CHAPTER 6: Into the Under Pt.1

On their way to Gateon Port, Carter and her friends fall down a desert hole and into the fabled and legendary underground city of the Under, where escaping is the least of their troubles. Especially when there's a Colosseum to beat.

We'd just left the Outskirt Stand diner a while ago. Valen is the one driving, with me sitting behind and (unwillingly) holding onto him. Alex is sitting in the side passenger car holding Dratini, Eevee and Sableye.

About an hour into riding through the deserts of Orre, to pass the time on our way, Alex tries explaining the jist of Contests to me. "Most regions usually require five ribbons to be won to participate in the Grand Cup – which is basically the big finals of all Contests. But in Orre, you only need three."

"Three Ribbons to enter the Grand Cup," I nod.

"They're gonna be in Gateon Port, Phenac City, Agate Village, and the finals at Realgam Tower." So, I need to win four contests huh? Do I even need to win it all? My aunts back in Cerulean wouldn't expect me to be a top coordinator off the bat, would they? Then again if I fail, I'll have no excuse to stay and they'll expect me to come straight home – and I can't do that without finding Dad's Pikachu.

Alex goes on. "The four contests will have different themes and categories depending on the location: Smarts, Beauty, Cuteness, or Coolness."

"They have types?" I say with a distorted face. It's like a beauty pageant.

"I still don't get why you need to participate in those stupid contests," Valen speaks up from the front over the motor. "And let's face it, you tomboy - You're no trainer, much less a good Coordinator. The Colosseum battles are the priority remember?"

"Look it's none of your business why I need Insignias or Ribbons okay?"

"Hello? Fate of Orre? How on earth are contests more important than that?"

However my small comment turns into this back and forth argument between us. Alex watches on from the side car with Dratini and Sableye, observing. "It's like they're married," Alex comments, Dratini responding positively and Sableye laughing with its signature creepy grin.

"I'm just saying, the last thing you need to worry about is appeal. What you should be working on are your battling skills that let me remind you, like, do not exist," Valen scoffs.

I glare at the back of his neck. What an attitude. He doesn't have to rub it in all the time. "And I'll train okay I get it. But with the contest coming up next I just want to-"

"Sableye-Sableye!" My Sableye crawls to the top of Alex's head, looking back behind us. All of us fall silent at its cries out. "Sable-Sableye!"

"What's going on?" Valen says.

I look back, squinting my eyes. Sableye must be picking something up. First I see a distant dust sand cloud thing, which I think must be pretty normal. We've passed and avoided a few of those out here. However I notice a silhouette coming out of the dusty cloud, and coming straight towards us. It's- It's huge, giant, shiny – with a face. What I'd give to know Pokemon names off the top of my head. "Guys what is that thing?!" I say with a rising voice.

"It's a STEELIX!" Alex panics.

"Are you kidding me?!" Valen yells, looking back quickly. He revs up the bike "EVERYONE HOLD ON!"

Before I can even grasp Valen tighter the bike speeds off even faster than it was already – as does the Steelix behind. We hear its roars echo through the sand as it comes clearer into view, catching up. It dives and jumps in speed through the sand, like an aquatic creature. Beautiful and deadly.

We're all screaming, maybe minus Valen. Can't blame us. I tell myself to not look back, like how you're not supposed to look down when you're up somewhere really high, but I look back anyway and see Steelix up a lot closer than I should. "VALEN GO!"

"YOU WANNA DRIVE!"

"LOOK OUT!" Alex calls, and we see an odd circle in the sand. Moving sand, a hole. Sand falling and sinking into something.

"Crap!" Valen curses as he skids the motorcycle to a stop, spinning us sideways as we try to break, but it's too late. And like that, the Steelix is the least of our problems.

I can't feel the sand, but I feel the bike sinking, like it's falling through water. We sink past the sand in the ground, and everything's dark. Our screams slowly fade out into oblivion.

x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x

"CARTER….. CARTER!..."

Mm…I'm floating. I'm, am I dead? "I see her! There she is! Get her!" I feel so peaceful. I know I'm hurt but, I don't seem to care. All my worries, I can't even remember them.

"CARTER!" I'm snapped back into reality when a strong force grabs my arm. I'm in a sea of moving sand. Valen's got a hold of my arm with one of his, and his other arm is wrapped around a rope. On a metal plate somewhere up above stands Alex and Sableye and Eevee, holding the rope. We're alive?

"V-Valen?" I mumble, unable to move in the sand. It's almost up past my chest and is trying to drag me down. I can see the fallen motor bike being moved along with the current of sand, sinking away into the darkness like a drain.

