The 2 Arbok chased Eric and his Pokemon inside the cave. Gastly fired Ghost Balls at them to keep them back, but they slithered around them and continued their advance.
Their target was Eric, who was running towards the right most path in the cave.
One of the Arbok covered enough distance that he was only a few meters away from Eric.
Poliwag, who was running with Eric, stopped and fired Muddy Water at it.
The water raged in the caves, crashing towards the Arbok. Arbok didn't dodge, It lunged through the wave, fangs bared, its muscular body parting the water like a serpent through grass.
Fangs bared, it was about to bite Poliwag when a large stalactite fell on him.
Fearow was using Aerial Ace to break the rocks on the roof of the cave, hitting the Arbok.
The second Arbok, caught off guard by the sudden collapse, took two Ghost Balls to the face. It recoiled, hissing.
Eric didn't wait. He bolted into the right‑most passage.
The respite lasted only seconds. The first Arbok shoved the stalactite aside and resumed the chase. The second followed, angrier than before.
---
"Blastoise, Jolteon, Electric Hydro Pump! Archie, flare Blitz on Mismagious!"
Outside the cave, an intense all out battle was happening between 12 advanced level Pokemon. The forest was a mess. Fallen and burnt trees everywhere. So much so that the sky was completely visible whereas before, only a little light passed through the canopy.
"Just having that Arcanine has improved your strength by a lot since last time."
The cloaked figure praised as they watched leisurely.
Flygon shot towards Jolteon to take him down. His combination with Blastoise was a threat and needed to be taken down first.
On the other hand, Arcanine was attacking Mismagius. The Mismagius dodged, causing Arcanine to hit a tree. But Arcanine didn't cancel his Flare Blitz as he used the tree like a foot hold to blitz towards Mismagius again.
He slammed into her and landed on the ground, then pivoted and shot towards Flygon, still using Flare Blitz!
Jolteon jumped high, dodging Flygon's assault. Flygon then turned around to fire a dragon Pulse at him, but was rammed by Arcanine from the side and went flying. Blastoise, who was free, then fired a hydro Pump at it, bringing Flygon close to defeat.
'Yes! You go Archie!"
Misako, who was hidden behind some of the fallen trees some distance away, was about to jump up in excitement when Eevee puller at her to stop.
"Ahaha, thanks Eevee," she whispered quietly.
Having met no Pokemon on her path, she had beelined towards the cave and just got here to see Arcanine take down Mismagius and Flygon.
"See, Eevee! Big sis Haruko is the strongest. That Cloaked baddie doesn't stand a chance!" She whispered enthusiastically.
But Haruko did not feel the same way. On paper she was winning. But the cloaked figure looked too relaxed for someone who was leaving. As if none of this mattered to him.
Haruko narrowed her eyes as the Cloaked figure spoke, "Oh dear. I seem to be in a pickle. I didn't know rangers were this strong. Whatever will I do?"
The sarcasm was dripping in his voice.
"Just what is your purpose? Why did you kill all those Pokemon, and what is this purple light pointing towards the cave?"
"Do you really think I'll tell you?"
The mockery was unmistakable.
Then the figure's tone shifted—lighter, almost jovial.
"Because if you thought that… then you'd be correct! I'm here looking for something. The light helps me find it."
"Looking for what?"
"Something."
The voice then dropped, turning cold.
"Now here's my question. Why am I telling you this?"
The temperature seemed to drop. Arcanine, still recovering from the recoil of using Flare Blitz thrice, let out a low growl.
The cloaked figure then released 2 more Pokemon.
Golem Lvl 46
Crobat Lvl 47
"It's because this area will be your grave."
Haruko tensed up seeing the 2 new threats.
'that guy's such a cheater.'
Misako thought as she looked at Haruko with worry.
"Speaking of" the figure continued speaking,
"Do you reckon that kid who ran into the cave is dead by now?"
He said with a mocking glee.
'that kid? Could they be talking about Eric?'
Misako, who was listening from the side, thought in worry.
"Tch, Scizor, take care of Crobat. Pidgeot, switch with Scizor and take care of Alakazam. Archie, flamethrower at Aggron. Blastoise, defeat Camerupt, then fight Golem. Jolteon, finish off Mismagiusz then use swift in Flygon."
The cloaked figure did nothing and just laughed maniacally, as if watching a play. Since the fight started, they had not given out even a single order to their Pokemon.
They just watched, as if the result of this battle meant nothing.
His Pokemon fought and counter attacked on their own. The little bit of pressure that was lifted off of Haruko after injuring Mismagius and Flygon returned, as once again all her attention was focussed on the battle.
In the heat of the battle, neither Haruko nor the cloaked figure noticed Misako sneaking behind the trees and entering the cave. Normally, the senses of Advanced level Pokemon would have sensed her. But they were locked in a battle of death, with no attention to spare.
Misako ran off into the cave despite knowing the risks.
'The Ayame always repay their debts.'
She recited this moto inside her head as she stormed off. Eric saved her before. Now it was her turn to help him.
---
Huff Huff.
'Damnit. We are so close. Just a little more.'
It was getting increasingly difficult for Eric to continue escaping the 2 Arbok. Till now, the near great coordination between his Pokemon and his tactics had allowed him to stall the 2 Arbok, who only relied on their brute strength.
But he was slowly reaching a limit. The cave kept getting narrower the further he went in. Their were no more stalactites for Fearow to drop, and her mobility suffered a lot too.
In the end, Eric had to recall her after she was caught by Arbok's tail, and then bitten with Poison fang, almost passing out with that one hit.
It wasn't all bad however, as the narrow cave made it more difficult for the Arbok to dodge Gastly and Poliwag's ranged attacks as well.
While they didn't do much, they were still injuring them. Especially Gastly's attacks. The problem was that it was getting more and more difficult for Gastly to hold back his evolution.
And the Arbok were slowly gaining on Eric. They closed the distance by about 1 meter per minute.
Fortunately, the end of the passage was near. Once Eric got out, he was in an open space again. He called out Fearow to give her an antitode and Max Potion while Poliwag and Gastly held them off.
Once healed, Fearow once again joined the frey, flying up and and attacking the Arbok with dropping stalactites again.
'this should be the area.'
Eric looked around to find the pearls.
And he did.
They were scattered around besides the walls. One of tha wall, Eric noticed, had a strange symbol drawn on it.
'was it my imagination, or did that symbol just glow red?'
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