Pokemon Mystery Dungeon

Shadows of Ganderosa

Chapter 6

Into the Void


Dillan's legs felt like jelly. It had been three hours since they had left Ferricia Castle and he wanted to sit down. The worst part about it was that Ryan and Hazel were talking together without Dillan. They were talking quietly, which made Dillan feel left out.

What are they talking about? Why am I not involved?

"I know, I know," Ryan said to Hazel, a little louder.

Hazel looked at him. "It's just that-"

"Can you guys talk to me?" Dillan asked, thoroughly annoyed with the whispers.

Hazel looked at Ryan with a pleading expression. Ryan just scowled. Hazel sighed, then fell back to Dillan.

She looked at him with a worried expression. "Please don't take this the wrong way," she began. "but we were talking about you."

"So you're talking about me behind my back?"

"Hazel." Ryan said with an expression that said "Don't screw this up".

"No, it's not like that." Hazel tried to recover. Dillan was still skeptical. Hazel continued. "We were talking about your experience with battle.

Dillan thought about what that meant. "Like, fighting other pokemon?"

"Exactly!" Hazel answered. "Again, don't take this as an insult, but we thought you should get some practice in before we got to Void Canyon. You see, with your amnesia, you probably don't remember how to fight."

Oh... Dillan felt horrible. She's right... I don't know how to fight. Am I gonna be dead weight in the canyon? Wait...

"Why would I need to fight in Void Canyon?" Dillan asked.

Ryan jumped in the conversation by saying, "The feral pokemon."

"Feral?" Dillan said.

"Yep." Ryan said. "Some pokemon go crazy from being in a mystery dungeon for too long. They become feral. As a result of the time-shift, they live longer than regular pokemon, so there are a lot of them. It really isn't their fault that they turn out this way, just the dungeon."

"Don't worry!" Hazel added once she saw the horror stricken face of her Gabite companion. "We have an escape orb incase we get stuck. The only problem is that it would warp us back to where we entered, so we would have to go through the mystery dungeon again."

That relieved Dillan. Though, he was still worried about fighting a feral pokemon.

"Anyways," Hazel said. "we thought about training you once we got out of Thesix Town."

"Why not now?" Dillan asked.

"Because we don't have anymore time." Ryan pointed out with a finger. "Look."

Dillan looked ahead. He couldn't make out much detail, but he did see the small village. Dillan was relieved that the first part of their journey was over.

"We'll eat once we're there." Hazel said.

The group trudged on to Thesix.


Dillan was shocked with how small Thesix looked. Having been in Fericia Castle for so long, he was expecting something a little bigger.

It had the same system of Thesix. There were a few two story buildings with colorful roofs, but there weren't many. The town had a few homes that were small, but cozy. The streets were cobblestone. There weren't many pokemon on the streets, just the occasional bystander every few feet. They would greet Team Rapture with a simple, "Hello!" accompanied by a wave. The friendly nature of the pokemon was what shocked Dillan the most.

Team Rapture made their way to a building with a yellow roof. The place had a small sign that said "Casey's Pub". The group made their way inside.

It wasn't as big or as fancy as Harley's was. It had four tables and a bar. The walls were made of stone and the floor was wood. There wasn't a chandelier to light the pub, just some torches along the walls. There wasn't anyone at the front like Harley's. However, a hearty male "Hello! Welcome to Casey's!" rung out from a pokemon behind the bar. The pokemon was as tall as Dillan. It was brown. It didn't look like it had a head, mouth or nose, which creeped Dillan out. The only thing that could identify some sign of a face were the eyes at the top of the pokemon's chest. It had legs that looked compressed together, like rubber. Dillan and Ryan sat down at an empty table while Hazel went to greet the Hitmonle.

"So, how would I go about fighting a pokemon?" Dillan asked, still depressed by the earlier conversation.

"Well..." Ryan said as he put his paw beneath his chin. "Let's see. You can obviously use some sort of fire move."

"How do you figure?" Dillan asked.

"Ask Hans." Ryan started chuckling. "That was hilarious when you set his paperwork on fire!"

"That was an accident." Dillan said defensively.

"Chill out." Ryan said. Dillan shuddered. "Sorry, poor choice of words. Relax, the jerk deserved it. Besides, you can ask Hazel to help you learn what move you can use.

