Onix-pected Events

A little sore from his sleep in Mt. Moon, Red trotted down the rest of Route 4 to get to the city. He let out a sigh of relief when he made it back to civilization. The smooth cement fell good under the soles of his feet after walking rough, bumpy terrain for a long time.

He walked through the town to get to the Pokemon Center and on the way admired the structures that didn't get to see when he first came here. A large water fountain made of marble spouting crystal clear water and with Flying pokemon bathing in it was one of his favorites.

He walked into the Pokemon Center and handed his pokemon to the Nurse Joy of this city and had them returned to him in a few minutes. Red exited the Pokemon Center and decided he there wasn't much else to do in this city. He went with the decision to leave and continue his journey.

As he walked on the sidewalk, Red fixed the pokeballs onto his belt. Doing so, he didn't see the guy who ran around the corner of a house and crashed right into him. Red was knocked onto the ground with his Pokeballs going everywhere.

"Ahh my head is killing me," Red groaned as he clutched his head to try to soothe the throbbing pain. He looked up to see what he bumped into and nearly jumped when he saw who it was.

A man was on the ground in front of him. He was clad in black attire with the big, red R symbol on his shirt. Red confirmed him as a member of Team Rocket and quickly got onto his feet.

"Argh watch where your walking!" the angered grunt barked getting back. He gave Red his glare but changed into a confuse one when he saw Red's face.

"You!" he shouted pointed an accusing finger at Red. "You're the reason that I'm here," the man spat.

"Huh? Me?" Red asked confused.

"Yes, you! If you didn't stop our plans back in the Viridian forest I wouldn't have been demoted from an Admin Assistant to regular grunt doing shitty work," the angered grunt explained. "I will exact my revenge on you now," he said as he brought out his pokeball.

"Fine then, I will beat you again," Red declared reaching for a pokeball on his belt but his fingers just touched air. "What?" he looked down and saw all of his pokeballs were scattered across the ground.

"Get out here Zubat!" the grunt threw his pokeball and released his Poison-Flying type pokemon.

"Crap! Umm standby for battle whoever you are," Red said as he grabbed a random pokeball from the ground and threw it.

Eevee emerged from the pokeball and let out playful cry. She looked at her eyeless opponent and jumped as she prepared herself for battle.

Perfect! Eevee does need some training in this guy is the ideal opponent for her Red thought as he picked up the remainder of his pokeballs.

"A puny pokemon like won't defeat me," the grunt asserted. He took one look behind him as if her expecting for someone before issuing his command.

"Zubat, Wing Attack that fur ball into pulp," the man ordered

-"Roger! Target confirmed!"- Zubat replied in a monotone voice. He dashed towards the Normal-type and hit her across the face with his right wing.

Eevee easily took the blow and followed up by tackling Zubat to the ground. She placed both her front paws onto Zubats wings, pinning him down.

"Great job, Eevee! You didn't even need a command from me," Red praised her

-"Thank you, Red'- Eevee replied flattered.

"Grrr...Zubat get her off you with your Poison Sting," the Rocket Grunt ordered.

The blind bat opened up its wide mouth and fired a bunch of purple needles that were embedded with his poison. Eevee cried when the attack struck her face. She quickly hopped off her poison foe setting Zubat free.

-"That hurt, Mr. Zubat,"- Eevee whimpered.

-"Escaping from enemy a success "- Zubat remarked and waited for his next order.

"Ha, excellent work Zubat and let's keep things going with Supersonic," issued the grunt. He felt that he could win this battle easily. Just beat this guy and then steal his Pokemon to give them to the boss and then he will forgive me. He will also likely return me back to my Admin Assistant status, the grunt thought laughing to himself.

This guy has lost his marbles, Red thought bewildered.

"Eevee, dodge the Supersonic and then Tackle that annoying bat," Red ordered determines not to lose to a criminal like him.

Zubat flew towards Eevee in a zigzag pattern so it will be harder for his foe to read his movements and predict the Supersonic. He then fired a few white rings that contained high frequency noise that induces confusion.

Eevee had little time to evade the and Red was sure she was going to get caught in the move. At the last second the Normal type dashed out of the way of the status move leaving behind a white trail. The rings harmlessly disappeared as they hit the ground.

-"I move quickly now,"- Eevee gleefully announced. She wagged her tail in enthusiasm that learned a new move.

