"How many floors in did you go before you got separated?" Lila inquired of the Eevee on her back. "And how were you faring against the wild ones?"

"Four, and… not good," Veeko meekly answered, looking down at the ground with his ears flattened against his head. "W-we were just running away from everything, because we got hit by a Carnivine's Vine Whip on the first floor, and it almost knocked us both out… D-do I have to battle these things…?"

The Eevee looked like he was shirking away from some invisible foe as he answered. Even Astrid thought he looked shy and timid.

"Yes!" was the quick answer from his sister. "Veeko, you know I'd never just leave you alone, but you need to know these things in case it ever happens again! I'd say the same to Rina, but clearly, she's not here and she's not my little sibling, either."

Veeko nodded, still not seeming too thrilled.

"What can we expect to see there?" Astrid inquired, her head swiveling around to look at her company. "You've mentioned Tangela and Carnivine, so is it mostly Grass-types?"

"Mostly," Lila responded, then shooting the Froakie a cheeky look, "So don't go trying to explore the mouth of a feral Victreebel, Arashi!"

Trixie grinned, but Charlie nudged her into silent snickering before she could make any offhanded remark.

Arashi, though, got a funny look. "And why would I do that?!"

"Same reason you brought home a feral Geodude!" the Jolteon shot back, grinning.

The Froakie looked as if debating whether or not to throw the Blast Seed at her right there, but he only shot off a few bubbles at Lila's face which she shook off rather easily.

Astrid didn't pay them any mind, only thinking of how best to approach whatever foes awaited them. Grass-types probably wouldn't pose much threat to her or Trixie, she figured, but she also couldn't help but be a bit cautious for Arashi and Veeko- the latter because of his naivety and the former because of his typing. She had no idea what Charlie was capable of but figured he would come in handy somewhere nonetheless, and she certainly couldn't deny that Lila seemed to have the most know-how of any of them.

Nez gave them a happy wave as they strode past his cottage, which all but the Eevee and Jolteon returned (on account of them not having hands with which to wave). Astrid momentarily considered that asking the Nidoking for help would've been a much better idea, then quickly decided that… no, she wouldn't go hiding behind someone again and the others in her company would likely shoot it down as well. If this was how the world she'd landed in was structured… then she'd just have to get used to it.

In any case, she was certainly keeping her guard up as they approached the trees and disappeared inside them to any onlookers there may have been. It was familiar, the shrubbery growing close together and trees blocking out the sun overhead, just as it had been when she'd seen the Beast.

… She certainly hoped she wouldn't see it again.

"So if you go straight north from here about a hundred meters, you can see our house down below," Arashi cheerfully noted to the Rowlet.

"But if you keep going farther westward, you'll notice the trees starting to get a lot thicker, which will tell you that you're about to enter the dungeon," said Charlie.

She nodded, making note of what they looked like at the point around her then for comparison.

Charlie hadn't been lying, she came to notice- every few steps they took, all the greenery and undergrowth seemed to get closer together. 'Brushwood Tangle' was about as accurate of a name as she could think to give such an environment, since the smaller flora on the forest floor seemed to tangle together and the tree trunks seemed to form a maze. Charlie evidently decided that the trees were easier to traverse, for he followed along with them by swinging on the lower-hanging branches.

Eventually, the trees formed something of an arch overhead and some of the trunks seemed to grow so close together so as to form a wall, whatever waited beyond their boundary being obscured by the shadows they cast.

"Alright, here it is," Lila noted, looking up at the woody arch. "Keep an eye out for Rina, and if we hit a Monster House for whatever reason… throw Trixie to them and run for the stairs."

Trixie went back to grinning. "You wouldn't be trying to sacrifice me, would you? Because I'd feel perfectly at home amongst a room full of ferals trying to kill everything that moves; we'd probably make good friends, ehehe!"

The Eevee on Lila's back seemed a bit perturbed at the idea, but Lila was perfectly content. "Why are you assuming my plan is to sacrifice you and not distract them?"

"Why just a Monster House? Let her Poison Sting whatever she wants to, save us the trouble," Charlie noted with a shrug.

The Croagunk seemed utterly enthralled with the idea.

Astrid fluffed out a bit, a little unsure. "H-hey, now, we'll figure that out when the time comes, right…?"

