The world shook, and the skys tore open as the two beasts clashed. The ground split as the Guardian of Time let out a deafening roar, striking down Palkia. Refusing to concede, the Guardian of Space charged at Dialga. The two dragons continued to fight as bright lights began to dance across the sky. And no sooner as the fight had resumed, the two soon vanished.

"Hey, Jonah!" Ivy said, ripping the buizel's attention away from the book Sol loned him. "We're gonna head out."

Jonah looked back down at the book and sighed as he closed it. "And just as it was starting to get good to…" He thought.

"Wait up." Jonah said to the treecko. "I almost forgot that I'm meeting with Ashe again today…" The buizel winced and slowly turned towards Riptide. "Sorry… I guess you probably don't want to talk about that right now…"

"Nah, It's fine. Besides, I'm too tired to care about that now anyways… I barely slept at all last night…" The croconaw said yawning. "Why didn't anyone tell me that evolving would make finding a sleeping position so hard…"

As the four arrived downstairs, they noticed a large crowd of pokemon gather in the main hall. "I wonder what's going on?" Dusty asked.

"Whatever it is, it must be important." Ivy said, walking towards the crowd.

Lance and Cobalt stood behind a podium before the room full of pokemon. While Lilac and Ashe stood off to the side.

"What's Ashe doing here…?" Jonah thought.

"Alright everyone, listen up!" The empoleon said, waiting for the crowd to quiet down.

"Okay… So let's get right to the point. Tomorrow, Cobalt and I are going to leave for a while to meet with the other guild masters."

Cobalt cleared his throat. "While we're gone, Lilac and Ashe will be in charge of things around here." The lucario said gesturing to the goodra and blaziken.

"She's gonna be here…?" Jonah said to himself as Ashe glanced at him and winked.

Cobalt continued to talk about some other things that Jonah and Team Mire mostly tuned out, as most of it didn't relate to them.

"And whoever is writing vulgar messages on the wall downstairs will be punished accordingly if caught." The lucario said with an unamused glare on his face.

As the crowd soon dispersed. Lance looked down and sighed.

"You doing alright?" Ashe asked.

"He's just a bit nervous about this whole thing." Lilac said.

"Huh, never thought I'd hear "Lance" and "nervous" in the same sentence."

"It's Prye…" The empleon said as he turned around.

"He's the guildmaster from the northern guild right?" Ashe asked.

"Yeah… And I'm not gonna lie… He kinda scares me…"

"He also doesn't like Lance." Said Lilac.

"Yeech… Well good luck with that, I gotta go." Ashe said, quickly walking off.

"Come on… it'll be fine." Lilac said in a reassuring voice. "Maybe he's lightened up a bit since last time."

"Honestly, I doubt it… Said Lance. "There's just something about that soul piercing scowl of his that makes him so difficult to be around…" He said as he felt a chilling sensation run down his back.

"So how many other guilds are there?" Jonah asked as he and team mire were eating in the dining hall.

"Including this one there are four in the whole continent." Dusty replied. "The Cascade Guild mostly manages the southern region. Then there's the Timberglade Guild in the west-"

"Well if you ask me, the guild over in Timberglade isn't too different from here. Really there's just more trees…" Ashe said as she made her way to their table. "So, you ready to go?"

Jonah nodded. "I'll see you guys later." He said getting up, before leaving with Ashe.

Riptide came up to the table with a plate of berries and other breakfast foods in his hands. "Where'd Jonah go?"

"He left with the blaziken." Replied Ivy. "And isn't that like the third plate you've gotten?"

"Here we go…" Dusty said to himself.

"Stop trying to change me. Besides, I've been feeling a bit weird ever since last night."

"Whatever…" Ivy said, rolling her eyes. "So what kind of mission are you guys up for today?"

"Let's just do something easy today…" Dusty said. "I'm pretty sure we could all use it after last night…"

"So how about this one?" Riptide said pointing at the job board.

Help me find my friend!

My friend went into Seaside Cavern by himself and hasn't come back. I'll even come with you, I just need someone to help me look for him.

"A-A cave…" Dusty said, his voice sounding slightly shaky.

"If you don't want to do it, we can choose another job…" Said Riptide.

The cubone shook his head. "N-No…" Dusty said before pausing and taking a deep breath. "There's a pokemon stuck down there, and there probably just as scared as I'd be in that position… And besides… This is something I should get used to if I'm gonna be an explorer… Right…?"

"Well we'll be with you the whole time." Riptide said, smiling and vigorously scratching his arm.

Dusty nodded before giving the croconaw a weird look. "Are you doing alright…?"

"Yeah… I'm fine… It's just my scales are really itching me…" He said as he continued to scratch.

The three soon met up with an emolga who looked like they were on the verge of tears.

"OH ARCEUS! THANK YOU, THANK YOU, THANK YOU FOR DOING THIS!" She said hugging Dusty.

"O-Oh, it's no-"

"Lets go! We have no time to lose!" The emolga said as they jumped and glided down the hall, and out of the guild. The three pokemon looked at each other before running after her.

"So what exactly do I do with this…?" Jonah said, holding up a light blue disk in front of his face.

