- N - = Nicky's part
- J - = my part
Chapter 014 - A mad Onix appeared!
- N -
"You're kidding me," Brown gasped in awe and delight, "All the badges? That's amazing! You must be amazingly strong - Gold doesn't even have any."
It occurred to her that, when they'd first met, Brown had all-too-enthusiastically shown off her own badges. She only had two, and she hadn't won the Viridian Gym badge fairly – not when Green had let her win. Did Amy think she was showing off too much? She wondered. The older trainer could have easily rolled her eyes when she showed off the few badges she had, but didn't.
She had to respect that about her. Amy had patience when dealing with enthusiastic trainers like her. In spades.
She stroked her Raticate again, the little rat rumbling with pleasure. "Well, maybe it's alright if we let you use your own moves a little more," She told him. "Maybe being independent like Amy is isn't that bad. Who knows? You might surprise us. What other moves do you have anyway?"
The Raticate flicked his tail coyly. He wasn't about to tell her.
"Fine, be that way, you meanie," She ruffled his fur, eliciting a laugh from the pokemon.
While Laelaps himself disliked being patted, he tolerated Amy with fortitude. Riley watched, amazed.
"I hadn't seen you in the whole day, hehe! I hope you're alright!"
"He's never this docile," Riley whispered, smiling. "I believe he's missed you just as much as you have him."
The Lucario darted a glance back at his trainer, as if urging him to say more. When Riley kept his silence, arms still crossed on his chest, the bipedial dog grunted, annoyed. Eventually, Amy stopped her rhythmic stroking and turned back to Brown. Laelaps sighed, looking exasperatedly at his stubborn trainer. Great. He'd lost his chance.
"But don't worry! I'll lend all my full restores. I can always buy more, after all."
Brown pocketed the Full Restores gratefully, stuffing them into her bag alongside the many purple Potions she owned. An excited smile played across her face – those potions were incredibly powerful, and to think! She now owned, not one bottle, but five!
"Thank you so much, Miss Amy!" She beamed. She couldn't promise that five bottles would last her very long, but she was still excited at the prospect of using a potion that powerful. Maybe she could ask her parents to buy her some more when she finally ran out? But still… she wondered how expensive they were.
"I hope I'm not burning a hole into your wallet, Miss Amy," She rubbed the back of her head, embarrassed at how eager she was to receive a freebie. "This stuff can't be cheap."
"Now, onto items you can use in battle!"
Amy was lavishing even more on her, showing her what looked like purple salt-and-pepper shaker. It took her a moment before she recalled seeing Amy use a green one. She read the label enthusiastically:
"'Raises the Accuracy of a Pokémon currently in battle by 1 level…'" She read aloud and slowly. Rodent crawled onto her shoulder for a better view of the item. She scratched her chin dubiously. "I've never used anything like this before."
But the moment Amy drew out the bottle of Iron from her bag, Rodent snatched it into his paws without hesitation. Enthralled with the idea of finally getting some food, he attempted to unscrew the cap, only to turn bright red in the face with frustration.
"C'mon, give me that. You don't have thumbs." Brown laughed, taking the bottle from her Raticate and screwing off the bright yellow cap. Rodent grabbed the open bottle chugged down the pills with gusto. "Is he allowed to eat that much?" She looked worriedly at Amy. "I mean, if the effects don't wear off after battle, won't he get sick or something?"
She was thankful as Amy offered her a break. This definitely needed some time to sink in. She'd never seen so many different items before, and it'd take a while before she got used to the idea of using them.
"Thanks, Miss Amy," She muttered, relieved, "I could totally use a break..."
She leant down, and rested her backside on a rocky outcropping, drawing a long, tired breath – only to feel the seat beneath her rumble to life.
The bounder under her shifted, along with the one next to it, and the one after that; a long, seemingly endless chain of rocks that grounded and rattled against each other. The chain ended at a serpentine head, no less in size than a large bicycle.
The expression on the Onyx was unmistakable. Its eyes were blank, it's face was ruthless. Brown stared, transfixed, at the Brown Effect on the rock snake. Her throat felt dry.
"RRRRATICATE!" Rodent screamed, barrelling into the rock snake and bouncing off with a passive squeak. The attack didn't seem to do much damage.
"Oh crap, oh crap, oh crap," Brown picked up her Raticate in her arms, before grabbing a can of Repel from her bag. She sprayed the aerosol liberally at the Onyx, but, undeterred, the rock-type simply shook its head and roared powerfully into her face. Strands of saliva smacked her cheeks.
