Well I'm finally back after being gone so long. I've been recently having to write all this down at a library computer since Internet usage has been no longer an option, which is why updates haven't been happening. Strangely, however, I seem to have a signal in one section of my house that has enabled me to get this story written. Pray that this signal does not go away and I'll have plenty more updates to follow through. So please enjoy this story before Zack winds up at your place confused!
Chapter 22: Light Stones
The cave was dark upon entering. Of course for me, I had easy see thanks to my nocturnal vision. As for the rest, they could barely see squat in front of them. They tripped and fell and screamed and- oh all right! They all saw perfectly fine thanks to Charcoal's flaming tail. There. You happy? I know I am! Yet there was something strange about the cave. My nocturnal vision wasn't working completely one hundred percent. It was sort of like there was light inside the cavern, though I wasn't one hundred percent completely sure. I'd probably figure it out later once I've dealt with whatever was going on here in the caves themselves. Back to the prior situation, Ted was up ahead with the Clefairy we met with, whom had attacked us and whom I thought was female because of his appearance. So if male pokemon could look like females, did that mean that they were really females dressed as males in disguise? It hurt my brain thinking about it, so I quit thinking altogether.
Instead, I decided to focus my attention to the conversation Ted and the Clefairy were apparently having up ahead. I shifted my ears slightly and tuned in so I could hear them up close and personal. "So how long ago did you say this attack happened in the caves?" Ted asked. "The one you claimed we are responsible for?"
"You should know," the Clefairy said. "You came trotting your way in here only yesterday and blowing up the cave walls."
"Indeed," Ted said, slightly confusing me. Why was he actually admitting to something we hadn't done? And only two days ago had we left Pewter City and barely just arrived here. So how was it possible for us to destroy a cave we haven't even visited yet? Unless time travel was involled and we had already destroyed the cave but coming back to our own time wiped out our memory of it. Wait. What's going on? Oh. Right. Conversation. "So is there anything you remember from the attack at all?"
"Well," the Clefairy said, pondering what he could remember. "From what I can remember, I was making my usual rounds around the caves, searching for any moonstones I could find."
"A collector of such stones I assume," Ted put in his word of thought. "Like a kind of hobby?"
"Something like that," the Clefairy said.
"That's interesting," Ted said. "So continue."
"Um," the Clefairy said, scratching his head for memories he couldn't quite explain, which made me start believing he was part of the time warp we were in as well. "I'm not sure, but I think there was an explosion nearby the area I was in. It took me by surprise, but I recovered fast and went to investigate the source of the explosion. That's when I saw a group of pokemon walking out from the aftersmoke of the explosion." Yup. Definitely time travel. I was totally interested to hear what would happen next, if it weren't for an itch forming behind my left ear.
All my attention was now focused off the conversation and on the itch that I had to scratch to relieve the irritation. For some odd reason I began lifting up my left hind leg to scratch the itch, yet I couldn't quite stop myself from walking. So being that I had an itch to scratch and I couldn't quite stop myself from walking, I started leaning my head back for my leg to meet halfway, turning my head slightly, only to catch sight of my tail coming into my line of view and right back out again. Then it was back and then it was gone. Then it came back into vision and was out and kept up a quite annoying rhythm, one I had to end.
Turning my head fully my tail was more into view to where I could actually try and grab it. The irritation grew as I continued to watch my own tail swing back and forth. After it swung away from my left side, I shot my head forward in an attempt to grab as it made its way back to the side I was concentrated on. Unfortunately I had forgotten all about my raised leg and winded up with that in my mouth instead. The momentary blank in my brain caused me to finally stumble and fall with my back end straight in the air and my leg still in my mouth. I must have laid there fro maybe about a minute, trying to figure out how to undo everything when I yawned, which released my now cramped leg, which I stretched to free all my locked muscles.
Breathing in deep, I slid my front paws out in front of me to lift myself off the ground and shake all the dirt off my fur. I looked up and noticed that both Ted and the Clefairy were turned around slightly now, looking at something behind me. Interested to know what they were looking at, I turned around to see Charcoal and the two humans staring at something that was behind me as well. Confused just a little, I turned back toward Ted and the Clefairy who were still looking in the same spot, turning back toward the other way to see that the direction of the three haven't changed. It was only then I realized after a few more looks that what they were looking at was me. And all I could do was grin happily!
"Zack," Charcoal spoke. "Do I even want to bother asking what you were just doing?"
"What?" I asked. "All I was trying to do was scratch an itch."
"And yet you somehow winded up with your leg in your mouth," Charcoal said rather slowly.
"I meant to grab hold of my tail," I explained, which sent Charcoal into fits of mumbling and grumbling. I really had no interest to hear what he was saying.
"Shall we continue, Brother Zack?" Ted asked as I got back up on all fours and grinned again. Ted only smiled back before turning and walking again.
"Say Clefairy," I said, speaking up.
"It's Cleft," the Clefairy said.
"Right," I said. "Cleft. I've been meaning to ask you something. Is there something lighting up this cave? Because my nocturnal vision isn't really working all that well for me."
"Yes," Cleft said, veering off the path a little, stooping down and picking something up. We all stopped again as he turned around and held something blue and glowing. I tilted my head to one slightly, curious to know what this object was.
"It's so pretty!" I heard Laura exclaim.
"What is that?" I asked.
