《The Story of a Pseudo-Legendary (Pokemon Fan Fiction)》 Chapter 1 Support creative writers by reading their stories on Royal Road, not stolen versions. Chapter 2 Support the author by searching for the original publication of this novel. Chapter 3 Dwebble had really done it now... ¡®I just HAD to go out here today...¡¯ He glanced back at the giant Larvitar following behind him, it looked around curiously in the walkways of the cave. ¡®Just my luck...¡¯ The edges of the cave were, damp, dark and just really spoke to Dwebble, he disliked how open and vulnerable the inner parts of the cave felt, with their high ceilings and stalactites and stalagmites interspersed between shallow and deep pools of water. ¡®Just what is mom going to think when I get back home?¡¯ The Larvitar behind him seemed to revel in the open areas of the cave, stomping around loudly behind him, without a care in the world. He almost couldn¡¯t believe it that no Quagsire or Golduck had yanked them into one of the pools of water yet and simply killed them. ¡®Guess that¡¯s what¡¯s it like, being a predator.¡¯ Dwebbles knew the injustice of cavern life, you either hunt or are hunted and Dwebbles are firmly in the ¡®hunted¡¯ cast. His mom had told him what it was like to live outside, apparently there was no roof, so you were always vulnerable from above. Just the thought of that made Dwebble queasy. Another sigh escaped Dwebble, which was happening a lot today, he turned back to his new kidnapper, ¡°S-So, why do you want to leave the caves anyway?¡± The Larvitar wasn¡¯t like any other predator he had the pleasure of meeting before, no violent tendencies, no running for his life, it still seemed far too good to Dwebble. For now, he decided if he wasn¡¯t dead, that it was good enough for him. It took the question as a rhetorical, looking at him quizzically, ¡°Why wouldn¡¯t I, I mean the outside world is great! Sooner or later, I¡¯d need to go there anyway.¡± It looked around in slight distaste, ¡°Also, I couldn¡¯t stay here for long, I just can¡¯t stand the darkness.¡± To Dwebble it seemed almost antithetical, like someone telling you water didn¡¯t refresh you, or they needed to sleep inside a congregation of geodude. Dwebble loved the dark, damp cave he and his siblings and mother lived in, he couldn¡¯t even imagine himself willingly walking a single step closer to the pools of water in the middle of the cavern. He couldn¡¯t imagine himself walking around the cave openly, not staying in the shadows. ¡°I see...¡± The droning silence of the cavern around them, their footsteps crunched against the stone and gravel floor of the cave and the distant sound of waterfalls filled their journey. Before long, Dwebble finally stalked far enough along the large stone walls of the cavern that he saw a well-trodden path. ¡°We¡¯re here...¡± Large footprints marred the entire walkway, from the footwear of trainers he heard from his mother rarely walk through here, to the claw marks of the feet of an Ursaring, with smaller Teddiursa claws following behind. Large trunked footprints of Donphan run along the path that snakes along the interior cavern walls. The Larvitar behind him never seemed to care much about acting inconspicuously and sneaking about, never even thinking to sneak anywhere along the way. Surprisingly they also didn¡¯t meet a single other Pok¨¦mon along the way. ¡®Guess that¡¯s just the predator life...¡¯ Dwebble thought to himself. ¡°So, this is the walkway trainers use, huh?¡± It looked at the walkway leading up along a small channel that flowed downwards with clear interest, the path was far more open than any other part of the cavern with the path clearly damaged by fights and at parts dug free of any obstacles. ¡°The humans always come from down below and return from the top. Humans are rare though, the large walkways more prone to be used by the territorial bosses.¡± The Larvitar pondered his words for a moment, ¡°Hmm, who are the territorial bosses?¡± The bug Pok¨¦mon was again flabbergasted by the Larvitar, ¡°What? You don¡¯t even know that? Have you not met the Ursaring, Donphan, Onyx or Golem?¡± Rrrrrr... The Larvitar shook its head and Dwebble got agitated, ¡°What about the Machamp, Crobat or Parasec?¡± RRRRRR... Once more it shook its head, ¡°Did you just hatch?! Have you not even heard the roars of the Tyranitar that lives further up the mountain cave?! That thing could destroy the entire cave if it wanted to?!¡± Dwebble was properly mad now, bristling itself up to the giant Larvitar in front of him. Who was this Larvitar to entirely disregard the biggest threats to Dwebbles entire life, he remembered when the Golem rolled by his cave recently. His mother had corralled all his siblings back into their home cave and then hid back into it herself, when they were all hiding away, they finally heard the entire horde of Geodude, Graveler and Golem roll by, the entire walkway shook and dust from the roof of the hole had filled the cave they hid back in. Back then he¡¯d feared not just for his life, but his entire family''s life, ¡®How does this Larvitar not know any of this?! Are the lives of predators really that simple?!¡¯ This story has been stolen from Royal Road. If you read it on Amazon, please report it ¡°Oh yeah! I was b-, oh uh, -hatched just recently. I still need to find my way around here.¡± Larvitar looked back down at him without a hint of malice. He casually tried to reach behind his head, but his arm only went up to his neck. Rrrrrrrr.... It took another second for Dwebble to realize what he had just done and quickly extradite himself away from the Larvitar he¡¯d just threatened. ¡®I really need to not get so worked up... If this was another Pok¨¦mon, this could¡¯ve ended badly...¡¯ ¡®WAIT!¡¯ ¡°You JUST hatched?! How can you talk and walk around then?!¡± Dwebble practically yelped at the Larvitar, who tried to cover his ears with his arms, but again, just couldn¡¯t reach. RRRRRRUU... ¡°Ugh, yeah. What¡¯s so weird abou... Oh!¡± The Larvitar seemed to realize something mid-sentence and quickly adjusted, ¡°No! You got the wrong idea! I-It¡¯s been some time since I hatched! I just haven¡¯t had much time to myself, you know! Uhh, umm... You know how cagey moms can be, right?¡± It looked at him like it was expecting a proper answer, but Dwebble was just confused by now. And finally, it noticed the rumbling sound in the distance as the volume of their conversation finally reduced. Dwebble went stock still it knew what this meant. The Larvitar looked at him quizzically, but he knew. ¡°We need to hide.¡± ¡°We need to hide.¡± Larry looked at the Dwebble in front of him, it stood like a statue, simply letting the statement hang in the air for a moment before it suddenly jumped into action. It took one of his arms into his pinchers and dragged him along and away from the large walkway, ¡°Wah!¡± Larry wanted to protest, but he had begun hearing it as well. RRRRRRRRRUUUUUMMM... Whatever was coming at them, was coming at them fast, faster than they would probably be able to get away. Dwebble seemed to have a plan and Larry was absolutely clueless, so he simply followed along. They ran back into the winding corridor they had come from, large stalactites and stalagmites jutted out of the edges of the corridor and Dwebble rushed between them, Larry followed along but the Bug-Rock Types small size meant he would be left in the dust in the dark expanse of the stones if Dwebble deemed him too much of a hindrance during their escape. ¡®Just what is all that noise? And why did Dwebble have that look on his face?¡¯ Larry did his best to follow, but the noises behind them simply got louder and louder. The entire hallway was shaking at this point and dust was raining from the roof in places. ¡°Here!¡±, Dwebble finally seemed to find a suitable hole in the side of the wall and practically jumped inside the crack in the wall, Larry followed shortly after, and it seemed that he followed just in time. As behind him the entire hallway filled with stalactites and stalagmites suddenly was simply bulldozed down, giant groups of boulders rolled along the cave. ¡®What the?!¡¯ RRRRRRRRRUUUUUMMMBBBBLLEEEEEEE... Dust and debris invaded their hidey hole, Larry was pelted by pebbles and the dust burned his eyes as he stared out of the hole in the side of the wall in terror. ¡®What is going on?! I-I almost just died a second time, didn¡¯t I?¡¯ He turned back to Dwebble, the thing looked like it was already simply waiting for the end, its eyes were shut tight, and it shook like a leaf. The rumbling outside was dying down and the pebbles and dust Larry had been pelted with before seemed to finally subside. The Dwebble quirked open an eye, looking around the hole carefully, when its eye fell upon Larry it seemed to jolt, before realizing what it had done, ¡°D-Did we survive?¡± ¡°Kind of a stupid thing to ask now, isn¡¯t it? What was all that just now?!¡± ¡°A Graveler migration, these happen every year. Again, how do you not know this?¡± At this point, the Dwebble seemed almost haughty at their survival, before suddenly shrinking back again. ¡°L-Look, I¡¯m sorry.¡± Larry said, more genuine this time, ¡°I guess you could say I am pretty young... You¡¯ve helped me out so much by now, showing me the way around the cave system and telling me the rules of this place. I...¡± He down, straight at the Dwebble, ¡°I guess what I really need to say is, thank you. You probably just saved my life there.¡± Larry stood up and dusted him off, at least the places he could reach with his stubby arms. He helped up Dwebble who seemed to be stewing in his thoughts once more. ¡®I guess Pok¨¦mon life is far less civil than any Anime or video game makes it seem. It really should¡¯ve seen that coming.¡¯ Having come to a decision, Larry decided mentally, ¡®I need to adapt, survive, and become stronger if I want to live my second life properly. This isn¡¯t sitting in an air-conditioned room my entire life anymore.¡¯ He finally turned back to the cavern interior, when he poked his head outside and glanced around, he saw sheer destruction. Nothing of the cave interior stood tall, stalactites and stalagmites lay around the floor, beaten and broken by dozens of Gravelers dozing straight through or over them. The walls of the cavern don¡¯t look much better for wear and cracks seemed to have formed on the roof of the cavern. Dust still filled most of the cave and even now Larry could hear the distant rumble of the Graveler horde still rolling along in search of a new place to call home. A pebble that fell from the roof hit him in the head. Larry wasn¡¯t a geologist, or whoever was supposed to know about the structural integrity of caves, but even he knew that this wasn¡¯t a safe place for to make a new home or even stay for extended periods. ¡°C¡¯mon Dwebble, let¡¯s go. I don¡¯t think staying here is a good idea.¡± He turned back to Dwebble, the poor thing still looked a little shellshocked, but it shook itself back to life. ¡°You¡¯re right. Let¡¯s go, Larvitar.¡± ¡°Call me Larry.¡± Dwebble looked a bit dumbfounded, ¡°What¡¯s a Larry?¡± "It¡¯s my name. A way to differentiate myself from others.¡± Larry understood Dwebbles confusion a bit, ¡°You¡¯ve never heard a name before?¡± ¡°No actually, my mom has a name... But how¡¯d you get it?¡± Dwebble seemed conflicted to tell him about his mother but told him anyway. ¡®Hm? Some backstory there it seems.¡¯ Larry decided not to prod any further for now. ¡°Doesn¡¯t matter,¡± He stuck out his stubby arm in greeting, ¡°If we''re going to stick together for longer, let¡¯s do a simple introduction. I¡¯m Larry the Larvitar.¡± Dwebble stuck out a pincer in turn and shook Larry''s arm, ¡°Dwebble, the uhh, Dwebble?¡± Chapter 4 This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere. Chapter 5 After Larry parted ways with Dwebble, he finally felt invigorated for his new life, like this wasn¡¯t the worst thing to ever happen to him and he was simply going along with it. He wasn¡¯t sure if he felt excited, but there was certainly more pep in his step than before as he made his way down the walkway. By now Larry knew of the dangers of the cave, the Pok¨¦mon he was bound to encounter, and all the dangers they posed, he was ready. ¡®Wait, I¡¯m going to have to fight, don¡¯t I?¡¯ ¡®How do I use moves anyway?¡¯ ¡­ ¡®Damn it!¡¯ Larry seemed to have forgotten a crucial part of the Pok¨¦mon experience in his little adventure with Dwebble, Larry hadn¡¯t fought a single day in his life, not as a Pokemon and not as a human. Even his little meeting with the Geodude during his first few hours alive luckily seemed to go down entirely verbally. Larry groused to himself while making his way down the mountain cavern, ¡°Great, just great. I¡¯m the only Larvitar in existence to not even know how to use attacks¡­ Way to go Larry¡­¡± ¡°But wait, can¡¯t I simply learn any attack I want? I mean, for Pokemon it''s also just instinct, why can¡¯t I just do the same?¡± With a plan set, Larry continued down until he found another outcropping. The dent in the wall continued to dig inwards until it abruptly stopped at a seemingly random stone. It wasn¡¯t Larrys best plan, but for now he needed to make sure he knew how to defend himself, so he consulted himself about viable moves. ¡®Alright, I¡¯m not entirely sure what moves a Level One Larvitar that just hatched are supposed to know, but I¡¯ll start with the bargain bin stuff, can I do a Tackle?¡¯ Kind of awkwardly shuffling over, he readied himself like a footballer, going down onto a single knee and supporting himself with a single arm. Larry put on a drill sergeant voice and gave a half-hearted, ¡°One! Two! Three! Hut! Hut! Hut! Hah!¡± and with a spring in his step he raced towards the boulder. He sped up as much as his short stubby legs allowed him to, which was surprisingly fast actually. Maybe a bit too fast, because soon Larrys legs couldn¡¯t keep up anymore, ¡®Woaah- gonna cra-¡® BANG! With a hit that seemed to echo around the cave endlessly, Larry crashed into the wall just left of the boulder he was aiming for. The wall itself seemed fine afterwards. Larry was smarting quite a bit though. ¡°Ouch! Alright, note to self, learn your limits before going over them.¡± He nursed a hurt nose while seated on the cold stone floor. GGGRRRGLLLLL¡­ As he sat there on the floor, another move to try and perform came to Larrys mind, ¡®I still need to learn how to actually eat anything, don¡¯t I? Else I¡¯ll just starve!¡¯ He realized he hadn¡¯t eaten a single thing in his second life. Sure, he had stuck that rock into his mouth while searching for an exit on his own before meeting Dwebble, but there was no way he could eat that thing. It was the size of a jawbreaker, without ever actually beginning to melt in his mouth, because why would it, it''s a stone. ¡®Alright, let¡¯s try and learn Bite, maybe I¡¯ll have some more success!¡¯ Larry scooched a bit close to the rock he¡¯d been planning to tackle and bit down. Once again though, reality is cruel and nothing particular happens and the amazing-tasting stone simply didn¡¯t budge. Larry simply sat there on the ground helplessly sucking on a stone in the middle of a cave. ¡®There¡¯s got to be more to this¡­ I actually ate stones before, didn¡¯t I? How else would I have been able to dig my way out of the ground?¡¯ Larry didn¡¯t have the faintest idea what he¡¯d done differently that time, but back then he¡¯d been able to simply eat his way through the loose gravel his egg was covered under. He thought over the specifics of moves. An image came to Larrys mind, in the anime even just using a move like Quick Attack resulted in the Pok¨¦mon being surrounded by a white energy that coalesced around them. Moves like Dark Pulse also seem to not be physically occurring and simply use some type of Dark-type energy to damage the opposing Pok¨¦mon. ¡®Bite is a dark-type move, dark type is primarily used by rude or evil Pok¨¦mon, it¡¯s meant to be a morally ambiguous type, with the Japanese translation even simply calling it the evil type instead of dark. So maybe I have to think about a specific image when I want to use the move?¡¯ The idea that there is some sort of energy Pok¨¦mon call upon was his best chance to pull off moves. ¡®Maybe I really need to call upon some sort of energy instead of simply recreating the move physically and hoping it will happen? I can tackle and bite all day, but if they¡¯re not infused with that weird energy I remember it won¡¯t have more effect than my physical body can output¡­¡¯ This content has been misappropriated from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere. Removing himself from the suckled stone, Larry closed his eyes and thought about all the things he considered ¡®Dark¡¯, being brash and loud, acting rude to others, fighting unfairly, and just generally being evil. He felt it inside himself, a dam had cracked open. An energy flowed out of his core, he could feel it travel up his neck and into his mouth. He opened his mouth and could feel it, the muscles in his jaw were stronger than before and his teeth had a different form now. With a loud CHOMP Larry bit down on the stone and like a sharp knife going through stale bread he could feel himself gaining ground and actually cracking into the stone. As his mouth slowly clamped down he ripped his head to the side, like the stone was an especially hard piece of bread, and to his surprise, it actually worked and the rock in his mouth cracked away from the larger boulder. Larry stood still with the stone in his mouth for a second, ¡®Woah¡­¡¯ and then continued chomping on the piece in his mouth like it was a stale piece of bread. CHOMP CRACK CHOMP GULP! ¡°I. AM. A. GOD-DAMNED. GENIUS!¡± Larry raised his arms into the air in victory as the wonderful taste of rock in his mouth slowly subsided. ¡®Holy crap! Larvitar are crazy! I just bit off an entire piece of rock and ate it like a piece of stale bread!¡¯ Larry thought about the implications of that before another thing interrupted his thought process. GGGRRRGLLLL¡­ ¡®I think I¡¯ll go ahead and eat myself full for now. Let''s just try not to eat up the entirety of Mt. Silver for dinner today¡­ Hehehe...¡¯ Larry repeated the same process as before, Dark thought, energy moves and he took another bite. CHOMP CRACK Then another. CHOMP CHOMP CRACK And then another. CHOMP CRACK Before long the boulder Larry had been planning on using to train his Tackle had disappeared, Larry though couldn¡¯t complain, he felt satisfied. ¡®Haa.. Ahahaha! This is the life, isn¡¯t it? Relaxing, eating good food¡­ I¡¯m living the dream!¡¯ Larry thought to himself as he lay in the groove he ate himself into and nursed his stomach. ¡®Larvitar are bound to be above heavy they¡¯re just eating boulders and stones all day!¡¯ ¡°Haha! This is great!¡± Larry laughed to himself while comping down on more of the sheer rock face around him, but eventually, the stone became harder to chew. Before long, Larry was fighting for every single bite and the energy reserves at his core started to feel like they¡¯d dried up. He inspected the place after his feeding frenzy and realized he¡¯d eaten the entire stone which was around 4-5 times his size. ¡®Damn, I really am insatiable! Let¡¯s hope this doesn¡¯t affect my figure...¡¯ Larry thought to himself half-jokingly as he sauntered back from the wall. ¡®Let''s keep going, I still need to find a place to hide away into to sleep.¡¯ Larry made his way back onto the larger walkway and kept to one of the sides, Dweeble had taught him a lot in their time together, even if he¡¯d never told him explicitly, and seeing how carelessly he¡¯d walked around made him cringe now, the Bug-Type definitely was onto something. Larvitar have superior eyesight in the dark compared to humans, but the high ceiling along the walkway was still shrouded in darkness to Larry. He occasionally glanced upwards only to find a gaping nothingness staring back, the darkness in front of him wasn¡¯t much better, but at least he was walking into it and slowly revealing it. It made Larry realize how vulnerable he was. As Larry advanced down the walkway a new side cavern was revealed and Larry curiously peered into it, it seemed like a low tunnel that small Pok¨¦mon could walk down, so Larry made his way inside, being forced to duck down due to the large fin on top of his head. The inside of the tunnel was far larger than the entrance and Larry looked around the darkness with clear interest. As he advanced down the tunnel, he could see how the tunnel had been made. A large basin of water was revealed on the lowest part of the tunnel, ice and snow from the top entrance had thawed, flowed down the walkway and had carved itself down into this hole over a long, long time. This small side cave seemed to be one of the basins the water collected in. Gazing down into the water from above, Larry was amazed at how incredibly clear the water was, it reminded him of looking through Plexiglass. The water itself was completely untouched with no ripples or movement to disturb it. He smacked his dry lips together in thirst. ¡®Now that I¡¯m looking at it, maybe I am a bit thirsty...¡¯ Suddenly feeling far thirstier than before, Larry knelt down to the lake and took a few tentative sips of water. When the first drops hit his mouth, he finally realized just how incredibly thirsty he¡¯d been as he dunked his entire mouth deep inside and gulped down the clear liquid with reckless abandon. ¡®Oh, you never really know how thirsty you are until you get a sip of cold, crisp water on your tongue! It¡¯s like it''s 2 AM and I just went into the kitchen for a drink!¡¯ Larry reveled in the moment, every sip bringing energy back to his newborn body. He felt it deep in his core, the energy he¡¯d used freeing himself from his egg, exploring the underground, and much more, like eating apart the rock face, was slowly being refilled with every sip. Before long, Larry actually began to feel sated for the first time in his second life, the pebble he¡¯d put into his mouth never really did anything but taste good and his one-day-long adventures with Dwebble had really tuckered him out. ¡®I feel like I could still eat even more if I wanted to, is a Larvitars stomach really that limitless?¡¯ He rose back up and then found a spot in the side of the cavern to sit down, this cavern was probably Larrys best shot at security if he needed to stay somewhere, so he decided to make camp here. During his first bit of downtime in a while, security, safety, and the new world Larry found himself in came to his mind again. Escaping the caverns of Mt. Silver was still a terrifying prospect, he¡¯d have to fight, and probably kill another Pok¨¦mon. There was even a good chance that Larry himself might be killed. He wouldn¡¯t even want to know what he¡¯d do if some human caught him, would he like it, hate it? Would they free him if he did? ¡®Larvitar might eventually evolve into Tyranitar, but I¡¯m not that strong yet. I just found out the basics, I might know what''s out there waiting for me, but even I know that I haven¡¯t seen or felt even half of it yet...¡¯ ¡®...Saying you¡¯ll kill someone to save your own life and actually performing the actions connected to that really are two entirely different things...¡¯ Larrys mind was going a mile a minute, bouncing from one topic to another as his predicament came to mind once more. As his eyes finally began to flutter close for the day, a single sentence was slurred out in his sleepy state, ¡°I¡¯ll make this second life worth it, no sitting at home all day. I¡¯ll live, I¡¯ll survive.¡± With that promise made to himself, his eyes finally fell shut and he fell asleep. Chapter 6 A biting sensation forced Larry out of his slumber, as one of his feet felt like it was bound to be ripped off. He yanked his foot away from whatever had bitten into it and cracked his eyes open just a bit when he finally saw what was going on. ¡°Wha-!¡± In front of him stood a Wooper, it stared vacantly at him with a carefree smile plastered on its face, before hopping forward a step and once again trying to put Larry¡¯s foot in its mouth. Larry for his part simply pointed his foot further away from it, leaving the poor Pok¨¦mon to catch nothing but air as it chomped down. He stood up abruptly and readied himself. ¡®Alright, I think I¡¯ll have my first fight a bit sooner than planned it seems¡­¡¯ Larry readied his core, thinking about the energy he¡¯d used just yesterday. His plan was simple, Wooper goes in for a bite, he dodges and bites back with the dark-type move Bite, unlike this Wooper. ¡®Does this Wooper not know what it¡¯s doing isn¡¯t going to do anything of note?¡¯ Without that energy from before the Wooper hadn¡¯t exactly hurt Larry much by biting onto his foot, he could still put weight onto it and his rock-hard skin meant the whooper didn¡¯t even leave any marks on him. The standoff continued and a thought came to him, ¡®Maybe this is like a super young child that I¡¯d just indiscriminately kill right now. What if he doesn¡¯t even know what he did was wrong? Should I try and defuse the situation first?¡¯ Just as he thought so, the Wooper finally seemed to ready its next attack and this time instead of uselessly biting down on his leg, it seemed to be planning something different. The Wooper suddenly spit out a large ball of iridescent glowing water squarely aimed a Larry. ¡°Oh cra-!¡± Larry dodged to the side with a start. Instead of stopping like before, the Wooper shot another, then another. Larry dodged them all, as the thing didn¡¯t seem to even think about the fact that Larry could dodge and simply continued to aim where he stood, not where he¡¯d be. After its 4th shot, it seemed to run out of steam, gasping for breath in front of Larry, who took this as his opportunity and charged. He shot forward and lunged at the Wooper while channeling dark thoughts about what he¡¯d do to it after he was done with it. He felt his muscles tense with hidden power and he could just make out on the edges of his vision as a dark energy began to surround his lips and mouth. A larger set of teeth materialized out of the energy Larry channeled and he opened his mouth wide to bite down on his enemy. When his mouth closed though, it was over nothing but air, he¡¯d instinctually closed his eyes when biting down hard and when he opened them he saw the Wooper hop away from him in surprise. It snickered to itself as it flopped back into the pristine lake Larry had drank from the night before. When it resurfaced it was with two other Wooper on its left and right, the group was laughing to themselves as they looked at Larry. ¡°Hehehe! Look how scared he was! You totally scared him to death!¡± The original Wooper, shining with a white energy, hollered over to Larry while suppressing laughter itself, ¡°Yo! Maybe next time don¡¯t go to sleep on Quagsire territory if a rock-type like you doesn¡¯t want to get its butt kicked! Hahaha!¡± All of them broke out once more in uproarious laughter, swimming in circles around each other. Larry was absolutely furious, uncharacteristically so, he felt himself get stronger for a second, and then right after all the anger went straight to his head and he felt himself begin to sway and teeter around in clear confusion. ¡®Wha-, what did th-, Wooper just doo...?!¡¯ Even Larry¡¯s thoughts were slurring after the clear taunt from Wooper. It took all his concentration just to keep upright as he was fighting for balance. In his peripheral vision, he could see the three Wooper leisurely strut out of the large basin of water. ¡°What do you wanna do with this one bro?¡± The left Wooper looked over to his apparent sibling. ¡°Hmm, let¡¯s just get this one done with now with some Water Guns. On my signal.¡± Larry¡¯s thoughts were swirling in panic, he couldn¡¯t think straight as he tried to think about what had just transpired. In his confusion he lunged forward to defend himself with a Tackle, charging forward with all his strength to tackle an opponent. The energy came to him far more easily, white normal-type energy empowering him as he recklessly charged into the group of three Wooper. ¡°Woah!¡± One of the three Wooper hollered out. The three hadn¡¯t been paying attention and it was already too late when they finally took action, the one on the right shot out an impromptu water gun. The type-energy-infused water hurt like needles on his skin as it impacted, when the water bubble popped and covered his entire side Larry wanted to simply curl up and cry, but he persisted as the Tackles type-energy empowered him. He stumbled to the left and nailed the Wooper there straight in the stomach with his large horn, on hit the energy in his body routed itself straight into the Wooper, which flew backward in a scream of pain. The little Wooper skipped several times on the hard rock floor before finally impacting the basin they¡¯d hidden back in. Unauthorized use: this story is on Amazon without permission from the author. Report any sightings. The other Wooper quickly fled back into the water themselves after the attack, ¡°You said this was gonna be an easy one, look at our bro! Now he¡¯s hurt, we we¡¯re supposed to watch over him today, not use him as a decoy!¡± The right Wooper chastised the original Wooper. ¡°Dude, they never did anything after I hit them with Swagger before, I swear I don¡¯t know why this one was able to fight back!¡± It all quickly became clear when Larry heard the move the Wooper had used on him. Larry was still stumbling, but the confusion he felt was slowly subsiding. A light went up in Larry¡¯s mind at the mention of Swagger, ¡®That¡¯s right! Swagger! It raises the targets attack but also confuses them!¡¯ ¡®That Wooper just used a damn status move on me!¡¯ This was genuine first for Larry, the way the move impacted him made him feel unsure of himself, like he¡¯d just done something completely out of character for himself. He thought about the implications of that, but in his half-dazed state, he could barely make head or tails of where the ground was, so Larry quickly fled away from the water hole. ¡®I¡¯m not making my first proper fight a 3v1, I¡¯m smarter than that!¡¯ The Wooper seemed to be gauging their chances now, with one of them having taken a considerable hit and the other two not particularly wanting to get hit themselves. They seemed to be looking for easy fights. It became abundantly clear why the Wooper had attacked Larry as he trundled his way away from the basin, as he heard the argument between the two siblings continue. ¡°Bro, you¡¯re friggin¡¯ stupid. Of course, he could attack you, he¡¯s just confused. I¡¯m so going to tell on you when we get back, that was real stupid.¡± The right Wooper snickered. ¡°Wha-, DUDE! Don¡¯t tell on me! You¡¯re gonna get me in trouble! I just wanted to get some easy prey like always, it was nothing but a small overestimation, dude.¡± The middle Wooper tried to defend itself. Larry¡¯s mind had finally cleared up again and he could barely believe what he was hearing as he made his way away from the basin of water, ¡®The little shits are out here simply doing the Pok¨¦mon equivalent of torturing the local neighborhood pets because they¡¯re bored?! And I thought my streak of recklessness post-reincarnation was big, these kids don¡¯t even know how many feet they might be stomping on¡­¡¯ ¡®Never going back in there, that''s for sure...¡¯ He made his way back out and under the small entrance hole to the basin and quickly checked for no Graveler traffic on his left or right. Another problem soon came to the back of his mind. ¡®I don¡¯t know how long I slept, I don¡¯t have a clock and in caves, I don¡¯t even have any daylight to know how long I¡¯ve slept.¡¯ His mind felt clear and the few moves he¡¯d used in his little scuffle with the Wooper didn¡¯t seem to make him feel any more winded, so Larry guessed that everything was alright. The Water Gun one of the Wooper had used, had made him feel like a bullet just impacted him, but after just a few minutes he couldn¡¯t even feel it anymore, it was weird. ¡®Do Pok¨¦mon just recover insanely fast when they¡¯re not fighting or am I missing something?¡¯ Although he felt a bit sad to be moving away from the watering hole so quickly, he wasn¡¯t going to jump back down there and get himself killed right now either, fighting against three Wooper. ¡®I did successfully use Tackle, so at least I got something out of it. It¡¯s even easier to use than Bite!¡¯ He replayed the fight in his head, his reckless attacks making him feel quite queasy in hindsight. The Wooper''s use of Swagger stood out in his mind, ¡®Maybe next up I should try my hands at learning a Status Move? I think it would help me out in a fight, aren¡¯t Tyranitar like the masters of map conditions in the competitive scene?¡¯ For now, Larry continued his way down Mt. Silver, the games sure made the caves seem smaller. ¡­ Something felt off, Larry couldn¡¯t exactly place it, but just something felt weird. He swiveled his head around nervously as he sneaked from outcropping to outcropping. There were no Pok¨¦mon around, else he would¡¯ve heard them or seen them before they did him, he was sure of it. So, what was giving him that feeling? Larry peeked out behind another rock face on the side of the walkway, hiding behind stray boulders on the edges of the walkway when he could, ¡®I don¡¯t know what it is, but some is around here. I¡¯m not just going crazy!¡¯ A bloodcurdling scream erupted out of nowhere from the walkway up front, ¡°AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHH!!¡± His veins turned to ice and Larry''s stomach dropped down and out of his nonexistent pants, ¡®What the actual hell?! What was that?!¡¯ Quickly sinking back behind the rock face he¡¯d peeked out of in abject horror at the banshee scream he¡¯d just heard Larry fell into a silent panic. ¡®T-That wasn¡¯t a human, right?! B-But it sounded just like one.¡¯ He tried to grab at himself for comfort but found himself to be shivering in utter fear. In his fear, Larry began talking to himself to motivate himself to move, ¡°A-Alright Larry, pep talk! Whatever''s back there, check on it and then dip all the way out of there. I-I¡¯ll even go back and grovel in front of those Wooper if they¡¯ll have me.¡± Finally, with all his courage gathered, he gingerly peeked back over the rock face he¡¯d hidden behind. Just as he was about to though, a dark figure jumped straight at him, practically floating over the rock face he¡¯d hidden behind. ¡°Oof! Wha-!¡± The figure had intentionally tackled Larry back, but when Larry caught himself and looked up, he didn¡¯t see a clear creature, but a shadowy entity shrouded in darkness, like a black and purple spot floating in front of him. Two red and yellow eyes stared at him with clear malice under which a large red toothy grin spread across the entirety of the creature''s shadowy form. ¡°AAAAHHH!!!¡± The thing gave off another bloodcurdling scream as it lunged straight at Larry with reckless abandonment. Larry, in a state of absolute fear, did the first thing that came to mind to defend himself and attacked with the move he¡¯d used the most in his second life, Bite. All the energy he could muster to drag out of his core in the short moment given to him quickly coalesced around his mouth and the thing that had been charging at him, seemed to panic as it saw the dark energy take form, it desperately tried to break off its attack but was simply too late, as it got caught in Larry''s jaw. He bit down with every ounce of strength he could muster and when he heard the thing give off a pained rasp of exhalation. Larry forced the creature down onto the ground and stamped on it with a foot, before charging up another, far stronger Bite. The thing tried every which way to weasel away from him but could only helplessly flail around in panic. All its confidence from before seemingly having evaporated. Every single hateful, evil, and dark thought about the creature lying under his foot was charged into this attack and once Bite wouldn¡¯t take a single modicum of energy more, Larry released the attack. He could feel his muscles straining underneath his rocky skin and the gigantic rows of teeth manifested by the dark energy sure made for an amazing display as he bit down on the thing once more. ¡°AAAAHHHhhhhhh...!¡± The thing seemed to be screaming in pain this time instead of intimidation and its scream quickly died down as the life drained out of it and the creature fell silent for the last time. The veil of darkness surrounding the creature cleared up and Larry was horrified by what he¡¯d found. In front of him laid a dead Misdreavus with teeth marks all over its feeble form. In its shrouded form and Larry''s sheer state of panic he had mistaken the iconic necklace of Misdreavus for a giant smile and its red pupiled womanly eyes for the glaring hateful eyes of a monster. Larry had just accidentally killed his first Pok¨¦mon. Chapter 7 The world stopped and his heart beat in his chest like a jackhammer as Larry stared down below his feet. Just under his foot laid a corpse, a Misdreavus, bite marks covered its incorporeal form as it slowly began to turn into smoke or dust. ¡®I-I just killed someone! Or do ghost Pok¨¦mon not die?! Oh god, oh god! Wha- what do I do?!¡¯ Larry¡¯s breaths became short and laborious, no matter how much air he took in, it felt like he was suffocating. He removed his foot and stepped away from his first kill. Or was it? This was a ghost-type Pokemon, could they even die? Larry didn¡¯t know and it gave him pause. ¡°Y-You¡¯re not actually dead, are you?¡± Larry cautiously said out into the darkness around him. He didn¡¯t know for sure, but the Misdreavus in front of him had begun dematerializing, this felt weird to Larry. He remembered them being knocked out like any other Pok¨¦mon when beaten in a fight. Larry just hoped that wasn¡¯t just the sensibility of a children¡¯s show. ¡®I did use a dark move, which should do a lot of damage since it''s super effective, but Bite is one of the weaker dark-type moves, there is no way two Bites would kill a Pok¨¦mon that had been surviving on Mt. Silver.¡¯ A snicker from behind him startled Larry, and when he turned around, he saw the Misdreavus floating a distance behind him. ¡°Sure got some moves,¡± The Misdreavus said haughtily with a feminine voice, ¡°try defending against this!¡± A purple energy coalesced around a small light that floated away from the Misdreavus and Larry could guess what move this was, ¡®Confuse Ray! I¡¯m not going to get confused again like with those Wooper!¡¯ He dodged to the side and saw the floating light dim and go out quickly after. He was just about to counterattack again, before hesitating, the image of the fake corpse replaying in his mind, ¡®I don¡¯t want to kill this Misdreavus¡­¡¯ Larry suddenly stopped and looked at the ghost-type stoically, ¡°I don¡¯t want to hurt you. Can you stop attacking me? Else I¡¯ll be forced to fight back.¡± Larry diplomatically said to the Misdreavus. The Misdreavus looked shocked, before breaking out into a giggle, ¡°Pfft! Haha! Well, guess I can¡¯t say anything against that! Alright!¡± Larry was happy that this could be resolved amicably, ¡°Phew, thanks! I thought I¡¯d have to hurt another Pokemon. Up higher in the cave, there were some young Wooper who were just a straight-up gang of hooligans, y¡¯know! One of ''em even used Swagger on me!¡± The Misdreavus floated closer to him, ¡°Really? Well, that just sounds horrible!¡± He looked a bit confused by the Misdreavus acting so theatrically, but he was more curious about the move the ghost-type used, ¡°By the way, what was that move you used to create a double of yourself?¡± The Misdreavus snickered to itself, ¡°That was Substitute, and you can¡¯t be asking people for their moves just like that! There are a few nice Pok¨¦mon out here, but they never live that long.¡± ¡°Hm? Why?¡± Larry asked. The Misdreavus broke out into another giggle, ¡°Fufufu! Well, if you¡¯re nice to everyone then you¡¯re bound to get stabbed in the back sooner or later!¡± She laughed to herself as she floated up and down giddily, ¡°Just like THIS!¡± ¡®Woah! She tricked me!¡¯ The ghost-type charged ahead immediately, it shimmered with white Normal-Type energy. When the Pok¨¦mon''s face began to morph back into the gaping and monstrous face it had been on the Substitute. Larry immediately felt himself involuntarily stiffen, he couldn¡¯t run away anymore, he was stuck. With no other avenue, he charged ahead. The energies in his core stirred and began to move, but it was too late. The Misdreavus shimmered once more, this time with purple light, probably Ghost-type energy, it turned around and then immediately returned with an even more horrible face grafted over top of the previous one. Just when he was entranced in the new face shown to him, he felt a hit throw him backwards. Larry skidded along the stone floor away from the rock face he¡¯d used to hide behind. His body hurt, but he needed to move if he wanted to live, so he fought to get his feet back under himself. He heard a giggle from behind the rock face and could see the Misdreavus slowly meander out from behind it. She was confident, this wasn¡¯t a real hunt, she was playing with him, and he hadn¡¯t even realized it. The Ghost-Type had been playing with him as all of them had done in the anime, ¡®Damned Ghost-Types and their mind games, why do ghost-types have to be such assholes?!¡¯ Larry panicked in his mind, as he unsteadily readied himself, ¡®She¡¯s a Ghost-Type, so I can¡¯t use Tackle, I¡¯ve basically only got one move right now. I need a really good idea right now! Else I really am done for!¡¯ Larry picked his brain for any effective moves that he could try his hand at right now, if he didn¡¯t learn them now, he¡¯d be dead, ¡®New Moves, new Moves... C¡¯mon brain! Work!¡¯ The Misdreavus was already going for another attack, and that was when Larry finally found a thing that could work. He once again began melding his energy, this time into his core, refining it, like a hard candy machine would meld and mix the candy over and over until it was finally mixed. Another attack by the Misdreavus hit him, but he couldn¡¯t stop now. As the ghost-type impacted him, the energies from her attack once again invaded his body. He flew backwards once more, holding onto the energies inside his body with everything he got, the energies outside his body from the ghost-types attack also began getting sucked into his body, and the pain subtly diminished, but he wouldn¡¯t stop now, as he still needed to release the attack. The genuine version of this novel can be found on another site. Support the author by reading it there. As he got to his feet once more, the Misdreavus mocked him, ¡°What¡¯s wrong? Lost your will to fight again, want to call another time out? Hehe!¡± But as Larry stood up and readied himself, the energies inside his core were finally released as the hatred for the Misdreavus who had tricked him. A dark, black shimmer surrounded his body, and he shot forward faster than ever before. ¡®The perfect move if someone faster than you keeps attacking you, Payback!¡¯ The Misdreavus couldn¡¯t even act before Larry impacted it, as she had attacked him beforehand, the energies from her attack added onto the one Larry unleashed. Payback as a move deals double the damage if used after the User is attacked, making it perfect for a Pok¨¦mon like Misdreavus which has a weakness to Dark-Type and had the higher speed stat in this fight. The Misdreavus yelled out in pain, the move had hit it hard, and it seemed to be feeling the damage. Before it could do anything else, Larry did his best to activate another move, pushing the type-energy to turn into another Bite. He bit down on the Misdreavus floating form and heard another yelp escape her. More confident in his chances Larry tried his hand at another move he felt he could do, a new type of energy. His power moved down instead of upwards and out through his feet. A rock near his arm grew straight out of the ground and he grabbed it, he finally released the Misdreavus from his jaws and she quickly floated away in the hopes of outranging him. But Larry pushed more energy out of his core and into his arms, the rock in his hands began to glow with the beige type-energy of Rock and as Larry reached back as far as he could he planted one of his feet back. ¡®Rock Throw! Kind of self-explanatory but every good Larvitar needs a good, ranged option!¡¯ With an almost comical level of effort, he pushed the stone forward and threw it at the floating Misdreavus, who skillfully dodged out of the way, tracking the trajectory of the rock the whole way back down. ¡°Haha! You MISSED!¡± The Misdreavus taunted from her place floating above him, but Larry wasn¡¯t about to let her flee now. His energies began to stir again, he felt himself slowly become winded, so he needed to end this quickly. The energies surrounded his legs and arms, empowering his muscles. Larry could do it now, so he began running up to the wall of the walkway before compressing down and pushing upwards into a giant jump. ¡°Huh?!¡± the ghost-type seemed confused by the sudden increase in skill for this young Larvitar, but Larry was being driven by his instincts at this point, letting the energies in his body dictate his actions. When his foot hit the side of the wall, he bounced off it, like a spring into a literal wall jump, headed straight for the Misdreavus. ¡®Pursuit, when a Pok¨¦mon is fleeing or retreating this move does double the damage!¡¯ The ghost-type didn¡¯t move, simply gaping at the incredible athleticism, when he impacted the floating Misdreavus, he took her down onto the ground with him. The two of them rolled uncontrollably for a second before Larry began hitting her with his tiny dark-type energy empowered arms. He sat on top of her and simply hit her with one punch after another and before long the small yelps and pained gasps from her stopped as she passed out. Larry had worked himself ragged and was gasping for breath sitting on top of her, he could barely breathe. He raised his head and simply stared at the ceiling, before triumphantly raising both of his arms and yelling out, ¡°I. AM. A. GOD-DAMNED. GENIUS!¡± He stayed there for a short while, simply relishing in the feeling of the fight, ¡®Haa... Haa... That was some of the most exhausting stuff I¡¯ve done my whole two lives, I could¡¯ve died, right? I just fought for my life?! I feel so... I don¡¯t know, so, ALIVE!¡¯ His heart beat in his ears and he could feel the blood rush through his veins, Larry felt like he was about to go feral with sheer adrenaline passing through his veins. He dismounted the ghost-type, who seemed to still be out for the count, and simply lay on the ground, unconscious but not dead. Larry was still fighting for breath and to stay upright, all those new moves of his had needed a stupid amount of energy and he felt himself start becoming faint a few times just keeping upright, so he slowly fled. ¡®I¡­ I need to get away from here before she wakes up. I honestly don¡¯t know if I¡¯d win that a second time.¡¯ He dragged himself away from the fight, limping further down the walkway until he literally couldn¡¯t walk anymore, with his legs feeling raw and beaten and wobbling like jelly he placed himself down in the next outcropping, a small cavernous hole barely big enough to fit him, it was at most a twenty minute walk away from the downed Misdreavus. Larry wanted to do nothing more than fall asleep but was time to review his day, ¡®Alright, met a band of two-bit bandit Woopers basically bullying anything living on their mom''s turf, fled from that place, and somehow got jumped by a literal ghost. Ghost gets outed by me as a Misdreavus that wanted to mess with me, goes full killer, and tries to murder me, I somehow go fully feral and flip the script on the Misdreavus, barely getting away with my life.¡¯ Just like that Larry had learned three entire moves, from just Tackle and Bite, he now also had Payback, Rock Throw, and Pursuit. How had he done it? Honestly, he just remembered what the moves were supposed to do, felt like a Larvitar might be able to perform them, and then applied their concepts. It would¡¯ve probably taken him a lot of time to apply the moves concepts if he hadn¡¯t consumed hundreds of hours of media with the moves inside them. ¡®Type-Energy is crazy, no wonder there are legendary Pok¨¦mon out there that are basically able to rewrite reality using it.¡¯ Larry had somehow, just through the application of TE, made himself into a wall-jumping ninja. He didn¡¯t know what to think of it, the TE made him move in particular ways and shaped his actions, it felt more like a figure inside of a videogame performing an animation than Larry actually doing these things himself. His instincts had shown him practically all his Pok¨¦mon parts as of now, from freeing him when he was hatching, to shaping and moving the TE around his body. It felt scary, like an involuntary action he had no control over, but he knew he needed it if he wanted to survive. Larry scoffed to himself, before just massaging his eyes and temple, ¡®All of that was so stupid¡­ Why¡¯d I never even properly talk to the Woopers?! And the Misdreavus might¡¯ve gotten a tad nicer and actually told me something if I would¡¯ve given her a chance after beating her, wouldn¡¯t she?¡¯ A memory came back to mind, it was of Dwebble looking at him grimly as he told him about the dangers of the wild Pok¨¦mon lifestyle, ¡®It¡¯s either hunt or be hunted.¡¯ What the Misdreavus said before their fight also came back to him, ¡®Fufufu! Well, if you¡¯re nice to everyone then you¡¯re bound to get stabbed in the back sooner or later!¡¯ ¡°¡­Maybe they wouldn¡¯t have been that understanding¡­¡± ¡®Maybe my mindset is just completely incompatible with the way these wild Pokemon think. When the time comes, I don¡¯t KNOW if I¡¯ll be able to kill. What it will do to me¡­¡¯ He¡¯d gotten lucky with the Misdreavus, the way his blood turned to ice in his veins as he looked at the lifeless corpse of the substitute she had created. Larry thought to himself as he began curling up into a ball. ¡°Hunt or be hunted, huh¡­¡± The last thoughts on Larry¡¯s mind, as he drifted to sleep, were about the comfortable bed he would¡¯ve slipped into back home on Earth. Chapter 8 His mind slowly came back into focus and Larry felt a freezing cold bite into him, where to had he kicked his blanket again? And why was his mattress so damn hard, it felt like he was sleeping on a damn gravel patch¡­ He blearily cracked open an eye, ¡®Oh yeah, still a Larvitar¡­¡¯ Larry almost chuckled, but he really wasn¡¯t feeling up to it right now, he had a headache, he was cold and as he tried to turn over in his little hidey-hole on the side of the walkway he felt all of his muscles ache. ¡®Ack! Well, at least it isn¡¯t a Wooper trying to bite my foot off.¡¯ Fighting for one''s life really does tend to get you closer to death''s door, and the fight yesterday had literally required everything from Larry, he felt it today. ¡®I think I should be approaching the second level soon at least, if everything Dwebble told me is true then it going to be even worse than my time up here.¡¯ Larry adjusted his lounging Position while casually planning out his day. He sure didn¡¯t enjoy knowing that his life was going to be even harder soon than it has been now, but Larry still had some fight left in him. GGGRRRGLLLL¡­ ¡®For now, I think I¡¯ll get some food¡­¡¯ With practiced ease Larry conjured up a Bite and bit down on the Wall just behind him, the hard-candy sweet and sour taste of goodness in his mouth told him that it was the right choice at the moment and he started eating away, slowly and surely expanding the tiny crack in the wall he¡¯d slept into a sizeable hideout. He still didn¡¯t know how it all fit in his stomach but he wasn¡¯t going to complain. CRACK CRUNCH CRUNCH CRUNCH CRACK CRACK CRACK CRUNCH ¡®God, I don¡¯t even remember what stones are supposed to taste like, makes you wonder why it tastes like everything nice right now.¡¯ Larry absentmindedly thought to himself as he stuffed another mouthful of gravel into his mouth. ¡®Alright, after my fine dining in here is done, I¡¯ll go out, check if the Misdreavus or any other Pok¨¦mon has come to stake out my hideout and if she hasn¡¯t, I¡¯ll quickly continue to make my way out of the cavern.¡¯ Larry thought about the second level, ¡®A giant funnel with lots of lighting from snow-covered cave exits that lead out all over Mt. Silver. From the way I was freezing my butt off at the top, I¡¯d say I would probably freeze to death out there. So I¡¯ll have to make do inside and sneak down as quickly as possible onto the first level.¡¯ His energy was slowly running out, so he popped one last pebble in his mouth and finally got up, he had eaten apart so much of His hideout he could stand up now. Touching the ceiling, Larry had an idea, ¡®If I can¡¯t find any places to hide, why don¡¯t I just make my own? I can eat my way into practically any surface, I don¡¯t need to look for hideouts!¡¯ He wanted to admonish himself for not thinking of it sooner, but it just seemed so asinine. He wasn¡¯t as fast as a Drillbur and he didn¡¯t have the move Dig, but he could dig pretty well. ¡®At least not yet, hehe¡­¡¯ Larry thought menacingly, ¡®Just you wait, wildlife of Mt. Silver, I¡¯ll dig my way out of here if I have to!¡¯ Just as Larry meandered his way out of his hidey-hole and into the walkway, it happened. ROOOAAAR! A rumbling and loud roar echoed down the walkway, seemingly reverberating off of every single surface until the entire cavern shook, as small pieces of dust floated down from the ceiling. Larry immediately went cold, his heart sped up in panic and he looked around frantically. ¡®What the hell was that?!¡¯ The roar was strong enough to make the entire cave system rumble, whatever made that roar was mad, Larry felt it. ¡®Considering that it came from above, I think I¡¯ll just make myself scarce really quickly¡­¡¯ He quickly and silently extradited himself from his hidey-hole and made way for the second level of Mt. Silver. ¡­ Larry had stopped at a stalactite that was dripping water into a small basin on the side of the walkway, it had been a lucky coincidence that he¡¯d found it. He wasn¡¯t sure if he needed to drink water considering he only ate rocks, but every time he did it felt refreshing, so he wouldn¡¯t hold himself back either. This watering hole was especially tasty, it seemed water high in Minerals like the dirty and cloudy basin of water under the stalactite he¡¯d decided to try was delicious. The tale has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the violation. ¡®Wouldn¡¯t have given roadside Slurpee a try back on earth, but the Calcium and other minerals in this one here just make this taste like a Soft Drink!¡¯ The variety of earthly minerals diluted into the water from the stalactite above gave the water the same qualities as the dirt he loved, only without all the effort of eating. Before long Larry had almost sucked the entire basin dry and righted himself back onto two feet, content and happy. Larry wiped away a small ¡®mudstache¡¯ he¡¯d gotten before thinking to himself, ¡®Isn¡¯t this really disgusting? I just sucked up a little puddle of mud, I didn¡¯t even think twice about it, did I?¡¯ He debated changing his eating habits before shrugging, ¡®Well, maybe I¡¯ll do something about it if the taste gets worse¡­¡¯ Larry continued downwards, jumping from rock face to rock face on the side of the walkway. He¡¯d become more confident in himself by learning new moves, but he wasn¡¯t a moron or a battle-junky. He¡¯d been lucky enough to not get spotted by a single Pok¨¦mon yet, or to be more accurate, he hadn¡¯t spotted anyone even using the walkway in his entire stay on it. There are a few reasons this could be, but Larry thought that most likely any other Pok¨¦mon that was using the walkway simply wasn¡¯t a big shot enough to show itself, bad enough at hiding to get spotted by Larry or vying so much for a fight that they¡¯d attack Larry. Misdreavus had been a ghost-type, one of the most confrontational types, which loved to play tricks and mess with others, but most Rock, Ground, or Water Types that could be found on Mt. Silver were bound to be less hotheaded. That goes for practically all Pok¨¦mon able to be found in Mt. Silver, except for Larvitar, with it being the Pseudo-Legendary of the generation. In the games Mt. Silver was an area designated for high-level Trainers because of the high level of the Pok¨¦mon inhabiting it, this wouldn¡¯t mean that all the Pok¨¦mon in Mt. Silver are inherently powerful, but that the experience level of Pok¨¦mon in Mt. Silver was higher than in previous places, meaning Pok¨¦mon live longer here and learn more here. With Levels not translating into real life, that had been the most logical explanation Larry could come up with using his limited experience in this new Pokemon life. The games also showed Mt. Silver as being at most a thirty-minute walk if you sucked at the game. Meanwhile, in real life, Larry had spent two sleep cycles simply walking through the third level of the Mt. Silver caves, scaling the mountain from the outside was bound to be the easier feat if you just wanted to see the top. Now, granted Larry had no way of knowing how long he¡¯d actually spent as a Larvitar yet, Dwebble had insinuated that in their time together, they hadn¡¯t spent more than an evening together and Larry had felt spent enough to sleep two times out of exhaustion after that, with one probably being cut short by a gang of rude Woopers. If he was just guessing he¡¯d say this entire panicked second life as a Larvitar had at most been around thirty to forty-eight hours. It felt weird like he couldn¡¯t clearly remember every part of his human life and like his new life had redefined who he was in more ways than one. He still didn¡¯t know if this was something he should be having a panic attack about, but it was so late at this point that it would feel illogical too. ¡®I¡¯m all over the place, aren¡¯t I? Maybe I need someone to ground me a bit more?¡¯ Larry thought. Dwebble was a long walk back up the mountain, and if he saw anyone else, they¡¯d be bound to run because he was apparently the apex predator of this cavern. This damn cavern, the well-used almost carved through walls on both sides of the walkway, Larry didn¡¯t like it when he woke up and he still only tolerated it now. ¡®I¡¯ll get strong enough to both fight my way out of here, I¡¯ll do whatever I have to.¡¯ he vowed. With the promise made to himself, he began circulating his type-energy and using the moves he had taught himself while moving forward, if nobody else was going to jump him he might as well use the time for something productive. ... Larry had taken some time to get acquainted with his new moves while trying his best to stay undetected and what he could tell is that both were incredibly useful in very specific ways. Pursuit made for the perfect move if he ever needed someone beat that either had backup waiting or was already fleeing, but unfortunately, it was very weak in Larry''s testing resulting in him not wanting to use the move outside of its niche. One great bonus he¡¯d found out about while remembering his fight with the Misdreavus, was that a Pok¨¦mon didn¡¯t particularly need to be switched out of the fight or flee, but also just retreat in general. Since the games didn¡¯t have a way to indicate retreat in a fight, the move had never applied to it, but the Misdreavus hadn¡¯t been intending to flee, it was vying for a fight and only retreated to dodge attacks while being hit by the doubled damage of Pursuit. His other new dark-type move, Payback seemed far more useful, with it being stronger if Larry gets hit by an attack before attacking himself. In the games, Payback was far less used because the speed of your Pok¨¦mon''s attack was set in stone, but in this world, he could simply let himself be hit and then counterattack if Larry was confident in his defense and bulk. It meant a lot to Larry, because his speed wasn¡¯t his strong suit, and he knew that this wasn¡¯t going to change in the future. His slower attacks mean he is going to need to take every chance he can get for a little more damage. With Payback, Pursuit, and Bite for his Dark-Type Attacks, Larry''s last new move gave him slightly more coverage and was far easier for him to train without another Pok¨¦mon being required to train the attack, Rock Throw. Another Rock-Type-empowered Pebble flew across the walkway impacted the walkway wall and hit the walkway wall with a loud crack. His throw for the Misdreavus had for sure been a fluke, his rocks now flew far quicker than before. He still felt that it wasn¡¯t a particularly strong move, but he did like that he wasn¡¯t forced to wait for enemies to attack him anymore and that he could do any semblance of damage from a distance. ¡®It also made for great time killer...¡¯ Larry thought as he flicked another pebble at a stone in the distance, the TE in the stone shot out of it on impact and the sharp tip of the stone exploded off it. ¡®Next up, I¡¯ll try my hands at some status moves or other non-attacking moves.¡¯ Larry¡¯s brainstorming was interrupted as he looked up, trying to spot the next stone in the distance. In the distance though he finally saw the walkway widen and expand before it suddenly simply dropped. ¡®Woah! Wouldn¡¯t wanna fall down there.¡¯ Larry approached the edge of the walkway. As he peeked down, he saw the spiraling walkway continue downward all the way to the middle into another hole. He could see the entirety of the second level from up here. He could also spot a gigantic Ursaring enter from one of the many cave exits, trailing behind it were its Teddiursa cubs. At another exit a Donphan rolled violently into the cavern, smashing off stones and boulders every which way. The Ursaring looked over to it from the other side of the funnel with clear hatred in its eyes. ¡®Yeah, they probably never heard of ¡®Love thy Neighbor¡¯ around these parts...¡¯ Larry thought to himself as he started on his journey down the funnel. Chapter 9 Larry ran from stone to stone, his stubby legs working overtime as he panted frantically to keep himself hidden. If it''s ¡®hunt or be hunted¡¯ Larry was feeling mighty hunted right about now, the Golduck in the pond in front of him turned over onto its back and Larry flinched back into the outcropping behind the stone he¡¯d hidden behind. The funnel had looked simple enough from above, large open banks of stone and rubble that one could slowly but surely walk down. Larry had thought this would be a cakewalk, simply mosey on down while keeping hidden near the cave wall. Oh, how wrong he¡¯d been. The reality of the situation was far more perilous than he ever imagined, like playing one of those spy videogames with visual cones, but they extend everywhere. This level was just filled to the brim with wild Pok¨¦mon showing themselves off, it was teeming with different Pok¨¦mon down here. Even more unfortunately for Larry, it seemed in comparison to the third level that down here ¡®might makes right¡¯ was the going strategy. Just some time ago, he¡¯d been shimmying his way down the funnel''s walkway stuck up against the wall because he¡¯d spotted a Machoke relaxing in the middle of the walkway. It had been going well, the Machoke hadn¡¯t even noticed him, until suddenly a giant Onix simply appeared outside one of the cavern walls, leaving a gaping hole open behind itself to collapse back into itself slowly. The Onix rushed at a Machoke that had been strutting around openly on the cavern floor, rushing it down with wild abandonment. The Machoke instead of dying of a heart attack, like Larry almost had, simply punched the giant rock snake away. It looked like a goddamn parry move from a videogame, even just the winds the hit produced almost knocked Larry from his feet. After the parry, both simply began duking it out right there in front of Larry, he¡¯d felt his second life pass him by as the Onix appeared out of that wall and he didn¡¯t even know what to do then. So, he¡¯d stayed and watched the Machoke beat the ever-loving crap out of the giant Onix, he didn¡¯t know how a humanoid Pok¨¦mon could do that. ¡®I know Rocks weak to Fighting but an Onix is gigantic, I thought at least that would¡¯ve been an even fight.¡¯ The Machoke had used a multitude of fighting-type moves to do what any wannabe shonen protagonist would¡¯ve done in its position and handily beat the Onix into submission. Afterward, it simply continued on its merry way after, leaving the fainted Onix to lie there. ¡®Damn I¡¯m lucky that I didn¡¯t strut my stuff when I got down here...¡¯ With the empty hallways of the third floor Larry had hoped for this to be more of the same, but it looked to be exactly the opposite. Larry had continued onto his way, sneaking around skillfully until he hit onto this Golduck in front of him, it yawned and Larry flinched once again. ¡®If that weirdo notices me, I¡¯m dead meat. Water is no good for any Rock-Type.¡¯ An opportunity represented itself and Larry took it, running to the next rock just outside of the Golduck''s vision. ¡®...Safe...Hoo boy...¡¯ His heart beat like a jackhammer in his chest, he checked around himself once more, and when he found no other Pok¨¦mon he kept sneaking, from one stone to the next until he came upon another roadblock. A wall, or to be more precisely a cliff, just straight on the walkway, to his left a large hole led into the cavern wall. ¡®Where do I go? I can¡¯t climb that, maybe I can eat my way up?¡¯ Larry charted out his options. He needed to go down, but he couldn¡¯t drop himself down the funnel, so he took his chances and entered to hole instead. It led downward steeply, he could see that this cave was well used, it seemed Larry wasn¡¯t alone, nobody else liked scaling cliffs either. Unfortunately, there weren¡¯t many stones around here to hide himself with, the few he found were quite small too. Larry decided to speed his way back onto the funnel, if he stayed here for too long, he¡¯d just get spotted. ¡°Machoke is training, stay down here if you don¡¯t want to get messed up! Bro!¡± ¡°I know Bro! Didn¡¯t hear that just now, that was one of the Onix taking a beating down there!¡± When he walked deeper inside thought, he started hearing voices. He quickly hid back behind something again and kept his eyes peeled until he saw a group of lounging Gravelers who were sprawled out further down the walkway. They looked to be talking, but Larry didn¡¯t even listen to their conversation over his own heartbeat, just beyond them he saw the only way further, another cavern walkway leading further down and back onto the funnel. ¡°Onix is stupid! He just dig around and eat all day! Stupid!¡± ¡°Yeah! Stupid! Haha!¡± ¡®Just have to sneak past a group of these Graveler, couldn¡¯t be easier, could it?¡¯ Larry sarcastically thought to himself. The tale has been taken without authorization; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident. The Graveler were focused on each other, seemingly discussing something Larry didn¡¯t particularly care about to listen into. He took his chances and skipped along the ground, open for anyone to see until he crawled back behind a stone on the other side of the cavern. One of the Gravelers turned and glanced at the place Larry had just been running across and Larry felt himself stiffen involuntarily at the sight of it. It turned back shortly after and Larry sighed in relief dropping down onto his butt behind the stone, ¡®Hooo... Baby. I hate this, I can¡¯t wait for this to be over.¡¯ Another opportunity presented itself and Larry used it, gunning straight for the exit leading downwards. He almost leaped down it when he finally made it and the Graveler seemed none the wiser behind him, laughing about something or another to themselves. Larry immediately looked for another stone to hide behind and ran for it. Dark TE spilled into Larry''s jaw, and he frantically bit down on the stone wall behind the stone, eating his way inside and then pulling a large rock in front of the entrance. He was in such a panic to make his little hideout he didn¡¯t even stop to appreciate the taste, but once inside he started snacking on his hideout before simply taking a few tentative breaths to calm himself. ¡°Haa...Haa, what the hell am I doing?!¡± He admonished his own recklessness as he thought over his choices just a few minutes before. He had run around like he was fresh out of the shower and quickly needed to get a pair of boxers from his wardrobe, skipping from stone to stone like a maniac. ¡°I could¡¯ve gotten caught and died like 9 times during that!¡± He smashed his tiny fist on a stray pebble next to him in anger at himself. ¡®Alright Larry, next time you go out there, you¡¯ll play smarter than before, that was stupid.¡¯ He stood back up and started biting down on the wall behind him, ¡®Before I keep going, I¡¯ll get a bite to eat. I¡¯m supposed to be watching random videos on the Internet not sneak around a giant cave system.¡¯ A lightbulb went off inside his head as he bit down on the stone, ¡®Maybe... It¡¯s time to learn another move?¡¯ ... Ground TE coursed through his mouth and arms and Larry bit down on the Ground below him. Larry disappeared into the ground and could feel himself cut through the stone like water, he ate a small stream and was able to push away the rest to the side using his Ground TE-empowered arms. Larry swam back upwards and dug his way back out of the ground and into his hideout, the tunnel he¡¯d dug slowly collapsed back into itself behind him and sealed up haphazardly below him. He realized that if he pushed more Ground TE into his arms that the hole he¡¯d dug might¡¯ve stayed open for longer. ¡®Hell yeah! Dig was easier to learn than I expected, it only took a few hours. I¡¯m still amazed how quickly I learned those other Dark-Type Moves before.¡¯ He now had far more moves than any Pok¨¦mon in the games ever had before. Tackle, Bite, Pursuit, Payback, Rock Throw, and Dig were all at least useful moves, but he still wanted to learn some non-attacking Moves. ¡®Maybe I¡¯ll find some Pok¨¦mon later that might not be able to rip me to shreds if they simply saw me soon? Then I could try my hand at some new status moves.¡¯ Larry thought to himself, he felt refreshed since he hadn¡¯t particularly pushed himself while trying to learn Dig, but he still didn¡¯t feel completely ready to tackle the funnel again. Sighing to himself Larry pushed aside the stone and sneaked back outside, ¡®I''ll be fine...probably. I have Dig now, if anything sees me and tries to attack me, I¡¯ll just dig myself to safety!¡¯ The way down the cave soon connected back to the funnel and Larry continued his sneakery, he hopped from stone to stone, keeping himself obscured from most of the funnel''s inhabitants. Before long he came up on another wild Pok¨¦mon, the giant Ursaring he¡¯d seen when he first entered. ¡®Let''s try not to get mauled Larry, alright?¡¯ He hyped himself up, the Ursaring had made its home near the highest cave exit, cold air streamed in from the opening and Larry saw the mother tend to her Teddiursa children as they all looked out over the funnel. She seemed preoccupied, so Larry took the chance and skipped across the cave exit. He almost made it halfway before he heard a yell, ¡°Ah! Mama, look! Little guy!¡± Larry''s heart beat out of his chest as his eyes met the Teddiursas, it had crawled onto its mother''s shoulder and pointed at him with one of its paws. The Ursaring mother looked over her shoulder at the spot her kid had pointed at, only to find nothing. ¡°What did you see, my little Berry?¡± she asked as she picked her kid off her shoulder, ¡°What did it look like? You said a little guy?¡± Just a few steps out of range, Larry emerged from the ground behind a large boulder that had been rolled into the funnel cavern, he¡¯d used Dig the second the Teddiursa saw him and just managed to escape before the Ursaring saw him, ¡®Holy crap! I just did that on instinct! That was close!¡± ¡°It disappeared, hm?¡± The Ursaring mother cooed at her child, ¡°Then it can¡¯t be that bad. Are you sure you didn¡¯t just imagine it? I know you love to play pranks.¡± The Teddiursa giggled in delight, and his mother tickled him while laughing, ¡°Yeah, you¡¯re my little prankster, aren¡¯t you?¡± Larry sighed to himself, ¡®Yeah, you go ahead and play with your kid some more. I¡¯ll be making myself scarce really quick.¡¯ He turned intending to continue his way down the funnel, only to notice a Phanpy staring at him from further down the funnel. ¡®Oh no...¡¯ Larry immediately saw its eyes jump from the Ursaring mother to him and back to her, it knew he was hiding from her. ¡®It''s too far away for it to fight, so what¡¯ll it do? Tell on me?¡¯ He thought frantically about what to do, before raising a hand to his mouth and giving off a quiet ¡®shh¡¯. The Phanpy imitated the gesture using its trunk, it giggled to itself as it finished and made a motion to Larry for him to come closer. ¡®Is this safe? Can I trust this Phanpy when I get to it or is it just going to try and eat me? Wait, Phanpy don¡¯t eat meat, I think? Don''t they eat Berries?¡¯ He weighed the pros and cons in his mind, ¡®You know what? I¡¯ll give it a shot, maybe this Phanpy can give me some pointers on how to get down the funnel more easily.¡¯ Making his way down to the Phanpy was going to take some time, Larry was using hiding spots behind stones and rock faces to not get spotted, but occasionally he checked on what the Phanpy was doing, it seemed to be looking at the way he went down the funnel and laughing to itself? ¡®What''s so funny down there? What else am I supposed to do?¡¯ Chapter 10 Unlawfully taken from Royal Road, this story should be reported if seen on Amazon. Chapter 11 Donphan had given Larry some time for himself, to get his mind back in order. After realizing he¡¯d been the catalyst for the impending destruction of Mt. Silver at his mom''s hands, he had almost panicked a bit too much. ¡®I mean isn¡¯t this basically the plot of Star Wars? No, wait. Vader didn¡¯t destroy Alderaan because he was angry, he couldn¡¯t meet Luke, that was more like a show of force, wasn¡¯t it?¡¯ They had served him some berries they had scavenged from the snowy outside. Unfortunately for Larry, they tasted terrible, pulpy, and soft with a terrible, almost sickeningly sweet taste to them, it made him almost throw up. Considering he loved brown hard water that he¡¯d sucked out of a puddle, it was safe to say his tastebuds simply weren¡¯t made for them. After the disappointing meal, he¡¯d eaten Donphan a new room, literally. He asked Donphan if he wanted to give his son his own personal room and then ate Phanpy a new room into existence. When his hunger was finally sated, he rested himself and took a nap to calm down. Luckily, no new roars emerged from up in the cave and Larry felt himself slowly fall asleep. ... It was a new day, and it was time to meet his maker, more literally than Larry hoped to, but he was going to go back to the third floor and calm down his mother. He still didn¡¯t know what to expect from a Pok¨¦mon that had ¡®Tyrant¡¯ in its name, but even Larry knew no mother would harm her child, especially in the Pok¨¦mon world. He sat in Donphan''s home and planned out his route in his head, ¡®The worst part about going up there will be actually making my way up, luckily, I now know that a lot of the Pok¨¦mon on the second level with enough intelligence to communicate with each other have an agreement to not harm each other.¡¯ Larry saw with his own eyes that down here there are just far too many Pok¨¦mon for them to survive otherwise. The third level didn¡¯t have such an agreement, forcing almost all Pok¨¦mon into hiding. According to Phanpy, the first level is not outright peaceful, but the amount and experience of the Pokemon down there is so low that most don¡¯t fight one another. RROOOAAAR The entire cave shook with the roar of his mother as Larry flinched back into himself, ¡®Eep! Again, leave it to me to just straight up run away from my own mom before ever meeting her.¡¯ A normal Larvitar might¡¯ve dug itself up, cried out like any other baby to alert its mom, and then just consumed obscene amounts of stone, but because Larry didn¡¯t have the mental capacity of a baby, he acted just like any person would if they were reborn. He freaked out, panicked, and walked around aimlessly until somebody showed him the ropes. A familiar face came back to Larry''s mind, ¡®I hope Dwebble and his family are alright... They are stuck up there with my mom, aren¡¯t they?¡¯ ¡®...If I can fix this mess, I should get going, before my mom does any more damage to Mt. Silver.¡¯ Larry finally sat up and walked over to Donphan and Phanpy, ¡°I¡¯ll start my journey back up Mt. Silver, if my presence is the only thing that can fix this I¡¯ll go back up to the third floor.¡± Donphan nodded at him wisely, ¡°A good choice, I know the way up will be hard, but it will give you strength and give you valuable experience.¡± It looked over Phanpy and stroked its head lovingly, ¡°Maybe your mother will also be able to teach you a thing or two when you finally meet with her.¡± Larry wanted to answer, but was tackled by Phanpy before he could, ¡°I hope you¡¯ll love your mom as much as I love my dad! Family is important, Larry! If you ever make your way down the cavern again, then come by and we¡¯ll share some berries with you or something!¡± He reciprocated Phanpy¡¯s hug with his short arms before quickly hiding away a grimace at the mention of more berries, ¡°Oh, I¡¯ll miss you Phanpy, you¡¯re so nice! I¡¯ll try my hardest to get along with my mom and calm her down.¡± And like that, Larry left the Donphan hideout behind, waving back at both Phanpy and Donphan behind him. Looking up, he could see the entrance he¡¯d taken to get to the second level, and he knew how long it¡¯d taken to make his way down here. First, he¡¯d have to get by the Ursaring, then the Graveler, then the Golduck, and finally past the Machoke. With him not needing to sneak it was bound to be far easier. ¡®Still, that was a damn long walk, at least I¡¯m not as hungry right now thanks to Phanpy and Donphan.