"Alright! I need answers!" Astrid cried, landing on the ground in front of Arashi and putting the tips of her wings on his arms to stop him, "What is a mystery dungeon?! How do we get out?! Tell me everything you know!"
The Froakie still didn't seem fazed… or maybe he was indeed paralyzed in his facial muscles- the Rowlet certainly had no idea. He chuckled. "Alright, alright, I guess I have some 'splaining to do if you're new to all this stuff. Just keep moving; we need to reach the last floor before that Rhyperior finds us if we don't wanna get splattered across the wall."
She put her wings down and resumed walking, though her head was swiveling every direction in caution. Their vision was limited for the cave's darkness, and the rocky surroundings didn't bode particularly well even if she could see nothing else but dark brown sandstone in their vicinity. The air was damp and oppressive; she felt like the atmosphere was trying to strangle them (and maybe it was, only the gods above knew for sure).
"You see, mystery dungeons are these weird labyrinths that occasionally get discovered, and they change layouts every time you traverse them, so it's impossible to know how to get through beforehand. They've got a set number of floors, though, and the terrain they're made of is mostly constant… but you've got anomalies in every bunch, so sometimes you can see a forest turning into a cave or a frozen desert. It depends which one you're going through."
Her feathers ruffled out again at the idea. "Is this one like that…?" she asked faintly.
"Unless we get really lucky and discover something new, like some secret floor, no."
Astrid wasn't sure if 'lucky' was the right word. Nonetheless, she inquired, "How many floors…?"
"For this one? Less than a dozen, last I checked."
"A-ah… That still seems like a lot…"
"Hah! Some of them span 99 floors, so this one is nothing!"
Still she was uncertain. This did not seem to bode well at all. Here she was, effectively lost in unfamiliar territory in a place that was navigated by luck with her only company being someone that couldn't stop grinning even while an utter lunatic was threatening to kill them. She shot Arashi an unamused side glance, but said nothing.
"So to get out, we gotta reach the stairs," the Froakie kept on. "That's the only way you get out, short of getting KO'd or using an Escape Orb, and that last one's not an option to us right now."
Her eyes went slightly wide. "'KO'd?' As in, knocked out…? W-why would that ever happen?"
Arashi giggled. "Because of the wild Pokémon, silly! You don't think we're the only ones here, do you?"
Wider. "What?!" she squawked.
He was still smiling. "Yup! We're not alone! The Pokémon you see here aren't like us or the ones in town- they'll come after you. You can try to run away, but they'll follow you and attack at every turn, so your best bet is to fight back. They're feral and they really don't like outsiders, so they can't talk or understand you, and you can't ask them nicely to leave you alone. Knock them out, and they won't be bothering you again."
Astrid wasn't too sure, and her feathers ruffled up for what seemed like the umpteenth time that day. Still her head swiveled around, scanning what limited vicinity she could see in the dim light. "S-so, we… we have to fight…?"
"Yup! Unless you wanna rely on throwing things, which isn't the best idea, aha!"
"Ah… B-but… H-how do you fight…? I mean…"
Arashi giggled. "Just wait and see! You'll figure it out when the time comes- every Pokémon knows how to battle!"
She would've felt better about that… if she were actually a natural-born Pokémon. Whether Arashi's description applied to her or not, she had no idea, and she wasn't particularly excited about finding out. Though, another thought hit her. "H-hey, Arashi… Do you know how to battle…?"
He was still beaming. "Against the dungeon-dwellers? I have no idea! The best I've got is play-fighting when I was really little and just noticing that I could spit bubbles, so I guess we'll both find out how good we are together, aha!"
That too wasn't particularly reassuring.
Nonetheless, the rocky room they were in gave way to a narrow rocky corridor, the end of which they could not see for the dimness. Astrid eyed it carefully, while Arashi let out a cry of happiness.
"A-ha!" the Froakie exclaimed, staring straight down it, "A hallway! There were no stairs in this room, so we keep looking in the next!"
Astrid nodded, studying it herself. It was… narrow. Too narrow for her liking, since it seemed if they met a foe while traversing it, there would be no running away. Yet, Arashi had said that running away was a bad idea… thus they would have to fight in close-range if one came up. She didn't like it, but still, it seemed they had no choice in the matter.
"You haven't been a Pokémon for very long, so how about you go in first?" Arashi cheerfully suggested, "That way, if an enemy jumps out, you'll get some experience using your new body!"
