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With Ash and Cal after they rescued Aura and Rhyolis.
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"Your the Crystal guru?" Cal asked doubtfully.

"Yes I am!" Rhyolis retorted. "However any further discussion will have to wait." He then began running up the path Ash and Cal had come from. "We need to leave right now!"

Confused but not wasting any time, the teens and Pokémon jogged to catch up with the old man. Soon they all were running in sync with him. He looked back only once to be certain they were following him. Still pushing forwards Rhyolis started to explain their situation.

"Those goons were after a rare mineral called Lucinian." He began, "Its usual appears as a red and green prism shaped gemstone. This gem emits an odd energy that can be used to power most anything. I don't know what they wanted it for but, judging by their methods of acquiring it, I doubt they're just try to microwave a pizza."

"How does this have anything to do with us running?" Cal asked impudently

"If you could hold your tongue for a moment, I was getting to that." Rhyolis said through aggravated, labored breaths. "I gave them some Ignitium. It's a crystal that looks very similar to Lucinian, but unlike it's useful cousin Ignitium is very volatile. Half hour after being harvested they glow a variety of bright colors and explode. Learned that lesson the hard way." Rhyolis looked at a burn mark on his left hand.

"How long ago did you remove them from the walls!?" Ash asked in a concerned voice.

"About twenty three minutes ago-", BOOM! ,"-maybe a bit longer." Rhyolis said as an explosion shook the mine.

The group covered their faces and braced themselves as a strong gust carrying a cloud of debris came barreling towards them. Eevee Pikachu and Treeko hid behind their trainers and held on tightly lest the wind carry them away.

The group watched through squinted eyes as dust, dirt and crystals flew past them. A few shards managed to graze the teens but none caused them any serious damage. Rhyolis did not emerge as unscathed as his young companions.

"Gah! My leg!" He cried out as seven marble sized crystals dug into several parts of his right leg, forcing him to the ground.

A few seconds later the wind settled down to the point where they could move without being blown away. The three teenagers rushed over to help Rhyolis.

"I'm alright it just a flesh wound, just help me to my feet!" He stubbornly said, despite the fact that he was bleeding profusely.

"No way your seriously injured and we need to wrap that up before more of you is outside than inside." Aura said as she held her grandfather down.

"Cal I'm going to need you shirt again." Ash said as he began to remove his shirt.

"Why is it always my shirt." Cal griped as he began to remove his top as well.

"Because yours is the most absorbent." Ash quickly replied.

Cal conceded his shirt to Ash and watched as he began to treat Rhyolis's leg.

"I suppose that's fair enough after all you'd need something super absorbent to-," Cal stopped as realization hit him like a brick to the head, "Hey wait a minute! How did you know my shirts were extra absorbent!"

"Uhhh, can't talk right now busy saving a leg." Ash said in a feeble attempt to avoid his question.

"This conversation is not over!" Cal furiously said but stood to the side as his friend worked on Rhyolis.

Ash placed Cal's shirt over the wound to hold in as much blood as possible. He then put his own shirt above Cal's and tightly bound the two in place. His shirt acted as both a binding material and a clamp to slow the flow of blood to the site of the injury.

With the crudely made bandage in place, Ash had Cal help the old man to his feet. Then they made a sort of arm throne, by interlocking their arms together, and hauled Rhyolis onto it.

"If I remembered the first aid Brock taught me correctly, then that bandage should hold you together for at least a few hours."

"Who's Brock?" Cal asked, no longer mad at Ash.

"He's a friend I used to travel with. He used to be the Pewter City gym leader. Now a days he spends most of his time helping Pokemon as a Pokémon Doctor."

"Would you two stop your yapping and start walking! We need to get to one of the mines back exits before the rest of it comes down on our heads!" Rhyolis squawked at them.

"Wait this mines going to collapse!" Cal exclaimed in alarm. "We have to warn Ferric and his tour group!"

"My brother will be fine, he knows what to do in this type of situation." Aura said with an underline of concern for his safety.

"No more chitchat, get a move on ya whipper snappers!" Rhyolis said as he urged Ash and Cal forward. "Mush! Mush! Come on, you can move faster than that; get those legs up!" He shouted at the boys as they carried him onwards.

