Chapter 4: Under Fire


Bristle's leafy skin was bruised and charred, but her scowl looked twice as bad.

"Unbelievable. Why would they go after me while you were standing right there? And of course, you did nothing to stop them! Gaping like a moron rather than reacting. If they had jumped you, you would have been caught totally off guard!" she rambled angrily as they marched through the halls.

"Well isn't this the type thing? Your type is bad against them or something, right? So they probably went after you because they thought you'd be easier," Rex theorized.

"Apparitions usually aren't that smart," she grumbled. "Usually they just go for whoever is closest. And what was that fight? You did nothing but quick attack them!"

Rex raised an eyebrow. "Would you prefer if I had attacked them slowly?"

She cast a vengeful glare at him for the presumed sarcasm. "Whatever. I'll get a proper assessment with the next batch."

They stepped into the next chamber, where a teal berry grew from a thick vine across the wall. With a look of relief, Bristle walked over and plucked it. She took a large chomp out of it and her charred skin began to heal.

"Always keep an eye out for supplies while in a dungeon," she lectured while she chewed. "You should bring your own supplies, but if you can avoid dipping into them it's all the better."

"Yeah, speaking of that... You dragged me here without breakfast. We got any food in here?" he asked, patting the bag.

"We have two apples in my bag, yes. But in the future, eat beforehand and refrain from wasting our supplies." She pulled out an apple begrudgingly and handed it to him.

Man, he was not prepared for how huge a normal apple seemed to him now. The single fruit could easily be a full meal. He chewed into it, eager to regain his energy.

"Now eat and walk. We're still in a dungeon."

He nodded and got a move on. He could tolerate being bossed around when she was making sense.

Before too long they found the quadrant boundary with another black salamander camped between the archway.

"Perfect. Let's see you dispatch that Salandit apparition," Bristle motioned him forward. With a sigh Rex stepped into the opening and got ready to attack.

As soon as it noticed him, it scrambled towards him withr mouth agape. A bright glow formed in the back of its throat and Rex braced for it to spit fire.

An orange light shot past his head, smacking into the wall next to Bristle behind him.

"Oh, COME ON!" she cried as the Salandit tried to scramble past Rex towards her.

Not wanting another lecture, Rex slammed into it and knocked it off course. Now on top of it, he punched it in its eye until it relaxed and then melted away.

He eyed his hand as he got back upright. It was a bit disturbing how brutal he'd started acting so quickly. But the creatures left no trace. There was no blood, no pained cries. It made it easy to brush it off.

"Sufficient," Bristle commented. "Though I'd like to see you perform literally any other kind of attack. I saw you perform electric attacks yesterday."

"Ain't doing that again," he said refocusing on the task at hand. "Last time I opened the frills it uh... made me kinda crazy."

"You're a Helioptile that's not going to use any electric attacks?" she asked with narrow eyes.

"Yep. You said I could handle this however I want. And I'd prefer to go crazy gradually over the next few weeks from the existential horror, as I wake up each morning still trapped in this nightmare. Rather than all at once," he grinned.

"Very well," she huffed. He could handicap himself for the evaluation if he wanted, but she wasn't going to let him keep that attitude on her watch. And he had far less sanity to worry about than he seemed to think.

Rex led them through the rest of the quadrant, quickly learning to keep his ears open for the whistle of raining debris. Now that he knew what to listen for, it was actually quite easy to see the chunks coming. They passed a few more fire-type apparitions, but Rex disposed of them before they could reach Bristle. Bristle was growing increasingly frustrated.

"What kind of rotten luck is this!" she growled as they passed into the third quadrant. "Every apparition we've passed has had it out for me!"

"Can't possibly imagine why," Rex snickered.

She scowled. "Don't act smart with me. It's your evaluation on the line. If I can't see how you fight foes that are actually engaging with you, we'll just have to do it again."

"Oh how is that fair! I'm not the one who pissed off the dungeon."

"I did not piss off the dungeon," she deadpanned. "In fact, I've never had this problem without you here. Maybe this is your fault."

"Lot of sense that makes… And that reminds me. You kept assigning motives to dungeons when you were describing them. And apparently they can hold grudges," he added with a smirk. "Is the dungeon like… alive?"

"That's… one superstition, yes," she muttered uneasily and looked away. "I can neither confirm nor deny the plausibility of it. But my mother always said it was nonsense, and I'm inclined to believe her opinion."

"She know a lot about dungeons?"

Bristle beamed. "More than almost anyone. Her and my dad are one of the elite teams of the Jade Crest. There's no delvers more esteemed in all of Trespsis."

