Chapter 18
Spore
Senior Manager Miguel was having a bad day.
A scowl darkened his face as he stormed through the soaring cavern that served as their base of operations. Underlings tripped over themselves to escape their superiors' wrath as they quickly made themselves busy and kept their eyes down as he passed. At the tables in front of them, men in white lab coats carefully adjusted flames, closely monitored vials of bubbling liquids, and scraped and collected small piles of white powder formed from the process.
Earlier that day, two intruders had been subdued at one of the gates barring access to the lower tunnels. This wasn't an unheard-of occurrence. Over the years a handful of unlucky souls had stumbled upon their operation and they were all quickly subdued. Their remains were thrown into the underground river that passed through their cavern, swept into the abyss, and never to be seen again.
After Miguel's Venomoth had knocked out both trainers and their Pokémon with a well-placed sleep powder, it should have been simple to loot the bodies and get rid of them.
Miguel's borderline-useless subordinates, however, had brought the trainers INSIDE their base without securing and locking their Pokéballs. As soon as the iron gate had been closed, twin white flashes appeared above the trainers and two furious Pokémon emerged.
The Hitmonchan and Nidorino, although already wounded, tore through the gathered grunts like a hurricane. Elemental punches and volleys of poisoned darts decimated the ranks of humans, as they fell to the ground burned, frozen, paralyzed, or poisoned. Even the waves of the low-level Pokémon supplied to the grunts were ineffective.
The Hitmonchan easily 1 hit KO'd any of the agile Zubats that attempted to engage the fighting-type, each punch landing with a shower of sparks or ice crystals. Soon the ground was littered with the small twitching bodies of the blue bats.
Meanwhile, Nidorino tangled with multiple Geodude as they tried to grapple the larger Pokémon to the ground. Double kicks sent the small dense Pokémon flying and dazed them as they collided with the unforgiving tunnel walls. A trio of Rattata threw themselves at the larger Pokémon, but they were easily thrown off and stomped into submission.
The situation had quickly grown out of control until one of the Shadows appeared.
As the top trainers of their organization, few trainers and Pokémon could hope to match even a single Shadow's Pokémon. Taking command of the battlefield, the Shadow released only one of his Pokémon in a flash of light. The gathered grunts and Pokémon hurried to get out of the way of the new fighter, lest they be caught in the crossfire.
Although the Nidorino and Hitmonchan had rushed their opponent, weaving attacks around each other with stunning teamwork, their enemy proved far too strong and they were quickly beaten down and knocked out.
Barking orders at the wounded and recovering grunts, the Hitmonchan and Nidorino were returned to their original Pokéballs and then locked, preventing the Pokémon from releasing themselves again.
Although the Shadow hadn't said anything directly to Miguel, he had felt the Shadow's disgust radiating off the large man. Promising swift punishment for this mistake. Miguel knew that unless he found a way to salvage the situation, he was likely to find himself on a transport truck to one of their organization's remote mining camps. All hope had seemed lost.
And then he looked through the intruder's packs…
The strange orb, with a dark abyss swirling in its depths, had shocked and fascinated him. He had spent over an hour simply staring into its depth. Drawn in by some irresistible force and finding a deep comfort in the darkness it provided. The feeling of power that hummed through his body every time he touched it had become addictive, and he refused to let the orb leave his sight.
Fascination turned to greed as he showed the discovery to the scientists on his staff, yet none of them could identify what exactly it was. If there was anything that could save his position, it was finding out what the orb was, what power it held, and offering it to the boss as penance for his failure.
That meant paying a visit to his captured trainers.
0000
Patrick paced back and forth in his cell, brimming with nervous energy.
Upon the realization that their captors had missed Bug, who had been sleeping in Patrick's hood at the time, he and Tasha began devising a plan to escape. Currently, Bug could fire off a handful of attacks before needing to recharge at an electrical source. Usually, this deep in the wilderness finding a suitable power source would be a major hurdle. However, their captors seemed to have a steady supply of power. Something Patrick and Bug would have to make good use of if they were to find their Pokémon and escape.
With the tentative outline of a plan in place, there was nothing left to do but wait and watch for their opening. With such a pivotal role given to him, Patrick was too anxious to simply sit and wait. So, he paced.
"You're going to tire yourself out before we can even do anything," Tasha called from her cell. From where she was sitting against the bars, she could see a glimpse of Patrick every time he reached the edge of his cell before he turned and paced back.
"I can't just sit down. I need to move. I feel trapped." Patrick replied, not stopping.
"Of course, you feel trapped. You're in a cage! Pacing won't change that." Tasha reminded him.
"Even still, this makes me feel better."
"Don't tire yourself out…" Tasha warned.
The rasping sound of metal sliding against metal cut off their bickering. Patrick stopped in his tracks, turning to the entrance tunnel opposite them. Tasha shuffled around on the floor of her cell as well, not standing but moving so she could properly face whoever was coming.
