Pokemon X Nuzlocke: Ch. 9 - If You Play With Fire

Riviere Walk was quite beautiful now that there wasn't a Snorlax getting in the way. Flowers lined the sides of the road and it overlooked a sparkling body of water. Many artists and painters were seen sketching the landscape. Along the way, Rallis also happened upon a majestic building sitting on the water. Every last detail about this place was stunningly gorgeous.

While resting near the flowers, a Roselia decided to sit with her. Yet another teammate was added to the ranks.

Later, Rallis bumped into her friends and they had a four-way battle, Rallis and Calem trumping Tierno and Trevor. After the battle, Rallis wandered into a cave known as the Zubat Roost. You'd think she'd find a Zubat, but nope. Meditite became a new partner on the team. The short walk through the Zubat Roost exited out onto a route that stood on a cliff, overlooking the next town.

"Look," Feenie said, leaping out of his pokeball. "That's the next town, right?"

"Yup," Rallis responded. "That's where we will be getting our second Gym Badge. Let's go."

The mountain climb down Muraille Coast was strenuous indeed. The only reprieve was bumping into the Professor's two assistants, Sina and Dexio, and having them update Rallis' Pokedex and catching a Spoink named Pearl.

Halfway down the coastal mountainside, a rest stop in the form of Ambrette Town awaited tired travelers. It was a small town with an aquarium connecting it to the sandy beaches below and a lab specializing in fossils sitting on the edge of town. The prospect of unearthing fossils of ancient Pokemon interested Rallis, so she decided to head over to the digsite which was open to the public.

The route that needed to be crossed to get to the digsite was terribly rocky, with the only way to get across being a ride on the back of a Rhyhorn. 'Ha, it's just like when I was a kid, riding Hornek on the racetrack when no one was around.'

A small Sandile, not wanting to get stepped on, jumped up onto the Rhyhorn's back and onto Rallis' lap. "Oh!" Rallis exclaimed, shocked. "Hey there little guy. You wanna ride with me?" The Sandile chirped happily and sat in the trainer's lap. The Rhyhorn continued its march across the gravelly earth until it soon stumbled across the entrance to a cave. Inside, glowing blue lights could be seen. "I guess this is Glittering Cave, the fossil excavation site." Rallis slid off the Rhyhorn, pat him for a job well done, and made her way inside.

The cave was very pretty, with various types of fungi glowing blue, lighting the cave in an eery manner. Thankfully, it was a straight shot to the excavation site. If there were any twists and turns, Rallis would've definitely been lost in the dark. Curled up by the entrance to the excavation site, blocking the way, was a relatively small Onix. Well, relatively being the key word there. Rallis coaxed it out of the way and managed to capture it. 'Oh, won't the Professor be shocked when I send him THIS,' Rallis thought, giggling at the mental image.

Road blockage out of the way, Rallis made her way into the digsite. She expected to see frantic researchers running around and diggers hacking away at a wall or a hole or something. But it was oddly quiet, not a scrape or a footstep to be heard. "Hello," Rallis called, sound echoing and bouncing off the walls. "Is anyone here?"

Rallis followed the trail of minecarts and pickaxes farther in. Soon, she heard people talking. It was quiet from this distance and she couldn't make anything out, so she sped up to get closer. In a clearing not far off, a group of of researchers were cornered against the rock wall. Surrounding them were men and women dressed in nothing but red. Even their horribly styled hair was red.  "C'mon, just hand over the fossils and we'll leave," one of the men in red said.

"No!" one of the researchers argued. "These took years to dig up! They are a scientific breakthrough! Do you honestly believe we'll hand them over to you?"

In response, the people in red sent out a pack of Houndour and Crogaunk to harass them. "I believe you will hand them over now," another man said. "Unless, you want a Fire Fang in your arm."

"Hey, stop it now!"

The group in red turned to see Rallis standing not a few feet away, fist clenched around a pokeball. "Oh, that's sad." One of the men turned to the researchers. "This girl is your back-up? Oh I am so scared now. I must just run home and cry." Two other members chuckled at the statement. Even their Pokemon looked cocky. The man in the middle strutted forward. "Look missy, you should know better than to mess with Team Flare. You'll just get burned."

'Team Flare, huh? A name for the face.'  Rallis was undeterred. "You say I will get burned?" she questioned. "That's rich." She pulled out three Pokeballs. "Let's see how you handle the heat. Go!"

The trainer threw her pokeballs in the air and out came Feenie, Zac, and Fira. "Everyone, use Ember! And I don't mean on the Pokemon..." Soon, the group in red were running away, patting out the growing flames on their clothing, one screaming about that being his best suit. "Ugh, what cowards," Fira said, ruffling her fur.

The now free researchers thanked Rallis profusely, even offering one of the fossils they dug up as a reward, saying that although it was an important find, they could trust such a responsible trainer with it. Rallis thanked them, took a fossil shaped like a massive jaw, and trekked back out the cave.

Wanting to get more information on the fossil, Rallis took it over to the fossil lab in Ambrette. The experts told her it was the fossil of an ancient Pokemon who was feared by all named Tyrantrum. They offered to revive it for her, saying that she could probably handle such a powerful Pokemon. Agreeing to it, Rallis allowed them to take it in the back room and revive it. What came out a few minutes later was a small dinosaur-like creature with a huge mouth. It looked at her and smiled. "Oh you are so cute!" Rallis exclaimed. "I'm gonna call you Reginald." The little Tyrunt let out a growl of satisfaction and the two went on their merry way.

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*Back at the Professor's Lab*

"Oh, Professor," an assistant called. "You've got a slew of incoming Pokemon from one of your recruits."

'Probably Rallis again. I swear, she captures whatever she can find. I'm not complaining, though. It fills the Dex.'  "You can bring them all in," he replied.

Out of a transporter machine came six pokeballs, each opening and releasing their captive Pokemon once it arrived. First came Digdug the Bunnelby, then a Meditite, a Spoink, a Roselia, and Fira the Litleo. One Pokeball, however, did not open with the others. "Huh, that's odd," the Professor said as he walked over to inspect it. As soon as he touched it, it split open and the Pokemon came flying out. The floor shook as if being attacked by an Earthquake and part of the glass ceiling shattered as an Onix materialized.

"Professor! Professor, what's wrong?!" one of his assistants shouted as she came running into the domed area for the Pokemon. The Professor lay underneath the Onix's tail as it slept soundly, still tired from being woken up earlier that day. "Professor?!"

"Next time, Rallis," the trapped man muttered. "Warn me when you're sending over a 30 foot tall rock monster." The Onix curled closer to the creature stuck underneath her, ensuring that it couldn't get up until she was awake.