Chapter 23
Iron Crevice B1F
The Iron Crevice was a relatively uninteresting place; it was just one of the many cracks in the wall of the great plateau. Unfortunately for explorers, it was expansive enough to provide a home for a good deal of dangerous Pokémon, and complicated enough to easily get lost in. The walls of the cave contained many heavy metals and minerals, giving the place its name, and making it an ideal habitat for the wild Pokémon who relied upon such things for food—namely, those of the rock- and steel-type. Civilized Pokémon races in the past had once tried to mine resources from the cave, only to get chased out when the local inhabitants violently expressed their disapproval of the disturbance. Eventually, the Mystery Dungeon curse had struck the cave, and ever since then it had been nothing but a dark maze of moderately powerful Pokémon and remnants of the failed mining operations. It branching corridors extended deep into the plateau and fifteen floors beneath the surface of the earth.
And somewhere down there was a poor, terrified Furret… It would be up to Team Ember, as a test of their skill, to find and rescue it.
"If Scythe were here, he'd be telling us to watch for the wild Pokémon," Char mentioned, leading the way by the light of his tail as he would normally do. It was something that Scythe made a point of reminding them about at the beginning of every dungeon exploration. Even though it was a painfully obvious point that there were wild Pokémon inside of dungeons, he'd been trying to show them how vital it was to learn to spot their habitats, recognize their cries, and expect them coming.
"He'd also be telling us to think about our formation," Ray noted. "We already know which Pokémon live here. In the upper level, there are Geodude, Graveler, Aron, Skorupi, and Paras. And if we go deeper, we might see some Onix, Bronzor, Rhyhorn, Rhydon…"
When a faint squeaking noise filled the air, the group instinctively halted to survey their surroundings. Not a second later, a fireball, a bolt of static, and a razor-sharp leaf converged on a poor Zubat that had been hanging from the ceiling nearby. It dropped to the ground, completely destroyed.
"Wow!" Saura laughed nervously, staring at the dead bat. "I guess we're a little tense at the moment, huh?"
"You didn't say anything about Zubat being in this cave," Char said dryly, also surprised at his own sudden attack.
"This is a cave. Zubat is a given!" Ray responded. "You know that! And Rattata, too, probably. Those things are everywhere. But we've grown so strong, they're practically not an issue. But, yeah… as I was saying… formation. We can't be wasting all our energy attacking at once. Saura, you should probably be the one leading the way, you're the best we have against Rock Pokémon. That, or at least be ready to back Char up if he needs it. Char, if we run into any Steel Pokémon, you're going to be our biggest hope, so you should follow Saura."
Char almost laughed. Ray was starting to sound like Scythe! But it was a sensible plan, so he complied.
"And what about you?" Char asked with a smirk, falling back to Saura's side. "I guess you get to stay back and watch us fight?"
"Well, we knew all along that I'd be a little bit out of my element here," Ray said with a shrug. "I'll just keep an eye out in the rear. And remember, we've got that Rain Orb. If you need me to use it, just holler. I won't even hesitate."
Right, Char remembered. The Rain Orb. Char had forgotten about that particular tactic, and probably on purpose, too. They'd brought one along as a backup plan to help support Ray's electric attacks in a pinch, but since they ended up prematurely using the Airlock Orb before they even reached the cave, they'd have no way to dispel the rain once it would start… leaving both Char and Saura at a disadvantage. It was definitely not something Char was looking forward to—he'd already gotten wet enough for one day.
The group commenced with systematic exploration of the first basement floor. Char let Saura lead the way, but stayed at his side just in case any of the potentially dangerous Aron or Bronzor would show up. Ray kept a watchful eye on the group from behind.
The ceiling, walls, and floor of the Iron Crevice were composed of shiny brown rock, somewhat resembling petrified mud. The path through the cave itself was unpredictable and difficult to follow, with a floor that never stayed flat and many sudden corners to turn. While Char had seen his share of caves during his time serving the division, he'd frequently find himself surprised at the effect the Mystery Dungeon curse could have on a cave. Some, like the Gravelrock Tunnel, had spacious and easy-to-travel corridors, and others, like the Fossil Pit, were hard to even call "caves" due to their perfectly flat floors and walls, and passageways that appeared to have been meticulously carved out by human hands. Not this time, though—the Iron Crevice was very deserving of being called a "crevice", and was quickly proving to be a true spelunking mission.
