Yeah, the last chapter was pretty embarrassing and amateurish. I've needed this brake I've been on but it's time to get back to work. Of course I wait to the Friday of my deadline before I start, but whatever. Hopefully this will be better than the last…
Though Red, Blue, Green, and Pikachu were certainly moving quite quickly, they had no idea if they were headed in the right direction. That wasn't in the forefront of any of their minds. No, they were too busy avoiding the attacks of a very angry Onix that Blue had provoked.
"This is ridiculous! I barely touched that stupid thing!" Blue complained as the group rounded a corner. The Onix followed them occasionally lunging at them or picking up a rock with its tail and flinging it at them.
"Well, how would you react if someone randomly kicked you in the shin?" Green returned.
Blue skidded to a halt, "Probably like this!" Red and Green stopped to see him turn toward the approaching Onix. He threw a Pokéball, causing the Onix to stop for a second to face the new opponent. "Wartortle, use Water Pulse! Now!" The turtle Pokémon appeared in a flash of light and blasted a disk of water at the approaching rock snake. The rampaging Onix barely leaned out of the way in time. The blast of water kept going and hit some kind of stone pillar on the other side of the chamber. It and three other of the pillars; more Onix, descended on Wartortle. "Are you kidding me?!"
"We have to help him!" Green exclaimed. Wartortle was in pretty bad shape from all the battles he had endured already in the Rock Tunnel and was in no shape to fight five Onix even with the type advantage. But as she started toward Blue and Wartortle to help, she tripped over something. She picked herself up quickly, but she sensed something moving behind her and it definitely wasn't Red. She turned to see a Geodude rise up. Several others also rose up and all turned a sullen glare on the young Trainer.
"Are you going to blame that on me too?" Blue asked as he and Wartortle held off the pack of Onix.
"Uhh, Ivysaur help!" she said as she threw her Pokéball and dodged the comment simultaneously.
Red also moved to help, but the only Pokémon he had that could do well against Rock-Type Pokémon was Diglett, and she was in no condition to fight. Abra's only damaging attack would do nothing against the horde of foes. That only left Charmeleon and Pidgeotto, neither of which were ideal. Choosing the stronger of the two, Red sent out Charmeleon. Unfortunately, this only ended up making the situation worse. The light of Charmeleon's tail flame riled a flock of Zubat and he and his Pokémon were swarmed.
Red knew he didn't have time to play around with the bloodsuckers. "Pikachu, Thundershock! Charmeleon, Flamethrower!" The two bright attacks caught a few of the bat Pokémon, but the unusually powerful flames from Charmeleon caused the flock to scatter. There was that power again. It was like any time Charmeleon was on his last leg, he just got more powerful.
"They just refuse to go down in one hit!" Red heard Green complain as the last of the Zubat fled in defeat.
"Neither will the stupid Onix!" Blue agreed, "It's really annoying!"
"Pikachu, Quick Attack! Charmeleon, Slash!"
The two swift Pokémon rushed to their allies' aid. Pikachu bounced swiftly between the Geodudes, far too fast for the living rocks to counter attack. With the Geodudes distracted by the electric mouse, Ivysaur finally had the chance to step back and take a breath. "Alright, Ivysaur! Use Razor Leaf, now!" The Grass Pokémon's bulb shook and loosed a cloud of leaves. The leaves hung in the air for a second before snapping to life and darted toward the crowd of Geodude. Even with the minimal damage the Geodude would have taken from Pikachu's Quick Attack, each of the Geodude were blown away, and some of the bladed leaves imbedded in the cave wall some feet away. "Wow, Ivysaur. I've never seen you hit that hard before…" The Grass Pokémon looked just as surprised as his Trainer.
Meanwhile, Charmeleon and Wartortle worked together to bring down the group of Onix. They made good rivals like their Trainers, but they also made a good team. Charmeleon darted up to the giant rock snakes, clawing them and drawing their attention before darting away. As the Onix tried to attack the fleeing fire lizard, they were greeted by a blast of water from Wartortle. The Onix didn't have the chance to attack Wartortle, because the minute they turned from Charmeleon, he attacked again. Just like Ivysaur and Charmeleon, the weary Wartortle's Water Pulses were stronger than usual. With the melee winding down, everyone was noticing.
Finally, the army of Pokémon were either defeated or had fled. The seven adventurers collapsed after the ordeal. Their gasps echoed in the empty chamber as they all caught their breath. "Blue, don't kick rocks any more, okay?"
Blue groaned, "Why don't you try not to trip on them, huh?"
Green rolled her eyes, "Do you have anything to add, Red?"
"No."
Green chuckled. She turned to her exhausted Ivysaur and patted it on the head, "Those attacks at the end were pretty impressive, Ivysaur."
"Wartortle did it too," Blue thought out loud. "I wonder if that's just how Pokémon work when they get strong enough?"
"I've never seen Pokémon get stronger as they get tired," Green noted.
"Maybe our partners are special," Red noted. Pikachu gave him a sad look, but Red smiled and gave it a pat on the head to reassure it.
"Well, I know my Pokémon are special," Blue emphasized. Green and even Red chuckled at their friend. Neither he nor Wartortle appreciated the laugh, but they didn't do anything about it.
There was a pause as the Trainers and their Pokémon relaxed after the monumental effort of going through the Rock Tunnel. Of course the fact that they not only weren't out yet, but also horribly lost after the long chase wasn't lost on them. Still, Green looked on the bright side, "That breeze feels nice at least…"
There was a pause. Suddenly the entire group perked up, "Wait, breeze?!" They got up and rushed in the direction of the breeze and rushed through a dark doorway. On the other side they were greeted with a beautiful, giant moon. They all breathed a sigh of relief. Just as they stepped our under the twinkling new stars, someone strode up to the group.
"It's pretty late, but I think I've got time for one more Pokémon Battle," the stranger said, "Who wants to be first?" The group glared at the newcomer, Charmeleon, Ivysaur, and Wartortle suddenly glowing and growing. Charmeleon turned orange, grew wings and a second horn on his head, as well as taller, Ivysaur got bigger and his bud finally bloomed into a massive flower, and Wartortle traded his fuzzy ears and tail for a pair of cannons poking out of his shell. "You know, I think I'm gonna go…"
Red and company did likewise, stumbling into the nearest Pokémon Center and checking in. They'd worry about what town they were in in the morning. The only thing that was on their minds as they settled into bed for the night was there newly evolved Pokémon. At least something good came of their trek through the infamous Rock Tunnel.
Better, but not good. I do like the two of them together, though. This will be easy as pie to touch up later. This has been my experience with Rock Tunnel every bloody time, from gen I in the '90s to their remakes; I'd rather go through the Safari Zone twice than deal with Rock Tunnel! But my starter always seems to hit their final form right after I leave. Eh, that's just me.