With Mt. Moon officially closed off and the Pokémon Center buzzing with concerned trainers, Ash wasted no time deciding on their next move. Standing just outside the center, he crossed his arms and grinned.
"Well, since Mt. Moon's a no-go, I guess we're heading back to Viridian."
Misty blinked in surprise. "Viridian? Ash, we just came from that direction! Why not wait it out with the other trainers here?"
Ash shrugged, adjusting his cap. "Too much traffic. Besides, I know a shortcut."
Misty raised an eyebrow and crossed her arms. "A shortcut? Where? The only routes from Viridian are to Pewter, Pallet, and the Indigo Plateau. Unless you plan to swim across the sea to Cinnabar Island, there's no—"
"There's a tunnel," Ash cut in smoothly, grinning. "It'll get us right past the mountain and straight into Vermilion."
Misty frowned. "A tunnel? What tunnel?"
Ash waved a hand dismissively. "Relax, it's safe. And way faster than waiting for the League to clean up whatever's going on here. Unless you want to use your status as Gym Leader to get us through? Actually, why don't you have any Pokémon that know Fly? You could just take us over the mountain."
Misty scoffed, placing her hands on her hips. "First off, I can't just pull rank to bypass a League lockdown, Ash. That's not how it works."
Ash gave her an amused look. "Sounds like a 'don't want to' instead of a 'can't.'"
She huffed. "Second, I don't have a Flying-type because my specialty is Water Pokémon, genius."
Ash snickered. "Yeah? Pelipper, Wingull, Gyarados?"
Misty twitched. "Okay, first off, Wingull and Pelipper aren't the kinds of Flying-types I'd rely on for a long-distance trip! And second—Gyarados? Really? They can't even fly!"
Ash smirked. "Tell that to the Pokédex. Says right there—Water/Flying type."
Misty groaned. "That's just a technicality! Gyarados can't actually fly—it just jumps really high!"
"Sounds like a skill issue."
Misty shot him a glare that could have melted an Ice-type, but Ash stared back unflinchingly, completely unbothered by it. "Okay, okay, so Diglett's Cave. You're sure it's a good route?"
Ash nodded. "Yeah, it's a straight shot, no climbing, no waiting, no traffic. It's mostly full of Diglett and Dugtrio, but as long as you don't stomp around like an angry Tauros, it'll be fine."
Misty still looked unconvinced. "And you're absolutely sure this won't turn into a disaster?"
Ash grinned. "C'mon, Misty. What's the worst that could happen?"
As they walked through the dark tunnel, the only sounds were the echo of their footsteps and the soft murmurs of their Pokémon. Misty squinted in the dim light provided by Ash's flashlight.
"This place feels… old," Misty commented, brushing a stray lock of hair from her face. "I mean, look at these walls. They're not like the other tunnels we've been through."
Ash nodded. "Yeah, pretty cool, huh? The whole thing was made by Diglett for their migration."
Misty shot him a disbelieving look. "Cool? Ash, how do you even know about this tunnel? I'm well-studied and almost certain the League doesn't even have a record of it." She paused, furrowing her brow. "I mean, this is definitely a shortcut, but how does no one know about it? Not even the League? You'd think they'd have mapped it by now."
Ash shrugged, his grin widening as they made their way through the winding passage. "I guess it's just one of those well-kept secrets. Either that, or no one's ever had a good reason to look for it. This area's kinda off the beaten path."
Misty's suspicion grew. "Still, it doesn't sit right. There's gotta be a reason the League doesn't have a record of it—especially with the region's history of mining and digging. It's like they've been avoiding it." She eyed him, arms crossed. "You sure about this, Ash?"
"Hey, I'm sure," Ash said confidently, stepping over a rock. "We'll be fine. It's just a little detour, no big deal."
