//------------------------------// // Inlet Grotto // Story: Past & Future // by Quillion9000 //------------------------------// Beach Clavell had just taken his leave of Flash, Nemona, and Spike. “Maybe I ought to make a little more time to work on my pokedex along with my battling…” Nemona mused before turning to the guys. “Speaking of pokedexes, have either of you caught wild pokemon before?” “Nope, can’t say I have.” Spike responded. “I’ve caught a few.” Flash alluded. “Then, we’ll take a little time on the way to the academy and see about showing Spike here how to catch a pokemon.” She took off. “Come on you two!” “That girl is quick.” Flash noted as she sprinted up her steps. “I think it’s safe to say he’s at least got experience in being a trainer.” Spike looked at Flash with a raised eye brow. “If that’s the case, why has he enrolled in Uva Academy?” On top of that, he could assume Nemona would be boxing whatever pokemon she’d trained prior, but Flash made no such allusions. It led him to wonder where any of these other pokemon the guy caught were. “Well, come on.” Flash started walking. “We’re under her care for now.” Spike didn’t get the sense the older guy would be open to such questions, so he simply followed. Caba Poco Upon reaching the steps down from the gate, both boys found Somnambula speaking with Nemona until she noticed her son. “Oh, Flash! I’ve heard Nemona here will be taking you to school.” “That’s right ma’am.” Nemona smiled. “You can leave him to me.” “How wonderful.” Somnambula smiled. “Flash could use some friends.” Said guy looked away since he honestly couldn’t refute her, given the last time, and she realized her mistake. “Oh, not that I’m…I mean…” “It’s fine…” Flash began to move past her while Spike and Nemona were staring between the two. “I’m just…going to get going with these two.” “Flash, wait.” Somnambula put a hand on her son’s shoulder. “I…I made you some lunch.” Flash turned to see a wrapped sandwich in her open hand before sighing and offering a genuine, small smile. “Thank you, mom.” He accepted and tucked it away in his bag. “Now, we should really set off.” He walked off with Nemona and Spike following. Somnambula stared at her son’s back and cupped her hands. “Hopefully, this will help my boy.” She still loved and supported Flash; however, Somnambula missed who he used to be. While she accepted that he likely would never be who he was before, she hoped sending him off like this would bring him closer to who she remembered rather than break him all over again. Poco Path As the trio left Cabo Poco, they could see various Lechonk, Tarountula, Fletchling, and Hoppip. Nemona broke the silence that had settled since they left her home. “So, your mom seems nice.” “Yeah, she’s great.” Flash agreed. “Want to talk about what happened back there?” Spike tried. “Hey Nemona, you’re the Paldean native.” Flash breezed past the topic, unwilling to address it. “Why don’t you handle helping Spike catch his first pokemon?” “Alright.” Nemona nodded, accepting his unwillingness to talk. “Well, this here is Poco Path. It’s the path that leads to adventure. Out here, you’ll see a larger number of wild pokemon than you would in any settlement. If you want to try and catch one, you’ll need pokeballs.” “Right.” Spike nodded, “I made sure to stock up before setting off with Clavell this morning.” As they were speaking, a Pawmi happened to grow curious enough to approach the trainers. Upon hearing the word ‘pokeball’ he happily moved into their path since this little electric type always wanted a trainer. “Paw!” Pawmi declared, grabbing their attention. “Looks like that little guy is raring for a battle.” Flash commented. “That will be the perfect first test.” Nemona declared. “Come on Flash, let’s get to the side while he tries to battle and catch that pokemon.” Flash followed her while Spike grabbed his starter’s pokeball. “Go, Fuecoco!” Pawmi sparked with electricity ready to prove himself worthy of being captured while Fuecoco was ready for another fun battle. Spike vs Pawmi “Alright, let’s try a status move of our own with leer.” Spike ordered. Pawmi had similar intentions as he let off a thunder wave at the same time Fuecoco leered. While the electric type’s defense did fall one stage, the fire type was paralyzed. Even though Spike hadn’t caught onto Nemona’s status moves, he at least knew what a status aliment was. “Now Fuecoco will be slower and there’s a chance he won’t be able to move.” Spike smiled. “A move like that just cinched the decision. I’m