TRAINER ID
Name: Daniel Ingram
Badges: 3
Account: 37,346 credits
Location: Granite Cave

DANIEL'S TEAM
Kirlia (Apollo) - Male
Crawdaunt (Duran) - Male
Eevee (Orion) - Male
Trapinch - Female

It didn't take long after passing the sign marking the entrance to the deeper, more dangerous caverns of Granite Cave for me to start noticing some differences.

For one, the tunnels got bigger – a lot bigger, which ran counter to what I'd been expecting. I suspected this was likely the work of Onix, and I got the sense that I had begun traveling on a sort of highway for them, which made me extra cautious. I also started seeing more loose rubble lying around and large chunks of the wall dug out that I knew had to be the result of some sort of Pokémon activity.

It looked like literal bites taken out of the wall if I had to hazard a guess, since I could have sworn that some of the divots and scrapes in the wall looked like teeth marks, though it was entirely possible that they were from claws or something similar as well.

"Sense anything?" I muttered to Apollo when I felt him slightly tense and tighten his hold on me. He was taking another short break from walking by riding on my shoulder – for how far we'd traveled he was doing remarkably well, but his legs still weren't the strongest so I was doing my best to give him some relief whenever I could, although I could only carry him for short bursts every so often.

Hesitancy. "Sense… something. Bad feelings, I think."

I frowned, not liking the sound of that. "What kind of feelings?"

He closed his eyes and focused, and I felt him shiver slightly a moment later.

Uncertainty. Unease. "Feel fuzzy, faint. Many mixed, but none good. Anxious, sad, scared."

That probably should have been the point where I counted my losses on our expedition being a failure and just turned around to leave, realizing that we were just asking for trouble if we continued. Under normal circumstances, I likely would have.

But by this point, I was far too invested in figuring out what was going on in Granite Cave. We still hadn't seen a single Pokémon after traveling for what was approaching two hours, and I had a mixture of determination and curiosity that demanded satiation.

Perhaps even more importantly, it was our first 'adventure' in quite some time, and I simply refused to allow it to be a complete and utter failure.

Orion needed as much practice as he could get before our gym challenge, Trapinch deserved to put all her hard work to the test, and Duran was itching for a good battle. Apollo could probably take it or leave it since he wasn't exactly what I would call a battle junkie, but as I contemplated these things and considered turning around, I felt his unwavering support and agreement with my gut instinct to continue with caution.

After all, my main goal as a trainer was to become strong enough to be able to handle anything that came our way, and we were never going to achieve that by backing down at the first sign of adversity and uncertainty. We were still fairly low in the pecking order when it came to trainers, but we were at a point where we could quite decisively handle most wild Pokémon we might encounter, and that was before my two oldest companions had evolved. I had complete faith in their ability to handle themselves so long as I idiotically pit them against something like an Aggron or Golem, which I had no intention of doing.

Orion poked his head out of my hoodie of his own accord, which was unusual for him to do in dark or confined places. He no longer constantly trembled in the pitch-black darkness as he once had, but he preferred to stay snuggled in my pouch where he felt safe unless something grabbed his attention.

And something had definitely done that. His ears weren't folded back, but were twitching and rotating ahead as they tried to dial in on something I couldn't hope to hear.

I wordlessly queried Apollo to get information from Orion, and after a brief moment to confer with Orion he informed me that there were some sort of 'knocking' sounds coming from ahead. As we cautiously kept pressing forward, Apollo soon noted that he was beginning to get a clearer picture of what we were coming up on.

Multiple minds, at least ten, and many emotions – some strong, some subtle. He shared with me feelings of sadness, confusion, fear, anger, and more that painted a clear picture of overall distress and unease.

I had no idea what was going on, but I knew we needed to be exceedingly careful, because whatever Pokémon we were soon to encounter were surely on edge. Apollo didn't get the sense that they were actively hostile, but if we weren't mindful in our approach it wasn't hard to imagine us becoming the target of their frustrations.

It was around this time I began to accept that there was a very strong possibility that we were going to end up leaving the cave without doing any of the battling that I'd wanted. I wasn't about to force the issue if the cave's residents weren't up to it – challenging a horde of Joltik was one thing, but doing so given the current situation would be exceedingly disrespectful, callous, and dangerous, particularly deep in a cave where escape wasn't such a simple matter.

Battling was probably off the table, but satisfying my burning curiosity and seeing if there was anything we could do to help the cave's residents pushed me forward. Ascertaining what was troubling them should be easy enough with Apollo's particular skill set, and although I doubted we'd be able to do anything I wouldn't feel good about leaving without at least trying.

