"The three of them are old enough to be in high school, and they're doing this…?!" Jonah thought as he made his way downstairs. "Guess we'll just add that to the list of things that are different here… Annnd they're helping me study for the guild test…" His face reddened slightly at the thought of that. "Remember Jonah, they're from here, you're not…"

The buizel entered the archives and was searching for a book on the various items explorers used in dungeons. Even though his training with Ashe was going well, his knowledge of this world's items was… limited. The buizel looked up at the numerous bookshelves lining the room and sighed. "Please don't be on the top shelves…"

As Jonah made weaved through the aisles of the archives, he saw Cobalt sitting at a table, a mountain of books laid out on the table in front of him. "Are you looking for something?" The lucario said, not looking away from his book.

"Yeah… just looking for something on items…"

"Turn around." Said Cobalt, still looking in his book.

The buizel did so, and pulled what he needed off the shelf. "Thanks."

"Wait." Cobalt said, putting his book down. "I'd like to speak with you."

"Uhh, sure…" Jonah said, kind of confused.

"So… Now that you've been here for a few days, I'd like to ask you a few questions." Cobalt said, as Jonah came over to the table.

"Let me guess, the specifics on how I got here." Jonah said as Cobalt nodded. "Well… Honestly, it's kind of a long story…"

"Just tell me whatever you think is important." The lucario calmly said.

Jonah took a deep breath and sighed. "Well… back in my world, my job was kind of like what you guys do… Minus the whole fighting criminals, and rescuing others thing."

"So a treasure hunter…?" Cobalt curiously replied.

"Treasure hunter, explorer, researcher, whatever you want to call it. So… My team and I were on an expedition to research "extra-dimensional energy…" Jonah said waving his paws outwards. "Well that's what they called it at least…"

"You see this?" The buizel asked, pointing at the tinted goggles on his head. "I made them to let me see the energy we were researching. Anyways, our research eventually led us to these ruins… There was a legend that people in ancient times used this place to travel between worl-" Jonah paused as Cobalt held out a paw as he looked to the side.

"Is something wrong…?"

"This aura… It feels… familiar… but distorted…" Cobalt thought as he slowly got up from the table. But as soon as he did, the aura he had sensed disappeared.

"Hey, are you alright?" Jonah asked again.

"Oh… um, yes. I'm fine." Cobalt said with a half smile. "Is your… team, here by any chance?"

Jonah shook his head. "Hell if I know… I was the only one in the ruin's depths before I woke up here…"

"Jonah sure is taking a long time…" Riptide groaned. "I know we said we'd help him memorize dungeon items but-"

The croconaw was interrupted as Ivy forced an apple into his chest. "Here. Eat that, and stop complaining."

The door soon opened as Jonah walked in with a book in his arms. "Sorry I took so long. Cobalt was in the archives and wanted to talk to me about stuff… So… how about we get started?" He said, holding up the book. "Wait, where's Dusty?"

The aforementioned cubone soon entered the room with a cup in his hands. "Is that chesto coffee?" Riptide asked, as he began to smell the air. "I thought you didn't drink that stuff?"

"Well today took a bit out of me…" Dusty said in a dry, but tired tone.

Over the next few hours, they went over the various types of seeds, orbs, wands, and other dungeon related items. "Okay, so the persim band does what?" Dusty asked Jonah.

"Prevents confusion." The buizel answered.

"What about the tight belt?"

"Negates hunger."

"Maybe we should get Rip one of those…" Ivy said under her breath.

"I will sit on you." The croconaw shot back.

"Annnd I think that 's enough of that for now." Dusty said, closing the book about items.

The door soon burst open as Ashe stood in their doorway. "Oh my god Ashe! " Jonah yelled, grabbing his chest. "Don't do that!"

"Yeah… What he said…" Dusty said, getting up. As he had fallen out of his bed from Ashe's sudden intrusion.

"Sorry 'bout that… I just came here to tell you that I probably won't be able to train with you tomorrow on account of what I'm doing here." She said putting a talon to her head. "Wait… You three can do it." She said pointing at Dusty.