"Well do what you're doing right now, and concentrate." Ashe said. "Try and clear your mind, and if this goes right you should know what to do."

Jonah closed his eyes and did as the blaziken said. The color from the TM was soon drained as a new feeling entered the buizel's head. He opened his eyes and set the TM down before holding out a paw.

"Alright now focus on trying to use the move…" Ashe said, taking a fighting stance.

Jonah continued to focus on his paw as he felt it become colder. He watched with fascination and amazement as frost started to form around it.

"Hey! Heads up!" Ashe said as she rushed towards Jonah.

The buizel looked up, seeing Ashe about to kick him. Jonah immediately used aqua jet, rocketing backwards and landing on his back.

"Well look at that, ya finally used a move to dodge!" Ashe exclaimed. "Was kind of hoping you'd use your new move. But hey, it's progress. So, what do ya say we make this more interesting…?"

"Come on Riptide, let's go!" Ivy said as she and Dusty ran down the beach after the gliding emolga.

"I'm coming!" Riptide yelled back. "Dammit, why is this happening now?!" The croconaw thought as he started scratching all over his body.

As they approached the cave, Dusty stared into the cavern's mouth and began to visibly shake, clutching tightly onto his bone club. "C-Come on Dusty… Y-You can go into another cave…" He thought.

Dusty then took a deep breath, and straightened his posture. "A-Alright guys, let's go."

Seaside Cavern: Floor B1

Dusty used flamethrower on the end of his bone club, providing a light source within the dim, damp cave.

Ivy began to scan their surroundings. "Okay… No angry wilds trying to attack, no one trying to jump us… So far so good."

"Well don't jinx it…" Riptide said, nudging the treecko.

"Q-Quit messing around you guys…" Dusty said as he began to take a few steps forwards.

"Keep an eye out for a cyndaquil." Said the emolga. "I really hope he's okay… I told him going in here by himself was a bad idea!"

Seaside Cavern: Floor B5

As they continued to navigate the cave, Dusty couldn't help but nervously check the ground around him. He didn't want any surprises jumping out of the ground like the last time he entered a cave.

"Still nothing… How many floors did this place have again?" Said Riptide.

"I think ten." The emolga said.

"Ten floors... Five, you were able to do five… you can-" Dusty's thoughts were interrupted as a strange feeling came over him.

The next thing he noticed was that the voices of his friends were gone. The cubone's eyes widened as the sudden realization came over him. He was alone. Completely alone…

"Where'd Dusty go?!" Riptide exclaimed as he frantically looked around the dimly lit cave.

"Ah, shit…" Ivy said as she got close to the ground. "Looks like he stepped on a warp trap… Dammit, He could be anywhere on this whole floor."

A loud rumbling sound echoed through the cave. "Rip… Please, for the love of Arceus tell me that was you…" The croconaw shook his head. The three pokemon began looking around them, trying to find the source of the sound.

A powerful blast of water shot through the darkness, almost hitting the emolga. A poliwrath slowly stepped out into their field of vision.

"You've got to be kidding me…"

"So why exactly are we at the beach?" Jonah asked.

"Well, one of the things you'll have to do during the guild test is an obstacle course."

Jonah looked around the expanse of sand. "Obstacles…?" Jonah asked, raising a brow.

"Your speed. We're working on your speed."

"Oh…"

"How the course works, is that you have to make it though as fast as you can, by any means you can."

Jonah shot Ashe with a confused look. "So you're training me to complete an obstacle course, without anything resembling an obstacle course?"

Ashe smiled and rolled his eyes. "You're missing the point. You don't need to know what to do, you just need to be fast. Which is why you're gonna try and tag me. If you can do that, you should be ready for the agility and combat tests."

Jonah looked down at his short legs. "Tag you?"

"Just once. By any means necessary." Ashe replied. Jonah smirked as he became encapsulated in water, rocketing towards the blaziken.

Ashe immediately stepped and leaned to the side, dodging the attack. She glanced back at the buizel before running off in the opposite direction.

As Dusty slowly walked through the damp cave, he held out his still lit bone club in front of him with both hands. "O-Okay Dusty… T-They'll find you… Y-You'll find a way out of…" Dusty paused as his breathing hastened, he started thinking about the first time he entered a dungeon on his own...

Dusty didn't really have anyone in his life before he met Riptide and his parents. But what he did have was drawing, and his admiration for exploration teams. And would frequently look for places and things to sketch.

Brave wasn't really a word Dusty would have used to describe himself, but this time was going to be different. He had heard about a place at the end of a dungeon housing beautiful crystals, and other rock formations. Finally deciding to take a look for himself.

"Alright Dusty… You can do this…" He said looking into the cave….

The cubone doesn't really try to remember exactly what happened in there. But the thing that seems to stick, is the feeling of the stony walls and darkness starting to close in on him…

Dusty shook his head, trying to snap himself out of it. "C-Come on Dusty… Just… Calm down…" He thought, starting to slow his breathing.

"Is… someone there…?" A voice slowly called out.

"Y-Yeah… I-I'm with the Cascade Guild…" Dusty said back.

"You are?" The voice said back.

