"All right, you three," said Ash, addressing his trio of Pokemon. "We got our first Gym Badge!"
Hisuian Growlithe barked loudly; Scizor smirked, then dodged a Flamethrower blasting out of the excited Fire/Rock-type's back. Kubfu, however, didn't join in the celebrations, standing where it was with a downcast look on his face.
"But Clay and Cyrus," Ash pointed, indicating the pair of older Trainers who were sitting on a nearby rock and talking off to the side, "told me that if we're going to get the next one, we're going to need to get stronger first!"
Now Kubfu's ears perked up.
"We're approaching a place called Mount Moon," said Ash. "And inside, there are going to be a ton of wild Pokemon, so let's try to battle some of them and get stronger in there!"
Off to the side, Cyrus sighed. "There is more to 'getting stronger' than just the vague idea of 'getting stronger'," he murmured.
"Well, what would you do to make those Pokemon stronger?" Clay asked. "I ain't even heard of Kubfu."
"I know it is a Legendary, or at least the basic form of one," said Cyrus. "And I believe it is from the Galar region. What it was doing in Kanto I do not know. And I also do not know its full capabilities."
"Hey, Clay, Cyrus!" said Ash. "My Pokemon are ready for Mount Moon!"
Behind a nearby tree, an Aron ducked backwards, then swiftly scuttled several feet backwards, passing a few more trees before arriving at the feet of a pair of uniformed Trainers.
"You ain't gonna believe this," Aron reported. "Dat kid's got a Scizor and some kinda Legendary now, and he's travelin' with two Gym Leaders. They're headin' into Mount Moon."
"A Legendary?" Liza smirked. "The boss'll love that."
"Dat…wasn't what I was goin' with, but okay," said Aron doubtfully.
"And Mount Moon…" Drake murmured. "Wait…didn't the boss tell us to set up all those strobe lights in Mount Moon? Y'know, to distract all the Wild Pokemon so we could steal the Moon Stone?"
"Shh!" Liza hissed. "Drake, don't just stand out in the open yapping about our plan! Someone might hear us!"
"I heard you," Aron added helpfully.
Liza and Drake both fixed Aron with a glare. "Anyway," said Liza, "this is a prime opportunity. We can steal the Moon Stone, and we can steal those Pokemon. A Legendary, a Scizor, and that strange Growlithe…the boss is going to be so pleased."
"Hey!" said Ash. "That scientist guy's being attacked by a flock of…um…" He raised his Pokedex towards the flock of purple, bat-like Pokemon that were swarming around the scientist nearby.
"Zubat, Poison/Flying, no time," Cyrus informed swiftly, releasing his Sneasel, Houndour, and Murkrow. "Defeat them," he ordered, and his trio of Dark-types lunged, letting out gleeful snarls.
"You too, you three!" Ash released his three Pokemon, who all promptly leaped into battle. Clay hung back, though he did release his trio of Tympole, Sandile, and Drilbur, who promptly took up defensive positions around the three Trainers just in case some Zubat got any ideas.
The battle was joined quickly. Cyrus's team worked well together, with Murkrow and Houndour working in concert to knock Zubat out of the sky, enabling Sneasel to savage them on the ground. For Ash's part, Hisuian Growlithe was blasting two or three Zubat at a time with Flamethrower, while Scizor was in his element, shrugging off hits from Zubat while drilling them with Bullet Punch after Bullet Punch that sent Zubat tumbling to the ground.
But Kubfu looked out of place entirely. Hissing Zubat surrounded him, but their wings enabled them to easily avoid his Rock Smashes, and as Ash watched one of the Zubat sent a ranged attack at Kubfu, who only narrowly avoided it. Other Zubat joined in, lashing out with blasts of energy or screaming with telltale Supersonics, and Kubfu couldn't avoid them all; the small Fighting-type was sent flying backwards, rolling across the ground.
"Hisuian Growlithe, protect Kubfu!" Ash cried. "Flamethrower on that group!"
