Uh... hi! It's, yeah, it's been awhile. But I finally did it! This is by far my longest chapter I've ever written. Word count says more than 10k words. Uh... So, this is the start of the very first Mystery Dungeon, so everything is going full on tutorial mode for Little Pip. Also, we'll get to meet the troublesome trio a little bit.

I'll just leave everything for the bottom now, So uh... See you there, here's chapter 10.


━━━━

'Thoughts'

"Speech"

━━━━

Chapter 10: Trial Of The Mystery Dungeon

"A what?"

"A mystery dungeon… oh why?"

This explained nothing to the young penguin Pokémon, he was lost as to why his Treeko-nii-san was reacting this way. As far as he knew, dungeons were associated with the term prison. It was mostly a word used during the era of monarchy and medieval times or was just associated with castles in general. This place didn't look like a dungeon?

"What do you mean?"

"Huh?" Treeko looked at the young boy astonished that he didn't know about this. But he realized, 'Oh, I never explained it to him before.'

Taking a deep breath in and exhaling into a long sigh, he began, "Pip, remember when you and Houndour went off to search for Snubble and you found those stairs in the middle of the forest?"

"Yeah?" He wasn't sure where this was going. Wasn't that just the Salandit's home?

"What you entered was called a mystery dungeon. A strange phenomenon in our world that distorts the space and time of pretty much anything. What could have once been a simple short walk through a cave can turn into hours lost in an ever-changing maze. These places have passageways and caverns that can't ever be mapped out because the next time you visit this place, it won't be like you remembered it. Now mind you, not all are as obvious as those stairs we went through, some can be as natural as the cove we entered."

Familiar. Why was this sounding so familiar to him? Dungeons…

"So these mystery dungeons, are what exactly?" Pip pressed for more clarification.

"No one really knows where they came from. They just appeared a long long time ago and we've been dealing with them ever since. The point is, when you're in a mystery dungeon, you are pretty much trapped. It's either you make it to the end, where most of the time, there is a way out or you're stuck. You can get swept out by the mysterious winds or get warped to the exit if you faint but at the cost of losing almost all your valuables. Otherwise, you'll be stuck on the floor until help arrives. The only way to make it through is to find the stairs to the next floor until you reach the end and fight the wild Pokémon who get in the way."

The gears were beginning to turn in Conan/Shinichi's head. Dungeons, labyrinths, fighting to get to the next floor, reaching the end where there's an exit, it was all familiar. Then he realized, his thoughts from several days ago were proving to be correct. This place, by Treeko-nii's explanation, it was almost like a video game. One of those RPGs? Ugh, of all the places he had to end up, it was a video game-like world.

"I see…" That was all Conan/Shinichi could say. But in his thoughts, he was groaning in annoyance.

Treeko could tell that Pip wasn't really reacting well to the news, so he decided to let him gather his thoughts a bit while he checked the items in the bag Lady Clefairy gave them. Inside were two apples, three tiny reviver seeds, two reviver seeds, seven oran berries, an escape orb, three graveler rocks, and a couple of Mareanie thorns. Those would be useful if anyone was attacking from a long-range distance. He'd hold onto those for now and only give some to Pip if absolutely necessary.

Conan/Shinichi looked at Treeko-nii checking the contents of the bag, curious he asked, "What are those items, Treeko-nii?"

He looked up at Pip, face no longer annoyed but genuinely curious, "These are things that will help us in the dungeon. Since we need to get a move on, I'll just explain later when we do end up using them." Pip nodded and the two began their journey through the Mystery Dungeon.


━━ • ━━

Team: N/A

Piplup - Name: Little Pip or Pip a.k.a. Shinichi / Conan

Level: 7

Attacks Known: Bubble, Growl, Pound,

Other Attacks That Can Be Known At This Level: Water Gun

Treeko - Name: [Insert Name]

Level: 11

Attacks Known: Pound, Leech Seed, Leer, Quick Attack

Other Attacks That Can Be Known At This Level:: Leafage, Absorb, Detect,

━━ • ━━


━━ • ━━

Client: Lady Clefairy

Location: Unknown

Mission: Find the children who took Lady Clefairy's shadow puppets.

"I told my story to the children about a labyrinth and a test of bravery.
But I think they went to find the place. Please find where they went and rescue them."

Reward: ?

━━ • ━━


━━ • Tide Pool Cove: Floor 1 • ━━

As the two walked around attempting to find the stairs, Shinichi/Conan took time to observe this place he now knows as a Mystery Dungeon. The walls in the passageway were wide enough to let Pokémon pass, but not enough to walk side by side together. The cream-colored stones that made up the cove glistened as if they were soaking wet. The ground below was sandy, and each step was like walking on the damp sand that had gotten wet from the ocean waves. But with each step they took, the sand didn't leave any footprints behind. When they made it to a cavern, he noticed there was a small pool of water in the middle, so they had to navigate around that and take one of two paths that were on the other side. So far, they hadn't run into any of the 'Wild Pokémon' Treeko-nii was talking about, so the journey was smooth sailing.

"Grrrr…"

Well, he spoke too soon. In front of them was a dog-like cre… ugh… Pokémon in front of the stairs, defending it rather fiercely.

"Little Pip, that's a wild one."

'Thanks for the obvious,' Conan/Shinichi thought sarcastically.

"Wilds live in these Mystery Dungeons. No one knows why, but they seem to be used to it and can tolerate how often the floors shift and change. It's rare when you meet one who talks, but most don't. Depending on how wild they are, they can be a problem, some being quite aggressive."

He looks up to the older gecko Pokémon, "So, we have to fight this one then?" Treeko-nii simply nods and Conan/Shinichi clenches his mouth shut. He was going to have to do that bubble attack.

Now, something that Treeko-nii didn't know, or at least he thinks he doesn't know, is that he was actually practicing in secret. When there was an opportunity that he got to be alone, he would try to replicate that move called bubble attack. It was mostly out of curiosity and testing what it was he had to do to release it. The results were hit and miss, sometimes it worked, other times it didn't. One thing that did help though was, well, yelling. When he yelled, it seemed to come out easier. He guessed maybe a bubble attack was something like a second voice box, and he just needed to practice releasing that second voice? It was only a hypothesis, but the fact remained that yelling worked ninety percent of the time. For the remaining ten percent, he found the bubbles came out randomly when he was silent.

But now, here he was in a situation that called for him to actually use it against another. Well, here he goes.

