Immediately, I started sprinting after her, Raifort running down the stairs in turn. My path was unfortunately blocked by Tulip stepping in my way. “Nemona! What is going on?”

“It’s Raifort! She’s right there!” I pointed at the stairs and slipped past the older girl. “I’m going after her,” I shouted, ignoring her calls for me to stop.

“Nemona, wait! Let us handle it!” Tulip tried, but I pretended not to hear her, making it to the top of the stairs. I took a few steps down before shaking my head and throwing myself off the side, floating down with my Aura.

I know that there are adults here, but no one else can handle it. Tulip was completely caught off guard by Raifort, her Psychic Aura is not great for tracking that Zoroark. With my enhanced senses, I can get a general idea of where she is.

The woman was just reaching the bottom of the stairs as I released Notch. “Dazzling Gleam, right there!” Pointing at where they were, Notch followed my order, unleashing a burst of light on the spot.

“Agh!” Raifort cried out, clutching her arm as the illusion broke. Zoroark stood off to the side, fast enough to dodge Notch’s attack but hissing angrily at us for hurting her Trainer. “That was… surprisingly vicious for a little girl. Sure you aren’t on the wrong side of things?”

“I’m certain. Now stop running and give me Oberon’s Pokemon back.” I ordered. The older girl held up her hands as if in surrender.

“That’s fine; I wasn’t planning on going very far. You can have them-” I tuned her out, paying attention to where I couldn’t hear the wind whistling by.

“It’s another illusion!” I told Notch and ran right through the fake Raifort, chasing after the real one. The thief and her Zoroark were running towards the Cavern, trying to get away.

As we ran, I recalled Notch, the Fairy Type a good matchup for fighting Zoroark, but hardly able to keep up with the speedy illusionist. If it was just the Pokemon I was trying to chase, I’m sure I’d be eating the dust already, and even with all my training and Aura, I’m having trouble keeping up with Raifort. The woman was clearly decently athletic herself and simply had longer legs than me.

The illusions had lost some of their fidelity. Either due to the speed they were moving at, being shaken by Notch’s attack, or just having given up on trying to fool me after the fake surrender trick failed. However, as they entered the Cavern, I knew that it would be a lot tougher to track them.

The dim lighting and echoey nature of the cave system would make tracking her harder. To say nothing of the wild Pokemon. Nimbly, I jumped around a Deino as I ran, the Dragon Type snapping out with his jaws blindly. I love the Hydreigon line, but this is so not the time.

Running down around the bend, I stopped as the cavern opened up in several paths and options. I don’t know where they went. I’ve lost them.

Before anger could overwhelm me, I took a deep breath, calling upon my Aura training to calm down and think clearly. I shouldn’t just pick a random direction and hope I run into her, even if I’m losing time. I need another way to pick up the trail. An image of hunting dogs popped into my mind, and the answer came to me.

“Hardly the same thing, but I don’t doubt that Phantasm can track them!” I said aloud as I released her. "Hey, can you-” and before the words were even out of my mouth, she was sniffing the ground, picking up the trail.

Down the winding path she led, yipping softly as I followed - until we came to the edge. The path curved down to the side, but Phantasm had stopped at the ledge. Did she drop all the way down? It was a large drop, but she probably had more than just that Zoroark with her, and any number of Pokemon could scale down it quickly.

Holding Phantasm in my arms, I dropped down, floating to the bottom. When I set her down though, she couldn’t pick up the trail, the Hisuian Zorua shaking her head sadly. Heightening my own senses as much as I dared while avoiding sensory overload, I tried to sense any sign of her, even an absence.

Unfortunately I couldn't; everything seemed normal down in the dark cave. Dugtrio digging, churning up the earth. Medichams leading packs of Meditites through the gloom, Toxitricity thrumming a few notes…

While I couldn’t find any sign of Raifort, I did catch a faint jangling sound farther down. That’s a Klefki! They only hang out aboveground usually, so that’s probably Oberon’s!

Running ahead, pushing through the burning sensation as I pushed my body, I found them. They were looking around confused and agitated, wailing out loud as they hovered over their discarded Pokeball. What? Why would Raifort take a Gym Leader’s Pokemon, only to discard them right away?

Looking closer just to make sure it was his, I saw that it was indeed the same Klefki. Same battle-hardened body, same Aura, same two… keys… “Klefki, what happened to your third key?”

That set them off, more distressed jangling, and a few pitiful whimpers. Rushing over, I sprayed them with some potions from my bag. That helped stop them from worsening their wounds, but it would be best to get them healed up properly, so I returned them to their ball.

