They hit the ground hard.
Ash rolled onto his side, breath knocked from his lungs. Stone scraped his arms as he slid to a stop. The air was thick with dust, sharp in his throat. For a moment, all he could hear was ringing.
"Ash?" Maya's voice cut through it. "Answer me."
"I'm—" He coughed. "I'm okay."
Rattata scrambled upright nearby, shaken but moving. Metapod's Poké Ball lay still, intact. Pidgey fluttered weakly, clinging to Maya's sleeve.
Charizard landed last.
It hit the cavern floor with a heavy thud, wings flaring instinctively to keep balance. One bandaged wing dragged slightly before it folded it back in, teeth clenched but silent.
Ash pushed himself up and took in their surroundings.
The cavern was wide, taller than any space they'd seen so far. The ceiling arched high above, broken with veins of crystal that caught what little light there was. A small fire burned near one wall.
Someone else was there.
The man stood near the fire, brushing dust from his jacket as if he'd felt the tremor too. He was broad-shouldered, posture relaxed despite the cave. His hair was dark but threaded with gray, pulled back loosely. His clothes were worn, practical, and scuffed from travel. A pack rested against the stone beside him, old but well-kept.
He turned when he heard them move.
His eyes flicked first to Ash, then to Maya, then stopped on Charizard. Not in surprise. In assessment.
"Well," he said, voice steady, neither friendly nor cold. "Didn't expect company dropping in like that."
Ash swallowed. "Sorry. The ground—"
"Happens," the man said, waving it off. He glanced upward at the broken ceiling, then back at Charizard. "That's a big fellow. Usually see them flying instead of walking in places like this."
Charizard met his gaze, unmoving.
The man didn't stare. He nodded once, as if that was answer enough.
"You hurt?" he asked.
"Just shaken," Maya said.
"Good." The man crouched and nudged a fallen rock aside with his boot. "Tunnel you came from won't hold anymore. You'll want to move before the next shift."
Ash glanced around. "You know a way out?"
The man pointed down a side passage, narrower but solid. "That one. Longer walk. Safer ground."
Ash nodded. "Thanks."
The man slung his pack over his shoulder and stepped past them. As he passed, his eyes flicked once more to Charizard, then away.
"Watch your footing," he said. "Mt. Moon doesn't like rushing."
Then he disappeared into the tunnel, his footsteps fading into the stone.
Ash let out a slow breath he hadn't realized he was holding.
Charizard stayed where it was, tail flame steady, gaze fixed on the path ahead.
They gathered themselves and prepared to move again, the cavern settling back into silence around them.
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T/N:
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