With the creek of rusty hinges, an unseen door was pushed open and light streamed in through the gateway, a man's shadow glided across stone walls as someone stepped through the short tunnel.
A rather plain-looking man, dressed in a neat black suit exited the tunnel and looked around the dingy cavern in disgust. Clean-shaven and wearing expensive clothing, he looked wholly out of place in the subterranean dungeon.
"We certainly didn't give you the presidential suite, did we?" He said with a chuckle that held no real humour. "Maybe if you'd called ahead, we could have prepared something nicer… Instead, you trespassed and attacked our mining operation." His last words dripped with ice as he glared coldly at the two of them.
"We didn't attack you, you attacked us!" Patrick said indignantly, rising to the bait. Tasha stayed quiet, watching and listening.
"Oh, is that so?" Miguel said, turning on Patrick. "And what would you say to all my workers lying in the infirmary? Gored and beaten by your Nidorino and your Hitmonchan? We painlessly subdued your entire team so we could talk and that was how you repaid us. Those are two nasty Pokémon you have. Damn near had to kill them to keep them down."
Both trainers flinched when their Pokémon were named. Tasha quickly schooled her features while Patrick again rose to the jab.
"Where is Nidorino? What did you do to him?" Patrick said, pressing himself against the bars, and glaring at the manager.
"Oh, all your Pokémon are alive… For now." To prove his point Miguel dug into his suit pocket and pulled out a handful of shrunken Pokéballs, six in total. Each one had the central button depressed, indicating they were locked. "And if you answer my questions truthfully. I'll even consider letting you and all your Pokémon leave here."
Patrick stepped back from the bars then, not trusting the man in front of him but willing to hear him out. Miguel grinned darkly and slipped the balls back into his pocket.
"What questions?" Tasha called out for the first time, still sitting on the floor.
"I'm glad you asked…" Miguel said, turning slowly to face the red-haired woman and walking over to the cell. Stopping just shy of an arm's reach from the bars. "My questions are for you, specifically…"
"You came over all the way here. Why don't you come into my cell and we can chat?" Tasha said, standing up, matching the manager's gaze, and punching a fist into her hand.
"I don't think so, I saw your boxing gloves in the pack. Well used those are… and they even had some blood on the knuckles!" Miguel said, shaking his head in disdain. "No, I don't think I'll be coming in. I may send Primeape in later, however, he'll be happy to chat.
"Get on with it. Ask your questions." Tasha spat, not backing away from the bars.
"Thank you," Miguel bowed with mock politeness. Reaching into another pocket, he took out a small wrapped parcel and held it up. With a flourish, he pulled the string and the paper fell away. In his hand, a dark orb glowed softly in the dim room. The clouds of black smoke were barely visible in its depths. "What is this?"
Tasha raised her eyebrows, studying the orb for a second. "No idea." She said flatly. From his cell, Patrick leaned against the bars, staring at the ball with fascination.
"Don't play dumb with me," Miguel said coldly, "We found this in your pack. Tell us what it is and you can leave. It's that simple."
"I've never seen that thing in my life." Tasha shrugged, "Maybe if you came a little closer, I'd remember…"
Miguel growled at the thinly veiled attempt at getting him to approach the bars. He narrowed his eyes at the smirking redhead, staring daggers at the trainer behind bars. Despite the difference in positions, Tasha didn't back down. Despite being the one imprisoned.
"If you don't want to tell me what I want to know the easy way, we'll do it the hard way. I have no issues with that." Miguel said, breaking eye contact first and slipping the orb into his pocket again. "I'll come back in a few hours to ask again. If you are still conscious, that is…"
With that ominous warning, Miguel turned on his heel and headed for the exit.
"Hey! Where are you going? What are you going to do with my Pokémon?!" Patrick yelled at the retreating form. "Come back here!"
Smirking at Patrick's cries, Miguel walked through the tunnel and out of sight. A moment later the grating sound of a metal latch being slid into place was heard and everything was quiet.
With Miguel out of the cavern, Patrick quickly calmed down.
"It didn't work," Patrick said, dejectedly.
"It didn't work yet." Tasha corrected, scowling at the exit. "We'll have another chance. They'll make a mistake…" With a sigh, Tasha sat back down in her cell to wait.
"Do you know what that orb is?" Patrick asked after a moment, once he was sure their captor had left. He leaned against the bars so he could still see Tasha.
"I was being honest; I have no idea what it is. I was working at a mining camp, we made a discovery, and Otis, the site boss, wanted me to take a parcel to Silph to get it appraised." Tasha explained, "I never opened the parcel. Otis is a good man, he wouldn't give me anything that was illegal or that he knew was dangerous. It's probably just a rare rock. Maybe any evolution stone?"
"Definitely not an evolution stone… Well, not one that has been discovered. " Patrick corrected quickly. "I've worked with every variation of stone we know of, none of them look like that. Do you know where it was found?"
