Brandy could feel it now, as subtle as it was. A faint thrumming in the air made the hair on Brandy's arms tingle as they got closer to the source of the pulses through the rocks. It got darker, too, but Calcine helped with that by wrapping her cape around herself, the warm red glow able to light up the mine shafts ahead for them.

"This is safe, right?" Sparky said. She'd taken a spot beside Brandy, trying to watch her back as they walked. Their eyes were a lot better for seeing in the dark beyond Calcine's light. "Old mine shafts are a little spooky."

"It's all shored up!" Tansy said, leading the front. She was walking fast, clearly eager to pull them all along as quickly as she could get away with. "The Wild Pokémon here take care of it. It's safer than any building."

The last building Brandy had been in had tried to throw office chairs at her, so she couldn't argue there.

"I wasn't bothered being underground to begin with," Morgan sighed, "I'm a little less sure of it now. This is making my feathers itch."

Poor bird, a mine wasn't really the place for her. Brandy stepped over and got an arm around her. "Murkrow love darkness, don't they?"

"Swooping from it, yes," Morgan said, "Lurking in it isn't really our thing."

"You make it look good. That hat gives you a lot of presence. Very mysterious and dashing."

Morgan nudged Brandy's side as she smiled. It was a blatant attempt to cheer her up, but it worked anyway. "Maybe I'll get you one."

"You mean I can't inherit your hat?" Brandy said as they shuffled through the darkness. "I thought I was going to wake up one day with one glued to my head."

"Depends how hard you push your luck here," Morgan grinned, her teeth a pearly white in the darkness. "Make fun of the hat, and I'll glue one on so firm you'll have to cut it off."

She was more at ease, leeching a bit of Brandy's calm confidence. Brandy leaned down to seal it with a kiss and caught the flash of purple in the reflection of Morgan's eyes. 

"Up high!" Brandy said, "Morgan, sweep with Gust!"

Morgan didn't question it. She just flapped her wings back and then rushed them forward to send out a pulse of wind to rake the mine ceiling. "Sparky web it!"

Sparky had her arm raised out ready, but there was nothing to be webbed. Calcine lit one hand with flame and held it up, shining a brighter light on the ceiling, but it was just bare rock. 

"I saw something," Brandy said, her eyes darting to catch another glimpse of purple. "Positive."

"We're being stalked?" Calcine dipped a hand into the ground, the rock rumbling as it shifted under her touch. "I don't feel anything moving."

Sparky fired off a few webs at the ceiling, making a criss-cross pattern from end to end, but still nothing was flushed out. 

"Could it be that one we saw earlier who can walk through rock?" Morgan said, "She wasn't purple, but maybe something like her?"

A screech rolled down the corridors, a high-pitched whistle that sent chills down Brandy's spine. Morgan had her claws out, dark energy dripping off them; Sparky had electricity dancing between her fingertips, and Calcine's hands were wreathed in fire.

"That was obviously trying to distract us," Calcine said, "Someone is up there. It must have a move that makes them invisible or intangible. Pack hunter."

"They must have Saffira!" Tansy yelped, "Catch her!"

Wild pack hunting Pokémon were a special kind of trouble. A Trainer who got caught up with a whole pack could have a very exhausting day. It was not an unpleasant experience at all, but if you had any plans when a pack got a hold of you, those plans would have to go on hold. 

Brandy had no intention of letting herself get caught today. She wanted to get to that beach and relax before her tournament match. 

"Sparky, let's have a Thunderwave. One end to the other." Brandy said, "Ready on an Astonish Morgan."

The air prickled as Sparky gathered up the static in her fur, crackling lines of electricity dancing over her body. She stepped forward, her hands up, and sent out a burst of energy. The lightning arc blossomed when it hit the ceiling, becoming a rolling wave storming down the tunnels. Just before it rolled over, a section of the ceiling detached, the grey stone coloring to a rich purple. The lumpy mass spread its wings and immediately snagged itself on one of Sparky's webs from earlier, flailing madly as it got stuck and only had one wing left free. Flapping it wildly just made them swing about, snagging more and more webs as it tried to escape. 

