PMD: The Dawn of Life
Chapter 1: The Troublemaker Sorcerer
Crossing the bridge over a river that drove into Serene Village's great lake, we finally made it to Nuzleaf's house. It was a fairly unremarkable house made of solid bark and wood, with only a few circular windows to distinguish it.
"I reckon we're here," Nuzleaf gestured to his abode, "It's nothing impressive, but it'll suffice I'm sure. Welcome to my home, Azri"
"Anything beats having to live out in the wild," I shook my head, "Let's go inside"
"Yup," Nuzleaf nodded and he swung open the doors to his home. Inside, there were three rooms: a living room and kitchen in the center, one bedroom to the right and another to the left. I assumed the left one was the guest room seeing as it had nothing beyond a small bed, some crates and a few sticks and pots against the wall, "Think you can bunker down here for now. I assure you nobody has slept here before"
"What's the extra bed and room for then?"
"It came with the house," Nuzleaf replied simply before turning behind him, arranging the random assortment of sticks and stones across the wall like they were furniture, "It ain't much, but it should be enough. You have a decent bed at least"
"Yeah, I'm not expecting much more," I shook my head, sitting down onto the bed. It was made of straw and circular, like a bird's nest. It pricked into my skin the instant I laid down on it, "Goodness, how do you even sleep in these things?"
"Experience, Azri. You'll learn to live with it soon," Nuzleaf replied sagely before staring at me intently, "Alright, let's get down to business"
"I don't have any money, if that's what you're thinking about," I replied as I sat up.
"No, no, I mean let's talk about what's important now," Nuzleaf sighed, "What are you going to do? You showed up here out of nowhere without any memories aside from your name and life as a human. Are you going to try and figure out how to turn back?"
"Uhh…" I frowned. I didn't have a clue on where to even start with that. Somehow, I doubted that turning back to human would be very easy, "I don't know honestly. I think I need to settle and get my bearings before figuring out something"
"Hm. It wouldn't hurt to figure out what those Beheeyem were after you for too," Nuzleaf crossed his arms, "But all the wondering in the world's just going to give me a headache"
"Hopefully they didn't pursue us into the village…" I murmured, biting my lip.
"Mm, I didn't catch a whiff of them through the forest, so they should be long gone. In any case, I suppose you can stay here until your memory comes back and we have some answers," Nuzleaf decided, "But you're gonna look a mite suspicious if you showed up out of nowhere and didn't do anything. You need to settle in somehow"
"Well, what do you Pokemon do around here first of all? Maybe I can help out," I offered, but Nuzleaf shook his head.
"I understand that you're quite the lady, given your speech and manners, but on the outside, you look to be of school age," Nuzleaf replied, "You'd look out of place working in the fields"
"So… what can I do?"
"I'll enroll you in the village school," Nuzleaf decided, "That way, you can fit into Serene Village and pick up some knowledge along the way. It ain't hurting anyone"
"Alright, I suppose that's fair," I pursed my lips. I didn't exactly relish the idea of going to school and being surrounded by kids likely far younger than I was. If what Nuzleaf said back in the forest about kids was true, then I was headed for a world of trouble. Still, knowing what was even around me would help.
"Alright, sounds good. I'll head out and do that right away," Nuzleaf nodded, heading for the door, "You stay here and get some rest. Don't step a toe out of here until I get back, got it?"
"Sure thing. Thanks Nuzleaf," I watched the wooden doll Pokemon leave the house before I laid back down on my bed, trying to get used to the prickly straws poking at my back. How did anyone get used to sleeping on this? It was like lying on a board of nails, "Ugh, this is impossible. I have better odds sleeping on the ground"
I rolled over off my bed, hitting the hard wooden floor. I closed my eyes, attempting to drift off into slumber, but the floor was somehow even harder to sleep on than the prickly bed. What I wouldn't give for some soft sheets.
"It's still the afternoon. I wouldn't be able to sleep anyways," I muttered to myself before standing up, heading towards the window. However, before I could even take a step, a twig snapped dangerously close to the house, which made me stumble in surprise, "What was that…?"