"The repels aren't' working!" Brown whimpered, turning to Amy. "Amy! What should I do?"
The Onyx reared back its head, then lunged in to snap at them…
A blue shield wound its way between the large rock-type and the frightened girl as Riley barrelled into her and knocked the out of the way.
"Stay down!" He commanded to the girl, now on the floor of the cave. "Laelaps, Metal Claw, now!"
Nodding, the Lucario unsheathed glowing white claws as the Aura shield dissipated. Laelaps leapt into the air, raking its claws into the Onyx's face as he descended.
On the floor, Brown snapped open her Pokedex. "Riley, that didn't do much – its level's too high!" She was scared now, her voice, she realised, was shaking. She was tempted to run, her running shoes would easily carry her away, but then again, she couldn't leave Amy and Riley behind.
"I vote we all run away!" She suggested.
"Don't be silly," Riley snapped, hurling a glowing blue orb like a baseball at the large snake. The Onyx bellowed, but seemed unscathed. "We can take it down… hopefully."
"Amy!" Brown called out, panicking, vaguely aware that she'd now achieved a new bruise along the side of her leg. "Amy! Whatdowedo? Whatdowedo? Whatdowedo?"
- J -
"Thanks, Miss Amy. I could totally use a break..."
Amethyst thanked Stephanie in her thoughts for that. She was pretty tired, too. It'd been ages since she had battled for the last time!
The purple-eyed woman sat down on the floor, sighing.
"Well, now..."
She didn't even have time to talk. A wild Onix appeared beneath the teenager. No. Not only a wild Onix.
A FURIOUS wild Onix!
"Oh, my Arceus!" Amethyst screamed, shocked. "Why on the Earth is it so angry?"
She noticed the wild Onix staring madly at Stephanie. Of course, Rodent tackling it didn't help...
"So this is the Brown Effect!" The young woman exclaimed. "Look out, Ms. Brown! Rodent!"
Amethyst called Toge back to his pokéball and tried to approach Stephanie, who was being roared at by the furious Onix.
"Ms. Br-!"
But Riley was faster and protected Stephanie with his power of Aura. Amethyst put her hand on her chest, relieved.
"Thanks goodnes..." She whispered. "Thank you, Riley!"
However, it wasn't time to feel relieved. That Onix seemed... oddly strong. Not even Laelap's metal claw could defeat it!
"That's impossible!" Amethyst screamed. "But Laelaps is almost unbeatable...!"
"I vote we all run away!"
"NO!" It was something both Amethyst and Riley agreed on. "Don't worry, Ms. Brown, and stay back!"
Amethyst hated fighting, but if it was to protect a friend... Moreover, all she had to do was knock that Onix out, and Amethyst had a clear type advantage...
"Go, Dew!"
The woman's Roserade faced the giant Onix.
"Bring it on! Magical leaf!" Amethyst ordered.
Dew attacked the Onix with a tornado of leaves that never missed their target. However, the taken damage was small. Onix attacked Dew with a slam attack using his powerful tail.
"Tssk... Dew, use giga drain!" Amethyst exclaimed, frowning.
The Onix was badly hurt, moreover, Dew took all her energy back thanks to that move. But the wild Onix was on a rampage... It didn't even matter that it was being attacked. It was simply... crazy.
"Oh, my!" Amethyst exclaimed. "It doesn't even seem to know what it's doing! Try to calm him using your sweet scent, Dew!"
But it didn't work. Moreover, Onix attacked Dew using dragonbreath, which made Dew get paralyzed.
"Oh, no!" The chestnut-head screamed; she still had the advantage, but she didn't want to risk too much. "Come back, Dew! Go, May!"
Amethyst sent out her female Mawile.
"Use iron head!"
May crashed her hard head onto Onix's body, which made him go even more mad. Amethyst noticed that the wild Onix was still trying to make his way to Stephanie, and only attacked May if she got in its way.
"So everything that matters is Ms. Brown, uuh?" Amethyst exclaimed, firmly. "Okay! I can't get in its way only with a tiny pokémon like May, so...!"
For everyone's surprise, Amethyst sent out her female, purple-eyed Dragonite. She obviously wanted to finish the battle quickly.
"May, use iron defense while Dragonite uses barrier!" Amethyst ordered. "Then, you two...!"
Something strange was happening to Dragonite. She trembled for a few seconds and then turned to Stephanie.
"Dragonite! You too?" Amethyst screamed, looking at Dragonite's furious eyes. "Come back!"
But she refused to get into the pokéball. Meanwhile, the poor May had to deal with the Onix alone. May was pretty experienced, but blocking an Onix's way wasn't an easy thing to do...
