Pokemon : Deadly Rivalries

Chapter 15 : Lost in abyss

The fine black and white hairs of our two protagonists stood up as if they had turned into thorns the instant they entered this natural labyrinth, as if their instincts were screaming at them that this place could only bring them death. Yet neither of them pretended to turn back; to fulfill their desire to reach the next arena, this place was, so to speak, an obligatory passage. Perhaps Yuuma could have counted on Falcon to get him round this obstacle, but he had learned during his time at Driftveil that there was still some value in facing things head-on. He'd be able to watch the sky with all his soul once he'd tasted the earthy flavor of this place. As the darkness gave way to a mysterious blue glow, Valiha's eyes lit up as she discovered an enormous block of stone, glistening and crackling with electricity, standing in their path.
"By heavens, you don't see that every day in Alola!” she exclaimed.
"It's not as if there are two chargestone caves in the world."
Yuuma replied neutrally, although he was just as internally agitated as his friend by the sight of this landscape, which seemed to have come straight out of another world. If he had his practical instruments with him, he'd no doubt already be taking a random sample to analyze later. After defeating all the Wheels of Durant-al (not without some difficulty), Yuuma and Valiha had gone to the pokémon center, partly to collect Yuuma's pokémon, and partly to be treated themselves. With Harmonia the only pokémon capable of fighting and focused on maintaining the Labyrinth, they soon had to come to her aid by distracting the opposing pokémons and trainers, collecting numerous injuries in the process. So the three hours had turned into four, and it wasn't until around midday that Yuuma and Valiha were able to leave the Pokémon center on their feet and in good company. After sharing a basic meal of Valiha's shopping with all their friends, Valiha suggested that Yuuma walk the road between them and the Parsemille arena together in case Wheels of Durant-al tried to retaliate against them. Yuuma, who had not yet completed Clay's arena challenge, felt reluctant to follow in the girl's footsteps and remained silent for a moment as they rested on a public bench just opposite Clay's arena.
‘Don't worry about the fights, we'll follow a multi-fight policy just to share the experience fairly.’
‘...’
Basically, the gyms could be done in any order but that didn't mean that all places in Unova were equal in terms of dangerousness. Typically, powerful trainers tended to congregate either in places with a high density of pokémon per square meter (notably caves) or in places where tournaments were held. Looking at it from this angle, Yuuma thought that perhaps the layout of Clay's arena was intended to prepare the challengers who came to challenge him to fight in underground environments such as those found in abundance around Driftveil city (Chargestone cave, Mistralton cave, Yakon road to say the least). On the other hand, he would be accompanied by someone who had been able to overcome the ordeal of the quadragenarian and who was therefore the perfect support to get through even the Chargestone cellar without risk, while training to boot. Yuuma, who wanted to defeat Clay before moving on, would simply have to return to Driftveil as soon as he set foot in Mistralton city with Falcon's help. What's more, it would make his return easier when he had to face the flying type gym leader. 
At Valiha's insistence, Yuuma finally agreed and together they covered Route six in no time, crushing the few trainers they came across. Surrounded by their pokémons, all out of their pokéballs, they didn't particularly stand out in the middle of this road teeming with wild pokémons.
---
Once they had entered the chargestone, Yuuma preferred to leave his pokémon inside their pokéballs to avoid them getting lost, especially as Falcon didn't seem to welcome the fact that he couldn't fly more than five meters above the ground. In this environment where electric type pokemons were crawling, disturbing his internal compass, he was very vulnerable to any kind of attacks. If they were attacked by surprise, they would have to rely on the Valihenne triad (Yuuma was disappointed to call them that) to protect them. 
‘Well, well, well, which way could the exit be?’
Asking this key question for their progress in this environment, Valiha scrupulously examined the three paths open to them, even going so far as to feel the walls. Yuuma, with a vague feeling of embarrassment, drew his friend's attention to a motif painted on the wall of the leftmost tunnel. An orange arrow, easily distinguishable thanks to the natural luminosity of the cave induced by its electrically charged crystals. 
“With these markings, we'll be sure not to get lost whatever happens. There are currently several offshoots recognisable by arrows of different colors on the route we need to follow to reach Mistralton. Let's try to follow them assiduously,” Yuuma explained.
“What's at the end of the unmarked paths?”
Valiha asked as she moved to the leftmost side of the tunnel, the only one without an arrow painted on its walls. This one, it seemed, was just as passable as the other two, also lit by a multitude of blue stones embedded in its rock faces.
‘No idea, and that's probably why most trainers don't use them.’
Yuuma replied with a shrug. 
‘Come on sis, if we want to get to Mistralton before dark, we'd better not waste any time.’
Harmonia told him as she guided (read pushed) Dune in the direction of her trainer, while he stopped to stare at a large block of magnetic stone. 
