The water level has dropped quite a bit since the twins woke roughly an hour ago. So much so that I can see what was causing the current I felt when I was in the water. There was what looked like another large tunnel that was completely submerged and what appeared to be a wall, but it looks old. The twins were currently patiently waiting atop the pillar watching the water slowly drop. The small underground waterfall was still running but no where near as quickly as before, or as much.
I was still perched in the darkness, sitting alone as we waited for Hoot. I had spent this time thinking again. Not about the pokeball, rather, everything that has happen to me since I awoke in this world. Which was what, 10 days ago?
I had freedom to do what I want and the ability to do that. So I chose to follow around these two trainers. I had technically learned an entire new language, explored an abandoned submarine. Watched two separate gym battles, seen a mega evolution, and even been arrested! In under two weeks! It all sounds ridiculous. But it also had only been that many days since I was forced to leave my old life behind.
There are some things I miss and others I don’t. I just hope the guy who got me killed is in hell somewhere.
It suddenly occurs to me out of nowhere that despite the rushing water all around and my improved hearing, I have barely heard it. Its then I also notice the sound of something new. A drone, like a car. Wait, A CAR!
I jump up and dash to the tower, surprising the twins as Hoot darts into the hole.
Your back! I cheerfully yell as I hear the cars engine stop and Hoot flies back out.
“Duosion, move that rock out of the way!” I hear called out as the bolder starts to gain a purple coloration to it while it slowly moves up and out of sight. The light in the cave increases and eventually our tower and us are in the light. From the hole darts in Hoot as a face appears in the hole above.
“You kids okay in there!?” He yells from above us.
“We’re fine other than the fact we’re trapped!” Oliver responds loudly.
“Okay, return your pokemon to their balls so your rescue will be easier!” The twins recall their pokemon before Jennifer remembers she doesn’t have mine.
“I cant find one of them!” She yells to our rescuer. “I must have lost it falling in here!”
“That’s fine!” he responds. He suddenly moves back out of sight before a large platform with rails all around except a spot where you would enter it slowly descend towards us before his head pops back into view. “One at a time, hop in and we’ll get you out!” The platform reaches us and it indeed would only fit one person so Jennifer goes first. She hops on and is lifted out into the sunlight and out of sight. The lift comes down again and Oliver climbs aboard. It rises again before coming back down empty. Once it stops, I climb into it and am lifted up. Going up past the hole, I can see the forest all around and the path between towns. On it was a jeep with the two trainers nearby with our helper, a pale man in park ranger style clothing and wide brim hat in the same colours. To the side was the duosion that moved the platform around.
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Despite umbreons being adapted to activities in the dark, being in the cave was no fun, and the open air was nice.
“So that’s all of you?” I hear the man say.
“Yes, we returned the other pokemon.” Jennifer replies holding her injured hand. The metal lift flew over to the car and was seated in the back of the jeep while the ranger undid the bandage around Jennifer’s hand and applied the I’m guess the same type of cream as Oliver did before applying a new bandage.
“Now then, want to tell me why you guys were down there?” The ranger smugly asks before changing his tone after seeing that it didn’t improve Oliver and Jennifer’s mood. “My apologies, my name is Dennis. I am the local rescue operator and ranger. Your little friend went straight for the pokecenter as I was heading for lunch.” He says gesturing to the still flying Hoot. “He quite literally ran into me. Now then, was there anything in that cave?”
“Not that we could see because of how dark it was and the water level but maybe Shade saw something.” Oliver replies. The group looks over to me and sighing, I draw a basic brick wall into the ground.
“A wall?” Dennis asks. “Could you see if it looked recent?”
No, it was definitely old. I respond before realising they couldn’t fully understand me. I then write into the ground:
*It was old*
Looking back up, I see the look of excitement in the mans eyes but wasn’t sure if it was about the ruins or my writing.
“Well then, I’ll sort it out and let you know if we find anything due to your, discovery.” Dennis proclaims putting his hands together. “Now on your way, its still a bit of travel till Luminose City. Or you could wait and come back with me to Santalune City. Whichever way you are going, be careful, this isn’t the first report of large storms causing sinkholes recently.”
“Thank you for the option but we are going forward.” Oliver happily anouces as he starts his walk. Jennifer follows suit. “Bye!” The twins excitedly say as they head off. I start to follow and look back to see the ranger nod to me before releasing his own umbreon and using the lift, descend into the hole with the umbreon and his duosion.
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We spent a while walking, separated slightly as that if a sinkhole appeared, there could at least be someone above ground. A few hours of walking later, we found a suitable campsite at nightfall. Hoot happily sat upon Jens head while Oliver practised with his pokemon. Myself, I practised shaping iron tail to try and create iron claw. And it almost worked! I got so close, I think, no, I know I was close.
I managed to move the energy from Iron Tail away from my tail and it pretty easily flowed around my body. It was great! All though it was fairly mentally taxing. What went wrong though is after I moved the energy around, I couldn’t make it stick and change. The glow I could shift around my body but it no longer had the properties of Iron Tail such as it wouldn’t become physical and able to be used as a weapon or the ability to alter shape instead of just fitting my form. What was the most annoying part about it was I had finally managed to get the energy to move around my front paw, but I couldn’t do anything with it! Hopefully in this case, the saying practise makes perfect is true. I guess I will have to wait and see how this experiment goes.
But on the positive side, I felt like there was something to this energy, I just needed to figure it out.
Interestingly, the twins haven’t seemed to really have any concern that my pokeball, to their knowledge, is missing. Wonder what happens with that? Either way, I am not getting caught by one of those again. Although I still really want to know how they work.
A sudden constricting force around me draws me out my thoughts and I raise into the air. I turn to see Jennifer happily walking along holding me with hoot atop her head back towards the camp. I can see Fen in front of us laughing so much she is struggling to breath.
I guess this is better than the hours trapped in the cold dark cave waiting for help to arrive.