Daring a glance out the window, I only saw the faint silhouette of something. It stared back at me for a brief moment before disappearing, crunching twigs outside the house. Was it the Beheeyem? They couldn't have found me that fast.
"I need to put a stop to this. These Beheeyem have gone far enough," I growled to myself, "I'll take them out myself or die trying"
Defying Nuzleaf's words, I ran towards the house's doors, swinging them open and heading out, ready to confront whomever was out there. I already wanted those Beheeyem out of my life.
"Doesn't seem like anyone is here…" I murmured to myself, scanning my surroundings. There wasn't a Pokemon in sight. Seems like the village was of a quiet sort, "Still, something surely was prowling outside the house. I need to-"
"Why are you talking to yourself?" A voice suddenly asked and I yelped, surprised. Turning to the source, I saw a small, beige fox staring at me with both intrigue and curiosity, "There's nobody around, you know"
"Err… it's just a habit of mine," I stammered before arching my eyebrows, "Say, you wouldn't happen to see someone… shifty patrolling Nuzleaf's house, right?"
"Shifty?! Whoa, no, no, no! Don't get the wrong idea!" The fox shook his head vigorously, "I was just curious about who moved in with Mr Nuzleaf. That's all"
"It's rude to spy on a lady, you know"
"I wouldn't know if you were a girl if I didn't look," The fox replied shrugging, "Anyways, what is your name? Where did you come from?"
"I'm Azri and uhh, I came from…" I glanced over to the forest far over the hill where me and Nuzleaf came from, "That forest over there. Lush Pass, I think"
"Uh huh…" The fox didn't look convinced, "Well, I'm Eden. I live here with my dad and mom!"
"Oh, I heard about you. Nuzleaf mentioned you transforming bananas into jackfruit or something," I recalled, "And causing several explosions around here"
"Oh come on!" Eden groaned, "Every time someone new comes to the village, they always bring it up. Now you think of me as some troublemaker, right?"
"Not really, but-"
"Fine! I'll give you a tour of the village just to show you that I'm a good person. I promise I'm not the delinquent everyone says I am. Really!" Eden insisted before grasping my hand, tugging me along with surprising strength, "Now come on! The village square is this way!"
I didn't even get time to protest before Eden dragged me over two bridges spanning over the village's river and down southeast of Nuzleaf's house, heading towards a colony of storefronts, buildings and stands.
"So what's your story, Azri? You can't really be Mr Nuzleaf's kid, right?" Eden asked as he pushed me along into the village square, "I never remember that guy ever getting married. Ha ha!"
"Uhm… it's complicated. Nuzleaf just… adopted me," I lied.
"Really? That doesn't sound like something he would do," The Fennekin frowned, staring at me. I shot a glare back and he quivered, "Hey, hey, I'm not about to probe more if you don't want me to. I was just cur-"
"Curious. Of course you were," I muttered, "No wonder you get in trouble so much. You worm your way into everyone's business"
"Sorry. I just can't help it, alright?" Eden replied sheepishly, "You must think I'm an annoying little urchin now, do you?"
"Perhaps…"
"Well, give me a break, you big Miltank! You've only known me for a couple minutes," The Fennekin smiled confidently before faltering, noticing my glare again, "Uhm, is there something-"
"What did you just call me?"
"A Miltank! A big Miltank!" Eden stammered, "It was a joke! Please lower those scary eyes!"
I didn't even know what a Miltank was and if it was really a joke, it flew over my head. I sighed before taking my eyes off Eden, letting him drag me along into the square. Once we arrived, he let go of my hand and turned around himself.
"Anyways, here we are! The heart of Serene Village, her square!" Eden gestured around him. I noticed a storefront diagonal from us run by some sort of chameleon Pokemon. Next to us was a small tent manned by a bird-like wrestler and across from the chameleon shop was an office-like building. Other than that, there was a small beach on the shoreline of the great lake, "It's not much, but we've got the basic facilities around here"
"Not like much, huh…? That's something that comes up a lot here," I murmured as Eden took me over to the chameleon shop, where there was a box inlaid with velvet and gold. It looked very expensive and it brimmed with a faint purple light.
