Pokémon Mystery Dungeon: Shin's Adventure

by HayateYuri

A retelling of Pokémon Mystery Dungeon Gates to Infinity. With a romantic angle, a human and a Pokémon go on adventures to build their Paradise. Eventually, their adventures lead them to the biggest adventure ever taken that will lead them to changing the fate of the Pokémon world.

7. Chapter 6

Ch. 6

Another day had passed and we went back home to sleep. Some time had passed since we turned in, but Silvy could not sleep.

"… … … Hey, Shin… You still awake? I just can't seem to sleep in this humidity… Shin… You know, when I was watching Leavanny and the others today, it made me think… You've got friends and family, too, right? In your world, Shin. The human world. How…do you think they're feeling now? Are you all close?"

"… … …"

"… … …I…I don't…have anyone like that. Parents… Brothers or sisters…"

… …

"I've been alone as long as I can remember. I never had any friends either… I wanted them, but I couldn't make any. The relationships between Pokémon just aren't very good in this world… If we could just get along a little better… But everyone's so quick to pick fights. Even Pokémon who seem like friends on the surface really aren't… No one says what they mean. It's all just lies and lip service… I just can't live like that. That's why I've never had any friends up until now. I was probably no different from Virizion, not that I think about it…"

…You were like that too…?

"But you know… At least I never stopped looking. Not just for some superficial alliance…but for someone I could trust with the real me. A true friend. I thought how great it'd be to actually do something real with that kind of friend. Like making this kind of paradise… And that's why…every day here is really so much fun for me. Thank you, Shin. I hope…these days will continue…"

"Yeah…me too, Silvy."

"Oh, you were awake?! Why didn't you tell me?!"

"You were saying something very important. I didn't want to interrupt."

"Oh, you…!"

Even in the weak light that the stars provided, I could still see how embarrassed Silvy was after confessing.

"Haha."

"What so funny?!"

"I just find it cute how embarrassed you are."

"Cu-cute! Don't be ridiculous."

She said this, but I could see mixed expression of happiness and indignation.

"Well, for not telling me you were awake, you have to take responsibility!"

"Responsibility?"

"Yes! You also have to tell me something!"

"Hmm….how about I talk about where I'm from?"

"Okay. You did promise you would tell me about it. We've been together for a while now, but you've never talked about yourself. Not once."

"There was never time to talk about. Our days were full of adventure and I just got caught up on it and never had the chance to bring it up."

"Then please, tell me about yourself. You can make it up to me by doing that…and one more thing?"

"One more thing? What's that?"

"You let me lay down next to you as you talk?"

"Lay down next to me? But our beds only fit one."

"That's okay! I can move mine so that it can fit two with yours."

I laughed at her childishness as I said, "Okay, go ahead then."

Her smile seemed to glow from starlight as her happiness was displayed on her face. She got up and started to move her bedding and combined with mine. After she finished, our beds looked like it was meant for one big Pokémon. She got comfortable and laid down next to me.

"Comfortable?"

"Mmhm. Now please, talk about where you're from."

"Alright. I guess I should start with who I am back in the human world. Let's see…"

"The place I come from has buildings made of concrete, buildings made out of very smooth stone. There are windows of different colors, doors in every home, and food can be bought just about anywhere outside. Where I lived was an orphanage, a place where children with no family went."

"You didn't have any family?"

"No, I didn't. I'm just like you. I grew up not knowing my parents. For as long as I can remember, I've always been living in that orphanage along with others."

"Were there a lot of children in that orphanage?"

"Yes. You could say that I took care of them all?"

"Did you really?!"

"In a way, yes. Every day I would get up early and cook the breakfast for all the children. The caretaker of that house didn't really care for us so we had to take care of ourselves. I was the oldest there and I took it upon myself to take care of them. Some were like me. Others lost their parents. And others were abandoned."

"How terrible…"

"We weren't lonely because we had each other to care for one another. Everyone looked up to me as their elder brother. I took care of them, I fed them, I washed them, and I raised them to be good people. Some may have even viewed me as their father."

"Were you happy with that…?"

"Hmm… Well, it was exhausting. I spent most of my life taking care of the others there, barely having any time to myself. But yes, I was happy. I was giving them something that I didn't have, a family; a person who cared; a friend."

"What did you do for fun?"

"I would usually play with the little ones. They always dragged me around and made me play with them, so I was never bored. When I had time for myself, I spent it reading books. I spent my time educating myself because I didn't have the time to go to school."

"School?"

"School is a place where people go to learn. They learn lots of things there. They learn history, math, art; lots of things. It's a place where you can not only learn, but also make friends," I said happily.

"Did the children go to school?"

"They did, I made sure of it. I may not have had the chance to go, but I wasn't going to let them miss their chance. Whenever they came home, they always told me stories of how their days went. I had always wondered what it was like to go to school, so hearing stories of it from them somehow fulfilled that desire. Whenever they need help with their homework, I happily helped. I learned a lot just by being with them."

"Speaking of learning, how did you learn to be so perceptive? Back when we went after Scraggy, you were going to tell how you came to like that."

"Oh, that's easy. Being the eldest, I naturally had to watch over everyone. I had to be able to tell who was lying and who needed help. You wouldn't believe how many tried to pull a wool over my eye. Others often needed help but were too shy to say anything, so I had to approach them. It was a lot of detective work sometimes."

"It sounds like you lived quite the happy life, Shin…"

"It sounds like it doesn't it? But to be honest, I wasn't very happy. I mean, I never looked sad or depressed. Being around the kids of the orphanage always made me happy."

"Then what do you mean?"

"I guess I'm a lot like you. I never knew my parents. I didn't have friends in the beginning. I didn't have anyone I could confide to. The children all looked up to me so I couldn't show them that the person they admired was secretly sad that he didn't have someone to talk to. I wasn't an equal among them. I was there elder brother, there caretaker; someone that they could rely on and confide in."

"That's ridiculous! I'm sure any one of those children would have happily listened to you and comforted if need be! Did you ever think about how they may feel about it?!"

"I did Silvy, I really did. But, I placed everyone there ahead of me. I did my best to make sure that even though they didn't have family, they could still feel loved by being part of our family. Whenever new children arrived at the orphanage, I was always the first along with a few others to greet and welcome them to their new home. It may not have been much, but at least they would never feel alone."

