconds of silence, a person stepped inside through the entrance tunnel before looking around; it happened to be the same person watching Ash and the others in the bushes, as well as the same one from Petalburg Woods. As they stepped into the open area to have a look around, it became clear that the person was a young woman with short black hair flowing behind her head, ruby red eyes and she was wearing a black shirt with crimson red markings, matching short shorts, a light blue anklet around her leg, pale brown shoes and a matching cape with a hood at the top that appeared to be worn out and had many creases and rips at the end. She had a look around at the open area to find that there seemed to be no one but her and a smile of amusement came to her face. "Well, isn't this fantastic? I follow those guys into this cave and now they're nowhere to be seen. They sure know how to go unnoticed."
"(Wait for me!)" At the sound of that call, she looked down to find her small Pokemon following behind her, with the Pokemon being light purple with orange markings on its ears which curved inward with small crossed eyes: it appeared to be a Whismur. Upon spotting the Pokemon catching up with her, the woman showed a bright smile before bending down to look at it.
"Sorry about that, little one. I guess I don't notice that I always leave you having to follow my trail." As the Whismur let out a cry in agreement, she let out a giggle as her smile grew bigger. "I know; you always look so happy to see me looking like myself again, don't you? Pulling double duty for both of those teams isn't as easy as I make it look." She then stood up and began to look around as she was wondering where they should head to now. "Hmm… since they don't appear to be here, where should we go looking now?"
Just then, the sound of a chirp reached her ears and she turned her glance back and forth in surprise before turning to the Whismur. "Did you hear that? Sounds like someone else is here." She then turned her head to spot the source: Togepi was slowly walking out from behind one of the rocks as she had been there the whole time and she had a worried expression on her face since it seemed that her mum or any of her friends hadn't come back yet.
Upon spotting the small baby Pokemon, a smile of joy crossed the young woman's face. "Wow… look at that little one! Don't they look so adorable?" She then turned to the Whismur while she continued. "Of course, no one could be as cute as you, my sweet little one." As Whismur nodded in agreement, she began to make her way over to Togepi while Whismur following behind her. Once she got close enough, she bent down to Togepi, resting her hands on her knees. "Hi there, little one! What are you doing out here by yourself?"
Togepi slowly turned around to notice the young woman looking down at her and she jumped back in fright before turning away from her and starting to shake in fear. "(Ah! Stay away!)" The young woman stared in surprise before she showed a comforting smile.
"Hey, it's all right. I'm not here to hurt you. If you're out here on your own, that means someone is probably looking for you, right?" As Togepi stood there shaking slightly, her eyes opened upon hearing this and she slowly turned to the woman as she continued. "They're probably worried sick about you and wondering where you are. If you come with me, maybe we could look for them together, okay?" After a few seconds, Togepi turned to face the woman and she showed a small smile and nodded before hopping over and jumping into the woman's arms while she watched with a bright smile. "Ah… that's more like it. Now then, where did you last see them?"
"(They fell through there.)" Togepi pointed towards the large hole in the centre of the open area and the woman made her way over to have a look down while Whismur followed just beside her.
"Down here?" As she looked down at the hole, she showed a smile of amusement. "You'd think they wouldn't be so careless as to fall down a hole this big. It kind of stands out, if you ask me." She then looked down at the two Pokemon as it seemed their plan was set. "All right, if they really are down here, let's find out for ourselves." With this, she sat down on the ground and pushed herself to start sliding down the hole while Whismur jumped in after her.
Back down below, Ash, Brock and James were still on the run as the Aron pack were continuing their chase after them. As they were running, James let out a cry of panic as he seemed to be ahead while Ash and Brock were running just beside him. "I don't deserve this!"
"Yes, you do!" Ash and Brock yelled back in unison, fully aware that this whole mess was his, Jessie and Meowth's fault; if they hadn't arrived before the others, they wouldn't be in the mess they were in now. James turned his head to the two as he was aware that now wasn't the time for an argument over who was to blame for this.
"We'll discuss it later!" As the three turned their attention back to the path in front of them, they could see that just up ahead there were three shafts, one of which led upwards to a higher level. As James was in the lead, he leapt towards the shaft to start climbing. "I'll go first!" However, Ash and Brock happened to disagree as they pulled him down to get up there.
"Coming through!" Ash said as he and Brock climbed over James to head up the shaft, leaving James holding onto the edge. As James lay there with his hands gripping the edge, he could hear the Aron pack coming his way and he let out a scream of panic before scrambling up the shaft to catch up with Ash and Brock, leaving the Aron pack to run through the shaft opening below.
Meanwhile, May, Steven, Pikachu and Meowth had arrived at the source of the fresh air Pikachu and Meowth could smell earlier: they were standing in front of a large waterfall flowing down to the level they were on along with a large root growing upwards that led to a higher level of the cave. As the group stared at the sight before them, May showed a smile of awe. "Wow… this place is beautiful!"
Steven could only stare in amazement, as this was something he had never seen in all his visits to Granite Cave. "Who would have thought that there was a waterfall down here…" Pikachu seemed to agree with him as he slowly nodded. "(I know. Isn't it something?)"
Meowth turned his head to have a look around before looking up at the others, pointing to the right. "The breeze smell's coming from over there." The others looked with him to notice the large root was leading up the cave wall and it looked strong enough to climb on.
"Hey, you're right!" May happily exclaimed. She then pointed up towards the top of the waterfall as she continued. "That must mean the root leads up to a higher level. I'll bet the wind is coming from that opening and flowing out to where we are."
Meowth felt a smile of excitement cross his face as he seemed to realise what that meant. "So if we can make it up there, then we can make out of here!" May nodded in confirmation before she turned to the others with a confident smile as she now knew what to do.
"All right then, let's check it out!" As she, Pikachu and Meowth made their way over to the root to start climbing, Steven watched in silence before he showed a smile of amazement, having taken notice of how in charge of everything May seemed to be despite being separated from the rest of her friends.
While everyone else seemed to be making some kind of progress, this wasn't the case for Misty and Jessie; the two of them were still stuck in the hole they fell through with Jessie struggling to climb up while Misty sat there in annoyance. After a few seconds, Jessie let out a groan as things seemed to be going nowhere while Misty shook her head. "And you were calling me heavy?" Misty questioned.
As Jessie was stuck with her head and arms reaching up to the next level and her legs stuck at the bottom, she growled under her breath before she started flailing her legs frantically. "I heard that! Don't just sit there gawking. Push me up!" Letting out a sigh, Misty stood up before she pressed her hands against Jessie's backside and began trying to push her up through the hole. Unfortunately, this wasn't proving to be successful as Jessie didn't seem to budge. "Hey! What's the matter with you? That's too hard!" Jessie snapped.
Misty showed an expression of annoyance while she was pushing before giving her response. "Well, you wanted me to push you up, right? That's what I'm doing right now!" Just then, the sound of a loud rumbling from the next floor up could be heard, causing the area to shake while Misty showed an expression of surprise at the sound. "Huh? What's that?"
Jessie raised her head to find out what was making the sound and she was greeted with a shock as the roof above her collapsed, taking with it a large light purple-skinned Pokemon with a big wide-open jaw, its ears in the shape of speakers and light yellow stripes on its back: it was a Loudred. As Loudred landed on the floor, it began throwing its arms frantically while stomping on the ground, causing Jessie to scream in panic before she turned her glance to call down to Misty. "Quick, pull me down! PULL ME DOWN!" she shrieked. As Loudred charged towards her, she ducked her head down to avoid being trampled as Loudred leapt over her before charging off through the tunnel. Once the Loudred was gone, Jessie seemed to have been scared stiff as she shook slightly for a few moments before the floor collapsed and she was sent dropping back into the hole while Misty watched in stunned silence.
