//------------------------------// // Chapter 71 // Story: Starlight: Redshift // by the-pieman //------------------------------// We watch a couple more of the battles unfold, Rarity commenting on their style, me commenting on their choice of move and countermove, and Twilight asking questions; a few are ones I’d never thought to ask, like ‘why does a Charmeleon use firebreath instead of projecting from the fire on its tail?’ and ‘if the Pokédex says Tangela’s innards are unknown, how do they know if it’s alright when they scan one?’ A few others follow and I’m stumped. I just shrug. I at least give my two cents on the Tangela question “Maybe when we scan it it’s more like Western medicine as opposed to Eastern. So, they’re comparing its current standing to that of what an average, unharmed Tangela is like?” “But... what about the varying levels? Not all Tangela are the same, so... is it just looking for proportionate health rather than actual current health? That’s... odd.” I nod. “Yeah, medicine practices being different depending on their location of origin are weird in themselves.” After four more battles, the sun is beginning to set. A small group of trainers still intend to battle, but it’s time for us to do the late-night caving run before we head off tomorrow. I gather the girls, the three of us walking along with a pep in our step, likely from the thrill of seeing something new without any chance of actual danger; as well, we’ll be closer to those constellation shapes. We arrive at the same time as four other people, and the tram shows up minutes later. Twilight seems to be chatting with a young man in a lab coat, while Rarity is back to doodling on her éTech pad as the tram starts up. Throughout the ride, I keep my eyes locked on the windows of the tram, as the cliff face goes by... because the first thing I had noted on walking in was the clear floor of the vehicle. I’m not looking down, I’m not looking down... God this window is boring... Thankfully, I’m spared from the dilemma of ‘look down or be bored’ by someone poking my arm. I turn around, keeping my head straight ahead so as not to glance down. Please don’t let them be shorter than me... I find myself mechanically lowering my gaze to the young boy sitting with his back to the solid, not-transparent tram wall. “Hiya mister!” he says, grinning at me. “Can I help you?” I ask, locking my eyes onto his. They’re brown. “I noticed you’ve got pokemon; what kinds’ya got?” he asks. “Well, right now I’ve got a Bellsprout, a Geodude who was my first pokemon, a Gulpar, this Litwick who followed me from a haunted house, and a Geistowl which I got in a trade... kind of a rag-tag team really.” “Wooow... I’ve got a Snakapillar, ana-ana Eevee!” he says, before reaching over to pick up the sleeping pokemon by his side, who wakes up from the action. The little pokemon looks up at me, confused for a moment before smiling, batting at my nose with a paw. I boop the Eevee in return and grin. “You gonna evolve it?” I ask before going for the followup. “What’s it gonna be?” “Idunno. But I loves ‘im!” he says, before holding Eevee in a close hug, the pokemon making happy noises and clearly enjoying the hug. At this rate, it’ll be an Umbreon in no time. And in that case... “Well, it might not be long, so you may want to look into it.” “Oh, okay.” he says, face still stuffed into the chest fluff of the little pokemon, who is nearly as big as the kid’s torso. I think about evolution on my own team. Bellsprout is one level away from it, Geodude is only two or three now. Litwick still has a ways to go. Not sure about Chantlette, and that’s just my current six. I pull up the éTech’s Box Manager app (which should have been in the games since Gold, seriously) and get a look at the others. Well, the only ones who can evolve are Gloom, Magomental, and Carvanha. Gloom needs a stone either way, and the other two are a ways off, requiring around level thirty each. Maybe after I evolve Geodude and Bellsprout I’ll work a bit more on Luna and Carvanha. I close the app and continue looking out at the rock wall beyond my window. Sure, I’m not gonna see another ancient tablet thing, but I’d like to see something. The tram clicks to a stop right as my head raises the last bit of the way, and we all shuffle out, the tour guide waving us towards the entrance to the larger cave system. High, high above, the lips of the cliffs loom, and the sky is obscured by the dark-gray fog in the deeps. The town itself looks like a tiny spider’s web suspended above, and I feel a sinking feeling in the pit of my stomach at the thought of how far down we’ve gone, given that they still don’t know where the bottom is. Needless to say, I hurry into the cave instead of looking over the edge like many of the others stop to do. Bright blue lights are embedded in the walls of the obviously-artificial entrance, designed to look like the open mouth of an old mine, but much larger. The tour guide begins talking about the history of mining the walls for valuable gemstones and the rich, rich veins of metal; from iron and copper, to platinum and iridium. That’s a good question I just thought of. “What exactly do you use iridium for if you can get steel