Pokemon - To Catch Them All - Route 32 and Union Cave

Story by soni050 on SoFurry

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#21 of Pokemon - To Catch Them All

Leo explores Union Cave and has some new evolutions


After defeating Falkner and receiving a egg from Professor Elm's assistant I decided to begin heading south through Route 32. I had already briefly explored the beginning of the route and had captured most of the Pokemon that lived there. However I hadn't explored the entirety of the route so there might be new discoveries to make. While travelling I had Hoothoot accompany me and he had taken a shine to the new egg I had received and helped me take care of the egg and ensure that the egg was well protected and warm while we were travelling together.

Continuing along the route it wasn't long before I was challenged by a youngster who sent out a Rattata and I sent out my Wooper and had Wooper use Water Gun and defeat Rattata. The second Pokemon sent out was a Zubat and I substituted for my Flaaffy who used Thunder Shock defeating Zubat. Continuing onward I was challenged by a Picnicker who sent out a female Nidoran and I decided to send out my Spinarak and have Spinarak use Shadow Sneak and defeat Nidoran before it could even retaliate. Heading across a small bridge which had a few fisherman on. I was challenged by those respective fisherman. The first send out a Poliwag and I sent out my Hoppip having Hoppip drain Poliwag's strength using Absorb. The second Pokemon sent out was a second Poliwag which went down the same way.

While I was exploring the bridge I was shocked when a Pokemon jumped out of the water and blocked my path. What surprised me more was seeing what the Pokemon was. It was a Totodile one of the possible starter Pokemon a new trainer can choose from in the Johto region and this one seemed to be wild. "I need your help Flaaffy!" Flaaffy appeared sparking threateningly at the glaring Totodile. Todorile made the first move firing a Water Gun which did annoy Flaaffy as his fur was not made for absorbing water. "Use Thunder Shock!" Totodile was faster than I had anticipated and dodged relatively well by jumping into the water. Totodile then jumped out of the water and descended trying to use Bite on Flaaffy. Flaaffy wasn't having that and used a close range Thunder Shock weakening Totodile enough for me to throw a Pokeball.

I watched as the ball shook once, twice, three times before the capture was confirmed. "Totodile has been registered to your Pokedex. Totodile the Big Jaw Pokemon a Water Type. It has a habit of biting everything with its well - developed jaws. Even its trainer needs to be careful." The Rotom Pokedex was quick to warn me of the potential hazards of training a vigorous Totodile but I remained calm and eagerly accepted the challenge. When I released Totodile to heal him he cheerfully accepted the healing jumping up and down repeatedly before almost lunging and grabbing my hand with his jaw before jumping back excitedly. I could tell owning and training this Pokemon would be a challenge but that didn't deter me.

The next fisherman challenged me with a team off Magikarp however they were all defeated by Hoppip who repeatedly used Absorb to win the battle. Continuing on another fisherman challenged me with a Goldeen but it went down to Flaaffy's Thunder Shock. After crossing the bridge and returning to the route once again I was challenged by a youngster who sent out a Wooper and I sent out my Totodile for his first battle. Before the battle started I quickly checked the moves that Totodile new.

The moves were, Scratch, Water Gun, Mud Slap and Bite some decent moves at his disposal. The Wooper only seemed to know water attacks which weren't very effective giving Totodile the advantage. Totodile was also faster and more manoeuvrable than Wooper which meant Totodile had quite the easy battle. Repeatedly using Bite before getting his distance allowed Totodile to defeat Wooper.

Continuing on a picnicker challenged me with a male Nidoran and I sent out my Furret and had Furret unleash Quick Attack defeating Nidoran. I continued heading south before reaching a Pokemon centre which seemed to be in the middle of nowhere, Violet City was north but far away. I entered and had my team fully healed before continuing on south before being challenged by a bird keeper.

The first Pokemon he sent out was a Pidgey and I sent out my Flaaffy and had Flaaffy use Thunder Shock which defeated Pidgey in a single hit. This was repeated when a second Pidgey was sent out too. The final Pokemon sent out was a Spearow which went down the same way as it's predecessors had. Heading further south I reached the Union Cave which was my next destination.