Eevee learned Quick Attack Red realized. He smiled as he saw his baby pokemon wagged her tail in triumph. His pokemon was growing right before his eyes and couldn't help but feel happy.

"Eevee, use your Quick Attack to take Zubat down," Red ordered confidently.

-"Okay!"- Eevee replied. She bent her knees before she broke into a sprint. She reached her foe and jumped up to tackle him. The poor pokemon didn't what hit him until he used his sonar to confirmed it was his opponent that sent him crashing into the ground.

-"Enemy attack succeeded in breaking my defenses,"- Zubat muttered before passing out.

"Alright Eevee, you did it," Red congratulated his Pokemon who let out a happy cry.

-"Yay! We won, we won, we won,"- Eevee shouted went up to Red and cooed when her head was being scratch by her trainer.

"How touching, a trainer and his furball bonding together," the grunt mocked. "I'll wipe that smile off your face with my next pokemon. Koffing, come on out!"

A purple, ball Pokemon with a goofy looking face with many protrusions on its body floated in front of the Rocket Grunt.

"Aha I finally caught up to you!" a familiar voice cried out from behind Red. Red turned around and saw it was the Gym Leader Misty panting as if she just ran around the whole city.

"You're a persistent Gym Leader," the Rocket remarked. He decided to keep her busy for some time while he thought of a way to escape from her.

"Of course I am! I will never let a pervert like you escape unpunished!" Misty roared. Her screaming made Red and Eevee covered their ears to block the noise.

"Pervert?" the grunt said confused, "I was trying to steal your pokeballs on your belt."

"Don't change your motive!" Misty shouted causing the grunt to cringe in fear. "I saw what you were trying to do. When I was walking to my Gym and i turned around, I saw your hand a few inches from my Ass! You were going to grab it you pervert!"

Damn she won't listen to me. I gotta get away... Wait I know! The grunt came up with an idea.

"Koffing, Smokescreen now!" he ordered.

-"Aww I don't get to blow up stuff,"- Koffing sighed. He released the black smoke from the pores of his body that engulfed everyone.

The thick smoke made it very difficult to see or breathe. Red coughed as the pollution went into the lungs and closed the eyes since the smoke irritated his eyes. Red was able to breathe easily once the smoke has cleared away. He looked up and saw the Team Rocket member has escaped just as he thought.

"Grr this is going to take forever to catch that guy," Misty clenched her teeth. "And I still have a bunch of trainers waiting for me back at the gym."

"Misty, how about I go after that guy for you. I can easily take him on," Red suggested to the water gym leader.

"Huh?" Misty took notice of Red for the first time. "Umm, do I know you?" she asked him. Red did seem familiar to her but she just couldn't put her finger on who he was.

"I'm Red, remember?" Red pointed to himself but received a confused look from Misty. "Red, the guy who used a Charmeleon against you during our battle."

The gym leader pondered for bit and she finally remembered who he was. "Oh you're the dumb trainer that used a Fire-type during our battle," Misty rudely said. "Or did you just do that to mock me?" She towered over Red with fire in her eyes.

"Of course not, I just didn't have any other Pokemon to use," Red lied not wanting to face the hot head girl's wrath. "I just thought it will more convenient for you if I go after him and you returned to your gym to battle the trainers waiting. Plus, I have experience with battling Team Rocket grunts

"Well..." Misty put a finger to her cheek as she thought about it. "Well, I don't want to have a long list of trainers to battle and you are stronger them me…. Fine then, I'll let you deal with it but I want you make that guy pay big time. I just remembered that I have your number, so I'll call later today to see if you dealt with him. You better not lie." Misty gave Red nasty glare.

Red gulped having second thoughts of his suggestions. "Don't worry I'll make sure," Red said nervously.

"Great! You're such a nice guy Red, helping a pretty girl like me," Misty giggled turning from a scary girl to an innocent one. "See you later!" She left to return back to her gym.

Red sighed and looked behind to see if he could find any clue to where the criminal went but of course he didn't find any.

-"No more battles,"- Eevee lowered her head in sadness.

"Let's go, Eevee," Red said making her pick up her head in excitement.


After asking a few people if they had seen a man in a black suit, Red concluded that ran toward Route 7. He was running on the rocky path with Eevee right beside him. The sun has settled high in sky with its hot rays pounding on Red and his Pokemon. So Red had to occasionally rest behind one of the many boulders scattered on the route. He shared his water with his Eevee who appreciated it very much.

