Author's note: Had some issues with my internet, but here's the new chapter at least! Later than I intended, but it's finished, so that's something!

Thanks to the following reviewers: PinkiePieParty122894; swordsmanwielder; leighd1314; Pen-Woman; SarahNThatcher; JaiJayce

Warnings: suspense

Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto, Kishimoto owns it. I also don't own Pokémon, that belongs to Satoshi Tajiri and The Pokémon Company.

I hope you'll like it!

Chapter 23

They left the Pokécentre after Nurse Joy gave Mimikyu a clean bill of health. To celebrate their success at the Gym Naruto hurried to the closest bakery, wanting to buy some treats before they would close for the day.

The Gym battle and Mimikyu's subsequent stay at the Pokécentre had taken up a significant part of the day so by the time Naruto walked out of the bakery, carrying a bag with warm, delicious treats, the sky was slowly turning dark, announcing the onset of the evening. The wind had picked up slightly, turning the air chilly and he shivered slightly. A quick walk around town revealed no hotels or motels present, which for a town hosting regular contests was just a stupid decision if you asked him. Or if there was a hotel or motel, it was in a very inconspicuous building and Naruto wasn't in the mood to go knocking on every door.

Instead, he walked to the edge of the town where he had earlier spotted an empty field. There were some trees that would offer enough cover for the night against the wind so he set up the tent between them. The leaf roof should provide enough protection against wild gusts of wind or even rain; most likely rain, judging by the dark clouds rolling closer in the distance.

Once he had a small fire going, he called out his team so that he could divide the treats amongst them. While they enjoyed the sweets, he pulled out his Pokédex and opened the map.

"The town with the next city is further ahead, behind this mountain," he muttered, mostly to himself as he studied the map carefully. "Where's the path, though?"

Up until now the paths had been rather straight forward, with multiple ways in which he could enter the towns and the cities. He had always managed to follow at least one road to his next destination, but the map wasn't exactly helpful this time. The rocky formation was clearly indicated, showing the presence of the mountain, but there didn't appear to be a way around them as the rest of the map around the mountain was seemingly filled with lakes and woods. Were they supposed to go through the mountain then?

There should be pathways throughout the mountain normally. With it being indicated on the map, it meant that it wasn't unchartered territory. How could it be when it formed a literal divide between this town and the next one? But depending on how large the mountain was, it might take him a way to get through it.

"Riolu?" Map?

Naruto looked up, smiling amused when he spotted the remainder of whipped cream on Riolu's nose. He gestured for the Baby Pokémon to wipe it off, which he did, shaking his head afterwards, making his large ears flop around.

"Yeah, I'm trying to figure out how we're supposed to get to the next town," Naruto explained and placed the Pokédex on the ground so that all his Pokémon could get a good look at it.

He tapped lightly at the brown mass in the middle of the map. "This mountain is right between this town and the next one, but there doesn't seem to be any road near it. I'm guessing this means we might have to go through the mountain," he mused aloud.

He would have to make sure he had his torch at hand if that was the case. In the best case, the path through the mountain would be quite straightforward, but it wasn't smart to rely on hope alone. If the mountain did have an entire path system within it, he would need the torch in order to find his way back outside. Or perhaps it might be possible to just go over the mountain instead of through it? It would be tricky, depending on how rough the terrain was, but it might be an option. It would actually be the preferrable option, when he considered how going into the mountain would be like.

Sure, hundreds if not thousands of people had probably made the journey through the mountain before him, but he wasn't certain whether he liked the thought of having to go inside in such a secluded space. Especially when he had no idea what kind of Pokémon called that mountain their home. Zubat were a likely guess or Gligar. Pokémon like Geodude and its evolutions or Onix were good guesses as well. If there was a Steelix, well, that would be really troublesome. Ursaring would be problematic too; they weren't exactly known for being friendly towards strangers. Would a Carkol be possible as well?

Toxtricity hissed, sounding rather casual, It'll be fine.

"Well, I suppose we've been through worse than a simple mountain," Naruto sighed and stared at the map a little longer before he exited out of the screen, letting the Pokédex turn dark. "I'll see if I can ask directions tomorrow. Maybe there is an easier road that we can take."

It would be nice if it was possible, but he wasn't holding his breath. As long as the weather wouldn't become too bad, though, they should be fine even if they had to travers through the mountain instead of over or next to it.

