Chapter 22: Rocking on through Rock Tunnel

Ash and co were now on their way to Celadon City where Ash will get his next badge, but before they can get there, they have to go through the very dark Rock Tunnel, which can lead ot dead ends and cave ins for many inexperienced trainers.

Fortunately for Ash, Brock in a natural at navigating caves, and with the help of his Zubat, they won't get lost anytime soon.

"So Brock, how deep do you think Rock Tunnel goes into?" Ash asked with a cocked head "Hard to tell" Brock replied "The tunnel tends to dive really deep into the ground, that's why we're not really going to stay in there for a while" "I hope so, I don't want to stay in a creepy dark cave for very long" Misty shuddered at the thought.

"Does this mean you're afraid of the dark more than bugs?"

"Nope"

After they found the entrance to Rock Tunnel, they pulled out their flashlights and began their search for any possible pathways to take while they traverse the dark cave.

Ash decided to help out by having his Pikachu spark his cheeks up and use Flash so they can see better. Pikachu was soon glowing like a glow stick and looked rather silly. Also helping out are Charmeleon, with his tail flame, Zubat, with his echolocation, and Butterfree with his Compound Eyes ability.

"Oh man, even with all of the help we have, walking through this place is still a chore" Misty groaned as she tripped on a rock for what appears to be the eighth time" "Yeah, I personally miss going out in broad daylight already" "Pikachu pi"

"I just hope Zubat returns, I don't want to spend a few days in here just trying to find a way out" Eventually, Zubat returned and squeaked to Brock.

"Awesome! He says that he found passageway that leads to the exit"

"Finally, let's get moving" Misty said with impatience, but as she rushed ahead, she tripped over another rock. Only this rock wasn't a rock, but the segment of an Onix, who woke up and glared at all of them.

"You just had to act before you think did ya Misty" Ash said with a tick mark on his forehead, with Misty rubbing the back of her head in embarrassment.

"RUUUUUUUUUUUUN!"

The gang ran off from the giant rock snake, whom was slithering close behind them, twisting and weaving around stalactites and stalagmites while dashing towards them with Rage.

"I don't think that Onix is gonna calm down anytime soon" Ash huffed out still running.

"Lucky for us I got just the thing to stop him, Starmie, GO!" She then sent out her starfish Pokemon which was then ordered to fire its Water Pulse attack. It sent Onix flying across the tunnel, but this caused an adverse effect.

It caused a cave in that trapped Brock and Zubat.

"BROCK!"

"Are you Ok?!" Misty shouted across the rocky wall.

"I'm fine, I'll try and dig my way through this cave in" Brock said while sending out his Geodude and Kabutops. Ash meanwhile sent out his Squirtle and Cubone, having sent them out to erode and dig away the rocks, and Misty doing the same thing with her water types.

On the other side of the cave in, Brock is having Kabutops blasting away chunks of rock with Hydro Pump, and Geodude was shoveling away boulders with his hands, but that was when Zubat sensed something and began squeaking with panic.

"What is it Zubat?" Brock asked, but his question was answered when a horde of Machop approached them, and the looks on their faces indicated that they were looking for trouble. "This doesn't look good" Brock muttered as he and his Pokemon shifted their attention to their attackers. Despite being at a type disadvantage, Kabutops was managing to hold his own very well, Slashing at them and knocking them away with Aqua Jet. Geodude however wasn't doing so well, as he was getting constantly kicked around by the Machop and their Low Kick attacks.

"Zubat quick, use Supersonic to stop them!" Zubat flew in and screeched very loudly. This caused the Machop to start attacking each other in confusion, allowing for Geodude to recover in time to dodge another Machop's Karate Chop attack.

On the other side, Ash and Misty could hear a battle going on.

"I hope Brock's ok" Ash hoped with some worry in his voice "We can't worry about that right now, we gotta get these rocks out of the way" Misty said while digging out the rocks with her own hands. They eventually managed to poke a hole to see what was going on, and they saw Brock being on set by a group of Machop.

