Two days later Akuma, Kurishimi, and Chad finally departed from Lavender Town, their final errands completed. Akuma had been especially busy during these last moments in his hometown, but few knew or inquired about what he was up to as usual. Brianna left a day before the others, claiming to head towards Cerulean City. Akuma escorted her to the rock tunnel cave system before flying off to the power plant. Kurishimi and Chad continued on with their recent activities until they left town as usual. They went to those they had come to know best throughout their stay to say a personal farewell before they left, but none of the three endured Mr. Fuji's presence for long. When it was Kurishimi's turn the old man seemed respectful to the point of nervousness though she couldn't guess why that was. Akuma made his own detour through the town and met up with the others in the outskirts right before they left. Together and on their own again, the three trainers headed south along the fishing route toward Fuschia City.
"Soooo, what are the chances of stopping by the fishing spots later?" Chad asked.
"Non existent," Akuma quickly said.
"Oh come on! We've all got water Pokémon now that haven't been to the ocean in a long time. We know they would appreciate it enough to stop by for a little bit and we can look for new ones to catch too."
"We don't need any new Pokémon at the moment. We all did enough growing since leaving Vermillion City that any newcomers would be a burden. And if your Pokémon wanted to go for a swim they should have used the simulator before we left. I'm not turning around at this point."
"Just because you hate the water doesn't mean we're restricted too, Akuma," Kurishimi said in a teasing voice.
"I'm not hydrophobic," Akuma quickly replied. "I just really, really dislike being around water. That's the only reason."
"Yeah, there's already a word for that. You know what it's called? Hydrophobia."
Chad laughed while Akuma's cheeks slightly colored from embarrassment at the obvious blunder he'd stumbled into. "Either way we're not going. Besides, more trainers and wild Pokémon varieties may be found on this side of the road anyway. It's much more productive to stay away from the water. Most fisherman trainers only catch Magikarp and Goldeen anyway. It's even more wasteful to be stopped by them."
"Even if you say that, I don't see much activity around here," Kurishimi said as she surveyed the landscape.
"It's because we aren't far enough out of town yet. Just wait and we'll find something interesting."
"There's more interesting things by the water though," Chad mumbled.
"Don't count on it entirely. There's something interesting nearby, but neither of you two noticed it yet."
Kurishimi looked up in the air while Chad looked away from the direction of the ocean toward the grasslands. "I don't see anything very interesting," she said after a moment.
"Like I said, neither of you have noticed it yet. Now stop looking around and start paying attention."
Silence between the three resumed as they continued down the road. Eventually Kurishimi noticed what he was talking about, but didn't say anything. Still, she began to walk a little more stiffly until Akuma nudged her with his elbow.
"Loosen up or he'll notice. We can take care of it after we pass something suitable on the side of the road."
Chad had indeed noticed Kurishimi's change in behavior but hadn't figured out what they were talking about. Akuma also hadn't tried to speak quiet enough that he couldn't hear either which was strange considering what he'd said. Then suddenly he understood what they were talking about. It would have been easier for them to say it flat out, but he didn't dare confirm what he suspected. As the road stayed bare for a long time Akuma eventually got impatient and whispered something to Kurishimi. She looked at the ground before kneeling down and started fiddling with her shoe.
Akuma stopped walking and turned around to look at her. "What are you doing?"
"My shoe came untied. Give me a minute."
"Take all the time you need."
Knowing it was safe to look now, Chad turned around to see someone coming up the road behind them. He was watching the three from half a mile back and seemed to have paused for a moment when Chad and Akuma looked in his direction, but kept coming toward them as if nothing had changed. By the time Kurishimi had undone and retied her shoe he had come close enough to wave at them without seeming like he had been following them. Knowing how long ago it was since Akuma had possibly known he was behind them however, Chad seriously doubted the innocent coincidence. Kurishimi got a sign from Akuma to stall while Chad acknowledged the other person with a forced wave of his own.
"Are you three heading to Vermillion or Fuschia City?" the person asked when he had come close enough.