Scattered within the walls of the cave were shards and chunks of metal which formed odd protrusions as they jutted out from the surrounding rocks. Char saw how some of the formations sparkled like opaque crystals in the light of his tail flame, while others were as dull and gray as tarnished silver. A few times, he even caught sight of Pokémon-made steel beams sticking out of the wall, reminding him that the spatial anomaly was in full effect and sending a shiver up his spine. He started to wonder what the true Iron Crevice looked like, the one which existed underneath the curse…
As the team explored the floor, they started to unwind. Although the place was a little hard to navigate, things were going well. They encountered a few more Zubat, none of which posed any threat whatsoever, and quickly located the room with the staircase. In it, they were met with a new opponent: a Geodude, who'd been snacking on a pile of gravel that had avalanched from a nearby wall. A well-aimed Bullet Seed knocked it senseless before it had the chance to cause any harm.
So far, so good, Char told himself as he followed Saura down the stairs.
Iron Crevice B2F
At the beginning of the first hall on the second floor. Char thanked himself for not being particularly claustrophobic. The walls of this path were closer together than they had been before, and the deposits of metal jutting from the walls sometimes blocked the path enough that Char and Ray both had to duck or sidle up against the wall to progress. Still, it was scary to reflect upon how deep they were already under the surface of the earth in this forsaken place, and how deep they still had to go.
Midway through the hall, Char started to see something he feared he'd see: bite marks in the metallic deposits. Some of them very large bite marks, completely mutilating the surface of the rocks.
Char couldn't help but gulp.
"Hey, if all we meet are Zubat and Geodude, this will be simple," Saura joked. "Think we'll be so easy? Scythe says that sometimes, he's gone for dozens of floors in dungeons without meeting even one Pokémon…"
"I wouldn't be so sure," Ray said. "I think I hear something."
Stopping for a second to listen closely, Char noticed it too: there was a deep, raspy noise coming from the next chamber. Breathing.
"Okay, there's definitely something over here," Saura agreed. "We should get ready to fight…"
"What is that?" Char wondered. "What kind of Pokémon breathes like that?"
"Hmm… I can't tell," Ray admitted, listening closely. "It can't be a rock Pokémon. Most rock Pokémon don't even have lungs. Well, I guess we'll have to find out the hard way. We should be able to take it, whatever it is!"
Slowly and warily, Saura stepped through the archway to the next chamber. Char followed close behind with his light source, ready for anything…
But after a few more steps, the breathing stopped.
"Whatever it is, I think it saw us," Saura muttered. "But for a second there, It sounded like it was coming from the ceiling…"
Suddenly, a hoarse cry filled the air. The team froze.
-SLAM!-
Before anyone could tell what was going on, A large creature dropped from the darkness and slammed into Saura, sending him tumbling backward. It disappeared just as quickly.
"Waaah!" Saura cried, scrambling to get up. "I still didn't see it! What was it?!"
As Ray quickly leapt in front of Saura to shield him from another attack, Char stepped farther into the room to confront the creature. His fire had already swelled to a moderate size just trying to guess at the foe's identity, but seeing Saura get attacked sent his instincts into a state of elation. He was ready to battle.
Again, the roar filled the air. Char quickly turned in the direction the noise had betrayed, and could clearly see the creature hovering in the air before him in the now-brilliant light of his tail. Flapping its wings frantically and hovering in place was a Golbat.
"Yes! I see it!" Char announced, preparing to attack.
Char wasted no time in unleashing a wave of flames at the creature. It dodged, but the fire nicked the side of its wing and sent it careening wildly through the air.
Then, something very odd happened.
"Whoa!" the creature cried. "Hey! Easy, there! Watch where you're firing!"
Did… that Golbat just talk? Char wondered. Eh… I must be hearing things! I've got to take this thing out!
Char launched himself into the air at the Golbat. His attack struck, knocking the bat to the ground.
"Ow!" the bat cried as it struck the floor. "Cut it out!"
While Char thought it was weird that the bat was pleading for mercy, he wrote it off as some trick of the mind since the bat was still acting incredibly hostile. Char tried to pin it down, but it struggled and broke free, tumbling wildly around on the floor and gnashing at him with its pointed teeth.
Obeying his battle instincts, Char pounced onto the bat again. The bat performed an unnaturally swift maneuver and leapt backward, evading Char's claws. He pursued it, unleashing a stream of fire which hit the beast dead-on, stunning it. Closing in quickly, Char spun and broadsided the bat with his tail, slamming it against the wall.
"What are you doing?!" the bat cried. "STOP! I'm serious! This really hurts!"
"You started it!" Char yelled back, following up with another assault. With no second thought, he rushed to the wounded bat and started slashing at it furiously, leaving big red slices across its leathery skin…
"What are you TALKING ABOUT?!" the bat cried. "I'm… OW! OW! Stop! Please! Ow! Stop!"
That's when Char realized that something was very wrong. He halted his assault, taking a moment to realize the horrible truth…
Do I… recognize that voice?
"Char, I'm sorry for doing this," the Golbat said, rearing back…
-POW!-
Char saw stars. Pain rippled across his forehead. He backpedaled for a few steps, struggling to stay standing…
When the stars cleared, Char saw the truth. In the corner, exactly where the Golbat had been laying… was Ray. He was severely wounded, his orange fur covered in dark scorch marks and dripping with bright red blood. He glared up at Char, his fist still clenched from the punch he delivered.