The already wide tunnel began opening up even more ahead of us, signaling we were arriving at yet another chamber. The moment we began rounding the corner, I began to hear thumps, thuds, and other similar scuffling sounds that signaled to me that there were Pokémon we were moments away from encountering, and that they were likely aware of our presence.

Agitated. Nervous. Wary. Protective. "Twelve minds. Few defensive, maybe hostile, but most timid."

I frowned, stopping in the tunnel's bend just short of the chamber's entrance. I was extremely tempted to send out Duran and have him stay in front as our shield and first line of defense, but I had a nagging feeling that it was likely to escalate an already tense situation. As much as I loved Duran, he undeniably looked rather scary and threatening, an unfortunate byproduct of his species. Pokémon relied heavily on intuition and instincts, and Duran would be an evolved water type waltzing into the sanctuary of what I assumed were mostly rock-types, glaring at them challengingly and daring one of them to give him a reason to fight.

So despite knowing Duran was best equipped to keep us safe, I decided to keep him recalled for the time being. It wasn't quite the logical decision, but everything in me was screaming that the more I allowed myself to be vulnerable and sincere, the better our odds were of avoiding escalating the situation.

On that note, it dawned on me that my flashlight was probably the most unwelcome thing about us, and that shining it around the room would likely come off as extremely rude, possibly even threatening. I had half a mind to turn it off and try speaking to whatever Pokémon lay in the room ahead in complete darkness, but settled on swapping out the flashlight for my lantern on its lowest setting. It would mean that I couldn't see more than a short distance away from me, but hopefully it wouldn't be quite as intrusive and blinding as pointing a flashlight in the face of cave-dwelling Pokémon who preferred total darkness.

"Here we go… Stay alert," I muttered as I took a few steps forward, placing myself right at the entrance of the chamber.

"Should I try talk to them? Minds open," Apollo suggested as his weight suddenly disappeared from my shoulders and he stood by my side, but I shook my head.

"It will probably scare them to have a psychic suddenly in their head. I'm going to see if any will approach us for a friendly chat, and we'll go from there. Just keep a read on their emotions so we know if they are about to attack."

Gripping the lantern in one hand and Duran's Net Ball in the other, I took a few more steps forward and stood at the room's entrance, taking a deep breath to calm myself before speaking as friendly and genuinely as I could.

"We mean no harm, we're just visiting your beautiful home. Can we talk? I just have a few questions about what's going on here. I'll reward you for your time with some food, and promise not to fight or catch any of you without your permission."

I stood still and listened intently, trying my best to remain calm and confident as I heard shuffling and hushed murmuring from deeper in the room. But after waiting for nearly a minute and no longer hearing any noises, I concluded that nobody was going to approach.

"We only wanted to explore your beautiful cave, have a few friendly battles against any Pokémon who were willing, and maybe recruit a member for our team if they were a good fit and interested in traveling with us. But it's obvious there's something wrong – we want to understand and help if we can. Can someone please come talk to us? My partner is a telepath who can translate, so communication won't be an issue."

A few more sounds could be heard, and my heart started to hammer in my chest when a series of fairly heavy thumps began to slowly approach. I stood my ground and focused on my breathing, confident that whatever Pokémon were present weren't actively looking for a fight since they hadn't immediately attacked, and having full faith that Apollo would know anything dangerous was about to happen.

Skeptical. Curious. Defensive.

As much as I tried to steel my nerves, they were momentarily rattled as the two emissaries came close enough to be barely illuminated by my lantern. On one hand, I was relieved to find that it was a large Lairon that had been approaching, not something more dangerous like a Golem, Hariyama, or Aggron.

But that wasn't what caused my heart to skip a beat. It was the Mawile that accompanied – a Pokémon that I hadn't been mentally prepared to encounter. The last time I'd seen one of the species, its maw had been wrapped around the head of a Nurse Joy as Walker toyed with her life.

Reassurance. "Not same. Cannot blame for actions of kin."

I took a deep breath and did my best to push the image of Nurse Joy sobbing helplessly out of my mind. After all, Apollo was right – just because I had a bad experience with one member of a species didn't mean I should attribute it to every one I ever encountered. If that were the case, then I'd have never felt comfortable having Roxy around the camp after seeing the raw brutality of the enraged Geodude back in Rusturf Tunnel.

