Lucas and Genesis continue their Kanto Adventure; The Mewtwo excavation, with their new friends: Blue, and her Wartortle. After rescuing a lost Zorua and defeating Brock, the Pewter City Gym Leader, the two trainers now continue their adventure through Mt. Moon, headed for Cerulean City. But what awaits them in these caves? Pokémon? Or something more?

The Emerald Pack:

-Lucas Ordo: Magby (Genesis), Charmander (Comet)

-Blue: Wartortle

-Zorua

Chapter 4

Cavern of Courage! Mt. Moon Expedition!

The cave of Mt. Moon seemed to get darker and darker as Lucas and Blue moved further inwards and away from the light coming out of the entrance from which they came. Zorua was still unconscious in Blue's arms.

"God, it's dark in here. It's like night", said Lucas. Genesis emitted a flame from his hand to help surround them with a better light. "Right on, Genesis!" Lucas said to his Pokémon. Another idea struck him, and he let Comet out. The flame on the Charmander's tail also added to the effect. "Looks like we've been enlightened", Lucas joked. "Shut up or I'll charge you by the minute". Genesis said to him, rolling his eyes.

They eventually got to a stopping point to rest, where Blue gently laid Zorua. Lucas looked at his Pokenav, then back at Blue. "Hey, is your Pokenav working? Mine is, but is what about yours?", he asked.

Blue looked at her Pokenav, then gave it a tap. The screen had become staticky, but it worked, all the same. "Not too well, but at least it's function-" she started to reply, then stopped. She was looking upwards, frozen with fear. Lucas looked up to see the ceiling of the cave, covered with Zubat.

"Ohhh, Crap..." he said. He knew that a single sound or a slight change in the atmosphere could wake the whole swarm of them. "Very quietly, hide behind those rocks. These Zubat can pounce at any minute." Lucas whispered over to Blue, acknowledging the rock patch where Zorua slept. Then he signaled to Genesis and Comet to get into a position, which they quietly did.

Blue seemed frozen. She didn't budge but spoke with a quaver in her voice. "Make it go away...", she whimpered. "Oh don't worry, we'll take care of them", Lucas smiled. Then all of a sudden, Blue's quiet quaver turned explosive. "MAKE IT GO AWAY!" she screamed. Before Lucas could react, the Zubat all woke up. They screeched in unison and flocked straight at the duo. Blue's eyes were glazed.

Though Lucas was still in slight shock of what just happened, he jumped right in front of Blue, and grinning to his Pokemon. "Showtime..." he said. "Comet, you use scratch on whatever comes your way. Genesis, you know what to do. And me, oh you bet I know what I'm doing..."

If Blue was to look up from being scared, she would be amazed at the sight of this horde fight. Comet was scratching every Zubat in site, essentially slapping one away after another while Genesis used every move he knew against whatever Zubat crossed him; Ember, Feint Attack, Dynamic Punch, etc. Lucas was also fighting. He started punching and chopping every Zubat that flew at him, like he was some kind of karate fighter.

Wartortle also came out of its Pokeball and started practically flooding the place, spraying each Zubat he saw. Blue was still crouched on the ground looking down. She carefully glanced over to see the Zubat dropping one by one. Then, while in midst of battle, Lucas gave a sharp whistle and Genesis jumped out of the way, urging the Charmander and Wartortle to do the same. Lucas got in the center of the Zubat swarm, stood on one hand, and twirled his legs like a blender so fast you could hardly see what was going on. Any Zubat that flew to him got speed-kicked and knocked to the ground.

Soon, there were no Zubat at all, they had been knocked unconscious. Lucas jumped back onto his feet and wiped off his shoulder giving a "Heh" sound. But then there came another sound, the sound of flapping wings; bigger and more intensive wings. A giant Zubat appeared, one with a bigger mouth. Except it wasn't a Zubat, it was a Golbat.

