Well, here's the next part. Not much going on, sorry. But it's necessary. Fender (Pearl) is really starting to grow on me, however. I like him more and more. I'll shut up, though. Enjoy!

Blake

OCS in use: What's-his-face's Tim Williams. (Not to be rude. I just couldn't remember what your new penname was).

“My, that is a long way.” The policewoman remarked, clucking her tongue. She peered into the tiny hole that Lucas had inexplicably wedged himself in. “Must be at least thirty, maybe forty meters.”

“Are you all right, son?” she called into the hole, Fender looking anxiously over her shoulder. Lucas weakly lifted his head and looked to the aquamarine shadow blocking the sun.

“I think my leg is broken.” He called back.

“Can we get down there?” the policewoman asked one of her co-workers, who was busy trying to triangulate their position.

“I’m afraid not.” He replied sadly. “That hole is barely enough to accommodate a child; much less a full-grown adult with medical gear. I can’t even tell how that boy got down there.”

“You’d be surprised.” Fender remarked dryly. He shook his blond hair out of his eyes and sighed.

Above him, Mount Coronet was blocking out the afternoon sun. Lucas was at the very base of the mountain that divided Sinnoh, but luckily he had fallen into the mine that was operated by nearby Oreburgh City and not some less accessible portion of the Underground. But still, it was a weird location, really barely big enough for anyone to get to, as the sheer rock face of the mountain loomed above and the hardly penetrable forest ringed around their backs.

“Oh, hey!” Lucas called up. “Would you mind collecting my Pokémon too? I let them out to try and find someone…”

“I’ll take care of it.” Fender snapped, as the policewoman began talking to the other officer again. “Geez, Lucas, you sure can get into trouble.”

“Sorry cousin.” Lucas replied sheepishly. “I should have listened to you.”

Fender brushed his blonde hair out of his eyes again. “Whatever.” he replied with a smile on his face.

XXXQXXX

Please, you must help me. My Trainer is in serious trouble.

“What’s it saying?” Jack asked quietly to Caz. Caz cocked his head and listened again as Hephaestus broke from the Pokéball and jumped around, not to be left out of the action.

“Its Trainer is in trouble.” Caz said. He looked around the cave but found no one else but his little group. Throwing caution to the winds, he spoke. “Victreebel, I can understand you. What happened to your Trainer?”

The Victreebel regarded him with a little less than fear and confusion. Strange…not even my own human can hear my cries…we fell into a hole. He has broken his leg and cannot move.

“Broken leg.” Caz muttered. “Okay, lead the way.”

Immediately, the Victreebel float-hopped away the way it came. Caz looked to his much disheveled companions, shrugged and followed. As Caz and Relia began walking down the tunnel, Tim grabbed Jack’s arm and pulled him aside.

“Caz can understand Pokémon?”

Jack nodded. “He said that a Psychic Trainer taught him their language. He can listen to all of them.”

Tim narrowed his eyes. “That’s a little weird. Are you sure you want to hang out with him?”

This time it was Jack who narrowed his eyes. Shaking his arm loose of Tim’s grasp, he replied simply, “I trust him. He hasn’t given me a reason not to. Besides, if I was really worried, do you think I would let my sister anywhere near him?”

With that he turned and followed the retreating forms of his sister and friend. After a few moments, where Tim seemed to be fighting an internal battle, he followed, jogging to catch up with the other three.

It took them little time at all to reach the Victreebel’s Trainer, who turned out to be a black-haired boy with a red beret perched untidily across his head. For some reason, Caz found the boy familiar, but he couldn’t exactly place where he had seen the other Trainer.

“Hi.” The boy grunted with pain, his right leg twisted awkwardly beneath him. Relia dropped to her knees and cradled the boy’s head, wiping away some dried tears. Jack opened his backpack and extracted a medical kit, and he and Tim set to wiping away dried blood and bandaging his numerous cuts and bruises. “Thank you so much. It could’ve been a long time until someone found me.”

“It’s no problem.” Caz replied, dropping to his knees and taking the medical kit from Jack. “I’m Caz, by the way, and this is Relia, Jack, and Tim.”

“I think we’ve met.” The boy said, pointing to Tim, who nodded. “But I’m Lucas, from Twinleaf Town. I’m traveling with my cousin.”

“Your cousin...?” Caz asked in shock. Immediately, it came back to him: the battle for the Shinx currently in his possession. “You’re Fender’s cousin!”

“That’s right…” Lucas replied, and then it hit him a minute later. “You’re that farmer!”

“I’m not a farmer,” Caz snapped angrily. At that moment, Hephaestus barked, sniffing the air.

There are some people coming. The Growlithe told his master. Four in a group….with a Machop….it sounds like.

“Thanks.” Caz replied, staring off down the tunnel where the Growlithe had indicated. “Guys, something’s coming.”

Relia stood up and enlarged her two Pokéballs. Tim did the same with his own favorite fighters.

After a minute, a man with a red hard hat came into view, trailed by a group of men in police uniforms. They brushed past Tim and moved to the injured Lucas, setting him on a stretcher and putting his leg in a splint. Indeed, there were a couple of Work-Machops with the men, and they started hefting the rocks out of the way.

“How did you find him?” The guy with the hard hat asked. “I thought I was the only one who knew the tunnels that well.”

“We followed that Victreebel.” Relia spoke up, squeezing Lucas’s hand before he was put on the stretcher. “It came and told us that its Trainer was in trouble.”

