Emergence (Final Update - 28.03.12)

[SuperFireKirby]

A direct quote from GreekGeek was used. That gave me a laugh.

[SirIngusBingus]

I really enjoy how you describe the Pokemon before you reveal it, as we can try to guess what it is. I usually end up being wrong, but keep it up!

[GreekGeek]

Great cliffhanger, great story.
Nothing left to say.

[WiiMan96]

Seriously, man, this is too awesome for its own good. If I were you, I'd take this right off the internet, print it off and send it to a publisher. But I guess that just shows what a frugal, money-seeking bastard I am. Good stuff right there!

[GreekGeek]

Sorry but we had this discussion a lot of times =P
I think we should keep it NSM-exclusive as Cobra likes to call it properly.
And it isn't finished at all, so I hope it'll be years for it's finished
Then send it to a publisher maybe

[WiiMan96]

Sorry but we had this discussion a lot of times =P
I think we should keep it NSM-exclusive as Cobra likes to call it properly.
And it isn't finished at all, so I hope it'll be years for it's finished
Then send it to a publisher maybe

Yeah. It's much more special that way. 

[Cobraroll]

I'm sorry to say that it will be some time before the next chapter is written, maybe as much as four weeks, but I'm going on holiday soon, and even though I'll be home for a day or two before leaving again, I won't have time to write much then. So enjoy this in the meantime, I'm, quite happy with it.

Chapter eighteen: Drawback

I was shocked, didn't see what I was doing. I heard voices. Shouting, crying, and commanding. Everything went past in a blur of panic. They were here, the TLA. I acted somehow, shouted something (I think), and next thing I knew, I was tugged off the ground. I screamt, I had no idea what happened. Something threw me to the right, while holding me in a vicegrip. After a few seconds, I realised that I was flying with Salamence again. He flew even more erratic than usual, I was really scared. My backpack flapped about behind me, it seemed emptier than usual.
"Where's Espeon?", I shouted. "Espeon!"
We dived sharply to the left as something whooshed past us in the air. Salamence said nothing, concentrated all he could on dodging the incoming tranquillizer darts. Below us, I could see three or four snowcats and several snowmobiles. Besides the my classmates, there were a lot of other people there, many of them pointing guns at us. We circled the area for a minute, before I realised that Salamence was awaiting a command.
"Over there!", I shouted and pointed at a cliff some kilometres away. We flew over to it, landing near the top of the cliff.
"Are they following us?", I asked Salamence.
"Mence", he said. I felt like kicking something, without Espeon here, I had no idea what he was saying. And I hadn't brought any other Pokémon, all I had was him and Abomasnow, who I couldn't understand any better. We waited. I could hear the sound of snowmobile engines, and a little later, the ski trail was lit up again. Apparently, the TLA was busy covering all the traces of Pokémon activity, but that was not to say that they weren't following us still.
"I wonder if they knew we were here?", I said to break the silence. Salamence said nothing, he had apparently realised that it would only make the situation darker. I tried to ask a yes/now-question instead. "Do you think it's safe to return to the tent now?"
He nodded, slowly.
"They may have some kind of radar", I continued. "We need to stay close to the treetops, fly between them, when we can. Could you do that?"
He shrugged.
"Then let's go. No time to waste!"
We were in the air a minute later. We flew slowly, barely above the treetops. It was a bit harder to navigate here, and every now and then, we dropped down into a valley or had to dodge trees. We also took a few wide turns to shake off eventual pursuers. After what felt like an eternity, we landed beside the tent. I didn't call Salamence back yet, it was silent here and I was expecting agents to jump out of every shadow.
"Who's there?", Metagross' voice sounded from inside the tent.
"Me, Rob", I said. "Who's there?"
"Metagross, Manectric, Houndoom and Pidgeot", he replied. I ran into the tent.
"We've been discovered!", I shouted. "They got Espeon. And..." I stopped. Sighed, dropped down on the bed. "I met a few from my class. Abomasnow sent a couple of them to dreamland. And the TLA came. They..." I felt like crying. We had lost. "My classmates was very angry with me when we left. They may tell TLA everything. They can identify me, mom... dad... We've lost, folks. Busted"
"So what do we do? Give in?", Metagross said. "Not a chance"
"We go home", I sighed. "We'll wait until tomorrow, mom and dad expects me to be back by then. If, for some reason, the TLA hasn't found our house by then, we can continue living like normal until they come and get us. It will give us a few days, at least"
Houndoom started barking, I understood he was saying something.
"What if we encounter the TLA on our way back?", Metagross translated. "Give in early?"
"Never", he snorted. "Fight to the last, Rob! That's what you always told me!"
"Why?"
"They may be clutching their last straws for all we know. The team you encountered may have been the last few agents, hitting you by
pure coincidence. Until we lose, we still have a chance of winning. Until we know that they have identified you, we assume that they don't. You said Espeon was left behind, and remember, she is an amazing battler. She could in theory have knocked your classmates flat, that would keep the agency at bay until they wake up again"
"That's true", I said. "But isn't it dangerous to assume the best?"
"We have no alternatives. We could keep on hiding, living like outlaws in constant fear of being found, but honestly, I think you'd break down before spring comes. Too little food. And it would be a boring story to tell if you survived. No, for the sake of the general atmosphere, I say we go home and keep fighting"
"Yeah, I've also read that book", I said. "We'll sleep now, take it calmly tomorrow, and go home around midday. Good night"

I bet I wasn't the only one with trouble sleeping that night. TLA had Espeon, I was pretty sure. But what had she accomplished before they got her? Would TLA be waiting at me when I came home? Or were they still unaware of my identity? And how many Pokémon were still roaming free? I had about thirty Pokémon here, I guess TLA could have a dozen or so, which left us at about fifty still roaming. I had done well today, one more day of hunting, and we could have swept in on Pokémon. But without Espeon, not a chance. None of the Pokémon I had caught today could fill her role. Pidgeot was a great find, really effective, but without invisibility, we'd be easy pickings. Today, I had got in Pidgeot, Donphan, Venusaur, Nidoking, Nidoqueen, Hitmonlee, Politoed, Gallade, Golem and Abomasnow, but lost one of my trump cards. And a great friend. What could I do...

