Chapter 8
Jaded Woods S1
The sunlight was tinted green as it fell through the treetops of the Jaded Woods, adding to the eerie scene of a forest in the very midst of decomposition. The air was thick and heavy with powerful smells. The sound of chirping birds was scarce, but animal roars periodically sounded in the distance. The small team had entered the mystery dungeon now, and there was no going back.
With a friend at one side and a powerful warrior at his other, Char knew he didn't have too much to fear… except for the looming thought that someday, perhaps someday soon, he and Saura would be doing quests like these all on their own with no guardian to guide them.
"Now, focus," Scythe said in a serious tone. "We must find our path to the next section of this forest. It's a mystery dungeon, so although I have been through this forest several times before, I cannot tell you which way to go. All we can do is search. If we go the wrong direction, we'll find ourselves walking in circles and be trapped in this place."
"So if we find ourselves back where we started, we have to take another route," Saura said. "I got it."
"Good," Scythe said, gesturing for them to lead the way. "Now, let's see what you know about navigation."
Char lead the group forward, taking each step with care and constantly analyzing his perspective of the environment. He started to notice many individual features of the forest that seemed unusual, almost alien to him. In places, colorless sticks covered in thorns shot up from the forest floor, and in others, gray rocks covered with rusty-red moss sat embedded in the ground, threatening to trip him up. Some trees were wrapped in soggy brown vines, sprouting bright green flowers which almost looked like eyes.
"See those flowers?" Scythe said, pointing to the green blossoms. "Poison. Stay away from them. Just one touch and you'll break out in enormous hives. Well, except for Saura. He has poison in his blood; he could wallow around in them and he wouldn't be affected. You and I, on the other hand, we're powerless to stop it from infecting us."
Heeding his advice, Char steered clear of the tree. Looking around, he noticed that this same vine lived on many trees and even on the forest floor in some places, forming entire patches of flowers. Choosing the path that avoided the green flowers, Char continued on.
The deeper Char pressed into the forest, the stranger things became. There were plants which sprouted roots into the air instead of the ground, huge seeds the size of rocks with bites taken out of them, and trees which sprouted colorful fruits, half of which were covered in mold. As he was gazing upon this wonder, he stepped on a rotten piece of fruit which had fallen from the tree. With a squish, his foot became soaked in grime. He groaned, raising his foot from the sticky puddle.
"Another thing," Scythe said. "Traversing a dungeon such as this will leave you hungry far faster than normal."
"We know," Saura said. "Char and I know that all too well already."
"Then you understand how to search for food?" Scythe asked. "We've packed some food in the bag already, but food is common in some dungeons, and we must always take precautions. While you sometimes might underestimate the size of a dungeon, if you've been gathering food along the way, it won't be an issue."
"Right," Saura said. "So…"
"He's talking about this tree," Char sighed, rubbing his foot in the leaves to clean it. "This fruit looks edible. Saura, help me look around on the ground for one that isn't rotten."
Char looked, but he couldn't find anything viable to eat. It seemed that the proper color of this fruit was pink, and the under-ripe ones which had fallen from the branches prematurely were green, and the rotten ones were every other color in between (not to mention swarming with flies).
"Find anything?" Char asked as he searched around on the opposite side of the tree.
"Uh… not yet," Saura responded. "Everything's rotting. Maybe if we could climb the tree, we could—"
Crash!
A reasonably-sized branch, dotted with ripe fruits, crashed to the ground between them. The base of the branch had been cut cleanly and perfectly round. Not a second later, Scythe landed back on his feet and folded his wings.
"Saves us some trouble," he said. "Go ahead, grab some fruit. Take a few; we didn't bring any of these ourselves. We might need them later."
Char did as he was told and began to inspect the fruit on the branch.
"Careful, a lot of these still look grimy," Saura warned. "They'd probably make you so sick if you tried to eat them."
"You're right," Scythe said, "but that probably wouldn't stop you from eating a rotten one if you were starving to death. Shander and I were once in a position like that. It wasn't pretty, but it saved our lives. Now, Shander always insists on gathering some bad food even if we have plenty of good food. We've never had to resort to those kinds of desperate measures again, but we usually just throw them at the wild Pokémon. For amusement."
