9. Please Don't Break the Ancient Relics
It has been documented that Humans and Pokemon shared some kind of relationship. Some records lament the loss of their partners, some express relief that they are gone, and they all vary. What happened to them is unknown, and their strange technologies used to augment Pokemon are lost to time.
Blue was fascinated by this. The relationship between humans and Pokemon had been heavily debated for years, and he had seen both sides of the coin. The topic fascinated him, and reading about potential benefits for both sides was absorbing. He was so engrossed he didn't even hear Rio coming back, despite the damage he wrought.
The most notable would be what we now refer to as an Awakening. Humans had a way to trigger a temporary evolution in certain Pokemon, but the secret has been lost to time. In current times these species have developed ways to access these forms, be it through training or a special item, like an emera or awakening seed.
The thought of these bracelets being some kind of looplet crossed the Bidoof's mind, but they were built very differently from what he had seen of the rare item.
There are many rumors of other powers in this vein. Some say they could make Pokemon grow to enormous sizes, while others say they could pool on each other's power to perform devastating attacks.
The common through-like is the use of special stones. Some were round, some were like stars, and some were even diamond-shaped. I believe the shapes are-
Blue paused when he read diamond-shaped. Still completely oblivious to the librarian's rage, he glanced at the bracelet around his front leg. Diamond-shaped grooves dotted the strange stone. In fact, he'd seen that exact shape before. He kept it in his bandana!
"I FOUND SOME-" he started, just now noticing what was going on. The new door was the first thing that got his attention, taking up quite a bit of wall. Then he noticed the cracks that branched from the door. Then there were the faintly glowing gems Pana looked like she was drooling over. Then he noticed Rio, who sprinted away a few hours ago, was organizing books under the glare of his mentor. They had all turned to look at him, confused at his outburst.
"Did I miss something?" he asked, confusion winning against elation.
"Found a door," Rio said casually."Waiting for Scales. Made a mess."
"Now keep cleaning it," Thesus hissed. Rio didn't even argue as he picked up more old tomes. Blue couldn't lame him, the seething anger in the Noctowl's voice seemed to echo through the room. It must have been worse for a guy who could sense emotion.
"And you said there were more of these gems inside, right?" Pana asked Rio. This was the most animated he'd seen the Pancham, eyes wide and a grin playing on her lips. She looked good, better than the resting frown at least. "A lot more?"
"We aren't strip-mining the mysterious Dungeon," Rio said, placing another book.
"Dungeon?" Blue asked, climbing out of his small book fortress. "You came out of a Dungeon?"
"I'm waiting for Scales before I explain. It's kind of- oh there he is."
Blue could hear the Halamo-o's scales jingling as he walked down the stairs. He looked tired, which made sense considering what he was trying to keep track of.
"Think Griza left town," he said. "The guild might have sent someone after them. Lotsa broken shit. Maybe Rio can come back-"
"That was mostly Griza," Rio defended himself. Sales turned to see him, startled. "I think. May have broken some orbs."
"Then you really pissed off an Alakazam."
Pana sighed as she asked her question. "What else did you break?"
"A few doors, a lock, should be about it."
"And did anyone get a good look at you?"
"Probably not."
"Alright," Pana sighed. "Hopefully they won't be able to pin it on us this time."
"This time?" Blue asked.
"Later Blue," Rio said. "What did you find?"
Blue was still hung up on the fact this was apparently not the first time his new team had brought havoc onto the community, but his find did at least push that little fact out of the way. For now.
"There's a good chance these are human in origin!" Blue said excitedly. "You know, ancient beings that worked with Pokemon? The race that some of the world saviors supposedly belonged to?"
"We're familiar," Rio said, scratching at his neck. "What do they do?"
"No idea, but I might have a way to find out!" Without another word, Blue fished out the strange diamond-shaped stone out of his bandana, grabbing it in his teeth. He held up his front leg and tried to place it in one of the slots. It slid right off, missing one of the slots. Blue cursed his lack of arms once again.
"Help?" he asked shyly.
Without another word, Thesus flapped over and picked the stone up with a talon. He took the opportunity to examine the bracelet closely.
"This won't destroy my library, correct?" he asked Blue.
"Probably not," Blue answered. "Hopefully."
Thesus glared at the Bidoof, and Blue returned his stare. The Noctowl knew there was no way he'd risk the books in here, so he slid the stone in the bracelet. It fit perfectly, and predictably, nothing happened.
"I believe these were made for each other," Blue explained, getting louder as he got more excited. "My stone has something to do with this!"
Blue looked away to gauge his audience's reaction. He looked to have the full attention of everyone in the room. Pana had looked away from the pink gems, Scales had sat down next to her to listen, and Rio squinted at the Bidoof's bracelet, looking back at his own. Was-was he drooling?
"We're missing something," Blue continued, deciding to ask about it later. "but if we can figure out what we've made, we'll make a huge discovery!"
"About that," Rio interrupted. "I think they're called Z-Rings."
Blue paused at that, turning to look at the Riolu. He sounded so confident when Thesus, repositioned himself to do the same. Pana and Scales turned to glance at him as well. Rio returned their gazes, frowning.
"And how would you know that young mon?" the Noctowl asked, now glaring. Rio gestured at the new door in response.
"It's a part of the test, apparently," Rio said. Blue was about to ask him what exactly he meant when Pana did it for him.
"Test?" Pana jumped in. "What test?"
Rio then told the group about his mini-adventure in the strange Dungeon, his encounter with the sentient rocks, and what he heard from their conversation.
"...and the door led back here," the Riolu finished. "What do you think?"