"C'mon, guys, let's go save Rina already," Arashi nonchalantly concurred.

No one dissented.

Brushwood Tangle 1F

A 'Brushwood Tangle' it sure was. Their surroundings were nothing like Tranquil Tunnel, yet it had all the same attributes- large rooms and thin corridors. If Astrid had seen anything like it, she certainly wasn't remembering, for the sight of the underbrush growing into a wall and the branches overhead forming a solid ceiling above them seemed odd for a natural structure yet her company wasn't batting an eye. Mossy rocks blended into the surroundings, and out of the ground sprouted some more shrubbery that threatened to trip any unsuspecting wanderer. She decided she might have liked to nestle into the thick greenery, but given its status, decided that too was a ridiculous notion. Her basket in Arashi's house provided all the cozy cramped space she needed.

"Keep an eye out for berries," Arashi advised. "And seeds, come to think of it- they'll probably be growing here, too."

"Veeko, pay attention," Lila instructed to her little brother.

"M-hmmm…" was Veeko's subdued response.

The Jolteon crouched down for a moment to let her little sibling crawl off of her back, but even so, Veeko was sticking close to his sister's legs.

Two branch canopy hallways forked out, one to the right and one to the left, from the room they found themselves in to start, and Astrid eyed them both. "Which way are we going?"

"Let's start by going right," Arashi suggested.

The Rowlet and the Froakie took up at the head of the pack, though Lila was very close as well. Charlie kept an eye behind them, while Trixie kept firmly in the middle and Veeko was practically glued to his sister.

However, on the ground beneath the Eevee was a small clump of leaves, which no one paid any mind until he placed one paw on top of it then suddenly recoiled when it began to… shriek, or so it appeared. He jumped backwards in surprise, for it began to wiggle, and the others present were certainly shooting it a glance.

"W-what is that?!" the Eevee cried in dismay, his ears flattening back.

He was answered by an Oddish popping up from the ground, its face looking upset and confused, though it quickly turned to pointed frustration when it set eyes on the intruders to its house. Astrid had her wings slightly out from her body, ready to go, and Lila crouched down just a bit towards it, but neither one of them needed to do anything before someone else intervened.

"No! Go back to sleep!" Trixie shouted, a bit of poisonous fluid dripping out from her fingers.

The Croagunk deftly poked the Oddish back into the ground with an oozing hand almost as fast as the thing had emerged, muffling its shrieks but the leaves on top still wiggling frantically. The ground started to break again, the one underneath it clearly not amused and its cries becoming a bit erratic. However, the Jolteon among the brigade didn't waste time, a white energy from about her forming into star-like discs which quickly jabbed into the center of the Oddish's leafy top before dissipating. The Swift was plenty enough to shut the Weed Pokémon up and make it cease.

"… That's an Oddish, Veeko," Lila said nonchalantly. "They're kind of annoying."

The Eevee nodded quickly without a word.

"… Watch out for screaming plants too, apparently," Charlie noted, blinking at the limp bunch of grass that was formerly fussing at them.

Astrid looked to her Froakie comrade, and he seemed fascinated by the entire ordeal with his bright eyes and wide grin- at least, they were brighter and wider than usual, and went back to their normal look shortly thereafter. The Oddish taken care of, they went back to venturing.

"Did you have to smash that thing so fast?" Charlie jested at the Croagunk.

"Dude, I just wanna be a Toxicroak so badly," Trixie brushed it off.

Just like Tranquil Tunnel, the corridors were too narrow to traverse as a group and the six of them had to string themselves out in a line- save for Charlie, who instead took to swinging along overhead, and the tiny Eevee who instead just flattened his ears and ducked underneath Lila. The Jolteon didn't seem to care much one way or another.

"Watch out for Carnivine up there," Arashi amiably warned the Aipom.

Charlie chuckled. "I'm not the one weak to Grass-type attacks, now am I?"

Arashi shot him a playful glance, but only giggled.

Astrid half-wondered how Charlie got along so easily with just one hand (and not even the main two attached to his arms), but didn't think about it for too long. There were no unexpected feral visitors from up above, on the ground, or down below waiting for them in the corridor, which the Rowlet was thankful for in the interest of getting to the Pikipek as soon as possible. There didn't seem to be any feral visitors in the room it opened up into either, but still something evidently caught Arashi's attention for his expression turned bubbly and excited almost the second he scanned the room.

