Author's note: This is the first time I've detailed combat, reviews are welcome so I can see what to improve on.
Me and Jules spent the half hour wait at the guild mainly about Wayward Woods. It sounds simple enough, just some grass, bug, and flying types along with the occasional normal, water, and rock types. But it will be my first time where I'll be fighting against other Pokemon who aren't trying to go easy one me and it's foolish in my view to not expect some kind of fighting to occur. Me and Jules agreed on one thing, I need to learn some kind of ranged attack so I don't have to rely just on physical attacks. Apparently Pokemon can only know four moves which means I'll have to forget one of my three attacks. Since the only ways to learn new moves are having them develop on their own which can take months or learn from a TM, it means I'll have plenty of time to decide on what move I can forget.
Jules kept track of the time and seamed to know by instinct when we could leave. My guess is that grass types can detect environmental changes due to the time of day. Our walk to Wayward Woods was uneventful for the first mile or so. I noticed some of the leafs starting to turn red and gold so autumn must be starting, and I noticed a few flying Pokemon in the sky fly pass by with my peripheral vision. Me and Jules finished our prep-talk about Wayward Woods before we left the guild and we haven't said anything since then. It's starting to feel awkward to me, so I figure I might ask about Jules' experience with this test.
"What was it like when you took this Jules?" I asked.
"I was a Snivy back then. It was simple, It took me some time to find the stairs to the next floors and I had some trouble with bug types but I managed to get through with only the oran berry used." Jules said with a triumphant tone in their voice. "Most of the Pokemon you'll run into here are wild and aren't skilled in fighting. They can attack, but they don't know proper techniques and many times they don't dodge attacks quick enough."
"Did you know a ranged move back then that made it easier?" I asked.
"I did, razor leaf." They said. "Whatever is your first ranged move, make sure to not rely on it for close combat. I made that mistake a few times before I joined the guild and it's a quick way to lose a battle if you don't know what you're doing."
"Got, it." The headache starts coming back again and I almost lose focus of where my legs are when I walk.
"Are you okay Alex?" Jules asked with a tone of concern in their voice.
"I'm. Fine. A headache. J-Just give it a minute." I said as I felt my forehead throbbing. I'm still holding onto hope it doesn't get to the point I need to see a healer but if it keeps getting worse I might have to bite the bullet and see one. It goes on for a minute but I could still walk. Maybe I could try using a Lum or Persim berr-
"Leach." I heard that word as the headache started to subside, but the voice wasn't mine nor Jules.
"Jules, did you hear something?" I asked. That voice startled me, but maybe my mind was playing a trick on me from the headache.
"Nothing but the wind blowing." They said. If Jules heard nothing then it must have been my mind playing a trick on me. It's the only explanation I can come up with.
"I thought I heard something, but I don't see anything so it might have been something I thought up of during the headache." I said. "Anyways, what do you think is a ranged move I should learn?"
"There's several I'd suggest, but not all of them can be used by an Absol." Jules said. "Flamethrower, ice beam, water pulse, and shadow ball to name a few. The list goes on but I don't know which ones you can and can't learn. June would know more about that."
Just from the names from those moves alone had me astonished. Shooting fire out of my mouth? A beam that can freeze things? Sign me up, I'd do just about anything to learn one of them assuming I can learn them. Dark type moves are the only ones I'm certain I can learn, as for other type moves I'm not as sure.
I tried to continue the conversation with Jules but I couldn't think of anything else to say. Me and Jules didn't say anything else for the next few miles but I did enjoy the scenery. The leaves turning red and gold as autumn started to occur was something I enjoyed in my world and I'm happy and surprised that it also occurs here. I've always imagined the colors would be different on another world but given how I got here I shouldn't be surprised if some traits of my world also appear here. As the path to Wayward Woods takes us up a small hill, we see another Pokemon coming towards us from the top. It's small but as it got closer I noticed it was Maple.
"Maple!" Jules said cheerfully as she slithered faster to meet with her. "I was expecting to run into you closer to Wayward Woods."
