In our previous episode, our heroes started building their teams as they caught new Pokmeon. Everyone is getting closer and closer to the first checkpoint in their long journey. It's only a matter of time before we see who reaches their gym first, and who beats it. But who will it be? Stay tuned to find out!
Team One
"Here we are," said Seth. "The cave."
He and Alicia were standing at the entrance to a cave, located halfway up a mountain. They had taken a lift to the cave and their next goal was to journey through the cave and reach the settlement.
Due to the laws set in place by the United Regions of the World, large permanent infrastructure outside of research facilities with government permits were banned. Because of this, there weren't any towns located in the Insulae Region. Instead, they had settlements, made up by multipurpose large white tents that could easily be folded and removed.
"You know," said Seth as he set the backpack down, taking out two flashlights. "This cave really should have a proper name. Calling it 'the cave' is kind of dull."
"I'm sure it does have a name and you're too lazy to check."
Seth yawned and gave a stretch. "Sure buddy. Let's go."
He walked to the side of the cave entrance and did a half bow as she switched on her flashlight and walked in.
"After you Mistress Prescott."
ALicia looked at him. "If addressing me with respect was your intention, and I doubt it was, you did it wrong. The proper way would be to address me as Lady Prescott."
"Okay," said Seth, clicking on his own flashlight. "I didn't ask."
They walked down the cave tunnels, moving carefully. The number one rule for cave exploration was to be quiet. A loud enough sound would echo throughout the cave and bring angry Pokémon upon them.
"We should be safe exploring this cave," said Seth, holding out his pokéball. "With our dual water type Pokémon, defeating any rock type Pokémon in this cave will be a breeze."
"Wait until you realize there's a Pokémon called Zubat, and another called Woobat. Both live in caves and have zero weakness towards water type Pokémon."
Seth rolled his eyes. "Majority of the Pokémon in this cave are probably going to be rock types. Stop messing with me."
Alicia said nothing and sipped away, leaving Seth behind.
Seth tan forward to catch up. "Do you think the Barbaracle is still here?"
"I doubt it, the champion seemed very capable."
"That's what I think too," said Seth.
They walked in silence for some time. Alicia walked with determination, set on making it to the rock gym. There were blue streaks of paint on the walls, pointing out the direction they were supposed to go.
"According to the cave map," said Seth, looking on the back side of the map they were given. "The tunnel we're following widens into a larger cave system. From there we take a man-made tunnel."
"All right," said Alicia.
They made it to the cave system and were surprised by the sight they saw. Hanging on the ceiling, were broken stalagmites. Shards of rocks were scattered all over the floor, gouge marks lined the floors and the walls. It was evident that somebody had been clashing here.
Seth crouched down and examined the gouge marks. Some of them had three to four marks in a line. Others were just one straight cut, much deeper than the quad marks.
"It looks like this is the place where they fought."
"That much is obvious. It isn't relevant to us however. It's clear that this Ajax person defeated the Barbaracle and then left. I doubt there's any reason why we should worry. This Pokémon won't impede our path, so we'll be fine."
"Just think about it though. Imagining the scene of a champion battle."
Alicia waved a hand. "Why imagine? I've been to Dianca's title defense matches at least five times."
Seth sighed. He wondered if Alicia would ever stop talking about her amazing life.
If only he knew.
Team Katsuya
"All right Wyvern, use Wing Attack!" shouted Kendra.
Wyvern, her Pidove, dove at Amphithere, who leapt out of the way from the attack. She fired Razor Leaf, directly on the course of Wyvern.
"Use Quick Attack to speed yourself up and dodge!"
Wyvern followed her commands and put on a burst of speed, dodging the leaves and whirling around. He dashed towards Amphithere and hit the ground as the Snivy leapt out of the way.
"Keep it up you two! Leech Seed! Wyvern, remember what we learned!"
Amphithere fired a group of seeds at Wyvern. The Pidove flew into the air and used Gust, throwing the leaves away from himself before they could latch on.
The two Pokémon continued to mock battle under Kendra's commands. Eventually, Amphithere was able to land a Tackle on Wyvern, therefore ending their practice session.
"Good job you two," said Kendra, feeling a lot more confident now with her two Pokémon. Sure they were doing most of the work, but it felt good to appear like a good trainer.
"Are you done with your time wasting session?" asked Katsuya.
