Chapter 14: Climbing to Memory Lane

-Meowth's POV-

"Hey, hey! This is no time to be gawking!" Rio and I turned to Corphish. "I'll let everyone in the guild know! You two go on ahead!" Then Corphish ran out of the area.

I turned to Rio, "You heard the man, Rio! Let's move out! That lake ain't gonna explore itself!"

We started to move, when a voice yelled, "Hold it!" Suddenly, Team Skull came in from behind one of the waterfalls.

I glared and we both said, "You goons/brutes again?!" I'd like ta say I'm surprised, but I'd be lyin'.

"Good job! Chaw-haw-haw!"

"Whoa-ho-ho! You solved the mystery. You're no longer of use to us!"

"Heh-heh-heh. We'll swipe the treasure, thanks to you!"

I readied my claws and Rio crouched into a fighting position, "Ha! I saw this coming since you showed your ugly mugs at the guild as 'allies'! Why don'tcha give up, before ya get hurt?"

Rio leaned forward, ready ta dash, "Yeah, you couldn't beat us before, and we've only gotten stronger! Don't you ever learn?"

Skuntank glared "You got lucky. And there won't be a fight this time. You're not going to lift a finger to stop us!" Skuntank held up a yellow orb with zigzags on it. Crap! Dat's a Petrify Orb!

But before Skuntank could throw it to the ground, we heard, "Waah! Wait! Wait for me!" and a Perfect Apple rolled into view.

While we were stunned, I noticed that Rio was halfway to Skuntank, with skid marks behind his feet from stopping. He prob'ly used Quick Attack ta try an' get ta Skuntank.

He looked to the left and quickly jumped back to my side. He whispered, "I don't know if this is bad or perfect timing."

"Perfect Apple! Perfect Apple!" Wigglytuff skipped into the clearing and picked up the Perfect Apple. "I finally caught you! My Perfect Apple! If my Perfect Apple went away, I would… I would… Sniffle…" He shook a bit, but pulled himself together and looked around. "Oh? Oh-oh?" Then he turned to us, "Oh, you two!" He turned to Team Skull, "And my friends too! Everyone's all together! Yay, yay!"

Skuntank had already pocketed the orb, "G-Guildmaster… Wh-what are you doing here?"

"Huh? What am I doing? I was taking a walk in the forest. Then my Perfect Apple went rolling and rolling away from me. So I ran and ran and ran, and here I am. Oh, yes!" He turned back to us, "You two shouldn't be dawdling here, should you?"

We both said, "Huh?" and Wigglytuff continued, "You two have a job, don't you? To explore the forest, right? Go on then, off you go."

Rio opened his mouth, but I saw the opportunity and spoke first, with a smile. "Sure thing, Guildmaster; we were just stopping ta have a chat wit' ya friends over there. In fact, they said dat they'd like ta get to know ya better. Dat's what friends do, right? They learn about each otha. Right, Rio?" I looked at Rio in the eye to try an' pass my message.

Rio's eyes lit up, "Yes, of course, Meowth. Team Skull said they'd like to learn everything about you, Guildmaster."

Wigglytuff bounced up and down, "That sounds like fun! Fun, fun, fun!"

I grinned and said, "Well, we'll be on our way now. C'mon, Rio." And I led him out of the clearing at a relaxed pace. While we were leaving, I saw Team Skull glaring at me. I whispered to Rio, "Walk…Walk…" We were outta the clearing, "Okay, run." And we started making our way to the base of the Fogbound Lake.

Rio ran up to my side, "That was brilliant, Meowth! Quick thinking on your part."

I grinned and said, "My line o' work needed a lotta fast thinking and more fast-talking. I hadn't counted on Wigglytuff showing up, but we got really lucky. He'll keep 'em stalled long enough. Let's forget about 'em for now, and focus on Fogbound Lake."

-3rd Person POV-

Meanwhile, back at the clearing Team Skull cursed their luck and Meowth for leaving them to listen to the Guildmaster.

Wigglytuff was oblivious to their negative emotions, talking about the exploration of the forest. "Oh, I hope we get some good news soon!"

Trying to seize the opportunity, Skuntank said, "Um. Guildmaster…"

"Hm? What's the matter, friend?"

"We were thinking that we should go explore as well…"

Wigglytuff looked shocked and shook his head, "Oh?! That's all right! I can't trouble my friends like that! We'll just let those two do the exploring. Let's chat while we wait for their report."

