PMD: Explorers of Light and Shadow
Chapter 27: Nostalgia
"Ahh, this is nostalgic" I gazed around at the sunlit dark blue stone walls and small pools of water that made up Brine Cave. Many holes were in the ceiling, allowing sunlight to pierce through and light up the damp cave. The water in the pools were either dark blue or even purple in colour "I remember the days of when Team Skylar was just me and Priscilla. Our first dungeons were Beach Cave and Drenched Bluff, both Water-themed dungeons"
"Waterfall Cave and Craggy Coast was like this too" Priscilla agreed, then frowned "Thankfully, none of us are Fire type. Otherwise, we would of been dead a LONG time ago"
"Ha ha, guess we can count ourselves lucky, huh?" I laughed.
"Pay attention!" Chatot snapped "You can't afford to dawdle around like this in a dungeon!"
"Well, excuse me mister" I muttered as I headbutted a Tentacool with Quick Attack, then followed up with Bite to take it down "Hey, what's this?"
I picked up a TM that was submerged in a small pool in the corner of the room we were in. The case protected the light brown disc inside. "Dig" was written on the disc in faded black.
"Looks like the TM for Dig" Priscilla said, looking over my shoulder to see the TM "You remember Grovyle using Dig to hide from Dusknoir in the stockade?"
"And using it to make a tunnel from the beach to Sharpedo Bluff? Yeah, I remember" I cracked open the case and held the disc in my hand, allowing myself to forget Quick Attack in favor of Dig. Once I learned the move, the TM disc faded from light brown to plain gray, along with the word Dig disappearing all together.
"Now I can do everything Grovyle did with Dig" I threw the broken case and used disc on the ground and tried using Dig on an approaching Krabby. Chatot was about to attack with Peck and Niko pulsed with electricity, ready to zap Krabby with Thunderbolt, but I held up my hand.
"Let me try this out first" I felt immense strength fill my arms and I slammed my hands into the ground, sundering the earth to allow me to burrow through easily. I dug through the wet gray stone until the Krabby was right under me, indicated by the snapping of its claws. I burst out of the ground right under the Krabby and delivered a swift uppercut to its belly, shattering it completely in half.
"Well, I think this is a move worth keeping" I grinned as I rubbed the blood off my hand. Niko looked green, like he was about to vomit, but an incoming Walrein distracted him. The Mareep dodged the walrus's Icy Wind and retaliated with Thunderbolt, felling the Walrein instantly.
"Let's… move on…" Niko swallowed "I don't like the look of that shattered Krabby…"
"Hey, I found its eye!"
"Yeah, let's go!" Priscilla hurried Niko and Chatot down the hallway before shooting me a dirty look "Don't scare Niko like that"
"Not my fault if he can't handle blood and gore" I shrugged before following Niko and Chatot "I didn't actually find the Krabby's eye though"
Priscilla sighed "The world is ending as we speak and you have the audacity to joke. You're truly a mystery beyond belief"
"Well, let's just say I took inspiration from Aria and Henry" I watched as Chatot deflected a Dragonair's own Dragon Pulse back at the serpent with Mirror Move "Zach told me how they acted cheerful and happy to bring everyone's moods up while we were gone. They undertook missions together when the others were too depressed or tired to do so"
"So what you're saying is that in the face of danger and crisis, you should smile and laugh instead of giving in to despair?" the Eevee got a thoughtful look on her face "That reminds me of a character in a book I read"
"Really? Who was the character?" I asked.
"I don't remember exactly what his name was, but he was a mercenary that knew how to dance from his mother" Priscilla explained. Three Pelippers flew above us, preparing to launch Hydro Pump, but Niko shot them all down with Thunderbolt. Chatot was dealing with a Gastrodon in the hallway in front of us, pecking it to death with Fury Attack.
"Hey, you two!" Chatot snapped "Stop talking and help us fight!"
"R-right. Sorry!" Priscilla apologized, then turned to me "I'll explain later"
"Of course" I ran to Niko's side and found that a Monster House has triggered in the room next to us, explaining why so many Pokemon were rushing into our room.
"This is ridiculous! When will this stream of Pokemon end?" Niko cried as he took down line after line of Water type Pokemon with Thunderbolt and Discharge. I looked ahead and saw that more Pokemon were falling from the ceiling.
