//------------------------------// // Astro's Eggs-pedition // Story: Pokémon: Equestrian Champions // by Banshee531 //------------------------------// With their oceanic adventure finally coming to an end, the group had arrived at the small port town of Manehatten. Not to be confused with the city of Manehatten, which was still a small ways off. The boat had just docked, the four and their Pokémon giving their thanks and goodbyes to Captain Algae before heading through the town. "Not too far now..." Twilight commented as she stared at her journal. "There's just a single forest between us and Manehatten." "Another forest?!" Spike yelped, "Why does Equestria have so many forests and caves?!" "Don't worry, this forest won't have any Travenant in it." Twilight giggled, "In fact, it can't. The trees in this forest are known to grow slowly close together, anything bigger than...Springer wouldn't fit between them." This made everyone raise eyebrows, Flash looking down at Springer before noticing Astro beside him. The dragon was staring at the town, eyes filled with wonder as he watched a Taurus pull a cart filled with items off the boat. He began to follow it, only for Flash to speak up, "Astro," the Starvern turned to him, "Wanna do a little more practice before we enter the forest? We couldn't actually use it on the boat, but there shouldn't be any issue once we leave town." Astro blinked at him, only to see Flash pull out the Technical Manual. The dragon nodded at this, Flash gesturing him to leave the town, going to a small open field filled with some large rocks. "Alright..." Flash said as the others stood behind him. "You ready bud?" Astro nodded and focused on one of the rocks. "Let's do this thing. Use Shadow Ball!" "Star!" He roared as he opened his mouth, which began to fill with blue lightning before a small orb of purple energy formed between its jaws. "That's it, just like that. Now let the energy build until the ball's big enough to stay together when you launch it." "Vern..." Astro tried to make his jaw open even more, the orb growing larger. "Almost there!" Flash added the others stared at the sight, "Just a little-" KABOOM! "STAR!" Astro screamed as the Shadow Ball exploded in his face, knocking him back as everyone let out a gasp. "Astro!" Flash kneeled down and picked up the Starvern, "You okay?" "Star..." Astro moaned. "That looked like hurt," Spike grimaced. "Looks like the energy from the attack wasn't properly balanced, so it caused a reaction that made it explode." Twilight added. "Well it was Astro's first try," Doc continued. "You're right." Flash replied before helping Astro up, "Ready to try again?" Astro nodded back before turning to the rock again. "Now, Shadow Ball." Astro created the orb, his jaw opening as he began to build in power until- KABOOM! The orb exploded again, sending Astro flying back. But before the group could react, Astro pushed himself back up and tried again. KABOOM! The exact same thing happened again, then again and again. By the tenth explosion, Astro's jaw was smoking, his back scratched up. "He'll be fine." Doc said as he sprayed the dragon with a super potion. "But I'd suggest holding off on the Shadow Ball training until he can recover." "Got it," Flash responded as he patted Astro on the head. "Don't worry, we'll keep working on it later. For now, just try and think about what went wrong here." "Star..." Astro muttered in defeat. However, the shame didn't last long, as soon as he was on the road, the Starvern was happily running around with Springer and Peewee. "I think the problem is Astro's focus," Twilight commented as she watched the dragon skip ahead of them, "He just doesn't have the attention span to control the energy in his attack. This isn't like Dragon Rage, which is just a wild attack that he doesn't need to focus in order to use. Like Aura Sphere, Energy Ball, or any other attack like that, he'll need to focus in order to properly form the orb." "I guess..." Flash mumbled as he looked down at the manual, "Maybe it is a little to soon to try and teach him such a hard move to learn." "Its not exactly hard, its just something Astro will have trouble with." Doc added, "Though learning it is a good idea. Any Pokémon that can get a precise ranged attack should do them good." "It's just too bad he can't learn any Steel or Poison-type attacks in the TM," Twilight continued, "His biggest threat are Fairy-types, but he doesn't have any moves that can combat them right now." "I'll just have to be careful around them. That or have Viper handle that." Flash replied as the group reached their destination. It was the large forest that Twilight had mentioned, and the sight made them see it was nothing like a normal forest. The treeline was more like a fence, with large thick trunked trees growing within inches of each other. The only thing Flash could get past was his arm and nothing more. Luckily, there was a path waiting for them, one that had originally been created by a swarm of Scyther according to Twilight's journal, who had cut the trees down and made a tunnel like path through the forest. Over the years, it had been used time and again, and was pretty much a natural part of the forest now. "Wow..." Spike whispered. "It almost looks man-made," Doc added as