"Yes! This is great!" the Froakie cried, staring up at the ceiling.

"Hm? What is?" Astrid inquired, trying to follow his gaze.

"H-huh…?" Veeko parroted.

Lila, Charlie, and Trixie seemed to know what he was referencing too, but Astrid just couldn't see it (and apparently neither could Veeko).

Arashi hopped closer to Astrid's side and pointed upwards to a certain type of plant weaving itself in among the canopy layer, and Lila also directed Veeko's gaze to it with one of her paws.

"Oran berries," Arashi said, pointing out some light blue fruits growing amongst the leaves. "You know, the ones good for healing?"

Astrid noticed them and it caught her attention too. There weren't a lot, but she could easily make out three of them. "Oh! So they grow here?"

"Apparently they do," answered her comrade. "It's always good to have those on hand when you're dungeon-crawling."

"I got 'em," Charlie declared, shinnying up the wall and shortly making his way over to the berries.

The Aipom plucked them off the branch and dropped them down to Arashi, who bounced up to catch them in the air while leaving the sack on the ground. There were three of them like the Rowlet had noticed, though Charlie appeared to be searching for more, albeit in vain, and came down upon finding none.

Trixie, however, strutted over to the Eevee and leaned down to talk softly to him. "In other words, you can get your face gnawed off and be relatively okay if you've got some of those~"

The Eevee certainly looked surprised at her words, though the Croagunk herself was letting out a surprised cry shortly when a little spark of electricity shocked her from the Jolteon.

"Kinda like what I'll do to you if you go telling my little brother stuff to freak him out," Lila remarked.

Trixie only giggled mischievously while Arashi and Astrid tucked the berries away.

Brushwood Tangle 2F

The first room was empty, but at least there were no hiding Oddishes lying in wait for them. Whatever brush coated the floor, it didn't look like anything that would cause alarm if rustled, but everyone tread carefully nonetheless as they entered the corridor connecting it to the next room.

"So did you clear the dungeon by yourself, Veeko?" Charlie inquired of the little Eevee, glancing down from the ceiling for a moment before moving to the next branch.

"Y-yeah, I guess," Veeko answered, still sticking close to Lila. "It's just 'cause I could escape all the wild Pokémon here, though. I guess I was just lucky…"

"His ability is Run Away," Lila clarified. "He can weasel out of most everything."

Astrid's head swiveled back just a bit as she mused, "That must be handy for situations like this…"

Trixie laughed. "This is probably the only time it would come in handy- walking into someplace you didn't want to be. And if you know you don't want to be somewhere, then there's no use being able to run away easier since you wouldn't go in the first place!"

"It's true; I've got the same ability and I'd much rather have one like Trixie or Lila's," Charlie added.

The Croagunk started grinning again. "Ehehe, it is pretty nice knowing when someone's got a super effective move so I can thwack 'em harder to start with~"

Astrid had to admit, that would likely be useful too, that is, if one wasn't too concerned with dodging every hit as it were.

The corridor opened into a much larger room, the stairs visible on the opposite end they came from and their surroundings seemingly empty of other Pokémon. There were no items lying about to be seen, but that was fine- they had a stash of sufficient ones anyway.

"Ah! That was easy!" Arashi exclaimed happily, looking at their exit to the floor. "Only one room away!"

Astrid too was glad for such.

However, it was too early for celebrations, as near to them, a piece of shrubbery began to rustle and jumped up, revealing itself as a Fomantis. It looked at them for a moment as if merely confused by the strange creatures that didn't belong in its territory, but soon it decided its course of action and scurried towards them.

"Nope!" Charlie uttered, dropping down from the ceiling.

The Aipom flipped his body so as to Tail Whip their feral company on his way down, stunning it for just a second and making the Fomantis tilt its head towards him as if to non-verbally question why he would do so. At the same time, Arashi spit a Bubble into its face which didn't do much damage, but certainly occupied it with waving its sickle-shaped arms trying to shake them off.

"Veeko, your turn. Tackle it," Lila instructed, giving her little brother a nudge.

"Wh-wha-!" Veeko started to protest, looking frightened at the Sickle Grass Pokémon.

"Do it!" Lila interjected.