not doing this because they told me it’s a test. I want this Pawmi on my team.” Pawmi rushed in, primed to scratch the fire starter. “Fuecoco, dodge and use ember.” Spike commanded. Paralysis kept Fuecoco stationary as Pawmi scratched him dolling out some damage. He then sparked with electricity priming a thunder shock. “Use tackle.” Spike ordered. Fortunately, Fuecoco moved this time and slammed into Pawmi preempting his attack while dolling out a stronger blow thanks to the prior leer. The electric type wouldn’t let that deter him as he sparked with electricity once again. “Fuecoco, use ember.” Spike commanded. Fuecoco got off the ember this time, but it was at the same time as Pawmi got off thundershock, resulting in both pokemon hurting. Pawmi managed a skid while Fuecoco planted his feet and was cloaked in a fire red aura indicting blaze had activated. “Now’s your chance!” Nemona called out. “Pawmi should be weakened to the point a pokeball will catch it!” “Right.” Spike got out an empty pokeball. “Go, pokeball!” He threw the sphere which nailed Pawmi and sucked him in. Since the electric type wanted to be caught, he didn’t fight against this leading to an instant ding signifying his capture. Poco Path “Alright, I just caught my first pokemon!” Spike ran up and collected his pokeball. “Just check it out Fuecoco!” He presented the pokeball to the fire starter who happily celebrated the new friend, despite paralysis. “I’m glad you like it.” He took out a paralysis heal and a potion. “Here, let me heal you up.” After applying both forms of medicine, Fuecoco was able to be even happier with their success. “Now, it’s time to scan our new catch.” He scanned the pokeball with his Rotom Phone: Pawmi the Mouse Pokemon. The pads of its paws are electricity-discharging organs. Ability: Natural Cure Gender: Male Current Moves: Thunder Wave, Growl, Scratch, Thundershock “That was awesome!” Nemona laughed joyfully as she approached Spike. “You caught the very first pokemon you went for! Honestly, I’m crummy when it comes to catching pokemon. Perhaps it’s you who should be giving me tips.” Spike chuckled as he rubbed the back of his head. “Oh, thanks.” “What about you, Flash?” Nemona smiled. “I’d love to see the chops of a fellow, seasoned trainer.” “Nothing around here is really catching my interest.” Flash answered honestly. He wasn’t some pokemon elitist, mind you, but that didn’t mean he’d simply catch any old pokemon himself. For Flash, they had to speak to him as a pokemon he wanted. Maybe a Fletchling appealed to him somewhat, but not enough to go catching one. At best, it appealed to him because he knew they’d evolve to have a secondary fire typing, but he knew several other pokemon with that typing he’d want more. As such, he decided to just keep moving along the path. Nemona and Spike followed. “Since we’re moving out, we got to stop at that lighthouse ahead.” Nemona voiced. “If we climb to the top of it, you two can get a great view of the school.” “Sounds great to me!” Spike declared as he healed his new pokemon. “Sure, we can climb on up.” Flash added. As they walked, Nemona and Spike excitedly chatted about random stuff. That was fine by Flash since he had taken to more solitary introspection lately anyways, and the fact that they could keep each other busy meant he could simply zone out. “Guh-GYOHHH!” Suddenly, there was a pair of cries which drew their attention. “Whoa, what was that!?” Nemona asked. “Go-ohh…” It was the same two pokemon again. “I’ve never heard anything like this before.” Spike voiced. “It could be some strong pokemon.” Nemona added. The pair ended up moving to a nearby cliff with Flash bringing up the rear. Below, there was a large beach which led to the water or a cave, depending on which direction you went. There were also two similar yet different, in various ways, pokemon laid out. Four Houndour stood aggressively before the pair resulting in the two pokemon lifting their heads. “Ah-giiiYAHHHH!” Their massive roars caused the unstable cliff to crumble underneath Spike. “Watch out!” Flash shouted. He lunged forward, without thinking. His intention was to toss Spike to safer ground, but the cliff broke underneath before he could try. As such, Flash began attempting to position himself to take the brunt of the fall while wrapping his arms around Spike. Fortunately, no pain came as their Rotom Phones flew out of their pockets and entered Spike’s hands. As he was attempting to grasp onto something, he ended up firmly griping the phones, enabling