Chapter 92
The Geodude Gengar had sent flying crashed into the stone wall before dropping to the ground.
It shook its head, floated back into the air, and prepared to charge over for revenge.
However, the moment it saw Gengar swinging the iron pickaxe with a threatening clang, clang, it hesitated, dropped back to the floor, and lay completely still.
Mike and the others approached the Geodude, which now looked no different from an ordinary rock.
Gengar waved the pickaxe again, producing another series of metallic clangs.
Geodude twitched slightly, apparently pretending to be unconscious.
"Did it fall asleep or something?"
Mike looked at it strangely before cautiously nudging its head with his foot.
"Gar—"
[I don’t know. Did I knock it unconscious?]
"That shouldn’t be possible, right? Can one hit from a pickaxe really knock out a Geodude?"
They watched over it for a while, but it showed no sign of waking. In the end, Mike could only leave with Gengar and the others.
"What a shame. I thought I’d be able to record its entire body."
"Gar—"
[I didn’t know it would go down so easily. It was the one who jumped out and scared us, but then it fainted first.]
Only after Mike and Gengar’s voices had faded into the distance did Geodude float cautiously off the ground.
It looked around, confirmed they were gone, and hurried away.
...
The deeper they traveled into the cave, the more Geodude Mike encountered.
They didn’t seem particularly hostile toward him either.
Mike soon discovered that despite being Rock-type Pokémon, Geodude were surprisingly lively.
Just as the Pokédex described, they often compared the hardness of their bodies by slamming into one another.
Perhaps they noticed Mike secretly filming them, or perhaps they had never seen a human before, but Geodude frequently came over to bother him.
For the rest of the journey, Snivy used Vine Whip to swat away any that tried to harass or attack them.
Some were struck hard enough to lose consciousness immediately.
One particularly bold Geodude floated directly in front of Mike and curiously examined the camera in his hands.
"Geo?"
"This is a camera. Do you want to try it? It can take pictures."
Geodude reached out to touch the camera, but Mike pulled it away.
Naturally, he wasn’t going to waste the opportunity to use a free model.
"Come on, Geodude. Show me your coolest pose! Let me see how strong you are."
The moment Geodude heard him, it stopped and flexed its powerful arms, making its biceps bulge.
"Very nice, but... can you look even stronger? Turn around and pose so everyone can see that you’re tougher than the other Geodude."
"GEOO, GEOOO!"
Hearing Mike say it was stronger than the others, Geodude cried out excitedly several times.
The harsh sound made Mike’s brows tighten.
Geodude turned around and struck another pose that emphasized its strength.
Mike seized the opportunity and took photograph after photograph.
The system-modified camera was incredibly useful. Even inside the dark cave, every picture remained perfectly clear.
Over the next several minutes, the poor Geodude was completely manipulated by Mike’s praise and posed again and again.
Only when Mike was satisfied did he finally lower the camera and stroke its head.
As for how it felt...
It was much like picking up a rock from the roadside, except Geodude’s surface was even rougher.
"Thanks for your hard work! here, this Berry is for you."
Geodude accepted the Berry and devoured it in only a few bites.
Watching it float in the air, Mike became curious.
"How exactly does a Geodude float?"
"Logically, Geodude are Rock- and Ground-type Pokémon, so their bodies should be extremely dense. It isn’t like an Alolan Geodude, which can use magnetism."
Mike genuinely couldn’t understand how it remained airborne.
"Geodude, can you tell me how you float?"
He asked the Geodude, which was still eating.
Geodude looked at him, tossed the rest of the Berry into its mouth, chewed twice, and swallowed.
"Geo!"
[I just float like this!]
"..."
That explained absolutely nothing!
...
A Diglett suddenly poked its head out of the ground nearby.
Mike immediately raised his camera, but it slipped underground again.
He lowered the camera regretfully.
A moment later, Diglett reappeared and stared at him.
Mike raised the camera again.
Looking pleased that its trick had worked, Diglett vanished underground once more.
This repeated several times.
By the next time it appeared, Mike couldn’t even be bothered to lift his camera.
Mike could tolerate it, but one particular Pokémon could not.
Snivy had only just begun extending a vine when a gray figure rushed past her.
Geodude floated over to Diglett’s hole and thrust one hand inside. When it failed to grab anything, it pulled its arm back and clenched both fists.
Then it slammed them into the ground.
The entire cave began shaking.
’Get out here!’
Geodude watched for its chance and punched the ground again.
The tremors finally launched Diglett out of the earth, leaving it dizzy and disoriented.
Geodude immediately floated over, grabbed Diglett, and turned triumphantly toward Mike.
[I caught it!]
Mike and Gengar exchanged a glance before hurrying over.
They were immediately treated to an immensely satisfying sight.
Geodude held Diglett’s body in one hand while repeatedly slapping its face with the other.
[You think you’re clever, don’t you? All you know how to do is hide underground! Do you know who he is? You dared to provoke him? Are you trying to embarrass me?!]
"Dig..."
Diglett’s head spun beneath the barrage of slaps.
Mike didn’t know whether to laugh or cry while Gengar stood nearby, slapping his belly and laughing loudly.
"Gar!"
[Lil dude, have something to eat.]
Geodude’s eyes lit up as it accepted the Berry Gengar offered.
Just as it prepared to eat, Diglett seized the opportunity to slip out of its grip and dive underground!
Geodude flew into a rage.