Around three o'clock I finally managed to fall asleep. I slept until Metagross hauled me out of bed around noon.
"No need to waste the day by sleeping", he grunted. "Get some breakfast - we've eaten already - and give the team your instructions"
"What?"
"Just get out"
I went out of the tent. The sight that met me was overwhelming. Metagross had released all my Pokémon outside the tent, and the gang now stood awaiting my commands. I counted 29 Pokémon, all at level 100 as far as I could remember.
"Say something", Metagross hissed.
"Good morning!", I tried. "Nice to see you all awake..."
Silence.
"Umm... today, we're going back home. We only need to get past TLA, out of the forest, and..."
"Tar!"
"He has a point", a voice said in my head. I was confused. I didn't think I had any Pokémon left that could communicate by telepathy? I looked closer at the crowd, and saw a Pokémon that looked a lot like Gardevoir at first. But the hairstyle/helmet (It looked a lot like both) was a tad different. It also had a pair of strong legs, and blade-like fingerless arms. Even though Gallade didn't have as much psychic power as its ballgown cousin, it could apparently speak to me. "It's not 'only to get past' these guys. I've talked to the others, and they seem dangerous"
"But so are you!", I said. "Come on! You've battled many strong opponents before, and beat them!"
"Those times, we were fighting under strict rules, and had nothign to risk. And we have never battled humans before"
"And these aren't regular humans either", Metagross said. "But that's not saying we can't beat them. And if we're lucky, we'll just sneak straight past them"
"And if they find us?"
"Like we said tonight, we'll fight", I said. "Can I count on you then?"
"To the last", Gallade replied and bowed, but with a little bitterness in his voice.
"Pack down the tent", I ordered. "We leave in half an hour"

The atmosphere was almost apocalyptic the following thirty minutes. I ate my breakfast in silence, trying to figure out how much the TLA could possibly know about us, and how prepared they were if they met us. So far, we had steamrolled them in open combat, but when possible, they had tried to avoid open combat. If we saw them first, we'd certainly win, I figured out. But if they spotted us before we spotted them...

After a while, the tent was down, and I put all the Pokémon back in to their balls, except Salamence. It was too far to walk back home, we had decided to fly almost to the border of the forest, and pick up my skis there. Weavile had ran over and moved them last night, to a place closer to the city. Now, everything was ready for departure. Hopefully, the TLA was busy searching the remote corners of the forest, and we'd pass unnoticed. As soon as we were back in the city, they couldn't possibly harm us. I hoped.
"Time to fly", I told Salamence.
"Mence", he answered and nodded in the direction of Emily's scarf, that had almost fallen out of the backpack. He bent down and snapped it, and tried to wrap it around my head.
"Thanks", I said. "They may see us, but not identify!"
Salamence roared cheerfully. He grabbed my waist again, and off we went. We flew quite slowly over the treetops, skimming the pines here and there. We tried to avoid the ski trails, followed the most dense forest we could find, and kept away from the restaurants,
roads and popular view spots. If as much as one person saw us, we'd be doomed.

Part two will follow shortly

[Cobraroll]