"We travel where our feet lead us to," Akuma said. "We have no set destination expect where the road should stop."
"Um… okay then. Anyway, in case you head south instead of east you should know there's a roadblock on the way. I'm heading to Vermillion to try to catch a ferry to the city instead. Since the road will be blocked for a long time I'm hoping they give rides to Fuschia for cheap."
The man continued on down the road while the trio waited until he had made some distance before they started to talk again.
"Mysterious roadblock ahead," Kurishimi thought out loud, "with no explanation or description other than being expected to take a long time before it gets removed. I assume our options are to either fly over it or to take the ferry, correct?"
"There is always a third option, but I assume we can fly over it, yes," Akuma agreed.
"We can also dig under it or swim around it," Chad started to say before Akuma cut him off.
"There will be NO swimming around it!"
Kurishimi chewed her lip again, this time to keep from laughing while Akuma glared at the back of her head after she turned away.
"We can probably avoid it easily enough," Akuma repeated. "We'll keep going south and look at the roadblock ourselves."
Again they started their walk down the road, but Akuma immediately stopped after a few steps.
"Wait, something's not right here. We're out in the middle of the open right now aren't we? To my knowledge the road goes on like this for a long time until we have to cross some cliffs followed by a forest. Even then there should be multiple roads people can take while they travel so a roadblock shouldn't be such a problem for most people."
"Maybe it's in an inconvenient location?" Kurishimi offered.
"That's possible, but not likely. Such roadblocks would be broadcasted with an option for simple alternatives. Taking a wide detour to another city shouldn't be listed as one of our choices."
"Here's a thought," Chad suddenly said, "stop wondering what kind of roadblock we should take and check it out for ourselves before flying over it?"
Kurishimi shook her head. "You're right, Chad. There's no point in wondering right now I suppose. Let's just keep going for now. Are you coming, Akuma?" Akuma was staring down the road as far as he could see and didn't seem to want to move yet. "Hey, are you paying attention? Come on, let's go!"
"This is a pretty open area, isn't it?" he asked.
"Yes, you said that already. What's your point?"
"Considering how far we can see ahead of us, where did that man disappear to?"
Kurishimi and Chad looked down the road to find that their visitor was nowhere in sight. There were no alternate roads or places to stop that they could see, yet he had vanished as if he simply ceased to exist.
"I've read about this kind of thing happening before in ghost stories," Chad voiced to no one, "but seeing it for real is kind of… scary."
The two senior trainers looked in all directions cautiously, but couldn't find a sign of him anywhere. Kurishimi had a shaking hand over a poké ball at her waist and even Akuma seemed worried.
"Walk," Akuma finally said.
Kurishimi looked toward him anxiously. "What are you-"
"Walk!" Akuma repeated again. Immediately he started walking quickly down the road again with the younger two following closely behind him. Each one was frightened, but walking onward was all they could do anyway. Even though they hadn't voiced it, each of them was secretly glad night hadn't fallen yet. Unlike the younger two however, Akuma had just realized that the man was familiar to him. In most circumstances that meant trouble so he was determined to keep moving forward for now.
A few hours shortly after noon the terrain began to shift from a scenic grassland hike to jagged and rocky terrain as the three drew closer to the cliff area. While it would be easier to take a detour through the mountains they would lose nearly a week's time while being in a generally unexplored region where they would most likely get lost for an even longer period of time. Their best option was to maneuver the cliffs and valleys by foot for now. Their first change in scenery came when they began to descend into a wide canyon.
"This might explain the possible roadblock," Chad said to himself. "An avalanche in a place like this would really slow down any foot traffic."
"Depends on the type of avalanche," Akuma corrected him. "There aren't many rockslides that can't be climbed or flown over as a detour. Even then it's easier to clear such a roadblock than opt to send out word for people to take a detour. That ghost also said it was one that may take a few days to clear as well."
"That really was a ghost?!" Chad said in a panic right before Akuma quickly shushed the boy with one hand.
