The group went further in the cave, and as they did they stopped.
They saw entrenched in the Cave.
They wanted to ignore but Erika stopped them.
"Wait". She said.
Everyone looked at her.
Erika closed her eyes, her aura movie. "I feel something inside"
Sabrina closed her eyes. "Me too".
Ethan looked at them as he narrowed his eyes. 'In one hand, this is very dangerous, in the other'.
He went in. 'Upgrade!'.
Once they went into the entrenchment of the tunnel, it was pitch black.
Bugsy turned on his flashlight, he almost screamed.
Lyra had to close his mouth.
There hanging from the Dozen of Zubat, hanging upside down, Wings wrapped tightly around them.
They were asleep, but they had a smell.
Ethan looked up. "That, explains the smell"
Flying and Poison-type Zubat had a nasty reputation, and an even nastier smell.
Poison types had one thing in common all of them, their waste was foul, sharp, and clung to the air.
Lyra looked down at the ground it was soft, too soft.
"Oh".
Everyone stomic turned.
The realisation hit everyone it was soil. Not really. It was Zubat dropping.
Layers of it, harden over time like ground.
The group froze.
No one spoke.
No one breathed.
Bugsy very, very slowly angled the flashlight downward.
The beam swept across the cave floor.
…And stopped.
Lyra swallowed hard. "That's… not dirt."
Erika's face went pale. "It's layered."
Sabrina adjusted her glasses, psychic senses recoiling like they'd touched something oily.
"…Years of it."
Ethan stared, jaw tight. "Guano," he said flatly. "Zubat guano. Enough to change the terrain."
Bugsy whispered, voice cracking just a little, "Why does it look compacted?"
"Because," Ethan replied, dead serious, "it is."
The realization settled like a curse.
They weren't standing on the cave floor.
They were standing on a Zubat latrine.
Whitney gagged. Hard.
"I hate caves. I hate bats. I hate biology."
Above them, dozens—no, hundreds—of Zubat clung to the ceiling, wings folded tight, bodies still. Their breathing came in slow, synchronized pulses.
Sleeping.
Lyra very carefully mouthed: Don't move.
Bugsy's flashlight trembled.
Ethan looked up again, eyes glowing faint purple as Dragon Force flared just enough to sharpen his senses.
"…They're sensitive to sound," he murmured. "And vibration."
Erika clenched her fists. "Then why does it feel like something wants us to wake them?"
The answer came instantly.
From deeper in the tunnel—
scrrrrk.
Stone scraped against stone.
Something small darted across the far wall, claws clicking, tail flicking.
Not Zubat.
Not Onix.
Ethan's pupils narrowed. "Everyone—slow steps. No running."
Kitsu's hand went to her Pokéballs. "Tell me that wasn't—"
A sharp yip echoed faintly through the cave.
High-pitched.
Predatory.
Excited.
Sabrina's eyes snapped open. "Gible."
Bugsy stared at her. "…Of course it's Gible."
The Zubat above them twitched.
One wing unfurled.
Another stirred.
Ethan hissed, barely audible. "We have about five seconds before this turns into a flying poison apocalypse."
Lyra whispered, "Five seconds until what?"
Ethan smirked grimly. "Until the cave fights back."
Somewhere in the dark, yellow eyes gleamed—
and smiled.
The group stared into the darkness.
Those eyes didn't move.
They didn't blink.
Slowly—painfully slowly—the group edged closer.
As the Zubat thinned out, the truth revealed itself.
"…Oh," Whitney whispered.
Behind the Zubat were Golbat.
Large. Heavy. Wings wrapped tightly around their bodies like cloaks. Their mouths—mercifully—were closed, an unsettling miracle no one had asked for.
Bugsy rubbed his arms. "I hate that I'm impressed."
Ethan nodded. "Zubat are social Pokémon. Colonies like this make sense."
Lyra glanced upward, then around, then immediately regretted having eyes.
"So… they evolve together?"
"Yes," Sabrina said calmly. Too calmly. "And further in—"
She gestured ahead.
Five Crobat hung from the highest points of the cavern, wings spread just enough to cradle multiple Golbat beneath them. Their breathing was slow, controlled. Protective.
Erika's voice softened. "People get Friendship evolution wrong."
Ethan nodded. "It's not just training. It's trust. Bonds."
"Wild Pokémon form them too," Sabrina added. "Just… without humans."
Bugsy stared at the Crobat, then at the literal biohazard beneath his feet.
"…They formed a family over this?"
One of the Crobat twitched.