"Ray!" Char gasped, rushing up to him. "I… I didn't… do this, did I? I thought… I was attacking the Golbat!"
Ray nodded. "It must have hit you with a Confusion Ray," he grunted, letting Char help him up. "You just went crazy on us all of a sudden. We didn't know what to do."
"Ray, I'm really sorry!" Char blurted. "I didn't mean any of this! I'm serious! I don't know what to say!"
"It's… okay," Ray sighed, his face clenching in pain as he moved. "You were confused… you couldn't help it…"
"Is Saura okay?" Char asked frantically. "I didn't hurt him too, did I?"
"I'm right here," Saura said, approaching Ray. Char saw that he was unharmed, but still a little shaken from the incident. "I'm fine. You gave me a good headbutt once, but I had to run and hide in case you attacked me with fire."
Char almost wanted to cry. Starting to feel weak from pure shame, he leaned against Saura and hung his head low, working to catch his breath.
"I… I think I need a minute," Char gasped. "I still can't believe I lost it like that. One minute, I saw the Golbat, and then it started talking! But… I couldn't stop attacking… and… Hey, wait. Where's the Golbat now? What happened to it?"
When his friends didn't answer his question, Char turned to Ray, wondering what the matter was. The Raichu returned an odd gaze, as if he couldn't quite think of a response.
"What? What is it?" Char begged.
"Char, it's… on you."
Char turned his head to find that the Golbat was still alive and well, and was, in fact, latched firmly onto his back with its teeth. Sucking his blood.
Char felt another wave of weariness wash over him, and realized that it had very little to do with his shame. He tried to lift his tail to burn the bat, but the flame was flickering, and he found it difficult to bring his muscles to obey…
"Hold still," Ray commanded, walking around to Char's back. "I don't know how much this'll hurt…"
The moment when Ray first touched the Golbat, Char felt it. Its teeth were really hooked under his flesh, sending a stinging sensation through his back at the slightest movement. His whole body cringed.
"Oh, man," Char uttered at the pain, squeezing his eyes shut. He almost felt like letting the thing stay on his back as long as it wanted.
"Wow, I barely touched it," Ray said. "Okay, so this could hurt a bit. But we've got to get this thing out, or you'll pass out from blood loss. We have to do this."
"But if you do it, I might pass out from shock!" Char gasped.
"Easy, Char," Saura said, sprouting vines and tying Char's hands to his own body to keep him steady. "We've got plenty of Oran berries in the bag, you can have as many as you want, okay?"
"B-but we've barely… even… We're only on the second floor!" Char stammered. "We can't waste them -YOWWWWWWWWWWW!"
Hoping to act while Char was distracted, Ray yanked on the Golbat as hard as he could. Char saw red streaks of lightning before his eyes, and his body uncontrollably convulsed from the horrible pain. Saura held on tight, keeping him from thrashing about.
"…It didn't even budge," Ray said regretfully. "Wait, wait! I know what to do. Char, sorry if this feels a little funny…"
"As long as it doesn't involve pulling harder," Char grunted, his body tensed. "Just…"
Char was suddenly cut off when a sharp buzz of electricity filled his body. A chilly feeling engulfed him, like he'd just been plunged into a sea of ice-cold sand. Char tried to comment on the sensation, but found that his mouth was not working. In fact, his entire body had become unresponsive. Unable to keep standing, he slumped down onto Saura's back like a ragdoll.
"Sorry," Ray said again. "I paralyzed you, and the bat too. Now, you shouldn't feel anything when I…"
-Schlork!-
Having gone limp from paralysis and not able to keep its mouth locked on Char's back, the Golbat easily slid out of place. Char felt nothing, only hearing the sickening sound of Ray separating the creature from him.
"Ooh, that went deep," Ray commented. "And it looks like he poisoned you, too…"
"Paralyzed and poisoned?" Saura said, setting Char gently onto the floor. "I think it's time to get out a Heal Seed…"
Char recovered from the incident in no time, as was expected with the multitude of medicinal supplies they'd brought along. Ray force-fed him a Heal Seed, then shared a handful of Oran Berries with him to help dull the pain and heal the wounds.
It was unfortunate that a Heal Seed had to be used so early in their mission. They were rare and valuable items, difficult to get from Kecleon's at a decent price and impossible to find in the wild. They were the result of science; to create one, a botanist had to graft together the twigs of several plants, including the Pecha tree, the Cheri tree, and the Rawst tree. These hybrid plants took incredible dedication to stabilize and cultivate, and if one actually succeeded in surviving, would produce a vile-tasting fruit which contained seeds that, although infertile, could be ingested by Pokémon to cure a variety of illnesses and harmful effects. It was a major convenience for doctors and Resistance Teams alike to carry around these tiny, all-purpose seeds rather than different kinds of medicine for particular illnesses, but they were so pricy that Team Ember had only ever gotten their hands on two of them, and hadn't dared to use one up until now.
