The rangers hurried along, making a hasty exit from the depths of the caves in an attempt to help Larry’s mom. Most of their Pokemon had been recalled so the rangers could focus on exiting the cave. Valerie was once again on Arcanine's back, as the Fire-Type was practically the only one who could keep up with their troupe without turning into a giant boulder and careening through the cave. The only Pokemon who were forced to keep with them were Donphan, Phanpy, and Teddiursa, who were better at keeping pace with the humans.
Larry had opted to dig along underneath the rangers, he was far too excited to stay in his Pokeball at the prospect of his mother still being alive. He was also largely still healthy, so he felt obligated to see his mother to safety. They had made quick work of the former lakebed, being able to simply follow their already explored route. Every so often, Larry would surface and wave the humans in the right direction.
During his dig, he had a lot of things to think through, his emotional outbreak when he’d found his mother was way out of character for him. Valerie's perfectly measured responses were also very out of character. The girl had acted mature up until now, but it just felt off to Larry, ‘It was like she knew exactly what to say…’
Had he been so obvious with his emotions? ‘Gah! It doesn’t matter right now! I’m staying with her, so I’ll have plenty of time to ask her! For now, let's just get Mom to safety!’
It amazed Larry just as much that his mother was somehow still alive. Larry knew Pokemon were hardy and could live from some of the most fatal wounds. He saw it with his own eyes when he took a beating before, his wounds would always heal in a few days at worst. ‘Though this seems different…’ The rangers' reactions had spoken for themselves, their amazement at the fact that his mom was alive was still palpable. Arin and the other rangers went from the calm, cool, and civil behavior from before to dead serious the second they had set off, seemingly going from ‘Babysitting a kid’ Mode to ‘Impromptu Ambulance Service’ in the matter of a single minute.
‘If they’re this serious, it can’t mean anything good for my mom.’ Larry lamented, ‘I just gotta hope!’
…
Once out of the rocky former lakebed, they kept to the same route they had taken before, Larry’s mole tracks leading the charge, with Arcanine's superior nose making the difficult choice when they came upon split paths and crossings. Surprisingly enough, on their way out, they encountered their first wild Pokemon, just in the distance, as Larry surfaced next to Arcanine once again.
An Absol showed itself and blocked their path intimidatingly. Valerie seemed to turn just a shade whiter at the Pokemon's majestic and powerful appearance, but the encounter was over before they could even begin a confrontation, as the Pokemon jumped up and away somewhere higher up into the cave using its superior agility.
The Pokemon seemed to have had a lasting effect on the humans of the troupe. Looking behind himself, Larry saw the group of rangers looking after the Pokemon with fear in their eyes. Nick cleared his throat, “Ok, that isn’t optimal…”
“C’mon Nick,” Arin pats Nick's back just a bit too hard as he confidently spoke, “You're superstitious?” turning just a slight shade paler as well.
“It's probably nothing…” Maxie spoke, “Absol are native around here…”
“Oh, you’ve seen them before?” Arin spoke, hoping for a quick explanation.
“Uhh…No…Never, actually…” Maxie scratched her cheek sheepishly, “They’re pretty rare…” Her explanation turned the group dead silent.
‘Is this?’ Larry didn’t have the entire Pokedex memorized, but he did remember that Absol supposedly only showed themselves before impending disaster or incoming danger. Stewing in his own thoughts as their group had ground to a halt, Larry thought, ‘I wasn’t a very superstitious person before, but I can’t really deny that Ghosts are real now. So, could Absol actually see when something bad is about to happen?’
He looked to Valerie for guidance, who looked white as a sheet at the place above them where the Absol had disappeared. A quick squeak from him pulled her out of her stupor, “Eek! Larvitar?”
Larry squeaked out another quick question at her, but the girl found the meaning quickly enough, “You wanna know what that was?” He nodded, and Valerie continued, “An Absol, they’re known to bring bad luck.”
“They’re called the Disaster Pokemon, having been simply called ‘Doom-Bringers’ in ancient times.” Nick fearfully retold, as he leaned closer to Valerie, “When a human sees an Absol, disaster isn’t far away.”
“Yeah, yeah.” Arin pulled at Nick's shoulder, giving the girl some space, “Those old wives' tales can be kept in your PokeTube recommendations, man. I know you love those conspiracy videos.”
“There is something to it, dude!” Nick insisted.
“Sure, and next thing you know, you’ll wake up in the ER after injecting yourself with Rapidash dewormer,” Maxie spoke from behind the two of them with a sigh.
“Is there any truth to it?” Valerie asked the troupe with a serious expression.
They exchanged brief looks with each other before nodding and speaking out loud at once.
“Hell no!”
This narrative has been purloined without the author's approval. Report any appearances on Amazon.
“No.”
“Absolutely!”
Everyone, even Arcanine and Larry, stared down Nick, who had kept strong to his opinion.
“Don’t listen to this guy,” Arin spoke with a nodding Maxie behind him as he pointed at Nick, still with his hand on his shoulder, “His conspiracy theory-crazed ass isn’t long for this world.”
“Wha-?! C’mon, there is something to it! I saw how tense you guys looked!” He accused.
“Of course we’d be tense, it's the first Pokemon we’ve seen down here since the Magmar.” Maxie pointed out, only for Nick to “Aha!” back at her, “The first Pokemon since that fight is an Absol, shouldn’t that mean something?!”
“Shouldn’t it be the Absol first and then the fight with the Magmar, if it's supposed to bring disaster with it?” Valerie pointed out, to which both Larry and Arcanine nodded back in silent affirmation. Nick was introspective for a second before he raised a finger to retort, but Arin patted him on the shoulder a bit harsher than necessary and cleared his throat, “Can we keep these talks for later? I’ve still got a Tyranitar on my belt here?”