Everyone froze.
Seconds passed.
Nothing happened.
Whitney whispered, "I think they're judging us."
Kitsu muttered, "Fair."
They moved deeper, every step careful, every breath shallow. The smell worsened—sharp, metallic, clinging to the back of the throat.
Lyra gagged quietly. "I miss sunlight."
Then—
Scrape.
Stone shifted ahead.
Not above them.
Ahead.
Ethan's eyes flared purple again. Dragon Force sharpened his senses, and he stopped dead.
"…Something's moving fast."
Another sound—low, eager, almost playful.
Chrrrk.
A small shape darted across the cave wall, claws digging in with ease.
Sabrina inhaled sharply. "It's not alone."
Ethan's lips curled into a grin that was equal parts excitement and danger.
"…And it's hunting."
From deeper in the cave, a familiar, shark-like silhouette slid into view—
Blue scales.
Red underbelly.
Eyes far too bright for the dark.
The Gible opened its mouth.
And smiled.
Kitsu's voice echoed through the cavern like a flashbang.
"IT'S A SHINY!"
For half a second, the world froze.
Then—
Every.
Single.
Zubat.
Woke up.
The cave screamed.
Wings unfurled all at once, the sound like a thousand sheets being ripped apart. Golbat dropped from the ceiling with heavy thuds, Crobat shrieked as ultrasonic waves tore through the air.
Ethan spun on her, eyes blazing.
"KITSU!"
Too late.
Way too late.
"Everyone—battle formation, now!" Ethan shouted.
Pokéballs burst open in rapid succession.
"Marshtomp—frontline!"
"Mareep, left!"
"Gastly, mid-air control!"
"Rocky, anchor point!"
"Noibat—high ground!"
Five Pokémon hit the field, spreading instinctively. Marshtomp slammed its feet into the cave floor, Mud Shot already forming. Rocky coiled protectively, Stealth Rock shimmering into place. Noibat shot upward, wings cutting through the chaos.
Erika didn't hesitate.
"Gloom, spores ready."
"Bellsprout—bind anything that gets close."
"Leafeon, cover our flank."
Green light filled the cave as vines snapped outward.
Bugsy was grinning.
"Oh, this is my kind of nightmare."
"Chikorita—Reflect!"
"Silcoon, Harden and hold!"
"Ariados, Webs!"
"Scyther—intercept anything big!"
Sticky Webs exploded across the cavern walls, finally giving the flying swarm something to struggle against.
Lyra barely had time to think.
"Cyndaquil—don't burn the cave!"
Cyndaquil squeaked, flames flaring low and controlled, forming a heat barrier instead of an inferno.
Sabrina was terrifyingly calm.
"Abra, teleport defense."
"Bronzor, screen up."
"Espeon—Mind Shock, wide radius."
Psychic energy slammed outward like a tidal wave, knocking Zubat out of the air mid-screech.
Kitsu clenched her fists.
"Alright. My turn."
She threw her Pokéballs.
"Torres! Ember! Godzilla!"
Grotle hit the ground with a solid boom, vines digging into stone. Flareon landed beside her, flames flaring instinctively, fur bristling. Aron—Godzilla—clanged down last, tiny but fearless, metal claws scraping eagerly.
Torres let out a deep, steady growl.
Flareon's fire flared hotter.
Aron… charged.
Straight at a Golbat three times its size.
Bugsy stared. "…Why is the steel baby fearless?"
Ethan didn't answer—because he saw it.
The Shiny Gible.
It hadn't joined the chaos.
It was watching.
Eyes sharp. Head tilted. Tail swaying slightly.
A hunter waiting for the perfect opening.
"Don't engage the Gible yet!" Ethan yelled. "It's baiting us!"
Too late.
The Gible lunged.
Straight toward Kitsu.
"Torres!" she shouted.
Grotle moved without hesitation, shell slamming down as Dragon Rage scorched across it. The impact cracked stone.
Torres didn't budge.
Kitsu blinked.
"…Good girl."
Ethan felt it then.
Not panic.
Not fear.
Excitement.
This wasn't a random encounter.
This was a trial.
And somewhere in the screaming cave, Bugsy stared at the ceiling, dodging a falling Zubat, and thought:
'Why am I even here?'
Ethan stepped forward, boots crunching against stone and… other things he refused to mentally acknowledge.
Marshtomp moved with him, low and ready.
Ethan met the Shiny Gible's gaze and smiled—wide, sharp, excited.
"You wanna battle?"
He rolled his shoulders. "Then we will."
