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Chapter 19
The Curious Boy

"Geez," sighed Marina as she hugged her knees. "I shouldn't have screamed like that."

The damp cavern wall felt cool on her back, and she gazed at the maze-like paths that spread out into the vague darkness. The atmosphere was eerily hushed, and she frowned at this isolation. The first rule to follow when lost was to sit and wait to be found, but after five minutes that felt like approximately fifty, Marina already couldn't tolerate such a thing. She was nearly about to get up when she felt a Poké Ball on her belt wiggle, causing her to jump and skittishly sit back down.

"Oh," she muttered and grabbed it, releasing the creature inside.

"Magu!" King the Quilava, oblivious to the situation at hand, appeared by her side in a small flurry of sparkles. But he quieted, puzzled at the darkness, and in a split second the fire on his head came alive. He used it like a lantern for a few seconds, facing his grimacing Trainer, who watched him with mild surprise. Before she had a chance to speak, the flame on King's head dwindled and completely vanished.

Marina made a small simper, her hand searching for him in the darkness before stroking his fuzzy head. "This cave's really damp, King."

"Magu!" her Quilava grumbled loudly. "Maguma rashira magu!"

"I'll be fine, don't worry." The girl nearly let out a giggle, almost knowing what he would have said. She reassured him once more before recalling him back into his Poké Ball. Slowly she came to regret this, as silence, darkness and sounds of other inhabitants of the cave crept around Marina once again. She shivered.

I really should try to find my way out. She glanced over her head, squeezing her hold on her knees a little.

"As long as there aren't any Zubat," Marina concluded, encouraging herself as she stood again, feebly grasping the straps to her backpack. She paused suddenly and then slung her backpack off her shoulders. "Wait a minute; didn't the Elder at Sprout Tower give me the HM for Flash? That might work as a flashlight! Come on, where is it…"

Footsteps bounced into her ears, and she looked around at once. A faint light could be seen shining on the rocky walls, and as its advance paused, so did the footsteps. Marina listened attentively, and her heart pounded in anticipation and hope.

An unfamiliar young voice called through the darkness. "Is someone there?"

"Yes! Yes! Wait a minute!" Marina eagerly closed her bag, picked it up, and approached the illumination.

As she turned the corner, she spotted a large butterfly Pokémon Butterfree, whose delicate wings shone brightly. It shifted in its resting spot on the arm of a boy. Marina could make out his green shirt and shorts, as well as his dark violet hair that reached his chin. And though his features were harder to distinguish in the blinding light, he appeared friendly.

"Do you need some help?" he asked.

"Yeah. You see, I'm...kind of lost," replied Marina sheepishly. "Can you please help me? I really hate caves... Actually, just Zubat. They really scare me."

He seemed to grin, though the action was innocent and sincere. "I'll escort you to the end, if you like."

"Really? Thank you so much!"

"No problem." The boy breezed past her. "It's just down this way."

"Okay!" She smiled and followed him gratefully, slipping her backpack on again.

I'm surprised he could tell that I was here; did I talk that loud? But... Marina let out a sigh. I swear I'll never go in another cave again!

They walked through a small winding path. The boy seemed to be in deep thought while, at the same time, navigating through the cave. But within another minute, the exit's precious sunlight lingered before them.

"No way! It was that close the whole time?" gasped Marina as they got closer. She heard the boy chuckle and she slightly flushed in embarrassment.

"Don't worry, it happens all the time," he replied, amused. "I've heard people get lost in here often. But, to their luck there is always someone with a lantern or a Flash-using Pokémon to guide them out. Two people joining together to follow the same path… Hence the Union in Union Cave."

"I see." Marina made a smile and quietly whispered to herself, "At least I didn't have to rely on a Pokémon to lead me out this time."

"Hahaha," the boy laughed again just as they left the dark confinements of Union Cave. In the sun, his hair was of a lighter purple, and his amiable crimson irises turned upon his Butterfree. "Thanks for the help, Butterfree," he praised and returned the Pokémon into its Poké Ball.

