Hi everyone! It's finally time for what the recent chapters have been building up to, and as such, the narration for this chapter and the next few ones will be similar to that of Chapter 22. The narration in italics is Stella's narration as she tells the Pokémon what happened, while the normal narration is, well, the normal narration that goes more into detail about the events Stella is talking about. Hope you all enjoy it, and feel free to let me know what you think!
Chapter 34: It'd be nice if something really big could happen soon…
"For many generations, a female Gothitelle has been the "town oracle" of this place. The first of these was a Gothitelle who used her powers to help Pokémon who had gotten lost in mystery dungeons, back when there weren't any rescue teams. One night, that Gothitelle had a vision of a terrible storm, and warned the other Pokémon. Thanks to her warning, they were able to make the necessary preparations that allowed them to minimize the damage.
Ever since then, a descendant of that Gothitelle has held the position of the town oracle in this town, using their power to see the future to help the Pokémon there. Of course, how much a town oracle was really needed could vary from time to time.
It was in a seemingly peaceful time that this story began. This town was much smaller back then, and the current town oracle at that time was a Gothitelle named Cassandra…"
It was the start of a new day, and it was looking to be a bright and sunny one. While most of the Pokémon living in the nearby town didn't mind getting up early, Cassandra was not too pleased when the sun shone through the opening in the ceiling of the stone building, disturbing her sleep. The Gothitelle sighed, and lazily opened an eye.
"Ugh, go away sun…" Cassandra muttered, raising her hand and telekinetically pulling the cover over the hole used to protect from the rain. "That's better…"
Cassandra hoped to get another few minutes of sleep, but soon heard someone calling for her outside. After a few moments of trying to ignore them, she eventually opened her eyes and sat up.
"Okay, okay… I'm up…" Cassandra muttered, rubbing her eyes and heading down to the first floor. "One would think being the town oracle would at least come with the benefit of being able to sleep as long as one wants in the morning…"
Cassandra went to see who was at the entrance, and was greeted by a yellow humanoid Pokémon with a long mustache. He was holding a spoon in each hand.
"Good morning, Cassandra!" the Alakazam said cheerily.
"Yeah, sure," Cassandra responded, yawning. "So, what do you want?"
"My, did someone get up on the wrong side of the bed today?" the Alakazam asked.
"I stayed up late looking at the stars, since that's what town oracles are supposed to do," Cassandra responded, crossing her arms and turning away. "Can you really blame me for being tired?"
"All right, fair enough," the Alakazam replied, nodding his head. "So… See anything?"
"Visions of the future, you mean?" Cassandra asked, looking over her shoulder at the Alakazam. "Well, aside from a few Pokémon getting lost in mystery dungeons, I didn't see anything particularly interesting."
"Ah, I see," the Alakazam responded. "So, if a Pokémon comes here asking about a friend who disappeared, you know where to send them."
"I guess," Cassandra replied, shrugging slightly. "Of course, considering how we're encouraged to avoid the mystery dungeons and Pokémon are always telling their kids not to go near them, I don't understand why some Pokémon just disregard that and get lost in there anyways!"
"Well, I suppose there are always those who let their curiosity get the better of them," the Alakazam responded, chuckling a little. "Plus, some Pokémon might want to test their courage by exploring the dungeons. Remember when the two of us did that when we were younger?"
"Yeah, I remember," Cassandra replied, nodding her head slightly. "I ended up having to do most of the fighting because you kept dozing off."
"Hey, I was just an Abra back then," the Alakazam responded, smiling sheepishly. "I needed a lot of sleep to maintain my psychic powers!"
"I know, I know," Cassandra replied, smiling at the Alakazam. "So… Have you had any breakfast yet?"
"Oh, um… No, I haven't," the Alakazam responded, chuckling a bit. "I kind of forgot."
Cassandra telekinetically picked up some berries from a basket, and began cutting them up.
