In the morning, I woke up with a pleasant muscle soreness. It seemed like constantly breaking down my muscles only accelerated my overall recovery and forced my body to adapt even faster. I felt like the Captain America from my memories—strong, fast, with brutal tissue regeneration that my intense training in the clearing had only enhanced.
Sprawled out in bed with me, of course, was Houndour, his tongue lolling out to the side, while Squirtle lay at my feet, safely tucked inside his shell. I couldn't sense Haunter in the room. It was strange, but subconsciously, I just knew he wasn't there.
"Rise and shine, boys," I said in a slightly raspy voice, starting to push myself up from the bed.
Houndour first stretched his jaws wide, let out a lazy, whistling yawn, and slowly opened his eyes. Squirtle, on the other hand, popped out of his shell in a split second, looking instantly ready for battle. Both looked well-rested and full of energy.
"Houndour!" and "Squirtle!" they greeted me after a moment.
I just waved at them over my shoulder and headed straight to the bathroom. Not wanting to waste any time, I took a quick morning shower, ran my fingers through my longish hair to slick it back, and brushed my teeth. As soon as I dried off, I threw on some clean clothes. I also quickly stripped the bedsheets to save the cleaning staff some trouble.
My sword and dagger were both sharpened. I had plenty of food and supplies for the trip through Mt. Moon, even with a decent surplus. Water definitely wasn't an issue, thanks to Squirtle. The boys were already lined up by the door, waiting for me. Houndour was lounging lazily on the floor, while Squirtle tapped his foot impatiently.
"Must be nice not having to get yourself ready, huh?!" I smirked at him and scanned the room one last time. Everything was in perfect order. Sheets stripped, myself freshened up, gear packed. We were ready.
"Alright, let's head down for breakfast," I ordered. Houndour immediately sprang to his feet, and Squirtle stopped his impatient tapping.
There was absolutely no one in the dining hall, not even Bran. I hoped the kid hadn't overslept. The buffet tables were fully stocked, though, so I started serving us right away. First, of course, I filled Houndour's and Squirtle's bowls. Since they always wanted the same things and kept rotating through the exact same food, it was extremely simple. To be honest, though, I didn't get their taste buds. I knew Pokémon worked differently than humans, but did their bodies seriously not crave any variety? In the end, I just shrugged as they dug in without the slightest hesitation. If they wanted something else, they would definitely let me know. I really had hit the jackpot in the Pokémon intelligence lottery.
I definitely wasn't in the mood for eggs today. Not at all. I actually shuddered as I walked past them, so I went for an alternative: rich mozzarella made from Miltank milk, lean Tauros ham, green peppers, dark whole-wheat bread, and some Oddish leaves. For dessert, I added a few pancakes with maple syrup.
If I happen to die in Mt. Moon, my last meal might as well be a little sweet, I thought with a smirk.
We enjoyed our meal in peace. But right at the moment I started wondering where Haunter was, a loud cry erupted right behind my back: "Haunter!"
To be honest, a piece of watery mozzarella slipped out of my mouth and splattered onto the plate. I startled and jumped a little.
Haunter started cackling gleefully, and that little bastard Squirtle immediately joined in. Houndour only glanced up warily, but once he saw everything was fine, he went back to eating without any fuss.
"I'll admit, you got me," I nodded appreciatively, as soon as I caught my breath from the initial shock. "Where were you?"
"Haunter!" he smirked contentedly and nodded proudly. "Haunter, Haunter, haaaaunt!"
"And any progress with Hex?"
"Haunt, haunt," he mumbled unhappily, looking down.
"It takes time. Some Pokémon take years to learn new techniques," I reminded him, returning to finish my main course.
As soon as I finished, I happily pulled another plate toward me, this time with the pancakes. Even though I was completely full, greed won out. I cut off a piece and happily dipped it into a generous portion of maple syrup. They were so good that two minutes later, my plate was clean. Satisfied and stuffed, I leaned back in my chair. Since my team had already finished eating, I pulled out vitamins for both of them. They swallowed them down without any issues.