"Before you start panicking again keep in mind that if this is an area prone to rockslides an echo from a loud voice or any other such sound will probably cause even more of the same thing. Keep your voice down while we're in the canyon or we'll get crushed. As to your surprise, I couldn't think of another name or suggestion that seemed to accurately describe the mystery that he was. Ghosts do not appear in daylight anyway. Your fear is misplaced."
After Chad nodded his understanding Akuma removed his hand from the boy's mouth. After his mention of possible rockslides Kurishimi began to study the cliff faces as if the scenery might crash down on them at any given moment from Chad's short outburst. It was then that she noticed there were a few signs of Pokémon wildlife living nearby as well. A high number of Spearow and a handful of Pidgey were nesting in the walls of the cliffs while Mankey and other nimble Pokémon maneuvered the difficult footholds among the rocks. She caught hints of other creatures, but for the moment there were none to identify. Though the Pokémon had taken notice of the group they made no move to defend their territory, but most eyes were watching them as they walked deeper into the dangerous area.
"I think Akuma's right about loud sounds being a problem here," she noted. "This area we're walking in isn't very large and the wildlife is the territorial type. If a battle here of some sort were to cause any rockslides the nesting places would be destroyed and some Pokémon could be killed in the destruction. I think we're lucky that it's possible or else we'd have been attacked from all sides from the moment we entered the canyon."
Akuma gave a small grunt of approval. "Nice observation, Akashi. I hadn't thought of that possibility."
Kurishimi wasn't sure what to make of his comment since he kept his voice low enough that his tone was missed. Even so, it felt good to hear positive acknowledgement from him for a change no matter how much of it might have been genuine. Her feeling was halted from curiosity however as Akuma stopped and looked behind the group suddenly.
"What's wrong?" she asked as quietly as she could, remembering the last time Akuma sensed something coming from behind.
In response he put a finger to his lips telling her to be quiet. Akuma crouched halfway down before quickly and silently moving across the ground to look around the corner they had come from. Apparently he had seen nothing since he soon stood up and came back to the other two.
"It was nothing. Just my own paranoia I suppose. Sorry if I scared you."
After a few minutes they began to see openings in the walls that deepened into a cave system. They inspected a few openings to look for any indication of past travelers, but found no signs of such until they came upon a lopsided tunnel where a small pile of twigs and rocks at the entrance were a common sign among hikers as an entrance to a safe tunnel system. After Akuma taught the others about the difference between safe and danger signs and gathered a few stray branches for later use they made their way into the tunnel system.
As the light began to fade Akuma brought out young Sableye to scout a few yards ahead of the group while Kurishimi used Vulpix to give them a soft light source with a hovering will-o-wisp. After Chad marveled at Akuma's unique gem-covered Pokémon they followed Sableye by Vulpix's light. The group came to many crossroads where Sableye didn't stop to ponder at which direction they should go and also found themselves going up and down steep inclines throughout the tunnels until they came to an intersection with six different paths where Sableye slowed down. Here they paused for a rest, allowing Vulpix to rest inside the poké ball after lighting one of the branches Akuma had collected. Sableye foraged for rocks and minerals to eat while Kurishimi distributed health bars among the trainers. After Sableye had its fill and decided which tunnel to enter they began to hike once more by torchlight instead of wisps. Soon the tunnel began to widen and Akuma thought they would soon reach the exit, but the group began to slow as a deep rumbling sound began to sound through the tunnels. Progressing cautiously, they followed the sound to what could have been an exit, but the opening was blocked by a large dark blue mass which seemed to shift with every rumble that sounded.
"And this is where we have a problem," Akuma said to the air. "I bet this is the impassable roadblock which we heard about."
"It's strange that we found it just by heading straight though," Chad observed. "Maybe we took a wrong turn?"
