POKEMON HEART SOUL ADVENTURES
Hey, there!
Okay, let's keep this short, as I really have no time – finally, we get to see what happened to our friends, and whether they can leave Quest Island safe and sound! So, get ready… and take some time to tell me what you thought of his chapter! Happy reading!
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Chapter 37 – A Quest For Rescue
"Ugh... darn, what's going on now?" an irritated Petrel muttered as the island was shook from its very core by the vibrations. He and the other Team Rocket members had just reached the submarines they had used to transport the hostages and reach the island... and now, they were just waiting for Attila to come back, hopefully with the Emerald in his hands, to escape from the island. But now, Team Vicious' unexpected attack was putting the stability of their hideout in serious jeopardy, and there could have been a cave-in any moment now! They had to hurry it up, or they would have been buried down there. "What on Earth is Attila doing? Why hasn't he come back yet?"
"I reckon that fool wanted to get the Emerald at all costs..." Hun told herself, her cold glare affixed to the passages that brought to the former hideout of the criminal carter, as if she was expecting her partner in crime to come out of one of them any moment now. At least, that's what she hoped - it would have been annoying to lose a worthy minion such as Attila just because of his own stubborness!
For several seconds, nothing came out of the passages, as explosions and rumbling noises resonated inside the improvised port. Then, a rumbling noise not unlike that of steel scraping upon rock, invaded the cavern... and a split second later, Attila's Steelix, with his trainer standing proudly on top of it and holding a shining green gem in his hand, appeared from the nearest cave! Hun smirked in satisfaction as she saw that her colleague had just what Team Rocket had come for in the first place... and as soon as Steelix came close to the submarine, Attila dismounted and recalled the iron serpent in his Pokeball before getting on board with his prize in his hand!
"Well, about time you showed up!" Petrel muttered, finally allowing himself to sigh in relief. "What were you thinking? Everything is going to crumble here, and you go risk your own neck on your own?"
"These trivial matters can wait, Petrel." Archer answered. "What really counts is that we've got the Emerald. Two gems out of three. While it's not the optimal outcome, it is still an acceptable one. And now, let's get out of here before we are turned into hamburger! We'll abandon this base and report to Giovanni... after all, I think the results have been satisfying for now."
"Acknowledge, Sir Archer! We'll evacuate on the double!" the navigator exclaimed. As soon as he was sure everybody that counted was on board, he closed all doors and started up the engines, and soon after, the Team Rocket sub took to the sea, followed by the rest of the fleet and taking the four executives and the precious gemstone they had stolen along with it...
oooooooooo
The deafening sound of crumbling rock was still echoing in Misty's ears as the redhead climbed uncertainly to her feet, shaking her head in order to regain her bearings. The landslide had only lasted a few seconds... but her fear had made them look like hours, and now she was finding herself disoriented and confused. She coughed some dust out of her throat, then quickly recovered and looked around, trying to understand what to do now.
The view was not exactly encouraging - very little remained of the prison block Team Rocket kept their prisoners in, and now bent bars and pieces of broken concrete laid scattered on the ground, along with shattered lamps and torn black flags bearing the trademark R symbol, as if symbolizing that Team Rocket's reign on that island had come to a sudden end. Still, Misty didn't care about that at the moment... her friends were nowhere to be seen, and Misty feared they might have been buried by the landslide!
"Oh, no... Ash! Ash, Pikachu, where are you? Can you hear me?" she exclaimed, her heart pounding madly. Brock! Gary, Dawn, Lance! Please, tell me you're alright!"
She heard some coughing, and quickly turned in that direction, looking hard in an attempt to distinguish what was it about… and she felt an immense relief as she saw a familiar figure walking towards her, slowly but without giving the impression of being in trouble. Thanks to the faint light filtering through the cracks in the stone and what remained of the windows, Misty could see that it was Brock!
"Brock!" the redhead exclaimed. "Brock, are you alright?"
"Misty…" the young man murmured as he held an handkerchief pressed on his left eyebrow. It was only then that Misty saw that her friend was trying to plug a wound on his forehead, from which blood was pouring out. "I'm here, Misty! How are you?"
"I'm glad you're still alive, Brock…" Misty answered as he reached him. "But… you're bleeding, are you sure you're alright?"
"Don't worry, Misty, it's just a flesh wound… it will stop bleeding soon enough!" the Rock-type expert reassured her. "For now, we need to find Ash and the others… I can't see them here!"
"I know… I was jut looking for them right now!" Misty answered. "I hope they're alright… although, with all that's happened around here, I'm afraid something will surely have happened to them!"
Luckily, once again, Brock proved to be the brains of the team, and helped his travelling companion keep her cool. "Misty… don't worry, I'm sure they'll alright as well! After all, we'v been through worse, and we've always come out in one piece, right? Now… we just need not to lose our heads, and to think of a way to look for them, okay? I'm sure they can't have gotten that far…"
Misty took a pair of deep breaths, in order to keep her fear in check… then, she sighed and managed a small smile, in spite of the anguish gnawing at her. "A… Alright! Thanks for reminding me of that! So… what do you think we should do now?" she asked, feeling a little more relaxed.
Brock smiled himself and nodded. "There! That's better… now, first off, we have to be very careful of where we step on, some parts of the floor are at risk of crumbling…" he stated, looking around as he searched for the others, and hoping to find everyone safe and sound…
oooooooooo
"Pika pi!" Pikachu squeaked, pointing to the large rock that was falling from the ceiling, right above Ash, who was still lying in pain on the cavern's floor. The injured teen grit his teeth and widened his eyes as he saw the huge stone bearing down upon him… but luckily, before he could even start fearing for his life, his Infernape intervened, striking the huge rock with an accurate and powerful Mach Punch and shattering it! The pieces of stone were thrown around and bouncd harmlessly off the walls, leaving Ash and his Pokemon intact as Infernape elegantly landed on the bare rock, the flames around his body glowing faintly before they returned to normal.
Despite the searing pain in his left arm, Ash managed to smile and sit upright, his back to the wall. "Phew… Thanks, Infernape… You really saved my life just now! I promise that… ugh… as soon as we're out of here… I'll treat you to a double portion of your favourite Pokemon food! And that goes for you as well, Pikachu!"