The Zubat had gathered together in their haste to beat down Kubfu, and as such Hisuian Growlithe's Flamethrower caught six or seven of them in one blast. Now there were only a few Zubat remaining; Scizor slammed one to the ground with a Bullet Punch, Houndour caught two more with flying Embers, and a particularly determined-looking one was tangling with Cyrus's Murkrow in the sky, crunching down on the Dark/Flying-type's wing with what looked to be a Leech Life before blasting Murkrow away with a powerful-looking Whirlwind.
Cyrus's eyes narrowed, glittering with interest, as the Zubat lashed out with a Supersonic towards Sneasel and Houndour. "Dodge," he called to the pair of ground-bound Dark-types, who promptly leaped out of the way. The Zubat pressed, angling towards Houndour with a Leech Life on its fangs.
Swiftly, Cyrus grasped a Pokeball and tossed it at the Zubat, who didn't see it coming. The Zubat was struck and sucked into the Pokeball; it clattered to the ground, and silence fell across the battlefield as the Pokeball began shaking.
Ash looked downcast. "Dang it…I should've thought of that…"
Then his attention was attracted by a grateful, disheveled looking scientist, and things…went from there.
"So you're saying someone set up strobe lights to anger the local wild Pokemon?" Clay grimaced. "I've been mining in these caves before, and they're already dangerous enough. We've gotta put a stop to this, whatever it is."
"You've been here before?" Ash asked.
Clay nodded. "Mount Moon was where I found Drilbur," he said, glancing towards the Ground-type, who was walking alongside the group, as were Ash's Hisuian Growlithe and Cyrus's newly-caught Zubat (although Zubat was flying rather than walking). Drilbur nodded.
"Oh, you're one of those miners," the scientist - Seymour - muttered.
"Something wrong with that?" Clay asked.
"Mining activity disturbs the local Clefairy," Seymour informed Clay. "They're worried that miners will find and take away their Moon Stone."
"The Moon Stone?" Cyrus frowned. "I have heard tales, but I did not know of its true existence. I should very much like to see it."
"Well, whoever set up those strobe lights must be after the Moon Stone," said Seymour.
"What is the Moon Stone?" Ash asked.
Before an excited-looking Seymour could start talking about it, Clay raised a hand. "Right, before we do anything else, we need to set up a base camp. This'll probably take a while, and we need a safe place in the meantime."
Eventually, the group of four found a fairly large cave and quickly set to establishing a camp. Ash, Clay, and Cyrus swiftly let out their Pokemon, warning them not to go far, and then sat down by a Houndour-made fire to talk about the Moon Stone and eat some food that Seymour helpfully provided, since Ash, Clay, and Cyrus were all not very good at cooking.
Kubfu was quick to wander over to the other side of the cave, where a few rocks sat on the ground. Imagining a Zubat's face on one, Kubfu hauled back and delivered a Rock Smash right to where the fangs would be. The rock shattered under his fist. Kubfu began to move over to another one.
"What's wrong?"
Kubfu glanced over his shoulder at Scizor. "You know what's wrong," he answered bitterly, punching another rock to rubble. "My journey, my entire purpose, is to get stronger. I believed I was strong, but now here I am." He moved over to another rock. "I lost to you, I lost to that Sneasel, and I couldn't do anything against those stupid, worthless Zubat!" Another rock crumbled under Kubfu's fist.
"Ahem."
Kubfu twisted to glare at Cyrus's newly-caught Zubat, who was perched on one of the few still-intact nearby rocks. "What are you even doing here?" he asked. "You were trying to attack us earlier!"
"To be fair, I was being driven bonkers by those strobe lights," Zubat murmured. "Being caught really helped me get my mind back together - that's the main reason why I've decided to accept this. But that's not the point. The point is, strength isn't all about muscles. I've fought enough Sandshrew to know that proper strength requires versatility."
"Zubat's right," said Scizor. "I've taken your punches - in terms of raw brute force, you're stronger than I am, you're stronger than that Sneasel, and you're definitely stronger than those stupid, worthless Zubat."
"Ahem."
"But we all beat you because we could use our strength in multiple different ways, rather than just mindlessly punching," Scizor continued. "That's what Ash means by 'getting stronger'. Not toughing up muscle mass, but learning new techniques."