Chapter eighteen, part two

After an hour or so, we dropped down near the parking area just outside the city. I was frozen, shaking a bit, but relieved. I took off the bag to find Salamence's Poké Ball, and bent down to open it.
"Mence..."
I turned around. Salamence fell to the ground, I could see a dart sitting in his skin just under his right wing. I panicked. All thoughts of the cold disappeared, being replaced by sheer terror. Luckily, I had a cluster of balls in my hands at that very moment, and knew exactly what to do with them.
"AGGRON, GO!", I roared, and threw his Poké Ball to the ground just before me. The iron dino appeared before me, and I could hear the sound of tranquillizer darts pelting against his armour a second later. He covered me well, not a single dart found its mark.
"Tyranitar! Metagross!", I shouted, calling them out. They positioned themselves in a triangle around me, stopping darts coming from other directions.
"This is the TLA. Lay down on the ground, limbs spread", a voice shouted from somewhere. The pelting of darts stopped. "You are surrounded and strongly advised to follow our instructions. We will not be responsible for any damage you may suffer if you resist"
"Never!", I shouted. "Come get us, then!"
I could see them now. Several people, many in hazmat suits, a few vans and snowcats, and some people that could only be soldiers. Most of them carried dart rifles, but I saw a few people with machine guns as well. They spread around us, taking positions behind trees and rocks, but didn't attack us. I called out a few more Pokémon: Nidoking, Blaziken, Nidoqueen, Golem and Gallade. I checked that the scarf fit right every few seconds. If they saw me and could identify me, I'd be done for.
"Listen", a voice said. A man came walking towards me. He was middle-aged, but well fit, wore a black suit, and held up an ID sign to me. I could barely see the words "Lorem ipsum" on it if I squinted. "You've caused us a lot of trouble already, and I'm sorry to say we have done so to you as well. Why not surrender now? End the fighting? Hand them over to us, we know what to do with them"
I said nothing. Nidoking growled beside me, his thirty-centimetre horn pointed straight towards the man. A leap or two, and the man would have that horn stuck deep in his chest.
"Listen, you don't want to fight us for this. So much unnecessary pain... and confusion"
"I will if I have to", I said, trying to keep my voice as deep as possible. No way they were going to identify me by my voice. "I've seen the outcome of a few battles, and I can't say I'm impressed by your guys"
"Don't be a fool. You have no idea what we are capable of"
I looked around a bit. We really were surrounded, I could count about a hundred people pointing stuff at us. Water cannons, dart guns, machine guns, and one guy even had a flamethrower. There were also several agents here, none of them yielding anything, just looking ready for fistfight. The Pokémon stood like statues in a circle around me, only their eyes moving. Suddenly, a whooshing sound. I was encased in a blue bubble, and panicked for a second, even more so when several darts hit the bubble. They bounced off, like fleas on a windshield. Gallade nodded in my direction, and I understood that he had saved me from an attack from behind. Now, their moment of surprise was lost, and the friendly talk gone. The man before me produced a tazer gun from a hidden holster, lifted it towards Nidoking and fired. He had aimed well, two needles hit cracks in Nidoking's otherwise unscratchable armour. He still didn't flinch. The agent pressed a button on the gun, and I could see the wires going from the gun to the needles glow. A short bang, but nothing happened. Nidoking growled, and let loose a roar. The others followed up, soon all the Pokémon roared in unison, a deafening sound. Many of the soldiers took several steps backwards or clenched their guns tighter. Time to break the silence...
"Charge!", I shouted. All hell broke lose. Nidoking was the first to react, he ran for the agent. In two short leaps, he was over him, but didn't ram with the horn. Instead, he grabbed the man by the waist, leapt, and did a somersault. The agent was hauled twenty or so metres before he hit a tree. With a splintering sound, both his spine and the tree trunk broke. The rest of the Pokémon ran in any direction they saw fit. I still stood in the same spot, with Gallade by my side, looking at the battle. We were greatly outnumbered, but far from outpowered. Nidoking proceeded to wreak havoc with the soldiers, who mostly didn't resist, just ran as fast as they could. On other fronts, it was even more chaotic. Blaziken had already ran over to a few of the soldiers, mocking them down like bowling pins. With dance-like movements, he kicked them down one after one, using them as shields when another group picked up the courage to fire at him. That group became Blaziken's next target, he ran over to them, who in turn fled like chased rabbits.
Metagross was still standing in the same spot, apparently doing nothing. On closer inspection, his eyes glowed a light blue. I could see people being thrown from their spots, trees being torn to splinters for no apparent reason, and most bullets fired his way simply stopped mid-air. They who hit their target did no damage whatsoever to the iron crab.
Someone had managed to throw a net over Tyranitar. He ripped it to pieces like paper, and fired Dark Pulses and Ice Beams into the woods. The sound of the explosions and cracking ice deafened most other sounds on the battleground. From time to time he added to the tantrum by roaring hatefully at the TLA in general.
Aggron ran like a loose locomotive, going mainly for the agents. At the moment, he was duelling with two of them. They rolled around him at incredible speeds, kicking or punching him when they got the chance, but he didn't flinch. One of them stopped to pull out a tazer gun. The other tried to distract Aggron, but the Pokémon ignored him, and picked up the man with the tazer. I turned away, didn't want to see what he was doing, but could still hear. Judging by the sounds, Aggron tore him in half, and simply trod down the other. When I turned back a few seconds later, the two were being dragged away by two hazmat guys. Luckily, they were both in one piece, and had got the "sleeping-look" already. They were in for a long vacation to dreamland.
Nidoqueen was the first to fall. She wasn't that big compared to the others, and was shot at with water cannons and beat by agents. She managed to headbutt one of them, but another managed to topple her over. The second after, two hazmat guys came over and put a solid cage over her. Nidoking roared and ran for the spot, but was stopped by a snowcat that rammed into him, full speed. He was thrown to the ground and rolled around until he hit a tree. He then got up again and completely fried the snowcat with a Hyper Beam. Only the caterpillar threads were left, the rest of it was blasted into the woods. However, he had to recharge, stood at the spot and panted for several seconds. By the time he could move again, the cage with Nidoqueen had been loaded onto a snowcat that drove away.
Golem fought like a hero, if a little slowly. Hazmat guys were all around him, just outside his reach, but they couldn't do anything to him either, so the situation seemed a little comical. Six or seven tazer shot wires hung useless from his body.
"Rock Blast!", I shouted to Golem, to speed up the situation. He nodded, and produced a stone the size of a basketball from thin air. He spun around like a discus thrower, and threw the rock at the closest guy. He was flung into the forest along with the rock. Golem continued spinning, and managed to hit three men before the fourth rock missed. However, Golem had gained the upper hand again.
"Blaze!"
I turned around, and saw Blaziken duel with two agents. It was clear that he was on a losing front, the two avoided his punches and kicks, while constantly hitting him. He'd lose if I didn't help him. I dived for the backpack and found a Poké Ball.
"Houndoom, assist him!", I shouted. The hell hound leapt from the Poké Ball, and while still in the air, fired a Flamethrower. The three duellists were encased in a vicious firestorm, trees near them collapsed to ashes, and soldiers ran in all directions to avoid the heat. After the flames had settled, only Blaziken was left standing. The two agents looked unscratched, if one forgot their singed clothes and faces for a second. Funnily enough, the fire had burnt away their eyebrows, but their hair was still intact.
"Blaziken, back!", I shouted. Even though he left the firestorm without major damage, he was too tired to continue. Houndoom continued the battle in his place, chasing soldiers while breathing fire now and then. However, even though we seemed to win on all fronts, the overall picture didn't look too good.
"We're losing", Gallade said. I looked around. Nidoqueen and Salamence were taken away, and the others were struggling. Even though most of the soldiers had panicked and fled, the TLA forces were still strong. Aggron was battling two hazmat guys with flamethrowers, both moved too fast for him to catch them. It was clear that the fires caused him great pain. Someone had managed to wrap thick metal cables around Tyranitar, and were trying to pull him over while blasting him with water cannons. Metagross still stood strong, but was tired, I could see that. A snowcat rammed into him from behind, but didn't achieve much. Metagross turned around to mash it, but
moved too slowly. Another snowcat drove into him from the left. Hazmat guys jumped out of them with tazers. Metagross roared.
"We should flee", Gallade said. "Call back as many as you can, Metagross will provide a distraction"
"No!", I shouted. "I can call out more, we can beat them!"
"Look", Gallade said and pointed. In the distance, someone was carrying a limp Houndoom into a van. I could see the tranquillizer dart still sticking out of his neck.
"Without armour, they're chanceless. We can run, get away. But we have to act now, before it's too late"
"I see", I sighed. "Aggron, back!"
Aggron was really tired, and hazmat men already stood ready with cages when he disappeared.
"Tyranitar! Over here!"
He looked at me, then took a firm grip around the steel cable and snapped it. A final Dark Pulse obliterated the water cannons, and he ran over to me. I called back Golem as well, but decided that Nidoking would be fast enough to run with us. I didn't have time to find his ball anyway.
"Ready when you are, Metagross!", I shouted. The remaining TLA forces concentrated on attacking him, and tried to stop Nidoking and Tyranitar from reaching me.
"We'll run for the ravine", I told the three Pokémon by my side. Gallade and Nidoking seemed unsure, but Tyranitar nodded. I climbed up on his back, clinging to the spikes. I could see deep scratches and dents in his armour, the battle had really hurt him.
"Run!", I shouted. Tyranitar ran. We stormed towards a lone agent that held out his hand in a pathetic effort to stop us. I could hear a "squash" as Tyranitar ran him down. I had great trouble holding on, as Tyranitar jumped and dodged trees a lot. Several snowmobiles and snowcats followed us, they were apparently expecting us to try to escape.
"When's that distr-" I was interrupted by the sound of a deafening explosion. Tyranitar stopped abruptly, Gallade put up a bubble around us. Half a second later, the blast wave hit us. Trees were flattened, snow swept off the ground, and bushes and stones flew like confetti in a hurricane. A snowcat on fire flew over our heads, hit a tree and shattered like a glass hitting a concrete floor. I could see people being flung around like ragdolls, and splinters of trees and rocks rained down for several seconds. The explosion had flattened about a square kilometre of the forest, and the former battlefield was reduced to a smoking crater the size of a football field.
"Metagross!", I roared.
"He'll be fine", Gallade said. "Explosion may look like the brutal end for all parts involved, but the explosion itself happens just above the Pokémon in question, not inside it, so it's not like he blasted himself to pieces. Keep running!"
"We can go back and get him!"
"No way. They were too many. I guess reserve forces are on their way too. Even though they expected to take us down in an ambush, they still had brought a full army. And I think they called in even more when we resisted them"
Tyranitar kept running. A few minutes later, we came to the parking area, which was surprisingly empty. It appeared to be blocked off or something... We stepped out on the gravel.
"Ahh!", someone shouted. It was me, I found out. In best Team Rocket-style, the ground collapsed underneath us. We fell down a hole, five or six metres deep. Next thing I knew, we lay in a heap at the bottom. I could hear voices at the surface.
"Dig out of this", Gallade said and got up. "I'll delay them"
Nidoking nodded, and started to scratch the wall, as if testing the soil. Gallade leapt out of the hole, and the voices began to shout. Seconds later, it was all dark. I could feel soil rain down above me, and hear the sound of claws meeting rock. Nidoking dragged me after him into the tunnel, Tyranitar collapsed sections behind us. It really hurt to be dragged along like this, but I had to concentrate on keeping the bag with me. No time for pain. Minutes later, we broke the wall of what I recognised as the well-known ravine. We tumbled out, all looking pretty grimy. The backpack was torn, but the trainer bag inside was intact. Emily's scarf wasn't as snowy white any more, but it was still firmly wrapped around my head. Nidoking lay beside me, panting heavily, Tyranitar stood as a silent guard. We sat still like that for a minute, waiting. No sounds except for the wind through the trees. We had escaped, it seemed like. But at what cost?