When Char ate the seed, the paralysis faded away quickly, allowing him to move and feel. This wasn't necessarily a good thing, though; there was a terrible stabbing pain in his back where the Golbat's fangs had penetrated. He made a break for the supply bag where he proceeded to jam Oran Berries into his mouth until he started to feel better. Ray, who had also suffered his share of injuries from the fight, joined him.
"Practically not an issue, huh?" Char joked, biting into a berry.
"Um… yeah," Ray said, a little ashamed of himself. "I… guess I forgot that Zubat don't stay small forever. Well, that's the last time we make that mistake, huh?"
"You can say that again," Char said, wiping juice from his muzzle. "Maybe we should bring one of those Persim Bands next time…"
"Hey, Ray, what gave you the idea to use paralysis?" Saura asked. "That was brilliant! I don't think I would have even thought of that."
"Well, this sort of thing has happened before," Ray said, starting to smile again. "A while back when I was still a Pikachu, I was on a mission with my old team, and we… had a little incident with a Totodile. It latched onto my teammate, Shur, who was a very panicky Psyduck… Ha ha, I remember, it took us five whole minutes to get him to stop flailing around and calm down… But when we finally did, the Totodile would not come off, no matter what we tried. So… I paralyzed them both, and it worked like a charm."
"Well, we're glad to have you around," Saura said. "You're invaluable to this team, you know that, right? When you first joined, I don't think we realized what we were getting into. Now, we rely on you so much, I can't imagine how we'd get along without your help."
"Hey, what are friends for?" Ray said with a shrug.
After they felt ready enough, the team finished combing the floor. When they were certain that the Furret was not there, they proceeded.
Iron Crevice B4F
As they continued on their search for the lost Pokémon, they started to meet with more opposition as they got deeper into the crevice. Geodude were getting numerous, as were Paras. Zubat continued to be common, and the team met no less than four more Golbat along the way. Once, Char was even hit with another Confuse Ray, but this time knew better than to attack when he wasn't thinking straight, and learned how not to hurt his teammates. Ray had defeated it easily with a thunderbolt, and the team continued onward without incident.
When they reached the fourth floor, Char's eyes started to sting. He realized that the cave was a little stranger than he thought: while most caves he'd seen were cold and wet inside, this one was strangely dry and filled with clouds of what had to be rock-dust, making it a little difficult to breathe. When he started to see how some of the rock and metal formations had been sanded down smooth and flat, he didn't doubt it.
Soon, the team was fending off enemies left and right, and was getting used to doing so. Char found that the Paras would fall easily to a simple Ember attack, while Saura found that most Geodude couldn't recover from being whipped silly with his vines. Ray had a tough time since most of the rock creatures could ground out his electric attacks, but he could sometimes paralyze them to help out, and he was easily able to defeat the Golbat and Zubat that bothered them.
Soon, though, the team was met with their toughest challenge yet: a Graveler.
"Oh, boy," Saura said upon seeing the foe. "I think I'm going to need some help with this one…"
Char studied the Graveler as it stood its ground before them. The creature resembled a large, living boulder, complete with arms and legs. It was at least three times his own size. Even in comparison to some of the other rock Pokémon such as Onix, it was a strange sight to behold.
The Graveler stared back, waiting for the intruders to make the first move.
"Think you could pull off an Energy Ball?" Char suggested.
"Maybe," Saura answered. "But we don't want to overwhelm it with energy. It could self-destruct on us, couldn't it?"
"Right…" Char muttered. "Um… could you try a Sun-beam? That would probably knock it out in one hit!"
"Where's the sun?" Saura said. "I could try using my own energy, but without the sun here to help, I don't think it would work in one hit."
"Uh... how about you try wrapping it, so we can all attack?"
Saura bit his lip. "That's really risky," he said. "I can't always detain things on the first try, especially if they're… you know… that big!"
Char frowned. "Ray, do you have any ideas, besides just attacking it head-on?"
Instead of answering, Ray set his own idea into motion. Withdrawing from the bag, he chucked a seed at the Graveler. The boulder-beast winced as it saw the item coming, but didn't think to dodge. When it struck, a bright white flash illuminated the cave for a split second, and the beast fell onto its back, motionless. Ray had used a Sleep Seed.
"Ha-ha! It worked!" Ray shouted. "Problem solved. It's asleep!"
"Hmm, are you sure that was a good idea?" Char wondered. "We should save those things for when we really need them. We could have at least tried to battle it and learn how they act, right? That's what Scythe would have told us."
