Chapter 17

It was a whole another day in Viridian Forest, as the sun rose up in the sky and reflected all its lights on the mountain size trees of the endless jungle. Redwald, Greta and Eusine were standing in front of the gate to Pewter City, staring at it. Greta was holding onto her Metapod tightly. She mopped her brow wearily. “I thought it was going to take forever.”

Redwald nodded his head. He was ready to go. As he stepped forward, Greta and Eusine followed him right behind. Redwald pushed the iron gate and saw the inside. A guardian was standing behind a counter for the security. The room was dominated by a light grey colour on the walls, and the floor. The little lambs on the corners were bright enough to make visitors feel that that was the gate to a tough, never ending journey. Neither Redwald, nor the others did mind the inside, and passed through it. They were silent, but their steps echoed inside of this little place. Once Redwald reached to the other side of the gate, he pushed it once more, and all the warm sun lights that would have been reflecting on Pewter City licked their skin. For a second, everybody enjoyed the heavenly heat, but remembered something else. They had to keep going.

Redwald and his friends were walking on the crowded streets of Pewter City. Greta thought that they had never been to any place more crowded than Pewter City so far. People were lost in their own minds, talking about probably everything, and rushing for their routine life. Eusine took the town map from his backpack and checked the location of the gym saloon for Redwald.

“It is very close.” He said. “We will follow the eastern side and make left twice.”

They walked for nearly 20 minutes until the gym. During their walk, no one said a word. Greta was lost in watching shops and malls, and had been dreaming of visiting all of them after Redwald’s mission was completed. Eusine bought a newspaper and read the articles carefully, almost like he was after something. As for Redwald, all he could think of was the gym battle that had been bugging his mind ever since he started his journey. Redwald’s biggest fear was to face the fact that becoming a Pokémon trainer was not as simple as he could dream of. He had no idea how he could bear with the fact that he was just not meant to be one. Instead, he only focused on what he thought it would be the best to think – win it.

Eusine stepped forward and stopped Redwald and Greta to present the most glorious building in the city; Pewter Gym Saloon. The building was the highest one in the city. It was made of small stones. The stones were sparkling under the sun light. There was a writing on the building; Pewter Gym. It was carved on the stone by a human.

Redwald took the Poké Balls in his pocket and looked at them carefully. Each had one eager Pokémon, and they were ready to do what it takes to carry Redwald to the Kanto League. He would bet on that more than anything.

Redwald put them back and walked to the door. The sparkling stones had sharp edges even on the door. Redwald had no chance to knock it, but instead push it. When he did that, he found himself in a lobby. A fat man was sitting on a chair, dealing with paper works. At first, he did not hear Redwald but once Greta and Eusine also came in and made noise, the fat man carefully put the papers on the table and walked to the trainers.

“May I help you?” The fat man asked with a sincere smile on his face. Redwald did not disturb his determination. “I am here to challenge the gym leader.” He said. The fat man nodded his head. “What a pleasure for us to host you a Pokémon battle. But I am afraid the gym leader is not here now.”

Redwald was disappointed. The idea of waiting another day for another day, especially after never ending journey in the Viridian Forest, would kill him. He needed more information by the hope that he might have been able to make it happen in the same day.

“He is visiting Mountain Pewter.” The fat man said. “Rumour has it that a Pokémon was hurt and needs help from experienced trainers. The gym leader volunteered to help the poor Pokémon.”

“Just what a gym leader would do.” Eusine said. Greta put her other hand that was not holding Metapod on Redwald’s shoulder. “We can visit the city today, and come here to challenge tomorrow, Red.” She said. The fat man nodded his head. “That would be the best.” He responded with.

“I have a better idea.” Redwald said. He turned to the fat man and asked the direction to the Mountain Pewter. He was determined to find the gym leader after all. The fat man brought everyone next to a window in the building and pointed out to a way up to the mountain.

“There you can find him. There you can find Brock.” The fat man said. Redwald thanked him and left the building with his friends. The next thing was that he found himself on the way to Mountain Pewter to find the gym leader, and help him.

When they left the city behind and found themselves on the rocky road to the mountain, Greta questioned her decisions over again. “I could just stay in the city, visiting the malls and shops, you know...” She said. Eusine approached her closer and almost whispered in her ears.

“It doesn’t help you how to understand the Pokémon in the nature.”

Then he used his normal voice.

“If you truly want to understand the nature, you must be in every part of it, not just forests or cities. Even underwater, believe me.”

