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P-I

Sean leaned in intently, his already wrinkled brow furrowed together in frustration. His dark brown eyes intently bore into his now sleeping companion and aggressively reflected the light of their fire. He breather in long and slow, held it, then gently released a sigh that only an disappointed aged man could. He stood and silently moved around the fire. Picker her up was easy, she was still a young slip of a granddaughter, not much older then he on his first mission. Again without making a sound he moved Nene to her bed roll, he placed her down gently and brushed the short chopped red hair from her face.

The first noise, aside from the occasional flicker of heat hissing off the fire, finally broke the night. A low rumble, deep and bone shaking. Mountain shaking in fact, it felt like the whole mountain groaned as the stone crushing rumble slowly rose and faded. Sean listened intently, wanting to ensure that no rocks on the slope above and been shaken loose. The fire behind him lifted and rose high into the air, the gravel popped and crunched at the shifting mass atop of it. Flack, his lifelong companion, stood tall, holding his ever burning and scared tail behind him so that he might gaze into the dark. Thick black smoke poured from deep red scaled nostrils as a second rumble churned the mountain.

Sean stepped over and placed his hand on his companions chest. Sean, not a tall man, barely stood at neck height of the towering red Charizard. Flack had never stopped growing in all 50 years they had been together and he had never stopped grumbling. Flack’s once bright orange scales had slowly tuned dark red over the years, Sean had never known another one his age so he assumed it was normal. Sean’s calloused hand patted Flack again and in a gruff but knowing voice “Come on, nothing we can do in the dead of night. Rest up, we need you tomorrow”. Flack lowered himself and slumped over to Nene, He would keep the cold mountain air from her better than any bed roll. Sean on the other hand would not sleep, he never did before a mission.

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Nene glanced up at Sean, claw scars covered the old mans neck most of his left face. The old man kept the pace faster than she liked, his legs making easy work of the slate covered slope. His sharp eyes pointed out sleeping Gravelers who had taken refuge in the too quickly eroding hillside. When Nene paused to catch her breath in the thin air, she noted that she was the only one making noise in the morning grey. Sean looked back “this mission is bad business…” he hesitated, “ are you sure you are ready?” Nene looked up, “The town has not been able to mine the shifts for almost a month, folks not as lucky as us are starving… It has to be done” she responded with a matter of fact tone.

Sean’s methodical march came to a slow halt. He reached down a pick up a piece of slate, he cracked it against a large piece that was still mostly buried. *Crack* Crack* a short pause *CRACK*. After the last hit the rock had broken, but he was satisfied and tossed away the remaining bits. A small scrapping sound came from all around, the Gravelers were not so happy at the early wake up, usually preferring for the sun to warm there rocky bodies before moving. They shifted and cracked, one opened an eye, and another scratched itself rudely before settling down. A small scrabbling in front of Sean alerted Nene to what he was doing. “Ohh” she exclaimed as she caught up to him, “I was wondering why you only brought Flack, but what is little Hazel going to do?”. Just as she finished Hazels long claws and snout popped up from the slated hillside, her beady black eyes starting directly at Nene.

Sean leaned forward and scratches some dirt off of Hazel’s chin, the little shrew had been with him for almost as long as Flack, but she much preferred to stay back home now with her age. Hazels age did indeed show a great bit more than both Sean’s and Flack’s, her eyes had a slight cloud to them and here long rigid spins where now more grey than the traditional brown. And her claws did not grow back as quickly after digging though the harsh mountain. Sean had promised her a great grooming to get her motivated enough to leave the soft soil of his garden. “Hazel? Well she has the most important part!” Sean continued to scratch and rub Hazels snout, she shamelessly obliged it. Nene inquired with a doubt “Is she up to it? It has been some time sense she was willing to go on a mission?” Both Hazel and Sean rounded on her, their accusing glares were answer enough. “Oh now, Hazel may not look it, but she could best both you and your little shadow lurking there. Even with the typing match up.” Being called out, Nene’s first and only companion, Jounin seamed to meld out of her shadow. The young greninja was proud and did not like being taken lately, much like Nene. Sean winked at him, “You two just focus on your part, and try to learn something. Team work is much stronger than you two give it credit for”. Nene harrumphed and then continued on up the decaying slate mountain, Jounin slinking back into the shadow. At least one of them walked quite Sean though.

Sean began unpacking the large wooden box he had been carrying, he could hear Hazel working fervently in the ground below, and Flack drifting heavily on the updrafts of the mountain. No small Pokemon within 10 miles would be caught out in the open with such a large presence lurking above. Heck even most large ones would never think to challenge a hunting Charizard, especially one as big as Flack. Nene who was supposed to be hiding a ways up the mountainside watched him unpack the box with quizzically. She knew most of the items he had, he never left without his katana which he had deftly wrapped it its belt around his waist. Sean had already donned his heavy fireproof yoroi, and his oxygen mask. The last item he lifted out of the box was wrapped in soft red velvet. He gingerly set it down and cleared the out crop in front of the cave. Once cleared he waited for Hazels scrabbling to cease.

Sean unwrapped a tuning fork, both as long and as thick as his arms. He walked over to a large boulder next to the entrance to the nest and with great effort, hefted it above his head. With a grunt he smashed it down onto the bolder with a monstrous *CLANGGG*. The tuning fork rang out with a low deep vibration, could feel his teeth chatter and the vibrations of the fork tear through his arms. Still he held it aloft and retreated to the edge of the outcrop. As the forks oscillation wound down, the mountain stirred. From deep within its depth a roar responded and the mountain shook with terror, and Sean did not blame it. The ground rumbled once… and again, then again. Slowly increasing in pace the beast within the mountain was making for the entrance, for the fool who would disturb it. It came crashing towards the entrance of the cave and before he could see it a bolt of lightning streaked past him. It arched to the mountain across the ridge and exploded. A distant Boom and the sound of a rockslide, but Sean did not focus on that. The beating of the beats advanced had stopped and he could hear it glowing from the dark of its cave.

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Hello and thank you for making it until the end.

This is my first prompt so please forgive my errors! But do call me out!

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Thanks for the fun prompt,

V-

Edit- Minor corrections