so much easier?” “Actually, Iridium is used as a hardening agent in high-grade steel. It’s also nutritious in certain geovore diets.” the tour guide says. I nod and continue on. Mostly the cave is well-lit but there are a sparse few dark corners where something could be hiding... if they were about half a foot tall. To sum; it’s fairly well-lit. “I know there’s more natural areas of the cave without light for pokemon, but has there ever been any contesting for the entrance?” “Yes, actually; there’s a fairly large swarm of Zubat and Golbat that roost in the larger cave further in during the day; it took a few months of hard work on the part of the Otari Ranger Corps to get them to let us conduct our tours through here safely at night. In return, this area is restricted, and off-limits to trainers trying to catch or battle wild pokemon.” she explains cheerily, as we step into the much larger cavern, the scratched and scuffed ceiling showing the extent of its use. The ground is kept clean, however, and there’s ancient pictures scratched into the walls. “What’s even more interesting is that these paintings are signs of an ancient human civilization that made their homes this far into the chasm, with no modern tools. Though much other signs are gone, it’s suspected they had reached the bronze or iron age by the time they had vacated the chasm.” as she speaks she waves an arm to the pictures. “The art is, as far as anyone can tell, is a chronicle of them fleeing a homeland that burned, fleeing from the anger of a god. Likely, they had aggravated a local, but powerful fire type, such as a Beezooka, which chased them far before they settled here.” she concludes. However... part of the picture looks like it’s showing a bell tower. A voice, like a part of my own brain turned sinister, whispers, REMEMBER I grab Twilight and point to it. “You remember that too, right?” I whisper. “The Tower?” Judging by Twilight going pale at the image of the picture and the faint twitch of an eye, I’d say she remembers... and heard the voice, too. She looks badly shaken. At about this point, I hear the tour guide saying that she’s about to turn off the lights, to give us a feeling for how dark it must’ve been for the original settlers of this dark cave. The blue glow vanishes, leaving us in total darkness... except for the pictures on the wall, which seem to be glowing brightly without emitting any light into the darkness all around, like an afterimage on the back of my eyelids from staring into a bright light. Everyone in the group yelps and chatters, muffling my own surprised noises and Twilight’s terrified squeal. It’s about this time I realize that Rarity isn’t with us. I squeeze Twilight’s arm tighter as the pictures seem to flow in a slow circle around the perimeter of the room. “This is not part of the tour... just don’t flip out and act normal when the lights go ba-” the lights flicker back on, the glowing pictures perfectly normal in the artificial light. “-ack on.” I immediately look around for Rarity, who is just amongst the other people, talking about the darkness. Apparently Twilight and I are the only ones who saw that. “Just act natural.” I repeat. Twilight gives a shaky nod, as the tour guide leads the small group onwards. The next cave is full of various banded rock formations and has a few interesting fossils embedded in the walls, and everyone is told they can lean in close and even touch them, as everything here is very durable. Then, she steps over towards us, a look of concern on her face. “Are you two alright?” she asks, looking between the two of us, specifically Twilight’s white-knuckled grip on my arm. “It’s fine.” I lie, covering for us. “Just... had a few bad experiences with really dark places. Bit of lingering fear, nothing to worry about.” “Oh, I’m so sorry! It’s a regular part of the tour, I didn’t think to ask about something like this.” she says, looking genuinely apologetic. “It’s fine, we should be facing our fears anyways.” Twilight gives me a sideways glance and, when the tour guide returns to the front, mouths out a silent ‘Bell Tower?’ I nod and reply, “Likely the same one. Something is really wrong about that place, and it reached as far as here. This could be more serious than I thought.” Twilight shakes her head. “We... we’ll have to find out more about the Bell Tower. Maybe Dr. Franklin will know something?” she suggests, and I nod. “At the very least it won’t hurt to ask. If only I could remember exactly what... well, what I said when we were back there.” Twilight nods. “I... I can remember what you said, but I know part of it was said by me, too... it was so...” she shudders again, unable to describe the feeling. ‘Oily’ is the closest word I can conjure, but even that does it no justice. “We can talk later. Let’s just get through this tour.” But something in the back of my head reminds me of something that... honestly scares me deeply. ‘It was just a tiny one, wasn’t even the real thing, but it put so much shit in my head...’ Question is, will I end up like Stross... or Clarke? M-moving on, we come to the next part of the tour. The tour guide shows a long stretch of wall, covered in pits and small breaks. “This is an area where the local ground and rock types regularly shuffle fossils and elemental stones closer to the surface for us; aren’t they so nice?” she says, sounding chipper. Next to her is a small donation eTech reader, which I assume is to maintain the cave tour and keeping everyone in it happy. “As such, it’s a spot where you can easily uncover fossils, stones, and other little things to keep! There’s a small set of excavation tools; each person may collect up to two items! Be sure to check them here at the counter before you pocket them so I can identify them for the census!” she says, before letting us loose on the rugged rock wall. I must say, the real thing is nothing at all like the minigame in the Underground from Diamond and Pearl. That said, I have no way of knowing what I’ll find, so it’ll likely be more interesting than just a plate or a Green Shard. I tap and hammer and chip away at the wall in my little designated spot, using a heavier hand-pick for the first part until I come across a chunk of dark, greenish rock that visibly stands out against the pale gray and red-brown striations in this section. Swapping for the smaller tools, I quickly uncover... a Leaf stone! Guess Gloom is going to evolve after all, just need to get it some more moves before the evolution dries its movepool up. Going forward, I’m not finding anything else of interest in this vein and Rarity shows me a piece of shimmering clay that she found. Considering I could use a hold item like that, and she’s better at finding valuables even without magic, we agree to swap places. Settling down in her area, I’m digging along with not much progress. Seems that lump of Light Clay she found was all there was but- wait, is that the edge of a Nugget? I begin carefully picking around the chunk of yellow-gold material, finding it to be a spoke or spike of some kind. Confused, I follow the jagged piece towards its center, and find a starfish-shaped chunk of yellow rock... better known as a Sunstone. Cool, now I can get a Bellossom- or do I want a Vileplume? Shit, this just made things harder... I have no idea what I may want... It’ll be a huge difference between the two, and I’m stuck. I sigh and bring the two stones over to the tour guide and she looks them over. “Very nice finds! Which will you be using first?” she asks brightly, smile never leaving her face. I shrug. “Whatever I decide to turn my Gloom into.” “Well, I’d go with a Bellossom; I’d love to have such a beautiful flower-pokemon with me all the time!” she says, giggling slightly. Well, she’s definitely living the stereotype, but at least she’s friendly. “Yeah, but have you seen how far into the league a Vileplume can take you? They are tanky little soldiers.” “Hmm... I guess so. And Vileplume nectar is a vital part of many perfumes...” she says, looking contemplative. Ugh, this doesn’t actually help me decide at all. Rarity comes over having found two more items from my spot, demonstrating once again her vastly superior eye for detail. She hands back the Clay, taking instead a chunk of glittering Amber, and a Dawn Stone, which glimmers softly, even in the relatively low light. Twilight comes over with a Hard Stone and some kind of long, fossilized, needle-like stinger. We’re all checked out and eventually so is the rest of the group, everyone having found at least one thing. Calling this a successful dig, the tour guide leads us onwards, to the last part of the tour: a massive section of the cave system where there is no wall separating it from the chasm outside, a railing built with what looks like heavy glass panels built between the bowed-out metal bars, and she lets everyone know they can kneel or even lay down on the glass and look down. According to her and the people who do crowd around it, the ‘first floor’ of the chasm is visible, the second drop also in the distance. I’ll take their words for it. “Sir, why don’t you come over and look at some of the constellations?” the tour guide asks. I swallow a retort that’d be far more rude than she’s earned, and instead just shake my head. “Well, if you’re certain, sir...” she says, and the group oohs and aaahs at the terrifying, lethal drop. Once everyone is done tempting fate, we make our way through a looping tunnel that takes us back to the entrance, peeking out of a door hidden behind a ‘support’ at the beginning of the tour. As we’re boarding the tram, the tour guide thanks us all for the donations people gave and for taking the tour, and several other ‘save the wailords’ type talk about the caves and cliffs. We eventually just head back to the pokemon center, getting a room before we all simultaneously pass out. Today was exhausting and absolutely awful. First the heights, then the Bell Tower fiasco, and now I have a choice to make that’ll dictate how I use my Gloom from the point of my choice onwards. I just... wanna sleep. In the morning, we’re packing up, and Rarity shows off her new versions of the desert-wear she’d been working on. Her own is a rather pretty-looking set of billowing, majestic-looking white, purple, and gold robes that give her the look of a princess in (rather poor) disguise, or perhaps just a princess who expects to see the sun in a desert