Chapter 7: How's the Weather Down There?
As Asuka’s car began to come up on the Mistralton city limits and the skyline came into view, Rei heaved a sigh of relief. Not that the ride had been a bad experience; far from it, in fact, considering she had the redhead to talk to. It was just that for the past six hours, it had felt like they were traveling deeper and deeper into the middle of absolutely nowhere.
Her initial impression of Unova was all wrong, it seemed. For years, all she’d seen about the region from the outside looking in had given her the impression of a massive, sprawling megalopolis, almost like Kanto on an even grander scale. The trip from Nimbasa to Mistralton, though, through hundreds of miles of seemingly-deserted farmland and mountainous wilderness... well, it shattered that illusion pretty quickly. They were here now, though, and that was ultimately all that mattered in the end.
Rei pried her eyes away from the sights of the city’s outskirts and focused her gaze on Asuka. The air conditioning on her side was at full blast, her flame-colored hair flickering in response... and it only made her dwell once again on her newly-developed feelings for her. She had no intention of bringing it up to Asuka any time soon, but the thought of exactly
how she’d feel if she did had been eating at Rei ever since first coming to the revelation.
Is she... even interested in other girls? was the first thought that came to her mind. She couldn’t recall anything confirming or denying it, but admittedly, the odds... weren’t in her favor. Worse still, there was also the possibility that Asuka - or her father, for that matter - was flat-out
against the idea. The redhead didn’t give any indication that she was that type of person, but...
“...Asuka? May I ask you a question?”
“Hm?” It took Asuka a second to register Rei’s request, almost as if she’d forgotten she was there - a likely possibility considering how quiet things had been for a bit. “Yeah, what’s up? If it’s about the trip, we’re almost there, her gym’s right by the airport.”
“That... thank you, but that’s not it. I was wondering if...”
How would I word this in a... tasteful manner? “...if you think a relationship between two women is... okay.”
Asuka stayed silent for a moment, making... a
lot of faces. Mostly ones suggesting that Rei's question completely dumbfounded her. It took a bit for her to open her mouth, but when she did... she burst out laughing. "Where the hell'd
that one come from, Wonder Girl?! I mean... of
course I think it's okay. Why do you think I brought Elesa along?"
"R-right... you raise a valid point.” Rei had to admit, it
did seem a bit silly to ask, but... she was still thankful to hear it. Her eyes wandered towards the car’s side mirror, catching a glimpse of the gym leader’s SUV following them along the interstate. “So, then, are Elesa and Skyla...?"
“An item? Absolutely. Well... okay, not
officially.”
“...Pardon?”
“Lemme put it this way... so Elesa and Skyla are both gym leaders,
nicht? The tabloids are already gonna have a field day with two League members being together, but then you throw Elesa being a pop star
and supermodel on top of that? I mean, you
did see the hordes of paparazzi at the Shootout, right?”
“I think I understand where this is leading.”
“Exactly. So since the media would rip them to shreds if it ever came out they were
actually a couple, they’ve gotta hide it. It’s like pro wrestlers back in the day, y’know? As far as the public’s concerned, they’re just ‘best friends.’”
“...I see... I can only imagine how difficult that would be.”
Rei never liked imagining what it must’ve been like to live in the public eye, and being around Asuka and Elesa only seemed to confirm her fears one by one. Yet, at the same time, seeing how they dealt with the pressure made her respect for them grow even more - especially in Asuka’s case.
...Why would she ask a question like that?
Asuka wasn’t upset with Rei, she was just... kind of surprised. She didn’t
think she’d give people that kind of impression about her... though from the perspective of a foreigner asking a Unovan, she
kinda understood.
“Hey, Rei... seriously, you don’t gotta worry about that,” she reassured. “Yeah, there’s some people ‘round here who’ve got issues with it, but... trust me, I’m not one of ‘em.”
Rei nodded, a relieved expression on her face. “That’s... that’s good. Thank you, Asuka.”
“Of course.” Still, she couldn’t help but wonder exactly
what prompted that question. It wasn’t like the topic had really been brought up before, so... if it wasn’t about Elesa and Skyla...
...Huh! Didn’t know Wonder Girl swung that way.
It wasn’t much longer before they pulled off the interstate, with Elesa following right behind Asuka’s car as they made their way towards Mistralton International Airport. Instead of turning into the terminal parking lot, however, she’d continue on down the road until another large building came into view at the western end of the airfield.
The Mistralton Gym, unsurprisingly, bore a striking resemblance to a typical aircraft hangar; in fact, if not for the large Pokemon League logo on the building’s facade, it would’ve been tough to distinguish from the rest of the airport’s facilities. A more notable difference, however, became clear as they pulled around to the rear of the building - that being Skyla’s house, attached directly to the gym.