"Go!" Amethyst screamed, sending out Maki and Dew, again.
"I'm sorry, Dew, but try to immobilize Dragonite with your grass knot!" The woman ordered. "Maki, go...! Go help May!"
It took a while, but Dew managed to immobilize the angry Dragonite.
"Well done, Dew!" Amethyst said. "Come back you two!"
Okay, one problem less. But her most powerful pokémon, Dragonite, wasn't available. Amethyst bit her lip.
The mere fact of seeing two tiny pokémon like Mawile or Masquerain having to deal with a giant Onix broke her heart. What a disaster! What a shame! Amethyst was sure that Riley was thinking that she was a lame trainer!
"May, brick break!" She ordered. "Maki, ice beam!"
Had she taught Maki blizzard? No. Dragonite was the one who could do that move. Crap.
However, both pokémon's attacks were taking a lot of damage on the wild Onix, that was also furious because it couldn't reach Stephanie.
"But this is neverending!" Amethyst exclaimed. "No matter how much damage it's taken, its madness won't let it notice!"
Amethyst put her hands on her head, desperate. Running away? Yeah. That's what she USED to do when she couldn't face something. But NOT in front of Riley!
"I have an idea!" The purple-eyed woman exclaimed. "Maki, you only have one chance! Signal beam!"
Maki hit Onix's face with her multicolour beam. The damage wasn't huge, but...
...Onix started to knock its own head against the cave walls.
"Yay! It's confused!" Amethyst exclaimed. "It will knock itself out in no time...!"
But she hadn't figured that the cave would start to tumble down because of the knocking.
A few rocks fell down from the ceiling of the cave.
"Riley! Ms. Brown!" Amethyst exclaimed, in panic. "Get out of here! NOW!"
Amethyst took her pokémon back into their pokéballs, which caused a rock almost squash her.
"Eek!" She shrieked, starting to run.
Suddenly, the exit of the cave seemed so faraway... To make matters worse, Amethyst tripped and fell. She tried to stand up, but she couldn't... And there was no time to call Dew out to heal her!
Amethyst noticed the blond teenager looking at her.
"Run, Ms. Brown! Don't worry about me!"
- N -
Keep calm, carry on…
…And try not to soil your pants.
Gold! I'm trying to teach her something!
You're way too serious, you know that, honey? Such a super-serious gal…
…
Brown tried not to cry. She repeated Crystal's voice over and over in her head, like a mantra, a recorder stuck on its last tape, never stopping. Keep calm, carry on. Keep calm, carry on. Keep calm-
She'd never been so scared in her life.
Sure, her life had been in peril before, but never anything she couldn't run away from. Now, she was petrified as the cave rumbled downwards upon them – she could escape just fine with her Running Shoes, but what about Amy? Or Riley?
"Stay down, Miss Brown," Riley called. "We'll take care of this."
His Lucario conjured up a large glowing blue ball, tossing the Aura Sphere at the Onix, as Riley did the same. Just seconds before, Amy had sent out her Dragonite, which soon fell to the Brown Effect – its levels was probably very high. While her other pokemon had succeeded in subduing it, the Onix had left Dew the Roserade paralysed.
The Lucario dashed in front of Amy's Mawile, knocking away a boulder a hair's breadth away from falling upon it. Brown's Pokedex registered the move as Force Palm. Laelaps looked at the Mawile, as if checking to see if it was alright, before tossing another Aura Sphere at the Onyx.
"It's alright, Stephanie – it only wants you – just stay down and we'll handle it," Riley managed, hurling more baseball-sized Aura Spheres at the Onix.
Brown didn't have time to agree with him – she pulled herself to her feet, Rodent right behind her, as a boulder crashed into the ground inches from where she'd been lying down. BOOOM. So much for staying down.
"On second thought, let's run like cowards and flail our arms wildly until we're out of this hellhole!" She suggested. Rodent shook his head.
"Raticate!" He cried out, setting himself on fire and Flame Wheeling himself at the Onix another time, just as the ceiling began to give way even more. Amethyst looked visibly worried.
"Riley! Ms. Brown! Get out of here! NOW!"
Brown didn't need to be told twice. She clicked her heels together to turn her shoes on, and began to run.
Keep calm, carry on.
More rocks began to fall – first the size of large fists, then the recliners, sofas, and trucks. Brown zoomed between them as they whistled to the ground, frightened tears streaming from her face.
Keep calm, carry on.
And try not to soil your pants.
