CHAPTER SIXTEEN: A ROCK IN A HARD PLACE

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"Jay!" Bailey yelled.

The boy in question didn't give a response. Ken jogged to the corner Jay passed moments ago and narrowed his eyes. A forked pathway leading in opposite directions lied beyond him.

Another series of tremors rocked the cave, and a large stone the size of a Pidgey almost squashed Alice. She yelped and jumped away, crashing into Ken during the process.

"He's gone!" Ken shouted over the racket, holding onto Alice to steady her.

"We have to get him. He could get hurt," Bailey insisted.

"As could we," he reminded her.

Bailey ignored his comment and sped past him. She groaned when she saw the split routes and ran her hand through her hair. The redhead started down one path only to turn around and point at the other three.

"Alice, Ken, you two take the left path. Me and Dan'll take the right," she directed.

"Okay," Alice interjected before Ken retorted. She fished an item from her bag and released a lean, bipedal Pokémon whose red orb atop her head began to glow in the dark. "Ampharos, can you keep on using Flash, please?"

Alice grabbed Ken's hand and tugged him along the path, thankful that the dark concealed her anxious facial expression. It was a miracle that she'd managed to mask the fear she felt in her voice and sound confident instead. Her perspiring hands trembled as she imagined what could possibly be causing the havoc.

Ampharos' light cast a hue on the walls, tinting the premise a ruby color. She cast worried glances at her Trainer, tensing whenever falling debris came near them. The Electric-type's ears flattened against her head as a deafening noise was loosed, and the following quakes knocked them off their feet. A lustrous rock divided from the ceiling and knocked into Ken's head.

"Are you okay?" Alice gasped.

Ken hissed in pain and touched the broken skin. Warm liquid coated his fingertips. "I'm bleeding."

"Oh Arceus, I'm so sorry. You can turn back now, I shouldn't have made you come here. I'm sorry," she babbled, her guilt-ridden words jumbling together. The mere mention of blood made her head swim.

He pulled her to her feet with his non-bloodied hand, ceasing her rambling. "I'm not leaving you alone in a cave, even though the reason behind it is ludicrous. Jay can surely fend for himself."

Did he just call me helpless? Alice frowned, pouting as she followed him deeper into the cave.

Minutes later, the tunnel widened into a rocky clearing. Standing at the edge of it was Jay flailing his arms around, screaming at a pit. He emitted a high-pitched shriek and leaped away just in time for the dirt he stood on to crumble beneath him and tumble down the ravine. Ampharos' shining orb caught his attention, and he waved at the group.

"I need your help," Jay called, not bothering to ask.

"What's going on?" Alice asked, nervously eying the pit emitting the outcries.

"Long story, I'll tell you guys later," Jay dismissed. "There's an Onix stuck in the ditch. It's too steep for it to climb up, but it keeps on trying. Every time it falls it slams down and causes a small Earthquake."

Ken pursed his lips. Leaving a Pokémon in peril was one of the worst things a Trainer could do. He shared a look with Alice then seized a Poké Ball from his backpack and pressed its button. A Psychic-type wielding two spoons materialized at his side.

"Alakazam, use Psychic and lift Onix out of the ravine," he instructed.

Alakazam nodded and raised his tools whilst inhaling deeply. Silver energy rippled through the air and traveled into the dip where it wrapped around Onix. Onix screeched upon sensing the Psychic and slammed its body side to side, breaking the waves. Alakazam went still as he tried the attack once more, but Onix's violent thrashing blocked him out again.

Alice tiptoed towards the edge behind Jay with Ampharos. Her Pokémon shone its light down on Onix, and her breath caught in her throat as the lithic beast's hateful glare burned into her soul. She retreated as her heart hammered in her chest and held Ampharos' paw.

Alice said, "I don't think he's going to cooperate. We're going to have to knock him out."

"How do you know it's a dude?" Jay queried, arching a brow.

"I guessed."

He shrugged then nodded. "If you say so. Omastar, give me a hand!"

One the strangest Pokémon Alice had ever encountered appeared. Compact and alien, she wriggled underneath her massive, cream-colored shell and crept to Jay. Alice had seen a Helix Fossil in a museum before, but it failed to prepare her for the oddity that was Omastar. Even Ken gawked at the Spiral Pokémon.

Jay didn't hide his smugness at their surprise as he smirked and commanded, "Finish Onix with a Scald!"

Omastar moved at the sluggish pace of a Shuckle to a rock overlooking the pit. She peered down at Onix then lifted her gaze and scrutinized Jay, silently questioning the Trainer.

Jay blushed in embarrassment at his Pokémon's obvious reluctance. "Have faith in me, Swirly. When have I ever been wrong?" Unbeknownst to him, Omastar rolled her eyes. "Scald, Omastar."

The Pokémon raised her tentacles and cupped them around her mouth. She took a deep breath, filled her cheeks with water, then formed her chops into an 'o' shape and let the stream blast without any further qualms. Onix roared as the water doused half of him and swept rocks up with his tail then launched them at Omastar.