"I should have restocked on supplies before I went on this chase," Red said to himself when he felt his canvas canteen get lighter. "Oh, well I'll just find this guy beat him and come back to restock."

-"Red! Look! Look!"- Eevee shouted getting his attention by clawing his pants.

"Oh what is Eevee? Be careful not to rip my pant," Red said but notice she was trying to point somewhere with her head. He looked up and saw what she was pointing at. About five meters ahead of him was another large boulder and floating above it was a goofy looking Koffing. It looked like the pokemon hasn't noticed them and flew back down.

"We are close Eevee," Red told his pokemon. "Come one, after him." Red ran out of the shadow cast by the boulder to chase after the grunt.

Red made it to the boulder that he saw the Koffing float above but found no one behind it. He caught sight of it again, floating behind a running man in all black clothes. Red ran after him as well.

Red continued to chase him for a few minutes before he saw him disappeared into a cave that went into the mountain that this route was placed beside.

"Hold right there trainer," cried out a voice, stopping Red. The young trainer looked up and saw that it was large man scaling down the mountain. The man jumped the last few feet and landed in front if Red.

"Don't tell me you going into Rock Tunnel with such a little supplies," said man who had on hiker clothes. He gestured to Red's dirty, yellow backpack.

"Well, I don't attend to go for it right now. I just need to go in there and do something quick," Red explained to the muscular man.

"Alright, I was just warning you. The caves in here are like a maze and it could take days for you to find your way out," the hiker informed Red, shifting his large backpack. "And it's very dark in there and by dark I mean pitch-black dark. You won't be able to see your own hand in front if you. That's why I recommend taking a flash light or a Pokemon that knows the move Flash."

"Alright, I'll take your advice," Red said getting a bit annoyed by the man.

"Okay, just passing down some knowledge to young trainers," the hiker concluded. "Farewell young trainer, uhh excuse me what's your name?"

"My name is Red Ketchum," Red replied confidently giving the man a smile.

"Oh well my name is John Falcon," John replied. "Well, goodbye Pokemon Trainer Red and I wish you luck on your journey." With that being said, John left Red and went in the direction of Cerulean City.

Red peered into the cave and saw it was very dark like John said. The light of the sun only clearly illuminated the first few feet into the cave and then it became quite dark. He walked and then heard the voices if two people talking. He stopped where he was and strained his ears to hear the people.

-"Can't see in here,"- Eevee whimpered.

"Eevee, stay quiet," Red whispered.

"So were you followed, Caleb?" asked the voice which Red. Could tell it belonged to a guy due to the deep voice.

"I'm...sure...no one..did," Caleb said between each gasp for air and Red recognized as the voice of the earlier grunt.

"And did you bring the supplies that you were suppose to get?" asked the other guy crossing his arms.

"Well, I got sidetrack when I saw the gym leader. I saw that she had her pokeballs on her hip and i thought her pokemon will be worth a lot on the black market. So I tried to steal the but she. Aught me in the act," Rocket Caleb nervously chuckled.

"You buffoon now we won't have enough supplies to last us a day in her," the other grunt hastily scolded. Red took a few more steps quietly and saw some light to the right of the cave. It was a flashlight with one grunt with arms crossed and the other holding the flashlight and was sweating like a Grumpig.

Even though Red tried his best to be quiet but his footsteps were still picked up by the ears of the two grunts. Caleb quickly shined his light in the direction of the sounds and the light fell on Red.

"You again," Caleb shouted in shock. "I thought I lost you after Koffing's Smokescreen."

Red thought a bit before speaking. "Well, I did lose you after the smoke but with your Koffing out, I easily followed you," Red smirked gesturing to the floating Poison-Type beside Caleb.

"You are so stupid," the second grunt insulted smacking Caleb in the back of the head.

"Oww, I'm sorry Jake. I guess I forgot to return him back into his pokeball" Caleb cried.

"And what want with us?" Jake asked.

"I came after by Misty's orders. You Team Rocket guys here means you're up to trouble," Red responded, reaching for a pokeball n his belt in case a battle was going to start.

"Well, you are right about us Team Rocket always up to evil," Rocket Jake smirked, taking out his own pokeball. "I'll show you the real power of Team Rock- What the hell?"

