A/N: Good evening. I know I said I will put out three chapters last week but after rereading them, I wasn't happy with the quality. So I scrapped them instead. That leads me into what I want to say. I have realized that in a group setting, I tend to leave one character out. That is something I will work on, and make sure that each character gets enough screen time. I also noticed that I haven't let the Pokemon out when Ava and Brandon are eating, or talking around the fire. That is something else I will work on. One last thing: I don't go into much description of places. Again, that is something I will be working on. And something I hope I did well enough in this chapter. Enjoy!
Pokemon Journey: Indigo League
Chapter 10: Mt. Moon
"Ready?" Brandon asks, shifting his bag.
"Let's do it," Ava nods, stepping forward.
Together, the two friends made their way into the well light entrance to Mt. Moon. The cave had foyer of sorts, with torches lining the walls, heading deeper into the cave. Above them, they can hear the wing swishes of Zubat flapping. Occasionally, they heard a rock being smashed out of sight. Brandon led the way along the route, his eyes searching around, hoping to find that Rhyhorn.
"So why were you up so late, or was it early?" Ava asks, walking alongside Brandon.
"I couldn't sleep," Brandon replies, as they made their way towards a junction. There were 4 different ways to go. The one far right had a green marker, the one next to it had a yellow marker, the one in the middle was the continuation of the main route and the left one had the red marker. Brandon pauses for a moment, trying to anticipate the way that Rhyhorn went. "If you were a Rhyhorn, where would you most likely go?"
Ava ponders that question for a moment. She didn't have much knowledge on Rhyhorn, so her answer could be very wrong. "I'm not 100% sure."
"If you are alright with it, lets take the green marker route," Brandon suggests. "Even if we can't find that Rhyhorn, maybe we can find other Pokemon."
"Looking to add to your party huh?" Ava jokes with a nod. They began the trek downwards, the air getting a little drier.
"Wouldn't be the worst thing," Brandon replies, as they level off. Brandon couldn't help but whistle at the beauty of it. The entered a really well kept tunnel, heading deeper into the mountain. With in the tunnel, there were several ways to step off the main path and into random route that lead somewhere else. "This is awesome."
"Yeah," Ava remarks, also enjoying the view. "This is better kept then some of the caves in Johto. So now what?"
"We have a couple of options. According to the app, this route will lead back up to the main route and the exit. So we can continue on this route or we can backtrack and take the more direct route," Brandon says, looking at his Poketch. "What would you like to do?"
"I know you are looking for that Rhyhorn, or potentially other Pokemon, so it would make sense to continue on this route," Ava surmises.
"So what was your journey like?" Brandon asks, as they walk.
"It was challenging, not going to lie," Ava replies, walking beside Brandon. "But it was rewarding. I learned so much about the Johto Region during my travels, things I wouldn't have learned if I didn't go."
"That's pretty awesome," Brandon says. "What kind of team did you have?"
"As you know, I started off Chikorita, and Eevee was my last Pokemon I got," Ava replies. "I also have a Crobat, Steelix, Fortress, Ambipom and a Poliwrath."
"Sounds like a good team," Brandon says, as they countine to walk the route. Above them, they can see the red eyes of Zubats above them.
"They are," Ava states with pride. "Eevee, I caught just before the Silver Conference, so she didn't participate in it. So she wanted to follow me to Kanto, which I'm extremely happy she did."
"Are your team at your parent's house?" Brandon asks.
"No. At Professor Elm's lab," Ava answers, though her tone suggests she won't answer the question why. "Speaking of journies, how's yours going so far? Is it everything you thought it would be?"
"Honestly, I'm loving it so far," Brandon says, taking a quick break, watching a family of brown patterned Pokemon crossing their path. He took out his dex and scans them, as he talks with Ava."I've learnt so much about myself and yet, I can't help but feel that is just the beginning."
"Sandshrew, the Mouse Pokemon. Ground Type. It loves to bathe in the grit of dry, sandy areas. By sand bathing, the Pokémon rids itself of dirt and moisture clinging to its body." the dex chimes back.
"Good. Journies are supposed to do that," Ava replies, watching Brandon lower his dex and the Sandshrew family disppear into the darkness. "Aren't you going to battle and attempt catch one?"
"No. If I see a Pokemon family, I won't battle them," Brandon replies, as they resume walking. "I don't want to split them up."
"You do realize you might have to down the road?" Ava points out. "What would happen if you really want to catch that one Pokemon and they have a family?"
"I'll search for a new Pokemon," Brandon says, shrugging. "To me, it's like someone coming along and breaking up my parents and sister."
"That is an interesting way of viewing it," Ava says, clearly never thought of it that way before. She pauses as they enter a big cavern.