they began to walk through the trees. "Well, it kinda is," Twilight chimed in, "According the my journal, the people of Manehatten Town gathered the trees that the Scyther cut and used them to build the first houses. Many of those people also moved away and began a new settlement that would quickly grow into the city of Manehatten." "Cool," Flash commented while Astro and Springer ran ahead. But as they did this, Astro noticed something flickering behind the trees. "Star..." Astro ran up to the thing, walking up to the trees. "Starvern!" This caught Flash's attention, making him turn to see the dragon walk into the trees, easily fitting. And as his trainer got up to him, Astro was out of arm's reach. "Astro! Get back here!" But Astro didn't listen, walking away as he quickly disappeared behind a tree. "ASTRO!" He yelled, only to let out a sigh, "Not again..." The others frowned at the sight as Springer leapt up onto his Flash's shoulder, then leapt through the trees and landed on the other side. "Springer, can you go get Astro and bring him back?" "Ri," Springer nodded back before running into the darkness for the forest. The others just watched him disappear, Flash grimacing at the sight. "I hope Springer finds Astro before he gets too far," Twilight added, "The trees may be tightly packed, but I'm betting something lives in there." "Oh no..." Flash muttered. Astro ran as fast as he could through the trees, completely oblivious at everything around him. He had spotted a tree that had grown at a weird angle, forming a ramp he was able to run up, the dragon now running along the large thick branches. "Wow..." he gasped, "Oooh…" He then looked up and saw a series of yellow orbs on a branch, each stacked one on top of the other, getting smaller with each one. He moved up to the object, swatting it with his tail. A rattling sound came out of it, making him laugh. "Heh heh...I could do this forever!" He laughed as he smacked it again, only for it to suddenly retract into the foliage. "Huh?" Before he could react, a head suddenly shot out of the leaves. A purple head with bright yellow eyes. It glared at him while letting out a hissing sound, "What do you think you're doing?" "Uh..." Astro slowly said as he began to backpedal. The head up at this, the rest of the snake's body coiling out of the leaves, including its tail that was connected to those five yellow orbs. The snake letting out a hissing chuckle as he smiled at Astro. "Maybe you're here for lunch." "Err...sure," Astro nodded. "I'm here to have lunch with you. So...what's on the menu?" The snake's grin grew at this, "That's simple...YOU!" With that, it leapt with its mouth wide. Astro was frozen in place as it charged, the snake ready to swallow him whole. But before it could reach him, something suddenly tackled the Starvern. "Gotcha!" Springer yelled as he knocked Astro off the branch, both crashing into the ground. But as they hit the dirt, the ground suddenly gave away, "Whoa!" "Aaaah!" Astro cried as they kept falling, their backs hitting some kind of underground tunnel. Their bodies began to roll, now finding they were in a underground slide, both sliding for a good thirty seconds before the ground levelled out, making them skid to a stop. "Ow..." Springer groaned as he pushed Astro off of him, "That wasn't fun." "Sorry," Astro moaned, "I guess I went a little too far." "Ya think?!" Springer grumbled as he stood up and dusted himself off, only to spin around and gasp. Astro watched him before getting up, now seeing what Springer was staring at. What was in front of them was a cavern filled with glowing moss, the walls shining with the grass. As they stared at it, they saw it was big enough for a pair of Hippowdon inside, but no more. There was also a tree within the chamber, one no taller than a human that stuck out of the ground but had zero leaves despite its many branches. And hanging from them were a series of silk orbs with holes inside of them. "Wow," Astro gasped, "What are they?" "I'm...not sure," Springer replied before spotting movement from one of the cocoons. "Over there!" He pointed to it, a certain head of a Pokémon poking out, making the Riolu comment, "A Breezie?" The breeze rider Pokémon stared at the two, only to fly out and scream, "Intruder alert! Intruder alert!" It buzzed all over, crying that same warning, only for more and more Breezies to come out of the cocoons. They all began to fly toward the base of the tree where a hole could be found in the trunk. "Protect the eggs!" One of them yelled. "Hey!" Springer responded, "Relax! We're not here to cause trouble." "Yeah!" Astro nodded, "We don't even know what here is." He stared at the hole the Breezie were trying to protect, "What's in there that's so important?" "Back!" The first Breezie yelled as it flew up to him, "I'ya said'ah back'ah!" Astro tilted his head at this, "I'ya won't allow yah ta harm'ah eggs." "Eggs?" Astro leaned down, squinting his eyes till he saw a large collection of glowing orbs, radiating every color of the rainbow. "Oooh," he whispered. "So this is your nesting ground?" Springer asked, getting a nod from the Breezie. "Aye. And I'ya Beaufort, will protect these precious things with my'ah life'ah." "Well that's great," Springer replied, "And you don't have