"Uh… Jessie? Are you okay?" When she was met with no answer, she looked up to notice that the hole they had fallen had gotten bigger after Jessie's fall back in. "Hey, it looks like the hole's gotten bigger." Misty was silent for a few moments before a joyous smile crossed her face once she realised what that meant. "And that means I can get out of here and start looking for the others!" Without a moment to spare, she climbed up the dirt pile towards the hole and poked her head through before placing her hands against the floor and pulling herself up. Once she was now up on the next level, Misty stood up with a confident smile showing. "Right. Now it's time to find where the others could be!" But as she started walking, she stopped upon realising that she had left someone behind.
"Wait… Jessie's still down in that hole." Misty poked her head down to notice Jessie lying on the dirt pile still looking frazzled after her encounter with the Loudred. As Misty looked down at her, an expression of uncertainty crossed her face as she began debating herself over what she should do. 'I can't just leave her behind; it doesn't feel right doing that. But… she and her team were the ones who got us into this mess to begin with. I really should have considered blasting them off when I had the chance. But at the same time, I don't think they came to trap us…' After a few seconds, Misty let out a heavy sigh and she began slowly shaking her head. "Even when it comes to them, I have to do the right thing…" With her decision in mind, she reached down into the hole and grabbed hold of Jessie's arm to pull her up to the next level. As Misty sat on the ground to pull Jessie up, an expression of annoyance came to her face. "And she was calling me heavy; I'm having trouble just getting her up here." Thankfully, after only a minute of pulling, Misty was able to get Jessie up and she sat down on the floor to catch her breath. "Whew… that was harder than I thought it was going to be."
At the same time, as Jessie lay on the stone floor, she opened her eyes to find that she was on the next level up and she turned her head to notice Misty sitting on the floor struggling to catch her breath; if she didn't know any better, she would say that Misty went through the trouble of pulling her up so they could get out of here. After a few seconds, she managed to stand up and placed her hands on her hips with a confident smile. "Ah! See? I knew I'd be able to get us out of here. Now then, it's time to figure out where our teammates have gone off to." With this, she began to walk off, turning her head to Misty as she did so. "Are you coming or not?"
Misty stared up at her in disbelief before standing up with an expression of irritation crossing her face as she watched Jessie leave. "What kind of display of gratitude is that? I may have just saved you, you know!" As she glared for a few moments, Misty sighed to herself figuring it best not to worry since that was just how Jessie was, before she began to follow her to start looking for the others.
In one of the tunnels, the young woman was making her way through with Togepi resting in her arms and Whismur following beside her. As she was looking around at her surroundings, she turned her head up in surprise to notice the multiple holes in the ceiling from where Ash, Brock and James had been searching and a worried expression came to her face as she knew what that could mean. "Oh, that can't be good. It looks like someone's been through here and awakened the Aron by mistake." As Togepi let out a quiet chirp, wondering what was going on, the woman turned her head to her two accompanying Pokemon. "Come on, we better keep going and see if we can find a way to get to a higher level."
Meanwhile, May, Steven, Pikachu and Meowth were slowly making their way up the large root to reach the next level up. As they were slowly climbing with May at the lead, Steven following just behind her and Pikachu and Meowth at the back, May stopped to check how much further they had to go and she let out a quiet sigh. "This root's longer than I thought it'd be. We're barely halfway up."
Realising that May had stopped, Meowth could only stare in disbelief. "Don't tell me you're giving up already!" He then showed an expression of irritation as this was starting to get on his nerves. "I've really had it with you kids today always moaning and complaining about things." May, Pikachu and Steven, with Aron sitting on top of his bag during their climb, looked down at him in surprise while he climbed up to a nearby small root to the side and sat down on it, crossing his arms with a knowing smile. "Same as Jessie and James, that's right! They just complain and then ask for Meowth's help at the end. Goes to show that our team wouldn't be nothing without an all-star player like me leading the way!"
May and Pikachu both looked down at him in confusion while Steven watched in silence before turning his head up to May. "Is he always like that?" he asked.
May showed a smile of amusement before shaking her head. "I'll never figure out how Jessie and James deal with it." She then looked down at Meowth as there was something she still wondered about. "Say, Meowth, I've been wondering about something for a while."
Meowth lifted his head up to May to hear what she had to ask him. "Fire away, then."
"If you're a Pokemon, how come you know how to talk like us?"
Meowth showed a smile of delight at May's curiosity as he was more than happy to tell her about it. "I'm glad you asked!" He then lowered his head and closed his eyes as he could remember the days when he was out on his own before meeting Jessie and James. "It was a day just like any other day as I wandered through the streets of the lonely city knowing nobody or nothing but hunger in solitude." A smile then came to his face as he remembered one special day. "That's when I saw this classy dame in a window and I fell in love." He could clearly remember the day he met Meowsie and how she rejected him because he was merely a street Meowth.
While May listened in awe, Meowth could feel his eyes watering up underneath his closed eyelids as he continued. "I struggled to show her my loving devotion, but trouble was she didn't understand me, so I had to learn how to talk using human speech." He then opened his eyes, revealing his tears as he then remembered how he met Meowsie again and she rejected him, considering him a freak.
May was left silent hearing his story before she felt tears starting to build in her eyes after learning about how hard things were for Meowth. "Meowth… I had no idea you had been through that. You went through all of that to show her your love and she tossed you aside just because you were different." She then reached up to brush the tears out of her eyes and she showed a reassuring smile as she looked down at him. "If you ask me, I think you being different makes you special, just like everyone else." Meowth turned his head up to her in shock at this statement, and then May gave a bright smile as she was ready to resume climbing. "Come on; we have to get a move on now."
"(Right behind you, May!)" Pikachu called, nodding in agreement. The moment Meowth realised he was being left behind, he jumped on his feet before scrambling up the root. "Hey, wait for me!"
Back with Ash, Brock and James, the three were slowly walking through the tunnel they had managed to reach, apparently looking worn out from running away from the Aron pack. "This has become a nightmare…" Ash groaned; so far, this trip to Granite Cave wasn't turning out how he was hoping it would.
"We're so lost…" James sighed with an expression of dismay as it seemed that they were getting nowhere.
"Well, since we climbed up that shaft, we should be at a higher level." Brock commented. Just then, he noticed on the wall just ahead; they were arriving at the area where the tunnels split and there on the wall was the marker he set up. "Hey, look at that!" he said, pointing to the wall to get Ash and James's attention.
The two in question looked ahead and a bright smile came to Ash's face once he spotted the marker and they ran over to have a closer look. "Hey, it's your marker, Brock!" Ash happily commented.
"Wait, you did this?" James asked, turning to the two in surprise. Since they now knew where they were, Ash turned to Brock and James as he had a feeling that he knew where to go.
"Come on, let's get back to where we first split up!" Without a moment to spare, the three made their way into the tunnel on the left, finding themselves in the open area with the skylight. "Hello! Anyone there?" The three called in unison. As they were running, though, they failed to notice the hole just in front of them and the ground gave way under their feet, sending them falling down the hole and ending up right back where they started. At the same time, the young woman had arrived back with Togepi in her arms and Whismur following behind her. She then stopped and looked down that the size of the hole had increased.
"The hole looks bigger than last time! What's going on here?" She looked down for a few moments before a smile of excitement came to her face. "Whatever it is, it's just making things more exciting for me!"
Meanwhile, May, Steven, Pikachu and Brock had made it up to the top of the root and they were looking up to find there was a large opening at the top of the cave allowing them to see the sunlight and various trees. "This must be where that breeze was coming from!" May exclaimed as she stared up at the opening in amazement.
