As Told By Hikari, ch. 27

Hikari has just earned her fifth Gym Badge from Clay.  Now she and Tatsuya have to meet him at the cave entrance on Route 6 before they can continue on their journey.

After a quick stop at the Pokemon Center, Tatsuya and I got ready to head out to Route 6.  But just before we hit the road, a familiar voice called me.  “Hikari!!” I turned to see Bianca racing over to me.  She looked really excited.

“Hey, Bianca!” I greeted with a wave.

“Guess what, guess what?” she asked as she skidded to a stop in front of us.

“What?” Tatsuya and I asked at the same time.

Bianca opened her mouth to say something, but then paused for a second.  “Hey, were you guys at the Gym just now?”

“Uh-huh,” I said as I took out my badge case and opened it to show my new Quake Badge.  “Check it out!” I said proudly.

Bianca’s eyes widened.  “Oh hey, that’s Driftveil’s Gym Badge!  Oh, that’s totally cool.  That’s amazing.”  Then she quickly shook her head.  “No, no, no!  I can’t get distracted being all impressed with your shiny new Badge!  I’m also a Trainer!  At times like this, you battle, right?”

I laughed.  Flighty as usual, that Bianca.  “Right!  It’s been a while.  Let’s go!”

“OK, I’ll referee again,” Tatsuya said as he stood off to the sidelines.  “This battle between Hikari and Bianca is about to begin!  This is a standard battle:  whoever can defeat all of her opponent’s Pokemon will be the winner!”  He gave the signal, and our battle began.

Hikari vs Bianca!

Hikari is challenged by Pokemon Trainer Bianca!

Bianca let out her Herdier while I called out Deerling.  “Whoa!  Is that a shiny Pokemon?!  Lucky!” she exclaimed.

“Thanks!” I said.  “Deerling, use Grass Knot!”  Just like back in the Gym, two blades of grass tied themselves together and tripped Herdier.

“My Pokemon can take that!” Bianca shouted.  “I’m sure!  Well, probably…”  Then she shook her head and gave her command.  “Take Down!”

“Dodge, then use Jump Kick!”  Deerling gracefully avoided Herdier’s charge, and then kicked it with its hind legs.

“Herdier is unable to battle.  Deerling wins!”

The foe’s Herdier fainted!

“Go, Pansage!” the blonde Trainer called as the Grass Monkey Pokemon took Herdier’s place.  In response, I switched out Deerling with Pansear.  “Leech Seed!”  As soon as the seed hit Pansear, vines grew over it and started slowly sapping its energy.

“Pansear, Flame Burst!”  The High Temp Pokemon shot a fireball right at Pansage, hitting it dead on.

“Seed Bomb!”  A green light formed in Pansage’s hands before becoming a seed.  It then threw the seed, which hit Pansear and exploded on impact!

I whistled.  “Nice move!  Now Acrobatics!”  Pansear suddenly rushed back and forth and tackled Pansage multiple times, leaving after-images behind as it ran.  Finally, Pansage had had enough and it fainted.

“Pansage is unable to battle.  Pansear wins!”

The foe’s Pansage fainted!

Bianca recalled Pansage and sent out Pignite.  

“Pansear, return!  Go, Dewott!”  The Water Pokemon appeared and struck a battle pose.  “Use Aqua Jet!”  Dewott’s body became surrounded by water and he shot straight toward Pignite, scoring a clean hit.

“Pignite, Smog!”  Pignite let loose a cloud of smog and Dewott quickly lost sight of his opponent.  “Now Rollout!”  Suddenly, the Fire Pokemon rolled right into Dewott!

“I’m impressed, Bi!  That was awesome!” I complimented as the smog cleared.  “But it’s my turn now!  Aqua Jet again!”  Dewott surged toward Pignite, who was still using Rollout, and collided with it.  Both Pokemon took damage from the collision, but managed to get back on their feet.

“Keep using Rollout, Pignite!” Pignite once again started rolling toward Dewott.