Lucas unwrapped another Lollipop, took out the stick of the last one, and gave it to Genesis who disintegrated it. He sucked on the new one, and said "Genesis, weaken it with Smog." The Magby blew out a stream of smog right at the Golbat, which blew it right back at him with its large, flapping wings. Genesis covered his mouth from the smog just as Wartortle jumped right in, spraying Golbat with Water Gun, thoroughly. Golbat shook itself as it sped towards Wartortle using Bite, which Wartortle retorted with it's own Bite. The two clashed and both of them were sent flying back.

Golbat was shaken. No one had ever challenged his leadership openly. It shuddered once and tried to escape. "Oh no you don't." said Lucas. He charged at the Golbat, grabbed it's wings from behind, and gave it a powerful in the back.

Golbat yowled before roundhousing and nipping its teeth at Lucas' foot. "OW! God, DAMMIT!" said Lucas. The Golbat flew a short distance backwards before the kick took full effect and it fell to the ground, fainted.

Lucas hopped on one foot and quickly took off his shoe, examining the bite mark through his sock. "Ahh! That hurt. Good thing it only nipped me while I was wearing shoes, those teeth are big enough to pierce people.", he said to Genesis, who nodded in agreement. Lucas took out a bottle of potion and sprayed the wound. It stung, but after he put his shoe back on it felt a lot better. Then he turned attention to Blue, sitting dazed on the ground.

"Hey Blue, are you okay?" he asked. Blue looked shaken as she quivered to her feet, only to crumble down again. "S-sorry. That happened because of me..." She could barely whisper. "Oh no, that was nothing." said Lucas. He helped her up and held her steady. "You able to stand?"

"Yes...", she replied, her voice shaking as she unsteadily got up, holding onto Lucas. Lucas could tell how shaken she was, but he still wanted to ask: "What happened there?".

Blue sighed and explained, "I'm sorry. I haven't been entirely honest with you. Seven years ago, I was picked up and carried off by a bird, a large one."

Lucas raised an eyebrow. "A Pokémon?", he asked. "I don't know...maybe...I just-I don't know. I can't remember anything except being carried off by a giant bird. Next time I opened my eyes, I was in Prof. Oak's lab.", she continued. "But I don't know what happened before those seven years. I don't even know who my parents are..."

Lucas didn't even know what to say. This certainly wasn't the backstory he'd been expecting from Blue. He just assumed she was a normal, happy-go-lucky Pokémon trainer helping look for species of Pokémon for the professor. "They haven't come looking for you?", he finally asked, trying to sound sincere as possible. "I mean, surely they must have been looking all around for you". Blue's eyes still filled with tears. "No one ever came looking for me. For all I know, I never had parents. So Professor Oak took me in, and I became his assistant ever since". She wiped her eyes and Lucas wanted to reach out and touch her shoulder, but he couldn't tell if she needed space or not.

"Since that day, I've been afraid of flying types of all kind. Do you know how hard it is to study Pokémon and unable to stand being near Pidgeys?", she continued, collecting herself further. "That's why I set out on my journey, to find the bird that picked me up. Maybe then I can get over my past and confront my trauma..." She shuffled uneasily, eyes downcast. Lucas gave her a second and then spoke up. "Is that why you decided to come with me?", he asked. Blue looked up and nodded. "I've been planning a journey for a long time, and Oak gave me Squirtle to help me, but every time I've tried I just could never get past Viridian City. With you though, I think it's a little easier since I have someone with me.", she smiled uneasily. "And I don't know Lucas, but there's something else about you that's encouraging, because you seem eager to push forward no matter what". This made Lucas smile. "Well, that's not wrong! Genesis and I have an unbeatable adventurous spirit! Right Gen?", he said. Genesis gave a "Mag-Bee!" sounding cheer.

Blue finally collected herself and was now standing perfectly fine on her own. "Well, at any rate, speaking of pushing forward, we probably should too", she smiled. "Agreed", said Lucas. His attention turned to the Zorua, still sleeping on the rock patch. "Can't believe he slept through all that", he said, amazed. Blue gently picked him up. "Yeah, but if we run into anymore trouble, we may need our hands free to battle. We need a safer way to carry him", she said. "I know...", said Lucas, pulling out his backpack. "There's not a whole lot in here. He can travel in my bag!" he said. "Oh, good thinking!", said Blue. They put Zorua in Lucas' bag and left it slightly unopened to breathe. "Hope your housebroken in there", Lucas said half-jokingly as he put his backpack back on.

