Disclaimer: I do not own nor am I affiliated with Pokémon or any of its parent companies. I am merely a humble storyteller. Thank you, and I hope you enjoy this journey with me.

Note: I am English, so some of the wording, spellings, and expressions will be those commonly used in England.

Chapter Fifteen: Moon, Rockets… But No Space Travel?!

Red had never dreamed he would ride an Onix in his life. The wind blowing in his face, almost knocking off his cap, the world passing by in coloured blurs as they flew through the wilderness, the sensation of being so far above the ground… it was amazing. It made him crave a Pokémon large enough to ferry him from place to place for himself. Granted, it was disappointing to miss a whole lot of battles with other Trainers, but Red was willing to sacrifice that in exchange for this experience.

Besides, Brock had offered so kind to take him through Route Three so he could get on with his journey that much sooner. As if he was going to refuse that.

He sat behind Brock, holding on to the back of his jacket, who in turn held on to Onix's horn. Pikachu sat before the horn, perfectly poised, the wind rushing through his fur.

He and Brock spoke a little during the journey, but the silence was not awkward in the slightest, simply a peaceful lull where they could both enjoy the jaunt.

Unfortunately, it was over far too soon.

They came to a Pokémon Centre, situated at the bottom of the gargantuan Mt. Moon. Onix laid its body flat on the ground, its head low enough for Red slide off.

"Whoa," Red breathed, giving Onix a quick pat. "Mt. Moon looks kind of scary."

It was such a colossal monument, built by nature, its peak disappearing into the clouds. But there was beauty about it too, a majesty that seemed to eke out from its jagged, rocky surface. Red shivered, but whether that was from the ambience or the chilly wind that suddenly blew, he could not say.

"I can see where you're coming from," Brock said, craning his neck and taking in the mountain. "When I first came here years ago, I was terrified. Luckily, I came here with my first Onix – which is now a Steelix – and he gave me plenty of support and courage. But when you get used to it, you can enjoy everything it has to offer."

"Whoa," Red said. He gazed at Mt. Moon for several seconds longer before a question jumped off his tongue. "If I'm inside, then how am I'm going to see? I guess I've got Charmander to light my way, but it must be fiddly getting through."

Brock patted him on the head. "Don't worry about that. Do you know why's called Mt. Moon?"

Red shook his head.

"That's because Mt. Moon is a hotbed for meteor showers, almost like a lightning rod. When the meteors hit, they form Moon Stones. Most of them end up embedded in the walls and on the floors after they crash through the mountain, and they glow and light up the caverns and all the inner workings of Mt. Moon. In a way, they're a natural lighting system. Hey, if you're lucky, you might find a loose Moon Stone."

"A loose Moon Stone?" Red repeated.

"That's right," Brock said. "You find it, plop it in your rucksack, and then use it to evolve certain Pokémon."

"Oh!" Red said excitedly. "It's sort of like how Pikachu would need a Thunder Stone to evolve, isn't it?"

Pikachu glared at him.

"Exactly," Brock said. He gazed out at Mt. Moon again before turning to Red. He held out his hand. "Well, this is where we say our farewells, then. For now, at least."

"Yeah," Red said, taking it in his own and shaking. "And we'll battle again when I'm much stronger."

Brock smiled. "I look forward to it. And I look forward to seeing you in the Pokémon League."

"Yeah," Red said again. "And honestly, Brock, thanks for everything. I appreciate it."

"Anytime, Red." Brock relinquished his grip and knelt to pat Pikachu. Then he was on his Onix and on his way back to Pewter City, the Rock Gym Leader of Kanto.

"He's cool," Red said to Pikachu. "I hope the other Gym Leaders are like him."

Pikachu ignored him save a dark look and trotted over to the Pokémon Centre in the distance. "Pikachu? Hey, Pikachu, what's up?"

Red followed his Pokémon into the Centre, a building a certain friend of his left that very morning…

o~o~o~o~o

"Okay, Eevee," Leaf said. "Now, knock it onto its back with a Quick Attack."

Eevee lowered her head and charged into their insectoid opponent, a wild Bug and Grass-type Pokémon with six legs, the front two being the largest and sharp at the tips, and two mushrooms growing on its back. A Paras.

It was flung backwards, its legs twitching wildly, and it rocked from side to side as it tried to right itself back up. And it probably would have too if Leaf had not tossed a Poké Ball at it, the item hitting its underbelly and absorbing it in a flash of red light.

One shake. Only one shake and soon its name had a Poké Ball next to it in Leaf's Pokédex.

"Finally," Leaf said, taking out a bottle of water and taking a swig, her Pokédex letting out a beep as Paras' Poké Ball disappeared. "That little guy could really move, couldn't it?" She inserted the bottle back in her rucksack and scrolled through her Pokédex list.