The whole cave began to shake violently. The tremor caused the two Rocket grunts to fall on to their backs. The fall saved their lives because the cave wall behind them exploded and big pieces rocks flew everywhere. An onix emerged from the hole and dived forward. He went over the fallen Grunts and its body was inches from their face. The large Rock pokemon dug into the solid cave floor with great ease.

Red grabbed his Eevee and backed away. He escaped Onix's tail that slam onto the dirt but the small tremor created by the slam made Res lose his footing.

"Wahhh!" Ref screamed as he fell into the hole that led to darkness. He clutched his Eevee close to his body as to prevent her from being hurt when they crash to the floor.


"Red..."

"Red..."

"RED!"

"Ahh!" Red woke up screaming. He was sweating and quickly scanned his surroundings. It looked like he was still in the cave since the rock everywhere cave that away. The place was well lit but everything had an orange hue to it.

"Huh?" Red looked down at his arms as he felt something furry rub against it. It was just his Eevee who looked like she was worry sick.

-"Red!"- happily squealed Eevee. She had tears running down her face as she jumped into her trainer's lap an began to rub her hard against his chest.

Red smiled at the sight and comforted the young pokemon by hugging her tightly. "It's okay, Eevee. As you can see I'm fine," Red said in a soothing voice.

"Ahh I see that you're finally awake," a new voice spoke startling Red. Red looked behind him and saw a boy around his age. He had short brown hair and had a black cap on it with the white Pokeball sign on it. He wore a white, short-sleeved shirt with a pair of khaki cargo pants.

He poked the wood in the fire with another piece of wood. The fire wavered but then grew bigger than before.

"Did you save me?" Red asked the boy.

"Oh no, I just saw you fall from four stories and after that, saw you get up and take out a blanket. You then fell asleep and I decided to start a fire right next to you," the boy sarcastically answered while showing no emotion on his face. He looked so concentrated on keeping the fire alive.

Well you don't have to be so sarcastic about it, Red frowned giving his worried Pokemon a few more gentle strokes down her back.

"Well, what's your name?" Red asked, turning around to face his Eevee.

"I go by many names but you can call me Haydun," Haydun replied uninterested in his conversation with Red.

I don't like the tone this guy is giving me, Red thought to himself. But he did save me...

"But how did you save me," Red asked, wondering how he was saved from a four story fall.

Haydun let out a sigh before answering. "I just sent out my Weepinbell to use its Vine Whip attack to catch you and your Eevee," Haydun answered with a calm tone this time. He grabbed his backpack that was right next him and rummaged through it.

"Oh in case you're hungry eat this, newbie," Haydun said, taking out a granola bar and extending it to Red.

"Hey, I'm not a newbie," Red snapped accepting the bar.

"Of course you are. Only a newbie trainer will go into a cave as unprepared as you," Haydun replied. "And you still have an Eevee. If you were a more experience trainer, then that Eevee should have already evolved."

"Hey, I didn't plan on being here long and this Eevee is the newest member to my team," Red responded.

"If you say so," the blonde mumbled not yet convinced. "Well, I'm leaving. I don't want to spend all of my time babysitting a newbie trainer." He gathered up his stuff and placed it in his backpack.

"Oh really, I am a newbie trainer when I have like three official gym badges," Red asserted.

Haydun didn't seem affected by the information as he put on his backpack. "Exactly, you are still a newbie compared to me. I have 5 badges," Haydun said turning around to leave. "Oh and please put out the fire when you decided to leave and to answer anymore annoying questions, I brought fire wood before I came in. I came prepared unlike you." He left Red without a word,

I can't believed that I was saved by him Red thought.

Red gathered his stuff up and noticed the sleeping bag was his own which made him think that Haydun has went through his stuff. Red checked through his bag to see if anything else was tampered with. After seeing everything was in order, Red fixed his bag onto his back and grabbed the water bottle next to the fire that Haydun left for him.

"Wait," Red took out his Charmeleon's pokeball and released the fire-type.

-"Huh? We are still in the cave?"- Charmeleon said confused. He knew he was healed up at the Pokemon Center and yet he finds himself in a cave. He looked up to his trainer as to get any answer to his puzzling situation.

"Okay now I have some light to be able to see in this dark cave," Red said, pouring the water onto the fire. The liquid took out the fire and quickly darken the place. Charmeleon's fire from his tail had enough energy to light the area within a five feet radius.