“...Is... such a living arrangement normal for gym leaders in Unova?” Rei questioned, a puzzled tone clearly present in her voice. “Because if not, I... cannot imagine why Skyla would want to live on an airfield. She must have a very hard time falling asleep.”
“Yeah, if it was any other person. Skyla, though, the sound of a jet engine’s probably her idea of a lullaby. I... really don’t get her sometimes.” To say she wasn’t exactly thrilled about spending two nights here was an understatement; Asuka made a mental note to pick up some earplugs when they went out for dinner later.
Once Asuka had pulled into Skyla’s driveway and shut off the car, Rei didn’t hesitate for a second before climbing out and stretching. As impressive as the crimson Audi was, it... really wasn’t the best for long-distance trips.
As it turned out, she wasn’t the only one to think that; Elesa soon emerged from her Navigator, walking up to Asuka with her arms folded. It was a bit surreal seeing her dressed so casually, sporting a yellow tube top and jeans that had most likely come ripped from the factory. “You’re... really dead-set on keeping that little sports car, aren’t you? I seriously think you’d be better off with something roomier.”
The redhead frowned. “Already told you a thousand times, no chance in hell I’m drivin’ an SUV.”
“W-well, I wasn’t saying you
had to! Just, y’know, maybe if you had a nice luxury sedan--”
“Elesa, I know you’ve got that whole endorsement deal, but you’re not gonna sweet-talk me into buyin’ a Lincoln. I mean, what am I, sixty?”
...Well, with those two busy bickering, Rei made her way up to the front porch and rang the doorbell. Sure enough, the door swung open a few seconds later, and she found herself standing face-to-face with Mistralton’s gym leader... at least, who she
assumed was the gym leader. “H-hello, um... are you Skyla Palomo?”
“O-oh! You’re Rei, aren’t ya? Yep, that’s me, welcome!”
“...Why are you wearing pajamas?”
“Ahaha... funny you mention that. I actually, uh... just woke up.”
“It is 2:30 in the afternoon.”
“Well, I don’t have any challengers comin’ in for a few days, s-so I figured sleepin’ in wouldn’t be a problem-- hey wait hold on Elesa came with you?!
Elesaaa~!”
Skyla practically sprinted right past Rei, heading straight towards Elesa - and as if it weren’t already obvious enough, the two gym leaders immediately locked lips once they met, putting to rest any doubt regarding whether they were a couple.
“It’s nice seeing you too, hon,” Elesa returned with a giggle upon breaking the kiss. “Been in bed all day, huh?”
“Well, uh, yeah... but hey, I knew Rei’s stayin’ with Asuka here, so I kiiinda had a hunch you’d be coming, too. Let’s just say I was waiting for you, how ‘bout that~?”
Asuka, who’d been busy grabbing her and Rei’s bags out of the car, let out a very unsubtle groan as she walked past the two lovebirds. “
Mein Gott, could you two be
any more embarrassing? I get you gotta keep it a secret, but can’t you save it ‘til your guests aren’t around?” Indeed, as the redhead came over to hand Rei her luggage, the shade of her face made it clear just how much she must’ve been cringing inside.
“I-it’s alright, I don’t mind it,” Rei replied. “In fact, I think it is... kind of cute.”
“Eh, I guess you haven’t been havin’ to deal with ‘em for years, so that checks out.” Asuka waved towards Skyla as she turned back to her. “Hey, Skyla, where do you want us to put our stuff?”
“Oh, bring it upstairs to the guest room, okay? There’s a bathroom across the hall from it, so you two can use that one.”
It seemed straightforward enough, but for some reason, Rei found herself a bit taken aback by the mention of “the guest room.” Guest room... singular? Was there only one? And... were her and Asuka...
She glanced over towards Asuka, who seemed... less than thrilled. “Don’t you have a... uh...
Vergiss es, we’ll talk about it later.” Shaking her head, the redhead slung her duffel bag over her shoulder and turned to head inside. “C’mon, Rei, let’s go.”
Either Asuka already knew what the arrangements were like or she’d drawn the same conclusion as her. Either way, there was nothing Rei could do except follow her upstairs and see for herself.
One bed. Of course.
Of course the only guest room in Skyla’s house had only one bed. Of f*cking
course she sent her and Rei up here knowing full well that was the case. “That dumbass hopeless romantic... ugh, okay, I guess she
won, but she’s still a hopeless dumbass.
Gottverdammt...”
Unceremoniously tossing her luggage onto the floor, Asuka turned to the blue-haired girl... who, as expected, was practically
glowing red. “Hey, you’re with me on this, right? There’s no way we’re sharin’ this bed.”
She was really hoping Rei would back her up on this, but instead of agreeing with her, she just kind of... stood there. Staring at the bed. As Asuka watched her ruby-red eyes focus on her for a second before immediately darting away, the silence began to grow
really uncomfortable. “What? Somethin’ wrong?”
“...Erm... perhaps it wouldn’t be... the end of the world...”
