By the time James' battle with Hunter ended, it was too dark to continue training, so James and Jen stayed at the Pokémon Centre that night. The next morning, they were right back on the road, with James' Pidgey acting as a scout in case any wild Pokémon decided to accost them. The northward route between the cities was fairly easy to traverse, although a few steep ledges made the route less than straightforward. Some days later, as the pair noted the eccentric Mr. Pokémon's house to the east, they reached the end of Route 30 and stepped onto Route 31, which continued west toward Violet City and home. Jen, however, didn't want to go home just yet.
"Hey, James, why don't we check out that cave over there?" she asked, letting Magby out of her Pokéball. "I'll bet there are some really awesome Pokémon living in there!"
"Uh, Jen?" James said, looking at her as if she were crazy. "That's the Dark Cave. And its name fits. Once you go inside there, you can't see a thing."
"Don't worry, Cyndaquil and Magby can light it up for us, right?" Magby nodded, though she looked wary. Cyndaquil, however, seemed thrilled at the prospect of strong opponents to battle, and in his excitement he almost burned an unexpectant James' shoulder.
"Jeesh!" James yelled as Cyndaquil's back burst into flame. "Don't scare me like that, Cyndaquil!" Cyndaquil quickly put out the flames and nuzzled his master's cheek apologetically. "It's alright, buddy. But wait until you're on the ground to do that." Cyndaquil nodded again and jumped to the ground, running as fast as he could towards the cave.
"Wait for us, Cyndaquil!" Jen shouted, and with Magby and a protesting James in tow, she followed the echidna into the cave.
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"The air's so much cooler in here than outside," Jen remarked five minutes later, as the two youngsters followed the light cast by Cyndaquil and Magby. James, for his part, was nervously looking around, checking the walls and ceiling for any sign of movement. He knew that all manner of darkness-loving Pokémon lived in the caverns, and although he wasn't against catching anything in here, he didn't want to be swamped by a stampede of grouchy Geodude or Zubat.
"Wow," James said, his voice higher than normal, "it was really awesome in here, but I think we should go now."
"Don't be such a scaredy-Meowth, James," Jen said, a grin barely perceptible on her face. "There's definitely something worth catching in here. How about over there?" Before James could stop her, she had bolted towards a darkened corner of the cave, and as her footsteps echoed through the near-silent caverns, a rustling sound emerged, and a small cauldron of Zubat flew out of an alcove near her. She shrieked in surprise, and James and the two Fire-types raced towards her.
"Jen, are you okay?" James asked with concern as Jen watched the Zubat disappear with wide eyes. Jen nodded, already starting to calm down. "You see what I mean? You can't just sprint through this place, there's too many Pokémon that could jump out of nowhere."
"Are you kidding?" Jen said, a little more quietly than before; despite the shock from the Zubat, she didn't seem to have lost any of her enthusiasm. "I'm going after those Zubat! Do you know how strong they can get if you train one right? I could definitely raise it into a Golbat, and even a Crobat! I've just gotta have one!" With that, she dashed off, with a visibly-exhausted Magby following reluctantly to light her trainer's way. James shook his head, and then followed with Cyndaquil. He hadn't gone more than three steps before he tripped over what seemed to be a small rock. To his shock, two arms appeared at the rock's sides and pushed it out of the ground. It glared at James, who had evidently disturbed its nap, and pointed to Cyndaquil in an obvious challenge. Cyndaquil's already-blazing flames intensified, and he squeaked at the other Pokémon in response. James took out his Pokédex and aimed it at the Rock-type.
"Geodude, the Rock Pokémon." the Pokédex announced. "Geodude usually do not interact with humans, but become disgruntled if travelers trip over or step on them."
"James? What're you...oh, wow, a Geodude!" Jen said as she returned to see where her friend had gone. "If you train one enough, it'll evolve into..."
"I get it, Jen," James said, and Jen let out a hmph and stepped back, giving James space to maneuver. "Cyndaquil, let's catch that rock! Quick Attack!" Cyndaquil dashed at the rock and bounced off, letting out a squeak of pain. "What's wrong now?" James asked as Cyndaquil regrouped.
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"James, Cyndaquil's moves aren't very effective against Rock-types!" Jen called from behind him. "If you keep this up, you'll get into a drawn-out fight and might lose!"
"Well, Pidgey won't be much more help..." James said, trying to figure his odds of catching the Rock Pokémon. "Cyndaquil, use your Ember and wear it out! It has to get tired eventually!" Cyndaquil nodded and loosed a cloud of fire bolts that hit Geodude, causing it to shy away in pain and surprise. "Alright, don't let up. Keep up that Ember!" When Cyndaquil launched the attack, the Geodude glared, and as Cyndaquil paused for breath, the Rock-type erupted in flames.