¡¯ He kept his feet moving as he thought, but before he could even meet any of the inhabitants of the second level and introduce himself, he heard a giant noise emanating from above him. BOOM If you spot this story on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation. The Onix he¡¯d seen take on the Machoke before was back, it broke through one of the walls on his level and looked around, scanning the area for anything of note. Its eyes fell on Larry, and he felt himself stiffen before it continued on like he wasn¡¯t even worth considering, ¡®Jeez, almost felt my heart jump out of my chest there...¡¯ Larry kept a safe distance, Donphan had mentioned that while most Pok¨¦mon were intelligent enough to respect the agreement between the Pok¨¦mon of the second level, not everyone was as smart as everyone else and Rock-Types were some of the dumbest of the bunch. Literally, dumb as rocks. Before long the Onix turned back and jumped back into the wall of the funnel-like it was water, he heard the loud rumblings of stone being displaced by the sheer mass of the Onix before it appeared an entire level higher up and curled up in a nest that had been built there, probably it¡¯s own. An idea flashed through Larry¡¯s mind, ¡®That was Dig wasn¡¯t it? Considering I¡¯ve got Dig now as well maybe I can do the same, walking all the way up would be such a hassle.¡¯ He focused Ground TE into his arms and mouth once more and dug himself into the wall right next to him, he couldn¡¯t see a thing like this but his instincts told him where was up and down so simply began digging up. His insatiable hunger was quite a boon in a situation like this, considering that his method of using Dig required him to eat part of the rock. A normal Pok¨¦mon might¡¯ve found themselves full and sated by the third swipe of their arm as they dug through the earth, but Larry didn¡¯t feel sated or full, ever. Digging up wasn¡¯t quite as hard as one might expect as Larry could simply step upwards, it was more akin to climbing a ladder that supported your whole body than actually swimming upwards in rock. There was no way for Larry to know how far he¡¯d gone while underground, which meant there was also no way to know what was in front of him at all times, he had basic senses, but he could dig himself straight into a vein of water and drown to death if he was unlucky. When Larry finally began to feel the burn of constantly digging upwards he decided to check how far along he¡¯d come by sticking his head back outside of the rock face and checking. Larry dug his head out of the rock face and found he had made it pretty far, he¡¯d gone far above the Onix which was resting in its nest, sleeping peacefully. ¡®This is amazing! I regret not doing this before! You can get through a cave so much quicker if you simply dig your way through it instead of taking the routes made by people!¡¯ It sounded obvious now that he¡¯d said it, but it showed just how much of an advantage you would have in a cave if you didn¡¯t think in a human way. To Pok¨¦mon like the Ursaring, Golduck, and Machoke he¡¯d seen before, Mt. Silvers caves were nothing more than a home and hideout from the harsh cold of the upper levels of Mt. Silvers outside. They didn¡¯t live inside the cave, they lived on Mt. Silver, because they were just as much outside of the caves as they were inside. Pok¨¦mon like Graveler, Onix, and in a lesser case Larvitar were born around concepts like caves and lived in them not out of practicality but necessity. They ate stone and while they would survive on other diets, it sure wasn¡¯t as easy. Continuing his dig upwards Larry peeked out occasionally or took a break at one of the closest platforms he could rest at, though he actually felt better resting inside the wall itself. He didn¡¯t think about the implications of that, but it was far more comfortable inside the wall than outside of it, for some odd reason. ¡®Larvitar really are rugged, I never really needed to drink water, can eat any old stone to sate myself, and am made partially of rock. Yet at the same time, I¡¯m so fragile I should stay underground and only eat until I evolve into a literal pupa.¡¯ It was a real contradiction to Larry. This was the most comfortable he¡¯d been in his entire second life, simply enveloped by the rock on all sides deep underground. A quick jab came to him, ¡®Heh, guess my new and old self aren¡¯t so different right now, we¡¯re both six feet under!¡¯ Larry shook himself off, once again putting his previous life back into the recesses of his mind. That time is over, it sure helps him when it comes to this world, but he sure didn¡¯t want to think about all the people he¡¯d left over there without any answers. ¡®Just keep digging Larry, don¡¯t go disappointing a second mom of yours...¡¯ He thought to himself as he kept up his dig upwards. As Larry continued his way up, the stone slowly but surely changed, from hard rock he¡¯d have to bite off to gravel which practically fell into his mouth. Surprisingly the taste was different, Larry loved it, but the hard stone was savory, with pebbles being far sweeter. He dug through multiple different minerals that were stuck in the walls, at one point even biting straight into a salt deposit, instead of immediately recoiling like any human if they¡¯d eat an entire mouthful of salt, he simply tasted a light saltiness which soon disappeared into his peerless stomach. Checking the outside once more, he realized he was almost at the top of the funnel. He hadn¡¯t even slept like last time, meaning he had made the trip in far less time and with far less heart-pounding sneaking action than last time. The Machoke could be seen from his position as it lounged on one of the rocks down below, the Golduck was washing itself in its small water basin a bit lower and the Graveler couldn¡¯t be seen deep in their cavern, meanwhile, the Ursaring was out completely and Onix was still sleeping in its nest. ¡®This place really is far too peaceful, why did Dwebble say his mom had to fight her way through here?¡¯ It felt like a mystery to him how or why Dwebble was here in Mt. Silver in the first place, now that he thought of it. The only Pok¨¦mon he¡¯d seen were Pok¨¦mon which he could guess were native to the cavern in the games, so why was a random family of Dwebble also here? He¡¯d ask him once he finally found him again on the third floor. He still needed to save him from his mom. ¡®That was almost too easy, Dig is a cave dweller''s best friend!¡¯ Larry complimented his move pool, ¡®Once were finally back up there, it''s time to find my mom on the third floor, calm her down and hope she¡¯ll let me make the return trip down again.¡¯ ¡®And if she doesn¡¯t, guess I¡¯ll stay with her for some time. I really do not like these caves, but I also know it''s not a good idea to have them destroyed by a Tyranitar if she throws another tantrum.¡¯ His new life had looked so bright, but the prospect of his mom bearing down took a lot of the shine out of it. ¡®Let''s just hope she''s a good mom...¡¯ Larry thought to himself as he began digging his way over to the walkway leading up to the third level. Chapter 12 This narrative has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road. If you see it on Amazon, please report it. Chapter 13 The narrative has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the infringement. Chapter 14 When his mom finally stirred awake, Larry was finally able to free himself from her grasp. He quickly untangled himself from his mother¡¯s clutches before she fully woke up. Larry still wasn¡¯t sure how he was supposed to act, should he go cutesy and hide his intelligence, or should he just cut to the chase considering he was talking to his own mother? ¡®Nah, I don¡¯t think I would be able to fake my way through the whole time, I¡¯ll slip up eventually.¡¯ Larry thought to himself, ¡®Let''s play coy for now, but keep it safe.¡¯ ¡°Mmgh, ugh!¡± His mother groaned as she woke up, he knew she must still be feeling herself. Rampaging does nobody any good. ¡°Good morning, mom! Or? I don¡¯t know what time it is right now!¡± Larry chimed in in a chipper voice. She cracked one eye open and looked around before her sight fell on Larry. Seeing her child seemed to wake her up as she quickly got up and composed herself. ¡°Ugh!¡± Her quick rise led her to a headache, as she blearily stumbled around in front of him. As she caught her balance, she looked down at her Larvitar son, before speaking up in a deep rumbling voice, ¡°I really found you?¡± Larry yelped as he was picked up by her, his mom checked him all over, even smelling him for confirmation. ¡°Umm, Mom?¡± ¡°You¡¯re the right one.¡± His mom nodded to herself, before pulling Larry deep into a hug. He felt his mom¡¯s breath shudder for a second before she breathed out and spoke resolutely, ¡°Never.¡± ¡°Never?¡± Larry parroted back. ¡°Never run away like that again.¡± She continued, leaving no room for argument. Larry silently sighed to himself, ¡®Guess I¡¯m not getting away from here as quickly as I hoped¡­¡¯ ¡°Yes, mom!¡± ¡­ His mom started walking away, and Larry followed. The two of them walked far away from the destroyed hallways, continuing deeper into the large open cavern where Larry had been born. With these parts of the cavern not having been rampaged through, it seemed that most parts of the open cavern Larry had been born in came out of the rampage unscathed except for the occasional fallen stalactite or crumbly bit of roof. The mood was tense and his mother didn¡¯t seem interested in conversation, only nonverbally urging Larry to follow her. With the tense mood bearing down on him, Larry tried his luck at breaking the ice. ¡°Um, Mom?¡± ¡°Yes?¡± ¡°Where are we going right now?¡± ¡°Home.¡± ¡°Oh, ok.¡± ¡®Well¡­¡¯ He thought to himself. It seemed Larry¡¯s mom was a quiet person, she didn¡¯t talk until spoken to and always seemed to be introspectively thinking to herself. When she talked, it was in short sentences. Larry had tried to start a conversation, but it didn¡¯t lead anywhere, simply leaving Larry to the echoing noise of their footsteps as they continued to walk. He''d never had a problem like this, in his previous life his mom was the kind of person who¡¯d never shut up, so this was a new dilemma for him. ¡®Is she mad I ran away, or is she always like this?¡¯ Larry thought to himself. They walked a long way through the cave system but never descended. It seemed his mom also made her home somewhere deep inside the third level. They came upon a massive archway and finally, as if throwing him a lifeline, his mom spoke up, ¡°Come, we rest here.¡± ¡°O-Oh, ok!¡± Larry tried to keep up the chipper attitude as his mom began to saunter under the giant archway. She inspected the walkway with extreme scrutiny before nodding to herself. His mom stomped her foot and suddenly, Rock-TE shot out of her and ebbed over into the wall of the archway. The wall immediately fell like a curtain, and the rock in the archway dropped straight down and into the ground, it disappeared like a magic trick with only a small cloud of dust forming. Larry shielded his face from the dust and debris that was falling, his mother didn¡¯t seem to care and ducked down and climbed inside the impromptu hole. The tale has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the violation. ¡®Woah...She just did that like it¡¯s nothing...¡¯ Larry was amazed by the simple show of his mom''s power. Larry knew Rock Throw, so he had an idea of how hard it was to move stone only using Type-Energy, it showed him the sheer difference between a newborn Pok¨¦mon and an experienced Pok¨¦mon. ¡°Come here.¡± His mother urged him inside. Larry waddled over into his mom''s lap; he couldn¡¯t hold himself back though. It was time to investigate and try and get a hold of some juicy Tyranitar secrets, ¡°You¡¯re really strong Mom! How did you get so strong?¡± His mother took his question seriously, she looked up at the ceiling as he sat down in her lap. She looked back down at him with a fire in her eyes, ¡°I fought for my life, and I survived.¡± He wanted to ask her to elaborate, but it seemed the topic got her talking, ¡°All my life, I¡¯ve fought.¡± ¡°But now,¡± She looked down at Larry and caressed his head, ¡°I feel like I have something else to look forward to...¡± ¡°When I came back to the place where I laid your egg, and you weren¡¯t there...¡± His mother''s arm stopped on top of his head for a second, ¡°...I thought that maybe another Pok¨¦mon had come before me, and...¡± ¡°Mom?¡± Larry asked timidly. The Tyranitar huffed and she continued petting Larry, ¡°It doesn¡¯t matter.¡± She caressed his cheek using her arm, ¡°You¡¯re here now.¡± Larry understood his mom a bit better now, she wasn¡¯t an evil Pok¨¦mon, she simply wanted to be a mom and didn¡¯t have any idea how to go about it. There was hope and ambition in her voice when she talked about laying his egg which was replaced by a clear fear and dread when she talked about not being able to find him after he hatched. ¡®I think she needs some encouragement, right now she is disappointed in herself for what happened.¡¯ Larry thought to himself, ¡®I should tell her about what happened to me, maybe finding out what I¡¯ve been up to will help her a bit.¡¯ ¡°You wouldn¡¯t believe what I saw while you were looking for me, Mom.¡± Larry opened, and he began regaling her about his adventures, as they relaxed inside the hideout. He told her about hatching, looking around the caverns, stumbling over the Geodude, and meeting Dwebble. His mom scoffed when he mentioned how the Geodude had threatened him, clearly not worried about a bunch of Geodude beating a Larvitar. His story continued with his adventures down the cavern, his training of moves, and the gang of Wooper who woke him up rudely. But when the story came up on his meeting with the Misdreavus, he stopped. ¡®Should I tell her how I fought against the Misdreavus?¡¯ Larry thought to himself, ¡®I don¡¯t know how she¡¯d react, does she want to hear about that?¡¯ The stroking by his mom had stopped again and she looked down at him, ¡°You went on a little adventure.¡± She said matter of factly, she didn¡¯t show it, but he knew what she wanted when she asked him, ¡°What happened next?¡± ¡°U-Umm, as I was walking down the walkway, a Misdreavus suddenly ambushed me. I learned some new moves in the fight, but...¡± Larry stopped for a moment, ¡°...it was a close fight.¡± He continued to tell her about the moves he¡¯d learned impromptu and how he¡¯d used all the Dark-Type moves to finally do the Misdreavus in. The tense atmosphere and scolding Larry expected never came and after a tense silence his mom finally spoke up, seemingly sensing her son''s fear, ¡°Is something wrong? You fought well.¡± ¡°I, umm, I thought you might be angry at me for getting myself into trouble like that.¡± Larry sheepishly admitted. The hand on his head lifted away, ¡°Fighting is bound to involve danger, I would¡¯ve liked to have trained you beforehand, but you did well.¡± The hand returned to his cheek and caressed it lovingly, ¡°I''m proud of you.¡± ¡®Maybe, having a good relationship with your mom is better than whatever I had with my previous mom.¡¯ Larry thought to himself, he never really had this in his previous life. His story continued, from finally reaching the second layer to sneaking his way past all kinds of Pok¨¦mon using new moves like Dig, then finding out how it was completely useless when he befriended a small Phanpy and his father. The two told him about the friendly relations of most of the Pok¨¦mon on the second layer. The story ended when he talked to the two about the roars he kept hearing, only to find out from them that this was probably his mother, it all coalesced in his quick ascent back upwards using everything he learned and their eventual meeting. ¡°...And that''s how we met each other!¡± Larry finally concluded, he looked up and back at his mother expectantly, ¡®She must have some opinion on this.¡¯ He thought to himself. The Tyranitar looked at him fondly before simply announcing, ¡°I¡¯m glad we finally did. We¡¯ve rested enough, let¡¯s continue.¡± as she stood back up. ¡°Oh, right!¡± Larry hastily followed, he¡¯d completely forgotten that this was only supposed to be a simple rest spot to catch their breath. He hadn¡¯t even noticed as he somehow managed to turn it into a long Storytime instead. ¡®Well, at least mom didn¡¯t seem to mind.¡¯ Larry thought to himself as they continued their long walk back home. ... The third layer according to most Pok¨¦mon who lived there was a simple large walkway to the top of Mt. Silver, with small tunnels interspersed in-between which connected an intricate cave system that snaked around the large middle walkway. As Dwebble had described back then, only smaller Pok¨¦mon, at most to hip or stomach height to the average trainer lived up here in the cave system surrounding the walkway, simply because the walkway wasn¡¯t any bigger to accommodate them. Larry''s birthplace was the special exception in that case, as the large cavern stuck behind the walls of the third layer had a high ceiling, larger pools of water that occasionally dotted the cavern, and a large gathering of different Pok¨¦mon inside it, like the ever-present Zubat, which Larry could largely avoid until now, Geodude and Graveler which were spaced between and seemed content to simply laze about in their life. What Larry and nobody else had known was that this larger cave system he¡¯d been born into was part of a larger underground network of open space that spanned the entirety of Mt. Silver and according to his mother, allegedly much more. Just as the second level had a multitude of entrances from every side of the mountain, the third level had them as well. The only difference is that they were either completely frozen over and buried underneath an unknown amount of snow or buried literally by landslides and much more, only occasionally opening by chance with the outside weather. ¡°We¡¯re almost there.¡± His mother tersely commented as they kept walking and before long, they arrived, as they rounded a corner and a giant cave entrance stood before them. The highest point of the entrance was so far up, Larry could barely spot it in the darkness, ¡®This place is so huge it feels more like a tunnel used for cars than a simple cave entrance.¡¯ Larry thought. Or at least it would¡¯ve if there wasn¡¯t a giant wall of ice and snow blocking off the entire entrance hole. ¡°This...¡± The Tyranitar dramatically paused for emphasis, ¡°...is my home.¡± She turned back to Larry, before pointing at the gigantic wall of ice blocking off the entrance hole. ¡°I think this wasn¡¯t here before though.¡± Chapter 15 Larry and his mom both stood in front of the giant wall of ice, apparently, it had once been his mother''s home. Unfortunately for her, it seemed the outside world wasn¡¯t as kind as the inside. The entire opening which she¡¯d made her home was covered completely by a thick sheet of ice and snow. It looked like someone opened the front door to a house that had been snowed in, except that the entire entrance was iced over instead of simply being snowed in. His mom inspected the ice carefully, touching it and meekly scratching into it with her claws. The temperature near these entrances was freezing cold and Larry once again wanted to just return back into the depths of the mountain to escape it. ¡®I wonder what this place looked like when Mom lived here, there''s nothing around here, does that mean her entire hideout is inside the ice right now?¡¯ The ice seemed unmovable and his mom shook her head at the situation and simply sat down next to the giant ice wall. ¡°Um, Mom?¡± Larry carefully asked, ¡°I know this is supposed to be your home, but it doesn¡¯t seem comfortable to live here anymore. I¡¯m freezing cold! Do you mind us moving somewhere else, at least until this ice melts?¡± A scoff escaped his mom as she turned her head to the side and crossed her arms, ¡°I could destroy this wall of ice with a single move.¡± ¡°I know Mom, you¡¯re really strong!¡± Larry didn¡¯t know what his mom was trying to get at, ¡°So why not destroy it?¡± She once again eyed the wall before turning her head back like a picky child, ¡°It¡¯d probably destroy more than the wall, and I like this place.¡± Raising herself, she began to walk, ¡°Let''s find a warmer place to settle down, at least in the meantime.¡± ... The cavern edges were colder this far up on the mountain, even on the second level Pok¨¦mon had to rely on the interior cavern to not freeze to death, so Larry was unsure if Pok¨¦mon even lived on the peak of Mt. Silver. ¡®Why are the caves of Mt. Silver warmer anyway? Shouldn¡¯t caves always have the temperature of their surroundings?¡¯ Larry absentmindedly thought to himself as he trudged along behind his mother. It might¡¯ve been the warmer air from the bottom of Mt. Silver rising through the cave and heating the inside, but Mt. Silver wasn¡¯t in a particularly warm region, was it? Then what is heating the inside of the cave? ¡®I also still need to get back to move training, this whole mess with my mom has really thrown me off course, hasn¡¯t it?¡¯ His mind wandered back to something else as he thought about how to broach the subject to his mother, she wouldn¡¯t mind him trying to get stronger, would she? ¡°Mom? Once we find a place to settle down, do you mind teaching me a bit? I learned some moves on my own, but I think I could learn much more if you taught me!¡± When the word teaching escaped Larry, his mother stopped dead in her tracks and turned to him with a clear smile on her face, and by the time Larry had concluded his sentence his mom was already looking at him expectantly. ¡°Sure, I can teach you some things!¡± His mom nodded enthusiastically. She slowed down to walk beside Larry instead of in front of him, ¡°There is so much I can teach you about, we could...¡± Larry silently prayed for his health, his mom was a battle junkie who wasn¡¯t that good at communication or mothering, but it seemed she had a soft spot for training. She promptly began regaling him with all kinds of things, from training regimens to eating habits. ¡®With other Pok¨¦mon like her, who needs a trainer...¡¯ Larry thought to himself begrudgingly, he knew training, at least in the standards of Pok¨¦mon required a lot of blood, sweat, and tears. Fighting for one''s life against other Pok¨¦mon is after all the quickest way to level up. He felt himself almost nod off while walking as his usually distant and quiet mother just didn¡¯t stop talking about the various ways to strengthen one''s skin against other Pok¨¦mon''s fangs and claws. The topic also never seemed to run out, as she jumped from real stories that happened to her to apparent rumors she heard years ago to even more outlandish things. What Larry did learn from listening to her though, was surprising. She wasn¡¯t the only Tyranitar, no, there are entire groups of them living out in the wilderness beyond Mt. Silver, far away from the human population of the world. Now there were no Tyranitar communities or Tyranitar bread shops out in the wild, but it seemed that if two Tyranitar met it didn¡¯t always end in a fight. Some were respectful, some had seen each other before and others even fell in love. Most differentiated themselves and others by region, his mother was called the Mountain Tyranitar for example. If you come across this story on Amazon, it''s taken without permission from the author. Report it. It seemed his father was another Tyranitar she had befriended on her journeys away from Mt. Silver, although she didn¡¯t go too deep into the topic during her teaching-fueled ramblings. Larry did want her to elaborate, but he couldn¡¯t find the right timing to cut her off and ask, so he filed it in the back of his mind to ask sometime later. During their journey to find a new place, Larry thought his nonexistent ears might fall off, luckily for him they found a suitable place to settle down, a large outcropping of stone, which looked to be empty of any other Pok¨¦mon. It made for a good enough hideout away from any larger open areas of the cavern that Pok¨¦mon might frequent. As he meandered inside, his mom spoke up once more, ¡°I want to see what you can do, show me.¡± ¡°What do you mean?¡± "I want to see what you learned during your adventure,¡± his mother shifted her footing, and a vicious grin appeared on her face, ¡°let¡¯s have a spar.¡± Larry felt himself begin to sweat as he looked for a way out, ¡°Umm, don¡¯t you still feel winded after that rampage you went on? Maybe another nap would do you good first?¡± His mom checked herself once over casually, ¡°Don¡¯t worry, I feel healthy.¡± ¡®Noo! I don¡¯t to get my butt kicked by my own mom!¡¯ Larry cried internally. ¡°W-What about food?! You must be hungry, right? When was the last time you ate something?¡± He tried to wriggle his way out. ¡°Food tastes best after some exercise.¡± She casually mentioned as she readied herself. ¡°W-What if I hurt you?! I couldn¡¯t live with myself if I did something to you!¡± Larry cried out as his mom approached. Her grin spread out further and Larry felt as if a demon was bearing down on him, ¡°Oh, don¡¯t worry. There is no chance that any of your attacks could hurt me.¡± Larry''s shoulders slumped and he resigned himself to his fate, he already heard her countdown as she lowered herself to the ground. ... ¡°Three!¡± ¡°Two!¡± ¡°One!¡± ¡°Begin!¡± His mom charged at him, he saw her rampage before and knew this wasn¡¯t her full speed. As she charged him with a leisurely Tackle, to him though, it felt like he might become Roadkill. The attack was still almost too fast for Larry to track and if he hadn¡¯t used Dig to dodge the attack, it could¡¯ve ended badly. Once underground, Larry immediately shot back up and used his Ground-TE-empowered claws to slash at his mom''s underbelly, unfortunately, the attack glanced off harmlessly, just as she had promised. ¡°Nice effort!¡± His mom commended, as she turned around slowly, ¡°Try dodging this!¡± All around her feet, Dark-TE began flowing outwards like ink in a tidal wave, it floated into the air and quickly flooded the area around his mom with volatile amounts of TE. ¡®Damn, is that Dark Pulse?!¡¯ Larry immediately recognized the move, but he didn¡¯t even begin to know how to counter it. He tried to dodge back, but the tidal wave of TE was far too quick. Instead, Larry began charging a Payback as the tidal wave of TE impacted him. A part of the volatile TE began to soak into his body and Larry closed his eyes in anticipation, but the pain was still immeasurable. Larry immediately felt fear and pain assault him, his mind spiraled into a bout of dark depression as the wave passed by him. When the wave finally passed over him, he felt himself flinch back and the Type-Energies he¡¯d so preciously saved for his next attack slipped out of his grasp. ¡®Goddamn flinches!¡¯ He cursed to himself mentally. He didn¡¯t have time to wait though, as when opened his eyes again and looked back up his mother was already charging at him again with another attack. Her razor-sharp Dark-TE-filled fangs were already rushing at him and Larry almost stumbled off his feet as he dodged to the side. His mom didn¡¯t let up though, as another Bite soon followed, and Larry found himself in a dance of dodges around his mother. The fourth bite finally connected as his mother wrapped her jaw around his stomach and lifted him into the air. Larry hadn¡¯t been hit by many attacks in his life, and he wasn¡¯t much of a fighter in his last one either. The amount of hits he¡¯d taken this time around made him want to pass out, as both his mind and body cried out in pain, but he persisted. Charging up his own Bite, Larry bit down on his mother''s face, right between her eyes. A growl escaped his mother, as she held him up high, they stared each other down as Larry put every ounce of strength he had into the bite, yet her rock-hard skin didn¡¯t give in. She reared her head back and released her grip, tossing Larry through their new hideout as hard as possible. ¡®Oh, crap!¡¯ Larry braced himself as he impacted the wall of the hideout, he felt all the air escape his lungs as he bounded off the wall and landed flat on his stomach on the hideout floor. He quickly got his feet under him, but as he looked up his mom was already charging at him once again. ¡®Let me catch a goddamn break!¡¯ He cried out mentally. Rock-TE shot out of his feet and a large, empowered stone grew out of the ground beside him. He picked it up and immediately launched it at his charging mom, before once again charging up a Payback. The rock exploded as it hit his mother, but only seemed to slow her down marginally. The glinting white-silver of Normal-TE coated his mother''s form as she slowly charged, a Tackle probably. Larry braced for the hit and was rocketed back into the wall he¡¯d just hit as his mom impacted him. When he impacted the second time though, the hit was far weaker, probably due to his resistance to Normal-Type Moves. Dark-TE inside him came to life as Payback unleased itself, he kicked off the wall and landed gracefully on the ground. His arms coated themselves in Dark-TE and he charged at his mom, who was still righting herself from her Tackle. When his mother saw Larry, she tried to dodge to the side, but Larry simply jumped after her, her large size made it difficult to dodge. He reeled back his arm mid-flight and hit his mother squarely in the chest, the Dark-TE shot out of his body, through his arm, and into his mother. His mother growled again before scowling down at her chest as she raised her arm to rub at it. Her gaze turned back to Larry, ¡°Good hit, you sure learned some moves,¡± before her scowl morphed back into a grin, ¡°Let¡¯s see how long you can keep it up!¡± She raised her foot and stomped it back down into the ground with a roar, suddenly a Rock-Te-empowered boulder began to drip out of the ceiling like water droplets. ¡°T-That isn¡¯t fair!¡± Larry finally yelled out in panic as he jumped from side to side, dodging gigantic boulders from all directions. It would be a long training session. Chapter 16 Another stone fell, crashing into the even cavern floor before a Larvitar jumped through the dust and rubble, propelling itself forward with reckless abandon. Larry pushed himself, labored breath after labored breath was heaved out of him as he propelled himself forward. A sharp stalactite fell before impacting the place he¡¯d just been at, as he quickly dodged aside. The training had paid off and Larry felt wrecked, like ¡®crushed between a truck and a train crashing head-on at 120 miles an hour¡¯ level of wrecked. It had been a few days, they had talked, planned, and trained their butts off. His everything hurt, and somehow it wasn¡¯t just because of all the attacks his mother used, but also the training itself. Larry hadn¡¯t thought about it, because he never exercised this much before, but muscle pain due to exercise was another part of the pain. His body ached as he continued his advance toward his mother, they were in the process of training dodging, ¡®Argh! They do say ¡®No pain, no gain¡¯, but they¡¯re really underselling the pain part!¡¯ It wasn¡¯t just physical damage that had done him in, his mother had also used special moves, whose effects Larry had the displeasure of feeling for the first time. Ebbing and flowing Dark-Type waves which were released by Dark Pulse, they attacked one mentally, assaulting one''s mind with a large variety of bad thoughts and depressive emotions. Larry had never felt someone else put suicidal thoughts into his own head so viscerally, his mother wasn¡¯t even a specially focused Pok¨¦mon, that was one of her weaker moves. He shuddered to imagine what an Alakazam would be able to do to him. The idea of having one''s thoughts controlled or influenced just made Larry uncomfortable, it just wasn¡¯t right. Due to how physically focused the Tyranitar line was, he also wasn¡¯t very interested in learning any special moves. He¡¯d get his immunity to Psychic-Types once he evolved into a Tyranitar anyway. His mother went on the offensive, charging at him once more, but before she could pick up speed, Larry released his newly learned move, Scary Face. Normal-TE put a mask on top of his face, showing the enemy an intimidating face they wouldn¡¯t want to face. When his mother spotted his mask, her speed drastically decreased, and Larry sped up another bit to finally charge up his attack. Rock-TE shot out of his feet and in front of him, slowly small rocks began to jut out of the ground just in grabbing range as he ran past and Larry quickly grabbed and launched one after another while running at his mom. The hits were negligible as always, by now he knew that his mom was practically indestructible to the likes of him. The only person who could kill his mom was herself or probably someone who had every gym badge. She still slowed though, and Larry used this moment to finally attack, he charged up a Bite, forcing Dark-TE into his jaw as a monstrous maw materialized over them and bit down on his mother''s leg as she charged. The extra weight made her lose her balance and she dramatically fell to the ground, by the time she moved her legs again to stand up Larry was already gone again, running circles around his large mom. ¡®She¡¯s faster in a straight line, but not if I corner, I¡¯m just going to annoy her until she gives in!¡¯ Larry had a plan set out this time, his mom had a lot of moves that used the rocks of the cave in creative ways and Larry had seen every single one by now. Rocks falling from the sky, exploding out of the ground, being thrown at him, and even just straight up materializing out of nothing in some cases. He knew he couldn¡¯t do something like that, but maybe eventually... The attack finally came, and it was something he¡¯d felt before. Below his feet, Larry felt Rock-TE move in large amounts, he felt the rock shift and jumped out of the way before he was impaled as a gigantic spike of stone suddenly shot out of the ground like a needle through a piece of fabric. It didn¡¯t stop there though, as Larry kept dodging, another stone spike shot up, then another, and finally the last. Larry''s breath came out in more desperate gasps than anything else and he could feel his eyes fall closed as he stood and waited for the next attack. ¡°Alright, that¡¯s enough for now.¡± His mother said casually, and Larry simply dropped down onto his butt right there on their training ground outside the hideout. He was wiped, and his mom approached him slowly, ¡°You¡¯re getting good,¡± she said as she bent down to pick him up by the scruff of his neck and cradle him in her arms, ¡°You¡¯re fighting above your own level.¡± With Larry comfortably resting in her arms, his eyes drooped closed ever quicker, ¡°Am... Am I good?¡± he asked drowsily. ¡°You¡¯re great, Larry.¡± His mom answered back with a smile, ¡°Go to sleep for now.¡± Larry barely heard his mother''s words before he fell into the world of dreams. He had told her to use the name he¡¯d given himself and surprisingly enough, his mom agreed. It seemed that Pok¨¦mon don¡¯t have the same naming conventions as humans, they simply accepted names people preferred. If you stumble upon this narrative on Amazon, it''s taken without the author''s consent. Report it. The two of them had been training together for the last few days in their new impromptu hideout and Larry had been wiped out every single waking second of the days with his mother putting upon herself to train him. They¡¯d only taken a few breaks in-between to sleep and eat and Larry had felt like he was dying every waking second of his life. He would¡¯ve started hating his mother if it weren''t for the sheer amount of improvement he¡¯d been feeling. Every little trick his mother taught him and every single move she¡¯d shown him, he¡¯d soaked up like a wet sponge. His mother knew a lot of different moves, if Larry had to guess it seemed that she knew every move the Tyranitar line learns through level-up, though she mostly kept to the weaker ones for their spars. With the rare use of something like Stone Edge to keep Larry on his toes. Due to his mother''s knowledge, he¡¯d managed to learn Scary Face quite easily, Normal-TE was probably the easiest Type of Energy to manipulate, right along with his own types of Rock and Ground. His mother had more moves planned to teach him, but she¡¯d said she would only do so after she felt he was ready for them, so Larry was stuck with the spartan practice he¡¯d been forced into now. Though, surprisingly, he actually quite enjoyed his new training, which was weird to Larry. Larry had never felt this before, in his past life he¡¯d have more in common with a Snorlax than a human. It was almost a wonder he¡¯d managed to die by truck, considering he never went outside his room. So, he had been wondering to himself why he enjoyed this so much, it felt like he had finally found his calling in his second life, and it hadn¡¯t made any sense. The answer was found out sometime later when he asked his mom, ¡°All Pok¨¦mon love to fight.¡± She¡¯d answered him like it was the most obvious thing ever. But was it? In the Anime they certainly showed that fighting and battling was something good for Pok¨¦mon, but of course, they would¡¯ve, because else they¡¯d have an uncountable amount of irate parents bearing down on them. So, it was official, Pok¨¦mon love fighting, and they aren¡¯t forced to fight in the Pok¨¦mon battles at all. It brought the Onix and Machoke back in the second layer to mind, when he¡¯d snuck past and the Onix charged at the Machoke, that wasn¡¯t an assault as much as it was a playful tackle into a fun spar, it also cleared up why Onix was simply left there in its fainted state instead of being killed. It made much more sense considering the entire second layer was on friendly terms with each other. He liked what was happening now, it felt to Larry like he was finally becoming a proper Pok¨¦mon and wasn¡¯t just some poor sob stuck in the body of Larvitar. His body didn¡¯t feel weird anymore, the bouquet-like tail he¡¯d always kind of disliked and the giant dull horn on top of his head that both messed with his balance when he¡¯d first been reborn. By now he¡¯d acclimated to his new body and the training with his mother had allowed him to make his new body his own, the tail he¡¯d found no use for was great to use for blocking bites and swipes, and the horn he found out gave him a higher center of gravity. Larvitar weren¡¯t the weak base form of the beast they¡¯d evolve into after 55 levels, they were their own beasts, being able to dig around effortlessly but still have some speed on land. Larvitar had a lot of physical moves they naturally learned, making for a Pok¨¦mon that packed a lot of punch in a small package. That combined with their ability to eat incredible amounts of dirt and dig around made for a Pok¨¦mon which shared the same qualities as something far more delicate like a bird, being able to dodge into the ground the same way a bird can dodge into the sky. Considering it was only a base form Pok¨¦mon of an evolutionary line of three, Larvitar obviously wasn¡¯t the strongest Pok¨¦mon by itself. Yet its qualities gave a strong start and a safety net in the form of its ability to dig. If Larry had been reborn in the caverns of Mt. Silver as something more generic like a Zubat or Geodude he¡¯d have had a much harder time, being forced into a large pack of Pokemon and having to fight for dominance. ... Larry woke back up and after a short break for food and similar he immediately was cast back into practice by his mom. Their time together had been the most productive time in his new life, when he¡¯d fought before it was either a human fighting style or a sheer instinctual fight for survival, but now Larry was finally using his new body in the way it was supposed to be used. Digging into the ground, Larry swam through it like a fish through water before launching himself straight into his mom''s soft underbelly, shearing into it with his TE-empowered arms, before disappearing back into the ground and coming back around for another round. He swam back towards her, dodging an array of Rocks dropping from the ceiling and exploding out of the ground before launching himself out and onto his mom''s head with a Bite. He released when an attack began to charge inside her mouth, Larry dodged backward the second he hit the ground but just barely couldn¡¯t dodge his mother''s fangs closing on him. His energies moved on instinct and Payback activated as her jaws crunched down on him, chewing on his torso like an especially hard piece of candy. Larry didn¡¯t even cry out anymore, he simply sucked in the Dark-TE from his mother''s move before releasing it all with a punch straight into her face, his mother''s mouth sprang open, and he fell back down onto the ground before leaping up and back into the distance. His mother didn¡¯t follow, she stood there and looked down at him with a prideful smile on her face, ¡°You¡¯re amazing, Larry." Larry was still catching his breath, but he couldn¡¯t hide a grin at his mother''s compliments, she¡¯d been singing his praises ever since they¡¯d begun fighting, ¡°Huff... Huff... Thanks...¡± She approached him slowly, before speaking up again, ¡°You¡¯re ready to learn some more moves.¡± Chapter 17 Move tutoring with his mother had been a cakewalk before, as she¡¯d already taught Larry Scary Face before. It seemed that with Pokemon of the same species all learning the same moves as they progressively grow and level up, the only limiting factor to a Pokemon move set is their own motivation to grow. Two Tyranitar might not learn every move a Tyranitar can naturally learn, but every Tyranitar has the natural inclination to learn moves normally learned by Pokemon at level-up. The opposite is true of TM moves, Larry had discreetly asked if she had ever learned some more weird moves, Toxic or Rest, and she simply stared at him dumbly. Yet, Larry was sure one or more of his moves was not learned naturally. Larry wasn¡¯t a Pokemon Super-Fan who could tell you the exact natures that your Pokemon would need to be competitively viable, but he knew his basics from watching the errant Online Video or reading the itinerant Forum Post there. He knew that Tyranitars were basically the Competitive Pokemon Golden Goose, having been in played at the highest level for years and years since the first showed up in the franchise and never really falling off, unlike many other Pokemon. So he¡¯d simply assumed that Tyranitar in the wild also learned some TM-Moves. It was safe to say for Larry, that Larvitar didn¡¯t learn moves like Payback or Pursuit, but he just wasn¡¯t sure if he was completely correct. Unlike his mother, he¡¯d somehow managed to learn these moves in the heat of the moment, which could only mean one thing. The knowledge of the moves infers to the Pokemon how to use it, not the other way around, if a Pokemon doesn¡¯t know, it won¡¯t be able to use TM Moves, even though it is physically able to. A Larvitar might pursue a Pokemon that is retreating, but if its naturally learned move set doesn¡¯t include the move Pursuit that action won¡¯t be empowered by Type-Energy and be seen as a move. The opposite is true for naturally learned moves. His mom instructed him on the first move she¡¯d hoped to teach him, ¡°The first one is easy,¡± she said leisurely, ¡°You bring energy to your throat,¡± she took in a large breath before following up in an airy whisper, attempting to keep the air in her lungs, ¡°and scream as loud as possible.¡± Before he could register her teaching and properly cover his ears, a painful Screech exploded from his mother''s fanged jaw. ¡°EEEEEEEEKK!¡± He remembered the powerful, deep, and guttural roars his mother had released previously, they had instilled a deep instinctual fear in him after all. This screech on the other hand was high-pitched and several octaves higher in pitch, it didn¡¯t want to make him hide away in the depths of the ground, but hurt his hearing so badly he couldn¡¯t move. He felt his head vibrate with the noise as it bounced off the walls of the cavern. It felt like a wave of pain every time another echo of the noise bounced back at him and while Larry wasn¡¯t lying on the ground, frothing at the mouth, he also wasn¡¯t in a state to fight with his hands on his head, helplessly trying to nurse a splitting headache. ¡®Ugh! At least I now know how defense gets lowered, Screech just disorients you so much that you can¡¯t defend yourself as efficiently.¡¯ Larry was still reeling from the pain when he heard his mom speak up again, ¡°Now you try.¡± Larry focused and pulled on the Normal Type-Energy in his core, he thought of the normalcy of wildlife, a wild beast using its physical might to crash into another. Another picture came to mind, the simplicity of an attack without any effects other than the Pok¨¦mon''s physical ability. This wasn¡¯t meant to be a fighting move, there was no practiced poise or studied stances to be seen in the picture in his mind, there was a sheer animalistic side to this move. Normal-TE floated up into his throat, he felt the muscles in his throat strengthen. Larry opened his mouth to draw in a breath, but when he tried to yell out, the only thing that was released was a pathetic little wheeze ¡°HEeeee...¡± Larry looked up at his mother and she looked down at him with a mask of stone. ¡°Keep going.¡± She said resolutely, before continuing to inspect him. If he could still blush, he would be right now. So, Larry did as he was told, one failed Screech after another escaped Larry. ¡°Fweeh!¡± ¡°Eegh!¡± ¡°Ech!¡° If there was a child around, they might think that a broken squeaky toy was around the area, being mercilessly tortured by a wild Growlithe. But it was in fact Larry, filling the depths of the third level of Mt. Silver with noises one might¡¯ve heard in an asthmatic retirement home. Sometimes his voice suddenly squawked up into squeaky toy territory before falling back sharply into the ¡®choking on a spoonful of yogurt¡¯ territory. Another time he tried to scream as loud as possible, only for nothing but air to escape his throat. He felt like he was back during puberty and trying to sing along with his favorite punk rock anthems, only for nothing but a raspy whisper to escape during the high parts. His voice which had always worked flawlessly was suddenly not working for him, it freaked him out. The worst part was that the TE didn¡¯t just disappear when he tried to talk to his mother, who was still awkwardly watching over him. It felt like he was trying to talk first thing after waking up, with his voice still coated in the awful feeling of Type-Energy he couldn¡¯t control. His mom was still watching over him. Unauthorized duplication: this tale has been taken without consent. Report sightings. She seemed to take pity on him, so she suddenly spoke up with some advice, ¡°You should try putting more force behind it like you¡¯re using it in a fight.¡± Larry felt humiliated at this point, he looked at his mom with a slight bit of irritation due to her useless advice, but he tried anyway. Once again, the Type-Energies moved up into his throat and Larry sucked in every single piece of air he could hold in his little body. When he finally released, he pushed the air out of his lungs with every ounce of strength he could find, and finally, ¡°EEEEEEEHK!¡± His voice was amplified and his entire head vibrated with the sheer volume of noise emanating from his mouth. His mother in front of him winched and crumpled inwards, shielding her ears with her arms uselessly as his Screech rang out. The noise rang out and Larry stood there with an open mouth, helplessly trying to breathe back in like a fish out of water. He heaved and wheezed as he heard his mother groan in front of him, ¡°Ugh, next time we¡¯ll put our hands on our ears before we use the move, ok?¡± Larry didn¡¯t speak, he simply nodded while looking up at his mother before finally speaking up, ¡°Huff¡­ You did the same, you know? Huff¡­¡± When his mom heard him she sheepishly looked away before clearing her throat and letting out a quiet ¡°Sorry.¡± She shook her head clear before speaking down to Larry once again, ¡°Alright, let¡¯s try another one.¡± Out of the corners of his view, he saw her already raise her hands to her ears. He continued his training and got Screech down pat before long, luckily it seemed he wasn¡¯t hurt by the noise exploding out of his mouth, so Larry didn¡¯t have to shield his ears while screaming. The move still felt weird to use though, because it rattled his entire head like a jackhammer. ¡®I don¡¯t like the move, but it seemed to be one of the few things that even affected Mom, better to at least have it in my repertoire.¡¯ Larry thought to himself. Larvitar already hit harder than most base-form Pokemon, so having a move that weakens an enemy''s defenses was going to be very useful. His mother slammed down her tail to garner Larry''s attention and said, ¡°Next move I¡¯ll teach you is important to the Tyranitar line, I think you¡¯ve seen it before.¡± Before Larry could begin to dumbly ask what move she meant, the dust and sand from the ground began to rise from the ground and flow around his mother. ¡°I can do this naturally,¡± she said as she casually ran a hand through the sandstorm, ¡°but you¡¯ll have to use it as a move. It won¡¯t be much worse though.¡± She inspected the sandstorm that flowed around her, when Larry had seen her before during her rampage, it was far stronger and more violent. It was beautiful, there was no wind moving around the sand and dust in the air, it was all Rock-TE in the air carrying the sand around his mother. She didn¡¯t even think about the movement, yet at the same time, it was all calculated, like an extension of her body. His mom began her instruction, ¡°You¡¯ll work your energies in the air around yourself,¡± she said and the sandstorm around her sped up, ¡°I never used this much before my evolution, so I can¡¯t instruct you perfectly. The move is supposed to slowly wear down your enemies which aren¡¯t Rock, Ground, or Steel-Type.¡± The storm slowly dissipated and his mother urged him on to give it a try. Larry already knew everything he needed to about Sandstorm from the games, so he tried his luck. Rock-TE diffused out of his body, it felt like he was sweating Type-Energy straight out of his skin and it was being diffused into the air. The air became heavy with Rock-TE and Larry was beginning to feel the TE in the air when he breathed in. Shaking her head, his mother butted in, shaking her head, ¡°Not like that.¡± Larry stopped and let his mother explain, ¡°You¡¯re just putting energy into the air, not controlling it.¡± She said while crossing her arms confrontationally. ¡°Um, and how exactly am I supposed to control it?¡± Larry asked in a quiet voice. His mother scoffed like it was supposed to be the most obvious thing in the world and spoke up once more, ¡°You can grasp the TE outside of your body, can you not? How else are you supposed to control moves outside of it?¡± She bore down onto him with excitement and Larry quirked his eyes to the left and right trying to get the concept of moving something without his hands into his head. His mom groaned and then stepped away a few steps in frustration, ¡°This is important, let me ask you, how are you making the energized set of teeth that appear around your jaw when you Bite?¡± ¡°Well, I just¡­¡± Larry realized he had no idea as he began to formulate his answer, ¡°I, uhh. Now that you say that, how DO I make those?¡± In his head, the only thing that came to mind was that he thought dark thoughts about his target and planned out to bite them, he never actually moved any TE and molded it with his mind like his mom might imagine. ¡°I see, I see¡­¡± Larry had come up with what the issue might be, ¡°I think the way you and I use moves is pretty different, Mom.¡± He explained his process again to his mom and she seemed befuddled by how he made the moves work. He returned to his training, once again dissipating Rock-TE in the air. Finally, he realized it, the suffocating feeling he was feeling wasn¡¯t him actually getting suffocated. It was akin to sitting on your arm, his new appendage, the mass of TE in the air was pressing down on his actual body and giving him the feeling of suffocation. ¡®Maybe I can¡­¡± Like trying to stand up from the toilet set when your entire lower half has fallen asleep, Larry felt around inside his mind for the new appendage he¡¯d created. His mother had tried to butt in again but before long, the TE in the air around him lifted and began to shift around according to his will. ¡®Alright! Now coil it around myself, like a snake¡­¡¯ He thought about the movement, there was no real physical connection to his new appendage, so if he wasn¡¯t careful the TE around him could float off and away from him. The advantage to having the TE able to be used like that was that there wasn¡¯t a connection to his actual body, so he could simply coil it around himself endlessly, unlike a tail for example. The TE sped up and began to kick up pebbles and dust off of the cavern floor, slowly but surely a Sandstorm was forming around Larry. ¡°Yes! Yes, you¡¯ve got it!¡± His mother looked ecstatic, she stomped around excitedly while watching her son conjure his first Sandstorm. Larry was roused up in his mother''s excitement and sped up his Sandstorm as he laughed with his mother excitedly. His mother danced into his Sandstorm as it was roused outwards and scooped him straight off of the ground into a big hug. ¡°That was amazing for your first time!¡± Larry cuddled into his mom as she murmured into his ear, ¡°I¡¯m proud of you¡­¡± Chapter 18 After their little celebration, his mom put him back down and Larry slowly eased off of his sandstorm. He could feel his new TE appendage slowly dissipate and the dust and sand around Larry slowly lost its speed and gingerly landed onto the floor. Larry himself had noticed that his sandstorm was far smaller than his mother''s, with his mothers being able to fill up the entire cavern when she was still raging, whereas his measly sandstorm looked more akin to an angry breeze coalescing around himself in a circle. ¡®I can barely see a thing from the outside inside the storm itself, I¡¯ll need to keep an eye on where my enemy is if I want any chance at using this in a fight, else I¡¯ll just blind myself¡¯ Larry had found out that if someone was inside his sandstorm, he could feel them if he was currently stirring the storm, unfortunately if they weren¡¯t in his sandstorm, it simply acted like a veil which hurt his view. ¡°You are doing amazing, Larry. I have one last move I want you to teach you for now.¡± His mother spoke up suddenly with a proud smile still plastered on her face, ¡°With how quickly to took to the previous moves, I don¡¯t imagine this one will take you long.¡± ¡°I¡¯m ready!¡± Larry had had low hopes for a healthy relationship with his mother before he met her, but with how they took to each other he almost felt bad about still having plans to leave, she was lovely, if not a little bit combat-obsessed. Their relationship was far more similar to a master and student than a mother and child, although Larry couldn¡¯t complain, he had found himself actually enjoying the training. Sure, it was hard and had given him muscle aches and bruises like he¡¯d never had before, but the sheer thrill of fighting made him forget it all. ¡®I don¡¯t even know if that is normal¡­ Maybe I really should¡¯ve taken some martial arts classes while I was still in school. Or maybe this is all some Pokemon business, with how all Pokemon seem to love combat.¡¯ His mother turned away and walked away a few steps, before turning back, ¡°This move will drop rocks from the ceiling in a large area. Step back a bit, I¡¯ll show you.¡± ¡®Rock Slide, maybe?¡¯ Larry thought as he guessed what move this might¡¯ve been in the games. He quickly hopped back a few steps and then turned back to his mom, who powered her leg up with Rock-TE and then slammed it down onto the ground, the TE rushed through the ground and up to the ceiling in veins of glowing energy. When it reached a point roughly in front of her, the energy inside the veins began to spread out and drew a big circle on the ceiling which began to drip with gigantic pieces of rock. ¡®Wha¡­ How does that work? It doesn¡¯t damage the ceiling, but only manifests rocks at the ceiling?¡¯ Larry furrows his nonexistent eyebrows in consternation at the complexity of the move, he can¡¯t see any way that this will be easy to learn. When the loud crashing of boulders into the ground finally subsides, Larry is the first to speak up, ¡°Um, Mom? This might sound rude, but isn¡¯t this move overly complicated? And how is it supposed to work outside of the cave?¡± His mom seems confused by the question, before realizing what her child meant, a grin already spreading on her face, ¡°Ah, I see what you mean.¡± Wordlessly she walked over to a part of the cavern, where the ceiling heightened, Larry following behind her. ¡°Watch this.¡± With a grin on her face, she repeats the move. The TE rushed up parts of the wall again, before losing its way and simply floating into the air and forming into a ring of Rock-TE in the air. Before Larry can begin to question the move, rocks begin to form above the ring and drop down through it. The rocks seem to simply grow out of thin air and form by themselves while floating in the air, going from pebbles to basketballs to full-blown boulders in a matter of seconds before gravity suddenly seems to take hold of them and they begin to drop. ¡°Woah, so this move doesn¡¯t need a ceiling to function. That''s weird!¡¯ ¡°There are multiple ways this move can be activated,¡± His mom chimes up as the move subsides, ¡°Firstly, is dropping rocks on your opponent from above, secondly is manifesting the rocks near you and then launching them.¡± His mother uses the move a third time, though this time, the TE rises up her body and releases behind her shoulders shooting out and manifesting rocks just above and behind her. She eyes a particular stalactite in the distance and the boulders shoot forwards through the air without any urging, nailing the stalactite perfectly. Larry can barely contain his excitement now, ¡°Wow! That''s so cool!¡± He turned to his mom with stars in his eyes, already imagining himself chucking rocks like a psychic, ¡°Teach me!¡± His mom gives a grin and a shake of the head at Larry''s childish excitement before stepping to the side, ¡°Give it a try, start out with the falling rocks version.¡± This book was originally published on Royal Road. Check it out there for the real experience. Larry immediately charges Rock-TE into his legs and stomps, but nothing in particular happens, ¡°Huh?¡± He stomps, once more, but still nothing happens, ¡°Wierd¡­¡± A lighter stomp onto the ground suddenly releases the Rock-TE from his leg, resulting in a tiny mound of dirt raising itself painfully slowly out of the ground. ¡®Wait, I¡¯m not trying to use Rock Throw.¡¯ The rock recedes a few inches, still standing tall, before it slowly continues to recede, like a faulty car window. Larry bashfully turns to his mom, ¡°Um, how do I use Rock Type-Energy? I only ever used Rock Throw, and even that was kind of a thing I learned in the heat of the moment?¡± Quirking her head to the side like a confused Golden Retriever, his mother furrows his brow at him before she answers matter of factly, ¡°You managed to learn how to conjure a Sandstorm so quickly and you already knew another Rock-Type Move, didn¡¯t you? Why would this be any different?¡± ¡®Is it any different?¡¯ Larry thought to himself, ¡®I¡¯m collecting dust from the air, in a specific spot using Rock-TE and forming it into rocks and then just dropping or even shooting those rocks.¡¯ Larry pictured the move, but it just didn¡¯t come to him, the most he could do on the spot was make a few rocks rise out of the ground like he did for Rock Throw or move around dust using his TE appendage akin to Sandstorm. His mother''s encouragement of, ¡°You don¡¯t need to learn it in a single day¡± and ¡°It took me far longer¡± also didn¡¯t quite help. After a frustrating fifth and sixth attempt, Larry turned to his mom for some advice, ¡°How do you move the TE around outside of your body? How does it move to the ceiling and create that plate up there?¡± His mother thought about the question for a second before answering, ¡°It¡¯s intent, maybe you haven¡¯t mastered the concept of Rock-TE yet and only come so far using it by some other factor.¡± Larry wanted to smack himself up the head for a second at this answer, he¡¯d used primarily Dark and Normal-Type moves up to this point with moves like Dig and Rock Throw being stand-out moves that worked more due to his STAB-bonus than for any talent he¡¯d shown off for them. ¡®Of course, I never actually thought up what concept I¡¯d need to evoke when using Ground or Rock-TE, so while they worked, it was mostly because I¡¯m already a Rock and Ground-Type Pokemon and not because I¡¯m such a goddamn genius!¡¯ ¡®Now only to figure out how to conjure up Rock and Ground-TE the same way I did with Normal and Dark¡­¡¯ Larry thought to himself as he stood there, ¡®Rock and Ground are both hard, they¡¯re Rock-Hard, yet at the same time, they can dish out damage as well¡­¡¯ The unchanging and immovable power of Rock, no normal damage can effectively damage a rock, they¡¯re meant to be hard to break, hard to move, hell, just plain hard in general. Yet at the same time, the Type encompassed a certain type of training as well. Regimens not only focus on the body but also the improvement of mental fortitude and a general settling of one''s mind in its base as well. Rock-Type was mostly given to Pokemon who were either part made of rock or other kinds of minerals, yet the type extended beyond that into imagery surrounding Rocks and to a lesser extent the concept of being ¡®rock-hard¡¯. Larry almost let a ¡®Snrk!¡¯ sound escape him as he thought about it, but thankfully he held it back. Ground on the other hand seemed far more broad in its typing, focusing on things like Mud, Dirt, and Sand primarily, being given to Pokemon who are primarily seen in deserts and other parts of the world where grass might not grow. Larry at least thought of it as a secondary typing for Rock-Types, but it was more than that, being awarded to mostly survivalist Pokemon who didn¡¯t live in the most well-off parts of the world or Pokemon who lived in the ground. Bones and the imagery surrounding bones were also often awarded Ground-Type, because of their origin being mostly underground. He first tried his hand at using Ground-TE, the concept came to him scarily easily, like it was imprinted into him before he realized, ¡®Oh, wait. It is.¡¯ With Larry being a part Ground-Type he¡¯d found it as easy as breathing to conjure up Ground-TE, it seemed though that using the mental concept sped up the process even more. The Ground-TE took the places it was supposed to before he could think where he wanted it to go. Much of the same was true for Rock, so with his mother''s advice applied the TE shot out of his arms and up into the air before he could even prompt it to. The TE formed a ring in the air and Larry thought about conjuring Rocks up in the air, before long small motes of dust began to coalesce and clump together. The little pebbles flew into each other slowly, forming larger and larger stones, before an entire set of boulders floated in front of Larry in the sky. ¡°That looks good, now drop them.¡± His mother prompted Larry and he did as instructed, the boulders fell with hissing air before colliding with the ground with a loud crash, some splitting and some others staying together. Larry didn¡¯t need any prompting before he began to conjure the stones behind himself, although he could feel this move pull a large amount of TE out of his body. ¡®Not the most energy-efficient thing, to throw dozens of boulders at your enemy''s general direction¡­¡¯ This move was going to suck his reserves dry until he had a bit more TE to spare. With nothing more than a mental prompt the boulders whizzed over his head, accelerating away from Larry into one of the cavern walls. When the sounds of the crashing rocks finally stopped Larry felt his mom move closer behind him and gently pat his spiked head. ¡°You¡¯re gifted, Larry. It took me far longer to learn all of these moves when I was still young. You¡¯ll go far, I just know it¡­¡± When Larry turned around, he saw his mother''s proud smile shine back down onto him. Yet, something else was behind her smile. ¡°Wha¡­¡± Before he could ask her though, she lifted her arm away and turned back to their hideout. ¡°You must be tired, Larry. Get some rest for today.¡± She turned back to him with a pained grin on her face, ¡°Tomorrow will be a big day.¡± Chapter 19 After the rest, Larry blearily blinked away the scum in his eyes before fully waking from his slumber. ¡°Ugh! Stupid muscle pain!¡± his body still hurt all over from the training from the last days, so actually getting up from his sleep hurt far more than normal. He fought his way to standing just in time to see his mother stir awake behind him, she didn¡¯t seem to have the same complications as him. ¡°Good morning! You said we had a big day today? What did you have planned?¡± Larry excitedly raved to his mom, the training had brought them closer together and his mother had even opened up to him a bit during their training, shedding her terse sentences for real conversation in parts. ¡°Mmm¡­ Morning¡­¡± His mom stirred, tossing herself over once before speaking up in a raspy morning voice, ¡°You¡¯ll see¡­¡±, she turned back over before falling back asleep with a loud snore. ¡®Seems we''re back to simple sentences¡­¡¯ Larry ignored his mom and let her get a few minutes more of shuteye, as he did some simple stretches to get rid of the morning muscle pain. ¡®I¡¯ve barely been together with my mom for a few days and I¡¯ve already learned so much.¡¯ Finally, Larry felt like his second life had given him a place in life, this wasn¡¯t just some kind of divine accident, but he had family and something to look forward to in the future. He continued after his stretches by doing a simple routine of TE circulation, his mother hadn¡¯t taught him about any kind of Type-Energy and simply talked about ¡®energy¡¯ anytime the topic came up, it seemed that while wild Pokemon had a concept about some energy inside their body powering their moves, it was far more instinctual for them than Larry had assumed. His mom never used the term TE, she simply conjured the moves and talked about feeling the energy inside oneself. Larry himself had different ideas though, his ideas about TE seemed to be working, so he had gotten himself into the habit of stirring the energy inside himself to keep it moving, like stirring a pot of liquid. He could feel the energy inside himself begin to move and empower him, it wasn¡¯t something as noticeable as a stat boost, but it felt like his pulse had quickened and the sleepiness of the morning was stirred away by his TE circulation. ¡®I can¡¯t wait to hear what mom has planned today!¡¯ Larry finally shot up, childlike excitement finally bubbling over as he hopped back to make a second try at waking up his mother. ¡­ He excitedly followed his mother, who was still fighting the morning sleepiness, as her eyes occasionally fell shut while she was walking. His mother hadn¡¯t said a single other word since she woke up even though Larry had pelted her with question after question during their walk, so he¡¯d quietly resigned himself back to listening to the sounds of footfalls on the cavern floor. ¡®I know she is a bit of an awkward battle-junkie, but I wish she¡¯d be able to hold a conversation about things outside of training and battle strategies¡­¡¯ Larry quietly grumbled to himself. He¡¯d resigned himself to the fact that his mom was a bit of a weirdo, none of the other Pokemon he¡¯d made friends with had been this weird. By now Larry was almost 100% sure that his young Larvitar body was influencing his mind, he loved his mom and he cared for her deeply, yet he¡¯d only met her at most a week or so ago. He also remembered how back when he was still making his way down and later back up, the roar of his mother terrified him mentally even though they weren¡¯t that different from other Pokemon roars. There was also the fact that fighting for his life against what was the Pokemon equivalent of Godzilla had been an exhilarating and fun experience to him instead of the terrifying death-defying feat it had been posited as in his mind. Larry loved the fight and it gave him a bit of a mental breakdown to think about the implication that his thoughts and actions weren¡¯t entirely his own. The concerning train of thought was immediately squashed as his mother finally spoke up, stopping in her tracks. ¡°Larry¡­¡± she held for a tense second before continuing, ¡°We¡¯re going down to the first level.¡± The declaration almost didn¡¯t register in Larry''s mind, forcing him to run what his mother had said through his mind a second time, ¡°Huh?! Really?! Why are we doing that?¡± His mother looked down at him with a bit of sadness in her eyes, ¡°Because, you were planning on leaving.¡± ¡°Uhm¡­¡±, he stopped and looked up to his mom with a quirked head, before he realized, ¡®Oh crap, yeah. I never actually told her that I wanted to get out of the caves!¡¯ ¡°Uhh¡­¡± ¡®What do I say now? Should I be honest about it and say I want to leave? Or should I keep trying to live here?¡¯ Larry looked down at the ground with guilt in his eyes, but before he could explain himself his mom spoke up once more, ¡°Mo-¡± ¡°I can¡¯t come with you, Larry¡­¡± He saw the disappointment in her eyes before a silent, stewing rage replaced it. ¡°I¡¯m sorry, I didn''t mean to hide it from you,¡± Larry said apologetically. The air was tense between them, as his mother looked down at the ground with a hard expression. ¡°But why can¡¯t you mom?¡± Larry wondered aloud, leaving the caverns alongside his mom would¡¯ve been the dream choice, he¡¯d only just met her but Larry knew he¡¯d miss her if they ever split up again in the future. Ensure your favorite authors get the support they deserve. Read this novel on the original website. His mom bit back something before scoffing, ¡°It wouldn¡¯t matter¡­¡± She bent down to Larry and caressed him with the rocky skin on her face, Larry reciprocated the action leaning into the action like a cat would with adoration only a kid could feel for his mother. ¡°I don¡¯t want you to leave¡­¡± His mother finally bit out as she hugged him to herself, ¡°Pupitar are supposed to leave, not little Larvitar¡­¡± Larry didn¡¯t want to leave his mother behind, and he didn¡¯t want a repeat of the raging Tyranitar incident which made him break off his entire trip previously. He decided to make a compromise, ¡°I¡¯ll become a Pupitar, Mom! I¡¯ll evolve and then you won¡¯t have anything to worry about anymore!¡± His mother''s demeanor immediately brightened as she squeezed him tighter, almost crushing Larry in her grip, ¡°You¡¯re right, Larry!¡± She released him and Larry stumbled away from his mom as she turned with determination in her eyes, ¡°You¡¯re a natural Larry, it won¡¯t take long until you evolve!¡± ¡°Y-Yeah! Mom, I''ll do it!¡± Larry said, still slightly bruised by his mom''s superpowered hug. Larry did still have questions though, ¡°I still want to know, why can''t you follow me to the outside Mom?¡± The determined look in his mom''s eyes was almost immediately replaced by a stewing rage as she almost growled to herself. ¡°Humans.¡± The thought went through Larry''s mind before he finally realized what his mom meant, ¡®That''s right, the exit down below on the first level opens up onto a Route if I remember correctly!¡¯ His mom went on to stiffly explain what a human is. Although her explanation wouldn''t have helped much if Larry hadn''t already known what a human was. ¡°They''re smart Pok¨¦mon, but really weak.¡± ¡°So they catch and train other Pok¨¦mon to fight for them, really strong ones.¡± A giant Tyranitar not just descending from the mountain but also leaving the cave to go live on a Route used by Trainers would be like a giant wild animal deciding to live next to a freeway. Granted, the Route around Mt. Silver was only accessible by Trainers who''d managed to get all eight badges, but Larry still felt like it wouldn''t end well. She looked down with sadness in her eyes, ¡°I¡¯m strong Larry, but not invincible.¡± ¡°I think I get it¡­¡± He said more to himself than anybody else before nodding. His mom nodded back, ¡°If you want to live outside, you''ll have to make it past the humans.¡± She said with a sneer on her face, ¡°I know you can.¡± ¡®Wow, she really doesn''t like humans, wonder if there is some history there.¡¯ It felt weird to Larry that his mother, who supposedly was a wild Pok¨¦mon knew so much about humans. ¡®Let''s not rock the boat too much, her mood has already dropped pretty far just at the mention of humans.¡¯ Larry decided. ¡°I¡¯ll move with you,¡± His mother finally said resolutely with a determined expression on her face, ¡°I¡¯ll train you for your evolution down there.¡± ¡°Then, you can leave, and be free.¡± She said with finality and a solemn look. Larry almost couldn¡¯t believe what he¡¯d heard, not only was his mom, the same one who¡¯d almost destroyed an entire mountain to find him, willing to let him go in a heartbeat if he didn¡¯t want to stay with her. No, she has decided to keep up her training of him until the very end and help him with his aspirations until the very end. ¡®She isn¡¯t just a mom, she¡¯s a super mom. To think she thought she couldn¡¯t care for a child of her own¡­¡¯ Larry thought, ¡®A terrible kid like me doesn¡¯t deserve a great mom like her¡­¡± ¡°Thank you, Mom,¡± Larry said, as he hugged himself close to her. ¡°Let''s keep going.¡± His mom said after reciprocating his hug. ¡­ The cavern walls slowly closed in around them as they advanced further downward, they had made their way past the open cavern of the third level, walked back around the rampaged open area his mom had destroyed, and finally found themselves in the broken walkway Larry had been forced to walk back up. It looked terrible, if it was falling apart when Larry had rushed his way through it, then by now it was actively decrepit. Walls had cracked and crumbled in parts, dropping in parts of the ceiling in huge mounds of dirt they were forced to scale. Large sections of the floor had cracks inside them, forcing Larry to play an impromptu session of hopscotch for several hundred feet. His mother didn''t seem to have the same reservations though, as she opted to simply barge her way through any unfavorable terrain. Larry didn''t know how she¡¯d do it, every time a perilous or unstable piece of floor seemed to be crushed under his mom''s oppressive amount of weight, it simply rearranged itself under her feet to a stable footing. ¡®That must be some kind of trick with Ground and Rock-TE. She can''t be that lucky¡­¡¯ Larry thought to himself as he watched his mother simply stomp over a series of unsafe cracks in the ground, when her foot lifted though, the cracks were simply gone. With Larry being quick on his feet now due to the rigorous training his mother put him through and his mother''s cheating abilities they made short work of the walk down to the second layer. The largest contributor to their quick pace though, was that Larry didn''t need to hide anymore, his entourage certainly wasn''t stealthy and if there was anyone up on the third level who could hold a candle to a Tyranitar, then he''d love to watch the fight anyway. ¡®I really am itching for a scuffle again, weird¡­¡¯ Larry felt his tiny arms clench and unclench at the thought of a nice battle. He¡¯d certainly had his fair share of Training with his mom, but there was a clear difference between the sessions of training he''d endured under his mom''s tutelage and the single riveting fight for survival against that Misdreavus. ¡®Alright, maybe I don''t have the biggest history yet, but that can change at any moment!¡¯ He thought to himself excitedly, before deflating. ¡®Argh, who am I kidding?! Who the hell is going to fight when a goddamned Tyranitar will be watching over the fight!¡¯ The idea alone gave him a headache, he couldn''t just jump a poor cave Resident while his mom watched him beat the daylights out of them, no. This had to be an attempt at his life! And Larry already had a plan, as his mom found a nice large hole in the side of the cavern to settle down in he spoke up. ¡°Mom, I¡¯ll go around a bit and look for a fight!¡± His mom, already having settled down on all fours, blinked open an eye, before letting out a low ¡°Mhmm¡­¡± in acceptance. ¡°Scream if you''re in danger¡­¡± she said as she let a yawn escape her mouth. Larry was finally ready to go battle some Pok¨¦mon, he was done hiding! Chapter 20 The time had finally come, Larry could feel himself get hyped up, he was going to finally fight something. He wasn¡¯t going to struggle like he had before, figuring out how his body worked because he was jumped during his adventure down the mountain. Larry was going to actually go out there and search for a worthy foe and let himself get attacked by them. He walked into a side cavern, it was filled with the same oppressive darkness which had enveloped him for his entire second life until now. It felt somewhat comforting at this point, Larvitars eyesight allowed for far better sight in the dark than any human. The darkness which would have been all-encompassing for a human had been muted, like walking through a dark cinema. The darkest corners were still completely incomprehensible to him and especially the distance was still completely dark, but Larry would count himself lucky that he definitely wouldn¡¯t be ambushed by anything. ¡®This is kind of nerve-wracking¡­¡¯ Instead of hiding and sneaking around the cavern as he had been before, he actually just walked straight through the open walkway in the middle of the cave. It felt liberating to not be beholden to anything because he actually knew how to hold his now. Larry still wasn¡¯t sure he¡¯d be able to hold off something like an adult Pokemon or even something like a juvenile, but he was confident enough in his ability to Screech that nothing could touch him right now, ¡®Just come out and try and bite me, I¡¯ll turn into the loudest squeaky toy you¡¯ve ever met!