Chapter 6: The Three Warring Packs
With no more delays, the group had finally left Kevlar Town and were on their way to Nowtoch City, where Ash could challenge his first Tandor Gym for a Gym Badge. To do so, they had to cross Route 2, also called Owten Nook, named after the Pokemon of the same name that made such place their home.
"So, according to the map, Owten Nook is a mountain pass," Serena began as she checked her tablet. "Fortunately, it's very easy to traverse by foot, and thus special climbing gear is not needed. Though it says that some slopes are a little steep, and thus they should be traversed with caution."
"Well, it's not that we're strangers to mountains, huh?" Bonnie asked.
"Yeah. Besides, what's a journey without some variety in the landscape?" Ash added.
While the path so far was completely flat grassland surrounded by trees, they could see a small mountain rising in the horizon.
"Hey, look at that!" Bonnie said, pointing to the canopy of a nearby tree, where several small Pokemon where perched on. Said Pokemon looked like small cats with tan and white fur, fluffy tail, a white ruff around their neck, and wings instead of front legs. They appeared to be sleeping.
Ash and Serena immediately pulled out their Pokedex to scan the new Pokemon.
"Owten, the Observer Pokemon. Normal/Flying. They are mainly seen at night, when they are looking for berries and other individuals of its species. They are known for their lovely singing voice."
"So, that's an Owten," Ash said.
"They're so cute!" Bonnie squealed, as expected when the group met a new Pokemon.
"You know, between this one, Birbie, and Selkid, Tandor has quite a few Pokemon that are known for their singing voices," Clemont pointed out.
"Hey, Serena, maybe you should catch one. Selkid could form a duet with an Owten, and use it in the Appeal Round of contests," Ash suggested.
"You know... that's not half a bad idea," Serena said. Catching a new Pokemon felt good, so she wasn't against the idea of getting another one so soon after Selkid. Plus, they seemed pretty nice and friendly, so no harm in getting close and ask nicely.
However, before they could do anything, they heard what appeared to sound like an explosion, followed by a minor quake. The Owten immediately woke up and flew away in terror.
"Wait, don't go!" Serena begged, disappointed at missing her chance to befriend and catch an Owten. She then looked towards the direction the explosion had come from. "What was that?"
"It came from the mountain," Clemont pointed out.
Then, they heard that noise again, except this time it wasn't accompained by a rumble.
"It appears to sound like a Pokemon battle," Ash said. "And it's not very far away."
Ash immediately rushed forward, followed by his three companions –with Clemont complaining about running without reason–, until they finally found the battle in question: A Raptorch fighting and beating a Mankey. And commanding that Raptorch was no other than Natalie.
"Alright Raptorch, finish with Flame Wheel!" Natalie ordered.
"Rap rap!" Raptorch yipped, as it spun into a ball as its body was coated in flames. The spinning fireball slammed into the Mankey, hurling it backwards and making it fall on its back.
"Well done, Raptorch!" Natalie praised, before she pulled out a pokeball. "Now, time to catch it! Pokeball go!"
The group watched in awe how Natalie threw the pokeball... only to fly past Mankey on a big curve, before landing in the middle of some bushes.
"Oh crap, not again!" Natalie cried, as she ran after the pokeball. "That's my last pokeball! Raptorch, help me find it!"
The Fire Dino Pokemon obediently heeded its trainer's call and helped Natalie look for the pokeball. Unfortunately for her, while the duo was busy, Mankey got up, and seeing their predicament, the Pig Monkey Pokemon wisely ran away.
"Aha!" Natalie said emerging from the bushes, raising the pokeball on her hand as if it was a trophy. "Okay, now... OH COME ON!" she shouted when she realized that the Mankey had left. And just after that, Natalie noticed Ash and his friends. They awkwardly stared at each other, not saying a word or even moving, before Natalie spoke: "You saw that, didn't you?"
All of them (including Pikachu) nodded wordlessly.
Natalie groaned as she dragged her palm through her face. "Of course. As if it wasn't humiliating enough, this time I get an audience," she complained. "Oh well, at least this time I got the pokeball back."
"What do you mean 'this time'?" Clemont asked. "Do you have problem catching Pokemon?"
Natalie smiled awkwardly as she scratched her cheek. "Well..."
…
Natalie was in the middle of a grassland, her Raptorch having just defeated a Birbie.
"Good job Raptorch!" she said, before tossing a pokeball. "Pokeball, go!"
However, the pokeball sailed past Birbie, and fell among several bushes.
"What the hell?" she asked, pulling out another pokeball. "Pokeball, go!"
The pokeball once again sailed above the fainted Birbie, and hit the canopy of a tree instead. There were a chirp of pain followed by the rustle of feathers, as a flock of angry Birbie flew at her, their hostile intentions more than evident.
"AAAAAAAAHHH!" she yelled, running away.
…
Natalie was next to a slope, her Raptorch having just defeated a Cubbug.
"Well done, Raptorch! Time to catch our first Pokemon!" Natalie said, before tossing a pokeball. "Pokeball go!"
But the pokeball sailed past the Cubbug, and went rolling down the slope.
"No no no no NO!" Natalie cried, taking her hands to her face.
…
Natalie was next to a river, her Raptorch having defeated a Fortog.
"Alright, THIS time I'm catching a Pokemon!" Natalie said, before chucking the pokeball with a little less force. "Pokeball go!"
Still, the pokeball sailed past the Fortog, and fell into the water.
"You have to be kidding me!" she screeched.
…
"... so yeah, thanks to my inability to properly toss a pokeball, I haven't caught any new Pokemon yet, and I lost every pokeball except this one," Natalie shamefully admitted.
"If that's a problem, you can always just walk to the Pokemon and touch it with the empty pokeball without tossing it," Bonnie pointed out.
"You can do that?" Natalie asked in shock. "I wish it would have learned of that earlier. Oh well, at least from all the fighting we've been doing Raptorch has gotten pretty strong. Isn't that right, Raptorch?"
"Torch!" the Fire Dino Pokemon yipped, happily wagging its tail.
"Say, have you ever fought against other trainers, or just wild Pokemon?" Ash asked.
"So far, only wild Pokemon. I didn't find any trainers to fight against yet," Natalie explained. "Then again, I just begun my journey!"
"Say, how about a Pokemon battle against me? You aren't going to do so well against a Gym Leader if you never fight against another trainer before," Ash suggested.
"Fight you? Yeah no," Natalie said, crossing her hands in front of her chest for added emphasis. "I saw what that Pikachu of yours can do, and I know you have another Pokemon which is just as strong if not stronger on top of being a Water-type."
"I won't use Pikachu or Greninja," Ash said, as he took out a pokeball, and tossed it, releasing Birbie. "I'll use Birbie."
Natalie narrowed her eyes at the Birbie. She looked as if she was trying to assess how strong the Eden Bird Pokemon was. If she reached the conclusion that Ash caught it back on Lakeside Path, the answer would be "not much".
"I caught Birbie not too long ago. I trained him a bit, but I haven't use him to fight against another trainer yet, so the experience would do him some good," Ash said.
"Bir, birbie!" Birbie happily chirped, ready to fight.
"Oh, if you're going to use a freshly caught Pokemon, then no problem!" Natalie said. "What do you say, Raptorch? Are you ready to fight a more challenging opponent?"
"Rap!" Raptorch yipped, letting out a small spark of fire from its mouth.
"Even if Birbie is a freshly caught Pokemon, he will be directed by a very experienced trainer," Serena adviced Natalie. "You shouldn't keep your guard down."