The next morning Naruto set out earlier, figuring it would be best if he could get to the new town as soon as possible. The weather forecast on his Pokédex – which come to think of it, he probably should check more often now that winter was upon them – had warned for strong wind with a possibility of snow at the end of the week. Naruto definitely did not want to be stuck on the mountain when the snow started to fall, so after taking down his tent and finishing breakfast, he made a short detour to the edge of the town where he spotted a woman getting ready to leave her home.

"Excuse me!" he called out, drawing her to a stop.

She turned around curiously, pushing her long braid over her shoulder. "Yes?"

"I want to go to the next town, but the map on my Pokédex shows a mountain only," he started to explain, pulling up the map in question. "Is there a road nearby that I can use instead?"

"There is a road," she confirmed to his delight, before disappointing him just as quickly when she continued, "but it's been under construction since last month. I believe they said the road will be reopened next month."

There was no way he could idle a whole month away here! "Can I go through the woods then?"

"I wouldn't advise it," she cautioned him. "The construction work is really messing with the Pokémon living there and we've received the warning to stay out of there because they might attack us. I know you're a Pokémon Trainer, but I wouldn't risk it if I were you. If those wild Pokémon were to gang up on you …" She shuddered, shaking her head.

He grimaced. Yeah no, the woods weren't an option then. If the Pokémon there were that riled up from the construction work that they had even issued a warning about them, that meant it was really bad. He had his team that could protect him, but there was no sense in needlessly putting them in danger, especially when he had no idea what kind of Pokémon were upset now. Pokémon that felt threatened and upset could be really dangerous, even for experienced Trainers, so it was best to avoid them at all cause.

"So the only option is the mountain then?" he asked resigned.

"I'm afraid so," she smiled sympathetically before reassuring, "But there are two ways to travers that mountain. You can go through it and follow the marked paths in there or you can go over it. From what I've heard, it's a bit more difficult to go over it instead of through, but it should be doable as long as you stay away from the edge."

"And how long would it take me then to reach the other town?"

She tapped her finger against her mouth thoughtfully. "Two days at best? Maybe three if you're taking it really easy. The mountain is rather large, but it isn't impossible to travel across."

"All right, thank you for your help!" He offered her a quick bow and after putting away his Pokédex, he turned around and started following the road that should lead him directly to the mountain.

He would have preferred taking the other road or go through the woods instead, but at least crossing the mountain shouldn't be impossible as long as he watched out. Two days sounded doable as well; it should have him reaching the next town at least a couple of days before the snow would start.

Filled with renewed optimism, he left this town behind, already wondering what kind of opponent he would find in the next Gym.

He decided to travel over the mountain as opposed to through it. Sure, the steep incline he had to follow was murderous on his legs, but once he reached the first plateau, it became easier to walk even with the random bits of rocks strewn about. He wasn't at the top of the mountain, but still fairly high up and he spent a moment staring in wonder at the woods spreading out in front of him, as far as the eye could see.

If he concentrated, he thought he could pick up vague noises that indicated construction work, but it was so faint he might as well be imagining it. Some Pidgey passed overhead, cawing furiously, followed by some Corvisquire swooping low alongside the mountain and a sharp eyed Bombirdier, who appeared to be hunting for something, judging by the way it suddenly shot down, disappearing from view.

As Naruto followed the rough outline of a path worn out by others before him, he had to step out of the way several times when some Graveler rolled down the mountain with a thunderous noise, sending several Farfetch'd flying whilst squawking in protest. A Golem lumbering near the entrance of a cave had Naruto ducking low and crawling past it by hiding behind some large rocks. Yes, he had Vaporeon if it ended in a fight, but he would rather not piss off a Golem, thank you very much.

Once he was sure he was out of view of the Golem, he spent a little while picking out tiny shards of stone from his palms, biting down on his lower lip to stop himself from hissing. The shards stung, but at least they weren't imbedded deeply and after a quick rinse with his bottle, his hands were as good as new. He would have to be careful next time he decided to crawl; slicing up his palms by ways of shattered rocks wasn't his idea of a fun time.