When he turned to her, she paused for a moment and then bowed. "Again, thank you so much!"

Marina raised her arms into the air, taking in a deep breath as she skipped ahead a few paces into the field. The soft, warm weather enveloped her rather quickly, and she could already feel the water evaporating off her damp jacket. "I don't know how long I'd keep wandering lost by myself if it weren't for you!"

The boy smiled back with a gaze full of kindliness. "It's not a problem; anyone can get lost in there if they don't know their way. By the way… my name's Bugsy," he greeted, holding out his hand.

"I'm Marina," Marina replied and turned back to him, shaking his hand briefly. Her eyes wandered toward the cave. I wonder if Jackson's made it through already.

"Were you waiting for someone?" Bugsy asked.

"Kind of," she faced at him with a small frown, "My friend and I were traveling through the cave together before we got separated."

Thanks to those Zubat, her thoughts responded bitterly. Though Jackson does have a flashlight. He should be fine, right?

The purple-haired boy formed a peculiar expression on his face, but shrugged. "I'm sure he'll make it on his own. It's not a complicated path." He began walking down the dirt path that followed right at the cave's mouth, but stopped and turned back to Marina. "You're heading to Azalea, right?"

"Uh-huh." Marina nodded.

"Well, Azalea Town is right down this road. Do you need your Pokémon healed, by any chance?"

"Not really, but I think my friend Jackson will probably go there sooner or later."

"So, then, you're coming with me?" Bugsy patiently put his hands on his hips, eyebrows raised.

She glanced behind her again and then ran up to him, smiling. "Yeah, if you don't mind!"

"Not at all," he replied, shaking his head as the two began walking down the road.

The passive morning sun shined upon them, and Marina watched as a pair of Spearow twittered and pursued one another. Once the Pokémon vanished from sight, Bugsy gave her a sideways glance.

"I see that you're a Pokémon Trainer, too. Do you always have your friend traveling with you?"

"Nope," Marina replied, "We just happened to be traveling in the same direction, so we teamed up for a little bit."

"Traveling alone, huh..."

"We're both just starting out as Pokémon Trainers, you see," she said with a consistent smile, relieved to be far away from the bat Pokémon. "It's been a ton of fun so far; I really love it! I just got my first Gym badge a few days ago, too!"

"Ah, is that so?" Closing his eyes for a moment, Bugsy inquired, "So that means you're going to Azalea to win the Hive Badge, right?"

"Yup, it does!"

"Well," Bugsy kept his own smile as he looked ahead, "That means you'll be battling me pretty soon."

Marina immediately turned to him and stopped; he halted almost immediately and returned the gaze. "You're...You're the Gym Leader? Wow!"

The calm boy nodded and beamed humbly.

He looks even younger than Falkner! She internally exclaimed. Eagerly she rushed in front of him, brimming with excitement. Bugsy froze awkwardly, taken aback by the hopeful girl. "Can we battle right now, then?"

"Sure," he said with an odd laugh, "I think I can do that. Let's have it be a quick, one-on-one." He glanced at the clear dirt road and lush grasses before him, grasping a Poké Ball from his tan-colored belt.

"Okay. Thank you!" Marina grinned in satisfaction, and the both of them moved a dozen paces away from each other. Taking a deep breath, she pulled out her own red and white sphere. "Kenya!"

"Oni," called the little bird as he appeared before her, spreading his small pink wings. He flapped them and effortlessly took off into the air.

Smiling at the both of them for a moment, Bugsy lightly tossed his Poké Ball. "Scythe, it's time for a warm-up!"

From the burst of light emerged a green praying mantis-like Pokémon, almost the size of its Trainer. With an almost rugged and proud sneer, it slowly stretched in a fighting stance and raised its arms that resembled large, deadly sickles.

Marina's eyes went wide at the sight of it. "A Scyther...!" Half-intimidated and half-impressed, she reached into her backpack and pulled out her Pokédex.

"Scyther, the Mantis Pokémon. Type: Bug/Flying.

