Chapter 10.7
Ravina nearly collided with Wade before midday. Rounding a bend in the path, she stopped abruptly as a young man crouched by a roadside bush, perhaps eighteen or nineteen, dressed in practical outdoor gear with a bug-catching net leaning against his leg. His cargo pockets bulged with small containers, each clearly labeled in neat handwriting.
He didn't look up as Ravina approached. She and Cinder exchanged glances while Owlbert stared down from an overhead branch. Ravina cleared her throat.
The young man raised one finger without turning. "Shh."
Ravina blinked. "...What?"
He pointed toward the bush. Ravina leaned slightly.
A Caterpie methodically consumed a leaf.
She waited. The Caterpie continued eating. The young man watched with rapt attention, so Ravina waited longer.
Finally: "...Is something supposed to happen?"
His head snapped toward her, eyes bright with excitement. "Look at the bite pattern."
Ravina looked. The leaf had a hole in it. She looked back. "It looks like a leaf with a hole in it."
The stranger stared with profound disappointment. "That tells you what stage she's at."
Ravina blinked. "Of eating the leaf?"
"Development."
"Oh."
That single word transformed him completely. His posture straightened, voice gaining animation as he launched into explanation.
"A Caterpie changes feeding behavior as they approach metamorphosis. Younger individuals usually take softer tissue closer to the edge, but older Caterpie..."
Ravina nodded as he continued. Five minutes later, she'd learned more about Caterpie mandibles and digestive efficiency than she'd ever intended.
Cinder sat politely, occasionally tilting his head. Owlbert had fallen asleep on his branch. Eventually the stranger stopped mid-sentence, catching himself.
"...Sorry."
Ravina smiled. "You like Bug Pokémon."
His face brightened. "Very much."
"I noticed."
He stood, extending a hand. “Wade.”
“Ravina.”
Their hands met as his gaze dropped to Cinder. “Cyndaquil?”
“Cinder.”
Wade crouched. “Rare to see one this far from New Bark.”
Cinder proudly released a tiny Ember puff, making Wade jump back with a yelp. Ravina laughed. “Learned that an hour ago.”
“No way?”
“Yes.”
Wade’s interest intensified, eyes examining Cinder more closely. “Can he control the spread yet?”
Ravina hesitated. “…Mostly.”
Cinder objected with an indignant chirp. “Mostly!”
Wade grinned, picking up his net. “Then battle me.”
Ravina stared. “Trainers really do just challenge strangers.”
He shrugged. “You’re a trainer.”
“Apparently.”
Cinder stepped forward eagerly, flames flickering along his back. Ravina sighed. “Of course.”
- - - - -
Chapter 10.8
Wade released his first Pokémon, and Ravina felt a flicker of guilt when a Caterpie emerged, the same species Owlbert had hunted earlier.
The battle began immediately, and the Caterpie proved surprisingly challenging. Wade opened with String Shot, sticky white strands crisscrossing the clearing. Cinder dodged the first, but a second caught his hind leg, slowing his movement noticeably.
Ravina frowned. Wade grinned. "Everyone assumes Bug-types are easy."
"I didn't."
"You looked guilty."
"I was being considerate."
Another String Shot flew across the field. "Move!"
Cinder escaped barely. The fight shifted from power to positioning. Cinder couldn't afford entanglement, and Ravina couldn't use Ember recklessly without risking the grass.
She'd taught Cinder a new attack; now she needed to teach him restraint.
"Circle left."
Cinder moved as the Caterpie turned. "Wait."
Cinder stopped. Wade frowned.
"String Shot!"
"Now!"
Cinder ducked as strands passed overhead. Ravina saw her opening. "Tackle!"
He struck cleanly. As the Caterpie rolled, Wade recalled her instantly. "Good."
Ravina blinked. "That's it?"
"She's done enough."
Ravina liked that answer.
Wade's second Pokémon was another Caterpie. Ravina stared in disbelief. Wade shrugged. "I really like Caterpie."
"Fair."