Then Wigglytuff started talking about himself as Team Skull threw in another curse for their luck. They retracted it, however, when Wigglytuff's attention wavered and he turned around to absent-mindedly sing and dance. This gave them an opportunity to plot amongst themselves.

Zubat flew forward and whispered, "Chief, this is getting really weird…"

Koffing floated down and muttered, "Team Righteous is going to beat us to the prize if we don't do something. What'll we do?"

Skuntank replied, "We have to do something. We have no choice. We'll take down Wigglytuff right now. Then we'll chase down Team Righteous!"

After checking to see Wigglytuff still unaware, Zubat whispered, "But do you think it'll be all right?"

Koffing shuddered, "Wigglytuff is, like, creepy."

Skuntank nodded, "Don't worry about it. He's no big deal. Besides… rumor has it Wigglytuff has an unbelievably precious treasure."

Zubat perked up, again checking Wigglytuff for signs of hearing them, "Oh, really?! Treasure?"

"That's right. I was planning on mugging him for it anyway, so this is a good opportunity. Hey, Koffing. Prepare for the noxious gas special combo."

They assumed the stance, Zubat fluttering back. Wigglytuff was still blissfully unaware as he continued his little dance, not missing a note of his song. "La la la! La la! La la la! La la~"

Still keeping his voice down, Skuntank said, "Wigglytuff is really going to get it! No hard feelings… But the great, famous explorer Wigglytuff… is finished! Chaw-haw haw!"

-Meowth's POV-

We reached the base of the rock pillar under Fogbound Lake. There was a large crack in the middle that we could squeeze through. A Kangaskhan Rock was by the entrance, meaning that it was a mystery dungeon standing between us and Fogbound Lake.

I was grossed out by the wet heat of the place. Just what I needed… A good steam cleanin'… Too bad I didn't bring my carpet.

We put in the supplies that we found, making sure to keep the Reviver Seeds, restock on food and Oran Berries, and pack a buncha orbs and seeds in case things got hairy. After I wrote where we were in the Adventure Log, I noticed that the expedition by itself had pushed the length to over twenty pages.

We stood in front of the entrance, "Whelp, Rio. We're heading into uncharted waters now. Dis is about as far outta my comfort zone as I've evah gone. But ya know what? I can't wait ta see what's at da top."

Rio nodded and looked at me, "You ready to do or die?"

"I'd prefer do; c'mon let's go!"

-3rd Person POV-

Meanwhile, back at the Groudon Statue, Team Skull was still unable to leave since Wigglytuff had turned around before they could perform their dastardly deed. Unable to do anything, there was a silent stare-down.

Zubat looked between his Chief and Wigglytuff and said, "Psst… Hey, Chief! What's going on? Something wrong?"

Koffing added, "Chief… Hey, Chief… You've been staring him down for how long now…? C'mon… let's you and I give him a double dose of the ol' noxious gas…"

Skuntank quickly hushed them, "Shut your yap!"

Wigglytuff tilted his head, "Dear friends! What's wrong? You've been making such scary faces at me!"

Skuntank was shocked that Wigglytuff wasn't intimidated, "Bah… this guy's tough… really tough…"

Wigglytuff quickly drew his own conclusion and smiled, "I get it! You're trying to make me laugh with silly faces! I bet I can make you laugh too!" Then Wigglytuff started pulling his face into weird shapes, blabbering for effect.

Koffing shuddered, "C'mon, Chief…! I can't take this… this whole weird scene is freaking me out…"

Skuntank responded, "Okay, then… This isn't working, and we're out of options…" Then he spoke up, "Hey, Wigglytuff!"

Still pulling odd faces, Wigglytuff spoke erratically, "Whatiswhatiswhatis… What is it?"

Skuntank smirked, "Hey, no hard feelings but… You're going down! Take this! A noxious-gas special! Straight from me and Koffing!"

Then Skuntank and Koffing sprayed their stenches at the same time, making sure to get Wigglytuff in the center of the cloud.

-Meowth's POV-

Oh, what I'd give for an ice-cold glass o' water…

Steam Cave was even hotter on the inside than the outside! There were pools of hot, bubbling water everywhere! It made me pant like a Growlithe! The only thing keepin' me from complainin' every two minutes was that Rio didn't seem ta have a problem dealing with it.

We tried ta save our energy by finding the stairs to move on as fast as we could. Some we found quick, others not so much. The Slugma didn't help with the heat either; dang Fire-types.