As they trudged back along through Mt. Moon, Lucas decided to break the silence once again. "You know, Blue. If it's any consolation, I never knew my parents either". "Oh?", Blue remarked.

"Yep. I was brought up by my Uncle Hugo. But he left on an expedition to who-knows-where. I spent most of my childhood with my friends. Adults, they were. A Pokémon Exploration team, led by a man named Trask Ugol. He was my role-model, my hero. He taught me everything he knew. About Pokémon, battling, and life itself." he said, very sentimentally. "He sounds like a smart man", Blue smiled. "He was. He definitely was. Smartest person ever, actually. And a damn good fighter, too. He and his crew taught me those moves you saw me pull on the Zubat", Lucas continued.

The girl couldn't suppress a giggle. "Not to offend you or anything but they were...unexpected.", she said. "I've never seen a Pokémon trainer actually beat up Pokémon *themselves* before."

"Well, that's something you need to know about me, Blue." Lucas said. "When it comes to Pokémon battling, I've got my own ways. I don't hold back, I rely on my own skills and my own limbs.", he beamed. "Well, that's not really looked kindly upon in the Pokémon community. Like if you're going to compete in the Indigo League, you CAN'T just fight them yourself, you HAVE to use your Pokémon", she stated as-a-matter-of-factly. "Oh no, don't get me wrong. In a trainer or gym match, of course I'll just use my Pokémon like any other trainer!", Lucas started. "But wild Pokémon battles I'm not so picky about. Especially if its for self defense. I don't play by anyone's rules but my own. I don what's efficient. That finishing move with the kick, that's my own special move. I call it the 'Blender Spin'". Blue chuckled. "Quite the advanced move", she said. "That's right! Atton taught me that", Lucas said with pride in his voice.

Blue left it at that, assuming this "Atton" person was another friend of Lucas' in Trask's explorer crew. Then she stopped and pointed something out to Lucas: a Clefairy group dance within a circle of moonlight, emanating from the top of the cave; the cave had crumbled a bit and moonlight was streaming in. "Wait...moonlight?", she spoke suddenly. "You mean...it's already late at night?!" she exclaimed, her horror being depicted in the faint flickering light of fire.

Lucas shrugged. "I mean, I think Clefairy make their own artificial moonlight, but yeah, we left Pewter city around 5:00 PM, and now it's almost six. We've been in here for almost an hour. It's definitely at least evening", he said, checking the time on his Pokenav.

"Well...this cave infested with Zubat makes me feel strange..." Blue said. They continued to trudge forward just as Blue found the exit on to the next route. "Oh, thank Arceus! We're finally out-", she began. Suddenly, a giant bang came from somewhere in the back of the cave. "Whoa, what the hell was that?!", Lucas jumped. Blue also looked startled. "I'm not sure...", she was interrupted again, this time by Lucas. "I'm gonna check it out. Come on Genesis!" said Lucas. He and his Magby went back into the cave. "Lucas!", Blue called out after them before making a pouty face. "Well I'M not going back in there!", she said to herself before promptly stepping outside.

As Lucas and Genesis traced the explosion to the source, they hid behind a rock to stare at the open area of the cave. There were several strange, dark figures prowling around. Men dressed in black. They each wore bandanna's and white gloves and black uniforms with a huge red "R" in the center. They were chuckling over what looked like curly stones of an unusual design. One piped up, "These fossils will leave us billionaires!", which was met with more gloating and uproarious laughter.

This smelled like trouble to Emerald. "I don't like the sound of this, Genesis." he said to his Magby, who nodded in agreement then turned to his trainer and gave a blink of "So what we gonna do?". Lucas responded, "If we stay real quiet we can see what these guys are up to, and then maybe I can make a plan for you and me and Comet to do something about it. But that's just it. We need to keep quiet and not draw their attention!"

