Note: Another week, another chapter.

It's good to see all the follows, favourites, and Kudos on this fic on both and AO3. It seems that people are really enjoying it and are coming back to it. The first act (which I should really refer to as Arcs) will be over soon, and we will be launching into the second which is almost completed (Luckily I have a few weeks still, as I have written much of the story far ahead of schedule, as mentioned in the prologue).

Anyhow, enjoy the chapter.

Chapter 7: Follow the Northern Omastar!

The cavern began to feel colder and colder. Yellow guessed that was a good sign, that they were getting closer to the nest of whatever pokémon had menaced Tyranitar. She shuddered, only imagining the sort of creature that could stand against a Tyranitar all on its own. Granted that was assuming that it was only one pokémon awaiting them at the end of the tunnel. What if it were a group of ravenous monsters, baiting them into a trap to be devoured, she and her friends old and new being lost in mount Silver forever… Unlikely considering she, Blue and Gary were more than capable trainers. Still, she felt like there was little else to think about as they made their way through the claustrophobic space, the light of Charizard's tail lighting the way. Granted, she found her thoughts falling into such pessimistic platitudes more and more since Red went missing. She couldn't help it.

"Hey Yellow, you alright?" Gary asked her, breaking the trance that she only now realized had engulfed her.

"Ya, I'm fine… it's just cold in here, ya know," she said, faking a shiver. "Buuurrrrrr."

"Right, well…" Gary decided not to task her right now. They needed to focus. They could be ambushed at any moment by any number of cave-dwelling pokémon, something he learned from experience. Caves were not exactly his favorite research locations. He placed his hand on the cave wall. While most of what he felt was the regular rough texture of a rocky wall, he also felt faint areas of unnatural smoothness. It was at this moment that he registered the slight pressure that had been building in his nose, the faint smell of ozone. These walls had been carved out by steel.

"We're getting close, be extra careful," he said. Yellow and Blue nodded.

"Pika-pika!," Pikachu said to Pibu, quite delightedly. Quilava paced around the room on his own, examining the large crystals.

Gold stared intently at the trio of pokémon, determined to decipher exactly what they were talking about. But no matter how affirmatively he crossed his arms, or how hard he squinted his eyes, the archaic language of the mouse pokémon family eluded him. He sighed, giving up. This was far beyond his area of expertise. He turned his attention to the other human in the room, who was still sitting beside the large, dangerous pokémon that was twice their size, combined.

"Don't worry buddy, soon we'll make this place safe for you," Ash said to Tyranitar. Gold wasn't exactly sure if it was Tyranitar that needed to be protected in this place. It was only because they had come with such a large traveling party of trainers and powerful pokémon that no one got hurt. He sat down, gazing at the various crystals surrounding the room. He half considered taking a picture of one of them and sending it to Kris. Hey it's you! The joke wrote itself, really. He took out his phone and pointed it at a sizable crystal structure near the back end of the cave, a cheeky grin on his face. He was about to snap a photo before he paused. Through the magnification of his camera he got a better look at them. They shined a glimmering silver, yet the core of these crystals were imbued with a hazy bluish-green hue that seemed to almost "swim" through it. He couldn't deny that they were quite beautiful. He put his phone back in his sweater pocket and moved up to it. He broke off two smaller crystals from the larger growth.

"Hey Gold, you taking souvenirs or something?" Ash asked from across the cavern. Gold was startled, not realizing that Ash had likely been watching him the entire time.

"Something like that Red-look-alike" Gold said, placing them in his sweater pocket. "Guess they reminded me of some friends. Thought they'd make a nice gift."

"Must be some close friends. You care about them a lot, don't you?".

"Ya, you could say… that," Gold caught himself. He wasn't one to get overly sentimental, especially around someone he's only known for a few days now. Yet something about this Ash made it so easy. He shrugged, trying to save his image.

"Hey Gold, why don't you tell me about them. Your friends."

"Huh?"

"Well we're not doing much, and I would like to know more about you dexholders."

"And why would you assume that they are also dexholders?"

"Well, I… uhh…" Ash was stumped. Why did he assume they would also be dexholders?

"I mean they are. But still…" Gold said, the cheeky smile back on his face.

"Well, you got me good," Ash said with a chuckle. He swore he could hear Tyranitar chuckling under his breath as well. Gold went up to Ash, sitting in front of him.

"Well where to start…" Gold said, stroking his chin. "Well there's Silver. He's a little cold sometimes, and sometimes people think he's kinda mean when they first meet him. We were rivals for a bit."

"So like me and Gary?"

"Not at all. He was on a mission to stop an old evil geezer and I… well I just didn't leave him alone. Granted I thought he robbed me, but that's a long story."