¡¯ A sound behind Larry made him flinch and whirl around when his eyes met the large googly eyes of the insect he¡¯d just met though they both flinched back. ¡°Woah!¡± Larry whirled away a few steps on instinct as he yelled out, the Bug-Type had been far too close for comfort. ¡°Eek! Don¡¯t hurt!¡± The little Paras screeched out in a high-pitched voice. He almost complied due to the years of human social etiquette drilled into his very soul, but before the little Paras could even hit him with a cheeky one-liner its claws suddenly lit up with light-green energy and bore down on him as it squeezed its eyes shut in an inexperienced panic. The attack fell in the spot he¡¯d just been in and would have certainly left a bruise on his rock-hard skin, but this Paras certainly was no expert in fighting. ¡®A perfect training partner!¡¯ Larry thought to himself. Larry''s core responded and he began by creating some distance between himself and the Paras, he began by stirring up the sandstorm around him, and as the Paras eerily crawled closer it suddenly had to stop its advance due to the crazy amount of dust and sand stirring wildly around Larry. Its presence was still felt by Larry as he continued to stir the sandstorm, ¡°You sure aren¡¯t as innocent as you make yourself out to be.¡± Larry commented over the noise of the sandstorm. Slinking back into itself, the Paras yelled in an annoyed voice ¡°Come out here and don¡¯t fight like a coward! You!¡± The little Paras stood at the edge of the sandstorm with its claws protectively raised. ¡°Sure thing!¡± Larry complied by slowly stopping to stir the storm, as it slowly dissipated the Paras''s eyes scanned the depths of the storm like a hawk, looking for the enemy. As the sand finally fell to the ground, nothing appeared inside it, only a single mound of dirt stood in the middle, and before the Paras could even let out a question Larry shot out of the ground next to it and bit into its side with a well-charged Bite. ¡®Got you!¡¯ Larry celebrated to himself as he sunk his teeth into the Paras, the poor Pokemon¡¯s exoskeleton buckled under the stress and cracks spiderwebbed its side as it squeaked out in pain. Before he could celebrate too long though, a metallic and sticky liquid began to coat his mouth. Larry immediately bounced back and began coughing, ¡°Hack! Hack! Pfft! What the hell?!¡± He tried to spit out the offending liquid coating the inside of his mouth, but it was stuck all over and Larry could hardly breathe. The Paras for its part finally got back onto its feet, even if one side of its entire body looked to have accidentally fallen into a hydraulic press. Red Blood, with small spores inside of it, dripped liberally from its side, yet it didn¡¯t seem to mind as much as it probably should. It huffed to itself, clearly not well, ¡°Huff¡­Huff¡­Got you¡­¡± The bug-type slowly approached Larry, charging another attack using its claws. ¡®Ack¡­Did I just get poisoned?!¡¯ Larry was still fighting the poison inside his mouth, he was still standing, so it probably wasn¡¯t anything paralyzing, but it seemed that the Paras line could inflict poison when hit directly. ¡®Damn! I didn¡¯t even think of that!¡¯ The Paras slashed across Larry''s chest and he was pushed back onto the ground. Larry pulled on the TE in his core and felt the TE respond, the Bug-TE left from the Paras attack was absorbed and enhanced. An attack was ready before the Bug-Type could react and Larry socked it across the face with a Payback. The poor thing was lifted off of the ground by the strength of the attack and flew back behind the stone it had hidden behind, completely knocked out. If you stumble upon this narrative on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen from Royal Road. Please report it. ¡®Huh? That was different¡­¡¯ Even Larry was shocked by the strength of the attack as he looked in surprise at his fist, it still glowed with a menacing Dark-Energy. His musings were interrupted by another painful coughing fit though, it didn¡¯t help that the ground he¡¯d coughed onto now had dark specks of blood on it. ¡°Koff! I-I still need to get myself healed up!¡± Larry hurriedly got up and made his way over to where his mom was sleeping, he hurriedly woke her up and explained how he got poisoned to her. His mother''s reaction was far less panicked than any other parents who just heard that their kid had been poisoned though. ¡°Mrrmn¡­Just eat some dirt.¡± His mom turned around blearily before falling to sleep, not even caring about Larry''s circumstances. Larry quickly shoveled heaps of dirt into his mouth before he realized what his mother had meant. The dry dirt absorbed the sticky liquid inside his mouth and he could then simply destroy the poison deep in his gut with whatever crazy solution he had down there to be able to digest dirt and rocks. The dirt also seemed to help by simply satiating him, as Pokemon seemed to heal most superficial injuries in less than a day with some rest. When Larry finally found that his mouth was free of the sticky blood of a Paras he had beaten he laid down next to his mom and cozied himself up a little nap to recuperate. ¡°Phew, that was an easy fight, but I certainly wasn¡¯t expecting poison,¡± Larry muttered to himself. He went over the fight he¡¯d just had in his mind. ¡®That Paras¡­¡¯ Larry¡¯s instincts gave him a thought, a terribly intrusive one at that, to go back there and eat his kill. He quickly dismissed the notion entirely though, ¡®No, Pokemon are too smart to eat, and I can get by by simply eating dirt. I¡¯ll stick to that. Also, why would I eat something poisonous?¡¯ Larry loved the thrill of that fight, but he wasn¡¯t fighting for survival right now. He was fighting for his entertainment and personal training. The start of the fight, even though the Paras had surprised him, still went off far better than he could¡¯ve imagined he managed to confuse and trick the Paras before getting a really good hit in. The only problem with his strategy was that it seemed that Paras were poisonous to touch, which certainly put a wrench into his fighting strategy. When he got poisoned all strategy left his mind and he panicked and let himself get hit. Larry was lucky that he had a move that could salvage the situation with Payback, but something felt off about it to Larry. ¡®That fight was still far too quick for my liking. I know I¡¯m powerful, but Payback was never that strong during training¡­¡¯ Larry mused to himself. Was it like the hysterical strength in humans? No, his mother hadn¡¯t mentioned him not using his full strength, so he hadn¡¯t been his full strength before. His mind went back to the stat sheets of Wiki Sites and official guidebooks he had. He knew that Tyranitar had the ability Sand Stream, allowing them to conjure sandstorms at will. Unfortunately, though, he didn¡¯t remember what ability Larvitar and Pupitar had, he only knew that they weren¡¯t Sand Stream. ¡®Maybe it''s something that powers me up when I get a status condition?¡¯ Larry mused to himself, ¡®What was it called again? Ugh, I don¡¯t remember!¡¯ The exact ability name still escaped Larry, he was a Pokemon nerd, but it had been a few years since his last Pokemon adventure, to say the least. One¡¯s entry into the workforce had that effect on people sadly. His eyelids slowly fluttered shut to the loud breaths of his mother and the droning noises of the cavern, he¡¯d ask her tomorrow. The occasional scuttle in the distance and rhythmic sounds of water droplets falling off of stalactites slowly brought Larry to sleep. ¡­ ¡°I see¡­¡± His mother nodded absentmindedly. They were walking once again and Larry had explained what had happened during his fight after she went to sleep. She seemed proud of him for winning the fight, even if she had pointed out that with her training regiment, she would have been amazed if Larry had lost. ¡°I still don¡¯t know why that Payback was so strong though! The Paras poisoned me and suddenly my hits got stronger!¡± Larry animatedly told his mother. It had kept him up last night and he was still mad that he couldn¡¯t remember what ability Larvitar had. His mother though seemed only partially interested in his musings, as she only kept her eyes on the path upfront. His mom let the thought stew, before just shrugging and looking down at Larry, ¡°You got poisoned and got stronger, that''s Gutsy. Nothing more.¡± Larry''s eyes shot open and his mind finally made the connection, ¡®THAT¡¯S IT! THE ABILITY WAS CALLED GUTS!¡¯ He wanted to yell it out in celebration, but he knew his mom probably had no idea about multiverse theory, so he kept his excitement to himself. Larry had made his way down this way before and slowly but surely the route was unraveling itself before him, he noticed landmarks of the cavern he¡¯d snuck past before and he realized just how quickly they were making progress. To Larry, his entire journey down to the second level had taken a significant amount of time, but it seemed that with his mother he¡¯d make his way down to the second level in just a few days. It seemed the pros of being the biggest and baddest thing in the cave system paid off, as the inhabitants of the cave system he¡¯d so frequently had to sneak around or heard making their way around him before were nowhere to be found now. He¡¯d been lucky before that a Larvitar posed a big enough threat that not many Pokemon living on the third level wanted to contend with them, only leaving small fry like the Wooper or straight-up crazies like the Misdreavus to try and get a piece of him. With his mother around though, the caves whose soundscape consisted of so many hurried footprints just out of sight before, were suddenly deathly quiet, except for the heavy and earth-trembling footfalls of a gigantic Tyranitar to listen to. As they made their way further down, a hole in the wall stood out to Larry, he couldn¡¯t place his but he told his mom to wait up for a second. When he finally looked inside the hole though, he realized where he¡¯d seen it before as a large and clear watering hole stood out in front of him. He still remembered the annoying group Wooper who had tried to mess with him here. His mother lowered her head and peeked into the small cavern, she would¡¯ve had to crawl to properly fit in there. ¡°Anything in there?¡± she yelled into the hole. ¡°No! Just a bunch of wa-¡± Before Larry could answer back, a head began to rise from the small pond of water. It had the same carefree and mirthful smile on its face as the Wooper but was significantly larger. Worst of all, when it spotted Larry, its carefree smile didn¡¯t look particularly happy anymore. Chapter 21 - Interlude ¡°-The tremors seem to have subsided. The source of the tremors wasn''t identified, but the local ranger outpost has posited them to be coming from a wild Pok¨¦mon.¡± A dingy radio announced in the background. A ranger sat in front of it, his seat in full recline, legs propped up on the console surrounding the insides of the square watchtower. His Ranger cap laid protectively over his face to shield his eyes from the harsh sunrise during sleep. His arms were crossed behind his head, used as a makeshift pillow as he snored, completely asleep. BOOM! ¡°Wha- the hell!¡± Drew jumped from his sleep and almost fell out of the old office chair he¡¯d made his bed. He barely saved himself by holding onto the edges of the table he''d propped his legs up on. The door of the Ranger watchtower flew open, its hinges held firm though, throwing the door in an arc right into the wall next to it. WAMP! ¡°Good Morning, Night-Shift!¡± His coworker stormed into the interior of the tower with far too much energy for someone who had to wake up at 5 AM. Finally, Drew turned and stared at his friend, they''d been working together for years now and he just couldn''t get used to his attitude. ¡°What the fuck, Henry! You almost just gave me a heart attack!¡± Drew complained as he rose, wiping at his eyes. Henry for his part only laughed, ¡°Haha, poor you! You should be grateful for every bit of shut-eye you can get. We''re supposed to be awake anyway, you know?¡± Drew scratched the back of his neck irritability, ¡°I know, I know¡­ But what the hell is supposed to keep me awake out here!¡± He turned back to the view outside the windows of the watchtower with outstretched arms. A sea of treetops stretched out in front of the watchtower into the distance. Mount Silver stood out in the distance and a small dirt path cut along the watchtower and the mountain in the distance. ¡°Nothing ever happens out here!¡± Drew theatrically swung his arms around to drive home his point. Henry crossed his arms with an annoyed expression on his face, ¡°You know normally a ranger would be happy that there aren''t any natural disasters, stampedes, or other issues ruining their day, right? We''re fortunate that the Tremor issues from a few days ago seemingly fixed themselves.¡± Drew shuddered at the mention, nobody wants to go into Mount Silver if they can help it. He knew he was complaining about nothing in particular and just being annoying, but he couldn''t help himself in situations like these. He became a ranger right after his journey to help keep the place he cared about safe, but he felt helpless if nothing, in particular, was wrong. Sitting down in one of the office chairs and pulling out his smartphone, Henry revealed another surprise, ¡°Now I know you probably just woke up, but with the last one being three months ago, the chief said he wants another census done.¡± Drew collapsed back into his chair with a loud groan, covering his face with his hands in anguish, ¡°Ugh¡­ I hate doing the census!¡± ¡°I know, I do too,¡± Henry said with a disappointed tone, ¡°but who the hell else does them? And the Rangers need to know how many Pokemon are on Route 28 if they want to keep the Route in check for Trainers.¡± Drew was the one crossing his arms condescendingly this time, ¡°C¡¯mon Henry, this is beyond League complex, no little kids who could get themselves killed would ever come here.¡± He turned to the gigantic mountain taking up one of the sides of their watchtower, ¡°And why would people even want to go in Mount Silver?¡± Henry only gave him a hard stare in return, ¡°Drew, you know as well as I do that isn¡¯t how this works.¡± His stare slowly turned into a smile, ¡°And we¡¯d be out of a job if they didn¡¯t keep Rangers on this route.¡± ¡°Ugh! I know I¡¯m just complaining about nothing.¡± Drew rose from his seat for a second time, this time far more determined, ¡°Let¡¯s do this.¡± ¡­ Both of them slowly gather their tools and their Pokeballs before leaving their watchtower. A census consisted of counting the number of wild Pokemon that could be easily spotted along the edges of the Route. They had electronic counters which made it possible to count simply by pressing a button, and the data they collected went into a spreadsheet they prepared beforehand. A census takes time because you cannot simply walk along a part of the Route for a few hours and call it a day. The entire Route is supposed to be checked, both sides of the dirt path, during day and night, for up to a week. This is grueling work because it forces you to keep your attention for a long period. Normally censuses didn¡¯t need to be this thorough, because Trainers walked the Routes and reported a variety of Pokemon sightings to the Rangers, allowing them to collect a variety of data about the Route to be able to evaluate their condition. Enjoying the story? Show your support by reading it on the official site. Unfortunately for Drew and Henry though, Trainers did not care for Mount Silver. It¡¯s a death trap for trainers and Pokemon alike, with only the most well-versed of Trainers even being allowed to access it and even less of them feeling the drive to brave the Route only for the reward of a challenging mountain at the end of it. Sure, people still did, but they weren¡¯t in the tens to hundreds per day like other routes. There may be four trainers who wish to use the route in a month if they count themselves lucky. Those who come here to challenge their teams after they attain all eight badges in their region or seasoned trainers and trainer celebrities known around the region. Drew stares into the distance as he descends the metal catwalk leading down their watchtower. One such celebrity lived in a house not far away from them on the Route, they had some contact with her in the past. Unfortunately, she was a hermit, so they hadn¡¯t had much more than a few stray conversations. The two of them stepped onto the ground below, Drew stretched and groaned, ¡°Alright, let''s get this over with.¡± He pulled a Pokeball off of his belt and released a large Sandslash, the Ground-Type shook himself, his large quills swayed around on his back. ¡°Hey bud, we¡¯re doing a census and you¡¯ll be security.¡± The Sandslash gave off a squeaky trill as it followed along the two of them. They walked to a pickup parked next to the Watchtower, its bed was filled with all kinds of things that hung out and above the bed and Sandslash hopped in the back with a loud crash. Drew groaned as he unlocked the truck and sat down inside, ¡°Don¡¯t make a mess back there! Company property!¡± Henry sat down in the passenger seat opened and up a laptop next to him and fished a small button accessory out of the center console, ¡°I¡¯ll count for the first few hours and when we reach the middle point we¡¯ll switch, alright?¡± ¡°Yeah, yeah¡­¡± Drew grumbled as they began their drive at walking speeds. ¡­ The day had come and gone and it was now the evening again, Drew and Harry were back in their watchtower, they sat at the square table in the center of the tower. Both of them were leisurely sipping on a coffee as Drews Sandslash relaxed on the ground next to them, ¡°Haa¡­Tomorrow can honestly wait, I¡¯ve had enough counting for a single day.¡± Harry stared at the laptop screen in front of him with a thin smile, ¡°Yeah, but did you expect to see so many damn Doduo on this Route?¡± He turned the laptop around and showed off the spreadsheet that had been compiled due to their counting, ¡°Their population has exploded! I wonder if this increase will stay in the further parts of the Route or if it''s just around here!¡± Drew almost groaned out loud but contained himself as looked at the laptop''s screen, he didn¡¯t have the same drive to be a ranger as his coworker had. Sure, he liked keeping the Routes safe, but he couldn¡¯t help but remember the time he spent running the Gyms of Kanto just a few years ago. ¡°Hey, Drew. What''s your plan for the next few days?¡± Harry asked. ¡°What do you mean? We¡¯re just going to be stuck doing this census the whole rest of the week, aren¡¯t we?¡± Drew asked slightly confused. His friend shook his head, ¡°Nah man, you¡¯re forgetting,¡± He turned his laptop back and clicked away on the tiny touchpad, when he turned it back it was on a calendar app, ¡°You going to bring your kid out here? It''s almost time, I remember you told me last year she got sick on the day of because she was so hyped to be coming out here.¡± Looking at the laptop, Drew saw that an appointment had been placed inside the square just 3 days in the future on a Friday, it read ¡®Bring your kid to work day¡¯ and Drew finally remembered. ¡°That''s right! Damn, I almost forgot about that!¡± He said as he clutched at his head with the hand that wasn¡¯t supporting his cup of coffee. His hand flew onto his face and he scratched at his brow, ¡°Hmm¡­¡± ¡®Last year I was anxious because there was that ongoing Beedril infestation, but having her around for the census shouldn¡¯t be that dangerous.¡¯ Drew thought to himself. ¡°Y¡¯know what? She¡¯ll probably be raving about this the second I tell her. If she doesn¡¯t get sick again, sure, I¡¯ll bring her here.¡± Drew said. ¡°And maybe she¡¯ll stave off the boredom, right?¡± Harry said with a smirk as he shut his laptop and stood up. ¡°You¡¯re off now, right? Next up is¡­¡± He drawled on as he looked over at their schedule, ¡°...Maxy! Alright.¡± ¡°You¡¯re right,¡± Drew rose from his set in turn, unclipped a Pokeball, and woke up his Sandslash to recall it, ¡°Well, Maxy isn¡¯t going to keep you bored around here, so I¡¯ll make myself scarce.¡± He walked over to the coat hangers and put on his coat, before opening the door, ¡°Bye Harry.¡± ¡­ The door to his quaint little home on Route 26 opened and Drew almost stumbled back inside. He¡¯d been at the watchtower for almost 48 hours at this point and his work always wiped him out, it wasn¡¯t as physically taxing as one would expect of a Pokemon Ranger. For him was the mental strain of keeping a Route that was notorious to the public for being dangerous safe. What if a trainer got injured or even died on the Route? Drew would have to live with the idea that he could¡¯ve prevented it, trainers, hell the entire human population rely on rangers to keep them safe to a certain extent. All of his worries broke apart though when a rogue missile of a child crashed into his stomach just as he was closing the door behind him. ¡°Oof!¡± ¡°Dad! Welcome back!¡± His daughter beamed up at him. Drew simply couldn¡¯t hold back a grin and smiled down at her as he put a hand on her head, ¡°I am, how are you doing, Val?¡± ¡°It¡¯s boring around here, you know?¡± Valerie pouted and pointed accusingly, ¡°You need to work less and spend some more time relaxing around the house!¡± No excuses came to Drew, so he simply acquiesced, ¡°Alright, alright! I¡¯ll try and get myself some vacation days soon. Now let me actually get out of this Ranger outfit and relax for a bit.¡± His daughter held her pout for a second, before returning to a smile, ¡°Fine!¡± She turned and walked back into the living room. Once Drew was done changing and walked back into the living room where his daughter was watching TV while sprawled out on the couch. Valerie suddenly spoke up without looking back from the TV, "When are you going back to work?" Drew was just about to answer before he suddenly remembered, ¡°This Friday¡­By the way...¡± Chapter 22 Larry''s eyes shot open in realization at the sight of the Quagsire, but before he could even begin to act a giant blob of water shot out at him. The water hit Larry before he could even register anything, the sheer momentum of the liquid ball of water hitting his stomach took Larry off of his feet and threw him back into the side of the small cavern. His eyes unfocused as his head hit the back of the cavern wall and he slid down onto the floor in a heap. ¡®Woah¡­ That hurt!¡¯ Larry complained to himself in shock at the damage, he had fought valiantly in the practice with his mom but this hurt differently. He shook his head to clear himself up and quickly rose from the ground, the Quagsire in the middle of the small pond of water was still looking at him with an irritated expression. The basin was familiar after all, ¡®This must be the mom of those brats from the last time I was here.¡¯ Larry thought. His stomach hurt, that hit probably drew blood, but he couldn¡¯t keep an eye off of the Quagsire to check. The two of them stood in a standoff, Larry didn¡¯t know if attacking was a wise option and he needed to stay ready if the Quagsire attacked. If he turned around and ran he¡¯d probably get attacked again and digging wasn¡¯t a surefire thing either, Larry had never dug around bodies of water and he didn¡¯t even know how a Rock-Type handled water in the first place. He saw the Water-Types neck bulge and knew something was coming, so he dodged out of the way. The shot rang out and grazed past Larry''s side, he winced in pain at the hit as he ran around the small basin. While running he picked up a stray rock and imbued it with TE before launching it at the Quagsires head as a Rock Throw. Unfortunately for him though, the Pok¨¦mon simply shot the piece of dirt out of the air like a clay pigeon. Stopping at the other side of the basin, Larry hashed out his options again, only to finally realize it was all or nothing. The only way to win this was to flee, he wouldn''t be able to win every fight. Just as he was about to hash out some sort of escape plan, he heard his mom speak in the distance, ¡°Just a bunch of?¡± The Quagsires head spun to the hole the voice reverberated from before falling back onto him in shock, its scowl deepened and Larry could see the Pokemon''s already rotten mood sour even more. ¡®Uh oh, Momma Quagsire probably doesn¡¯t want her watering hole to be remodeled by a Tyranitar.¡¯ Larry realized. Larry realized what he had to do and he met the Quagsires eyes while he yelled back, ¡°No, just a bunch of water! I¡¯ll take a quick drink!¡± The Quagsires head finally shot completely out of the water in surprise. His mother quickly answered back noncommittally, ¡°Hmm, ok¡­¡± Before her steps could be heard leaving in the distance. An eerie silence descended on the small cavern, the Quagsire looked at Larry with different eyes this time. It squinted its eyes in confusion and spoke for the first time in a whisper, ¡°Why protect this place?¡± The question seemed obvious and Larry lowered his voice and turned back to the Quagsire with a smile, ¡°If I can avoid a fight, why shouldn¡¯t I?¡± The Quagsires stare bore through him and Larry quickly added on, ¡°...And I probably wouldn¡¯t have won the fight¡­¡± Quagsire held the stare for a few more seconds, before scoffing, ¡°You wouldn''t have. Leave. We do not want you here.¡± No fond memories came to Larry when he thought about this place, but he still didn''t feel like destroying a wild Pok¨¦mon Habitat simply because they had wronged him. He might''ve been jumped every time he''d visited this basin, but Pok¨¦mon in the third layer weren''t peaceful like the ones on the second layer, they simply assumed anyone approaching them was here to hurt them. Quagsire herself probably had never even had a chance to talk with another Pok¨¦mon before, considering her first move was to simply attack. Larry wanted to change that, at least this once. ¡°I know you probably don''t trust me, but¡­¡± Larry began in a whisper, ¡°...would you allow me to spar with you?¡± ¡°Sparring?¡± The Quagsire asked with a quirk of its head. ¡°Sparring, a training fight, my mom would be really happy if I got some experience against a type I''m weak against,¡± Larry spoke with a slight smile on his face. The Quagsire took in his words before scoffing once again, ¡°Why would I do that? To help my enemy seems idiotic. Leave, or I¡¯ll be forced to make you¡± It finished in a low voice, with an angry stare. ¡®Guess it isn¡¯t that easy¡­¡¯ Larry thought to himself before speaking up, ¡°Yeah, I¡¯ll get out of he-¡± But before Larry could finish a second head sprung up from the basin, then a third and a fourth. Stolen content warning: this content belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences. The three Woopers who had annoyed him in the past shot up, the first one quickly began to yell indignantly at the Quagsire, ¡°Mom! Come on! Let me fight him!¡± ¡°Yeah! We¡¯d beat his butt!¡± The second one chimed in. The third one nodded in agreement before also adding his own comment, ¡°Yeah, we would!¡± Both Quagsire and Larry hunched over in surprise at the sudden noise of three annoying children. Quagsire quickly scooped her three kids into her arms to cover their mouths and silence them, both of them looked at the exit hole in panic. ¡°Mmmph!¡± ¡°Mrrgh!¡± ¡°Hmmrgh!¡± He walked over to the exit and quickly peeked out, seeing his mother lying down in an outcropping further down in the distance, far enough away to not hear a thing. She was napping once again, and nobody seemed to care for the noises of annoyed children murmuring into the Quagsire''s chest. ¡®Phew, close call,¡¯ Larry thought. ¡°My mom is away, you can speak,¡± Larry said as he turned back. The Quagsire sighed to herself, before speaking up in a whisper once more, her kids continued to thrash in her grip, ¡°Haah, these kids¡­¡± ¡®This entire situation is a mess¡­¡¯ Larry thought to himself. Larry could see with his own mother that parenting wasn¡¯t as easy as it¡¯s made out to be, even less so if you¡¯re a Pokemon. It felt awkward trying to keep calm around a mother trying to corral all her children in front of him, so Larry tried his luck. ¡°Umm, if it calms them down, how about letting them have that spar if they want to? I¡¯d be happy to.¡± He said innocently with his hands behind his back. She looked down at her children who were still fighting against her grip and trying to free themselves. Another sigh escaped her and she gave Larry another hard stare, he almost wilted under her stare, but she spoke up again after a solid ten seconds. ¡°I can see your point, but how can I trust you? If I let my children fight you, what''s to say you won¡¯t hurt them?¡± She reasoned. ¡°I accidentally stumbled into your home and was just about to leave peacefully when you attacked me. I let you attack me, only defending myself sparingly and then helped you by distracting my mother. She isn¡¯t even around anymore to defend me, if you were to attack me, making this a really dangerous situation for me.¡± Larry reasoned as she slowly shrunk under his assault. ¡°But¡­it¡¯s dangerous. Isn¡¯t it?¡± She said more weakly this time. ¡°It¡¯s far more safe than actually fighting and it will give your kids the experience they need when they leave the nest, won¡¯t it?¡± Larry countered, ¡°They seem willing and I am as well. The only thing we need is your consent, so please. Will you let me spar against them?¡± He spoke with his best attempt at puppy-dog eyes. The Quagsire groaned, before she finally released her Wooper children from her grip, ¡°Fine, but only one fight for everyone, understood?¡± ¡­ A Wooper stood opposite of him on land, it was about half his height, and to their side stood both the Quagsire and the Woopers siblings. Quagsire still had her hands full trying to keep her Wooper calm and collected as both of them were ecstatic. ¡°Oh, my brothers gonna kick your butt!¡± One Wooper hollered over from the side. ¡°Yeah! He¡¯ll beat you up!¡± The other one added on. Both of them jumped around their mother as she tried her best to keep them from hopping into their impromptu battling stage. The stage itself wasn¡¯t much to look at, the basin of water used up most of the ground, so the two of them had a truly miniscule stage in comparison to the ones Larry remembered from the anime or games. Larry calmed his nerves and spoke up, ¡°Alright, I¡¯ll throw this stone in between us and the match will begin when it hits the ground, ok?¡± The Wooper jumped around impatiently on its side of the field, ¡°Yes! Yes, let¡¯s fight!¡± ¡°Alright¡­¡± Larry threw the stone hip up, forgetting the low ceilings that hindered his mother from setting foot in here were. The stone bounced off of the roof of the cave and finally came down with a dull¡­ Thud¡­ Wooper immediately jumped into action, water began dripping from the corners of its mouth as it charged up a Water Gun. But Larry wasn¡¯t idle either, he began to move, running ahead in the tiny arena they¡¯d made. The Woopers Water Gun was too quick though and shot out before Larry could reach the other side. Larry had planned to use Dig in situations like these, but unfortunately, that wasn¡¯t an option here. Quickly spinning to the side during his run, Larry grazed the flying blob of water on his right arm with a wince. The hit wasn¡¯t as dangerous as the bloody spot on his stomach Quagsire had made, but Larry felt Water-TE on his arm and could feel his rocky skin begin to soak it up and soften. His opponent was already charging up another water gun, but Larry was already on his side of the arena. So he pulled back his right arm and charged up a punch using Payback, the Water-TE was pulled into his fist and melted into the Dark-TE the attack needed, adding to the attack. The attack flew into the cheek of the Woopers face and the attack the Pokemon had been preparing was released in a spew of water. Its smaller size threw the Wooper to the side and crashed hard face-first into the corner of their arena. His crowd seemed to enjoy the action, as the Wooper siblings quickly changed allegiances. ¡°Ooh! He just dodged while running, he¡¯s done for!¡± One said while hopping around his mother. ¡°Wooh! Go Larvitar!¡± The other one cheered as it excitedly tugged at his mother. Their sibling quickly raised himself off the dusty ground and looked over to his siblings with a sour expression. Larry approached once again, but he seemed to have kicked the hornet''s nest. The Wooper suddenly charged its attack far quicker than before, it began gurgling up another Water Gun and shot it at Larry. He tried to twirl out of the way again, only to be hit by the Water Gun square in the face. The hit staggered him and he stumbled awkwardly before saving himself from falling by going onto all fours. Checking up front, he saw his opponent charge another attack, this one taking far more time to accumulate in its mouth. In return, Larry began charging up a sandstorm while he stood back up to hide himself from the coming attack. Inside his mind though, Larry was ecstatic. The spar had been everything he wanted and more, ¡®This is what I needed!¡¯ He excitedly thought to himself as the battle continued. Chapter 23 After the Sandstorm finally stirred alive, the first battle was almost a foregone conclusion in Larry''s mind. The Wooper didn¡¯t seem to be able to work around it and not being able to aim its ranged attacks forced it to enter the Sandstorm. Wooper fought against the Sandstorm with squinted eyes, it peeked through the dust as it tried to locate Larry. The jagged pieces of sand were cutting into the poor Wooper''s figure, its side was already red and bruised by the sharp rock particles. Larry could feel his opponent''s fear inside the sandstorm, its sibling''s rude comments were all missed over the sound of the ranging Sandstorm. With the Sandstorm stirred he released his control over it and let it flow, he slowly approached from behind and shot forward when in range with a charged Bite. His teeth bit down onto Woopers tail and its head whirled around in panic, it immediately tried its hardest to pull its tail away to the side, but to no avail. Larry didn¡¯t release and kept himself latched onto its tail, the Wooper suddenly ripped its tail back in, before pulling at its TE and lowering its body. A late release wasn¡¯t possible and Larry, still latched onto Wooper''s tail, was slammed into the ground. His mouth opened and the Wooper tail was released, it immediately turned around and charged up another Water Gun. Larry didn¡¯t have an attack to counter, so he pulled at the Normal-TE in a desperate bid. An earsplitting Screech was released and echoed in the tiny cavern, Woopers concentration broke and his attack was lost in a gurgle of Water which dripped out of its mouth uselessly. The Wooper took a few steps back in the hope of readjusting and Larry saw blood in the water, he rose while pulling at Dark-TE in its body and it obeyed. Pursuit enhanced him and allowed him to close the distance before Wooper could get its bearings. His fist was wreathed in Dark-TE for a second time and Wooper took his fist straight into its face for a second time. Its legs lifted off of the ground and it landed a foot or so away on its back, completely knocked out. Larry raised his arms and head in celebration, huffing for air deep inside his slowly receding Sandstorm. He could feel his jaw, it felt raw and irritated from the rough Slam he¡¯d taken, he could feel his heartbeat from the wounds from Water Gun on his arm and face and he finally felt alive. ¡°Huff¡­Huff¡­I won¡­¡± Larry heaved. For half a minute or so Larry caught his breath while the Sandstorm receded, he could¡¯ve walked out or stopped it himself, but he didn¡¯t feel energized enough to trust himself to stay standing. When the Sandstorm finally stopped completely, the first thing he saw was the angry scowl of the Wooper''s mother. ¡°So he lost¡­¡± She said in an irritated tone as she finally spotted Larry''s form, still raising its arms and head in victory and huffing heavily. ¡°Ohh, bro got served!¡± One Wooper celebrated as it entered their arena. ¡°Yeah, bro¡¯s a weakling! Haha!¡± The other one hollered from the distance. Their mother scoffed, before speaking up as she carried off the unconscious sibling, ¡°So, which one of you is next?¡± Larry lowered his head and hands at the sudden silence, the two stopped their jeering and joking instantly, turning meek under Larry''s gaze. ¡°I mean¡­Sis can go first if she wants¡­¡± One suggested in a low voice. The sister looked at her sibling like he had just thrown her to the wolves, ¡°Wah?! Shouldn¡¯t you go first, bro?! You were so excited for the fight weren¡¯t you?¡± Larry already felt faint just keeping himself up on his legs with the adrenaline of the fight slowly leaving his body, ¡°Sorry to say, but I don¡¯t think I¡¯m ready for another fight right now¡­¡± Both siblings seemed to jump at the mention of postponing the rest of the fights, ¡°Y-Yeah, rest up for now! We can fight anytime!¡± ¡°Yup! We¡¯ll be waiting here when you¡¯re rested!¡± The other sibling chimed in magnanimously. He laughed to himself at their obvious reluctance to fight after seeing the results of the previous fight while making his way out of the ring, ¡®It seems they¡¯re a bit too used to ganking their prey, considering how I met them last time.¡¯ ¡­ His fight had gone well and Larry felt content with the results, he knew he had weaknesses, like his range. That issue could be remedied with a Rock Slide or Rock Throw, but in a friendly spar like this, they were simply too much to use. After giving himself a quick once-over, cleaning out his wounds of any dirt and grime and checking for any larger injuries he went back over to the pond the Wooper family were now relaxing in. The Wooper who had fought him before had already woken up again, a bit bitter at the loss but still far from angry. ¡°That fight was amazing!¡± It gleefully recounted, ¡°I can¡¯t wait to see how my Sis and Bro will do!¡± For today, the sparring was over and with his plan to descend the cavern, he might not be able to have any other chances for sparring in the future. Did you know this text is from a different site? Read the official version to support the creator. ¡°Sorry to say this, but my mom and I were moving inside the cave when I happened upon this cave. I won¡¯t be staying here much longer, I would have loved to spar some more, but my mom will continue on the way when she¡¯s awake again!¡± Larry apologetically said. The Wooper deflated at the mention of Larry leaving, ¡°Aww, that is stupid!¡± His mother seemed happy enough to finally have the home invader leaving and the Wooper''s sibling also seemed relieved not to have to fight, but Larry had another idea that they might like. ¡°If you enjoyed fighting so much, why don¡¯t you simply have spars against each other in the future? You could train against each other if you ever want to.¡± Larry suggested. The Wooper''s eyes shone at the mention of more fighting, ¡°Yes!¡± Its head quickly turned to his mom, ¡°Mom! Can we do that?!¡± She only sighed with a slight smile, ¡°We will, but only if both want to fight.¡± It pumped an imaginary fist in celebration, ¡°Yes!¡± Larry smiled at the situation, it seemed his impromptu battle had lit a fire under a young Pokemon and he had made a fan. At least one of the Wooper had been motivated by an actual battle to improve themselves for the next one. The Wooper won¡¯t be ambushing anybody else it seems. After a series of heartfelt goodbyes, Larry finally left the tiny cavern the Wooper and Quagsire called their home, he mosied out of there and saw his mother''s form in the distance sleeping soundly in an outcropping. He planted himself in her arms, wincing for a second when the cut on his arm scraped against his mother''s tough stony hide. Sleep came to him quickly and Pokemon biology made its best effort to hide Larry''s impromptu battle injuries from his mother. ¡­ ¡°What happened?¡± His mother''s words woke him up and he looked around in a slight panic, he still had a sore jaw and his cuts had only healed slightly. Larry played coy, ¡°What do you mean?¡± ¡°The cuts.¡± ¡°Uhh?¡± Larry looked down at himself as he stood up and stretched, ¡°Yeah, what about ¡®em?¡± ¡°What. Happened.¡± She repeated, this time a bit more sternly and Larry immediately folded. ¡°Uhh, you know down in that cave where I said there was just a bunch of water?¡± He asked. ¡°Yes.¡± ¡°Well, turns out there was a Quagsire down there who lived there with her three Wooper children. She would¡¯ve killed me if you wouldn¡¯t have showed up.¡± Larry mentioned casually. ¡°What?!¡± His mother rose suddenly at the mention of violence and looked at the hole in the distance in anger. ¡°W-Wait! Wait! Let me explain!¡± Larry yelled back quickly, jumping at her and clinging on in the hopes of pulling her back down onto the ground. ¡°I, uhh, calmed her down. I recommended I spar against the kids and she allowed it.¡± Larry explained. ¡°Oh,¡± His mom answered back dumbly before looking down at him, ¡°You won?¡± ¡°Yep, it was closer than expected though.¡± Larry proudly proclaimed, plopping back down onto the ground with his mom lowered herself again. ¡°Good¡­Good¡­¡± She said, calming down and lowering herself back into her sleeping sleeping position. ¡°Yeah, the one Wooper I fought seems to really look up to me now.¡± Larry said with a slight smile on his face, remembering the last time he was here, ¡°Kind of surprising considering that they almost killed me last time I came here¡­¡± ¡°WHAT?!¡± ¡­ It took a considerable amount of time for Larry to get his mom to finally calm down. Her arguments were rock solid and Larry did unfortunately find himself agreeing with her. He eventually acquiesced and agreed to act with more care, watching out for danger and returning to his mother instead of trying his best to befriend the Pokemon trying to kill him. But could Larry be blamed? His human side remembered the anime and other pieces of media, all of which posit Pokemon as ¡®man''s best friend¡¯ and show off how with a bit of friendship you¡¯ll be a better trainer. Being able to completely understand every single Pokemon is a dream come true for Larry, but Pokemon didn¡¯t seem to take advantage of the blessing in the same way humans did. Where humans had built a society with each other by surrounding themselves with one another, building a support structure by relying on each other. Pokemon seem to live by the opposite, individuality and strength are the final goal for Pokemon. Even Pokemon who do team up seem to only do so with the hopes of attaining more strength. The idea that Pokemon were just humans in a cuter and much more marketable skin which the Pokemon media in his old world had built seemed true, but only on the surface. Their brains seemed to work differently, it was like talking to a psychopath. Because at the end of the day, for a Pokemon it was always about fighting. Larry saw so for himself, the Quagsire mother had the same love for her children as a human mother. But in the same way, a mother in human society hopes for their kid to grow up and improve themselves to help the society that has been built. Pokemon mothers seem to focus all of their efforts on the survival of their young in the same way a wild animal does. She seemed incredibly happy when she saw her kid in a fight, the same pride of a human mother watching her kid pick up their diploma. In his mind, Larry knew Pokemon would take over the world if they ever decided to found a society, their instinctual and individual drive for strength and conquest is what is holding them back in that regard. They need to work together if they ever want to stop being put into Pokeballs. ¡­ On the way down Larry had tried his damndest to keep his mother talking, when the cavern had begun to open up, he mentioned it to his mother. When the caverns on the side of the walkway widened, far enough to let his mother walk down them again, he mentioned so, but his mother didn¡¯t seem to be able to care, only deigning him with a low, rumbling ¡°Mhmm¡­¡± The arguments and talks with his mother had slowly subsided and they had continued their way down Mt. Silver in that awkward silence Larry had become so used to and before long that feeling had started worsening. ¡°U-Um, Mom? Do you feel weird as well?¡± Larry asked candidly. His head whirled around in the hopes of finding the source of the feeling but nothing was wrong, his wounds still pulsed with a slight tinge of pain and bruises still marred his rock skin, but Pokemon regeneration had done away with most of his injuries. ¡°What do you mean?¡± His mom asked as she stopped and turned around to look at him. ¡°I don¡¯t know¡­¡± Larry said, ¡°It- Just something feels off and I can¡¯t place my finger on it¡­¡± He gave his surroundings another check, but it was still the same boring walls and an empty cavern on the sides all around. His mother turned around and continued with a heavy step, ¡°Then let¡¯s get out of here.¡± She turned back around to check if her kid was following, only to find nothing in the cavern behind her. Chapter 24 ¡®What the hell is going on?!¡¯ Alarms blared in Larry''s mind. He thrashed around wildly in something''s grasp, he couldn¡¯t see, his eyes were covered in some way and his mouth was covered. He had screamed in panic the second he¡¯d been grasped but no noise left his body, his body also felt like it had begun floating off of the ground the second he¡¯d been grabbed. There was a pull on his body, but not in the same way a person would grab him. He was floating, something had made him float and Larry couldn¡¯t handle it. Even without being able to see, he could feel himself float around completely uncontrollably, it was like he was in space. ¡®How do I get out?! WHAT IS HAPPENING?! MOM!¡¯ Larry''s panic only rose as the seconds kept going, his mom must¡¯ve been furious when she realized he had been stolen away. He was sure of it, he¡¯d just have to wait and stay calm and his mom would burst through the wall and smash whoever it was who had kidnapped him''s face in. Another few seconds and Larry had spun upside down in his weightlessness, his anxious mind spun and before long the curtain was finally drawn and he finally regained sight. His eyes fell on a purple ghost-type Pokemon and he immediately panicked, its giggles resounded in his ears and he immediately felt an ear-splitting headache. ¡°MMPPHHM¡± Unfortunately his mouth was still covered. ¡°Hehehe!¡± A Mismagius grinned back at him, she looked absolutely ecstatic, manic even as she held back a giggle, an ethereal quality in her voice tingled in his ears. ¡°Finally got you!¡± Its grin grew even more frantic before it finally breathed out with a hearty laugh, ¡°Hahaha! You wouldn¡¯t believe just how much I¡¯ve been looking for you!¡± Her voice hurt to hear, every time the Mismagius opened her mouth, Larry felt an ethereal tone in the back of her voice cut at his spirit. He floated in the air right in front of the Ghost-Type and it spun Larry around wildly in its grasp like an excited kid, holding him up using nothing but some sort of Psychic powers. Larry''s heart sank and realized who this might¡¯ve been and who he was reuniting with. This must¡¯ve been connected to the Misdreavus that had ambushed him and who he¡¯d barely beaten the last time he went through here. Was this some sort of grudge, was this the same Misdreavus he¡¯d beaten last time or was it one of its friends? Family? Did ghosts even have family? Larry couldn¡¯t remember what the prerequisite for Misdreavus evolution was. He was a fan but not a fanatic for the Pokemon franchise. Was this an entirely different Pokemon? He couldn¡¯t be sure, but the fact of the matter was that this Mismagius was out for blood. Squirming around bore absolutely no results, it actually seemed to fill the Mismagius with glee, simply looking at Larry trying to squirm his way out of its grasp. ¡°Hohoho, don¡¯t worry your pretty little head,¡± It floated closer, inspecting every aspect of Larry''s body until the two of them almost touched, ¡°I¡¯ll make things reeaal comfortable for you veerry soon!¡± Its voice resonated in his ear and he could feel every single word bite into his entire body. Somehow, Larry doubted the Ghost-Types assessment, with silence finally reigning once more, he could clear his thoughts and stop panicking, so he assessed his situation, ¡®Alright, I need to leave right now. I don¡¯t think whatever it has planned is something I should be here to experience.¡¯ He weighed his options, ¡®First I need to get out of its grasp, what the hell is this anyway?!¡¯ With his head unable to move he used his eyes to search around, pointedly ignoring the Mismagius who was still looking at him with a manic expression. The cavern around him was especially dark and Larry could barely see even with his Pokemon eyesight. They were shuffled into the corner of a long and windy cavern on the side of the walkway, it was a tiny outcropping, hiding Larry and his assailant away in darkness and from the safety of the walkway. It seemed to take offense at being ignored, it giggled right next to his ear, forcing him to hold back a wince at the noise, ¡°Heheh, ignoring me, I see. We¡¯ll be best friends soon!¡± Larry almost scoffed at the Mismagius confidence, but he didn¡¯t feel confident that he¡¯d be able to escape. ¡®What are my options?¡¯ He thought to himself. It was impossible to move and his entire body was bound so rigidly that he could barely heave his chest up and down. The Misdreavius seemed able to float him in the air, through what was probably some sort of Type-Energy-powered move, but which was it? Psychic? He couldn¡¯t be sure, since he had never actually felt Psychic-TE and he didn¡¯t even know if Mismagius learned Psychic. But the only type that had these kinds of moves was Psychic, wasn¡¯t it? There were no other Pokemon types who could use only their mind to move things. A stomp in the distance resonated around the cavern and the Mismagius hid itself away further into their outcropping in a panic, its manic grin never left its face though as it muttered to itself in a hushed tone, ¡°...can¡¯t get caught, can¡¯t get caught¡­¡± With its grating voice cutting into his mind he realized who the footsteps in the distance belonged to as they slowly approached his position, ¡®That must be Mom! I remember those hulking footsteps you can hear from far away!¡¯ No other Pokemon would be powerful enough to just waltz around this loudly. An idea came to Larry''s mind, he knew what he had to do to break out, ¡®If my instincts are correct and this is some kind of Psychic move, I think I can get out of this.¡¯ Larry thought to himself. Psychic was weak to Dark-Moves, so with a thought he pulled on at his core once, drawing out Dark-TE and charging up a Bite. His jaw empowered itself with the Dark-type energy and large, dark fangs grew on the edges of his mouth. If you stumble upon this narrative on Amazon, it''s taken without the author''s consent. Report it. The next moment the Mismagius suddenly hissed out a silent curse which assailed Larry''s mind while it backed away in pain. ¡°Oof!¡± Larry was unceremoniously dropped onto the ground, finally freed from the Mismagius¡¯ psychic grasp. Immediately, he knew what to do and Normal-TE coated the back of his throat as the fangs in his mouth receded to normal length, ¡°MOOOOOOOM!!¡± He cried out using Screech, he felt the cave around him reverberate the scream far into the distance as the sheer volume of his Screech vibrated through his own body. After his scream stopped, he looked over to his captor, the Mismagius unfortunately seemed unaffected due to its typing, but the manic and crazed grin on its face was gone, it looked furious. The steps nearby stopped for a moment, ¡°Y-You little¡­¡± the Mismagius bit back an insult as the steps nearby started up again, this time more frantic, ¡°...You win this one, I¡¯ll be back!¡± ¡°Oh no you don¡¯t!¡± Larry pulled on more Dark-TE and as the Mismagius floated out of the cavern, Larry followed with Pursuit. His legs suddenly felt like springs as he took a running leap onto the Mismagius¡¯ back, hitting her in the back of the head with a Dark-TE-infused punch. He charged another Bite as the two of them floated out of the outcropping the Mismagius had hidden them in and he bit down on the back of the Mismagius''s neck. With his weight on its back, the Mismagius quickly dropped onto the ground with his fangs still stuck in its neck, ¡°Argh! Let go!¡± It thrashed around wildly and its pained scream once more bit into Larry''s mind, he was forced to release his Bite. Once they hit the ground he jumped off and immediately used Dig and disappeared into the ground, but the Mismagius had a quick reaction, it yanked on his feet before they disappeared into the ground and pulled him back out like a root vegetable. Larry could move this time around, the Mismagiuse''s control over Psychic seemingly waning with her panicked state of mind. As his body was pulled up, he grabbed at the walls of the hole he¡¯d dug and grabbed a small, loose rock into his small arms, he let go of the Ground-TE in his body, dispersing it into the air around him and pulled Rock-TE into his arms and the rock he was holding. As he appeared outside of the hole he reeled back for a throw, while floating upside down in the air, and threw the stone at the Mismagius. ¡°Woah!¡± It cried out and released its grasp on him, dropping him onto the ground. Larry''s throw missed her entirely as his head crashed into the cavern floor again. The steps in the distance were by now sprinting closer and quickly approaching, Larry was confident he could survive until his mother arrived. Mismagius seemed content to fight now instead of trying to flee again, and as its eyes lit up, a small purple sphere conjured up in front of it and was released with a flash of its eyes. Larry dodged to the side, and the Shadow Ball exploded on the ground next to the hole with far more malicious and malaligned Ghost Type-Energy than expected, the blast of TE from the attack burned at his legs and Larry stumbled back down onto all fours awkwardly when he tried to get up from his dodge. In his pain he forgot to charge a Payback like he¡¯d trained in his spars, instead falling back onto a Bite, as he was still hoping for the very effective hit. He lunged at the Ghost-Type face first and it simply floated up and out of the way. ¡®Damn, it''s far stronger than expected!¡¯ Larry had hoped that the Mismagius was slightly stronger than the Misdreavus, but this thing knew really powerful moves and clearly had experience fighting. ¡®I¡¯ll probably be forced to tough this out until my mom gets here, but that should be any second now!¡¯ THUMP! THUMP! THUMP! The distant footsteps from before could be felt in the ground now, and Larry was sure that if he could hold out just a moment longer, his mother would sprint around the corner and save him from the Mismagius. ¡®This is it¡­¡¯ He stood up on his trembling legs defiantly, fighting against the pain by gritting his teeth and pulling on even more Rock-TE. He coursed it around and through his hurt legs slowly, rocks rose behind him seemingly telepathically, as they began absorbing the Rock-TE he¡¯d released. The Mismagius matched him, its eyes began to glow an ethereal pink as TE coalesced in her mouth. For a short second, a standoff between the two of them happened, as they both looked at each other while charging their attacks. ¡®I¡¯m putting everything into this attack!¡¯ Larry assured himself. He finally eased off of charging his attack and fought against the exhaustion from charging an attack with this much Type-Energy at once. The Mismagius released her beam first and a colorful, bright pink beam of energy shot out from its mouth, aimed straight at Larry. Larry responded in kind and heaved his arms forward, but the rocks behind him stayed. In the split-second, before the beam of Psychic energy hit Larry, Mismagius¡¯s face warped to confusion before it was suddenly impacted by half a dozen boulders from above. Larry had summoned two small boulders behind himself as a diversion, before pushing most of his Rock-TE above the Mismagius to create a Rock Slide straight above her. Its attack grazed Larry''s side, as it was pushed down onto the ground from its floating position. The beam of Psychic energy shot down and bore a long groove into the cavern floor as it was forced onto the ground by the slew of boulders falling on top of it. With its entire body suddenly being crushed by the weight of half a dozen small boulders falling on top of it, it smashed onto the ground and was crushed by the boulders with a loud screech. Larry covered his ears in the hopes of cutting off the sound, but it seemed the Ghost-Types cursed screams just went straight through. Silence reigned for a second again, before the mound of rocks began to move. ¡°Damn it!¡± Larry heaved in exhaustion, he stumbled and fell in pain as his legs and entire body finally gave out to the damage and exhaustion. Laying out on the cavern floor, Larry could only watch as the Mismagius pushed the boulders off of itself with ease, the attack Larry had put his entire being behind somehow only seemed to anger it as it floated out and up in the air again. THUMP! THUMP! THUMP! Yet, it had been enough. Before the fight could escalate anymore, his mother finally rounded the corner and rushed up to Larry''s lying form protectively. Her face twisted into an outraged scowl when she saw the state he was in. With his mother in front of him, Larry''s racing heart calmed and he slowly felt his vision go faint as he heard his mother growl out a sentence in white-hot anger. His mother''s voice reverberated loudly through the entire cavern, ¡°I AM NOT LOSING YOU AGAIN!¡± Larry finally lost consciousness as the walls, floors, and ceiling began to shake and quiver with Type-Energy. Chapter 25 Larry turned in his sleep, he felt the plush of his mattress underneath him, and he also smelt the stink of his room. The hum of thousands of tires rolling across the streets outside of his apartment droned away, a normal human would tune the noise out, but this is different from the usual utter silence of the caverns of Mt. Silver to Larry. His eyes cracked open for a moment and the lower field of vision of a human immediately made him squint his eyes back closed. ¡®Wha¡­¡¯ Slowly attempting to crack his eyes open multiple times, hoping to adjust them to the field of view, Larry finally manages to open his eyes properly. His room is laid out in front of him, empty bottles and plastic food containers, dirty laundry, and other trash line the floor. Paraphernalia of various kinds is strewn about haphazardly and dirt and mold cling to every room surface. The room''s windows have been completely covered with cut pieces of cardboard, blocking out any possible light that the room might be subjected to. Larry''s head swivels around the room in sheer and utter terror, he grasps the side of his bed, as he realizes that he has fingers again and immediately recoils when he touches the open top of a plastic bottle filled almost to spilling with a yellow liquid he knows to be urine. He licks his lips and swallows spit that had been building up in his mouth before stuttering out a sentence, ¡°Wha-, Ish da-, huh?¡± His instincts seemed to work against him, as the gears in his mind still struggled to determine the intricacies of human speech and what was happening. Outside of his room, a car in the distance honks, and Larry jumps at the noise for a second, before looking at the corner the noise originated from in panic. His head whirled to the other side of the room, where a lawnmower had just started up loudly. Larry stayed completely still, still quite overwhelmed with his current reality. ¡®I-, I just fought that Mismagius?¡¯ Looking down at the pee bottles, he finds a rare Dr. Pepper nestled on the edge, still two-thirds filled, Larry leans forward to grab onto its neck. The bed creaked under his weight and Larry finally looked down at himself as he grabbed onto the neck of the bottle. Fat. Layers of it, rolls upon rolls of fat filled up his figure, and his entire body spilled out and over himself and onto the bed itself. As he lifted the bottle of soda, his entire body jolted and jiggled disgustingly. The trained, taut, and stony skin of a Larvitar was nowhere to be found and Larry sorely missed it. His thoughts trailed in circles, ¡®Why am I back here?¡¯ Tears began to well up in his eyes, and Larry quickly took a swig of Dr. Pepper before wiping at his eyes. The sweetness was far too much for Larry, his face scrunched up at the taste and he quickly swallowed the drink. His head swiveled around again as the tears continued to accumulate, ¡®What is going on?¡¯ Another swig of Dr. Pepper and the tears finally flowed freely. He wiped at his eyes, he still remembered the pain, and the hardships he went through. His mom, the family of Wooper, the Phanpy, and its father who¡¯d led him back up the cavern. The Dwebble who had shown him the ropes instead of attacking him. All of it. ¡°It couldn¡¯t have been a dream¡­¡± Larry whispered to himself. Just as he was about to drop into the second stage of the seven stages of grief, the noise around him cut off. Larry''s head swiveled around once more and when it returned to his hands, the Dr. Pepper he¡¯d been holding was gone. He jerked back in shock, ¡°Wha-!¡± The sudden movement jostled his body, and his entire arm jiggled, like the bones inside his body had finally given up and disappeared. Larry tried to support his arm with his other hand, only to find the other one bent and broken when he looked down at it. The bone of his upper arm stuck out gruesomely and his lower arm hung on by piece of flesh still connecting the two. ¡°ARGH!¡± Immediately a spike of pain shot through his body and Larry grit his teeth in pain, the tears formerly shed for the other world he¡¯d lived in now redoubled for the physical pain he felt. Larry shut his eyes at the sheer amount of pain his arm was in, and when he tried to open them again, he found doing so to be practically impossible. When he finally cracked his eyes open, he wasn¡¯t in his room anymore. He was lying in the street on his back, the rain pattered on his body and every single droplet felt like knives to him, yet he couldn¡¯t find the energy or rush of adrenaline to do something about it. His ears rang and every single breath felt like a herculean task, through the ringing he could hear sirens in the distance and people talking and screaming. His eyes focused and he finally noticed a woman above him, she sat next to him on her knees and had her head turned to another person behind her. He couldn¡¯t make out enough of the conversation and his mind didn¡¯t care anymore. ¡®I¡¯m dead,¡¯ The thought was obvious to any onlooker of the scene before them. Unlawfully taken from Royal Road, this story should be reported if seen on Amazon. A small box truck sat parked on the edge of an intersection, and an overweight man in his late twenties to early thirties was sprawled out on his back in the middle of the intersection. The truck had been speeding but unfortunately for him, the man hadn¡¯t watched for green lights on the crossing, neglecting the fact to look at his phone. A female bystander had given it her best effort to resuscitate the man, but when the woman and her husband rushed into the intersection, they realized their effort was in vain. Larry''s world once again began to lose color, he accepted his situation, merely resigning himself to look up at the moon in the distance as the woman next to him jumped back in shock at his shell-shocked expression and the fact that he had been alive in the first place, as she had never felt a pulse. She turned back to her husband in hysterics as the sirens of an ambulance in the distance slowly came closer and Larry slowly eased into the darkness. The noises of the world faded away and Larry passed out once again. ¡­ Instincts took over and Larry gasped in a breath and shot up from his lying position. Immediately, the usual cavern''s darkness came into view to Larry as he rose from his position in his mother''s arms. His mom had laid down in an outcropping of the walkway, she must¡¯ve carried out Larry''s fainted and battered body. ¡°Larry!¡± His mother had been watching him and immediately crushed him in a hug the second he woke up. ¡°Oof! Mom!¡± Larry reciprocated as well as he could and felt his eyes sting with tears as he nestled himself inside his second mother''s arms. Both due to pain and the sheer happiness at being back. ¡°Larry¡­I-¡± Larry''s mom started before being cut off by Larry. ¡°I¡¯m sorry I got kidnapped! I love you!¡± He yelled out his thoughts immediately, tears streaming down his face. His entire body hurt, but he couldn¡¯t handle holding back his thoughts. His mother squeezed him ever tighter and Larry let her, the two of them simply sat there in the outcropping, hugging out their feelings. ¡®I almost died there, didn¡¯t I?¡¯ Larry thought grimly, ¡®Why¡¯d I go back to the other world? Did I? Or was that just some dream or hallucination?¡¯ Larry never actually remembered being hit by the truck, his mind was in disarray and all the formerly human thoughts had been so jumbled and faint. His Pokemon knowledge had been well used recently and he had a great handle on it, but the human side of things? If he could forget, Larry would¡¯ve. His life had been a mess, an overweight hoarder who did nothing all day but lay in his bed and he hated himself for how he had let his life get to that point. His life as a Larvitar had been so fun he wanted to punch his past self for rotting himself away in his own home. Silence reigned for a long few minutes as both shed tears and the two simply took in the moment of safety, before his mom finally spoke up factually, ¡°That was dangerous.¡± He¡¯d survived. All the adrenaline he¡¯d woken up with had sputtered out by now and Larry turned his head up to his mom, meeting her gaze, ¡°Yeah.¡± ¡°You could¡¯ve died!¡¯ His mom yelled at him angrily. ¡°Almost did,¡± Larry muttered back, remembering whatever had happened to him. She turned her gaze over to the cavern he¡¯d been kidnapped down, the walkway didn¡¯t look much worse for wear, but Larry also couldn¡¯t see down the cavern so he¡¯d simply assumed the worst. ¡°That Mismagius¡­¡± She smoldered, ¡°If ghosts could die, I would¡¯ve killed him again!¡± His mom couldn¡¯t retort, so Larry spoke once again, with a teary grin up at his mom, ¡°But I survived.¡± ¡­ The damage from his fight was still far too great for Larry to move around much. He¡¯d slept for far longer than normal according to his mom, and with no way to tell time in the cavern his mom didn¡¯t know how long, but she¡¯d thought that he might never wake up. His mother had made short work of the Mismagius, her Dark-Typing making the fight an easy matchup. She hadn¡¯t gone into detail about the fight that had transpired after Larry went unconscious, simply stating that ¡°It was lucky it couldn¡¯t die.¡± With the short dream, hallucination, or impromptu third reincarnation back into his old body, Larry had found a new appreciation for his second shot at life. He felt spoiled that he was allowed to do this and it made him wonder if this is what everyone went through or if he was special for some reason. ¡®No, there must be more to it.¡¯ He concluded, ¡®If this is some sort of godly plan or pure happenstance, I should make the best of it and simply try to live to the best of my abilities. God knows I wasted away my first shot.¡¯ The hard part was figuring out what he wanted out of his second life. Being a Pokemon made one powerful, and in Larry''s case, it was one of the most powerful in the region. He had potential, fighting potential, and during his second life, Larry realized that he loved fighting. It wasn¡¯t just Pokemon instincts making him feel a certain way, Larry knew it. That fight had almost cost him his life, and Larry loved every second of it. That Mismagius had been looking to kill him when it realized its kidnapping attempt had failed and the power Larry felt when fighting it had been real. If his mother hadn¡¯t been as vigilant and simply kept walking, he would¡¯ve been dead right now. Dead or kidnapped, whatever that entailed. Larry knew to become stronger he needed to get out of Mt. Silver, not because there were no opponents for him here, but because he knew he couldn¡¯t do it alone. Sure, his mom had given him some sort of spartan training regiment she saw fit to train a young Larvitar and prepare them to survive on their own. But his mother was still just a wild Pokemon, she knew the world around her and nothing more. In Mt. Silver, she was one of the most powerful Pokemon that one could ever hope to meet, but outside? She was the definition of a big fish in a small pond. The world is a large place and Larry knows what he needs to do. Get nice and comfortable with a human, and hope to god, Arceus, or whatever other deity deigned him a second chance that said humans don¡¯t stick him in a Pokeball and treat him like a wild animal meant to be controlled, but a friend. Chapter 26 Larry had to recuperate, he hadn¡¯t been hurt this badly before. They had laid back down in the little outcropping Larry had woken up in since Larry wasn¡¯t in any condition to be walking. So now, Larry was on healing duty. Sure his mom had put him through the wringer before in their spars, but she was also his mom, she wasn¡¯t going to kill or seriously harm her son. She had been going easy on him during their training. The Mismagius had hurt him so badly he didn¡¯t feel comfortable standing and far less walking. Pokemon adrenaline must¡¯ve been made of different stuff to allow Larry to even fight back with how messed up he¡¯d been. ¡°Argh!¡± Larry groaned at his mom''s sudden movement, she silently apologized as she adjusted herself while cradling him in her lap like a kitten. After groaning some more in pain, he began stewing in his thoughts again. That Mismagius, and to a lesser case the Quagsire mother he¡¯d met, had made it clear. If his mom weren¡¯t around, he¡¯d be dead right now and he had been stupidly lucky to survive this long and even make his way down to the second level. If he ever found his way back up here, he¡¯d hope to find that Dwebble that had given him the rundown on survival of the fittest again and pay him back somehow. Dwebble had given him the rundown on the Pokemon 101s he needed, Larry barely knew how to fit into human society so he was lucky to get himself a tutor for Pokemon society. While surprising, finding out about the violent lifestyle of wild Pokemon wasn¡¯t as crazy of a revelation as Larry would have thought. This wasn¡¯t the Hunky Dory world of children''s anime or video games, the power of friendship wasn¡¯t going to save him. ¡®My dumbass was walking around and talking to Geodude like they were ACTUAL dudes when I first woke up. They eat and punch rocks all day, what the hell was I thinking? Those Geodude could¡¯ve killed me the entire time I was near them!¡¯ Larry massaged the bridge of his nose at his own naivety. Wild Pokemon ate each other, killed other wild Pokemon, and consumed their flesh to sustain themselves. Not all of them did, but almost all of them could eat Pokemon and even Geodude killed if they felt like it. Larry snuggled deeper into his mother as the two of them were laid down in the outcropping and sighed, ¡®Pokemon life sure isn¡¯t as easy as I thought it would be, eating berries and being woodland buddies with your other Pokemon friends like I¡¯m in a PG-Movie wasn¡¯t going to happen.¡¯ He picked up a few pebbles and snacked on them while stewing in his thoughts, he scratched at one of the itchy scabs on his leg without thinking before swatting his arm away, as he remembered he needed to let the scabs heal. His legs had been bloodied, cut, and irrigated with Ghost-TE when he first woke up, that Shadow Ball had done a lot of damage even though it hadn¡¯t even hit him. The move had somehow ¡®burned¡¯ the skin on his feet off using the Ghost-TE, Larry wasn¡¯t a smart guy, but this seemed awfully similar to something like radiation poisoning. That beam-like Psychic move had also grazed Larry on his torso, giving him a giant gash that cut down to his legs. The beam instead had bored through his first layer of skin, even though it had barely even less than a second to touch his body. It would¡¯ve stabbed through him like a drill if he hadn¡¯t smashed a Rock Slide over the Mismagiuses head. His mother had seemed calm enough, a little proud actually, assuring him that damage like that would heal if given enough time, but to Larry they looked like the kind of injuries that would have killed him if he was a human. Sure enough though, after he¡¯d woken up, the gruesome injuries from before had already begun to heal. It did leave Larry with a large percentage of his skin being scabbed over, he had to remind himself to not scratch them absentmindedly. ¡®With my mom following now, I really shouldn¡¯t have any problems on the second or first level of Mt. Silver,¡¯ Larry thought to himself wryly, ¡°I wonder how amazed Phanpy will be once he sees my mom.¡± With himself now on healing duty he let himself relax further into his mom''s body and winced once again at the pain in his legs and lower body before closing his eyes. ¡­ The next few times Larry woke up were largely spent recuperating and doing nothing. Luckily for him, his wounds were actually healing, slowly but surely. If he wasn¡¯t a Larvitar he would¡¯ve been dead, because foraging for food or hunting other Pokemon would¡¯ve been impossible. He was lucky he was able to simply eat rocks for a quick snack. His mother followed his lead, biting stray chunks of soil out of the wall behind them when she got hungry, their hideout was slowly but surely growing in size. Most of his time awake was spent trying to make small talk with his mother and not doing so very well. His mother still sucked at talking and she seemed content to let a deafening silence between them stew. He drifted off to sleep again before long. ¡­ Rrrrrr¡­ He woke up to a rumbling further up in the cavern. The noise was off in the distance and it definitely wasn¡¯t some kind of Rock Slide, as those usually stop, eventually. ¡°Something came through here,¡± His mom spoke up matter-of-factly after realizing Larry was awake. ¡°What? What do you mean?¡± Larry asked dumbly, still quite drowsy. ¡°A Rhydon walked past here,¡± She nodded up at the walkway and swept her head down it, ¡°Tried to fight.¡± If you encounter this narrative on Amazon, note that it''s taken without the author''s consent. Report it. ¡°But it got cold feet.¡± His mother smiled with a vicious grin. ¡°Oh, that''s good. Did you have to intimidate him?¡± He asked, trying to keep the conversation going. His mother shook her head, ¡°No.¡± ¡°Hm? Why?¡± Larry asked awkwardly. ¡°He seemed anxious, and was already walking quickly.¡± His mother recounted, ¡°Gave me a mean look, but kept walking.¡± ¡°Oh, that''s good¡­¡± The conversation died painfully quickly and Larry had hoped to find a way to keep talking, but it seemed for naught as a wild Pokemon walked around the cavern corner with an anxious look on its face. His mother immediately locked on the Pokemon, keeping it under a vigilant eye as it shimmied past the two of them anxiously. It kept an eye on them in return, glancing at them every second it was allowed to as it quickly made its way downwards to the second level. When the creature finally rounded the corner at the bottom and went out of view, his mother huffed, ¡°Coward.¡± ¡°That was a Chingling, Mom,¡± Larry rebuked with a critical look at his mom. She huffed again, far more weakly, ¡°Still¡­¡± RRRrrrrrrr¡­ ¡­ ¡°Something is weird, but what is it¡­¡± Larry spoke up after the eighth group of Pokemon shimmied its way past them carefully, giving them the widest birth possible. It hadn¡¯t even been that long, it seemed a group walked past them every other minute. RRRRRRRRR¡­ More Pokemon had walked past them, far more than normal. In his entire time out of the third layer, Larry had never seen more than a few Pokemon use the walkway before. He was pretty much the only one who¡¯d used it before. ¡°It is weird¡­¡± His mom agreed as she finally returned from giving the last passerby the stinkeye. All the Pokemon looked anxious, but they had already been quite anxious as they rounded the corner. ¡®Normally you¡¯d think that they¡¯d panic at seeing a Tyranitar just lounging next to the walkway, but they''re already scared the second they come here.¡¯ Larry thought. Before the answer could come to him though, another noise became clear in the distance. ¡°ZU-!¡± A single cry, seemingly not even having any meaning to translate in his mind cried out in the distance. ¡°GOL-!¡± ¡°-BAT!¡± Another cry followed by wingbeats sounded in the distance, slowly getting louder. ¡°-BAT! -BAT! -BAT!¡± The cries continued, crying over one another as they continued to become louder and louder. Finally, they rounded the corner, and a giant writhing and floating mass of Zubat and Golbat shot around the corner. Their cries resonated around the cavern, hundreds of different cries yelling over each other in a high-pitched voice made Larry immediately reach up to cover his ears. ¡®Oh no¡­¡¯ Larry''s heart sank. His mother snatched him up into her small arms without a word and turned over into their outcropping protectively shielding him and pushing him into her chest while leaving her back open for the gigantic swarm of Zubat and Golbat. The swarm of Zubat careened into and along the walls like a flood of liquid, their outcropping became just a bit darker for a second as the gigantic mass of Pokemon careened by them and further down the cavern. ¡°ZU-ZU!