Dusty slowly walked closer to the source of the voice, and found a cyndaquil laying on the ground. "You're that emolga's friend right?" The cyndaquil nodded.

The two soon headed off in search of the others, Dusty was nervously scanning the area as the cyndaquil followed. He gave Dusty a bit of a concerned look. "Hey uh… Are you okay…?"

"Honestly… my heart feels like it's gonna explode… I'm not really great with caves…" Dusty said before sighing. "That probably sounds dumb doesn't it…"

"Well… I mean, we all have things that scare us… But you still came down here right?" The cyndaquil said, smiling.

"Damn… That guy was surprisingly hard to take down." Riptide said, looking down at the fallen poliwrath.

"Well he would have been easier to take out if you hadn't spent half the battle scratching yourself!"

"Are they always like this…?" The emolga thought. "Hey! My friend and your teammate are still missing! Remember?!"

The two looked at each other, and back at the emolga. "Yeah, let's not waste any more time." Said Ivy before she glanced back at Riptide.

"But when we get back, you need to see Lilac about this." She said, pointing at the croconaw.

As Dusty and the cyndaquil continued to navigate through the cave, the cubone felt a sense of dread hanging over him. "Get behind me…" He said to the cyndaquil. "W-Who's there…?"

"So you sensed our presence… How interesting…"

Dusty took a shaky battle stance, holding his lit bone club out in front of him. He soon watched as three armaldo walked out of the shadows.

"Get back!" Dusty shouted. The armaldo ignored him, and continued to come closer. Dusty's heart and breathing began to speed up, as he glanced from the trio of armaldo, to the cyndaquil behind him, and back again.

For a split second, Dusty saw the machoke and excadrill from last year. He then took a step forward, and stood up straight before taking a deep breath.

"I SAID! GET BAAAAAAAAAACCCCCCCCKKKKKKKKK!" The cubone yelled as his scream turned into an ear splitting shriek.

Two of the armaldo cringed and ran off, not wanting to deal with the loud screeching. Their leader however, stood his ground and took a swipe at the cubone. Dusty blocked the armaldo's claw with his bone club, burning his adversary.

The armaldo was soon shot in the head with a stray jet of water and a green orb. Dusty took advantage of the distraction and came at the armaldo. Swinging his club upwards as hard as he could, and hitting them in the chin. They then toppled over backwards as Riptide, Ivy, and the emolga rushed over to them.

"Blaze!" The emolga yelled as she glided over to the cyndaquil, almost tackling them.

"Heh… It's nice to see you too…"

"I think it's time we get out of here…" Ivy said, raising her guild badge. A bright light shined from the badge and enveloped the five pokemon.

Once outside the cave, the five began their trip back to the guild. "Thank you so much for finding Blaze." The emolga said, still holding onto the cyndaquil.

"Yeah, thanks for getting me outta there."

"O-Oh, it's no problem…" Dusty said, putting a hand to his chest.

"You did pretty good back there." Riptide said, scratching his arm.

"Yeah… I guess I did…" Dusty said in between breaths. "I feel lightheaded…"

Jonah had once again used aqua jet to try and catch up with Ashe. "How the fuck is she so fast?" He thought. "Wait… That's it!"

Ashe soon stopped and stepped to the side as the buizel sped towards her. The water surrounding Jonah soon dissipated before he then fired a jet of water from his mouth aimed at the blaziken's feet.

"I hope this works…" He thought.

As Ashe staggered backwards, Jonah stopped and used ice punch while twisting his body in an effort to touch the remaining water. He does so, and just as Jonah had hoped, it froze. Catching Ashe's foot in the process.

However, the buizel soon found himself falling on his back. He tried to get up as fast as he could, but Ashe smashed the ice with her other foot.

Jonah simply stood there, panting before collapsing face first onto the sand.

"I'll give it to you, that was pretty clever." Ashe said, walking towards the buizel.

Jonah just groaned as he rolled over onto his back. He saw the blaziken standing over him and smirked. The buizel then reached up, touching Ashe's leg.

"Got'cha…"

Ashe smiled and sighed. "Well I did say if you tagged me… But really, you're getting a lot better." She said, helping Jonah up.

They soon saw Team Mire approaching, along with two other pokemon.

"Hey guys." Jonah said, waving. "So… How are things…?"

Dusty, Ivy, and Jonah were in their room talking, waiting for Riptide to come back from seeing Lilac.

"So I take it the job didn't go as planned?" Jonah asked Ivy while gesturing towards Dusty, who was face down in his bed.

"Yeah… He's not great with caves... And all I can say to you is watch out for warp traps."

"I'll keep that in mind."

Riptide soon entered the room, and walked straight to his bed.

"Well, what did she say?" Asked Ivy.

"Well. Apparently Lilac says this stuff sometimes this happens after evolution, and should go away soon."

"Well I mean if that's it, then why do you have that look of mild humiliation?"

"Because after telling me that, she went into the whole "your body's changing" speech… And-"

"Well I don't wanna hear about it!" Ivy yelled.

"Neither did I…"

"Wait…" Jonah said, holding up a paw. "How old are you guys?!"