"Wait, I have a plan" I pulled out a Luminous Orb from my bag and shouted "Everyone cover your eyes!"
Everyone did as I commanded except for the enemy Pokemon, who stared at the blue orb in my hand with confusion. I slammed it onto the ground, creating a searing flash that blinded all the enemy Pokemon in our room.
"Okay, now that everyone's blind, we'll fall back and allow the rest to come in" I pulled Niko back towards the corner "Then once the room's filled with enemy Pokemon, you'll use Discharge and wipe them all out in one go!"
"Okay, here I go!" Niko began pulsing with electricity as more Water type Pokemon streamed in from the Monster House next door. Before they could even attack, Niko's electric aura grew stronger and then burst, zapping everything in the room with a megaton of voltage. Some of the enemy Pokemon disintegrated on the spot too.
"Now let's break away while we have the chance!" Priscilla called, hurrying us down the hallway towards the next room, which had the staircase. As we advanced to the next floor, I leaned in to Priscilla.
"Now would be a good time to continue" I said.
"Yeah, so as I was saying…" Priscilla glanced around us just in case enemies were around "This mercenary dancer lived in a ruined future, a world ravaged by a dark dragon. He fought alongside his friends to try and defeat this dark dragon, but despair rapidly began enveloping each and every one of his allies"
"Including him?"
"Including him" Priscilla nodded "But in an effort to cheer himself up, this mercenary began smiling and laughing to cheer everyone else around him. He always walked onto the battlefield with a smile and carefree attitude"
"How do you know this much and not remember his name?" I asked.
"I… I think his name was Indigo and he was a Gallade" Priscilla frowned "That's all I remember"
"What about this "dark dragon"? What Pokemon was it?" I continued.
"The dark dragon's name was… Hydreigon if I recall" the Eevee replied "The story said that Hydreigon's breath is corrosive to anything it touches. If its Dragon Pulse hits something, the victim will suffer a slow, painful death from the acid burning on them"
"That's… gruesome to say the least"
"Says the guy who split a Krabby in half with his fist"
"Hey, at least my killings is instantaneous. I don't keep my foes alive to torture them" I protested "But anyways, that means Henry and Aria are like Indigo while Dialga's Hydreigon"
"I suppose so" Priscilla shrugged "Oh crap, Chatot just got frozen by a Walrein's Ice Beam!"
"You sound far too nonchalant"
"I didn't care too much for Chatot anyways"
"Wow, you're heartless…"
Thanks to Niko, the Walrein who fired the Ice Beam was dealt with and Chatot thawed out of his ice prison, healing his wounds with Roost.
"You two, get in the front line!" Chatot snapped, irritated "I'm sick of you two hanging out behind us and talking. It's time YOU took the brunt of the attacks"
I sighed "As you say Chatot. Niko, support us from behind with your Thunderbolt"
"As you command" Niko spotted a Staryu and blasted it with a red and blue double-crossing beam, like a DNA helix "I also have Signal Beam if you want a long range attack"
"Wow, you've changed a LOT since before we were pulled into the future" I remarked "Not only are you more confident and social, you've gotten much stronger too. I believe you can even explore this dungeon solo!"
"That's far too much Silvin" Niko replied modestly "But this growth is all thanks to everyone else, especially Ezra and Zach"
"Ezra was your main research partner in rescuing us from the future and Zach trained you?" Priscilla guessed.
"Yep" the Mareep nodded before zapping an Omanyte to ash with Thunderbolt "I wonder how those four are faring right now actually…"
"I'm sure they are fine. Three out of four of them have super effective moves against the Water type Pokemon here" I said reassuringly, then gestured to the cluster of holes on the ceiling "And with the sunlight coming in through these holes, they won't have to worry about ambush attacks"
"I guess you're right. Still, I worry for them" Niko glanced down the hallway beside him "Oh, there's the staircase!"
…
"Ugh, why the hell does it have to be so dark down here?" Zelot growled, frustrated as he rapidly sliced apart a Gastrodon with Leaf Blade "None of us brought torches and we were ambushed over four times!"
"I guess we can take it as a lesson to prepare better next time" Sara remarked "How are you feeling Zach?"
"Just fine. This electric orb doesn't take too much energy to maintain" Zach's lightning orb floated next to him, lighting the damp caverns in electric blue light "Maybe we took a wrong turn and ended up in a deeper level of Brine Cave?"
