The Tale of Team Longshot - A Pokémon Super Mystery Dungeon Fanfiction
Chapter 4 - Treasured Friendships
About an hour later, Drilbur Coal Mine, Author's POV
A gaping cave mouth stands tall and wide, the two wooden pillars beside it only complimenting its size. As if that isn't enough, several Drilbur, as tiny as can be in comparison, all walk out with piles of rocks in their claws. Slowly, they all waddle over to one of the wooden pillars, the sounds of their claws at work taking up the looming silence from before.
"W-We're doing well, everybody… we might get this place secluded if we keep it up!" A Drilbur rallies, trying to sound as encouraging as possible with his naturally nervous tone.
The rest of the Drilbur all respond, their half-hearted cheers echoing around them.
The echoes of these cheers reach four listening figures behind a distant rock.
"Okay… this is the place…" Pancham whispers, taking safety peeks at the Drilbur.
"You see that entranceway ahead?" Shelmet motions with his mouth. "You see, not only is that an entrance to the coal mine of those Drilbur, but it's also a mystery dungeon."
"I… really don't see why I should still be going through with this…" Indigo cuts in. "I mean, Fia finally let go of my… uh… paw and all, so there's nothing stopping me from not sticking arou-"
"Wait, I never knew that this place was also a mystery dungeon!" Fia interrupts. "So what do we do once we get inside?"
"Well, once Indigo gets inside, he'll eventually come across a fork in the cave," Shelmet responds with a sneer directed towards the Snivy. "One path just continues down the mine, and the other… well, that's the path we want him to go. Let's just say you'll know which path is which once you see them. Once you go deep enough in the correct path, you'll find some gems at the very bottom. Bring some back here, and we'll admit that Indigo here has some real guts."
Indigo sighs, putting a paw to his head. "How about we just… leave? Actually… you… you know what, I don't need to ask you if we can leave. Come on, Fia. Let's…" He suddenly looks around himself to see the absence of a familiar green.
Panic suddenly reaching him, he takes a look over their hiding spot to see the Snivy in question walking right up to the Drilbur.
'Fia, what the heck are you doing?!'
At the sudden realization of the presence of another, all of the Drilbur stop in place. Only one of them musters the courage to turn around and face the approaching Snivy. "Uh… y-you're one of the children of the village, right? W-What're you doing here? Children aren't allowed here…"
"Oh. I know." Fia replies without a care in the world. "But still! There are some gems I need to get!"
The Drilbur hesitates, looking Fia up and down. 'B-But… but you don't look like you could be the one…' "W-Wait… gems?! Those are at the very bottom of this mine! Y-You can't be serious!"
Fia's eyes suddenly narrow slightly as she gives the Drilbur a glare. "Oh, I am serious. Look into my eyes. See how serious I am?"
"Uh…" The Drilbur continues quivering in place as Fia continues gazing at him. "I don't think I can- ack!"
The Drilbur's quivering comes to a complete halt when he freezes in place and falls on his side, completely petrified. The other Drilbur immediately notice this and get back to work, completely dismissing Fia's presence.
"Hee hee hee! Looks like that worked!" Fia giggles. She turns around to see Indigo still watching her from the rock. "Okay, Indigo! Come on, let's go!"
"Uh…" Indigo responds, slowly backing away. "I think I'll pa- agh!"
He cries out when he loses his balance and is dragged across the floor by a vine clutching his tail. Pancham and Shelmet watch on as the two disappear into the cave mouth, the sounds of Indigo's struggling falling silent.
"Well… that's one way of getting rid of him…" Pancham remarks with a stunned look. "Even got rid of Fia too."
"Heh, it's a double win for us!" Shelmet exclaims.
Pancham's look livens. "It is! Now come on, up top!" He holds up his paw.
Shelmet merely responds with a disapproving stare.
"What?" Pancham replies. Embarrassment then hits him once he realizes, leaving him to slowly lower his paw. "Anyways… let's just book it back to Serene VIllage. We don't want whatever's at the bottom of that cave to start coming for us, too!"