Come to think of it, I still didn't know what had caused that Geodude to go berserk. I couldn't help but wonder if it was perhaps one of the earliest cases of Pokérus, since I was quite confident that none of my Pokémon had come in physical contact with it.

Urgency. Impatience. "Focus. They waiting for you."

I cleared my throat, kneeling down to be more at their level before setting the lantern on the ground. "Hi, I'm Daniel and this is Apollo. Thanks for coming to talk to us… As I said before, we were hoping to have a few friendly battles for practice and fun – I've got healing supplies so nobody would get seriously hurt, but I get the feeling you all might not be feeling up to it… Is everything alright?"

The two cave-dwellers exchanged a meaningful look between eachother, muttering so quietly that neither Apollo nor I could hope to make it out. Luckily, we had Orion discretely listening in, and Apollo was currently holding a link between both of us to serve as an instant translator.

"Think you not want to take them away like older humans, look and act different. Wonder if I strong, not seen another like me."

I waited patiently, trying not to take them discussing Apollo's possible strength as a threat. Despite doing my best to be friendly, I couldn't help but find myself quite wary of the Mawile. I knew first-hand that they could cause Apollo to flinch by using Astonish, and given our close proximity it could spell his death if the Mawile got its jaws around him. But Apollo was standing right in front of me within my reach, Orion was an unknown attendant hidden in my hoodie pouch, and I had Duran's ball clenched discreetly at my side ready to release at a moment's notice, so it wasn't as though we were completely defenseless if they decided to turn on us, which I didn't find to be likely.

The Lairon chose to speak to us directly, grunting something at Apollo as the Mawile watched intently.

"Not want battle, will cause even more to disappear. All warriors taken by humans when too much fighting – only weak, old, solitary remain. Want know if you can tell where others went, and when coming back. Other humans promised, but losing faith."

I sighed, running my free hand through my hair. The situation suddenly made a lot of sense when viewed from their perspective – it would indeed appear to them that the abundant battling that had surely occurred when Pokérus swept the cave was what caused the Rangers to clean house. I could also see how the strong and battle-hungry among them would contract the virus, while those who were more passive, skittish, and recluse were mostly spared.

"The others are fine," I tried to reassure them. "It wasn't the fighting that made the Rangers come, they weren't in trouble or anything. It wasn't their fault and they couldn't help it, they were just sick and it made them confused and angry. I'm sure you must have noticed that there were a lot more battles than usual, and they were probably much more intense than usual. Your friends and family just need some time alone to rest and feel better, where they can recover and won't accidentally hurt anyone. They'll be back soon, things are getting better."

This time, it was the Mawile that spoke up, without any sort of conference between the two.

"Want to trust, but trusted Rangers and they raid home. Others missing for long time, start to think won't come back. They not want battle or words, only want others returned."

I frowned, realizing that was their way of saying 'return our friends or buzz off'. As I considered if there was anything more I could or should say to help alleviate their worries, Orion suddenly poked his head out of my hoodie pouch, causing my heart to skip a beat as I saw the two emissaries recoil defensively in surprise at seeing him.

"This is Orion – he's a total sweetheart, so please don't worry," I explained hurriedly as I held my free hand up placatingly, glancing down to give Orion a questioning and mildly disapproving look as his ears swiveled around.

I suddenly felt an impact hit me from behind, causing me to not only knee myself in the chin and knock over the lantern, but also accidentally release Duran as the hand that had been clutching his Net Ball reflexively planted into the ground to catch myself. I managed not to fully tip over, but it was enough of a forward lean to send Orion tumbling out of my pocket, suddenly leaving three Pokémon where there had only been one just moments ago.

A few growls and roars, a yelp from Orion, the sounds of a jaw snapping just after the familiar pop of a teleport, and a shriek from behind me as something tore into my backpack all rang out at once as hell broke loose and our friendly conversation suddenly turned sour. I stumbled to my feet as I gripped the straps of my backpack and jerked back and forth, trying to rid myself of whatever Pokémon had latched itself onto my back and was attempting to tear into me.

The situation instantly devolved into a clusterfuck and a skirmish commenced, with some of the Pokémon previously on the far side of the cave rushing over to join the fray as various cries and attacks rang out. There was a lot happening at once, and I didn't have a good view of what was happening thanks to the already dim lantern rolling a short distance away, but I do know that my team's response was decisive and unyielding.

I barely caught the sound of Duran unleashing a torrent of water before Apollo let loose an ear-piercing Disarming Voice that sent me to my knees, shattering my equilibrium. The enclosed cave surely amplified the attack, but it felt as though the move was aimed directly at me – and it was utterly crippling and disorienting.