them to lower the pair. Spike landed on his feet while Flash landed on his knees. He now let go of the smaller student and stood before both looked at their surroundings in relieved shock. Their respective Rotom Phones returned to their pockets. They ended up watching as the Houndour retreated into the nearby cave, leaving the two pokemon alone. “Did our Rotom Phones…save us?” Spike asked. “Yeah.” Flash took a deep breath. “Thank goodness they were given such a feature.” “You…” Spike looked at him, stunned someone who seemed so cold did what he did. “…tried to save me.” “Think nothing of it.” Flash shook his head before starting to approach the two pokemon. “Come on, we’re here now, so let’s go check on them.” Spike stared after Flash unsure of what to really make of the guy before he ultimately decided the older student was right, in that they should check on the pokemon. By proxy of moving first, Flash approached the prehistoric looking pokemon while Spike moved to the futuristic one. Upon getting close, both could hear the stomachs of the pokemon. This resulted in Flash and Spike looking at their bags. The former had that sandwich from his mother while Spike remembered picking one up, along with his supplies, before leaving Mesagoza. “Hey Flash, think they’re just too hungry to move?” Spike asked. “Well, from what I can tell, they don’t seem injured.” Flash voiced. “Perhaps some food would do. I have a sandwich on me, what about you?” “I picked one up in Mesagoza.” Spike answered. With that, they reached a silent conclusion as they both took out their sandwiches. The smell of food piqued the pokemon’s interest as their heads rose. They looked from the trainers to the food. After a quick sniff, they collectively chomped down. That seemed to do the trick as both pokemon stood making the trainers smile. The pokemon then ended up moving towards the cave. The pair stopped before it with the prehistoric pokemon glowing orange while the futuristic one glowed blue. They suddenly lept a bit into the air letting off fighting and electric type energies, respectively, in rather powerful bursts. They both became bipedal with the prehistoric one standing while the futuristic one levitated. “Whoa, I’ve never seen pokemon like them!” Spike commented. Flash scanned them with his phone only to get the same results: “No Data Found. Constructing data off scan” “No Data Found. Constructing data off scan” “Well, that’s going to take a while to get anything on them.” Flash shook his head. “Our pokedexs aren’t going to be much help either.” The prehistoric one glanced back at Flash while the futuristic one did the same to Spike. Then, the pair entered the cave. “Come on, let’s follow!” Spike exclaimed while running towards the cave. Considering that seemed to be their only way back up, at least easily, Flash followed suit. Upon reaching the cave, it appeared as though the pokemon had been waiting on them. “Hey, looks like they want to lead us out.” Spike declared happily. “Maybe they’re that thankful for the meal?” Flash guessed. Without a word, they pressed on prompting the boys to follow. Inlet Grotto The cave was rather large with a clear path up, pools of water nearby, and was lit by glowing plants. Flash and Spike were both marveling at it. “Hm, I don’t recall anything like this back in Hoenn.” Flash commented. “Well, I haven’t seen much of my home region myself to be honest.” Spike chuckled. “So, this is a new experience for me to.” “Spike! Flash!” Nemona’s voice reached them, so the pair looked up to see her at another entrance higher up along the cave. “There you two are!” She sounded so relieved. “Are you guys okay!? You’re not hurt, right?” “We’re fine!” Flash yelled back. “Oh, thank goodness.” Nemona was relieved. “I was worried. If you’d had gotten hurt…No, never mind.” She shook her head. “Right now, we got to focus on getting you up here. If you find some way up, I can see about pulling you up.” “Got it, we’ll see what can be done on our end.” Spike voiced. They then continued with the two pokemon who, again, waited for them before pressing on. “Hey, who are those pokemon in front of you!?” Now that she knew they were fine, Nemona’s attention was drawn to the pokemon. “They look super strong!” The prehistoric one tore through a boulder in their path, scaring two Houndour behind it to the point they took off. “Yeah, I’d say they’re certainly strong.” Flash muttered. “We don’t know!” Spike answered. “Flash tried scanning them with his pokedex, but there was no data to