Treeko-nii had moved, gathering the attention of the puppy Pokémon on him, keeping Pip out of its view. Treeko taunted the Pokémon, as it was coming in close for a Tackle attack. He looked like he was about to attack, but it was a feint as Treeko dodged to the side and performed a Pound attack. Pip saw an opening as the Pokémon was looking for where Treeko-nii had moved to, so nervously, he prepared to attack. A screeching yell came out from Pip and the wild Pokémon was caught off guard as a bunch of bubbles hit. The Pokémon was down and it disappeared and faded away. This shocked Conan/Shinichi, he had attacked, and now the Pokémon was gone.

Treeko-nii saw his face, this was his first battle with a wild. He remembered the first time he saw that happen, it was a bit scary honestly, but he knew what happened to it. Going up to Pip, he patted him on the back, "Don't worry Little Pip, the Rockruff only got warped to a different area of the dungeon. You didn't do it much harm. The dungeons like to protect their local residents. It's rare, but sometimes, you can end up fighting that same Pokémon you fought on the earlier floors."

Pip looked at his face, and Treeko could see the shock changing to concern, "Have you witnessed this before?"

"Not me, my parents actually. They fought this one Pokémon when they went out on a whim to try and challenge an infamously long dungeon and they fought that same Pokémon three times. They recognized it because it had the same scar on its body as the one they fought ten floors before it."

"Oh… So long as they aren't… you know…" Pip didn't say much more. Treeko took it as a sign, they dropped the conversation and went down the stairs.

━━ • ━━


━━ • Tide Pool Cove: Floor 2 • ━━

Pip didn't like the feeling of the strange warp as they descended. His senses became temporarily disoriented as they were all of a sudden dropped into a new cavern. It took him a few seconds to get used to it and to find the stairs were nowhere to be seen. Treeko-nii looked fine, most likely use to this from entering places like this in his past. He thought of the stairs back in the woods, he didn't feel that warping sensation when he descended with Houndour. Was he just too preoccupied to notice or were there different rules between natural and unnatural dungeons?

This floor was different from the last. Where there was once a balance of passages and caverns, they felt like they were walking in one giant tunnel that bent in a new direction every once in a while. There were hardly any larger spaces and they had to deal with the closed-in feel for a good amount of time. When they reached another bend that branched out between two ways, two Rockruff surrounded them on both sides.

"Not good, a double battle. I'll handle this one in front of me. Pip, you get the Rockruff in front of you."

"Right!" He was now on his own, he had to do his best.

So their battles began, Treeko attacked with pound as the Rockruff exchanged a blow back with a Tackle. Meanwhile, Conan/Shinichi repeated the process of the first battle and yelled. The move bubble worked and Rockruff was hurt. In retaliation, the puppy Pokémon turned around, hind legs facing him, and started attacking his face with sand. Conan/Shinichi couldn't see as the sand was being kicked up into his eyes and causing a small cloud to form, lowering his visibility. He yelled out for the Pokémon to stop, but what came out was something he didn't expect, it was a primitive cry. It wasn't menacing or one warning, but one that sounded pretty cute, and for reasons he didn't get, the Rockruff backed down and lowered his guard. There was his chance, he yelled once more and fired a bubble attack. That did the trick as the Pokémon faded away. Quickly he turned his attention over to Treeko-nii who had also finished his battle at the same time.

"Good job Pip! I'm not sure you need to keep yelling when you use bubble, but if you like it like that…" Treeko shrugs, "Oh and that was a good use of growl there."

Conan/Shinichi put a flipper to his chin, thinking, "Well, it seems to help. I still don't know how these moves work at all. Oh and what's growl?"

Treeko went deep into thought for a bit, Pip was still new to the whole concept of battling and using moves. Regardless of being a baby or a former human, Treeko just found it strange. Knowing how to use a move, even basic ones, was something Pokémon know from the moment they hatch. He remembers Pip asking him how the abilities and attacks worked, and to be honest, he didn't have an answer. This was just one of those things that all Pokémon just do. Now newer moves had to be learned and practiced, or a TM or even rarer TR could unlock the potential to use the move. Did humans not have this natural instinct? Or if he really is a baby, maybe… and he really hopes not, but maybe his egg was dropped one too many times? Well, he'd figure that out with him later. For now, he was going to answer his question.

"Well, you still did well regardless. Oh, and as for growl, it's a common attack for a lot of young Pokémon. It lets out your innermost cry, almost sounding adorable to an enemy. It's usually a way to lower the likelihood of the Pokémon attacking hard cause of the sweet tone."

Shinichi/Conan groaned, it was pretty much equivalent to someone trying to make puppy eyes to the unsuspecting victim. A sweet innocent act that prevents another from thinking there was an ulterior motive behind that. He's fallen prey to the cute eyes and begging pleas of the Shounen Tantei Dan one too many times. Wait wh-

"Pip, we got more company!"

Over in the new cavern that they had just entered, were two new Pokémon that he had never seen before. One looks like a fish with blue stripes and the other looked like a white and purple wharf roach.

"A Remoraid and a Wimpod. This will be harder than the Rockruff Pip, so be on your guard!"

"Got it!" He yelled back as they got into a position and began their battle.

Treeko took on the Remoraid, starting with a leer attack. It was almost scary to see on the usually kind-eyed Treeko-nii. His attack worked and Remoraid backed down, cowering a little at the site.

Conan/Shinichi turned his focus back on his opponent, Wimpod. Quickly analyzing it, he noted that its typing could very well be a bug type. If he recalled from the other things he was taught, Bugs and Water are pretty much regular to one another, so he'd have a tough time with this one. But the Wimpod didn't seem to be attacking, so he took his chance and used bubble. As expected, the Wimpod didn't look too affected as it shook off the attack. It immediately followed up with a move, struggle bug. A bunch of green energy was released from the Pokémon and landed a hit on him. Shinichi/Conan felt the pain, it was like tiny bugs were flying around and biting him with great force. He also had this weird sensation run through him, as if some of his power was lost. It wasn't in the stamina sense, but it felt like he was losing focus and couldn't attack properly. He shook it off and immediately fired another bubble yell, though this time the force of the bubbles was significantly weaker than before.

While Pip was battling, Treeko was struggling with the Remoraid. Even with the type advantage, this Remoraid was fast and with it using Lock-On, all attacks made direct hits with its water gun attack, which fortunately wasn't strong. But finally, after a bit of time, Remoraid slipped up, Treeko saw his chance and was able to get in close to pull off a pound and leech seed combo attack. Remoraid staggered a bit and quickly fired off another water gun, it missed. Treeko got in another Pound, putting more of his weight into it, and victory was his.