"Full?" I asked just to make sure. Both nodded. "Alright, one more minute and we hit the road."
I licked my sweet lips, wiped them with a napkin, finished the rest of my water, and carried the tray with the plates, bowls, and glass over to the dirty dish rack.
Comfortably stuffed, I headed down to the lobby. Bran was already waiting there impatiently, with Poliwhirl by his side. The kid was pacing back and forth, his back turned to me.
"Hey guys!" I greeted him with a smirk. "Ready to head out?"
"Finally!" he blurted out. "Hey! Yeah, we're ready!"
I just shrugged and walked over to Nurse Joy, who was watching us. As soon as I approached the counter, she spoke up before I could even say a word or greet her.
"I've already checked you out, everything is in order, and you're good to go," she said coldly. Right after that, however, she added in a quieter tone: "Have a safe trip. And stay safe."
For a brief moment, I caught a glimpse of genuine concern in her eyes, but it vanished instantly, replaced by her professional mask.
"Thank you," I offered a slight smile and turned to leave the Pokémon Center. Bran and Poliwhirl followed right behind me.
"Beautiful day, isn't it?" Bran offered conversationally with a smile.
"Yeah, too bad we won't get to enjoy it at all while we're going through Mt. Moon," I smirked at him.
As we stepped out of the Pokémon Center, the entrance to the mountain opened up directly ahead of us. Approaching it, I noticed a massive signpost with official guidelines.
"So, what did you guys practice yesterday?" Bran continued.
"A bit of everything. What about you?"
"The move Bubble!" he announced enthusiastically. "And once Poliwhirl and I get better at it, we're moving on to Bubble Beam!"
"Oh?"
We were standing right in front of the entrance now, so I could read the warnings on the sign clearly. In short, it was the exact same advice the old man with the Magikarp had given me earlier. Don't shine lights into Pokémon's eyes, stick strictly to the illuminated route, and do not veer off it under any circumstances.
While I studied the sign, Bran kept babbling on and on with a smile on his face. He loved to talk, so out of politeness, I just nodded mechanically as I lost myself in thought.
The entrance was open and relatively wide—about three or four meters wide and several meters high.
"Ready?" I cut in, as soon as I finished my train of thought.
For a moment he looked caught off guard, but then nodded with a smile: "I was born ready! Let's do this!"
"Ah, the optimists," I muttered with a smirk as we stepped forward.
After just a few steps, the sunlight faded away. It was replaced by glowing light strips stretched along the ceiling on both sides of the corridor, casting a strange, almost romantic twilight.
"You said you know Bubble?"
"Yeah, my dad taught us," he nodded eagerly. "It's a great move, even if it's trickier than Water Gun!"
"Hmm. But the attack is just as strong, isn't it?" I asked. I didn't have encyclopedic knowledge, so there were some things I wasn't entirely sure about.
"Yeah, the water pressure in both attacks is equally strong," he nodded, but immediately continued. "But Bubble requires way more precision. You create highly pressurized bubbles, which obviously has its advantages. When they hit the target, the water bursts under pressure upon impact. It's not stronger or weaker than Water Gun, but the popping and continuous micro-explosions completely disorient the Pokémon. And, of course, down the road, it's the foundation for more advanced techniques..." He grinned and scratched the short hair on the side of his head. "At least, that's how my dad explained it when he taught me," he admitted after a moment.
"That's good to know then. I'll probably have Squirtle learn it later too," I nodded toward my Pokémon, who was walking along my right side.
Poliwhirl marched on Bran's left, a vigilant Houndour trotted ahead of us, and Haunter kept watch over everything from my shadow.
"If you want..." Bran started up again, but I cut him off with a raised hand and stopped.
From deep within the mountain, a muffled rumbling, thudding, and heavy impacts echoed. I even caught a distant, faint screech. It sounded like some Pokémon were currently battling in the depths of Mt. Moon.