"Don't worry, I won't," Natalie said, as she and Raptorch put some distance between Ash and Birbie.
Clemont, meanhwile, placed himself between the two combatants, ready to take the role of referee. "This will be a one of one fight between Ash and Natalie, with no time limit! However knocks the opposite side's Pokemon first wins! Ready? Begin!"
~Ash (Birbie) VS Natalie (Raptorch)~
"Alright Natalie, you can go first!" Ash offered.
"Very well then! Raptorch, begin with Mud Slap!" Natalie ordered.
"Torch!" Raptorch cried before turning around, and started to kick blots of mud at the Eden Bird Pokemon.
"Birbie, fly away!" Ash ordered.
"Birb!" Birbie chirped, as he took off, the mud missiles sailing below him.
"We missed!" Natalie cried.
"Ground type attacks aren't very effective against Flying-type Pokemon like Birbie," Bonnie pointed out.
Natalie slapped her forehead. "Dammit! How did I forget something so basic?"
"Birbie, Quick Attack!" Ash ordered.
"Bie!" Birbie chirped, before diving at the earthbound Pokemon, leaving a trail of fading white light behind him.
"Raptorch, dodge-"
However, Birbie turned out to be too fast, and Raptorch was unable to dodge in time. As a result, Birbie slammed into Raptorch, sending the Fire Dino Pokemon crashign backwards.
"Raptorch!" Natalie cried. However, much to her relief, her starter Pokemon quickly jumped to its feet. The brown haired girl sighed. "Good to see you're okay. Alright, time to counterattack! Flame Wheel!"
Raptorch spun his body into a ball, before coating himself in flames, and shot towards Birbie
"Use Gust!" Ash commanded in return.
Birbie took off once again, and started to flap his little wings as fast as he could produced a small tornado between himself and his rival. The moment Raptorch tried to cross through the tornado it was trapped by the wind current, before it was pushed backwards, canceling the attack.
"It didn't work?" Natalie asked, gritting her teeth.
"Now Birbie, Air Cutter!" Ash ordered.
Birbie's wings started to glow with a dim blue light, before flapping them twice, producing two crescent-shaped blades of wind of the same color.
"Try Ember!" Natalie ordered.
"Rap!" Raptorch yipped, as it gathered flames inside its mouth, before releasing them in a flurry of small fireballs. The fire and wind attacks clashed against each other in the middle, producing a small explosion, followed by a cloud of smoke.
"Birbie, use Quick Attack again!" Ash ordered.
Birbie crossed the cloud of smoke at such speed, it blew a hole on it, before he slammed once again into Raptorch, sending the Fire and Ground-type Pokemon crashing backwards.
"Damn, not again!" Natalie seethed, fists clenched in frustration. "That Birbie surpasses Raptorch in speed, and is better at attacking from a distance than Raptorch, so the only way..." Natalie began to murmur, as an idea formed inside her head. "Hey, maybe this could work!"
The fact that Natalie had come up with a new tactic didn't go unnoticed to Ash, who smirked lightly, deciding to test the girl's creativity. "Birbie, Quick Attack again!"
"Birb!"
After flying up to put some distance towards Raptroch, who once again got back on its feet. Even if Raptorch was still able to fight, the previous hits it had endured were starting to take a toll on its body. Birbie dove again like the world's most adorable missile, leaving yet another trail of white light that faded behind him.
"Raptorch, use Bite!" Natalie ordered.
Serena, Bonnie, and Clemont gasped at the order. And just as Birbie was about to slam into Raptorch for the third time, Raptorch opened its mouth and snapped its jaws around Birbie's round body. The momentum of Birbie's attack send Raptorch skidding backwards, but it took almost no damage from the attack.
"Birb! Birb!" Birbie cried in distress, as he tried to break free from Raptorch's tight jaws.
"Yes! We did it!" Natalie said, cheering with both fists raised, finally landing a hit while avoiding an attack. "Now Raptroch, Ember!"
While Birbie was still between its admittedly small jaws, Raptorch gathered fire inside its mouth, coating its jaws in it and setting the trapped Birbie on fire, before the Fire Dino Pokemon brought its head back, and violently slammed Birbie into the ground, sending Birbie bouncing back
"Oh no, Birbie!" Ash cried.
"That attack wasn't merely Ember! I think by using a Fire type move attack while using Bite, Raptorch learned Fire Fang," Serena observed.
"Really? That's awesome!" Natalie cheered.
"Are you okay, Birbie?" Ash asked.
In response, Birbie quickly jumped back to his feet, shook his head to snap out of his dizziness, and wiped some of the sooth from his feathers.
"Birb!" he chirped.
"Good!" Ash said, before looking at Natalie, and smiled. "That was a pretty clever move, Natalie!"
"Well, when your options are taken out one by one, the solution becomes more apparent," she noted. "I wish I came up with that earlier."
"Don't worry about it. Being able to think fast in the middle of a battle is a skill that takes a lot of time to hone," Ash reassured her. "Anyway, let's continue! Birbie, use Gust!"
"We're not going to let a little wind get in the way! Raptorch, run forward and get around the Gust!" Natalie ordered.
"Rap Rap!" Raptorch replied, kicking a cloud of dust as it dashed forward, but avoiding the tornado the way Natalie had instructed it.
"Well done! Time to strike now! Fire Fang!" Natalie ordered.
"RAAAAAP!" Raptorch cried, as it lunged at the airborne Birbie with its jaws wide open, orange and yellow flames pouring from them.
"Birbie, Flash!" Ash called.
Birbie's crest started to glow, before it exploded into a torrent of bright white light, blinding both Raptorch and Natalie. The human girl could shield her eyes in time, but given the close distance, Raptorch wasn't so lucky and was blinded, missing Birbie completely and crashing headfirst into the ground.
"Raptorch, quickly, get up before-"
"Birbie, use Air Cutter!" Ash ordered.
Birbie's wings started to glow with a dim blue light, before flapping them twice, releasing two more crescent-shaped blades of wind at the downed Raptorch, hitting it squarely.
"Raptorch, no!" Natalie cried.
"Finish with Quick Attack!" Ash ordered.
"BIIIIRB!" Birbie cried as he rocketed towards the Fire Dino Pokemon, slamming against it for the third time, sending it flying against a tree with a loud crash, before falling down to the ground with a thud.
"Raptorch can't continue fighting! The winners are Ash and Birbie!" Clemont declared.
"Yes! Good job, Birbie!" Ash cheered.
"Birb birbie!" Birbie chirped, just as happy.
Natalie sighed sadly, and and walked towards her defeated starter. She pulled out a potion from her backpack, and sprayed her Pokemon with it. The wounds slowly began to vanish as Raptorch opened its eyes, sending its trainer an apologetic look. She smiled at it. "You did your best, Raptorch. Return and have a nice rest," she said, returning Raptorch to his pokeball. He then walked towards Ash. "Boy, you kicked our asses so badly with a freshly caught Pokemon. Guess that's what the difference in experience can achieve."
"Hey, don't feel so bad, Natalie. You and Raptorch did a phenomenal job," Ash reassured her.
"Yeah! Using Bite to stop Birbie's Quick Attack was super clever!" Bonnie excitedly added.
"Y-You think so?" Natalie asked, blushing a bit at the compliments.
"Sure! Besides, the only way to improve is to pit yourself against people that can challenge you," Serena said. "You may have lost, but both you and Raptorch came out of this fight a little wiser and stronger."