There was a running stream in the middle of the cavern, leading downwards. There were boulders randomly placed all around the room, which houses plenty of Pokemon. In the corner of the cavern, two grey musclar Pokemon were lifting boulders and staring at each other. It was like they were competing with each other. On the other side, three small orange coloured Pokemon with mushrooms on their backs are seen walking towards the stream to drink. Above them, bat like Pokemon are fluttering overhead. Brandon takes out his dex once again and scans them.
"Machop, The Superpower Pokemon. Fighting Type. Always brimming with power, it passes time by lifting boulders. Doing so makes it even stronger."
"Paras, The Mushroom Pokemon. Bug/Grass type. Burrows under the ground to gnaw on tree roots. The mushrooms on its back absorb most of the nutrition."
"Zubat. The Bat Pokemon. Zubat live in caves, down where the sun's light won't reach. In the morning, they gather together to keep each other warm as they sleep."
"This is cool," Brandon says, kneeling down. He didn't want to disturb them.
"Agreed," Ava says, also kneeling down.
Then a family of pink Pokemon became visible, walking amongst the group. Everyone in the cavern watches in awe as they walk towards the small stream to drink. Brandon took out his dex again.
"Cleffa, the Star Shape Pokemon. Fairy Type. According to local rumors, Cleffa are often seen in places where shooting stars have fallen."
"Clefairy, the Fairy Pokemon. Fairy Type. Its adorable behavior and cry make it highly popular. However, this cute Pokémon is rarely found."
"Clefable, The Fairy Pokemon. Fairy Type. A timid fairy Pokémon that is rarely seen, it will run and hide the moment it senses people."
"Holy crap," Brandon whispers, trying not to scare the Cleffa, Clefairy and Clefable family. "This is a rare sight according to the dex."
"It is," a voice whispers back, causing Brandon and Ava to squeal in surprise. Unfortunately, that alerted the rare Pokemon, who quickly left the area. The voice spoke again sheepishly. "Sorry about that."
Brandon and Ava both look beside them to see a female, wearing a track suit, someone who Brandon immediately recognizes.
"You're Chloe," Brandon states
"Correct. And you are Brandon right?" Chloe replies.
"Yeah. We never really met in Pallet Town," Brandon says. He turns towards Ava. "Chloe and I went to the same school, though we barely talked."
"Nice to meet you Chloe. I'm Ava," Ava introduces herself.
"Nice to see Brandon made a new friend," Chloe replies, sitting down. She releases her Pokemon and opens up her bag. "Care to join me for lunch?"
She takes out a prepared can of Pokemon food and places down 3 bowls. An orange-coloured Pokemon sits down, extends its claw and began to eat. Beside him, a yellow mouse like Pokemon sat down and began to eat as well. Beside the yellow Pokemon, a brown bird began pecking at its food as well. Brandon, once again, takes out his dex to scan them.
"Charmander, the Lizard Pokemon. Fire type. From the time it is born, a flame burns at the tip of its tail. Its life would end if the flame were to go out."
"Pikachu, the Mouse Pokemon. Electric type. When Pikachu meet, they'll touch their tails together and exchange electricity through them as a form of greeting."
"Pidgey, the Tiny Bird Pokemon. Normal/Flying type. Very docile. If attacked, it will often kick up sand to protect itself rather than fight back."
Brandon puts away his dex and releases his Squirtle and Tangela, while Ava releases Eevee and Omanyte before each of them took out their lunch for themselves and their Pokemon. Brandon takes a bite of his sandwich. Ava speaks up.
"I like what you are doing with your team so far," Ava says, taking a bite, watching Omanyte looking around the cavern curiously.
"Thanks, I think," Chloe responds with a little confusion.
"I mean it. Your Pikachu covers your Pidgey really well, and eventually Charizard, if it comes to it," Ava points out.
"I appreciate that," Chloe beams before looking over Brandon's team so far. "Not a bad team so far Brandon."
"Thanks," Brandon replies. "They both came up huge against Forrest."
"If you don't mind, where did you catch your Tangela?" Chloe asks, watching as Tangela finishes his meal.
"Viridian Forest," Brandon answers her. "At the time, it was a necessary catch but I'm Tangela decided to stick around."
"A necessary catch?" Chloe questions, lowering down her sandwich.
"Squirtle found him poisoned underneath a tree," Brandon explains, watching Tangela and Squirtle interact with the other Pokemon. Squirtle and Charmander began to have a conversation, while Tangela, Eevee, Omanyte and Pikachu began running around, playing tag. Pidgey folded its wings and promptly fell asleep. "We tried everything to break the poison but couldn't. Ava suggested I catch him in order to slow the poison long enough to get to Nurse Joy."