[SuperFireKirby]

Amazing.

[GreekGeek]

Wow.
Speechless.

[Cobraroll]

Sorry for the long drought. I've been away several times over the course of the past few weeks, and with only a day or two at home between the travels, I haven't had time to write much. However, I've had time to work out a plot, so I have plenty of ideas for the next few chapters. And I promise, it won't be this long between chapters next time.

But that's of the future, for now, enjoy:

Chapter nineteen: Homecoming

When you have spent several days in the forest with minimal sets of clothes to change into, it's kinda hard to give the impression
that you have just been at a cabin for the time. Still, I managed to pluck most of the twigs out of my hair, straighten my clothes, and wipe the worst mud and snow off the backpack. When I rung the doorbell at my house, I was quite confident that my parents wouldn't see where I had been. Well, almost.
"Where are your skis?", mom asked as soon as I got in.
"I forgot them in Emily's car", I lied. Most likely, they were TLA property by now, given that the ambush had taken place right where they had been buried. "Got to call her"
I took my bag up to my room, made sure dad was also out of listening range, and called her number on my mobile phone. Hopefully, she was alright...
"Hello?", her voice sounded after the third beep. We both said in unison "Are you all right?".
Silence.
"Yes, I am", she said, her voice shaking slightly. "Even more if you tell me you are"
"Barely", I replied. "We were ambushed. I managed to get a few Pokémon the past few days, but lost some just a few hours ago. It was a huge battle, and..." my voice was all shaky. "They got all my Psychic Pokémon. I really need Gardevoir back now, I can't communicate with the rest otherwise"
"Oh...", Emily said. "I'm so sorry..." she started sobbing. "As for me, we really went to our cabin, I had no idea we were going. Anyway, yesterday, dad was called back from his holiday. Special assignment, they say. Just three hours ago, we got a call. He and a few others had been assigned to disarm a bomb they had found in the forest, from the war, and..." she started crying. "...it went off. He's in hospital, apparently badly injured. Mom and I had to rush back home, and I... completely forgot to bring the Poké Balls."
"It's OK", I said, feeling her sadness. If her father was dying, it was a lot bigger problem than my Pokémon lying in a closed cabin some two hundred kilometres away. At least, the TLA would never find them there.
"We're just outside the hospital now", she continued. "You... called just... when we were about to go in..."
"Oh...", I said, having nothing else to say.
"Mom's calling", she sobbed and hung up. However much I wanted to comfort her some way, a cold, calculating side of me calmly thought that I couldn't count on her help for a while. And now, I had no means of two-way communication with the Pokémon. I sat down on my bed. TLA had gotten a lot of Pokémon that could speak. Bad news for me if they tortured them for info. Also, their use of dart guns meant that all Pokémon without a full armour or ability to shield themselves would be in danger if we met them. This wasn't going to be any easier, despite the fact that I knew more now...
"Rob?", mom's voice sounded from downstairs. I took my backpack with me, and went back down.
"What is it?", I asked.
"Don't you want to tell us how it has been?", mom asked.
"Later", I said. "Tired"
"You've said that a lot in the past few weeks. You know, lately, it feels like you have been avoiding us"
"I've... had a lot to do", I answered, a little nervous. Were they suspecting anything?
"Like what?"
"Friends and school and... stuff"
"What 'stuff'?"
"You know... games...", I said, trying to keep a casual tone.
"Listen, your dad and I downgraded our Internet connection because we think you spend too much time playing games. We can still use it to work, but it's far too slow to play any games on any more", mom said. "That was in October. We haven't heard you complain yet, so I don't think you have played in a while. What are you doing?"
"I...", I said, really struggling. Cover stories need time to make up, and I didn't have more than a few seconds. Mom saw that I was on very thin ice here.
"Is it anything illegal?", she said, her voice shaking. It felt like she saw right through me.
"No...", I replied, pretty confident that there were no laws prohibiting the use of video game monsters in the woods. If they had anything on me, it would have been illegally uprooting trees. Using my pet Godzilla. Yep, if I told the authorities, the legality of the action would have been the least of my problems.
"So what is it? Tell me!", mom half cried. I was cornered. No way to solve this, either tell the truth or downright refuse to speak. The latter was not an option, I must have seemed crazy enough to begin with. Seeing mom like this, with tears in her eyes, I decided that she would find it out sooner or later anyway. No way back now. I took a deep breath and started to reveal the secret:
"You probably wouldn't believe it, but..", I started.
"Enough", she interrupted me. "I don't want to hear it. A lie always follow these words, I know it"
Without a word, she walked past me and up to her bedroom.
Mumbling something along the lines of "going to put my clothes in the laundry" to dad, who was half-sleeping in front of the TV, I walked down to the basement. After sorting out my backpack, I went to check out my cave. The solid door to the hatch room was firmly locked, and we had destroyed the keys, so it took a few minutes to figure out how to open it. After some thinking, I decided to give Weavile a go. He was strong enough to break the door, and small enough not to topple anything over in the process. I told him to "open the door", upon which he picked the lock with a hairpin he found on the floor. The door swung up without a sound. I had used half a bottle of olive oil on those hinges, fearing that mom or dad could hear the creak when it opened, and it had really paid off. Using Swampert, we cleared the mud from the tunnel, and went down to the chamber. Finally climbing over the doorstep, I lifted my flashlight to find the light switch. The sight that met me, however, was totally unexpected.
The place was a mess. Half the floor was missing, and the makeshift stone walls were shattered. The chamber had gotten larger, though, by about six metres to the north. Now, part of it was under the neighbour's garden. The shelves were relatively intact, but the table and chairs were useless.
"What on Earth has happened here?", I asked Swampert and Weavile. It looked like someone had used a giant mixmaster in here, the floor was churned to bits. Swampert croaked something, and Weavile nodded approvingly. He barked a few "Vile!" into the silent darkness. After a few seconds, a low rumbling was heard. It slowly grew stronger. I almost expected it to grow into a loud roar, like it always does in the movies. However, it stopped, and I was half expecting the roof to fall in (the other thing that always happens in movies), or the floor to give away. However, all that happened was that a small brown thing sprouted from the floor. It looked like the tip of a large brown finger, half a meter tall and some twenty centimetres wide, just protruding from the dirt floor. It slowly turned around, and just as I had thought, it had a large red thing on its side, looking a bit like a huge wart, but smooth, and long, narrow eyes.
"Diglett?", I asked, seeing as the thing was alone.
"Trio!", it grunted back. Its voice was surprisingly high-pitched, it sounded like it spoke through its nostrils. Two identical, albeit lower, heads sprouted beside it. I could now see that all of them had a set of bushy eyebrows above the slit-like eyes, making them look like a set of stereotypical finger puppets.
"You've really messed up this place, haven't you?", I sighed and took a step out on the floor. It was firm, but covered in a good decimetre of dirt and dust. Dugtrio, the three headed Mole Pokémon, seemed a little unhappy.
"I suppose there was nothing else to do while waiting", I said, trying to comfort him. "And you had to find roots to eat as well"
I walked over to the shelves and straightened them, then put the trainer bag and the plastic bag of Poké Balls there. I tried to fix one of the chairs, but the nails were dragged out and bent, so I would have to rebuild it to be able to sit on it. Slightly frustrated, I tossed it into a corner, where another leg fell off as it landed. Then I released all my Pokémon into the cave.
The next twenty-five minutes were spent telling about the battle, and a short update on what we knew about TLA. I had to stop occasionally, because a Pokémon wanted to say something, and it did me slightly nervous not to know what they were saying. Were they questioning my leader abilities? Discussing whether or not they would be better off without me? Or how to dispose of me the most effective way? As demonstrated by Tyranitar, these monsters could knock me flat for months if I upset them enough. And the attack Tyranitar hit me with, was far from his strongest. If they tried, they could probably knock me out for a year or more, and down here, no one would find me in the meantime. I was interrupted more and more often, and it seemed like the cackle went on for longer each time. As soon as I was finished talking, the air seemed filled with noise. Screams, roars, croaks, hissing, snapping, you name it. The discussion was raging with all sounds imaginable, but they could all understand it. I couldn't. I felt like some child who had stumbled into a snake nest. My heartbeats were faster and louder, my knees like jelly, and my vision got blurry. I was trapped underground with about thirty monsters who did or did not hate me. I had lied to my parents. My classmates hated me even more, and I was chased by men in black. Things couldn't really get any worse from here. I panicked.
"Tar!", Tyranitar suddenly roared. Everyone fell silent, and looked at me. "Tar?", he repeated again, in an almost concerned voice.
"I'll... be back later", I said, my mouth was dry as sand paper. "Fix the cave in the meantime"
Then I dashed for the tunnel, sprinted out of the room with the hatch, not bothering to lock the door, and ran up from the basement. I managed to hide my dirty shoes in a cupboard (didn't have any memories of it later, I just found them there one day), and went straight to bed, my heart beating like a jungle drum.

