Hi there, I'm nightsky489. I'd like to thank you very much for stumbling upon my story and giving it a read. I was originally inspired to write this after the checking out Broken Ideals and Silver Resistance. I don't take myself to be on the same level as ShadowVulpi or Scytherider, but I certainly know my story brings a lot of uniqueness and creativity to the table. Please enjoy it. Leave reviews if you can, as I enjoy all feedback I get.

Welcome to the world of pokemon. This story takes place in the mystery dungeon world, where there is a split between normal, civilized pokemon, and feral, wild pokemon that lurk in the dangerous mystery dungeons. Look, now here comes a sprinting helioptile. It looks like he made some friends.

The helioptile was panting loudly as he was running through a low leveled mystery dungeon. Behind him though was a bit of some trouble, there were 3 rabid, feral bidoofs chasing him. This mystery dungeon is called Springside Woods; hardly a challenge, but could be if you were as low leveled as this helioptile.

The helioptile quickly turned around and flared its frills on the side of its head, letting out a thunder shock onto one of the bidoofs. It did no more than stun it for a bit.

"Not enough…", the helioptile said to himself while turning back around and sprinting some more.

"Gotta find the stairs… what is this floor 3?" He checked his magical map while running.

"Yes it's floor 3. Springside only has 5 floors. Where could the stairs –" He was suddenly encountered with a steaming tauros. The helioptile's eyes widened greatly at the site of it.

"Tauros?! Those have less than 1% of a chance of spawning here. Of course I get that…" As the bidoofs were still chasing him and now the tauros was charging as well, the helioptile had run out of options. He quickly looked back and forth at his two-front opponents. He started fumbling in his bag quickly. They were getting closer, closer. Right as they approached him, he slammed a seed on the ground that burst into a huge cloud of smoke. The feral pokemon were coughing but when it cleared, the helioptile was nowhere to be found.

There he is, panting, sprinting to the next room. And there it was: the stairs. "Oh sweet Arceus", he said while running up the glowing stairs. When he got to the top he was greeted by a sentret ready to kill him. The helioptile strained with all his might, let his frills flair, and let out a thunderbolt that knocked it backwards. It didn't faint, but when the sentret got back up, he was gone.

The helioptile didn't have a lot of attack strength but he made up for it with speed. He ran corner to corner, avoiding feral pokemon he saw down some halls. He pulled an apple out of his bag and took a couple large bites of it and tossed it behind him. He ate the apple not because he was hungry, but because he saw other explorers on TV do it and he wanted to be just like them. This helioptile was a new explorer. He wanted to form an exploration team however, and he was travelling around looking for some strong pokemon to join his cause.

Eventually he found floor 5 and cautiously moved around. There were a couple ferals here and there, but the helioptile did good to avoid them or run past them as they were unaware.

"Last floor, c'mon baby!" He muttered to himself looking around quickly. He looked down at his magical dungeon map that was literally writing the rooms and halls as he walked. Based on some good guessing he found the room with the last set of stairs. Hope exploded in his chest as he ran right up to the stairs.

And right before he touched the stairs to be teleported out, something grabbed his little stubby leg. Horrified, the helioptile turned around to see an enraged machop that had been waiting in that room. The machop threw the helioptile back down the hallway by its leg, and the helioptile did a couple rolls when hitting the ground.

"No! So close!" he said weakly. The machop started walking towards him. The helioptile stood up and tried hard to flair his frills. A couple sparks danced around but it was no good. He was all out of juice. He started breathing hard trying to think of what he could possibly do. The helioptile checked his bag quickly as the machop continued to walk towards him. He was out, all he had was a couple of coins, an apple, and plain seed he held on to for some reason. The machop grew closer and closer, and the helioptile made a crawling sprint around the side of it. Right as he sprinted by, the machop caught his bag, restricting him from going any further. He quickly unclipped his bag and finally ran up the stairs, being teleported out.