Valen yells, feeling the strain on his shoulders from holding me and the rope. "Man-up kid and pull us back already!" Valen calls to Alex.

"You guys are a lot heavier than you look, you know," Alex complains, trying to pull with the Pokemon.

Eventually, once we're on something solid, Valen and I are catching our breaths and Dratini tries to check up on us. "We're good, Dratini," Valen assures in pants.

"Guys what happened?" I pant, too, taking a look at my surroundings. It's dark, and echo-like. Like a cave. The only light is here by this lantern-lamp post. There's a sea of moving sand going out some dark tunnel to who knows where. That must've been where we landed. Up above there's a thin source of light, where sand is still falling. Well, now I know where we came from. How are we supposed to get out of here though?

"If there're metal grates here, something must be under the desert," Alex assesses, trying to use his PDA. "There's no connection down here."

"Like we need anyone's help from the surface," Valen says, dusting himself off. We see a one way grate path with rails into a metal-made alley way. The only way. "Come on. We can find our own way out.

Alex returns Eevee to its ball and Sableye climbs up to my shoulder again. Not that I'm any exited to see what's at the end of that metal path but, like I wanna stay here either. "Come on, Alex," I urge, putting an arm around him as we follow Valen, to whom Dratini coils around his arm.

It's a little dark, and all we really have is a mini flashlight attached to Valen's pants chain. However it isn't long until we reach the busy bustling end. We remain in the shadows of the so called metal alley way as we take in what's before us.

"Whoa," I breathe out.

Somehow there's an entire city made of rusty metal and junk and materials. Glowing neon signs that flicker, broken wires and pipes. Something of an underground subway scene. It definitely smells like one. Like a small city-society. People are present, walking around. They give of a familiar, intimidating air like those from Pyrite.

"What is this place…?" I whisper as we reside in the shadows.

"I can't believe it," Valen says, shaking his head. "It's incredible."

Alex gapes. "I didn't think this place really existed."

"Hello? What is it?" I ask again.

"It's the Under," Valen answers as we finally leave the shadows. He takes out a Pokeball for Dratini. "Sorry, Dratini. You'll probably be safer in your ball too for now." With that he returns his Pokemon, and I take that as a sign we're not exactly in the safest place.

As if reading my confusion, Alex fills me in. "The Under is an old miners town. People from Pyrite years ago would come here for mining jobs, and instead of commuting from the underground to the surface, they eventually just stayed here."

"Only thing is they destroyed the place and filled it in with sand after the first time Cipher attacked Orre. So I didn't think this place was even up and running anymore," Valen adds as I take in more of the scene. "Look, cool-guys, I don't think the people here take very kindly to strangers, and we stick out like sore thumbs."

"So what do you want us to do about that?"

"I don't know. Kid stop looking like a tourist and you," he says to me, "Lose the fascinated doe-eyed look." I glare at him. "Better." I hate you.

The three of us walk around with as hardened faces as possible, Valen leading. It's weird to say, but I think having Sableye with me at least makes me five percent more intimidating. Maybe. And the huge bandaged arm hopefully isn't a big give away and at least makes me look tough.

"I heard rumors the place was active again due to the secret Colosseum but I didn't think I'd ever be down here to see it myself," Valen whispers.

"And that must be it," Alex notices. Across a large metallic ditch to another endless nothingness below, there's a large metal dome with a bright door at its base. It's across a small metal bridge. So, that's a Colosseum. "Looks thriving to me," Alex notes. "You think they have a Shadow Pokemon?"

"It's a possibility," Valen acknowledges.

"And look," I point, noticing one of many of the same fliers hung around the Under. There's a couple hung up on a wall. They're advertising participating in the Colosseum matches.

"'Face the current Colosseum Head: Cail and his undefeated champ Umbreon'," Alex reads, ripping one off the walls, not that anyone will notice. The walls are full of new and ripped papers. However Valen snatches it from him to see. "Hey!"

"Cail?" Valen repeats, looking intensely at the green-haired man with goggles on the flier.

"You know him?" I ask.

"Heck yeah I know him," Valen responds quite energetically, and not that happy either. Alex doesn't know him either. "He used to live up on the surface in Pyrite as the 'gate keeper'," he says with finger quotations. "He'd battle any newcomers who entered the town without even letting them catch their breath. He was a tough guy I heard."

"You ever meet him?"

"Only heard," Valen shrugs. "But this is him definitely. Only…" he narrows his eyes at the Umbreon in the flier. "He doesn't have a Grunbull here. That's his main partner. He's never had an Umbreon before."

