Chapter 25: Charm

One day, Team Galaxy went into the guild and noticed the job board room was completely empty.

"Where is everyone?" Steve wondered, glancing around. He had never seen the room without any Pokémon before.

Many excited voices echoed from the lower level of the guild. Something exciting was going on down there, no doubt.

"I hear them down there." Andy pointed to the hole going down. "That's probably where everyone is."

Steve nodded in agreement and headed down the hole with Andy.

When they got down there, they noticed the entire guild crowded in front of the Guildmaster's chamber. Everyone was gathered in a circle and talking excitedly.

"Hey, Chatot?" Steve said, getting the bird's attention. "What's going on today?"

"Don't you know?" Chatot responded, sounding shocked. "Team Charm has come to visit the guild! They are an incredibly famous exploration team!"

"Team Charm?" Steve repeated, wondering what kind of Pokémon they were.

The three Pokémon squeezed through a gap in the circle to see better. Then they saw the visiting team.

"Standing in the center is the gorgeous Lopunny," Chatot said wistfully. "She's the leader of Team Charm…"

Lopunny was a rabbit-like Pokémon with long ears. Her ears were so long that they nearly touched the ground, hanging behind her head. She had mostly brown fur with bits of white here and there.

"The graceful one to her right is Gardevoir," Chatot continued.

Gardevoir had a green dome-like head. She looked like she was wearing a white dress of some sort.

"And finally, the last one to her left is Medicham," Chatot finished, sounding like he was in a trance.

Medicham had large legs which looked like a set of really baggy pants. The rest of her body was slim. Her head was pink and it looked like she was wearing a hat.

"Aren't they simply marvelous?" Chatot sighed.

Steve studied the visiting team for a moment, then shrugged.

"Sure, I guess they're cool and all." The Riolu glanced at his partner. "What do you think about them, buddy?"

The Pikachu was gaping at Team Charm with a slightly awestruck expression on his face.

"Wow," Andy breathed. "A super famous exploration team's here!"

Then the Guildmaster emerged from his chamber and greeted the visiting team.

"Hi, friendly friends!"

"Wigglytuff! How've you been?" Lopunny replied in a tone matched the Guildmaster's.

"It's been a long time, Wigglytuff," Gardevoir said, smiling warmly.

"WHAT?" Loudred shouted as loud as ever. "Team CHARM knows the Guildmaster?"

"Yeah, we used to go exploring together all the time," Medicham laughed.

Team Charm and Wigglytuff took a minute to chat. Then Gardevoir cleared her throat and got everyone's attention.

"Wigglytuff, we've returned because we finally found those sealed ruins we've been looking for," she said.

"We gave you the key to keep it safe, remember?" Lopunny added.

The Guildmaster blinked a few times, and thought about for a moment. Then he shook his head. "Nope, sorry. Can't remember any key."

Medicham reacted to this in outrage. "You lost it?! We gave it to you for a reason!"

Gardevoir shook her gently shook her head. "You really haven't changed, have you, Wigglytuff?" she chuckled. She glanced at her leader. "Lopunny, if you will…"

"I'm on it!" Lopunny replied cheerfully, and dug into their treasure bag. She found what she was looking for and pulled it out. It was a big, red apple.

"Here you go, Wigglytuff," Lopunny said, setting the Perfect Apple down in front of the Guildmaster. Of course, he was excited to receive it and started bouncing it on his head.

"Now, about that key…" Gardevoir began.

"Oh yeah! That key!" Wigglytuff responded, his eyes lit up. "I remember now! Just a sec."

The Guildmaster caught his apple in a hand and went back into his chamber. A few seconds later, everyone heard a loud "YOOM-TAH!" then an even louder crash. It sounded as if the Guildmaster had destroyed his own chamber.

Wigglytuff emerged, looking as if nothing happened. He held something in his other hand.

"Here you go," he said, giving it to Lopunny. Then he bounced his apple on his head again.

"Thanks, Wigglytuff," Lopunny said with a bright smile.

"Say, Wigglytuff," Medicham spoke up, "you wanna join us for the exploration, just like old times?"

Wigglytuff was too busy playing with his apple to listen to the offer.

"I think that's a no," Gardevoir said.

"C'mon, let's go unlock those ruins and find some treasure," Lopunny said, her smile never wavering. The circle of the Guild members broke apart to make way for the team.

Andy's heart skipped a beat as Team Charm came close. Lopunny noticed them, and approached with a hop.

"Hi!" she greeted. "Well, you two are certainly cute ones!"