Now starting to feel her own face burn up, Asuka dropped her head into her hands in exasperation - she was
seriously okay with this?! “Good
lord, Rei,
really?! There’s other options, y’know!”
“I-I know that, but... this would be the most straightforward... I-I will stay as far away as I can, okay? You can have your side, and--”
“Rei.
Sich beruhigen... calm down.” Asuka gently placed a hand on Rei’s shoulder, which... surprisingly worked. “Look. You’re my friend, and I care about you a lot. But... this is different. I’m sorry, but sharin’ a bed is... i-it’s just
weird, okay?”
Weird. That was the word that cut Rei deepest. Worse still is that she completely understood Asuka’s rationale, but... despite that, it felt less like she was calling the idea of sharing a bed weird, and more like...
she was the one being called weird.
“...I see.” She found herself avoiding direct eye contact with Asuka, mostly staring down at her feet. “Well... if that is the case, then... I have no issues with sleeping on the floor.” It... seemed inconsiderate to be requesting the bed if only one of them were going to get it.
To her surprise, though, Asuka responded with a shake of her head. “N-no, it’s fine, you don’t gotta...” The redhead hesitated, pinching the bridge of her nose. “...I mean, the entire reason we’re here’s because of you, right? If anything, you deserve the bed more than I do. I’ll sleep on the couch downstairs tonight, alright?”
A generous offer, to be sure. “...Alright. T-thank you... Asuka.”
“Eh,
keine Sorgen. Not like I haven’t crashed on a gym leader’s couch before.”
At the very least, Rei hoped, they could spend some time together for the few hours they had before dinner. Unfortunately, it didn’t seem like Asuka had the same idea. “Anyway, I’m gonna go down and hang out with Elesa for now,” she announced, turning to leave the guest room. “I’ll call for ya when it’s time to head out.”
And just like that, she was gone.
...Did... I scare her off...?
Rei took a seat at the foot of the bed, and it wasn’t much longer until she allowed herself to fall backwards onto it, gaze fixating on the whirling ceiling fan up above. Maybe she really
was weird. Too weird for Asuka, at least. It hurt to think about.
The familiar opening sound from one of the Poke Balls in her messenger bag rang throughout the room - unsurprisingly, it was Zee who materialized at her side. “Hello, Zee,” she dully greeted the virtual duck, who chirped back a few concerned beeps. When she responded with silence, he lowered his head - not unlike how he would as a Porygon2 - to gently peck her forehead. Closest he could come to a kiss, it seemed. “I appreciate it... thank you.”
“Hey, everythin’ alright in here?”
Rei jumped a bit at the still-unfamiliar voice, but relaxed once she saw Skyla enter the room. It was a little hard to tell, given she was looking at her upside-down and all, but the gym leader seemed to share Zee’s concern. “I’m... guessin’ that’s a no.”
“Correct.”
“Well, what’s goin’ on, then?” Skyla took a seat on the bed right beside Rei, which prompted her to pull herself up; she also gave Zee a friendly wave, and he eagerly answered back in kind. “Anything you’re worried about with the whole Chargestone thing? Like, yeah, I get maybe havin’ a Flying-type specialist show you around a cavern crawling with Electric-types
miiight not be ideal, but--”
“Skyla, am I weird?”
Skyla tilted her head. “Wh- huh? I-I mean... I can’t really say for
sure, ‘cause we just met, but... no, you don’t seem that weird to me. Just... quiet.”
“Mm... well, when Asuka and I came up here and found out there’s only one bed, I... suggested we could share it... and she said it’d be ‘weird.’ And... now it feels like she doesn’t want to be around me right now.”
“Huh, I see... u-uh, yeah, sorry about the one bed thing, first of all. Aside from that, though... you’re not
weird because of that, Rei. Asuka’s just got...
boundaries, y’know? You’ve just gotta find out what they are and respect ‘em once you do.”
...Right. Boundaries. “That makes sense... I suppose I’d be rather taken aback if someone asked me the same thing.” Besides, if there was anyone who really needed some space... it was probably Asuka.
“I’m sure she’ll understand if you talk things out with her,” Skyla added with a sisterly grin. “Whenever you can, just pull her aside and have a quick chat about it, alright? It’ll work out.”
Rei felt herself crack a slight smile in return. “I will... thank you, miss Skyla.”
“Don’t mention it! Hey, by the way, while it’s just you and me... why don’t you tell me about your team? Your Porygon-Z seems like quite the character!”
Zee seemed rather excited to be acknowledged again if the backflip he performed was any indication, and Rei was never the type to pass up introducing him to someone, so Skyla’s idea sounded like a great way to pass the time. “I’d be glad to... Zee was my first Pokemon, I received him as a birthday present when I turned eight. Of course, he was just a base model Porygon back then...”
