I stood at the mouth of the secondary cave entrance, the massive Boss Golem looming over me like a living fortress. As Sylveon finished her rhythmic translation—her feelers twitching with every gravelly syllable the giant uttered—the weight of the situation finally settled on me. It wasn't malice driving the mountain's anger; it was fear.
"So that's it," I whispered, the filtered air of my respirator whistling in my ears. "It's not a rebellion. It's a safety evacuation."
According to the Golem, the Geodude hadn't blocked the tunnel to be jerks. They were acting as a protective barrier because the slopes above had become a ticking time bomb. A large group of Snover and Abomasnow had recently migrated to the ridges directly above this maintenance shaft. Because of their Snow Warning ability, they had dumped nearly four times the usual amount of snow on the overhangs.
"One loud noise... one powerful move," I muttered, looking back at the groaning ceiling. "And the whole face of the mountain comes down."
The Golem explained that an Unown—a mysterious, symbol-shaped Pokémon—had accidentally fallen into the Abomasnow's original high-altitude nesting grounds. In its confusion, the Unown had warped the local space, creating a "weird domain" that forced the Abomasnow family to move lower. They chose the ridge above the tunnel.
Golem had tried to warn the humans, but the maintenance crew didn't speak 'Rock.' When they sent in Trainers like Marcus and Felix to "clear the pests," the Golem panicked. It knew that a full-scale battle would trigger an avalanche that would bury everyone—Trainers and Geodude alike. So, it did the only thing it could: it knocked them out and moved them to the back of the cave, hoping to wait for the snow to settle.
I felt a surge of frustration toward the League's bureaucracy. "Classic," I sighed. "Instead of sending a Ranger with a Telepathy-type Pokémon, they sent a bunch of kids with blasters. Good intentions, terrible execution."
I turned to the Golem and bowed slightly. "I understand now. You were protecting them. I'm going to go back and tell the police to stop the Skuntank and the drilling. We'll find a way to move the snow safely."
The Golem let out a low, appreciative hum, sounding like two boulders rubbing together. I turned to walk back toward the Staraptor, my mind already racing with how to explain "Unown-warped Abomasnow migration" to Officer Jenny without sounding like a lunatic.
However, in my focus on the Aura translation, I missed a crucial detail. The battle between the "Tunnel Squad" and the Golem had been intense. The tremors from Marcus's Probopass had weakened the structural integrity of the cave mouth.
CRACK.
A sound like a gunshot echoed from the ceiling. I looked up just in time to see a massive slab of jagged granite—at least five hundred pounds of it—detaching from the archway directly above my head.
"Sylveon! Look out!" I yelled, but I was too slow. The rock was already in freefall.
"SYL-VEEEEEEEE!"
Sylveon didn't use Protect this time. She didn't have the time to set the shield. Instead, she inhaled so deeply her small chest puffed out, her ribbons snapping forward like whips. She let out a cry that wasn't a melody—it was a sonic boom.
A massive, shimmering pink wave of sound erupted from her mouth, vibrating with such intensity that the air itself seemed to ripple. The sound hit the falling slab of granite with the force of a wrecking ball. KABOOM! The rock didn't just break; it disintegrated into a fine, grey powder that showered over me like a cloud of flour. I stood there, frozen, covered in rock dust, staring at my partner.
"Was that... Hyper Voice?" I choked out, coughing on the dust.
Sylveon trotted over, her ribbons wrapping around my waist in a frantic, shaky hug. She was purring loudly, but her eyes were wide with lingering terror.
"Fly... fly-ah! (You idiot! You almost got flattened!)"
"I know, I know. Thank you, girl," I said, burying my face in her soft fur. We'd been practicing Hyper Voice at the lab for months, but she'd never been able to find the right "resonance." It turns out, watching your trainer almost become a pancake is a great motivator.
"Alright," I said, pulling back and dusting off my jacket. "We really need to leave before the rest of the mountain decides to join the party. Let's get to Jenny."
The flight back was short but purposeful. When I landed and delivered the news, the reaction from the authorities was a mix of embarrassment and relief.
"Unown?" the Ranger asked, scratching his head. "In this sector? That's incredibly rare. No wonder the Abomasnow were agitated."
Officer Jenny immediately ordered the Skuntank to stand down. "If the snow is that unstable, we can't risk any more tremors. We'll call in a specialized 'Weather Squad' to slowly melt the overhangs."
By the time the sun began to set, the Golem had emerged from the tunnel, carrying the five unconscious Trainers (who were now starting to wake up with very sore heads) and gently placing them on the grass.
"Gole," the giant said, nodding to me one last time before retreating into the shadows of the mountain.
"Thank you, Golem," I called out.
A Reward Fit for a Doctor
One week later.
The snow had been cleared, the Abomasnow had moved back to their higher peaks after the Unown finally woke up and floated away, and the tunnel to Celestic Town was officially open. I stood at the entrance, my backpack cinched tight, feeling the crisp mountain air fill my lungs.
"Julian!" Officer Jenny called out, running up to me with a clipboard and a small, sealed box. "Before you go, the League wanted me to give you this."
I took the box, curious. "The reward?"
"More than just a reward," Jenny smiled. "The Ranger and I submitted a report on your conduct. Not many Trainers would have risked an aerial scout and an Aura-translation mission for a group of strangers. Plus, your credentials as a Research Doctor helped push the paperwork through."
I opened the box. Resting on a velvet cushion was a high-quality Fire Stone, glowing with an inner warmth that seemed to pulse like a heartbeat. But there was also a certificate—a transfer permit for a Pokémon.
"Since you're heading to Celestic Town," Jenny explained, "I've coordinated with the local precinct there. The Jenny family has a litter of Growlithe from a very prestigious line—not the standard police breed, but a more... spirited one. One of the pups is waiting for you at the Celestic Pokémon Center."
My heart jumped. A Growlithe? One of the most loyal, powerful Fire-types in existence? And from a Jenny-lineage? That was a prize most Trainers would give their left arm for.
"I don't know what to say, Officer. Thank you."
"Don't thank me. Just make sure you give that pup a good home. And maybe try to stay out of trouble?" she added with a wink.
"I'll try," I laughed. "But it is Sinnoh. Trouble usually finds me."
I turned toward the dark, cool mouth of the tunnel. On the other side lay Celestic Town, the ancient myths, and Cynthia. With a newly mastered Hyper Voice from Sylveon and a new companion waiting for me at the finish line, the journey through Mt. Coronet felt like it was finally, truly beginning.
"Let's go, guys," I said to the Poké Balls on my belt. "We have a puppy to pick up."