Meowth nodded in agreement before he crossed his arms as there was something he wondered about. "But how are we supposed to climb up those walls?"
As the group looked up wondering what they should do, Pikachu had a look around before he started sniffing the air and then turned to the others, pointing just ahead of them. "(Guys, I think someone else came this way!)"
May and Steven looked down at him wanting to know what he had just figured out. "What is it, Pikachu?" May asked. Meowth turned his head up to the two to translate Pikachu for them. "Pikachu's saying that someone came through this tunnel in that direction."
May and Steven let out gasps of surprise before they turned to each other as that could only mean one thing. "That must mean your friends are close by!" Steven stated.
May nodded in agreement as a determined expression came to her face. "And there's only one way to find out. Let's get moving!"
In another tunnel, Misty and Jessie were walking together with Misty taking the lead while Jessie slowly followed behind her. "Are you sure this is the right way?" Jessie asked, turning her glance to Misty as she was feeling uncertain about where they were heading.
Misty turned her head to Jessie before turning her attention back to the path in front of them. "Well, from the looks of it, I'd say we're on a higher level now." She then stopped in her tracks and had a closer look at what was ahead before she noticed a bright light up ahead. The moment she spotted it, a smile of delight came to her face and she turned to Jessie before pointing ahead. "Hey, I can see a light up ahead. I think that might be the exit!"
Jessie felt a big smile cross her face and she let out a cheer of delight before the two started running to see what was ahead. "I knew my skills would get us out of here. I'm too important to rot in a cave! Our team is nothing without me!" Jessie cheerfully stated. The two soon found themselves back in the area with the skylight, but just like the group before them, they didn't notice the hole in front of them and once they got close, the ground gave way from under them, sending them dropping back into the tunnels.
Meanwhile at the bottom, Ash, Brock and James were finding themselves being pursued by the Aron pack again, with the pack having managed to find them and resume the chase. James was in the lead as he flailed his arms in panic while Ash and Brock were just behind him. "We've got to get up to a higher level!" Ash called.
"Where's that last shaft we climbed up?!" James cried.
"If we knew that, we'd be running to it!" Brock yelled in reply.
At the same time, Misty and Jessie were dropping towards where the three were, the both of them showing matching expressions of panic. "We're ending up back where we started!" The two shouted out in unison.
As Ash, Brock and James were running, they suddenly heard screaming from above them and stopped in their tracks. "Did you hear that?" Ash asked. The three then looked up to find out what was causing it and were met with Misty and Jessie plummeting towards them. Without hesitance, James opened his arms up, allowing Jessie to fall straight down so he could catch her, while Ash and Brock opened their arms up to make a net which Misty safely fell into. When James managed to stand up properly, he was met with Jessie safe in his arms and a relieved smile crossed his face.
"Jessie!" Jessie shook her head rapidly to recover from that fall before she looked up to be met with James holding her in his arms and he placed her safely on the ground before throwing his arms around her tightly while she stared in alarm. "Oh, Jessie, I'm so sorry I called you an idiot! You're the most brilliant person I know! Please forgive me!"
"James, what's gotten into you? Pull yourself together!" Jessie replied, placing her hands on his shoulders to try and get him off her while he was sobbing from joy and relief that she was safe. At the same time, Ash and Brock were placing Misty down the ground and they both looked extremely happy to see her.
"Misty, there you are!" Ash happily commented. "We've been looking all over this cave for you." Brock explained. Misty reached up to rub her head before she turned to them with an amused smile, taking notice of how thrilled they were to see her again.
"Oh, don't worry, guys. I'm okay. If I'm being honest, I think I've had it easy." Misty said, rubbing her arm while she spoke. Ash and Brock quickly showed matching smiles of amusement, as they had a feeling that she was right about that. Just then, the sound of growls reached the team's ears and they turned to find the Aron pack charging towards them. Ash and Brock both screamed in panic while Jessie and James proceeded to hold each other tightly in panic. Misty stared in surprise for a few moments before a fearless smile came to her face. "You're afraid of those little guys? Well, they don't scare me!" She then reached into her bag to grab out one of her Pokeballs before throwing it. "Go, Starmie! Water Pulse!" The Pokeball opened and released Starmie, who landed on the ground before shooting a strong pulse of water from its jewel, firing towards the Aron and hitting them, sending them flying before they landed on the ground. Once she saw that they had taken out, Misty gave a confident smile before dusting her hands off. "There we go. All taken care of!" However, she was quickly proven wrong as the Aron began to climb back up on their feet, leaving her to stare in disbelief. "Huh? I don't get it. I attacked them directly! How are they still standing?!"
Ash turned to her to fill her in. "Aron are really sturdy, Misty! Even if we attack them, they'll get back up, ready for more!" The Aron pack proceeded to glare at the group, looking ready for more pursuit, so without a moment to spare, the team began to make a run for it with the Aron pack behind them, while Misty returned Starmie back into its ball while she was running before placing it back in her bag.
On the next level up, May and Steven were running through the tunnel while Pikachu led the way with Meowth following just behind him. "The scent is getting stronger!" Meowth stated; that meant they were heading in the right direction.
"I'll bet that means we're getting closer to where the others are." Steven added. He then looked down as there was something he was starting to worry about. "I just hope they haven't awoken the Aron."
May turned to him with an expression of surprise as she wondered what he was talking about. "What do you mean?"
Steven looked to her to explain. "There are wild Aron living in this cave and they've been making noises like something's bothering them. Your friends could be in danger if they've been woken up." May, Pikachu and Meowth turned to each other in worry as that meant they had to keep up the pace and find the others quick.
After running a bit further, the four came to a gap between where they stood and leading to another part of the tunnel. As they stopped in their tracks, Meowth let out a shriek of alarm as he looked down to notice how high up they were. "Why'd you bring us here, Pikachu?!" He then turned his head up to reveal the shock written all over his face. "We can't get across this!"
Steven bent down to have a look with a confident smile showing. "Just take a look down here, guys." May, Pikachu and Meowth had a look down to see what Steven had spotted and after a few seconds passed, the sound of footsteps quickly became audible. Pikachu and Meowth listened carefully before turning to each other.
"(Did you hear that?)" Pikachu asked. Meowth nodded in agreement, and as May watched carefully, she let out a gasp when she spotted Ash and the others coming into view as they were on the run.
"It's them!" she gasped. Pikachu and Meowth let out gasps in unison, so with no hesitance, May cupped her hands over her mouth to call down to them. "Guys! Guys, we're up here!" As her voice echoed across the cave walls, the group stopped in their tracks and looked up to see May waving to them with Steven, Pikachu and Meowth taking a look down as well. Ash was the first to spot them as he felt an expression of surprise cross his face.
"Guys, look! It's May and Pikachu!" Ash gasped.
"And Meowth!" Jessie and James added in unison.
"Are you guys okay?" Misty asked, showing an expression of concern. May showed them a reassuring smile before she nodded in confirmation.
"Don't worry, we're alright. And look who we found!" She then turned her head over to Steven while he gave a wave in greeting. "Guys, meet Steven."
The others stared in surprise before Ash was the first to respond, giving a big smile as he did so. "You're Steven? Great to see you!"
Steven gave a nod in confirmation. "Yes. It's nice to meet you too."
Jessie stared in amazement for a few moments before she showed a lovestruck smile, grasping her hands together. "Ah… so that's Steven? And here I was saying it didn't matter who he is. Now I know and he looks even better than I imagined!"
Suddenly, the sound of the Aron pack charging towards them could be heard and James jumped in panic once he saw they were on their way. "Help! They're after us!"
