The First Test

Lexi's cries would only be answered by the wind for several seconds. It continued to howl in such a way that it seemed to be mocking her, almost scolding her for even entering such an ancient place.

But this was not the case. Such an idea was ridiculous, and there were indeed voices coming from somewhere above the surface.

It took a few minutes, but a face finally appeared, blocking out the light as it peered down into the hole. "Hello!" an elderly man called out. "Are you alright down there?"

A couple more voices could be heard talking to one another, but no one else could be seen through the hole.

Lexi groaned a bit, as the wind continued to howl. "What a pain..." She muttered, complaining before calling out a few more times. She watched as the filtered light was suddenly blocked out, causing her to flinch. She wasn't fond of the sudden darkness, but the voices were more a comfort than anything at the moment.

"Yes, hello!" Lexi cried out. She was so happy that someone had managed to hear her. "I'm alright, but I'm afraid I may be stuck! I can't reach the hole to climb out, can you help?!" The girl pleaded, hoping the elderly man and whoever else was there could indeed help. Her neck hairs were still standing on end, that strange presence ever looming over her. "Please hurry!" she added, trying her best to not sound too scared.

The man nodded in response to Lexi's request, but he paused and seemed to exchange glances with someone when she plead for them to be quick about it.

The face disappeared from view and before long a rope was thrown down into the chamber. There was a small loop tied into the end. "Put your foot through the loop and hang on tight!" the man's voice shouted.

Lexi was wondering what was going on up top. She'd requested them to hurry, right? So where were they?! She felt a tap on the head, the rope draping then to her shoulders. She looked to it, and blinked before glancing back up to the hole. 

Upon hearing the order, Lexi nodded. "Alright, just a moment!" She called, looking to the egg in her arms, then to Aysel. "I can't hold both of you...so," Lexi said, pulling out a pokeball. "In you go," she said, absorbing the little bear into the capsule. She minimized it, clipping it to her waist.

Immediately, she grabbed hold of the rope. She slipped her foot in, careful to hold onto the egg with her free arm. The other clung to the rope as she prepared to be lifted from the dungeon. "Ready!" she called up, ready to be done.

"Alright, heave!" the man shouted, and the rope began to rise quickly. The light got brighter and brighter until Lexi's head poked out of the hole, where she would see three men holding onto the other side of the rope. Two of them were wearing what appeared to be lab coats, while the first man was in a brown suit-- rather fancy to be wearing in such a place as this.

Once she was safely on the surface, the men backed up to give her some breathing room. "There now, you're alright. Safe and sound." the first man assured her. He wasn't sure how long she'd been in there, but he knew it must have been a great relief for her to be out.

One of the others held back his lab coat as he bent over and gazed into the hole. "How on earth did you get down there?" he asked, not realizing how rude he must've sounded.

Lexi closed her eyes, clinging to the rope as she felt the pressure as she was lifted. She finally opened them again once in daylight. She quickly shuffled away from the hole, sitting on the ground. She looked over those who helped her, then to the one who addressed her. She was still clinging to the strange egg she found, her Pokemon safely tucked away still.

"Umm...I was playing the sliding puzzle and just...fell," Lexi said, explaining best she could. She didn't even know in reality, but she was glad to not be trapped in there any longer. Exploring it would be one thing if there had been a proper way out, and that strange presence hadn't been there. Speaking of which... "Umm...I felt like I was...being watched. You don't think there could be any Pokemon or other people down there, do you?"

Lexi shifted, standing up and dusting off her knees. She figured the two lab coats were here researching something or another. Not too surprising to see lab techs testing soil samples and the like. However, this other man...who was he, and what was he doing here. "Oh, I'm Lexi...and...err, you are?" she asked, holding out her hand in greeting.

"You were playing with the puzzle?" one of the scientists shouted before quickly being shushed by the other.

"Young miss, are you saying you solved the sliding-tiles puzzle? ...Is that how you ended up down there?" The second scientist began mumbling to himself.

When Lexi mentioned that there might be something still living in the chamers, the three men seemed to leap three feet in the air, both out of shock and joy. The two in lab coats rushed back over to the hole and gazed into it, trying to catch a glimpse of what might have been staring at Lexi while she was down there.

