Chương 137: Chapter 134

Ethan ignored Brock, Dawn, and Ash as he futilely tried to move stones and boulders away from the entrance for freedom, but for every one he moved, three more took its place from high above. Stones tumbled down, nearly crushing his hands as he tried to leave. Everyone's voices sounded like they were under water and he couldn't make out what they were saying. He only stopped when Ursaring pulled him away by his coat collar.

The only light within the pitch black darkness that surrounded them was the flashlight Ash had brought along. The other two members of the protagonist brigade had theirs ruined from the rocks from above, just like his own phone had been destroyed. It was nearly impossible to walk or move around, as the floor was littered with an unknowable amount of pebbles and rocks that would sprain an ankle with ease. Why am I always punished for no reason? Ethan asked himself. I wanted to step into a cave and…

just experience something new. Stupid? Yes. Stupid enough to warrant this response from God? No. Ethan didn't believe in a God, but it was easier to blame God than his own failings. Ursaring settled him near the far wall, opposite from the former entrance of the cave as the trio of trainers talked about what to do. Ethan watched their lips move, but—was he in shock? He was in shock. With slow and shaky hands, Ethan inspected himself the best he could.

His back hurt from the falling rocks, each hit had felt like getting hit by a baseball by a major league pitcher. There would be bruises, he was sure about that. He might have been hyperventilating, he wasn't sure. It wasn't often that he had to think about his breathing. With a blink, Ethan turned to focus on Ursaring. She had enveloped him with her own body to protect him from the quake and stones.

"Ar—are you alright?" She was barely in the light from Ash's flashlight, but he could see her look of pity plain as day. He wasn't taking this disaster very well.

"Ethan…"

"Ethan…"

"Ethan?" Brock's hand landed on his shoulder, causing him to jolt.

"Mr. Reed? Are you alright?" Ethan took a second to stare around at the situation.

"No." He shook his head.

"I am not alright." Something landed in his lap. When he looked, he saw Ursaring's Ultraball. Ursaring had lobbed it onto him. Brock gave him a firm squeeze of comfort before standing.

"It'll be alright. Everyone is right outside the cave. They'll be working to get us all out. We should work our way down into the caves and see if anyone else needs our help as they clear the way from outside."

"We?" Ethan balked.

"Where is this 'we' coming from? I'm not even supposed to be here!" In more ways than one. As Brock reeled from his accidental outburst, Ethan re-released Smeargle. Before his painter even fully materialized, Ethan was punched in the chest. Smeargle batted at him weakly with both arms as he cried and sniffled. It didn't take a genius to know why he was upset. He'd been recalled for his safety, but it left Ethan alone. It was only Ursaring's own actions that caused her to stay out.

Ethan wrapped Smargle up in a tight hug as Smeargle's punches petered out.

"I'd do it again." He whispered into Smeargle's ear, earning himself another feeble punch. After a few seconds, Smeargle pulled back and wiped his eyes.

"Can you Teleport us out?" Smeargle looked around, then looked unsure. He pointed to Chatot's pokeball with his foot, and Ethan took the hint. Chatot fluttered into his lap immediately and looked him over with concern, ""♫ Chat-toooot? ♫" Smeargle spoke next, explaining something to Chatot as she listened half-heartedly, too focused on Ethan to pay proper attention. When finished, Chatot composed herself to speak.

"Can take two home. Can't come back to take others. Two stay. Can't take all. Too much." It made sense. Smeargle could maybe Teleport them back to their little camp outside, and he definitely could teleport them back to Berry Falls… but he didn't have the power to teleport them all at once. He could take two people under his own power but then he wouldn't be able to Teleport back inside the cave, as it wasn't a place he could lock onto. The immediate answer for his plus one was Dawn.

She didn't have the experience to be here just like him.

"Dawn." Ethan spoke, "Smeargle can Teleport two of us to safety, but he doesn't have the power to take all of us and he can't teleport back here inside the cave to grab the rest—""I'm not leaving my friends! Also, what about the others down below? They might be waiting for help!" Waiting for help… Ethan remembered when he waited for help for a year straight. He wasn't a hero. Ethan knew very well what his priorities were. First and foremost, he cared about his pokemon and his well-being.

Second, he cared about his ranch. Third… Third is where everything else was. But, he remembered what it was like to wait for help that you weren't even sure was coming. The only difference between the past and the present was that he knew that help was coming. Cynthia and Joyce would not leave him in this cave to rot for a year. Clearing the entrance was priority number one for the people outside. It was the only logical decision for them. It also wouldn't take a year, maybe a day—perhaps a couple days.

Brock, seeing his indecision in the darkness, spoke up.

"How about you come with us and Teleport yourself and the first person who needs our help instead? Someone may be severely injured." Help support creative writers by finding and reading their stories on the original site. Surprisingly, that felt like a good compromise. He could always Teleport away, with or without the trio. It would suck on a personal relations level, but he would rather live than be on common ground with Ash and his company.

"That… That sounds okay." Ethan managed to admit.

"For reference, I never went on a journey and didn't even have pokemon a year ago. So, I will be dead weight if we run into any strong pokemon that need to be battled." All three trainers turned their heads, and Ash swiveled his flashlight to highlight Ursaring.

"I don't think you'll have too much of an issue." Ash chuckled.

"I vote that Brock leads the way. He's from Pewter and a Rock-type Gym Leader. He's been in caves more than any of us." Ethan instantly suggested, not wanting Ash to have any sort of lead when his life was on the line. It wasn't a high chance of death, but anything higher than a one-percent of death was uncomfortable. He trusted Smeargle to Teleport him to safety if the need arose.

