Chapter 8: Secret of the Diamond Onix
A couple hours later, Brock, Yolanda, and I were making our way up Mount Moon. “Now I know how it feels to be a third wheel,” Yolanda complained.
“What?” Brock and I both said at the same time.
“Remind me never to come along on any of your dates again.”
“This-this isn’t a date!” I sputtered.
“Yolanda, we’re going to look for clues about Diamond Onix.” Brock shot his sister a brotherly glare.
“Oh?” Yolanda’s voice dripped with sarcasm. “I was sure this was a date. Phew. Now I don’t have to feel like you’re gonna leave me out of all your fun.” She bounced along excitedly. “I hope I can find a Clefairy. I’ve heard Mount Moon is one of the best places to find one. Are you sure you’ll be able to help me catch one, Brock? Oh, please, would you?” Yolanda made her best sparkly eyes.
“I’ll do my best, although I can’t guarantee. It’s been a while since I went through the caverns.”
“What kinds of Pokemon all live in Mount Moon?” I looked over at Brock.
Brock thought for a moment. “According to the guidebook, and my own experience, we should see Zubat, Parasect, Clefairy, Sandshrew, and Geodude. Those are the most common species found in the caverns. If we’re lucky, we might find a Dome Fossil or a Helix Fossil.”
“Hmm. I’d love to see any of those, but my main objective is to learn as much as I can about Diamond Onix.”
“Well, any potential clues should be here.” Brock gestured up the path to a large cave. “The cavern entrance is just up ahead.”
“You know,” Yolanda remarked as we entered the mouth of the cave. “Mount Moon looked a whole lot smaller from town. And it looked a little smaller when we were hiking up here. But now that we’re inside the endless maze of spooky, dark tunnels, it looks bigger than ever!” Yolanda held her flashlight under her chin, casting an eerie glow on her face.
Suddenly, a terrifying shrieking sound filled the tunnel. A dark, swarming mass flew right over our heads. I let out a cry and dropped to the ground to avoid being consumed by the cloud. Yolanda screamed and dropped her flashlight, which rolled across the floor.
After whatever it was had passed, Brock helped me to my feet. “Are you all right, Annie?” he asked, concerned.
“I’m fine,” I answered. “What was that, anyway?”
“It was a colony of Zubat, I think.”
“I’m NOT all right, if anyone cares to know!” Yolanda complained. “I dropped my flashlight, and now I can’t find it!”
“We don’t need it. Crobat, go!” Brock tossed a Pokeball on the ground and, in a flash of light, a large, purple, four-winged bat popped out. “Supersonic!” Brock called. Crobat opened it’s mouth in a silent shriek and visible sound waves emanate from it’s gaping, toothed maw.
Crobat perched on a rocky outcrop in the ceiling and pointed it’s two left wings towards a direction. “Great!” said Brock. “Let's get going.”
“It's pretty dark in here without my flashlight,” said Yolanda as we resumed our tour of the tunnels. “I'd better hold your hand so I don't get lost, Brock.” She quickly grasped her older brother's hand.
“I can’t remember the last time you wanted to hold my hand, Yolanda,” Brock said, confused. “You said you were way too big and independent.”
Yolanda harrumphed. “You’re just saying that cuz you’d rather hold hands with Annie!”
I blushed. Brock coughed and cleared his throat. “Er, uh, ahem. I don’t know if Annie wants to hold hands with me…”
“You didn’t deny you want to hold her hand!” Yolanda retorted.
I took a deep breath, hoping to bring my face down to its normal color. “L-let’s just find what we came for.”
Yolanda opened her mouth to speak again, but Brock’s mouth was faster. “And that’s enough out of you, missy,” he said sternly, giving her another steely glare. Yolanda harrumphed again, but didn’t say anything more for a while.
Actually, no one said anything for a while, so I had some time to think. I was so lost in my thoughts, I didn’t realize I had taken a different tunnel than Brock and Yolanda had taken until it was too late. Panic hit me like Rhyperior’s Rock Wrecker, and I suddenly felt very, very alone. “Brock? Yolanda?” I called timidly into the darkness. “Can you hear me?” Great going, I scolded myself. How am I gonna get out of here and find my way back to Brock? Then an idea struck me. Maybe Diamond Onix could help me? I was unsure, especially since my last few encounters with Onix had been half terrifying.