The Gible snarled, claws scraping rock, and charged first.
"Marshtomp—Mud Shot!"
Marshtomp slammed its hands into the ground. Thick mud erupted forward, splashing across the cave floor and instantly slowing the Gible. The dragon skidded, barely keeping balance.
Gible retaliated with Dragon Rage, the blast tearing through the cave.
"Take it head-on!" Ethan shouted.
Marshtomp braced. The attack hit—hard—but Mud Shot's speed drop mattered. The Gible couldn't follow up fast enough.
"Rock Slide!"
Stones rained down. Gible dodged two—then clipped by a third, crashing into the wall.
The Gible pushed itself up, eyes blazing.
It was loving this.
Meanwhile with the other
The cave had become a battlefield orchestra.
Psychic energy flared—
Abra screamed—not in fear, but strain.
Its body glowed white.
Sabrina's eyes widened. "Oh—"
Abra vanished in a flash of light and reappeared taller, spoons forming in its grip.
Kadabra landed lightly, psychic field stabilizing instantly.
Sabrina exhaled. "Good. Very good."
Gastly cackled midair, weaving between Zubat attacks, Shadow Ball after Shadow Ball fired in rapid succession.
A Crobat dove—too fast.
Gastly refused to be hit.
Dark light wrapped around it, its form stretching, mouth widening—
Haunter emerged laughing, claws slashing as it phased through the attack.
Ethan felt it and grinned without looking. "Knew it."
Mareep cried out as electricity surged wildly around her.
Three Zubat went down at once.
The static didn't stop.
It condensed.
Whitney shouted, "Oh come on—already?!"
Light flashed.
Mareep grew taller, wool receding, tail orb blazing—
Flaaffy stood panting, sparks dancing between its horns.
Bugsy's Chikorita took a hit protecting Silcoon.
It stood back up.
Growled.
Green light exploded outward as its leaf collar expanded into a full ring.
Bayleef roared, vines snapping forward with authority.
Bugsy stared, mouth open. "…I'm so proud I might cry."
Cyndaquil was pushed back by a wave of poison mist.
Lyra screamed, "Cyndaquil!"
Flames erupted—not wild, not uncontrolled—focused.
The small fire mouse elongated, flames forming a controlled collar.
Quilava landed firmly, eyes sharp.
Lyra froze.
"…I didn't know you could look that cool."
Bellsprout had been grabbed.
Poison stung.
Then rage hit.
Vines thickened. Its body stretched, leaves hardened.
With a snap, it broke free—
Weepinbell shrieked, swinging vines like whips.
Erika smiled softly. "Welcome to the family."
Back with Ethan
The Shiny Gible shook off debris and lunged again.
Ethan didn't hesitate.
"Marshtomp—Mud Shot again, then Water Gun point-blank!"
Mud slowed.
Water slammed.
The Gible staggered, breathing hard—but its eyes were still burning.
It roared and charged one last time.
Ethan met it halfway.
"Now!"
Marshtomp tackled forward, forcing the Gible into the mud, pinning it just long enough.
Ethan threw the Pokéball.
It hit.
Light absorbed the Gible.
Tick.
Tick.
Tick—
The cave went silent.
Even the Zubat hesitated.
Click.
The ball stopped.
For a heartbeat, no one spoke.
Then Bugsy broke it.
"…So. Is this where we admit none of this is normal?"
Ethan picked up the ball, breathing hard, smiling like an idiot.
"Yeah," he said.
"But it's working."
Around them, the cave slowly calmed—fallen Zubat retreating, Crobat pulling the swarm away.
Growth.
Bond.
Survival.
Then Ethan saw his Pokèball get Teleported away.
Ethan stared at the empty space where the Pokéball used to be.
"…Right," he said slowly. "I have six Pokémon."
Kitsu blinked.
"…That sentence should not end with teleported away."
"WHERE DID IT GO?" she snapped, already halfway into panic mode.
Bugsy rubbed his temples. "I swear, every time I think this journey can't get weirder—"
Sabrina was very, very quiet.
"…That wasn't wild teleportation," she finally said. "That was targeted."
Ethan sighed. "Yeah. Thought so."
Back at the Harmonia Mansion
Sunlight filtered through white marble arches. The garden was calm—birds chirping, mana wards humming softly under the soil.
Violet Harmonia sat gracefully at a round table, porcelain teacup in hand.
Across from her, Outa leaned back in her chair, boots crossed, lazily flicking crumbs to a nearby Meowth that absolutely did not belong to the mansion.
