Joe awoke the next morning with the meanest headache. Vulpix licked his face and he put a hand on her head. He winced as he sat up, putting a hand to his temple. Maybe this was how Agatha felt. Her permanently grumpy attitude was because she suffered from regular migraines. This amount of constant pain could easily wear someone down.
A tall glass of water appeared before him, a dark hand holding it. Joe looked to see Peonia. She wore her glasses despite claiming she didn't like them. Having a friend mention they look good gave her the idea that she just needed time with them.
He took it and downed the whole thing. Cold and refreshing. He needed that. "Thanks." He considers where he was. On a couch in someone else's hotel room. "I didn't cause any trouble, did I?"
Peonia let out a half-hearted laugh. "Not really, but you don't remember, do you?"
Joe sighed. "What did I do?"
Peonia grinned like a maniac, wearing the cheeky smile she had seen from her new friend a few times. Now she understood why Joe liked being a bit of a nuisance. It was fun. She could see on his face that Joe now understood how others felt.
She went on to explain what happened, pulling her phone out of her jeans. Joe and her father went out for drinks, as planned. They were supposed to stay at the pub and wait for Peonia to pick her father up due to his injury. She didn't want him trying to walk back to his hotel. But when she arrived at the pub, Peony and Joe were gone. They'd wondered off, drunk and excitable. They found a sports courtyard in a park, an abandoned black and white football calling to them.
"Let's just say my father was hospitalised. Again."
Joe groaned. He didn't remember what happened, but he could imagine it. They kicked the football around while Peony had a broken leg. Dumb drunks. "Is he okay?"
"Oh yeah, totally fine. He'll be back out today once they've checked him over. I think the cast acted as a cushion, and it's not like he could set himself up to kick the ball hard."
Joe nodded, happy to hear Peony hadn't dealt too much damage to himself.
"That's not the best part though." Peonia added. She'd been fiddling with her phone the entire time she explained. She'd found what she was looking for and pointed her screen at Joe.
Joe watched as someone in the lobby of the hospital recorded him and Peony, blue plastic chairs lined up at the bottom of the camera and stark white walls everywhere.
Peony was loaded onto a stretcher and Joe was shouting, "Don't die on me!"
Joe pinched the bridge of his nose. Now he remembered parts. Absol had acted as support the entire time, directing them and carrying Peony when he hurt his leg.
"I came and collected you after that, and I couldn't not get the footage." Peonia chuckled. She had to comfort the big man, telling him it was okay while rubbing his back. Her exact words had been, 'come on, big guy. Let's get you home.' as she got him in a taxi. So yes, Peonia had earned the right to wear the grin. Joe was an emotional drunk and she had enjoyed it, really. She had ammunition to tease him with.
"Well thanks for the help. And sorry for getting your father back in hospital." Joe forced a weak smile as he stood up. "If you need help with anything, just ask. I'll stick around. I feel like I owe you."
Peonia's grin wavered. "Is something wrong?"
Joe hesitated before waving her off. He couldn't bring himself to lie, but he didn't feel like delving deeply into it. "I just spoke with my mom about the hypnotism. Nothing serious."
Peonia crossed her arms. "It sounds serious. Don't downplay it. If you don't want to talk about it, fine. Just give yourself time to think it through."
"Will do."
Joe left, Peonia a little disappointed he didn't want to talk to a friend about it. But then again, they had only become friends in the past couple of days. It could sometimes take months to get certain details out of people, for one reason or another.
Joe wandered around Icterine for a while, not sure what to do with himself. He sat at a bench overlooking a small man-made pond, Vulpix in his arms. That was something to consider. Was he even going to send his Pokemon to his mother's place now? He'd eventually need to formally catch Vulpix. As much as he wanted to, he couldn't keep her out at all times until she grew up. And when that time came, she would go to his mother's place.
Absol, sat beside Joe, looked at her Trainer out of the corner of her eye. She had, of course, heard and understood what Ariana was talking about yesterday. She wasn't good with the whole emotion thing, but it's why she forgave Joe's drunken foolishness last night. He needed to blow off some steam, so she just made sure he was safe.