"It sounds like a very difficult job. I'm amazed you could even handle that all on your own."

"I didn't do everything by myself. I made sure to teach everyone how to take care of themselves. I taught them how to clean and cook. We all helped out at the orphanage. There was never one person that had nothing to do. By doing this, even if something were to happen to me, everyone there would be able to take care of themselves."

"Wow. You really thought of everything, didn't you?"

"Mmhm. This is also the reason why I wasn't so worried about returning. Everyone there can take care of themselves. In fact, I would eventually have to leave the orphanage. When a child becomes old enough, that child has to leave and begin fending for themselves."

"How cruel…"

"Maybe, but don't all children have to leave their homes eventually? Life's an adventure and when you finally become ready to take that adventure, you'll be amazed at what you'll see and experience."

I had the same enthusiasm that Silvy displayed when I first met her. We really weren't that different from each other. We both never knew our parents; we both never had any friends to rely on; we both shared a sense of adventure; we both kept searching for that one special person to call a friend.

"What about now? Do you miss the people you took care of…?"

"Hmm…I don't know… A part of me does. I do worry how they are doing without me. Some of them depended on me to do so many simple things, it's laughable," I chuckled lightly.

"Oh…"

"But another part says that they don't need my help. I did my best and in some strange way, this a chance to see if they can take care of themselves. I feel at ease when I think of it this way and I can keep going on adventures and enjoy my time here."

"Really?"

"Really."

A pause occurred where we just laid there and stared into the darkness. I was couldn't really say anything until Silvy broke it,

"What did you like to do in your free time?"

"Umm…mostly read. I never went to school and the children always had questions. If I had wanted to help, I needed to lean a lot. At first reading was more to help everyone. Eventually it came to be a favorite activity for me in my spare time. Stories of adventures and mystery were my favorites."

"I guess that's also where you got your perceptive powers, huh?"

"Hahah. Maybe."

Another pause. This one wasn't as awkward as the one before. We just took comfort in each other's presence.

"We really aren't that different from each other are we?"

"No, not really. We may both come from different worlds, but we still found each other. I was really glad that didn't I have to wander this world alone. I'm happy that I met you when I came to the Pokémon world. Every day has always been full of laughter, smiles, and adventures. Not once have I been disappointed to be here. It's all because of you."

"Shin…That's the nicest thing anyone has ever said to me…"

Even though she was embarrassed she still looked at me without turning away, flushed and with a half-grin. Her unwavering gaze left me flustered as I answered,

"W-well, it is true isn't it? I know I may not be from this world, but as long as I'm here, you'll never be alone. We'll always have each other," I consoled.

"Thank you, Shin. You always know just what to say to make a girl feel happy," she said, blushing.

She laid there next to me, not saying a word. I also didn't know what to say. The atmosphere between us had become really awkward.

Uwaaah…I can really feel her body heat! And her smell, she smells like fresh grass and the forest trees. It's a really peaceful scent.

Somehow I had managed to begin really noticing the fact that she was a female. This had made my heart race faster and made it difficult to stay calm.

Just as I was at my wits end, Silvy spoke up.

"….I think I can finally go to sleep now. You should probably go to sleep, too."

"Yeah. We had a long day. Some rest will do us good."

"Shin?"

"Yes?"

"Do you mind if I sleep with you? I'd sleep better if I'm with you," she said shyly

"Uh…um…sure, by all means," I said in a fluster.

"Thanks. See you tomorrow, Shin. Good night."

"Good night, Silvy."

I don't know why, but even though my heart was beating fast, I didn't have any trouble falling asleep that night.

That same night, a stranger was panting heavily as it approached the gates of Post Town. Its strength was rapidly fading as it reached the entrance until it finally collapsed and blacked out a little past the gate.

The next morning arrived much faster than I was accustomed. Perhaps because of the Pokémon sleeping next to me made my heart race, time seemed to speed up. I awoke before Silvy did and noticed she had my hand clasped in hers. Maybe the dream she had made her reach out to someone for comfort, only she knew. I gently released the grip and got up from bed. I took a seat by the table and drank some water and had an apple.

Why does it feel like we are newlyweds? I thought wryly.

Despite being originally human, I still couldn't help to notice this feeling within me. It was nothing when I was helping the kids of the orphanage. With them I gave them sound advice and helped them in their endeavors. I never had my chance at romance and didn't give much thought to it. Who would have thought that my chance would come in a different world?

"How's that for irony?" I muttered.

Silvy began to get up and rub the sleepiness from her eyes.

"Good morning, Shin."

"Morning, Silvy."

She came over to table and looked at me with a big grin and her hands behind her back.

"Let's give it our all again today!"

"Yeah, let's have another good day of adventuring."

Another day of adventure was waiting outside that door. The day looked like it would be another good one. This thought passed through my head as Emolga came frantically towards us.

"Shin! Silvy!"

"Emolga! What's up?" Silvy asked, surprised.

"He's here! In Post Town! The suspicious Pokémon!"

""What?!""

"You mean… The suspicious Pokémon that HAPPI sent a notice about—that suspicious Pokémon?!"

"Well, I don't know about that… It seems like this Pokémon collapsed on his way here to Post Town…"

"Collapsed?" I asked.

"Yeah. He's been taken to the inn already, and the Signora's looking after him. I got a glance at him, at least. He didn't look all that scary to me…"

"So basically there's no guarantee that he's even a bad Pokémon." Silvy said with a sigh.

"Yeah. But he's not from around here and no one's ever seen him before, so… It all seems pretty suspicious. Gurdurr's already there assuming the worst. He started treating this new Pokémon like a bad guy right away. It's not pretty."

"Got it. We'll swing by the inn then," I said.

"Yeah, you do that. I'll go get the others together."

"Silvy? Let's go see how things are going at the inn."

"Right! I'm worried, so I, too, want to check things out."

At the town square, there was a crowd of Pokémon in front of the inn gossiping as to who and what the suspicious Pokémon was. They were telling their own versions of how they met the Pokémon or what they think he looks like. Most were baseless rumors they were spreading though.

"Whoa. There are so many Pokémon here," Silvy noticed.

We went closer to the crowd in order to get past the crowd.. Patrat and Ducklett noticed us and Silvy tried to get them to step aside.

"'Scuse me, could you let us through? Sorry."