"Yeah, we've heard that one before," Steve commented, rolling his eyes slightly.

"You know our name," Gardevoir said. "What's yours?"

"I'm Steve."

"I'm Andy."

"We're Team Galaxy!" the Riolu and Pikachu finished with a pose. They stood side-by-side, each with a paw pointed forward.

"You boys look so silly!" Lopunny laughed. "Hope you'll do great things just like us!" She gave them a wink, and Team Charm left the guild.

Steve and Andy stayed to chat with the guild members a bit, then headed outside.

They saw Team Charm at the crossroads, and went over.

"Excuse me!" Steve called. Team Charm turned around to see them.

"What is it, darlings?" Lopunny asked.

"You said you're gonna explore some ruins right?" Steve said. "Well, I was wondering… could we, y'know, come along?"

"We didn't have anything planned for today," Andy added.

The three Team Charm members glanced at each other, and nodded.

"Sure! You can come along!" Lopunny said cheerfully. "You boys go get ready for the trip, okay?"

"Okay!" Steve nodded. He and Andy went into town to pack their items and prepare.

"Here we are, Aegis Cave," Lopunny said when they approached a rock wall with engravings on it. She pulled out the key Wigglytuff had given her and inserted it into the rock.

The engravings glowed, then the rock shifted out of the way to reveal a cave entrance. The five Pokémon stepped inside.

Team Charm and Team Galaxy came into a small chamber with a stone tablet standing in the middle.

"What's this?" Gardevoir murmured, kneeling down to inspect the stone tablet. Steve came up alongside her for a look as well.

At the top of the stone were runes Steve had seen before, in the Hidden Land. They spelled a word.

"Hey, those are Unown runes, right?" he said.

"Yes, that's right," Gardevoir responded, sounding impressed. "I happen to know how to read all kinds of runes. I've been studying while exploring." She glanced back at the runes. "The word spelled here is 'ICE'.

Steve looked at the runes again. He could almost make out the word 'Ice' engraved, but the runes had odd shapes and designs that prevented the runes from appearing to be normal, plain letters.

"If you wish to proceed, close your eyes and submit your proof," Gardevoir read more text below the runes. The text was in normal letters, rather than Unown runes.

"What does that mean?" Andy asked. "Submit our proof?" He and Steve looked at Gardevoir for an answer.

"I know a lot, though I certainly don't know everything," she said with a soft giggle.

"How 'bout we go into the cave and explore?" Steve suggested, pointing at the path leading further inside. "We might find some answers then."

"Sounds good to me," Lopunny replied. "But the two of us are competing now, okay? Who ever gets the treasure first, keeps it. Deal?"

"Deal!" Steve said, willing to take the challenge.

Team Charm went ahead, before Team Galaxy followed.

Aegis Cave had many Pokémon called Unown. These Pokémon were black in color, and they had a single eye. All had various shapes and hovered over the ground. They were also Psychic-types, and the only attack they used was Hidden Power, an attack which always varied in type effectiveness.

Steve and Andy took the Unown down with ease. When defeated, the Unown would shrink and turn into stone.

"Check it out," Steve said as he picked one up. The stone was shaped slightly like an "E".

"Weird," Andy commented. "Maybe they're some part of a puzzle."

"Maybe." Steve put the Unown-turned-stone into the bag. Team Galaxy explored further, beating more Unown and making them turn into stones.

Soon, they were back at the chamber with the stone tablet. Team Charm was already there, mulling over the puzzle.

"That was a short dungeon, wasn't it?" Andy said, glancing back the way they came.

"Yes, it was quite short," Gardevoir agreed, inspecting the stone again. "If we don't solve this riddle now, we'll be exploring this dungeon for long time."

"This is so annoying!" Medicham threw her arms up into the air. "We just don't know what to do!"

"We should explore the cave some more," Gardevoir said. "I'm sure we'll figure something out."

"Alrighty then. Let's all keep it up. Good luck, you two," Lopunny said sweetly to Steve and his partner. She winked at them and went deeper inside the cave with her team.

Steve waved at their retreating figures before he approached the stone tablet again.

Hmm… maybe… He laid a paw on the stone, waiting for a Dimensional Scream.

Nothing.

Steve reread the text under the runes once more.

"Close your eyes and submit your proof?"

With a shrug, he closed his eyes. Unbeknownst to him, the Unown stones in Andy's bag started to glow and vibrate.

