That's the Spirit! - Chapter 13

[Verdant Cavern]

Rattata were among the lowliest of Pokémon. They were too common to be prestigious, too weak to be sought after, and too rat to be considered cute. There were always trainers who caught them anyway, as a stepping stone to greater things, and even a rare few who loved Rattata as they were and tried to make them great. But by and large, a Rattata’s life was one spent living on the fringe of human society, digging through trash for food and hiding when a Meowth or a Glameow wandered through the alley.

Most humans treated Rattata like vermin. Most Pokémon treated Rattata like vermin. They were small, numerous, and were always hungry; letting a Rattata into your territory meant letting a dozen in, and soon you ran out of food. Better not to let them take root, most of the time.

In Alola, Rattata were a little different. For one, they were Dark as well as Normal. And that meant they were vindictive. Beefing with the Rattata packs of Alola meant having to watch your back in dark alleys and jumping at every noise in the night, because stealing the pack’s food was a crime to be repaid in… well, not blood, because that might ruin the food. But they’d make it hurt.

Being part of the Totem Raticate’s pack didn’t really make a difference, because they looked the same as any other Rattata. If they wandered out of their territory in search of a good meal, they couldn’t count on any of the reverence Ilima and other visitors to their cavern held for the Totems. Being a rat was hard.

Running into the living fridge in the forest had been an incredible windfall. It had been the best meal many of them had ever had; it had seemed too good to be true. 

And so, it was. Stupid kid.

So were the thoughts of one particular Rattata as the call went out and they began preparing for a Trial. This Rattata had been given the duty of being one of the Trial elements, and was getting settled in its den as the Captain led the trial-goer in.

Rattata sniffed. Being gifted with a sense of smell superior to their mainland cousins, Rattata was able to sense Ilima coming before it saw him. It also smelled… pastry. Sugar. It sighed. That was the scent of the Kahuna’s grandson; he came around every week or so to battle wild Pokémon, which was fine enough, that was why they were here, but he was so loud. 

The third scent was undoubtedly the trial-goer, since Rattata didn’t recognize… it… wait. Yes they did. Ozone, like a lightning strike, and something damp and dank like rain.

sniff

…And lilies, underneath that. Weird.

“...while the Trial is ongoing, you are forbidden from catching Pokémon, though afterwards you’ll be allowed,” Ilima explained, guiding the two boys into the cave.

“No danger of that,” that kid said, dismissively. “I’m not looking to catch anything soon.”

“I am,” the Kahuna’s grandson said, “But the one I’m looking for is more common at night, so I’ll wait.”

Rattata poked its head out to get a look. It really was him.

Ilima pointed at the rat. “You need to lure three Pokémon out of their dens and defeat them. Once you’ve done that, you’ll be allowed into the deepest part of the cave, where the Totem Pokémon will battle you. If you can defeat them, you can claim the crystal from the pedestal.”

“And once I’ve got that, I’ve won?”

“That’s right.”

Rattata sneered and ducked back into the den, thinking furiously. That punk robbed them of a great feast, and they needed to get theirs. But how?

It didn’t have the move Nasty Plot, but that didn’t stop it from thinking up a plan as it crawled into the tunnels beneath its den.

------------------------------

Danny leaned down to check in the hole in the wall, frowning. “Robin, are your eyes good in the dark?”

The Rowlet hopped up next to him, peering into the den. She shook her head, hooting sadly.

“Man…” Danny stood up and stretched his back. “Is this, like, a test of patience? Or, a test of my tracking skills? Hau, what does this trial test me on?”

Hau looked up from his impromptu picnic with his Pokémon. “Itsh’ jush a gawtwe--” He swallowed his bit of sandwich and gasped. “Sorry. It’s just a gauntlet, cuz, I don’t think it’s meant to test anything, really.” He took another bite, then passed the rest to his Crabrawler. “Verdant Cavern is supposed to be the first one everyone does, traditionally. It’s meant to be easy.”

“Well I’m not having an easy time of it,” Danny complained. He cupped his hands over his mouth. “Any luck?!”

Rick phased out of a wall, looking down. He shook his head and sighed. Zorua looked over from where he was guarding a den and whined.

Danny leaned against the cave wall, thinking. “This is weird.” He looked over at Hau. “This is weird, right?”