Greta did not say anything as a response, but she agreed with him. Redwald, in the other hand, barely spoke since they arrived in Pewter City. Greta and Eusine knew that it was because Redwald was too nervous about his first battle. They sometimes saw him shaking or feeling dizzy. But they preferred to say nothing, not only to let him be, but also because they had no idea what to tell.

When they reached to a hill, Redwald turned his back and watched the city behind him. The time was around noon, and it was the hottest time of the day. Still it did not feel overwhelming even after walking a long way up there.

“Winter is not far away.” Redwald thought, while watching the city. But a noise disturbed the peace of the moment. As everyone turned their back, they saw a couple of rocks rolling towards them. But they were not going down from another hill, they were rolling on a flat way, which made everyone consider that they were not usual rocks, but probably a Pokémon.

“They are not coming here for peace.” Eusine said. He reached to his Poké Ball and threw it. “Haunter, come out!”

The gas Pokémon appeared in the air. The Pokémon would not enjoy the sun, thus he felt disturbed by the bright day at first. But then he focused on the Pokémon.

“Eevee, you too!” Redwald said, as he threw the Poké Ball. Eevee appeared next to Haunter, waiting for an order to move.

For last, Greta threw her Poké Ball with a protective feeling for Metapod that needed help. Paras appeared next to Eevee. They were ready to get the show started.

“Haunter, use Shadow Ball!” Eusine ordered. Redwald stepped forward and told Eevee to use Quick Attack, while Greta’s order was Tackle.

Paras ran to one of Pokémon and used Tackle on him. The hard as rock Pokémon hit Paras’s body and both Pokémon were thrown to different directions. Paras fainted, but the other Pokémon lied on the ground, was standing upside down. Redwald turned on his Pokédex to identify the Pokémon. The Pokédex scanned the Pokémon quickly.

The dark energy that Haunter created in seconds was thrown to one of the other Pokémon. As the energy hit the Pokémon, he was thrown to the other side of the road. He was a different species than the other one with darker body colour. Greta scanned the Pokémon.

While Eevee ran to middle of the road, the two Pokémon separated to other sides, and Eevee’s move missed. The rest of the herd rolled towards Redwald, Greta and Eusine. Greta screamed while she covered her face with her arms. Eusine almost jumped to Greta’s side and covered her body with himself. Redwald reached to the Poké Balls in his pocket. Just as the wild Pokémon came too close to them, a blue Pokémon with a cream shell on his back appeared before everyone and hid himself in his shell. He was using the move Withdraw. All the rolling Graveler and Golem hit the Pokémon’s hard shell and were stopped.

“Enough!” A man said from right side. Everyone turned their heads to that side and saw a man with a dark skin standing on a rock. He was a long man with muscular arms, and he had very closed eyes, almost like they were not open. He was folding his arms, glaring at the people and Pokémon. He had an angry expression on his face.

As soon as the wild Pokémon realized the man, they rolled themselves on the ground and fled away. Then, the young man walked through Redwald and the others.

“Good job, Omanyte.” He said, while he called the Pokémon back in his Poké Ball. Then he looked at the others. “What are you doing here in such critical time?”

“Sorry, sir.” Redwald said. He considered themselves troublemaker for causing such a scene.

“Why did you say this is a critical time?” Eusine asked. The young man with muscular arms remained in silence for a moment. “I am here to investigate an unexpected case here.” He said. “It is better to focus on Pokémon, rather than saving people’s ass.”

“Sorry for the interrupt but I came here to meet the gym leader.” Redwald said. “I visited him in the gym, but an employee said I could find him here.”

“Why are you looking for him?” The young man asked.

Redwald did not take the bait. “Why are you interested in the reason?” He asked.

The young man smiled for a brief while. “I am the gym leader, Brock.” He said. “Are you looking for me to challenge?”

Redwald nodded his head. “Yes.”

“How many badges do you already have?” Brock asked. Redwald did not expect to hear that question. “None, so far. Your badge will be the first one.”

“Maybe, maybe not.” Brock responded. “I have seen many trainers who believed they could be a Pokémon Master. Many of them failed. They tried over and over again, but they ended up giving up on Kanto League. Do you want the badge for the league?”

“I get what you are referring to with that question.” Redwald said. “But I am a worthy trainer. I need to prove myself, if you let me.”

“Don’t expect others to let you do something. Do it on your own.” Brock said. Redwald did not expect anything less from a gym leader, but Brock was really being annoying. However, a sound that echoed through the mountain interrupted the conversation. It sounded like a scream, but not by a person. They turned their back and saw an entrance to the cave.