Steven felt a firm expression cross his face upon hearing that the Aron pack were awake before he looked down to the others to tell them what to do. "Everyone, settle down and listen to me. Keep moving forward and then go right, then turn left at the next corner. You'll find a waterfall; that's where we'll meet up."
The others promptly nodded in understanding. "Got it!" With this, they turned around and started to make their way to find the directions Steven gave them. Once they were gone, May turned to Steven in surprise after having seen that. "How did you know they would come through here?" she asked.
"I didn't, but I had a feeling the Aron would." Steven replied. He then stood up and looked down at Aron standing beside him. "Let's go, Aron." Aron let out a growl of understanding and then Steven turned his glance down to Pikachu and Meowth. "Pikachu, Meowth, grab onto me." With no hesitance, Pikachu and Meowth leapt up to grab onto his arms while Aron held on tight on his leg. Once they set, Steven leapt over the gap while Pikachu and Meowth screamed in shock and May could only watch in amazement, seeing how he was doing this effortlessly. Steven then landed on the ground having made it to the other side and Pikachu and Meowth hopped off him before he turned to May. "Okay, May, now it's your turn!"
May stared in disbelief as she was wondering if Steven was being serious, and then she slowly looked down at the gap to notice how high up she was and she let out a cry of alarm before turning her head up to Steven with a fearful expression. "I can't get across this!"
"You have to!" May blinked in surprise as Steven called out to her, with the look on his face showing his confidence in her. "You've been able to get us this far on your own and now your friends need you. I've been with you long enough to know that you wouldn't let your friends down, even when you feel scared. You can't give up now!"
May felt her eyes go wide in amazement upon realising that Steven was right; she had been separated from the others this whole time and she was able to lead her group through this cave without any trouble. Compared to what she had to do so far, getting across this gap seemed like it would be nothing. After a few seconds passed, a determined expression crossed her face and she nodded. "You're right. I'm not gonna stop when I've come this far." She then turned her head up to the others as she was ready. "Everyone, stand back!"
At her warning, Steven, Pikachu and Meowth proceeded to step to the side. Once she was certain that her path was clear, May took a few steps back to prepare herself and then she rushed forward before jumping into the air, flying across the gap and landing safely on the ground. After she landed, May looked around in surprise to find that she had made it across before a smile of amazement showed on her face and she jumped up on her feet. "I made it!"
Down on the bottom level, the remaining group had arrived at the area where the waterfall was located and they looked up in awe at the sight in front of them. "Wow… wonder how a waterfall got down here?" Misty asked, staring up at the waterfall with a wonderstruck smile. Jessie turned to her in irritation since now wasn't the time to be marvelling over the sights.
"We have more important things to worry about!" she snapped. James had a look behind them to notice that a large dust cloud was being kicked up and his eyes went wide in panic.
"Like those things!" The others turned around to see that the dust cloud was getting closer, meaning that the Aron pack was coming closer into view. Sure enough, the large pack came into view charging towards the group while they all gasped in alarm. Suddenly, a voice from above them reached their ears.
"Aron, stop! Be calm!" At the sound of that voice, Ash and the others lifted their heads to find that Steven had arrived, with May, Pikachu and Meowth standing alongside him. The group then looked back down to find that the Aron pack continued to charge towards them, meaning that Steven's call had fallen on deaf ears.
"It didn't work." Brock stated. "What do we do?" Misty asked, an expression of worry showing; as far as she was concerned, they were now trapped between many small rocks and a wet place.
At the top of the waterfall, May watched in silence before an expression of determination came to her face and she gave a single nod. "Looks like it's up to me to take matters into my own hands." Without a moment to spare, she turned and began to run over to the wall near the left side of the tunnel while Steven, Pikachu and Meowth turned their glances in alarm to notice her taking action.
"May, wait!" Steven called. "(What are you doing?)" Pikachu worriedly asked. "Are you out of your mind or something?!" Meowth snapped, flailing his arms frantically while he yelled that out.
Their calls went completely unanswered by May, however, as she leapt towards the wall and began to slide down on it, placing her feet down against the surface and placing a hand on the wall to slow herself down; she was prepared to take on these Aron by herself. As she arrived near the bottom, she jumped and landed safely on the ground before standing upright with her hands against her hips. "Hey, Aron! Why don't you try taking on someone fairly?"
Her call managed to get the Aron pack's attention as they stopped and turned around to spot her standing behind them with a firm glare and they looked at each other for a few moments before they began to charge towards her. Once she saw that she had their attention, May reached over to grab one of her Pokeballs from her bag. "Let's go, Azurill! Use Water Gun!" The Pokeball then opened and released Azurill, who proceeded to shoot a blast of water from her mouth which slammed against the Aron, but they didn't seem to be affected as they continued to charge towards May. May flinched in alarm for a few moments before she turned her attention down to Azurill, her firm expression not fading. "Come on, Azurill! Keep it up!" Azurill continued to shoot a blast of water from her mouth, but it didn't seem to be having any effect. Azurill quickly showed a look of worry upon realising that her attack wasn't working, but May wasn't looking ready to give up just yet as she clenched her fists tightly and kept her attention on the little Ball Pokemon. "Azurill, don't give up! You can stop them! I know how strong you are for your small size! Azurill… I believe in you!"
May's words of encouragement managed to get through as Azurill showed an expression of determination and the blast of water somehow managed to get stronger as she began to glow white, much to May's surprise. "Huh? What's happening?" she asked.
The others took notice as well as they watched in amazement with Ash being the first to ask. "Are you guys seeing that?" Brock nodded in agreement as he noticed as well. "I think Azurill is evolving!"
As May watched in awestruck silence, Azurill's body shape began to change and become bigger and rounder and the sphere on her tail grew smaller. After a few seconds passed, the glowing faded and May's new Pokemon became visible, with her ears having a light pink colour on the inside and a good majority of her body being white with only her head and arms being aqua blue: Azurill had evolved into Marill. "Wow… what's that?" May grabbed out her Pokedex to find out what her new Pokemon was.
"Marill, the Aqua Mouse Pokemon and the evolved form of Azurill. Marill's body is covered with water-repellent fur, allowing it to swim through waters at high speeds without being slowed down by the water's resistance."
May stared down at the Pokedex before placing it back in her bag and looking down at her small Pokemon. "I don't believe it…" After taking a few seconds to let this sink in, May felt a big smile cross her face and she jumped up in excitement. "This is amazing! I've got my second Pokemon evolution!" she cheered. Marill turned around to her and nodded, looking just as happy about this as her Trainer.
Just then, the sound of growling broke them out of their joy and they looked to find that the Aron pack was still charging towards them; it seemed that they were a lot stronger than May thought. May jumped back in shock while Marill felt her eyes go wide in alarm. "I know the Pokedex said that Aron were sturdy, but this is ridiculous!" May gasped. Marill began hopping back and forth in panic before she rushed over to May and jumped into her arms, leaving May to look down at her in worry. "Marill, what's wrong?" She then looked up to the Aron pack coming her way and she let out a scream in terror.
As Ash and the others were watching in shock, Brock turned to Ash and Misty with a tense expression. "We have to do something or May will get trampled by those Aron!"
Misty then turned to him with an expression of worry. "But what can we do? We've seen how sturdy they are; it seems like every attack we throw at them doesn't have any effect!" Brock stared silently before gritting his teeth as he seemed to realise that Misty was right and then the two looked back to watch in seeming hopelessness.