"Aha. So that's why you got into this."

"My parents introduced and trained me in delving, yes. I have their master tutelage to thank for my skills," she crowed.

Rex had to stop himself from snorting. Some master tutelage it must have been, to have left her in this sorry state.

"So why are you here and not with these Jade Crest guys then?" he prodded curiously. If she was already being trained by an esteemed guild, wasn't that exactly the ego-feeding she wanted?

"Mom and dad were deployed out to the area for a while and they brought me with them. When they left, I chose to stay behind to help out the villages on my own. That way they wouldn't need to keep calling people in, and someone could respond to their problems much faster. Of course, half the time they just called for the Jade Crest anyways…" she added glumly.

"Wait, if you came with the Jade Crest and stayed, weren't you basically Jade Crest too?"

"Well, not officially. And they did ask me to help at first…" she glanced down guiltily. "I still had a lot to learn at the time, and there were a few mishaps. All far in the past now. But bad first impressions can last a long time. I suppose you should take some reassurance in knowing that everyone makes mistakes at first, even with the best of teachers."

Rex smiled. That might have been the first kind thing she'd said to him.

But his smile snapped her back to her usual cold self.

"But don't think that's an excuse for mistakes! We're in the third quadrant now. Bombard Plateaus only has four quadrants and the hollow. So you'd better find a way to show your skills soon, or we'll have to do this again."

Rex groaned. But before he could retort, another Sizzlipede apparition rounded the corner ahead of them. It spit out an ember immediately, singing Bristle moments before Rex crushed him into ink.

She groaned indignantly and dug out another Oran berry. She still had more in Rex's bag, but she hadn't wanted to waste so many resources on a simple test mission. And now Rex was giving her a funny look.

"Hey, uh? I'm assuming that one's another fire type?" he asked with a nervous glare past her.

Bristle cringed and turned to see a huge figure walking towards them with a bulbous body, thick lips, and two cannon-like arms. And of course, the glowing eyes of an apparition.

"M-Magmortar?!" Bristle barely managed to spit out. Nothing that powerful had ever lived here. Nothing that powerful had ever lived in any of the weak dungeons around Flak Mountain.

"Okay, guessing by the panic voice that running for the boundary over there is a good idea?" Rex frantically pointed down the hall.

"Y-yes. Tactical retreat. Go, now," Bristle tried to compose herself and rushed down the hall with Rex. "I didn't expect to teach you about something like this today, but I think we might be experiencing a deviation."

"Is that when the dungeon sends a giant fire clown to kill you?" Rex snarked.

"While the rules I have been teaching you are generally true, nothing in a dungeon is immutable. When the established rules of a dungeon are broken it's called a deviation. But deviations usually only occur dozens of quadrants into massive dungeons. I've never seen one before. This is very very weird," she explained frantically while jogging.

The two of them passed through the boundary, creating a new room and sealing the grinning monster off behind them. They collapsed to rest.

"So basically, you're saying there's no rules and any bullshit can happen whenever it wants to?" Rex said with a look of defeat.

"As I said, this is a particularly exceptional occurrence. Generally, the vast majority of dungeons are consistent."

"My life is quickly becoming a sequence of exceptional occurrences," he groaned.

"You should be grateful. The type of apparitions in the dungeon changing is a pretty mild deviation. I've heard of people having severe delusions, or the entire dungeon turning into a different environment. Or... weirder."

"Great, I'll add that to my list of blessings," he picked himself up and wiped the dust off his legs. They were about to carry on when Rex noticed the wall behind them was swirling.

"Uh… Guildmaster?" he muttered.

Bristle turned just in time to see the wall open up, and Magmortar wander through with an evil grin.

Stupid of her! She knew the dungeon was deviating and she still trusted in the safety of a new quadrant.

"Run!" she yelled, abandoning all decorum. The two mad-dashed for the nearest exit.

"This is an amateur dungeon, Rex. Nothing can possibly go wrong, Rex. Dungeons are perfectly safe, Rex," Rex panted while they scrambled down the chasm.

"Save your breath for running, idiot!" she yelled. A glance backwards showed the apparition was still in slow pursuit. It was smiling menacingly at them. No, she shook that thought out of her head. It was just how Magmortars' faces looked.

The chasm gave way into a larger clearing, with two other paths spanning between the plateaus around them. A Salandit waited for Bristle in the middle, but Rex tackled it before it could attack. Bristle ran for the leftmost exit and Rex made for the right.

"This way, imbecile!" she yelled.