to worry. Astro and I will leave and you'll never see us again. We just need you to point to a tunnel that'll lead back to the surface." Beaufort glared at him, "If you'ah not'ah here to attack'ah, then why'ah did you come'ah?" "Oh, that was me." Astor chimed in, "Complete accident. I was getting attacked by this snake thing and Springer saved me, but we both fell into a hole that lead to a tunnel that went here." As he said that, a look of horror appeared on the Breezies' faces, "You were attacked by Ekans?!" Beaufort yelped, "Did he see'ya fall into the hole'ah?" "Yesssss," they heard a hissing voice say, "He did." Everyone spun around to see Ekans slither out of the tunnel, licking his lips at the sight around him. "Breezie eggsssss. My favorite." The Breezie quivered at the sight of the Poison-type, one of their worst match-ups, while Springer and Astro leapt in front of them. "You're not getting anywhere near these eggs!" The Riolu yelled, the Ekans hissing back. "Like you can ssssstop me," it replied before charging, Springer doing the same as they colliding. Ekans opened its mouth to bite the Riolu, only for Springer to catch it with his paws. "Geez," Springer winced, "Can you say halitosis?!" He then pushed Ekans back before throwing a jab, "Drain Punch!" "Gyah!" It cried as it was knocked back, its energy getting drained by Springer. But it quickly rolled its body around, picking itself up as it glared at the two. "You'll pay for that," it flicked its tongue around. "I think I'll have my appetizer by taking a bite out of you firssssst." "How?! You don't have any teeth! What are ya gonna do, gum me to death?!" The Ekans hissed again, charging at the Riolu as Springer used Extreme Speed, dodging the charge before axe kicking it in the head, smacking it into the ground. "Springer!" Astro barked, "Let me help you!" But as he tried to charge at the snake, Ekans' tail swung around, smacking him back. "Augh!" He was sent flying back, Springer looking back just as Ekans charged at him with his fangless mouth. "Protect the Breezies!" Springer yelled as he punched the snake back, Astro pushing himself back up and moving over to the tree. "I'll show that thing," Astro opened his mouth as fire filled it, "Dragon-" "No!" Springer screamed, "Don't use that! One miss and you'll bring this whole place down!" Astro stopped, swallowing his fire, causing smoke to come out of his ears. At the same time, Springer used Extreme Speed again, bouncing around as he slammed into Ekans from several different directions, making it cry out in pain. And after the twelve strike, Springer appeared in front of it, spinning several times in midair before kicking it in the face with everything he had. Ekans screamed as it was thrown back, crashing into the spot above the entrance. Springer did several back-flips as he landed in front of the Breezie tree. He was still in a fighting stance as he waited for Ekans' response, "If you know what's good for you, leave." The snake growled as slowly got up, "Thissss, isn't over." With that, he turned back to the hole, slithering up it with a long hiss. Once the snake was gone, Springer and Astro sighed in relief. "That was close," Astro said before Springer turned to the Breezie. "But he's right. He'll be back, and we can't stay here forever to protect you." The Breezie all shook in fear while Beaufort turned to stare at them, "We must protect the eggs'ah. No matter what happens'ah, we will fight and defend them with every breath we have'ah." "But he's gonna eventually get to them," Astro responded, "Isn't there something we can do? Maybe take the eggs somewhere else?" Beaufort hummed at this, "Well...there'ah was a scout'ah squad that mentioned finding an area recently that could'ah work. It's filled with'ah special flowers that'ah Poison-types hate'ah." Springer and Astro shined big grins at this, "Then what are we waiting for?! Let's take the eggs there! How far is it?" "On the other side of dah forest," Beaufort replied, "Through'ah several tunnels and passages. But there is no'ah way to safely transport all the eggs there before Ekans comes'ah back." Springer groaned while face-palming, "So we've gotta find a way to move them all at the same time." He looked down at the tree trunk, seeing how many eggs there were along with all the Breezies around them. Even with Springer there, they knew they couldn't carry them all at the same time, and Astro couldn't carry any of them. "It's times like this I wish I carried a backpack." Astro blinked at this, only for a memory to go through his head, "Hey...what if we build a cart, and I can pull the eggs through the passages while you defend us." The Riolu scratched his chin at this, "I guess that could work. But how are we supposed to build a cart down here? " "What'ah is this'ah cart?" Beaufort asked them, Springer quickly using his claws to draw the image of one in the dirt. "Oh," he said once it was finished, "We can build this." "Really?" Springer asked, the Breezie all nodding. "All we need'ah is the materials." "Alright. Then let's get building." They began to run up the tunnel to the surface, hoping to grab everything they would need. "You'll have to wait Flash. Astro and I have something to do first." Back where Springer and Astro had run off