Chapter 8 - Onigirazu
"I don't think so," Phoenix said as the group came to a cave opening that had been named 'Oreburgh Gate.'
"What do you mean?" Yurie asked. "How do you expect to get to Oreburgh?"
Phoenix shrugged. "I'd rather climb over this little hill that everyone calls a mountain than go through that dirty cave."
Cyan thought back to his time going through caves. He hadn't been through many, but he did once traverse Mt. Silver. He thought the idea of going through an easy cave like this one sounded fun.
"Bad experience?" Yurie asked.
Phoenix huffed. "Not necessarily, but we have been traveling on foot for a couple of days now, and we've not gotten ourselves a proper bath. If I go into a cave and get any more dirty, then I'm gonna freak out."
Yurie sort of agreed with Phoenix. She didn't particularly like the idea of walking through a cave, getting dirty, and then having to stay that way for at least another day. She turned to Cyan, who appeared a little bit disappointed with Phoenix.
"What do you recommend we do?" Cyan asked. "I'd actually like to go through. You never know who you're going to see or what kind of Pokémon you might catch. Did you not catch your Excadrill in a cave?"
Phoenix crossed his arms. "Nah. My Excadrill was gifted to me by the gym leader."
Yurie's eyes widened.
"Yeah, I got him as a Drilbur as my first Pokémon," Phoenix continued. "I've pretty much done all that I can do to avoid going through caves. Usually, I just fly everywhere I need to with Talonflame."
Cyan looked into the opening of the cave. There wasn't much to see, as it quickly got dark.
"How about this!" Yurie exclaimed. "Phoenix, you can go ahead. We'll meet you at the Pokémon Center in a couple of days. You can shower, and Cyan can go on a cave adventure. How does that sound?"
"I won't protest to that," Phoenix said. "Sorry if I sound like a diva. I just really don't think I can stand getting any dirtier."
Cyan shrugged. "Hey, dirt isn't for everybody. But, since this is my first chance to go through a cave for fun, I'd like to make the best of it."
"As long as we're all still alright," Phoenix said with a smile. And with that, he threw his Poké Ball into the air. Talonflame emerged, swooped low, picked him up, and carried him upward. In a matter of moments, he was gone.
"You ready for some more hiking?" Yurie asked.
Cyan smiled and then looked down at Vulpix. "Yeah! Let's get dirty!"
The cave floor was damp, and with every step, they felt as though they could have slipped. The air was cool, and the only form of lighting came from the entrance and a few lights set up for travelers. It was a common and fairly short pathway that most trainers had to traverse when traveling through Sinnoh, but without any form of illumination, they were sure to get lost.
"So, how many caves have you traveled through?" Cyan asked, trying to start up any sort of conversation. He didn't regret taking the cave route, but he did quickly realize that there wasn't a lot to talk about.
"Well, I first encountered my Aron in a cave, so that's a good memory! But, I also remember running into some Neo Rocket members in Mt. Moon, so I'd say that I'm fifty-fifty on caves," Yurie exclaimed. "And you?"
"My first trial was in a cave," Cyan said. "And then, I had to go through Mt. Silver. That wasn't easy at all."
Cyan's tone was serious, and Yurie wasn't exactly sure how to respond. She decided to take the lighter route. "What are trials like? I'm sure they're completely different from gyms."
"They were specific challenges for things that you'd face on your journey. In a sense, they were either trying to prepare you for the real world or test you on how much you already know. I think it helped develop my sense of battling but being born in Kanto meant that I always envisioned myself taking on gyms. Trials are fun, but gyms were always ideal," Cyan explained.
Yurie smiled and nodded. "I have one gym badge! I'll admit, earning it was incredibly fun! But, my heart is with contests, and I think I'm pretty good at it!"
"Tor-chic!" her Pokémon added.
"Doing the contest was exciting too! But, there's nothing like battling whenever you have a loud crowd cheering you on!"
Yurie shrugged. "Well, maybe if you'd practice doing more contests, you'd get to a stage where the crowd goes crazy for your every command."