"Not likely. Sableye is a cave dweller and if any of those side passages would lead to an open exit we'd have gone through there instead. Sableye can sense the air flow and currents in the tunnels and led us here because this is the best source for fresh air other than where we came in. You can see some light around the edges of the blockage near the top and bottom which is where the air is getting in from. If Sableye led us here due to this much air flow the other tunnels would have all been a dead end. Unless we can figure out how to move the blockage we'll have to go back the way we came and find another way to Fuschia City. Chances are pretty low we'll find another sign for a safe cave entrance so either we detour to take the ferry or we get through this loud thing."
Kurishimi felt across the wall with her hands. "It's pretty soft and a little fuzzy so it's organic. Based on that noise I'm guessing it'll be a sleeping Pokémon of some sort. I don't know what kind though."
"Okay, then find out for us," Chad said with a shrug of his shoulders.
"Why me? Why don't you do it if you know how?"
"Because I have a plastic card as a trainer's license while you have a pokédex, duh," was Chad's reply.
"And what does that have to do with any… oh my gosh." Kurishimi blushed slightly in embarrassment as she pulled out her pokédex and pointed it at the mass in front of them. The light from the glowing display was blinding and it took a moment before she could see what they had come across. "Oh no, this is not good," she told them when she saw what was blocking the exit. "It's a Snorlax. Weighs over one thousand pounds and after eating its entire weight in food it goes back to sleep for a month's time. We can't get out this way."
Akuma rubbed his forehead in defeat while Chad crossed his arms as he stared at the back of the beast. Kurishimi kept looking through her pokédex for a way to move the Snorlax, but beyond the music of a pokeflute, which none of them had, there was no known way to coax a Snorlax out of its slumber.
"Maybe we can use our Pokémon to move it," Chad suggested. "How much exactly does this Snorlax weigh?"
Kurishimi scanned the Pokémon for the creature's current specific weight. "Oh dear, it's above the average species at the moment so it must have eaten recently. Its current weight is 1,128 pounds. I doubt that we can move it with all our Pokémon's power combined."
Akuma smacked Snorlax's back with an unusual black colored poké ball which bounced off the rubbery flesh and onto the ground. "It won't activate the poké ball's capture sequence either. It's so deep in slumber that the poké ball registers it as an unconscious Pokémon or just unable to fight. Both are true technically and I wasn't expecting it to work because of the safety features on most poké ball models, but I was hoping an apricorn created poké ball wouldn't have that feature installed. I'm going to have to send a letter to the league to have heavy balls outfitted with a disable option for safety purposes in case of Snorlax emergencies after we get to Fuschia." He held out the burning branch he was carrying to Snorlax's back briefly before Kurishimi could stop him.
"Not only is that cruel, but it won't work!" she scolded. "Snorlax's fat insulates against heat and cold. Fire and ice attacks do half the damage to it in battles as well."
"Useful in battles, but it's troublesome in this case. I don't have Metagross with me right now so there's probably no way we're going to get out of here. We'll have to head back after all. Let's get going." Akuma started walking back the way they came with Sableye at the front while the other two trailed behind him.
Kurishimi sighed to herself. "Akuma, I know Metagross is strong, but I don't think even it is strong enough to muscle Snorlax out of the way."
"I wasn't going to shift its position. I would have it psychically lift Snorlax away from the entrance so we could get out."
Kurishimi stopped walking to slap herself repeatedly in the forehead. "I am having such an off day today. I can't believe myself. We might be able to move Snorlax with my Kadabra's powers!"
Akuma's shoulders fell as if to confirm Kurishimi's absentmindedness. "I retract my previous statement regarding your awareness. Bring it out then and we'll get out of this cave."
"Actually there is one problem to be honest. Kadabra's psychic power is so strong that the closer we are to it, we'll get severe headaches. I don't know how long it'll take for Kadabra to move Snorlax so we could all pass out before the opening is clear."
"Can we just keep our distance then?" Chad suggested. "If we stay down the tunnel far enough we won't get headaches as quickly so Kadabra can finish the job while we're all safe."
