Chapter 20: Sea and Cave Calamity
Kevin took a momentary stop at a Miltank farm to see if he could have some hospitality for a few minutes. Forgetting to activate his human disguise, he was mistaken for a wild Pokémon that was attacking and instead gained a few minutes of hostility. After some time of persuasion, some explanation, and a filling meal, Kevin thanked the family for their help and went his way.
Such a generous family, Kevin sighed. Makes me wish I still had mine. Unfortunately, life must go on.
Well, we could be family, Duo-Cevan suggested.
Duo-Cevan, we're the same person. How can we be family?
Duo-Cevan left the question unanswered. Within what felt like three hours total of traveling, Kevin nearly stumbled as his feet hit the sand of the beach.
That was odd, Duo-Cevan commented. I thought that would lead us to Olivine, not to the shore.
I thought we were on the main route when we came to that farm, Kevin said, puzzled. He shrugged. Oh well. I'm still full of energy, so I think I can do this.
Don't you think we should get a water Pokémon, just in case? Duo-Cevan suggested.
Good point, Kevin agreed. He pulled out his Pokédex and, after a little searching, found where he had deposited Koenis, his Blastoise. After the ball had been transported to his Pokédex, he placed it in his beltbox and put the Pokédex away.
Well, that takes care of that job, Kevin sighed. He then faced the ocean. The waves were calmly crashing against the shoreline, and the beach was deserted. Kevin guessed that there would be no one on it for a while, as it was approaching night. Kevin removed his disguise and walked to where the water was hitting.
Danger.
What the… Kevin began. He looked around. The danger signal had been in front of him, yet he saw nothing. Kevin turned his thoughts toward Duo-Cevan. I think it's an ambush.
Only one way to find out, Duo-Cevan stated.
Kevin tested his theory and flew a small circle over the water. As he began to fly back to the shoreline, a whip-like object swung out from the water and attempted to get above Kevin. However, Kevin was ready for any unknown attack and quickly moved out of the way with agility.
Definitely an ambush, Kevin said, watching the vine-like object move back into the water. I would want to fight these guys, but we can't afford the time.
That means swimming is out of the question, Duo-Cevan stated. What are our other options?
Kevin stood on the shoreline, thinking. Hmmm…
* * *
Well, it's certainly faster than a boat, Duo-Cevan commented. Rather than just surfing, Kevin decided to combine another move with it. Now with fly, Kevin was skimming along the surface of the sea without even touching the water.
Something's not right, though, Kevin thought. The danger pangs were sounding loud and clear, and nothing had struck yet. We should keep aware in case we should be attacked.
As if on cue, a geyser of water suddenly shot out from the water in front of Kevin. Kevin attempted to dodge and was nearly knocked off balance when his wing cut through the geyser, but managed to gain back his stability.
No way! Duo-Cevan suddenly shouted. That's impossible! The Psychic couldn't do such a thing!!
Kevin noticed what looked like a wall of water. Kevin took a longer look, and noticed that it was several water geysers, closely huddled together. Attempting to fly over the geysers, he was surprised that the geysers themselves rose higher then Kevin could fly. Going back to his original height above the water, he used a little psychic to determine what was ahead of him, and nimbly flew through it like he would a dense forest.
Apparently, it seems that he can, Kevin said, dodging another water geyser.
Do these things have an end?? Duo-Cevan wondered.
No… look.
Up ahead, Kevin could see the 'forest' of water ending. After dodging a few more geysers, Kevin finally emerged from the unknown wall of water. Kevin didn't get much farther, though, when he noticed a line of Gyrados erupting from the water.
Wait a second… Duo-Cevan said in bewilderment. Wall of water, then Gyrados?
I see now… those weren't just geysers, those were Pokémon! Kevin concluded. But how can he possibly control all of them?
He isn't, Duo-Cevan realized. Remember what Mewtwo said? The Psychic didn't know his own power. He might've only gave them a single command.
Single command, huh? Kevin thought. He grinned. Well, let's see him command this!!
Kevin charged himself with a thunderbolt and flew straight into the line of Gyrados. Reaching a high enough speed, Kevin folded his wings back and went into a barrel roll, aiming himself between two Gyrados in the line. He barely managed to squeeze through, even though the shock of the thunderbolt knocked them away from each other. Once he was through, Kevin opened his wings and kept altitude.
That seemed simple enough, Duo-Cevan commented.
Kevin flipped open his Pokégear and activated the map. We're nearly there, Kevin stated, looking at his ground position. The worst is probably over.
Kevin couldn't have been more wrong. Three hyper beams, which were obviously not aimed correctly, shot past him as he flew on.
Then again, maybe not…
Let's make like Raikou and get us out of here! Duo-Cevan shouted.