All the ecstasy Kendra was feeling deflated out of her like a punctured balloon. Leave it up to Katsuya to take the joy out of everything.
"It's not a time wasting session," said Kendra. "I'm training my Pokémon."
"By staging fake Pokémon battles so no one gets hurt. Robbing your Pokémon of an actual battle experience. If you really want to train, they're plenty of wild Pokémon out there, or you could battle me. Whatever you're doing right now isn't helping. Now come on."
Kendra sighed, one of the things she'd done a lot since she started this journey. She followed Katsuya as he walked through the forest, sticking close to the trail.
As they continued walking, they heard rustling from the grass. Katsuya barely moved at the sound, the only sign that he noticed was the fact his eyes slightly moved towards the sound.
Kendra on the other hand, gave a yelp and leapt back. Warily looking at what was there.
A young man who looked to be just eighteen appeared out of the bush, thorns and plant matter lining his uniform. He had messy black hair and black eyes to match, as well as a white headband with lime green triangles on it. He wore a T-shirt that had the bug type symbol on the front, as well as two lime green stripes running down the side. The upper right part over his chest had a small Pokéstar Studios logo, and the back of his shirt had a bigger one in the middle. He wore long pants with the numbers zero seventy-eight on the side.
"Hey, wassup! I suppose you're the main characters. Kendra and Katsuya right?"
The man spoke in a loud voice, causing Kendra to shrink back as his forthrightness. Katsuya gave him a once over and almost immediately would've lost interest had it not been for his uniform.
"You're from the bug gym," said Katsuya.
"Yes I am," said the man. "My-"
"I don't care what your name is. Are you a gym leader?"
"No."
"Okay then we'll be going."
"Wait! Hold up!" shouted the man as Katsuya started walking away. Kendra tapped him on the shoulder.
"Don't worry about him. He's always like this. Do you need any help?"
The man sighed and almost seemed to wilt. "You read me like a book. My name is Calvin, and I was helping one of the gym leaders investigate something going on in this forest with a few of my fellow gym trainers. Something about overly feral Beedrill. Anyways, I got separated from my group during the night and ended up wandering here. I know the area around the gym, but I got way too far from the normal place."
"I have a map," said Kendra. "I'll be happy to take you there, that's even where we're going."
The man clasped his hands together. "Thank you so much! The forest starts to become a swamp further ahead, but don't worry, once we get close enough I can show you where a shortcut is. I know the place like the back of my hand!"
"Now you're talking," said Katsuya. "But that means you'll be traveling along with us for sometime, correct?"
"Yeah."
"Well I don't accept weaklings. The last thing I want to do is carry two nobodies all the way to the gym. Battle me."
"I have two Pokémon, I can battle-"
"We already know she's going to lose. If you want to come along, battle me. Otherwise don't waste my time."
"Fine then, I'll battle you," said Calvin. "But let me warn you, you can't expect to win only by super effective damage!"
"We'll see about that. Torchic."
"Surskit!"
Katsuya's Torchic appeared from its ball and kicked its feet, ready for battle. Calvin's Surkit spun around as it appeared, spreading its legs out.
"Torchic, rush in and use Peck."
He said the command with the intensity and vigor of most other Pokémon trainers. As if it didn't matter much to him.
"Get back and use Bubble!"
The Surskit leapt backwards as Katsuya's Torchic ran forward. The Surskit dodged the attack and used Bubble, only for Torchic to dodge. The Surskit skated forward and used Bubble again, only for Torchic to retaliate with Ember and destroy the bubbles.
"Quick Attack!" shouted Calvin.
"Scratch."
Torchic lifted a leg up and swung one of his talons at the charging Surskit. As it was sent flying back, it used Bubble, spraying Torchic with the water type attack.
"That won't stop us. Ember."
Torchic shot a powerful fireball that evaporated the rest of the bubbles and slammed into the Surskit. With an explosion of heat, the Surskit was thrown back into a tree.
"Follow that up with a Peck and force him to the ground."
"Not so fast! Quick Attack!"
The Surskit got to its feet and charged at Torchic, using a side to side movement to avoid another swipe from those powerful talons.
"Growl."
Katsuya's Torchic gave an endearing growl, causing the Surskit to falter and lessen its attack. The Torchic attacked with his claws and pinned the Surskit down to the ground before pecking him with his beak rapidly.
"Get back, now."