"Are you sure?" Dusty asked.

"Well as soon to be acting temporary assistant guildmaster, I'm telling you to." Ashe said enthusiastically.

The three pokemon looked at eachother, and back at Ashe. "So how do we go about this..?" Ivy asked.

"Well… Today's the day…" Lance said to himself as he gathered his stuff together. "What are you so worried about…? Pyre's probably mellowed out since last time… I mean, they did make him take anger management…" The empoleon's thoughts were soon interrupted by a knock at the door. "It's open!" His office door soon opened as King walked inside.

"Here to see me off?"

"Well, that's the first reason…" King said, looking off to the side.

Lance grinned and shook his head. "We. Will talk about you and Dusk becoming a team when I get back." He said, putting on his explorer bag.

"Now try not to do anything that will warrant a write to your mom. Because if I know my sister, she'll kill us both." Lance said looking off into the distance.

"Lance. You know how long it takes to get to Marble City. We need to go soon, or we'll be late." Cobalt said, walking up to the two.

"Right." The empoleon said walking towards the door. "I'll see you around King." He said, ruffling the feathers on King's head as he walked out.

Jonah and Team Mire made their way over to Ashe's dojo. As they opened the tent they looked around at the scattered exercise equipment that covered the floor.

"So… do we just start working out or… what?" Riptide asked, looking around.

"Well last time, Ashe was working on my speed. So-" Jonah was soon interrupted by Ivy lunging towards him at a near blinding speed.

"You're starting to act just like her now…" He said, laying on the ground.

They soon made their way to the battlefield behind the tent, where Ivy and Jonah went to stand on opposite sides. The two pokemon each took a battle stance while Dusty and Riptide watched from the side.

Ivy sped towards Jonah with quick attack, who in turn jumped and dodged using aqua jet. While in the air he turned and flew towards Ivy. The treecko stood her ground as she began to form a green orb in her hands. She fired off an energy ball, landing a direct hit on Jonah. As he fell to the ground, Ivy rushed over with quick attack again. However, the treecko was soon hit with ice punch as Jonah twisted his body around.

"Rip, Dusty! Attack now!" Ivy yelled. Riptide jumped onto the field, charging towards Jonah with waterfall.

"What the fu-" Jonah said as he was knocked over by the croconaw. As he got up, he saw Dusty's bone club flying right at him. It flew right past him, narrowly missing his face.

"Dungeons aren't controlled environments, and not every fight will be one on one." Said Ivy. "And most dungeon pokemon aren't really all right in the head ethier."

Jonah sighed. "We're going to a dungeon now aren't we…?"

"So where exactly are we going?" Jonah asked, as the four left Cascade City.

"Serene Woods, it's where we found you." Ivy said. "It's not really a difficult dungeon, so long as we avoid the whirlipede…"

"Wait, are you talking about those bugs that almost killed me… Great…"

As Lance and Cobalt left Cascade City, the empoleon turned around and sighed.

"Is something wrong?" Cobalt asked.

"It's King… I… Do you think I should let him and Dusk form a team…?"

Cobalt flinched slightly after hearing Lance's question. "Are you sure those two have the right attitudes for something like that?"

The empoleon puts a flipper behind his head, laughing nervously. "Well, I'd like to think the experience could maybe teach him something…"

As the two pokemon continued to walk down the dirt path, they soon came across a decidueye with a dark green scarf tied around his leg.

"Well if it isn't Vernal…" Lance said, walking towards the owl.

The decidueye turned towards Lance and Cobalt and waved. "It's been a while hasn't it?"

Vernal flew towards the two pokemon, and held out his wing as he landed. "How have you two been?"

"We've been doing well." Cobalt said, shaking the decidueye's wing.

"And how have things been on your end?" Lance asked.

"Let's just say things have been… eventful…" Vernal said looking off the side.

"Good eventful, or bad eventful?"

