PMD: Fateful Saviors
Chapter 2: Mountain of Metal
The day after my tour of Pokemon Square, I was lying in bed, listening to Erdalla's light snores and the crickets singing outside. It still wasn't easy falling asleep on the prickly bed, especially since the missions we took yesterday were in Tiny Woods, so I had little to no fatigue to put me to sleep.
"Go to sleep Alfrin. It wouldn't be good for you to stay up until morning…" I murmured to myself as I stared up at the ceiling. I figured that if I stared at the wall or the ceiling long enough, my eyes would get tired and I could fall asleep. It worked, but I was immediately drifted back to the kaleidoscope dream land again.
"Huh. I didn't think I would dream up the same place again" I muttered as I picked myself off the ground and looked around. The space was the exact same as before, with multicoloured lights changing every second "I hear voices, but they're so faint…"
I cocked my ear and tried to listen to the faint voices, but I still couldn't make out what they were saying. Suddenly, the dream world began shaking violently as if there was an earthquake.
"Whoa!" I lost my balance and fell to the ground "For a dream, this feels strangely real. But that's it. Just a dream. Nothing to get worked up for"
I watched the quaking world around me shatter and be consumed by darkness just as my eyes blinked open back to reality. I turned and saw Erdalla sitting at her desk like usual.
"How was your sleep?" I asked as I got off my bed and yawned. The Pikachu seemed to have finished her entry and closed her journal, turning to face me.
"It was alright, although the sudden quake last night woke me up early" Erdalla shrugged "The disasters don't leave any area untouched, it seems"
"Oh, sorry about that! It was us who caused the quake!" A voice that echoed from underground called "Apologies for disturbing your sleep! Are you Alfrin and Erdalla?"
"Uhh… Yes we are. What are you doing underground?" I asked, tapping the floor with my foot.
"Oh right, you can't see us. Sorry about that" The voice apologized, then I heard a distinct popping sound outside our window "Hello! We're Dugtrio"
"Thank you for not popping up under our floor" Erdalla smiled lightly "What do you need Dugtrio?"
"First of all, there was an actual earthquake last night nearby Mt Steel" Dugtrio began "And during the quake, my son was attacked and whisked away to Mt Steel's peak. We can't possibly climb anywhere that high, so that's why I seeked out you two"
"Who abducted your son?"
"A vilely vicious ruffian of a Pokemon named Skarmory. He took my Diglett all the way up Mt Steel" Dugtrio replied "Please be careful when fighting him"
"Wait, we haven't even said yes yet-" I protested but Dugtrio interrupted me.
"Please rescue my son as quick as possible. We'll meet you at Mt Steel!" And Dugtrio disappeared into the ground, leaving both of us a little shocked. The request was so sudden that we didn't even have the time to say yes or no. I guess we had no choice now.
"Well, we better get going. Dugtrio didn't exactly give us the chance to refuse" Erdalla shrugged "Mt Steel is a little northeast of us. It's not as far as Thunderwave Cave so I shouldn't be hearing you complaining about sore legs"
"Hey, I've gotten better since then. I was just a little… out of shape before" I bit my lip "But we should get breakfast before we head out. I won't be good to fight on an empty stomach"
"Here" Erdalla walked to the corner of the house, where a basket of various berries and apples were bunched together "Eat these along the way. We can't afford to waste time when someone's in danger. Who knows what Skarmory will do to Diglett?"
"R-right. Sorry" I caught the apple and Oran Berry Erdalla tossed me and clutched both in my mouth while strapping my toolbox over my neck. Erdalla did the same and we headed out towards Mt Steel, which Erdalla estimated to be roughly an hour and a half of walking.
"Contrary to it's name, Mt Steel is not actually filled with much Steel types, at least from what I know" Erdalla told me on the road "It's an odd mix of Normal, Flying, Bug, Rock and Ground type Pokemon. Only the Beldum and Aron there are Steel type"
"So it's like Thunderwave Cave again where the majority of it's residents aren't the dungeon's type" I said and the Pikachu nodded.