However, it seemed that the only one who hadn't said anything was Ash: he just stood there silently without a word before he rushed forward to the front of the group, while Brock and Misty turned to him in shock wondering what he was doing, before he stopped and reached an open hand forward. "Aron, stop! Leave her alone!" His call seemed to have no effect as the Aron continued charging and they were getting extremely close to May and Marill now. Upon seeing that the Aron were now nearing her, May cried out in alarm before turning her head away and shutting her eyes, holding Marill tightly in her arms as she did so. However, Ash wasn't willing to give up as he kept his hand stretched out. "Listen to me, Aron! Stop!" As he yelled out that last word, Ash's hand began to emanate light blue aura waves, almost like they were soundwaves to reach the pack.
At the same time, Steven was taking action just as Ash did. "Go, Aron! Use Roar!" With this, Aron opened his mouth and let out a loud screech that came out as a large soundwave, with it and the blue aura waves surrounding the Aron pack as if they were combining into one sound to calm them down.
As May kept her eyes shut tightly, there was silence for a few seconds before she realised that the sound of the Aron charging had stopped and she slowly opened her eyes before turning her head to find that the Aron pack had stopped and were just standing there. Steven showed a bright smile when he saw that they had calmed down before he spoke. "These are good people, Aron. Go back to your roosts! Everything's okay." After hearing Steven's voice, the Aron pack slowly turned around and began to make their way back through the tunnel to find their roosts, walking past May as she and the others watched in stunned silence.
"They're leaving!" James gasped, pointing to the Aron pack as he was watching them leave. Brock nodded in agreement as he seemed to have figured out what was happening. "It looks like Steven can control wild Aron."
At the same time, the blue aura waves emanating from Ash's hand slowly faded and he lowered his hand to his side, watching the Aron leave as it seemed that everything was under control, before he and the others looked up to see May running over, waving to them with a big smile as she had returned Marill into her Pokeball "Hey, guys! Sorry I kept you worrying!" May called while she was running.
Ash, Brock and Misty showed matching smiles of relief upon seeing that she was okay. "Not at all! If anything, we're just glad you've been alright this whole time." Misty replied, shaking her head. Once she arrived at where they were standing, May let out a happy laugh as she rushed over to Ash before throwing her arms around him tightly, causing him to nearly fall over backwards before he stood upright and looked at her with a big smile to return her embrace. After a few seconds, May let go to turn her glance to Ash with a big smile while he watched her in delight.
"Ash, that was amazing! I thought I was going to get trampled there, but you and Steven managed to calm them down." Her smile was then replaced with an expression of puzzlement as she was starting to wonder about that. "But… I don't get it. I know Steven had his Aron use Roar, but how were you able to get them to calm down?"
Ash felt an expression of surprise cross his face at this question and it seemed that Brock and Misty were thinking the same thing as they looked over at him. "May's right, you know. How did you get them to listen when our attacks didn't do a thing?" Misty asked.
Ash simply remained silent for a few moments as he turned his glance down to think before he slowly gave his answer. "If I'm being honest, I don't know myself. But…" He then raised his hand to look down at it as he continued. "I think it's because of my aura powers that I was able to get through to them." The others let out resounding gasps of amazement at this reply, while Ash kept his glance down at his open hand, lost in thought over what was going on with him. 'Ever since I learnt about it in Petalburg Woods, these powers have been showing themselves more often. First in Petalburg Woods, then Rustboro City and now here, and they make less and less sense the more I use them…' Ash felt an uncertain expression cross his face the moment he realised this and he slowly clenched his fist. 'I don't think I know where to start with understanding what they are or how I can control them. So until I figure that out, I'll have to keep myself from using them.'
A little later, Steven, Pikachu and Meowth had arrived at the bottom of the root to meet up with everyone else and as Meowth was on his way over, Jessie and James rushed over to him with smiles of joy. "Meowth!" The two cried in unison as Meowth leapt up into their arms, with the both of them hugging him tightly as they bent down. "You're okay! I'm so happy!" James happily commented. The three then burst into tears of joy, thrilled to finally find each other again.
Ash and the others watched the emotional display in amusement since they hadn't exactly seen them act this way beforehand. "And I thought you didn't like them, James." Ash commented.
"You too, Meowth." May added, placing her hands against her hips.
"And you, Jessie." Misty added, nodding in agreement with the two.
"(Ash!)" At the sound of that familiar call, Ash felt a big smile cross his face when he saw Pikachu running towards him with a smile of joy and bent down with his arms open.
"Pikachu, there you are!" Ash let out a cheerful laugh as Pikachu lunged forward before jumping into his arms and stood up as he held his partner Pokemon close to him before they let go to look at each other while the others watched them in delight. "Have you been okay, little buddy?" Ash asked.
Pikachu had his glance up to Ash as he nodded in agreement. "(You bet! I've been with May and Meowth, and Steven helped us find our way back to you guys.)" The group then looked over to notice Steven walking over to them and they proceeded to show grateful smiles.
"Thanks for all your help, Steven. We wouldn't have been able to find each other if you weren't here." Ash explained, the others nodding in agreement with him. Steven showed a smile in response and then he looked over at the ex-Rocket Trio to notice them still hugging tightly before he turned back to the group in confusion.
"Who are those three?" he asked. Ash and the others leaned over to spot the trio and they proceeded to show nervous smiles before May managed to give a reply. "They're with us. It's a long story…"
At the same time, the three had recovered from their emotional reunion and were beginning to stand up properly. "All right, now that we're back together again, I think it's time we get back to looking for…" Before Jessie could continue any further, her gaze fell on Steven and she stared in awed silence before a lovestruck smile showed on her face and hearts appeared in her eyes. "Well, hello!" With no hesitance, she ran over to Steven and grabbed both his hands in hers while he stared in surprise. "So you're Steven! I'll be honest, I wasn't expecting you to be such a dreamboat when I first heard about you." Steven could only stare in silence as Jessie leaned closer to him, her cheeks glowing red as a rose. "Since you're here, what do you say we ditch these guys and look for some rare stones together? Who knows, we may be able to find the rarest treasure of all!"
While she was busy with her attempt at getting Steven's attention, Ash and the others were left watching in surprise while James and Meowth jumped in alarm before rushing over to pull her away, causing her to scream in alarm while Steven looked on in confusion. "Obviously, you've been stuck in this cave for too long, Jessie." James stated. "If anyone's gonna be finding those rare stones, it's gonna be us!" Meowth added.
While Steven was looking on wordlessly, Misty turned her head to Brock while they and the others were watching. "Now you see what I have to put up with every time you do that?" Misty asked, with Brock looking over at her in surprise wondering what she was talking about. Deciding it best to not to pay attention to that, May turned to the others as there was something she had nearly forgotten about.
"Oh, that reminds me!" She then turned to the others so she could tell them about what she told Steven they would do. "Guys, I promised that Steven that when we found you all, we could help him search for something he's been looking for down here." She turned to Steven with a reassuring smile to say that she hadn't forgotten about it before she looked back at the others. "So what do you think? Are we ready to get searching?"
The others stared in silence for a few moments before they nodded in agreement. "Sure! What are we looking for?" Ash asked. May let out a giggle of excitement as she felt her smile grow; she was really looking forward to sharing what she had learnt with the others.
A little later, the group were making their way through the tunnel with Ash and the others taking the lead while Steven followed beside them and the ex-Rocket Trio just behind them; Ash, Misty and Brock were having a look at the scroll and Ash was the first to say something with a smile of awe. "Woah… this looks so awesome!" Pikachu gave a big smile before nodding in agreement. "(No kidding!)"
Misty then turned her glance to Steven to make sure she had the facts straight with this whole thing. "So you're saying that this is located in the deepest part of the cave?"
Steven gave a nod in confirmation. "That's right; I've been searching for it for a while, and since May told me that you were experienced travellers, I figured that we'd be able to look for it together once we found you all." As the ex-Rocket Trio were listening to this from the back of the group, Jessie crossed her arms and turned her glance up with an expression of puzzlement.