"Pyre's gonna be pissed when he hears about it eventful… Say, what do you say we head off together? The decidueye asked. "It's been kind of lonely coming all this way from Timberglade."

"Sure, why not?" Lance said, smiling.

Serene Woods: Floor 1

"So what we're looking for are stairs to get to the next floor of the dungeon." Dusty said, scanning their surroundings.

"Yeah, I remember that from the other place we went to. But what about the whole…" Jonah said as he made jabbing motions with his paws. But soon paused as he heard hissing from some nearby bushes. "Not again…"

"Well, looks like you got your wish…" Ivy said under her breath. A pair of venipede crept out of the bush, getting ready to attack.

"Well, let's see what you've learned." Ivy said, looking at the buizel.

Jonah readied himself, before using water gun on one of the venipede, while Dusty used flamethrower on the other. The venipede Jonah attacked soon lunged at him, retaliating with poison sting.

Jonah jumped out of the way and began to reach into his bag, feeling around for anything that could be of use.

"Shit, shit, shit!" He thought as he saw the venipede coming closer. "Fuck it." Jonah thought before slamming down on the bug with ice punch, knocking it out.

"Well that could've gone better…"

"Do you mind if I see the inside of your bag…?" Dusty asked.

"Sure." Jonah said, as he handed his bag over to the cubone.

"You just tossed everything in here with your human stuff."

"I… prefer to call it organized chaos…"

Dusty just looked up at the buizel, giving him "the look". "Your items won't be much use if you can't find them."

Serene Woods: Floor 3

"So this is where you found me…" Jonah said looking around. While there wasn't really anything differentiating this floor from the other. Something about it felt… familiar…

"I think I see the stairs over there." Riptide said pointing.

"Well that was fast…" Said Jonah.

"Well sometimes the stairs are just easier to find. Dungeons are weird like that." The croconaw said. "Kinda makes you think how they got like this…"

As the three made their way over towards the stairs, a strong wind started to pick up. Jonah froze in place as a strange feeling came over him. Compelled to lower his tinted goggles, the buizel did so. And was both amazed and terrified at what he saw.

"Hey is something wrong?" Riptide said, walking towards the buizel.

"We should probably run…"

"What do you mean run…?" Ivy asked.

A massive pulse of energy knocked the four pokemon back, sending them flying into some nearby bushes. "What the hell was that?!" Ivy yelled.

"Whatever it is we should probably go." Dusty said reaching for his guild badge. The cubone raised his badge as it began to glow… But the light soon faded as nothing happened.

"What…?" Dusty tried again, and was met with the same result.

"Let me try." Ivy said, raising her badge. "What the hell…? Why aren't our badges working?!"

"I think that might have something to do with it…" Jonah said pointing off to the distance.

"What? I don't see anything." Said Ivy. Jonah removed his goggles, handing them over to the treecko. Ivy stared at them for a bit before holding them up to her eyes. "Oh shit…"

"U-Uh… g-guys…" Dusty said, in a shaky voice. "D-Do you f-feel that…?" He asked as the ground began to shake. The four pokemon soon felt a sudden jolt, as if everything around them had been raised up.

"Everyone hold on to something!" Ivy yelled, jumping into a nearby tree. Riptide grabbed Dusty and Jonah before running to the same tree Ivy clung onto.

As another wave of energy pulsed through the dungeon, the sky noticeably got darker. Turning a menacing shade of violet. Stones and other bits of earth started to float above the ground, while larger pieces began to disappear entirely.

"W-What's going on…?" Dusty said clinging tightly to Riptide.

"Yeah, this is actually starting to scare me…" Said Ivy, holding onto the tree even more than before.

"Whatever it is, I won't let anything happen to you guys." Riptide said, trying to hide the fear in his voice.

"Hey… What the hell happened to the ground…?!" Exclaimed Ivy as she looked over her shoulder. The others looked around and noticed that the forest they were once in was gone, and in its place was an endless void.

"What the hell…?" Ivy said to herself. "Guys get down!"

"Wha-" Dusty said, still holding on to Riptide.