"Pika pi! Pika pika chu pika?" the electric mouse asked, noticing his trainer's leftarm, which he was cradling close to his body. Infernape could see Ash was not well, but the young boy tried not to have them worry too much as he forced a smile.
"Heheheee… well, boys, I'd love to say I'm in top form, but… I'm afraid I've got a broken arm right here! Hehehee… Ow! Man, it sure hurts…" he answered, wincing as another jolt of pain went to his brain. "O… Okay, let's see… where are we now? I… don't think there are many chances our friends find us down here! We're in this dark place and we have little chance of them noticing us… Of course, unless…"
Pikachu and Infernape understood immediately: the electric mouse lit up his cheek pouches, and Infernape strengthened the flame above his ead, allowing his trainer to get a better look at the situation… and most importanty, to notice an escape way that the falling ocks had not obstructed, and that maybe would allow them to climb back to the upper levels!Now, it was just a matter of seeing whether he could do it with his left arm in that state…
Ash grit his teeth as he tried to stand the pain, and used his still-healthy arm to sustain his broken one as he climbed to his feet and motioned for his Pokemon to follow him. "Well, in this case… what are we waiting for, guys? We need to find Misty and the others… ugh… and hope they're alright as well!"
"Pika!" Pikachu answered in approval, while Infernape nodded and led the way to the upper floors…
oooooooooo
"Phew… wow… that really was way too close for comfort!"
Dawn slowly opened her eyes and shook her vertigo away, trying to orient herself and understand where she was now. At the moment, the blue-haired girl was lying face down on the rocky terrain, upon which countless pieces of rock were scattered. It was a damp and dark cavern, bathed in an almost unbearable heat, and it was too dark to clearly see what was around her. Still, she was glad to have escaped the landslide that had crushed the upper levels, but now her priority was to reunite with Ash and the thers, hoping they had escaped safely…
"Okay…" she told herself. "Looks like everything is okay for now… now, let's see about reaching Ash and the others…"
Dawn tried to stand up… and just then, a blinding, excruciating pain exploded in her legs, causing her to scream and collapse to the ground again, panting heavily!
"AAAAAGH! Ah… it… it hurts… what… ugh… what is… aaaaah…" she managed to stammer, before she burst into tears from the terrible pain. It was an horrific feeling, as if someone was trying to pull her legs out of thir sockets, making her nerves feel like they were on fire! For quite some time, Dawn remained there, lying on the ground and sobbing incontrollably as she tried to recover her bearings… and when she realized that she couldn't move her legs anymore, she grit her teeth and tried to raise her head just enough to see what had happened to her…
She immediately turned her glance away with a shudder, understanding just what was the matter. There was no blood, but her legs were still in a bad shape… and it didn't take a lot of imagination to understand what had happened. Sure, Dawn had managed to land on her feet… but the weight of her body, augmented by the speed of the fall, had caused the bones in her legs to break!
"Uuuugh… darn… I really… didn't need this…" Dawn murmured, trying to keep her fear and pain in check. She tried to drag herself forward with her arms, but her legs hurt too much, and she was forced to stop soon enough. And she wasn't going to go much further anyway, she reflected. "I… must find another way… ugh.. if only… I could reach my… Pokeballs…"
Struggling with the pain in her broken legs, Dawn managed to reach Piplup and Pachirisu's Pokeballs, before opening them with a flick of her hand. Immediately, the small penguin and the electric squirrel appeared right in front of their trainer, who managed to smile through her pain and give them instructions.
"Piplup… Pachirisu…" Dawn murmured, as her two Pokemon got to her, worry clearly shown on their faces. "Ugh… p-please… listen up… I'm not doing… ugh… too good… I… I'm injured… and I can't move… ai! Pachirisu… please l-look for Ash… and the others… Try to take them… here…"
"Pachi!" the vivacious Electric-type exclaimed without the slightest hesitation, before speed-climbing the rocks and getting to the place from where Dawn had jumped down. Piplup got closer to Dawn in an attempt to comfort her, and the girl smiled through the pain and caressed him on the head.
"It will be alright, Piplup… I'm sure… we'll get out of here!" Dawn managed to answer, her eyes still veiled over with tears. "Ash… and the others… ow… won't be stopped by this much, now will they? We've… ugh… gotten through many more things… We can do this… as well…"
"Pip! Piplup!" the cute penguin Pokemon chirped, before he got close to his trainer's legs and gently blowing a cold breeze upon them, in order to allow her to better stand the fractures. Dawn sighed in relief as the pain lessened considerably…
"Phew… thanks, Piplp…" she answered when the small penguin got back close to her face. Dawn managed to lift herself up a little by propping an elbow on the ground, and scratched Piplup on the head, keeping an eye shut. "Don't… worry, I'm sure Pachirisu… will be able to get help soon! We… won't stay here much longer, trust me!"
"Piplup…" the penguin-like Pokemon answered, hoping his trainer was right…
ooooooooo
"Ash, Pikachu! Gary, Lance! Dawn!" Misty called out as she looked here and there, at the same time minding her steps as not to cause another cave-in. The tunnel in which she and Brock were was quite damaged, and it would take little to put them all in danger again…
"Ash, Pikachu! Guys, where are you?" Brock called out, hoping to at least hear someone calling for help. But for several seconds, the cave appeared desolate, and Brock sighed despondently. "That's no good, we have to look for them in another way…"
"Pikachu pi!"
Pikachu's shrill voice, coming pretty much out of nowhere, had both of Ash's old travelling companions jump up about half a foot in the air, before they turned to see the small yellow rodent scurry out of a nearby tunnel, his small body bathed in a faint electric aura in order to allow him to see and be seen in the faint darkness. Hewas closely followed by Infernape… and, much to both Brock and Misty's relief, by Ash, who was looking quite well and smiling at Brock and Misty, despite the fact that he was cradling his left arm close to his chest.
"Hey, guys! You know… I could hear you shouting from where I was!" the young aspirant Pokemon Master jokingly said as he walked out of the tunnel, right behind his Pokemon. Needless to say, both former Gym Leaders – especially Misty - were very glad to see Ash and his friends alive and well.
