In a luxurious mansion carved into the Grand Underground near Eterna City, Brutus Hardwell lounged in an oversized, stone-lined hot tub, steam curling upward as a pair of beautiful maids tended to him, until a sudden call cut through his relaxation.
"What do you have for me this time?" he asked as a hologram of a bartender flickered to life in front of him.
"As per your contract with Umbraline, I'm calling to inform you that a bounty hunter by the name of Alex Wattson has shown interest in your information."
"Oh? How much?"
"One billion Pokédollars."
"So, a fresh Champion, huh? The last time I paid for this information, all I got was that they were recruits from Interpol and that I shouldn't mess with them because of their daddy. I think I'll skip this time."
"Are you sure?" the bartender asked.
"Yeah, yeah. I'm not planning on moving around much, so I should be safe as long as they don't find my base. My information lock is still in place, right?"
"Yes. For the next few decades."
"Good. Thanks for the heads-up. Keep up the good work," Brutus said before cutting the call.
He had just finished offloading his recent score, so he was certainly stocked up for the next few decades. It would take a significant piece of bait to lure him out of his hiding hole if they wanted any chance of capturing him.
"Now, when was that auction again?" he said as he flipped through his calendar on the hologram.
-----
"And with that, our base is complete!" Sable said proudly, putting the finishing touches on their home.
The cavern was roughly 50 meters across with a 10-meter ceiling, carved from stone into simple living spaces and storage areas. Scattered around were the Spheres they had received from the bartender, providing air and light to the otherwise cold, dark cavern.
A polished central floor led to a pool at the far end, with a stone hot tub beside it. Built-in benches, shelves, and alcoves with bedding offered basic comfort and organization, while the open layout kept the space functional and uncluttered, a practical underground home carved entirely from rock.
"You know," Mika said, catching Sable's attention, "we could have just teleported to a luxury hotel from here. Our current depth is shallow compared to a Pokémon's teleportation range, so you didn't really need to build a full base."
"Yeah, but the Pokémon need to get comfortable," Sable replied, glancing at the nearly 100 Pokémon eating their dinner in the cavern.
"They would have gotten the same treatment in a hotel," Mika added. "Not to mention, we'd have to move the base eventually, since we'll be digging deeper and farther from this location."
Sable looked at Mika shyly. "I… I just wanted to build a base…"
"And it's a magnificent base," Alex called out from the hot tub he was sharing with Lyra and their Pokémon.
Lyra sat on Alex's lap, leaning back comfortably against his chest. Espeon and Hydreigon flanked the pair, vying for attention and head pats. Raticate floated on his back, belly up, while Arcanine and Lyra's Mightyena wore expressions of relaxed bliss. Gardevoir blushed in the heat, and Lyra's Corviknight meticulously preened its feathers. Meanwhile, Milotic, Gyarados, and the Wishiwashi coordinated to regulate the water temperature, using a combination of Surf and Scald to keep it just right.
Sable's Pokémon, having finished digging out the cavern, rushed to their own meals while the rest began to relax. Breaks like this were rare, as they usually trained almost nonstop every day.
Sure, they had massages and comfortable living spaces, but most of their time was spent training, which would understandably wear them out.
Now that they were on a mission, they no longer had to train in their free time, especially since being underground left barely any room even for move proficiency practice.
"Mika, just relax and let her do her thing. Starting tomorrow, she'll be busy digging for treasures, so let her have some fun while she still can," Lyra said.
"Excuse me?" Sable snapped. "I am not going to be the only one doing all the digging. All of you will have to help."
"But we don't know anything about digging," Mika said.
"I'll be there to supervise," Sable replied. "You and your Pokémon will alternate with mine to conserve stamina. You all have Ground types, so I don't want to hear any excuses."
Mika had Nidoqueen, Nidoking, and Flygon; Lyra had a pair of Donphan, both recent additions; and Alex had a pair of Rhyperiors, along with all the other Pokémon that knew Dig. They were more than equipped to help their foreman.
"What's the plan anyway, Alex?" Lyra asked, looking up at him. "Are we really just going to dig for treasures like this?"
"What do you know about Sable?" Alex asked.
"Only that she's our resident miner and a Ground specialist."