¡± ¡°BAT-GOL-BAT¡± The incessant cries of the Bat-Pokemon faded into the distance in less than a minute and his mother heaved around again, turning herself back to the walkway and finally releasing Larry back down to sit on the ground. ¡°Damn pests,¡± She spat as she scratched at her back, ¡°Hate them.¡± Larry looked at the aftermath of the Zubat passage with wide eyes, ¡®Woah¡­¡¯ The walls of the cavern were marked by long cuts in them leading downwards all around their circumference, a veil of dust had been kicked up the Pokemon racing their way downwards and it seemed that they simply left their comrades behind if they couldn¡¯t keep up. A few backmarkers who had been forced into the walls or floor were recovering and still flapping along through the tunnel, trying to catch up to the gigantic mass that had just passed them. They seemed incoherent as they simply yelled out nothing in particular but their name in an ear-splittingly high-pitched squeak. Larry had heard from real bats before as they passed the two of them by, ¡®Right, Echolocation,¡¯ Larry remembered. ¡°That was crazy¡­¡± Larry muttered more to himself than anybody else. ¡°You ok?¡± His mother asked. ¡°Yeah, yeah. You protected me well Mom,¡± He answered back as the last Zubat finally rounded the corner further down the walkway, ¡°I wonder what made all those Zubat and Golbat so crazy.¡± He looked back at his mother, she had turned back to their outcropping and Larry could see that her back, while smudged by the Pokemon, didn¡¯t seem any worse for wear, ¡°Did that hurt?¡± ¡°Those Zubat hurting me?¡± She scoffed, ¡°Never.¡± With the Zubat gone though, another noise soon overtook the walkway RRRRRRRRR¡­ And this time Larry realized what that noise he¡¯d been listening to all this time was. His short stint with Dwebble came back to the forefront of his mind and the loud rumbling which had plagued their short break. It was also probably the answer to why the Zubat and Golbat just rushed past them. ¡°Mom? You hear that rumbling, right?¡± Larry asked, finally concerned. RRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRR¡­ ¡°Hm? Yeah, what about it?¡± ¡°We might want to move. This happened once before and-¡± Before Larry could explain the cavern around them started to shake, loose dirt and dust from the cavern ceiling rained down on the two of them and he jumped into his mother''s arms voluntarily before she had time to grab him. ¡°Graveler are coming!¡± He yelled and his mom finally realized what was about to happen. She scanned the corner at the upper end of the walkway like a hawk as she slowly stood up with Larry in her arms. RRRRRRRRRUUUUUUMMMBBBLLEE!!! Larry held on for dear life as the Geodude, Graveler, and a single Golem rounded the corner above them, barreling down straight at them at high speed. His mother took a final few steps into the middle of the walkway and stood there defiantly, staring down at the veritable mass of boulders heading straight for her. Type-Energy coiled around his mom before he could even register what was happening and a thick and heavy Sandstorm suddenly overtook the entirety of the walkway. His mother took a single step forward and a wall made of heavy stone jumped out of the ground in front of them immediately. Larry still nestled in his mother''s arms looked out at the wall and the approaching mass of boulders like a damsel in distress, the wall rose to chest height before a giant roar by his mother rocked the entire cavern, ¡°COME AT ME! IF YOU DARE!¡± Chapter 27 BANG! BA- BAN- BANG! BANG- BANG! The sound of dozens of Graveler impacting the wall his mother had raised sounded out and she raised and stamped one of her feet down on the floor. The ground under her foot began to crack, spiderwebbing out and towards the wall, before the cracks ran into the ceiling, up and above the mass of Geodude and Graveler. His mother watched with an evil glint and a vicious grin as the entire ceiling caved in, burying the mass of Rock Pokemon in a shower of boulders. Larry covered his head in panic, but as the mass of dust finally flowed past them, stray pieces of gravel plinking off of his mother''s hardened exterior like the remnants of an explosion off of a blast shield. Before Larry could begin to chastise his mother for her extreme methods, destroying the only walkway up the mountains inside, the rubble began to move. Geodude and Graveler began to claw their way out of the pile of rocks in droves, complaining to themselves and the two of them in simple caveman-speak, muttering about the apparent disturbance. ¡°No Stop! Why stop?!¡± One cried out as it clawed its way past small boulders. ¡°Enemy make stop!¡± A large Graveler cried out, garnering the attention of all the Geodude and Graveler, ¡°Let¡¯s call Boss! Where Boss?!¡± The others cried out in agreement, a noise like tumbling rocks sounding out from their mouths. Before they could go on to search for their apparent boss, they made an entrance for themselves. BOOOOM! The sheer wall of rock burst apart, throwing even a few Geodude to the side as the lizard-faced Megaton Pokemon Golem burst out of the wall of debris like the Cool-Aid Man. It skidded to a stop in front of its compatriots, turning around to face them. ¡°You lot! What the hell is going on?! Why did we stop!¡± It spoke, far more articulated than its kin. All the Geodude and Graveler pointed back behind him and one spoke up, ¡°Enemy make stop! Enemy is evil!¡± The Golem turned, its body needing several steps to simply turn around and its head barely swiveling at all. Its brow furrowed when it saw who had stopped them. It bared its teeth in a snarl and spoke heavily, ¡°Looks like it''s a Tyranitar, folks! Aww and it''s with its young!¡± The group of Rock-Type rose in noise at his assessment and Larry had to think, ¡®Do they even know what a Tyranitar is?¡¯ ¡°Whats Tyrankneetor?¡± One Graveler spoke up, completely messing up the name. ¡°Tyranitar,¡± His mother corrected with hate in her eyes as she bared her teeth in anger, ¡°The strongest Pokemon this mountain has to offer.¡± ¡°OH! AHAHA!¡± The Golem broke out into a burst of haughty laughter, making its Gravler and Geodude kin follow him until the entire group of dozen or more Geodude and Graveler were all howling in uproarious laughter. When the laughter finally died down the Golem spoke up, ¡°You think you¡¯re the strongest the mountain has to offer?!¡± It smacked its feet into the ground like a sumo wrestler as his troupe of hype men yelled out in celebration. ¡°I think you¡¯re forgetting someone here!¡± The Golem charged forward with reckless abandon, propelling itself forward in a roll, it charged straight at the two of them. Larry was just about to shield himself protectively when another mass of stone shot out of the ground and launched the Golem back to its compatriots whose cheers of encouragement died in their throats. Golem righted himself in the air and landed back on its two feet protectively, ¡°Hmm, I see, I see¡­¡± It scratched at its chin cheekily with its clawed hand as it evaluated the situation. Finally, its eyebrows rose in apparent understanding and it spoke up again, with its troupe watching on carefully, ¡°You¡¯re one of those defensive types, ain¡¯t¡¯cha! Couldn¡¯t hurt another Pokemon even if you tried! Ha!¡± His mom''s eye twitched, clearly more annoyed at the prospect of having to share the same general area with the troupe of this Golem for any longer than insulted at its wrongful observation. ¡°I could rip you and your entire posse to shreds,¡± she growled out. By now even Larry was beginning to become antsy, the situation wasn¡¯t de-escalating and it looked to be turning into a fight, and he wasn¡¯t in any shape to be fighting. The Golem¡¯s group of lackeys seemed content with whatever outcome their leader was looking to make a reality and his mother looked far more aggravated than he had ever seen her. ¡®Gotta calm this down, maybe I can convince Mom to calm down.¡¯ Larry thought anxiously. He turned up the cuteness factor and turned his best attempt at puppy-dog eyes up to his mom, ¡°Mom? Can we leave these bad guys alone? They¡¯re not being nice.¡± His mom looked down at him and immediately calmed as she realized that she still had her kid in her arms and that any fighting would be done hands-free. She quickly turned back to the Golems group and then back to her kid, evaluating her choices, before shaking her head in understanding and sighing, ¡°You¡¯re right, we need to keep going.¡± She turned back to the leader Golem, still quite annoyed but willing to let bygones be bygones, ¡°I have places to be.¡± She turned and took a step, but before she could get far, Golem spoke up. ¡°Oh? You¡¯re running away?!¡± It began in a goading voice and his mother stopped dead in her tracks, ¡°Cowardly little Tyranitar, running away with its tail between its legs? HAHA!¡± When it laughed its entire group broke out in laughter as well and it quickly continued goading his mom, urging its group to follow suit. ¡°Haha! Tyrankneetor can no beat little Geodude!¡± One cried out. ¡°She weak, little weak Pokemon!¡± A little Geodude yelled out and all the others broke out into another bout of laughter.Stolen story; please report. His mother was gnashing her teeth and fighting to control herself, she looked ready to explode into violence as she practically shook in anger. Larry attempted to get through to his mother, by telling her how she was being goaded, but she wasn¡¯t listening. She set him down carefully on the cavern floor and bit out the words in a whisper, ¡°Wait here, I¡¯ll make this quick.¡± Larry was about to protest, but the uproarious laughter of the group of Graveler and Geodude behind them would overwhelm any attempts. Stomping over with sheer hate in her eyes, his mother quickly made another standoff with the Golem who bared his teeth in a one-sided grin, like he¡¯d just won the argument they were having. He turned a hand to his posse and they instantly quieted, then turned back to Larry¡¯s mom, ¡°Well, at least I won¡¯t call you a coward after I wipe the floor with you! Ha!¡± The atmosphere immediately changed and Larry felt it, he was still sitting in the middle of the walkway, simply left behind by his mother. He couldn¡¯t move much still even if he wanted to and he knew he was far too close to the battle to live through it, so he discreetly dragged himself to the side of the walkway using his arms. ¡®I don¡¯t know how strong Golem are,¡¯ He thought in panic as Type-Energies roiled to life behind him, ¡®but my money is on mom winning this.¡¯ Larry winced with every single pull of his arms as his legs dragged across the hard stone floor, he turned to his side in alarm as the battlefield erupted into noise. The Golem had materialized a giant rock out of the ground and launched it at his mom. The stone flew like it had been launched using a catapult and in the short second it took to impact his mom Larry put up his arms to shield himself. She didn¡¯t make any moves to dodge and the giant rock exploded against her entire body. The rock cracked, splitting into multiple pieces which continued to roll and skip along the floor, one piece was unfortunately heading straight for Larry. ¡°-Oh CRA-¡± Panicking, Larry redoubled his efforts and grabbed at the ground frantically before suddenly finding his footing and launching himself forward using one of his feet. The rock skidded dangerously close past him as he smashed head-first into the wall of the walkway. Immediately his foot burned in extreme pain, he nursed his foot as he looked back at the fight in anger. His mother didn¡¯t seem to have noticed but retaliated against the Golem regardless. The pebbles on the ground around them began being pulled inwards, towards his mother. ¡®Woah¡­¡¯ Larry was so mesmerized he almost forgot about the pain. Unlike when using his Sandstorm, which seemed to only pick up stray dust and sand particles, his mother''s Sandstream ability seemed to pick up and orbit almost every rock or stray pebble in her vicinity right now. Giant pieces of rock, which were almost half as tall as Larry himself began to float toward his mom and orbit around her violently. Before the Sandstorm completely swallowed the battlefield, Larry began to see a few stray Geodude and Graveler get smashed in the side of their bodies with giant pieces of rocks. Even Golem was hit by a basketball-sized boulder, but simply shrugged off the damage as the sandstorm finally completely swallowed the conflict. The noise of the sandstorm was overwhelming, Larry fought to get some kind of view of the fight over the amount of dust and stones that orbited his mother. RRROOOOOAAAAAR He heard an ear-shattering roar, and suddenly the bright white light of Normal-TE began to shine through the Sandstorm like the sunrise through a foggy morning. A loud crash was heard and the entire cave shook, even cartoonishly lifting Larry off the ground, and as quickly as the Sandstorm lit up, it suddenly darkened again. Larry squinted through the Sandstorm, hoping to make out something, anything that was going on in there. Just as he was about to catch a peek at what was going on inside the Sandstorm, it darkened. Dark-TE coalesced inside the storm, a single point began to darken. It looked like a dark spot in his vision, like when you looked at the sun too long and had to blink away spots in your vision. Larry wanted to rub his eyes to clear the spot away, but before he could, the darkness exploded outwards. The two-dimensional wave of complete darkness expanded outwards, it smashed into the rock wall just above Larry and he flinched back on instinct as the wall seemed to absorb and darken in response before cracking and falling dramatically. ¡°OH C¡¯MO-¡± Larry rolled out of the way again and the rocks landed where he had laid down for cover. ¡®I know that probably wouldn¡¯t have hurt much with my Rock-typing,¡¯ Larry thought with a grimace at the pain in his leg, ¡®BUT CAN¡¯T THESE DAMN MEATHEADS WATCH FOR COLLATERAL DAMAGE?!¡¯ He turned around quickly, checking for another attack that he¡¯d have to dodge, but nothing came. Still, over the next fifteen nerve-wracking seconds, the Sandstorm slowly lost momentum until the giant rocks hurtling through it began to crash into the ground and slow to a halt. After another fifteen seconds, it became clear enough to see why that was, as his mom stood over the Golem triumphantly, resting one leg on top of his rolled-over form. The Golems troupe of Geodude and Graveler seemed either almost completely knocked out or far too injured with a variety of stray boulders having piled up around most of them. His mother though looked none worse for wear, except for the angry snarl on her face. ¡°Do you submit?¡± She said as she looked down at her opponent with an angry snarl on her face, but the Golem looked back up with only humor and a cheeky grin on its face. It broke out in a burst of haughty laughter again as the final stray pieces of sand and dust settled on the floor, ¡°Ha! Me? Submit? Who do you think you¡¯re talking to?! HAHA!¡± It struggled to roll itself back onto its feet, before giving up with a grunt. His mother grunted back in anger, before speaking up again, ¡°You¡¯re stuck, I¡¯ll kill you if you don¡¯t submit and leave.¡± The Golem''s eyes quickly darted back to the few members of its group who were still standing, they nodded in some sort of understanding before it turned its eyes back onto his mother, ¡°You think I¡¯m stuck?¡± Its reptilian face quirked up again into another grin, ¡°WELL YOU HAVEN¡¯T SEEN THE LAST OF US!¡± The Golem screamed out at the top of its lungs, ¡°EVERYONE! IN 5, 4, 3¡­¡± Golem and all the Graveler began to emanate a harsh glow out of the breaks in their rocky and round carapace and Larry was reminded of images from the Pokemon Anime. The Golem had used Explosion as a final passing move. ¡®Oh no!¡¯ Larry covered his head again with his arms. BOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOM! BOOM! BOOOOM! ¡°OOF!¡± Larry was impacted by the shockwaves of multiple explosions, he didn¡¯t open his eyes, but he felt multiple things impact him as he was propelled backward into the wall he¡¯d just jumped away from previously. He fought to catch his breath, but the ringing in his ears had him panicking. He finally managed to crack an eye open, only to be met with a wall of dust and rubble that was about to crush him. He jumped to the side, feeling a throb of pain shoot up his nervous system from the leg used. CRACK! BOOM! The rubble that he¡¯d expected to impact him was suddenly swallowed down and into the floor, which had cracked under the pressure of the explosions and Larry saw the floor fall under his feet leaving his view dramatically. ¡°OH! NO NO NO-!¡± Larry cried out as more and more of the floor was swallowed by the crack in the ground. He felt himself tilt and slowly slide down the crack as he was swallowed by the sinkhole. ¡°NOOO-!¡± Darkness swallowed him as he felt the weightlessness of falling take him over. Chapter 28 ¡°AAAAHHHH!!!¡± Larry fell. Well, it wasn¡¯t a complete fall, it was more like he was sliding down vertically on top of the floor which had been sucked into the crevice which had opened up underneath them. The entire walkway had split open vertically and sucked in the entirety of the cavern floor. And if that wasn¡¯t enough, the ceiling his mother had caved in the hopes of stopping the stampede of Graveler had collapsed completely on top of all of them and into the collapsed floor simultaneously. ¡°W-WOAH!!¡± Larry hollered as he was jerked from side to side like he was on a water slide. The floor underneath him was continually breaking apart and collapsing underneath him and his entire body was jostled around violently. He clawed helplessly at the cavern walls, but couldn¡¯t find any places to grab onto as the solid mass of gravel had turned to nothing but a coarse liquid under the weightlessness of falling. Finally, the gravel floor accelerated away from him and Larry broke through another ceiling and into the dark depths of another cavern. For a quick second, Larry was happy for this to finally be over, before he realized he couldn¡¯t even see the ground through the darkness of the cavern and had picked up quite a lot of speed, ¡°OH NONONO-¡± The floor came into view and Larry spotted a giant mound of gravel and other debris had built up on the floor. Spinning around helplessly in the air, Larry began angling himself onto his side for a landing, it would hurt, but in a bout of sheer desperation, he somehow managed it. BANG! ¡°OOOUF!¡± Larry impacted the tip of the dirt mound on his side, and the air was forced out of his lungs, he heard and felt a very painful cracking noise from his arm as he bounced back up into the air. ¡°Oof!¡± His rebound hurt and Larry finally began rolling down the side of the mound on his side, he felt close to fainting, but he forced himself to stay awake. He finally stopped rolling on the foot of the mound of dirt, his arm stung, his lower torso which was supposed to still be recovering burned and his legs felt raw and stung like the skin on them wasn¡¯t even there anymore. Tears rimmed his eyes from the pain and he couldn¡¯t get himself to do much more than breathe, his entire body hurt, yet the ceiling above him was still actively in the process of caving in. Dirt and gravel rolled down the mound and the entirety of the ceiling was steadily cracking and breaking apart. Larry looked up at the ceiling, about to bury him alive with a smile, ¡®...Hehe¡­The worst part is that this won¡¯t kill me¡­¡¯ As the ceiling broke, Larry saw why it was still breaking apart, as a giant green foot and tail emerged out of the darkness in the ceiling, along with an obscene amount of dirt and rubble. His mother''s fall was deceptively silent, as she didn¡¯t scream in panic like him, yet¡­ BOOOOM! His mother landed even more harshly than him, smashing into flat ground without any sort of mound to slow her landing. ¡°Mo-, OW!!¡± Larry jerked up in surprise but was immediately forced back onto the ground in pain, very carefully he turned his head in her direction. His mother stood up without any complaints, seemingly not having taken any damage, and immediately turned to the dark ceilings with a sharp glare. ¡°...Mom¡­¡± Larry squeaked out, ¡°...Heelp¡­¡± For all the child endangerment that had just transpired, his mother turned and when she realized who had called immediately sprinted over next to Larry. She looked distressed at the state he was in and yelled out, ¡°What happened?!¡± as she looked him over carefully, not even daring to touch him. He looked at his mom like she was stupid before crying angrily, ¡°You happened!¡± ¡­ ¡®This is probably the stupidest way for me to get injured¡­¡¯ Larry thought to himself dejectedly. His injuries were bad, he couldn¡¯t move the arm he¡¯d landed on much, pain spiking through it every time he tried to and there must¡¯ve been more internal injuries he couldn¡¯t inspect. The injuries that had been healing, while irritated hadn¡¯t opened up again, although it sure hadn¡¯t helped either. His mother lay beside him protectively, curling herself around him like a cat. His confidence in her parenting skills had been tested in this encounter, that was for sure. ¡®I mean sure, that Golem had been the final nail in the coffin, but my mom almost got me killed!¡¯ He gave his mother the side eye and she withered under his glare, positioning her head a bit further away from him. Larry before hadn¡¯t been in any condition to walk, letting himself sit comfortably inside his mother''s lap. Now though, Larry wasn¡¯t in any condition to be sitting anymore either, he was laid down on the cavern floor on his good side practically only able to move his head. ¡°...I¡¯m sorry¡­¡± His mom muttered bashfully, not even daring to look at Larry. Sighing to himself Larry answered back, ¡°I know you¡¯re sorry, but I still need some time to forgive you, Mom.¡± Larry practically hissed back his answer, his insides hurt so much he could just barely talk in a whisper, ¡°Just leave me alone for a bit.¡±Unauthorized content usage: if you discover this narrative on Amazon, report the violation. She didn¡¯t answer back, but Larry knew that his mother understood. It was back to healing duty, eating soil, dirt, and stone and just doing a whole lotta nothin¡¯. ¡­ ¡®Ugh, I feel like a hospital patient¡­Wonder how long this whole mess will need to heal¡­¡¯ Larry agonized to himself, his mother had picked out another outcropping in the cavern they¡¯d fallen into and simply laid down to rest. She wasn¡¯t feeling particularly injured, even though she¡¯d just taken around a dozen explosions from a family of Graveler. Meanwhile, Larry had been far enough away for his mother to consider him ¡®safe¡¯ and still gotten himself immobilized. ¡®Where¡¯s that damn healing machine from the Pokemon Centers when you need it?¡¯ Larry drawled to himself, the ceiling wasn¡¯t very interesting to look at if you weren''t in the mood to count the rocks jutting out of it. Whatever happened to those Graveler and Golem? Larry didn¡¯t know, but he was sure if he ever saw them again he¡¯d take some extra steps back as his mom wiped the floor with them. ¡­ ¡®Hundred and Thirteen, Hundred and Fourteen¡­¡¯ Larry was bored out of his mind, counting the rocks on the opposite wall of the cavern. He had gone to sleep once again, and now it was time to eat. Another piece of soil was shoved into his mouth and Larry chewed on it. Crumbly, with a hint of sodium, iron, and lots of stony pieces. It was like a rock-hard energy bar, but his Dark-TE-empowered Bite crushed them effortlessly. The soil down here was far richer in minerals than the one on top of the mountain, in the grand scheme of things Larry and his mom were still on the third level of Mt. Silver. ¡®I wish I could at least walk, I want to get going already!¡¯ His health had increased drastically in the last sleep he¡¯d taken. His injury from the Mismagius on his legs and torso had fully scabbed over once again and felt more muted than ever before and his hurt arm was feeling far more mobile than before, yet still hurt when used a bit too much. Larry had tried standing up or even moving, but his legs were still slightly too raw to do much and his insides still didn¡¯t feel right. ¡®Well, I guess I¡¯ll just go back to sleep¡­¡¯ ¡­ Larry rose onto his butt, he felt a sting in the area between his stomach and chest, but it subsided quickly enough, ¡°Phew¡­ Alright¡­¡± ¡°Slowly¡­¡± His mom muttered under her breath. She stood in front of him protectively, watching him and their surroundings like a hawk as Larry finally felt recuperated enough to stand on his own again. ¡°C¡¯mon Mom, I¡¯m not stupid,¡± Larry complained as he got his feet under himself, ¡°I know how to stan- WOAH!¡± His leg suddenly lost its strength and Larry slipped to his side. Before he could fall, his mother''s tail swooped in underneath him and caught him dramatically. ¡°T-Thanks¡­¡± He muttered bashfully as he found his footing again and pushed himself off of his mother''s tail. Larry took his first few tentative steps, his soles still felt weird, but he could put weight on his legs and stand on his own. He bounced on the balls of his feet, testing the strength, ¡°Yep, nice. I feel like I can walk again.¡± His mom smiled at him, a slightly awkward air still between them, ¡°Good, good¡­¡± The relationship between them was not yet back to normal and Larry still had to accept his mother''s apology. He didn¡¯t feel like he was in quite the right headspace yet to forgive her, ¡®I mean, I know she just doesn¡¯t have much experience fighting with allies or protecting things, she¡¯s a literal walking disaster. But would it hurt her to not go feral every time fighting is mentioned?¡¯ She shuffled forward, ¡°Let''s keep going.¡± ¡°Yeah,¡± Larry answered, ¡°but slowly.¡± ¡­ Walking side-to-side with his mom, Larry watched as his mom awkwardly tried to match his slowed pace. She had kept an eye on him like a hawk this time around, not even letting him walk a step behind her. ¡®Not taking third chances, hmm?¡¯ Larry mused to himself, slightly amused by his mother''s sudden bout of overprotectiveness. ¡°So, where are we going anyway?¡± Larry asked as he looked up at his mom. She quickly turned back to the Swiss-cheese caves spread out before them, she took a second to look over the five different open paths spread out before them before pointing down one. ¡°This one seems right.¡± She said resolutely. ¡°Why do you think so?¡± Larry asked back. His mother shrugged, ¡°It''s the only one actually going down.¡± Larry looked over the multiple paths, none of them looked to be raising or lowering to him, but he¡¯d just have to trust his mom''s judgment, ¡°Alright, let''s give it a try.¡± They continued and the first thing Larry noticed was the amount of Pokemon scurrying about just out of their view. This wasn¡¯t the walkway, Pokemon lived around here, and they were all terrified of the fact that a Tyranitar was making its way down their home cave. A Golbat which hung off of the side of the cavern''s ceiling, blearily opened its eyes before doing a literal double take when it saw the giant hulking reptilian form of a Tyranitar meander past its stalactite. Its huge mouth, which took up its entire body and had hung open sloppily during its sleep closed completely, shrinking the Pokemon down substantially before a loud, audible gulp echoed down the cavern. Larry looked back at the Pokemon, which instantly took flight in the other direction when it noticed his stare. His mom jumped and whirled around at the sudden noise, almost looking to launch a ranged attack before deciding otherwise. ¡°...Sorry¡­¡± She apologized when she saw her kid''s confused stare. ¡®I see,¡¯ Larry realized, ¡®with how much I got hurt because of her recently, she isn¡¯t sure how to approach me or handle me¡­¡¯ The cavern was going down now, it had slowly begun to slope downwards more and at this point, it was beginning to be a chore to walk for Larry. His feet had healed, but he felt his soles sting once again. It gave Larry an idea. ¡°Uhh, Mom?¡± He spoke up. ¡°Y-Yeah?¡± She answered, less confident than expected. ¡°Mind picking me up? My feet are beginning to hurt again.¡± Larry complained while reaching up to his mother with his good arm. ¡°Sure! Sure!¡± She easily picked him up and finally smiled again, she looked happy to be holding him again. She pushed him up onto her shoulder, so she could keep her arms free. ¡­ Larry was lucky he didn¡¯t have a fear of heights as he rode on his mom''s shoulder. The thumping footsteps of his mother echoed out around them as the silence of the cavern of Mt. Silver once again seemed to drown out everything. A single sentence broke the silence. ¡°I forgive you.¡± Chapter 29 As usual, the caverns of Mt. Silver were an uncomfortable maze of winding hallways and stony walls. Everywhere one looked, the only thing staring back at them was either darkness or some variation of rock. It was nothing short of a miracle that his mother had enough of a sense of direction to know her way around. Granted, they¡¯d been walking for quite a long time now and the drab stone walls hadn¡¯t changed a bit, so Larry wouldn¡¯t have known if they¡¯d gotten lost if he¡¯d tried. His mom smashed a clawed hand into the wall she was walking along and carved out pieces of the stone along it. She looked at them with an appraising eye before handing them to Larry, who was sitting on her shoulder in a relaxed manner. ¡°Oh, thanks!¡± Larry took the stones his mom had clawed out with a generous nod and chowed down, biting into it like an apple. The rock itself was heavy with flavor, feeling like a starchy potato in his mouth, but as he bit into it, its flavor completely changed. The starchy heaviness gave way to a sharp bite that crawled its way down his throat like someone had only seasoned the inside of the rock, but with the heaviest amount of pepper one could find. Larry almost coughed at the sudden sharpness but held it in with a loud gulp. Larry looked at the piece of stone with shock, finding the inside to be pitch black instead of the dull gray expected of stone. All other pebbles and stones he¡¯d eaten dug through before had similar umami tastes to each other, savory-sweet goodness that melted on his tongue, so why was this one different? ¡®Maybe the Tyranitar line and other Pokemon who eat soil can still eat different types of soil and taste different things?¡¯ Larry mused to himself. It would make sense, and give those Pokemon reasons to seek out multiple types of soil to get all their nutrients. The more Larry thought about it, the more it made sense to him, but it was also confusing, because how was Larry supposed to know which types of stone and soil tasted like? ¡®What even is this supposed to be? Coal? Something else? Volcanic rock maybe? But Mt. Silver wasn¡¯t a volcano, maybe it was millions of years ago?¡¯ He fell deeper into his thoughts as he took more absentminded bites of the rock while looking at it with an inquisitive look. The sharp bite of the stone was a nice change of taste, even the most delicious food in the world will get boring if eaten too often and the difference from his normal meals was nice. It felt like he was eating a bag of peanuts with paprika flavoring. ¡°Mmfm¡­¡± Larry quickly swallowed the bite he¡¯d been eating before turning to his mom, ¡°You know what kind of rock this is? It tastes great, so I wanted to know.¡± His mom turned to her kid and looked at the rock for a solid ten seconds before she finally looked Larry in the eyes while quirking her head to the side, ¡°There are different kinds?¡± ¡°What?!¡± Larry balked at his mother''s question. ¡°How can you ask that? Here,¡± He pressed a piece of the stone into his mother''s face until she opened her mouth and took a bite. She chewed on the pieces of stone thoroughly, taking in the whole taste. ¡°So?¡± Larry asked impatiently. His mom swallowed and spoke up firmly, ¡°Tastes like stone.¡± ¡°You just don¡¯t get it,¡± Crossing his arms, Larry turned away with an overly acted pout, ¡°your tastebuds must¡¯ve gone bad by becoming stronger.¡± She only smiled at Larry''s antics, clearly not taking their altercation very seriously, ¡°Maybe.¡± ¡­ The circumference of the cavern they¡¯d been walking down was slowly widening, the roof was slowly rising from just barely being tall enough for his mother to walk down to a comfortable height. Larry would count himself lucky not to be claustrophobic, he was still growing tired of the caverns he¡¯d been born into, but to a point, they also felt like home. He did still want to get out of the metaphorical house though. Browns over greys, pitch-black darkness, and that uncomfortable temperature are not cold, but not warm. ¡®I cannot WAIT to get out of here,¡¯ Larry thought to himself with a slight sigh, ¡®and who knows, maybe Mom will have a change of mind and I¡¯ll be able to live outside with her.¡¯ He thought about a life in the forest around Mt. Silver, maybe by a stream, they¡¯d find one of those berry trees and eat something other than dirt and soil because he wouldn¡¯t want to chow down on some Pokemon. Maybe make some actual friends outside, other Pokemon must be friendly if they don¡¯t have to fight over scarce resources like the ones up here. Finally, their cavern was intersected by another and as Larry looked up and down the other cavern, he realized where they were. He was about to speak up, but his mother was quicker, ¡°We¡¯re back on the walkway.¡± ¡°Yeah, we are. Let¡¯s keep going down to the second level.¡± His mother only nodded in response and continued on their way. ¡­ As they made their way down the walkway, Larry once again had his mom lower him onto the floor so he could try and walk a bit more. His legs hurt if he walked for too long, but he felt they were far closer to the second level than before and he didn¡¯t want to be babied for too long. A shame in his mother''s eyes, considering Larry was in actuality still only a few weeks or so old. While taking a rest in another outcropping his mother had made, Larry was chowing down on some of the stone his mother had destroyed. His attention was taken by her, as she spoke up suddenly, ¡°How¡¯d you get so good at speaking so quickly anyway?¡±This novel is published on a different platform. Support the original author by finding the official source. Larry quickly feigned ignorance, ¡°Not sure, shouldn¡¯t you be able to tell me?¡± trying to get more information on Larvitar by making his mother talk. ¡°Hmm¡­¡± She took her time to gather her thoughts. ¡°I don¡¯t know much,¡± His mother began, ¡°but Larvitar normally don¡¯t walk much on the ground,¡± She continued as she looked around the cavern, ¡°they stay underground, eating soil anytime they can.¡± ¡°From what I know, they only go aboveground occasionally. That¡¯s why it surprised me how active you were.¡± She turned back to Larry, staring a hole through him. Larry was sweating in his nonexistent boots and looked around the cave frantically for an answer, ¡°Uhh¡­Uhm¡­T-¡± His mother grinned at him, before patting him on the head with one of her short arms, ¡°Guess you¡¯re just that gifted. I know you¡¯re different, I¡¯m a lucky mother.¡± ¡°Y-yeah, haha¡­¡± Larry almost sighed in relief, ¡®I think I¡¯ll still keep the whole reincarnation thing under wraps¡­¡¯ ¡°So¡­¡± His curiosity had been piqued, ¡°What other stuff do you know about Larvitars?¡± She stared up at the ceiling for a moment, simply continuing to pat him on his head, Larry obliged and leaned into her arm affectionately, ¡°Larvitar are strong, but they¡¯re pretty weak.¡± With her arm still on his head, he looked up at his mom with a confused look, ¡°That doesn¡¯t make sense, Mom.¡± ¡°No, it does. Compared to other non-evolved Pokemon, you¡¯re strong.¡± She pointed out, ¡°But a single Larvitar is pretty weak.¡± Larry hummed at her opinion, he was inclined to agree, even if it barely made sense. He just barely won against a Misdreavus when he¡¯d fought, and his fights against the Wooper were also fairly close, simply due to the Type Disadvantage. Before he could verbally agree, his mother spoke up again, ¡°The bad part is, once you evolve, you become stronger, but again, weaker.¡± ¡°I do?¡± ¡°Yeah.¡± His mom answered simply, speeding up her head pats. ¡®Oh c¡¯mon, don¡¯t stop talking now!¡¯ Larry cried out in his mind, ¡®This was the first time mom had managed to hold a conversation, and then she just stopped it like that?!¡¯ ¡°You mind telling me why?¡± Larry probed. Her petting stopped briefly, but continued, ¡°I¡¯ll tell you when you¡¯ll need it. You won¡¯t take long to evolve, I know it.¡± ¡°Alright!¡± Larry acquiesced. ¡­ Excitement slowly rose, because Larry could remember the part of the walkway they¡¯d reached and he knew they were getting very, very close to the second level. He knew what he had to look for, a sheer drop down onto the spiral walkway that goes down to the second level, with a perfect view over the entire second level. As they rounded another corner in the walkway, he spotted another thing, a giant stalactite hung down from the ceiling, stopping just short of the floor, and underneath it, a small muddy puddle had built up. Larry approached the puddle, it all felt like it had just been yesterday when he sucked up the entire puddle and loved the taste until he realized what he¡¯d just done. He prodded the puddle with one of his arms, as it seemed to have filled back up, Larry licked his arm curiously. The rich and earthy taste filled his mouth and Larry felt like he¡¯d drank one of those protein drinks bodybuilders suck down between sets or like he¡¯d just thrown multiple vitamin tablets into a glass of water and then let the horridly healthy mixture go flat before taking a sip. Before he even noticed, he had crouched down and began to greedily suck at the puddle like it was some sort of soft drink, ¡®Damn! Who the hell decided that dirt water is the tastiest thing on the entire planet?¡¯ His mom slowly approached, ¡°What are you doing?¡± Larry had to wrestle himself away from the puddle to answer, ¡°Oh, this stuff tastes great Mom.¡± He made space for his mom, before continuing to suckle on the puddle like some sort of bottom feeder. She bent down with a curious look and took a lap of the drink onto her tongue like a cat, she turned her head curiously seemingly evaluating the taste quite seriously. ¡°This sucks.¡± His head almost plunged into the drink in shock, Larry shot up with a loud, ¡°WHAT?!¡± ¡°This is the best thing I¡¯ve ever tasted! How can you say that this sucks?!¡± Larry almost felt a little offended at his mom''s food opinions. ¡°It¡¯s just dirty water¡­¡± His mother pointed out, in a meeker tone this time. ¡°Mmrrgh¡­¡± Larry wanted to rebuke her, but she was completely correct. He deflated as slowly lowered his head to the puddle again, ¡°Guess we can agree to disagree¡­¡± His mother seemed content to keep silent and Larry once again was occupied with drinking his dirty water puddle. ¡­ Refreshed by dirty brown water, Larry and his mom continued on their way until they finally found the place they¡¯d been looking for. ¡°I think we¡¯re here,¡± Larry said as he saw a hole in the lower side of the wall, he approached and peered over the edge. His mother followed suit and the two of them saw the gigantic open expanse of the second level spread out before them. A single flat walkway descended the entire funnel-shaped cavern of the second level in a spiral, taking multiple winding turns down the cavern. Holes dotted the edges of the flat walkway occasionally and harsh cones of daylight were scattered into the darkness of the cave by them, unlike the darkness of the third layer, you didn¡¯t need any sort of night vision to be able to traverse the second level. In the dim lighting from up here, Larry could see a wide variety of Pokemon lounging about in the second layer, a Golduck relaxed in a pool of water, floating around in it with its arms splayed out. A large Machoke relaxed against the cavern wall with its legs placed on top of a boulder. A dull bang sounded out and a large Onix broke through a sheer wall on the side of the walkway, it crawled along the almost vertical wall before disappearing into the wall again with another loud bang. Next to one of the large cave exits, washed over by a harsh cone of light, laid a lounging Ursaring with her cubs crawling all over her energetically. She seemed to be talking to a huge Donpahn, who was shadowed by a small Phanpy. ¡°I know those guys down there!¡± In his excitement, Larry pointed at them energetically as he turned back to his mom. His mom looked down at them with clear interest and a slight bit of confusion, ¡°They don¡¯t fight down there?¡± ¡°No! They¡¯re all friendly neighbors!¡± Chapter 30 It felt like yesterday when Larry harrowingly snuck his way down the second layer like he was in a stealth video game, only to get struck with the fact that all the Pokemon down here were friendly and coexisted peacefully. The idea felt antithetical to Larry''s entire worldview of Pokemon. Sure, some Pokemon in the games and anime were nice, but generally, any wild Pokemon acted just as wild as animals in the games and anime, they attacked if threatened and kept to themselves, not looking to build communities in any way. ¡®Now, just to put Phanpys word to the test¡­¡¯ Larry thought anxiously as they walked their way down the walkway of the second layer. Unlike in the third layer, one side of the walkway opened up to a cliff that hung open into deep darkness, the cave openings lower in the second layer gave off enough sunlight to illuminate the inside of the cavern somewhat, but the funnel in the middle of the cavern was still so deep, that no end could be made out in the darkness. The cave''s other side consisted of a far less dramatic cavern wall, mostly composed of loose stone and gravel. Large stones lay next to the wall of gravel, having seemingly loosened themselves after who knows how many years of tectonic movements. Last time around, Larry had used the multitude of boulders and loose stones to jump between them and conceal himself from any inhabitants of the second layer. Larry and his mom walked down the wide walkway leisurely, they weren¡¯t hurrying themselves along, but the prospect of meeting friends again put a slight spring into Larry''s step. The second layer''s walkway was far wider than the third layer. Where the third layer was nothing more than a round tunnel that had been left behind by a Pokemon and appropriated by trainers as a way to ascend Mt. Silver, the second layer looked to be naturally formed with the way the funnel appeared. Size-wise, the third-layer tunnel had a diameter of 5 or so meters if his mother was the average height for a Tyranitar, with about two meters of usable walkway until the tunnel seemed to roll up into its walls. In contrast, the second layer was a giant flat walkway that spiraled down the funnel, at least 5 meters in width, with its wall being far steeper than the ones of the tunnel on the third layer. Looking down into the funnel, there was no sheer drop, but a sharp decline, of around 75 degrees. You would almost certainly slip and roll down. Larry still felt inclined to hop down and into the funnel and simply hope to survive, since it was much faster than slowly walking his way around the rim to make his way down, but he swallowed those intrusive thoughts back down and returned to his mom''s side. As he joined his mother''s side, she looked on in amazement at the view below, ¡°...Unsure if I¡¯ve ever been here¡­¡± ¡°What? Aren¡¯t you supposed to be the strongest thing on the mountain?¡± Larry questioned, ¡°How could you have been sure of that if you haven¡¯t been in the whole mountain?¡± She scoffed, ¡°I know that nothing down here can beat me.¡± She fixed a stern glare down the funnel at some of its inhabitants. Larry was prone to agreeing, but he just wasn''t sure. The Machamp he''d seen last time around had taken apart the Onix when it appeared handily. Maybe he just hadn''t seen the full extent of his mom''s strength, ¡®Tyranitar are supposed to be able to destroy entire mountain ranges, maybe she just hasn¡¯t gone wild yet.¡¯ They continued on their way down the walkway, it wasn''t as steep at points as the walkway down the third layer, so their trek was quite easy. Eventually, they came upon the first inhabitant of the second layer, a Golduck who was relaxing in a small pond that had accumulated in a divot. It floated atop the water with its eyes closed, sleeping, with its arms and legs spread out to its sides. Larry wasn''t sure if it was common courtesy to wake him before they walked past, so he simply urged his mom to step past the Golduck before it could stir awake. His mother''s heavy footfalls shook the earth as they approached and Larry could see the disturbance of his mother''s steps reverberating in the still water of the Golduck''s tiny pond. ¡®Alright, so this guy will probably wake up when we get closer, let''s just play it cool. We''re the stronger ones anyway.¡¯ ¡­ THUMP. THUMP. THUMP. Golduck blinked his eyes as he slowly woke up and rubbed the grime off of his eyes. He stretched with a loud groan and smacked the insides of its beak a few times for effect afterward, only then did he turn his head to the side. ¡®Tyranitar!¡¯ Almost immediately, his eyes practically bulged out of their sockets as he saw a giant Tyranitar slowly approaching his pond. The Water-Type lost its balance in the water and accidentally slipped backward into the water, comically dunking himself head-first as his legs wheeled around wildly, trying to find purchase in the air before he finally disappeared completely into the puddle, rising out of it again far more gracefully, yet still with a severe expression on his face at the prospects of the giant Tyranitar approaching him. A tiny baby Larvitar walked in front of the Tyranitar, it waved him down enthusiastically from a distance, which Golduck returned with a slightly confused look on his face. They kept approaching and eventually, they were close enough to talk.This story originates from a different website. Ensure the author gets the support they deserve by reading it there. ¡°Hello! I hope you''re having a wonderful day!¡± The Larvitar yelled out energetically. ¡°Uhm¡­¡± Golduck looked at them with confusion, lost for words at the fact that a Tyranitar was so close to him. He¡¯d heard the legends when he was still a small Psyduck, ¡®The ruler of the mountaintop¡¯, as his mother had called her. A force of nature incarnate, having the strength to bring down the entire mountain on top of them if they so pleased. Last year''s event was still in the back of his mind. A Tyranitar was forced to chase a group of humans down the mountain in the hopes of getting its young back. The second layer was lucky the humans didn¡¯t pass through here, instead trying to flee using a flying Pokemon, the tremors still almost killed him. He remembered hiding away underwater on the second level as the earth began to quake, he¡¯d hidden away underwater in an attempt to survive and gotten lucky when a giant boulder crashed into his pond, missing him by a hair. Golduck was rocked out of his musings when the Tyranitar craned her neck down, stopping inches from his face, and ground out words practically laced in venom with a sour look on her face., ¡°When someone greets you, you greet them back.¡± ¡°Eep! H-H-Hello.¡± He squeaked out quickly as he backed, deeper into his pond. The Larvitar quickly stepped over and grabbed at its mother''s head, ¡°Mom! Don¡¯t scare them! We¡¯re trying to be nice!¡± When its mother finally acquiesced and stood tall again, the little Larvitar took a stance in front of his mother and bowed apologetically, ¡°Sorry for my mother''s behavior, she¡¯s just a little overprotective!¡± Lost for words, Golduck didn¡¯t even know how to answer for a second as his eyes jumped from the Larvitar to its mother, then back to the Larvitar, and back to its mother again. The Tyranitar cleared her throat again and Golduck jumped when he realized he had forgotten to answer again. ¡°Uhh, sure. Don¡¯t worry about it.¡± ¡°We won¡¯t be here very long, but I hope we can stay friendly!¡± The tiny Larvitar spoke in a chipper voice, ¡°We¡¯ll be meeting with Donphan and Phanpy for a bit, so if you want to chat, come down and talk for a bit!¡± ¡®Donphan?¡¯ Golduck was interested now, ¡°How does a little Larvitar like you know Donphan?¡± ¡°Little?¡± The Tyranitar ground out behind the Larvitar and Golduck felt his soul get ready to leave his body before the Larvitar grabbed at its mom again to calm her down. ¡°Mom! C¡¯mon, stay calm! I am little, y¡¯know?¡± Its mom turned away with a pout as it turned back to Golduck, ¡°I snuck down here before,¡± It said slightly smug, as it pointed at the rocks behind his pond, ¡°I snuck past you actually, made my way behind those rocks there.¡± ¡°Seriously?¡± Golduck said in a surprised tone, he wasn¡¯t the biggest fighter, Machoke was far more of a fighter than him. Golduck was far more comfortable relaxing in his pond, ¡°Why sneak around the second layer?¡± ¡°I, uh, kind of didn¡¯t even know you guys were nice,¡± The Larvitar scratched behind its head sheepishly, ¡°I¡¯m, uh, used to the rudeness in the third layer.¡± Golduck understood that this Larvitar seemed to be quite young and if its mom never explained the circumstances it might¡¯ve thought the situation down here was the same as in the third or first layer. Even as a small Psyduck, he had simply taken the peaceful atmosphere for granted, it was quite a culture shock when his mother had taken him below to the first layer to train. ¡°Oh, I understand.¡± Golduck nodded thoughtfully, the little Larvitar had a quality about itself that made him forget the giant, violent, and bloodthirsty Tyranitar behind him eyeing him like a Braviary. He was inclined to accept its invitation, even if it was just to get its mother off of his case, ¡°Thanks for the invitation, maybe I¡¯ll make my way down later.¡± ¡°Sure thing! See you later!¡± It walked away with its mother in tow. When they were out of earshot, he plopped back down into his pond, exhausted at the prospect of a party with a Tyranitar. ¡­ Larry felt a spring in his step, he¡¯d finally been able to talk to another Pokemon, it had been far too long since he¡¯d been able to talk amicably to another Pokemon and not get kidnapped, ambushed, or just straight up blown up. It had been a joy when he¡¯d gotten the run-down on Mt. Silver by Dwebble. It had also been an amazing time when he¡¯d been able to relax and kick back for an evening with Phanpy, just not being in a dangerous environment for once was an amazing change. Larry felt safe, he felt excited and he also felt loved, with his mother strutting behind him protectively, going out of her way to adventure down Mt. Silver with him. The walkway rose into a giant cliff before the two of them, Larry remembered this place, there was a tunnel to his left he could walk down to continue on his way. He¡¯d probably be able to dig his way up there or have his mom simply terraform the ground to let them continue, but he felt like he didn¡¯t want to redecorate the second layer without its inhabitant''s consent, so he urged his mom onwards and they continued their way down. ¡®Now, if I remember correctly last time I went down there, I found a group of Gravelers who were talking to each other,¡¯ Larry thought as he marched on, he¡¯d found himself in a pickle back then and taught himself Dig in a desperate attempt to escape. Surprisingly, the chatter from last time wasn¡¯t anywhere to be heard, and when the cavern opened back up into a giant round cavern, not a single Graveler was around. ¡®Hmm? That''s weird,¡¯ Larry mused, ¡®Were they around when Golem and his compatriots blew themselves up?¡¯ Larry didn¡¯t have much love left for rude Pokemon who blew themselves up during a fight, so he wasn¡¯t fretting over their wellbeing. He explained his encounters down here to his mother, telling her about the Machoke he watched beat the crap out of a rouge Onix, him sneaking past Golduck, and finally, the Graveler that was around here last time. She agreed that they might¡¯ve been part of that Golems troupe, ¡°Pity they were stupid enough to blow themselves up for such a weakling,¡± she agreed with a slight bit of interest. They had continued on and finally came out of another cave back onto the walkway and in the distance was another interesting thing Larry had been forced to ignore. A giant Ursaring was laid down against a cavern wall with two Teddiursa cuddled up next to it, all three of them seemed to be in a deep sleep. Just a few steps next to her stood a giant cave exit, a blank of white could be seen on its outside and Larry felt a hit of excitement rise up at the sight of something he hadn¡¯t seen in a long time. ¡°TREES!¡± Chapter 31 SNRK The Ursaring gave off a very uncouth snort and shook awake at the sudden noise, she fought her eyes open and snorted once again before she practically unhinged her jaw to give off a huge yawn. ¡°Mmrg!¡± She stretched her arms high into the sky and a few loud cracks resounded around her before she suddenly swooped down and snatched up her two sleeping Teddiursa into a large hug with a giddy grin on her face. Still lounged up against the wall of the walkway of the funnel, she lowered her still sleeping kids back down onto her lap, she had a content look on her face and finally looked up. She looked around, scanning from left to right until her gaze just stopped dead in its tracks, and lingered on Larry and his mother. Larry covered his mouth dramatically and looked between his mother and the Ursaring, his mother had a sour look on her face, practically sneering at the Ursaring. His excitement at the sight of the outside world for the first time in a long time seemed to have made their situation far more complicated. He tried his best to salvage the situation by greeting Ursaring with another enthusiastic wave, ¡°U-Um, hello!¡± ¡°...¡± Ursaring held the uncomfortable stare and the atmosphere wasn¡¯t easing in any way, ¡°Uh, we¡¯re not here to fight. Alright? Let¡¯s just-¡± Larry stopped short at the sight of both of her Teddiursa kids stirring awake, her grip on them tightened immediately. The Teddiursa on the left rubbed its eyes and spoke up first while beaming up at his mom with a giant smile, ¡°Mmh! Morning mama!¡± ¡°Yeah! Morning Mama!¡± The second Teddiursa parratoed up to its mother as well, while hugging itself to her stomach. She didn¡¯t respond though and held her stare at the two of them, clearly not trusting them. They quickly noticed her stare and curiously followed her gaze out and over to Larry and his mother. Before Larry could try and de-escalate the situation further, a realization seemed to dawn on one of the two Teddiursa. ¡°Ah! Little guy!¡± It pointed enthusiastically, ¡°Mama! That''s the little guy, remember?¡± Larry was very confused by his new nickname for a short second before he realized the situation and pointed back at the Teddiursa in excitement, ¡°Ah! Yeah, you¡¯re right! You saw me before!¡± The little Teddiursa had spotted him briefly during his sneaking adventure down here before, he¡¯d been lucky enough to use Dig in a critical moment and had managed to hide away from the Ursaring before she could spot him. He hadn¡¯t known back then that the second layer''s inhabitants were mostly peaceful, forcing him to sneak around most of the second layer. Teddiursa nodded enthusiastically at Larry before returning to his mom to tell her about him, ¡°Yeah! Little guy ran away when I saw him, so Mama never saw little guy!¡± Ursaring didn¡¯t seem to remember, but the situation had cooled off considerably due to the two adorable Teddiursa''s sheer childish wonder and cheerfulness, even his mother had gone from an unhappy sneer to a simple grouchy frown. Finally, their stare-down was broken when the Ursaring mother spoke up for the first time, ¡°You snuck past here?¡± ¡°I, uh, didn¡¯t know you guys were friendly.¡± Larry scratched at his neck with a sheepish smile, ¡°My life up until that point had been mostly spent on the third layer¡­¡± She swapped her sight between Larry and his mother, evaluating the authenticity of his words with a clear distrust. His mother nodded sagely and Ursaring seemed to take her word for now, before a sigh escaped her, ¡°Please leave, I do not know if I can trust you, considering you¡¯re from the third layer.¡± Before she could posit her argument any further, the other Teddiursa sibling finally spoke up as it clawed up at her dramatically, ¡°Mooom¡­ Stop being grouchy!¡± The other chimed in, ¡°I wanna play with Little Guy!¡± ¡°Play with Little Guy!¡± They yelled in unison. Their mother seemed flustered at the idea of letting her young play with Larry, looking at the situation in sheer horror, ¡°N-No! We don¡¯t know them! They could be dangerous!¡± ¡°But we wanna play with Litte Guy!¡± They continued, far too in sync. They continued like that for a little, with Larry and his mother keeping at a distance and watching the Ursaring try to wrangle her two children unsuccessfully. His mother seemed to find a bit of humor in the situation, her grouchy frown had disappeared as she couldn¡¯t hold back a scoff with a grin on her face at the Teddiursas, who were fighting to leave Ursarings grasp. Larry realized he had a foot in the door to making more friends and gave his mother a look, ¡°I wanna play with the Teddiursa too, Mom!¡± His mother understood his intentions luckily and spoke up, smirking, ¡°If Ursaring agrees, sure.¡± Ursaring was getting her ears yelled off by her children and looked conflicted at the prospect of giving her children a Larvitar playmate. Larry and his mother watched her have a mental argument with herself as her kids continued becoming progressively louder and louder.This book is hosted on another platform. Read the official version and support the author''s work. Larry threw her another bone. ¡°I already know Donpahn and Phanpy!¡± He yelled over the rising voices of the two Teddiursa while pointing further down the funnel, ¡°If you¡¯re unsure if you can trust me, how about making this a meeting with the two of them?¡± Her internal struggle continued for another five seconds before she caved. ¡°FINE!¡± Ursaring growled out. ¡°YAAAY!¡± The Teddiursa yelled in unison. ¡­ Introductions were in order. They had finally approached Ursaring and her young and were now exchanging greetings, Larry couldn¡¯t help but find himself eyeing the cavern exit, a world of white stood on the outside and Larry was already feeling the cold by the time they had approached Ursaring. ¡°I¡¯m Larry and this is my mom!¡± Larry pointed enthusiastically, ¡°She¡¯s really strong!¡± ¡°Hello.¡± She spoke tersely. ¡°Nice to meet you.¡± Ursaring bowed her head, with the two Teddiursa parroting her movement sloppily ¡°Larry?¡± One Teddiursa spoke up curiously as it raised itself. ¡°What¡¯s a Larry?¡± The other chimed in. ¡°No, no, Larry is my name, I¡¯m actually a Larvitar and my mom is Tyranitar!¡± Larry explained. ¡°Names are rare, who named you?¡± Ursaring spoke up with a quirk of its brow. ¡°I named myself,¡± He spoke confidently, ¡°I think it fits really well!¡± ¡­ Their conversation continued amicably, but his mother wasn¡¯t much help, unfortunately. She kept to single-word answers and awkward bouts of silence if Larry didn¡¯t save the conversation. Another surprising thing was, Larry found playing with the Teddiursa siblings to be an absolute blast! They had played multiple rounds of catch around their mothers. His mental age was seemingly influencing his decision-making, but Larry didn¡¯t even care about how much fun he was having. Yet, his gaze kept lingering on the cave exit and one of the Teddiursa noticed, ¡°Wanna go out there?¡± ¡°I want to!¡± Larry said enthusiastically, ¡°But it''s already so cold in here, I¡¯d freeze if I stayed out there for too long!¡± The other Teddiursa chimed in, ¡°Let¡¯s go quick! In and out! Or out and in?¡± ¡°Let''s try!¡± The three of them asked their mothers really quickly and they agreed easily, considering the cave exit was still nearby and they wouldn¡¯t even be leaving their sight. Larry passed the threshold of the cave exit and immediately felt a gust of freezing cold wind pass over him. He immediately covered himself with his arms, teeth chattering and shaking like a leaf in the wind he looked over the snowy mountainside before him. Pine trees peeked out defiantly under huge layers of snow so deep Larry could barely peek over them, the mountainside curved down and he could see the snowy treetops continue for quite a while until they slowly eased to the bottom of the mountain''s deep and lush greens came into view. His breath came out a steamy white and his legs felt like they¡¯d snap off like an icicle simply standing on the icy ground. The Teddiursa siblings stood beside him with happy expressions on their faces and their hands on their hips. They told him excitedly about the amazing things to be found outside, but Larry couldn¡¯t even listen to them he was practically freezing while still standing. ¡®Damn Type-Disadvantages! I don¡¯t even have a thick coat of fur!¡¯ He thought to himself as he quickly hopped back inside and snuggled up to his mother while shaking like a leaf. His mother''s rock-hard shell was ice-cold as well but before he could begin to complain the two Teddiursa smashed into him with a laugh and Larry felt their thick fur begin to warm him up. ¡®Ahh¡­ This is bliss¡­¡¯ He closed his eyes and ran his arms through the sheer decadence of the two Teddiursa siblings'' fur. ¡°Once you¡¯re ready, we¡¯re going down to Donphan.¡± Ursaring cut in harshly, clearly jealous of the treatment Larry was getting. ¡­ With their new acquaintances in tow, Ursaring led the way down the walkway. Larry had stared out at the tunnel leading to freedom, he wanted to walk out there and finally be free of this cavern. But he knew he couldn¡¯t stay out there for any longer amount of time, he was warm-blooded but he¡¯d freeze to death. After his return, they had warmed up and then quickly made their way down to Donphan with Ursaring and her two Teddiursa in tow. ¡®Donphans got another cave exit near his home, I¡¯ll take another look outside there, maybe it''s warmer down there.¡¯ He thought to himself as he followed their group down. While her children seemed to have absolute faith in Larry, Ursaring still didn¡¯t fully trust them. She had a sour look on her face like she just got suckered into something weird, her children seemed to love the situation though, hopping and running alongside Larry as they talked about absolutely anything. ¡°Mama says the blue berries are the best! But I love the yellow ones!¡± One talked enthusiastically. ¡°Don¡¯t listen to him, the pink ones are great, the red ones are the best though!¡± The other one cut in. ¡°Uh, berries sure are tasty¡­¡± ¡®What color was that awful berry I forced down last time I was down here with Phanpy?¡¯ Larry tried remembering, but it seemed not to have been an important enough memory to him. He picked up a rock from the side of the walkway and chucked it into his mouth, crunching on it harshly. Both Teddiursas stared at him slightly bug-eyed, clearly unsure of his eating habits. ¡°Woah, does that taste good?¡± One asked. ¡°Mmgh! Sure does!¡± Larry said with a loud swallow. One of the Teddiursas picked up a rock and eyed it curiously before raising it to its mouth, but before it could bite down Ursaring snatched the rock out its paw and chucked it away into the funnel. ¡°Don¡¯t.¡± She said in a slightly exasperated tone. This far down, the way down the funnel was completely free of any obstructions and their group was able to make their way down easily. The more Larry walked down here, the more it seemed like hell for any trainers trying to make their way into Mt. Silver. It was extremely bright and all of the Pokemon living up here worked together with each other to defend each other. Almost no team of six would be able to continuously defend themselves here. The games sure dumbed down the concept, simply giving all the Pokemon living here higher levels to show off the difficulty of the area. Larry kept on entertaining the two Teddiursa siblings, playing a simple road trip game he remembered as a human. ¡®I Spy¡¯ wasn¡¯t the best game if the answer is always ¡®rocks¡¯, but it had to do. His own version of ¡®Simon Says¡¯ lovingly called ¡®Larry Says¡¯ and finally a quick set of ¡®The floor is lava¡¯ when they found a group of large boulders to jump along while following their parents. When his last game ended and he looked forward, Larry saw a little blue Phanpy walk out of a small cavern outcropping. It looked at his group in shock, before waving enthusiastically. Chapter 32 ¡°Larry!¡± ¡°Phanpy!¡± Larry practically jumped into Phanpys awaiting trunk and Phanpy caught him like a plush toy, Immediately raising him high above his head. ¡®Woah I¡¯m like 150 pounds!¡¯ Larry yelled in his mind as he was dramatically paraded around on top of Phanpy. ¡°I¡¯m sooo glad you¡¯re ok, Larry!¡± Phanpy yelled as he spun around with Larry in his grasp, ¡°You gotta tell me all about what happened up there!¡± ¡°W-Woah!¡± Larry was getting dizzy he¡¯d been spun around so much, ¡°Let me down Phanpy! I¡¯ll tell you the whole story if you want!¡± The others approached as Larry was finally mercifully let down by Phanpy, he¡¯d been that close to letting out a vomit of gravel over the poor Elephant-Pokemons head. ¡°You also brought so many people along!¡± Phanpy yelled out as he strolled up to the others, he stopped short in front of Larry''s mother, ¡°Hello! You¡¯re Larry''s mother, aren¡¯t you? ¡°I am.¡± His mother answered with a nod, looking down at Phanpy with clear interest, she seemingly enjoyed his cheerful demeanor. Before he could get another sentence in though, he was assaulted by two Teddiursa, ¡°Phanpy!¡± They cried out in unison hugging themselves to the small Pokemon, only to be carried around effortlessly. ¡°Hehehe!¡± The two giggled as they were jostled around on top of Phanpy, it spun around trying to throw the two of them off of itself in a play-fight. Phanpy slowly made his way back over to Larry with the two Teddiursa riding him like a horse, considering that he could carry Larry''s supposed 150 pounds or so this didn¡¯t even seem to make him break a sweat. ¡°DAD! Larry''s back!¡± Phanpy yelled in the direction of his cavern home. Just behind Larry stood a far deeper cave exit, instead of the short cutout that had opened near Ursarings home, a long narrow hole, just tall enough for a Donphan to walk through cut through the wall and out into the snowy exterior of Mt. Silver. Just before the holes on the right side were another two holes, one looked natural and seemed to be some sort of cave-in that had been shoveled free of any loose gravel still inside it and flattened out for anyone wanting to live there. Next to it was a hole which looked to be eaten in the side of the cavern wall, because it was. Larry had eaten Phanpy in his very own room back when he had made his way down here. Out of the larger cavern, Donpahn meandered out slowly, its hard look softened when it saw the Teddiursa siblings and Larry approach. ¡°And he¡¯s brought friends.¡± He said with a slight smirk on his face. ¡°It''s good to see you again, Donphan¡± Ursaring nodded its head at him in greeting. ¡°You too, come inside.¡± Donphan nodded back, urging her and the children inside his cavern. Larry was unsure if it was quite big enough for all of them, he looked back at his mother. ¡°Greetings.¡± Larry''s mother said with a nod, she seemed tense to be meeting another parent so quickly after meeting Ursaring. Donpahn didn¡¯t return a nod to his mother and looked at her with an evaluating gaze, ¡°So you¡¯re the ruler.¡± ¡°I have been called that name before.¡± His mother nodded and Larry was immediately confused. ¡°You do know your behavior has put the entirety of the mountain at stake, don¡¯t you?¡± Donphan asked pointedly in a relaxed tone, he now stood defensively between the others and his mother, clearly untrusting of her. She nodded, ¡°I do.¡± His mother hadn¡¯t meant to destroy the mountain, Larry knew that, it was simply her nature to rampage and destroy. Tyranitar, in any media of the Pokemon franchise, was always known as violent and evil beings of destruction and Larry was under no impression that his mother had a longer fuse than the average Tyranitar. ¡°Donphan,¡± Larry began cautiously, ¡°my mother didn¡¯t have control of her emotions, she never meant to put the mountain in danger¡­¡± ¡°And yet she did,¡± Donpahn followed up by turning his eye onto Larry, before turning back to his mother, ¡°What do you have to say for yourself?¡± All eyes were on her now, even the two Teddiursa siblings had taken the hint and quieted down, she looked over them with a slightly anxious frown, before regaining her confidence. ¡°I am sorry for losing my composure,¡± She bowed her head low, ¡°It is unbecoming to put my subjects in so much danger.¡± ¡®That is the worst apology I ever heard!¡¯ Larry yelled in his mind, he knew his mother''s social skills were lacking¡­ ¡®But calling people you JUST MET your subjects like some queen going down into town for sightseeing?!¡¯ Dust billowed away from Donphan as he snorted in amusement, ¡°Your subjects¡­¡± His mother seemed to be watching for his reaction and Larry hopped forward to intercept, he hopped between the two with outstretched arms, ¡°Donphan! My mother might not be the best at interacting with others, but she is lovely if you get to know her!¡± ¡°She is a Tyranitar, child.¡± Donphan chortled, ¡°She would¡¯ve already taken out the entire second layer if my slight had angered her in any way.¡±If you spot this story on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation. ¡°Wha..?¡± Larry drawled out. ¡°You are forgiven, for now. Come inside, we¡¯ll make room if we have to.¡± ¡­ The atmosphere inside the cavern was confusing, to say the least. On one side sat the queen of Mt. Silver, Larry hadn¡¯t even known but according to Donpahn and Ursaring, his mother was the ruler of the mountain. She wasn¡¯t quite a queen, as she didn¡¯t exactly rule, but it seemed anyone who had lived on the mountain for some time knew about the big scary Tyranitar at the top which owned the place. ¡°And you kept this a secret from me?!¡± Larry yelled out in surprise at the gathering. ¡°I thought you deserve to find out from your own mother if you hadn¡¯t known,¡± Donphan spoke wisely. ¡°It never came up.¡± His mom followed up nonchalantly. ¡°I didn¡¯t know!¡± Phanpy said in a surprised tone himself as looked between Larry, his mother, and his father. Larry turned to the rest of the group, the Teddiursas looked just as surprised at the notion of sitting in front of the ruler of the mountain, looking at her in awe and at Larry with newfound reverence. Ursaring and Donphan seemed to be the only ones who kept the fact to themselves, although to them his mother wasn¡¯t so much a ruler as she was a rowdy upstairs neighbor who kept threatening to blow up the entire apartment complex. Ursaring¡¯s behavior from before made much more sense now to Larry, if your crazy neighbor suddenly stood in front of you in your home he¡¯d pull his kids in close as well. Ursaring certainly wasn¡¯t as overtaken by the idea of his mother being a powerful ruler as Donphan was and seemed to simply see her as the strongest of the wild beasts from the third layer. ¡°It certainly isn¡¯t a thing known throughout the entire mountain,¡± Donphan nodded wistfully, ¡°Knowledge like this spreads through communities. And places like the first or third layer are the antithesis of community.¡± His mom nodded thoughtfully with closed eyes and crossed arms, ¡°It has been a while since I¡¯ve been called that name.¡± So, his mother was a feared creature throughout the entire mountain, so much so that smaller communities of Pokemon inside the mountain have taken to calling her the Queen or Ruler of the mountain. His mother herself had only heard of it through word of mouth or challengers coming to take her seat from her, yet she¡¯s never deigned to inform her son of the fact. ¡°You gotta tell me these things, Mom!¡± Larry chided, uselessly smacking his arms into her side in anger. ¡°S-Sorry¡­¡± His mother ground out abashedly. ¡°It''s great to know your mom is such a cool person though, you¡¯re a prince Larry!¡± Phanpy tried to cheer Larry up. ¡°A prince!¡± Larry thought with stars in his eyes. ¡°She has more blood on her hands than almost anybody else on this mountain.¡± Donphan said matter of factly and the room''s temperature dropped immediately, yet he simply continued, ¡°You do not become feared through an entire mountain of Pokemon through ¡®coolness¡¯.¡± Phanpy immediately crouched down, ¡°W-Why bring her into our home then?!¡± The room quieted down, as everyone awaited Donphans answer. Donphan puffed out another breath before addressing her, ¡°Tyranitar,¡± then bowed low, ¡°Please, save this mountain from calamity.¡± ¡­ ¡°Wha¡­¡± Larry uttered again, he felt like the plot had been entirely lost at this point from finding out he was royalty, to saving the world?! Everyone looked at Donphan to explain, except for Ursaring who simply shared his hard look, Larry recovered the quickest though and asked the question on everyone''s mind, ¡°The mountain is in danger?¡± Donphan nodded before explaining, ¡°Have you noticed how warm it has been inside these caverns as of recently?¡± Larry had indeed noticed at points how strangely warm it was inside the caves. When his mother''s old home had been snowed in by an avalanche and frozen over, he had immediately noticed how further away from her home the caverns heated back up to a comfortable temperature and the caverns never seemed to turn icy cold even though the entire outside of Mt. Silver was covered in a perpetual snowfall. Watering holes he¡¯d found were always liquid and never frozen and even though Larry wasn¡¯t smart enough to know how cave systems stayed warm in his normal life, they must never have been this warm. Phanpy spoke up before him, ¡°It has been warmer in the caverns, but that isn¡¯t bad is it?¡± ¡°Right now it is a nice and comfortable warmth for the cavern inhabitants,¡± Ursaring spoke up nodding. Donpahn continued her sentence, ¡°But what if this continues? We don¡¯t even know what is causing it.¡± The Teddiursas looked up at their mother with a slight bit of fear in their eyes, and she curled them deeper into her arms, snuggling them against her chest. ¡°It only started happening this fall,¡± Donphan explained, ¡°With us now reaching spring, the heat which has been increasing through winter will be unbearable by the time summer comes around.¡± ¡°And you want me to¡­?¡± Larry''s mother asked Donphan. ¡°Find out what is causing this heat and how to stop it,¡± Donphan continued, patting Phanpys head with his trunk absentmindedly. ¡°Why would I do that?¡± His mother asked, slightly distrustful of the two. ¡°Else we might not be able to call this mountain our home soon,¡± Donphan argued dryly. A stare-down between the two ensued, Tyranitar trying to gauge the authenticity of the claims without any evidence. All the children in the hideout stayed quiet, seeing how tense the atmosphere between their parents was. Larry for his part was surprised at the notion that Mt. Silver was in any sort of danger, as he couldn¡¯t remember that being the case in any part of Pokemon media. Mt. Silver was dangerous, sure, but this wasn¡¯t like Mt. Coronet in Sinnoh where actual real gods of space and time could be summoned. ¡®What could the reason be for Mt. Silver to be getting hot?¡¯ He thought to himself. Global warming? No, the outside of Mt. Silver wouldn¡¯t still be snowed over. Team Rocket? They never went near Mt. Silver, at least according to Larry''s spotty memory. He also couldn¡¯t fathom something insane like Mt. Silver actually being a volcano. ¡®A Pokemon then, but what Pokemon was both native to Indigo and powerful enough to heat up an entire mountain?¡¯ There weren¡¯t my fire types in the early generations¡­ Before Larry came to any conclusion his mother spoke up with a huff, ¡°I see no reason to help you.¡± ¡°I see¡­¡± Donpahn ground out dejectedly, ¡°We will be forced to leave then¡­¡± The atmosphere in the hideout cratered even worse than before and Larry felt a pull to heighten the mood. ¡°C¡¯mon, mom!¡± Larry spoke up grabbing at her, ¡°We¡¯re already going down, why don¡¯t we simply keep an eye out for anything weird?¡± His mother hemmed and hawed as Larry looked up at her with puppy-dog-eyes, ¡°You said you wouldn¡¯t leave Mt. Silver once you escorted me down, you could walk up and report back after you brought me down and we looked around!¡± Everyone else in the room looked at the mother-son duo with bated breath as Tyranitar evaluated her choices. ¡°Fine, but don¡¯t expect much¡­¡± She nodded resolutely and the room lit up with smiles. Chapter 33 After discussing the heavy topics, the atmosphere changed drastically and everyone relaxed. Talks became amicable and Ursaring and Donphan discussed topics surrounding the second layer, like the temperature outside finally being at its worst for the year and the weather looking to finally be clearing up. ¡°The winter is behind us by now,¡± Ursaring said with a smile, ¡°I cannot wait to go outside and explore again, the cold is really terrible this year.¡± ¡°I don¡¯t like staying out for long. You¡¯re lucky you¡¯ve got that fur to keep you warm.¡± Donphan said jealously. ¡°Argh, you just get easily cold Donphan. When Phanpy went out with us he didn¡¯t complain at all!¡± Ursaring urged Phanpy on to talk while pulling her children up to herself. After listening for a bit, Larry found the courage to talk and told them various stories surrounding his descent, ascent, and eventual second descent down the mountain, while his mom mostly kept to herself only occasionally chiming in when Larry urged her to. The parents of the second layer seemed to take in the story consciously, commenting on how Larry managed to calm down his mother, their training, and their descent. ¡°It is great that you managed to get up to her so fast,¡± Ursaring mentioned, ¡°I think if you walked back up you wouldn¡¯t have made it in time.