Back in with the Pokemon - exploring the inside of a mountain, which may not be a Mystery Dungeon after all...
Chapter 13 - Deep Coronet
"This is where we stop," Dugtrio spoke up, coming to a stop. The three heads rotated to look at the group that had been following behind him. "I will not set foot into Deep Coronet."
"We don't expect you to," Pika replied. He patted one of huge heads while Swamp and Cedar exchanged glances - Do Dugtrio have feet?
Blue looked out beyond the Ground-Type, taking note that the tunnel they had been walking through split in two past a cavern that interrupted the narrow passage.
"Do you know where the tunnels lead?" the Kanto Trainer asked.
"No, we don't, but we can sense that one of the tunnels leads to the surface, and the other goes deeper underground." The Ground-Type motioned to the left and right with his heads as he said this. "However, we don't know what is on the other side of the tunnels."
"The cries came from deeper in the mountain," Pika stated, turning to look back at the rest of the group. "I doubt they'd be out where Cyrus and his goonies could see them." He turned to face the cavern again, then started forward.
Swamp started after the Electric-Type as Blue and Gary started forward, only to pause when he felt vibrations travel up his arms and dissipate. He looked over at Cedar, who was starting to frown, as well.
"There's seismic activity occurring somewhere on the mountain," Swamp muttered.
"I sensed that when we first got here," Cedar stated, nodding. "There's something going on. Especially since it doesn't feel like a Ground-Type attack."
"What is it, then?" Blues asked, glancing back at the two Hoenn Pokemon. Gary looked back, as well, a curious frown coming over his face.
Victini, who had been on Gary's shoulder, floated off into the empty air in front of the group. "There's an energy in the air...one I've felt only a few times back at home..." He turned and faced the others. "There's a Dragon using Draco Meteor on this mountain."
Swamp and Cedar looked at each other as they left the cavern and started into the right-side tunnel.
"There are a lot of Dragon Pokemon that know that attack," Cedar remarked. "And a lot of them are missing from the Underground."
"One of them is on my team," Swamp stated, a thoughtful frown coming over his face. "He'd said that he knew about the location of a haven..."
The Sceptile shot the Swampert a look. "You can't be serious. You think he's here?"
Swamp looked over at the scarred Grass-Type. "I do. He never stayed on the Jhoto Mountains for long, and to rest in hiding somewhere."
"Who're you two talking about?" Blue asked, frowning.
"Rayquaza," Swamp replied. "The first Legendary that my Trainer found, and a very powerful one, at that."
"But why would he be using Draco Meteor in here?" Gary demanded. "He's going to cause a tunnel to collapse or something!"
Blue whacked Gary upside the back of the head, getting the Trainer to glare up at him.
"Keep quiet," Blue stated. "We don't know whether or not it is a Rayquaza that is setting off the tremors."
Gary scowled. "I doubt they can here me from here, bro."
"You can never be too sure," Blue replied. He looked up at the cave ceiling. "The Elite Four had eyes and ears everywhere when Lance had his sights set on...other things."
Swamp blinked, then frowned. He didn't know what Blue was referring to, so it must have occurred before he had hatched in Hoenn. The Lance he had heard about was a decent Trainer, not whatever Blue might have been suggesting.
They continued on through the tunnel in silence until Pika stopped and almost caused Gary to trip over the Electric Mouse.
"What in the name of -"
Blue clapped a hand over his younger brother's mouth. "No swearing," he muttered.
Gary yanked Blue's hand off his mouth. "You do it all the time," he muttered.
"Not when he may have younger ears."
Gary looked over at Victini, but Blue grabbed the top of Gary's head and made it tip back to look up at the cave ceiling.
"Golbats," Pika confirmed, getting into a fighting stance. "I was wondering if there were a few of them watching us, but they didn't make their presence known until I saw a flash up there." The Pikachu pointed up at a stalagmite, and something flashed.