"This is what we call a Light Stone around here," Cleft replied.
"A light stone?" I questioned. "Is that what's lighting the cave?"
"It is," Cleft said with a nod, placing the stone back down and resuming our walk. "That's kind of the other thing we do around here. We collect these stones to absorb the light from the sun. By daylight, it's a crystal clear stone right up until the moon rises. Then it turns into a beautiful blue color that illuminates the caves for pokemon to see a little easier in the dark."
"So it's kind of like your version of nocturnal vision," I concluded.
"Something like that, yes," Cleft said as we stopped suddenly, again. "We're here."
"Interesting," Ted said, examining a quite huge hole that was in the cave wall. "You claimed that the explosion happened here, correct?"
"Yes," Cleft replied. "I don't remember too much about what happened after that. I blacked out and woke up, staggering out to run into you lot. It hurts pokemon like us to see our home destroyed like this. And it's up to us to stop the culprits and put an end to their destructive spree."
"And you believe that we are said culprits to have done this sort of thing?" Ted asked.
"You're all a nice sized group of pokemon I mentioned earlier," Cleft said. Still definitely believe it's time travel. "And no one that lives here would do this for any reason at all."
"Yet we're out here helping you get down to the bottom of a mystery that has yet to be solved," Ted said calmly. "Kind of makes you think if culprits like us would do such a thing to go out of our way to help others, wouldn't it?" Cleft remained silent at that question, obviously confused by what Ted said, much to my confusion as well.
Charcoal moved ahead and examined every inch of the hole made while the humans behind me just gawped. "Was this hole always here or did someone recently carve it?" my master asked.
"Hard to tell," Laura said. "I'm no expert on caves."
"Hmm," was all my master said.
"You find anything, Charcoal?" I asked, walking over to him.
"Everything Cleft had told has been true so far," he said, lightly running his hand along the jagged edges of the recent gaping hole in the cave wall. Heh! Funny! "These rough, jagged edges prove that an explosion occurred here. That and the warmth still emitting off from the rock wall." Charcoal continued examining, making his way down inch by inch, stopping briefly and getting a closer look at something. "Strange. This section of the wall smooths down. No rough edges. Seems to go down a good ways."
"What do you mean it's smooth?" Cleft asked as he went and examined it for himeself.
"It means that there must have been a certain type of pokemon that could soften rock, like water or maybe even acid," Charcoal explained.
"But why would a water type travel through here?" Ted asked thoughtfully. "I understand Paras being partially poison, but it doesn't make sense for a water type to travel through here let alone assist in blowing up cave walls. There's a reason they're doing it and I don't think it's for the pleasure."
"It might be because of our moon rock," Cleft said, grabbing our attention.
"Moon rock?" I asked curiously.
"Prior to the moon stones, which are small and easy to carry, our moon rock is a gigantic rock that sits upon a pedestal we Clefairy worship," Cleft explained, talking kind of funny. But I'm sure I was just imagining hearing that.
"Is it like a moon stone?" I asked.
"Yes," Cleft said quietly. "Exactly like one, but only ten times bigger."
"Sure it is," Charcoal said. "And what proof of yours do you have that will make us believe that there's such a stone that size?"
"Follow the hole and we discover the answer," Ted said. "What say you?"
"I'm excited to see all my own!" I said, happiness overcoming me. "Let's go!" With that, we all followed down the path created by whatever group of pokemon made it, which I still assumed was us, but we were soon to find out. My ears straightened up again as I heard Ted and Cleft talk again.
"You all sure are an unusual lot for a group of pokemon," Cleft said.
"We've recently just came together as a sort of team," Ted said. "It's interesting to see just how we'll be able to work together and the team we'll eventually have in the near future. I'm one to sit back and watch events unfold." Cleft remained silent for the rest of the journey down. Ted's big words still confused me, so I just shoved them aside and focused upon what was at the end of the path. I'm not exactly sure how long it was, but it seemed like forever before we finally reached the end of the tunnel, brighter light shining in the distance.
"We're just about there," Cleft said. I could feel my heart race. Was this giant moon stone at the end of the cave along with the pokemon that caused all these nice sized holes? I was hoping both answers would be yes.
"Zack, slow down," Charcoal said. "We don't know where these fun blasting pokemon are let alone how many of them there are. We need to be cautious."
"Right," I said, slowing down my pace as we reached the end of the path. I stopped and stared up right at what was in the middle of the area we were right outside of, or rather inside, I think. If you're inside a cave looking at something that's also inside a cave, but you're not in that particular area, does that make you outside or inside?
"I don't believe it," I heard Charcoal whisper. "My eyes must be playing tricks on me."
'If they were, then this would most definitely be a dream, bro," Ted said.
"What is that thing?" I heard Laura ask, even though she and my master had no idea what it was. Charcoal, Ted, Cleft, and I knew instantly as we stared upon what looked to be like a gigantic rock that could set a new world record. Oh! And it sparkled too.
"My friends," Cleft said. " That is the moonstone we gather around to celebrate and worship its greatness."
"Did it also bring you guys down from space?" I asked curiously.
"Zack!" Charcoal said appauled.
"Shh!" Ted suddenly said. "Someone's coming."
We all turned our attention in the direction Ted was directing us to. My eyes widened and I could feel my blood starting to boil slightly as the culprits who blasted all holes in the cave came into view.