"Heh, you're right!" Shelmet adds. "Let's move!"
As the two head off, the Drilbur get back to work, unfazed by the events that just happened. That is, all except one.
"A… a little help here? A-Anyone?"
Indigo's POV
Agh… of all the things to happen… guess I really have no choice but to go through with this…
"Okay, okay, I'll cooperate, but can you please let go of my tail?" I ask Fia. "Come on, please? Can you—ow—please stop dragging me across the ground? The rocks hurt…"
"Yay!" The grip around my tail releases. "Now, come on, let's go!"
"Hey, hey, wait a second!" I pause, paw reaching for my sore rear. "Should… should we even be here? We don't even know what kind of Pokémon we're going up against!"
Fia shrugs off my protest. "Come on, don't be such a party pooper. I mean, I handled the Drilbur on my own perfectly, didn't I?"
I recall the Drilbur. "Well… you did… wait, how did you even do that?"
"I was waiting for you to ask!" Fia responds, turning around to face me with a proud grin. "You see, that was my Glare move! Pretty neat, huh?"
Wait… she knows Glare?
"See! We're gonna be fine!" Fia continues, already back to running ahead. "Look! We're already here at the two cave paths!"
"Wait… we are?"
After finally catching up with her, I look around to see that we're in a lone cave room, nothing but two cave mouths ahead of us. One boarded up with wood, and one not.
I really don't want to go through with this…
"Is it… still not too late to turn back? We don't even know which way to go…"
"The one that's barred up with wood! It looks dangerous!" Fia says, already starting to crawl beneath its planks. "And if there's anything I know, dangerous means exciting! And exciting is the way to go!"
"Wait, wait, wait, I don't think you're looking at this the right way," I break into a crawl and frantically follow her. "If it's dangerous, we could get really hurt! Or… die, even!"
"Relax, we've been doing well so far," Fia replies, the both of us getting up and heading down the cave path. "I mean, if we've been doing well up to this point, then what could possibly go wro-"
A fireball suddenly whizzes past her head, silencing Fia as we both look ahead to see a Darumaka, a Larvesta, and a Litleo in our way.
Three Fire types… you had to jinx it, didn't you?
"Finally! Some hostile Pokémon!" Fia says excitedly, getting into a battle stance and readying her vines. "Come on, Indigo! You can fight, right?"
"Well… I can, sort of… but still!" I respond. "They're Fire types!"
"Oh, come on, stop worrying about me!" Fia looks back at me as she whips her vines at the Darumaka. "Just fight!"
"But-"
I'm interrupted when I feel a burning pain sear me from behind, just shy off my bag's leafy strap. I quickly turn around to see a speedily hopping Larvesta.
Okay… that's it!
I muster the energy for a Quick Attack and feel the speed rush to my legs. With a nimble rush, I sidestep away from another Ember fireball directed my way and manage to ram into the Larvesta with my shoulder. The impact forces me to reel to a halt as the Larvesta flies into the wall.
Let's get this done quick… I quickly clutch my bag's strap and open its flap, my other paw quickly reaching for a Slumber Wand. As I pull it out, something forcefully tugs at my paw. Before I can attempt to pull back, the surprise of the initial tug proves to be too much, forcing me to let go of my Wand.
I cry out as my Wand is clutched by a String Shot, quickly being withdrawn to the mouth of a waiting Larvesta. Seeing my opponent raise it in attempt to wave it already gets me panicking.
N-No! I can't afford to pass out again!
I quickly compose myself and keep my feet planted firmly, even with the projectile flying straight my way. I concentrate energy to my retracted paw until I feel my own orb of energy hovering over my paw with an intense flare. I thrust my paw forward and launch my Focus Blast on a head-on course towards the Slumber Wand projectile.
The following impact not only causes a large of cloud of dust to blow up in front of my face, but it also sends a quick tremor to course through the ground, challenging my firmly planted stance. When the smoke clears, I'm greeted to the noticeably recoiled position of the Larvesta against the wall.
