After finishing our biggest obstacle downhill. Lorelei and I continued along our trail through the three mile flat, stretch of gravel road. Our bikes scooting along the crunchy rocks as the noise of other Pokémon and riders up ahead, had somehow dissipated into eerie silence.

This is rather unnerving.

"Is it usually this quiet!?" I yelped toward Lorelei to jerk her attention.

She jerked her helmet in front of me and held her nod.

"You'll need to whisper." She hushed. Holding her index finger gently against her lips to silence my holler.

"We are getting close to the first peak. Keep pedaling as you go through the canyon. If they hear you. You're done for." She resumed in a quiet tone.

"What Pokémon are up in these canyons?" I asked.

"Sandshrew and a whole slew of them."

That ain't good.

Sandshrew are sensitive to sound and are said to be the mole swarms that carved the snake of these canyons thousands of years ago. The Sandshrew that I battled against the Junior Trainer in Brock's Gym was much more reserved and had been tamed well by its Trainer. However the wild Sandshrew were something else entirely.

These Pokémon in groups. Much like their counterpart ground types, Diglett. Have the capability of causing massive sinkholes that stretch for miles on end.

Now that we were meandering our way through a vast canyon of these beasts. We have the chance to probably be buried alive by them.

"Shift your bike into first gear and go slowly through the canyon. Do not make a sound." Lorelei pressed with silent import.

I nodded to her instruction carefully and pulled the clutch to move my gear chain into the lowest gear possible.

"When you see the mountains next to you begin to move. I want you to shift gradually as you accelerate the pedals."

"Why should I do that?" I probed.

"When these things dig up the gravel underneath you. They'll cave in the trail and you'll be disqualified instantly by the referee drones in the sky. If you can gain enough speed to avoid falling into their sinkhole. We'll make it out of this canyon alive."

How terrifying, these things really can bury you underground!

"We are taking a huge risk coming into these canyons on these trails Lorelei. Isn't there any other way to avoid these things at all?—

"All competitors that sign up for this contest risk death or injury. Which is why you and I signed that waiver agreement by participating in this contest. These drones will alert rescue crews if anyone is seriously injured."

"There is a reason why this contest exists in the first place and why the obstacles are rigorous. It's designed to test your focus and your critical thinking skills as a Trainer. This next obstacle will be another doozy. Which is why I want you to keep your feet on the pedals and remain alert on the tr—

We could hear screams happening from up ahead. There was a total of eight to nine in the group that I could sense in the vast curve.

If I had counted correctly.

How regrettable it was to hear all of these trainers lose to this unfortunate obstacle up ahead.

It certainly made my heart sink significantly toward my stomach to think that the possibility of those nine trainers could have been my friends caught up in this dangerous charade.

I hope Red and the others are alright?

If this is to help me to be a better Pokémon Trainer then I need to push forward.

"You okay up there Lucy?" I inquired softly to my third catch on the journey. Flying fifteen feet high midline above the canyon walls. Nodding back to me with a somber, nervous sweat.

"Fweeeh!" She squeaked.

Hearing those voices of trainers getting absorbed into the sinkhole must have really terrified her.

Without warning, there was a concussive bang and a massive crack up ahead that nearly broke our eardrums just listening to it. We tried our best to ignore what was in front of us several miles away, but how could you ignore some mountain that was moving on it's own and making that loud of a sound?

Several seconds after that boom. My bike ran over a twig that was exposed from a canyon shrub, snapping it in half. This twig made such a loud noise that it echoed horrendously up above the cliffs walls hanging hundreds of feet over our trail.

Oh my god!

Lorelei turned toward the sound and gritted her teeth with anxiousness. She too, was sweating from the nerve racking noise I had made by accident and did her best not to say a word to me.

No matter how much she wanted to protest. Even she knew, the school of Sandshrew underground could sense how loud her voice was and react to pull the trail underneath.

"These trails and these canyons change every year I join in on these competitions due to these swarms of Sandshrew. If I were you Leaf, I'd be very careful not to even use your tires to try and touch the rocks."

I gulped from her explanation even more. This was so disturbing that even I had no idea that these creatures could transform and move the earth in this way.

These things are terrifying!

I did not want to be the type of Trainer to experience what it must be like to be buried alive. The idea that you could be swallowed up and possibly never be seen again was a terrifying prospect all on its own.

Lorelei turned to face me again as her complexion went from pale, to ghostly white.

"Leaf you need to shift your bike into gear. Immediately!"