Remoraid soon disappeared and he immediately turned to Pip's battle. Treeko noticed Pip's attack wasn't looking the same as it had been before, also the little guy was looking a little out of it. He saw Wimpod fire off a Struggle Bug and he took advantage by attacking from behind. It worked and caused Wimpod's ability to trigger. It immediately got scared and ran away as fast as it could, leaving the two alone in the room.

Shinichi/Conan was feeling a little tired, that battle had been tougher than the Rockruff, just as he expected. Wow, he was tired, he couldn't even concentrate properly. Oh, Treeko-nii was coming over, guess it was time to move on and find the stairs. But he didn't expect the older gecko to grab his hand… flipper he reminded himself, and pull him over to a strange square with a green arrow in the room. When Treeko-nii abruptly stopped, the little penguin tripped on his feet and fell face-first onto the square. Something odd happened as soon as he landed on it, that lack of focus he was feeling earlier, it vanished. He was still physically tired, but mentally, he was able to think straight again.

"Sorry Pip, but how do you feel?"

"What was that? I feel… better?"

"That's a Wonder Tile. Normally, tiles like this are considered traps, they can be unpredictable and most of the time can cause a negative effect on you. But the Wonder Tile, it's more of a neutral trap. When a Pokémon uses a move that can lower your status such as your attack or defense, it affects you by not being able to perform at your best. If you step on this tile, it basically resets all that and you're able to focus again. But if you used stat-boosting moves to help you better focus, it's best to avoid stepping on these traps."

So basically, in Shinichi's/Conan's mind, it was equivalent to a cup of coffee to help focus on a case or relax while enjoying the flavors of a lemon pie, relishing in each bite. He was wishing for some coffee now. He wondered if he could get some in this world, did it exist? Even if it did, would he be able to get some? It would be so much better than being offered orange juice all the time. Just because of the current status of his age, didn't mean he couldn't have coffee… wait what?

"Pip, we can't stay here too long, we have to keep moving. I don't think the children are on this floor anyway."

"Umm… right." Treeko-nii reached into the messenger bag and took out the blue fruit, the oran berry. He broke it in half and handed it to him. "Thank you Treeko-nii." They ate their halves and pressed on.

Internally Conan/Shinichi thinks, 'Save all your thoughts for the notebook. It will probably make sense later.'

━━ • ━━


━━ • Tide Pool Cove: Floor 3 • ━━

A few more battles later and they make it to the third floor. Being disoriented as they went down another floor still felt just as bad as the first time. But unlike the first place they dropped, this cavern was much larger and had things scattered around the floor. Treeko-nii had run for each of the items and immediately placed them in the bag. When the elder gecko was finished picking up everything, he got curious.

"So, what are those items you picked up just now?"

"Oh, just a couple of useful items and some Poké." Treeko took out the items for Pip to see. In his hands were some coins, a few rocks, and a couple of light blue thorns with lavender tips.

"I can understand picking up the money, maybe the thorns, but the rocks?"

"Oh these aren't any ordinary rocks or thorns, these are Geo Pebbles and Mareanie Thorns." Pip raised his brow, his face showing he still didn't understand. Then Treeko continued, "I said earlier to you that Mystery Dungeons take care of their local residents. In a weird way, they take care of their visitors too. Items like these can be found scattered throughout the floors. Some can be healing items, some seeds, and some are like these, throwing items. These particular items are treated specially. When you throw them, they are guaranteed to do a good amount of damage. It doesn't matter the Pokémon's type or size, it will do a set amount of damage each and every time. The Mareanie Thorns are special since they have a chance of inflicting a poison status."

"I see?" So more of this video-game-like treatment, damage, and inflicting status. Oh boy does he have a lot to learn.

"Keep in mind, you have to have a good arm to throw these items. It's not like some attacks that can lock onto an opponent and it doesn't matter from where you throw it. It would be nice though."

As the explanation ended, they saw a Remoraid, much slower than Treeko's earlier opponent, enter from the opposite corridor. He saw this as an opportunity for Pip and handed the Geo Pebbles to him.

"Go on and throw it, see what I mean."

And throw he did, but it missed. He was given another but he missed again. This is why he was in soccer in the first place, he may throw decently, but he couldn't ever throw like the pro baseball players over in Osaka. Wait? Soccer? What if… He placed the geo pebble on the ground, on instinct, he touched his foot and moved his flipper in a circular motion, as if spinning something. Then with all his might, he lifted up his foot and kicked the pebble.

To Treeko's surprise, Little Pip's kick worked, nearly knocking out the poor Remoraid. It looked a little shocked and swam away in the opposite direction. He was pretty sure that "run away" or "wimp out" was not one of their abilities. Just how hard could his little charge kick?

"Well… at least we know you have a good kick, Pip." How Pip was able to pull that off was both impressive and alarming.

"I'll… I'll keep these pebbles on me for now. I'll hand them to you if I need you to thro-uh, kick… them again."

For the remainder of this floor, Treeko didn't talk to Little Pip anymore and they proceeded to travel through until they found the stairs. Treeko made a note to himself to keep anything kickable out of his way, just in case his kicks were as strong outside of the dungeon.

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━━ • Tide Pool Cove: Floor 4 • ━━

This is by far the biggest room they have seen. The first was balanced, the second was narrow, the third was smaller, and now this. From what Shinichi/Conan could gather, this room only had one pathway to exit from this cavern if they wanted to investigate the rest of the floor. The stairs were right there nearby, all the way in the bottom corner of the room, just right next to the passage. Treeko had finished getting all the items he had seen on this floor, carefully avoiding the Pokémon that were sleeping, a group of what he called Grimer. They reminded him of those colorful oil slicks that tend to come from a leaking car. They looked pretty big, probably strong too. It was best to avoid battle when they could.

Once Treeko-nii made his way back, they made their way to the stairs. But before that, Conan/Shinichi's eye caught something in that passageway, there was something down on the ground. For a brief moment, he got a bad feeling and immediately ran into the pathway leading to a much smaller cavern. In Treeko fashion, he reacted late to Pip's sudden movement and lagged behind him. When he caught up, what he saw was a different Pokémon laying down on the ground, very much injured and in need of attention. But in Conan/Shinichi's eyes, he saw a person. There weren't any distinguishable features, but just seeing a person on the ground made him think of something. He'd seen these kinds of scenes before, he knows that. This was like a-

"Pip, pip!"

"Huh?" Treeko-nii was shaking him. When did he get here?

"Come on, we need to help him." Pip could only nod.

