Grey's POV
I woke up in the morning feeling refreshed. After getting ready and checking that I had packed everything, I left Cerulean City and began making my way towards Mt. Moon through Route 4.
Most of my walk through Route 4 was simple enough. I didn't encounter many trainers, and the few I did meet weren't particularly strong. Some used the Ekans line, others had Nidoran, while a few seemed to specialize in Poison-types. It made sense when I thought about it. Between the Ekans line, the Nidoran family, Oddish, Bellsprout from the surrounding routes, and even the Zubat living inside Mt. Moon, someone could realistically build an entire mono Poison-type team around this area.
I didn't bother battling too many of them since there wasn't much to gain. Both Pewter and Cerulean were traditionally the first few gyms most trainers challenged because of their comparatively easier badge requirements. Naturally, that meant the trainers lingering around these cities generally weren't very experienced unless someone, like me, deliberately returned later to challenge the gym's stronger badge teams.
Eventually, I reached the entrance to Mt. Moon.
The first thing that caught my attention was an emergency tent that functioned as a temporary Pokémon Center. It stood just outside the cave entrance, staffed by medical personnel and a Nurse Joy. That was... bizarre. As far as I knew, there normally wasn't a Pokémon Center on the Cerulean side of Mt. Moon.
Looking around, I noticed quite a crowd gathered outside the entrance. Some were clearly trainers waiting to enter, while others looked more like researchers documenting the cave. There were even a few journalists interviewing Rangers and police officers.
As I walked towards the entrance, a police officer stepped in front of me.
"Identification, please."
Man... this had to be the nth time I had been asked for identification recently.
I pulled out my trainer ID along with the special identification badge the police had issued me after the S.S. Anne incident. The officer examined both for a few moments before giving a satisfied nod.
"Everything checks out. Just fill this out before entering."
He handed me a several-page form.
It was essentially a declaration stating that I agreed to follow Mt. Moon's environmental regulations. I wasn't allowed to deliberately disrupt the cave's ecosystem, install permanent lighting inside the cave, or damage Moon Stones unnecessarily. Apparently, even if I happened to discover multiple Moon Stones during my journey, I was only permitted to keep one. There was also a restriction on catching large numbers of Pokémon inside Mt. Moon, though that didn't concern me much since I wasn't planning to catch anything here for now.
There were quite a few more rules listed as well.
Curious, I looked up at the officer.
"Is all of this normal? Or is there a reason security is this tight?"
The officer let out a small sigh before answering.
"A few weeks ago Team Rocket attacked Mt. Moon. They damaged parts of the cave's ecosystem, stole several Moon Stones, captured a large number of wild Pokémon, and even took some trainers hostage. Because of that, the League has increased security here until Team Rocket is dealt with permanently."
I nodded in understanding.
That explained everything.
The temporary Pokémon Center, the Rangers, the police presence, even the researchers. Mt. Moon had become one of Kanto's protected locations after the Rocket incident.
I signed the necessary documents before handing them back. Just to be safe, I also took a picture of the regulations with my phone. Knowing myself, there was always a chance I'd accidentally break one if I relied purely on memory.
With the paperwork finally finished, I stepped inside Mt. Moon.
The cave was just as dark as I had imagined. Trainers were allowed to carry handheld flashlights, but permanent lamps weren't permitted anywhere inside. Apparently, Team Rocket had once illuminated large sections of the cave during their operations, which had severely disrupted the nocturnal habits of the resident Zubat population.
Speaking of Zubat...
The moment I entered, I spotted three of them flying straight towards me. Before they could get anywhere close, however, they suddenly changed direction and flew away.
Using Repels really did work like a charm.
One less headache to deal with.
After walking a little deeper into the cave, I released Exeggutor and Persian.
"Alright, you two," I said with a grin. "Back to work. Find us the quickest path towards Pewter City."