"Ash! Glad to see you're okay… Ash, your arm! What's the matter, are you hurt?" Misty asked, as she and Brock noticed the way Ash was holding his injured limb.
The young boy chuckled ironically, trying to downplay his injury. "Hehehee… well, let's just say there was a stone who had nothing better to do tha fall on my arm!" he answered. "I'm afraid I've got a broken arm…"
Brock, who was more of an expert in first aid, went to examine his younger friend an had him sit on the ground, his back leanng on to the wall behind him. "Hmm… looks like you're right on the money, Ash, and at the moment I have nothing on hand that might help reduce this fracture… I'm afraid we'll have to go for the more direct method, and mind you, it won't be painless…"
"I see…" Ash winced. "Well, do it all the same, Brock… I'll try to hold out! Pikachu, Infernape… try not to get scared, ok?"
Both Pokemon nodded, and Brock steeled himself for the rather unpleasant operation he was about to carry out… then, he placed his hands upon Ash's broken arm and straightened it with a brief yet sudden movement! Ash immediately grit his teeth and groaned for the intense pain, fighting off a sense of vertigo that threatened to make him lose consciousness… then, luckiy, the pain faded to an acceptable level, and Ash leaned with his back on the wall as Misty sat down next to him.
"Owww… I'm… I'm okay, Misty… everyone… it was… just a moment…" the young boy murmured. "The m-most importantthing now… is to find Dawn, Gary and Lance! They could be.. somewhere down there…"
"I'll go look for them, Ash, so don't worry! I'll find them and make sure they're alright." Brock reassured him, an hand placed on his younger friend's shoulder in order to convince him to stay seated. "Misty, you stay here with Ash and his Pokemon, and make sure he doesn't d anything reckless! With his arm in those conditions, it's better not to risk it."
"Alright, Brock! Leave it to me, I'll hold the fort here!" Misty answered. "Please, be careful… and try to find them!"
Brock smiled and gave a thumbs-up, keeping his eyes closer as always. "Don't worry, Misty, I'll be careful!" he affirmed. "I'm leaving Ash to you, don't allow him to do anything reckless, and keep him seated!"
"Pika!" the electric mouse squeaked.
"FER!" Infernape grunted, his ist held close to his heart.
"Hold… hold on a second, Brock!" Ash exclaimed as his friend began waking away to look for Gary, Dawn and Brock. "Wait… maybe I can help you out as well! I may have a broken arm… but that doesn't mean I'm suddenly useless, does it?"
Misty held him down, telling him to stay seated. "Ash, don't be stupid! I know you're worried about Gary and the others… but just trust Brock, he knows what to do! You have to stay here and not make your conditions worse."
"But… Misty!" Ash tried to protest, as much as he knew that his red-haired friend was right, and that pushing himself wouldn't have been good. "Maybe I could help Brock out a little… after all, four eyes see better than two, right? And then…"
"Ash." Misty ordered, ith the tone of a scolding mother. "You. Stay. Here. Got it?"
Ash blinked in surprise… then, feeling somewhat sheepish, he leaned with his back to the wall behind him and sat down, cradling his injured arm."O… Okay, mom!" he answered, halway between awe and sarcasm. "I'll be a good boy and wait for daddy to come home. Happy now?"
Despite everything, Pikachu managed to giggle to himself, whereas Infernape frowned in doubt, as if he understood that there was something more to the exchange betweenAsh and Misty, but he couldn't quite put his fnger on it. Misty, for her part, smiled and shook her head.
"Really, Ash… what do have to do with you?" she asked playfully. "You're always such a handful… but after all, that's one of the things I like about you!" She immdiately placed a hand in front of her mouth and widened her eyes: she had just let herself slip… with the result that Ash looked at her in surprise.
"M-Misty? What you like about… what do you mean?" Ash aske, understading that the discussion was veering into unfamiliar territory, to him at least. Misty was thankful that he couldn't see her blush in the dark cave, and shook her head in an attempt to make her slip-up pass off as nothing.
"Nothing! Nothing, really! I didn't mean anything by that!" she exclaimed, too frantically for Ash not to realize that there ws something more going on. Still, respecting the fact that Misty seemed unwilling to talk about it, he decided not to press anymore and sat to his friend's side together with his two Pokemon. He still would have liked to be able to go out there and look for the rest of his friends, but in the end, he understood that it was probably better to just stay quiet until help came.
"Really, Ash… your skill at putting yourself in dangerous situations never ceases to amaze me!" Misty said with an ironic chuckle. "Who knows how many times you've found yourself in a pinch while you were in Hoenn or Sinnoh, huh? And now you managed to break an arm as well… really, I am always the one who has to babysit you!"
"Hahaha. How funny, Misty." a vaguely annoyed Ash answered. Sure, Ash was rather easy to tick off, but to Misty, it seemed to just come naturally. "Well, there's no helping it, what's done is done! And by the way… I need to thank Pikachu and Infernape, we wouldn't have been able to calm down Deoxys without them! Really, for a moment, I was afraid… ow!"
"Pikapi?" a worried Pikachu asked as he saw his trainer wince and clutch his injured left arm. A rather sudden moveent of his shoulder had increased the pain yet again, leaving him breathless for a moment before he could regain his bearings.
"I'm… I'm okay, Pikachu! Really…" Ash answered, in an attempt to reassure both his starter and Misty. "I just did a sudden movement… but don't worry, I'll be okay!"
"Try not to move around too much, alright?" Misty told him. "And I hope a rescue team comes soon, too… I'm afraid the landslide trapped us inside these tunnels. Maybe we should start looking for a way out ourselves, as soon as we're all back together…"
oooooooooo
In another cavern, at the same time…
"Phew… darn, I think I saw my life flash before my eyes for a second there…" Gary murmured, picking himself off the ground and dusting himself off before taking a look around… and understanding the magnitude of what had just happened! Sadly, it looked like they still weren't out of the woods: several rocks of varying size had obstructed the tunnel he and Lance had come from, cutting them off the rest of the team… and by the way, where was Lance? And what about Ash and the others? For a moment, Gary shuddered at the idea that they had been buried under all that rubble, but he forced himself to stay calm and began looking aroundfor anything that might have helped him in the search.