Okay… I take a deep breath once I'm sure the air is clear. … one more hit should do it-
I feel another tremor course through the ground, the vibration looking noticeably stronger by the wall, right where the Larvesta is. So strong, that the uneven levels of rock by the wall start shifting and cause a rain of debris to collapse onto the Larvesta.
Silence follows. Not even a hiss from beneath the pile of rubble.
W-W-What happened?! Did I… did I just kill it?! O-Okay… this place is unstable! I… I need to check on Fia!
Fia's POV
Come and get me! I dare you!
I quickly dodge a Darumaka's Incinerate attack and follow up with my vine, grabbing it by the foot. Hearing the growling coming from behind, I quickly turn around and swing. As if by sheer luck, I manage to slam the Darumaka into a Litleo, pinning them both to the ground.
Hah! And Indigo didn't think I could handle this on my own! As amusing as his worrying was, he obviously had nothing to worry abou- hey, ow ow ow!
A sudden burning pain makes me cry out, flinching to see the Darumaka biting down on my vine with a Fire Fang.
"Okay, I'm on fire now! I'm on fire!" I yell, flailing my burning vine around. "Ow ow ow ow ow!"
After several more seconds of flailing my vine, I finally manage to put the fire out and withdraw it, only to see the Darumaka and the Litleo in front of me fire a combined fire attack. The two attacks form a giant fireball that leaves me wide-eyed as it flies my way.
Where's Pops to put out fires like this when I need him…
"Fia, watch out!"
Before I can bring myself to jump out of the way, I'm pushed out of the way and sent reeling across the floor. With the series of events leaving me dazed, I find myself being helped up.
"... Fia? Fia, are you okay?!" I finally snap out of my daze to the sound of Indigo's worried tone.
I blink, looking around me to see all the action gone. "What happened?"
"Well… you almost got hit by some big fireball… but I pushed you out of the way… even took out the rest of the hostiles…" He pauses to let out a sigh of relief, reaching for his bag. "You aren't that badly hurt, are you?" He pulls out an Oran Berry and offers it to me.
I smile at him. "Thanks for that. I'm not that hurt… for the most part… but I'll still take the Oran Berry!" I take it from his paw and get to eating. "Bless your heart, Indigo. You got to have the privilege of helping yours truly! Not that I'm anything that special, but still, good enough for me!" I finish my Oran Berry and clutch his paw. "Now come on, let's go!"
"W-Wait!" He fights back on my pull. "We could've died back there! The whole place could've collapsed on us! Why do you still want to go through with this?!"
I giggle. "Stop worrying! It's flattering how much you care, but still! Besides, we did fine back there! If there's anything I learned from this experience, it's that if I can defeat Fire types with your help, then I can do anything! With your help! Maybe!"
He groans. "I… really can't convince you… fine… But if anything happens, I have an Escape Orb."
"Okay, good to know!" I get back to pulling on his paw. "Now come on, let's go! We have some gems to collect!"
"O-Okay! Just… let me catch my breath!"
A few minutes later, Author's POV
The descent down the Drilbur Coal Mine only proved to be more treacherous. Not much to do with the amount of hostiles present, but more to do with the increasing lack of legroom. Less hostiles, less space, and less potential to cause an echo.
To the dismay of a certain Snivy.
"It's so bo-o-o-oring here!" Fia cries out to the walls in hopes of a response. "I can't even get my voice to echo anymore!"
Indigo hushes Fia with a paw to his mouth. "Please… be quiet… This place can collapse on us at any moment…"
Fia giggles to herself with a smirk. "You worry too much! Come on, if you just get more scared the longer we're here, then let's just pick up the pace! Race ya to the bottom!"
"W-Wait!" Indigo attempts to protest, but the Snivy has already bolted off. He takes pursuit. "C-Come on! How… how do you even run so fast on those… those… tiny legs?"
"Less asking, more running!" Fia picks up her speed.