"I don't know anything about it," Tasha sighed, "I think it was found in a cave, but that's about it."
The two fell silent, with nothing else to talk about Tasha sat back against the wall to wait, while Patrick resumed pacing.
0000
They didn't have to wait long.
Barely 15 minutes after Miguel's exit, the latch was once again slid across and the door opened with a bang. A large shadow stomped down the tunnel to the cavern and stepped into the light.
"I hear yous got information we want." The grunt slurred through fat lips.
The man was huge. His bulging belly pressed against the black jumpsuit he wore and his many chins wobbled with each word he spoke. Standing at the entrance to the dungeon, hands on hips and chest sticking out, he attempted to strike a powerful pose. He sized up both Tasha and Patrick in their cells with dull, unintelligent eyes.
"I have no idea what you are talking about." Tasha retorted, crossing her arms and not bothering to stand. Patrick looked between the two nervously, unsure how this would unfold.
"Sure ya do!" The grunt leered, stomping over to Tasha's cell. "It's a little ball? Got some black clouds in it? It was packed pretty carefully in your bag. We just wanna know what it does."
"Like I told your boss, I've never seen that before," Tasha said easily, not backing down from the man easily three times her size. "I'm sure you could sell it as a fancy paperweight." She conceded with a shrug.
"Yeah… he said you'd deny it… Told me I was supposed to persuade you to tell us." the grunt said, making a show of rubbing his chin.
"So the suit sent his pet Snorlax to intimidate me?" Tasha taunted. Rolling onto her back, she kicked herself up into standing in one fluid motion, fists at the ready. "Come in here and see if you can."
"You can sit back down." The grunt replied, ignoring the insult and smiling evilly at Tasha before turning to face Patrick, who hadn't said a word since his entrance. "Boss said one of youse would be tough to crack, but the other looked soft. Said the one in the blue would sing like a Pidgey…"
Patrick stepped back in surprise, realizing he was now the topic of conversation.
"I have no idea what the orb is! But I have friends in Pewter, so I could send pictures to them. Maybe they'd know!" Patrick said, waving his arms in front of him as if to ward off the approaching grunt.
"Yeah… See we don't believe that…" The grunt said. "You know what it is and you know where you got it. Between you and me, I'm glad you aren't spilling everything too easily. I wanna get a few hits in before you start squealing." Cracking his knuckles menacingly.
The grunt reached into his pocket and retrieved a ring of keys. The silver loop jingled as he squinted at each key in the low light, trying to figure out which key he needed. So intent on his work, he didn't notice both trainers staring at the keys or see Patrick tap his left wrist twice.
With a triumphant huff, the grunt finally selected the correct key and stuck it into the lock of Patrick's cell, with a Clink the door swung wide open. The chance of Patrick darting past was virtually non-existent, however, simply because the man's fat frame took up the entire doorway as he stepped into the small space. Grinning in anticipation, he rolled up his sleeves.
"Last try… you gonna tell us what that ball does?" The grunt said, taking a step towards Patrick.
"It's… um… um…" Patrick said, fumbling for words as he tried side-stepping, maneuvering the grunt's back to a wall…
"Time's up!" The grunt said, taking a quick step forward he raised his meaty fist.
Patrick was faster.
"Electroweb!" Patrick cried, thrusting his own hand forward, index finger and thumb extended, resembling a gun and iron sight.
From seemingly out of nowhere, a mass of electrified webbing erupted from his 'gun' and flew at the grunt. Over the course of its short flight, the web quickly expanded, smacking the grunt on his shoulder and arm and sending him stumbling back into the wall.
The grunt convulsed slightly as the stored electricity was discharged into his fat body, his extra mass dampening the effects. Still, his arm was pinned to the wall and didn't move as his body sagged against the stone.
"Electroweb! Electroweb! Electroweb!" Patrick yelled, nearly hysterical as adrenaline rushed through him.
The sticky strands slammed into the grunt's arms and legs, pressing him even further against the wall and shocking him the entire time, preventing any retaliation as the gooey webbing quickly hardened to an almost iron-like consistency.
By the time Patrick took a moment to breathe and let his tense muscles relax slightly, the grunt was barely conscious, his body firmly pinned to the wall by a thick layer of hardened web covering him from neck to toe. On Patrick's wrist, Joltik panted slightly, the tiny spider nearly out of energy from the rapid-fire attacks.
Clapping from the cell next to them brought Patrick's attention over to Tasha, who was beaming at the two of them.
"Great work! You played your part perfectly! Now grab his keys over there on the ground and let me out!" Tasha cheered.
Squinting in the darkness, Patrick found the key ring and scooped it off the ground before jogging to Tasha's cell.
"Go find the source of electricity and see if you can get a quick recharge in. Don't go too far though." Patrick whispered to Bug.
Nodding, Bug used his four tiny legs to launch his body into the air, easily clearing half the room in a single leap. Landing lightly, Bug leaped again, landing on the cavern wall and scurrying out of sight in search of energy.