As she told the story of how her and Zee grew together, though, Rei’s mind was looking ahead to tomorrow. After all, she’d heard of several Pokemon populating Chargestone Caverns that piqued her interest... and... perhaps if she managed to get some time alone with Asuka...
On the trip to Chargestone, Elesa had been going on and on quite enthusiastically about the “special magnetic field” inside the caverns. Rei recalled hearing similar things about Mt. Coronet back home - after all, it
had been where her Magneton evolved into a Magnezone - but based on what the gym leader had told her, she was expecting Chargestone to be a true natural wonder.
Sure enough, the caverns were unlike anything she’d ever seen, bathed in a brilliant cobalt glow thanks to the massive magnetic boulders and levitating stone fragments all around them. Native Unovan species such as Tynamo and Joltik skittered around, and Rei even spotted a group of Nosepass huddled around one of the larger boulders.
“This cave is... nothing short of beautiful,” she mused out loud, turning to Asuka. “Don’t you think so?”
Asuka, however, didn’t seem too pleased - which probably had something to do with how her hair was very visibly standing on end. “For
you, maybe.”
“Well, there
is a reason I prefer to keep my hair short,” Elesa interjected. “Comes with the territory of being around Electric-types all the time, y’know?”
“Oh, please, you’ve got so much product in your hair it wouldn’t matter anyway.”
Rei let out a quiet chuckle as the group continued along. It wasn’t much longer until they came across an elevator that would take them even deeper; before they could get on, though, Skyla spoke up. “Oh, uh, important thing to mention... the deeper you go here, the more likely you are to run into fully-evolved Pokemon. Sooo, uh... you’re all prepared, right?” She seemed oddly concerned... though, perhaps it had something to do with her type of choice.
“Didn’t I tell you to get yourself a Gliscor?” Elesa returned, shaking her head. “Well, I suppose it can’t be helped now... just stick with me and we’ll be fine, got it?”
Naturally, Skyla perked up quite a bit at that. “Sounds like a plan~! Alright, let’s get down there!”
The four boarded the elevator, and with the press of a button, were on their way into the depths of the caverns. It was quite large, seemingly designed to hold sizable groups of tourists... though considering they were the only ones there, and Skyla and Elesa appeared occupied with each other, Rei felt a bit... isolated.
It didn’t help that the guest room situation with Asuka was still on her mind.
“...Asuka, are you... upset with me?”
The redhead raised an eyebrow as she turned to face a troubled-looking Rei. At first, it wasn’t clicking why she’d ask that; sure, she’d kinda rudely brushed her off when she brought up the cave’s beauty, but it wasn’t like there was any sort of malice behind it. Maybe Rei felt like everyone was ignoring her, what with Elesa and Skyla being all lovey-dovey...?
“What’s makin’ you think that?” she responded. “Just ‘cause I’m not talkin’ to you doesn’t mean I’m mad at ya.”
“I-it’s about, um... what happened yesterday, with regards to the... sleeping arrangements. Y-you said sharing a bed would be ‘weird,’ and...”
...Oh. Okay, that made sense... she
did have a bit of a freakout over it yesterday, as hard as that was to admit. “Oh, that? Y-yeah, I... guess I overreacted a bit. I’m, uh... sorry if I upset you at all.”
Rei’s pale lips curled into a thankful smile as she let out a relieved deep breath. “That’s... very good to hear, thank you.”
“Don’t worry ‘bout it... besides, there’s a bunch of way worse options to share a bed with than you.”
It wasn’t until she saw the exchange student’s face turn stoplight red in record time that Asuka realized what she’d just said. “T-theoretically, I mean!” she backpedaled, imagining her own face glowing equally as bright as Rei’s.
And, of course, as if that slip-up wasn’t bad enough on its own, Skyla just
had to cut in. “Daydreaming out loud, Asuka?”
“
DUMMKOPF! T-that’s not what I meant!”
Mercifully, the elevator soon reached the bottom of the shaft. “S-so, hey, Rei,” Asuka continued in a desperate attempt to regain her composure, “you said there were some Pokemon that lived around here you’d wanted to catch, yeah? You wanna go looking for ‘em?”
“Sure, I wouldn’t mind having some hel--
eh?!”
Asuka couldn’t have escaped that embarrassment fast enough; she immediately grabbed Rei’s wrist once the doors opened and headed off down one of the paths ahead, leaving the gym leaders behind. The less teasing from them she had to endure, the better.
Eventually, the two came to a small clearing that branched off into a few more different paths. “A-alright, let’s... let’s stop here for a sec,” Asuka stammered, setting her bag to the side as she took a seat on the cool cavern floor... god, her legs felt like they were on fire. “
Gottverdammt, how deep are we, even?”
Rei sat down beside her, digging a map of the caverns out of her own bag and unfurling it. “I-it looks like this is the lowest level... seems like no matter which way we go, we’re going to hit a dead end eventually.”