Despite being back in my own, comfy bed, I had trouble sleeping. The day had been very long, and not exactly the best day of my life either. After the battle, Tyranitar, Nidoking and I had waited in the ravine for hours before we crept out of the forest, but the tension hadn't given me time to think about the events of the day. Now, the dark silence gave plenty of room for doubt to sneak in.
Could I have won the battle if I had released all the Pokémon? Perhaps we could have steamrolled the TLA, and recapture the ones they took? Or would I have lost it all then? Most of their forces were brutally mowed down in the battle, but they had gotten the upper hand in several cases. And I would have had trouble controlling and looking over everyone, it had been hard enough with the few I had used. Actually, I hadn't managed that either, I hadn't seen that they took Houndoom before Gallade pointed it out to me.
Could I have saved him? I hadn't even looked his way before they took him away. Perhaps I could have seen the danger, warned him, or called him back. Why didn't I call him back? I had his Poké Ball at the top of my bag! I saw him! And Nidoqueen? I could have saved her too! I was cursing myself under my quilt. What a bloody idiot I had been! My thoughts kept churning around for what felt like an eternity...

It was dark. Complete, merciless darkness. Not a trace of light anywhere. It felt like I was standing somewhere in the void, but I couldn't tell what I was standing on, or what was beside me. The thought of standing on the edge of a large abyss made me dizzy, but where I was standing seemed sturdy enough. I kept my feet rooted to the spot.
"Welcome back", a voice said. Mismagius?
"Yes", it said, even if I had just thought it. "You probably wonder why it's so dark here. Nothing is wrong, this is my work. This way, they can't see you"
"Who's 'they'?", I said, with a bad feeling rising in my stomach. "The agency? The TLA?"
"So that's the name? What does it stand for?"
"No idea. The A is probably 'agency', but I have no clue on the other letters", I said. "But why would they see me? They can't monitor dreams, can they?"
"That's exactly what these guys are doing", Mismagius sighed. "They are probably listening to this conversation now, so keep sensitive information to a minimum"
I looked nervously around. I imagined men in suits sitting just beside us in the darkness, hearing every word I said or every thought I thought.
"I'm trying to block them out", Mismagius said in an attempt to comfort me. "They can't see us, that's for sure. And as you may have noticed, I even changed your voice"
Now I noticed that my voice was a lot thinner than it used to be. It was quite unnerving.
"How?", I said. Or squeaked.
"It's just how you hear your own voice. It's got something to do with... never mind. On to business"
"By the way, I haven't heard from you in a while, why haven't you contacted me?"
"You've been away", Mismagius replied. "I need to know your exact position to establish contact with you. The TLA knows that as well, they keep moving our cages around every day so that we can't talk to each other. And I might contact an agent instead if I keep trying random spots around the base, so I haven't made any efforts at organizing anything with the others yet"
"Have you seen more Pokémon arrive lately?"
"Not seen, but heard of. They say they have almost forty here now. Apparently, they've been emptying the forest, I wouldn't go there any more. Search the city instead"
"Are they that successful? I hoped they...", I started. Forty? That was more than I had!
"Don't forget, that's what they say, it's not necessarily the truth. And... well, they have had certain problems", Mismagius said. There was a trace of a laugh in its voice. "The oceans. They keep sending divers down, they come back more or less shredded. Apparently, we've sunk their boats as well. Human world or Pokémon world, water is water, and that's where quite a few of us belong. The TLA don't stand a chance down there"
"That sure is... good. But..."
"Yes, you have little time", Mismagius said, becoming serious again. "They are many, and well organized. Take precautions, use what you have, and act soon. Or else, they will come and get you"
The last words suddenly echoed in my ears. Come and get you. The voice changed too, to a creepy man's voice: Come and get you. Come and get you. Come and get you.
"We've been intercepted", Mismagius' voice croaked. It drowned instantly in a roaring "Come and get YOU!"

