Rumble——
Accompanied by a tremendous roar and the incessant cracking of the ground, the second level of the entire ruins began to shake violently.
From the moment he entered the ruins, Natsuhiko predicted the possibility of this situation when he saw groups of Sandshrew appearing, and even reminded Hilona about it.
Actually, when it comes to these ancient ruins, the League would usually send people to specially maintain them.
Even for ruins that have already been excavated, they would definitely station some people to guard them.
This is not only to protect Trainers exploring within but also to safeguard the historical treasure of ancient ruins.
However, with the unrest among Wild Pokémon around Goldenrod City recently, the League had no choice but to recall the people stationed at the ruins.
And now, this considerable group of Sandshrew appeared here, which might cause instability in some structures within the ruins.
Sandshrew is not the same as Diglett.
Diglett fills their holes themselves, but Sandshrew obviously doesn't.
The large hole that appeared in front of them earlier already gave Natsuhiko a bad premonition.
With the three Sandslash being defeated consecutively, the Sandshrew fleeing in panic dug holes everywhere, becoming the last straw that broke the camel's back.
Beedrill sensed something strange and immediately flew toward Natsuhiko.
A collapsing building often needs just a moment; Abra clung tightly to Natsuhiko's pants in fright.
Having not gone through enough training, it showed panic at this moment.
Suddenly, the ground under Natsuhiko's feet shook violently, causing him to lose control of his body and fall down with the collapsing rocks.
"Buzz!"
Beedrill screamed, dodging falling rocks from above while chasing the descending Natsuhiko.
"Abra!"
Panic appeared in Natsuhiko's heart as well.
But the more panicked at this moment, the worse things might turn.
The rocks from the upper collapse kept falling, and summoning Pidgeotto now might not provide help but rather add to the chaos.
"Ab... ra..."
Hearing Natsuhiko's voice, Abra trembled and slowly opened its tightly shut eyes due to fear.
"Abra, don't panic, listen to me, Instant Movement!"
Trembling, Abra's heart was gradually infected by Natsuhiko's calming voice.
Superpower continuously surged out, slowly enveloping both itself and Natsuhiko.
"Buzz!"
Suddenly, Natsuhiko heard Beedrill's voice; it was dodging falling rocks and chasing after him.
Abra's Instant Movement was briefly interrupted by Beedrill's cry.
If it takes Natsuhiko away now, what happens to Beedrill?
However, there was no time for hesitation; Natsuhiko's voice reached its ears.
"Wrap us in superpower, float us up."
"Abra!"
Abruptly, Abra's light blue eyes were filled with bright blue; it instantly completed the wrap around Natsuhiko, and the downward trend was significantly alleviated.
Just that their fall stopped, but the rocks above did not intend to stop falling.
A rock the size of five people came crashing down towards them.
"Abra!!"
Overcoming the initial fear, Abra finally quickly completed its mental growth in such a short time.
Raising its hand, a deep blue Superpower Barrier appeared above Natsuhiko's head, trying to withstand the falling rock.
Natsuhiko knew that with Abra's current ability, it might manage one rock but wouldn't withstand a second.
There was a quick decision in his heart.
"Abra, abandon floating, let's go down!"
"Abra?"
Confusion flashed in Abra's eyes but it followed Natsuhiko's instructions; they fell again, but the huge rock was still getting closer, just at a slower approach.
There was no choice, Abra could only do its best to stimulate its own superpower.
Just then.
"Buzz!"
Boom!!
A roar accompanied by a piercing golden figure.
It was Beedrill!
Feeling Natsuhiko's crisis, the effect granted by Deadly Needle Stab still hadn't disappeared; after resisting several relatively smaller falling rocks, Beedrill appeared at the large rock above Natsuhiko's head, using a Cross Cut to hack it into fragments.
"Abra!!" Abra's eyes were filled with surprise; never before had it longed so much to see Beedrill.
The large rock was shattered; Abra could still withstand the smaller rocks.
Bang bang bang——
Chunks of various sizes of rock fell onto Abra's Superpower Barrier; with each fall, the barrier briefly shivered, looking overwhelmed.
But Abra held on.
This finally gave Beedrill the chance to get close to Natsuhiko.
With wings vibrating, it caught up with the falling Natsuhiko and Abra.
"Buzz!"
Beedrill shouted at Natsuhiko with a trace of guilt, blaming itself for not appearing beside him in time.
But it was indeed because the change came too suddenly, and the rocks continuously falling above greatly hindered its mobility.
Natsuhiko released his hand from the Pokeball on his waist.
He was prepared for the worst, ready to summon Pidgeotto to see if there was a way out.
But since Beedrill is here now, Pidgeotto is not needed to fight those densely falling rocks.
"Abra, slow down our falling speed."
Abra shut its mouth without speaking; only a thin layer of superpower appeared under Natsuhiko and itself.
It was already very tired, the sudden burst of superpowers had consumed it greatly.
The falling speed was significantly eased.
"Beedrill, smash the approaching rocks."
"Buzz!"
Beedrill nodded, appearing above Natsuhiko's head.
It handled the large rocks; Abra's Superpower Barrier avoided smaller fragments.
The scale and depth of these ruins far exceeded Natsuhiko's imagination; he estimated that he had been falling for at least ten seconds now, yet hadn't reached the ground.
Of course, it was also due to Abra repeatedly using superpowers to slow the descent.
Suddenly.
In the pitch-black space, Natsuhiko faintly saw a darker, deeper place, just appearing on the distant rocky crag.
"Beedrill, let's go there!"
Beedrill understood instantly, dropping down to approach Natsuhiko.
Natsuhiko didn't hesitate; one hand grabbed one of Beedrill's limbs, while the other tightly held the seemingly exhausted Abra.
Small as it was, it unleashed all its superpowers to protect Natsuhiko.
Fortunately, it can still barely maintain awareness, or given Beedrill's ability and size, it would never carry them.
After folding several times to dodge rocks of various sizes falling down, Beedrill finally dragged Natsuhiko and Abra to that dark spot he mentioned.
It was a cave!
Boom——
After several struggles, Beedrill finally dragged Natsuhiko and Abra into the cave.
Finally touching the ground again, Natsuhiko exhaled deeply.
Beedrill lay on the ground nearby, breathing heavily.
"Abra..."
Abra swayed, confirming temporary safety, and fell into Natsuhiko's arms; the sound of even breathing soon followed.
"You worked hard, Abra. Have a good rest." Natsuhiko took out a Pokeball and stored Abra inside.
Standing at the cave entrance, watching the rocks outside continue to fall, his face constantly changing.