be had! Now, we’re just following them out!” “Well, what they just did was amazing.” Nemona voiced as the four of them moved out. “Those two might just be as strong as my prior team. Maybe even stronger.” Flash was carefully observing their environment while Spike marveled at the two pokemon. Because of this, he spotted a Houndoom on a higher ledge looking down at them. “That Houndoom looks strong, much too strong for any one of our pokemon to beat, and there’s no true indication these two wild pokemon would defend us should it decide to attack.” Flash reasoned. “If it decides to attack, we’ll need a plan.” As they continued to press on, Flash began mulling over said plan. It wasn’t long down the path before they turned a corner. There was a whole pack of Houndour who suddenly ran up to them. They seemed ready to tangle before the two pokemon guiding the way roared driving them off. “Whoa, that was cool.” Spike declared, amazed. “Yeah, though that was one of the largest Houndour packs I’ve ever seen.” Flash voiced. They soon came up to another boulder where the futuristic one clawed it down this time enabling them to move on. “Oh my gosh, they can straight up pulverize those rocks!” Nemona commented. “Just how strong are they? Just what move is that?” Soon enough, the two pokemon stopped, and she noticed something. “Hey you two, look out! Something is coming up behind you!” The boys turned to see that Houndoom had come up behind them, and she was not happy that these four had invaded her space. “DOOOOM!” Houndoom declared. “Flash, you’re the experienced trainer!” Spike exclaimed, a little fearful. “What do we do?” Flash looked back only to see the two pokemon were more scared than Spike. Fortunately, the older student had come up with something upon seeing the Houndoom. “Will you trust me?” Flash asked. “If whatever you got in mind gets us out of this, I’ll do whatever you say.” Spike declared. “Pawmi in the middle, Fuecoco to the right, and I’ll throw Quaxly to the left.” Flash quickly explained, he didn’t know how long Houndoom would be content observing them. “Ember and water gun at an angle. Then, thunder wave down the middle to hit it head on.” “Go, Fuecoco and Pawmi!” Spike shouted, throwing them where Flash had directed. “I choose you, Quaxly!” Flash shouted. Flash & Spike vs Houndoom “Quaxly, water gun Houndoom!” Flash ordered. “Fuecoco, ember Houndoom!” Spike commanded. Houndoom got ready to charge forward, right at the electric type. “Pawmi, thunder wave!” Spike ordered. Quaxly and Fuecoco did launch their respective moves, only for Houndoom to rush Pawmi. The mouse pokemon sparked with electricity and managed to get off thunder wave just as Houndoom landed fire fang. This resulted in Pawmi fainting while the dark pokemon was paralyzed. At minimum, this would slow the fire/dark type down. At best, they would be unable to move, giving the boys a chance to land some key hits. Houndoom stared at Flash, impressed he planned this, yet still unwilling to back down. “What now?” Spike asked, returning his Pawmi. “Now, battle.” Flash declared. “Dodge what you can and hammer home blows.” He looked at his starter. “Water gun, now.” “Fuecoco, ember.” Spike declared. Houndoom prepared to lunge at the duck, knowing water types, even weak ones, could be troublesome; however, paralysis kicked in keeping them stationary. Since their ability wasn’t flash fire, both attacks hit home with water gun doing more given type advantage. Spike noted this, deciding he had to take one for the team. “Fuecoco, tackle with all your might!” “Quaxly, water gun.” Flash ordered. Fuecoco ran as fast as he could, slamming into Houndoom’s side. Even though the dark pokemon hadn’t budged, there was damage. Then, water gun hit their other side dolling out another blow. The fire/dark type then crunched Fuecoco, fainting him. Spike returned him. “Quaxly, water gun.” Flash ordered. “Then, I’ll need you to dodge whatever Houndoom tries.” Quaxly got off water gun, landing another blow, before Houndoom charged the duckling pokemon with thunder fang. The water type did a little dance move, in the form of a slide, just managing to miss the thunder fang by inches. “Now, give it your strongest water gun!” Flash ordered. Quaxly took as deep a breath as possible, knowing the situation was dire, and unleashed his strongest water gun nailing the opposing pokemon in the back. While that most certainly damaged Houndoom, it wasn’t enough to stop them from coming in with another thunder fang. This time, the move