from, Flash continued to pace back and forth. "Flash, will you calm down?!" Twilight said with crossed arms, "Getting yourself worked up isn't going to do anyone any good." Flash stopped pacing, staring back into the trees...only to see nothing. And as he saw this, he began to start pacing again, making Twilight groan, "Flash!" "I can't help it!" Flash yelled, "They should have been back by now!" "I'm sure Springer's just giving Astro a proper chewing out," Doc added. "But maybe they don't know which way they need to go to find us," Spike continued, "I had a video game once where I left to gather some wood, but I had to go into a forest far from my base to do it. By the time I'd gotten enough, I couldn't remember which way I'd entered the forest from so I couldn't find my house again. I was out there for ages until a skeleton got me. Maybe its like that-OW!" "You're not helping," Twilight told him as she bonked him on the head. "Skyler!" Flash called out as he threw a ball, unleashing his Tornavian. "Go see if you can find Springer or Astro." Skyler let out a cry of agreement, soaring upward while Flash began his pacing again. Meanwhile... Astro and Springer watched in amazement as they began work on the egg transporter. Springer had brought back a load of wood, leaves and even some round rocks, and the Breezie easily got to work. They used their String Shot attack to stick the pieces of wood together into the same shape Springer had drawn, also managing to find a way to cut holes in the rocks so they became wheels. It wasn't long till they had managed to construct a fully working cart with two stick sticking out the front. "It's is done'ah," Beaufort announced. "Wow," Astro whispered, "That was fast." "And it looks really tough," Springer added as he watched the Breezie fill the bed with leaves and silk. "Now let's get filling this thing before Ekans shows up for round two." They all nodded back and quickly, but carefully, moving the eggs through the hole in the tree to the cart. And once the final egg was placed on the pile, the Breezie covered the top with leaves that they String Shot together into a blanket covering. "Okay Astro," Springer told the Starvern as he backed up between the sticks. "Now it's all on you." The Breezie used String Shot to try the sticks to Astro's sides, the dragon taking a few steps as the cart moved with him while Beaufort landed on his head. "From this point on, you're gonna need to walk slowly. I'm talking super slow, so none of the eggs break." "Got it," Astro replied. "You must be extremely careful," Beaufort added, "These'ah eggs can break with even the tiniest of impacts. We'ah made the cart as soft as possible, but you must still take'ah great'ah care'ah." "Understood. Let's do this!" Astro cheered before he began to run, the cart already shaking. "STOP!" Astro skidded to a stop while Springer ran in front of him, the Starvern looking up at Beaufort as he leapt onto the cart, "Yah gotta go slower." "Slower...got it." Astro responded, pulling the cart with a small yank. "Slower!" Beaufort ordered, Astro coming to a stop again. "Like this?" Astro asked, his feet now shuffling. "Slower," Beaufort firmly said. "Seriously?" Astro moaned before slowing down again. "Come on! If I go any slower, I'll be going backwards!" Beaufort lifted a leaf, seeing the eggs were barely shaking. "Okay'ah. This is fine, but no faster." This statement meant Astro gulp, turning to Springer, "I don't think I can do this. I'm not built to be careful." "Don't sell yourself short," Springer assured him. "You got this." "He's right'ah. Yah just'ah need ta focus. And ah'll be right'ah here with you." Beaufort added, Astro slowly moving up to the first tunnel. "Okay..." Astro muttered until he saw the other Breezies fly up and using Flash with their antennas, "Wow. Thanks guys." Meanwhile again... In another part of the underground tunnels, Ekans was slithering around until he came to another chamber. This one was much bigger, darker than the Breezie chamber. Ekans hissed as he looked up at the ceiling. "I know you're up there. I require some assistance in dealing with a seriousssss annoyance that keeps getting in my way. Help me and you'll be highly rewarded." He waited for the answer and in return, only to hear a series of flaps coming from the ceiling. "Ex-ssss-cellent." Back with the others... The group had made good progress, trudging through the first tunnel. But as they did this, Astro was beginning to go stir crazy. "Augh! This is so boring" Astro groaned, his body twitching as he wanted to sprint. He then snapped his teeth together, the sound they made inside his head making him smirk as he started tapping them together, trying to make a fun beat that he started bobbing his head too. And as he began to do this, he didn't notice he was starting to shake the eggs. "Ass-ter-row!" Beaufort cried as he leapt down onto the Dragon-type's head, "What are you doing?!" "Uh..." Astro replied, coming to a stop while blushing, "Rocking out to a cool beat." "Well stop it!" Beaufort yelled, "Yah shaking dah eggs'ah." "Sorry," Astro responded, "But what if I keep tapping my teeth together without moving?" "No! Yah have'ta focus on what's in front of you'ah. And keep yah bed'ah steady as possible'ah." Astro let out a