"Geodude, Zubat, Sandshrew, Onix," she muttered to herself. "That's good, that's good. A Cleffa or Clefairy will be a lot harder to find." She tapped a few buttons and a new string of data appeared. "There are some really rare ones if you're lucky enough, but they're more common in other regions. Yeah, I could travel to Sinnoh in the future and get a Chingling there instead. I guess I got lucky with Baltoy."

She put her Pokédex away. She had already been in Mt. Moon for hours but had barely begun to scratch the surface of what it contained. Apparently, there was a secretive spot called Mt. Moon Square, but precious few people had ever been there. As a matter of fact, its entire existence was questionable. And she still had not forgotten what Detective Jones had told her. Then again, maybe there was nothing to worry about at all; she had seen neither hide nor hair of any of those criminals.

No, there was nothing to fear. Mt. Moon was hers to explore, a peaceful retreat from the rest of the world, with the glowing Moon Stones embedded into the walls and ground lighting her way, rickety ladders that led above and below, the atmosphere almost a physical being that constantly clung to her. It was such a spectacular area.

Except the Zubat.

She had captured one, defeated another, and soon everywhere she turned she had one of those blue, eyeless bats with purple wings and two long, spindly legs flapping in her face. Fortunately, a few Repels were on hand, but how long they would last, she did not know. Perhaps when the last Repel canister emptied, she would be ambushed by a wall of blue. She shuddered; she had read that sign: 'Beware! Zubat is a bloodsucker!' That constant bombardment of Zubat had already contributed to her Spearow fainting and severely weakening two of her recent additions in Baltoy and Jigglypuff.

But she could not turn back now, could she? What was the point in that? She was better off simply pressing onwards to Cerulean and avoiding any and all battles, both Trainers and wild Pokémon. Mt. Moon did not even have any stores to stock up on healing items – although she did manage to find a handful of Oran Berries here and there – so she would need to head even further back to Pewter for those. It did not make sense to.

"Let's go, Eevee," Leaf said, readjusting her hat which was sitting askew upon her head. "We're going to take thing slowly now."

She could be proud of what she had achieved so far in Mt. Moon, what with how much of it she had explored already and the Pokémon she had captured within. Yes, she had not found any Fossils or ancient ruins or anything that would have truly gotten her blood pumping, but she had made her own personal mark within the mountain.

Leaf descended one of the rickety ladders with Eevee clinging to her head with her front paws, her back ones standing on the top her rucksack. She mewled as the ladder shook.

"Don't worry, Eevee," Leaf said. "We've almost reached the bottom." I think.

And they did, Leaf slipping on the last rung and almost jarring her ankle. She shook it off and Eevee gave her a small lick on the cheek.

"I'm fine," Leaf reassured her. "Hopefully, this path leads out of here. I don't want to lose the rest of you guys to more Zubat. Seriously, if you all faint, then what happens to me? Do I have to continue forward to Cerulean and pray a wild Onix doesn't eat me on the way? Or will I black out and be rushed to a Pokémon Centre by a mystical force and lose some of my money? I have absolutely no idea."

Unfortunately for Leaf, the path did not lead to an exit. It did, however, lead to another ladder which she scaled, wondering if Bulbasaur's Vine Whip might have been of any use instead.

At the top she found herself in a cavern, stalactites hanging from the ceiling, a platform with roughly hewn steps near the centre, all lit up with the natural glow of Mt. Moon.

"Wow," Leaf breathed, walking forward, barely resisting the temptation to squeal and rush around the area.

She climbed the stairs and stood on the platform. Carved into the walls were crude drawings depicting creatures with small fairy wings dancing beneath the stars. Some more drawings revealed more Pokémon, all she did not recognise bar one: Kabuto.

"How old are these?" she asked herself, allowing her fingers to lightly graze the lines which gave the pictures form.

She was so amazed, so engrossed by the art, she did not notice someone lurking out of sight behind a rock. Luckily for her, Eevee did. She growled, and the person jumped out from her hiding place.

"Eevee?" Leaf said. She turned around and, standing there, was a Team Rocket member, a Poké Ball in her hand and a scowl on her face.

"A little kid like you shouldn't be hanging around here," she said coldly.

Leaf glared back. "I can do what I want. I'm not going to listen to someone from Team Rocket. I don't want to lose brain cells, you see."

The Rocket Grunt's grip tightened around her Poké Ball. "Watch your tongue, brat! Now, what are you doing here?"

Leaf's eyes darted from one side of the cavern to the other, searching for more Rocket Operatives and finding none. She slowed her breathing, which she did not realise had sped up, and answered, "If you must know, I was catching Pokémon, and now I'm on my way to Cerulean."

"What else?" the Grunt demanded.

"Nothing else," Leaf said.

"Then, what are you doing here?" the Grunt pressed. "You can't get through to Cerulean from here."

"I must've taken a wrong turning. It happens to the best of us."

"So, you're not here for Fossils, are you? I would hope not if I was you. I would dearly hope not. You wouldn't want to get in Team Rocket's way, would you?"

The Old Amber in Leaf's rucksack suddenly seemed to gain a hundred pounds. No, she need not worry. This was only one Rocket Grunt. Even if she discovered she had the Old Amber, there was no way in heck she was going to allow her to take it from her.