Treeko wasn't sure why Pip was just staring at the Pokémon. His eyes, they were so far away. They reminded him a little of the Chief's eyes when she observes the clues in a mystery, taking in every detail and putting the pieces together. But in Little Pip, the gaze was the same and yet different. Oh? Maybe he was seeing a memory? Did he remember something? Wait, it wasn't time to think about that, this Pokémon clearly needed help. Immediately he instructed Pip to hold open the Pokémon mouth while he tried to squeeze some oran berry juice. Though with these kinds of injuries, it would have been better to have a Sitrus berry. Unfortunately, those were harder to come by. This would have to do for now.

The Pokémon swallowed the juice and slowly blinked, looking up at whoever helped.

"Thank… you…" The Pokémon slowly spoke.

"It was no problem, I'm just glad we can help." Treeko smiled kindly.

The Pokémon looked at Treeko and then looked at Pip. There was confusion and shock on his face, "A... trial goer? No... Who…?"

"I'm Treeko and that's Little Pip. Can you tell us your name?"

"I'm… Wishiwashi… Just… call me Ishi…" Ishi spoke up tiredly.

"Don't strain yourself." Ishi shook his head, struggling out of Pip's support.

"No, no… I have… to go…. Those hatchlings! They're… they're in trouble." Ishi was struggling to speak.

"You're hurt. You need to rest. We can handle this for you, that's why we're here anyway."

"Are you… a rescue… team?"

"No, just some island residents helping out a friend."

"I see… Please… Take me with you… If they… My family will…" Treeko stopped Ishi from talking anymore, encouraging the teary-eyed fish Pokémon to stay quiet. "Please… help them…"

"We will." Both Treeko and Pip said at the same time. After that, Treeko took it upon himself to carry Ishi for a little bit until he recovered enough to move through the dungeon on his own. Fortunately, they didn't have any battles on this floor and made it safely to the stairs with ease.

Treeko would consider this their first-ever escort mission together.

━━ • ━━


━━ • Tide Pool Cove: Floor 5 • ━━

This next floor was more wet than usual. Where the sand was damp with each step, it was now splashing. The ground felt like walking in a muddy puddle of sand, but still, it left no footprints. There were more small pools of water inside the caverns too. They pressed on, and their movements were slower now that they had to take care of someone. They didn't mind since they had to keep an eye out for the young ones anyway. As long as Ishi was able to recover naturally within the dungeon, they would keep a slow pace.

That was another new thing Conan/Shinichi learned about this space. Treeko-nii said that if one walks enough in a dungeon, without getting attacked, their health will recover naturally. You'll still be exhausted and unable to use the moves, unless you have some elixirs or some other medicine, but at least you'll be less likely to faint. He shared his theory that this was only possible in the Mystery Dungeons because space and time bent unnaturally here. The floor was lit up so brightly as if the sun was shining down, but who knows how dark it was already outside? It was slowly nearing sunset when they came to this cove, so how long had they been in here?

Ishi had finally recovered after a while and was now moving on his own. His breathing was more steady and his bruises were nearly gone. He was finally ready to talk about what had happened.

"I am Wishiwashi, but my given name is Ishi. I live here in Tide Pool Cove with my family. This place was once known for its watery maze. Even way before Mystery Dungeons came into existence, many Pokémon would seek our home out to solve its difficult challenge. But now, it has fallen prey to becoming a Mystery Dungeon. I was with the intruding hatchlings trying to offer my assistance to guide them out of this maze, but they refused my help. I tried to make them leave, but before I was successful, the cove rumbled and I was separated from the group. I had been trying to get down to the Depths of Tide Pool Cove where my family lives, but the Pokémon are just too strong for me to handle. So, I ended up nearly fainting. I dared not keep going, even though I may have been healed naturally, the Pokémon here are too strong. The only way I had not been kicked out was by laying here still and waiting for help. That is when you showed up. I thank you again for your help."

Treeko and Pip told Ishi it was no problem and that they were glad to help him get back to his family. Hopefully, they could find the children before they reached the bottom of the dungeon.

Something occurred to Conan/Shinichi as he told his story, "Wishiwashi-san, you said you met with the children?"

"That is correct little trial goer, but please, call me Ishi."

"Uh, trial goer?"

"Oh, uh... Nevermind..."

"Well, do you happen to remember why they were in here?"

"I remember seeing them carry some strange doll and something else. I did not get a good look at it, so I cannot tell you what they were doing."

Well, so much for getting a lead. At least it confirmed that the children did have the puppets and came here on purpose.

This particular floor was giving them a tough time. Every so often, the trio kept getting turned around with dead end after dead end. Also with the number of times they had to turn back, they got into more fights than they wanted. When they finally found the stairs, all of their bellies rumbled. They each got an apple and ate it before heading off to the next floor.

━━ • ━━


━━ • Tide Pool Cove: Floor 6 • ━━

"I can feel it."

Treeko and Pip looked at Ishi and noticed how his expression changed. He was more alert to his surrounding.

"We're close to the bottom."

"How can you tell?" Treeko remembered from Ishi had told them, that this place only recently transformed into a Mystery Dungeon. The number could only be determined by actually exploring and reaching the bottom. So why was Ishi looking confident and concerned when he said that.

"I can feel it, my family's rage. One of them must have been angered. Though, I cannot tell you what caused it."

"You can feel their rage?" Pip was lost and so was Treeko.

"We Wishiwashi are special. When one feels angered or threatened, we all come together as one school and attack together. It does not matter who, as long as one of us is, we all are. This tends to blind the rest in a rage as the one leading controls the attack."

Conan/Shinichi blinked, "So you all share the same thoughts when that happens?"

"Yes, we do."

"So, is it something like a hive mind?"

"A hive...mind? We are not Combee or Vespiquen. Do we look like that to yo-" But before Ishi continued, his expression contorted into a painful one. Almost too quickly, Ishi dropped and Treeko was able to catch the teary-eyed fish Pokémon just in time.

"Let's hurry and find our way out, we must get to my family!"

Treeko and Pip both grunted in agreement, soon they were taking off. But this floor was the most bothersome out of all the others. It almost seemed like it was doing everything in its power to prevent them from descending. They were turned around every so often because of the presence of traps every couple of steps. First, there were the aroma traps that were known to call wild Pokémon nearby to battle, then the explosion traps that would have worked if not for the dampness of this dungeon, but the most troublesome and by far annoying were the spinning traps. It took them ages to shake off the confusion only for one of them to fall prey to the same trap in their already confused state.

Eventually, they found the stairs. If this truly was the last floor before the bottom, they would have to be prepared to deal with whatever was going on. Based on the words of Ishi, things were about to get dangerous. So before descending, they spit the Oran berries between them and restore some health.