"These old techniques have worked just fine for me," Kubfu protested.
Scizor scoffed. "And yet here you are, complaining about losing so much. I've said my piece - look, train against Zubat. Try and figure out how to fight something that can fly and is faster than you. If you can do that with those 'old techniques', then by all means, keep using them. But I'm going to tell you right now that you'll need more than just Rock Smash if you want to keep up with me and Hisuian Growlithe. Now, if you'll excuse me, I'm off to try and learn Pursuit." Turning on his heel, Scizor stalked off, looking fairly irritated.
Kubfu growled furiously under his breath. "This doesn't make sense! Why is growing stronger so hard? It should be straightforward!"
"You think it's straightforward?" Zubat asked. "Then try and hit me."
Kubfu spun. "All right, if you think you can take it," he growled. Swiftly, he flung himself forwards, a Rock Smash on his fist.
Zubat flew upwards. Kubfu's fist missed completely. Zubat lunged forwards - Kubfu had completely overcommitted - and bit down with a soft Leech Life on Kubfu. Kubfu swung with a backhand, trying to knock Zubat away, but Zubat was quick to dodge one more, avoiding Kubfu's strike.
"You're plenty strong," said Zubat. "It's speed you need. That, and versatility - is Rock Smash your only attacking move? Have you ever fought a Ghost-type before?"
"Do you think I need your help?" Kubfu snarled.
"Yes."
"I don't!" Kubfu cried. "I'm a Legendary! I'm supposed to be strong!" He lunged again, leaping into the air this time in order to try and swat Zubat out of the sky.
Zubat dove to the side, dodging Kubfu's swinging fist. Again Kubfu had overcommitted, and as he landed, stumbling a little, Zubat lunged in and dealt another Leech Life before hurtling away again. "Supposed to be, you say," Zubat replied. "Look, like I said earlier, you are strong. Battling isn't all about strength. If it were…if battles were all about just standing on opposite sides of a battlefield and taking turns delivering and taking hits…we Zubat as a species wouldn't exist."
"I don't need you to tell me how to get stronger!" Kubfu growled. "I've been plenty fine on that front my entire life!" He readied himself, waiting for Zubat to come in again so that he could strike the Poison/Flying-type as he did so.
Zubat simply flicked one wing and let fly with a blast of energy. Kubfu dove to the side, skidding to a halt, and instantly had to dodge again as Zubat fired another burst of energy at him. "Get down here!" Kubfu demanded.
"I don't think I will," Zubat retorted. "So what are you going to do about it? You can't dodge forever, you know." He shot another energy blast at Kubfu.
Kubfu dodged blast after blast, looking around for any helpful rock formations he might be able to use. But Zubat clearly knew what he was doing; he'd ensured he was stationed far away from any such formations so that Kubfu couldn't use them to get up to him.
Worse, Zubat was right - Kubfu couldn't dodge forever. One of Zubat's blasts caught Kubfu in the leg, sending him stumbling, and another slammed into him as he staggered. Kubfu tumbled to the ground, his entire body stinging.
"Oh, sorry, I didn't mean to hit you that hard." Kubfu heard Zubat fluttering towards him. "If you want, I can get you some food, that'll probably help-"
"GO AWAY!" Kubfu cried.
Zubat's wingbeats faltered and he dropped to the ground, looking nervous. "Kubfu-"
"This is STUPID!" Kubfu yelled. "I've spent my entire life trying to train myself to grow stronger! And I thought I was strong! But ever since I met Ash my entire life's just been failure after failure! I can't beat Scizor, I can't beat a Sneasel, I can't even beat a stupid, worthless Zubat!"
"Ahem."
"SHUT UP!" Kubfu screamed. "Don't you get it? Growing stronger is my life! My purpose! And here you are, making a complete mockery of it! How am I ever going to be able to learn one of the Scrolls of the Towers of Two Fists if I can't even beat someone like you?" Whirling, Kubfu stormed off down a nearby tunnel, leaving a worried-looking Zubat in his wake.
From behind a nearby rock, a specific Aron blinked, then turned and began to run in the opposite direction towards a specific pair of Trainers.