Outa took a sip. "You know, it's almost peaceful when the twins aren't breaking reality."
At that exact moment—
Pop.
A Pokéball materialized midair and dropped neatly onto the table between them.
No sparks.
No distortion.
Perfect placement.
Outa looked down.
Then smiled.
"Well," she said casually, "this one has Ethan's signature."
Violet's eyebrow twitched.
She gently set her teacup down, eyes glowing faintly gold as she scanned the ball.
"…Oh?" she murmured. "What did our little brother catch this time?"
She paused.
Then paused harder.
Her eyes widened just a fraction.
"…Outa."
Outa leaned forward. "Yeah?"
Violet's smile turned dangerous in that polite, noble, world-ending way.
"He caught a Shiny Gible."
The garden went silent.
The Meowth froze mid-chew.
Outa slowly leaned back.
"…In Union Cave."
"Yes."
"…Before the second gym."
"Yes."
Outa laughed. Loud. Genuine. Slightly unhinged.
"Oh, Arceus loves him."
Violet picked up the Pokéball, feeling the restless energy inside—aggressive, proud, alive.
"This one is strong," she said softly. "Very strong. Wild-raised. Pack-instincts intact."
She tapped the ball once.
"And dangerous—for Ethan. Not because it would hurt him."
Outa grinned. "But because it would listen to him."
Violet nodded. "Exactly."
She stood.
"I'll hold onto it. Let it stabilize. Bond imprint through family resonance."
Outa tilted her head. "You gonna tell him?"
Violet smiled sweetly.
"No."
Back in Union Cave
Ethan felt a chill run down his spine.
"…She took it, didn't she."
Kitsu crossed her arms. "Your sister?"
"The scary one."
"That narrows it down to all of them."
Ethan sighed, rubbing his face.
"She'll give it back later. Probably. After a lecture. Or a threat. Or a prophecy."
Bugsy stared at him.
"…Why are you like this?"
Ethan smiled tiredly.
"Because this world doesn't believe in slow starts."
Lyra slowed to a stop mid-step, staring at Ethan like he'd just casually rewritten reality.
"…Okay," she said carefully, "someone please explain why a Pokéball just vanished like it rage-quit the universe."
Sabrina adjusted her gloves, tone calm and teacher-like.
"A trainer has a hard cap of six active Pokémon. It's a global League safety rule—mental load, aura strain, command bandwidth, all of it."
She glanced toward where the Pokéball had disappeared.
"When a seventh is caught, the League system automatically reroutes that Pokéball to the registered sponsor location. Normally, that means Professor Elm's Lab."
Lyra nodded slowly. "Okay. That makes sense."
Ethan sighed.
"…Except our Pokédex isn't registered under Elm's Lab."
Everyone stopped.
Bugsy turned around. "Say that again. Slowly."
Ethan pointed at his Pokédex.
"It's registered under Harmonia Corporation."
Silence.
Then—
"…Excuse me?" Lyra said.
Whitney blinked. "That's not a lab."
Kitsu groaned. "That's our family."
Sabrina closed her eyes for a second. When she opened them, her expression had shifted—focused, sharp.
"…That explains the precision of the teleport."
Erika frowned. "Precision?"
Sabrina nodded.
"Elm's system is automated. It dumps the Pokéball into a secure holding rack."
She looked at Ethan.
"Harmonia's system doesn't dump. It delivers."
Bugsy swallowed. "So your sister—"
"—chose where it landed," Ethan finished.
Lyra's brain visibly rebooted.
"So let me get this straight," she said slowly. "You caught a seventh Pokémon. A shiny one. The Pokéball didn't go to a lab. It went to your family's private teleport network. And now one of your sisters is holding it."
"Yes."
"…Is this normal for you?"
Ethan shrugged.
"Unfortunate, but consistent."
Kitsu crossed her arms. "She's totally doing this on purpose."
"Oh, absolutely," Ethan agreed. "Violet doesn't interfere unless she wants to teach something."
Whitney tilted her head. "Teach what?"
Ethan looked back into the dark tunnel where the Gible had been.
"…That power comes with oversight."
A beat.
Bugsy exhaled.
"I just wanted to study bugs."
From deeper in the cave, something shifted again—stones scraping, breath echoing low and slow.
Sabrina's eyes narrowed.
"…We're not done here," she said.
And far away, in a sunlit garden, a Shiny Gible snarled at a woman calmly drinking tea—
and, for the first time, felt something like respect.
To be continued
Hope people like this ch and give me power stones and enjoy