Upon entering I saw the cave wasn't as dark as I had expected, but still I was prepared in case areas of the cave needed to be illuminated. Thankfully Flaaffy had the ability to light up the cave if need be. I used my Rotom phone to see what Pokemon inhabited the cave but found that most of them had already been caught when I explored Kanto.

Exploring the cave I came across a Firebreather who challenged me with a Vulpix and I sent out my Wooper and had Wooper use Water Gun which was super effective defeating Vulpix. At that I headed down the cave and was soon challenged by a hiker who sent out a Onix which I countered by sending out my Hoppip who in a cave did struggle with the scenery and surroundings but handled himself brilliantly by defeating Onix with a Absorb.

The next Hiker challenged me with three Geodude which Totodile handled by using Water Gun which was super effective defeating the Geodude. Continuing through the cave another Firebreather challenged me with two Koffing and I didn't actually have any Pokemon that had a type advantage against them so I went all out with strength to overwhelm them. The first Koffing was defeated by my Hoothoot whose repeated Pecks defeated Koffing. The second was defeated by my Furret whose Quick Attack knocked out Koffing too.

Continuing further a Pokemaniac challenged me with a Slowpoke and I sent out Spinarak to battle since he had a type advantage against the Psychic and Water Type Slowpoke. Infestation was strong enough to defeat Slowpoke giving Spinarak the win. At that I had already found the exit to Union Cave but before leaving I wanted to give my Pokemon some thorough training to ensure they were all prepared for the battle against the next gym leader and other trainers that awaited us in the future.

First up was Totodile and I knew he was having a great time against the multitude of Rock and Ground Pokemon which inhabited the cave. Using Water Gun Totodile easily defeated the multitude of Geodude and even the occasional Onix that decided to have a go at fighting us. Totodile didn't quite enjoy the multitude of Zubat's which decided to bother us and rapidly fired Water Guns in the air before trying to bite the annoyances. Still training with Totodile was showing me his unique and lovely personality. Yes, Totodile was a very mischievous and eager Pokemon, but he was also very kind and faithfully followed my commands. He trusted me with everything he had.

After training for some time, I was happily surprised to see that Totodile had begun glowing signalling his evolution. When the glow faded Totodile was replaced with Croconaw who looked more stern and aggressive but still maintained his usual disposition. "Croconaw has been registered to your Pokedex. Croconaw the Big Jaw Pokemon a Water Type. Once it bites down, it won't let go until it loses its fangs. New fangs quickly grow in its place." Croconaw was happy with his new evolution and even gained new moves thanks to it. Now any Pokemon that challenged us was defeated without much effort from Croconaw.

Next was Hoothoot who between training with me and looking after the egg showed himself to be a kind yet wise Pokemon for his age. Hoothoot respected and admired my strength and respect for fellow Pokemon and people alike. In battle Hoothoot showed himself to be fierce yet gentle where necessary. In some cases against the unrelenting Zubat which made the cave their home. Hoothoot would occasionally try and avoid an unnecessary fight and use Hypnosis on the multitude of Zubat stopping them in their tracks.

Hoothoot after some time also began evolving which was a pleasant surprise. "Noctowl has been registered to your Pokedex. Noctowl the Owl Pokemon a Normal and Flying Type. If it flips its head upside down, its a sign its engaged in very complex thinking." Noctowl was bigger but still retained his gentle attitude and continued observing my egg. While observing the egg, Noctowl did seem to observe the egg intrigue and curioisty were evident on his face. At some points the egg even moved while we were observing it attracting even more attention from Noctowl.

I knew that it was likely the egg would hatch at some point however, it seemed to soon and we had only had the egg for such a short period though we had been walking around consistently for quite some time. Who knows the egg could hatch any day now. Furret was next and was a very agile Pokemon even in the caves, with the rock terrain. Furret knew how to traverse the terrain in a safe manor which also allowed Furret to defeat the flying Zubat's and the incoming Rattata's. Still personality wise, Furret got along well with my newly evolved Noctowl.