long groan at this, "Sorry. It's just...I'm not good at focusing. There's just so many cool stuff around me to pay attention to." "I'ya understand'ah. But let me tell you. There's nothing more spectacular that seeing the hatching of a Breezie egg. It's so amazing, nothing else will ever come'ah close'ah." "Really?" Astro asked, getting a nod from Beaufort. "But that'll never happen if we don't get these eggs to safety." "Okay..." Astro nodded before closing his eyes, taking a deep breath before reopening, "I gotta focus." He started again, the Breezie still lighting the way for him and Springer. But as he did this, a new sound caught his attention. "What's that noise?" "Focus," Beaufort hissed. "Yah need to-" "No, wait!" Springer interrupted, his ears spiking up, "I hear it too." The Breezie all stopped at this, their ears starting to listen...and heard the sound of flapping fill the air. "Oh no," Beaufort gasped as they pointed their antenna up at the ceiling. Doing so revealed a bunch of blue and purple eyeless Pokémon, "ZUBAT!" An entire horde of Zubat flew down, letting out loud screeches as they prepared to attack. "Astro, get back!" Astro carefully backpedaled as Springer got into a battle-stance, forming Aura Spheres in both paws. "Take this!" He threw the attacks, knocking the first few Zubat back as the rest of the bats swooped down. He then used Double Team, evening the odds while using an Aura Sphere Barrage to bash them back. But as he did this, the Zubat from the start were trying to pick themselves up. "Use String Shot to keep those ones down!" The Breezie did as instructed, firing the silk as they began to tie them up. However, as they did this, a few managed to past Springer and headed for Astro and the cart. "Get back!" Astro took a deep breath, unleashing a blast of Dragon Rage, the attack quickly filled the whole tunnel. "Oh no!" He yelped as the fire consumed the Breezie and the Zubat, the attack also rocking the tunnel around them. However, when the flames died down, Breezie appeared unharmed. "Huh?!" "We are Fairy-type," Beaufort responded, "Dragon attacks do not hurt us'ah." He then felt a piece of dirt fall down and hit him on the head, making him look up, seeing a crack in the ceiling. "But do not'ah use that move again, or ya'll bring the whole tunnel down on us'ah." "Right..." Astro gulped as Springer continued to take down the Zubat, the Breezie sticking them to the wall and ground. "Come on!" Springer yelled as he took down the last bat before it was strung up, "That won't hold them forever." With that, Springer ran ahead as Astro tried to move the cart. And as they disappeared down the tunnel, the Zubat began to bite down on the thread, strands falling down to the ground. Back with their trainer... "AUGH!" Flash yelled, likely scaring any Flying-types out of the trees. "Where are they?! It's been forever!" The others turned to him, frowns on their faces as they saw him pace around. And as he did this, Peewee flew over to Twilight, "Terra!" Twilight shook her head, "No way. You're not going in there. We'd end up with three missing Pokémon instead of just two." Peewee let out a snort at this, only to hear a squawk from above. "Tore!" They looked up to see Skyler, the bird landing in front of Flash...with no Springer or Astro on his back. "No luck?" Skyler shook his head, making Flash sigh. The issue was that Skyler could only stare down at the forest from above, the trees to narrow for the fully-evolved, now large bird to fly through due to the thick canopy. "Alright." Flash leaned down and patted his head, "Please try again. And if you can't see anything, try listening. They might start calling out to us." "Tore," Skyler replied before taking to the sky again. As he disappeared, Twilight walked up to Flash, "You know...maybe it's best if we carry on down the path." Flash turned to with wide eyes, making her shake her head, "Flash...there's no way those two are gonna return back to this exact spot, so we might run into them along the way." "But...we can't just-" "Think of it like this Flash," Doc interrupted, "If you got separated from us in this forest, where would you head too?" Flash blinked at this, his brain grinding gears as he responded, "Well...of I couldn't find this spot, I'd head for the entrances." Twilight nodded, "Exactly. So let's go there and wait and see what happens next." Flash let out a sigh, but nodded in agreement before the four put their bags back on and began to head down the path. "Springer, I hope you're looking after Astro." Springer and the others were still walking down the tunnels, all slow going as they continued to look out for the Zubat and Ekans. "Why do you think the Zubat attacked us?" Astro asked as they turned a corner, "You think they want the eggs as well?" "We have never had'ah trouble with them before," Beaufort replied, "The Zubat had never tried to take our eggs'ah, preferring to stay in their part of the tunnels. As long as we didn't bother then, they never bothered us'ah." Springer hummed at this, "I bet that Ekans had something to do with it. He probably used them to wear us down, leaving him to slither in and pick us off." "That sneak," Astro growled. "When I get my claws on him-" "All the more reason to get the eggs to their new nesting