Nervously, with a trembling hand, I took the Pokeball which now housed Onix and tenitavely pressed the button. The Pokeball opened with a flash of white light, and a red blur sprung out, materializing into the craigy form of Diamond Onix. Onix roared, rattling the solid stone walls of the tunnel. Loose gravel and dirt showered my head, but I was too mesmerized by the awesome sight to shake it off.
Suddenly, Diamond Onix plucked me off the ground and held me gently in it’s great maw. It then seemed to dive, burrowing into the hard rock floor of the tunnel. Inside Onix’s mouth, I shrieked and shoved myself against its crystalline teeth. I screamed at the top of my voice. “Let me out, Pokemon, do you hear me?” I wasn’t about to get devoured by my own Pokemon. Do Onix even eat humans? I wondered. I knew from reading Papa’s books that Onix get their energy and nourishment from minerals in the earth. I wondered where Onix was taking me.
After what seemed like hours of burrowing, Onix stopped with a great thud. I was knocked from my balance and stumbled backwards as Onix opened its jaws to release me. Then it lowered its head so I could step out onto the floor of the cave we had reached. I stepped down one foot, then the other, and slowly gazed upward. “Where… have you brought me?” I whispered.
The cave seemed to span for miles underground. The crystalline stalactites covering the ceiling resembled the inside of a geode and provided light themselves that illuminated the entire cavern. Hundreds, perhaps thousands, of rock-type Pokemon inhabiting the space turned to acknowledge my presence. Onix roared something to them, and they all hurried over to surround us. I timidly stepped backwards, but Onix nudged me forward with its nose. Then it proceeded to speak to them in their own Pokemon language, which sounded like only roars and grunts to me. The other Pokemon chattered back and hopped up and down.
“What are you telling them?” I giggled, beginning at last to relax. Then the crowd of Pokemon parted, allowing Onix and me a clear path. Onix nudged me ahead, and we proceeded through the caverns. I looked back over my shoulder at Onix. “Where are you taking me? Are you trying to help me?” Onix only grunted, then nodded towards the tunnel ahead.
Ahead was a whole wall that looked different from the others. The rock and soil there appeared white and shiny. I watched as rock-type Pokemon ate the minerals, then gasped as their bodies began to shimmer. Right before my eyes, the rock-types were transformed from dull gray to clear, shining… diamond! “Is this what you wanted to show me?” I breathed, unable to tear my eyes away from the incredible sight. “Is this... mineral… what makes you Diamond Onix?” Onix smiled and nodded. I approached the wall and scooped up a heaping handful of diamond soil. “I’ve finally found it!” I brushed a bittersweet tear from my eye. Papa would have given almost anything to make this discovery with me.
Suddenly, familiar voices broke through the almost-silence. “Annie!” I turned to see Brock and Yolanda scrambling down Onix’s new tunnel into what I was now calling Diamond Caverns. Brock reached me first and clasped my hands in his. “Annie, are you okay? I was so worried when I realized you took the wrong tunnel and weren’t right with me.”
I blushed and pulled my hands away. “I’m fine. I-i let Onix out of its Pokeball, and it brought me here.” I gestured to the diamond soil. “I believe this mineral is what gives Diamond Onix its special properties. Other rock-types have eaten it and become “Diamond” themselves.”
“Hey! Wait for me!” Yolanda huffed and puffed as she caught up with us. “Ah, I see,” she glared at her older brother, then at me. “Go looking for Annie and leave your little sister in the dust!” Then, as if flipping a coin, Yolanda’s mood suddenly brightened. “So, Annie, where were you? Why’d you get lost?” She smiled up at me.
“I took a wrong turn, I suppose,” I shrugged. “But look at what I’ve discovered!”
“I know you mean the mineral, Annie, but I think you’ve discovered something else,” Brock crossed his arms in front of his chest and grinned at me.
