Ash and his friends arrived at a pitch-black cave.
"This is it, Granite Cave!" Max said excitedly.
"Is Mr. Steven looking for valuable stones in here?" May asked, looking at the ordinary cave entrance, then turned to Max. "Max, do you know what it's like inside?"
Max scratched his head, admitting he didn't know. He clearly hadn't done his homework.
"Granite Cave is a lair for Aron, so the area below is full of winding tunnels dug by them, like a complex maze. Everyone be careful," Ash warned.
"As expected of Ash! Not like some people," ?((???))? May said, looking at Ash in admiration.
Brock looked back at Ash, also feeling that Ash was getting more and more reliable.
Max ╰(???)╯
Then, the four of them walked into the cave, where it was so dark they couldn't see a thing.
"Wow, this is what a cave feels like," May said with a sigh.
"Big sister, this is a cave. Be careful," Max said, feeling a little speechless.
"Come on out, Quilava! Burn with courage!" Ash sent out Quilava, and the area around them became noticeably brighter.
"Awesome! It's so much clearer now." May said happily.
"Grr~" Quilava walked ahead as Ash and the others followed behind.
Just then, two cave entrances appeared in front of them. Brock went up and put a sticker on the wall between the two entrances, explaining, "This way, even if we get lost, we can use this mark to find our way back."
Everyone nodded, thinking Brock's idea was great!
Afterward, Ash and the others chose one of the entrances and continued. They came to a place with a huge hole in the ceiling where sunlight was streaming in, making everything clear.
Just as Ash and his friends were about to go to the bottom of the hole to check out the situation, the ground suddenly collapsed, and they fell into a deep pit.
"What's going on?" Brock asked, confused.
"Wahahaha! Since you asked... (Team Rocket's motto)
"It's you guys again, Team Rocket!"
The Team Rocket trio was happily jumping around the pit. "Haha, we did it! They fell for it!"
Ash used his Aura to sense that the ground was about to collapse again. He shouted, "Wait, Team Rocket, don't jump!"
But it was too late. Cracks appeared in the ground, and it began to collapse again. Ash and his friends, along with the Team Rocket trio, all fell down at the same time, sliding down and getting separated.
Ash crawled out of a pile of dirt and used his Aura to find his direction and the others.
"Pika~" Pikachu also crawled out of the dirt pile.
"Ugh! What a mess! Help me!" On the other side, May also crawled out of a pile of dirt.
"That's great, Pikachu and May, you're both okay," Ash said happily.
"Pika~" "Ash! You're okay!"
Ash, Pikachu, and May all looked up at the large hole above.
"We fell from all the way up there! It's so high!" May felt a chill run down her spine.
"We've fallen to the lower level! The ground must have become unstable because of Team Rocket digging the hole. And those idiots kept jumping up and down, making us fall down!" Ash said, analyzing the situation.
"Let's go look for Max and the others first, and then we'll figure out how to get back to where we were," May said, still worried about Max's safety.
"We should probably go up first. They'll probably be trying to climb up, too, and it'll be easier to find them from up there," Ash said.
May thought that made sense and nodded in agreement.
Then, Ash used his Aura to scout ahead and led May and Pikachu into a cave entrance.
On the other side, Jessie, Meowth, and Ash's Quilava were together. Team Rocket needed Quilava's light, so they had to make a temporary truce and started looking for a way out.
The last group, naturally, was Max, Brock, and James. After an exchange of criticism, they also started looking for a way out.
Ash led May and Pikachu through the cave. It was pitch black, but thanks to Ash's Aura, they didn't get lost. May, however, was very nervous as she looked around. Even though she had an adventurous spirit, being unable to see anything was unnerving.
Suddenly, "A-ron~" a sound came from ahead.
"Ahhh!" May screamed in fright. Ash grabbed her hand and said, "Don't be scared! I'm here!"
May felt Ash's hand and blushed, looking down. Ash led May to the source of the sound, and they saw an Aron in front of them.
"It's just an Aron. There's nothing to be scared of, May," Ash said, letting go of her hand.
May felt a little relieved seeing the Aron, but she also felt a little disappointed!
[Aron]
[Gender: Male]
[Type: Steel, Rock]
[Ability: Heavy Metal (The Pokémon's weight is doubled.)]
[Strength: Early Gym-Level]
[Moves: Heavy Slam, Dragon Rush, Head Smash...]
[Tera Type: Steel]
"Alright, let's go, Pikachu! Catch it! Use Surf!"
"Pika~" A huge wave surged from under Pikachu and rushed toward Aron. Aron, however, was surrounded by a white light and charged out, pushing Pikachu back.
"Aron's defense is really high. Pikachu, let's end this quickly! Use a full-power Volt Tackle!"