Patrick stood awkwardly in front of Tasha's door for several moments as he tried to jiggle each key on the ring into the lock before moving on to the next one, having no way of knowing which key opened her gate. The task wasn't made easier by the slight tremor in his hands.
"Your acting was superb, by the way. It really looked like you were going to pee your pants when he opened your cell!" Tasha said laughing, not noticing Patrick's hands.
"Yeah… acting…" Patrick murmured, fumbling with another key.
With a sigh of relief, the key slid in smoothly, and with a Click, Tasha was free as well.
"You did good, Poindexter." Tasha said, roughly clapping Patrick on his shoulder as she quickly stepped out of her cell and looked around. "Time for phase 2, figure out where we are!"
They quickly walked over to the entrance tunnel and cautiously peered around the corner into the narrow space.
Like they had guessed while making their escape plan, a single bulb hung from the ceiling above the door, illuminating the small stone passage. The bulb swayed back and forth and flickered slightly as Bug greedily absorbed electricity, tiny mandibles clamped onto the wire.
At the end of the tunnel, a thick wooden door bound in iron blocked their path. The heavy metal deadbolt they had heard several times had been left ajar, the grunt having not bothered to relock it upon entry. Another mistake…
Before they could take a peek at whatever was beyond, a booming shout echoed from the cavern they'd just left.
"Oi! Prisoners are escaping! Prisoners are escaping!"
With a curse, both trainers turned and rushed back into the dungeon to find the grunt had awoken and was struggling against his bonds, yelling as he did so. Despite his size, however, the webbing held strong and he wasn't able to so much as budge the sticky strands. So instead, he yelled.
"Prisoners are escaping!"
"Bug, shut him up!" Patrick cried, and the little yellow spider leapt into action.
Dropping from his perch, Bug lightly touched down on the stone before leaping back down the hallway, ricocheting off the wall, and sailing into the open cavern ahead of the two trainers. Without hesitating, Bug fired a pinpoint blast of webbing while in mid-air that hit his target with a wet smack before quickly hardening.
With a choking gurgle, the grunts' cries were cut off as webbing sealed his mouth shut.
"Wow…that was a great shot!" Tasha applauded, eyeing the tiny spider with new respect.
"Great job, Bug!" Patrick praised. The tiny spider absolutely beamed under the compliments and stood up as tall as his 4-inch frame would allow. All three of them ignored the muffled outrage from the bound and gagged grunt still hanging from the wall.
"Bug's compound eyes allow him to be far more accurate than most Pokemon when it comes to ranged attacks," Patrick explained to Tasha. Reaching out his arm, the small spider easily leaped onto his palm and crawled up his arm to sit on his shoulder.
"That's a great ability. I think I underestimated that little puffball when I first met him." Tasha conceded. "Now that fatso is taken care of, let's take a peek outside. If we are lucky, no one heard him yelling."
Turning back to the exit, the trio was met with an unexpected sight.
A fox-like Pokémon was standing in the doorway, staring at them curiously with black eyes. Its entire body was covered with spiky yellow fur with a fringe of white around its neck.
Of the three of them, Bug was the first one to react, already fired up from his recent sharpshooting. From his perch on Patrick's shoulder, the tiny spider launched a wad of webbing at the bigger electric-type, intent on immobilizing it as well.
Zzzt
With the sound of a wire short-circuiting, the fox disappeared in a blur of pure speed. A split second later the webbing hit the stone where it had been standing.
Looking around frantically, they tried to find where the Jolteon had gone. Quickly shaking off her shock, Tasha grabbed the back of Patrick's hood and quickly backpedaled, until both of them were backed against a wall.
"When facing an opponent faster than you, keeping your back against a wall limits which direction it can attack." Tasha hissed quietly, squeezing her hands into fists as she looked around and lowered into a boxing stance.
Seconds ticked by and the lightning Pokémon didn't seem to still be in the room, Tasha sprang into action.
"We need to leave. Now! Jolteon is going to be back any second with its master, we need to be gone before that-"
Zzzt
-Happens…" Tasha finished with a defeated sigh, seeing the fox had reappeared, slightly to the right of the hardened webbing on the floor.
With a high-pitched battle cry, Bug once again launched a shot of webbing at the speedy fox. This time without charging the strands with electricity, as it was unlikely to do anything against his fellow electric-type.
The Jolteon didn't appear to move a muscle, it simply blinked from existence for a split second before reappearing a few feet away, watching the webbing splatter against the ground with casual curiosity.
Bug was about to fire another shot at his evasive opponent, but Patrick held up a hand in front of the spider. Grumbling, Bug canceled the string shot he was preparing.
"What do we do? It's not attacking us, just looking…" Patrick asked, looking at the docile fox. Jolteon was once again sitting on the floor in front of the tunnel, content to just watch the pair.
