Part 16: It Wouldn't be Pokemon Without a Dark CaveWHERE THE HECK IS THIS STEVEN GUY?!
No one around town seems to know who he is or where I can find him. Guess I'll just wander around and hope he didn't already leave or drown himself.
Hmm...perhaps there's treasure!
So far, just this old guy. But he seems to know where Steven is! He also gave me something called Flash, claiming that the cave further ahead was too dark to see in. Nuts to that, I've been through Brawly's gym so I'll be alright!
This cave has some awesome birds. I wanna catch it!
I named him Noctis
Okay, that old guy wasn't kidding. It's really freaking dark down here! But we shall prevail!
What the heck is something like this doing in here?!
Thera managed to paralyze it with a lick (how?!) and proceeded to scratch it until it was badly wounded. By then, it was practically jumping into the Great Ball to get away from the little terror.
Oh Arceus I feel terrible now
(I named him Lute)
These things look like meaner versions of Thera. They actually
are meaner, as this one nearly killed her with a flurry of claw swipes.
...How did this thing get into the cave.
Using the Left Hand method, I finally found the ladder further down. Hopefully I didn't pass Steven completely, but for now the only thing to do is continue onward.
Some sort of fire chicken...and all I have left are normal Pokeballs D:
Champ killed it and hit level 18 in the process. He looks so proud of himself I can't even bring myself to scold him.
AHHHHHHHHHHHHHH
Eventually, I found myself blinking in the comparatively bright light of the cave entrance. At first I thought that I had been turned around somehow, but then I saw the old guy waving to me far below. Clearly I've made some progress!
A tribe of ninja bugs attacked me as I made my way along the ledge. Apparently ninjas are weak to fire, as Tara roasted them all.
Could this be...?
It is! The man introduces himself as Steven, saying that he came to this cave in search of rare stones. I handed him the Letter, and in exchange he gave me a TM called Steel Wing. Sounds nifty.
And then he was gone. Oh well, mission accomplished! Hey Champ, what's that you found over ther--
Whoa. Okay Tara, please be very gentle with this thing, I'd like to catc--
Of all the times to get a crit...
Well, at least I made it out of there.
Once I made it back to town, I asked Mr. Briney what we should do now. He suggested that we travel to Slateport City, which was a major city and had land routes to most of the rest of the region. Sounds good to me!
We're off!
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