The Story of Team Fate - An Explorers of Sky Fanfiction
Chapter 37 - Minimap
Mystifying Forest, Sparks' POV
Things have been going well for Violet and I ever since my return. Sure, it has taken a while for me to get used to walking again, but I quickly managed to steady my footing back to normal. And now that things really did go back to normal, Violet and I went back to our normal days of going out, be it dates or explorations. Even though Chime hasn't been able to attend all our adventures because of his schedule of dates with Chimecho, things have still been going well for the three of us. I even got my bag, bow, and badge back.
But as for today, Violet and I were told by Chatot that we had to explore this place called Mystifying Forest for our graduation test. At first I was confused as to why we'd be taking a graduation test all of a sudden, but I realized that since we managed to go out of our way to stop time from freezing, I assume Chatot would know that we'd be able to pass a mere graduation test. Plus, I think it's time we left our room in the guild. Violet and I already have plans for the little room we have in Sharpedo Bluff, still there and waiting for us.
Right now, Mystifying Forest didn't prove to be too much trouble, despite the amount of Reviver Seeds we had to use. Violet and I have managed to successfully go up more than ten floors of the forest, when suddenly the ground gives way beneath is and we find ourselves in darkness. A pit.
Mystifying Forest's Pit
"Sparks? What's going on?" Violet asks me.
"It's dark… wait, I'll just fix that problem right now…" I say, lighting up my tail to give us a view of the entire room.
Whatever pit we've fallen in, it's an obscure one. Because the first thing I notice about the Pokémon surrounding us are-
"Wait, Wigglytuff?! Chatot?!" I exclaim to the crowd of guild members around us. "And the rest of you guys, too?!"
"Well, to be FAIR…" Loudred says to us. "Bidoof isn't here because he set up the pit trap, and Chimecho isn't here because SOMEONE has to heal us after we fight you… plus I remember something about her saying she needed to go somewhere…"
On a date with Chime, no doubt…
"Loudred! Hush!" Chatot scolds, panickedly waving his wing in front of him.
"Wait… Loudred… did you just say that you have to fight us?" Violet speaks up.
"Uh… no… who's this Wigglytuff and Chatot you're talking about?" Wigglytuff blurts out, clearly feigning. "I'm the grandmaster of these Pokémon here! We're the powerful Pokémon group of Mystifying Forest, here to take unaware explorers like you down!"
I quickly glance at Violet to see that she seems unconvinced as well.
Definitely Wigglytuff. If we are going to have to fight all these guild members, then this should be quite the graduation test.
I then notice a confident look come across Violet's face, filling me with confidence as well.
"Yes, now prepare yourselves!" Chatot says to us, a confident smirk coming across his face. "To start this battle off, how about I make the first move?"
Before Violet or I could protest on Chatot's sudden question, the two of us are immediately interrupted by the ground shaking from a Boomburst wave rapidly heading our way. I try to use Charge to block the incoming attack, but the violent sound wave passes through my shield and sends me reeling towards the wall.
I quickly glance around to see that Violet managed to dodge the attack, presumably using her natural agility to do so, running over to me. She takes an Oran Berry out of her backpack, the same backpack she got from Grovyle, and hands the berry to me, which I gladly accept and eat. She helps me up and we both eat Violent Seeds from our own bags, powering us up.
"Looks like I'm not the only one who prepared supplies." I compliment her.
"I'm learning. I've developed my own sense of leadership decisions, too." Violet replies with a confident smile.
"I can't deny that. Now, are you ready to do this?"
"Ready when you are. So, what's the plan?"
I quickly glance at the seven Pokémon coming closer to us.
"Okay, I got it. Violet, you take on Diglett, Dugtrio, and Sunflora. Can you manage that?" I ask.
She nods.
"Good. I'll handle everyone else. Okay… now!"
Violet dashes forward toward her nearest target, Dugtrio, as I stay in place and ready a Discharge attack. Using the Violent Seed's power from before, I let loose the electrical blast as it spreads to the rest of our opponents in the room.
Thank goodness Chimecho isn't here… The sudden thought comes to my mind. I don't think Chime would be happy if Violet and I beat up his girlfriend…
Spinda's Cafe, Chime's POV
Okay… okay… hopefully Chimecho won't be too mad that I'm late for this date… It's only this one time…
I hurriedly levitate down the stairs into the cafe and look around for the table where Chimecho should be waiting for me. Luckily, I manage to see her out of the corner of my eye and levitate towards her table, me being too panicked to try teleporting. My hasty levitation almost makes me bump into several of Spinda's helpers, but I manage to get to my seat in time.