Ducklett and Patrat stepped aside without a word and the both of us proceeded in. We hurried to the top of the inn and saw Gurdurr interrogating the Pokémon resting on the bed.

"Don't you play innocent with me, bub! I want to hear some straight answers! What kind of plot are you brewing, coming to our town like this?!"

The Pokémon that Gurdurr was harassing was an evolution form of an Eevee, Umbreon. Umbreon had a jet black coat with luminescent rings on each of its four legs with the hind legs having bigger rings. His tail also had a ring that wrapped around the tail as well as his ears. On his forehead was another ring that shown like the moon. His eyes were a deep ruby color that complimented his night coat.

"No… I…I never… Ugh…"

"Gurdurr. He's still in pain. Stop being so ridiculous," Swanna chastised.

"Urgh! B-but Swanna… He could just be pretending to be hurt, you know? Then, once everyone's let their guard down, that's when he'll strike!"

"Don't be absurd. He isn't you, after all."

"… …Sorry."

Gurdurr could not argue with Swanna for he, at one point, did exactly as he thought Umbreon would do.

"This is the Pokémon that collapsed?" I asked.

"Aye, that's right, sonny," Herdier answered, " I was just oot for me morning' stroll and ye cannae imagine me shock! Findin' a poor hurt Pokémon lyin' there in the road!"

"I dunno. He doesn't look like a bad, guy, but… Well, he's not from around here, right? So we don't know for sure…" Timburr said warily.

Just then, Emolga had arrived from gathering everyone together and bringing them to the inn.

"Sorry for the wait, everybody! I brought Dunsparce and Virizion, too!"

Dunsparce and Virizion were behind Emolga, but when Virizion saw Umbreon, she was quite surprised.

"…Oh! Umbreon!"

Everyone in the room was stunned to know that Virizion knew the mysterious Pokémon.

"Umbreon… What happened to you? What's his condition?" she asked Swanna.

"He'll pull through. He's been injured, but…it mostly just seems to be exhaustion at this point. Give him some time and some rest, and I think he'll be fine."

"Are you sure? Thank goodness…"

"Virizion, you know this Pokémon?" Silvy asked.

"I know him. His name is Umbreon. He's a dungeon researcher."

"A dungeon…researcher?"

"Yes. Umbreon researches the mysterious powers present in this land, including the dungeons. That research was his life. Especially his investigations of the Great Glacier."

"The…the Great Glacier?!" Dunsparce exclaimed.

"Do you remember what I told you all before, when we saw that mirage? That I had seen the Great Glacier up close, from a mountain on the seaside? That's when I met Umbreon."

"Hoho, so that's the truth o'it! Here we all were, blatherin' on aboot nothin'! Seems there's nae a thing tae worry aboot wi; this here lad."

Everyone was content with Virizion knowing who Umbreon was. Gurdurr was the only one that wasn't really satisfied with the flow of events that just happened.

"…Fine. Sorry."

"But Umbreon wasn't the only one I met then, either. He had a partner. Espeon. Umbreon and Espeon were investigating the Great Glacier together, you know?"

"A partner? Then where's that Espeon or whatever now? I have tons of questions, but…" I said.

"I guess the only one with the answers is this Umbreon guy right here," Silvy said while looking at Umbreon.

"I don't think you'll be getting any answers today, then. But I'll let you know as soon as Umbreon is up and moving," Swanna declared.

"Got it. Then I guess we'd better head back to Paradise, huh?" Silvy offered.

"Yeah. Let's go get some requests done from the board for now." Emolga said excitedly.

The next morning brought Timburr to come and tell us about Umbreon.

"Heeeeey! Umbreon's…Umbreon's up and movin' now!"

"Really?" I asked.

"Yeah. Only problem is… …he says he's gotta get outta Post Town right away."

"What?!" Silvy exclaimed.

"'Course we told him not to push it, but he just ain't listenin' to a word anybody says. So the Signora told me to come and get you."

"Got it. I'll get everyone together," I said.

I had Silvy and Timburr go ahead of us as I went about looking for Emolga, Dunsparce and Virizion.

Back at the inn, we arrived to see Umbreon struggle to move.

"H-hey, fella! You shouldn't push yourself yet!" Gurdurr implored

"B-but…if I don't make it in time… Ugh!"

"Come on, listen to reason… It's just too soon to be moving around like that. Rest up a bit longer, OK?" Timburr said.

"Umbreon!" Virizion said worryingly.

"Virizion… Seems like I owe you for clearing up the misunderstanding about me… I've gotta thank you for that. And while I'd love to stay and chat… I've got a prior appointment…"

"Seems you have a reason ot be in such a rush…" Swanna commented.

"Ugh!" "But you're not getting anywhere in that condition."

"Umbreon… Why don't you explain what's going on? We might be able to help, you know?" Virizion suggested.

"… ... … …That's true enough. Fine… Let me start from the beginning."

"What?!" Dunsparce exclaimed.

"You ran all the way to Post Town…" began Emolga.

"…because you were being attacked by some strangers?!" Silvy finished.

"That's right… They attacked Espeon and me out of the blue… We both ran off in different directions. I was lucky enough to end up here, but… Espeon… She's probably still on the run from those monsters… I've gotta go… I have to find her!"

"So that's why… But…why did you think someone whould've attacked you?" I asked.

"My guess is they were probably after these."

Umbreon then took out a couple of cards and placed them in front of us. The cards bared a sun insignia with a different look of it on each card. The corners of it had two small arching red lines over gold corners. The card itself was outlined in gold with the interior of the card being a dull purple. There was something familiar about the ring that the sun was placed over.

"Are these…cards?" Silvy asked.

"Is this your first time seeing them? They're called Entercards. See, everyone knows that the land around here has unsusually high mysteriosity… But even the mysterious power in these kinds of areas does obey some rules. It follows certain paths. What we call ley lines. The flow of these ley lines affects and determines the mysteriosity in an area. Once we realized that, dungeon researchers like Espeon and I began to wonder… What if we could use the power of those ley lines for ourselves? That's wherer the Entercardds come in. As for what the Entercards actually do… Well—"

Umbreon was then surprised to see the entire room had fallen asleep from Umbreon's sermon about the ley lines. It wasn't like it was an easy to understand explanation, but even so, I still found it fascinating enough to pay attention and absorb everything eagerly. I was just as surprised to see everyone had fallen asleep.