"So you are the one to catch it," Chloe chuckles. "I ran into him but realized I left my pokeballs at my camp. So I left him underneath a tree but when I came back, he was gone."
"After he got better, I gave him the choice if he wanted to join me or if he wanted to go back to the wild," Brandon says, watching the group of Pokemon playing. "I'm glad he decided to give us a chance. At first, he was really shy. It seems like he's coming out of his vines. In fact, this is the first time I've seen him playing with other Pokemon."
"To be fair, there are only 4 Pokemon with us currently," Ava chuckles.
"Hoping to change that," Brandon replies with a grin. He turns back to Chloe. "So how's your travelling going?"
"I'm loving it," Chloe beams. "I've decided to travel by myself, at least for Kanto."
"Sure beats Mr. Kennedy's class," Brandon jokes. Beside him, Chloe laughs. Brandon turns to Ava with a grin. "Mr. Kennedy was our gym teacher in school. He would make these long, drawn out speeches, putting us all to sleep."
"It was a great time to catch up on sleep," Chloe adds in. She quickly finishes her sandwich.
"So were you looking for the Cleffa, Clefairy and Clefable from before?" Ava asks.
"Yes but not to catch. It's a rare sight to catch a glimpse of them, and it's also a rarer sight to see the moon dance," Chloe confirms with a nod. "I was hoping to see both but one out of two things isn't bad."
"I can tell they were a rare sight, since all the Pokemon in the cavern seemed to stop what they were doing," Ava says. She looks over at the group and notices that the Paras family came over and interacting with them. Ava gets up and walks towards the Paras family before kneeling down. "Hi there. Are you guys hungry?"
"Paras," The group nods.
Ava gets up, got out three cans of Pokemon food with three dishes and puts them out. "Here you go."
"Paras!" Paras squeals in delight before devouring the dishes.
Ava lets out a whistle, watching them eat. "You guys don't have alot of food here huh?"
The Paras' shakes there head no but don't stop eating. Suddenly, their heads snap up and with a cry, they scurry off in a hurry. Frowning, Ava looks at the other two before she can feel the earth shake underneath her feet. The trio looks at the entrance, seeing the same Rhyhorn Brandon was hunting come thundering in. Brandon quickly stands up, calling his Pokemon to his side.
"That is the same Rhyhorn from last night," Brandon calls out. "We couldn't catch it then, but this time, I will. Tangela, ready for round 2?"
Chloe and Ava quickly moves to the side, allowing Brandon space as Rhyhorn came stampeding towards the group. Its eyes met Tangela's and it put on a burst of speed, aiming right for it.
"Tangela, looks like it remembers us," Brandon quickly calls out. "Same as last night. Wait until the last second, dodge and try to trip it up."
Tangela stands his ground, waiting until the very last second to roll tot he left, and immediately releases his vines, sending the Rhyhorn to the ground. However, Rhyhorn got up quickly, and sends Tangela flying into the air with its horn. Tangela lands on his feet, wincing a little.
"Tangela, lets slow him down with stun spore!" Brandon shouts. He was dimly aware of how quiet it got in the cavern.
Tangela unleashes his stun sport, right in the face of Rhyhorn, who roared, trying to shake the powder from its eyes. Tangela immediately followed that up with an absorb, his vines entrenching Rhyhorn's horn and sucking some of its energy. This angers Rhyhorn who, again, sends Tangela flying into the air. This time, Brandon was ready.
"Tangela, when you get close enough, aim a bind at Rhyhorn's horn and catapult yourself onto its back," Brandon orders.
Tangela came crashing down but just in the nick of time, Tangela's vines quickly wrapped around Rhyhorn's horn and flung himself onto its back. Rhyhorn began to buck, trying to throw off Tangela but Tangela snakes his vines around Rhyhorn's head and quickly used absorb.
Brandon pulls out a Pokeball, waiting for the perfect time. Just as he was about to throw it, Brandon spotted something that caused him to stop. Coming in the entrance were two little Rhyhorns, who sprinted towards this one. He lowers his arm, watching the baby Pokemon beginning to cry at the sight of their parent.
"Tangela, come back," Brandon recalls Tangela, who jumps down and comes over to the group. Chloe looks confused.
"Why didn't you catch it?" Chloe asks.
"I can't tear them apart," Brandon says, pointing to the two baby Pokemon, nuzzling their parent. "I just can't do that."
"Guess it makes sense," Chloe responds, watching the Rhyhorn family leave the cavern. "But it was cool to see Tangela battle. Just be prepared, though, that if you are really selective, you might come back and bite you in the ass."
"Ava pretty much said the same thing," Brandon grins. His eyes lit up. "Chloe, would you like to battle?"