"Except that now, it doesn't matter if Mt Steel is filled with Steel type Pokemon or not. You're still effective against them with your Mud Slap" Erdalla pursed her lips "Although, I'm not sure how we can deal with Skarmory. I never heard of that Pokemon before"
Personally, I was a little surprised Erdalla didn't know who Skarmory was. Up until now, she seemed pretty on top of things and knew a lot about the dungeons in the region. Erdalla being actually stumped was a rare sight.
"We can ask Dugtrio once we reach Mt Steel. He should know what Skarmory looks like" I replied and the Pikachu nodded.
"Hopefully his heads weren't underground when Skarmory attacked" Erdalla shrugged "But even if we don't know, we still have an edge"
"An edge?"
"With these" Erdalla opened her toolbox and showed me a dark red seed that reminded me of a stick of dynamite "These are Blast Seeds. If thrown hard enough, they'll explode with a force similar to a small bomb. Quite effective at blowing heads off"
"So much power in such a small seed…" I stepped away while Erdalla casually slipped the seed back into her toolbox. We walked a little more before we felt a minor rumble below us and Dugtrio popped up beside Erdalla.
"My, aren't you two slow? I was getting impatient waiting for you at Mt Steel!" Dugtrio quipped "Thought I should pop up and tell you about Skarmory before you go to fight him. He's this deadly avian covered completely in iron armor. His feathers are as sharp as knives, I've heard"
"Oh, he's a Flying type? Excellent" Erdalla smiled before briefly buzzing with electricity "I can handle him easily"
"Just take him down before he impales you with one of those feathers and you should be fine" Dugtrio turned to me "Alfrin, remember not to use your Ground type moves against Skamory. They won't hit him at all if he's in the air!"
"Guess I'll be stuck shooting water at him then" I shrugged "That's fine. I doubt splashing mud in someone's face would do much if they're covered in armor"
"Looks like you're confident to fight him. Good!" Dugtrio nodded before shifting himself in the ground "I'll help you get there faster. Use the tunnel I made to avoid all the natural hazards here"
"How would we know that we're there?" I asked.
"I'll guide you there myself and I'll tell once we're there. Come on, time's not for wasting, you know!" And Dugtrio disappeared into the ground, leaving a wide hole for us to climb down.
"No harm in doing this. Dugtrio IS our client after all" Erdalla told me and jumped down the hole. I shrugged and followed her in. Being below the earth felt like home. Perhaps it's my affinity with the ground that made me feel this way, but I felt so comfortable being underground. The nice dry stone and dirt under my feet was soothing. Erdalla snapped her fingers and an orb of electricity materialized into existence, providing us with a bright light to shine down the tunnel.
"Agh! The light's blinding me!" Dugtrio popped up in front of us and averted his six eyes from Erdalla's electric orb "Sometimes, I forget Pokemon like you can't see in the dark. Us Diglett and Dugtrio navigate through dark tunnels like this daily!"
"Just keep your eyes ahead and away from the light and you'll be fine. It's only us that need it" The Pikachu reassured "Straight as the tunnel may be, I'd rather not be stumbling around in the dark. It's scary"
I didn't know much, but I did know that being afraid of the dark was a childlike fear. I stared at Erdalla with a strange look, but the Pikachu didn't notice. I decided to let it go though, since she was my commander and everybody had fears. Even if one of her fears was usually reserved for children.
Dugtrio clicked his tongue "Whatever you say. Follow me and try to keep up"
Forty five minutes later, Dugtrio burrowed into a dead end ahead of us and created a hole for us to crawl out of.
"Welcome to Mt Steel. Diglett was whisked away to floor 9, I believe!" Dugtrio announced as we crawled out of the tunnel. The mountain in front of us was composed of both sturdy, solid stone and bits of steel and iron. It almost looked like a fortress, which was incredible for a naturally made mountain.
