Nimbasa Arc: Mysterious Forwarder
"What kind of stupid remedy is it we're talking about if its kept in a place like this?! Kirlia, Gabite, help us!" Maris Kirlia landed next to Gabite, who narrowed its eyes and growled. "Medicham, Absol, go!" Jacky called out her Pokémon as well. A Darmanitan dashed forward with its arm raised. "Psychic, Medicham!" Jacky shouted, and Medicham froze it in mid-motion. "Dazzling Gleam, Kirlia!" Mari commanded, and the attack found its target.
"Psycho Cut!" Medicham formed a blade in his hand and leapt forward. With a dancing motion, it let the blade ratchet across the opponent's body. As another Darmanitan attacked, Gabite leapt into its path and drove it back with Dragon Claw. "Hold it in place, Kirlia!" Mari ordered. Now, Kirlia made its opponent freeez in place so Medicham could attack. "Brick Break!" Jacky shouted, and Medicham thundered the edge of its hand against the Pokémon's head with a rapid spin. It collapsed. Absol leapt into the air and furiously sent a storm of blades at two Darmanitan simultaneously. Those retorted with Incinerate, but Kirlia kept the flames away from the Pokémon with its psychic powers, allowing Absol to land safely on its paws again. One of the Darmanitan aimed at Absol with Hammer Arm and the dark-type Pokémon jumped back, Medicham dashing past it and sending it crashing to the ground with Brick Break. Gabite dodged a Fire Blast from its opponent and returned a Rock Tomb. The Darmanitan smashed the rocks. While it was busy, Gabite dashed forward into close proximity, hitting it with Dragon Rage. "Great, Gabite! Now, use Dragon Claw!" Another attack followed and Gabite defeated the Darmanitan. Two were left. Medicham dodged a Fire Blast and jumped back to give Absol a clear path. Absol sent out a Psycho Cut blade that shattered against the opponent's chest. "Help them, Kirlia!" Kirlia nodded and lifted the Darmanitan into the air with Psychic. The fourth one attacked, but Gabite was immediately on it, driving it back with Dragon Claw. Absol jumped up and sent another Razor Wind attack at the Kirlia-bound Darmanitan before the Fairy Pokémon sent it crashing into the sand, where it remained. Gabite jumped back and Medicham finished off the last opponent with Psycho Cut.
"Hah! That was good! Thanks, guys!" Mari praised her partners and withdrew Gabite before running ahead with Kirlia. Jacky withdrew her Pokémon as well and followed.
"Wow!" Mari braked abruptly before she could stomp into a quicksand field. "Woah... That was a close one. We have to be careful here!" Jacky stopped behind her, gasping. "Hah... hah... We... we have to find the remedy fast...",
"Fast? There's nothing about 'fast' here." Mari narrowed her eyes. "...I don't think the sand is slippery at the edges..." She picked up a pebble and threw it. It landed on a narrow strip near the wall and didn't sink. "Bingo.",
"Wait a minute, Mari...", Jacky held her back. "I think the quicksand leads to a deeper level...", "Well wonderful, and what makes you think that?",
"Well...",
"I'm definitely not trying that out, believe me."
Jacky picked up a larger rock from the ground and threw it into the quicksand pit. She waited when, suddenly, the stone was heard hitting hard ground further down.
"...Hmph... Okay, got it." Mari sighed and unceremoniously jumped into the quicksand. Kirlia followed her example. Jacky rushed after her and would have preferred to scream, but she pinched her lips together as she sagged through the sand and fell to the bottom like a sack of potatoes.
"Ouch!" She scrambled up and knocked sand off her clothes.
"Are you okay?" Mari asked. She nodded. "Y-yes... " She coughed and choked up a ball of sand. Mari patted her on the shoulder. "Can you still breathe?" She nodded again. "Y...eah..." she gasped in a raspy voice. Mari looked around. "...Hm... there's no less sand here... we should move on.",
"Agreed..."