"This is the magical Deposit Box. Any items and money you pick up in mystery dungeons can be stored here and picked up later. Don't worry, nobody but you can access your stuff," Eden assured. Before I could even question the mechanics behind it, the Fennekin already moved on, "And next to it is Kecleon's Shop. You can buy all sorts of items useful for dungeon exploring there. I remember there being a purple Kecleon before, but he seems to be gone now"
Looking over Kecleon's array of items, I spotted various berries, apples, honed sticks, crystal orbs and even random colored discs. What a strange stock.
"It may be a lot to take in at first, so I'll run through the facilities one by one," The Fennekin turned to the wrestler Pokemon's tent beside me, "That one is-"
"Eden! There you are!"
"Huh?" I turned to the sharp voice that cut through the air and saw some sort of duck with a lily pad atop his head emerge from the lake. And he didn't look happy to see Eden.
"Ah! Lombre!" The Fennekin yelped in surprise, "What are you doing here?"
"Oh, don't try to steer this conversation around again. You were the one who tramped around my lotus pond!" Lombre screeched.
"It wasn't like that! I heard you needed lotus flowers for an incantation and-" Eden protested, but quickly saw Lombre wasn't listening. The fox slowly backed off, preparing to dash, "Look, I didn't intend to-"
"Eden! Stop! Right! ZERE!" I turned to the sound of a new voice and saw a brown hippo tromping down from the hill beside us. Sweat rolled down Eden's face, clearly realizing he was surrounded, "You were ze one who trespassed my cave, aren't you?!"
"I just needed a gold coin for something!"
"Zhat's still stealing! Give back my treasure!" The hippo cried angrily and approached Eden, who quickly skipped to the side of the square before a massive blue sea turtle stepped in his path, "Stop him Carracosta!"
"P-pops? You know I meant well when I did those things, right?" Eden begged, "Please get them off my back!"
"How can I do that when I've caught you loitering around here?" Carracosta replied in a gruff voice. It wasn't easily heard, but I sensed steely anger in his tone, "What about your chores back home, hm? With Lana gone, someone needs to take care of the house sometimes!"
"I-I'll get to it once I'm done here! I'm not playing hooky to wander around again, I swear!" Eden stammered, "I was just showing-"
"And I know you charred the Oran Berries in my field to ash again," Carracosta continued, freezing Eden, "So you have your own troubles to settle with me as well"
"I thought Lana banned you from practicing magic outside the house. What will she think once she comes back and sees this?!" Lombre cried.
"I…" Before Eden could answer, cries from multiple Pokemon sounded from the forest ahead of me.
"There he is! Eden's been spotted!" One of them shouted, pointing to the Fennekin, "After him!"
"Aaaaaaahhhh!" The fox screamed before running off, dashing at a mad speed back to his house.
"Don't bother running. We'll catch you!" Carracosta yelled and the rest of the villagers roared, making the ground tremble in their stampede after Eden. All that was left was dust caking the ground and one very stunned Snivy, which was me.
"What the hell just happened…?" I murmured to myself as I watched the crowd of Pokemon chase the nimble fox around town. He darted between buildings and hid in alleyways while the crowd called his name. Nobody else around us was fazed, so this must have been a normal occurrence? Still, I felt a little bad for Eden.
"Wait, what's this?" I bent down and picked up something left behind in the stampede. It was a small leather satchel that had a strap to go over the shoulder. Eden must've dropped it while he was running off. I remember seeing Nuzleaf with one, so it was probably some sort of dungeon bag, "Let's see what's inside"
Opening the satchel, I found an assortment of red Blast Seeds, a couple Oran Berries, two apples and a handful of sticks. Were they used to spark a fire or something? If so, why were they so intricately honed and curved? I took one of the sticks out, examining it closely. There seemed to be ancient white writing on it too. Strange…
"Hey, hey, I wouldn't be pulling those out if I were you. Wands are serious business," Someone cautioned. I turned beside me and saw it was the bird wrestler, "Hm, I haven't seen you around here. Are you new?"