“Don’t worry, we’ll get your key back,” I promised them, and the shaking of the Pokeball in my hands stopped, the Klefki likely drifting off into unconsciousness. “Now we just have to figure out where Raifort is…”

Scanning around the rocky cavern, I saw no further signs of the thief. “Did you understand Klefki?” I asked Phantasm who shook her head.

“Zor,” she said with the same resigned tone she used when I asked if she could clarify what Notch said.

“I never realized how hard all Fairy Types were to understand,” I muttered, and she gave me a flat look before responding.

“Rua, oru, orua, Zo.” With the help of her illusions, she mimed a finger pointing at her head and swirling it counterclockwise.

“Well, Klefki just got robbed, it’s understandable that they’d be a little hysterical.” Though I’m going to be carefully reviewing all the times my Pokemon told me they ‘didn’t understand Notch’ as more ‘Notch is talking nonsense’ and seeing what changes that makes. But after this is done.

There was a massive wall of stone in front of me, with paths on either side to walk. One way leads back up to the city, which also leads back down to the detour I took. Or the other way down to the main passage.

Raifort’s words came back to my mind. “I wasn’t planning on going very far…” I repeated her words aloud. Craning my neck up, I glanced at the massive outcropping that rose above me. It’s not easy to reach, but it’s almost directly under the arena, isn’t it?

Opening Nightwing’s Pokeball and returning Phantasm, I said, “Hey, can you get me up to the top there?” I might be able to climb/float up myself, but that’d be tiring and take a long time. Nightwing wasn’t a huge fan of carrying me around, but they knew how serious this was and didn’t raise any issue, picking me up and ascending immediately.

This book's true home is on another platform. Check it out there for the real experience.

Utilizing my Aura, I made myself lighter and pushed her up even more, and soon we had reached the top. The outcropping jutted out far from the cave edge and was close to the ceiling, with plenty of Pokemon, particularly Bagons and Shellgons roaming about here.

More importantly, I heard Raifort’s voice, the thief apparently having forgone the need to try and hide at this point, thinking herself safe. Racing ahead, I found her standing near the ledge along with her Zoroark. As the two turned to face us, I pointed at the key in her hand and shouted, “Nightwing, Knock Off!”

She swooped forward, smacking Raifort’s hand hard with her large pincer, forcing her to drop the key. Clamping onto the ancient key, Nightwing flew back to my side, the Zoroark surprisingly slow to react. Odd, she’s been pretty quick. Maybe tired from all those illusions.

“Ahh dammit dammit!” Raifort cried out, cradling her hurt hand. “Starting to get… really annoyed with you, kid. Did you really have to hit me? Twice?!”

“Haven’t taught her Thief yet, so Knock Off had to do. Hardly complaining at seeing you get yours, though.”

“That’s a shame, it’s a good Move; it was so handy for Zoroark in grabbing that Klefki’s Pokeball after your match.” She was starting to regain her composure, smirking at me.

“You let them go afterwards. Why?” I demanded keeping my eyes locked on her.

Despite being cornered, Raifort smiled, shaking her hand out. “I think you know better than that. If it was, why would I have let the Klefki go?”

“So, working with those poachers was all for this?” Nightwing passed me the key, which I held up. Something about the small raised circular portion she's standing beside feels weird to me; it doesn't look quite natural, like the rest of the stone here.

“Essentially, but so much more than that. Those poachers would have made a useful patsy had things gone to plan.” She said casually, as if stealing from Gym Leaders and betraying hardened criminals was just everyday business. Maybe it is for her.

“So then you waited for me to beat Oberon so you could steal that key, when Oberon was weak and distracted. All to unlock… something.” As I spoke, I gestured at the unusual platform she was standing beside.

She started doing a slow clap before cutting off after the first beat as her hand obviously still stung. “Very astute.” That smug tone really bugs me, like she thinks she has the upper hand. “That ‘something’ is an ancient vault that has belonged to Oberon’s family for generations. Just think of the history stored within!”

“And you thought trying to steal from a Gym Leader would be better than, say, asking him?”

She snorted. “Oh, I’ve tried.”

“Surprised he didn’t recognize you when we described you, then.” I pointed out and she just kept on grinning.

“Much like the poachers, Zoroark here disguised me when I went to him. Why, even with your unusual ability to track me, I bet you can’t say that this is what I really look-”

“It is,” I interrupted her spiel. “You put way too much detail into this, and Zoroark is exhausted. You aren’t wasting their energy trying to fool me again like this.” That, and I know what you look like from the games, and you look almost identical, only a bit younger really. That got a scowl from her, but she let the point drop.

“Oberon is hung up on some family oath to not open the vault, despite all the treasures it has to hold. Even with his fortunes turning up dry, he’d rather hook up with a nouveau riche rather than open this.” She gestured at the dias beside her as she spoke. “There’s even supposed to be a Magearna inside here.”

