“Lindon, we’re leaving now!” Cashe shouted into the cave.
“What? Why?” Lindon came running, both Vulpix now out of their pokeballs and in his arms. They were kicking their legs in the air as they noticed Sneasel by Cashe’s legs.
“Absol,” Cashe pointed at the rocky ledge the pokemon had just occupied, “Showed up and sprinted off. Heading towards town.”
Lindon blanched, color draining from his face, eyes going wide, “What? W-what do we do? What’s going to happen?”
“I don’t know,” Cashe said, “But we need to hurry.” He took out his pokedex and tried to contact Emilia again.
“A t-tsunami?” Lindon guessed. He squinted out over the rocky plains, the ocean just visible in the dim evening light from their elevated position.
“I don’t know,” Cashe growled. The pokedex rang and rang. The line went dead. He swore and tried again.
“All the islands formed around active volcanoes,” Lindon craned his neck to the towing mountain above them, “You don’t think that-”
“There are supposed to be signs of eruption, right?” Cashe said, following Lindon’s gaze. The rain and the clouds made it impossible to see the summit of the mountain. Or even more than a few hundred meters up. The line went dead again.
Shit. He stuffed the pokedex back in his pocket and clenched his fists.
“We need to get back, now.” Cashe said, “There’s something wrong. I can’t get a hold of Emilia.” His heart pounded in his chest, his breathing rough and tight. Not again. It would not happen again. He took off in the direction Absol ran.
“Apollo, wait!” Lindon returned both Vulpix to their pokeballs and ran after him, “It’s wet and dark, you need to be careful!”
“I don’t care,” Cashe snarled, “Sneasel, find that Absol. We’re following it.”
“Sneasel.” Sneasel nodded his head, serious.
Sneasel took off, maintaining a lead of a few dozen meters. Every few seconds he turned back, making sure Cashe could keep up. Lindon struggled behind them both, his short stature making the near sprint all the more difficult for him. He shouted and fell on a slick rock, crashing to the ground, hard, his knee colliding with a protruding edge of stone with his full weight behind it. Lindon shouted in pain and rolled onto his back holding his knee.
Cashe swore and turned around. Goddamn rocks. The landscape was too rough and uneven. He needed a god damn flying type. Some sort of support pokemon that-
He swore again and ran over to Lindon pulling him onto his feet. The boy groaned and shook his head. There was already a bruise forming where he bashed his knee. Cashe took out his borrowed pokeball and summoned Mudsdale.
“Here you go,” Cashe said, helping Lindon onto the beast, cursing himself for not thinking of it sooner. His arm twinged in pain as the weight of Lindon’s body stressed his healing injury, but he ignored it. The cast was there for a reason.
“Thanks,” Lindon muttered. He took out his own borrowed pokeball and a second Mudsdale appeared on the rocky field. Cashe hauled himself up. The pokemon was awkward to sit on without a proper saddle and he could already tell it would be an uncomfortable ride, but Emilia had all three saddles in her backpack and he wasn’t going to take the time to saddle it properly even if they were here now.
“Follow Sneasel,” Cashe ordered, Lindon echoing him a second later. The enormous pokemon gave a noise of complaint at his harsh tone, but started moving. Mudsdale clomped over the terrain like it wasn’t even there, the uneven surface flattening beneath the ground type pokemon’s hooves, rocks that should have barred their way, crumbling to dust. It was like riding a snow plow or bulldozer. The obstacles were moved or flattened as they made their way across the field. The flowing water draining from the mountain was no hindrance to Mudsdale either, the enormous pokemon weighed so much that Cashe doubted it would be troubled even in the middle of a hurricane.
As the Mudsdale became more comfortable with the environment, they picked up their pace, soon reaching a full gallop. They still couldn’t keep up with Sneasel, Cashe’s small pokemon was much too agile for that, but they were making good time. Cashe heard Lindon moan in pain as the pace increased, the saddleless ride jarring his injured leg.
Cashe’s heart, stuck in his throat, finally stopped its panicked pounding as they began to move at speed. He gripped at Mudsdale’s mane, white knuckled and holding on for all he was worth. He could feel his hands shaking under the tension of his grip, his injured arm making the sensation all the more uncomfortable. He forced himself to breathe slowly, forced himself to relax, forced himself to ignore the panicked thoughts tearing through his mind. She would be fine. He would not lose her. Not again. Not again.