Or at least, I'm hopeful that it's in time.
"Chime!" Chimecho exclaims in a scornful manner. "Where were you? You're late!"
"Hey, hey, I was getting something ready for Sparks and Violet, so I have my alibi," I reply, my tone unstirred by Chimecho's disapproving one. "And besides, this is just the first time I've ever been late to any of our dates, so-"
"Chime, this is your tenth time!" Chimecho immediately cuts me off.
"Oh… tenth?" I say aloud, guilt suddenly striking me. "If that's the case… I'm sorry. I really am."
My guilt is then turned into confusion when I glance at Chimecho to see her disapproving expression change into a mischievous smile.
"Wow… you really do care, don't you?" Chimecho says to me, still smiling.
"Well, of course… why wouldn't I?" I say back, now even more confused.
"So you do have a sensitive side! And I managed to bring it out again! I knew it!" Chimecho responds, sounding triumphant.
"Wait… so you're not mad at me?"
In response, Chimecho levitates over to me and gives me a hug.
"Of course not. Even if you were actually late for ten of our dates in a row, I'm not mad at you in the slightest," Chimecho says to me, her kind voice giving me relief. I hug her back. "I'm just messing with you. After all, you like messing with others, so I thought it'd be fun to have you get a taste of your own medicine." As we slowly break away from our hug, I catch her wink at me.
I can't help but chuckle. "I see what you did there. But if you think that little trick of yours got me, don't bother trying another bluff on me again. You only got to my soft spot because you're my girlfriend and all. And it takes something real personal to break me, which makes it real hard to get to my sensitive side if you don't know me personally. But for future reference, I'll have you know, I'm real professional at the art of psychological warfare."
"Okay, okay, you little mastermind or whatever," Chimecho says to me, telekinetically sliding one of the glasses of Gold Gummi juice to me. "Now it's about time we've had our drinks. Your cold drink is now room temperature because you kept it waiting for too long, so drink up."
"Whatever you say, my medical maiden." I say with a wink and a courtly bow, letting out a small chuckle afterwards. I then take the glass of my golden drink in one of my ropes and take a sip.
"So Chime, now that you're finally here to get this date started properly, I have a question," Chimecho suddenly speaks up. "What exactly were you preparing for Sparks and Violet that got you late in the first place?"
"Oh, that? Well, you know how Sparks and Violet's graduation test is today, right?" I say. Chimecho nods in response. "Well, since I know for sure that they're going to pass that test, I thought I might as well use the Poke I've earned from our team missions to buy them a little something."
"This little something is…?" Chimecho asks, sounding intrigued.
"Well, I've noticed how much the two like exploring, so I decided to get them this little minimap to some secret secluded mystery dungeon around Treasure Town's region. Right now I'm keeping it safe in the box I keep where I live, and once Sparks and Violet get back I'll give it to them."
"That's nice of you! So… on that topic… if a special event ever happens between us, I suppose I can trust you to get me a good gift?" Chimecho asks.
"Definitely," I say with a wink. "Though… hopefully Sparks and Violet will like my little gift. Judging from my mystery dungeon of choice, it should definitely keep them occupied."
"In a good way or a bad way?"
"Beats me. Looks like there's only one way to find that out," I reply. "But I'm sure there's no need to worry about them. They've surely gone through worse. And if the going gets tough, there's always the possibility that I'll be tagging along with them. Now I just can't wait to show off the new moves I've learned."
We continue talking about miscellaneous topics for a bit before we both finish our drinks.
"So… you sure you're not claustrophobic?" Chimecho asks me.
"I know I'm not. It's just that I somehow know the word for some reason. I can prove it to you once I show you the small bush where I live in," I reply. "Though, the whereabouts of this specific bush are a complete secret." I end up whispering that last part.
"Looks like I'm going to have to add that bush to our list of possible date locations," Chimecho says, a suddenly amused look coming across her face. "Or maybe… something other than just for a date." Chimecho winks at me after that last sentence, but I end up having no idea what she means by 'other than just for a date'.
Uh… like what? I'm completely lost here…
Before I could question what Chimecho could possibly be talking about, Spinda wobbles over to our table.
"Sooooo, has our happy couple had enough drinks? Or would you like more?" She asks us.
"More, please. I'm enjoying my time here." Chimecho answers.
"The same for me please." I reply.