eventually. Twilight’s looks more like it’s meant for a guy, except for some of the cuts to the outfit that are evidently made for letting her skin breathe. Specifically, it’s almost a spitting image of Jafar’s ‘visier’ outfit, but in purple and pink, not black and red, and with an open coif and cape to help shield her from the sun. My own is now much nicer, baggy pants that come down to just under my knees before constricting to a snug fit, footwraps to keep the sand out, tucked inside of heavier boots for better traction, and the top is something suited to a king out of a romance novel set in Agrabah than anything truly historic, but it looks really good and will keep the sun off of most of me. I do insist she make the chest actually close. I don’t have manly-man pecs to show off. Well... okay, they’re nice, but not what I’d call ‘manly’ by any stretch. Either way, they’re packed up. According to the map, there’s only a thin slice of arid badlands between here and the next mountain range, and it’s either cross there or follow the range itself until we arrive at Cacturnopolis. Fun fact from the map’s guide to the city: the Cacturne and Cacnea that it’s named after are actually imported and simply took well to the location. Wonder what sorts are native to this desert, if the standard cacti pokemon are out? Though I do recall that Senifluf thing from the puzzle tower. It’s apparently a native pokemon. We trek across the bridge to the far side of the chasm (dontlookdowndontlookdowndontlookdown) and get to the other side, and begin to walk the winding path down the mountainside, this one bare of trees and covered in tall, sharp rocks. The long, steep slope stretches away from us, and I can see the badlands below, full of deep cracks and small canyons of its own, rust-red as it leads towards the shimmering, golden-brown desert to the northeast. The air grows warmer and drier with every step towards the mountain’s base, but there’s still clouds in the sky, trapped and huddling between the two mountain ranges like lost, scared sheep. By the time we make it down off the mountain, we’re all exhausted and overheated, and take the time to rehydrate at a well-placed pump spring, taking a few minutes to pump the murky stillwater from it first. Rarity, obviously, has reservations about drinking directly from the pump and has to fill her canteen twice. Once for herself and once to carry. Twilight, thankfully, seems to have gotten used to the idea that ‘roughing it’ means doing unladylike things sometimes. Though I will have to have a talk with her about leaning over when wearing a skirt that makes my highschool cheer squad look modest. As we’re getting resupplied, a Luxray saunters out of the badlands, a few Luxio and a couple Shinx following. When they see we’re pouring water, the Luxray steps forward and paws at the pump, before looking expectantly at us. Considering that the pump does have a trough under it, I’d assume it’s meant to be used with pokemon in mind. Still, the dex had said nothing about the Luxray line being found in Otaria. As Twilight pumps some water out for them, I point my eTech in their direction, my brows furrowing when I get a ‘Pokemon not found in regional Dex. Please download National Dex. Pay 5000[pokedollars] to upgrade now?’ I hit ‘No’ as fast as I can. My bank can’t handle a dip that big, no fucking way. Oh well, I guess I’ll just have to figure it out another time. All I know is these can’t be from Sinnoh, it’s way too far to swim, that’s for sure. Though I guess if one got released and started a pride with a pokemon in the same egg group... That’s possible. The small group of big cats drink their fill, get a quick bath, and then depart, Twilight and Rarity both having cooed at their fur and appearance, the pokemon being remarkably friendly for apparently wild ones. Only supports my theory on their origin, really. We start off again, making our way across the dry, cracked dirt, leaving plumes of reddish dust to follow us. Overhead, I see what looks like a bunch of strange kites or parachutes, drifting slowly across the sky, connected to small clouds or something. Interesting... Maybe these will show up. I aim the eTech at one and it takes a second but comes up with... Drifblim? Okay, that’s a bizarre alternate design... And the others are even stranger. I could catch one... if they weren’t out of reach of my farthest throw. What catches my eye next is a Wailord-sized pokemon puttering along behind the group, dark purple and gold in color, looking like a zeppelin with a cloud in place of a gondola, and six long ‘pennants’ just like a regular Drifblim’s hands trail behind it. What the hell is it? The others are all definitely ‘Drifblim sized’, but this one is massive compared to them. A four-vane propeller on the nose pulls it resolutely after the others, though much slower. Whatever it is, it’s huge and is by far one of the largest, or at least longest, flying type I’ve ever seen. It also has no visible wings, so it’s likely related to Drifblim. Maybe an evolution? The eTech confirms my suspicion, bringing up its file. Zeppelaft, the Dirigible pokemon. - These large, placid pokemon are said to never land, drifting endlessly