So excited for this arc!
"Some cave..." Sam said, letting a pickaxe he had been given hit a rock with a clang and turning switching the headlight on the hard helmet he had been given on.
I yelped and scurried behind Sam as I noticed the rock I had been skirting around was a Geodude.
Sam laughed. "I guess we should all just make sure we stick together and follow the instructions the man told us. It's the second half of the cave that's the real problem, right?"
Kurt nodded, dragging a petrified Abra behind him. "They said they got some seriously crazy unstable energy readings from the eastern part of the cave a during this month every year."
The cave forked into two directions in front of us. I sniffed the air but all I could smell was rocky underground. I turned to Sam, indicating I had no idea which way to go.
"This way's east," Kurt said moving to the right tunnel without hesitation. We all followed.
"What do you guys think is in here?" Rae inquired casually.
"Hmm. Maybe a super powerful Pokemon who has been asleep for hundreds of years!" Kurt said excitedly.
"Doesn't explain why it only emits energy once a month," Sam said dismissively.
Kurt karate chopped his head. "You're just trying to keep it to yourself!"
"W-what? Don't be ridiculous!" Sam said, massaging the top of his head.
"Hey, did you hear a voice?" It took me a second to register that it didn't come from any of us. We all froze.
"Who could that be?" Sam whispered. "No one else is supposed to be in here."
"They don't sound like they really care about that." Kurt remarked quietly, crouching down to prevent detection, I stood with my side to the wall trying to identify their position by the sound, unfortunately, the cave's reverberation confused my ears. Then I remembered I couldn't pinpoint sounds in the first place. That's just awesome.
"Cleffa. See what they're doing and if they have Pokemon with them. Be careful." Rae said, crouching down to Cleffa.
"Cle-fa!" Nodded the pink star Pokemon as she sneakily made her way around the corner. We all inched closer, breathing quietly.
BEEP. BEEP. BEEP.
"Hey! The scanner's finally picking one up. It's coming from here." They started in our direction.
"It's gotta one of those Clefairy we've been searching for! There it is!"
Cleffa was in trouble. We jumped to our feet and ran into view of the intruders. They saw us and sneered.
"If you're after this one, too bad. It's ours. Scram." One of the men said.
"Before we kick your cans outta here," The second finished.
"Stay away from my Cleffa! Azurill, use water gun, Igglybuff, helping hand!" Both small Pokemon ran forward to where Gold and I were baring our teeth.
Cleffa, more confident with back up, took a step forward, flicking her ears while looking at Rae.
"Alright Cleffa, get ready!" Rae said.
The grunts released Zubat, Paras, and Ekans.
"Cleffa, Pound."
"Rapid spin!"
"Quick attack!"
The paras approached the trainers and Sam, Kurt and Rae jumped to the sides of the cave tunnel to avoid a poison powder. Sam on one side and the others on the other. Igglybuff jumped up to run to the other side of the cave to get to Rae but Sam grabbed her to prevent her from getting in the powder.
I went straight for Geodude, delivering a sound hit before jumping back next to Gold and Cleffa.
The two offending Pokemon were shaken and the paras was steadily being weakened by Abra and Azurill.
"That's it, Geodude, use magnitude!"
"What?" Gold exclaimed in shock. I whipped my head around to look at him.
"You can't be serious! You moron! You can't use magnitude in a cave! It'll collapse!" Kurt yelled.
A rumble came from above.
"Everybody! Get to a wall!" Sam called, grabbed Azurill, who was inches away from him. "Gold! Defense Curl!" Nova, be-" He was cut off as I ran towards him and a huge rock crashed between us sending up dust and small chunks of rock.
"Stay there Nova, you'll be hit!" Sam yelled making wide shooing motions. I didn't stop-I didn't want to be separated from him. No way. I continued towards him, eyes squinted in my attempt to see past the floating debris. I wasn't going to lose him.
At least not until I felt something tackle my side.
I was knocked to the side of the wall. In a second, in the spot I had occupied a second earlier was a sandstone brick armor curling in defense. Oh Arceus no. Panic pounded loud in my ears as I tried to open my mouth for a warning. "Gold!"
The rocks hit him with a terrifying impact, burying his unmoving form with several times his weight in broken rocks and rubble. "Gold! Can you hear me?" I looked around for help but the place where Sam had been moments earlier was completely blocked off, there was no way out of the tunnel and no way to get to Sam, Rae, Kurt or my other friends.
Alone.
Alone.
Alone...
I couldn't get to any of my friends. Maybe it would have been better if I had never even left Oak's...
