Alex teleported with Arcanine back to Violet City and dropped off his gear while putting on the Silent Suit. They then teleported to their usual entrance to the Dark Cave.
Once there, Alex considered his options before deciding to sacrifice the only route he knew for the sake of identifying the location of the base.
He already knew the two routes he had discovered led to the very center of the Dark Cave, so the base was likely somewhere above that area, given that both routes were at a higher elevation. If Alex could just get a bit more information, he would be able to pinpoint the exact location.
Thus, Alex went to the dead end where the route ended and waited for his opportunity to infiltrate the base. If all went well, he would simply be able to enter without any additional effort.
He waited for a day before he found a group intending to enter and silently followed after them.
The cave wall at the dead end opened with a low rumble as a trainer blocked the path with his phone stretched out.
"Passes."
The entrants waved their phones over for scanning before being allowed to pass.
Alex, meanwhile, literally shadowed one of the entrants as they passed through. He made sure to keep a thin layer of Dark type energy just above his suit to minimize detectability while enhancing stealth. The Silent Suit allowed him to reflect less light, but not become invisible, so he had to walk in the shadows while following along.
Once they passed the checkpoint, Alex continued to follow the group while keeping absolute attention to his coordinates. He might need to come back here at some point, after all.
They spent the next 20 or so minutes walking through more narrow paths until they came upon a crossroads with a mine shaft in the middle. The lift was heavily guarded, surrounded by both trainers and their Pokémon of various types, all on the lookout for anything suspicious.
A few of them immediately spotted a problem with the group Alex was in, as Ariados, Hitmontop, and Alcremie came up and began observing the group carefully.
This raised alarm bells in Alex's mind, so he promptly retreated, retracting his Dark type energy to avoid suspicion and relying more on his suit. Unfortunately, when he did so, he alerted the most vigilant Pokémon of the group, a Chimecho, which immediately spotted Alex once the Dark type energy was no longer covering his head.
It emitted a warning chime that instantly alerted the guards and Pokémon to Alex's presence, forcing him to retreat back the way he came.
He could have forced his way through, but at that point, he would likely have had to fight the entire base through narrow tunnel paths. Retreating seemed like the soundest option. Besides, he wasn't at the base yet, just a junction, so there was a strong possibility he'd fail the mission if he activated the beacon now.
"Intruder!" someone shouted. "Destroy the passage and seal the area!"
A rumbling followed as an Earthquake was used to destabilize the foundations of the passage Alex was in, threatening to bury him alive.
He ran back the way he came, dodging falling rocks, until he found his path blocked by debris. He wouldn't be able to escape his dilemma.
He released Kommo-o before laying on the ground curled up. Kommo-o laid on top of him shielding him from debris while using Iron Defense. Alex then shot Kommo-o with Heal Pulses to keep him alive.
Together, they managed to create an area where they were safe from being crushed by rock but had been buried alive.
Once the dust settled, Alex noticed Kommo-o was straining to hold up their ceiling. He would have to act fast before they were crushed so he released Raticate who was small enough to fit in their cramped space.
"I need you to dig us a cavern fast."
Raticate nodded in response before he started digging a tunnel large enough to squeeze through.
Once Alex got inside, he retrieved Kommo-o, causing their cramped space to collapse while Raticate continued to dig a path for them.
Alex took note of his coordinates before getting an idea. He should try digging toward the mineshaft and see if he could start infiltrating them.
"Raticate, do you think you can dig toward the mineshaft? It doesn't have to be the room we were in, just somewhere lower through the shaft itself."
Raticate thought for a moment, looking around to regain its bearings, before turning to a wall and digging diagonally downward.
Alex followed along, hoping he had enough air to last.
Eventually, Raticate stopped digging and pressed its ear against the wall, listening carefully. After a moment, it gave a firm nod, then pried a stone loose, revealing a small opening. A rush of fresh air flowed in, allowing Alex to breathe comfortably again.
Through the opening, he could hear the sound of machines working under strain and soft voices echoing through the shaft. He could see sparse light from the top and bottom. He could smell the stale air, metal, oil, and people on the other side.