For a moment, a wave of claustrophobia washed over me at the thought of some wild Golem or Onix collapsing the entire corridor on top of us. But it was far enough away, and we had no choice. We kept moving.
"You were saying?" I prompted after we had walked a bit further and the noise had died down.
"Oh, just that if you wanted, Poliwhirl and I could help you guys train that move," he offered with a friendly smile.
"Really?" I raised my left eyebrow in surprise.
"Sure, no problem!" he nodded immediately. "Whenever you want, just say the word, Patrik."
In this world, that kind of behavior definitely wasn't normal. After all, every trainer was a potential rival, so it threw me off a bit. I walked on mechanically, chewing it over. In the end, I just gave a nod of agreement.
Bran stopped talking, and we walked on in silence. Every now and then, a shriek, rumble, scraping sound, or falling rocks echoed. It was all muffled, yet inside the cavernous echo, it sounded strangely loud. In this dim light, my ears were alert, perked up like a Zubat's.
Our way was still illuminated by the dim, warm glow of the neon strips, guiding us reliably forward. The corridor wasn't perfectly straight—it wound and turned occasionally—but thanks to the markers, we had no trouble staying on track. Every so often, side branches split off, vanishing into absolute darkness. Sometimes I caught a glimpse of movement in them, which our Pokémon reacted to instantly. However, nothing dared to venture close enough for me to tell what species it was.
I wasn't surprised. Two Water-type Pokémon, a Dark/Fire hound, and a Haunter lurking in my shadow made for a formidable squad. Our water partners, alongside Houndour, kept the weaker threats at bay. As for the stronger ones—those capable of sensing a ghost's presence—Haunter held them check.
After a few hours of easy walking, when I'd finally shaken that stupid claustrophobic feeling that the mountain might collapse on our heads, I found myself hungry again. That hearty breakfast was long gone.
"Should we grab some lunch, Bran?" I suggested. Houndour immediately spun around expectantly with his tongue out, and Squirtle nodded in agreement.
"I thought you'd never ask!" Bran agreed enthusiastically, Poliwhirl nodding along.
"We'll set up camp at the next turnoff and take a quick break," I commanded.
And so we did. A few minutes later, an offshoot path yawned into absolute pitch-black on our left. The light from the strips still caught it slightly, making it the perfect spot to set up camp. I dropped my pack right there, and Bran immediately followed suit.
I quickly spread out a blanket, pulled out a wide skillet, and tossed in the food that needed heating.
Bran watched me with a smirk, while pulling pre-made sandwiches from a bag and pouring kibble into Poliwhirl's bowl. "How are you going to heat that up without wood or a fire?" he asked, amused.
I smirked back and just nodded toward my Pokémon. "Houndour, buddy, our fate—and our lunch—is in your paws!"
"Houndour?" he barked in confusion, wagging his tail as a drop of drool escaped his mouth.
Squirtle eyed the skillet in my hands warily. He was clearly worried he'd lose out on the meat and seaweed he loved so much.
"You've been training Ember really hard and diligently over the last few days," I began to explain to him. "I need you to direct just a tiny flame to the bottom of this skillet so we can heat up the food. Can you do that?"
"Hound!" he barked resolutely.
I lifted the skillet into the air, holding it by the very edge of the wooden handle so he wouldn't accidentally burn me. "Go ahead," I ordered.
Houndour opened his maw, and in a split second, a weak Ember shot out, spreading along the bottom of the pan. After a minute of controlled heat, the food was beautifully warmed up and ready.
"That's enough!" I commanded. "Great job."
I smiled and scratched him behind the ear, while Bran kept glancing back and forth between his dry sandwich and the steak in my pan. I divided the food into Houndour's and Squirtle's bowls, and finally served myself. I added some salt and pepper to my portion.
"If you want, Houndour can heat up your food too," I offered Bran. Meanwhile, his Poliwhirl watched Squirtle enviously.