Indigo audibly pants, barely given any time to gather his breath. "L-Let me… let me catch up…"
With a deep breath, Indigo concentrates his Quick Attack energy to his legs. As soon as he does, it's not long before he becomes a blinding blur that quickly overwhelms Fia's pace.
"Hey! No fair! If you get to do that, then I get to do this!" Fia yells, whipping out a vine.
The Snivy whips her vine forward and manages to wrap it around one of Indigo's leg. As soon as she finds a grip, she yanks hard.
"Ha! See, that's what happens when you-"
Fia is then cut off whe she proceeds to bump into Indigo's stumbling figure, causing them both to fall over down the incline of the path ahead. Their tumbling continues until they eventually reach flat ground, leaving them sprawled on the rocky floor.
"Urgh… that… was something…" Indigo groans as he gets back up. "Where'd… we end up?"
Fia picks herself back on her feet as well, but with less groaning. Rather than focusing on her pain, her eyes are immediately brought to the glistening view ahead of her. "Indigo! Look!"
The Riolu stops staggering for a second to follow Fia's gaze. "Whoa… we're… actually here…"
The two take some steps forward to absorb the surroundings of the large open cave area they're in. Not only is it vast, but lining the walls of the room's back end are a sea of gems as far as the eye can see. While they're all nothing too massive, they make up for it with their collective shine and variety of coloured hues.
"Hee hee!" Fia giggles. "Looks like we've stumbled into quite the-"
"N-No…" Indigo interrupts, his eyes still glued ahead. "Just… not now… I'm still… wow…"
"Well, what're we waiting for?!" Fia speaks up, perky tone and all, readying her vines. "We're here where the gems are! Come on, let's get the ones Pancham and Shelmet wanted us to get!"
Indigo pauses to blink, breaking out of his trance. "Well… technically they wanted me to get it… But still… there's so many… Should we get the red ones? The blue ones? The purple ones?" A single gem in the distance catches his attention with its specific shining hue, as if beckoning to him with nothing but instinct. "Maybe… maybe we can get that one there that looks like a mix of blue and purple… there's a word for that, right?"
"Does it matter? Let's just get as many as we can!" Fia exclaims.
Before the two can take another step forward, the deep guttural sound of growling echoes around the area.
"Okay Indigo, I know you're excited, but eat an Apple if you need to!"
Indigo blinks, his quivering stance returning. "That… wasn't me…"
Fia gives him a dejected look. "If it wasn't you, but it also wasn't me… I think… then-"
"I'm afraid you won't be taking any of these gems, thieves!" The growling voice echoes.
Fia whips out her vines and takes an aggressive stance. "Who's there?!"
"I am!" A figure swoops down from the ceiling and lands right in front of Indigo and Fia, forcing the duo to jump back as the impact kicks up a flurry of sandy dust. The dust settles to reveal a Gabite, already pointing his claws in a battle stance.
Despite the Gabite's stiffly threatening stare, Fia steps forward. "Did you just call us thieves? But we're not here to steal anything! We're just here to take some- mmf mmf mmf!"
Indigo sheepishly chuckles as he keeps his paw on a struggling Fia's mouth. He barely manages to make eye contact with the Gabite without trembling. "Ha… ha… please don't mind my friend here… She's just… being silly—D-Did you just lick my paw?"
"You bet I did!" Fia proudly proclaims, giving him an aggressive stare as Indigo flicks his wet paw. "Come on Indigo, I thought we were gonna get some gems!"
"So you are here to steal my gems!" Gabite yells with another echo. "Ugh, and those Drilbur were supposed to keep this place secluded! Never mind! I'll just have to kill you thieves myself!"
The look on Fia's face drains. "Hey Indigo did he just say ki-"
Before she can finish, the Snivy is pushed out of the way of a blue Dragon Rage fireball by Indigo.
"Yes… yes he did say kill," Indigo hastily says, quickly getting up and helping Fia to her feet. "Let's just… try to survive for the time being!"
