A/N: Hello. I've been a reader for a long time, but this is my very first Pokémon fanfiction. It's set in the world of Mystery Dungeon, specifically Explorers of Sky, with some references to the other games and original additions. This story is actually filled with corny cliches from romance fiction, but since I've never seen them applied to a PMD setting, I decided to write it myself. Rated T mostly because of a character's uncensored potty mouth; expect romantic tension and lots of kissing. No smut because I don't vibe with that.
edit 07/17/2021: I'm writing this story as I go, but at this point I already have an idea of how it's going to be like. So I feel obligated to say: this will be a slow burn romance. Kissing happens a little earlier, but actual romantic feelings will only develop with (a lot) of time.
(Needless to say, if you like Pokemon Mystery Dungeon but romance stories aren't your cup of tea I would advise you to turn back now).
As a side note, English is not my first language, so I apologize in advance for any mistakes. Hope you enjoy it!
CHAPTER 1 - THRASH
"Eevee, this is the stupidest job we ever took," a riolu grumbled. He adjusted his hold on the heavy satchel that hanged from his shoulder, looking less than pleased.
"Oh, stop complaining, Riolu," Eevee replied with a bubbly smile. "We can't turn a blind eye to someone in need."
"Even if this someone wants us to deliver a stupid Yellow Gummi to them, on the fifty-first floor of Zero Isle North?!"
Eevee went silent for a moment, almost tripping on a rock. She seemed to be trying to think of a good answer. Judging from the look on her face, eyebrows close together and purple eyes squinting, Eevee was thinking hard.
"Um, well... We don't know their reasons. It might be really important to them," she finally said. Expression glowing up, she quickly turned her head in Riolu's direction and added, "Plus, they will reward us quite handsomely! You'd like that, wouldn't you?"
Riolu couldn't help but smirk. "What kind of explorer wouldn't like that?"
Sporting pretty bows and bandanas around their necks, the duo progressed through the mystery dungeon. The corridors were dark, only a little of the blue stone walls visible with each of their steps. Enemy pokemon - rather powerful enemy pokemon, at that - swarmed around the two like combee attracted to honey, but they were prepared. Between causing frostbite on a dragonite's stomach with frigid punches, and surprise attacking a typhlosion by emerging from the ground under its feet, Eevee and Riolu showed the ferals what years of experience in guild training could accomplish. Although the long journey was proving tiring the more time passed, Riolu's grouchiness subsided the more they found rare items locked behind sealed chambers. Bag filled to the brim with Joy Seeds, Reviver Seeds, Wonder Gummis and other valuable findings, they marched on with high spirits. They would soon be reaching their destination.
On the fiftieth floor, Eevee noticed the dungeon walls appeared to move in an odd pattern, unlike what she'd been used to seeing. Dead ends showed up more often, and the path they went through closed behind their backs, as if attempting to lock them in. The atmosphere felt heavier. The air contained static energy, but in such a small amount, Eevee's neck fur only slightly stood up, which was too subtle a difference for her inattentive partner to notice. In spite of the somewhat unusual dungeon behavior, the enemies weren't any more threatening than they had been up until now. She took notice of it when Riolu disposed of a swampert blocking their way, spending the same energy in his movements as usual. Traps also seemed to pop up at a normal rate. All in all, as she followed behind her partner, Eevee quietly mulled over whether it was worth it or not to bring up the things she noticed to Riolu. It might have been all in her head. Considering her history in previous missions, Eevee's gut feeling tended to be very hit-or-miss.
Before she could come to a definite conclusion, Riolu was already helping her get up the stairs. After a few minutes of walking in pitch black darkness, a brilliant light filled the exit of the staircase, giving way to a somewhat chilly, rocky environment. They arrived at the fifty-first floor.
As soon as Riolu took a step forward, an ice pellet hit the top of his head, making him instinctively reach out a paw and touch his crown with an 'Ow!'. Not long after, more hard ice balls rained down on the duo. Riolu's face contorted in a deep frown.
"Just great," he said through gritted teeth. "I hate hail. I've always hated hail. I'll always hate hail."
"This is our client's floor!" Eevee grinned, her tail wagging. "Don't worry, Riolu, it'll be over soon. Let's go find them!"
"Finally." Riolu sighed in relief. Reaching into the heavily loaded satchel, he switched his bandana for a funny pair of specs, putting them on. At the same instant, the client's location was revealed before his eyes. "Let's go that way."
Riolu rushed off towards a corridor, leaving Eevee behind. Her tail stopped its wagging and lowered to drag on the ground, but her entire fur stood on end and ears moved up, paying close attention to her surroundings. The dungeon's air was gelid, and her breathing condensed into a small cloud, though that wasn't what made her fur stand up. The ambient seemed even more charged with electricity than before - when she directed her gaze at Riolu's direction, even his fur seemed to puff out with static, though he was too focused on the mission to be aware of it. The dungeon room she was in felt incredibly empty. No sign of enemies, traps or items around, only bluish stone walls and a bumpy, rocky gray ground. Eevee's happiness at being close to completing the job was quickly replaced by a growing sense of dread.