The conversation quickly faded as they continued down the path, both lost in their own thoughts. Misty remained skeptical, her hand subconsciously brushing her bag where her Poké Balls rested, ready for anything. She could still hear faint rumblings and distant noises, but couldn't shake the feeling that something was wrong.
As they rounded another corner, she stiffened, her senses picking up a low, muffled sound from above them. "Did you hear that?" she asked, voice tight.
Ash stopped, listening carefully. "Yeah. Sounds like… fighting?"
Misty raised an eyebrow. "Fighting? But we're so far underground…"
Before she could finish, the tunnel suddenly lurched. The walls creaked under pressure, and the sound of rocks and earth shifting grew louder with each passing second.
Then, without warning, the ceiling above them cracked. A deafening roar filled the air as debris rained down in a sudden cascade of stone and dust.
"RUN!" Ash shouted, grabbing Misty's hand and yanking her away just as a massive chunk of the ceiling crumbled, narrowly missing them. They sprinted, the air thick with dust and the faint echoes of a battle still raging above. Behind them, the tunnel shook violently, the walls crumbling under the pressure.
Misty's heart pounded as she struggled to keep up with Ash's fast pace. "I told you this was a bad idea!" she yelled over the chaos.
"I didn't plan for a cave-in!" Ash called back, glancing behind them. "Just keep running!"
The ground cracked beneath them as another tremor hit. The tunnel began collapsing more rapidly, and a huge portion of the ceiling fell, splitting the passage wide open.
"We're almost there!" Ash shouted.
Ahead of them, the ceiling finally gave way with a deafening crack, and a massive chunk of stone fell, blocking the tunnel behind them. Sunlight poured through the new opening, flooding the passage. For a split second, everything was bright and chaotic.
With a final burst of energy, Ash reached the opening and pulled Misty through just as the ceiling collapsed completely behind them. They tumbled onto solid ground, rolling and stumbling before finally managing to get to their feet.
Misty gasped for air, her pulse racing from the adrenaline. The sunlight felt blinding after the dim underground darkness, and she squinted, trying to take in their surroundings.
"What… what just happened?" she breathed, her voice shaky as she looked around.
Ash stood up straight, brushing himself off with a grin despite the chaos. "Looks like we found the exit. And that was a bit more intense than I expected…"
A frantic voice cut through the air. "PAUSE THE BATTLE!!!!"
Both Ash and Misty turned, startled, and saw a man with a Nidoking standing with his arms raised, trying to get the attention of the other trainer on the battlefield. The opening had created a disruption in the middle of a battle between Nidoking and Dodrio, halting the fight as the trainers realized something had disrupted their match.
The Dodrio's trainer looked incredulous. "What the heck just happened?!" he yelled, glancing at the freshly collapsed tunnel, his gaze flicking nervously between the wreckage and the Nidoking's trainer.
"I—uh, sorry!" Mike called back, waving his hands. "There was a cave below, apparently, and two trainers just popped out!"
Misty blinked, piecing it together. "Wait... Nidoking's Earthquake caused this?" Her gaze shifted to the Nidoking, who stood proudly, oblivious to the damage caused.
Mike winced, clearly embarrassed. "Yeah... I guess it was a bit too much. Nidoking's Earthquake was stronger than I expected. I didn't know there was a tunnel down there."
Ash's eyes widened as he realized the full scope of what had happened. "So it was Nidoking who made the tunnel collapse? No wonder it felt like the ground was shaking above us."
"Yeah, I didn't expect it to trigger something like this," Mike admitted, rubbing the back of his neck nervously. "I've used Earthquake a lot before, but I didn't know there was anything underneath the ground here. It's just a training spot—nothing about a tunnel on the map."
"It's a Diglett Migration Tunnel. Not even the League knows about it," Ash stated.
"Ah, cool. Where does it go?" Mike asked.
"Between Viridian and Vermilion City," Ash replied.
"Where are we?" Misty asked.
"This is Pokémon Technical School," the Dodrio trainer answered.