"Oi!" a voice echoed off of the cave walls. The two looked forward to find an elderly man wearing a hard hat. He was pulling himself out of a hole, and with every movement came some sort of grunt.
Cyan and Yurie dashed toward him, thinking that he needed help. However, the old man managed to pull himself from the hole and quickly get to a standing position.
"Are you okay?" Cyan asked.
The man appeared to be taken by surprise. Even though the two had made a fuss about quickly getting to him, he hadn't noticed.
"Oh? Hello! Who's there?" the man wondered.
Cyan waved his hand slowly in front of the man. "Um, my name is Cyan!"
"And, I'm Yurie!"
The man pulled off his goggles and then observed the two. He was about as tall as Cyan, and his face was covered with a thick white beard. He had a scrawny body with a little bit of muscle definition.
"I've never seen you around here before," the man said. "Are you here to dig? The name is Unsho, but everyone calls me the underground man!"
"It's nice to meet you, Unsho! I'm sorry, but we're not here to-" Yurie started to say.
"We can dig with you? Let's dig!" Cyan interrupted. "You said you're the underground man? Do we go underground?"
"Of course!" Unsho exclaimed. "Let me get a drink of water, and then we'll go spelunking! I promise it's a good time, and you might end up finding some sort of treasure!"
Yurie slightly recoiled. She now thought about how things would be had she gone with Phoenix.
"C'mon!" Unsho shouted once he finished drinking from his water bottle. He then started to grunt as he slowly worked his way back into the giant hole that he had dug.
Cyan smiled at Yurie and then followed suit. Vulpix leaped onto his shoulder and was wary about getting any of the mud on her tails. Yurie grimaced stamped her feet, but then took a deep breath and followed.
Phoenix stepped out of the shower and ran the towel through his blonde hair. He used his hand to wipe some of the fog from the mirror while he checked himself out. He had made sure to clean every inch of his body, and he felt rejuvenated.
He slipped into his red pajamas and then sat down on the bed. It was getting late, but it wasn't quite the time for him to go to sleep just yet. He looked at the Poké Balls that he had placed on the small coffee table and contemplated momentarily. He opened his bag and pulled out a small agenda, quickly flipping through it.
"Next battle looks like it'll be in Hearthrome City," he commented to no one in particular. "That ain't too far from here."
He closed the agenda quickly and then moved to place it back into his bag. However, before he could, a small envelope that had been placed in the front folder fell out. Phoenix paused and looked at the envelope. He gently tossed the agenda back into his bag before picking up the envelope. He slowly turned it around and read the name that was scribbled on the front, Avery.
Phoenix stood up and then walked to the small trashcan that was next to the door. He threw the envelope down, turned off the light, and then went to bed.
"Keep hammerin' away!" Unsho shouted. "You can't give up, even if you get nothin'!"
Yurie kept hitting her small pickaxe against the wall. She had been doing it for thirty minutes but to no avail.
The underground area was much different than the cave. A lighting rig had been set up, illuminating the entirety of the area, and it was dry, which meant that they did not slip.
Yurie couldn't see herself trying for much longer. She looked over at Cyan, who also had no luck, but the boy didn't seem dejected by one bit. He was given a hammer, and he enjoyed smashing it against the wall in a random pattern. With every hit, the wall crumbled slightly, but Unsho ensured them that it wouldn't collapse.
"You're having a lot of fun with the hammer. Can we switch?" Yurie suggested.
Cyan hit the wall one more time and then smiled. "Of course! The hammer is a bit heavy though, so be careful!"
The two switched pickaxe and hammer. Yurie had to hold the hammer with two arms, but something about having it in her hands made her feel powerful. She looked at the wall, reeled back, and then swung as hard as she could. The wall shook and crumbled upon impact, and Yurie was startled into taking a few steps backward. When the wall stopped rumbling, Yurie's eyes widened, and she couldn't herself from squealing with joy.
"I found something! I found something!" she said.
"What is it?" Unsho asked. He dropped his tools and then came in closer. He removed his goggles and observed Yurie's findings.