"Hey! Why're you all asleep?!"

"Huh? Were we sleeping?" Gurdurr asked.

"I guess so… It was like some awesomely powerful spell was cast over—like being hypnotized…" Emolga said, ashamed.

"I for one had a lovely dream! Now I feel all refreshed," Swanna said happily.

"Sorry… I guess my explanation was a little on the technical side… Seeing it for yourself is probably the easiest way to understand it. Let's go outside."

Umbreon tried to lead everyone outside to perform a demonstration, but he stumbled because he still hadn't recovered.

"A-are you OK?" Dunsparce asked, concerned.

"Go on, you two. Help him out," Gurdurr ordered.

""Yes, Boss!""

The two Timburr began to take hold of Umbreon and guided him to where Umbreon wanted to perform his demonstration.

"Come on, we've got you. You up to walkin, Umbreon?"

"Yeah… Sorry about this."

We arrived at the highest plateau, the one that had the small pond. Pokémon from all of Post Town gathered before Umbreon to watch as he demonstrated with his cards. There were still some Pokémon coming to join the gathering.

"Woah! What's going on up here?" Patrat asked.

"I dinnae ken meself…but it seems this stranger is aboot tae show us a real treat. Don't ye get in the way, lad." Herdier answered.

"Wow! I wonder what it will be! This is kind of exciting!"

"Alright. This ought to do it. Everybody? If you could step back a bit…"

Everyone did as Umbreon said.

"Here we go."

Umbreon placed his two cards diagonally from each other in a small container he had set-up. This small container itself looked like it had machine origins as it was metal coated in purple paint. Once the cards were placed, the air itself began to be sucked in towards the box. Just then, a bright flash of light lit up and blinded us.

"Whoa! The light's-!"

When the light rescinded, the light was then focused into a vortex enveloping the cards until the color of the vortex became red and symbols lined the rings that appeared. The inside of the vortex became a mixture of red, orange, yellow and white swirling around mixing together.

"Th-that'-?!"

"What is that thing?!" Dunsparce asked, surprised.

"It's a Magnagate. It's an entrance…to a dungeon."

"An entrance to a dungeon?!" I exclaimed.

"Yeah. Though this one isn't complete. We start by crafting Entercards for the ley lines we want to read. Then, using different combinations of those cards and varying their placement, we can change the flow of the ley lines and force them into new patterns, you see. Then, boom, you've got the entrance to a dungeon. The entrance to the dungeon that you see before you now, it's a particularly special one. Chances are, no one else in the world has ever used it. It's a path that Espeon and I finally found after compiling all our years of research. We're using the power of the sun and the moon to manipulate some serious ley lines. But…these two cards here aren't enough to summon up a real Magnagate. I'd need the other two cards if I wanted to summon a useable Magnagate."

After a while, the Magnagate began to close by itself. It was hard to tell if the gate closed because of its lack of use or because it was incomplete.

"I see… I think I get it now. And the other cards you need…are with Espeon, are they?" Virizion said.

"Yeah. My Entercards and Espeon's, by combining both sets it seemed we were finally going to be able to complete our research. But we were attacked right after we finished making these cards. That's why I've got to assume that the enemy's after our Entercards."

"When you consider the fact that no one has attacked you since you've been here… It seems they might be trying to avoid drawing attention to themselves,"Swanna observed.

"I dunno about that, Swanna. They could just want you to think that. Then they strike! Outta the blue!" Gurrdurr declared.

"At any rate, we can all protect Umbreon together as long as he's here," Virizion said.

"Which just leaves Espeon," I commented.

"What? Y-you mean…" Umbreon said, surprised.

"There's no way we wouldn't save her after hearing all this!" Silvy said, proudly.

"We can't just sit back and relax when someone's in trouble…" Emolga added.

"We're the Starlight, after all!" Dunsparce yelled.

"Leave it up to us. We'll definitely bring Espeopn back safe," I said with a smile.

"Th-there aren't even words… I promise I'll pay you back for this somehow. I think Espeon ran off in the direction of Crags of Lament. I know I saw some of our pursuers heading that way. I'm sorry, but I'm counting on you for this one. You've gotta save Espeon from them!"

"We will. You can believe that," Virizion said reassuringly.

"Shin! You can decided who's gonna go, right?" Emolga asked.

"When everything's ready, let's set out at once!" Dunsparce declared.

"We're going to the Crags of Lament…and saving Espeon!" Silvy said resolutely.

The Crags of Lament was place high above the grounds. It did not have crags in its name for nothing. Our path of travel was high in the sky and one wrong step would send us plummeting to our doom. Patches of weeds and moss grew here and there and sometimes a lone tree could be seen over the edge growing on a pillar.

"It sure is cold here," Emolga complained.

"That's because we can feel the clouds on our bodies. The higher we are above ground, the colder it gets," I explained.

"How far in here do you think Espeon is?" Silvy asked.

"She must have gone as far back as possible. She is being chased, after all. We must hurry before she has nowhere left to run," Verizion implored.

We hurried on as fast and safe as possible. I had Emolga fly ahead and make sure the path did not have a dead end so as to not waste any time. Whenever Emolga returned, he would bring news of wild Pokémon, the path that led higher into the sky, or dead ends. When we were forced to face off against the indeginous Pokémon, we made sure to spread out so as not to get in each other's way. There was very little room to use moves against the enemy so we couldn't afford to have prolonged battles.

Some of the wild Pokémon that were native to the Crags of Lament were familiar to us. Venipede could be seen at times as well Swinub. New faces that we met were Swoobat, the Courting Pokémon, and Whimsicott, the Windveiled Pokémon. Whimsicott had a small imp like body with amber eyes. It had a big cotton puff tail that was bigger than its body and covered its head and neck. On the side of its head were green horns that seemed to be growing out of the cotton puff. Swoobat, as the name indicated, was a bat Pokémon colored in a navy blue body and head and a blue-gray fur that covered part of its body and neck. It had fangs protruding out of its lower jaw that almost touched its heart shaped nose. Its nose and crescent moon tipped tail were both colored a rosy pink.

Farther ahead of Silvy and Shin's group was Espeon, the Sun Pokémon, exhausted from constantly running from her pursuers. Espeon had a mauve coat with a two pronged tail. The inside of her ears were a midnight blue color, a contrast to her coat, eyes and the feelers beneath her ears. The small ruby jewel on her forehead glittered in the light as she ran.

