Note: Back for more, are we? Side-note: Soul's team is not my personal in-game team; I labored a long time trying to figure out what Pokemon she should have. ^^;

Follow Me
A Pokémon Heart Gold/Soul Silver Story

Chapter Seven
Whirlpool

"Your PokéGear has a GPS in it, doesn't it?" Silver asked in between a bite of his sandwich. The two sat below the lone tree on the tiny island, surrounded by their Pokemon, who they'd let out to also enjoy the meal. Silver's Pokémon, Crobat, Magneton, Sneasel, Gengar, Alakazam, and Feraligatr, sat in a scattered formation beside him, eating their meal in stern silence. Soul's Pokémon sat in a much friendlier circle next to their master: Chocobo closest to Soul and then around the circle on his right was Quagsire, Togekiss, Ampharos, and Umbreon. Nearby, a red Gyarados, Soul's sixth Pokemon, was happily swimming around in the ocean, having already finished her meal.

Soul swallowed a bite and then reached for her bag, the sandwich dangling from her mouth. "Nn, the map function can tell you your current location."

"So where are we, then?" he asked, leaning closer to view the screen as Soul tinkered with the device.

A few seconds of fiddling gave them their answer. "We're on one of the Whirl Islands," Soul said, reading the screen. "The map isn't very detailed about them, so I can't tell which one we're on..."

"I've heard about this place," Silver said, taking another bite of his sandwich. "Supposedly, it's hard to access by sea because of the intense whirlpools that surround them, right?"

"That's what I heard," Soul agreed with a nod as she pocketed her PokéGear. "I also heard there's a really powerful Pokémon living on one of the islands, although it's just a rumor..."

"Hard to access and a powerful Pokemon around, huh?" Silver sniggered. "This place has my father written all over it."

"Nn?"

"My father's a ridiculously predictable man in some regards," Silver said, standing and brushing the dirt from his clothes. "In this case, he's attracted to power, particularly when it comes to Pokémon. Not only that, but since he's on the run, a place that's hard to get to by most would call out to someone like him." He started recalling his Pokémon. "I say we take a detour from Cianwood and start looking here. It can't hurt since we're already here, anyway."

"I guess you have a point," Soul admitted, standing as well.

"Gah, it's so dark in here...You have a light or something?"

"I think so...hang on..."

The sound of items shuffling in a bag echoed off the walls in the darkness and then with a click, Soul's flashlight lit up the dank cavern.

"Wow, it's bigger than I thought it was..." Soul said, shining the beam in all directions.

"Come on, let's get going," Silver said, taking the flashlight from her and leading the way.

The cave was indeed quite large, with many ledges they had to hop down. Water dripped from the ceiling and resounded all around them, like the sound of a faucet leaking. Occasionally they'd come across a wild Pokemon or two, but a leer from Silver usually drove them off ("Wow, Silver, your face works like a Super Repel!" "...Shut up.").

"How deep do you suppose this place goes?" Soul asked as they climbed down yet another ladder some time later.

"You're asking me like I know?" Silver sighed, shining the light all around them to get a grasp of the new room. Tilting his head slightly, he frowned. "What's that over there...?" He grabbed her hand, adding, "Come on, stick close to me."

Her face flushed as he led her along. He had large hands; they felt so strong and firm compared to hers. Even though she knew it wasn't intentional on his part, she couldn't help but feel a small sense of bliss in holding his hand.

"Your hand is sweaty."

"Ah! S-Sorry!" She pulled it away, embarrassed.

"Anyway, look." He gestured the light down a series of ramps to a small cave entrance at the very bottom of the wall. "I think this is the end of the cave."

Cautiously, they made their way down the ramp. It was quite slick and covered with a slimy film of heavily-concentrated salt water. Despite her best efforts, Soul lost her footing, and she, Silver, and Chocobo slid down the ramp and continued on down several more ramps until they finally crashed in a pile at the very bottom.

With a groan, Silver sat up and sighed, leering at Soul, who was spread lengthwise across his lap on her stomach, Chocobo on top of her back.

"I-I'm sor--"

"Just get up," he moaned, shoving her off his lap and climbing to his feet. "Where'd the flashlight go...?"

"Over here," Soul said, finding it against the wall.

Recovering the flashlight from Soul, Silver motioned for her to follow, and they entered the cave.

"It's...a dead end..." Soul said, staring at the curtain of water pouring into the pool surrounding the ledge upon which they stood. She shot a fleeting glance at Silver; he was disappointed, but his face gave very subtle clues.

Clenching his jaw, he turned. "Come on, Soul, let's head back; we've wasted enough time in this stupid cave."

"Yeah," Soul said, turning to follow.

A pair of glowing eyes opened behind the waterfall, and a shadowy silhouette emerged behind the surface. It turned to its two guests as the smaller one added, "I guess there wasn't anything here after all. Not even that legendary Pokemon everyone was talking about."

Selected quote from the next chapter:
"I am no prize of men."