Cyan was close enough to see it already. He kept the pickaxe up, wanting to get to swinging already, but he knew it'd be rude to pick at the wall while Yurie celebrated.
"I-I don't know!" Yurie exclaimed, still excited because she simply found something.
Unsho reached up with both hands and pulled out two shards, one red and one green.
"A good find! You got yourself a red shard and a green shard! It's not a bad dig!" Unsho said with a laugh. "Collect nine more of each, and you'll be able to make some good trades around Sinnoh!"
"Huh? Nine more?"
"Yeah! So, keep diggin'!" Unsho said with a smile.
Cyan couldn't help but chuckle. He swung his pickaxe once at the wall, causing a little bit to crumble away. But unlike the times when used his hammer, this was more precise, and he could see something peeking out behind the cave wall. He lightly picked away at the surrounding area until he knew that he had for sure found something.
"I think I got something!" Cyan exclaimed. He put down the pickaxe and then grabbed at the item in the wall. With one tug, he pulled out what looked like any regular part of the wall. However, in the middle was an oval-shaped stone that protruded outward.
Unsho's mouth was left agape, and he looked to Yurie as if to ask if she knew what it was. She didn't.
"You got yourself a fossil!" Unsho shouted. "That's amazing! Mind showing me it?"
Cyan turned it around and showed off the oval-shaped fossil.
"Wow! Cyan, that's quite the special find! If you take that fossil to the museum in Oreburgh, they'll be able to scan it and potentially bring that creature back to life! Digging is great, but science is amazing!"
"So, Cyan gets a fossil, and I have worthless shards?" Yurie wondered. "I'd like to leave now."
Cyan wrapped seaweed around the thin layer of rice, finishing off the small sandwich-like meal. He handed it over to Yurie, who took it without looking at him. She observed the wrap. It wasn't exactly the most beautifully prepared. The spam and egg that Cyan had cooked were ready to explode out of the embrace of the rice and seaweed. She just knew that she'd have to teach him how to better prepare it at a different time. She took a bite of it. Despite its presentation, it was delicious.
"Sorry if you feel like you wasted your time today," Cyan said. He looked up at the night sky, observing the stars. "I could tell that you weren't too happy with going underground, but I'm thankful that you went anyway. It's doing this kind of stuff with friends that makes it fun for me."
Yurie swallowed. "Originally, when I left for my journey, everything that I did made me uncomfortable. I learned that I had to face that feeling, and some of the rewards from facing those challenges have given me memories that I'll cherish forever. Today's rewards are arguably terrible, but I can't win every day."
Cyan looked down at his bag and the new fossil. "Well, it looks like we'll have a new friend in a couple of days! I say that's a win for all of us!"
AUTHOR'S NOTES:
Another different kind of chapter, but one that I was excited to write. I got to work on Phoenix's character a bit, and it looks like Cyan is due for another fossil Pokémon some point in the future!
Next chapter, I think it's time that Cyan tries out his first gym!
REVIEWS:
pokemonking0924 - "This was a simple yet fun chapter, it reminds me of when Ash and his friends just have fun with their Pokémon. This has got to be one of the most exciting games of tag ever, just imagine how intense it would be if all three trainers had a full team with them. I bet the red envelope contains a letter from Logan, wonder what he has written." - I don't know if I could do a full team. This already took me so long to write! Haha
Besprizornye - "I really enjoy these little breather chapters. You do a good job of maintaining an ebb and flow of action, and something like a simple game of tag can serve two valuable purposes by letting the temperature of the plot cool and giving the chance to let your characters shine. I would only caution that trying to cover so many characters can lead to the trap of predictability as I had a good idea of how the game of tag would develop simply by identifying which pokémon character had not yet received the focus of the others. It's not a blight on your very enjoyable chapter, but simply something to keep in mind!" - You're 100% correct with your criticism here. I could sense the predictability of it about a third of the way through, and I knew that I had to try to mix it up in some sort of fashion. I don't intend on ever writing a game of tag again, but it is something to learn from and be careful of.