━━ • ━━


━━ • Depth Of Tide Pool Cove • ━━

Unlike the warping feeling that Conan/Shinichi experienced on the other floors, the descent into the Cove felt more natural. The stairs were no longer there and in its place is what looked like a regular tunnel. The trio followed the path until they exited and ended up on a cliff. Looking down, they saw a shocking sight. The Skitty, Munchlax, and Pikachu were on their limbs, struggling to rise up as they were facing a massive giant fish Pokémon.

"WHERE IS OUR BROTHER!?"

"We told you already! We don't know!" The green Pokémon, Munchlax, growled out in response.

"WE DO NOT BELIEVE YOU!"

"Please, we're telling the truth!" The pink one, Skitty, begged.

"NO! YOU ALL LIE! OUR COVE IS NOT A DUNGEON! YOU ARE TRESPASSERS WHO HAVE HURT OUR BROTHER!"

"No!" The yellow one, Pikachu, cried.

Ishi is startled, "My siblings! They do not realize what has happened. I must quell their fury and tell them I am fine." Ishi leaps off the cliff and dives into the water below, making his way to confront his siblings. Treeko and Conan/Shinichi could only watch in shock before the little penguin attempted to do the same.

"No Pip, look, we can get down this way." Treeko had pointed to a set of ledges descending down to that area. Even if Pip could land in the water below where the giant fish Pokémon was, he wanted to make absolutely sure that they could get there safely together. Pip looked up at Treeko and nodded, walking over to the edges and descending together.

While they were going down, Ishi dove safely into the water. When he surfaced, he made his way over to his siblings all gathered in their school form. He made it in their line of sight, "My siblings, I am here! I am unharmed! Please, stop your rage and come to your senses. These children did nothing to me!"

But the school of Wishiwashi did not hear him, in fact, they ignored him.

"FIGHT! FIGHT TO PROVE YOUR INNOCENCE!" But the children were already too tired. They were tough to hold out so long, but they all were at their limits and fainted at the same time.

"Pip! Give these to the children quick!" Conan/Shinichi was given some milk-colored tiny seeds, unsure what they were used for but decidedly didn't question. He rushed over and placed the seeds by them on the ground as he got them into a position to feed them the seeds. Instead of being digested as he thought, the seeds glowed and enveloped the children in a beam of light, and immediately they rose to their feet. The seeds lost their color and faded to a light brown. It looked like a plain seed now.

"We're okay?" The Munchlax said as Pikachu and Skitty all looked at each other. They then ran close together and embraced each other in a hug. "We're saved!"

Unfortunately, their relief is short-lived as the Wishiwashi School form cries out and its eyes(?) turned red with rage.

"Look out!" Ishi cries to the group and they all dodge. "It is no use. My siblings cannot hear me. They are too enraged!"

Pip finally let the giant Pokémon's appearance register in his brain. He noticed that this wasn't one Pokémon but many Wishiwashi in the form of an intimidatingly giant fish. But unlike Wishiwashi by itself, they glowed with a soft pink light. It reminded him of creatures of the deep that were bioluminescent.

[Somewhere on the island, one little Zoura was feeling a cold chill down his back, as if one of his greatest nightmares was coming true. "Fi-if-finny fiend!" That was all he could say while his partner looked at him weirdly.]

"That's what you meant, Ishi?!" Pip yelled back to him.

"Yes, young trail goer! The only way to get them to see reason now is to fight!" Pip looked up at Treeko. Treeko was scared, this was a massive Pokémon. Not only that, it was the family of Ishi. But if Ishi said they had to fight and this was the only way, then they'd have to do it. He turned back to Pip,

"If Ishi says it's the only way, then we have to."

"Right."

"It's time to put everything you learned into practice, Pip!"

Ishi told the children that they needed to stay back and let the three of them handle the fight. Their first official boss battle was just about to begin.

━━ • ━━


━━ • Boss Fight: Wishiwashi School Form • ━━

━━ • ━━

Opponent: Wishiwashi School Form

Level 20

Attacks: Brine, Dive, Growl, Feint Attack

━━ • ━━

Challengers:

Piplup - Name: Little Pip or Pip a.k.a. Shinichi / Conan

Level: 9

Attacks Known: Bubble, Growl, Pound,

Other Attacks That Can Be Known At This Level: Water Gun?

Treeko - Name: [Insert Name]

Level: 12

Attacks Known: Pound, Leech Seed, Leer, Quick Attack

Other Attacks That Can Be Known At This Level:: Leafage, Absorb, Detect,

Wishiwashi Solo Form - Name: Ishi

Level: 22

Attacks: Tearful Look, Helping Hand, Beat Up, Water Gun

Other Attacks That Can Be Known At This Level: Growl, Brine, Dive, Feint Attack, Aqua Ring,

━━ • ━━


Ishi called out to the group, "We don't need to defeat my siblings to fainting, only enough that the school disperses and only the one controlling the group is left."

Wishiwashi School Form was enraged, eyes shining a deep red as the school began to attack. It let out a loud battle cry and the whole room was warping. The pool of water where it once swam now disappeared and appearing underneath was a stony ground with just less than ankle-deep water above it. The room somehow became larger. Wishiwashi school form was somehow further away and now had more space to move. Ishi, Treeko, and Pip all marveled at the sight for a brief moment before focusing their attention on the battle.

The school form began an attack, it started off with a loud cry. Areas of the battleground were slowly sinking while others remained steady. Treeko was standing in one of those areas and immediately made a run for more stable ground.

"This must be the powers of a mystery dungeon boss I've heard about," Ishi stated in awe.

Treeko and Pip looked at him, their faces saying 'Really? Not the time!' Ishi shook his head and got his focus back on the match. He immediately used helping hand, which boosted both Pip's and Treeko's attacks. This helped as Treeko immediately went in for a pound attack and felt his attack smack harder than it usually did. At the same time, Pip had also gone in for the pound and felt the same. He had learned how to do it from Treeko as they traversed the dungeons which added another move to his arsenal. For this one, at least he didn't have to think too much about how to perform it, it was a physical move.

The double pound seemed to have worked as Wishiwashi School form slid back a little, but not enough. In an area that had no floor underneath, Wishiwashi school form dived into the space. Unsure where the school would come up next, each was on their guard.

Quickly, Pip had thought of something. "Treeko-nii! I need those throwing items! Any one of them will do. Just throw one towards me!"

"Wha-"

"Just do it!" Treeko, not understanding Pip's thoughts, did as he asked and quickly searched for an item in the bag. The first thing he pulled turned out to be a Mareanie thorn. He immediately threw it over and watched as Pip touched his feet as he had before.