among the clouds. The propeller at their rear spins continuously. - It is said that if a Zeppelaft's propeller were to stop, all wind in the region would go still. This is, however, not proven. - They pluck berries and steal food in passing as they drift by. Their six hands are quite deft, and are strong enough to lift a Rhydon in each arm and continue flying. Ghost Type, Flying Type I ask for just how big they usually are, so I can get an idea of just how high up it is in order to be... huge, sure, but at least what seems to be many many miles up.... 23 feet?! Okay, so not as huge as I’d thought, but still big! Oh, that’s the nose-to-tail measurement. Smaller still, but pretty big nonetheless. And with that comment of how strong its arms are... man, it could carry us anywhere! That would certainly be beneficial later down the line. Maybe I should find a Drifloon to evolve... Turns out, Drifloon are recorded to be in the area, meaning I’d have a chance... if it wasn’t followed by many Chatter posts about the thermals in the desert making them fly way too high to catch without a flying type or really, really long-ranged pokemon. Maybe Geistowl... Yeah, it’s a new ‘route’, I think I can indulge myself with a new pokemon. A series of much smaller fliers, all purple and shaped somewhat like stunt-flier paper airplanes towing clouds come into view up above, these easily in range of Geistowl. I toss out my bird pokemon and it flutters silently onto my shoulder, apparently having decided on its preferred perch. I nudge it into the air and tell it to go after the paper-airplane things which my eTech claims are Drifloon. Geistowl jerks straight up into the air before opening its wings, slicing into the sky as a blank sheet bird-shaped white on the sapphire-blue sky. Twilight and Rarity are both walking along as I do, looking up to watch the ensuing battle. I also see Twilight readying a pokeball, evidently thinking about whether to send Spearow into the fight. I shrug. There’s room for duplicates on this team I suppose. I nod to Twilight and Spearow flies out of her thrown ball, tailing Geistowl with what I can only imagine is a look of hopefully-friendly competition. The two peel off towards different targets, and the swarm of paper airplanes scatter, and I realize more than half of them aren’t the normal purple-and-yellow colors, ranging from green and blue to white and red, dozens of patterns and shapes on their wings. Geistowl looks as confused on which to go for as I am, so I single out one that’s mostly red along the body, a jagged transition to white withe a thin stripe of blue between the other colors on each wing. A white star-outline is centered on its back as it flips upside-down above me, a little face visible where a cockpit would be on an actual plane. Geistowl dives, and I call for a standard opener: Confuse Ray. If I can get the first turn advantage and get it unstable it should be easy enough for Geistowl to bring down where I can catch it. My pokemon begins to harry it, using Pursuit to convince it not to try breaking off from the fight and the occasional Aerial Ace to nudge it back into line, very clearly not using its full power as the terrified paper-airplane prepares for a near-ground encounter as I ready a pokeball. With a heave, I toss my one remaining pokeball and it flies... too far to one side, damnit. I scramble over and snatch up the ball as Geistowl chases the Drifloon back towards me for a second pass. This time I don’t miss with my throw. The pokemon bounces off the ball, before getting sucked in. The ball falls to the ground, shakes a couple times, then goes still, digistructing away after a few moments in a flash of light. Ha-ha! It didn’t even fight back! ... With how scared it was, I kinda have to wonder if wild Geistowls eat them or something. Either way, Twilight’s Spearow comes back down, giving me the evil eye, apparently blaming me for Geistowl’s success. It didn’t stand a chance with its primarily-Normal type moveset against the Ghosts. I go to return Geistowl, Twilight leaving her Spearow on her shoulder. The bird-pokemon seems happy to be out and about for once, but Geistowl definitely looked forward to going back into its ball. Probably, now that I think about it, because it’s a nocturnal pokemon, and it’s the middle of the day twenty miles from a desert. Either way, I get a dirty look each time Spearow cocks its head my way. I know I’m not exactly the greatest guy ever, but what did I do? Heck, I taught it Aerial Ace. We continue on and come to what appears to be a fight between two wild pokemon. A Marowak and... a pair of, uh... no idea. I take out the eTech once again. Shriekoid, the Pack Hunter pokemon. - These pokemon prefer to group up, unlike the solitary Tremoid. They can see in the infrared spectrum, and their reckless nature leads to them being very hard to avoid. - The strange evolutionary processes of this pokemon are well-documented, and are being researched to see, perhaps, other pokemon that seemingly have no evolutions may instead simply have very bizarre ones. Ground Type, Normal Type. The dex also mentions it evolves from a pokemon called Tremoid and into a pokemon called Blastoid... which