Soon, Cashe spotted Absol again, standing on a ridge overlooking the field in front of Tapu Village. The village sat in the dim evening light, the shadow of the earth passing over it as the sun disappeared behind the horizon. As they approached, Absol’s uncanny presence resurfaced, and Cashe felt deeply unsettled.
Absol bolted off again as they approached, following a trail down the ridge. Sneasel ran after it, keeping pace. The Mudsdale followed, the path down the ridge twisting and full of switchbacks, but the study pokemon had no trouble.
A few minutes later they were at the button of the ridge, only a flat plain of grass between them and the village. Cashe shouted and the Mudsdale picked up speed. Absol was running now, Sneasel running along beside him, effortlessly keeping pace. As they neared the village, Absol broke off, heading for the far side of the town. Sneasel moved to follow, but Cashe called him back. Absol would be warning the villagers. They needed to find Emilia.
Sneasel returned to Cashe, jumping through the air and landing on the galloping Mudsdale with grace. Mudsdale didn’t even snort as it gained a new rider, charging down the road towards the village.
Cashe and Lindon burst into the town, riding along the main road. Cashe shouted and the pokemon slowed, turning to the motel. Cashe jumped as they stopped, landing on the ground awkwardly and falling into a sloppy roll. Wet mud covered but he ignored it, turning to help Lindon off the Mudsdale he was riding.
His arm twinged in pain again, but he ignored it, just as before. He marched into the motel, but stopped when Lindon stumbled to the ground, crying out in pain.
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Lindon lay in a puddle of mud, rain pouring around him. Mudsdale was bending his neck down, offering support of him to stand, but Lindon didn't take it; he was too busy gripping his leg in pain. His leg shook as he rolled over and tried to stand, but his knee was already swollen to the size of a melon. The joint refused to move.
“Shit,” Cashe returned to Lindon’s side and lifted him in his arms, holding him in a princess carry.
Lindon squirmed, “I’m fine. I can walk.”
“You can’t,” Cashe said. He could feel the heat coming off the swollen knee and Lindon’s face was red from the pain, “I’m taking you to the Pokemon Center.”
“I can’t stay there! Something’s wrong!” Lindon said. He tried to break out of Cashe’s hold but stopped and hissed in pain as his knee tried to bend. “We have to find Emilia,” he whimpered.
“I will, then we will come get you and get safe.” Cashe said as he jogged across the road to the Pokemon Center.
A nurse without the signature Joy hair sat behind the desk with a bored expression on his face. It changed to professional in a flash as he saw Lindon’s form in Cashe’s arms. He hopped to his feet and rushed forward taking Lindon out of his arms.
“What happened to him?” The nurse said, carrying Lindon into the back room, “Sir?”
Cashe was already leaving. The nurse could take care of Lindon and Lindon could tell the nurse anything he needed to know. Cashe needed to find Emilia.
He ran back across the road and into the motel. He froze halfway through the foyer. There was a very awake, very familiar looking young man sitting behind the desk. The man looked different without the green suit, but Cashe wasn’t going to forget that face. A deep well of rage slowly rose in his chest.
Cashe walked up to the desk. The young man stared at him, eyes going wide in recognition.
“Where’s the sleeping guy and the Gothorita?” Cashe said. His voice came out like a slab of granite. His hand dropped to Ivysaur’s pokeball.
“H-he’s on b-break,” the man’s eyes flicked between Cashe’s and the pokeball he was slowly removing from his belt.
“I see,” Cashe’s eyes wandered to the rack of key’s behind the desk. Only two missing now. He set his jaw, knuckles whitening as he gripped the pokeball in his hand. “Where’s Emilia?”
“I-I’m not sure who that- Ah!”
Ivysaur landed on the desk in a flash of light as Cashe cracked open his pokeball. His loyal pokemon glared down at the man in front of them.
“Ivy.” Ivysaur’s croak came out cold and sinister.
“Grab him.”
Ivysaur’s vines shot out, all four wrapping around the man in front of him and hauling him to his feet. His arms were pinned to his body and his legs were strapped together, the power of Ivysaur’s vines overwhelming. The man screamed and Ivysaur dragged him over the desk, holding him an inch from Cashe’s face.
“What are you doing? Put me down!”
“Where is Emilia?” Cashe growled, “What is Team Starlight doing here?”