“So this really is the bottom, huh? Must be some freakishly strong Pokemon down here, then... any you’re lookin’ for in particular?”
“I have two in mind, specifically, and for... somewhat different reasons.” Rei grabbed her phone, pulling up a list she’d made of Pokemon to keep track of. “The first one is, um... Probopass.”
She really had to try her hardest not to roll her eyes when Asuka stifled a laugh. “Probopass?” the redhead repeated. “You mean the one with the nose hair? Those aren’t even native to Unova... hell, I think they’re native to where
you’re from.”
“Well... for one, it isn’t ‘nose hair,’ it’s iron sand. Aside from that, though, I’ve heard that... shiny Probopass are more common in Unova, and especially in these caverns. I’m not sure if that’s exactly
true, but I would like to find out.”
“Guess it’s worth a shot, then... so what’s the other one?”
“The other one is--
guh?!”
Rei was cut off by a sudden smashing noise from down one of the paths, as if there’d been a car crash. Following it was a low, guttural roar... it sounded nothing like any Pokemon she’d ever come across. It was a sound that told her they had to leave, and quickly.
Asuka seemed to have the same idea, immediately shooting to her feet upon hearing the rampage. “
Was zur Hölle is... forget it, no time to speculate. Rei, c’mon, let’s get back with Elesa and Skyla.”
“Right.” She stuffed her phone and map into her bag before starting after Asuka down the path they’d come. A small part of her almost wanted to see what kind of creature was behind the disruption, but she figured it wasn’t worth whatever grievous bodily harm she’d sustain.
The caverns, however, seemed to have other plans.
Another violent smash echoed from deeper inside, except this one seemed to be closer to the girls - and it felt closer, too, as the ground beneath their feet quaked. Rei quickly lost her balance, stumbling backwards and landing flat on her back against the cave floor. As she lay there, grimacing in pain, she saw - and felt - the sediment from above raining down onto her face.
I-is it about to...?
“Holy
sh*t, Rei, MOVE!”
There was no way she was going to get up in time. Asuka barely had any time to think, but barely any time was all she needed. She had to get Rei out of harm’s way.
Now.
She charged towards her friend, clasping her arms around her waist and deadlifting her off the ground as the cave collapsed around them. Sure enough, mere moments after she got Rei out of the drop zone, several huge chunks of rock plummeted from the ceiling directly where she’d just been.
Asuka’s heart was beating so fast, it felt like it was about to explode. If she’d been a second too slow, or if she’d tripped... she didn’t even want to complete those thoughts. Rei Ayanami wasn’t dead. That was all that mattered to her.
She placed her bag on the ground, using it as a makeshift pillow as she gently set Rei down. The two stared silently at each other for a few seconds... Asuka figured Rei was still trying to process whether what just happened was a hallucination or not.
“...I’m... I’m sorry.”
First words out of her mouth were an apology. How on-brand. “Look, I’m just glad you’re not... y’know,” Asuka answered. “But we can’t stay here long, alright? Whatever that thing is, I don’t want anythin’ to do with it.”
Rei turned her head, looking towards the spot where the rocks had fallen... and the sight of her eyes widening
immediately set alarm bells ringing in Asuka’s head. And when she took a look for herself... it wasn’t just a few boulders that came crashing down. The path back to the elevator was completely blocked off.
“Oh,
Scheiße, no... no, no no no...” She walked up to the collapsed section of the cave, hands grasping at her hair in disbelief. There... there
had to be another way back. Right? “R-Rei... you’re
sure all of those other paths are dead ends?
None of them loop back around...?”
“I... did not see any other way back on the map...”
Calling Elesa wasn’t an option - this far underground, there was no chance Asuka’s phone would be getting any bars. The only thing they
could do was hope that between them, they had a Pokemon that could break through the soil... and if they didn’t...
“Rei, I need you to get me Blaziken’s ball out of my--” She was interrupted by another roar, this one sounding significantly closer than the first.
“G-get me Blaziken, NOW!”
She was still reeling from the fall, but the terrifying urgency in Asuka’s voice gave Rei all the energy she needed to pick herself up off the ground. She turned around to reach into Asuka’s bag, and as she fished through it, the ground beneath them began to rumble once more. Except... this time, it seemed to have a rhythm to it. Like footsteps.
“C’mon, hurry,
schneller!” urged Asuka, and after enough digging, she finally came up with the Luxury Ball bearing Blaziken’s name. Just then, though, those thunderous footsteps were joined by a fearful chorus of... static-laced hissing. Hissing that Rei swore she’d heard before.
She watched as a Galvantula emerged from one of the paths, crawling along the cave floor as fast as its four legs would take it - and it wasn’t alone. Dozens more of the arachnid Electric-types began to swarm into the clearing, a sea of lightning-yellow fur quickly rushing towards her and Asuka.