"Hah…hah… Hah…hah…"

She was running as fast as she could, believing her pursuers were some distance away. She peered around and risked the chance to stop and rest.

"Hah…hah… Hah…hah…"

Her short break gave her pursuers the chance to catch up.

"Nya-ha-ha-ha-ha! You can't escape us—no matter how quick you scamperr!"

Espeon looked around all over, but could not find the source of the voice mocking her efforts.

"Wh-where—Where are you?!"

"Croa-ka-ka-ka! Wouldn't you like to know! Why don't you come find us?"

Puzzled as to how the second voice was mocking her, she responded,

"Um… I'm the one running from you here. Why would I come after you? I'm trying to get away! And you'll never catch me! Not fools like you! Besides, I know what you're after! And I will never hand them over to you!"

She declared her defiance to her pursuers and quickly returned to running farther in the Crags of Lament. The voices only laughed at her futility.

"Nya-ha-ha-ha-ha! What a troublesome girrrl!"

"Croa-ka-ka-ka! But she's looking pretty tired, ain't she? It's only a matter of time before we nab her! Croak!"

"We'd better finish this up, though… Or we'll be the ones getting rrrun ragged next!"

"Croa-ka-ka-ka! I know! Croak! Playtime's over, then! And so is Espeon's freedom! Croak!"

"Wha-waaa!"

That was all I could muster as Swoobat's Gust pushed me over the edge of the cliff.

""Shin!""

Everyone could only cry out my name in vain, but Silvy quickly gathered her wits and flung a Vine Whip at my foot. When it caught me, she was struggling with holding my weight and preventing me from falling.

"Emolga! Finish off Swoobat!"

"I got it!"

Emolga took to the sky and closed in on Swoobat. Swoobat himself saw Emolga coming and got away from him. Without missing a beat, Emolga released his Shockwave, an Electric type move that never missed. Despite Swoobat flying away from the tendrils of electricity, Shockwave eventually connected and elotrocuted Swoobat into submission.

Meanwhile, Silvy and Virizion were trying their best not to let me fall.

"I'm starting to get dizzy from hanging here!" I yelled.

"Just hang on, Shin!" Silvy cried.

When Emolga was done with Swoobat, he swooped over the cliff and grabbed my arms In order to help pull me up. Eventually, through efforts, I was pulled up, breathing heavily on the floor.

"Hah…hah… Talk about a cliff hanger."

"Funny, Shin," Sivly said wryly.

"When you're rested, we should hurry on. We still haven't found Espeon," Virizion said.

When I had properly rested, I got back on my feet and we all hurried on to find Espeon.

Just like other previous dungeon areas, this place also had a rest area. This wasn't as confined as the previous rest areas, but it still proved to be a good respite.

"We've come pretty far in, but we still haven't seen any sign of Espeon, huh? Maybe she's still somewhere up ahead. Let's hurry ahead, Shin!" Silvy said.

We quickly took an Oran Berry to recover our strength and continued our pursuit.

"Hah…hah…hah…hah…"

Espeon had continuously run from her pursuers for some time. She had avoided the desire to stop and rest because her pursuers were still hiding, never knowing when they may appear. She had run as far as she could until she could no longer proceed further anymore. Espeon had reached the end of Crags of Lament as there was only a cliff in front of her. There were no avenues left to continue.

"Hah…hah…hah…hah…"

"Nya-ha-ha-ha-ha!"

The wicked laugh was alarmingly close, so Espeon turned around in order to gauge the distance. When she did, one of her pursuers was standing right behind her. It was a very large and fat cat. This cat had a two whiskers on each cheek and a purple tip on each ear. Her eyes looked like as if they were wearing violet eye shadow as her eyelids drooped to narrow her gaze. Her coat was a mixture of cobalt and white spots. A large white spot on her torso made her look as if she was wearing a shirt while the white fluff around her waist made it look as if she was wearing a skirt.

"All this rrruning and dodging is rrreally wearing me out! But…it looks like we've got you perrrfectly cornered now!"

"Ugh…"

Knowing that she was indeed cornered, Espeon could only back away in frustration.

"Croa-ka-ka-ka! Hey, Purugly! At least you got the easy part! I'm the one who had to run ahead and cut her off, croak!

From behind Espeon another Pokémon appeared. This one jumped from somewhere below and surrounded Espeon. The Pokémon was indigo in color with black stripes on its arms and legs. Its legs looked strong and large, indicating its prowess in jumping ability. Its neck sac swelled and displayed a violet color, just like the barbs on both its hands. The horn on its head was not colored violet but was the same as its body.

"I'm suuuuuuper tired, croak!"

The Pokémon then walked to join Purugly and then continued to face Espeon. Espeon herself backed away to have distance between the two of them.

"Oh dear, Toxicrrroak. Perrrhaps a sign you need more exercise, hmm?"

"Croa-ka-ka-ka! You're one to talk! I saw you huffing and puffing back there!"

Even with their mocking banter, they still walked closer to Espeon. Alarmed, she tried to increase the distance again, but with a cliff behind her, there wasn't much space left to use.

"Croa-ka-ka-ka! Now hand 'em over! Give us everything you've got!"

They had threatened her to the brink of the edge. Espeon was finally trapped without a prayer of chance to escape.

"Nya-ha-ha-ha! Like she's gonna listen to you! It'll be fastest to just take them by forrrce!"

"Ah-!"

With nowhere left to run, Espeon could only submit to Purugly frisking her. Purugly searched and searched but could not find what it was she was looking for.

"Nyaaaaaaah!"

"Hm? What's up?"

"Th-this girrrl doesn't-! She doesn't have anything on herrr!"

"WHAAAAAAT?! Hey! Where'd you stash 'em?! Where're the Entercards?!"

"… … …"

"If you don't tell us, we'll have to forrrce it out of you! I hope you're prrrepared, Espeon!"

"-!"

"STOP! NOW!"

The sudden voice that screamed at them to desist startled Purugly and Toxicroak. They turned around to see Shin and Silvy running up to them.

"Look! There's Espeon!" Emolga cried.

"Hurry! We must go help her!" Virizion said.