Jaded Woods S2
The morning sun shined brightly among a cloudy sky as Char traveled deeply into the forest.
Scythe continued to follow along quietly behind the team wherever they would choose to go. Char started getting a little unnerved by the feeling of Scythe's gaze burning into the back of his head; the warrior never ceased to watch him, examine his every movement, and wait for the right moments to give his advice.
I know he's only here to keep an eye on us, Char thought. But this feeling that he's always watching me and judging me is a little uncomfortable. Especially if he knows I'm a human… But if he knows I'm a human, why doesn't he just say so? Why are we playing this little game? Then again, if I know he knows, why don't I just tell him myself? Ugh… I don't know. I just get the funny feeling that I shouldn't…
"Hey, wait," Saura suddenly said, stopping in his tracks.
"Something wrong?" Char asked, stopping with him.
"I can't tell," Saura said, glancing around. "I don't know, but I just got this weird feeling"
"Your instincts serve you well," Scythe hummed. "Now, focus. See if you can understand what your intuition is trying to say. Maybe you noticed a subtle change in the environment?"
Char inspected his environment closely. The trees seemed no different. The shrubs sprouting from the ground were in the same shapes and proportions as before. But the ground itself was tilted. Looking down the slope, he could see a tiny water-filled gorge flowing a fair distance away. Struggle though he may, he couldn't see what Scythe had so cleverly noticed…
"The leaves," Saura eventually noticed. "There aren't any leaves on the forest floor. They've all been… cleaned. Just like… oh, no."
"What? What is it?!" Char begged.
Wide-eyed and taking careful steps, Saura descended the hill. He kept himself aligned with trees, as if to hide from something.
"What?" Char begged again. "Please tell me! It's a wild Pokémon, isn't it?"
Still wordless, Saura crept through the trees, keeping himself low and hiding in the bushes wherever possible. Char followed.
"There," Saura said quietly. "Look."
Glancing around a tree, Char saw it: in the side of the shallow hill, there was a hole in the earth. A trench had been dug around it to shelter it from sight. Some of the water from the stream gently flowed up through the impression, pooling into a calm little puddle near the hole.
Standing at the side of the stream, taking a drink, was a Bulbasaur.
"See," Scythe whispered, "the feeling he had must have been familiarity. This is a Bulbasaur den."
"Huh," Saura said. "It's so weird to see another Bulbasaur here. Do you think we'll have to fight it?"
"Probably, unless we avoid it," Scythe said. "Not that I don't think you two could be able to beat it. It'd probably be a good exercise."
"Uh, I don't know…" Saura said hesitantly. "I don't know if I'd be able to fight another one of my own kind. It'd feel so…"
"Uh?!" the wild Bulbasaur shouted.
Startled, Char turned to look. The Bulbasaur had noticed them.
"Well, looks like you've got no choice now," Scythe sighed. "Better go get the first strike while you can."
Char gulped. He tried to heed Scythe's advice, but his body didn't want to move.
"Grrrrrrrrrr…." The Bulbasaur growled, turning to them and taking a hostile pose. Slowly, it started to walk toward them…
To Char's surprise, Saura lunged first. He jumped from the shrubs, lashing out with his vines and brutally whipping the enemy. The Bulbasaur took the brunt of the attack and was knocked aside. It quickly rolled back to its feet, but Saura jumped on it, sending both of them tumbling dangerously close to the running stream.
"Raaaaa!" The wild Bulbasaur yelled in frustration, throwing off Saura.
Saura quickly got back to his feet. He jumped forward, producing a flurry of tiny leaves from his seed which soon engulfed the enemy and knocked it backward into the puddle. After thrashing in the shallow water for a few moments, the Bulbasaur leaped up and landed on the shore. It now had many small cuts across its body, but it gritted its teeth and continued to stand its ground.
With an angry cry, the Bulbasaur produced vines of its own and slapped back at Saura with them. Before Saura could react, it had wrapped the vines around his body.