I woke up, shivering and soaked in sweat.
"I need help", I moaned into the darkness. I tried to get to sleep again, but the fear of someone catching me by my dreams kept me from falling asleep until early morning.

[GreekGeek]

Worth the waiting
Wow

[Cobraroll]

As I promised, I won't let you wait for several weeks for the next chapter. This has really been finished since Tuesday, but I figured out that it could need a little polish, and have been adding sentences here and there since then. Constructive critisism, or any feedback in general, would be deeply appreciated.

Chapter Twenty: The three little fairies

Exactly one hour and thirty-two minutes later, I woke up. It was still dark, but I could clearly see a figure looming over me, so close to me that it almost touched my nose.
"Wah!", I screamt and lunged for the light switch. As my bedside lamp went on, I could see the creature more clearly. It looked like a blue fetus of sorts, only a lot larger, about half a metre tall if it was standing. It had two tails, about half a metre long, and two huge eyes with yellow retinas. A large red gem, the size of a chicken egg, was embedded in its forehead. And it was floating in the air.
"Oh no", I groaned. Another emerged Pokémon. It looked curiously at me.
"We're here because you called for help, so don't 'oh no' us", a voice said in my head. Another being, similar to the first one, but with a distinctive yellow helmet of sorts, was sitting on top of my bookshelf. Its eyes were closed, but I had the feeling that it could see me anyway.
"Are there two of you?"
"Three", Uxie replied from the bookshelf.
"Do you really think only two of us would appear, if we were to appear together?", another telepathic voice said. I pointed the bedside lamp at the dark corner by my desk. A third being, this one had a pink face and four weird appendages from its head, was floating above my computer. Apart from its head, it was almost identical to the other two.
"Uxie... Mesprit... Azelf, what are you doing here?"
"You called, we came", Uxie sighed.
"You are the trainer, you should know what to do next", Azelf said. It still hadn't moved from its position ten centimetres away from my face.
I sighed. "Better start with the beginning, then..."
"We know", Uxie said.
"And no, we won't help you rescue them", Azelf said.
"Why?", I said, trying to keep my anger under control. First, they wake me up at stupid o'clock, and now they say they won't help me?
"We don't think you have proven your worth", Azelf continued.
"You struggle keeping a Weavile under control, what makes you think you can control us?", Mesprit said.
"I can control him... I just lose track of him some times", I tried to defend myself. "Just because I don't know where he is all the time, doesn't mean he doesn't listen to me"
"I have plenty of other examples", Azelf said. "You wandered straight into Tyranitar territory, pointed a light in his eyes and expected him to come with you. Even after being told that the Pokémon will listen to your orders, you can't stop a Metagross from ruining your school. Or maiming your girlfriend's father. Twice"
"Twice?", I thought, but they continued before I got to try to recall the second time.
"Said Metagross also took half the decisions and kept your gang under control. When you had all the Pokémon at your disposal, you told them to run away. Some of them have paid dearly for that decision. You haven't found enough food either, they are starving down there. And don't even get me started on your battling strategy", Uxie said.
"And you both feel and are pretty hopeless without a Pokémon to translate for you", Azelf concluded. "None of us expected you to be that green in your own world"
"You're not exactly helping me here, you know", I almost shouted.
"Why would we help you?", Mesprit said.
"For the time being, you would actually be better off by losing this", Uxie said. "With the Pokémon out of the picture, you might even be able to convince your parents that you haven't gone crazy"
"What?"
"Shouting into the darkness at 6:14 AM doesn't exactly help your situation", Azelf sighed. "If you wake up your parents, which actually is very likely if you keep going like that, they will only hear what you are saying"
"What do you mean?", I hissed.
"Just think about what your mother said last night", Azelf said. Its voice was as calm as if I had asked him about the weather.
"They think you have started to lose your grip on reality", Uxie said. "They are not the only ones either. Your girlfriend has problems too, you know. Half the class think you are a weirdo, and she is also questioning her own sanity. You have made her promise not to tell the truth to anyone, so she can't explain why you are acting like that. Being away for so many weeks and come back without visible damages also implies to them that you haven't been away because of injuries"
I noticed that my eyes were watery.
"Should I... give in, then? Just burst the bubble? Reveal everything to everyone and let the TLA take care of the Pokémon?"
"No", Azelf said. "Of course, it is an option, but you would be responsible for the consequences"
"And they won't be pretty", Uxie added.
"So what do I do, then?", I said.
"You have to fight"
"HOW?!"
"First of all, get to know your team. They won't hurt you, there was no reason to panic like that. They've all known you since they were little, and owe you for their training. Second, fix some food. They know how to, just let them improvise. Third, try to fix your image. Don't involve your parents yet, but if they discover it, it's not the end of the story. Fourth, you have a lot of insiders over at TLA now. Use them. It's of vital importance that you know what they are up to-"
"Aren't you supposed to know everything? Can't you just tell me?"
"Why should we?", Mesprit said. I buried my face in my pillow and screamt in frustration.
"Fifth, you can't handle this alone", Azelf continued. "Emily may be a remarkable person, but she knows nothing about battle strategy. You need someone to discuss with"
"Matt, Andy and Edvard? Should I involve them?"
"They barely know anything about Pokémon", Uxie snorted. "I suggest you talk to your Pokémon yourself"
"I don't have anyone to translate, and I don't know their language", I said.
"Who said you can't learn?", Mesprit asked. Uxie looked at it.
"People have been in need a lot of times before, but we have never Taught anyone, no matter their situation"
"We shouldn't", Azelf said stiffly. It floated a metre or so upwards, allowing me to sit up.
"Why?", Mesprit said.
"More has been at stake earlier, the danger has been greater, and battles have been lost because humans couldn't Understand", Uxie said.
"But the wars have been won", Azelf interrupted.
"But in those cases, the humans knew what to do, didn't they?", Mesprit asked again. Even when arguing, it kept speaking in rhetorical questions.
"It's true, they could work as a team with their Pokémon", Uxie said.
"As opposed to this boy", Azelf finished. "But he could learn teamwork himself, no need for us to interfere"
"By the time he has mastered the art of training, it will be far too late!", Uxie said. "If we give him a shortcut, he will be able to work more effectively, and he may win this. Happy ending!"
"Or peril", Azelf said. "They'll regard him as a tougher enemy if they get to know. We may just put him in even greater danger"
"If he can't win when he Knows, he certainly can't when he doesn't", Uxie said. I was starting to wonder which side it was on in the debate. Were they going to teach me Pokémon language?
"But he can win if he Knows, and he is totally lost otherwise. He's all reliant on translators to keep them under control, but he actually manages quite well once he know what is being said and done"
"True", Azelf sighed. "But why would we make an exception for him? We've been watching peril before, fully knowing that we could stop it, and we didn't. Survival of the fittest. If he's lost, so be it. The world goes on anyway"
"We've never sided in a battle before, why should we do it now?", Mesprit said. What side was it on? I thought Mesprit was the one who had suggested to teach me? It seemed like everyone changed side in the debate at random.
"Because the battle is entirely unbalanced?", I suggested.
"Again, survival of the fittest. If the TLA finally have got what they have been looking for for so long, why should we hinder them from getting their deserved victory?"
"Because it was him who gave it to them", Uxie said. "Hadn't he been a Dreamer, they would have kept on grinding. With the Pokémon out, they will grab the chance and turn the tables. Perhaps they would be able to cross dimensions as well, even hunting us down eventually..."
"The end of it all", Azelf sighed. "And we can prevent it here and now. Besides, it's much more amusing to watch an even battle. Go for it"
Uxie turned towards me. "We're going to teach you how to understand and speak Pokémon. It will only take a few seconds, but may feel a little uncomfortable"
"Speak Pokémon?"
"Conjugation is very easy concerning Pokémon", Azelf giggled. "Our language is built on meaning, not words. Anyway, let's get going"
I was still sitting in my bed. Uxie hovered down to the spot Azelf previously had occupied, in other words right before me. I braced myself as it moved its face so close to me that we almost touched each other. Then it opened its eyes.