"Not good enough. I still have to be nearby while Kadabra works. It has an impish nature and might decide to hide outside somewhere while we don't know that the tunnel is clear. After we do check later it'll be waiting somewhere outside for us to find it and with its teleporting ability we might never do so. I have to be close by to make sure that doesn't happen."
"I'll take temporary control of Kadabra then," Akuma announced. "Kadabra only causes headaches in people without a strong psyche. We all know I've got a strong mental stability so I can command it for longer than you. If I do start to pass out I can hold on long enough to pull Kadabra back into its poké ball. If this doesn't work we'll go back the way we came."
"That sounds good in theory, but I doubt Kadabra would listen to your orders and we don't have the luxury of you taking the time to earn its respect either. It might even try to give you a headache for kicks. Is it worth the risk for you?"
"The other option is to backtrack through the cave systems, get on a ferry, and go across the water."
"Ah, I see your point. Okay then, we'll make the trade."
Kurishimi held out her poké ball containing Kadabra but Akuma held up a hand in denial. "No, let's raise our chances of me being able to control him first. Pokémon listen to their trainers first over everyone else so let's add that factor to the chance of success."
With that, Akuma sat down and took off his vest. He laid it out on the ground with the edges open and exposing the inside. Chad saw that there were four more various pockets inside the vest that he wouldn't have guessed could be successfully integrated with clothing in such a way as Akuma had done. The secret pocket containing the mysterious poké ball was easily noticed by the spherical bulge on one side as well. With so many options for equipment and items one could only guess at how much Akuma's vest actually weighed. Chad also observed that a previously concealed large hunting knife was sheathed in place behind his back on the same strap that his poké balls were attached too. Akuma unzipped the base of his vest to reveal that the back of his vest was also a large pocket of sorts as well. From within the vest backing he pulled out a thin metal case which he opened. Inside were electronic components which had been folded with precision underneath a display screen which he began to open out.
"That looks very familiar for some reason," Kurishimi commented.
"It should. It's the modified version of the portable trading system I got in Saffron City. When we were in Vermillion City I sent it to Lavender Town where it was redesigned to be more lightweight with half the bulk so I could carry it with me anywhere. We can use this to temporarily trade your Kadabra for one of my Pokémon so it will take orders from me willingly. At least in theory, if it's as mischievous as you claim. Once the trade is complete you and Chad head back down the tunnel so you'll stay healthy. Once Snorlax is gone you should see the light of day from the entrance. Because Sableye is partially a dark type the psychic waves shouldn't affect it so if Kadabra gets unruly Sableye can keep it from escaping when we're done. The machine is ready now, let's start the trade."
Kurishimi set Kadabra's poké ball on one side of the machine while Akuma did the same with one of his own; Dodrio's poké ball, she noticed. The poké balls glowed softly as the outlined images for each of the Pokémon within appeared on the display screen. The two images crossed paths over the other and continued off screen. When the glow faded from each poké ball Akuma picked up the white poké ball originally containing Dodrio while Kurishimi retrieved hers as well. Akuma didn't turn off the machine, but set it aside since it would be used again shortly.
Kurishimi and Chad requested a ten second head start before Akuma released Kadabra as they retreated down the tunnel led again by Vulpix's will-o-wisp. After ten seconds they heard the echoing sound of an opened poké ball from where they had come so they sat down to rest for a moment, not knowing how long it might take for Akuma to be in control before the work could start. It hadn't been more than a few seconds more before light quickly came streaming in on them from Akuma's position. After five more seconds of grace they rushed over to find Akuma resetting the machine with the fast ball already in position.
"By the way, Akashi, I forgot something about the trading sequence that I probably should have mentioned," Akuma said after the trade had begun. "There is a minor downside, but I think the positives outweigh it remarkably."
"In your opinion it does anyway. What happened?"
"Well a major bonus for you is that you don't have to worry about getting headaches anymore. The bad thing is that you missed the good happening which can be considered quite disappointing for most trainers. I would've brought it up if I remembered it was going to happen before the trade started, but I was surprised too."