“Dodge, then use Water Pulse!”  Dewott rolled out of the path of the attack before standing back up and shooting a powerful Water Pulse, hitting Pignite and knocking it out.

“Pignite is unable to battle.  Dewott wins!”

The foe’s Pignite fainted!

Both Bianca and I recalled our Pokemon, then my friend sent out a now-evolved Musharna.  I sent out Zorua, who was currently using his illusions to disguise himself as Vanillite.

“Psybeam!” Musharna immediately shot a rainbow-colored blast at “Vanillite,” destroying the illusion, but not causing any damage.  “Wha- Zorua?!” Bianca exclaimed in surprise.  “Um… this is kinda bad, right?”

“’Fraid so!” I answered with a nod.  “Faint Attack!”  This time, Zorua turned into Bianca, causing Musharna to let its guard down long enough to get hit by the Tricky Fox Pokemon.

“Defense Curl!” Musharna curled up into a ball, hoping to guard itself against whatever Zorua did next.

“Zorua, finish it with Shadow Ball!”  The shadowy ball hit Musharna, and the Psychic Pokemon fainted.

“Musharna is unable to battle.  Zorua wins!  The victory goes to Hikari!” Tatsuya announced as Victini cheered.

The foe’s Musharna fainted!

Hikari defeated Pokemon Trainer Bianca!

Zorua turned into his boy form and jumped into my arms, hugging me around the neck.  “Good job, Zorua!” I giggled as he nuzzled my cheek.

Bianca recalled Musharna.  “Aw, I lost.”  Then she smiled and walked over.  “I haven’t had a Pokemon battle with you in a while, Hikari.  You’ve become totally strong, huh?”

“Yeah, but you put up a great fight this time!” I told her.  “That Smog and Rollout combo was really effective!”

Bianca gave a sheepish look.  “You think so?  I’m not that strong, so I don’t know how to say it, but I think you’re way tuned in to how your Pokemon feel!”

“Hey Bianca, weren’t you going to tell us something earlier?” Tatsuya reminded.

“Oh yeah!” Bianca said as she reached into her bag and pulled out a small disc.  “I want to share this HM with you, Hikari.”

Hikari obtained an HM02 Fly!

“Cool!” I said as I set Zorua down and took the disc.  “Where’d you get this?”

“My papa gave it to me after he tried to take me home that time,” the blonde explained.  “I’m sure it’s so I can come home anytime he wants, though…”  She gave a small laugh before continuing.  “Oh, hey, I have to share this with Cheren, too…  See you, Hikari, Tatsuya!  Buh-bye!” she said as she started walking back into town.

“Catch ya later!” I called after her.  “Well, that was fun.”

“Yeah, but we should be getting to Chargestone Cave,” Tatsuya reminded.  For some reason, though, it seemed like he wasn’t looking forward to it.

Eventually, we reached the cave entrance, which was blocked by a large web.  Tatsuya seemed to freeze up when he saw it.  “What’s wrong, Tatsuya?” I asked, looking over at him.

“M-Maybe we could just Fly over to Mistralton City,” he said nervously, reaching for a Poke Ball.

I smacked his hand.  “Oh no ya don’t!  I don’t even know where Mistralton City is, so Tranquill wouldn’t be able to Fly me there.  Besides, there may be some cool Pokemon in Chargestone Cave!”

“I-I guess…” he muttered.  I really couldn’t figure out why he was so nervous.  Then again, it did seem odd that a web was built right over the entrance to the cave.

“Thanks fer waitin’” a gruff voice said.  We turned to see Clay walking over.  He went past us and looked at the nest.  “Looks like the nest of an Electric-type Pokemon called Galvantula.”

Tatsuya shuddered.  “I knew it…”

“Don’t know why there’s a nest here, but if there are folks havin’ problems, th’ Gym Leader’s th’ one ta fix it,” Clay said as he pulled out a Poke Ball.  “Krokorok!  Take it out!”  The Desert Croc Pokemon leapt out of the ball and chomped down on the nest, destroying it.  