"Whatever it is, we'll have a hard time finding the pattern in this darkness" Zelot felt the wall and pointed to the left "Zach, send your electric orb over there to scout for enemies"
"Roger that" Zach guided his sparkling ball of lightning over into the nearby room, which caused a whole stream of enemy Pokemon to fall from the ceiling.
"God dammit! It's a Monster House!" Zelot dug out a Petrify Orb from his bag "We don't have time for this. Let's just petrify them and run in the other direction"
"Good idea" Sara nodded and turned to Zach "Zach, quickly retract your electric orb and have it check our room to see if there are any hallways"
As the Shinx worked to return the lightning orb back to him, Zelot lobbed his Petrify Orb into the crowd of enemy Pokemon, freezing them in place.
"There's a hallway down to the right of us. It seems to turn at a corner to the left into another room" Zach reported "We should head there instead"
The four followed the blue light of Zach's orb before it flickered and shattered, creating a shower of sparks in the next room.
"Uhh… what just happened?" Aria asked, before getting whipped in the face by a tail "Ow! Who did that? Someone hit me with a tail!"
"Enemy Dragonair!" Zach summoned another lightning orb and hovered it over the Dragonair, who was readying a Dragon Rush "Aria, you take it!"
"Okay, I got this!" Aria slithered in front of Zelot and jumped, bringing down the full force of Dragon Rush down on her tail. Unfortunately, the Dragonair dodged and headbutted Aria towards the wall.
"Aria, I told you not to use Dragon Rush or Aqua Tail from above!" Zelot scolded as his arm glowed pink in preparation for Psycho Cut. The Dragonair pulsed with electricity and attempted to Thunder Wave the Gallade, but Zach jumped in and absorbed it, allowing Zelot to cut down Dragonair.
"Are you okay, Aria? You're not too hurt, are you?" Sara asked, helping the injured Dratini limp across the floor.
"Y-yeah, I'm fine. Just a little… back pain is all" Aria winced "Sorry Zelot. I won't do that again"
"You just need more practice" the Gallade waved it off "You'll get better in time"
"How did the electric orb get shattered though?" Zach wondered aloud "Does Dragonair have some sort of special abilities or moves that destroy electricity?"
"My best guess is that Dragonair used Thunder Wave on it" Sara shrugged "I mean, every time you and Niko sparred, your Sparks and Thunder Fangs would collide with Niko's Thunderbolt, resulting in both moves being nullified"
"So when a lightning bolt strikes another lightning bolt, both disappear?" Aria tilted her head "That definitely doesn't work with other elements"
"Strike fire with fire and you get more fire" Zelot agreed "Attack water with water and you get a bigger pool"
"It merits a bit of testing" Sara shook her head "Sadly, only Zach and Niko share a type. In fact, we're missing a Fire, Water AND Grass type Pokemon in Team Skylar, all three very common types"
"Huh, that's true" Aria used her tail to stroke her chin "Maybe we should pick up a few someday"
"We're going to need to travel to the northwest lands if we want Fire types" Zelot informed "The land up there is well known for its volcanoes and scorching hot ground. Folklore tells that a meteor crashed there and the meteor's heat still lives on in the land"
"That would explain the volcanoes and hot atmosphere" Zach nodded "So I'm guessing the place is full of Fire type Pokemon?"
"Every Pokemon living there is either Fire, Rock or Ground type" Zelot replied "Literally nothing else survives there except for them"
"You know surprisingly a lot about this land" Aria noticed "Care to provide a name and if you went there before?"
"The land up northwest doesn't have a name really. It just consists of three mystery dungeons, the Dark Crater, Mt Mistral and the Giant Volcano" Sara answered "And to answer your question about Zelot being there before, me and him went there on a bounty hunting job years ago"
"Oh! I forgot you two used to be bounty hunters" Zach surrounded himself with electricity and rammed into a Staryu, frying it to ash "So what was the job about?"