“Yes, please, let's move!” Maxie broke the silence and pushed the group forward, more than happy to continue their march.
…
They made a lot of headway, since they were now mostly going downhill instead of uphill. In total, they had walked around seven to nine hours to get this deep into Mt. Silver, with one eight-hour sleep break and another eight-hour sleep break it took for Larry to wake back up after passing out after the fight with the Magmar. This means they had been inside Mt. Silver for practically an entire day by now, with a large amount of that time simply spent hiking the caves.
Larry had taken the backseat, walking behind the ranger trio while relaxing in Valerie's lap on Arcanine's back. Walking next to them were Ursaring and Donphan, with the tuckered-out Phanpy being carried along in Ursaring's arms.
He had chosen to hang back with them, considering they would be forced to split up sometime soon, the three would need to get back up to the second layer anytime now. So they were making some idle chatter.
“My cubs have been missing you.” Ursaring mentioned in a low growl, which made Valerie flinch behind him.
“Why do you say that?” Larry asked.
Ursaring spoke with a grin, “They told me they wanted a wrestling rematch against you.”
“Oh,” He was surprised at the notion.
“Yes, I can’t imagine Phanpy is going to be any happier when we’re splitting up.” She looked down at the Ground-Type lovingly, “I think you know he cares about you.”
“I’ll carry him home if he becomes too much of a nuisance for you,” Donpahn spoke up, the same harsh look as always on its face.
“He is your son, you should be carrying him anyway,” Ursaring mentioned with a calculating look, “You’ll be giving me some berries in return when we get back home.”
“Of course,” Donpahn answered readily, “Thank you.”
“You two argue like an old couple,” Larry mentioned with a smile.
The two exchanged a look before turning back to Larry, shaking their heads, “No way.”
With a slightly awkward atmosphere, they returned to their quiet walk. After a minute or so, Valerie leant down and whispered into Larry's ear, “You made some good friends here, didn’t you? Those two work together a lot, are they a couple?”
Finally, Larry couldn’t hold back and let out a giggle. In return, Ursaring and Donphan rolled their eyes annoyedly.
…
A short while afterwards, as they chatted, Phanpy finally stirred awake in Ursaring's arms. Unfortunately for it, they were just nearing the crossing where they’d be breaking off and going back up to the second layer. Valerie and Larry slowed, keeping Arcanine nearby to catch up with the ranger, who continued the match in the meantime.
“You can’t leave Larry!” Phanpy had wrung his arm around Larry like a vice, gripping him like a small child might grip their favourite plush toy.
“Easy! Easy, Phanpy! Control your strength!” Larry patted Phanpys' side, and he finally released his grip, if only a little.
“You should stay here,” Phanpy whined once again, before eyeing Valerie with contempt, “This human is taking you away from here!”
“Calm down,” Larry smacked Phanpy a bit firmer, and the Pokemon finally released him fully, “I chose to go with Valerie, she isn’t forcing me to do anything, ok?”
“Ok…Yeah,” The Ground-Types had a downtrodden look on its face.
Valerie giggled and approached the two before crouching down and petting Phanpy on the head, “I know it must be hard to separate from your friends, but you’ll see each other again, you know?”
Larry nodded, “Yeah, we’ll come back to Mt. Silver someday, and then I’ll hang out with you and the Teddiursas a whole lot. You’ll want me gone by the time I’m done with you!”
“We’ll be looking forward to it.” Donpahn agreed behind Phanpy, who was still pouting adorably.
Finally, Phanpy relented and rushed in for another crushing hug, “Fine! But we’ll be playing the whole time you’re here next time, ok?!”
“Oof! Argh! I-It’s a deal!”
“We’ve got to go now, Phanpy.” Ursaring cautioned the young Pokemon, and it released Larry gracefully.
“See you, Phanpy!” Larry waved at him as he trotted back to his father.
“Bye, guys!” Valerie waved at the group.
“Bye-bye, Larry!” It waved its trunk back energetically, walking backwards.
Valerie and Larry waved at the group for as long as they could before the winding walkways and darkness of the first layer finally obscured them. His trainer's arm fell on his back, “Let’s get your mom to safety, right, Larvitar?”
Nodding back resolutely, they once again mounted Arcanine, who launched into an excited sprint to catch up to the rangers.
“Woah! Slow! Slow! Arcanine!” Valerie cried in panic, and Larry fought to keep a grip on the Fire-Types plush fur to not get launched off its back, but Arcanine wasn’t listening anymore and simply rushed through down the walkway with speed never experienced by Larry until the headlamps of the rangers came back into view in the distance.
“Stopstopstop! Eek!” His trainer smacked Arcanines back as it barreled towards the trio of rangers, but it simply jumped over them and performed an aerobatic twirl to turn mid-air and stop in front of them. Panting enthusiastically, the Fire-Type planted itself on the ground to let Valerie get off.
Stepping off, the girl wobbled precariously as she fought off the disorientation of the ride. Maxie closed in and steadied her by her good shoulder, “You had a good goodbye for our saviors?”
Shaking away the confusion and combing through her wind-whipped hair with her hands, Valerie nodded, “We did, though that Phanpy really loves Larvitar. They must be pretty good friends,” She turned to Larry, “right, Larvitar? Larvitar?!”
Larry slid off of Arcanine's back pathetically, lying down on the ground in a puddle of motion sickness at his new body's first experience of such speed. He raised an arm in agreement, “Ugh…Yup!”