Meanwhile, Blue was outside, enjoying the fresh air and wondering what was taking Lucas and Genesis so long. Suddenly a Spearow fluttered past her right under her nose. She grew pale and rushed back inside the cave to Lucas. "LUCAAAAAAAAAAAAS!" She yelled, her voice bouncing off every wall. Sure enough, this immediately drew everyone's attention to the girl rushing in, and the mysterious people's gaze to Lucas Ordo's direction. As Blue rushed to him, Lucas and Genesis stood up and panicked. "No, Shut up, they'll hear-", Lucas began, before being cut off by a deep voice, "HEY, WHA-"

"Aww no." said Lucas. He was found!

"Well, would you look at that. A couple of kids in the way of adult situations." said one of them. Lucas wasn't going to run. "Who are you guys?", he said. "Team Rocket, and we're taking these fossils for ourselves. And while we're at it, we might as well take your Pokémon too!" said another. "Over my dead body!" said Lucas. "Oh, you wanna talk tough, huh? Well get a taste of this!", said the grunt, holding up a Pokeball.

The grunt sent out his Pokémon, Sandshrew, which Lucas scanned on his Pokedex:

Sandshrew: Mouse Pokemon

SANDSHREW's body is configured to absorb water without waste, enabling it to survive in an arid desert. This Pokémon curls up to protect itself from its enemies.

"Ha! Let's see if you can take THIS heat!", said Lucas, pulling out Comet's Pokeball. Then came what sounded like a small bark from Lucas' backpack, and all of a sudden Zorua hopped out and off his head to angrily confront the Sandshrew. "Zorua! You're alright!", Lucas said. Zorua seemed to smirk back at Lucas in response, though not turning his attention away from his opponent. The Rocket Grunt looked puzzled. "What kind of Pokémon is this? Never seen that before..."

Blue looked concerned. "Lucas, Zorua isn't our Pokémon, we shouldn't use it to battle! Plus, we don't even know what moves it-", she started to say, but Zorua took immediate action and SLAMMED right into the Sandshrew, sending it backwards. "Huh, wha?", the Rocket Grunt was thrown off guard. "That looked like a tackle to me!", said Lucas. "No, it was a scratch attack! He used his paw!", interjected Blue. Zorua seemed to nod in agreement. "Hey! No fair!", said the grunt. "Sandshrew! Sand Attack!", to which the Sandshrew kicked a gust of sand at Zorua, who in turn got angry and began to glow a sort of pinkish color. "Wait, what's that?" said Emerald. Before anyone could answer, Zorua emitted what looked like a powerful wave of Psychic Energy right at the Sandshrew; super effective! The grunt's Sandshrew fainted on the spot and was recalled by the trainer.

"What?!" the grunt cried in disbelief. "Whoo!", cheered Lucas. "Good job, bud!", but he noticed the Zorua was already tired out. Lucas went to pick him up and put him back in his bag. "It's okay, you take a rest now". "That thing...that little shrimp...it knows Extrasensory?", the Grunt remarked. "Extrasensory?", asked Lucas. "It's like a psychic attack. It must have been an egg move of Zorua's, meaning it inherited it from a parent who excelled in that move!", Blue explained.

"Think you're so smart, huh?", a voice called behind blue. Lucas looked over only to see a Rocket Grunt grab Blue from behind!

"Get away you-!" Blue yelled, startled, giving him a sound back-knuckle to the face, resulting the Rocket Grunt to faint. Wartortle couldn't suppress a giggle at the situation. The other Rocket Grunt obtained an awkward sweat drop on their heads as they eyed Blue warily. Clearly they though of Blue as a bigger threat than Lucas.

The Grunt's leader finally spoke up, "Ha! There's still more of us than you. But maybe if you let us take that Zorua off your hands, maybe we'll let you walk away-", but he didn't finish. "The only thing you'll be taking is this!" Lucas interrupted. He kicked the Leading Grunt in the stomach. The Grunt winced in pain. "Gahhh! It's like getting kicked by a Tauros!" he said weakly. "Blue get outta here. I'll take care of these guys." said Lucas.