The guy nodded. “The good thing is that we found him. The bad thing is that we can’t get him out of that hole. And the ride back on the stretcher would take way too much time and injure him further. ”

“Yes we can!” Jack exclaimed excitedly. He whipped a Pokéball off his belt and tossed it, shouting, “Go! Onix!”

Immediately, the rock-snake materialized in a rush of red light, stretching itself down the other half of the tunnel as not to crush anyone. Jack walked up to its huge head, patting it gently above the left eye. “Onix, do you know Dig?”

The Onix nodded. Jack smiled. “Well, Dig a hole to the surface.” Immediately, the Onix roared a challenge and thrust its body upwards. Caz had the sense to grab Jack by one hand and Relia with the other and yank them both backwards.

All of the policemen shouted and cradled against each other, and Tim, Jack, Relia, Caz and the guy with the hard hat reached for each other over Lucas’s stretcher. Despite the literal avalanche of rocks and dirt that came from the Onix’s efforts, not a single one hit them. For a moment, all stared in disbelief, then they caught on as they saw Lucas’s Victreebel throwing Razor Leafs over the group, shielding them from harm by shredding the rocks.

The sunlight poured in the newly expanded hole, big enough for a couple of Onix and a Snorlax to pass comfortably through. Fender and the policewoman peeked curiously down at the little group, and then at the smug Onix on the outside, standing beside its handiwork.

“Although it was a little overzealous, I like your style.” The guy with the hard hat said. “I also collect Rock Type Pokémon.”

Jack coughed sheepishly in the sun, dust swirling around him. “Well, I have just the one…but it looks like it’ll come in handy.”

The guy nodded as the Onix peered down over the hole, looking at its Trainer. “I couldn’t live without my own Onix. Here you go. You’ve got a great Rock Type and that impressed me.” He pulled a small object from his pocket and handed it to Jack.

Jack stared at it in disbelief. “Wait, this is a Coal Badge…you mean?”

“You’re Roark!” Relia shouted. “HA! We found you! We have to battle now!”

Roark chuckled, as Caz looked from Tim’s gaping face to the Townsends. He set the little Zubat back on top of his head and smiled. “Well, can it wait until we get back to the Gym? I promise you’ll be the first challengers in line.”

Relia nodded excitedly. “Oh! I can’t wait!”

“Despite that fact that we didn’t do any training…” Tim grumbled. He seemed a little miffed that his Pokéball had missed the Onix, or he could be holding the Coal Badge at that moment.

“Um, sorry to interrupt, but I for one would like to get out of this cave.” Lucas interjected. “Could you push my stretcher out now?”

“Better idea.” Caz said. “Jack, tell your Onix to lower his head back down into the hole. We can climb up his body. Lucas, tell your Victreebel to use Vine Whip to raise your stretcher back up.”

“Good idea, Caz.” Lucas said, and the two boys, Jack and Lucas, completed those actions quickly. Roark, Relia, Tim and the policemen began climbing up the Onix as the Victreebel wrapped his vines around the stretcher and began to raise him up out of the hole. Caz and Jack climbed onto the head of the Onix and were extracted as the Onix raised its head. They stepped down onto the ground in time to see the familiar form of Fender move to help his cousin. Lucas said something inaudible from the distance, and Fender immediately turned and saw Caz.

Caz walked up to them, Hephaestus at his side, and nodded to Lucas as he was loaded into the waiting ambulance and taken to the hospital. Fender stared coldly at Caz, until Caz spoke.

“We found your cousin.”

“I found him just fine.” Fender shot back. “But…thanks….farmer…for helping us.”

Caz smiled warmly, as Fender clenched his fists and looked way. “You’re welcome, mops.”

“What did you call me?!” Fender screamed, eyes blazing. “I’ll take you on, Farmer!”

“For the last time!” Caz yelled, exasperated beyond belief. “I. Am. NOT! A. Farmer!!”

“Boys!” Relia stepped between them, putting a hand to each of their chests. “This is not the time.”

“You’re right.” Caz said, turning. “This Mop-head isn’t worth my time. Asshole.” He added under his breath.

“Say that to my face, you fucking farmer!” Fender snapped, and then he punched Caz in the back of the head. Caz stumbled as Hephaestus barked a warning and sprang forward, only to be restrained by Relia. Immediately Caz whirled around and socked Fender in the face. Fender fell back, and Jack instantly grabbed Caz and restrained him, as Tim leaped to do the same for the blonde.

“Let go of me!” Fender snapped. He elbowed Tim in the solar plexus, and Tim fell backwards, exhaling in a long, “Ooof!” Fender moved, his fist raised, but he didn’t make it across the distance. Relia did something invisible involving her outstretched foot and Fender fell to the ground, clutching his head. The policewoman rushed over to the scene (finally! After staring for a good three minutes) and scolded them.

“Fighting is quite juvenile! You two ought to be ashamed of yourselves. Now come on. We’ve got work to do, your cousin is in the hospital and you need to be there too.”

“Fine.” Fender said, getting to his feet. He threw out his Ponyta and jumped on it, racing back into town.

“Ugh.” Caz said, cradling his bruised head. Hephaestus had immediately rushed to his human’s side and begun licking his wounds tenderly. “What a trip. Ew, T….that’s gross. ”

“Let’s get back to Oreburgh.” Relia said, brushing dirt off her skirt. “I need to change before my battle with Roark.” With that, they followed the Gym Leader back to the Pokémon Center, greatly anticipating their battles.