The ground gave way, and the Onix fell first.
Cubone instinctively backed up, but the earth collapsed faster than it could move.
At the same time, the place where Ethan stood began to crumble as well. Fortunately, he was at the very edge and managed to slide down instead of falling straight through.
"Cubone, come back!"
At that crisis, Ethan pulled out his Poké Ball and—by the skin of his teeth—recalled the falling Cubone into it. He himself slid uncontrollably downward.
Ethan braced one hand over his head and clawed at the rock face with the other to slow his descent. His fingers scraped and bled; his nails chipped. Even then, he didn't dare loosen his grip.
It seemed like an eternity and at the same time only a moment.
When Ethan's feet finally slammed onto a hard surface, the world fell quiet.
"Ugh! Ugh—"
He brushed the dust from his face and hair and hauled himself up, looking a mess. Luckily the ledge he'd hit was relatively flat; apart from numb feet, he was miraculously uninjured.
THUMP!
The Poké Ball burst open and Cubone leapt out.
Seeing Ethan covered in dust, his left hand smeared with blood, Cubone's eyes instantly reddened.
"It's fine, Cubone. Grab some water and first-aid from my pack," Ethan said through gritted teeth, his white teeth flashing in the dim cave light.
Cubone nodded solemnly, carefully took Ethan's portable pack from his waist, and dug out a water bottle and bandages.
"Twist the cap off…yeah. Clean the wound for me." Ethan ordered, and Cubone immediately went to work.
Normally Ethan would have done this, but Cubone had watched him enough times to know exactly what to do. The pure water poured over the wound brought a cool sting and eased the pain a little.
When Ethan applied the dressing, he couldn't help but hiss once from the pain.
Cubone helped silently the whole time; hearing Ethan's sharp breath, its small hands trembled.
"Just a small wound. With medicine it'll heal," Ethan said, trying to comfort Cubone as his own face stayed pale. He knew Cubone must feel far worse inside.
Sure enough, Cubone kept its head bowed, guilt heavy in its posture.
"We kept you safe just now — that's why we can still get out," Ethan said, rubbing Cubone's head with his right hand. "Look around."
Cubone lifted its head and realized they had fallen into a deep pit. Some light still filtered in from above, but the nearly vertical rock walls made climbing out impossible. Ethan's left hand injury made it even worse.
The Onix that had fallen with them was nowhere to be seen — whether it had escaped or been buried was unknown.
"There's an opening over there. Maybe there's another way out. Let's look slowly," Ethan said, pointing to a black hole in the left-front wall that looked like it could swallow a person.
"Cubone!"
Hope renewed in Cubone's stance; it was no longer so downcast and wanted nothing more than to find a way out so Ethan could receive proper treatment.
Click!
Ethan turned on his flashlight, and a thin beam lit the dark tunnel.
Luckily, thanks to Team Rocket training, Ethan had come equipped for fieldwork — he had basic supplies and gear ready.
The cave was quiet, but where there are tunnels, there are usually Pokémon. Cubone's alertness tightened to the max.
SQUEE—SQUEE—SQUEE!
Suddenly several bluish-purple shapes flew at Ethan and Cubone — startled Zubat.
"Cubone!"
Cubone hurled a jagged rock projectile; one of the Zubat was knocked down, and the rest scattered in panic.
A small, cowardly flock of Zubat.
The one that had been struck squeaked twice and then disappeared — apparently rescued by its companions.
Ethan rethought his first impression: they were timid, yes, but also loyal to one another.
Seeing Zubat lightened Ethan's heart; Zubat breed in caves but often come out at night to forage, so the presence of an exit was now far more likely.
Too bad he hadn't caught one — a Zubat would've made a good guide.
They pressed on.
After about ten minutes of walking through the uneven, twisting passages, Ethan was completely disoriented.
They came across two or three branching paths along the way. To minimize the risk of getting lost, Ethan always chose the left path and marked it.
"Huh?"
The beam of his flashlight landed on a slab of iron-gray rock with several irregular holes.
The "rock" stirred, and a pair of sky-blue eyes opened from within the holes.
Aron!
There were Aron living inside this mountain!
Ethan's heart leapt in surprise, but he dared not make any rash moves. Normally, Aron are pack Pokémon.
He slowly panned the flashlight deeper into the cavern — sure enough, more "iron-gray rocks" came into view.
No mistake, it was an entire Aron colony!
"Cubone, back up."
Ethan swallowed hard and whispered, dimming the flashlight as much as possible so as not to startle the Aron.
The awakened Aron still looked dazed, only staring blankly as Ethan and Cubone retreated.
Ethan silently thanked his luck. Bad as it had been, it could have been worse.
Not until they reached the nearest junction and the colony remained still did Ethan finally breathe in relief.
Cubone's little face was tense too. It had already steeled itself to cover Ethan's escape if things went wrong.
Ethan carved a heavy mark into the stone and quietly chose another path.
After that encounter, he didn't even dare keep the flashlight bright — just enough to avoid tripping.
"Cubone, stay alert for vibrations through the ground. If anything feels wrong, warn me."
"Cuba~"
Cubone nodded, its short tail already pressed to the earth — its most sensitive way to detect movement.
Unseen to them, a small figure was curiously following from behind.
Ten minutes later, Ethan and Cubone reached a dead end. The tunnel gave no way through.
With no choice, they turned back to search another path.
The hidden Pokémon, not wanting to be discovered, deftly dug a hole and buried itself.
"Cuba?"
Cubone twitched its tail, sensing something, but the feeling quickly vanished.
"What is it, Cubone?"
Cubone hesitated, then dismissed it as imagination and said nothing.
They retraced their steps, chose another passage, and continued methodically, doing their best not to miss a possible exit.
After another half-hour, Ethan and Cubone once again ran into an obstacle.
This time it was a sleeping Exploud.
Seeing it, Ethan felt both relief and unease.
The string of encounters — first Zubat, now Exploud — gave him confidence they were nearing an exit.
But Exploud are notoriously short-tempered. If startled awake, their fury doubles.
And in a confined cave like this, sound-based moves are amplified to devastating effect.
A head-on battle was out of the question.
Yet the occasional drafts of wind blowing through this passage made Ethan unwilling to turn back.
No — he had to risk it.
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