And we are off to the final town of Akala. But we'll have to get through Diglett's Tunnel first. We also meet some rather interesting characters along the way.
Chapter 12-Hand Holding Through the Cave
A week has past and Collin and Hau were giving the go ahead to finish their time on Akala. They met up with Kukui and Lillie outside of a cave.
"Okay you two. Olivia said to meet her in Konikoni City. One problem, the only way to get to it is through Diglett Tunnel." said Kukui, pointing at the cave.
"Heh, reminds me of Diglett Cave in Kanto." said Collin.
"Well be shocked and amazed as that's basically what this tunnel is. It shouldn't be too dangerous but from what I heard from Olivia is that there was some Team Skull goons hanging around."
"They shouldn't be a problem to us! Right Collin?" asked Hau.
"Pfft, does a Ursaring shit in the woods?" said Collin, bluntly so. "You guys ready to go?" he asked. Hau was already sprinting ahead.
"I'll see you in the tunnel Slowpokes!" he said waving.
"BE CAREFUL HAU!" shouted Kukui. He sighed but smiled. "That kid has so much energy, nothing will let him down."
"Yeah. Lillie, ready to head in?" asked Collin. Lillie seemed hesitant to talk for a second.
"Actually...do you mind if I check something in town? I might have seen something that caught my interest. You can go on ahead if you like." she said.
"Okay. Give me a shout when you're in the tunnel. Okay?"
"Okay. I'll see you soon!" she said walking back to the city. Collin let out a sigh and looked at the tunnel
"I'll see you whenever Kukui." Collin made his way into the tunnel just as Kukui wished him good luck. When Collin entered the tunnel, he was surprised out how bright it was compared to Diglett's Cave back in Kanto. Just like the name suggested, he did come across a bunch of Diglett with weird strands of hair sticking out. He took care of them no problem and went deeper into the tunnel. Collin then heard voices in the distance. Taking his time, he walked towards the voices so they became audible.
"I'm telling you, Team Skull need to back off here." said one male voice.
"I know. They keep edging themselves too close, making it dangerous for everyone. You'd think they'd learn by now." said a female voice.
"Well they seemed to have not done too much damage anyway and there is no sign of them. Wanna make a leave?" asked the male voice.
"Sure. This tunnel gives me the creeps." Collin walked closer to the people talking and saw they were wearing completely white clothing, including the hats. The female notice Collin right away. "Alola! Are you a challenger on the Island Challenge?" she asked.
"Yeah actually. I'm just on my way to Konikoni City to face Kahuna Olivia. Is there a problem?" asked Collin.
"Oh no. Not anymore at least. Aether heard about trouble in Diglett's Tunnel and we were sent out to investigate. Other than a few annoyed Diglett, the cave is fine." said the male.
"Oh wait, you're the Aether Foundation right?" asked Collin.
"Yep. I guess you must be new here. We of the Aether Foundation make sure that all Pokemon in Alola are protected from harm. We also looked after lost or injured Pokemon. We pride ourselves on this." said the female grunt.
"Yeah well you better hope it stays that way. I don't want another Team Plasma like in Unova." said Collin.
"I can assure you sir that we are far from what Team Plasma was like in Alola." said the male grunt, holding his hand in the air.
"Sorry, after having them all over Unova, kinda hard to trust anyone who protect Pokemon as their job. You seem fine though so I'll get over it." said Collin.
"Thank you for understanding sir. Unfortunately we best head back to the foundation. Feel free to visit the Foundation any time you like. Island Challengers are always welcomed." said the female grunt.
"Yeah. Bye for now and good luck on your Island Challenge." said the male grunt as the two walked deeper into the tunnel. Collin wasn't sure what to think of them, but he didn't let it get to him and walked deeper into the tunnel.
As Collin continued in tunnel, he was beginning to wonder where Lillie was. His train of thought was cut when a loud scream was heard from behind him. His instincts kicked in and ran towards the screaming. When he found the source of the screaming, his face became one of horror as he saw Lillie, on the ground, crying, with a hoard of Zubat surrounding her.
"SHOO! SHOO! OFF WITH YA!" he shouted, running towards the Zubat. Of course they wouldn't move and kept trying to hurt Lillie. "FINE YOU ASKED FOR IT! GO DARTRIX!" he shouted and Dartrix came to the rescue. "USE RAZOR LEAF!" The leafs shot right at the Zubat and like he predicted, they all fainted at the same time. Calling Dartrix back to his ball, Collin went to Lillie who was still on the ground crying. He placed a hand on her and she jumped back.