He didn't protest again. While it was still shaking its head, the Eevee darted out and took a jump, Tackling their foe. It let out a surprised squeak, its arms still flapping as it sprawled on the ground, but Veeko quickly disentangled himself and jumped back before it could strike with one of them. Instead, it held its arms up and sent forth a flurry of glowing leaves, which Astrid easily recognized as a Leafage. She prepared to counter with her own, but Lila summoned up some more star-shaped discs of energy that met with each glowing leaf to destroy them before the Rowlet could make her move.

More squeaks followed, the Fomantis seeming to stomp one tiny foot in protestation in a clear attempt to tell them off if they could understand its sounds.

"Finish it off!" Lila instructed the Eevee.

Veeko's ears flattened out again, but nonetheless, he rammed his body into the Fomantis once more to make it stop its antics for the time being. The fussing feral laid flat out on the ground, its arms limp beside it and no more squeaks coming from it.

"Alright! You did it!" Arashi cheered.

"Way to show that thing who's boss!" Trixie added happily.

Still the Eevee shirked away uncertainly, eyeing it. "It's done…?"

"It sure is," Lila answered, strolling over to her little brother. "You okay?"

He nodded, though he went back to clinging to her side.

"Let's get out of here," Arashi suggested.

"Let's," Astrid agreed.

They went for the stairs, still being careful not to step on anything that might shriek or squeak at them.

However, after they had left the floor, a few small eyes watched them from mere centimeters above the earth, barely detectable even to someone who would indeed be looking for them. Several more little shrubs popped up, around half a dozen Fomantis running to the corridor Team Starstorm's brigade had come from while squeaking incessantly.

A Lurantis emerged from the corridor, looking down at all of them that gathered about its feet, jumping and frantically vocalizing. Its petal-like scythes gently patted each of them on the head before it too set off towards the stairs.

Brushwood Tangle 3F

No stairs greeted them in the next room, but two corridors in the trees did, one of which they went for.

"I-is it possible Rina was able to get out by herself? Veeko, would you know?" Astrid inquired, turning her head back to look at the Eevee for a moment, then turning forward and ruffling up a bit, "N-not that I'm complaining! I-it would just be better if she wasn't stuck in a dungeon by herself…"

"You worry too much, Fluffy," Trixie jested at the Rowlet.

She blushed under her feathers, while Arashi chuckled. If anyone was 'fluffy,' it was the Eevee, Astrid thought to herself, slightly perplexed.

"I don't think so," Veeko answered, his ears slicking back a bit, "She can't run as fast…"

"If Toko and Ace don't teach her how to battle, I'm going to," Lila declared.

"Can I help~?" Trixie chirped.

"Oh, you'd help alright," Charlie remarked.

The Jolteon didn't answer the Croagunk, rolling her eyes and smirking a bit. However, a cry came from up above them before they entered the hallway of tree trunks, the source obviously being Charlie.

"Agh! Do I look tasty to you?!"

The Aipom darted backwards on the ceiling, the source of his frustration becoming apparent as it spread out its grassy limbs and opened its wide maw- a Carnivine. Apparently it thought Charlie did indeed look tasty, for its leafy limbs darted out trying to catch him as he scurried away.

"That's what we warned you about, wise guy," Trixie remarked.

"Get down here!" Lila hollered.

Charlie dropped down, but so did the Bug Catcher Pokémon, landing on its vine tentacles and looking them over as if debating who looked tastier.

"Get back, Veeko- this is a harder one," the Jolteon instructed her little brother.

Veeko did so, quickly darting behind the rest of the entourage.

One of the Carnivine's vine appendages shot out to attack the ones closest, but as it did so, Arashi gave it a face full of bubbles and Astrid gave a flap of her wings to add a Leafage to the mix. The Carnivine didn't even seem fazed, which the Rowlet noticed right off the bat and instead bit down hard on its vine with her beak. That certainly seemed to bother it, a cry coming from its gaping maw and its appendage flailing before Astrid let it go.

"Did you just learn Peck?" Arashi inquired with a grin.

"I guess so; I just want this thing to go," the Rowlet quickly replied, giving the Carnivine's maw an uncertain glance.