"Augh!" Saura cried as the Bulbasaur lifted it into the air.
The Bulbasaur slammed Saura against a nearby tree. Then, it somehow fired a series of small projectiles, too fast to be seen with the eye, at its captive target.
"Ow! Ow ow!" Saura yelped as the bullets punctured his skin. "W… what was that?! What did it just do to me?"
Saura struggled to free himself, but the Bulbasaur held on and slammed him back down to the ground.
Furious, Saura sprouted his vines and reached for the enemy. His attack connected, and soon, both Bulbasaur were held in an awkward stalemate as they each constricted the other.
"Char, you could help, you know!" Saura yelled, locked in the tug-of-war.
Char hesitated, his stomach tied in a knot from watching the confrontation.
"Go," Scythe commanded. "Don't just stand and watch. Help him. Your fire could end this match in a heartbeat."
My fire! Char remembered. I keep forgetting… it's such a weird ability, being able to breathe fire. Now… how do I summon it?
He remembered how it felt when he used it on the Spearow a few days earlier, and again when he almost attacked Eva, and especially when he first tried to escape from Scythe. He remembered the fire burning in his belly, fueled by his anger, begging to be discharged from his mouth.
Char jumped out of the shrubs to confront the enemy Bulbasaur. It winced, seeing that it now had two opponents, but kept its hold on Saura. Char took a deep breath and reached for the fire inside of him…
…But, for some reason, he couldn't find it.
He stood before the enemy Bulbasaur for several moments, searching for his fire. He tried to imagine the flame in his belly flaring up, ready to be breathed out… but again, it didn't happen.
"Char, what's wrong?!" Saura demanded as he struggled. "Attack, already!"
"I… don't know how!" Char cried. "My fire… it isn't there! I can't use it!"
Char was confused. Was it an instinctual response, perhaps only activated by extreme peril? Was it linked to other feelings that he couldn't yet identify?
"Char, do something!" Saura cried as the enemy Bulbasaur found a wave of strength and squeezed him tightly.
Char charged at the Bulbasaur. He tackled it, swiping with his claws and leaving gashes in the enemy's side. The enemy twitched violently and threw Char off, but its own hold on Saura didn't waver. It glared angrily at Char, as if ready to lash out at him with its teeth.
Suddenly, Char had an idea.
"Yaaaaaaaaah!" Char bellowed, rushing at the Bulbasaur again. He leaped and spun in the air, swatting the Bulbasaur's face with the flat of his tail.
The Bulbasaur caught on fire.
"Aaaaggg! Aaaaag!" yelped the Bulbasaur, suddenly feeling the excruciating burn on its shoulder. It released its hold on Saura and tried to bat Char away with its vines, but Saura acted quickly and lifted the creature off the ground. He sent it flying into the river, and it hit the muddy water with a squish. A little cloud of steam rose into the air as the fire went out.
When it re-oriented itself, it seemed content to sit, humiliated, at the edge of the water. It made no move to continue battling.
"Ah, ha," Scythe laughed warmly. "I think it's had enough. You did well."
"That wasn't too hard," Saura said, panting. "It's still weird to be fighting a brother, though."
"Well, you can't take anything for granted in a place like this," Scythe said. "If you meet an enemy, regardless of what kind of Pokémon it is, you must defeat it in battle or run away from it. They will all see you as a hostile and try to fight back. But, as you travel and become more experienced, you will learn to spot the signs of the different Pokémon habitats and avoid them if you want to conserve your strengths."
Warily, Saura stepped up to the tired little Bulbasaur. Now that it wasn't moving around, he saw that it was smaller than himself. He watched it as it gave itself a bath in the water, nursing its wounds and grumbling to itself.
"Hey, bro…" Saura said. "You take care of yourself, okay?"
"Grrrrrrr…" it responded with a scowl.
"Saura, let's keep going," Char suggested. "If we stay too long, it might attack again."
Somewhat reluctantly, Saura turned from the creature and returned to his team. Together, they progressed farther into the forest.