The helioptile was launched out of a forest hole, and landed on some grass outside the forest. He had finally gotten out. That definitely wasn't something that he wanted to do again. He laid on the ground, breathing hard. As he looked up at the sky, a couple clouds rolled by. There was a tree in his view on the side and a taillow could be seen flying by. He held his head up and looked off into the distance. There he could see a town up ahead with a few white houses dotting the area. It was Heroca town. He read about it on a giant world map, that lo and behold, he had lost in the dungeon along with the bag his father gave him.

He got up and walked down a path towards the town. When he got to the center, he wasn't very impressed at the size of the place. A few pokemon walked down the street, but no one paid him any mind. Out of the whole small town, the only building he recognized was the kecleon shop. He swiftly entered it, seeing the expected kecleon behind the desk.

"Welcome to the kecleon shop, how may I help you?" the kecleon said with a smile on his face. All the kecleon shops were linked, where ever they were. Anyone could theoretically run a shop, but it was rare to see anyone other than the kecleon. They had been doing it for centuries, an art they had mastered. There wasn't any item a kecleon couldn't get its hands on, for the right price. Whether if it was importing the item from another store instantaneously, or ordering some high levelled exploration teams to look for it. With the right price, anything was possible.

"Hi, I'm a new explorer, my name is Cortez. I'm also a helioptile. I was wondering if anyone in this town wanted to join me in forming an exploration team."

The kecleon started unpacking fresh inventory from boxes. "Explorer, are ya? Then where's your bag?" The kecleon was looking down at Cortez and noticed he was lacking the signature travel bag that all explorers carried.

"Oh… well…" Cortez looked around his body stupidly like there might've been a chance the bag was still there. "Well let's just say I'm not a very good explorer. I kinda lost it in Springside Woods." Cortez announced meekly.

"You lost it in Springside?" The kecleon gave out a startling cackle. "Son you do need help. I seriously doubt you'll find anyone here willing to help you. I can sell you a new travel bag if you want, I have a couple."

Cortez looked down at the ground. It was a look of 'I lost my money in the dungeon and now there's no hope for me'. The kecleon studied him for a bit.

"Well", he finally said, "Try going around and asking. You never know. I doubt anyone in this lowly place would want to do anything, but I've been surprised before." The kecleon then turned his head and started moving items around behind his desk. It was a sign that he was done talking. Cortez walked out of the store, and back out onto the main street of the city. He had no money, no items, no place to stay.

Cortez grew up as an only child. He had two heliolisks as parents, both were not too fond of exploration. It just so happened that from early on their child wanted to be an explorer. He spent lots of time watching TV and watching famous, powerful exploration teams find great treasures that sold quite a bit on the kecleon market. High levelled mystery dungeons always housed some of the rarest items in the pokemon universe. Sure, anyone could walk into a lower levelled mystery dungeon and pick up and apple, maybe 2, hell, maybe even an oran berry and sell it for a few coins on the market. But the really rare stuff is what Cortez was after, and to get his hands on that stuff, he was willing to form an exploration group and go on adventures.

Cortez spent the next few hours standing around asking passing pokemon if they wanted to join an exploration team or if they knew anyone that wanted to. All the pokemon though turned him down or simply didn't even try talking to him. Cortez started to really get discouraged. He remembered his dad's words, "Ok son, if that's what you want to do, I won't stop you. I did some exploring in my heyday and I'd like you to take my old bag with you. But it's hard to find other people who want to do it. It's a really risky job that could cost you your life." Cortez felt terrible he lost that bag due to being so weak.

He spent a while in his hometown trying to find some pokemon that wanted to join him, but none did, so he plowed through a dungeon to the next town, and he was getting no dice. After a while he walked around the small town some more before falling face down on the ground. He laid there for a while before he felt a paw press up against him.

"Hey buddy what the heck are you doing on the ground?"

Cortez looked up and saw a houndour staring at him. He quickly got up as he realized how weird it must've looked being on the ground.

"Sorry. I've just been discouraged for a while. See, I'm a new explorer. My name is Cortez. I'm a helioptile and I'm looking for some pokemon to join an exploration group with me."