"Yeah... it never ocurred to me using Bite like that, and thanks to that Raptorch learned Fire Fang, so yeah!" Natalie said, a little more upbeat. "Plus, you said it yourself, I can't expect to face a Gym Leader if I don't fight against other trainers."
"Speaking of which, if you're on this route, I take you're going to Nowtoch City?" Ash asked.
"You bet. It's the closest Gym from home, so I though I could challenge it first," Natalie said. "You're going to challenge it as well, don't you?"
"Pretty much, yeah," Ash replied.
Natalie then looked at Serena. "By the way, Vitor told me that you're a coordinator. You should know that there's no Contest Hall on Nowtoch City, so you should head east instead."
"W-Well, I know, but-"
Natalie slapped her forehead. "Oh sorry, silly me. I can't believe I didn't realize of it sooner. You and Ash are together," Natalie said, making a cross with her index finger.
Serena yelped, and turned beet red, much to Bonnie's amusement and Clemon't confusion. "A-Actually-"
"Yeah, Serena and I travel together," Ash happily agreed, completely oblivious to Natalie's implication. Pikachu shot his trainer a flat look. "We've been together for a long time, since we met all the way back in Kalos."
"I see. It shows," Natalie nodded.
"Clemont and Bonnie have been with us for as long," Ash added, not wanting the rest of his friend to feel left out. "Many people like to travel alone, but I think it's more fun to do it with friends."
"Though, given that we're going to the same place, why don't you come with us?" Bonnie asked. "That way, we get to know each other better!"
"Plus, if we see a Pokemon that catches your interest, we can help you with the capture," Clemont offered.
"Sure, why not? It could be fun," Natalie agreed.
"Great! Nowtoch City Gym, get ready, because here come Ash and Natalie!" Ash said, pointing in the direction of the mountain in front of them. "Nothing can stop us!"
…
"What do you mean, the path is blocked?" Ash indignantly asked.
Unfortunately, there was something that did stop them. Because, after half an hour walking, they found the path blocked by a very large pile of rocks. There were a few Rangers directing some Pokemon that were working on removing the obstacle. Some of them they knew, like Mankey, Primeape, as well as others that didn't know, like a mole-like brown Pokemon with purple legs, and a massive yellow drill for a nose, that the Rangers were using to drill the rocks into smaller bits.
"Modrille, the Drill Pokemon. Ground/Dark. They hate being confined within any space and will always drill their way out of it. Trainers are advised to keep spare Poké Balls on hand," the Pokedex said after the new Pokemon was scanned.
"Just what I said. The recent tremors caused by the quarreling Pokemon in Passage Cave have caused a landslide, making progression impossible," the Ranger explained. "We're working as fast as we can to clear out the area, but it will be a few days until this path is transitable again."
"So that's what caused the tremor we felt before," Bonnie said.
"Hey Clemont, don't you have something among your gadgets that could help with the clearing?" a hopeful Ash asked.
"I'm afraid not. Had I know we would have encounter something like this, I would have devised something," Clemont admitted.
That was a bit odd, given that Clemont always seemed to have a gadget ready just for anything.
"Well, explosions are pretty good at removing debris, aren't they?" Bonnie deadpanned.
"Isn't there anything we can do? Our friends need to go to Nowtoch City so they can challenge the Gym there," Serena asked the Ranger.
The Ranger grabbed the peak of his green hat, and looked towards the west. "Well, you can always try to cross Passage Cave, given that one of its exits lead directly into Nowtoch City. But I wouldn't recommend it, given that it's currently mating time for the Pokemon living there, and they can get a little... territorial."
"If that's the only way to reach Nowtoch City, so be it," Ash said.
"In that case, make sure to have your Pokemon ready to battle. Once the native Pokemon sense you, they'll attack you on sight," the Ranger warned. "You'll find the entrance to Passage Cave following that rocky path to the left."
After thanking the Ranger, the group of five followed the directions he had gave them. They could see how vegetation slowly disappeared, being replaced but nothing but dull brown rocks. Every minute or two a quake shook the land, causing a few peebles to roll down the mountain.
"Here it says that Passage Cave used to be the only way to reach Nowtoch City," Serena explained, reading from her tablet. "But they opened a new path across the mountain in order to have a safer way to reach the city."
"So much for that safer way," Natalie said. "Oh well, let's take this as a challenge. I won't have any business in a Gym if some cave dwelling Pokemon are enough to scare me."
"That's the spirit!" Ash said.
It didn't take them long to reach the entrance of a large cave. Guarding the cave was another Ranger, this time a redheaded woman, accompained by a Folerog, and looking extremely bored. The Ranger was sitting on a large metallic box that had the symbol of the Tandor Ranger Union painted on its sides. The moment she noticed the group approaching, she was snapped of her boredom and stood to attention.
"Whoa there! Hey, are you planning to enter Passage Cave?" the Ranger asked.
"One of your friends told us the usual route is blocked, so yeah, we are going to cross this cave in order to reach Nowtoch City," Ash explained.
"Is there any problems?" Serena asked.
"No. You aren't the only ones crossing the cave now that Owten Nook is blocked. Before you cross, however, you need to have this," the Ranger said, before opening the box and handing the group five gas masks.
"Gas masks?" Clemont asked. "Does this cave have leaking gas deposits or something?"
"Do you know what's a Tonemy, blondie?" the Ranger asked.
"It's a Poison-type Pokemon only found in Tandor," it was Natalie who answered. "They mostly live in caves, and their main method of attack is to release venomous gas."
The ranger nodded in approval. "Somebody did her homework."
"Excuse them. They aren't from here," Natalie said.
Ash and Serena introduced Tonemy's name in their Pokedex. The screen displayed a rather adorable looking pokemon with a small, purple round body, black beady eyes, a small mouth, stubby legs, bat-like wings, a tuft of brown hair on its head, and a furry tail of the same color.
"Tonemy, the Poison Ball Pokemon. Poison. New trainers traveling through caves are advised to bring along antidotes against a Tonemy's poison, which causes great pain if it isn't treated immediately."
"Yikes," Bonnie winced, as she held Dedenne close to her. "I better keep Dedenne safe from those Pokemon."
"Heh, if only the Tonemy were the problem," the Ranger continued. "Tonemy are a bunch of annoying pests, but they ain't the worst of the bunch. There are other species that live on that cave as well. One of them is Barewl. Since they're part Steel type, they don't give a damn about the Tonemy's gassing the caves."
Once again, Ash and Serena introduced the name of the new Pokemon in their Pokedex. This time, the screen displayed a small, round shaped brown Pokemon with stubby legs, a tail, no arms, and a helmet covering its head with a wire sticking out of it. Its face was just a pair of small black eyes, with no mouth or nose.
"Barewl, the Iron Ball Pokemon. Steel/Rock. Incredibly dense metals make up their bodies. They are much heavier than they look. They live in dark caves and feed on rocks and metal ore."
"Well, they don't look that bad. At least we won't have to worry about looking tasty to them," Serena said.
"When the Barewl clash with the Tonemy, they naturally win and drive the purple buggers away. But this causes other species, the Grozard, to show up. Grozard are Ground-types, so the Steel and Rock-type Barewl are easy pickings for them," the Ranger continued.
As expected, Ash and Serena introduced Grozard's name to find information of them. Grozard was a small, orange snake-like Pokemon with small ears, and rocks growing down its back. In the image, it appeared half buried, like a Diglett.