"Time in Wayward Woods must be faster than normal right now." Maple said loudly. "Anyways, the stone is put in place and we'll be waiting for you two to return with it."
Maple then turns to me. "I don't know if Tor said this to you, but any item you find in there besides the stone is yours. What you do with them is up to you. Good luck, I wish I could stay longer to chat but I have work to do back at the guild."
"Thanks." I said as she walked past us.
"Depending on how Wayward Woods is today, we might get back to the guild a bit past midday." Jules said.
We kept moving forward to the mystery dungeon. I still remember what June said about how to tell if you're in one, but I didn't get to know what the outside of one looks like. I recall being told of a division of the guild who marks the boundaries of mystery dungeons so the outskirts must not appear different than its surroundings. We only have a few more miles before we arrive so I don't have a long wait to see it. As we keep moving down the path I notice the amount of trees around us has been increasing since we passed Maple, as well as them being denser together. I look to the sky and it's still blue so I must be at the outskirts of the woods, but not in the dungeon just yet.
"Jules, June said something about a team marking the boundaries of mystery dungeons, what do the markings look like?" I ask as I scan the horizon to see if I can find anything.
"They're small stone obelisks about two feet tall." They explained "You won't necessarily cross into the dungeon when you pass them, sometimes you have to go in further before you're in the dungeon."
"Hmm, okay." I said indifferently. I was kind of expecting more, like signs or something more clear to point out the boundaries than basic demarcation stones. Shortly afterwards I noticed something black in the distance in front of some trees.
"Is that the boundary to Wayward Woods?" I asked.
"Mhh Hmm! That's it." Jules said. "Come on lets go in."
When we get closer to the obelisk, I saw the road split into two directions in front of the obelisk, and each side I looked down I saw more obelisks. It kind of reminded me of those picturesque images of roads in rural New England in the middle of autumn. For a moment I felt like I was back in my world, it all looked like something I'd find back there.
"Did you see something Alex?" Jules asked.
"No." I said with a lowered voice. "The path just reminded me of a region of my world that looks like this during autumn."
"I see. I can wait for some time if you wish to remember it." They said.
"It's fine. We can go on into the mystery dungeon now." I said as I turned to the forest behind the obelisks. "I'm ready."
Me and Jules enter together through a gap in the line of trees, I keep my eye on the sky to see when it would change.
Wayward Woods F1
As I slither into the forest with Alex I saw the sky change from the blue and sunny day it was to the blank and gray overcast sky that mystery dungeons have. We found ourselves in a small opening with a pond in the middle of it and two paths, in front of me and to my right. No other Pokemon in sight and no items on the ground.
"Uh, Jules. Where's the opening we entered through?" Alex asked with a nervous tone in their voice.
"That's normal." I explained. "Once we enter the mystery dungeon it changes into a wall like structure that can't be passed through except for ghost types. What we need to do now is find the stairs to the next level of Wayward Woods."
Alex steps forward and looks around the opening. A bit longer than I was expecting, even for a human. They must be having de-javu or whatever that human term is.
"I take it I'm supposed to pick which path we go down?" Alex asked.
"Mhh Hmm! It's your call." I said.
"Follow me." They said.
Alex choose the path in front of me to go into and I followed them into it. Every time I go down a path like this regardless of what mystery dungeon I'm in I often get de-javu. I know that the mystery dungeon takes random parts of the area it's in and arranged them randomly, but sometimes I slither past a tree I sworn I've seen before or a rock I bumped into on another level. As we move through the path we don't see anything out of the ordinary. Alex got a lucky start with their test, but they'll run into some Pokemon soon.
"Kaaaw!" Uh, a flying type somewhere further into the dungeon. One must be further down the path or we're nearing the next opening. We won't know until we turn the corner, or if the bird comes to us. As we approach the corner it comes out and lands in front of Alex about six feet away, a Chatot. Alex readies themselves but right now it looks more like a standoff with neither one making the first move. The Chatot makes the first move after a short time, launching itself at Alex with its beak raised to peck them. But as it neared Alex they slashed the Chatot with their right claw and caused the Chatot to be thrown to the left side and into the base of a tree. As it tried to stand back up Alex rushed over and bit into its body and threw it onto the ground. After that impact it was knocked out and just laid there.