"So, anyways… Aside from helping Pokémon finding their friends in mystery dungeons, predicting the weather and stuff like that… It doesn't really feel like I've got a whole lot to do around here," Cassandra explained while preparing the food. "Nothing ever really seems to happen around here, you know?"
"Well, things are pretty peaceful," the Alakazam responded, nodding his head slightly. "That's a good thing, isn't it?"
"Yes, of course it is," Cassandra said, shrugging slightly. "I just… I don't know…"
"What is bothering you?" the Alakazam asked.
"Well, like I said, I guess I don't really understand why I'm needed here," Cassandra explained, telekinetically moving two plates of berries over to a nearby table. "As a town oracle, that is. I mean, once they manage to come up with a better way of dealing with Pokémon who get lost in mystery dungeons, the town oracle would pretty much be out of a job, don't you think?"
"… Are you unhappy being the town oracle?" the Alakazam inquired.
"I don't think "unhappy" is the right word for it," Cassandra responded, sitting down at the other side of the table. "Maybe I… just wish I had more to do around here?"
"Like what?" the Alakazam asked, using one of his spoons to eat the berries.
"Well, town oracles are supposed to help the other Pokémon in this town, right?" Cassandra replied, sighing as she poked at a berry piece with a wooden fork. "Except… they don't really seem to need my help for much else. They all seem to be doing fine on their own."
"Ah, I see," the Alakazam responded, nodding his head slightly.
The two psychic types quietly sat and ate their breakfast, not saying anything for a while.
"Simon, you're pretty smart, aren't you?" Cassandra asked, looking over at the Alakazam. "Do you have any suggestions?"
"Hmm… Cassandra, how well do you know the Pokémon of this town?" Simon inquired.
"Huh? Well, um… I know the names of most of them, and there are some I regularly talk to…" Cassandra responded, thinking for a moment. "Not sure if any of them would consider me a friend or not…"
"I see," Simon replied, nodding his head slightly. "I wouldn't mind getting to know some of the Pokémon in this town better myself, but I haven't really gotten around to it yet."
"Making more friends won't solve the issue of not having anything exciting to do, though," Cassandra responded, sighing. "It'd be nice if something really big could happen soon…"
"Perhaps you have heard the saying 'be careful what you wish for'? Cassandra spent her time assisting the Pokémon in town with small things and they were grateful to her. However, even if it felt nice helping out, she just wasn't satisfied and kept wishing something bigger would happen. Then, one night…"
Cassandra was mumbling something in her sleep, occasionally trashing about as something played out in her dreams. She saw a forest, with shimmering silver-colored grass and shining silver leaves on the trees. Then, a strange black cloud seemed to spread through the sky, and the silver plant life underneath it began to wilt. For a brief moment, everything turned red and a dark figure with three red gems below its neck and something resembling a witch's hat on its head. The figure smiled widely just before Cassandra opened her eyes and saw the stars above through the opening in the ceiling.
She blinked a few times in disbelief, before sitting up and taking a few deep breaths.
"What… what was that?" Cassandra thought to herself, staring up at the stars. "Just a dream, or… was it a vision?"
Cassandra continued staring up at the sky for a while, unsure of what exactly she had seen and what it meant. Eventually, she tried to go back to sleep, knowing it probably wouldn't be easy when there were so many questions on her mind…
The next morning, Cassandra got up despite still feeling rather tired from not getting enough sleep. She knew in her heart that she just had to figure out what that vision last night was about, but wasn't sure if it would be necessary to tell anyone else about it. Still, perhaps some of the Pokémon in the town knew something about where the silver forest she saw was, and how to get there? She figured that was a good place to start looking for leads.
So she stepped outside, and walked down the path leading into the town. Looking around, one could see small buildings made from wood and a few of the Pokémon standing around and talking about different things that had happened recently. Cassandra soon spotted a wingless, long-legged avian Pokémon with three heads talking to a large, blue amphibian-looking Pokémon.