Though I would be left questioning whether Apollo's choice of attack was an optimal one given our environment and the events that would follow, it was undoubtedly effective in getting whatever was latched onto me to abandon its assault and dislodge itself from my back. My ears were ringing and I was having trouble balancing, so I was completely dependent on my team to keep me safe and make their own decisions in the moments that followed as my senses slowly returned and the ringing in my ears dulled.

After regaining some of my orientation, stumbling to the lantern and cranking it up to its highest setting, I realized that the battling around me had begun to subside and that my team had decided it prudent to 'escalate' without my command. Not that I could exactly blame them – after all, we weren't dealing with another trainer or their Pokémon, and I had sort of been attacked suddenly, so it was as justified of a situation as any to do so.

Still, it became obvious to me that my team had responded to the perceived aggression with extreme prejudice, and although I didn't immediately notice any grievous wounds on the fallen combatants it was clear my team definitely hadn't pulled any punches either. In my immediate vicinity were both 'emissaries' crumpled to the floor and a Sableye lying unconscious just behind me, leading me to believe it had been the instigator that pounced on me.

My mind was racing to make sense of what had happened as I took in the scene. Duran was the furthest away, planted between our group and a small handful of cave-dwelling Pokémon who looked like they were torn between retreating from the bright light or helping their downed comrades. Duran's claws were raised and snapping at them as he gurgled a warning challenge at the multiple Pokémon that had wisely halted their advance. It was difficult to see with my vision still a little rattled, but I was able to make out multiple Aron and Geodude as well as two Makuhita – one of which was slumped against a boulder in a puddle of water while the other frantically attempting to help it up, clearly having been rebuked for trying to get involved.

Realistically, none of the Pokémon I saw would have stood a chance against Duran in the best of circumstances, let alone when he was serving as a sentry for his threatened family. Thankfully, it appeared that they had the good sense not to test their luck against my agitated crustacean as he squared off with protective resolve, since they began to slowly and cautiously retreat.

Duran wasn't the only one forcing a stalemate. Orion's fur was standing on end and he looked more threatening and self-assured than I'd ever seen him as he slowly circled and growled in warning at the downed Mawile, which looked to be extremely disoriented and barely clinging to consciousness as it weakly struggled in a feeble attempt to get back on its feet. The Lairon who had been talking to us was completely out cold, drenched in water a short distance away with scrapes along the floor that indicated it had been body-checked by the full force of Duran's Aqua Jet.

As for Apollo… well, he was currently standing guard over the fainted Sableye, staring down at his felled foe with a somewhat vacant and distant look. I could tell from his presence still in my head that his mind was elsewhere, but I didn't know where his focus was until I felt a second presence gently brush against my mind, politely seeking entry.

Reassurance. "Is safe. Want to talk, want peace and calm."

I didn't see any psychics in our presence and honestly had no idea which might be residing in Granite Cave, but I trusted my partner wholeheartedly and got the sense that he had already somehow vetted the unknown psychic.

I let the presence in – there was a 'weight' to it that told me that whoever I was about to talk to wasn't exactly a 'weak' psychic, yet I also immediately got the distinct impression that it was on the timid side. It was as if my guest had only stepped one foot into the proverbial door to my mind, just enough to communicate but doing everything possible not to overstep any boundaries or appear threatening.

"Peace, brethren! Not need conflict! Mistake, none wish harm!"

The 'voice' in my head was reasonably clear in tone, although I couldn't glean much additional information apart from a slight hint of pleading distress and an obvious lack in their grasp of the human language. I got the sense that although they were more than capable of communicating telepathically it wasn't something they did often, especially with humans.

"We don't want conflict either, but we will respond forcefully when attacked," I responded as Orion let loose a couple of Swifts at the Mawile, knocking it back onto the ground and barking what I presumed was an order to stop trying to get up.

"Fair. Birthright. But wrong, not attack. Mistakes, not betray."

I sighed in frustration, whistling for my team to regroup on me. I shrugged my backpack off my shoulder and inspected the massive tears that exposed a few of my supplies that threatened to slip out, groaning as I realized that the backpack I'd had with me since starting the journey was done for. True, it had already been heavily used by the time Miss Augustine had given it to me and already had some frays and tatters that signaled it was at the final stretch of its lifespan, but it had served me well and been perfectly functional. I didn't normally consider myself sentimental about such things, but it had been with me from the very beginning of my journey. I didn't doubt that I'd end up with something better, but I'd been hoping it would be able to last me until I was in any position to get something space-tech, and I couldn't help but feel a sense of loss at having to retire it early.