"That makes sense! I agree!" Dawn's voice was trembling, obviously out of her depth right alongside him. Thankfully, supported the idea.

"Lead the way Brock!" Ash wasn't very concerned—or at least he didn't sound concerned with their predicament. He'd been through much worse, if the anime was anything to go by. Brock took the flashlight from Ash as everyone gathered behind him. Ethan recalled Chatot, as a flying type wasn't suited for a cave full of pokemon capable of rock-type moves. Chatot also mainly used sound-based moves, and in an enclosed cave? That was a bad idea.

She had tried to dodge the recall beam as soon as she saw Ethan reach for her ball, but he would rather deal with an angry and safe bird later! She could yell and be mad all she wanted… just later. Brock led the way to the largest of the entrances around, following him Ash and Pikachu, then Dawn and Pachirisu. Ethan followed from the very back with Smeargle holding his hand and Ursaring watching their backs.

The tunnel that Brock led them through was wide enough for three people to stand side by side, but he had suggested a line in case they needed room to dodge or pass by pokemon or people. For a whole minute, nobody spoke. The only sound echoing off the cold rocky walls were the sound of their footsteps and the cascade of small pebbles tumbling down the gentle slope ahead. When they turned a bend, their tunnel ended at a much larger cavernous room.

Ethan followed the swishing light from the flashlight as Brock swung it around, seeing large stalactites hanging overhead, coated in frost. The light paused on several large bats—which Ethan rightfully assumed were Zubats—as they chittered and hung, agitated and scared from the previous quake. They didn't react to the light at all. When he got a good look at one, hanging from an angle at which he could see it in its entirety, Ethan realised that they didn't have any eyes.

There was even a Golbat huddled in the center of their hanging mass. It was much larger than a Zubat, by several factors. It must have been three or four feet tall or long, depending on how you viewed it. The Golbat had eyes, unlike its kin, and was watching them with a mix of trepidation and fear. Brock held up a finger to his mouth for silence, and they continued deeper into the large cavern without disturbing the bats up above.

Brock continued to swivel his light around, pointing out several still rocks and boulders with emphasis. Everyone nodded along, Ethan included. When peering at the rocks, Ethan could make out the curled up arms of Geodudes all about. Brock obviously knew what to look for in their shape, because Ethan would have passed by ninety-percent of them without even noticing. Ethan was starting to estimate how much farther the others could have gotten before the quake.

It hadn't even been five minutes since everyone entered that it'd happened, so they must be close. His thoughts were rewarded as they all circled around a large stalamite, roughly ten feet wide, finding a young man and a Tangela. Before anyone could greet each other, the man held up a finger for silence and pointed off into the distance. Brock swiveled the light forward, finding another entrance leading deeper into the cave. In a whisper that carried in the cavernous area, the man filled them in.

"Something strong is down there. I heard the roar and felt the Earthquake after some of the others entered. They haven't come back out." Everyone huddled beside the guy, getting closer so that their voices could be kept low.

"They had a Druddigon and an Avalugg from what I saw. I don't know how strong they were, but they definitely weren't strong enough for whatever caused the quake unless the foundations of this cave are way worse than anybody thought." Ash nodded along, but then asked a question which obviously showed he didn't need to nod at all.

"What's a Druddigon and Avalugg?" Thankfully, Ethan actually knew those pokemon.

"Druddigon is a bi-pedal Dragon type pokemon with rough and semi-colorful skin. Think Snorlax colors but with a good helping of red. Avalugg is a large ice type pokemon, flat on top—like a dining table. They're entirely blue and made of ice… I'm not sure if they get as big as a dining table, but I don't think they do?"

"What he said," The guy replied.

"Druddigon roar, but that's not what I heard. It was something else." The guy kept talking about what he knew and introduced himself as Harry. Ethan listened, but he didn't know too much more than they did. The important bits were the others who went in and didn't come out, and having heard a roar before the entire cave quaked in what he thinks was an Earthquake—the move, not the natural phenomena. Towards the end of the conversation, Ethan felt a little pressure on his ankle.

Looking down, he stared into the wide circular eyes of the man Tangela as it wrapped one of its long tentacle appendages around his foot. If this was any other time, Ethan would have adored looking at the pokemon, but now was not the time for curiosity. He gave the little pokemon a smile and a nod in greeting, and the pokemon let him go." Ta-tangela. Ela-ang." It spoke quietly to Smeargle and Ursaring. Smeargle responded quietly in response, but Ursaring ignored the small grass type.

She was too busy scanning their surroundings.

".... the plan" Brock finished, making Ethan realize he wasn't paying complete attention.

"Go down, see if they or that mystery pokemon is around, then regroup and take it from there." That sounded… like a terrible fucking plan. Off the top of his head, Ethan could think of three other plans that didn't involve heading into a mystery room with a strong pokemon who probably killed two or more people and their pokemon.

"Veto" Ethan spluttered. Everyone looked at him, and he realized he should probably give an alternative.

"Can we not ask the Zubat or Golbat from before about what else lives down here near them? Or the Geodude? I'd much rather know what we're walking into than to go in blindly. It would only take a minute." Nobody spoke for a few seconds, and Ethan was starting to feel a bit insecure about his suggestion, when Harry asked, "Do you have a psychic type to translate?"

"I have something even better." Ethan smiled and puffed out his chest in pride.

"I have a Chatot."