‘Yeah, you're right...but I can't help wondering what he might have at the other end of that gallery...’
Despite her words, Valiha trotted on to the right tunnel and entered it with Yuuma and her companions, Harmonia at the end of the line, her hair standing on end from the static electricity. Only the steady sound of their footsteps seemed to accompany them, and Valiha was surprised at how few trainers they passed along the way. As they made their way along, they met only a mountain dweller, whom they had no trouble defeating given the ‘predictable’ composition of his team (a boldore and a Claydol), and a toptrainer with a well-stocked team. To be fair, they made a point of not using more pokémons than their opponent had. Yuuma, who was well versed in multi combat thanks to Blueberry's training, had no trouble managing his pokémons in harmony with those of Valiha. The two teams knew each other from past encounters. After an hour's exploration, the poke group paused just before a bridge in surprisingly good condition. The menu included fresh water and some berries that Yuuma had picked in the dome. 
Sitting in a circle, Harmonia, Valiha and Yuuma chatted happily while nibbling on Cheri berries to relax their muscles more tensed than usual because of the ambient magnetism. ‘The scenery here is so surreal... I feel like I'm dreaming.’
Valiha commented thoughtfully as she watched a shiny pebble float a few meters above their heads, like a lamp. They were sitting on a ledge a few meters wide, just big enough to allow them to sit comfortably on the edge of a chasm too dark to make out the bottom clearly, hence the presence of a bridge linking this thin patch of earth opening onto a gallery, to another ledge, opening onto a sort of staircase.
‘I'd love to be able to study those on Alola.’
Answered Yuuma, who only knew of this region the few regional forms to be found under the blueberry academy dome and the work of its most famous researcher. 
“In truth, this is the first time I've ventured abroad, so I don't really have anything to compare it with, but I can say that in terms of caves, the ones in Unys seem much deeper and more ramified?”
Valiha asked herself, tilting her head to the left as she fiddled with her chin.’
‘Well, even if the myths about it aren't necessarily true, it's assumed that the battles between Reshiram and Zekrom a few hundred years ago changed the terrain so much that it led to the formation of geological structures that are unique in the world.’
‘Zekrom and Reshiram? Who are those two?’
Harmonia asked, half lying on the dusty floor.
‘They're legendary pokémons, aren't they? I think I saw a documentary about them once, although I don't remember much about it.’
Valiha stood up, dusting off her skirt. 
‘That's about right. They're our national mascots, so to speak, especially as Zekrom is said to be a member of the team of a very famous pokéwood star, registered in the Hall of Fame.’
Yuuma, as an aspiring researcher, didn't really like the term “legendary” to describe a pokémon, as the characteristics taken into account to differentiate them from other pokémons seemed too arbitrary to him. You only had to look at the history of Arcanine to realize it. Just as he was picking up the metal dish in which he had placed his Cheri berries, Yuuma thought he heard a strange noise coming from the gallery through which they had arrived. Thinking it was some kind of auditory hallucination caused by the particular atmosphere of the cave, he was surprised to see that Harmonia had frozen, her gaze fixed on the tunnel. Five seconds later, the noise became so intense that even Dune turned her head towards the tunnel. Everyone froze, listening to the muffled roar grow louder and louder, echoing in their bones. Then, in less than a quarter of a second, a dark blue mass of snake-like pokemons burst into their field of vision and swooped down on them in even less time. Valiha's pokémon, which had sprung forward by reflex, despite Oliver's imposing silhouette, were unable to avoid a few collisions, electrifying them slightly on each contact. It was as if all the representatives of this species of pokémon initially present in the cave had gathered in the same place. What had to happen happened, and the entire group was hurled to the bottom of the abyss, swept away by a bioelectric torrent. Shortly afterwards, two people dressed in black uniforms and beret caps came running up to the ledge, a Rainbow R logo clearly visible on their chests.
‘Shit! They've got away!”
shouted one of the people, a man in his twenties. 
‘Calm down Jack, they say there's no pokémon you can't find, so don't talk to me about a shoal.’
his partner who was about the same age and who had a square cut under her cap, tried to reassure him.
“Don’t give me that shit Samantha! You know as well as me that if we don’t get that shoal of Eelektrik with us, it’s not gonna end up with a simple scolding!”
Which was effectless on the man obviously stressed by his job.
“Of course it’s only going to end up with a simple scolding. If we can’t use them to replace the generators we lost because of that brat yesterday we will just try to catch some Joltiks and it will do the job”
She said, giving him a light tap on his head.
While he was moaning, Samantha seemed to notice something on the ground and bent down to pick up an object left on the ground.
“Hey Samantha, this is no time to be a cleaner! I know you don’t like garbage, but there’s a time for everything!”
Jack grumbled, kneeling on the floor.
“It looks like this expedition will be far from pointless after all.”
She said smiling. In her hand was a single dusk ball.