"It would be nice to be able to see who I was speaking to," I commented over the link with the unknown messenger, hoping that perhaps they could speak to Apollo and I could have him translate to overcome the huge language barrier.

A moment of trepidation, then appearing with an echoing pop only a short distance ahead was a Kadabra – a surprise that slightly put me on edge. It was a fair bit larger than both Duran and Apollo, but I could tell by both its body language and presence that it wasn't intending to fight. Despite the size difference, it looked exceedingly wary of Duran in particular, who let loose a low rumble and tensed in anticipation of a battle, but a low drawn-out whistle from me was enough to get him to stand down, although he didn't drop his guard completely.

There was a subtle nod from the Kadabra, either as thanks or as a sign of respect toward Duran, I couldn't be sure. Orion and Apollo stood dutifully at each side of me, observing our latest and hopefully last emissary appraisingly.

"See? Peace," the Kadabra sent as it raised its hands with palms spread placatingly in a surprisingly human gesture.

"No spoon," I observed out loud, recalling that Kadabra tended to have a spoon to help channel their psychic power while Alakazam would normally wield two. It wasn't unheard of for members of their species to not have a conduit, and it wasn't always a spoon, but an elongated piece of metal seemed to be their preferred tool, particularly one they could bend and manipulate telekinetically without breaking.

"As say, no warrior," the Kadabra responded as their head noticeably slumped, looking slightly self-conscious or embarrassed.

"So why did your friend pounce me?" I asked as I jerked my head toward the downed Sableye. "It sure didn't seem like a 'mistake' to me. Did they just happen to fall on me from the ceiling and tear into my back by accident trying to catch themselves?"

The Pokémon visibly hesitated, then did another very human action that took me by surprise.

The Kadabra shrugged – palms up and all.

"Friend, no. See, not know. Think search, not harm."

"Apollo, can you help me out here?" I pleaded in exasperation, at my wit's end with trying to decipher the Kadabra. It reminded me a lot of when I'd first met Apollo, yet I felt like Apollo tended to speak very plainly while this Kadabra was being more conceptual and ambiguous.

Apollo and our guest focused on one another as they had a silent conversation, and although telepathy tended to be extremely efficient compared to talking, I got the sense that there was some back and forth happening because it took longer than I expected.

Realistically, it was a matter of a few seconds, but it seemed like a long time. Not only because of the lingering tension from the recent scuffle, but because Orion started to get noticeably anxious. After repeatedly having picked up on things long before Apollo or me, I'd learned to take it seriously whenever he was alerted to something. So when his ears once again started swiveling in an attempt to hone in on something I couldn't hope to hear, I paid close attention.

"What is it," I asked Orion as I knelt down, letting Apollo work on cutting out the language barrier while Duran remained steadfast and watchful, ready to respond to any threat at a moment's notice.

Alarmingly, Orion responded with a series of hoarse barks followed by a nervous whine as he laid his ears back and tucked his tail, beginning to tremble. Whatever he'd said was enough to get the attention of every Pokémon present, as my entire team focused in on him intently.

Concern. "Depths rumbling. Something big coming, maybe many," Apollo relayed, causing my eyes to widen.

"Shit…" I hissed, realizing that it probably wasn't a good idea to be loitering around downed cave dwellers after Apollo just let loose a Disarming Voice that the entire cave no doubt heard. Realistically, we weren't too far beyond the sign that had warned we were entering more dangerous territory, and it seemed likely that not all of the remaining Pokémon would be sticking together like the group we'd stumbled upon. It was obvious that this group had retreated deeper into the cave and were employing a 'strength in numbers' philosophy, and if this was as deep as a Lairon and Kadabra were willing to go, I could only assume there were much stronger Pokémon preventing them from wanting to recede any further.

It dawned on me that there were likely two 'categories' of Pokémon that remained in the cave. These were the weaker, non-combative Pokémon who didn't tend to engage in battle. Deeper were almost surely the Pokémon that were simply so strong that others dared not challenge them, leaving them uninfected.

I heard a faint yet deep roar echoing through the cave, which was slowly beginning to rumble.

"Threatening challenge," Apollo informed me worriedly, confirming my suspicions that whatever was coming was indeed angry and aggressive.

