Connecting Cave Clash! (PokéTales)

'Connecting Cave Clash! 'is the eighth chapter of the first entry in the PokéTales series, Kalos Rejuvenated, created and written by 15bowdenc. It follows on directly from the seventh chapter, Duel of the Duos!.

Story
Before leaving Cyllage City for Geosenge Town, Enzo and Mathilde decided to enter Connecting Cave to hopefully encounter new Pokémon.

Their footsteps echoed throughout the small cavern as they traversed it; suddenly, another sound ripped through the area, and Enzo instinctively threw down a Poké Ball, releasing his Bunnelby. The rabbit Pokémon glared silently at the opponent before her – a Zubat.

The Zubat let out an almighty screech before gathering energy to send out a Confuse Ray; however, it passed straight through Bunnelby, which prompted another squeal of frustration and a Wing Attack, which was met and parried on Bunnelby’s part by a Mud Slap. This proved ineffective, and so Enzo commanded his Pokémon to use Tackle, which sent the bat Pokémon spiralling to the ground. He used this opportunity to throw down a Poké Ball towards the weakened Pokémon.

One, two, three… click!

Enzo was brimming with pride as he collected the Poké Ball and updated his Pokédex with his new find. As he embraced Bunnelby and thanked her for helping him, Mathilde let out a surreptitious and obviously fake cough from behind him.

On her shoulder was a Whismur, clearly newly-caught. It seemed quite shy, as it was covering its face with its elongated ears.

“Let’s trade.”.

Enzo was inclined to say no, to disagree, but unlike before with his Caterpie, he had not formed a bond with Zubat yet. He doubted that Whismur would be treated well under Mathilde’s command given its nature, so he took a deep breath and agreed.

As he was reading his Pokédex to learn about his newly-obtained Pokémon, the two rivals heard a low-pitched voice shouting in the distance.

“Hold it, you two! Don’t go any further!”.

Both trainers readied themselves for battle, with thoughts racing through their heads as to who their assailant could possibly be. However, as the light from the cave entrance was brought onto the shadow of their opponent, there was a sigh of relief from both trainers.

It was Professor Sycamore.

“It isn’t safe to be here, you two,”, the professor panted, holding a clipboard to gather data. “There have been some dangerous tectonic readings in this area ever since the Flare Crisis; it could collapse at any moment”.

At that moment, the entrance collapsed with a mighty thud, being buried under a pile of rocks.

Boulders began raining down on the three of them, as they darted for the exit on the opposite end of the cavern. As they neared the way out, a massive rock three times the size of the one blocking off the entrance began thundering towards them, at a rapid pace.

There was no way out, nowhere to dodge it. The three of them, filled with fear, began to accept their fate just as a mighty shadow fell over them.

They looked up and saw a man. A very tall and old man.

He was holding the rock up.

Without a word, he threw the rock away from the gathering of trainers and walked out through the exit, ducking his head as he did so.

In awe, Enzo and Mathilde struggled to grasp what had just happened as Sycamore explained the man’s identity.

“That man is AZ,”, the professor said. “He is the former King of Kalos and is incredibly old. He was involved in the Flare Crisis.”.

They stood in silence for a few minutes, before they were interrupted by someone yelling for the professor.

It was Bruce.

“Professor! Professor,” he exclaimed, waving paper in his hand. “I saw you enter the cave earlier, so I thought I would hand in my application to be your assistant to you personally.”

After a minor discussion with the professor, the former Team Flare member walked out with him, headed for Lumiose City. Mathilde and Enzo could see the excitement plainly on Bruce’s face as he exited Connecting Cave.

Without any words exchanged, the two looked at each other and exited the cave via the entrance, which AZ had also cleared out, to return to what they knew – Geosenge Town.

Appearances

 * Enzo
 * Mathilde
 * Bruce
 * Augustine Sycamore
 * AZ (series debut)

Pokémon

 * Bunnelby (Enzo's)
 * Zubat (Mathilde's, recently acquired and traded, series debut)
 * Whismur (Enzo's, recently acquired and traded, series debut)

Trivia

 * This chapter features the first appearance of Professor Sycamore in the flesh, as his only other appearance was via a video recording in the first chapter.