"It's here to prevent us from leaving, I'm sure its master is on the way," Tasha said, searching the room for any hidden exits they somehow missed the first time they looked. The grunt, still held against the wall, smugly watched the events unfolding.
The slow creek of rusty hinges announced the arrival of another. A shadow stepped into the entry tunnel.
"Hide Bug," Tasha whispered quickly to Patrick and Joltik, the latter quickly scurried into Patrick's hood to hide. Both trainers waited for the newest person to enter the room, Jolteon looked on excitedly and spun in a circle as their trainer approached.
Clad in black leathers, a middle-aged woman cautiously stepped into the room, eyes flashing as she assessed everyone present. Seeing that Tasha and Patrick had no Pokémon released, she relaxed slightly, but only slightly. The sword she held in her right hand remained where it was.
"Hands in the air," She barked at the two trainers, who slowly raised their hands. Ensuring they made no sudden movements, the sword looked wickedly sharp. "Give me your names and titles, what do you do here?"
Patrick and Tasha shared an uncertain look before looking back at the woman, who was now pointing her sword at them. Tasha opened her mouth to answer, but she wasn't sure how to exactly answer, so she closed it again. Patrick, likewise, was at a loss for words.
Before the woman could ask again, another Pokémon padded into the room. Silent as a ghost, the golden fox brushed past the woman to stand next to her. With a probing sniff of the air, the Ninetales tilted their head curiously at Patrick, a flash of recognition in their crimson eyes.
Seeing the Trainer and fox together, Patrick realized he recognized the pair as well. A distant memory from when he was still training in the Viridian gym and a powerful trainer who had picked up a job from Samuel. A trainer with a Ninetales.
"You're a ranger!" Patrick blurted out. If Patrick's proclamation surprised her at all, the ranger didn't show it and made no move to confirm or deny it. "Why are you working for these people? They kidnapped us!"
That did provoke a small reaction from the ranger, who took another look at the opened cell doors behind them. Although from her position by the tunnel, she couldn't see the grunt webbed against the wall.
"You don't look like you've been kidnapped." She slowly replied.
"We are breaking out!" Tasha explained. "We tricked the bozo jail guard and strung him up." Motioning with her head to Patrick's cell.
Without prompting, the Jolteon got to its feet and disappeared in a blur, past Patrick and Tasha, and came to a stop in the center of Patrick's cell. It looked up at the bound and gagged grunt stuck against the wall and Patrick could have sworn he heard it snicker.
The ranger also took a few steps to the side so she could peer into the cell as well and confirm their story.
"Okay… So who are you and what are you doing here?" The ranger asked, this time with no hostility in her voice, and lowered her sword.
Tasha took the lead, quickly explaining how they had been driven into the cave system by a Charizard, how they'd wandered around lost until coming across a locked door, and how they'd been ambushed by a Venomoth. Bug crawled out of Patrick's and stood proudly when Tasha explained how they had broken out of the jail cell with the tiny spider's help. Throughout the story, the ranger listened intently but barely reacted.
"This… complicates things…" The ranger said slowly, rubbing her eyes in frustration. "There is a man in a suit, who you think has your Pokémon, somewhere in this operation. And I suppose you aren't leaving until you find him?"
At this, both Tasha and Patrick nodded firmly.
"Fine…" The ranger said with a groan before putting her hand to her ear. "Joven, our mission has upgraded to a search and rescue. I've found 2 prisoners; they report their Pokémon are in the possession of a man in a suit. 6 Pokéballs total. Last seen 30 minutes ago in the southern corridor."
"Roger that!" A man's voice crackled out of the mic, "I'm almost done with the north side. Nothing of interest, but we can let the cops comb through it. Should we meet in the mushroom grove and finish this up?"
"ETA 5 minutes." The ranger responded, ending the connection and turning back to Tasha and Patrick. "Okay, you two. You'll need to stay close and don't make a noise. Here is our plan…"
0000
Patrick flinched as his boot scuffed against the uneven stone floor they were creeping over, earning him a glare from his two silent companions.
The three trainers had recalled their Pokémon, with the exception of Bug perched on his shoulder, and slowly crept from shadow to shadow down the winding tunnel. Ahead of him, Tasha and the ranger moved like ghosts, not a sound marking their passage. Focusing intently on the floor, Patrick carefully and silently stepped onto a relatively flat piece of stone, sighing with relief when it made no noise, and continued after the two women.
Before leaving the cavern, the ranger quickly introduced herself and had gone over the situation Patrick and Tasha had found themselves in. They were currently in the center of a massive 'spore' operation, one of a handful hidden in the mountains between Pewter and Cerulean, and who used their proximity to both cities to distribute their finished product.
A highly addictive narcotic, spore had rapidly become popular with criminals, as well as young people hoping to experiment. However, due to spore's potency if a user misjudged their dose, they could lose consciousness, and their breathing rate would slow until it eventually stopped.
