Chapter 16: Rusturf Tunnel
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Sword was ecstatic as trainer and Pokemon walked down the road that led to Rusturf Tunnel. She had seen May and Brendan exit the Pokemart as she had been heading towards the Pokemon Center. They were talking about there being some kind of Gym in the town, and from the looks of it they both were going to challenge it once they got a few more Pokemon. Thankfully, though, it sounded as if they were going to be heading for Route 104 again to do their training and capturing, meaning that Sapphire herself was safe for the time being.
Nonetheless she had flicked the hood of her jacket up as a precaution, and hidden the necklace that her father had given her on one of the rare occasions that he had been home. It was a chunk of sapphire, a perfect fit for the girl as it was both her name and her birthstone. She had hung it on a silver chain and had worn it ever since. Those had been the good days, back when she was six and had not a care in the world. As Sapphire's anger towards her parents began to fester and pollute her mind she had debated taking it off and selling it. But old habits died hard, and the rather unique looking gem continued to hang in its proper place around her neck.
They had battled a few wild Pokemon, as well as several trainers. Sword was quickly getting strong, just as strong as the rest of her team. Already he had mastered Confusion and Double Team, and even learned how to use Teleport. That had come in handy, as the wild Pokemon were strong and several times Sapphire had been forced to have Sword teleport them away from danger, or use it to get back to the city to stop by the Pokemart to buy some basic supplies to replenish their stock. All of the difficult battles were worth it, though, as Sword finally hit level 11 and began to perfect Disarming Voice.
"Your sister is going to have a lot of catching up to do." Sapphire murmured as Sword took out one of the many Nincada the bug catcher she was battling had. Sword grinned. His sister had always been the stronger of the two Ralts - Sword had hatched a bit prematurely, hence why he was so small and somewhat sickly - and it was nice to be ahead for once. Plus this time he'd be able to help Dancer perfect some attacks, not the other way around.
The duo continued on down Route 116, eventually reaching their goal. The huge mountain range that cut part of Hoenn off from the rest of the region loomed in front of them. A large hole had been drilled into the rather imposing rocky face, and it was this hole that Sapphire and Sword entered.
Rusturf Tunnel was abandoned, save for a few wild Wishmurs and Skittys that the duo saw. Human life was simply gone from the manmade passageway, and eventually the smooth walls present in the beginning of the tunnel transitioned into ones that were a bit chunkier, as if the rocks had been removed with a pickaxe or a hammer and chisel.
Sword suddenly flinched, and Sapphire glanced down at the little Pokemon in concern. Something had startled him, and as Sapphire glanced around the cave she suddenly felt her nerves go on edge. Something wasn't right, not with this oppressive atmosphere. Without thinking the girl sniffed the air a few times, before realizing that it was hopeless trying to detect anything with a weak human nose...wait a second.
"Where did that thought come from?" Sapphire wondered aloud as she shook her head to clear it. Sword shrugged glancing up at his trainer. He was just as confused as to why the girl was acting a bit like a Pokemon. Logically he knew that there shouldn't have been any way for the girl to sense that things weren't right, and yet she was just as unnerved as he was.
"Well, no use in debating it." Sapphire murmured eventually. "Let's go investigate."
"Ra!" Sword agreed wholeheartedly with his friend, and together the two began to walk even deeper into the cave, the girl unconsciously picking up her pace slightly. Rounding a corner, she was surprised to see the Aqua Grunt from Petalburg Forest, the one that had tried to rob Tristan. What was his name again? Oh yes, it was Eduardo. He wasn't alone, as there was a very scared looking Wingull next to him.
"I finally got the parts from that employee!" Eduardo said to himself, glee in his voice. "Captain Taryn will be so proud of me! Promotion here I come!"
"Not if I have anything to say about it." Sapphire replied coldly. Eduardo's head snapped around so fast that he almost got whiplash, and his eyes were as round as dinner plates when he caught sight of the girl.
"You!" He cried, pointing an accusatory finger at Sapphire.
"Yes, me." She sighed. "I suppose you know how things are going to work. You can hand over the briefcase and the Wingull, or I'll make you."