"Now, since you're a ground type, you could probably use something like..." Ryan's face turned into a grimace. "Never mind."

"What?" Dillan asked.

"Well..." Ryan continued nervously. "You could probably use a ground type move, but based on how those usually work, they might do more damage to me and Hazel then your opponent. Best not to use that.

Well, that sucks... Now I have to worry about hurting my friends with an attack that I don't even know how to use...

Ryan took no notice of Dillan's expression. "We know you can use dragon claw because of how easily you cut the rope when we met."

"That was a move?" Dillan asked.

"Sure it was!" Ryan continued. "You cut that rope like butter! That was awesome!"

Hearing Ryan's praise raised Dillan's spirits. At least I know how to use ONE move. I'm not entirely useless after all.

Ryan continued. "Anyways, we don't have any clue as to what your last move could be. It might be a dragon type move, ground type move, or another one entirely! Should be fun when you learn what it is!"

Hazel came to the table with three plates. She set one in front of Dillan, then gave one to Ryan. She kept the last one as she sat down and placed it in front of her.

"So," She began. "What're you guys talking about?"

"My moves." Dillan said.

"You're gonna teach him a fire move." Ryan said to Hazel.

Hazel's face lit up into a wide smile. "Really? How do you know you have a fire move?" She asked Dillan.

"He set Hans' paperwork on fire." Ryan said with a smirk.

"Accidentally." Dillan added.

"Fantastic!" Hazel said. "We're gonna have a lot of fun working on that!"

She pulled her bag from her shoulder and set it on the table. She then pulled out three blue berries and handed one to each of her teammates. Dillan looked at it with confusion.

"It's not like Harley's quiche," Hazel said in response to Dillan's confused face. "but we spent most of our money on the gear. We need to spend the rest wisely until we get to taking missions."

"I think it's more than enough." Ryan said. His berry was almost as big as his head. Hazel stifled a laugh as she bit on her lower lip.

"Sorry." Dillan said. "You're right. Besides, I was just a little surprised is all.

I can't be like this! Hazel's already helped so much, I can't expect more from her. I need to be content with what I've got.

The team ate their berries in silence and exited the pub. They walked from the town and went back to their journey.


They walked for a couple of hours. The mountains were getting closer on the horizon. Their destination was drawing closer. There was the occasional tree standing on it's own amidst the grassy plains. To their left was a group of mountains that snaked their way across the horizon.

"Ryan." Hazel called out from the middle of their group.

"Yea?" Ryan asked.

"We have at least two hours before we reach Void Canyon. Can we stop here so Dillan can practice some attacks?"

Ryan looked ahead, then at his group. He then sat down on the gravel and said, "Alright Dillan, show us what you can do!"

Hazel smiled, then faced Dillan. "Alright," she began. "so first, you need to plant your feet like so." She faced away from the path and looked at a lone tree with some flowers around the base. She planted her feet in the ground. "Normally, you wouldn't have time to plant your feet, but it's recommended for beginners, such as yourself. Anyways, all you need to do is focus on a sort of flame in your stomach. Give yourself over to it. Let it feed off of your emotions so it can grow. Once you feel it's big enough, bring your head back and exhale in the direction of your target like so." She brought her head back slowly, then flung it forward. She opened her mouth and a stream of flames came forth and flew at the tree in front of her. Her tail-flame flared as she breathed. The tree started to smoke. She then stopped as the tree turned black. When the flames stopped hitting the bark, there wasn't much left for it to hit.

Dillan was shocked by the destructive force that had ensued from his friend. Hazel then turned towards him.

"Alright, now it's your turn." She said.

Dillan planted his feet. He focused on his stomach. What now? He searched for one warm, feeling in his stomach. He sat there for a few seconds.

"Search for the flame." Hazel said. "It may not even be in your stomach. It could be in your heart."

Dillan searched his body. He still hadn't felt anything.

"May I say something?" Ryan asked. Hazel did a bow to signal her approval. "Maybe you need to focus on an emotion or a thought instead of a flame. What did you feel back in the guild?"

I felt anger. I hated the way Hans had treated my friend... He thought about that moment. The emotions came back to him like a flame. He felt something in his chest. His expression changed into a hard frown.

"You feel something," Hazel said. "don't you?"

