Rock Tunnel turned out to be very dark. There were no lights in the cave, in order to not disturb the Pokémon living there, who had adapted to living in darkness, such as Zubat. Thankfully, for Ash, Misty, and Brock, the combination of Charmander's flame, and Misty's Staryu knowing the move Flash, allowed to them to see fairly well. The group came across quite a few trainers, mostly Hikers, with the occasional camper, and weirdly enough some cosplayers, and Ash and Misty took turns battling the them, Brock even decided to battle a few times.

But now, the group had decided to take a break to eat. "These rice balls are great Brock!" Misty exclaimed, before taking another bite, "Yeah!" Ash agreed. "Thanks, they're my own recipe!" Brock replied. As Pikachu was eating his food, his ears perked up, hearing something or someone coming towards them from the darkness. "Pikapi" Ash looked to his partner, "What is it Pikachu?" he asked, Pikachu pointed towards the shadows, the other Pokémon also seeming to notice something as well. Charmander got up and walked forward, holding his tail up to light up the area in front of him. Out of the darkness walked a bipedal Pokémon with a round body covered in whitish, shaggy fur, a long tail, and what looked like a pig's nose. "Kee!" it cried.

"That's a Mankey" Brock stated, as Ash scanned it with his Pokédex "Mankey, the Pig Monkey Pokémon. A Fighting type Pokémon. When Mankey starts shaking and its nasal breathing turns rough, it's a sure sign that it is becoming angry. However, because it goes into a towering rage almost instantly, it is impossible for anyone to flee its wrath". This Mankey didn't seem to be aggressive, it looked more curious than anything else, and it seemed to be looking at Brock's rice balls. It scurried over to him, and started to bounce around him excitedly, "Are you hungry Mankey? Brock questioned, holding out a rice ball to the fighting type. Mankey sniffed the food for a moment, before snatching it from Brock's hand and eating it.

Ash went over to greet the Pig Monkey Pokémon, but when he got close, he accidently stepped on the Pokémon's tail. "Keeee!" it cried out in pain, before turning to glare at Ash. "Ah! Sorry Mankey, it was an accident!" Ash apologised, though Mankey didn't seem to hear him, it just started to jump up and down angrily, before rushing towards the boy, screeching in anger, "Mankeeee!" "Uh oh" said Ash, before he ran for his life, into the darkness, Mankey following after him. "Ash!" "Pikapi!" cried his companions, quickly gathering their belongings and recalling their Pokémon, besides Ash's and Staryu (for light), they ran after him, hoping they didn't lose him. Pidgeotto flew ahead chasing after her trainer, knowing that she had the best chance of helping him.


What had he gotten himself into now? Ash just kept running, even though he could barely see what was ahead of him. Who knew what would happen to him if Mankey caught him. Unfortunately, thanks to not being able to see ahead, Ash tripped over a rock, causing him to fall down. "Oh crud" he muttered. "Keee!" Mankey cried. Ash saw a glowing fist coming towards him, which he guessed was Mankey's Karate Chop. He closed his eyes, bracing himself for the bashing he was about to receive. But it never came, instead a screech of "Pidgeooo!" filled the area, as Ash opened his eyes to see the glowing wings of Pidgeotto, who slammed into Mankey with a super effective Wing Attack. "Ash!" Brock and Misty came running, Staryu and Charmander illuminating the area, allowing Ash to see what was going on.

Mankey pushed itself up and glared angrily at Pidgeotto and let out another screech, then lunged at the bird, fist glowing white. Mankey slammed its hand down on Pidgeotto's head with a Karate Chop, and then began to use Thrash, punching and kicking the poor bird repeatedly. "Pidgeotto, Sand Attack!" She quickly kicked the ground, sending dirt flying into the Pig Monkey's face, blinding it and giving her a chance to escape the Thrashing. "Now, use Gust!" The Bird Pokémon flapped her wings, sending a blast of wind at Mankey, causing it to fly backwards into the wall. "Finish it with Quick Attack!" Pidgeotto quickly swooped at Mankey, basically disappearing and reappearing right in front of it, slamming into it. As Pidgeotto finished her attack, Ash took a chance, grabbing an empty Poké Ball and chucking it, "Go, Poké Ball!"

The capture device hit Mankey and it was sucked in. The Poké Ball began to shake, 1, 2, 3… the Poké Ball clicked, signalling a successful capture. Ash let out a sigh of relief, he survived. His Pokédex beeped, telling him to select a Pokémon to send to Professor Oak's lab. He was happy with his current team though, so he just let his newly caught Mankey's Poké Ball vanish. Hopefully Professor Oak could see what Pokémon was sent before he opened it, other wise there would be an unpleasant meeting at the lab…

Ash held out an arm, allowing Pidgeotto to perch herself on it. He stroked her feathered head, "You were great, Pidgeotto!" he praised. "Pidgeoo!" she replied happily. "That was close" said Misty, as she and Brock approached them. Pikachu ran over and climbed up Ash's back until he was on his trainer's shoulder, and nuzzled against Ash's cheek.

"Yeah" Ash agreed. That was very close, if Pidgeotto didn't reach him when she did, who knows what would have happened? "Let's just try to get out of here as soon as possible" Both Brock and Misty nodded. Ash returned all of his Pokémon besides Charmander and Pikachu (of course), and the group continued on their way, hopefully towards the exit and Lavender Town.


It took another day, but the trio finally made their way out of Rock Tunnel, and into the sunlight, which blinded them for a moment, after having been in darkness for two days. In the distance the group could see Lavender Town, covered in fog, with a tall tower easily visible. The town honestly seemed kind of creepy to the trio, but they needed to go through to get to Celadon City. So, they started to head towards the foggy town, not suspecting that their visit would be an eventful one...


A shorter chapter than normal this time, but it was mainly to have Ash catch Mankey, and for the group to get through Rock Tunnel, so there wasn't a whole lot else I could think to add. Next chapter will obviously be the beginning of the Lavender Town arc, so look forward to that I guess. Until then, goodbye. (I'm going to add abilities to the "Current Teams" list because why not?)

Current Teams:

Ash:

Pikachu (Male) (Static)

Charmander (Male) (Blaze)

Pidgeotto (Female) (Keen Eye)

Bulbasaur (Male) (Overgrow)

Squirtle (Male) (Torrent)

Nidorino (Male) (Poison Point)

At Oak's Lab:

Beedrill (Male) (Swarm)

Krabby (Male) (Hyper Cutter)

Mankey (Male) (Anger Point)

Misty:

Poliwag (Male) (Water Absorb)

Staryu (Genderless) (Natural Cure)

Goldeen (Female) (Swift Swim)

Oddish (Female) (Chlorophyll)

Horsea (Female) (Sniper)

Brock:

Onix (Male) (Rock Head)

Graveler (Male) (Sturdy)

Zubat (Male) (Inner Focus)