As the three cities most affected by the outbreak, the political and gym leaders in Pewter, Cerulean, and Viridian city had organized a task force of trainers and police to sweep the mountains in an attempt to locate the laboratories supplying the drugs.
Jane and Joven had been given their instructions in Viridian and had quickly met with trainers in Cerulean, organized a grid search, and spread out to search the mountains. It was only through sheer luck they had heard the sounds of a battle echoing through the tunnels and investigated.
Patrick flinched as another step landed awkwardly, the small noise echoed in the tunnel around them. Try as he might, he still hadn't mastered the silent running Tasha and Jane were effortlessly performing. Luckily, the sound of rushing water was slowly building, echoing from an unseen source somewhere ahead.
The trio slowed as the light began to filter into their tunnel from an opening ahead of them until eventually, Jane held up her fist ordering them to stop.
Peering over Janes' shoulder, Patrick gaped at the cavern before them.
Their own tunnel seemed to enter the cavern halfway up the wall, as they were able to look down almost 40 feet at the cavern floor below. Forming an uneven oblong shape, the cavern stretched out before them, before gently curving to the right and out of sight. From one of the sheer cavern walls, a waterfall gushed from the stone and tumbled down to a deep pool that dominated one side of the cavern. From there it steadily wound its way along the cavern before disappearing down a smaller tunnel. The sheer size of the cavern would have been impressive enough, however, it was the foliage that was truly awe-inspiring.
Massive mushrooms towered over the cavern floor, thick cream trunks supported bulbous red caps a dozen feet wide. Spaced evenly throughout the cavern, the tree-sized fungus filled the cavern floor. Smaller blue mushrooms grew in clusters along the river bank, sprouting in the spaces left by their massive red brethren.
In the center of the cavern, a small laboratory had been erected. Large floodlights were placed around the perimeter, illuminating men at work and casting long shadows against the far walls of the cavern.
"A mushroom grove…" Tasha whispered, just as in awe at the sight as Patrick.
"And there is Joven," Jane said, nodding at a figure slipping between mushroom trunks around the perimeter of the lab and making his way towards the simple path that slopped up the cliff face to their tunnel. Most of his features were covered by a deep blue cloak he wore.
"How come none of the scientists are reacting to him?" Tasha said after a moment.
Looking back at Joven, Patrick understood what she meant. While he was slowly creeping around the edges of the camp, he was still very much visible. However, the scientist seemed not to react at all as he passed, sometimes within a few feet.
"He's camouflaged right now. To them at least… not to us." Jane clarified, although her explanation made no sense to Patrick.
Not bothering to press the matter, Patrick watched the man jog up the ramp towards them. Once he was nearly there, the trio stepped back into the tunnel and waited for Joven to enter the tunnel as well.
A few seconds later, a fit middle-aged man, with short brown hair and greying temples joined them.
"Hey, gang!" The man said cheerfully in a thick Hoenn accent, "Welcome to the party! Thanks for joining us."
"We're just happy to tag along," Tasha replied easily, earning an even bigger grin from the man.
"Any sign of the man in the suit who took their Pokéballs?" Jane asked, not bothering with niceties with her cheerful teammate.
"As luck would have it! I think we have him!" The Hoenn ranger explained happily, "He left through one of the other tunnels a little while ago. Rip is following him as we speak. All we have to do is corner him and Boom! You got your balls back!"
"Thank Mew…" Patrick whispered to himself. "Who is Rip?"
"Rip is one of my Pokémon, a ghost type," Joven explained. "He can turn invisible, so unless they have a stronger ghost or dark-type, which is unlikely, he won't be seen."
"'Rip' the ghost-type? Like Rest In Peace?" Patrick asked, putting two and two together.
"Yup!" Joven beamed, pleased Patrick had picked it up so quickly.
"Wow, and I thought Bug was an unoriginal name…" Tasha muttered, earning her a glare from Patrick.
"Anyways," Jane said, cutting off the chatter. "If Rip is with our target, Ninjask can find him. So, our job now is to subdue him. Based on what Tasha has told us, it sounds like he runs this operation. Or at the very least, is high up in the chain of command. Before we take this place apart. We should secure him for questioning. We don't want him getting away."
"Great, I'll lead the way!" Joven said, "Stay close!"
Turning, he gave a soft whistle and a Pokémon that had been hovering amongst the stalactites above their heads emerged from the shadows and zipped toward them at blinding speed.
The Ninjask came to an abrupt halt in front of its trainer and stared at him with red, compound eyes. From Patrick's shoulder, Bug cheeped a quick hello to his fellow bug-type.
"We need you to find your brother, okay?" Joven told the flying bug-type.
With a quick nod, the cicada Pokémon slowly started hovering away back down the slope. The rest of the trainers hurried to catch up.
"Won't we be seen?" Patrick whispered to Jane, feeling exposed as they started walking down the open ramp.
"If we all stay close to Joven, no." Jane explained. "Stare really hard at Joven's left shoulder and tell me what you see."