"Hey! The stones!" Andy exclaimed when the stones levitated out of his bag. Steve opened his eyes to see the Unown stones insert themselves into the indentations in the runes on the stone tablet.

Steve and Andy were blinded by a bright light. When the light subsided, the stone tablet was gone, replaced by a stairway going down.

"It turned into stairs!" Andy cried. The two of them headed down to come to another room. The stone tablet reappeared at the top, trapping the two explorers.

"Guess we have to move forward," Steve said. They walked through an entryway to find a large chamber.

Standing near the end of the chamber was a Pokémon. It looked like a large ice crystal with arms and legs. An odd array of yellow dots decorated its front.

"IF YOU WISH TO PROCEED, THEN SHOW YOUR POWER," it stated in a robotic voice. The Pokémon advanced on the two explorers, a cold chill sweeping across the room. Clearly it was an Ice-type.

Steve rushed forward and smacked it with a paw. Jumping back, he shook his paw, already getting numb from the intense cold.

"Oooh, it's really cold," he said. "Careful."

Andy nodded and unleashed a lightning bolt upon the Pokémon. It struck it, but it didn't seem fazed by the attack. Then the Pokémon summoned several rocks into the air, and shot them at the two explorers.

Steve and Andy dodged the rocks as best they could, but one hit the Pikachu.

"Agh!" Andy cried, falling backwards.

"Hey! Don't hurt my partner!" Steve yelled, and dashed forward, striking the ice Pokémon with a series of punches and kicks. Again, the Pokémon seemingly had no reaction to the attacks.

Steve leapt back, and Andy stood by his side. They braced themselves for another attack.

But then the Pokémon vanished into a sphere of light. The light hovered for a moment, before going into Steve's body.

Astonished, he checked himself for any injuries, before preparing himself for a psychic attack. However, the robotic voice echoed in his head.

"THE GUARDIAN'S PERMISSION HAS BEEN GRANTED. YOU MAY PROCEED."

Behind where the guardian had been standing, a wall opened to show a way forward.

Steve and Andy exchanged glances, shrugged, and went deeper inside.

They arrived at another small chamber with a stone tablet just like the first one when they had entered the ruins.

It also had the same message, which said to close their eyes and submit proof. But the Unown runes at the top were different.

Steve studied the runes for a minute, trying to translate them.

"It says… 'ROCK'," he deduced.

Andy noticed a slip of paper on the ground they had overlooked.

"Hey, what's this?" He picked it up and showed it to his partner. Steve came over and looked at it as well.

"Looks like a note from Team Charm," Steve said.

"To Team Galaxy, We've already gone ahead. Don't forget that this is a race. Good luck. Lopunny," Andy read.

"Yeah, let's go," Steve said, spurred into action by the message.

They went on ahead to collect more Unown symbols. It took a while, but they found the letters they were looking for. The stones inserted themselves into the tablet and the stairs appeared.

Team Galaxy went down to find another chamber with another guardian. This Pokémon was made out of brown and gray rock. The yellow dots on its front had more of a red hue.

"IF YOU WISH TO PROCEED, THEN SHOW YOUR POWER," it said, repeating the same message of the previous guardian.

Andy started the fight by using Agility, speeding up himself and Steve. The Riolu leaped forward to attack.

The rock Pokémon summoned rocks into the air and flung them towards the Riolu. In the air and unprepared, the rocks hit Steve and sent him down to the ground.

Andy yelped as the rocks came flying towards him. He jumped into the air and launched himself at the guardian, bashing his skull against it. The attack apparently left a small dent in the Pokémon's rock body.

"Wow, is your head really that strong?" Steve asked, a bit surprised.

"Ouch!" Andy winced as the top of his head pulsated with pain. "I think I cracked my skull with that one…"

The Riolu turned back to the guardian and pulled his arms back, charging a ball of Aura in his paws.

"Haven't used this in a while; Aura Sphere!" Steve shot the blue ball of Aura at the rock Pokémon, chipping away more of the rock on it.

Soon, the guardian turned into the ball of light and entered Steve's body. Again, the voice spoke, allowing the two of them to proceed.

Team Galaxy came to a third chamber with yet another stone tablet.

"How many times do we gotta keep doing this?" Andy said, feeling exhausted.

"This better be the last time," Steve murmured, and studied the tablet. "Now it says… 'STEEL'."

"Can we rest a little? I'm feeling tired," Andy said, sitting down.

Steve silently agreed and they rested for several minutes before they were ready to move on.

After going through the cave and getting more Unown stones, they returned to the room.