Swamp frowned. "Is one of them holding some Shiny Powder?"
"No..." Cedar pointed at the flash as it turned into a steady light. "It looks like a reversed Supersonic, but I don't know anyone who -"
"I do."
Everyone looked over (or up) at Blue, who had his gaze set on the light. "There's no one else who would be able to train their Golbat to do that."
"Who?" Swamp asked.
"Koga."
As soon as Blue said the name, there was a screech and a flurry of wings, and a blue-and-purple flying Pokemon flew off into the tunnel ahead of them and disappeared form sight.
Swamp felt another tremor travel up his limbs, and he looked over at Cedar. "It was stronger this time. I think we're getting close."
Pika looked back at the Swampert and gave a nod. "I felt it that time, as well. And you're right, Cedar - this isn't a Ground-Type attack."
Cedar gave a nod while Victini gave an excited twirl in the air.
"It's a Dragon attack!" Victini crowed, clearly sounding excited.
"Something is definitely going on here," Blue muttered. "Come on - let's go."
"Hey, wai -"
Pika didn't get to finish his sentence, as Blue and Gary dashed forward through the tunnel.
"Headstrong Trainers," the Pikachu muttered, shaking his head. "We'd better go after them before they get into more trouble than we're prepared for."
Swamp nodded in agreement and started to pick up his pace while Cedar did the same. Victini landed on top of Swamp's head as the Water/Ground-Type broke out into his version of a run. However, Cedar moved even faster than the Swampert, and was able to rush ahead with Pika.
At the same time, however, a loud roar suddenly shook the air, causing Swamp and the two Pokemon ahead of him to stumble in surprise.
"That cry..." Pika looked back at Swamp, but didn't get the chance to say anything more, because he was interrupted by a mental voice:
"Swamp! Cedar! Get over here, you two!"
Swamp and Cedar went rigid instantly, and they looked at each other.
"Rayquaza!" the two Pokemon exclaimed together.
A moment later, the group went barreling through what remained of the tunnel. Slowly, the tunnel started to lighten up, and then it widened into a cavern with a tall ceiling and lined with torches.
Within the cavern stood a blue dragon with large, red wings, next to a bare-chested, white-bearded man with a rather extravagant coat and ship captain's hat. Across from them, the large green dragon that was Rayquaza was looking down at Gary and Blue with a look of excitement and eagerness.
The Salamence let out a low growl and got into low crouch when it saw the four Pokemon enter the cavern. The sailor placed a hand on the Dragon/Flying-Type's head.
"Easy," the man muttered. "If Ray here called out to 'em, they're probably friends."
The Salamence looked up at his Trainer with a glower, then reluctantly relaxed. "Fine."
"Ray?" Swamp looked over at the man and frowned. "Since when did you know of his old nickname?"
"Since I told him," the Rayquaza replied. "I mean, they had to call me something to help tell me apart from the others around here." He grinned, then motioned for the Pokemon to come closer, which they did in a slow, cautious manner. "So, what are you guys doing down here? I didn't think that you knew about this place."
"Knew?" Pika repeated. "We found out that there was something going on over here by accident! I gathered a team together to see if there was anything that we should be worried about."
"Well, it is curious when a member of the Hoenn Elite Four was hiding here right under our noses," Blue stated, motioning to the sailor. "Drake, there wouldn't happen to be more of you, would there?"
The sailor gave a smirk. "Wouldn' you like ta know, eh?" He looked up at Ray. "What do you think? Tell 'em?"
Ray shook his head. "No. Show them."
"Show us what?" Gary asked, impatient.
"You'll see," Drake replied, now with a full-blown grin. "Come on, all of you - there's quite a few people who are going to want ta see ya." The Elite Four sailor turned and started to walk away from them and deeper into the cavern, Salamence turning and following after him.
Ray looked at the group, grinned, then turned and started after Drake himself.