'Wait? Was he going to kick it?!' As it got closer, he watched Pip repeat the action from earlier as he raised his foot and successfully kicked away the thorn. It traveled over to the far right side of the room where Ishi was. Ishi moved out of the way as soon as he saw the flying object and was surprised when he heard a cry of pain. The school form was just behind him and the thorn hit its mark. Ishi had avoided getting hit with a dive attack because of Pip's quick thinking.

Treeko was shocked, to say the least, but this was a battle and he had no time for that luxury. Readying himself, he used a quick attack to increase his speed and attack the now flinched school form. Ishi support the two with another helping hand and his attack landed a critical hit. Pip let out a yell and successfully did a bubble attack. Though those didn't do enough damage as the school of siblings shook off the water attack and flung Treeko far away toward the children resting on the side.

Then they let out another cry, the floor was sinking again while other parts were rising. This time Pip was standing in that area sinking along with it. For a moment, he forgot himself and started flailing in the water. Treeko panicked and rushed out toward his sinking charge, offering an arm of support. School form took its opportunity and down they dove. Ishi rushed over to help as well, but it was too late. Both Treeko and Pip were attacked by the dive attack. Even though they had a resistance to this type of attack, it still did no good as they both looked ready to pass out. Ishi unintentionally let out a teary look not being able to stand his siblings attacking his companions and rescuers. This caused their attack to lower, but they weren't backing down as they let out a brine attack on their fellow brother.

Treeko struggled to get up on his feet again. Wishiwashi's school form was close, so with every ounce of strength, he fired off a leech seed. It made its mark, but the vines were weak, they could not wrap around the mass completely. Though it was just enough to seed it and regain some of that lost energy. He immediately rushed over to Pip who was down on the ground and placed the reviver seed next to him. It worked and Pip was bathed in light before rising to his feet with energy anew.

Conan/Shinichi was feeling great. It was like waking up from a great night's rest and being at a hundred percent working operations, both physically and mentally. He was back in action.

Ishi saw that the duo was fine again and called out to them, "I think we're almost there. We just need to hold out for a little longer!"

"Got it!" Treeko and Pip yelled back at the same time.

Meanwhile, the children were watching them fight. Skitty was frustrated, she wanted to help, but there wasn't anything she could do. Pikachu and Munchlax were looking no better honestly. It was their fault that this group was fighting that giant monster from the story. If the tale was right, if they lose, then they'll be trapped here forever. She didn't want that. Glancing at her two friends, she could see that they didn't want it either.

"We have to do something!" She spoke quietly to both of them.

"What can we do? We can't use any of our moves anymore." Munchlax looked down at the ground, his palm balling into a fist.

"We can..." She paused as she noticed Pikachu slowly walking toward something. "Pikachu?"

Pikachu picked up something and turned around to show the two.

"Geo Pebbles!" Both Munchlax and Skitty spoke. It probably dropped from Helper Treeko's bag. "Perfect!"

The three of them looked at each other with determination, neither exchanged words knowing what they had to do.

Back at the battle, School form Wishiwashi was panting. They were all getting tired of the attacks by the three. But their guard was still up.

"This is it, they are at their limits! We need a distraction so my siblings can all scatter!"

As soon as Ishi had said that, several Geo Pebbles started flying and landed near the giant Wishiwashi. Everyone, including the school form, looked and saw the children desperately trying to hit their mark. When its attention was fully on them, a few geo pebbles hit, causing the school to shake.

"Now! Little Pip! Treeko! Let's work together!" This caught their attention and the two grouped with Ishi. They each took a turn and hit the Pokémon. First, it was Ishi, then it was Treeko, then the final blow went to Pip. As he attacked last, that seemed to do it for the school as they all swarmed like Combees in a hive and the room glowed, transformed again to its original state.

Piplup Gained Experience - Leveled up to Level 10

Treeko Gained Experience - Leveled up to Level 13

New Move That Can Be Learned: Mega Drain

━━ • ━━


━━ • Boss Fight: Wishiwashi School Form Defeated • ━━

The Wishiwashi had all gone back into the water, except for one. This one was laying on the stone floor. Ishi quickly rushes to his sibling.

"Ishi...? You are alright?"

"Not really, you did bang me up pretty well dear sister." She looked around, seeing all the Pokémon who were looking hurt and exhausted. Her eyes watered and she looked back at her brother.

"I am sorry Ishi. I let my anger consume me, allowing myself to be enraged and not think things through."

"Just be glad that they were all able to calm you down and that our elders were not among the group, otherwise, we would all be in trouble and unable to defeat you." Ishi's sister bowed her head in shame. Her brother spoke kindly, but it was always the kind responses from Ishi that got her feeling all the more guilty for her actions.

Treeko had two Oran berries remaining in the bag, so he divided them into pieces and provided everyone with a share. They ate and felt a little more strengthened again.

Ishi's sister faced the group and properly apologized, "I am Wishiwashi, but my given name is Wishiii. I have made a terrible mistake and you all suffered because of my thoughtlessness. I did not slow down and understand the hatchlings' dilemma. I saw them here and believed they were trespassers since they did not arrive here properly with my brother, as a trial goer should. I believed they had done wrong to my brother and let out my rage. So I apologize and ask you to forgive me for my mistakes."

The trio of children looked at one another, there was a determined look in their eyes. They nodded and faced Wishiii, simultaneously replying, "We forgive you!"

Wishiii was shocked, but before she could register how easily they forgave her, the group continued. "But, in exchange, you have to give your proof of courage to them!" They pointed at Pip and Treeko who looked at them perplexed by their statement.

"They're the ones who went through the trial and brought your brother back, so that means they passed the test. Just like the timid hero in Miss Lady Clefairy's story." Skitty had said as Munchlax and Pikachu held up their puppets and showed everyone what they looked like. It was one of those detailed puppets, the first looking like the cove but also not and the second one, surprisingly was a depiction of a Piplup. Of all the Pokémon, it was a Piplup. Conan/Shinichi as well as Treeko were surprised by this and both mentally filed away that thought for later.

"A proof of bravery? We know not of such a prize."

"Whaaat?!" The children were shocked, "Then that story isn't true?"'

"Now hold on a moment my young fry," the new voice chimed in. Everyone turned and found a much larger but also slightly wrinkled Wishiwashi coming toward them.

"Grand Elder Washi?!" Both exclaimed in surprise.

"Grand Elder sir, why are you still here? We thought you were with our parents visiting our family living in the deep trenches?" Ishi had asked frantically.

"You didn't think they'd leave all of you alone without a chaperone now did you?" The two young Wishiwashi turned away, the look on their face answered the elder's question. He let out a hardy laugh, "Oh children, never assume."

