Chapter 6
Shoal Cave
Unfortunately for May, there were no mossy underwater rocks to set her things on, so she had to make do with the small ones that popped up from beneath the sand on the shore. One might think that, by training near the spot that she had been found as a human, she might be sad or homesick. It was quite the opposite: it gave her the motivation she needed to train.
"Alright mudkip," she said as she released said Pokémon. "We'll never get anywhere up here if we don't get our act together. I know it's gonna be a bit tough in the beginning—we're both pretty new to this. But I know we'll be able to do it!" Her mudkip smiled and cried out happily. "First thing's first: where do I find trainers who will battle me?" May raised a hand to her chin and sighed.
She scanned the area and noticed a man in a bright white robe punching the air alongside a Pokémon she'd never seen before. They look like they're training. Maybe they'd like to battle.
Turns out that he was more than happy to engage as her opponent and she soon learned that the Pokémon on land were not at all the same as the ones under the water. The Pokémon this man used was a fat little thing, and seemed to be wearing gloves. It was very slow moving, and only got in a few hits before her mudkip took it down.
As she was about to thank him for the battle and leave, he approached her and gave her money! She stared at it for a moment before thanking the man, who resumed his training, despite the fact that he had just lost the battle. It was nothing more than a few thin pieces of paper, but to May, it looked like the prince's paycheck. No one underwater paid their opponent after they were defeated; instead, the loser immediately sought the counsel of their mentor, who would then tell them what they did wrong and how to improve their strategy for their next battle. She thought that system seemed a lot more beneficial, but she wasn't going to complain. Besides, I probably need some money so I can actually do stuff up here.
There weren't many trainers milling around the shores of Mossdeep City, and the ones she did find were fairly easy to defeat. May resolved to find a better place to train. A few questions to the locals revealed that there was a cave nearby that, when the tides were low, proved to be a good place to train. Knowing she had to cross a small patch of water before getting there, she went to a local store and bought what humans called a 'swim suit'. It felt like being covered in a slimy piece of seaweed, but May knew she would need it to blend in.
It didn't take long at all to reach Shoal Cave and she was fascinated by it. Of course, there were caves back home, but none that you could breathe in. This one was a bit empty compared to others, but there was an old man who told her that he could make her a shell bell (whatever that was) if she brought him four shoal salts and four shoal shells. Intrigued by the idea but repulsed by the amount of work—it involved coming back multiple times during the day when the tide was high and low to find these items—May decided that she would roam the cave for some Pokémon to battle.
She was so distracted by trying to track down elusive cave Pokémon that she didn't realize until it was too late that she was lost. In one of the deepest parts of the cave, May could feel a chill in the air. She shivered—a sensation that was still foreign to her. She was glad that she had brought what humans called a coat with her. Pulling it out of her bag and putting it on, she looked to her mudkip, who seemed concerned.
"I should've bought a map before we came," she said with a sigh. "We'll make it out of here. We can always just wait til the tides come in. Then we can swim out."
Her mudkip's anxiety seemed to fade a little, as its cry was now a bit happier in tone. May smiled. "For now, let's just explore a bit."
'Explore' to May meant feeling every part of the rock walls and feeling the cool sand between her new toes. Her mudkip dug in the sand and jumped around playfully. She didn't know if she preferred the caves filled with water to the ones filled with air, but she nonetheless enjoyed being able to do whatever she pleased without being disturbed.
Her exploring was cut off by her mudkip calling out to her. She saw that it was standing in front of a part of the cave wall, yipping at it incessantly.
"What did you find?" she asked as she walked up to it.
It nudged its head towards something on the wall. She leaned in closer and saw that her Pokémon had found something quite intriguing.
In front of her was a collection of drawings that seemed almost primitive in nature. It wasn't very big; it was probably the same size as her mudkip. Crudely drawn, the mural looked as if there were people looking up to the sky at something, but what they were looking at wasn't on the rock wall anymore. She thought the rest of the mural might have been covered by dirt and reached out a finger to try and dust it off.
"Don't touch that."
May turned around to see a figure standing a small distance away from her. He wore what humans would call an explorer's outfit, complete with a backpack and all of the necessary gear. He stared at her with a stern expression on his face and she was slightly taken aback at how quietly he had entered the cave.