This time Ravina used Ember—carefully, a small controlled burst just enough to force the Caterpie away from cover. Then Cinder closed the distance. One Tackle ended it.
Wade recalled his partner. "Nice."
Cinder puffed up as Ravina crouched beside him. "Alright?"
A chirp.
She checked the leg caught by String Shot, finding no injury, just sticky residue.
As she inspected, Wade approached. "You're careful."
Ravina looked up. "My mother would appear from the forest and kill me if I wasn't."
Wade laughed. "Experienced trainer?"
"Very."
"Explains it."
He crouched too, helping remove remaining strands. His attention drifted upward as Owlbert descended to watch.
Wade's eyes widened. "Hoothoot."
Ravina smiled. "Owlbert."
Wade looked at her. "Owlbert?"
"Yes."
The Hoothoot hooted.
Wade considered the name. "...He looks like an Owlbert."
"Thank you."
Owlbert appeared offended again.
- - - - -
Chapter 10.9
Wade offered his Pokégear number before parting. "If I find anything interesting, I'll call."
Ravina held out her device. "Rare Pokémon?"
"Sometimes."
"Useful berries?"
"Definitely."
"Bug facts?"
Wade hesitated. "...Probably."
Ravina laughed. "Fine."
They exchanged numbers. Wade immediately added: "There are good berry patches farther north. If they're ripe when I pass again, I'll message you."
"That would actually help."
He smiled. "And if you see any unusual Bug-types near Violet..."
"I'll let you know."
"Thanks." Then he paused. "Oh!"
Ravina stopped as Wade pointed toward the road.
"Don't go into the Dark Cave without proper lighting."
Ravina tilted her head. "Dark Cave?"
"You'll see it."
Wade realized how he'd phrased it. "I mean literally. You'll see the entrance."
"Less ominous."
He waved. "See you around."
Ravina raised a hand. "Probably."
As Wade disappeared, Cinder looked up at her with judgment.
Ravina sighed. "Yes."
A chirp. "I know. We have another number."
Hoot.
Ravina looked at Owlbert. "You've known me one day. You don't get to judge my social habits yet."
Owlbert hooted again. "Unbelievable."
- - - - -
Chapter 10.10
Dark Cave earned its name.
The entrance materialized during the afternoon, a yawning maw carved into the rocky hillside beside Route 31. Cool air billowed outward, carrying the scent of damp stone and ancient earth.
Ravina halted. Cinder pressed against her leg while Owlbert landed on a weathered signpost.
DARK CAVE
Ravina's lips twitched. "...Not exactly creative."
The interior consumed daylight within meters. She edged closer, peering into the void. Five meters, perhaps ten, then absolute blackness.
The Pokédex detected faint movement inside, but couldn't identify the source from this distance. Ravina's curiosity prickled. "What's in there?"
As she spoke, Cinder sniffed cautiously toward the entrance. Owlbert, however, swooped past them.
"Hey."
He landed just inside the cave, his enormous eyes adjusting instantly to the gloom.
Ravina frowned. "You can see, can't you?"
Hoot.
"Of course you can."
She stepped inside and felt the temperature drop noticeably. Behind her, daylight became a bright rectangle. Ahead stretched impenetrable darkness. Ravina held one hand before her face, it barely registered.
Cinder's back ignited, casting warm orange light around them for several meters. Still insufficient. The cave continued, and somewhere deeper, something scraped against stone.
Cinder's flames brightened as Ravina stared toward the sound. All the while Owlbert remained perfectly calm, able to see what she could not.
She considered exploring farther, for approximately three seconds. Then remembered Nostus's voice in her head. Unknown cave, inadequate lighting, uneven ground, potential wild Pokémon, and only one day's experience with Owlbert. Cinder's fire illuminated but also announced their presence to everything lurking within.
Ravina sighed. "No."
Cinder looked up. "We're not doing this."
Owlbert hooted. "I know you can see."
Hoot.
"I cannot."
Another hoot. "And if you fly ahead and something happens, I can't reach you."
That finally silenced him. Ravina pointed toward the entrance. "We return when prepared."