"What? Right hand rule! You follow the right wall of a maze if you've gotta get out fast!"

"That's not how mazes work!" she stomped her foot.

"Yes it is!"

"Get over here NOW! That is an order!" she demanded. Magmortar was gaining on them while they squabbled.

Exasperated, Rex ran over, and they fled down the path Bristle chose.

Most of their lead was gone now. They skidded to a halt as they hit a dead end.

"Great! Great choice!" Rex growled. The apparition's grin seemed even more sinister now, marching slowly towards them.

"Shut up! I'm- I'm doing my best!" Roselia's bravado began to crack. "Get the light-blue wand out of your bag."

"I really don't think fire is going to help he-"

"SHUT UP! Just do it!" she snapped.

Grumbling, Rex ripped open his bag and pulled out a stick with cyan leaves growing from the tip. The apparition raised its arms up and light began to flare in the back of them. Panicking, Rex threw the wand out in front of him and waved it.

Rather than a fireball, the wand emitted a bright white light. It faded and Magmortar was gone.

Rex stared frozen at the wand in his hand. "Ah okay, that was the 'instantly erase my enemies from existence' wand. Good to know," he muttered.

"No. It's not gone. We need to move. Now," Roselia said flustered, pushing past him down the hall where they came.

"Could you, like, explain anything ever?" Rex asked angrily. "Where did he go?"

"I have done nothing but explain things to you all day. Much of which was information your average two-year-old understands. Your complete ignorance does not obligate me to explain each and every little thing to you all day long. As for where he went: I have no idea. Raw warp wands generally send the target anywhere from ten to a hundred feet away. He could still be in the quadrant, and even if he isn't he might come through the walls after us again. This evaluation is botched, so here's your new evaluation: Can you shut up and take orders for one quadrant?" she asked coldly.

Rex scowled but dropped it, chasing hurriedly after her.

"Keep that wand at the ready," she instructed, eyes glancing nervously between every wall.

An eerie silence had fallen over the dungeon, interrupted only by the light crunching under their feet and the occasional whistle of shrapnel descending to the earth nearby. They passed through the narrow halls between the towering plateaus above in a gridlike maze.

Bristle would lean by the wall and peek around every corner first anxiously, bracing for Magmortar to be waiting in ambush on the other side. But it was never there. The whole quadrant had gone quiet, like the apparitions were hiding in wait.

After the longest few minutes of either of their lives, Bristle finally peered around a corner to see the quadrant boundary shimmering tantalizingly at the far end of a clearing.

"Come on, quick! This is the last quadrant!" she whispered, pulling past the corner.

"Unless the dungeon decided to change the rules again," Rex grumbled, skittering after her.

Bristle burst into the clearing in a mad dash, fully fixated on the gateway ahead. Rex nearly did the same, but a ripple of movement in the corner of his eye grabbed his attention.

"Watch out!" he cried as Magmortar dove out of the wall and straight towards her, arms wreathed in flame.

Bristle turned with only enough time to clench her eyes shut and brace for searing pain. But it never came. After a moment she wrenched one eye open to see Magmortar gone, and Rex dropping the expended warp wand into the dirt.

"N-nice job," she choked out, her head still racing. "I've never seen an apparition lay an ambush like that be-" she paused.

Rex didn't look relieved. In fact, he was staring at her with eyes wide in horror. No... he was staring past her.

"Oh, motherfu-"

Whatever Rex muttered next was drowned out by Bristle's screams as flames engulfed her. Her charred and unconscious body collapsed to the ground, leaving nothing between Rex and the bulbous monster, taunting him with its sadistic grin.

"D-don't imagine your issue was just with her, huh?" he choked out.

As if in answer, Magmortar pointed its cannon-arm forward and a warm light flared in the back of it.

Rex dove to the side as it spewed flames. By the time he hit the ground a long black streak scarred the earth where he'd just stood. This thing was on a totally different level.

And that meant there were no good options. If he fought, he'd lose. If he ran, Bristle would definitely give him the boot.

No time to decide, he let instinct take hold and slammed into the beast's rotund body while it prepared another shot. Magmortar flinched and stumbled back a few steps, barely bruised.

Rex hit the ground just in time for Magmortar to release, blanketing him in a stream of fire. Rex screamed, every single nerve in his skin screeching out in agony for two prolonged seconds before the monster's stamina waned.

The flames subsided, but Rex lay helpless to move. His skin was red and raw, and the slightest motion brought back all the pain he'd just experienced. He gazed meekly up at his opponent, the apparition's eyes gleaming with light as it smiled back down at him.