Blue gave a sideways smirk. "Not a chance." She said. This character was not like Blue. What Lucas was seeing was an angry...let me rephrase that, a furious Blue. She shook her fists and punched a Grunt soundly in the jaw, resulting in him too fainting. "Blue used Focus Punch...it was Super Effective", she joked. Lucas had to laugh, "Looks like dumbo is unable to battle!"

"Hey, get those kids!" Said the Kicked Grunt to the other men, still wincing. He held up another Pokeball, but before he could throw it, Lucas kicked him in the face, causing him to faint.

"Hey, what the-, how'd you?!" said one Grunt. "Who cares lets just nap 'em!" said another.

But next thing they know, Lucas is in the center of all of the gathered grunts. As they jumped in surprise, Lucas stuck a Lollipop in his mouth, then got on his hand and twirled his legs in his Blender Kick, kicking each grunt in the face repeatedly. Each one fell unconscious.

Blue looked around at the pile of fainted grunts, now back to her normal timid self. "Well, that's how it goes, I guess", she said. Lucas got back to his feet, not even a sweat broken. "Glad I got my leg workout for the day", he said. "We should probably get these fossils far away from these weirdos", Blue huffed. "Good idea", said Lucas. He picked up one of the fossils and looked at it. "Hey, sweet fossil. What do you think they were planning on doing with them?" he asked Blue. "I don't know, probably nothing good though. I've heard some fossils can even bring back ancient Pokémon from the dead." she retorted. "That so?" Lucas said, eyebrow raised. "I don't think these ones will do anything, but whatever. We should get out of here now. I don't want to encounter anymore...Zubats...", Blue shuddered.

Suddenly, there was the sound of movement. Small movement, like from a Pokémon somewhere nearby. Startled, Blue screamed and absent-mindedly threw a rock at wherever it was, exclaiming, "GO AWAY!". Except she saw she it wasn't a Zubat, it was a Paras passing by. She also didn't throw a rock, she threw a Pokeball from her bag. The ball shook three times before clicking shut. "Did I...just catch a Paras?" She asked, not quite registering what just happened. "Well...I believe you just did." said Lucas. Blue picked up the Pokeball and looked at it. "Huh. Well, guess we've caught our first new friend, Wartortle", said Blue. Wartortle grinned and chuckled.

Blue checked Paras' Pokedex entry:

Paras: Mushroom Pokémon

Burrows to suck tree roots. PARAS has parasitic mushrooms growing on its back called tachukaso. They grow by extending drawing nutrients from this Bug/Grass host. They are highly valued as a medicine for long life.

Lucas and Blue put Genesis and Wartortle back in their respective Pokeballs and stepped outside to the fresh night air. Indeed, the dusk had already come and now the stars were out. Meaning they could see the lights of the next town over the trees on the path below them. "There it is!", Blue cried. A sign in front of them said Route 4: Cerulean City Ahead.

"Misty, here we come!", Blue said. "By the way, Blue..." Lucas started. "Thanks for your help back there". "Oh, no problem Lucas. I mean, I don't do that often, unless I'm absolutely pushed to", she smiled. "Yeah, and I just had a thought. If there's anything I can do to help YOUR quest, I will". "Oh!", said Blue. "Well, I appreciate it a lot!". "Yeah, and listen...I'm sure you do have parents out there, somewhere, and I'll help you find out who they are. I promise you this", Lucas said, sounding more sentimental than ever. Blue's expression changed and she looked up at Lucas with tear-rimmed eyes. "Thanks Lucas..." she said quietly with appreciation, wrapping him in a hug. "I'm glad to have you with me here", she said.

The two continued down the path.

Lucas and Blue are finally out of Mt. Moon and are on their way to Cerulean City. How will they fair against this next gym leader? And who were those mysterious thieves in the cave? Emerald Quest is back on, stay tuned.

To Be Continued...

::REVIEW::

-Adventure Set: Mt. Moon

-Pokémon Caught: Paras [Blue]

-Items Received: Fossil(s)

-Current Location: Route 4 (en route to Cerulean City)