His Torchic quickly hopped back the moment the Surskit used Bubble, narrowly missing his face. He used Ember, but the Surskit dove out of the way at the last second. It skated forward and used Struggle Bug, sending out orbs of energy at Torchic.
"Run past the attack and hit it hard. This Pokémon can't handle much more."
His Torchic followed his advice and put on a burst of speed, moving much quicker than before. The Surskit tried to escape with Quick Attack, but Torchic's newfound speed allowed him to easily catch up and finish it off with a Peck.
Calvin slapped a hand to his face. "Darn, you got me! Good job Surskit."
"I wouldn't call that a good job," said Katsuya. "You lost."
"Come on mate. Pokémon battles-"
"Don't tell me the average, 'It doesn't matter whether you win or lose stuff'. That mentality is only for people who can never win battles. It's the kind of thing your mother tells you so you can stop crying under your bed. The only acceptable thing about losing, is that you can learn. But most people, however, don't lose."
"Could I tag along?" asked Calvin, brushing everything Katsuya said aside.
"Give me the route to the shortcut and you can."
"Nuh uh," said Calvin, waving a finger. "If I tell you where the shortcut is, what's stopping you from ditching me the first chance you get?"
"Me," whispered Kendra.
Katsuya smiled at Calvin's words. "You can follow me, you're thinking like a realistic person."
Team Distant Past
Diego, Jax, and all four of their Pokémon walked through the Insulae Region. Diego had decided it would be better if both Eevees regularly stayed out of their pokéballs. Jax had agreed, so all four Pokémon were happily roaming around.
Virgil, Jax's Eevee, had already assumed himself to be the leader of all the Pokémon in the group. He walked in front of them as if he was the one taking them places. Always holding his head high and swishing his tail.
Snivy, the Cyndaquil, didn't care much and was perfectly fine with letting Virgil act as the leader. Valdez found it funny and did his best to undermine his position in subtle ways. Glacy, Diego's Eevee, went along with it as long as Virgil didn't get out of hand.
Virgil still hung around Glacy a lot, trying to impress her. But with two new Pokémon, his most prominent mission was to assume dominance, and crush Valdez at the same time.
Glacey on the other hand, was happy to meet new Pokémon and even be friends with them. She did her best to make sure everyone was doing fine and there weren't any sort of conflicts.
At this moment, Jax and Diego were engaged in a conversation about different Eevee evolutions.
"What do you think you'll want to evolve your Eevee into?" asked Diego. "I've already decided to pick Glaceon."
"That was fast," said Jax. "But pretty obvious considering you named her Glacey. In my case, I have no idea. I'd like to see Virgil's strengths and weaknesses before deciding on his evolution."
"Fair point. I heard some people let their Eevees choose. When you have eight different options, it can be really hard to choose. Once you pick, there's no going back."
"Opportunity cost."
"That's economics, not biology."
Jax laughed. "But still applicable in this case."
"Good point," said Diego. "I'm sure there's another word for it."
"Tell me when you think of one."
Diego thought for a moment, and then shrugged. "Can't think-"
"Oi!" shouted a voice.
Diego and Jax turned around, having a feeling they recognized the voice. They saw Angelo running up to them, the explorer from yesterday.
"Hey," said Diego when Angelo caught up. "What's up?"
Angelo held up a finger and crouched down, trying to catch his breath. "Hi guys! I finally caught up!"
"Is something wrong?" asked Jax.
"I was heading off towards Pinnacle Point Cave, you know the one close to the rock gym?"
"I'm aware of it. Team one was headed there," said Diego.
"Yeah. I headed there because I heard from someone there was something interesting going on there. But then someone told me it was way too dangerous to go there until further notice. So I decided to wander elsewhere. But then a thought occurred to me. This whole time, I've been circling around the green area because I'm not much of a trainer, I doubt I'd be able to outrun an angry Arcanine either. For this reason, I decided to catch more Pokémon and become a trainer, all so I can further my goal to be an explorer! I'll explore these wild lands and finish the goal my grandfather once started!"
"What was this goal?" asked Jax, getting excited.
"Ah but I won't tell you, not until you beat me in a battle! I've got a new partner with me, we won't lose this time!"
"You're not the only one, ready Glacey?"
The Eevee nodded, stepping forward. Virgil approached Angelo with her, ready for a challenge.