"Yes, Grand Elder." Both bowed their heads while a bit embarrassed.

The elder smiled before turning to face the guests in their home, his face turned from a smile to seriousness as he scrutinized the group. His eyes looked them every which way, then, they fell on the young Piplup. It was a strange look, but that expression left the elder as quickly as it had graced his face.

"A proof of bravery? We know not of such a thing, but, a long time ago, our home was once a trial as you said. No one comes here anymore and the trials have long since been forgotten. Those who truly passed our trial would receive a reward, but it had nothing to do with bravery. Well, maybe somewhat. But that was not the primary reason."

Then with his fin, he firmly pointed, "You, young water type. Please, come here."

Conan/Shinichi looked around at everyone before he pointed to himself, questioning if it was really him. The elder nodded and so he came close. "Hold out your flippers young one." He obeyed and as he did this, the elder placed something in his hands. It was a rock, but embedded inside was a familiar shape. That shape looked like the one in chief Oricorio's office, that rhombus design. Though it was not as cleanly cut like the one in her office.

"This item in your hold is what was rewarded to those trial goers who passed our trial, this crystal. According to my elders before me, this is called a Waterium Z. These were obtained by going through our trial for water types such as yourself. They help in boosting one's power when using water-type moves. Nowadays, these are found so few and far between. But hardly anyone comes here for such a trial anymore.

Conan/Shinichi didn't understand something, "Wait, from the way Ishi and Wishiii talked, they made it sound like they have dealt with others in the past?"

Ishi and Wishiii looked away as the elder smirked. "No, young Piplup, there have been none in their lifetime. Though that does not stop them from playing pretend and imitating the stories of old."

"We were only five years old!" Both Wishiwashi were flustered by the elder's words.

"And you are only five years older, still young children in my eyes." He chuckled as the two refused to look at him. Then, he turned back to Pip,

"Young Pip, I would like you to have this crystal. It is still raw, so someone will need to shape it properly for you. Still, please take it." Conan/Shinichi was unsure of what to do. Why was he being given this crystal if he didn't participate in the trial? They simply came here to get the children and leave. Fighting this school of fish was not part of the plan, but it happened. He looked up at the elder ready to give it back, but the elder shook his head and looked at him,

"Keep it as a token of our thanks. If you truly want to feel you have earned this right, then come back when you have gotten stronger. I will be your challenger." Conan/Shinichi could only nod, but he was still uneased by this sudden gift that was not earned the proper way.

"Grand Elder!?" He smiled at his two young grand Wishiwashi, he smiled knowingly.

"Ishi, Wishiii, the sun will soon slip into the water to sleep. Take them outside so they can be brought home. If the authorities or a rescue team are out there, let them know all that went on."

"Yes, Grand Elder."

"Be ready to face the consequences of your actions, Wishiii." She went still, then looked down in shame, "Learn to face it and keep moving forward. Learn from this mistake." She could only nod back.

The group was silent as they watched the exchange. The children and Treeko dared not speak, since this was technically a family moment between the three of them. Once they finished, Ishi and Wishiii motioned for the group to follow them, and so they made their way out of the tunnel.


Time Skip

The tunnel they traveled through was long and winding, but it was still a shorter trip than traversing floor after floor of the mystery dungeon. When they finally exited, the moon was rising in the sky and only a sliver of the sun could be seen on the horizon. Once they made it out of the cove and onto a thicker part of the beach, they saw Chief Oricorio and officer Raltz with Lady Clefairy.

"Chief?"

"You all!" Chief Oricorio was making her way toward them but before she stomped her feet, a blue light enveloped her and she was floating. Chief looked back and saw it was Officer Raltz who was simply shaking his head and pointing at the group. She took time to observe and noticed how exhausted and beaten down they were. She looks back and nods, Raltz puts her down and they both slowly approach together.

The two police workers first asked about the situation from both Wishiwashi who gave them a brief summary of what happened. She took it in and asked that they report to the station the next day to give the full story. They agreed, waved goodbye to the group, and went back into the cove.

While they were getting the story from the Wishiwash, at the same time, the children were talking to Piplup and Treeko.

"Wow! You were all amazing! The way you bam-wham with your tail! Then went woosh-zoom with that thorn! Then baluauauau with the bubbles! Oh, oh! That Team attack was so cool too!" Skitty, Munchlax, and Pikachu were excitedly blurting out every form of compliment that they could think up.

"Treeko and that new hatchling are the coolest!" Skitty proclaimed proudly.

Lady Clefairy made her way to the children and immediately they froze in fear. Turning slowly toward the pink star Pokémon, they sheepishly laughed as Munchlax spoke for the group and the other two presented the puppets, "Uh, hi Miss Lady Clefairy. We didn't mean to-"

But instead of finishing his sentence, they were embraced in a hug. "I'm so glad you are all well. I feared that the giant of the deep had won and forced you all to remain forever lost to the watery maze. Though I only made some parts up, I still feared for you just in case what I had spoken came into reality."

The trio of children looked up at her, simultaneously saying, "Really? You're not mad?"

"I am disappointed that you took my puppets since those are not yours. I was also worried when I realized you all took it upon yourselves to prove whether this legend of old was true or not. But I am not mad. Though, your parents may have a different story to tell." At the thought of their parents, they all became nervous. They weren't looking forward to the scolding they would receive from their parents in a bit.

Chief Oricorio called the children over and had them go along with Officer Raltz to the police station where they could contact their parents. The children gulped and they reluctantly traveled back via teleport with the tiny psychic type and Lady Clefairy. Now the only ones who remained were Treeko, Pip, and the Chief. Treeko was getting a slight sense of déjà vu from this and immediately held tightly to Pip's flipper.

The red bird's eyes softened as she extended her arm out to the two as if she was asking for a dance, "Young Treeko and Pip, you have done quite well. I heard from Lady Clefairy about what the situation was. Though there were some unexpected turnarounds made in your journey, you both improvised like a dancer recovering from a fall and pulled through."

"Uh, thank you, Chief."

"However," Her stance changed, instead of the gentle offering of a hand, it became a pointing finger, almost taunting the two as she turned her head away, "what you did was foolhardy and I would never advise you to perform on stage when you have never learned the choreography before. It would have been better to come straight to us."

Both Treeko and Pip looked down, unable to come up with words to say.

"I will let this incident slide since Lady Clefairy did urge you to go and rescue those children. But tomorrow we are back to more paperwork and more statements. Then, as soon as we officially begin your mentorship, you shall be punished accordingly."

Treeko saluted and Pip scrambled to salute as well, "Yes, Chief!"

