Disclaimer: Don't own Pokemon

Well, I finally updated. I apologize for the lack of chapters. There is still a huge writer block at the moment, so I'm still not done with the next chapter. At the very least it is a third done.

Anyways, enjoy!

Chapter 16:

"Why are you acting all stiff?" Solana asked calmly. Wes didn't say anything and merely continued to clutch tightly onto the reins. The two Doduo squawked as their sharp clawed feet dug into the earthy ground and leaving a trail of dust behind.

I can't believe I'm actually doing this again, Wes thought, groaning. Truth be told, Wes would've prefer his motorcycle back in Orre. Actually, any vehicle, even a school bus, would be better than this form of torture.

Earlier, Solana led Wes to the back part of town and revealed a large corral with a couple of Doduo running around. A couple of them noticed Solana and her Plusle and came hopping over, fighting for the apples that Solana brought.

"They are strictly used for the capturing practice field we have in the back," Solana had explained, "Not even the civilians can use them. But given the circumstances, I don't think anybody will mind too much if we take two." Wes wasn't comfortable of the idea of riding again, but he didn't complain despite the terrible shrieks the Pokémon were making. After all, having transportation was better than none.

"How long now?" Wes asked; now back in the present time. The last time he had been on this road, Lunick was the unofficial guide and a terrible one at that. He always sounded so sure of himself until he realized that the road seemed to bend in the opposite direction. On the other hand, Solana was doing a pretty good job. She even veered off the main road to use a shortcut. She was pretty much the ideal Ranger – calm, smart, and patient.

"Well, it shouldn't be too long now. We just need to pass this… tunnel…" Confused, Wes turned and saw what Solana was staring at. The tunnel had been blocked off by a large wooden sign that read – "Tunnel closed due to cave-in." – in hastily scribbled words.

"The tunnel…" Solana looked shocked now. Her Doduo stomped the ground a bit, slightly impatient for the sudden halt. "How?"

Wes didn't say anything or explained; the memory was still fresh on his mind. Clutching tightly onto the reins, Wes remembered Wakin's smirking face. The next time they meet, Wes was going to make sure he punched that guy in the face.

"Is there another way?"

Solana frowned and slowly shook her head. "Not that I know of," Solana admitted, still shocked. "This tunnel is the only way to get to the next town." She looked really worried now and scanned the area as though hoping for some secret entrance to pop up. "I'm going to check and see how bad it is." Before Wes could say anything, Solana jumped off her Doduo and lead it into the cave opening.

Sighing, Wes copied Solana though his Doduo took more coaxing to enter the dark tunnel. It took a while to adjust his eyes to the darkness. Wes could hear the sound of dripping water as it splashed against the rocks. Suddenly, there was a sudden loud noise up ahead.

"Whoa!" Solana tried to calm the screeching Doduo down. "Easy now!" Her voice echoed across the cave, bouncing off the walls and giving the area a slight reverb.

"Hello?" A voice replied back in the darkness. Female. "Who is that? Is someone here?" There was trace amount of hostility in the voice.

An enemy? Wes turned, saw a small light coming towards them, and immediately reached for his Poke balls. Solana's Pluse's cheeks started to buzz with electricity. So they weren't the only ones here.

"That voice," Solana muttered, "Is that…?" The small light grew larger and standing face to face with them was a blond hair girl and a giant Dodrio.

Oh this girl, Wes thought as the girl narrowed her eyes at Wes.

"What are you doing here pervert?" Aria asked suspiciously. The Dodrio squawked with joy when it spotted Wes and stomped toward him.

"Whoa!" Wes didn't have time to move before the three heads attempted to hug him. Wes accidentally released the reins from his Doduo and the Pokémon stumbled backwards.

"Urgh, that Pokémon refuses to listen to me," Aria said, slightly jealous at Wes and his connection with Joel's Dodrio. "It took forever for it to even come in here."

"Hi Aria," Solana said in a guarded tone. Aria turned, apparently just realizing the ranger.

"Solana," Aria said icily as she looked at the Ring Town ranger's appearance. "Should you be out of bed already? I heard you gotten injured from your mission."

"I'm fine. Besides we have more pressing issues to deal with."

"Issues?"

"Summerland's volcano erupted," Solana said grimly, "All rangers are to head over there to help with evacuation."

"What?!" Aria gaped. "When did this happen?"

"An hour at most. I would've thought you got the message by now."