"Eevee!" Riolu shouted. He stood in front of a narrow corridor, at a considerable distance from where Eevee was. "Why the heck are you standing there? The person we're looking for is on the other side! Come along so we can get this over with!"
After a few moments of numb unresponsiveness, Eevee blinked, shaking her head hard as if trying to expel thoughts of sinister scenarios. She then sprinted in Riolu's direction, determined to let her partner know of her findings. Ice pellets struck her back, but her mind was too full to pay it any mind. Her intuition wasn't always right. This time, though, there was no mistaking it. Something about this job was off.
"Riolu!" she cried out, slowing down her pace as she approached him. "Riolu, there's-"
"There you are." Riolu glanced down at her, his voice gruff with exasperation. More ice rocks hit him straight on the nose, and his patience seemed to be wearing thin. In a sudden manner, he grabbed Eevee by her front paws and proceeded to carry her on his back along with the satchel. "They're in the next room. Let's get going already!"
"Wh-What?! Just wait a minu-!"
Before Eevee could finish her sentence, Riolu's pace picked up fast. He rushed through the corridor in impatient hurry, feet so fast they barely touched the ground after the last step. His partner's attempts in trying to get his attention fell on deaf ears while he busied himself with speeding out of the corridor into a large, rectangular room. He didn't stop running until he spotted a yellow, round light, not very far from where they stood. Taking off the venonat-like specs, he spotted an orange pokemon in the light's place. Another ice ball struck him in the head. This time, he didn't even flinch.
"That's our client." Riolu smiled manically. "Let's go."
"Riolu, will you listen to me for just one-?!"
Once again, Eevee's sentence was cut short. Inertia jerked her backwards as Riolu dashed in their client's direction, determined to finish the job and leave the frozen hellscape of Zero Isle North's fifty-first floor as quickly as possible. Her voice reduced to squeaks when Riolu's haste over the bumpy, grayish rock terrain made her bounce up and down on his back. After what felt like an eternity, Riolu skidded to a halt in front of the pokemon they were looking for.
His first action upon meeting the client was taking Eevee off his back and gently placing her on the ground, which was his way of trying to look presentable. Lips sealed together in a paralysing daze, Eevee took this time to scrutinize the strange pokemon's appearance.
The orange pokemon looked similar to a sewing pin, only upside down. His body was covered in a light blue substance, which framed his pin-like form with a pointy shape. There were lightning bolt appendages on either side of his figure, hanging expectantly. His eyes were long, blue ovals. He had a mouth full of white teeth, which smiled in apparent innocence - only on closer inspection would anyone notice the devilish undertone inside. Eevee's neck fur puffed out at this sight, alarm bells ringing in her head.
"Riolu…" Eevee lightly tugged at her partner's leg with her paw, voice low, but urgent.
"Shh, Eevee, this can wait until later," he told her. Riolu inwardly swore to himself the ice pellets that hit his nose just then would be the last ones for the rest of the year. Recomposing himself, he picked up a gummi in his heavy satchel and held it out to the client. "Good day, we're the delivery team. This is what you asked for, right? Here you go."
Instead of taking the item, the pokemon only smiled at Riolu a little more. "Oh, thank you so very much, kind explorers! You've done well to make it here. Why don't we share this delicious delicacy over a nice cup of tea?"
Electricity crackled violently in the air. This time, even Riolu was able to notice, his fur puffing out with static. The room was too empty, but he could sense it. Traps were quickly popping up around them. While Eevee was already readying herself to fight, Riolu only expressed a mix of confusion and irritation.
"Yeah, no. We've stayed way too long here and this place's freaking me out. Take this thing already, will ya?"
"Riolu…!"
The client's face was taken by a twisted grin. "Fuckin' dumbass."
"Huh?!" Riolu's eyes narrowed, his paws curled up into fists.
In the blink of an eye, Riolu's heavy satchel was ripped off of his grasp, the orange gremlin no longer in front of them. After desperately searching for him, Eevee spotted the pokemon at the top of the blue stone wall far away from them, the satchel's strap hanging around his pin-like head. Following her gaze, Riolu's teeth gritted, eyes squinting in seething anger.
"Did you really expect a greeting like that?!" He looked down on them with a sneer.
"Give us that back, you little…!"
Before Riolu could run towards him, more electric energy thundered around the duo. Suddenly, dozens of pokemon rained down from the skies. Poliwrath, salamence, tangrowth, mamoswine, hippowdon, and many other powerful, aggressive enemies set the ground quaking with the weight of their impact. When the seemingly endless stream of creatures seemed to subside, Riolu's mechanical response was to reach his paw where the team's satchel would be hanging on his shoulder - only to find nothing but air.
Eevee's usual smiling features were replaced by widened eyes and a hanging open mouth. She struggled to keep her shaking body from shrinking, trying to maintain a fighting stance. By her side, Riolu's invisible eyebrows squinted, teeth clenched together and paws preparing themselves for a fight he couldn't win.
As the enemies closed in on the two, only the sounds of maniacal laughter could be heard in the distance, gradually fading away to the loud noise of tumultuous fighting.