Hey everyone, here's a new update! I hope you enjoy it!
Chapter seventy: Caverns, Part 1
We entered the wide tunnel…leaving the freezing forest outside and entered a dark and cool refuge…one we had no idea where it would lead us, but we soldiered on.
After a few minutes, we come across a wall…a literal dead end! The tracks stopped underneath the stony façade. What the heck!?
We were all visibly confused, checking for a way to get through.
"How can this be, where did it go?" Charizard huffed, growling soon after…getting impatient.
"There has to be something else to this…" Jen said, ignoring the unintelligible growling from the fire-type. She's right…this wall has got to be fake!
"Well, I'm not seeing a way through" Rigel added, also frustrated, so much for following the train, the kid thought.
And so, we spent the next few minutes looking for a way past this obstacle. It proved to be futile in the long run…or was it?
Orion noticed something that caught his interest: a small glint coming from a rock formation on the ground nearby. He got our attention before our group gathered.
"What is it?" Rigel inspected the small circular ring.
"It looks like some sort of sensor" I mused.
"Maybe it reacts to motion…" Jennifer suggested, crouching down beside me to get a better look.
"Or light" Rigel added.
Both Jen and I looked up at the teen and smiled, good thinking, kid, I thought.
We soon gathered every light source we had and pointed them toward the strange sensor. Sure enough, the wall crept upward, soil and dust falling from it as it did so! Voila! We all smiled…commending each other for the effort.
"Come on!" Jen exclaimed, leading our group toward a downslope into a large open cavern where the tracks continued leading us. It's as if it's an old mine that was closed years prior. Large stalagmites the size of people hung overhead and multiple levels are leading to other parts of the mine. We weren't so sure where they all led, so we tried sticking to the original train tracks so as not to get lost.
We thought about turning back as a last resort, but that soon wasn't an option when the "doors" behind us closed.
It was pretty much dark here, with only our flashlights and Charizard to light the way.
We made our way through the humid and dark cave system. It was massive! There were so many twists and turns, so many floors…that I could swear you could have a small city in this place. An occasional bat screech could be heard or rock piles crumbling around us from time to time. It honestly sent chills down all our spines.
Jen, Rigel, Orion, Charizard, and I walked deeper into the tunnel. Jennifer figured she'd send out Eev to accompany us on this adventure, having revived her not too long ago.
The two humans next to me used their flashlights while the fire-type used his tail to light the area behind us. We simply followed the train tracks…they ought to take us to where the grunts had gone…hopefully.
Orion, from Rigel's shoulder, looked toward me and asked softly, "you think we'll find them?"
I scoffed in response, "maybe an Onix got 'em for us" I replied lightheartedly before he laughed back, "yeah…though I'm pretty sure there's ground-type and rock-type in this place…"
"Wouldn't surprise me."
A bit of silence followed before Orion soon jumped off Rigel to join my side, "going on these crazy adventures with you guys makes me feel so alive, honestly."
I couldn't help but agree, to be fair, I nodded…smiling a bit, "you couldn't help it to stay behind…so you came looking for us. That means a lot to us, to me, Orion" I said softly.
Jen couldn't agree more, understanding what I said. She soon turned toward the fourteen-year-old next to her and brought him into a tight hold…rubbing his head with her knuckles, "Rigel is such a handful!"
"H-hey, okay…that's enough!" He said before we all laughed (including Charizard, funny enough.)
"He doesn't know when to quit!" She added, soon moving away.
"You don't either!" The trainer groaned picking up his baseball cap as Jen gave a side smirk to him. She soon ran ahead…turning to face us all while walking backward.
"When this is all over, we're going back on the road to the Indigo League! Rigel's still gotta beat the Saffron Gym Leader after all!" The young adult asserted.
"Yeah, I do…I wonder if it'll be harder than the sisters at Cerulean City…"
"Even if they beat you, you can always: try, try again!" She encouraged, returning to her normal way of walking.