"Grozard, the Seprent Pokemon. Ground. Its snakelike body is almost always partially underground. The tunnels they dig make traveling caves hazardous."
"And when the Barewl are driven away, the Tonemy return. And since Tonemy can fly, they don't have to worry about Grozard's Ground-type attacks. And when the Grozards flee, the Barewl return. Lather, rinse, repeat," the Ranger explained.
"So the three species of Pokemon are engaged in a three way war that neither side can win," Clemont summarized.
"Exactly. But don't think that they'll ignore you to focus on their usual enemies. These Pokemon are very territorial this time of the year, so they'll attack whoever they perceive as an intruder," the Ranger explained. "My advice? Try to cross that cave as quickly as you can, and try not to draw attention to yourselves."
"So, are those all the Pokemon we should worry about?" Clemont asked.
"I think there are a few Dunsparce living there, but there aren't that many and they won't give you any trouble," the Ranger replied.
"If that's all, let's go in," Ash decided. "Thank you for the masks and the advice."
"Don't sweat it. You can thank me by being extra careful while you're inside that cave," the Ranger said, as she moved away in order to let the group pass.
They cautiously entered the cave, as another tremor shook it. Shadows began to grow darker as they walked into the cave and moved away from the entrance. Fortunately, Clemont had a solution.
"Don't worry guys, I've got this! Clemontic Gear on!" Clemont said, as a mechanical arm emerged from the backback. Said arm ended in a satellite dich that resembled the frills of a Heliolisk. With a click, the gadget turned on, projecting a powerful beam of yellow light, illuminating the area.
"Nice one, Clemont. Though I think I can help too," Serena said, as she picked a pokeball. "Braixen, come out and give us some light!"
"You too, Raptorch!" Natalie added.
The two Fire-type Pokemon emerged from the capture devices. Braixen immediately ignited her wand, and alongside Raptorch's ignited tailtip, they provided even more light.
"The light may attract the native Pokemon, but we can't hope to cross the cave quickly if we can't see where are we going," Clemont reasoned.
No one objected to that, and they continued forward, their guards up if they come across a group of hostile Pokemon. They eventually reached a split in the path, branching off in multiple directions.
"Where to?" Ash asked.
"According to this map, in order to reach the exit we should always move to the north. The other tunnels lead to the lair of the native Pokemon," Serena explained, as she read the information from her tablet.
"Well, that solves-" Ash said, but was interrupted by another tremor.
"Guys? Did you feel that?" Bonnie asked.
"Nene!" Dedenne cried, and buried himself inside Bonnie's bag.
"I'm still feeling it right now," Natalie said. "And it's getting stronger!"
"Look!" Clemont said, pointing the light towards one of the branching tunnels.
While at first it didn't appear to be anything, all of them saw multiple bumps on the surface that moved towards them. The closer they come, the more intense the tremors became.
"What's that!?" Bonnie shouted.
"Underground Pokemon!" Ash said in realization. "Come on, move!"
They didn't need to be told twice, and they quickly moved out of the way, returning to the tunnel they came from, just as the underground horde crossed the tunnel, leaving a trail of uneven terrain in its wake.
"They must be Grozard. The Pokedex said they liked to dig and move underground," Ash said.
"They appeared to be in a hurry. As if they were trying to run away from something," Clemont said, rubbing his chin.
"Running away from what?" Bonnie asked.
Natalie's eyes grew wide as she pointed in the direction the Grozard came from. "Perhaps from that!"
Everybody looked in the same direction, and much to their horror, they saw a cloud of purple gas quickly filling the tunnel, moving towards them. Nobody needed to tell that that if they breathed that gas, it wouldn't do them any good.
"A poisonous cloud! It must be a job of the Tonemy!" Serena said.
"The gas masks, now!" Ash commanded once again, as he took his mask and put it on his face, the rest of his companions doing the same.
"Ash! What about Dedenne and Pikachu? We don't have gas masks for them!" Bonnie pointed out.
Of course they didn't. The Ranger probably assumed that they would just return their Pokemon to their pokeballs, but there wasn't a situation that convinced Pikachu to do so, and Clemont had left Dedenne's pokeball back at the Prism Tower. And of course, there were also Braixen and Raptorch, whom they were needed outside to provide light.
"In that case, we'll have to push that cloud back! Birbie, I choose you!" Ash said, tossing a pokeball, which released his first Tandor capture. "Birbie, use Gust to push that cloud of gas back!"
"Bir-Birbie!" Birbie chirped, as he took off, and began to flap his wings as fast as he could producing a powerful gust of wind that successfully pushed the cloud backwards.
"Good job, Birbie! Now everyone, to the next tunnel!" Ash said, as every other human and Pokemon quickly followed his lead.
The tunnel lead into an ample cavern with a small river crossing through it. There were many other tunnels that led to other parts of the cave, but according to Serena, they had to take the northernmost one. Which they would have done, if the cavern wasn't the place of yet another battle, as a bunch of Barewl were pelting some Tonemy with Rock-type attacks. The Tonemy tried to defend themselves, but their Poison and Normal type attacks did little to the small but tough Rock and Steel-type Pokemon, and in no time, the Tonemy flew away.
And then, the Barewl turned around, and glared at the group of humans.
"We're only passing through. Just ignore us, okay?" Natalie asked, trying to sound as nonthreatening as possible.
"REWL!" one of the Barewls yelled, and the rest of the Barewl, numbering in about a dozen, attacked. Half of them charged forward, while the rest attacked from a distance using Rock-type moves, forcing everybody to move away in a different directions, while the charging Barewl split as well.
"Raptorch, Flame Wheel!" Natalie ordered.
"Rap rap!" Raptorch yipped, as its body spun into a ball that was quickly coated in flames, crashing against a trio of Barewl. The attack packed so much force, it send the Rock and Steel-type Pokemon crashing against their brethen behind them.
"Ash, remember how did we defeat that Folerog?" Serena asked.
As the memory dawned upon him, as nodded and smirked knowingly. "Birbie, Gust on those Barewl!"
"What? But a Flying-type attack will do very little against those Pokemon!" Natalie protested.
Both Ash and Birbie ignored her, and the Eden Bird Pokemon once again flapped his wings as hard as he could, creating a tornado localized around the Barewl closest to them. Their double resistance meant that they weren't really perturbed by the move, but that was only the first part of something much worse that was to come.
"Braixen, Flamethrower into the tornado!" Serena ordered.
"Braix!" Braixen cried, as she pointed her wand towards the Gust, releasing a stream of flames.
The Flamethrower combined with the Gust, turning into a blazing tornado. The Barewls inside cried in pain, and jumped out of it before they were cooked alive. Whil their bodies were covered in burn marks, they had still enough energy to run away.
"Ba! Barewl!" one of the Barewl in the back, who appeared to be the leader, screeched as it jumped up and down. The rest of Barewl summoned more Rock-type attacks to bombard the humans and their Pokemon with.
"Pikachu, deflect those rocks with Iron Tail!" Ash ordered.
"Pancham, do the same with Arm Thurst!" Serena ordered as well, while tossing Pancham's Pokeball forward, releasing the Playful Pokemon.
Pikachu's tail glowed with a metallic sheen, as Pancham's arm turned bright white, and the two Pokemon leaped towards the assault of incoming rocks and boulders, shattering them to bits with well timed strikes..
"Wow..." Natalie said in awe.
The Barewls, upon seeing their attack nullified, decided that these foes were too much for them and quickly ran away. Well, except the leader, who protested loudly, and probably called them cowards, before running away as well, seeing that it was vastly outnumbered and outgunned.