A large shadow fell across him and he instinctively crouched down, covering his neck. When he dared to look up, he sighed in relief, catching the outline of a Pidgeot gracefully travelling through the air. While intimidatingly large, Pidgeot weren't necessarily violent and Naruto found himself spending several seconds admiring the bird's beautiful plumage before it disappeared into the clouds. He spent a moment wondering when his own Pidgeotto would evolve before shaking his head and continuing walking, careful to stay hidden from the more dangerous looking Pokémon.

He passed several caves; some were occupied, noises from within confirming there were Pokémon living inside. Others appeared empty, but had Pokémon like Geodude and even at one time some Mankey meandering near the opening.

He considered putting up his tent once evening fell, but he already had had several close calls with an Ursaring and a Primeape almost discovering him. He had no desire whatsoever to find out what those Pokémon would do if they happened to come across his tent, so reluctantly he started keeping an eye out for a suitable cave.

With only his aching feet to inform him he had been walking for way too long, it was the onset of mist that forced him to choose a cave finally. The sky was darkening quickly – perhaps a bit too quickly, but with the high altitude he was on, perhaps it was just his mind playing tricks on him?

The near misses with several Pokémon had left him a bit paranoid and definitely a tad weary, so after spending a while staking out a cave, he walked to the opening quietly, peering into its darkness. The sound of the wind howling informed him the cave wasn't as small as he had thought it would be and after some contemplation, he bent down and picked up a rock. As hard as he could, he threw it inside the cave and then rushed behind a big boulder, his heart beating harshly against his ribcage. Tensed, he waited for the familiar sound of a possible stampede or growling or snarling, anything that would indicate he had just alerted a Pokémon to his presence.

His right hand dipped down and rested on top of Vaporeon's Pokéball, ready to throw it at the smallest sign that he had just screwed up badly.

Everything remained silent, save for the distant chirping of some Bird Pokémon looking to settle down for the night. On guard, he slowly approached the gaping maw of the cave, bending slightly to peer into it. If there was a Pokémon inside, it was remarkably good at keeping itself still – which didn't bode well for Naruto if that was the case.

He unzipped his bag just enough to pull his torch out and clicked on its button. Shining the torch into the cave, he let the beam of light slip from one wall to the other. There were definitely scratch marks alongside the walls near the entrance, but there was also a lot of dead leaves inside and long abandoned cobwebs. If a Pokémon had lived here, it had deserted the place a long time ago.

A bit more at ease now, he crept inside the cave, using his torch to illuminate his way. With the sky steadily darkening outside and no natural light falling into the cave, Naruto soon found himself surrounded by utter darkness; his torch the only reason why he had not tripped and bashed his head against the wall yet.

He exited the narrow corridor of the cave to find himself in a cavern, big enough to stand up comfortably. The sight of two more openings at the other side of the cavern didn't exactly comfort him, but the place was quiet, no sign of a Pokémon anywhere. He would just have to keep very quiet and keep close to the main entrance then. If he slept inside that alcove on his right, he should be hidden enough even if a Pokémon decided to walk through this cave.

Nodding to himself, he walked back to the entrance in order to have a quick dinner. He didn't want to risk drawing any Pokémon inside the mountain to this cavern if he were to eat dinner inside of it, so he made quick work of his sandwich by hiding behind the boulder once more.

It was when he shoved the last bite of his sandwich into his mouth that he noticed it: small snowflakes merrily fluttering down from the sky.

"I thought it was supposed to start snowing at the end of the week?" he muttered frustrated, wiping off the snowflakes that landed on his knees.

Well crap, this might make travelling over the mountain more difficult, depending on how much snow would fall. If it was just a thin layer he should be okay as long as he walked carefully, but if it turned into a serious bout of snow …

No sense in worrying about the amount already. He would just have to wait and see how the mountain would look like in the morning. If need be, he would just spend the day inside the cavern then.

For now he would try to get comfortable inside the cavern and not think about how horribly cold it was already becoming. Not thinking about it would go a lot easier if he couldn't see his breath escape him in white puffs of smoke, though.

Naruto had no idea what woke him up. Disoriented he lifted his head and opened his eyes, confused when he couldn't see anything. It took his brain a couple of seconds to wake up and remember that he had chosen to spend the night in a cavern instead of his tent. Right. Cold cavern, the alcove acting as a makeshift shield against the howling wind.

Shaking his head, he went to lie his head down again, closing his eyes.

Something sniffed.