"That's really nice of you," Bran nodded gratefully. "Maybe tonight. For now, I'll just finish what I've already opened."
"Why do you only feed Poliwhirl kibble, anyway?" I asked curiously after swallowing a bite of steak with roasted potatoes and green beans.
"Because it has everything he needs, and he likes it," he replied with a smile. "Right, Poliwhirl?"
He tossed the question to his Pokémon. But Poliwhirl was still hypnotized by Squirtle, who was savoring chunks of meat, seaweed, and leaves. Poliwhirl nodded in agreement, but it was obvious he only did it to be polite.
"Even if kibble has everything they need, quality-wise it's definitely worse than real food. And you can tell just by looking at him—he'd rather have Squirtle's portion in a heartbeat," I remarked disapprovingly.
"Is that true, Poliwhirl? Would you rather have Squirtle's food?" a frowning Bran asked him.
"Poli, Poliwhirl! Poli, poli!"
"Be honest with me," his trainer ordered firmly.
"Poli... poliwhirl," the Pokémon replied, hanging his head.
Bran reached out and scratched him between the eyes, right on top of his head. "You should have told me a long time ago! I really thought you liked it."
"Poli, poli!" Poliwhirl lifted his eyes excitedly.
"Alright, next time we'll buy some meat too. You'll get whatever combos you want," he nodded with a smile at his partner, then turned to me. "Thanks, Patrik. I really thought he was happy with the kibble."
"Well, he might have been, if he'd never seen anything better... But kibble is just a subpar product. Economically, it can't match the quality of actual, fresh food. Poliwhirl would have ended up weaker in the long run because of it."
I let out a satisfied sigh as I finished eating and started stretching. Suddenly, an incredibly strong feeling washed over me—that something was watching me from the surrounding darkness. My Pokémon didn't react, though, so I trusted that we weren't in immediate danger.
"What are you doing?" Bran asked curiously as I began to warm up.
"Just doing a quick warm-up and some cardio to get my body moving. Relax, we'll head out in half an hour."
He just nodded silently and watched as I started shadowboxing. I threw combinations into the air at imaginary enemies, but kept it at half-speed so I wouldn't make myself sick after that heavy lunch.
I could feel that invisible stalker in the dark constantly watching, hypnotized by my every move. Slowly, I picked up the pace—might as well give the creature a good show—and started weaving high kicks, knees, and hard elbows into my combos.
It wasn't just the unknown observer watching with interest; Poliwhirl was too. I couldn't blame him—he was part Fighting-type, after all, so this kind of drill had to appeal to him.
After a few minutes, I called it a day. We packed up our camp quickly and continued on our way. As soon as we were back on the enclosed, illuminated path, that uneasy feeling of being watched vanished for good.
***
Author's note:
Bran is a pretty cool and helpful guy, even if he does talk a lot... Continuing the journey through Mt. Moon!
Who (or what) do you think was watching Patrik from the pitch-black tunnels while he was shadow-boxing? Let me know your theories in the comments!
***
Step into the Restricted Section
The shadows are shifting, and the story goes much deeper... If you can't wait for the next update, Advanced Chapters are already waiting for you.
Enter the Restricted Section here: you-know-what/PatrikWriter
Upcoming Chapters – Already Written(11):
28. The Grey Disciple
29. Echoes of Mt. Moon
30. Heavy Metal and Sudden Growth
31. A Clash of Auras
32. Houndour: The Strength of the Pack
33. Above Average
34. Of Eggs and Iron
35. The Road to Cerulean
36. Boiled Lobsters and Double Beds
37. Cerulean After Hours
38. Shadows, Sparks, and the Bro Code - 18+
Join the Inner Circle - tgdTNZYVKt (Discord)
(Vote on plot | Dark FF recs | Chat with the Author)
Support the craft and keep the darkness spreading. Your support directly allows me to dedicate more time to crafting this world.