Silas pressed deeper into Rusturf Tunnel.
He had already wandered through countless branch passages, each one offering a different glimpse of the wild underworld.
Some tunnels held the corpses of Pokémon, left to rot in silence.
Some showed traces of human camps, their ashes and refuse long cold.
Some even hid abandoned eggs, shells cracked and lifeless, their spark already gone.
Every branching tunnel was like opening a mystery box.
Sometimes, treasure.
Other times… only horror.
Silas tapped the earth wall with his shovel, listening to the dull echo, while his searchlight cut through the haze.
"Murkrow-blow it clear."
"Kraa!"
The murkrow flapped his wings, scattering the lingering fog. At last, the path ahead emerged, dim but visible.
Silas bent to pick up a loose stone, tossing it into the darkness. After a long silence, faint echoes bounced back.
"So… not a short passage."
He leaned against the wall, considering. This road might be a dead-end branch… or it might connect to another main artery of the tunnel. Either way, he had to choose carefully.
Murkrow circled ahead, wings beating rhythmically, keeping the mist at bay.
'I've already gained a lot from this trip,' Silas thought grimly. 'My partners have all advanced, and I even stumbled across Earthvein Nectar. Better not get greedy.'
He almost turned back.
Almost.
Then the tunnel shook.
BOOOOM!
A deafening blast echoed through the underground, carrying across the stone corridors until it slammed against his eardrums.
"Eevee!" The little fox yelped, fur standing on end.
"Kraaa!" Murkrow wobbled midair, wings thrown into disorder by the sonic reverberation.
Silas, however, did not panic. His eyes sharpened.
Instead of fear… there was recognition.
'A Whismur's evolution… Loudred's roar.'
He allowed himself a thin smile.
One of his current missions was to capture a Whismur. And if there was a Loudred here, then where there was strength, there was opportunity.
Loudred, and later Exploud, might not be dragons, but their family line carried one of the rarest moves known: Boomburst.
A Normal-type special attack with base power 140, rivaling Hyper Beam and Giga Impact but without their crippling drawbacks.
Few Pokémon could ever learn it.
Only Whismur's line, and two rare dragons: Noibat and Noivern.
That scarcity made the Loudred line coveted.
And to Silas, a bounty worth the risk.
He dimmed his headlamp to the lowest glow, crouched low, and crept toward the source of the sound.
....
At last, a faint glow flickered ahead.
But as he drew closer, voices reached him. Human voices.
"Boss! This thing's too strong. Its sound attacks are brutal!"
"Quit whining! Just hold it down. Mightyena's almost charged up. One Crunch and it's finished."
Silas stopped in the shadows, eyes narrowing.
Two men in red uniforms stood ahead, barking orders.
One commanded a Poochyena, the other a snarling Mightyena. Together, they pressed a wounded Loudred against the wall.
Behind the Loudred trembled a Whismur, small and fragile. Loudred shielded it with its body, even as wounds multiplied across its own.
"ROOOAR!!"
Loudred unleashed another sonic blast. The Poochyena yelped, hurled across the tunnel and smashed limp against stone.
"Boss! I can't hold it much longer!"
"Finish it! Mightyena-Crunch!"
Saliva dripped from Mightyena's jaws as it lunged, Dark-type energy flaring across its fangs. Loudred braced, staggering, desperate to shield the Whismur even in its despair-
A surge of water struck like a lance.
"Now. Crawdaunt-Aqua Jet!"
"Crawww-daunt!"
Silas finally stepped from the shadows. His Crawdaunt slammed into Mightyena, sending it sprawling, stunned.
"Don't give it room. Use Razor Shell."
The lobster's claws gleamed with sharp water-energy, cutting forward mercilessly.
The two men spun, furious.
"You brat! That's our catch-can't you see that?!"
Silas's eyes were cold. "Yours? Wrong. That Loudred… is mine."
His gaze swept their uniforms, recognition sparking. Red cloth, heat-born insignia, an M spread across their chests.
Team Magma.
For a moment, his chest tightened. So that was it.
The men faltered, whispering to each other. One scowled, then sneered.
"Hmph. Typical of you Aqua dogs. Always so shameless. I'll report this to the captain."
His companion nodded darkly. "Exactly. Our organizations are in cooperation, and you dare to steal our prey openly?"
Silas's pulse stilled. 'Aqua dogs?'
Then realization dawned.
Crawdaunt-Team Aqua's signature Pokémon.
They had mistaken him for a rival operative.
Silas kept his silence, neither denying nor confirming, letting their misconception hold.
He turned his light deliberately on them. The deep crimson uniforms blazed back, magma's heat etched into cloth. There was no mistaking it.
"…Team Magma."
His voice was low, tinged with surprise.
The Loudred seized the moment. With no one commanding it, it grabbed the Whismur and bolted down a side tunnel. By the time Silas turned back, the pair had vanished.
The Magma grunts laughed bitterly.
"Haha! Consider that a gift, Aqua boy. If you can find it again in this maze, it's all yours!"
They recalled their battered Mightyena and Poochyena, retreating quickly into the dark.
Silas stood still, eyes following their backs, debating whether to strike them down. But caution held him.
'There are too many dark organizations in Hoenn. Team Aqua and Team Magma… they're only the biggest of many. And judging by their words, they've even begun working together in secret.'
His jaw tightened. The memories of another life whispered truths he dared not ignore.
'In the end, both groups will rise to power. Best not to provoke them. Not yet.'
With a sharp gesture, he recalled Crawdaunt, then beckoned Eevee and Murkrow forward.
"Come. We're not done. That Loudred is still mine."
And into the depths of Rusturf Tunnel, the hunter's pursuit began anew.
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(End of chapter)