Mt. Moon II - Everyone Has a Lucky Rock

Despite Slate’s surge of confidence, the darkness had a way of sapping one’s strength. The knowledge of being alone, surrounded by dangers in a hostile territory, was an all too familiar situation to him. First he needed to check on his Pokémon. They were released with a flash of light that left red lines fading in his vision.

Light danced off the stone walls as Slate turned his head slightly to examine Vulpix. She was dirty, her usually pristine white fur covered in dust which seemed to offend her something fierce. But she moved without hesitation, alert and focused on her surroundings. She noticed Slate looking and barked, waving her tails in his direction, before focusing once more. Slate reached down and gave her a scratch on the back of her head with a smile.

As he stood back up, he caught a glimpse of Scyther. One of her wings was bent, agitating the Pokémon, but Slate knew he couldn’t straighten in the cave. It had to be done just right lest he permanently hamper her ability to use them by accident and it was not something to be done in the dim lighting of the caves. Slate’s mind turned to his final Pokémon, even though it was not his.

Ralts was mourning. They formed deeply personal bonds with their Trainers, so much so that their evolved forms have been witnessed utterly destroying their opponents if they present their Trainers a threat. But this deep empathy has a drawback in the form of attachment, and the poor little Ralts was painfully severed from its previous Trainer.

Ever since she joined their group Slate tried talking to her but she rarely responded. Vulpix took it upon herself to ensure Ralts ate, sometimes nipping lightly at her to remind her to. Scyther, in a rare show of vulnerability, even stood protectively behind Ralts, watching her back while she ate slowly, picking at her food. And each evening they quietly barked and chittered at Ralts, trying to talk to her, to break her out of her shell.

Even now Ralts was curled up on Slate’s backpack, hiccuping slightly to herself. Slate slowly reached up and gave her a gentle caress on her head. He tried not to let the emotions that welled in his chest for her out, lest he make it worse for her. Judging by her slight flinch, Slate hadn’t done it well enough.

Slate slowed to a stop. He was tired. Tired and drained if he were being honest with himself. He eyed the cavern they were in before spotting a small chamber off to the side, and directed his light into it.

“Check it out, Scyther, we're making camp,” he ordered.

Scyther chittered before entering without complaint. Vulpix and Slate eyed the tunnel ahead and behind them, keeping a wary eye out for Wild Pokémon. They did not have to wait long as Scyther reappeared, gesturing with one of her scythes. Slate led his Vulpix inside and was pleased to find an almost perfectly round room with a flat floor. He placed his backpack and Ralts off to the side before quickly setting up camp for the evening.

As he spread out his sleeping bag, Slate watched Ralts out of the corner of his eye. She dropped to the cold stone floor and wrapped her arms around herself. It only took Vulpix a moment to approach and begin to groom Ralts which Ralts seemed to tolerate.

Slate finished and sat down across from Ralts, while Scyther stood watching the entrance with wary eyes. “How are you doing, Ralts?” Slate asked.

Ralts looked up at him before glancing away. “I see. Well how about a distraction? I’ve got an idea for something that could be fun, I wager.”

Ralts looked up at him before shrugging, a remarkably human-like gesture for such a small Pokémon. Slate held up a pebble he took from the ground. “We take turns flicking this at one another. If I don't catch it you get a point and if you don't catch it I get a point. Do you want to play?”

She shrugged again but didn't look away from the pebble in his hands. Vulpix ceased her grooming and moved in between the pair, while Scyther watched from her place near the wall. Slate flicked the pebble.

It soared through the air toward Ralts before halting a hand width from her, glowing softly. Slate sighed. “I suppose I should have said no powers, huh?”

Ralts almost giggled before flicking it back at Slate. He caught it but winced at the sharp pain. “I see you play dirty too, well two can play at that game!”

Slate pretended to flick it one way before flicking it another. It was all for naught as Ralts caught it even more easily this time. This time a grin definitely crossed her face before she flicked it back at Slate.

“Ow,” Slate deadpanned. Ralts had hit him in the chest. “I suppose that's one point for the little cheater.”

He made sure to laugh at the end of his statement to show the Ralts that there were no hard feelings. Then he realized his emotions had already done the work for him as Ralts was definitely smirking up at him. He flicked the pebble back.

Suddenly a blur of white filled the air as Vulpix leaped up, snagging the pebble out of thin air.

“Hey, you can't do that!” Slate protested in amusement. Ralts also squeaked something at Vulpix that Slate wagered wasn't very polite considering the dismissive tail flip she received. He lunged toward his Vulpix only to hit the ground, sending a cloud of dust everywhere. “Ow.”

Vulpix's eyes widened as Ralts pounced on her, tackling her to the floor in a surprising show of strength. The pebble flew free from her mouth and Slate quickly scooped it up, holding it aloft. “Ha, now I've got it!”