“Totally weird.” Hau mashed a berry for Pichu and handed it to the baby mouse. “Maybe Ilima forgot to tell them you were coming?”

Danny thought of that at first too, but, “Can’t be. That rat at the beginning saw us, didn’t it?”

“Oh yeah.”

Danny sighed. Then he scowled and stood up straight. “Alright, if they’re not going to come to us, we’ll have to go to them. Zorua, come here.”

The fox bounded over and sat down at Danny’s feet. “Zor!”

“Can you turn into a Rattata?”

“Ru!” Zorua leapt into the air and transformed in a pink flash. A black Rattata landed back in the same spot. “Raz, raz!” he squeaked.

Robin frowned, rubbing her beak. “Rowlet. Ret.” She pointed at her eyes.

Zo-rattata stuck his tongue out, concentrating, and his blue eyes turned the red of a proper Rattata.

“Perfect,” Danny said, clapping. “Here’s my plan. Zorua, you go in one of these dens, see if there’s tunnels down there and if you can find them. See if you can figure out why they’re avoiding us. Rick, you can turn invisible, right?”

Rick demonstrated that he could, in fact.

“Great. Follow after him in case he needs backup.”

“Why would he need backup?” Hau asked. There was a lengthy pause as he struggled to open a stubborn bag of chips.

Danny stared. “...Do you have to be doing that now?”

Crabrawler swiped the bag from Hau, who shrugged. “Well, what else am I supposed to do? I can’t help you with the trial or what’s the point?”

The crab managed to get it open… kinda, since the bag split clean in two and chips went everywhere. One of them bounced off Danny’s forehead, and Rick caught another in his mouth.

“...” Danny turned away and walked towards a small hole just about big enough for him to crawl through. “To answer your question, I have a feeling that the rats won’t be happy if they realize Zorua’s an intruder. There’s probably a difference between the trial cave and their actual homes, you know?”

“Makes sense to me.” Hau reached for a chip that had fallen off the picnic blanket onto the cave floor.”

“Please don’t eat that,” Danny asked, disgusted.

“Five minute rule, dude!” Hau declared cheerfully.

Danny shuddered and looked away. “Anyway. While Zorua and Rick do that, me and Robin will keep looking around. Maybe they’re just hiding really well.”

Hau shrugged. He reached into his backpack and frowned. “Huh. I don’t have anything to drink.” He stood up, leaving the picnic stuff where it was. “I’ll be right back, I’m heading to the Pokémon Center. You want anything.”

“...Get me a lemon soda if they have it,” Danny said.

Hau flashed a thumbs up and left.

“Okay, ready?” Danny asked, turning to his partners. A chorus of animal noises answered him. “Okay. Off you go then.”

-------------------------------

The pack met under the main cavern, milling around and snacking on stored food.

One in particular was giggling to itself. “This is great. Revenge is best served cold, and nobody’s cooler than me! We don’t even have to do anything.”

Another grumbled. “I don’t know how you convinced us to do this. This is our job.”

“The Gumshoos pack hasn’t attacked in a while, but if we’re slacking on the job they might try to claim the Totem title again,” another worried.

“Relax, relax!” the first Rattata said, making calming gestures. “We’re not abandoning our job. We’re just… giving this one trainer a hard time.”

“Why, exactly?”

“You weren’t there, Rattata,” Rattata said. “You didn’t see the feast we had spread out before us. That punk ruined everything! We could have eaten our fill and still had enough to bring back for everyone else.” It looked around at the multitude. “Well, some of you anyway.” It growled. “Jerk. If he didn’t want someone getting into his ice box he shouldn’t have let it wander into the woods.”

Several rats blinked at the nonsensical statement, but none cared enough to ask. One, smaller and younger than the rest, quivered.

“I don’t know. If the Boss finds out--”

“Boss ain’t gonna find out,” the first Rattata snapped. “It’s just one kid. Who cares?”

A scraping sound came from the tunnel, and most of the rats present shivered as a chill swept in.

“Oi! Who let in a draft?!” Rattata asked angrily.

Another Rattata stumbled in, bumping its head on the ceiling before crouching low and making their way into the big chamber. “Zorry, zorry. Didn’t mean to make a fuzz.” It coughed. “Fuss. Sorry, zometing in my throat.”

