“Why are there so many fucking Zubat in this cave?” Fiona swore, ducking as another flying menace swooped past her.

  “I think that question answers itself,” Eleanor replied quietly from where she was hiding behind Troy.

  “Bah, they don't even want to battle, just be assholes,” Fiona complained, attempting to fix her hair from where a Zubat had been chewing on her ponytail earlier.

  “I think they’re kind of cute,” Chloe said, “Although I would prefer if they stopped screaming in my face.”

  They had been in Mount Coronet for a few hours now, and the journey had been nothing but darkness and fluttering wings. Around them, lit by the light from both their head torches and Lumen’s tail they could see the moss covered walls of the tunnel.

  “Whose fucking idea was this anyway?” Fiona demanded, glaring at the others.

  “Yours,” they replied simultaneously, before bursting into giggles.

  “Well next time talk me out of it,” Fiona said.

  “Cheer up, Fi,” Chloe replied, “Only five more days of this!”

  Fiona groaned, and they all kept moving, heading deeper into the mountain.

  “It's kind of creepy isn't it?” Eleanor asked, looking up at the roof, “So much rock, just… hanging there above us.”

  “Imagine if it fell on us,” Troy added, earning himself a glare from Eleanor.

  “Troy! Don't jinx us!”

  He shrugged, “You worry too much. You should be like Mimi. Look how happy she is!”

  He pointed at the Mawile in question, who was happily skipping along ahead of the group. She occasionally stopped to gnaw on a protruding rock or peer into a crack, displaying such innocence that even Fiona had to smile.

  Mimi, as discussed, was leading the way, and had already dealt with a number of Geodude, effortlessly slamming the Rock Types into walls or crunching into them with her enormous jaws. She was, however, unable to deal with the constant Zubat harassment. They would simply have to deal with it.

  Mimi’s happiness came at another cost, neither Star nor Reinette were pleased with their surroundings. Chloe had released Reinette earlier when they had stopped for lunch, and the Steenee had spent the entire time glaring at her. The lack of sunlight, and the promise of missing out on it for nearly a week had soured Reinette’s mood immensely. Salad too was suffering in the dark, but the Oddish’s perpetual optimism meant she was still in a fantastic mood. Star meanwhile, just hated the footing.

  Luckily, they had Happy. Troy's new Chingling was proving to be rather effective, far more powerful than they had expected for how easily she had been caught, and a deft hand with both Light Screen and Protect. That meant that despite the constant Zubat annoyance, none of them had actually been in any danger. Aside from Fiona’s hair, of course.

  “I’m just glad that it hasn't been anything dangerous yet,” Eleanor said, “There's some scary things in these caves.”

  Troy nodded, “Yeah, like Probopass. Or Golem.”

  “Rhyhorn,” Chloe said, coming to a halt.

  “Or Rhyhorn,” Troy agreed, but Chloe shook her head, pointing ahead.

  “No, there's a Rhyhorn right there,” she said, and the rest of them froze.

  Sure enough, just ahead, at the edge of their flickering lights stood a Rhyhorn. It blocked the path ahead, its imposing form firmly between them and where they needed to go.

  “Well, shit,” Fiona said.

  “Maybe he’s friendly?” Chloe suggested.

  The Rhyhorn seemed to notice them, its red eyes locking onto their group.

  “Uhh, hi?” Chloe tried, waving awkwardly.

  It snorted, blowing out a huge breath. Then it lowered its head, and began to charge.

  “I don't think he's friendly,” Troy observed helpfully, watching the huge Rock Pokemon barrel towards them.

  “Uh, what do we do?” Eleanor asked nervously.

  Mimi answered by letting out a war cry, and charging ahead, glowing as she activated Iron Defense.

  “That, apparently,” Fiona observed dryly.

  You might be reading a stolen copy. Visit Royal Road for the authentic version.

  “Kick his ass Mimi!” Chloe cheered, punching the air. Then she blushed as she caught Fiona looking at her.

  “What?” Chloe challenged, “I’m just happy to see her having fun.”