Dillan didn't listen. He was too focused on the way his friend was treated. He thought about what he did.

That's just it. I didn't do anything. I hardly defended my friend. I should have done more... He then remembered when he had escaped the Nuzleaf. He gritted his teeth. The feeling grew in his stomach. I didn't help them... I could have done more... I'm fine while they're probably suffering! The flame started creeping up his throat.

"Dillan?" Hazel asked. "You ok?"

Dillan couldn't hear her over his own thoughts. He brought his head back, looked at the charred remains of what use to be a tree, and exhaled. The flames tore from his mouth in a firey stream. When it impacted the tree, it was engulfed in the fiery storm. Dillan stopped quickly and looked away from Hazel's worried gaze.

"That was an awesome flamethrower!" Ryan said as he looked at the charred stump.

"Dillan..." Hazel began.

"Let's just move on." Dillan said.

"Dillan, what's bothering you?"

"Nothing!" Dillan shouted. He shut his eyes tightly. "I'm fine! Let's just move on!" Dillan moved away from Hazel and started walking down the path, towards the mountain ahead.

Ryan looked at Hazel with a confused gaze.

Hazel shrugged as a response to his look.

The two followed Dillan as they moved onwards to Void Canyon.


After about two hours or more, they arrived at a valley that stretched on between the mountains. It was very dark due to the lack of sunlight available and the shadows that were cast into the path.

"So this is Void Canyon?" Dillan asked. After an hour, he had moved on from the moral issues that bugged his mind.

"Yep." Ryan said. "They call it Void Canyon because of the lack of light that manages to get inside. "

"There are gonna be feral pokemon in there for sure." Hazel added. "You ready to fight?" She directed her question at Dillan.

"As ready as I'll ever be." Dillan said.

As the sun began to disappear from the horizon, Team Rapture made their way into Void Canyon.


The canyon was very dark. The rocky walls stretched up into the seemingly unending void. The path was narrow. It only allowed one pokemon to proceed at one time. It was also littered with pebbles and stones. However, Dillan could somehow sense the rocks on the ground. Silence hung in the air. No one dared to speak, almost as if there was an unspoken rule not to talk. The air felt dry. There was no wind that came through the pathways.

The funny thing was, Dillan expected to be scared out of his wits when they entered the dark, dusty canyon. Instead, he felt exhilarated. Something about everything in the mystery dungeon felt natural.

Hazel was leading the team with her tail-flame. Ryan was right behind her. Dillan took up the rear. Because of Ryan's size, he could see Hazel's light on the walls.

Dillan couldn't tell what the group was walking towards. Every so often there would be a fork in the path. At the pace Hazel was choosing which paths to go down, she seemed to be deciding at random. Ryan didn't seem to mind the absentmindedness of the chosen pathways. Dillan kept his thoughts to himself.

As the team trudged on, Ryan started humming a tune that broke the silence.

Hazel spoke up and asked, "What're you humming?"

"Sorry?" Ryan asked.

"You were humming a song just now. What was it?"

"Oh, nothing special. Just something my..." His voice trailed off. He started looking down at the ground.

"Ryan?" Hazel asked.

"It's just something my parents use to sing to me..." his voice was full discomfort. "It's not important."

"You sure?" Hazel asked.

"This isn't the time to talk about my problems."

"So it IS important."

"Hazel. Drop it." Ryan was getting annoyed.

"Alright." She said as they took a left.

The group walked for three minutes before Hazel stopped. They hadn't taken another turn since they had last spoke.

"What's going on Hazel?" Dillan asked.

"A dead end." she responded. "Dillan, you'll have to lead us back until we find another turn."

"Lead?" Dillan asked with worry. "Me?"

"Hey." Ryan said. "You'll do fine! Just trace your claw along the wall until there isn't a wall anymore. You then go down the path and Hazel can take the lead down another path. Piece of cake." Ryan sounded confident in Dillan's abilities.

I wish I shared your enthusiasm in me...

Dillan dragged his claw in the wall. He couldn't see anything, but somehow, he knew where everything was that was ten feet around him.

What?

He stopped and closed his eyes. He could still sense everything. It was like he could see every one of his surroundings at the same time. The rock that was on the ground. His friends that stood behind him, waiting for him to move. The walls that stretched up ten feet and then folded inwards to form a ledge. The pokemon on the ledge that was about to push a boulder that would fall onto Hazel's head.