"What's going on in this place?" Gary muttered, frowning. "I mean, I heard Drake and his buddies got taken by Cyrus, not disappeared into some mountain that we had claimed as off-limits."
"That's just an old wives' tale that got spread 'round by a Frontier Tower Tycoon's Cresselia," Drake called back to the muttering teenager. "Like how your little rumor about the Underground was found early on and taken down?"
"We never asked a Pokemon for that," Blue spoke up. "Geetz rounded up every Ghost-Type in the area and had them pretend to be vengeful spirits. No Galactic member comes near Old Sandgem, now."
There was the sound of a deep-throated laugh from one of the Dragon Pokemon, and it took Swamp a moment to realize that it was Salamence.
"I remember that Gengar," the Dragon/Flying-Type stated. "I met him some time after White helped us against Magma and Aqua. He's...strange, but smart. I think White trusted him more when he was on his own than when he was on her team."
The cavern split, and Drake led the group down the larger, taller tunnel, which sloped downward and turned a gentle corner.
"Where are we going?" Cedar asked, looking around cautiously at the cave walls. "I do not want to be trapped down here if I don't know where we are."
"A cautious one, aren't ya?" Drake asked. He clearly sounded humored. "We're headin' to a meetin' place. I was about ta go there anyway for some emergency thingy, but then you showed up an' I got delayed."
The Pokemon and Trainers from the Underground exchanged glances as they continued through the tunnel. Ray, seeing the looks that Swamp and the others were exchanging, twitched his tail in amusement.
After a couple of minutes, the tunnel leveled out and enlarged again, becoming an even larger cavern than the one they had been in before. There were some murmurings coming from within the cavern, but these were quickly shushed when Drake entered the cavern with his guests.
Swamp and Cedar came around from the back of the group and stopped next to Drake and Salamence in order to get a better look at the area they had just set foot in. The Hoenn natives' eyes widened in surprised when they saw who else was hiding in the mountain.
"No way..." Swamp looked at the long, stone table that sat in the center of the room, his eyes scanning the figures sitting - or standing - around the table. "This is impossible."
"No, it isn't," Drake replied, grinning. He turned to face the table and it's occupants again as one figure strode forward, cape flapping out behind him. "Hey, Lance. I found us a few kids from the haven next door. Would you believe that we've been livin' next to the Underground?"
The spiky, red-haired Jhoto Champion looked around the group that Drake had amassed around him, then up at the Hoenn Legendary who was grinning like a madman.
"These two are friends of yours, aren't they?" Lance asked, motioning to Swamp and Cedar.
Ray nodded. "Swamp is a part of my team, and Cedar leads a rival team. I know them both very well." The snake-like dragon bent down so that his head was next to the pair of Kanto Trainers. "And these two are famous enough in their own right as Trainers."
Lance gave a nod, then motioned for the group to follow him before starting back towards the table. The others followed after him and collected themselves around the table at random locations.
"So, to what do we owe the pleasure?" asked an auburn-haired young woman with glasses and a large white seal with a horn curled around her chair.
"A Dugtrio told us there was something going on here and I came to investigate," Pika replied as he jumped onto the table. "We thought that it might have been the Goons, not the collective Elite Fours from all the regions."
"Or the Champions," Blue added, turning his gaze to eye a eighteen-year-old teenage boy with a red and white baseball cap and a Pikachu on his shoulder.
The receiving end of the look smirked and wagged a finger. "Remember, Blue, White's technically the Champion of all these regions - not us." He motioned to the other figures sitting on either side of him. "And she isn't here."
"She'll come," Pika stated seriously, tapping his badge. "I'd stake our Guild on it."
"It's hard to say that when we're in the situation that we are," Gary muttered. Blue whacked him upside the back of the head, producing a yell of complaint.
"White's always been an odd one," Blue stated. "She'll pull through."
"Blue is right. White will not leave us to flounder like this unless she has to."