"Glad you accepted. Real trainers like you two would never back down from a challenge. Go, Claudia! Out, Chad!"
Angelo's Buneary and a new Machop appeared from his two pokéballs. They landed on the ground, ready for battle.
"You nicknamed your Pokémon?" asked Jax.
"Yup! After seeing the bond between you and your Pokémon, as well as how hard they battled, revealed something to me. For us to do our hardest, we have to know each other. For this reason, I gave each of my Pokémon special nicknames to build our friendship. Now, prepare to lose!"
"We'll see about that! Virgil, go for it!"
"Back him up Glacey!"
Virgil and Glacey charged forward towards the opposing Pokémon. Claudia ran forward and used Quick Attack, charging straight for Virgil.
"Dodge with Quick Attack and strike!"
Virgil started running even faster as he activated a burst of speed. He avoided Claudia and circled around her, feinting in and out as he did.
"Just attack already!" groaned Jax, tired of Virgil's showing off.
On the other side, Chad was running forward to attack Glacey. She jumped back and used Swift under Diego's command. Chad barreled through the star shaped rays and threw a powerful punch with Rock Smash.
"Focus Energy! Claudia, use Return!"
The Machop gathered its energy and powered up, Claudia rushed at Virgil with the power of her trainer's love. Virgil used Tackle and knocked her back easily. Virgil dashed forward with Quick Attack to follow up the attack, but the Bunneary threw him back with a powerful Pound, her ears snapping forward.
"Glacey, keep your distance at all costs! That Pokémon is dangerous! Keep attacking with Swift!"
Glacey ran around the Machop as it tried to strike her. She used Quick Attack and dodged an attack before shooting star rays with Swift. The Machop gave a battle cry and leapt forward with Tackle, hitting Glacey before she could dodge.
"Watch out!" shouted Diego.
"Too late! Rock Smash!"
Chad however, wasn't able to land the blow. With all of his might, Virgil slammed into the Machop with Quick Attack. He raced towards the sprawling Pokémon and struck him with Tackle.
Glacey got to her feet and used Helping Hand, boosting Virgil's strength. With one final charge, he slammed into the Machop with Tackle and fainted it.
"Great job!" shouted Jax.
The two Eevees turned to face the Buneary, who shrank back a bit. Angelo held up a hand and sighed.
"That's it, I concede defeat!" he cried. "Maybe another day, another time!"
He returned Claudia to his pokéball and smiled.
"Another battle lost, I thought my new Pokémon and new nicknames would help, but I guess it didn't work as well as I thought."
"That's okay," said Diego. "We don't always win."
"True," said Angelo, a distant look in his eyes. "You see, my grandfather's goal was a simple one."
"Right, his goal!" said Jax. "You promised to tell us if we won."
"Yup. My grandfather was a great explorer of days old. He'd travel through lands, meet people, and discover new things. He personally sailed by himself on a journey to the Insulae Region, to chart its wild lands and bring back tales of new discoveries and adventures. Unfortunately, there was an accident that required him to escape the Insulae Region. He never elaborated on what happened to him in the region, it scared him so much he refused to talk about it."
"Did he come back all right?" asked Diego.
"Not really. He had a major injury to his side that prevented him from walking unassisted again. He was fifty at the time, and he left behind most of his adventure notes, journals, and equipment in a waterproof camouflage tent. He also left his unfinished maps behind."
"So you came back on a quest to find his stuff and finish his maps in honor of him!" finished Jax.
"And that's why you need to become a stronger trainer, so you can explore deep into the region in order to find it. Almost like a lost memory," said Diego, his voice distant.
"Exactly! So don't worry about the fact I lost, you pal Angelo can handle anything!" he declared, thumping a hand against his chest. "Just you wait, I'll train my Pokémon and treat them with love and kindness! After that, we'll be better as a team. Then, we'll see if I can challenge a gym or two. See ya around!"
"See you!" shouted Diego and Jax, waving at him as he jogged off, headed to his next adventure.
Team Regional
"All right Natsu, use Flame Burst!"
Her Charmander fired a powerful ball of fire at a wild Yungoos. The Pokémon gave a screech and ran off, unwilling to face the heat.
"Good job Natsu," said Claire, crouching down to give him a high five. "I'd say a few more battles like that and you're on track to evolving! What do you think about that?"