Jaded Woods S4
Getting to the next part of the forest wasn't as easy as it had been so far. Char and Saura had gotten into a scuffle with a Rattata, knocked out a feral Shroomish, recovered from a surprising ambush by a Seedot, and spent an hour wandering around in circles before Scythe finally pointed out the right way. With a bit of humiliation, Char and Saura marched onward into the fourth sector of the mysterious dungeon.
"Hey, Scythe," Saura said, trying to lighten the mood as they walked down a steep hill. "I've always wondered something. How do these Pokémon survive in mystery dungeons? I mean, they look like they're just living in their own natural habitat, but… how can that be, if their environment is always changing?"
"Nobody knows," Scythe answered. "Nobody knows."
"Really?" Saura said. "Not even a guess?"
"Our best guess is that the wild Pokémon who live in the cursed dungeons… have become part of the anomaly itself," Scythe speculated. "As far as we can tell, none of the wild Pokémon understand that their environment is unusual. We've inducted many wild Pokémon we've found in dungeons into society… and none of them could shed any light on the matter, either."
"Huh," Saura said. "That's… weird."
"Hence, mystery dungeons," Scythe said. "We might learn about the rules and patterns which govern them, but in the end, they just don't seem to make sense, no matter how you look at it."
When they reached the bottom of the hill, the forest opened up into a tiny, somewhat shaded clearing. Taking a careful step around a poisonous flower vine, Char entered the area. A single ray of tinted sunlight pierced the canopy, and a rather large, white, table-like rock rested on the opposite end of the space.
"Speaking of which, this dungeon is starting to take its toll on my stomach," Scythe announced. "How about you?"
"Well, now that you mentioned it, I think I am getting a little hungry," Saura said.
"Me, too," said Char, putting a hand on his stomach.
"Well, in that case, let's take a little break to eat," Scythe suggested. "That rock looks like a good place to rest. Char?"
Char nodded and hefted the bag high onto his shoulder, heading for the rock.
Crunch!
Before Char had time to wonder where the sound came from, the ground below him simply gave away. With a yelp, he tumbled head-over-tail down into a pit of darkness. For a split second, he tried to grab for something—anything—to hold, but all he caught was a piece of the broken debris that used to be part of the ground as it rained down around him.
Splunk!
Char landed headfirst in a puddle of something. It didn't smell nice, and it was… extremely sticky. The substance immediately glued his arms and legs together, and he found it rather difficult to move his body. Groaning, he decided to rest for a second before trying to struggle for freedom.
"Char!" Saura and Scythe yelled in unison from up above.
"I'm here," Char squeaked, lifting his muzzle out of the goop. "I'm okay, I think. I might need some help getting out of here, though."
Out of the corner of his eye, Char saw Saura and Scythe peer over the edge of the pit.
"No!" Scythe growled. "The bag fell in, too…"
Char craned his neck to the side. Indeed, the fallen bag sat next to him in the ooze. It was wide open, too… a pear, a cloth, and one of the fruits they'd picked from the tree earlier had tumbled out and now sat in the substance, hopelessly covered in it.
Saura's vines encircled him underneath the elbows, and Char felt a pleasant tug on his body as Saura tried to pull him out. Scythe climbed down into the pit, digging his blades into the dirt wall to keep from falling in. He carefully lifted the bag from the sludge, causing another apple to tumble out. He shook his head in shame.
When they'd finally gotten both Char and the bag back to the surface, they stared incredulously down into the pit and at the now-useless items sitting in it.
"What a waste," Scythe sighed.
"What is that?!" Char demanded, limping around and trying to cope with the sticky green blotches covering him.
"A pitfall trap," Scythe explained. "Some of the more intelligent Pokémon set them around to impede intruders. I'm sorry I didn't notice it, I guess I was too focused on my stomach… eh, well, just be thankful it wasn't one with poisonous spikes at the bottom…"
Char blinked. He didn't even want to know those kinds of traps existed.
"Just take a bath in the next stream we find," Scythe instructed to Char. "It takes work, but that stuff will come off eventually. Just… try not to submerge your tail this time."