"Yeah, I just moved in. I'm Azri"
"I'm Hawlucha. Nice to meet ya," Hawlucha reached over and gently pushed the wand back down into the satchel, "As I was saying, you shouldn't mess around with wands. They are magical sticks imbued with a ton of random effects. You can cause some serious chaos waving one around here"
"Ah, okay. I'll… keep that in mind," I replied politely. Yet another strange phenomenon in this world. It almost felt like I couldn't trust anything here, "Thanks for the tip"
"Anytime. Swing by my store if you're free. I know all about dungeons and Pokemon moves!" Hawlucha rose his arms in a dramatic pose, "If you ever forget anything, Hawlucha is here for you!"
"Right… I'll remember. Thanks again," I nodded, a little unnerved. I tore myself away from Hawlucha's tent to inspect the other facilities. The deposit box has no use to me since I didn't pick up anything from my adventures with Nuzleaf. Eden mentioned money, but I had none of that, so Kecleon's Shop was out of the picture too.
"What?! Goomy did?"
"Yeah uhh, he insisted on going…"
I turned my attention to a conversation beside the deposit box. It was between a small armored snail and a pink deer.
"No more excuses, Shelmet!" The deer growled angrily and the snail shirked in fear, "Tell me the truth! You and Pancham pushed him into doing this, right?!"
"T-that's not fair, Deerling!" Shelmet stammered, "He's the one who wanted to go. How can you stand there and blame us?"
"Quite easily!" Deerling snarled, "You and Pancham always bullied poor Goomy! One day, you're going to go too far and it'll be too late for sorries then. What if that time is now?!"
"Okay, okay, I get it! Stop shouting, please…" Shelmet whimpered.
"You will show me the way there. Right now," Deerling demanded in a cold voice and Shelmet nodded instantly. The two of them left through a gate by the village, heading towards the forest where the crowd emerged to chase Eden.
"I can't say I'm not intrigued about this whole thing but…" I glanced back at Nuzleaf's house. The crowd was still chasing after Eden around that area, "Maybe it's best I avoid that for a bit, lest I get trampled"
Frankly, I was a little suspicious and worried about what those kid Pokemon did to this Goomy. It wouldn't hurt to at least investigate and set my mind at ease. Once I got back, hopefully the commotion died down and I could give Eden's bag back to him.
"Hopefully I don't encounter those Beheeyem or a mystery dungeon…" I murmured as I checked the straps on Eden's satchel. With a reluctant heart, I set off after Shelmet and Deerling.
…
Not too long later, the ground beneath me turned a taint purple as I entered a foreboding forest. The trees above me clouded the sky and cloaked the woods in shadow. Only the rustling of leaves and the crunching of twigs under my feet reminded me that I was still grounded in reality. This forest looked so out of place next to Serene Village.
"It was a mistake to come here. What kids would even play in such a dangerous area…?" I scolded to myself, yet my feet continued trudging me along through the forest's only path. At least I wasn't lost and this wasn't a mystery dungeon. I could probably check what was going on and get out before Nuzleaf came home.
"What?! He still hasn't come out?" I heard Deerling's voice cry in distress. I ducked behind a nearby tree, listening in on the conversation. Up ahead in a small clearing was Deerling, Shelmet and some panda-like Pokemon. I assumed that was Pancham.
"Yep. It's been a pretty long time now," Pancham glanced behind him. The woods beyond the clearing seemed to have thicker shadows and I saw a faint blue glow, like a door. Was that a mystery dungeon?
"He's probably cowering somewhere, scared out of his wits! I knew he was a total wimp," Shelmet laughed and Deerling stamped her hoof down in anger.
"This isn't funny! That's a mystery dungeon right there!" Deerling screeched, "Goomy could be in danger! What did you even ask him to do?!"
"Hey, hey! We didn't put him up to this!" Pancham protested, putting up his two hands, "He's the one who talked big and boasted "I'll show you!" before charging in there. This mess is his problem, not ours!"
"Don't pretend you had nothing to do with it! Why do you two have to be so mean?!" Deerling growled, "Goomy's not even the same age as us. And look what you did!"
"Yeah, but he's the one who talked big. He got what was coming to him," Pancham replied casually, "We figured as older Pokemon, we should teach him a lesson about how harsh the world is"
"By getting him killed?!"
"Uhh…"
"Fine! If you two insist on being brutal meatheads, then go ahead!" Deerling pushed past Pancham and Shelmet, "I'm going in after him!"