“Really?” My voice slipping out and foot stepping forward happened without thought, and I stopped myself with a glare. Raifort’s laughter echoed in the cavern, showing she hadn’t missed it either.

“Whatever, it doesn’t matter. I’ve got the key, so you can’t open that vault.” I shot back even as my mind was still whirling at the idea.

“No… but you could. No one else is here; who’s to say that you didn’t arrive a bit late? We can investigate the vault together, plunder its secrets- oh don’t frown!” She seems pretty sure of herself, despite how dark it is. Could she have Aura? I don’t actually know if Dark Type Aura would let her see through this, but I’m having trouble even with my Flying Aura. Bird-like senses only go so far.

She continued. “I wouldn’t take much, just want to study it. And I wouldn’t say anything if a certain legendary Pokemon found its way to your hands, either.” Raifort chuckled darkly before adding, “Then you can go back a hero! Return Klefki to the Gym Leader, everyone wins. What do you say?”

I said nothing, remaining silent for a long minute. Wish I could say I’m not tempted, but I am. Magearna is incredibly rare, an artificial soul that pilots a mechanical body, much like a prototype Rotom. Even if it was just an empty body, there’s so much I could learn from studying it, to say nothing else of the rest of what could be sealed away in that vault, like Raifort wants. To study the history of this world up close, to open an ancient vault…

“No,” I whispered before shaking my head and saying louder. “No, I won’t do it.”

“Huh?” She said, her composure slipping for just a moment. “Why not? Could the potential I saw in you be wrong?” The last part she muttered more to herself than me.

“You ask, who’d know? I’d know, and I’d have to live with that. And as tempting as it is, there are some things better left uncovered. If Oberon was so committed to keeping it sealed, he probably did so for a reason.” As I spoke, I released Phantasm, and then Notch and Miles as well, joining Nightwing and me.

Raifort wasn’t idle while I did so, releasing a Scizor, Haunter, Grumpig, and Seviper as well, joining the Zoroark on her side, before putting down her final Pokeball without opening it. “No place for Finneon anyways.”

“Really? A Scizor? Would have thought a girl like you would have gone for Kleavor.”

My words seemed to baffle her. “What? You know how to evolve a Scyther into Kleavor? I should have expected given the Hisuian Zorua-”

I interrupted her. “Everyone knows how. Blueberry Academy discovered it like, two years ago.” To be fair, they’re still the only ones who know how to manufacture Black Augurite, so anyone wanting one has to go hat in hand to them, but it’s not that difficult a process to get them to evolve a Scyther, from what I’ve heard online.

“Ahh, I don’t really concern myself with current events,” she sniffed.

“Yeah, I got that,” I snarked at her. “Guess there’s no point in asking you to come in quietly, huh?”

“Indeed not, you aren’t mad enough to try that. Too smart to be a tool and too self-righteous to be a partner, you really are the worst, aren’t you?” She asked rhetorically, moving her hand in the darkness.

“Worse than a thief that works side-by-side with poachers? Don’t think so.”

“Your team is strong, but you’ve just been through a Gym Battle, do you really want to do this?” I stepped forward defiantly, and she sighed, an angry edge to it.

As we bantered, I kept my eyes peeled for any of her Pokemon trying something but didn’t see any movement, until suddenly there was a sensation of claws on the back of my neck.

Whirling around, I saw nothing. What? But- gah! Pivoting back around, I saw Raifort and her team still there. “I detest the idea of going to jail, and while you seem familiar with the idea of using force, I’ll spell it out clearly - I won’t be the only one going down if you come after me.”

“I won’t give you the key,” I managed to spit out, words failing me as my breath grew short. Don’t panic; keep it together!

“Figured that was a lost cause.” She started stepping towards the ledge, and her Grumpig’s eyes glowed in the dark, along with the barrier she made to step down off of it. “Enjoy your win this time, hero girl.”

My mind railed at me, screaming at me to ‘do something!’ To find some way to stop her, something that wouldn’t overly risk my life or… anything. My Pokemon even glanced at me from the corner of their eyes, ready to spring into action at my command. But I did nothing, standing frozen in place until she had descended out of sight.

Why couldn’t I think of anything? Everyone says I’m so smart, and look at me! Such an idiot, a loser! A coward.

Cautiously, I stepped forward, looking to see if it was a trick, and she was just waiting to spring back up, but no. They had disappeared into the depths. With the jammers she set up still unfound, it’ll take a while for anyone to try and catch her trail.

Looking over at the dias, I saw the key slot in the center, with circular grooves all around. Probably would make a staircase that rises up and connects to the big building above. Must look pretty cool.

With a heavy sigh, I recalled my team, turned on my heel, and started marching back the way I came.