"Granbull?" I repeat with an unsure face. What kind of name is that?

"It's a Pokemon," Alex answers, pulling out the PDA Pokedex. He shows me its picture and info on the screen. Wow, it looks like a dog. A really… scary, purple big-fanged Pokemon dog on twos.

My face looses color a little. "Oh."

"That was his prized Pokemon since the first Shadow Pokemon Incident," Valen points out, crumpling the flier into his cargo pockets. "He'd never let his main Pokemon go that easily."

"You think that Umbreon might be the Shadow Pokemon?" I ask, kind of worried he'll say yes. Valen's very still face answers that question. He's still carefully studying the flyer. "So what do we do now?"

"I still don't like this place," Valen advises,stuffing the piece of paper in his pocket as he observes the shady characters around us. "We should split up and try to scratch up any information on the Under's Colosseum, just to be sure. The last thing we need is you going into Pokemon Battles you don't need to fight in – much less a Championship battle arena like the Under Colosseum."

Thnaks for the faith, Valen. "You sure splitting up's a good idea?"

"Yeah. We'll regroup here in a while. You two stay together. I'll be fine on my own."

I want to try and talk Valen out of it, but he's already walking away, not so much leaving us with a choice. "Okay," I frown unsure. Hope he'll be alright.

Alex and I wander around the Under, me keeping him within close reach and supervision. Now that I see the place, I can understand why Valen of all people would be uncomfortable here. Not a single person can pass a suspicious glance at us or we're toast. Alex seems nervous enough, so I have to put up a tough front.

"I don't like this, Carter," Alex says close to me. I have Sableye climb onto Alex's shoulder instead to make him feel better.

"Me, neither," I admit, albeit a little less nervous. "I'm gonna kill Valen, later." I try doing as he said though, asking around for information on the Colosseum. The most I get isn't really anything useful. The Colosseum Head, Cail, is apparently the undefeated Champ, and no challenger in the Under has yet defeated him. (which so doesn't make me feel any better).

While we're walking, we pass by a small scuffle between two people. Alex and I try to keep our eyes away or down as we pass by quickly. It takes me a while, but I see Sableye's ears, or whatever those things on the side of its head are, twitch. I look at a distant mirror up front and see a man in its reflection a little further behind us. Following. With my arm around Alex like a protective big sister, I make us turn a random corner. I look at another reflection in a window – the guy's following us.

He just mugged that other guy so now he's going after kids. Great. "Alex run with me," I grit through my teeth quietly.

"Huh?"

"Run." I take his tiny arm and start high tailing it. Looking back I can see the guy following us even faster., running even. Trying to keep calm I lead Alex down different random turns, praying a dead end doesn't exist anywhere nearby.

We make a temporary invisible pass and I see an old wooden Herbal Shop. I enter quickly with Alex first before shutting the sliding door. I see the man's shadow through the blind pass by, losing us. Seeing so, I release my breath. "That was close."

"Yeah," Alex frowns, leaning on me.

"Hello!" Alex and I look back to the front of the small shop. It sure smells like a herbal medicine place. The scent of incense runs through as well. But even more out of place is a little kid, maybe a little younger than Alex, standing on a stool behind the counter. Don't tell me he works here. "How can I help you?" he boy asks eagerly.

"Uh," I start out, blinking. "We're um, looking for food?" Well that was stupid.

"Food," the little boy says, tapping his chin with a pencil. "Well, I guess herbs are technically food. Don't really taste all that good though. Unless your desperate." Actually- "Hey wait a second," the little boy says suspiciously, and rather adorably. I don't know why I freeze up at that. "You look familiar…"

"No she doesn't!" Alex says way too quickly. I elbow him. Nice.

"Yeah-huh," the kid says, finally ringing a light bulb. "You're the kid of Ash Ketchum! Pokemon Master!"

Alex's eyes widen ridiculously, even more so than mine. I was not expecting that to blurt out. How does this little kid who's still missing his two front teeth reorganize me like that? "Uh," I stammer, blinking my eyes. "I-I guess?"

"You're the daughter of who?" Alex whispers to me with a still out-of-earth expression.

"I knew you were her! You look just like him!" the boy at the counter grins, pointing at an old picture of my dad on the walls, alongside other frames of famous trainers. The one of my dad has him in the middle of stuffing his face with food. Yup, that's him. "I loved watching him on the television! And you look just like him! Like a girl-kid version of him!"

"Right," I grin exactingly. Can't beat em, join em. I put my palm over Alex's face too to cover his rather embarrassingly shocked look.

x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x

Before long, the little kid's guardian is pouring us some tea in the back of the counter, away from the store front. She's a much nicer seeming lady than any of the older old geezers outside the shop. "Excuse my grandson's brashness. I hope he hasn't said anything too offensive."