-"Oh I see. I'm just the torch guy,"- Charmeleon muttered though didn't seem bothered by it much. It gave him the chance to be outside of his Pokeball and stretch out his body. He also likes the feeling that caves give him. That warm feeling of home which he hopes to see one day.

"Alright guys, lets go," Red said leading the way. He took the way that Haydun went earlier since he thought that the sarcastic trainer knew the way out. With his starter on his right and baby pokemon on his left, Red felt quite secure and felt like he could escape this place in less than a day. This caused his hopes to get high and quicken his pace.


"Me and my enthusiasm," Red muttered as he walked up the tunnel that was very steep. He was panting very hard and was sweating as much as the grunt before. On the other hand, Charmeleon looked quite fine and didn't at all seem fatigue.

I have been walking for hours and I still haven't found the exit to this dark, cruel place Red thought dismayed. He clenched the canteen in his right hand and brought the mouth part to his lips. The last few drops of water fell into his throat and it still didn't quench Red's thirst. I need to find water in this cave or else I might pass out of hydration.

Red stopped and sat on a large rock that stood in the middle of the path. He tried to regain his strength and stretched out his body. Red's Pokemon didn't seem interested in resting and took the time to explore the cave himself but didn't stray to far from his Trainer.

"There must be some way to find water in this place," Red muttered out loud. "If only I can dig for water…of course!" Red quickly reached for the pokeball on his belt when he came up with an idea.

Charmeleon rushed back and saw his trainer release his teammate Gible. He frowned upon his released and turned to Red for an explanation.

"Aright Gible, you are used to caves, right?" Red asked though knew he wouldn't get response and Gible's clueless eyes proved him right. "Well, you should able to dig your way through and find us some water." Red bent down to Gible's height so they could have direct eye contact.

-"Wa-ter,"- Gible mumbled trying to grasp the meaning of the word. He looked up to his trainer with his vacant eyes and then his gaze fell onto the hat. He couldn't resist and gave into his temptation. In the blink of an eye, Gible jumped up and clamped his large jaws onto Red's head.

"Ahh Gible" Red shouted in surprise. He pulled off the dragon pokemon before he could tighten his grip around his temple. "Gible, just please help me find water and I'll let you gnaw on my head later." Red pleaded to his pokemon.

-"He is hopeless,"- Charmeleon sighed witnessing the embarrassing act. -"He is just a disaster ready to blow at any time."- He decided to make himself even more useful and increased the size of the flame on his tail. This increased the ranged of the light.

-"Okay, Gible go find water,"- Gible said with glee. He freed himself from Red's grip and took a stance on the cave floor. He carefully looked around, occasionally twitching his shark fin as means to determine where a source of water lay hidden.

-"Got it,"- Give determinedly announced.

"Hmm..you found it?" Red asked, sensing Gible's body tense up. Gible didn't move for a minute until he was sure. After some time, Gible pounced at the wall in front of him and dove face first into the hard compact dirt. The ground-type easily sliced through the wall like a knife cutting through butter.

"Gible, I can't go through walls like you do," Red explained to his not-so-smart Pokemon. He waited there for awhile and soon his Pokemon popped out of the ground starling his companion Charmeleon.

-"Watch where you pop out,"- Charmeleon hissed but Gible didn't seem to notice his warning.

-"Don't worry, Gible got it covered,"- Gible assured his trainer. He walked up to the dirt wall and lightly tapped it wit his small fist. At first nothing happen, but then the wall suddenly collapsed. Dirt was sent everywhere and created a small dust cloud that soon settled.

Red looked up and saw his Pokemon made a hole that lead to the next tunnel. The hole was at least ten feet wide and seven feet high. He walked into the next tunnel with Charmeleon as his source of light.

"Gible, you never seize to amaze me," Red remarked.

-"All I did was dig a lot in the dirt,"- Gible replied and was pleased to be praised. –"Hurry let's go and find water! Then, Gible can chew Red's head all day!" Gible took the lead running as fast as his small dragon feet can take him.

Red smiled and went after him. His fire-type just sighed before going after his trainer.


After running for a good while and breaking a few more walls, Red finally came made to a source of water. A small pool of water lay in a cavern that Gible led them to. Stalagmites and stalactites surrounded the water formation.

Red approached the pool and stuck a hand in the cool liquid. He felt his hand touch a hard surface after his hand went three inches into the water. The water glistened in Charmeleon's fire and seemed quite clean for water found underground.

