The massive cavern of darkness spreads before the group, ready to spirit them from the safety of the PokéCenter. Lining up, all the children are handed helmets and a small device from the resident nurse Joy.
"What's this?" inquires Darwin, just as excited as when the excavation party set out.
"It's a noise maker. In a place with as little reception as Mt. Moon, sometimes the low-tech answer is the best one. I know everyone has an Escape Rope, but in the event you get separated from the professor, or you simply can't use one, this device is programmed to emit a loud beeping for up to five days. Obviously you kids shouldn't need it, but if you do," at this Joy slides a thumb over a small toggle on the side of the machine, simultaneously lifting the device skyward. An ear-splitting alarm rings out, much like the fire drill's at school. Making sure everyone present can see the location of the switch, she flicks the small bar back, silencing the racket.
"And as an added bonus, Pokemon hate the sound. If you are being attacked, especially by wild Zubat, simply turn on the machine and they should scatter."
"Nurse Joy, you forgot to tell them about the earplugs. Not very responsible for someone in the medical field." Eugene shoots the chipper lady a condescending look at the breach in safety.
"Kids, a Screecher is so loud that you'd be permanently deaf before anyone found you. Inside," the adult pauses, grabbing his own for demonstration; then, sweeping a hand toward the device, pops off a little panel on the side, "is a plastic baggy with several sets of earplugs. If you have to have this blasted thing running for more than 10 seconds, wear them. I can tell you kids already have a hard enough time listening, no need to make it harder on yourselves, or me, in the future."
The four adults bounce between the kids, doing a final check of equipment and verifying that the group knows how to use it all.
Task done, the nurse approaches one of the boys, starting up a conversation, "Hey Bradley, sweetie, how is your mother?" The adult brushes hands down her white apron, dusting them off after handling so many little gadgets and tools caked in old, dried dirt.
"She's doing good. She's been a bit overwhelmed with work lately, but Dice has been a huge help." Shifting from foot to foot under Joy's new concerned frown, Bradley exclaims, "It's fine, really! Plus, the family is super excited because a passing Trainer asked to leave his Ditto for a few nights rather than put it in the PC."
"Oh yeah?" the nosy woman inquires, pushing for more details and fairly certain of the conversation's direction.
"The boy went off to challenge Brock, and the silly little goop took a real shine to Dice. Now it looks like the family is about to get bigger. Dice has even been incubating the new egg in her pouch rather than the usual Soft-Boiled one." The flustered boy catches his breath, having only used one to say everything.
"Aaaaawwww. I remember the Happiny stage!" At the jovial response, Bradley relaxes, tension leaving a taunt back. Oblivious, Joy keeps talking, "Muse was quite the trickster in her youth. Always running around using Gravity to mess with hikers. We can only assume her dad must have been a local," The two pinkettes share a look, then glance up the mountain's side knowingly.
The boy slips solidly into his quiet nature, but remains attentive, so the female elaborates on the story, "She loved to make all the big, strong, exercise enthusiasts feel weak." the nurse starts, eyes dance in delight.
"The funny part is those fitness buffs and even some of the local Machops loved it! We had all these extra hikers in the area for a while because she didn't realize her presence was giving them not only resistance training, but also the motivation to keep moving. She thought she was so sneaky, but never noticed how many more muscular people just happened to be around the PokéCenter during her childhood." At this, the woman can't contain her mirth, breaking out in light, tinkling laughter. Bradley's soft chuckle soon follows.
A chubby pink creature inside a nearby building covers a violent sneeze with its hand. Blinking rapidly to relieve watery eyes, it turns back to the window and waves at the group through the glass, its rotund figure just visible beneath the shadow of the red roof's rafters. The Chansey alternates eyeing the lobby and the travelers, thrilled by the novelty of their fossil recovery despite having to be on-call in her Trainer's stead. A few of the children notice the Pokémon, and throw their arms enthusiastically back and forth in reply. Evan waves too, his lacking the luster of his peers.
Bradley withdraws his own acknowledging hand from the air. Turning back to Joy, the passive lad gives more details from home, "Actually, we think we will end up with a tiny Chansey on our hands. Mom and Dice weren't trying to have an egg yet, so we never got a Luck Incense like Grandma did for Muse's mom." Another far-off sneeze is heard from inside the PokéCenter.
"Just as well, Happiny are known to cry more, especially when someone borrows their stone for too long. They may be cuter, but Chansey are so much more level-headed, even that young." The experienced woman nods, coupling the gesture with a reassuring smile.
"You may even get your first Pokémon out of it, if I know my sister. She and Dice would love to watch their children run off on an adventure together." The boy's eyes widen, the thought not having occurred to the youngster in all the hubbub of the past two weeks. Pure joy illuminates his face at the prospect.
The nurse who had just imparted her namesake steps back from everyone, watching them bolster themselves for the next leg of the trek.