With a quick turn, Indigo immediately prepares a Focus Blast over his paw and thrusts it at the Gabite dashing his way. In response, the Gabite digs a claw into the ground before thrusting it up to kick up a small Sand Tomb twister that catches the blue projectile and hurts it Indigo's way. Indigo swiftly pulls out a Warp Wand from his bag and sends a projectile to collide head on, but rather than having the impact cause an explosion, the Focus Blast projectile teleports. The blast ends up teleporting so that it's back on its course towards Gabite's face.
Indigo takes a second to stare in amazement at how his Focus Blast conveniently teleported back to its intended course, this time hitting its mark and kicking up a dust cloud that engulfs its target. 'I've… I've gotten surprisingly lucky with Focus Blast… I would've thought it'd do more missing but-'
The Riolu's moment of triumph is interrupted when Gabite rushes forward from the cloud, swiping a claw down. Gabite's target quickly jumps out of the way, leaving the claw lodged into the ground, but with a forceful thrust, the claw is thrust back up, hurling a flurry of sand in Indigo's face.
The sudden visual threat catches Indigo's off guard and forces him to shield his eyes, but in the process, he leaves himself vulnerable to the grip of Gabite's Sand Tomb tornado.
"You've proven yourself to be far too troublesome, little Riolu!" Gabite yells, a Dragon Rage already flaring between his jaws. "If you thought you're worthy of possessing these gems, then you've got another thing coming! For this, you must burn!"
All of a sudden, Gabite's view of the dazed Riolu in front of him is obstructed by the upside down view of a Snivy staring right into his eyes. "Hey! Hey you! Look at me!"
"Argh!" Gabite's focus is faltered as he swipes at the Snivy perched on his head. Swipe his claws as he must, the prolonged eye contact becomes too much for Gabite as his limbs lock up, leaving his entire body petrified.
Fia lets out a relieved sigh as she jumps off Gabite's head and lands on her feet. She gives Gabite's leg a gentle nudge, causing him to fall over on his side, his position still stiff.
The Snivy skips over to the staggering Riolu and helps him reorient himself.
"Wha… wha… oh…" After putting a paw to his head at the passing dizzy spell, Indigo straightens his posture and quickly shakes his head. "Fia…? What happened?"
Fia smiles and motions to the paralyzed Gabite lying on the floor. "It's the least I can do for pushing me out of the way of the other fireballs."
"Wow…" Indigo takes a second to blink at Gabite's figure before looking back to smile at Fia. "Looks like I'm the one who has to thank you this time… so-"
What relief settled over the two is immediately shaken when a sudden tremor challenges their footing. As soon as the brief shockwave settles, they both stare at each other with widened eyes.
Even with the ground reaching its calm, Indigo can't help but stand with quivering legs. "W… W-What was that?!" He peeks over Fia's shoulder to see Gabite's figure completely absent. "Fia! Gabite's gone!"
"Did the paralysis wear off already?!" The Snivy whips her gaze behind her to see nothing but a hole in Gabite's place. "He must be digging!"
"W-Wait, he's using Dig?!" Indigo holds his paws up cautiously and assumes a defensive stance. "S-Stay close to me… he… he can pop back up at any second…"
Fia obliges, almost willingly pressing her back against Indigo's, but the lingering tension of the moment drowns out any chance of the duo noticing these trivial details.
It's only when the tense but uneventful silence overstays its welcome does awkward start to dawn on the duo.
Indigo utters an audible gulp. "Uh… any second now…"
"Indigo?" Fia raises a confused eyebrow his way. "Don't get me wrong, I… I really like your fur… for some reason… but-"
Paranoia causes Indigo's voice to raise. "A-Any second now! Stay on guard!"
The tense atmosphere returns, once again drowning out the memory of what little exchange happened before. To a certain Snivy's relief.
'I really hope he didn't actually hear tha-'
She's caught off balance when the ground trembles once more, this time noticeably closer beneath her.
"Uh… Indi-"
She cries out when the ground beneath her bursts to reveal a lunging Gabite, claws at the ready. Fia holds her vines up and flinches, clenching her eyes shut as she waits for the cutting swipe to reach her. The sound of a slicing impact reaches her ears, but the sensation of pain is absent.