"You're right," Ray said. "Sorry, I should have asked you about it first…"
"It's fine," Saura said. "We have more of those seeds. It's asleep now, so let's get going…"
The group carefully slipped past the sleeping monster and into the next narrow hallway…
…and were immediately faced with a second Graveler.
This one was a little bit bigger than the last one, and didn't look nearly as patient. It emitted a strange growl at the team which almost sounded like an evil purr, and looked as though it was about to charge at any second. To make matters even worse, the ground had become rocky and uneven in the new area, and metallic structures which spurted from the walls started to resemble sharp-tipped deathtraps…
"Oh, great," Saura muttered. "Now what? What do we do?!"
"Just attack it!" Char ordered, his tail flame already bright enough to light the entire room. "We'll figure something out!"
The group complied; they'd let their battle instincts take over, and hope for the best.
Saura, being the most effective fighter against rock Pokémon, rushed forward to initiate the battle. He leapt into the air, extended his vines, and brought them down hard upon the beast. The Graveler staggered from the strike, taking a few steps backward. Saura followed by releasing a stream of seeds, all of which struck the beast's hide at incredible speeds and chipped away at the outer layer of its rocky skin.
The Graveler became furious. It roared loudly, barreling forward at Saura. Acting quickly, Char delivered the best pillar of flames he could muster straight into the Graveler's face, causing it to stop dead in its tracks and blindly swipe at the air.
Not to be outdone, the Graveler formed a mighty fist and slammed it into the ground, sending rocky shards and pebbles flying everywhere and creating a shockwave that could have shaken the entire cave. The earthquake took both Char and Ray completely by surprise, sending them off their feet. Char brutally struck the ground, feeling the light tickle of stray gravel falling on him as he moaned and took a moment to rest. When he tried to get back up, he found that he couldn't quite do it at first; the effect had left him too shaken and disoriented, and had also induced a serious headache.
Growling in determination, Saura once again launched a barrage of seeds at the enemy, but the Graveler avoided every single one.
"Aww… if only there was a way to make that attack more accurate," Saura muttered to himself.
As Saura stood at the base of the beast and tried to quickly contemplate his next move, a voice rang out from behind him.
"Look out, Saura!" Ray yelled out. "Coming through!"
Saura obeyed. He jumped to the side, giving Ray room to rush toward the beast. Saura noticed how the tip of his tail was glowing brightly, as Ray had focused enough energy within it to give it the strength of iron. He leapt and performed a very impressive somersault in midair, striking the rock monster with his gleaming tail and actually slicing into the beast, leaving a huge crack beside its face. He then discharged a surge of electricity into it, hoping to paralyze it, but it failed. He landed on his feet and quickly surveyed the effect of the attack: it had connected, but the beast didn't even seem bothered.
"Wow!" Ray cried. "This thing is impossible!"
Roaring like never before, the Graveler pounded the ground again, causing another earthquake and tossing Ray into the air. Char also lost his balance a second time and tumbled onto his side.
"Ugh! Stop doing that!" Char pleaded, curling up on the floor for a moment and holding his throbbing forehead in his claws.
Saura couldn't stand the sight of his friends suffering at the mercy of the earthquakes. "I'm going to end this!" he declared. "Just give me time to build up a good energy ball. Cover me!"
"I'm not sure if we can!" Char cried, climbing back to his feet but staggering as he tried to walk. He decided to drop to all fours.
"Char! Can you make a good smoke screen?" Ray asked as he charged his tail again for another iron attack. "If you could, it should give Saura all the time he needs!"
Char faced the Graveler, measuring the odds that a smoke screen would be effective. The beast seemed so much larger than before, now that he was down close to the ground… But he knew his skull would probably break in half if the thing caused even one more earthquake. He had to give it a try while he still had the chance. The Graveler seemed more focused most on Ray at the moment, who was dancing around just outside of its reach.
"I'll try," Char determined, preparing his fire.
Char bounded forward as fast as he could, hoping to get right in the Graveler's face and spew the cloud of smoke to confuse it… Unfortunately, he didn't catch the moment when the thing had started an attack of his own.
As he charged forward, he realized too late that the Graveler was coming straight at him. It had tucked in its arms and legs and started a forward roll.
For a moment, Char simply watched in horror as the giant boulder came upon him. It was too late. There was nothing he could do.
Char emitted a soundless cry as his entire body was crushed beneath the Graveler's weight. It rattled his entire sense of being, seeming for a moment to shut off every sense he had from pure overload. Even his sight seemed to flash white beneath his closed eyelids as the attack struck.
It was over in a split second, but when it ended, Char felt numb and senseless. He was sure that something in his body had broken. His leg seemed to hurt the most, having been resting on a misshapen rock when the Graveler had rolled across it. He tried to stir, but found that the muscle in his lower leg had been disconnected from the limb. He was crippled.