The Carnivine didn't seem very happy at her attack, for its goofy eyes narrowed at her and it lunged for her with its mouth open to Bite, both she and Arashi quickly jumping out of the way. Lila's Swift dissuaded it and it seemed to grow upset at her next, for it tried to Bite her soon after.

"Lila!" Veeko cried in worry.

Lila's fur stood up and sparked, but Arashi dropped the bag for a second and darted at the Carnivine instead, slamming into its head almost too fast to see to knock it off course.

"Did you just learn Quick Attack?!" Charlie inquired of the Froakie.

He grinned again, happily crying, "Oh! I guess I did!"

"Well, then that's one less Thunderbolt I have to use," Lila remarked, not bothered at all.

The Carnivine growled, one of its vines shooting out again for a Vine Whip at the Froakie, but at the same time, Trixie jumped in front of him and met the Bug Catcher's appendage with her oozing poisonous finger.

"Come get some!" the Croagunk taunted.

The vine quickly recoiled, its owner shivering at Trixie's poison seeping in. The Croagunk cackled happily, though Astrid certainly wasn't wasting time and quickly flitted closer, giving it another Peck on its yellow stem (a safe location from its gaping mouth). Another growl came, but in any case, the Carnivine twitched a bit before fainting.

Charlie breathed a sigh of relief. "Haaaah! You guys took care of that before I could even get a hit!"

Arashi giggled, picking the bag back up. "Well, it wanted to eat you!"

"It wanted to eat everyone," Lila remarked.

The Jolteon beckoned her little brother back to her side, and Veeko did so, while Charlie evidently elected to stay on the ground after that run-in. Astrid and Arashi both shared approving glances, the Rowlet deflating.

However, from the other corridor came several squeaking Fomantis, all looking a bit upset and waving their sickles. Astrid couldn't help but eye them confusedly, for she thought they looked ridiculous, more akin to flailing young children on a playground… but what sort of children and what playground, she didn't know, for she couldn't quite connect the mental imagery.

"YES!" Trixie cried happily, her fingers practically dripping poison at the sight of them.

Lila's Swift was already making quick work of one, who found itself splayed out on the dungeon floor after taking one starry hit.

Arashi, however, didn't seem as inclined. "Now, do we have to hurt them? They're cute!" he protested, smiling at them.

"Yes!" Charlie protested. "Not everything is as friendly as you, you dimwit!"

The Aipom got a few bubbles to his face, but he didn't care.

"Veeko, you get the other one," said the Jolteon, giving her little brother a nudge.

Veeko's ears flattened again and he looked at one, while Trixie laughed happily, Poison Stinging another and knocking it out, but Astrid tilted her head to the side and studied the last one.

"Hey, hang on a second," she mused.

"Huh? What's up?" inquired Lila, Veeko looking a bit relieved beside her.

The last Fomantis scuttled up to her and Arashi, but didn't attack them, instead just squeaking and gesturing wildly in place.

"Whoa, there! That thing's awfully close!" Trixie exclaimed, still grinning with toxic fists.

Nonetheless, they all studied it. It skittered up to Arashi in particular and tried to circle around him, but the Froakie too turned in a circle whilst eyeing it and ready to move.

"What're you doing, huh~?" Arashi chirped at it, amiable but puzzled.

It stomped its feet again, still squeaking, then skittered closer and reached for the bag with one arm. It wasn't quite able to reach it and bounced in an attempt to, and when that failed, went back to squeaking and flailing.

"Do you like our bag?" the Froakie inquired, still grinning.

"That thing can't understand you," Charlie noted, he too looking puzzled but more at why they were allowing it so close.

More foot-stomping, but apparently it wasn't trying to be friendly. Several glowing leaves detached from its body and Arashi jumped back in anticipation of an attack, but before it could use one, Astrid gave it a swift Peck on its head and knocked it out.

"No. Bad," The Rowlet scolded its limp form, then glancing to Lila and Veeko, "Sorry."

"It's fine," Lila brushed it off, Veeko looking very relieved next to her.

Arashi gave her a pat on the wing with his free hand. "Thanks!"

She nodded, and they were off again.

Brushwood Tangle 4F

"Keep an eye out for Rina," Lila instructed, "She'll probably be here or the next floor."

"Does that mean we should comb this entire floor? We won't get lost, will we?" Charlie inquired.

Arashi giggled. "Just don't forget where you came from, silly!"