"No way! These are going straight to Captain Taryn." Eduardo snapped, pulling out his Pokeball and releasing Poochyena. The wolf pup looked to be much stronger now, and wasted no time darting forward in a vicious Bite attack. Sapphire dove out of the way, while Sword barely dodged it.
"Quick, use Double Team!" Sapphire shouted, and soon multiple copies of Sword surrounded the Poochyena. He had a frustrated look on his face, but listened to his trainers orders when Eduardo called for a Sand Attack. The wolf pup began to kick up immense amounts of the powdery substance that ripped through the doubles, though Sword cleverly used a short range Teleport to dodge it.
"Okay, now what?" Sapphire murmured to herself as she called for three more Double Teams in quick succession. By the third time, however, Eduardo had wised up to her trick, and ordered his Poochyena to use Odor Sleuth. Sapphire groaned aloud when she heard him call for that. There went her chance of wearing him out using Double Team. Odor Sleuth would increase Poochyena's ability to detect Sword's presence, and sure enough she was forced to have Sword use Teleport to dodge several Bite attacks.
This was bad. Sword was a bit weaker than Poochyena, and his Psychic type attributes meant that he was a bit weaker to Dark type moves, even though his secondary Fairy type lessened the damage. To make matters worse Eduardo's only Pokemon managed to hit Sword with a Sand Attack, lowering his accuracy.
Sapphire was racking her brains, trying to think. Confusion wouldn't affect Poochynea, she knew that for a fact. Teleport and Double Team dealt no damage naturally, meaning that the battle was going on in a continuous loop with only one possible outcome: another loss on her part.
No, she refused to accept that. Sensing his trainer's distress, Sword glanced backwards at his trainer, his horns flashing for a moment. Sapphire closed her eyes tightly, trying to think. And then suddenly it hit her, and she felt like a fool for not recognizing sooner that Confusion wasn't Sword's only attack. He knew another one as well, Disarming Voice. Sapphire wasn't certain of the typing attached to the move, and if it was a Psychic type attack they were doomed. But it was worth a shot.
"Sword, use Disarming Voice!" She called, noticing that Eduardo paled slightly. That was a good sign. As Poochyena drew closer to try and land a blow, Sword opened his mouth and let out a rather loud wail. It wasn't a sad cry, more akin to the meowing of a Meowth than an Exploud using Hyper Voice. Nonetheless Poochyena whimpered and staggered backwards, falling to the ground with his paws over his ears.
"C'mon, Poochyena, ignore it and use Howl!" Eduardo ordered. It was a war of noise as Poochyena climbed to his feet and threw back his head, letting out the longest and loudest Howl he could muster up. It drowned out Sword's own attack, and the little Pokemon wisely retreated a few feet using Teleport.
"Use Bite!" Poochyena rushed forward, clamping down on Sword's arm. Sword cried out, but cleverly turned it into another super effective Disarming Voice. Poochyena yowled in pain, inadvertently letting go of Sword's arm. Sword continued to let loose with the attack, pouring everything he had into the Fairy type move.
Poor Poochyena was incapable of withstanding the sonic assault, and toppled over onto the tunnel's floor. He made no more to rise, even as Sword stopped his cry. Eduardo had a furious look on his face, which only increased as Sapphire held out her hand expectantly. With a sigh, knowing that he had no choice, he handed over the briefcase, and the Wingull cawed loudly in his ear before hopping over to stand by Sapphire.
"This isn't over, small fry." Eduardo threatened before scurrying out of the tunnel. Sapphire frowned before looking over at Sword. Her partner was not in good condition, and was breathing quite heavily. The Bite attack had done a lot of damage.
"Well, I guess this settles it." Sapphire murmured. "We're just going to have to get stronger."
And with two run ins with Team Aqua, Sapphire's starting to realize that this isn't going to be as easy as she thought it would be.
So, what do you all think? Leave any comments, compliments, or constructive criticisms in a review. Eduardo's Poochyena will use Sand Attack to put out any flames!