They struggled through the maze of hallways and old, half-collapsed rooms. "It's so quiet here... almost like a temple", Jacky commented.
"Shhh..." Mari raised her hand as they arrived in a pillared hall. Strange symbols adorned the wall.
"What are those symbols?" Jacky asked more quietly.
"...Old Unovan runes", Mari replied. "I took an extra course in Trainer School that covered a wide variety of ancient characters... It's been a while... These specific runes usually are written with their letters shifted two to four spaces up. I'd need a while to decipher that. Figuring out what state of shift this is alone is a challenge..." She stepped closer to the wall.
"You took an extra course? I was too packed with those I already had to pick extra courses", Jacky said with some degree of admiration in her voice.
"Well... I was very interested in this kind of stuff, didn't think it would be useful in the end, but here we are..." She took out a piece of paper. "Okay, let me just..." She worked on deciphering the ancient message for a solid minute or two.
"Uh... I got it, I think... It's a simple two-space shift, so I actually didn't have to try much. It says here, 'May the desire for peace of every being's heart be cradled in purity in this new land. Ideals that will henceforth shape humanity shall be born here, at the center of the civilization of the new land which is called Unova'.",
"Jeez, what kind of language is that?",
"Very old language. The building is old, too... No one can say exactly how old because it's sunk too deep into the desert sands to safely say, but... many suggest its around... 2000 years." Mari explained. "Uh... What's more important now is that we find this medicine."
Jacky nodded and was looking at the ancient frescoes on the wall when, suddenly, they heard a noise. She paused. "...What was that?"
Mari looked around. "... I...don't know..." Eyes suddenly glowed in a dark corner of the palace. "There's something over there..." she warned her friend. Jacky immediately had her Pokédex at hand,as the figure revealed itself. A huge Pokémon that looked like a moth and had orange wings. "That's a Volcarona!" she exclaimed. "I think that's what was meant by the 'something' that lives down here!"
A shiver ran down Mari's spine. "It doesn't look... friendly... and... it's a bug type. Of course it's a bug type..." The Pokémon watched her, but did not attack. Yet. Mari noticed the box sitting on the ground next to it. "Hey, look! There, that box! Do you think there might be what we need in there?" Jacky didn't take her eyes off Volcarona. "...It's possible..."
Volcarona's wings lit up brightly and threateningly. "...Looks like it wants to protect what's in there... Then it's definitely the medicine we need... Maybe it's some kind of test..." Mari assumed.
"Test? What do you mean, 'test'?"
Mari took a very, veeeery deep breath and gathered all the courage she could muster before she walked up to Volcarona, who hissed threateningly. "Listen, Volcarona... We need this remedy to help a sick Vibrava. Please, let us take some..." Volcarona eyed her suspiciously. "It's important. The poor Pokémon is suffering a lot..." The moth didn't move for a moment and just looked at Mari, and she felt like the Pokémon was staring her down. It made her heart race. Then, however, Volcarona nodded and Mari exhaled in relief. She went to the box and lifted the lid. Inside were herbs. They were dried out. Next to them was a note. "Huh?" Mari took it in her hand. "These dried herbs help against desert fever. One herb is enough to completely cure a Pokémon from it. I deposited these herbs down here so they can be used quickly for the sick Pokémon only by trusted folk, but they are rare. That's why I told Volcarona to guard them. It can tell who is lying and who is not. These herbs are intended solely for the recovery of the Pokémon affected, and not for selfish, human desire to trade these rare herbs for money. May Arceus' blessings linger over this place. -Nate", she read aloud. Then, she reached into the box and pulled out one of the herbs. "Who is this Nate?" she asked. Jacky shrugged her shoulders. "I don't know... Maybe a doctor or something?", "He sure went to a lot of trouble to put these rare herbs here..." Mari closed the lid of the box again. "Alright, we've got what we need. We'd better get back."