Natsu gave a light growl as his tail sparked, showing he was excited. Clarie laughed and turned around to Zeke.
"Don't worry, you're next! Don't think that I'll be holding off on you just because you're my partner as well!"
Zeke gave a smile and a thumbs up. Abba who was next to him on the other hand, gave a worried expression. Ga'hoole was half awake next to Zeke.
Ever since Claire and Natsu lost to him and Abba, they had been training harder than ever. He'd been trying to get Abba and Ga'hoole to join in Pokémon battles, but Natsu quickly and easily defeated them.
Natsu had already learned new moves like Dragon Rage and Fire Spin, both of which were typically learned by Charmeleon. Zeke was fine with their training, because he didn't care much about winning or losing, but he was worried that they may burn themselves out with all this training.
On the other hand, his training was more laid back. He went on jogs with his Pokémon and encouraged them to run around and play in the sun.
"After all, there's no better training the natural exercise."
Claire turned around. "Did you say something?"
"Hmm?" hummed Zeke, half paying attention. "Just thinking to myself that's all."
"Y'know," said Claire. "I notice that you voice your thoughts out loud. And usually about the most random things that are going on."
"I'm just observant."
"That's a strength in battle," said Claire. "You said you weren't much of a Pokémon trainer, right?"
"Yeah."
"Well I could definitely teach you. With a bit of tutoring I'm sure you could be an exceptional Pokémon trainer."
Zeke laughed and scratched the back of his head. "I'm not sure about exceptional, I'm mostly here to have fun. But sure, why not?"
"Great. Why don't-"
"Actually I'm going to stop you right there. Let's not have a Pokémon battle right now Ms. Claire Baker. I think your Pokémon should rest, you've battled at least seven Pokémon today. The most important part of working out is having a chance to rest."
Claire thought for a moment. "You're right, but this is a lot more of Natsu's decision than mine. And he's a lot like me too! If he could, I'd bet he'd battle all day."
Natsu growled his confirmation. Zeke looked at both of them and nodded slowly, slightly unnerved by their determination.
"But you're probably right. In fact, I'd think it'd be a good idea to find new Pokémon to join us. Natsu has gotten a lot stronger, so I feel like I'm ready for a new Pokémon. Let's press onwards, I'm sure they're a lot more places to discover."
"You go on ahead to see if there's anything interesting, I'll catch up."
Zeke watched her run off, her Charmander following her excitedly.
"Claire Baker. The kind of person who's dream goal was to be a world class Pokémon trainer, only she's actually following through on that," he said, speaking to himself. "I'm just hoping the gyms don't get harder the stronger you're Pokmeon are. Or else we're just going to be playing catch up."
Zeke shrugged and looked at Abba, who looked back at him in the same way. He cocked his head, and she did as well. He laughed at her little mimicry and returned her and Ga'hoole.
Little did he know, he wasn't the only observer.
Unrecorded
Ajax walked through the cave, searching for anything. He'd been at this four hours and was on the verge of giving up his endless search and calling for backup.
According to his GPS mapper, he'd already been in this tunnel. He took a break and sat down and dropped his flashlight, rubbing his aching legs.
For some reason, the Barbaracle traveled more than sixty kilometers from its home to this cave while it had a mysterious ailment that didn't match any sort of disease or illness he could find on the internet. Not only that, but it began to storm and terrorize the cave as if it was searching for something. It wouldn't choose this specific cave for no reason.
His only hope was to wait for Ariel to investigate its home and give him news, but that would take at least two days. He shrugged and stood up. He might as well keep searching. The challengers were nowhere close to reaching him, and he had nothing better to do.
He pulled the Ultra Ball from his pocket and looked at it. If he could calm the feral Pokémon down, he could stand a better chance at investigating this mess.
Of course, he could always check in with the research laboratories. He didn't know exactly how many there were, but a quick call to the UNR could fix that. A brief explanation of what was going on would suffice. All he hoped was that it wouldn't become a major problem.
He tucked the Ultra Ball away and picked up his flashlight. He wasn't at a dead end yet. There was still investigating to do.
And that's the end of the episode, and episode with an interesting turn of events! I think. But now for the endless questions! Will Angelo find his grandfather's lost stuff? Will Alicia and Seth make it through the cave to the rock gym? And will Claire and Natsu stop their endless battle fever? Who knows? But I'm sure you care? See you in episode 8!