The sound of someone falling against the cavern floor was almost drowned out by the slam slam slam of rocks pounding on the ground. Brown recognised the noise, though – Amy had tripped. She pulled herself around to face her, panic rising in her chest.
"Run, Ms. Brown! Don't worry about me!"
She couldn't move, her feet were rooted on the ground, torn between escape the pressing urge to help a friend. The cavern around her continued to collapse, but she'd been too busy stammering incoherently with her mouth open to do anything about it.
Riley watched the boulders fall around him, but kept himself focused on his goal – taking down the Onix, throwing Aura Sphere after Sphere at the behemoth. That is, until he heard the sound of Amethyst fall on the ground.
He hurried to her, just as she commanded the blonde trainer to flee. The ceiling was much too unstable – it would all come down any second.
Without thinking, he threw himself upon her, shielding her with his back, her small little body pressed tight against his chest. He squeezed his eyes tight, focusing hard on materialising a shield as the last vestiges of whatever held the ceiling in place finally gave way.
Laelaps tackled Brown out of the cavern's opening as the last of the boulders obscured the entrance. All she could hear was the neverending crash of boulders upon boulders echoing in the tiny mine, until there was nothing left but the patter of tiny rocks as the rocks settled.
The smashing, endless and brutal, of rocks against rocks, filled his ears. It sounded like the end of the world, of every wave in the sea brutally striking them both, of every loud noise he could imagine, amplified, booming, in his ears… until, finally, mercifully, it ended.
Riley cracked his eyes open, the blue glow of his Aura was all he saw at first. The blue dome above them both was covered entirely with rocky debris. There were rocks all around them, on top of them, pressing down hard on the shield. The only light Riley had was the glowing blue of his own Aura. In the unearthly blue light, Amethyst seemed like an angel, so strong, yet fleetingly fragile. He cradled her body in his arms, brushing a stray strand of hair off her forehead.
The rocks shifted, pressing even harder on his shield. One of Riley's hands instinctively grabbed his head in pain. He hissed from the effort that it took to hold up the shield.
"Are you alright, Amethyst?" He murmured, trying his best not to make his voice sound strained from the effort it took to keep the rocks off them. "I can't keep this up much longer…"
A scuffling sound above his head. Riley looked up, as a boulder was grabbed by tiny hands and thrown far away. The hands repeated the action, lightening the load on the shield steadily, until a whiskered brown face came into view.
"Rrrraticate?" Rodent blinked at them both, a boulder held aloft above his head with Strength. He had clearly been looking for his trainer.
"Stephanie's not here," Riley regrettably mumbled, but the brown rat worked regardless, trying his best to clear the boulders off the shield. "Are you… still helping us?"
"Raticate," Rodent shrugged, and continued to lift more boulders. His air of nonchalance, however, did nothing to hide his worry.
"Don't worry," he soothed. "Laelaps was with her. Miss Brown should be fine."
He turned his attention back to the woman he held. "Rodent's going to help dig us out, Amethyst. In the meantime, are you hurt? Your pokemon, will they be alright?"
-x-x-x-x-x-x-
The ceiling outside the cavern had been supported by stilts ages ago – firm, comforting, and strong. There were no boulders to worry about in the corridors, but Brown kept her brow furrowed.
Laelaps watched her, his tail flicking back and forth.
Brown kept the headlight on her hard-hat on as she paced. Rodent was gone. So were Amy and Riley. Were they even alive anymore?
The notebook and the clipping came to mind – the dead pokemon looking at the camera with its blank, soulless eyes… Were they all as dead as that pokemon?
No, Steffie. You can't think about that. Be positive, they can't be dead!
She tried to laugh, to lighten the mood, but the sound came out like a bestial growl. It jumped off the ceilings and echoed back at her, sounding for all the world as if something was chuckling at her from the shadows.
Creepy… Brown thought.
"Hellow?" She cupped her hands around her mouth, trying to let her voice carry. "Is anyone there? Any miners? Uh… We have a problem, and I need assistance…"
She opened the notebook, remembering something she remembered on the last page. In bright pink handwriting, Serena had written down:
EMERGENCY NUMBERS
999 – Pokemon Center
911 – Police
+878 – Roark
She flipped open her pokegear, only to find no bars at all in her phone's reception. Drat.
"Anyone? Please, I need help. I don't know what to do," She whimpered, her voice caught in her throat, which was rapidly getting salty from the mucus and tears.
"Roark?" She called. "Anybody?"
Laelaps looked at her, unflinchingly bored, like a statute. The Brown Effect wasn't angering him, but it made most pokemon ignore her if they weren't seeing red at her.
She sniffled back water in her nose.
"Please?"