I raised an eyebrow, confused. “What do you mean?”
“What I mean is you’ve discovered your bond with your Pokemon. You’re not afraid of Onix anymore, are you?”
“No,” I smiled up at Onix. “I’m not.” I reached up to rub its nose, and it let out a contented rumble. “I think we’re going to be very good friends.” A pang of guilt struck my heart. I dreaded going back to Team Rocket. True, I would be able to see Papa again,and hopefully we’d be allowed to go home, but I feared Giovanni would demand I let him keep Onix for himself.
Yolanda broke the moment of silence. “Can we go home now? We never did find a Clefairy, and I’m really, really hungry!”
Brock looked to me. “Is that alright with you, Annie?”
“I can always come back tomorrow,” I shrugged. “Thanks to Onix, I don’t think I’ll be getting lost in these caverns anymore.”
“Guess we’ll get going, then.” Brock squared his shoulders. “Say, I’ll bet we can get out of here a lot faster if we ride Onix back out. Want to try?”
“Can you actually ride Pokemon?” I asked, unsure.
Brock chuckled. “I used to ride my Onix all the time.” He turned to Onix. “Wanna give us a ride back?” Onix gave a nod and lowered its head to the ground. “Here, Yolanda, let’s get up here.” He knelt next to Onix’s head and boosted Yolanda up right behind its horn. “You’re next, Annie.”
Before Brock could pick me up as well, Onix grabbed me in his mouth, and tossed me up into the air. I landed right behind Yolanda, who squealed with laughter. Brock climbed up right behind me. He patted the side of Onix’s head. “Okay, buddy, let’s go.” Onix gave a grunt and swung in a wide arc to turn for the surface. Riding an Onix, I found, was a bumpy experience. I couldn’t properly describe the way it moves. One thing I knew, though, was that I no longer felt afraid in Onix’s presence.
I actually began to relax and enjoy the ride home. Once we were out of the mountain tunnels, Onix could draw up to its full height, and I loved the view. Normally I hate heights with a burning ire, but riding Onix gave me a whole new perspective on not having my feet constantly on the ground. I was almost disappointed when we reached Pewter City and the ride ended.
We arrived back at the Harrisons, and Brock told Onix to stop right in front of the Pokehouse. Onix gently lowered its head to the ground, and Brock climbed down first. Yolanda slid off Onix’s head and into her brother’s arms, and then to the ground. When it was my turn, I tried to swing my leg over to the other side so I too could slide off, but I lost my balance. I scrambled to right myself, but I fell backwards and ended up tumbling off the opposite side of Onix’s head! I gave a small shriek as I hit the ground.
“Annie!” Brock cried, hurrying around Onix’s head to help me up. I rubbed a now-bruised elbow as I sat in a heap in the grass. Brock took me by the arm and lifted me to my feet. “Are you alright?” Onix nuzzled me with its nose as if to apologize.
“Yes, I’m fine. I’m just so clumsy,” I giggled sheepishly. Then I looked down at my dusty clothes and flicked a clod of dirt from my hair from when I’d gotten showered in gravel back in the cave. “And grubby, too,” I added.
Brock reached up and brushed the dust from my cheek. “You look just fine,” he smiled. I blushed. Then he began quietly, “Actually, you look--”
He was suddenly interrupted by half a dozen little voices. “Brock!” “You’re home!” “What’s for supper!” “Hey, you’ve got Annie with you, too!” “Have you asked her yet?” The little ones came in an energetic wave from the back door and crowded around Brock and me. “Hi, Annie!” Tilly smiled up at me sweetly.
“Hello,” I smiled back, my heart melting for the zillionth time since meeting the Harrisons two days ago. I haven't known the Harrisons for more than a couple days, I thought, but we kinda almost already treat each other like family. I almost didn't want to go home to the research center. Maybe I could convince Papa we needed to move to Pewter City.
“What do you kids want for dinner?” Brock was already heading toward the house. He turned toward me. “Annie, you want to stay for dinner?”
I grinned. “Sure!” The kids gave a cheer, then grabbed me by the arms to hurry me into the house with them.