The suited man then bowed his head in greeting. "Nice to meet you, miss. I'm currently funding the expeditions here in the ruins. We've heard rumors that there might be Pokemon still living in some of these chambers, but it's quite rare to see one. It seems they were watching you quite carefully, if you could sense their presence so easily..." He rubbed his chin in thought, then gave the girl a curious gaze. "Tell me, did you see any of them yourself?"

Lexi stepped back a bit, retreating her hand and clutching the egg closer as she heard the first Scientist begin to yell. She turned to the second, calmly speaking to her. She could still hear the anticipation in his voice, but at least he wasn't yelling like the other. She nodded slowly, "Umm...yes, sorry if I wasn't supposed to..." she said, chewing on her lip.

She watched them rush over to the hole, wondering what would happen if Tsutara was out of her pokeball to headbutt them. She shook her mind of the thought, looking over to the well dressed man addressing her. So, he was rich too apparently. To be able to fund such expeditions you had to be, after all.

"So...there really might still be something down there..." Lexi said, gaze slowly falling to the egg for a moment. No, the egg was alone...if it belonged to anything down there, it surely would have stopped you from taking it! she told herself before looking to the man again. "I...I don't think I saw anything down there," she said, thinking back. "I only saw carvings and statues, but none of them were real Pokemon," she explained, leaving out the bit about the egg for now.

The rich man smiled and gave a light laugh in response to Lexi's comment on the sliding puzzles. "Quite the opposite, miss. You see, we've examined the sliding-tile puzzles ourselves, but we haven't quite been able to figure out just what they do. We figured they were harmless and left the area open to the public." He glanced over at the hole and the two scientists as he rubbed his chin a bit. "It seems you somehow triggered an opening into this hidden underground chamber."

After Lexi answered that she hadn't seen any Pokemon, one of the scientists quickly thrust his finger into the air. "Ah, you said you don't think you saw anything down there, but you may have very well seen something! You just don't know that you saw something because you didn't know it when you were looking at it at the time!" the man exclaimed, now rambling more to himself than anyone.

The man in the suit shook his head slightly, then turned his full attention back to Lexi. He now noticed the round object she was clutching so tightly, and he let out a soft but curious grunt as he realized what it might be. "Oh, what have you got there? Did you find that in the chamber?" he inquired, rather tickled by the mere thought of what the oval-shaped object was.

Lexi blinked a couple times, listening to the man explain about the puzzle. Well, she supposed that maybe nobody had seen it as a puzzle before. "I guess I'm just good at putting together puzzles..." She said quietly. Perhaps the scientists had been overanalyzing them, making it more difficult to solve than necessary? Oh well, that didn't matter. Since she wasn't in trouble, Lexi felt a bit prided in being able to solve it.

This was a short lived moment, as one of the scientists began to ramble. She could feel the sweat run down her temple, trying her hardest not to speak up to him. Wow...just...just wow... Not even her inner thoughts could articulate what she was thinking at the moment. Still, she couldn't deny that she certainly felt a presence, regardless of if she'd seen it or not.

She was so lost as she watched the rambling man, that when the suit spoke to her again, she flinched. His words hit her hard, and she slowly turned back to look at him. What if he took it away from her?! That wouldn't be fair! She found it, after all! But if there was one thing Lexi was taught, it was to speak the truth. She sighed softly, looking down to the egg and noding.

"Yes, I found it down there..." she said quietly, trying to make it hard for the two lab coats to hear. Her hand ran over the surface, warm and beating with life inside. "I...I think it's a Pokemon egg. One of the statues was holding it, but nothing was around to take care of it..." Lexi explained, holding it close again, before looking up to the man. "Please don't take it away from me!"

The man was watching the egg very carefully as Lexi explained that she had indeed found it in the chamber, but her sudden plea caught him off guard and caused him to jump back a bit. "Oh, my dear, I've no intention of taking it from you! To be perfectly honest, I don't think it's an egg from the Pokemon living in the chamber. It was probably laid there by some wild Pokemon wandering about, looking for some safe place to hide it." he said.