Boulder?

Dillan's face tensed as he yelled, "HAZEL, MOVE!"

Hazel didn't have time to process what was being said. Dillan leapt over Ryan and tackled Hazel to the ground, three feet from their original position. Ryan looked on with shock at the sudden attack. Then, a boulder about four feet in diameter smashed into the spot where Hazel had originally been. It was a few inches from Ryan's face.

Ryan sat there, soundless. Dillan felt for the pokemon on the ledge. He wasn't there anymore. There was a tunnel that it probably escaped through.

"What are you doing?!" Hazel yelled at Dillan. "You could have slammed me into a rock and broken something!"

"Uh..." Ryan said in a quiet voice. "Hazel... Look over here..."

Dillan got off of Hazel and stood on top of the rock that was now in the crevice. Hazel looked on. Realization came to her head and worry took control of her expression.

"That..." She tried to say. "That almost... Almost..."

"Killed you?" Dillan finished for her. She nodded.

"Where did it come from?" Ryan asked, finally finding his voice.

"Above a ledge that's concealed in the darkness." Dillan told his team.

"Forget that." Hazel said. "How in Ganderosa did you know it was going to fall?!"

"It didn't fall." Dillan said. "Someone pushed it."

"Who?" Ryan asked.

"I don't know." Dillan answered with a worried tone. "But whoever it was may try again. We need to keep walking." Dillan lept from the rock to the front of Ryan so he could lead.

"Wait!" Hazel said as she climbed on the boulder.

"What is it?" Dillan asked while trying to sense if there was any more pokemon above them, trying to attack from the shadows.

"How did you know the pokemon was there?"

"I don't know... I just sensed it."

Ryan put his paw under his chin like he usually does when he's thinking. Hazel and Dillan were both looking at him.

When he realized the stares that were pointed towards him, he said, "What?"

"Well," Hazel began. "usually when you put your paw under your cin, you're about to give an explanation to a question someone's asking."

"That doesn't mean I'm gonna give one now!" he said with an irritated tone.

"Fine." Hazel said defensively. "No need to get snippy."

"Snippy!" Ryan yelled. "You're the one-"

"Guys!" Dillan interrupted. "Let's move on. That pokemon could be anywhere by now. I don't want to be in this canyon any longer than necessary."

Hazel and Ryan looked at each other with scowls. Dillan started trudging forwards. Ryan walked behind him with Hazel now at the back.

They walked for three more minutes until they found themselves at another intersection.

Dillan was about to move left when Hazel shouted from behind him, "Don't go left. We've already been that way."

"You were paying attention to where we were going?" Dillan asked.

"What do you think I was doing?" she asked with annoyance. "Mindlessly picking directions?"

That's exactly what I thought. "Is there a system to picking a path?"

"Nope." Ryan chimed in, though he said it halfheartedly. He still had his paw on his chin. "You just chose and remember which paths you've been down so you don't go in the same direction twice."

Good to know. With that thought, Dillan went right.


After what felt like a half hour, Dillan realized something abnormal about the path way. He dragged his claws over indents in the wall. Three of them were present in a slashing motion. Dillan gulped.

"What is it?" Hazel asked. Dillan moved ahead a few feet so Hazel could shine some light on the indents.

"Those look like claws." Ryan said. "They're deep, too. Whatever made these has a pair of nasty talons."

Dillan sensed another pair of indents on the wall ahead of them. Then more.

"Hey guys," Dillan said. "those aren't the only marks... There are more."

The group moved forwards so Hazel could get a look at them.

"Ryan," Hazel asked. "You know more about attacks and pokemon than I do. Are these the same kind of marks?"

"Hard to tell..." Ryan said. "If I were to guess, yeah. They look similar. The only problem is that I can't be sure that they aren't from the same species..."

"Can you tell what pokemon made them?" Dillan asked.

"No... All I can tell you for sure is that it has claws."

"Let's move on with caution." Hazel said.

The team moved on. Dillan tried to sense anything different. Nothing changed. Not even the occasional claw marks along the stone wall. Dillan could sense Hazel's heart beating just a bit faster the more indentions they passed. Ryan, however, didn't change. His face didn't show fear, but intrigue and anticipation.

