Granite Cave

Although Dewford Town was not particularly famous, Granite Cave near the town was renowned far and wide. Not only was it rich in mineral resources, but it was also home to many rare Pokémon.

Zeno and the others' destination this time was Granite Cave. According to their teacher, ancient murals created by people long ago still remained deep within the cave.

Granite Cave was somewhat dangerous, so Gu Yan did not dare rashly take the two of them inside. More than half the people who came to Dewford Town were here for Granite Cave, while the rest had come for the Knuckle Badge at Dewford Gym.

There were plenty of equipment vendors outside Granite Cave, and they could buy pretty much everything they needed. The three changed into gray miners' outfits, making them look no different from people hoping to strike it rich through mining.

To guard against falling rocks in the cave, Zeno bought three sturdy-looking hard hats. Each had a small lamp on it, which would make moving around inside much easier. When Sapphire saw that they also sold little pickaxes and shovels, she urged Zeno to buy a set.

"We're here to look for murals, not dig rocks," Gu Yan reminded them of the purpose of their trip.

"What does it matter? Let's give it a try. We might find some rare stones," Zeno said, unusually taking Sapphire's side.

Seeing the greedy looks on their faces, Gu Yan could only nod helplessly. They really were just two kids.

Granite Cave was enormous, and its terrain was extremely complex. Some areas were especially dark, and one could easily lose their way if they were not careful. Many Ground-type and Rock-type Pokémon lived within, and even rare Steel-type Pokémon could be found there.

Things were fine when the three first entered. Some sunlight still reached inside, so they did not need to turn on their lamps yet. The cave was not particularly damp either, so they did not have to worry about slipping. There were quite a few people inside Granite Cave, all of them searching for rare stones.

"Are you three here to try your luck too?" A middle-aged man was curious because the three of them looked so young.

"Mining is only our secondary goal. We heard that there are murals left behind by ancient people inside Granite Cave, so we wanted to go in and take a look." Judging by his appearance, Gu Yan felt the man should know this cave fairly well.

"I think someone really has seen the murals, but you'll have to keep going forward. You can only find them in the deepest part."

"Sir, it seems really dark inside. Have you been in there before?" Zeno wanted to get some information from him.

"Dark? It's more than dark. It's so dark you can't see your hand in front of your face. You'd better bring a bat-like Pokémon with you, or it'll be easy to lose your direction."

"Can't we have a Pokémon use Flash?"

"It's not impossible, but it could cause trouble. There are plenty of wild Pokémon living in the cave, and suddenly using a bright light might disturb them. Zubat travel in groups, and those Pokémon suck blood." The man was kindhearted, and seeing that they intended to head into the depths of Granite Cave, he could not help offering a few more warnings.

"We really do need to be careful around Zubat." Gu Yan took three pairs of leather gloves from his bag and handed two to them. "If they fly at us, just cover your faces."

With the gloves, they were wrapped up even more tightly now. As long as they remained careful, they would not need to worry about Zubat.

"Zubat are secondary. The most dangerous ones are Onix and Aggron. Just try to avoid them."

"Got it."

"There are plenty of places in the cave where you can see light. There's only one long stretch that's completely pitch-black. Once you get through that section, you'll be fine. Even if you get lost, don't be afraid. There should be people mining ore inside, so you can ask them for directions."

"Thank you for the advice, sir."

Seeing his tired expression, Zeno shared some of the energy drinks they had bought in Dewford Town with him.

The three turned on the small lamps on their helmets and slowly headed deeper inside. As they went farther in, the cave grew increasingly damp, and they could slip if they were even slightly careless.

Many Zubat hung from the cave ceiling. The three walked cautiously and did not dare make too much noise, afraid of waking the sleeping Pokémon. After walking for a long time, they still had not seen the illuminated areas the man had mentioned.

"Senior Brother, we're not lost, are we?" Sapphire's legs ached from walking, and she felt as though they had been going in circles the entire time.

"Probably. There are too many forks in this place. Let's rest for a while first. We'll recover our strength, then keep going."

The three sat down against the wall. After replenishing their energy, they did not dare continue forward recklessly. They could only discuss what to do next.

"There's no one here at all, so we can't ask for directions. The Pokédex signal is terrible too, and it can't locate us, so our simple map is useless." Zeno truly had no idea what to do.

"Are we going to be trapped here forever?" Sapphire suddenly became a little frightened.

"Not necessarily. I can have my Gallade use Teleport right now and take us directly back to where we started. Are you willing to walk through it all again from the beginning?" Gu Yan was not in a hurry; he was simply worried that the two of them would not be able to keep going.

"Senior Brother, you should've said so earlier! What are we afraid of now? Let's go, let's go! Straight ahead!" Hearing that, Sapphire regained her confidence.

"Senior Brother, you should've told her later. It would've been good to take her down a peg," Zeno muttered quietly.

"My mistake."

"What are you two talking about? Why are you being so quiet?" Sapphire could not help leaning closer.

"Men's secrets," Gu Yan said calmly.

"Even with Senior Brother's Gallade, all we know is that we don't have to fear being unable to get out. But we came here to find the murals!"

"Sigh, if we'd known the Pokédex wouldn't have a signal in here, we should've hired a guide." Sapphire felt that the three of them had been too confident.

"A guide! Right, we can find a guide!" Zeno suddenly realized.

"Junior Brother, isn't that obvious? We're trapped in this awful place. Where are we supposed to find a guide? Should we go out first?"

"No need. These Zubat live in this cave, so they must know the way. I saw two of them flying ahead just now. Let's try following them."

"Good idea!"

This truly was the most time-saving and effortless method available to them. They had been so focused on avoiding the Zubat before that they had forgotten the Zubat were the ones who knew the directions in this cave best.

The three quietly followed the two Zubat. After winding through countless turns for a while, they finally began to see light.

"Not that I want to ruin the mood, but what if these two Zubat lead us back to the place where we first came in?" Sapphire felt that was possible too.

"What can we do? Deal with it, I guess."

What she said made Zeno not want to keep walking anymore. If that really happened, it would have been better to let Gallade take them out earlier.