Some coughing from his right caused him to turn that way, as Lance walked out of a cloud of dust, his cape held out in front of himself in order to filter the air! "Ah! It's you, Lance! Are you alright?" Gary asked.
The Kanto and Johto Champion dusted his cape off and nodded. "Yes… luckily, I'm uninjured, and it seems you are as well." The dragon tamer stated. "By the way, where are Ash and the others? I hope they aren't…"
"I have no idea whether they're alive or not…" Gary admitted with restrained, yet still clear, worry on his face. "And by the way, where have all those letter-shaped Pokemon gone to? They were Unowns, if I recall correctly…"
"I'm not sure where they are…" Lance shrugged. "At least, the fact that they've disappeared means we can rescue our friends without worry of being attacked. But I'm willing to bet there is an important link between those Unowns and Deoxys."
"A Deoxys? You mean, there actually was such a Pokemon here, on Quest Island?" Lorelei's well-known voice asked as soon as the Elite Four of Ice entered from a side corridor, Homura right behindher. "I didn't think Team Rocket was after such a rarity…"
"Lorelei, Homura! Luckily, you're okay…" Lance affirmed. "We're in quite a difficult position. Team Rocket has escaped, and we are sure they've gotten the gem they were after. And the Deoxys they were after got free, but has been captured not long afterwards by a strange flying machine… which later droppe some explosives on the island, with the results you can plainly see."
"Yeah… we saw that strange machine getting closer, and then this happened…" Homura answered. "At least those annoying Unowns seem to have gone away… but what about Ash and the others?"
"We're afraid they're still nside…" Gary answered. "Our Pokemon might be able to dig a way in, but it could be pretty dangerous."
"I guess so… if we aren't careful, we might end up causing a new and more dangerous cave-in." Lorelei answered, adjusting her glasses as she tried to think of a solution. "First off, the first thing to do is look for another way in. Since Team Rocket has estabilished an hideout here, they have obviously thought of alternative ways in and out, just in case anything happened."
Approving his colleague's thinking, Lance nodded his head. "Alright… then, let's take a look around, and see if we can find anything. Keep your eyes peeled, every second might be essential!"
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On the other side of the mountain, the escaped prisoners had all hit the ground or hidden behind some kind of improvised protection, in an attempt to shield themselves from the devastating explosion that had laid waste to that art of Quest Island! Jessie, James, Meowth, Ursula and Miyu were lying on the ground as well, stunned by the deafening noise and the blinding light… and as soon as things calmed down a little, everyone tentatively stood up, in an attempt to understand what was going on…
"Uuuugh… boy, now this was an ugly experience… I think I saw my whole life flash before my eyes!" Jessie exclaimed, angrily looking at her soot-covered scarlet hair. "What the heck did that woman do, anyway? What was the big idea of… er… bombing… this… place… what… on Earth…"
As she spoke, Jessie saw what had actually happened… and above all, she realized how serious the implications were! A whole section of the mountain had collapsed, leaving a smoking crater behind… and as Ursula, James, Meowth and Miyu picked themselves up as well, they looked in horror at what J had done, well knowing that other peoople might have remained under all that rubble…
"I... can't believe it!" Ursula murmured, failing to keep up her usual air of superiority. The realization that there still were people buried in that place, and that they might be injured or worse, filled her with revulsion for what Team Vicious had done. "For... what kind of crazy reason... have they done something so terrible?"
"They were friends of yours, right? You wanted to have us fall right into a trap, didn't you, you bunch of scoundrels?" one of the escapees harshly called out Team Rocket. Jessie quickly turned to the one who had just spoken, seeing that he had been joined in his protest by several of the recently-freed prisoners. They did not trust Jessie, James and Meowth one bit, and the shocking happenings that had just taken place did not help. However, the goofy criminal trio was not about to just lay down and accept the accusation... especially since they had done something good for once!
"Hey! Hey, hold on a second here! let us talk about it!" the alarmed James exclaimed. "Why... would we want to deceive you? We'd have nothing to gain from it, and besides... haven't you seen the way they just dropped a bomb on us? That woman didn't care if we were caught in the blast ourselves!"
"He's right." Miyu stated, placing herself between the angry mob and Team Rocket. "And this is not what we should be thinking about at the moment, anyway! There are people buried underneath that... and they might need our help! If you really want to be ingrates to those three, do it after our friends have been confirmed safe!"
Several former hostages weren't very glad to just drop the matter and be done with it, and only after a few unnerving moments did they agree to let the issue fall to the side and concentrate on the more urgent matter... which, by the way, had another complication going for it: the tunnel from which they had escaped had not crumbled during those dreadful moments, and if they wanted to get back inside to save Ash and his friends, they'd have to do it fast and get the rubble out of the way...
And that was when Ursula finally shook herself out of the trance she had fallen in, overcoming her fear and horror and starting to search among her Pokeballs for a Pokemon that might have helped her in that situation! "Alright, then! If I have to be the one helping Dee-Dee out this time, so be it... Geez, leave it to that ditz to put herself in such a pinch... Come out, Gabite! We need your help!"
"Fly, Yanmega!" Jessie exclaimed, letting the majestic Ogre Garner Pokemon out of her Pokeball and making her appear close to Ursula's Gabite with a loud buzzing of wings. Miyu and James let Houndoom and Carnivine out... and soon enough, all four Pokemon, with Gabite in the lead, ran to the mound of fallen rocks and began using their attacks to clear the way! Gabite attacked first with his Dragon Rush attack, smashing some rocks... Carnivine extended his Vine Whips to remove more of the obstruction, Yanmega used her Bug Buzz attack to generate a number of soundwaves that smashed more rocks... and Miyu's Houndoom was melting the obstacles in the way with his Flamethrower attack, slowly but surely clearing the way...