About three minutes passed before anything changed. Dillan's face grew with excitement. He sensed a big room in front of his team. It had rocks that were shaped strangely. Dillan couldn't make out detail on the weird rocks that were ahead. He guessed even his 'Miracle Sense', as he named it, had limitations. Dillan could sense different tunnels stretching on from different directions. They all met in one central location, the room.

Once the team was in the room, Dillan looked on in horror. The weird rocks that Dillan had sensed earlier turned out to not be rocks at all. Instead, they were all bones. Femurs, flanges, craniums, you name it, it was there. They had all been moved along the wall.

"Oh my gosh..." Hazel said as she clasped her hands to her mouth in horror.

Ryan didn't say anything. He just grimaced.

"What in Ganderosa happened to all of these pokemon..." Hazel asked herself in a voice that was too loud to be a whisper, yet too quiet to be considered a normal volume.

That's when it all went downhill. Dillan could sense five pairs of feet running at them from the corridors around them.

"Guys!" Dillan shouted. "Someone's coming!"

"From where?" Ryan asked.

"I can't see anything!" Hazel exclaimed.

It occurred to Dillan that the room wasn't any better than the corridors. It was still too dark for his friends.

The pokemon were in the room now, running at their victims.

"They're here!" Dillan said.

"Dillan, get down!" Hazel shouted as she drew her head back. Dillan realized almost immediately what she was going to do. He threw himself to the ground, and started lying on his stomach. He felt a searing flame graze his back fin. The room lit up and the pokemon ahead screeched as they covered their eyes. One of them got scorched from the fires that engulfed it's body, though it didn't look hurt. Dillan got a quick glance at their features.

They were all bipedal pokemon. They all looked the same. The pokemon had a set of long, claws on their paws. They both looked like rodents with a set of brown spines that lined their backs. They had yellow fur. Their muzzles were pointed. They all had eyes that were pitch black. They didn't have pupils.

Once Hazel realized she was scorching Dillan's fin, she stopped her attack and the sandslash were once again concealed in the darkness.

"Everyone fall back into the corridor!" Ryan shouted. "We'll use it as a bottleneck!

Bottle neck? Before Dillan could respond, the sandslashes had recovered. Two of them grabbed Dillan and threw him deeper into the room. He could hear Hazel scream his name as he flew into the air. He smashed into the floor and skidded ahead a few inches before his momentum died and he lied there in the middle of the room. He stood up and closed his eyes so he could use his 'Miracle Sense' to the best of it's abilities.

He jumped to the right as a swipe flew by his neck. A jab then flew towards his chest. He jumped to the side. He flung his head back and exhaled. Nothing came out. Dillan hesitated for a moment, but as all fighters know, a moment of hesitation is one moment too long. Dillan felt a swipe at his chest. It cut his scales, but it wasn't too deep. Blood flowed forth from his wound.

I need to focus! Another slip up like that and-

He felt the tip of his enemies claws graze his face. Dillan doubled back from the pain. He then focused on the pokemon that was charging at him with it's claws pointed at his heart. He sidestepped and slashed his fin across it's chest. It gave a cry on pain. Another pokemon came at Dillan from his left, then another to his right. He had no time to think. His mind went on auto pilot as he threw himself to the ground. His arms moved on its own, using his fins like shovels as they dug a hole in mere seconds that would fit Dillan's body. The sandslash above collided. Cries of pain erupted from the pokemon as well as blood from their new wounds.

What did I just do? Did I-

No more time to think. A sandslash was crouched above the hole. Dillan felt his senses come back to him. He felt the rush of adrenaline leave his body. It was replaced by a creature of fear that clawed at his insides, forcing him to cower in his hole.

"Hazel!" Ryan yelled from above Dillan's hole. Dillan felt that Hazel had been injured. He felt the drops of blood that flowed from her arm hit the cold ground.

So much surged through Dillan's mind in a fraction of a second. He thought about his friend who might have been hurt. He thought about how he did nothing back at the guild when Hazel needed him. He thought about how Ryan had almost lost his life to a coma because of his absentmindedness. He thought about all the pokemon he didn't even try to save. He thought about what Ryan had said when he met him, 'Why should my life be valued over another's?'. He was right! I was selfish! I only saved him because I wanted him to help. I could have saved another pokemon! In that fraction, his emotions started to overload his mind.