"If you're an explorer then where's your bag?", the houndour asked. Cortez started shaking his head rapidly.

"I LOST IT OKAY?! I'm not very good, I'm sorry!" he shouted loudly. It let a bunch of anger out. Cortez felt worthless and felt like giving up on being an explorer.

"Good god buddy, calm down! It was just a question! I see you're a bit frustrated. Let us consult my friend and see if I can get you some good advice. Follow me." The houndour turned around and started walking away, with Cortez slouching behind him.

"Hey, I'm sorry for being rude. I just came from Spira Town and had to go through Springside Woods to get here, and it was really dangerous and I lost my bag back there. And what's worse is it was my dad's, he gave it to me…" The houndour interrupted Cortez and turned around.

"You're pops gave it to you and now it's gone? That sucks man, let's go get it."

Cortez perked up. "Oh no, I can't go back in there, we might both die and a really strong machop has it."

"Hey, I'm really strong! I could get it myself! Springside Woods? More like… Spring… Springstupidside Woods! That place is for chumps. And you know what, I'll get my bud to help me and we will all get it back!" The houndour exclaimed.

Cortez doubted this houndour a lot, but maybe if his friend including himself went back in to get his bag, he could convince the two of them to join him and go on more adventures.

"Hey, I never got your name." Cortez said back as they both started walking again.

"Luke, and don't forget it. I'm gonna find that bastard machop and roast him until his skin peels off with flamethrower!"

Up ahead was a teepee on the outskirts of the town. It was old and beat up, and ready to fall apart.

"My friend's name is Omex. He's pretty strong when he wants to be, sometimes he just needs some motivation." Luke cautiously approached the teepee. It was the first time he saw Luke not acting cocky.

"Omex?... Ya there?..." Luke approached the entrance of the teepee. Cortez was closely following behind. Luke noticed and quickly turned around.

"Hey, back off! Just stay there. Omex might be a bit loopy right now." Luke said quietly yet fiercely to Cortez. He took a step back and watched Luke slowly enter.

"Omex?... Oh Omey. You awake?... Ouch!" Cortez heard Luke accidently kick a glass bottle. Cortez couldn't help his curiosity. He slowly walked into the teepee, and the place was trashed. There were alcohol bottles all over the floor, couch was dump, TV on static. He turned left where he saw Luke looking over a sprawled out xatu. The xatu was laying flat on the ground with a bottle of scotch under his wing.

"HEY OMEX WAKE THE HELL UP!" Luke then kicked the xatu really hard, turning him over. Cortez was completely speechless. There in front of him, a xatu, one of the most well respected and rarest species, was passed out on the ground. And getting kicked. The xatu let out a moan.

"Hey asshole! Leave me alone." The xatu said slurringly.

"Omey it's me Luke! Can you wake up?!" The xatu shook a bit.

"Oh… Luke…. Bring me a… a, uh…" Nothing. The xatu had passed out again and started snoring. Luke look disappointed. His head turned to Cortez, who was completely speechless.

"Hey Cortez, we don't need him. Let's go get your bag back ourselves. He's just a big DRUNK!" He yelled while facing Omex for that last word.

Cortez left his state of shock and tried talking. "That's – I… - Isn't that a… a XATU?!"

Luke casually looked back around. "Yeah it is. He's not a very good one, is he?"

"He's a xatu! There's only a few of those in the world! I've read about them, they're supposed to look at the sun all day and know the future and stuff!" Cortez rushed all his words out in a state of shock.

"Oh yeah, well not this one. He has a problem. He isn't a normal xatu, he can't look into the future. He's… disabled I guess. Sucks for him. He just spends all day watching TV and drinking. I suppose he could be doing something better with his life", Luke said while exiting the old teepee. They were back outside.

"He can't look into the future?! Holy smokes. So now he's like a normal pokemon with no powers?" Cortez said, pressing Luke for more answers.

"Oh his psychic power is still working, trust me. I've been on the receiving side of his drunk tantrums, it isn't pretty. C'mon let's go get your bag. Enough talk", Luke said jogging back toward Springside.