We all started running faster to save Espeon. Virizion looked the most worried as a pained expression was on her face as we ran to Espeon.

When we had caught up, we could see that two Pokémon, Purugly, the Tiger Cat Pokémon, and Toxicroak the Toxic Mouth Pokémon. Worried, Silvy cried out in hopes of stopping them for a moment.

"STOP! NOW!"

They both turned around, startled, of our presence.

"That must be Espeon over there!" I said.

"Hah…hah… A-alright… We made it…"

"Espeon, please get away from there!" Virizion warned.

"Virizion!"

Taking Virizion's advice, she went behind the rock and took shelter as we confronted Purugly and Toxicroak.

"Nya? What's this? Who are you strrrangers?"

"We're the Starlight! And we're here to save Espeon!" Emolga said.

"What are these fools talking about? I don't get it, croak."

"Grrrrr, you-! You're so irrrrrtating! I just want to get this job over with!"

"Croa-ka-ka-ka! Guess we just have to take care of them then! Let's get this over with quick!"

"You're rrrright... Looks like that's ourrr only choice!"

"Here they come, everyone!" Silvy warned.

Everyone got in a ready position against Purugly and Toxicroak. We could tell that we'd have to be careful around the two of them.

"I don't know who you fools are, but you picked the wrong party to crash! Let's go! Croa-ka-ka-ka-ka!"

"Nya-ha-ha-ha-ha!"

Virizion made the first move by unleashing her Magical Leaf. Her anger had got the better of her and made her move faster than the rest of us. When Toxicroak saw the move coming towards Purugly, he jumped in front of her and blocked it. Poison types had the inherit properties that were superior against Grass types. Emolga soared above Toxicroak and unleased a Shockwave at him but Toxicroak made no attempt to avoid Emolga's attack.

Purugly herself was going around Toxicroak in order to meet Virizion and Silvy. Purugly unleased a deep Growl in order to push back Virizion and Silvy. Even though Silvy could not move forward because of Purugly's Growl, she still managed to unleash a Leaf Tornado at her. The leaves enveloped her and caused her own move to hurt as well suffer damage from Leaf Tornado. Virizion ran towards Purugly to close the distance and let loose a devastating Double Kick, a Fighting type move. Purugly was a Normal type that was weak to Fighting types and moves and after suffering from the two kicks, she was tossed back towards the cliff.

Sensing his partner was in danger, Toxicroak evaded Emolga's continuous shockwave and struck me with Revenge. The move Revenge, a Fighting type move, used the damage the user suffered and converted it into devastating strength. After suffering two moves from both Virizion and Emolga, Toxicroak took that pain and struck me with an uppercut to the solar plexus.

"Gaah!"

The uppercut knocked the wind out of me as I was sent soaring. Emolga tried to catch me but was also knocked down along with me. Using this brief lull of attacks, Toxicroak went to Purugly's side and shot a Poison Sting from his mouth. Numerous indigo needles laced with power and poison were shot at Silvy and Virizion. Since they both were Grass types, they evaded quickly and regrouped with Emolga and I.

"They're strong…" Emolga said, in pain.

"They're certainly no pushovers. We need to keep them separated our else it'll be more difficult for us." I said, trying to catch my breath.

"What can we do? There isn't much room to move around and one wrong step will send us plummeting down…" Silvy said, worried.

"I suggest we continue attacking. We can't let them have any room to breathe," Virizion said, blinded by her anger and concern.

What can we do? Silvy's right, we have very little room to use. As long as they are together, they can defend and counterattack effectively….

"Emolga, separate them using Shockwave and Virizon too, use Magical Leaf. When they dodge, Silvy, use that opening to grab Purugly with your Vine Whip and toss it to the other side. Meanwhile, me and Emolga will handle Toxicroak. We can't let them be together so we have to have them as far away from each other as possible. Virizion, help Silvy out. Virizion?"

I laid out my plan for everyone to listen. Everyone was listening intently to my directions, everyone but Virizion. She still had the same mixture of anger and concern on her face. Her gaze was resting on the rock that Espeon was hiding behind, clearly showing her concern.

"Virzion! Virizion!"

Even being called out did not seem to make Virizion snap out of her blind state. The only method left to snap her out of it was to strike her.

"Virizon!"

I jumped and struck her face in order for her to come to her senses. Her surprise was evidently showing as well on everyone else's face.

"I know you're worried about Espeon. But you have to stay focused! The sooner we defeat these two, the sooner we can rescue her. Do you understand?"

"Yes, I-I'm terribly sorry. I got too caught up in worrying about Espeon…"

"Come on, Virizion. You don't have to be worried alone. We're right here too!" Silvy said encouragingly.

"I don't really care if you're angry or not. But I do care that you're weighing us down. Get it together, Virizion!" Emolga said.

Virizion could only stare down at the ground bashfully. Her being overly emotional really wasn't like her.

"Yes, you're right. I'm sorry for weighing you all down. I'm ready to help now!" Virizion declared.

"Nyaaaah! Did you forget about us?! I hate being left out!"

"Croak! I'm getting sick from all this mushy friendship stuff!"

Annoyed that they were being ignored, Purugly and Toxicroak began to mock us. They were trying to provoke us. But looking at their state, it was evident that they, too were getting tired. Their taunting was just to get us to move first and make a mistake.

"We'll show what us friends can do," Silvy said confidently.

On my signal, Emolga and Virizion performed their respective moves. As expected, Toxicroak and Purugly easily dodged the straightforward attacks. This was Silvy's queue to move.

"Nyaaah!?"

Not expecting to be grabbed by Silvy, Purugly began to flail about as she we was swung and slammed a good distance away from Toxicroak. When he tried to jump to aide his partner, I moved to intercept.

"I won't let you interfere!"

Toxicroak fell straight back to the ground as he became paralyzed from my Thunder Wave. Seizing his chance, Emolga moved in and performed his Acrobatics. Acrobatics was a powerful Flying type move that made Emolga move at fast speeds while dealing damage every time he made contact, but not giving the enemy a chance to defend or retaliate.

"Grrr….croaaaah!"

Emolga was definitely dealing damage and without his partner to help, he could only struggle in vain. Once Emolga was done attacking, I made my move and used Electro Ball.

"Take this!"

I hurled my Electro Ball right at Toxicroak.

"Crrrroooaaaaaagaaah!"