"Why not?" she asked, unafraid of the strange man.
He took a step forward. "That pictogram could be evidence of a society that existed thousands of years ago. It's very fragile and any contact could cause it to be destroyed. You need special tools to even try to touch it." He took out a few brushes and picks from his pack to elaborate his point. "That drawing could be crucial in discovering how our ancestors lived."
May let her finger hover in the air as she took in the man's words. I'm sure he doesn't mean my ancestors. But he seems like he knows what he's doing—all of those weird items he has on him make it look like he studies caves for a living. But these drawings look like something a child would make! They can't be historically significant…or can they?
She placed her hands on her hips and said, "Look, if it's so special to you, why don't you put up a sign saying 'important archeological findings inside—do not disturb'?"
The man looked at her blankly.
Apparently, humans don't have a sense of humour.
"Ok then, if you're so intent on keeping this picture safe, I'll just go." She stood up, brushed the sand off of her legs and began to walk away. She was almost at the exit when she heard him say, "Battle me."
She stopped walking and turned her head to look at him. "What?" she said, a bit shocked at his proposal.
"Battle me." He turned around and stared at her and she was caught off guard at how intimidating his eyes looked.
He's nothing like the other Trainers I battled today. But then again, he doesn't look that normal to me. But what do I know? I've only been on land for a few days. Besides, the way he's looking at me makes me think he's a powerful trainer. I don't see the harm in showing him a thing or two about how an undercover mermaid battles. Heck, he might even become less of a zombie and more of an actual human.
"I guess I wasn't doing anything exciting today anyways," May said with a shrug. "You don't have to be so eager about it, though."
The man began to move towards the back of the cave and May took her spot a few meters away from him. She debated which Pokémon to choose and then remembered that she should establish some ground rules.
"I suggest that we battle one-on-one, with two Pokémon in our roster. There can be no items used." She said confidently.
The man merely shrugged in response.
"Alright, let's go mudkip!" May motioned for her mudkip to takes it place on the battlefield and it cried out happily.
The stranger threw a pokeball into the air and said, "Go, Lairon!"
May tried her best not to stare at the Pokémon, which she had never laid eyes on before. Its body was covered in protective plates. With so many layers of protection, it will be hard to take down. But I'll experiment and see if I can't find its weakness.
"Mudkip, go ahead and use tackle!"
It ran towards its opponent and rammed into its side. The lairon didn't even flinch at the move.
That's one of mudkip's most physical attacks. It should've at least done something.
The man scoffed at the attack. "Lairon, use iron tail."
The Pokémon turned its back on the mudkip and slammed its tail into the side of May's Pokémon. It rolled on the ground a few times before landing near her.
"Are you alright?" she asked.
It lifted its head slightly and noded.
That was a hard hit. One more of those and he'll be knocked out. Physical moves don't do anything, but it looks like most of my moves are like that. Wait a minute. There is one move that could do the trick…
May said nothing as she watched her mudkip shakily get up off of the ground.
"Hmm," said the man. "Lairon, use iron tail again!"
As the Pokémon barreled towards her mudkip once again, May braced herself. Just when its tail was about to come down on it, May yelled out, "Dodge it and use mud bomb!"
Thankfully, speed was something that the lairon did not possess, as it was unable to move out of the way of the incoming mud bomb. It was covered in mud and quickly fell onto its side, unable to battle.
"Whoa," May said, surprised. "I didn't think it would work that well."
Her mudkip cried out happily as it ran up to her. She patted it on the head affectionately. The stranger returned his defeated Pokémon and sighed contemplatively. He lifted a hand to his chin and closed his eyes. May watched as he chose a different pokeball.
"I must admit that I wasn't expecting that move," he said. "But in battle, you must always expect the unexpected." He threw the pokeball in the air with a small flourish and said, "Come on out, metang!"
A floating Pokémon that seemed to be made of metal was released. It stared her down with blank eyes. May's own eyes widened as she took in the Pokémon's strange form. What is that? I've never seen anything like it!
"I might as well switch things up too," May pulled a pokeball out from her pocket and threw it in the air. "Let's see what you can do, psyduck!"