Taking the ranger's strange advice, Patrick stared intently at Joven's left shoulder. Watching the sway of his blue cloak as it fell down his back, his eyes followed the heavy material. Studying the way it flicked at the bottom each time he walked…
Wait a minute…
Shaking his head, Patrick realized he had gotten distracted and again stared intently at Joven's shoulder. The deep blue of the cloak contrasted sharply with the red caps of the mushrooms as they started to descend beneath the canopy.
At this level, Patrick could see the strange sinuous veins that lined the underside of the great caps. He was once again impressed by the size of the massive mushr-
Patrick was jolted out of his train of thought as he realized he had once again been distracted and had forgotten to look at Joven's shoulder. He couldn't even remember what the shoulder looked like.
"What's going on?" Patrick asked Jane suspiciously, narrowing his eyes at her small smile.
"Kecleon, could you show yourself for a moment, please." Jane directed at the thin air.
This time, when Patrick looked at Joven. He felt like he could finally focus and he noticed the large green reptile with yellow facial ridges draped across both shoulders, bisected by a jagged zigzag of red scales.
One of the chameleon's eyes rotated towards them and slowly blinked, while the second kept watch ahead.
A moment later, the reptile vanished and Patrick found himself studying Joven's hairline intently.
"Oh… Can Kecleon turn us invisible as well?" Patrick asked, trying to puzzle out the significance of the reptile.
"Not quite," Jane explained. "Kecleon doesn't turn completely invisible. Instead, Kecleon can change his colors to match his surroundings and then force you not to see him."
"That's the same thing…" Patrick argued.
"Instead of looking through him, Kecleon can force you to look around him. Or get distracted and look at something else near him. He is always there, but your brain refuses to register him." Jane explained, pointing at a space slightly to the right of Joven's shoulders. "He can use that same compulsion on a small area around him. So even if we are out in the open, anyone who looks in our direction will just ignore us."
"How bizarre… I haven't studied Hoenn's Pokédex as well as the others. But I had no idea Kecleon's camouflage worked like that…"
"It's a handy little trick and one of the reasons Joven is so good at what he does," Jane said.
"Awww, I knew you cared!" Joven said, turning back and giving Jane a teasing look. "But Kecleon can only mask sight, so keep quiet once we get closer."
With a nod, the entire group fell silent as they stepped off the rocky path and onto the cavern floor. Patrick was surprised to see that the floor wasn't stone like he had initially thought, but instead, it was spongey and brown, with fibrous bands of mycelium radiating out from the trunks of great mushrooms.
Following the hovering cicada in front of them, the group quickly wound through the mushroom stems, angling towards another tunnel at the base of one of the walls. Patrick shuddered as they passed the border of the lab, feeling very exposed under the harsh flood lights. But none of the men working seemed to react in the slightest, instead tirelessly working at the equipment in front of them.
It was only once they had stepped into the smaller side tunnel that Ninjask led them to that Patrick began to relax and let the tension flow from his shoulders. He seemed to be the only one nervous, however, as both Jane and Joven looked completely at ease, even when Joven had to stop to let a scientist cut him off, before continuing on. Even Tasha, who had no experience with being invisible, seemed to take it all in stride. Going so far as to make faces at the scientists as they passed.
Patrick had to chalk it up to professional trainers just being used to rolling with whatever was thrown at them.
Once in the narrow tunnel, Ninjask sped up forcing everyone else to break into a jog.
The tunnel quickly ended at a door, not unlike the one that had blocked Patrick and Tasha's way when they first found the operation.
Ninjask stopped just short of the door and pointed one of its grey forelegs at the door, communicating that what they were looking for was just on the other side.
As if to prove its point, a moment later a small grey husk materialized through the door and hovered over to Ninjask, where they both greeted each other happily.
The husk, roughly the same size and shape as Ninjask, turned to the rest of the trainers gathered and wobbled side to side in greeting. A faint halo of light shone above its head, which moved in rhythm with its body.
"Is the suit on the other side?" Joven whispered.
Shedinja hovered up and down in confirmation.
"Is anyone else in there?"
Shedinja hovered up and down again.
"How many?
Shedinja tapped the stone wall twice.
"Any Pokémon released?" Joven pressed.
Shedinja hovered side to side, showing 'no' before tracing a circle in front of itself with his forelegs. To which Joven nodded and turned back to the group.
"Two humans on the other side, no Pokémon released however they do have Pokéballs." Joven translated to the gathered trainers. "They might be your Pokéballs," -gesturing to Tasha and Patrick- "or more likely, they have their own. Either way, we hit hard and fast and they won't have time to release anything."
Jane nodded, grabbing two of the red-and-white orbs from her belt. "Too small a space for the big guy?" She asked, nodding towards Joven's 4th Pokeball.
"Yeah, we'll save him for later. Speed is most important for this." Joven confirmed. With that, Jane tossed the orbs further down the hallway, and Jolteon and Ninetales both appeared in a flash of white light.