"I've been gather Pokémon to help," Aria explained, throwing her hands up in frustration. "I was wondering why there was nobody on the other side fixing this place yet." She grumbled under a breath for a moment before turning to Wes and Solana. "Well don't just stand there! Help me find some more Pokémon who can smash through this stuff!" She stormed off without another word… that is until she realized that Joel's Dodrio was still hanging out with Wes.

"And you!" Aria snarled at the Pokémon. She stomped over and snatched the reins. "Why are you hanging out with that pervert? You're coming with me!" Aria gave a scathingly glare at Wes as though this was his fault before dragging the protesting Dodrio away. There was a long silence before Wes decided it was best to change topics.

"What does she mean by helping her find Pokémon?"

"Here, I'll show you." Solana motioned Wes to follow her down a certain tunnel. Wes observed the area with trepidation, but Solana seemed rather calm and took a flashlight out of her pocket. Dark moss and long thick vines covered the rock walls. Every so often, the path would diverge into several small tunnels that lead to dead ends. In one room, there was a small but deep pool and Wes could hear the sounds of splashes and sounds of wild Pokémon. Everything was still and quiet for the most part. Could another cave-in occur without notice?

"Hey, sorry about Aria," Solana interrupted Wes' trail of thought. "She can be… self-absorbed at times."

"I take it you two are the best of friends," Wes said in a quiet but sarcastic tone.

"We joined the academy almost at the same time," Solana said, rolling her eyes. "We… were competitive you could say."

"Academy? They have ranger schools?"

"You sound surprise."

"After meeting Lunick, wouldn't you be too?"

Solana stopped so suddenly that Wes almost bumped into her. The ranger turned and gave a curious stare at the trainer. "Lunick joined on recommendation and was in a summer program. Spenser noticed that his talent was above par and so he was exempt from continuing the rest of his studies and became an official ranger."

"Must be an easy class."

"Don't take him lightly," Solana said, raising her eyebrows. "Lunick is reckless but he does have the leadership quality needed to handle situations. His passion is what is driving him to become one of the best rangers in Fiore. He values both Pokémon and human life." She said the last part with conviction but it also lightly reminded Wes of what he had done back at the factory.

Wes remained silent on that topic decided to change the subject. "So where is this school?"

"Almia." Solana climbed over a rock and inspected the walls of the cave. She was looking for something but what it was, Wes didn't know.

"What? Is that a city here?" Wes didn't remember that name in the guidebook.

"It's a different region," Solana explained. "On the east side."

"Oh…"

"It is a really nice place," Solana continued. "Similar to Fiore in terms of terrain. You should go visit with Rui when you have the chance." Wes remained silent and continued to trudge through the cave. Although he didn't show it, he was surprised of the interior. When he first came through here, he thought this cave was linear but it turned out that there were many tunnels.

"Ah, here we go," Solana made a sharp turn to the left. Wes suddenly realized that there was the sound of pounding and grunts. Wes tensed and froze but Solana continued forward, not noticing Wes' action. In fact, she was following the noise. Calming himself down, Wes continued to follow and the two of them found themselves in a large spacious area. In the center were three large bulky…

"Hariyama," Solana explained. "They're strong sumo wrestlers. But I guess you already knew that."

"You're planning to use them to help out our problem?"

"More like ask for their help." Solana calmly walked toward the three oversized Pokémon and took out her styler.

"I don't get it."

"Get what?" Solana stopped. This whole time Wes was acting rather moody, but now… Why did Wes look so bitter?

"Why you guys use stylers."

"What do you mean?"

"You literally controlled Pokémon's thoughts and tell them what to do. At least when you catch a Pokémon with a Poke ball, they still retain their personality. You may be only borrowing their powers for a short while, but it is technology like these that can lead to more corrupt thoughts. What you're doing is no different from what Team Cipher is doing by creating Shadow Pokémon. You're controlling who they are."

Solana fell silent as she listened to Wes' words. This was probably the first time since she had met him that he had talked this much. Yet, she could also tell that Wes had given this much thought before voicing his opinion.

"I understand your concerns," Solana said calmly. "And when we get the chance, we can talk about this later. But right now, we have to get pass this tunnel and reach Fall City."

Author's Notes

Well, not too much is going on. There is a mention about a Ranger school and we get a bit of Lunick's background. And Dodrio is back! :D

Thanks for reading and I'll see you in the next chapter.

-JapanDreamer