grounds," Springer interrupted, the group then taking another corner...only to find that the tunnel had collapsed, completely blocked off. "Well, that complicates things." "You think Ekans did this too?" Astro asked, Springer not responded before turning to Beaufort. "Is there another tunnel?" Beaufort shook his head, "Not one'ah that is close to here. It would take hours going the other way." "So what do we do?" Astro asked as Springer looked up at the ceiling. "No other choice. We go up." This made the rest go wide-eyed, Springer seeing this, "There's no other way. We go up, find another entrance into the tunnels, then head back down. No muss, no fuss." They exchanged glances, nodding with heavy gulps. The group turned around, going back to a hole in the tunnel, Springer taking the lead till the rest got above ground. The area was covered with roots that popped out of the ground, forming loops, bumps and other obstacles. "Okay," he turned to Astro, "Be careful." Astro nodded, the Breezie helping him slowly go up. But as they did this, Ekans smiled around a nearby tall tree, a smirk on his face. "Soon those eggsssss, will be mine." He then slithered away as the rest continued upward, Beaufort saying, "Careful, careful..." he told Astro as he slowly moved over a large root, "Watch'ah footing." "Got it," Astro responded while him and the cart got to the bottom of the root, only for Springer to turn to the dragon. "Stop!" Astro froze in place, only for a ball of purple slime to splat down onto the ground in front of him. "What is that?" They looked up to see the source, Ekans. "Of course." "it is Toxic'ah," Beaufort gulped as Astro began to backpedal, "One'ah hit at ya'll be poisoned." Springer launched an Aura Sphere at Ekans, the snake slithering around the tree to dodge it as the Riolu yelled, "Just give up! You'll never get these eggs!" "Oh yesssss, I will." He fired another Toxic ball that Astro ran forward to evade, rattling the eggs. "Be careful!" Beaufort screamed, making Astro come to a stop as an orb hit the dirt right beside him. "We gotta find cover!" Springer added as he threw another Aura Sphere, Ekans dodging it again. "Through'ah there!" Beaufort cried, pointing at some bushes. "The entrance to the tunnels isn't too far." They all nodded and began to move, Springer and Ekans firing one final sphere that collided before Springer raced after the others. Once they were gone, Ekans hissed an angry hiss. "You won't get farrrrr." At that moment, the Zubat flew into view and began to circle around him. "Get them!" It wasn't long till the group found the entrance to the tunnel, soon back on course to the nesting grounds. But the area they were in wasn't the one best travelled. The ground had several large and small rocks sticking out of the walls and floor, making the cart bump and jostle. But as they began to go through them, they arrived at a large chamber similar to the first one. It wasn't the nesting grounds, but it was close. "Careful," Beaufort told Astro as he pulled the cart over the last rock before entering the chamber. "Just'ah little more," Astro gave the cart one last tug, pulling it over the rock. But as he did this, something happen. A loud snapping sound echoed through the chamber, the cart suddenly dropping, harshly shaking the eggs as everyone gasped. Astro stopped when he felt the bottom of the cart dragging along the ground, Beaufort flying underneath. "What is it?" Springer asked before the Breezie flew out. "It is as ah feared. The axle has broken." As he said that, a loud flapping sound came from one of the tunnel. "Because this wasn't hard enough," Springer sighed before turning back to the Breezie, "Can you fix it?" Beaufort nodded back, "Then get to it." Beaufort headed back under the cart while Springer turned to the others, "We need to buy him time. Cover every hole the Zubat are coming through." They all nodded and did as told, beginning to use String Shot to cover the holes. But before they could finish, several Zubat flew into the chamber, Springer going into Extreme Speed while using a combo of Drain Punch and Aura Sphere, knocking them back. And as this happened, Beaufort managed to push the axle back up, using his String Shot to stick it back together. And all Astro could do was watch him work, as he was still stuck to the cart. But then, a Zubat got past Springer and tried to get under the cart. "Watch out!" But despite the sharp teeth about to bite him, Beaufort didn't look away from his work. Instead, Springer reached the Zubat, grabbing it by the legs and pulling it away before hitting it with Drain Punch just as the other Breezie finished filling all but two holes. "Wow. Now that is focused." Astro commented as he saw Beaufort still repair the cart. And as this happened, Springer used Extreme Speed to gather the downed Zubat and threw them through one of the two last holes, which was promptly sealed up as Beaufort called out, "It is done." "Great," Springer pointed to the only open hole, "Then let's get out of here before they break through the barriers." They ran inside, the Breezie covering them up while continuing to move forward. But as they did this, Astro looked up at Beaufort. "Dude, that was awesome." Beaufort glanced down with a raised eyebrow, "How were