"It's working! Keep it up, everybody!" Miyu cheered on...
oooooooooo
Taking extreme care not to move anything, Brock sidestepped a mound of stones that had crushed a few chairs and a table - which were thankfully empty - and avoided a lamp that had fallen from the ceiling. Still no signs of either Dawn or anyone else of the team, and he was beginning to fear that something bad had really happened to them... but just then, close to a particularly large rock that had fallen close to a chasm, he managed to see a light going on and off rythmically, as if someone was trying to use Morse code to communicate with him. The Rock-type expert didn't know much about that particular code... but he immediately understood that it was a Pokemon calling for help, and judging from the rather unorthodox way of calling for attention... well, Brock did know a Pokemon that might have used that extravagant way to signal his presence...
"That must be... Dawn's Pachirisu!" he murmured to himself, quickly walking over to the edge of the cliff in order to reach him. "Pachirisu! Pachirisu, hold on, I'm coming! Where's Dawn, is she alright?"
The electric squirrel smiled in relief when the dark-skinned boy came closer, and pointed to the bottom of the cliff, at least ten metres down. Having a bad feeling about it, Brock picked Pachirisu up and looked down, taking advantage of the light given to him by Pachirisu's Flash attack. His heart skipped a beat as he saw Dawn lying face down on the floor, with her Piplup standing close and calling out to her! He was at least a little relieved when he saw that the blue-haired pre-teen was moving, and was talking to Piplup in order to reassure him... however, it was clear that she was injured and couldn't stand up.
"Pachirisu, listen... can you point me to a way for me to reach Dawn, and then get back here and go warn the others?" Brock asked the Electric-type, who nodded and pointed to a small, rather run-down path going down the border of the cliff. Exercising maximum care, the young man began following the narrow road, with Pachirisu acting like an improvised lantern... and after a few minutes, they managed to get to the bottom of the cliff, causing Dawn to lift her head in their direction and smile weakly.
"T-thanks, Pachirisu! Brock... it's good that you're okay!" the injured pre-teen murmured, wincing in pain.
Brock walked up to his young friend and crouched down beside her to check on her conditions... and as he did so, he managed to see that a few tears of pain were still streaming from her eyes. "Dawn... what happened here? How are you feeling?"
"Piplup! Pip!" Piplup chirped, pointing at his trainer's battered legs.
"W-well... I suppose... I've been better..." Dawn stammered, as Brock gave a worried look at her legs, immediately understanding what the problem was. "I... jumped from up there... to avoid getting flattened by a landslide... but I'm afraid I landed badly..."
"That seems to be the case, Dawn... Both your legs are broken, there's really no way around it." Brock said seriously. "We won't be able to move you around in these conditions, we need to think of a way to let the rescuers get down here instead. Of course, that's assuming we can get them to enter this place, as the landslides have blocked off several entrances."
Brock took his water canteen and let Dawn get a few sips from it, which calmed her down and made her feel a little better already. "Phew... thank you, Brock... if only there was... ugh... a viable path or something like that... the rescuers would have no trouble... getting here!" Dawn stated... and Brock, after thinking about it for a short while, smiled and snapped his fingers, having had a good idea!
"Of course! Why didn't I think of that before?" he exclaimed. "If there is no road to get down here, nothing forbids we create one ourselves! Steelix, Crobat! Come here, we need your help!"
Brock whipped out two Pokeballs and let out both the gigantic steel serpent and the huge bat... but right then, a third Pokemon came out on his own accord and materialized in front of the surprised Brock and Dawn, leaving both of them quite perplexed: Rhyhorn, the latest Pokemon the young man had caught, grunted in determination, despite being somewhat tired from his earlier battle, and scraped one of his paws on the ground, as if he was getting ready to charge at the rocky cliff.
"What? Huh... Rhyhorn, I hadn't called you out..." Brock stated hesitatingly, feeling like the problem of Pokemon getting out of their Pokeballs on their own had transferred from Misty to himself...
"Rhyhorn! Rhy, rhyhorn!" the rock-skinned rhino grunted, small clouds of steam coming out of his nostrils. He was still rather tired from his battle with Team Rocket, and he felt rather humiliated because he hadn't been fighting to the best of his abilities. Brock figured he wanted to make up for it somehow… however, the dark-skinned boy didn't seem to make a huge deal out of it, and gently caressed his new companion's scarred horn.
"I know what you mean, Rhyhorn, but it's not necessary for you to push yourself so much…" he stated. "Let your more rested companions take care of this, okay? Don't worry, you can get back to your Pokeball…"
Rhyhorn sighed in resignation, though it was plain that he wasn't sold on what Brock was telling him… and soon after, the young man recalled him in his Pokeball and turned to Steelix and Crobat, talkig to the giant bat first. "Okay, Crobat… use Supersonic and try to find out where it is safest to dig through!" he affirmed. "Can you do this? Take care that the ground must not be too hard or too soft, or we'll take a big risk…"
Crobat moved his four wings and shrieked in assent, as if saying that of course he could do that! The Poison / Flying Pokemon flew to the tall cliff from which Dawn had fallen and let out a piercing scream, directing it towards the stone in order to find the ideal point where to start digging. After a while, Crobat stopped his Supersonic attack and pointed to the place he had found… to which Steelix answered by quickly throwing himself at the cliff and using a Dig attack to open a hole in the bedrock, at the same time taking extreme care not to cause a cave-in! Carefully, Steelix moved so that his body would leave a usable tunnel behind, going up ever so slightly in order to create a slope in his work. A rumbling noise filled thecave, as the steel serpent made his way through the stone… and finally, he managed to emerge, shattering the floor on the upper level and letting out a victorious roar: he had left a perfectly cylindric tunnel behind him, large enough to allow a human to get through and go for the upper to the lower level, and vice versa, without any undue risk!
"Great idea, Brock!" Dawn exclaimed, almost forgetting about her own injuries as he raised a fist in front of her. "You were always the reliable one in our team!"
"Crobat, crobat!" Crobat shrieked in assent, clapping his wings together. Brock smiled and gave a thumbs-up to his friends, before letting yet another Pokemon out!
"Okay… Happiny, we need you now! Plase come out!" he stated. The pre-evolved form of Chansey soon appeared before the young man, a hand raised enthusiastically as if she was eager to help!