"So you say the Moon Stone was a spacecraft that the Clefairy used to get to the planet?" Ash asked, eyes wide. "Awesome!"
"Indeed," murmured Cyrus. "I have often wondered if the key to creating my perfect world lies in outer space."
"Heh, good one," Clay said amusedly. "Anyway, that kind of power would be pretty tempting for thieves, so I wouldn't be surprised if Seymour's right about the strobe lights."
As Clay, Cyrus, and Seymour fell to talking about the strobe lights once more, Ash's attention wandered over to the side of the cave. He spotted Hisuian Growlithe shooting a Flamethrower at Scizor, who was dodging and coming in with steely claws glinting. But…
"Where's Kubfu?"
This brought the adults' attention. "Where'd you see him last?" Clay asked.
"Just over there with the rest of my team…" Ash trailed off as he spotted Cyrus's new Zubat, who was standing nearby, frantically waving over towards the entrance to a nearby tunnel. "Bat! Zubat!"
"What is it?" Ash asked. "What are you saying?"
"I think," said Cyrus, "my Zubat is implying that he saw your Kubfu wandering down that tunnel."
"Then we've got to find him!" Ash declared. "Hisuian Growlithe, can you track his scent?"
"I've got a better idea," said Clay. "Drilbur knows these tunnels, and Sandile and Tympole both know how to find things. If they can't find your Kubfu, nothing can."
"Right, then, let's go!" said Ash; without pausing even for Clay to release his Pokemon, he stood up and began to stride towards the tunnel, leading Clay, Cyrus, and Seymour to hurry after him.
What does that stupid Zubat know?
Kubfu stormed down the tunnel, clenching his fists tightly.
I'm weak. I need to become stronger. That's how it works.
Kubfu kept walking, heedless of his surroundings.
That's how it's always worked. Why won't it work here? What is wrong with me?
Heedless of how far he was traveling.
What kind of Legendary am I if I'm so useless?
Heedless of the tightly-woven net coming down on - oh, crap!
Kubfu jerked backwards, but it was too late. The coils had already ensnared him. Kubfu had traveled for long enough to know what this meant - poachers interested in making a quick buck off him.
"Got him!" a male voice called out. "Liza, do it now!"
Kubfu knew full well he could easily rip the net apart with his strength. But before he could flex his muscles, he felt a Psychic grip settle around him and beheld the stone-faced (and stone-bodied) form of a Lunatone rising up from behind a nearby stone. Kubfu strained to break free, but his mental strength was nowhere near equal to his physical prowess, and this Lunatone was obviously fairly strong itself, for it held him fast.
A large man and a much smaller woman strolled out behind the Lunatone, a titanic Dragonite and a tiny Aron moving behind them. Their grins sickened Kubfu. "Prepare for trouble!" the woman said.
"And make it double!" the man called, and the duo launched into a spiel they'd clearly done many times before, introducing themselves as Drake and Liza in the process.
"Nice work, Drake," said Liza once their motto had ended. "The boss'll certainly like this."
"Hey, what about me?" Aron asked. "I'm the one who saw him!"
"Yes, good work to you too, Aron," Liza added. "Let's get him back to the Moon Stone, and we'll be able to steal both of them in one go!"
"Not so fast, Team Rocket!"
Kubfu heaved a sigh of profound relief as he heard Ash's voice. Swiveling his eyes (the only part of his body that could still move), Kubfu saw the young Trainer running up the tunnel towards him, Scizor and Hisuian Growlithe at his sides and Clay, Cyrus, and Seymour at his heels.
"Darn it!" Liza hissed. "Drake, I told you we shouldn't have done the motto!"
Drake glared at Liza. "Come on, Liza, we have to do the motto. It's tradition!"
"Pokemon thieves," Cyrus murmured. "How disappointingly shallow."
"Let Kubfu go!" Ash demanded.
"Not a chance!" Liza retorted. "If you want him back, why don't you try and beat us in a Pokemon battle for it?"
"Uh…won't that give him a chance?" Drake asked.