you able to tune everything around you out and just focus on the work? I mean, you did like laser focus." He looked down at this, "I wish I could focus like that. Then maybe I could use that Shadow Ball move." "Anybody can focus like'ah that," Beaufort replied, "It's all a matter of keeping calm and channeling everything else'ah out'ah. Whenever you feel like yah losing focus, just take'ah break and clear yah head. And if yah need'ah somethin ta focus on, picture dah eggs. Take a breath, clear yah head and save dah eggs." Astro took a deep breath, closing his eyes as he told himself to focus, but- "Look!" Springer yelled, making Astro open his eyes to see a light at the end of the tunnel. "Is that it?!" "Yah," Beaufort nodded, "The new hatching grounds." They ran up, Astro still being careful as they reached the exit, now finding themselves back above ground. "Over there!" Beaufort pointed to a large rock sticking out of the ground, which they moved up to and saw several pink flowers scattered around. Springer took a whiff, inhaling the scented air. "Wow...that smells great." "To us...yah. But to Poison-types, it'll be unbearable." "So where are you gonna put the eggs?" Astro asked before Beaufort pointed to a hole in the rock. Springer moved up to it and stared inside, seeing a large space inside the hollow rock. It was large enough for him to fit inside, but the hole was not. Only a Breezie could fit through it. "They'll definitely be safe in there," Springer commented while Beaufort told the other Breezie to quickly but carefully place the eggs in their new home. The Breezie all grabbed an egg, forming a line. Once that was done, they started passing the eggs down the line, slowly picking up and putting down their precious cargo. As they did this, Springer used his claws to cut Astro free of the cart. "You did well kid. Real well. Flash would be proud of you." He patted Astro on the head, making the Starvern smile back in pride. But then, Springer's face went from pride to shock. "Look out!" He grabbed Astro by the horns and threw him to the side, seconds before a ball of venom hit him in the chest. "AUGH!" "Springer!" Astro cried as he saw Springer fall over, a purple blush appearing on his face. "He's been poisoned," Beaufort yelled as Astro turned to where the orb had come from, now seeing a certain Ekans slithering down a tree branch. "Don't you ever quit?!" He growled, getting a sneering hiss from the snake. "Never. I will have those eggsssss." As he said that, the Zubat from before flew out of darkness of the trees. "Get them." The Zubat charged...only to come to a stop, all letting out cries of disgust before flying back to the trees. "Hey! Where are you going?!" Ekans yelped, "Get back hereeeee." He then slithered down, only to hiss, "Augh! That horrible smell..." "That's right," Astro laughed, "And you'll keep smelling it unless you get lost." The snake just hissed at him, "Grrr...fine! I'll just grab some of those eggs and get out of here!" With that, he powered through the smell, heading straight for the cart. But Astro leapt in front of it, glancing over at Springer, the Riolu slumped over. "Gotta protect the eggs." He growled before charging at the Ekans, meeting him halfway. "Bite!" He leapt up and bit into Ekans' neck, making it cry out. "Get off me you little twerp!" the snake cried before his tail coiled around Astro's stomach, pulling on it. The strain knocked the wind out of the dragon, making him let go of Ekans' neck. "Rah!" Astro yelped as he stumbled back, the Ekans falling away from the cart. But as they both fell back, the Breezie froze at the sight while Springer tried to get up. However, the poison caused his entire body to be numb, making him croak out, "No..." He slumped back at this, Ekans recovering first as he quickly slithered up to the cart, only to see it be half emptied. Beaufort took a deep breath, about to hopeless fly up and defend it...only for Ekans to be grabbed by the end of his tail. "Gotcha!" He heard a muffled voice say, making him turn to see Astro, the dragon yanking him back before sending him flying. "Augh!" the snake screamed, hitting a tree. As the snake hit the dirt, Astro turned to the Breezie, "Hurry up!" "We still'ah need more time." "Okay..." Astro turned back to the Ekans, the snake picking itself up, "I can do this..." He took a deep breath, "Dragon-" But as he opened his mouth, his gaze fell onto the flowers. If he used Dragon Rage, he might destroy the flowers and ruin the only thing keeping the eggs safe. There was only one option now. "I can do this." He opened his mouth again, beginning to build the energy the way Flash told him, causing blue sparks to form inside. The Shadow Ball formed and grew larger as Ekans grew closer. And as it began to grow, Astro called out. "Shadow-" BOOM! "Augh!" Astro cried as his attack exploded in his face, knocking him back into the cart, "Ow!" The others gasped while Ekans laughed, slithering up to the cart, only for a blast of sticky silk to strike his face and eyes. "HEY!" He hissed, swinging his head around while wiggling his tail up to this face. Beaufort smirked at this before flying over to Astro, the dragon now picking himself up. "You have ta try again'ah." "It didn't work," Astro moaned as Ekans now began