I look away, thinking to myself, I totally forgot about the Indigo League…so much as happened since we ran into Rk and his goons…
"I'm sure Lucas and I got it; we'll both be in the ring if we have too…right Lucas?" He said…getting in my personal space whilst brandishing his blue charm around his neck. Eev saw this and soon joined across from us, "so, what's the deal with your necklaces?"
"We got these in Viridian City, they're for good luck!" Orion stepped in, giving a smug look to her, "the best."
She rolled her eyes.
"They've certainly come in handy ever since we got them…" I added.
The humans suddenly stop…surveying the complex cave system around them…in front of them is a deep sinkhole that probably goes down for hundreds of meters. Above us are wet stalagmites that look like they're ready to fall on us at any time.
"How long is this trail going to take us?" Rigel asked no one in particular…gulping loudly at the sight.
I thought about it…as the three of us joined their side. We should head back to the entrance, but it's still freezing out there…it's slightly warmer in here but going outside would be suicide right now!
"Let's just keep moving" I ultimately said, "the exit shouldn't be too far…hopefully."
"Yeah! Listen to Mr. Positive, we got this!" Orion supported my notion, fist up and everything. Soon, however, the Pikachu's nose twitched as he caught a nearby scent, and he got in a defensive pose.
Jen giggled at Orion's Pika-gibberish, but suddenly, Eev's ear twitched and she barked at her trainer…danger was close by…I sensed it too!
"Look out!" I shouted, sending a Thundershock toward an entity in the darkness. The light from my attack revealed a swarm of Zubats that were now blocking our way!
"Of course…" I sighed, ears drooping as I gave an annoyed face…adjusting my blue goggles.
Orion stepped forward and proudly put his paws on his hips, "Lucas and I got this."
I soon joined his side and nodded. One of the cave Pokémon swooped in as we jumped out of the way, I quickly let out a ThunderWave and it paralyzed one of the Zubats.
"Orion, BodySlam, finish it off!" Rigel commanded.
Orion came in and slammed into them…making the bat faint. Another tried using Supersonic to confuse us, but the other Pikachu sidesteps in response.
"Thunderbolt!"
The short Pikachu yelled at the top of his lungs as a large surge of electricity escaped him. The second Zubat is rendered inert. Now there was one left, and it was about to bite into Orion; however, I got in the way and grabbed them.
Now, they're at my mercy. I couldn't help myself; I gave a smug look and released my Thundershock…defeated them as they fell to the ground. All three Zubats had fainted, the others behind us cheered.
"Nice teamwork, guys!" Jen commended.
"I agree" said Eev in her language.
I patted Orion on the back, and he gave a big proud smile, "this place will be a breeze!" He spoke. I rolled my eyes, starting to walk again, "let's not get carried away, Orion."
We continued down the cavern as Orion eventually turned to me…armed with a question, "Lucas, something I've been meaning to ask…it looks like it's been a while since you had a mind episode…have you been feeling fine?"
I thought about it, I do think I had gotten those mental spasms under control as of late. I'm not sure how…maybe the side effects from my transformation went away? I seem to have managed to control my instincts as a whole. Maybe it was thanks to Bill in some way? I wasn't sure, but all that seemed to inspire me a lot.
"Yeah, I guess I'm doing alright, Orion…now that I think about it!" I said with a Pikachu smile before he smiled back, "I'm so happy to hear, I'm glad we can sweep that under the rug!"
"Well…let's not jump to conclusions…just…if it happens again…"
"I'll be there to help you, you know that" said Orion with a comforting tone.
I nodded, I suppose that's comforting. M-maybe all the stress from everything was becoming less thanks to the friend group I had recently formed…maybe it's all thanks to Jennifer. Maybe her coming to join our little adventure…my inspiration to help Rigel on his quest to the Indigo League…and my desire to stop Anthony Preston helped me remain headstrong.
In fact, I'm sure of it.
…
I hope you all enjoyed reading this latest segment! We're nearing the final stretch of the story!
P.S. Please have a great rest of 2024! See you all in 2025!