…And then…
A sudden flash of light filled the cave.
The Graveler no longer moved. In fact, it was out cold, settled in a little sloped ditch in the ground near the far wall. Ray stood near the bag, where he had produced and used another Sleep Seed… albeit a second too late.
Char could barely even see his friends as they came to his aid. It was too dark; his tail flame was barely even burning.
"That thing… crushed you!" Saura whimpered, rushing up to him. "That thing crushed you! We couldn't stop it in time… Can you… talk? Can you move? Please tell me you're okay! Say something!"
"I'll be fine…" Char managed to gasp, letting himself lie limply on the ground. "It just rolled over me. It wasn't big enough to crush anything, I think… Just… get me some more Oran Berries, please?"
… … …
Having found a nearby crack in the wall to hide from the monsters, and having helped Char to crawl there, the team once again sat down to recuperate. Char downed even more berries from the bag, thankful for the wonderful pain relief they brought and for the way they gradually started to make him feel alive and well again. He was thankful now that the team made a point of bringing enough food—especially the wonderful blue berries—to last for days. The temporal anomaly, too, helped him to recover even faster; his worst pain, the fracture in his leg, eventually started to fade as his body mended the broken bone he'd suffered.
"Wow… those Gravelers!," Ray said, eating some dried fruit from the bag. "I… don't know if we're strong enough to take them down."
"If Scythe were here, he'd tell us how to beat them," Saura said sadly. "But it looks like we can't figure it out on our own. Maybe… you're right. If every battle with a Graveler is going to end up like… like that…"
"Maybe we just need to learn some more techniques," Ray offered. "I'll tell you something, when I learned the Iron Tail trick, it made battling rock Pokémon so much easier. Before that, I was completely powerless against them. I'm sure there are a lot of other ways to take these things down. We just have to learn them. We all memorized the weakness web of Pokémon… but maybe that's not enough. We should go to Domo and learn more battle techniques."
A moment of silence. Char could feel that spirits were pretty low. Despite all they'd been through, they were starting to see that they were still a relatively weak and inadequate team.
"So…" Saura muttered, staring at the floor. "Do we… use the Escape Orb now?"
"No way!" Char answered, accidentally spewing an Oran pit from his mouth. "We're already four floors down! This isn't over until all three of us pass out! And the way it looks now, it's still a long ways away before that happens. We've still got plenty of supplies and berries… we're going keep going until we can't go any farther!"
"Agreed!" Ray replied. "This is a learning experience. If we've got to learn the hard way… that's fine. But there's no way we're giving up now! As long as we keep supporting each other, we've got a chance."
Saura smiled. "Yeah, you're right," he said. "We can't quit now. I was just… you know… making sure that… we all agreed."
As Char prepared to bite into what he convinced himself would be his last berry this time, something unusual caught his eye.
"Hey," Char interrupted, turning his attention to the deepest part of the crack in which they sat. "Is that… ours?"
"Is what ours?" Saura asked, trying to see what he was indicating.
"That," Char said, pointing into the corner. "There's an orb over there."
Not waiting for a response, Char stood up and approached the stray orb. It was half-wedged between a rock and the wall, making it difficult to spot except for the way it gleamed in Char's light. Char clutched it, easily pulling it out from its position.
This is an Evasion Orb, the orb said. Activate?
Uh… not now, Char replied. The orb said nothing else.
"Wow, that isn't ours, is it?" Saura said with surprise. "Was it just laying there?"
"What kind of orb is that?" Ray asked curiously. "Is it useful?"
"I don't know," Char admitted. "It's an Evasion Orb. I have no idea what those do."
"Hmm, I've never used one of those, either," Ray said. "Ask it what it does!"
"What?"
"Most new orbs are encoded with data," Ray said. "Ask it how it works, and it should tell you."
Char tried to telepathically communicate with the orb once again. Admittedly, it always made him feel a little silly trying to talk to an inanimate object.
Um… Evasion Orb, Char asked silently, what do you do?
Evasion Orbs stimulate the battle instincts of the user, the orb explained. After activation, the user will temporarily become more adept at dodging enemy attacks. Depending on the user, the effect lasts from ten minutes to forty minutes.
He repeated the data aloud.
"Sounds useful," Ray said. "Put it in the bag! I bet it'll come in handy later. Although… it makes me wonder how it got in here, though…"
The team's smiles suddenly disappeared, and a dark silence followed.
There was, after all, only one reason an item would be laying around inside of a Mystery Dungeon such as this one. It was a very important lesson that Scythe had taught them from weeks before…
When you fail a mission in a Mystery Dungeon, there's a chance… a very likely chance, at that… that a lot of your items will not be expelled from the dungeon with you. They will be gobbled up by the spatial anomaly, scattered among the dungeon for future teams to find.