"Coming right up!" Spinda says with her usual enthusiasm, and before we could even blink, our glasses are refilled. "All done! Enjoy your drinks, you two!" And with that, she wobbles away to tend to another Pokémon.
"So now that's more time just for the two of us." I say once Spinda is out of earshot.
"Can't argue with that. Can't say I don't enjoy it, either." Chimecho says with a smile.
I lift my glass into the air telekinetically. Chimecho does the same.
"To us!"
A few minutes later, Mystifying Forest's Pit, Violet's POV
I close my eyes, trying to shield them from a sudden flash of light that just filled the room.
The blinding light leaves a ringing effect on my ears. I keep my eyes shut and wait for some signal that the flashing is gone.
"You can open your eyes now, Violet."
The sound of Sparks' voice is enough to make me open my eyes, and the first thing I see is the flash that was here before is now gone. We're back in the dark pit we were a few minutes ago, this time all the guild members that used to be present there now absent.
"They're gone… does that mean it's over now?" I ask aloud.
"It's over… and we've won the battle," Sparks answers. "I know they desperately tried and failed to hide their identities by using an Escape Orb, but having to use a Luminous Orb at the same time just to blind us? Now that's quite the dedication to hide identities… even if it didn't work."
"I can definitely agree with that," I add. I then spot a moderately sized box in the middle of the room and pick it up. I notice a tag attached to it. "'If found, please return to Guildmaster Wigglytuff'. And as if it weren't obvious enough…" I hand the box over to Sparks.
"This must be the box we were told to retrieve here. Looks like we'll have to bring this back to the guild," Sparks says, putting the box into his bag and looking through it. "Oh no… I don't have an Escape Orb in here. And we're still stuck in this hole. Do you have an Escape Orb in that bag of yours?"
An… Escape Orb?
I quickly look through my backpack for an Escape Orb, but don't find anything.
"No…" I reply. "Looks like we've been relying on Chime's teleportation for too long…"
"It appears we'll have to take the long way out of here…" I hear Sparks say with a sigh as he walks over to one side of the pit. He tries to use his Quick Attack speed to run up the wall, but ends up literally falling short. "Ow… looks like Quick Attack isn't the way to go… Violet, does your Imprison feel like helping out now?"
I try to concentrate, then stamp my paw onto the ground, but nothing happens.
"No. Looks like it doesn't feel like cooperating at the moment…" I say.
"Oh. Well, if at first you don't succeed, try, try, again!" Sparks says, trying to perk up. He then tries running up the wall once more, only to end up falling back to the ground again. I can't help but giggle a bit as I help him back up.
"You do still remember how I learned Extrasensory earlier in this forest, right?" I say with a slight smirk.
"Oh. I guess I forgot." He replies, chuckling.
"Hopefully you'll remember this time." I say with a playful smile, using my newfound control over my psychic energy to levitate Sparks in mid-air.
Once I manage to levitate Sparks and I out of the pit and back onto the grass, we both look around for a bit.
"So… where's the way back?" I ask. "Both bushes ahead and behind us look exactly the same."
"Uh… well… we could split up, but that doesn't sound like a good idea in case one of us actually does find the exit while the other is lost alone, so we'll have to end up sticking together to find the exit…" Sparks says. "And as for what bush to go through… we'll go through this one. Whether or not it's the exit… there's only one way to find out!"
Hopefully this should be the way out… I don't want to have to end up spending hours walking through more forest…
That bush wasn't the way out.
It just led to more forest.
At least, that's what it feels like to me right now.
"Sparks… it doesn't even feel like we're getting anywhere at all," I manage to say, exhausted as I try to follow him. "Why are we even still following this path?"
"I know… I'm tired too… but think about it, Violet," Sparks replies. "If the room with the pit was supposed to be the end of the mystery dungeon… then why is there more ahead? It's either that this path really does lead to the exit, or there's something more to this forest than meets the eye…"
Then, as if on cue, we head through another bush to find ourselves in a vast room with a peaceful feel to it. The first thing the two of us immediately notice is the room's eye-catching water spring. I can feel a mystical aura coming from the water, as if there were some sort of magical presence nearby. Sparks slowly walks over and steps into the spring, and I notice that the spring is shallow enough to where the water doesn't even rise past Sparks' paws.
"You can walk onto it, Violet. It's not deep." Sparks says to me, gesturing for me to follow.
"Yes, please do," A voice suddenly calls out to us out of nowhere, putting us on edge. "Do not worry. I'm harmless, even to Fire types."