"Come on, just a little further..." Misty strained as she managed to push away the rocks that were eroded with water. She was then able to see that the Machop were now retreating.

"Brock, are you ok?" Ash asked "I'm fine, just a few scrapes" Brock replied, they then heard the sound of thudding footsteps.

They then saw humanoid muscular creature wearing what appeared to be a speedo. "A Machoke!" Ash shouted in surprise, taking out his Pokedex to scan it.

Machoke, the Superpower Pokemon, and the evolved form of Machop. They are strong enough to lift a dump truck with ease, and are often used in construction projects and moving efforts.

Kabutops got ready to defend his trainer, but he was swiftly knocked out by a Dynamic Punch attack. Geodude managed to shake him with his Magnitude attack, but only for a little bit, and Machoke quickly grabbed Zubat before he could use Supersonic again, and chucked him away with Seismic Toss, leaving it alone with Geodude.

It was clear that this Machoke was a bully, getting kicks by beating up other Pokemon, and it was currently landing very effective hits with Karate Chop on Geodude, whom was defending with Defense Curl.

"If we don't do something fast then Geodude will crack!" Ash shouted, with Pikachu repeating what he said. "I know, there's gotta be something we can do before something bad happens" Brock said while trying to think of a strategy. That was when he had an idea.

"Geodude, use Rollout"

Geodude then tucked his arms in and began rolling at high speeds at Machoke. Normally, this wouldn't have done much, but because Geodude had used Defense Curl multiple times, it ended up doing more damage than it would normally have.

"Great going Geodude, now speed up with Rock Polish!"

Geodude's rolling form began to shine a white color that eventually dissipated, which then zoomed back into the fray to hit Machoke some more.

Angered, Machoke smacked him into the ground with Counter with a loud CRACK. a sizable fracture appearing on Geodude's head.

"OH NO!"

"That can't be good!"

"PIKA PI!"

"GEODUDE!"

Geodude attempted to get up, but was stomped down by Machoke, whom was grinning smugly, as if taunting him to get back up only for him to get pushed back down.

"Come on Geodude, you can do this!"

"Geo..."

His attempts to get up only made Machoke press down on him harder, threatening to crack him some more.

"DUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUDE!"

Geodude's body suddenly began to glow blue as he was then surrounded by a field of energy that startled Machoke.

"Now way..."

"It can't be..."

"But it is..."

Geodude's body began to get larger, and another pair of arms sprouted, along with a pair of legs. Eventually, the light dissipated, and in place of Geodude was Graveler.

"Graveleeeeeeeeeeer"

"Alright Graveler!" Brock shouted in awe while Ash took out his Pokedex again.

Graveler, the rock Pokemon, and the evolved form of Geodude. If a Graveler's skin is rougher, it's a sign that it's stronger, they roll down steep slopes without slowing down.

"Alright Graveler, let's show this guy how tough you are!"

"Graveler!"

Machoke rushed forward with a Dynamic Punch, but Graveler countered with Mega Punch. Graveler then put his new pair of arms to good use and began to use Mega Punch to deal some major damage and push Machoke back. Machoke growled and engaged again with Submission, but Graveler blocked the attack with all four of his arms then retaliated by grabbing Machoke and slamming him into the ground with great force.

For the finisher, Graveler leapt into the air and his arm glowed red and he slammed into Machoke's body with incredible force, knocking the fighting type out.

"Alright Graveler, you learned Hammer Arm!"

"Gravel gravel" The rock Pokemon said as he pumped his arms up.

"Come on, we still gotta get out of this cave" Misty said, ruining the moment for the two of them. "Coming..." Brock said while downtrodden.

They eventually found the starlit exit and a nearby Pokemon Center, where they all decided to go and spend the night at and recover.

"That was some day" Ash said while he and Pikachu got ready for bed "You said it, and Geodude evolved from that fight with Machoke" Brock said while laying down.

Ash knew that there was going to be more to come soon, and they need to be ready when that moment comes.

End of Chapter, been a long time since I made a chapter for this story, but I'm back!