"Teleport!"

Alakazam vanished into thin air and formed beside Omastar. He grazed his leg against her shell, and they disappeared milliseconds before a boulder crushed them. They reappeared by Ken, and Ampharos cried out in surprise.

"Damn, almost all of Omastar's attack missed. Onix would already be out like a light if she could see," Jay said.

"I think that means us," Alice presumed. She covered her eyes and exclaimed, "Ampharos, use Cotton Spore and your strongest Flash possible!"

The others shielded their eyes as Ampharos charged up. Her red bulb's core twinkled, and she curled up. She shouted her name and threw her arms out, emitting the brightest white energy one could imagine. A puffy cloud compiled of the Cotton Spore's specks combining with the Flash's illuminating particles gathered at the top of the cave's ceiling, lighting the area.

Ken lowered his arm first and squinted to adjust his eyes. It was bright as daylight. He released Vaporeon and ordered, "Use Hydro Pump on Onix."

The blond recognized how Jay pouted when seeing how Vaporeon obediently followed his wishes, and the corners of his lips tugged up. Vaporeon bounded to a ledge and braced herself, digging her claws into the soil. She unleashed a jet of pressurized water from her jaws and nailed Onix straight in his face.

"Scald!" Jay yelled.

Alice added, "You're doing a great job, Amphy. Keep the light clouds up."

Alakazam waited on standby, and Omastar repositioned herself on the spot she occupied before. Her location was across from Vaporeon's, allowing them to nail Onix from two fronts with their attacks. The raging Pokémon made one last attempt to hurl stones at them only to fall short and collapse, jarring the earth as his solid frame hit the ground.

Jay broke the following silence with a whoop. "Yeah, teamwork! Good job, everybody." He smiled nonchalantly as he pulled a green-and-black Poké Ball out of his pocket and tossed it at Onix. One, two, three, click. "We need to get this guy to the PokéCenter."

Alice softly elbowed Ken, and he suppressed his sharp retort. He returned his Pokémon and reluctantly trailed after Jay.

* * *

A couple hours later, Jay found himself leaning against the wall of a Pokémon Center and twiddling his thumbs. It was rare that he had to wait so long for one of his Pokémon to come out fully healed. The only other time he'd spent more than thirty minutes waiting was when his Aerodactyl about drowned in an Empoleon's Surf attack. Shivers fell down his spine at the memory.

He whistled to fill the vacant waiting room's silence and pulled out his phone. He scrolled through his contacts and decided to call his parents. Opting to speak to his dad, he pressed on his icon.

"Hello?"

"Hey, Dad, I—"

"Hello? Are you there?"

"Yeah, Da—"

"I'm joking; you're talking to a voice recording. If you want to talk for real then leave me a message after the beep."

Jay chuckled at his dad's antics. Apparently the apple didn't fall far from the tree. He cleared his throat and said, "Hey, Dad. I'm gonna hang around Kalos for a few more weeks. I found some old friends. Tell Mom I said 'hi'."

Once again, the hallway grew silent save for the lightbulbs' quiet humming. The door to the operation room cracked open, and Jay peeked up. A petite Nurse Joy, pink curls and all, smiled when she saw him.

"Your Onix is fully recovered," she announced, her voice as sweet as Combee honey to Jay's ears.

He chuckled, expelling the stress he'd accumulated whilst waiting. "Thank you so much. You guys are miracle workers."

"We do our best," Nurse Joy giggled, blushing.

"When can I get him?"

"Right this way."

Jay chatted away as he followed her to the front, grateful to be in a normal person's presence. She picked his Dusk Ball up out of a tray and handed it to him. He tossed it up and down with ease, voicing his thanks to the pinkette in a dozen different phrases before taking his leave.

A cluster of young Trainers caught Jay's attention on his way out. One boy in particular, a scrawny black-haired kid with thickly rimmed glasses, made him stop in his tracks. The youngster's tear-stained face had him walk up to the group without thinking.

"What happened?" he asked.

A girl wearing a beanie answered, "Dustin lost against the Gym Leader. Again."

Dustin sniffled and wiped his face, muttering something unintelligible under his breath. He tensed when Jay set a hand on his shoulder and sent the gargantuan a bewildered look.

"It's okay, man," Jay assured, grinning softly. "Everybody has a Gym they struggle with."

A kid in blue butted in. "This is his fourth time losing. We traveled all the way over here for him to catch a stronger Pokémon, but even the wild Pokémon are too strong for him."

Dustin huffed, "Shut up, Wiley!"

Jay wrapped his arm around Dustin's shoulders and steered him away from the merciless group and led him to one of the Pokémon Center's quieter lounges. The boy took a seat on a couch and Jay sat adjacent from him.