"Even if I happened to be intrigued by Fossils, what does it matter to you?" Leaf asked, recalling her help in apprehending the other Rocket Grunts back on Route Twenty-Two to increase her bravado. "What does it matter to Team Rocket? Listen, I can go wherever I want, and if I happen to find something Team Rocket wants, well, I don't have to tell you guys anything, do I?"

"So, you do have a Fossil?" the Grunt said, her eyes containing a malicious glint.

"I never said that. I have never found any Fossils in Mt. Moon," Leaf replied truthfully.

"Then, you wouldn't mind if I searched your rucksack, would you?"

Leaf kept her face impassive, but inside her heart rocked her chest. "Actually, I would mind. You have no rights to go snooping around my stuff."

"Being a part of Team Rocket gives me all the rights I need," the Grunt responded. "Now, give me your rucksack!"

"No!" Leaf snapped. "If you want it, you're going to have to come and get it!"

The Grunt's face darkened. "Fine by me." She threw the Poké Ball and out came the traditional cave pest, Zubat.

Despite the situation, Leaf grimaced. Great. Just when she thought her Repels were doing enough to ward off the wild Zubat, here comes this Rocket Grunt with one the Repels would not work on. Oh joy! O frabjous day! Calooh! Callay! It was exactly what she wanted.

Uh, no time to be sarcastic. Leaf quickly made her choice of Pokémon, and soon it was an aerial battle between her Butterfree and the Grunt's Zubat.

It was surprisingly tough battle. Zubat's Wing Attack doing substantial damage to Butterfree, taking advantage of its weakness to Flying-types, the speedy bat untouched by String Shot. It did not look good for Butterfree.

That was until the Grunt's cockiness grew and her desire to prolong the battle and make Butterfree suffer took hold. Suffer through the confusion status, that is. And thus, commenced her collapse.

Like against Jigglypuff, Butterfree negated the sound waves of Supersonic and blew back the Zubat into a wall with an oomph.

"Finish it with Confusion!" Leaf shouted.

Concentrating, Butterfree used the power of its mind to throw Zubat around the cavern, the poor bat screeching, not in control of itself, a passenger to its own body. It then fell to the floor, legs twitching, unable to battle.

Adrenaline coursed through her body like a raging river, so much so she could not speak at first to praise her Pokémon. "Good work," she finally said. "I can always rely on you."

Beyond the outstretched wings of her Butterfree, the Grunt returned her Zubat to its Poké Ball, not saying a word, barely giving the Ball a glance. She hooked it to her belt and reached behind for something else from her back pocket.

"What are you doing?" Leaf asked, for a brief moment imagining the Grunt pulling out a weapon.

It was not a weapon. But it might have been potentially worse: it was a walkie-talkie.

Leaf's blood ran cold. Almost instinctively, she returned Butterfree to its Poké Ball, picked up Eevee, and rushed to the ladder.

Meanwhile, the Grunt relayed everything to her colleagues, dressing it up a bit to make her look less… well, let's say incompetent.

o~o~o~o~o

"Commander Proton. It's an honour to have you here with us, sir."

The Nidoran Trainer who lost to Blue a few days ago inclined his head at the Rocket member who marched into the cavern where a handful of Team Rocket Grunts were excavating the area, to varying degrees of success. They all turned to acknowledge the Rocket (Junior) Executive before going back to their work.

Proton ignored the attempted politeness. "Giovanni is not satisfied with the progress you are all making. I am here to find out why. So, why is that?"

"I-It's a rather tedious job," the Nidoran Trainer explained. "We can't use machinery because everything could collapse upon us, wild Pokémon are quite disruptive to our work here, and Fossils are delicate, so we have to, in a way, ease them out of the ground. They'd be useless otherwise, sir.

Proton shook his head, as though he was a parent and the Grunt was a child. "All I'm hearing is excuses. I don't want excuses. I want you all to go ahead and work faster."

"But sir –"

"No buts!" Proton snapped. He smirked, his lips contorted in a way that told you he would (and probably had) squashed others for disobedience. "You seem like a smart fellow. You wouldn't want to incur my wrath, would you?" He playfully slapped the Grunt on the cheek.

"No, sir."

"Because my wrath is Giovanni's wrath, and his wrath is immense. Pray you incompetent fools don't annoy me further. I cannot keep exterminating the vermin for you."

"Er… exterminating, sir?"

Proton grinned, about to say something else, when a voice came over the Grunt's walkie-talkie. "We've got a Code-R010. I repeat a Code-R010. I fought to the best of my ability, but she was too powerful. Precautionary measures advised. Over."

Proton's grin instantly melted off his face and formed into a grotesque snarl. He glared at the surrounding Rocket Grunts, barked out a few orders, and stomped off, his thoughts filled with all the horrific acts he wanted to make those fools suffer through, to pay for their negligence.

But first to find the other vermin.