The Snivy quickly opens her eyes to see Indigo jumping in the way of the blow, the swipe already looking to have grazed across his stomach. She also notices a violent red aura of some sort surrounding the Riolu, but before she can register what it means, another blow follows. Without giving Fia time to blink, Indigo thrusts his paw at Gabite's face at blinding speed, delivering an impact powerful enough to send Gabite soaring.
With Gabite reeling painfully, Indigo collapses to the ground with a sharp gasp, clutching his chest with his paw. Fia rushes to his side.
"Indigo!" She cries out. "What… what was that?"
The Riolu blinks at a rapid pace, looking at the blood on his paw. "I… I… I guess that was a last second Counter… but either way… I still had that coming…"
The Snivy gives him a soft smile of gratitude and fishes an Oran Berry out of his bag. "Well, here. If it makes you feel any better, you've definitely become a hero in my eyes."
Indigo notices the Oran Berry offered to him and musters a wavering smile. "I wouldn't exactly call myself a hero, though… but sure, why not?" He accepts the berry with a paw and takes a shaky bite. "Is… Is Gabite down?"
Fia squints ahead at Gabite's fallen figure. He doesn't stir.
Her expression lights up with excitement. "I think he's down for the count! I'll go get the gems!"
The Snivy makes a mad dash to the wall of treasures ahead. As she does so, she passes by Gabite's collapsed figure without a second thought.
He stirs. "P-Please… don't take the gems… they're… they're too valuable… I can't have spent my whole life guarding these gems to lose them to some kids…"
Fia stops in place at his wording. "Your… whole life?"
Indigo finishes his Oran Berry and manages to get back to his feet. "Are they… are they really that valuable?"
Gabite coughs, struggling to get up farther than a kneeling position. "I can only stay certain as long as the information spread through my family line are all true… All I know is that a certain gem here has special properties that'll prove to be very important when its time comes… The thing is… I'll only know which one's the special gem when the time comes… That's why I need to keep all of my gems just in case… I can't risk losing the special gem… Not until the proper time comes…"
The duo pause in silence, letting Gabite's story sink in.
"This really changes everything," Fia speaks up, with a quiet tone. But not quiet for long. "Hey Indigo! You know what this means?"
Indigo raises an eyebrow. "Uh… what?"
Fia faces him with an excited smile. "We're done with everything we have to do here! That means I can take you to that special place I was talking to you about a long while back!"
"We… can leave? W-Wait… one thing first…" Indigo pauses to dust himself off for a second before taking out an Oran Berry. He walks over to Gabite and offers it to him. "Uh… sorry for… barging in here and… uh… beating you up…"
Gabite slowly takes the berry in a claw and takes a bite. "I'd rather not recall the outcome of our battle… but I appreciate the apology."
"Take care, Mr. Gabite!" Fia calls out. "Okay, Indigo! Let's use that Escape Orb and get out of here!"
"Oh… that…" Indigo takes an Escape Orb out of his bag. "Okay… here's the Escape Orb… now what do I do with it?"
Fia pauses. "Are you saying you don't know how to use Orbs?"
"W-Well… all I know is that it's an Escape Orb… but I don't know how to use it-"
Indigo is interrupted when a vine slaps the Escape Orb out of his paw. It shatters as soon as it hits the ground, causing a bright light to engulf Indigo and Fia, teleporting them away and out of the dungeon.
As the light fades to reveal the duo's lack of presence, Gabite finishes off the rest of his Oran Berry and gets back on his feet. He sighs. "If only I had my father's stone with me… then I would've won that battle… urgh… if only that blazing ghost of a girl actually returned it to me…"
A few minutes later, Serene Village's Plaza, Fia's POV
Okay, we weren't gone for that long… yep! We still have time to go there!
"Come on, Indigo! We're already here! You can't be tired already!"
I tear my gaze away from the blues skies to see Indigo panting behind me.