"NO! GO AWAY! DON'T HURT ME!" she screamed out.
"Lillie, it's me!" he said trying to hold her. She tried so hard to get away from his grip.
"DON'T HURT ME!" she screamed again. Collin gently cupped her face in his hands and made her look at him.
"Lillie, it's me Collin. Look at me Lillie it's okay now." he whispered. Lillie finally looked at him and calmed down. Without any warning, she jumped onto him and hugged him like her life depended on it.
"Collin! I'm so sorry! I-I was walking in the tunnel and then those Z-Zubat came and attacked me. I didn't mean to distract you and have you come all t-the way back." she said, still crying from the experience. Collin started to rub her back to calm her down more.
"It's okay. You didn't distract me. Your safety matters to me more than getting through the damn tunnel." he said. He noticed something was different. In the past few days whenever he was close to Lillie, he'd blush like crazy. But now, he didn't feel like that. Something about holding her, calming her down, felt natural.
"Are you sure?" she asked with a voice that was barely a whisper.
"As sure as anything. Come on, let's get out of this tunnel." he said grabbing a hold of Lillie's hand to lift her up. "You okay?"
"Yeah, I'm fine now. Thank you Collin." she said as they walked into the tunnel while still holding hands. Neither of them brought it to mention as, like before, it felt natural. As they walked further, they managed to see Hau and two other figures in black. Collin knew who they were and sighed.
"Lillie, hide behind that rock for a second." said Collin, pointing to said rock.
"Okay, be careful." She hid behind the rock and Collin walked up to meet Hau. "Sup Hau, these dick heads bothering you?"
"Nah, I was just ready to battle them."
"Battle them? Hau, they aren't even worth battling!" said Collin, laughing.
"WHAT YOU SAY BRO?!" said the male Team Skull grunt.
"YOU'RE ABOUT TO FIND OUT WHAT HAPPENS WHEN YOU MESS WITH US!" said the female grunt.
"What do you say Hau, wanna shut their traps?" said Collin taking out his Pokeball.
"Way ahead of you buddy!"
The Team Skull grunts lay defeated on the tunnel ground. Collin and Hau returned their Pokemon and high five each other.
"So, you gonna leave the tunnel or what?" said Collin. The grunts moaned as they got up from the ground.
"Just you wait till Big Sis hears about this. She'll take you down hard!" said the female grunt.
"Yeah! You're dead now boi!" said the male grunt, making Collin actually face palm because the grunt said that.
"Yeah well I couldn't give a shit if your "Big Sis" finds out. I'll take her down as well." said Collin, showing the wicked grin he did back in Hau'oli City. This caused the grunts to tremble.
"Y-Y-You're asking for trouble now Bos-boi!" said the grunt, correcting himself.
"S-S-See you dead meat!" said the female grunt as they ran out of the tunnel. Hau was confused about what just happened.
"Do you have any idea what they are on about?" asked Hau.
"Not a damn clue. Nor do I care." said Collin. He turned around to the rock Lillie was hiding behind. "Okay Lillie, it's safe now."
"Wait she was here?" asked Hau. She walked out from behind the rock and to the boys.
"Yeah why did you make me hide?" she asked
"Because they'd make you a target. No Pokemon, easy target." said Collin.
"Wait, would they have attacked Lillie if she was here?" asked Hau.
"Wouldn't put it pass them. I've seen it happen before on people who don't have Pokemon." Collin frown at the thought.
"Wow...thanks again Collin for that." said Lillie.
"It's no problem. Come on, the exit is there so let's get out of this damn tunnel." The two friends nodded and made their way out of the tunnel. The sunshine hit them hard as they finally got out of the tunnel. Hau started to sniff the air and let out a loud sign.
"Man! Who would have known being stuck in a tunnel would make you so stuffy!" said Hau, breathing in the clean air. "I don't know about you guys, but I'm gonna head into the City and stuff my face of Malasada's. I'll see you there!" he said, running off to the city.
"How many more do you think he'll eat before he turns into one?" asked Collin.
"I give another hundred. Hundred and one max." joked Lillie as the two laughed. "I guess you shouldn't keep Kahuna Olivia waiting. Let's go."
"Yeah." The two began to make their way to the city, with their hands still together, not one of them questioning it or stopping as they entered Konikoni City.
Bit of a short one today guys. I hope you don't mind. Anyway, reviews and comments of any nature are welcomed and as always, I'll see you in the next chapter. Cheerio!