“What was that?” Greta asked. She looked startled. “The reason I am here.” Brock said. He turned his back and walked to the cave. “Leave me here. If you want to challenge me, you need to find me while I’m at the gym, young trainer.” He said.

“Hold it!” Redwald responded. Brock stopped walking and turned his back. He looked like he was asking what it was. Redwald fixed his hat. “I want to come along with you, along with my friends. We want to see what you are dealing with, and why these Pokémon were so angry that they attacked us out of nowhere.”

“The world is inhabited with many species. Humans, Pokémon, plants, many other creatures. If you think a bunch of Pokémon attacked you out of nowhere is interesting, then you need to get the fact that world is much more than your warm house and the food you had in it.” Brock said.

“Is it a yes?” Redwald said. Brock smiled for a moment, but then had his serious expression once again. Then, he nodded his head. “It is.” He said, before they walked in the cave.

The cave had lights all around. Brock let others know that he made sure the inside would be lightened. He took a map of the cave out of his pocket and followed the steps written on it. Redwald and the others were amazed by the inside of the cave. The walls still seemed to be ancient and never touched.

“How long has it been since you started your journey?” Brock asked, while carefully following the steps on the map.

“It has been a couple of weeks already.” Redwald said. He was astonished by the cave as much as anyone else. Greta and Eusine were having a little chat but they were very silent that Redwald could not hear a word.

“For a trainer who has been on a journey for a couple of weeks, you seem to be very determined on your own style.” Brock said. He never made an eye contact with anyone in the cave. Redwald was not sure if he should have answered it, or just let Brock deal with the map. But he could not overlook what Brock told him.

“Maybe. But when we start to battle, you will see that I am not only talking. I mean what I say.” Redwald said.

“What makes you different from any trainer?” Brock asked right after, almost like he was expecting exactly what Redwald told him.

“I am training my Pokémon properly.” Redwald said.

“Everyone thinks they train their Pokémon properly.” Brock responded.

“I get help from Professor Oak.” Redwald responded. “I am one of his students. He is guiding us occasionally. I was educated by his facility.”

“Oh, Professor Oak...” Brock said allusively. Redwald was not sure what he should have understood from that “Oh, Professor Oak...”, but he preferred to consider it was something good.

Brock stopped in front of an entrance to the other side of the cave. He turned his back and saw three other trainers who had been following him for a reason that he did not get at all.

“Further from this point is extremely dangerous. There is an angry and very likely hurt Pokémon down there. It may attack us, we may be damaged seriously. I suggest you return, but if you insist on your stupidity, then come along with me.”

Before Brock gave a chance anyone to say anything, he turned his back once again and followed the path down there. Redwald, Greta and Eusine looked at each other, nodded their heads and followed Brock right behind.

That part of the cave was darker. Apparently, the workers who built the lights in the cave did not dare to explore in that part of the cave. But Brock lighted a torch that probably he requested one to be there, and lightened his way. Redwald, Greta and Eusine followed him closely. Metapod was still standing emotionlessly. Once they crossed a line, they heard the cry once again. Sound of the Pokémon was very deep voice, but he or she was clearly in pain. Brock took a Poké Ball from his pocket and kept walking.

When they went down a rock, Eusine heard that the rock slowly crumbled down by pieces. But they could still walk back if the rock will not fall on them while doing that. The ground was also shaky. Greta was scared that an earthquake could happen any time and they would have no chance to save themselves. The place almost gave claustrophobia to her.

“There...” Brock said silently and softly. He was looking at a giant Pokémon. Redwald was amazed by the size of the Pokémon. She was made of rocks and had a giant body. Redwald turned on his Pokédex to scan the Pokémon. The Pokédex showed the data right away.

“What is your problem?” Brock said. Redwald thought Brock probably did not even realize he talked. Brock gently walked to the Pokémon and began to analyse her giant body from the bottom. The little, but still heavy, tail that she had was the beginning. He started to walk up until the head but he did not need to go all the way. He found what was wrong. One of the rocks on her body was damaged. There was a black hole on it.

When Redwald and the others saw the hole, they felt bad about Onix. Greta could not stand looking at it, instead she turned her back. Redwald came closer to it and gave a closer look, but the inside was so dark that nothing could be seen.

“What could cause this?” He asked. Brock was probably thinking the same thing, as he did not say anything obvious but only thought.

“Maybe we should stay back and watch for a while to see what caused this.” Eusine said. Brock nodded. He agreed with Eusine’s idea. They walked behind a rock and hid there for a while. In the meantime, Onix cried out for a couple of times as well. She was truly in pain, but Brock could not help her properly unless he knew what caused it. But finally, two Graveler appeared from pure darkness and fed Onix.

