"Go, Rowlet!"
Anne's arm snapped forward, and a beam of red light erupted from her pokeball. In a flash of light, a small, round owl pokemon materialized, hovering gently on its wings. It chirped in approval as it lands on the ground.
Elias mirrored her motion. His own throw released his Sandile. The pokemon landed with a solid thump, its dark, ridged scales catching the light. Its red eyes narrowed immediately at the sight of its opponent, and a low rumble echoed from its throat.
"Rowlet, keep your distance!" Anne called, her tone all business. "Stay light on the wing!"
"Use Sandstorm, Sandile." Elias commanded.
Sandile opened its jaws wide in a deep exhale. A vortex of dust erupted from around its feet, spiraling upward with surprising force. In seconds, a swirling storm of sand filled the clearing, biting at the skin and reducing visibility. Rowlet let out a surprised hoot, buffeted by the sudden abrasive wind.
"Clever start." Anne acknowledged, raising her voice over the howl of the sand. "But we can still strike! Rowlet, Leafage! Don't let it hide!"
Rowlet tucked its wings, dove slightly for momentum, then flapped hard, ascending above the worst of the swirling sand. From its breast, a flurry of sharp, glowing leaves shot forth, slicing through the dusty air towards Sandile's position.
Elias watched, his expression unchanged.
"Bury yourself in the sand, Sandile."
Sandile planted its feet firmly, then, burrowed in the sand. The sharp leaves hit nothing but the sand covering the burrowing Sandile.
After waiting for a chance to step out, it finally saw the chance. The Leafage stopped.
"Use Leer, Sandile."
Sandile's eyes glowed. It tilted its head up, fixing its gaze on the Rowlet. Its red eyes seemed to glow intimidatingly. Rowlet's confident chirp died in its throat. A wave of fear washed over it, and its flight path faltered. It dropped several feet, its wings beating erratically as it tried to shake off the sudden dread.
"Rowlet! Fly in the air, don't let it intimidate you!" Anne shouted in haste.
Rowlet flapped its wings, but the more it tried to shake off the feeling of dread, the more it saw the red eyes glaring at it from under the sand.
"Now, Sandile. Use Bite."
Sandile was a blur of motion. It lunged forward, crossing the distance in a powerful leap. Its jaws snapped shut around the tip of Rowlet's wing, dragging the startled owl pokemon down to the earth with a solid thud.
"Rowlet! Break free! Use Peck!" Anne commanded, a note of urgency entering her voice.
Dazed but obedient, Rowlet twisted in Sandile's grip, its sharp beak glowing with white energy. It stabbed down hard at Sandile's snout.
Sandile grunted in pain, its grip loosening for a split second. But it was all the opening Elias needed.
"Sand Tomb, Sandile. Don't let it escape."
Releasing Rowlet's wing, Sandile instead slammed its forepaws into the ground. The earth beneath Rowlet churned violently, erupting into a whirlpool of sand that engulfed the bird pokemon. The sand held Rowlet in place, grinding against it and trapping it in a vortex of relentless, scratching damage. Rowlet cried out, struggling against the shifting prison.
The sandstorm began to die down, revealing the scene where Sandile is panting slightly but eyes still sharp, standing over the trapped, pained Rowlet.
Anne stared for a long moment. Then, she recalled her pokemon. The Sand Tomb dissipated, leaving only a disturbed patch of earth.
"I see." She said, her voice quiet. The intensity in her eyes had shifted into something more impressed. "You don't waste chances when you see it. You control the field. You create a weakness, then exploit it without hesitation. You're… way more advanced in combat than me. I accept my loss here. Thank you for the battle, Elias."
Elias recalled Sandile, giving the pokeball a brief, thoughtful look. The pokemon had followed his commands perfectly. It was a good partner. He gave Anne a slight nod in return.
"Let's go. The operation must be starting by now. We'll get shouted when we don't make it in time." Anne said, stepping past Elias, towards the cave entrance.
Without another word, Elias turned and entered the dark maw of Deviel Cave.
***
The cave interior was a world of echoing drips, cool, damp air, and the faint, eerie glow of bioluminescent fungi. They moved in silence, following the occasional marker left by earlier grunts, their footsteps the only sound apart from the distant skitter of wild Geodude. They took up a position at a crossroads deep within, a strategic choke point as instructed.
"So this is our post?" Anne said, sitting atop of a rock formation. "It feels weirdly cold in here. I should've requested for a coat like yours."
Elias didn't replied to her. He just sat on the rock besides her, then takes out his pokeball. He stared at it and started twirling it in his hand. Everything that has happened earlier in the morning was constantly in his mind. Becoming a member of Team Xycle has brought him nothing but curiousity. Everyone was so strange. Someone is angry for unfairness while someone is curious about the other's personality.
He realized that what he wanted will be much harder to get from now on.
Anne watched him in silence as he twirled the pokeball in his hand.
"You seemed to have a lot in your mind. How about you share it with me?"
Elias looked at her with the same blank expression. Anne was just asking him to share his thoughts with her. Should he? He shakes that thought out of his mind and decided that it's better to talk than stay silent in this awkward space.