There was only one thing he could do. And at the moment he didn't care one bit about the danger. Anything to end the pain.

Clenching his teeth, he expanded his frills and let the sunlight beam across them. He closed his eyes in anticipation of newfound vigor. Energy that would let him ignore the stinging from every inch of his body. But the pain never left.

He could feel the sunlight, and a bit of his energy returning, but it was nothing like yesterday. It wasn't nearly enough to blot out the agony of his burns.

With a deep grimace he dragged himself upright, the apparition waiting patiently for his pathetic retaliation. Alright, if it wanted his all, he'd give it his all.

Drawing every ounce of energy he could from his frills, and letting the pain feed his mania, he loosed every stray bolt in his body into Magmortar. Blinding light and a deafening crackle filled the air as the monster spasmed. Rex gritted his teeth and pushed it further. Further. But he hit his limit. He had no more electricity to give, and his shock ended.

Magmortar collapsed onto one knee, its breathing heavy now. But its smile was still plastered on its face. And the little bit of breath it had lost was the only evidence of Rex's all-out attack.

It pulled itself upright again and thrust its arms towards him. They flared with light, foreshadowing his doom.

He'd never had a chance. Everything he had wasn't enough to even bruise the demon. Rex closed his eyes and braced for defeat. But as soon as his eyes were closed, he heard something he'd been missing. A faint whistling.

He threw his eyes back open and looked up to see one of the raining stones shooting from the sky. Magmortar followed his gaze upwards. Then to Rex's surprise, the apparition dropped its flaming arms and lunged at him.

The creature's overwhelming weight had him pinned in an instant. His singed skin screamed at the pressure. But rather than finish him then and there, Magmortar grabbed his tiny wrist and flung him halfway across the chamber.

He cried out as dirt and stone dug into his raw back. What was this thing doing? He was helpless. Was it toying with him?

The apparition scrambled back up and dove at him again, claws outstretched. The whistling intensified, and Rex stared dumbfounded as he realized what happened next.

The raining shrapnel pierced right through Magmortar's chest. Momentum carried its body the rest of the way, propelling the massive weight on top of him. He shrieked as its ominous grin landed inches from his face. But after a horrifying moment, the grin began to melt away.

The weight on Rex's tiny body was lifted as the apparition dissolved into fluid and sept back into the ground. He was alone in pain and silence.

Even if he wanted to get up, he couldn't. He shut his useless frills and groaned.

Bristle's unconscious form was still lying where Magmortar had ambushed her. He prayed she was still alive. She said no one died in these dungeons, right? Or was that another rule that could be thrown out the window at a moment's notice?

This really was his special hell. A place where the rules made no sense and couldn't be trusted.

As he expected, his burnt skin began to regenerate over the next few minutes. The injuries he had endured yesterday had sealed up unbelievably quick too. It seemed this new body was particularly good at healing. Or maybe it was just another dungeon trick.

When he was finally able to get back onto his feet, he trotted over to his "guildmaster", still wincing with each step. He put a claw to her chest.

He froze when couldn't feel a heartbeat. She was a plant. Maybe she didn't have a heart?

Looking her over, she looked less like charcoal than she had after Magmortar incinerated her. If she was still regenerating then she had to be alive, right?

He shuffled through his singed bag, taking a moment to appreciate that the straps hadn't burnt up. Near the bottom he found a single, glowing blue berry. He sank his claws into it and ripped out a chunk, tossing the rest away as it withered.

"Down the hatch…" he muttered, stuffing the berry chunk down Bristle's throat. Massaging her neck, he managed to get her to swallow. Real proof she was alive. Her blackened skin began to quickly heal up. But she still didn't wake.

He growled. Whatever! He wasn't hanging around here any longer, waiting for any more bullshit to happen. He threw her arm over the back of his neck and lifted her up. She was surprisingly light, but her knees dragged along the ground under him.

Uncaring, he hauled her through the boundary. He didn't stop moving as the walls spun around him and formed a new, final opening. Even passing the rift, horrendous as before, didn't give him pause. He was done. He wasn't spending another damned second in this dungeon.

After several minutes he exited from between the final two warped plateaus. The glow of sunset in the dungeon sky faded to the bright daylight of afternoon in the outside world. He was free from the labyrinth.

But he wasn't stopping now. No, if he did that then the dungeon might just decide to gobble him right back up.

The foothills of the mountain were just a bit ahead now. As long as he stayed on the trail, it should lead him to this new village. He trekked further up the hill, Flak Mountain towering taller and taller until it was practically a sheer face above him. The path started to descend, slipping into a chasm between two cliffs.

