113 Mount Hideaway

Mount Hideaway. A mountain located near Pallet Town, stretching all the way up to Viridian City. It was rich in mineral resources and a home to many Rock-type Pokemon.

At this time, a young man was slowly walking through a forest on the periphery of Mount Hideaway, humming a catchy tune all the while.

A brown Pokemon followed behind him closely, hopping like a rabbit.

A few minutes later, the trees in front gradually disappeared, and a valley came into view.

"So this is Mount Hideaway." Hisoka looked around and found a few Geodude roaming around the area.

Earlier, he met an old man on the road, which he later found out was the ranger of Mount Hideaway. He told him that most of the Pokemon in this area were gentle. As long as he didn't attack them on purpose, they would just leave him alone.

It had been a week since he won the tournament. Due to that, he became popular all over Kanto. All of his information was dug up by many people and revealed to the public. It even got worse after his identity as a gym leader was made known.

Last week, he had received no less than a dozen challenges each day. He and his Pokemon didn't even have time to rest.

After insisting on it for some time, he finally decided to take some time off. He found a random task on the hunter website, left the gym under Ran's care, and quickly ran away from Dark City.

As for Team Rocket's invitation? He naturally refused.

The mission he accepted this time was a simple bodyguard mission to protect an archeologist team that was doing some excavations near Mount Hideaway.

Firstly, he didn't take this job for money. He only came here to relax. Secondly, he wanted to see Professor Oak. His Porygon had never given a single response since he got it. In the end, he could only go to Pallet Town to seek Professor Oak's help.

Fortunately, Professor Oak was willing to help him out. Thanking the kind old man, he then left the quiet town and headed toward Mount Hideaway.

"Strange. Where are Ash and his friends? Did I miss them?"

While he was staying at Professor Oak's lab, the latter told him that Ash and his friends were at Pallet Town. But when he went to Ash's house, his mother, Delia, told him that the trio had already left for Mount Hideaway.

"Bu!"

Suddenly, Buneary's cry caught his attention. She was jumping around, looking excited.

He quickly walked toward her and saw a large track right in front of his eyes.

Three Geodude were moving on the track. As Buneary approached them, they immediately turned around and used Rollout to escape.

"Bu!"

Buneary's ears hung limply after seeing the Geodude running away from her.

Hisoka stepped forward and rubbed her head to comfort her. After that, he put her on his shoulder and went to take a closer look at the track.

At first glance, he thought it was a road. But after a closer look, the track looked like it was made by some kind of large creature.

"How could I forget about this." He slapped his head.

He remembered from the anime that a giant Onix once appeared in Mount Hideaway and chased Ash and his friends. If it wasn't for Bruno, who was training nearby at that time, they might be crushed under Onix.

Based on his estimate, this Onix might be even larger than his Rhyperior.

"What do you say, Buneary? Do you want to see a large Onix?" He looked at Buneary.

"Bu!" She nodded, her ears bobbing up and down eagerly.

***

"Do you guys really think he is here?" Brock climbed up the mountain weakly, wiping the sweat off his head.

"We've walked for hours but haven't seen any sign of Bruno yet," Misty remarked.

While the others were tired, Ash was still in a cheerful mood as he led the path ahead. Pikachu then climbed up to his shoulder and closed his eyes. Clearly, he was also tired from walking all day.

"Hey, look!"

Suddenly, Ash stopped. His hand was pointing toward something down below.

"It looks like there is some kind of road."

***

"This... I don't think this is a road. It looks like it had been made by something really, really big."

The three stood in the middle of the track as Brock observed it closely.

"Big?" Misty asked, curious.

"Do you think this could be left by some kind of Pokemon?"

As soon as she said that, the ground trembled all of a sudden. Then, an intense rumbling was heard.

"What's that sound?" Misty looked nervous.

"Look over there!"

Brock pointed toward the other side, where a large cloud of dust was coming toward them at high speed. A moment later, an enormous Onix emerged from the dust.

Ash gulped and said, "Wow, what a large Onix."

"It's coming this way."

"Run!"

The trio quickly turned around and ran as fast as they could. But try as they might, the giant Onix quickly caught up to them. Just before they were crushed under the giant Onix, another giant Pokemon suddenly blocked its charge.

"Rhyperior! Hammer Arm!"

