Ash's Story (Part 6: Unova)

Chapter 23: Hidden Roots

The sewer entrance swallowed Hugh before any of us could finish warning him, and the bright noise of Castelia City faded behind damp stone.

The air changed at once. It smelled like rust, water, old pipes, and the kind of hidden place where people thought their choices would not be seen.

Hugh stopped only when the tunnel split ahead of him. His shoulders were stiff, but he did not rush farther alone.

"Even I'm going to have trouble taking them on all by myself," Hugh said, his voice rough. "I think it is better if we tag along right now."

"That sounds like a good idea," I said.

Alice moved beside me, and Pikachu's tail brushed my cheek as he watched the shadows. Purrloin walked at my feet, silent enough that even the sewer water seemed louder.

Golly checked the tunnel behind us before stepping forward. "Then we stay close, keep lines of sight, and do not chase into blind turns alone."

Hugh grimaced like the words tasted bad, but he nodded once. "Fine."

Iris held Axew carefully in her arms. "This place is gross, but Team Plasma hiding down here makes sense."

Cilan looked around with a strained smile. "A city's underside has a very different flavor. Less elegant, more suspicious, and unfortunately damp."

Eve stayed near Alice without crowding her. Gastly drifted beside Golly, half hidden in the dim light, while Golly's Zorua padded close to her ankles.

I looked down the tunnel and remembered the last time Castelia's underground had become part of a crisis. Back then, Team Rocket's mess had helped lock the city down.

"The last time we came here, it was because of Team Rocket," I said. "Castelia City was locked down because of what they started."

Iris looked at me. "That was the Venipede problem, right?"

"Yeah," I answered. "Different group, same kind of damage."

Pikachu's meaning came low and steady. "Bad people like dark roads because Pokémon cannot tell humans where they went."

I touched his back gently. "Then we listen harder."

We moved deeper through the sewers, crossing narrow walkways and stepping over puddles that reflected the lights above us in broken pieces.

Hugh kept pushing ahead, but he did not leave us behind. That was the closest thing to patience he could manage.

The farther we went, the more the city above felt like a lie told by sunlight. Castelia had cones, offices, piers, and laughter, but under all of it ran tunnels where thieves could disappear with someone else's partner.

Hugh kept his eyes on every bend. He was not careless, exactly. He was too careful about the wrong thing, watching for Team Plasma so hard that he forgot the ground under his own feet.

When his shoe slipped near the edge, Alice caught his sleeve before he fell into the water.

Hugh jerked away at first, then seemed to realize she had saved him. "Thanks."

Alice did not make him say more. "Do not give them an easier victory."

He looked down the tunnel. "They already had one."

That silenced even Iris for a moment.

I understood too much of that sentence.

Eve's voice came from behind us. "Hugh, wanting them stopped is not wrong."

He glanced back, suspicious of comfort.

Eve did not soften the truth into something useless. "But if you rush too far ahead, they can make everyone else protect you instead of protecting the Pokémon they are trying to steal."