She watched how Joe doted on Vulpix and assumed it was for comfort. When Absol first met Joe, back on Mt. Silver, he seemed to like her fur. He stroked her for so long it annoyed her and she had to smack his hand away. She stopped herself from grumbling, not wanting to make a scene when Joe was going through worse. But she had an idea that she wasn't happy about thinking. Still, maybe it would help. Absol stood and stretched, then casually climbed onto the bench beside her Trainer.
Joe raised an eyebrow as Absol barked once and stepped over his legs. Joe lifted his arms and Vulpix scrambled up Joe's jacket to sit on his shoulder the same way she'd seen Sprigatito do it. Absol plopped herself down and looked away.
Joe smiled softly and rested his arms on Absol, lightly stroking her. "Thanks, partner."
This was Absol's way of comforting a friend. She was an awkward lone wolf, but something had stirred in her chest. She wanted to help in some way. She didn't want to see Joe upset. This was a one-time deal. She still had her pride and dignity and didn't want to start stooping to this point every time something didn't go Joe's way.
They stayed like that for a solid twenty minutes before Absol perked up. She jumped off the bench and looked towards Mt. Moon. Joe's gaze sharpened. He stood up, back straight, fists clenched. Someone needed him. He could be sad and contemplative later. He was back to saving the day, like nothing had changed.
"What is it?" He asked.
Absol peered over her shoulder to see that Joe was ready to help. She couldn't help but smile, happy to know he could switch in a split second. One reason she was awkward about this team up was because she believed it might only last a few weeks. But Joe proved her wrong time and time again.
She barked and ran through the streets, East, to the mountain. They dodged people and cars, shouts and horns sounding behind them the entire way. They reached the base of Mt. Moon and saw a large entrance big enough for a double decker bus to drive inside. Joe could see light from lanterns fitted to rock walls. The wooden walkway started outside and was decently wide.
Joe chased after the still moving Absol. He jogged down steps in the tourist area of Mt. Moon and earned some stares. People were enjoying the cave attraction. What was this big guy's rush?
The wooden walkway stopped at some point, people walking on the cold and hard cave floor. Absol hopped over a wooden railing and Joe vaulted over after her. The drop was short, half a dozen feet. Absol sniffed the ground and looked around. She barked gently and repeatedly while hitting the cave floor with a paw.
Joe figured the problem was under them. He glanced around, trying to see if the tourist cave went deeper. He couldn't see any descents. Just when Joe decided he might as well make his own path down using Sandshrew, the cave started to tremble. Small stones fell off the walls and ceiling as people started to murmur.
"Everyone out! Now!" Joe shouted as loud as he could, spurring the people into action as the quake got stronger. His voice carried and was amplified thanks to a strong echo.
A man picked up his girlfriend, a mother pulled her son along. There were over fifty people in here and they all started running up stairs and along walkways. The boy, he was maybe nine years old, managed to slip out of his mother's hand. He wanted to stay and see something cool. His mother noticed immediately but was dragged along with the current of bodies.
Joe ran to the boy. The ground cracked as a giant head burst through the floor. Joe recognised it immediately. An Onix. The rock around Onix's tunnel entrance crumbled and fell as the ground opened up. Joe grabbed the boy by the arm, near his shoulder. He twisted and tossed the boy into the arms of his mother.
And then Joe fell. The hole that opened up was highly unnatural. Most of the cave floor fell away, hundreds of square feet gone just like that. Below was a deep, dark hole.
"Butterfree!" Joe called as he watched Absol tumble after hitting a massive chunk of rock. He felt claws in his shoulder. Vulpix was holding on for dear life. Onix was flailing now that it was in a free fall, this no doubt being the one and only time the rock snake was in midair.
The flying bug came out and assessed the situation in a second. She grabbed the back of Joe's jacket and used Gust, infusing the air with her energy. Her wings beat in a rush to pump as much pressure out as possible. She had no clue when they'd hit the bottom.
Absol righted herself and stood atop a boulder. She used Psycho Cut on Onix's head to try and daze it. Onix kept shattering the rocks that were falling with it. If its tail struck one hard enough, it could take Butterfree out. Then Joe was done for.