Liza shot a glare at Drake. "No," she hissed. "He's a beginning Trainer - none of his Pokemon will even be able to scratch Lunatone. And obviously I'm going to cheat to make sure he doesn't win."
"You do realize we can still hear you?" Clay asked.
"Oh, whatever," Drake growled. "Dragonite, Dragon Rage!"
Dragonite roared and unleashed a veritable wave of purple draconic energies. Lunatone also moved forwards - clearly having been given an order that Kubfu couldn't hear - and let fly with a Confusion. As the gathered Trainers and Pokemon stumbled backwards, the Confusion sent them staggering further away, and both Scizor and Hisuian Growlithe were sent flying backwards, along with Clay's just-released team.
But through the morass of energies came Cyrus's trio of Dark-types. Sneasel lunged for Dragonite, who swung at him with a Slam and was clearly immensely surprised when Sneasel dodged and landed a Scratch. Snarling, Dragonite rounded on Sneasel, and in spite of Drake snapping orders to the contrary, began swinging blow after blow at the Dark/Ice-type, who easily ducked and dodged each one before dealing stinging Scratches to anywhere he could reach on the Dragon/Flying-type's body.
Houndour and Murkrow, meanwhile, double-teamed Lunatone. The Rock/Psychic-type unleashed a flurry of thrown rocks as the two Dark-types came closer, forcing them to break off their charges and hurl themselves to the side. Houndour retaliated with an Ember that forced Lunatone to respond, blasting the mote of fire away with a Confusion, which left its side open for Murkrow. The Dark/Flying-type took full advantage of the opening, landing a swift Pursuit to Lunatone's side.
As Lunatone groaned under the successful hit, Kubfu felt the Psychic energies binding him fade away. Quickly, he called upon his natural strength and tore the net holding him apart as if it were paper. Liza's eyes widened. "Aron, take on that Sneasel!" she cried. "Drake, get your Dragonite over here and handle this Kubfu!"
"Right!" Aron lunged forwards as Drake obeyed Liza's command. "Take this!" He slammed head-first into Sneasel, who hadn't been expecting the attack from the side and was sent flying into the nearby wall. Sneasel bounced off, screeching in pain, but nevertheless crouched in readiness for further combat.
Kubfu didn't see what happened next over there. His attention was on the towering Dragonite rising up before him. The Dragonite growled ferociously. "Back in your net, runt."
"Make me," Kubfu retorted. Crouching, he flung himself at Dragonite with a Rock Smash, pouring all of his power into the move.
Dragonite simply flew upwards. Kubfu's fist struck empty air a second before Dragonite fired a Dragon Rage into the small of Kubfu's back, flinging Kubfu to the ground. A cry came from Ash; Dragonite whirled and blasted yet another Dragon Rage down the tunnel, once more forcing the gathered Trainers and Pokemon back.
Kubfu had no way to take advantage of the opening; he was too busy struggling to get back up. One hit…that's all it took to nearly knock me out. Just a single hit…
No! I can't lose this!
Kubfu forced himself to his feet, twisting to face Dragonite. "Ice Beam!" Drake ordered; swiftly, Dragonite inhaled, then fired a jagged beam of frost at Kubfu. But Kubfu was ready for the attack; he dodged to the side, landing in a crouch, and flung himself once more at Dragonite. This time he didn't hold anything back; his Rock Smash was quite possible the most powerful Rock Smash he'd ever put out, so strong Kubfu feared he was tearing his muscles from the sheer amount of energy he was pouring into it. All just to-
-miss completely as Dragonite flew to the side and slammed his tail into Kubfu's midsection. It was only Kubfu calling on Endure in the split second before the hit that saved him from falling unconscious. Even so, he was tossed to the ground like a cheap toy, where he lay uselessly, unable to bring himself to stand up.
What's the point? He's just going to dodge and swat me aside again. I'm nothing to him.
"Better give up while you still can," Dragonite growled.
Tears of humiliation streaked down Kubfu's face as he planted his hands on the ground, rising to a hands-and-knees position. He's right…I should just give up.