"What he said," Lila concurred.

At least to start with, there was only one corridor for them to follow, and thankfully, there was no swooping Carnivine or shrieking Oddish to mess with them, just the tree branches intertwining overhead and the brush tangled up in the walls. It was slightly wider than the last, giving just enough room for two of them to walk side by side albeit in a rather cramped manner.

"Is what that Fomantis was doing… n-normal…?" Astrid inquired, her head swiveling about just a bit. "It didn't seem all that out to get us… At least when it first came up, anyway…"

"Maybe it could tell I was carrying some nice items," Arashi mused.

"Maybe it was just more curious than hostile- sometimes you'll get that," Lila also proposed.

"Or maybe it was just a stupid little runt that wanted to steal your stuff and then realized it didn't have proper hands to make off with anything and decided the next best bet was to slice your arms off," said Trixie.

The Froakie chuckled at the idea, while Lila and Charlie shot the Croagunk a questioning glance. Astrid certainly like Arashi and Lila's ideas much, much better.

A few stray leaves fell down in front of them, followed by a slight rustling sound overhead, which everyone paused and looked up at to find the source thereof.

"W-what was that?!" Veeko asked, looking a bit alarmed.

As if to draw out the source, Lila's fur began to spark and she released a Thunderbolt upwards into the thick overgrowth to illuminate whatever lied inside. There wasn't much, but they did see a certain tangle of vines slightly different than the rest that seemed to be moving, and shortly thereafter, two big white eyes peered back down at them belonging to a Tangela. Veeko recoiled closer to his sister's side almost straight away.

"Oho! One of the big guys!" Trixie exclaimed.

It shortly dropped down in front of them, blocking their way to the other side of the corridor both with its body in the way and with some outstretched vines slinking off thereof.

"Don't worry about this one, Veeko," said Lila.

And again, the Eevee was relieved.

The corridor wasn't all that great for avoiding blows, as they quickly saw. Several vines reached up and then swatted down to Vine Whip them, the narrow walls providing little place to run. Charlie shinnied up the wall again and darted along the ceiling, while Astrid outstretched her wings to shield her Water-type comrade and Pecked one, and Lila's Swift managed to slash a few loose.

"Trixie, jump," the Jolteon instructed the Croagunk behind her, hunching down a bit.

The Croagunk didn't have to be told twice, for as soon as Lila knelt down, Trixie sprang onto her back and leaped off of the back of her head, poison already coating her hands. Charlie dropped down from the tangles overhead and Tail Whipped their target, then gave it a Scratch while still in brief contact to loosen another vine.

Though it wouldn't be good for damage, Arashi shot a stream of bubbles at its face, which didn't even seem to register as an attack to their foe. Nonetheless, Astrid took the opportunity and darted straight up to the tangle surrounding its eyes and gave it another Peck, right into whatever lied beneath the vines surrounding its face, while Trixie too Poison Stung it before landing on the other side of it with Charlie. However, Astrid could feel the vines quickly coalesce and tighten around her, something she wasn't too thrilled about.

"Agh-! Guys!" the Rowlet cried, trying to flap her wings.

"Hey! Let go of her!" Arashi too cried in protest, letting another Bubble go.

Even if the Tangela could understand them, it certainly wasn't listening. Astrid Pecked it again, but it apparently seemed fine sacrificing one vine to her beak, for one wrapped around her next to hold it closed. She tried unleashing a Leafage, but it wasn't much use having her wings held against her sides.

"Brace yourself!" Lila hollered.

Though the Rowlet couldn't see, several more flat stars began glowing around Lila, and sailed straight for the appendages ensnaring her. At the same time, Trixie gave the Tangela another Poison Sting and Charlie Scratched it again hoping to catch its attention.

Astrid quickly figured out that indeed, Lila was probably the strongest one amongst them, for even if the attack cut her loose, taking it in the first place was… unpleasant. The vines broke, but still she could feel the Swift collide with her, and she was panting just a bit after taking a few steps away as if she might collapse.

"You need a berry?" Arashi inquired, looking a bit concerned.

"N-no," she replied, albeit hesitantly.

The Tangela's vines recoiled at being so uncaringly slashed, the rest of them tightening around its hidden body. Nonetheless, behind it, Charlie jabbed one hand through the tangle and Scratched it before taking it back quickly, which seemed to do in the Vine Pokémon. It fell limply before the other part of the entourage, and they looked at each other.