"Happy!"
"Good to see you're ready, Happiny…" Brock said with a small nod. "Please, can you help Piplup watch over Dawn? Make sure she doesn't get stressed and that she's well enough for when the rescuers arrive. Dawn, don't worry, I'll make sure to get help as soon as possible! Piplup, Pachirisu… you stay with Dawn as well! I don't think I need to tell you what to do, right?"
"Piplup!" the small penguin answered, while Pachirisu nodded.
Dawn, for her part, took a pair of deep breaths to ease the pain in her legs somewhat, and spoke. "Thanks, Brock… I'm sorry… to cause this much trouble for you guys…"
"Don't worry about it, Dawn! I'll be back with help as soon as I can!" Brock reassured her before he and Crobat climbed up the tunnel Steelix had created with his Dig attack, and soon emerged on the upper level, running back to where they had started…
oooooooooo
Ash, Pikachu, Infernape and Misty were still sitting where Brock had left them, waiting for him or someone else of their group to show up, and they were having an hard time hiding their anxiety… thy couldn't do much excepts sit there, and hope that none of their friends had gotten hurt, and it was all the more difficult for Ash, reckless and impatient as he was…
"Darn, how much longer until they show up again?" the boy asked, his broken arm failing to dampen his spirit. He was still in pain, but he could handle it. "I hope nothing happened to them… I hate to be stuck here while they're probably risking their lives in this maze!"
"I know, Ash… same goes for me! But we have to keep our heads cool, and hope for the best!" Misty said in an attempt to reassure him. "More to the point, we'll have to think of how we can get out of here after we've found our friends… I'm afraid the landslide has blocked off many of the possible exits…"
"We can still find more ways out…" Ash answered as he smiled gently to his old friend. "And our Pokemon can always find some other way with which to… Huh? Now what…?"
Infernape stood up and pointed to a pile of rocks who were shaking in quite an unsettling way… and Ash and Misty stod up as well, fearing this was a prelude to another landslide! They tried to get away and reach a way out… but they quickly stopped when they saw some white steam coming out of the place where the rocks were moving!
"Pikachu?" Pikachu asked, recognizing an Ice-type atack at work. A second later, the rocks shattered from the extreme cold, leaving behind an opening large enough for a human to fit through! A thickly-armored Kingler scuttled carefully through the opening, followed right behind by a few familiar people…
"Heh… will you look at that! You were here, close to where we had gotten separated, and we hadn't even noticed!" Gary commented ironically. Ash could not remember ever having been happier at hearing thevoice of his oldest rival, as he and other trainers walked through the hole Kingler had blown in the wall. Homura, Lance and Lorelei were right behind him…
"Gary! Lance!" Ash exclaimed in pleased surprise.
"Miss Lorelei, Homura! I'm so glad you managed to find us!" Misty said, feeling a lot more relieved now that she knew they were alive and well. There was still someone missing, though…
"Well, that was obvious! You surely didn't think we would have just been sitting on our butts without doing anything, did you?" Gary answered. His smile faded when he saw that Ash was cradling his clearly-injured left arm. "Hey, Ashy-boy, you alright? Your arm seems…"
"Yeah…" Ash answered, gritting his teeth. "A rock fell right on my arm… And we still don't know where Brock, Dawn, Team Rocket, Miyu and Ursula are…"
"Well if you're looking for me, here I am!" Brock answered, walking out of the gallery he had gotten away through, with Steelix and Crobat right behind. "And I'm glad to see a few more people here… but how did you manage to find us?"
"We can chalk it up to our Pokemon's skills and a pinch of luck." Lance affirmed, dusting his cape. "But Dawn is still missing… do you happen to know where she is?"
Brock coughed in order to clear the dust in his throat. "I found her a few minutes ago… sadly, she was injured in the bombing. Not severely, but she still can't move. We have to make sure the rescue teams get to her, and it won't be that easy." He affirmed, causing the others – especially Ash and Misty – to get quite alarmed at the news. "What we need to do now, is find a way out of this place, somehow…"
"Of course…" Homura answered. "Then, what are we waiting for? We find the nearest exit and we try to dig our way out… hm? What's he doing now?"
Brock's Crobat had started to look around himself as soon as the Rock-type expert had rejoined Ash and Misty… and now, he was noisily flapping around the trainers to warn them of something he had heard. It seemed like the giant bat wanted to tell something very important to them… probably, that their friends had gone in another direction and were trying to dig their way out, or dig them out of there!
"What's up, Crobat? Did you hear something?" Brock asked.
"Pika pi, pikachu pi... pika pika chuuu!" Pikachu exclaimed, having heard something himself. It sounded like the sound of rocks scraping against each other, or were getting hit with something heavy… Yes, there was no doubt about this, someone was trying to demolish the rocks obstructing the exit from that hideous place!
"I think… Pikachu is telling us that the rest of the team is that way!" a more hopeful Ash commented. "C'mon, we have to go tha way! It's our best chance to get out of here and find some help for Dawn!"
"Of course." Lorelei stated. "But before we do, I need to call on someone… Come, Lapras! We need your aid!"
The glasses-wearing Elite Four let the graceful Water/Ice turtle Pokemon out of his Pokeball, and Lapras let out his melodic call as he took shape in front of Lorelei… who wasted no time patting the large Pokemon on his head and telling him what was going on. "Thanks, Lapras… listen, we're in a bit of a pinch here… can you help us out here?"
"LAPRAAAAS!" the turtle-like Pokemon sang as he nodded fiercely…
oooooooooo
A powerful gout of flame from Miyu's Houndoom struck the boulder blocking the entrance to the cavern… but sadly, even this proved to be insufficient as the massive rock stood in its place, only a few cracks appearing upon it, and the flame soon gave out as the breathless helldog panted for air.