"Stop it already and just tell me!" Kurishimi said hurriedly as she reached for the regular poké ball now that the trade was finished.
Akuma quickly snatched up her poké ball and tossed it away so it would open up. Instead of Kadabra, a different Pokémon appeared. The tail was gone in exchange for a more pronounced moustache and instead of one spoon the new Pokémon carried one in each hand. The head was also larger and the brown chest area had decreased in size to an equal degree while brown kneepads and bracers were added to the body as well.
"I forgot to mention that in a trading sequence Kadabra can evolve into Alakazam. That's why Snorlax was moved so quickly. Sorry you missed the moment."
Kurishimi eyed her fully evolved Pokémon with either disbelief or shock. Akuma couldn't tell which. She retrieved her poké ball from the floor before walking around her new Pokémon for inspection. Alakazam eyed her uncomfortably while she did so.
"So… for the first time now I have a Pokémon in its third stage? This is… wow! Oh my gosh, I can't believe it!" Enthusiastically she tackled her Pokémon in a hug while Alakazam went wide-eyed in shock. "I can't believe I've finally got one and it's super powerful too! I mean, I've heard that Alakazam are really smart, but they've also got this unmatchable psychic power in battle so they're really hard to beat and this is so cool!"
Chad raised an eyebrow at Kurishimi's bizarre attitude before slowly trying to sneak out the entrance of the cave. Akuma waited until the fangirl moment had passed before he picked up his own poké ball and started compacting the machine again.
"Okay, it is a good thing that Alakazam evolved, but this doesn't mean you can slack on your training either. New Pokémon, new battling styles, and a new relationship you know. You can't effectively use Alakazam in battle unless you train it carefully and practice together until you get back in synch with each other. As an Abra it couldn't battle and as Kadabra you couldn't practice together. You still have to learn how to work together from the beginning before either of you are ready for a field test, okay?"
Kurishimi was still giddy with excitement, but did hear what her teacher was saying. Although Alakazam was motionless it also seemed to be absorbing what Akuma told her. After the machine was put away and Kurishimi had stopped fawning over her unexpected surprise they finally left the cave system.
Outside they found that they hadn't left the canyon yet as the cliffs still towered overhead. Their travels were not fully useless however as they could smell the faint scent of pine trees on the wind indicating they were much closer to the forested area on their journey. They started to leave, but Kurishimi seemed fixated on the Snorlax which was now resting on its back.
Akuma let her look at the rotund behemoth for a moment before calling out for her to join them. She looked in their direction for a moment then back to the Snorlax as if something was on her mind. Still ignoring the pair she began searching her pokédex for information while Akuma and Chad waited.
"Do you think she's going to use Alakazam to wake it up so she can catch it?" Chad asked.
"That won't work. Snorlax are impossible to wake up naturally beyond the use of a pokeflute when in the middle of hibernation. I don't have a clue what she's doing or thinking right now."
After Kurishimi was satisfied she rejoined the duo on their walk through the canyon.
"What were you doing?" Akuma asked before Chad had the chance.
"Just… something I wanted to know. It's not important, don't worry about it."
Both Akuma and Chad were thinking that it wasn't quite so unimportant if she took as much time as she did, but it didn't seem as if she would say any more on the matter so they didn't press the issue any further.
Many hours later as the sky began to change colors with the coming sunset the trio finally came to the exit of the canyon walls. Before them the forest stretched out into a beautiful valley which they knew would lead them to Fuschia City. Chad turned around for one last look at the canyon where they had shared an eventful day together when something caught his eye. He quickly pulled out a small pair of binoculars from a pocket on the side of his jeans and focused on the cliffs where he'd seen a shine. Akuma and Kurishimi patiently waited until he was done searching the cliff face.
"What did you see?" Akuma asked him.
Chad shook his head. "I don't think it was what I saw actually. Just the sunset playing tricks on my eyes I suppose."
Satisfied with the answer they left the canyon behind to make camp at the edge of the forest.
After all, Chad thought to himself, Pidgey are always colored brown, not gold.