"Th-that was scary," Veeko softly remarked.

"Did you pay attention?" Lila asked him.

The Eevee nodded.

"Well, if we're all in one piece, let's keep looking," Arashi said. "Rina's gotta be here somewhere."

They kept going, making sure to comb every corridor and room while calling out for the lost Pikipek, but even so, she didn't appear to be anywhere. Charlie checked tangles inaccessible to the rest of them and Lila lit up some areas of dense growth with her sparks, but even so, they could find no little bird among the dense growth.

Astrid noticed her vivacity slowly coming back as they traversed the floor, which she recalled Arashi mentioning in Tranquil Tunnel as a common occurrence for dungeons, but even so, similar to what she had only vaguely noticed in the tunnel, she felt her stomach seeming to gnaw away at itself. Her comrade hadn't been lying- she healed fast, but she felt the hunger would knock her out before any wild Pokémon did.

"Rina!" Veeko called, glancing about.

"Rina? You in here?" Charlie inquired, weaseling into a tangle of brush on one side of the room.

"Hey! Other girlie with wings! Where are you?!" Trixie called down a corridor.

Astrid too checked under some rather large leaves growing over a rather flat stem, Arashi sticking close to her too.

"H-hey, Arashi?" asked the Rowlet, crawling back out from under the plant.

"Yeah?" her comrade answered.

"What was it you said in Tranquil Tunnel about healing fast but getting hungry…?"

"Oh! That's referring to how time acts kinda weird in dungeons. You know, we all need food, and we all need rest if we get hurt, but those things happen faster in dungeons. Basically, you can take damage and then just walk it off provided it's not too bad, like getting hit with a Toxic and badly poisoned. But the same also holds true for the not-so-great side of things, so you get hungry faster and need to eat something. This is a small dungeon and it's in a forest, so there's probably food growing somewhere, and if all else fails, we have the berries… Why, are you getting hungry?"

She shyly nodded.

Her comrade giggled, grinning. "Hey, me too," he replied. "Keep your eyes out for any more trees with things growing on them."

Another nod, the Rowlet somewhat eased by the explanation. She certainly filed that away in her memory, but still, she got another thought. "Wait, so does that apply to everything?"

"Hm? What do you mean, 'everything?'"

"Like… if your body is sped up, does that mean we're getting older faster, too?" she inquired, a bit perturbed by what answer she might get.

The Froakie, however, was evidently amused at the question and started laughing, getting looks from their company on the other sides of the room.

"Quit fooling around, you useless posers!" Trixie called.

"D-don't worry; we're not," Astrid called back.

Arashi contained himself, still wearing a huge grin. The Rowlet couldn't quite distinguish why- but then again, she couldn't distinguish why he smiled half the time, anyway.

"As far as anyone knows, no," her comrade answered. "Besides, if that were the case, then I guess my idols would be so dead by now, aha! And Mom and Dad, too! Sheesh, no one would go into dungeons if that's what it did to you, since the biggest ones we know of are 99 floors and plenty of expeditioners have still cleared them! That's a lot of floors to be shortening your life on!"

"A-ah… When you put it that way…" her voice trailed off. She sighed a bit, giving him a glance and putting the tip of one wing on his free arm. "I am so glad I've got you to fill me in on all this. I'd be screwed just wandering around by myself in these places."

He giggled as the Rowlet took her wing back. "Well, maybe that's why you ended up on the beach! So you'd have me for whatever it is you're here for!"

Astrid couldn't help but giggle a bit at her comrade's boundless enthusiasm.

Nonetheless, for all their looking, Rina didn't turn up in any part of the room- not under the leaves, not tangled in the ceiling, not inside one hollow log in a corner. Veeko looked deflated and anxious, his paws perpetually moving even if he was just sitting in place.

"C'mon, let's look in the next room," said Lila.

"If it's a game of hide-n-seek, Rina, you win, now get out here!" Trixie called.

To the next room they went, the corridor connecting to it thankfully having no other hostile company. Yet, the room itself did have something to meet them- another squeaking Fomantis.

"Veeko, this one is yours," said Lila. "You know what to do."