They had found their path forward.
Alex stuck his head through and looked around. The lift was at the top, so he could only see the bottom of it.
When he looked down, he noticed more light and sound. It was either another checkpoint or the entrance to the base.
He wasn't sure, but judging by the depth, there should be plenty of underwater tunnels leading close to the area. He had been wrong in his initial assumption; the base wasn't located at the heart of the mountain but rather beneath it.
Thinking further, it made sense. The base's placement ensured they wouldn't be flattened if a Champion decided to destroy the mountain. They would be safe between the foundations instead.
All they would need to recover was to rebuild their escape routes.
Rather than continue through this path, Alex decided not to risk it. There was a real chance they could be discovered again if they followed it. All it would take was a Ground type Pokémon hearing them digging around the ceiling and walls.
Instead, it was better to try their luck through the underwater tunnels, places where guards and sentries weren't posted. Worst-case scenario, they could return in a month and simply storm their way in.
So, Alex placed the stone back to cover the hole and seal the wall, then had Raticate reinforce it. Once they were finished, they teleported back to the house in Violet City.
The next day, Alex scoured the underwater tunnels using the Deep Suit, adding them to the map he had already created.
He had often explored the tunnels before, but never as deep as the mineshaft indicated. This had made it impossible for him to locate the base earlier.
Now, he was mapping the tunnels as far down as they could go, searching for a large space that could possibly serve as a training ground for a Champion and his Pokémon.
The requirement was miles of land, expansive enough to allow for training and battles for Elites and Champions, similar in scale to the human supremacists' bases.
After a month of diving and digging around, he finally managed to identify the specific bounds of the base in question.
Deep underground, between the underwater tunnels, there was a landmass at the center of the Dark Cave, completely isolated. Through the 3D map Rotom projected, it appeared as a large lump in the center that remained unexplored due to the lack of any passages.
It was clearly the base Alex had been looking for.
Rather than make use of the teleportation beacon, Alex called Clair to give her a heads up.
"Blackthorn City's Dragon Gym receptionist speaking. How may I help you?"
"Connect me to Gym Leader Clair. Tell her it's Alex Wattson following up on her request."
"One moment, please."
The line went dead before Clair picked up.
"It's been a month, Alex. You'd better have found the base, or I'm coming for you," Clair threatened.
"I mapped it out. I'll send it to you and expect our contract to be fulfilled. I don't plan on using the teleportation beacon."
"That's not part of the deal."
"Would you rather teleport blindly to a random location, or have a map you can use to plan your raid? You could even post guards to prevent any escape."
"Fine. Send the map over, and if I find it sufficient, I'll consider the request fulfilled."
Alex forwarded the map from his phone and waited for Clair to confirm.
After a few minutes, she finally said, "Well done. With this, I won't have to storm them. I can just destroy the entire location. Consider the request fulfilled."
Alex hung up before she could add anything else, satisfied to have a record of her confirmation.
It might have been a good way to make some more money if he helped with the raid, but doing so could be suicide. A single stray Earthquake was all it would take to bury his entire team under the Dark Cave.
Now that he was finished with Clair's request, all he needed to do was return the teleportation beacon before heading back to Kanto. He hadn't been back for almost two months now because of Clair's request, so it was time to return.
He called for someone from Umbraline to close out his account in Johto, since he wasn't planning on using the house anymore.
"Mr. Wattson, how may we be of service?" said the young man who handled his affairs in Violet City.
"Send this to Clair in Blackthorn City," Alex said, handing over the teleportation beacon.
"Anything else, sir?"
"Close out Johto for me. I plan on heading back to Kanto."
"What about our request? There are still plenty of human supremacist cells left."
"I won't be pursuing them anymore, as I'm sure you can understand why."
"I will let management know," he said with a complicated expression. "Good luck on your journey, Mr. Wattson, and thank you for your services so far."
"Sure."
The young man turned to leave the house, but just before stepping out, he suddenly paused and looked back at Alex with a sly expression.
"Ah, one last thing, Mr. Wattson."
"Yes?"
"Congratulations on the birth of your daughter."
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