…And sometimes, if Arceus was especially angry at you, you could even lose the entire bag. All your supplies… a week's worth of income… would be completely lost.
It was a sudden and brutal reminder that there was a price for learning the hard way.
Iron Crevice Rest Area
With a greater resolve than ever before, the team searched even deeper into the dungeon. Afraid for their lives and also for the security of their item bag, they opted to play games of stealth rather than attacking every Pokémon they came across. But with a flaming tail amongst the complete darkness, it wasn't too easy for Char to stay hidden, even when he tried to dim the light by holding it in his hands. Twice, the team found themselves having to run away from the more powerful Pokémon to get them off their tail, and it was always a challenge to keep their footing among the gravel and not to get separated in the narrow passageways.
For some reason, the wild Pokémon would never chase them down the stairs to the next floor.
After evading a young Onix, the group emerged onto the eighth basement floor. The rock snake roared at them one last time as it sat at the top of the stairs and watched them escape.
Char stopped to catch his breath. "Everyone okay?"
"We're okay," Saura reported. "What is this, the ninth floor now? We've come a long way."
"And we barely used any items on the past four floors," Ray added. "We're doing really well. Also… wait. What's this? Whoa! Look over here!"
Expecting yet another system of tangled corridors and vicious monsters, the team was discovered to find something completely different before them. A lone room, shaped like a peaceful little dome, opened up. The walls were completely smooth, and the floor was flat, unlike any of the surrounding terrain. There was something like a large crystal embedded in the ceiling of the room which acted as a light source, illuminating the chamber with an eerie orange glow.
But the most prominent and interesting feature of this room was the very large iron statue, depicting a Kangaskhan, positioned in the center. It seemed to watch the group with a warm and tender smile as they entered…
"Wow!" Ray shouted, running up to the Kangaskhan statue and inspecting it. "Do you know what this is?"
"A… Kangaskhan?" Char guessed.
"I remember hearing about these back in Team Stripes, but wow, I've never seen one myself!" Ray continued. "This room must be a rest area! It's a room in the middle of a Mystery Dungeon that's somehow not affected by the curse. We can stay here as long as we want, and nothing will come disturb us! Wow, I hear these rooms only exist near the end of the longer dungeons that have been extensively explored, never in any I've been in!"
"Interesting," Saura said. "I was getting a bit hungry, myself. How about if we stop to eat?"
The team wasted no time in settling down at the base of the statue and getting out the food.
"Hmm… but why a Kangaskhan statue?" Char wondered, fishing out a pear from the food stash. "How'd that get in here, anyway?"
"Oh, I think it's just something explorers used to mark the safe zones they've found," Ray speculated. "It has some symbolic meaning, I guess, like the love and protection of a mother or something."
"How'd they get in here?" Saura wondered. "You can't just carry a statue through a dungeon like this and drop it off!"
"You know, I have no idea," Ray laughed. "Teleportation, maybe? Maybe a skilled psychic pulled it off. I don't know… let's eat."
Saura was just about to bite into a big apple, when something caught his attention…
"Ray, are you sure we won't be bothered here?" Saura whispered.
"Uh… yeah," Ray said, munching on his food. "Why?"
"Because… I think something's coming."
The group went silent. Yes, there were noises coming from the room's entrance. Voices, even. Pokémon voices.
Wow! Who could this be? Char wondered. A different team? Why would another team be here? Did we screw up the registration or something? Or maybe it's Team Remorse coming to check on us?
But, of all the things in the world Char was expecting to see walk into the room, he would have never guessed which two Pokémon were now approaching them.
Both Char and Saura felt their breath catch when they recognized the visitors who'd suddenly invaded the rest area. A Croagunk, followed closely by a Seviper, meandered into the room. Something clicked in Char's mind, and he instantly recognized them as the two thieves he'd met on his very first mission ever as a Resistance Team.
What… in the name of… Char wondered, forgetting the name on which he was supposed to swear by. These two... Why would they be here?
"We found you!" The Seviper hissed triumphantly. "That was not a pleasant dungeon to chase you through. You're getting pretty strong if you can handle this place."
"Heh heh, nonsense," the Croagunk added. "It was easy. Unpleasant, but easy. But we knew we'd catch up to you in the safe zone if we hurried."
Char dropped his food and stood up to the intruders. He really didn't know what to expect from them, but, at any rate, he prepared for a battle.
"Team X," Char growled at them, remembering the name they called themselves back at the hideout at the Empirical Falls. "What are you doing here?!"
"Char, do you recognize these guys?" Ray asked in surprise.
"Yeah," Char answered rudely. "These guys are thieves. We busted open one of their hideouts once, and now they're out for revenge!"
"Heh heh, is that all?" the Croagunk said bemusedly, taking a few more steps toward the team. "Is that who you think we are?"