"… And that's why I need someone with strong arms like yours to break down that wall," the Dodrio's middle head explained cheerfully. "So, will you help us out?"
"Hmm… You said you wanted to prove you could get through the mystery dungeon on your own, right?" the Swampert asked, holding a hand to his chin thoughtfully. "But if I come with you, even if only to help you with that one obstacle, then technically you wouldn't have done it by yourself, right?"
"Uh, well…" the middle head responded, glancing back and forth at the other two heads.
"Kind of obvious, really," the head on the left commented, rolling her eyes at the other two heads.
"It's okay, girls, we don't need him!" the head on the right exclaimed, grinning. "I bet we can jump over that barrier thing if we just get a really good running start!"
Cassandra had spoken to these two Pokémon a few times before, since they were among the Pokémon who were brave and strong enough to handle the mystery dungeons and locate missing Pokémon within them. Perhaps one of them knew something about the place she saw in her vision? She decided to approach them and ask about it.
"Hey there," Cassandra said, waving to the two as she walked over.
"Oh, hi Cassandra!" the Dodrio's three heads responded in unison.
"Good morning, Cassandra," the Swampert said. "Are we needed for anything?"
"Huh?" Cassandra replied, before realizing what he meant. "Oh, you mean if I know of any Pokémon you need to help out? No, it's not that."
"Oh? What is it, then?" the Swampert asked.
"Well… I was just wondering if either of you happened to know something about a mystery dungeon…" Cassandra responded. "Do you know of a forest full of silver-colored plants?"
"Hmm… Can't say I've heard of it," the Dodrio's middle head replied, looking at her other two heads. "What about you?"
"I haven't heard of it either," the head on the right said.
"Considering we share the same body, it'd be kind of difficult for one of us to have heard of something that the other two didn't," the head on the left commented.
"Oh, you have a point there…" the middle head responded, blushing slightly.
"You're so silly!" the head on the right said, snickering a little.
"Girls, perhaps it is time to let someone else get a word in here?" the head on the left suggested, glancing over at the Swampert.
"Hmm… I think I might know what place you are thinking of," the Swampert said. "I've heard of a place called the Silver Woods, and it's likely that there might be a mystery dungeon there."
"Oh, is that so?" Cassandra inquired, tilting her head slightly. "You wouldn't happen to know how to get there, would you?"
"I'm afraid not," the Swampert responded, shaking his head. "All I know is that it is quite the distance away from this town."
"A long way to go, huh…" Cassandra said, putting a hand to her chin thoughtfully.
"Why are you asking about this, anyways?" the Swampert asked. "Did you have some sort of vision, or something?"
"Oh, I was just curious, really," Cassandra responded, smiling at the two Pokémon. "Well, I think I'll get going now. Thanks for the help!"
"You're welcome," the Swampert replied, waving to Cassandra as she headed off.
"… What do you think she's up to?" the Dodrio's left head asked once Cassandra was no longer within their earshot.
"I don't know," the Swampert responded. "Probably none of our business, though."
"… You want to go to Silver Woods?" Simon asked, looking curiously at Cassandra.
"Well, you know a lot of things, so I figured you might know how to get there," Cassandra responded, smiling at Simon.
"Why do you want to go there?" Simon asked.
"Oh, there's just… something I wanted to investigate," Cassandra replied. "So, what do you say? Think you can help me?"
"Hmm… I should be able to teleport us there," Simon responded, tapping his two spoons together.
"Great! Let's get going, then!" Cassandra said, smiling.
"Now, hold on," Simon responded. "Since there's a mystery dungeon involved, we should make some preparations before we head there. One never knows what to expect in those places, after all."
"Oh, right," Cassandra replied, nodding her head. "All right, I'll leave that to you, then!"