The search duo nodded before immediately getting to work, Exeggutor using his Psychic to sense the surroundings while Persian's sharp senses searched for the safest route through the maze-like cave.
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Most of the journey through Mt. Moon was a bit difficult on foot, at least for me. My Pokémon had a much easier time navigating the rocky terrain, occasionally helping me climb over larger rocks or cross uneven paths. The cave was surprisingly vast, and while the main routes were marked well enough, there were plenty of side tunnels that disappeared into darkness.
When it came to trainer battles, there weren't many particularly strong opponents inside the cave. Most of the trainers I encountered were fellow travelers or youngsters exploring Mt. Moon for the first time. The wild Pokémon I battled mostly consisted of Clefairy, Geodude, Zubat, and the occasional Beedrill or Butterfree line that had wandered in from nearby routes. The more interesting battles came against the Hikers. They usually carried Graveler, Sandslash, or the occasional Onix, which finally gave me a chance to rotate Persian, Charmander, and Axew into battle instead of relying on the same Pokémon repeatedly.
One unexpected advantage of the increased security was that navigating Mt. Moon had become much easier than I had anticipated. Every few kilometers I would come across a Pokémon League checkpoint where Rangers, League agents, and researchers had temporarily set up small stations to monitor the cave's ecosystem. Whenever I was unsure about which path led towards Pewter City, I could simply ask one of them for directions. They were all busy with their own work, recording wild Pokémon populations, checking Moon Stone deposits, or ensuring trainers weren't violating the cave regulations, but they were still willing to point me in the right direction.
A few of the League officials even agreed to battle me after I asked. They insisted on using only one Pokémon each, however, since the rest of their teams needed to remain available in case an emergency occurred inside the cave. That seemed fair enough to me.
Those battles were honestly the toughest ones I had throughout the day.
Against the League officials, I mostly used Exeggutor and Cloyster. Their opponents included Pokémon like Tauros and Golem, and despite my Pokémon often having the type advantage, the battles were anything but easy. These officials clearly knew what they were doing. Within seconds of the match they identified Exeggutor's poor mobility and constantly pressured her from different angles, while Cloyster's relatively slow movement speed became an obvious target as they repeatedly forced him to reposition. It wasn't enough to defeat my Pokémon, but it reminded me that experienced trainers didn't simply look at type matchups—they looked at the battlefield itself.
I also passed by a few Ace Trainers during my journey. Unfortunately, none of them were interested in battling me. Most politely declined, saying they were either training for upcoming League assignments or simply wanted to continue through the cave.
Bummer.
It wasn't that I enjoyed getting defeated, but battling trainers of that caliber would teach me far more than repeatedly beating weaker opponents. Even a loss against someone truly experienced would probably improve both me and my team more than another easy victory.
After what felt like hours of walking through winding tunnels, climbing rocky paths, and crossing underground streams, I eventually reached what seemed to be somewhere around the halfway point of Mt. Moon—maybe even a little further. I could tell because the cave suddenly opened into a much larger chamber that had been converted into a temporary resting area.
Several large tents had been erected throughout the cavern, occupied by League personnel, Rangers, researchers, and medical staff. Portable lights illuminated the area without disturbing the rest of the cave, and a special repellent barrier had been established around the campsite to discourage wild Pokémon from wandering too close. There were also plenty of trainers resting there, some preparing meals while others treated their Pokémon after long battles.
Seeing that the sky outside would probably be dark by now, I decided to stop for the day as well. Even with Repels, I wasn't particularly eager to test how effective they would remain once the thousands of nocturnal Zubat became fully active during the night. I'd rather not find out whether enough hungry Zubat could simply ignore the smell through sheer numbers.
Before setting up camp, I had to fill out one more registration form so the League knew who was staying overnight inside the protected area. After finishing the paperwork, I found an empty patch of ground, pitched my tent, fed my Pokémon, and called it a day.
Author's Note: Wrong chapter upload by my end , I apologise just too tired