"Sounds like it."

"But he's super tough, and he's got a good heart, and don't let anyone tell you otherwise."

"Guess I won't."

"Then there's Kris, well… Crystal. She's a super-serious gal with a short temper"

"Really?"

"Well, at least when she's talking to me!"

"Oh, of course."

"She's smart though, work's with the old man professor Oak a lot."

"Sounds like you're all really strong, in your own ways."

"You know it!" Gold said triumphantly. Ash rolled his eyes, though his smile didn't waver. However, he noticed a glint in Gold's eye. It looked as though Gold had just gotten an idea. Considering his brief experience with the rowdy trainer, he doubted it was a good one. Gold reached into his pocket again, this time pulling out a deck of playing cards.

"You play, Red-look-alike?"

"Well… no…"

"Well, I'll teach ya. Something simple to start off with."

Ash couldn't help but feel that this was a mistake, as Gold handed him his first card.

The cavern began to widen, and a strange hum could be heard echoing through it. They were very, very close now, likely a few meters away from the invasive pokémon's chamber. The scent of metallic ozone became stronger, almost overwhelming. They could see a bright light at the end of the tunnel.

"Be ready for anything," Blue said as they passed into the room.

Similarly to Tyranitars chamber, they were suddenly surrounded by large crystals darting both the floor and the ceiling. However, all the crystals in the chamber seemed to have been broken off in the center, a metallic coating painting the now blunted tips. The walls similarly had coatings of metal layers scattered throughout. Near the back end of the room was a large rocky outcrop, completely covered in the metallic coating. It was almost like the rock itself was made of pure steel.

"Where could it be?" Yellow asked, though her attention quickly turned to the steel growth, as did the other trainers.

"Charizard, use flamethrower on the rocks over there," Blue pointed without hesitation. A wave of fire spewed from Charizard's mouth, completely engulfing the outcrop. The steel turned a fiery red, smoke spewing out of it like a cauldron. A loud, piercing call emanated from it as the room became engulfed in the strange smoke.

"I can't see anything," Gary called, covering his face. Who knows what they might have been inhaling at this moment. The metallic smell became far stronger than before.

"Where… did… he… go," Yellow said in a coughing fit.

"Charizard! Clear the room!" Blue called. Charizard leaped with surprising grace behind the trainers, spreading his wings as wide as he could and swiftly flapped them forward. A massive gust of air blasted through the entire room, catching the smoke and blasting it out of the room. The room cleared and the trainers took a breath of fresh air, before turning their eyes to the outcrop once again, which had begun shifting. The ground underneath it rose, uprooting the metallic structures, which crumbled upon impact with the stone floor. Out of the debris arose a strange pokémon.

"It's a Duraludon," Gary said. The pokémon looked like a miniature tower, with large pillars for it's legs and feet. It's small head was almost embedded into its body, and it looked to have a sort of tail jutting from it's back.

"A Duraludon? What's that?" Yellow asked. She had never heard of such a pokémon, especially one living in Johto.

"It's a pokémon from the Galar region!" Gary said as he tossed a pokeball, releasing his Blastoise once again. "What's it doing here?"

"We'll figure it out when it calms down," Blue said, preparing for the pokémon's next move.

"Alright, go Omny!" Yellow yelled as she tossed her pokeball. Out came a pokémon consisting of a brownish spiked shell, it's squishy blue body sprouting a number of tentacles and a toothless beak.

"Star!" Omny called, ready for action. Yellow gave the pokémon a reassuring nod.

"Ludon!" The Duraludon cried out in turn. Glowing silver energy gathered around its mouth, and a flash of metallic energy launched directly at the Blastoise. The large pokemon took the brunt of the attack. While he didn't topple, the immediate hit clearly took a lot out of him. Duraludon stood motionless, its small eyes clearly keeping tabs on the trainers and their pokémon.

"Blastoise, you alright?" Gary asked the large blue pokémon. Blastoise nodded. He was far from being out of the fight from a single hit. The moment gave Gary some pause however. This pokémon was quite unlike the panicked Tyranitar from earlier. It looked stern and collected, not wasting its energy on rabid attacks.

"Alright Charizard, get in close and use fire punch!" Blue called. Charizard blasted into the air with his powerful wings, launching itself at the Duraludon with his fist engulfed in flames. It swung wide for the Duraludon, hitting it right on the side of its large neck. To Charizards shock however, the Duraludon was unfazed. In turn it reared back, its bulky left hand becoming imbued with a greenish-blue energy. It swiped at Charizard.