This pain was something I was totally unaccustomed to and I found it hurt more than any other sensation I had felt before. Worse than fighting that gang of Meowth and worse than the boulders that had struck me at the Gym.
At least then I knew I was battling with my friends all cheering me on...
A choking breath hitched in my throat as I collapsed to the dusty floor without resistance, shaking in misery.
A rumble woke me up from my desperate reverie. My watery gaze shifted back towards the rocks where Gold had fallen. Another rumble. I jumped up and ran towards the rock pile. A few seconds later, a disgruntled Gold forced his way out, spitting dirt out off to the side. I hastily rubbed the tears from my face with my dirty paw.
"Gold! You're okay!"
Gold looked at me funny for a second before dusting himself off. "Of course I am. What do you think, that I'd push you out of the way if I weren't sure I could handle it? I'm a fighting type. Rocks are nothing." Gold grouched, climbing off the pile and looking around.
Immensely relieved, I learned that I should have never lost faith so quickly in my friends and successfully refrained myself from saying anything about his type.
Sam!
I turned around and ran over to the larger rockfall, searching for a purchase for my claws and pulled. The rocks didn't budge.
"Sam? Are you okay Sam?"
A few long seconds later, there was a response. "Nova? Is that you?"
I responded by wagging my tail and yipped, too excited for words he wouldn't understand.
SAM
The twelve year old boy moved from the spot he had been shoved in during the rockfall. Only tiny shrills of crying alerted him to where Igglybuff was.
"Shh... it's okay, don't cry," he cooed softly, bouncing the little Pokemon in his arms. Feeling his way towards the direction the tiny amount of light was shining, he explored his surroundings. He was trapped in a small part of the cave barely five square feet.
When he put his hand on the stone and pushed, it didn't so much as shift. Kneading his temple in frustration, he realized his face was covered in grime, his frustrated sigh turned into a cough as he slid against the rock wall with his companion's Pokemon in his arms. Moments later, he heard something faint. Right before he responded, he bit his lip and covering Igglybuff's mouth. It could be those 'Grunts' that had been in the cave. It might be better that they think he's out of the way. He assumed that was what Kurt and Rae were doing as well, as they were in a much more stable part of the cave when the rocks had fallen.
Another minute of silence, then he heard faint scrabbling against the wall he was leaning against. Alert, he turned around and hesitantly pressed his ear against the cool stone.
"Vee-ee? Eevee Vee-ee?"
Sam could've danced in relief. Although it was terribly muffled, it had to be his beloved Eevee.
"Nova? Is that you?" Sam called back. In his arms, Igglybuff perked up.
A series of yips affirmed his question.
Sam grinned. "Don't worry, I'm fine. I've got Missile with me. Is Gold okay?"
"Ve eevee!"
By her tone, Nova was saying yes and Sam sagged in relief.
Everything is going to be fine.
NOVA
Nova's delighted grin was interrupted by a series of harsh coughs.
"Sam? What's wrong?" Nova asked, grappling the rocks.
"Don't worry, it's just really dusty in here," Sam told her before raising his voice and calling towards a different direction. "Hey, Rae! Kurt! Are you guys alright?"
Familiar voices came from the other side of the cave-in. "Yeah, we're all good here! Rae, Abra, and Azurill are with me. Do you have Igglybuff and Cleffa?
"Just Igglybuff, I think Cleffa is with Nova and Gold. They escaped the rocks."
"That's good because well-we're pretty trapped," Groaned Kurt.
"Can't you use Teleport?" Sam asked.
"No. Abra's been hit by that paras's stun spore." Kurt replied.
Sam's voice turned to us. "Well, it looks like it's up to you three unless we can figure out how to wear down this wall."
I nodded in confirmation though they couldn't see me before backing up and charging up a shadow ball at the rocks, releasing at close range in hope that it would make it stronger.
"Rusty, the caves' unstable you can't just-" Gold started. The sphere I had been forming in my mouth shot at the rock, sending a blast of dust in our faces.
"I did it," I managed to say, coughing slightly.
"Don't be too sure," Gold said, waving the smoke aside. The rock had barely splintered and the cracks made in it were razor thin. Fighting the rising feeling of hopelessness, I shook the dust out of my fur. "I'll try again!" Gold shoved me before I could charge my second Shadow ball.
"What's the point?" Gold reasoned, "It'll take a hundred more of these to get through to them. We've got to figure something else out."
Surprised by his logic, I stared back at the rocks, feeling defeated. '...You're right.'