Toxicroak's wail of pain signified his defeat as he lay there, smoldering in unconscious.

As for Silvy and Virizion, they were busy dodging Purugly's aggressive Fury Swipes and Faint Attacks. Whenever Silvy or Virizion would deal damage, Purugly would turn that damage into an opportunity by drawing them in close with a Faint Attack. Virizion would always check to see if she was really defeated, and then she would take the damage from Purugly's Faint Attack. It wasn't clear if Purugly knew of Virizon's Justified ability or not, but she had given up on using it as Virizion and Silvy opted to use only ranged attacks.

"Let's attack together, Virizon!"

"I'm right behind you!"

They both used their leaf based moves and struck Purugly.

"Nyaaah!"

Being struck with two attacks at the same time seemed to have thrown her off balance as she lay there seemingly defeated. Virizion, on the other hand, was not convinced.

"Fool me once, shame on you. Fool me twice, shame on me. Fool me a thrice, and you'll get hurt." Virizion said in a cool manner.

She drew close to Purugly. The glint in her eye indicated she was ready to attack the moment Virizion was close enough. When Virizion did, Purugly sprung and struck out at her. Virizion herself intercepted with Double Kick. One kick took and blocked Purugly's attack. The second one dealt a critical blow and knocked her out, finishing our battle.

When we dragged Purugly and Toxicroak together, they began to stir from unconsciousness. They slowly staggered themselves on to their feet with pained expressions.

"Croa-ka-ka…ka…"

"Nya-ha-ha-ha…ha?"

"Th… They're… AHHHHH!"

"Scrrram!"

With a look of terror in on their faces, they ran away with their tails between their legs. We then turned our attention to Espeon, who slowly came out into view.

"Hey, you OK? Did they get you? We're here to help you! Umbreon told us everything!" Silvy said.

"I see… Umbreon, he…"

Espeon weakly walked closer in order to thank us for rescuing her.

"Thank you…for saving me. I've probably seen better days…but I'll be fine."

Somehow, she summoned the strength in order to stand taller. She wanted to appear and sound as if she was genuinely fine.

"No… I AM fine. Pokémon like that can't get the better of me!"

"You haven't changed at all, Espeon. Heheh." Verizion laughed.

"Ah, Virizion. I'm so glad to see you again," Espeon said as she returned the smile.

"You've got some guts at least, that's for sure. I'm glad to hear it," I commented.

"More imporatantly, though… I must hurry to Post Town… There's something I have to be sure of…"

"Got it. Let's go then. Umbreon's waiting for us, too!" Silvy said enthusiastically.

"Espeon!"

"Umbreon! *Sniffle*…"

"I'm so glad…you're alright. I-I didn't…"

"No, I was more worried about you… But… As much as I just want to enjoy this moment with you… There's something I have to…"

"I know, Espeon. But we've got to at least thank Shin and the others properly first."

"Of course…"

Good thing they realized the atmosphere around them. I was started to feel like I was intruding by watching their heartfelt reunion.

"Shin… Silvy… Everyone… I owe you all so much. You saved us. Neither of us would be here without you."

"No problem! We're just glad you're both OK. But…the Pokémon who attacked you two, who could they be?" Silvy wondered.

"Who knows? I've got no idea who they are, but…"

"Umbreon… They really were after the Entercards."

"So they were… That was my guess. I really don't know who the Pokémon that attacked us were… But if they were after the Entercards, then their goal seems obvious enough. Either they must want to get in the way of our research… Or they planned to steal the Entercards because they want to go to the Great Glacier themselves."

Everyone gasped lightly when the heard Umbreon speak of the Great Glacier.

"Wha…" I started.

""WHAAAT?!""

"Hey! Wait up! You know you just said something amazing like it was nothing, right?!" Emolga exclaimed.

"…Huh? Did I really? I just said they might be after the Entercards to get to the Great Glacier…"

"Th-the Great Glacier?!" Dunsparce gasped.

"You say you can actually GO to the Great Glacier?!" Patrate exclaimed.

"That mighty distant glacier that nae Pokémon has e'er reached? Ye say… Ye say ye can go there?" Heredier asked.

"Ahhh… Right. I guess I hadn't mentioned any of this yet, had I? The two of us…have dedicated our careers to studying the Great Glacier."

"Deep within the Great Glacier… That's where it must be… The Great Crystal that causes all matter surrounding it to float in the air. That is what Umbreon believes."

The Great Crystal that makes matter…float? Is such a thing possible?

"There's no way to prove it exist exept by going into the Great Glacier itself. But in front of the Great Glacier is a huge crevasse that prevents anyone from ever reaching it. That's why we thought of using the ley lines. We want to use them to create a dungeon that would lead beyond the crevasse. That dungeon could get us right up to the base of the Great Glacier! If we can just make Entercards that will create such a dungeon, we should be able to reach the Great glacier. At least we think so."

"That's…amazing! Then that means that with both of your sets of Entercards together, you could actually reach the Great Glacier?!" Silvy said excitedly.

"Pretty much. Though we still need to make a few more adjustments. But…it might be too late for that now… Espeon… From the looks of things, you don't have your Entercards anymore…do you? Did those crooks steal them from you? It's fine. It doesn't matter if they did. I don't even care about losing the Entercards… If you… As long as you are safe and here with me again…then I…"

"Honestly, Umbreon! Could you not leap to your own conclusions without giving me a chance to explain?!"

Espeon managed to stop Umbreon before he guided the mood between them into a direction not suited for public viewing.

"The Entercards weren't stolen."

"Wha…"

"But instead… Well…I almost would have preferred it if they had been…"

Something about Espeon's look indicated guilt. She had this sad look in her eye that showed that she was bearing a huge weight. A weight caused by her regrets.

"The truth is that I…I've done something I truly regret, Umbreon."

Before Espeon could elaborate, Swadloon had interrupted the conversation. His mother, Leavanny, was with him as well.

"Oh! You're here! Are you alright? You didn't get hurt? Please tell me you're OK!"

"Yes, ma'am, I'm just fine," Swadloon answered calmly, "and these are…"

Swadloon then handed Espeon her Entercards.

"A-are those…the Entercards?!" Dunsparce asked, surprised.

"But why'd Swadloon have them?" Emolga wondered.