"Charizard, dodge him!" Blue called as Charizard leaped out of the range of Duraludons dragon claw, hopping back towards his trainer.

It's so strong, no wonder Tyranitar was having such a hard time. Yellow tried to approach the Duraludon, walking slowly towards it.

"Guys, wait. Omny, back me up okay, but don't attack until I say so," Yellow said.

"Are you sure?!" Gary asked, halting his own counterattack.

"Yellow…" Blue's annoyance was quite apparent. Even Charizard looked somewhat disgruntled to halt the flow of battle.

"We don't have to fight…" She moved slowly towards the pokémon, her hand outstretched. "Maybe it's just scared like Tyranit…"

The Duraludon fired another flash cannon right at Yellow's feet. However, a beam of water fired from behind her, colliding with the flash cannon and detonating the energy before it could hit her.

"Star!"

"Thanks Omny."

"Yellow!" Gary called.

"I'm okay!" Yellow said through somewhat gritted teeth. She hated battling, especially a wild pokémon, but it was clear that this pokémon was not interested in a peaceful resolution right now.

"Alright, Omny, use ice beam," She commanded. Omny released a solid line of ice energy towards the Duraludon. Once again it took the hit head on, remaining completely unfazed.

"He won't budge," Yellow said.

"Blastoise, use hydro pump!" Gary called, finally seeing his opportunity. However, just like the previous instances, the Duraludon brushed it off.

"It barely flinched…" Blue noted as Gary commanded his pokémon to dodge a volley of flash canons. It seemed like Duraludon was becoming more agitated as the fight dragged on.

"We have to find a crack in its defenses," Blue said, Gary and Yellow nodding in tandem.

The trio continued with a flurry of ranged attacks, though the results remained the same. The pokémon barely moved, unleashing a barrage of its own attacks in turn. It seemed like it was almost invincible. Almost…

Gary saw it first, the pokémon slightly teetering back. He could see a glint of panic in the Duralodons face as it stepped backwards. It looked like it wanted to turn around, yet it just couldn't.

"We have to get behind it. It's guarding something," Gary said.

"Omny, circle around him," Yellow commanded.

"Charizard, distract Duralodon!" Blue followed. Charizard flew up close to the enemy pokémon, dodging blasts of metallic energy. He continuously leered in and out of the Duraludons space, keeping the pokémon quite preoccupied. Omny took the opportunity to move to the Duraludons side, quickly getting behind it. Almost immediately, the Duraludon turned around, almost completely ignoring Blue's Charizard.

"Omny, what is it?!" Yellow asked, noting that the pokémon looked surprised by whatever it saw. Before her pokémon could answer, the Duralodon released another flash cannon, slamming directly into Omny. Yellows pokémon toppled to the ground, down but not out.

"Charizard, now! Seismic toss!" Blue yelled.

Charizard found its mark as it gripped the back of Duraludons leg, lifting it up with all his might. The pokémon was so heavy that he barely raised it over his head, though he was still able to launch the pokémon towards the back of the cavern wall. All the trainers took pause at what they saw. With the large Duraludon no longer blocking their sight, they all saw the distinctive shape of pokémon eggs embedded into the earth. Charizard landed next to the eggs, with Omny crawling up beside him.

"It looks like we found our answer as to why Duraludon was fighting so hard," Blue said and Duraludon climbed back to its feet. The pokemon eyed the Charizard and Omistar intensely, though didn't immediately attack.

"It doesn't want to accidentally damage its eggs," Yellow said, moving past the eggs and up to Duraludon. It glared at Yellow, though this time it's stare was less stoic. Rather, it was almost similar to Tyranitars, the clear sight of fear etched in its eyes.

"It's alright, we're not here to hurt you," She said, walking towards the estranged pokémon. She now stood just a few meters away from it. It was then that she noticed the marks. Burns, blisters and ice infused wounds, all marking the outside of Duraludons thick hide. They had been damaging it immensely, but the pokémon had held strong through it all, not daring to show any weakness to draw attention away from its eggs.

"Im… I'm so sorry…" She said teary eyed. Yellow placed her hand on Duraludon, her hand faintly glowing. The Duraludon didn't resist as she attempted to heal its wounds. She had already used a large portion of her power on Tyranitar, but she managed to heal some of the more superficial wounds.

"It looks like we have a turf war in here" Gary said, moving up to Yellow. "I think that in my world Tyranitar lived in these caves, while in yours it was Duraludons nest. They are natural rivals, so when the worlds merged they ended up fighting over the mountains. And with them being such powerful pokémon, this conflict could have lasted weeks."

