Chapter 4: Cave
This wasn't the first time Akari had been in a cave. This wasn't even her first time being in a cave with a powerful pokemon with unknown origins. Yet… something made Akari nervous. Something put her on edge.
"Aiga?" The Pokemon stopped and looked off into the distance. Akari followed its eyes to see Nemona standing at the exit at the top of the cave.
"Akari! There you are!" Nemona waved at the two. "Are you alright?! You're not hurt, are you?!"
"I'm alright!" Akari called back.
"Thank goodness!" Nemona wiped the sweat from her brow. "If you had gotten injured…"
"Don't worry about it," Akari gave Nemona a thumbs up. "We're going to find a way back up!"
"Alright!" Nemona flashed a thumbs up at Akari in return. "Speaking of which, what is that Pokemon in front of you?! It looks super strong!"
"No clue!" Akari responded honestly.
"Agias!" Akari turned to see the Pokemon beckoning her towards a large rock. As she walked over, it destroyed the rock with a single swipe of its claws.
"Woah! That was amazing" Nemona exclaimed. "I bet that Pokemon is as strong as mine! Maybe even stronger!"
She has other Pokemon? Akari thought. The Professor did bring something up about her being a Champion ranked trainer, so it made sense.
"Are you doing alright there?" Akari asked the Pokemon as they walked through the cave.
"Agia…" The Pokemon nodded, but there was pain in its eyes.
"I know," Akari had to reach to put a comforting hand on the Pokemon's shoulder. She couldn't understand exactly what the Pokemon was saying, but she could infer. "Just a little more, okay? Once we get out of this cave, we'll be safe."
The Pokemon nodded and they continued. As they made their way to a ram up, a horde or Houndour ran up to the two. The Pokemon let out a roar and the pack dispersed in fear.
"Heads up, there are some pretty strong Pokemon living in this cave!" Nemona shouted.
Good to know, Akari thought as they proceeded. They made their way up the path and the Pokemon destroyed another rock that was in their way.
"Woah! It straight up destroyed that rock!" Nemona exclaimed. "I wanna see those moves up close!"
Assuming we get out here alive, Akari thought. That uncertainty she had when she entered the cave only redoubled as they crossed the path.
"Akari! Look out!" Nemona's shout instantly put Akari on alert. Both her and the Pokemon looked around, but they didn't see anything.
"Behind you!" Nemona shouted. By the time Akari turned around, a Houndoom was already lunging towards her.
"No!" Nemona shouted. Akari only had the time to put her hands in front of her. In the corner of Akari's vision, she saw her Arc Phone fly in front of her. She saw something fly in the Houndoom's direction.
A… pokeball? Akari thought. It wasn't one of the pokeballs she was given. No… this was one of the pokeballs from Hisui. The pokeball opened and something collided into the Houndoom. Akari teared up when she heard the familiar cry.
"Typhlosion!" Akari shouted. Her beloved partner jumped back from the Houndoom and smirked at Akari before turning its attention back to the matter at hand.
"Woah! Where did that come from?!" Nemona shouted, half in shock and half with excitement.
"No idea, but it works in our favor!" Akari shouted back.
"Watch out!" Nemona then shouted. Another Houndoom rushed up to bite the Typhlosion, but the mysterious Pokemon jumped in the way, letting out a large roar.
"Alright, Typhlosion," Akari wiped her tears and smirked as she stepped up beside her partner. "Let's show them how we do things."
/
Nemona looked in awe as Akari battled with the odd Typhlosion. They were so in sync… Nemona thought that Akari had a good synergy with Sprigatito, but apparently she hadn't seen anything. Simple eye contact was enough for the Typhlosion to do certain actions. If she didn't know any better, she would think the two were using some kind of telepathy.
"Now!" Akari shouted. The Typhlosion let out a cry and lunged for the Houndoom, landing a devastating rock slide. The Houndoom tumbled across the cave and didn't get back up.