"O-or I'll screw up and get us killed," she instantly replied to the contrary. "You're the native here; m-maybe I should watch you for a little while…"
"Pfft, where's the fun in that?! Go on, I'll be right behind you!" her comrade playfully shot it down.
She acquiesced and carefully stepped into the tunnel, as if something in the ground would shoot up and devour them if she stepped too heavily. Even so, her pace turned brisk and hurried as she headed for the next end. She wanted out, and she wanted to be sure the Rhyperior was nowhere near them. (And, judging from the relative silence, it seemed he was not.)
Her head swiveled back, and true to his words, Arashi was right behind her. He giggled a bit, giving her a playful wave. She looked forward again.
Thud! A rather large rock fell from the side of the tunnel, landing directly in front of the Rowlet. She jumped a bit, letting out a startled squawk.
"Ooh! Did we just find company?!" Arashi exclaimed excitedly.
"D-did we…?" Astrid mused softly, glancing about.
Another THUD followed, a rocky body with orange crystals falling before them- a Boldore. A growl that sounded more like scraping gravel escaped it, its orange crystals beginning to glow.
"A-ah…!" Astrid exclaimed in surprise, holding one wing up.
"We did!" Arashi shouted, starting to grin wider again. "C'mon, Astrid! We've got the advantage!"
Before they could do anything, though, a beam of hot orange light shot out from the Boldore's crystals straight at them, which Astrid gave a quick flap to avoid and Arashi a big leap upwards. The rocky creature growled again, the Power Gem crashing into the wall of the cavern behind them and leaving a few dents in the rocks.
"Urgh! Now is not the time!" Astrid protested at the feral one, not caring that it couldn't understand her.
Another flap of her wings sent a flurry of leaves in its direction, each with a slight green glow. She didn't much know how that came about, but as they pointed in at the Boldore and collided like little darts, it seemed to be working at the very least judging by the Boldore's pained reaction.
"That's it! I knew you had it in you!" Arashi cheered.
"You can do stuff too, y'know!" Astrid shouted back.
Sure enough, the Froakie did, opening his mouth and shooting a spray of bubbles at their aggressive company. Another growl followed, the rocky creature stumbling in place a bit. In any case, the orange crystals began to glow again… and Astrid wasn't having it. Another flap, another burst of leaves from her wings, and the Boldore collapsed in front of them after one last pained growl.
"We did it!" Arashi cheered, pumping one fist in the air.
The Rowlet still wasn't dropping her guard, gently landing on the ground again with one wing up in front of her as if to shield herself with it. "S-so, it's…"
"Knocked out! We won!" Arashi replied.
It certainly didn't seem to be making any moves any time soon. Yet still, she couldn't help but to ask, "It's not… dead… is it…?"
"Nope, of course not! I guess maybe you wouldn't know since you're new to this world and all, but us Pokémon are pretty durable! I mean, my mom once lived through taking an angry Exeggutor's Frenzy Plant, even though it was super effective!"
That was… good to know, yet somehow, Astrid seriously doubted that the experience had been a pleasant one that could easily be repeated. "If you say so… Then that's good…" she was assuaged, putting her wing down.
Carefully, she stepped over the fainted Boldore with a little flap of her wings to keep steady, Arashi hopping along close behind her.
"That wasn't so bad," Arashi mused nonchalantly, giving the Boldore a glance over his shoulder.
Astrid was quiet, hoping that nothing more of the sort would come their way. Even if they'd gotten away unscathed, she was sure that not every foe would be so simple… and it certainly wouldn't be simple if their pursuer showed up.
Their corridor opened up into a larger room, still an unwelcoming rocky chamber, though one feature in particular caught their eye- a staircase on the opposite side. A slight sense of relief washed over Astrid, knowing they could shortly leave this floor behind them. Yet, at the same time, it became blatantly clear that they were not alone again, for the thing they noticed immediately after the staircase was a small draconic figure haplessly tumbling about the room with perpetually snapping jaws- a Deino. The sense of relief left as fast as it had come.
For the first time since Astrid had seen him, Arashi's face fell. "… This is slightly problematic," the Froakie croaked in a low voice.
At that, the Deino's head perked up in their direction. It gave a snap of its jaws and began darting in their direction. The Rowlet and the Froakie looked at each other.
"Fly!" Arashi cried.