"For a wounded old man he sure is snappy." Cal murmured.

Cal's comment didn't go unnoticed by Rhyolis and earned the boy a whack in the head followed suit by a deserving "Respect your elders!".

The group continued their trek through the labyrinth of a mine; trudging their way up hill only to slide down the other side. Tunnels opening up only to lead to corridors so narrow they had to shuffle shoulder to shoulder down the confined space. They walked until time lost all meaning and the majority of the group was clueless as to where they were.

Before long Ash and Cal were sweating heavy and needed a reprieve from carrying the old man. They found a nice spot that was slightly warmer than some of the deeper parts of the mine and gently set Rhyolis down against one of the walls.

"Are...*huff... you sure.... *wheeze... this is the right way?" Cal asked in between gulps of the dry cave air.

"I'm fairly certain this is the right way... unless we were supposed to make a right three tunnels ago." The young girl said somewhat baffled by their present location.

"Ahhhg we're never gonna get out of here." Cal said with despair as he slumped against one of the walls.

"Quit your whining boy! Aura did a fine job leading us. The exit is just a short ways off in that direction." Rhyolis said while pointing at the wall Cal was resting against.

All the teenagers and Pokémon looked at the section of wall he was pointing at and then back at him. Cal was the first to speak up and said what they were all thinking.

"That's a solid wall."

"Well then what are we waiting for." The old man said as he attempted to stand on his own.

Aura knew her grandfather knew the cave system like the back of his hand. But was beginning to think the blood loss was affecting his nautical abilities.

"Grandfather maybe you should just rest for a bit. We'll think a way out of here while you do."

"Nonsense there's no need. Our way out is just beyond that wall." He said assertively.

"What are you talking about?" She asked in a exasperated tone.

Rhyolis looked sadly at his granddaughter having expected her to notice the clues hidden along the wall.

"Aura the wall is coated in Laxamentum." He said as if it were something blatantly obvious.

Hearing the name of the mineral Aura looked at the wall once more. Upon her second review she saw the entire wall was peppered with small blue black hexagonal crystals. Gems that her grandfather had seen from the beginning. Cal and Ash were still confused by the Laxamentum and required a further explanation.

"Laxamentum is an odd mineral. It only grows on walls with a large source of Adamas-Lumine behind it. It is an excellent guide to the city due to the massive Adamas-Lumine crystal that the entire settlement rests upon." Rhyolis explained.

"So all we have to do is dig through the walls." Cal looked hopefully at the gems that could lead them out

"And hope the tunnels don't collapse on us."

"Oh joy." Cal look of hope was swiftly replaced with that of unease.

"Not to worry I believe Aura has just the Pokémon to tackle this task."

"I do? Oh! I do!" Aura reached into her pocket and produced a blue Poké Ball with twin red stripes along the top.

With a shout Aura released her Pokémon. "Regi lend me your strength!" A purple rock with light blue crystals extruding from various points emerged from the Poké Ball. It rockily lifted itself up with three leg like stones connected to the center rock.

It opened its eyes to reveal hollow sockets surrounded by yellow rock. Taking in its surroundings it first noticed Rhyolis's injury and then set its gaze upon trainers it did not recognize.

"BOLDORE!" The Ore Pokémon shouted angrily before charging at Ash.

The rock type crashed head first into Ash's gut and knocked the trainer flat on his back. One trainer down Regi turned his attention on Cal who had jumped away from the wall after its first attack. Opening its jaw wide it generated a large rock in front of it. Preparations to fire its Rock Blast complete Regi started to launch the stone forward.

"REGI STOP! They my friends!"

The words of its trainer caused the ore Pokémon to halt any further action. However it had already begun firing its Rock Blast and could only alter its course. The group watched in horror as the stone flew past Cal's head, missing his ear by a centimeter. Their monetary relief for Cal's safety was quickly replaced by dread as the rock continued hurtling further into the mine.

"We have to act quickly!" Rhyolis shouted with fear ebbing at his words. "Once that Rock Blast hits a wall the collapse of the cave will accelerate immensely!"

"Okay Regi I need you to dig a hole straight through that wall!"