She smiled, "Now come on, let's set you up at the station. It's much too late to send you back home. It will make all of our jobs easier since we can take your statements first thing in the morning."

"Wait Oricorio-keibu!" Conan/Shinichi had spoken up.

"Keibu?"

"Uh... Chief. Treeko-nii and I left our items with Clefairy-san, and I... we wer-"

"I understand Litle Pip," she interrupted the poor boy who was looking a little desperate to know what happened to their recently acquired belongings. "Fret not, as soon as we talked with Lady Clefairy, we took your items back to the station. We were going to deliver them straight to your home, but no one was available to head out there because of that nuisance of a phantom..." she breathed in and relaxed by performing what looked like the first position of ballet. She spoke again, "Never mind. Your items are all there. So let our stride be synced together and we shall make our way toward the station."

Conan/Shinichi breathed a sigh of relief as did Treeko-nii. This stuff was really important, especially for what he plans to do once they settle.


Time Skip

As soon as they arrived at the station, Pip had asked where their items were. A kind lady Pokémon officer pointed them in the direction of their belongings and the little hatchling beelined for the cart, jumping up and grabbing his treasure of notebooks and writing materials. Treeko could only laugh as he hugged the items tightly, not wanting them to be taken away from his grasp.

After Treeko's moment of laughter and Pip's annoyance at him for doing it, they had gotten settled down in a different room than the last one they were given. This one had green flooring and a single wooden wall. When he asked why they didn't sleep here, the Chief had said it was being occupied by another Pokèmon at the time. She then explained that they chose more earthy colors so those who were staying overnight could relax in better comfort. The other room they had been in was usually reserved for the officers who wanted to rest or take a quick nap before working again. Now, they could finally relax.

Treeko glanced over at his little charge who was sitting at the little round table in their room and admiring his new notebooks. He smiled proudly, the little guy had come so far from the first day they met. He was now able to successfully use pound and growl. Though, bubble was still a work in progress. He looked up at Little Pip again, opening the notebook, then the ink jar, and immediately taking the brand new quill and dipping it in the ink. How cute, he was going to try writing...

But wait!

What would he be writing? Pip didn't know any footprint ruins or the lesser-used Unown symbols, right? So if he couldn't write, and he had no idea how to read, then what was he doing? Was he drawing?

Curiosity got the better of him as he got up and peeked over little Pip's shoulder. What he saw on the pages caused him to scratch his head in wonder. For the most part, whatever the tiny penguin Pokémon was drawing, it was pretty bad. But at the same time, it wasn't? The lines weren't the straightest thing he had ever seen, but there was odd uniformity in each of the drawings he was doing. He looked at Pip's face as he saw him concentrating on making the strokes, he looked like he was having a hard time controlling how to hold the quill with his flippers. That was expected, of course, each Pokémon had to find out how to hold their writing utensils in the way that would give them the most control. When Pip had finished, there were three separate drawings made on one page. Now that he saw it better, the way they were created and the strange similarity and uniformity of each drawing looked almost like, a language?

Wait... was this? A human language? No, it couldn't be... could it?

As Treeko was thinking, Shinichi/Conan was doing the same.

'That took forever to write. Looks like having my notebook and pen won't be enough. It took far too long to just write out these words. At least no one will be able to read it unless they somehow have this in their history books on humans, which I doubt even exists.' Shinichi/Conan could only sigh. Going to elementary school may be just what he needs after all. It was definitely going to be helpful but still a mind-numbing headache to deal with.

He happened to tilt his head back and saw Treeko above him, hand to his chin thinking deeply about something.

"Treeko-nii?"

"Oh, uh, Pip! Sorry."

"What are you thinking about?

"Oh uh, your pictures, I was trying to figure out what they were supposed to be."

"Oh, this? Uh, it's a... I was just trying, well... to figure out how to write. They're just scribbles, nothing more." He laughed awkwardly.

Treeko blinked, "Scribbles, right." He didn't buy what Pip was saying, but for now, he'd let this go and think about it another day. "Anyway, let's get to bed. It's pretty late out there now."

"Haiii!"

Conan/Shinichi picked up his notebook one last time before he had to close it, staring at the only words he could successfully write out in Japanese:

Kudo Shinichi

Edogawa Conan

Who am I?

'And why am I even here?'

TBC


I look at my outline for this story and I look back to what I wrote. This chapter went so far off what I originally wanted to go down. But here it is. I posted it. So, this is the final result. Yeah...

So let's go over a couple of things:

I struggled with this chapter. I wrote a few lines then stopped, made some art, then stopped. Then came back after some time and continued or rewrote things. So if anything seems off, that's most likely the reason.

This dungeon was supposed to be a 9 floor dungeon since the level of Wishiwashi School Form is a bit higher than normal for a first boss, I think? But as I wrote, things got moved around or combined on one floor from the original outline. So in the end, it was seven floors total, including the bottom.

Wishiwashi school form is based off the New Pokémon Snap version with a bit of red eye glow rage depicted in the Pokémon anime from time to time... oh wait, Legends also has that too, huh? The alpha Pokémon have red eye glow.

Grand Elder Washi is old, but not old enough to remember, or even personally know what the trials were really once about. It's been far too long and most of the crystals are long gone, destroyed, or still embedded in some rock somewhere, waiting to be mined.

Originally I was planning for the troublesome trio, as I will temporarily call them for now, to give a full introduction of themselves. But then I typed this up and I guess, they'll just meet up again come school time.

Have some fun facts about the movesets: Piplup in later generation games doesn't know bubble as a move anymore. It's water gun and then later bubble beam, but no more bubble for new gen Piplup. Remoraid's moves changed quite a bit between the earlier generations and now, but I just stuck with the older move set for their fight. As for Treeko, he's mostly the same, the only really new move for his level is Leafage. Finally for Wishiwashi, one move got changed between games, and that was Feint Attack and Beat Up. Learned around the same level but in different games.

Oh yeah, I have this up also on A03. So if you're curious, I also have some extra stuff in the notes section over there. Check it out if you like, same username over there too.

Oh one more thing, Thank-Q to Amongus & Gamelover41592 for leaving a review! I'm glad you're enjoying it and I hope you continue to enjoy what's to come for the story! :D

Now that should be everything... unless I forgot to explain something? Well, once again, Thank-Q for reading, Thank-Q for reading, giving a favorite, a follow, leaving a review, and even just checking this story! I really do hope you enjoyed this and will continue to enjoy what's to come!

See you whenever I finish another chapter and post it...!

Posted 06.22.2022

UPDATE: I just realized, it's been officially a full year since I posted the first chapter! Wow, how time flies!