"Hey wait up!" Cortez started running after him. Soon they were back in front of the exit that Cortez came out of, except now it was represented as an entrance.

"Okay so what floor?" Luke asked, starting to get in focus.

"It was 5, the last one from Spira".

"…Wait, so that's the first floor going this way, because this dungeon only has 5 floors, right?"

"Yeah, so let's just go in, grab the bag, and go out." Dungeons worked only one way, so if you climb up a mystery dungeon from floors 1 to 5, you'd go back down it floor 5 to 1, so you'd start on 5 and work down. The helioptile and houndour entered the dungeon cautiously. They were sucked into the void and teleported at floor 5, right behind the stairs that went out. Mystery dungeons are weird, they follow the strict rule of floor amounts, but each time you reentered a floor, it generated in a new, random way. Even though Cortez had been through the floors just hours ago, it was reassembled in a new way.

"Great, we don't even have a map to guide us around", Luke said.

"It was in my bag, if we find my bag, we'll be alright." Cortez reassured. Suddenly in the distance, a bidoof's growl was heard. It made Cortez's skin crawl and Luke turned around at lightning speed.

"Oh god! It's so angry! What's wrong with it?! And why can't pokemon in these dungeons talk?! Are they stupid?!" Cortez started to sense fear in Luke's voice. And after how brave he sounded outside the dungeon.

"They're feral, Luke. As in, their brain only processes attacking anyone who isn't". Cortez said.

"Oh hell no, I didn't sign up for this!" Luke exclaimed.

"You kind of DID!" The bidoof was now sprinting towards them with only killing in its eye, nothing else.

"Oh Arceus, it's coming after us! What did I do it?" Luke was freaking out.

"Have you ever been in a mystery dungeon?!" Cortez demanded.

"NO, okay?! I thought the pokemon here were reasonable!" The bidoof was less than 30 feet away and Luke started for the way back out. Cortez braced himself and when it was close enough, he flared his frills and shot a bolt of thunder at bidoof, knocking it backwards, stunned.

"Oh my god…" Luke turned back around, studying the fried bidoof.

"Luke you can breathe fire right? You're a houndour, these weak pokemon don't stand a chance against it! Just use some moves at them!" Luke kept staring at the fainted bidoof, like he was starting to realize something.

Suddenly as he was staring a sentret was quickly approaching with the same mindless look the bidoof had.

"St-stay back…" Luke warned. The sentret didn't say a word, it kept running, showing its teeth, and growling.

"Luke, get it with a flamethrower! C'mon do something!" Cortez cheered from behind. Yet Luke wasn't too confident.

"I said stay back! Don't you hear me?!" Luke kept giving the feral pokemon chances, like it would consider what he was saying. Soon it was too late, the pokemon had ran right up to Luke. In fear, Luke let out a massive roar of fire, roasting the sentret on the spot. Luke backed away when he was done, and the charred sentret was dead.

"Wow Luke, that was incredible! I didn't know you were so powerful!" Cortez started exclaiming with a huge smile on his face. Luke however, was speechless, and looking horrified.

"I… I killed a pokemon. I'm a murderer!"

"No Luke, that's what you're supposed to do. These aren't pokemon, they're ferals. They want us dead, and it's necessary to kill some when you want to travel outside your town." Cortez knew that this truly was Luke's first time in a dungeon.

"I've never been away from my town ever before…" He was still staring at the dead pokemon on the ground.

"You're doing good Luke. Let's get my bag back. That machop is around here somewhere."

Luke turned around horrified. "Oh shit. A machop? Those guys are really strong! And he's FERAL isn't he?!"

Cortez rolled his eyes. "Yes, Luke they're all feral. C'mon." Cortez led the way with Luke shaking behind him.

"What if we die?!" Luke exclaimed. "Not with that flamethrower of yours, just breathe fire on anyone and we're fine!" Cortez said back.

"I don't think I could handle killing more pokemon!"