The Rattata accepted that easily enough. “Next time you find peanut butter, share it, will you?”

“Right, of course.” The latecomer cleared its throat. “Zo, what’s going on?”

Rattata groaned, throwing his head back. “I’m not explaining it again, I just got through. Suffice to say I hate this kid.”

The latecomer frowned. “But izn’t it our job to--”

“Brrr… Seriously, why is it so cold in here?” Rattata complained, pulling a blanket of moss over himself. It didn’t do much. “Ugh.”

The latecomer glanced up.

“Don’t roll your eyes at me, I hate the cold!”

“Well, it’s easy enough to fix,” another pointed out. “Hey, Big Bro!”

Something thumped in the next chamber, and everyone winced as a litany of growling curses drifted through the air. The latecomer’s eyes widened as a Raticate squeezed into the room, sending dirt and rock scattering in its wake and rubbing its head in pain. “Why’d you wake me up, shrimps? And who let in a draft?”

“Nevermind that, we need a heat source,” the Rattata who called said.

“Do I look like a blanket to you?”

“More of a pillow, actually,” the latecomer said, then clamped a paw over its mouth.

Raticate’s eyes snapped onto it. It sniffed. “Who… is this?”

“Some guy, I guess,” Rattata said dismissively. “I don’t know everyone in the pack.”

“Well I do,” Raticate growled, “And I’ve never smelled this one before.”

“Haha,” the latecomer laughed nervously. “Don’t worry about zat. That. It’z me, Rattata!”

The latecomer started backing up. Raticate used Scary Face, and it tripped. The other Rattata started catching on to its suspicious behavior. Some of them started to sniff the air, like Raticate had. Normally they never bothered to pay attention to scents in the tunnels, because it just smelled overwhelmingly like Rattata. But now that they were paying attention--

“You!” the instigating Rattata shouted, pointing in a fury. “You’re with that punk!”

“Am not!”

Raticate squinted. “The punk who stole your food?”

“Yeah!”

“You guys stole it first!” the latecomer accused. He paled, realizing what he’d said, and turned tail.

The lead Rattata used Pursuit, clipping the impostor’s tail. It popped in a burst of smoke, and Zorua was left stricken.

“INTRUDER!”

Every rat dropped what they were doing and turned as one to stare at the interloper.

Zorua smiled. “S-so… how was my accent?” he asked, then turned tail and ran.

“After him!”

“I think not,” said a Gastly, suddenly appearing in their midst. He breathed out a Clear Smog, filling the tunnels and blocking their sight.

It gave the two of them exactly enough of a headstart to not get run down.

----------------------------------------

Danny had resorted to climbing up the rocky walls trying to find something, anything. He was half-tempted to give up and go find Ilima… or just head to the pedestal they told him about and hope the Totem would be understanding.

“Rowl!”

“Find something Robin?” Danny took a breath and threw himself off the wall. He’d figured out that if he went intangible at height, and he thought in a certain way, he fell slow enough to land safely; and if he didn’t, he’d just go through the ground and be able to pop back up. He didn’t quite manage it, only making his legs phase instead of his whole body and landing hard on his butt. But he wasn’t as high up as he could’ve been, and it saved him from scraped knees, so he called it a success.

Danny stood up and dusted himself off. “Okay girl, what did you find?” He walked over to where the owl was hovering and pointing one talon at a crevice in the rocks. He peered inside. “Oh hey, there’s something in here… it’s not a rat, but I’ll take anything at this point.

The crack was wide enough to accept his arm, so he reached inside. It crumbled slightly at his touch, but after managing to get a decent grip he pulled it out. It was very light.

Once he had it out, Danny turned it over. It was flat but wide, square, and lightweight. Felt like paper, or cardboard. Danny turned it over, hoping for some extra insight, and some ash flaked off.

He sniffed. “Huh. Robin, do you smell burning… pizza?” He trailed off, brushing more ash off. Underneath, mostly ruined by the damage, could just barely be made out to be the logo of a Hau’oli pizza joint.

Danny recognized this specific box.

“...Oh, no.”

Almost as though responding to his revelation, the ground started shaking. White smoke began pouring out of a handful of dens throughout the cavern.

“Oh, no.”