"She can read terrain and detect what's around her through vibrations in her feet. In the Grand Underground, she's a goose that lays golden eggs. It won't take long before she attracts trouble."
"How's that going to help you catch Brutus?"
"Who said anything about catching Brutus? He's a good target while we're here, but our priority is earning credits. It doesn't matter who they come from, as long as we get enough. With Sable by our side, it won't take long for all the fish in this pond to come to us."
"They'll be small, though."
"I'm sure they'll be more than happy to point us in the direction of the bigger fish. If not, I'm sure they have some treasures we can take in exchange. This is the Underworld's territory, so we should think like criminals if we want to go looking for opportunities."
The next day, the group's excavation began in earnest under Sable's strict and decisive guidance. Rather than dig cautiously in random spots to open up the area as most miners would, she charged ahead with confidence, sensing the hidden treasures beneath the earth. One by one, they uncovered an impressive assortment of items.
There were glowing Spheres that pulsed with light and air, glittering Evolution Stones of all types, rich veins of ore by the tons, raw move crystals comparable in size to a teleportation beacon from Interpol, and Fossils of all species, even ones that couldn't be restored. The team worked seamlessly, following her lead, and their space bags quickly filled with valuable finds, each discovery pushing them to dig even deeper.
"Where are we exactly?" Lyra asked. "I'm pretty sure we've been digging all day, and now I've completely lost track of our location."
"We're somewhere around the fifth level of the rocky hideaway east of our base. It shouldn't take long for us to return from here."
It was hard for anyone but Sable to tell where they were, because unlike other miners, they covered their tracks instead of leaving reinforced tunnels behind. This meant they moved from one resource pocket to the next while sealed inside whatever air space remained, with no clear trail marking the path they had taken.
Normally, this was bad practice, since miners could easily lose their way, just as Lyra had, and risk digging into unknown spaces in an attempt to return to the surface or their base. Sable, however, was a clear exception.
She identified materials by the unique vibrations they returned and dug straight toward them, whether the path led up, down, left, or right. By repeating this process, she kept them moving efficiently and maximized their profits from a single day of digging.
Occasionally, however, complications did arise.
"STOP!" Sable suddenly shouted. "Incoming from below, 20 seconds out."
All the Pokémon assigned to dig halted immediately, then spread out and cut into the surrounding walls, widening the air pocket to make room for whatever was coming. Once they had enough space, they reinforced the newly opened sections to keep the chamber stable.
The earth beneath them began to shake, sending dust and debris tumbling down. Then, from the center of their formation, emerged an enraged Elite ranked Onix.
"Attack!" Sable shouted, and all their Pokémon followed.
They bombarded the Onix with single-target Special moves that didn't create debris, using attacks such as Dazzling Gleam, Psychic, Dark Pulse, Shadow Ball, Dragon Pulse, Flash Cannon, and other similar techniques. This ensured they didn't accidentally drown themselves with Surf, bury themselves alive with Rock Slide, roast themselves with Flamethrower, or turn the confined space into a blender with Hurricane or Air Slash.
After a single volley, the Onix fainted and was captured.
Without a single command, the Pokémon began loosening the soil on their surroundings, returning the battlefield to a smaller, more manageable pocket, just as it had been before.
"I wonder why they can't sense our aura," Mika commented. "They should know to avoid us, given the number of Elite ranked Pokémon we have in this tiny space."
"Gardevoir says it's because they can't detect us through the thick soil," Alex replied. "She says it was terrified the moment it burst through the ground, which means it didn't know we were on the other side, only that we were making too much noise in its territory."
"What about the tunnels? They seemed more than eager to attack us."
"Probably because they were running from a Champion and decided to take their chance with us instead."
"But we have you with us."
"My aura is concealed, remember? I should register as an average Elite ranked trainer rather than a Champion while we move through the tunnels. Here, however, it doesn't matter because no one's watching."
They continued digging until the Spheres they carried began to grow dim.
"It's getting late, let's head back," Lyra said.
"Okay," Sable replied as she redirected their digging.
Less than an hour later, they arrived at the same dead end where they had started, only this time, it seemed they had some unexpected guests.
-----
Support me on Patreon
patreon/babywrath