"Not at all," I smile. It's been so long since I've had warm tea. "And thank you so much for this."

"Anything for a celebrity's daughter," she smiles warmly. I wouldn't call my father a celebrity, but in a way I suppose he is. She sets some Pokefood for Sableye, who eats hastily. "Lann, you entertain our guests for me, will you? I have some herbs to tend to in the back."

"Okay Grandma," the little boy says as his grandmother disappears behind some traditional curtains. What a nice change of scenery. "So, now that the old bag is gone, now we can get down to the real business!" the kid says rather confidently, but his childish voice just makes me want to hug him.

"Um, the real business?" I ask with a hesitant laugh. I don't want to offend him. I can see Alex still looking at me, waiting for an explanation about the Ash Ketchum's daughter thing.

"Yeah! You're here lookin for Ash's Pikachu aren't cha," he says in so called hushed voice, not really.

My eyes widen again and now the little boy has my attention. His smug grin seems aware that I'm suddenly taking him seriously now. Alex looks back and forth between us, fairly lost. "Carter? What's this about?" Alex asks with a distrustful tone. "I thought you lived with Professor Oak. That one of your parents were professors of his?"

"I did live with Professor Oak; when we met. My dad was Ash yeah, but, he left a while ago," I sum up. "I live in Cerulean City now with my aunts."

"And, what happened to Pikachu?" Alex asks.

"Didn't you see the news? Those Cipher-bad guys stole Ash's Pikachu right on screen,"the boy Lann tells him, reminding me of how real it was. "So when I see the kid of Ash Ketchum here in Orre, that HAS to be the reason why you're here, isn't it?" he asks hopefully, hoping to be right.

I can't help but smile. What an observant little boy. "Yes," I nod. "I am."

"I knew it! This is so cool!" Lann freaks out in an adorable way only little boys can. "It's a totally top secret mission isn't it!"

"Yes, that's why we can't tell anyone about it," I smile, entertaining the boy with a finger over my lips.

"But what about Valen?" Alex reminds me, still frowning. He must have so any questions. "Does he know about any of this?"

"He doesn't have to know," I reply sympathetically, though my eyes show the true worry I have for my father's kidnapped Pikachu. Now that Alex knows, I don't have to hide it form him. "Not that it matters. It's my personal thing, so you don't have to worry about it, okay Alex?" I smile, poking his nose like a big sister would. That gesture seems to cheer him up. "So you two promise you won't tell anyone?"

"Promise," both Alex and Lann agree, in both different tones of enthusiasm of course. I can't have all of Orre knowing Ash Ketchum's daughter is on a rampant search for this world master's strongest Pokemon.

"But just so you know," little Lann says with a cocky grin, "I have connections all over Orre with other kids who may have some information on your missing Pikachu."

"Is that so," I humor.

"I'm serious," he says, as if sensing my doubt. "My grandparents used to be part of the Kids Grid, this secret underground organization of kids who helped fight off Cipher."

"Seriously?"

"I've heard about the Kids Grid," Alex notes, affirming Lann's claims. No way. "Real geniuses those kids were. They helped the Hero of Orre with all sorts of things, with hacking to information broking – you name it. And they were all kids."

"And now that Cipher's making it's come back, so will the Kids Grid!" little Lann says spiritedly, banging on the poor wooden table and rattling our tea cups. "Here, give me your PDA number and I'll contact you when I hear anything," he says, pointing at the machine at my belt.

I reach for it and hand it to him. He begins entering things into it like he has one, too. Guess he truly is tech savvy after all. "Thanks Lann. I appreciate it," I say earnestly. Guess I've made my first official ally in Orre.

"If you kids need a place to stay for the night," Lann's grandmother interrupts, coming back to the store from the back room, "you're welcome to stay here. I know how dangerous it must be for young visitors like you to find a safe place to sleep."

"Thank you very much. It'll be like we're not even here," I assure.

"But what about Valen?" Alex reminds with a suspicious face. "What if he's waiting for us back at the meeting spot?"

"Oh yeah," I remember. "Alex you stay here in the herbal shop. I'll go back out and look for him. Come on, Sableye."

"Be careful," Alex warns as Sableye and I cross the counter entrance to leave the shop. A small bell rings off above the front door, signaling my departure.

x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x

Okay so, walking around completely alone is a lot more scary than I imagined it to be, but I have Sableye. That's enough, right? "You okay, Sableye?" I ask, more nervous sounding than I intended.