"Wow, Gibe you're not only good at finding evolution stones but you're also good at finding good water in caves," Red remarked. He face was splashed by water as Gible jumped into the pool. Gible waddled his way to the middle of the pool and pulled out a small blue stone.

-"I got the Water,"- Gible said running back to his trainer. He handed Red a Water Stone.

"Of course the only way you found this was by using your stone finding skill," Red sighed, accepting the stone. Gible immediately after giving the stone jumped onto Red's head and chomped his head, which didn't bother red much since he did earn it this time.

"Alright, I'll release everyone out here to refresh ourselves." Red gathered all of his pokeballs and released his pokemon one by one.

-"Damn it's so dark in here,"- Pikachu remarked not much a fan of the dark.

-"Not the cave again,"- Pidgeotto sighed. –"There isn't much room to spread my wings out."-

-"Water!" Eevee cried in joy, running to the pool to drink some water.

-"There better not be any stupid Zubats in here,"- Nidorino mumbled, trotting to the pool to quench his thirst.

I'm pretty sure this pool has enough water for all of us Re thought as he refilled his canteen will the cave water. He drank some before refilling it again. Come to think of it, we haven't met much Pokemon in this cave. Only a few Geodude and that Onix, but that was it. Well, like they say, it's calm before the storm.

Red had lunch there with his Pokemon since they were getting hungry. He returned everyone into their pokeball except for Charmeleon and Gible, after lunch was over.

"I might need you Gible for some for digging," Red said prying off the Dragon off his head. He placed him on the ground and left the underwater pool of water.

But how are we going to find our way out Red pondered as he and his team wandered a bit around in the maze of tunnels. It was impossible to tell which way he has been and where he hasn't been due to all the routes looking almost the same.

-"What's that sound?"- Charmeleon said, perking his ears. He didn't hear anything for moment but then the sound of a Pokemon's cry caught his attention.

"What's wrong Charmeleon?"- Red asked seeing his Pokemon stop. He didn't get a response and then saw him sprint into a tunnel that went to the right. Having no other choice, Red ran after him, picking Gible on the way since he wouldn't be able to pick him up. "What's going on?" Red didn't get response again and tried to keep up with his pace.

-'Weee!" Gible shouted enjoying the ride.

Red finally caught up with Charmeleon who was kneeling on the ground holding something in his arms. Charmeleon looked back at his trainers with sad eyes and unraveled what he had in his arms.

A small, brown creature that looked like it had a skull on its head with a bone clutched in its hand. Tears could be seen through the two holes on the skull helmet that was vibrating.

Red took out his Pokedex and pointed it at the weeping pokemon.

"Cubone: the Lonely Pokemon. If it's sad or lonely, the skull it wears shakes, and emits a plaintive and mournful sound. It never reveals its face since it always has the skull on its head."

"Such a sad Pokemon," Red said depressed, observing the Cubone. "Wait, the Pokedex says that Cubones grow up to one foot and four inches, but this one is barely six inches. This could imply that it's still a baby pokemon."

-"Yes, he is still very young,"- Charmeleon agreed with him. –"And I believe I know where his mother could be."- Charmeleon turned around with his nose high in the air as he sniffed the scent.

"We got to find its mother," Red said trying his best to keep Cubone calm. The Lonely Pokemon intensified its crying making Red try harder to keep the baby quiet. He noticed Charmeleon has caught the scent of something and was following it. Red decided to follow him since he knew Charmeleon was better at finding Pokemon in a cave like this.

-"Mommy!"- wailed the little Cubone, trying to escape Red's grasp.

"Calm down little guy. We will find your parents," Red assured Cubone. Cubone stopped to look at Red for a moment before going back to crying. Red tried everything to calm Cubone. He tried rocking back and forth, making silly faces, singing a lullaby but failed miserably in everything.

They endured the child's wailing and soon arrived into a well lit chamber. The large room was illuminated by lamps that were randomly scattered around the room. There were many grunts running around, transporting iron crates full of Pokemon. They were stacked in the far end of the room with as many as twenty crates already piled up.

-"Mommy,"- cried Cubone after seeing his mother in one of the cages. His shout alerted the Rocket Grunts of the intruders.

"We have an intruder," one of the grunt shouted. Every other Rocket member stopped what they were doing and grouped up in the middle.

Red counted six grunts that were present. He had full confident in his Pokemon to defeat these half of dozen criminals. He shifted Cubone's body to his right arm so he would have easy access to the pokeballs on the left side of his belt.