"Not bad for your first time." I said with a hint of awestruck. "It won't get back up for some time, but they'll recover on their own. Come on we got to find the stairs."
Alex takes a brief look at the fainted Chatot before continuing down the path. "Jules, what Pokemon was that?" They asked.
"A Chatot." I said. "You'll mainly see them on this side of the land."
As we turn down the corner and reach the end of the pathway we enter into an opening with three pathways, and another Chatot peaking out of the pathway from the left hand side. When it locked eyes on us it flew up into the air and came straight for us. Alex readied themselves once again to attack when it gets close enough, but as it neared Alex it suddenly mov-
"Gahh!" I yelped as its peak forced itself into my body and then pulled out as quickly as it came in. I turn to the direction the Chatot went and saw it doing a U-turn right back at me. I'm supposed to avoid fighting for Alex as much as I can for this, but this Chatot got on my nerve with that last minute trick. I channel energy into my tail and soon I feel water enveloping it and as the Chatot approached I sent my tail into the air and slammed it on the Chatot's head and into the ground. As the leaves and dust settles I can see the Chatot knocked out with a bump forming on their head.
"How can it survive a brutal hit on the head like that?" Alex asked nervously.
"Some don't" I said. "But you'd have to keep attacking a Pokemon after you knock it out if you want to do worse than knocking it out in most cases."
Alex walked forward into the opening and looked around the area. "This time I think I'll go down tha- Ahh!" They yelled.
I slither over to them and noticed some drops of blood coming from their left paw.
"Alex, are you feeling ill now?" I asked anxiously. I'm hoping it's a regular spike trap but it's likely a poison trap.
"C-come to, y-yes I do." They said.
"Hold on." I said as my tail worked on opening the satchel and reaching for the heal seed "Eat this Alex, it'll cure your condition."
I hold out the seed on the end of my tail and Alex takes and eats it quickly. "What did I step on?" They asked.
"A poison trap." I explained "It pricks you and poisons you until you cure it with a heal seed or with the right berry."
Alex looks at their paw "The bleeding already stopped!" They said like they just saw a ghost type phase through a wall.
"Healing in mystery dungeons is a lot quicker than outside of it. And no coming into a mystery dungeon to quickly cure an illness you got outside of it doesn't work sadly. Even if it did getting out quickly would be impracticable." I explained. "Several humans tried doing that from what I've heard from hearsay. Regardless, watch your step so you don't step on another trap."
Alex nods their head "Got it. Let's go down the left pathway." They said.
I follow them down the pathway until we ran into another opening and saw the stairs to the next level.
"That's the way to the next level of Wayward Woods?" Alex asked, they're most likely perplexed at the sight of stairs that seam to lead to nowhere.
"Mhh Hmm! It is. Though I do agree that it's strange it takes the form of stairs. I don't think anyone has figured out why." I said. "Come on, there's nothing to worry about, just touch them." I said as I slithered over to them and waited for Alex.
When Alex approached they looked at the stairs for a moment, and then touched it with one of their paws.
Wayward Woods F2
A flash of light engulfed us and as quickly as it appeared it vanished and we found ourselves in a partially flooded opening with pathways on all four sides. Alex looked like they were startled awake.
"That was, strange." They said. "We're still in Wayward Woods?"
"Mhh Hmm! Just somewhere else in the mystery dungeon." I said. "Which way shall we go this time?"
"Uh, forward." They said as they walked slowly from the opening. I'm doing the same thing, the mushy ground isn't easy to move across.
As we approached the pathway we noticed that it quickly led into a dead end. "Lets try the path to our right" They said as they turned to their right.
This pathway seams to lead somewhere with a left hand turn at the end of it so we head down it and see where it takes us. After some slow walking we run into another opening, but it was just an empty dead end.
"Uh, bad luck already?" Alex said with a sigh. "Come on let's go back."
As we turned around we saw an Eevee sleeping nearby on a dry patch of land in one of the corners of the opening.