Despite the disruption, the three sat down at the rock and had their snack. However… there were only three pieces of food left in the bag: one apple, and two of the fruits they had harvested from the tree. Scythe insisted that Char and Saura split the apple, and that he could press on without eating for the time being.
After continuing on for a time, the team got into a fight with a wild Gloom. Saura fought it off, as Char's toes were still sticking to the ground with every step.
About twenty minutes later, a pond of standing water finally presented itself. Char was still more than a little squeamish about getting in the water, though, and Saura practically had to shove him in. It took almost an hour for Char to get all of the gunk off his skin.
Jaded Woods S6
The team had come a long way through the forest and had fought at least a dozen battles with wild Pokémon, but the forest still wasn't short of surprises for them.
As they reached the beginning of their sixth mile, Char's stomach started to growl again. The half of an apple he ate wasn't nearly as much food as he wanted. But he considered, each time his stomach groaned, how much hungrier Scythe must have been…
"How much farther, do you think?" Char asked, resisting the urge to complain about his belly.
"We're far over halfway there," Scythe estimated. "Jaded Woods is only about seven miles wide."
"How do you know we'll get the thieves when we leave the forest?" Saura asked. "Couldn't they be, you know, anywhere at all?"
"Bandits like to build their hideouts near the edges of Mystery Dungeons," Scythe said. "That way, nobody comes after them for fear of getting trapped in the dungeon. Except for us, the exploration teams, of course. I have a good idea of where they probably are, but if not, they shouldn't be too hard to track down. I'll show you how to look for them."
The team ventured through a particularly dark patch of the woods. The trees above shrouded the sky with many layers of canopy, turning the surroundings a deep, dark green. Char even started to see the light from his tail as it flickered across the tree trunks and rocks he walked by.
"Huh," Scythe said all of a sudden. "Wasn't expecting this."
"Uh… what?" Char asked worriedly.
"Look ahead of us," Scythe said, pointing forward. His face contained a satisfied smile.
Char looked. A single, low-hanging branch stood out among the row of trees. It was dotted with large fruit.
"Ah, an apple tree?" Saura said excitedly. "Wow! Let's eat! I can't imagine how famished you must be, Scythe. I know I'm really hungry."
"Wait, wait," Scythe said. "Remember what happened last time we lost sight of our path for food. Mistakes are meaningless unless you learn from them."
Char stepped aside to let Scythe check the area for the dreaded pitfall traps. Once he assured them it was all clear, they proceeded to the much-desired food…
Sorting through branches of the moldy and half-bruised fruit, Char searched for something to satisfy his restless stomach. The apple tree was like the rest of the forest—less than healthy—but there were plenty of bright red apples among the bad. He found a good one and picked it, only to turn it around and find that a large red caterpillar was already feasting on it. He tossed it aside to look for another.
"Excellent!" Scythe roared, slashing down a whole branch for himself. "We got lucky this time. Now we can make this last leg of our journey a strong one! Eat your heart out!" He skewered an apple on the end of his blade and devoured it.
"Wow!" Saura said, pulling down an apple for himself. "I guess we got lucky, Char!"
Still searching for an acceptable apple, Char pushed his branch out of the way in favor of another one. But as he reached up, he suddenly noticed something else entirely. A nearby tree, only a small distance behind the apple tree, sprouted large blue fruit. And it was fruit he recognized, too…
No way! Char thought. Is that an oran berry tree? Aren't those the fruits that heal you? I think there was one in the bag… but we could use more than that, couldn't we?
"Hey, Saura! Scythe!" Char called, wandering closer to the tree. "Look at this!"
"What?" Saura asked, his mouth full of apple.
"I think it's an oran berry tree!" Char exclaimed. "Should we pick some?"
"Oran berries? Sure!" Scythe said, swallowing a big bite. "We can never have enough of those. Just be careful. Keep an eye out for anything that might be dangerous—wait."