Tatsuya seemed to relax because of it.  Note to self:  Ask him about that once Clay’s gone, I thought.

Clay cleared his throat to catch my attention.  “And this TM’s yours,” he said, producing a disc and handing it to me.  “It’s my favorite TM, so ya can teach it ta all of yer Pokemon!”

Hikari obtained a TM78 Bulldoze!

“It’s called Bulldoze,” the Gym Leader explained.  “This move does damage and lowers the Speed of any Pokemon it hits.  Some Ground-type Pokemon move a little slower than ya’d like.  If ya use Bulldoze right, ya can cover that weakness!”

“Wow!  Thanks, Clay,” I said as I put the TM into the TM case in my bag.

“I don’t know how good you really are, but you remember what I said back at the Gym,” Clay told me.  “If ya think ya can go, go wherever…”

“And if ya think ya can do somethin’, keep doin’ it,” I finished, mimicking Clay’s accent.  “Do things how ya want!  Decide yer own limits.”

Clay smiled.  “That coulda been done without th’ accent, kid,” he said, patting my head before heading back to town.

“I agree with Clay, that was a pretty bad accent, Hikari,” Tatsuya snickered.

“Yeah yeah, let’s just go,” I said as I headed inside Chargestone Cave.  Tatsuya hesitated for a minute, but then followed me in.

I glanced around at my surroundings.  Some of the rocks in the cave glowed bright blue, lighting up the whole place.  I thought it was really pretty, and I couldn’t imagine why Tatsuya didn’t want to come here.

Suddenly, I heard a startled yelp from behind me.  I whirled around just in time for Tatsuya to grab my shoulders.  “What the?! Tatsuya, what’s gotten into you?”

“You mean, what’s gotten on me!  Get it off!” he shouted, his eyes squeezed shut.  Victini, who was now hovering in the air above us, pointed at Tatsuya’s shoulder.  There, clinging to his jacket was a tiny yellow Bug Pokemon.

“Joltik, the Attaching Pokemon.  Joltik that live in cities have learned a technique for sucking electricity from the outlets in houses.”

“OK, hold still.  I got it,” I said as I tickled the Joltik’s side.  Its eyes closed and it let out a noise that I guessed was laughter before loosening its grip on Tatsuya.  “OK Tatsuya, it’s off.  Now let go so I can put it down,” I told him gently.  Tatsuya just nodded and slowly released my shoulders.  I then knelt down and let the Joltik skitter away.  “It’s gone.”

Tatsuya sighed and leaned against the wall of the cave.  “Thank goodness…”

I arched an eyebrow.  “Hey, are you… afraid of Joltik?”

Tatsuya flinched and his face turned red.  “Uh, well… yeah.  I’m even more scared of its evolved form, Galvantula.  I had a bad experience, and I… don’t like to talk about it.”

“So that’s why you wanted to fly instead, and why you froze when you saw that nest,” I said.  “I’m sorry, I had no idea.  But wait, don’t you have an Ariados?”

“That’s different,” Tatsuya said.  “Its webs aren’t electric.”

“OK, that’s a good point,” I conceded.  “Don’t worry, I’ll protect you from the scary Joltik!” I couldn’t help teasing.

“Oh, very funny!” the older Trainer shot back as he pushed himself off the wall and we started walking again.

We didn’t get far before two figures dressed in black appeared out of nowhere.  The lower parts of their faces were covered by black masks, and they both had long white hair held back by black headbands.  They were like ninjas!

“Yikes!” I exclaimed, startled by their sudden appearance.  “Who are you?!”  Tatsuya instinctively reached for a Poke Ball while Victini turned invisible.

The two men then zipped behind us and grabbed our arms, holding them behind our backs.  Tatsuya and I struggled to break free, but they were too strong.  Then the one holding me said one word: “…Come.”  I looked over at the older Trainer, who had stopped struggling, and he nodded, telling me to go along.

The two of us were escorted down the tunnel until we reached a larger cavern. There, a single person was waiting.  His back was turned to us, but the long green hair gave away his identity.