Cashe recognized him. The young man was one of Team Starlight’s grunts. It was the same man that Lindon battled and let go, the same man Cashe battled all the way back on the cruise. Cashe looked down at his belt and removed the pokeball from it. It should contain a Pikachu, but it could very well be a Raichu now. Best to keep it away from the man. Sneasel watched the exchange from the corner of the foyer. His eyes narrowed and Cashe caught the glimpse of a smile on the pokemon’s face.
Creepy little dark type. Oh well.
“Give that back!” The grunt struggled against Ivysaur’s vines, his effort yielding no result. Sneasel darted over to them and crawled up his leg, claws digging into the grunt’s clothes as he pulled himself onto his shoulder and perched there, uncomfortably close to the man’s face. The grunt leaned away squirming in fright as Sneasel hissed.
“Where is Emilia?” Cashe demanded. His arm twitched with the urge to hit the man. To beat him until he made noise no longer, until his pathetic struggling only existed as gasps of pain and sobs of hopelessness.
“In the tunnels!” The grunt sobbed as Sneasel ran his claws over his face, tracing tiny scratches in the surface of his skin, “I’ll tell you everything, just don’t kill me!”
Cashe’s stomach roiled in disgust for the man, “What tunnels?”
“They are at the edge of the village, in a shed,” the man sobbed, “Please, I didn’t have a choice!”
“What is Team Starlight doing here?” Cashe shouted. He could feel himself losing control. His hands were shaking from the effort of standing still. Of not lashing out.
“The boss wants what’s buried here,” the man whimpered, “I don’t know-”
“The boss? Max Maple is here?” Cashe felt his roiling gut grow cold.
“N-no. The operation is run by someone new. D-don’t know his name.”
Cashe felt a tiny bit of tension ease out of his body. That was good. If Max Maple were here he wouldn’t be able to do anything. The Gardevoir alone would be too much.
“What are you doing here? Are you the cause of the disaster?” Cashe demanded.
“W-what disaster?”
Cashe glanced at Ivysaur, who tightened his finds around the man, eliciting a deep groan. Tears streamed down the grunt’s face. The man’s voice came in a whisper as he struggled to get air into his lungs. “Please, I don’t know what you are talking about.”
“Where is everyone?” Cashe stepped closer to the grunt and Sneasel hissed.
The grunt broke into renewed sobs, “In the tunnels. They’re helping to dig.”
“The entire village?” Cashe said.
“W-we keep them in line with our psychic types,” the grunt stuttered.
Cashe roared, blind anger taking over his mind. His fist crashed into the man’s jaw with a sharp crash. Pain exploded in his hand at the impact and the grunt went limp in Ivysaur’s vines, out like a light. Cashe turned and vomited on the floor, coughing as his miniscule lunch spewed back up.
Ivysaur looked at him with concern and Cashe waved him away. Ivysaur nodded and dumped the limp body of the grunt onto the floor.
Cashe heaved, stomach still roiling from the stress and sudden violence. He took the rest of his pokeballs off his belt, his hand flaring in pain with the action.
“We need to find these tunnels.”
***
Emilia’s eyes fluttered open and her head spun at the sudden stimulus. Dim light flickered around the dark room she was in, just bright enough for her to make out the dirt walls and ceiling. She groaned involuntarily and tried to move but found she couldn’t. Rope dug into her wrists, ankles and knees and she shifted in place.
The pain helped her focus, clearing some of the muddiness from her mind, allowing her to look around, albeit weakly. She was still in the tunnels, in some sort of cavern. A pair of voices echoed through the hall, a man and a woman. She tried to sit up to hear them better, but stopped as the movement produced a wave of nausea and she slumped back to the ground.
Loose dirt pulled at her skin and she glanced down. She had been stripped of everything but her bra and underwear. She shivered as her brain caught up with the cold around her. The voices became clearer. They were moving towards her. She slumped to the ground and shut her eyes, trying not to move. She could make out a few words now, but her head was having trouble processing them.
“-ing fine. You — that. I — some sort — taking well. She-” The woman’s voice. It sounded concerned.
The man responded, his voice was more garbled to her, as if he was speaking from a great distance. “-itch can leave — don’t care. Keep trying — with Beheeyem.”
“-damage?”
“I — if that. — don’t care. Do it anyway.”
The voices faded as the speakers turned away from her prison and turned down another corridor. Emilia sat up again, fighting through the wave of nausea that came with the movement. The room was small, a single electric lamp lit the room. A single door led into the unknown twists and turns of the makeshift tunnels. Emilia staggered to her feet.
*****