Zorua sprinted out of a den, back in his usual shape, and Rick wasn’t far behind. Both looked scared and made a beeline for Danny. Zorua jumped into his arms and tried to burrow into his shirt.

“Guys, I think we know these rats,” Danny sighed.

And then rats swarmed out of the holes, dozens of them entering the cavern with red, teary eyes and an angry grimace.

“Rick… What did you do?”

The Gastly whistled not-so-innocently.

“Rick!”

“Rata!” One of the rats climbed atop two of its brethren and pointed at Danny. It shook its tiny fist and charged.

“Well I guess we’re getting the Trial after all!” Danny said quickly, backpedaling. “Razor Leaf!”

Robin shot out a fan of sharpened leaves, catching a number of the rats at once. Few of them went down though, and it just made the rest angrier.

A Rattata’s fangs glowed and jumped for the owl.

“Sucker Punch!”

Zorua knocked it out of the air and into a rock, where it slumped.

“Yeah!” Danny cheered. The rest glared hatefully at him. “Er, I mean.” He swallowed. “Hey, is it too late to say sorry about the fridge thing?”

The lead rat Screeched, and Danny and his friends shuddered.

“Guess not.” Danny turned, taking Robin and Zorua in his arms, and walked through a wall.

That brought the horde up short, but only for a moment. Most of them decided it was a trick and starting trying to track by scent. The leader’s path took it to the back of the cave, where three dens were put close to each other. “RrrrrrrrRAT!”

Danny stumbled out of the wall, Pokémon still in hand. Zorua and Robin looked green, while Rick just looked embarrassed. Danny and the rat met each others’ eyes, and he gently set his partners down and pulled a small notebook out of his back pocket.

“Note to self,” he said aloud, writing quickly. “Navigating through a solid wall is hard.”

“RAT RAT TA!” Rattata leapt, trying to Bite. Zorua jumped and Bit(e) it right back, and the two fell into a tussle while the rest of the rats made their way closer.

“Gas!” Rick stuck his tongue out, but Danny stopped him.

“Not in here! Do you want to cause a cave-in?!” he asked, panicked.

Rick raised a brow.

“That’s a bad thing. People use this cave.” Danny snapped his fingers. “Hypnosis! More Razor Leaf!”

Rick tried, but he could only make eye contact with so many rats at a time. The leaf attack fared better, but Robin couldn’t produce them fast enough.

Danny backed against the wall.

“Rrrrrrrratica…”

He looked down, and saw a den opening between his legs. A big rat forced itself out of the hole, cheeks bulging as it gnashed its teeth, and his instincts led him to kick it.

The Raticate didn’t appreciate this. It Snarled, and Rick yelled as waves of Dark energy washed over them. Danny felt it too, and it sucked.

“Okay, this is officially too much,” Danny decided. He turned intangible and stepped through the horde, scrambling up a short cliff towards the cave entrance. Robin and Rick followed him, and he returned Zorua over his shoulder. “Sorry, Professor! Trials aren’t for me!”

He got to the top and let Zorua back out, twisting to see Raticate finally get out of the den and glare up at them. The Rattata were either climbing the cliff after him or going around the long way.

“Yo, I’m back!”

Everyone paused and looked to see Hau returning on the other side of the cavern, carrying a second picnic basket and a six-pack of soda. 

“Sorry I took so long, but I decided to go get some malasadas for when you won! I got a bunch to thank the Rattata too, since they work hard to do the Trial and all, and…” Hau blinked, taking in the scene. “Uh. That’s way more Rattata than I remember. I don’t think I brought enough.”

A not-insignificant portion of the horde broke off to go after Hau, and Danny shouted. “Hau! Drop the food and run!”

“Why? WHOA!” he shouted as a rat reached him and bit his ankle. “Okay, okay! You can have’em!” He kicked the rat away and dropped the malasadas, legging it.

Danny, meanwhile, frowned in thought during the distraction. “Wait, if that’s the entrance over there, then what am I standing in front of?” he asked himself, turning to look down the tunnel behind him.

“Zor…”

“Rat ta TA!”

The rats were remembering him, so he didn’t have much chance to think it over. Danny ran down the tunnel, hoping it was just another way out.