The other Houndoom, the one that was fighting the mysterious Pokemon, let out a howl and several Houndour surrounded Akari and the mysterious Pokemon. Akari looked at the Typhlosion and the two nodded to each other. Before anything else could happen, though, the Typhlosion vanished into its pokeball and returned to Akari's phone.
"Wha—" Judging from Akari's expression, she did not intend for that to happen. The mysterious Pokemon raised its claws to strike the Houndoom, but hesitated. It turned towards Akari, who was looking at the trio of Houndour that surrounded her with a look of determination as she dug into her satchel. The Pokemon then jumped in Akari's direction and scooped her up in its claws.
"Hey!" Nemona shouted as the Pokemon started to look around. "Up here!"
The Pokemon nodded and bounded up the rocks with frightening strength and accuracy.
Arceus, I want to battle that thing, Nemona thought with barely contained glee as it landed next to her.
"Whoo!" Nemona cheered and clapped for the Pokemon, who just looked at her with a confused expression.
"I mean…" Nemona put a hand behind her neck. "Thanks…?"
/
"Man, for a second, I thought you were both goners!" Nemona slapped Akari on the back. "Speaking of which, what was that Typhlosion?! You were amazing! We need to battle like, right now!"
Akari's sad smile was enough for Nemona to momentarily snap out of her thoughts of battle.
"That was my beloved partner. I think it… or something sensed that I was in danger and it came out…" Akari said, her voice laced with emotion. Her phone drifted in front of her and she tapped on it a few times and showed it to Nemona. "It's saved my life more times than I can count and… and I'm not allowed to see it… the force that brought me here… It locked my access to my Pokemon."
Nemona read the message and couldn't help her smile.
"Well it wants you to take on the Pokemon League, huh?" Nemona stood up straight. "I've already gone through it, so I can tell you that a trainer like you can get seven badges in no time."
"Really?" Akari's eyes brightened. Even someone like Nemona could see the fleeting hope and desperation in her eyes.
She really loves her Pokemon, huh? Nemona's enthusiastic smile softened and she placed a hand on Akari's shoulder.
"I promise," Nemona said softly.
The two were interrupted when the mysterious Pokemon started to walk. They followed its eyes to see that it was heading towards the lighthouse. As soon as it stepped into the sunlight, it started to glow. When the glow subsided, the Pokemon was laying on the ground, exhausted.
"Woah, are you alright?!" Nemona and Akari ran over to the Pokemon. Nemona had an anxious look on her face, but Akari just smiled and placed a hand on its head.
"You did well," Akari whispered with a smile. "Thank you for saving me."
"Aiga…" The Pokemon responded weakly.
"Maybe it used up all its power?" Nemona looked at Akari, her eyes pleading for an answer.
"That seems to be the case," Akari muttered.
"What is this Pokemon anyways?" Nemona asked, directing her attention back to the mysterious Pokemon. "It kinda looks like a Cyclizar, but I haven't seen anything quite like it… and it looks so different now."
"Yeah, it was like that when I found it," Akari responded. "I thought I would comfort it a bit with my pokeflute, but then it started floating and the rest was history."
"Wait, that music was you?" Nemona's eyes widened a bit. "You're really good at that thing!"
"Thanks," Akari smiled.
"Well, we should probably get to the lighthouse," Nemona looked at the building in question. "The real question is how we're gonna move this big fella—"
Nemona was cut off when the Pokemon stood up and started walking on all fours.
"Well that solves that problem," Nemona said before turning to Akari. "Hey, before I forget, let's exchange numbers. That case if you ever go missing again, I can contact you."
"Sounds good," Akari replied. Her phone then drifted in front of her while Nemona's did the same. The phones glowed for a bit before they returned to their respective places.
"Now, let's get to that lighthouse," Nemona turned and smiled. "We've both been through quite a bit. It'd be nice to get a breather right about now."
"Alright," Akari turned to the mysterious Pokemon. "You up for it?"