The vulpine and canine Pokémon stretched for a moment, before trotting back to the group and staring at Jane expectedly.
"We are breaking down the door, the objective is to neutralize the two humans before they release their Pokémon. Jolteon will lead with flash, allow 1 second before following her. Understood?" Jane ordered and was met with a sharp nod from both Pokémon.
"You two get that?" Joven asked, turning to his own Bug-types that were hovering in the air next to him. He received a nod from both. "Great, let's do it."
Carefully grasping the doorknob, Joven gave a slow, experimental twist and nodded in satisfaction when the knob turned smoothly. The door was unlocked.
Turning back to the gathered Pokémon, he helped up his hand and counted down from 3 fingers. Just as he flashed the 1, threw the door open and turned away.
Just like in the jail cell, Jolteon vanished in a blur with a small zzzt marking the electric-type disappearance. A split second later, a blinding yellow flash exploded through the opened door, accompanied by screams of pain as the two humans on the other side of the door collapsed, pressing their palms into their burning eyes.
Not expecting such a violent flash of light, Patrick was also left partially blinded as he was looking into the doorway at the time and had to blink away the stars burnt into his vision. The Pokémon, however, were prepared and as soon as the flash finished, they moved in, racing toward their targets.
The room was small, with very few furnishings. Boxes lined with walls, on either side, and a rack of full-body jumpsuits hung from hangers next to the only other door in the room. The two humans, who had been standing at a folding table, were now rolling on the ground, clutching at their useless eyes.
Ninetales leaped through the door first, sailing through the air and landing on the man in a suit. The air was blasted from his lungs, not expecting the large fox and before he could react, Ninetales firmly clamped her incisors around his neck.
Like a caught Deerling, the suit froze. Blinded eyes frantically looking around but unable to see his attackers.
To his side, Rip hovered above the blinded scientist, who was no longer rubbing his eyes. Instead, the man in the white lab coat twitched slightly as he attempted to move but the overwhelming ghostly rays that Rip was emitting scrambled his remaining senses and he was unable to offer any resistance.
Ninjask and Jolteon watched the two with a careful eye, ready to step in if needed.
"Release your Pokémon and they die," Jane said harshly, as she stepped into the room followed closely by Joven.
"You have no idea whom you are dealing with. You're making a huge mistake." The suit spat with surprising defiance despite the fangs slowly drawing lines of blood on his neck.
"You're correct, we don't. Maybe you could inform us?" Jane said, walking over to the downed man, and pushing his suit jacket aside, She snatched the two Pokeballs from his belt and locked them before slipping them into her own pocket. "Ninetales, release him. But if he tries anything… rip out his Achilles tendon." She instructed after a moment of thought.
The great fox slowly relaxed her jaws and stepped back slightly, allowing the bruised, blinded man to sit up slightly. He blinked owlishly several times, however, his vision still hadn't returned.
Patrick and Tasha quietly entered the room as well, careful to avoid interrupting what was happening or getting in the way. Pressed against the stone wall, Patrick watched on with wide eyes.
"Well? Whom are we dealing with?" Joven asked, repeating Jane's question. Miguel jumped slightly at the second voice before turning to the man.
"The Shadows are here. Two of them. The second they find out you are here, they'll kill you." Miguel laughed, smiling evilly despite his current position.
"And the shadows are… you're bosses?" Jane pressed, not impressed with his threat.
"Wouldn't you like to kno-AHHH fuck!" Miguel cursed as Jolteon fired a thin tendril of electricity at the blinded man.
"My patience is wearing thin. What are you doing here? What is the equipment for? How is the spore made?" Jane asked once Miguel stopped twitching.
"You don't even know what it is, do you? Why don't you have a look, right through the door." Miguel laughed gesturing in the direction of the only other door in the room. "But you better hold your breath!"
Nodding between the two of them, Jane stayed where she was while Joven crept towards the door. Testing the handle, the middle-aged man slowly opened the door a crack and peered inside.
His eyes popped open at what he saw.
Shock turned to horror as Joven stared into the crack for only a moment, before slamming the door. Hands shaking with anger, he turned to the blinded manager, who was smiling smugly at the sounds of Joven reactions.
"You fucking monsters." Joven hissed, his usually cheerful face twisted into a mask of pure hatred and disgust.
"Business is business." Miguel shrugged non-apologetically.
At the cavalier response, Joven roared with anger and lunged at the man. Unable to see the fist coming, Miguel was caught completely unaware as Joven's fist struck his cheek, sending him tumbling across the floor, where he lay still.
"What the hell, Joven? We need to question him!" Jane yelled, shocked at her companion's actions.
"Look…" Joven spat, pointing towards the door but not taking his eyes off the downed suit, pure hatred radiated from the Hoenn ranger.
Looking between her companion and the suit, Jane quickly jogged over to the door cracked the door open, looking inside.
"My god…"