Kevin suddenly felt like a fighter pilot as he flew onward, dodging incoming hyper beams that could easily knock him into the water. Kevin took a moment to see what was going on in the sea below him. A shifting mass, which Kevin guessed to be Tentacool or Tentacruel, was following below.
Man, if we touch that water, we're goners, Duo-Cevan said. I hope the island isn't much farther… wait, what's that?
Kevin quickly looked up to see four islands, sitting in an irregular manner. Rocks and churning currents sat as barricades around each island. As Kevin continued looking through all the hyper beams, he could see several entrances.
Whirlpool islands, Kevin thought as he dodged two more beams. He increased his speed by maximizing agility and flew straight into the first entrance he could reach, diving off to the right inside the cavern. A huge beam, which was several combined into one, poured through the entryway, crashing against the wall at the end. What sounded like an earth-shattering crash vibrated the entire cave for a full minute before it stopped.
Kevin attempted to look around in the darkness before creating a psychic shell-lamp. To Kevin's complete surprise, the cavern almost seemed larger than it should've been. The area alone in which he stood on could've easily made grounds for Pokémon battles. And all the while, Kevin felt an unknown dread wash over him. The cave itself seemed to tell him that he didn't belong in there.
Definitely the work of a legend, Duo-Cevan confirmed. Not only does it feel like it's trying to send us away, but nothing broke. Notice the stalactites? Not one fell from the Hyper beam impact.
Kevin nodded, mostly to himself. True, not to mention that those currents outside seem to defy all meaning, he added. I've never seen currents that circled an entire island.
Kevin continued looking around a little more, then continued inward. The only way he could tell he was going the correct direction was the fact that he could hear the second melody growing, getting continuously stronger as he progressed. As the second melody grew, the one he had for so long seemed to be weakening.
Soon, however, Kevin's travels came to a stop in front of a solid wall. The melody is coming through a wall? Kevin wondered.
It can't be, Duo-Cevan said. Try checking the wall for cracks. A boulder may have gotten wedged in the walkway.
Kevin felt the wall for anything suspicious. Duo-Cevan's assumption was correct, as Kevin's fingers slipped through a crack and felt nothing but air. Using strength, Kevin stepped back a few paces and quickly charged the wall, ramming it with all his might. The wall, which was a chunk of stone cut out to look like the wall, became dislodged and fell to the ground.
Sneaky, Kevin thought with a grin, very sneaky.
I wonder what kind of Pokémon would do that sort of door, Duo-Cevan wondered. It almost seems like the work of a human.
Kevin listened through the doorway for a moment before proceeding in. A continuous sound of running water could be heard in front of him. A wall ahead of him was lit up in such a manner that Kevin could tell there was a running river in front of him, as the 'floor' ahead of him reflected the light from his lamp and made it dance about the cave.
Well, in we go, Kevin declared, dropping in the ball of light first and then jumping into the abnormally deep water. He allowed the current to push him downstream as he treaded the surface. The river continued onward, almost seeming to have no end when Kevin started hearing the water noise about him get louder.
Oh crud, Duo-Cevan remarked. We should've seen that one coming.
I wonder how much farther it is until the waterfall? Kevin questioned.
Watching the ball of light, it suddenly seemed to sink down into the water. Kevin didn't realize how fast he was going, since a few seconds later he was falling after the ball.
If Lugia designed this cave, he certainly wasn't expecting a flyer, Duo-Cevan commented. Taking temporary control, Duo-Cevan immediately opened their wings and began floating downward.
Unfortunately, neither expected anything to come from above. They had no feeling of a danger signal before it occurred and a huge boulder crashed down on Kevin.
Aaaaahhhh!! Kevin and Duo-Cevan shouted as the boulder pinned their form to the bottom of the rock. They fell for nearly a full minute before they, caught under the boulder, crashed in a small pond.
Kevin lay motionless in the strangely calm water. Finally, after recovering from the shock of hitting the ground in shallow water along with being crushed under a boulder, he managed to swing his arm back far enough to hit the boulder and make it roll off him.
Ohh, my torso, Kevin groaned as he got up. He felt his back and chest and, feeling no cracks, heaved a sigh. That's a relief. I thought my Scyther shell was broken.
Where in the depths of the sea did that boulder come from? Duo-Cevan wondered. We didn't even sense it coming!
It might've gotten dislodged somewhere, Kevin suggested.
Looking around, Kevin found that where he had fallen was larger than when he first entered the island. The light barely reached even the roof, even with flash contained in the psychic shell.
We must be close, Duo-Cevan stated. The new melody is almost completely resonating within us.
Picking up the lamp, Kevin began looking around for new paths. Splashing about in the shallow water, Kevin quickly realized that if this was designed to punish those who didn't keep out, it seemed rather effective. He wondered how even sustained such a fall, not to mention also getting crushed by a giant chunk of rock, without taking any body damage save for immediate pain.