They fell for seconds, covering almost one hundred feet. Butterfree managed to slow Joe down a reasonable amount, but his white jacket was torn to pieces and gave up towards the end. Joe dropped the last few feet, landing into a crouch.
Joe breathed heavily and slowly. He'd been holding his breath. He looked around. Absol was standing on rubble. He could feel Vulpix shaking so he removed her from his shoulder and held her tight. Butterfree was heaving a sigh after once against coming to her Trainer's rescue. It was annoying, but she just couldn't leave him alone.
He stroked Butterfree's between her antennae. "I owe you, again." He watched the butterfly puff up her chest in pride. "Cyndaquil." Joe said, the fire hedgehog coming out. He shook his snout and looked up, which Joe could barely see because of poor lighting. "Could you light the area up for me please?"
Cyndaquil obeyed, casting a soft glow over the area and allowing Joe to see a ten-foot diameter. This was better than the weak beam of his smartphone, and he didn't have his lantern on him. It was in the hotel he'd booked into before getting drunk with Peony.
He was just in time to see Onix begin flailing again. Joe knew what Onix's problem was. He'd briefly seen it as he fell. There was a thick but short tree log stuck between segments of Onix's body. Which explained the weakened ground. Onix had been rushing around, trying to dislodge the log. With each failure, it created another tunnel that weakened the ground further, and there were a lot of failures because the log was too short to catch anything.
Joe jogged to Onix, having to step back and put his hands up as Onix lashed out. "Hey, hey, calm down! I'll help you but you need to stay still!"
Onix heard Joe but was too incensed by the log stuck in its body. It lashed out against a wall and howled, realising it'd caused the log to dig deeper.
"Butterfree, use as much String Shot as you can. Tie Onix down."
Butterfree flew up and spat sticky web across Onix until it couldn't move. Onix was physically strong so she had to practically cover its entire body to pin it.
Joe went to Onix's head and put a hand on it. "It's okay, I'll get it out. I just need you to sit still for a minute."
Onix didn't have a choice at this point, but something about this human got through to it. Onix calmed as best it could, although the pain from the log still caused it to twitch, hitting the ground with its tail on a regular basis.
Joe moved to the center of Onix's long, rocky body. He observed the tree. There was on time on holiday where he was playing in sand dunes by a beach. He fell back onto a green plant. It was sturdy and a little strong. The tip broke off into his back and he couldn't get it out. It was both annoying and painful. No doubt this was how Onix felt right now. He wasn't flexible to remove the item itself. Joe vaguely recalled seeing a baby toy that was a series of attached balls. At best it formed a bracket. The ends couldn't reach the middle.
Joe didn't immediately put all his effort in. He grabbed the log and pushed in all directions, testing which way he should get it out. It moved up. That was his cue. He put his full strength into lifting the tree. When it budged, he punched it up like a true meathead, then turned and let the log rest on his shoulder. He pulled his side down and soon the log burst out. It came over Joe's shoulder and slammed into the ground.
Onix felt immense relief and calmed, finally pain free for the first time in hours. Absol cut the threads until Onix could use its own strength to break out of the web. It stretched and twisted, rising above Joe and looking down on him with its best imitation of a smile. Difficult to do when its body was immovable stone, but it managed.
"You're welcome."
A rumble came from Onix's throat. It rose and looked around. As it did so, Joe grabbed what remained of his jacket, mainly the sleeves, and once again tore it off. His brand-new white jacket was ruined, his black jacket now the sole survivor of Butterfree's clothing massacre. He watched with surprise as Absol put a paw out, a smile on her face. Butterfree high-fived the wolf.
"Okay, I see how it is." He could hear the smile in his voice. His mood was getting better.
Absol quickly realised what she'd done and corrected herself, going back to being a stern loner. Joe was rubbing off on her. She was becoming like him. That was bad news, but she was just so happy the white jacket was destroyed. No more silly matching with her Trainer. As Peonia had said, that was something fit for a clown.
Joe looked up, curious about how to get out. He was still in a deep hole. He was tempted to ask Onix for help, so he glanced at the snake. It was still around and… looking at something. Onix had moved away a bit, but now its nose was close to touching the ground, its eyes nearly crossed.