Asuka charged over to her to retrieve the ball, but just as she snatched it out of her hand, the stampede caught up to them. One of the Galvantula spit its electrified silk at the two, scoring a direct hit to the redhead’s face - suddenly blinded, she let out a muffled cry of pain as the webs shocked her.
“A-Asuka...!” Rei had barely registered what just happened when another Galvantula targeted her, spitting its own Electroweb to ensnare her. The high-voltage silk coiled around her, pinning her arms to her sides and eliciting a scream... it was a sensation straight out of her nightmares come to life. A sensation disturbingly familiar.
Why
did it feel so familiar...?
Just as quickly as they came, the Galvantula swarm soon disappeared down another path, leaving the girls alone and helpless to defend themselves against...
whatever that beast stomping towards them was. Dropping to her knees, Rei desperately thrashed about, but failed to break free of the webs ensnaring her.
Maybe it won’t attack us, she tried convincing herself. At this point, it was the only thing she could do... but she had to be realistic. And realistically, if such a creature could drive a horde of wild Pokemon that large to stampede in fear, there was likely a
very good reason why. What even
was it? She racked her brain trying to come up with Pokemon that lived in the caverns, and the only thing that made
sense was a Gigalith, but that
roar...
Her thoughts were interrupted by the sound of a Poke Ball opening - and when she looked up, none other than Zee was floating there. Seeing her ace out and about did manage to calm Rei’s nerves a little; sure, Zee didn’t have a way to cut them free from the webs, but what he
did have was firepower.
Zee’s disembodied head quickly pivoted in the direction of the approaching footsteps, then towards Asuka, who was still blindly stumbling around. He gave the redhead a gentle tap on the shoulder to get her attention, and once she’d realized it was him, led her over to Rei.
“Asuka! I-I’m right here!” It took a bit for Asuka to figure out
exactly where she was, but when she did, she made it known by wrapping her arms around Rei’s waist without hesitation. The embrace caught Rei completely off guard - not only because Asuka was hugging her, but because she never thought she’d see her this...
terrified. “It’ll be alright... Zee can handle it.”
The cybernetic Pokemon chimed in with a confident beep as he turned his focus back towards the creature. It was only a matter of seconds before they found themselves face-to-face with it... and once it emerged from the tunnel, Rei couldn’t believe her eyes.
“...Rhyperior.” Her utterance of the beast’s name provoked an unintelligible cry of fear from Asuka, whose grip on Rei grew even tighter. “But... t-this doesn’t make any sense. The Rhyhorn family isn’t native to Unova...”
As the Rhyperior stomped forward into the clearing, it became apparent very quickly that
something was wrong with it. As opposed to the species’ usual brown-and-orange color scheme, this Rhyperior’s hide instead appeared as a slate blue, and its armor plates gave off a bright cyan glow that matched the many chargestones throughout the caverns. On top of that, it was significantly larger than even the biggest of its species Rei had seen, positively towering over her and Asuka.
What bothered Rei most, though, was the look in its eyes - a blend of malice and agony unlike
any wild Pokemon she’d ever come across.
This couldn’t have been a natural occurrence.
Someone did this.
That horrific gaze soon locked on Zee, and the Rhyperior unleashed a roar much like a thunderclap, sparks flying from its drill-like horn. Avoiding a fight looked impossible. “There’s no use holding back, Zee,” Rei ordered. “Conversion, then Ice Beam!”
As soon as she gave the command, the Virtual Pokemon’s irises began to shift from their usual yellow shade to a bright, icy blue. The Rhyperior, however, wasn’t going to stand by and just let it happen. Charging forward with impressive quickness for its size, the beastly Rock-type readied what looked like a Hammer Arm - which, if it connected, would’ve been bad news for Zee regardless of if he got the Conversion off in time.
“Move, now!” Zee ducked beneath the Rhyperior’s arm just before the clothesline connected, then worked to keep it at bay as the Conversion neared completion. Once it finally did, the newly-Ice-typed Zee immediately let loose with a powerful Ice Beam, scoring a direct hit to his opponent’s chest.
In any other situation, that likely would’ve been the end of it - very few Pokemon could withstand any sort of super-effective hit from Zee. Yet... not only did the Rhyperior withstand the hit, but it barely even appeared to
register it.
Zee looked just as dumbfounded as Rei felt, and right as he began to ready a follow-up attack, the Rhyperior raised its arm at the cybernetic duck. A jagged, glowing stone launched out of the hole in its hand... and her heart sank when it pierced Zee's body. The sight of him violently catapulting into the cavern wall made her want to puke.
“Zee...!” Rei could only watch as he plummeted to the ground, the stone remaining embedded in his chest until it shattered upon impact. Zee’s physical form, flickering and tearing, laid face-down and motionless on the cave floor. The urge to come to her partner’s aid burned inside her, but no matter how hard she tried to wriggle free, she remained firmly within Asuka’s grasp.