Immediately Astrid took to the air, Arashi hopping sideways out of the Deino's path. She gave a flap to use Leafage again while Arashi shot off a Bubble, but the little dragon seemed to brush them off with ease and paused as if deciding which direction to go. It shook its head, giving another snap of its jaws.
Apparently it decided Arashi's direction was better, for in barely a second afterwards, it was barreling towards him with Biting fangs bared. The Froakie looked startled for a moment and tried to leap out of the way, but the little dragon was faster and sunk its teeth into one of his back legs.
"Yiiiiaaaah!" Arashi hollered in pain.
"Arashi!" Astrid cried.
Arashi let another Bubble go, but it did little against the Deino, who rather seemed to enjoy the Froakie's limb in his mouth.
Astrid panicked for a second, her thoughts clouded by a multitude of scenarios playing over in her head. The stairs were right there- surely she could merely rush for them with the Deino occupied… Though she couldn't leave Arashi to fend for himself against that creature, since only the gods knew what it might do and if for no other reason than her having no desire to traverse the dungeon alone. Leafage and Bubble weren't doing much, thus those attacks were out of the equation… But she had to get it off of Arashi somehow…
She gave a hard flap of her wings and rammed herself into the Deino from the air, Tackling it over. Its jaws opened in surprise and Arashi scrambled free, then immediately sent another Bubble its way. The little dragon gave a cry and went limp, its jaws still open.
Again they looked at each other, though Astrid was much more interested in the teeth marks on her comrade's body, purple from the force of the Bite and little trickles of blood dripping from broken skin. Arashi let out a pained breath, giving it a look too.
"A-are you okay…?" Astrid softly inquired, skittering closer.
He nodded. "I'm alright," he said, voice breathy from discomfort, then breaking into a little smile, "I'm still conscious and breathing, so I'm alright. I'm not gonna lie, though- that really hurt, aha…!"
Astrid whimpered just a bit. "Are you gonna make it out…?"
Another nod. "Yeeeaaaaaah, just give it a little time. I'll get over it," he answered, giving the wound another glance.
The Deino was quiet on the ground, but from another corridor on the opposite side of the room came a loud yell followed by several crashing sounds and some pained growls. The floor shook, making a few pebbles drop onto the ground from above.
They didn't have to say a word to each other, for a mere glance said all it had to and they were instantly darting to the stairs. The rocky chamber was shortly empty of any conscious occupants.
Though, on the next room over, several barriers of light surrounded Rush and Rozen, the Scrafty looking frustrated at the crowd of Boldore, Graveler, and Deino surrounding them on the ground and a few Noibats fluttering about the air.
"A Monster House on the very first floor?! What the hell is this?!" Rush hollered.
"Are you sure you don't want a Heal Pulse?" Rozen inquired.
"NO!" the Scrafty refused, a slight smirk worming over his face. "If those kids are facing anything like this, save it for them! I can take it!"
Rozen nodded, a white aura glowing around his body which then transferred to Rush for a Helping Hand. Rush darted out from between the shields of Reflect and Light Screen and pounded his fist into a Graveler, the force of his Brick Break shooting the Graveler backwards into a Boldore and knocking them both out. A Deino tried in vain to Bite through one of Rozen's Reflects, but was unsuccessful.
"Come get some!" Rush loudly taunted, ducking back into Rozen's barriers.
One of the Noibat dived down with its little fangs bared, but Rush wasn't fazed. The Scrafty held one fist up and spit an acidic ooze onto it, then slammed the little bat with it. The ceiling was left with a new crater, and the ground was littered with another feral, fainted body.
Rozen shook his head haplessly. "You enjoy this far too much, Rush…"
Tranquil Tunnel 2F
Astrid's head swiveled in almost every direction, the Rowlet constantly on the lookout for any more jaw-snapping foes. Arashi kept a lookout too, but he didn't seem nearly as concerned. His hops were more labored, as he was taking care not to put too much pressure on his wounded leg and was thus getting along a bit lopsidedly. The staircase they had just been on seemed to disappear entirely, having lead up to some opening that then vanished the second they looked back at it. A mysterious thing dungeons were indeed, the Rowlet thought to herself.
Astrid deduced she might have liked to roost in this place… if not for the whole being-a-mystery-dungeon thing. The dark crevices seemed like a nice hiding place, but of course, the wild Pokémon probably thought so too, and she wasn't too keen on them.
"H-hey, Arashi…?" she asked softly, still shifting her gaze around each second.
"Yeah?"
"Do you think that Rhyperior… was feral too? Like these ones in here…?"
