Chapter 9-On the Underground Path

Willow and her Pokemon returned to Cerulean City after their amazing--and tiring--experience at Hydra Point. They spent the night at the Pokemon Center. In the morning, they followed the road south of Cerulean, hoping to reach Viridian before nightfall. Little did they know what awaited them on that road!

After about half an hour, Willow reached a small, boarded-up house. "I wonder what this place is..."

Katsu popped out of her backpack. Oh, that's the Underground Path. It goes all the way to Vermillion. Why don't we go through?

"Bulba, bulba saur!" Lunus gestured to the sign in front of the house with his vine.

"Hmm...this says that the path is closed, Katsu. Maybe we shouldn't go this way."

But the door is unlocked!

"Yes, and the windows are boarded up! This place hasn't been used in a long time."

Maybe they just reopened it and forgot to take the sign down.

"The last time I listened to your advice, we almost got killed by a bunch of ghosts. I don't want to go through something like that again!"

One mistake. Anyone can make one mistake. We didn't even get hurt, now did we? Come on, it wouldn't be open unless we were allowed in! It would save lots of time.

"Well...I guess so..."

Rafael shook his head, muttering his own misgivings. Oh, you be quiet!

"Pika pi..." (Don't say I didn't warn you...)

Willow shoved the door of the Underground Path open with help from Lunus. She and her Pokemon cautiously walked in. "It's really dark in here...I'm glad I brought my flashlight!" With a "click," a circle of warm, yellow light spread from Willow's tiny flashlight.

Together, they began walking through the tunnel. Their footsteps echoed eerily in the still, dusty air. Before they had gone more than a few yards, Willow's flashlight flickered and died. "Oh, no! The batteries must have run out. We'll have to go back, everyone. We can't go through this long tunnel in the dark!"

Katsu was offended. It's a straight tunnel! How can we get lost?

Willow looked doubtful. "Are you sure, Katsu?"

Positive. Shall we move on?

"Well...I suppose it couldn't hurt..." Keeping one hand on the wall to keep her direction straight, Willow walked onwards. After several more yards, she slipped and fell as her hand touched empty space. Feeling a draft to her left, she realized that another passage lay in that direction.

"I thought you said this tunnel is straight, Katsu!"

Well, it must turn here, that's all. Keep going, I'm sure we're on the right track.

"All right. I hope this is the right way..."

Of course it is! I know where I'm going!

"If you're sure, Katsu. Come one; I want to get of this dark tunnel as soon as possible." Willow had no idea that the Underground Path was indeed straight. She and her Pokemon had stumbled upon a side-tunnel dug by Pokemon, and they were about to find out why!

After a few minutes, Willow felt the tunnel begin to rise. "We must be almost there!" Walking on, she stumbled on stones, roots, and sliding dirt. Willow was beginning to suspect that it had not been wise to follow Mew3's advice, but before she could suggest this, the tunnel opened up.

Running forward, she and her Pokemon found themselves in a forest glade, utterly lost. At any other time, it might have been pretty. The trees, decked with spring finery, cast a greenish haze over the ground as the sun shone through their leaves. In the forest at the edges of the open, grassy space, she could see the movements of Pokemon. Far ahead, birds swooped, filling the air with their cries.

All this beauty was lost on Willow, who searched frantically for anything that might give her some idea of where she was. "Katsu! I thought you said you knew where we were going!"

It's not my fault someone dug a hole in the side of the tunnel. I'm sure we just came out at the wrong spot. Let's go back to the tunnel and keep going. We'll reach Vermillion soon.

Willow nodded, seeing the sense in this idea. "All right, let's go. Come on, everyone. We shouldn't get separated." Backtracking toward the tunnel entrance, Willow unknowingly stepped on the overhang of the entrance, which was little more than a hole in the ground.

Weakened by her and her Pokemon's travel through it, the tunnel began to slide downwards. Suddenly, it collapsed! Lunus quickly lifted Willow clear of the tunnel, which was rapidly reducing itself to a muddy pit.

"Now what do we do? Well never be able to get back through that!"

"Bulba. Bulba, bulbasaur, saur!" Lunus gestured towards the forest with his vines.

"Hmm…I guess we could go farther that way. After all, we don't have anywhere else to go. Come on!" Willow and her Pokemon walked into the forest, not knowing that what they would find there would change the course of their journey.

As they walked through the thickening forest, Willow and her Pokemon began to notice something strange. It was not the deep, eerie silence. It was not the lack of animal life. It was not even the ominous feeling they got or the sorrow that seemed to surround them.

It was the trees!

They were not the straight, proud monoliths of the forest that had stood around them at the edge of the forest. No, these trees were smooth, perfect cylinders that glinted like metal. They were clustered together like eternal sentinels for some unknown thing of such great importance that Willow and her Pokemon could all feel it.

Rafael sneezed. He didn't like this forest; the trees were far too close together, and they didn't smell right. They smelled…like metal. How could that be? His cheeks sparked as he sneezed again, and his ears stood straight up. He was keenly aware of every sound and movement around him, his senses on maximum. Willow looked down in concern.

"What's wrong, Rafael? You're sparking…ouch!"

"Chu…"

Smokey perched nervously on Willow's head, feeling on edge in the creepy forest. Willow's other Pokemon, with the exception of the Pokeball-ed Fins, were similarly uncomfortable. Lunus growled softly, and Sleet walked so close to Willow she nearly tripped. Rafael's sparking got worse and worse as they walked further. Suddenly, Willow realized what was missing: the talkative Katsu was silent.

"Katsu? Are you all right?"

Katsu floated out of Willow's backpack, looking slightly ill. There's so much energy…it's really, really strong…I'm a psychic-type, so...I don't feel too good…oh, and…the reason we're all kind of…out of sorts…this energy is affecting us…you'd better return Rafael to his Pokeball, this much energy could hurt him since he's an electric type...and if you don't mind…I'm going back in the bag…

With that, he turned a shaky somersault and plunged into the backpack. Willow returned a much-relieved Rafael, then continued walking. What else could they do?

After they had walked a short ways, Katsu spoke up again, sounding groggy. Willow…go a little left…the energy…it's coming from there…if you want to see what it is…it's so…powerful...zzzzz……………………………

Willow, smiling slightly at her now-snoozing Pokemon, turned left as Katsu had suggested. She was curious as to the source of the mysterious energy; since they were lost anyway, they might as well find out what it was.

Some time later, Willow and her Pokemon were still trudging through the forest; by now, the energy was affecting all of them to some extent. The eerie, metallic trees marched on in their neat, close-set rows, and Willow and her Pokemon marched on with them. Following Katsu's sleepy directions for some yards, they finally came upon a strange site.

Up till now, all the trees had been perfect, shapely cylinders. Nothing had been out of place. But there, in front of them, was a fallen tree. The other trees had been metallic; this one was truly metal. Its roots would have scraped the sky had it not been surrounded by other trees, and its vast circumference was impassable. Despite its roots, which should have torn the ground apart when they ripped free of the earth, the ground around and under the tree was as level and smooth as the rest of the forest. Walking over to it, Willow looked around in disappointment.

"Katsu said the energy was coming from here…where could the power source be?" At that moment, the ground gave way, and Willow felt herself falling into darkness.