Mt. Moon.

A mountain lying in northern Kanto, stretching between Pewter City in the west and Cerulean City in the east.

In my past life, people knew Mt. Moon for being one of the few places where they could find wild Clefairy and for the frequent falls of meteors. The shards of meteorites that fell here are transformed into Moon Stones, which explains the mountain's name. The mountain is also renowned for housing Pokémon Fossils.

That was Mount Moon.

And I would be going there.

Castor told us that there was a Clefairy spotted there. I, for one, was sure that that was a hundred percent true. I remembered it well. Though it should be more than one.

“Now that that’s out of the way, I think it’s time for all of you to leave,” Castor said. “This is nothing but an announcement for our adventure. Go decide whether you wanna go or not. We’ll be going on the weekend if you decide to go.

We were dismissed. The rest of the people in the room decided to go.

I, too, went outside and made way to my dorm room.

'Hmm... Mt. Moon, huh.'

***

Classes ended for the day. I, Ash, Reto, Pikachu, Cyndaquil, and Petilil were sitting at the table, eating lunch.

Cyndaquil and the other Pokémon were no longer inside their balls. They were at the table with us.

Ash was the first one to finish eating. He stood up, pushing his chair back.

"I'll be going now," he said.

"Hey," I called out to him.

"Sup?"

"You gonna go?"

"Huh?"

"Mt. Moon, I mean."

"Of course I am!" he said, grinning. I shrugged as he walked off with Pikachu on his shoulder.

I returned to eating my lunch.

Reto was coming, so I didn't ask. Cyndaquil and Petilil were trying to snatch each others' food.

I ignored them.

***

The weekend came.

I was walking around the front entrance of the school. My bag was slung over my shoulder. I had mountain gear prepared, so I wouldn't have to go back to my dorm room. I wore a grey T-shirt, blue jeans, hiking boots, and a black jacket.

There were a few other students at the entrance. Most recognizable of them were Ash, Reto, Arc, and Kiyan.

There was a bus waiting for us.

I walked up to the group.

"Hey, everyone," I greeted.

"Hey," they all said.

Ash smiled at me. "You ready?"

I smiled back.

We all got into the bus and took our seats, waiting for everyone else to arrive so that we could finally start the journey. We were going to Mt. Moon.

***

The bus roared as it sped along the road, going straight towards the mountains.

Ash was looking out of the window.

Reto was doing the same.

I, on the other hand, was petting Cyndaqul as he slept.

Petilil was in its ball, inside the backpack that was sitting on Reto's lap.

Kiyan and Arc were sitting in front of us, and they were talking about nothing.

Castor sat at the very front, looking straight ahead at the book in his hand. It was the same book I had seen when I first met him. I wondered what it could be.

The driver was a man with white hair and blue eyes, who looked to be in his early thirties. He was driving the bus as if it were his own personal chariot.

"I wonder if the Clefairy's still there," I heard Ash say.

"I wonder if there's anything new there, at all, aside from those fucking annoying Zubat," Reto grumbled.

"Yeah, maybe."

I sighed, feeling Cyndaquil's body shake as he growled in his sleep. I shushed him. He settled back into a comfortable position, leaning against me.

'It's gonna be a long day.'

***

We arrived at the foot of the mountain.

"Alright, we're here," Castor announced. "Take your time coming down."

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We all got off the bus, leaving it with the driver. He waved goodbye, smiling at us.

"Bye," we said.

The bus drove away.

Ash, Kiyan, Reto, Arc, and I were looking around, mirroring all the other students.

We all had our hiking gear on. We also had backpacks that we would use in case we needed to get anything, such as food.

This was not going to be a quick thing, after all.

"Listen up, everyone." Castor was addressing us all. "You know what to do. We're here because we heard about the Clefairy being at this specific place.

“Clefairy and Moon Stones—which are found here on Mt. Moon—do share a deep connection. Clefairy are known to be attracted to Moon Stones and are even said to have a close affinity to the moon itself."

He paused for a moment, gathering his thoughts before continuing. "Legend has it that the shards of meteorites that fell on Mt. Moon long ago transformed into Moon Stones. These mystical stones are imbued with lunar energy, and they have the power to induce evolution in certain Pokémon when used correctly."

Castor's words piqued the interest of the students, and they leaned in closer, eager for more information.

I, on the other hand, was rather bored.

"Many believe that Clefairy, being creatures of the moon, are drawn to the energy emitted by the Moon Stones. They are said to gather around these stones, basking in their mystical aura. It is believed that the presence of Clefairy in this region is an indication of the abundance of Moon Stones."

He looked around at the group, a hint of excitement in his eyes. "So, it's entirely possible that we might encounter Clefairy during our expedition to Mt. Moon and that it was not a rumor but the truth."