"Seriously, shut up and get down!" The treecko yelled as she jumped off the tree. Just as the others did so, another piece of floating land collided with and obliterated the tree behind them.

"T-Thanks Ivy…" Dusty said as his breathing hastened. "That could have been really…" The cubone then paused as the color drained from his barely visible face. He couldn't feel Riptide anymore… The cubone shot up, looking around for any sign of his friend. Only to find Jonah behind him getting up. "Where's Riptide and Ivy?!" He frantically said, rushing over to the buizel.

"Rip! Take my hand!" Ivy yelled as she hung onto one many levitating land masses. The treecko watched as Riptide floated through the void like the many isles that surrounded them. The croconaw then used waterfall in an effort to propel himself closer to his teammate.

"Got'cha." Ivy said as she grabbed him, and flung him onto the ground before pulling herself up. "Did you see the others while you were out there?"

The croconaw nodded before walking towards the ledge. "They're down there." He said pointing at another floating piece of land.

"Dammit." Ivy said to herself as she looked over the edge.

"We gotta get back down there…" Riptide said as a worried expression crept over his face.

"D-Do you see them anywhere?!"

"I think so… Wait no, I see them up there. Only question is how we can get to them…" Jonah said, continuing to look around the area. "Hmm…" The buizel picked up a small stone, handing it to Dusty. "I want to see how far you can hit this."

"W-What…?"

"If I'm right, we might be able to reach Ivy and Riptide."

Dusty hesitated before nodding and taking the stone. He then tossed it in the air, and hitting it with his bone club. The two pokemon watched as the stone seemed to slow down and float upwards. "I Knew it… Okay, I think I could get us up there if I use aqua jet and you hold on to me."

"I-I'm a ground type, remember… You'll just end up hurting me…"

"Right… Wait, I have some rope in my bag. I'll tie it to my leg, and you can hold on from there."

"Okay… If you're sure about this…" Dusty said, still unsure about Jonah's plan.

Ivy and Riptide were pacing around the floating isle, searching for a way off. "Hey Ivy! Check this out!"

"What'cha find?" She asked, running over to the croconaw. The two were met with what appeared to be a bridge made up of levitating fragments of stone.

"Where do you think it goes…?" Riptide asked. "You… think we should-"

"Riptide! Ivy!" the two turned around to see Dusty running towards them, with Jonah almost directly behind him.

"How did you get-"

"We can explain later. Let's just find a way out of here." Jonah hastily said.

"Oh, um… here. I Think this is yours." Said Ivy smiling, as she pulled Jonah's goggles out of her bag.

"Thanks."

"You think maybe those things can get us out of this mess?" The treecko asked as Jonah put the goggles back on his head, and over his eyes.

The buizel stood and stared with his mouth agape. "Holy fuck… It's just like in the ruins… I can feel it all around me too… Wait… what's that?" The longer he stared at the "bridge", he noticed the energy flowing near it was going in that direction.

"Well? Do you see anything?" Ivy asked.

"I… I think we should go this way…"

"You sure…?" Riptide asked. "Cause I'm not exactly light on my feet…"

"Do you have any better ideas? Besides I think you might be okay if you fall off. The gravity seems to be weaker in these more open areas."

Riptide slowly looked down over the edge. "Whatever you say…"

After the four carefully made their way across the bridge of floating stones. Team Mire continued to follow Jonah throughout the fractured dungeon. "Alright it's leading this way." Jonah said.

"Wait a second…" Dusty said, as he stopped walking. "Do you think the dungeon pokemon are still here…?"

"Who knows…" Said Riptide.

"Let's just focus on getting out of here." Said Ivy, with a hint of frustration present in her voice.

"Are those… the stairs…" Jonah asked as the four soon came across a tree that was warped into a massive spiral staircase. "The energy seems to be leading here." Jonah said, looking up at the stairs. "So… Should we go up…? The members of team mire looked at each other for a while before nodding and looking back at Jonah. "Alright then…"

As the four made their way up, the air began to grow much thinner. "How… Much…. Longer…?" Riptide asked, panting heavily. "Oh Arceus, I'm gonna throw up…"

"Yeah… I don't feel so great either…" Dusty said as he stopped climbing.