Colorful markings adorned the chasm walls, and various doorways and windows were carved into them. It seemed he'd found Flak Grotto Village. The few Pokémon socializing on the makeshift street all cast him curious glares as he walked through, Roselia's limp body still hung over his arm.

"There a doctor anywhere?" he asked a floating clay figurine, too tired to question its appearance. The figure buzzed and vibrated a bit before turning and pointing a handless-arm towards a doorway further down the road.

"Thanks," Rex mumbled and continued down the street, unfazed by all the attention. Before he could reach the doorway a claw settled on his shoulder. Rex winced, ready to be attacked again.

A bipedal dragon with blue scales and a red stomach was glaring down at him with concern.

"Hey bud, you guys okay?" it asked, its voice deep and gargled. He was glaring intently at Bristle.

"Yeah, we're fine," he grumbled. "Probably. Doctor in there, yeah?" he pointed to the doorway.

"Doctor? Ehh... Something like that," it said uncertainly. The dragon quickly ushered him in.

The inside of the home was a mess. Boxes filled with various berries and odd trinkets lined every surface, from shelves to a desk. Rex recognized a few of the berries and some of the items on the shelves as orbs and wands like those Bristle had thrown into his bag. Near the back a straw bed had been torn up so badly that straw was lining the floor in every corner of the room.

"Hi!" a chipper voice squeaked right in Rex's face.

"Gah!" He nearly dropped Bristle and stumbled back as a stout orange mouse leapt in front of him, whiskers and tail twitching frantically.

"Oooooh, she looks hurtbad," the mouse examined Bristle with wide eyes that contained more curiosity than concern. "She lose a fight with a hungryferal or wander into a mysterydungeon again?" it prattled without leaving itself time to breath.

"Uhh? She got cooked bad by a fire clown in the plateaus. Most of her burns have healed but she won't wake up," Rex eyed the mouse skeptically. This was a doctor?

"Mmmhhmmmm" it nodded furiously. Without warning it launched off the ground and flew towards one of the berry crates, nearly knocking it over as it landed clinging to the corner. It scrambled up onto the crate and began furiously digging through it, tossing berries everywhere.

Rex glanced at the dragon for reassurance, but it was still eyeing Bristle nervously. The mouse emerged from the crate triumphantly, carrying a sickly purple berry. The berry looked… tainted.

It pounced from the crate and landed back in front of him. "Laydown the grumpydelver," it instructed.

Rex laid Bristle down and the mouse crawled up to her face.

"Testing alternative use for rejected pechamutant variation number thirteen!" it announced cheerfully. It held the berry over Bristle's face and crushed it, letting the sickly purple goo drip down on her face and into her mouth.

Alternative use? Rejected?

A moment later Bristle seized to life, screaming and coughing out purple ooze.

"Aaaaaah! What in the world!?" she screeched, flying upright and glancing around the room in a panic.

"Trial success!" the mouse cheered, ignoring her dismay. "Rejected pechamutant variation numberthirteen may have alternative usage as a smellingsalt." Ignoring Bristle entirely, the mouse leapt up on a desk and placed down the crushed berry remains, still leaking a sickly fluid everywhere.

"What did you do to me, rat?!" Bristle demanded, scrambling to her feet.

"Woke you up. Not sure abouttherest. Let me know if you experience any sideeffects," the mouse said nonchalantly as it dragged its paw slowly through the smushed berry. It sniffed the juice and winced.

A heavy laugh broke out before Bristle could protest any more.

"Well, that's all the proof I need," the dragon chuckled, "It is little Bristle!"

Roselia noticed the dragon for the first time and scowled.

"G-gabite? I told you it's Roselia."

"What happened to 'Guildmaster' Roselia?" Rex jabbed. She shot him an angry look.

"Guildmaster? What's this now?" Gabite continued snickering.

"Hmph. I've started a delving guild in Tranquil Knoll to cover the jobs in the area. Since I've been doing that anyways," she turned her head indignantly.

"Is that what you've been up to? Took most of us a while to notice you were gone. Thorn isn't exactly the most... communicative," Gabite collapsed against the wall.

Bristle froze up for a moment.

"My mother tells people what is necessary. If she didn't tell you, then clearly it wasn't of any concern to you," she folded her arms.

Gabite tilted his head. "What's got you so worked up?"

"Nothing!" she growled.

"Alright... " he raised his arms in surrendered. "So what's been up with you?"