"It was an outlaw who had minions working under him" Zelot explained "One of those goons was a Lapras, who sailed the outlaw all the way to the northwest land to escape. However, one of the outlaw's minions was a double agent and informed the police"
"The police put up a wanted poster for the outlaw soon after" Sara continued "If I remember correctly, he was wanted for stealing a piece of jewelry from a Lopunny"
"What did he steal? A bracelet or necklace?" Zach asked "If so, I don't think that warrants sailing to another land to escape"
"It was a necklace with a crystallized Water Stone" Zelot frowned and turned to Sara "Or was it a piece of a Fire Stone?"
"Both are wrong. It was a circular chip of a Thunder Stone" Sara replied
Aria's eyes went wide "How can you possibly remember that?"
"Let's just say I remember a lot of things when I nearby Zelot" Sara briefly rubbed her cloth body against Zelot gently "But anyways, the Thunder Stone necklace was rare and expensive, so it would of gone for a ton of Poke"
"So this outlaw was hoping to sell it to someone on the northwest land and claim he didn't have it after?" Zach guessed.
"I suppose so. I don't know the reasoning behind the theft" Zelot crossed his arms "All I do know is that we took the job, sailed to the northwest land and dealt with the outlaw, who was hiding at the deepest part of Dark Crater"
"How was Dark Crater?" Aria asked curiously "It sounds scary"
"Hot, sweltering and every step feeling like you're on a frying pan? Yeah, it was scary" Zelot shrugged "We had to be wary of the lava pits at times, but the enemy Pokemon were no big deal. I had a fellow bounty hunter accompanying us actually. He was an Empoleon"
"Of course, this was many years ago" Sara continued "And we haven't been back to the northwest land ever since. It's hard to tell how much it has changed"
"... Wait, why are we talking about a land of volcanoes, meteor crash sites and frying pan ground in a WATER-FILLED DUNGEON?!" Aria gestured all around her with her tail "I thought this was a conversation about recruitment!"
"Oh right, guess we got sidetracked" Zelot shrugged "So we can visit the northwest lands for a Fire type. Here would be a good place for Water types, but I don't have an Explorer Badge to officially recruit Pokemon"
"Yeah, only Silvin and Priscilla have it" Zach said "I remember Silvin leading me his badge when he and Priscilla were recovering from Grovyle's attack"
"But what's stopping you from recruiting Pokemon without a badge?" Aria asked "Can't you just tell them "We're an exploration team" and you're set?"
"The Exploration Badge is like a certification that you're a real exploration team" Zelot explained "Without it, bandits and gangs can easily trick people into their clan by claiming it's an exploration team"
"Ugh, don't even mention bandit groups or gangs…" Zach groaned "I've had enough of those in Amp Plains to last a lifetime"
"Anyways, Grass type Pokemon can be found pretty easily" Sara interrupted, moving the topic back to recruitment "Mystifying Forest a little up north is full of Grass type Pokemon"
"We can even look through the nearby Apple Woods for them" Zach nodded "Or even our own home in Lush Prairie"
"So out of all of them, Fire is the hardest to get" Zelot summed up "But judging by the record list at camp of which dungeons the team explored, we won't be needed a Fire type Pokemon anytime soon"
"Even if we did recruit a Fire type Pokemon, they wouldn't be seeing a lot of action" Sara agreed "According to the record list, Team Skylar has explored Beach Cave, Drenched Bluff, Waterfall Cave, Craggy Coast and right now, Brine Cave. All of them are water-themed dungeons"
"Wow, I didn't notice" Zach said "Although I was only part of one of those five: Brine Cave. I would of made the other four a BREEZE with my Electric type attacks"
"Until you see a Gastrodon" Zelot smirked.
"Shh. Do not mention that time Zelot" Zach groaned.
"Huh? What happened?" Aria asked curiously.
Zelot turned to Aria with a amused grin "So at the beginning of the dungeon, Zach here-"
"No, no! Shh, she doesn't need to know!" Zach protested, but Sara laughed and continued.
"He used Spark and rammed headfirst into a Gastrodon" the Mismagius explained "Little did he know, Gastrodon's Water and Ground type so…"
"Oh! So electricity is completely ineffective against it" Aria laughed "Zach, you dummy"
The Shix sighed and guided his lightning orb to a hallway to his left "Found the stairs. Let's go"
"Now what are you somber for?"
"Shut up Zelot…"
…
Not too long later, we arrived at a rest point with a Kangaskhan Rock.