His eyes wandered over to Ash, who had his hands cupped over his mouth and was shouting something Kubfu couldn't make out over the sounds of Cyrus's team battling Lunatone and Aron. But Kubfu could make out the determination that glittered in Ash's eyes as they stared at him.
But I can't…Ash believes in me. He believes I can be strong. And I have to prove him right!
Kubfu once more rose to a standing position, much to Dragonite's clear shock. Dragonite shook his head. "Hmph. I guess you'll have to learn the hard way."
Dragonite shot forwards, his entire body glowing with energy. Kubfu dodged to the side as Dragonite flew past him; twisting, the Fighting-type crouched again. He just goes into the air every time I try to strike him…so I'm going to have to jump, and hope I can catch him with an attack.
As Dragonite turned to face Kubfu, Kubfu called upon as much strength in his legs as he could and leaped.
He wasn't even close.
Time seemed to slow down as gravity began to take hold. Kubfu felt it dragging him down far short of Dragonite. Just like Zubat, I can't even reach him…and he can just bombard me with ranged attacks until I go down.
What was I thinking? I'll never please Ash with how weak I am. He's probably already considering giving up on me right now. What…
What am I feeling right now?
Something new was surging around Kubfu's fist. Something that was defying the gravity tugging Kubfu down, and instead tugging him up. Something that, instead of simply calling forth energy across Kubfu's fist, surged a new sort of blue-white energy around Kubfu's entire body, propelling him further into the air, straight towards Dragonite.
Dragonite's eyes widened. "Oh, you have got to be-"
Kubfu slammed fist-first into Dragonite, sending the Dragon/Flying-type careening into a large boulder nearby. As Dragonite fell to the floor face-first, groaning in pain, Kubfu plunged to the ground, landing on his feet. His ankles cried out in pain at the impact, but Kubfu barely felt it as a rush of adrenaline surged through him. What did I just do?
"All right, Kubfu!" This time he could make out Ash's cry. "I think you just did Aerial Ace!"
Aerial Ace? Kubfu smirked. I can work with that.
"Get up, Dragonite!" Drake ordered. Kubfu turned in time to see Dragonite rising back to his feet. But now Ash and Clay's teams were surging down the tunnel towards the fighting, along with Cyrus's Zubat; all looked as if they'd been injured by Dragonite and Lunatone's barrages of energy, but all looked fully-battle ready. "Give up, Team Rocket," Clay growled. "You're outnumbered."
"It doesn't matter!" Drake yelled. "We've still got power on our side! Dragonite, blow them away with Hyper Beam!"
"Tympole/Zubat, Supersonic!" Clay and Cyrus chorused. Both Tympole and Zubat let out loud screeches, and Dragonite's Hyper Beam died in its mouth as it instead staggered backwards, then started punching itself in the face.
Drake sighed. "Not again…"
At a telepathic order from Liza, Lunatone blasted Houndour and Murkrow away with another barrage of rocks, then shot forwards, glowing with Psychic power. Zubat's wings seized up and the Poison/Flying-type was thrown into a nearby wall, while Tympole froze, held tightly in Lunatone's mental embrace. But Cyrus was quick to order a Bite from his Sneasel, who leaped away from its fight with Aron and dug its teeth into Lunatone's rocky body. The Psychic/Rock-type groaned and staggered backwards, its Psychic holds on Tympole and Zubat fading.
"Scizor, help out Sneasel!" Ash cried. "Hisuian Growlithe, Flamethrower on that Dragonite!"
As the fighting continued around Kubfu, the Fighting-type spotted Aron stalking towards them. "All right, tough guy," Aron growled. "I ain't scared of you. Just because you managed to break dat net and ward off Dragonite, and just because you're a freakin' Legendary who happens to be four-times super-effective against me, meanin' you could probably quickly and easily knock me out in one hit, doesn't mean I'm scared of you. I'm…uh…" Aron spotted Kubfu's eyes gleaming and gulped. "On second thought, I'm gonna go this way now, if you don't mind."
Kubfu did mind. Which he proceeded to demonstrate with a Rock Smash.