He focused everything into his claws, just like with his flamethrower attack. They started to glow blue. They got brighter. It looked as though his fins were extending. The sandslash that stood above him drew back due to the sudden light that bathed Dillan's fins. Dillan climbed out of the hole and watched the other sandslash as they covered their eyes. Dillan looked at Hazel. She was cradling her bloody arm. He turned his attention to the sandslash.

"Ryan..." Hazel said. "That's a dragon claw."

Ryan leapt over Hazel and charged one of the sandslash. He opened his mouth and bit down on one of their arms. The sandslash started whipping it's arm back and forth in an attempt to shake Ryan off. Ryan wouldn't let go. Blood started flowing into the pachirisu's mouth. Only then did he let go. He spat the blood out then called to his team, "Don't just stand there, hit one of them!"

That was all it took. Hazel rushed one of them and clawed at their chest. It started to cower from the sudden onslaught against him. The injured pokemon ran from the fight, leaving four left. Two of them saw what their companion did and followed suit. There were two left. One had the bite wounds that Ryan had given it, while the other wasn't hurt at all. They both adjusted to the light coming from Dillan's claws and went to attack the gabite. Dillan was overcome with fear from not one, but two pokemon charging him.

Ryan swiped his tail through the air. Stars flew from the swipe and pelted one of the two sandslash. The other one wasn't fazed. It leapt at Dillan. Dillan did the only thing he could do when a pokemon is confronted with fear and an attacker. He held out his arms in a defensive stance. He felt the pokemon against his fins. A scream of agony came from in front of him. This was the one time he wished his 'Miracle Sense' hadn't existed. He felt the sandslash cower on the floor, grabbing at the deep incision on it's side. It ran as fast as it could into one of the corridors. It left a blood trail as it ran. The last sandslash recovered from the swift attack. It was about to attack when Hazel let out a stream of fire. It cowered into the nearest corridor and was gone. The fight was over.

Ryan didn't look too bad. He had a scratch on his leg and one on his right arm, but no blood. Hazel was cradling her arm. Other than that, she was fine. The tip of Dillan's fin was covered in blood. He opened his eyes. His fins were back to normal. The only source of light was Hazel's tail.

"That was AWESOME!" Ryan shouted.

"What's wrong with you?!" Hazel asked through gritted teeth. "My arm is hurt and Dillan almost killed someone!"

"So?" Ryan asked. "He didn't! We fought like pros! And on top of that, Dillan learned Dragon Claw!"

"Wait." Dillan cut in. "I thought I already knew Dragon Claw?"

"Nah." Ryan said with a grin. "I was wrong. You used slash on the rope."

"I'm confused." Dillan added. He then looked at his bloody claw. He felt a wave of nausea wash over to him. He ran over to the hole he had made earlier and threw up.

"I don't EVER want to do that again..." Hazel said. "What were those things, anyways?"

"Sandslash!" Ryan said. "A ground type! That's probably why your fire attack didn't work."

"Let's just move on." Dillan said. "They might be getting their friends..." He shuddered to think of another fight like that.


After a few hours of walking, Team Rapture saw a sight that almost made Dillan yell from joy.

"The moon..." Hazel said as they exited the canyon. "Finally."

With the canyon behind them, they could see a stretch of grass going for miles. There was a massive forest to the North-West. There was also a stretch of road that ran forward for miles. Stars littered the sky like a bunch of lights on a Christmas tree. Dillan felt different. His 'Miracle Sense' had left him. He now had to rely on his eyes.

"It's already dark." Dillan added.

"Look at the stars!" Ryan said. "They're a sight for sore eyes!"

"Beats the dark ceiling of that canyon..." Hazel said.

"Remind me where we go now?" Dillan said to Ryan.

"Well," He began. "We need to travel East until we hit Kerroshia. Then we take the path that leads to Poltress Town. After that, it's a straight shot to Kerroshia Castle."

"Is there any way around Poltress Town?" Hazel asked. She looked worried.

"Not unless you want to add another day to our journey AND enter another Mystery Dungeon." Ryan said. "Why? What's wrong with Poltress?"

"N-Nothing!" Hazel said with a nervous smile. "Nothing's wrong!"