The Rhyperior didn’t even bother to look back towards the Pokemon it had brutalized - instead, it turned its attention towards Rei and Asuka. It was pointless to hope that the beast would spare them - they’d already engaged in combat. There was no going back after that. They were intruders, and it wanted them gone.
Rei squeezed her eyes shut, hanging her head as she awaited the inevitable. “Asuka... I... I’m so sorry. T-this is my fault, all of it... please forgive me...” She felt Asuka bury her face into her shoulder, muffled sobs escaping her throat. The Rhyperior’s footsteps grew louder and louder, closer and closer...
Then, a resounding crash filled her ears.
She almost didn’t want to open her eyes - she half-expected to be met by white clouds and pearly gates when she did. When Rei
did open them, however, she did so to discover that the monstrous Rhyperior had been brought to one knee... and the culprit seemed to be the Klinklang staring it down.
To think, she came here hoping to find one, and one had found
her just in time.
The Rhyperior unleashed another crackling roar, raising its arms in the air - just like Asuka’s Darmanitan did to use Earthquake. “Klinklang, watch out!” Rei warned, bracing herself as the beast’s fist smashed into the ground. Fortunately, Klinklang seemed to have the same idea; as its spiked ring began to emit a yellow aura, the mechanical Pokemon levitated even higher off the ground, avoiding the splintering earth below.
Magnet Rise... perfect.
Following up on that, Klinklang began to rapidly rotate its gears, readying itself for a powerful attack. The Rhyperior wasn’t about to go down without a fight, though, as an overcharged Thunderbolt wildly shot out of its horn - so wildly, in fact, that it completely missed its target. Klinklang’s gears continued to spin uninterrupted as it charged forward with stunning speed, and while the Rhyperior tried to intercept it with a desperate Thunder Punch, the outcome wasn’t really in doubt.
Klinklang slammed into the Rhyperior without any hesitation, grinding its head between its gears as they both crashed to the ground. The Rhyperior flailed wildly... but after several seconds trapped in Klinklang’s crushing grip, the beast went limp, the chargestones embedded in its body ceasing to glow.
Rei was... dumbfounded. Less so that Klinklang had intervened - after all, her and Asuka
had been in grave danger - and moreso just how
brutal its assault was. Did it think simply incapacitating the Rhyperior wasn’t enough? Did it pose that great of a threat...?
...What
was that thing?
She tried to push it to the back of her mind. There were more important matters to attend to, after all... the Galvantula silk, for one. “U-um... Klinklang? Could... you help us, please?” She was a bit hesitant to ask... though, she supposed anyone would be after what she’d just seen.
When Klinklang responded, though, it was a different story; the Steel-type gladly floated over to her, taking one of the spikes on its outer ring and cutting through the webs as carefully as possible. “Thank you... really. I... cannot stress enough how much Asuka and I owe you.” Klinklang hummed happily, a smile forming on both of its faces as it moved on to Asuka.
In the meantime, though... she had to help Zee.
They weren’t dead. Holy sh*t, they
actually weren’t dead.
A massive wave of relief swept over Asuka as the webs covering her face were removed. Opening her eyes, she found herself face-to-face with the Klinklang, presumably the one responsible for saving them. “Y-yeah, uh... she said it better than I could, but seriously... thanks.”
She pulled herself up to her feet, looking around to see if she could get an idea of what happened; the big thing that caught her eye was the Rhyperior. Two things stuck out to her: it was blue instead of brown, and it was completely motionless. As she approached it to get a closer look, she spotted Rei out of the corner of her eye... and she was holding something.
“Hey, Wonder Girl, whatcha got--”
Oh. Turned out, the thing cradled in her arms was Zee, and he... wasn’t looking so good, at least judging by the gauze wrapped around his body. “I-is he gonna be fine...?”
“Yes, he will... any damage Zee’s physical form takes can be easily repaired. That said, I feel like this... still could have been avoided. Had I not been so reckless with my commands--”
“Rei, this isn’t your fault.” Asuka sighed, placing a hand on Rei’s shoulder. “None of this is. Hell, if anything,
I’m the one you should be blaming... if it weren’t for me, we’d still be with Elesa and Skyla, not... y’know, caved in.”
“W-well, if I hadn’t stumbled, we wouldn’t--”
“Listen. Okay?”
There was a pause, before Rei took a deep breath. “Okay.”
“Look, Rei... this whole trip’s been a huge comedy of errors. The cave-in, the Galvantula, none of that’s on you. It’s just... well, whatever the opposite of dumb luck is. Point is... we’re fine now. We’re gonna get outta here, we’ll get Zee fixed up... everything’ll be fine, ‘kay?”
“...I wish I could be as confident as you after what just happened.”
She probably wasn’t trying to be funny, but Asuka laughed anyway. “Confident? No way, believe me, I was fearin’ for my life...
you were the one standing up to that thing.”