Silence filled the room and Slate became keenly aware of eyes on him. Turning he saw two Pokémon advancing on him quickly, all conflict between them forgotten. They took him to the ground in a pile of fur and light bites while Scyther looked on impassively.

“No!” Slate shouted dramatically as the pebble bounced away from him. It was soon lost among all the others on the floor. He pet the Pokémon clambering on him instead. “Well it was fun while it lasted.”

Vulpix evidently agreed as her wagging tails smacked Slate in the face. He pushed them off with a laugh to feel Ralts' small hands gripping his hair from her perch on his shoulder. He looked toward her and smiled and for the first time in days she smiled back.

“Let's get some rest guys,” Slate said. “I want to get out of these caves and into the sun as soon as possible.”

Hours passed and they slept. Slate didn’t know what woke him but something did. He quickly turned on his flashlight but nothing revealed itself except for his sleeping Pokémon. He felt the smallest tremor.

“Wake up, we're moving,” Slate said. He didn't know why but he suddenly felt incredibly unsafe here. Slate quickly stuffed his sleeping bag into his backpack while a stronger tremor shook its way through the cavern.

Instinct saved them as a feeling of dread gripped Slate. He grabbed the two closest Pokémon, Vulpix and Ralts, and dove to the side. It wasn't a moment too soon as the ground burst beneath their feet and the long winding body of an Onyx shot upward.

Slate quickly recalled his Pokémon and moved toward the exit. Fighting an Onyx underground was a recipe for disaster and he was going to focus on getting the hell away from whatever aggravated it. He ran with Ralts in his arms.

Love this story? Find the genuine version on the author's preferred platform and support their work!

The Onyx roared again and the ground rumbled once more. Another Onyx shot through the walls ahead of them, roaring at them with all of the might of two planets colliding. Slate skidded to a halt before running the opposite way, back where they came.

The first Onyx entered the cavern and roared at the second. Slate dove to the side just in time for a boulder to be torn from the wall and hurled down the hallway at the second Onyx. The ground began to rumble more and Slate barely had the time to hold Ralts tightly to his chest when the floor fell out from beneath them.

They slid down for what felt like hours but was really just a handful of seconds. Slate’s flashlight was torn from his grasp and flickered in the darkness as it was covered by stones. They crashed into the floor alive and battered. But a rumbling behind them was all the warning Slate needed to move.

A terrific crash filled their ears and Slate stumbled at the pain. Even as shards of rock hit him he kept moving, desperately trying to keep ahead of the rock slide even though he couldn't see where he was going through the dust and loose gravel. He ran straight into a wall.

Slate collapsed, panting and in pain as his ankles and shins were surrounded by rocks and pebbles and dirt. Fortunately it didn't go any higher than that and Slate sat there panting in silent pain, trying to catch his breath after the multiple near death experiences.

“Are you alright?” Slate finally asked. Ralts was trembling non-stop, her hands wrapped tightly around Slate's neck. He put a comforting hand on her back “It's alright, I'm still here. I'm still here. We’re still here.”

The cloud of dust slowly settled revealing a new cavern, half-filled with rocky debris and dust, but away from the crashing they could hear overhead. Slate breathed a sigh of relief and let himself rest against the wall while the pain threatened to overwhelm him. Next to him, a pile of rocks leaked light, revealing where his flashlight had landed. He quickly reclaimed it, examining its dented shell and cracked lens. He hoped it would last long enough for them to leave the mountain.

“We're okay,” he finally said. His words and comforting hand slowly calmed down Ralts but Slate knew they had to move. He placed his flashlight aside and began to dig himself free. It was only once his legs were free of the rocks Slate realized how much pain they were in. He tentatively put weight on them but almost shouted out in pain. His left leg was definitely broken.

He struggled to pull collapsible rods he used to pitch his tent out of his pack. His climbing rope joined it a moment later and when combined with one another he formed a loose splint around his leg. He then gritted his teeth and pulled sharply on the rope to tighten them.

“!!!” Slate screamed as his leg was forced back into its proper position. He panted heavily and tears fell from his eyes. He gritted his teeth though and continued to tighten the rope until his leg was fully secure.

Throughout it all Ralts whimpered, her little arms wrapped around his neck. He pet her back reassuringly. “It's okay, I'm better now,” he lied. “It's time for us to go.”

He quickly released Scyther whose sharp eyes swept the area. They landed on Slate's injured leg in confusion however and she chittered at him. “I need you to help me walk,” Slate said, using the cave wall to force himself upright. He limped toward Scyther who allowed him to wrap an arm around her neck.

Slightly more secure in walking, Slate released Vulpix who began to try to shake the dust from her fur. “Vulpix, I need you to lightly ice my leg,” he said.