Ledyba took some getting used to the new scenery of a cave, as it wasn't somewhere Ledyba would ordinarily go. After all a cave was dark and cut off from the outside world. Ledyba preferred open areas where flowers bloomed. I guess it was natural to believe that Ledyba would be uncomfortable in such a confined and dark cave. Still I tried to help Ledyba grow more comfortable by battling slowly in the cave and it seemed to help calm Ledyba down.

Naturally in a cave where Rock and Ground Pokemon dominated the ground and Zubat's dominated the aerial parts of the cave. Having a Bug Type did give us some difficulties. However, Ledyba showed me he was a determined Bug Type who didn't give up even when up against the large and tough Onix that appeared. Ledyba handled those battles with a Fighting move Mach Punch defeating the Rock Types much easier than before.

With all those victories and earning experience growing more powerful minute by minute. I shouldn't have been surprised when Ledyba began evolving already. "Ledian has been registered to your Pokedex. Ledian the Five Star Pokemon a Bug and Flying Type. It uses starlight as energy. When more stars appear at night, the patterns on its back grow larger." Ledian buzzed around me happily hovering around my head before hugging me as best as he could with his body size. Still I appreciated the attention and congratulated him on evolving into such a strong Pokemon.

Spinarak was up next and was happy to see that Ledyba had evolved into Ledian. The two Bug Pokemon had been getting along better these past few days. I remember when I first caught them and when they began working together as a team. It was easy to understand why Ledyba was so nervous around Spinarak, which naturally was its predator back when it was a wild Pokemon. Instinct was such a powerful thing which could challenge everything a Pokemon knows.

Still, Spinarak now was my next challenge at training in Union Cave and it was definitely more of a challenge compared to even Ledyba. Being a Bug and Poison Type against all these Rock, Ground, Poison and Flying Types it was difficult. However, against Rattata it was much easier. All the difficulties were problematic towards how Spinarak was feeling. Spinarak believed he was not living up to his trainers expectations even though I was more than happy at spending time helping him grow stronger.

Eventually after some hours had past by Spinarak had begun glowing signalling his evolution. "Ariados has been registered to your Pokedex. Ariados the Long Leg Pokemon a Bug and Poison Type. It attaches silk to its prey and sets it free. Later, it tracks the silk to its prey and its friends." Hearing that Pokedex entry showed me just how Ariados acted in the wild. But I couldn't fault them for needing food to survive, it was the same with many Pokemon all over the world. Ariados showed me a different side, his gentle nature when not battling was lovely to see.

Flaaffy was in a similar predicament being an Electric Type being in a cave wasn't the best experience for him. Still Flaaffy performed admirably against the Zubat and Rattata. Flaaffy was happy to see that many of its friends had already begun evolving much like he had as well. Next was Wooper and in complete contrast to Flaaffy, being a part Water Type allowed Wooper to defeat the Rock and Ground Types with ease. Wooper was really showing himself to be a powerhouse and rival towards Croconaw as well.

As such, with some victories under his belt, Wooper began glowing signalling his evolution. "Quagsire has been registered to your Pokedex. Quagsire the Water Fish Pokemon a Water and Ground Type. A dim-witted Pokemon. It doesn't care if its bumps its head into boats or rocks while swimming." Quagsire may look like he was slower, much like a previous Pokemon I owned through Kanto, that being Slowpoke. But look under the surface and you see a Pokemon that was determined to prove his strength to his beloved trainer. Quagsire believed he owed his trainer so much for allowing him to reach his evolutionary form.

Finally there was my Hoppip much like the other Pokemon I currently owned, he was a very gentle Pokemon. He got along well with everyone too. In the cave he did very well, against Geodude and Onix and used Absorb to defeat them all. As such, Hoppip had gained enough experience and decided now was the time to evolve. "Skiploom has been registered to your Pokedex. Skiploom the Cottonweed Pokemon a Grass and Flying Type. It blooms when the weather warms. It floats in the sky to soak up as much sunlight as possible." Skiploom happily danced around me showing me his new body and I congratulated the happy Pokemon on achieving new levels of strength.

After all the training and new evolutions I decided I was now properly prepared to continue the journey and exited Union Cave and reached the new route off, Route 33.