He grinned a bit. "No, of course not!" was the always- cheerful response. "He was talking to us. Wild Pokémon typically can't do that."
"A-ah…"
She wasn't sure if that answer was any better than the other possibility, but she let it go in any case.
Screeeeeeeech!
They looked up at the sudden cry, taking notice of a Noibat on the ceiling that didn't seem particularly happy at their presence. It dived downwards at them, Astrid flapping out of the way and Arashi jumping aside. A Bubble only served to make it mad, and a Leafage may as well have been lightly-thrown fluff. Just as quick, it turned its eyes on Astrid and made for her next, the Rowlet giving a startled cry and trying to flap out of the way. She got two fangs sunk into her anyway with a squawk of discomfort shortly accompanying the sensation, though oddly enough, it didn't feel that bad.
"Hey! Get off my friend!" Arashi hollered, leaping closer.
Whatever the Noibat was Absorbing, it certainly wasn't much, and quickly it let go when it figured such out. Though, it turned Astrid loose at approximately the same time Arashi came up behind it and Pounded it with one hand. Another screech of displeasure followed, then one last cry as Astrid Tackled it. It too was on the ground, limp.
The two outsiders looked at each other again.
"You okay?" Arashi inquired, tilting his head to study her.
"I'm alright; it honestly didn't hurt that bad," Astrid replied, then giving a glance at the Noibat, "Must've had really tiny teeth or something… O-or I guess, I resist that move…"
Arashi gave her a playfully unamused look and little nudge. "Oh, lucky you, getting the little set of fangs," he chuckled.
Back to venturing they went.
Tranquil Tunnel 3F
"You don't think we lost him, do you…?" Astrid's voice trailed off, her gaze travelling around.
Things seemed rather quiet. There were no ground-pummeling steps, no yells from the other room, and no pebbles suddenly dislodging themselves from their rocky nests. Surely, if a foe as huge as a Rhyperior were trailing them, he wouldn't be able to do so quietly, and with a Rock Blast as powerful as they had seen, he probably would be leaving some sort of destruction in his wake for them to discover. Still, they had seen none of those things.
"I doubt it," Arashi answered, "He's gotta be in this dungeon somewhere. We'll only know for sure when we reach the end."
Reaching the end couldn't come fast enough, Astrid decided.
Another small corridor opened up before them in the rocks, and she stepped in without much problem. Arashi stayed close, still favoring one leg over the other.
"Less than a dozen floors, you said?" Astrid double-checked.
"Yup!"
"Good."
They trailed through the corridor and came out in another rectangular stone chamber, in which something seemed to catch Arashi's eye.
"Ah! Yes!" the Froakie cheered, haphazardly hopping over to one corner.
She was feeling braver, but even so, Astrid didn't want to be left alone. She quickly flew after her comrade, landing beside him again. "What?" she asked.
He held up a bright blue berry (or at least, she was sure it would've been bright blue had she not been looking at it in such dim lighting), beaming in glee at it. "An Oran berry! I didn't think we'd find one in a tunnel like this!"
She studied the berry, wondering what was so wonderful about it. "An Oran berry…?"
"Yeah! They're good for healing," Arashi explained, "If you've taken damage, you eat one, and you'll be feeling much better! The thing is, this dungeon is all rocky and dark, so I didn't think any berries would be able to grow here, but hey! We got lucky!"
Astrid nodded. "Well, you got pretty beat up by that Deino, so I guess we are lucky to get it," she mused back. (Though still, she was of the opinion that 'lucky' would've been never having met the Deino, but perhaps it simply couldn't be helped.)
Arashi giggled. "You're not too badly hurt, are you? We can split it," he suggested.
"No, it's all yours," she turned it down.
He gulped it down pretty quickly, and while he still had purple marks around the little tears in his flesh, he wasn't hopping funny anymore. They continued on, but what they didn't notice was the limp body of a fainted Noibat in the opposite corner… one they had not damaged at all.
At the same time, further away on the floor, another Noibat fell limp on the ground where Rush and Rozen trekked through, the Audino giving the bag across his body a check. Two other little draconic bats were left on the ground, not moving at all, and Rush shook one of his fists free of the acid spit adorning it. The Scrafty gave a quick look down the corridor to their back.
"Did that other li'l bastard take one of our berries?" Rush inquired, glancing back at the Audino.
"It did," Rozen answered, "But only one. Maybe those youngsters will find it if it drops it; I do believe the acid splash from your Poison Jab at the others poisoned it. It should faint soon."