It handed the Berry back to Gengar for safekeeping, then began digging rapidly with both hands.
Within moments, it disappeared beneath the ground.
"That Geodude even knows Dig?"
Mike stared in astonishment.
Before long, Geodude burst back out of the earth.
The Diglett that had escaped was behind it, along with a Dugtrio.
Geodude looked at the captured Diglett and punched it directly in the face.
[You still dared to run? Take this!]
Once Diglett had been thoroughly beaten into submission, Geodude turned toward the Dugtrio beside it.
Under its threatening gaze, all three of Dugtrio’s heads trembled in fear.
"Is... this the true power of Geodude?"
Geodude floated around Mike and raised its head proudly.
[I found them on the way. Weren’t you trying to take photographs? I brought them back for you.]
Mike gave it an admiring thumbs-up.
Regardless of anything else, the fact that a Rock-type Geodude could capture both Diglett and Dugtrio—Ground types with an advantage over it—was enough to prove that this Geodude was one of the cave’s leading enforcers.
Even if it wasn’t the absolute boss, it was definitely in charge of this particular area.
"Gengar, give our Geodude friend some extra snacks."
Mike spoke generously.
Geodude’s eyes shone when it saw the snacks Gengar took out.
It repeatedly pounded its own chest with both fists and declared loyally:
[Where do you want to go? I’ll lead the way!]
...
After filming Diglett, Mike looked toward the trembling Dugtrio nearby.
"Can I take some pictures of you too?"
Dugtrio looked at him and nodded fearfully.
Mike raised his camera and began photographing it.
Once he was done, he stared curiously at the Pokémon’s three heads.
Diglett evolved into Dugtrio, changing from one head into three. The other two heads also appeared to possess their own awareness.
Did that mean three Diglett had somehow combined?
Yet all three heads looked identical, with their height being the only difference.
Pokémon really were fascinating.
Mike reached out and stroked Dugtrio’s heads. Their skin felt smooth, but when he tapped them with one finger, they were surprisingly hard.
Then another question occurred to him.
"Dugtrio, do you have feet?"
Dugtrio hesitated before nodding.
Mike’s eyes widened.
Dugtrio had feet?! That was amazing!
No wonder it could learn Hone Claws and Slash!
"Could you come out of the ground and let me see them?"
All three of Dugtrio’s heads shook together.
Mike sighed regretfully.
"All right. Thank you anyway."
He patted each of its heads and allowed the Diglett family to leave.
Once they were gone, Mike went back to petting Geodude.
Geodude hadn’t evolved or undergone any other change, but it still received a loving rub on the head for its hard work.
After filming Dugtrio, Mike wandered around the surrounding area and photographed several more Pokémon.
Geodude remained beside him the entire time.
"Geo—"
[There are more Pokémon farther inside. Follow me!]
Geodude began leading the way, and Mike followed it deeper into the cave.
"Oh? There are Cubone here too?"
Mike spotted a Cubone wearing a skull helmet, took out his camera, and crept closer to take several candid photographs.
Geodude watched him hiding behind a rock.
Without the slightest hesitation, it bounced over to Cubone and dragged it directly toward Mike.
While it was there, it also pulled a Marowak out from behind another rock.
"...As expected of you, Geodude."
By now, Mike was certain Geodude was one of the leading figures in this cave.
After taking numerous photographs and videos of Cubone and Marowak, Mike lowered his camera in satisfaction.
He reached out and lightly tapped both of their skulls.
Marowak’s skull helmet appeared to have completely fused with its head.
After saying goodbye to Cubone and Marowak, Mike continued deeper into the cave with Geodude.
"This is strange. We’ve been walking for so long, but we still haven’t reached the deepest part."
Mike looked around at the surrounding darkness.
He had deliberately moved slowly throughout the journey. Geodude might have possessed a heavy stone body, but it never seemed to tire.
As they continued, Mike used the excuse that the cave was dangerous to bend down and pick up Glameow.
She felt a little heavier than before.
Mike straightened and suddenly noticed a yellow figure floating motionlessly in the distance.
Its body resembled a spinning top.
The yellow Pokémon drifted toward a branching tunnel.
Mike frowned and pointed curiously toward the passage.
"Geodude, do you know where that tunnel leads?"
Geodude looked in the direction he indicated and thought for a moment before shaking its rocky head.
Then it began bouncing toward the tunnel.
Thump. Thump.
That was simply how Geodude moved across the ground.
Mike watched its back, then looked toward the passage.
After a brief hesitation, he followed.
The tunnel looked eerie and mysterious, but for the sake of capturing precious photographs and discovering more of the Pokémon world’s secrets, Mike chose to continue.
He had no idea how long they walked.
Eventually, the path beneath his feet became unnaturally level.
Using the light from Gengar’s headlamp, Mike examined the surrounding walls.
"No way..."
There were clear traces of what seemed to be a collapsed structure.
Mike stepped forward and carefully ran one hand across the wall.
Something had been carved into its surface.
Before he could make out the images, he spotted the Pokémon that had drawn him here.
Its yellow, top-shaped body floated silently in the air as it stared at Mike without moving.
Gengar put away his pickaxe and formed a Shadow Ball in one hand, watching it warily.
"So it really was you."
Mike studied the Pokémon before him.
"Baltoy—the Pokémon said to appear in ancient ruins."
Then did that mean this cave was connected to...
An ancient ruin?
It couldn’t possibly be one enormous burial ground, could it?!