"Awoke mighty tunnelers," the Kadabra supplied as they took a step back, a disturbing note of reverence and outright fear in their telepathic tone.

'There wasn't a doubt in my mind that 'tunnelers' meant Onix, which meant we were officially in over our head.

"We're leaving," I said firmly, feeling my heart ache just a little at the brief slouching of disappointment Duran displayed as he disappeared into a beam of light, promptly recalled. As much as I trusted my team and wanted to prove that we were capable of standing our ground when faced with danger, my sensible side was screaming at me that confronting what could very well be an enraged horde of Onix was monumentally stupid, even for me.

I wanted nothing more than to be the type of trainer who could stand confidently and calmly in the face of any threat, no matter how powerful and imposing – but there was zero point in needlessly risking our lives over a sense of pride, ambition, or self-validation. We needed to leave as fast as possible, I knew that for sure.

Worry. Panic. Disapproval. "Can keep up, don't–"

"No. Sorry, but I can't have you exhausted if a fight becomes inevitable," I apologized sincerely as I recalled Apollo next, wincing slightly at the flood of emotions he briefly sent me before disappearing. The only way he would possibly be able to keep up would be by constantly teleporting, and we had a long way to go to the entrance. If our pursuers caught up and we were left with no choice but to fight, I needed both him and Duran as battle-ready as possible, because it was going to be an extremely uphill battle if that happened.

"I need you with me Orion, come on buddy," I said urgently as I clipped Apollo's Pokéball to my belt before pulling my front pocket open wide, catching him as he lept in without hesitation.

"Futile! Humans slow, tunnelers fast, carve own path. Sense vibrations, find, follow, burrow."

I was already running with the lantern in hand, having forgotten that I still had another psychic in my mind until that helpful vote of confidence in our chances of escape. In retrospect, it probably wasn't the brightest idea to recall my primary means of mental defense when an evolved natural telepath was already firmly embedded into my psyche, but it had been a no-brainer to me that both Duran and Apollo were better off in their balls. I'd nearly done the same for Orion, but I felt like having a good set of ears and not leaving myself totally defenseless was a good decision. He could easily keep pace with me if needed, and he was small enough that carrying him on my person was inconsequential. He wasn't slowing me down, and the potential benefits of keeping him with me far outweighed the additional time and risk that came with recalling him as well.

"Can you stop them? Explain we did nothing wrong?" I pleaded over the link despite having already rounded the corner and left the chamber behind, running as fast as I felt I could manage without tripping or stumbling. There were a lot of loose rocks and pebbles randomly scattered throughout the tunnel, and I was doing my best to pay close attention to both the ground and what lay ahead, watching for the markers that Apollo had been leaving on our way down.

"No. Simple minds, little reason. Maybe if calm, but not."

I resisted the strong urge to roll my eyes, focusing on the path ahead as I began pushing away the presence in my mind, signaling it was no longer welcome. As much as I would have loved to have the psychic keep feeding me bad news and ill omens while I ran for my life, I needed to focus all my attention on moving as quickly and efficiently as possible.

"Wait!" the disembodied presence 'yelled', and against my better judgment I quit pushing and let it remain.

"What?!"

"Help. Is fair."

The Kadabra appeared right in my path, forcing me to stop with a stumble. I was surely wearing a huge scowl, not having yet processed anything other than that the Kadabra was blocking my only route to potential safety, but before I could say or do anything about it, the Kadabra touched my thigh and I lurched.

Though that was my third time ever teleporting, it was the first that I'd experienced so suddenly. My first time I had been prepared for and expecting, and although it was extremely jarring that was mostly due to the distance we'd traveled. Going half-way across the region in the blink of an eye was a much bumpier ride than when Warren had taken me to a secluded sandbank not far from Dewford, but in both cases I'd been hitching a ride with an elite-level, fully evolved psychic.

This time, I was being transported by a wild Kadabra. Though I was far from an expert on psychics, I'd been exposed to a good handful of different ones by that point, and the impression I got from Kadabra was that it wasn't exactly well-practiced in using its powers, despite having somehow managed to evolve. Their presence felt unrefined, and I felt reasonably confident in my conclusion that they didn't use telepathy or their psychic abilities very often.

But teleport… well, teleporting was Abra's specialty, and a Kadabra that didn't participate in battles frequently would likely end up utilizing it a fair amount to keep itself out of harm's way.