¡± ¡°No, definitely not¡± Larry shook his head, before abruptly changing topics, ¡°By the way, that Crustle, have you seen her before?¡± Larry asked the two second-layer parents carefully, if his theories were correct they must¡¯ve known something about her. Ursaring nodded, ¡°She came up here with a human a very long time ago now. I remember fighting against her as she, the human, and his other Pokemon scaled the second layer.¡± ¡°Do you know what happened to the human who brought her here?¡± Larry probed. Ursaring shook her head, but Donphan answered in her stead, ¡°Since their ascent, they haven¡¯t been here again, I can¡¯t say much more.¡± ¡°Good.¡± His mother said spitefully, her hatred of humans was still very much present. ¡®Did they die, or was Crustle abandoned? Guess I won¡¯t know¡­¡¯ He whined to himself, only nodding in response. His story continued, and the children in the audience listened with rapt attention as Larry told them about his fights on the third layer, his attempts at hunting, and getting jumped by a Paras. Everyone was excited to find out about the friendly encounter with Quagsire and her Wooper kids, they seemed surprised that she had acted civilized. ¡°Normally you¡¯d be killed, that was nothing but dumb luck.¡± His mother mentioned far too nonchalantly and the others looked at Larry like he was crazy for doing what he did. ¡°It worked out though¡­¡± He argued back weakly only to get a stern stare back from his mom before recovering, ¡°Anyway, you remember what happened after with that ghost?¡± His mother''s mood managed to sour even more during his recounting of what had happened with the Mismagius and the adults had to quickly shield their children''s ears when his mother recounted what had happened after Larry fainted during his fight against the Mismagius. They didn¡¯t cover their ears because of any gruesome details mind you, but because of the very colorful language his mother revealed every time the Mismagius was mentioned. Everyone listened closely as he recounted how Golem and his posse of Gravelers seemed to challenge his mother to a battle only to explode themselves. They were surprised, Golem was known to the inhabitants of the second layer, occasionally passing through with his posse or alone. Nobody had properly befriended the Graveler and Golem, but they had talked to him and nobody expected him to take such drastic measures during a fight. ¡°That moron!¡± Ursaring growled out as she almost jumped up in indignation. ¡°I knew they were a wild bunch, but doing all that for a simple fight over dominance¡­¡± Donphan seemed to have had higher expectations of them. ¡°Does Explosion only hurt them?¡± Larry asked gullibly, he still wasn¡¯t sure what had happened to the group after the Explosions went off and was hoping they hadn¡¯t killed themselves using Explosion. Donphan shook his head, ¡°I¡¯m unsure, but I¡¯ve seen them use it before on occasion, so it''s definitely used as some sort of last-ditch plan.¡± ¡°They can stay dead.¡± His mother spat venomously. Sometime after storytime was finished, food was brought out. Some sort of berry Larry didn¡¯t quite remember the name of was pushed in front of him and Larry''s last experience eating one of these came back to the forefront of his mind, ¡®Oh man, those look extra juicy¡­I¡¯m gonna regret this¡­¡¯ He very carefully placed it in his mouth and swallowed the berry whole in an attempt to not taste it. His entire body involuntarily shuddered when he felt it drop down into his stomach, the slight bit of taste he got onto his tongue made him wince at the sheer sweetness before he fought against himself not to make an ugly noise. ¡°Awgh¡­Tastes good.¡± Letting out a slight wince, Larry couldn¡¯t help but think about when he got into the pantry when he was younger, ¡®It tastes JUST like when I ate that spoonful of sugar when I was a kid, talk about too much of a good thing...¡¯Help support creative writers by finding and reading their stories on the original site. The others seemed content with the taste, taking measured bites of the berries as they slowly ate them, even Phanpy held a berry gingerly in his trunk and bit off small pieces of it. The two Teddiursa looked the worst of the group as they chomped into their berries, the juice of the berries coated the fur around their mouths, making them look like a pair of savage beasts. ¡°What is that?¡± His mother looked at the thing curiously, never having eaten one before. ¡°Oh, they¡¯re berries. They have a sweet taste!¡± Phanpy said with a grin on his face as he answered Larry''s mother. Her curiosity piqued, and she threw the berry into her giant maw before biting down on it. The second her tongue touched the berry her eyes opened wide, and she blew the thing out in a giant raspberry, ¡°PPFFT! This is terrible!¡± She yelled looking at the remains of the berry which had been spat out into the middle of the room. Everybody tensed, terrified of the giant angry Pseudo-Legendary currently yelling around them indignantly. ¡°S-S-Sorry!¡± Phanpy immediately bowed down onto the ground in a panic. ¡°Calm down Mom!¡± Larry yelled as he grabbed at his mom, trying to control the situation, ¡°I don¡¯t think it''s that tasty either, but they¡¯re not that bad!¡± She spittled a bit more, trying to get the taste out of her mouth, ¡°Why¡¯d you serve this?¡± she asked the group more confused than angry. ¡°Get up Phanpy, let me explain this.¡± Larry urged him. ¡°Berries grow on bushes outside,¡± Larry explained calmly, ¡°They have different tastes, and a lot of Pokemon eat them, but I think the sweet ones are way too sweet for us.¡± ¡°I see, I always ate soil,¡± His mother said honestly as she picked up another one and looked at it curiously, ¡°Never had these before.¡± ¡°We¡¯re sorry to serve you something you can¡¯t eat,¡± Donphan said apologetically. Phanpy chimed in as well, ¡°Yeah, Larry! Please tell us if you don¡¯t like something!¡± ¡°S-Sorry, I didn¡¯t want to ruin the mood last time I came down here.¡± He said apologetically, ¡°You were so nice, I didn¡¯t want to seem rude.¡± ¡°Nonsense, we can quickly find some rocks you can eat, wait here.¡± Donphan and Phanpy stood up and made their way out into the cavern again. ¡°O-Oh, thanks!¡± They were served some good soil and his mother practically ate them out of house and home, she probably could¡¯ve if she wanted to. Their meeting continued with the right snacks and the heavier topics were forgotten as they kept talking about anything and everything that came to mind. His mother seemed a bit out of her depth trying to hold a conversation and still kept to herself, but she made a few attempts here and there. Eventually, the younger children in the group including Larry resigned to Phanpy¡¯s part of the cavern. ¡­ ¡°Ta-da!¡± He showed him a bed of soft leaves probably collected from the outside which was laid out lavishly. Phanpy hopped onto the leaves and the two Teddiursa children followed after, squealing as one tickled the other, starting a play-fight. Larry stood awkwardly nearby, gauging if he was allowed to lay down on the leaves, before Phanpy spoke up, ¡°C¡¯mon Larry, here!¡± He was pulled closer to the group and felt the soft leaves underneath his feet, they weren¡¯t anything grand, but it was the first time during his second life he got to feel anything plant-like. One of the two Teddiursas won their play-fight and the two calmed, only for Phanpy to join the fray, leaving Larry behind. Larry felt like a child far too old who had been left in a mall play center for children. Phanpy and the Teddiursas were enjoying themselves heartily, wrestling in the pile of leaves, as Larry stood by awkwardly. It reminded him of autumn in his first life, raking leaves in his family''s front garden and then watching as their family dog hopped into the collected pile, spreading it back out and forcing him to redo his work. Just then he was thrown out of his reminiscing, as Phanpy yelled out, ¡°Ahaha! Larry, help me!¡± When Larry looked over to their play-fight, he saw Phanpy sprawled out on his back kicking his feet in the air defensively with one Teddiursa on each of its sides, tickling its stomach, ¡®Aw, I¡¯m going to have to help here, won¡¯t I? ¡°C-Coming!¡± Larry answered awkwardly as he hopped over to the group. ¡°Hahaha! Get them off of me!¡± Phanpy cried out between laughs as he fought to keep the two bear cubs off of himself badly. One of the Teddiursas split off and went into a standoff against Larry, ¡°You wanna get tickled too?¡± It said as it wiggled its claws at Larry threateningly. Larry couldn¡¯t help but grin, as he readied himself, ¡°You two will be the one tickled today!¡± he announced in a heroic tone. He moved like the wind and shot forward, Teddiursa was far faster though, and lunged at him in retaliation. Before he was caught though, Larry bounded into the air and flipped over the bear cub''s head in a dramatic jump, landing on his feet in a graceful landing. His feet kept moving and Larry shot at the second Teddiursa, he grabbed it off of Phanpy and pulled him into a playful and soft slam onto the ground before he tickled underneath its arms and stomach as they wrestled on the ground. ¡°Phanpy, defend me!¡± He yelled out and Phanpy rose back up in front of him, standing in front of him defensively as the first Teddiursa finally recovered and launched itself at him. ¡°AHAHA! Stooop!¡± The Teddiursa in his grasp whined between laughs, ¡°I give up! I give up!¡± ¡°Do not challenge your superior,¡± Larry announced in a far deeper, overly acted voice, ¡°for he will tickle you to fainting!¡± ¡­ Their play-time had eventually mellowed out and Larry''s participation had most definitely turned the tide this time around. The group had resigned onto Phanpy¡¯s bed of leaves, they were all cuddling with each other and Larry felt slightly awkward laying near them. ¡°Usually it''s a 2v1,¡± Phanpy said drowsily, ¡°Thanks for making it a 2v2, Larry!¡± ¡°No problem¡­¡± ¡°Come over here, Larry.¡± One of the Teddiursas urged and pulled at Larry. Larry was unceremoniously pulled into their snuggling pile. He felt slightly weird, snuggling up to the kids considering he was a 20-something adult in his mind. His opinion changed quickly though, as he felt at the Teddiursas devilishly soft fur with his arms, ¡®I guess I¡¯ll put up with this¡­¡¯ With his child body slowly becoming drowsy he accepted a bit of awkwardness and drifted off to sleep next to the other Pokemon. Tomorrow they¡¯d finally make their way down to the first layer. Chapter 34 Larry was awakened by something he hadn¡¯t known he¡¯d been missing. After Phanpy shook both him and the Teddiursas awake, he was pushed out of the bed of leaves and forced to stand up. He forced out a long yawn as he walked out of Phanpys small bedroom cavern, ¡°Yawn¡­ What¡¯s got you so worked up?¡± ¡°Check it out!¡± Phanpy turned to him dramatically and pointed out the cave exit using its trunk, ¡°Betcha¡¯ haven¡¯t seen this!¡± If it weren¡¯t for his reincarnation, Phanpy would¡¯ve been correct. He turned around and what stared back at him was something that had been absolutely mundane in his past life, but was a magical sight in his new life. The morning sun shone into the cave next to Donphans home, giving off a harsh reddish-orange glow. Larry almost couldn¡¯t believe his eyes as he stared out of the exit, his eyes transfixed, he stumbled over and into the low and long tunnel and out to the cold outside. Phanpy walked next to him up in the tunnel, there was enough space for the two of them considering that his father normally used it. Yet it was still far tighter than the wide-open exit next to the place Ursarings home. Phanpy made himself helpful and gave Larry some trivia he would have needed if it wasn¡¯t for being reincarnated. ¡°That¡¯s the sun, it turns around the world outside of caves! It lights up the entire world for half a day!¡± Phanpy explained excitedly. Larry wondered how he would¡¯ve reacted to this knowledge if he weren¡¯t reincarnated. ¡°Wow¡­¡± he feigned, ¡°That¡¯s so cool¡­¡± When he¡¯d first come to this world and looked over the entirety of Mt. Silver with Dwebble, it had been an overcast day with a literal snowstorm raging over the top of Mt. Silver, as it normally did. On his second time recently, next to Ursarings home, he¡¯d gazed over the outside during another overcast day, there was no snowstorm as there had been on the tip of Mt. Silver, but it certainly was still snowing and so it was barely brighter outside than inside the caverns. The air around him grew even colder, the snowfall seemed to have completely stopped as no freezing winds were beating across his body as he advanced down the tunnel, yet the cold still stung all the same. ¡®I really haven¡¯t ever seen the sun during this life, have I?¡¯, Larry mused to himself as he finally reached the end of the tunnel. He had to turn himself to the side and shield one of his eyes using his stubby arms to even be able to open them. Being in utter darkness for the last who knows how many days certainly forced his eyes to adjust. Slowly, he lowered his arm while squinting. ¡°Wow.¡± This one wasn¡¯t feigned, but a truly awestruck reaction as his eyes finally adjusted and he saw the full view splay out before him. The sky, a canvas of colors he¡¯d missed for a long time, a reddish-orange slowly melting into a soft pink and over in the light blues of the atmosphere stretched on endlessly above him. Clean and crisp winter air bit at him, the freezing cold was already fearing to freeze off his extremities. The sun, shining a white gold peeked over the distant horizon forcing the trees of Mt. Silver to cast long and harsh shadows against the mountain. The sight of the spear-like, white pine trees dominated his view as far as his eyes could see. A pristine and untouched blanket of snow covered all the trees and everything else on the mountain. Further away, the green treetops of the Indigo region could be seen. It was a sight of breathtaking beauty, a stark contrast to the dull brown and grey views of his cavern life until now. Larry took a deep breath and exhaled a frosty and steamy breath that flowed out and upwards into the sky. An entire world of Pokemon awaited him down there, the thought alone invigorated Larry to no end. Just what exactly awaited him further down the mountain? What was the Pokemon world like outside of the games and anime? A cheeky grin spread across his face, ¡®Whatever it is, I¡¯m ready for it.¡¯ Taking another hesitant step forward, his foot finally met snow. Immediately, a sting shot up his foot and into his leg and he jumped back with a hiss, before focusing his view on the outside. It seemed his body wasn¡¯t built for this icy environment, it was like holding your hand in a boiling pot of water. Now that he saw this view for what it was, he could see this wasn¡¯t just a beautiful picture, it was a living world. On a tree a few hundred feet below him, the snow on one of its branches was shaken off energetically. Below the layer of ice, a Caterpie continued his energetic shaking until it was completely free of snow. In another corner of his view, a Pidgeotto swooped out of the snowy blanket of a tree and took to the skies, joining another group of Pidgeotto in the sky until they left his view further down the mountain. ¡°Everyone''s waking up!¡± One of the Teddiursas said excitedly. ¡°Yeah, it''s morning!¡± Phanpy nodded thoughtfully. He turned to Larry, ¡°Larry, morning is when the sun comes up and lights up the world! The Pokemon out here don¡¯t have good vision in the dark, so they sleep when it''s dark and live when it''s light out.¡±The narrative has been taken without authorization; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident. Larry nodded, ¡°I see.¡± He didn¡¯t quite need the explanation, but it felt happy that Phanpy cared enough to try and explain. The view simply made Larry want to explore, but his body wasn¡¯t made for the cold and even his lungs were beginning to feel the sting of the cold. ¡°This really is beautiful¡­¡± Larry said out loud more to himself than any of the others. ¡°Yeah¡­¡± Phanpy answered back anyway. Another shiver wracked his body as his body finally started to feel the cold, Larry grabbed at himself and rubbed at his skin helplessly. ¡°T-This weather really isn¡¯t that nice though¡± He ground out with chattering teeth. ¡°We¡¯ll help!¡± Before he could complain anymore though, both Teddiursa crashed into him on each side as each one pulled him into a double bear hug, their soft and plush fur instantly fighting against the biting cold. He reciprocated the hug more out of necessity but certainly didn¡¯t mind if he got to grab at the two literal Teddybears. ¡°T-T-Thank you guys!¡± Larry stuttered out. ¡°Let''s get back in before we freeze our butts off!¡± Phanpy spoke as he pointed back into the cave using its trunk, even he was feeling the weather by now, so he took the lead in walking back inside. Larry followed with the Teddiursas still glued onto his sides. It seemed that if he wanted to leave Mt. Silver, there really was no other option but the first layer. Larry had always taken Type Disadvantages as something more small-scale. When you¡¯re getting impaled by an icicle, it might be useful to be a Fire Type, but the mere fact that he felt he was dying because he was in freezing temperatures made him feel far more vulnerable than he expected. What was all his fighting prowess for if something like a slight drizzle could put him out of commission? And how did that even work with the water he¡¯d drunk before? Was the Type-Energy actually doing the damage and not the water itself? Then why was this icy landscape doing such a number on him? ¡°There¡¯s some rude Pokemon out there making snowstorms, so we haven¡¯t been going out much through winter,¡± One of the Teddiursas said. The other spoke up in turn, ¡°Yeah, Mom said she hasn¡¯t seen it yet, but that she¡¯d beat it up if it tried something!¡± ¡°Is that so¡­¡± Larry wasn¡¯t shocked to hear that there, at least a few Ice-Types came to mind who could achieve feats like that. It did give him an answer to the question though, it must be Type-Energy. His mother was most definitely a beast in a hands-on fight, but if he ever came up on a Pokemon using weather strategies to mess with him. There was no convenient flee button here like in a game and if he ever got stuck in something like a snowstorm that he was unable to blast away with a competing sandstorm he might be done for. ¡­ ¡°The sunrise was breathtaking. Thank you for showing me, Phanpy.¡± Larry said with a bow as he and his mother stood across from Donphan, Ursaring, and their children. ¡°Thank you to you two as well,¡± Larry added as he bowed to the two Teddiursa. ¡°Thank you.¡± His mother ground out, not daring to make eye contact with the two other parents, she hadn¡¯t quite fit in down here in the second layer, being far more comfortable in the ¡®eat or be eaten¡¯ environment of the third layer, but she had made an effort. Larry had noticed that both Donphan and Ursaring had tried to make her feel as welcome as possible as well if it was due to fear of retribution if they didn¡¯t or genuine neighborly friendliness, he didn¡¯t dare ask, but it also wouldn¡¯t matter. ¡°We hope you have a great time in the first layer and that you find some conclusion to our problem,¡± Donphan said with a small hint of a smile on his face. Ursaring was petting both of her children on their heads lovingly as she turned to Larry''s mom with a smile of her own, ¡°You take good care of Larry. I wish you good luck in your journey.¡± She only nodded tensely in response, the responsibility of parenthood still weighing on her somewhat. ¡°Goodbye!¡± The two of them turned and got on their way. Larry walked backward for a short time, simply waving back at the friends he¡¯d have to come back to sometime in the future. The funnel of the second layer was still a long way down, but luckily because the funnel''s walkway slowly curves inwards like a spiral, the way downwards is logically supposed to be shorter. Larry also noticed that there were a few weaker families of Pokemon living down below Donpahn and Phanpy. A pair of Sneasel sat inside a cave outcropping next to another far smaller cave exit even Larry would be forced to crawl through. Larry waved to them as he spoke in a lighthearted tone, ¡°Hello!¡± Both Sneasel whirled their heads over to them when they heard his greeting, their eyes bulging out of their heads when they actually realized who was walking by. His mother inclined her head too, and both Sneasel reluctantly began to raise their hands in greeting. They were making good headway, so they didn¡¯t stop to chat, the Sneasel both seemed relieved at the fact. ¡®Huh? What¡¯s that noise?¡¯ As Larry and his mother went another few rounds down the funnel, the noise of sleigh bells became audible in the distance. At first, Larry feared this was some sort of human occurrence, but as they came closer Larry saw what the cause of the noise was. A group of five Chinglings hopped along up the funnel in a single file, each one of their hops giving off the same sound as a sleigh bell. Larry had raised a hand in greeting, but they seemed deathly serious during their walk, not even bothering to look at them as they passed. Their rhythmic jumps echoed out behind them as they kept advancing upwards. ¡°Weird¡­¡± Larry muttered out when they finally couldn¡¯t hear them anymore. They had kept walking, but a snort behind him from his mother made him turn his head. ¡°Snrk¡­ Th- They looked so serious¡­¡± She was biting back laughter. Larry almost couldn¡¯t believe his eyes, he hadn¡¯t ever seen his mother really truly laugh! Sure, he¡¯d seen her scoff or smile in derision at others, but not in simple joy. He jumped at the opportunity, hopping up and in her arms with a grin on his face. His mother couldn¡¯t hold in her laughter anymore and broke out into a loud laugh, Larry followed suit and the two of them had a joyful time as they finally made their way out of the second layer and into the first. Chapter 35 Chapter 35 Finally, the two arrived at the bottom of the giant funnel. A giant arching passageway stood before them, and as they walked into it, the environment darkened once again. Larry and his mother could still see completely fine. There was less light in the first layer than in the second, but nothing like the utter darkness of the third layer. They kept pace, Larry had had enough dilly-dallying by now, it sure was nice to hang out with friends and explore, but there was a part of him that just finally wanted to be out. The glimpses he¡¯s gotten in the second layer sure didn¡¯t help with that feeling. Larry hopped up to his mom and raised his arms with a slight pout, she looked at him confusedly for a second before Larry had to make his demands known, a single word was all he needed, ¡°Up.¡± His injuries weren¡¯t even dull aches anymore at this point and walking around was a completely acceptable arrangement, Larry didn¡¯t need to be carried by his mom anymore. And yet, he¡¯d been becoming spoiled. She scoffed with a grin on her face but acquiesced and picked him up, placing him on top of her shoulder. He would have liked to ride her like a young kid, sitting behind her head with both of his legs on her shoulder, but the spikes on her back simply got in the way. So his mom carried him either in her arms like a baby or on top of one of her arms, with them splayed out to the side like he was sitting on top of a tree branch. Anyone would have become spoiled with a mother like Larry¡¯s, she genuinely seemed to love him and was so insanely powerful that Larry would be safe for a lifetime if he stayed with her. It brought back what Donphan had mentioned before, his mother had gone on a rampage last year when her child was stolen. ¡®I¡¯m not her first child¡­¡¯ Larry felt weird saying so. Last time, he was an only child, so the thought of having brothers or sisters out there excited him. No, that wasn¡¯t the correct word. He felt curious about the prospect, but also happy at the thought of actually having more family. He knew he shouldn¡¯t prod, but he wanted to. ¡®Maybe later¡­¡¯ He just wasn¡¯t good at this whole hard topics thing. The pathway finally split apart into the giant open space which was the first layer. Light shone into the layer through the multitude of cave exits on their right and pools of clear water shimmered throughout the cavern, Larry could even hear a waterfall in the distance. He craned his neck up, and up and up until he almost fell over backward. It turned out the ceiling of the cavern was extremely high up. Gigantic stalactites hung from the ceiling. The floor of the cavern itself was mostly downhill, with Larry able to see a variety of platforms jut out from the steep embankment leading to a giant cave exit, even taller than practically anything he had seen before at the far bottom. ¡®That¡¯s the exit!¡¯ Larry thought excitedly. The place looked empty in comparison to the second Layer, but the noises he heard around himself told him otherwise. Scuttling to his left, rocks shaking to his right, and many more noises let him know that this layer was lived in, in comparison to the third layer it practically teeming with wild Pokemon around here. They were simply hiding away in their everyday life. His mother looked around curiously, evidently, she hadn¡¯t been here before either, electing to stay in the third layer and the outside of the mountain for most of her life. While she quickly lost interest in the layer''s inhabitants she seemed quite surprised at the amount of water this layer had. There had been minuscule pools of water on every layer, either snow from outside which had simply melted when inside the caverns, or humidity which had pooled up in certain areas. It seemed the source for most of that humidity had finally been found though, as the giant pools of water down here made for the perfect place for condensation to build up. The only question was how the water was condensing considering it was winter on the outside and almost no sunlight shone into the cavern. ¡®Maybe it''s got something to do with the cavern warming up?¡¯ Larry mused to himself. ¡°This place looks annoying¡­¡± His mom eyed the giant lakes of water with clear disdain, it seemed she wasn¡¯t quite as big of a fan of water as Larry. Larry began to hop around his mother excitedly, ¡°C¡¯mon Mom, don¡¯t be a downer! We¡¯re almost out!¡± He pointed out to the multitude of cave exits, ¡°I wanna see the outside down here!¡± ¡°Alright, alright,¡± She lamented, quirking her head to their right. Her eyes fell on another hole in the stark cavern walls far, far away in the distance. Larry noticed her gaze staying on the hole and looked over as well. ¡°What¡¯s over there, Mom?¡± he asked as he looked. The darkness down here made it hard to make out much, but a slight bit of light shone out of the cavern hole even though it didn''t lead outside. Supposedly, it led deeper into the cavern. Stolen content alert: this content belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences. Its most defining feature was the hazy, almost distorted way the hole in the wall seemed to shimmer in the air. It was too far away to make out any details. He could barely see the hole in the wall anyway, so Larry couldn¡¯t be sure. ¡°It¡¯s a hole in the wall¡­¡± his mother said unsurely. She raised and turned her head in every which way, but it didn¡¯t seem to help. ¡°It looks weird¡­¡± ¡°Yeah, it does¡­¡± Larry agreed. To him, the hole in the wall looked like a mirage. In his first life, he had traveled in the summertime and seen the streets heat up and become hazy and unrecognizable, so he knew what to expect, but his mother had seemingly never seen heat haze before, considering she had lived on top of a mountain her entire life she was bound to not know when what she was looking at. Larry knew when he was looking at something fishy, so he tapped his mother''s leg, ¡°Think that it has anything to do with what Donphan was talking about? It looks far too weird to be too normal, we should go check it out!¡± His mother grimaced, she had agreed to keep an eye out for anything out of sorts back when they had made camp at Donphan''s, but she certainly didn¡¯t expect anything this weird to just suddenly show up. ¡°Mmrgh¡­¡± She hemmed and hawed to herself, notching her head from one side to the other in clear deliberation, ¡°The exits over there though¡­¡± ¡°You promised¡­¡± Larry feigned disappointment and his mother''s facade immediately cracked. ¡°ALRIGHT!¡± She yelled out in annoyance, a small cloud of dust billowed from the ceiling around them and Larry hopped back in surprise. The noises of the cavern around them had stopped completely and Larry suddenly felt very vulnerable. ¡°Sorry¡­¡± Both Larry and his mother said at the same time. ¡°Let¡¯s go,¡± Larry spoke up after the awkward silence as he led the way. ¡­ The air down here on the first layer seemed to have a mind of its own, it whipped up around the two of them, seemingly fighting against their advancement. As the two of them navigated the system of open grooves between the high walls of the layer, Larry felt more like he was scaling a mountain with how harsh the winds were around them. From the heightened vantage point they had entered from, they had had a perfect view of the maze-like grooves and canyons that peppered the layer. The previous layers had been completely straight, with the walkway on the third and the funnel on the second. Here on the first layer though, the challenges of the layer came by navigation itself and not any powerful Pokemon which would be inhabiting the place. ¡°Eeny, Meeny, Miny, Moe¡­¡± ¡°What are you doing?¡± His mother asked in an exasperated tone. ¡°...Miny¡­Moe¡­¡± Larry''s hand pointed to the right path, and he nodded thoughtfully, ¡°Alright, we¡¯re going this way.¡± She huffed at being ignored but followed regardless. The air down here was damp, and with the giant pools of water, it seemed the humidity was wild. Stalactites dripped around them, and the echoes of tens of different droplets could be heard around them dripping incessantly. The smell of damp earth and minerals seemed to coat the back of his throat down here. Larry quirked his head to the side and saw a panicked Wooper hop around into cover to hide away from the two of them. The two of them came upon multiple smaller pools of water and skirted around their outside, keeping a safe distance so as not to disturb any of the layer''s inhabitants. Even if they had only seen weaker Pokemon, they were bound to meet the stronger members of the layer sooner or later. They stopped to take a break after some time and fuel back up on some rocks and stone, his mother whipped her tail into one of the walls nearby, smashing it into a variety of differently sized rocks. She crushed them some more by crushing them under her feet and handed a few to Larry. It tasted great, just as usual, but also surprisingly different. The rock down here was far softer, making the sweet umami flavors just hit differently, if before it was like rock candy, it now felt more like soft candy on his tongue. Larry smacked his tongue involuntarily at the taste, content to simply munch away. His mother didn¡¯t seem as enthused about eating as he did, it seemed she didn¡¯t eat for the taste, but the nutrients. He eyed his mom as she ate. Just as he was about to recommend a specific rock in the pile they had created, he saw his mother pick up two different rocks. She looked at them critically and took a bite out of one. As she ate, her eyes told him what word couldn''t. She squinted and turned the stone over in her hand, inspecting it judgingly. She quirked her head from side to side as she nodded approvingly. She liked the taste, seemingly. ¡®Is she taking my advice to heart and trying to taste her food more?¡¯ Larry though, slightly moved. She swallowed and then bit into the stone in her other hand, her brows creased immediately and weighed the stone in her hand, repeatedly shifting the rock up and down as she practically stared a hole through it. Swallowing, she took another bite, her brow creased again and she pulled the piece of stone in closer to her face, inspecting it extremely carefully for something. Larry got far too curious. ¡°What are you thinking about, mom?¡± Larry spoke. His mother jumped at his voice and looked between the rock and Larry slightly abashedly, ¡°Mhm¡­This rock tastes¡­I don¡¯t know¡­¡± She spoke with a sigh. Larry pointed at himself, ¡°Let me have a taste, maybe I¡¯ve tasted it before. This one here tastes weird too, you have a taste of it!¡± The two of them took turns tasting rock and soil, some tasted sweet-savory, others tasted spicy, but his mother seemed to have finally found her tastebuds as she took to nodding approvingly or quirking her head disapprovingly at the different kinds of rocks. It seemed his mother had a taste for a specific light grey kind of gravel which Larry had picked up from somewhere nearby. Larry himself still liked the dark black rocks they had found further up in the third layer, they had found some nearby too, so Larry had made himself a meal by mixing multiple different stones by breaking them off into plates. He stacked the plates on top of one another and held them in his stubby little arms like a giant rock hamburger. It was safe to say, they ate well tonight. Chapter 36 He helplessly fanned his face using his tiny arms, but the heat kept up. After their relaxing evening and another round of sleep, they had made quick work of the first layer. Larry and his mother felt reinvigorated to discover what was happening in Mt. Silver. There was a single problem, the closer they came to the weird hazy cavern, the warmer the air around them became. He had reported feeling uncomfortably hot to his mother some time ago, but she couldn¡¯t do much to cool Larry down, except bury him in cool dirt, which he politely declined. ¡®This is most definitely some Fire-Type tomfoolery, isn¡¯t it?¡¯ Larry thought that he could still bear the heat right now, but it was beginning to go from ¡®Room without Air-Conditioning¡¯ to ¡®Sauna¡¯ mightily quickly. The annoying part was that he hadn¡¯t played any of the Johto or Kanto games religiously, so he was at best guessing which wild Pokemon could cause this. ¡®Charmander, Vulpix, Growlithe, Ponyta, Flareon, and Magmar are all first-generation Pokemon which could cause this¡­¡¯ but Larry only expected two of them to ever make home deep inside of a cave. The Magmar Line was his best bet, with the Charmander Line as a backup, even though he wasn¡¯t sure if they were ever even catchable in the wild in the games. ¡®Alright, let''s go with that then. Some Magmar are doing stuff down here that¡¯s heating the whole mountain. Is that even possible?¡¯ Larry didn¡¯t think even a gang of Magmar would be able to do something of this magnitude, ¡®What about a Magmortar though?¡¯ Magmortar were trade evolutions, they couldn¡¯t be found out in the wild, ¡®What¡¯s to say that still the same though?¡¯ He shook his head in frustration, he just couldn¡¯t come to a conclusion with the little amount of information he had. So Larry simply decided to run with his best theory and to improvise for whatever was happening down here. The windy corridors continued snaking downwards and the two of them eventually met another body of water, this one far larger than the previous ones. Gazing over it at the edge they found themselves at, Larry almost couldn¡¯t believe such a gigantic body of water was found so deep inside of a cave. He gingerly dunked one of his arms into the water, only to find it to be warm. Not simmering or hot yet, but by no means the ice-cold temperatures he would have expected from a cavern deep inside of a snowy mountain. Raising his head, his sight was fixated on the large cavern on the other side of the body of water. The hole from before was just across the body of water, this close Larry could see the hazy heat emanating from the insides of the cavern float along the top of the miniature lake along with the light shining out of the cavern, which reflected off of the pristine body of water quite beautifully, ¡®This situation really must¡¯ve been going on for quite some time if it managed to heat up an entire body of water.¡¯ The outside edges of the body of water were all far too steep to be used to walk across, meaning it would take a significant amount of time to reach the cavern. Larry turned back to his mother with a sarcastic smile, ¡°We need a way across. Can you swim?¡± She shook her head honestly, ¡°I can¡¯t.¡± ¡°That was meant jokingly¡­¡± Larry sighed. His mother looked at the body of water, before turning back to Larry with a confident grin, ¡°I¡¯ve got an idea.¡± Type energy gathered around his mother, coalescing in her chest before she stomped one of her feet down onto the ground. The TE shot through her leg into the ground and Larry had to stop himself from tripping as the entire cavern shook dramatically. From the edge of the miniature lake, a small mound of dirt began to snake its way into the body of water. Quite literally raising itself out of the lake for the two of them to walk across. Larry could hardly believe his eyes, as he exchanged looks between his mother who had closed her eyes in deep concentration, and the thin walkway which slowly snaked its way through the water. ¡°Woah,¡± Larry was awestruck, the scene reminded him of the scene in the third generation of games in which the legendary Pokemon Groudon walked on a path of stone through a literal ocean to fight his counterpart Kyogre. The path cut through the pristinely clear lake, it wasn¡¯t large, barely large enough for his mother to walk across, but his mother was still emulating a feat he¡¯d only seen a legendary Pokemon do. Suddenly, the earth stopped and his mother opened her eyes with a heavy breath, ¡°Huff¡­That should do for now¡­¡± ¡°That was so awesome Mom!¡± Larry hopped around his mother excitedly in celebration, ¡°So cool! Amazing!¡± ¡°Yeah, yeah¡­¡± She huffed back bashfully as she picked him up. ¡°That was the coolest thing ever!¡± Larry swooned, suddenly he stopped before turning to his mother with stars in his eyes, ¡°Will I be able to do something like that one day?!¡± The author''s tale has been misappropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon. ¡°No,¡± His mother started, putting Larry into a state of shock, before she continued with a smirk on her face, ¡°You will be far stronger because you¡¯re trained by me.¡± He threw himself at his mother in excitement, ¡°Oh yeah! Thank you!¡± ¡­ Larry audibly gulped as he looked down at the precarious edges of their small path from his mother''s arms. He had swooned for his mother''s abilities before and he wouldn¡¯t take back his compliments, but seeing the loose and muddy gravel the path was made of just barely reach above the water line behind them as they continued their walk made him far more queasy than he liked to admit. His mother had stopped several times by now to continue raising the path through the lake out of the water and the feat seemingly got harder the deeper the water underneath them got. She didn¡¯t look exhausted per se, but the feat was still straining for her, as he was cradled in her arms he had heard his mother''s grunts of exertion at the feat. Larry could tell that it wasn¡¯t easy work, he couldn¡¯t even fathom doing such a thing himself. ¡°We¡¯re here,¡± His mother announced. With one final step, they finally arrived at the other side, the temperature over her was swelteringly hot, it felt more like Larry was looking into an open oven than the cave it was supposed to be. ¡®Glad I¡¯m a Rock-Type right about now¡­¡¯ He thought to himself as he was let down onto stable ground once again. The heat wasn¡¯t comfortable, but he didn¡¯t feel the warmth of the cavern in front of him in any painful way. It felt far more comfortable than the cool caves he¡¯d gotten so used to. Larry spread out his arms and turned around slowly, spinning in a circle to evenly spread the heat across his body like a person trying to warm up their hands after a day out in winter, ¡®This is pretty nice actually¡­¡¯ ¡°What are you doing?¡±, His mom asked in an exasperated tone while looking at him quizically as she approached the tunnel entrance, ¡°C¡¯mon.¡± Larry quickly stopped and followed dutifully, speeding up to reach his mother''s side, ¡°You have a plan as well? Else I can come up with something.¡± ¡°If it''s a Pokemon,¡± She said heavily, ¡°I¡¯ll beat it up until it stops.¡± Leaving the statement in the air for a few seconds, she continued, ¡°If it''s something else, you come up with something.¡± He wanted to facepalm at his mother''s sheer honesty and lack of ingenuity. ¡°Sure thing,¡± He said in a sarcastic tone. And so they ventured into the sweltering cavern. ¡­ As they crossed the threshold separating the cavern from the first layer, it immediately became apparent what was going on. The cavern behind the hole was large, not as large as any of the layers but far larger than any simple tunnel. It was a big round cavern with ample flat walking and living space all situated around a giant cylindrical hole in the middle of the room. Larry couldn¡¯t make out the details inside the hole, but a blindingly bright light shone out of the middle of the hole. The heat which before had been sweltering now was easily going into blistering territory and Larry felt his eyes dry out just looking at the hole in the middle. Averting his gaze from the hole, he looked to the sides of the cave and felt himself stiffen involuntarily. Eyes, ten to thirty pairs of eyes returned his gaze, an entire colony of Magmar stared back at them. Around the entire circumference of the hole, many different families of Magmar had made the place their home. Adorable Magbies looked at him and his mother curiously as they were being held back protectively by their parents. Most of the families had fearful or surprised expressions on their faces, never expecting the appearance of a Tyranitar in their apparent home. The silence in the cave was deafening, if a pin were to be dropped right now, Larry was sure everyone would¡¯ve heard it. ¡°Eherm!¡± He quickly cleared his throat in an attempt to break the silence, only to spook a large number of the families in the process. ¡°Oh sorry!¡± He quickly apologized and the Magmar jumped once again, Larry sighed to himself at how scared they were and continued, ¡°We¡¯re not here to hurt you-¡± ¡°-If you comply.¡± His mother added on with slightly too much snark in her voice, making the colony of Magmar jump for a third time. ¡°Calm down, Mom.¡± Larry smacked his mom''s leg harmlessly before continuing, ¡°This place is heating the entire cavern up and we¡¯re here to investigate what is going on and why it is happening.¡± The Magmar looked between each other, seemingly evaluating who was supposed to be the one to talk until one Magmar stepped forward before kneeling in front of the two of them, ¡°It is not our doing, great mountain queen. We have simply decided to make the best use of the situation for our comfort.¡± ¡°Then what IS going on?¡± His mother asked in an annoyed tone, she disliked the name but wasn¡¯t annoyed enough to call him out on it. ¡°A creature of great power has made its roost in these caverns, great mountain queen.¡± The Magmar spoke heavily as its gaze traveled to the hole in the middle. The other Magmars followed his gaze to the hole and Larry felt himself look to the impossibly bright hole as well. ¡®Oh¡­Is this what I think it is?¡¯ Larry felt his heart drop into his pants at the mention of a creature of great power, ¡®If this is what I think it is¡­¡¯ The Magmar quickly raised itself off of the ground and thrust its arms to the hole in a presenting manner, prompting the two of them to peek into the hole, ¡°If you would¡­¡± They approached with Larry hiding gingerly behind his mother. If the heat inside the room was blistering then simply looking at the Pokemon that was roosting inside the hole felt more like setting his face on fire. In moments like these, Larry was grateful his skin was made of stone. Unfortunately for him though, all of his fears were confirmed as he peered into the hole. Inside a corona of pure heat and bright light, on a bed of magma and various molten rocks, a legendary Pokemon rested. Fiery yellow plumage burned fiercely inside of its nest, as the Moltres slept. If he was still human, Larry felt that his face might burn straight off of his face just looking at it, it felt as if he was gazing at the sun itself. Larry quickly turned away from the hole, while rubbing at his eyes as they slowly regained sight. His thought process had stopped when he had taken in the legendary Pokemon, so his next words as he turned back to the Magmar were quite simple, ¡°I see.¡± Chapter 37 ¡°I see,¡± Blinking away the sunspot in his eyes from merely looking at the Moltres, Larry calmly walked away from the hole. Yet internally, he was panicking. ¡®WHY THE HELL IS THERE A GODDAMN MOLTRES DEEP INSIDE OF MT. SILVER?!¡¯ He wanted to kick or punch at something, but he managed to get away by simply tapping at his chin thoughtfully. This was unprecedented. For whatever reason, a Moltres had made its home inside Mt. Silver and was heating up the entire mountain during its sleep. ¡®And poor ol¡¯ me has to be the one to find out about it¡­Just my luck¡­¡¯ Larry pouted to himself, still walking away from the hole. His mother had turned back by now and looked, not quite as shocked as him, but still confused. She turned to the Magmar, who had been so gracious in explaining the situation to them, and pointed back at the hole, ¡°What is that?¡± ¡°It is one of the winged mirages,¡± The Magmar began, ¡°a Pokemon of legend, undying and eternally burning-¡± ¡°What do you know?¡± his mother interrupted the Magmar, clearly already expecting a long-winded explanation and waiting for it to get to the point. ¡°I-It is one of the winged mirages-¡± ¡°What. Do. You. Know?¡± She pressed. The Magmar looked back to its compatriots with a slight tinge of fear before turning back, ¡°W-We found it roosting here and decided to use its warmth to our advantage.¡± ¡°And?¡± ¡°T-That is all¡­¡± Magmar bowed its head stiffly. Now that got his interest: ¡°So this Pokemon is one of these winged mirages. What are the winged mirages?¡± Larry spoke up, walking to the two of them. ¡°The winged mirages are a trio of legendary bird Pokemon. Each one represents a different type of energy. One bird harnassing the heat of fire, another controlling thunder, and a final bird representing the cold and ice.¡± The Magmar explained. ¡°Alright, thank you for the explanation.¡± Larry spoke with a smile, his mind meanwhile was still preoccupied, ¡®How do they know about Articuno and Zapdos? And what is with that name, the Winged Mirages?¡¯ He looked back at the hole with a slight wince before realizing what they were here to do, ¡°Well¡­It is heating up the entire cave system from its roosting spot down here and we need to somehow make it stop.¡± An eager grin spread on his mother''s face as her gaze fell back onto the hole, ¡°It looks strong.¡± All the Magmars in the cavern seemed uncomfortable at the mention of making the Moltres stop its roosting, and the Magmar in front of them quickly spoke up. ¡°E-Every single bird in the trio possesses a great deal of power! I¡¯d discourage you from fighting it, I do not think it is a wise decision!¡± Larry nodded along quickly, ¡°Yeah, Mom. It¡¯s a legendary Pokemon, there are things we shouldn¡¯t mess with.¡± She hummed thoughtfully and kept eyeing the hole, ¡°Hmmh¡­Yeah,¡± she stepped back towards the hole, ¡°but how strong can it be?¡± ¡°Mom, no.¡± Larry felt himself panic internally as he shut her down calmly. He walked over to grab her quickly, ¡°Look down there. That thing can melt stone into Magma by simply sleeping!¡± ¡°So?¡± She pressed. ¡°I don¡¯t think you would win in a fight.¡± He answered back honestly. His mother stared into his eyes, searching to see if he was telling the truth. Larry held the stare, not wanting his mother to start anything. The Magmar in the cavern stared at them awkwardly, clearly expecting something to go wrong right about now. She turned away with a huff, ¡°Fine¡± ¡°Thanks,¡± Larry felt all the adrenaline leave his body, he almost dropped onto the ground, yet he held strong. ¡­ The two of them had decided to make camp a few paces outside of the cavern Moltres was roosting in, it was still quite hot out here, but Larry felt comfortable enough to rest here, instead of the feeling of standing inside of a convection oven he had gotten back inside the cavern. For now, the plan they had hatched was quite simple. Now that they had an idea of what was causing Mt. Silver to heat up, they would be forced to go and somehow inform Donphan and his friends in the second layer of the reason. They had once again cozied up into a self-made outcropping and Larry had been pulled into his mother''s lap, he let himself be manhandled like a plush toy by his mom as he hashed out some sort of plan in his mind. Before he could come to any conclusion though, his mother spoke up. ¡°I will escort you to the outside and we¡¯ll train there until you evolve,¡± His mom said with finality, ¡°I can deliver the news sometime later.¡± ¡°But Mom, the Pokemon from the second layer need to know what''s going on down here.¡± Larry complained, ¡°I love spending time with you. Why don¡¯t we go back up together and tell them?¡± If he was being honest, Larry wouldn¡¯t want to spend another day back in the caves of Mt. Silver. If there wasn¡¯t a giant body of water keeping him here, he would¡¯ve already walked his way out by now, but he had made promises with his friends on the second layer he had to keep. Reporting back to them was integral, maybe they¡¯d even be able to come up with some sort of plan once they met again. ¡°You want out of the caves, I¡¯ll get you out.¡± His mother announced. It was clear that she cared far more for him than any of the inhabitants of the second layer, ¡°I¡¯m not smart, but I know you¡¯re uncomfortable here.¡±This story has been stolen from Royal Road. If you read it on Amazon, please report it ¡°I-I¡¯m fine!¡± Larry retorted far too quickly, ¡°Alright, I don¡¯t like the caves, but I¡¯ve managed this far, I can hold out a bit more! Let¡¯s go back together when we wake back up!¡± His mother frowned down at him and crossed her arms resolutely, ¡°No.¡± ¡°I don¡¯t want us to stay here,¡± She spoke threateningly, ¡°so I¡¯ll just take care of the issue.¡± Larry jumped to his feet at the threat, ¡°Mom! No! It¡¯ll kill you!¡± ¡°You¡¯ve never seen me at my full strength.¡± She countered, ¡°I¡¯ll be fine.¡± ¡°No, Mom! That Pokemon is legendary!¡± He hastily argued, ¡°It has history and stories which have spread over it far and wide. We don¡¯t even know how old it is!¡± She once again searched his eyes, until she turned to the cavern. Larry couldn¡¯t discern her face, but when she looked back she looked far more confident. ¡°I¡¯m fighting it.¡± ¡°Mom!¡± He yelled out again in panic, ¡®Shit! This is so stupid! What is making her do this?!¡¯ Larry wasn¡¯t sure what was making his mother act this way if it was some kind of fighting instinct imprinted in their line or just her brand of brutishness. The one thing he was sure of though, was that this wouldn¡¯t end well. Even if his mother somehow won the fight, Larry didn¡¯t know what implications and ramifications it would have on the ecosystem. ¡®Weren¡¯t some of these legendary Pokemon responsible for how the world functioned?¡¯ He just couldn¡¯t be sure. ¡°Please, don¡¯t do this! I know this isn¡¯t going to end well!¡± He urged her again. ¡°I. am. fighting. it.¡± She spoke once again resolutely, enunciating every word individually as she stared into his eyes, ¡°I can¡¯t let such an opportunity go past.¡± ¡°So you¡¯re doing this just because you want to fight something strong?!¡± Larry argued incredulously, ¡°Mom, once we''re outside there will be so many new Pokemon you¡¯ve never met. Why not try and start a fight with those?¡± Her gaze traveled over to the cavern entrance, ¡°But this one is Legendary,¡± She spoke longingly. ¡®What the hell is this?!¡¯ Larry panicked in his mind, ¡®How the hell do I get her off of this mindset?!¡¯ ¡°Mom, please. I am begging you, don¡¯t start a fight you won¡¯t win!¡± He pleaded honestly. Her facade crumbled slightly, ¡°Mmrgh¡­¡± Seeing the cracks form, he turned up the childish charms, ¡°Please, I don¡¯t want to lose you so quickly after meeting you, Mom.¡± More cracks in her facade started to show, ¡°Hmm¡­¡± ¡®Sorry, Phanpy and Donphan, but I need to do this! Please hold out a bit!¡¯ He cried to himself mentally for his next argument. ¡°The Legendary Pokemon won¡¯t leave and Donphan himself said it will only become a problem by summer. I said I wanted to report it as quickly as possible, but we could also simply go back into the caves some other time! We can simply come back later with a plan to fight it, then we¡¯ll have some real chances of winning.¡± Larry rattled off all of his points frantically, he slowly saw his mother''s facade surely crumble until she finally shut her eyes and pulled in a big breath to let out a gigantic sigh. ¡°Haah¡­Alright!¡± She ground out, ¡°Let¡¯s do it your way.¡± ¡®Yes!¡¯ Larry mentally fist-bumped himself, ¡®Crisis averted!¡¯ ¡°Thank you, Mom!¡± He plopped down in her lap again as he hugged himself to her, his legs giving out under him in relief, ¡°Before we go when we wake up, I want to check the chamber to see if it is still sleeping so we can plan for the fight once we¡¯re outside!¡± ¡°Fine,¡± She waved him off grumpily, ¡°Now let me sleep.¡± ¡­ It was a new day and the two of them once again found themselves in the cavern Moltres was roosting in. The ceiling was high and clear of any obstructions, with only the bright light given off by the Moltres shining onto it like a flashlight. Magmar families still huddled around the chamber, the Pokemon held each other and their children fearfully every time he and his mother had been in the room with them. Some Magby still ran around the room, chasing each other in a primitive form of tag. The room felt hotter than last time, but Larry wasn¡¯t sure if it was because he had slept further away from here where the heat wasn¡¯t as bad, or some other factor. He and his mother walked side to side as they entered and all eyes fell on them once again. ¡°W-Welcome back, great mountain queen!¡± The same Magmar from last time hastily stumbled over to them before taking a knee before them, clearly not having to expect to meet them again, ¡°To what do we owe the pleasure?¡± ¡°We¡¯re checking this place over once again and then we¡¯ll be gone, so don¡¯t panic,¡± Larry informed him casually, striding past him confidently. ¡°U-Understood!¡± It happily returned, it breathed a sigh of relief as it turned away from them. As they closed in on the hole once again, the heat turned up and Larry felt his eyes dry out more with every step. He took another few steps close to the hole and then took another peek down quickly. The searing heat punched into his face as he gazed down and the artificial sun he¡¯d seen before stared back at him once again. Like a camera flash, the brightness forced his eyes almost completely shut just a second or so after looking, the heat burned into his cheek like a stovetop on an unsuspecting child''s hand and he immediately hopped back with a hiss. ¡°Ack!¡± Larry yelled out as he nursed the side of his face with one of his arms, ¡°That didn¡¯t happen last time!¡± The side of his face felt rougher than normal, he¡¯d definitely just been burned, even if just slightly, ¡®That¡¯s crazy! I wasn¡¯t even hit by anything, just looking at its fiery roosting almost burned my face off and I¡¯ve got that rocky skin!¡¯ ¡°What happened?¡± His mother asked with concern as she closed in on the hole. ¡°It burned my face just looking at it,¡± Larry said as he continued to step back, ¡°that thing is powerful.¡± She looked at the hole with a frown, ¡°It wasn¡¯t like that last time.¡± ¡°No, it wasn¡¯t.¡± Larry replied, ¡°Le-¡± Just for a second, the light inside the hole dimmed, like a lamp supplied with too little power, before it rapidly began to intensify. ¡®Wha¡­¡¯ Larry didn¡¯t even have time to cry out before the room temperature suddenly raised itself by several degrees. His mother''s head whirled back to the hole and she immediately took action. The previously clean and even roof of the cavern collapsed inwards with a swish of his mother''s tail. Instead of crushing every occupant of the room including Larry and his mother, the falling rocks all redirected themselves into the hole in the middle of the cavern, burying the legendary bird under a literal shower of rocks, stemming the heat. Panic rose and all of the Magmar inside the cavern immediately took off, racing to be the first outside of the cavern''s only entrance before it too was covered in a shower of rocks and debris. Between the mass of bodies and panicked cries of an entire colony of Magmar, smoke could be seen rising out of the hole his mother had just plugged. Beneath the cacophony of Pokemon cries droning into their ears, the loud cracks of stone could made out from the hole. Moltres wasn¡¯t dead. ¡®Ohh noo¡­¡¯ Larry practically turned white at the sight, the last of the Magmar just exited the cave behind him as he stared back at his mom and the hole behind her. His mother turned back to him, not with an excited grin or a fighter¡¯s scowl, but the look of a troubled parent, she scooped him up as the two of them evacuated the chamber, ¡°It woke up.¡± Chapter 38 ¡°Move! Move!¡± ¡°Mama!¡± ¡°We¡¯re stuck!¡± ¡°Waah! What is going on?!¡± The small cape leading out of the cavern was filled to bursting with Magmar families and their Magby children. The crowd''s noise was overwhelming, and Larry saw multiple Magmar families try to climb the steep embankments of the body of water with little success. His mother strode past them confidently, squarely into the middle of the cape. She struck the ground with her tail, instantly quieting the panicked Pokemon crowd. She began to stir up the slightest bit of a sandstorm before announcing to the crowd, ¡°The legendary Pokemon is waking up! I¡¯ll fight it!¡± Cries of congratulation and happiness sounded out and the crowd took to her advice as quickly as they could, but she didn¡¯t seem to care as she looked at Larry in her arms with a serious expression, ¡°Larry, you leave too. I can¡¯t protect you while fighting. You know how I get when I¡¯m serious.¡± Larry''s heart dropped as she let him down onto the ground into her growing sandstorm, ¡°Mom! That''s suicide!¡± She quickly checked behind herself to see the families of Magmar run in single file along the precarious walkway she had created, before looking back down at Larry, ¡°Dig yourself to safety,¡± She advised as pointed at the cave with a layer of fake nonchalance, ¡°I¡¯ll deal with this. I¡¯ll meet you on the other side of the lake when I¡¯m done.¡± ¡®That¡¯s so stupid! What can I do?!¡¯ Larry thought about every single approach he could take to get his mother to think logically and flee, he knew she wasn¡¯t the fastest and also that she didn¡¯t have any moves that could help her in this moment. The sandstorm around her spun faster and faster as Larry searched her eyes for a second, she still wore the same serious look of a concerned parent, but Larry knew there was more behind her eyes, ¡®She¡¯s committed¡­¡¯ He wanted to protest, cry his eyes out, stay here, and fight alongside her, but he knew it wouldn¡¯t make sense. So Larry made his choice as well. He quickly forced a smile onto his face as he patted her leg. ¡°Alright, Mom! You show it who¡¯s boss. We¡¯ll meet back at the other side of the lake.¡± ¡°Good.¡± His mother turned back to the cavern. The stone she¡¯d dropped into the hole could be seen through the cave entrance; red hot and beginning to bubble and hiss. Coursing Ground-TE through his body as he¡¯d done many times before, Larry looked up to his mother one last time, ¡°Mom?¡± ¡°Yeah?¡± ¡°I love you,¡± Larry spoke with an honest smile on his face. ¡°I love you too,¡± His mother returned with a slight smile, closing her eyes in concentration and kicking up the storm another notch as Larry finally dug himself into the ground, leaving her alone to face Moltres. She closed her eyes. ¡­ She had grown up without a mother, as she had passed away shortly after her birth. It wasn¡¯t ideal, as male Tyranitar are far more aggressive than their female counterparts, leading to a worse upbringing for any Pupitar forced to endure it. Her eyes opened. ¡°Again!¡± Her Tyranitar father barked out. ¡°Hargh!¡± She threw another rock, gasping for lungfuls of air as she launched the stone above her head. It impacted heavily on the gigantic boulder, but the stone stood resolutely. Simply remaining upright seemed to take all of her concentration as she wobbled unsteadily. ¡°AGAIN!¡± She flinched at the voice and began to pull at the practically empty reserves of Type-Energy in her body. Another rock lifted out of the earth behind her, floating above her head, before it faltered and turned into gravel on top of her, showering her with a smattering of debris. ¡°Aah!¡± Showered in her own rain of rocks and gravel, she simply tipped over and lay there as her eyes fought to stay open. The calm was broken far too quickly though. ¡°Wake up!¡± WACK Spinning out of control, her hard-shelled body skidded across the cavern floor before knocking into a wall with a dull THUD. ¡°A-Awake!¡± she called robotically as she lifted herself back up onto her tip to stand. She almost fell backward in exhaustion as she raised herself, only just managing to stand tall. Every breath hurt in her lungs, every place she could still feel hurt in some way, and if she had any more tears to cry she would¡¯ve cried, but crying had been a bad choice last time, so she held strong. ¡°AGAIN! YOU¡¯RE NO WEAKLING!¡± Her father commanded. A far smaller stone raised itself out of the ground behind her and shakily floated out above her head, it solidified far more slowly before flying at the stone far slower than before, it harmlessly bounced off of the rock. She barely even registered the hit, as just keeping her eyes open felt like a losing fight. She curled into herself in anticipation and flinched when her father yelled, ¡°WEAK! AGAIN!¡± Her eyes shut. ¡­ Her eyes opened. In front of her, wings of fire raised themselves out of the fountain of magma, her Rock Slide had been melted into a pool of magma by the Pokemon. Through the sandstorm and in the cave, she could see the cave walls liquify, also slowly melting into red-hot magma in its mere presence as the bird flapped into frame. Pristine orange feathers lined the bird''s body under a layer of red flames. A thin and long beak and an almost gangly and featureless body landed on the edges of the hole it had roosted in. You could be reading stolen content. Head to the original site for the genuine story. She grinned slightly and exhaled through her nose, if anything, it reminded her of the Fearow she spotted from time to time on the tops of Mt. Silver. Its eyes fell on her and she felt a strange pressure exert itself over herself, like she was once again buried under a bed of soil like in her youth. She was used to pressure though, it wasn¡¯t anything new to her. Behind her, the last of the Magmar made it onto the bridge she had made to get here, she knew now there was little chance of collateral damage. With that thought, the sandstorm intensified once more becoming too dense to see anything through, only she herself knew who was where in this mess of storm. The last thing she saw was the legendary launch itself off the ground and into the air. Every piece of gravel she could find, she pulled into the storm, she had to give it her all. It wasn¡¯t just Mt. Silver on the line. Her child was in danger. The heat intensified and she knew the legendary Pokemon must be approaching. Like a morning sun crashing through the night, the Pokemon launched itself into her sandstorm, she felt it enter as the sand in its vicinity turned itself to glass in an instant, falling out of her control almost immediately. Its flames could be seen through the entire sandstorm they were so bright. ¡®Got you.¡¯ In the same instant, she slammed her tail into the ground again and Type-Energy was released into the ground. In front of her, a long line of sharp stones emerged from the ground, snaking itself forward straight at the legendary. The bird clearly hadn¡¯t expected retaliation, as the stone smashed into the underside of its head and pushed the beast''s flight path back up and above her. The bird flew up and above the row of sharp rocks, yet it didn¡¯t seem to need to, as its mere presence melted them dull and useless. ¡®Got lucky.¡¯ She thought with a huff at the exertion. It buzzed by above her, the heat stung her eyes as it passed. ¡®Just go,¡¯ She begged in her mind for it to simply leave through one of the many cave exits, but the legendary spun around for a second pass. Once it entered her sandstorm, its flames intensified once again. Through the storm, she spotted flames licking the insides of its beak, it was attacking. ¡®Go big,¡¯ She advised herself mentally. She opened her jaw and a small ball of Normal-TE materialized, Hyper Beam, the ball quickly doubled, tripled, and quadrupled in size. The bird released a spire of flame from its mouth, Flamethrower, as it charged at her form in the sandstorm, she released in turn. The beam of pure white met the cone of fire and the sheer amount of energy in the Pokemon¡¯s flames forced her neck backward. Her beam slipped off of the flamethrower and to the side, smashing into a stone wall far away from the legend. The flames reached her just a second later and she yelled out in pain as her outer layer of armor was covered in flames from head to toe. ¡°AAAH!¡± She screamed and thrashed in panic in the hopes of putting out the flames burning her body, to no avail. The bird kept its eyes locked on her, as it continued to shoot seemingly endless flames from its beak, instead of passing over and simply turning back, it landed in her sandstorm and kept the attack going. ¡®Bad Choice, Slacker.¡¯ Every single piece of TE in her body moved to her head, a gigantic, bony, and grotesque jaw manifested over her normal one and she lunged at the bird. It tried to cancel its attack, hop backward and back into the air, but it had underestimated her. She crunched down just above its shoulder and the bird screeched out in pain. It responded almost immediately, but instead of shooting flames out of its beak, its entire body heated up drastically in an attempt to burn its opponent alive. She didn¡¯t let go though, she forced a slight bit more TE into her jaw as the heat turned up and charged another attack at the same time. Her eyes burned, and her skin felt as if it was close to melting off of her body and her insides didn¡¯t feel much better, but she kept charging. Behind the legendary Pokemon, she could see the body of water she¡¯d made a bridge over boil and begin to steam. ¡°YOU¡¯RE NOT GETTING OUT HERE ALIVE!¡± She roared, with the legend''s shoulder still stuck in her jaw. Stomping her foot she released an earthquake and in the same moment she pushed the bird into the ground as hard as she still could. The earth cracked in several parts around them, splitting the ground around them into several islands that raised themselves and jerked around erratically. More dust billowed into the air around them, bolstering her sandstorm. The boiling body of water was sucked into the cracks in the earth, creating multiple whirlpools in the body of water, and multiple new rivers were created in the process, flowing out of the underground lake. The bird, unacclimated to fighting on the ground, lost its footing. A giant spike made of stone shot out of the ground underneath the legendary Pokemon, slicing it across the chest and just missing her own head by hair as it passed by its other free shoulder. SKREE The beast cried out again in pain, far louder this time. Her eyes were unsteady and her breath feeble, her teeth finally unlatched from the Pokemon and the two of them dropped to the ground heavily. ¡®Wake up!¡¯ Her dreadful father''s voice echoed in her mind, her rocky armor was red-hot and burned her flesh underneath and every breath of burning hot air in her lungs hurt. Yet, she set her arms underneath herself and pushed. CRACK Her armor cracked and splintered at points all over as she raised herself. Smoke billowed out of the cracks in her armor, and she heard her flesh sizzle underneath her armor while raising herself. ¡°Y-Y¡­¡± She stuttered out, trying to utter another challenge at the legendary Pokemon. The bird had also raised itself as well, but it hadn¡¯t fled. It stood again on its legs while flapping its wings, feathers of TE materialized around it as its wounds stitched themselves back together right in front of her eyes, Roost. ¡®It heals¡­¡¯ She thought to herself, dumbfounded, ¡®Of course¡­¡¯ In that instant, Larry¡¯s words came back to mind. ¡®That Pokemon is legendary! It has history and stories which have spread over it far and wide. We don¡¯t even know how old it is!¡¯ She realized this fight wasn¡¯t going to go her way. She just hoped Larry had made it out safely yet. She didn¡¯t care about the outcome of this fight if he was safe and sound. The legendary stopped healing and opened its beak, threateningly charging a green ball of TE in its mouth. Her skin sizzled underneath the cracks in her armor as she swayed side to side, dazed. She was dead tired. ¡®YOU¡¯RE NO WEAKLING!¡¯ If she still had the energy for it, she would have flinched at her father''s critical voice in her mind. ¡®Mom? I love you.¡¯ Her son''s last words to her kicked her back to reality. ¡®Let¡¯s end this.¡¯ In a single second, the sandstorm stopped. Particles of stones, debris, and sand instantly dropped to the ground. She was going to use everything for this one attack. Normal-TE materialized around her, every ounce of TE she could squeeze out of her body, she used. Just like her father had taught her. The legendary bird released the Grass-Type attack and the beam of solar energy shot towards her. So she released as well and charged forward, meeting the beam head-on using a Giga Impact. It impacted on her head, right at the tip of her charge. The attack washed over her, almost forcing her out of the attack, but she persevered and continued the charge. She charged with reckless abandonment and could feel the attack go right through the cracks in her armor and onto her skin, injuring her body even more. Impacting the legendary, she swung her head downwards, pulling the bird along her charge. It screeched in defiance while continuing its attack, but couldn¡¯t escape her grasp as she charged, straight into one of the cavern walls. Its attack stopped on impact, the creature let out a pained squeak as it was crushed under her weight against the wall, the impact caved in the wall atop the two of them. Finding all of the strength leaving her body, she slipped and dropped onto the ground. As rocks fell onto the two of them, the bird found the strength to escape her grasp, managing to flee just before another mass of rocks dropped and leaving a single Tyranitar alone to face her fate. She had lied, she knew it would end this way. An avalanche sounded out above the rubble. Underneath the bed of rock, her eyes fluttered closed. A promise was going to be broken. Chapter 39 Not even 10 seconds after Larry had dug himself down underground, he started feeling the tremors of a fight and it didn¡¯t seem to be going well, ¡®Wasn¡¯t a fight supposed to be a quick thing? Punch someone''s lights out or slash someone with something?¡¯ Whatever, he needed to get out of here, ¡®I have a promise to keep.¡¯ Larry continued to munch away at the earth, as loud booms and cries sounded out above him. He needed to make it out of here, he had promised his mom they¡¯d meet again. Biting down on the earth, he noticed that the soil he bit down on started to taste far muddier than normal. It made sense, as he was underneath a large body of water, ¡®Better dig down a little deeper I wouldn¡¯t wanna drown down here¡­¡¯ As he dug down further, the soil became harder and harder, it was obvious, since there was an entire mountain pressing down on the ground above him. It felt far weirder that he was doing alright down here since all the times he¡¯d used Dig previously had been in close contact with cave pathways. It seemed that instead of the rubble, debris, and gravel the ground and walls most of the caverns consisted of, it was nothing but completely hard rock down here. When he¡¯d dug up to meet his mother for the first time, the gravel of the walls and ground of the caves had caved back in after he¡¯d dug through it. His tunnels practically disappeared behind him if he dug too far. Down this deep, the tunnels he dug were carved into stone, allowing him to crawl around freely. Larry had a hard time trying to eat the stone, instead of being able to simply shovel loose soil and stones into his mouth to chow down on them. With the stone, he instead was forced to bite off pieces before breaking them apart in his mouth. It took far longer to make any headway down this deep compared to near the surface. Another smash sounded out and Larry felt the earth rumble above him as loose pieces of gravel started to roll down into his tunnel. He kept digging, as the occasional thump or smash echoed through the earth above him. Another boom, then a roar. He didn¡¯t have a good internal clock, but the sounds quieted just a few minutes after he¡¯d begun. ¡®That¡¯s good. Or is it good?¡¯ He thought anxiously as he kept munching away, ¡®Seriously, is this good? I don¡¯t know¡­¡¯ With the sudden bout of silence, another noise came to the forefront. A cracking, followed by an aggressive dripping of water, until the drip slowly turned into a running of water. ¡®Seriously? I don¡¯t believe it¡­¡¯ Now Larry wasn¡¯t stupid, but drowning in the depths of his very own cave system felt like such a stupid way to die that he simply couldn¡¯t believe it. He was forced to start believing when a wave of water crashed around a corner behind him. ¡®Oh shit!¡¯ Larry immediately dug upwards, his heart thumped in his chest as the dirty brown water sloshed against the corner in his tunnel where he¡¯d just been a few seconds ago and began to rise upwards, chasing after him. He¡¯d stopped to look down, but before he could even look back up properly, he felt a swish of water nip at the tip of his feet underneath him. ¡°Eep!¡± The water was rising and rising quickly, ¡®I have to get out!¡¯ Pushing even more Ground-TE into his jaws and arms, Larry began to bite chunks out of the stone far more frantically than before. Larry could still hear the water slosh around behind him, but he was so panicked he didn¡¯t even think to check if he was making good progress, as long as he wasn¡¯t underwater he had a feeling he was going to do just dandy. ¡®Can¡¯t go straight up either, because I¡¯m under the lake!¡¯ He realized as the stone slowly began to give way to the rubble, dirt, and gravel from the surface. He would need to continue digging horizontally instead of digging vertically up and he wasn¡¯t sure if he could escape the water that way. Muddy dirt passed by his tongue and he knew he had to turn, he stopped and quickly allowed himself to look down and he saw that he had made headway on the rising water, it wasn¡¯t close anymore, but still rising unfortunately. Larry continued to dig horizontally, trying to make his way out on any side of the lake. Unfortunately for him, in his panic to escape the rising water, he didn¡¯t know which way was which. Larry shook his head annoyedly, ¡®Damn, it doesn¡¯t even matter, does it? Let¡¯s go before this water rises anymore!¡¯ He looked to the side with the driest dirt and simply decided to dig in that direction. With his surroundings once more not consisting of solid rock, he was lucky enough to speed up his digging, the rubble also looked to be collapsing back down behind him and blocking the water as he dug. Loose dirt was far easier to eat, as he could simply shovel it into his mouth to dig his way around instead of needing to bite pieces off of it. The author''s content has been appropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon. The water behind him finally subsided, stopped by another part of the collapsing ceiling, small droplets of water still leaked through, but it seemed the rocks had managed to stem the flood. ¡®Phew! Thought I was done there for a good while!¡¯ Larry thought with a sigh of relief. Inspecting the wall, it seemed to be holding the water back properly, so Larry took a few short seconds to calm himself. He turned back around to continue, but just after a few mouthfuls worth of soil, a giant flood of water crashed into the tip of his tunnel, ripping it apart and pulling him outside and into a rushing underwater river. ¡°MM-!¡± He yelled in surprise as the rushing water pulled him along, luckily he had quickly managed to hold his breath, so as not to drown. Larry had shut his eyes instinctually but he wrenched them open inside the water, the water was weirdly warm, being far warmer than water deep inside a cave in winter had any right to be. He couldn¡¯t see much in the dark underwater tunnel, but rushing waves were pulling him along somewhere as he spun around frantically. The tunnel dug up and the waves pulled him upwards, launching him up until he suddenly surfaced. He managed to breathe a single gulp of air before gravity pulled him back under the waves. ¡®Air! Air!