"Sable-Sableye…" it replies, hovering closer over my shoulder. I have no idea what that means.

Miraculously I reach our old re-grouping spot. Empty like the desert. "Weird, Valen's not here yet," I say. We've been gone a while. I thought he'd be here all pissed and ready to lecture me about where I've been. Against my better judgement I decide to look around. Can't be too hard to spot another teenager roaming around the Under. However soon enough I hear another struggle – not that they're uncommon. Lots of fights appear to break out in the Under. However one of the voices catch my attention. It's the sound of a Pokemon getting hurt – Dratini.

"Valen," I breath out, breaking into run as Sableye clutches my shoulder.

I turn a corner at a small neon lit building and I see two guys ganging up on Valen and his Dratini in a two-on-one battle at this dead end area. A Houndour and a Machoke stand totally on the offensive against an already losing Dratini. I mean it's practically a baby are they really doing this?

Not that it seems like Valen had a choice.

"Heh, still not gonna have over your money, punk?" one of the shady guys speaks up.

"I already told you I'm broke!"

"Suit yourself! Then say goodbye to your Dratini! Machoke use Karate Chop!"

The massively large Machoke starts running for the little Pokemon. Just when I think it's over, I watch in horror and disbelief as Valen runs in and jumps in front of his own Pokemon. He just dives right in, arms protecting the poor Water Pokemon as the muscular Machoke comes in with its attack. Valen yells in pain, but Dratini is still holding on in Valen's grasp. The two fly back across the floor until they hit a rusty metal plate, that bangs and echos upon contact.

I feel a a protectiveness and anger in me that forces me to jump in. "That's it - Sableye get in there and use Leer!"

With just as much energy Sableye runs in front of the down Valen and uses Leer. It assumes a haunting like stance, and I see a scary physical tension-like aura surround the Houndour and Machoke that sends them, and their trainers running. I can't see whatever they just saw, but I'm just glad it was scary enough to send them running.

Safe and clear, I book it towards Valen and Dratini. I fall to my knees and carefully approach them. "Valen? Valen get a grip." I try turning him over slowly. He lands on his back as his arms loosen around Dratini, hugged to his chest.

"Ack, careful my arm," he grits through his teeth as his arms go limp. Dratini opens its squinted eyes, all bruised up but okay. However it withers again very quickly. I've seen that look before in some books I've studied. I fear it's poisoned.

I have Dratini rest around my neck as I lift up a beat up Valen. I hook his arm around my shoulders and try to stabilize his stance. And Dratini feels unusually warm. "My knight in shining armor how grateful am I," Valen scoffs sarcastically.

What nerve. "Come on, I found us a safe place to hide out for the night."

PREVIEW:

"You must care a lot about your Dratini to jump in front of a Karate Chop like that."

"I had to," Valen says, like it was a common sense answer. It's a little admirable. "I'm pretty attached to her. I've had Dratini since I was a kid."

"Really," I smile, interested as I continue wrapping. "Team Snaggem get her for you?"

"Surprisingly no," he smiles nostalgically.

x-x-x-x-x-x

"I almost forgot," Valen says in between pretend-bites. "Before the whole fight fiasco last night, I found some information about the Deep Colosseum."

"There's another one?" I frown. "It's not the Under Colosseum?"

"There used to be two," Valen says with crossed arms. "The city's official one was the Under Colosseum, but the biggest criminals used to battle it down in the Deep Colosseum – technically an illegal establishment back a few decades ago. You had to have at least one Shadow Pokemon in your Party to participate."

"Well that has illegal written all over it," Alex notes as Lann nods, slurping his soup.

"It's not active now, but people have been saying they've heard noises down there in the chasms of what used to be the Deep Colosseum," Valen notes. "We should take a look at it."

x-x-x-x-x-x

"I mean," Valen starts. "I know the reason I first tagged along was to just make sure I get back my Snag Machine – maybe take out Cipher for the good of Team Snaggem but," but what? "I dunno… Heh, I have to re-evaluate how I look at you now."

"Not really. You still don't like me and I still don't like you," I say a little too casually, like we're friends. "And I'm not that admirable a person. To be honest some days I think that if I found Pikachu, I'd drop the Snag Machine if I could and just leave Orre as it is; let you guys handle the Shadow Pokemon situation by yourselves. It's not like I live here anyway."

Valen arches his eyebrows, sensing some doubt in my voice. "But…?"

I laugh, seeing his face a little funny. I shake my head and shrug. "But I'm stuck with the machine so I'm doing it because I have to."

"No you're not," he reads, past my self lies.