They were the deepest azure blue one could imagine. It felt like I was sucked into them, floating around in a void of liquid crystal. In every direction, the blue continued as long as imagination allowed. Here and there, a small bubble floated around. They seemed to be gathering in a cluster some centimetres - or light years - ahead of me. Each one seemed to contain some silvery white smoke. For some reason, it became obvious to me that even a single bubble contained just about all the information in an universe, now they were all joining together to form something that made the entire Internet seem as informative as a graffiti scribble on a toilet wall. Here was the life story of everything that had ever lived. The precise placement of every electron in the universe. Everything that ever had been said, written or thought. And everything that hadn't. The answer to every question. The number 42 could be seen somewhere in the cluster as well.
And from that huge mishmash of information, a small bubble detached. It could be the size of a ping pong ball or a large planet, it was impossible to say before it vanished. For a second or to, it felt like I was shrouded in the white smoke. Then slowly, the blue void faded away, and I realised I was staring at Uxie's closed eyes.
"What did it feel like?", Mesprit asked me.
"Of all beings on Earth, you should be the one to know", I replied, understanding that it was a joke.
"Pass", Azelf concluded. Then I realized that Mesprit hadn't spoken to me through telepathy. All I had heard was a low "Ooooo?", but I had understood it perfectly.
"Wow", I whispered.
"That's it, then. We're off!", Azelf suddenly said. "Don't forget our advice!"
"You're going? Where? Back into the game?" I was puzzled.
"Not at all. There's an entire world out there, waiting to be explored", Uxie said.
"We'll drop in from time to time", Azelf said. "Whenever we feel like it"
"But what if the TLA catch you? I mean... the strategy analysis on the Net doesn't rank you three very high in terms of..."
"We know, being in a Poké Ball restricts legendary Pokémon's potential", Uxie said with a sigh.
"And we've been free, more or less, since August. I'd like to see them try to catch us now", Azelf finished. "Goodbye!"
Then, they flew out of my window, seemingly through the glass pane. For some reason, I suddenly felt very tired, and fell to sleep.

Had it all been a dream?

Part two will follow shortly

[Cobraroll]

Chapter twenty, part two

I woke up half past nine and realised it was New Year's Eve later today. Keep sleeping would have been a very good idea, but I was eager to find out more about what Uxie had learned me. Pokémon language seemed so logical now. As Azelf had said, it was all meaning, no words. You could say whatever you wanted, it was the deeper meaning that counted. A slightly elongated sound, an extra roll on an R, the tone it was said in... it seemed perfectly logical that a language only needed a single word to express everything, and it didn't even matter what word you used. There was simply no grammar. It also explained why Pokémon can't write.
If Azelf was to be trusted, I didn't have to fear my Pokémon either. Best to go down and apologize. On my way down the stairs, I met mom. I gave her a large hug and proceeded to make breakfast. The Pokémon could wait, I could use a few minutes to improve my image first.
"You know... last night...", mom started as we sat eating. My happy mood vanished.
"What about that?"
"Your dad and I think you could need to talk to someone. Someone professional, about... whatever you are doing"
"I guess you're right", I sighed.
"You still don't want to say what it is?"
"As I said, you wouldn't believe it if I told you. But honestly, it has something to do with a game", I said. She fell silent.
"Like Samantha's boy? Roger, you remember him? Six years older than you. He was doing some... what did they call it... role playing?"
"Exactly!", I said, beaming over that she had practically made me a cover story. The next ten minutes were spent "admitting" that I had sneaked out a few times, playing role plays with Matt and Andy, and that it had gotten a little out of hand. Mom decided to cancel the psychiatrical session for now. As she said she had a few errands to run, I got down to the cave again after breakfast.