¡¯ Larry swam with all his might for the small pocket of air he¡¯d found, but the current was far too strong for him to resist and it seemed like his body wasn¡¯t even buoyant enough to float underwater, as his attempts at swimming didn¡¯t seem to have any sort of effect. Just as quickly as he was pulled underwater, he suddenly was propelled to the surface of the current again. He was swung along with the waves wildly and completely uncontrollably as he gasped for air. Pulled back underground into some sort of tunnel, he once again panicked for a breath of air. For a split second, he saw a bright light shine out above him; it dimmed back down to complete darkness shortly thereafter. Larry knew that the current was transporting him somewhere and that he needed to stop it. He tried to grab hold of anything he could find in the current, but with the murky water impairing his eyesight, it was a far bigger challenge than he had imagined. So far, he had managed to pull loose pebbles from a wall as he rushed along. He had also managed to touch the banks on the surface of the river with one of his arms. It just turned out that his piddly little arms were far too weak to stop his entire body''s momentum. In his periphery, he saw another large boulder he could stop his momentum with and he readied himself. As he rushed past, he pushed himself off of one side of the underground tunnel using his legs. He spun wildly upwards towards the rock, reaching for it using his hand, he realized he¡¯d overcorrected and shot into it with the side of his head. Larry saw stars in his eyes and he ricocheted off the stone into many more just down the line. He bounced wildly inside the current now, smashing from one side of it to the other between the walls. Taking another hit to the head, a few to the chest and his legs clipped another stone, somewhere along the way he¡¯d managed to lose the breath he had been holding and sucked in some water. He smashed into another rock, and his vision dimmed, ¡®¡¯Air! I NEED AIR!¡¯ A paddled around in panic as he clipped another rock, but the current didn¡¯t surface anymore, it was only going downhill by now, speeding the water up significantly. A sharp turn in the current smashed Larry into the side of the underground river hard, his arm gave off a sickening crunch and he blacked out for a second, before regaining consciousness. Luck wasn¡¯t on Larry''s side, he was hurt and utterly exhausted from flailing around underwater, ¡®Is- am I dying again?¡¯ He thought dazedly as his view grew dim. ¡­ Larry woke up to lungs filled with water, his eyes shot open as he started to cough incessantly, ¡°Ack-! Cough! Huurgh! Wha-!¡± His everything hurt, far worse than ever before, just moving his head to the side and coughing up water felt like stabs in his chest. ¡°Gah! Wha- What the hell?! Cough!¡± His entire body felt as if it had been thrown into a dryer, his rocky skin felt muddy and weak from all the water and he was still completely out of breath, it already felt like a herculean task simply staying awake. His eyes finally fell on his surroundings. An empty nothingness of white stared back at him. There wasn¡¯t any ground to speak of and Larry floated around helplessly inside a great expanse of white. Almost immediately, Larry panics, ¡®What? What is this place?¡¯ He tried to raise his head to get a better look, but a stinging pain didn¡¯t permit him to. He is in some sort of endlessly white space, the entire place is completely white, and the water he¡¯d coughed back up was floating off into the distance above him. Instead of moving, he strained his ears, it was unsettlingly quiet, he could even hear his own heartbeat. The weirdest part was how utterly featureless the space he¡¯d found himself in was, with no walls or creases of any kind. Now that he¡¯d situated himself, he realized there wasn¡¯t a door or entry of any kind to be seen. ¡®Where is this?¡¯ Larry''s eyes fell on his stubby arms, ¡®I know I didn¡¯t die. Else I probably wouldn¡¯t be a Larvitar,¡¯ His thoughts spiraled and he started to hear his own heartbeat quicken, ¡®Probably, right?¡¯ Larry coughed up some more water into his mouth, before swallowing it back down in thirst, he was still far too hurt to properly assess the situation. One thought immediately came to mind as he lay in the white expanse, splayed out on his stomach, ¡®Maybe it''s man-made¡­¡¯ He shook his head and admonished himself, ¡®I¡¯m going crazy here and I can¡¯t even move¡­¡¯ So he closed his eyes, ¡®Let¡¯s sleep.¡¯ Chapter 40 - Interlude ¡°How long till¡¯ we get there?¡± Valerie parroted back for what must¡¯ve been the fifteenth time. ¡°We should see it peek out above the trees soon¡­¡± Drew answered back, for the eighth time. The first seven times he¡¯d responded, he had been honest, but his daughter''s enthusiasm had gotten somewhat out of control at points. She¡¯d asked about everything and anything regarding his job, he remembered telling her about his workplace before, but she¡¯d seemingly not heard enough now that she was actually going there. ¡°Okay¡­¡± She practically vibrated in her seat as they drove on the road leading through Route 28. They had already gone past the League Reception Gate and Valerie had tracked the building as they drove past with her head like a hawk. It reminded Drew of his journey and when he¡¯d taken on the Elite Four, it had been so long ago now. He¡¯d just eked out a win on his eighth badge, honestly, if it were his call he wouldn¡¯t have given himself the badge, but he wasn¡¯t going NOT to take it, was he? Drew had just barely made it through Victory Road, even his Ace Sandslash had met its match in the depths of the caves. And then when he got into his match against the Elite Four, Lorelei swept through him like his Pokemon weren¡¯t even there. The event had been a bit of a wake-up call for Drew. Another trainer might¡¯ve taken a loss on such a grand stage more personally, bitterly trying to assure themselves of their skill and simply trying again. But he instead took the hard journey back home and became a ranger. Drew sighed, smiling wistfully in remembrance. In the distance, the top of the watchtower came into view as it just peeked over the treetops. The orange and black design of the tower stood out starkly against the dark green pines that populated the land around Mt. Silver. In the passenger seat, Valerie gave out a wistful and quiet ¡°Woow!¡± in amazement. ¡°What¡¯s so amazing? It''s just a small tower.¡± Drew asked with a childish grin, ¡°You told me about the tower, but you never showed any pictures of it! It¡¯s so cool! And way bigger than you told me!¡± She was jumping in her seat, whirling her head between her Dad and the tower. Internally, he was already fist-bumping himself at how adorable she was and how much his daughter already loved his work, but he played it cool: ¡°It¡¯s so-so. Once you sit in there for longer, it feels smaller¡­¡± ¡°C¡¯mon Dad, I can see you grinning!¡± She poked the side of his arm with a single finger. ¡°Easy, I¡¯m driving,¡± he deflected, ¡°We¡¯ll be on shift with Maxy, you¡¯ll love her.¡± The truck''s suspension jostled as it hopped from the dirt path onto the tarmac street built underneath the watchtower, and he parked his truck in the middle of the three parking spots that they had available. As he opened the door of his car, he released Sandslash out next to it, ¡°Buddy, watch out for-¡± Valerie rushed past him and Sandslash and onto the treadplate staircase up the watchtower. ¡°Dad, we¡¯re going from the car to the tower; no Pokemon is gonna attack me.¡± ¡°...Alright¡­¡± Drew acquiesced, ¡°C¡¯mon, Buddy.¡± ¡­ It was a bit after morning now, Drew sipped his coffee as he leaned on the railing that lined the outside of the watchtower. He heard the door open behind him. ¡°Val is just such a sweetheart isn¡¯t she?¡± Maxie swooned. ¡°She sure is. You let her do the work in there alone?¡± Maxie lined up next to him on the railing with her own coffee. ¡°Sure, why not? It''s only been an hour or so, and she¡¯s already working! What do you feed her so that she absorbs information like that? It took me like a week to check all the different forms we use!¡± Larry took another sip before answering, ¡°She does complain about school a lot, maybe I¡¯ve got a genius on my hands.¡± ¡°Or an idiot,¡± She pointed at herself with a slight smile and scoffed. ¡°Probably an idiot.¡± ¡°Hey!¡± ¡°Kidding, kidding.¡± Drew sighed. ¡°But seriously,¡± Maxie continued, ¡°I want someone here for the paperwork side of things, why not let her come here more often?¡± ¡°Because she¡¯d need to be hired by the rangers and she¡¯s far too young for any position, even the apprenticeships.¡± Drew answered seriously, ¡°And I don¡¯t want to get in trouble with higher-ups if they find out. It''s hard enough to keep her sitting still at home.¡± ¡°Seesh,¡± Maxie sighed before leaning in to whisper more quietly, ¡°and her mom still doesn¡¯t want anything to do with her?¡± Drew frowned before whispering back, ¡°I don¡¯t want Val near her anyway.¡± ¡°Then why not get her to a school or other kind of place to watch over her?¡± Maxie pressed, ¡°You can¡¯t let a young girl like her waste away on a couch in front of a TV.¡±If you stumble upon this narrative on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen from Royal Road. Please report it. His brows creased and another sip of coffee flowed in before he rasped his throat, ¡°You know I don¡¯t like those places¡­¡± Her mother had left Valerie to him for however long after her birth, he had managed to confront her at times. But for the most part, she was living it up somewhere in a city in Kanto, while he lived near Mt. Silver as a ranger with their daughter. There was a community around here, they didn¡¯t live in the sticks, the area surrounding the league reception and the routes it connects to had what would normally amount to a city built around it. It just wasn¡¯t a city though, it was a community. No school, no shopping, and most amenities were provided by the league due to the reception to the Indigo Platue being there. ¡°Oh sure, I know you like the ranger job, but you shouldn¡¯t start fearing the city life just because your girlfriend lives there.¡± Maxie joked. ¡°Don¡¯t call her my girlfriend.¡± Drew bit out, ¡°The last time I ever heard a lick of her was more than 9 months ago.¡± ¡°The way you talk about her, she might as well be dead. I¡¯m honestly surprised she still keeps in contact with you guys in any way.¡± ¡°Whatever, this is tiring.¡± Drew turned and drank down the remains of his coffee before crushing the paper cup in his grip, ¡°I¡¯ll get back to work helping Val.¡± ¡°Sure thing.¡± Maxie agreed with a catty smile, before following him back inside. ¡­ The sun was high in the sky by now. It had taken them all morning to get the paperwork sorted. ¡°Oh, so those forms use the other number?¡± With furrowed brows, Valerie picked through the mess of paperwork on the table to fill out the form ¡°I couldn¡¯t tell you why either,¡± Maxie shook her head disappointingly, ¡°Probably some ¡®We¡¯ve been doing it this way for centuries¡¯ kind of mess. My boss once told me they still use deprecated names of some regions in some systems.¡± Valerie finally laid the last piece of paperwork on top of the stack and leaned back in her chair, sighing, ¡°And you do this every day?¡± ¡°Yup,¡± Drew answered back from across the room, ¡°That''s the life of working adults for you. Nothing fun about it.¡± ¡°Man,¡± Valerie said disappointingly, ¡°If this is it, then I¡¯m kind of disappointed¡­¡± Maxie exchanged a look with Drew, and they rose from their seats simultaneously. ¡°You¡¯re in luck then,¡± Drew began, ¡°The paperwork normally comes after, because it takes so long, but with you around we got through it in pretty much half a day.¡± ¡°Huh?¡± Valerie muttered in confusion. ¡°Drew kept it under wraps as a surprise, but we¡¯re doing a census right now. That''s what all the paperwork was for.¡± Valerie revealed. Both Drew and Maxie started preparing as they pulled a smaller-sized yet still oversized ranger outfit from a coathanger and pushed it into her arms, ¡°You¡¯re going to help us keep count of the Pokemon population for the rest of our shift.¡± ¡°Really?!¡± Valerie shot up from her seat with a look of pure glee before turning to Drew with a pout, ¡°Dad! You could¡¯ve told me!¡± He only grinned back, ¡°Sorry, it was supposed to be a surprise. I knew you¡¯d love this.¡± She immediately slipped into the slightly oversized overall and zipped it up right in front of the two of them as she raved, ¡°Getting to explore a Route without being a trainer and watching for wild Pokemon! This is so awesome!¡± After zipping up the overall, she ran over to her approaching father and smashed into him with a hug, ¡°Thank you for taking me, Dad!¡± ¡°Let¡¯s go, guys! We don¡¯t have all day!¡± Maxie called from the door. Drew quickly led his daughter outside to their Ranger truck. He released Sandslash into the back of the truck and placed his daughter in the middle seat between the two of them, and they began their drive. ¡­ A key turned, and the watchtower''s door flew open again in the darkness of night. The three of them practically tumbled inside at the same time. Everyone scrambled to find a chair as they stumbled inside the dark watchtower. Light switches were flicked, and radios were turned on as they made themselves once again comfortable after a six-hour drive down Route 28, all the way right to the bottom of Mt. Silver and then back. Valerie took a final sip from a bottle she¡¯d brought with her before reclining in her chair, ¡°Wow¡­¡± she sighed in amazement before launching herself up in her chair in excitement, ¡°We saw so many different Pokemon!¡± ¡°So many Doduo¡­¡± Maxine said in more joking fearful reverance than anything else. The two had become fast friends sitting next to each other on the bench seat of their ranger truck. They surprisingly shared a lot of interests and Valerie''s naturally cheery disposition made it easy for her to make friends. ¡°Sure there were a lot of Doduo,¡± Valerie defended, ¡°But that Rapidash with her Ponyta young was so graceful! I¡¯ve never seen a Pokemon that looks so powerful!¡± ¡°Yeah, but there were so many Doduo¡­¡± Drew repeated, ¡°I know they form packs and trample a lot of stuff, but in the last years, they never came this close to the route. We might want to put that info together in a report to warn trainers.¡± Maxie waved him off, ¡°Write it up, we do that after the census is complete.¡± She rose from her seat with her hands on her hips as she approached Valerie, ¡°So? Did you have fun on the ¡®Bring-Your-Kid-To-Work¡¯ Day?¡± ¡°Did I have fun?!¡± Valerie asked bewildered, ¡°What the hell-¡± ¡°Language!¡± Drew intersected. ¡°-Heck do you think?!¡± She corrected, ¡°This was amazing! I wanna be a ranger now!¡± Valerie asked her father, ¡°Can I be a ranger, Dad?!¡± ¡°You can be anything you want Val,¡± Drew announced with a proud smile on his face as he whipped around in his office chair in excitement, ¡°And considering I managed it, I¡¯d be amazed if my genius little girl couldn¡¯t.¡± ¡°Sure, Mister Eight-badge trainer,¡± Maxie rolled her eyes. ¡°Vals a genius, Max,¡± Drew began, ¡°As a trainer, she¡¯d be world champ, as a ranger, she¡¯d be one of the Top-Rangers, as a¡­¡± Both girls began to drown out the father''s insane ramblings about his daughter''s future accomplishments, before Valerie spoke over him, ¡°This was amazing, Dad. I got to see so much I¡¯ve never been able to. Can I come here again?¡± Drew stopped his ramblings and scratched his chin in contemplation, ¡°Hmm, that might be hard before the next ¡®Bring-Your-Kid-To-Work¡¯ Day¡­¡± ¡°C¡¯mon Dad,¡± She turned up the charm, pulling at any semblance of Fairy-TE to imitate her best impression of Baby-Doll Eyes, ¡°Pretty please?¡± Before the ¡®Pretty please¡¯ even left her mouth she already knew that she had won as Drew squinted his eyes in thought, ¡°...This week probably won¡¯t work anymore, but I¡¯ll try and talk to the higher-ups about it¡­¡± ¡°Yaay!¡± She hugged herself close to her dad in celebration. ¡°That¡¯ll be all for us two today, though, " Drew interjected. Freeing himself from his daughter''s grasp, he turned to Maxie. I¡¯m clocking out to bring Valerie home. When I¡¯m coming back here tomorrow morning, Henry will be down here, right?¡± ¡°Yup,¡± Maxie confirmed as she watched the two of them prepare to leave, ¡°Have a good night Val!¡± ¡°Goodnight!¡± She waved back as the two of them left for the night. Chapter 41 - Interlude Drew sauntered into the living room, where Valerie and his Sandslash were lounging on the couch, looking at the TV with an absent look, ¡°Alright, I¡¯ve got confirmation from the big bosses. You¡¯ve got permission for another day down at the watchtower.¡± Her head perked up before she finally registered Drew''s words in her mind, and she whirled her head around in surprise. ¡°Really? Really-Really?!¡± Sandslash whipped around to its trainers, digging its claws into the couch, ¡°Woah, cool it, Buddy!¡± Drew carefully lifted his friend''s arms, rolling him back onto his side and tucking his arms back onto his stomach. Turning back to his daughter he continued, ¡°Yep, really-really.¡± ¡°When?!¡± Valerie leaned over the backrest of the couch precariously, almost tipping the thing over before Drew managed to get his hands on her shoulders to support her, ¡°You cool it too Val, alright?¡± ¡°Alright¡­¡±, Her chest rose heavily and her eyes were open just a bit too wide, but she relented, placing herself back down onto the couch. Drew placed himself between his Pokemon and his daughter before beginning his explanation. ¡°You¡¯ll go there tomorrow with me, on the Monday. We should be finishing up the census of the route, so you¡¯ll be going up to the base of Mt. Silver with us once again.¡± Drew clarified. ¡°Yess!¡± Valerie pumped her fist with a grin before wrapping up her dad in a hug, ¡°Thank you, Dad! I love you!¡± Drew reciprocated the hug with a stupid grin, ¡°No problem, I wouldn¡¯t want you to go crazy at home here.¡± After releasing, Drew cleared his throat before speaking up again, ¡°Although I want to make something clear before taking you on more trips.¡± ¡°What is it?¡± Valerie asked with a quirk of her head. ¡°What do you want to do in the future?¡± Drew asked seriously, ¡°You¡¯re turning thirteen soon and you could go to a normal school instead of relying on my homeschooling, learn something you want, and then go into a job you¡¯ll like.¡± His daughter had a conflicted look on her face as she listened to her father. Drew threw an arm around his daughter, ¡°I¡¯m not going to push anything onto any path, I know you¡¯ve got your interests figured out. Tell me, what do you wanna be?¡± She considered Drew''s question seriously before answering with a smile, ¡°I love Pokemon, I wanna do something with Pokemon!¡± Drew nodded along with the answer, ¡°There are a lot of things you could do if you wanted to work with Pokemon.¡± He turned to the TV where a highly dramatized ranger TV drama was playing, ¡°You want to be a ranger?¡± Drew asked as he put a hand on her head affectionately, ¡°From the way you worked last time, I know you¡¯d be wasted on some random ranger station.¡± ¡°I don¡¯t know,¡± Valerie answered far more seriously, ¡°I just know I want to get closer to Pokemon!¡± ¡°Well, there are a lot of jobs in which you work with Pokemon, a breeder, move tutor, doctor, or maybe even a trainer.¡± Drew said amicably, before shifting back, ¡°I can tell you a lot about the ranger or trainer life, but the decision is up to you Val.¡± ¡°You just want me to be a ranger so I can work with you.¡± Valerie accused him in a scolding tone and distrustful stare. Retreating at the accusation, Drew ran a hand through his hair as he laughed, ¡°You got me, you got me. But can you blame a dad for wanting his daughter to get into his work? I know you¡¯d love the work.¡± ¡°Being a trainer sounds cool too though¡­¡± Valerie countered. ¡°It''s very dangerous though. A ton of trainers get hurt or die during their journey,¡± Her father cut in quickly, clearly not as unbiased as he made himself out to be, ¡°I know you¡¯re a smart cookie, bu-¡± ¡°No buts!¡± Valerie cut him off, ¡°I am a smart cookie! The smartest!¡± He threw his hands up defensively, ¡°Alright, you most definitely are. Just know it''s dangerous stuff, when you make your choice in the future.¡± ¡°Alright¡­¡± ¡­ The door to the watchtower gingerly opened and Valerie walked in with her father following closely behind, ¡°I¡¯m back!¡± ¡°Welcome, Welcome!¡± Henry greeted the two of them as they walked in with a wave of the hand, ¡°So you¡¯re Drew¡¯s little girl?¡± ¡°My name is Valerie! Nice to meet you!¡± She struck out an open hand which Henry shook respectfully before turning to Drew, ¡°Well-mannered and positively adorable!¡± ¡°She sure is!¡± Drew agreed with a nod. ¡°Makes wonder how a slouch like Drew had such a cute daughter!¡± ¡°Hey! I clean up nicely!¡± Drew cried out indignantly, ¡°Just don¡¯t have anyone to clean up for¡­¡± Valerie returned to her father''s side as the two adults continued their heckling comedy routine, ¡°So what am I supposed to do then Dad? You said we¡¯re still doing the census¡± She stuttered out at the end. ¡°We got the paperwork done on Friday, due to Valerie''s help,¡± Drew supplied as he ruffled a hand through his daughter''s hair, ¡°So we¡¯ll be getting out there right away now that we¡¯re here.¡±Support the creativity of authors by visiting the original site for this novel and more. ¡°Alright, then I¡¯ll be here for emergencies.¡± Henry nodded along. ¡°Huh?¡± Valerie questioned, ¡°Didn¡¯t Maxine come with us on Friday?¡± ¡°Yeah, because we still weren¡¯t sure how good you were at this and we needed one person for driving and one for counting.¡± Patting her hair back down Drew continued, ¡°But you have proven yourself, my dear Valerie!¡± ¡°Indeed¡± Henry answered in a regaling tone, ¡°For you have shown clear talent in the action of counting!¡± ¡°I have!¡± Valerie readily agreed in a slightly sarcastic tone. ¡°So this time around, I¡¯ll do the driving again and you¡¯ll do the counting again, while Henry stays here on desk duty!¡± Drew explained. ¡°Nice!¡± Valerie celebrated. ¡°You wound me, Little Val won¡¯t even miss me during her census adventures.¡± Henry grabbed at his heart theatrically. ¡°I¡¯ve known you for less than 5 minutes! Of course, I don''t care about you!¡± Valerie lashed out in a childish tone. Henry grabbed at his heart again, this time far less theatrically than the last time, and fell back into his chair. ¡°Ouch!¡± Drew snickered as he handed his daughter her oversized overall, ¡°Better get some ketchup for those harsh browns you¡¯re serving up, Val!¡± The two quickly got dressed for work as Henry slowly recovered from the verbal abuse, ¡°Good Luck, guys!¡± ¡°Bye¡± ¡°Bye-bye!¡± The two of them answered as the door closed behind them. ¡­ The two entered the work truck once more and began their drive up to Mt. Silver, Drew kept his eyes on the precarious trail that ran through Route 28 and led to Mt. Silver while Valerie manned the computer and used the counting device as she scanned the sides of the road. The route was wide enough for a large pickup to drive through, but its sides were still almost completely covered by a shallow forest. Route 28, while at some points it raised or lowered, was for the most part flat, only actually beginning to rise once the Route ended and the outside of Mt. Silver itself came into view. Yet still, an offroading vehicle was required for the muddy and rocky parts of the trail if one wanted to brave the Route not on their own feet or on a Pokemon. Unfortunately for them, none of the local rangers were lucky enough to own a Pokemon that they could mount, so they received a vehicle to be able to do their work. Drew felt fortunate for the truck, even if it was an older model. If it took him around three to five hours in the truck trudging his way along the trail just to reach Mt. Silver he wouldn¡¯t want to know how bruised and battered his body would be if he was riding up to it every day on an Arcanine or other Pokemon. Sure, they¡¯d be there quicker by not necessarily needing to follow the trail, but what worth would that have for the census they¡¯re doing right now? Three or so hours into their drive, Valerie spotted a wooden structure through the foliage, ¡°Huh? Was that there last time?¡± She turned to her father, ¡°Dad, do people live out here?¡± Drew turned as he realized they were driving by the building, a quaint little wood hut stood a small distance away from the trial, connected by a thing walking trail, ¡°Oh yeah! Some celebrity or something lives over there. We talked to her before, just making sure she¡¯s ok out here but I can¡¯t remember her name for the life of me right now.¡± ¡°Famous? How famous?¡± Valerie''s interest was piqued. ¡°I¡¯m not sure, I think this is some kind of hideaway, so I didn¡¯t want to pry back then.¡± The conversation died as more Pokemon appeared on the sides of the trial and Drew''s apparent disinterest in his workplace neighbor began to show. The drive was long and arduous, the repeated clicks of the counting device and the hum of the diesel engine giving the act a quiet rhythm even through the dirt path which uncomfortably bumped against their spines. Pokemon peeked curiously at the loud man-made vehicle passing through the wilderness, keeping a respectful difference at the same time. ¡­ They finally arrived a the base of the mountain with a squeak of the breaks and a final sputter of the engine as the ignition of the truck was turned off. Sandslash hopped off the back of the truck and waited expectantly next to the driver-side door as the two of them exited the vehicle. ¡°Aargh, this thing might be built for the off-road, but they¡¯re still utilitarian.¡± Drew groaned as he stretched next to the door. ¡°My butts all sore¡­¡± Valerie complained as she nursed her behind. ¡°My everything is all sore,¡± Drew countered as he continued stretching, ¡°You should count yourself lucky you¡¯re still young.¡± Valerie admired the mountain as Drew kept on stretching, ¡°Last time it was already pretty dark by the time we got here, Mt. Silver is pretty imposing up close, huh?¡± ¡°Sure is.¡± Drew agreed, cracking his fingers and wrists, ¡°You can see it from back home as well, right?¡± ¡°Yeah, but from the windows at home, it''s so far away it doesn¡¯t really look real, back home it felt more like a backdrop.¡± Up close the mountain cut an imposing figure as its singular flat tip cut straight up into the sky, the snowy flat top of the mountain looked serene from so far below. Drew had heard and seen the insides a few times already and the place just disquieted him, the insides were positively teeming with Pokemon, powerful Pokemon at that. The complete ecology of the mountain wasn¡¯t a mystery to the ranger, Drew just hadn¡¯t read up on it but from what he knew the Pokemon inside were strong, even young Pokemon being far stronger than those in the other caves one could explore in Kanto and or Jotho. Whether it was due to strong parent Pokemon, a large amount of local competition, a special food source, or all of the above or something entirely different. Drew just knew the place was perfect to train if you were in the first percentile of trainers. He¡¯d never gotten that far, but it was public knowledge that if you weren¡¯t an elite trainer and you were making your way to Mt. Silver it was your funeral. Valerie and Drew leaned against the truck as the two of them looked up at the mountain. Just then as the two of them took their well-deserved break, Sandslashes ear perked up and it looked at the ground curiously, before it suddenly shot up and began to grasp at Drew''s pant leg frantically, ¡°Sla! Sla!¡± ¡°What¡¯s up, buddy? Something up?¡± Drew was just about to let go of the side of the truck bed and lean down to calm down his Sandslash, but before he managed to the ground began to violently shake and a violent wave of heat shot out of the mouth of the mountains cavern. Fearing that his brows might get seared straight off of his face at the heat, Drew acted quickly, ¡°Buddy! Stone Edge in front!¡± His Pokemon acted quickly, raising a sharp wall of spikes to shield them from the extreme heat as the two of them quickly raced behind the truck for a more constant shield. ¡°What''s going on?!¡± Valerie asked in a panic. Drew wanted to assuage his daughter''s fears but before he was able to, loud cracks resounded from the sides of Mt. Silver as gigantic cracks began to form on the mountain. Rocks tumbled and collected up each other as they rolled downhill, quickly coalescing into a cacophony of sound as a rock slide bore down on them. ¡°I don¡¯t know! But we need to move!¡± Drew cried out. Chapter 42 - Interlude Drew wanted nothing more than to get out of here, but the heat emanating from the cave entrance kept increasing and there was still an entire Rock Slide approaching their location. Sandslash reinforced the stone pillars he¡¯d formed, raising many more spikes in front of the cave entrance, ¡®The perfect day to not take the full team with me!¡¯ ¡°Wave them into each other, Buddy!¡± Drew commanded. Buddy obliged with a nod. He wove the spikes into each other, making a tall basin of rock to catch the rock in front of Mt. Silver''s entrance. By the time he had completed his work, smaller pebbles were already raining down on them, and a giant cloud of dust followed just behind the stones. ¡°Alright Buddy, next-¡± WHOMP! Just as Drew was about to issue one final command, a gigantic boulder smashed into his Pokemon''s rock weave with an impossibly loud crash. The cacophony of noise only seemed to increase as more and more rock, boulders, gravel, and other debris began to collect in the large woven rock basket created by his ace. He could see what was about to happen, ¡°Reinforce it!¡± Sandslash dug its claws into the green grass and began to raise another layer of woven stones to reinforce the construct. Its work was for nothing though, as the cracks and fissures from the mountain began to spiderweb outwards as the ground around them began to quake violently, cracking in various places and opening up large fissures all around them. ¡®Damn! What the hell is going on?!¡¯ Drew cried out in his mind as he scooped up his daughter in a panic, ¡®This isn¡¯t normal!¡¯ Valerie for her part looked like a deer in headlights as she watched the cloud of dust finally roll over them. ¡°SCREEECH!¡± A loud bird cry echoed out of the insides of the cavern, dispelling another large swath of dust with a gout of heat that blasted the basket in front of the exit, shooting sharp pebbles in their general direction. One of the windows of the truck shattered as a stray pebble struck it, and the body of the truck violently jolted as a large boulder struck its side, managing to merely stay in place due to the parking brake. The noise gave Drew pause though, was a loud hiss of air as one of the sharp-edged pebbles sliced apart the sidewall of one of their tires. ¡°Shit!¡± Drew tried not to swear in front of his kid, but he was overwhelmed and knew he needed to do something, anything. He just didn¡¯t know what was to be done at this point. His gaze naturally traveled down to his daughter, ¡°Valerie?¡± She didn¡¯t respond her eyes transfixed on the natural disaster happening in front of them, ¡°Val!¡± ¡°W-What?!¡± She turned suddenly like she¡¯d just realized she wasn¡¯t in some movie scene. ¡°You need to get out here, I can protect myself, but I¡¯m not sure I can protect a second person.¡± Drew quickly ripped open the driver-side door of the truck they¡¯d been hiding next to, before handing his daughter a large backpack that had been sitting in the middle of the car. ¡°Dad?¡± Valerie still looked up at her father with wide eyes as he manhandled the backpack onto her, ¡°W-What are you doing?!¡± ¡°Alright, Val!¡± Drew announced as calmly as he could as a shower of increasingly violent spray of stones began to rain down on the passenger side of their truck, ¡°On three we run back there to the treeline, ok? You listening too Buddy? Spot us.¡± ¡°Sla!¡± Sandslash answered back loudly next to him, it began peering around the bodywork of the truck to watch the rockslide descend onto them. ¡°Wha-¡± Valerie tried to stutter out another question, but Drew spoke over her. ¡°Alright, Ready? Three? Two? ONE! GO GO GO!¡± Drew pulled Valerie along as they ran away from the truck and to the side, making for the trail they¡¯d driven through to get to the entrance. RRRUM Through the dust and debris, a giant boulder careened straight towards the two of them. Valerie''s eyes grew wide as saucers and she was just about to cry out in panic, before a stone spire shot out of the earth and rebounded the boulder away from them and onto their truck, whose entire rear and truck bed was crushed flat underneath its weight. She slowed and looked on in awe at the speed at which the boulder was redirected like a pinball by Sandslash before her father tugged on her arm in alarm. ¡°Keep going! We¡¯re almost out!¡± A few stray pebbles hit Drew''s arm, but once they were inside the bed of trees most of the bigger stones were out of the equation as they were being blocked by the treeline. They looked back as the dust cloud still rolling over their parked truck before a giant boulder easily the size of a semi suddenly smashed through the clearing. WHOMP The truck was crushed completely flat under its weight as the entire front face of the mountain had seemingly decided to come loose at the same time. Drew patted his daughter on the shoulder as they huddled behind a large oak tree, ¡°Seems we¡¯re lucky we got away from there.¡±This story has been taken without authorization. Report any sightings. Valerie for her part looked absolutely flabbergasted, her mouth hung agape and her eyes were transfixed on the former truck, now nothing more than a piece of scrap metal. ¡°What was that?¡± She asked as she pointed towards the clearing. ¡°Fuck if I know.¡± Drew barely swore, so his current vernacular was completely new to his daughter. It was an old trait though, Drew began to swear when in high-stress situations, ¡°Alright-,¡± The endless flow of stone, boulders, and debris was just beginning to finally wane when suddenly something made itself known again. ¡°SCCREEE!¡± An incredibly loud bird screech echoed from the depths of the cave behind a thick layer of dust and suddenly the air around the clearing became swelteringly hot. Drew knew something was coming, so he acted out of instinct again as he grabbed his daughter into his arms and threw himself and her to the ground, ¡°Buddy, Rock Tomb us!¡± The two of them instantly sagged into the ground as a sandy layer of dirt covered them gently. ¡°CAAAAAW!¡± Another loud cry sounded out and the dirt above them began to heat up, it started as a pleasant warmth, but in a matter of seconds the heat became unbearable, the sand above lost all its natural moisture before beginning to sear Drew''s uniform, ¡°Aargh!¡± ¡­ Whatever bird was up there, stomped around pridefully for a few more seconds before it took flight. The temperature dropped instantly, and the sand cooled back down to a bearable temperature. ¡°Dad?¡± Still in her father''s embrace and covered under a layer of sand, Valerie finally found the courage to call out in a worried tone, ¡°Are you alright?¡± Drew didn¡¯t answer though, ¡°Buddy?¡± Sandslash worked its magic and the two of them rose on a hard piece of ground out of the impromptu cover which Sandslash had created. Her father finally released his grip on her and Valerie got her first real look at the carnage around them. The trees surrounding the clearing of the cave entrance of Mt. Silver were singed, their bark looked dry and burnt, while the leaves which were facing the cave looked to be either a sickly yellow instead of the vibrant green they¡¯d been before or completely burnt off. Previously, grass had grown in the clearing to the cavern, with a simple pairing of dirt tracks for vehicles and people to follow. Now the grass looked yellow, heated to an ugly brown or in the case of a quite obvious trail, completely burnt away. Whatever Pokemon they¡¯d been forced to hide from, it was most definitely a Fire-Type, Valerie was sure of it. But why had it caused a rock slide and why had it cried out anyway? Looking down to contemplate her questions, her eyes fell on her father, who she just now noticed looked far worse for wear than before. ¡°Oh, Dad! What happened?!¡± Valerie cried out and put a hand on his shoulder, forcing Drew to cry out in pain. ¡°Ooh! Don¡¯t! Jus- Just don¡¯t touch Val ok?¡± Valerie''s eyes began to bead with tears as Drew fought his expression into a reassuring smile, ¡°I protected you, took most of the heat of that thing. Burned my back.¡± ¡°Dad¡­¡± Val started again but was cut off by her dad. ¡°Can¡¯t move, even talking hurts. Val, you gotta be a big girl and call for help.¡± Drew ground out. ¡°Wh- What am I supposed to do?!¡± Valerie panicked seeing her dad in such a state, she¡¯d never been in such a perilous situation before. The highest of highs she¡¯d experienced before was one of her favorite characters in a drama dying, she¡¯d cried her eyes out for almost three hours then. ¡°Backpack¡­¡± Drew forced himself to say, with a pained expression, ¡°...Radio, call an emergency.¡± Val shucked off the pack as if it had bitten her, she ripped open the zipper and rummaged through the inside like she was possessed. Finally, she found the device and fumbled it in her hand for a second to find out how to turn the thing on, before she found the switch. BWO-WEEP! Startled, she almost dropped the thing onto the forest floor before catching it again. BWEE! As she caught it, she grasped it weirdly and pushed a button on the side, ¡°Wha- Huh?! Is it on? Wha-! Da-?¡± WEEP! ¡°Push the button to talk¡­Ugh!¡± Drew explained to his panicking daughter, ¡°Argh! Tell ''em¡¯ what happened, baby!¡± Valerie looked at the thing reverently, she had never owned a mobile phone of her own, so she thought the thing in her hands was technology of the future. She pushed the button again, BWEE! ¡°H-Hello?¡± She tested warily before remembering a show she¡¯d watched on TV before, ¡°O-Over¡­¡± WEEP! A tense silence descended on the forest, a stray pebble rolled down the hill in the distance, the burnt trees swayed in the wind. Seconds went by in minutes as Valerie watched her fathers face wrinkle in agony, before the radio finally answered. ¡°Valerie? Did you just activate the radio? We just had some intense seismic readings from your location, I hope nothing bad happened. Over.¡± Henrys voice over the radio dispelled the mounting anxiety like rainfall in a desert and Valerie could feel herself smile at his voice before she came back to the severity of the situation. BWEE! ¡°Henry! Da-, I mean Drew is injured! The truck got crushed by a rockslide and we almost died and then some crazy Pokemon almost burned us to death and now Drew¡¯s got burns on his back!¡± Valerie rattled off everything that had happened to her before realizing she¡¯d still been pressing down the button, ¡°Uh, over!¡± WEEP! The radio stayed quiet for another agonizing five seconds before it answered, ¡°You serious? Alright, I¡¯ll call for some backup! Can you get Drew on the phone? Over.¡± Drew tried to move his arm to take the device, but immediately winced in pain and retracted after he tried, ¡°Agh! Hold it to my mouth Val.¡± BWEE! ¡°Hey Henry,¡± Drew groaned out, ¡°Get some fliers here, I think these are second-degree burns. Ugh, over¡± WEEP! ¡°Alright, signals already sent out. I¡¯ll be making my way over there too. You guys just hold down the fort! Over!¡± Henry sounded like he was already walking around, judging by the noises in the background. How he was going to get here considering their truck was now more pancake than motor vehicle, Valerie didn¡¯t know how he was going to get there. A quick confirmation was sent his way and the two kept off of the radio waves for now, hoping for the signal from the other group of rangers to arrive. Just as Valerie was about to ask for more instructions on what to do, the earth rumbled ominously again. She looked around in a panic, fearing another rockslide, but the quaking stopped just as quickly as it arrived. The only difference was, the noise of flowing water sounded out in the distance. Chapter 43 - Interlude Valerie kept her father company as they waited, they woke up at six in the morning and the drive to work had taken them around thirty minutes. So including morning prep, they had started on their four-hour drive around seven. It was still winter, but around the base of Mt. Silver, it was warm enough for there to be no visible ice or snow, only a slight bit of morning dew was still running over the plants away from the clearing, slowly being evaporated by the clear sun in the sky. A groaning scream penetrated the serene quiet of the mountain vista as Valerie gingerly pulled away her father''s uniform which had been sitting on the area containing the burn. The uniform and undershirt hadn¡¯t melted, but the burn area had clearly somewhat adhered to the clothing. ¡°Uhhn¡­¡± Drew let out another groan as he lay on the dirt ground. Valerie had helped him get his uniform off of him, peeling the polyester undershirt off of his burnt back like the skin off of a banana in a display that almost forced the cereal she had in the morning back up. Her father''s entire back looked more like a disused wall, whose paint was beginning to chip off, ranging from a rosy pink to an inflamed red. Patches of skin had ripped themselves off of her father''s back as she had peeled off his uniform. ¡°A-And now?¡± She had a first aid kid neatly placed next to her, which she had found in the backpack Drew had shucked onto her. She didn¡¯t like the situation, but her father was in trouble and she would see him through it. ¡°Clean, Huff¡­, the burn with cool water¡­¡± Drew said through clenched teeth. Valerie picked up a small water bottle she¡¯d taken with her on the trip and began pouring its contents over her father''s back, the second the water hit his back though, Drew let out another groaning cry, before he fought out another sentence. ¡°Make a compress¡­Ugh¡­Cold water on cloth!¡± ¡°I-, I uh,¡± Valerie looked at the bottle, now empty, ¡°W-We don¡¯t have any water anymore¡­¡± ¡°Mmrgh! There¡¯s water nearby¡­It¡¯ll have to do¡­¡± Drew forced out, ¡°Go look¡­for it¡­¡± ¡°Is-Is that safe?!¡± Valerie hadn¡¯t stepped foot on any Routes before so the idea of leaving her dad''s side was a terrifying prospect. ¡°Powerful Pokemon scare away weaker ones¡­¡± Drew stated between labored beats, ¡°...that rockslide and Pokemon probably scared everything away, hopefully¡­¡± Valerie waited for more, not hoping for that sentence to end on a hopefully, but it seemed that that was everything she was getting. She raised herself off the ground and put on the backpack, ¡°Alright Dad. I¡¯ll go look for some water.¡± ¡°Take Buddy with you,¡± Drew stated as he nodded in his Pokemon''s direction, ¡°He¡¯ll protect you. Go on Buddy.¡± ¡°Sla! Sla!¡± Buddy seemed less than enthused to leave his trainer''s side, but after some more encouragement relented. ¡°I¡¯ll be back in fifteen minutes tops!¡± Valerie announced, ¡°You stay still, ok?¡± Drew waved a hand in her general direction before wincing, ¡°I¡¯ll be fine, just need to wait for the rangers.¡± ¡°Alright¡­¡± Valerie turned down to her childhood friend as she listened to the sound of rushing water in the distance., ¡°Let''s go, Buddy.¡± ¡°Sla!¡± ¡­ Valerie stalked through the brush on the side of Mt. Silver, her head whirled every which way, looking for any Pokemon that might attack her as she advanced towards the sound of rushing water. Her hands felt clammy and her throat felt parched as she squinted her eyes in an attempt to investigate a suspicious-looking branch, high up in a tree. ¡°Sla! ¡°Eep! Don¡¯t scare me like that buddy!¡± Valerie admonished her father''s Pokemon as she put a hand on its head. Sandslash looked up at her like she was stupid, Pokemon had far shaper senses than any trainer and he knew there weren¡¯t any wild Pokemon nearby simply by how quiet it was around here. Buddy gave off a huff of arrogance before he continued towards the water source. ¡°Ah, wait!¡± Valerie followed after Buddy quickly. The scenery soon turned more wild, as the foliage on the ground seemed to increase the further away Valerie strayed from the Route. Where the grass had once been just up to her ankles, it now began to go up to her shins and then finally her knees. Valerie felt fortunate to be wearing the orange ranger uniform now, as her previous attire of shorts and a simple T-shirt would have been far too little for this kind of environment. The trees also became far denser away from the route, going from a spare sprawl, where trees only seemed to grow every ten meters or so apart from one another to a dense grouping in which it seemed that every inch of forest floor was taken up by some form of plant life. Her father¡¯s Sandslash maneuvered through the foliage expertly, weaving along the paths that other Pokemon had taken with practiced ease. His daughter meanwhile supported herself on the bark of multiple trees as she almost faceplanted on another patch of wet grass. Her uniform already looked like she had fallen over multiple times, even though she had somehow kept upright until now. Her favorite pair of sneakers were ruined, caked in mud, with loose blades of grass stuck all over them and sopping wet down to her socks. She¡¯d just have to hope she wouldn¡¯t be out here much longer. Valerie didn¡¯t just look harried, she felt wiped as well. Living on a diet of ready-made meals and packaged food due to her father''s occupation didn¡¯t exactly lead to a healthy body. Her hobbies of sitting in front of a TV and staying at home didn¡¯t quite help with that realization. She fought to catch her breath as she leaned against another tree, she had almost slipped into a few fissures that had broken up in between the brush, but Sandslash had been kind enough to alert her beforehand.This content has been misappropriated from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere. ¡°Huff¡­Huff¡­Haah! I¡¯m not even fifteen minutes away from Dad! Why the hell are there so many plants here?!¡± With her dad not here to scold her, Valerie had no obligations to any swear jars in the world, so she let her frustrations be known, ¡°Buddy, that waters got to be close by now right?¡± ¡°Sla!¡± ¡°I don¡¯t know what the means!¡± Val admonished herself, feeling slightly stupid for even asking. Sandslash didn¡¯t seem to care as he only accelerated, forcing Valerie to speed up her advancement as well. She cut through the brush more violently, smashing her feet through bushes and plants alike as she used trees left and right as support, ¡°Not so fast!¡± For a second, she squinted as she forced her upper body past a particularly tall plant, her advancing foot found nothing but air as she continued forward though, ¡°Woah!¡± In a last-ditch effort, she tried to grab onto something in front of her only to find nothing but air. Valerie tumbled downhill, managing to roll herself onto her side at the last second. Landing on a bank of gravel, she rolled to a stop right next to Sandslash, who stood before her triumphantly in front of a calm river of water. Brushing off stray pebbles from her completely ruined uniform uselessly, Valerie glared at her father''s Pokemon reproachfully as she raised herself, ¡°Buddy, please warn me next time. That could¡¯ve hurt!¡± ¡°Sla! Sla!¡± Sandslash pointed at her bottle of water insistently, seemingly not caring much for her struggles. He had other concerns, most pressingly, his trainer was still far from healthy back on the Route. ¡°Fine, Fine. Let¡¯s get some water and go back to Dad.¡± Valerie knelt next to the pristinely clear river of water, it was so incredibly clear she could even see her haggard reflection on the surface of the moving water. She quickly washed off her face and hands from any dirt she might¡¯ve gotten on them and started filling up some bottles with water. ¡°Sand! Sla! Slash!¡± Once the first bottle was full, her father''s Pokemon was already tugging on her sleeve in the hopes of getting back to her father. She rummaged through the backpack, brushing aside empty Pokeballs and other ranger equipment, before pulling out another empty bottle, ¡°Buddy, we might need more water, so let''s fill up more bottles.¡± Buddy acquiesced and let her fill a second bottle, she gingerly placed the bottle in the river and watched as it filled up with water. Her eyes wandered along the banks of the river, jagged pieces of fresh dirt hung on its edges and further up the river, Valerie could see multiple trees had fallen over the low bank of the river, with their roots violently ripped straight out of the ground. ¡®So this river is only running here because of the earthquake?¡¯ Valerie thought absentmindedly as her gaze transfixed on the river. Sandslash was already tugging on her arm, but her mind was elsewhere. Whatever had happened in Mt. Silver had destroyed so much of the environment that entirely new channels of water had been created, it was a terrifying prospect to her. Being covered by her dad had made the entire ordeal far less dramatic than she expected, now she kind of wished she could¡¯ve seen the Pokemon that had exited Mt. Silver back there. A speck of green in the water further of the stream caught her eyes, she squinted in the hopes of identifying the thing. She didn¡¯t have to wait long though, as the thing was slowly floating towards her. She stood and capped off the second water bottle before depositing it inside her backpack, still keeping her eyes trained on the thing.. As the speck got closer, Valerie could finally make out some details. The thing floated around helplessly in the stream, what she at first thought was some kind of bush or other foliage of some kind turned out to be a Pokemon! The thing was seemingly unconscious if not already dead, but its head just barely floated above the water so Valerie guessed unconscious. It was built stoutly, with rough olive-green skin covering almost its entire body, a large, dull horn protruded from its head, and its stomach was covered by a large red diamond-shaped shell of some sort. Valeries heart constricted at the sight, the poor thing was floating helplessly in a river. Who knows what had happened to it? Considering it was floating in a river that hadn¡¯t existed for more than half an hour by now, it must¡¯ve gotten caught in the river during the earthquake. ¡°Wait a sec, Buddy.¡± Valerie turned to the Pokemon who was practically dragging her with him by now, ¡°You see that Pokemon over there in the water?¡± Sandslash didn¡¯t care much for her concerns, only giving the river a passing glance before he continued to drag on Valerie, ¡°Slash! Slash!¡± ¡°C¡¯mon Buddy, Let go for a second! I gotta get that thing out of the water!¡± Valerie freed herself from the razor-sharp claws and rushed back closer to the river. She put a foot into the clear river water as the Pokemon approached and was almost swept off of her feet by the current, ¡°Woah!¡± Buddy, ever the hydrophobic Ground-Type stayed on the bank just next to the stream and admonished her efforts, ¡°Sand! Slash! Sa!¡± ¡°Buddy, I know wild Pokemon are dangerous and you want to get back to Dad,¡± She rolled her eyes defiantly as she got into a ready stance to catch the unconscious Pokemon, ¡°but it''s knocked out. I¡¯ll literally just put it on the bank so it doesn¡¯t get carried down the river and then we¡¯ll be going back to Dad, alright?¡± Her father¡¯s Pokemon looked conflicted, but Valerie didn¡¯t have time to keep an eye on him, the Pokemon was floating straight towards her. Like an umpire at a baseball game, she squatted down and readied herself by spreading her arms out for the thing. She finally managed to catch the Pokemon in her arms and immediately got bowled over by the thing, yet she persisted, gripping the creature in her arms as she crashed into the water, uniform, backpack, and all. Rolling ass-over backward with the thing in her arms, Valerie came to a stop after two entire rolls with the thing in her arms, this Pokemon was heavy. ¡°Paah! This thing has some heft!¡± She cried out as she cleared wet hair from her face, still sitting in the ice-cold river, ¡°Let¡¯s get you out of the water!¡± The Pokemon wasn¡¯t just heavy for its size, it must¡¯ve been heavier than her by how much she strained to get the thing out of the water, ¡°Hnng! C¡¯mon Buddy help me out here!¡± She put a hand in front of its mouth and checked if it was breathing, but she didn¡¯t feel any sort of air movement on her arm, ¡°Oh no¡­Please, Buddy, help me out here! I don¡¯t think this Pokemon is breathing!¡± Instead of helping, Sandslash simply huffed haughty, turned its head to the side, and crossed its claws over each other in clear denial, ¡°Slash!¡± Valerie glared at Buddy for a second before she had an idea, ¡°I know!¡± She looked through her backpack, luckily the insides weren¡¯t completely ruined as the thing was watertight. ¡°Aha!¡± Her hand emerged with a Pokeball in its grip, ¡°Let¡¯s get this thing to a Pokemon Center! They can help it better than we can!¡± She tapped the ball on the thing''s forehead and it disappeared in a flash of red light. The Pokeball didn¡¯t even wiggle in her hand to confirm a catch, instead, it simply gave off a satisfying click! She dropped the ball in another compartment of her backpack and waded out of the stream and back over to Sandslash, ¡°Alright, let''s get back to Dad!¡± ¡°Slash!¡± Chapter 44 ¡°Wah!¡± Larry awoke from his peaceful slumber, jolting awake quite violently. His eyes shot open instantly, ¡°Argh! Bright!¡± And they¡¯re closed shut almost immediately after, as a bright light in the sky practically burned his eyes out. He had attempted sitting up, but dull aches in his arm and torso had made that plan moot almost as quickly as he had tried sitting up. Larry rubbed at his eye with his one good arm and slowly attempted to open it, but the place he was now in was so extremely bright that it felt like he was fighting a losing battle. It became clear soon enough though that he wasn¡¯t in that white expanse anymore. With his sight impaired, Larry''s other senses heightened and he realized that for the first time in what felt like a long time, whatever he was lying down on was soft. It wasn¡¯t just soft, it was plush if anything, he ran his healthy arm along the thing and felt it deform under his touch. ¡®Holy crap¡­Where am I?¡¯ His curiosity now positively piqued, Larry tuned into his other senses as well. The place smelled clinical, there was the smell of antiseptics and disinfectant in the air and Larry even smelt a hint of something floral in the back, though he couldn¡¯t be sure if it was intentional. Larry was now absolutely sure he wasn¡¯t in the caves anymore, the caves had a distinct moist and musty earthen smell to them which would bleed into the smell here. Again, he tried to crack one eye open, ¡°Gah!¡± and regretted it almost immediately as the blinding light in the sky burned his sight again. Suddenly, a lightbulb went off in his head, ¡®Wait, that isn¡¯t a light in the sky, that''s a goddamn ceiling lamp!¡¯ He¡¯d been inside of a cave for so damn long it had taken him some time to get reacquainted with the wonders of human civilization. Larry didn¡¯t have a long time to contemplate his dilemma though, as he finally came upon another sense, hearing. First, the incessant ticking of a clock could be heard, but soon more noises came to him. In the distance, two sets of feet thumped against carpeted floors and a slightly squeaky rolling of wheels reverberated through the walls. Another connection came to mind, there were ceiling lights so he was probably in a room! ¡®Civilization!¡¯ Click! The sound of a door opening came not soon after and Larry felt his heart run a mile a minute as something rolled something into the room. Whatever it was, he couldn¡¯t move and couldn¡¯t see, he was at its mercy. So he did his best impression of sleep and went limp. ¡°Oh, you¡¯re awake!¡± A female voice spoke out loud like a lovely bell, and immediately sniffed him out as she opened the door. A chirp of surprise came from just next to her, ¡°We¡¯ll have to get you checked over now that you¡¯re up. Can you start with the checks while I get some tools, Chansey?¡± After another chirp of agreement, Larry''s mind came to an utter standstill, ¡®Wha¡­ She just talked, that was goddamn English! What the hell?! And Chansey? Does that mean¡­¡¯ Once again, Larry slowly cracked his eyes open, this time his eyes finally managed to acclimate to the brightness. A Chansey softly stepped closer to him and chirped out a simple, ¡°How you doin¡¯?¡± with a slightly rural dialect in her speech as the literal, honest-to-god Nurse Joy fished some metal tools from the cart behind her. Larry didn¡¯t know what to do. Should he talk? He was at a Pokemon Center, if so, it would be logical to get healed here. Still, he didn¡¯t know if he could trust these people. How did he even get here to begin with? His thoughts ran in a circle and Chanseys patience ran out before he answered. ¡°Can¡¯t be doin¡¯ too badly if you¡¯re up an¡¯ awake, cant¡¯chya?¡± She drawled out, as she patted him on his head, ¡°Critters like you are built of tougher stuff, right?¡± Her accent was a perfect fit for her motherly caretaker role and Larry was so amazed he finally found his voice, ¡°I-I guess so¡­¡± With the practiced ease of an experienced doctor, Chansey used her stubby little arms far more dexterously than he¡¯d even been able to use his own. The Pokemon manhandled Larry like a doll, checking him all over and turning him every which way. She inspected the sides of his body for any injuries. ¡®So¡­I¡¯m at a Pokemon Center¡­What the hell happened to get me here?¡¯ Larry held his tongue as Chansey looked him over, he had other reservations. From what he¡¯d remembered he had been digging deep in Mt. Silver, trying to escape the fight between his mother and that damned Moltres. Yet, somehow the fight''s destruction still hit him and he was pulled into some kind of fissure underground which filled up with a torrent of water, the water then took him along until he passed out and basically drowned. Then he woke up again in a complete space of white where he couldn¡¯t move and couldn¡¯t leave, and now he was inexplicably in a Pokemon Center and was getting treatment by a Nurse Joy? What about the fight? What about his mom? Suddenly, his heart sank, ¡®Wait, if I¡¯m here in some town getting healed, then what was the outcome of the fight?¡¯ The narrative has been illicitly obtained; should you discover it on Amazon, report the violation. In the back of his mind, Larry could already guess what had happened, he had known what would happen when they¡¯d made the choice. It just hadn¡¯t completely registered in his mind then, and now he felt himself start to panic. His breaths became labored and he felt himself fall even though he was lying still in a bed, Chansey and the Nurse spiraled away from him even though they were standing just next to his bed. Choking up, Larry felt tears start to bead up in his eyes, ¡®She- She died¡­right?¡¯ Before he could begin to delude himself in his panic attack, a pair of small dainty arms pulled him closer to the edge of the bed and hugged him tightly. ¡°It¡¯s alright, darlin¡¯. Just breathe. Just breathe.¡± Chansey consoled Larry with a professional confidence which made him stop and actually consider her instructions. ¡°I- Sniff¡­ I-I-¡± Larry fought to get the words out, but Chansey spoke over him. ¡°Bless your heart, I¡¯ve got no clue what you¡¯re cryin¡¯ ¡®bout, but everything will be alright.¡± She squeezed him just a little tighter and Larry pulled himself close to her. Larry kept himself glued to Chansey for another few minutes as he breathed heavily and fought to get himself to calm down, ¡®This¡­It¡¯s alright¡­alright¡­I¡¯ve got to keep going¡­¡¯ Releasing, Larry muttered a quiet ¡°Thank you¡­¡± at the Pokemon''s caring nature. Chansey released him and Larry finally managed to get his tears under control, his mind was still a whirlwind of emotions, but his thoughts stopped when Chansey pulled the massive egg out of her pouch and offered it to him. ¡°Here, this¡¯ll make ya¡¯ right as rain, darlin¡¯. Take a bite.¡± Larry wiped at his eyes as he took the egg into his arms, he started at it dubiously. The situation had dumbfounded him so much, it grounded him and managed to get him to calm down. Slightly perplexed by the sudden shift in the scene, but he felt he could trust the Pokemon enough, so he took a bite... And for the first time in his life, he found food other than rocks he could get along with. ¡­ Nurse Joy sat behind Chansey on a simple stool, smiling at the scene with a wry smile, ¡°Finally calmed down?¡± Larry nodded meekly, he wasn¡¯t one for strong emotions, and the fact that he had cried in front of strangers made him blush in embarrassment. ¡°That¡¯s good,¡± Joy nodded confidently as she raised herself from her chair, ¡°Now, we would like to get you fixed up. What are we working with Chansey?¡± Chansey pointed at a clipboard she had pulled from the cart and Joy nodded at her diagnosis with understanding, ¡°I see. This shouldn¡¯t take too long then, we¡¯ll get you back to your trainer in no time!¡± ¡®Hm?¡¯ Larry thought he had misheard for a second there and quirked his head to the side confusedly before turning to Chansey, ¡°Did she just say ¡®my trainer¡¯?¡± "...Uh, well, yes? You were brought in here by a little gal who looked like a right mess. ''Parently somethin'' went down, and you and her daddy were hurt right bad, so she was mighty concerned...Ain¡¯t that the case?" The nurse seemed to take notice of the atmosphere and met Larry and Chanseys eyes with a slight bit of concern, ¡°Uh, let''s get you treated for now!¡± His brain halted, Larry stared off into the distance, a blank expression on his face, ¡®I¡­I got caught¡­¡¯ ¡­ ¡°I got caught¡­¡± Larry said weakly as a few healing sprays were sprayed on his body by Nurse Joy. His skin tingled and itched irritably and he wanted nothing more than to scratch the spot but knew to keep his hands away from it. Luckily for Larry, his mind was elsewhere, he knew it was a thing that could happen to him, Larry had even thought before about the concept and how it would affect him, but now that it was actually happening he didn¡¯t know what to do. ¡®So¡­Now what?¡¯ Larry thought to himself, ¡®Do I just go along with this? What choice do I have anyway?¡¯ His mind went to all the wrong places, ¡®Mom is dead too¡­¡¯ Chansey saw Larry''s mood change and seemed to have an idea why he was acting the way he was. She reached out and patted him on the head affectionately as Nurse Joy applied a healing ointment on his arm, ¡°Darlin¡¯ believe me, trainers ain¡¯t all they¡¯re made out to be.¡± ¡°Can I leave?¡± Larry met her eyes longingly, thousands of ways of escape ran through his mind. Chansey kept up the smile, ¡°Ya¡¯ trainer will need to release ya¡¯. You oughta talk it out with her, she was a lovely little gal!¡± Larry nodded weakly, ¡°I¡¯ll try¡­¡± Nurse Joy kept up a cheerful atmosphere, ¡°Alright, we¡¯re done with the preparations.¡± She turned and picked a Pokeball off of the cart, ¡°We¡¯ll just need to get you into your ball to get you healed.¡± ¡°No!¡± Larry blurted out in a panic as he jumped back in fear, before wincing in pain at the sudden movement, ¡°Argh! I don¡¯t wanna go back in there!¡± Nurse Joy looked conflicted at Larry''s immediate refusal, seemingly understanding what he¡¯d said through the language barrier, ¡°Don¡¯t worry too much, Pokeballs are very comfortable!¡± Before Larry had any time to retaliate, a red beam hit him and the world went black once again. ¡­ Once his sight returned, he was once again floating in that big white nothingness. He wanted to panic but knew that it wouldn¡¯t do him any good. ¡®These guys are kind of deluded, don¡¯t Pokemon have any rights?!¡¯ The Nurse Joy''s dismissive attitude rubbed him the wrong way. ¡®Guess I¡¯ll need to talk with that trainer who caught me.¡¯ Larry already feared for the worst, but he had managed to thrive in what he knew were the depths of one of the most dangerous mountains in the region. A warmth washed over him and Larry felt the parts of his body that were hurt tingle again, once acclimated it felt like a nice and encompassing warmth over his body. His panicked mind calmed down and Larry grounded himself mentally. ¡®I¡¯m not about to throw in the towel just like that, I didn¡¯t make my way down Mt. Silver for nothing, it was all to see the world. To finally do something with my life I missed in my first shot at life. Mom didn¡¯t sacrifice herself for nothing!¡¯ Drowsiness crept up on him as his eyes slowly fluttered closed, the last thing on his mind was who this little girl would be that had caught him. Chapter 45 Larry woke up once again, as the calming warmth of healing cut out. He didn¡¯t know exactly how much time had passed but could gleam that it wasn¡¯t that long, at most 4-6 hours. Opening his eyes, Larry almost jumped back in surprise. He wasn¡¯t in the clear white expanse of before, he was now in a beautiful mountain meadow, like something straight out of an alpine travel brochure. ¡°Wha¡­the hell? What is it with me and being in new places every time I wake up these days?¡± Propping himself up on his arm, Larry didn¡¯t feel any pain in his body anymore, so he took the liberty to look around the place. It was beautiful, he was situated on a small flat meadow that was broken up by a small channel of water, the stream was leisurely meandering its way down the hills. The meadow''s grass was interspersed with a large variety of flowers and herbs. Green Hills crested and bounded in the distance, painted in a lush green the landscape sloped down and upwards. In the distance Larry could see a cozy-looking wooden cabin, beyond it further on the horizon the alpine mountains crested into the sky, pillars of rock breaking through the green landscape. The place had serene beauty and a peaceful atmosphere. A breeze swept over the meadow and the grass in the meadow, dotted with alpine herbs and flowers throughout, shook in the wind like the waves of an ocean. ¡°Wow¡­¡± Larry was lost for words at the beautiful landscape in front of him, so he started walking. Bunk! Yet after just a few steps, his snout bounced against a pane of glass. ¡°Ack!¡± Larry stumbled back onto the ground, nursing his nose, as he touched the wall in front of him with another, ¡°I am still in a Pokeball, I guess¡­¡± Pokemon would probably go crazy if they were forced to live in some white expanse the whole time, it made a lot of sense that there would be a simulated environment inside. ¡®Let''s try this¡­¡¯ Larry put his arms on the walls of the Pokeball and pressed, and the environment suddenly dulled and unsharpened, like he was unfocusing a camera before it turned back to the white expanse he¡¯d been in before. He pushed a slight bit more and the white expanse turned back to color, as suddenly the inside of a room came into focus, it felt like he had shrunk, as he was sitting on top of a table in a round indent, inside the clear capsule of the Pokeball, ¡®This is probably the healing machine, isn¡¯t it?¡¯ The sound of the outside also suddenly piped back into the inside of the ball, as the sound of hospital machinery, a radio, and the quiet humming of Nurse Joy who was sitting at a table in front of a computer in the corner of the room became clear inside of a Pokeball. ¡°Woah, this is far more high-tech than I expected¡­¡± Larry had assumed that the Pokemon world was somewhat close to his previous world regarding technological advancements, that only the stuff pertaining to Pokemon was somewhat advanced. Yet it turned out he had been wrong. A Pokeball was a living habitat for your Pokemon, not just a small device to more easily transport them. Pokemon practically shrunk down to fit the size of Pokeballs when they were recalled and it turned out that the insides of Pokeballs weren¡¯t uncomfortable at all, they were like miniature enclosures that automatically transformed to your Pokemon¡¯s wants. If he so wished he could freely transform the space on the inside to fit his needs and even have a sort of passthrough mode to find out what was going on on the outside. How the inside of his Pokeball transform into an alpine landscape during his sleep? He wasn¡¯t entirely sure, but he wasn¡¯t going to complain, as the place looked wonderful. Larry thought he might experiment further with that in the future, for now, he turned back to the habitat inside the Pokeball. The vista in front of him was still breathtaking, it felt like it had come straight out of a dream it was that perfect. Suddenly, an idea came to him. If it had managed to transform without his input into the perfect place of his dream, maybe it could somehow influence it to change. He scoffed at the idea, ¡®Sure, it''s all the futuristic high-tech machinery getting to my head¡­¡¯ A slight jolt surprised Larry and he realized that he was moving, he once again pressed the wall of the ball and the scenery melted away and into the interior of the Pokecenter back office. His ball was on top of a tray of Pokeballs, set on top of a table, away from the healing machine. In the corner of his eye, Larry saw the Nurse leave the room and walk out into a hallway, leaving the room entirely unoccupied. Her computer was still active on a lock screen of sorts and the door to the hallway was wide open. Larry pushed on the wall of the ball a little harder and he felt the ball deform just the slightest bit. With another push, Larry hyped himself up, ¡®C¡¯mon Larry, harder this time! Even Pikachu could do it in the first episode!¡¯ The ball suddenly gave way with a loud and satisfying Clack! and Larry''s view grew back to normal size. Materializing in a flash of light on the ground, Larry stumbled awkwardly and fell onto his stomach in the office, ¡®Crap! Everyone probably heard that, that was super loud!¡¯ If you spot this narrative on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation. Stumbling to his feet, he looked around anxiously. A few seconds passed and when Larry didn¡¯t hear anyone approach, he walked around the place, his stone-skinned feet clacked on the linoleum floor awkwardly. He leaned into the doorway and kept listening, when no sound came he made a break for it. ¡®Freedom!¡¯ ¡­ Larry waddled along, his arms splayed out in a childish trot. His head whirled around every which way, inspecting the interior of the Pokecenter with scrutiny. It had been a literal lifetime since he¡¯d been inside of human buildings, the one thing passing through his mind, was the sheer difference in size to his previous life. As it turned out the tunnels of Mt. Silver weren¡¯t massive, rather, Larry was just tiny. His escape to freedom had found a roadblock, an impasse, you could say. ¡°Nnrgh! C¡¯mon!¡± Larry was up on his tip-toes, stretching to his absolute limits as he fought to reach up high above him. Between him and freedom stood an obstacle, one of the biggest hurdles of his life. He had managed to make it down a hallway until the sound of a self-closing door somewhere down the hallway made him panic. A doorhandle hung just out of his reach, using every single muscle in his body he stretched himself upwards in an attempt to reach the handle, but it wasn¡¯t meant to be. No matter how much he stretched, he could not reach it. Looking around anxiously, Larry went through the options in his mind, ¡®I could try digging, but this is concrete not earth and I don¡¯t even know what floor I¡¯m on and if I break through the door I¡¯d just cause a panic, and probably get myself caught again¡­¡¯ Suddenly, the door opened, and a regular non-Joy Nurse smashed the door straight into his snout. Bomp! ¡°Argh!¡± Larry stumbled backward and onto his butt, nursing his smarting nose as the Nurse cried out in surprise, ¡°Eep! I¡¯m sor-,¡± Before she realized who she was apologizing to, ¡°Oh, what are you doing outside of your Pokeball?¡± Larry jumbled to his feet and lunged forward, ¡®Make a break for it!¡¯ The Nurse stepped to the side when she saw a Pokemon make its way towards her. The outside of the door opened into a larger hallway on whose end was a set of self-closing double doors. ¡®I already got caught, it doesn¡¯t matter!¡¯ The time for subtlety was over so Larry tackled the set of double doors with his body. Bang! The doors wobbled awkwardly and jolted at the sudden shock, yet, they refused to budge and Larry jumbled to the ground in pain and confusion. Behind him, a set of legs came into view, the Nurse from before held his Pokeball in her hand, ¡°Sorry, it''s a pull door, not a push¡­ Please, go back inside your ball for now.¡± The last thing Larry saw in a slurry of pain and confusion was the red laser of the Pokeball impact his view before he was back in the pristine alpine landscape. ¡°Damn it!¡± ¡­ Bang! ¡°What was that?¡± Valerie asked just a slightly bit too quickly. The Nurse Joy applying disinfectant to small cuts on her hands looked at her worriedly. ¡°Relax, I¡¯m not quite sure, but considering the number of people and Pokemon in the Center currently, it could be a lot of things.¡± She smiled reassuringly at the girl, ¡°You and your dad have been through quite a lot today. Your injuries aren¡¯t that bad, so you¡¯ll be discharged today if you have a place to stay.¡± Valerie studied the floor, ¡°I-I don¡¯t think I do¡­¡± Nurse Joy quickly reassured the girl, ¡°That''s fine too, but you should go and discuss the situation with your father after he is out of the operation room. I think the officers already informed some of your relatives, so you should be able to go home with one of them for now. By the way, you dressed his burns pretty well, so his recovery shouldn¡¯t take long!¡± She only nodded back meekly, so Joy continued her reassurance as she patted Valerie on her shoulder, ¡°You¡¯ve also still got that catch of yours to befriend, right? A trainer''s first Pokemon is special, and what a first one it is!¡± ¡°I didn¡¯t catch it,¡± She mumbled into her hoodie, ¡°I only got it here to get it healed.¡± ¡°And you did a great job, Valerie!¡± Joy commended her, ¡°Look, from the reports I saw about what happened, it''s a miracle you even got out alive! Not many people get to be in the presence of legendary Pokemon and live to see the next day!¡± ¡°The reporters are annoying.¡± Valerie countered as the Nurse prepared a band-aid for her cut. ¡°I could guess so.¡± ¡°And the Officers are annoying too.¡± She continued. ¡°Mhm, they love their paperwork don¡¯t they?¡± Joy applied the band-aid over the largest cut, patting it down carefully so it stayed. ¡°Alright, that should be all for now!¡± She helped the girl off of the examination table and guided her to the door. Just as Nurse Joy was about to open the door for the girl, a knock resonated from the other side, making both of them jolt in surprise. Nurse Joy opened the door to see the stern face of the local Officer Jenny staring back at her, ¡°Nurse Joy.¡± ¡°Officer,¡± She bowed her head respectfully in greeting, ¡°what can I do for you?¡± Her gaze lowered to Valerie, who looked up at the Officer with clear annoyance on her face, ¡°We need some more information from Valerie here. Is her condition better now?¡± ¡°She should be physically fine, right Valerie?¡± Nurse Joy urged the girl forward. ¡°Yeah¡­I feel fine now. Thank you, Nurse Joy.¡± Valerie had enough etiquette to thank the woman who had just thrown her into another round of extensive questioning. If there was anything she wanted, it was to either see her dad right now or fall into a soft bed and pass out from exhaustion, but the officials had other ideas. Yet, the same words followed, Valerie internally sighed, ¡°Please follow me. We have some more questions.¡± The Jenny led her along through the Center, probably the same private room they¡¯d been in before. Along the way she caught the sight outside the window, the moon was high in the night sky. She had never been up this long if it wasn¡¯t for a fun movie binge night with her dad. Valerie hoped he was alright. Chapter 46 ¡°Why the hell didn¡¯t the door break?!¡± Larry fumed inside his Pokeball, he sat in the alpine landscape, letting the vista calm down his nerves, ¡°I tackled the crap out of that thing!¡± The next thing Larry tried after being recalled was escaping again, but as it turned out, Pokeballs had locks. After his capture, the Nurse turned the outside of the middle button on the Pokeball. And when he¡¯d attempted to escape his ball again, he couldn¡¯t get out no matter how much he pushed against its walls. ¡°And who the hell locks their pet in a miniature cage?!¡± The memories of his own Pokemon playthroughs were conveniently forgotten. He wondered if he could contact a Pokemon rights group for some support. Was PETA a thing here? Considering cockfighting was a legally encouraged and integral part of human society it probably wasn¡¯t. ¡°Damn it,¡± Larry complained in an irritated tone before finally capitulating, ¡°Fine, I¡¯ll meet that girl!