A couple hours later, Brock, Yolanda, and I were making our way up Mount Moon. “Now I know how it feels to be a third wheel,” Yolanda complained.
“What?” Brock and I both said at the same time.
“Remind me never to come along on any of your dates again.”
“This-this isn’t a date!” I sputtered.
“Yolanda, we’re going to look for clues about Diamond Onix.” Brock shot his sister a brotherly glare.
“Oh?” Yolanda’s voice dripped with sarcasm. “I was sure this was a date. Phew. Now I don’t have to feel like you’re gonna leave me out of all your fun.” She bounced along excitedly. “I hope I can find a Clefairy. I’ve heard Mount Moon is one of the best places to find one. Are you sure you’ll be able to help me catch one, Brock? Oh, please, would you?” Yolanda made her best sparkly eyes.
“I’ll do my best, although I can’t guarantee. It’s been a while since I went through the caverns.”
“What kinds of Pokemon all live in Mount Moon?” I looked over at Brock.
Brock thought for a moment. “According to the guidebook, and my own experience, we should see Zubat, Parasect, Clefairy, Sandshrew, and Geodude. Those are the most common species found in the caverns. If we’re lucky, we might find a Dome Fossil or a Helix Fossil.”
“Hmm. I’d love to see any of those, but my main objective is to learn as much as I can about Diamond Onix.”
“Well, any potential clues should be here.” Brock gestured up the path to a large cave. “The cavern entrance is just up ahead.”
“You know,” Yolanda remarked as we entered the mouth of the cave. “Mount Moon looked a whole lot smaller from town. And it looked a little smaller when we were hiking up here. But now that we’re inside the endless maze of spooky, dark tunnels, it looks bigger than ever!” Yolanda held her flashlight under her chin, casting an eerie glow on her face.
Suddenly, a terrifying shrieking sound filled the tunnel. A dark, swarming mass flew right over our heads. I let out a cry and dropped to the ground to avoid being consumed by the cloud. Yolanda screamed and dropped her flashlight, which rolled across the floor.
After whatever it was had passed, Brock helped me to my feet. “Are you all right, Annie?” he asked, concerned.
“I’m fine,” I answered. “What was that, anyway?”
“It was a colony of Zubat, I think.”
“I’m NOT all right, if anyone cares to know!” Yolanda complained. “I dropped my flashlight, and now I can’t find it!”
“We don’t need it. Crobat, go!” Brock tossed a Pokeball on the ground and, in a flash of light, a large, purple, four-winged bat popped out. “Supersonic!” Brock called. Crobat opened it’s mouth in a silent shriek and visible sound waves emanate from it’s gaping, toothed maw.
Crobat perched on a rocky outcrop in the ceiling and pointed it’s two left wings towards a direction. “Great!” said Brock. “Let's get going.”
“It's pretty dark in here without my flashlight,” said Yolanda as we resumed our tour of the tunnels. “I'd better hold your hand so I don't get lost, Brock.” She quickly grasped her older brother's hand.
“I can’t remember the last time you wanted to hold my hand, Yolanda,” Brock said, confused. “You said you were way too big and independent.”
Yolanda harrumphed. “You’re just saying that cuz you’d rather hold hands with Annie!”
I blushed. Brock coughed and cleared his throat. “Er, uh, ahem. I don’t know if Annie wants to hold hands with me…”
“You didn’t deny you want to hold her hand!” Yolanda retorted.
I took a deep breath, hoping to bring my face down to its normal color. “L-let’s just find what we came for.”
Yolanda opened her mouth to speak again, but Brock’s mouth was faster. “And that’s enough out of you, missy,” he said sternly, giving her another steely glare. Yolanda harrumphed again, but didn’t say anything more for a while.
Actually, no one said anything for a while, so I had some time to think. I was so lost in my thoughts, I didn’t realize I had taken a different tunnel than Brock and Yolanda had taken until it was too late. Panic hit me like Rhyperior’s Rock Wrecker, and I suddenly felt very, very alone. “Brock? Yolanda?” I called timidly into the darkness. “Can you hear me?” Great going, I scolded myself. How am I gonna get out of here and find my way back to Brock? Then an idea struck me. Maybe Diamond Onix could help me? I was unsure, especially since my last few encounters with Onix had been half terrifying.