The two scientists were talking and rambling to one another, still shocked by this little hidden chamber that they'd pulled the girl out of. One of them then came to the simple conclusion: "We'll have to head down there and investigate."

The man in the suit nodded, then turned back to Lexi. "I quite agree, a further study of this chamber is necessary. As for miss Lexi here, I'll say she's welcome to explore the ruins and hidden chambers further if she so wishes." He smiled and dipped his head again. "You're free to wander as you please. With as curious as the Pokemon down there were, you might want to head back into the chamber sometime and see if they'll reveal themselves to you."

Lexi let out a small sigh of relief when she heard his intentions weren't to take the egg from her. It could be seen in her body language too, as she relaxed some. She nodded, looking down to the egg. So much for hoping it was some ancient breed. Still, at least whatever was in the ruins was less likely to come after her now.

Her attention was grabbed by the two lab coats, who were talking about re-entering the hole. Lexi shuddered at the thought of being stuck down there again. Then again, maybe it wouldn't be so bad if they had lanterns and a way out. She was still pretty curious, and hearing the suit speak again she turned to face him once more.

"Really? You'd let me come along?" Lexi questioned, eyes slowly drifting to the hole once more. She was curious, and even her father would have known by now what she would do. "I'd love to!" Lexi said excitedly, nodding to the suit again. She was the kind of girl who'd ignore all dangers for the sake of adventure, and to sate her curiosity. "As long as we get a ladder in there to climb back out, anyway," Lexi added, laughing a bit nervously.

The man couldn't help but laugh as he gently placed a hand on Lexi's shoulder. "Of course, my dear girl. Once we're finished looking through it and investigating, we'll decide whether or not to open it to the public. But I'll make an exception for you, since you stumbled upon this chamber for us."

He then turned to the scientists and cleared his throat loudly, gaining their undivided attention. "Gentlemen, prepare for an expedition trip tomorrow morning. Lexi is welcome to join us before we enter the chamber as soon as the sun is high in the sky." he said, glancing towards the girl. "Get some rest, my dear. If you so wish, join us first thing in the morning as we prepare to explore the chamber."

Lexi nodded eagerly, "Of course I will! But...uhh, do you think I could stay somewhere around here?" The girl asked, perky demeanor changing rather rapidly. She glanced around as the sun was starting to set. She should go look for any Pokemon that might be more common at night first, but she wasnted to secure a place to rest first. After all, she wasn't going to sleep outside if she didn't have to.

There was a pause before the man in the suit nodded happily. "Certainly! You may stay at our base camp for the night. It's the cabin sitting near the East entrance to the ruins. There's plenty of room for you to stay for a bit." he said.

"And we'd be happy to have you!" One of the scientists walked over and grabbed Lexi's hand, shaking it eagerly. "It's very exciting-- a new chamber to explore, all thanks to you! We'll get right to it first thing in the morning!" he exclaimed, only calming down when his boss cleared his throat loudly.

The scientist apologized and took a few steps back. "R-right then. Follow me and I'll lead you to the cabin, if you like." He began walking around some large rocks and boulders. It was obvious they hadn't cleared a path through this area yet. Perhaps if they had, they might've discovered the chamber already.

Lexi watched the man's eyes as his drawn out pause made her worry a bit. Was it such a big decision? Well...she supposed so. After all, she was a young girl and it was quite possible some people would misconstrue the true intentions. However, when he announced his verdict, and open mouthed smile plastered itself on the girl's face.

"Thank you very much!" She said, before the lab coat approached her suddenly, grabbing her hand and shaking it vigorously. She simply blinked as she went through the motions, a bit caught off guard. When it halted, the girl was thankful. Still, it was nice to be appreciated like that.

Lexi sighed softly, before letting out a chuckle as she began following the enthusiastic scientist. She stepped up onto the boulders as he walked around them, pretending for a moment that she was rock climbing, though she only stayed on the smaller ones due to the possibly fragile egg in her arms. She hopped over them with seeming grace, before her footing slipped. Her leg shot down off the rock, falling hard to her rear as her leg scraped between two rocks, jammnig her knee.