Figuring Dustin didn't want to talk just yet, Jay recounted, "So my name's Jay, and it took me eight times to beat a Water-type Gym Leader in Sinnoh. For three whole weeks I went to the Gym every other day and trained in a marsh in between to grow stronger."

"Why'd you lose so much?"

"All my team's part Rock-type."

Dustin thought to himself that he shouldn't take advice from a Trainer like Jay. "Why would you have an all Rock-type team?"

"I love Fossil Pokémon, but that's not the point. The point is that I didn't give up on my team. I trained them to become stronger instead of traveling around trying to catch something to make up for their weaknesses." Jay twirled his fingers in a circular motion. "You see where I'm getting at, Dusty?"

"Dustin," the other corrected, frowning. "I tried training already. It doesn't work. I need stronger Pokémon."

"Tell you what, Dusty. Since I'm a nice guy with spare time on his hands, I'll hook you up." Jay rose to his feet and held his Dusk Ball out to the 12 year-old. "This is a super powerful Onix. He's waaay out of your league, so he won't listen to you until you become strong enough."

The boy gaped. "What's the point of having a Pokémon that won't listen to me?"

"The point is that he will listen to you once you've proven yourself. Are you going to take my awesome Onix or not?"

Dustin hesitated then finally took the green-and-black sphere from Jay. Jay smirked and ruffled Dustin's hair, eliciting a cry of protest from him.

"I look forward to battling you later on, Dusty," Jay called over his shoulder as he sauntered off. A warm, fuzzy feeling had him beaming ear-to-ear. Now if only that feeling could stay there forever...

* * *

Ken and Alice had opted to go to the hotel rather than the Pokémon Center once the party left the cave. Once they reached their rooms, Ken hurried to the bathroom and frowned. The cut caused by the falling debris began at the top right of his forehead and ran down to his temple. Dried blood stained his pale skin and the tips of his bangs. He turned on the sink's faucet and dampened a washcloth.

"Hey, Ken?" Alice's voice met his ears through the door. He opened it and found her holding a first aid kit. "Grandma gave this to me. We can use it for your, uh, problem."

"Thank you," he said.

He wiped the dried blood off with his makeshift towelette then followed Alice to the bed. She rummaged through the first aid kit, setting down boxes of all shapes and sizes on the blanket. Ken sat down and watched her furrow her brows as she looked at two containers. He noticed for the first time that a small handful of freckles dotted the tops of her cheeks and bridge of her nose.

"I think this one will work," she muttered under her breath.

Alice opened the band-aid and held it in one hand then brushed Ken's hair off his forehead with the other. What conditioner does he use? It's so soft, she mused. She leaned forward and delicately applied the bandage, grateful that it covered the entire wound.

"There we go," she chirped.

She glimpsed at Ken and froze. His face was inches apart from hers; she hadn't realized she moved so close to him. Indigo hues bore into her soul, and she instinctively dropped her gaze to stop it. Her cheeks warmed, and she scooted away as she mentally scolded herself.

"Thank you," he repeated, masking his own embarrassment much better than she was.

"You're welcome," she replied.

After a brief moment of silence, Ken confessed, "The reason I dislike Jay isn't because he's my rival. I entered the Sinnoh League Conference when I was 11, and he defeated me six to zero in the first round."

"That stinks, but that was a long time ago. People can change a lot in five years," she chided as gently as she could. "I think that you should forgive him."

"I'll consider it."

Alice fell back on the mattress with a sigh and stared up at the ceiling as she reflected the day. It didn't take long for her to facepalm and laugh sheepishly. "Why did I use Amphy in the cave when I have Infernape and Roserade?"

"I wondered that as well," Ken raised his brows as she settled into his bed. "Are you comfortable?"

"Yup, I feel like I can go to sleep right now." Alice yawned for effect. "Wanna tell me a story?"

"No, that'd lead to you falling asleep in my bed."

"Please? Tell me about, um, I don't know... How about that Arceus stuff at the library?"

Ken tilted his head to the side and contemplated whether or not to fulfill her request. Pros and cons weighing risks and benefits raced through his mind. At long last, he nodded and complied.

He began, "Similar to Mew, Arceus formed a clan at the dawn of time. Arceus hadn't been keen on the idea of human—as you know, Mew created Pokémon and mankind—until it realized their potential. The bloodline Arceus chose became known as Listeners as they carry out the wishes it bestows upon them."

"So they can talk to Arceus?" Alice asked, childish wonder adorning her features.

"He has to contact them first." He subconsciously adjusted the amulet's chain on his neck. "Listeners can't call Him whenever they want to."

She connected the dots aloud: "So that's why they're called Listeners... makes sense. What else can they do?"

Ken closed his eyes and allowed himself to drop beside Alice, sighing in weariness like she had moments afore. "I wish I knew."

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Author's Note

I entered Bonds in the Pokémon Watty Awards under the Romance category and Azul-Gale's update race woo~

Question of the Chapter: Helix Fossil or Dome Fossil?