Chapter 209: The Underground Hidden Battlefield

It all happened in the blink of an eye.

Pikachu, always quick on its feet, darted toward Togepi, its tiny arms outstretched, aiming to catch the baby Pokémon before it could tumble into the steaming hot spring. The last thing anyone wanted was for Togepi to get hurt.

But then—something unexpected happened.

Togepi, rather than falling straight into Pikachu's grasp, twisted its little body just slightly—and in doing so, completely dodged Pikachu's hands!

"Pika?!" Pikachu gasped, shocked.

Togepi wobbled, lost its footing, and tumbled forward, rolling straight toward the hot spring!

A sharp gasp cut through the air.

Misty, who had been walking toward them, screamed in panic. "Togepi!" Her heart lurched. If Togepi fell into the hot spring, it could get burned!

THUD!

A moment later, Misty's worst fears did not come true. Instead of rolling into the hot spring, Togepi's small body bounced off a rock near the water's edge, coming to a stop just in time.

"Pika!" Pikachu let out a sigh of relief before dashing over.

As the tension eased slightly, Ash and Brock, who had also hurried over, took a deep breath.

But before anyone could fully relax—

RUMBLE…

A deep, grinding noise echoed through the area.

Ash, Brock, and Misty all froze. They instinctively looked toward the source of the sound—only to see something truly bizarre happening.

The large rock formation near the outer edge of the hot spring was moving.

"What... what the heck?!" Ash took a step back, completely stunned.

Brock narrowed his eyes. "That rock… it's shifting!"

The Pokémon, still gathered around the hot spring, also looked up in shock. Even Charizard, who normally wouldn't care for much besides itself, let out a curious growl.

Misty, however, was more concerned with Togepi. She rushed forward, scooping the little Pokémon into her arms, hugging it tightly.

"You… you little troublemaker!" Misty scolded, her voice shaky from the scare. "Do you have any idea how worried I was? You can't just run off like that!"

Togepi, looking up at Misty with wide, teary eyes, let out a tiny, guilty chirp.

Misty sighed. She couldn't stay mad at it. Gently, she stroked its small head. "Just… please be more careful, okay?"

A Mysterious Underground Passage

Meanwhile, Ash and Brock had rushed over to the rock formation that had just moved.

Now, before their very eyes, a hidden passage had revealed itself. A staircase descended into the ground, and a strange heat emanated from below.

Ash stared. "Wait… a hidden underground tunnel? What is this place?"

Brock crouched down, peering into the passage. "This isn't just some natural cave… there are lights installed inside—and these stairs were definitely built by someone."

Ash's eyes widened as recognition dawned on him.

'Oh yeah… I remember now!'

He recalled the events of the original Pokémon story. There was a secret mechanism in the hot spring of this hotel that, when triggered, revealed a passageway leading directly to the Cinnabar Gym.

However…

'Wait a minute…' Ash frowned. 'The real world's Cinnabar Gym isn't abandoned like in the anime… It's still active and located inside a research facility nearby. So… why is this secret tunnel still here?'

Brock crossed his arms. "What do you think, Ash? Should we check it out? Or should we just call over the hotel staff and ask what's going on?"

Ash hesitated. On one hand, he already knew what this was. But on the other… he couldn't exactly explain how he knew.

So instead, he played along.

"Let's go in and check it out ourselves first," Ash suggested. "If something weird happens, we can call the police. But for now, let's not alert anyone."

Brock thought for a moment, then nodded. "Yeah, good call. Something about this place already seems suspicious."

After quickly explaining the situation to Misty, they decided to return all their Pokémon to their Poké Balls—except for Pikachu, who remained on Ash's shoulder.

With that settled, the trio descended into the mysterious underground passage.

Descending into the Unknown

The deeper they went, the warmer the air became. There was an unnatural heat radiating from below, though the dim lighting along the walls allowed them to see where they were going.

Brock kept his guard up. "Be careful. We don't know if there are any traps or wild Pokémon down here."

Ash nodded, though internally, he was less concerned about danger—and more curious about what they'd find.

As they continued downward, the staircase suddenly opened up into a vast underground chamber.

Their footsteps echoed as they entered the large, dome-shaped space.

A Hidden Battlefield?!

Ash's eyes widened as he took in the sight before him.

Right in the middle of the chamber was…

A Pokémon battle arena!

It looked like a secret battlefield, complete with a dirt-covered floor, stadium-style lighting, and even painted boundary lines.

"What the—" Brock started, his eyes scanning the surroundings. "Why would something like this be under a hotel?!"

Ash remained silent, though his thoughts were racing.

'This has to be connected to Cinnabar Gym… But if that's the case, why is it hidden underground?'

Before anyone could ponder further—

Meanwhile…

Elsewhere in the hotel, in a private control room, a single red warning light blinked.

It was part of a security system, designed to detect when the underground passage was triggered.

And right now—room number 3's mechanism had just been activated.

A lone figure sat in the room, watching the alert. The man had a long, white mustache, a bald head, and a mischievous glint in his eyes.

He adjusted his sunglasses and smirked.

"So… the hot spring's secret has been discovered, has it?"

With a chuckle, he stood up, placing his hands behind his back.

This man was none other than Blaine—the Gym Leader of Cinnabar Island.

And judging by the look on his face…

He was expecting this to happen.