- N - = Nicky's part
- J - = my part
Chapter 012 - Training at the mines!
- N -
"Are you sure we won't disturb the miners?"
"I highly doubt we would," Riley shook his head. "Besides, Roark usually recommends his Gym Trainers to train in the mines, too. And after several hours of carting rocks about, I'm quite sure the occasional Pokemon battle'd be a welcome distraction for a miner."
True enough, miners had stopped working, looking at the trio pass them with interested expressions on their face. Several elbowed each other and pointed at Riley excitedly.
"Do they know you?" Brown raised an eyebrow, curious. "You seem kinda popular here,"
"I know the management well," Riley answered simply. "Byron and his family own the mines here, and I've watched Roark grow up. The family and I are close, to say the least, and I often use the mines to train Laelaps."
"Really?" Brown looked surprised. "You must know the place well!"
"Well enough," Riley sounded modest. "Look out – there's usually a big boulder there."
Stephanie took a quick step backwards, before tentatively reaching out her foot. Sure enough, it met a large rock – just the right size for her to trip over.
"Damn, he's good," She whispered, before catching up to the other two.
Riley and Amy walked in awkward silence. Riley looked like there was something on his chest that he desperately needed to tell her, while she looked like she was afraid to talk to him, as if she was afraid of what they'd discuss.
I hope I didn't drive them apart because of the Zoroark business. She felt somewhat guilty, regretting dragging Amy into her investigation. The worry ate at her as she walked, gnawing at her with guilt and despair– until she tripped over another rock in her path, and landed on her face in dirt.
"Careful, Stephanie, it's starting to get dark," Riley noted, raising a glowing hand in the air to light the way further into the mine. The blue glow of his Aura fell on a small pile of red hard hats, a little lamp affixed to the brim of each one.
"You might want to put these on," He offered one to each of his companions. "There's a reason why Roark wears his."
Watching Brown fumbling with her hat, he reached out and fixed the strap under her chin, tapping the light to turn on for her. "It gets darker as we go further," He explained. He didn't need a hat himself, apparently, not when he was his own flashlight.
Thankfully, they didn't have to go in very deep, as Amy found a secluded cavern free from miners, and high enough to release her flying-type properly. Before going in, Brown darted a quick glance back into the darker tunnels. It seemed like the caverns deeper in were made of nothing but shadows and mystery.
The perfect place for a creature to hide, she thought.
"Ms. Brown, please, meet my Togekiss, Toge."
Toge appeared in a flash of bright pokeball energy, hovering gracefully in the air. Brown gasped at the pokemon, in awe of how strong it seemed. Those muscled wings looked like they'd make easy work of her spine. Snap.
"Woah," She breathed.
Thankfully, Toge seemed just as well-behaved as Dew, chirruping in a friendly manner and looking for all the world to be the sweetest thing Brown had seen since she arrived in Oreburgh.
A sense of nostalgia hit her, and she recalled Gold's own Togekiss. Togetaro was nowhere near as friendly as Amy's Toge – for one, the aggressive Togekiss enjoyed throwing aura spheres at her, even without The Brown Effect. Gold had told her once that Togetaro learnt a lot of his manners from him, and she didn't need much to believe him. Togetaro was rude, obnoxious, and slightly too competitive – but Toge?
"He's kinda sweet," she admitted, but refused to go near the big bird pokemon, in case she triggered the Brown Effect on him.
Instead, Rodent leapt from her shoulders and assumed an attacking stance in front of the flying-type, ready to fight at her command.
"You ready, buddy?"
"Raticate," He nodded. "Ticate."
"Alright then – let's try to move first – Tackle!"
But Amy had given her order first, asking for a Rock Smash from the large pokemon. Rodent gulped, frozen in place.
"No!" Stephanie screamed. "Run Rodent! Dodge it!"
Quickly, the Raticate jerked to life, scampering quickly away from the attack, and dodging with barely a hair's breadth.
"That was close," Stephanie breathed a sigh of relief. "Okay, Rodent, Quick Atta- wait. Where'd he go?"