I can't even see the top of the waterfall from down here, Kevin said in awe. Makes you wonder exactly how deep we are underground.
Actually, it makes me wonder how fast we were falling, Duo-Cevan commented.
Other than the waterfall and the melody sounding in Kevin, the entire cavern was calm. No Pokémon, Kevin declared finally. Either they're not allowed here, or they're frightened of us.
Most likely afraid, Duo-Cevan answered. Before you caught me, I learned that those that hung around the legendary birds the most often tended to stay away from humans. We're not entirely human, but we're not entirely Pokémon, either, and they know because we didn't speak Pokémon when we got dragged down here.
Man, this doesn't make sense! Kevin suddenly shouted. If Pokémon are down here, there's no way they could've made it down that waterfall!
Immediately, Kevin called out his Chikorita. "Chikorita, see if you can find a Pokémon scent that actually leads us somewhere," he directed.
Chikorita agreed, and she began wandering around in the shallow water, Kevin patiently following behind. Kevin twice looked at the waterfall, which mysteriously hit the water without any splashing. Definitely the sign of a legend, Kevin thought.
See? What did I tell you? Duo-Cevan remarked. This had to be the place of a legend.
You can read my thoughts again? Kevin wondered.
The melody of insanity is almost completely covered by the one we're listening to now, Duo-Cevan answered.
"Chika!" Chikorita suddenly shouted. She waved her leaf at a cavern wall.
Kevin looked at the wall, then down at Chikorita. "Are you saying that it's an entrance?" he asked. Chikorita nodded, and Kevin continued questioning. "To where?"
Chikorita's enthusiastic mood suddenly became very solemn. She paused before speaking. {To the great One of Johto, Lugia,} Chikorita answered.
"Well, I need his help, Chikorita," Kevin sighed. "And besides, he won't take me kindly, if that's what you're afraid of. I just have to go in there with no fear."
{Well, I know you have to,} Chikorita said. She suddenly started quivering. {It's just… from what I remember of my parents' stories; Lugia is gigantic compared to me…}
"Here, Chikorita," Kevin said, sighing again. He pulled out Chikorita's Pokéball and recalled her back in it. "You won't have to face him. I'll face him with my counterpart." After putting Chikorita's ball into his beltbox, Kevin attempted to push the wall in front of him with strength. However, he ended up going completely through the wall.
:Stupid illusionary walls,: Kevin growled in his thoughts. :I'll have to use foresight more often…: However, Kevin didn't get much further before he noticed the walls in the small corridor glow with strange markings. Before he could react, he was suddenly thrown back about as hard as he was hit by the falling boulder. He flew back several feet before crashing in the shallow water.
NO HUMAN OTHER THAN THE CHOSEN ONE SHALL PASS THIS PORTAL! A loud voice bellowed in Kevin's head, which sounded like a serpent hiss. Kevin got up and shook the water he had accumulated.
Great, just great! Kevin sighed. We're this close to getting to Lugia and some stupid marks on a cavern wall stop us in our tracks!
I think they're wards, Duo-Cevan stated. Besides, I think I have a plan.
You do? Then indulge me, Kevin said, wondering.
Let me walk through.
What do you mean by 'let me walk through?' Kevin wondered irritably.
The ward obviously won't let a human go through, Duo-Cevan stated. However, what would happen if a Pokémon walked through? It just might work.
Kevin thought for a moment. Well, I guess it's worth a shot, Kevin finally said.
Duo-Cevan, now in control of their form, proceeded toward the illusionary wall. Passing through it, he continued into the corridor. Glancing up for only a moment, Duo-Cevan noticed that the markings remained pitch-black, even after they had walked past them. After a few more paces, Duo-Cevan gave back control to their body.
And now… The ultimate test, Duo-Cevan said, holding back his fear as best as possible. He and Kevin had reason to fear, too, for they were not only about to face what would be a very angry legend, but they were also trespassing.
* * *
Arguelles was nearly rolling around in his chair from laughter. Swieten, perched on Arguelles's desk, sighed. I don't exactly see what is funny, master, Swieten said.
"Oh, it's such a shame!" Arguelles said, breathing deeply. "I just had the most fun with Kevin. I had him on the run along the coast, and as I was tracking him, he had to swerve not only around a forest of water geysers, but dodge a flurry of hyper beams, as well! Ooh-hoo-hoo, was it funny!"
So where is Kevin now? Swieten wondered. Is he already at Cianwood?
"Probably," Arguelles managed to say. "Boy, did I have him on the run… ha ha!!"
Arguelles's cheery mood, however, changed to confusion. "What the…?"
What is it? Swieten asked.
"Kevin's signal… I don't get it!" Arguelles answered, growling. "It's completely gone!"