The students exchanged glances, their anticipation growing. The prospect of witnessing the rare Clefairy and finding Moon Stones filled them with excitement and wonder, I assumed.

Castor nodded, seeing that his speech had been received well. "That's about it. I wanted this expedition 'cause of that as well; I'm a professor you know. I gotto do my research. Haha.

"Now, come on, let's go!" he clapped his hands once and took off running, followed by the rest of the students.

I sighed. 'Geez. Some expedition this is turning out to be...'

I was not complaining, but yes, I was complaining. The expedition itself wasn't boring, but the 'lectures' Castor was giving us on every turn on various things definitely was boring. More so given that I knew most of the stuff already.

There were wild Pokémon living here, I knew that already.

Walking was easy enough, climbing was the harder part. Castor was leading us to the base of the mountain followed by Arc and Kiyan.

I was behind them, Cyndaquil on my shoulder. Reto, Ash, and other students were behind me.

I looked up, watching the mountain rise higher and higher above my head. It was a beautiful sight, and it gave me the impression that I was actually going somewhere.

I kept my eyes on the mountain. It was big. Rough. Intimidating.

And yet, we climbed this mountain, no matter what.

***

We kept climbing, following Castor's lead.

The texture of the mountain felt rough on my hands even though I was wearing gloves.

Cyndaquil was in the Pokeball, I couldn't carry him now, could I?

We had been climbing for a few minutes, and we still weren't there yet.

'How much farther is it?'

I didn't think we were even mildly close to our destination. Why were we climbing anyway? When there was a perfect cave system that lead up the mountain?

'Fucker,' I glared at Castor.

The students' grunts and pain fell on deaf ears and the old coot went on and on, climbing faster than everyone. Arc and Kiyan were easily following behind him, I guessed that they were experienced.

'Maybe I should go climb up front and ask them what the deal was.'

But, no. I couldn't do that. I didn't even know them well.

After climbing for God knows how long, we finally stopped. Castor stopped. The students stopped. Everyone stood there, on a surface in the mountain, panting, their breaths ragged.

"I think we should stop for a bit," Castor suggested, wiping the sweat from his face with a white handkerchief. "There's a cave entrance here, we'll be traveling through it after."

The students sat down on the floor, wiping sweat from their brows and their faces.

I stayed standing, leaning against a boulder. I took off my backpack and put it on the ground next to me. I leaned my head back, closing my eyes.

"Hey."

I opened my eyes to see Reto standing in front of me. "Hey."

"You okay?" he asked.

"Nah, I'm dying," my face darkened. "What are we even doing here? It's so goddamn hot. It feels like I'm cooking in here."

"You're just overheated," Reto chuckled.

I looked down at myself.

'Shit. I am overheated.'

I pulled off my jacket and threw it at a random direction. Reto chuckled, putting his own jacket on the ground next to mine.

I pulled out the bottle of water from my bag that I had brought with me. I unscrewed the cap and took a swig, washing down my throat.

I looked up at Reto, who was still standing.

'How'd he not break out in a sweat?' I wondered.

'Fuck it...'

I closed my eyes to rest for a bit, drinking water was a wrong move... I was sweating even more now. I put the bottle back in the bag, leaned forward, and placed my head in my hands.

I heard someone coming closer to me.

'Reto?'

It was Ash.

"You doing alright?"

I don't know. Why was my body reacting this way. Not that others were faring better, but I was...

I sighed.

"Yeah, I'm okay."

"You sure?" Ash asked.

"Mhm."

***

"Come on, let's go!" Castor urged everyone.

He was back to his energetic self, urging everyone to climb.

I was exhausted, and it looked like so were most of the other people. But, we got back on our feet and resumed.

Thankfully, we entered the cave instead of climbing more.

The cave was dark, and it wasn't a place for fun, or games. I hated caves like this. I cautiously entered the dimly lit cave behind Castor and others, my heart pounding with each step. The jagged walls loomed overhead, casting eerie shadows that danced in the torchlight coming from the torches in everyone's hands. Yes, we had torches. We came fully prepared. The air felt heavy and musty.

I walked behind everyone else, watching as they walked ahead of me.

Suddenly, a scream was heard.

"AHHHHHH!"

I felt my heart drop.

I immediately pushed forward, trying to get a view of whatever it was.

"It's just a Zubat!"

Arc, our club leader, announced.

I felt the tension leave my shoulders. I chuckled nervously, feeling stupid for overreacting.

"Dude, you should see your face right now, you afraid of the dark or something?" Reto said, laughing.

I looked beside, to see his eyes glinting in the light.

'Yeah... no shit, Sherlock."

And yes... I was afraid of the dark.