It seemed the Togekiss had vanished, Rodent looked about frantically for his opponent, panicking and scampering about.
"Above you!"
The Togekiss had flew into the air, and had already started to descend for his attack.
"Hold your ground, Rodent!" Brown called. "And, when he gets close enough, use Hyper Fang!"
On Amethyst's side of the field, Riley watched the scene with interest, his chin resting on both his gloved knuckles. Toge had grown since he'd last seen the pokemon – for one, it seemed larger, maybe a little more mature? He wondered if Laelaps would still be able to defeat him now.
"Your pokemon has grown admirably, Amy," He noted, hopeful that she'd look his way. "He seems so much more confident with himself, so mature, a little like yourself."
He paused, however, when she asked where his Lucario was.
"Laelaps?" He looked at her, "I've sent him on an errand. He'll be around the area." He hoped his voice was sufficiently dismissive – he didn't want her prying too much. But still, he couldn't force himself to be dismissive, not to Amethyst, the last woman to Earth he wanted to dismiss. He wanted her by his side, never to leave him again…
He sighed. As if that would ever happen. He must've won a gold medal in driving women away by now, he thought.
"Why are you curious, anyway?" He attempted to be conversational. "Do you need him for something? If you think the mines are dangerous, I assure you, there's nothing in here that I won't protect you from."
Had that come out sounding too… forceful? He wondered. He hoped he hadn't scared her. But, still, it was the truth. He'd punch a Steelix in the face if he had to, if it meant gaining Amethyst's favour again.
- J -
Amethyst had ignored Riley's popularity at the mines. She wasn't the kind of person that loved being the center of attention, after all. On top of that, she had to wear a hard hat. A hard hat.
"Oh, Arceus..." Amethyst thought, desperate. "I'm sure I look ridiculous..."
They reached the perfect place to train. Yes, she could definitely use Toge there. They couldn't even see the ceiling of the cave! She noticed Stephanie staring at Toge. What would she be thinking? Maybe she had encountered a Togekiss before... Amethyst knew that Gold used to have a Togepi, but she wasn't sure if he had evolved it...
However, Amethyst felt kind of suffocated for being in such a deep place. Well, it wasn't time to think about it...
...It was time to battle!
"Heh, I knew he would dodge the attack!" Amethyst exclaimed, after Toge executed his rock smash attack. "Despite being a flying-type, Togekiss are known for being slow!"
While Toge was flying over the top of the cave (they barely saw a white, blurred thing floating), Amethyst talked directly to the teenager.
"This is why Toge is your perfect opponent for this training, Ms. Brown." The chestnut-head said. "Roark's pokémon are rock-type... They're as slow (if not more) as Toge!"
Toge nosedived at full speed towards Rodent. He hit the rat, however, he earned an hyper fang in exchange.
"Hyper fang," Amethyst said. "an attack that has a 10% chance of causing the target to flinch."
Not to mention it was a very powerful attack. But Toge's defense was too high.
"Your pokemon has grown admirably, Amy. He seems so much more confident with himself, so mature, a little like yourself."
"Like yourself"? Was that a compliment?
"Umh, thank you." Amethyst said, turning back to him to ask him about his Lucario.
"On an errand? I see." The purple-eyed trainer said, flickering repeatedly.
He didn't use to be that vague when they were at Iron Island. He always told her everything... Amethyst drove her eyes again to the battle.
"I'll teach you how to use items, Ms. Brown!" She exclaimed, taking an item out from her bag. "They can be pretty useful, you know! X speed!"
Amethyst threw an item to Toge, who started to quiver its wings faster.
"Now, my Toge's speed is match for Rodent's!" Amethyst exclaimed. "Quick, Toge, use double-edge!"
In the blink of an eye, Toge charged against Rodent brutally. However, Toge seemed hurt, too.
"Double-edge is a 120-based-power attack that, despite being so strong, makes the user receive recoil damage equal to 25% of the damage done to the target!" Amethyst explained. "I don't recommed you to use it against Roark, to be honest."
Flame wheel, hyper fang... What other moves would Rodent have? Were they all offensive? If so, then Amethyst would have to lend Stephanie some items...