"Cassandra and her friend Simon met up again later that evening. The two of them teleported to Silver Woods, and arrived at the entrance to the mystery dungeon. As they looked around at their surroundings, Cassandra was certain that this was indeed the same place as the one from her dream."
"It's beautiful…" Cassandra said, staring in awe at the sparkling silver plant life of the forest.
"Indeed it is," Simon responded, nodding his head. "This place certainly has a mysterious feel to it as well."
Cassandra smiled as she looked around at the surroundings, before remembering what she had come for.
"Come on, Simon!" Cassandra said, grabbing onto Simon's arm and pulling him towards the entrance to the mystery dungeon. "Let's try to get through the mystery dungeon before it gets dark!"
"All right, all right," Simon responded. "Just be careful so you don't tear my arm off."
"Together, the two of them began making their way through the labyrinth. While they didn't have as much experience with the mystery dungeons as some of the other Pokémon in the town did, they certainly had enough to handle the situation just fine. Plus, Simon's teleportation powers allowed them to get away from large groups of wild Pokémon, which I presume helped them get through the dungeon faster.
As they went further into the dungeon, Cassandra began to feel uneasy. She began to wonder if it had really been a good idea to go there, but she also felt that since she had already gotten this far, there was no point in turning back. She had just had to figure out what her vision meant.
Near the end of the mystery dungeon, Cassandra and Simon got surrounded by a large group of Pokémon. Simon had run out of power for his Teleport move, but since they were close to the stairs, he decided to keep the wild Pokémon distracted while Cassandra could exit the dungeon. Cassandra was reluctant to leave her friend behind, but…"
"Simon, are you sure about this?" Cassandra asked, glancing back over her shoulder at Simon as she moved towards the stairs.
"Don't worry about me!" Simon responded, sending a few of the wild Pokémon flying at a wall of trees with his psychic power. "I'll be fine! You just go on ahead, and I'll catch up to you soon!"
"Oh, o-okay…" Cassandra replied, nodding her head slightly.
While Simon continued to keep the wild Pokémon busy, Cassandra made her way up the stairs. As she exited the dungeon, there didn't seem to be anything out of the ordinary. She couldn't see anything unusual, anyways.
"Hmm… Is there nothing here…?" Cassandra wondered out loud. "No, that can't be right…"
Cassandra wondered whether it was best to wait for Simon to catch up, or to head deeper into the forest on her own. As she tried to decide on what to do, she suddenly spotted something purple hovering behind some trees.
"Someone's there…" Cassandra muttered, taking a step forwards.
The figure must've noticed her, as it suddenly flew off as fast as it could to get away. After a moment of hesitation, Cassandra decided to chase after it. It seemed to be faster than Cassandra, and even seemed to be able to fly right through the trees as if they weren't even there. However, Cassandra refused to give up.
"I can't lose sight of it, I just can't…" Cassandra thought to herself.
Without even thinking, Cassandra formed a black orb of energy between her hands and fired it towards the figure. The other Pokémon glanced back to see if Cassandra was still following it, only to see the Shadow Ball attack flying towards it. It quickly moved out of the line of fire.
"No, I'm not letting you get away…" Cassandra muttered, using her psychic powers to make the Shadow Ball stop before it hit a tree, and then made it change direction.
This seemed to have caught the other Pokémon off-guard, and Cassandra heard a high-pitched shriek as the Shadow Ball hit its target.
"Oh! I got it!" Cassandra exclaimed, and hurried over to get a good look at it before it could try to flee again.
Cassandra saw a purple ghost-like Pokémon hovering just above the ground. As she looked at the hat-like tufts on the ghost Pokémon's head and the gems on the dress-like body, Cassandra realized that it looked very much like the figure from her vision. The Mismagius trembled as it looked up slightly, and two red eyes were barely visible under the rim of the "hat".
"What do you want…?" the Mismagius muttered softly, before suddenly looking right into Cassandra's eyes and screaming. "What do you want!?"
End of chapter 34