Obeying its trainer command Regi latched onto the wall and rapidly began spinning its tripod like body to manifest an opening. Cal and Aura went to pick Rhyolis off the ground yet somehow he ended up riding Cal piggyback style. Pikachu, Treeko, and Eevee helped bring Ash to his feet and led the trainer to the hole in the wall.

They trudged on through the tunnel Regi was creating for another two minutes before they heard a low rumble come from behind them. Sensing the urgency of their situation Regi began spinning faster to hasten their movements.

His acceleration did come with a price though. The tunnel that had been smooth and easily walked was now littered with precarious stones that posed potential danger for the trainers. Realizing that someone had to clean up the path Ash took point with Pikachu and together paved an easier route for the others. Not to be out done Eevee and Treeko held up the rear and shot down any falling projectiles that were endangering their friends.

Another few minutes of the hard labor and Regi hit a material that didn't belong to the cave. He couldn't dig through it but Pikachu's Iron tail managed to cause some cracks in the surface. Another swing and the cracks began to spider web along the face of the material. With one final swing of his tail Pikachu brought the materials crashing down in a shower of dust that temporarily blinded the group.

With his vision still not clear as looked into the opening Pikachu had created and saw the blurred figures of two girls and several Pokémon. Stepping closer to try and see better Ash watched as the light played tricks on his eyes, casting an angelic glow around the girl on the left. Half a second later Ash recognized who the heavenly being was.

"Serena?" He asked, unsure if this goddess was truly his close friend.

"Ash?" Serena looked at him oddly and then shifted her gaze beyond him. Suddenly her eyes widened in terror. "Ash behind you!"

Ash turned around just in time to get run over by literally everyone left in the tunnel. Painfully lifting his head off the floor he was able to see the rocks advancing towards them, forever sealing their tunnel up. He was still to close to the mouth to be spared from harm and due to the trampling he received, was not quick enough to escape on his own.

Lucky for him a certain honey blonde heroine wanted him back unharmed and had the means to make it happen. With urgency etched in her command Serena had Sylveon grapple Ash with its ribbons and cart him away from the danger. Sylveon obeyed with great haste and latched onto the male trainer. She then proceeded to hoist Ash off the floor and threw him away from the immediate danger.

In her haste Sylveon had not thought of where Ash would land and had simply tossed him towards the door. The very same door that Serena was standing in front of. Acting quickly Sylveon grabbed her trainers feet and knocked her onto her back. A few milliseconds later and Ash landed above her, having caught his landing with his hands at the last second.

Looking down at the trainer beneath him as noticed the outfit Serena had on. Realizing what she was doing here he said the very first thing that came to mind. "I told you we'd make it to your contest."

Serena stared blankly at him for a moment. Of all the things he could have said to her at that moment she had not expected to receive an "I told you so". She tried to make a sour face to express her disappointment at Ash. Yet wound up laughing when he flashed her a lighthearted toothy grin. A quick rapping against the door put an end to her laughing and all eyes feel on the rectangular object.

"Dena, Serena? You two alright I heard some loud-." Diana stopped speaking when she saw Ash lying shirtless on the floor with Serena. "Oh. I see your busy so I'll just let myself out." Diana blushed a faint shade off pink, embarrassed to have walked in on what she thought was a private moment.

"Wait Diana it's not like that!" Serena had turned incredibly red as she realized what Diana had thought was happening.

Ash quickly got up, a light shade of pink touching his face as well. He then helped Serena to her feet and was a little surprised when she hid her face from him. Passing it off as unimportant Ash turned his attention back to Diana. The female trainer had reopened the door and was looking a little perplexed by their actions.

"Alright then what is it like?" Diana looked skeptically around the room, finally noticing the other people inside.

                                [----]

One brief explanation later and medics were escorting Rhyolis to a hospital for proper treatment. Aura had decided to go with her grandfather and bid the party farewell. The rest of the group had plans to either watch or participate in the contest and opted to remain at the Hall.

Serena was still a bit mortified by the experience and was attempting to avoid Ash until the end of the contest. Dena caught on to her cousins escapade and knew that she would be too distracted by thoughts of Ash to focus on their contest. Relaying her worries to Diana the two girls formulated a plan to help Serena get over her emotional distress.