"Wait, no! We can't let you!" Shelmet cried, stepping in front of Deerling to halt her advance. Pancham joined in, pushing the pink deer back, "What if something hurt you? We can't-"
"-let that happen to our idol!" Pancham finished, his expression frantic, "Please don't go in Deerling! It's dangerous!"
"Are you kidding me?! Then who's going to help Goomy?" Deerling cried, her eyes blazing, "If you don't want me to get hurt, then why don't you do it?!"
"Uh, what? Y-you want us to go in?" Pancham stepped back, glancing at the mystery dungeon up ahead, "Into the Foreboding Forest?"
"No way. Why would we do that?" Shelmet said in a quivering voice, "I mean, it's not like we're scared or anything…"
"Nope. Absolutely not," Pancham nodded in agreement, "Don't get the w-wrong idea, alright? We're not scared of this place!"
"Then go in"
"No!"
"I'll go in," I decided, stepping out of the tree. I experienced mystery dungeons first hand with Nuzleaf, so I knew precisely how dangerous they could be. Goomy could be in very real danger and I couldn't stand by it, watching these foolish kids bicker, "I'll rescue Goomy"
"Huh? Who are you?" Shelmet asked, frowning, "Haven't seen you around before"
"Where did you come from? You aren't from the village," Pancham eyed me suspiciously.
"I moved in with Nuzleaf today. I came from Lush Forest," I answered quickly, "Anyways, I'm going in there to find Goomy, since you kids waste time arguing all the time"
"Err, okay… but are you sure? You do know that this place is like, super scary, right?" Shelmet cautioned. I only nodded in response.
"W-well, alright. If you want to go in, we're not going to stop you," Pancham stood aside, letting me through, "But it's no skin off our backs if you get in trouble there, alright?"
"At least tell her where Goomy was trying to go," Deerling told Pancham sternly.
"He shouldn't have gone too far in," Pancham informed me, "There's a big piece of paper in the dungeon, not that far from the entrance"
"A paper?" Deerling frowned, confused, "Why would that be there?"
"Last time me and Pancham came here, we brought it as a sort of tarp to sit on," Shelmet explained, "We were chased off by wild Pokemon, so we left it behind"
"You should've seen Shelmet's face when they jumped on us"
"Says you! You nearly wet yourself!"
"Shut up!"
"Enough!" Deerling stamped her hoof down again, "Okay, so you have this tarp not too far into the forest. What does that have to do with Goomy?"
"We told him to go find it, write his name on it and bring it back," Pancham explained, "If he did that, we'll admit he had guts"
"Ugh, you two are so immature…" Deerling sighed before turning back to me, "Anyways, that should paint you a picture on where to go. Good luck!"
"Right. I'll be back before you know it," Before I could kick myself out of his foolish decision, I entered the dungeon and was thrust into the dark, foreboding woods. I could no longer see the trio of kids behind me and I was totally alone. All I could hear was the screeching of birds above me and the shuffling of foliage nearby.
"No Nuzleaf to shield me now. I have to remember what he taught me," I told myself, picking a random direction to walk in, "Sneak up on enemy Pokemon to get the jump on them. Never engage in one directly. Always let them come to you and don't initiate attacks"
I was hoping a lone Snivy would be able to blend in with her surroundings, but that wasn't the case. Maybe they weren't native here, but I already found myself face-to-face with trouble.
"Ha!" I sidestepped to avoid a Stantler's incoming Horn Attack, whipping out my Vine Whip to slam against its legs and midsection. However, that hardly seemed to dent it and it swung its hooves back, kicking me in the face and into the dirt, "Argh…"
The Stantler followed up with Stomp, intending to crush my underfoot. I rolled away in time to dodge it, but my face was sore and painful from the previous attack. I could barely focus.
"Twister!" I cried hoarsely, pivoting my body to send a small cyclone roaring towards my target. The big horn Pokemon weathered the hit well and struck back with Take Down, crumbling me to the ground with my ribs cracked, "No… this can't be-"
"Use the Blast Seed!" My mind screamed at me. As fast as I could, I opened Eden's satchel, fumbling for the red seed while the Stantler rose to finish me off with Stomp. Pulling it free, I slammed it with all my might against Stantler's chest, causing an explosion that ripped the enemy Pokemon apart and sent me flying backwards. I crashed against the ground and wheezed, feeling broken already.