Joe walked over and eventually saw what Onix was looking at thanks to Cyndaquil sticking to him and lighting up everything around him. He crouched and picked up a small stone, or more like a slab, and angled it so Onix could still see. It seemed to have the beginning of a word carved into it, but it was heavily damaged. This was clearly just part of a larger piece.
"Any idea what this is?"
Onix shook its head. Like the Alpha Talonflame, the head was so large that Joe could hear air moving. Onix then looked into the dark. Being a Pokemon primarily situated underground, Onix had excellent night vision. It turned back at Joe and gestured where it'd just been looking.
Joe looked into the dark. He couldn't see anything. He stood and walked until Cyndaquil's fire hit the edges of darkness.
"Huh…" Joe let a sound slip out as he saw an arch made of brick. It was an entrance, the start of a hallway. It was quite big. Big enough for Onix to fit inside. At the top was a missing stone. Joe looked at the slab in his hand. He tried to imagine it in its complete form and felt like it fit in the gap above the entrance. So this path was marked with language.
The rock snake's face lit up and it slithered over, its mouth open and its white eyes wide, taking everything in. It turned back to Joe almost as if it was asking permission, for some reason. Joe looked up, then back at the entrance.
"Sure, why not. Maybe we'll find an exit." He needed a distraction and no one was in danger anymore so he went along with Onix's desire to investigate. He smiled when Onix hopped, landing with a thud that shook the ground. It realised and stopped. "You seem quite happy about this. What are you, an explorer?"
Onix frantically bobbed its head up and down as they walked into the passage. Cyndaquil walked a little ahead, Absol was by Joe's side, and Butterfree flew around simply to stretch her wings. Joe couldn't help but think it was unfortunate for someone so big to be so excited about exploring, but Onix seemed to manage fine.
As they walked along brick flooring, Joe couldn't believe his luck, and was starting to suspect it had to run out eventually. This was no doubt the Mt. Moon ruins that fancy pants was looking for. Peonia had mentioned the dig site was on the other side of the mountain. Her father had been working in the wrong place.
Joe had wondered how the tunnel collapsed on Peony. Safety standards and regulations were high. But after encountering Onix, Joe had no doubt that the dig site had encroached on territory of a Pokemon that took protecting its home seriously.
It didn't take long for the passageway to split. They were at a crossroads, three new pathways in the cardinal directions. The group had gotten here using the western tunnel. "Can you sense anything, Absol?"
She replied with a bark and shook her head, but then she perked up. She looked left. North. She tilted her head. She could feel something, but it was faint. The lingering emotion of distress. She wasn't surprised there were ghosts down here, but this one stood out. The other ghosts had moved on or didn't remember, so they didn't care about how or why they were here. All except this one.
They headed North, the tunnel getting smaller the further they got. They crisscrossed with other hallways. Onix was eventually forced to duck low.
Joe walked through a doorway just a little smaller than modern door sizes. Before really taking the room in, Joe turned to Onix. The snake poked its head inside, its horn creating a new hole above the entrance. Onix's first segment got stuck so Joe grabbed its head and pulled while it pushed. Onix felt exactly how Joe expected, rough like a rock. The snake made it in after damaging the doorway substantially.
Onix rose as Joe looked around. The room was a good size and entirely made of brick. The walls were tall. Opposite him was another passageway. To his left was a bright blue and gold coffin. On either side of the coffin was a tall, bulbous golem with thick arms and jagged swirls across its body. Golurk. Before the coffin was a pedestal and a thick book atop it. To his right was a mural, a detailed carving in the wall like a cave painting without the colour.
Absol looked at the coffin. It was the source of the lingering distress she'd felt. It was most definitely still alive and taking the form of a Cofagrigus. She was on alert for any shadows that might appear, but the coffin seemed to be in a deep slumber despite the noise Onix was making.
Joe approached the mural on his right and gently ran a hand across it. Onix was next to him, excited and barely able to contain itself as its head darted all over to take in the image. Joe recognised some of the figures carved into the wall. They were legends. Lugia with its wings that could split into hands. Regigigas, the creator of continents, holding a massive chunk of earth above its head. Xerneas, a deer with branching horns that was supposed to protect those in danger.