"So the peak is nine floors into the dungeon, huh? The mountain sure doesn't look like nine floors" I observed as I took in the grandness of Mt Steel. Beside me, Erdalla sighed with exasperation.
"You should know by now that a dungeon's physical appearance doesn't reflect how many floors it has. Tiny Woods is barely a forest, yet is three floors total" Erdalla explained, then paused "You know what? Let's continue this later. We're wasting time"
"If you two are done, I'll be awaiting you here. Good luck finding me son and beating Skarmory!" Dugtrio nodded, then vanished underground. Me and Erdalla watched him leave before entering the mountain of metal. Just like the Pikachu said, Mt Steel was very lacking in actual Steel type Pokemon. I found myself fighting Spearows, Zigzagoons, Geodudes and Meditites primarily, along with the rare Baltoys, Beldums and Arons occasionally.
"You know, I can understand the Meditite and Tyrogue being here to train themselves on the Rock and Steel type Pokemon, but what business do Spearow and Zigzagoon have here?" I asked as I shattered a Geodude to rubble with Water Gun "Both of them would be at the bottom of the food chain"
"It's hard to tell. The disasters have changed more than just the land around us" Erdalla buzzed with electricity before calling down Thunder Shock at an approaching Pinsir. Surprisingly, the Pinsir powered through the attack with mild injury and charged at Erdalla with Horn Attack. The Pikachu simply glared before headbutting the Pinsir twice in the fast with an electrified Quick Attack, bringing down the large beetle.
"How so?"
"With the disasters bringing ruin around the world, many Pokemon habitats are being destroyed" Erdalla explained as she countered an opposing Spearow's Peak with an electrified fist "As such, Pokemon migrate from their destroyed homes and dungeons to other areas. Maybe the Zigzagoon and Spearow migrated here after their home forest was destroyed"
"Ah. That makes sense" I swept up some mud into an Aron's eyes before blasting it away with Water Gun, finishing off the last of the pack of enemy Pokemon here. Mt Steel didn't seem to have wild Pokemon roaming the floors alone. It was like the local Pokemon formed packs together like wolves.
"How kind of them to form up in groups like this" Erdalla seemed to be thinking the same thing as I was "Makes it easier for us to take them down since we don't have to worry about ambush attacks"
"Why do you think they form up in packs like this?"
"Well, from the packs we saw so far, none of them have a single Pinsir in them" Erdalla theorized "I remember the last Pinsir we saw being attacked by a couple Spearows and Arons before devouring them, so it definitely wasn't on their side"
"So what you're saying is that Pinsir's the apex predator of Mt Steel" I said, then turned behind me to see a Pinsir charging at me with his sharp horns poised to strike "Erdalla, help me out!"
"They're a persistent bunch, aren't they…?" Erdalla threw her hand forward, sending a horizontal bolt of lightning tearing through the rushing Pinsir. The beetle staggered backwards from the blow, letting me blast through with a Water Gun to his mouth, knocking him out cold.
"So much for being an apex predator" I said as we ascended to the next floor of the steel mountain "The two of us kill Pinsir like any other Pokemon"
"Keep in mind that the wild Pokemon here aren't as well trained as us. That's why Pinsir's natural strength dominates them" The Pikachu replied "For us, we've battled more Pokemon than they have and we're also unpredictable. I doubt any of the Pinsir here have dealt with electrical and water attacks before"
"I see. Well, it's reassuring that we can bulldoze this dungeon like it's nothing" I smiled "It'll save us energy for the fight against Skarmory"
"Which will also be a cakewalk, considering my electrical attacks" Erdalla closed her fist, generating a ball of electricity before disintegrating an incoming Beldum "An easy job means easy money. Hopefully that stays for a good while"
"Agreed" I looked to my right and spotted a cave exit with light shining through it "I think the summit's over here. Let's see"
We moved towards the exit and arrived at the summit of Mt Steel, a clearing made of smooth, solid iron. A large crevice leading into the dark abyss separated our piece of the summit from an altar with a large steel statue of some titanic golem. In front of the statue was Diglett, who was quivering in fear.