Very proud of its speed, a Scyther can move too fast for the human eye to track. The sharp movements of this Pokémon are like a ninja's."

"Cool! Alright then..." Marina, her eyes fixed on the Scyther. "Kenya, Peck!"

"Fury Cutter!" countered Bugsy soon after.

At a single blink of an eye, both Pokémon were at the peak of battle. Despite Kenya's best efforts to land his beak into his opponent, Scyther evaded and assaulted with blinding speed, slashing with greater intensity each consecutive strike.

"Uh, Kenya... Try a Fury Attack!" suggested Marina, barely able to keep up with the swift movements.

Kenya promptly followed her order, and the fast pair of fighting Pokémon appeared as if they were merely brown and green blurs. Before she could call out another attack, Kenya dodged Scyther's deadly knives and the two twirled in the air as they flew after one another, exchanging blows like lightning.

They're...just too fast! I can't even see what's going on, the girl Trainer thought in near dismay. She glanced at Bugsy, whose eyes never left the attacking Pokémon; in fact, he looked completely unfazed. When his eyes caught hers, he made an innocent smile.

"I don't want to sound arrogant, but I think it's best you give up now," Bugsy called to her.

Marina almost tilted her head, but shook her head and returned her stare at whatever she could see of her fighting Spearow. "I won't give up until it's over! Kenya, Agility and then use Peck attack!"

"Onizu!" With a swift chirp, Kenya whizzed around Scyther in a full few circles, causing the Mantis Pokémon to raise its sickles in a defensive stance.

"Suit yourself." Lifting his hand, he flicked his wrist and ordered, "Increase your own speed with Agility, then use Quick Attack!"

"Peck, Kenya—!"

Just before Marina could even finish calling her Pokémon's name, a quick swipe struck her ears. At that very second, a feathered figure crashed onto the ground before her. She jumped and backed away at this, but gawked when she looked down at her fallen teammate.

I…I lost.

Kneeling by the Spearow's side, Marina picked him up, frowning upon the limp bird Pokémon's bristled feathers. His injured little body was exceedingly warm, and he breathed at a slow pace. She forced a smile. "It's okay, Kenya," she petted his little head, and the bird woke up briefly to nuzzle her hand, "You can rest now."

"Good job, Scythe," Bugsy praised a few moments afterward. He softly patted his companion's head before recalling it into its Poké Ball. Then, grimacing slightly at Marina, he made his way over to her. "I don't want to say 'I told you so', but..."

"No, it's alright," Marina replied at once, shaking her head as she looked up at him. "This is just the first time I ever lost before, so um..." She forced a giggle.

Being on the losing side feels totally different. The girl solemnly gave Kenya a hug and a quiet praise before returning him. She watched the Pokémon as it vanished before her, and she slowly clutched the Poké Ball in her hand. I don't like it. It bothers me more that my Pokémon is hurt than the fact that I lost.

"I—uh," Bugsy paused, as if to catch himself. "Well, it's not you'll win every battle, right?" He held out his hand to her quickly. "You might win next time when you're better prepared."

As she stood on her feet, Marina sighed. She then smiled brightly. "Yeah, but your Scyther was really fast! I've never seen anything like that firsthand."

"R-Really?" Bugsy stared with a hint of shock at the girl's positive attitude.

"Yeah, you've really trained it a lot. No wonder you're a Gym Leader!" she complimented, glancing at her Poké Ball and squeezing it fervently.

"Well...Thanks." Smiling in relief, he turned toward the road ahead of them, where a few rooftops were seen over the trees. "Don't worry, Azalea has a great Pokémon Center, so your Spearow will be in good care. Come with me, I'll show you there." Before he could give the girl a chance to reply, Bugsy quickly made haste down the path.

Marina eagerly followed after the purple-haired boy. That battle was so intense...I even feel like taking out my Neo Ball, she thought, glancing over her shoulder at her backpack. I can't believe I lost, even though I had the type advantage. But that Scyther was too strong. I'll have to train more before I try to battle it again...