She winced, closing her eyes and biting her lip a bit as a tiny trail of blood trickled from her knee where she'd hit it. She hissed out a bit, slowly rising again to her good leg, hopping down from the rocks as she limped a bit, following the scientist with her face red from embarrassment. She hated when she wiped out in front of other people, it was just flat out not her style. How could she be taken seriously if people saw her fumbling around all the time, after all?

Still, she was glad to see the cabin wasn't far off. Maybe she could rinse off her knee and put a pressure wrap on it before she took the nightly round that she wanted. She wondered if any cute Pokemon would appear at night anyway. Maybe she would just rest her knee... Her thoughts trailed as they approached the building.

As the group walked the two scientists continued to chatter to one another, both lost in their own world of fantasy. The suited man simply smiled, not saying a word as he followed the pair. He didn't know as much about the ruins as the two scientists seemed to, but as the sponsor of their work, he was quite keen on learning as much as he possibly could.

He glanced back as he heard Lexi shuffling around, only to see that she'd injured her knee. The man stopped and approached her cautiously, unsure of how she'd managed to hurt herself. "Oh dear. Are you alright, miss?" he asked softly, so as not to announce it to the enthusiastic pair ahead of them. "We'll get that cleaned up at the cabin. We've got quite a first-aid kit there."

When they finally reached the small cabin, the scientists were the first to rush in and inform the remaining members of their crew of the discovery that the young Trainer had made. Cheers could be heard from within, along with a beckoning to speak with this young girl.

The elder man glanced down at her and offered an apologetic smile. "You don't have to speak with them if you don't wish. I'm sure you're tired after all that you've been through." He then began walking into the cabin to settle Lexi's anxious new fans.

Lexi smiled to the suited man as he offered his sympathies. "It's alright, I'm fine. I'm used to wiping out, sorta...heh," the girl laughed half heartily. She followed them on flat ground this time, back to the cabin. Entering, she was surprised to see how well furnished it was. Then again, it was made to accommodate scientists right? She glanced around as small announcements and whispers spread through the building, followed by cheers and a flurry of indistinguishable questions among the chatter.

Lexi was enjoying the attention a bit, though not so much the sympathy. She brushed off the man with a hand wave. "It's fine, just need a band-aid," she said rather nonchalantly. She may have been 'Daddy's Little Girl' but it didn't mean she liked to be treated as such by others. Her Dad was the only person she let spoil her, otherwise she wanted to be tough! "I'll gladly answer any questions after I was up," she said taking a sanitary wipe from the first aid kit, wiping her injury clean. She then took some of the bandage wrap, and tightly wound it around her knee, securing it in place as though she had worked in a hospital. Truth was...she was just that clumsy.

She tucked the tools back into the kit, glancing around for a trash can before throwing away the waste. She then looked back to the crowd and then to the Elder. "So, is there something you wanted to ask me? Oh- and before we get too carried away, are there any cute Pokemon that show up around here at night by chance?"

The suited man could only smile as he watched the girl step forward, facing the crowd with boldness and a charm all her own. She set right to work cleaning herself up, doing so with excellent skill. For a moment the man had to wonder if she'd had experience in the medical field, or if she'd just been injured so many times that she was used to taking care of herself by now.

The elder shook his head in response to Lexi's first question. "I'm quite satisfied with what you've told me already. I'm sure there isn't much more you could say about those ruins, at least not until we explore them further."

He took a few moments to think before he answered her next question. He rubbed his chin and nodded to himself, as if coming to a decision on what to say. "Most Pokemon around here can be found at any time of day, such as Smeargal, Natu and Poliwag... Though, I believe Wooper can only be found at night. I'm not sure if that's what you'd consider 'cute' but what would I know? I'm just an old fart." He laughed at himself, patting his stomach like a jolly, pot-bellied elder.

Lexi, figuring he was pretty much right about the information she'd already provided, simply nodded to him. "Alright then, guess there's not much more to happen until we search further, then!" she said enthusiastically, before listening to his second answer. They could all be considered cute to an extent. It more or less depended on what she was going for. If she wanted a water type, she would have to choose between Poliwag and Wooper. Then again, it was no contest for her. Wooper was a tank! Then again, Natu's psychic power along with flying type moves would certainly be useful as well.