The all-clear is given and a pit of nervous apprehension weighs heavily on Evan's stomach. The ambitious lad takes his first few steps toward the cave and the troop surges with him, a single moving mass.
Cassie slips up on the blonde's left, tapping the boy's burdened shoulder.
"Safety buddies," she reminds, cramming close. "Now that we are at the 'dangerous' part, we have to stick together."
"Turn on your helmets, everyone!" Starla calls out, flipping on her own while passing through darkness cast by the overhang. A light bursts out into the dark, causing a nearby rock to blink and shift before settling back down to continue its nap.
"Eugene, you're up." The professor inclines his head to the other expert. The grump rolls exasperated eyes at the promptness with which Granite follows the itinerary. Humoring the colleague, the Oreburghian grabs at the first blue and white sphere hanging from his bag's strap. Clicking the button releases a tall lavender plant. Yellow eyes swivel inside its pitcher as pink tentacles undulate in the air.
"Wow! You have a Lileep; that's so cool! It's even got its own Dive ball!" the green haired kid of the group exclaims.
"I thought you didn't like cute Pokémon, Cole?" Skyler's face hardens in mild annoyance at this attitude change.
"Lileep isn't cute, it's cool," he sniffs back.
"Where'd you get her, thir?" The youngest of the group walks towards the carnivorous vegetation for a better look, but stops shy of touching range. Eugene eyes the kid, debating on if the lad is likeable enough to answer. The geologist purses lips a moment too long, the silence stretching a bit awkward.
"I found him while exploring the Oreburgh mine," the gruff adult finally relents. "I went looking for a new pair of hands to help me on digs. Expecting rock-type Pokémon fossils I went all the way to the outer fringes in my search, only to end up with this space-case Plant," despite the harshness of the Trainer's voice, the Pokémon's eyes narrow to laughing slits.
Bemused globes roll in their sockets at the ancient hydra's reaction, one corner of Eugene's mouth twitching slightly.
"Hey, Eugenius," Cole smirks, mimicking Sam's jibe from earlier, "Lileep is a rock-type."
"Yes, but Plant doesn't have any ARMS, now does he? He needs arms or legs, to help on a DIG, don't you think?" The two black haired males stare each other down, one getting redder by the second as the truth sinks in.
"Excuse me, sir?" the rubber ducky clad girl tugs on the tall Trainer's white lab coat. "I don't mean to be nosy, but how will Plant keep up with us? You just said he doesn't have legs." At this, the pigtailed miss tilts her head to the side, curious as a Rockruff.
"Are you gonna carry him?!" Skyler's eyes bug out at the implications. "He's got to weigh over fifty pounds!" The smart kid gawks, staring down the long corridor into the cave. So many steps.
Rather than continuing to answer the never-ending questions of youth, Eugene steps briskly away. As the scientist strolls off, the beam of light spilling from his helmet chases the inky blackness farther into the cavern. Seeing his Trainer's retreat, the Lileep's body lifts gracefully up on ballerina tentacles. A rhythmic four step cadence follows sedately behind the human, suckers making awkward half-pops as they rise and fall.
Starla and Granite share a look of utter amusement before pretending nothing is awry. They trail after, until, two by two, the gaggle of goslings follow behind.
Chapter Notes
-The title, Into the Dark is an Easter Egg referencing Inky Iris' fanfiction which is a really good Danny Phantom x Teen Titan's cross.
-The reason Bradley has pink hair is because he is part of the Nurse Joy family. It is also the reason he tenses up when his Aunt interrogates him for details. XD
-Mt. Moon is a reasonable dig site for residents of Pewter City, especially because that is where you get either the Helix or Dome Fossil.
-Escape Ropes teleport you out of caves.
-Wild Zubat are a major nuisance in Mt. Moon.
-You can breed a ditto with almost any Pokémon beside itself. So the concept in the story is vaguely like the Daycare.
-Soft-Boiled is Chansey's signature move. It gives the nutritious egg to people it likes to heal them.
-Happiny is Chansey's baby form and requires a Luck Incense to breed it, otherwise the baby comes out a Chansey. Happiny carries a stone around in place of an egg in its pouch, and can get upset if people don't give it back when they lend it out.
-Gravity can be an egg move if the Chansey breeds with a Clefable/Clefairy.
-Chansey are only female, which means the male would have to be the Clefable. Mt. Moon is full of the Clefairy line, which is why the two look up the mountain's side.
-In Japanese culture, the superstition is that if someone is talking about you behind your back, you'll sneeze.
-The rock that blinked is a Geodude.
-A hydra is a tiny water-creature that just looks like a grabby hand sticking to a rock. It catches microscopic food as it floats by.
-I love the name Plant for a rock-water type that is not actually a plant. XD
-Rockruff is a puppy Pokémon.
-For the Lileep I had to image how it would move, since I don't actually know. Plus they are supposed to be stationary according to the Pokédex entry, just like a hydra.