"Rotom." Joe said, his phone flying out of his pocket. "Can you take pictures of this mural please?"
Rotom obeyed, flying around and snapping photos before zooming away to get the entire mural in one shot. Once it'd completed its task, Rotom zipped to the centerpiece. "I do not recognise this Pokemon."
"Really?" Joe asked, genuinely surprised. He figured most, if not all, species of animals had been discovered at this point.
He observed the large Pokemon in the center of the mural. It was tall. Ridiculously so. If the other legends were to scale, then this centerpiece Pokemon was as tall as a skyscraper. It had a jagged face almost like an eight-pointed star. Four wings slightly detached from its body. Hefty feet and a long tail ready to lash out.
Joe stepped back to really take it in. The fact that the giant Pokemon was the centerpiece had to make it important, but how? The other legends were there for a reason. Were they under its command, or were they there to fight it?
Having stepped back, Joe now saw words at the top of the mural. "Rotom, did you take a picture of that?" He asked, pointing.
"Yes." Rotom said, then flew in front of Joe. Instead of showing Joe a picture, it showed him a translation. With the phone upgrade came more storage space and a built-in dictionary app. All known languages were there and Rotom could work through digital space at an incredible speed. "It translates to Sun Eater."
Given the name, Joe figured the other legends were there to fight it. He remembered the pedestal and turned. He approached carefully, not wanting to wake the sleeping golems or their master. He put a hand on the book and Absol immediately started barking. A shadowy hand left the coffin and aimed itself at Joe while yellow lights appeared on the two Golurk.
Joe didn't hesitate. This wasn't a fight he could win. Absol might beat one Golurk, but not all three foes. He grabbed the book, tucked it to his chest as Vulpix climbed to his shoulder, and ran. Onix was there, nodding at its back. Joe took the hint and hopped on, staying crouched and holding onto the snake. Cyndaquil nestled himself between Joe's legs for security.
Onix burst down the opposite passageway, Absol running behind it. Joe looked back to see four shadowy hands moving along the ground, supporting the coffin. The two Golurk were right behind it after punching the entrance to make it wider so they could get out. That was a strange design, almost like it was built to trap them inside.
"Absol, try to create a wall with Ice Beam!" Joe had to shout over the sound of Onix's rumbling body.
Absol spun and spat ice at the floor. She spun the beam around the walls and ceiling, getting the ice to swirl into itself and creating a blockade. She caught up as Onix turned a corner and a Golurk punched a hole in her ice.
Onix could sense the faintest of air and was trailing after it as fast as cars moved, twisting and turning through man-made tunnels. One last turn and it could see light up ahead. It burst out into an open area not unlike a quarry, a wide-open space and layers to the dirt as the hole deepened.
And there were people. Joe hopped down and turned to fight as a Golurk put a hand on the edge of the tunnel entrance and stepped out.
"Absol, Ice Beam!" Joe shouted. He watched as Absol's beam struck Golurk in the chest and forced it to take a step back. Before he could give more orders, he heard another voice.
"Mantine, use Psybeam above the tunnel."
An ageing man approached, a Mantine flying above his head. Its underside was entirely white, its top entirely blue. It fired a colourful beam of energy from between the two antennae atop Mantine's head. This heavily damaging the rock above the tunnel entrance. Massive chunks of earth started to drop.
Joe understood and gave another command. "Flame Charge it inside!"
Absol rushed into Golurk's chest while wrapped in fire, striking it with enough force to cause it to fall as Mantine kept damaging the rock. Absol backed off just as the entrance was completely covered. Everyone waited, expecting Golurk to burst out, but it didn't. The area went silent. After a bit of time, thudding could be heard on the other side. It was getting distant. Golurk was walking away.
Joe turned to the man that had helped him. He had plenty of wrinkles, but he was ageing gracefully, that was for sure. His white hair was combed perfectly and his moustache was expertly trimmed. He adjusted the knot of his tie, his suit jacket buttoned up and his arms not through his coat's sleeves. His coat was something akin to a trench coat, dropping past the elderly man's knees.
Joe didn't say what he was thinking, but he definitely thought it. Fancy pants.