"We did it! We made them run away!" Bonnie cheered.
"Nenene!" Dedenne cheered as well.
"Pikapi!" Pikachu, however cried in warning.
"Pikachu is right, this isn't over yet!" Ash said, as he moved from the entrance of the tunnel they just left, as a cloud of poison gas poured into the larger cavern.
And from the cloud of gas, a multitude of Tonemy emerged, letting out high pitched screeches. Some of the Tonemy took a deep breath and exhaled even more poisonous gas, while others used attacks such as Sludge and Shadow Ball.
"Birbie, Gust against that cloud of gas!" Ash ordered. "Pikachu, Thunderbolt!"
"Braixen, Flamethrower! Pancham, Dark Pulse!" Serena called.
"Raptorch, Ember!"
"Luxray, come out and use Discharge!" Clemont said, tossing the pokeball containing his strongest Pokemon.
Birbie once again created a tornado to push the cloud of poisonous gas back, while the Tonemy found themselves at the receiving end of a storm of yellow lightning bolts, a wall of flames, and a stream of pure darkness, forcing them to fly back to where they come from.
And for the first time since the group entered Passage Cave, silence reigned. But aid reign didn't last long, being broken by Natalie groaning loudly.
"Just what's wrong with this cave!? This place's a goddamn warzone!" she complained, not caring that her voice might attract more Pokemon. "If I wasn't with you guys..."
"How long until the exit, Serena?" Clemont asked.
The honey blonde opened her tablet, and checked the map. "We need to take that tunnel, which will take us to another chamber, and on said chamber there's the exit."
"So we aren't that far away from the exit. Good," Natalie said, relieved.
"We can't leave just yet," Ash said, much to everybody else's shock.
"Pika?" Pikachu asked.
"Ash, have you lost your mind? Why do you want to spend more time on this cave with three warring Pokemon groups?" Bonnie asked, frustrated at her friend's decision.
"Natalie is right. We're a large group, but what about trainers who travel alone? Especially inexeperienced trainers. This cave is way too dangerous for them the way it is. We need to stop those Pokemon from constantly fighting. " Ash firmly stated.
"That's all nice and good, Ash, but how do you plan to do it?" Serena asked, crossing his mind. "I mean, don't get me wrong, I see where are you coming from, but what we saw is only a fraction of the Pokemon that live inside this cave. Our Pokemon are strong, but not strong enough to take on such big numbers."
"We may not need to," Ash said. "Pokemon that live in large groups like these ones usually have a leader. If we beat the leader, the rest of the group will fall apart."
"That's only partially true. Sooner or later, another Pokemon will take the place of the leader," Clemont countered.
"But by doing this, we'll be buying the Rangers more time to clear out the debris from Owten Nook," Ash rebutted. "Besides, wasn't the constant battles inside the cave what caused the avalanche to begin with?"
"That's... not really a bad plan," Serena said.
"If you put it that way..." Clemont said.
"I hate to admit it, but Ash has a point," Natalie reluctantly said. "I hate spending more time than I need to on this place, but given how lucky I was to meet you guys before I entered the cave... it would be really selfish of me not to help other trainers as well."
"Alright, in that case, it's settled! Time to teach those Pokemon a lesson until they calm down," Ash said.
"Pikapi!" Pikachu said in agreement.
"If we hope to do it, we need to take on the three groups of Pokemon simultaneously," Clemont interjected. "Otherwise it will be tha same cycle they've been going through with an extra step."
"Very well then. I think Greninja could make short work of the Grozard, so we'll take them," Ash said, as he released the Ninja Pokemon.
"Given that Natalie and I have Fire-type Pokemon, we should go against the Barewl," Serena offered.
"That leaves Bonnie and I with the Tonemy," Clemont said.
"Take Pikachu and Birbie with you," Ash said, much to his two Pokemon's surprise, especially Birbie, something Ash noticed. "I will be fine with Greninja. Birbie can dispel the poisonous clouds with Gust, and Pikachu could give you some additional firepower. Don't worry guys, I simply think that as long as this situation lasts, you'd do better with Clemont."
"Pikapi," Pikachu said, patting Birbie as if telling him not to worry, before he scurried to Clemont's side. The little bird took a look at Ash before doing the same.
"In that case, take Chespin with you," Clemont said, releasing his Grass-type Kalosian starter. "Chespin will do much better against Ground-types than Poison-types."
Pikachu greeted Chespin, and presumably explained him what was going on. Chespin nodded, and quickly walked to Ash's side.
"Oh, and since none of your Pokemon can provide light, you'll need this," Clemont said, as he handed Ash a flashlight.
"Well thought," Ash said, switching the flashlight on. "Now, let's see where this Pokemon come from, and we'll find their main lairs, and hopefully, their leader. Once we're done, let's meet here again."
Everybody nodded, and the three groups entered a different tunnel each.
…
Ash, followed by Greninja and Clemont's Chespin, ran through the tunnel that would lead him towards the Grozard's territory, using Clemont's flashlight to illuminate the path ahead. The Pallet Town native noticed that the tunnel was becoming progressively wider and taller.
"Good, that way, we'll have more space to move during a battle," Ash said to himself.
Once again, the ground started to shake, forcing Ash, his Pokemon, and his borrowed Pokemon to stop. Several bumps of ground moving towards them. Once their were close enough, the bumps stopped, and the upper body of several Grozard burst from them. The closest Grozard's bodies started to glow with a faint orange light, as their bodies released shockwaves that caused the ground below their feet to shift and tremble.
"That's Bulldoze! Guys, move back!" Ash ordered, the two Kalosian starters doing the same.
Meanwhile, the Grozard in the back bombared them with mostly Rock-type attacks, and oddly, a couple Shadow Balls. Ash, however, knew that he couldn't let them set the pace of the battle.
"Greninja, Double Team!" Ash ordered.
"Gre!" Greninja replied, as suddenly, dozen of Greninja copies appeared around the tunnel, much to the Grozard's confusion, as they quickly moved to attack them.
"Good, now that they're distracted, Greninja, Water Shuriken! Chespin, Vine Whip!" Ash commanded.
"Gre-NINJA!"
"Ches!"
Greninja fired a barrage of watery ninja stars, summoning one as soon as another left his webbed hands, while Chespin lashed at the Grozard Greninja wasn't attacking with whips that grew from under his neck.
"Gro! Grooooo!" the Grozard cried, as they were pelted by the barrage of super effective attacks, causing most of them to flee.
"Yes! We puhsed them back! Good job guys!" Ash greeted the two Pokemon. "However, this isn't over yet, not by a long shot! We need to find the leader!"
Both Greninja and Chespin nodded, and followed Ash through the tunnel. They would enocunter a few more Grozard here and there that would attempt to stop their incursion into their home, but they were easily defeated. First by Greninja's Night Slash, another group by Chespin's Pin Missile, then another by Greninja's Aerial Ace.
Ash knew that the key to victory was not to let the enemy not even a moment to breathe. And thus strategy paid off when the human and two Pokemon reached a large cavern that the Pallet Town teen reasoned it was the Grozard's main dwelling. There were several Grozard that were looking at Ash with defiant eyes.
"Sorry Grozard, I didn't want to do this, but you left us with no other option!" Ash replied, sensing the hostility the wild Pokemon were projecting onto him, while his auburn eyes tried to guess which one was the leader.