Following that, the brownish-gray Pokemon swung its arm on the Onix, pushing it out of the large track and away from the trio.

"Now, use Take Down!"

Rhyperior got out of the track and rushed at the Onix. It then tackled the opponent with great force.

Not giving it any time to react, it pulled its red, glowing arm back and punched the Onix square in the face. This time, the giant Onix lay directly on the ground.

A few moments later, the giant Onix slowly stood up. Instead of fighting back, it quickly burrowed through the ground before disappearing from view.

"We're saved!"

After Onix had escaped, Ash finally breathed a sigh of relief and collapsed on the ground in exhaustion. Brock and Misty also did the same.

"We almost got crushed under that giant Onix," Misty said, out of breath.

"I think we should thank that Pokemon for saving us." Brock pointed toward Rhyperior, who was slowly walking toward them.

"Hey, I think I have seen this Pokemon before on TV!" Ash exclaimed.

"Hello, guys!"

At this time, Hisoka walked from the side with a smile on his face.

***

"Thank you for saving us." Ash, Brock, and Misty bowed in front of Hisoka.

"It's no big deal." Hisoka waved his hand dismissively.

It had been a long time since he met the trio. After they got separated from each other, they hadn't got time to meet yet. Hisoka was still getting used to being a gym leader, while Ash and his friends were busy collecting the gym badges for the Kanto League Conference this year.

"Hisoka, your Pokemon looks so cool!" Ash said, looking at Rhyperior with stars in his eyes.

"So, what are you guys doing here?" Hisoka asked even though he already knew their goal.

"We're looking for Bruno to train Ash. There are three weeks left before the League competition, and Ash has fallen behind in training." Brock replied.

"Yeah, but we haven't found him yet," Ash said dejectedly.

"Ahem. I think you guys have already found him," Hisoka said, pointing toward their back.

As the trio turned around, they were met with a tall and muscular man. He had long black hair tied in a ponytail and longish thick sideburns.

"That's Bruno, one of the Kanto Elite Four," Brock said excitedly.

As a Kanto resident, no one wouldn't know Bruno, the Fighting-type Pokemon Master.

He was the most low-key among the Elite Four and rarely appeared on television. His few battle recordings were sought after by many trainers wanting to learn the secret to his power.

The man was shirtless, revealing his impressive physique no doubt came from many years of training.

The most eye-catching thing was the metal wristbands fixed on his wrists and ankles. They looked a bit similar to the one Weavile used for her training.

Hisoka had to hand it to him. He couldn't even train with those kinds of weights. Bruno truly deserved his reputation as the strongest man in the world.

"I heard someone is looking for me?" Bruno asked in a deep voice.

Brock finally remembered what they were here for. He suddenly dropped to his knees, shocking everyone.

"Please help him." Brock pointed to Ash and continued, "Ash is training for the Pokemon League competition. He's not too smart, but he's serious about Pokemon training. He could really use your help, sir."

"Ash, come on. Ask him for his help," he whispered to Ash anxiously.

"Ah? Oh! Please help me!" Ash came back to his senses and hurriedly knelt down as well.

"Please, Master Bruno!"

"I'll do anything!"

Meanwhile, Hisoka and Misty looked at each other in amusement.

If it was that easy to become a student of an Elite Four, many trainers would have already done that.

Surprisingly, Bruno didn't refuse it outright.

Bruno looked at them seriously and said, "Are you willing to do everything I say?"

"Yes!"

***

"Hisoka, are you leaving?"

Ash asked while hauling a bucket full of water with both hands. This was among the tasks Bruno told him to do.

Hisoka nodded with a smile and said, "You guys should train with Master Bruno. I have a mission to complete."

In secret, he was holding back his laughter. It looked like Ash and Brock had been hoodwinked into thinking what they were doing was training.

Before leaving, he wanted to invite Bruno to a Pokemon battle, but unfortunately, he had already left for somewhere. He probably was looking for that giant Onix.

The Onix he fought earlier was quite strong. Otherwise, Bruno wouldn't be looking everywhere to catch it.

"The place I'm going to is about two miles away from here. You guys can come check it out after your training is over. I will be staying there for a few days."

After saying goodbye to the trio, Hisoka lifted his bag and headed toward the excavation site.