"That was kinda repetitive," Steve complained. In the cave, they had to find the correct Unown to turn into stones.

"Nothing we could've done about that, I guess," Andy said.

Steve approached the stone tablet and closed his eyes. Once again, the Unown stones reacted, and inserted themselves into the stone, revealing a set of stairs.

Another chamber awaited with yet another guardian. It looked like it was made out of steel, having a silver-colored "shell". An opening in its center showed a black core with a pattern of red dots. Its arms were slim, and had hands that had three "fingers" each.

"IF YOU WISH TO PROCEED, THEN SHOW YOUR POWER."

The Pokémon advanced on the two explorers.

Andy shocked the steel guardian while Steve threw an Aura Sphere. Unflinching from the attacks, the guardian stepped forward and swiped with a hand. Andy was able to jump out of the way, but Steve wasn't so lucky; he flew off before landing on the ground.

Andy rushed forward and slammed his head into the guardian.

Clonk!

The Pikachu fell backwards onto the ground. When he got up, he began stumbling around, dazed.

"That was a bad idea," he groaned, rubbing his aching head. "Not again..."

"Try this!" Steve shouted, slamming his foot into the guardian. A wave of pain shot from the Riolu's foot to his body. He instantly hopped back towards Andy.

"Ow-ow-ow!" Steve clutched his injured foot, hopping on one leg. "What's this guy made out of?!"

"Steel, obviously," Andy replied. "Let's not use our regular attacks."

"Agreed." Steve charged an Aura Sphere while Andy readied his electricity.

The guardian attempted to swipe at them with both hands, though it missed, and the explorers stood up and fired their attacks at it. The Aura and electricity struck the guardian, and it stopped moving. It then vanished into the ball of light and went into Steve.

"THE GUARDIAN'S PERMISSION HAS BEEN GRANTED. YOU MAY PROCEED."

That didn't surprise Steve and Andy, as this already a happened before.

What did surprise them, was Team Charm suddenly falling from the ceiling. All three members landed on the ground, kicking up a small cloud of dust. Lopunny was the first to open her eyes.

"Ugh... what happened?" she groaned, standing up.

"I'm not sure," Gardevoir replied, standing up as well. "I think we were fighting that Registeel, and Medicham got into trouble. I can't remember anything past that."

Medicham sat up. "Sorry, girls. It was all my fault…"

Steve and Andy got over their surprise at Team Charm suddenly falling from the ceiling.

"You alright?" Steve asked them.

"Yeah, we're fine," Lopunny answered with a smile. "We haven't failed an exploration in a long time, so I'm kinda ashamed of myself."

"Don't worry about it," Andy said. "We all make mistakes."

"True." Gardevoir nodded in agreement.

"So, did you win at where we failed?" Medicham asked Team Galaxy.

"Yep!" Steve responded.

"Okay then! We'll continue onward, but from here on out, this is your exploration," Lopunny said. "You get to claim the treasure at the end. Thanks for rescuing us!"

"Okay!" Andy replied cheerfully.

"Shall we be on our way?" Gardevoir asked.

"Yeah, let's go!" Steve said, and Team Charm headed deeper into the cave first. Team Galaxy followed afterwards.

Aegis Cave didn't have anymore stone tablets with symbols, much to Steve's relief. He was already tired of having to find the right Unown stones.

Team Galaxy soon arrived at an enormous chamber. Team Charm arrived at the chamber moments later.

Near the back of the room was a group of statues. A bit of grass grew on the stone floor, and the chamber was well lit, despite being underground.

A loud, robotic voice echoed throughout the chamber.

"IF YOU WISH TO FIND THE TREASURE, THEN SHOW YOUR TRUE POWER."

There was a flash, and the statues at the back of the room turned into Pokémon. Six Bronzongs and four Hitmonlee made this group of hostile Pokémon.

At the very back of the room was another guardian. It was mainly white in color with black bands on its arms and legs. Yellow "rings" were on its shoulders and hands, as well as its face. An array of colored dots decorated its face, and on its head and feet were grassy shrubs.

"Alright, we'll work together on this one, right, boys and girls?" Lopunny said.

"Yeah!" went the others.

Steve started the battle by charging in and punching one Hitmonlee. Andy followed up with a good Quick Attack to another.

Lopunny hopped high into the air and slammed both feet onto a Bronzong, sending it back and knocking it out.

Medicham rushed in and spun, kicking another Bronzong with a foot. It wasn't taken down, although it hovered backwards from the attack.