"I… Don't think… it's too much… further…" Jonah said as he looked up.

Upon reaching the top, the group of pokemon found themselves on another floating land mass. The first thing they noticed was that the air had returned back to normal. Towards the end of the island however, there was a cloaked figure standing in front of a glowing rift in the air. The four watched as the mysterious figure raised a staff with blue and purple crystals tied to the end.

"What are they doing…?" Ivy asked, catching her breath. "You… think that they're the one causing this…?"

"Do not interfere if you wish to leave this place. I require concentration…" They said in a femminine, but slightly annoyed voice.

"So… Who are you…?" Riptide asked, practically ignoring the individual's last statement.

They sighed and let their staff float towards the rift. The gems tied to its end began to glow, before blinding light enveloped the dungeon.

"Good… You're all safe… It seems there's hope if you managed to navigate it yourselves. Until we meet again…"

…. …. ….

Jonah slowly sat up, rubbing his head before looking around him. Riptide, Ivy, and Dusty all did the same. The four were no longer inside the dungeon, but rather sitting at the forest's entrance.

Dusty slowly stood up and backed away from the dungeon as quickly as he could. Jonah could immediately tell that the poor cubone was terrified. He looked at the dungeon behind him and sighed.

"Guess that wasn't some fucked up dream after all…"

"Hey, um… What do you guys say we head back…?" Riptide said, sounding kind of uneasy.

"Yeah… let's do that…" Ivy said rubbing her arm.

"That's… probably for the best…" Jonah said, still looking into the woods.

"So… Are we gonna talk about what happened back there…?" Ivy asked. The four had recently returned to the guild, and were sitting in the dining hall.

"I think I'd rather just forget about it…" Dusty said with his head down.

"I don't blame you, that was some scary shit…" Riptide said, glancing down at the table, but quickly changed his tone after catching Dusty sink downwards. "But it's over now…" He said smiling

"Hey guys!"

The four looked up and saw Sol and Luna walking towards their table. "The hell happened to you?" Luna asked.

"Let's just say it's been kind of a rough day…" Ivy tiredly replied. "Besides, you probably wouldn't believe it if we told you…"

"Well damn, now I have to hear." Luna said as she and Sol sat down.

"Aughh!" Ashe groaned as she continued to sift through the pile of papers on Cobalt's desk. "How does he not… He so owes me for this…"

"Is something wrong?" Lilac asked, sticking her head though the crack in the doorway.

"Ah, it's nothing, I'm just kinda bored…"

"Kinda?" The goodra said, raising a brow.

"Right, you heard that…" The blaziken said, gritting her beak. "How does Blue do this all day…?"

"Well, Cobalt won't let just anyone do what he does around here. So there must be a reason why he wanted you to do this." Lilac said, smiling.

"Yeah I guess so… So what do you think those two are up to?" Ashe asked.

"Knowing the boys, we can only guess. They don't really go out together like this all that often."

"So I heard you guys took on some new teams recently." Vernal said as he, Lance and Cobalt continued their venture to Marble City.

"They're quite the talented batch this year." Lance replied.

"Good to hear…" There was a long and awkward silence as they continued to walk down the dirt road.

"So… None of us have anything to talk about…?" Lance said, trying to break the silence.

"Well it's starting to get late anyways, we should probably set up shop and stay here until tomorrow." Said Vernal.

"And here I thought you liked being out late." Lance jokingly said.

"Well this time's different." The decidueye said, pretending to be insulted.

Cobalt gave a half smile and rolled his eyes. "Come on you two, this stuff won't set up by itself. The lucario said, taking off his bag. As he did so, Cobalt froze as felt the same distorted aura he had felt in the archives.

"You alright?" Lance asked. "Cobalt…?"

"Yes?"

"Are you alright?"

The lucario turned and looked off into the distance. "Yes… I'm alright."