"Thought you wouldn't ask. Since Tangela fought, how about Pidgey vs Squirtle?" Chloe suggests. "Pidgey is my newest Pokemon. In fact, this will be his first battle."
"Squirtle, you up for a battle?" Brandon asks his first partner. Squirtle nods, and steps into a fighting stance. Pidgey also gets into a fighting stance. "You can have the first move."
Chloe nods before issuing her first move. "Pidgey, this is our first match together. Start off with a gust attack!"
"Squirtle, dodge it!" Brandon countered.
Pidgey begins to flap his wing, causing a small tornado-like attack and sending it towards Squirtle. Squirtle quickly dived to the side to miss the attack before standing back up.
"Squirtle, use water gun!" Brandon shouts.
"Pidgey, use sand attack on the ground!" Chloe shouts.
Squirtle opens his mouth and lets a jet of water erupt from it but it hits the sand wall Pidgey was able to quickly produce and it just evaporates.
"Pidgey, great job. Come in for a tackle!" Chloe commands.
Pidgey began to flap his wings before coming right at Squirtle.
"Squirtle, duck into your shell!" Brandon orders.
"If he wants to hide, go on the offensive Pidgey!" Chloe counters.
Brandon let out a small smile, hoping she would do that. Chloe sees the smile, and wonders why as Pidgey unleashes a series of "headbutts" towards Squirtle, hoping to score a hit.
"Squirtle, just like before!" Brandon yells. Chloe just cocks an eyebrow, waiting too see what strategy Brandon is talking about.
Squirtle began to spin his shell before poking his head out to use water gun as a propeller, sending him forward. Pidgey cries out in surprise and starts to flap his wings to get away but he is stuck.
"Now!" Brandon calls out, hoping it would work. However, just like before, Squirtle was too dizzy to aim properly and misses, though Pidgey was also dizzy from the ride and fall down. Both Pokemon begin to stand up, trying to shake their heads clear when Chloe pulls out Pidgey's ball. "Pidgey return. You did a great job."
"Squirtle, return as well," Brandon recalls his Pokemon.
"I was not expecting that," Chloe chuckles as Ava comes over. She also recalled her Pokemon. "How did you think of that one?"
"In a battle with me," Ava responds. "I had my Eevee begin to play with the shell, since Squirtle decided to hide."
"If only I can get Squirtle to not be dizzy during it," Brandon sighs.
"Sounds like you are trying to teach Squirtle rapid spin," Chloe says, thinking. "At the very least, the basics of it."
"That's the plan, but it will take some work," Brandon nods.
"Keep at it," Chloe tells him. "Well, I should get going bef.. oh look,"
Chloe mentioned for them to be quiet and points to the entrance. The Clefairy family are seen walking across the entrance. Chloe motions for them to follow quietly. "Twice in one day. We are sure lucky."
"Where do you think they are going?" Brandon whispers back, trying not to make a sound.
"Hopefully to the others," Ava whispers back, following behind the trio family.
For the next twenty or so minutes, the trio follows the trio, who knew they were being followed. But they didn't sense that these trainers wanted to harm them, so they let them follow. Soon, they led the friends into a large cavern, with a moon stone in the middle of the room. All around the stone were other Cleffas, Clefairys and Clefables. The stone itself let out a beautiful light, lighting up the cavern.
Brandon, Chloe and Ava are in awe, stepping forward cautiously and quietly. Yet, in a surprising move, the Pokemon they were following turns around with big smiles and motions for them to follow and join in. Soon, everyone was dancing around the moon stone.
At the end of the dance, the Clefable that they followed came forward gave each of them a moonstone before leading them to the other side of Mt. Moon.
The sun was just setting as they stepped onto route four, with the Clefairy family waving goodbye before disappearing back into Mt. Moon. Chloe, Ava and Brandon watch, not sure how to respond.
"That was something else," Chloe finally says.
"I'm never going to forget that," Ava replies, her voice quiet.
"Same," Brandon responds.
"Hey," Chloe says, turning towards the two friends. "Since we are going to Cerulean City, want to head their together?"
Brandon and Ava looks at each other then nods, a grin on their face. "The more the merrier."
"Just to be clear, once we get to Cerulean City, I will head off on my own again," Chloe says firmly.
"Of course," Brandon replies. "Shall we?"
"Cerulean City, here we come!"
Team Listings:
Brandon Adams:
Squirtle - Male, Torrent ability. Knows Water Gun, tackle, Withdraw, Rapid Spin (Work in Progress)
Tangela - Male, Leaf Guard ability. Knows Bind, Stun Spore, Absorb, Growth
Ava Mcarthur:
Eevee - Female. Run Away ability. Knows tackle, Quick Attack
Omanyte - Male. Unknown ability. Knows: Withdraw