"Agias…" The Pokemon nodded weakly. Akari smiled and the two walked over to the lighthouse, standing side by side. As they came closer, they noticed a guy standing by the lighthouse.
"Why that little…" Akari tensed as she heard the words. It didn't help that the man's physique was intimidating to say the least. He ran over to the mysterious Pokemon before his expression contorted with anger.
"What are you doing here?!" He shouted at the beast. Akari immediately got in between the man and the Pokemon,
"Hey, back off!" Akari shouted. She didn't know who he was, but the Pokemon behind her just saved her life and she's not gonna let anyone disrespect it.
"I'm not talking to you. Shove off," The man growled.
"You first," Akari challenged, grabbing Sprigatito's pokeball. The man looked at her hand and narrowed his eyes, his hand moving for his bag.
"Hey, I know you!" The two turned at Nemona's voice. "You're Arven, right? You're enrolled in the Humanities Track at school… and aren't you the son of Professor Sada?"
"Don't!" Arven whirled around to face Nemona. At her shocked expression, his eyes softened and he took a deep breath. "It doesn't matter who my mom is."
Akari's muscles loosened. It didn't take a detective to deduce that Arven had issues at home. While she couldn't empathize with his situation, she could sympathize with him. That doesn't mean she'll let him talk trash about the Pokemon who saved her, though.
Professor Sada, though… Something about that name seemed familiar. Like a distant dream she was trying to grasp, but it kept fading every time she reached for it.
"The real issue here is what in the world that Pokemon is doing out here!" Arven's voice raised again as he turned to the Pokemon in question. "And what is with this form it's in?!"
"I found it this way," Akari moved so she was in between the two again. "It was really weak, but it temporarily powered up and helped me through the cave. It returned to this state when we got up."
"But it was really strong earlier!" Nemona added with poorly concealed glee. "You should have seen it! It was amazing!"
"Yeah, as it should, but it can't fight in this condition…" Arven had an irritated look on his face as he looked at the Pokemon. "That form you saw when it was fighting… that was Koraidon's true form."
"So its name is Koraidon?" Akari asked.
"How exactly did you know that?" Nemona tilted her head. "I've never seen a Koraidon in my life."
"Agia?" The now named Koraidon turned to face the lab.
"No, the lab is locked," Arven shook his head before turning to Akari. "Now I don't remember seeing you before. What's your deal?"
"This is Akari," Nemona interjected before Akari could speak. "She was—"
"Stranded," Akari interjected. Despite her sympathy for the man, she wouldn't trust him as far as she could throw him. "I was stranded here not too long ago and Dr. Clavell was nice enough to help me out. We were heading to the Academy right now."
"Well, that's besides the point," Arven crossed his arms. "Koraidon isn't like any normal Pokemon. It's special. You can't expect your run of the mill trainer to be able to care for it."
"Special?" Nemona asked. "What do you mean?"
"I don't remember talking to you," Arven snapped before turning back to Akari. "You think you can go around ordering Koraidon, huh?"
"I won't order it to do anything, but I'll sure as hell treat it better than you have," Akari gritted her teeth.
"Why you…" Arven grabbed a pokeball from his bag. "You're annoying, I'll give you that. How about a battle? I need to see if you're worthy of becoming its trainer."
He doesn't seem to like Koraidon but… Akari narrowed her eyes. There must be something more.
"Fine," Akari clenched Sprigatito's pokeball. "Let's do this."
Thank you all for reading! I love Arven as much as the next guy, but he was quite hostile to the player in his first encounter. We might know why he was, but Akari doesn't, so please be patient. Please do consider leaving a review! I would love to read and reply to your thoughts. Also please join my Discord! I would love to talk to you all and answer all your questions! I talk a lot about my thought process while writing, so if you're interested in that, do consider joining. The url is discord . gg (forego the spaces) followed by a slash and CpVs7R8KXz. Unfortunately you'll have to type the rest of the url in manually because I'm not allowed to post links. Thank you for reading and I'll catch you on the flipside.