"Maybe I'll wander around, and see what I can find then!" Lexi said, thinking over her choices. Smeargle was a neat Pokemon, but she already had a normal type on her team with Teddiursa. She placed the egg carefully in her bag, then headed for the door. "I'll be back in a few hours, I'm gonna go see what I can find," Lexi stated with a wave, wandering out into the darkness, and toward the tall grass to look for wild Pokemon.

As the girl headed out the door, one of the scientists began to follow. He appeared a bit worried, trying to call out to her. "Erm... Perhaps one of us should go with you, for saftey's sake--?"

The scientist was interrupted as the elder man placed a hand on his shoulder. "Leave her be." the suited man said. "She's a Pokemon Trainer, after all. I'm sure she can handle herself just fine."


As the night drew closer, the sounds of wild Pokemon could be heard as the grass shuffled in different areas. Even in the open air of the ruins, one still felt as though they were being watched.

Upon entering the tall grass, Lexi would immediately become aware of many Pokemon in the area. Not all of them were happy to see her, though, as some seemed to scurry further off in the grass before she could even get a look at them. Others, however, were far too curious to run away, and would even dare to approach the Trainer.

One in particular, a small, round Pokemon with two skinny legs, walked slowly in Lexi's direction. Its body was covered in green feathers, and a single red feather stuck out from the top of its head. It turned and stared up at Lexi through its almond-shaped eyes, watching curiously and waiting to see how she would react.

Wild Natu appeared! (Male, level 9)

Lexi was beginning to become frustrated with every Pokemon she came across fleeing from her. She was about ready to give up, even. That's when finally she saw it, the small green bird Pokemon bold enough to approach her. A grin crossed her face. "Then fate has spoken," she stated, standing just in front of the Natu. "You're the first one, can't you see? It's fate that you join me!" Lexi proclaimed, her face sinking a bit afterward. "I didn't mean for that to rhyme..." she said, embarrassed even though nobody was around to hear.

"So!" she said, her focus returning. "How about it Natu? Will you come peacefully, or do we need to do this the hard way?" The girl asked, pulling a pokeball from her waist.

Natu tilted its head and ruffled its feathers a bit, as if to stretch and let out a disinterested yawn. It seemed to be looking for a challenge, but it certainly didn't approach the girl so that it might join her team.

It turned and began hopping away, letting out small coos like a careless pigeon. "Na-tu, Na-tu, Na-tu...."

Apparently, if it was going to be caught, this little bird was hoping to show off its powers first.

"Then let it be," Lexi said with a grin. She had kind of hoped for a challenge, so that she could show off her Pokémon prowess. Her first instinct was to reach for Amiya's pokeball, as the electric sheep had a clear type advantage. However, reassesing her situation she chose to not risk a critical KO as she hoped to capture the small bird.

"Right then, I choose..." She said, making her decision. She unclipped a ball from he waist, expanding it using the ball in the center and tossing it out. "Aysel!" A bright light emanated as the red and white pokeball popped open, a red form appearing to morph in front of her. When the light vanished, the ball returned to her hand and before her now was a small brown teddy bear with a crescent moon on her forehead and a red bow around her neck.

"Ursa, ursa, teddiursa!" The Pokémon chanted, ready for battle. She locked on to the enemy Natu, prepping her claws as her eyes narrowed and fangs showed in a devious grin. A dark aura appeared around her claws, charging at the enemy with a Shadow Claw attack.

"Aysel, not too hard!" Lexi called, wanting to groan. Aysel was being too antsy tonight, maybe she wasn't the best choice after all. Still she was already out, so Lexi would make the best of things. "We want him with us!"

The Natu hadn't expected such an aggressive attack, and he fluttered into the air as quick as he could. The shadow claw nearly grazed it, but the psychic bird just managed to get away. "Na-tu, na-tu." it was hard to tell the emotions of this pokemon, but one could assume the Natu wouldn't go down without a fight. The Natu alighted on a tree branch. "Na-tu, na-tu." This time, the Natu was surely taunting the other pokemon. He lifted his wings, as if preparing to move. Then, without warning, he dropped out of the air and tried to hit the Teddiursa with a quick peck attack.