"Diglett, are you alright? We're here to rescue you!" I called and Diglett perked up, his eyes widening.
"Really? But how are you going to get across the crevice?" Diglett asked, then looked up "Ah! Skarmory's here!"
A shadow passed over us and the armorclad bird landed in front of us, his iron feathers glistening in the afternoon sunlight.
"You! What do you think you're doing here?!" Skarmory growled in a voice that sounded like claws scratching metal. Which meant he sounded nasally and sharp "If you're here to rescue Diglett, then I'll have to say they deserved it!"
"Why? What did they do to you?" Erdalla asked calmly.
"Every single damn night, they cause earthquakes that keep me up. I haven't slept in weeks!" Skarmory cried "Those quakes are caused by the brat and his ilk running amok underground!"
"While it's true there have been a few quakes lately, it's not Diglett and his family that are causing it" The Pikachu replied "A handful of Diglett and Dugtrio burrowing around isn't enough to cause a large-scale earthquake"
"Then who is it?! Who's causing the earthquakes every single night?!" Skarmory demanded.
"It's the natural disasters that are-"
"Bah! Disaster this, disaster that! It's just an excuse for Pokemon like Diglett to cause quakes whenever they want!" Skarmory squawked "I've had enough of this. I abducted Diglett to get some good shut-eye, but you meddlers won't leave me alone. Prepare to die!"
"Fine. If it's a fight you want, you'll have one" Erdalla turned to me "Ready Alfrin?"
"Yep. Let's take him down!"
Skarmory squawked in anger and rocketed towards us, his peak glistening with light to indicate Peck. Both of us sidestepped the Peck attack and simultaneously blasted Skarmory with Thunder Shock and Water Gun. By coincidence, my blast of water collided with Erdalla's Thunder Shock, delivering an even more lethal blow to Skarmory. Crying out in pain and anger, Skarmory took to the skies and began flapping his wings rapidly, shooting down a storm of razor sharp feathers. I ran to take cover under an nearby rock while Erdalla used her toolbox as a shield. Several feathers dented the box, but miraculously didn't pierce it.
"You are naught but a common goon to me. Nothing better than the wild Pokemon in the dungeon" Erdalla intoned, weaving electricity in her hands to fire a spiral web of lightning into the sky. Skarmory swooped away to dodge and the Pikachu called a bolt from the clouds to strike, which Skarmory also dodged "Damn. I need to catch him in the middle of an attack to strike"
"Steel Wing!" Skarmory began spinning rapidly in the air, firing down a bullet storm of steel feathers towards Erdalla. I generated a large mass of water in my mouth and ran in front of the Pikachu, firing the water blast and deflected the feathers. Meanwhile, Erdalla generated a golden electrical arrow out of the air and it collided into Skarmory, blasting him out of the air and careening off Mt Steel. His screams echoed through the empty summit until they faded away.
"Alright, Skarmory's down. Now let's rescue Diglett" Erdalla paused before looking at Diglett "How can we get across this crevice though? It's too wide and risky for me to jump across"
"BZZ BZZ. WE CAN HELP!" We turned and saw two Magnemite arriving from the summit entrance.
"Oh, you're the two Magnemite we rescued from Thunderwave Cave, right?" I asked and the first Magnemite nodded.
"WE HEARD ABOUT YOUR PLIGHT FROM DUGTRIO. WE THOUGHT WE COULD COME HELP" The first Magnemite buzzed.