"Houndoom…" Miyu said as she assisted her Pokemon. "Are you okay? Sorry, I'm afraid I kinda ran you through the wringer today…"
The Fire / Dark dobermann-like Pokemon shook his head no, as if saying his trainer didn't have to apologize. But things hadn't gotten much better yet… even the strongest of Jessie and James' Pokemon had not managed to do much against that massive rock…
"I'm afraid your Gabite's the only one who can do something, girlie." Meowth affirmed. "I don't think I'd be much help, except for leaving a claw mark on the stone. And my claws would crack too…"
"I don't need to have you tell me that, kitten… I can figure that out myself!" Ursula snapped, her frustraion and anxiety getting at her. "Sigh… alright, Gabite, I know I'm asking a lot of you, but… you're the only one who can blast that rock apart! So, please… pul out all the stops for this one!"
The landshark grunted an affirmative and went back to work, another Dragon Rush striking the boulder with fury! Several pieces of stone were chipped off, but it still was not enough… it would still take more to destroy that massive obstacle, and Gabite was not going to hold out forever…
But luck was on the rescue team's side – as soon as Gabite took a step backwards and prepared for yet another strike, a mighty blow struck the granite boulder from the inside, causing some of it to chip off yet again… and Team Rocket jumped up in surprise as the rock began to move a few millimeters from its position! Gabite looked at the slight fissures in the stone with wonder… and then grinned like a hungry shark as he realized that the other trainers that were still inside the cavern were still doing all they could to dig themselves out!
"Gab! Gabite!"
"It's them!" James exclaimed. "The twerps are still alive… and trying to get out!"
"Hehehee… I knew they would not die so easily!" Jessie answered. "Then, let's not waste any more time, and get this peeble out of the way!"
"Talk about a peeble…" Meowth sighed. The feline Pokemon sneaked a peek behind him, and was glad to see that some rescue teams were approaching from the closest town – a few Pokemon Rangers riding Pidgeots were accompanying a couple of helicopters whose rotors could already be heard in the distance… "Still, more good news! Looks like a rescue team is on the way!"
"About time too! They sure took their sweet time noticing all that ruckus!" Ursula commented, as she silently cheered for her Gabite to bring the last obstruction down…
oooooooooo
The moment was tense and filled with expectation, both inside and outside the cavern. Lorelei's Lapras had used several Ice Beams to weaken the massive rock standing in their way, while Brock's Pokemon, especially Croagunk and Graveler, hit the iced parts of the rock with all the strength they could muster, and even Gible was using his immense physical power to try and break the weakened parts of the boulder. Lance, who was standing on the sidelines but was ready to intervene should the need have arisen, couldn't help but be impressed at how the small Dragon / Ground type was able to deal such mightly blows…
But even so, work was going slowly, and the Pokemon were seriously rsking to get fatigues. Brock's Graveler was still not really used to his new form, after having been a Geodude for so long, and there wasn't a great deal of space to work with anyway… which left Croagunk and Graveler with few options other than alternatively striking at the rock, slowly chipping away at it.
"Darn, it's taking longer than I'd like…" Brock affirmed. "There has to be another way to break through… or maybe we should try to get out of another side. If this keeps up, we'll only waste our Pokemon's strength…"
"My Lapras is still going strong… but I guess it's not quite the same for the others." Lorelei commented, seeing that Graveler was getting winded after the latest Rollout attack. "Maybe you're right, we should look somewhere else…"
The Ice-type expert stopped herself as a white beamof light came out of one of Brock's Pokeballs… and just like before, the young man's Rhyhorn appeared with a warlike roar, causing the suprised Graveler and Croagunk to hang back… just in time before the fierce rhinoceros charged at the boulder and struck it with his most powerful Horn Attack! However, the damage was negligible, while Rhyhorn remained stunne for a few seconds…
"Rhyhorn!" Brock exclaimed, checking on his latest Pokemon. "Rhyhorn, what are you doing? I just told you, you don't have to exhaust yourself… you've already done more than enough for us, and you don't want to hurt yourself by pushing yourself too hard!"
"Horrrrrn…" Rhyhorn grunted, as he sadly shook his head. Sure, Rhyhorns were known for being stubborn… but in Brock's opinion, this went beyond even what was normal for the species.. Brock sighed and tried to calm his Pokemon down… but before he could do so, Rhyhorn talked again, as he tried to explain the reason why he was pushing himself so hard. "Rhy, rhyhorn! Hooornnn, rhy rhy... rhyhorn!"
"What?" Brock asked, furrowing his brow as everyone around seemed to be asking themselves just what was going on. "Yes… I see what you mean, Rhyhorn, but… you don't have to repay me, or anything like that. When you were injured, on Knot Island… I helped you because I wanted to help you, not because I wanted you to be in my debt…"
"I don't think that's the problem, Brock…" Homura said, rubbing at his chin. "I think… Rhyhorn has another reason for wanting to help. Listen to him…"
"Rhyhorn... rhy rhy horn!" the rhinoceros grunted, nodding his head… and after a few moments, Brock nodded, a pensive expression on his face that showed he had not thought of that possibility…
"I understand, Rhyhorn… this is something you want to show to yourself as well, right?" the young man asked… and after his Pokemon grunted an affirmative, and he stood in his place pondering the answer, Brock smiled at Rhyhorn and nodded as well. "Okay, but try not to overwork yourself! If you believe in yourself, I will believe in you as well! Go… and good luck!"
The Ground / Rock type smirked, his tough, angular face relaxing a little… and attacked the boulder again! And again, and again… each attack sending a reverberating blow through the cavern, but failing to affect the large rock in a significant way! As he tried to get away and then try again, Rhyhorn suddenly stopped and serenely closed his eyes, as he began glowing in a gentle white radiance…
The Pokemon stood up on his hind legs, taking on a bipedal shape as the light completely swallowed him, illuminating the dark cave and forcing both Pokemon and trainers to shield their eyes! A few seconds passed as the light embraced everything… and then it faded, revealing that Rhyhoon had evolved into a mighty Rhydon, a bulky Ground / Rock type with a grey, rock-hard skin, looking like some sort of cross between a rhinoceros and a dinosaur. A large drill-like horn jutted out of his face, where the nose should have been, and several rocky spines could be seen running down his spine. His front legs had become arms, ending in five-fingered hands with small claws, and even his eyes were different, a telltale glimmer of intelligence shining inside of them.