Onix cried for help, but no one came. After the two Graveler were done with feeding, they rolled away. Brock quickly appeared behind the rock and ran to hurt Onix. He took a Hyper Potion out of his backpack and gave it to the Pokémon. It was obvious by the way Onix looked at the darkness that she felt some better. She was too exhausted; thus, she fell asleep right away.

“This leads us to another question.” Brock said. He was looking at the ground, thinking about something.

“Why are Graveler and Golem feeding on Onix?” Eusine said. Brock nodded again. He was right. “Why...” Brock repeated.

“I have a theory!” Redwald came up. “Of course, as the Pokédex states, Graveler and Golem feed the moss on the rocks. This ancient cave must have a waterfall where the moss grows. For some reason, Graveler and Golem can’t feed the moss; thus, they chose to get it on Onix’s body, as this species already has moss in their body.”

“So, you are saying the Graveler and Golem attack Onix to eat her moss?” Brock responded. He said it so emotionless that Redwald could not be sure if he thought it was ridiculous, or would make sense.

“Why wouldn’t it be?” He could tell only.

“It is worth a look.” Brock said. He quickly put the map of cave on the ground and brought the torch closer to it. The surface was clear. Brock looked for a waterfall near the area they were standing on.

“Could it be this one?” Brock thought as he put the map in his bag and began to run in a rush. They turned from the corner and Brock stumbled before he fell from the hill in the cave. Redwald, Greta and Eusine followed him right behind. Greta almost hurt Metapod, but she protected the Pokémon by lifting her up and letting her as less damage as possible.

Brock was the first one to stop in the bottom. He scratched his face and touched his cheek. He felt the blood on his finger. Redwald and Eusine stopped right behind him. They also had scratches on their body, but they gathered quickly. Greta was right behind. When she dropped Metapod and hit a rock before she stopped, she screamed Metapod’s name. Redwald ran to Metapod, while Eusine ran to Greta.

Eusine reached his hand to her. Greta took it and stood up. “Where is Metapod? How is she?” She said. Redwald brought the Pokémon to her.

“Here.” He said. “She is just fine.”

Greta hugged the Pokémon in her arms and almost built a wall around her. “I am sorry, Metapod.” She said. At the same time, Brock was watching the stream. At least, there was supposed to be an stream. But for some reason, the water did not exist and all the rocks were out of moss.

“What happened here?” Brock said, shocked. He looked at the two sides of the way. He turned his back and asked Greta and Eusine to follow the eastern side, while he went to the western side with Redwald to find out the issue.

Redwald and Brock walked fast for around 15 minutes and ended up in a place where the rocks were blocking the water to fall from the cracks on the wall. Thus, the stream ran out of water and the moss did not grow on the rocks properly. That made Graveler and Golem hungry, as they were unable to provide their needs.

“Geodude, go!” Brock said as he threw the Poké Ball. A Pokémon without legs appeared on the ground and he levitated.

“Use Rock Smash!” Brock ordered. The Pokémon’s giant hands that were in the shape of punch glowed bright as the Pokémon used Rock Smash on the rocks on the wall. Suddenly, all the rocks were cracked in hundreds of pieces and fell. The puddle began to flow down so hard that it took only a couple of minutes to fill the stream way.

After solving the mystery, Brock left the cave with Redwald and the others. They walked to the entrance of Mountain Pewter. Brock smiled at Redwald and the others before leaving them. “I should admit that I expected less from you at first. You are naïve, have a long way to go and don’t have any badge. But unlike any of us, Redwald, you solved the key mystery of this incident. I am not sure how long it would be for me to think of moss.”

Redwald felt proud to be praised by a gym leader like Brock who was very cold hearted from outside.

“I expect you to see in my gym as soon as possible.” He said before he blinked. Redwald nodded and responded, “You bet I will be there, very soon.”

As Brock walked away, Redwald and the others returned to Pokécenter to have some rest, as everyone was exhausted and the sun was about to set.

Humans

 * Redwald Walker
 * Greta Parker
 * Eusine Hunter
 * Brock
 * Employee in Pewter Gym

Pokémon

 * Wild Graveler (several)
 * Wild Golem (several)
 * Wild Onix
 * Wild Graveler (several)
 * Wild Golem (several)
 * Wild Onix
 * Wild Graveler (several)
 * Wild Golem (several)
 * Wild Onix