"James, it's been burned! If you're going to catch it, do it now while it's recovering!" Jen shouted. Before James could even think about throwing a ball at it, though, Geodude curled up and launched itself at Cyndaquil, sending the Fire-type flying. "Oh no, that's Rollout! If you don't hurry, it'll get more powerful and knock Cyndaquil out!"
"Right!" James shouted, and took out a Pokéball. "Okay, here goes nothing..." he muttered as he aimed as best he could in the near-darkness. He let out a yell as he threw the ball, and was almost surprised to see it make contact and open up. The Geodude turned to red energy and was sucked inside, and the ball started shaking as it landed. James watched in anxious anticipation, and Cyndaquil tensed up, still not trusting that the ball would do its job. After three, then four shakes, the light on the ball went out, and the tone signaling a successful catch sounded. James walked up to the ball, illuminated by Cyndaquil's flame, and picked it up, a grin slowly making its way onto his face.
"Alright! I caught myself a Geodude!" Cyndaquil nervously hopped onto James' shoulder and looked at the ball apprehensively, expecting the ball to open again and release its occupant. "Cyndaquil, do you have to do this every time I catch a Pokémon? The ball's not going to open unless I want it to, and right now I don't. So relax, buddy. We've got a new friend to travel with us now."
"You certainly sound confident." Jen remarked, smiling at her friend. "Now, let's go find those Zubat. I'm going to catch one if it takes all day!" As Jen ran off, Magby squeaked in protest and followed, and James shook his head as he and Cyndaquil did the same.
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"We're lost. In the Dark Cave. With only five Pokémon, two of whom are weakened and none of whom are powerful against Rock-types, to protect us if anything dangerous appears." James said half an hour later, watching Jen and Magby search for the Zubat they'd disturbed earlier. "Jen, I know you want to catch one of those Zubat, but can you maybe wait until we find a brighter cave? Maybe after we get home?"
"Don't worry so much, James!" Jen responded, straining to try and find some sign of the bat Pokémon. "Being in a cave like this is awesome! It's so mysterious and exciting!" James shook his head in resigned exasperation. To him, the cave was a disaster waiting to happen. He couldn't wait to get out, and neither could Cyndaquil, who was poking Magby with his snout to try and get the Live Coal Pokémon's attention. Magby eventually lost patience with him and swung her fist at the echidna; in mid-swing, her fist caught fire, and sent Cyndaquil careening into a wall, letting out an indignant squeak as he bounced off.
"Was that what I think it was?" James asked, looking at Magby with wide eyes. Magby had already hurried over to Cyndaquil and was squeaking an apology, and Cyndaquil slowly nodded before bolting for the safety of James' shoulder.
"That was a Fire Punch." Jen confirmed, and Magby's shoulders slumped, embarrassed at her mistake. "Don't be so sad, Magby! You learned a new move, and it's really going to help us out!" After her trainer had reassured her, Magby responded by using her newly-learned move on the wall...prompting the Zubat cauldron they had disturbed earlier to fly right back out!
"Not again!" James shouted, throwing himself on the ground as the bats shot out of their alcove, flying out towards the inner cave.
"Oh, no, you don't! Magby, Ember!" Magby sent fire bolts at the racing Zubat, knocking one down as it tried to fly away. The bat Pokémon flew back up and opened its mouth, unleashing an unearthly shriek that shook the cavern and made James' hair stand on end.
"Jen, that's Supersonic! If Magby gets hit, she'll get confused!"
"Well, we won't let that happen, will we? Fire Punch!" Magby leaped at her adversary, swinging its burning fist at the Zubat. As the punch hit, Zubat sank its fangs into Magby's fist, causing her to squeak in pain. "Oh, no! Magby, use Ember to get away!" As the fire sparks hit Zubat, it fell to the ground, visibly weakened. "Alright, James, you've been having all the fun when it comes to catching Pokémon! Now it's my turn!" Jen took out a Pokéball and threw it at the fallen bat, sucking it inside. The ball shook once...twice...three times...and then lay still. "Yeah, alright! We got Zubat!" Jen shouted, giving Magby a hug. She picked up the ball and tossed it lightly, letting the newly-caught Pokémon out. "Zubat, we need your help. Can you lead us out of here?" Zubat chittered in response before flying slowly towards the exit.
"Finally!" James shouted as they started out of the cave. Jen responded with a friendly punch on the shoulder and a muttered "scaredy-Meowth" as they left the Dark Cave and returned to Route 31.
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Outside the cave, Jen recalled Zubat and looked west towards the towering pagoda that dominated the Violet skyline.
"We're almost home, James. You ready to show everyone how far we've come?"
"Absolutely," said James, and they rushed towards the gatehouse, Violet City, and home.