As a Ralts, Apollo had been rather skilled with teleport. After all, he couldn't exactly walk to get where he was going with any semblance of timeliness, so he had adapted to utilize the move as his primary form of transportation. He was great at it, better than nine out of ten psychic species you might randomly come across, and I might sometimes even go so far as to say he was a natural at it.

But in truth, he wasn't. He was a natural empath – it was where his species shined above all others, something innate to his species that he instinctively knew how to harness from the moment he was born. I wasn't there to witness Apollo hatching from an egg, but I'd have wagered that he wasn't teleporting around in his first hours and days on this earth.

An Abra though? Just as Ralts were natural empaths, Abra were natural teleporters. Everyone knew that if you wanted to travel long distances as smoothly as possible, it was worth the extra fee and wait time to reserve an Alakazam in particular. Abra themselves famously teleported around in their sleep without even meaning to or trying, because it just came so naturally to them.

So when I found myself standing just a short distance inside the entrance of Granite Cave looking at sunlight beaming through the cave's mouth, I really shouldn't have been as surprised as I was. I couldn't rightfully say how far we'd just gone in one direction since the cave complex was a series of winding tunnels, but it was probably a mile or two as a straight shot if I had to guess.

Despite the relatively short distance and the fact that I was being transported by the species of Pokémon with the best mastery of teleport, it was nausea-inducing. Whether due to some sort of added difficulty performing it through dense layers of rock, or perhaps a reflection of the Kadabra's inexperience transporting others, it was nearly as bad as my first time teleporting. I couldn't keep my footing and fell flat on my ass, feeling dizzy from disorientation and immense relief to be somewhere I was certain would be safe. Even if the Onix could locate where we had gone, which I highly doubted, there was no way they were going to risk coming to the surface over their annoyance at being rudely awoken.

I should have known that if my third time teleporting had me feeling so queasy, Orion would be a lot worse off. There was a brief moment where I kind of forgot he was still in my hoodie as I waited for my senses to return for the second time of the day, but it didn't take long at all for me to be reminded not only of his presence, but the fact that he had never actually been teleported before.

Unlike me, he wasn't able to grapple with the sudden rush of disorientation, which unfortunately yet predictably resulted in him throwing up in my hoodie.

"Shit… You alright buddy?" I asked as I carefully extracted him, grimacing as I saw the remnants of his breakfast coating his chest and front paws.

"Sorry. Always self, never others. Difficult, try best," the Kadabra apologized with a note of exhaustion in its tone and a slight sway, visibly panting yet managing to stay on its feet as it began wringing its hands in embarrassment at its shoddy work.

"Don't be sorry, you saved us. Thank you, we owe you one," I said sincerely as I forced myself to my feet.

"As say, fair. Mistakes, not malice."

A few items came tumbling out of the gouges in my backpack as I finished standing up, causing me to sigh at the reminder that this was the last expedition it would ever be accompanying me on. I carefully slung it off my shoulder, grabbed my water bottle and quickly rinsed Orion off as best as I could before promising that I would get him properly cleaned up soon and recalling him. I then did my best to shift things around so that nothing else would fall out during my return to town, but two of the items I saw gave me pause.

The first was the Dawn Stone. The moment I saw it, dots connected and I became almost certain that I now understood the series of events that had just occurred. Kadabra was right – the Sableye hadn't been attacking, but had been searching for something. As a Pokémon notorious for munching on precious gemstones and minerals, no doubt it had somehow sensed the presence of the exceptionally potent Dawn Stone and been unable to resist trying to help itself to such a delectable treat.

I couldn't help but shake my head in disbelief as I shoved the stone deep into a pocket that had no tears. But as I turned my attention back to the remaining items that had fallen out and began attempting to carefully secure them back into my backpack, I came to a slightly less obvious yet equally important realization.

"Here," I said as I tossed one of my metal spoons to the Kadabra, who unfortunately failed to catch it despite its best attempt. It tilted its head as it looked down at its feet, their expression changing from one of confusion to reverence.

"Anchor… Offering?"

"Yes, it's for you," I confirmed with a nod and a reassuring smile. "I don't fully understand it, but Kadabra and Alakazam are known for having something metal to help them focus their psychic powers. If you ask me, it's a shame and an injustice that you don't have one, so take it."

There was some visible hesitation, but I could tell by the look in the Kadabra's eyes that it secretly wanted to accept, yet was reluctant.

"Cannot. Fair, even. Would lose balance."

I rolled my eyes and sighed. "It's just a spoon, so it's really no big deal to me. I know for sure that you'll put it to better use than me, and you've definitely earned it. You may think saving us was only fair, but I disagree and feel indebted to you. You weren't responsible for what happened, and you didn't have to do that. Take it, then we can consider things fair and even."

