Chapter Fifteen: Feelin' Pretty Psyched
Tuesday, April 17. Night
"So how did we get in this situation again?" Allen asked. We were facing a rather miffed level twelve Meditite on Route 211.

"Your guess is as good as mine," the Meditite replied, taking a ready stance. Allen sighed, and bit him right on top of the head. "Ow!"

I wanted to get this over with so I could move on. "Allen, he's weak to Ghost moves! Use Astonish!" To do that, he had to let go of Meditite's head. The poor guy was wide open for a Premier Ball to the chest after Allen sent him tumbling.

"Meditite, the Meditate Pokémon. It never misses its daily yoga workout, and heightens its spiritual power through meditation. Give Meditite a nickname?"

"Ooo, ooo! Can we call him Rocky? Please please pleeeease?" Allen begged.

I rubbed his head. "Smarty-wings, Rocky didn't do yoga. His name's gonna be Arjuna, after a friend of Krishna in Hindu mythos." I wasn't at all sure I'd pronounced the Sanskrit correctly, but the point was that he got a good name.

That was when it started raining, so we headed back to Eterna City Pokémon Center as fast as we could. After I healed the team, I walked to the corner with the PC and sent everyone out.

"OK, guys. I just wanted to let you know that I plan on challenging the Eterna City Gym tomorrow," I began. "Tobias and Charlie, you guys will be the star players." Charlie gave me a thumbs-up, and Tobias chirped happily, "Those flower children won't see me coming."

"Allen, you'll get to fight first. If things go wrong, I'll send in Charlie or Tobias." "I'll do my best," he squeaked.

"Mufasa and Ayumu, feel free to pitch in whenever you want." They grinned proudly.

I swallowed, turning to face Jennifer. "Jennifer…you're fabulous, but I refuse to risk your life, especially because Jared doesn't learn any Water attacks until he evolves. You're going to be in the PC for this Gym, and Arjuna will play the same role as Mufasa and Ayumu. OK?"

Jennifer pouted a little, but she nodded. "OK. See you when you get the Forest Badge!"


The following night…
"The Underground, miss, is a different world, where you can do this, that, and the other thing too!" the Underground Man informed me. "Complete my missions, and I'll give you some good things! First, simply go underground and report back here."

His words rattled insanely through my brain as I hurtled feet-first through the Underground Access Tunnel at a terrifying speed. I'd long ago recalled Allen for his own safety. "AAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!" I screamed. "I'm gonna diiiiiiiiie!"

A twinkle of light caught my eye, and I relaxed slightly. Oh, thank Arceus, I've finally reached the (hopefully not too dangerous) Under—

KA-SMACK!! —ground. I'd hit the cave floor at such a speed I must have broken something. To my embarrassment, Roark was standing there, happily sorting through a workbag. "Hi, Allison! Is this your first time in the Underground?" he asked kindly.

"…Ow…yes, and I…think I broke…at least one bone," I groaned. Roark extended a hand gallantly, which I took. "That Underground Man is CRAZY! Doesn't he know that the Access Tunnel is, like, greased or something?!"

Roark stifled a giggle. "You get used to it in time." He helped me stand up. "Anyhow, welcome to the Sinnoh Underground! In old times, people would hide down here if something really bad happened. Now it's open to treasure hunters and everyone who wants to play with their friends! I get the fossils at Oreburgh Museum from in here."

I nodded approvingly. "Sounds cool! I'm gonna try it out!" Probably not the friends bit—Forever Alone, that's me. Roark gave me a high-five and left. I followed so I could go get some sleep.

"Hey, didn't you say you wanted to challenge the Gym today?" Arjuna challenged. "Trainers should keep their promises! I'll bug you about this until you set foot in Eterna Gym, by the way."