"That would've been useful sooner…" I muttered silently as I tried to pull myself up. No dice since my ribs were half-broken and my hand was burnt to crispy ash by the explosion, "Wonderful. Please tell me Eden has Oran Berries here…"
Using my free (and only usable) hand, I dug through the satchel again. It has miraculously survived the explosion thankfully, with no damage to spare. I found an Oran Berry and gobbled it up, feeling my wounds mend instantly. I sat up, watching my hand recover to normal along with the injuries on my face and chest. Thank goodness for that or I would already be done in.
"One encounter and I was already almost killed. This was a bad idea... " I mumbled as I stood up, brushing myself off. Hopefully Goomy wasn't too far in so I didn't have to chance destiny again. I set off again on my course, listening intently to the dark woods around me. If anything dared to ambush me, I'll have to be ready for it. I had my hand on Eden's satchel at all times, prepared to launch a Blast Seed. It was clear I was outclassed here.
"Hey, didn't that Hawlucha person say something about sticks? Magic ones?" I thought as twigs crunched under my feet. The sudden memory came back to me thanks to it, "He said they were called… wands. And they cause a bunch of random effects when you wave it onto a Pokemon"
"Might be worth giving them a try, considering Blast Seeds nearly blew my arm off," I thought as I fished around for the magic sticks. Holding up a bundle of them, I could closely see a myriad of glowing white runes written on them. How could I tell which wand did what though?
"Caw! I found one!" A voice screeched from above me. I jerked my head upwards and saw a flock of Starly and Taillow, "Have at her, boys!"
"Screee!" The whole flock flew down towards me, intent to eat me alive. I didn't have any time to waste. These wands were all I got.
"Get back!" I yelled and wove the magic sticks in front of me like crazy, causing a cascade of white and green magic to haze the air around me. The birds screamed as several of them vanished into thin air, got put to sleep, paralyzed in mid-air and flown back by a gust of wind. The birds who weren't affected by the burst of spells cried out in fear and flew away instantly.
"She's got magic! Run away!" One of the Taillow cried and the flock retreated, leaving me with several paralyzed and sleeping avians lying on the ground. There wasn't even a single scratch on my body.
"Incredible…" I muttered as I examined the sticks again. To my horror, ash crept from the top like a disease, spreading down the sturdy wood until the wands straight up disintegrated, "Oh boy… Eden wouldn't like this"
Still, with the newfound power of wands and Blast Seeds on my side, I blitzed through the dungeon with relative ease. Any would-be attacker got their heads blown off by Blast Seeds or thrown out of the way by a wand. The addition of random crystal balls to my arsenal were even better.
"Foe Stun Orb!" I tossed the orb onto the ground as two Stantlers charged towards me. As they trampled over it, it cracked apart to release a binding shockwave of magic, leaving the two Pokemon helpless. I lashed them with Vine Whip and Twister before carrying on. Before long, I heard the sound of whimpering nearby.
"Goomy? Is that you, Goomy?" I called into the darkness of the woods. The whimpering seemed to be coming from the foliage, "Goomy?"
"Who are you?! You're not some wild Pokemon, r-right?" A voice responded with a quiver.
"No, I'm here to get you out of here. Deerling sent me," I replied, stepping out of the bushes to see a small, slime-like Pokemon crying next to a brown sheet of paper. It was marked with footprints. Was this how Pokemon wrote stuff here?
"Deerling…? Then-" Goomy crashed into me with a hug, sniffling, "Oh, I want to go home! I'm so scared here!"
"Alright, alright, I'll get you out of here. Pick up that paper and I'll guide you out," I assured as I pushed Goomy off of me. The slime nodded, picking up the paper somehow and followed me out of the shadowy woods, ending my first solo exploration of a dungeon.
Our team:
- Azri, Snivy - Enigmatic Resident
Level 6
Abilities: Overgrow and Contrary
Moves: Vine Whip, Twister, Pursuit and Leer