There was a flash of light above the table, and three figures appeared there, hovering practically back-to back as they looked down at the figures sitting at the tables.
"White will reappear when she is capable of doing so," a certain yellow-headed sprite finished.
The collective Elite Fours and Champions jumped to their feet in shock and surprise, but only Lance looked like he knew what was going on.
"This is why I had to call all of you in," the Dragon Trainer stated, motioning to the three small Pokemon above their heads. "These three appeared to me and told me that something big had recently happened in the citadel."
Swamp shifted from foot to foot. "I've heard of this. They told my team, Aurora, and Chaos of this before we reached the Underground."
"They did?" Salamence looked at the Water/Ground-Type in surprise.
"We didn't inform you of everything, Swamp," Merlin the Uxie warned. "There was one piece of information which we left out."
"What are you talking about?" Pika asked, frowning. "And does this have anything to do with why you are freed?"
"Indeed. You may thank Arctic for freeing us." Lien the Mesprit nodded to Red, who stared at the Lake Spirits in surprise. "However, that is not the only piece of news that we brought to Swamp." She turned to look at the mentioned Swampert. "Would you like to inform them?"
Swamp blinked in surprise when the entire group of humans and Pokemon present turned their heads to look at him. After regaining his composure, he took a few steps forward and placed his front paws on the table.
"My Trainer is not being controlled by Cyrus."
The statement seemed to cause time to freeze in the room - which was nearly impossible, considering that the world had been messed up enough as it was.
"How is that possible?" Lorelei asked, surprised. "We've heard enough from the towers that -"
"While most children are under his control, there are a few who managed to avoid the spell-casting that came with it," Merlin stated calmly. "Khrista is not the only one, even though she was the only one we were able to make sure that would not be harmed by Cyrus. There are two others who have managed to escape his control, as well."
"Who?" Cedar asked instantly, coming forward to place his paws on the stone table. "Is one of them Joshua?"
Once again, the room seemed to pause. The Lake Spirits looked at each other, then back at the Sceptile.
The blue-headed sprite, who had yet to speak, flew over to Cedar and stopped on front of him.
"Your Trainer is safe, but at a cost," the Azelf stated grimly. "Chaos attempted to stop Cyrus himself by invading and sabotaging with a friend. He succeeded in rescuing Joshua, but at the price of his companion's freedom. In leaving that place, we were forced...to capture..."
The little Legendary didn't look like he wanted to continue, and he looked back at Merlin and Lien.
"Jewels, you were the one who was there," Merlin stated with a shake of his head. "I cannot take over for you in this."
Jewels looked a little distressed, and he slowly turned to look back at Cedar. "Your teammate Jirachi was taken."
In the shocked silence that followed, Jewels quickly retreated to Merlin and Lien, remaining there and looking oddly nervous.
"That's almost as bad as the idea of them getting me," Victini noted from his perch on Swamp's head. The little V-shaped Legendary became wide-eyed at the thought.
"Victini!" barked a voice, sounding surprised. At the other end of the table, a young girl with wild, dark purple hair going all over the place stood up and slammed her hands down on the table. "Do you have any idea how much we've been worrying over you?!"
A small, green Pokemon with tusks sticking out on either side of its mouth jumped up into the table and cried out in agreement.
Victini caught sight of the girl and let out a squeak and ducked behind Swamp's cranial fin. "Eep! Iris!"
"Get over here, you little troublemaker!" Iris yelled. She made as to climb up onto the table. However, a man with white hair and a beard that completely covered his mouth like a dragon's lower jaw grabbed the back of Iris' pink, frilly dress and dragged her back into her seat.
"Calm yourself," the man stated calmly. "Victini was obviously safe with allies."
"We could have used his help on a couple raids, Drayden," Iris argued, turning to look at the man.
Drayden glared down at Iris. Swamp didn't see the full-blown glare, but he could tell that Iris didn't want to stand against it. She glared back at him, then looked away and sat down in her chair again, pouting.