Then, the ground started to shake, much more violently than it did before. However, Ash could tell that this wasn't a Ground-type attack caused by the Grozard. As the Grozard present quickly dug underground to flee, Greninja and Chespin tensed up, as if sensing that a great danger was about to come.
"TER!"
That moment, a new Pokemon burst from underground. Like Grozard, it was an orange serpent, only much, much larger, whose body split into two necks with a horned head each. Both heads pierced Ash and his Pokemon with a fierce glare.
"Whoa! Just... what is that!?" Ash asked, quickly scanning it with his Pokedex.
"Terlard, the Double Worm Pokemon, and Grozard's evolved form. Ground/Dragon. Their two heads have completely independent brains. That they ever manage to coordinate at all is a miracle." The Pokedex droned.
"So you're a Terlard. An evolution. I imagine that you must be the leader of this bunch, right?" Ash asked, not really expecting for the two headed Pokemon to confirm his suspicions. "I don't know what's gotten into your and your pack, but this senseless violence needs to stop!"
One of the heads lunged towards Ash, jaws wide open, ready to crush him between them. The Kantonian trainer's reflexes kicked in, making him jump backwards, just before Greninja got between them and swatted the offending head with powerful slap.
"Whoa!"
"GRE!" Greninja yelled, piercing Terlard with an angry glare.
"So, a fight it is. I'm sorry to do this, but you and your friends are making this cave and its surroundings much more dangerous than they need to be, and you need to calm down! Greninja, Water Shuriken! Chespin, Vine Whip!"
Once again, Greninja formed two watery shuriken between his fingers, before tossing them at Terlard, while Chespin lashed out with a pair of whips that emerged from his neck. Terlard's heads opened their jaws, releasing a wall of purple, blue and magenta flames, blocking the attacks.
"Watch out! That was a Dragon Pulse!" Ash noted. "This Terlard is much stronger than the Grozard we had faced!"
Terlard's tail, which was also split in two, with a jagged spade at the end of each tip, burst from underground behind Greninja, and smacked him in the back, making him fall on the ground facefirst.
"Greninja!" Ash cried.
Terlard tried to capitalize on its advantage by breathing yet another Dragon Pulse at him, but was stopped by Chespin wrapping his whips around each of his necks without Ash having to order him, pulling Terlard back.
"Well done, Chespin!" Ash praised the Grass-type.
"Ches ches!" the Spiny Nut Pokemon happily replied, before Terlard reared its heads back, violently pulling the much smaller Pokemon. "PIIIIIIIN!"
"Greninja, grab Chespin!" Ash commanded. "Chespin, release your Vine Whip!"
"Ninja!" Greninja cried, as he leaped towards Chespin just as Clemont's Pokemon let go of Terlard, and was grabbed by Greninja's arm.
"Well done!" Ash said. "Now, use Double Team!"
After seeting Chespin on the ground, Greninja filled the cavern with duplicates. Both heads looked around in confusion, before angrily snarling. Their shared body began to glow, as they shockwaves through the ground that caused the whole place to violently shake, causing small rocks from drop from the ceiling, and quickly dispelling the illusions.
"Whoa! That was an Earthquake!" Ash said, trying to keep his balance. "Be careful! This Terlard seems to be on a different league than the other Pokemon of this cave!"
Having only two enemies to worry about, Terlard continued to bombard them with Dragon Pulses, with one head aiming for Greninja, and the other head aiming for Chespin, forcing them onto the defensive.
Ash wracked his brain thinking how to defeat this opponent. If everything else failed he had Battle Bond, but he didn't want to rely on that for a mere wild Pokemon. But Double Team had proved to be useless, and Chespin could only help so much and-
Ash smirked as an idea dawned upon him. "Chespin, when Terlard fires again, use Vine Whip again! But this time, tie both necks together!"
"Ches?" Chespin asked, unsure, remembering what happened the last time he tried that.
"Just trust me on this! Everything will be fine!" Ash promised.
"Ches..." Chespin unsurely said, as Terlard's mouth billowed with purple flames.
The Spiny Nut Pokemon jumped once again to dodge Terlard's Dragon Pulse, before using Vine Whip once again, tying both necks together.
"Quickly Greninja, use Night Slash before Chespin is pulled away!" Ash shouted.
"Gre!"
Greninja leaped towards Terlard as he summoned a dark energy blade with purple edges, slashing the Double Worm Pokemon's two faces. One head tried to pull back, but the other tried to get rid of Chespin's bindings, meaning that they got nothing done.
"Laaaaaaard...!" Terlard cried in pain as just like the Grozard before, dug underground in order to flee the two Kalosian Pokemon's onslaughts, forcing Chespin to release it.
After Terlard feld, silence reigned supreme, as Ash and the two Pokemon tensed up, almost sensing that Terlard was going to come back with a vengeance. But said moment never came.
"It seems that guy had enough," Ash said, deciding he could lower his guard and relax for the time being. "Come on, let's see if we can help the others."
…
Meanwhile, Serena and Natalie rushed through another tunnel, one that lead into the Barewl's territory. The army of Iron Sphere Pokemon tried to bombard them with Rock-type attacks, but Pancham took care of them while Braixen and Raptorch roasted them with powerful Fire-type attacks.
Braixen would shower them in flames with Flamethrower, forcing them to disperse besides harming them. Raptorch would then pick them one by one with Flame Wheel, Ember or Mud Slap. And whenever they counterattacked, usually with Rock-type moves, Pancham would spring into action, shatter the rocks with a well placed Arm Thurst, or pushing them back with Dark Pulse.
Eventually, the girls reached a large cavern teeming with Barewl, with the Barewl leader in the middle, angrily barking orders, frustrated at how its troops were unable to keep their domain safe from invaders.
"Natalie, watch out, Raptorch is about to get flanked!" Serena warned the brown haired girl.
And indeed, while Raptorch was using Fire Fang on a Barewl, another was coming at him from one of his sides.
"Raptorch, slam the Barewl you're holding against the one coming from your left!" Natalie commanded.
The Fire Dino Pokemon did so, neutralizing two enemy Pokemon with a single move.
"Rewl, rewl!" the Barewl leader screeched.
The other Barewl nodded, and started to use their Rock-type attacks as well. Not on the girls and their Pokemon, but to build a small hill of piled rocks.
"What... what are they doing?" Natalie asked.
Once the two hills were big enough, the Barewl started to climb it from the far side, and slide it the front side like a sledge while rolling, launching themselves at the intruders at high speed. Some of then missed, slamming violently against the walls of the cavern, making it shake, but others were really close to their marks.
"Quickly, fall back! To the tunnel!" Serena urged.
Natalie nodded, as she and the Pokemon followed Serena into the relative safety of the narrow tunnel.
"What... what the hell are they doing?" Natalie asked, panting heavily.
"They're using Rollout. The small mounds of rocks is to help them build up speed so Rollout is even stronger," Serena explained, having realizing what was their plan. "The moment we enter their lair, more Barewl will come barreling at us at great speed. I doubt our Pokemon can take more than one hit that carries so much force."
"For a bunch of walking rockheads, that's a pretty clever tactic," Natalie said, sounding annoyed, but still holding some hint of admiration for their tactics. "Maybe we should wait for them to come to us, but it doesn't seem like they plan to leave their lair."
"So we are at a stalemate," Serena sighed.
"These Pokemon are quite tough. Your boyfriend must be having a hard time, given that he's all alone and with only two Pokemon," Natalie said.
"Um, about that..." Serena began, her cheeks turning pink. "Ash is not my boyfriend. We're traveling together, but that's it."