"We're halfway through Brine Cave now" Chatot informed us "Once we get through Lower Brine Cave, we'll arrive at the deepest part of the dungeon, where the pattern rests"
"Okay, let's take a little break and move on" Priscilla walked towards the Kangaskhan Rock to resupply, but suddenly, the entire area was veiled in smoke.
"What the- who put up the smokescreen?!" I cried, then grasped my chest to cough.
"Whoa-ho-ho! It was I!" a familiar voice cackled.
"Team Skull!" Priscilla growled "What the hell are you doing here?!"
"Here to take that Relic Fragment! I'll take that" a hand roughly seized Priscilla's treasure bag "Chaw-ha-ha!"
"Skuntank! Now is not the time!" Priscilla yelled.
"See you wimps later! WE will be the ones to explore Hidden Land!" Skuntank laughed "Let's skedaddle, boys!"
"Heh-heh-heh!"
"Whoa-ho-ho!"
When the smokescreen finally cleared, Team Skull was gone along with Priscilla's treasure bag.
"Who were those Pokemon? And why is your treasure bag gone?" Chatot asked.
"It was Team Skull!" Priscilla growled "You know, the crooks who accompanied us on the Fogbound Lake exploration!"
"That's nice team? I'm afraid I don't follow" Chatot scratched the ground with his foot "What were they even doing here? We haven't saw any of them since the expedition"
"I don't know how to answer that, but that doesn't matter!" Priscilla snapped "They stole my treasure bag AND the Relic Fragment! We need to get them back!"
"Team Skull has been playing the guild as a fool this entire time" I explained "They deceived us into thinking they were good Pokemon, but they were really after the treasure of Fogbound Lake!"
"And now they are trying to get into Hidden Land!" Priscilla snarled "And those idiots don't even know they need to be a "chosen one" to do so!"
"Chatot, we need to give chase right now" I urged "Come on, let's go!"
Chatot didn't say a word. Instead, he was shaking with pure rage. Anger lines formed on his head and his entire body radiated an extremely vengeful aura.
"... They think I'm a naive, bloody fool?!" Chatot growled "They will not get away with this insult. I will hunt them down and when I find them, I'll give him a verbal lashing so harsh that it'll slice apart their very skin! I will show them what it means to trifle with ME!"
Without warning, Chatot charged straight ahead into Lower Brine Cave, leaving us alone.
"Wait Chatot!" Priscilla called, but he already disappeared into the darkness.
"Guys, we need to get a move on" Niko urged "We need to chase Team Skull to retrieve Priscilla's Relic Fragment. Otherwise, it's all over!"
"You're right Niko. Let's move everyone!" I nodded and we all charged into the Lower Brine Cave.
Lower Brine Cave wasn't any different from Brine Cave. Aside from it being significantly darker due to the sunlight not piercing through the ceiling anymore, all the enemy Pokemon were the same.
"Ugh, stupid me. I forgot to bring torches" Priscilla groaned, then turned to Niko behind her "Do you have some way of creating light?"
"I could try" Niko shrugged, then focused, generating electricity through his wooly coat. The electricity condensed into a golden ball of lightning, illuminating the cavern for us.
"Oh thank goodness we can see now" I let go of my hand on the wall and watched the sparkling lightning orb travel forward, showing a room with four different hallways ahead "Are you still able to use moves while the lightning orb is active?"
"No better time to try than now" the lightning orb moved at Niko's command, showing an incoming Walrein. Niko bristled with electricity and discharged, smiting the Walrein with an instantaneous thunderbolt "Yep, still works"
"That's good. We won't need to cover you while you maintain the light then" I said as we took the northern hallway in the four-way room and ended up in a dead end "Ugh, I hate dead ends"
"By the way, who's Team Skull?" Niko asked as we backtracked to the four-way room "Priscilla seems especially hateful towards them"
"Team Skull is a band of crooks who prey on the weak and wimpy" I explained "Or whoever they perceive as naive and easy to manipulate. They only care about themselves and will do anything for treasure, even stealing the literal key needed to save the world"
In front of me, Priscilla punched the wall with her paw, ignoring the pain "Damn those men to hell…"
"They sound like a bad bunch" Niko nodded "What did they do to you though?"