Char approached the tree, looking for a berry close enough to pick. The berries sprouted under large, green leaves in huge clusters near the end of branches. There was something else, though: some vines dangled among the branches, some green and others red. He followed them with his eyes… right to a conveniently low-hanging branch.
"Char?" Scythe called, looking up from his food. "Are you sure those are oran berries?"
"I think so," Char said, reaching for a berry from the branch.
"Char! Wait!" Scythe called.
Like the speed of light, Scythe opened his wings and launched himself toward Char… But it was too late.
As Char reached for the fruit, his hand brushed up against the red vine. He noticed how the vine twitched oddly around his claw…
"Schluuuuurk!"
A feral roar struck fear into Char's heart.
Before he could blink, Char was slammed to the side. He found himself lying on the ground with a throbbing sensation in his head. Scythe stood over him, panting nervously.
"Char, that was close," Scythe said. "Get up!"
"W…" Char started
"Get up!" Scythe repeated. "We have another battle on our hands."
"Schluuurk!" The roar sounded again, louder and angrier this time.
Baffled, Char looked back at the tree. Hanging from the branches was a horrible-looking creature, attached by the same red and green vines his claw brushed against. A massive, thorn-covered head hung at the end of the vines, gashing its ridiculously long teeth at the air where Char was.
"Carnivine," Scythe hissed. "Char, you were almost done for! If it captures you in its mouth, nothing can make it let go. They like to live in chesto trees and eat any Pokémon who try to take the fruit."
Twitching wildly, the Carnivine dropped to the ground.
"Watch out for its mouth," Scythe warned, taking a battle stance. "It attacks fast. It'll still try to eat you. Char! Keep your distance! It still wants you!"
"W—what do I do?" Char stuttered.
Char instinctively took a step backward, and Scythe lowered a blade in front of him. "Let me take care of this one," he declared. "Stay away from it!"
Wings buzzing, Scythe dashed forward at the enemy. He moved so fast, Char couldn't even see him for a moment. But the Carnivine jerked out of the way, narrowly dodging the attack. Char recoiled at the sudden movements and took yet another step away.
"Saura! No!" Scythe yelled, noticing Saura rushing forward and trying to give assistance. "I'll handle this. Stay away!"
Scythe hovered in the air above the Carnivine for a few moments. With the same blinding speed as before, he dove down and slashed at the creature, narrowly missing as it dodged and leaving a deep gash in the ground. The Carnivine catapulted itself up at him, but Scythe parried the attack with crossed blades and countered by slicing off one of its tentacles.
"Char! Look out!" Saura cried.
With its spine-chilling scream, the Carnivine launched itself straight for Char. Char leapt backward in panic as Saura sprouted vines in an attempt to defend him… but Scythe shot by, swiping at the Carnivine again with his blades, and sliced Saura's vines apart.
"Auughh!" Saura cried in surprise, retracting what was left of his vines.
"Get out of my way!" Scythe yelled again.
Re-appearing from his agile movements, Scythe lunged at the enemy and finally connected. A big, horrible gash appeared in the side of the foe's head, and its left leaf hung by a thread. It roared in protest.
Char couldn't take it anymore. It was too much. He panicked and dove for cover behind the nearest tree he could find, leaving Scythe to battle for him. Once he convinced himself he was safe, he peered around the tree to watch the battle take place. Scythe's movements were indescribably swift, but the Carnivine's erratic moments kept it free from damage most of the time. Still, Char was confident that Scythe would prevail. Saura soon joined him in his hiding place, not wanting to further get in the warrior's way as he fought.
"I can't believe you almost got eaten!" he gasped. "This place is really dangerous! I guess we'll have to learn what Carnivine look like—Oh, no!"
"What now?" Char asked, turning to him.
"Char, aren't these the poisonous flowers?!"
Char looked down. He immediately recognized the green, eye-like flowers that Scythe pointed out earlier. And not just one, but a whole patch of them. He was laying in them, his whole body covered in their leaves and petals, and hadn't even noticed.
After that, Char didn't remember much of what happened… only that he tried to move his body, but failed, and that he tried to scream for help, but no sound came out… His vision swirled as reality seemed to fade away…