Pokémon: Out of the Woods | A Galar, Unova & Sinnoh Fanfiction

Chapter 14: Snag Failed

Heather left the Budew Drop Inn as the sun rose. Triton had long fallen asleep over his laptop. He was still snoring. Heather left the Delibird that helped Pluto with him. He could talk to it later.

The light pink sky matched the illuminated frontage of the Pokémon Center on the way to Route 3. A train rumbled across an old, rattling bridge. Otherwise, the soot-stained streets were quiet. Faint sounds of splashing Pokémon drifted from the canals below.

Beyond the city's walls, the industrial landscape abruptly turned to rolling hills and rugged cliffs. One thing interrupted them, however: the distant Macro Cosmos factory producing energy from the materials mined at the Galar Mine. The mine's entrances were visible as dark arches in the looming cliffs.

Tents dotted the muddy paths. The only person Heather saw outside was a Postman on his way to the factory. He challenged her. Scorbunny and Joltik knocked out his three Delibird. Heather's mind immediately jumped back to Pluto when she saw them, but there was no link. Many delivery people used Delibird, even in regions they weren't native to, where they had to be imported. They were that enthusiastic about delivering things.

Grey clouds stifled the sun as soon as it rose. Heather hurried towards the mine. She didn't want to get soaked. A woman standing outside offered to heal her Pokémon, but that would have been suspicious in Orre – or Elemar, for that matter – so she refused.

She expected a miserable, damp and Woobat-infested cave. The first thing she saw was a Carkol whooshing by. There were Woobat above – and splattered droppings on the floor – but unlike those in Unova, they appeared to be afraid of humans. They didn't bother Heather. It couldn't be called a 'miserable' cave, either, because it was illuminated by a natural kaleidoscope of glowing crystals.

OK, this is actually pretty cool. Jamie... Dad... would like it. I think Perry and Granite would, too.

The wild Pokémon were shy, but the Workers were not. Heather arrived between the night shift ending and the morning shift beginning. Those who just arrived, clutching coffees, wanted to work up a sweat, while those going home wanted to have fun battling before they took children to school and crashed into bed. No-one else was awake. They all challenged Heather. If she hadn't known how to make her own medicine out of the ingredients she foraged, she would have run out of healing items before she even reached the bridge crossing the chasm, where Workers appeared below as their shift began.

The mine wasn't the maze Heather expected it to be, either. Most of it was off-limits. The main path was well-trodden and signposted. Heather could understand getting lost in the Wild Area, or even in the big cities, but she wondered how Leon managed to get lost on such simple paths. She knew he did, because Abbey said she turned away to battle a wild Timburr, which only took two minutes; but when she turned back to ask if Leon had caught one yet, his reply came from the bottom of the chasm.

At least that isn't hereditary...

Something crashed beyond the bridge. As Heather crossed, she felt a distinct change in the air. There were no more Workers. That chill had to be the aura of a Shadow Pokémon. She took off her jacket to fix the Snag Machine to her arm, then hid it underneath. The ground shook. A crystal clattered off the wall. One of the busy Carkol was hurled off the tracks and into the chasm. A young woman screamed over the racket.

'Stop it!'

Well, this suddenly got exciting.

'Stop it! Please!'

A boy cackled. Heather recognised the woman's voice. It was Hazel, the Gym Challenger who confidently joined the bizarre Max Raid Battle with her Eevee. Heather's fellow challengers didn't need to see her using a Snag Machine yet. She ran towards the ruckus aside a moving Carkol, which hid her from view, until she ducked behind a stack of wood. She placed a Quick Ball in the Snag Machine's glove.