¡± Pushing away the landscape, he once again checked the room he was in. He¡¯d been put back onto the tray, probably ready to be presented to the girl, like some kind of prize. Shaking his head, Larry exhaled, ¡®Gosh, I¡¯m just not in the right mood¡­ Chansey said trainers aren¡¯t as bad as they¡¯re made out to be. Gotta calm down¡­¡¯ He wasn¡¯t among other Pokemon, it was only natural that a human was going to treat him differently than a Pokemon who he could converse with. Humans saw Pokemon as friends and companions but also as tools and weapons. Larry had seen enough war documentaries in his last life to know what humans were capable of doing to one another when they stopped thinking about their enemies as humans. Every interaction with humans so far, Larry had been talked down to. It was obvious why he was being babied, he quite literally was one. The dismissive attitude of Nurse Joy or her helper had annoyed him to no end, it felt like he was a car in for maintenance. The only one who¡¯d seemed to care for Larry, the person, was her helper Chansey. Granted, Larry could understand the human¡¯s behavior to an extent. Even if he was being generous, it probably hadn¡¯t been a month since he¡¯d hatched. A normal Larvitar might¡¯ve taken that first month of their life slowly, eating their fill of soil underground before maybe deciding to come up to meet their mom. Larry''s peculiar circumstances of birth, or maybe rebirth, had probably made him one of the most active and quickest-growing young Pokemon in the entire world. While the nurses were seeing a bumbling mess of an infant who¡¯d somehow managed to get ejected out of its home during a natural disaster, they were in actuality babying a young adult in the infantile body of a Pseudo-Legendary. Larry agonized over his fate as he watched the Pokecenter clock through the clear acrylic of his Pokeball wind over deep into the nighttime. He was committed now to at least meet the girl who¡¯d supposedly saved his life and caught him. ¡®Ugh, let¡¯s just hope the girl who caught me is better than the Nurses¡­¡¯ Suddenly, a scary thought came to him, ¡®Wait, don¡¯t little girls love giving their pets nicknames?! Am I going to be treated like a housecat and get a stupid name like ¡®Pebbles¡¯? Let¡¯s hope not¡­¡¯ Returning to the environment in his Pokeball, the starry nighttime in the alpine landscape looked breathtaking, with no light pollution the sky lit up in the night with hundreds of different clusters of stars. So naturally, sometime during his agonizing, Larry had fallen asleep. He had slept like a baby thanks to the peaceful atmosphere of the Pokeball¡¯s environment. The wind swept through the tall grass, flowers, and herbs alike as Larry snored away. ¡­ Suddenly, Larry was jostled awake by movement from his ball, ¡®Whuh?!¡¯ As he woke, Larry cursed, ¡®Ugh, what is it now? No solicitors!¡¯ He was just about to turn his Pokeball see-through, but before he even could, the Pokeball opened. Clack! After the flash of light, Larry stood up from his seated position on the ground and looked around blearily. He halted when he heard the voice of Nurse Joy say, ¡°-we healed his injuries, he had a few sprains which we found quite confusing considering you found him floating in a river, but he got healed quite quickly. You already read through his file?¡± ¡°I did. Thank you, Nurse Joy.¡± The other voice was new to Larry, she sounded far younger and Larry turned his head upwards to find out who she was. Next to Nurse Joy, a girl squatted down and hugged her knees close to her chin, she met Larrys eyes, ¡°Hey, little guy.¡± The girl had bags under her eyes and looked worn-out, even her hair looked unkempt, exemplifying her haggard looks. She had long, peach-colored hair, pulled into a long ponytail. Her face looked Eurasian, giving Larry pause as to the composition of the human race in this world since every other human he¡¯d seen so far had looked Asian. The girl wore a clean and oversized bomber jacket over a simple dirtied graphic T-shirt. On her lower half, she wore a half-removed orange overall, whose arms were tied around her waist. The overalls were caked in dirt and dust and the simple pair of sneakers the girl wore looked like they¡¯d been through hell, yet all the mud on them had long since dried. Love what you''re reading? Discover and support the author on the platform they originally published on. ¡®So this is the girl? She can¡¯t be over fourteen years old!¡¯ Larry couldn¡¯t be sure this was his soon-to-be trainer, but considering no other young girls had visited him yet, he could only assume her to be it. He knew about the world of Pokemon''s traditions of sending children out to journey the country, yet it hit differently when such a girl was standing in front of him. Middle schoolers were out here, taming and befriending beasts during an adventure around the country, it just felt weird. ¡°We actually had a little event with him a few hours ago, he broke out of his ball and tried to run away. Luckily for us, Pokecenters are built sturdily enough to hold out some simple attacks.¡± The Nurse Joy shook her head disapprovingly with a rueful smile, ¡°He certainly has an attitude.¡± Larry turned away from her with a huff. ¡°Really?¡± The girl looked like her eyelids were about to flutter closed any second, she mustered up all the energy she still had to give a surprised face to the nurse, before turning to Larry, ¡°A rulebreaker, huh?¡± ¡®Rulebreaker? You¡¯re the guys locking me in a ball!¡¯ Larry eyed the pair of them suspiciously, still unsure if he could fully trust humans. He knew they wouldn¡¯t understand him, since he could only make raspy, adolescent hisses. So instead, he simply nodded her way in agreement, ¡®Guess I am.¡¯ The girl stuck out an arm lazily, making some effort to interact, ¡°I¡¯m Valerie, but you can just call me Val if you like.¡± ¡®Valerie, huh?¡¯ Larry didn¡¯t have any strong opinions regarding the girl herself, but she had saved his life, so he stuck out his arm in return and answered, ¡°The name is Larry.¡± Trilling back in something that a person with a creative mind might say sounds like the words, ¡°Larv-, Larvi, Tar-Tar!¡± Larry answered as he stuck his arm into Valerie''s hand. After an approving nod, Valerie turned to the Nurse pleadingly, ¡°Nurse Joy, can I have some time alone with Larvitar?¡± ¡°Sure thing,¡± The Nurse tittered, ¡°you are a new trainer meeting your first Pokemon for the first time. I¡¯ll be at the front desk, get along well.¡± Nurse Joy agreed and left the room before Valerie could even thank her. Once the door closed behind her, all the energy seemed to drain from Valerie as she slumped even further into her squat before releasing a gigantic sigh, ¡°Haaaaah!¡± She raised herself with a groan before she pulled out an office chair from a desk nearby and practically falling into it. Laying in the chair, she had closed her eyes. Larry looked around the room awkwardly, expecting some kind of hard talk to begin, but when he looked back at Valeri, he found her already nodding off. ¡°Ehm!¡± Valerie jolted, before rubbing at her eyes as she sat up, ¡°Mhm, sorry, sorry, Larvitar. I couldn¡¯t sleep yesterday night cuz I was so excited for today. I¡¯ve been awake for almost 2 days by now¡­¡± Larry was missing a lot of information, but he nodded back regardless, ¡®Guess not everyone gets to nod off inside of a Pokeball.¡¯ She ran her hands across her hair as she scratched the side of her head, ¡°I¡¯ve been in police interviews for so many hours by now, I think they know me better than I know myself.¡± She turned back to him, clearly not done complaining, ¡°The police practically explained everything to me that went down, but it still feels unreal. You wanna listen? Considering you were involved.¡± He nodded back eagerly, he still wasn¡¯t entirely sure what had gone down in the end and needed someone to catch him up. Valerie begins her explanation with her drive to the ranger station and the census, explaining why they were at Mt. Silver, her explanation starts simple, but gets increasingly more ranty as she goes on, ¡°I mean, come on! Suddenly the entire mountain shakes, and a rockslide and earthquake happen right by us. Then, what I find out later to be a legendary Pokemon, suddenly comes out of the entrance of the mountain and burns my dad''s back off!¡± Larry sweats a bit at her description of events, which did sound similar to what he¡¯d last experienced. Her rant continues about her father and how he calmed her down and managed to get her to call in an emergency. She talks about treating her father''s injuries and the need for more water for the burns. So her dad sends her away to fetch some water, where she happens upon him and suddenly stops her rant. A silence descended on the room again, Larry couldn¡¯t be sure what the girl was thinking, but she looked to have a lot on her mind. Sighing, she began, ¡°I¡¯m sorry for catching you, but it was the only way to save you.¡± Now that surprised Larry, a Pokemon trainer remorseful about catching a Pokemon without their consent? In the games and anime that wasn¡¯t something he¡¯d ever seen. Most Pokemon simply acclimated to their new life after some time and befriended their trainer in the process. Valerie shook her head, ¡°I can go ahead and release you soon if you want. Then you can go back to Mt. Silver and continue to live your life there.¡± She slid off of the chair with her energy entirely depleted, sitting on the ground next to Larry cross-legged, ¡°I read their report on you, you¡¯re young, very young.¡± ¡°I love my dad, and you probably also love your family. So, do you have a family back in Mt. Silver? The rangers are currently exploring the insides of Mt. Silver for some clues as to what happened, I could go with one of them to take you back inside.¡± Larry considered her words, then suddenly stopped, ¡®The earthquakes suddenly stopped, then Moltres came outside and flew away¡­¡¯ A shiver ran down his back, he hadn¡¯t had to face the facts regarding his mom yet, ¡®Do I still have family in Mt. Silver?¡¯ He didn¡¯t want to think about it, but he¡¯d made a promise with his mom. Again, his breaths became shallow. It felt like a logical fallacy was building in his mind, his mom couldn¡¯t be dead, she¡¯s bound to be alive in Mt. Silver somewhere, right? He still had a promise to her. Tears beaded on the edges of his eyes, but before he could break out into a panic, Valerie pulled him into her embrace. The girl squeezed him tight against herself, her tired voice was gone as she muttered next to his ear, ¡°I shouldn¡¯t have asked. The police and rangers told me their theory, not much other than a Tyranitar could even begin to take on a Moltres.¡± ¡®H-How did she know?!¡¯ Larry calmed as he reciprocated her hug, squeezing himself against her longingly. Valerie smiled, as she seemingly read his mind, ¡°My dad says I always pick up on stuff quickly.¡± Chapter 47 For now, Larry had a trainer. They had agreed to work together, in order to find out his mother''s fate. Having to follow a girl around felt weird, but he also disliked being stuffed inside a Pokeball. So for now, Larry followed Valerie on foot, walking through the Pokecenter just next to her. Nurses and Pokecenter staff were milling about like ants in an anthill, not even giving the two of them a glance. The two of them walked out into the lounge, where trainers and other Pokemon owners relaxed, lounged, or played with their Pokemon. Larry eyed the front of the center as they entered, it had an automatic glass door, ¡®I could run away right now, couldn¡¯t I?¡¯ Nurse Joy smiled and waved towards Valerie with a lovely smile, and Valerie smiled back weakly. The two of them seemingly did not want to bother each other any more than they already had. Valerie squatted down next to Larry, patting him on the head affectionately, ¡°For today, I¡¯ll call up the rangers and get that expedition into Mt. Silver arranged, then I¡¯ll finally get some sleep.¡± Larry nodded back, ¡°Alright, let¡¯s go to my room.¡± Walking through the front lounge of the center, all eyes fell on the two of them as they walked past. Most trainers had probably never seen a Pseudo-Legendary before, leading to a lot of hushed whispers and phones being pointed at them. Having been a shut-in for most of his first life and a cave resident for most of his second one, Larry wasn¡¯t used to so many eyes on him. He grabbed at Valerie''s pant leg anxiously as they walked, in turn, she slowed down a bit for him to follow. They entered an elevator and when the doors closed, Larry breathed a sigh of relief. Next to him, Valerie yawned as the door closed, ¡°Haah, I¡¯m going to be so glad once I finally get to sleep¡­¡± The elevator released them on a floor with tons of individual rooms, what Larry could only assume to be the hotel part of the Pokecenters. He had known that in the anime, Pokecenters bring far more to the table than a simple hospital for Pokemon, they were accommodation, health clinic, shop, and much more, all in one package, specifically built for trainers in the region. ¡®I guess Pokecenters take after the anime here. I wonder how the cities look¡­¡¯ Larry hadn¡¯t had the pleasure yet of looking at much of Human-Pokemon society. From the amount of people and the size of the Pokecenter lobby though, he could guess that the cities were quite a bit bigger than in the games. Valerie unlocked the door to her room with some sort of card, and after a beep or confirmation, the door unlocked, ¡°C¡¯mon in.¡± Larry entered and glanced around curiously, the room looked like a simple dorm, a bed stood against the middle of the left wall, the right side had a simple office desk and a wardrobe built into its wall, and a large window was on the opposite side of the door. The right side had another door, probably a bathroom of some sort. It was very simply designed, but even in its simplicity, it didn¡¯t look cheap. While Larry checked the nooks and crannies of their room, Valerie started a call on her mobile phone. ¡°Hello, Maxine? Yeah, it''s me. Yeah. I¡¯m doing alright, still concerned for Dad, he¡¯s still out after the operation. How is the search in Mt. Silver going? Did you find anything yet? Yeah? Yeah? Mhm.¡± Larry listened to her call, unable to hear the other side completely over the phone''s dinky earpiece, the only thing he could make out was a muddled incoherent muttering from the speaker. After the pleasantries, they began to talk seriously, ¡°Um, you heard about that Pokemon I caught? Yeah, a Larvitar. Thanks. Yeah.¡± Valerie had a conflicted look on her face, but she continued anyway, ¡°Ok, look, I think he might have something to do with the situation.¡± The voice on the other became hurried, ¡°Can you- Wait, let me finish. Can you help us get inside the cave? Larvitar wants back inside there for some reason.¡± Larry started to sweat a bit at the girl''s utter earnestness, ¡®If that was me, I¡¯d have just kept my mouth shut. What does she get out of this?¡¯ The other side of the phone went quiet for a moment, before it came back, ¡°Yeah? Yeah? Ok? Mhm. I can do that, but what about Larvitar? Let me ask him.¡± She covered the phone''s microphone with her hand and turned down to Larry, ¡°The rangers and police want to meet you,¡± She sighed out, ¡°they probably want to ask you some questions too. Are you alright with that?¡± ¡®From the way she¡¯d just ranted to me about the way the police had treated her, I don¡¯t really want to. But I do still need to see what happened to Mom in the end, I have a promise¡­¡¯ Larry nodded back, unsure of how exactly else he¡¯d be able to get there. Before she could turn back to the phone, Larry also motioned to his ear, urging her to put it onto speaker. ¡°Huh?¡± The girl looked between him and the phone curiously, before she blushed as she realized what he meant, ¡°Oh yeah, you probably want to hear too. Sorry, I am kind of out of it.¡± She quickly turned the phone to speakerphone before she continued, ¡°He agreed.¡± Enjoying the story? Show your support by reading it on the official site. ¡°Great, so we¡¯ll get a ranger over to the center and he¡¯ll fly you two over here. Before you go in we¡¯ll let one of the police over here interview your Pokemon, the place is swarming with them right now. After that, we can go ahead and check the inside of Mt. Silver far more efficiently with a local resident around.¡± The girl''s haggard looks grew into a smile as she realized something, ¡°Does that mean I would get another day as a ranger then?¡± Maxie on the other side of the phone laughed, ¡°Haha, a day as a ranger? You¡¯re a Pokemon trainer now, aren¡¯t you? The police gave you your license and everything, so I don¡¯t think you need that anymore. Now the only thing you¡¯ll need is to go do your circuit. Congrats, by the way.¡± Valerie stopped in her tracks and eyed Larry as he stood on the ground next to her, ¡°Oh yeah. I guess you¡¯re right, thanks. Sorry Maxie, I haven¡¯t slept yet.¡± ¡°Huh, how long have you been awake then?¡± ¡°About 50 hours soon, I think. Couldn¡¯t sleep the night before I went to the ranger station.¡± Valerie replied sheepishly. ¡°What the-!¡± Maxie balked, ¡°Girl, go to sleep! We can talk about this later!¡± ¡°Yeah, sorry. I kind of owed this to Larvitar though¡­ I¡¯ll get some sleep now though.¡± ¡°Goodnight, Val! And send a get well soon from me to your dad when he wakes up!¡± ¡°I will, night.¡± Valerie hung up on the device and practically fell backward into bed. Larry wanted to remind her to change out of the dirty clothes, but she was already asleep, ¡®Wow, she¡¯s out like a light. I don¡¯t think I could go to sleep that quickly.¡¯ He prodded at her feet, which still hung down from the bed, but the girl was absolutely conked out, ¡®Well, I had a good night''s rest. I guess I¡¯ll look around a bit and then sleep some more as well.¡¯ Larry checked the room for any hidden secrets or other noteworthy things but found absolutely nothing in his search. The girl''s story of only being transported to the center just half a day or so beforehand definitely checked out, if her haggard looks and drowsy disposition hadn¡¯t been trustworthy enough for Larry. Eyeing his trainer, Larry stewed in his thoughts for a moment, ¡®Valerie doesn¡¯t seem that untrustworthy, though she doesn¡¯t seem to see me as much as anything other than a Pokemon she accidentally caught.¡¯ The entire situation was a bit of a mess, the girl''s father was still not awake after a life-saving operation and the girl itself had the responsibility of an entire second living being in her possession under her. Even sleep-deprived and almost delirious the girl had still kept up a facade of normalcy, he had to commend her for that. ¡®Guess I¡¯ll let her have her sleep for now.¡¯ Valerie had turned in her sleep, somehow managing to spin herself up in the blanket while lying the wrong way on the bed. Her legs still hung off of the side, so Larry snuck up close and undid the girl''s laces to remove her dirty shoes. He set them down in a tray near the door, ¡®A little thank you for saving my life.¡¯ He made himself comfortable on the ground, pulling one of the head pillows off the bed since Valerie wasn¡¯t using them anyway, and then laid down on top of it. Even with his naps from before, sleep got to him quickly enough. ¡­ In the end, Larry didn¡¯t sleep for long, he woke up in the morning refreshed and did some simple Type-Energy exercises. He coursed the energies inside him throughout his body and felt himself become invigorated, the exercises woke him up and got him energized for the day. Unfortunately for Larry, there was nothing in here to get energized about. The room didn¡¯t have a television and the most interesting thing in the room was the window, which unfortunately for Larry was too far up for him to get a good look out of. In his curiosity, Larry rolled the office chair away from its desk and rolled it to the window, all as quiet as he could, not wanting to wake Valerie. ¡°Hnngh!¡± It was a hard climb for him, but in the end, he managed to get on top of the chair. Outside of the window, human civilization stared back at Larry. An asphalt street ran in a straight line toward the horizon on the left and right, and a few simple houses and concrete buildings stood along the street near the Pokecenter. To the right, was a large brick building behind which a large mountain curved upwards. Just straight forwards, a simple brick gatehouse stood, beyond which was a downhill section on which a few small houses were built. Beyond the houses, in the distance, the ocean could be seen just at the edge of the horizon. ¡®Woah!¡¯ Larry stared in wide-eyed awe at his first view of human civilization, ¡®That red building with the mountain behind it¡­ Is that the league reception? Valerie told me we were still somewhat near Mt. Silver so it¡¯s gotta be, right?¡¯ Larry enjoyed the view, watching as humans and Pokemon lingered in the streets or walked from building to building with purpose. He almost slipped off of his seat when a trainer on a gigantic Pigeotto shot past his window and landed in front of the Pokemon Center with grace he never expected himself to be able to replicate. He had been living in this world for something close to a month soon and only now, staring out of the window of a Pokemon Center did the amazing adventure he¡¯d just gone on begin to sink in. He¡¯d been literally reborn, learned to live as a Pokemon, managed to find new friends and family in his second life, and then promptly lost those connections. Yet, even in his misfortune, he¡¯d managed to be saved and found an entirely new side of this world. Sure, he could be a negative Nancy and talk about being ¡®enslaved by the horrible humans¡¯ but the more time Larry spent with Valerie, the more he realized the two of them weren¡¯t a prisoner and captor, but more acquaintances by circumstance. From the way she talked about him, Valerie didn¡¯t want anything more to do with him than he did with her. It felt weird in its own way, the girl was nice to be around, but she had seemingly put up a wall between the two of them, not wanting to get attached because she felt like she had stolen his former life from him and needed to get him back to his old life. Valerie started to slowly stir awake around 10 hours later, in the middle of the day. ¡°Mmm¡­ Gmmrning¡­¡± Looking more like a zombie, she gave a greeting that sounded more like a grunt of exertion than actual words as she stumbled into the bathroom, not even sparing him a glance. Larry hopped off of the office chair with finesse, ¡®Let¡¯s see what this day has to offer.¡¯ Chapter 48 Larry soon realized that Valerie, in her half-asleep stupor, hadn¡¯t taken any clothes with her into the shower. He pushed aside the sliding door of the wardrobe, only to find no clothes in the wardrobe at all, ¡®That¡¯s right, she said they were evacuated over here.¡¯ A single backpack was placed at the foot of the bed, with no other clothes in the room. He quickly checked inside to find a large swath of items which were all somehow crammed into its inside, extra clothes included. ¡®Guess these will have to do,¡¯ He placed the backpack in front of the bathroom door and retreated, not wishing to be a weird creep, ¡®Still too human, don¡¯t want to spy on teenagers in the shower¡­¡¯ When the sound of the shower finally stopped, the sound of a hairdryer began. Eventually, the door to the bathroom opened and Valerie looked around for her backpack before knocking into it using the door, ¡°Ah, did you put this here Larvitar? Thanks!¡± Soon after, Valerie emerged from the bathroom dressed in a simple plain white T-shirt and a set of black shorts. They certainly weren¡¯t fashion pieces, but they would have to do. A simple shower already upped the young girl''s presentation quite a bit. Where before she¡¯d looked like someone you might find at a refugee camp for natural disasters. She now instead looked like any other young girl, her hair was still in a simple ponytail, and her new outfit showed more of her limbs, they were so pale, she looked like they hadn¡¯t seen a day of sunlight, it showed off the girl''s shut-in tendencies to Larry. ¡°You knew I¡¯d need some clothes, right?¡± Valerie pet Larry on the head affectionately, ¡°That''s very thoughtful of you!¡± she praised. Larry leaned into the display of affection but pulled away when he realized what he¡¯d done. ¡°Alright, today I¡¯ll go check on Dad and then we¡¯ll be off to Mt. Silver again, I guess.¡± Valerie did some simple stretches as she explained their schedule. Larry nodded back in confirmation. Valerie''s voice lowered as she turned, ¡°I hope he¡¯s up already¡­¡± GGRRGGLLL¡­ Larry''s stomach suddenly cried out. Valerie stepped back a half-step in surprise at the loud growl of her Pokemon¡¯s stomach as Larry blushed. ¡°First though, let''s get a bite to eat.¡± Valerie corrected. RRRGGRGLL¡­ Her stomach responded in kind. ¡°...Or two.¡± She blushed as well. ¡­ The pellets the Pokecenters cafeteria had called PokeChow weren¡¯t up to snuff to Larry. They tasted acceptable, but to Larry, they simply weren¡¯t as good as some good ol¡¯ soil and dirt, ¡®I wonder if the soil here tastes any different¡­¡¯ Still, once he¡¯d actually downed a plate of the stuff, he¡¯d asked for seconds, then for thirds, and finally for fourths. Luckily for the two of them, Valerie had enough PokeDollars to accommodate him. She¡¯d been slightly exasperated with him by the third serving, but chalked his endless hunger up to him living in the wilderness until now, ¡®Someone wasn¡¯t reading their Pokedex entries,¡¯ Larry thought to himself humorously, ¡®if a Larvitar¡¯s hunger is even common knowledge here.¡¯ With their bellies filled, the two of them once again walked through the front of the Pokecenter, going for the front desk to ask about her father''s condition. Larry fought to keep up with the human girl''s hurried steps but didn¡¯t complain, even if he hadn¡¯t met him, he realized the girl cared for her father deeply. ¡°Good Morning, Valerie.¡± The Nurse Joy of the center smiled back at her from behind the front desk. He wasn¡¯t so sure how he felt that she¡¯d already memorized the girl''s name, but Valerie didn¡¯t seem to mind, ¡°Morning, do you have any info on how my dad is doing?¡± ¡°Your father¡­¡± The Joy tapped away at her computer, ¡°...should have woken up last night! But I¡¯m unsure if he¡¯s asleep right now, after the operation he should be located in Room 208B.¡± The girl really, truly deflated for the first time since he¡¯d seen her, seemingly losing an inch in height as she breathed out at the good news, ¡°Haa¡­Thanks for letting me know, Nurse Joy.¡± She was just about to run off to the room, when Nurse Joy stopped her, ¡°Ah! Don¡¯t barge in his room if he¡¯s sleeping, let him have his rest, alright?¡± ¡°Alright!¡± And the girl was off for the races. ¡°Ah, damn wait!¡± Larry ran after her, with his arms adorably extended outwards for balance like an airplane. ¡­ The human hospital section of the Pokecenter was far smaller than expected, two rooms with eight beds in total, with an examination-slash-operation room situated at the end of the corridor. Valerie skidded to a stop before the two rooms, searching for their nameplates before opening the correct door in the most hurried yet quiet way possible. ¡°Dad!¡± She whispered a cry, as she saw her father. ¡°Val,¡± Her father greeted back in a weak voice, ¡°How¡¯s my gal doing?¡± Larry finally caught up and snuck after her through the door and into the room. His view was bad from so low to the ground, but walking up to the two of them more closely, Larry saw Valerie already embrace her dad into a very careful hug, probably still unsure of his condition. This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere. Reading his nameplate on the hospital bed, Larry finally caught his name. Drew Riston was a handsome but disheveled man in his 30s. He looked European, had some clear beard stubble and his hair hadn¡¯t been combed yet. He was lying on his side to not agitate the burns on his back. ¡°Dad¡­¡± Valerie looked like she was already tearing up seeing her father, the girl was young, so she¡¯d probably never seen the parental figure in her life in such a weak position. She pulled back to look him in the eyes, ¡°How are your injuries?¡± ¡°Ehh,¡± Drew averted his eyes. He looked like he wanted to give a positive answer, but couldn¡¯t find a good angle to broach the subject, ¡°I¡¯ll live, I guess.¡± ¡°What does that mean?!¡± She wanted concrete answers, so she pulled herself back into her father''s chest. Larry pulled at her leg, knowing her father''s weak state, ¡®Don¡¯t give that guy more drama than necessary!¡¯ ¡°Ah, sorry!¡± She recoiled, clearly still shaken, ¡°How long will you be in here?¡± ¡°Don¡¯t know,¡± Drew shook his head weakly, ¡°I just know I got lots of creams and ointments to put on my back. Hurts like heck to simply lift my head right now. I¡¯ll probably need physical therapy.¡± Even in his injured state he still kept up his no-swears policy, ¡°And unfortunately, you¡¯ll be forced to live with a relative for some time until I¡¯m all healed up again.¡± ¡°Huh?¡± That hit Valerie far harder than before, she looked at her Dad with surprise, ¡°Who will I live with?¡± ¡°I¡¯m arranging it, don¡¯t even worry about it¡­ You shouldn¡¯t need to worry about it.¡± Drew hung his hand around weakly, waving off the girl''s concern about him. He didn¡¯t want his daughter to sit in a hospital room and cry about her father her entire teenage years. ¡°Oh, Dad¡­¡± Valerie was seriously about to cry as she pulled at the hem of her T-shirt, she wanted to complain, but seeing the state her father was in she couldn¡¯t help but think she got off easy. Instead, Drew quickly changed the subject. ¡°Is that the little guy you saved?¡± He looked like he wanted to raise a hand in greeting, but decided against it, instead going for a simple chin-nod, ¡°Hey, there.¡± Catching herself with a sniff, Valerie kneeled and pet Larry''s head as he waved at Drew, ¡°Yeah, this is Larvitar. He¡¯s nice, he even helped me out today in the morning. I think he might be pretty smart.¡± ¡°Might be? I¡¯m a damned genius!¡± Larry scoffed at her, he wanted to pull away from the pets but didn¡¯t want to worry her father, so he kept still and enjoyed the affection. The two obviously didn¡¯t understand his snooty remark, ¡°He looks lovely, probably the greatest catch for your first Pokemon you could get.¡± She retreated into herself at the remark, looking down at Larry for support, ¡°Uh, actually¡­¡± Drew looked at her expectantly, but Valerie fought to find a way to explain their current relationship, ¡°I, uh, I actually didn¡¯t catch Larvitar to keep him. I caught him so he could be healed. I- I was planning to release him back to where he lived after he was healed, he¡¯s young and probably still has a mother.¡± Nodding along, Drew interjected, ¡°He¡¯s young? That¡¯s weird. Normally young, wild Pokemon take quite some time to be able to understand their trainer since they never had any interaction with humans before.¡± The two looked at Larry for a second, yet he simply averted his eyes, ¡®I- I¡¯m just really smart¡­Really¡­¡¯ She continued to explain their circumstances as Larry watched on. Her reasons seemingly made sense to Drew he just still didn¡¯t feel it was the right way to go about it, ¡°I get it, honey. I really do, but what about your plans for the future, didn¡¯t you say you wanted to work with Pokemon?¡± He looked down at Larry, ¡°This is your chance, Val.¡± He kept up his lecture, ¡°Not to mention how dangerous Mt. Silver is. I get bringing Larvitar back there, but you don¡¯t need to do it yourself. A ranger can release him somewhere near the base too, you know.¡± ¡°I-I know, but it wouldn¡¯t feel right that way.¡± Valerie shook her head, ¡°I want to make friends with Pokemon and the way I caught Larvitar just doesn¡¯t feel right. I caught him, so I¡¯ll release him.¡± Drew didn¡¯t respond, as he was deep in thought, ¡°You say it isn¡¯t right, but what¡¯s Larvitars opinion on the matter? What does he want?¡± Both of them again turned to Larry, forcing him to shrink away from their gazes once again. He thought about his plans, ¡®What do I actually want? Well, for one I need to know what happened to Mom¡­¡¯ Stewing in his thought for a second he let his option go through his mind, ¡®I could get released near Mt. Silver again, but my plan was already to explore the world. There¡¯s barely any better way to travel the Pokemon world than with a trainer, is there? But I¡¯d be forced to stay with them, wouldn¡¯t I?¡¯ Larry''s opinion was split. ¡°Uh, I wanna know what happened to my Mom¡­¡± He answered timidly under their gazes, ¡°...but after that, I¡¯m not sure¡­¡± The two looked on, not understanding his squeaks and growls, Valerie followed up quickly, ¡°The police are planning to interview him once we get to Route 28, I¡¯ll get the answer we need from them, I hope. You alright with that, Larvitar?¡± Larry nodded back, not wanting to be misunderstood. ¡°Alright!¡± Drew wanted to keep objecting, yet he looked split. He debated with himself mentally, before simply sighing, ¡°You know I can¡¯t stop you even if I wanted to. I¡¯m stuck here now, I just hope you¡¯ll stay safe and keep close to the rangers.¡± A small silence descended on the room before he continued, ¡°You¡¯re growing up and planning to be a trainer, I can¡¯t keep you stuck inside all the time.¡± Wiping away her tears, Valerie sniffled some more before she answered, ¡°Don¡¯t worry, Maxie and some other rangers will all be inside the cave with me. I think I couldn¡¯t be safer if I wanted to.¡± She once again caressed Larry''s tall, dull horn, ¡°Besides, I¡¯ve got a Pokemon to back me up! Don¡¯t I?¡± ¡°Sure you do!¡± Larry hollered back. Looking at the two of them, Drew smiled on, the two painted a perfect picture for him. His daughter was growing up. ¡­ After the heart-to-heart and some more idle conversation, the two left to spend some more time together. Their ride to Mt. Silver was going to arrive sometime in the afternoon. The flight was supposed to be far quicker than a drive, but the ranger who would fly them also had other work that would delay them. Valerie and Larry had returned to her room, cleaned off her old clothes, and checked the contents of her bag, just making sure that Valerie still had everything she might need. She had refilled her bottles with fresh water, but found that she was running low on food, she had a second mouth to feed now, after all. So the two made way for the PokeMart section of the PokeCenter. The two entered the PokeMart, Valerie wasn¡¯t poor but she still felt pained when she eyed the price tags. Larry on the other hand was simply amazed seeing an honest-to-god, real-life Potion for the first time. ¡®Huh, I always thought it was some melty purple thing, not just a spray bottle.¡¯ Larry felt a sense of childlike wonder looking at all the items he¡¯d only been able to see in tiny little icons on his videogame consoles. Even the prices were the same, which made Larry concerned for his trainer''s financial situation, ¡®Let¡¯s hope this is a Japanese Yen situation and this stuff isn¡¯t hundreds of dollars¡­¡¯ As they browsed, a young kid with a cap strode up to them, tossing and catching a Pokeball. He sported a confident smile, ¡°Hey, you! Wanna fight?¡± Chapter 49 Valerie looked like a deer in the headlights. She stared at the brat with wide eyes, her mind had stopped entirely. Her head turned to her left, then her right, seemingly wondering where the kids'' apparent challenger was supposed to be before finally, the pieces went into place. ¡°You mean me?¡± She pointed a thumb at herself, before looking down at Larry. He was less dumbstruck and more awestruck. ¡®This is the thing! A trainer encounter! I can almost see the exclamation mark above the kid''s head!¡¯ He raved to himself mentally. The brat looked almost scarily similar to the Youngster trainers from the games. Larry almost wanted to ask for the kid''s autograph and thank him for his performance in-game. ¡°Of course I mean you, there¡¯s nobody else here!¡± he responded haughtily. A strained smile on her face, Valerie was about to refuse the teenager, ¡°Sorry, but no. We ca-¡± ¡°Of course! I wanna!¡± But her Pokemon interjected. Like a thirsty man in a desert, Larry had almost forgotten how much he was itching for a fight until the opportunity came. He hopped up and down, slapping Valerie''s legs enthusiastically, ¡°C¡¯mon Valerie!¡± ¡°Can you give us a second?¡± Valerie looked slightly pained as she addressed the boy, a strained smile still plastered on her face. He nodded confidently and waited as the two turned around. Valerie knelt next to Larry in a huddle, giving him a quiet reproach, ¡°Larvitar! We can¡¯t fight this kid! I¡¯ve never been in a Pokemon fight before!¡± ¡°No other way to learn, right?¡± He answered excitedly, ¡°And don¡¯t worry, even if you suck. I¡¯ll just fight myself!¡± ¡°I¡¯ve got no idea what you¡¯re saying!¡± She complained quietly with her hands on her shaking head, ¡°Look, we can¡¯t-!¡± ¡°So? Are we doing this?¡± The Youngster asked again as he repeatedly threw his Pokeball in the air, drawing the two out of their arguments. Before Valerie could talk her way out, Larry jumped up enthusiastically, ¡°We¡¯ll do it! So? Where do we go?¡± The Younger was seemingly able to read Larry''s mind, ¡°Oh! Your Larvitars ready? There¡¯s an arena just behind the Center, let''s go there!¡± Before Valerie could turn him down, the kid already started walking, with Larry following closely behind, ¡°Ah, wait!¡± ¡­ The three walked the corridors of the Center, making for its rear exit. ¡°Are we really doing this?¡± Valerie asked the two for the second time. Larry simply scoffed back, ¡®What does she think? I¡¯m gonna back out now?¡¯ ¡°I-I mean I don¡¯t even know your moves!¡± She fumbled her phone out of her pocket, fervently tapping away at the device as she searched for the files she¡¯d gotten on him, ¡°Y-You¡¯re a rock type, right?¡± Larry wanted to roll his eyes but nodded hoping to somewhat calm the girl. He¡¯d never seen anyone become this panicked at the simple notion of a Pokemon battle. Even the wild Pokemon in Mt. Silver took to life-and-death battles more calmly than Valerie. ¡°Huh? You don¡¯t even know that?¡± The Youngster spoke up, slowing a step, ¡°How¡¯d someone like you get a Larvitar?¡± ¡°Someone like me?¡± Valerie felt slightly offended, ¡°Why do you wanna fight Larvitar anyway?¡± ¡°Someone snapped a pic of your Larvitar and it went viral on Chatter, the whole Center is talking about the girl with the Larvitar, you know?¡± ¡°What?!¡± Both Valerie and Larry exclaimed at the same time. Neither of them had seemingly ever expected that the simple act of walking around in a center with a rare Pokemon would pose a problem. Larry wanted to fistbump himself, ¡®Hell yeah! An internet sensation on my first day in human civilization!¡¯ His mind hitched for a second as he realized that the kid just said, ¡®Wait, Chatter? Is that like Pokemon Twitter?¡¯ He tried to catch a peek of the kid''s phone screen, ¡®They got Twitter here?¡¯ Valerie meanwhile looked distraught at the idea of internet fame, ¡°You mean people are talking about us online?!¡± ¡°Yeah, some popular accounts rechatted the post.¡± He showed his phone to his trainer, ¡°Here, see?¡± ¡°Oh!¡± Valerie began to wilt as she looked at the screen, ¡°That¡¯s a lot of likes¡­¡± ¡°Sure is!¡± The boy responded, unperturbed by the girl''s worries. Valerie was lost in her mind as she muttered, ¡°I mean I knew from the reporters that they knew about what happened at Mt. Silver. None of them knew I caught a Larvitar though¡­¡± ¡°How the heck did you get your hands on a Larvitar if you know so little about it anyway?¡± The Youngster asked. ¡°He just kind of fell into my hands¡­¡± Valerie explained hurriedly, still following after the kid, ¡°So, can you please forget all about this and just leave us?¡± ¡°Your Pokemons still following me though?¡± He explained smugly, ¡°Guess if you can''t keep him under control we¡¯re still gonna do this.¡± ¡°Larvitar, c¡¯mon!¡± Valerie balled her hands into fists in frustration, she wanted to physically hold the Pokemon back, or simply recall him, but didn¡¯t have the heart to put her foot down, ¡°Please, Larvitar! I don''t even know your moves!¡± ¡°Nah!¡± Larry answered back with a shake of his head, still following after the kid who was by now opening the door to the back exit for him, ¡°Guess you¡¯ll have to learn them today!¡± Valerie was almost vibrating in annoyance, until she suddenly released a sharp sigh, ¡°Ha! Fine! Let¡¯s do it!¡± She kept her eyes on her phone as she walked, hoping to do some last-minute cramming on her Pokemon''s moveset. The story has been taken without consent; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident. ¡­ Valerie had taken to her side of the arena, standing opposite the Youngster. She was still cramming through her phone in the hopes of somehow finding some sort of help for the upcoming fight. Larry meanwhile was looking at the area surrounding the Center, it was his first time properly in the outside world. They were in a hilly area, one side was slowly rising upwards into a mountainside in the distance while the other side sloped downwards. Behind him, stood a giant grey mountain with a snowy white dusting at its tip, ¡®Woah, it really does look like Mt. Fuji¡­¡¯ As he circulated his Type-Energy, his eyes fell from the mountain down onto Valerie, who was still stuck inside her phone. He looked up at her skeptically, ¡®What does she think? That I don¡¯t know how to fight? I¡¯m not some idiot...¡¯ Unfortunately, the fight had attracted a crowd, a variety of other trainers from old to young stood at the sidelines and eyed the event curiously. Valerie looked uncomfortable at the attention and Larry himself, while very happy at the idea of social media fame still didn¡¯t really enjoy all these real eyes on him. ¡°So,¡± The boy stretched, ¡°a 1v1 Battle between, uhh, what¡¯s your name?¡± ¡°Valerie, and you?¡± She responded tensely. ¡°David!¡± He smiled back happily, ¡°Nice to meet ya! You alright with Standard Rules?¡± ¡°Uh, sure?¡± Valerie answered, not even sure what the Standard rules were. ¡®Well, guess we¡¯ll just wing it!¡¯ Larry stretched next to Valerie, his TE was coursing around his body eagerly. The anxiety of all the eyes on him fell away as he readied himself for the fight. ¡°Alright!¡± David looked around the audience and pointed at someone, ¡°Hey, Ivy! Can you referee for us?¡± The kid was seemingly a regular who knew the people around here. ¡°Sure thing!¡± The guy stepped up between them and announced again, ¡°A 1v1 Battle between Valerie and David, Standard Rules. Are both trainers ready?¡± ¡°Sure.¡± Valerie nodded. ¡°Ready!¡± David announced, reading his Pokeball. ¡°Ready? Begin!¡± Both trainers released their Pokemon, Larry ran forward into the arena and David¡¯s Pokeball opened with that satisfying Clack! ¡°Poli!¡± A small Poliwag stood on the opposing side of the arena, it looked at its opponent challengingly. Valerie started the fight simply, ¡°Larvitar! Tackle!¡± Larry had other ideas though, he began by using Sandstorm and enveloped his side of the arena in a thick cloud of sand and dust. ¡°What?! Larvitar, what are you doing?¡± ¡®Who uses Tackle?! C¡¯mon Valerie!¡¯ He admonished her mentally as he advanced against the Poliwag. His Sandstorm followed along, swallowing up his enemy within. ¡°Polly, use Bubble Beam!¡± David commanded. ¡®Kind of stupid, announcing every move the Pokemon is supposed to use¡­¡¯ Larry thought to himself, his prediction of Pokemon battles being entirely true. He felt Poliwag charge his attack in the storm and stepped deftly to the side, dodging the bubbles entirely. ¡°Get out of the storm, Polly!¡± David commanded. ¡°Larvitar what¡¯s going on in there?!¡± Valerie cried out, unsure of what was even happening inside the storm. Poliwag began to retreat as soon as the command came, but Larry had already heard its trainer''s instructions and charged at the Water-Type with a Pursuit. He smashed an arm into its back and the creature was thrown to the ground, crying out painfully, ¡°Argh!¡± ¡°Polly?! What going on in there?¡± David asked in a panicked voice. ¡°Sorry, no hard feelings!¡± Larry apologized and used Bite, chomping down on the Pokemon¡¯s side. In response, Poliwag cried out a shrill scream. In a last-ditch effort, Poliwag reared back to deliver a Pound behind itself by slamming its tail into Larry''s side. The hit smacked into Larry¡¯s flank, but its Normal typing had little effect on him. Larry took the hit and used its Type-Energies to deliver a charged Payback. He released his Bite and uppercut the Tadpole Pokemon into the sky, it flew outside of the sandstorm in a long arc before smashing into the ground, fainted. The Sandstorm dematerialized and Larry stood victoriously, ¡®Still a GOD-DAMNED. GENIUS!¡¯ He thought to himself selfishly, still amped from his first fight in quite some time. Their referee took a short and confused second before he raised his arm to Valerie''s side and announced, ¡°Poliwag is unable to battle, the winner is Valerie!¡± The crowd showered the pair in a smattering of polite golf claps, they weren¡¯t as shocked by the one-sided nature of the fight, but by the way, Larry had beaten Poliwag without taking a single command. Phones had been pointed the entire time and murmurs spread through the audience, as they wondered what had just happened exactly, considering the Sandstorm had obscured most of their view of the battle. David recalled his Pokemon with a conflicted expression, he turned to Valerie, ¡°What just happened?¡± ¡°I-I don¡¯t know¡­¡± Valerie looked just as lost as David. Larry trotted back to her side, very much satisfied with himself. He was satisfied with the fight, ¡®A good fight, but could¡¯ve been a bit more challenging.¡¯ David walked over to the two of them, that conflicted expression still on his face, he trained his face into a smile, ¡°I guess that¡¯s that¡­ I didn¡¯t think it would be that one-sided. Anyway, good fight.¡± He stuck out a hand for a handshake, he might¡¯ve been a brat, but he wasn¡¯t a bad loser. Valerie took it, ¡°Uh, sure. Good fight.¡± She looked just as confused at the results. After David parted their crowd and made his way back into the Center to get his Pokemon healed up, Valerie turned and lowered herself to Larry in a hushed whisper, ¡°What the hell was that Larvitar?!¡± ¡®I beat him up!¡¯ Larry, still amped from his fight, jabbed the air a few times in explanation. ¡°I saw¡­¡± Valerie scratched her neck awkwardly, ¡°Or well, I guess I didn''t¡­¡± She felt conflicted and made her complaints known, ¡°You fought well, but you¡¯re supposed to fight with your trainer, you know?¡± Still slightly hyper and not in the mood to argue with someone who literally didn¡¯t speak his language, Larry quirked his head to the side in indifference, ¡®Give some better commands than Tackle and I might actually listen.¡¯ Valerie dropped the topic for now with a sigh, ¡°Anyway, do you need any healing?¡± He shook his head, not even really feeling the single hit he¡¯d taken. ¡°Alright then¡­¡± Valerie looked disappointed with the fight, even though she''d won. Her eyes traveled to their audience, ¡°You heard David, right? We¡¯re attracting a lot of attention by walking around like this.¡± She pulled the Pokeball out of her pocket, ¡°Could you go back into your ball for the time being? I wouldn¡¯t want another guy to challenge us, we need to get to Mt. Silver soon, right?¡± ¡®Hmm, I don¡¯t know.¡¯ Larry weighed his options, ¡®I could go for another fight, but we need to get back to Mt. Silver too¡­¡¯ Before they could come to a conclusion, a single person split from the crowd and walked up to them, ¡°Valerie! My goodness, how are you doing?¡± Valerie turned to the figure, a woman in a pencil skirt and a blouse, her peach-colored hair was curled dramatically. The woman stomped towards them in a set of uncomfortably tall high heels, she had a minuscule handbag she was clutching against herself and wore a set of aviator sunglasses. Her entire outfit made her out to be some sort of secret celebrity. Raising herself, Valerie wasn¡¯t even able to get a word out before the woman threw herself at her, pressing the girl deep into her bosom. ¡°Oh, I am SO happy you¡¯re unharmed! Once I heard about what happened to you I rushed over right away! You just know how the flyer services here in Kanto are!¡± The woman complained loudly. ¡°Mmph!¡± Valerie fought to give herself some room. The woman finally eased her grip on Valerie she took a deep breath, her brows furrowed into consternation, ¡°Michelle? What are you doing here?!¡± Chapter 49.5 - Interlude
Chatter ? RangerAlert @rangeralert ¡¤ 3h URGENT: Reports of an earthquake at Mt. Silver. Rangers are on the scene, prioritizing public safety and assessing potential hazards. Residents in surrounding areas are advised to stay informed and follow official instructions. #MtSilver #EmergencyAlert #RangerAlert ? 1.2k ? 3k ? 4.5k
| HoundDoomer @doomdog ¡¤ 1h \ It was a volcano! Oh god! We¡¯re all gonna die! ? 2 ? 7 ? 83
| Psyblush @psyboy44 ¡¤ 45m \ Who the hell is going to Mt. Silver these days anyway? ? 15 ? 25 ? 239
| Heyhato @hatoto ¡¤ 26m \ Nobody man, only the elite trainers go there anyway ? 2 ? 2 ? 34
| JamieHako#AceSquad @jhako ¡¤ 54m \ Wth!! I was gonna go there this week to train, guess that trips cancelled. How the hell am I gonna break the news to my Rapidash¡­ ? 45 ? 80 ? 457
| Gelmasko @quinc286 ¡¤ 38m \ Omg hiiii!!!! Jamie if your trips are cancelled how about hanging out? ? 4 ? 6 ? 78
Pokespotter_ID @pokespotter ¡¤ 1h Did anyone else see a Larvitar running around in the League Reception Pokecenter? One of my Oomfs sent me a DM telling me abt it, but I think he¡¯s talking Tauroscrap. Send me a pic and I will send you a 100 PokeDollar Giftcard ? 2.4k ? 5k ? 8k
| LucarioKnight @xeronfriendly ¡¤ 43m \ Who the hell lives near the League Reception? Aces or something? ? 33 ? 112 ? 769
| Gemboo @gemboo_biggie ¡¤ 58m \ Damn, another post by this account. Can you stop doxxing peoples Pokemon? ? 70 ? 21 ? 80 Unauthorized duplication: this tale has been taken without consent. Report sightings.
| Porxis @Porxis ¡¤ 54m \ L take. Get ratio¡¯d. ? 28 ? 78 ? 246
| PatratMat @matthepat ¡¤ 38m \ I¡¯m nearby, I¡¯ll go to the center for a jaunt. ? 45 ? 68 ? 230
The jingle of Pokemon Centers automatic sliding door sounded out as Matthias walked through and into the lounge of the center. ¡°See anything bro?¡± ¡°Rat!¡± His Patrat shook its head, keeping its eyes open and a hand to its brow while scouring every corner of the Center''s interior from its vantage point on Matt''s shoulder. ¡°You tell me if you see anything that looks like this, alright?¡± He tapped his phone screen, where he¡¯d pulled up a picture of a Larvitar. Patrat neurotically swung its head from the screen to the Center''s interior, comparing every inch against the screen before once again shaking its head while keeping its eyes peeled, ¡°Pat!¡± ¡°Just keep your eyes peeled.¡± Matt took a seat in the lounge and scrolled through his Chatter Feed. If he was going to go to the center anyway, why shouldn¡¯t he try his luck at getting a nice bonus? Of course Matt had never seen a Larvitar before, he¡¯d never even heard of them before. It was only after a quick search online he¡¯d found out they were the young of Tyranitar, now that name he¡¯d heard before. Mostly because they were some of the most powerful and rarest Pokemon around. He¡¯d once caught a high-level League match in which a trainers Tyranitar had entirely terraformed the arena to its liking, the thing didn¡¯t even look exhausted by the end of the match, instead simply looking angered. Ah damn, his Feed was absolute crap today, it was just people begging for likes, the oldest memes he¡¯d ever seen and giveaways like the one which had brought him here. ¡®Alright, let''s get that Potion¡­¡¯ As he was rising from his seat, Patrat janked his hair violently, ¡°Pat! Pat! Pat!¡± The shock almost made him stumble and he cried out in pain, ¡°Argh, what the hell, Patrat?!¡± Still janking his hair, Patrat pulled his head to the right and pointed his eyes to the front desk, ¡°Pat! Rat-Pat!¡± Matt already wanted to jank the annoying little vermin off his shoulder, but his brain halted entirely when he saw what was just walking past the front desk of the center. Olive-green skin, bipedal with a red shell on its stomach, a bouquet-like tail and a large, dull horn on its head. ¡®That¡¯s the Larvitar!¡¯ A double click of the Power-Button brought up the camera and he was already shooting away. A picture, then the video, in whose background his quiet mutterings of ¡°Holy crap, holy shit, holy¡­¡± could be heard. The elevator opened and rolled shut just a short ten seconds later. For some reason, Matt was out of breath, ¡®I just got a 100 Pokedollar Giftcard, didn''t I?¡¯ Chatter was opened again more on instinct and he quickly posted the pictures.
Chatter ? PatratMat @matthepat ¡¤ 45s Holy fucking shit @pokespotter it was actually here. You owe me that giftcard now man lmmmaaoo (A wide variety of mostly shaky and blurry pictures and videos of a Larvitar walking along the feet of a trainer) ? 3 ? 4 ? 12
| Pokespotter_ID @pokespotter ¡¤ 12s \ Wow, so it¡¯s actually confirmed! Thank you very much for the tip! DM me for your reward. ? 1 ? 6 ? 4
| LucarioKnight @xeronfriendly ¡¤ 3s \ Watch out for fakes. Porygons are getting really good these days ? 0 ? 0 ? 1
| Reinbow @ilovefairyz ¡¤ 1s \ That''s a rare find. This post is gonna blow up ? 0 ? 0 ? 0
Matt slumped even further into the lounge chair, his legs were sprawled so far out by now that a few disgruntled trainers had already been forced to step over them as his eyes were glued to his phone. On his shoulder, Patrat was still keeping a civil watch over the entire area, presumably watching for any danger nearby. Patting his companion on the head, he spoke up, ¡°You can stop watching Patrat, I got all the pictures I need.¡± ¡°Pat-Pat!¡± He nodded and then returned to a relaxed stance, blinking for the first time in what must¡¯ve been thirty minutes. Matthias pocketed his phone again and cracked his knuckles, finally taking his eyes off of his phone he adjusted his seating position and then eyed the PokeMarts entrance on the left side of the lounge. He pet his Pokemon on the head affectionately as he rose, ¡°You just made me some money, let¡¯s get you some berries as a reward, Patrat.¡± ¡°Pat-Rat! Pat-Rat!¡± Patrat chanted energetically as they walked into the Pokemart. Chapter 50 Larry looked between the two women with a dumbfounded expression, but it didn¡¯t take long before it dawned on him who this person was. The same colored hair, Asian looks, the woman''s similar build, and her overly familiar behavior only led him to one conclusion. ¡®Is this her mom? Her Dad said that Valerie would live with someone else¡­¡¯ He eyed the woman with suspicion, the fact that she¡¯d been called Michelle instead of Mom was slightly telling as to the nature of their relationship. ¡°Oh, it¡¯s been such a long time since we¡¯ve seen each other!¡± Michelle swooned, ¡°How long has it been, a year or two?¡± Valerie''s weak smile shrunk just a touch, ¡°It¡¯s been 10 months, I think¡­¡± She was working overtime to tolerate the woman. She quickly corrected, keeping an arm around her daughter''s shoulder as she nodded along, ¡°Right, right. 10 months, that IS a long time!¡± The woman stunk heavily of perfume on Larry''s sensitive Pokemon nose. She began to regale her daughter, ¡°And what a meeting this is, being able to watch your daughter in a Pok¨¦mon battle! Just listen to this-¡± Michelle dramatically threw a hand onto her forehead, ¡°Oh, the rangers called me yesterday, they told me my lovely daughter was involved in some sort of accident, and at Mt. Silver of all places!¡± She paused for dramatic effect. ¡°Right,¡± Valerie, said daughter acknowledged with furrowed brows, urging her to continue, ¡°And?¡± ¡°And of course, I immediately called Gustav, I told him, ¡®I have to go there!¡¯ and he, ever the charmer, ordered a flight over here right away!¡± The mention of her mother''s new husband made Valerie flinch, but the woman''s self-absorbed story continued without any acknowledgment of her daughter. ¡°So I am here now!¡± She tapped herself on the chest enthusiastically and ruffled Valerie¡¯s hair with the arm on her shoulder, ¡°Your mama is bringing you with her! With Drew out of commission, me and Gustav will be housing you for the time being!¡± ¡°Ggggrrrreat¡­¡± Valerie strained out, accentuating the T at the end. Her mother''s theatrics finally paused as Michelle''s gaze turned down to her daughter''s feet, ¡°Oh~, and who is this little critter right here?¡± She lowered herself to get a proper look at Larry before smooshing in his cheeks as she let out a squeal of excitement, ¡°Eek, isn''t he just the cutest?!¡± The woman gave off a grunt of exertion as she tried to lift Larry, a fruitless endeavor at his weight, ¡°Oomph, he is heavy! What are you feeding this little guy?¡± ¡°That''s Larvitar, I caught him at Mt. Silver¡­ I think he eats rocks¡­¡± Valerie mumbled along, clearly uncomfortable with her mother''s energetic act, ¡°Say hi to my mom, Larvitar.¡± Larry gave a quick wave to the woman, equally as enchanted by her appearance and behavior as his trainer, ¡®Wow, I¡¯ve only known her for a minute at most and I already can¡¯t stand her¡­¡¯ ¡°Well, he looks lovely!¡± Michelle nodded towards Valerie, her smile going slightly wooden, ¡°Is your father up yet? We¡¯ll need to discuss your living arrangements.¡± Valerie bristled at the mention of her father, but calmed down when Larry put a hand on her leg, ¡°I talked to him today, he should still be up.¡± Michelle was already walking as she announced, ¡°Alright then, let¡¯s visit him!¡± ¡­ To not attract any more attention, Larry was recalled into his Pokeball, which was then shrunken down and stuffed into Valerie''s pocket. It was a weird feeling to be inside someone''s pocket. For one, you never truly know how much lint is in your pocket until you look inside, and Larry was getting a full-frontal view. Luckily for his sanity, Pokeballs were airtight. Once they were back inside Drew¡¯s hospital room, Larry was released with a simple apology, ¡°Sorry Larvitar. I¡¯ll get myself a belt for Pokeballs if you want. Felt like the ball was about to slip out of my pocket any second.¡± Turning back to the girl''s family, Larry found Drew looking like he was being held at gunpoint the way he was looking at Michelle. He stuttered out a greeting, ¡°M-Michelle¡­W-What are you doing here?¡± Michelle for her part looked stoic, addressing Drew like she was talking to a death-row inmate getting the electric chair, ¡°Drew, its good to see you as well.¡± ¡°Y-Yeah, so what brings you here?¡± He seemed fearful of the woman''s entire existence, looking at her like he was expecting a knife or other weapon to be pulled on him. ¡°I got a call from the police, Valerie¡¯s guardian is in hospital and unable to care for her, custody of her needs to be transferred to an able-bodied adult in her family.¡± She pointed down at herself with a flourish, ¡°Here I am.¡± ¡°Oh,¡± Drew''s eyes inspected Michelle''s entire body, ¡°Yeah, that makes sense.¡± He turned introspective as the trio waited for his next sentence. ¡°Are you alright with this?¡± Drew looked at Michelle. ¡°Of course,¡± Michelle nodded, entirely unconcerned, ¡°Me and Gustav have got more than enough space to care for her back in Viridian. I¡¯d love to have her around.¡± Valerie''s gaze was focused entirely on her feet as she sat in the corner of the room, she looked uncomfortable. To calm her nerves, Larry hugged himself close to her feet, happy to use his newborn adorableness to calm a girl forced to experience her custody battle live in front of her. ¡°Is that so¡­¡± Drew seemed accepting, yet unhappy. His face contorted as he let the idea run through his mind, he grumbled to himself, ¡°I still don¡¯t like you, Michelle.¡± ¡°I¡¯d rather be back in Viridian too,¡± She nodded seriously. He looked over to Valerie, ¡°What about you?¡± Her gaze finally traveled up and Larry could see the girl seriously thinking about her choice of words, unsure if she should prioritize her feelings or bear with it. ¡°I¡­I-I¡¯ll go with Mom.¡± She decided with a weak smile, ¡°You just go ahead and heal up, Dad.¡± Stolen story; please report. ¡°You¡¯re right¡­¡± Drew agreed with her opinion, but he still didn¡¯t like it. ¡°Haah¡­You know I don¡¯t have anybody else who could look after Valerie¡­¡± The words seemed to deal physical pain to the man as he said them, ¡°Please, you take her in for now. Once I¡¯m all healed up I¡¯ll come take her off your hands again.¡± ¡°Sure thing!¡± Michelle turned, all smiles as the two decided on the arrangement. Valerie''s demeanor had only soured during their discussion, Michelle strutted to the door as she urged Valerie to follow her ¡°Let¡¯s get us some Lunch, why don¡¯t we Val?¡± ¡­ Larry was once again recalled into his Pokeball for his privacy as the mother and daughter duo made way for the Pokecenter cafeteria again. He had laid down inside his Pokeball, they seemed to be able to filter out most of the movements and noises of the outside world if a Pokemon or trainer wished so. For now, though, Larry wanted to support Valerie, so he¡¯d kept an eye on the idle conversation between mother and daughter. She was his key back into Mt. Silver after all. His presence wasn¡¯t going to help in any way during their talks, he¡¯d only known the girl for around a day anyway, ¡®Though if Valerie needs emotional support, I hope she¡¯ll call me¡­¡¯ Since he¡¯d met Valerie, a lot about his life had changed. He¡¯d been caught, normally a thing of concern, but due to Valerie''s opinion on the matter he¡¯d been lucky enough to be free if he chose so. An amazing coincidence had saved his life and in a second case of chance, said trainer had no qualms about keeping him to herself. Truly, Larry felt nothing but fortunate in his misfortune of being caught. There was the big elephant, or well, Copperajah in the room he needed to address, does he want to stay with Valerie? Does he want to stay with a trainer or go back to being wild? ¡®I liked the freedom of exploring Mt. Silver, but it was dangerous, I didn¡¯t sit still at a single point, all because I wanted to get out of the caves.¡¯ He posited, ¡®But why did I want to outside of Mt. Silver? I did hate the insides of the cave, but the real reason was that I wanted to finally DO something with my second shot at life, not just rot away in a cave. I couldn¡¯t waste away in there, I need to see the world!¡¯ If the idea was to go see the world, then he could try and do it himself. There was just one caveat, most of what he knew about Pokemon revolved around what had been shown in the franchise, which focused on humans. His entire knowledge was built on trainers and the society surrounding them. And if that was the case, why should he not try and be a trainer¡¯s Pokemon? Valerie has already shown herself to be a great girl, smart, remorseful, mature, and way more intelligent than others her age. She was a shoo-in for a good trainer to be with, ¡®And she is just such a nice girl! I really kind of do want to help her in whatever way I can, be it emotional support in a custody battle or as her ace in a Pokemon Trainer.¡¯ He¡¯d come to a decision, ¡®I¡¯ll give being a trainer Pokemon a good try, but first we go back to Mt. Silver.¡¯ Thinking of the caves, brought him back to the present, his mom and their promise to meet back up in Mt. Silver once she¡¯d fought Moltres, ¡®She¡¯s saved my life multiple times by now¡­I owe it to my mom to go back and look for her, I am still her son after all!¡¯ His mother''s condition was still unknown, but Larry could only pray to whatever god, be it Arceus or someone else, and hope that she wasn¡¯t dead. He wasn¡¯t sure how he¡¯d manage if she was actually dead, he¡¯d just have to find out soon enough. With his mind finally set, Larry had a plan on what to do, ¡®Alright! Look for Mom, stay with Valerie, and become the strongest Pokemon ever!¡¯ It wasn¡¯t all planned out yet, but Larry already felt giddy. He dreamt a bit to himself, ¡®Maybe the two of them could be friends? I could go back to Mt. Silver from time to time between traveling to show her my progress. Hehe, that¡¯d be nice.¡¯ Soon enough, he was once again released in the cafeteria to eat a late lunch. Between all the family drama and Pokemon rights concerns still on Larry''s mind, there was one thing that was for sure, he was feeling a bit peckish. ¡­ On his third bowl already, Larry could feel Michelle''s bulging eyes on him as he chomped away at the PokeChow, ¡°How much can he fit in there?!¡± ¡°He¡¯s a growing boy,¡± Valerie excused, ¡°The Center wrote that he¡¯s at most a few months old.¡± ¡°Wow.¡± Michelle seemed surprised by the idea but didn¡¯t seem to care enough to pry. Larry was relieved to be dining on her mother''s dime, it meant he didn¡¯t need to feel ashamed to be draining a teenager''s pocket money anymore. During their lunch, Michelle had divulged a lot of details about her life. She worked in an office in Viridian City and her new husband Gustav ran a wonderful flower shop in which they¡¯d met. The two were still very much in love, by how much the mother talked about the man, raving about how amazing of a person he was. Another detail that surprised Larry was, that Michelle never was much of a trainer. She had never gone on a journey and she didn¡¯t keep any Pokemon close to her. It made Larry realize that the entire world didn¡¯t revolve around Pokemon. Valerie kept a respectful distance from her mother and kept a protective hand near Larry as they ate their late lunch. He didn¡¯t know what she expected the woman to do to him, but the more her mother opened her mouth, the less he tolerated her presence. She was loud, brash, overly familiar, and self-centered, at times her shrill laughter even seemed to echo through the entire cafeteria. Larry felt lucky he had a Pokeball to escape to when it became too much, it made him fear for Valerie in the coming days. Just as she was about to answer her mother, Valerie''s phone rang, ¡°Oh! Sorry, I¡¯ll take this¡­¡± ¡°Hello? Oh, hey! Yes, I¡¯m in the cafeteria right now. I¡¯ll- Oh, alright. See you.¡± Her call was over before it could properly begin. ¡°Who was that?¡± Michelle asked. ¡°It was the rangers, the ranger who was going to escort me to Mt. Silver is here,¡± Valerie explained apologetically. ¡°Huh?¡± Her mother looked confused, ¡°Take you to Mt. Silver? Didn¡¯t you just come from there?¡± ¡°Yeah, I¡¯m taking Larvitar back there to look for him Mom, and to get a police interview.¡± Valerie pet his horn for effect. ¡°Wha- Valerie-¡± ¡°Are you Valerie Riston?¡± A ranger in a flight helmet marched up to them assertively. ¡°That¡¯s me!¡± She rose and grabbed her backpack, slinging it over her shoulder with a smile on her face, clearly happy to be freed from her mother''s clutches. ¡°We have a busy schedule, you ready?¡± The ranger asked. ¡°Sure thing, let''s go.¡± She agreed readily, recalling Larry with his consent and following after the ranger dutifully. ¡°What? Valerie?¡± Michelle rose from her seat as well and followed after the two, ¡°What¡¯s going on?¡± ¡°Don¡¯t worry, Michelle.¡± She spoke diplomatically, with a sly grin on her face, ¡°I¡¯ll be back soon.¡± ¡°Huh? What does that mean? And I told you to just call me mom- Wait! Don¡¯t just run away!¡± Michelle followed after them out of the Center and into a square. Outside, a gigantic Fearow waited for the two, with a riding harness strapped onto its back. When the ranger returned it lowered itself and allowed the two to climb onto its back. Her mother blurted out tons of questions as she approached the Flying-Type, ¡°What will you be doing over there? Are you going on-¡± ¡°CAAAW!!¡± Fearow screeched a warning when she got too close. ¡°Eeek!¡± She squealed in fear and fell backward onto the plaster square. Valerie let out a chuckle watching the woman fall while being strapped into the seat. She finally answered, ¡°Sorry Michelle, but I guess you¡¯ll have to ask Dad.¡± ¡°Vale-¡± A heavy beat of Fearow wings interrupted Michelle''s verbal onslaught once again and the two took off into the sky. Once they¡¯d taken off, the ranger talked, ¡°It seems I came at a bad time.¡± She raised the visor covering her eyes and Maxie smiled back at her. ¡°Haha! No, you came at the perfect time!¡± As they flew away Valerie felt herself begin to break out in honest laughter. Even Larry felt a bit of schadenfreude inside his Pokeball, seeing the girl''s mother bluster around helplessly. Chapter 51 The landscape zoomed past them as they flew, Larry was keeping his eyes upwards though. He didn¡¯t have a fear of heights, but he also didn¡¯t have the strength to think the only thing separating him and a fall of several hundred meters was a flimsy cloth pocket. The only thing assuaging his fears was the knowledge that even if he fell, he was sure that a Pokeball could survive a drop like that, ¡®I think they were pretty indestructible in the anime, right?¡¯ ¡°You alright?¡± After takeoff, Maxie had strapped a set of old-school flying goggles onto Valerie''s face and slung a flight scarf around her face in the hopes of quenching the eventual windburn. Fearow weren¡¯t the quickest fliers, but the wind still whipped its passengers if they didn¡¯t cover their bodies, and Valeries T-Shirt and Shorts combo weren¡¯t covering much of anything to begin with. ¡°Eheheh, no, no, don¡¯t worry about it. It¡¯s alri- Pfft! Hahaha!¡± Valerie broke out into giggles for the fifth time since takeoff, she fought to keep control of herself, ¡°Hoo boy! That was great!¡± ¡°Was it really that funny?¡± Maxie asked unsurely. ¡°Oh, you don¡¯t even know!¡± Valerie gushed, ¡°My mom''s always this controlling, naggy and annoying¡­¡± She omitted an obvious insult as she kneaded her hands against the seat harshly, ¡°It''s so funny to see her take a fall for once!¡± ¡°Well, as long as you¡¯re happy¡­Though I''d say you should strive for a good family relationship.¡± Maxie felt a bit awkward seeing the girl so happy at her own family''s failures, but in his Pokeball, Larry understood. The woman had been strutting around like she was their queen the whole time he¡¯d known her, bossing Valerie around like she was on a leash and disregarding her as a person their entire time. To see her trip and fall on her ass was quite funny, though he could agree it wasn¡¯t ¡®breaking-out-into-laughter-five-times-in-a-row¡¯ levels of funny. Maxie watched the skyline, ¡°Anyway, the flight should take around an hour, so we should get to the ranger tower by 5 PM, we¡¯ll have to let Fearow take a small break in between.¡± Fearow gave a gentle caw back towards the two in agreement, saying a simple ¡°Yeah.¡± Larry could discern. ¡°Alright¡­¡± Having finally calmed down, Valerie simply watched the horizon pass over them. A silence descended as they flew and Larry finally calmed enough to trust himself to look somewhere other than straight up, not that his view out of Valerie''s pocket was that great anyway. The silence was broken by Valerie as she asked a question that had been on her mind, ¡°Is Fearow yours? You never told me about it.¡± ¡°Oh, no,¡± She shook her head, ¡°He¡¯s a Ranger Pokemon, used by rangers who need a Pokemon for special occasions.¡± ¡°Oh, that sounds useful,¡± Valerie commented as she looked down at the Pokemon with renewed interest. Maxie stroked the side of his body, ¡°He might have a sharp glare but he loves his work. Once I¡¯m done bringing you around, he¡¯s getting handed over to another ranger to work some more.¡± ¡°Fe-Fearow¡­¡± The bird agreed readily with a nod, Larry heard a quiet ¡°They still need me.¡±. ¡°Wow, you must love your work Fearow.¡± The girl asked gingerly, the bird nodded back in response, ¡°Just make sure you also rest enough.¡± ¡°He¡¯s been working hard for the last fifteen years.¡± Maxie nodded, ¡°Speaking of rest, did you get a good night''s sleep last night?¡± The three made idle chatter as they flew along, taking breaks from flight in between. She told Maxie how Drew was doing and introduced Larry to her. She told her how smart and caring Larry had been, the insane quantities he could eat, her mother''s nagging, and many other topics. However, the fact that she had experienced her first Pokemon fight was, for some reason, omitted. ¡­ They touched down just outside of the ranger tower at the beginning of Route 28, a variety of ranger trucks and police vehicles swamped the meager Asphalt parking space, so Maxie landed on a grass patch nearby. From their landing spot, a variety of people in uniforms could be seen milling about inside the ranger station and standing watch just at the foot of its staircase. ¡°Brrr!¡± Valerie hugged herself and rubbed her arms vigorously in an attempt to warm up, ¡°Is flying always that cold?!¡± Their flight hadn¡¯t even taken that long all things considered, but with evening slowly setting in and it still being decidedly wintery the air high up was ice cold. Freezing straight through the stylish Summer Jacket Valerie had pulled out of her backpack just a few minutes after leaving. Maxie agreed, rubbing her hands together in an attempt to warm up, her ranger Outfit while more fit for flight, still not up to the winter atmosphere, ¡°Yup, it sucks but nobody higher up wanted to spare a teleporter for this emergency. So we gotta live with it, it is what it is.¡± ¡°Ugh¡­¡± Grabbing Larry''s PokeBall, Valerie finally released him, ¡°You¡¯re lucky to not be freezing right now, Larvitar. We¡¯re at the ranger station now, it''s time for that interview. Or well, it''s more fitting to call it questioning if it''s in any way similar to the way they treated me.¡± Following Maxie, the three walked the two up a pair of officer and ranger who were making idle Chatter at the foot of the ranger tower, keeping watch out here in the boonies. ¡°Ranger Maxine, so you¡¯ve brought back the girl?¡± The officers turned from his conversation and his gaze turned down, ¡°And the Larvitar, great!¡± ¡°Sure did, Officer.¡± She nodded, ¡°Who is supposed to do the interview and where are you going to hold it?¡± This narrative has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road. If you see it on Amazon, please report it. ¡°Just up in the tower, the Seargent will do the interview, the others will need to keep their planning on the outside meanwhile. Let''s go.¡± Their group followed after the office, up the tread plate staircase, and towards the tower. Larry did sweat a bit at the mention of an Interview, but he¡¯d been prepared for this, he knew this was coming, ¡®I''ve got no hair to slick back or tie to adjust, so I guess I''ll be alright like this. Bring it on!¡¯ ¡­ The inside of the ranger tower looked like a sprawling mess, a gang of officers and rangers hung over a square table in the middle. Papers, computers, and a variety of cups were sprawled over the table. As the group entered, all heads turned to them. All the officers and rangers situated around the table looked seasoned and well-traveled, one of the officers even sporting a gnarly-looking scar running down his cheek. ¡°I¡¯ve brought the Larvitar, Sergeant.¡± The officer urged Larry and Valerie forward, all eyes bored into him as he entered. Slightly dying on the inside, Larry lamented to himself on the inside, ¡®Ahh, I thought I was ready but I¡¯m not ready! Not ready!¡¯ The man with the scar raised himself off of the flimsy office chair and strode over to them, ¡°Good work, now everyone.¡± He picked a Pokeball from his belt, ¡°We have an interview to do, so I say it''s break time.¡± The tension left the room and some held breaths were released around the room as everyone made for the door. Maxie patted Valerie on the shoulder, ¡°Good luck with your interview.¡± ¡°Thanks¡­¡± Valerie looked the be just as anxious as Larry, even with all her experience in getting questioned by the police. After everyone had left, the man closed the door behind them. He pulled out a chair for Valerie to sit down on, Larry moved himself next to her as the police sergeant began talking, ¡°Allow me to introduce myself. I¡¯m Seargent Norio Sato, the supervisor organizing the operation investigating what happened at Mt. Silver.¡± ¡°From the information currently available, you and your father Drew Riston were both involved in the event to some degree. Rest assured, the officers who escorted you to the nearest center already took your statement, so we won¡¯t have you give another one.¡± The man''s large stature was intimidating as he leaned against the table and the large cut running up his face didn¡¯t help. Where Valerie as a young teenager only reached up to the top of the man''s stomach, the top of Larry''s horn barely reached up to the man''s knees. His face was unreadably stoic, ¡°Your Pokemon though, is another story. From the way you described it, you caught him during or shortly after the earthquakes and fissures around Mt. Silver broke open.¡± Sergeant Sato approached, his boots sounding more akin to gunshots in the silent interior of old wooden floorboards. ¡°Yeah, that¡¯s right.¡± Valerie looked tense, ¡°I was getting water to put my water against my dad''s back after he got burned by that Moltres,¡± She turned down to Larry, ¡°And when I was filling up bottles by a river, he was floating through it, unconscious.¡± Sato nodded back at her, ¡°That¡¯s right. That was already mentioned in your report. Today, we¡¯re not here for your perspective, but for your Pokemon¡¯s.¡± Nodding back, Valerie asked, ¡°That¡¯s right, how are you planning to take a Pokemons statement?¡± The man took another step as he expanded the Pokeball he¡¯d been holding, ¡°With the language barrier between Pokemon we will interview your Pokemon in another way.¡± With a quick throw into the air, the ball rebounded off the ground and opened, giving off a nice CLACK! A large, yellow-furred bipedal Pokemon materialized next to Larry and Valerie. Larry recognized it immediately, ¡®Oh, a Hypno!¡¯ It was far taller than he¡¯d ever expected, being even taller than Valerie if she wasn¡¯t sitting down and reaching just above the Seargent''s chest. When Valerie locked eyes with the Hypno, her eyes fluttered awkwardly. The Pokemon quickly stopped its swinging pendulum, and her drooping head abruptly stopped, ¡°Woah¡­That was weird. I didn¡¯t think I was that exhausted.¡± Sato lightly poked the Hypno in the back of the head and muttered under his breath, ¡°Don¡¯t do that again man, we¡¯ve talked about this.¡± He cleared his throat, ¡°Sorry, that was Hypno. He could put you to sleep in a few seconds if he wants to and he¡¯s a bit of an idiot.¡± Valerie shuddered at the idea and the Seargent chuckled, ¡°Yeah, they have a reputation for a reason.¡± The Psychic-Types shifty eyes also didn¡¯t gel that well with Larry, ¡®Yeah, I don¡¯t think I¡¯d sit next to him on the bus¡­¡¯ Hypno nodded sagely and spoke a heavy, ¡°Yes¡­¡± out loud, clearly knowledgeable about his reputation, though he didn¡¯t seem apologetic. Sergeant Sato continued, ¡°Anyway, he¡¯s the key to interviewing your Pokemon. Hypno can use his psychic abilities to talk into a human¡¯s minds, that is how we¡¯ll take your Pokemons statement.¡± ¡°Woah, that¡¯s pretty cool!¡± Valerie was immediately intrigued, ¡°Can he talk to me? I¡¯ve always wanted to talk to a Pokemon!