Morgan surged past in a stream of shadows and pounced on the wrapped-up figure, sinking her claws into their sides and dragging a squeaking moan out of her that hit a high note so loud it could have shattered glass. Morgan let her body weight drop, stretching the webs the winged Pokémon was stuck on and dragging them upside down to eye level with the group. Morgan's grip under their captive's armpits was the only thing stopping her from snapping back to the ceiling. 

She was cute. Really cute. Only a little bit taller than Sparky, she had big, tufty ears, shaped a bit like a bunny rabbit, but thicker with purple fur that went down to a sweeping bob of sleek purple hair. She had a tiny, button nose and two big golden eyes that didn't look at all bothered by her ridiculous situation. She had a round, soft face with pale purple skin and a smile that was all fangs. Almost flat as a board up top, but a pair of big, thick thighs more than made up for what she was lacking in the chest. Her wings were like Morgan's, part of her arm, but a leathery purple instead of Morgan's feathers and a bit sleeker and bat-like, more for swooping than high-flying antics. Her black fur sort of matched Morgan's, though it looked a bit scruffier than Morgan's dashing, shiny feathers. 

"Oh, you caught me?" she said, playfully coy, "What will you do to me now?"

"Where's Saffira!" Tansy said as she stepped in to grab her cheeks and pull on them. The bat lady clicked out some high-pitched notes as she tried to shake her head free. "Have you stolen my trainer?"

"Tansy," Brandy said firmly, "Let her speak. She can't answer if you're squeezing her."

The Rockruff backed off, but only an inch, a low growl in her throat as she locked eyes with the upside-down Pokémon. 

"Noibat," Brandy said, "Like to hunt in darkness. Use sound to hunt. That thumping sound was you all?"

"Don't know what you mean," the Noibat said, trying to look innocent as she kicked her feet. Upside down, it just made her hips shake. "I'm just a cute bat Pokémon, caught by a handsome trainer who-"

"Calcine, you can Smack Down her." 

"Woah woah woah!" the Noibat said as Calcine stepped up, ready to whack her like a tetherball. "Let's not make a lady cum that quickly! You have to enjoy some foreplay first."

Calcine raised her hand, her eyes narrowing, and the Noibat wriggled in her web. 

"No fun!" the Noibat pouted. "You Trainers stepped into these mines with my Sisters and I. Why would you do that if you didn't want a good time? Let me down, and I'll show you what sound ripples can do for a lady."

It was so shameless it almost made Brandy blush. Noibats were a Flying Type and Dragon Type. That should have led to a proud, independent Pokémon with no time for others and an ego the size of the moon. Noibat showed that there was more than one way to play to the usual personalities of a type. They were pack Pokémon, technically. Fiercely competitive with each other, they were always trying to prove they were the best of the group and would go to some incredible lengths to do that. It gave them a reputation as fiercely attentive lovers who were immensely proud of their skills and a second reputation as a bunch of winged menaces always looking for the next woman to use as a measuring stick.

"Have you seen another Trainer here?" Brandy said. "We might let you go if you help us out."

"Oh, you will anyway," the Noibat grinned, her eyes flicking over the group and her ears wiggling. "I'm too hot to pass up."

"Even I find this a bit cocky," Sparky whistled. "You talk big for a bat that doesn't even have a chest."

"Arceus thought we'd be too blessed if we were any more gifted, got to give you all a chance."

"Where's Saffira," Tansy growled; this time, she put some power behind it. The growl wasn't just deep. It got into you and made your insides squirm. A growl with a promise that Someone was about to have a very good or very bad time, and it was really down to Tansy which way that went.

It made Brandy's mouth dry. She licked her lips as she tried to get thoughts of Tansy out of her head. That growl was dangerous, and the Noibat clearly couldn't handle it either, shaking her head as she tried to avoid looking at the Rockruff. 

"I'll never tell," the Noibat grinned. "You can't make me."

Tansy looked at Brandy hopelessly. Her Growl hadn't worked, and she clearly didn't have any other moves to use. 

Brandy gave Tansy a thumbs up. She had a lot of webbing and three Partners at her back. If she couldn't make this Noibat sing, she would never make it as a Trainer. 

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We can't stop here. This is bat country.