The Eevee did, but even so, he seemed very hesitant about doing it, for again he cautiously studied the Fomantis for a few seconds before darting up and Tackling it, still looking scared of it. It squeaked in protest, looking upset at someone attacking it, and as it sprawled on the ground with the Eevee still in contact with it, it drew one sickle back for a Fury Cutter that slashed at Veeko's chest. Thankfully it was just a blade of grass that the Fomantis wielded, yet even so, the Eevee yelped in pain and quickly disentangled himself. He hopped backwards away from it, looking even more uncertain.

"Don't worry about it, Veeko- just give it another Tackle," Lila called.

He didn't look thrilled about doing so, especially not when some leaves detached from the squeaking Fomantis's body and began to glow. The Eevee looked like he was about to freeze up, while the Fomantis just looked frustrated and jumpy.

"C'mon, Veeko, you can do it," Lila called again. "Attack it or it'll attack you!"

"You got it, little guy!" Arashi too encouraged.

Veeko was shivering, but he darted at it again even as the Fomantis let its Leafage go. He flinched a bit at the leaves, but nonetheless rammed the Fomantis again and left it unconscious on the floor after one last squeak.

The Eevee whimpered, shaking himself off and freeing his fur of the few leaves that embedded themselves in it. "Th-that hurt…"

"You'll get stronger the more you face and it won't hurt after a while," said his sister. "You're still just learning."

He nodded, albeit gingerly. Astrid was glad she hadn't been brought into the world with a form as small and fragile as the Eevee's before them, that was for sure.

"What is with these Fomantis?!" Charlie couldn't help but wonder. "Every single one just runs up like that!"

Arashi looked back at the Croagunk. "You didn't walk up to a random Lurantis and call it ugly, did you, Trixie? Maybe you made its kids mad!" he questioned with a playful grin.

The Croagunk corssed her arms, getting shifty again. "Now, Arashi, you know if I was really going to insult someone enough to piss off their entire family, I'd have much more colorful words than 'ugly,'" Trixie said to the contrary. "That being said, no, I didn't~"

Astrid half-wondered what those words were, but then decided she probably was better off not hearing them.

In any case, they set to combing the room, looking under every shrub and plant (while being very, very careful), but still, Rina was nowhere to be found. There was no little Pikipek's voice answering their calls, no stray feathers left on the ground to give some indication of where she might have been. Veeko got more worried the more they looked in vain, but still, they had no choice but to move on.

The next room was empty… of foes, anyway. The staircase greeted them, but Arashi's eyes seemed to lock on something else further up on the ceiling.

"Hah! We found one!" he exclaimed happily.

Astrid's eyes drifted up and she too noticed it- some red apples growing on a branch intertwined among the tangling ones on the ceiling, practically begging for someone to come pick them. The others seemed to notice them too, and gave likewise happy interjections.

"Charlie, do the honors, will you?" said Lila.

"I'm on it," replied the Aipom, shinnying up the wall.

"So we're taking a snack break?" Trixie inquired, seeming all too enthused with the idea.

"We sure are!" Arashi laughed.

As Charlie knocked them down, Lila's Swift cut them into smaller pieces and Arashi jumped up to catch them. There were four of them- plenty enough for sharing the smaller pieces, which they divided up amongst themselves.

Astrid's beak made quick work of them, and Arashi too swallowed them down with ease. The others didn't seem too concerned, but they certainly weren't leaving their share behind, especially the little Eevee.

"That's another thing to take note of, Veeko- if you don't have food, you'll eventually faint if you can't get any," the Jolteon explained to her little brother.

He nodded. "I was starting to notice, just a little…"

He certainly hadn't been the only one, for Astrid and Arashi exchanged glances, the Froakie silently giggling.

"Rina? You here?" Charlie called, going back to looking in the tangles of growth.

She wasn't. No matter where they looked, they couldn't find her- not under anything, not inside of anything, and certainly not out in plain view.

"Well, if she's not on this floor, she'll probably be on the next," Arashi mused.

"Keep going?" asked Astrid, giving the staircase a glance.

No one was protesting it. On they went.

Yet, in the previous room over, a squeaking Fomantis scurried over to the larger Lurantis, waving its arms at its sides and jumping up and down. Whatever it said, the Lurantis gave it a nod and a pat on the head, then tore off into the room with the staircase and ran up it.