Vulpix sneezed, spraying half the area around Slate with a light coating of ice. Ignoring Scyther's angry grumbles, Slate instead breathed a sigh of relief. “Thank you. I need your nose to find us a way out of here. We can't stay in the caves. Everyone else keeps an eye and ear out for danger,” Slate said. Vulpix barked before taking a deep breath of air. She carefully began to move through the debris, a strange procession of human and Pokémon following her.

A few minutes later, in which the painful throbbing of Slate's leg faded not even slightly, they came across an old marker hung before two paths. While the marker was supposed to point to the exit, age and wear and tear had caused the marker to simply point down.

“Any ideas?” Slate asked his Pokémon at large. None of them had any ideas. “Screw it. Right is wrong and left is right, so we go left.”

They continued their painfully slow walk and Slate was relieved and aggravated that the floor was slowly sloping upward. Relieved because up meant out eventually but aggravated by the fact he had to limp up it. But as their hike upwards continued Slate began to worry. He hadn't fallen that far, had he?

Metal scraped on stone ahead of them. Slate snapped the flashlight toward it and it glinted off the faint metallic shell of an unknown Pokémon. Whatever it was, it was slowly approaching and Slate's Pokémon readied themselves for battle.

Metallic scratches heralded the Pokémon's arrival and everyone looked down at a tiny Aron. It looked up at them with its big blue eyes before carefully placing a small pebble in front of them. It then wandered away.

Slate wasn't sure if he was delirious from the pain in his leg, slightly concussed from the fall or cave-in, or just so exhausted mentally and physically he was hallucinating. “That isn't the pebble we were playing with, is it?” he asked.

Vulpix sniffed it curiously before yipping affirmatively. Slate eyed the Aron, who had placed a slightly larger pebble that was perfectly round next to the first. “Let's get out of here,” Slate finally said. They began to slowly move forward.

Despite Scyther's warning hisses, Aron seemed quite content to give them little stones every few steps, following them all the way but always backtracking to retrieve the first pebble. It was actually rather adorable if Slate thought about it, but considering the amount of knocks to the head he'd received in the last day he wasn’t certain he wasn’t hallucinating it.

Suddenly Aron whined in a rather pitiful manner. Everyone turned to see the small Pokémon had latched onto a smooth rock much too large for it to move and had gotten stuck. As they watched it wriggled its tiny legs futilely to escape and whined once more. Before Slate could even comprehend what he was seeing, Ralts was tugging on his hair to get his attention.

“Yes, Ralts?” he asked. She pointed at Aron. “You want me to help Aron?”

Ralts nodded, pointing at her head. Reasoning that it meant Ralts thought he was friendly, Slate jerked his head to Scyther. Together, they limp-walked over to the struggling Aron. Slate used the wall to bend over carefully, mindful of his injured leg.

He gently tugged on Aron to try to pull it off the rock to no avail. Frowning, Slate looked at the rock Aron was stuck on and realized it wasn't attached that securely to the wall. He put a little pressure on it, causing it to break free which also released Aron from its grasp.

Aron wagged its little metal body at Slate, causing him to chuckle. “You're pretty amusing, little guy. Got any family?”

Slate's question seemed to go right over Aron's head as it wriggled happily at him. “Right. Well, would you like to come with us? I could do with a laugh,” Slate said. Aron wrigged its little body in a way that Slate took for assent.

Slate fished awkwardly at his side for an empty Poké Ball, finally offering Aron one. It nibbled the edge of the release button out of curiosity before it activated, sucking it in. The ball wriggled once before stilling.

Slate placed the Poké Ball on his belt with a chuckle, before glancing at the rock Aron had gotten caught on. Some eye-catching lines stood out on the rock and Slate decided to keep it as a memento of the occasion. He pocketed it and the pebble Aron insisted on presenting them, and together he and Scyther rejoined his other Pokémon.

A few minutes later Slate felt a fresh breeze on his face. Eagerly he and his Pokémon moved as fast as they could, winding around a dark corner. Suddenly bright light filled their vision, blinding them temporarily. A long moment passed before they could see outside Mt. Moon.

And a squad of Rangers looking at them in shock.

----------------------------------------

Time Tracker:

Days passed in Chapter: 3

Total Days: 35

Trainer Card:

Name: Slate

Occupation: Trainer

Ambitions:

* To find his long lost Starter

* To become a Generalist Master, a Master of all Types

Badges: Boulder(II)

Trophies: Inter-Regional Rookie Tournament Qualifier (3rd)

Carry Limit: 3/4

Key items: Lucky Pebble, Aron’s Rock

Pokémon: 3

Name: Scyther (F)

Type: Bug/Flying

Potential Moves: Counter, Fury Cutter, Air Slash, Focus Energy

Core Moves: Rest

Name: Alolan Vulpix (F)

Type: Ice

Potential Moves: Moonblast, Ice Shard, Confuse Ray

Core Moves: Swift, Rest

Name: Aron (?)

Type: Steel/Rock

Potential Moves: ?

Core Moves: ?