  “She's not the only one, I see,” Fiona replied.

  Ahead of them Mimi met the Rhyhorn’s charge head on. Iron Head met Horn Attack in a thunderous crash. Mimi, despite her fury and enthusiasm, was flung backwards, her smaller size betraying her. The Rhyhorn however, fared far worse. It collapsed to the ground, eyes rolling up, fainted.

  Mimi scrambled to her feet with a victory cry.

  The trainers stared.

  “Chloe,” Fiona asked.

  “Yeah?”

  “What do you feed your Pokemon?”

  Chloe shrugged, “Same thing you do, why?”

  “...no reason,” Fiona replied.

  They all observed the fallen Rhyhorn for a moment, before Fiona sighed.

  “Let's move on, shall we?”

  The camp that night was subdued. Not that they could tell it was night, being underground as they were. They cooked food under lamplight using a little gas stove, they couldn't have a fire which disappointed Troy immensely. Watching sticks burn was one of his favourite pastimes. Instead he settled for annoying Star, attempting to flick beans into the Rapidash’s tail without him spotting. Invariably, Star did notice, and responded by dangling Troy upside down via Psychic as punishment.

  Chloe giggled, appreciating the big goofball’s attempts to lift the mood. The day had gone well, but being underground was unnerving. The thought of being separated and getting lost was… not pleasant. She shivered, squeezing Mochi for a bit of relief, her favourite stresspuff letting out a bit of air with a pleasing whooshing noise.

  It was times like these that she really appreciated having her friends around. She probably wouldn't have had the guts to explore Coronet alone.

  The shuffling of feet had her looking up to see Fiona approaching, Heather held in her arms.

  “It's weird, isn't it?” her friend asked, settling down to sit next to Chloe.

  Chloe nodded, “Yeah. I think I liked Eterna more.”

  Fiona mock shuddered, “Nah, fuck that. Eterna sucked. Fewer bugs down here.”

  Chloe inclined her head, “Bugs are alright,” she replied.

  “Besides, you have Tank. He’s a bug.”

  Fiona shrugged, “Tank’s not a bug. He’s an ass kicking machine.”

  Chloe couldn't refute that, instead she changed the subject.

  “Do you think we’ll run into trouble?” she asked, quietly.

  Fiona studied her for a moment, before looking away again, observing the darkness that surrounded them.

  “Yeah,” Fiona confessed, “But we’ll handle it. We're trainers after all.”

  Chloe nodded, looking down at Mochi.

  “I,” she started hesitantly, “I don't want to explode again.”

  Fiona snorted, “I don't want you to explode either,” she agreed.

  Fiona looked back, and the girls made eye contact.

  “It'll be fine, Chloe,” Fiona told her, “Don't worry your pretty little head.”

  They sat there a moment in silence, listening to the sounds of Eleanor berating Troy for wasting food, the dripping of water, and the ambience of the cave.

  Fiona let out a breath, and stood. She looked down at Chloe.

  “Trust me,” she said.

  “I won't let anyone get hurt again on my watch. I promise.”

  Then she turned and walked away to join Eleanor in berating Troy, this time for dirtying Star’s tail.

  Chloe watched her go.

  Then she nodded.

  “She’s right,” Chloe told Mochi, “We’ve got this.”

  Day two saw more Pokemon, but fewer Zubat. The annoyance became aggression, with packs of Geodude or the odd Nosepass emerging from the darkness to challenge them.

  The increased threat had them on edge, but not concerned. This was all well within expectations, and nothing they couldn't handle. Of course, some encounters were more noticeable than others.

  TJ wrestled with a Machamp, the two Fighting Types straining against one another in a tangle while Star and Lumen were exchanging moves with a pair of Bronzor.

  Meanwhile Tank clashed with a Lairon, two armoured juggernauts doing battle. Their fight rocked the small cavern they were in, knocking pebbles loose from the ceiling, causing Chloe to look at the roof with concern.