"WE WANTED TO REPAY YOU FOR HELPING US" The second Magnemite floated over the crevice towards Diglett "HOLD ONTO US TIGHT. WE'LL MAKE SURE NOT TO ZAP YOU"
"Hold onto us tight..? Diglett doesn't even have limbs to-" I stopped when I saw the strangest sight yet. The two Magnemite attached to Diglett's head like he was a metal object and lifted the mole off of the ground, a piece of earth obscuring what could be Diglett's feet. After Diglett was safely over the crevice, the Magnemite bid us farewell and flew down the side of Mt Steel.
"Well… that was a little odd. Regardless, we should get Diglett back to his father" Erdalla pulled an Escape Orb out of her damaged toolbox. Several steel feathers were still stuck to it side "Get together everyone. The Escape Orb will transport us out of the dungeon"
Erdalla shattered the orb on the ground and a circle of blue light enveloped all three of us, teleporting us back to the entrance of Mt Steel, where the two Magnemite were waiting. How in the world did they fly down from Mt Steel so fast? And more importantly, where was Dugtrio?
"Ohh… it was so scary being up there. Probably because I was so high up" Diglett said "My feet still feel like they're walking on air…"
Silence. Erdalla looked at me and mouthed "Feet?" while the two Magnemite looked puzzled. I decided to cut the tension before it got awkward.
"Regardless, you're safe now and that's what counts. Now where is your father?" I asked and there was a brief rumbling below me before Dugtrio popped up in front of Diglett "There he is"
"Oh Papa!" Diglett cried with joy.
"Diglett! You had us worried!" Dugtrio grinned "You're not hurt, are you?"
"Nope. It was scary, but I'm alright. It's all thanks to Erdalla's team and the Magnemite" Diglett replied with a smile and Dugtrio turned to us to thank us.
"NO NEED TO THANK US. IT WAS THE RIGHT THING TO DO" The first Magnemite replied modestly "AND BECAUSE BOTH OF OUR EVOLVED FORMS ARE JOINED TRIOS, I FELT A LITTLE KINSHIP. AFTER ALL, POKEMON HAVE TO HELP EACH OTHER, RIGHT?"
"Thank you all very much. Here is your payment, Team Lazulian" Dugtrio closed his eyes and a small brown box sprang out of the earth "And now, farewell! May we all meet again. Let's go Diglett"
"Okay Papa. Bye everyone!" Diglett said before the two disappeared under the ground. The Magnemite nodded at us to say they were going to leave too before Erdalla stopped them.
"Before you go, I just want to ask if you want to join our rescue team" The Pikachu offered "You two proved invaluable today on Diglett's rescue so…"
"WELL… DO YOU HAVE A PLACE FOR US TO STAY?" The second Magnemite asked and Erdalla paused, realizing that we only had our house as Lazulian property.
"... Unfortunately not. But if we do, will you join?"
"WE'LL THINK ABOUT IT. COME FIND US AROUND POKEMON SQUARE ONCE YOU HAVE A PLACE FOR US" The first Magnemite said "NOW IF THAT'S IT, WE HAVE TO GO. SEE YOU AROUND"
The two Magnemite floated off into the sky, leaving me and Erdalla alone.
"Well, we should be heading back home now. Tomorrow morning, we'll try and buy some camp supplies from Kecleon's Market for the Magnemite" Erdalla told me "We can't have a rescue team with just us two after all"
"Agreed" I nodded, then glanced at the sun setting below the horizon "Let's go home. The sun's about to go down"
Our team:
- Erdalla, Pikachu
Lazulian Commander
Level 10
Moves: Thunder Shock, Quick Attack, Thunder Wave and Tail Whip
- Alfrin, Mudkip
Lazulian Apprentice
Level 8
Moves: Mud Slap, Water Gun, Tackle and Growl
So as the first boss, Skamory is pretty easy. Even with a disadvantagous starter, items like Geo Pebbles and Blast Seeds take Skarm down easily. As Erdalla is an Electric type and thus effective on Skamory, it was little more than a slightly stronger enemy to her. If you want to be notifed of when a new chapter comes out, favorite and follow. If you want to leave contructive criticism or praise, leave a review. Until next time!