Chapter 39: Exploring The Cave
"Nice one Torchic!"
Edward applauded his Pokemon after defeating the wild Yungoos rushing towards them.
Walking towards the downed Pokemon, Edward checked its condition first, making sure that it had passed out before sighing in relief.
Then, he carried it in his hands and hid it beside a nearby tree. He also left some fruits for the poor Pokemon before leaving it alone.
Yungoos is a long-bodied Pokemon similar to a mongoose. It is covered in brown fur with a yellow stripe down its back and underside. It has short, rounded ears on the sides of its head, a short snout with a pink nose, and a large mouth full of pointed teeth.
In addition, Yungoos is thick-bodied and has a wide, flat tail with longer fur on the tip despite its length with three sharp claws on its leg.
On their way to the canyon, they discovered this Pokemon devouring many things, such as fruits, plants, and even trees. It seems to have a voracious appetite and is always hungry.
While it was eating, it noticed their presence and came running with a hungry expression on its face. It likely was aiming for the food in their bag after smelling it.
Although its appearance is quite vicious, it only took Torchic a few moves to beat it to the ground.
"What a weird creature. It had been eating non-stop since we met it," Falkner stated.
"Maybe its stomach can digest nutrients quickly. That's why it is always feeling hungry," Rosa reasoned after observing its behavior.
Everyone in the live stream
While Rosa and Falkner are chatting about the ravenous creature that they met just now, Edward has just finished checking the progress of Torchic.
He is quite delighted that Torchic has reached level 15 after tempering its body through many battles. It only needs a few more fights to stimulate its evolutionary process. Moreover, its flames temperature had already reached 1,000°C, the optimal heat it could bear at this cycle. Any more than that will cause it to experience severe heatstroke.
Quickly, he took out a notebook from his pocket and flipped through the pages before stopping on a particular section. The notebook is filled with the notes he jotted down yesterday after obtaining the Pokemon training guide he bought from the system's shop.
'Hmm. Strong fire energy can also give greater benefits to Torchic at the stage of maturity. The fire-rich energy can stimulate its unearthed potential making its body more robust before evolving to Combusken..,' Edward read the lines written on the journal carefully for a few minutes before closing it and storing it back.
'I remember the caves we are visiting are close to the volcano seen on the map. I hope there is a tunnel connecting both places inside the caves,' Edward assumed while observing Torchic, who was bouncing excitedly. It appears to be overflowing with boundless energy, just waiting for the right moment to evolve.
"Edward! Come on, Let's go! We are almost there!" Rosa's yell snapped him out of his thought.
"Coming!"
...
Meanwhile, an animated discussion about the encounter is taking place in the live stream commentary section.
[That is a weird mongoose. Look at its sharp teeth and yellow fur.]
[Is it just me, or does everyone else think that creature is a bit similar to a certain president?]
[Now that you mentioned it, I think they are pretty similar.]
(AN: Lol. Moving one)
...
"Pidgey, are there any wild beasts roaming up ahead?"
Falkner asked his partner after it landed on his outstretched gloved hand.
He had been wearing it after suffering multiple scratches due to Pidgey's sharp's talon. Luckily, it is still a young Pokemon, so the cuts on his hand aren't too deep.
Although their fitness has been increasing since consuming the berries on the island, they are still no match for the Pokemons living on the island. It might take a long period of accumulation before thinking about receiving a Pokemon's attack with their bodies. Still, a foolhardy notion in his opinion.
"Pek!" It shook its head, indicating there weren't any visible hostiles after scouting the canyon up ahead.
Seeing that he had Pidgey as his partner, Falkner decided to be the team's scout after discussing with Edward and Rosa. Furthermore, its flight speed is several times faster than Beautifly, coupled with its sharp sense of direction. It can sense the whereabouts of Falkner at the current moment, no matter the time or place. A perfect talent for the team's scout.
"Looks like we are on the right track. We will reach there in about half an hour," said Rosa, looking at the map on her navigear.
They haven't met any wild Pokemons after the small encounter with Yungoose. The tremor might have something to do with this situation. They were shooked after experiencing the occurrence twice and left the surrounding area.
While they were walking on the road, Edward accessed the system's store and perused the goods listed. He has enough points now to buy several things that he couldn't afford earlier.
'Hmm, Combusken training manual is a must. And two more manuals for Bidoof and Timburr. I need to start training them soon. Lastly, herbal medicine recipes in case they are injured or poisoned. And I'll save the rest for future emergencies,' Edward selected a few things from the shop and cleared the system's display from his vision.
(AN: I changed his system's access a little bit)
Then he joined the others and chatted with them along the road.
Half an hour later, they finally reached their destination, where many caves dotted on the cliffside. It is a massive labyrinth of an underground tunnel with many paths branching towards the unknown. That is what was written on the mission in the tasks section.
"Looks like this series of caves is dangerous. There's one team consisting of engineers, researchers, and armed soldiers that has yet to return from it. Huh? The officials have increased the rewards for their rescue if they are still alive," Rosa read the mission details out loud.
"Bring them back if they are still alive, got it," said Edward while wearing a night-vision goggle and changing his outdoor clothes to a fire retardant suit.
The three people quickly changed their gear and stood on one of the cave's entrances. It's the easiest one to get access to compared to other entrances.
The cave entrance is about 50 meters high, which is equivalent to the height of a 20-story building, while the width is nearly half the length.
It seems that there may be large Pokemon living inside the cave. Edward's aura sense is flaring widely, covering the maximum range around them.
"Are you guys ready?" asked Edward, turning his head toward
"Yeah!"
"Chic!"
"Alright, let's go!"
...
The cave was getting darker and darker as they went inside until finally, the sunlight was completely blocked by the cave's darkness.
"Turn on the NVG," Edward instructed his team.
Tnn~
Using a flashlight inside a dark cave is a stupid idea. The flashing light will only arouse the curiosity of wild Pokemon, so that's why they are using an NVG (Night-Vision Goggles) to explore the cave safely.
The staff in charge of Edward's group live stream also switched on the night-vision function on the camera so everyone else could see the cave's interior.
They steered clear of the Pokemons roaming inside the cave, stopping every now and then, letting them move ahead before finally moving past them sneakily. Although his Pokemon can defeat them slowly, why does he need to take the risk?
Moreover, this darkness is restricting his ability to command his Pokemon, further putting them in a disadvantageous situation.
It was only one hour later they finally reached a cavern deep inside the cave.
"There's light here!" shouted Falkner.
They quickly removed the NVG from their head while rubbing their eyes to relieve the soreness after seeing through it for a long time. Just as they were turning their attention towards the large chamber, suddenly, they gaped in awe.
"Diamonds!"
...
AN:
More chapters ahead on my Patr(e)on:
[ https://www.patr(e)on.com/Skye12 ]
The link is also in the synopsis ( 50+ Chapters )