to scrape his head along the ground. "You can do it. You just need ta focus." He patted Astro's head, "Ah believe in you." The two shared a glance as Ekans got the silk off his eyes, hissing as Astro gave his Breezie friend a nod. Beaufort got behind his head as Astro opened his mouth, the lightning forming again. "I can do this," he told himself as the ball formed in his mouth. "Take a breath. Clear my head." And as Ekans got within striking distance, the snake suddenly leapt back to avoid an Aura Sphere. Springer had pushed himself up to his knees, firing the attack, though his aim was terrible due to the poison. "You can do it Astro," he whispered as he slumped back down. "Take a breath. Clear my head...and save the eggs." The purple orb had finally reached the proper size, ready to be fire. "SHADOW BALL!" With a mighty cry, the orb shot at Ekans, slamming into him before exploding. The snake hissed in pain as he was thrown back, crashing through several branches of a tree. "You did it!" Beaufort cheered, Astro's jaw dropping in shock. At the same time, more cheers came from the others as they announced the last egg had been safely placed in the rock. And as Ekans picked itself up, he saw the sight and yelped, "NO!" Astro then walked up to the snake, "It's over. You'll never have those eggs." Ekans hissed one final time, but the smell of the flowers made him flinch. Growling, he slithered away, causing another round of cheers from the Breezies as they all thanked Astro. As this happened, the Breezie knew of a Pecha Berry bush a short distance away, soon giving it Springer to cure him of the poison. "We thank'ah you!" Beaufort told them. "Thanks to you, our eggs are safe and Ekans will never cause us harm again." "We were happy to help," Springer replied, nodding, "After all, we are partly responsible for putting your eggs in danger." "Either way, yah both have our thanks, and will always be welcome here'ah." As he said that, the other Breezie called out, the three running over to see a bright light coming from the rock. The light was due to the eggs, which were beginning to hatch. One by one, the tiny spheres exploded with light before morphing into a familiar shape. The light then vanished to reveal the smaller then normal Breezie, which quickly spread their wings and took flight out of the rock. Springer and Astro could only watch, gasping at the enchanting sight as the Breezie flew around them. This detour might have started out annoying and dangerous, but this sight made it more than worth it. A little later... The group had now reached the end of the forest path, coming to an open meadow. Beyond it, roughly ten miles or so, was a large city sitting upon the edge of the coast with the ocean to its right. The place was filled with skyscrapers, some touching the clouds along with a few other landmarks. But the group wasn't amazed by the sight due to one simple reason. "Tore!" Flash looked up to see his Tornavian flying down. "Skyler!" he yelled before the bird got down to his trainer, "Still no luck?" Skyler shook his head, frowning as Flash added, "Okay. Thank you for trying." He then returned him before sighing, "Where are they?!" "They'll be here," Twilight responded. "We can camp here until they show up," Doc added, "And if they still don't show up, we'll think of something." Flash bit his lip at this, looking back at the forest, now fighting the urge to have Viper burn the trees down so he could go in and search for them himself. But as he glanced away, his ears caught something. "Riolu!" His head shot up before the five turned back to the pathway, now seeing Springer and Astro climbing out of the trees with smiles on their faces. "Star!" Astro cheered as Flash ran up and kneeled down. "You're okay!" He yelled as they both leapt into his arms, hugging him. Flash held them tight for several seconds before letting them go, his smile vanishing to a glare. "Where were you two?!" The two exchanged a glance, trying to figure out a way to explain...only for Springer to let out a bark that said, "It's a long story." "Star!" Astro added before running around Flash, making him stand up as the dragon pointed at a rock. "Starvern," he said before opening his mouth and forming a familiar purple ball. "Astro, what are you-" "STAR!" Astro fired the orb, which didn't explode once it got bigger, and it shot toward the rock. "Whoa...alright!" Flash cheered, only for that joy to disappear when the attack went off course and exploded in midair. "Huh?" Both Flash, Springer and Astro said together, all staring at the missing attack. Doc chuckled at this. "Looks like Astro learned Shadow Ball, but it looks like his aim still needs work." "Star!" Astro cried, now thinking his one against Ekans had been a lucky shot. But then, he felt someone pick him up. "It's okay Astro," Flash patted him on the head. "You managed to learn the attack, and that's what matters. You just need a little more practice and a little more focus." "Star," Astro nodded back. The dragon now liked the idea of focus, and with Flash's upcoming gym battle, Astro knew he would need to improve it even more. But for now, he was proud with the progress he had made, and how he had managed to help save the eggs from that wicked Ekans. As the journey continues.