Geodude, Graveler, and Golem

Henry Weaver, the intrepid explorer, made his way along the mountain path. Sweat glistened on his bronzed tan skin, while his explorer's hat kept his face shaded and mysterious. With his heavy backpack full of mountaineering supplies, he was headed off on a glorious adventure.

At least, that's what Henry had optimistically thought when he set out on this trip. It was the romance of the thing; that always drew him to places and tasks, but once he got there... the romance always deflated. There were loose rocks scattered along the trail, causing him to stumble more than once. While his sweat probably did glisten, it made him feel grimy, not rugged. And even with suntan lotion, he was starting to think that he might come out of this with sunburns all over his exposed skin.

Well the bit about his hat was right, and he might even look fetching in it if he were to take a shower and not go back out hiking. And someone had helpfully pointed out to him that hikers usually carried weights in their backpacks for strength training. With a small portable electronic transfer device, he could pack everything away into hammerspace and make the trip with little more than a small bag to physically carry. That part he was glad for being wrong in the romantic vision.

Henry started to step up onto a ledge when his foot was suddenly grabbed. Thrown off balance and yelping, he flailed his arms about trying to get steady. Once he was able to, he looked down and saw gray stone hands holding onto his foot. Strange eyes looked up at him from underneath his shoe. The Geodude chuckled at him and let him go, pushing him off balance yet again.

That did it. "*** **** you little ****!" he shouted, fighting to stay upright. "You have to be the fiftieth Geodude that's harassed me all day! You stupid uncivilized animals; quit messing with me! How about I give you a taste of your own medicine, huh?" He kicked the Geodude, but promptly cussed again as his toes screamed out in pain.

On the other hand, the Geodude lifted its eyebrows at the threats. On being kicked, it made a crumbly sound like laughter. It was only amused at his pain. That made Henry angrier.

"What, you think you're better than me just because you're made of rock?" he said, scowling. "Well you're out of luck, punk, because I…" he reached onto his belt.

His Pokeballs weren't there.

Had he forgotten to get his Pokémon before he left? Oops… feeling his face turn red, Henry stepped back. "I, I don't have to take this. I'm leaving." Then he quickly walked past the Geodude. That was one advantage of having the long legs of a human.

But before he could leave, more eyes popped out of the rocky scenery. Henry stopped and turned to go back, but the eyes were there too. There were Geodudes all around him. Well, almost… one that was much larger than the rest stood up; the Graveler grinned, walking towards him.

"Hey, hey! Look, I'm sorry, okay," he said, holding his hands up. He tried to walk away from the Graveler, but bumped into another Geodude. This one grabbed his left ankle. "I'm having a rough trip and I lost my patience. I'm really sorry. See? I didn't mean to offend you all, I just… wasn't thinking." Henry looked around frantically, but he was being surrounded. Not even long legs would help, as there were several rows of them and another had grabbed his right ankle. "You, you're not really gonna hurt me, right? Pokémon don't hurt humans…" he smiled weakly.

The Graveler took hold of one of his arms, still grinning. Then it asked something of the smaller Pokémon around them. For a moment, nothing was said back. Then one of them (the one he'd kicked?) said something that was gravelly yet sounded like "Whooga, whooga."

"Whooga, whooga," the Graveler replied. Then it was mimicked by all the other little Geodudes, with excitement. The Graveler then tugged at him, making him walk further along the path.

"Uh, I can walk on my own," Henry said. The Pokémon kept hold of him and guided him up a path that he hadn't intended to take.

It was a long trek. On the way, a couple more Gravelers joined them, acting as guards so that he wouldn't run. Not that Henry felt like he could; more Geodudes joined in too, leading to a parade of Pokémon rolling up the path behind them. At one point, the group came to a large sign from the park rangers, stating, 'Warning: Gravelers and Golems are known to roll down these slopes. The guidance paths lead through this area. Beware!'

It also had a little cartoon of someone having been squashed by a rolling Golem. Any other time, Henry would have found it humorous. With the Pokémon all around him, it was more of a bad omen.

After what felt like hours, they arrived at a large flat area of the mountain, high above the town he had left this morning. The Gravelers let go of him here, but then started chanting, "Whooga, whooga!" Before long, the Geodudes joined in.

And then there was a heavy footfall, enough to send quivers along the ground to Henry's feet. The chanting grew more excited as a massive rocky Pokémon came into his view. It had gangly arms and legs, but bore a body so large and round that it might fully crush a car in one jump. Not only that, but it was decorated in shiny stones and shaped rocks. With all that adornment, Henry couldn't help but think 'witch doctor' on seeing the Golem.

"WHOOGA!" the crowd of Pokémon shouted, then abruptly went silent. The Golem was getting quite close now, still causing mini tremors with every step.

"Er, are you Whooga?" Henry asked, sweating in nervousness. "Or the Whooga?"

The Golem Whooga (presumably) grinned, then seemed to ask something of the crowd. There were several answers, but one Geodude rolled up and gave much of it. Then they all looked at him.

"Er, I did say that I was sorry," Henry said. "I know better know, and I won't go kicking any Pokémon again, all right? So, I can get on with my trip now?"

Somehow, the Whooga grinned wider, then said something short to the others. This caused a worrying chorus of cheers. Henry was then grabbed again and led to the edge of the area they were on. But not to the road. No, they pushed him towards the edge that had a steep slope sliding away.

"I don't need to get down there that fast," he said, panicking. "I, I can walk down the path, if that's all right with you." He made the mistake of looking down and saw the town below. This wasn't going to be pleasant.

With more cheers, the Gravelers ran towards the downward slope. Standing next to the Golem, Henry put his hands up, even knowing that the gesture was probably useless. The Gravelers dropped off the ledge on either side of him, curling up into balls to more efficiently roll down. Not long after, the Geodudes followed suit, rolling down the hills like a bunch of scattered marbles. While watching that, Henry noted that the Pokémon seemed to all be rolling away at certain points. That must be the guidance grooves to keep them from hitting the town, he thought.

Then Henry looked out and saw the entire landscape before him. He really was high up the mountain. The forest was green carpet of leaves to the south, while the town's colored roofs gleamed like unpolished gems under the sunlight. And there where plains, forests, and more mountains out to the horizon under the grand blue sky. For a moment, he completely forgot about his bewilderment and terror from the strange behaviors of these Pokémon.

He looked to his side and noticed that the Golem was still there, just smiling now. "You live with an awesome view, Whooga," he said.

The Golem cheered that pronouncement and clapped him hard on the back.

On one hand, the Pokémon had gotten him down the mountain and to a hospital quick enough to save his life. On the other hand, Henry was stuck in a body cast for weeks after that.

…

Geodude Leaf Green entry: Found in fields and mountains. Mistaking them for boulders, people often step or trip on them.

Fire Red entry: Be careful when hiking on mountain trails. Graveler may come rolling down the path without slowing.

Sapphire entry: Golem is known for rolling down from mountains. To prevent them from rolling into the homes of people downhill, grooves have been dug into the sides of mountains to serve as guideways for diverting this Pokémon's course.

Don't kick the Geodude: not only will your toes hurt, but you might also get pushed off a mountainside! hehe.