"What's so impressive about this mural anyway? It doesn't sound so great of a treasure to me." James turned his glance to her while she was talking and he raised a hand before raising one finger up and waving it with a knowing smile. "Tsk, tsk, Jessie. Maybe it would be a wise idea not to judge until we figure out where it is. After all, you should never judge something before you find it."
The others showed matching smiles of amusement before turning their attention back to the scroll to have a look at the picture on it. "Ash is right, though. I wonder what all of this could be?" Misty asked, her glance falling on the writing at the bottom. "And have a look at the writing here; it looks old and strangely shaped."
Once the others spotted this as well, they proceeded to nod in agreement. "Yeah, you're right." Brock commented, noticing that Misty was right. As May was listening to everything the group had to say, she turned her attention back to the path in front of her to start looking around for clues and her eyes immediately fell on something just ahead of their route.
"Guys, look at this!" She pointed ahead and the group looked up to find that there was an opening with a staircase that led downwards deeper into the cave; it seemed to be the deepest it would go. "Do you guys think that could lead into the deepest part of the cave?"
"Well, there's only one way to find out." Brock replied. The others seemed to realise that he was right as after about a few seconds of silence, the group made their way over to the opening before slowly heading down the staircase. As they were making their way down, May was the first to take notice of the fact that it seemed to be getting darker the deeper they went, since she could barely see what was in front of her.
"Wow… it's getting harder to see in here." She then turned to the others to see if they had anything that could light things up for them. "Does anyone have a light on them?"
"I'm on it." Steven replied, holding up the lantern he was using earlier before this whole nonsense started. The group showed smiles of relief upon seeing that they had a light source before turning their attention to continue their way down the staircase. After a few minutes, the group arrived at the bottom and were coming into a large room and as they looked up to see what was inside, they stopped in their tracks and let out gasps of shock and awe: the walls were covered in ancient drawings, apparently having been done long ago. The group were silent as they looked around at the sights before Steven was the one to speak, with him simply being amazed by what he was seeing. "So this is what was down here…"
"Wow… just look at all of those drawings. What do you think they could be?" Ash asked, turning his glance up to the drawings that were on the walls above them. "(It's amazing…)" Pikachu quietly said, his eyes going wide in awe as he looked from Ash's shoulder.
At the back, Jessie, James and Meowth seemed to be awestruck as they were looking around at the drawings as well. "I don't believe it… What is all this?" Jessie wondered, turning her head back and forth as she was trying to make sense of what she was seeing.
James was silent for a few moments before a smile of amazement came to his face and he clapped his hands together. "It's fantastic, that's what this is!" He lifted his head up to look at the drawings on the walls, his eyes wide in amazement as he did so. "Look at the detail of those drawings. You wouldn't even know that they were done as long ago as they were!" A squeal of delight then escaped his lips while Jessie and Meowth watched him in disbelief.
"Never expected him to have an eye for these things." Meowth commented, crossing his arms while he spoke. He then turned his head to look at what was ahead and an expression of surprise came to his face as he pointed forward. "Hey, what's that?"
The rest of the group turned their heads to find out what Meowth had spotted and they could see that there was a large mural printed on the wall in the back of the cave room that appeared to be the centrepiece. As they walked over to have a closer look, May's eyes went wide as she could recognise it. "Wait a moment…" She grabbed the scroll and looked down at it before looking back up at the mural and after checking a few times just to be sure, she let out a gasp of shock. "This looks just like the drawing!"
The others showed matching expression of shock upon hearing this and they looked to find that May was right; the mural that was on the wall and the drawing on the scroll were a perfect match. In the centre were the two ancient Pokemon depicted on the scroll engaged in a fierce clash with each other with two different symbols on each of their arms, while behind them was the image of erupting volcanoes and broken earth, and harsh storms and raging waves. There was silence from the group for a few moments before Misty was the one to break it. "What is all of this?" As Brock had a look down at the writing on the scroll, he seemed to realise that this looked familiar to him.
"Hey, Ash, Misty! Have a look at the writing here." Ash and Misty turned their heads to him before walking over and lowered their glances to the writing as he pointed to it. "Doesn't the writing here look familiar?"
Ash and Misty had a close look at the writing for a few moments before their eyes went wide in alarm as they realised he was right. "Hey, yeah, it does! It looks like Unown writing." Ash replied.
May and Steven showed matching expressions of surprise after hearing that the three knew what the writing said before Steven was the one to ask. "You can understand that?"
Ash turned his head to the two as he nodded in affirmation. "Yeah! Unown appear in many different shapes." he explained. "And their shapes look like letters of the alphabet." Misty added. She and Ash both turned their heads back to Brock as he was looking over the writing to try and figure out what it said.
"Can you make it out, Brock?" Ash asked. "What does it say?" Misty added, as they and the others were waiting to hear what the writing was supposed to say. After taking a few more moments to look it over, Brock gave a nod before he turned to the rest of the group.
"All right; here's what I can make of it." He then looked down at the scroll to begin reading while the others listened intently.
Since ancient times, it has been known that two super-ancient Pokemon exist, each of them guardians of earth and sea. Upon being awoken from their slumber, their endless clashes brought scorching heat and endless downpours that threatened to tear the world asunder. Their resting places must never be disturbed, lest the world suffer as a result. Alpha and Omega, the beginning and end of all.
After Brock finished, the group were left staring in silence, feeling unable to say anything after what they had just heard. After a few seconds passed, May was the first to find her voice. "Alpha… and Omega?" She then turned her attention to the mural and walked over to have a closer look, spotting the symbols on the Pokemon's arms. "That must be what these symbols mean."
"Guardians of earth and sea? There are Pokemon like that?" Ash asked, blinking as he and Pikachu were staring up at the mural in amazement. "(I'm just as shocked as you are.)" Pikachu agreed.
Steven seemed to be just as at a loss for words as the others were as he was just standing there, staring up at the mural in shock. "This is what that scroll was depicting… the two super-ancient Pokemon from long ago…" As the group were simply looking up at the mural, all of them wondering what it could mean, a voice was suddenly heard from behind them.
"Oh, so this is where you all went off to!" Ash and the others quickly turned to see who was talking to: it was the young woman who had been looking for them in the tunnels and she had Togepi in her arms while Whismur was walking just beside her. She then stopped once she got close and she showed a smile of amusement. "I've been searching for you all day, and when I decide to check down here, here you are! Looks like it was definitely worth the struggle."
As Togepi was resting comfortably in her arms, a big smile of joy crossed her face when she spotted Misty and she immediately began waving both of her arms. "(Hi, Mum!)" Togepi happily called. Misty stared in surprise before a smile of relief came to her face.
"Togepi! You're okay!" The young woman looked down at Togepi reaching her tiny arms out to Misty and, apparently figuring it out on her own, bent down to place Togepi on the ground, after which she happily ran over to Misty as she had her arms stretched out for her and she leapt into her mum's arms as she stood up and held her tightly before looking down at her with an expression of worry. "Oh, Togepi, I'm so sorry all of this happened. You must have been so scared being on your own."
Togepi didn't seem to be too fazed, as she shook her head with a bright smile. "(No; I've been alright, Mum. This lovely woman and her friend have been keeping me safe this whole time.)" She then turned her head to the young woman as she was watching the two and Misty lifted her glance up to her before giving a grateful smile.
"Thank you for getting Togepi here safely. I don't know what I would have done if something happened to her." Misty said. The young woman simply held up a hand before shaking her head in response.