We found a TM along the way, so I learned Flash. It would help if we had ta surprise our enemies, or make a get-away (It looks cool! The flash of light comes from my charm!).

After awhile, we found our way ta a rest area. It was a little cooler than the rest of the place so I was glad about that. I sat down and, with a whistle, said, "We've come a long way, eh, Rio?"

Rio nodded and popped his shoulders, "Can't be too much farther to the top."

Then my ears perked up, picking up a far-off noise. I narrowed my eyes and turned my ear. "You hear that, Rio?"

"Hear what?"

*groooooohhhh!*

"Okay, I heard it that time."

Then it went quiet. "O-kaaay… what do you think that was?"

Rio shrugged his shoulders, "The wind, perhaps? A roar?"

I shuddered, "Yea, was probably the wind… But, on the off-chance that it wasn't, how 'bout we go to the Kangaskhan Rock?"

After we wrote in where we were so far, we walked up to the entrance of the next parta the cave. We heard another wind/roar coming from ahead, but I just stood up straight and said, "Whatever's back there, we gotta tough it out, Rio. The only way through is forward!" Then I walked forward and went for about a dozen steps before I noticed that Rio wasn't following me.

I walked back and said, "Hey, Rio, if we don't go in together we may turn up in separate parts o' the dungeon. Ya've been spacin' out since we got here, so spill the beans. What's eatin' ya?"

Rio looked at me and said, "Well, it's the strangest thing, Meowth. Ever since we arrived at base camp in Foggy Forest, I've had the oddest feeling of déjà vu. Like I've been here before, but I can't remember ever being here. I think I may have actually been here before. Whether or not I was a Pokémon already I don't know, but if I met Uxie, then I think that he may have taken my memories."

I was shocked. Wow, he's had this on his plate the entire time?

I recovered, saying, "Well, if dat's what it is, then I can't blame ya for spacing out like ya did. This might be a key moment for you, Rio! That only gives us another reason ta make it to da top! If Uxie really is here, then we'll grill 'im for the truth! Let's go!"

We both dashed deeper into the wet-hot cave.

The second part o' Steam Cave was just about as long as the first one. Along the way, Rio learned Screech too, so I laid out a plan for a double-Screech attack. Some of the enemies were tougher, but nothin' we couldn't handle.

Soon, we reached the peak. The last area was a large, flat, sorta-round room.

I looked around, "Well, we reached the top… Wait… Why does the air feel so, I dunno, charged…? I don't like it… My bad feelin' meter's goin' off da chart!"

Then there was a giant roar from just ahead.

"GRROOOOOOH…!"

We both leaped and I said, "Yikes! That ain't no wind!"

"GRROOOOOOH…!"

Then there were footsteps comin' closer that were shaking the ground.

Rio looked forward, "Whatever it is… It's coming closer!"

-3rd Person POV-

There was a loud clamor as the entirety of Wigglytuff's Guild, except for Wigglytuff himself, ran into the clearing of the Groudon Statue.

Chatot looked at Corphish, "This is it? The Groudon Statue?"

Sunflora, looked around and noticed that no one else was around. After bringing it to everyone's attention, Chatot continued, "Are you really sure that you saw the Guildmaster, Corphish?"

Corphish nodded, "Sure, I'm sure! I saw him when I was scuttling back to base camp. The Guildmaster dashed past, all willy-nilly, in hot pursuit of a Perfect Apple! I gave him a shout and a wave, but he seemed too occupied to holler back. But I'd guess that Rio's team went ahead! So I'd bet that the Guildmaster went up after them, don't you think?"

Then there was a light tremor that took everybody off-guard.

Diglett was the first to comment, "Hmm? The ground…"

"Uh-what…? It's shaking!" Bidoof finished.

Then, there was a distant roar that they could only hear when they strained their ears. Everybody was disoriented, but curious. Corphish roused everyone, saying, "Something is going on up there! Let's head up! Hurry!"

Everybody dashed to leave for Fogbound Lake. Diglett hesitated only for a moment, swearing that he heard someone moaning in pain. But his father, Dugtrio, called him over. So Diglett just filed it as his imagination.

Ignored by the one Pokémon who heard them, Team Skull continued to lie in agony behind one of the waterfalls. None of them could move a muscle. And Skuntank was thinking out loud in disbelief.

"Hork-ork-how did that happen? How did Wigglytuff shrug off our noxious-gas special like it was nothing?"

Zubat joined in, "And h-h-how did Wigglytuff strike back at us… It's un-believable…"

After that, they simply moaned in pain some more.