Natalie raised an eyebrow. "He isn't? You would have fooled me. Given the way you act around him and..." Natalie trailed off, a wide smile spreading across her face as a realization dawned upon her. "Sweet Twin Gods! You do like him, don't you?"
"Can we talk about my love life later? We have a bunch of Pokemon to subdue," Serena chastised the younger girl.
"Right, right, sorry," the brown haired girl said. She peeked through the tunnel exit, just enough not to be seen. The Barewl were still there, with the leader in the middle and two of them on the top of the rock mounds, ready to Rollout them to death the moment they entered the place. "Hmmm... it seems they're still waiting for us to make our move."
Serena also took a peek at the army of small Pokemon that waited for her. "If we could only take down the leader, the others wouldn't be a threat."
"The problem is, they vastly outnumber us, and the moment we step into their dwelling, our Pokemon are going to get steamrolled," Natalie said. "If there was a way to distract them, or stun them or something... it doesn't need to be long term, just long enough for us to get to the leader."
The gears inside Serena's brain began to turn, as she realized she had a Pokemon that could be of help. Her hand reached one of her two unopened pokeballs. "Perhaps we can disable them for a little while. Selkid, come out!"
"Sel!" the Sea Nymph Pokemon said upon being released.
"Whoa!" Natalie gasped upon seeing the Water and Fairy type. She crouched down to inspect her, causing Selkid to wimper and hide behind Serena's leg, not that the Moki Town girl was deterred by such reaction. "You have a Selkid? You just arrived at Tandor, and got your hands on a Selkid? How? Where? We aren't even close to the sea!"
"It's... a long story," Serena said. "Anyway, what's important now is that Selkid can be of a lot of help. Selkid, I need you to use Sing to put the Pokemon inside that cavern to sleep. But be sure not to get too close to the tunnel exit."
"S-Sel!" Selkid replied affirmatively, leaving the relative safety of Serena's leg, and walking towards the edge of the tunnel entrance.
"Everyone, cover your ears," Serena told both Natalie and their Pokemon, which did as instructed.
Selkid began to intone a soft, melodious song, as ethereal musical notes started to appear around the cavern, slowly floating around the place. The Barewl inside started to get drowsy, some of them dropping on their faces and snoring.
"It works!" Natalie cheered.
"Yes, it does! No time to waste! Get to the leader, my Pokemon will cover you!" Serena urged. "Briaxen, create an opening with Flamethrower!"
"Yes! Come on Raptorch!" Natalie said, as she and her started rushed into the cave.
Selkid's Sing hasn't been able to put all the Barewl to sleep. Many of them were only groggy and forcing themselves to wake up, with some not even drowsy at all. Still, Braixen's Falmethrower was enough to force most of the awake Barewl into the defensive. When they tried to attack Natalie and Raptorch, their Rock-type attacks were stopped by an Arm Thurst and a Water Pulse.
Natalie finally reached the leader, angrily barking orders at its minions, trying to wake them up.
"Raptorch, Flame Wheel!" Natalie ordered.
"Torch!" Raptorch yipped, as he curled into a spinning ball, before his body was coated in flames, and smashed against the distracted Barewl.
"Bar!" Barewl yelled, looking angrily at Raptorch. Several rocks appeared above the Fire Dino Pokemon, before they fell down on it.
"Quickly, dodge!" Natalie said, as her Pokemon nimbly moved, avoiding the falling boulders. "Now, Mud Slap!"
Raptorch sweeped the ground with its tail, sending a wave of mud at the Barewl leader, covering it in grime, and leaving its vision impaired. It began to cry in pain and indignation as its tail glowed with a metallic sheen, and swung it aimlessly.
"Now, Fire Fang!" Natalie ordered.
Raptorch's mouth was filled with flames, as it trapped the Barewl leader between its blazing jaws, before slamming it on the ground. Natalie grabbed her last empty pokeball.
"Pokeball go-" Natalie was about to toss the pokeball, but stopped herself before the ball could leave her hand. "You know what? I'm not risking it again."
And Natalie ran towards the Barewl and poked it with her pokeball still in her hand, only allowing herself to drop it the moment Barewl was turned into pure energy and absorbed into the capture device. The pokeball shook a couple times before it dinged, confirming the successful capture. Natalie picked up the pokeball and raised it like a trophy.
"Yes, I captured a Barewl! My first capture!" she cheered. "About damn time! Remind me to thank Bonnie when I see her again."
The few awake Barewl, upon seeing their mighty leader defeated, cried in horror and ran away from the cavern. Serena, followed by her Pokemon, walked towards Natalie as she looked around the area. She nodded in satisfaction.
"I think these Barewl won't cause anymore trouble, at least for the time being," Serena said. "We're done here. Come on, let's see if the others need our help."
…
On another part of the cave, Clemont and Bonnie battled the area where all the Tonemy lived. The purple winged Pokemon attempted to drown them with toxic gas, but whenever they attempted such a tactic...
"Birbie, Gust!" Bonnie commanded. Bonnie was the one commanding Ash's Pokemon, so Clemont could focus on his own Pokemon.
"BIIIIIRB!" Birbie chirped, as he flapped his wings as fast as he could, producing a wind current, pushing the gas backwards, much to the Tonemy's confusion.
"Pikachu, Thunderbolt!" Bonnie added.
"Luxray, Swift!" Clemont ordered. "Bunnelby, Wild Charge!"
Unlike the Grozard and the Barewl, who used direct attacks, it seemed that the Tonemy's tactic was exclusively to flood the tunnels with Poison Gas, and once somebody countered that tactic, they didn't know what to do.
Some of them attempted something different, like using Gunk Shot or getting close and smack them with Steel Wing. But their attacks proved to be ineffective, with the rangers falling victim to Pikachu's Electro Ball and Birbie's Air Cutter, and those who dared to come close felt the power of Luxray's Thunder Fang and Bunnelby's Double Slap.
Needless to say, it didn't take long for the Tonemy to fly away, letting out scared screeches.
"You're doing great! Keep pressing forward, and we'll get to their lair!" Clemont said, as he and his Pokemon advanced, with Bonnie and Ash's Pokemon covering their rear. "Hopefully we'll find the leader there."
"How will we know who's the leader?" Bonnie asked. "They all look the same to me."
"Pack leaders usually have this imposing presence to them that show everybody that they're in charge," Clemont said. "Once we see it, we'll know."
"If you say so," Bonnie said.
They followed the tunnel until they reached to a large stone chamber that had a couple of tunnel exits to the sides. Dozens upon dozens of Tonemy flew around the place, and the moment they saw the intruders, half of them dived at the newcomers, while the other half released clouds of toxic gas.
The tactic didn't have any more success than the previous times they attempted it. Birbie once again pushed the noxious clouds back with Gust, while Pikachu fired Electroballs and Thunderbolts. Luxray fired barrages of golden stars that homed onto the Tonemy, while Bunnelby slapped the Tonemy that got close.
Desperation spread among the Tonemy, given that neither their numbers or abilities were making any dent on the invaders, with a good chunk of them flying away.
"Yes! They're running away!" Bonnie cheered. "Do you think we got the leader?"
"Probably," Clemont said. "One of our attacks must have knocked it out, so once they saw-"
Clemont, however, was interrupted when one of the few remaining Tonemy, strangely enough, landed on the ground –the first time they saw a Tonemy touch the floor–, and much to his and Bonnie's shock, after a crackling sound, began to glow with a white light, and started to grow larger.