"Khrista and Joshua - the two Avatars we have just named - are not the only ones who have managed to escape Cyrus' mental torment," Lien stated quickly. "There is a girl who arrived, went through the machine, and came out the other end with a sword and blasted Cyrus and Ash in the face with a Hydro Pump."
The Mesprit grinned at the looks of surprise she got. "I know! They stuck her with one of the other kids and tried to take away her weapon away. The sword kept reappearing in her hand, though, so they just dropped her with the first kid they had dragged in."
"Khrista, Joshua, and the strange girl who calls herself Mist all have the chance to cause havoc and destroy the citadel from the inside out," Merlin stated. "However, that will not be enough to cause Cyrus to fall. They will need someone to work from the outside in."
Swamp, upon hearing this, stood a little straighter. "I'd be willing to help. My Trainer didn't need to get dragged into this."
"I'll help, as well," Cedar stated.
"And don't forget about me," Ray stated seriously. "I know I haven't done much besides teach other Dragon-Types to use Draco Meteor, but I want to help take this guy down!"
The Pokemon that were sitting next to the Elite Four and Champions called out in agreement to Ray's statement.
"It's not going to be easy," Lance warned.
"Aye," Drake agreed. "Cyrus has enough Pokemon to rival the numbers in the seas. We're going to need more than this motley group in order to take Spiky down."
"I think I can solve that!" Pika raised a paw from his position on the table. "I run an Exploration Guild that's been doing rescues and raids ever since we set up shop in the Underground. There's plenty of Pokemon there who would be more than willing to help take down the guy who's made our jobs harder, believe me."
"And the Trainers and Gym Leaders we have on our side would be more than willing to help!" Gary added, grinning.
"I think Professor Birch would want to take on the entire citadel himself," Blue remarked, smirking. "He probably thinks he can take on the world at this point."
"Like Dad could ever do that!" called out a teenage girl with blue eyes, brown hair, and a blue bandanna on her head.
"My dad, maybe," added an identical teenage girl with a red bandanna on her head. "It's probably gotten really bad if Professor Birch thinks he can handle that."
The two Fire/Fighting-Type, feathered Pokemon behind the two girls nodded in agreement.
Lance looked over at the two girls and nodded himself before looking back at Blue. "We should send a group to your Underground so that the Professors know that they aren't alone in this. Just a few Trainers should be more than enough."
At once, everyone stood up from their chairs and called, "Take me!"
"We can't take everyone," Drayden growled, looking around. "Some of us have to stay here to guard our own."
"Deep Coronet is connected to the Underground, so we can have a steady flow of Trainers through the tunnels if you really want to go back and forth," Pika spoke up. "A welcome committee would be all right, though."
"I think I'll have to go, then," Red spoke up. "Professor Oak is going to want to know how I'm doing."
"And his mom, too," Gary muttered under his breath, but no one said anything to add to his statement.
Swamp, however, did give the Kanto Trainer a curious look, but chose to said nothing.
"Sapphire, Ruby, you two should go, too," Drake spoke up, looking to the blue-bandanna girl and a boy with a white hat with a red stripe along the bottom. "Norman an' Birch are probably wonderin' where you and your siblings have gone."
"Wouldn't put it past him," Ruby muttered, exchanging a glance with the girl with the red bandanna.
"Steven, you should go, too," Lance added.
The gray-haired young man with a Metagross behind him looked over at the Jhoto Champion and gave a nod.
"We will go, as well," Merlin stated, nodding to the Pokemon and their Trainers below. "Professor Rowan will want to hear from us." The other two Lake Spirits nodded in agreement.
"Then it's settled," Pika stated. "Let's head back to the Underground."
Hahaha! I really liked writing Iris yelling at Victini. It seemed fitting that a girl with a dragon-esque spirit would get so mad that the Victory Pokemon wasn't with them. XD
See you guys next week!