"You're FINE Luke!" Said an annoyed Cortez. After running up and down the halls of the dungeon, Cortez had Luke kill a few more pokemon. Luke's flamethrower was outrageous, and Cortez didn't have to waste so much energy when Luke was with him. Walking through the dungeon was a cinch, until the finally found the machop.

"Good lord, there it is!" Cortez said quietly. It was on the other side of the hall with the damn bag strapped around itself.

"It's wearing my bag! MY BAG!" Cortez said a little too loudly. The machop was startled and saw them both, and started running towards them.

"No! It's really strong isn't it?" Luke started asking.

"Not that bad. Just give it the fire breath and I will follow up with a thunderbolt. Can you manage that?"

"I don't know!" The machop was now running at full speed with a hungry look on its face.

"It looks so menacing!" Luke was scared spineless. He was so hung up on the fact that the feral pokemon couldn't ration. Right as it ran up, Luke let out a huge flamethrower, and after that very moment, Cortez followed up with a thunderbolt. They both waited for the smoke to clear, but before it did, the machop let out one powerful mach punch that sent Luke flying. Luke wailed out in pain and fear as he landed on the ground.

"Oh shit", Cortez muttered to himself. The machop was charred heavily, but had this maddening look in his face with bloodshot eyes. It swung at Cortez but he ducked, and dodged another attack. Cortez landed a scratch but right after the machop got a powerful punch in at Cortez's head. Cortez fell over dazed, and saw a blurry foot ready to squash him.

Then suddenly he made out Luke tackling it head on from above, and while on top of the machop, Luke let out more bellowing flames upon its face. Cortez sat up and saw the machop struggling, trying to grab Luke from the sides, but he wouldn't let up with the flames. The machop grew weaker and weaker, and when Luke finally stopped breath fire to wheeze for his breath, the machop was dead. Luke fell over to continue to catch his breath, and Cortez stumbled over to the dead machop. The machop was completely charred in the face, and the bag was damaged as well, but still in decent condition. He took it off of the dead pokemon and put it back around his shoulder. It was a little more worn than he remembered it, the machop hadn't taken good care of it. But inside was his map still in the side pocket, but everything else in the main part of the bag was gone.

"I'm… ok", Luke said, still catching his breath. Cortez stared down at his bag with a smile on his face. "I did it. I got it back."

"WE…"

"Yeah, we did. Well I guess it was mostly you, thanks. Now, let's get out of here!" Cortez said hastily. He (or Luke) didn't want to see another feral pokemon, so they back tracked and found the exit.

As they walked out, Cortez could tell Luke was a new pokemon. He looked braver and bolder. The sun was setting as they approached the familiar town.

"All in all… it was really easy! Those mystery dungeons are for chumps!" Luke said cockily.

"Are you kidding me? You freaked out way more than I did!"

"Nuh-UH!" The sun continued to set and Cortez remembered how he didn't have a place to stay.

"Hey, where is your house? Would you mind if I stayed there a bit? I have no place to go." The two of them had walked close to the town, and were starting to pass the xatu's teepee.

"I have a great idea. Let's stay with Omex for the night. Won't that be fun?!" Luke offered.

Cortez grew a cautious look. "I don't think that's a good idea, do you?"

"It's a GREAT idea! Let's go!" Luke started sprinting towards the teepee. Hesitantly, Cortez followed him. They ran right up to the tent. And once again, Luke got cautious.

"Omex? Are you awake?"

"Who is it?!" the voice was pale and flat.

"It's Luke and I brought a friend!" Suddenly the teepee flap flipped itself open. Inside was a finally conscious xatu with its massively long wing extended.

If you're reading this, that means you may be slightly/really fascinated in my story. I'd like to take a moment to thank you for spending your much valued time reading my book.

Check out my forum called Pokemon Mystery Dungeon Writers United. We are a community of pokemon writers that chat and give advice. I post all my updates there, and anyone is welcome to join. There are a lot of talented PMD writers there who create topics on making your pokemon mystery dungeon writing skills better. It will definitely benefit you to check it out. Take some advice, and maybe leave some advice.

fanfiction forum/PMDWritersUnited/199441/