Freezing up – and that had nothing to do with the cold wind blowing through the cavern – Naruto listened attentively, wondering if his ears were playing tricks on him. It was probably the wind. With how loud it was howling – that meant it was most definitely a storm outside, damn – it was no wonder he thought he heard …

The sniffing sound grew louder.

He wasn't imagining it.

There was something inside the cavern with him. Something that was getting closer and closer, sniffing loudly as if searching for something. The sniffing sound was abruptly cut off, replaced by a vicious snarl that had Naruto almost smacking his head into the wall from fright. A twin snarl echoed through the cavern and the two Pokémon appeared to snap at each other, judging from the sound of gnashing teeth.

Just as quickly as they had started bickering, just as quickly did they return to sniffing; their footsteps slow but thoughtful.

Are they smelling me? Naruto wondered anxiously; his blood rushing loudly in his ears.

He wasn't feeling that warm, but he supposed scent had nothing to do with body heat. If those Pokémon were indeed tracking him down …

He had to stay calm. Panicking now wouldn't do anything except make him a too easy target for the Pokémon currently roaming around the cavern. First, he had to know what kind of Pokémon he was dealing with. If he was even the tiniest bit of lucky, it would be a Pokémon his team could easily handle.

As silently as possible, he unzipped his bag which he had been using as his pillow, using the howling of the wind to cover up the noise. Once he had pulled down the zipper low enough, he dipped his hand inside and felt around for his Pokédex. He bit down on his lip when his fingers brushed the cool case of his Pokédex and excruciatingly slow he pulled it out.

He remembered to disable the sound just in time, stifling his nervous chuckle. Man, if he had forgotten to turn off the sound …

Shaking, could be the cold, could be the nerves trying to take over, he aimed his Pokédex in the direction of the snuffing sound, hoping the machine could uncover the identity of the unknown Pokémon even in this utter darkness.

The screen lit up dimly and text started rolling over the screen.

'Zweilous. Since their two heads do not get along and compete with each other for food, they always eat too much. After it has eaten up all the food in its territory, it moves to another area.'

Zweilous. There was a damn Zweilous in the same cavern as him!

The only reason why he didn't throw down his Pokédex in shock was because he was too frozen to do so. Out of all the Pokémon, it had to be a Zweilous?! Its evolution line was known for eating everything it came across and with everything, it literally meant everything. Just like its first evolution it would eat anything that moved, be that Pokémon – or human.

How had it reached this cavern? Had it come from outside? Or had it come through one of the two other entrances Naruto had spotted before? Shit, what should he do? Stay still and hope something else would distract it? Try to fight it with his Pokémon? It was, Naruto checked the dimly lit screen quickly, a Dark/Dragon type, so if both Mimikyu and Riolu teamed up, would that be enough?

When he thought about the high level necessary for Deino to evolve into Zweilous, however …

He was screwed, wasn't he?

The hungry yowl reverberating through the cavern – and coming right near the exit, blocking it off, shit, shit, shit! – made the decision for him.

He dumped the Pokédex in his bag, exchanged it for his torch and made a run for the nearest entrance.

The light he used and his escape naturally didn't go unnoticed whatsoever, because while blind Zweilous wasn't stupid, and another angry howl followed by thundering footsteps announced that Zweilous had started the hunt.

Shit!

Naruto rushed into the first entrance he found, running through the narrow corridor; the light of his torch dancing wildly across the ground and the walls. This corridor wasn't as broad as the one of the entrance had been and belatedly Naruto realised he had no idea whether this corridor would even lead to another cave or whether it would be a dead end. If this was going to be a dead end, he was going to be in so much trouble!

Even with its two heads bickering, Zweilous was quickly gaining on him and right as Naruto made the decision to call out both Riolu and Mimikyu, the ground gave out beneath him –

And he fell through the hole; the gaping mouth of the cave swallowing him up.

AN2: Naruto really can't catch a break.

Anyone else thought that the caves in the first generation were a bitch to navigate through? Unless you had Flash of course, but I can remember bumping against those walls a lot. Fuck those caves and those Zubat, man LOL

Please leave your thoughts behind in a review; should you spot any mistakes, please point them out to me.

I hope to see you all back in the next chapter! Please stay safe and take care of yourselves!

Cuddles

Melissa

P.S. For more information about my upcoming and posted stories, please visit my profile.