“I-I suppose... well, I guess that explains why you were hugging me.”
Oh, of course she had to bring that up. “W-what, like
you wouldn’t in that kinda situation?!” Asuka sputtered back. “I mean, of course
you didn’t, you couldn’t even
use your arms!”
Rei cracked a small smile as she headed over to her discarded bag, retrieving Zee’s ball and returning him to it. At least she
was smiling now.
Slinging her bag back over her shoulder, Rei approached Klinklang again, though her eyes remained fixated on the collapsed portion of the cavern walling them in. Or... at least, it
was walling them in. It seemed that while they were talking to each other, a clearing had formed - one that looked big enough for them to pass through.
She turned to Klinklang, and though she already had a feeling what had happened, asked anyway. “Did you do that?” The Steel-type responded with a high-pitched hum, appearing quite proud of themselves.
This Klinklang... not only had they saved her and Asuka from that Rhyperior, but they seemed so...
kind. It wouldn’t hurt to ask, it seemed...
“Klinklang... would you be interested in joining my team?”
The mechanical Pokemon’s two faces looked towards each other, as if deliberating amongst themselves... then, after a few seconds, let out another happy-sounding hum. Rei dug through her bag for an empty Dusk Ball, and when she found one, held it out towards Klinklang. Sure enough, they moved in to tap a spike against it without hesitation, being sucked inside... and within seconds, the
ding! confirming a successful capture rang out.
“Caught ‘em?” Asuka asked, walking up to her with Blaziken’s ball in her hand. “Man, between them and Beheeyem, I don’t know how you get through to Pokemon so easily.”
“Actually, it’s funny you mention Beheeyem... after all, I saved them from that Plasma unit. This time, it’s... kind of the other way around.”
“Yeah, guess so, huh? Anyway, c’mon, we should get back to Elesa and Skyla... they’re probably lookin’ for us by now.”
After handing Asuka her bag, Rei approached the clearing Klinklang had made; she was a bit worried it’d be too small the closer she got, but it turned out to be just wide enough for her to crawl through. Sure enough, coming out the other side, she spotted the elevator in the distance... and she never would’ve imagined she’d be so happy to see it.
As for whether or not the clearing would be big enough for
Asuka, though... well, after a few moments and several German swears muttered under her breath, a familiar head of fiery auburn hair popped out of the hole. “
Gottverdammt, did they not see that I’m like five inches taller than you?” she groaned as she crawled to freedom. “Whatever... let’s just find ‘em and go home.”
The two started off towards the elevator, and as they walked, Rei couldn’t help but dwell on that Rhyperior. She kept trying to convince herself that it might’ve been the result of cross-breeding, and its trainer decided it was more trouble than it was worth and released it, but... it just didn’t add up.
Conveniently, Asuka decided to ask about it. “Hey, Rei, you got any idea what was up with that Rhyperior? I mean, you said it yourself, we don’t have those in Unova... at least, I don’t
think we do.”
“I’m trying to think, but... I’m sorry, I just don’t know. All I can say is whatever happened to it
wasn’t natural.”
“Well, I took some pictures of the thing, so maybe we could ask online... then again, they aren’t really that good. And, uh... people will probably think we doctored ‘em.”
Asking online... come to think of it... “I suppose I...
could ask Colress.”
“You said he gave you all that info about Genesect, right? Yeah, if anyone knows what’s up with that thing, it’s probably him.”
“...I’ll ask him, then. I’ll make a note to, at least.” Really, all she wanted to do at that moment was go back to Skyla’s house and sleep.
Fortunately, it looked like she wouldn’t have to wait too long, as the two gym leaders happened to emerge from another path just as they reached the elevator. “A-Asuka, Rei, there you are!” Elesa called out, jogging up to Asuka to give a grateful hug that the redhead
really didn’t seem to want any part of. “I was trying to call you nonstop, but I couldn’t get through... thank god you two are alright.”
“Y-yeah, we’re fi--
scheiße, let go of me.” After squirming her way out of her mentor’s embrace, Asuka continued, “O-okay, long story short... there was a cave-in, we got attacked by wild Pokemon, a Klinklang saved us, and Rei caught it.”
Skyla’s eyes widened a bit, nodding along as Asuka gave her the abridged version. “Huh! Sounds pretty wild, but I guess it’d be a good story to tell when you start school, right?”
Rei... winced a bit at the mention of going to school. “I-I suppose... though, I still don’t understand why the Pokemon that attacked us was even...
there."
“Hm?” The Flying-type leader turned to Rei with a curious expression. “Why, what kinda Pokemon was it?”
“...A Rhyperior.”
All four of them were silent for a few moments, and the two gym leaders looked positively bewildered. “But... those don’t...
live in Unova,” Elesa eventually responded. “Rei, are you...
sure it wasn’t something else?”
She stoically shook her head. “I’ll explain while we head back... it’s... a long story.”