"I have this constant thought in my head." Elias started, tightening his grip on the pokeball. "Everyone wants something, and they will do everything to get it. Do you have any answer to why is that?"
Anne stayed silent for a brief moment, thinking for the correct way to answer his question.
"Hmm... let's see. "Everyone wants something, and they will do everything to get it". I think you're implying to what we called a 'dream'. A dream is ambition, and ambition is a goal. Many people have it, and you are asking me to why people have dreams? I say that having a dream is what makes you a human."
"What makes you a human?" Elias echoed.
"Yes! Even if some people are telling that they don't have dreams, they do have one because they have ambition. You can't exist without ambition, and ambition can't exist without dreams."
Elias stared at her with the same blankness expression. But, there's a flicker of confusion that disappeared quickly as it comes.
Anne crossed her legs, resting her chin on the back of hand.
"Anyway, it sure is boring here. Rein is not here also. I hope he didn't let his anger take over him."
Elias looked at the pokeball in his hand again. The world sure is strange. Ambition, dreams, and goals. This girl was just telling him that it's all the same. He put what she said in his mind, but he will find out himself what those words are all about.
***
Deeper in the cave... grunts gathered in a small chamber. They were all wearing a black and white shirt with sleeves, a sign that they were all high ranking than the grunts outside.
The woman in black is also there, carrying a clipboard beside a tall man with broad shoulder.
The man was wearing a black suit with an "X" on the back, the same color as Elias. His eyes were covered by a black shades, and his expression was more serious than the woman's.
"Sarah. This better finish soon. I don't like how the dust is getting on my suit." He said, voice deep and grinding.
The woman—Sarah—looked at him with apologetic eyes.
"I'm sorry, boss. This is a mistake on my part. I didn't know that it would take this long to get the orb."
"It doesn't matter whether it's your fault or anybody's. As long as we get that orb, our business here is finished."
Sarah gave a curt nod, her gaze fixed on the grunts working at the far wall. They were carefully chipping away at a section of rock that glowed with a faint pulse.
Suddenly, a distant shout echoed down the tunnel, followed by the unmistakable sound of a pokemon cry and the crunch of impact. The man and Sarah's head snapped towards the entrance.
"What was that?" Sarah asked.
A grunt came skidding into the chamber, breathless.
"Intruders! At the eastern junction! A kid with a Totodile kids! He took out many already!"
The man's expression darkened.
"A kid? Taking us out?" He turned his shaded eyes towards Sarah. "Alert the others. A single kid shouldn't be enough to destroy our plan."
"I will warn the others!" Sarah's eyes widened slightly, but then, it goes back to her serious look. "Elias was posted at that junction. Do you want to use the kid to test him?"
The man thinks for a moment. He looked Sarah straight in the eye, then, nodded.
"Alright. But warn all of our grunts. It should be enough to get the attention of Elias."
***
After what felt like an hour of tense waiting, the comm device on Anne's wrist crackled to life. A frantic voice, punctuated by the sounds of conflict, filled the silence.
"--intruder! Single trainer heading towards the central chamber! He's-- bzzt --through Beta squad! He's strong! Request--"
The transmission dissolved into static, then cleared into the cold, amplified voice of Sarah, her holographic face appearing miniature on the device's screen.
"All perimeter units, tighten the defense. No one else gets in. Internal teams, intercept and subdue. The retrieval is nearly complete. Do not let one child disrupt the Cycle."
The transmission cut off.
Anne and Elias exchanged a glance. A moment later, the unmistakable sounds of a pokemon battle echoed down the tunnel to their left.
They moved, running towards the noise. They rounded a corner into a wider cavern and skidded to a halt.
The scene was one of decisive defeat. Rein was on his knees, one hand braced against the ground. His Magby was sprawled unconscious in a puddle, steam rising from its body where it had been thoroughly doused. Standing over them, backlit by a glowing crystal formation, was a boy.
He wore a dark blue jacket over a simple shirt, jeans, and a matching blue cap pulled low over determined eyes. At his side, standing protectively and looking utterly fierce for its small size, was a Totodile. It snapped its jaws with a click, droplets flying from its skin, its entire posture screaming challenge.
Rein looked up, his face a mask of fury and humiliation. He saw Elias and Anne.
"Don't just stand there!" He snarled, voice raw.
The trainer turned. His eyes swept over Anne, then locked onto Elias. He took in the long green-X coat, the white hair, the blank expression.
"Another one?" He said, his voice young but hardened by battle. "How many of you are in this cave? What are you people even doing here?"
He pointed a finger, his Totodile mimicking the gesture with a raised claw.
"It doesn't matter. If you're planning something bad, I won't let you! Totodile and I… we're going to stop you!"
Elias looked at the boy, at his defiant stance, at the passionate fire in his eyes. He looked at the unconscious Magby, at the furious Rein, at Anne who was already reaching for her pokeball, her expression calculating.
Why are they fighting for their dreams?
The question echoed in his mind, not as a memory, but as a present, tangible thing, standing right in front of him in a blue jacket.
He understood Rein's anger. It was simple. He was beginning to understand Anne's curiosity. It was logical. But this boy's passionate conviction… this was new. This was something he needed to see up close.
Elias's hand went to the single pokeball on his belt. His fingers closed around it.