"What's wrong with being thieves?" the Seviper said coolly. "Resistance teams have got to make a living somehow!"
That line took Char completely off-guard.
"What?!" he and Saura spat at nearly the same time.
"Listen," the Croagunk said. "We followed you here because we need to talk with you in private, somewhere… but without that Scyther around, you see? We waited for you, but he always went with you on missions, so we could never get near. But now, you're alone, and it's time we had a little talk."
Saura frowned, clearly not following what they were saying. "Well, spit it out!" he snapped. "You have us where you want us. What do you want?!"
"Listen, and listen carefully, you three," the Seviper hissed slyly. "I know we didn't get off to the greatest start back there at the waterfall. That Scyther misjudged us, you see. But we're not bad guys. Actually… we're your allies!"
"Yeah," the Croagunk continued. "This is Seviper, and I'm just Croagunk. We don't bother with the whole nicknames thing, you see. Together, we're Team X, an independent Resistance Team. Now, we've seen you traveling around, and we know that you have connections to a large network of resistance forces in this area…"
Char and Saura both tensed up as Croagunk stepped closer to them, a confident and evil expression spread across his face.
"…and we want in."
Char gulped. Were they serious?
"We have information that could help you make severe blows against the Master," Seviper said. "We need to entrust this information to someone. Someone… who has the power to do something about it. That's why we need you to take us into your base with you, and let us join you."
They couldn't be.
"And we can't take no for an answer," Croagunk croaked, "so if you're even thinking about rejecting us, forget it. Operating independently without the safety of your base is getting dangerous, especially with all the forces in this area nowadays. We need a place to stay!"
"Hmm," Ray said suddenly. "…What's in it for us?"
Char felt his jaw drop when he heard Ray's question. How could Ray be trusting these… these sinister villains? He tried to respond, but part of him wanted to hear the answer. Saura was suffering a similar conflict.
"Well, as your friends probably saw when they visited our humble abode, we're… quite rich," Seviper said with a grin. "Take us in, and we'll give you a handsome… load of money."
"Hmm, well, we are a little low on funds at the moment," Ray said, rubbing his chin. "How much money?"
"Four million Poké," Seviper proclaimed. "Four million Poké, yours for free, if you let us into your base."
"Hmm… will we get the money first?" Ray asked. "Or… after we've finished our end of the bargain?"
"If you prefer, we will gladly give you a small down payment," Seviper said. "So… do you accept, or not?"
"Hmm, I like your offer," Ray said. "But… mind if I have a quick talk with my team in private? We need to discuss some of the… terms… of this agreement."
Croagunk batted a hand, and the three quickly retreated to the opposite side of the Kangaskhan statue.
"What do we do?!" Ray blurted in a whisper. "These guys are crazy! They're just trying to trick us, and they're not even trying to be believable!"
"You had me worried for a second," Char admitted. "I thought you were being serious!"
"No, just trying to get them to think we would comply," Ray said. "Otherwise… I don't know what they'd be doing to us right now."
"Okay, I got a plan," Saura said. "Ray, you talk to them again. Char will go grab the bag. As soon as he has it, we run for it. They can't find us if we go deeper into the dungeon."
"Sounds good to me," Char said, shaking his head. "Wow… Team X? Here? And now? I knew they would be back for us someday, but… not like this!"
"Well…" Ray said, wandering back around the statue and speaking to Team X, "We thought about it, and we made a decision."
"I hope for your sake it's the right one, heh heh," Croagunk said. "Spill it."
"We accept your proposal," Ray said. "On one condition."
Croagunk croaked, raising an eyebrow. "Which is?"
"We get to run!" Ray shouted.
Not skipping a beat, Ray pivoted and dashed away from the poisonous team with surprising agility. The rest of his team were a few steps in front of him, heading for the archway that would lead deeper into the dungeon.
"Oh, is that how it is?!" Croagunk roared in rage, dashing after him to deliver a Poison Jab. "You cheap little brats! If that's the case, we'll have to do things the hard way!"
"Croagunk, enough," Seviper said quickly, stopping him. "They've already crossed the point of no return, we can't get them now."
It was true. All three of them had escaped. Croagunk watched with hopelessness as they disappeared down the next tunnel. If he wanted to follow, he'd have to brave the second half of the dungeon.
"Well, that was a miserable failure," Croagunk grumbled. "I told you before that this wasn't work!"
"We can't just give up and call it a failure," Seviper said, shaking its head. "We must try again."
"Try again?! I'm not going in there!" Croagunk snorted. "We had enough trouble as it was getting this far. Do you know what lives down there?! We can't fight Steelix! Not by ourselves!"
"True, true," Seviper said. "In this case, we leave, and we try again later. Next time, we'll get them. Next time."
Team X turned and started their trek out of the dungeon.