"I kept my promise, ma'am! I didn't tell nobody. Not anybody!" Swadloon said happily.

"Yes… I see that. Thank you, little one! You must have been so scared…" Espeon said, on the brink of tears.

"Naw, I wouldn't get scare over that! I'm really strong!"

"I'm…so glad… Please…forgive me! Waaaaaaaah!" Espeon whispered before finally succumbing to her desire to pour out her guilt in tears.

"I-I-I'm really OK, ma'am. Honest! Oh, please don't cry!"

"…What in the world is going on?" Gurdurr asked, confused.

"I really can't imagine…" Patrat answered.

"Miss Espeon, it's nice to meet you. I am this boy's mother," greeted Leavanny.

"Oh! I…I'm so sorry! What I did was unforgivable! Because of my actions, your son… This sweet child was put in danger."

"In danger? If you don't mind…could you please explain what happened to my son?"

"… …Of course… Ever since I lost sight of Umbreon, I've been on the run from our pursuers… I tried to make it into Post Town, but my enemies were always one step ahead… I've been close to Post Town for so long, but never made it to safety. I buried my precious belongings so they wouldn't fall into the wrong hands. But I couldn't stop worrying, so I went back to my hiding spot in Inflora Forest."

Espeon began to explain how it was she met Swadloon in the forest. She was running towards the spot where she buried her things, when she met Swadloon. Every moment, she felt like her enemies may have been only a few steps behind her. She was very surprised to see a young boy there. Swadloon had dug up her belongings that she had buried in the dirt, including the Entercards. Swadloon himself was startled and apologized for digging up her things. If he had known it had belonged to her, he would not have dug up the dirt.

Rattled by recent events, Espeon had to make a choice. If her pursuers found Swadloon, the Entercards would have been lost forever. More importantly, if she had been followed, they could have been attacked at any moment. She was desperate and could not come to an answer as to what to do. That was when she made her mistake. Espeon carefully instructed Swadloon to take and hide the Entercards in exchange for the ruby that he wanted. By having her ruby, he made Swadloon promise to safeguard them until she returned for them. He was not allowed to tell anyone about the cards. It was only a secret between the two of them. Swadloon happily promised and took the ruby and Entercards.

Espeon then was startled by the rustling of the forest behind her. She thought that someone was coming after her, so she quickly left Swadloon and returned to running.

"But aftwards, I realized what I'd done… My folly… Despite any promises, our secret might not remain a secret for long. By placing the Entercards in this child's care… If the Pokémon pursuing us somehow learned that he had the cards…"

Everyone listening then realized what Espeon was getting at.

"It's…it's certainly true that…our wee Swadloon would've been the one tae pay…"

"As soon as I realized that, I hurried back to Inflora Forest at once… But…I was too late… Swadloon was gone…"

"We must have just passed one another. You probably headed back into the forest right after we had gone to rescue Swadloon," I commented.

"I may have been desperate, but… Thinking about the danger I put that innocent boy in, I… But I was on the run every moment after that, I never had a chance to look for him… And the whole time I was running, I was positively sick with worry… Thank goodness… Oh, thank goodness nothing happened."

Espeon again began to cry. This time, her tears were from relief, not from sorrow. Swadloon and Leavanny both came closer to comfort her.

"Please don't cry, Miss Espeon."

"Listen to my mom, ma'am! Please don't cry!"

"You were so afraid, and you acted on that fear. You felt you had no other choice. Yet even while you were being hunted, you kept my son in your heart… Thank you. And most importantly, my Swadloon kept his promise to you. That makes me proud. He is surely stronger for having shared this secret with you and being true to his word. As a mother…I am grateful to you for that gift, Miss Espeon."

"Waaaaaaaah!"

"That's great, huh, Espeon?" Umbreon consoled.

"Espeon…" Silvy muttered.

"Yes, everything has worked out. That's one mystery solved, at least. But, Umbreon, what are the two of you planning to do now?" Swanna asked.

"Yeah, about that… If it's not too much trouble, would it be alright if we stayed here a bit longer? There's a good chance we'll be targeted again as soon as we leave Post Town. And neither of us is in the best shape right now…"

"Then I s'pose that's probably for the best," Gurdurr agreed.

"Of course you can stay. We aren't expecting any other guests, so keep your rooms as long as you need them," Swanna offered.

"Th-thanks, Swanna. We'll definitely take you up on that. Everyone should get used to seeing us as a regular fixture in the inn for a while!"

"You'll still have to pay your bills, of course."

"I-I knew that."

That night, Silvy and I were up talking about what happened today.

"Today was definitely…eventful. But at least Espeon wasn't hurt, right? When we first met Espeon, I thought she was really tough. But she also takes things seriously and tries really hard. And I never thought she'd just burst into tears like that! Umbreon's really single-minded too. I like him. I really like both of them."

"It's true. It's obvious to even us how serious Espeon and Umbreon are about their research… And what about the Entercards they study? And the Magnagate created by those cards…"

At that moment, when that circle of light flooded the hill… The sight of that Magnagate appearing from the middle of that blinding light… That's something I'll never forget. And Umbreon even said that was the incomplete version. What will it be like once it's completed? I kinda want to see that…

"Yeah, I know what you mean. Hey, Shin? I've been thinking… I'd really like to help Espeon and Umbreon with their research. What do you think? It wouldn't be a bad idea for the Starlight to help out, would it?"

"That sounds like a great idea. I wanted to ask you just that," I said happily.

"Yeah! I'm glad that it's not just me. Thanks , Shin. So we'll go talk to Umbreon about it tomorrow, OK? I guess we ought to call it a night. Tomorrow then. Night, Shin."

Again, Silvy asked to join our beds together and I only naturally agreed to it. It wasn't really a bother and the nights were only going to grow colder.

"Shin? Still awake?"

"Hm?"

"You know, when I saw how distressed and relieved Umbreon was about Espeon, it made me feel a little jealous. Would you be that worried about me if I was in danger?"

"Yeah, of course I'd be! I wouldn't stand around and do nothing. I'd go out and rescue you."

"Shin…"

She huddled closer to me as a result of my answer.

"Thank you, Shin. Promise you'll save me whenever I need it."

"I promise. But you got to promise you'll help me if that should ever happen."

"Of course! I promise."

Even though it was a cool night, the both of us were feeling quite hot as we slowly drifted to sleep together.