One grunt stepped forward and Red recognized him as the grunt that he met in Celadon City. "I see that you found our operation for capturing rare pokemon for the Game Corner in Celadon," Caleb smirked, gesturing to the cages behind them.

Another grunt stepped forward to smack Caleb in the back of the head. "You dumbass, don't give out too much information to the enemy," the guy scolded. "This is one of the reasons you were demoted to Rocket Grunt Manager." Caleb gave the guy and apologetic smile for his mistake.

"So the Game Corner in Celadon City is related to Team Rocket," Red mumbled surprised by the information. "Well, who will I battle first so I can pulverize you and then save those captured Pokemon."

"And what makes you think that you are going to succeed in saving these Pokemon?" Caleb asked in a mocking tone. "Everyone let's go!" On cue all of the Team Rocket Grunts released their Pokemon simultaneously. Two Zubats materialized in thin air, two Koffings appeared with wide grins, and two Rattatas scampered in front of the group.

"Wait, thi-this isn't fair an-and it's totally against the rules," Red stammered.

"We're Team Rocket, boy. We play by our own rules," Caleb smirked.

Typical Team Rocket, stopping so low to defeat a mere teen, Red clenched his teeth. Fine then, I don't have any reason to follow the rules either. Red released all of his pokemon as quick as he could. His whole team was released into the cavern and all had confused faces. They never were sent at the same time to battle altogether, so cooperating will be a little difficult.

Ordering this many Pokemon at the same time is going to be very difficult, Red thought to himself, considering his next move.

He saw his opponents' Pokemon were beginning to rush himself for a plan. "Pikachu and Pidgeotto, you guys deal with the Zubats. Charmeleon and Gible fend off the Koffings and be careful since they can explode at any moment. That leads with Eevee and Nidorino to fight the Rattatas," Red gave his orders in a rushed manner. Will little time to react, Red's team jumped into action.

Eevee and Nidorino were the first ones to engage with combat with their targets since the purple mice were quite speedy. Eevee Tackled and Quick Attacked her opponent and quickly fell to her attack combos. Nidorino had a harder time with his since he wasn't very nimble on his feet. He managed to get a few Horn Attacks on his foe and brought him down with a perfectly timed Rock Slide.

Pikachu and Pidgeotto faced their annoying opponents with great confidence. Pikachu fried his electric weak foe to a Thunder Shock that he trained to make it stronger and spend less time to charge up. Pidgeotto smacked into Zubat with an Aerial Ace and followed up with a Wing Attack. Before Zubat could retaliate, Pidgeotto finished him off with an Air Cutter. Zubat collapsed onto his Zubat companion unconscious.

Charmeleon wasn't too excited to battle with Gible as his partner but pushed himself forward. Their opponents were slower than the rest and so had to run up to their opponents and met them halfway. Charmeleon unleashed his Flamethrower once they were in range and scorched both gas-filled Pokemon. The fire ignited the gas that filled their bodies and as the result a small explosion occurred. Both Koffings emerged from the explosion with little health and both easily fainted after Gible's Dragon Rage.

"That was quite easy," Red remarked, not having to give any further orders to his pokemon. It seems they can do fine without my help which implies that they are getting stronger, Red smiled.

"This kid is something," a grunt commented.

"This is impossible," Caleb dropped to his knees and pounded the floor with a fist. "I will not lose to you again and be demoted once more!" He pulled out his last Pokeball from his belt and brutally slammed it onto the ground.

The Pokeball released a Pokemon that resembled a Golbat only that it had legs and eyes. Its large mouth took up most of its body and fluttered around with its larger wings.

"Golbat: the Bat Pokemon. Bites its prey and sucks up the prey's blood. Its own blood type changes into that of its victim."

"That pokemon just looks like a large version of a Zubat," Red observed. "Pikachu, you're up."

-"Alright, more easy foes to defeat,"- Pikachu stepped up to take his stance.

"Golbat, start with an Air Cutter," Caleb hastily ordered.

"Pikachu, dodge and fire a Thunder Shock," Red commanded.

Golbat brought his wings together and spread them out to fire blade of air at his foe. Pikachu jumped to the side and fired back a Thunder Shock. The electric move was quick to hit its mark, electrocuting Golbat. Golbat wavered a little after the attack but regained his composure.