Gardevoir held out a hand and blasted a Hitmonlee with a psychic attack.

A Hitmonlee kicked Steve in the stomach, sending the Riolu back. Andy used Agility to speed up himself and his fellow explorers.

"Thanks for the assist!" Steve retaliated with his own kick to the Hitmonlee, and it went down.

Andy continued to give his friends incredible speed with his Agility move. With blinding speed, Team Charm and Team Galaxy took the minions down.

The giant in the back remained. It walked slowly towards the explorers with booming steps.

Steve leapt and Force Palmed the giant. Andy used Thunder to rain down a powerful lightning bolt upon the Pokémon.

The giant didn't react to the attacks and raised a fist.

Steve and Andy dodged the fist as it connected with the ground. The ground under the giant's fist cracked, sending a dust cloud into the air.

Andy landed to the side, coughing. "What is this Pokémon?" he asked.

"It's called Regigigas!" Gardevoir answered. "It's slow, but we may be able to take it down if we work together!"

With their combined attacks, Team Charm and Team Galaxy damaged Regigigas some more. Unfazed by any attack as always, it swiped with a hand, knocking everyone except Steve and Medicham away.

Medicham recovered and used her Force Palm on Regigigas. The giant actually reacted to the attack and tilted backwards a little.

"Hey, that worked!" Medicham said.

"Let's do it together!" Steve punched his fists together in readiness.

Medicham and Steve dashed right to Regigigas, and used their Force Palms at the same time.

Surprisingly, the two attacks were enough to tip the giant over even more, before it fell backwards with a loud thud.

"Yes!" Steve jumped in victory.

Lopunny, Gardevoir, and Andy stood up.

"We did it!" Andy cheered.

"That, we did, dears," Lopunny said, patting the Pikachu on the head, causing him to giggle.

"We defeated Regigigas," Gardevoir spoke. "What do we do now?"

As if answering her question, a large tablet of stone appeared in the center of the room after a bright flash. Steve stepped over to it and saw something inscribed on it.

"To open the way to treasure, close your eyes and allow your Aura to flow into the ground," he read aloud. Steve glanced at the others, and they all nodded in agreement. Turning back to the stone, he steadied himself.

Shutting his eyes, he relaxed. He felt his Aura leave him and flow into the ground.

As Steve opened his eyes, a wave of energy burst from the stone tablet, sweeping the entire room. Everyone was startled by it, but the wave didn't do anything harmful. Then there was a rumbling noise.

"Hey! Regigigas is getting up!" Andy cried.

"We gotta fight that thing again?!" Steve shouted incredulously

That wasn't the case, however. The giant stood up and jumped into the air, an amazing feat given its size, and stomped the ground, far from where everyone was standing. This caused a massive earthquake that shook the entire cave.

"Run!" Steve shouted, and all five Pokémon ran as fast as their feet could take them out of the collapsing cave.

When everyone got out, they stopped to catch their breaths.

"Is everyone okay?" Steve asked, panting.

"All accounted for," Gardevoir replied, also breathing hard.

Steve looked back, and to his slight shock, Aegis Cave was still intact. The shaking didn't appear to do any damage.

"Wow! Look at that!" Andy shouted, jumping up and down, pointing.

Everyone else looked to where the Pikachu was pointing excitedly, and gasped.

On a cliff wall in the distance, an entrance to another cave was visible. A stone had apparently slid out of the way to reveal it.

"Did Regigigas make that appear?" Andy asked.

"Probably," Steve answered. "We all saw what it did."

Lopunny, Gardevoir, and Medicham gathered in a group, celebrating the discovery in excitement.

Steve and Andy couldn't help but smile as well.

Team Charm's leader looked at the two boys. "It's not our success; it's yours," she congratulated them. "Good work, Team Galaxy."

"That new dungeon's all yours, kids," Medicham added.

"Thanks a lot, Team Charm," Steve said with gratitude.

"Couldn't've done it without you," Andy added, smiling widely.

"Bye, darlings!" Lopunny said, leaving with her team.

"Bye!" Steve and his partner waved to the departing Team Charm.

"Ahh!" Steve flopped into his bed. "What a day!"

"Yeah," Andy agreed, lying down as well.

It was late at night, many hours after they had gone on the exploration in Aegis Cave.

"So, what do you wanna do tomorrow?" Steve asked.

"Probably check out that new dungeon," Andy replied, and they both fell asleep.

What they didn't know, was that they wouldn't be going to those ruins anytime soon.