We stopped, and this time Tatsuya’s captor spoke up.  “… My lord N, we brought the one you wanted… and one extra.”  Then both men vanished, releasing our arms.

I glared at N’s back.  “What do you want, N?  And who were those guys?”

N then turned to face us. “Ah, yes.  That was the Shadow Triad, just now.  Ghetsis enlisted them in Team Plasma.  Apparently, they were the ones who prepared the Galvantula nest at the cave entrance.”

“That explains a lot,” Tatsuya said with an icy look.  

“Yes, speaking of which…” N said before snapping his fingers.  A large, tarantula-like Pokemon dropped down in front of Tatsuya, causing the Trainer to back away.  

“Galvantula, the EleSpider Pokemon and the evolved form of Joltik.  When attacked, they create an electric barrier by spitting out many electrically charged threads.”

“Don’t worry, Tatsuya.  He won’t hurt you; I just want to talk to Hikari with no interruptions,” N explained calmly.  That didn’t stop Tatsuya from shaking like crazy, his eyes wide with fear.

“Let him go, N!” I shouted, rushing at the Team Plasma leader, but he simply moved to the side.  I stumbled a bit before turning to face him again.

Then he looked off to the side, further into the cave.  “Chargestone Cave… I like this place.  Formulas express electricity and its connection to Pokemon…  If people did not exist, this would be an ideal place.”  Then he turned his gaze back to me.  “You have been chosen, you know.”

My eyes widened, surprised by his words.  “Say what?!”

“Does it surprise you I said that?” N asked, tilting his head.

“O-Of course it does!” I answered.  “I don’t see how it couldn’t.”

N nodded before he continued speaking.  “I told Ghetsis about you and your friends.  After I did, he apparently used the Shadow Triad to find out about you.  Cheren is pursuing the ideal of strength.  Poor Bianca has faced the sad truth that not everyone can become stronger…”

I clenched my fist and ran at N again.  “Don’t talk about Bianca that way!” I yelled as I launched a punch.  But once again, he moved and instead, my fist hit the rock wall behind him.  I clenched my teeth to keep myself from crying out in pain.

The green-haired leader kept talking as if my outburst never occurred.  “… And you are not swayed either way – more of a neutral presence.  Which is apparently a good thing,” he finished with a smile.  

I responded with yet another glare.  How dare he spy on me and my friends!  

N then turned and started walking away.  “Team Plasma will be waiting for you ahead.  Ghetsis wants to see what kind of Trainer you really are.”  As he left, he snapped his fingers again, and the Galvantula followed him into the cave.

As soon as Galvantula was gone, Tatsuya placed a hand on his chest.  “Phew!  Aw man, my heart’s still pounding,” he panted.  Then he took a couple of deep breaths to calm himself down before walking over to me.  Victini became visible again and landed on Tatsuya’s head.  “How’s your hand?”

I was still crouched on the ground, holding my bruised hand.  With N gone, I finally unclenched my jaw and said a single word: “Ow!”

“I thought so,” Tatsuya said.  “Here, let me see.”  He took my hand in his and applied gentle pressure to my knuckles.  I winced, but was determined not to cry out.  “Hmm, doesn’t look too bad.  Just a bit bruised.  I wish I had an ice pack.”

“It’s fine, Tatsuya,” I said.  “I’m sure it’ll stop hurting after a while.  Are you OK?”  

“Hm?  Oh, you mean that thing with Galvantula?” he asked.  “I’ll live.  But hey, don’t tell anyone, alright?”

“My lips are sealed,” I answered as I stood up.  “C’mon, you heard N.  Team Plasma is up ahead.  Let’s take ‘em out!”

Tatsuya nodded and the two of us ventured deeper into Chargestone Cave.  As we walked, I thought about what N said.  I’m… chosen?

What surprises lie in wait for our heroes in Chargestone Cave?  And what could N mean about Hikari being “chosen”?  Hopefully they will learn more when they catch up with Team Plasma.  Stay tuned!