"Why are you curious, anyway? Do you need him for something? If you think the mines are dangerous, I assure you, there's nothing in here that I won't protect you from."
Wait, what? Amethyst didn't know whether to feel flattered or annoyed. Did Riley think she was a damsel in distress? But then again, he wanted to protect her...
...Which made Amethyst blush hard. She turned to Riley, a softer expression on her face.
"Mmh... Well, thank you... Although I wasn't thinking this place was dangerous, anyway." She muttered. "I was just surprised, because Laelaps and you are inseparable..."
Had she been being too harsh towards Riley? Well, it wasn't like she had insulted him or ignored him, anyway. She had just being keeping the distance.
Anyway, she couldn't stop feeling guilty. From now on, she decided to be nicer.
"Now, Toge!" Amethyst exclaimed. "Use metronome!"
Metronome, the surprise attack. They didn't know which kind of attack would come out from that.
And the attack was... seismic toss. Whoa, Rodent sure was unlucky. Toge grabbed him with his unbeatable wings and threw him from the air.
"Seismic toss is an attack that inflicts damage equal to the user's level." Amethyst thought, gulping. "And since Toge is in a quite high level..."
She wondered if she was being a good 'master'. Or was she being too brute? She gave Riley a sidelong glance, trying to read his expression and waiting him to not to notice.
She shook her head and turned back to Stephanie.
"What are you going to do now, Ms. Brown?" She asked. "Rodent is badly hurt..."
- N -
Rodent ground his tiny heels into the cavern floor as the Togekiss slammed bodily into him. Quickly, he snapped his jaw shut over the flying-type's nose and jumped back out of the way.
"Awesome!" Brown told him, "Keep going, Rodent, you're doing great."
Turning to her opponent, she called out: "Rodent and I still have some fight in us! Do your best – we can take it! Besides, Rodent has a special hold item; it'll help us for sure."
Rodent nodded vigorously, setting his fur on fire briefly to prove his point – he was a strong pokemon. He'd win this. Hopefully.
Brown watched in vague horror as the X-Speed took effect and Toge began to beat his wings with a new fervour. Almost faster than Rodent, it seemed.
"Ohcrap." She whispered in a tiny voice, before steeling herself. "We can do this, Steffie. C'mon, now's not the time to panic – Don't be scared Rodent! We can do this!"
Running with all the power in his tiny body, Rodent darted away from the Togekiss – only to get hit. With Toge as fast as him, outrunning him wasn't an option.
"Rodent!" Brown cried out, "Don't try to dodge anymore, boy! There's no way you can run faster than him!"
Spinning round, Rodent turned to face his opponent. He pawed the ground in front of him, tossing his head like a bull. A red glow enveloped him as he finished his dance. Brown stared, mouth agape. She definitely hadn't taught him that!
"Swords Dance…?" Brown flipped her pokedex open, amazed at the new move her Raticate was using. "…increases the Attack by two stages? Awesome! That's what I'm talking about! We're standing to fight! Show Amy that Attack stat of yours!"
Despite receiving damage from the impact of its Double-Edge, Toge still seemed ready for more. Which didn't seem the case for Rodent. A few more moves seemed more than enough to finish off the little rat.
"C'mon, we have to move first!" She screamed. "Rodent! Hyper Fang again!"
Before the Raticate could nod in agreement, he was whisked off the floor by the flying-type. It had used a metronome and was now… What was it doing?
It was only when Rodent's body impacted the ground did the pokedex tell her – Seismic Toss. Brown gritted her teeth.
Dammit, she thought. Even with natural stat boosts like Swords Dance, items like X Speed really could help in a battle. She wondered whether items were Amy's special talent. It seemed highly possible.
They'd have to attack before the opponent, and the best way to do that would be…
"Quick attack! Now!" She commanded.
Rodent took off as fast as he could, slamming himself against the Togekiss and jumping back quickly. Brown cheered aloud – it had happened so fast, she'd almost missed it as she blinked!
"THAT WAS AWESOME!"