"As I said, I've been in the Flak Mountain region handling delving requests for the three villages. I've recently decided to pursue other delvers and establish a guild to handle more requests. The Helioptile is my recruit."

Rex waved a claw and grinned awkwardly. He wasn't about to say a word. Bristle was taking her temper out on someone else for once, and he wasn't risking that good fortune.

"We went out today for his training. Took him through Bombard Plateaus for an assessment," she continued.

"Looks like that didn't go so well," he said with a pitying smile. That only infuriated her more.

"It's hardly my fault that a four-quadrant dungeon decided to deviate!" she cried. "A Magmortar apparition attacked us!"

"A Magmortar?" he eyed her skeptically. He glanced to Rex, looking for affirmation.

"Giant murder fire clown? Yep," Rex confirmed.

Gabite still looked skeptical. "And what happened to the apparition?"

"It was rough, but I managed to take it out," Rex lied without hesitation. He was done with Bristle's condescension. For all her arrogance, she'd fallen first. Even if his survival was luck, at least he had survived. He was taking credit for that.

Bristle and Gabite were both staring at him doubtfully now.

"What? It wasn't as tough as it looked," he defended his lie.

A pained squeak saved Rex from their scrutiny as the mouse cried out.

"Ohhhh, that tastes supermegabad!" it screeched, frantically trying to wipe a chunky purple goo off of its tongue.

"Dedenne… did you seriously just try to eat that?" Gabite rose incredulously.

"Affirmative! I need more anecdotes on the effects of rejectpechamutantthirteen!" Dedenne buzzed.

"You fed me what?" Bristle demanded.

"Reject pechamutantthirteen!" it echoed, hopping down from the desk with a small seed in its goo-coated paw. "A failed experimental attempt to create a mutation ofenhanced pechaberries that can be massproduced and consumed regularly for increased poisonresistance."

Bristle didn't hear anything beyond "failed experiment".

"You little rat! You fed me your science project!"

"Yes, and it was a resounding success! Thankyou, and you'rewelcome grumpydelver!"

Bristle lunged towards Dedenne, but Gabite hooked her upper arm with his claw and held her back. He was grinning widely.

"Man, you really never change!" he laughed. "You just grow older."

"And why are you here anyways? Where's Team Pride?" she growled, turning her ire back towards the dragon.

"They're back at the inn. I bumped into your friend here carrying a wounded civilian on the street and guided him to the town's… doctor," he eyed Dedenne with doubt as the mouse continued to lick small splotches of mutant berry off of his paws. "As for why we're here, we were in town on a job. Messenger bird came by today with news of that new dungeon blocking off the road. I assume you heard?"

"Of course. I was the first one to explore it," she puffed out her chest. "And thus I invoked my rights to title it the Rolling Fields."

Gabite snorted. "Sure. Anyways, we asked him to let the Jade Crest know that we'd stay in the area to assist locals until the path is clear."

"Unnecessary. We can service this area. You should return to Sapsion City," Bristle practically ordered him.

"With all due respect, people are calling us in from abroad for a reason. We're happy to let you help out with some of the easier jobs" Gabite said with a condescending grin.

Rex half expected Bristle to try and murder the dragon right then and there. "Excuse you! We have just as much right and jurisdiction to operate here as you do! If not more! How dare you!" she howled.

"Perhaps. But the people have the right to decide who they want to take their requests. Again, with all due respect, you just wiped out in Bombard Plateaus. That's not a good testament towards reliability,"

"With all due respect, my team did not wipe, and my subordinate took out a Magmortar!" she flung both arms towards Rex.

He appreciated the compliment for half a second, before realizing that he was just a prop to win her ego war with this condescending dragon.

"Sure he did," Gabite chuckled. "Look: I'm not trying to be mean to you Bristle. It really is good to see you again. But when I said you haven't changed, only grown older… That's not a good thing. Take a step back, slow down, and stop trying to be a Salamence before you're a Shelgon."

"I could care less whether you're trying to be mean or not. You clearly don't think I'm capable. Well, I have no intention to exchange words with you anymore," she turned her cheek indignantly. "I'll prove my capability to you. Then we'll see who people think is unreliable."

Gabite sighed. "Alright, Bristle. Do what you want. We'll be around Flak Grotto for a few weeks. If you ever need anything, Team Pride's door is always open to you."

"Hmph," Roselia turned her head and crossed her arms like a petulant child.

"And when we get back, we'll tell your parents you're doing well," he added as he turned towards the door.

"If this is how you see me, I'd rather you didn't say anything," she said coolly.