Instead, it let out into an enclosed space surrounded by sheer walls, with sunlight being let in from a hole above.

“Wait, there’s the pedestal!” Danny said, pointing to the middle of the cave. Something pale glinted on top. “Maybe if I get the crystal, they’ll leave us alone?”

His Pokémon looked dubious, but Danny couldn’t think of a better solution, and he could hear the angry pattering behind him, so he ran forward.

He snagged the crystal, and had to stop. He was taken by the thing, the perfect shape, how clear it was, the symbol suspended inside.

…There was an energy to it. It was special.

“Wait.” Danny tapped his foot. “There was something else I was supposed to do before getting this. Explore the cavern, check, defeat the Rattata, kinda check… and then battle…”

“RATICATE!”

The ground shook. Danny and his partners turned slowly. And Danny looked it in the eyes without having to look down.

If the other Raticate had been merely big, this rat was gigantic. It was the same height as Danny himself, counting the ears, and it was nearly as wide as it was tall. A sense of raw power radiated off of it, and it glared at him--specifically, at the crystal in his hand.

“...Hhhheyyyy,” Danny drawled, trying not to sound frightened. “I think I skipped a step there. S-sorry.”

The Totem Raticate huffed, breathing hot air in Danny’s face. It turned in place as the rest of the rats arrived. They skidded to a halt at the sight of it, bunching up as the rats in the back ran into the ones in front and sending the frontrunners falling on their faces.

“Ratic-rat.”

“R-rat at at! Tat!” the lead Rattata defended itself.

The two argued back and forth for a short time, but the Totem was utterly unimpressed. The smaller rat only got more upset as it rebuked them.

“Well, I’ve never seen this happen before.”

Danny looked over to see Hau and Ilima approaching. “Oh man, am I glad to see you guys.”

“I imagine so, yes,” Ilima agreed. “What on earth happened here?”

The Totem glared at its subordinate, who looked behind itself for aid but found that most of its friends had run away. It stayed stubbornly silent.

Danny ended up being the one to explain. He rubbed his neck. “Well. A few days ago I did an errand for Professor Kukui…” Very quickly he explained the incident with the fridge and the food, while Captain Ilima’s eyes just widened in disbelief. “...and after that I guess these guys held a grudge.”

The Totem and Ilima both looked at the Rattata, who crossed its arms and glared at them.

Raticate heaved a sigh. “...Rat.”

“Yes, I think you should just call the whole thing off,” Ilima translated. “This isn’t worth it.”

Rattata looked like it was going to argue, but finally slumped. At the Totem’s command it made to leave, but not before making a rude gesture at Danny, who didn’t even have the energy to be offended right then.

Ilima shook their head. “Danny, I’m sorry. This is most irregular.”

“It’s not your fault,” Danny said incredulously. “If it’s anyone’s fault, it’s min--”

“As the Captain, it’s my responsibility to keep the Pokémon here from misbehaving,” Ilima insisted. They shook their head. “This was quite outside any of our control, but it’s still grating.” They looked at the Totem, who was waiting patiently. “What do you think, Raticate? Danny’s certainly gone through more than any normal Trial, hasn’t he?”

Raticate snorted, rolling its eyes but agreeing. It gestured for Danny to keep the crystal.

“Congratulations, Danny.” Ilima bowed.

Danny bit his lip. He looked at his Pokémon and found expressions that mirrored his own opinion on this outcome. Then he looked to Hau, who gave him far too knowing a look for an eleven-year-old, and Danny grunted.

“If it’s all the same to you, Captain, Totem, uh, sirs,” Danny began, handing the crystal back. “I think I’d rather have the battle.”

Raticate’s eyes lit up, surprised, but Ilima grinned.

“Aw yeah, that’s the spirit Danny!” Hau declared. “It’s just not right to get it without a big battle!”

Danny glanced at his team and winced. “But, if it’s okay, I think we need healing first.”

Raticate chortled.

“I think that can be arranged,” Ilima said. “Let’s go then. Raticate’s a busy Pokémon, you know.”

The Totem nodded imperiously. 

Danny let out a sigh of relief. “Grat, thanks.” He remembered something. “Hey, Hau, you still have those sodas?”

“Nah, but we can get more!”

“Let’s. I could do with some lunch.”

The Pokémon agreed loudly.