The duck-like Pokémon sprung out of its pokeball and landed softly on the battlefield.
May swore that she heard the stranger chuckle a bit as he took in his opponent. There's nothing funny about my psyduck. I'll show you how tough it can be!
"Quick, use confusion!" she commanded and the derpy Pokémon sent out a wave of psychic energy. Surprisingly, her opponent just stood and watched as the attack came hurtling towards his metang. Aren't you going to dodge or attack back? The attack hit the metang, but it barely flinched on impact.
"What?" said May in disbelief.
The man smirked, something that took her by surprise, and said, "Metang, use bullet punch."
"What's that move?"
She soon learned that it was a powerful attack that involved the metang speedily hovering over to psyduck and promptly punching it in the face. The pokemon was blown back and tumbled next to her. Not again! If this is anything like the last round, his next move is going to defeat psyduck. But I always have mudkip left, I suppose.
With this in mind, May was not surprised when her psyduck's water gun move did not stop the metang from finishing it off with yet another bullet punch. The duck's eyes closed and it flopped onto the ground shortly after impact. She returned it and motioned for her mudkip to return to the battle. Although weakened from the previous round, her mudkip had had some time to not only rest but observe the battle style of the stanger's metang. She hadn't planned it like that, but she realized how important resting her muskip would prove to be.
"Alright mister tough guy," she said. "I know you're a man of little words, but I want you to answer something for me: if you wanted to battle so much, why are you knocking me out so easily? A true Trainer would make the battle linger just so they could see how powerful their opponent really is. But all you're doing is pummeling by Pokémon down with no thought about it. So what's going on?"
The man looked down at the ground and balled his fists. May didn't let her gaze wander from him as he took in her words. "You wouldn't understand." He finally said. "No one can…" He lifted his head and pointed his finger towards his metang. "Metang, use zen headbutt!"
May gasped as the Pokémon came hurtling towards her mudkip. Knowing that it would be too late to give her Pokémon any commands, she cried out, "Mudkip, try your best to stand firm!"
Her partner nodded and curled into a ball just in time to brace for the impact of the attack. To May's shock, it stood firm, as commanded, and endured the hit to the best of its ability. The metang floated back towards its partner. She could see that mudkip had been hurt, but was not as badly damaged as she had initially thought. She smiled and started to say, "Good job, mudkip!" when it started to glow.
"What's happening?" she asked in disbelief as her Pokémon began growing before her very eyes. Soon, it emerged from the light in a form she'd never seen before. It was taller, had a different face and had longer, stronger fins. Its eyes were still the same, and they shined at her. "Oh my gosh!" she exclaimed as she took in the sight of her new mudkip—well, her new marshtomp.
The stranger made a noise that sounded like he was impressed. "Despite the power of my attacks, your mudkip was able to evolve." He locked eyes with her and added, "But it's still no match for my metang! Use metal claw!"
May grinned, happy to see the stranger emit some kind of emotion and said, "Quick, use mud shot!"
The mud shot prevented the metang from reaching her marshtomp, but the stranger was now more determined than ever. "Don't give up, metang."
"Before it can get up, use mud shot again!" May commanded.
The stranger gasped as it saw yet another attack come barreling towards his Pokémon. "dodge it and use bullet punch!"
May hadn't expected that move and before she knew it, she was witnessing the metang punch her marshtomp straight in the stomach. Her Pokémon was forced into the sand and it landed a few feet away from her.
As the sand settled in the cave, May noticed that she was breathing hard. Battling had taken more out of her than she had previously thought. Her defeated marshtomp lay on the sand, its breathing slow. She pulled out its pokeball and returned it. "Wow," she huffed, placing her hands on her knees. "You're strong."
The man merely nodded as he too returned his Pokémon. May continued to try and catch her breath, but she noticed that the stranger wasn't moving from his spot. He didn't approach her to give her prize money, like the other trainers had. Rather, he was staring at his metang's pokeball. He tossed it in his hands and the way he acted implied that he was deep in thought. He looked up at her and this time his gaze was not as intimidating. Picking up the pack that he had left on the floor previous to their battle, the man slung it across his shoulder and walked past her. Just as he was about to exit the cave, he paused, placed a hand on the wall and said, "I think I will return home now."