"They stole my Relic Fragment, ate all the guild's food, stole all the Perfect Apples from Apple Woods, made US take Wigglytuff's tantrum, deceived the entire guild, intended to take the treasure of Fogbound Lake, hid a Water Float for us to find in Amp Plains during the most hostile time in the year and stole my Relic Fragment again!" Priscilla took a deep breath "Yeah, that's about it"
"I… I'm speechless" Niko said with a shocked look on his face "Why did they do all of us to you? Did you provoke them beforehand?"
"No and that's why they are crooks!" Priscilla growled "Like Silvin said, they prey on the weak and wimpy. And guess what, they think we're still weak and wimpy!"
"Despite you two literally surviving the hell that is the future" Niko commented.
"Exactly!"
"What will you do if you find them?" I asked innocently.
"... How long should the list be?"
"Oh believe me, list all of them" I put my hands behind my head "I'll enjoy laughing at your ways of revenge"
"Silvin, this is not funny. Not funny at all" the Eevee glared at me, then sighed "Hopefully Chatot can catch them quickly and retrieve the Relic Fragment. If they manage to find the pattern and get to Hidden Land…"
"They'll be destroyed by Dialga, no doubt about it" I said reassuringly.
"That's not to say WE won't get killed by Dialga either" Priscilla slumped, anger clearly out of her system "What I'm worried about is those idiots finding out the Relic Fragment doesn't work with them and throw it away"
"Let's hope it doesn't come to that" I looked ahead as Niko's lightning orb illuminated the way "There's the staircase. Let's hurry along"
…
"Whoa-ho-ho, looks like this is the deepest part of the dungeon, boss!" Koffing informed as Team Skull moved further into Lower Brine Cave, reaching a clearing full of water pools and rocks, round and spiky alike.
"The treasure shouldn't be far now, chaw-ha-ha!" Skuntank laughed "Up ahead, we'll find that pattern like the old-timer said…"
"And we'll use Priscilla's Relic Fragment to get to Hidden Land!" Zubat finished "Team Skull will be the first to explore Hidden Land and we'll be hailed as heroes for finding it!"
"Chaw-ha-ha, not long now, boys!" Skuntank cackled "The end is within sight"
"Hey boss, is it just me or…" Koffing leaned into Skuntank's ear "Do you feel a feeling of incredible dread? Like someone is watching us or something…"
"You're just imagining it Koffing. Stop distracting us from the treasure!" Zubat chided.
"No, no. I feel it too…" Skuntank glanced around "But no time for that. Let's go"
Suddenly, three powerful streams of water shot from above the three Pokemon, enveloping them in an intense whirlpool.
"Aagghhhh…! What the hell…?" Skuntank moaned as the whirlpool died down "Who could of…"
As the whirlpool burst, both Koffing and Zubat crashed against the rock walls, fainting instantly. Skuntank was left on the ground, groaning in pain.
"Grrahhh… Damn you…" Skuntank took one glance at the ceiling, spotting shadows of three Pokemon crawling on the wall before blacking out.
Our team:
- Silvin, Riolu
Level 43
Moves: Focus Punch, Force Palm, Bite and Dig
IQ Level: **
- Priscilla, Eevee
Level 40
Moves: Wide Slash, Vacuum Cut, Bite and Quick Attack
IQ Level: ***
- Niko, Mareep
Level 38
Moves: Thunderbolt, Discharge, Signal Beam and Thunder Wave
IQ Level: ***
Zach's team:
- Zach, Shinx
Level 39
Moves: Thunder Fang, Spark, Crunch and Charge
IQ Level: **
- Zelot, Gallade
Level 41
Moves: Psycho Cut, Leaf Blade, Brick Break and Night Slash
IQ Level: ***
- Sara, Mismagius
Level 38
Moves: Shadow Ball, Magical Leaf, Psychic and Shock Wave
IQ Level: ***
- Aria, Dratini
Level 35
Moves: Dragon Rush, Aqua Tail, Thunder Wave and Agility
IQ Level: ***
And so, Brine Cave is finished and Lower Brine Cave is nearing its end. The story Priscilla told about Indigo and Hydreigon is a reference to another Nintendo series (you get a cookie if you find out) Coming up next is Team Skylar finding out just what attacked Team Skull and where did Chatot go, along with discovering the pattern at the end of the dungeon. Follow and favorite if you want to be notified of when a new chapter comes out and review if you want to give me constructive criticism or praise. Until next time!
