The cave shook and dust rained from the ceiling, covering Alex's face.
Ten meters ahead, the battle was loud and completely uncoordinated.
"Hit it! Hit it harder!" Jax screamed, his voice cracking with panic.
His Machop was trying to wrestle a Graveler which was doing a valiant effort, in the same way a toddler wrestling a boulder is valiant.
Machop chopped at its rocky hide, chipping away stone, but the Graveler just rolled, using its massive weight to pin the smaller mon against the wall.
To the left, Kruger's Mankey was having a slightly better time against the Onix, mostly because it was too fast to catch.
The monkey scrambled up the Onix's segmented body, delivering Low Kicks to the rock snake's joints.
ROAAAAR...
Onix thrashed, slamming its tail into a large boulder, shattering it like glass.
Alex watched from the shadows, leaning comfortably against Nidorino's flank.
" Completely Sloppy," Alex muttered. " Well, we were not much better first, right buddy. They're treating it like a street brawl."
"Ares! Help us!" Kruger yelled, dodging a massive boulder thrown by the Onix. "They're fucking strong as hell!"
Alex checked his watch, well two minutes had passed and his dear meat shields had taken some damage, but they had also worn the wild Pokémon down, the Gravelers hide was cracked and Onix was slowing down.
"Well let's handle the leftovers," Alex decided. "Nidorino..... clean up."
"Double Kick on the Graveler and Horn Attack on the Onix."
Nidorino didn't need to be told twice, he jumped with a grin on his face, well he was bored.
He launched himself from the darkness, ignoring the Machop, leaping over the small fighting-type with great speed.
CRACK...CRACK......
His hind legs pistoned out, striking the Graveler right on its cracked hide. Double Kick was 2 times effective against Rock/Ground and with the level gap and Nidorino's raw power, it was more than enough to finish.
Graveler crumbled, fainting instantly but
Nidorino didn't stop as he pivoted, using the momentum to charge towards Onix.
The rock snake tried to Bind him, but Nidorino was too low to the ground as he drove his horn upward, aiming for the soft space between the rock segments.
Heeehhhh... Heeeehhhhh.....
Onix groaned, its massive body shuddering before collapsing with a thunderous crash that shook the entire mountain.
Silence returned to the cave, broken only by the heavy breathing of Jax and Kruger.
"See?" Alex said, walking into the light. "That's how you finish a job, well you guys softened them up nicely though."
Jax wiped sweat and a tiny bit of blood from his forehead. "Softened them up? That Graveler nearly broke my Machop's arm!"
"But it didn't," Alex pointed out. " You guys still need to learn."
He tossed them two basic Potions from his pack.
"Heal up, we move in five."
While they tended to their bruised Pokemon, Alex walked over to the fainted Graveler but didn't capture it. A Graveler with Black aptitude wasn't worth his precious balls and the onix had already digged itself out.
But he did kneel down and pry a piece of rock from its back.
[ Item: Hard Stone shard ]
[ Value: VeryLow ]
"Trash," Alex muttered, tossing it aside.
He looked deeper into the tunnel, the air was getting somewhat stale.....
"Nidorino," Alex whispered. "Do you smell or feel anything?"
Nidorino sniffed the air and growled softly, pawing at his nose, he smelled something sweet, Something that made his blood boil like it was calling towards it.
"Let's go," Alex ordered.
They descended for another hour.
"I hate this shit.," Kruger whispered. "It feels like we're walking into a maze..... It's never ending."
"Shut up," Jax hissed. "You'll wake up the stupid bats."
Alex stopped and held up a hand.
"Wait here," Alex commanded.
"Why?" Jax asked, hand on his Machop's ball.
"Because my Nidorino smells a trap," Alex lied. "There's a pheromone trap ahead. Probably a Parasect nest. I'm going to scout it solo, so I need you two to guard the rear, If anything comes from behind, kill it."
Jax and Kruger looked relieved, they didn't want to fight a group of Parasects, those things were like walking poison.
"You got it, Boss," Jax saluted.
Alex melted into the shadows, Nidorino trotting silently beside him.
He walked fifty meters ahead, turning a sharp corner into a secluded alcove following Nidorino who was practically jumping around, well there was no Parasect but there was a crater ahead.
In the center of the it, embedded in the black rock like a diamond in coal, was a small, shiny stone which generated light on its own.
A soft, pulsating, lunar glow.
[ Item Detected: Moon Stone (Raw) ]
[ Grade: B- (Fragmented) ]
[ Radiation: Moderate ]
Alex's heart was pounding with excitement.
"First one," he whispered.
He approached it slowly with Nidorino looking mesmerized. The stone called to his DNA like it whispered promises of size, of earth shattering power, of becoming a King.
"Not yet buddy," Alex said softly, placing a hand on Nidorino's head. "This is a low grade and it's fragmented. If you evolve with this, you'll be a weak King, we want only the best for you, and with that you will be one of a kind."
Nidorino hesitated, then backed down as he trusted Alex.
Alex pulled out a lead lined pouch which was a standard Rocket issue for hazardous materials and used his knife to pry the stone loose.
It fell into his gloved hands feeling heavier than it looked. He dropped it into the pouch and shoved it deep into his pocket.
"Well looting is our speciality," Alex grinned.
He ruffled his hair to look disheveled and walked back to the group.
"Clear," Alex announced. "Just some old spores, safe to move now."
Jax and Kruger relaxed.
"Also from now on be on guard, we are going into the centre part and from what intel I gathered the pokemons will be strong."
"How strong?" Jax asked.
"Strong enough that I might actually have to help you next time."
He mounted Nidorino.
"We move out now and keep your torches high.... don't want some nasty bats coming our way."
Authors Note:-
Well... Cave exploration.... Is always my favourite.🙂.
Moon stone hunt..... King will be born soon.
Hope you guys are enjoying it so far.
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