connected which fainted their last pokemon; however, Houndoom was now panting. Between the moves it used, combined with what damage the two trainers had managed and paralysis, it was quite possible this pokemon was right where Flash wanted them. He took out an empty pokeball and threw it with all his might. Houndoom prepared to bat it away, only for paralysis to rear its ugly head ensuring they stayed stationary. The pokeball hit Houndoom sucking them inside. At this moment, Flash returned his starter. Now, Flash and Spike watched on with batted breath as the pokeball shook back and forth, violently. Houndoom was doing their absolute best to break free. Eventually, it stopped and dinged signifying a successful capture. Inlet Grotto Both students breathed a sigh of relief before Flash went and collected the pokeball. Unfortunately, their troubles weren’t over. The Houndour had observed this, and they were not happy. The pack surged on out surrounding the whole group. “Was this part of the plan?” Spike asked. “Nope.” Flash stated. “I was kind of hoping catching the pack leader would ensure they didn’t want to mess with us.” This was a bad situation which saw the two pokemon looking at one another, both boys, and the ever-growing pack of Houndour. Ultimately, their resolve was solidified. Both lept at one of the trainers and grabbed them. Nemona, who had watched everyone, called out to the two pokemon. “Heeeey!” The pokemon looked at her. “Up here! Quick!” Both pokemon took huge leaps right on up and away from the pack before joining Nemona. The pokemon then set both guys down. “Thank you both!” Spike exclaimed happily. “Yeah.” Flash nodded. “Thanks for the save.” “For a second, I believed you two were goners.” Nemona commented, relieved. This entrance happened to be even closer to the lighthouse than the trio had originally been prior to the two of them falling. The two pokemon did start in that direction, only to collapse, reverting to their four-legged states, on their sides. “Whoa!” Nemona exclaimed as the trio ran to check on them. “What’s wrong!?” “They likely used up all their power.” Flash reasoned. “Spike and I did find them starving.” “I wonder just what they are?” Spike questioned now that they were safe. “They kind of look like Cyclizar, but I’ve never seen any which look like them. Think they’re okay?” “Hard to say.” Flash voiced. “You can’t tell either, huh Flash?” Nemona questioned. “Well, all that aside, I’m seriously glad you two are back with me in one piece. You know, that battle with the Houndoom you two had was something else.” She looked at Flash. “That was seriously some plan you had.” “Fortunately, it worked in the end.” Flash stated. “That reminds me, I should scan Houndoom.” He got out his Rotom Phone: Houndoom, the Dark Pokémon. The evolved form of Houndour. Houndoom's eerie howl is said to cause those who hear it to shudder in fear. Ability: Early Bird Gender: Female Current Moves: Incinerate, Howl, Smog, Crunch, Thunder Fang, Fire Fang “Whoa, that one has some good moves.” Nemona commented. “Even after that battle, you two just kept rolling by being in perfect synch with these two.” “We didn’t even tell them what to do.” Spike voiced. “You didn’t!” Nemona exclaimed, shocked as she looked at the pokemon. “Well, I guess it’s not like either of you are their trainer.” Suddenly, both pokemon stood once more. “Oh good, looks like they perked up a little.” “Well, that’s good.” Spike voiced. “Oh man, oh man, oh man!” Nemona exclaimed, excitedly. “The more I look at them, the more mysterious they seem!” She looked at the guys. “If either of you become one of their trainers, you got to battle me.” She then looked at Flash. “You got to let me battle that Houndoom.” “Not sure about that until I check on her disposition now that she’s caught.” Flash voiced. “Ah, probably wise.” Nemona shook her head. “Regardless, we should all trade numbers. That way, we can get in touch should any of us become separated.” “Good idea.” Spike voiced. Flash shrugged. “Eh, why not?” Their Rotom Phones came out and exchanged numbers between them. “Alright, you’ve both been through enough for a minute.” Nemona walked a bit towards the light house. “Let’s head to the lighthouse and take a breather.” “Sound good to me.” Spike joined her. “I could use one.” “Same.” Flash added, joining them. With the trio in agreement, and the pokemon following them now, the whole group set off for the nearby lighthouse. Spike and Flash made sure to heal up their respective pokemon as they walked to.