"It is... evolving?" Bonnie fearfully asked.
"I think we just found the leader," Clemont said, his eyes fixed on the evolving Pokemon.
When the light disappeared, Clemont and Bonnie could take a better look at the new Pokemon. It was much, much larger than a Tonemy, with a robust body supported by four thick legs, a huge mouth full of sharp teeth, large nostrils, and a ridge of light brown fur running down its back, ending in a furry tail. Tonemy's vestigial wings were at the sides of its head, looking like ears, but it was obvious that this Pokemon was not capable of flight.
"TOFURANG!" the newly evolved Pokemon roared.
"Tofurang? That's its name?" Bonnie asked.
Many of the Tonemy that had left returned to the chamber, flocking around their new and powerful leader. Clemont gulped, but reigned in his doubts and fear.
"Alright, my Pokemon and I will deal with this new threat. Bonnie, use Ash's Pokemon to cover our backs," Clemont told his sister.
"Leave them to me!" Bonnie replied.
The Tonemy charged again, several towards Bonnie and Ash's Pokemon, and others towards Clemont and his Pokemon. Bonnie did a good job keeping them out of his back, even if she missed some of them. Fortunately, Bunnelby was there to swat away the rest with powerful Double Slap.
"Luxray, Wild Charge on that Tofurang!" Clemont ordered.
"Ray!" Luxray's body began to crackle with electricity, before rocketing towards the purple skinned behemoth.
In response, Tofurang's body glowed with an orange aura, and charged forward, leaving a trail of cracked ground in its wake. The two Pokemon met in the middle, the energy of both attacks exploding into a blast of kinetic energy that blew a gust of wind and sent both Pokemon skidding backwards.
"Luxray, are you okay?" Clemont asked, worried.
"Lux...!" Luxray said with a nod, before his eyes focused again on the enemy.
"That was Giga-Impact," Clemont noticed. "That Pokemon got a huge power boost upon evolving."
Tofurang took a deep breath, before opening its mouth, releasing a wall of purple sludge at Clemont's pokemon. The Lumiose Gym Leader immediately identified the attack.
"And that's Sludge Wave! Bunnelby, quickly counter it with Mud Shot!" Clemont ordered.
"Bun!" Bunnelby created a golden energy sphere between his ears, and launched it at the incoming wave of detritus. The golden sphere burst into mud, stopping Tofurang's attack.
"Bunnelby, watch out!" Bonnie called.
Too late. A pair of Tonemy flew towards Bunnelby and smacked him with a Steel Wing each when he was mid air, sending him crashing down against the rock floor.
"BUUUUN!"
"Bunnelby!" Clemont cried.
Before the Tonemy could attack the downed Bunnelby, Luxray moved to intercept, shielding Bunnelby with his body, while frying the nearby Tonemy with a potent Discharge.
"Well done, Luxray!" Clemont said. "But don't lower your guard! Tofurang is coming after you!"
Because, indeed, Tofurang was charging at Luxray with its mouth wide open, its sharp teeth glowing with a purple light, which made Clemont realize it was going to use Poison Fang on the Gleam Eyes Pokemon. Fortunately, Clemont knew what to do.
"Bunnelby, quickly, Dig!" he ordered.
Bunnelby jumped into the air, and began to rapidly spin, drilling into the ground with his whole body.
"Luxray, dodge the attack!" Clemont told his Electric-type Pokemon.
Luxray managed to jump out of the way just as Tofurang's venomous jaws closed upon him. The purple Pokemon tried to bite Luxray multiple times, but the Gleam Eyes Pokemon used his superior speed to dodge every time and run circles around it.
Then, the ground below Tofurang cracked, and Bunnelby burst from underground, slamming into Tofurang.
"Luxray, now! Thunder Fang!" Clemont commanded.
"Lux-RAY!" Luxray cried, as electricity poured out of his mouth, before he sank his teeth onto the larger Pokemon.
Tofurang cried in pain as electricity ran through his body.
"And Bunnelby, Wild Charge!"
Bunnelby's body crackled with yellow electricity as he launched himself towards Tofurang, slamming into its body, and zapping it once again for good measure.
"To...fu..." Tofurang panted, as it stumbled backwards, its body covered in smoking burn marks, before it turned around, and escaped through one of the exit tunnels.
Seeing their leader defeated, the Tonemy swarm panicked and flew away in every direction, trying to escape the mighty invaders that had invaded their home. Clemont let out a sigh of both relief and tiredness.
"Finally..." Clemont said.
"Yes! Victory!" Bonnie cheered, pumping his fist into the air. "Great work, guys!"
"Nenene!" Dedenne cheered as well.
…
A few minutes later, the group of five reunited once again in the same chamber they had split before, returned their borrowed Pokemon to their rightful trainer, and told the others about what they had fought before. Clemont and Bonnie told them about how a Tonemy had spontaneously evolved into a Tofurang, and the other three quickly introduced the name into their Pokedex.
"Tofurang, the Cave Beast Pokemon, and Tonemy's evolved form. Poison. Unable to fly or move swiftly like Tonemy, Tofurang instead catch their prey by exhaling a poison gas that makes Pokémon sluggish." The Pokedex explained.
"It seems we all had our share of tough enemies," Natalie commented.
"But we persevered, and came out on top!" Ash added.
"Exactly," Clemont said with a nod.
"And what's most imporant: this cave will be now much safer to cross now that those Pokemon won't cause anymore trouble," Serena said. "At the very least, until the Rangers can clear out Owten Nook."
"Indeed. And speaking of which, shall we continue forward? I think I had enough of this cave," Clemont suggested.
Clemont was far from the only one who wanted to leave Passage Cave behind. Following the map, the group continued traveling north, this time without any hostile Pokemon attempting to attack them, until they finally reached the exit. The light of the sun and the blue skies were a welcomed sight after spending so much time inside that dark cave.
At the exit of the cave was another Ranger, next to another box identical to the one at the entrance. They handed them the gas masks and thanked them for their service. The Ranger told them that all they needed to do was continue forward and they'd reach Nowtoch City.
"Look! I can see a city into the distance!" Bonnie said, pointing forward. "Is that Nowtoch City?"
"If what the Ranger told us is true, then it has to be!" Ash said, the thought of his first Tandor Gym Battle filling him with excitement. Without any warning, he started running towards the city "Come on guys, let's go!"
The rest of the group quickly rushed after Ash –though Clemont protested about having to run without any need– as they headed towards Ash and Natalie's first major milestone in their journey.
Author's Note: Plenty of things happened on this chapter. Our heroes have met Natalie for the first time since they left Mokie Town, they crossed Passage Cave, and Natalie had captured her first Pokemon!
Sorry Serena, no Owten for you. Don't worry, there will be other Pokemon waiting for you to catch them in the future.
Given that Vitor got some time in the spotlight a couple chapters ago, it was only fair for his twin sister to get an appearance, don't you think? Also, Natalie failing to catch any Pokemon was based on my own very brief experience playing Pokemon Go, since I was constantly fudging ball throws and didn't catch anything besides the starter until I decided to delete the app.
In the game, Passage Cave is a rather uneventful cave, as expected from the game's very first dungeon, being made up by two short instances, only a couple trainers to stop you, and low level wild Pokemon. But of course that wasn't going to fly here, so I made it a little more dangerous and exciting.
Next chapter, the group finally arrives at Nowtoch City, where Ash will face his first Tandorian Gym Leader! In the emantime, don't forget to leave a review telling how much you liked this chapter (or how much you disliked it).