Mac quickly caught up with me as we raced towards the remains of Pokemon Mansion.
"What was that?" I asked, "You didn't say anything about ghost-types! That was definitely a ghost-type."
"I don't know," he said plainly. "There didn't used to be any, but it would make sense that some were drawn here in the aftermath of a disaster, especially if any Pokemon didn't make it."
Janelle, a stylish scarf wrapped around her, caught up as we slowed before going inside. Worried or not, no way was I running full tilt into this place. "Hold on," she said, stopping me with a hand on my shoulder. "Let's do this smart."
She released her Diglett and Mr. Mime. "Diggle, can you stay ahead of us and stop us if we're about to step on anything that isn't solid?" The little thing bobbed into the ground once, and she continued, "Great. Try to stay underground, otherwise. We don't know if there's any poison gas here."
She turned to her Mr. Mime, who was already pretending to put on some kind of helmet. "Oh, good. Could you keep an eye out above us and make a barrier if something falls?" The psychic pretended to open a visor on his helmet and reach inside, grabbing at its eye. When it brought its hand away, that eye was closed, and it tossed nothing into the air. As if this was completely normal, Janelle said, "Thanks."
I blinked at her. She let go of my shoulder and looked back at me. "What?" she asked.
"Nothing," I said shakily. "Thanks."
Now she smirked at me. "Just because I don't participate in your little games, doesn't mean I haven't paid any attention to thinking about other ways my Pokemon can do things. Besides, a performer like me needs to be able to think about ways her Pokemon's moves can be used other than to cause damage."
"Oh," I replied smoothly.
From the inside, it was clear how much space wasn't visible from outside the walls. What had looked like a small pit filled in with lava turned out to be a huge chunk of floor that had fallen through. It looked like some of the roof crashed through several floors, and the lava had filled in the deepest basement. The far side of the floor above it, though, probably once the ground level, seemed to be largely untouched, the lava filling other areas before it could reach anywhere that would give it access. Based on the lavafall over the edge we were standing on, it was possible the floor under us hadn't filled in, either, and might be accessible if we could find the way in. One the floor we were on, the lava had cooled in weird valleys, probably around the old interior walls.
No sign of Vola, though.
"This place was huge," Janelle said. "And Team Rocket just left it abandoned? If they were that dumb, it's no wonder they got brought down."
"I'm more concerned with how we're going to search a place this big than the financial sense of a defunct criminal organization," I said.
Mac looked around. "I doubt a ghost-type would want to hang out up here," he finally said, his words measured and considering, "It's more likely to be somewhere in that area across from us, or possibly under us if there's still any space."
"Any idea how to get down there without getting hurt?" Janelle asked.
I pulled a Pokeball off my belt. "Not yet, but I'm going to get started while we're thinking about it." I released Dart, and told her, "Vola is in here somewhere chasing something." I pointed at the rooms below us, "We think she's down there somewhere. Can you fly around and take a look until we can figure out how to get down?"
She trilled and flew off, and I hoped that meant she understood. I joined my companions overlooking the lavafall.
"It's not that far down," Mac said, feeling the cooled lava. "Only four or five meters. Too smooth to climb, but we could probably jump it."
"You could probably jump it," Janelle quipped. "Not all of us train by throwing boulders while meditating under waterfalls."
"Hyperbole aside, she's right," I agreed. "We can jump it, but moving afterwards seems unlikely."
"Unless you're willing to carry me," Janelle purred.
Mac winced with each successive verbal blow, flushing a bit at Janelle's final suggestion. "I didn't mean it that way. Here," he replied, releasing two of his Pokemon to the floor beneath us. "Can you release your new cushion on top of Graveler? He'll hold her up, we fall a far more reasonable distance, and Electabuzz keeps her charged up so she can handle the impacts."
The plan was… reasonable. I released Levy and told her to brace for impact.