"Huh, quite the conclusion," Blue said, taking a closer look at the eggs. They didn't look right…

Gary pulled out a potion from his sack. The clear fluid rested in a spray bottle specifically designed for easy use when healing a trainer's pokémon. He applied the medicine to the Duraludons' more severe injuries. It winced in pain, though it seemed grateful. Since the trainers hadn't harmed its eggs, the Duraludon seemed to trust them, at least for the moment.

"So what do we do?" Yellow asked.

"I'm not sure. I don't know if Tyranitar and Duraludon can live in peace together. It would be tough…" Gary said, still treating Duraludons wounds.

"First, there's something off about these eggs," Blue said. Gary handed Yellow the potion and went up to the eggs.

"I see what you mean, though I'm not an expert on pokémon eggs," Gary noted.

"But Gold is," Yellow chimed from across the room.

"Right…" Blue said, holding back a sigh.

"Ha! Another win for the hometown hero!" Gold jeered, scooping up an unquantifiable amount of invisible poker chips.

"Lost… again…" Ash said in despair, the weight of his constant defeats becoming far too much to bear.

"What? You got close this time Red-look-alike" Gold said, the lie slipping so easily through his crooked grin. "Just one more game huh? This one will be yours I'm sure!"

"Well… maybe this time…" Ash reached for his next card, though he knew that he lost well before the game had even begun.

"Hey! Gold!" A familiar voice said from across the room. The trainers turned to see Blue on his Charizard.

"What? Can't you see I'm busy?!" Gold replied, quite agitated.

"We found the problem, and we need you to examine some eggs, right now," Blue demanded. "You come over too Ash. And bring Tyranitar, and make sure it doesn't become aggressive!"

"Fiiiine," Gold conceded.

"I'm free," Ash muttered under his breath.

It was an awkward reunion.

Tyranitar and Duraludon stared daggers at each other on opposite sides of the cave. Despite their injuries, it was clear that they would tear each other apart if it weren't for the collage of strong pokémon standing between them.

"Hey, we'll figure this out, okay?" Ash said standing next to Tyranitar. Despite the words of encouragement, he wasn't exactly sure how they were going to solve this issue. Gary had filled him in on his theory. This mountain chamber was home to both of these pokémon. He didn't like the idea of kicking either one out.

Gold crouched next to the eggs, eying them with the intensity of an expert. He licked his thumb and placed it on each of the eggs. He frowned.

"The eggs are too cold, way too cold. At this point they…" He paused, taking a deep sigh. "We have to bring them into a pokémon center for treatment."

"Too cold? But how? Didn't Duraludon pick this place for its nest willingly?" Gary asked.

"Well if what you said is true, then it might have moved the eggs here after Tyranitar showed up. The eggs were likely placed in the chamber above, which is slightly warmer."

"Is that true Tyranitar?" Ash asked. The green pokémon lowered his head in shame.

"Come on buddy, that isn't right," Ash said.

"They're wild pokémon Ash," Blue said. "Tyranitar and Duraludon are natural enemies. It's ingrained into their psyche, you can't blame them for their natural instincts."

"Ya, you're right…" Ash conceded. In reality he was quite aware of how wild pokémon can act. Still, it was hard for him to imagine that his small, harmless Larvitar could do such a thing. But he wasn't a Larvitar anymore, was he?

"So we need to get the eggs to a pokémon center, then what?" Yellow asked Gold from across the room, next to Duraludon.

"Well, the best thing would be to bring them back here and place them in the location of Duraludons choosing," Gold said, scratching his chin. "Sure we breeders are quite adept at taking care of pokemon eggs, but it is best that they are raised in the wild by their respective parents."

"What about Tyranitar? I doubt they'll play nice after we've left," Gary said, glancing at both pokémon.

"Wait a second, why not bring Tyranitar with us? Ash, why don't you capture Tyranitar?" Blue said.

"Capture Tyranitar?" Ash asked.

"Well you know and understand Tyranitar, and he clearly trusts you."

Ash pondered for a moment. Blue had a point, and Tyranitar wouldn't have to fight over Mount Silver anymore. Still, he didn't want to force his friend out of his own home…

"Tyranitar, would you like to join me?" Ash asked, looking up into the eyes of the large pokémon.

"Tyranitar!" Tyranitar said in approval, leaning down to look at Ash at eye level. Ash pulled out a pokeball from his belt, gently tapping it on Tyranitars head. Tyranitar became engrossed in red energy, which syphoned into the pokeball. The ball shook three times, then clicked with an audible ping.

"Good to have ya back on the team, Tyranitar," Ash said to the pokeball, before placing it back on his belt.

"Well, problem solved," Gold said, lifting up one of the eggs. "Now stop being so lazy everyone! Help me bring these up!"