"Why?-what's going—

"Fweeeeeeeeeh!" Shouted my Butterfee in dread.

As they both watched the walls of these canyons slowly inching their way close toward each other. I felt a lump of fear jive straight up toward my throat, like I had met the inevitable jaws of death itself beginning to encroach upon me.

I reacted as swift as a Spearow's Gust attack and simultaneously shifted my bike and pedaled forward as fast as I possibly could.

Lorelei reacted in the same manner as the canyons that we had entered into started crashing together with a loud boom that you could feel the force of that shockwave permeate your entire being. It was like you were in the middle of a powerful category six Earthquake.

"Leaf we gotta move, now!" Yelped Lorelei as she engaged her machine into high gear. Pedaling with such ferocity that you could use the wheels of the bike to cut across concrete.

I watched from behind with petrified trepidation as the canyons started to fold on themselves towards me. The sand beneath the earth started to swirl counterclockwise like a whirlpool. Increasing its speed by catching the vegetation, all rocks and debris straight through its event horizon. All disappearing from the middle of it.

I watched as the ground promptly approached my moving bike. Pulling down along my back tire and sinking it swiftly into the sandy whirlpool of death. Heaving it's tendrils swiftly across the gravel terrafirma beneath me.

"Ah! No!" I shouted in desperation.

"Leaf!" Blurted Lorelei.

"Fweee! Fweeeeee!!!" Cried my Pokémon out in worry as my bike was taken in by this swirling monster.

I placed my feet firmly along the pedals as the sand continued to engorge my tires underground. My hope was to at least hold the brakes so that it would slow down the quicksands process of elimination.

"Leaf, shift your gears down and pedal!"

"Ugh-I can't!" I squeaked with desperation.

"Hold on!" She shouted with concern. Gritting her teeth anxiously and maneuvering her bike in anguish. Thinking of any possible way to free my bike from the swirling sand below it.

"Hurry-I'm stuck!" I yelped.

She turned her bike around as the canyons got closer and closer toward me. Lorelei aimed her Pokémon Seel to try and use a move in an attempt to eliminate the eroding ground beneath me.

"Seel! Water Gun attack and do not stop until I tell you."

"Seel!" Nodded the obedient but serious Pokémon as he spouted out a powerful blast of water from his mouth.

Like a fire hydrant putting out the flames; Seel detonated as much of this fresh water into the quicksand as he could. Leaving a slow swirl of mud to try and free my tires from the quicksands ensnarement.

"Stop, Seel!"

This turned out to be a very lucky move.

"Shift into second gear now Leaf!"

There was no time, I needed to get out of this hell-hole. I pulled the clutch and shifted into second gear with my left opposable thumb and with exertion did all that I could to try and pedal my way out of there using the traction of whatever tread on the bike I could use.

Faster Leaf, faster-faster-faster-faster-faster!

"C'mon Leaf, c'mon!" She pleaded in desperation.

Luckily, as I set it into third. The tires tread caught the mud and rocks from the wet Water Gun and I was able to free myself from the hole as more rocks and debris continued to fall.

The canyons that had crashed and sealed the trail we had entered. Had all but broken and severed us from ever turning back. The hole expanded as rocks rent asunder from the massive group of Sandshrew that you could all see burrowing deep under the Earth.

"Leaf get away from the hole. It's going to fall, grab my hand." She yelped as clasped hold of mine. My left appendage still holding fast onto the handlebars.

She motioned her hamstrings up and down on the pedals and used her muscles to pull me and Lucy desperately toward safety.

No way were we ready to breathe a sigh of relief. We needed to get out of this canyon as quickly as possible. Otherwise, whatever else lurked out there that was wild? Was desperate enough to catch us as prey or even worse, have us destroyed.

Unfortunately, during this catastrophic close call. Something else had entered my psyche. Something.... otherworldly.

The thoughts of the destruction of my home were back to reclaim me once again. The same vision that I had witnessed from Gastly's curse earlier. Purged and illuminated the terror that I had of the same bird who blinded Silvers' eyes.

Only this time; I had strange emotion's overcome me. I was angry, I was excited to see this world burn. My patience wore thin and somehow; I felt like my life and the lives of others were nothing but a pathetic waste of time.

Is this me?

This strange cloud of darkness seeped into my heart and I wanted desperately to be sure that it wasn't me that had these strange feelings or emotions.

And for some reason; all I could smell on the next ride to the smallest peak of Route nine, strangely, was the smell of gasoline.