Chinchou are, we discovered, basically tingly waterbeds, at least at Levy's size. She wriggled a bit under our weight as we landed, with Graveler using her to "catch" us like a champion egg-toss competitor. She seemed more tickled than hurt, which was how it felt to land on her, too. She kept her charge under control, but simply being in contact with her left a faint buzz down my spine that had me on pins and needles for a moment even after Electabuzz set me down on the lower floor. I nearly fell on my face as my legs tried to give out under me, but I managed to get a hand on Graveler to both support myself and ground out any excess electricity.
Janelle sent down Mimsey with her Poryphone to record her descent before dramatically falling over the edge. She assured us it would look even better in post. I assumed she knew what she was talking about. The landing was less than graceful, what with the electricity, but she just scowled at Mac when he asked if she could fix that in post, too.
Perhaps to counter Janelle's earlier jab, Mac also availed himself of our makeshift landing mat. though with less apparent discomfort than Janelle had shown or I'd felt. Stupid waterfall boulder training. Perhaps it was petty of me to return Levy while he was sliding off, but sitting on a big rock and getting jumped on was still a lot to ask of a girl.
Dart flapped to a stop by my head as Levy's Pokeball clicked closed. She maintained her position as she trilled at me, then took wing again. "Looks like Dart found her! Let's go!"
It only took one trip on the uneven lava to convince me that running was a bad idea down here. Dart curled back around and took a beakful of my shirt and tugged it forward.
"I get it, I get it," I told her, shooing her off. "Just lead the way. Not all of us have the luxury of ignoring bad footing."
She circled over me, occasionally zipping out to show me the way through the maze of machinery, computers, and broken masonry. Behind me, Janelle eased her way through the wreckage. Her shoes, undoubtedly fashionable, were not suited for the uncertain floor. Mac was subtly keeping her upright with nudges here and there when she wobbled, and she was leaning into the contact. It must have been making his efforts more difficult, but he ignored her attentions. I could have sworn she intentionally wobbled the last time.
"Janelle, how were you planning on hiking a volcano in those?" I asked.
"I'm sure it would have been fine," she told me with a smirk. She winked at me, and my "intentional tripping" theory fell flat as she did, pratfalling as a pebble slipped under her foot. It was graceless and cartoonish; image-conscious Janelle would never let herself be seen that way if she could help it. Mac hooked an arm under her armpit to keep her from hitting the floor and quickly hauled her back to her feet.
Fortunately for her dignity, it wasn't much further. Through the next doorway, I felt the temperature drop. Winds whipped blackened paper and debris around the room; Dart was buffeted backwards, and I returned her. The lava hadn't reached this far into the building, but smoke and heat was another matter. Despite that, a locker against one wall was crusted over with ice, with the occasional burst of moonlight illuminating the cracks.
"Vola!" I cried, running into the wind, "Vola, I'm here!"
The wind abruptly died, but not before I got pelted with bits of cement and paper. I picked my way through the hazardous terrain, now coated with an already-melting layer of ice.
I pulled on the handle, but nothing happened. Nothing good, at least. The whole locker did wobble dangerously. "Vola, I'm going to get you out of there, okay? Let me just clear the door."
"Pix pix!" she cried.
"Don't worry," I said, "You're going to be fine."
"Vuuul!" she replied, more urgently.
I released Spin and pointed to the frozen locking mechanism. "Can you break that, Spin? Vola's locked inside."
Spin knocked his claws together then wound up to slash at the handle.
"Pix vul vul, piiiiiix!" Vola screamed, and I finally recognized her tone for the warning it was.
Spin's claw came down on the ice, shattering it, and a shape came out of the floor and straight through him. For a moment, the figure looked like a transparent Sandslash, as though pulling Spin's soul itself out. After a moment, it burst free, and the Misdreavus coalesced above him, giggling. Spin dropped to one knee, panting far more than one blow should have taken out of him.
"Spin, come back," I said, pulling him back into his Pokeball. Whatever that was, I didn't want the ghost-type to do it again. In front of me, the Misdreavus twirled playfully around the locker doing a full circuit through the wall behind it and back. "You get away from her," I snarled, and it snickered, then dove at my face.