"Diana what's so important that we had to leave right now! The contest starts in only a few minutes!" Serena shouted as Diana dragged her down a hallway.

"You'll find out when we get there." Diana replied with a mischievous smile.

They finally stopped in front of a metal door, to which Diana gestured for Serena to enter. A few steps inside Serena heard the door slam behind her. Entrapping her in a small rectangular room piled high with boxes of equipment and props.

Serena was about rush over to the door and demand Diana open it when she heard a knocking on the other side of the room. Curious she peaked around one of the cardboard towers and saw Ash leaning against a second door meekly knocking against the metal surface.

"Cal, its been ten minutes already could you please open the door." Ash's words were somewhat sluggish, as if he'd been repeating the same line for a while.

Serena instantly knew why they had been locked in the room. What she couldn't figure out was why Cal had opted to lock Ash up.

"Cal I promise I'll never use your shirt to wipe up chocolate milk again."

Serena couldn't help but giggle at Ash's impractical use of clothing. Her humorous chuckle caused Ash to be aware of her presence in the room.

"Hello is anyone there?"

Serena ducked behind her cardboard castle and covered her mouth. Her movement was just a little to fast and she bumped into one of the stacks causing a box full of rubber chickens to fall on her head. Ash followed the sound of squeaking chickens to Serena's location.

"Serena what are you doing in here? Did you use Cal's shirt to clean up a mess too!"

"What no. Nothing like that." She replied as she removed a rubber chicken from her hair.

Ash helped dislodge the remaining poultry from Serena all the while sensing some sort of tension radiating off her.

"Serena is anything bothering you?"

"No. I just um..." Unsure how to talk about her feelings with him, she let her sentence trail off.

"I think I know what's happening." Ash said as a serious look bloomed in his eyes.

"You do?" Serena said with concern. Fearful that Ash figured out she was avoiding him out of sheer mortification. "Ash I just-".

"It's alright Serena. I was nervous my first contest too."

"Huh?" Serena was caught off guard by Ash's statement.

"Yeah, it's perfectly normal to get nervous just before a contest." Ash smiled and gave her a supportive thumbs up. "But don't worry. I know you and I know you'll be great."

Serena felt her troubles fade away in the presence of Ash's supportive smile. "Thanks Ash. I needed that."

"Glad to help."

No sooner had they finished taking, than the door was thrown open to reveal a frantic Dena.

"Serena where have you been! The contest is about to start, we've got to get going!" The young girl grabbed her cousin by the hand and lead her away.

"Wah! Dena slow down!"

"Uh nice talking to you." Ash said to the newly open space in front of him.

As the girls rounded a corner Diana joined them in their sprint. Serena glanced between the two girls escorting her and saw a silent conversation pass between them. Releasing Serena's hand but maintaining her speed Dena glanced back to ask her cousin one vital question. A single question that the answer to would decide whether they won or lost this day.

"Are you alright?"

Serena thought back to the event in the dressing room and nearly answered no. But her mind decided to be merciful on her and presented her with the support and encouraging words Ash had given her mere seconds ago. Holding his smile close to her heart Serena was certain she could conquer any challenge that came her way.

"Yes. Now let's go and win this thing!" She said with renowned confidence as she and her teammates stepped onto the field.

Ash and Cal have successfully escaped from the collapsing cavern and reunited with their friends. Serena, Dena and Diana are about to take on their first challenge in their impending contest debut. How will our heroines fair in this all out battle of strength and elegance? You'll have to stay tuned to find out! As the journey continues!

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Okay I'm pretty proud of how this chapter pieced together really enjoying writing this story right now. I'm trying to write two more chapters before New Years to give you all a New Years/ Christmas special. (Thanks to The_Talk_Boy for the idea of a New Years special.)
P.S. I'm open to ideas for other chapters too just put them in the comments and I'll see if I can use them in my story.

Also special thanks Amourshipper444, JMurlz319 and The_Talk_Boy for being consistent readers and voters, your support means a lot to me. 😁

Okay that's all for now feel free to vote and comment at your discretion. Until next time guys, thanks for reading!😁