"Okay then." Ryan said with a tone like, "Yeah right". "Let's just set up camp for tonight."

Hazel looked as though she had been told she got an F- on a final exam.

"You ok?" Dillan asked the charmelion.

"Uh..." Hazel said. Her face didn't change. "I forgot to pack the tent..."

"You didn't." Ryan pleaded. "Please tell me you didn't..."

"I did." She bit her lower lip.

"How could you forget the tent?" Ryan scolded.

"Ryan," Dillan cut in.

"What is it, Dillan." Ryan's voice was harsh.

"Don't yell at him!" Hazel interjected. "It's my fault!"

"You're right!" Ryan said. "It is your fault! The tent was the most important thing on this trip! How did you forget about it?"

"Ryan!" Dillan shouted.

"What?" Ryan said harshly.

"Don't worry about it." Dillan added with a calm tone. "I can make a shelter."

"How?" Ryan asked.

"Give me five minutes." Dillan said as he looked around for some soft ground. Ryan looked on with an irritated expression.

"Dillan," Hazel started. "what are you doing?"

"Trust me!" he shouted as he continued his search.

He found some dirt that was soft enough for what he wanted to do. He started digging with his fins. He dug at an angle so there could be a kind of ramp. He then proceeded to dig a circle. He hollowed it out as he pressed the dirt against the walls and took some of it out of the cave. When he was finished, it was barely big enough for him to stand. Other than that, it was wide enough for his friends. He left a column of dirt in the middle for stability.

"Come on in!" Dillan shouted from the hole. His companions came in from the ramp. They both gapped at the shelter Dillan had made in under ten minutes. Hazel's tail served as the light source for the make-shift burrow.

"How did you do this?" Hazel asked.

"It feels normal." Dillan said. He closed his eyes to take in the feeling of pride. His 'Miracle Sense' was back.

"That's it!" Ryan shouted. "That's how you could sense everything in Void Canyon!"

Dillan tilted his head from confusion.

Ryan saw his expression and said, "You're a ground type! Obviously you can see things we can't when you're surrounded by dirt, like when you're in a cave! It comes naturally! That's why the sandslash could see us as well!"

Hazel still looked embarrassed about the fiasco from earlier. She didn't seem to care about what Ryan had said to Dillan.

"Hazel, are you good?" Dillan asked.

Ryan saw Hazel's face. His expression softened. He said, "Hazel, I'm sorry for what I said... I guess I just freaked out when I thought about being in the wide open for the night."

Hazel looked at Ryan before saying, "It's cool. I screwed up. I should have made sure we had the tent."

"But," Ryan started. "I still shouldn't have reacted the way I did. We cool?"

"Yeah. Are you ok with not having a tent?"

"You kidding? If not having a tent gets us this," Ryan gestured to the burrow. "then you can leave the tent at home all the time!"

That made Dillan and Hazel giggle.

"Now then," Ryan started. "let me have a look at your arm."

Hazel sat down slowly. She then took the bag off of her shoulder and gave it to Ryan, who struggled to carry it due to his size. He set it down and looked inside. He pulled out a Sitrus Berry and some white cloth. He gave the berry to Hazel. She began to eat it as Ryan wrapped the cloth around Hazel's hurt arm. She grimaced twice: Once when it touched her wound and again when Ryan tied it off.

"There." Ryan said. "Now with the Sitrus Berry, it should be better by tomorrow morning, but I wouldn't sleep on it tonight."

"Thanks Dr. Ryan." Hazel said with a smile.

Ryan smiled back.

"I don't know about you two," Hazel said. "but I'm exhausted. I'm gonna get some sleep. I'll see you guys tomorrow. Good night!"

"I'm with you." Dillan agreed. "Good night."

He laid down and heard Ryan chime in with a, "Good night, guys." then he thought about the day. He thought about the sandslash and how strong they were. They could have killed me if I didn't have my instincts. Was I possibly a good fighter when I had my memories? Is that how I got my skills? He then thought about the nuzleaf. I could have saved them all? Everyone there could have fought the group... Now they're gone, somewhere... If I ever find that group of psychos, I'll make them tell me what happened to those pokemon. I'll save them. I have to fix my mistake... I have to... Dillan then drifted into a dream.