I can't let it phase me. I'm sure we'll do better do next time! With a confident nod to herself, she clipped Kenya's sphere to her waist.

The short stretch of road soon took a sharp right, and the two Pokémon Trainers climbed a few steps before passing by a well built by sturdy gray stones. As Marina took a curious glance at it, she noticed a man draped in black and sitting at the foot of the well with his arms crossed. Though they passed the man without conversation, just a neutral wave, Bugsy uttered a light, "huh."

"That's odd," Bugsy said aloud afterward. Both of them nearly slowed as they entered the quaint town, whose roofs appeared to be yellow-brown bamboo on every house.

Despite Marina's awed stares at the new area, she focused her eyes on the back of Bugsy's head. "What's odd?"

"Well..." Bugsy shifted his crimson eyes to her with a small frown. "That was the entrance to Slowpoke Well back there. No one's ever guarded it before. I wonder if something happened..." He trailed off as they approached the red-roofed building of the Pokémon Center, which stood out like a bright red rose in the middle of a field of daffodils.

"I knew Kenya was fine," Marina said as she and Bugsy walked away from the Center, having healed their Pokémon. "Nothing to worry about!"

The young Gym Leader nodded with a smile. "You care a lot about them, don't you?"

"Of course." Dancing her fingers over the Poké Balls on her waist, Marina smiled back. "They're my partners; my friends. I'm still a rookie though, so I haven't spent as much time with them yet."

"Bugsy!"

The both of them jolted at the sudden shout, and looked at one another before searching around them. Bugsy's face fell somewhat as a middle-aged woman stomped toward them with a few children younger than Marina trailing from behind.

"Where have you been?" the woman scolded, putting her hands on her hips.

Bugsy forced a grin. "The Ruins of Alph. I left a note, didn't I?" he asked casually.

"Yes, you did," she replied with a curt nod.

"Then," he sighed, "There's no problem."

"But!" The woman pointed at him, a scowl placed firmly on her face. "You did not write when you were leaving, or when you were going to return. You did not even warn us in advance about your leave. You recklessly left!"

"Uh, right..." Scratching his head a little, Bugsy failed to meet her eyes as he made an almost silly smile. "I was in such a rush, it slipped my mind; I'm sorry, ma'am."

Marina watched this silently, but with her own little smile. The lady acts like his mom, she thought with a hidden giggle. She managed to keep a straight and friendly expression as Bugsy again looked at her soon afterward.

"Are you feeling alright, Bugsy?" two twin girls asked simultaneously.

"You haven't really been yourself lately," added a young boy who wielded a net.

"I'm okay; don't worry everyone," Bugsy reassured, turning to them with a nod. He seemed to wince as the woman sighed roughly.

"Just don't let it happen again. You're our town's Gym Leader, so we need to know where you are. In fact, there's a challenger waiting for you in the Gym while you've been chatting away, and he's been very impatient. So—."

"Alright, I hear you, ma'am. I'm sorry," he apologized with a bow. Smiling half-heartedly, he turned to Marina. "I guess this is goodbye for now, Aur...uh..."

There was an odd pause, and Bugsy nearly laughed. "I'm sorry, but what's your name again?"

Giggling, Marina smiled and held her hands behind her. "I'm Marina. Marina Shimizu from New Bark Town," she introduced, "My Pokémon and I will be prepared the next time we battle you, I promise!"

"I'm sure you will. Good luck and goodbye!"

"Bye-bye!" After about a second of watching the boy being dragged away by his familiars, the girl Trainer sighed and looked down the road she was on.

"My other Pokémon really need some training. King can probably dominate this Gym like he did with Sprout Tower, but he can't steal the spotlight all the time," she clutched the strap of her backpack gently, "And since that's probably Jackson at the Gym, training is just what we're gonna do!"

Breezing down the street with an upbeat pace, she failed to notice as the purple-haired Gym Leader trailed behind from the group of Azalea citizens. He watched her pensively from over his shoulder until he turned a corner, heading for his post at the Pokémon Gym.