The quarry looked nothing like Grant expected.
He had imagined chaos, collapsed rock, raging Pokémon, shattered equipment. Instead, it was quiet. Too quiet. The kind of place where something had already gone wrong, and everyone was holding their breath, waiting for the next crack.
The land dipped sharply into a bowl of stone and dirt. Excavation lines cut through the earth like scars, but moss and roots had begun reclaiming the edges. Old tunnel mouths yawned half-collapsed along the quarry wall, reinforced hastily with wooden beams and metal braces.
Grant crouched and pressed his palm to the ground.
"It's warm," he said.
Nyra nodded. "Underground nests."
Dewott stepped forward, ears twitching. Sewaddle peeked from Grant's shoulder, eyes wide. Venipede clicked softly near Nyra's boot, sensing vibrations beneath the stone.
Pignite let out a low grunt.
"They're close," Nyra murmured. "And stressed."
The quarry supervisor, a thick-set man with a weathered face, stood a few steps back, helmet tucked under his arm. He looked uncomfortable.
"We followed your conditions," he said. "No blasting today. Workers pulled out at dawn."
Grant stood. "Good. Then this stays calm."
Nyra turned to the Pokémon. "We're not here to fight unless we have to."
Grant added, "And even then, only to defend."
Dewott gave a sharp nod.
Sewaddle squeaked nervously but straightened, tiny legs firming.
Grant smiled. "That's my brave one."
Soon the first encounter came.
The ground trembled.
Not violently, just enough to send pebbles skittering.
Venipede reacted first, coiling protectively. Dewott slid into a defensive stance, shells raised.
Then the Pokémon emerged.
A trio of Boldore, their crystalline bodies scraping stone as they surfaced near the quarry's edge. Their eyes glowed faintly, wary rather than aggressive.
Grant's heart pounded.
"They're not charging," he whispered.
Nyra exhaled slowly. "They're warning."
One Boldore slammed its foot down. The shockwave rattled the loose gravel near the workers' equipment.
Grant stepped forward before Nyra could stop him.
He raised his hands slowly.
"We're not here to hurt you," he said, voice steady. "We want to move you somewhere safer."
The Boldore tilted its head.
Sewaddle leaned forward, silk threads trembling.
Grant crouched and gently placed Sewaddle on the ground. "Show them."
Sewaddle hesitated, then extended a silk line toward a nearby rock, gently reinforcing a cracked surface.
The Boldore watched.
Then, slowly, it stepped back.
Nyra let out a breath. "They're listening."
The plan got into motion.
The relocation wasn't simple.
The Boldore weren't the only ones.
Deeper within the quarry tunnels lived Roggenrola, Drilbur, and something larger, something that made Dewott's ears flatten instinctively.
Grant and Nyra split tasks.
Nyra coordinated movement paths with the workers, marking safe zones and reinforcing boundaries. Pignite helped carefully collapse unused tunnel entrances with controlled flame bursts, sealing them without trapping anything inside.
Grant worked directly with the Pokémon.
"Dewott," he said quietly, "Shell Block, then Aqua Jet, slow."
Dewott nodded and surged forward, water streaming around its body, not as an attack, but as a guiding current, gently pushing a stubborn Roggenrola toward the forest slope.
Sewaddle worked tirelessly, spinning silk supports along fragile rock faces, reinforcing paths so Pokémon could retreat safely without collapse.
Grant watched it closely.
"You're doing great," he murmured. "Control. Just like we practiced."
Sewaddle's posture straightened.
Venipede darted between zones, acting as a living signal, Nyra had trained it to flash its antennae in specific patterns, warning workers when Pokémon were approaching or retreating.
Grant glanced toward Nyra.
She stood on higher ground, issuing calm, precise commands. Sweat streaked her brow. Her eyes never stopped moving.
She caught his gaze for a moment.
Nodded.
We're doing it.
When Things Go Wrong
It happened fast.
Too fast.
A deeper tremor rippled through the quarry floor, stronger than before.
Grant barely had time to shout before the ground cracked near the largest tunnel.
"Back! !"
A massive shape burst from the earth.
Excadrill.
It erupted in a storm of stone and dust, drills spinning defensively. Its roar echoed off the quarry walls, raw panic flooding the air.
Workers scattered.
Nyra shouted, "Grant!"
Grant was already moving.
"Dewott, stand with me!"
Dewott leapt forward, blades flashing, not attacking, but blocking debris as Grant shielded Sewaddle behind him.
"Venipede, my side!" Nyra commanded.
Pignite stepped between Excadrill and the fleeing workers, flames flaring as a barrier, not striking, just warning.
Excadrill reared back, drills glowing.
It wasn't attacking them.
It was trying to escape.
Grant realized it at the same moment Nyra did.
"It's trapped," she yelled. "The tunnel collapsed behind it!"
Grant clenched his fists.
"Dewott, Aqua Jet! Not full power!"
The water slammed into the fallen stone, clearing a path. Sewaddle immediately reinforced the edges with silk.
Nyra sprinted forward. "Pignite, heat the debris, just enough to soften it!"
Pignite complied, fire controlled, careful.
Excadrill hesitated.
Grant stepped closer, heart pounding.
"We'll help you," he said aloud. "Just… trust us."
For a terrifying second, Excadrill lunged.
Dewott intercepted, Shell Block absorbing the blow, but the impact sent Dewott skidding backward.
"Dewott!" Grant shouted.
Dewott struggled to rise, breath ragged.
Grant ran to it, kneeling. "Hey, hey you did great. Stay with me."
Dewott met his eyes.
Stood.
Together, they pushed forward again.
Finally, the passage cleared.
Excadrill vanished into the forest with a final, thunderous roar.
Silence followed.
Then,
Relief.
At the aftermath, the supervisor stared, stunned.
"You… you could've just knocked it out."
Grant wiped dirt from his face. "That wasn't the goal."
Nyra crossed her arms, breathing hard. "You got your quarry back. And the Pokémon have space."
The man nodded slowly. "We'll shift operations. Permanently."
Grant sagged slightly.
Nyra caught him before he could fall.
"You okay?" she asked quietly.
"Yeah," he said. "Just… shaky."
She didn't let go right away.
Neither did he.
High on a distant ridge, far from the quarry—
A shadow lingered.
A man in pale clothing watched the forest swallow the fleeing Pokémon.
"Interesting," he murmured.
"Humans who negotiate instead of dominate."
He adjusted his glove, gaze thoughtful.
"This region continues to disappoint… and surprise."
He turned away, already planning.
That night, camp felt different.
Earned.
Grant sat beside Nyra, watching Sewaddle curl contentedly near the fire. Dewott rested, shells dulled but spirit bright. Venipede slept coiled against Pignite's warmth.
Nyra broke the silence. "Today mattered."
Grant nodded. "Yeah."
She glanced at him. "You didn't freeze."
He smiled faintly. "I was terrified."
She smiled back. "Good. Means you care."
The fire crackled.
And somewhere beyond the trees, consequences waited patiently.