I was in for another shock as soon as I entered it. The cavern was smaller, almost back to its original size, but completely empty. The shelves were taken out, the lamp was nowhere to be seen, but the old stone floor was back in place.
"Hello?", I said, taking a step out on the floor. The flashlight revealed a stone frame a few metres before me. Like parts of Stonehenge, two vertically placed rocks with a horizontal beam on top of them. All the rocks touched the walls or ceiling. It looked remarkably like a doorframe.
"Anyone here?"
"Tar!", a voice echoed from somewhere beyond the door frame. "Down here", in other words. I smiled.
"Rob!", I bellowed back. "Good morning!" I stepped over to the stone frame. On the other side, there was a gaping hole in the floor. It was about two by two metres large, and quite deep. About twenty metres down the shaft, I could see torches embedded in a wall. Every two metres or so, a boulder was pressed into one of the walls, then another two metres further down, on the wall to the right of the previous one, a new boulder was sticking out. It looked remarkably like a giant winding staircase. Between each large boulder, three smaller boulders were dotted into the wall, forming a stair. The shaft could have been sixty to eighty metres deep.
"It wasn't exactly this I meant when I said 'fix the cave'", I shouted.
"Not?", Tyranitar's voice answered. It was lovely to finally understand what he was saying! "You said to Emily you wanted to expand. Umbreon heard it. She told us. We expanded" His sentences were quite short. He had just kept saying "Tar", but every time it had a different meaning, making each word a sentence of its own.
"Is it safe to go down?", I asked. Tyranitar nodded, from a platform a few dozen metres further down. I stepped out on the first small rock. It held my weight well enough. Tyranitar assured me that he had gone up and down a few times to test it. I started the long and dwindling journey down the shaft.
"You must have worked all night...", I said.
"More or less", Tyranitar replied. "Dugtrio digs fast. Golem and I find rocks fast, and slam them into walls fast. Caves go fast to build" He looked curiously at me. First now, he realized that we had had a conversation, and that I could understand him. I finally got to the platform he was standing on, and explained the events of the night as we walked down together. He said they had been discussing a handrail, something I said I'd be very grateful for. Even though we were deep underground, it was quite a plunge down here, and I'd very much like something solid to grip.
We reached the bottom sooner than I had expected. If Tyranitar was to believe, we were seventy-six metres below the surface now. Further down, and we'd reach solid rock. Which, he said, was no problem digging in either. From the shaft, another doorframe lead us into a corridor. Ten or so metres to the left was a dead end, while the other apparently lead to a larger chamber. It was completely dark in there. According to Tyranitar, everyone was sleeping now. We walked in anyway. I could hear the echo of my footsteps here. This room was apparently huge. I kept my flashlight low, not to wake anyone. The stone floor here was quite even, and seemed to follow a path between areas with just a soil floor. I assumed that they weren't finished paving yet.
"How large is this room?", I asked Tyranitar.
"Perhaps twenty metres tall, about forty wide, and a hundred and twenty long", Tyranitar said. "We weren't exactly measuring"
"Why that big?"
"Wait and see", he said. "We put your equipment over there, by the way" He pointed into the darkness. I couldn't see a thing.
"Where did you get the torches from?", I asked.
"Trees and some stuff Muk got. Very smelly, but it burns well"
"What about the air?"
"Photosynthesis", he said. The word sounded even more complicated in Pokémon language.
"You have planted things in here?", I asked. Then I took a look around. The beam of the flashlight caught a few sprouts coming up from the soil floor a few decimetres from the path. "So this is... an underground garden?"
"You got it", Tyranitar said. "In a few weeks, we will have a forest down here"
I was tempted to ask how they got light down here, but wouldn't wake up the sleeping Pokémon. From all sides, I could hear snoring. They must have been working all night, and judging by my own experiences, they would be a little grimpy if we suddenly turned on light strong enough to grow plants under. No, I'd let them keep slee-
"Wake up!", Tyranitar roared behind me. "Visitor!"
The snoring stopped abruptly. A loud scraping was heard beside me, and several deep thumps, as if someone was battering the rock floor right in front of me with a sizeable ram.
"Get that light on!", Tyranitar continued. "Golem, you're almost stepping on him!"
"Here goes!", Venusaur shouted from somewhere in the crowd. The ceiling above us was suddenly filled with intensely glowing orbs of pure orange light. There was about a dozen of them, shining down from various points in the ceiling.
"Creative use of Sunny Day", I mumbled. Then I lowered my gaze, and saw Golem's craggy hide less than half a metre away from me. He had really almost stepped on me. His short arms were still red with dirt, and his eyes were sleepy. None of the Pokémon seemed very awake, but they were all present, lying in the middle of the room. Some had got to their feet, while others tried to shield themselves from the light and keep sleeping. Among them were Nidoking and Aggron, both were dirty with soil still. They had been digging like heroes all night.
"Can you dim the light?", I asked Venusaur. He shook his head. "Either on or off", he mumbled.
"Nidoking, Aggron, Golem, Donphan and Dugtrio - wherever you are - just keep sleeping. Well done everyone", I said. "For the others, I have great news..." I started telling about the encounter with Uxie, Mesprit and Azelf. "...so now that I'm able to understand what you are saying, I think we can get things going a litter easier", I said about a minute later. Cheers of agreement sounded from all over the place. "I also got to hear that we should focus more on the city", I continued. "The TLA have been emptying the forest, more or less, and any remaining Pokémon have taken to the sea or the city. As you may know, I'm not an adept swimmer, and the sea Pokémon apparently manage well on their own, so we should concentrate on beating TLA in the city. You can rest for now, but from tomorrow on, we'll start searching. Great job on the cave, too"
The Pokémon nodded. I felt a little like a military general briefing my troops before a large battle.
"Well then, I guess mom is going to miss me if I'm away for too long", I finished. And smiled, a general would never have said that.
"You can go back to sleep now, except Tyranitar, you can come with me. I still have a few questions"
As we walked out of the room, I noticed the size of the cavern better. The place where everyone had been sleeping was about halfway down the length of it, positioned in the middle of the chamber. On all sides, a green carpet of tiny sprouts spread all the way to the walls. I couldn't recognise the plants, or imagine how they were this large already, but I figured out that Venusaur must have played a large role in it.
"What did you do to the other tunnels?", I asked Tyranitar.
"Separate shafts", he answered. "Unchanged, except the entrances to the upper cave has been sealed off. We dug straight down instead. Here is the entrance to the forest tunnel" He pointed at a hole in the wall, barely larger than a beach ball. It looked more like a fireplace with a chimney than a tunnel. "There is no way up yet", he added.
"And the tunnel under the shed?"
"Blocked off. If a teenage girl can sneak in here without problems, how can it work as a secret base?"
"No vertical tunnel?", I asked. If Emily tried to go in that way once more, and didn't see the shaft...
"No tunnel at all", Tyranitar assured me. "We blocked the sewer tunnel as well. Didn't smell very good. We may dig a new one eventually"
"Do you have plans for more rooms down here?", I said and started climbing the steps in the shaft. Each stepping stone was placed half a metre higher than the previous one, so this would be a tough climb.
"Definitely a dormitory. And we need water. Swampert says he has found a stream. It's not a water pipe, by the way", Tyranitar said apparently without breaking a sweat. I was panting already.
"What is the chance of getting an elevator here? Or at least a ladder?", I mumbled. We weren't halfway yet, and my legs were aching. Tyranitar walked slowly behind me, apparently with no effort.
It took me about five minutes to climb the 70 meter staircase. As I said goodbye to Tyranitar, and walked up from the upper chamber, I couldn't help but smile. A mere twelve hours ago, I had regarded the situation as desperate. Now, all arrows were pointing upwards. Could this have a happy ending after all?

[GreekGeek]

I just love the Legendary Trio! I miss Metagross though.

Well done