"RHYDOOOOON!" the new Pokemon roared, the walls trembling at the sound of his mighty voice. Then, as Gible, Graveler, Croagunk and Lapras watched in awe, Rhydon raised an arm and motioned for them to make way. As soon as the way was clear, the terrifying Ground / Rock type took aim, and the horn of the tip of his muzzle began spinning like a drill, creating a terrifying sound of stone scraping against stone! Rhydon lowered his head… and charged, his drill screeching on the solid granite!
"Awesome! This is a Drill Horn attack!" Brock exclaimed, a fist clenched in front of himself. "Keep it up, Rhydon! You can do it!"
oooooooooo
Ursula's Gabite roared again, unleashing yet another attack on the huge boulder and denting it onc again… but he was not able to make much progress still. Sighing in frustration, the landshark knelt down and tried to draw some breath before returning to attack. He was a little surprised when he felt his trainer's hands gently placing themselves on his shoulders, and turned around to see Ursula trying to encourage him, firmly yet kindly!
"Gabite… don't give up, I know you can do this!" the rich heiress told him. "In every competition we've taken part in along with our companions, you've always done your best not to disappoint me, and I'm grateful for that! Even when that blue-haired ditz defeated us, I was proud of you… I knew you were always doing your best! It's the same thing now… only, now we have people to save! Get angry, Gabite! Show what you're made of, and remember… that I'm always on your side! Smash that peeble to dust!"
Gabite smiled and picked himself up, walking to the boulder. He could hear the voices of people gathering atound, the noise of the rescue vehicles coming through… but at that moment, his mind was only on the obstacle in front of himself. His trainer had faith in him… and he had no plans to let her down just now!
A red flare lit up in the landshark's eyes, and Ursula herself jumped up in fright when Gabite let out a thunderous roar as it prepared a new attack! The girl stepped backwards as Jessie and James hugged each other with a terrified wail… butas she realized what Gabite was going to do, a victorious smile graced her face!
"Sure! That's it! This.. this is an Outrage attack! We've got this in the bag now!"
oooooooooo
Rhydon stepped backwards and aimed another Drill Horn at the boulder… but before he could do that, someone else decided he had to help out as well! Brock's Gible stepped forth and opened his wide jaws, pointing them at the damaged boulder standing in the way… At first surprised, Brock smiled with pride as an orange glow lit up in the small dragon's mouth, and a split second later, the same unknown energy attack that had left Ash and his friends baffled until then shot out at tremendous speed! Several shooting stars struck the boulder relentlessly, exploding upon it and caused a part of it t crumble, under Lance's disbelieving gaze! Brock had made a few references to that attack nobody knew anything about… but now that he was actually seeingit, things were a lot clearer! And above all, he knew that wasn't just a simple Gible…
"I can't believe it…" the dragon tamer murmured. "That attack could only be…"
Rhydon thanked the drake with a grunt and a gruff smile… then, he charged at what remained of the boulder, executing a flawless Drill Horn attack… just as outside, Ursula's Gabite unleashed his Outrage attack!
...
...
*CRAAAAAAAAASH!*
Struck from both sides, the massive rock could take no more and shattered, raising a tremendous cloud of dust all around as some fresh air finally filtered in the underground base! As soon as the dust cleared, the occupants of the cave could see who was outside… and they all cheered in joy as they saw Miyu, Ursula, Team Rocket and their Pokemon standing outside, and that the rescue teams were arriving on the scene as well! Ash could hardly believe it… the bad situation they had fallen in had been solved in the best of ways!
"We… we did it!" Ash exclaimed, taking a deep breath of fresh air. "Man, this time… this time it really looked bad, didn't it? How are you, everyone? You alright?"
"Heh… I knew you were too tough to go down ust like that!" Jessie exclaimed. "Of course we're okay, twerp! Rather, you seem to be a little beat up…"
"Yeah…" Misty said, looking at Ash's left arm, which he was still holding gingerly. "By the way, we'd better recall our Pokemon and let the rescue teams in, Dawn is still awaiting rescue!"
"Of course!" Brock answered… before caressing his Pokemon on the head, in pride and joy! "Congratulations, guys… you were fantastic, all of you!"
"Nicely done, Gabite!" Ursula said, hugging her Pokemon. "I knew you would do it… you're always the best!"
"GABITE!" Gabite roared proudly, accepting his trainer's show of gratitude.
ooooooooo
Luckily, things had been smooth sailing from then on. Thanks to Brock's Steelix and the passage he had created, the rescue teams had managed to reach the place where Dawn was lying. Thankfully, also thanks to Pipup, Pachirisu and Happiny who were tending to her, Dawn had managed not to faint as she waited for rescue… and all it took was for the medics to set her legs somewhat and load her on a stretcher, before getting out of the cave… where Dawn was immediately surrounded by her friends trying to ascertain if she was alright!
"Hey, guys…" Dawn murmred, Piplup and Pachirisu in her arms, managing a smile despite the pain. "That's… good… looks like we're all here!"
"Piplup!" the blue penguin chirped, glad to be able to once again the fresh air.
"Yeah… we've done it somehow!" Ash answered, as a medic tried to get him to have his arm tended to.
Misty got close to the stretcher Dawn was lying on, and placed a hand on her friend's forehead. "Now, don't try too hard and just think of resting! You'll be up and about before you know it!"
"Hey, Dee-Dee… no playing jokes on us just now that we've gotten you out of that place!" Ursula exclaimed, pointing an index finger at Dawn. "You still owe me a rematch, remember that!"
Dawn giggled goofily, staring at her rival with determination. "I couldn't forget it… if I tried!" she answered, before she was carried onboard the helicopter, the other members of the team climbing in right after.
Now that Deoxys' unnatural aurora borealis was fading, the sky was getting darkened by menacing storm-clouds… but even so, that dangerous adventure had had an happy ending.
At least for now…
oooooooooo
TO BE CONTINUED…
Author's note: Hehee… and there you go! Hope I haven't jerked you guys around too much! My intention was to create a thrilling and suspenceful chapter… and I think I've succeeded on that! Next chapter will simply be an aftermath for this one… before we move to new, more xciting events! See you soon, everyone, and I hope you enjoyed this!