"Don't worry about it. You're not the only person who has a little one of her own. Isn't that right, Aster?" She then looked at her Whismur, who let out a cry in reply while nodding. The group looked down in surprise to notice the Whismur, with May grabbing her Pokedex from out of her bag to find out more.
"Whismur, the Whisper Pokemon. Whismur can become so startled by the sound of its own crying that it will continue to cry until finally falling asleep from exhaustion."
"Wow… its crying must be really loud if that's true." May commented to herself, looking down at the entry before going to place the Pokedex back in her bag. While she was busy with that, Ash pointed down at the Whismur with an expression of surprise. "You named your Whismur Aster?"
"Well, I wouldn't quite say that." The young woman bent down to Aster as she lifted her head to her. "It's more like she's named after someone really special to me. Isn't that right, little one?" As Aster gave a cry in agreement, the woman placed a hand on top of her head before she turned her attention back to the group as she stood up. "But look at this: here I am rambling on when I should be asking you guys what your names are. Amazing how off track I can get."
Ash blinked in surprise for a few moments before he showed a nervous smile. "Oh, yeah… that's right…" He quickly recovered since he gave a bright smile as he was ready to be the first to introduce himself. "I'm Ash, and this is my partner Pokemon, Pikachu." He turned his head to Pikachu sitting on his shoulder as the latter raised a paw to wave with a big smile. "(Nice to meet you!)"
"My name's May." May said, raising a hand to point to herself.
"My name's Misty, and this little one down here is my Pokemon, Togepi." Misty added, turning her glance down to Togepi as the baby Pokemon let out a cheerful chirp in greeting.
"And I'm Brock." Brock finished. The four then turned their heads to the ex-Rocket Trio as they were standing behind the group silently. "Aren't you three going to introduce yourselves too?" Misty asked.
Jessie let out a sigh before she turned her glance to the woman, crossing her arms as she did so. "If you must know, my name's Jessie and these two here are my comrades, James and Meowth."
"Hello!" James cheerfully greeted, giving a wave as he did so. "Great to see another unusual face around here!" Meowth added, a big smile on his face while he spoke. Wobbuffet then popped out from behind them and blurted "Wobbuffet!" in greeting, giving a salute.
The young woman looked at the group before she gave a big smile, placing her hands on her hips. "Isn't that a nice set of names. The name's Zinnia. Pleasure to meet you all!" She then turned her glance up with an expression of confusion as she wanted to make sure she had this right. "Wait, is this the first time we're meeting?" After a few seconds to think it over, the smile returned to her face as she nodded in confirmation. "Yeah, I think so!"
The group stared at her in confusion wondering what was up with her before Misty walked up to her to start doing the honours. "So, Zinnia, what brings you all the way down here?" she asked. Zinnia let out a giggle as she was more than happy to explain.
"Me? Oh, I'm just exploring, looking for answers to a question no one's asked. It's funny; you don't really know what problems you actually have until you start digging. That's kind of what I do." She then lifted her head up to notice the mural on the wall and a look of intrigue came to her face. "Wow, what's this here? You all find something down here?" Without a moment to spare, she pushed by the group and made her way over to have a look at the mural with Aster following behind her. Once she was close enough, she stopped and turned her glance up to the mural. "Yep, looks like this is the one. This must be the two ancient Pokemon from long ago…"
Ash and the others were silent as they watched her before May leaned over to them, placing one hand beside her mouth as she whispered while the others turned to her. "Is it just me, or do you guys think there's something… strange about her?"
Brock shook his head as he crossed his arms with a frown showing. "It's not just you, May. I don't think I've seen anyone wear what she's wearing." he commented, taking notice of the position of the markings on her shirt and the ripped cape she was wearing. Zinnia didn't seem to think the same way as she turned her head back to the group while they watched in surprise.
"Well, I think I've found everything I was looking for. I better get a move on to my next destination. Hopefully we'll run into each other again soon. See you!" With this, she began to show herself out with Aster following behind her, but as she passed by Ash, she stopped dead in her tracks and turned back around. "Hold on a minute…" She scanned the group for a few moments before her gaze fell on Ash while he was staring in surprise. "You there. Ash, was it?"
Ash jumped in surprise as he pointed to himself before he nodded in confirmation. "Uh… yeah, that's right." He then felt himself tense up as Zinnia made her way over to him and began to look him over, prompting him to take a few steps back to put some space between them. "Ummm… can I… help you with something?" he asked, feeling a nervous expression cross his face as he was beginning to wonder what Zinnia was looking for from him. After a few seconds, Zinnia looked down to spot his hands at his sides.
"Hmm…" As she raised an eyebrow and placed a hand against her chin as she seemed to be lost in thought, Zinnia then lifted her glance up to Ash, pointing down at his hands as she did so. "Would you mind holding your hand out for me for a second?"
Ash felt an expression of disbelief cross his face at the odd request and then he looked down at his hand before turning to Zinnia and slowly nodded in agreement. "Uh… okay."
As he stretched his hand out towards Zinnia, she showed a big smile before placing both of her hands on top of his, while the others were watching in confusion before May was the first to speak up, her and Misty showing expressions of annoyance as she placed her hands against her hips. "If you're planning to have him for yourself, then I'm afraid you're out of luck there, Zinnia. Ash is already taken!"
Ash and Zinnia turned their heads to the two in surprise upon hearing this before Zinnia gave a reassuring smile. "Oh, calm down! I don't plan on stealing him. I just want to check something real quick." She turned her attention back to Ash with a firm expression coming to her face before she closed her eyes, apparently to concentrate with whatever it was she was doing. As Ash and the others stared in silence, wondering what she was up to, there was silence for a few moments before Zinnia's cape began to billow, slowly raising before it was blowing behind her as if she were standing in harsh winds, and her eyes suddenly flew open to reveal that they were shining bright blue. After a few seconds, she quickly let go of Ash's hand and she took a few steps backward, her eyes reverting to their ruby red colour and going wide in amazement. Once she was certain that she was okay after that, she lifted her head up to Ash to show an expression of shock on her face over what she had just seen. "I don't believe it… you…" She fell silent for a few moments before pointing directly at Ash. "You're a descendant of the Aura Guardian bloodline!"
As Ash let out a gasp of surprise at what he had just heard Zinnia say, the others all showed matching expressions of alarm upon realising that Zinnia seemed to know something about Ash's aura powers. "You mean you know something about Ash's powers?" Brock asked.
Zinnia turned to the others so she could explain. "Well, I don't know a lot about it, but what I do know is that a long time ago, there was a long line of Aura Guardians stretching across the years, each of them displaying incredible powers they could use by channelling their aura." As the others let out resounding gasps of awe, Zinnia showed a big smile before she turned her attention back to Ash while he was left stunned silent. "And as it turns out, you just happen to be a member of that line." She then let out a cheer of delight as she continued. "This is amazing! I didn't think I'd ever get to see one in person, but here you are standing right in front of me!"
Ash could only stare in complete silence as he was struggling to wrap his head around what he was hearing; him, a member of this bloodline that Zinnia was talking about? It seemed too crazy to be true, but at the same time, he was no stranger to finding out things that would seem impossible to any normal person. After a few seconds, Ash was finally able to find his voice as he turned to Zinnia. "Well… the thing is… I've only just found out about these powers I have and the more I use them, the less they make sense to me." He then lowered his glance down to his hand as an uncertain expression came to his face as he remembered the occasions where he had used them. "I don't think I even understand how they work."