Liza watched as Aron was flung into the cave wall and slumped to the ground, still conscious but only barely, watched as her Lunatone was forced backwards by a barrage of attacks from Cyrus's three Dark-types and Ash's Scizor, and watched as Drake's Dragonite dropped out of Hisuian Growlithe's Flamethrower still Confused and also shuddering with a telltale Burn. "Drake, we're outmatched here! We need to retreat - we can still get the Moon Stone!" Telepathically, she added: Lunatone, Confusion on the ceiling!
Yes, Mistress Liza! Lunatone, still recoiling from the attacks from his numerous adversaries, let loose with a barrage of flying rocks that forced all four away. Then he raised his body and, with a fierce exertion, unleashed a powerful Confusion straight into the ceiling. At the blast the rocks above began to tumble down into the tunnel below.
"Run!" Liza cried. Recalling their Pokemon, Drake and Liza turned and ran as fast as they could down the tunnel, Aron hurtling after them.
"Damn it!" Clay snarled. "Back the other way - we gotta get out of here before the whole cave comes down on us!"
As the three Team Rocket members made their escape, Clay and Cyrus swiftly recalled their Pokemon into their Pokeballs and joined Seymour in fleeing. But while Ash could do that with Scizor and Kubfu, he had no such luxury with Hisuian Growlithe, and so he raced towards the collapsing cave section rather than away, trying to reach for Hisuian Growlithe and recall his other two teammates at the same time.
"Ash, no!" Clay cried.
Even as Ash raced towards Hisuian Growlithe, though, he spotted Kubfu surging at breakneck speed towards the Fire/Rock-type. They locked eyes, and both nodded. Ash recalled Scizor, twisted, and hurled himself in the opposite direction. Calling upon his prodigious strength and his newly-learned Aerial Ace, Kubfu grabbed Hisuian Growlithe around the midsection and lunged after Ash, away from the crumbling ceiling.
They barely made it, giant boulders tumbling to the ground at their heels as they ran back down the tunnel. The noise drowned out everything else; Ash lowered his head and raised his arms, fighting off the storm of dust that accompanied the endless stream of falling rocks, only vaguely aware of Kubfu and Hisuian Growlithe running alongside him.
His foot touched empty air and he fell forwards, letting out a high-pitched scream. Gravity took hold, sending Ash plummeting; for five seconds he was certain he was going to die, and then he hit water. Whatever body of water he'd landed in was sufficiently deep that he didn't hit rock or earth beneath. For a moment he was weightless, floating without understanding which way was up or down, and then he heard a loud splash and an equally loud bark as Kubfu and Hisuian Growlithe landed in the water next to him.
Instantly Ash twisted, opening his eyes despite the strain. He spotted Kubfu struggling to hold both himself and Hisuian Growlithe above the water; swiftly, Ash swam over, grasping both of them in his arms and hauling them both up.
As he broke the surface, Ash quickly looked around for land. Thankfully, he spotted a nearby rocky shoreline that broke the surface nearby. Wrapping one arm around Kubfu and the other around Hisuian Growlithe, Ash continued onwards. Tiredness was already tearing at him, but he didn't stop swimming until he felt rocks beneath his feet. Only then did he rise, dropping his two Pokemon and allowing them to scramble up onto dry land along with him.
Ash sat down heavily against a nearby cave wall and took stock of his surroundings. He was sitting on the shoreline of some kind of underground lake, sitting within a massive cave. Walls extended in a sort of circular formation, stony and forbidding for as far as Ash could see. The only entrance or exit Ash's eyes could make out was the one he'd entered through, which was at least fifteen feet off the ground - and even if Ash could have made it back up there, it was now sealed by a pile of fallen stones, leaving only openings far too small for even Ash's Pokemon, let alone Ash himself.
Ash sighed, beginning to stroke Kubfu and Hisuian Growlithe's fur as they lay next to him. "Stuck in a cave, without any of my friends…what a day this is turning out to be…"
I have learned over the years that I cannot write small. Mount Moon wasn't supposed to take longer than a single chapter. But then I checked Kubfu's moveset and realized he got Aerial Ace, which I wanted to be a 'thing', and next thing you know Mount Moon is a two-part story.
To which all I can really say is 'whoops'.