"Golbat, go in for the kill with Bite and Leech Life combo," Caleb ordered.

Golbat flew towards Pikachu and dodged the incoming electric move. He was hit by the next one but endured the pain as he got closer to his foe. Pikachu abandoned the move when he saw Golbat was too close. Pikachu somersaulted over the poison pokemon and perfectly landed on his feet.

"Great job, Pikachu," Red congratulated his pokemon, "Just fired a few more Thunder Shocks and that annoying bat will soon fall."

Golbat turned around to try to bite Pikachu again but wasn't able to get more than one foot before getting shocked. He dropped to the ground after the strong blow but was still conscious.

"That's it Golbat, time to use our Trump Card," Caleb said. "Go for Brave Bird!"

Golbat struggled to get back onto his feet. Once he was up, he took flight and flew as high as he could. The ceiling was the limit and he did a backflip in midair. A bright, blue aura cloaked his body as he did the acrobatic maneuver. He then charged at Pikachu with his fully charged Brave Bird and didn't try to dodge the Thunder Shock.

Golbat slammed into Pikachu with his attack and created an explosion that engulfed the two. Red held his breathe as waited for the smoke to clear. His heart dropped when he saw Golbat fly out of the smoke.

"Alright Golbat," the grunt cheered but his cheerfulness was short lived. Golbat wavered a bit in the air before collapsing on the ground after feeling the recoil of the attack.

Red smiled wide when he saw his Pikachu was still standing after the smoke cleared. He looked quite beat up but was still standing tall with a determined look on his face.

"Noo!" Caleb roared, returning Golbat back into his Pokeball. He calmed himself down after his sudden outburst. "Well, I guess I lost again, but don't let this victory go to your head. We will meet again."

He turned to his group who all seem disappointed. "Let's get out of here and lets take the secret route." Everyone followed his orders and went to the far side of the cavern. One grunt grabbed a pickaxe leaning on the wall and used it to strike at the dirt wall. The wall instantly collapsed and revealed a hidden cave that went upwards. They all went entered the tunnel with Caleb turning around to give Red one last nasty look.

Should I go after them and stop them? Red pondered. But how am I going to restrain them? Well I get another chance later to captured them and turned them into the authorities.

-"Mommy!"- Wailed the little Cubone, trying even harder to escape Red's grasp.

"Well, let's go free the captured Pokemon firs-" the sound of an explosion sounding off cut Red off. The blast seemed to have come from the cave that the grunts escaped from. The tunnel collapsed, sealing the area up so Red couldn't go after them even if he wanted to.

Red disregarded the detonation and proceeded to free the Pokemon from their cages. His pokemon helped him by destroying the cages while he just unlatched them. There were a bunch of Geodudes in the cages which was no surprise to Red. He was shocked by the Kangaskhan that were locked up and the Marowak that were there as well. The liberated Pokemon just left the area and some helped Red and his team to free the rest of them.

Soon all of the captured Pokemon were freed and had now returned back to their daily lives. A single Marowak stayed behind to which Red handed the baby Cubone too.

-"Mommy,"- cried the Cubone, running up to his mother and hugging her tightly. His mother looked at him with a warm smiled and hugged him back.

-"I don't know how I can't thank you guys enough,"- she spoke to Red's Pokemon. –"I was just so worried to what will happen to my little Cubone if I wasn't there." She began to get tears in her eyes at the thought of her little one all on his own.

-"No need to thank us ma'am,"- Charmeleon politely answered. -"We are just happy to help Pokemon in need. Especially the Pokemon being hurt by Team Rocket."-

-"Well, I am so happy for your help and I'll find a way to pay you guys back,"- she promised. She placed her baby on the floor and exited the room with him behind.

-"She could have showed us the way out,"- Charmeleon grumbled, but he didn't to be rude by saying that loud.

"Well, will have to get a move on or we will never see the light again," Red said. He looked at the exited that Team Rocket dug and thought of a plan. "Hey Gible, can you dig that tunnel out so we can use it also?"

Gible went up to the closed tunnel and launch himself into the dirt. He slammed headfirst into the dirt but didn't go through it like last time. He dropped to the floor and bumped his head on the landing.

-"Oww…this dirt is too hard. It feels like rock,"- Gible groaned, picking himself up.

"Guess they filled it up with concrete or some other hard substance," Red said, and couldn't help but admired at the grunts cleverness. "Guess we are taking the long way to get out."