"Pikapikapika~"
Pikachu knocked Aron out. Ash threw a Poké Ball, catching it and sending it to Professor Oak's lab.
"Alright! I caught an Aron! Huh? What's this?" Ash's Aura sensed something strange in the wall. He pointed to a spot and gave an order. "Pikachu, Iron Tail!"
"Pika~" As Iron Tail hit, rocks flew, revealing a glowing, crystalline stone.
"This... it's one of those gems again!" May said in surprise. The Shroomish had given Ash a similar gem before.
[Ding~ Aggron Mega Stone]
A smile appeared on Ash's face. It's a buy-one-get-one-free deal!
Afterward, Ash continued to lead May and Pikachu forward. They could clearly feel themselves ascending.
"I think we've reached the upper level! Is anyone here?" Ash looked up and shouted.
"Pikapi~" "Is anyone there?"
Just then, Ash sensed an Aura and led May and Pikachu toward it. After running for a while, they saw a figure with a Pokémon next to it!
"That person is..." Ash exclaimed. It was a young man with silvery-blue hair and an Aron by his side.
"Champion Steven!"
"Huh?! He's Mr. Steven?!" May said in shock.
"Hello! What are you two doing here? Are you lost?" Steven asked politely.
"Hi, my name is Ash from Pallet Town. This is my partner, Pikachu, and this is May. Can you help us? We're not sure where our friends are!" Ash asked for Steven's help, since Steven had been here for so long and must be more familiar with the terrain.
"Please help us." "Pika~"
"So you're Ash! My father mentioned you recently. Don't worry! Leave it to me!" Steven said, then suddenly remembered something. "That's right! So that's why the Aron were..."
"Could they have stirred up the Aron?! That's dangerous!" Ash said in alarm.
"Ah! Let's hurry and save them!"
"Right, this way," Steven said. He didn't dare to take it lightly and quickly led Ash and May in that direction.
Ash's group ran for a bit and found that the path ahead was broken.
"What do we do?" May asked, worried.
"Look down there!" Steven shouted. Ash also sensed the Aura of Brock and Max.
Just then, footsteps came from below. "Brock! Max! Quilava, get up here!"
"Ash! Big sister!"
"Huh?! The little brats!"
"Are you all okay?" Brock asked with concern.
"We're fine! We met Mr. Steven!"
"They're coming! Listen to me! Run straight ahead! There's a waterfall at the next intersection! We'll all meet there!" Steven said to Brock and the others.
"Got it," Brock nodded in understanding.
Then, Brock and the others ran forward, with a large group of Aron chasing them.
"We should get going, too!" Ash and the other two ran to a cave entrance. The waterfall was just below. Brock and the others were already in front of the waterfall, and the Aron were rushing toward them!
"I'm counting on you, Bayleef, use Sweet Scent!"
Bayleef released a sweet aroma, and the Aron gradually calmed down.
"Aron, those people aren't bad. Hurry and go back!" Steven came forward to explain, and the Aron started to head back.
Then, Ash, May, and Steven came down from above.
"Alright, it's our turn to shine! Since you asked... (Team Rocket's motto)
"Go, Seviper!" "I'm counting on you, Cacnea!"
Cacnea turned and hugged James. "Ah! It hurts! This way!"
"Pikachu, use Thunderbolt to take care of..." "Pika..."
"Wait! The Pokémon in this cave all live peacefully. If anyone wants to disrupt this tranquility, I will be your opponent! Aggron, go!" Steven made the first move.
"Roar~"
"Hyper Beam!"
Aggron fired a purple-black energy beam that hit Team Rocket, sending them flying off once again. "That's a nasty feeling!" "Sonnans (???)~"
"Good job, Aggron! You can rest now!" Steven recalled Aggron.
"As expected of a Champion! He's so cool!" Max said, admiring Steven.
"I'm a former Champion. I've already passed the title on to my good friend Wallace," Steven explained helplessly.
Just then, an Aron was digging through the pile of dirt that had fallen from the rock wall Team Rocket had broken.
"What is it, Aron?" Steven asked, confused by the Aron's strange behavior.
The Aron found a red stone in the hole it had dug.
"I found it! Good job, Aron!" Steven shouted happily, holding the stone.
"Aron~" (?o?)
"Mr. Steven, did you find something?" Max asked, walking up to him.
"It's a Fire Stone. I've been looking for this in this cave," Steven explained.
"A Fire Stone?" May, the poor student, asked.
"Yes! It's one of the stones that can help a Pokémon evolve. For example, it can evolve a Growlithe into an Arcanine," Steven explained patiently.
"That's right, and a Vulpix can evolve into a Ninetales, and an Eevee can evolve into a Flareon," Ash added, then turned to Steven. "Mr. Steven, I challenge you to a battle!"
"No problem!" Steven nodded in agreement.
To be continued...