"Wait… who's there?!" Sparks calls out.
"Do not be alarmed. You two have simply just wandered into Luminous Spring. And I am the voice of the spring." The voice echoes to us.
Luminous Spring?
"So… we're in Luminous Spring?" Sparks asks.
"That is correct."
"Wait… Luminous Spring? I remember hearing legends about it…" I say aloud. "This is one of those places that help Pokémon evolve, right?"
"That is correct. More specifically, I evolve Pokémon that evolve through means of leveling up and getting stronger," The voice replies. "Pokémon who evolve through other means can simply achieve those means on their own and evolve that way."
"Wait… we can evolve here?" Sparks asks.
"Well, you can, Shinx. However, as for the Vulpix, she'll need a Fire Stone." The voice answers.
Oh… so it looks like I can't evolve right now…
"So, Shinx, do you wish to evolve? You can evolve right here and right now if you'd like." The voice asks.
I look over to Sparks, who appears to look hesitant for a second.
"Sparks? Don't you wanna evolve?" I say to him in an encouraging tone.
"Well… no." Sparks says after a sigh.
"Wait, no?" I say, surprised.
"I can explain. You see, I'm not exactly too keen on trying to evolve… I've already had enough trouble trying to get used to being a Shinx, so I have a feeling that evolving isn't going to make things better for me…" Sparks replies. He then smiles at me, looking at me with those kind eyes of his. "Plus, I'd rather evolve at the same time that you do, just so we can share the experience."
"Well… I have to admit that even I am hesitant about the idea of evolving… I like being a Vulpix. And… to be honest, I've grown attached to seeing you as a Shinx. Sure, while I'd be really happy if you evolved, part of me would start to really miss what you looked like as a Shinx…" I say, smiling. "So… I guess what I'm saying is thanks. While I probably won't end up evolving any time soon because Fire Stones are crazy rare, it's heartwarming to think that you'd want to delay your evolution for me."
Sparks smiles back at me. "Even if you can't find that Fire Stone, I'm completely fine with delaying my evolution. I promise that I won't evolve unless you do it with me."
I can't help but blush. "I promise too."
"Well, it looks like I won't have to do any evolving work today," The voice of Luminous Spring says to us, sounding amused. "That means you might as well start heading back now. Though, feel free to come back here when you need to evolve."
"Thanks. We'll keep that in mind." Sparks says back.
"Oh, and one more thing. The exit is that way. Just keep heading straight after heading through those bushes."
"Uh… okay!" I call back, somehow knowing where the voice is talking about despite the voice giving us no physical gestures whatsoever.
Looks like it's time to get this box back to the guild and finally graduate!
A few hours later, outside Wigglytuff's Guild, Ninetales' POV
"Ninetales, how long do we have to wait out here? I wanna go get another Apple Juice!" Sammy says to me as we both stand with the guild's security grate in front of us.
"We'll just wait here to greet Violet and Sparks after their graduation. They'd want to be greeted by us after all the work they've gone through as a team, right?" I reply.
"Of course they do," Chime says beside me, holding a box of some sort. "I should know. I've been on a lot of their adventures. Lately we've ended up dealing with the likes of dangerous S Rank outlaws in even more dangerous mystery dungeons… especially the icy ones," He then shudders. "Note to self… never, EVER, try throwing Rawst Berries at a Froslass… the last thing I'd want is to get frozen and eaten by one…"
Then, as if on cue, the gate to the guild in front of us opens, and we see Sparks and Violet walk out with big smiles on their faces, paw in paw. I hear calls of "Goodbye, Sparks and Violet!" and "Good luck!" coming out from behind them.
"Isn't this great, Sparks?" Violet says excitedly. "We've finally graduated! Now that we've graduated from the guild, we can finally live together and all that!"
"Yeah, it is," Sparks replies with a slight chuckle. "While it's still a letdown that we still have to share most of our Poke rewards with the guild, at least we get to keep our Treasure Bag, our Wonder Map, and Explorer's Badges."
The two then turn to see us.
"Mom! Chime! And Sammy too!" Violet exclaims. "What're you doing here?"
"We came here to greet you, duh!" Chime says.
"Happy graduation, you two!" I greet them with a smile.
"Oh, wow, thanks!" Violet replies. "But… uh… if you really wanted to be there for the graduation announcement, couldn't you have just been there in the guild when it happened?"
"Uh… well…" I ask, turning to Chime to see if he has an answer.
"Don't ask me. They've made it so that the guild is Teleport-proof, so I can't get in." He replies with a shrug.
