(VIII) Night of the First Day 1/2

The sun had started to set over the vast emerald valley. Streaks of orange pierced the blue veil and gave way to a myriad of warm shades despite the cool air that was coming in as the warmth from the sun vanished.

Atop the ridge, a group of five stood overlooking the lush landscape of overabundant healthy-looking oaks and cedars. An older man, in his late thirties, took off his hat to reveal his dark brown hair.

"We found it!" He said with a smile as he turned to the group behind him. Everyone threw their arms up and whooped in celebration.

They quickly set up camp and established a makeshift laboratory. The scientists all changed out of their exploration gear, donning their normal lab jackets.

"Everyone! Gather 'round!" The brown-haired man shouted waving his team over with his hands, "We've finally arrived, the sightings report that Mew was around this area. We'll need to spread out and set up perimeter sensors…"

He began explaining a large number of tasks that needed to be completed before the end of the night.

"Unfortunately, we couldn't confirm with the local village about Mew's location, but once the police arrive and the rest of our team joins back up with us, everyone here will have a lot taken off their plates, so bear with me here! Now, let's get started!"

He ended his speech with a clasp of his hands and everyone jumped into action immediately and swiftly.

The man smiled as he reached into his coat and brought out a pokéball and released the pocket monster hidden inside.

A large quadrupedal bovine pokémon appeared. It had light brown fur with a thicker, darker brown mane around the neck. It had three gray pearls running vertically down its forehead, and a pair of curved, gray horns grew from atop its head. There were three black tails with a tuft of fur on the end of each.

"Tauros! Let's go!" The man shouted happily hopping on its back as it unleashed a powerful bellow and launched into the air, landing on the cliffside and sliding down before the two disappeared into the trees below.

One of the scientists sighed and shook her head, "You think he would slow down at his age…"

"Sam will never change…" Another scientist sighed in response and returned to his tasks.

***

Isaac and Ava had just finished battling a Paras and finishing their tenth battle when a resounding boom rang through the forest causing dozens of tiny bird pokémon to abandon their perches and escape into the air.

The pair was instantly startled and quickly hid as Isaac ignored the notification on his visor indicating the completion of the quest.

"I don't know what made that sound, but I don't want to stick around to find out!" He said as he quickly returned Ava to her pokéball and began running away from the direction of the sound.

It wasn't extremely noticeable but Isaac could tell he was running faster and wouldn't tire out as easily. He darted through the trees as quickly as he could.

He was frustrated that he was going to lose track of the herd of Nidoran but that was better than facing down whatever monstrous beast made that sound.

The sun was slowly setting as night began to set in. The young man leaned against the trunk of a tree gasping for air as he looked around frantically as if he was being chased.

After catching his breath, he slowed his pace and began casually jogging in a random direction. He came to a different area of the cliffside surrounding the valley and discovered another cave.

As he approached the entrance and peeked in he noticed it was much deeper than his home the last night. He grabbed Ava's pokéball and released her.

With his partner by his side, he felt safer, and the pair slowly entered the cave. After walking deeper his visor automatically flicked on a headlamp allowing Isaac to see.

"Well aren't you full of surprises!" Isaac chuckled, peering further and noticing the cave was part of a larger cave system.

He decided to just follow the pathway left as he could just turn around and run to his right to get out in case he needed to get away.

He went deeper until finding a small circular area at a bend in the pathway that might have been a pokémon's nest long ago, 'This might be a good spot to rest for the night!' He thought as the pair passed by.

Isaac couldn't confirm it, but it felt like they were ascending the mountainside as the path lead to a large open cavern that cut deep into the earth. The cave was too big for him to see the other end of the massive room.

"I dunno about you Ava, but I don't think we should be in here quite yet…" He turned, saying to his partner.

"Vee…" She replied softly. Isaac turned to leave when the ground he was standing on gave way and he fell.

He frantically began clawing as he slid down, trying to find something, anything to grab onto. Ava peeked over the edge distraught as she watched her trainer fall.

Without hesitation, she jumped down, sliding after him crying out loudly. Isaac's heart was pounding as he turned and saw the ground quickly approaching, he turned over onto his back and spread his arms wide, and tried to press his body against the sliding rock in an attempt to slow his descent.

He scrunched his eyes shut and dug his heels into the wall as he braced for impact as he landed against the ground and rolled forward, landing on his back, and knocking the wind out of him.

He gasped loudly taking a huge breath of air and groaned loudly as he exhaled, his eyes rolled back as his vision was blurred due to the disorientation.

"VEEEEEEEEEE!!!" Ava shouted as she slid down the rock and jumped off, landing on Isaac's lap. He immediately shot up and grabbed her pulling her firmly against his body as he groaned loudly again, visible pain could be seen from his wincing face.

After sitting there for a while, Isaac was able to regain his composure and eventually stood up slowly. Dusting himself off, he began looking around at the odd cave, trying to find a way back up.

『09:46 P.M.』

Looking at the time on his pokétch Isaac sighed, "We might need to find someplace to sleep in here tonight Ava…"

"Vee…" She dejectedly replied as she followed along with her ears pulled back and her tail dragging against the ground.

Isaac opened the rewards for battling ten pokémon and handed the nutritious PokéFood pellet to Ava who greedily ate it, instantly perking up her mood.

He smiled and patted her on the head and ate a few berries and looked at the last daily quest. He had wanted to complete the task before 10:00 but too much had happened since that loud sound that it had been delayed.

『Complete 100 push-ups [82/100]』

"Ava, keep alert and let me know if you notice anything coming this way!" He said, determined to complete the task.

The Eevee jumped around and began circling Isaac as he got down and began to complete the push-ups needed. He had to complete an extra for every 3 or 4 he did due to his form still not being accepted by the system.

Multiple times he fell onto the ground breathing heavily and resting his body before continuing to do more push-ups.

After completing around 25 push-ups he collapsed on the ground and rolled onto his back with a big grin on his face.

『100 push-ups Completed! +1 Strength』

Isaac couldn't describe the feeling as he instantly felt his body grow more dense. It was hardly noticeable as his biceps grew slightly bulkier. His grin grew as he laughed softly to himself until Ava ran onto his chest and looked over with worry.

Isaac quickly picked up Ava as he stood and stumbled backward, catching himself with his hand and standing once more as he retreated reviewing the information of the hulking beast in front of him.

『Name: Tyranitar ♀』

『Type: Rock/Dark』

『Ability: Unnerve』

『Nature: Adamant』

『Item: None』

『Potential: Gold』

『Level: 71』

『HP: Purple』

『ATK: Red』

『DEF: Blue』

『SpA: Purple』

『SpD: Blue』

『SPD: Red』

『Normal Moves: Crunch [A], Earthquake [E], Stone Edge [E], Thrash [B], Sandstorm [A], Hyper Beam [A], Giga Impact [B]

Innate Moves: Outrage [M], Ancient Power [E]

Hidden Moves: Dragon Dance [M]』

———

Sorry for the late chapter! Chapters are uploaded daily.

Like reading PMA? Add it to your library!

Want more chapters?

25 Power Stones = 1 Daily Bonus Chapter (17/25 power stones yesterday, we got pretty close!)

Consider joining the Discord server if you wish to ask questions, connect with other fans, and check out my other works:

https://discord.gg/ST8PsCzA

If you want to support my work or wish to read advanced chapters before they are released here, consider becoming a Patron:

https://www.-patreon.com/OneWingedGaming (remove the - .)