Rush nodded. "Sorry I didn't knock it out sooner. Damn Noibats, them little bitches are annoying…" then, with a little smirk, "But it was sure right to take the berry and run, ehehe!"
Rozen giggled. "It's quite alright, Rush. I'm not hurt," he assuaged his comrade. "I might be terrible for fighting, but it'll take lots more than a group of startled Noibats to do me in."
They shared a glance.
"Let's go down the tunnel it fled to," Rozen suggested, "Perhaps its senses noticed those two youngsters down there… or our Rhyperior friend."
Rush smirked, instantly going along with a swagger at the thought.
Tranquil Tunnel 4F
Yet, the youngsters in question had already reached the stairs and were still searching for the next set.
"Hey, Astrid," Arashi got her attention.
"Hm?"
"Are you a Rowlet because you're shy or are you shy because you're a Rowlet?" the Froakie inquired, "If you're really a human, there's gotta be some reason you're in that body, aha!"
She thought for a moment, still keeping a watch over all of their surroundings. "I'm… honestly not sure."
She had to admit, something about Arashi's question rang a bell, but she wasn't quite placing why. In any case, a dungeon was not the time to be thinking about it.
"Well hey, I think your form is great; it's all fluffy!" the Froakie jested at her again, giving her wing a pat. "But y'know, we could make a really great team! It'd be fantastic!"
"You think so?" she replied, not so much as a genuine question but rather because she was perplexed at his fixation with the idea. They hadn't even known each other a day, yet that didn't seem to dissuade the Froakie at all.
"M-hm! Just think about it! When we're fully evolved, we'd be practically perfect for each other!"
"P-perfect…?"
"Yeah! I mean, I'll be a Greninja like my mom, right? She's a Water and Dark-type that moves fast and hits hard. You'd be a Decidueye, a Grass and Ghost-type that never misses a shot and can hit enemies from far away. Whatever gets past you won't get past me, and whatever gets past me won't get past you! It's perfect!"
He certainly seemed happy with the idea, a huge grin plastered on his face, but Astrid still had to think about it for a moment. He wasn't wrong… but obviously, making a 'team' required the consent of all its members, and Astrid had yet to give it. Maybe it was a good idea, but she wasn't going to rush into it so fast.
"Besides," Arashi laughed, "As it is now, you've got the advantage between us. And I guess that's a good thing on your end, because you could just KO me if I acted up, aha!"
The Rowlet blinked, completely unsure of what to say to that remark. It was true when she thought about it, but still… Eccentric though he may have been, she simply couldn't imagine herself attacking the Froakie next to her. (Especially not in a dungeon she'd then have to traverse alone- no, she absolutely would not do that.)
Crack!
Something sounded from a corridor behind them, a few pebbles becoming dislodged and clattering to the ground. They looked at each other and wordlessly darted down another tunnel, leaving that room behind them… which was a good thing, seeing as the commotion in it was definitely something they would have wanted no part of.
"OH, FUCK OFF!" Rush thundered with a wide smirk, the force of his Brick Break leaving cracks in the wall behind the Graveler he targeted.
Rozen shook his head, staying put behind more Reflect and Light Screen barriers as a crowd of wild Pokémon surrounded them. A Boldore's Power Gem ricocheted off of one of his Light Screens and left a dent in the ceiling.
"Two Monster Houses within ten floors," the Audino noted flatly, "Lucky us…"
"This is fine! I can take 'em!" Rush hollered, unfazed.
The Scrafty would've ducked back into Rozen's shields, though a larger draconic Pokémon shot out of the darkness at them- a Noivern. Its wings were outstretched, and Rush simply wasn't fast enough to avoid its Wing Attack.
"Ngh-!" the Scrafty cried, getting pounded into the wall by the Noivern's wings.
"Rush!" Rozen cried, concern entering his countenance rather quickly.
The Scrafty slumped down onto the ground, a Graveler close by preparing a Rock Throw and the Noivern gathering a glowing ball of draconic energy in its maw. Quickly Rush got back to his feet, brushing himself off. His fist shattered the Graveler's boulder the instant it came close, and another Light Screen from Rozen blocked the Noivern's Dragon Pulse.
Rush grinned wildly. "That's how you wanna play, big guy?! Fine! Let's do it!"