"I've… been running… for a long time now… Please… I could really do for some rest…"
"Later, later! Come on, you have to be awake for this!" I run back and start pushing him forward.
"Hey! Hey, you two!"
I peek over Indigo's shoulder to see Pancham and Shelmet standing by the plaza area's center, giving us intent looks.
"Did you get the gems?" Shelmet's look narrows to a sneer. "Or did you wuss out?"
"No gems, but we made it out just fine!" I immediately reply with a smile. "Mr. Gabite tried to kill us, but we're all good now. Apparently his gems are actually very valuable, so we couldn't just take them away!"
The two of them stare at us, wide-eyed. "You survived a Gabite?!"
"I… actually got scratched up a bit… but Oran Berries are surprisingly fast acting…" Indigo takes a second to stare down at his chest.
"Yep! Now come on, Indigo! We have a place to be!" I grab Indigo by the paw and start running through the path with him in tow, leaving an astonished Pancham and Shelmet in the dust.
His paw still in my grip, I head out of the plaza area and towards the path of houses, this time taking a left.
"Uh… Fia?" Indigo speaks up between breaths. "Is… this the right way? It… looks like we're heading out of the village… how close did you say this place was, again?"
"We're almost there, don't worry! We just have to go a bit farther down this path!"
We continue running until I spot a distinct grassy hill to the side, a large tree big enough to be a landmark at its top. I run off with Indigo to the hilltop before sitting down in the tree's shade.
I take a deep breath and let it out to flow with the passing breeze. "Here we are, Indigo… my favorite place!"
Indigo slowly sits to my left and glances around him, a look of curiosity in his eyes. He lets out a breath as well. "The breeze really is nice here… though, after spending an entire mystery dungeon's worth of life or death situations with you… I expected something you'd describe as… well, 'exciting'."
I giggle. "Might as well enjoy the best of what Serene Village has to offer, right? Besides, it's not like this place is boring." I gesture an arm ahead. "I mean, get a good look at the view!"
I keep my attention fixated on his reaction as he slowly looks ahead. Fortunately for me, I'm met with no disappointment when he goes from wondrous to stunned just like that.
"Hee hee! It's really something, isn't it?"
Indigo silently nods, his expression still unwavering.
Still entranced, by the view, huh? Hee hee! I don't blame you.
I slowly join him in absorbing the sights, letting my thoughts daze. My eyes slowly wander off to the various clouds lazily passing by the wide expanse of the skies above, the bushy leaves of the tree nearby still within the corner of my eye. The wonder of the world ahead but a glimpse of home still remaining close by.
I bring myself out of my trance to take another deep breath. "... do you understand those kinda feelings, Indigo? … Indigo?"
I tear my gaze to my left to see Indigo stir, rapidly blinking from his upward stare for a bit before responding. "O-Oh… were you… saying something?"
I giggle. "Just some stuff about how much I love this view. The endless reach of the sky, the familiar but distant village, and the comforting shade of the tree… It's great, isn't it?"
He slowly lowers his gaze to look at me with a faint smile. "I was just going to say that it looked nice… but you really do know this view."
"You bet! I come here often, after all," I proclaim, a proud smile coming to my face as I look up to meet the drifting clouds. "It's a good spot to photosynthesize, relax, helps me clear my mind… but it also helps me get excited! Especially those clouds, slowly moving along without a care in the world, blissfully unaware of how lucky they are…"
"You find sky gazing… exciting?" I hear a hint of intrigue in Indigo's voice.
"Yep…" I let my thoughts wander off once more. "... you know, I'm jealous of all those clouds. They get to float wherever they want while getting to see all kinds of places… I really do envy them. It's my dream to go exploring to the endless beyond and become someone great…" I look his way. "Have you ever heard of the Expedition Society?"
He raises an eyebrow. "E-Er… I have no idea…" His look trails off for a second as he puts a paw near his chin. "Didn't… didn't Pancham call you an… Expedition Society wannabe or something…?"