evolves into Tremoid? What the actual fuck? As I look up the data, the Marowak uses its bone club to smack one Shriekoid aside and fend the other off, and I see that there’s a Cubone huddled behind the Marowak. The question is... do we help, or just move on? I’m still deciding when the entry states they are nomadic, and aggressive carnivores. It makes me rethink our choices and I suggest we walk around. The scene is a good several meters away, so it’d be a big circle and- I hear what I can only describe as a Metal Sound attack and I turn to see Rarity and Glorious going to defend the mother and child. This has ‘bad idea’ written all over it, but it seems Rarity is putting wild pokemon before personal safety. Oh well, if we are going to help we may as well do it the right way. They’re ground type, so... I send out Gulpar and Bellsprout, Twilight getting Spheal who, honestly looks like it would rather be anywhere else. As we send out our pokemon, another quartet of the Shriekoids arrives, coming out of the tight arroyos of the cracked earth. The six pokemon quickly square off, still partially outnumbering us. Twilight starts with ordering an Aurora Beam, the multi-hued laser knocking one of the Shriekoids about to attack the Marowak and Cubone to the ground. I have Bellsprout slink it’s way up to the Marowak, where it offers a leaf/hand to the parent. The Marowak hesitates but when Bellsprout just Vine whips a Shriekoid, grabbing and slinging it a good several meters away into the hard cracked ground, the Marowak takes the proffered leaf and the two begin work on the closest. I have Gulpar keep the further ones away from the fight. Rarity and Glorious are basically acting as support and Twilight is using Powder Snow to group-hit the ones that Gulpar rounds up, the little terrors unsure how to act in the presence of another predator that is clearly out of its environment. In time, the group is sent shrieking into the badlands, their eyeless faces battered from the assault. The little mouths on legs are clearly looking more for easy meals than a real fight at the moment. Rarity is tending to the Marowak and using some of her berries, pouring the Sitrus berry’s juice directly onto the wounds, and I watch as they close up before my eyes. I think I may have found one of the ingredients for the higher-grade Potions. Granted, I’ve always had my suspicions they were made from berries, just... maybe not so directly. I figured it was either synthesized or modified. I stop for a moment as I see the Cubone, seeing the bladed skull it’s wearing, definitely from a Fraxure. I look over at the Marowak, pulling out the eTech again and asking if it can identify gender. The Marowak, it seems, is male. Huh, guess the Cubone thing holds true... Poor guy. Oh well... Nothing to do now. Best to leave it with its dad. We recall our pokemon and- I’m thrown off my feet as something tills the earth, and the Marowak grabs his kid and makes a break for the rocky mountains. A large, solid shape surfaces for a moment, and the Jaws theme begins playing in my head. I don’t have time to pull up my eTech this time as it breaches from the hard earth nearby, definitely moving towards us as we all scramble to our feet and begin to sprint for the mountainside, hoping the Marowak knows what he’s doing in heading there. The sound of the creature surfacing behind us, like an evil, land-based dolphin, follows us as we sprint away. Another Shriekoid steps out from behind a rock, right in my path. I vault over it as if I’d actually practiced, a move so fluid and perfect I’d never do it again if I tried. Sparing a glance back, a beaked maw splits open the ground and pulls the predator under without pausing for a moment. The scared, pained shrieks of the grabbed pokemon as orange blood washes the ground every time it surfaces spur us on faster, and I watch as our antagonist simply munches the pokemon on the go. We need to get away from this thing somehow. Twilight looks to me. “Remember the Nidoking? M- Maybe Spheal could-” “No time!” I shout. “Just run!” I look about my surroundings, checking for anything I could use, but it seems scaling the rocky hills like the Marowak did is the best option. Assuming this thing can’t jump. Ahead, I spy the Marowak, which is gesturing for us to come closer, and is atop a large pile of rocks, jutting from the side of the mountain. We all steer towards it, ignoring smashed knees and skinned hands as we climb like crazy to the top. Below, the pokemon in the dirt circles several times, giving me the chance to ID it with the eTech. Tremoid, the Ancient Wurm pokemon. - The large pokemon burrow beneath the dirt and sand, and hunt by using vibrations in the ground. These pokemon are especially attracted to rhythmic motions on the ground. - The strange evolutionary processes of this pokemon are well-documented, and are being researched to see, perhaps, other pokemon that seemingly have no evolutions may instead simply have very bizzare ones. Ground Type. H-holy shit, this thing evolves into those tiny Shriekoid? And it ate one?! The Tremoid slowly works on leaving, porpoising through the dirt and heading back out into the Badlands proper. What the hell, pokemon?!