Nervously, with a trembling hand, I took the Pokeball which now housed Onix and tenitavely pressed the button. The Pokeball opened with a flash of white light, and a red blur sprung out, materializing into the craigy form of Diamond Onix. Onix roared, rattling the solid stone walls of the tunnel. Loose gravel and dirt showered my head, but I was too mesmerized by the awesome sight to shake it off.
Suddenly, Diamond Onix plucked me off the ground and held me gently in it’s great maw. It then seemed to dive, burrowing into the hard rock floor of the tunnel. Inside Onix’s mouth, I shrieked and shoved myself against its crystalline teeth. I screamed at the top of my voice. “Let me out, Pokemon, do you hear me?” I wasn’t about to get devoured by my own Pokemon. Do Onix even eat humans? I wondered. I knew from reading Papa’s books that Onix get their energy and nourishment from minerals in the earth. I wondered where Onix was taking me.
After what seemed like hours of burrowing, Onix stopped with a great thud. I was knocked from my balance and stumbled backwards as Onix opened its jaws to release me. Then it lowered its head so I could step out onto the floor of the cave we had reached. I stepped down one foot, then the other, and slowly gazed upward. “Where… have you brought me?” I whispered.
The cave seemed to span for miles underground. The crystalline stalactites covering the ceiling resembled the inside of a geode and provided light themselves that illuminated the entire cavern. Hundreds, perhaps thousands, of rock-type Pokemon inhabiting the space turned to acknowledge my presence. Onix roared something to them, and they all hurried over to surround us. I timidly stepped backwards, but Onix nudged me forward with its nose. Then it proceeded to speak to them in their own Pokemon language, which sounded like only roars and grunts to me. The other Pokemon chattered back and hopped up and down.
“What are you telling them?” I giggled, beginning at last to relax. Then the crowd of Pokemon parted, allowing Onix and me a clear path. Onix nudged me ahead, and we proceeded through the caverns. I looked back over my shoulder at Onix. “Where are you taking me? Are you trying to help me?” Onix only grunted, then nodded towards the tunnel ahead.
Ahead was a whole wall that looked different from the others. The rock and soil there appeared white and shiny. I watched as rock-type Pokemon ate the minerals, then gasped as their bodies began to shimmer. Right before my eyes, the rock-types were transformed from dull gray to clear, shining… diamond! “Is this what you wanted to show me?” I breathed, unable to tear my eyes away from the incredible sight. “Is this... mineral… what makes you Diamond Onix?” Onix smiled and nodded. I approached the wall and scooped up a heaping handful of diamond soil. “I’ve finally found it!” I brushed a bittersweet tear from my eye. Papa would have given almost anything to make this discovery with me.
Suddenly, familiar voices broke through the almost-silence. “Annie!” I turned to see Brock and Yolanda scrambling down Onix’s new tunnel into what I was now calling Diamond Caverns. Brock reached me first and clasped my hands in his. “Annie, are you okay? I was so worried when I realized you took the wrong tunnel and weren’t right with me.”
I blushed and pulled my hands away. “I’m fine. I-i let Onix out of its Pokeball, and it brought me here.” I gestured to the diamond soil. “I believe this mineral is what gives Diamond Onix its special properties. Other rock-types have eaten it and become “Diamond” themselves.”
“Hey! Wait for me!” Yolanda huffed and puffed as she caught up with us. “Ah, I see,” she glared at her older brother, then at me. “Go looking for Annie and leave your little sister in the dust!” Then, as if flipping a coin, Yolanda’s mood suddenly brightened. “So, Annie, where were you? Why’d you get lost?” She smiled up at me.
“I took a wrong turn, I suppose,” I shrugged. “But look at what I’ve discovered!”
“I know you mean the mineral, Annie, but I think you’ve discovered something else,” Brock crossed his arms in front of his chest and grinned at me.