The Kadabra weighed my words and still seemed a little hesitant, but eventually decided to accept, likely too tired and tempted to continue debating what was fair. Kadabra picked the spoon up and held it carefully, closely inspecting it as if committing every detail to memory.

"Grateful. Cherish channel treasure."

I smiled happily as I watched the Kadabra hold the spoon in front of their face and experimentally focus their psychic energy on it, causing a noticeable glow and a slight bend forward before quickly reverting it.

"You have fun with that, and don't lose it because you might not get another," I said as I carefully slung my backpack on, giving it a wiggle and a shake to ensure nothing would fall out when walking. "I'd give you another, but I don't want another discussion on fairness and if you aren't keen on battling I doubt you'll ever need a second one anyway."

"Yes. Treasure. Travel safe, human trainer," the Kadabra sent with a slight bow of the head.

"I'm Daniel. We might be back once things settle down, so maybe we'll meet again – hopefully under better circumstances. Take care, and tell the others I'm really sorry about how things turned out. Your friends will be returned soon, just be patient a little longer. The rangers are only doing what's best, even if it might be hard to understand."

"Hope truth. Restore balance. Wish well, Daniel."

With that, the Kadabra disappeared and I made my way out of the cave, closing my eyes and letting loose a sigh of relief as I momentarily basked in the blazing, blinding sun that briefly blinded me.

Overall, our trip into Granite Cave had ended in failure if you considered our goals going in. We didn't get any battling practice apart from the quick scuffle, and there hadn't been any opportunity to potentially add a new member to the team. When I thought about it, I realized that the Sableye was the first wild ghost-type Pokémon I'd ever encountered, and it had been prime for capture after being knocked out by Apollo. But I'd made a promise not to capture any of them, so I wasn't going to dwell over missing my first chance at capturing a ghost.

It also dawned on me that the Sableye's partial dark-typing had undoubtedly been the reason it was able to sneak up on us without Apollo noticing. There was no malicious intent, so of course his danger sense wouldn't go off – only Orion's exceptional hearing had picked up on what was coming, but it had been too late. It didn't surprise me too much that a Pokémon which was both ghost and dark-type would be exceptionally good at remaining stealthy, despite the fact our team had an excellent set of senses that covered most situations.

Even with most of our original goals having been a resounding failure, I couldn't help but feel a strange sense of satisfaction as I marched my way back to town, trying my best to ignore the fact that there was vomit tucked away in my hoodie. It was true that the 'battling' we'd engaged in wasn't exactly great practice, and the one I'd most wanted to get some experience, Trapinch, hadn't even participated. But Duran had gotten to flex his might while burning off a little steam, and I'd been able to satisfy my burning curiosity on what was going on that made Granite Cave feel so strange and baron.

It wasn't the ideal outcome by any means, but it was an eventful expedition that provided some level of closure that I could live with. Still, I felt that it would probably be a good idea to stay away from Granite Cave for at least a few days until Pokémon that were currently serving quarantine began being returned and tensions cooled.

I wasn't happy about the state of Granite Cave, and couldn't help but question why it had even been reopened when there were hardly any Pokémon to be found except those that were extremely on edge. But I wanted to believe the League knew what they were doing and had the best of intentions, even if I didn't always understand or agree.

Yet the fact remained that it was yet another small hit at my impression of the League in a growing list of grievances that were continuing to add up, and unfortunately it wouldn't be the last.

A/N: I simply love this chapter, I hope you all do too. Sure, Daniel was a little reckless going that deep, but he's been feeling stagnant and feels like he's failing to provide what his team needs to continue growing. He's experienced a lot of character development, but he's still far from perfect, and never will be because what fun is that? Plus, let's not forget that he's still a kid.

Anyways, both Christmas AND New Years are very soon – I wish I could do another holiday special, but it's not happening unfortunately. On that note, just expect that chapters will be every other week for the time being, as things haven't settled down like I'd hoped and this appears to be the pace I can comfortably keep. Hopefully I can dedicate more time to writing and go back to weekly chapters in the future, but I just don't see it happening as things currently stand, sorry.

Thanks for bearing with me and following Daniel's journey, much love to each and every one of you. I hope you all have a wonderful holiday season, and I'll see you again in 2025. Here's hoping it's a good year to us all!

Shoutout to The Muffin Rat King and Faefox for beta-reading this chapter!

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