  The Lairon was not alone, and Reinette and Mimi did battle with a pair of Aron. The scene was chaotic. Surrounded by darkness, the roars of Pokemon and cracks of Thundershocks echoing off the cavern walls, the sound multiplied and funneled back to them by the rock. The sporadic flashes of light cut through the darkness, illuminating the fight before fading again.

  Fiona screamed instructions over the din, attempting to give Tank some guidance. Troy stood protectively in front of Eleanor, Happy on his shoulder ready to intercept any rogue attacks, while Eleanor did her best to keep track of the chaos.

  Chloe watched the darkness, keeping an eye out for any surprises, Mochi at her side. She wasn't concerned yet, they still had a number of Pokemon in reserve, even if Thistle would be highly limited in his movements in the tight confines of the caverns. Fiona's surprisingly tough Skitty and Echo’s ability to fill a tunnel with blasts of Hyper Voice remained in their back pockets, should anything go wrong.

  “Brick Break him Tank!” Fiona shouted, barely audible over the cacophony. Tank dutifully began to smash the hard iron shell of the Lairon with blow after mighty blow.

  Troy cheered as TJ managed to pin his Machop opponent, throwing the bigger Pokemon to the ground and restraining it, muscles straining. It struggled against the hold, but the little Pancham had a firm grasp.

  Twin Rock Blasts from the Bronzor cracked harmlessly into Star’s Protect, the answering Thundershock from Lumen clipping one of the hovering Pokemon, sending it spinning. Star’s follow up Psybeam was deflected by the other Bronzor, the battle becoming one of attrition.

  Reinette landed a picture perfect Triple Axel onto her opponent, three graceful sweeps of her leg that brought a smile to Chloe's face despite the chaos. The Aron she faced fell, overwhelmed by the successive hits. Mimi likewise finished her battle, bodily throwing her own Aron into the wall, where it crunched into the rock before falling limp to the ground.

  TJ’s opponent stopped struggling, accepting its defeat. TJ released the Machop, and it scurried away, TJ flexing in victory, reminiscent of his large trainer, who was doing the same.

  Another Thundershock connected with the same Bronzor, and it spun and fell, joined shortly by its companion, Star blasting out of the air with a Psybeam.

  That left just the titanic clash between Tank and the Lairon. Tank pummelled the Steel Type, receiving slashes from Metal Claw in return. He paid the attacks no heed, the exchange clearly in his favour.

  The Lairon roared, the rock shaking with the sheer force of its bellow. Even Tank was forced back, sliding away from his opponent, moved by just the incredible sound.

  The trainers all winced, covering their ears. Reinette however, saw an opening. She pounced at the Lairon from the side, Low Kick cracking into its armour. Mimi likewise smashed into it, her own Brick Breaks lacking the sheer weight of Tank’s, but still connecting with enough force to crack the hard shell.

  Fiona shouted… something. Chloe wasn't sure what, her ears still ringing, and Tank recovered enough to charge, horn glowing. He crashed into the Lairon, and it fell. The cavern fell silent, bar the ringing echoes of the fight still bouncing around in the trainers' skulls.

  “That was… fucking intense,” Eleanor said after a moment, when her ears began to function again.

  Chloe nodded, “Remind me to get some earplugs.”

  “Good fucking plan,” Fiona agreed, “Now let's get moving. The entire fucking mountain heard that, and we don't want something else coming to check it out.”

  They all nodded, quickly gathering their Pokemon and moving off, heading deeper into the mountain.

  “I think this is going great, don't you?” Troy asked as they trudged along.

  Eleanor turned to glare at him.

  “Do not say that,” she warned, “You’ll jinx us!”

  Troy laughed, waving her off.

  “Come on El, you can't jinx under a roof, everyone knows that,” he said, gesturing at the mountain above their heads.

  “Does it count as a roof if we’re underground?” Chloe asked curiously, causing Troy to frown.

  “After all, isn't that like, the floor, not a roof?” she continued.

  Troy considered, before shrugging.

  “Eh, I’m sure it's fine,” he said, “After all, we’re all together, aren't we?”