Cinder's flames lowered. "You agree?"
Cinder chirped immediately. "Excellent."
Owlbert remained stubbornly in place.
Ravina waited. "Owlbert."
Hoot.
"Out."
The Hoothoot reluctantly flew toward daylight as Ravina followed. Once outside again, she marked the location on her Pokégear.
DARK CAVE — RETURN WITH LIGHT
She studied the note. Then added:
AND BETTER SHOES
Cinder chirped. "Those rocks were slippery."
Hoot.
"You don't wear shoes."
Owlbert looked unbearably smug.
- - - - -
Chapter 10.11
The road beyond Dark Cave climbed steadily, late afternoon light painting the forest in golden hues that made Ravina's leg muscles protest with each upward step. She shifted Cinder's weight, the Fire-type having finally surrendered to being carried after hours of stubborn independence.
Owlbert, meanwhile, alternated between short flights and perching atop her pack like a feathery paperweight.
"You understand that I am carrying two Pokémon," Ravina muttered, adjusting her grip as the pack shifted under Owlbert's weight.
Cinder chirped against her chest, a contented rumble vibrating through her ribcage. Owlbert responded with a hoot directly beside her ear.
"I know you have wings."
Hoot.
"Then use them."
No response. Ravina sighed, focusing on the path ahead. Something had changed about Cinder during the day, not dramatic, but noticeable. He radiated more heat than usual, his Ember attack had grown measurably stronger after just hours of practice, and when she'd lifted him earlier, he'd felt undeniably heavier.
She shifted him in her arms. "Have you gotten bigger?"
Cinder's eyes opened, chirping indignantly at her question. "I didn't say fat," Ravina defended.
Another chirp, this one more offended.
"I said bigger."
Hoot.
Ravina glanced toward Owlbert. "Nobody asked you."
Cinder glared upward as Owlbert stared back, his expression unreadable in the fading light.
Ravina sighed. "My team is already dysfunctional."
- - - - -
Chapter 10.12
They saw Violet City shortly before sunset as the road crested a final hill.
The trees opened and there it was. Ravina stopped walking. The city sprawled across the valley below, older than Cherrygrove, much older. Traditional rooftops mixed with modern streets and buildings, while stone paths wound between gardens, shrines and residential districts.
Flying Pokémon circled above, Pidgey, Spearow, and several shapes Ravina didn't recognize. Towering over everything was a narrow wooden structure rising impossibly high into the evening sky.
Sprout Tower. Even from this distance, Ravina could see the great central structure swaying slightly.
She stared. "That is considerably taller than I expected."
Cinder shifted in her arms as Owlbert flew from her pack and landed on a nearby stone post. For a little while, none of them moved. Somewhere among those streets was Ravina's first Gym. Her first official League challenge.
She had spent the last week saying "one Gym" as though repeating it often enough would stop the journey becoming something larger. And now it was right there. Real.
Ravina looked down at Cinder. He looked back, face dusty from the road with a tiny mark of dried String Shot near one foot.
Ravina smiled. "We made it."
Cinder chirped.
From the stone post came a precise hoot.
Ravina looked over. "Yes."
Owlbert blinked. "You too."
The Hoothoot ruffled his feathers proudly as Ravina shifted her pack. Her feet hurt, she needed a shower. Cinder probably needed another check after two days on the road, and Owlbert needed his new registration properly entered.
Then they needed somewhere to sleep. And tomorrow she would have to find the Gym, work out how challenging it actually worked, and probably discover another stack of forms waiting for her.
Ravina exhaled. "Come on."
Cinder wriggled until she lowered him to the ground. Owlbert took flight and together, the three started down the hill.
Violet City's lights slowly brightened beneath the deepening evening sky. Somewhere inside waited Falkner, Sprout Tower, a job Ravina didn't know she needed yet, and considerably more change than any of them were expecting.
For tonight, however, a hot meal and a bed would be enough. Tomorrow, Ravina Shales would begin preparing for her first Gym.
One Gym. That was still the agreement.