¡± Shaking his head, Sato answered, ¡°Sorry, but Telepathy is hard work. It took a long time and a lot of pain before the telepathy began to work between me and Hypno and it works differently for every human. Telepathy between Pokemon is far easier, but it won¡¯t be needed in this case.¡± ¡°Telepathy also works far differently between different psychics, some can simply transmit feelings and emotions, others talk into your mind and there are even more esoteric ways other Pokemon do it. Some psychic types are better at Telepathy than others, but Hypno already has a hard time and I wouldn¡¯t want to turn anyone into a vegetable today.¡± ¡°Interesting, thanks for the explanation,¡± She immediately agreed, ¡°So, how is this going to work?¡± Sitting down in a seat where a Laptop was set, Sato began, ¡°I will ask your Pokemon questions and he will answer them to Hypno. Hypno in turn returns his answers to me via Telepathy and I will speak them out loud, recording them here on this Laptop.¡± ¡®Finally, some way to talk to humans!¡¯ He knew he could¡¯ve attempted to write something down with his stubby little arms, or tried his hand at Meowth vocal coaching like in the anime, but he¡¯d known Valerie for what felt like less than a day, and before today he didn¡¯t have any use for human communication methods, so this was a unique opportunity for him. In his seat, the sergeant bent down towards Larry, even so, he still lorded over Larry, but he felt at least slightly more approachable, ¡°From the fact that you are here, I can assume you agreed to be here, but I just want to get it on record.¡± He tapped his laptop''s touchpad once, starting a recording, ¡°Do you agree to get interviewed by Seargent Sato and his Hypno for the case of the earthquake at Mt. Silver?¡± Larry nodded, ¡°Yes.¡± A small delay was noticed as Hypno streamed his answer into the police sergeant''s mind, ¡°You agree, great. Now for my first question, please identify yourself for the recording.¡± Musing to himself, Larry wondered how he should approach his introduction, ¡®It¡¯s fine for some random Pokemon in Mt. Silver to know I call myself Larry, they don¡¯t really get the concept of reincarnation. But telling a human that some random Larvitar from Mt. Silver calls itself Larry? A bit suspicious¡­¡¯ So he went for the safe way, this was a battle of intelligence after all, ¡°I¡¯m Larvitar. I used to live in Mt. Silver with my mother, a Tyranitar.¡± Chapter 52 Seargent Sato repeated Larry''s answer for the record, before pausing for his own answer, ¡°Alright, thank you. To my first question then.¡± ¡°Are you in any way involved in the incident at Mt. Silver?¡± Larry was planning to play dumb and act his age. He could trust Valerie with a secret or two, but a Hypno and the police? ¡®I¡¯d rather keep my secrets from humans.¡¯ ¡°Yes, my mom was nearby when the bird woke up,¡± Larry wasn¡¯t a good actor but he tried his best to keep a childish tone of voice, ¡°She fought it while I ran away.¡± Hypno relayed his words to Sato, who quirked an eyebrow as he repeated them for the recording, ¡°That sounds like quite the event, could you elaborate on what exactly happened?¡± Larry didn¡¯t specify why they were down on the first layer, but he started with how they found a weird cave and decided to investigate, ¡°We found a lot of Magmar who were all huddled in a cave, worshipping the bird while it slept.¡± He made some big motions with his arms to accentuate the childishness, ¡°My mom wanted to fight it, but I told her off.¡± The officer repeated his words once again, but before any more questions could be posed Larry continued, ¡°We slept nearby, and after we woke up and were planning to leave, the bird woke up! Everyone fled, and my mother forced me to flee.¡± His audience looked terrified by Larry''s story, clearly amazed that he¡¯d even survived the encounter. ¡°Mom destroyed the ground during the fighting, so as I was fleeing, I was sucked into a channel of water while digging. I couldn¡¯t breathe and passed out, later I woke up in what the Chansey who was helping me called a Pokecenter.¡± After the story was relayed by the Seargent, Valerie spoke up, ¡°And I found you unconscious in a river¡­¡± She covered her mouth with a hand in shock, ¡°Oh my gosh! Larvitar! I knew something had happened, but I didn¡¯t know it was that crazy!¡± Larry nodded as the sergeant repeated his words, ¡°You saved my life, Valerie! Thank you for that.¡± Sato also nodded heavily, ¡°During the event, which we can now in full confidence say was caused by your mother and the legendary bird Moltres. An earthquake, rockslides, fissures, and entirely new channels of water around Mt. Silver came into existence, most dried up by now but some still exist.¡± ¡°We had theories on what had happened in the bowels of Mt. Silver and since there aren¡¯t many Pokemon other than a Tyranitar which could hold a candle to a Moltres, it was also our going theory. It¡¯s good to have it finally confirmed.¡± He shook his head ruefully, ¡°Tyranitar are truly terrifying beasts.¡± Larry deflated slightly at the sergeant''s choice of words, ¡°She¡¯s my mom, you know¡­¡± ¡°Larvitar¡­¡± Valerie could hardly think straight, ¡°I-I don''t know what to say¡­It¡¯s crazy how much you went through¡­¡± ¡°I don''t know what happened to my mom in the end,¡± Larry began, facing Valerie, his words still being relayed by Sato, ¡°But I know I need to find out. Before I left her, I made a promise that we would meet up again after the fight.¡± ¡°Sure thing,¡± She nodded along with a smile on her face, still stuck in her own machinations, ¡°If you want to go back to your mom, then I¡¯ll go back there and release you. I caught you after all. It''s my responsibility.¡± He shook his head, ¡°Yes, but I think you don¡¯t get it.¡± Larry pointed out, still using the Sergeant''s voice to get his opinion across, ¡°I don¡¯t want to be released, I just need to know if my mom is safe. I want to keep being your Pokemon, Valerie!¡± ¡°...Wha-¡± Valerie looked dumbfounded by the revelation, but before she could respond. ¡°I see, so you wanted to come back for your mother.¡± Sergeant Sato interrupted, trying to lead back into the interview. The man didn¡¯t seem to like to play interpreter if it wasn¡¯t for the job, ¡°I think the entirety of what has happened at Mt. Silver has been revealed with your interview. Thank you very much for the information. Is there anything else you think noteworthy to bring up?¡± He shook his head, ¡°No, that should be everything.¡± Hypno and Sato closed their eyes as they seemingly conversed with one another, around ten or so seconds later they finally returned. Sato nodded and moused around on his laptop''s touchpad, ¡°Alright, then that should be everything we need from you.¡± The Hypno next to the man released the Telepathy between them and the Sergeant grunted in pain, before muttering under his breath, ¡°Ugh! You still gotta get better at that man¡­¡± ¡°Wait, why was there a Moltres in Mt. Silver anyway?¡± Valerie asked suddenly. Sato turned to her, still cradling his head, ¡°The quick answer is, we don''t know. The long answer is: Classified information. Miss Riston, you did sign an NDA before you were interviewed, did you not?¡± Valerie nodded as she looked between the officer and her Pokemon, still unsure if she should butt in and try and get some more minutes of Telepathy out of the man. She looked like she desperately wanted to continue talking with her Pokemon, but decided to hold her tongue with a pout, ¡°I did. Are we done here then?¡± Ensure your favorite authors get the support they deserve. Read this novel on Royal Road. ¡°Yes, we¡¯ll hand you back over to your ranger friend so you can go inside Mt. Silver and help them with their end of the investigation. The police found out what went down at Mt. Silver and investigated the people involved, our part of the work is done. From what I¡¯ve heard, the rangers on the other hand haven¡¯t made much progress inside the caves due to the destruction, it looks like the cave was about to collapse at a lot of points when they tried their luck.¡± He explained as he packed his stuff, and stuffed various papers into a variety of folders, ¡°You¡¯ll have to watch out and keep some Rock and Ground-Types around to reinforce the cave if you want to get anywhere inside.¡± ¡°Alright, thanks for the tip¡­¡± She spoke disappointedly as she rose from her seat, ¡°Let¡¯s go, Larvitar¡­¡± ¡­ Outside, Valerie sat on the stairs of the tower with Larry plopped between her legs a stair down. She watched as the police packed up and the rangers prepared for their second trek into the caves of Mt. Silver, with Valerie included this time. Nobody was talking to them right now, they were simply watching as rangers milled about. In the distance, the afternoon sun was still up in the sky, but quickly falling towards the horizon. They''d woken up late and had had a busy schedule the whole day. It was quite amazing to Larry that Valerie had the energy to do all this just a day after almost passing away in a natural disaster, the girl was just a teenager! Valerie had pulled her arms around Larry''s body, hugging herself to him like he was a plush toy as they sat. Though Larry was unsure how comfortable the position was, he didn¡¯t think his rocky skin was the most huggable. There was also the difference between his mental and physical age to keep in mind, so Larry couldn¡¯t get himself to relax in the arms of a teenager, normally he was supposed to be the one doing the comforting. ¡°Was what you said back there the truth?¡± She asked without looking at him as she ran a hand over his head. ¡°Yes.¡± Larry nodded as he spoke. He knew she couldn¡¯t understand him, but it felt right to say the words out loud. After all, maybe she could glean something from them. ¡°You wanna be my Pokemon? You¡¯re sure?¡± Valerie didn''t look at him, instead looking somewhere in the distance, ¡°I didn''t have any big plans of becoming a trainer until recently, you know¡­¡± ¡°I didn''t even know I wanted to become a trainer until like a week ago. Are you sure you want to be trained by someone like that? You¡¯re so young as well, are you sure?¡± Larry wanted to assure his trainer, tell her that as long as she stuck with it, dedicated herself to improving and becoming a good trainer, everything would be alright. He wanted to explain his own worries, about having wasted his first life, about feeling an incessant need to DO something with it, even during his newborn young age. Suddenly it felt like a curse to be stuck only being able to say the Syllables ¡°Lar¡±, ¡±Vi¡± and ¡°Tar¡±, but it was a curse he¡¯d be forced to bear. Unless he''d somehow manage to find himself a free vocal coaching studio as Meowth had in the anime or he''d suddenly manage to grow opposable thumbs to write with. So the only thing he decided to do was nod, ¡°Yes, I want you to be my trainer.¡± ¡°Larvitar¡­¡± His trainer paused, choosing her words carefully as she held him gingerly, ¡°Then why didn''t you listen to me during the fight? Is it because you¡¯re so young?¡± ¡°What?¡± Larry was surprised by the sudden mention of the battle, he turned his head to the side to look at Valerie. ¡°You know, Pokemon are supposed to listen to their trainers during a fight.¡± She looked hurt, ¡°Were my commands that bad or do you just not trust me?¡± The reason Larry chose not to listen to her back then was for exactly those two reasons. ¡°Sorry¡­¡± he turned his head back forward, slightly embarrassed. ¡°Look Larvitar, I don''t know if I''ll be the best Trainer out there for you. Hell, I don''t even know if I''ll be a good trainer¡­¡± She continued caressing his rocky skin, ¡°But if we''re going to be trainer and Pokemon, then I''ll need you to cooperate with me. I can''t have you going berserk on other people''s Pokemon because you think you know better than me.¡± ¡°I''m not saying you don''t, right now at least,¡± She quickly corrected, ¡°but I''ll learn, you know?¡± She stared at the trees for a moment, watching them rustle in the wind, ¡°My dad used to say ¡®The relationship between a trainer and his Pokemon is as much personal as it is contractual.¡¯ We''re friends, helping each other, but we''re also teacher and student, improving as we go on, as I learn more to teach you. When one half gets stronger, so does the whole.¡± Some choice words from the original anime opening came to Larry, ¡®You teach me and I''ll teach you.¡¯ Pok¨¦mon develop new moves, evolve, and see the world with their trainers, while trainers learn responsibility and the art of Pokemon training. It¡¯s a surprisingly reciprocal relationship all things considered. ¡°So? Will you give me a chance and listen to me during a fight?¡± Valerie questioned. Larry knew if he wanted to work with humans, he would be forced to bow down and listen to one of them sooner or later. He turned and looked Valerie straight into her eyes as he nodded with a smile, ¡°Alright, I¡¯ll let you train me.¡± She smiled back in turn and put a hand on his head, ¡°Great! I guess that means, welcome to the team?¡± ¡­ A Xatu stood unmoving, watching as the sun slowly melted back into the horizon. Its sight focused squarely on the gigantic ball of fire, yet at the same time looking straight through it, at something far beyond it. Near it, it''s young followed similar practices. One looked at a pine tree downhill, another stared holes through the fruits of a berry tree a short distance away, a string of saliva slowly dripping from its beak towards the ground as it did so. Its thirdborn though, had chosen more distanced sights, staring at the large cavern opening of a mountain in the distance. Burn marks marred the entrance and large cracks scarred the face of the far-away mountain as it inspected the structure. The thirdborn Natu had performed this gazing ritual thousands of times by now, but this time, and with this sight specifically, something was different. Its eyes began to shimmer fantastically in all the colors of the rainbow as they involuntarily imbued themselves with Psychic-TE for the first time. Suddenly, its body shivered, and the shaking continued until the thing was lying on the ground. It spasmed on the ground helplessly with its very first revelation of the future. Its siblings and parent did not help the poor thing, being entirely entranced in their own rituals of gazing. Once the episode was finally over the Natu rolled back onto its legs, it had only a single thought about its sight of the future, ¡°I see¡­¡± With that singular exclamation, it hopped along and down the hill with a measured pace. It needed to make it to that cave entrance in time after all. Chapter 53 Fearow touched down in the clearing in front of Mt. Silver¡¯s cave entrance. This time around Valerie had been lucky enough to be given a large coverall which had kept her warm. The sun had long since set, the flight over to Mt. Silver taking two to three hours and the winter season not sparing them the daylight required. Next to Maxie and Valerie''s Fearow, two more large birds touched down, releasing two more rangers from their saddles in total. ¡°Sorry for making you work into the night¡­¡± Valerie spoke bashfully as she shucked off the large riding goggles and riding scarf, ¡°If I remembered how long this would take, I would¡¯ve done this in the morning.¡± ¡°Aw, don¡¯t even sweat it. We¡¯re used to working long hours, right guys?¡± Maxine spoke offhandedly as she undid her Fearows saddle to give it some space to breathe. ¡°Yeah, don¡¯t worry Val!¡± Nicholas, one of the two rangers flexed an arm. The last ranger, Arin, huffed out a laugh, ¡°Better than desk work!¡± ¡°Agreed!¡± The other two rangers replied in unison. Everyone released their Pokemon with a cacophony of loud CLACKS! Larry''s ball released him and he breathed in the fresh mountainside air, as he shivered at the cold winter air, ¡®I never got this far outside back when I was here¡­¡¯ Next to Larry, Arins Graveler was revealed from the red light of the Pokeball, it looked at him inquisitively before scoffing out an question in caveman-speak, ¡°What you look at?¡± ¡°Nothing! Nice to meet you, my names Larry!¡± Larry quickly pivoted, wanting to stay in the Pokemon''s good graces. The Graveler didn¡¯t seem to care much though, simply returning its gaze to the cave in front of them. Two more Pokemon materialized on his right, Nicholas'' Lairon gave a spirited cry of its name, which to Larry sounded more like a simple ¡°Let¡¯s go!¡± While Maxies Arcanine gave off a few quick barks to the effect of, ¡°Here we go!¡± When Lairon caught sight of Larry staring, it nodded its head courteously, Larry returned the favor and nodded back in turn. Arcanaine seemed far too excited to take notice of the other Pokemon nearby, already trotting in place on its front paws excitedly. The rangers quickly briefed their Pokemon on what was happening as they readied themselves for the cave exploration. ¡°Ok, guys!¡± Maxie announced, ¡°Let¡¯s find out what happened here! You stay in the back Valerie!¡± ¡°Alright.¡± The three rangers boxed his trainer in, keeping Lairon and Graveler to the sides, with Maxie¡¯s Arcanine¡¯s sensitive ears and nose manning the front. Maxie looked at Larry, ¡°You also go up front, Larvitar. This is home turf for you and we¡¯re gonna need someone to lead us.¡± He readily agreed, stepping up front. Larry wasn¡¯t entirely sure if he could find his way around Mt. Silver, since he¡¯d mostly been following his mom as they went down, but the cave system also wasn¡¯t as much of a literal labyrinth as it had been in the games. The group entered the cave and all light immediately seemed to leave. The cave air was more humid and muskier than he remembered, smelling more like an indoor pool in disrepair. Larry''s eyes slowly began to adjust and he began to see into the distance of the darkness, actually beginning to make out the shape of the cave he¡¯d been in just a few days ago. From the bottom, the impossibly high ceilings of the cave looked even taller. One thing stood out to Larry almost immediately, that there weren¡¯t the same amount of stalactites on the ceiling as before. The sight had amazed him last time, with some of them being so large they must¡¯ve been dripping for thousands of years to get to their size. Now though, many were broken off and Larry noted the rubble piling on the uphill of the first layer had increased. ¡°Alright, everyone turn on those headlamps!¡± One of the rangers announced and all the darkness in front of them was immediately vanquished. Only problem was, Larry was fighting to keep his eyes open at the harsh light of their headlamps. ¡°Larvitar, do you think you can find your way back to where you and your mom were split up?¡± Valerie spoke from their formation. In the distance, he could make out waterfalls, further away than he¡¯d remembered. He saw a large arching passageway on a tiny plateau, big enough for multiple Onix to pass through at the same time, ¡®Hmm, I think this is where it goes up the second layer¡­¡¯ Looking back, Larry stared at the cave entrance they¡¯d come through, which was even more gigantic in comparison, ¡®No time for dilly-dallying, let''s find Mom!¡¯ Larry looked through his memories, to the view he remembered from their trek downwards. If he could triangulate where Moltres lair and the pool of water they¡¯d been forced to cross beforehand were, then they¡¯d be golden. ¡®I know it''s to the left from here because it was to the right when we came from above¡­¡¯ ¡°Somewhere around there¡­¡± He pointed in the general direction, for now, unsure of the actual location. Maxie nodded back, ¡°Let¡¯s go in that direction then, you tell us if you remember something and we¡¯re close, alright?¡± Nodding back, they went on their merry way, to find Larry''s mom. ¡­ ¡°So I told him, ¡®Where¡¯s Pizza gonna get a job now?!¡¯ and then the guy hung up on my ass!¡° The rangers excitedly told each other stories around an electric cave lamp as they relaxed. They¡¯d walked the winding walkways of Mt. Silver for around three hours into the nighttime before the depressing darkness of the cave had become too much for them and they¡¯d opted to go to bed for the night. The trek had been mostly uneventful, with most wild Pokemon already having fled and or reloacting in lieu of the fight which had gone down. Another fact which was easily noticeable to Larry was that the temperature was far colder than before, ¡®So it actually was Moltres that was heating up Mt. Silver¡­¡¯ It was still warmer on the inside than the outside of Mt. Silver, but Larry was certainly happy they had an Arcanine in their party. Moltres being the source of the heat was a logical conclusion, but also quite worrying for his mother''s prospects. It meant that a single legendary Pokemon had enough heat output to act as a literal space heater for the entirety of a mountain''s cave system. Larry remembered how strangely warm it was on the third level when he was first reborn, it put into perspective just how incredibly powerful Moltres must¡¯ve been for it to be able to put out that much heat passively while hibernating. Unauthorized use of content: if you find this story on Amazon, report the violation. ¡®I just gotta hope¡­¡¯ Larry put the thought away for now, he¡¯d find out soon enough what had gone down in the end. Instead, he looked back to their impromptu campsite, an outcropping in the corner of a long, winding walkway. It was shouldered on both sides by inclined hills, which they weren¡¯t keen to climb up. They¡¯d been forced to run from multiple rockslides from the sides by now, luckily managing to escape by simply hastening their pace. Graveler and Lairon had reinforced the rock on the shoulder around their camp with Rock and Ground-TE to stop any rock slides as they slept. Their Pokemon kept watch in a half-circle around the campsite, while the humans kept to themselves behind them, eating rations and making smalltalk. Valerie for her part was stuck to her phone, still cramming through the data she¡¯d gotten on Larry from the Pokecenter. She¡¯d made it her mission to become a good trainer and was studying his stat and move sheet. It hadn''t been obvious to Larry back then, but apparently that healing machine he''d been healed with also analyzed him and gave out a detailed data sheet for the nurses and trainers to look at, ¡®Guess that clears up how the trainers know so much about their Pokemon in-game. I wonder what my nature is?¡¯ Arcanine, Lairon, and Graveler talked to each other further away, exchanging short grunts as Larry overheard their conversation. ¡°Rocks.¡± Graveler began. ¡°Too hard, can¡¯t eat those,¡± Acanine answered stoically. ¡°Iron,¡± Lairon responded. ¡°Too hard, can¡¯t eat that either,¡± Arcanine answered again. They turned to Larry, expecting him to prompt Arcanine with something, ¡°Uhh, Berries?¡± ¡°Oh! I love those!¡± Arcanines tail began swishing from side to side enthusiastically, ¡°You¡¯re good at that game!¡± ¡°Um, what kind of a game is this anyway?¡± Lairon spoke up first, ¡°You talk about foods you like to eat and the other one responds if they also like it.¡± ¡°Is it that exciting?¡± Larry was slightly amazed by what constituted a game to the trained Pokemon, ¡°Don¡¯t Graveler and Lairon only eat rocks and metals? How would Arcanine be able to eat those?¡± ¡°Me was thinking that too!¡± Graveler began, slapping the floor in an ¡®Aha!¡¯ motion. ¡°Good catch, Larvitar! Didn¡¯t think of that!¡± Arcanine responded happily, ¡°You¡¯re pretty smart!¡± ¡°I guess so¡­¡± Larry turned back inwards with a revelation, ¡®Maybe all the battle-ready trained Pokemon are all meatheads? Because they don¡¯t sound that thoughtful.¡¯ ¡°Let¡¯s go again!¡± Lairon began, ¡°Metals!¡± ¡°Can¡¯t eat those, too hard.¡± Arcanine responded with a nod, ¡°Pokechow!¡± ¡°Me like Pokechow!¡± Graveler began in that same caveman tone, ¡°Crunchy pebbles taste good!¡± ¡°Ohh, I like it too!¡± Lairon responded with an excited swish of its metallic tail, ¡°Metal Pokechow is great!¡± ¡°Me like stone Pokechow!¡± Graveler cut in. ¡°Ugh¡­¡± It was going to be a long night for Larry. ¡­ Everyone had retired for the night and the humans of the group had opted for sleeping bags on the cold stone floor. In end, Larry had managed to introduce himself to the ranger Pokemon and make friends with them, they were nice, even if they were meatheads. The Pokemon relaxed next to their trainers with Graveler and Arin taking the first shift as they slept. Valerie and Larry were stuffed in the middle of the rangers as they snored away and even Larry was beginning to feel exhausted from his day, it had been quite eventful. From having his first real, sanctioned Pokemon fight to meeting the family of his new trainer and now finally being back in Mt. Silver, and making his way back to his mom. ¡°My legs hurt so bad¡­¡± Valerie silently complained next to him. Just thirty minutes into their trek, the girl had confessed to being a couch-potato who stayed indoors most days. By the first hour, she had fought for every breath and looked like a zombie every time he¡¯d caught sight of her fighting for her life behind him, ¡®Yet she¡¯s still here now. I guess she¡¯s really committed¡­¡¯ ¡°You excited to see her again?¡± Valerie whispered out of her sleeping bag, Larry lying down next to her. The girl was dead-tired, looking more like a maggot with her entire body packed into the sleeping bag''s warm interior. The only thing looking back at him from the sleeping bag was her face, Larry nodded back to her query, ¡®Very excited.¡¯ She yawned at him, ¡°How do you think she¡¯ll react to you being caught by a human?¡± ¡®Oh, oh no!¡¯ The thought hadn¡¯t even occurred to Larry, ¡®That''s right! She hates humans doesn¡¯t she?¡¯ His mother had explicitly told him that once he was on the outside he should strive never to be caught and on every occasion humans had been mentioned, shown such hate and vitriol that even Larry was surprised. ¡°That bad, huh?¡± Valerie could already read his face, ¡°Don¡¯t worry, everything should go well if you just tell her. She loves you, doesn¡¯t she? So she¡¯ll understand¡± ¡®Well, I can¡¯t do much more¡­¡¯ He nodded back weakly, unsure of what he would even say once they met, ¡®I just hope she won''t kill anyone¡­¡¯ Valerie fought with the zipper on her sleeping bag before simply giving up and forcing her hands out underneath her chin, ¡°You want a hug? You look like you need one.¡± The notion of being comforted by someone technically younger than him still embarrassed Larry, but his newborn body had other ideas. He scooched over and into his trainer''s sleeping bag with a slight apology, ¡°Sorry¡­¡± Even if she stunk of sweat, he snuggled closer to Valerie. Luckily they had the last shift, so they could sleep the longest. ¡­ The closer the group got to where the fight had gone down, the more destruction they came upon. Giant cracks in the walkway they were forced to hop over, precarious boulders, stalactites which looked to be on the verge of breaking hanging just above their heads like various Swords of Damocles. The other thing they found was a lot of dead water-type Pokemon, corpses of Pokemon idly floating in the water, boiled to death in the fight before they could make it to cooler waters. In other places, there were sudden wet divots or small indents in the earth, with giant cracks at their bottom. Clear evidence of places where there was once a body of water which had simply been pulled underground by his mothers earthquaking attacks. ¡°All this destruction¡­¡± Valerie was awestruck at the amount of destruction she saw. Maxie simply patted her on the shoulder, ¡°Means we¡¯re getting closer to where they fought, so it''s a good thing.¡± They kept up their pace, at one point Larry spotted a Magmar on the other side of a large body of water, trying to grab a slow-cooked Magikarp off the water surface. He stopped to look at the Pokemon, ¡®So those Magmar are still around¡­¡¯ The Magmar looked up and their eyes met, it looked between its fish and him on the other side of the underground lake before dropping the fish and pointing at him as it looked behind. Suddenly, two more Magmar came to the water''s edge, and looked at their group curiously as they mimed to one another, their voices too far away to be heard. ¡°Ah damn, that''s a lotta Magmar,¡± A ranger piped up behind him with narrowed eyes, straining his eyes to see through the darkness. ¡°They won¡¯t become a problem, will they?¡± Valerie asked uncomfortably. The Magmar disappeared, leaving the body of water with their fish in hand. Maxie turned them away from the lake, urging them to continue walking, ¡°We¡¯ll just have to wait and see¡­¡± Chapter 54 They had scaled a large part of the first layer, taking around three more hours after waking up just wandering the corridors and following a trail of slowly increasing destruction. By now the group didn¡¯t need Larry to lead them towards their goal, because it was becoming abundantly clear where they were meant to go. The large wall that made up the back of the first layer of Mt. Silver had been broken at a point, leading to a large-scale rock slide that had buried a large body of water in a shower of rubble. From the entrance, it hadn¡¯t been very obvious with the far-side wall of the cave being veiled in darkness. The closer they got and with the morning sun finally beginning to shine into the cave entrances again, the destruction became clearer to see and everyone in their group had already realized that the rock slide must have stemmed from the fight between Moltres and Tyranitar. One of the rangers behind him whistled in admiration, ¡°Whew, that fight must¡¯ve been one for the ages. They don¡¯t call Tyranitar Pseudo-Legendaries for nothing. Shame it all went down deep in some dark, dank cave.¡± Valerie looked at the destruction in the distance with reverence, Larry had since returned to her side since his lead wasn¡¯t needed anymore, ¡°Yeah¡­¡± She looked down at Larry in amazement and whispered to him as she pointed at the rock slide, ¡°Do you think you could do that one day?¡± The destruction was impressive to Larry, but his mother had stated that she could bring down the entire mountain if she wanted to. She must¡¯ve held back to let Larry flee since if she used her full strength she might¡¯ve hurt him. He smiled fondly as he nodded back at Valerie, ¡®I guess in the end she learned a thing or two about friendly fire¡­Even if it didn¡¯t work out in the end.¡¯ ¡°...Wow¡­¡± Maxie nodded back with a grin, ¡°Just drink it in people, you don¡¯t see this in your league matches.¡± She looked around with an anxious smile, ¡°That night vision of your Larvitar has really helped us out big time Valerie. Last time we were running around in circles like headless Torchics.¡± In response, Larry pumped his chest as Valerie smiled back, ¡°It''s not me you should be thanking but Larvitar himself. He¡¯s the reason I¡¯m here and he¡¯s the reason we got this far.¡± ¡°You¡¯re right,¡± Maxie slowed and gave Larry a pat on the head as a thanks before returning to her position. ¡°From what I¡¯ve seen up until now, we¡¯ll probably be forced to close off Mt. Silver for trainers with how precarious most of the first layer currently is. A real shame considering how special this place is.¡± ¡°Which Pokemon did the most damage? That Moltres or the Tyranitar?¡± Nicholas chimed in. Arin groaned, ¡°It''s all that humidity man! Tyrantiar can reshape this place all they want, some kind of cave is still going to be here with how huge the place is. That Moltres on the other hand¡­¡± ¡°You saw all those empty basins of water and cooked Magikarp we walked past, didn¡¯t you? Sure, some simply got drained underground, but the others were literally boiled! So much steam rising to the top of the cave can¡¯t be too good for the ceiling, it''s a wonder the entire place hasn¡¯t caved in yet anyway.¡± ¡®I¡­think I get it¡­¡¯ Larry wasn¡¯t a geologist, so his knowledge of caves wasn¡¯t the best, but Arin seemed to know what he was talking about. ¡°Should we be in here then?!¡± Valerie asked anxiously. Waving off her concern, Maxie began, ¡°Ah, we brought some Ground and Rock-Types with us for exactly that reason. Smaller natural rock slides and cave-ins can be prevented or defended against by the right Pokemon¡± she grinned back at Valerie, ¡°and we¡¯re dead anyway if it falls down on top of us!¡± ¡°Ahaha¡­ That''s good then¡­¡± Gulping audibly, Valerie vowed to keep her eyes on the walls and ceiling from now on. ¡­ They were dangerously close now to the epicenter, traversal had become exponentially harder as gashes in the ground and general destruction around them had slowly begun to increase. Graveler had relegated himself to most of the handiwork, pulling up patches of ground and knitting walkways back together in an attempt to help the humans. Right now they were once again walking along a walkway with two hilly shoulders on both sides of it, the corridor had been mostly spared due to the hills on both sides so they were making good headway. Yet, something had been bothering the ranger Pokemon in the group. ¡°You guys hear that?¡± Arcanine¡¯s ears quirked around as it turned its head from side to. ¡°Hear what?¡± Larry asked dumbly as he strained his own hearing. ¡°Shuffling. Steps. A lot.¡± Lairon pointed out and Arcanine nodded back. ¡°You guys hearing something?¡± Maxie asked the Pokemon and Arcanine nodded back tensly. Immediately, the rangers tensed, ¡°Give me a direction.¡± Acanine turned his head left, and Lairon turned right, ¡°Both sides? That¡¯ll be a challenge¡­You got an idea of what it is?¡± Sniffing the air, Arcanine breathed out a small licking flame, ¡°Fire-Type, huh?¡± As the tension rose, Valerie and Larry looked at the shoulders anxiously, he was beggining to hear it now too, ¡®A Fire-Type? It must be the Magmar!¡¯ Larry addressed the Rangers Pokemon, ¡°You guys think it''s those Magmar from before?¡± ¡°It might¡­¡± Arcanine muttered in recognition, ¡°We haven¡¯t seen any other Pokemon, so it''s likely.¡± He was about to try and play a game of Charades with Valerie and the Rangers to get his words across, but he didn¡¯t need to as their enemies made themselves known with a rain of small fireballs that washed over them. This story has been taken without authorization. Report any sightings. ¡°Graveler!¡± Arin called out and a giant boulder flew above their head, impacting almost all of the flames before they were able to fall. No next attack came, as their attackers made themselves known. Five Magmar scaled the sides of the walkway in front of them and stared down at them challengingly. ¡°Magmar, huh?¡± Maxie spoke up first, she addressed the Pokemon amicably, ¡°We mean no harm, we¡¯re here to investigate what has happened in the caves of Mt. Silver and nothing more. We¡¯ll be out of your territory soon.¡± The leading Magmar didn¡¯t even spare the ranger a look, instead staring straight at Larry. He recognized the voice of the Magmar as it talked, ¡°The great mountain queen''s young has returned it seems¡­¡± It turned to its kin, clear disdain evident in his voice, ¡°and it has brought humans with it.¡± This was the Magmar which had welcomed them into the cave where Moltres roosted. ¡°Uhm, hello¡­¡± Larry wanted to step forward to defuse the situation, but Valerie held him back, fear in her eyes. It called out suddenly, pointing a finger at Larry accusingly, ¡°Why did the great mountain queen attack one of the legendary winged mirages as it awoke!¡± ¡°It attacked us first!¡± Larry cried back defensively. ¡°Larvitar? What¡¯s going on?¡± Valerie asked, looking between the Magmar and her Pokemon frantically. ¡°And look what it got us!¡± It spread out its arms theatrically, ¡°Almost all of my kin were killed by your mother''s reckless actions!¡± ¡°W-What?!¡± Larry reeled back at the revelation, ¡°I-I didn¡¯t know!¡± Another Magmar retorted while tearing up, ¡°My young Magby is dead! Swallowed by a fissure! All because of that stupid Tyranitar!¡± ¡°This isn¡¯t looking good¡­¡± Maxie muttered, the group was slowly retreating from their Pokemon and bunching up as they prepared for a fight. ¡°I-I didn¡¯t know! I¡¯m sorry!¡± He cried out once again in panic. Larry had never thought about the clear consequences of such a large-scale fight, expecting the nearby Pokemon would simply be able to flee. ¡°Oh, you¡¯ll be sorry!¡± The Magmar patriarch exclaimed as the air began to heat up. Heat flared away from the Magmar as everyone readied themselves, Arcanine readied a fire attack of its own as Lairon and Graveler raised stone walls in defense. ¡°Rock Blast!¡± Arin cried out to his Graveler. ¡°Lairon! Protect!¡± A translucent bubble formed around their team as a shotgun blast of rocks shot toward the Magmar on their left. The Magmar collectively jumped down from their vantage points and shot streams of fire at the bubble surrounding them. The light of the flames burned his face as Valerie called out to him from afar, ¡°Larvitar! Are these the Magmar you mentioned in the interview?!¡± ¡°Yeah!¡± Larry called back, still unsure if they were fighting the Magmar. The Rangers had no such reservations, the flames stopped, their shield went down and they went into action, ¡°Arcanine! Bite!¡± Arcanine rushed forward with speed Larry had never seen from any cave-dwelling Pokemon, it crashed into the left Magmar¡¯s side and bit down on its arm. Lashing its head to the side and yanking the Pokemon to the ground. ¡°Now Lairon! Rock Slide!¡± Nicholas called out, the Pokemon stamped its feet against the ground and an avalanche of rocks slid down the left side of the walkway, seemingly appearing out of thin air as it crashed into the Magmar, halfway burying the one still prone underneath a shower of rocks as Arcanine rushed back to its trainer. ¡°Good one!¡± Nicholas cried out to Lairon, who only gave back a curt ¡°Yeah!¡± After catching their footing, the Magmar cried out again with a sneer, ¡°Going to stay behind your human protectors? You¡¯ll die! Just like your mother!¡± ¡°What!?¡± Larry cried back in shock, ¡°She isn¡¯t dead!¡± The Magmar ignored his retort, looked at each other knowingly before they charged something in their snouts. A little light, like a small firefly flew out of each of their snouts languidly before whizzing towards them. ¡°That''s Confuse Ray!¡± Maxie yelled, ¡°Dodge!¡± Valerie looked around anxiously, ¡°Larvitar, dodge underground!¡± Larry cleared his mind with a shake of his head, he didn¡¯t have to think about the Magmar patriarch''s words. He took Valerie''s command and dug himself underground at top speed, he disappeared in a cloud of dust, digging himself forward, ¡®If Valerie wants to fight, I¡¯ll fight!¡¯ He rushed forward with a slightly nostalgic thought, ¡®It¡¯s hunt or be hunted for wild Pokemon anyway.¡¯ Appearing underneath the patriarch Magmar, Larry shot up like a Ground-TE imbued rocket. The leading Marmar stumbled back at the super-effective move, but only had a simple bruise to show for his effort. Now, standing between multiple enemies, Larry wanted to dig back down but was hit by a Flame Punch before he could, ¡°Ough!¡± ¡°Larvitar!¡± A concerned cry escaped Valerie. He flew back towards the trainers and skidded to a stop harshly. He got to his feet as quickly as he could as he heard the ranger cry out from behind, ¡°Snap out of it, Graveler!¡± Behind him, Lairon and Graveler unfortunately weren¡¯t quick enough to dodge the Confuse Ray, only Arcanine seemed to have managed to dodge the projectiles successfully. The Magmar once again started a group attack as they released a deluge of scattering flames, shooting them straight towards their group. ¡°Arcanine!¡± Maxie cried out, unsure how to block the many scattering flames without their Rock-Types. ¡°Larvitar! Rock Slide, then Sandstorm! The Magmar need to see us to hit us!¡± Valerie commanded from the backlines. Looking above, Larry pushed Rock-TE up into the air and materialized a shower of rocks to block the flames. They were snuffed out one after another, a few strays managed to pass through but hit no one. ¡°Good thinking, Val! Get something over your mouth to block the sand people!¡± Maxie called out behind him as he continued his preparation. Larry used the shower of dust and debris from the many attacks in his sandstorm, slowly spinning up a small twister of sand and dust between himself in front of the trainers and the Magmar. ¡°Not hiding behind those humans anymore, eh?¡± The Magmar called out in a jeering tone, ¡°Instead, the son of the great mountain queen has resigned himself to hiding behind a veil of dirt and dust! Haha! Let¡¯s help the poor thing with its efforts, why don¡¯t we?¡± He was unable to see the attack, but before long, his sandstorm was invaded by an ashy, lung-clumping smokescreen. ¡°Koff! Koff! Argh!¡± Larry was fighting to catch a breath, but the thick, acrid smoke the Magmar had released was too much for him and he was forced to abandon his sandstorm. Digging back underground, Larry fled out of the inside of the sandstorm. He resurfaced in between his fellow teammates. Acanine instead of attacking, had helped Lairon and Graveler catch their bearing since its mostly Fire-Type attacks wouldn¡¯t be effective against their enemies anyway. ¡°Are they ok again?¡± Larry asked Arcanine, the smoked-out sandstorm slowly reducing in front of them. ¡°They have to be!¡± Arcanine called back, watching Graveler still shake away the last of its confusion. Chapter 55 Valerie ¡°Damn! They¡¯re playing with us!¡± Nicholas cried out, ¡°What do they even want from us?¡± With the sandstorm and smokescreen clearing, the fight had begun once again and everyone called out an attack for their Pokemon, but the Magmar had proven themselves worthy opponents. ¡°We¡¯re in this for the long run, Lairon! Iron Defense!¡± ¡°Graveler, Earthq-!¡± Arin tried to instruct. ¡°No! Don¡¯t!¡± Maxie called out before the attack could even be released, ¡°The caves are already so unstable, we don¡¯t know what another earthquake could do!¡± ¡°Tsk! Alright!¡± Arin pivoted, ¡°Rollout! Keep ¡®em on their toes!¡± Valerie gave the move list on her phone another glance, ¡°Larvitar! Use Pursuit on the ones dodging Rollout!¡± Larvitar gave her back a nod and shot forward, Dark-TE melting off of it like ink floating in water. It raced forward, being overtaken by the rolling Graveler as they reached the Magmar. Larvitar punched or slapped the dodging Magmar as he followed after Graveler. Graveler continued rolling between the Magmar, throwing off their coordination as Larvitar returned to their side, ¡°Great job! While they¡¯re uncoordinated give them another Rock Slide! This time directly!¡± Her Pokemon nodded once again and proceeded to grow stones straight above its head until they were the size of watermelons. Two of the Magmar advanced with the returning Graveler and tried to attack directly instead of keeping at a distance. Larvitar swung its arms forward and the stones followed, shooting into the disordered group of Magmar as Graveler rolled back in front of its trainer. ¡°Lairon, Protect again!¡± Nicholas exclaimed. Maxie followed, ¡°Arcanine, the close ones, Fire Fang!¡± The boulders flew over the two Magmar''s heads and towards their allies, Most unfortunately missed, but one of the Magmars was smashed in the side of the head by one of the rocks. It fell to the ground limply, having been completely knocked out by the attack. On the ground it slowly stirred back to wakefulness, helped by two of its allies. Up front, two Magmar violently smashed their fists into the translucent bubble of Lairons protect, flaming fists impacted the wall harshly and Valerie could see Lairons eye twitch in concentration trying to keep the shield up. Arcanine stepped up when the Protect disappeared, it ran circles around the two Fire-Types as it nipped and snapped at them with its Fire Fangs. ¡°Maxie! Attacking them with Fire moves won¡¯t do shit!¡± Arin criticized. ¡°I know, but Arcanines is the strongest fighter on the field!¡± She contested. ¡°Larvitar, get a-¡± Before Valerie could get another command out, she realized another shower of flames was heading straight toward them. ¡°Shit! Graveler!¡± Another rain of rocks blocked the fire from hurting the trainers. ¡°Thanks,¡± Valerie nodded her head towards Arin, ¡°I don¡¯t think we can win this¡­¡± ¡°Yeah, they¡¯re relentless!¡± Arcanine took another bite at the Magmar as they finally decided to retreat to their companions. ¡°It''s gotta have to do with that Moltres and Tyranitar fight that they¡¯re so irritated, I¡¯ve never heard about Magmar here being this hostile before that!¡± Maxie theorized. ¡°We can come back some other time and check for Larvitar¡¯s mother, can¡¯t we?¡± Nicholas reasoned. ¡°Yeah, but first we gotta be able to get away!¡± Maxie explained, ¡°Magmar aren¡¯t slow!¡± Finally reunited, the tallest Magmar announced something, ¡°Mag-Mar-Mar! Ma-Mag-Mag Mar!¡± They lined up next to one another and slowly advanced. ¡°Don¡¯t know what they said, but it can¡¯t be good¡­¡± Valerie spoke with concern clear in her voice. ¡°Let''s attack!¡± Maxie began, ¡°Take Down! Right Side!¡± ¡°Lairon, Take Down! Left Side!¡± ¡°Defense, Graveler! We don¡¯t know what they¡¯re planning!¡± ¡°Larvitar, Dig again!¡± Valerie pointed at the taller middle Magmar he¡¯d hit before and her Pokemon shot underground at the command. The other two launched themselves forward similarly and slammed into their respective sides. Finally, Larvitar surfaced smashing into Magmar''s stomach with a heavy thud. It immediately retaliated with a Low Kick, throwing Larvitar off his feet before he even had a chance to land. ¡°Payback!¡± Valerie yelled and Larvitar immediately launched off the ground and onto Magmar''s chest, smashing a small fist into its face defiantly. It reeled back once more, before catching its footing and launching a large spew of flame out of its snout. Valerie once again cried out, ¡°Retreat! Underground!¡± Larvitar did as instructed and dug itself underground, dodging the attack just barely. The Magmar made the best out of the situation and turned its head to its sides, spraying both Arcanine and Lairon in the flames. Arcanine wasn¡¯t very affected by the attack and simply returned to its trainer in a few quick hops. Lairon on the other hand cried out in pain, its Steel plates practically glowing in the heat of the flames. It slowly made its way out of the flames as it returned to its trainer. ¡°You ok Lairon?!¡± Nicholas asked, it only gave a weak nod to its trainer''s question. Larvitar also resurfaced back near the Rangers, Valerie noticed its arm looking slightly burned. It quickly shook its burned arm, breathing slightly heavier at the exertion of the long fight. Searching through her phone, Valerie found the reason for the burns on Larvitar, ¡®They¡¯ve got flame body!¡¯ The narrative has been taken without authorization; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident. ¡°You alright to keep going?¡± Valerie asked, Larvitar nodded back to her with a loud, ¡°Lar-Tar!¡± ¡°Guys! They¡¯ve got the ability Flame Body! Don¡¯t attack them physically!¡± She cried out, the others hollered back agreements in turn. ¡­ Valerie had already sweat through her shirt due to the life-threatening intensity of the fight and the sheer heat of their enemy''s attacks, but she wouldn¡¯t give up now! ¡®This is a real, honest-to-arceus, wild Pokemon fight! We¡¯ve gotta win this!¡¯ She bit her lip, nibbling at the chafed skin. ¡®This was riveting!¡¯ The Magmar kept pushing them back, forcing them to take a few steps back every exchange as they fought! Valerie felt that if this fight wasn¡¯t over her entire life she might be laughing right about now, she hadn¡¯t expected to be so caught by the experience of a Pokemon fight. Sure, she¡¯d watched the league battles every time they¡¯d come on TV. The wasn¡¯t much more to do than to watch the broadcasted fights when she was stuck at home the whole day, but she¡¯d never leaned forward in her seat in excitement during a fight or gotten enchanted by the dynamics of a six-on-six match. This right now was different though, her heart was pounding, and she could hear her heartbeat in her ears when another Protect went up and cut out the sound of the outside world. She felt alive! Another hit! Dodge! Pivot, Reposition, and then on the attack again. Slowly, that concerned frown of hers was quirking upwards, ¡®Arceus, I¡¯m lucky the others are standing in front of me!¡¯ She slapped her cheeks, ¡®Gotta keep a game face on!¡¯ Valerie had most definitely found her calling. ¡­ Larry ¡®This¡­¡¯ Larry was catching his breath, even in his mind, ¡®...isn¡¯t looking good¡­¡¯ Larry had taken four or so hits by now, with a few grazes and burns in between, and he was feeling it all over his body. The Magmar weren¡¯t holding back, they were trying to kill him. At first, Larry had been happy to fight them seriously, but by now he was wishing for a time-out. Arcaninie and Graveler weren¡¯t much less exhausted than him, but they were older and had far more training than him, so they didn¡¯t let it show. Lairon on the other hand was on his last leg. Having taken a second Fire-Type attack from the gang of Magmar somewhere in between. Its steel typing was not the defensive boon it might¡¯ve hoped for in this fight. The Magmar also weren¡¯t much better off, but they seemed to be in it for the long run. At some point, they¡¯d begun swapping out their attacking and defending members to keep them alive for longer. The problem with them wasn¡¯t that they were stronger, no. It was that they had more members who could take hits on their side and they had more members who could dish out attacks. It was a four-on-five and they didn¡¯t have any chances to attack. ¡®It feels unfair¡­¡¯ Larry fought selfishly before shaking his head, ¡®What am I saying, this is a wild battle, Larry! There are no rules!¡¯ It didn¡¯t help that with the reveal of the Magmar''s abilities, he¡¯d been forced to fall back to his meager amount of ranged attacks. Every time he attacked the Magmar, the parts of him that had come into contact with them burned until he managed to put it out. Due to his typing, it wasn¡¯t the biggest issue, but it certainly wasn¡¯t helping. Sandstorm also wasn¡¯t a viable move, since the Magmar could simply smoke him out of it. It had become a staple move of his, so being unable to use it put him at a large disadvantage. The Magmar had repositioned and their attacks started again, Larry readied himself and waited for the commands of his trainer. ¡°Rock Throw!¡± Valerie called, but as Larry was preparing the attack, all of the Magmar went into action at once. The Magmar all launched flamethrowers, cranking up the heat of the cave in an instant. ¡°Protect, Lairon!¡± Nicholas cried out. Heaving itself forward, the Protect flickered to life, holding back the spew of flames. Thinking themselves safe, the rangers begin announcing various attacks, but before they can finish, another fire attack impacts the protective wall. A star of flames sears itself into the translucent bubble, looking similar to the Japanese Kanji for the word ¡°Big¡±. The bubble bulges inwards and in a split second, cracks spiderweb across its entirety before suddenly, it cracks into millions of tiny pieces. KABOOM!!! The explosion of Fire-TE almost sears Larry''s face off. The Magmar hadn¡¯t played all of their cards until now, ¡®That big Magmar knew Fire Blast!¡¯ Yet, this wasn¡¯t the worst. The gouts of fire of the Flamethrowers, which had been so graciously blocked before now invade the inside of the bubble, crashing toward a disoriented Lairon, Gravler, Arcanine, and Larry. ¡°No!¡± The weakened Lairon was recalled before the flames could even lick him. ¡°Recall them!¡± Maxie cried out. In a flash of light, Larry was inside and back out of his Pokeball before he knew it. Now released just next to Valerie. ¡°Get your Pokemon to hold them back!¡± Maxie cried out, ¡°We¡¯re retreat-¡± But the situation only worsened. In between the long sprays of Flamethrower, small balls of fire appeared, launching themselves straight towards them. It happened so fast, that Larry didn¡¯t even have time to jump in between. The Lava Plume flew high above, heading straight toward Valerie, and landed on her right shoulder. ¡°AAARGH!¡± She cried out in pain as she dropped to the ground, her outfit burned as the glob of Fire slowly rolled off and disintegrated onto the ground. ¡°Valerie!¡± ¡°Valerie!¡± Maxie and Larry were by her side immediately and put out her burning clothes, ¡°It¡¯ll be alright, Valerie!¡± ¡°AAARGH! OHHHH!¡± Valerie moaned in pain turning quickly to position herself on her good shoulder, ¡°OH ARCEUS! THAT FUCKING HURTS!¡± Immediately, Larry turned, absolutely incensed, ¡°You fucking shitheads! Why hurt her?! She¡¯s a human, this is a fight between us!¡± The flamethrowers had long stopped, only having been used as a cover to launch other attacks through. The Magmar sneered at him with its long snout, ¡°This is a life or death fight, little Larvitar. Your mothers dead, your human trainer and her entourage will die as well and then finally, we¡¯ll kill you, too! Just as your mother killed us!¡± ¡°Yeah!¡± ¡°Kill him!¡± ¡°Revenge!¡± Different cries of agreement resounded, but Larry didn¡¯t care anymore, he was seeing red. Normal-TE coursed through him and up into his face and throat as Ground-TE swirled up around him. He was tired, but if this was going to be the way things were going to go, then he¡¯d just have to fight till the end. ¡­ Magmar Patriarch The Larvitar released an ear-splitting Screech before morphing his face into a horrifying visage using Scary Face. The Magmar took a step back at the noise and his visage, but before they could retaliate, a sandstorm roiled to life and obscured their view. The Sandstorm approached them quickly, but they had a countermeasure. As before, they started spitting a thick, black smokescreen into the storm as it approached, only this time, the storm didn¡¯t stop. Instead, it kept advancing until they were all inside of it. ¡°Where is that little runt?!¡± The patriarch called out to his compatriots as they looked around anxiously. ¡°No id- OUGH!¡± From his right, he saw the Larvitar launch itself upward into one of the other Magmar with a dig before falling back into the hole and digging itself away. ¡°It''s underground!¡± The patriarch announced to its companions. The runt was conjuring up a Sandstorm while underground so it didn¡¯t have to breathe the smoke! Chapter 56 Another punch hits one of the Magmar right in the snout, it reaches for Larry violently but grabs nothing but air as Larry shoots back down underground. His hand is extinguished the second he digs underground, as the flame is snuffed out without the sufficient oxygen levels. He digs over a few steps, where he can feel the reverberations of their steps above ground. He swirls the sandstorm just a tad, then digs a few steps to the left before shooting back up. He reaches for a stone on his way up, his Type-Energy Reserves are practically empty already, but he squeezes out just a tad of Rock-TE, imbuing it into the rock. He reels back for the throw as he spins in the air, feeling for the Magmar in the storm. Then he throws, hitting another Magmar in the back of the head. Then it''s back underground. ¡®These fucking idiots¡­¡¯ Larry fumed as he dug back around for another sneak attack, stirring the storm just another tad as he felt for his next target. Even before his daring last stand, his TE was already practically running on empty, and by now, the constant digging and usage of Sandstorm had brought him to the point of almost fainting outright several times, but he¡¯d just have to bear through it and keep going. They had to pay somehow, they attacked an innocent girl! Dark-TE came to his mouth and Larry felt the magical set of teeth grow on top of his normal mouth, he surfaced without a jump this time. Instead, he rushed towards another Magmar¡¯s foot and chomped down on it, eliciting a cry of pain from the Pokemon. Through the veil of sand and dust, another Magmar shot a quick Ember at his partner''s foot, but Larry was gone before the attack hit, back underground. Suddenly, two strong reverberations rushed into the Sandstorm from the ranger''s side. Larry felt himself finally breathe a sigh of relief when both Lairon and Graveler appeared in his Sandstorm, ¡®Good thinking¡­They won¡¯t get hurt by the storm¡­¡¯ Graveler rushed around the sandstorm in a Rollout, crashing into people before they could even see him coming due to the storm''s bad visibility. Lairon meanwhile seemed to take the role of bait, using Metal Sound aboveground to bring the Magmar''s attention to him and then using Protect. ¡®Did he get some healing?¡¯ Larry didn¡¯t think that Lairon would¡¯ve been able to keep fighting. The sight of the two fighting in the smogged-out storm invigorated Larry, even in his weakened state, ¡®They¡¯re working so hard¡­I gotta keep going!¡¯ Jumping out again, Larry went straight for the Patriarch''s arm, but the Magmar had learned his tricks and dodged to the side. With Ground-TE still coating him, Larry landed and pivoted, stomping the ground with Ground-TE-empowered feet angrily. The earth shook underneath him as ripples reverberated outwards violently and forced all the Magmar in the sandstorm off balance. Graveler rushes back around, crashing into one of the Magmar and finally managing to hit the thing squarely in the back. It crashes into the walls on the edges of the walkway, completely knocked out. Graveler simply continues, gaining speed all the while. Larry is back underground before the Patriarch can attack him, this time he has a grin on his face, ¡®That''s a new move AND one of the Magmar knocked out the fight!¡¯ He¡¯d just managed to learn Stomping Tantrum by sheer coincidence and willpower, ¡®I¡¯ll give it another shot. Let''s just hope it doesn¡¯t bring the cave down on top of us¡­¡¯ Thinking smartly, Larry distances himself just a bit from the gang of Magmar. Through the Sandstorm he sees Lairon retreat out of the Sandstorm. It probably knows that without Graveler and him there as a distraction, it can¡¯t hold them back alone. He surfaces just a bit behind them, where they won¡¯t be able to see him, and once again pushes the Ground-TE from his arms and mouth where they were for digging into his legs. One stomp and the earth ripples outwards under his feet, Larry pulls his legs back up for another stomp, and the earth billows upwards like a blanket being flattened. Pulling his foot up even further, the third stomp ripples outwards, and the earth cracks along the ripple like French Onion Soup to a spoon, cracking and breaking apart the Magmar''s footing even further. ¡®It''s like a miniature earthquake!¡¯ He raves to himself mentally. Through the Sandstorm, Larry feels two of the remaining Magmar lose their footing entirely, landing on the ground on all fours. Again, Graveler rushes into the storm in a Rollout, crashing straight into the head of one of the Magmar which was still on all fours. The Magmar gets launched by the attack, flying backward and skidding to a stop just next to the high shoulders of the walkway. ¡®Just three more of them!¡¯ Larry whoops internally, but that Stomping Tantrum took more out of him than he expected and he feels himself lose control of the Sandstorm. It slowly swims to a stop as Larry takes a moment to catch his breath, the Smokescreen leaving with the Sand and Dust. ¡®Damn¡­It hurts to just stand¡­¡¯ Larry couldn''t even move his legs anymore. Graveler finally spotted him without the storm obscuring his vision and rolled up to him. Stopping in front of him protectively and standing between him and the Magmar, ¡°You ok?¡± ¡°I-I¡¯m done¡­¡± Larry leaned against the Rock-Type''s back, fighting to even stay upright. Graveler looked around anxiously, they were behind their enemies and too far away from their trainers. ¡°Well, well. Look who finally ran out of steam!¡± The Patriarch sneered at them with his two remaining companions as it clapped, ¡°You had a good run, little runt, but now it''s finally over for you.¡± Support creative writers by reading their stories on Royal Road, not stolen versions. Larry''s entire body hurt, his ears burned, and he felt like he would collapse at any moment, but he still managed to stare back defiantly at the Magmar from behind Graveler. ¡°Your mother was a fool,¡± The Magmar criticized, ¡°due to her stupidity, over twenty of my kin died during her fight, and you still believe yourself to be in the right?¡± ¡°You¡­¡± Larry fought to get the words out, ¡°You know this isn¡¯t about right or wrong.¡± ¡°Indeed,¡± It nodded, ¡°the strong prosper and the weak perish.¡± ¡°It''s hunt or be hunted¡­¡± Larry repeated the first lesson he¡¯d learned in his new life, only for Magmar to nod back. It approached the two threateningly, coating its arm in flame, ¡°So just be happy to finally join your mother.¡± Larry''s gaze traveled further behind Magmar, to Valerie, still laying on the ground in pain, with Lairon and Arcanine standing before her and the ranger team protectively. Just then, the earth rumbled, everyone''s gazes naturally traveled up, expecting the worst, but no, the cave wasn¡¯t collapsing. Like an out-of-control tire, a giant wheel launched itself over the bank on the side of the walkway. It crashed down just next to the Patriarch and smashed into his side with all of its pent up momentum. Launching the Pokemon into the opposite wall, with a loud CRASH! Larry could hardly believe his eyes, his gaze traveled from the completely unconscious Magmar Patriarch back to the middle of the walkway, where Donphan stood in a standoff with the two remaining Magmar. ¡°Donphan!¡± Larry cried out, happier than ever. ¡°Oh my, it''s Larry! Hi Larry!¡± From the top of the bank, Larry saw a blue little Phanpy wave down at him adorably with its trunk. It curled into a wheel and rolled down the banking clumsily, rolling to a teetering stop just before Graveler and looking at him with a shocked expression, ¡°What happened to you?! Are these guys not nice?¡± ¡°They aren¡¯t.¡± Donphan spoke, still in a standoff with the remaining Magmar, ¡°You stay back too, Phanpy, I wouldn¡¯t want you to get hurt.¡± ¡°Who you?¡± Graveler asked threateningly in its caveman accent, ¡°Enemy?¡± Larry tapped on Graveler''s back with a smile, ¡°They''re friends.¡± The Magmar looked not just panicked, but like they were staring down death. They slowly took a few steps back, but before they could flee, another Pokemon climbed the bank on the sides of the walkway. ¡°Can you please slow down, Donphan? I can¡¯t- Oh, Larry!¡± Ursaring looked back at him from the top of the bank. The sight of the two brand new combatants seemed to seal the deal for the last two Magmar as they quickly turned around and fled, eliciting a sigh of relief from Donphan. ¡°How are you, Larry?¡± Ursaring climbed down the bank as it watched both Donphan and Phanpy surround the Larvitar worriedly. As she approached, it became clear why. Larry was covered in bruises and had minor burns all over his body, with his arms and legs looking far worse off than all the other parts of his body, ¡°You don''t look too well.¡± Graveler standing before him protectively didn''t look much better off, but it was used to a fight and still seemed on edge at the three newcomers, ¡°Back!¡± Once again, Larry tapped on Graveler''s back, ¡°I¡¯m ok, Ursaring¡­They¡¯re alright¡­Graveler.¡± Larry looked barely coherent as he swayed from side to side, ¡°They''re¡­friends¡­¡± With his adrenaline finally fizzling out and before the situation could be cleared up, Larry finally tapped out and tumbled to the floor, completely passed out. Behind them, Lairon, Arcanine and the rangers were slowly approaching their group, with Valerie slinging one arm over top of Maxie''s shoulder. They looked unsure of how to handle the situation. Ursaring tapped Donphan on his back, ¡°Ugh, you go ahead and handle the humans. They hate Ursarings.¡± ¡°Fine¡­¡± Donphan grumbled as it approached them. ¡­ Larry awoke to the delightfully warm decadence of red Arcanine fluff enveloping his body. He turned his head, pushing his face further into the warm pelt, ¡°Mmmh, perfect¡­¡± ¡°Thank you, Maxine takes good care of it.¡± Came back as a response, and Larry opened an eye to see Arcanine''s giant head staring back at him as he was cradled in its pelt, ¡°Good Morning.¡± Blushing almost immediately, Larry raised his head, ¡°Ah, good morning¡­¡± Everyone had hunkered down in a camp together, Graveler and Lairon sat next to him on his left, with Ursaring and Donphan on the opposite side, each of them had a small bit of Pokechow in bowls before them. Across from him, the rangers sat on the cavern floor in front of their trusty electric lantern. Valerie was laid down on a tarp in front of them, her right shoulder carefully bandaged up. Larry hopped off of Arcanine and immediately rushed over to her side, crashing into her good arm, ¡°Valerie! Are you alright?!¡± Valerie whipped her head around, she was tearing up as she looked at him, wincing as she raised herself off the tarp to caress his side, ¡°Larvitar! I''m so glad you''re alright. How are you? Hopefully alright?¡± She caught the meaning of his exclamations, ¡°I¡¯ll be alright, Larvitar. It''s only first-degree burns, it¡¯ll heal in a few weeks.¡± The commotion got everyone''s attention as they all looked over at them. Finally releasing his hug from Valerie, Larry was beginning to realize that he wasn¡¯t hurting anymore. He looked down at himself, Larry found most of his physical bruises to be completely healed, ¡°Huh? How in the¡­¡± ¡°Potions, Larvitar,¡± Maxie cut him off as she shook around two almost empty spray bottles, ¡°and Burn Heals, of course. We''re really lucky we stocked up on so many beforehand. Else we would''ve been forced to go back.¡± She looked down at Valerie critically, ¡°Though, Valerie, you know I still want to.¡± ¡°I want to as well, but we''re so close!¡± Valerie complained as she slapped the floor with her good arm, ¡°We can¡¯t just go back now! I can still walk, you know? You''re just being a drama queen here, Max!¡± ¡°Excuse me? Who was it that was screaming bloody murder when she got hit by that attack?¡± She pointed back accusingly at Valerie, she was about to retort before Maxie cut her off, ¡°And cried her eyes out when we put the bandages on her? You know your dad''s probably going to kill me because I let something happen to his daughter, right?¡± ¡°You''re stupid lucky our ranger jackets are built that tough, Val,¡± Nicholas mentioned, ¡°You wouldn''t have gotten away with only first-degree burns on your shoulder from that if it didn''t have to burn through all those layers beforehand.¡± ¡°Yeah,¡± Arin agreed, joining the finger-pointing, ¡°don''t try and play tough.¡± He quickly turned his hand around and pointed a thumb in Donphan, Phanpy, and Ursaring''s direction, ¡°Anyway, we''re gonna need to clear the air. Who are they, Larvitar?¡± Pointing at the Donphans troupe, he continued, ¡°Your friends?¡± Larry turned with a nod, he was busy being crowded by the overly affectionate Phanpy, ¡°I''m so glad you''re alright, Larry!¡± He gripped him like a vice using his powerful trunk. While he wasn''t in any obvious pain anymore, Larry still felt very sore and exhausted, ¡°Oof! Give me some space, Phanpy! You''re crushing me! I¡¯ll explain everything!¡± Donphan spoke, quieting the commotion in their camp instantly with its deep rumbling tone of voice, ¡°You got caught, didn''t you?¡± Chapter 56.5 - Mysterious Interlude ... Salty water splashed up Larry''s nose, the burn of saltwater shocked him out of unconsciousness, ¡°Gack! Pfft! Ought, Gross!¡± Rising, Larry nursed his wetted nose pitifully, only once he¡¯d fully raised himself did he realize something was amiss. His arms, stubby olive-colored protrusions, without hands at their end. Following his arms, his sight fell on his body in all its dumpy olive-green glory. A red diamond-shaped shell was placed at his belly button. ¡°What the hell?! I was just¡­ Wait, where was I?¡± Larry''s mind felt muddled, his last actions seemed unclear and he couldn''t remember what exactly he was doing before he woke up here. One thing was for sure though, this wasn''t his body. He¡¯d been a human before whatever had gone down. Looking behind himself he found a large rocky tail, looking most similar to a stone sculpted bouquet of flowers. A memory from his childhood stirred to life, video games he''d played back then. One Franchise in specific, Pok¨¦mon. He remembered it like it was just yesterday, the most powerful Pokemon of the second generation, a pseudo-legendary existence in the game. ¡°WHAT?! I''m a Larvitar?! Why?!¡± The situation was utterly incomprehensible to Larry. He''d just been doing whatever and then suddenly he was just, here? The sun was setting across the beach, it slowly melted into the horizon. Larry watched it disappear longingly, wishing that the day might be just a little longer so he could figure out what had happened to him. Tearing up, Larry thought to himself as he sat on the beach, ¡®What am I supposed to do now?¡¯ ¡°Hey, you!¡± Swinging his head right in alarm, Larry saw the second unexplainable occurrence in a short while. A Phanpy stood atop a hill, leading away from the beach, ¡°What are you doing out here?¡± He was lost for words, ¡®Now there''s a Phanpy? What the¡­¡¯ It rolled into a wheel and tumbled down the hill precariously, once at speed it unfurled itself and smashed its front legs into the ground harshly. It came to a sliding stop right in front of him, ¡°Being out here in the night can be dangerous,¡± It touched his shoulder with its trunk carefully, taking notice of his tears, ¡°Are you alright?¡± ¡®And¡­It¡¯s speaking?¡¯ Larry wiped away the tears, ¡°N-No, I¡¯m fine. It¡¯s just¡­I don¡¯t know how I got here.¡± ¡°Really? That¡¯s bad!¡± Phanpy spoke worriedly, ¡°What''s the last thing you remember?¡± ¡°I-I think I was¡­Was I driving? I¡¯m not too sure¡­¡± Grabbing at his head, Larry tried his best to remember, ¡°I-I think I was¡­crossing the street? And then¡­Uhhh¡­Some guy hit me?¡± It hurt just trying to put together the thought in his head, Larry rubbed away at the sides of his head in pain. Using its trunk, Phanpy caressed Larry''s back, ¡°Hey, it''s alright. For now, how about coming with me? We can get you some food and we¡¯ll get you some help?¡± Unsure how much Larry could trust this Pokemon, he weighed his options in his mind, ¡®I don¡¯t even know where I am, and it doesn¡¯t seem like the Phanpy has any malicious ideas¡­¡¯ He nodded and finally sat up, ¡°Alright, sure. I¡¯ll go with you¡­¡± ¡°Great! Just follow me!¡± ¡­ ¡°So, what should I call you?¡± Phanpy asked as they scaled a staircase. Phanpy had mentioned that the place that would help him would be on top of the hill, so they were making their way up. ¡°Just call me Larry, and you are?¡± ¡°Oh, didn¡¯t even introduce myself. You can call me Ellie!¡± She smiled back at him as she bowed her head. Walking up a hill, Larry was fighting his new body. His center of gravity was entirely different and it was quite a challenge just walking around. Yet, he tried his best to follow Phanpy up the mountain. Once they crested the top, Larry saw something he never expected, between a long line of wooden palisades stood a giant tent that looked like the head of a Wigglytuff, on both of its sides stood intricate totem poles with various Pokemon on them. Braziers burned on each side behind the totem poles and a distant memory was stirred in Larry''s mind. On their way here they had passed smaller things like wells, signs, and smaller stone structures, it had made Larry think that they might¡¯ve time-traveled with how simple and old most of the infrastructure was. The scene at the beach finally clicked in his mind as well, ¡®Wait¡­I think I¡¯ve seen this before¡­¡¯ His head started hurting again as the memory came back to him. Love what you''re reading? Discover and support the author on the platform they originally published on. Ellie stared back at him curiously, ¡°Hm? Is there something?¡± He put the thought away for now, ¡°No, No. Don¡¯t worry about it. So, is this the place?¡± ¡°Yep!¡± Ellie smiled, ¡°It''s the Wigglytuff Guild, they¡¯ll be happy to help you out!¡± Ellie stepped on a wooden grate in front of the tent and an echoey voice sounded out from underground, ¡°Pokemon detected! Pokemon detected!¡± ¡°Whose footprint? Whose footprint?¡± The voice spoke robotically, ¡°The footprint is Phanpys! The footprint is Phanpys!¡± ¡°You¡¯re right!¡± Ellie confirmed to the voice below. ¡°You may enter! But some is with you!¡± The voice accused, ¡°Get that stranger to stand up there!¡± Ellie made space for Larry, walking to the side, when Larry carefully stepped on top of the grate the voice repeated the same spiel, ¡°Pokemon detected! Pokemon detected!¡± ¡°Whose footprint? Whose footprint?¡± He tried to get a look down below, but the darkness obscured the Pokemon below. ¡°The footprint¡­is¡­Uhm¡­ The footprint is¡­ Maybe Larvitars! Maybe Larvitars!¡± ¡°You got it!¡± Spoke to Larry with a nod. Far below him in the distance he heard an exacerbated, ¡°Maybe?!¡± ¡°That''s good enough!¡± The voice below spoke, ¡°You may enter!¡± With much work, the iron gate of the tent heaved upwards and a small spiraling staircase revealed itself, going down below into the underground. Ellie walked in first, with Larry following after. ¡­ Scaling the staircase downwards, Larry found himself transported into an underground room, windows were carved into its walls to let natural light in and the grass was growing in the middle of the room. Boards with various papers on them were hung on the walls of the room. On the left was a board that read ¡®Job Bulletin Board¡¯, the one to the right read ¡®Outlaw Notice Board¡¯ Before Larry could take a closer look a Chatot flew up through the middle of the spiral staircases from below, meeting them in the middle. ¡°Ellie! What were you doing out so late!¡± The Chatot screeches at the poor Phanpy. She flinches backward at the Flying-Types loud voice before answering as she put her trunk behind Larry, pushing him forward, ¡°I found Larry here lying on the beach, he doesn¡¯t seem to have any memories of who he is and I was thinking the guild could him out!¡± ¡°Hrrmph!¡± Chatot harrumphed, inspecting Larry with a critical eye, ¡°That sure does sound inconvenient!¡± ¡°Yeah, it sucks!¡± Ellie misses the hidden meaning behind his words as looked at him with pleading eyes, ¡°Please, even if it''s just for a day, can I let him sleep with me and Ursula?¡± ¡°Well¡­¡± Stewing in his thoughts for a moment, Chatot let the idea run through his head, ¡°I don¡¯t know if we can trust this¡­Larry here¡­¡± It felt like Larry needed to plead his case, so he began, ¡°Mister Chatot, I won¡¯t be here for long. I¡¯ll be out of your uh, feathers by tomorrow morning. I won¡¯t cause any trouble!¡± ¡°...I don¡¯t like it, but alright,¡¯ The Flying-Type finally relented, ¡°I¡¯ll make sure you are actually gone by tomorrow''s morning chant though!¡± ¡­ Larry followed after Ellie, going further down the staircase to an even bigger underground room, down there was even more grass, the same windows, and a weird stand of some kind, a Loudred and other Pokemon hung around openly, conversing about whatever. A Bidoof walked to the two of them as they walked past, ¡°Hey, Hey! Ellie, how¡¯s it going?¡± ¡°Oh! Hello Bidoof!¡± It walked with them as they chatted, ¡°Whose that good fellow who is walking with you?¡± Nodding in greeting, Larry introduced himself, ¡°Hello, I¡¯m Larry. Ellie is helping me right now. I¡¯m kind of a little lost, so she brought me here so I could catch my bearings.¡± ¡°By golly, that doesn¡¯t sound good!¡± It swapped sides while walking, going over to him, ¡°I sure do hope you find those bearings of yours and get back on track!¡± ¡°Thanks.¡± Larry nodded back. Bidoof kept walking into another room, they entered with him, a large dining table filled up the entire room and almost all of its seats were filled with Pokemon. Larry took a place next to Ellie and they munched away on some delicious berries. They tasted great! ¡­ They entered a room with three beds of hay, one of which already had a Teddiursa in it. Ellie walked forward, ¡°Ursula! Don¡¯t go to sleep so early or you¡¯ll never be able to fall asleep tonight!¡± ¡°Mmrgh!¡± She stretched on her hay bed, ¡°But it''s been such a boring day! What am I supposed to do?!¡± ¡°Something DID happen though!¡± Ellie announced, ¡°I found Larry here, sitting on the beach! We need to help him!¡± Ellie and Larry once again quickly explained his predicament to Ursula. She jumped up at their explanation, ¡°Ah! So, you don¡¯t remember anything at all?¡± ¡°I think¡­¡± Larry once again tried to gather his memories with a wince, ¡°I think I was a human¡­I was crossing the street and I got run over by a¡­a truck, I think?¡± The two looked at him in incomprehension, Ursula quirked her head to the side, ¡°Human, Truck? What?¡± Ellie also chimed in, ¡°Yeah, I didn¡¯t really understand those either¡­¡± ¡°Ugh, forget it,¡± Larry waved off their concerns as he nursed his headache by sitting down on one of the beds of hay, ¡°The quick and short of it is, I wasn¡¯t a Larvitar and now I somehow woke up on a beach somewhere I¡¯ve never seen.¡± ¡°Woah,¡± Ellie and Ursula stared at him, ¡°I think I get it¡­¡± Ursula slumped back onto her bed, ¡°Ugh, me too probably.¡± After a short pause, Larry spoke up again, ¡°So. What¡¯s the plan?¡± He addressed Ellie, ¡°You said you were going to help, but there isn¡¯t anything you can help me with, is there?¡± Ellie walked over to her bed and hunkered down as well, ¡°For now, let¡¯s just get some shuteye.¡± ¡­ ¡°Whuh?!¡± Larry woke up to a poke in his stomach, as Valerie pulled her finger away quickly. ¡°Sorry! You just¡­Weren¡¯t waking up.¡± She apologized sheepishly, ¡°Did you have a bad dream or something?¡± ¡®Huh? Where?¡¯ Larry felt entirely disorganized, ¡®Wasn¡¯t I just¡­¡¯ His mind felt muddled, but he simply shook it off, ¡®Ugh, if I can¡¯t remember, I guess it isn¡¯t worth remembering¡­¡¯ He stood with a hop, ¡°You¡¯re awake then?¡± She urged him onwards, "Let''s keep going then, we gotta find your mom!¡±