I raised an eyebrow, confused. “What do you mean?”
“What I mean is you’ve discovered your bond with your Pokemon. You’re not afraid of Onix anymore, are you?”
“No,” I smiled up at Onix. “I’m not.” I reached up to rub its nose, and it let out a contented rumble. “I think we’re going to be very good friends.” A pang of guilt struck my heart. I dreaded going back to Team Rocket. True, I would be able to see Papa again,and hopefully we’d be allowed to go home, but I feared Giovanni would demand I let him keep Onix for himself.
Yolanda broke the moment of silence. “Can we go home now? We never did find a Clefairy, and I’m really, really hungry!”
Brock looked to me. “Is that alright with you, Annie?”
“I can always come back tomorrow,” I shrugged. “Thanks to Onix, I don’t think I’ll be getting lost in these caverns anymore.”
“Guess we’ll get going, then.” Brock squared his shoulders. “Say, I’ll bet we can get out of here a lot faster if we ride Onix back out. Want to try?”
“Can you actually ride Pokemon?” I asked, unsure.
Brock chuckled. “I used to ride my Onix all the time.” He turned to Onix. “Wanna give us a ride back?” Onix gave a nod and lowered its head to the ground. “Here, Yolanda, let’s get up here.” He knelt next to Onix’s head and boosted Yolanda up right behind its horn. “You’re next, Annie.”
Before Brock could pick me up as well, Onix grabbed me in his mouth, and tossed me up into the air. I landed right behind Yolanda, who squealed with laughter. Brock climbed up right behind me. He patted the side of Onix’s head. “Okay, buddy, let’s go.” Onix gave a grunt and swung in a wide arc to turn for the surface. Riding an Onix, I found, was a bumpy experience. I couldn’t properly describe the way it moves. One thing I knew, though, was that I no longer felt afraid in Onix’s presence.
I actually began to relax and enjoy the ride home. Once we were out of the mountain tunnels, Onix could draw up to its full height, and I loved the view. Normally I hate heights with a burning ire, but riding Onix gave me a whole new perspective on not having my feet constantly on the ground. I was almost disappointed when we reached Pewter City and the ride ended.
We arrived back at the Harrisons, and Brock told Onix to stop right in front of the Pokehouse. Onix gently lowered its head to the ground, and Brock climbed down first. Yolanda slid off Onix’s head and into her brother’s arms, and then to the ground. When it was my turn, I tried to swing my leg over to the other side so I too could slide off, but I lost my balance. I scrambled to right myself, but I fell backwards and ended up tumbling off the opposite side of Onix’s head! I gave a small shriek as I hit the ground.
“Annie!” Brock cried, hurrying around Onix’s head to help me up. I rubbed a now-bruised elbow as I sat in a heap in the grass. Brock took me by the arm and lifted me to my feet. “Are you alright?” Onix nuzzled me with its nose as if to apologize.
“Yes, I’m fine. I’m just so clumsy,” I giggled sheepishly. Then I looked down at my dusty clothes and flicked a clod of dirt from my hair from when I’d gotten showered in gravel back in the cave. “And grubby, too,” I added.
Brock reached up and brushed the dust from my cheek. “You look just fine,” he smiled. I blushed. Then he began quietly, “Actually, you look--”
He was suddenly interrupted by half a dozen little voices. “Brock!” “You’re home!” “What’s for supper!” “Hey, you’ve got Annie with you, too!” “Have you asked her yet?” The little ones came in an energetic wave from the back door and crowded around Brock and me. “Hi, Annie!” Tilly smiled up at me sweetly.
“Hello,” I smiled back, my heart melting for the zillionth time since meeting the Harrisons two days ago. I haven't known the Harrisons for more than a couple days, I thought, but we kinda almost already treat each other like family. I almost didn't want to go home to the research center. Maybe I could convince Papa we needed to move to Pewter City.
“What do you kids want for dinner?” Brock was already heading toward the house. He turned toward me. “Annie, you want to stay for dinner?”
I grinned. “Sure!” The kids gave a cheer, then grabbed me by the arms to hurry me into the house with them.