"I've never heard of a Dungeon forming anywhere near such a dense population," Blue said. "Much less under a city!"
"It's unheard of," Thesus said. "And you said it was growing?"
"That's what the Graveler said," Rio confirmed. "Sounded like this wasn't the first time."
"And you're sure that's everything?" Blue asked, already thinking.
"That's it. You got any ideas?"
The rest of his team turned to look at him, and Blue's short-lived confidence withered. He had nothing. He just heard about this!
"W-well I, um-" Blue started.
"There are a few Pokemon referred to as a queen naturally," Thesus said, saving Blue from the embarrassment. "I have suspicions about who is proctoring."
Blue sighed, silently thanking Thesus. The rest of the team shifted their gases to the Noctowl, who had gone silent.
"And those are?" Pana asked.
"While I do support the distribution of free knowledge," he started, glaring at Rio in particular. "it doesn't excuse the damages done today."
A chill ran down Blue's spine.
"Destruction of both public and private property, unabashed chaos caused, and the near-miss damage of my precious books. I could bring these all to the guild and have your badges revoked."
Blue was close to panic at this point. He'd just gotten onto a powerful team, and now his mentor was planning to destroy it? He could, Rio had just admitted to it and the guild would take the librarians word over the scruffy Riolu. Would his dream be that short-lived? He turned to see Pana and Scale's eyes widen, but not Rio's. He seemed far too calm.
"Unless?" the Riolu asked, obviously sensing something more.
"Unless," Thesus continued. "You bring me something. I have a job for you."
Blue sighed in relief, and the rest of his team followed.
"Do this right and I will claim ignorance of your actions, young mon."
"Rio."
"Rio, then."
"What are we looking for?"
Thesus flapped over to the other side of the room, picking an old scroll after some deliberation. He flapped back over and laid it down on a table. Blue stepped forward to get a closer look and the rest of the team followed.
"Unfurl it," the Noctowl ordered. "Carefully."
Pana did so, revealing an old map of the area. So old in fact the city wasn't even labeled.
"This area has always been a hotspot for Dungeons." Thesus continued. "It's only been recently that that has intensified. Wonder City itself was built to capitalize on that fact, making it a relatively new settlement."
He pecked at a spot down the river, looking to be a few days away. "I was once an explorer, and I discovered a strange Dungeon here. I gleaned as much as possible, but with your strange bracelets it might be possible to discover more, and delve deeper."
"Why would these help?" Pana asked, looking at her own bracelet.
"It was unlike anything I'd ever seen, only heard about in ancient stories. I believe it may be human in origin."
Blue could feel his excitement returning. Human relics? Things no other Pokemon had ever seen? Incredible! But something was bothering him.
"This sounds incredible," Blue added. "Why haven't you told anyone? Published your findings?"
"I wanted to discover all I could before other exploration teams came and disturbed it further. I tried many things before you came along, and now I'd like to try again."
He turned to face the rest of the team once again. "I'm trusting you with this for two reasons. You may hold the keys to delve further in, and because this may concern this test of yours. If successful, I will tell you more about my suspicions."
He glared at Rio when he said his next line. "Please don't break any ancient treasures you find. Bring them back here so I may study them. Do this, and I will forget you did here today."
Blue turned to the rest of his team, who were glancing at each other. They nodded in unison and then turned to Blue. He was surprised to be involved in a decision like this, but he nodded his agreement. He should be safe, right? Even if he was dead weight.
"We'll do it," Rio said. "And for what it's worth, I'm really sorry about wrecking the place."
"Do this and it will be like nothing happened. Do you have a map? I'll be able to mark it down. Now, go prepare you three. It will be a few days' walk down the river. Bring a more recent map back here so I may mark it. I'll tell Blue how to find the Dungeon."
"I guess I'll start by getting some food-" Scales started.
"Oh no you're not!" Pana cut him off. "You're coming with me, and we're getting new items. Rio, grab that map and pack some leftovers!"
Rio nodded. "Meet back here in about an hour?"
They all nodded and set off to do their tasks. "Please don't break anything this time," Pana asked her teammates.
"I haven't broken shit!" Scales said, defending himself. Soon their voices faded as they walked up the stairs to complete their preparations.
"Now then," Thesus said, getting Blue's attention back. "We need to talk." The old bird looked worried all of a sudden. Based on what happened earlier, Blue couldn't blame him.
"I'm worried about you."
That wasn't what Blue expected to hear. He blinked, uncomprehending for a minute. Thesus sighed and continued.
"How long have you known those three?"
"A few days," Blue answered instantly.
"And why would you join a team that you just met? A team that destructive?"
"They invited me."
"And you accepted? You were not forced?"
"Why would I be? I'm dead weight."
"I disagree, but for the sake of argument, let's assume that. Why would you accept?"
Blue thought this was a stupid question. It was pretty obvious, but it would have been rude not to answer.
"They gave me a chance," Blue said. "I'm not letting it go to waste."
"And what if their intentions are less than stellar?"
"If they were going to do anything to me they would've done it the day we met. I was completely at their mercy for the past two days and they've been nothing but accepting. I trust them."
"Yes, but, Team Disaster! There is a story behind that!"
"There's also a story behind the fire incident but you don't like bringing that up!" Blue spat, instantly regretting it. Thesus was just looking out for him. Snapping at one of the only people in this town that cared about his well-being wasn't a good thing to do.
"I'll be careful," Blue reassured his mentor. "I promise."
The Noctowl sighed. "At least do that much. And if you can, don't let them break anything!"
"I only promise to try."