I then look towards Sammy. "Dig-proof too."
"Yeah… that's what this grate here is for," Sparks says to us, pointing at it. "You could've just stepped on it and they would've let you in, you know."
"Oh. Why didn't any of you tell me about this?!" I yell.
"Guys, guys, let's just calm down, okay?" Sparks says. "The important thing is that we've graduated."
"Oh, right! Graduation! Uh… what's that?" Sammy speaks up.
"I'll explain it to you later, Sammy," I say. I then face Sparks and Violet once again. "So, you two, now that you've graduated from the guild, what are your plans now?"
"We didn't tell you? Well, Sparks and I were planning on living the rest of our lives at Sharpedo Bluff," Violet answers. "Isn't that right, Sparks?"
"That's right." Sparks adds, smiling.
"Hmm… what a coincidence. I was just planning on moving out of Sharpedo Bluff today." I add.
"Wait… we're moving out?!" Sammy protests. "Why didn't you tell me?! Where are we even going?!"
"Uh… I never said I was going to bring you with me… I was thinking that you already had a place to go back to, Sammy." I reply.
I then notice something about Sammy's eyes as she stares back at me. They look innocent… yielding… almost in a surrendering fashion. It's as if she's trying to make me feel pity for her.
"Well… okay, if you insist, I'll bring you along with me." I say.
"Yay!" Sammy cries out in triumph.
"Wait… Mom… you're moving away? Where are you even going to go?" VIolet asks me.
"Well… I'm planning on moving back to the house I used to live in before coming here. Our house, remember?" I reply. "This should prove to be much easier now that I actually have a map… hopefully. And don't worry, I'll be sure to visit every now and then… maybe even more frequent than that."
"That's good to know." Violet responds.
"So. Looks like everyone's gotten their new living spaces. I'm still wondering when it's time for me to get my own new living space." Chime comments.
"We still don't even know where you live," Sparks adds. "And… Chime, what's that box in your hands?"
"Oh, this?" Chime says, holding the box in front of him and presenting it proudly. "This is a little gift I got for you two for your graduation! Just thought it'd be nice."
"Wow… a gift just for us?" Sparks says in awe, accepting the box.
"Yep! Surprised? Just… uh… open it and take the minimap inside. I kinda need the box, it being the only one I have and all…" Chime adds.
"Uh… sure…" Sparks opens the box, takes the map, and hands the box back to Chime.
Wait… a gift? I completely forgot!
"You know… we might still have time to head to Spinda's Cafe to get some celebratory drinks," I hastily say, coming up with an idea. "My treat."
A few hours later, Sharpedo Bluff, Sparks' POV
Our visit to Spinda's Cafe for drinks went well. We got to talk for a while, get some good drinks, and generally have a good time. Though, what Ninetales said about "my treat" confused me for a bit considering Spinda's drinks are free…
After bidding farewell to Ninetales and Sammy, Violet and I enter head down the staircase to Sharpedo Bluff, taking in the peaceful silence.
I take a deep breath. "Looks like we finally have a place all to ourselves."
"Looks like we do… though, considering how late it is, we should probably get some sleep," Violet says with a yawn. "I'll just prepare our beds…"
"No, please, allow me." I say, grabbing onto her paw.
Violet smiles at me. "Well, we'd both get done with this faster if we did it together…"
The two of us then gather the piles of straw littered around the room, but instead of forming it into two beds, I decide to form it into one large bed, just for the two us.
"One big bed… I'd like that. How did you know?" Violet asks.
"I just know." I say with a smirking grin.
The two of us then lie down on our bed, the two of us making sure that we keep as close as possible.
"Good night, Sparks. We've got a big day tomorrow, after all…" Violet says, kissing me on the cheek. "We're going to have to go exploring whatever mystery dungeon Chime gave us the map to… what was it again?"
"Surrounded Sea, if I remember correctly… but yeah, you're right about tomorrow being a big day… part of me even thinks it'll be bigger than I think it'll be…" I then move Violet's face so that it's level to mine and give her a quick kiss on the lips. "Good night, Violet…"
NOTE: And that's the end of this chapter! Now, I know nothing really super eventful happened in this chapter, but don't worry! I still have a lot of stuff planned for the rest of the chapters to come, it's just that I have to pave the way for their events first! So, with that being said, if this chapter was enjoyable to read, kindly leave a review on your way out! And as always, thank you so much for taking your time to read this, and I hope you have a good day!
-flareon71