I lower my voice before speaking "Looks like that Eevee is sleeping, if we don't wake it up it won't be an issue."
Alex nods their head and we started to head back to where we started. About half way to the starting opening Alex spoke once again.
As we arrive back to where we were we saw a Sewaddle walking through the opening, but when it saw us it began to come our direction.
"Alex, that's a bug type. Be careful." I said as Alex readied themselves for a battle.
As the Sewaddle approached it used string shot at Alex but they shifted to their left to dodge it. However the Sewaddle used it again and this time hit Alex. They grunted as the Sewaddle's string covered parts of their fur before they launched themselves at the Sewaddle with quick attack and slammed into it hard enough to make it skid across the ground for a few feed. But it stood back up ready for another attack and bit Alex on the side of their neck as they tried to use slash. I could hear Alex yelp in pain from that attack before knocking it off with a slash from their left paw. They slashed the Sewaddle again as it tried to stand up, and with that it was knocked out.
"Uhh, t-that hurt and it still does." Alex said.
"Must have been bug bite or another bug type move." I said. "Do you think you need your oran berry?"
"No, I'll be fine. Let's going down this path" they said as they walked to another pathway.
I followed Alex down it and it was long, not as long as some of the pathways in some caves but comparable. After about five minutes of walking we run into an opening and we saw the stairs to the third level. I saw a small smile form on Alex's face as it came into view and we went to it without another word.
Wayward Woods F4
As we warp to the forth level we arrive at a small clearing with a single path out of it and a few apples lying on the ground.
"Alex, want to take a short break to eat?" I asked.
"Sure. That fight with the Eevee was longer than I was expecting it to be." They said with a pant of tiredness under their breath. They walk over to me and sit down quickly. "I take it we're going to have some of these apples on the ground?" They ask.
"Yes, they appear to be clean so we can save the apple in our satchel for on the way back." I said as I slither over to scoot two apples over by Alex. "So far you've been lucky with how few Pokemon you've ran into. Most run into several more before they get here."
"Ya, things have been going well for now. We still got this level and the next one though." Alex said with the second part quieter than the first.
I have to say, Alex is doing decent with battling the Pokemon here. With more experience I'm sure Alex will be a great member of the guild. As I arrive next to them I scoot one apple in front of them and use my tail to pick up mine to hold. I could hear Alex grunt before going to take a bite out of theirs.
"Still unhappy you lost your hands?" I asked. "Other humans have gone through that too."
"I am. I never realized how much I took hands for granted. Humans and Pokemon must have a hard time doing anything without hands." They said with a tone of bitterness in their voice.
"Yes, but ways around the lack of hands have been found. Psychics and a few non-psychic Pokemon can move objects with their powers, Pokemon similar to me can use their tail, and so on." I said. "I'm sure you'll find a way to get around your loss of hands. I had to when I evolved into this."
"You're right, I will in time." They said before taking another bite from their apple. "But until then it's going to be a rough road."
We finish our break quickly before then start to continue last stretch of Wayward Woods. We enter down the pathway and follow it to wherever it leads to. There was only a left hand turn and when we turned the corner I noticed the stairs. We got lucky on this floor and as we get closer I notice something next to the stairs, a TM! I don't know what could be on it, but I'll let Alex find it and take it. I'm fine with my current move set and if it's a move Alex can't use, they can trade it for something they can.
"Already?" Alex said with astonishment and joy once we came into better view of it. "Wow, that wa- Oh? What's this?" Alex moved forward to the TM and scooted it into a better view.
"J-Jules did you just hear that voice?" They asked, the telepathic voice TMs have must have spooked them.
"Nothing" I said. "It was likely the TM when you touched it, it tells you telepathically what move it has on it. What did it say?"
"Strange. But it said it had the move 'Water Pulse' stored on it." They said.
"You found it, so it's yours." I said as my tail worked on opening the satchel. "Put it in here for when we get back to the guild."
Alex scoots the TM towards me and we work on getting it into the satchel. Once inside I close it up and we both move to the stairs and went to the final level of Wayward Woods.