"...Very well," Gabite muttered as he walked out.

Rex looked Bristle over. The only thing still wounded was her pride, perhaps more than ever. Gabite had been a bit of an ass about it, but his read of her was spot on.

A crash broke the uncomfortable silence as Dedenne knocked a pile of expended wands off of his desk. He wobbled back and forth, tail twitching manically.

"Eugh…. I should have noteaten that," he muttered, practically falling off of the desk. He stumbled to the crate of berries and dug out a soft blue one. Still in a daze, he wandered over to the remains of his bed and collapsed on it. He began rapidly chewing on the berry.

"Thankyou for coming now pleaseleave," he mumbled through the berry in his mouth. Then he instantly fell still for the first time, the remainder of the berry rolling out from his grasp.

Bristle and Rex stared at the mouse in disbelief.

"I-Is he dead?" Rex asked nervously. He was wondering that way too much lately.

"Probably not," she muttered. "He eats weird stuff all the time, and it's never killed him before."

Rex started to creep closer to check for breath when Dedenne's tail and whiskers started spasming. The violent motions of his tail dragged his body back and forth, flinging straw all throughout the room. But the mouse remained entirely unconscious.

"Alright yep time to leave," Rex deadpanned, shielding his face from flying debris.

The two hurried out of the room and back onto the street before they could get covered in straw and dirt.

"So, what exactly was that about?" Rex probed as soon as they stepped outside.

"Why would I know? I think that's just how he sleeps," she brushed him off and began marching down the street in the direction they'd come from.

"Not what I meant," he growled as he struggled to catch up with her on weary legs.

"Oh, that. That's none of your business."

"Yeah, no. You made it my business when you signed me up for your pissing contest." Not a full day, and he had already had enough of her bullshit. They had both been cooked alive today, yet she just wanted to brush that off and immediately pick another petty fight.

"Fine," she snarled, "Come with me."

She led him back out of the chasm and diverted off of the path, following along the upper edge of the chasm walls. A few Pokémon watched them nervously from below. Rex couldn't help but wonder if she was plotting to shove him over the edge.

Bristle suddenly stopped and stretched her arms out wide. She breathed deeply and shut her eyes. Then her legs began to unravel into a wild tangle of roots that all sank deep into the earth. She turned her face up to the sky and basked in the sunlight.

"Ah, alright, okay, that's normal and not at all terrifying… " Rex muttered, staring at the writhing mess of tentacles that her legs had become.

Rex waited for Bristle to explain, but she never did. She just kept bathing in the sunlight with a peaceful smile.

"So, uh… what are you doing?" he finally asked after a minute.

"Sunbathing," she said curtly, smile vanishing.

Right, plant. Made sense.

"And what does this have to do with what happened back there?"

"Nothing. I needed to come up here before the sun sets behind Flak Mountain."

"Then why don't you answer the question while you're 'sunbathing'?" Rex growled.

"He's an old acquaintance. He leads a team from the Jade Crest that my mother used to have watch me from time to time," she explained shortly, with her eyes still shut.

"You two didn't seem too friendly."

"Evidently, he still views me as a child. That is a mistake."

Rex rolled his eyes while she couldn't see. Only she could possibly think he was the doomed one here. The way he saw it, Gabite won their verbal spar. And his team would definitely win the contest of earning jobs.

But that was fine by Rex. He didn't really give a damn about jobs or Bristle's vanity project of a guild. In fact, it might be worth him asking a professional like Gabite about his strange circumstances. Maybe getting in the dragon's good graces could do a lot more for him than Bristle ever could.

"Now: The matter of your evaluation," she interrupted his thoughts. "I'd like you to recapitulate everything that happened after I was ambushed."

Rex nodded. "Well, I saw the clown jump out-"

"Magmortar," she interrupted. "Spare me the nicknames."

"Magmortar," he hissed, "leapt out of the wall behind you after you passed into the chamber. I hit it with the wand, but that only ended up putting it right behind you. After it knocked you out it burned me alive for several seconds. Then I opened my frills and used all of my energy to electrocute it, which ended up being enough to destroy it."

She nodded pensively. "Very well. I suppose your performance was sufficient. The mishap with the warp wand was outside of your control."

It took all his restraint not to strangle her right there with his little lizard hands. Sufficient? He just told her he took out a Magmortar that had downed her in a single blow. Of course, it was a lie... but she didn't know that.