He spit more acid onto his fist, and the Noivern spread its wings again. Before the Wing Attack could collide, though, Rush's fist instead embedded itself in the Noivern's chest and a pained screech followed, though Rush quickly ducked back into Rozen's barriers.
"Ya like that?!" Rush shouted, "'Cause I got plenty more!"
Tranquil Tunnel 5F
"We gotta be getting close," Arashi mused.
"I sure hope so," Astrid concurred. "I bet we're gonna have a fun time explaining this to your folks…"
The Froakie laughed. "Oh, I bet!" he brushed it off.
Astrid started to notice another sensation, though- she was starting to feel hungry. Perhaps she should have taken Arashi up on splitting the Oran berry…
Nothing but more rocks greeted them in the room the staircase below had landed them in. No wild Pokémon, no items, no staircase, thus they headed immediately for a tunnel nearest to them. Astrid wasn't hesitating before stepping in anymore, for she'd gotten a good idea of what to expect… and she wanted out as fast as they could reach the end.
A Graveler met them inside. It was quickly hit with a Bubble and a Leafage, though it hung on.
"Man, we're getting good at this!" Arashi cried happily.
Astrid said nothing. She simply wanted to push forward, and this creature was in the way of them leaving.
The Graveler let out a growl, Defense Curling itself up in an attempt to lessen their damage. It had little of the desired effect, for another Leafage and Bubble knocked it out. Astrid flapped over its limp form, and Arashi hopped after.
She noticed the teeth marks on his leg were beginning to heal, much faster than she was expecting. "Did the Oran berry have that big of an effect or something…?" she inquired, her head swiveling back. "I noticed you stopped limping, but…"
"Hm? Oh! You mean that," he replied, giving his own wound a glance. "That's also a dungeon phenomenon. You heal faster than normal, but you also get hungry faster. It can be a good thing or a bad thing, y'know?"
She nodded, then turned her head back around. It sounded reasonable- it was definitely matching her own sensations that she'd been feeling.
The tunnel opened into another larger room, where some sounds graced their senses of something tumbling and crashing around- another Deino.
Astrid's face fell. "Oh, Arceus above, no," she mused flatly.
Arashi put one hand on her wing, still wearing his grin. "It's alright, we can take it!"
They didn't have much choice either way, for the Deino noticed them almost as soon as they walked into the room and perked its head up.
It ran at them, though they braced themselves and stayed put. As soon as it got close enough for its snapping jaws to be a problem, Astrid hurled herself at it (conveniently into its legs) and Arashi Pounded it with one hand. It fell over with a snarl, but Astrid disentangled herself from it faster than its teeth could Bite and another Pound from Arashi made it stop for the time being. They walked around it, to the other side of the room and to another corridor.
"Those things must be a real joy to live with," Astrid mused, giving the fainted Deino a glance back.
Arashi giggled. "You should see 'em when they're fully grown!"
Somehow, Astrid doubted she would want to, but the next tunnel was empty, for which she was thankful. She was even more thankful when the room it opened into contained the stairs not too far away from them, but on the other side of the room was a Boldore with glowing crystals on its back.
"Nope!" she hollered, going for the stairs as the Boldore went for them.
"See ya!" Arashi giggled in agreement, close behind her.
They were gone up the staircase before it could get too close.
Tranquil Tunnel 6F
"Alright, how many more…" Astrid mused to herself, glancing first at the floor and then off to one side.
However, something else quickly caught her attention.
"H-hey, Astrid…" Arashi's voice gingerly trailed off.
She perked up, surprised to hear Arashi sounding uncertain. She looked at him, and he looked… frightened, for which she quickly understood why- there was a certain Rhyperior just ahead of them that noticed them almost as fast she too noticed him. Behind him was another opening from which light filtered in, Astrid guessing it was the exit.
"YOU!" the Rhyperior thundered.
Her eyes widened, and she frantically looked around for another corridor to duck into… but there wasn't one.
"Astrid, this is the last floor," Arashi noted with a slightly wavering voice, "We've got no choice…"
Her feathers puffed out. "Fight…?"
He nodded. "Yup."
Another mighty roar came from their adversary's mouth, one of his cannon-like arms raising up at them. They could tell it was loaded with a simple glance.
Nonetheless, Arashi broke into a grin again, and Astrid couldn't tell if it was a forced one or if he really was excited. "C'mon, you! Do you even know who you're dealing with?!" the Froakie shouted back.
Astrid knew it was an utterly empty taunt, but nonetheless, she readied herself too.