"Raticate," Rodent thumped his chest proudly.
"That wasn't bad, Miss Amy!" Stephanie called out across the cave, cupping her hands around her mouth. "Show me what else you've got! We can take it!"
"TICATE!" Rodent echoed her in bravado. "RATICATE!"
"Okay, let's try using Flame Wheel again," She whispered to her pokemon. "It should be stronger now that you've used Swords Dance."
Rodent nodded, willing his body to catch fire again. Quickly, he spun himself into a rolling wheel of fire, and aimed himself to collide with the Togekiss.
"She's using a stat-enhancing move," Riley nodded in approval. "Laelaps himself loves to do it before he fights… but it seems slightly odd that an impulsive trainer like herself knew how to plan ahead like that."
Curious, he rubbed his chin. "Did your brother ever mention training with a girl like her, Amethyst?" He asked. "I remember seeing him fight at the Hoenn Battle Frontier – it seems like a strategy he'd use."
He watched Amy's face as she processed the information about his Lucario. Was she suspicious of him?
"I was just surprised, because Laelaps and you are inseparable..."
Ah. That.
"True," He nodded. "I think you'll find Laelaps and I are still very much together," he chuckled. Together like an old married couple.
"No, he isn't acting on his own – we're both searching for something together in Oreburgh. We have different reasons, though. Personally, I consider our target an impediment for safety in the area, but as for Laelaps… Well, Laelaps seems to have a natural vendetta against it." He tipped his hat deeper over his eyes, concealing them. "Dogs will be dogs, I suppose. Lucario simply don't get along with whatever it is I'm looking for – it's a little like that Zangoose-Seviper thing, I'm quite sure.
"It must be a long-standing rivalry," He noted. "It's not just Lucario who hunt down what we're seeking, but Aura guardians before me have been doing it in historical texts for years."
He looked at the woman, a tinge of regret in his eyes. "I'm afraid I can't tell you more, Amethyst," He looked at her gravely. Zoroarks were feral, but they weren't stupid – attacking an Aura guardians loved ones was an easy and dirty way to get to them.
Continuing to watch her battle, he glanced out of the cavern entrance, pleasantly surprised to see a glimpse of black and blue fur.
"Laelaps?" He stood up as the Lucario trotted to his side. He kept his voice at a low whisper. "Did you find anything?"
The Lucario nodded, bowing its head for his master to read his mind. Riley raised his hand, allowing the vision to flow into his own head – images of caverns, neverending and desolately dark… One cavern in particular was covered in scratches, gouges had been dug into the wall, first by claws, then by fingernails, desperate and pained. Bits of clothing lay ripped on the ground.
Laelaps held out a torn piece of cloth. Riley's brow rose questionably – the cloth came from a miner's uniform.
"Well, that's terribly unspecific," He looked at the cloth. "It could have come from any one of the employees here."
The Lucario took the cloth from him, flipping it over to reveal part of a name. Whoever this shirt had belonged to, the owner had his name sewn on it. In pink thread, Riley could vaguely make out the letter 'K'.
Concentrating, he tried to read the Aura on the clothes, but was met with nothing but darkness.
"It's as I suspected," He muttered. "The Zoroark's dark powers are messing with my own."
"Our friend K here could have been a victim," He noted. "Or our target…" He pocketed the clue in his jacket.
"If I can't find him with Aura, we'll have to do it the old fashioned way. We'll use a telephone book." He laughed mirthlessly. "How many people do you think have a name that starts to ends with K?"
The Lucario stared at him dully.
"Did you find anything else?"
Laelaps tilted his head, as if indicating for the trainer to follow him to where he'd found the scratches. There were Auras in that room, Riley knew, that Laelaps wanted him to read for himself.
From out of a corner of his eye, he thought he saw Amy's head tilt towards him. A tiny flicker of hope moved within him – but when he turned to see her, her face was back staring at the battle in front of her.
As much as he wanted to go to the cavern with the scratches, he still didn't feel ready to leave her.
"We'll stay here a while longer," Riley told his Lucario. "When this battle is over, I'll tell them where I'm going."