Zinnia blinked in surprise before she gave a knowing smile and shrugged her shoulders. "Why should that matter?" Ash looked up at her wondering what she meant before she continued. "Just because you don't understand something doesn't mean you should just brush it aside. You are a Trainer, right? Do what you Trainers always do when you find something you don't understand: learn about it. Find out how it works! Try figuring out how you can put it to good use! The way I see it, if you do that, you'll be well on your way to understanding it better." She then took a deep breath and let out a sigh before she turned her glance up to the group. "Wow, I've officially lost track of time with all of this advice giving. I think it's time I started showing myself out." As Aster hopped over to her, Zinnia turned her head down to her with a big smile. "Come on, little one. We're leaving!" Aster gave a nod in understanding, so with this, the two began to make their way over to the staircase leading up and out of the room so they could start figuring out where the exit was. As the group watched them leave, there was silence between them before Jessie turned her head to James and Meowth.
"She's a little not right in the head, don't you think?" James and Meowth both turned to Jessie in surprise as she continued. "I mean, what does she mean, going on about Aura Guardians and bloodlines? She didn't say a thing about those rare stones!"
"I think that should be the last thing to worry about, Jessie." James commented, turning his head to the staircase as he was looking in the direction in which Zinnia had left. Ash and the others were silent as well, with Ash being the only one to say something.
"Zinnia… Who is she, anyway?" While they had no answer to that question, there was one thing the group was certain of: this wouldn't be the last time they would see her.
That evening, the group had managed to find their way out of Granite Cave and at the moment, they were standing at an inland that was on the far side of the island; Steven had parked a boat there and he was standing near it as he had his attention on the group, showing them the part of the island they were currently at. "This is an inland on the far side of the island. As you can see, there's a lot of unspoiled nature here. I think it'll be a perfect spot for you all to do your training." Since they were now outside of Granite Cave, Steven had changed his outfit before they had come out here: he was now wearing a black jacket with light purple zig-zag patterns flowing down near the bottom half, shining silver stripes on the sleeves, a white collar and deep red tie, a dark purple and black buttoned shirt underneath, a small silver belt around his waist, matching black pants and dark purple shoes. As the group were looking around at their surroundings, they turned their heads to Steven with matching grateful smiles.
"Thank you again for all your help, Steven." Ash said. Steven simply shook his head with an understanding smile; he just felt glad he was here to help the team out back inside Granite Cave.
"It was no problem. I should really thank you all for helping me find that mural. It was worth going through everything to look for you." The others nodded in agreement, as they knew he was certainly right about that. Steven then turned his head to May. "May?" May looked over at him wondering what he had to say, and she got her answer once he spoke. "I have to say, I was really impressed by how in charge of things you were in Granite Cave. I hope you'll show that same kind of efficiency in your Coordinator training."
May gave a confident smile before nodding in agreement. "Don't you worry, I will." Her smile then dropped and an expression of uncertainty came to her face as there was something she was starting to wonder about. "But… there's something I'm trying to figure out." The group turned their heads to May to hear what she was thinking about. "It was about the ancient Pokemon on that mural, and how they were said to be the guardians of earth and sea. Do you think they could have a connection to why Team Magma and Team Aqua are roaming across Hoenn?"
The others showed matching expression of surprise at this theory and they lowered their glances to think it over. "That could be possible. One thing's for sure: whatever they're up to, they're both teams to not be underestimated." Brock replied, crossing his arms while he spoke. Ash had his attention turned to the others to listen before he lowered his glance as he had something on his mind too.
"I'm still wondering about what Zinnia said about my powers." He then raised a hand to look down at it as her words were running through his mind. "She said that it's because I'm part of an Aura Guardian bloodline, but nothing she said makes sense to me. If that's true, how did I not know about them before? And why have they only started surfacing now? It really doesn't make any sense…"
Steven showed a firm expression as he was wondering about what Zinnia said as well, even if he didn't say anything in Granite Cave. "Hmm… it does all sound strange. But… I think she was right about one thing." Ash turned his head up to Steven to hear what he meant, and Steven gave a supportive smile as he continued. "Those powers you have are truly something special, Ash, and they shouldn't be ignored. I know nothing makes sense to you right now, but I think if you keep going, you'll find the answers you're looking for." Ash was silent for a few moments while he listened to this and he felt a small smile cross his face before he nodded: that was something he was sure he'd keep in mind. With this, Steven walked over to the boat and hopped on, Aron following behind him, before he turned around to face the group. "Well, I suppose I better get going."
The group all showed matching expressions of surprise upon hearing that Steven was already going to be on his way. "You're planning on leaving already?" Misty asked.
Steven gave a nod in confirmation. "Yes. Now that I found the mural, I'm going to see if I can look for more clues relating to those ancient Pokemon. Maybe we'll get to meet again later down the road."
As the others nodded in agreement, Jessie pushed past them and ran over to Steven before reaching over to grab his hands while he stared in shock. "Oh, it's a shame to say goodbye to you so soon. But just remember, if you ever need help with your research, I'll come straight to wherever you are!" As Steven stared in stunned silence, James and Meowth made their way over to pull her back.
"Come on, Jess. If we don't see him again anytime soon, it'll be a good thing!" Meowth stated, him and James showing matching expressions of annoyance as they were pulling her back.
Once that was dealt with, Steven went over to loosen the sail, allowing the winds to blow into it and send the boat drifting and as he was leaving, he turned to the group before waving to them. "Take care, everyone! And good luck with your training!" he called, with Aron letting out a growl in agreement.
The group showed matching bright smile before they waved to him. "Thanks, Steven! You take care too!" They called in unison. "(Hopefully we'll see you again soon!)" Pikachu added, waving his paw along with the others.
"Be sure to call me!" Jessie added, waving both of her arms with a big smile while James and Meowth stared at her in alarm. Once Steven got a far enough distance away, Jessie let out a happy sigh as she clasped her hands together. "Ah… isn't he just amazing?"
James and Meowth both let out sighs of dismay; they were going to have a hard time dealing with Jessie if they ever met Steven again. Ash didn't seem to pay attention to them, though, as a confident smile crossed his face and he clenched a fist as Pikachu hopped up onto his shoulder.
"All right! Tomorrow morning, let's be ready to start training!" Ash stated, raising his fist into the air while he said this. "(I'm with you on that, Ash!)" Pikachu commented, nodding in agreement.
May, Misty and Brock looked over at him in amusement as they knew what was awaiting them. Brock then turned to the group as he seemed to have an idea. "Since we're here, how do you all feel about helping me with setting up our tents?"
The others turned to him in surprise at his suggestion, with May being the first to speak up. "We're not going to go back to the Pokemon Centre?"
Brock shook his head, figuring it best to explain why. "Well, since we've found the best place for training, I figured it would be best for us to set up a camping site while we're staying here. Besides, it'll save us the trouble of walking back to the Pokemon Centre every night."
The group were silent before everyone with the exception of Jessie nodded in agreement. "Yeah, that sounds like a great idea!" Ash happily agreed.
"Wow, you manage to think of everything." Misty commented, with May nodding in agreement. Unfortunately, not everyone happened to agree as Jessie crossed her arms with an expression of annoyance.
"Well, this isn't exactly how I planned on spending my time on an island resort…"
Meowth looked up at her in surprise before showing an amused grin. "Why are you looking so glum, Jess? We do this all the time."
"Meowth's right, you know. And besides, I think it's a great way to make the most of our time here. I know I'm excited for it!" James commented, showing a smile of delight as he was looking forward to having an experience like this during their time on Dewford Island.
Brock then showed a smile as it seemed that everyone seemed to agree with their plan. "Well, if we're all in agreement, let's get to work!" With this, he went to take his bag off his shoulders and placed it on the ground so he could start getting the supplies they needed, with everyone gathering to grab their share.
It seemed that it had been quite an eventful day for the group, and with their training set to begin the next morning, it was clear that their time on Dewford Island was going to be something to look forward to.