Truth be told that whole sequence still left him uneasy. The apparitions were supposed to be mindless zombies, right? That's how it had seemed. Yet Magmortar had hidden by the boundary and laid an ambush. Then it abandoned strategy to toy with him, something else that a mindless zombie shouldn't have done. The apparition hadn't just been abnormal; it hadn't even been consistent.

But he couldn't exactly voice that concern to Bristle without exposing the lie.

"Thank you," was all he could force out through clenched teeth. He didn't have the energy to argue any further. He was feeling unusually drained.

Then he fell silent for a bit, granting Bristle some much appreciated peace as she sunbathed. What unbelievably rotten luck. Not only was another delving team in the area, but it just had to be Team Pride. She could sense the condescending pity in every word Gabite had ever said to her. And there was nothing she hated more than being pitied.

The worst part is that he was right. People would inevitably bring their requests before Team Pride instead of her. Just because of a fancy little jade badge that meant they were oh-so-talented.

No. She knew it wasn't just the badge. She'd held that badge herself for a while. And still no one had trusted her with anything. She was Team Bunker's kid! She should have been a prodigy. But it had been nothing but condescending smiles all the way. Oh how cute, Budew tried to take out that apparition. Oopsie, did she spill the gear pouch? How precious!

The misery of her memories had driven out any joy from the sunlight. She was not a joke. She'd show everyone that she was just as capable as they'd expected. As soon as a big job popped up, she'd snatch it right out of Team Pride's claws! Then everyone would have to stop underestimating her.

"So uh... how long does this take?" Rex yawned.

"A bit. If you're just going to commentate, go get us rooms at the inn."

"With what money?"

Growling she wrenched her eyes open and extended a vine down to her pouch. She rifled through it. How much had the inn here cost last time? Forty? Forty-five? She counted out ninety Poke exactly and slammed it down in his claw.

"Now go! Let me sunbathe in peace," she hissed, closing her eyes again and turning away.

Rex shrugged. He got to go sleep. That was a victory. Still feeling sluggish, he started down towards the town again.


Bristle's advertising run had gone about as well as she'd expected. Every Pokémon she'd spoken with had brushed her off dismissively. At best. Some had outright asked her why they wouldn't just go to Team Pride. And of course, not a single Pokémon had shown interest in joining the guild.

She had to just accept it: Flak Grotto was a lost cause. With Team Pride living among them, none of them would care about her guild. With no posting board in the town, she didn't even have the chance to intercept a request. If anyone needed anything, they'd go right to Gabite in person.

Maybe Solemn Meadow would work out better. If they made it there tomorrow, they might be able to find some jobs before news of Team Pride spread. She resolved to wake Helioptile up early, so that they could march to Solemn Meadow before evening hit.

Helioptile... The lazy bum had never come back after she sent him to the inn. He'd probably been slacking off all evening. Or maybe he just made off her with Poke.

But the sun had set, and the Pokémon of Flak Grotto were slowly vanishing from the street and into their homes. Her work here was as done as it could be. She made for the inn and pushed past the curtain.

A black, clay totem sat submerged into the floor in the center. As soon as she entered it whirred to life, spinning out of the ground and staring at her with its many eyes. It kept spinning slowly, constantly shifting which eye was looking at her.

"Roselia. Good evening," Claydol greeted her in a monotone.

"A Helioptile should have come by and reserved a room for me?"

"Helioptile is present. He reserved two rooms. He is occupying one. He did not specify the recipient of the other."

"Yes, well it's me. I'd like to go to bed now," she said annoyed. At least the lizard hadn't run off with her money.

Claydol's gentle spin paused, and its head seemed to click back and forth for a few seconds.

"Helioptile has laid to rest. I am uncertain how to verify your claims."

"Why would I lie about this?" she snapped. "If the room was for someone else, wouldn't they show up and then you'd know I was lying?"

Claydol froze entirely for a moment. Then returned to a normal spin.

"This logic appears valid. You are in room three. Enjoy your rest," it said before submerging itself back into its hole and closing all of its eyes at once.

She scowled and walked over to her room. She paused and quietly walked over to the room before it. She pulled back the curtain and peeked in to see Helioptile deep asleep on a straw mat.

The sun had barely set and he was already out cold. Had he been sleeping all evening? And after waking up late, too! Why did he have to be the best she had.

She glared at the first room as well. She was tempted to try spying on Team Pride. But visions of Gabite catching her and laughing her off with a condescending chuckle, like she was the funniest thing in the world, filled her mind. Shuddering with rage, she pulled open the curtain to her own room and stomped in.

She collapsed down on her uncomfortable mat and tried to scowl herself to sleep. Why could nothing ever just be easy?