"Oh, yeah, that," I sheepishly say with a chuckle. "You know… Serene Village doesn't really get much liveliness other than the occasional Pelipper that comes by with mail. But from what I've heard, somewhere out there is a place called Lively Town, where the Expedition Society's set up. I hear they're a group of professional explorers who go out and explore the real dangerous mystery dungeons and even help those in need! I just… need to get my hands on a map… become good enough as those adult explorers… and find some way to get to Lively Town…" Even with my wavering tone, I crack a giggle. "No one really believes I can do it yet, not even my Pops, but I know I'll find a way. Sooner or later!"
"Well, even with the odds, at least you know how to be optimistic…" I look at Indigo to see him smiling at me. "That… actually reminds of something Mr. Nuzleaf told me. Grown-ups may hold you back from a lot of things… but you have to pull through eventually. Maybe your Pops will understand when the time comes… either way… I still admire your spirit."
That Nuzleaf… that Mr. Nuzleaf… I smile back, playfully nudging him in the arm with a fist. "I sure hope so. Do you support my dream, Indigo?"
He chuckles, slowly rubbing the tiny patch of fur I stirred. "I definitely don't want to see that spirit go to waste. Looking back… considering how we survived in that mine… we actually pulled through for each other surprisingly well, so maybe you do have that exploration potential… uh… stuff." He hesitates with a blink. "Did I… uh… say that right?"
"Hee hee! It's like I said back there, I can do anything with your help! Maybe! Whatever happens, I'll never give up as long as you're with me!" I see Indigo giving me a questionable look. I tilt my head. "You are going to be watching my back along the way, right?"
He widens his eyes with a stunned pause. "W-Wait… so today wasn't just a one time thing?"
"Come on, of course not! We are friends, aren't we? We're already neighbours, after all!" I continue smiling at him in hopes of him catching on.
"I… I guess…" His gaze trails off as he hesitates. "W-well… after all we just went through today, I don't want to upset you… so… sure, I guess I can see myself getting used to this…"
I smile at him. "We really were amazing today, weren't we? And I know I wouldn't have pulled through if it weren't for your help, pushing me away fireballs and everything! You know what, it's about time I thank you! Friendship hug!"
"Wait wha-"
I cut his voice off when I wrap my arms around his neck and pull him into an embrace, my head resting on his shoulder. I'm only given a second to register his body warmth before the suddenness of my move causes us to lose balance, both of us crying out before we stumble.
I find myself face-first in the grass below as Indigo lands on his back, the grip of my determined hug still there.
I hear Indigo stammer. "Oh… uh… is… is this a normal thing to do? Like… often?"
I muster a giggle as I lift my face from the grass. "Well, I'm just the type who likes hugs."
"O-Oh… w-well… in… in that case…" I feel his paws slowly return the gesture, furthering the warmth.
It's… actually quite soothing… I smile and continue embracing the body warmth.
A moment of peaceful silence passes as I let my thoughts wander for a bit.
I let out a relieved breath. "The breeze really is nice here, you know? Indigo? … Indigo?"
I slowly get up on my feet to feel Indigo's paws limply fall back to his side. When I look upon his still figure, I widen my eyes at the realization.
Oh, come on! Sleeping at a time like this?! We were just having a nice friendship moment and everything!
The sound of his gentle snoring is enough to reaffirm my thoughts. I sigh with a huff and grab him by the shoulders. "Hey Indigo! Wake up! Come on, whatever happened to never giving up as long as you were on my side and everything?!"
My yelling leaves me with no results but more snoring, leaving me with another huff. You… you deep sleeper you… I guess I have to put an exception to that 'never give up' rule…
I muster a smile and playfully nudge him again. "Well, when you wake up, you'll still be rooting for me, right?"
Nothing but snoring.
I giggle. "I'll take that as a yes."
With the moment's passing leaving me with newfound resolve, I extend a vine out and wrap it around Indigo's tail. Now that I have him back in tow, I drag him down the hill and make my way back to the village path, my sights set on Mr. Nuzleaf's house.
As we near our destination, I look back on my dozing passenger and giggle to myself.
He's definitely a keeper.
